A Nugget Of Advice Chapter 9: IX, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: Naruto, I owe not. Support the official release, you shall.

A/N: I lied unfortunately about being more action-orientated in this chapter. Apologies. Nevertheless, enjoy.

A/N2: Please note that I retconned something in this chapter. Original readers of this chapter read that Jiraiya assigned Kakashi to escort him to Suna, but I changed it to him escorting the elders of the Konoha Council instead. And I did some revisions too. Ooh, go me.

A Nugget Of Advice, Chapter 9

Evening of The Invasion of Konohagakure by Oto and Sunagakure…

They had been running all evening in the deep forests of Hi no Kuni, trying desperately to get to the border and pass into Oto no Kuni. There, the jurisdiction of Konoha's ANBU ended. His lungs felt on fire, and his legs felt worse. All he wanted to do was go hide, and rest for the remainder of the night. Soon, he told himself. People were already clamoring on stopping for the night to rest.

Feeling very tired himself, he told them to stop, much to everyone's relief. He had left them to decide who was going to keep the first watch, while he set himself in a tree to rest in. He let them because he was thinking about what to do next.

He reviewed what he knew. Orochimaru was dead. He didn't see the Sound Four escape the village with them. Gaara, the jinchūriki, from what he learned, was captured. The invasion was a failure.

Other little tidbits he knew: Hi no Kuni was a huge country. Getting to the Valley of the End would take a few hours more, but they had already been exhausted. At this pace, ANBU would be on their asses soon, and no doubt they had the borders locked down. They had numbers, and patrols all around the country, while Kabuto had men on their last fumes thanks to the battle they had been involved in earlier the day. This was truly going to be a problem for him. He was on the run, along with at least thirty other men, and had been on the run ever since he knew the battle was lost.

When he heard Orochimaru was dead, he immediately booked it out of the village of Konoha. He knew that it was over. The ones who didn't run were probably quickly apprehended or killed, and Kabuto didn't like either fate for himself. So, he ran, and that was no easy feat. Others fled too – both Suna and Oto respectively, but the factions quickly spread out. Kabuto was followed by an entourage of men from Otogakure, and their numbers quickly dwindled escaping Konohagakure.

Too many people had died for Kabuto to count, and many of them had to sacrifice themselves just so the others could escape, and according to the men, Kabuto was their leader and they could not afford to lose him. He didn't see it like that, but who was he to argue against their logic? It wasn't like it was going to stay like that.

Orochimaru has fallen. Soon, Otogakure as well, Kabuto noticed immediately. The failure of the invasion of Konohagakure left many of their men dead, and their leader was killed in action. While yes, Konohagakure was weakened, so too was Otogakure – by a huge margin as well. Konohagakure may have lost their Kage, but they still had their leaders while the rag-tag "village" of Oto had lost the one thing keeping them glued together.

Orochimaru was indeed that glue. The "village" of Oto was nothing more than several bases, places, and hideouts all around the continent that all swore allegiance to Orochimaru. The major hideout – the one Orochimaru once resided in – was in Oto no Kuni. It was where him, the Sound Four (formerly Sound Five), Kabuto himself, and the men and women they considered Orochimaru's strongest ninja, resided. More to the point, a lot of these ninjas here were Orochimaru's most loyal. So, when the news of Orochimaru's demise spread like wildfire and reached their ears, there was a lot of crying and anger going through the hearts of these men and women.

Kabuto himself felt something. Perhaps not sadness or the need to mourn like some of these people here were doing, but something he felt. Orochimaru had been his mentor and leader for many years, the reason why he had survived for so long. He had helped him gain strength to become who he was today, and no one else could say the same. Orochimaru had sheltered him against the likes of Akatsuki, and the likes of Root. He was angry that Orochimaru lost indeed, and that Konoha had survived. However, he was angrier with Orochimaru than he was with the village he despised.

Yes, yes, most of what he was feeling about Orochimaru was anger. Orochimaru had lost to a (supposed) old, decaying fossil of a Hokage who was already past his prime. Perhaps with the help with Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi – the late Sandaime Hokage – had a better chance of winning the battle, but Orochimaru had boasted many times to him that he was stronger than both of them combined. He stated that the old man and Jiraiya were like tadpoles, and he was that snake looking to eat them all. Kabuto actually believed the man too, but now knew that was nothing more than arrogance.

Getting out of Hi no Kuni was almost impossible. ANBU patrolled everywhere. Things got bloody fast, too fast. If it wasn't for the help of some of his men, Kabuto would either end up dead, or worse, captured. He was too busy worrying about himself to be grateful, however.

He felt nothing for Otogakure as a whole. All the people that were here he hated, and they hated him too. To Kabuto, there were two types of people here – and both types he hated, really.

First of the types were the sycophants of Orochimaru. They were all fire and hatred against Orochimaru's foes, while Kabuto himself was too worried about how he was going to escape all of this. Kimimaro, Orochimaru's biggest follower, would want to stomp up to Konohagakure and burn their village down. It was a foolish endeavor. These were the type who wanted to keep fighting, even until their last breaths, not knowing when to retreat, and fight another day. Kimimaro himself had nothing else to live for. Orochimaru was dead, and he was terminally ill, only surviving and breathing by Kabuto's help, and his own willpower alone. A lot of those men in Otogakure were like that. Orochimaru was almost like some sort of father figure to them, even though Kabuto had been close enough to the snake sage to know he thought of them as mere pawns, instead of his children.

The other type of people there were the wildcards – the people who were only loyal to Orochimaru because he was the strongest. Many clans here were originally from the land Orochimaru conquered and ruled as his own with the name of Oto no Kuni. Orochimaru, before all of this begun, helped free a country from a big civil war that its lord, the daimyō, was doing nothing to stop. People got sick of the fighting, and only came together when Orochimaru united them. After that, Orochimaru's tyrannical rule began, and the people – who were still weak and couldn't fight back – only bowed and turned their heads for more abuse from their new master. He admitted to himself that he fitted more in this camp than the other, but he wasn't big on these people because they seemed like the type to only unite because they had no choice. Now that Orochimaru was dead, they had no person to leash them. They had no master, and things would get messy very soon indeed.

Both sides would be at each other's necks soon, and Kabuto wanted no part of it.

The death of Orochimaru would reach all the corners of the continent no later than a week. Everyone and their mother would know that Orochimaru was dead, surely. Orochimaru was seen as the big, bad boogeyman of the shinobi world, of course. Despised and hated by every nation out there, and a big danger to anyone who encountered him, he was on everyone's – for lack of a better word – shit list. Now that the snake sage was dead, his enemies would now focus on getting revenge. Word had gotten out that Orochimaru had his own personal village – how long it would be until Orochimaru's enemies came down on them?

So, he knew what he had to do.

Run, run until he could not run anymore. Hide amongst the crowds if need be. Don't make the obvious trek towards Oto no Kuni because they knew that's where they hailed from.

There was no one he could truly rely upon anymore. The one person who could protect him was dead. Kabuto could not rely on those people like Orochimaru had come to control like pawns. He could not get them to follow him. He lacked that sort of charisma that his master had. There was nothing Kabuto could do but run.

Once again, he was alone in this world.

In Konohagakure, Two Days After the Funeral of the Third Hokage; One Week After the Invasion of Konohagakure…

Kakashi made it his personal own mission to give both Sakura and Naruto some time off and canceled the team meetings. They could have met, even with Sasuke not being there and still recovering in the hospital, but he didn't force them. Hell, he needed the break from the norm too. This week had certainly gotten crazy. Kakashi had lost people that he had known personally in the surprise attack by Oto and Suna. He had learned however to accept these sorts of things a long time ago. However, he felt an urge to go see how the blond boy was doing. Out of all of them, Naruto was the most devastated by the death of the Sandaime Hokage. It wasn't hard to see Naruto looked up to the late Hokage as something of a grandfather.

So, he gave his team and himself a break, but it wasn't for long – at least, not for him.

Even with the Hokage being dead, the Mission Assignment Desk did not sleep. He assumed, by default, the village elders – Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane – were running the village by themselves until the next Hokage was assigned. That meant the mission desk was still active. However, he did not expect being called into the office personally.

In fact, an ANBU he knew came to his house to retrieve him. "Kakashi Hatake, you have been requested to be in the Hokage's office in ten minutes. However, I know your track record of being late, so I came to see you… Hatake-senpai."

"Ah, Yūgao. How are you doing today?" Kakashi asked, almost lethargically, putting away his book. He looked at the purple-haired woman behind the cat-like white ANBU mask she had been assigned to. "Been run ragged?"

"Nothing I can't handle, Senpai."

Kakashi nodded. She sounded exhausted. "You're doing okay?"

"Fine, sir." She curtly said, and Kakashi left at that. He knew she wasn't doing good. It was kind of a stupid question, and Kakashi felt regretful of asking, really. Her lover had died a month before the attack on Konoha, and then the attack probably left her with fewer friends around. He also had no type of business asking. He cared, but he was not the type to pry into other people's business if they weren't willing to let him in. Or rather, if he didn't see it as necessary. If it was one of his students, well, that was different.

