I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Naruto woke up early in the morning before everyone else and decided to get him some training done since he hasn't trained in a few days. He worked on his chakra control and taijutsu skills, but he didn't really push himself like he normally does due to him being needed at the bridge later on. He returned to the house after a few hours and saw everyone was up already.
"So, everyone's ready I see." Naruto said
"Yup. We're totally going to kick some ass!" Natsumi said and gave Naruto a fist bump
"You better. Can't have you losing on your first mission out of the village. Don't worry though, I'll let the old man know you said I can become hokage for you." Naruto said
"What?! Hell no! I'm becoming hokage!" Natsumi said
"I don't know. Ruling over the village does seem interesting. I might decide to become hokage myself." Naruto said and she gasped
"You can't! You said you don't want to do it." Natsumi said
"I'm just kidding. I don't want to be stuck in some office all day." Naruto said and Natsumi sighed in relief
"Good. For a second I thought I'd have to kick your ass." Natsumi said
"It's not very ladylike to swear, Natsumi." Sakura said
"It's also not lady like to try and spy on Sasuke in the shower, you pervert." Natsumi said and Sakura blushed
"I wasn't!" Sakura said
"Right and I don't have a ramen addiction." Natsumi said
"Anyway, take care of yourself out there. Don't get too reckless." Naruto said
"I'm the future hokage. I can handle this." Natsumi said
"Well, Naruto. I'll leave them in your hands. Remember, once the coast is clear, meet us at the bridge to back us up if necessary." Kakashi said
"Sure." Naruto said
"Are you sure you're able to go? You're still recovering yourself." Tsunami said
"Why? Do I look like I'll fall over? I'll be fine. I just needed a few days to recover." Kakashi said
"Alright, come on. Let's go." Tazuna said and they left
"Come on, you two. Let's get inside." Naruto said
"Will they be okay?" Tsunami asked
"They'll be fine. Kakashi is an elite jonin, Natsumi is borderline low chunin level and the same with Sasuke." Naruto said
"What about Sakura?" Tsunami asked
"Well, if she screams loud enough I'm sure she can make somebody bleed from their eye, ears and nose." Naruto said
"That's not really reassuring." Tsunami said
"Yeah, I know. It can't be helped though. She doesn't like to train." Naruto said
"Do you train everyday?" Inari asked
"No. I train every other day. It's important to let your body take a break." Naruto said and Tsunami brought him some breakfast
"Here you go. I noticed you didn't eat this morning." Tsunami said
"Thank you. You're really kind." Naruto said
"You're welcome. Breakfast is important, so I can't have you missing out on it." Tsunami said
"I agree." Inari said and Naruto chuckled
"Tell me, Inari. Are you ready to become a hero and help free this place from Gato?" Naruto asked
"Me? A hero? I don't know." Inari said
"He's too young to be fighting." Tsunami said
"He doesn't have to. I know something that will work." Naruto said
"What do you have in mind?" Tsunami asked
"Simple, after I deal with our two guests that are about to arrive, you two should gather as much help as possible with anything they can use as a weapon and meet us at the bridge. Who knows, if we don't get to him first, you all may be able to get some hits in on Gato." Naruto said
"Do you think they'll help us?" Tsunami asked
"Of course. Just tell them that the Konoha ninja are fighting Gato and I'm sure they'll come to the bridge." Naruto said
"I'll see what we can do." Tsunami said
"What can we use as weapons? Gato and his goons took everything." Inari said
"Use whatever you can think of." Naruto said, as the door was literally cut to pieces revealing two men carrying swords and one had an eye patch while the other one had a purple hat on
"Well, what do we have here?" One of the men asked
"Well, we have three people trying to enjoy their day until you two fuckers decided to show up." Naruto said
"It was a rhetorical question!" The guy said
"I know, but I still felt like answering." Naruto said
"Enough. Should we take all three of them?" The guy asked
"No. Gato only wanted the daughter as his hostage." His partner answered
"So, you work for Gato? Tell me, are you two the only ones here?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. Now hand over the lady and I might decide to let you live." The one with the hat said
"Tsunami, would you like to go with them?" Naruto asked
"Of course not." Tsunami said and pulled Inari behind her
"There you have it boys. She doesn't want to go with you. Now, you have two options. Either leave and never come back or die." Naruto said
"You're just a kid. We can handle this." The guy with the eye patch said
"Tsunami, cover Inari's eyes. Inari, cover your ears." Naruto said
"Okay." Tsunami said and they did as told
"Now, let's have some fun." Naruto said
He kicked both of the intruders out of the house and unsealed his sword before following them. They got their swords out and started swinging wildly at Naruto who blocked or dodged every single swipe. Eventually they grew tired and Naruto went on the offensive. He appeared behind the one with the eyepatch and stabbed him in the back through his heart. The other one tried to attack Naruto from behind, but Naruto ducked and the guy with the eyepatch had his arm sliced off. Naruto kicked the guy in his knee which caused him to fall to the ground and then Naruto pinned him to the ground with multiple kunai and shuriken.
"W-What are you?" The guy asked
"A ninja. Why did Gato want Tsunami as a hostage?" Naruto asked
"I'm not telling you anything!" The guy said and Naruto stabbed him in both hands with a kunai making the guy scream
"I won't ask again. Now answer the question." Naruto said and activated his sharingan
"H-He wanted to use her as a hostage to make Tazuna hand himself over to kill him!" The guy said
"Are there more of you?" Naruto asked
"W-We were meant to meet the rest of them at the bridge! We were going to kill Tazuna then kill Zabuza and his helper!" The guy said
"What of the other women and little girls that I heard were kidnapped?" Naruto asked and the guy paled
"I-I don't know." The guy said and Naruto stabbed him in both knees
"You're lying." Naruto said
"Okay! We used them for sex! I didn't touch any of the kids! Gato did that! He only wanted the ones that were well developed!" The man said
"All of you are dead." Naruto said and removed his head from his shoulders then threw both bodies in the water
"Is it safe now?" Tsunami asked
"Yeah. You can come out here." Naruto said
"Where'd the two guys go?" Inari asked
"They decided to go for a swim. The rest of his goons are going to the bridge. Gather as many people as you can and meet me there. I have two weapons for you right here." Naruto said and gave them the swords
"Don't these belong to the bad guys?" Inari asked
"Well, before they went on their swim, they were kind enough to leave them behind. Now, I need to hurry up and get to the bridge." Naruto said and ran off
"He's fast." Inari said
"Come on, Inari. Let's go gather some people." Tsunami said
Bridge
Naruto made it to the bridge just in time to see Kakashi about to kill Zabuza, Sasuke was out for the count, Sakura was guarding Tazuna with a kunai in each hand and Natsumi was staring at the body that laid next to Kakashi. Naruto saw Kakashi about to use his infamous Chidori on Zabuza and knew he wouldn't make it in time so he used his Mangekyou sharingan and switched places with Kakashi.
