Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.

Chapter Summary: In which Kumo comes to visit and Naruto learns about Boundaries

Chapter 11: I Would've Gotten Away With It If It Weren't For You Meddling Kids

Over the next few months, Team 7 completed five more C-ranks although they managed to avoid any altercations like they had encountered in their first mission. The three trained harder than ever with future battles in mind and their abilities gradually improved, although not as fast as they wanted.

It was as Naruto was walking home from his errands that he overhead the rumours about Kumo. They'd been fighting with Kumogakure since before he'd become a genin but it appear it was all about to end.

He burst in the apartment, startling Kazuya as he just barely caught the dropped bowl.

"Would you stop doing that?" he whined. "Not all of us can sense people coming, you know."

Naruto shrugged, knowing he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. He ruffled Rio's hair on his way past the kitchen table where the kid was doodling something Naruto couldn't recognise. It had a lot of orange though so he approved either way. He dumped his new fūinjutsu books on the table and went to put away the groceries he'd been carrying in the other hand.

"Have you heard? Apparently, we're going end the war with Kumo."

"What?" Kazuya asked, surprised. "Seriously?

"Yup, there's gonna be a peace treaty and everything."

"Huh," Kazuya huffed, finishing up and folding the tea towel.

"Nii-san, Nii-san!"

"Yeah?" Naruto smiled down at his brother, putting the bag of rice on the counter. "What did you draw today?"

Rio presented the orange mess which now Naruto thought about it, looked very familiar. His hand started to shake as he reached out for the paper, staring the single red eye staring out from the page.

"Where did you see this?" he whispered, distant cries and rumbling echoing in his ears.

Kazuya took one look at his face and peered over his shoulder. The colour left his friends face as he jerked back from the picture.

"What the fuck?"

"In a dream," Rio chirped happily, missing their reaction as he proceeded to ramble about the colours.

"Rio."

The young boy's mouth snapped shut as the notion that something was right entered his thoughts. What did he do? Nii-san never spoke to him like this.

Naruto put the page to the side and dropped into a crouch, placing his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Rio, you got to promise me that you'll never show this picture to anyone. You didn't do anything wrong but people won't like it."

He didn't want to scare him but Rio needed to understand this before someone else saw it. If people thought the Kyūbi was bleeding through his father's seal, Naruto didn't want to think how they'd react. It had been almost five years but something like that night tends to stick in people's memories. He would know.

Rio stared at him, confused and hurt at the reaction.

"Okay," he agreed quietly, head dropping to his chest.

"Hey." Naruto reached a hand beneath Rio's chin, lifting his head to look into sad violet eyes. "Why don't you draw a picture for Kakashi when he comes back? Like Pakkun?"

Rio nodded and a faint smile reappeared on his round face as he trotted back to the table. Naruto stood back up but was quickly yanked off his feet and shoved into the nearest room, which happened to be Kazuya's. A purple futon was neatly folded in the corner and the desk opposite was covered in medical books he'd borrowed from the library the day before.

He brushed the hand off and looked into Kazuya's scared eyes.

"Naruto, why the fuck is your brother drawing the Kyūbi? Because I know for a fact your brother's never seen it."

Naruto stared at his friend before sighing heavily. He'd hope to tell Kazuya after he'd told Rio, but it appears that wasn't going to happen. He took a deep breath.

"Rio has the Kyūbi sealed inside him," he explained, watching Kazuya's face carefully. "The Yondaime couldn't kill it so he sealed it into a baby. Rio was born just hours before the attack so he was a good fit."

Kazuya's mouth opened and closed as he processed the information. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Naruto hurriedly continued.

"The Kyūbi has no power, though. It's like sealing a kunai into a scroll; he's just keeping it there. The Yondaime's seal is the best, it won't break."

Kazuya considered him further.

"I mean, I could have told you that the Kyūbi has no effect on him," Kazuya shrugged, although his shoulders were still tense. "He's the nicest kid I know."

Naruto started to release his breath, but it caught as Kazuya frowned further.

"I love the kid but the Kyūbi took my mum from me. It's just gonna take some time to process, you know?"

Naruto's heart sunk, but he nodded. His friend deserved a chance to make his own decision, even if it was one he didn't like.

It was a rough week after that incident, with Kazuya finding every excuse to leave the apartment. As his friend walked through the doorway hours after training that day had finished, Naruto prepared for the worst.

Rio spotted the older boy and bounced over, peering up at his face. Kazuya paused for a moment before scooping the kid up, hugging him close. Naruto met his eyes from across the room and sagged into the counter behind him at the acceptance in his gaze.

They'd be fine.