"You said the office wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Come with me. You are expected very soon."

"Let me gather my things first," he requested. He disappeared into his bedroom before hearing any sort of reply from her however. It wasn't like his junior was going to protest against it. He wasn't in his "On Duty" attire anyway. Changing out of his blue sweats and a matching t-shirt, he put his navy blue long shirt, his blue pants, and his flak jacket on. He grabbed his fingerless gloves, slipped into his sandals, and put his kunai and shuriken pouches on.

Placing his blue headband on as his accustomed makeshift eyepatch to cover up and seal the Sharingan eye. No need to find his face mask, because he already had it on. 'Alright, it's time to go then.'

He stepped back into his living room and walked up to his former junior in the ANBU, who was standing patiently with her hands behind her back. He glanced at her for a moment. Professional, and more importantly, very strong, Yūgao Uzuki really took her job seriously than most members of the force, and they were all a serious group of fellows, really. She never complained about her job. With a clean, good service history with little to no fuck-ups, polite, and strong, she would go places. In fact, it surprised him that she wasn't a leader of her own squad as of yet. That would probably change soon enough. She had the markings of an ANBU captain.

"Ready to go?"

He merely nodded, and she stepped closer to him and put a gloved hand on his shoulder.

In a flash, they were in front of the door of the Hokage office. The two stepped through the doors, and Kakashi saw the two elders inside. Kakashi immediately went on one knee and bowed to the two leaders of the village. They both send him a quick nod of their heads.

"Thank you, Neko-24. That will be all." Yūgao nodded at the two elders, and merely inclined her head at Kakashi's direction, before disappearing into a plume of smoke.

"Utatane-sama. Mitokado-sama. You wanted to see, my lords?" Kakashi asked though it was more rhetorical. They wouldn't have sent him here otherwise.

"Not us. The Hokage wanted to see you." Homura corrected, and Kakashi watched as the chair behind the office desk turned around dramatically. Actually, why was the chair big like that? He didn't remember the Sandaime Hokage having such a large-

"Yo! How's it going, kid?!" A boisterous voice said, and Kakashi's eyes widened as Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, came to view.

"Jiraiya-sama… you're the Hokage?"

"Well, soon to be." Jiraiya clarified, grunting a little. "I'm still in the transition of power."

Kakashi blinked for a moment with his good eye, before nodding slowly. It didn't change anything. There was still something he was here for. "How can I serve you, my lord?"

"Straight to business, eh? Very well. I am assigning you to do two things for me. One must be finished today. This is relatively important, so you'll be receiving B-rank pay for this."

That must have meant something that involved leaving Konohagakure. Kakashi nodded. "I accept."

"First, I want you to go and deliver a scroll for me to one Naruto Uzumaki. I'm sure you know of him." Jiraiya grinned. "I would do it myself, but I'm… well, busy."

Kakashi was confused. B-rank pay for something as simple as giving a scroll to a resident of the village who was currently in it? Why get him, and not some chūnin? Besides that, it sounded somewhat strange to Kakashi. What did Jiraiya want with Naruto? Though, he knew of Jiraiya's connection to Naruto. He was Naruto's father's mentor after all, and a close person to the Yondaime Hokage. Still, what exactly did Jiraiya want with him? Time will only tell, really. "It shall be done."

Kakashi was handed the scroll by Koharu, and he stood up. It was rude to ask anything he was curious about. Time will tell what exactly was this all about. "I'll give him the scroll, sir, as soon as I am allowed to leave from here."

"Good, good. The sooner Naruto gets the scroll the better." Jiraiya leaned back in his big chair comfortably. "Second: I'm assigning you a mission in a few days along with a team of jōnin and a team of ANBU."

That sounded even more serious. "What's the mission?"

"Well, as you know, we recently have been attacked by the Suna and Oto. Amidst the battle, we managed to take in some POWs. More specifically, some of the POWs happen to be the children of the former Kazekage." Kakashi nodded solemnly. He could guess what was going to happen next. "You will be going, along with some other shinobi, to escort Elder Koharu and Elder Homura to Sunagakure to work out a negotiation. As you know as well, we're moving some heavy 'cargo' here. Namely, a hostile jinchūriki."

Gaara, right? Kakashi knew who exactly that was. He nodded silently and allowed Jiraiya to finish up. "Meet your assigned team in front of the gate in four days from here at 0500hrs sharp. This mission is imperative. Don't be late." The toad sage stared at the silver-haired jōnin sternly.

Kakashi wondered if everyone and their mother knew about his track record of being late to things. He withheld a sigh. "Yes, sir."

"Alrighty then. I have nothing more for you now. You are dismissed and off duty for the rest of the day. As soon as you're finished with your business with the kid on your team." Jiraiya stated, turning a grimace at the stacks of paper on his left side of the desk – something Kakashi had just noticed. "Ah, man, look at all these damn villager concern forms I got to see to…"

Kakashi felt sorry for the man. This was going to be a lot on his mantle. After all, how would he get the time to finish the next Icha Icha novel?! Did that mean that they were canceled? Oh man, life was already hard. What would the point be living without his favorite perverted book?! The title of Hokage sounded like a hassle.

He was glad they never asked him though.

In an Underground Prison Facility in Konoha…

He sat in a room, seals tattooed across his skin, not able to mold his chakra in the slightest. Although there were no chains keeping him tattered, he felt like a slave – a dog chained to his leash by its owner. He was without his gourd, without his sand, without the voice constantly in his head. Gaara had gotten perhaps great nights of sleep for the past week. Without Shukaku to gnaw at his mind, he slept for a long time. He was sure he slept for a whole day and a half when he first slept. He did not know what they did to him, but in a way, he was glad. Somewhat. Maybe. He didn't know what to feel, honestly. Sleep had indeed had its benefits.

It made everything clear to him, it made him think. It made him afraid.

The urge to kill everything in sight was gone. Rather, a large amount of loneliness fell over him, and he knew the reason why.

Truly, without that thing in his head, the monster who insisted on being called "Mother," constantly there, directing him to kill this and kill that, he felt alone. He hadn't felt alone for the past few years. Even when he believed he had no one but to rely on but himself in this accursed world, he knew that his inner demon protected him from anything. It seemed almost like that nightmarish time before he had known how different he was compared to the world, how much people hated him for something his father and mother implanted in him a long time ago.

Speaking of his father, the man he hated the most in this world, Gaara remembered them telling him that the man was dead. The man parading around as Kazekage in the Chūnin Exams was nothing more but that snake man, Orochimaru, who was also dead. Gaara didn't even blink twice when they told him that his father was dead. To him, it was good. That wretched man would not be missed, especially it was him who sent people after Gaara to kill him all those times. He, who even if he did not set up those assassinations on him, never tried to stop them.

Rasa, the late Yondaime Kazekage, was not a man who was warm and loving to his children. He was a man who valued the village more than his own flesh and blood, who did not impart knowledge to his children but rather scrolls and jutsu and told them to study. Gaara never even lived in the same house of his father – or at least, he didn't remember doing so. All he could remember is his father's spiteful words to him – "Do not fail me, Gaara." – before he was shipped out to this village, to partake in this exam, to act as a catalyst to a war in which they did not win.

Yes, Gaara had failed here in Konohagakure. He had lost to a mere man. Granted, that man had been one of Konohagakure's legendary Sannin, but Gaara had once thought he was one of the strongest shinobi in the world. That type of arrogance had cost him, and now, he was here, instead of being in Suna. He thought, with Shukaku, he was invincible, but he wasn't. He was weak.

How?

Fighting for one's self, believing in one's self – was there a flaw there? It has been a doctrine he had known for a very long time since his once beloved uncle, Yashamaru, tried killing him. It was something he carried since that fateful day when he lost his mind when he did not care for anyone anymore when he had love ripped away from him. Fighting, shedding another's blood, hearing their fear instead of feeling their hatred for him was what made him content. It kept him from being that little boy whose hopes for the world were blown away by a person who strapped many types of explosive tags on him. However, as proven a week ago, and by his capture, he was weak – still as weak as he once was when he was a child. The power of the Ichibi was not the key to Gaara's strength.

How could he get stronger? He could not rely on simply his sand and his inner demon anymore. There had to be a secret to that strength that Jiraiya wielded. Yes, he supposed decades of experience compared to his meager 13 years of life. Even the boy – despite his efforts to kill him being useless – had been able to survive him. How could Gaara come to obtain that strength that he wanted?

Well, he had time to think, didn't he? He wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon.

Naruto was getting sick of the moping he was doing in his house and decided to hit up the training grounds. It had been a while since he felt the need to train, but he truly needed to break his little pity party at home. He didn't want to feel miserable anymore, so he needed something to take his mind off his problems. The only thing he could think of that would satisfy him was getting somewhere with his training, or at least going through what he learned, and keeping them solidified.

