Yosh! I'm back! Here's a little heads up. At this point of the Fic everyone is looking more like their shippuden selves. In body and in dressing. I was certainly pleased to see lots of reviews. I wonder if my readers are all vulnerable to reverse psychology. I say review. I don't get so much as a hello. And I say do as you like…well now that I say it out loud…it's like my readers are teenagers…let them do as they like and eventually you'll get desired results. I'm kidding of course. I'm just excited.

BTW ryo is equivalent to dollars here. I'm not American…it just seems like a convenient comparison

ToileGrant (Currently my favorite reader and reviewer): ┏(^0^)┛┗(^0^) ┓

OutOfReality: Cool .3)do Naru/hiyo, acknowledged. Chp.4) Every good hero needs an equally bad villain with a tragic backstory that joins them together, i.e., Sasuke is essential. I never intend to keep characters as they are now. They will change. Ever .6) I understand where you are coming from but Sasuke will be kept alive...at least while he stays in Konoha. I won't be one of those fanfics that just kills all the inconvenient characters just cuz they can. I'd also like to add that even though Naruto is Hokage first, he is still an individual. And he cherishes his friend just the way Hashirama did Madara. Until he realizes there's no helping the broken. So let me play it out for .10) Lol that was a long time ago. I've long come to my senses. The Naru/saku pairing is a temporary one, I can't maintain her character and her life just doesn't collide with Naruto's in anyway. I can't make it work even if I wanted to.

Fahri: I'm not sure what you are trying to say. But so far I've interpreted it as you saying you want to see more Naruhiyo in the next chapters. I can do that.

Merchant of Blue Death: I'm flattered by your approval. But I'm sorry I have to kick your favorite pairing to the curb in this chapter.

Muzaka: You are the first person who doesn't just want to see fights and romance, you also notice I almost went for a harem. I applaud you. It is hard to develop. You shame me as a Naruto connoisseur. I'd entirely forgotten that manipulating two chakra natures at once is nigh impossible for those without a kekkei genkai enabling them to. So lets just say the Kyuubi acts as his support. You thought of a great name. I'll take only one though. It'll be a surprise.

MIKE: Naruhiyo? Sure lets see how things turn out once I introduce her competition. Spamming clones and learning all jutsu in Hokage's library? Cool idea, but overused and is too much of a shortcut to power. Let's just focus on enhancing our current jutsu. Hiraishin? No way in hell. That's some cringe worthy shit right there bro.

Toshiro!: Isobu…makes an appearance at approximately chapter fourteen. He will be mentioned though. And will be a cause of one of Naruto's greatest dilemmas

NOTICE: Temari and Sakura as pairings are out of the window. I do not know or even want to know how to make their pairings work. We are going to be working with Hiyori, who is a daily influence on Naruto and already has intentions of seducing Naruto as seen in previous chapters. Imagine her how you want, just with black and blood red hair (Multi colored) We are also working with our mystery pairing who hasn't be really introduced yet. But we've seen her…we've seen her alright. Kudos to those who find out who she is, let me know if you figure it out in the reviews and I might fess up

ENOUGH TALK!

Chapter twelve

Chapter twelve

The New

"Yugito-senpai" Samui's voice was laced with concern, it had to be. What happened days ago wasn't the most refreshing experience she'd had with a Kage, even though it was her first outside of the Raikage.

Currently she stood beside the two Genin that had made the ill-fated mistake of tagging along watching Yugito sign in at the village gate "We can't possibly tell Raikage-sama exactly what happened." Yugito looked at her subordinate with a funny look on her face "And why not?" Samui's mouth hung agar at the question. How could she not see why not? "Why? Because he'll blow a fuse! The Hokage's reply was uncalled for and with the type of Kage we have we might as well be the incident that causes a new reason for fights and war to ensue once more between Konoha and Kumo!"

Yugito sighed and ran a hand through her hair "The Raikage is short-tempered but he's also smart. We can't call war just because the Hokage rejected us. And what the Hokage said was a long time coming. Kumo has done things I'm not proud of. And I've done things I'm not proud of either. We've hurt many people for the sake of Kumogakure. The leaf village is one of the many. The Hokage has every right to hold a grudge" She shifted her weight and looked incredulously at Samui "And what do you mean new fights? Did anyone tell you the fighting had stopped? The villages maybe at 'peace' but that just means the fights don't blow up and cause political scandals, they fight the fights that don't lead to all-out war, simple. We go on missions with that in mind. Don't start a war. Now let's go report this to Raikage-sama"

After receiving the small lecture, she watched her superior walk away.

