Sakura thought about her team. Sasuke still occupied her thought often enough, but the boy was obsessed with training, so was Naruto for that matter. The fact Sasuke knew about what Naruto was explained his attitude regarding the blonde lately, he'd seemed completely nonplussed whenever Naruto displayed power that left her floored.
The green eyed girl decided she wouldn't be left behind by those two, they were near jonin level already and she had barely made chunin from what she could tell. Her only problem was how she was supposed to keep up with a genius Uchiha and a literal living weapon.
Sakura looked at the chakra kannoshi she'd purchased, deciding to start with ninjutsu, as it crumbled to dust in her hand. She knew Kakashi knew some Doton no Jutsu but he was Hokage now, so the poor girl was at a loss for who to train her.
The young chunin thought about the ninja she knew, she wondered if one of them might be able to help her. Her own team was out, Haku only knew Suiton until Naruto copied a Futon and taught him, and Naruto and Sasuke hadn't copied any Doton she was aware of yet.
She pouted as she left her home to look for other ninja she knew, wondering what the point was in having a sensei who copied over a thousand ninjutsu if he was too busy to teach her any of them. Kurenai was apparently specialized in genjutsu and was a recent jonin, but had been injured on a recent mission, and Gai was a taijutsu specialist. She didn't even know what Asuma's specialty was but he was out on a mission anyway.
To her luck she saw Anko eating dango again and rushed over to her, "Anko-sensei!" she greeted and the tokubetsu jonin coughed on her tea before turning to glare at the pink haired kunoichi.
"Damn it, kid, what do you want?" Anko asked, clearly annoyed as she glared at the younger girl.
"I just found out I have affinity for Doton no Jutsu," Sakura began and Anko wondered why the girl was telling her, "but I don't know anyone who knows those kind of ninjutsu. I was hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction?" she asked hopefully.
Anko sighed and tried to think, "Well there are the Sannin," she began, ignoring Sakura's crestfallen face, "Kakashi," she continued and Sakura looked defeated, "I think Kosuke,"
Sakura perked up at the last name, mostly because she didn't recognize it, "Kosuke?" she asked, hoping it was someone who might actually be able to train her.
"Kosuke Maruboshi," Anko confirmed with a nod, "a genin, really old guy too. Other than that I think there's a jonin named Yamato." she added.
"Where can I find Yamato?" Sakura asked pleadingly.
Anko sighed, "I don't know kid, he takes his work really seriously, he doesn't have many hang outs," she said, "just ask Kakashi or Naruto." she said, leaving Sakura to wonder why Naruto would know.
Sakura didn't find Naruto at the training grounds he usually used with Haku so she went to the Hokage, "I would like to request Doton no Jutsu training from someone called Yamato." she asked her sensei.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Well, okay," he began, "he's a bit busy so I'll tell him to come find you tomorrow, but I should be done with this batch of-" he started to try and offer his own training.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried, bowing in gratitude before running off, leaving Kakashi to sigh and feel like he'd been made Hokage too soon.
"As soon as Naruto is ready for it, this hat is his." Kakashi decided quietly to himself, already planning his retirement.
Jiraiya was still out of the village, a fact which bothered Naruto since he couldn't learn any new Fuinjutsu until the man returned and he wasn't permitted to practice drawing on more of the Kyubi's power without both the Gama Sennin and Yamato present. Naruto wasn't even sure why Yamato was there for that, the man never seemed to do anything.
At least he got to train with Haku still, and the older boy was taking him to a different training ground today. Naruto had been told the training would be a surprise and was curious as to what it could be.
The blonde chunin was lead to a secluded part of a training ground, a pond in a clearing surrounded by trees, "Naruto-kun," Haku began to get his attention, "I found out that today is your birthday, from your teammates," he continued, looking annoyed that he'd needed to ask someone else, "and I tried to think of what to do for you since I don't have the means to purchase a gift."
Naruto grinned, "Haku-chan," he interrupted, "you already cook for me, and help Karin-neechan clean, you even helped train me up to this point." he assured, "You're already mine," he added possessively and Haku blushed a bit, "so I don't care that you have nothing left to offer, you've given me everything I could want from you."
"Please," Haku spoke up, trying and failing to fight down the blush, "I still have some training to offer." the boy insisted, "My Hijutsu for example." he finished, surprising Naruto as he stepped onto the water, "Sensatsu Suisho requires jutsu specific hand seals I developed, I can perform them one handed and I intend to teach that to you as well." he explained.
