The Tragedy of Repetition

by FanFicFreak6669

(Re-upload of SoulShdw's fic) In the years following Konoha's fall during the Sound/Leaf war, the remnants have struggled to survive. After achieving vengeance against the Otokage, Uzumaki Naruto is given and unexpected second chance. A shame he didn't get a choice in the matter.

14. Chapter 14

Once again, many thanks to my beta TheWatcherAndReader.

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Sarutobi sighed tiredly as he walked down the corridor towards his office. While he did not particularly mind having to awaken so early in order to complete the near-endless stream of paperwork that passed through his office, this cool damp morning he had no qualms about admitting that he wasn't getting any younger. He nodded morning greetings to the few ANBU that he passed, even those who were concealed and weren't supposed to return his greetings. It was to be expected after all; the tower was a stronghold of information that could never leave Konoha. Even the lower levels were highly guarded, despite the fact that the knowledge stored within was ancient even to the shinobi who had earned the name 'The Professor'. Not to mention that the Hokage himself was constantly in the tower, causing the guards to truly take their job seriously. After all, no ANBU guard would want to be known as the one who allowed an intruder to murder their Hokage.

Sarutobi scoffed at the idle thought as he opened the door to his office. You think that they would think a little higher of their Hokage... Though, their loyalty is touching. He chuckled at his odd thought before closing the door behind him. When he began walking towards his desk, he stopped in mid-step, his eyes wide. Sitting calmly in a chair next to his window overlooking the village was a man, his legs propped up on the Hokage's own chair. A pair of porcelain cups were sitting on the Hokage's desk, filled with hot tea, jasmine at that, by the scent of it. Who the hell?

The man merely turned his head and stared at the elder ninja with a pair of electric blue eyes, mischief dancing within their depths as they took in the man's dumbfounded expression. With a simple wave of his hand, the man's eyes crinkled into a smile as he spoke. "Yo! What took you so long, Ojij-san?"

Sarutobi simply stared, at a loss for words. After a few minutes, he finally asked, "How did you get in here without anyone noticing?"

Nanashi shrugged, turning his attention back to the view of the village below. "Eh, that's like asking someone how they breathe, old man." Sensing a glare being directed at him, Nanashi turned back to the Sandaime with a cheeky grin on his exposed face. "Come on old man, I was avoiding Chuunin and ANBU when I was a kid, for kami's sake. Wearing incredibly bright, orange clothes, at that. Do you honestly think that a war wouldn't increase my stealth skills?" He paused for a moment. "And your ANBU suck, by the way. They didn't even sense me enter the village, let alone the tower." At that, Nanashi gestured towards the desk, removing his feet from the Hokage's chair as he did so. "Come on, tea's getting cold."

Sarutobi considered the man's words for a moment, before nodding. After all, there was no reason to let good tea go to waste. He walked forward and took a seat, not even bothering to question in the man was who he was pretending to be. There could be no doubt, as the man himself even alluded to being Konoha's number one prankster, something that for all rights was impossible. At least, it should be. Sarutobi shifted his chair slightly, taking his cup in his hands as he looked over the village with the blond-haired shinobi sitting beside him. He took a small sip, savoring its taste before speaking. "So, how was your trip?"

"Meh, can't complain." The blond mused to his superior. He reached into his coat and withdrew a small scroll before handing it to the Sandaime. Not caring to notice the odd look the man was sending him, Nanashi simply replied, "From Ero-sennin. Information on both Orochimaru and Akatsuki's movements."

Sarutobi accepted the scroll with a raised eyebrow. "You met Jiraiya?"

Nanashi couldn't help himself and a small chuckle drifted out. "Better than that. The pervert challenged me to a drinking contest."

Sarutobi chuckled at that, remembering the times that his three students had gathered after missions when they were still in their younger years. Orochimaru would undoubtedly avoid partaking in said challenge, and due to some sort of cosmic irony, would the one to cart his two smashed comrades home, as opposed to just leaving his two counterparts to rot. Of course, Tsunade could never turn down a bet and met his most perverted student's challenge every time. He still remembered the complaints he used to receive from the various taverns within the village after his trio of misfits would return from a mission. "You'll have to tell me the story about how that came about sometime."

"Speaking of which, he'll be back for the exams. Don't be too surprised if he hunts down the local troublemaker for some training." Nanashi added, a bit of humor in his voice.

Sarutobi only shook his head. I will have to ask him how he managed that. Then again, that's what was going to happen regardless. Perhaps he simply means that Jiraiya will return sooner. "And your training?"

"Adequate," The man simply replied, "I'm not where I want to be, but it's going to have to work." He shrugged again, this time reaching for his own cup on the Hokage's desk. He took a sip, "Besides, I've got some ideas for training while I'm here as well." He paused before venturing a question, "you probably can't tell me, classified info and all, but did the Raikage ever give you an answer?"

The Hokage blinked before a smile came to the elder's face. "Let's say that the days to come will be quite fruitful, and that's all I will say on the matter."

"Stingy."

"Of course."

"Alright, old man. For your information, the jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata is quite charming... at least when she isn't trying to kill you." Nanashi chuckled as the thoughts of the kunoichi echoed through his brain and the great joy he took in annoying her as he helped her team back to Kumogakure.

"I'm sure. You seem to have an uncanny ability to irritate kunoichi, Naruto."

"Bah, it's a gift. An undiscovered bloodline limit, I'm sure." Nanashi smirked once more, taking a sip of the tea before continuing. "I've passed on the info about Akatsuki to both Suna and Kumo. Whether or not they choose to become our enemies is one thing, but from what I was able to learn about Akatsuki in my time, they will become a threat to all. Especially to those villages who house jinchuuriki."

"Suna has a jinchuuriki?" Sarutobi frowned at that. While it would not be unheard of, for Konoha to not know of such a thing was surprising in and of itself. They knew about Kumo's container for the Nibi no Nekomata, a kunoichi a few years older than Naruto's genin counterpart by the name of Nii Yugito, but had heard nothing in regards to Suna having one.

Nanashi nodded. "The Kazekage's youngest son. He's actually going to taking part in the Chuunin examination, and it is planned for him to have a vital role during the invasion itself, though that will be thwarted by damage he takes during his match." Nanashi paused for a moment as he considered that. He had loved Gaara like a brother but he had to grudgingly admit that if it were not for Sasuke knowing chidori and actually injuring Gaara during their match, Shukaku would have been unleashed in the center of the village itself as it was planned and it was unlikely that Konoha would have survived that. "I'll have a full psych write-up for you in a week or two on both Gaara and what I've seen in Yugito-san."

The Sandaime Hokage frowned once again. "Naruto, I don't like the way that you seem to be trying to playing the puppet master in all this."

"I'm not trying to. Well, not really. I haven't misled you or anything, and you know what's going to happen now anyway. I'm just trying to cover all our bases." Nanashi's face went dead serious as he stared out the window at the village. "It's not negotiable. Orochimaru must die during, ideally, the examination itself, or the invasion that is to come. He's the catalyst that leads everything into the third layer of hell."

"And you intend to be the one to take his head?"

"I don't care who kills him, but I won't deny that if I get the chance that I would take great satisfaction in being the one to do so. I've killed him once by sacrificing myself; I would do so again in a heartbeat."

Sarutobi sighed at that. Yet another shinobi filled with thoughts of vengeance. He has reason to and I don't disagree with him, but to see Naruto grow into one so obsessed with revenge is saddening. "Not if I get to him first. He is my mistake, after all."

Nanashi leveled a blank stare at the elder shinobi. It was enough to actually cause the old man to wonder what was going on behind those cerulean eyes before Nanashi closed his eyes. "As you wish." There was a long silence between the two as they sipped their tea, neither removing their eyes from the view of the village. Finally, Nanashi asked, "So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" His voice was no longer serious, and held a note of amusement.

"You mean besides everything that you already knew would happen?" The Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Eh, I guess."

Sarutobi simply shook his head again in amusement. "Perhaps another time. As much as I would love to sit and chat, I do have paperwork to complete. So unless you're offering your services to aid me in this endeavor, you might as well be on your way. I'll call you back for a full report when I'm ready for it."

The man smirked. "I was never even here, old man. Kage Bunshin are amazing things, aren't they? Keep it in mind, might help with that paperwork." With that, and an audible pop in the air, the man sitting beside him, drinking tea with him, vanished in a plume of smoke. Sarutobi blinked before frowning. I was having tea and a conversation with a Kage Bunshin the entire time and I didn't even realize it? Wait, can chakra manifestations even drink tea? He shook his head in a mixture of amusement and sadness. I really AM getting old...

-/-/-/

It was another day in the boring routine that was Team seven. As usual, Sakura was the first to arrive at the team's usual meeting place, still looking tired but oddly refreshed as well. She sat on the edge of the small bridge that the team usually met at, merely watching the surroundings. She never did tire of the natural beauty of her village, and it seemed even more so after spending so much time away. While, she could appreciate Wave's style and the way the ocean looked at sunrise, in her mind it paled in comparison to the foliage of Konoha.

She could feel someone approaching at the edges of her, admittedly small, senses. Already know who it was, as this was completely routine by now, she smiled at looked towards her boyfriend and all-around love, Uchiha Sasuke.

Well, to be fair, he wasn't her boyfriend yet. But she knew deep within herself that the boy could only resist her feminine charms for so long before falling madly in love with her. Her inner-self cheered in agreement and the two mentally began discussing plans for their future wedding and the possible names of their first born.

