Back to back chapters. Enjoy!
Here are the rest of the replies :
@Guest user : *deliberately ignored*
@10tailsJinchurikiNaruto :
Most probably. Can't promise anything though. Maybe many more, maybe only a few. I never have written a harem fic so I don't know how much I can handle writing them.
@dbtiger63 :
First time I've got doubts regarding this statistical information. Let's clear it. A small recap for everyone;
Age (Newborn) - Start of the story. xD
Age (4 years) - Torment and suffering from villagers. Tsunade came along at Hokage's request.
Age (7 years) - Came back to Konoha. Medical Ninjutsu learnt during journey of 3 years and a few basic techniques. Trains one year with Hokage and Kenjutsu trainers. Acquires skill of coating any blade with raw chakra.
Age (8 years) - Joins Academy. Uchiha massacre shortly afterwards. Trains for 3 years with Yamato and advanced Kenjutsu with the other duo. Learns to apply Elemental Justu on his sword. The remaining one year, he trains on his own.
Age (12 years) - Graduates from the Academy. Now officially a shinobi. Works directly under the Hokage. Recently learned of his heritage.
By the way, as long as someone is a ninja, he/she is considered an adult. "Old enough to kill" theory is applicable, as pointed out a few times in the story. No doubts should be there. Don't come shouting on me later on. The exit door is always open. Fair warning given to everyone. :)
Other information like appearence, well I'm not gonna lie, I suck at it. I would have most probably copy pasted if something looks good to you and if it doesn't look good then assume it's written by me.About his skills, I guess you'll just have to remember them from the story lest there'll be a hell of a lot later on and I can't list out every one of them, sorry.
Shifting into a new home isn't that tough for someone like him, dude. Refer to Episode 257 of Naruto, Naruto was still young and the Hokage only dropped by to hand him the monthly allowance. He did everything on his own. So now when money isn't an issue and add in a few extra years of travel experience, anyone can get a fair idea of what's good and what's not.
I hope this helps.
@AnonTheKingofCitrus18 :
Happy to know that my writing piqued your interest. Still, I'd like to highlight the fact for everyone else (it's a general reminder, not directed at you) who's here for the lemons that it's basically a very small chance you'll get to see them here. Going by the pace of my story, I guess it's a no brainer that it will take A LOT of time to reach there. And I'm not entirely positive that it surely will happen either. I agree I had planned a lot about everything including lemons, but that doesn't mean I would be able to get there easily. It's easy to think you'd someday earn a billion dollars, but not-so-easy to actually reach there. And I have never written a lemon before, so it will be average at best even if I try. So please, I suggest it would be better, quicker and easier for you guys to just search up some random Naruto lemon fanfics and fap them out.
@Vonta01 : Your wish has been granted.
Chapter - 14
Naruto's eyes squeezed reflexively as some light rays reached them. He flickered his eyes a little before opening them fully.
He saw the sunlight coming to him through the slits in the frame of the crib from the window. He was slightly disconcerted and surprised at the change of scenery from his regular morning routine.
Still, he managed to orient himself soon as he sat upright and looked around.
"Oh, so it sure wasn't a dream.", Naruto said.
"Unless it's Inception, and I'm still dreaming.", he added.
"Huh, wait. What am I even saying? I'm mumbling gibberish I don't even understand myself. Guess I should go wash my face first."
He stood up from the place he had been the whole night. He stretched a little and cracked out some sounds from his back as he had stayed cramped in the same position the whole night.
"Aaahhhh, my back hurts so much. I will never sleep like that again. It will probably take some time to get rid of this pain."
He approached the window and saw the view outside. This one actual opened not on the front or back but on one of the sides. As a result, it gave a good view of the neighborhood since the side lanes weren't as much wide compared to the front and back yards.
"Come to think of it, this floor is quite higher compared to your regular first storey. Maybe it's because the roof of the ground floor was also quite high."
He was basically trying to think about miscellaneous things to divert his mind but it wasn't very effective.
He went back to the place he was before, in front of the photo frames, and inhaled deeply.
"I know it wasn't your fault, Mom and Dad. It just had to happen that way and it did. And I'm really thankful that you took the time to leave these to me. It means a lot. I will make sure to become a man that you would be proud of. I will become the strongest Hokage, dattebayo!"
Knowing that he would surely get their blessings, he grinned and picked up the letters.
'I'll be holding on to these forever.'
"I guess I gotta take a bath first. I've been roaming around for the whole day yesterday and I didn't even take a shower last night. But again, I'm too curious to see the rest of the place, so I guess it won't hurt to look around for a bit."
He decided to explore the second floor first, as he didn't ascend any further last night after encountering his parents' room. As he reached there, he found that there was apparently no balcony as there had been on the first one.
Pondering around, the first room he encountered was actually the store. It didn't have the usual look of the store room where everything is just haphazardly dumped but there was enough material stored in there to give the hint.
He wandered around and found different rooms, mostly kind of empty, except for one big room which was probably supposed to be a play room considering all the toys and stuffed animals that were stashed around in a corner.
The last one he found, looked quite a lot like a young child's room. It had a single bed, a table and a cupboard with attached drawers.
It must've been designed for him to live in once he grew up old enough. It did look awesome though, no doubt.
He went up straight to the huge windows that were on the other end and opened them.
He was enthralled by the gigantic area that formed the backyard of this home. To any common man, it was more of a field than a backyard.
A long stretch of grass lied for quite the distance. Although it had same problem of overgrowth, that was just a matter of a few hours to clear everything out.
He saw that there was a pair of cherry blossom trees at the far end corners of the walls. They looked beautiful giving off the light pink colour which was quite soothing to the eye. Apparently these ones were a unique variety of the species, even in Konoha where they bloom for far longer than any other place in the world, since it wasn't exactly the season of these flowers to bloom.
He brought his gaze downwards and was awestruck at the view.
"Holy shit, there's even a swimming pool here!"
True enough, there appeared to be a big swimming pool on the left side with some ducks and tubes floating still in the corners since Kami knows when.
He jumped down onto the balcony and then on the ground. The entrance looked the same as from the inside with those big glass doors.
On the opposite side of the pool, was a very splendid patio. It had an angled wooden roof, standing on four expertly carved pillars. The couch and table looked as nice, although the pots at the back would have to be redecorated with new flowers again.
"Whoa, what a nice place. Dad sure didn't leave anything out in making this home for us. Well, I guess I've more or less had a tour of it. Now, I need to liven this place up a bit again."
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Instantly, a hundred or more Narutos popped up from a cloud of smoke. He started giving instructions to them.
"Listen up guys! We'll have to make this place shining again. We're gonna clean up this lawn as quickly as possible. Half of us will clean up the back lawn and yard. The rest can divide into half again and take up the front and the inside of the mansion respectively. Let's do it as a part of training and do it as quickly as possible. Then we'll go have some ramen!"
"Yeah!" "Alright!" "Yoshaaa!" "Ikuzoooo!" "Ramen!"
A chorus of cheers came from the clones and they ran away to do their respective chores. One might think that the clones would get dispersed anyway so why the enthusiasm, but it was just a feature of the jutsu that the clones take up the personality of the user more or less.
Naruto interlocked his fingers and extended them working out some cracks as he announced,
"Let's get to work!"
Scene Break and Time Skip
"Mmmmmm…….you make this ramen almost as delicious as the old man, Ayame nee-chan."