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"Kurotsuchi…what happened to the spy we sent? He hasn't come back from Konoha yet. I thought you said you scouted him yourself. You said he was the best for the job" The person he was talking to just leaned on his desk with no care in the world.

Picking a booger from her nose she stared at it then wiped it off on the desk.

"Hey! Damn brat! Are you listening?"

She turn around and scowled at the old man. "I am. He should have come back a week ago...unless he was captured" The Tsuchikage groaned "This is why I wanted to send you instead. Even if you somehow managed to be captured I'd still be able to wage war!"

Kurotsuchi sighed "You can't kill everyone who hurts me. Besides. We are still recuperating our forces from the last clash we had with them." The old man visible winced at the cruel reminder. Konoha would pay.

Like a twist of fate the doors opened and a man bowed to him.

The Tsuchikage looked confused. Who let him in? "Who are you?" The man rose to his full height and presented himself "It's me, Tsuchikage-sama. The one you sent to Konoha. Tetsuya"

At this revelation the Tsuchikage straightened up, but with a smile plastered on his face. Kurotsuchi only shook her head "I told you he'd be back! Trust me more, damn old man!" the Tsuchikage completely ignored her in favor of the jackpot in front of him

"So. What do you know?" He said impatiently.

Tetsuya proceeded to recite all the information he had gathered over time. All the while the old man's face got more grim with it revelation. Once he was done. He excused himself, leaving the Old Kage and his Granddaughter alone.

"Kurotsuchi…get me the council. Then head to Kumogakure with this" He slid a scroll towards the girl whose mouth still hung open. "Kurotsuchi!" His shout knocked the girl out of her stupor and she quickly ran off to carry out her orders.

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Naruto was once again confused "Hiyori! Where is all this money coming from? Also…where is it going? From what I'm seeing here we can't touch it" Hiyori looked over his shoulder at the document in his hand.

Her eyes widened in realization "Oh that! Well most of the money is coming from the Land of Fire" Naruto also realized the implications of this "The Fire Daimyo? What's he sending money for? Are we particularly lacking in anything?"

Hiyori had a grin plastered on her face. She dropped her work and suddenly grappled Naruto's neck "Congratulations!"

Naruto was flustered. He deftly pushed her off his body "Congratulations on what exactly? Hiyori you aren't exactly make sense" Since taking the job Naruto hasn't exactly been comfortable when being left in the dark. If Hiyori knew it, he should too.

Hiyori only giggled. Her laugh filled the office and he wasn't sure whether to laugh with her or be on guard. But. It had been a long time since he saw her have this much fun in his presence. It was…relieving. Her laugh made him feel like everything was okay.

Soon after cooling down she pulled out a calendar a pointed at a date and looked expectantly at Naruto. But to no avail. Naruto remained completely oblivious so she explained "This is going to be tomorrow, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto took a closer look at the date and his eyes widened then face palmed himself "Hiyori! It's almost been a year!" The date she pointed at was the day he became Hokage "It's almost been a year since I became Hokage!"

He grabbed her hand and they bounced around in a circle chanting. That is, until Danzou came in.

The twirling duo came to a stop and shared a mixed look of horror and embarrassment. They stayed that way for a few seconds until Danzou broke the silence

"Naruto-kun?" At his voice they quickly disentangled and tried to go about their normal activities, that is, both picked up paper and stared at it hoping for the embarrassment to wash out fast.

Danzou let out a hearty laugh and tapped his way to a seat "Whatever you were doing isn't my concern but we all know what it looked like, so don't let Koharu find out or she'll push for a wedding" He let out another laugh and the red duo just sweat dropped.

He brought out some scrolls and stacks of paper bound together and Naruto got into his seat "Mirth away. Here are the bank transactions Konoha has made over the last fifty years. I haven't looked through it since you haven't told me what we're looking for so…what are we looking for?"

Naruto reached for the scrolls and split it as equally as he could in three parts . Immediately starting to read through the scrolls and stacks of paper. "We…are going to make a full report of the transactions concerned with Konoha's savings account, every withdrawal and deposit. We are going to then track down where the money withdrawn went to and who the deposited money came from. I want to know everything about our savings account."