While this was happening, Sasuke merely stared at the pink-haired kunoichi as he walked towards the same bridge. He was wondering why she wasn't greeting him in her normally annoying way when he saw the strange, almost dreamy, expression on her face. Deciding that he was better off not knowing, he simply grunted before leaning against the opposite-side of the bridge. He began spinning a kunai by its ring end, an odd habit that he had picked up ever since graduation and being forced to wait for his perpetually late sensei. He knew it should bother him, as habits were weaknesses, but at this early hour, he could never bring himself to care. Instead, he found his mind wandering back to the battle in Wave, when his birthright finally awakened against the fake hunter-nin known only as Haku. Even in a battle that was clearly beyond him, it was an invigorating experience, and knew that his eyes would only improve with time and experience. It wouldn't be long before he rose to the top and was ready to hunt down his traitorous kin. And he would take great joy in forcing that traitor to stare into Sasuke's full Sharingan as he slit his older brother's throat.

Sasuke and Sakura both found themselves snapping out of their respective daydreams when a familiar voice loudly broke into their thoughts. "Morning Sakura-chan!" Sasuke only rolled his eyes at his other teammate, wondering how he had the the patience to deal with these three idiots that called themselves his teammates. He watched in boredom as Sakura slammed her fist on top of the blond's head, sending him to the ground. It was just something else that was routine, though occasionally he did find himself wondering how hard the pink-haired kunoichi could actually hit. "Morning, bastard." The blond grunted out as he pulled himself up, only to be knocked back down for his remark. Sasuke had seen this scene, and so many similar to it, so often by now that it was no longer amusing.

Instead, he found himself wondering about his teammate. He was no longer the dead last that Sasuke once thought he was. While the boy was undisciplined, unintelligent, and overall a poor excuse for a shinobi, Sasuke couldn't help measuring the blond up from time to time. He still didn't know what happened after he passed out on the bridge, but seeing how both Kakashi-sensei and Naruto didn't seem to want to discuss it, he was forced to draw his own conclusions. And from those conclusions, it became clear that Naruto had beaten an opponent Sasuke could not, and that fact irritated him on a level he had trouble conceiving. From what he could tell, the boy had been growing rapidly since their graduation, and even before that, as Sasuke clearly remembered the strange jump in the blond's taijutsu skills from the years in the academy. When Naruto first started in the academy, he fought like a drunken bar brawler, all power, no defense and no delicate movements. By the time they had completed the bell test with Kakashi, Naruto's skill at taijutsu was still no match for Sasuke's, but Sasuke believed that Naruto could easily match anyone else in their class.

Not that he ever actually matched anyone. Damn idiot was holding back the whole time. Sasuke had no proof, but he imagined that woman Anko had something to do with it. She had already admitted to teaching Naruto his signature jutsu, so Sasuke had no trouble believing that the scandalous woman had taken an interest in his hand to hand skills as well. Sasuke could honestly say that he disliked the woman. She was just... the complete opposite of what he imagined a woman should be. According to what he remembered of the female members of his clan, kunoichi were supposed to be subtle, skilled, quiet, and respectful of their male counterparts.

It was one of the main reasons he couldn't stand his fan girls. They simply caused pain to his sensibilities.

This... Mitarashi Anko... did the complete opposite, and seemed to take great enjoyment of shattering Sasuke's illusions of what a kunoichi should be. It still annoyed him that she was able to embarrass him so easily when she actually tried, and he still remembered the time the woman actually groped him in front of that idiot Inuzuka's team and sensei. He could still hear the mad cackling laughter of that damn mutt and even now still had to fight the blush from rising to his cheeks.

Though, she apparently did teach the dope some good techniques... Then again, seeing how she's almost driven him into complete paranoia, perhaps there is a downside. He also had a sneaking suspicion that she had taught the blond some chakra control tips, as during the mission to Wave, Naruto had been able to perform the tree walking exercise flawlessly on his first attempt, which still grated on Sasuke's nerves. The blond's outside 'tutoring' became apparent as Naruto's high control even perked Kakashi's interest. Naruto then revealed that he had known the tree walking and even water walking exercises for some time, the first being taught to him by Anko, the other by some other shinobi whose name Sasuke couldn't remember. Why do they take such an interest in him? He's a nobody and an idiot. Tch, perhaps they are all birds of the same flock after all.

He snapped out of his musings as he watched the blond perk up, as if something caught his attention. Sasuke shared a look with Sakura, who seemed to notice the blond's odd behavior as well, before she asked, "Naruto, what is it?"

"Shhh." Naruto hissed out, holding up a hand for silence, his eyes seeming to squint, as if trying to perceive something far off. Sasuke watched in amusement as Sakura visibly fought to control herself at the boy's dismissal but turned his attention back to his teammate. It was just another one of those odd things that the two had learned about their teammate since graduation. Sasuke hated to admit it but Naruto's sense of smell and hearing were much stronger than either of , I'm sure I exceed him with the Sharingan now. He thought smugly before Naruto perked up again, exchanged a confused look with his teammates, but one that seemed to echo in a sliver of excitement. "Someone is fighting near here... or training really hard."

Sakura blinked at that. "And we should care why?"

Sasuke already understood though. He wondered if he should be worried about understanding the nuances of what the idiot said when he spoke. Though, it might mean that the fool is actually growing a brain. "Where?" After all, Team Seven's meeting place was pretty far out of the way. It was rare for anyone to even come near their area, let alone train there, especially this early in the morning. It was worth taking a look.

Naruto frowned and Sasuke bit his cheek from saying something. "Not sure... but I think he, or they, I can't tell how many there are from here, are in that clearing where Kakashi got you during the bell test, bastard." Sasuke glared at his teammate for even daring to bring up one of the most humiliating experiences since becoming a genin. Naruto simply seemed to delight that he had gotten Sasuke to show anger before rising to his feet and walking in the direction he indicated. When he saw that neither of his teammates were following, he raised an eyebrow. "Not coming?"

"Idiot. Why bother? Besides, we need to wait for Kakashi-sensei." Sakura spoke, and Sasuke internally shook his head at the kunoichi's scathing tone. While he didn't particularly care how his teammates treated each other, for once the blond hadn't done, or said, anything worth getting annoyed over.

Naruto seemed to all but whine at this response. "Oh come on. It's not like our lazy-ass sensei will be coming any time soon. And this sounds really good!" Naruto then locked his eyes on Sasuke and grinned like a madman. "Come on, bastard. I know you're curious, 'specially since you gained your funky eyes, like sensei."

Sasuke actually blinked in surprise at that. That's... actually a very good point. I would be able to learn any jutsu used if I go and watch... Funny, I always thought that the dead last would be resentful of my Sharingan. Sasuke pushed off of the edge of the bridge that he had been leaning against before following after Naruto without another word. As he fell into step beside his teammate, he heard fast footsteps behind them and found Sakura latched onto his arm as she now walked with them. Sasuke only let out a sigh of irritation, allowing Naruto to lead on. This better be worth it, Naruto.

-/-/-/

Naruto only rolled his eyes as he half-listened to Sakura-chan trying to get the bastard to go on a date with her. At one time he had thought the girl beautiful, and even held a large crush on her. After being on a team with her and having to be around her for extended periods of time, he wondered what the hell he had been thinking. Sure, she was pretty, but it was abundantly clear that she only held eyes for the bastard. For some reason, Naruto figured that this 'should' bother him, but after the events in Wave country, when he had watched Sasuke 'die' in front of him, he really couldn't bring himself to care about something seemingly so... trivial. He did worry about his ex-crush though. Despite having better control that Sasuke (as he did not truly know where his own control ranked. From what Anko had told him, since his chakra well was so big, it would be near impossible to compare his control to another person's easily) she was easily intimidated by others, despite the front she tried to put up. She held no confidence in her own skills, and didn't seem to really appreciate what being a shinobi meant. At least not until she had seen Sasuke's 'corpse'.

Their recovery period at Tazuna's after the first battle with Zabuza had been what had started him thinking about it, after nearly getting himself killed by the legendary swordsman. Granted, he and Sauske had been able to work out a plan quickly, involving a load of Kage bunshin, Zabuza's own overconfidence, and another of Anko's jutsu, but it had done the job of freeing Kakashi well enough. Even if he did yell at us later when he woke up about it being crazy. Hey, crazy works. Look at psycho-bitch! He hesitated mentioning his newfound revelation about Sakura to Kakashi-sensei. The man had given him a blank look for a long period of time before agreeing with Naruto. The man had then accused Naruto of being the same, to a point, and given him some food for thought. As much as Naruto hated to admit it, the one-eyed jounin had a point. Hell, if not for the sessions with Anko, which the insane woman called training and Naruto simply thought of 'periods of trying to stay alive while the psychopathic bitch chases you', he might have been just as bad as Sakura. He wondered if what had happened on the bridge would have gone differently had he not met the quasi-psychotic kunoichi. Would he have been beaten by Haku's ice mirrors? Would the apprentice of the Demon of the Mist have survived while Zabuza died by Kakashi's hand?

Naruto shook his head. No point in wondering about 'what ifs'. He didn't remember much about what exactly he had done after he thought Sasuke was dead. He just remembered the feelings of helplessness at watching his friend... yes, the word 'friend' would fit, despite the bastard's attitude... die protecting him. First was grief, then burning hot rage, the likes of which he had never felt before. Hell, from what he remembered, even his chakra felt filled with red hot rage, capable of incinerating anyone who came close. When Naruto finally came back to himself, a kunai was in his hand, and the blade of said kunai was impaled into the neck of a revealed Haku, who was the face beneath the mask of the fake hunter-nin. He remembered falling back in shock and just staring at the corpse, his mind trying to put together what had just happened. After Zabuza's impalement by Kakashi's cool lightning jutsu which, now that he thought about it, Naruto was so going to pester the man into teaching him one day, Gatou and his thugs had shown up, only to be killed by a near-dead Zabuza in a display of bloody glory. Inari and the other Wave villagers had shown up afterwards. Naruto hadn't been paying attention to any of this, as he was still staring at the corpse of someone he thought he understood. Who, if things had been different, could have been Naruto's best friend.