Ayame puffed her cheeks and pouted, "What do you mean by almost? Am I not good enough?"
"Hehe, *slurp slurp* …..I didn't mean it that way. I like it good enough. Hell, I actually love it. I just meant that you were making it almost perfect just like the old man does. You must have practiced a lot, right?", Naruto replied.
Ayame blushed a little and said, "Well, uh yeah. I've been learning to make it as good as possible. So I observe everytime whenever Dad prepares the ramen."
"I knew it. Hard work and patience always give fruit. And this one might not-so-particularly be sweet, but it's certainly delicious.", Naruto said grinning as he pulled up the ramen noodles from the bowl with the chopsticks.
"Oh, thank you so much Naruto. I'll make sure that I make even more tasty food for you from now on.", Ayame replied chirpily.
Naruto was about to reply in appreciation and encouragement but was interrupted.
"Hey, why don't you rather make me a bowl of your lovely dish cutie?"
Both of them were startled by the voice as they looked at a person who had just entered the ramen stand. It looked like some random shinobi to Naruto. He was wearing a Konoha headband and a regular green shinobi flak jacket. He was also wearing a bandana covering his long hair and had a full beard on his face.
Although, one look at Ayame and he knew something definitely was up going by the borderline scared uncomfortable look on her face.
Still, as long as nothing happened, he was no one to say anything. He quietly ate what was the ninth ramen bowl since he came here.
"Uh hi, welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen. What would you like to have today?", Ayame said with a forced smile.
"How about I have you today instead?", he replied.
Naruto turned his gaze towards the man through the corner of his eye. He had realised why Ayame looked so uncomfortable. This guy must've been irritating her like this for quite some time. Looking at him, he wasn't around Ayame's age either. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties while she was what, sixteen?
Anyways, that wasn't the point. There was no problem in him trying to ask her out if he liked her, but the way he did it wasn't very decent. And it didn't look like Ayame had any interest in talking to him. She only talked to him the way she did because he was a customer in the shop.
"Umm, I'm sorry. Please select a dish from the menu here.", she replied politely.
"Hehe, you're no fun like this. Well, I guess I'll have a Tempura Vegetables Bento Box.", he said.
"Of course. Please wait for a few minutes.", Ayame said.
"Sure, I like my things ripe and fresh even if it takes me a lot of time to get them. It's just a different experience altogether, won't you agree?", he said.
Ayame had turned to make the dish he had asked for and didn't reply anything. However, Naruto could clearly see that the guy was ogling her body from behind and that Ayame was also aware of the fact.
As the dish was prepared, she quickly took it and placed it in front of the man hoping he would gobble up and leave the shop soon.
"Have a nice meal.", she uttered her usual greeting.
Nevertheless, the shinobi didn't have any intention to leave her be like that. He placed his hands on hers as she was putting on the chopsticks on the box.
"It would be so much more nice if you feed me this with your own hands.", he said.
"I'm sorry but doesn't happen here. Please enjoy your meal as I have to go serve other meals too.", Ayame said.
She tried to pull her hand but he had grabbed her wrists tightly. He looked around only to see Naruto finishing his Ramen bowl with his eyes closed.
"There's just one guy here. I'll have him scurry off so that we can have some alone time. That old man is always at the shop so I couldn't ask you before. Say Ayame, I think you should come with me on a date tonight. We'll have some great dinner and then we can go to my place and have some fun by ourselves. I'll show you things that will rock your world. Things that only adults can do. You look like a good girl, so be like that and say yes."
Ayame was now scared as she had tried to pull away her arms but they had started hurting as he was holding on too tightly for her to break free. Moreover, he wasn't even looking in her eyes while talking but rather at the chest that was somewhat exposed in the robe as she was bending down a little.
"Please leave my hands. I will have to report you to the authorities if you don't stop right now. I don't have any intention to go anywhere with you.", she said trying to sound bold.
"Authorities, huh? I'm a ninja myself, girl. I am one of these authorities. You think they'll listen to you rather than me?", he replied laughing.
"All the more reason for you to uphold the law, rather than break it."
The ninja turned his head to the left as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. Naruto was standing there with his head bent slightly downwards with his hair covering his eyes.
The guy made an evilly angry face as he said, "Huh? Look you brat, I know it must seem like an opportunity for you to look like the good guy. So I'm warning you now beforehand. Fuck off from here as soon as you can, or I'll beat you to a pulp."
"You call yourself a shinobi and stoop down to this level?", Naruto said with a frighteningly calm voice.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?--", the man started saying but stopped noticing Naruto's headband.
"Oh I see. You're a ninja yourself. Man, those guys making these ducklings shinobi at this age. Listen here, I am a Chūnin. So as your superior, I suggest you go somewhere else to look for a chick, this one's mine. Maybe you'll get lucky somewhere to have some fun with some money, if you can get hard at least, that is.", he said laughing loudly at the end.
Naruto said nothing but his grip tightened around his shoulder. The man winced a little in pain but made a straight face and said, "What, you wanna pick up a fight?"
Ayame was afraid of the man but at the same time also concerned about Naruto's wellbeing. This guy was right, he was a Chūnin and Naruto was still a fresh Genin out of the academy.
"No, Naruto. Please don't do anything. Just go, I'll talk to him myself. You don't need to get hurt.", she said.
"She's right. Don't get beaten up without any reason. Scutter off. Then Ayame and I can talk closely without any interrup--"
He suddenly stopped talking and released Ayame's hands immediately as a feeling of pain jolted to his spine. Ayame reflexively backed off as her hands were released.
Naruto had grabbed one of his wrists with his left hand and was clenching it. The man tried to release his grip by forcing it off with his right but to no avail.
"Aaaahhhh! You fuckin--"
He was cut off once again but more violently this time as Naruto grabbed his head with his right and crashed it into the solid wooden counter of the stand. A splinter of wood flew away with the impact and he had started bleeding.
His vision blurred due to the concussion he thus suffered and his head was spinning wildly as he experienced vertigo. It was sheer pain that brought him back to reality which was due to the fact that Naruto twisted his hand behind his back hard enough. He looked towards Naruto turning his head with his cheek pushed against the counter.
"I'll fucking kill you, you basta--"
This time there was no physical interference by Naruto. The moment he looked into his eyes, he couldn't utter another word.
Fortunately, they weren't red in colour. Still, the menacing gaze that was directed at him by those deep azure eyes was highly intimidating.
"Now, you listen to me instead. You are a shinobi of Konoha for God's sake and yet you have the audacity to actually give rape threats to a defenseless girl. I'm not even going to say anything further because words don't get through to guys like you.", he started.
A senbon needle appeared in his hand and he placed it at the side of the neck of the Chūnin.
"This senbon is laced with a neurotoxic poison. And it's conveniently right on top of your vagus nerve. If they connect, well, to say inn layman's terms, you won't even be able to live properly, forget getting hard. You'll be paralyzed from the neck to your mouth, won't be able to breathe comfortably, experience constant palpitations in your heart and especially wet your pants involuntarily exactly like you're about to do anytime right now!", he said.
The shinobi looked at him with fear and closed his eyes, knowing that Naruto wasn't far from the truth.
"Do you realise your mistake?", Naruto asked.
The shinobi nodded slightly with closed eyes.