"What the? Who are you?" Zabuza asked
"Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura asked
"I need Zabuza to know something." Naruto said
"What is it?" Zabuza asked
"Gato was going to betray you after this fight. Him and his people are already here." Naruto said and then clapping was heard
"Well, well. Look at this. Seems like they've done quite a job on you, Zabuza. You look like yesterday's sashimi. I must say that I'm disappointed." A short man said and had an army behind him
"What is the meaning of this, Gato? Who are these people behind you?" Zabuza asked
"He's here to betray you. Whatever he promised you at the end of this, he wasn't going to pay you." Naruto said and healed Zabuza's arms a bit so he could use his sword
"He's right. You've become too expensive for me and you'll die right here on this bridge, Zabuza. Of course even these thugs cost something, so if you could manage to slaughter a few before you die, I'd appreciate it. Think you can do that, Demon of the Mist? Look at you, you're about as demonic as a wet kitten." Gato said and his goons laughed
"There's so many of them." Natsumi thought
"Well, well, Kakashi. It would seem that our fight is at an end. Since I am no longer in Gato's employ, Tazuna is safe. We have no quarrel." Zabuza said and picked up his sword
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Kakashi said and Gato walked over the body on the ground
"That reminds me, you little punk. You grabbed me and nearly broke my arm! I've been meaning to repay you for that." Gato said and kicked the body
"Haku!" Natsumi said and started to run towards him, but Naruto stopped her
"Wait." Naruto said
"What are you doing?!" Natsumi said
"Just wait a bit longer. Gato will get what's coming to him." Naruto said and she nodded
"If only you were still alive. That would have been even better." Gato said and kicked Haku again
"Boy!" Zabuza said
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"Help me take these fuckers down." Zabuza said and Naruto unsealed his sword
"Sure." Naruto said
"Nice sword." Zabuza said
"Thanks." Naruto said and threw a kunai into Gato's shoulder
"Ahhh! Kill them!" Gato said and retreated behind his goons
Naruto looked at Zabuza who nodded at him and they charged into the army of goons. Naruto easily avoided every attack coming towards him thanks to his sharingan and he would cut them down with ease. Zabuza was different since he was headed straight for Gato tearing down everyone that got in his way. Gato tried to escape, but he was at the edge of the bridge that wasn't completed yet and was shaking in fear as Naruto and Zabuza got closer to him. Zabuza had multiple weapons stabbed into his back, but he ignored them and when he finally reached Gato, he stabbed him right through the stomach and then kicked him into the water before collapsing on the ground.
"Is he dead?" Natsumi asked
"No. He's still fighting it. When you live like a warrior, this is how it ends." Kakashi said
"Hey, Natsumi! Look! Sasuke's alright!" Sakura said and Sasuke gave her a slight wave
"Well, well, will wonders never cease? Amazing." Kakashi said
"Hey! Don't get too comfortable. This party ain't over yet. Who's gonna pay us now that Gato's gone?" A goon asked
"No way we're gonna leave here empty handed. We'll just have to hit that village and see what they've got for us." Another goon said
"That's not good." Kakashi said
"They won't be leaving this bridge." Naruto said and then an arrow landed in front of them
"There's just one thing you're forgetting about. Before you set one foot in our village, you'll have to go through all of us!" A villager said as Inari showed up with a lot of people
"I see you made it, Inari." Naruto said
"Well, heroes show up at the last minute, you know?" Inari asked
"They've all come. The whole village." Tazuna said
Shadow clone jutsu
Naruto, Kakashi and Natsumi each made their own army of shadow clones and Gato's army of goons grew scared. They all started to scamble and jumped off the bridge hoping to get to the boats for an escape, but Naruto used the electromagnetic murder on the water and killed them.
"VICTORY." Inari yelled and everyone cheered
"Sounds like it's over." Zabuza said, as Kakashi walked over to him
"Yeah." Kakashi said
"Kakashi? I have a favor to ask." Zabuza said
"What is it?" Kakashi asked
"Take me to him. I need to see him one last time before I go." Zabuza said
"Sure." Kakashi said and took the weapons out of his back before placing him next to Haku
"Hey, it's snowing." Natsumi said, as snow was falling
"Thank you, Kakashi." Zabuza said, as Kakashi placed him on the ground
"Naruto, shouldn't you try to heal him?" Natsumi asked
"No. For someone like Zabuza, healing him would be a slap to the face. He wanted a warrior's death and who am I to take that from him? This was his final act as the demon of the mist." Naruto said
"Haku, you were always by my side. The least I can do is be beside you at the end. I know it won't happen, but I wish I could go where you're going. Hey, kid." Zabuza said
"Yeah?" Naruto asked
"Not you, the redhead." Zabuza said
"Me? What do you want from me?" Natsumi asked
"During the week I was recovering, Haku couldn't stop talking about this girl he met in the woods. He knows you're a good person and ever since I met him, I've always gone against his word, but just this once I'll listen to him. He had a feeling that this would be our final days and asked for you to have something. I want you to take my sword and continue its legacy. Go on and pick it up." Zabuza said and Natsumi looked at Naruto
"Go ahead." Naruto said and Natsumi went to the sword then picked it up with ease
"Now what, Zabuza?" Natsumi asked and everyone looked at Zabuza who was no longer breathing with a smile on his face
"Come on. Let's make a grave sight for them." Tazuna said
Few days later
After the events of the bridge, Tazuna and his crew dug a grave for Zabuza and Haku. The gravestone was in the shape of Zabuza's sword and had Haku's mask carved into the center of the blade. Natsumi made sure to visit the grave everyday out of respect since she didn't know when she'd be back. Naruto, over the past few days, was helping rebuild the village as he managed to find Gato's hideout and retrieved all of the money and people he had taken. Naruto and Zabuza were given a statue with both of them holding their swords over their shoulders.