He had yet to see if he could find Ebisu-sensei, so continuing his training in Earth Release ninjutsu wasn't happening anytime soon. All he really could do was keep on practicing what he knew. So, he went through the exercises he learned before.

He bent down to one knee, anchored his chakra to the ground, and pulled slowly, scooping up the dirt. Then, with the same hand, he twisted and moved his chakra to shape the dirt. He paced himself. He didn't try doing it too fast and instead concentrated on making the first shape he wanted to make: the triangle. It was the first exercise he remembered performing before with Ebisu-sensei.

An equilateral triangle sat in his right hand. Remembering the lesson on compression and expansion, Naruto decided what to do next in his little refresher exercises on his earth chakra training from the previous month before the Chūnin Exams. He took the triangle and moved his chakra all across the body of the dirt triangle. Slowly, and steadily do so. There is no need to rush it, he told himself. Next, he started to pack it all together, pressing and squeezing his chakra, turning the triangle's dirt into stone. Soon, he had a flat triangular shape that looked akin to something you could throw at someone. Compression: complete.

He then rearranged the chakra, and spread it out again, like it was a bunch of particles he was moving from each other. This was expansion. The lesson of expansion was easy when you got compression down, but it was something you had to be wary of, compared to compression. Breaking about and spreading around his chakra in an object could potential burst the object. How did he know of this? Well, he got a full demonstration of it himself when the exercise blew up in his face before – literally. He still remembered Ebisu-sensei laughing his stupid ass off at him, and telling him he needed to go clean his face.

Naruto watched the dirt successfully contract, and what he got was the soft triangle of dirt he had at the beginning of this exercise. Then he turned the dirt shapeless again and molded it into a rectangle. Tried compression, succeeded, tried contraction, and succeeded in that too. Then he turned it back into a rectangle with no hardness, and then the dirt became shapeless again. Then he repeated the dirt triangle again and did the steps before trying the rectangle once more. It was quite the show – albeit one Naruto was getting tired of doing after the sixth time he did so.

However, he managed to impress someone because not long after attempting the seventh time of the exercise, he heard a whistle. "Wow, and that's what Ebisu's been teaching you, eh? That's pretty advanced for most genin."

Naruto turned and saw his teacher wave at him from a tree, "Yo, Naruto."

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied simply with a nod. He temporarily forgot about his exercise, and released the dirt from his hands, as it slumped back into the Earth, where it came from. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, obviously."

"Oh, er, did we have a team meeting today?"

"No. We won't be meeting up, at least until Sasuke finished recovering up in the hospital. So, perhaps next week if he is cleared up. We won't be taking missions either until he comes back." Kakashi waved his concerns away. "No, no. I was sent by the Hokage to look for you."

Naruto frowned a bit at that. He had yet to meet the new Hokage – actually, he never even knew they already elected a new one already. "What for?"

"To deliver this scroll to you." Kakashi presented such a thing, which added to Naruto's confusion. Naruto's teacher jumped from his spot in a tree and then stepped near towards Naruto. "Here you go."

Naruto blinked and scratched his head. He grabbed the scroll and placed it in his jacket's pocket. "Uh, thanks."

An awkward silence began between the two. Naruto had nothing much to say to his jōnin teacher at all. Was there anything to say? He didn't think so. He felt fine, he wanted to continue practicing his ninjutsu, and that's it.

But Kakashi didn't let it go. "So, do you need some help with your training?"

"No thanks, Sensei. Besides, I'm at a part where I need Ebisu-sensei to go over the next part of my training anyway."

"It doesn't look like what you are doing is hard. I can help you with your training if you give me the specifics of what you need help with." The silver-haired jōnin insisted.

"Don't you got other things to do today?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow up.

"Nope, I don't 'got other things to do today,'" Kakashi teased, a smile hidden under his mask. "I'm pretty much off duty, and I have a lot of time to help you."

That brought a bitter thought in Naruto's head. 'Oh, you got time to help me now?' Naruto sucked in some air to calm himself down. "Don't worry about it. I was just going over what I learned from Ebisu-sensei last month."

"Want to learn something new with your Earth Release ninjutsu?"

"Not today, Sensei…"

Kakashi finally sighed, and crossed his arms, looking like he had enough of this beating around of the bush. "I get it, Naruto. You're still mad at me."

"…No."

"I can see it in your eyes." The older male shook his head. "You know why I had to do it, Naruto. I was assigned to train Sasuke for the month."

"Yeah, and you decided also it was worth more to train him for the month, instead of sparing some time on me. I was in the tournament too, you know?" Naruto held a hand to his chest, anger now starting to course through him. "Instead, you said 'No.' You doubted me, you thought I wouldn't make it, like the rest of these dickheads out here. You said my skills were subpar, and I needed a lot to get better, and that hurt, man. I expected all these other people to say it, but for my own teacher to say that… Fuck yeah, I'm mad at you. You proved yourself to be just like the rest of the people in the village. Look at what I did to show you that I'm not the same dead last you knew six months ago, Sensei. I got far in the finals of the exams. I beat Neji, and that sand village girl too. I even fought the guy that Sasuke was supposed to fight. I did everything you thought I wasn't going to do! What do you gotta say to that?"

"You're right, Naruto."

"…huh?"

Instead of trying to defend himself, Kakashi went for a surprise move. "You're right. I should have done something to help you besides sending you off with Ebisu. You were in the tournament, and I should have done something. I regret telling you those things last month. It wasn't something a teacher should tell his student, to let his own student know that he didn't think he was going to go far in the exams. It was completely dick-headed of me to go about that in such a way. In fact, you deserve the right to be mad at me. You have every right to do so, but look at what you've done.

"You went far in the exams. Farther than me or anyone would have expected, and I have seen your matches on a replay they allowed us jōnin to watch. You were spectacular. You defeated Neji with such mastery of the Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu. You made Temari's main form of attack useless. You did well against Gaara as well, despite his status as a jinchūriki. I think out of all of its contestants in that contest, you have the greatest chance of being promoted, Naruto. In my eyes, you have done very well, and shaped up so much since the last month we spoke. You're not the brash, headstrong kid I knew for six months. You're growing to something more. I can't ask you to forgive me, but all I can do now is to help you move forward.

"In a way, I'm glad I sent you off with Ebisu. He helped you shape up nicely. Beyond the scope of doing just the basics with you, you have accomplished learning how to use your elemental affinity in battle, learned a handful of ninjutsu, and have become stronger in your own way. All because you didn't stop believing in yourself. I'm proud of you." Kakashi finished, smiling under his mask.

Naruto felt many things from Kakashi's words. He felt happiness for the acknowledgment of his teacher. He craved for more. He felt embarrassment for such. He was annoyed that words like that could somewhat be making his anger go away. Finally, that lingering anger remained for Kakashi's past actions. It wouldn't go away. He kept being reminded of such. Maybe he shouldn't be pissed about it though. After all, in the end, he got what he wanted. He wanted to be stronger; he wanted to do great on the exams, and he did do so. Though, that was the point. He has gotten stronger because of a person he wouldn't have dreamed learning from or caring to do so. He didn't get help from his teacher, and his teacher thought he wasn't even worth the effort.

Yeah, that's what exactly he was pissed about. He wasn't worth the effort. Naruto growled, clenching his fist tightly, and he refused to meet his teacher's eye. "No teacher should doubt their student."

"You're absolutely right. I should have not."

"…I'm still pissed at you, dammit."

"As you should be, Naruto," Kakashi said gently.

Naruto growled again. "Just… Stop it, already. Stop trying to get me to stop being mad at you, and forgive you quickly, because I won't. In the end, I just want Ebisu-sensei to help me out with this stuff. Everything else, I'll leave it to you to teach me. Hopefully, you'll keep your word, but it ain't just about me. What about Sakura-chan too? She needs help with her training – she could have gotten seriously hurt in the invasion just like Sasuke did. You want me to be not pissed at you? Okay. There's a way to do that, but it goes beyond me. We – me and my team – need you to stop being lazy, get off your ass, and train us the right way. No running off to train Sasuke alone. No more just giving us training in the Tree Climbing Exercise. No more telling us we need to work on our teamwork, especially when we work just fine together. We need to get trained. That's my word of advice to you."

Kakashi looked at him with his one good eye and nodded at him slowly. "A good piece of advice indeed…" Kakashi then turned away from his student. "I'll leave you alone for now."

Naruto merely grunted and listened to his teacher walk away. A minute later, he finally turned to check if the jōnin was gone. Satisfied that the man was indeed gone – or seemed to be – Naruto released a breath of air. That was completely awkward as hell, but he was glad he got some things off his chest. Maybe he shouldn't have been so angry, but still… "Argh, why does this shit gotta be so complicated, man?"

He shook his head. "I can't concentrate enough to practice my Earth Release. Maybe I should call it a day."