The village was abuzz with gossip about the Kumo peace delegate as Kazuya and his team walked up to the Hokage's tower to report another successful D-rank mission. As he and Naruto walked to Tenjirou's shop to pick up deliveries after handing in the report, the pair happened to pass by the Hyūga compound.

Things had gotten back to the way they used to be between them since the picture incident. He still saw Rio as the same happy kid as before, but he had to take the time for it all to sink in. That had been the worst night of his life and the image of the giant orange fox destroying his home still cropped up in his nightmares. It was hard to imagine that beast of destruction seal inside little Rio, but the contrast between the two had helped him accept the truth. He knew there was more that Naruto was hiding but he had promised to tell him after Rio, which he thought was fair. He trusted the redhead to tell him when he was ready. He had never told the blond everything that happened at his uncle's and Kazuya knew he never would if he could help it.

Naruto's head snapped towards the Hyūga compound and Kazuya could recognise that look anywhere.

"What're you sensing?"

Sometimes his friend's chakra sensing ability awed and baffled him at the same time. It was hard to imagine knowing where everyone was around you without looking, it seemed like a lot. It made it impossible to surprise his friend as he could feel Kazuya approaching ages away; this was great for missions but not for when he couldn't enact revenge on the younger boy for sneaking up on him. Sometimes Kazuya liked to compare it to Naruto seeing ghosts, especially at moments like this when he appeared to be staring at the empty air.

"Someone I haven't felt before. They're not a Hyūga either."

Kazuya looked in the direction Naruto was staring but didn't see anything. He shrugged and began to drag his friend forward, towards whoever he had sensed. One way to find out to whom the signature belonged to. As the two boys crept closer to the walls of the compound, Kazuya finally spotted a man examining the wall in the distance. He dragged his friend back out of view as the man's head snapped towards them. He held his breath as he looked at his friend, blue eyes glazed over as they looked at something only he could see. Kazuya poked his head back round the corner to look at the man. Why was he hanging around the compound?

After the man eventually left, Kazuya leaned his head on the wall behind him. He wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Hey! Get off the wall!" one of the Hyūga guards came into view and Kazuya dragged his friend away, yelling an apology in response.

After walking for a bit, Naruto was still silent and Kazuya had to nudge him.

"What going on in that head of yours, Aka-chan?"

Naruto's eyes darted to him and he appeared to turn something over in his head.

"I think we should come back tonight."

"What, why?" Kazuya frowned. "If you think something's going to happen, why not just tell the Hyūga?"

"Have you met a Hyūga? They'll never listen to us," pointed out Naruto, one red eyebrow raised.

"Fair."

They continued on and Kazuya made a mental note to ask Tsume if Kiba was up for a sleepover.

The night was cool as they snuck towards the Hyūga compound that night, Rio safely tucked into a bed at the Inuzuka's. They had dressed in their mission gear, black shirts and trousers, and they blended into the night.

Naruto was grateful to his best friend for going along with him on this. He couldn't give any details, it more gut instinct than anything but the man from earlier hadn't been from Konoha. Kazuya had pointed out loads of people visited Konoha but Naruto had a bad feeling about this one. He'd never seen any other visitors lurking around the clan compounds, especially with that kind of chakra. The only way Naruto could describe it was he got a metallic taste in mouth. Not much to go on but if it turns out to be nothing then all they've lost is a night's sleep.

As they came to the same corner, the same chakra signature popped up but it was inside the compound. Startled, Naruto ran forward, Kazuya echoing his steps. The signature leapt over the wall and the man rose to his feet just a few metres away. Naruto's heart dropped in horror as his gaze switched from the Kumo headband to the sack the man carried; there was a weak signature smaller than even Rio's.

"Kazuya, you gotta go get the Hyūga. Kumo, he's got a kid in there," Naruto yelled behind him as he threw a kunai at the man's leg.

He heard Kazuya swear loudly before darting around the corner. The kunai missed but the man's surprise allowed Naruto to get close enough the aim a kick at his legs. The man jumped but Naruto had managed to take another kunai out of his pouch, slashing at the hand that held the sack. It reached the edge of his wrist, enough for him to drop the bag and a small squeak reached him.

"Kid, you picked the wrong time to fight me," the man growled as he aimed a kick at Naruto's stomach.

He dodged but failed to see the other leg as the man spun. Spittle flew from his mouth as Naruto hit the ground hard, swallowing the bile forced up from the hit. The man reached down to grab the sack again but Naruto ran through the seal for kawarimi, landing a punch on the man's face as he swapped with the sack. Fury sparked in the man's grey eyes and Naruto barely rolled in time to avoid the kunai that would have stabbed his heart. His world spun as the man kicked his head and he curled up as the Kuno nin landed another kick on his stomach.