"We could have never finished the bridge without you. I can't tell you how much we're going to miss you." Tazuna said, as everyone was gathered at the completed bridge
"Please be careful." Tsunami said
"For your help getting our village from underneath the tyranny of Gato, we've decided to call this the hero bridge and honor every single one of you. Zabuza and Haku will also be honored as well." Tazuna said
"Thank you for everything." Kakashi said
"Bye Naruto!" A group of girls said and Naruto scratched the back of his head
"Bye girls." Naruto said and the girls squealed
"He said bye to me!"
"No, he was talking to me!"
"As if! He clearly made eye contact with me!"
"Well, would you look at that? Naruto has a group of fangirls." Natsumi said and elbowed Naruto in the side
"You're one to talk. I've seen you hiding from the group of fanboys following you around." Naruto said and she shivered
"This must be how Sasuke feels." Natsumi said
"I doubt it. He loves the attention." Naruto said
"NARUTO, NATSUMI. COME ON." Sakura said, as they already started walking
"Those motherfuckers didn't even bother to wait for us!" Natsumi said
"Well, look at it like this. The sooner you make it to Konoha, the sooner you can see whoever it is you have a crush on." Naruto said and Natsumi had a huge blush on her face
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Natsumi said
"If you say so." Naruto said
"Wait a minute. At least I have interest in somebody! You don't even look at girls!" Natsumi said
"I look at girls. I just don't do it a lot." Naruto said
"Oh really? Name one girl that you've looked at in Konoha." Natsumi said
"Ino." Naruto said
"She doesn't count. You two are basically best friends." Natsumi said
"This was before we became friends." Naruto said
"Oh? You were thinking about dating her?" Natsumi asked
"I was, but then I lost interest in her." Naruto said
"Are you calling her ugly?" Natsumi said
"What? No. Ino is very pretty, but she's just not the one for me I guess you can say. Besides, on my missions I've run into plenty of attractive girls." Naruto said
"I don't understand why they even bother. It's not like you'll actually pay attention to them." Natsumi said
"That's not true. I went on a date with one of them from my recent mission. I even took my mask off to eat." Naruto said
"You went on a date?! With who?! What's her name?!" Natsumi asked
"Will you be quiet?" Naruto asked
"Sorry, but who is she?" Natsumi asked
"You'll find out in a few months. She's going to be taking the chunin exams." Naruto said
"Aww come one. Just give me one little detail." Natsumi said
"No. In some ways you're just like Ino when it comes to gossip. The last thing I need is the council getting involved trying to do some stupid political marriage due to her status in her village. Plus we don't even know if we'll actually date each other, so just keep quiet." Naruto said
"Fine." Natsumi said, as they caught up with the rest of the team
"What were the two of you talking about?" Sakura asked
"We were talking about how long it takes you to wash your big ass forehead, Pinky." Natsumi said
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TOMATO HEAD?" Sakura yelled
"YOU FUCKING HEARD ME." Natsumi yelled
"Will these two just get along already?" Kakashi thought and then felt somebody tap him on the shoulder
"Hm? Can I help you?" Kakashi asked
"Yeah. I'm out of books. Got anything for me to read?" Naruto asked
"I don't think my books are meant for someone your age." Kakashi said
"Well, technically I'm an adult." Naruto said
"Just don't let Kurenai see you with this." Kakashi said and gave him one of his Icha Icha books
"Who the hell wrote this?" Naruto asked as he was reading it
"Jiraiya of the Sannin. It's pretty good, right?" Kakashi asked and Naruto threw the book at him
"I've read children's books better written than that crap." Naruto said
"First he asks me for a book and then he insults it." Kakashi thought
"So, Naruto. Let me ask you something." Sakura said
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"Will you ever remove the mask? I mean it's not fair that Natsumi is the only person who saw you without it on." Sakura said
"She's not the only person to see me without my mask on, but to answer your question, I'll be removing my mask soon." Naruto said
"Why do you wear it anyway?" Sakura asked
"So people won't recognize who my father is. The reason I can't show you specifically is because you're too smart and you'll figure out who my father is then tell Ino who can't keep a secret to save her life." Naruto said
"What does your father have to do with this?" Sakura asked
"Let's just say he still has enemies from the third shinobi war even though he's dead and they'd do anything to get back at him, including killing his children. I could take it off now, but I'd rather be able to take on a jonin before I do." Naruto said
"Someone like Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked
"I'm still some years off before I'm able to defeat Kakashi. He's a legend in the bingo books. He's nearly an S-rank Shinobi and if I had to guess, the only people stronger in the village would be the old man and the two sannin members." Naruto said
"You're that strong, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked
"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Kakashi said
"Given Naruto's current strength he could surpass me in a few years. I can tell he's nearly a jonin level shinobi himself." Kakashi thought
"Then out of our team, who's the strongest?" Sakura asked
"It's me." Sasuke said
"In your dreams, duckbutt. Naruto's easily the strongest one on this team and I'm second." Natsumi said
"Actually, you're third. Sasuke is stronger than you, but only by a bit. Sakura is the weakest, but she's not really a fighter." Naruto said
"Gee thanks." Sakura said
"There's no way you're stronger than me. I've surpassed you thanks to my sharingan." Sasuke said and revealed his sharingan with one tomoe in one eye and two in the other