When Kakashi came to check on him, he simply stared at the body before placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder and saying, "good work." That simple statement, that if used by his sensei at any other time would have granted Naruto a great deal of pride, caused the boy to begin vomiting. Darkness then took him and when he awoke, he was at Tazuna's home. It was only then that he found out Sasuke was alive. From what Kakashi told him later in private, neither Sasuke nor Sakura knew that he killed the shinobi from the bridge and Naruto found himself thankful for that. For what reason, he'd probably never know. It still didn't make it any easier, knowing that he killed someone. Kakashi had talked to him about it, but none of it really made sense to the blond at that point. It wasn't until he returned to Konoha two weeks later and spoke with Anko about it that the man's words sunk in.

It was one of the few times that he had been in the woman's apartment. The woman had been surprisingly reserved and patient as she listened to his story. He left nothing out, even mentioning completing the tree-climbing exercise and busting on Sasuke about it. She had listened quietly and with little to no expression on her face, but there was a quiet intensity there that even someone as dense as he could sense. After he finished, she remained silent for a few moments before reaching over and grabbing his shoulder. A grin the likes of which he had never seen on the woman's face then appeared, one that was filled with resignation.

"You're a shinobi now, Uzumaki Naruto."

In all the time he had known Mitarashi Anko, as an acquaintance, as someone who saved him from that mob way back when, as a mock-sensei, as a sadistic demoness from the bowels of the abyss who's favorite pastime was trying to feed him to human-devouring serpents, and even as a sometimes partner-in-crime for his pranks, she had never called him by his name even once.

Naruto shook his head, shaking away the thoughts. When did I become such a moody person like Sasuke? Naruto would never forget the conversation that followed and would never see the purple-haired kunoichi in the same light again. She had helped him through one of the hardest trials a genin can face, and although neither of them would ever realize it, had gained an ally for life.

Naruto suddenly stopped when he felt Sasuke grab his shoulder roughly. He glared at the Uchiha before raising an eyebrow. Prior to Wave, he probably would have snapped back with some sort of comment, but now he realized now that if the bastard had stopped him, there was probably a damn good reason. "What is it?"

The Uchiha scoffed, pointing in front of Naruto. "Look where you're going, dope. Besides, in case you haven't noticed due to your little daydream, we're here." Naruto scowled at the barb, before turning his eyes in front. It didn't take long for them to widen in shock as his eyes locked on a line of razor wire at his eye-level, less than a foot from his face. Grudgingly offering a muted thanks to the bastard, he took a step back before taking in the whole clearing itself. His eyes once again widened when he saw the lines of razor wire stretched taut across the clearing in mismatched patterns that resembles some crazy man's version of a spider web mixed with a mental patient's version of a cat's cradle. Lines of razor wire ran across the clearing, varying heights and directions. It was intimidating in itself, as that could be an excellent trap for stalling opponents if utilized correctly.

No, what was more interesting to the genin watching was the fight that was taking place atop the razor wires. Naruto recognized him, but hadn't seen the man in quite some time. He had never really asked Anko how strong Nanashi was, but judging from the few hints she let slip when she had been helping him learn those wind jutsu, the man was good. Now, as Naruto and his teammates watched the man fend off a series of what had to be Kage Bunshin, fighting within the field of wires capable of taking someone's head off with ease, he had to rethink his view of this man.

The man wasn't just good. He was absolutely incredible.

The three genin watched in silence as the group of clones converged on what they had to assume was their creator, ducking and jumping to avoid the sharp edges of the wires strewn in every which way. Not only that, but all of the people in the clearing who shared the same visage were able to land and fight while standing on the wires themselves, sometimes even upside down, and Naruto didn't even want to know how much control such a feat must have taken, without causing yourself damage, let alone having one's Kage Bunshin do so with what seemed like instinct.

Nanashi fought as if he were dancing from wire to wire, lowering his head or bending sideways as he moved, never staying in the same position for too long, lest one of his own clones get the drop on him. A roundhouse kick to a clone here, a spinning hook kick to another clone there, then followed by a vicious fist-elbow combination that struck another clone that had closed the gap, before leaping away to another wire, his remaining clones in pursuit. Without performing a single hand seal, the man leapt upwards before tapping a wire with a kunai in his right hand. "Raiton: Current Drop." The electricity was actually visible to the genin's eyes as it flowing from the man's right hand, through the kunai and into the wire that several clones were perched on. Almost at the exact same time, three distinct things happened. The kunai in the man's hand seemed to all but melt from the chakra running through it, the kage bushin on that wire were dispersed in a flare of electric death, and the mystery shinobi had already flipped to another wire, using his upward momentum from his initial jump as well as pushing off with his kunai against his target wire when he activated his jutsu.

With a wave of his left hand, a shield of wind seemed to form, deflecting a pair of shuriken thrown by yet another clone. Yet it proved to be only a distraction as a new clone appeared behind the man, a kunai in its hand and already being drawn across his neck, with no regards as to what would happen to their owner. Sakura gasped in horror as the man seemed to gurgle on his own blood flowing freely from his throat before the man dissolved into a puddle of water, causing the pink-haired girl to let out a sigh of relief. The clone was not as lucky, a kunai being lodged into the back of its head from the true shinobi, dispersing the clone before throwing the kunai at the clone that had given its brethren the distraction it had needed.

Another clone took a blow to the temple from a punch from its creator, only instead of vanishing in the nature clones do when dispelled, being replaced by a log covered with explosive tags. The genin watched in disbelief as the man didn't even bother to move away. Instead, he kicked the log away with a thrust kick, and then leapt as far back as he could while still avoiding wires. The log struck a wire and between the sharpness of the razor wire and the power of the kick behind the log's flight, the impact sliced the explosive-covered piece of wood into two halves before falling to the ground beneath the remaining clones. Clones that were promptly destroyed when the log halves exploded in a blaze of burning glory.

As the smoke cleared and it was revealed that not only were none of the clones still around, but also that their creator didn't even seem to be breathing hard. The three genin couldn't help but voice their combined opinion, "Holy shit." Team seven watched as the man turned his eyes on them and all three were mildly annoyed to see yet another shinobi with a mask over his face, not that Naruto had been expecting anything else. Even when Naruto had visited the unconscious man in the hospital about a year ago, the man had been wearing that mask.

Nanashi only raised an eye at seeing Naruto and his teammates. Well, now isn't this interesting? The man merely smirked beneath his mask, ignoring the shiver that it sent to the genin, who were now very well versed in reading the expressions of someone who wore a mask, and had learned that the one they were seeing now never ended well. "It's been a while, kid."

Naruto hesitated for only a moment before grinning back, ignoring the confused looks on his teammates' faces. "Damn straight!"

-/-/-/

Nanashi only chuckled at his younger-self's onslaught of questions as the small group wandered back to team seven's meeting place. Nanashi knew fully well that Kakashi wouldn't be along for a while, and he had to admit that it was amusing to watch Naruto as the boy excitedly began to talk. Sakura and Sasuke seemed mildly interested in his presence, but not enough to actually try and hold a conversation with him. Not that Sasuke would start a conversation unless his life depended on it.

Nanashi only allowed himself a brief look at the one who would later become the bane of his existence. He really shouldn't have been surprised at how well Sasuke matched the one of his pre-war days; it was his pre-war days, after all. Sasuke met his eyes during this inspection and flinched, causing Nanashi to internally smirk as he turned his attention back to Naruto, only now aware of the small amount of killing intent that he had manifested against the Uchiha. "So, kid. You master those jutsu I left you?"

Naruto only gave him a shit-eating grin and responded in the way that anyone who knew the young orphan would expect. "Hell yeah! I had them down in no time."

Nanashi only shook his head, a small grin beneath his mask. I wonder if that is the way I would have reacted if anyone had taught me a jutsu when I was that young... Wait, that is me, so of course I would have. Damn time paradoxes... "You talk a big game. Rather than that, show me, kid."

Naruto smirked at the challenge before walking a distance away from the group. When he turned around, his hands were already going through hand seals at a fast pace. They finally locked in place and Nanashi couldn't help but be impressed by the drafts already being sucked into the boy's jutsu. "Fuuton: Kaze no Tate!" The boy was immediately surrounding by a gust of wind, pulling the leaves off of the nearby trees into a rising column that surrounded the boy. Nanashi saw this, as well as the surprised expressions of the other members of team seven. So he hasn't shown them this yet? Perhaps he was keeping it as a secret. Oh well, either way, it's time to test it out. Then, without any warning, the elder blond pulled out a brace of shuriken and threw them faster than any of the genin could follow. The shuriken impacted against the wind column, fighting the air currents for only a moment before being thrown off course, finally striking the ground and trees to the sides of his target.

"Hey, what the hell?" Naruto yelled as he disabled the jutsu, glaring at Nanashi at the sudden attack.

Nanashi merely held up a hand. "Maa, it's the only way to make sure you've got it down. Good work, kid." He then pointed to one of the area's training posts that one of his shuriken had sunk into before continuing, "Now show me the other."

Naruto lost his glare, instead letting another grin out at the thought of showing off to his teammates even further. He had never had the chance to really use these jutsu before, so although he enjoyed their shocked faces (and slightly bitter in the bastard's case), he couldn't blame them for not knowing about his jutsu. He only smirked as he ran towards the indicated target, already snapping through the hand seals before thrusting his right hand out in an open strike a few feet from the post. "Fuuton: Wind Backlash!" Naruto only watched in satisfaction as the wind he had been gathered as he prepped the technique lashed out in the direction of his right hand with intense force. He could feel the wind lashing around his arm before continuing forward to strike the training post. At first it looked as if the post would weather his storm, but then the post itself was uprooted from the ground itself before flying away from the genin. Naruto only smirked before looking over his shoulder, "how about that?"