Naruto wasn't sure he fully grasped the significance of this but nodded with a happy grin, eagerly joining Haku on the surface of the water to begin training.
A teen with white hair, pale skin, and green eyes walked confidently into Konoha and was stopped at the gate, "I have a message for Tsunade Senju." the boy with two red dots on his forehead told the guards, "Her eyes only." he added.
He was escorted to the hospital under Anbu watch, none of them trusted him but he did nothing suspicious. Tsunade wasn't sure what to make of him when he was brought into her office, he had the eyes of a defeated man when he was brought to her and handed her a scroll.
The doctor carefully opened it, suspecting a trap, and was surprised by what she read instead. She turned her suddenly hard eyes on the white haired teen, "Do you know what is written here, Kimimaro Kaguya?" she asked sternly.
The boy nodded, "Orochimaru-sama," he began, ignoring the Anbu leaping to position around him with kunai at his vitals, "informed me that you are likely the only one who can save my life, and as a result he has discarded me." he explained, "His last order was to forbid me to kill myself, by my own hand or by attacking a more capable shinobi. If it's all the same you can get it over with." he finished, sounding completely unconcerned with his own fate.
Tsunade found the lack of self preservation unnerving as she looked over the message, Orochimaru had written that there were no hard feelings about not fixing his arms and that the boy, a bearer of the thought to be extinct Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai, was a peace offering. She found it hard to believe but there were no traps in the scroll or writing, and she considered the boy could himself be a living trap waiting to spring.
The message stated he was dying of an illness that Orochimaru's personal physicians couldn't cure, and the Sannin had decided to gift the boy to her and the village, noting the boy was similar to another Kirigakure refugee they already had. Tsunade considered Haku for a moment, she didn't trust Orochimaru at all, but she wouldn't get to the bottom of this by killing a dying teenager.
"Take him to a bed, I'll examine him now." Tsunade decided, "Send for Ibiki and Inoichi." she added to the Anbu. Kimimaro went with the Anbu without argument.
Later Tsunade sat with Kakashi when Jiraiya arrived, "I just got back, couldn't you at least let me check out the hot springs before calling me for an urgent meeting." the old spymaster groused.
"We don't have time for your perversions!" Tsunade snapped, "We have a living connection to Orochimaru in the village." she informed.
Jiraiya turned serious immediately, "What happened?" he asked.
"Orochimaru sent me a message, he mentions you and Naruto." Tsunade explained, pulling out the scroll and handing it to him, "I didn't detect any secret messages, but you're the espionage and infiltration specialist."
Jiraiya took the scroll and read over the message with a frown, "What the hell is that twisted snake up to?" he wondered out loud.
"We were hoping you might be able to decipher that." Kakashi spoke up, "The bearer of the message is currently in the hospital being questioned by Ibiki and Inoichi."
"The message wasn't bluffing about his illness either," Tsunade spoke up, "the kid is dying, no doubt about that. I've never seen anything like it and his body structure is unlike anything I've encountered." she explained, "I can see why Orochimaru considered the kid a lost cause."
Jiraiya nodded, "The message implies that he's not so much giving us Kimimaro, as he is giving us the kids body." he commented, "Sick bastard." he added with a scowl.
"The question is, why?" Kakashi asked, "And why his interest in Naruto?"
"Orochimaru is interested in the Sharingan," Jiraiya answered, "when he mentions I might like to examine his Chi no Juin, he remarks that I'm a fool." the man pointed out with a roll of his eyes, becoming distracted, "Here 'even if that fool of a toad can't figure it out, I'm sure it will be of interest to him' what an ass."
Kakashi sighed, "The message does seem to be a lot of rambling." he pointed out.
"He was always meticulous," Tsunade spoke up, "as a result his notes were hard to parse."
Jiraiya nodded in agreement, "That could be to our advantage, maybe he revealed something he didn't intend to?" he suggested as he skimmed over the words again, "Wait he calls Naruto an 'interesting and unintended experiment'?" he asked suddenly, eyes narrowing on the passage he was reading.
"Naruto doesn't have a Juin." Kakashi pointed out.
Jiraiya nodded slowly as he examined the passage carefully, "This one I can tell is intentionally written for me, 'a shame the boy is trained by such fools, would that I were still loyal the future Sennin in training would already have evolved that dojutsu'." the man read out loud, "That's strange, 'future Sennin in training' sounds redundant, a future Sennin is a Sennin in training." he pointed out, rubbing his chin.