Naruto removed the needle from his neck, dug it into the counter right in front of his face with a thud and said, "Okay. Let me tell you what you will do now. You will first apologize to her. Then you will promise never to behave like that with any girl ever again. And lastly, if I ever see you anywhere near this shop ever to stalk her or anything, I'll make sure your licence is stripped and you spend more than a few nights in jail. Trust me, I don't even want to get to the part where I tell you that there is no shortage of trees in Konoha to hide a body under, should the situation demand so.", with the last part being convincingly intimidating.
He just nodded again wanting to get away as soon as possible. Naruto released his arm and neck.
He was very much relieved to get his arm back unbroken considering the force of the hold Naruto had used. Not wasting anytime, he bowed and apologized,
"I'm sorry, Ayame-san. I won't ever do that again, to you, or anyone else. I promise, I promise."
Ayame was dumbfounded by the scene but nodded slightly without thinking.
Looking at Naruto, who showed agreement by nodding his head, he apologized to him too. He turned to get out of the place as soon as possible.
"Hey, wait!", Naruto said stopping him.
He didn't want to stop for one bit, but obliged and turned back. "Yes?"
"Pay for your food, at least. You ordered it, didn't you?", Naruto said.
The man hurriedly took a few bills out of his pocket and placed it on the table. He didn't even wait for the change since he wanted to leave before he did something to get his ass handed to him again.
"Wait. Food should never be wasted. Take it home, you can eat it there.", Naruto said as he covered the box and handed it to him.
The shinobi nodded and took the box. He ran away as soon as he left the shop.
Naruto sighed as he looked back at the mess he had created of the furniture.
"I'm sorry, Nee-chan. Guess I got a bit carried away. Don't worry, I'll have my Shadow Clones clean up and repair the damages--"
He couldn't complete the statement as he was encompassed in a tight hug. It was an awkward one because Ayame was leaning on the counter but Naruto understood that she needed it.
Her sobbing could both be felt and heard by him. He placed his arms behind her and slowly rubbed her back trying to soothe her.
When she calmed down, they seperated and Naruto smiled at her.
"You don't need to be afraid of guys like him. You can ask for my help anytime.", he said.
"Thank you, Naruto. I was so scared back then. But you shouldn't have to fight anyone for me. People like that might try to hurt you.", she said.
"Nonsense. I've been getting that treatment from people since I was a kid. The reason I got stronger was so that I could protect myself and my friends. If I can't do anything even now, what good was all that for?", he replied gritting his teeth.
Ayame smiled at him as she was very grateful to him. However, her gaze went to something from the corner of her eye.
"Naruto, isn't that thing dangerous? You said it was poisoned.", she said looking at the senbon that lied on the counter.
"Oh this? Don't worry, there's no poison. I was just trying to scare him. You really thought I would play around with poison in a food stall? And that too my favourite one. Who do you think will be the first one to die then?", Naruto said laughing with Ayame joining him surprised.
"But seriously, thank you again Naruto. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here. He didn't misbehave like that when Dad was around. I don't what can I do to repay you.", she said.
"You can repay me though, like no one else can.", Naruto said as he winked.
Ayame got the slightest shade of pink on her face as she asked, "What do you mean?"
"A bowl of Ayame Special Ramen, what else. That guy interrupted my meal.", Naruto said grinning.
Ayame shook her head smiling as she said, "Haha, sure. Coming right up."
Scene Break and Time Skip
"Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers!"
"Hey there Ino, how've you been?"
"Naruto? What do you want? I'm busy here.", Ino said surprised.
It was just another boring day for her watching the shop as her Sensei too had to sort out the paperwork and he wasn't the quickest of them. Since she'd be going on missions in some days, her mom had asked her to watch the shop so that she could do some housework or shopping for essentials.
"Whoa, and here I was so excited after getting such a warm greeting.", Naruto said.
"As I said, Naruto, get to the point. What do you want? It's the middle of a hot day, I'm already irritated. Don't push me to kick you out of here.", she said.
"Well, why are you even sitting here if you can't help your customers?", Naruto asked raising his eyebrow.
"Wait, customer? You? We sell flowers, not ramen.", Ino replied.
"Yeah, I'm literate enough.", Naruto replied as he sweatdropped.
"I still can't believe it. What do you want flowers for? Oh, you want to give them to some girl, don't you?", Ino asked.
"What? No, not yet at least. I ….uh…..wanted to get them to keep some pots in my balcony. The flowers look beautiful, right, that's why. Now can you help me with that or not? It's not like I know anything about flowers in detail. I heard this was the best place to get flowers so here I am.", he asked.
"Yeah yeah, I understand. Don't worry, I know a lot more about flowers already than you ever will. I'll help you choose some nice flowers for your…..wait, balcony? Ohhhh, you live in a place which has a spacious balcony too. Must be using up quite a lot from your allowance. I hope you didn't come here broke looking for flowers. I'm not going to keep anything in debt for anyone, including you.", Ino said.
"Yeah, no kidding Ino. I've got the money, now can you show them to me? Gosh, now I think I know why your shop looks so empty. You will be the one broke if you keep running the family shop like this.", Naruto said cheekily.
Ino was about to retort but felt too embarassed to reply anything since he was technically correct. She was a blabbermouth.
She showed him around different kinds of flowers and ornamental plants in the shop. She was actually surprised that even if he didn't know much about them, he did make an effort to understand and absorb the knowledge, unlike most of the people who just picked up something random or left it to the florist.
"You must have some bigger plants too. Like the Bougainvillea or such. Bush clovers maybe, it's your speciality I guess, etched in the crest and all.", Naruto asked.
"You can't grow a Bougainvillea in pots, Naruto. It requires a lot of space. And I'm impressed that you know about our clan's crest that good.", she said.
"It can be grown in a garden, right? Along the wall I guess.", Naruto asked.
"You have a garden and a balcony at the same time?", Ino asked raising an eyebrow.
"What? Oh….uhh……no, an acquaintance of mine also needed some flowers for their garden so he asked me to look for whatever's good.", Naruto said getting caught off guard.
Ino looked at him with suspicious eyes but didn't say anything. 'He's probably making up a lie, but he is just a customer here. If he buys anything, who cares what he does about it. Good for me, good for him.' , she thought.
"Come here.", Ino said as she opened a sliding door on the side wall behind a rack of flower pots.
Naruto followed and surprisingly found a small garden full of plants, flowers, shrubs and what not.
"You can see anything you like, but don't even dare to pluck a leaf.", Ino said.
"Sure, I won't.", he said as he walked into the garden cautiously not wanting to step on any of the plants.
Ino closed the door and sighed.
'Phew. Finally, I can think alone for a bit.', she thought.
The reasoning behind this statement was not something to be just ignored. Apparently, before Naruto had entered the shop, he was already there occupying her mind. xD
She was thinking back to the graduation exams, when in a stupefying turn of events, Sasuke Uchiha, the crowd favourite, was trounced to the second position. And it was by the courtesy of none other than the class clown, Naruto Uzumaki.
Her particular interest was in the fact that she had a really great intuition about it years ago. At that time, when he looked into his eyes she had somehow encountered a different kind of intensity that she had never seen in anyone of their age before. Assuming it as some weird imagination of hers, she had ignored it.
Now, she was startled to see him in her shop suddenly, so decided to act normally as she always (whatever limited number of times) did back in the Academy.
But she couldn't deny the fact that he had changed. Somehow, all of a sudden, he was way more smart and intelligent. He looked so, so cool now that she couldn't digest the fact that she ignored him all those years even after getting a good hint before anyone else.
"Ino, are you there?"