Nanashi couldn't have been more pleased. Two Chuunin level skills, enforced with enough power to make them highly formidable. Hell, the Wind Backlash is meant to be a simple distraction and beginner-level wind manipulation skill, and the kid turned it into a decent attack. Granted, he is overloading the technique for that effect, but it makes sense to do so. He clapped his hands together a few times, his eyes crinkling into a smile. "Not bad, kid! Not bad at all! Looks like you have those two master-" Nanashi didn't bother to think and simply reacted, cutting off his praise for, oddly, himself. He had not sensed any sort of killing intent, so he was not worried for his safety or the safety of team seven. Not that this level of attack is enough to actually hurt me. Obviously a distraction then... He shifted his weight enough to the right that the thrown kunai passed right by him, sticking into the ground with enough force to sink deep enough for the ground to meet the ring ends of the throwing weapons. He immediately took a step forward, spinning his body and raising his right arm to meet the kick that was already on its way. He took the blow on his forearm and couldn't help but smirk beneath his mask as his opponent burst into a puddle of mud, already being dispelled from the counter that Nanashi had sunk into its ...

As if reading his mind, the sound of a disembodied chuckle reached his ears. One that he had long since learned to associate with her. He was already moving once again before Sakura's shout of warning even reached his ears, ducking slightly as he spun, allowing the woman's arm thrust to pass harmlessly over his shoulder before latching on and twisting the attacking kunoichi over his shoulder. Anko slammed into the ground on her back hard, visibly knocking the wind out of her before Nanashi placed his foot a few inches from her throat, her arm still in his grasp. "Must we do this every time, Anko?" He grinned beneath his mask again, ignoring the flabbergasted looks on the genin faces, as he added another barb to his taunt. "You sure have a strange way of saying hello."

"Bastard!"

He chuckled at the glare the purple-haired kunoichi leveled on him. If he had been a lesser man, he would have already started running, but he couldn't help himself. After a year, give or take a few months, of traveling and training, he could honestly say that her irritation amused him just as much as it did the last time they met. "I've missed that eloquent wit of yours during my trip. Do you have any idea how dull dealing with missing-nin is? Or Kumo-nin for that matter? No sense of humor, I say." He paused for a moment before adding, "you're still one crazy bitch. You know that, right?"

While Sasuke and Sakura were watching this scene with astonished looks, as even Kakashi had seemed wary of dealing with Anko, and he was a well-known jounin, Naruto merely looked like the cat of the Fire Lord's wife after escaping from its owner's grasp. Yes! Finally, some payback against the psycho! He watched their exchange in silence, but couldn't help but allow himself a mad grin. Blackmail material against psycho-bitch! He had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to find the upcoming conversation very amusing.

Anko merely grinned and ceased her resistance. One day I'll beat this fucker. Who would've thought that by doing my weekly traumatizing routine on Kakashi's brats that I'd run across him? "Bah, you know you wouldn't want it any other way, Nameless wonder."

Nanashi closed his eyes and nodded once, as if agreeing with her. He then cracked open a single eye and raised said eyebrow as he spoke. "A simple hello and perhaps an invitation for a drink would also be acceptable."

"Oi, oi. It's supposed to be the man who offers to buy the lady a drink, shit stain. Then again, you do act like a little bitch most of the time."

"With the way you drink? Hell no!" A pause. "And aren't you, as a kunoichi, supposed to be against that sort of stereotype?"

"Fuck you, and I don't give a shit about that nonsense unless it works in my favor. I let Kurenai deal with that kunoichi-pride bullshit."

"Flexible pride, and flexible morals; a true shinobi, you are."

"One better than you'll ever be."

"Yet, I am the one in the advantageous position here."

Anko only rolled her eyes, as if the foot that was still poised above her throat wasn't a threat. "Please. You know that I'm only still in this position so as to allow you to check out my beauty and feminine perfection."

Nanashi didn't hesitate in his response; a pause to think usually resulted in the end of one of these little games. He couldn't help but allow the thought to pass through his mind though. Was that a flirting comment? No, it's Anko. She is just being herself. "I would say I'm awed by your modesty, except for the fact that you're still wearing that exhibitionist getup. Are you just not making enough working for the Torture and Interrogation department? I'm sure we could work something out with Hokage-sama if you need cash."

She only met his expression of disbelief with a sultry expression. "Come now, you aren't saying that you don't approve, are you? You'd be the only guy in the village who openly thinks so?" A brief pause. "Are you gay or something?"

"You realize that you are including man-sluts like Genma and perverts like Kakashi as part of that set of people. It throws your whole sample set off." Naruto grinned at the long pause after his comment. Game, set, match.

Anko only twitched at that comment, not having a witty response prepared. "I'm so going to cut off your balls..."

"And this other obsession of yours, with my testicles. Anko, I understand if you are embarrassed by my aura of sheer manliness, but if you want a date, you have to ask nicely." Ah, there's the twitching eyebrow... and here comes the killing intent.

There was a long stagnant pause and the three genin, even Naruto, began sweating at the rising killing intent that was solidifying in the area. Finally, Anko growled out a question, her voice no longer trying to be playful or clever and now simply implied future violence. "How come I get the overwhelming urge to beat the shit out of you every time I talk to you?"

Nanashi only scoffed, releasing the woman's arm and taking a step back as he removed his foot from her throat. "Must be my charming personality." He held out a hand and she only hesitated for a moment before taking it and being pulled to her feet. He watched in idle amusement as her face twisted into a pout as she brushed some non-existent dirt off herself.

Her pout didn't fade as she spoke, "One day I'll kick your ass, Nameless wonder."

He only grabbed his chin, nodding as if he agreed with her. "Well, it is good to have goals." He ignored the new twitch from the serpentine kunoichi before looking back to the dumbfounded team seven. "The hell are you looking at?"

Sakura only looked between Nanashi and Anko before turning to Naruto, raising her eyebrow in the process. "Naruto, do you actually know any normal people?"

"Psh, where's the fun in that?" Naruto response was tinged with amusement, his large grin betraying his views on the show.

"I resent that cotton candy! Don't make me bring out those cobras that were so fond of you and your little boyfriend." Anko snarled, turning a glare on the girl. Sakura squeaked and even took a few steps back, holding up her hands as if to ward off Anko's slithery little friends.

Nanashi raised an eyebrow but didn't respond to Anko's comment, though he had to admit that he was curious. "Besides, being 'normal' is so boring, Haruno-san. After all, I can't imagine life without the voices in my head..." Even Anko turned her head at that comment and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Just screwing with you." A slight pause, "Or am I?"

Sakura only blinked before asking, "You know who I am?"

Nanashi only gave a nod. "I know everything. Well, not really, but enough to probably creep you out." Sakura looked like she was about to say something but Nanashi only held up his hand, cutting her off. "Trust me, Haruno-san, Uchiha, you're better off not knowing."

Naruto only grinned before speaking up, as if seeing Nanashi in a new light. "Whatever you say, Nanashi-san. Though, I never thought I'd see someone take the crazy bitch down a peg."

"Brat!" Anko glared at the boy before reaching for a kunai and throwing it at him half-heartedly. Of course, half-heartedly for someone like Anko was pretty damn deadly for a genin and Naruto glared back as he raised his hand to cover the deep scratch that the kunai had made against his cheek.

Nanashi only chuckled, taking his original seat against a tree before speaking up, "I'm a man of many talents, kid. Though, from what you showed me earlier, you're on your way as well."

Naruto only rolled his eyes. "Psh, those ones were easy. I had them down in a few weeks after I finished the water walking thingie you taught me. The ones psycho-bitch taught me were tons better!"

Nanashi only considered this before slowly turning his head to look at Anko with a wary expression beneath his mask. "Is that so?"

Did she just blush? Nanashi wondered silently as Anko seemed to scratch the back of her head with a sheepish grin. "Long story. I'll tell ya over drinks later. But I've taught the kid a few tricks, so to speak."

"Check this one out!" The younger blond seemed beside himself as his fingers formed into a single seal. One that Nanashi was far too familiar with. He looked on in surprise as the boy shouted out, "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" A trio of shadow clones popped into existence behind the boy, all of them holding their hands in the same seal as their creator. Four identical grins shot back at the elder blond. "What do you think?"

Nanashi only blinked a few times, a loss for words appearing. Wait, Anko taught him that? Does that mean... Oh crap, he never stole the forbidden scroll, did he? Does that mean he doesn't know about the fox? He noticed that everyone was watching him and forced his thoughts away, determined to have a chat with the Sandaime later about what else might have changed from what he remembered. He turned to Anko and raised an eyebrow. "Kage bunshin? You taught a genin a kinjutsu?"

Anko only grinned, the sliver of pride that she allowed herself for being able to teach an idiot like Naruto a kinjutsu in only a matter of hours. Even the Sandaime had praised her for it, after yelling at her for teaching a kinjutsu to an academy student. Tch, with the fox in him, I doubt it'll ever cause him problems anyway."Actually, I taught him that one when he was still in the academy. Kid used it to pass the genin exams. Apparently scared the piss out of that sensei of his." She looked to nod off in thought for a moment before her lips twisted into a sadistic grin. "Such a fun man to tease."

The four Narutos all pointed at her in unison, speaking in one loud voice. "Damn psycho! Leave Iruka-sensei alone!"

Nanashi looked at her for a moment before chuckling. "I suppose I should say something about the recklessness of teaching a child that, but he can probably handle that one without hurting himself too bad." Anko's face turned away at that comment and Nanashi felt a cold shiver go down his spine. "Anko, what did you do?" His tone betrayed the nervousness that her reaction was provoking.

Naruto only grinned, highly enjoying the discomfort on his sometime sensei's face. With a simple mental command, the three clones behind him scattered into the distance before exploding in a burst of chakra enhanced flames, the sound echoing in the clearing as the others instinctively dove for cover. He looked over his shoulder and grimaced when he saw exactly how much damage he had done. When he turned back, he was met by three glares and one shocked pair of blue eyes. "Eh heh heh... maybe that was a bit too much chakra?"