"You've gotta die, kid." He growled, grabbing Naruto's left arm and twisting it.

Naruto yelped as the bone gave way and caught the man's nose as he kicked desperately. He crawled towards the sack, wincing as he jostled his wounds.

"NARUTO!"

He couldn't pick his head up to spot his friend as the foreign shinobi swore and he heard the 'ting' of kunai brushing each other. As he stared at the ground, he felt a brush of air pass him and the Kuno nin's chakra abruptly disappear. He rolled onto his back, squinting his eyes to see the broad back of a Hyūga standing over the body of the Kumo nin, his head at an awkward angle. A wave of pain hit him as he tried to sit up. Kazuya's worried face appeared above him and Naruto let the darkness take him, knowing he'd be safe with his best friend.

Naruto rose to consciousness slowly, the light blinding him the first time he tried opening his eyes. At the soft 'Naruto', he tried again and opened his eyes to a familiar white ceiling. The thought of 'please don't let it have been three weeks' passed through his mind until the events of before slammed in his brain. He shot up, regretting the movement instantly as the room spun. He felt a gentle hand push him back down and followed it to Kazuya's tired face.

"The kid?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

Kazuya stared at him for a moment before laughter burst out of him. Naruto watched his friend with concern; did he get hit in the head too?

"She's fine," Kazuya reassured him. "Trust you to focus on the kid and not on the fact that guy could've killed you."

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion as his friend chuckled.

"The girl was Hyūga Hinata, the daughter of the clan head. Kumo was after the Byakugan and so the guy who was here for the peace treaty tried to kidnap her for the bloodline. Hyūga-sama killed him and she's back with her clan. You've only been asleep for a few hours."

Naruto nodded and sat up again more slowly, glumly glancing that the cast of his left arm. Just when he thought he was free of them.

"Also I'm pretty sure we're in trouble."

"What?"

"The Hokage and Hyūga-sama want to see us as soon as you can stand. They want to know why we were there and didn't tell anyone," Kazuya shrugged, unbothered.

"Great," he groaned, swinging his feet out of bed. "Guess we better go see the old man."

Hiruzen sat as his desk as Hiashi tapped his foot beside him, arms folded and fury lining his features. This whole incident was an international nightmare. He had a furious clan head, a dead Kumo nin and an angry Kumo.

And mixed up in this whole mess were two young genin who had no idea of the significance of their actions.

The doors opened and in walked the two headaches themselves. Naruto shot a look at the Hyūga Head and bowed with Kazuya, their 'Hokage-sama' overlapping. As the two boys straightened up, Hiruzen took a moment to look over his successor's son.

He'd grown in the time since he'd become a genin, at least four inches. Red hair hung down to his shoulder blades, as straight as his mothers although it was obvious the boy had come straight from his hospital bed. He thought that the scar on Naruto's face had faded slightly but it was hard to tell with how pale the boy was; the contrast was stark against the forming bruise on his cheek. Not a speck of orange could be found and Hiruzen found a strange mix of sadness and pride at the observation. He had heard only good reports on his missions and training since he had graduated, with the exception of their first C turned B-rank mission.

He also noted that the blue in the boy's eyes had darkened since he'd last seen him; it was closer to Minato's shade now. A few more years, he would be looking into eyes identical to the Yondaime Hokage's. The boys straightened as Genma slipped into the room, standing at the back of the room. Good; they were all here.

"So, boys," Hiruzen began. "Do you want to explain your side of the story?"

They exchanged a glance before the brunet stepped forward.

"The day before, we were walking by the Hyūga compound and Naruto noticed a chakra signature that was out of place," he explained, his voice steady. "We went to go check it out and we saw someone beside the walls."

"I didn't recognise his chakra signature," added Naruto. "He wasn't Hyūga but we couldn't get close enough to see who he was. Something felt wrong so I convinced Kazuya to come with me last night to check it out, maybe see if he had left anything behind."

"You didn't think to tell anyone?" Hiashi interrupted, his tone sharp.

"Tell them what?" Naruto didn't back down. "We saw a man in the distance doing nothing near the Hyūga compound?"

Hiruzen cut in before Hiashi could reply.

"The rest?"

The boys exchanged another look before Kazuya took over.

"Naruto sensed the guy inside the compound and we ran closer. The guy then dropped in front of us and Naruto felt Hinata's chakra in the bag. I ran to get someone and found Hyūga-sama already beginning to look for her. I led him to Naruto."

The boy finished with a glance at the redhead.