Her eyes opened as she heard the voice of her close friend calling her out.
"Yeah, come on in, Forehead!", Ino said.
An annoyed Sakura entered the shop who looked like she was already irritated and now oil had been thrown into a fire. She approach Ino who was already at the reception desk.
"I have been calling you since five minutes, where were you? And can't you just call me normally just like I did, Ino-pig?!", she replied.
"Oh, I am pretty sure you had to do that because you didn't know if my mom or any customers were here, Forehead!", Ino said mockingly.
Sakura was about to explode but then drooped her head out of exasperation.
Ino knew something was up so asked softly, "Got into some problem or something?"
Sakura just shook her head. "Not a problem, per se. Just that Sasuke-kun doesn't want to spend time with me. Whenever I try to approach him, he vanishes suddenly or tells me that he has to train alone. I came here to tease you about me being on his team but apparently being on the same team doesn't mean much after all."
"I see. Maybe when you're on missions, you'll have a chance to talk to him. You can help him or something maybe, and then he'll start liking you too.", Ino said thinking aloud.
"Yeah, that's right. He has to come with me on missions, so I'll have lots of time. Thanks Ino, I feel better now.", Sakura said.
"No problems.", Ino replied.
"Something isn't right, you didn't even say once that you will be the one to get Sasuke instead of me.", Sakura asked eyeing her.
Ino got caught off guard and said, "I didn't? Well, uh……I guess I don't have much chance with you on his team so it doesn't matter, right? Hehe…"
Sakura wasn't convinced as she asked, "Ino, I'm not buying it. Tell me the truth."
Ino wasn't sure what to say at this point but had an idea. It would achieve the purpose and tease Sakura at th same time.
"Okay, you asked for it. Don't cry later just because truth is bitter. Your teammate is in that garden over there. You said that I was late answering your call, right? Well, I was in there ……alone …..with him showing him all…..kinds of….. things.", Ino said speaking the last sentence as slowly and seductively as possible to make the impact, surprised herself and embarassed that she didn't hesitate at all in saying all this.
Sakura looked wide eyed at her friend and waving her hand said, "Haha, Ino you can't be serious."
When Ino looked at her expressionlessly dead on in the eyes, she asked again, "You're serious? He's in there?"
Ino looked at her trying to contain all the laughter inside and nodded slowly.
Sakura knew the look in her eyes that told that whatever she said wasn't some joke. She was mortified at the idea and looking at her face she was about to cry so much there wouldn't be a need to water those plants around for days to come.
"Hey there Sakura-chan! When did you come here?"
Sakura froze at the voice and looked towards the person. "Huh?" was all she said.
Naruto stopped in his tracks looking at the her face assuming that there was some serious talk going on.
"You idiot! You just had to come out at the worst possible time.", Ino said loudly.
"Oh, uh I'm sorry. I was done in there, but okay. Should I go back in there or maybe come back later?", he asked hesitantly.
Ino facepalmed wondering how this guy could look so cool yet so dumb at different times.
Sakura was just plain confused so looked questioningly at Ino. Ino caught it and replied, "Oh don't worry this guy came into the shop asking for some flowers for decorating his balcony. I was showing him around different things, flowers and such. Hehe."
Sakura understood how Ino was pulling her leg yet speaking the truth at the same time. She was very embarrassed at herself that she came to conclusions so easily.
"Hi Naruto. I came here a few minutes ago. By the way, have you seen Sasuke-kun around?", she asked.
Ino was somewhat startled that the first question she asked him was this. However, Naruto didn't seem fazed as he simply replied a "No."
"Oh, do you want to come look for him?", Sakura asked.
Ino was now more than surprised since that was an absolutely absurd question. Naruto though, seemed unfazed again but still asked, "What for?"
"Nothing in particular. We are all on the same team so maybe we could use this time to….I don't know, build stronger friendships?", she said.
"Of course…..not.", Naruto replied.
"What? Why?", Sakura asked.
"Look Sakura, I would have loved to do that above all things. But it is Sasuke who doesn't want to do the same, and you know it, although somehow choose to ignore that. He is deliberately avoiding you. Yet, if you manage to get him to come, I won't deny. I'll even ask Kakashi-sensei to come. But don't think I would go tailing around a stuck up Uchiha in the whole village for no reason. I have more important things to do.", he replied running out of patience.
"Oh really? Like what?", Sakura asked raising her shrill voice.
"Like…… decorating…… my…..balcony.", Naruto said emphasizing on every word to get the point through that he couldn't care less about the Uchiha at this point.
Sakura was fuming at this point and she couldn't do shit about it, since everything he said was true. She turned and left the shop briskly without saying anything to either him or Ino.
Naruto turned to Ino and said, "I don't think she was here to buy flowers, but still I am sorry if I lost you a customer."
"No she wasn't. But still, you could've gone easy on her. She looked like she was gonna cry any minute.", Ino said.
"She's your friend, right? I'm gonna ask you if that behaviour is good for herself and you have to honestly answer about it. Sooner or later, she will have to face the facts. Better do it now.", Naruto said.
Ino couldn't say anything since she knew Naruto was not in the wrong one bit. Changing the topic, she asked,
"Anyways, did you check out all of that? What final conclusion did you reach at last?"
"Yeah, I've decided what I want to get. You might need a notepad or something to write that down?", Naruto asked.
Ino was going to memorize it, but rather than argue she pulled out a notepad from the drawer. She held it up and smiled forcedly asking as if "Now happy?!"
Naruto sweatdropped slightly but then took it from her hand and started scribbling down the names.
Ino looked at the names like Daffodils, Tulips, Roses, Chrysanthemums, Carnations etc. which were all good but double checked if she was seeing the numbers correctly.
As Naruto handed her the list, she counted a total of 80 to 100 potted flowers alone. Add up the garden flowers, ornamentals etc., and it was even longer.
"Your balcony is bigger than this shop, I assume. Or are you here to joke around with me?!", Ino said wondering if Naruto was wasting her time playing a prank or something since he came here.
"Hey hey. No need to get aggressive. I already told you about this fellow who has a big garden so he needs flowers. He might keep them in his balcony or roof or patio, I don't know.", Naruto said.
"That must be a really rich guy to have all that space.", Ino said.
"Yeah, kind of. You can say that.", Naruto said mildly.
"Nevertheless, for an order this big, I will have to have some payment in advance. And it will take a few days. You may want to call him here for that.", Ino informed.
"No problems. You can take all the payment beforehand. It's the quality that matters, he said to me. Nothing else.", Naruto said taking out his card.
"Wow, how'd a guy like you know a guy like him?", Ino asked swiping it.
"Beats me.", he replied nonchalantly.
"Here is the receipt. Where will they have to be delivered?", Ino asked.
"No need. Me and my Shadow Clones will take care of collecting the items. I'll come by in a few days to check.", Naruto replied.
"Sure, whatever suits you.", Ino said.
Naruto voiced a thanks and turned around to leave the place but turned around again.
"Forgot something?", Ino asked.
"No, actually I had to ask you something else about the flowers.", Naruto said.
"Normally, I don't take lectures on flowers but since you placed such a good order, you may go ahead.", she said trying to look bossy even if she was up for anything related to flowers as she had a keen interest in them.
"Thanks for the help, Ino-sensei. I've got some flower seeds which were lying around for some years. They were sealed in a scroll so I guess they wouldn't have been spoiled. I thought if those could be of some use then they won't be wasted. So, do I have to just put them in a pot and water them or are there some extra steps?", he asked.