He then remembered what his teacher gave him and pulled out the scroll out of his jacket's pocket. He stared at the thing for a few seconds. "Why the hell did the Hokage want to give me this?"

Well, there was only one way to find out, and since he said he didn't want to train anymore, it was time to head back into town. Maybe get something to eat, and go back home for some rest and relaxation. It was already 5 in the afternoon already, and nothing much was happening today. It was kind of unlike him to call it a day so early, especially when he was getting back into his training, but today had a lot of emotional crap shitted on him.

Yeah, he should call it a day.

The Next Day…

Naruto figured he should have read the scroll yesterday, but after he ate dinner, and returned home, he went quickly to sleep. He was really tired for some reason, so he turned in early, and woke up just as early. The village wasn't burning down, so he figured it was okay that he didn't exactly jump up and look at the scroll in question.

After he finished washing up, eating, and cleaning up his house until it finally hit 11:30 in the morning, he finally stopped procrastinating, sat down in his living room, and opened up the scroll addressed to him. If the Hokage wanted to give this to him, this had to have some great deal of importance.

Then he felt like a complete dumb shit when he realized the Godaime Hokage sent this to him was merely passing off a scroll originally written by the Sandaime Hokage.

"Dear Naruto,

"I hope this letter finds you well. If you are receiving this letter… Well, I guess you know what it means. As cliché as it sounds, it is very true. For that, I am sorry. I'm sorry because I will not watch you grow to be the shinobi I know you will be. I am sorry for being able to assign that first mission to you as a chūnin and watch you complain verily because I was giving you a C-rank mission. I could imagine you growling angrily at me, and me attempting (and failing) to not laughing. I would say, 'Naruto, my boy, this mission is to simply get your feet wet,' and you would respond that you already are ready. Then, you would complete it, flawlessly, and come back for some more. Then, I would be there to see that you got your first B-rank mission.

Naruto shook his head, smiling despite feeling very sad at the moment. Yeah, that sounded exactly how they would be. God, he missed the old man already.

"I'm sorry because I will not be able to see you become the man I know you will be. Hokage… what a hell of a goal to accomplish, son, but… somewhere in my heart, I always knew you would be. It's in your blood to be, I always believed it. Yes, I can already imagine your head swelling over that. Perhaps I will let you get away with that.

"Truth be told, Naruto, there is so much I seen out of you. It is just merely unfortunate how things had to go – or will be. No matter. You will be strong, with or without me being there. You will follow your dreams and gain what you want whether or not I can see it. Still, it pains me to not be there, as I do believe it will for you.

"I'll make you proud, old man," Naruto whispered to himself, scrubbing his eyes.

"So, I will make it up to you.

That line had Naruto scratch his head in confusion. "Make… what up to me, old man? Dying? It ain't your fault."

"You have noticed a few markings on this paper, have you not, Naruto? One of the seals were created so you, and only you could read it. You will not believe it, but I needed to make it so. There are people out there that will do you harm should they learn of what we speak of – or rather, what you will learn from this scroll soon enough.

"The seal on the top of the scroll was keyed to your DNA; the second seal on the bottom left corner of the scroll is also keyed to your DNA. Please, activate it."

...

Naruto wondered how the hell would he do that. "Um, this didn't exactly come with instructions… Or did it?" Naruto read further and saw in parentheses: (Note: Place your hand onto the seal and feed it chakra, Naruto.)

"Oh. Dammit, old man. Making me feel stupid." Naruto smirked, however, and placed his hand on the seal. Placing some of his chakra, the seal glowed brightly for a second and then disappeared before new text appeared on the scroll.

"Ah, you have activated the second seal. Excellent. We have much to discuss, my boy.

"First, there is someone you must seek out in this village. He is a man I wanted you to meet for a while now. Do not worry about how long it will take for you to seek him out; he will be at a place you will never miss. His name is Jiraiya. I do not know if you have studied about him in your classes (or rather if you remember such studies), but if you have, you should know who he is. He will be your mentor for the time being, besides Kakashi.

"Second, you must know of an organization who is dangerous to people of your 'status.' I trust you know what I mean.

Ugh, he was talking about being the container of that thing inside of him, wasn't he? There were people after him because of it? 'My life always got some problem to it, doesn't it?'

"Their name is the Akatsuki, and although information about them is scarce, one thing about them is certain: they are dangerous. A group of several S-rank missing-nins, they are a terrorist group bent on capturing tailed beasts, by force. Yes, you can see now why they are dangerous, do you not? Terrorists capturing tailed beasts around the world for whatever purpose they have in mind is indeed a scary thought, and you are as much in danger as I am making it sound like.

"And I have the belief that they can accomplish this goal.

"Thus, I ask of you one thing that you must promise me, Naruto. You must promise me never to seek out these men on your own, without any backup. I do not care if you are – or believe you are – the strongest shinobi of the village. These boogeymen of the shinobi world rely heavily on teamwork. They work in two-man cells, and their skills complement their partners. Always have someone to back you up if you must fight these people.

Sheesh. If these people had the Hokage scared of them, then shit, he would definitely not even bother trying to think about these people. Fuck that noise.

"Unfortunately, I believe you must eventually fight these people soon enough. My nugget of advice to you, my boy? Get stronger, get stronger quickly. You have little time now for acting like a child, as horrible as it sounds. Not to mention, I believe you will not even get the chance to. That vest that they put on people is, technically, supposed to make you an adult at this point. All jesting aside, I am serious.

"Old man, I was already planning on getting stronger, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted back at the scroll. "Stop nagging me from the grave, gosh!"

"I imagine, however, you would be saying something like, 'Old man, I was already planning to get stronger, gosh!' (Naruto sputtered in shock. Was the man psychic?!) and I would be laughing my head off because of it. I know you will. As I said before, it's in your blood to do so. With the help of your teachers, I'm sure you will. It's a pity that I will not be around to see it.

"But perhaps, I can help you with it. If you haven't figured it out, I have another three miniature seals under this passage. Press them, and you'll receive something else that I leave with you.

"Another seal will appear to the bottom right corner of the scroll that has nothing to do with the gift I give you. Instead, it is more information about another topic. However, I have made something of a challenge for you. This will be, in a way, a test to see whether or not you are truly strong enough to handle the world. In order to unlock some of the seals I have on this scroll, you must learn how to use fūinjutsu. You must learn how to unravel these seals yourself. These seals are all keyed to your DNA; getting someone else to undo the seal will not work, so no shortcuts to this. It may seem like a pain, but I believe it will be worthwhile to you.

"For now, I ask you to look at the gifts I give you. Activate the seal that looks similar to the one before, Naruto."

…Ah, more seals eh? Hell, this thing had a lot of similar looking seals that he could read on. Some were very different, so he was guessing those were the ones who held information he couldn't get just yet. This was like some sort of complex game that the old man made. Though, for a guy who was nicknamed "The Professor" stuff like this was like second nature to him.

He had to put fūinjutsu as one of the many things he had to learn on his list now. For now, he should activate one of the seals he made on the scroll available to him at usage.

"Yes. This is one of the five ninjutsu I have stored information about on this scroll. That is five ninjutsu I hope that will come to serve you well like they have done for me. Train well.

"Ninjutsu 1: D-"

A knock began at his door, taking him out of the reading of the scroll. Scrubbing his eyes, and wrapping up the scroll, he got up from his position on the table and walked to the front door.

He wondered who the hell was it bothering him on his day off. Last time he checked, Kakashi-sensei said until Sasuke recovered from the hospital and was ready to leave, Team Kakashi wouldn't be taking any sort of missions – something that, after yesterday, he decided he was going to enjoy. He doubted Kakashi-sensei would be actively trying to seek him out after yesterday either.

As soon as he opened the door, he was surprised to see a familiar face waiting outside for him – more specifically, his former teacher. "Oh, Iruka-sensei! What's up?"

His teacher smiled at him. "Hello, Naruto. Actually, I'm here for you."

"What do you need me for? Ramen?"

"No. You're due in the Hokage's office in a few minutes."

Naruto scratched his head. Yeah, the new Hokage… Right. They appointed one already. Then again, it made sense. 'I mean, with Sarutobi-jiji dead… well, they needed a new Hokage quickly. I wonder what he's like or if I know them…'

Naruto returned from his thoughts to reality and nodded at Iruka. "Alright. Lemme throw on my jacket, and we can go."

Iruka nodded back at him. "I'll wait outside."

"I won't be long, Sensei." With that, Naruto turned back inside and closed the door.

At the Ninja Academy, the Hokage's Suite…

"The first thing that will happen now, Jiraiya, is the immediate contacting of the daimyo, and announce that the next Hokage has been chosen. Preparations for the inauguration will commence today."

"Yes, yes." Jiraiya waved lazily, sitting down on a large pillow in the room, listening to the old coots Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado already bark instructions out to him. He sipped on a cup of water briefly before commenting again. "Not a fan of big ceremonies and whatnot, but if it can't be helped..."