Danzou nodded and also got to work. "What brought this on anyway?"

Naruto continued to write down the details of what he read while he answered "The situation in Sunagakure. Their relationship with their former daimyo, the one we almost ordered dead…I don't want that for Konoha. We may be comfortable with the way things are now but in the event that the Daimyo forsakes us. I want us to have a large enough fortune to build this village three times over, fully restocked"

Hiyori snorted. "With all due respect, as we are now that's not going to be remotely possible Naruto-sama" Danzou nodded in agreement uttering a word of unanimity.

"That's why we are going to work on the way money flows and who gets the majority. As it is now our Shinobi almost never have enough money to cover their medical bills. Not to talk of other necessities." He whipped out a piece of paper and laid it on the table.

"D-rank missions gains go a hundred percent to the person it's assigned to. But D-ranks are more than frequently done by Genin and so it's split in three. And the money being paid is ranging from a single ryo to a hundred. C-ranks are also more than frequently done by Genin. And this time it's split evenly between all participants. And ranges from a hundred to ten thousand ryo." He glanced at Hiyori and Danzou to see if they were following "Now here's the real problem. The B-ranks. The village's backbone. Only thirty percent is given to the Shinobi or team it's given to. Another thirty goes to the village while the remaining forty goes to the daimyo. And these missions only range from fifty thousand ryo to hundreds of thousands. The A-ranks are the same percentage ratio and usually require more Shinobi to carry out, which leads to splitting it down the middle some more."

Naruto poured himself a glass of water and leaned back in his chair. "In essence what I'm trying to say is we have to revise this percentage ratio. I propose we give thirty to the Shinobi and fifty to the village, whatever's left is for the daimyo. We'll continue with the thirty, fifty, twenty ratio until we reach our target. Then we'll make it something else. What do you think, Danzou, Hiyori?"

Hiyori groaned and Danzou hummed. "That's a sensible plan, Naruto" Naruto smiled "But I doubt the daimyo will ever accept it. We'll have to go behind his back to carry it out"

Hiyori let out a tired sigh "I kind of agree with Danzou-sama. Twenty percent? The daimyo is a…proud man. He'll never accept it."

Naruto sighed. He looked at their faces and thought of the daimyo he worked with and was about to give in. He took one last glance at the papers then looked up to the photos of his predecessors, as if asking for guidance.

The Shodai Hokage, The Nidaime, Old man Third and the man he admired the most, his father and the Yondaime Hokage. All had stern faces that betrayed no emotion. It was then he decided.

He quickly and fiercely slammed his hand on his desk. "No! He will accept it. I'll force him to!"

He sprang up from his seat and kicked the door open on none other than Anbu Uchiha Sasuke, who, luckily was skilled enough to avoid the flying door.

"Ho? Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Naruto said, blinking owlishly at the battle ready Anbu operative.

Sasuke took off his mask and revealed his seemingly permanent scowl "Monthly debriefing remember?" Naruto let out an embarrassed laugh, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Anyway. I can wait outside if you are busy," he peeked into the room where Danzou sat seemingly not bothered with Naruto's outburst and where Hiyori stood with a tired look on her face ",but if not I'll just debrief now"

Naruto waved the thought away. Smiling, he said. "I was just about to go get some ramen. But now that I see you," He eyed Sasuke head to toe ", I'll be needing some meat. So let's go, you can tell me all about your team on the way"

He had already began walking. Sasuke let out a grunt and followed behind.

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After the first two weeks that he'd been in the Anbu, with team Ro. Sasuke had received summons from Naruto. The reason was simple. He was to give status reports about his experiences with the team and to lay out any complaints he had with the Hokage…Naruto.

After two months of having his old teammate boss him around. He'd swallowed his ego and decided to accept things as they were. He had attempted to escape several times only to be thwarted in his attempts by a smiling Kage. He would later realized that his home and entire environment was being watched around the clock.

He looked to his chatty friend and overall superior. He was going on about how Ramen broth got on his scarf and how his assistant, Hiyori, forced him to get a new one and stop eating in the office. He smiled. It was ridiculous to think he had despised such a man a while, but in a way he could see it. He was imprisoned for weeks. Then he was suddenly being given everything he had ever asked for. Power. Power to end that man's life. He was getting stronger. He was grateful.

