Holy hell it's been a while! I'm really sorry about that, even more so when I saw how much love the story was getting... but I've been struggling to hold down both of my jobs so much that I have almost no energy at the end of the day to write. Things are getting easier now, though, and I'm leaving on vacation in a few days! Writing time! Also, I have some good news at the bottom of the chapter, so be sure to read that note too.
Naruto's eyes refused to open, the somehow familiar warmth that engrossed him made anything but relaxing difficult. A small smile graced his lips as his eyelids remained closed, and his next inhale brought a scent to his nose that made every one of his senses tingle. She was real. He hadn't dreamed of it, he got her back. And she was here, laying with him, making everything better with nothing more than her presence.
"I see someone woke up in a good mood," her silky sweet voice coaxed Naruto from his own mind.
Naruto let his eyes finally see the light of the morning, but the view was much better than any sunrise. Hinata had half of her body draped over Naruto, the white expanse of her skin contrasting beautifully with her dark, messy hair.
"How could I not, considering who I woke up with?" he asked in response.
Her only response was a smile of her own and a deep kiss. Naruto wanted to deepen it further, but when his lips started to part she pulled away. More confused than anything, Naruto looked at her and waited for an explanation.
"Don't you remember my promise last night?" her coy smile was accompanied by a light blush.
Did… did that mean he was getting a 'turn'? He wouldn't complain if that was the case!
Her face was up above his at the moment, and when he came to his conclusion his eyes tried to dart down to his groin. Fortunately, a soft pair of fleshy mounds impeded his view, and Naruto's eyes went back to Hinata's.
"I see you do. I guess I should get started then, seeing as it's morning…"
Naruto's face remained upturned, the gentle pressure of Hinata's finger under his chin deterring him from gazing at the spectacle. He could feel the growing hardness of her nipples dragging down his chest, growing closer and closer to his own hardness even as Hinata left a wet trail of kisses down his neck and chest. Naruto shuddered when he felt his morning wood embraced by the warmness of his girlfriend's chest, and to his complete surprise, her lips showed no intention of stopping.
Naruto walked into the Hokage's Administration building at roughly a quarter after eight. He was absolutely bouncing with every step, something that the few people out and about took notice of. Since he was a squad leader at the moment, he could see the Hokage before her appointments started at nine. Tsunade was supposed to be in by eight for that very reason but Naruto knew that sometimes she liked to take a few extra minutes to get over the daily hangover, so he waited fifteen extra minutes. Well, they were an eventful fifteen minutes that he felt like he had spent VERY well. The things Hinata can do with her mouth…
"Naruto! What are you doing back? Are you here to see Tsunade?" Shizune beamed brightly from the desk.
"Hi, Shizune! Yes, I popped back in with some crazy good news for our fearless leader. I'll be out by ten though, I have to get back to my team."
Shizune saw the unwavering smile on Naruto's face, and she also noticed the odd glow that seemed to surround him. It must be some pretty good news. "Well, she's just getting in for the day, so you should be able to head right in. Would you like anything to eat or drink for your meeting?"
Naruto tilted his head from side to side, thinking about the offer. "Actually, if you could just have Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Kurenai all join us within the next few minutes that would be great."
Shizune glanced at a few papers before saying, "Jiraiya is out of town at the moment, but I can send ANBU for the other two. They are likely training by now, so you can expect them in about five minutes."
Kakashi? Early morning training? Naruto never thought he'd see the day, but then again Kakashi was one of Konoha's most prominent ninja and they were in the middle of a war.
"Thanks, Shizune! Say hello to Ton-Ton for me!" Naruto spun to head up the stairs, and Shizune snapped her fingers. A pair of shadows zipped from the room as Naruto bounced out of sight.
Tsunade sat with her feet on her desk, a bottle of premium Sake in her hand. If you asked her, it was the best cure for a hangover you could ask for. How can you be hungover if you're still drunk? It's foolproof.
"HELLOOO, HOKAGE!" Naruto kicked the door open with a thundering crash almost as loud as his greeting.