"It's not that simple. Every flowering or even non flowering plant requires a certain set of nutrients and conditions to grow optimally. Bring me the seeds some time and I'll instruct you. Or you could have me do it or anything else for that matter, but that won't be free of cost.", Ino said.
Naruto turned red for some reason and coughed.
Ino was startled at the abrupt change in expression. Before she could ask anything, Naruto cleared her doubts.
"The last line could have been phrased better.", he said.
She frowned as she tried to remember what she said and realised her error quick enough. It sounded straight out of what a call girl dictionary would have at the first page. Yet she didn't scold him or anything and kept quiet, which he certainly did not expect. But who was he to complain.
"Actually, I brought them just in case.", Naruto said taking out a small neatly knotted scroll from his pouch.
Ino was not in the mood though. Sure, she had assured him that she'd instruct him about the plants, but she had enough for today. She just wanted her mom to come home soon so that she could go outside and do something fun. For instance, window shopping. Since excluding flowers, and maybe bickering with Sakura, shopping was her favourite hobby. Window shopping was the next best alternative since money doesn't doesn't grow in their plants or trees, after all.
"Can we do this later, Naruto? Please.", she asked nicely.
"It won't take long. Okay, just…..just tell me about one of them. I'll try planting it at home. Then we can do the others later on.", he said.
She dropped her head on the desk in vexation but said, "Fine."
"Hehe, I know you're irritated with me by now, but I've got to say thanks, really.", Naruto said.
"Honestly, if you weren't a customer, we would have ended this discussion an hour ago.", Ino said without looking up.
"I know. But some of the seeds I saw were too weird to even say. I've heard about roses, I've heard about carnations, I've heard about daffodils but never have I heard about something called Parrot's Beak.", Naruto continued.
At the same time, he unsealed a box of the first one he saw on the scroll.
"Yeah. It's quite a ……" , she started.
She jerked her head up faster than anyone could say "Ino".
"Did you just say Parrot's Beak?", she inquired.
Naruto replied wondering how he got her curiosity suddenly. Could it be possible that she hadn't heard these weird names?
"Yeah, weird right? And that's not the end, some dude must've been crazy to name flowers as Vulcan's Trumpet, Ghost Orchid and hear this……. Chocolate Cosmos--"
Ino snatched away the box of seeds from the scroll before he could pick it up and was seen completely and utterly flabbergasted.
"Do you know what this is?", she asked him softly.
He replied confused, "Yeah, it's a packet of seeds…….as far as I know. The flowers must look good, going by the picture on the front of the box--"
"I will ask again! Do you REALIZE what this is?!", she asked fiercely.
"I'm….not sure what I have to look for here. Any hints?", he asked rather meekly.
"Read the name, right now.", she said visibly trying to control her anger.
"Yeah. It's called…….The Jade Vine?", Naruto said.
"Yes, damn it. This is the Jade Vine. How dumb can you be to not realise that. You were roaming around carrying all these like they're nothing.", she said.
"I get it, I guess. This is some special kind of seed? It's expensive or maybe fragile?", he said extending his hands in all directions metaphorically in hopes of catching the correct answer.
"Ab-so-lute-ly wrong!", Ino shouted. "This is origin of one of the rarest flowers you will ever find. I don't even know how it ended up in the hands of someone like you!"
"Wow, that's awesome. Can you tell me how to plant it?", Naruto asked nonetheless to her irritation.
"Have you gone nuts?! You think I'll let a novice like you grow this plant. No chance in hell.", Ino replied.
"But wait, that is mine. Shouldn't I be the on who decides what I have to do about it?", Naruto said calmly.
"Where did you get this? Answer me first.", Ino said eyeing him.
'Well Ino, I was checking out if there was something useful in the store and found this scroll in the drawer labelled "garden". I didn't think much of it until you made me realise that these were some rare ass expensive seeds that my parents must've bought sometime. That is what I would have liked to said and brag about it in your face, but I can't.', he thought.
"You got me. These are not mine exactly. The fellow I told you about, the rich guy, remember? He gave these to me telling me that his grandfather had kept this safe for him and now he wants to grow them. I just thought these might have emotional value for him but it appears these are monetarily and of course floristically, for the lack of a better word, valuable as well.", Naruto said in one go wanting to make it sound as plausible as he can.
Ino looked at him with the same intensity in her eyes. "And care to share who this acquaintance of yours is?"
He knew that she was looking directly in his eyes. Lying in the face to a member of the clan who are born mind readers wasn't one of the best options. He did what he asserted was the best answer.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. It's supposed to be a secret. Maybe I'll tell you someday, but not now. Not today."
He looked equally intensely into her eyes to tell her that he had his own reasons and he wasn't going to budge.
For the first time, Ino got on the defensive as she blushed yet again watching the fierceness in his deep blue eyes.
"Fine, but you will let me handle these things. That okay with you?", Ino said.
"I don't know, if they're so good maybe I should do it myself.", Naruto said knowing that he had to have the upper hand in the conversation.
"But you didn't even know about them until now!", Ino replied annoyed.
"But now I do. Thanks, but I guess I'll test my gardening skills.", Naruto said.
He took the box out of Ino's hand at a speed she couldn't even fathom what happened.
Upon realisation, she tried to get it back who looked precisely like a child desperate to get her plush toy back. Alas, Naruto was too quick on his feet to allow her to lay hands on the box or scroll.
"Naruto, you are an amateur at this. Scratch that, you're not even an amateur yet. You can't possibly hope to try out your novice skills on something so rare.", Ino said.
"Oh, you're saying it like you grow these things every other day.", Naruto replied.
"Still, I'm a florist. It's surely common sense to have me look for it.", Ino said.
"My seeds. My choice. You didn't buy them or anything, so these are still mine.", Naruto said.
"That's perfect. If you want to sell, we'll buy them all. You can tell your friend that he got a high price.", Ino said trying to persuade him.
After all, even if they grow these flowers, they'll end up with a huge profit due to the rarity of these items. Plus she'll get to see the flowers firsthand.
"Uh uh. I'm not giving into the greed. Sorry, Ino. But I guess I'll have to figure something out myself. Or maybe some other florist can give me tips.", he said teasing her.
"Fine. Go to hell. If you can't listen to me, you'll regret later.", Ino said.
"At least I will have tried. Better to regret on your own work than someone else who's too proud to even ask nicely. I'll see you in a few days, inform me whenever the flowers are ready.", Naruto said as he started walking away.
Ino was now shaking. She thought she could force Naruto into believing that it wasn't his cup of tea and he'd easily relent. Now, the golden goose was walking away.
Before Naruto could step out, she blocked his way.
Naruto smirked internally, as this was exactly what he had wanted. He was bluffing her, of course he wasn't going to just randomly waste them if what she said was true, which of course was, why would she lie. But at that moment he was holding on to something she desperately wanted, which he had observed very well just ago.
"Fine. You win. Please give them to me. I want to see those flowers so badly.", she said.
That was enough for him. But he wanted to try provoking her further, just to see her reaction.
"I don't know. Maybe you could do better than that.", he said questioningly.
She looked downwards as her head dropped down slightly. Her eyes couldn't be seen behind her bangs but her shoulders got slightly stiff.
'Oh shit. Bad news. It's how Sakura always does before trying to pummel me down.', he thought.