He suddenly bumped into something. He looked to see Naruto staring at him. Confused he quickly uttered an incomprehensible sound. Naruto made a face and sighed "You weren't listening were you?" The way his eyes searched for and escape route told him he was right "I asked if you'd gotten any closer to Yugao, you said you liked her didn't you?"

Sasuke immediately turned his attention to Naruto. "What?!" He slapped a hand over his mouth and looked around, people were staring. He grabbed Naruto by the hand and pulled him into the barbeque spot they were currently standing in front of. "When did I ever say such? I said she was interesting" It was still hard to let out how truly outraged he was, there were still people gathered. The sight of the Hokage was a rare thing.

Naruto took a ticket and went to find a seat "Remember when I was asking you about your opinion on the Clan Restoration Act? I set out a list of the women you had made contact with and asked who you thought you'd like more. You said Yugao was interesting so…well…I thought you meant that you wanted her"

Sasuke visible paled "W-wait. Did you tell her anything?" "Huh?" "Did you tell her anything about the CRA?" Naruto took his seat in the booth they ordered and let out a tired sigh "It's good to be in a different chair once in a while. Huh? Yeah I did."

Sasuke sat across him. Having no other Anbu related duties for the day, he had gone to change before meeting up with Naruto on the way to the restaurant. He wore a simple Uchiha styled black polo with regular Shinobi pants and light gear. "What did she say?"

"You seem awfully interested in this…I mean, for someone who doesn't want her." He frowned, taking a sip of the complementary bottle of alcohol the restaurant offered. Seeing his friends impatience begin to rise he let it spill "She didn't say anything. I told her to prepare herself if you requested her, of course I assured her that being of a rank that high she could refuse. But she said she'd do whatever I said and left looking very sick. In fact, I think she got sick the moment I mentioned you and the CRA together in one complete sentence." He laid back and took another swing "I wonder what that was all about"

He turned his attention to Sasuke. His head was down and he was trembling "Hey are you okay? If you aren't up for barbeque we could try something else you know. Ramen to the rescue?"

Meanwhile all Sasuke could think about is how ruined his reputation really was. Is this what panda really meant when he said I should give captain her space? I thought she was on her period! "Sasuke?" I foolishly ignored him and went ahead to question her about our rounds. "Sasuke?" I didn't want to think that captain would be that put down by something so trivial! No wonder all the female Anbu keep shying away from me, scratch that. "Sasuke-kun?" They are openly aggressive! I thought they still hated me because of my defect but now…now I know. It was because of him! Wait, Sasuke-kun?

He quickly lifted his head up to see Haruno Sakura glaring at his form, before he could open his mouth to say anything Sakura had already begun talking

"It's rare seeing you two together. What's the occasion?" Sakura's smiled seemed to have more meaning than her words. Sasuke looked to Naruto and gulped at the thought of the implications behind this.

Naruto, still oblivious to Sasuke's growing dread gave her an answer "I'm not sure. Recently Sasuke mastered a new lightning technique, I'm told it's quite the finisher. At the same time I am just now learning that Yugao-san might be the one Sasuke chooses for his compulsory CRA. One of the two I guess."

Sakura turned her attention to a solemn Sasuke, her eyes solely fixed on his form. Growing uncomfortable Sasuke moved to change the subject "Never mind that. What are you doing her, Sakura?"

She sighed and flipped her hair back "I'm here with the other teams," "Other teams?" Naruto interjected, she gave a clear nod ", Choji, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, the other teams you know?" Her voice had taken a sad note to it and her eyes held great desperation in them. "Would you like to join us, Naruto?"

Setting down his cup, he flashed her a grin "Of course. It would be nice to catch up on how their doing. But first let me tell the manager we'll be changing booths. Go on ahead I'll meet up"

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Naruto had informed the manager on where to send their meat. They were much so it looked like they got a room for themselves. He looked over to where it was, he was done informing the manager. Naruto felt the nervousness one would normally feel when trying to make a new friend. The last he felt such was when he was a child. But weren't they already friends?

He took some steps forward and positioned himself where he could easily see through the curtains. He saw them. Laughing, eating and being at peace. One would think that someone who almost became a nuke-nin would have a harder time fitting back in, but Sasuke slid in perfectly with them. And that gave him courage to go join them.