After a brief startle, Tsunade sunk down into her chair with a sigh. She took her feet from her desktop as she tucked the bottle away. She had a strong feeling she'd be needing it before Naruto was finished here. It was never a good sign when a squad leader came in early from a mission. Was his cheery attitude his way of coping with disaster? Was it to prep her for the bad news? She was a big girl, for fuck's sake she could take it.
"Okay, Naruto, where's your team and what went wrong?"
Naruto. Simply mock-gasped as he sat down across from her. He had a hand daintily pressed to his chest, and his mouth hung open comically wide, almost managing to offset his smile.
"What could you possibly mean? I am a great commander, and I have full trust in my team that they'll follow orders and find Neji sometime this morning!"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow in suspicion. This happiness was starting to really throw her off. "Are you just reporting in to tell me that you made contact with all of the villages through Tea and along Frost's border?"
Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head, his smile dropping for the first time that morning. "Actually, we could start with that when Kakashi gets here."
"Present," Kakashi monotoned as he walked into the room and leaned against the wall. "Why was I called in again? Do I have to fix one of Naruto's mistakes?"
Naruto laughed aloud, "Not quite yet, Uncle Kakashi! And believe it or not, Sasuke didn't mess up either!"
"Someone's chipper this morning…"
"And you were training this morning! First time for everything, ha!"
"Boys if we could focus back in here…" Tsunade was feeling a headache come on. Naruto had a talent for that, it seemed.
"Of course, Lady Hokage," Kakashi bowed respectfully. "Also, my response was as fast as it was because I was at the memorial stone, not a training field."
Naruto's eye twitched, but he kept up his bright demeanor. "Anyway! My report so far: we only managed to hit three of the six planned targets in Tea."
"What?" Tsunade sat up straighter. "And you're happy about that because?"
Naruto shook his head, "Oh, I'm not happy about that, believe me. Anyways, the morning after I brought in that Sound captain and his experiment – how are they by the way?" Naruto bounced from topic to topic.
"The girl is receiving therapy through the Yamanaka's and the captain gave us ample information in honor of 'his Dark Lord'. Care to explain that?"
This time Naruto actually giggled a bit, throwing off both present adults. "Sasuke went full on Emo Uchiha, scared the bat juice out of the poor guy. The girl hopefully didn't see the worst of it, but it worked out well enough."
Tsunade sighed before motioning with her hand for the report to continue.
"Yeah, the morning after that we approached the biggest settlement we had plans to see, but it was gone. The leader of the Akatsuki was responsible for turning the town into a crater, and we fought him a bit. Got our asses kicked ROYALLY, oh boy. He was just testing out this modified seal he bought from Orochimaru who got it from Gaara before the invasion. It worked, by the way, totally fucked up my connection with Kurama. Kinda impressed by my work if I do say so myself –"
"NARUTO STOP TALKING." Tsunade was up out of her chair now. "What the hell happened to your simple mission? The information from the Oto nin was really valuable, so thanks and all but what the hell? The LEADER of the AKATSUKI?"
Naruto sat with wide eyes at her outburst. "Well, ya didn't have to yell. Yeah... he turned the last three villages into craters, but he did tell us that every village in Frost had already sided with Kumo before we pressed on."
Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose as Kakashi smacked his head repeatedly against the wall.
"So… yeah! That night I decided that we'd eliminate as many villages as we could on our way to find Neji and his team. We got four in total, and we each got to do one by ourselves. You see, Sasuke turned it into a competition and all, but I totally won. Don't bother asking the other two just trust me."
"Wait," Tsunade interjected with a stern tone. This meant that the matter had turned into something she couldn't let Naruto laugh off. "What do you mean you each eliminated a village?"
"I'd call them 'outposts' more than villages. There were no civilians present, so we took out all four of em. We didn't take the one Kurama did in our competition because then he would have won for sure."
"Damn straight."