"Evolved dojutsu?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eye, Tsunade frowned, wondering at that too.
Jiraiya shrugged, "That's odd too." he agreed as they contemplated the meaning of the message, "This Kimimaro could have something built in to affect Naruto." he pointed out, "I'll examine Orochimaru's Juinjutsu, for now we should keep him under seclusion, keep Naruto away from him until I can be sure it isn't booby trapped."
Kakashi and Tsunade nodded in agreement, but still none of them were certain exactly what the traitor Sannin was up to.
Karin was trying to find a birthday gift for Naruto, but wasn't sure what to get him. The Uzumaki boy had pretty much covered her rent and food expenses, so she'd saved up some decent money to get him something as thanks, but she was completely lost as to what he might want.
In a word, the blonde was obsessed. Obsessed with being a ninja and obsessed with being Hokage. This made it difficult to find a gift for him. Karin wasn't an official ninja anymore so she couldn't purchase him sake, not that she would, and getting him kunai or shuriken seemed cheap.
So she was looking at clothes. It felt odd to just get him new clothes but she couldn't think of anything better. While walking between stores she saw Sakura and decided to ask her.
"Hey, Sakura-san!" Karin called out to get the other girl's attention, "You got a minute? I'm trying to get a gift for Naruto-nii."
Sakura halted at her name and turned to the red haired Uzumaki, "Oh, right," she said, realizing what the girl was talking about, "I was just going to get him some new shuriken." she confessed with a shrug.
Karin frowned, "You're his teammate, don't you know something else I could get him?" she asked, watching the pink haired chunin think about it.
Sakura closed her eyes and thought hard, "I'm not really sure," she admitted after a few moments, seeming concerned by her own lack of knowledge about the teammate, "he likes ramen, he wants to be Hokage, and he's smitten with Haku." she said, listing off what she knew about him.
Karin stared at the other girl in surprise, "Everyone knows that," she said, "there has to be more." she insisted.
Sakura frowned, thinking harder, "Uh, well, he hates giving up, he doesn't like the time it takes for ramen to cook," she continued, wincing at her own lack of knowledge, "he thinks toads are cool, and I guess he likes training a lot." she finished lamely.
Karin was stunned, "Oh," she said in realization, remembering how often the blonde went to train with Haku, "oh I thought training was a euphemism."
"What?" Sakura asked, startled.
"Nothing!" Karin said quickly, "I'll just, uh, get him clothes I suppose." she decided, a little disappointed Sakura hadn't been able to help her think of something better. The red eyed girl went back to shopping as the green eyed girl wondered how she knew so little about her teammate when he spoke so often and loudly.
Naruto was walking back home with Haku after training, a little annoyed that Haku had called training earlier than normal but Haku didn't insist on things very often so the blonde had agreed without too much complaining. It seemed most of the genin were waiting for him on his way home, Team 8, Team 10, and Team Gai. Naruto took some small satisfaction that he outranked Neji.
"There you are, Naruto," Shikamaru spoke up, approaching the blonde first, "Karin told us you'd be on your way home with Haku about now." the lazy genin explained as he pulled out a small box and held it out for the chunin.
Naruto blinked owlishly at the box as he took it and opened it, holding up the pill bottle contained within in confusion, "It's drugs," Shikamaru explained, "hyorogan to be specific, the side effects are minor and they shouldn't be addictive, but don't go abusing them, they're a stimulant so you could mess yourself up." he warned.
Choji approached next, "Here you go man," he said cheerfully, holding out some coupons, "I know you love ramen, but this barbecue place is awesome I promise." he explained and Naruto noticed there were six of the coupons and they were of the 'all you can eat' variety.
"Here," Ino said, joining her team and starting to make Naruto feel overwhelmed as she handed him a pair of forearm guards, "you seem to like rushing into taijutsu." she explained.
Tenten approached and held out a ninjato with a leather handle and an orange painted scabbard, "I got Neji-san and Lee-san to pitch in for this." she said with a smile as Naruto took the weapon, Lee gave a thumbs up and Neji nodded.
"Happy birthday!" Kiba congratulated as he handed the increasingly overwhelmed blonde a bottle of sake, much to Haku's disapproval.