"After I figured out there was a kid in the bag, I just tried to stall until Kazuya could bring help," Naruto shrugged, absently rubbing the cast.

Hiruzen sat back in his chair, contemplating their words. Their presence seemed to be a combination of Naruto's sensing abilities and dumb luck. He wasn't really sure where to go with this.

"You keep mentioning Naruto's sensing the man and Hinata?"

Hiashi narrowed his pale eyes at the boys.

"Naruto is a gifted sensor," Hiruzen supplied. "He was born with the ability."

"You didn't think to tell anyone?" Genma piped up, the senbon clenched in his teeth.

The boys exchanged guilty looks, turning to look at their sensei.

"We're sorry, sensei. We didn't exactly have much to go on."

Genma met each of the boys eyes separately before sighing, rolling his senbon from one side of his mouth to other.

"We should thank you boys," Hiruzen interjected. "You interrupted a kidnapping attempt and saved a little girl but I feel that you do not know the extent of the situation."

"What'd you mean, J- Hokage-sama?" Naruto caught himself just in time with a glance at Hiashi.

"Kumo are denying any accusations of kidnapping and are demanding compensation for the death of their 'peace ambassador'. They want the head of the man who killed him."

At Hiruzen's words, the boys lost their composure.

"But we saw him!"

"We literally caught him with Hinata in his bag!"

"You are genin," Hiashi broke in. "Your word means nothing to Kumo."

Outrage clouded their expressions and Hiruzen picked up on the frustration from the redhead. Maybe if the world knew his linage, they would listen but it was not worth the risk to Naruto or Rio. Both the grandfather and the Hokage in him agreed that these boys needed to be protected. Naruto's sensing abilities were far too valuable.

"So what? We just got summoned to tell us 'thanks but you fucked up'?" Kazuya frowned.

"I summoned you here to get the full story and to swear you both to silence over this matter," Hiruzen scolded. "No one can know you were involved lest Kumo demand your heads as well."

Silence followed his words. Hiashi stepped forward, gaining the attention of the boys again. The clan head seemed to gather himself and release the tension in his frame, if only for a moment.

"Thank you for saving my daughter," he confided. "No matter if you didn't tell anyone of your doubts or what comes next, you stopped them from taking my daughter. This will never be forgotten."

The surprise Hiruzen felt must have mirrored the genins as their jaws dropped in shock.

"And know that if you ever have concerns involving the Hyūga that I will listen."

Naruto appeared to consider Hiashi's words before coming to a decision unknown to Hiruzen.

"That's all, boys," he dismissed. "Consider your involvement an S-ranked secret."

Kazuya's eyes widened, but Naruto just rolled his eyes. It made sense; the redhead's life was an S-ranked secret.

"Congrats on the grandkid, Jiji."

Hiruzen nodded, smiling briefly in thanks. They left shortly after, their sensei following closely behind. At least Hiruzen knew that the boys would be fine.

After what was becoming known as the 'Hyūga Affair' in the village, Naruto didn't hear much about the political manoeuvring that was sure to have followed. He was still digesting the chewing out from Genma-sensei that occurred the moment they left Jiji's office.

In the months they'd spent training and carrying out missions with the tokubetsu jounin, he'd been chill, casual even. Genma-sensei spent their more torturous training sessions cracking jokes at their expense; if Naruto hadn't been so miserable at the time, he might have laughed. Overall, he was calm with a sense of humour. That man disappeared when he rounded on them in the tower that day.

The guilt from that day followed Naruto even now as he guided Rio through the village. It's not that they didn't trust their sensei, because he did, he really did. Naruto was just used to doing things either himself or with Kazuya. Seeking help from adults was never his first thought. He also hadn't thought that the bad feeling he'd had would have spiralled into an international incident.

"Naruto-kun!"

He was pulled from his thoughts at the shout, turning to see green spandex quickly moving towards him.

"Hi Gai," he smiled, leaning slightly away as the jounin stopped in front of the pair, pouncing into his 'nice guy' pose.

"How are you on this most Youthful day!"

Naruto felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Rio staring at Gai, although he couldn't pinpoint if it was admiration or shock.

"Sunshine, this is Maito Gai. He's friends with Kakashi. Gai, this is my brother, Rio."

Gai's smile switched from him to Rio as he came out of the 'nice guy' pose.

"You look like you are fully embracing the Springtime of your Youth, young Rio!"

Naruto scrunched his brow in confusion before clocking what the jounin meant. Rio's t-shirt was the same shade of green as the spandex suit Gai wore. Right then and there, Naruto swore to never leave Rio with Gai alone. Last thing he needed was Kazuya's meltdown if Rio came home dressed in the jumpsuit that he still complained about to this day.