"That's cute. Sasuke finally awakened his sharingan, but you're 8 years too late compared to me." Naruto said and activated his sharingan
"I don't get it. Why does Naruto's sharingan look different?" Sakura asked
"That's because my sharingan is fully matured. I awakened it at 5 and it only took me two years to fully mature it. It could've been done sooner, but I wasn't training only on my sharingan." Naruto said
"Tell me how you did it! I need the power to kill him!" Sasuke said
"No and for the record, you're lifetimes away from being able to kill Itachi and everyone knows that. He's probably stronger than Kakashi by now and as I've said before, he's no slouch either." Naruto said
"This is gonna take a turn for the worse and for once I don't want to see Sasuke get his ass kicked. So, what's everyone doing when they get back to the village?" Natsumi asked
"Maybe train a bit." Naruto said
"How about you, Sakura?" Natsumi asked
"Why should I tell you my plans? I don't even like you." Sakura said and flipped her hair at Natsumi
"You stupid pink haired banshee! I just asked a damn question!" Natsumi said
"What did you call me?!" Sakura asked
"You heard me!" Natsumi said and then they started to argue again
"I probably should've taken that chunin promotion when it was offered to me a few weeks ago." Naruto thought
Konoha-Hokage office
"Mission accomplished, old man!" Natsumi said as they entered the room
"Show some respect to the hokage!" Sakura said
"Shut up!" Natsumi said
"These two have been at it the entire trip back." Kakashi thought
"So, did the monkey give you the reply, old man?" Naruto asked
"Naruto! You can't call him an old man!" Sakura said
"I've always called him old man. It's nothing new and he doesn't have a problem with it." Naruto said
"It's quite alright, Sakura. I've known the two of them since they were babies. To answer your question, Naruto, yes the monkey did give me the reply and he also told me something else that happened in Suna. Kurenai and Anko also know about this." Hiruzen said
"You stooged me out." Naruto said, as his eye twitched
"No. They just happened to be in the room when the monkey showed up. Now, Kakashi, I assume there's an explanation as to why Natsumi is carrying around the Kubikiribocho." Hiruzen said
"I forgot I had this thing." Natsumi said and everyone just looked at her
"Yes. With his last breath Zabuza entrusted the Kubikiribocho." Kakashi said
"I see. Other than Zabuza and his accomplice, were there any other problems on the mission?" Hiruzen asked
"Yes and I'd like to file a complaint!" Natsumi said
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked
"The pink banshee almost blew my eardrums out with her annoying ass voice. Shouldn't that fall under attacking a teammate?" Natsumi asked
"I did not!" Sakura screeched and Natsumi covered her ears
"See? She's doing it again." Natsumi said, as she dramatically fell to the ground and Hiruzen looked at Naruto
"Just ignore her. They've been like this the entire trip back. I'd say it's the beginning of a new friendship." Naruto said
"What?! As if I'd ever be friends with her!" Natsumi and Sakura said at the same time which caused them to glare at each other
"Anyway, other than Zabuza, nothing else important happened." Kakashi said and Hiruzen nodded
"I see. All of you are dismissed except for Naruto. I need him for a mission." Hiruzen said
"Bye old man!" Natsumi said as she left them room
"Show him some respect!" Sakura said
"How about you stay out of my business and grow some boobs. You flat chested cutting board?!" Natsumi said
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Sakura yelled
"I DIDN'T STUTTER, THIN PIECE OF PAPER." Natsumi yelled
"THAT'S IT." Sakura yelled and when the door closed you heard them starting to fight
"They're going to be such great friends." Naruto said and Hiruzen chuckled
"Yes, they will become great friends." Hiruzen said
"So, what's the mission?" Naruto asked
"I have an S-ranked mission for you." Hiruzen said
"You know, with all these S-ranked missions you'd think I was an anbu member." Naruto said
"This is only your fourth S-rank mission." Hiruzen said
"Fine. What do I have to do?" Naruto asked
"I have a feeling we have some spies in our village. Somebody has been doing some digging around our classified files. Most of them are around missions that should only be accessible to me and the jonin instructors. I have reason to believe it may be somebody from an unknown village and one from Iwa." Hiruzen said
"Iwa? What makes you say that?" Naruto asked
"One of the spies tried to break the seal regarding your father and Kushina Uzumaki. I need you to find out who it is. I want weekly updates on this. I'll send you out on missions, but when you are in the village, this mission must be worked on." Hiruzen said
"Give me until the end of the day and I'll have this figured out. When do they usually look at the files?" Naruto asked
"Late in the night when the building is closed. There is a hole in our security and these two must be at least jonin level ninja. Your stealth skills are the best in this village outside of Natsumi which is why I'm assigning you this mission." Hiruzen said
"I'll get it done. What do I do when I find out who it is?" Naruto asked
"I'll give you further directions after that. I have a suspicion that one or both of them will be in the chunin exams if they are after something. The one I suspect is from Iwa may come after you or Natsumi, so I want you to up your training." Hiruzen said
"You got it." Naruto said
"You're dismissed. You may want to stop by Kurenai's house. She is waiting for you." Hiruzen said
"Of course she is." Naruto said and vanished
Kurenai's apartment
After leaving the hokage tower, Naruto made a few stops along the way to get some food. He picked up Anko and Kurenai's favorites so they wouldn't grill him too badly, but hopefully Anko had to leave and that would just leave him and Kurenai. He stood outside of her door and before he could use the key, the door swung open and he was thrown into the apartment.