Walking in calmly, careful not to show too much turmoil on his face, he presented himself to them once again. "Yo. It's been a while" his grin turned into a smile as all discussions ended and the room fell into silence.

He stood for a while before Sasuke beckoned to him. He hurriedly took the seat next to Sasuke and sakura.

After what felt like an eternity but what was really fifteen minutes. Someone other than his past teammates spoke, Kiba. "It's been a while huh," He looked into Naruto's eyes and let out a toothy grin "Welcome back Naruto. Konoha 12." He let out a hearty laugh and Lee began shedding youthful tears.

Naruto let out a chuckle, his heart lifted and his mind clear "Its good to be back"

The rest of the evening was spent eating meat and catching up on old times and telling new stories too. Naruto was free with everyone except three people. Shikamaru, Sasuke and Sakura. He could explain Shikamaru, but the other two was what he didn't understand. They seemed awkward in one another's company.

Not too long after they dispersed one by one. Neji and Hinata being the first to leave. Their clan most likely enacted a curfew. Soon all that remained was Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke and sakura.

He looked at his watch and sighed. He had slacked off the whole day and was currently evening. He looked to sakura "Hey sakura, I've already missed out on a lot of work. Would you like to accompany me home?" They hadn't gone far in their relationship, in fact they were constantly interrupted by one emergency or another. He wanted to use this chance to rekindle their flames.

She gave him a weak smile. A smile he'd seen many times on his subordinate's faces. A smile that promised disappointment, a smile that said you were uncomfortable. The smile just didn't mean anything good "Actually, I have to do something tonight," She glanced towards her other teammate and her words sounded less of an apology and more of certitude "With Sasuke."

Said boy looked to him and shrugged. He sighed and placed his share of the bill on the table, they pinned most of it under the pretense that the Hokage was rich, not that he wasn't. Being Hokage was the same as being a salary man because he was paid a certain amount from the village funds themselves every three months.

"Well, I'll be off then."

Just as he was about to leave Shikamaru rose up and announced that he'd be escorting him. Naruto had expected such to happen, he smoothly went along with it.

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The two had walked quite the distance in each other's company. And even though Shikamaru had said he was just escorting Naruto back home he seemed to have no regard or interest in going back to his own- especially when Naruto led them past it twice-As I thought. He definitely has a thing or two to say to me. With that fact in mind Naruto directed them towards the academy, he planned to go back to work in the event that Sakura couldn't join him at his home, not that he ever expected her not to. Something that surprise him quite a bit.

Naruto stopped at the entrance and turned to Shikamaru who hadn't said a word throughout their roundabout walk"So, what is it?" Shikamaru visibly straightened himself, Naruto prepared himself for whatever was coming.

"You…Approximately ten months ago you told me you hadn't changed, That was the last we saw of each other outside your office. I should never have expected you to improve. You chained up Sasuke and went ahead to make Sakura yours as you had always wished" Naruto's eyes narrowed and the atmosphere shifted, Shikamaru pressed on though. This only told Naruto that he had been waiting for a chance like this

"Then you push her away too! Like you did us all." Shikamaru pointed his finger accusingly at Naruto "Tell me, did you release Sasuke just so he could take Sakura off your hands? So he could deal with her?"

Naruto's face contorted in disbelieve "Shikamaru…don't pretend to be stupid. Why on earth would I release a security threat just to satisfy my own needs? You had better improve the questions you ask, since I'm taking my time to talk to you like this"

"There it is again. Its as if you subconsciously push your friends away" Shikamaru spat vehemently at his observation "When are you going to let us in, Naruto? You gave Sakura work related excuses for not showing up to dates," Naruto's eyes widened and Shikamaru immediately took note of that "Don't look so surprised, Sakura told Ino everything. And Ino being incapable of keeping her mouth shut told us in turn. Did becoming Hokage go all to your head? Are we so quick to forget?"

Naruto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose he sat on the nearest conveniently placed bench "Shikamaru…did you forget, that we didn't have that much of a history to begin with?" He intensified his the glare fixed on his form "Why are you so concerned of things that are not even remotely related to you?

Naruto took a step forward, the suddenness of it made Shikamaru take a step back "You make absolute no sense, the Shikamaru I know wouldn't want to get himself into such troublesome situations or conversations. You should be sleeping…Shikamaru." Naruto then pushed what he was beginning to think was an imposter to a wall.