"Oh, Gai," Naruto remembered. "I owe you a bowl of ramen."

"From when, young genin?"

"From my first C-rank; the training menu you gave me pretty much saved me," he elaborated, realizing that he hadn't actually told Gai yet.

"Ramen?"

Naruto grinned as he looked back to his brother. A magic word for his brother, guaranteed to gain Rio's attention, even when faced with the 'youthful' sight of Gai. He wasn't any different; ramen was the food of the gods after all. He led his brother and Gai to the stand, Rio shooting question after question at the jounin.

"If it isn't the Uzumakis," Teuchi called from behind the counter. "Where's the third one?"

"Kazuya's annoying the medic nins at the hospital today," Naruto explained, helping Rio onto a stool. "There was a bit in his books last night that he didn't get so he's trying to convince one of them to explain it."

"That sounds like him," Teuchi chuckled.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply when he heard another 'Naruto' from behind. He turned in his seat to see Kakashi and another man walk up to the ramen stand. Rio screamed next to him, launching himself from the stool and into Kakashi's arms. The jounin hefted Rio to sit in the crook of his arm, eye-smiling.

"Hey Rio," the jounin hummed. "Been looking after your brother for me?"

"Yep!"

Kakashi moved further in and Naruto dodged the hand that came to ruffle his braid.

"Here for ramen?" Kakashi placed Rio back on the stool, taking a seat beside him.

The man who was with him took the seat on the other side of Kakashi, his plain face blank. He had a weird head protector that framed his face and wore the traditional jounin gear. Naruto was pretty sure that he'd never seen him before but there was something in his chakra, something different that he couldn't quite make sense of.

"This is Tenzou," Kakashi nodded his head to the man. "I worked with him some recent missions."

Naruto caught the brief frown that crossed Tenzou's face.

"Tenzou, these are the kids I told you about although there's one missing. Where's K-"

Kakashi was abruptly cut off by Gai.

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"

"Oh, Gai, I didn't see you there. Did you say something?"

"You're so hip, Kakashi!" cried out Gai, tears streaming down his face.

Naruto looked between them before shaking his head, turning away. They had a weird friendship. He quickly ordered a couple of miso ramen with Teuchi, failing to keep Rio in his seat as the jounin spiralled into one of their challenges, Rio in between them demanding to take part. He'd asked what Gai wanted after they were done.

"So, Tenzou," he began, turning to the quiet teen. "How did you say you knew Kakashi?"

The brunet stared back at him, face still blank.

"I worked with Kakashi-senpai on recent missions."

Naruto eyebrows drew together in thought. That was exactly what Kakashi had said. Was it classified? He hadn't sensed Tenzou's weird chakra before so he was sure he wasn't in the general shinobi forces. He knew Kakashi was in ANBU, although he wasn't supposed to so did that mean this guy was also in ANBU?

"Are you ANBU?" he blurted out, despite knowing the teen couldn't tell him. Maybe Kazuya was onto something when he said Naruto couldn't keep his mouth shut to save his life.

"No."

"Right, right, I'm sorry that was my bad." Naruto chuckled, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "I was just curious about your chakra since I haven't felt it before."

"You can feel my chakra?" Tenzou asked, finally moving his face as his eyebrow twitched.

"Yeah," Naruto answered cheerfully, missing Tenzou's unease. "There's something different about it but I can't tell what it is."

Kakashi suddenly appeared next to him, blocking his view of Tenzou. Naruto turned to see Gai and Rio still engrossed in a game of jan-ken-po.

"Naruto, I know you have these sensing abilities but sometime you have to respect people's privacy, okay?"

Naruto frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Kakashi sighed and took a seat. "I know you are used to feeling everyone's chakra and it's natural for you, but you have to remember that some people might not appreciate you asking questions about stuff that might be private."

Kakashi's words swirled in Naruto's head. He hadn't considered that before. He had been able to feel chakra for so long now that he didn't think twice about it anymore. He had a habit of forgetting that no one else was used to it, except Rio and his team. As far as he knew, he was the only born sensor in Konoha but he never really stopped to consider what that meant.

He looked up to see Kakashi's eye-smile and nodded. They were obviously hiding something but Naruto decided to let it go for now. Kakashi maybe had a point; he didn't need to know and he knew he would be uneasy if someone knew about the secrets he hid just by looking at him. He put these thoughts to one side as Teuchi placed a steaming bowl in front of him, Rio and Gai appearing at his side at the smell. Naruto dug in as the buzz of chatter at the stand washed over him. He would think about it more later.

Thanks for reading!