Nanashi only blinked a few more times. Bunshin Daibakuha? How? As far as I know, only Itachi used that jutsu before I figured it out. Even then, the feedback hurts like a bitch. "Anko, you..." Anko visibly flinched at the man's tone as he seemed to struggle to find words. "You taught someone who wasn't even a genin yet THAT jutsu? Are you completely insane?" He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm himself. His earlier thought then struck him again, "How the hell do you even know that jutsu? Last time I checked, the only person who uses that, besides me, went rogue a long time ago."

The visibly worried expression shifted so fast that Nanashi had to blink to make sure he wasn't imagining the mad grin on the woman's face. "I saw weasel-boy do it once on a mission when I was still in the mask corps. Been trying to reverse engineer it ever since. Only got it down a few months ago." She paused before smirking, "and he had already been a genin for a few months when I taught him that. You should've saw that prick Kakashi's face, er, eyes. Looked like he was going to shit himself."

"And it worked well enough on that eyebrow-less freak Zabuza! He never expected me to go kamikaze on him. Off course, it was just a henged clone but he didn't know that." Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances before a smug smirk appeared on both of their faces. It had been the only time the two of them had really cooperated on anything. Makes all of Kakashi-sensei's lectures on teamwork mean a little more, doesn't it? Naruto only grinned before turning back to the two special jounin.

"I still can't believe you taught it to a kid." Disbelief was clear in his voice, and Nanashi was glad to see that from Sasuke and Sakura's expressions, he wasn't the only one who thought that Anko had done something incredibly stupid. He watched as the woman lowered her head and mumbled something. "Come again?"

"The little shit blackmailed me." Her voice came out in a pout as she leveled a glare on the younger blond, who only smiled back as if she were an old friend.

Nanashi only blinked before turning a gaze on the younger blond who was smiling in glee. Without turning his gaze from the boy, he asked, "Do I even want to know what may constitute blackmail against YOU of all people?" He only sighs before holding up a hand to stop Naruto from talking. "Whatever. Kid, just be careful with that one. In fact, don't use it unless you have to. The feedback is a bitch."

"I already gave the kid the lecture. And how I would do very nasty things to him if he didn't follow my rules." Anko said, a grin on her face as she watched three genin and one special jounin shudder in repressed fear.

Nanashi finally stretched his arms over his head, idly wondering when the hell team seven's lazy-ass sensei was going to show. Eh, whatever. He looked back to Naruto and gave an appreciative nod. "Anyway, good work on learning those without killing yourself. Maybe I should hunt down a few more for ya..." He noticed the eager gleam in both boys' eyes, and mentally made a note to start keeping watch on Sasuke. Sakura only looked annoyed at being ignored in favor of Naruto again. Anko seemed just as eager as the boys, and even... predatory. Creepy...Nanashi chuckled at the boys' eager expressions but then shook his head. "Then again, I probably shouldn't. I don't want Kakashi accusing me of stealing his student." He caught Anko's eye but only for a moment. He cursed himself for doing so. Damn it... now she's going to be curious.

"Ano... Nanashi-san?" All eyes turned to Sakura and the girl blushed slightly before asking, "How do you know Naruto? He told us that Anko-san was helping him learn a few jutsu, but how did you meet him?"

Nanashi looked at her thoughtfully. Leave it to Sakura to be the inquisitive one. "Eh, we share a love of ramen. He lives in my apartment building as well. Well, when I'm in the village at least." He scratched his chin beneath his mask before continuing, "I told him the basics of water walking before I went on a training trip, and made a bet that if he could learn it that I'd teach him a few jutsu. He didn't actually master the skill before I left, but from what I was told, he was close enough to warrant me leaving him a scroll."

"So you're a ninjutsu specialist?" This question was the first direct question from the Uchiha.

Nanashi merely stared at him, eyes blank and ignoring the odd looks he was receiving. Finally he spoke, the friendly tone gone and replaced by one that Anko recognized to be similar to the one he used when speaking to the council that day. "Actually, my specialty lies... elsewhere, but I am quite good when it comes to ninjutsu."

Anko only smirked at that comment, prompting confused looks from the genin. "'Quite good' my fishnet wearing ass!"

"You wear fishnet on your ass?" There was a quick slap that sent Naruto the ground, Anko not even looking at his destruction.

"Shut up, brat." She then grinned at Nanashi, "You weren't this humble before you left, Nameless wonder. Make the little brats shit themselves."

Nanashi looked back to the somewhat insane woman with a grin. "That a challenge, psycho?"

"First round of drinks if you can impress all three genin, me AND it isn't a jutsu I've seen before." She offered, a saccharine smile on her face.

Nanashi snorted as he rolled his eyes, "If you're trying to mooch more jutsu off me, you could just ask. I take it that you somehow convinced the kid to let you see that scroll? I bet you never even finished with the scroll I gave you."

She only smirked. "Of course. After all, I had to make sure it was worth the brat's time." She paused for a moment before glaring at him, her mood change sudden. "And I so did finish with that scroll." Her lips curled into a thin smirk as he hands formed the first seal in a sequence that Nanashi knew well. "Want to see, shitstain?"

He only chuckled in response. "I'll pass. Besides, I don't think Kakashi would appreciate you blowing up his students. Right, Copycat?" Nanashi looked over his shoulder with a smirk, having finally sensed the man's approach. The genin blinked as they followed his gaze to stare at their sensei, who was walking towards them lazily, usual book in hand.

There was only a slight pause before both Sakura and Naruto yelled, pointing at the man simultaneously. "You're late!"

Kakashi nodded, not even bothering to look away from his ever-present copy of Icha Icha. "Well, there was a puppy that was stuck in a garbage can. I had to dig the poor thing out and bring it to the vet."

"Liar!"

Kakashi only grinned, his eye curving into a crescent shape before he took notice of the unusual guests. "Ah, Anko-san. Nanashi-san. I didn't realize you had returned, Nanashi-san."

Nanashi only shrugged. "Only got back this morning. Your students stumbled upon one of my training routines. You might want to keep a close watch on them if any of them pick up some razor wire in the future. I don't want to be blamed for some genin cutting himself to ribbons because of what they saw."

"From what I've heard of your training routines, even some chuunin would need trips to the hospital." Kakashi deadpanned.

Nanashi shrugged, seeing no reason to defend himself, or his methods. An enlightened look came to his eyes as he snapped his fingers. "Ah!" Those present watched in confusion as the man reached into one of the inner pockets of his trenchcoat and removed a familiar book that caused the genin to pale and lose whatever respect they may have had for the Fuinjutsu master previously. "Ran across the author. Picked up an autographed copy for ya." He tossed the book to Kakashi who caught it with what could only be described as perverted glee.

The man simply giggled as he replaced his book with the new and improved version. "I owe you one then."

Nanashi smirked. "I'll hold you to that, perverted bastard."

"Okay guys, let's go. Hokage-sama's got a mission lined up for us." Kakashi drawled to his team, not removing his eye from the book in his hands. The man didn't acknowledge Nanashi's words, but did tuck his older book into his vest pocket as he led the genin away. Only Naruto waved goodbye to the two special jounin, the other two simply following Kakashi.

Once the genin were finally gone, Anko turned to Nanashi. With a raised eyebrow, she asked "So what's the real reason that you didn't want to show those kids any jutsu?"

He shrugged before speaking, "Because of the Uchiha." Seeing her confused expression, he elaborated, "Uchiha are known for mental instability. I'd rather not contribute to that if I can help it. Kami knows that Konoha doesn't need another insane Uchiha." It wasn't true, but it was convincing enough for Anko to accept. "So how have things been? Anything interesting go on while I was gone?"

Anko accepted the topic change in stride. "Fucking boring as hell, other than the brat, actually. Man, have I got stories." She cracked her neck to the side before giving him a very odd grin, with a gleam in her eyes that seemed almost predatory. "For now though, you up for a real spar? Both toothpick and 'Nai-chan are on missions and you're the only other one in the village with a set of balls."

"I'm sure Kurenai-san would be flattered by your assumption about her genitalia." The words left his mouth in a dry tone before he could even think about what he was saying. Afterwards, they sunk in and caused him to shiver uncontrollably. Bad mental image. Get it out. Get it out!

The woman only chuckled before speaking again, "Aw, shaddup and fight, fuckface." Nanashi only chuckled before the two jumped away from each other, each setting themselves into an attack stance.

Thus began the true reunion of two of Konoha's most troublesome special jounin.

-/-/-/

Nanashi sighed in relief as he pulled off another drag of his smoke. He and Anko were lying on their backs, relaxing as the clouds drifted by. "That shit will kill ya."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Meh, you really think either of us will long enough for it to really be an issue?"

"Point taken. So, what's the damage?"

"You need to work on chaining your ninjutsu in better when you go short range. You have a tendency to restrict yourself from using elemental techniques when you're in arms reach, instead insisting on either hand to hand directly or your serpents. You need to work on your inner guard too. You also get frustrated too easily. But I can't say shit about that because I can be the same way sometimes."

Anko only frowned, also staring at the sky while she attempted to hide the worst of her injuries from her far too observant comrade. "Nice move with the short grapple, but you still telegraph your ninjutsu. At least mix it up and throw some Katon and Doton into the mix. Or do you simply not know any?" She threw out the barb with a slight grin as she turned in his direction. "Though that was a kick ass move when you combined those Raiton and Suiton techniques."

Nanashi chuckled at that. It seems that Ero-sennin's routines still work. "I have bad memories of Katon jutsu and I don't really know any useful Doton." He took another drag and exhaled slowly, watching the smoke float into the air above him. "You still have one hell of a right hook, you know that?"

"Aw, you know just what to say to a girl." Anko said in slight amusement before her grin faded, wincing slightly as she could feel a nasty bruise forming where he had struck her in the kidney. "Damn, feels like you broke my damn ribs."