'Shikamaru' raised up his hands and was about to speak. But fast as lightning Naruto's hand had wrap around his throat, already squeezing.

Naruto's eyes glazed and in a flash turned into his menacing red as he slowly began to raise 'Shikamaru' up the wall "Now…tell me…who are you? And what have you done…to my friend?"

The person under Shikamaru's guise struggled against his grip, spitting out words in bits " Ack-I hav…not..done anyth-crk- to shika…."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the imposter and swiftly slammed their body into the wall, a loud bang resonating through. "Which village do you belong to?" He strengthened his grip and his glare, Killing intent bathing the imposter. Their eyes widened at Naruto's declaration. If they didn't give a reasonable and believable answer, it ultimately would spell the end for them.

"Ko..ko-KoNoha!"

Naruto lost it. He withdrew his arm and prepared to slam the impostor into the ground, when he heard.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

As one would expect, he couldn't move. His arm relaxed and his hand let the imposter drop to the ground where they scampered off, massaging their throat. It can't be! I dispensed all the root and Danzou doesn't operate without my okay. Could these be the group that Jiraiya was talking about? The group that isn't at all comfortable with my Kageship?!

Naruto couldn't turn to see the Nara which had bound him and he couldn't see the Shikamaru imposter either. Was that really an imposter? Did Shikamaru join them? The sound of approaching footsteps brought him out of his musings. He still couldn't turn to see his assailant. The Nara secret technique was a muscle binding technique, he'd have to go into his one tail state to shake it off. But he didn't want to needlessly use the Bijuu's power, not until his life was in immediate danger.

"Remember, brat. You can only stay in control of yourself for up to three tails of my power. Anymore and I'll burn this village…again."

Naruto scoffed. 'Of all the times for you to wake up. What happened to helping me grow into my position?' He heard the Kyuubi let out a low growl. "If you are referring to the contract we made…it is still valid. I've helped out twice in the past. I'll give you my advice on this one too. Kill them all if they oppose"

With that Naruto felt the Kyuubi go back to sleep. His eyes regained focus and he spread out his senses. The footsteps were still approaching and it made Naruto wonder how far away the shadow had travelled. Whoever they are…they're obviously skilled.

Finally, the person stood beside him and spoke "You've got to take it easy…Naruto-sama…"

Shikamaru!

He was abruptly released from the binding technique, he stumbled a bit before gaining ground and staring his assailant in the face. His eyes narrowed again "But...how?" was the question he asked. Shikamaru only smirked.

"The one you strangled was none other than…" He made a gesture in the general area the other person had ran off too. And from there they came out again only this time their hands were making handsigns. Naruto tensed and prepare for whatever was to come, he didn't prepare enough though.

"Sakura!?" The jutsu disguising her had dropped, revealing Sakura mildly injured from what he had done. Naruto wanted to start apologizing and crying at her feet for forgiveness. But. He remembered.

"Sakura…huh" Killing intent leaking out "Tell me…Shikamaru, Sakura whats this all about? Hiding your identity, asking strange questions. Did those rebels send you to me?"

Sakura looked confused as ever "Rebels? What are you saying Naruto?! I did this on my own will! You need to know Naruto, but I needed to know as well" Naruto's fists clenched and his anger rose

"You sound just like them. Protecting their leader." Over the last months reports of small riots breaking out in the night reached his ears. The citizens were protesting over his Kageship, some Shinobi but most civilians. It slowly escalated to the point were an attempt on his life was made. A very organized one, well planned enough to get past his Anbu guards. It soon became clear that this wasn't just random outbursts but carefully planned attacks. The Anbu had captured one of the Shinobi that was a part of the rebels, the following interrogation made things clear and proved his theory that the rebels had a leader. A man named Yotaro. Anbu investigated every person with the name Yotaro. Eventually they found out one was missing. And that ensued the search for Yotaro, the leader of the rebels.

Shikamaru took this time to step in "Hold on Naruto. We are aware of the rebels, but we aren't one of them. We are your childhood friends and comrades!"