But what she did baffled even him. She closed the distance between them and put up her hands onto his chest. Their bodies were pressing onto each other. She looked at him directly in the eyes with a seductive look, and said,
"Naruto, please. I just need them whatever happens. I'll do anything you want. You just have to say it."
He definitely wasn't prepared for this, at least. He skipped a few steps backwards almost tumbling down.
"Hey hey hey, ch- ch- chotto matte kudasai! I was just pulling your leg. You don't need to do anything like that. You requested me, that's enough. I'll give them to you. Just stop.", he said.
"Hahahaha, I know that already. I was just taking my revenge because you were acting all high and mighty back there. But nice guys like you always just can not handle a girl. The look on your face was hilarious.", she said laughing.
"It's not like that……okay, you got me.", he relented.
"So, are you sure you're going to hand them to me until they bloom fully?", Ino asked.
"Well, yeah I guess. But you'll have to promise me one thing, that no one except you should know who these seeds or plants belong to. I really can't tell anyone who's this for.", Naruto added his condition.
"Not even Mom and Dad?", Ino asked.
"Your father is the head of the TI Department, Ino. You really need to ask that question?", Naruto deadpanned.
Ino humphed as she turned her head but agreed.
She quickly yet carefully opened the box of seeds and looked at them in awe. They were neatly arranged inside a glass body. To the normal eye, those didn't look any different. But to a florist's eyes, these were a beauty in themselves.
"Wow, these are simply gorgeous.", she said.
"Only a jeweller knows the shine of a diamond, I guess.", Naruto stated nonchalantly.
"What else did you say you have?", Ino asked putting the glass case back in the box.
Naruto opened the scroll and laid it out on the table. The names of the plants or flowers were written alongwith the seals.
"Wow, this has to be some stupid sweet dream. These are all rarest of the rare gems. Many of them can grow within a few days and many can survive even a few years without wilting away, even in harsh conditions. This is like the ultimate treasure trove for a florist!", she exclaimed.
"I see you're excited, but I gotta ask. Why is it so that you can't find them nowadays?", Naruto asked.
"Many of them only naturally grow in certain places which unfortunately are not found anywhere in the Land of Fire. Imports and trade has been cut off since the Third Great Ninja War with various nations I guess, since my dad said these used to be available, although in very limited amount, before that. Also, many of them are just not available because of the labour to grow and cultivate, and short period of bloom. I myself have seen barely any out of them, and that too in my childhood. Apparently, nowadays people have better things to spend money on than some measly little flowers.", she explained.
"I see. So, you take care of the flowers, I leave them all in your care. I'll drop by every now and then to to check if I can pick up anything. Or maybe you can ping me whenever it's done.", he said.
"Deal.", Ino said smiling.
As he appreciated the door, he was stopped by her voice calling him once again. As he turned around, he found her arms around his neck enclosing him in a hug.
"Whoa, hey. What's this for?", Naruto asked.
"Well, let's just say you made my day. It's an attempt to make yours too. This is not something just anyone gets to have, so be grateful.", Ino said.
Before he could have had the chance to say anything witty, she loosened her grip a little and turned her neck inwards to plant her lips onto his cheek.
It was a chaste one, and didn't linger on for even a bit. Yet, he felt so embarrassed or something, he couldn't even move let alone say anything.
"See ya, Naruto.", Ino said as she went inside.
He was just left there standing with the slightly moist unfamiliar sensation on his cheek. Nobody could say he was feeling normal since his face was visibly redder than the roses he had seen just ago.
"Hey there, young man."
He turned slightly and looked towards the direction of the voice without moving an inch. There seemed to be standing a lady with groceries in her hands.
"It's a pleasure to see you here, but I would suggest you visit the infirmary first. It appears to me that you seem to be suffering from a high fever right now.", she said.
"May I ask who are you?", Naruto asked and then mentally facepalmed at being sounded so rude.
"Yamanaka Flowers, you see here……", she said pointing to her right.
"……this is my shop."
Scene Break and Time Skip
He was now breathing easily as he reached his new home once again.
It was too much at once when Ino gave him a thank you kiss and he found out the lady he met right after was none other than her mother.
He was initially scared that she might have seen that very scene and he was a goner. Fortunately, when he had introduced himself, she just accepted it as a normal greeting and said nothing more. It was safe to say that she had missed it, for his own good. It's scary being on the Head of TI's bingo book of his daughter's too-close-for-comfort friends list.
"Phew. Why did I even go to the florist in the first place? Should have just put some random seeds and water in the pots. I must have more important things to do."
He was nonetheless pleased that all the miscellaneous household jobs were completed in such a short time thanks to his shadow clones.
There had been enough slacking off for the time being. Now, there was only one thing left to do.
He had already been dead set on achieving his goal to become the greatest Hokage and protect the people of Konoha, but now there was a known threat looming over in the darkness and the situation required accelerating the efforts to not only save Konoha but possibly the entire shinobi world.
Fortunately, he had also been passed on a great asset which would undeniably become one of his greatest strengths. The jutsu that had rocked the shinobi world and instilled the great nations with fear, being effective enough to neutralize entire armies in mere moments.
The jutsu created none other than by the Nidaime Hokage.
The signature move of the Yondaime Hokage.
Flying Thunder God.
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of what was presumably the study which belonged to his father. He pulled the key out of the envelope, inserted into the socket and twisted it before opening the door slowly.
The view was unexpectedly foreseeable. It must sound like an irony, but he was so used to getting surprises that normal seemed abnormal somehow. There was a desk with some chairs, a couch on the opposite side, a bookshelf on the back and a cupboard. Granted, it was as lavish as it could seem, but other than that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
He pulled out the piece of paper that was with the key and opened it hoping to find directions.
When the force of grief pushes back,
One should tread carefully on his track.
For even once if clouds block the light's flow,
It takes a lot for the sun to regain it's glow.
There was nothing else written on it.
"Hmm, what kind of directions are these? Why can't you just give simple steps. I'm too restless to decipher some damn clues which make absolutely no sense!"
He looked at the books and scrolls in the shelf carefully but didn't find anything similar. He went on to open the cupboard to find something useful.
"Huh?! Come on, is this really a place to keep snacks? I mean, sure they're packed but you could literally walk or maybe teleport to the kitchen and get yourself a whole meal!", Naruto said taking out some stale chocolate biscuits.
'Damn it, where should I look for it?', he said as he smashed back the cupboard door loudly.
He looked back at the piece of paper that contained the puzzle. It was getting to be a real nuisance. But something was off from before.
"Weird. I handled this paper with soft hands delicately to make extra sure that it doesn't get lost or damaged. But it's somehow visibly crumpled."
After some contemplation, it dawned upon him. And his eyes got wider and wider every passing instant he looked at the piece of paper.
"Oh my …..Kami! You sneaky old man!", he said as he started laughing instinctively.
As he was laughing, he simultaneously infused chakra into the paper and it ripped so much it vanished into nothingness. His laughter abruptly died down as he looked at an entirely normal piece of paper that was camouflaged behind the chakra paper.
How interesting, you found out the trick. It's as you assume, the lines weren't any clues, just some random thoughts that came to my mind sometime in my life. You already have the clue to find what you're looking for. You must have been taught by somebody hopefully, something important that a ninja should know. Look underneath the underneath.
'That's so mean. Telling all this ninja stuff to me, and all you're doing is playing with me. It's like having a match of hide and seek. Well, I won't complain. This is interesting.' , Naruto said grinning a little.