"Naruto this is a big deal. Those were likely their advance scouting unit outposts. Losing them would be a huge loss for Kumo, especially if the casualties were high. That also means that Konoha has drawn first blood for the first time in any of our past wars. Were there any survivors?"
"I know I left EXACTLY one, I wanted her to deliver the message you know? I told my team to leave some, and I'm pretty sure some escaped Sasuke's fire. Sakura just kinda caused an earthquake/sinkhole/rockslide with her damn fist, so I have no idea how many made it out of that one."
"That's my girl," Tsunade whispered with no small amount of pride. "But how are you all dealing with that? You killed a lot of people on this mission, Naruto. No one comes away from that the same, especially their first time."
"Ah, I believe that's the reason I'm here, Lady Tsunade. My team and I have always helped each other through these kinds of things," Kakashi spoke up for the first time in the report.
"Ehhh," Naruto made a very high-pitched sound of hesitation, "That's one reason, sure, but it's more for the end of the report."
"You started the report without me? Goddamnit, Naruto! First, you summon me to the Hokage's office and then you don't even wait for me? And I WASN'T TRAINING!" Kurenai entered through the still-open door, her hair an absolute mess and her mood no better. She must have left in a huge hurry.
Kakashi's nose twitched, and then his visible eye shot wide open.
"You only really needed to be here for the last part, so don't worry Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto beamed at her. Her eyes narrowed and she almost growled. "Actually, why do I smell cigarette smoke and…"
Naruto's eyes also widened, and he could form no words.
"K-Kurenai I'm so sorry! I didn't know I was interrupting you –"
Her tone was icy, "Don't. Keep. Talking."
Naruto gulped and turned around.
"Since these two obviously know now, Lady Tsunade I need to put in for maternity leave. I'm pregnant."
The loud congratulations from both men died out almost immediately, her fiery red eyes silencing them in seconds.
"Well… uh, I ended up running into someone yesterday that made me come back, and I really think you guys should meet her!" Naruto's bubbly attitude was back.
"Ugh, that's why he's so peppy," Kurenai grumbled.
"Alright, Naruto. Your whole report has been a rollercoaster so far, so let's see how you end things," Tsunade offered. She was fed up with the day already, and it wasn't even nine in the morning.
"Great! Be right back!" dropped kunai and then… flash.
The three adults looked at each other, Kakashi struggling to meet Kurenai's gaze. Kurenai broke the silence with, "So what did I miss? Anything good?"
Tsunade gave a short barking laugh before responding, "Turns out every member of Team 7 likes to wipe out enemy villages."
"Those three can take out a village? Already?"
"No," Kakashi clarified, finally comfortable with the room's atmosphere, "Each one. As in, individually." Kakashi was a proud parent.
Before Kurenai could comment further, there was another flash. Naruto was back and had his arm around…
"HINATA?!"
"Hello Lady Tsunade, Naruto told me you took the position. Congratulations!" the Hyuga smiled cheerily, acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary.
All at once the adults moved. Kakashi slumped to the floor, a hand on his head. Kurenai surged forward to bring the young woman into a tight embrace. Tsunade slowly dug out her bottle before aptly draining it.
Once the hug had concluded, Kakashi did his best to break the ice once more. "So… she's why you've been glowing all morning. They grow up so fast!"
Naruto's smile was surrounded by red, but there were no denials. He had grown up with Jiraiya of all people, he must have read a few books at some point.
"Uh, Kakashi, There's actually a secondary reason you're here. I just figured I'd let Kurenai catch up with Hinata while you had your own conversation."
The jonin in question looked excitedly at the Hokage for permission to take Hinata away for a while. Tsunade grumbled out, "One hour, but then it's my turn."
When the room consisted of just Naruto, Kakashi, and Tsunade, Naruto spoke up again. "Well, this one is gonna be a bit more… hectic. There's someone else waiting at my house, so I'll be back."
"So Hinata stayed the night with him… interesting…" Kakashi used any means he could to occupy his mind, and possible ammunition against his hyperactive blond just so happened to be the first choice.