"I got you these mesh shirts," Shino said as he handed over a bundle, "why? Because Ino-san is correct about your reckless tactics." he explained.
Hinata shyly approached and offered a box of chocolate without saying anything, they looked homemade. Haku tried not to glare since the girl at least had reason to be giving Naruto such a gift and it definitely wasn't romantic, his eyes did narrow a bit since he knew the young girl had a crush on the blonde chunin still.
Naruto, with his arms full of gifts, was stunned, "Wow, thanks guys!" he said gratefully with a wide smile, closing his eye to hide that it was watering in joy.
The genin said their farewells to the chunin and let the birthday boy continue home with Haku.
Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and the two loyal Sannin were sitting around Naruto's dining table with Karin drinking tea when he arrived home with his arms full of gifts from his friends.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the bottle of sake, "Who bought you alcohol?" she asked suddenly and the blonde clutched the gifts protectively. Karin tried to mirror Tsunade's disapproving look.
"Kiba." Haku answered without hesitation, Jiraiya just chuckled as the blonde Sannin next to him sighed.
"I'm going to have words with Tsume-san." Tsunade muttered under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Naruto," Jiraiya began, sounding surprisingly serious, "allow me to impart some sagely advice, in this world there are three vices shinobi must avoid at all costs; money, women, and alcohol." he advised, sounding actually mature for the moment.
"Hypocrites." Naruto accused with a neutral expression and tone, causing the Sennin to look betrayed, Tsunade wanted to laugh but the look and word was directed at her as well.
Kakashi chuckled, "He may not practice what he preaches, but he's right." the Godaime decided to try and back them up a little. Naruto didn't look like he was willing to give up the gift.
Jiraiya attempted a different approach, "We're old enough that it doesn't really matter as much," he began, ignoring the glare from Tsunade, "and I'm not trying to take your gift away, just treat it with some respect and caution, save it for special occasions." he explained, "Like your thirteenth birthday for example!" he added, taking out eight sake cups, Karin's disapproving look softened a little with interest when she noticed there was one for her as well, "A single celebratory drink on your birthday, shared with your sensei, team, and family, is more ceremonial than engaging in any kind of vice, right Tsunade-hime?" he asked.
The woman sighed at the question, "I suppose." she agreed, sensing she was outnumbered as Naruto and Haku joined them at the table and drinks were poured, "You should finish receiving gifts first." she added, taking out a whetstone and a short sleeve orange jacket with the white Uzumaki symbol on it, "You should learn how to maintain your tools," she explained, "and Shizune thought you might like the jacket." she finished.
Sakura put a shuriken holster on the table, "I noticed you're getting better at shurikenjutsu, so I got you a new holster, I already put some new shuriken and kunai in it for you." she said with a smile.
Jiraiya pulled out a book, and Tsunade almost glared before she noticed the title, "Here you go kid, one of my finest works, reprinted in hiragana." the old man said, "Relax, even the Yondaime Hokage enjoyed this one." he said, noticing Naruto's skeptical look.
"Surprisingly, he can write more than just smut." Tsunade added, deciding to vouch for that particular book so that Naruto would accept it.
Karin put some training weights on the table with a thud, "I thought you might like these, they're a little heavier than your current pair." she explained.
Kakashi smiled in that way that had his visible eye close, "Well I feel a bit silly," he said as he pulled out a scroll, "but I didn't think anyone else would get you something like this." he explained, indicating he'd gotten something Naruto had already received before pulling a katana out of the fuin in the scroll, "It's a little big for you, but I remember how much you thought big swords are cool." he commented, handing the entirely black handled weapon over, even the scabbard was black.
The sword was definitely not the right size for the young chunin but the blonde looked ecstatic to receive it, eagerly unsheathing it and checking out the blade. Then the others looked at Sasuke, who raised an eyebrow at their looks.
The Uchiha decided to ignore them as he turned to the blonde, "Naruto," he said to get his teammates attention, "I've decided on something." he began, "That eye of mine, it's yours. My gift to you." he explained, closing his one eye to avoid the shocked stares of everyone there, "I still expect your help with killing Itachi." he finished, opening his eye to see how the blonde chunin would react to that.
Naruto smirked, "As if you even have to ask." he said, indicating he wanted to help kill Itachi and causing Sasuke to smile. Sakura wasn't sure what was going on, and neither did Karin, but Haku seemed nervous and the adults were frowning, although none of them seemed to actually disapprove.