"Well, that was rude. To think I made sure to stop and grab both of your favorite foods just to get treated like a rag doll." Naruto said
"Don't think that food will help you this time young man." Kurenai said
"Hold on, Kurenai. How much food are we talking were?" Anko asked
"2 weeks of dango and red bean soup for Anko and 2 weeks worth of vodka and takowasa for Kurenai. However, given the way I was just treated, I might take it back." Naruto said and then he was pinned to the wall by some kunai thanks to Anko
"Now, you aren't taking anything back." Anko said and grabbed her food
"You have some explaining to do. Why didn't you tell us you had a girlfriend?" Kurenai asked
"Because I don't." Naruto said and took his mask off
"Then why were you with her?" Anko asked
"I knocked her down and we had a brief argument which somehow turned into her asking me out on a date. We ate food, laughed and then she let me stay at her house with her brothers to wait out the sandstorm." Naruto said
"I hope you slept in your own bed." Kurenai said
"I did. I basically had my own room." Naruto said
"So, what's her name?" Kurenai asked
"Temari." Naruto said
"Temari? Why does that name sound familiar?" Anko asked
"I don't know, but I've heard it before as well." Kurenai said
"She's the Kazekage's daughter." Naruto said
"WHAT?" Kurenai and Anko yelled
"What? She's the Kazekage's daughter. Big deal." Naruto said
"That's a huge deal! Do you know what he'll do to you if you break her heart?!" Anko asked
"Nothing. He doesn't care. Her youngest brother is the one who threatened me, but I don't even know if we'll make it that far. I'd appreciate it if you two will keep this between us. I don't want the council finding out about this." Naruto said
"Why not?" Kurenai asked
"Because they'd try to turn this into a political marriage and I'd rather not lose my ninja license for beating them half to death. When I get married, I'll marry the girl I love and that's it." Naruto said
"Fine. I'll keep it a secret." Anko said
"Me too. So, do you like her?" Kurenai asked
"I don't know." Naruto said
"Does she like you?" Anko asked
"I think so. She did something that made me feel weird." Naruto said and that got their attention
"What did she do?" Anko asked
"Well, when I was about to leave, she pulled my mask down and gave me a kiss on the cheek before running away. It made me feel weird. Like I know the two of you used to give me kisses on the cheek, but this one felt different." Naruto said
"Our little Naruto is becoming a man." Anko said and started to fake cry
"Ignoring her behavior, that just means she likes you." Kurenai said
"Then why didn't she do it earlier? She was around me every day I was in Suna." Naruto said
"Maybe she was scared and figured that she wouldn't see you again so she decided to do it." Anko said
"Is that what you did to get Iruka to date you?" Naruto asked
"Oh no. I took that stallion home and rode him into the sunrise." Anko said
"I shouldn't have asked." Naruto said
"Wait. You understood that reference, but couldn't understand Temari kissing you?" Anko asked
"Outside of you two I've never been kissed before." Naruto said
"So, do you like her?" Kurenai asked
"I don't know. I think so. I'll know for sure when she comes to Konoha for the chunin exams." Naruto said
"Oh? Are you taking her out on a date?" Anko asked
"In fact I am." Naruto said
"I can't believe it! Your very first girlfriend!" Anko said
"She's not my girlfriend." Naruto said
"What do you plan on doing?" Kurenai asked
"I don't know. Maybe show her around the village. Well, the good parts atleast and maybe to the hokage monument. Don't bother following me. I can sense people so don't for get that." Naruto said and put his mask back on
"Fine, but I want details after it's done." Kurenai said
"Yeah. Yeah. I know." Naruto said
"Wait a minute. She knows what you look like? You only met her once. How come she gets to see your face on the first day?" Anko asked
"Well, she asked and we were eating. It would've been rude to eat with it on." Naruto said and then a puff of smoke went off revealing a small dragon
"I have a message for you, Naruto." The dragon said and coughed up a scroll
"It's weird how you can do that and not have any saliva on the scroll, Tatsu." Naruto said
"That's what makes me such a nice delivery dragon. Wait. What's that smell? Is there a snake here! Let me kill it!" Tatsu said and Naruto calmed her down
"Relax. Do you remember the person I told you about who was betrayed by Orochimaru?" Naruto asked
"Yes." Tatsu said
"Meet my sister, Anko Mitarashi. She's not allied with them and she can't summon the snakes either, but she can use some snake jutsus." Naruto said
"I see. My apologies, Anko." Tatsu said and Anko got over her shock of seeing a dragon
"Oh! Uh, sure. It's okay." Anko said
"I'll summon you when I write the reply." Naruto said
"See ya." Tatsu said and went up in smoke
"Naruto, what was that?" Kurenai asked
"Are you blind? It was a small dragon." Naruto said and Kurenai's eye twitched
"How did you get the dragon contract? I heard they only had one summoner before." Anko said
"That one summoner was my mom. As for how I got the contract? I found a dragon wounded in the forest on my way to Suna and then he explained to me about the war Manda started against the slugs, dragons and toads. Long story short I was able to sign the dragon contract." Naruto said
"Of course. Leave it to you to find an injured dragon and get the contract." Anko said
"I just have good luck. Anyway, is Yugao around? I need a favor." Naruto said
"She should be at home right now. Today's the start of her 2 week vacation after a 3 month S-ranked mission." Kurenai said
"Thanks!" Naruto said and vanished
Yugao apartment
"I know you're home Yugao! Kurenai already told me you were home!" Naruto said and then the door opened
"What do you want, Naruto? I'm on vacation." Yugao said
"How would you like to train somebody with their sword?" Naruto asked
"You don't need my help anymore." Yugao said
"I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about Natsumi." Naruto said
"I'll pass." Yugao said
"Fine. I guess I'll get somebody else to train the new wielder of the Kubikiribocho." Naruto said and walked away, but Yugao appeared in front of him
"What did you just say?" Yugao asked
"Does it matter? You said you'll pass." Naruto said and Yugao grabbed him by his collar
"Anko's smart mouth rubbed off on you and I don't like it. Now, tell me what you just said or I'll give you a personal reminder as to why I'm the anbu captain." Yugao said
"Fine. Zabuza gave her the Kubikiribocho after he died on our last mission. I don't think she'll like it if Hayate trained her because he coughs after every sentence and she has a bit of a short fuse." Naruto said
"That's an understatement." Yugao said
"Anyway, you're the best kenjutsu user in Konoha, so I thought you'd like to add training her to your resumè." Naruto said
"Tell her to meet me at Ichirakus tomorrow at noon." Yugao said and went back to her apartment, so Naruto created a shadow clone
"Go tell Natsumi the news. I need to head to Sato's shop." Naruto said and the clone vanished
Higarashi ninja store
"Yo! Old man Sato! Are you here?!" Naruto asked
"Naruto? What can I do for you today?" Sato asked