Naruto flashed back in much quicker than he did last time, and this time the person he was with made both Kakashi and Tsunade jump up with weapons drawn. Naruto could hear the hidden ANBU draw their weapons as well.
Obito looked first at Tsunade, noting how she hadn't changed in the slightest. His eye then fell to Kakashi, and that was where it stayed while Naruto spoke.
"We actually have another deep-cover agent in the Akatsuki… so to speak. Kinda. It's, uh, hm. Actually, I'll let him explain."
Obito tore his gaze from Kakashi and faced the Hokage. He took off his cloak, and he held his offending garment aloft as he bowed his head. "Lady Hokage, I humbly ask you to hear out my testimony, and possibly consider letting me rejoin Konoha in her time of war."
"Name and date of the last mission performed under Konoha's name?" Tsunade asked skeptically. Hiruzen hadn't informed her of this.
Obtio audibly gulped before he set the cloak ablaze. With black fire. A pair of gasps echoed in the room as two more people realized there was yet another Uchiha among them. "I apologize, but it's been too long to remember the exact date. Third Shinobi World War, mission to destroy… Kannabi bridge along with my genin cell and jonin sensei."
There was a metallic thud as Kakashi dropped the kunai he was holding. Obito turned to him and slowly removed his mask. Through all the scarring and discoloration of the right side of his face… Kakashi still knew who this man was.
"Hello, Kakashi."
Sasuke stood back-to-back with Neji, each of them locating and picking off what mutated stragglers they could. Tenten was next to them, digging out another scroll of weapons to use. Sakura had just demolished the tunnel system of the nearby stronghold, and there was a Mokuton user of all people with her. Sasuke's thoughts were on his pink-haired girlfriend and the man responsible for extracting her, but he still never missed a target.
There was a bright, telltale flash to Sasuke's left, and The Uchiha flicked his eyes to his teammate.
"Well Sakura, things got, oh. Hey, Sasuke, I thought Sakura had the kunai?" Naruto asked. He stretched before greeting Neji, "Hey Neji, how's your mission going?"
"Naruto," was all Neji offered in greeting. "We have successfully found and eliminated four of Orochimaru's labs. This is the fourth."
"Oh, that's cool. We caught that group that ran off a couple of days ago, by the way."
"I already told him the story," Sasuke interrupted.
"Damn, did you tell him how kick ass it was?"
"Sasuke managed to get it across, yes. I'm happy you two find so much fun during wartime."
"Ah, don't be a stick in the mud, Neji!" Naruto encouraged. He smacked the Hyuga's arm in good fun, throwing off Neji's next throw just enough to only severely maim his target instead of instantly killing her.
"AHH, GODS MY KIDNEY!"
Naruto looked bashful for a full half-second, "Sorry, my bad!" Neji promptly finished off the dying woman with a disapproving grunt.
"And Naruto, I am not a 'stick in the mud'."
Sasuke spoke up next, "Neji you have a stick so far up your ass you're basically a popsicle. Might as own it and choose what flavor you are."
Neji sighed. "You were less of a nuisance before Naruto showed up."
"Naruto's here, Yamato, late like I said he'd be," Sakura's distinct voice carried over the rubble.
Naruto glanced toward the direction he knew she was coming from, and almost did a double take at the sight of her companion. The tall man had a dead look in his eye, although his body showed that he was as alert as anyone present. It was odd, the blank yet piercing stare that he had. Naruto couldn't help but shiver.
"Captain Yamato, I presume?" Naruto greeted.
"You are correct. Now that you have returned from Konoha I assume you have orders. Are we to continue the mission?" Yamato responded with his own question.
Everyone present looked at Naruto, now considering the fact that the mission may be complete. "No, there have been a few changes to the plan, and we are to report back in."
"Well fuck, I was just starting to have fun!" an overly joyful voice proclaimed from behind the blond. Said blond smiled to himself before tilting his head sharply, a thin slice appearing on his cheek before closing itself. A kunai found a tree to embed itself into just as Naruto turned to see the familiar face.