He had already figured out the meaning of the phrase. He put the paper on the desk and crouched down carefully analysing for any trap door mechanism or such. In the end, he found a small keyhole just below a corner.
"Underneath the underneath, huh? That was way too obvious. I'm disappointed, y'know!"
Having no other key, he re-inserted the same key and it opened with a click sound.
"Not that I'm complaining, but having the same key for two different locks isn't kinda dumb? Anyways……"
He found out that a drawer existed there which loosened enough to be able for him to pull out. There was a sole large sized envelope placed inside it.
'Hmm…… something doesn't feel right. Too anti-climactic. Couldn't you use something fancier?'
He opened the envelope and pulled out its contents.
Safe to say he was utterly staggered and horrified, judging by the look on his face. And why wouldn't he be, for there was a good reason behind it.
That very envelope contained the details and backgrounds of literally all the serving ANBU at that time, and even those of the retired and prospective recruits.
"I came looking for gold, and found bronze instead. Hehe, that didn't sound very cool. Anyways, why the hell would he leave this kind of thing in a place like this?"
It wasn't the scroll for which he had hoped to be there, but it was something quite important even though not as much. Well, somewhere else maybe ……..
He decided to keep that envelope with him and hand it over to the Hokage as soon as possible. It was too valuable to be lying around somewhere like this. About to close the drawer back, he had a brainwave.
'Hold on a minute. That is exactly what I would do to…..'
He tapped at the base of drawer and judged the height compared to the outside. There was no significant difference that would matter, and the sound was not that sharp to indicate there was something beneath.
However, he remembered a little trick that he had picked up sometime ago during his training. He had found it interesting even though it was an unorthodox way listed on the miscellaneous end sections of the book, since it wasn't commonly used. Or that there were far better ways to hide such documents or such.
It was a foolish way to secure something yet the most effective once you fulfil a certain condition. You WILL have to sacrifice another important piece of information.
Hell, he wouldn't even have looked any further after finding this envelope if he wasn't specifically looking for the scroll here and had been given those clues.
'Underneath the underneath on a whole next level. Well, I guess sneaking into ANBU libraries has its own perks.'
Remembering back, it was difficult only at the part where he had to sneak in. Afterwards, there was rarely any sign of trouble since the library was the last place a roughed up and tired ANBU ninja after a long mission would wish to crash in. Those guys mostly learnt everything on the field rather than on pages, which was of course the better option of the two. Although, Naruto didn't have that advantage so used what he could.
Carefully angling the drawer a little upwards, and pressing down on the base on the inside, the back gave way and a flap let loose. He pushed the flap on the hinge and finally got his reward. As he ducked down to reach the level of the drawer, he saw it.
"Dad, that was too reckless coming out of a smart guy like you. Still, I can guess this was far more important than anything else. Fortunately, there didn't come a need to test this gamble out."
The Scroll was placed inside a tri-pronged kunai shaped cavity horizontally. It had a VantaBlack shade background with golden stripes on the ends and tied with a bright yellow thread.
"Yep. That cannot be anything else. That's got to be it.", he whispered.
He couldn't help but control the very slightest shaking in his hands that were certainly physical representations of his hesitance. Nevertheless, he didn't falter by giving into self doubt for even a moment and grabbed the scroll.
Somehow, he felt far more relieved the instant it was in his hand. He pulled it out and stared at it. His hands were now visibly shaking and he couldn't control it. It showed how much excited he was, going by the expression on his face and the look in his eyes.
"This is exhilarating!"
Time Skip
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! This is so tiring!"
Naruto was ruffling his hands through his own hair out of frustration. Apparently, understanding the scroll was indeed not just kid's play. The fact that it had been explained in great detail made it just barely simple enough to be interpreted by him.
He had read a lot about Fūinjutsu too wherever he could. Even then, he didn't have enough knowledge on the art as it was quite high level subject and rare to find good explanations everywhere. A large part of which also depended on the fact there no one could actually claim to be expert enough that he could seek advice or demonstrations. Thus, he didn't force himself too much into Fūinjutsu at that time and focused on other strengths.
He was now fumbling through the pages of many good texts that he found in the bookshelf of the same room alongwith a few other shadow clones. Quite conveniently, many of them were based solely upon the in's and out's of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Spatial Bending : The easier way to get around
Temporal Rotation : Effects of high accelerations on time
Theory of Relativity : Length Contraction and Time Dilation
Wear and Tear : Effect of recurring tensions on human body
"Whoa, looks like this section contains a lot of relevant information."
Therefore, it was a relief to him that he didn't have to master all of Fūinjutsu just to get this one particular jutsu up and working. Nevertheless, the texts were too lengthy and detailed to be completed even in a year by a regular person. Add on to the fact that each line of description in the scroll needed lots of reference from all those books that it was absolutely mind-bending.
He had come to realise that he would undoubtedly have to put his heart and soul into it if he wanted to be able to master this jutsu soon. Although he did have the tailored layout of the workings of the jutsu courtesy of his father, unlike the latter he didn't have the same luxury of years of time to have it perfected.
This was going to be one hell of a task.
Scene Break and Time Skip
"Naruto, BAKA! Get your lazy ass to work right noooow!!!"
Naruto turned around away from the screeching voice that belonged to none other than his only female teammate.
Kakashi looked up from his book towards the trio through his only uncovered eye and sighed. All of them seemed to be picking up weeds from a big garden that belonged to some rich guy who couldn't hire civilian workers due to the fear of rumoured presence of lots of wild snakes around the area.
Although, there was a slight misjudgement in the first glance. The Naruto working with the others was merely a Shadow Clone, while the original one was dozing off on a bench in the corner under a tree shade facing away from the others.
Almost one week was over since they had started doing missions and it had been like this since the beginning.
(Flashback)
Sasuke and Sakura were already there waiting for their Sensei to arrive and even their teammate this time.
'Chaaa! I hope he doesn't show up before Sensei does. That way either only me and Sasuke-kun will be on the mission or he'll be punished to do it alone and we can spend some time alone together!', Inner Sakura shouted.
Sasuke was annoyed only because he had to put up with this fangirl while the others were coming at their own leisure.
Kakashi appeared on the top of the bridge and announced, "Yo! I see all of you are ready to go for your first mission, although none seems too enthusiastic."
"You're late! And what do you mean all? Baka Naruto isn't here yet, so he should be punished. You said last time that everyone has to be on time before you.", Sakura said smirking inwardly that her wish came true.
"True, I said that. But I guess you're mistaken.", Kakashi said amused at the statement.
"What do you mean?", Sakura asked but Sasuke was also curious.
"Naruto is right there.", Kakashi pointed out.
Both of them looked in the direction, which they'd later realise was their blind spot from where they stood and were surprised to see Naruto having a nice siesta on a tree branch without making the slightest noise.
"You ought to be more cautious of your surroundings. I don't know since when is he here, but if it had been an enemy instead of a friend, you'd end up with serious injuries. Out on the missions, it more or less translates to being dead.", Kakashi said.
Sakura was shouting around in the loudest voice in her head while Sasuke just gritted his teeth at not being able to detect him earlier.
"Naruto, it's time you come down. We're about to start.", Kakashi announced nonchalantly.
Naruto opened his eyes groggily with a yawn and flickered to where all of them were standing on that bridge.