Naruto turned to Shikamaru. He'd gotten control of himself and was as calm as he always was when dealing with his subordinates. "Fine then. You two tell me the full story of whats going on here"

Shikamaru took in a breath and begun explaining "The truth is. Sakura came to me for help. Apparently she was suspicious of the reasons behind you releasing Sasuke, especially at a time when you two were falling apart. She thought…you were using Sasuke to keep her distracted while you move further and further away from her." At this Naruto turned his gaze towards Sakura, she had already begun to tear up "Though…all this happened after…" Shikamaru looked to Sakura and she nodded firmly.

"All this happened after Sasuke and I started dating…I'm sorry Naruto. But this is the reality of things" She let her head fall and leaned on Shikamaru for support as if saying those words drained all the energy from her.

Shikamaru carried on from there after giving Naruto time to take it all in "So when we saw you, we devised this plan in the stall of the barbeque place. Sakura, with the skills Tsunade-sama had been teaching her she would disguise herself as me and interrogate you about it while I stayed back as back up. You saw through it too quickly though, as expected of the Godaime." He said shaking his head.

Naruto nodded and let out a sigh. "So you want to know…if I let Sasuke loose to keep you busy." Naruto looked at Sakura's form, her green eyes trembling with anticipation "No…like I said before. You aren't worth setting him free. I was only doing my job."

She wiped her tears, sniffling, whilst muttering apologetic words. She took a bow and began to run in the other direction.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, an unimpressed look on his face spoke off he's current feelings towards the boy. "You seriously helped her with this stupid idea even when you know how tense I am about this Yotaro man. I specifically said to all higher ranks that I was going to put myself out there to lure out any suspicious characters that would approach me. And you go pull something as ridiculously stupid as this?"

Naruto inhaled as Shikamaru shrank. "Do you have any reason to oppose a suspension?" The sulking Nara only shook his head. "Good. But for now you have a mission"

Shikamaru immediately abandoned his brooding demeanor and straightened up. "You are to go to the gate and wait for a delegate from Kirigakure no Sato, treat her with respect and guide her back to my office. She should be here by tomorrows afternoon."

Shikamaru frowned, "Why go now if she is arriving in the afternoon tomorrow?" Naruto turned to him and smirked "I think a little stake out by the gates will give you time to reflect."

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The meeting with Naruto had been emotionally exhausting. Sakura walked, ran, sprinted. Her body ached and she couldn't bear to stand right any longer. Only pushing forward so as not to cause a scene. Her eyes welling up with tears and her heart being crushed with guilt. Why am I the one crying? Maybe it was all she could do.

Finally, she reached her home. Hurriedly scaling the stairs to her room, not even bothering to greet her parents, she sprawled across the floor of her room immediately letting out all the held back tears, not even bothering to lock the door.

A few seconds of choking sobs and the door slams and the locks click. Sakura immediately jumps to her feet, wiping her tears she recognizes the person before her and relaxes, if only a bit. She flopped onto her bed and covered her face with her hands. "Sasuke…I told him"

Again silenced reigned. Sasuke sat beside her, holding her to him. He let out a sigh and kissed her head. "Naruto…Naruto isn't Naruto anymore. He's the Hokage. He won't do anything rash or stupid to me or you out of petty vengeance. But it definitely hurt him. He might have forgiven you the instant you told him, just the way he used to and he also may never forgive either of us come to terms with that and accept it as his decision. All that matters to me…is you" Sincerity and concern was evident in the Uchiha's voice, concern for both his friends…teammates.

Sakura nodded and looked up at him from his shoulder "You've changed" she said, her hand caressing his cheek as she searched his eyes. He smiled and held her hand to his cheek.

"I've been told" he leans in and places a relaxing kiss on her lips.

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AN: Next chapter will be out soon. Wanted to do a double update buuutttt. Yeah.

Anyway. In this chapter sakura breaks up with Naruto in the most dramatic way possible and Shikamaru is proven to have the average hooman intelligence. We also discover that Konoha has been tormented by small time rebels with big dreams. This is Naruto's first real challenge in his leadership. Its been a year he took the hat and theres a festival taking place in his honor the next day(Next chapter). We see a bit of SasukeXSakura romance. Honestly not good with romance and need a great deal of help in that area. All in all this chapter is pretty short and uneventful. The next chapter is were I hope to spunk things up. Please be patient with me. It won't be too long now since I'm finally back home from school.

Thanks for reading

Genocideshinobi~