"Anko! It's great to see you!" Naruto said happily.
"And I see you're quick as ever, brat!" the sadistic woman hugged the boy close, burying his face in her oddly comfortable chest.
Yamato coughed into his hand, "Please, save the reunion for later. Naruto, do you have any other details for us?"
Pulling his face free, Naruto turned to the blank-eyed man. "Well, after reporting the details of Team 7's mission, the Hokage decided that it would be best to militarize the border closest to Kumo. Aside from that, Suna is preparing to engage with Iwa, and Tsunade wants to send some backup. I can teleport us back, but you guys should probably plan on puking when we get there."
Sasuke smirked alongside a giggling Sakura, the thought of others going through the pain of their first Hirashin somehow amusing them.
"Then I believe we are ready to report in. Anko, Neji, do you have any objections?" the apparent leader asked his cell.
"I call riding Naruto back," Anko piped.
"… Ignoring Anko, I am also ready to return."
Naruto nodded and created a few clones. Sakura and Sasuke could handle a bit more of a turbulent ride, so they would 'share' one. Yamato and Anko both got their own clone, and Naruto stood next to Neji.
Anko placed a hand on her clone's chest, "Oh, I knew these guys were solid, Naruto, but I had no idea they were this solid! Can I maybe get two or three for later tonight?"
Naruto and every one of his clones shivered at that, something deep down telling them that it likely wouldn't be a good time. "Anko, we gotta talk about the way you word things."
"Don't worry too much, Naruto. She's been this way for the entirety of the mission," Yamato reassured the jinchuriki.
"Oh, Yamato that reminds me. The clones will take you all to the Hokage's office," Naruto started as the clones all prepared to flash, "but I'll be taking Neji back to my place. I think Hinata wanted to say hi before he reported in."
Neji's eyes bulged and almost activated the Byakugan out of sheer shock, "WAIT, WHAT?!"
Then the clearing was full of yellow before it was emptied.
The sun had set hours ago, and now Naruto stood in the dark office, facing a tired Tsunade. "Alright, I'm here. What's so important that you could only tell me after hours?" Naruto asked with a small amount of annoyance evident in his voice.
"First off, you need a status update. I'm promoting you to full Jonin in light of your most recent mission. You can obviously lead, and you have the firepower to back it up. We'll have to skip the ceremony and the hazing due to the war, however."
"Oh darn, I always was up for some good-old-fashioned hazing!" Naruto said sarcastically.
"Let me finish, brat. I'm also considering both of your teammates, and I'm giving them separate squads to lead on the Kumo waterfront to test them. They also have more than enough firepower behind them."
Naruto was indeed silent at that, mostly out of thinking of his friends. "Sakura already has one, but can you give Sasuke this kunai before he leaves? Just in case he needs the backup, you know."
Tsunade smiled lightly as she took the offered weapon, "I'm sure he'll appreciate the sentiment. Now, that leaves you to work with. You're too much of a game changer to leave in the village, despite what some of my colleagues may think. I'm giving you a special joint operation mission."
Naruto was somewhat taken aback, not against the idea but also surprised at how little of a respite he was being given. "Joint operation? Who'll be joining me?"
"My men will be, Namikaze," an old yet sure voice called. Naruto turned to see one wrapped up Danzo Shimura walking through the door, flanked by a pair of pale shinobi Naruto had never seen before.
"Danzo," Naruto bowed his head slightly, "To what do I owe the honor of working with Root?"
The old man grumbled a bit, "It's nice to see just how secret my organization's existence is. These two are… outliers within Root, something I hope pairing them together under you may fix."
Naruto took another glance at the shinobi in question, both being around his age and very, very pale. The one on the left had an emotionless, calculating look that Naruto expected of Root members, but the other was literally the exact opposite. He stood with his fingers tapping a quick staccato against his shuriken holster on his leg, his head bouncing to some unheard beat. His eyes never focused on one thing too long. Something very uncharacteristic of a ninja, much less a member of Root.