With that out of the way, they all wished Naruto the best, shared the drink of sake, and most of them left. Naruto smiled at how well his birthday had gone as he put the gifts away while Haku began cooking dinner. Then the blonde seemed to realize something.
"Wait, Haku-chan, when is your birthday?" Naruto asked, "Karin-neechan, you too, when's your birthday?" he asked, feeling a bit bad he hadn't checked yet.
"June twenty." Karin answered, a bit amused that it hadn't even occurred to the boy and wondering just how socially stunted he'd been, she suspected that something was odd about his upbringing but was still figuring it out.
"Ninth of January." Haku answered, not looking up from chopping vegetables for the ninja udon ramen and unbothered by the blonde not considering it until now. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't missed either of them.
"Yeah he's not talking." Ibiki told Kakashi, referring to their newest guest, "Inoichi is still trying with supervision from Jiraiya-sama, but much like the Oni no Doken this kid isn't scared of anything, he would actually rather die than give up information." the mental torture specialist explained, "I'm pretty sure the only reason he isn't requesting death like the old man constantly does is because Orochimaru forbade it."
Kakashi had suspected this might be an issue, "Well that's a shame." he said simply, "What did Jiraiya say about the Juinjutsu?" he asked.
Ibiki frowned, "He seemed concerned but told me not to worry about it, and he couldn't be sure yet, but it doesn't seem to be trapped." the man explained.
Kakashi wasn't sure what else they could do, they had some other Otogakure ninja captured during the invasion, mostly done by Haku interestingly enough, but except for the genin they'd all performed suicide jutsu, and the intel of the genin had been no good. According to Inoichi the genin were likely given bad information in case of such an event.
Jiraiya sat down across from Kakashi, he had an old looking toad on his shoulder. Kakashi wasn't sure what to make of this but the Gama Sennin seemed very serious, "This is Fukasaku, one of the Nidaisengama." the old man introduced the toad to the Godaime Hokage.
"Orochimaru's Juinjutsu is a form of senjutsu." Fukasaku said without preamble and Kakashi's eye widened, the Hokage glanced at Jiraiya who simply nodded to confirm the statement.
"It doesn't contain any booby traps," Jiraiya added, "but now I'm even more concerned as to what the hell Orochimaru meant." he said and the silver haired Kage nodded in agreement, he may not understand Senjutsu fully, but he knew enough to know it was powerful and involved a special kind of chakra and that few could handle it.
"From what I've heard, your old teammate seems to think your new student should learn senjutsu." Fukasaku spoke up, voicing what neither shinobi had wanted to consider.
"The kid is good for his age," Jiraiya acquiesced, "but he's not ready, and knowing Orochimaru wants it for some reason just has me more concerned."
Kakashi steeped his fingers as he considered it, "Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan have been progressing well too," he spoke up, "we should have plenty of time before Akatsuki move, but we haven't considered Orochimaru. I may be strong and respected, and I could possibly hold my own against Orochimaru for a time, but I hold no delusions about my ability. If Orochimaru attacks the village again, I will likely die." he pointed out, "Having yourself and Tsunade-sama in the village could help, but you need to travel for your spy network and Tsunade-sama is still suffering from her phobia."
Jiraiya nodded, frowning and looking down as he considered their options, "From what I've gathered Orochimaru has jumped to another body by now, so we should be safe from him while he gets used to his new form, but that won't be as long, and it's likely he'll move before Akatsuki does if he wants the Sharingan." he explained what he knew of his traitor teammate.
"There are three Sharingan in Konoha, and none of them are pairs," Kakashi pointed out, "but from what you've told me he likely intended to give Sasuke-kun a Juin of some kind back in the chunin exams but lost interest when Naruto-kun was given one of those eyes." he said before narrowing his eye, "So why the sudden interest in Naruto-kun? And why senjutsu?" he asked, neither the Sennin nor the Sengama in front of him seemed to have an answer for that.
Haku was concerned. Jiraiya was taking them to the hospital, apparently the man wanted Naruto to speak to a prisoner. It was odd that the prisoner was in hospital, but what was stranger was he wanted Naruto to talk to more prisoners in the T&I headquarters after this.
Naruto was not an interrogation specialist, and Haku knew the blonde didn't have it in him to torture information out of anyone. It was also concerning how serious the usually cavalier old pervert looked and that he didn't tell them anything, even Naruto could tell something was up.