"I need some jutsus. Do you have anything higher than C-rank?" Naruto asked
"In fact I do. Just got the approval to sell copies of some scrolls the other day and already made some copies. Take your pick." Sato said and pulled out three boxes of scrolls
"Color arranged scrolls?" Naruto asked
"Trust me. I've been in this business a long time and the amount of ninja that come in here to return a jutsu that wasn't right for them because it was the wrong chakra nature gets really annoying." Sato said
"Dad! I'm back!" A voice yelled
"Over here, TenTen." Sato said
"Who's this?" TenTen asked
"My number one customer." Sato said
"TenTen Higarashi, nice to meet you." TenTen said
"Naruto Uchiha." Naruto said
"So, what are you doing here?" TenTen asked
"Buying some ninjutsu scrolls." Naruto said
"You're a ninja?" TenTen asked
"I know I'm taller than you, but I'm sure you can see the headband on my head." Naruto said
"No need for the sarcastic answer. When did you graduate?" TenTen asked
"2 months ago." Naruto said
"Aww. You're a rookie genin. That's so cute." TenTen said
"I'm not a regular genin." Naruto said
"Oh. Then what are you?" TenTen asked
"I'm an elite genin." Naruto said
"That doesn't exist." TenTen said
"Actually it does. The only other person in Konoha history to achieve that rank is the fourth hokage." Sato said
"Then why haven't I heard of it?" TenTen asked
"Because the rank was so rare since only one person got it. An elite genin is for somebody that is strong enough to become a chunin, but lacks the field expirience for promotion." Sato said
"Does that mean he can't compete in the chunin exams?" TenTen asked
"I can still compete. I was never made chunin and I declined the promotion when it was offered to me." Naruto said
"Well, you better hope I'm not your opponent." TenTen said
"I know. I'd hate to beat such a weak opponent. I'll see you later, old man Sato." Naruto said and vanished
"Weak?! I'll show him weak! Dad, I want the sword that's behind that glass case!" TenTen said and pointed at the case, but it was gone
"I'm afraid I can't let you have it. The rightful owner of the sword has claimed it." Sato said
"You said your friend died years ago during the nine tails attack. How could he come and claim it?" TenTen asked
"He didn't, but his son did." Sato said
"Who is his son? Maybe I can get the sword from him." TenTen said
"Sorry, but I can't reveal who this person is. However, I'm sure he'll be in the chunin exams." Sato said
"Do you think he'll let me have it?" TenTen asked
"No. That sword is one of the last things his father made and I have a feeling he made it specifically for his son since he wasn't much of a kenjutsu user as he focused mainly on ninjutsu and fuinjutsu." Sato said
"Well, maybe you can make me one just like it." TenTen said
"I can't. I've tried everything and the sword was bad. I don't know how or what he used, but that sword is one of a kind." Sato said
"Oh man. I guess I'll just have to make my own special sword then." TenTen said
"You already have a ton of swords though. Actually, you have every single weapon available in Konoha. That and you're skilled a bit in fuinjutsu. You're already a unique kunoichi." Sato said
"Thanks dad, but I know you could feel the power coming from that sword." TenTen said and Sato chuckled
"Well, it was created by a powerful person. I've got an order to finish up. Do you mind watching the counter?" Sato asked
"Sure. It'll give me an excuse to not train with the two idiots." TenTen said
Naruto
As he was walking around the village, Naruto looked through a few of his jutsu scrolls and realized the lack of lightning jutsus he had. If that was his strongest chakra nature, he wanted to have some strong jutsus for it. All he needed now was to find Kakashi since he was the best lightning user in Konoha. He searched for Kakashi's chakra and sighed as Kakashi was standing right behind him.
"You know it's rude to creep up on people like that. Especially with your reputation." Naruto said
"My reputation?" Kakashi asked
"You're a grown man who walks around reading porn and you just snuck up behind a 13 year old boy. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this." Naruto said and Kakashi sweatdropped
"Right. So, what seems to be the problem? Why were you looking for me?" Kakashi asked
"How'd you know I was looking for you?" Naruto asked
"You were talking to yourself out loud and I overheard that you needed to look for me." Kakashi said
"Right. I need your help." Naruto said
"I am supposed to be your teacher. What can I do for you?" Kakashi asked
"I need some lightning jutsus and you're the best lightning user in Konoha." Naruto said
"Lightning huh? How much chakra do you have?" Kakashi asked
"I don't know. A lot." Naruto said
"I see. How fast are you?" Kakashi asked
"With or without my resistance seals?" Naruto asked
"Both." Kakashi said
"Well, I'd say low chunin with them on and low to mid jonin with them off." Naruto said
"You've completed all the steps for properly controlling your chakra nature?" Kakashi asked
"Yeah." Naruto said
"Meet me at training ground 7 tomorrow at 6am. We'll be training all day." Kakashi said
"Do you mean 6am normal people time or 6am our time?" Naruto asked
"Uh. Our time." Kakashi said and went up in smoke
"Alright. 6am training." Naruto said
"NARUTO." A voice yelled and he turned around
"Hm? What is it, Ino?" Naruto asked, as Ino and Sakura came up to him
"Is it true?!" Ino asked
"Uh. I need a bit more to go on." Naruto said
"Did Sakura kiss Sasuke on your last mission?!" Ino asked
"Yeah." Naruto said and Ino screamed
"How could you let that happen?!" Ino asked
"What the hell was I supposed to do? Jump in front of Sasuke to take the kiss? No offense, Sakura, but I don't want you kissing me." Naruto said
"None taken." Sakura said
If we're finished here, I need to go do something." Naruto said
"Don't you understand how serious this is?!" Ino asked
"Not really. Actually, I don't even care to be honest with you." Naruto said
"B-But I was supposed to be Sasuke's first kiss!" Ino said
"You've known him for like 7-8 years and had a crush on him the entire time. You had plenty of time to be his first kiss. Just let her have this one. I mean, she did kiss Kiba after all." Naruto said and they both paled
"I guess you're right. At least it was before he licked Akamaru's ass." Ino said
"Can I go now?" Naruto asked
"We were about to have some barbecue with all of the people from our class. You should come with us." Ino said
"I can't. I have a mission I need to do." Naruto said
"We just got back." Sakura said
"I know, but the old man needed me for another mission. I'll come next time if nothing comes up." Naruto said and vanished
"Fine. Let's go, Ino." Sakura said and Naruto vanished
Records vault
Naruto was doing his current S-rank mission and so far it was going slow. Hiruzen let him into the office to see who was going through the files and he had shadow clones covering every angle of the room with their chakra concealed. He's been in the room for nearly 6 hours and he felt that the anbu member left his guarding duty, but he wasn't supposed to leave. He kept his sensing ability at its highest point and then saw somebody enter the room very carefully to not set off any alarms.