"Take this more seriously, Jiraiya," Homura scolded. "This has been a tradition since the days of the Shodai."

"Aoba, Genma," Koharu called out flatly, and behind her, two shinobi appeared, crouched, and awaiting orders.

"Here, Koharu-sama!" Both men declared.

"Issue a notice to those in the village about the matter of Jiraiya-sama's inauguration. In two days, the inauguration will happen."

"Yes, madam!" And the two disappeared again with the work of the Shunshin no Jutsu.

Jiraiya merely drank from his cup of water, and when it was empty, refilled it. He listened almost absently to the elders' ranting, telling him all the information he needed to know about his appointment to being the Hokage. Already, he was starting to feel a headache. He was hoping the soothing cool water would do something to calm him down, but that wasn't the case at all.

This was a lot of crap to just get the job, really. He almost wished he actually stuck to his plan to go get Tsunade, but he also knew this was all for the best. The past few days have really stuck with him. He truly needed to do this. Who else was qualified to do this? There was only him, and the "other choice," and we couldn't have that, could we?

When the elders were finished, he immediately left the room to stretch his legs and walked to the outside balcony. He watched the village silently, breathing in and out as he took in the air. Oh, this was going to become very, very annoying soon. As he thought it would be like, he and politics did not click at all. Just hearing the elders bark orders at him, was annoying. He can imagine how that would be like for the next years to come. Fun, fun.

He would have to take in whatever amount of respite he could get with this new job of his. Man, being the Hokage would, no doubt, suck complete ass.

A lot was left at his feet, it seemed. 'Sarutobi-sensei really has given me a lot of BS to deal with. I got the Sunagakure-thing to deal with, and their jinchūriki and his siblings are currently our prisoners of war. Then, we got to broker some sort of treaty with them; there's no way I'm going to war with that country. We don't need war, especially with that organization running around trying to capture you-know-what. Then, I got these old people to deal with too who seems to love bossing me around, and I haven't had the job for even two weeks.'

The white-haired man scratched the back of his head, huffing hot air out of his mouth. 'I got like 99 problems right now. Damn, why the hell did I want this job when I was a kid? Oh, right, I was a kid. Sheesh. Minato wanted this? How the hell did he do it? Of course, he was always the responsible one. He loved this job to the fullest, that kid.' He smiled, melancholy flowing inside of him. Spirits knew how he missed his late student. It looked like he had to pick off where his student and teacher left off at, and be the damn best leader this village could get right now.

'At least until my godson gets to sit in the grand seat. Ah, speaking of him, he should be swinging around here soon.' And as soon as he thought that, the male elder, Homura, had stepped onto the balcony, clearing his throat to get the sage's attention.

Jiraiya knew it was time.

Naruto walked with his teacher, speaking about a myriad of things that really didn't matter all too much to him. He was too busy being anxious about what the hell the new Hokage wanted with him to have any sort of small talk. Maybe it really was someone he knew. However, as soon as he stepped into the room where the Hokage resided at in the daytime when he was not at the Mission Assignment Desk, he saw only two people there, and they weren't at the desk.

Instead, two old people stood where the Hokage's desk was at, looking at him with a stern look on their faces, and their arms crossed behind their backs. One nodded at him, and politely said, "Good afternoon, Umino-sensei, Uzumaki-kun."

"Good afternoon Mitokado-sama and Utatane-sama," Iruka bowed and said back.

Naruto followed suit with a bow respectful enough to not be considered rude. "Good afternoon."

Naruto twitched as he heard movement behind him. The door opened behind him, and who stepped through was not the Hokage but Shikamaru Nara, and someone who looked like him a lot, only with more scars and a goatee. The man was wearing the standard flak vest most chūnin and jōnin wore.

Naruto assumed it was Shikamaru's father, as he saw the nearly identical son follow in after him. He relaxed quickly. "Yo, Shikamaru."

His lazy peer nodded at him. "Naruto, Iruka-sensei, good afternoon."

"And an afternoon to you too, elders," Shikamaru's father uttered, sending the two old people a bow before stepping further into the room with his son. "Shall we be meeting the Hokage today?"

"Yes, he will be back momentarily. He went outside to stretch his legs." The old woman spoke up, sending a gaze to Shikamaru, and then to the blond boy. Naruto felt himself straighten up, and stiffen. There was something about her look that seemed to be judging him. Though, she seemed to be satisfied when he was no long slumped.

The door opened after two long minutes, and Naruto watched someone new walk through the office. Much to his surprise, he believed he did meet this man. Wasn't this- Yes! He did see this man before! The old coot from that one time a few weeks ago, at Ichiraku! What was his name again? Ah, he didn't remember, sadly. He was more focused on his training from before. Still, though, who the hell was this guy? 'And why is he staring at me specifically?'

The white-haired man came to sit down the desk of the Hokage, and Naruto knew this guy was the Godaime Hokage. "Ah, a good walk, a good walk. Yes, afternoon everyone."

"Good afternoon," was the collective response of everyone in the room.

"Yes, I know some of you here are wondering why you are here, especially in the middle of the day, and some of you haven't had your lunches yet." Oh yeah, that was true. That was something Naruto was gripping about to Iruka-sensei earlier during their walk to the Academy. "I won't take much of your time, but before we get into the reason why you're here, let me introduce myself."

The man then stood- no, jumped- no, flew out his seat, and did the strangest thing Naruto would have ever seen a Hokage did. He did some sort of… pose where he was hopping on one foot, hand saluting them, and music – the fuck?! – started playing from seemingly nowhere. "I AM THE GALLANT, SUPREME SHINOBI WHO HAS NO EQUAL! MY STRENGTH IS ONE THAT CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! WHEN I STEP INTO A BATTLEFIELD, THE ENEMIES LITERALLY SHIT THEMSELVES UNCONSCIOUS! YOU BEST WATCH YOUR BOOZE, YOUR WOMEN, AND YOUR DAUGHTERS, BECAUSE I'LL SNATCH THEM RIGHT UP! I AM THE GALLANT PANTYDROPPER, GAMA SENNIN NO JIRAIYA!"

After the music ended, silence followed. No one in the office said a word. All of the people there stared forward. For the elderly folk behind Jiraiya, they glared forward. Actually, they glared specifically at Jiraiya. Jiraiya must have noticed, because then he coughed, and sat back down in his chair. "Ah, yeah, that's my intro…."

Finally, Naruto could not take it anymore and literally fell down, holding his belly in pain as he howled in laughter. Tears, literal tears, started rolling down his cheeks. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, my fucking god! I, I, I can't! Ah-ah-AHAHAHAHA! I-IRUKA-SENSEI, HELP, HELP ME PLEASE! I'VE FALLEN AND CAN'T GET BACK UP!"

Naruto's eyes were closed but he can hear voices. "Naruto, get back up, dammit! You're being embarrassing!"

"Well, at least someone liked my intro…"

"We told you not to do this, Jiraiya-sama, and you did it anyway..."

"I feel a migraine coming on."

"Troublesome. Why the hell did we have to come here, Dad?"

"Hush now, Shika. You know you were ready to laugh your ass off too."

"S-Snrk…. Not true at all."

Naruto felt himself being pulled up. He gave no sort of resistance, finally opening his eyes to see everyone staring at him. His laughter died down. He cleared his throat, his smile wiped off his face. "So, what are we here for, old coot?"

Jiraiya growled immediately. "Who ya callin' an old coot, brat?"

"You. I remember you from that other day at Ichiraku's. What did I tell ya before? You ain't getting my respect until you earn- gah! Dammit, that hurts!"

"Naruto, shut up now." Iruka gritted his teeth, smashing a hand into Naruto's blond locks.

The Hokage guffawed. "Well then, I guess even as Hokage, I'm not entitled to your respect, eh? Well, like I said: I like your spunk. However, you might wanna change your tune when I present you your chūnin vest."

Naruto stilled and looked up. "…Wait, what?"

"Yes. You asked why you're here, right? Well, I'm telling you. You're getting a promotion; both of you, really."

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed. "Damn, I knew it."

"We're getting promoted?! Whoo! Yesyesyesyes, yes! Fuck yeah!"

"Naruto!" Iruka winced at the childishness his former student was showing. Not to mention, that crassness was unbecoming, no doubt offending both the Hokage and the two village elders. "Calm down already."

Jiraiya chuckled again. "No, no. Let the little guy let it out. I know how it feels to get that promotion and being gob-smacked about it. It'll fade soon."

"Um, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru raised his hand, not looking pleased. "Why did I get nominated for a chūnin? This seems all troublesome to me."

The white-haired man scratched his chin, smiling. "Well, Nara-san, I reviewed your match in the Chūnin Exams. I was pleased. You have shown a great deal of intelligence, talent, and will to be a shinobi. Besides using the battlefield to your advantage, the obvious knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses, and knowing when to quit while you can, has secured you a nomination. You're a quick thinker, a strategist, and stayed cool, even when things didn't look good. That's the type of level-headed attitude we need for chūnin.