Haku had not been told he could come, but he had not been forbidden and nobody stopped him from walking with Naruto, which he was grateful for, as they were lead to a hospital room under Anbu guard. Tsunade was waiting for them, and made no comment on Haku's presence.
Wordlessly, Naruto was lead into the room and Haku followed. Sitting in the sole bed was an oddly familiar boy, who seemed about the same age as Haku but far more masculine. The feminine dark haired boy felt the white haired boy was familiar but couldn't place where he'd seen him, then he recognized the red dots as markings of the Kaguya clan and remembered that time he'd encountered a member of that clan with Zabuza once.
Jiraiya and Tsunade noticed the recognition in Haku's eyes and wondered if Kimimaro similarly recognized the other boy but was better at hiding it, but the white haired teen was staring at Naruto instead. No one said anything for a moment as the blonde chunin stared back.
"You are Naruto-kun?" Kimimaro asked, Tsunade and Jiraiya took note of this since neither of them had described the young blonde to the boy or informed him that he'd have a visitor, Haku was similarly wondering about what the other boy knew of the Uzumaki and all of them were confused by the honorific.
"Yeah, Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage y'know." Naruto confirmed and introduced himself, his verbal tick the only indication he was nervous about the older boy, "Who are you?" he asked, still not actually sure why he was here.
"I am useless trash, discarded by Orochimaru-sama." Kimimaro answered without emotion, Haku frowned as he recognized a similarity between himself and the other shinobi. They were both of cursed clans, both suffered from the bloodline purges, and the only difference was that he'd been found by Zabuza while the Kaguya had been found by Orochimaru.
Naruto didn't seem to know how to react to that, his face caught between a scowl and a grimace, "What the hell kind of answer is that!?" he shouted suddenly, deciding on anger, "I asked who you are not what some bastard who discarded you thinks!"
The Anbu in the room tensed as the blonde managed to get a rise out of the Kaguya, "And just what the hell does trash like you know?" Kimimaro asked with a scowl of his own, "I was useful to Orochimaru-sama, now I'm nothing!" he insisted.
"Like hell!" Naruto denied, "I don't know why the hell you care about being useful to a jerk like Orochimaru, but you should be your own damn person y'know!" he shouted at the older ninja.
The Anbu surrounded Kimimaro in an instant as killing intent was directed on the blonde, who didn't flinch, but still the white haired teen stayed in bed, "Do not speak ill of Orochimaru-sama, trash-" he began.
Haku knew he shouldn't, he knew he could get in trouble, but he was on the other boy in an instant, "Enough!" he shouted and slapped the Kaguya across the face. Kimimaro actually seemed surprised by the nonlethal reprimand before he turned his glare on the dark haired teen, "Naruto-kun is not trash!" Haku insisted, "Naruto-kun is not only a strong shinobi, he's a better man than your former master could ever hope to be!"
Kimimaro was restrained by the Anbu as bones broke through the boys flesh, Haku narrowly dodged as the tip of one of the Kaguya's fingers flew past and grazed his cheek. Suddenly Kimimaro halted in surprise as a malevolent killing intent pressed down on the room, Naruto stood between Haku and the white haired shinobi with murder in his eye, the pupil lengthening into a slit and the iris turned red.
"If you try to hurt Haku-chan again," Naruto growled, "I'll kill you." he promised coldly. To the surprise of the Anbu and the Sannin Kimimaro pulled his bones back into his body and stared at the murderous blonde with a look of interest.
"I see," Kimimaro said, narrowing his eyes at Naruto, "so this is what Orochimaru-sama was speaking of." he mused, considering the blonde chunin carefully.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked, still angry at the older boy and standing protectively in front of Haku.
"Orochimaru-sama said you had unique power," Kimimaro explained, surprising the Sannin that he was actually answering the question, "he said you were like him in many ways, an orphan with charisma and a dream, and power that others feared." he continued and Naruto frowned at the similarities, not enjoying the minor parallels, "According to Orochimaru-sama the main differences is that you are quicker to anger, you have yet to master your emotions as a shinobi should, and that you are far more emotionally attached to your tools." he finished with a look at Haku that raised the ire of the blonde.
"Haku-chan is not a tool," Naruto insisted angrily, "he's precious to me as a person, and I love him." he said and Haku blushed in surprise at how easily the blonde said those words. Kimimaro seemed surprised too but none of them could tell if it was the words or the fact Haku was male that surprised him.