"To explain further, this one is called Sai," Danzo said as the stoic one bowed slightly, "he is the brightest pupil I've had thus far, and I am beginning the process of grooming to take over in my stead. I need him to learn to be more sociable, preferably so he can interact better with both the Hokage and clients than I was able to in my own youth. This isn't a skill that I or anyone under me can teach, so it is my hope that he can pick it up while being productive in our war efforts."
Naruto nodded along with the introduction, surprised that the geezer was actually considering a looming retirement. From Jiraiya's stories of the war hawk Naruto expected him to fight old age until it claimed him.
"And the other one… he is called Sho."
"Heya!" the eccentric shinobi greeted, giving a half salute as he did so.
"I tried to put him through training to be expressive in hopes of balancing out Sai. He is much too expressive, by any standards. No amount of correctional therapies has helped revert him. I honestly have no idea what to do with him, and if he fails to improve, I will be forced to expel him from Root."
Naruto was slightly disturbed at the news. There were more than a few hidden dark sides to what the man had said, something that Naruto knew existed but hated acknowledging. 'Correctional Therapies' often meant torturous brainwashing. 'Expel' likely meant that Sho would be sent on an S-Rank mission solo. Paramount to suicide.
"Naruto, do you accept the leadership of this three-man cell?" Tsunade asked then. A brisk nod was all the confirmation she needed.
"I will take my leave, then," Danzo said, bowing as he left. Naruto still found it difficult to trust him.
"The mission has two sides. The public one, which is the main reason you have been selected, and the one that can't see the light of day. This second objective is the reason that Root has volunteered two specialists."
This wasn't sounding good.
"Taki has agreed to host Suna shinobi to hold Iwa off our border. The Sand Siblings will be present, each leading shinobi. You are to meet up with them and offer your assistance for the next two weeks to a month. Sasuke and Sakura should finish their missions by then, and after this series of missions there is something else lined up for you three."
Naruto assumed that assisting Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro was the public side of the mission.
"As for Root. There are rumors that Taki willingly gave up their Jinchuriki to the Akatsuki. I need you three to determine the credibility of these rumors. And then assassinate everyone who was on board with that plan of action."
There it was. Naruto felt his gut clench at the thought of assassinating allies. This wasn't what he imagined he'd be doing as a child. True, the nature of ninjas was slowly revealed to him as he matured, but he still hated the thought of doing this to allies.
"I know you don't like this, Naruto. But by helping our enemy, these people have conspired against Konoha. I need you to empty your heart for this mission, we cannot afford to have people like that on our side."
Naruto spared a glance to the Root shinobi he was working with, and they both seemed unbothered by this. "I accept the mission and all of its parameters."
The unlikely trio was dismissed, and Naruto told both Sai and Sho that they'd be departing within the hour. With a nod, the three split off to prepare. In one hour's time, Naruto would be on his way to assassinate his first ally.
Jiraiya sat in the cave alongside both Zabuza and Haku, warming his hands by the small fire. "You're sure we can trust this woman, Zabuza?"
The younger man grunted, "I know Mei was leading the rebellion before your old teammate took over. It wasn't her side that submit to him, so I would assume she's got the same stupid mindset."
"Okay, but how do we know we can trust her?" the Sannin pushed.
Haku spoke up from her seat across the cave, "They used to date."
"Oh ho ho!"
"Haku you need to stop spending time with the Uzumaki if this is how he's rubbing off on you."
So I was thinking about doing a one-shot off of this chapter alongside with the next chapter. It would be from Hinata's perspective and would start when they woke up, maybe detailing the morning a bit more and the time she spent between when Naruto returned with Neji and when he left. Thoughts on that?
AND THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
This story is maybe close to halfway done, and I had originally planned for this to be the last installment. But I've recently had this crazy idea to keep this universe a bit relevant in my next project. Hopefully, I've made you all love this enough for that to mean something lol.