"Think of your match as one big mission. You had to fight a kunoichi, who was found to be a seasoned genin with an affinity for high-level wind ninjutsu. Instead of fighting head-on, you kept your distance. You planned ahead and used the battlefield to your advantage. Then, when it was clear you could not defeat her, you forfeited. That's the attitude that separates the genin from the chūnin. I cannot tell you how many genin have thrown their lives away because they wanted to play hero, didn't know when to quit, and as a result, could never become a chūnin. That's the type of recklessness we don't want for Konohagakure.

"It's not about being strong in this world, but being smart. If the mission doesn't call for it, you fight only when you know you can fight. You flee to fight another day. That's what important to this rank I'm giving you, and a lot of young upstarts like you don't get that. Fortunately, you – or unfortunately for you – seemed to have got the main point of the Exams."

"Urgh. Can I just not accept? I think I got promoted to chūnin way too fast for my liking. I was hoping for another year or two."

Shikamaru's father answered before the Hokage. He looked positively cheeky. "Well, you can refuse, but you can expect a hell of a tongue-lashing from your mother when you get home if you don't accept."

"…She knows I was nominated, doesn't she?"

"Mmhm."

"Dammit, Dad."

"Manners, my son. Now, what do say to the nice Hokage?"

"…I want to say 'Sigh,' but I can't." Shikamaru then bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya grinned at the two Nara men. "You're welcome." Then he turned to the blond boy next to Iruka Umino. "Now you, brat."

"Ah… Well, why was I nominated then?"

"To be honest: you were more of a controversial pick, kid." Jiraiya leaned back in his seat leisurely, but his face serious. "On one hand, the way you acted in front of all of us not too long ago shows you still need to mature a bit. That's not how you act in front of a leader of a village. Granted, I'll accept it since you're young, and the display by the Nara boy wasn't all that better either. On the other hand, there's another reason here. My advisors believed you are impulsive, and reckless in the Exams. In your match against Gaara, that certainly looked like it. Everything you seemed to be doing was not working. Not even when you threw those exploding tags at him. There was a time in the match where you clearly would have been killed if it wasn't for some very quick thinking and your opponent being momentarily distracted by the proctor." Naruto looked down, shamed by the Hokage's words. "But, I think that doesn't matter."

The blond perked up and looked at Jiraiya attentively. "I say you can be as much of a thinker and strategist as the Nara boy here. The matches that sold me? Your match with Neji Hyūga and especially with Temari of Sunagakure. In those two matches, you had a clear plan on what to do. You used the battlefield to your advantage, and with your affinity for Earth Release, it helped you go far in the tournament. Your combined usage of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Doton: Mogurakure no Jutsu overpowered your otherwise more experienced shinobi. Neji could do nothing as you used basically two ninjutsu to defeat him. With Temari, you simply used your earth affinity to make her fan useless and defeated her. That cannot be ignored."

"So what you're a little impulsive, and so loud you make me want to tear my ears off my head?" Naruto nearly snarled in indignation but caught himself. "You'll grow out of it. You're young – you can act a little stupid sometimes. However, I don't think you're as impulsive and reckless when it comes to the battlefield. When you had that game plan, you made it work to the best of your abilities. I like that, and Konohagakure is going to like that. That's why I decided to bump you up to the next rank."

"T-Thank you." Streams of tears came down Naruto's face. He tried to stop it but he couldn't. He couldn't help it. These past few days has been a turbulent ride for him. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya smiled. "See? His tune turned. Right then, come and get the vests, young men. You have earned it. I best see nothing but good things from you from now on, right?"

"Yes, sir!" Both of the former genin said in front of their leader. Shikamaru threw on his newer vest over his usual attire, while Naruto unzipped his jacket, and threw it over his black t-shirt. He was noticeably more ecstatic than his surly peer.

Jiraiya smiled again at the both of them, though Naruto could have sworn the Hokage's smile was more directed towards him.

How odd.

But Naruto was too busy being overwhelmed with joy and happiness for what had happened just now. Finally, the day had come where he was one step closer to achieving his dream.

"Jiraiya, was it wise to do that?" Homura finally said after the office cleared out. Naruto and Shikamaru – along with his father – had left the office around two or three minutes before the elder man uttered anything.

"Hmm?" The Hokage-elect grunted out.

"You know what we are asking, Jiraiya. Clearly, the boy isn't ready to move up in the ranks." Koharu spoke up.

Jiraiya merely drank from a cup of water. For a moment, he said nothing. Then he uttered, "I noticed I didn't hear a "yet" from you, Utatane-sama. Maybe then that wouldn't sound so bad when you said it. You know, I think you two are being very narrow-minded. Saying the boy isn't mature enough to become a chūnin is indeed fair, but that's not the real reason why you want him to stay a genin, is it?"

The two were silent, while Jiraiya sighed. "You two know about the Akatsuki from the information I have presented to the Hokage a few months ago; they will come for the boy."

"And sending him outside the village is completely foolish. That makes him easier to become captured." The female elder criticized.

"And keeping him confined to the village where they know where he's always going to be is worse." Jiraiya countered immediately, a frown now on his face. "Not to mention the Akatsuki have a certain former ANBU Captain of ours who knows the entire layout of the village."

"He hasn't been in the village for years." Koharu countered quickly.

Jiraiya laughed sarcastically. "Haha, we know that even though that's true, Itachi Uchiha was a child prodigy with an intellect that rivaled a Nara." He poured water into his cup again. "Now, we need to get prepared for this group of unknowns. You two of all people know the dangers of having little to no information on an enemy, no matter how seemingly small, and seemingly insignificant. We will be treating our enemy very seriously, especially when they seek the tailed beasts for their own. This means they have the means of taking them. Naruto cannot afford to stay just here and grow as some sort of secret weapon with no sort of experience of the real world. His potential is too large to be contained like that."

"We know this is a serious threat, Jiraiya. Do not insult us." Homura said, showing some of his ire. "However, do you not think you are going about this in the wrong way?"

"We believe you are allowing your affection for the boy clouding your judgment," Koharu said bluntly and unapologetically. "Your desire to protect him because he is Minato-sama's son is making you blind to reason. He needs to be kept here, and then we can bring out the potential you keep saying he has. There is no doubt he has it, but for the sake of the village and the sake of him, it's better to keep him here, and not have him go on any sort of mission that involves going outside the vil-"

Her words were interrupted by the shattering of glass. More specifically, the glass of water Jiraiya was going to drink from. From a quick glance at his eyes, the elders both knew the man was pissed, and it surprised them. Jiraiya was the most laid-back of the three legendary sannin.

As fast as that anger flashed in his eyes, however, was as fast as it went away. Jiraiya sighed and wiped the mess off the table with a towel he secured from somewhere on his person. The other two people in the office did not question it. "Listen, I get it. To you two, Naruto Uzumaki is nothing more than a political tool."

"That is completely-!" Homura started, looking furious.

Jiraiya held his hand up, and that quelled any sort of retort from the now angered older shinobi. "He's a jinchūriki first, and a young man later, but you couldn't be any wrong. This is a young man who will have a career beyond just coming out to fight for wars and defend our country against other jinchūriki."

Jiraiya rose from his seat, and walked towards the middle of the office, staring at the both of the elders. "Kushina Uzumaki was the former jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. Yet, she was a renowned jōnin, and she came to Konohagakure as young as 10 years old. She was treated as a full-fledged ninja who took missions outside Konohagakure and was a kunoichi first, and a jinchūriki later. In fact, she became strong because she wasn't treated like a jinchūriki at all. She never used her demon's power at all or relied on it, and the Hokage never had her have to go through all the ordeals you are telling me to put Naruto through."

He paused briefly and looked at the two older shinobi. Satisfied the elders no longer had any sort of retort to his words, Jiraiya continued. "He did it, even when that time was a time of war and strife between all the nations in the world. It was a time where it would have been easy to force the girl to harness that power and become nothing more than our tool to use when we needed it. I will do exactly what Sarutobi-sensei did. I will treat Naruto Uzumaki as he should be treated as."

"Then he will be weak and in danger." Koharu hissed, frustration starting to leak through her tone of voice.

Jiraiya shook his head. They needed to change that attitude quick. They may have been older shinobi, but they forgot who he was and what he had been through. Hell, they hadn't been active shinobi for a while now. "You misunderstand. See, unlike during Sarutobi-sensei's reign, we do not have the luxury of having Naruto not use the Kyūbi to his advantage."

"What are you saying then, Jiraiya-sama?" Homura asked, a bit more respectful that Koharu, but not by much.

"I'm saying that he will be training to use his inner demon, elders. We all know the Kyūbi – as terrifying as a force it is – is something that will give Naruto strength. Just, we will not be seeing that as his only strength. He will be treated as a shinobi first. Nothing more, nothing less. I will be the one to see to this myself. I'm the only one who can, after all. I had one job before I accepted this gig, after all." Jiraiya stated evenly, drinking from his cup as the two elders quieted down.