"I figured you liked it rough."

"Fuck you."

"Is that an offer?" Nanashi deadpanned, fighting to not let his amusement show. He was rewarded by a hard dig on his shoulder and he couldn't help but wince. "Fine, fine." He paused for a moment before turning his head to meet her gaze. "You know, you really have improved."

She snarled at him, "You've got balls saying that when I can barely touch you now."

"Hey, I'm trying to be serious here. It seems the theory I had about that detestable seal was right. It stunted your growth and now that it's gone, hell, I bet you could give Kakashi a run for his Icha Icha."

Anko remained silent at that, considering the man's words. He does have a point. I didn't really start seeing the sort of drastic jumps until after he pulled that seal off me. I guess I just didn't notice it until I did actual training and not just missions. Hell, I haven't seen jumps like that since... "Just what the hell did you do? No one grows that much in just a year." The question was honest and he could tell that she was really curious about it.

He didn't mind telling her about it, as it wasn't like it was a big secret. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and put it out on his wrist, ignoring the disgusted wince that Anko wore on her face as he did so. He flicked away the cigarette carelessly before answering, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

"What?"

"One of the secrets of the Yondaime Hokage's strength. Everything a shadow clone does or learns is returned to the user when it dispels. Technically, it's possible to get in a day's worth of training in an hour if your summon enough clones. Of course, it doesn't work for purely physical conditioning, but for working on reflexes, as well as refining and developing ninjutsu or other chakra techniques, it can't be beat." He paused for a moment, becoming somewhat disturbed by the look in her eyes. "Though most people probably couldn't handle it. It takes a significant amount of chakra to do in itself, and then the mental feedback can send you into a coma if you're not prepared for it."

Anko sat up at that, looking at him with a visage of disbelief. "You've got to be shitting me. You did that for a full year?"

He shrugged, not seeing it worth sitting up. "Not all the time. I was running errands for old man Hokage while I was out there as well. Actually trained for about a month in Kumo while running a messenger gig for the Sandaime." He paused, thinking of the best way to describe his methods before letting out a sigh. "Besides, when you're out there on your own, with no missions and nothing to do, coming up with unique ways of pushing yourself to your limit becomes a sort of masochistic pleasure."

Anko looked as if she was about to ask him something else but the arrival of a new pair caught both special jounin's attention. Anko raised a hand in greeting to the two, but didn't say much. "Hey, toothpick, disease-boy."

"We do have names, Anko." Genma deadpanned, before his eyes traveled to the one laying on the ground next to her. "Well, well, well. I'll be damned. When the hell did you get back?"

Nanashi raised his legs up before flipping to his feet in a quick movement. He deliberately did not look at the kenjutsu specialist as he answered, "Sometime this morning."

Hayate coughed once before grinning that sickly grin of his. He looked just as pale as Nanashi remembered, and he couldn't help but wonder just what Hayate had, or if it was some sort of genetic thing. "'Bout time. No one has been able to keep Anko-san under control since you left."

"I resent that! You make me sound like some sort of out of control whack job."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... You guys suck balls."

It was then that Hayate asked another question, his eyebrow quirking upwards, "Nanashi, what happened to that sword I gave you?"

To his credit, the Fuinjutsu master didn't flinch, or even look bothered by the question at first. His smile, revealed to the world as he had removed his mask for his smoke, didn't shift in the slightest. It was only after a moment that the other three noticed the tensing of the man's legs as he raised a hand to rub the back of his head in what could only be embarrassment. "Heh, heh... Funny you should ask..."

Anko couldn't help but grin sadistically at the man's rising discomfort, especially as Hayate's eyes narrowed. "Nanashi, where is the sword?"

The man held out his hands, as if trying to stop predictable violence. "It's a funny story, really... I swear!" There was a long period of silence in which Nanashi seemed really nervous and Hayate's aura seemed to darken further. Finally, the blond bolted, a wisp of leaves and wind in his wake. Hayate didn't even hesitate, disappearing in a shunshin of his own, already in pursuit of the fleeing Nanashi. Anko couldn't help herself and didn't even bother to try to stop the bout of disturbing laughter that burst out of her mouth at the spectacle.

Genma merely watched his friend chase down the blond with a hint of amusement on his face. He shifted his senbon to the other side of his mouth before exchanging a look with the serpentine kunoichi. "Damn, and things were so quiet around here for once."

-/-/-/

"Ah, that hit the spot!" Naruto only smiled as the ramen stand owner chuckled at his compliment, but then again perhaps the fact that Naruto came there so often was a better one. Then again, old man Ichiraku probably doesn't realize that he's one of the few people who'll serve me. Oh well, doesn't make the ramen taste any worse. He was about to ask for another bowl of miso when someone settled into the seat next to him. It was smooth enough that he didn't even sense the man sit down before he spoke up, actually causing Naruto to jump.

"I'll take a bowl of miso, and put the kid's meal on my tab." Naruto blinked at Nanashi's offer before grinning a devilish smile that would send children running. Nanashi had to fight the urge to chuckle at the mischievous expression and he couldn't help but compare it to the woman who he had spent the afternoon sparring with. Perhaps Konoha's snake mistress is rubbing off on him more than he thinks."Hey kid."

The ramen stand owner looked confused for a moment before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Bowl of miso, coming up. But you sure you want to pay for Naruto's meal, here? Not sure if you know what you're getting into, shinobi-san."

"Hey!"

Nanashi only chuckled as he saw the cook's own grin at his younger self's outburst. "Yeah, don't worry. My wallet can handle his appetite."

"Your funeral pal." The cook said amusedly before turning back to his biggest customer. "So, what'll it be, Naruto?"

"Same as him." The man nodded before going off to prepare, what Naruto considered anyway, the meal of the kami. Naruto turned his seat to Nanashi with a grin. "So where have you been? Psycho-bitch said you were on a mission or something."

Nanashi only shrugged. "I took a little training trip. Travelled around running errands for old man Hokage while I was at it."

Naruto's eyes lit up in interest before asking, "So, where did you go?"

The ensuing conversation between bowls of ramen was the censored version of what Nanashi had done for the last year. He didn't mind talking about his training methods, or his techniques to the kid, but he did take care to avoid mentioning exactly what he was doing for the Sandaime. Not that he'll even notice. I had a horrible case of tunnel vision when it came to ninja life back then. The conversation eventually slipped back to Naruto and how he liked being a genin. Nanashi only chuckled when appropriate as Naruto complained about Kakashi being a lazy sensei, as well as Naruto's unique relationship with Anko. Heh, who would've thought that by giving her that scroll that this could've happened. I doubt he even knows about Kyuubi.

As Naruto finished up telling the climax of his mission to Wave, Nanashi nodded, finally coming to a decision. I'll probably get flack from a bunch of people, but then again, it's not like I really give a shit. It'll only help in the long run, especially if things still end up going to hell in a hand-basket. I should talk to old man Hokage about telling him about Kyuubi. He should know, especially if Kakashi-sensei still enters them in the exams. He didn't say anything as the two of them finished up their meals and Nanashi paid for both of them before following Naruto out. The two walked back towards their mutual apartment building, Naruto pestering him for another jutsu the entire way. Finally, when they reached the building, Nanashi placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Kid, there is something I want to discuss with you. Come to my place." Naruto looked confused but nodded, albeit hesitantly. Nanashi didn't have to try to puzzle that reaction out. He's suspicious. He probably should be, all things considered. No one ever invited me into their home before, at least for 'me'. Maybe that's changed this time around?

When they entered Nanashi's apartment, the older blond closed the door behind them before looking to his counterpart. "Water?"

"Sure..."

"Take a seat; make yourself comfortable." As Nanashi walked towards his kitchen, he watched Naruto take a seat on the couch, an odd expression present on the boy's face. When Nanashi returned, he handed the boy a cup of water before grabbing a chair and bringing it around so that he could face Naruto. "So, I bet you're wondering what the heck I wanted to talk about, right?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and answered with a cynical tone that the boy must have picked up from Anko, as Nanashi could never remember being such a smart-ass. I was more of an annoying stupid brat. "Gee, ya think?"

"Smart-ass..." Nanashi paused for a moment before speaking up, trying to find the right words. "Naruto, I wanted to make you an offer."

"Offer?"

"... Before I left for my training trip, I had considered taking you on as my apprentice once you graduated the academy." He held up a hand, forestalling the boy's shout, "obviously, however, I did not return in time in order to put forth that request to the Sandaime. Even then, I am not sure if the prospect would have been accepted. Apprenticeship in itself is rather rare, and... well, that's not important."

"Wait, so what does that mean?"

"It means that, in essence, I would be providing one on one training to you, rather than you being on team seven with your squad-mates and Kakashi. The number of missions you would go on, as well as their level, would be left to my discretion, and a bunch of other bureaucratic red tape that you don't really need to worry about." Nanashi let out a sigh at the boy's expression of wonderment. "Though in all, it might be for the best, this way."

Naruto's expression leveled, a thoughtful look coming to the boy's face. "Why?"

Nanashi shrugged. "All shinobi tend to work in teams on missions. It's good for you to get used to that while you're still young, before you form a lone wolf mentality. Besides, Kakashi may be a lazy bastard when it comes to teaching, but you can't ask for a better squad leader."

"Oh." Naruto took a sip of water, considering the man's points. Well, I guess that's true. He was able to protect us from Zabuza and did show us some of what he can really do when we were in Wave... A thought came to Naruto, remembering what his host had said before. "So... what's this offer you mentioned?"

There was a long period of silence before the man answered. "I know that Kakashi probably isn't training you as well as he should be, but it's not my place to really say anything. I have no intentions of replacing him as your sensei but I was wondering if you would like some one-to-one tutoring, in a sense. My assessment of you hasn't changed from that time I showed you the water walking skill, Naruto. I think you have enormous potential and would like to help you harness that."