"Who is this? I've never seen him in the village before, but he's wearing a Konoha headband." Naruto thought
"Alright. Sasuke and Naruto Uchiha are the folders I'm looking for." The person said and looked through some files
"Nothing has changed really since the last time I was here. Wait a minute. What's this? It says Sasuke finally awakened his Sharingan on his last mission. Naruto's files has changed, but there's not much in here. There's nothing about his skills or anything. Only his missions record that's clearly false. I mean 0 D-rank, 12 C-rank, 8 B-rank, 1 A-rank and 4 S-rank missions, but one of those S-rank missions is still in progress. This is clearly a folder for a seasoned chunin, but he's only a genin." The person said and never noticed the paralyzing seal on the ground until it was too late
"WHAT?!" The person thought before he was knocked out, but he went up in smoke revealing it to be a shadow clone
"One down. One to go. The second person is close, but it's like he's waiting for this guy to leave before he comes in." Naruto thought, as he signaled for a shadow clone to leave and a few minutes later, somebody came in with an Iwa headband scratched out
"Minato Namikaze, where are your records, you son of a bitch?" The person asked himself
"So he's a rogue Iwa ninja looking for something on my father." Naruto thought, as the guy found his folder, but it was sealed shut
"Another fucking seal. What's this? Naruto Uchiha? A genin with a record like this? There's no way that's possible. Wait a minute. He looks like the Namikaze scum except he wears a mask. Clever, but not clever enough. Looks like I have my target in the chunin exams. I kill him and I'll get a pair of sharingan eyes to bring with me to Iwa once the Tsuchikage accepts me back into the village. Now, I have to wait for foreign ninja to arrive and take one of their places." The person said and quickly left
"Thanks a lot, dad. You just had to kill an entire Iwa army by yourself." Naruto thought and went to Hiruzen's office
Hokage office
"I'm back with information on both of the spies, old man." Naruto said
"Already? I wasn't really expecting you to find anything." Hiruzen said
"That's insulting to my stealth skills. Anyway, I've never seen either of them in the village before, but one of them had on a Konoha headband." Naruto said
"I see. What was he after?" Hiruzen asked
"He was specifically looking into Sasuke and my records. He doesn't believe my record and none of my skills were listed on my file." Naruto said
"Well, your record isn't a lie. As for your skills not being there. You never really showed much of your skills for anybody to put in there." Hiruzen said
"Oh yeah. Anyway, I was able to get a good read on this guy's chakra, so if he's ever around I can point him out." Naruto said
"That's good. What about the other one?" Hiruzen asked
"He's definitely from Iwa, but he's a rogue ninja. He figured out I'm the son of the fourth hokage and he's going to impersonate somebody in the chunin exams to come after me." Naruto said
"What about Natsumi?" Hiruzen asked
"He never looked at her file. He figured out my identity and left." Naruto said
"If I were to show you the Iwa section of the bingo book, would you be able to identify him?" Hiruzen asked and pulled out a bingo book
"Yeah. I got a pretty good look at him. This is him." Naruto said and pointed at the picture of an Iwa ninja
"Iwaji of the three stone brothers. Two of them were killed off by a squad of our anbu a few years ago. Seems like his skills haven't changed much over the years. Prefers close range fighting and he appeared to be skating on the ground, but that's due to his earth chakra nature." Hiruzen said
"What rank is he?" Naruto asked
"He's listed in the B-rank section with a kill on site order and a bounty of 150,000 yen." Hiruzen said
"He decided to come to Konoha of all places. What a dumbass." Naruto said and Hiruzen chuckled
"Yes indeed. What about the other one?" Hiruzen asked
"He has ash-grey hair and black rimmed circular glasses. I didn't get a good look at him, but I know his chakra signature. He's not in the village since he used a shadow clone." Naruto said
"I see. I'll look into this with Anko and Ibiki. I won't close this mission yet since we still have one unidentifiable spy." Hiruzen said
"I'll see you later, old man. I'm starting my training with Kakashi tomorrow." Naruto said and vanished
"You can come out now, Jiraiya and don't think he didn't know you were there." Hiruzen said
"That's Naruto? He looks like a mini Kakashi." Jiraiya said
"Blame Sayuri for that one. She didn't want anyone figuring out he was Minato's son when he couldn't defend himself." Hiruzen said
"What about Natsumi?" Jiraiya asked
"A younger, but more brash version of Kushina. When will you reveal yourself to them?" Hiruzen asked
"I'm trying to uncover something about Orochimaru, but if everything goes well, then I'll meet them during or after the chunin exams." Jiraiya said
"Will you train them?" Hiruzen asked
"I'll see what I can do. I know the toads already want Natsumi to sign the contract. I'll have to figure something out for Naruto since everything I'll be training Natsumi has to do with the toads." Jiraiya said
"Have you changed your mind about training her with the nine tails chakra?" Hiruzen asked
"No. From what you've told me, she can already use some of it, so I've decided to change my approach on training her." Jiraiya said
"I understand. Have you had any luck locating Tsunade?" Hiruzen asked
"Afraid not. She's good at staying off the grid, but I have my spy network looking for her and they'll inform me when she's located." Jiraiya said
"Let me know when she's found. It would be nice to see my other student after over 20 years." Hiruzen said
"Why am I looking for her in the first place?" Jiraiya asked
"It's because Naruto wanted to talk to her about the disease his mother died from. It's been 6 years since she died and our doctors are stumped. They haven't made any progress in figuring out what was wrong with her. Naruto even took up studying medical ninjutsu ever since she died and although he could use a bit more practice, I'd say he's pretty good at it." Hiruzen said
"All the potential he has and he decided to become a medical ninja." Jiraiya said
"He's not a medical ninja. He has skills in every aspect of being a ninja." Hiruzen said
"What's his specialty?" Jiraiya asked
"He doesn't have one. It's why I made him an elite genin rather than a special genin." Hiruzen said
"What about Natsumi?" Jiraiya asked
"From what I've seen during their bell test, she'll be very good at taijutsu and thanks to her chakra reserves due to the nine tails, she'll be a ninjutsu specialist. However, she wields the Kubikiribocho now, so add kenjutsu to that." Hiruzen said
"The Kubikiribocho? How'd she manage that?" Jiraiya asked
"Apparently Zabuza gave her the sword before he died. From what I saw, she can carry the sword with no problem since she forgot she was carrying it." Hiruzen said
"She forgot that she was carrying around a sword that's taller than her? Talk about being Kushina's twin." Jiraiya said
"Yes, but I should recommend her to get started on ninjutsu since she doesn't know many." Hiruzen said
"You do that. I think I'll go see how they're doing before I head out." Jiraiya said and vanished
"I should've warned him about Natsumi's traps in her apartment." Hiruzen said
Naruto
As Naruto was walking around Konoha, he felt the same chakra signature from Hiruzen's office following him. He started to cut through alleyways, take the roofs and even used a henge to try and fool this person, but whoever it was, stayed on his trail. After a while, Naruto decided to end this little game and went to a secluded area in the forest.