He didn't know why they were so worried about Naruto. He already promised his old teacher that Naruto would become the best damn shinobi he could mold, and he was already a goddamn good teacher. Just look at Minato – albeit, the man was dead, but that wasn't because of Jiraiya not trying.

No, Naruto would become just like his father: a legend. It would just take a little bit of his help to bring that potential out in him.

Naruto spent the next half-hour breaking the news to his friends at Ichiraku's. Ayame and Teuchi were just as happy as he was. Teuchi offered him an "on-the-house" meal and you already knew he took the deal, with gusto.

"Congratulations, Chūnin Uzumaki." Iruka started with a smile, before slurping on his ramen at a much more sedated pace than his former student. "Wow, chūnin-rank and it hasn't been so much of a year out of the Academy. How does it feel?"

"It feels good, Sensei. It feels good. I'm one step closer to my dream. This is fucking awesome." Naruto retorted, touching his vest diligently as if he was touching something fragile.

"Just make sure you know what you're stepping into, Naruto. The time for playing around is over. From this day forward, you will no longer be treated as a child to the eyes of Konohagakure." Iruka scolded, looking sternly at Naruto. Genin were – legally speaking – adults, but they were still treated like kids, of course. Chūnin meant you were an adult, through and through.

"I understand, Sensei," Naruto said back flippantly, taking a swig from his dish.

"Do you, Naruto? I hope so. After all, like the Hokage said in the office, your election was 'controversial' – meaning they didn't know whether or not you deserved to be elected."

"Hey, I worked my ass off in the Chūnin Exams, man!" Naruto nearly growled back, his anger showing. "What do their old asses know?"

"A lot, you idiot. They have been around decades more than you and me. They were Sandaime-sama's teammates, and have nearly as much as respect as the Hokage. How many people do you think they elected before you and I were even born?" The teacher of the Academy shook his head. "I thought we discussed how you need to see this rank as a responsibility. You are no longer a kid on a team, being lead around by your jōnin. You're a young man who will, one day, be called on missions that have nothing to do with Kakashi-san, or Sakura-chan, or Sasuke-kun."

Naruto sobered up after that. He then looked down and put his chopsticks in his bowl. "…yeah, that's right. I'm no longer… a part of Team Seven, am I?"

"No, you're not. Well, I mean officially. You can go on missions with them all you want, sure, but what happens when you are called on missions by the Hokage's orders, or you are requested for missions that you must take? This isn't a game, Naruto." Iruka sighed, tugging a little at his ponytail. "Look, I know I'm being hard on you, but I'm telling you because you need to know. This is something no one's going to tell you later on in your career as a shinobi. It's time to grow, Naruto. You can't be a kid anymore, Naruto – at least while you wear that vest. You're a man now; it's time to start acting like one."

He was indeed being hard on Naruto, but Iruka truly couldn't fault Naruto on how he was acting. Not a bit. He didn't have a father to teach him how to be a man. He didn't have a grandfather to listen to. He didn't have an uncle to show him the way. He had no older brother to emulate or a cousin to connect to. He had no one. Naruto was forced to grow up with no one to look after him. Iruka knew the feeling all too well.

He remembered coming home where it was empty and lifeless. It was a constant reminder of the absent parents that were supposed to be there to see their son graduate and become a chūnin where he helped model the youth into fine shinobi like they had once done. Naruto had it worse. He was an orphan since birth, really. He didn't even know his parents; at least Iruka had known he had parents who loved him.

Naruto didn't have such a luxury. As a jinchūriki, Iruka knew Naruto would never have the luxury to take it easy. Life was hard enough, but being a vessel of a demon who earned the scorn of the entire village made things worse for him, and he had a lot to prove to them. He could see why Naruto's goal was to become a Hokage, but in order to get to that level, he had to shape up, and fast.

Iruka sighed but smiled forcefully. He patted the young man he viewed as a little brother – and sometimes, confusingly enough, as a son – on his shoulder. He saw Naruto's sullen face, and couldn't help but to feel bad about. No, he couldn't feel bad. This was what Naruto needed to hear. "Relax though. You have every right to be excited about this. I'm proud that you got to this level. I just want to see you go far, Naruto. If you're going to become my Hokage, you best get super strong."

Naruto looked up and smiled. Then, he grinned. "You're right! I'm a chūnin now! It's time to stop playing around. The position of the Hokage is something I'm looking forward to."

"That's right. So, you got to start becoming more serious, Naruto. Try to keep those little outbursts of yours inside, instead of at the Hokage's office, you hear me?" Iruka's stern face, however, dropped in favor of a large happy smile. Truthfully, the brown-haired man couldn't be any prouder today. Two of his students had become a chūnin in as short as a year, and on their first tries at the Chūnin Exams. Perhaps in times of war, that was not that spectacular, but nowadays, that was admirable indeed.

Iruka knew Naruto was the type of person who needed someone to give him that sort of congratulation, that sort of acknowledgment, and Iruka didn't shy away from it at all, with the pat on the shoulder he gave him. He then ruffled Naruto's hair. "You did good today, Naruto. I'm proud of you. Keep it up."

"T-Thanks, Iruka-sensei." Naruto smiled gently, his eyes shining, and he seemed to shiver. Iruka rubbed Naruto's back softly.

"Yeah, boy!" Teuchi said, bringing out a large bowl of ramen for him, and a moderate-sized one for Iruka. "We're proud of you too. As a show of it, we prepared a hell of dish for you. Sorry for the wait, but we hope you enjoy it."

Ayame suddenly appeared the kitchen too to the side of Naruto, and gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek, and ruffled his hair as well. She placed Naruto's utensils down to his side, and a glass of water in front of him. "You're going to go far, Naruto-kun! Every time you get a promotion like this, best believe a big bowl like this will be waiting for you."

"And who knows what will it be when you make Hokage, my boy!" Teuchi laughed livelily. "So, you best- aww, it's okay, Naruto. No need to hold back now! Cry if you want!"

"S-Shuddup, Teuchi-jiji!" Naruto stuttered, rubbing his eyes furiously, feeling Ayame give him a hug from the back and Iruka chuckling softly while making his hair completely a mess. He promised himself there would be no more tears for a good while, but here he was, almost bawling like a baby.

But he was happy, and that was what it was all about.

Something finally came good out this stupid ass week.

In Konohagakure, With Naruto Uzumaki – Two Days Later

Naruto sat on his couch, relaxing after having a breakfast made at home for him. He reflected on what had happened two days ago, a smile on his face.

Ah, to be a chūnin. Honestly, it didn't feel all that different to Naruto, but it hadn't been very long since his promotion. There were certain benefits to his promotion, he was sure. He had access to more missions of a higher-tier and if he tried to go there more often, more access to higher level techniques to learn in the library. It also didn't hurt that now he had some bragging rights. At least that was nice.

He was the first one of his peers – besides Shikamaru – to become a chūnin now. Who could say he was one of the worse genin of last year's graduating class now? Of course, he didn't think anyone could argue that anyway with how far he came in the exams. He ended up in the finals after all.

Speaking of his peers, he saw a few recently. Shikamaru yesterday, along with his team, were rare visitors of Ichiraku. Naruto didn't believe Shikamaru or Chōji had any sort of problem coming to the fast food joint at all, but Naruto figured Ino would be wary of such places because of her "dieting." How she wanted to diet especially when she was a genin was beyond him, but in the end, he decided he didn't care all too much about it anyway since she wasn't his teammate.

But yeah, they congratulated him – well, Ino kind of raged, and was disbelieving at his promotion, but Naruto believed it was more out of being annoyed that Sasuke didn't get a promotion before him or Shikamaru for that matter. "The two genin who did horrendously in our graduating year ended up becoming chūnin before the Rookie Of The Year? How does that work out?"

Of course, Naruto wisely didn't add that Sasuke didn't get promoted because he and Kakashi were so late to the Chūnin Exams stadium that Sasuke got disqualified because of it. Doing so may have ended him getting screamed at by the self-confessed Sasuke fangirl. Naruto was trying to have a good afternoon that day, not get into some argument with a girl who was just looking to start one with her ranting. So, he just did what Shikamaru and Chōji had come to learn to do when dealing with Ino Yamanaka. "Uh-huh, yeah…"

Nod your head, agree out loud, and shut up after that.

After them, he ended up running into Team Kurenai without the named person in tow with them. Kiba looked annoyed that Naruto was now a chūnin, but that turned out to be just a façade, and he congratulated Naruto with a hard slap on his chest, and a fist bump. Shino gave his congrats too, but it was more long-winded, and talky compared to Kiba's. Nevertheless, Naruto appreciated it.

Hinata's cheer of congratulations was… interesting. Well, it was more of a sputtering, stuttering mess of congrats with Hinata looking like her face was catching on fire, and Kiba looking like he was going to keel over in laughter.