"Haku-san," Kimimaro began, "you also love Naruto-kun." he said and it wasn't a question but Haku nodded anyway, "What would you do for him?" he asked.
"Anything." Haku answered without hesitation.
"Would you die for him?" Kimimaro asked, startling Naruto and the Sannin.
"Of course." Haku answered, unshaken by the question, Naruto's eye widened in horror, and although the Sannin suspected this the ease with which he answered still surprised him.
"You are like me." Kimimaro said, the realization seeming to concern the boy.
"No," Haku answered, earning a raised eyebrow from the Kaguya, "I used to be, I viewed myself as nothing but a tool, and when I believed I had lost all use to the person who gave me purpose because I couldn't bring myself to kill as a shinobi should I begged Naruto-kun to kill me." he explained, "I attempted to throw my life away to protect that man," he said sadly, "Naruto-kun saved me and that man. I thought for a while that man discarded me, but he merely gave me the opportunity to be with Naruto-kun, and be useful to someone who loved me."
"Nobody is dying for me!" Naruto insisted, "Damn it, Haku-chan I thought you trusted me!" he accused, sounding betrayed to the surprise of both of the former Mizu no Kuni boys.
"Of course I trust you!" Haku insisted, visibly hurt by the accusation.
"Then trust me to protect you!" Naruto demanded and the dark haired teen's eyes widened in understanding, "I'm strong, and I'm getting stronger, and I'll never give up y'know!" he insisted, "I will be Hokage and this village will be under my protection. I refuse to let anyone die for me!"
"Hypocrite," Kimimaro spoke up and the blonde glared, "you refuse to let them give your lives for you, but from what you say intend to put your own life on the line for them. Do you think yourself immortal?" he asked.
Naruto frowned as the other boys words hit home, "No," he answered, gritting his teeth, "but I'll become stronger, maybe strong enough that even the Shinigami himself won't touch me or the people I care about." he said with conviction.
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a glance, both of them remembered what their sensei had told them about Orochimaru's motives and the similarities between the twisted snake and the bright blonde were starting to disturb them.
Kimimaro found the blonde admirable, even if he didn't want to admit it, "What of those who would threaten your precious people?" he asked, curious.
"I'll stop them." Naruto answered without hesitation.
"Even if you must kill them?" Kimimaro asked, raising an eyebrow and keeping an eye on Haku to gauge the reaction of the boy with the soft heart.
"If they threaten the people I care about, then yes." Naruto answered simply, "If I can find another way to defeat them I will," he expanded on his answer, "but I won't risk the lives of the people I care about to save someone who threatens the people I love." he said simply.
Jiraiya was glad for the second half of that answer, having worried for a moment about the blonde boy, but smiled proudly.
"Your resolve is impressive." Kimimaro confessed, but said no more on the matter. Jiraiya took Naruto and Haku out of the room, apparently their discussion was over. Haku wondered what the point had been and what they had learned of Orochimaru from the boy, but mostly he wondered about what he had learned of Naruto.
"Ah, Sharingan Naruto," Pachi greeted in a cheerful tone, "finally come to kill me?" he asked without his tone shifting at all.
"Hell no, tell us how you knew about the lumber transport mission." Naruto answered and demanded in the same breath.
"Absolutely not, I have my own pride to consider, I will not give up any information to my enemy." Pachi answered simply.
"Alright, fair enough." Naruto said with a shrug, surprising Ibiki, Inoichi, Haku, and Jiraiya. Pachi just nodded and bid the blonde a good day. The other shinobi weren't sure what to make of that.
On their way to the next prisoner Naruto seemed to notice the looks he was receiving, "I wouldn't want to give away information either." he explained simply, and even Jiraiya was surprised at the empathy behind those words.
They entered a room with a chained up young girl, roughly Naruto's age, with long black hair. Naruto recognized her as Kin Tsuchi from the chunin exams, "I already told you assholes everything." the girl grumbled, "So just give me a quick death, Orochimaru will do worse." she seemed pretty defeated already.
Naruto frowned, wondering what he was supposed to get out of this prisoner, "You aren't as devoted to that snake as the white haired guy." he pointed out bluntly, which caused the girl to look up in fear.
"Two dots on his head?" Kin asked in a shaky voice and at their nods she shivered, "Oh how in the hell did you manage to capture him?"