Naruto's face lit up with a grin that could've blinded someone. "Hell yeah! Oh, you're so on, Nanashi-san!"

Nanashi only shook his head, mildly amused. "Just Nanashi, kid." His eyes went serious before he spoke up again, "I'm not gonna lie, Naruto. If you want me to train you on the side, it will be difficult. Anko said that she put you through the paces when she got bored, but I assure you that will be nothing compared to what I put you through."

Naruto flinched visibly at that, obviously recalling some of his experiences with the purple-haired special jounin. After a few moments, the blond spoke up. "If I accept, what will you teach me?"

A good question, Nanashi thought to himself, raising his hand to his masked face to think. I won't be able to teach him any complicated Fuinjutsu for the time being, but I suppose I could work with him on the basics of tag making and chakra control. Damn, I'll have to talk to Anko and find out what she's actually taught him. "For now, I'll probably work on refining your taijutsu and chakra control. Once I get a handle on what you can do... well, we'll see. Probably help you develop some more ninjutsu that suit your needs, keep pushing on your taijutsu until your body begins moving like a well-oiled machine, maybe even work the other skills a shinobi needs, like information gathering and infiltration. If you're interested, one day I'll begin teaching you the basics of my specialty."

"What's that?"

"Fuinjutsu." Seeing the boy's confused expression, Nanashi only sighed. "I'm probably Konoha's top Fuinjutsu specialist, but it is a very esoteric field of ninjutsu. Don't worry about it kid, if you accept my offer, I'm sure I'll talk your ear off about it."

Naruto nodded, apparently willing to accept that answer. The boy's seemed to be considering things before a frown appeared. He finally looked at Nanashi with suspicion in his eyes before asking in an even tone. "What do you get out of this?" Nanashi blinked at the harsh question in surprise. "I'm not stupid. What you're offering is going to be taking a lot of time off of your hands and I doubt Kakashi-sensei will appreciate it. What's your angle here?"

Heh, there's the paranoia that I heard about Anko developing. "Like I said, you've got potential, kid. I'd like to help that along. As for my reasons, well, let's just say that they're there. Maybe one day I'll actually tell you about them. I do promise you, however, that they are not in bad taste towards you or any of your friends in any way, shape, or form." Nanashi paused, letting his words sink in, before asking again. "So, are you in, or out?"

Naruto closed his eyes in what appeared like deep thought. After a few moments, the boy opened his eyes to meet those of his older counterpart. His lips slowly twisted into a feral grin before asking, "When do we start?"

Nanashi grinned in an identical fashion beneath his mask. "Right now."

-/-/-/

"Again!" Naruto instantly obeyed the order, his hands twisting into seals before locking on the final seal in the sequence. Nanashi smirked as the boy yelled out the jutsu's name, already preparing a few kunai.

"Fuuton: Shearing Wind Shield!" Nanashi watched as the winds began whipping around the boy like a pack of angry wolves and knew that Naruto wouldn't be able to hold the technique for long. He quickly threw the kunai at the boy, only smirking beneath his mask as the blades impacted against the shield. The Shearing Wind Shield was actually a more advanced version of the simple Kaze no Tate. Nanashi had developed the advanced during the war, much to a number of Oto Jounin's chagrin. Once he fully mastered it, it became a pastime of sorts for him to unleash it when surrounded by unsuspecting enemies and simply watch as the 'defensive' technique tore them to chunks. He watched as the thrown kunai were literally sliced apart by the mad chakra-infused winds. Bits and pieces of the weapons were sent flying as the technique finally dispersed, leaving a panting Naruto at the technique's center. There were numerous groves in the ground around the boy, roughly in a circle, from the boy's repeated use of the new skill that Nanashi was teaching him.

"Good work. Take a breather for now. We'll start up again on your taijutsu once you've recovered." Naruto merely fell backwards at the man's words, staring up at the sky and breathing hard. Nanashi sighed before looking upwards into the cloudy sky as well, his thoughts drifting. He had been back in Konoha for roughly a few weeks and he had somehow settled into some sort of routine. He would wake up early, train for most of the morning and early afternoon, provided that the old man didn't have a mission for him, before eventually meeting with Nartuo much later in the afternoon. There were exceptions of course, such as when the either of them had missions that were taking longer than expected, or if Nanashi got sidetracked on something.

"Does Kakashi know you're running his student into the ground?" A concerned feminine voice echoed at the edges of his senses. Nanashi merely shrugged before looking over his shoulder to see the crimson-eyed illusionist. Although her voice was obvious with concern for the genin that Nanashi was working to the point of sheer exhaustion.

"Good evening, Kurenai-san." He paused for a moment, his eyes drifting back to the genin. "Eh, I doubt it, unless Naruto's mentioned it to him."

Kurenai rolled her eyes at the man's nonchalance when avoiding the true intent of her question before replying, "Allow me to clarify: isn't this a bit much?"

"Meh, the kid can take it." He then considered the clearly exhausted young man before chuckling, "Though, you're probably right, at least for tonight. Hey Kid!" When he noticed that he had Naruto's attention, Nanashi grinned beneath his mask. "Let's call it a night. Take a look at that scroll I gave you the other day, but just rest tonight. I'll explain the details of it to you tomorrow. Don't try it out on your own; I'd prefer that the building we live in remain intact for the time being. Go have some Ichiraku's. Tell old man Ichiraku to put your meal on my tab."

Naruto nodded, a fresh grin covering his face as the boy all but leaped to his feet, despite his exhaustion, at the mention of the savory noodles and broth. With a wave the boy sped off, causing both Nanashi and Kurenai to blink in surprise. The woman merely sighed before commenting in amusement, "Perhaps I spoke too soon."

Nanashi shrugged, taking off his mask as he pulled out a cigarette. "Maa... he's a growing boy." He ignored the glare from the woman as he lit the cancer stick with a flash of chakra from his finger before taking a long drag. After he exhaled, he turned to her, lowering the smoke casually. "So what's up? Need me to watch your brats again?"

Despite the offensive cigarette, Kurenai found herself chuckling. "I'm afraid not. Though, you may be glad to know that Kiba still flinches at the mention of your name."

Nanashi chuckled at the remark. "Glad to see I haven't lost my touch." He noticed her stare at his smoke before replying, "Stop glaring at me like that. I'm trying to cut back, but it takes time."

Kurenai frowned before shaking her head. "I came to ask you for some advice." That prompted a raised eyebrow from the Yondaime Hokage look-alike and Kurenai felt the need to clarify. "The Chuunin exam is coming up in a month or so and I plan on entering my team. I should be intensifying their training but I'm not exactly sure of the best way to do so."

It took all of Nanashi's willpower to not show any sign of emotion when she mentioned the Chuunin exams. Finally, after dicking around since I got here, it's all about to come to a head. I can't wait to see that snake's expression when he realizes that he's never going to see his meticulous plan to assassinate the old man come to fruition, right before I tear his fucking head will all end in the forest of death and then the present will right itself. Then... He shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts, trying to put on a thoughtful expression as if were considering her question.

Nanashi took a drag, idly thinking about the turn of events. A few times since he'd been back he covered for Kurenai and Asuma when they couldn't meet their team for one reason or another. Of course, Nanashi took this as an open invitation to train his old friends, though judging from the way Kurenai described Kiba's reaction to him, it wasn't always appreciated. Oddly enough, Ino-chan seemed quite happy to be worked into the ground. Though I think I've been placed on Shikamaru's death must have been even lazier than Ino-chan used to describe. He took another drag, enjoying the feeling he felt from the nicotine entering his bloodstream before asking, "Why me? Not that I don't appreciate the consideration, but you know your students' capabilities better than I do."

Kurenai only rolled her eyes. "Would you rather I ask Anko?"

"Point taken." He took another drag and thought about it. "Well, I would say work on their chakra control and genjutsu, as that is your specialty. However, none of them really seem like the genjutsu-type." He shook his head for a moment, trying to put on the appearance of not knowing that much about her team. After all, he had served with them for years, and knew full well where their future strengths would lie. "Damn, that's tough. They're all from big clans too, so they're probably already begun focusing on their clan's hijutsu."Be careful here. Don't give too much away, just try to make it sound like educated guesses.

Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Yes, and that's something I've been trying to break them out of but it's an uphill battle. I imagine Hinata would be willing to learn more but... never mind."

"You're afraid of what her clan will do to her if she starts using non-Hyuuga techniques." Nanashi finished the woman's thought, ignoring the kunoichi's look of surprise. When he caught her glance, he mentally cursed but remained calm, letting out what looked like an annoyed sigh. "Come on Kurenai-san, give me a little credit. I've only been around your students a few times but I'm not blind. Knowing Hyuuga Hiashi's mindset also helps." He pat himself on the back for the quick save when he saw the expression in her eyes change, "Well, for the most part, Hinata's biggest problem is her confidence. Let me think about it for a bit and we'll come back to her." Another inhale and exhale. "For Kiba, you might want to get him to lay off the soldier pills so much. Chakra building and control exercises would be best for him. If he can get his chakra well to a level where he doesn't need to rely on those pills, it'll benefit him in the long run. Maybe help him learn some long range tactics as well, in case he can't close in on his enemies fast enough."

"And Shino?" Kurenai wasn't surprised that the man knew so much about her students and their problems. After all, he had an annoying tendency to know everything about everyone. Anko swore he was psychic or could read minds, but Kurenai simply believed that the man was far better connected than they realized. And from the bits and pieces he's let slip, he has the ear of Hokage-sama himself.

"Power. He needs to work on some power techniques. Draining an opponent's chakra is fine and good, but it's not always going to work fast enough. He needs a few ninjutsu that can do some serious damage if utilized correctly. His elemental affinity is Doton, so..."