Naruto was super curious about why the hell Hinata got like that when she saw Naruto. She was already a shy and introverted girl from what Naruto figured but she became worse when she saw him. Maybe she didn't like him or something, or maybe she was fearful of him? He didn't know… though it didn't seem like it since she didn't act like it. He didn't know – he didn't see Hinata all that much anyway, so he didn't try to worry about it too much.

Still, she was… quite strange.

Well, he still liked her.

Anyway, yeah, he was now in his third day of being a chūnin, and in all honesty, nothing had changed a bit. Though he supposed what could he expect? Huge missions from the Hokage himself already? Not going to happen. He was a rookie chūnin, and he would have to get his feet wet before he could dream of getting such missions. His fantasies of saving princesses from snowy lands, or priestesses with the power to seal away demons, or going back in time to protect future queens of large, forgotten cities would have to be put on hold.

Hey, a man could dream, right?

A knock on the door took him out of his thoughts. He got off from his couch and opened his door. He was greeted with the cheery voice of his teacher. Or, well, his former teacher, really. Now that he was chūnin – as Iruka had explained last night – he was no longer truly bound to Team Kakashi anymore. "Good morning."

"Morning, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto uttered in an even tone.

"Hello, Naruto. Congrats on your promotion. I heard through the grapevine about it. Sorry I couldn't see you before to give you the congratulations though." Kakashi said cordially, despite Naruto's calmer tone.

"Thanks. What's up?"

"Well, I'm sure you heard about it, but I'm here to come collect you. Sakura and I will be going to the inauguration of the next Hokage."

Naruto nodded, definitely not wanting to miss that. "Oh, yeah. They do that when they want to instate a new Hokage, huh? Alright. I washed up before, so just let me throw on my vest and shirt."

"Right."

…

The walk to Sakura's home was simple and quiet. Neither of the men talked, and that was just fine with Naruto. They had really nothing to talk about. Kakashi knocked on the door and announced himself. Sakura was the one who came to answer the door.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto! Oh, that's right. Congratulations on becoming a chūnin, Naruto!"

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled brightly at his female friend.

"Of course, don't let that give you a big head. After all, you got a lot to catch up if you want to match Sasuke-kun. Besides that, you got to start taking responsibility now for your actions." She placed her hands on her hips, looking stern.

Naruto tried not to roll his eyes at Sakura, remembering to use the same tactic he used on Ino. "Uh-huh, yeah…"

"Alright, Sakura. Enough of harassing your teammate. You need to get ready for today."

Sakura put a figure to her lips. She adopted a thinking expression. "Oh yeah, the inauguration of the Hokage is today, is it? I looked at the flyer my mother got a few days. She won't be able to make it out – looking after Dad who got sick just recently, but I'll go with you guys."

"Good."

"W-Will Sasuke-kun be able to join us?" Sakura asked, looking hopeful.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, he isn't clear yet."

Sakura deflated. "Aw, I see. Well, I guess that's okay. I should go visit him. You too, Naruto." She looked again at her teammate – or former teammate, to be exact. "You haven't visited him yet, have you?"

"Um," Naruto started, looking somewhat sheepish. Oh, yeah. He didn't actually visit Sasuke at all, since the time he was put in the hospital, did he? "I… I guess I haven't."

"Well, you're going to come with me, after the inauguration, so prepare yourself."

"We'll all go, Sakura." Kakashi stated, smiling at his student. "I think Sasuke will appreciate us all being there."

Naruto almost snorted. Sasuke appreciating their presence? That sounded a little out of character for the guy. Then again, Sasuke could act like a tsundere sometimes. Nevertheless, Naruto nodded at Kakashi. "Alrighty then."

Sakura turned her body to go back inside her house. "Wait for me. I'll get my stuff and we can go."

The men nodded, and watched the door close in front of their faces.

In Konohagakure, The Inauguration of Jiraiya

Jiraiya stared back at a cheering crowd. Adorned in the white and red garb of the Hokage, with the traditional hat of the Hokage on his head, Jiraiya stared at the many people who had come to see this event happen. Villagers, ninjas, children and adults alike, they all stood in the courtyard of the Konoha Ninja Academy. They all had cheered, they had all came to see who would be elected as Hokage. They came for a fresh start, new beginnings, a new Hokage to bring hope back to the village.

They wanted a good show from the man who was their new leader.

And Jiraiya was great at many things, including being a great entertainer. He was going to definitely spice the hell out of this inauguration and make sure he left an impression upon all of them!

Genma Shiranui – who was the elite bodyguard of the last Hokage, and the Hokage before that – came to Jiraiya and offered him a microphone to amplify his voice, but Jiraiya slapped it out his hand. Genma was immediately confused. "My lord?"

"I do not need a microphone, Genma. My voice is already fucking powerful!" Jiraiya announced, energetically stepping to the edge of the roof of the Ninja Academy, and placing one wooden geta on the railing. In a show of great control over his chakra, one stomp on the railing leading to two giant pillars of flames launching into the skies nearby his person. The pillars remained, as did his foot. "My fellow villagers! My fellow shinobi! My fellas, and of course I can't forget my ladies, it is I! Who am I, you ask?"

Then Jiraiya weaved a set of hand seals, and the pillars of fire transformed from simple flames to dragons created out of the fire. "I AM THE GREAT ONE, THE MOUNTAIN AND THE MOUNTAIN MOVER! I AM THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT AND THE IRRESISTIBLE FORCE ITSELF! I AM THE BACK TWISTER, LINGERIE RIPPER, THE AUTOMATIC LEG SPREADER, GO GETTER, KEEPING IT NINJA WITH YA, THE GODS' SON HIMSELF! I AM THE TOAD SAGE, JIRAIYA, AND I AM THE GODAIME HOKAGE!"

Jiraiya barely heard the sound of his two advisors slap themselves in the face before he got an immediate response from the crowd. They popped. They shouted. They cheered. They yelled. They were alive, and the downed, and injured spirit that once had the village in a headlock disappeared. The dragons who rose from the flames then circled above the Hokage and his peers on the rooftop. They hissed and roared as loudly as the crowd was.

Jiraiya smirked and leaned on the leg on the railing of the rooftop. "My people! We have been through a hell of a time last week! The village was invaded and nearly destroyed by both Suna and Otogakure…" That led to a bunch of yells and jeers from the crowd, but Jiraiya waited until they calmed down a bit to continue. "But look at us now, standing when they thought they could destroy us! They thought they could beat us, break us, but how could they break the Will of Fire?!"

The crowd immediately were on their feet, shouting and cheering proudly again. The dragons roared with them. Jiraiya continued, looking pleased. "Yes, that energy, that power that I feel from you all is exactly what we need to be. We need to be powerful, to be strong, to show the world that you may be able to push us down, and defeat us, but our will burns as strong and bright as fire itself! We will continue to get back up, continue to fight when it looks like we cannot, and we will continue to be the strongest hidden village on this entire continent!"

The dragons roared again, as did the people, who many started to cheer his name. "Jiraiya, Jiraiya! Jiraiya, Jiraiya!"

It was time to take it home. "From this day until my last, I, Jiraiya will continue to serve this village as your Hokage! I, Jiraiya, will continue to protect this village as your Hokage! I, JIRAIYA, WILL BE THE HOKAGE YOU NEED! THE WILL OF FIRE STILL BURNS!"

Everyone cheered, and the dragons roared one last time until Jiraiya took his foot off the railing. Then, the dragons combusted in the sky into a shower of fire that quickly disappeared into the air. Jiraiya walked away from the people and returned to the Ninja Academy. His bodyguards – a now quiet and mystified Genma Shiranui, a gawking Iwashi Tatami, and a smirking Raidō Namiashi – quickly walked behind him, and the two elder advisors were at Jiraiya's side.

"Liked the inauguration, people?" Jiraiya asked almost arrogantly.

"Hmph, you could have acted a little professionally," Koharu grumbled.

"I thought it was not too shabby, my lord," Homura stated, looking more amused that his female counterpart did.

"Yes, of course, you enjoyed it, Homura," Koharu glared at her former teammate. "After all, you were smirking throughout the whole speech."

"Ah, semantics."

End.

A/N: Ahh, Hokage Jiraiya. Finally (the village is screwed). Haha.

A bunch of talking and no action to speak of. I'm sorry. I needed to set the next part in motion, and this was the way for me to do so. And yes, next chapter definitely will be entering back into the adventure genre of this story again. However, I enjoyed making this chapter.

Yeah, this chapter is pretty long. I was going to break it up into two separate chapters, but I wanted to get all the sort of talking out of the way, so we can move into some action in the next chapter, as I set up the next sort of arc in mind. I got some ideas in my head for the next chapter, which will be coming soon.

Thank you all for reading, those of you who reviewed, and whatnot. The next chapter shall come soon. Trying to have it out by the end of January or the beginning of February. No promises though. I'll get back to it soon.