He stood there attentive having woken up almost completely focusing on whatever the mission would be. However, before Kakashi could say anything, Sakura butted in, "What have you been doing?"
Naruto turned to her in confusion. 'Must be talking about these eye bags.', he realised.
"I was working." , he said.
"On what?", she asked.
'None of your business.', he thought.
"Something.", he said, trying not to sound rude.
Sakura was annoyed that he didn't reply to her questions, but Sasuke knew that it was some important training and he was probably yet to be bested again by his teammate.
"Okay, okay. This is the objective of our first mission. Let's not start off bad……." , Kakashi said unrolling a scroll.
A few hours later, they were standing in the Hokage office while a stout lady, one of the relatives of the Daimyō, was squishing a black cat named Tora. As she left the room, the only ones left were a frustrated Sasuke (who had almost caught the cat but it managed to slip through before Naruto caught it easily), an almost crying Sakura (whose face had been roughed up by the cat's claws), a confused Kakashi (who had thought the mission would promote teamwork), a sleepy Naruto trying not to show it (who hadn't slept last night as it was the last day of full day training), and an amused Hokage.
"Good work. That was a record by a great margin regarding the time you took to subdue Tora, nicknamed the monster cat.", the Hokage said.
All of them bowed slightly as per protocol and were dismissed.
The Hokage remembered the time when he received Naruto's invitation for a cup of tea at the old mansion. He had accepted and was amazed to find that it was almost, scratch that, exactly the same as he had seen what felt like ages ago. Even the gardens had been taken care of along with the floral embellishments.
Talking over the promised cup of tea in the patio, he had told the Hokage all about what he had found inside the mansion, including the letters. The Hokage was surprised to know that the secret to Hiraishin was actually there inside the Fourth's home. Regardless, he told Naruto that it was up to him to do whatever he wanted, and that he'd be there for him whenever he needed any help.
Looking at him now, the Hokage knew he'd been working hard day and night, maybe even overstraining himself. But only Kami knew how to stop the boy when he was determined to do something.
(Flashback over)
Since then, everyday Naruto either finished the job quickly or deployed his Shadow Clones to do his share while he rested as much as he could.
Sakura had objected strongly against him using this trick, but it was of no use. Technically, work had to be done by the appointed shinobi and he was doing just that except via a proxy of himself.
Still, Kakashi would've interjected had he been lazing around, but one look at him told that whatever he was working on day and night was tiring him the most. He knew better than to worsen his student's health despite realising that much.
Sasuke just cursed himself not to be able to use the Shadow Clone jutsu as efficiently without draining a lot his chakra lest he'd have been training rather than picking weeds.
"Naruto, you slacker! If you've got time to rest, come help us here!", Sakura shouted.
She was getting more and more irritated by the itching caused by the long blades of grass brushing on her legs.
"Sakura!"
Her face lit up like a bulb. How in the world could it be Sasuke-kun's voice calling her, but it was. He was calling her. She turned her neck sideways to face him. 'Maybe he finally wants to go on a date with me?'
"What is it, Sasuke-ku --"
A kunai flew right across in front of her face over her shoulder with a speed she couldn't even register. She stumbled backwards and fell down on her butt. She was so surprised she let out short breaths after holding one subconsciously. When she looked straight, it was none other than Naruto who had thrown it. And to add fuel to her anger, he had a pleased look on his face.
"ARE YOU FREAKING INSANE, YOU MORON?! THAT WAS TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. I COULD HAVE DIED IF IT HIT ME. ENOUGH WITH YOUR STUPID PRANKS, I'M GONNA PULVERIZE YOU! Sensei, did you see--"
She was suddenly shocked to see that Kakashi had also drawn his kunai and was ready to do what had just been done by her teammate, but was relieved for some reason.
Looking across, she saw that Sasuke's hand was down his pouch, as he was trying to pull out some shuriken. She had failed to notice it before due to the sudden movement. He didn't look like he was too happy about being a few fractions of a second late.
Puzzled as to why everyone was behaving that way, she looked at her side and screamed loudly getting the shock of her life. Lied there with it's mouth wide open was a big snake, with it's huge fangs ready to tear through flesh and bone alike. The only thing that stopped it was the blood covered kunai that lodged itself through half of it's head.
Sakura looked at Naruto who still had that satisfied look on his face. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't-- How'd you even know that it was going to attack me?"
"Snakes inhabit this area, so you gotta keep an eye around everytime. Kakashi-sensei is one real badass though, sitting around under that tree knowing that there was a snake hanging down from one of the branches above. Sasuke was on alert the whole time too, so I didn't need to look out for him. You, on the other hand, had your hands full of shouting at me, so it was obvious you weren't paying attention to your surroundings. Plus, if you listen closely, you can also hear the hissing sounds from the openings of the burrows.", Naruto explained.
"You analysed all that while you were sleeping?", Sakura asked bewildered.
Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and went back to the bench. Kakashi just sat back down to read one of his soft porn books knowing that Sakura will have to learn the lesson herself. Sasuke was again disappointed that while he had complete focus on his own surroundings, it was too late until he had seen that snake behind Sakura.
Time Skip
As they finished the job quickly and reported to the Hokage, he approved the completion and dismissed them, asking Naruto to stay behind.
"Did you need something, Jiji?", he asked.
"Nothing in particular. How've you been these last few days?", the Hokage inquired.
"As good as I've ever been.", Naruto replied, although a yawn at the end betrayed him.
"You've always been sleep deprived?", the Hokage chuckled.
"Guilty as charged. I've spent a little less time on the bed and more in my training, but it's worth it.", Naruto said.
"Nothing is worth your health, my boy. Either kick it down a notch, or else I'll have you check by a medic and then you'll have to undergo mandatory bed rest. I can't have my shinobi out in the field in this state.", the Hokage said.
"But I'm so close to learning it.", Naruto pleaded.
"Don't be ridiculous. It'd take a lot more time to actually grasp the jutsu completely. I may not know how to use it but I've seen my fair share of the parts to know that it's highly complex.", the Hokage chided.
"I'll make a bet.", Naruto said instantly.
"What?", the Hokage asked confused.
"One week. I've done all of the theoretical part already, I just need some time to test it out practically and smoothen it, so that I don't make a clown of myself. I can absolutely finish that in a week. If you're so sure, let's make a bet.", Naruto said.
The Hokage was surprised to hear it, but he couldn't just push aside the claim easily. After all, he had the confidence to say it and he had done a lot of unimaginable things until now. Still, he did think that it was a big chance as it could come when he could win a bet against him, since it was quite more formidable of a task than it appeared to be.
"Fine, I'll play. What if you lose?", the Hokage asked.
"I will do all these menial D-rank tasks for a month without complaining.", Naruto said.
"That's too low. Afraid of your own claim now, boy?", Hiruzen asked puffing out a smoke ring from his cigar.
"Fine. Three months.", Naruto said.
"That's more like it. And what if I lose?", the Hokage asked.
Naruto gave the most devilish smile as he clenched his fist, looked him in the eyes most intensely and said,
"You give me a real mission. I'm itching to let loose."
And it's over! Phew. That must have been long.
In the end, I decided to upload both chapters at once, since they're in continuation. Might look a little irrelevant in the end with the little missions and all, but had to wrap all of that up here itself.
Next up will be Wave Arc, the only canon arc of a single mission that was absolutely well written and hooked us into the show, unlike rest of the fillers.It will surely be interesting, as you can imagine.
Stay tuned! Sayonara!