"You can come out now." Naruto said and Jiraiya appeared in front of him
"So, you're Naruto." Jiraiya said
"Cut the bullshit. What do you want?" Naruto asked
"Right. I was just checking out the new generation of shinobi and you caught my attention." Jiraiya said
"You're a horrible liar. You must be a pedophile since you followed me to a secluded spot in the forest." Naruto said
"You led me here." Jiraiya said
"No. I was going for an evening walk. You decided to follow me here. Now, tell me what you want or I'll go running into the village screaming that you're after me. I know the men may not harm you due to your books you write for them, but the women in this village hate pedophiles and perverts. Especially perverts like you, Jiraiya of the sannin." Naruto said
"Tricked by a 13 year old. This is embarrassing." Jiraiya thought
"So, you know who I am." Jiraiya stated
"Your face is in history books along with your other two teammates. That and you trained my father. Now, what do you want?" Naruto asked
"Okay. You caught me. I just wanted to see how the son of my late student has been. Hiruzen told me about you a bit and I wanted to see for myself." Jiraiya said
"You want to fight?" Naruto asked
"No." Jiraiya said
"Good. I don't feel like getting my ass kicked right now." Naruto said and Jiraiya sweatdropped
"At least you're honest about your skills. However, I was really checking to see how you were. I was going to check on your sister as well, but I couldn't find her." Jiraiya said
"She's having a sleepover with Ino and some other genin kunoichi. If you try to peek at my sister I swear I'll cut your nuts off and shove them down your throat before handing you over to Anko." Naruto said and Jiraiya paled
"I wouldn't do that! She's only a kid!" Jiraiya said
"With your reputation, I wouldn't put it past you." Naruto said and then threw a kunai up into a tree, causing a blank masked anbu to fall out before it went up in flames
"Nice shot." Jiraiya said
"I've been dealing with Danzo and his root anbu for 6 years. I've been fighting them off, honing my skills and protecting Natsumi until she graduated from the ninja academy." Naruto said
"This is how you've gotten this good already?" Jiraiya asked
"Yeah. The root anbu helped me gain fighting experience thanks to them constantly attacking me or trying to go after Natsumi." Naruto said
"Does Natsumi know about this?" Jiraiya asked
"Sort of. She knows I've been protecting her from ninja and civilians since the day we met, but she doesn't know that it's an illegally ran anbu division after her. She needs to train harder before I tell her." Naruto said and Jiraiya nodded
"From what I can tell, you've done a good job protecting her." Jiraiya said
"She's the only family I have left. I'll protect her even when she doesn't want or need my help." Naruto said
"Your parents would be proud of you." Jiraiya said
"You don't know that." Naruto said
"I do know that. The one thing both of your parents cherished more than anything in life was family." Jiraiya said
"I've started to kill people at the age of 7 though. Wouldn't they be kind of disappointed?" Naruto asked
"No. Your father was 10 when he had his first kill and if I'm not mistaken, your mother was 8 when she had her first kill. I think they would understand why you had to kill at such a young age." Jiraiya said
"I felt like a bad person every time I had to kill somebody." Naruto said
"Trust me, kid. You're not a bad person." Jiraiya said
"How do you know?" Naruto asked
"Sarutobi-sensei told me about how your mother died and what you're doing. Studying medical ninjutsu to try and find a cure so somebody else with that disease won't suffer the same fate isn't something a bad person would do. Even going as far as sending a messenger to find Tsunade to help with this disease is also a good thing." Jiraiya said
"The messenger was killed before he even left the village. Cat found his body in an alleyway with the message still attached to him." Naruto said
"The old man forgot to tell me that, but it's probably why he's been on me even more to find Tsunade and bring her here." Jiraiya said
"Are you close to finding her?" Naruto asked
"Not really, but give me a couple of months and I should be able to track her down." Jiraiya said
"When you find her, I want to come with you." Naruto said
"Why?" Jiraiya asked
"Because there's a chance that she might mot return to the village if you find her. I want to go just so I can give her a copy of everything we found out about the disease and it's symptoms. That's all I want to do. After that, I'll even go back to the village to leave you alone." Naruto said
"I'll talk to the old man about it. Keep watching your sister for me." Jiraiya said and vanished
"What does that mean?" Naruto asked himself
He didn't dwell on it too long since he went home and got prepared for his training with Kakashi tomorrow. All Naruto knew was that he needed to get stronger to protect his loved ones. Before he went to sleep, he summoned Tatsu and gave her a letter to deliver.