Kurenai blinked. How the? "How do you know that? Did you give my team the test for elemental affinities last time you covered for me?"

Nanashi froze at that, cursing mentally as he thought of a lie to tell the woman. After a short moment, he tried to play it off, shrugging as he answered, "Most Aburame have Doton affinities, much like the Uchiha with Katon. I could be wrong, but it doesn't change that he'll need at least one fast and powerful attack ninjutsu that doesn't rely on his bugs. I doubt Suiton, Fuuton, or Katon will work well with his bugs so that leaves Doton and Raiton." He paused for a moment before adding, "I'd write up a scroll for you, but I don't typically use Doton and I think Hokage-sama would gut me if I gave any of my Raiton jutsu out to a genin."

Kurenai narrowed her eyes at him, obviously catching his lie but let it go. She had learned that pressed the enigmatic fuinjutsu master tended to go nowhere fast. "And what kind of jutsu are you teaching Uzumaki then?"

He shrugged. "I've only taught him defensive and distraction based jutsu. Not my fault that he found a way to turn a distraction jutsu into a decent attack. If Hokage-sama would gut me for giving out any of my Raiton jutsu to a genin then he would cut my balls off and hang me up by my entrails if I ever taught any of my Fuuton attack ninjutsu to the kid. Kid would probably end up tearing the training areas to shreds simply trying to get them to work."

"I see... I believe I have a Doton ninjutsu in mind that will suit Shino as you're described. What about Hinata?"

Nanashi frowned, never really considering the concept of training a Hyuuga. They were usually incredibly one-dimensional in terms of their abilities, with very little training on ninjutsu or genjutsu. The jyuuken was their pride and joy and they had no qualms about displaying that on the battlefield. Even Hinata from 'his' time had been the same, though she had pioneered many new ways to utilize the jyuuken, had refrained from using ninjutsu or genjutsu unless she had no other options. Some went into the medical field but those nin were few and far in-between. "Probably... the best thing for her would just to get more one-on-one fighting experience. Sparring with someone who could raise her confidence. I'd probably say sparring among the three kids but by now she's probably already got it in her head that they're going easy on her. Granted, she'd probably wipe the floor with them, but in her mind it'll only be because they're holding back on her."

Kurenai let out a sigh at that, grabbing the side of her head as if she had a slight headache. "You're probably right, on both counts. What am I going to do with that girl? So much potential..."

Nanashi finished off his smoke and dropped it to the ground, grinding it out with his boot. "Eh, the recommendation still stands. You know any other genin that'd be willing to spar with her. I mean, Gai's student Lee would probably be more than willing to fight someone besides his teammate, but considering how that kid is a taijutsu monster in training, he might break her."

Kurenai scoffed at that. "Neji seems to beat him just fine. He's weak against Jyuuken, I'm sure Hinata could beat him."

Nanashi only laughed at that. "If you start thinking that, then the next time you see that kid fight seriously he's going to blow your mind. I have no doubt that if Lee got serious he'd be able to tear chuunin apart, let alone a single genin." Seeing Kurenai's look of disbelief, he only shook his head. "You'll see what I mean when your team makes it to the final round. I'm sure Gai's students will be there."

Kurenai couldn't help but smirk at that. "Oh? So confident in my teaching skills?"

"More so than in Kakashi's or Asuma's."

"Point taken. I can't help but see that you excluded Gai from that."

"... Kurenai-san, have you seen the hell he puts those kids through on a daily basis?"

"... Right. Any other ideas for who Hinata could spar then?"

Should I? It's probably not my place but... "Well, I'm sure that Naruto would spar with her." He watched in amusement as Kurenai's eyebrow rose in disbelief. "Yeah, yeah, I know. The kid's growing though. He was actually much further along than I was expecting when I came back from my trip. Probably due to our mutual snake-summoning friend. Knowing the idiot, he probably doesn't even remember that she was in his class. She'll probably beat him around a good deal, which will be good for her confidence and it will deflate whatever ego the kid might be gaining from working with me. Rather have it get squashed for him prior to the exam than during it." And it'll introduce 'me' to Hinata on a real level sooner. Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen, but maybe this time... Stop thinking about it. He's not you. She's not her. If you start thinking otherwise again, you're going to drive yourself insane.

Kurenai frowned. Normally, I'd agree, as he doesn't have the personality to hurt Hinata's feelings, but with that crush of hers... "I'll think about it. Thanks for the advice, Nanashi-san." She then turned to leave before looking back over her shoulder. "Out of curiosity, why have you taken the time to train our genin? Those days that Asuma and I asked you to watch them, we only wanted you to tell them that missions and training were cancelled for the day. Yet you took it upon yourself to train them."

Nanashi only smirked as he pulled his mask back up his face. "I have high hopes for that generation. And I'll not say more than that. If you want me to stay away from your kids, just let me know. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries."

She only shook her head, mildly amused. "Don't worry about it. Oh, and the others and I are going drinking at Tatsuro's tonight. Anko told me to tell you that if you skip out she'll castrate you in your sleep."

He shook his head. "That insane woman..."

Kurenai had an evil gleam in her eye at that response. "She likes you. I think you should take her out."

Hmm, now doesn't this seem familiar? Nanashi remembered a similar conversation with Kurenai-sensei after he had returned from training with Jiraiya, what seemed like an eternity ago. He decided to not play into it this time; last time he had been as dense as a rock as to what she was insinuating. "We go out all the time. Hell, she still owes me money from the other night when I saved her from losing her clothes at that gambling house."

She only rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I meant."

He chuckled, "Aren't you a little old to be match-making?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Kurenai really, really, tried to say it with a straight face but it was just too much and the smile forced its way out.

He only shrugged, fighting the urge for another cigarette. "It's a form of hero worship that still hasn't worn off. I removed her seal, and she thinks more of me than she probably should because of it. In time, even that will fade. Besides, we're too much alike. We'd probably end up tearing each other's throats out before too long."

Kurenai only smirked, apparently glad that he had connected the dots and was no longer playing around with her. "If you say so. Ten o'clock at Tatsuro's."

He shrugged before turning to leave. He figured he could meet Naruto at the ramen stand before running a few other errands before meeting up with everyone else. "Whatever." Besides, he also still needed to talk to the Sandaime about telling Naruto his dark little secret. "Perhaps tomorrow will be the night then."

-/-/-/

"I think I'm going to put my name in to be a jounin-sensei next time the academy exams roll around."

Nanashi only stared at the woman, lowering his drink from being about to take a sip and placing it back on the counter. He rubbed the brim of his nose as he closed his eyes. Why me? "Dare I ask why?"

Anko merely grinned, enjoying the reactions from those around her as she explained herself. Most appeared to be horrified or just plain disturbed. "Well, granted I didn't work full time with the brat, but it was kinda fun. Figure it'd make my life a little more interesting at least." She paused, slamming back a shot of sake before continuing, "And I'd get to traumatize some more teenagers. It'll be fun!"

Nanashi only blinked a few times before looking to the others. They all had similar looks of disbelief on their faces. Strange enough, it was Kurenai would voiced everyone's thoughts. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that."

"Ditto." A chorus of voices agreed without hesitation.

"You guys suck!"

"All in favor of getting her drunk enough to not remember this idea of hers?"

"Aye."

"... I'm going to get you bastards... yes, even you 'Nai-chan."

Nanashi only chuckled as he took another sip of his drink, ducking his head to avoid the retaliatory response from the snake summoner. It's good to be back.

---

Well folks, I'm back. The Chuunin exams will be coming up soon (the beginning of which will probably start towards the end of the next chapter) and we'll see more of how Nanashi and Anko's 'tutoring' will affect Naruto's growth, as well as the rest of the rookie nine who come into contact with him. To those wanting a more concrete Anko/Nanashi relationship, all I can say is wait and see. I highly doubt that these two would form any coherent relationship, as one might call it. None of that flowers and fancy dinner shit. Neither of them would appreciate such a thing. Knowing the two as I've set them up, it would be plain to see that any relationship between the two is going to be awkward as hell(which will make it all the more fun if I actually decide to pair the two up.)

Thanks for all the positive reviews. As I've pretty much axed my other story, I'm hoping I can work on this one more. I already have a good chunk of the next chapter done, but after a small conversation with my beta about where I'm going with the story, I will probably retool some aspects of it. Here's hoping the next installment won't take as long for me to write. Thanks for reading.

Jutsu List:

Fuuton: Kaze no Tate: C - Rank defensive ninjutsu. A whirlwind surrounds the user for a few moments in order to deflect thrown weaponry. Strength is tied to the amount of chakra put into the technique.

Fuuton: Wind Backlash: D - Rank distraction technique. One of the basic techniques of wind maniuplation, generating a small breeze in a certain direction. Of course, Naruto, being Naruto, managed to turn this into an attack technique due to the over-abundant amount of chakra placed into the technique. Naruto's version probably ranks somewhere in the range of high D to low C rank attack.

Fuuton: Shearing Wind Shield: B- Rank wind ninjutsu. As stated in the story, it is a more advanced version of the simple Kaze no Tate with the capability of actually cutting things instead of just blowing them away.

Few more pretentious author notes (a.k.a. recommendations):

If you haven't read any of Case13's stuff on FFNet, I highly recommend doing so. He/She is writing some of the most unique and absolutely amazing Naruto stories, including The Art of the Deal, Livewire, and Operator. Also, an very well written AU-Bleach story, Stray Cat Strut (probably my favorite of Case13's works.)

And also, a huge kudos to J R LeDoux for being the person to finally continue DameWren's work in the universe of Two Halves and Twice Shy. I've said it before; I despise the Hinata/Naruto pairing with a passion. However, Two Halves was written so well in its day that it really didn't bother me. It truly is a shame that DameWren faded out of fanfiction after finishing Two Halves, but I'm glad to see that someone has finally risen to the plate to continue her work in the universe she's created.