"Orochimaru pretty much handed him over, he seems pretty depressed about it." Jiraiya decided to answer, wondering how the girl would react.
Kin blinked owlishly, "Well damn, I knew he was dying but that's unexpected." she commented, looking concerned.
"Well, we're not killing you," Naruto said before frowning and looking at the torture specialists, "right?" he asked, not actually certain.
"Well it's not like we can just let her go," Jiraiya answered, "if Orochimaru catches her and finds out we let her go after she told us everything he'll kill her slowly even if the information she had was useless." the Sennin said with a shrug, "But it's not like we can just let her become a Konoha shinobi, even if she's been cooperative she certainly wasn't at first." he explained.
"We can't just keep her indefinitely either," Ibiki spoke up, "it'd be a drain on resources to keep a useless prisoner alive and she can't just go into hiding in Konoha because she honestly can't be trusted." he explained further.
Naruto scowled, "Damn it, that sucks." he grumbled, trying to figure out a better solution, assuming that's why he was there. Jiraiya wanted to see how the blonde would handle this situation, and Kakashi had agreed, the boy wanted to be Hokage and these were the kinds of decisions Kage had to make.
"Yeah, woe is me." Kin said with sarcastic venom, but there wasn't much bite left to her.
"Are you sorry?" Naruto asked suddenly.
"What?" Kin asked, raising an eyebrow and clearly confused by the odd question.
"For working for Orochimaru," Naruto clarified, "for attacking my home," he continued, "for attacking Haku-chan?" he finished with a glare.
Kin wasn't sure what the blonde boy was getting at but shrugged, "Well yeah, I suppose I am." she said, "It's a bit too late to apologize for my actions don't you think?" she asked, wondering what the angle here was.
"Is it?" Naruto asked, looking at the others in confused surprise, which just earned him the surprise of the others.
"Kid," Ibiki began, "do you think she'll just say she's sorry and she won't do it again and that everything will be fine?" he asked.
Naruto frowned, "Well," he said, needing to actually think about it, "I guess not really," he confessed, sounding upset, "but killing her isn't going to make anything better." he pointed out, "She did the wrong thing, she should make it up to the people she wronged." he explained his reasoning and again the older ninja were surprised.
"Sometimes the only way to atone is to die." Ibiki said harshly, earning him a glare from the Jinchuriki which was soon leveled on the prisoner.
"Did you kill any civilians?" Naruto asked suddenly and Kin shook her head, she hadn't been given orders to do so and she'd been busy with Haku during the invasion, "Would you rather die or see Orochimaru get what he deserves?" the blonde asked and the girl was stunned.
"You're kidding right?" Kin asked, "Of course I'd love to see that bastard suffer but what-" she began.
"Then I'll sponsor you." Naruto interrupted and the older ninja in the room glanced at each other in concern as they realized what was happening and Haku looked at the blonde in surprise, "If you swear you won't hurt Konohagakure or anyone I care about, you can be my vassal." he decided as if it was the most obvious solution.
"Are you stupid!?" Kin asked, "If I do something illegal as your vassal you know you get the punishment right? A vassal is supposed to be someone you trust!" she pointed out, only becoming more frustrated at the grin she received.
"If you're so untrustworthy," Naruto began with a sly grin, "then why didn't you take advantage of my kindness?" he asked cheerfully.
"Oh please, even if you're serious those guys will just talk you out of it." Kin excused her outburst logically.
"Your response was very emotional," Haku pointed out, "as much as I would prefer Naruto-kun not take you in, I can see it would pain him to see you die now that he's found a way to save you." he explained, "Naruto-kun quite enjoys being a dashing young hero." he added with a smile.
Kin frowned and noticed the older ninja were just watching, "Hey, are you guys seriously okay with this?" she asked, "You just said I couldn't be trusted!" she pointed out.
Jiraiya grinned, "It's the kids decision," he answered, surprising Ibiki and Inoichi, "he can technically sponsor whoever he wants." he explained with a shrug.
Kin wasn't sure what to make of that, the idea of being caught by Orochimaru if she was let out scared her, but if she could remain a ninja and train, and keep herself surrounded by other ninja she might have a chance. The girl was no fool, she knew who Jiraiya was, and the idea of staying on his good side was appealing.
The kunoichi sighed, "Fine, I'll serve you." she agreed, hoping she wouldn't just be bait for Oto ninja coming to assassinate her.