walidcan : I have said it before, I cannot write every genre in my first piece of writing. I added a love interest for the sake of it. Also, the previous chapter was meant to be pointers. I wanted to cover some of the events that happened during the time skip. Sorry if you don't like it, but, that's the best I can do as of now. Thanks for the review!
ANBUIS the god king: I think you wrote the review on the wrong story? Well, regardless, I am not planning for any harem, lol.
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"So, Shizune, how is Naruto doing?" Tsunade questioned in a sly voice. And, well, Shizune went red. Apparently, Shizune was a heavy blusher, it just never came out before because, well, Shizune had never dated anyone before.
"Come on, it's almost been a year and you still blush when he is mentioned." Tsunade said, sighing.
"W-well, don't mention him then." She sputtered out.
"Eh, come on. Don't be like that. You've got to tell me the details." She said, unmoving.
"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." Shizune shouted, red from her ears to neck.
"Fine fine, Is he done with his training?" Tsunade questioned, not mocking her anymore.
"I suppose he is done. I am not sure, though." Shizune replied.
Before the conversation could go any further, the man in question, Naruto entered the room.
"Hey there, Tsunade, Shizune. I am done with my workout for the day." He said, hugging Shizune from behind. His chin resting comfortably on her head.
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO NOT DO THIS HERE?" Shizune shouted, indignant.
"Well, this is the only time I heard it properly. You always squeak out such things, so I pretend that I didn't hear anything." Naruto said. "Well, what has you riled up today?" Naruto questioned.
"Maybe she was thinking naughty things about you." Tsunade said, a sly smile gracing her face again.
"Is that so?" Naruto questioned.
"N-no, nothinglikethat." She said, realizing that no one could understand her, she took a deep breath and said, "Let me go now, I have work to do."
"Well, sure. You can go." Naruto said, moving from behind her.
Grabbing the opportunity, Shizune stormed out of the room. Once she was gone, the conversation begun again.
"Well, I am afraid that we are on such a point now that I don't have anything else to teach you, Naruto. You've come so far from the puny little chunin you were before. And, I could not have been any more proud." Tsunade said, affection dripping from her voice.
"You have done enough, Tsunade-sama. I am very thankful for what you have done for me. I could not be more grateful if I tried." He said.
A brilliant smile graced Tsunade's face, and Naruto knew what was gonna come next.
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"Surely, this is as divine as places get in the elemental nations." Tsunade said, a bottle of sake in her hand.
"You say that in every bar we go." Naruto replied, now used to her antics.
"Eh, maybe I do, maybe I don't. But, this is great." She said, raising the bottle in her hand.
"There is no 'maybe'. I know it for a fact that you do." Naruto replied, raising his bottle to acknowledge the cheers.
"Well, anyways, what have you thought about the Akatsuki?" Tsunade questioned.
"What is there to think? They are out to kill me, so I am out to kill them all in kind." Naruto replied.
"Of course you are out to kill them. But, you cannot go barging in to fight the whole of the Akatsuki alone." Tsunade said, sighing.
"Well, we know it for a fact that they will have to start with the one tailed beast. And, of what I know, it was reincarnated in the deserts of Suna, like, a year ago." Naruto said.
"Indeed. Suna has not been able to produce someone who can bare the full might of the Shukaku." Tsunade said.
"Well then, why not ask Suna shinobi to keep guard on the area? If they notice any suspicious happenings, they can instantly send a messenger bird to inform us." Naruto offered.
"That is a feasible idea. I will see what I can do. Well, regardless, we will be heading to Suna tomorrow anyways. I have to make some trade deals official with the new Kazekage." Tsunade said. And indeed, Naruto, as Tsunade's student, had been with Tsunade on every political shenanigans. Along with Shizune, of course. She being there was not the reason though. IT WAS NOT.
"The new Kazekage?" Naruto questioned.
"The position of the Kazekage, unlike any other, has been hereditary in Suna. Baki becoming the Kazekage was not a rule, but an exception. Since Temari is now deemed strong enough to become the Kazekage, Baki will be stepping down now." Tsunade explained.
"That is... well, you know... a bit weird. A hereditary kage, I mean. There are always other deserving candidates, you know?" Naruto said.
"It is, indeed. But, we cannot do anything about that. Well, how about we start with the drinks now?" Tsunade said, ordering more drinks out of Naruto's pocket.
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"You haven't been around lately. Mom has been asking about you, you know? It has almost been two years since you last met her." Ino said.
"You know how it is, Ino. More often than not, I end up sleeping in the training ground itself. But, since my training has been marked as completed, I am sure I can be around more often." He said.
"Well, that's good. How about tomorrow then?" Ino questioned.
"Sorry, but I have to leave for Suna early tomorrow." Naruto said.
"Ah, I see. Later then, I guess." Ino said.
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Walking towards Suna, Naruto was already feeling bored. While walking in a desert, precision was really necessary. And it was really hot in the afternoon. And he could not even talk unless he wanted sand in his mouth, as there was a sandstorm ongoing. He really hated the sandstorm right now.
Well, regardless of the quite, hot and sandstorm-filled journey, the travel remained uneventful. They had made it to Suna in a day. Since, there were no ANBU accompanying them, Naruto would just carry Shizune when she got tired, and Naruto and Tsunade had enough stamina to get to Suna and go back to Konoha without stopping. So, there was no need for stopping anywhere. And well, they were at the gates of Suna in record time.
"Hello, Hokage-dono." The newly minted Kazekage said.
"Greetings, Kazekage-dono." Tsunade said, in kind.
"I hope the journey went without any issues." Temari said.
"Indeed. We reached here without any problems." Tsunade said.
"That is great to here. These shinobi will lead you to your rooms. We will let you know of the timings of our meeting. I hope you enjoy our hospitality." Temari said, prompting the jonin behind her to bow.
"Of course, we will be in your care." Tsunade said.
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"Are you going to bring up the one tailed beast in the meeting with the Kazekage?" Naruto questioned.
"Yes, we don't have any time to spare now." Tsunade said.
The three of them with Tonton were currently in a large room provided for them. It was a luxurious room with three full sized beds. Tsunade was rechecking the papers she had brought for the meeting, while Naruto was resting on Shizune's lap with Tonton on his stomach. Shizune was combing through Naruto's red locks, trying to give it another style.
"And, you think they will let us interfere with such an internal matter?" Naruto questioned.
"I am pretty sure they will. And, if they don't, we will engage the Akatsuki on our own accord." She said.
"I see." Naruto said and everyone fell into silence.
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It was dark. A dark cave. Well, that's the best guess one could make. In between the cave, stood nine holographic figures, each dressed in a similar attire. Black cloaks and red clouds over them.
"It is about time we begin with our operations." A heavy voice said. The speaker had deep, purple eyes, orange hair and piercings all over his face.
"We still do not have a proper partner for me. Zetsu is not a fighter and cannot support me in any way." Another voice said.
"Yes, Zetsu was your partner only in words. For your missions, Tobi will be your partner from now on." The initial voice said.
"Woo-hoo! Tobi would love to work with Kakuzu-senpai!" Tobi squealed.
"He is hardly any better than Zetsu." Kakuzu said.
"There is a reason why he is here. He will carry his own weight." The initial voice stated.
"Well, I will take your word for it, then." Kakuzu said.
"As I was saying, it has been confirmed by Zetsu that the one and the three tailed beasts have been reformed. Deidara, Sasori, the pair of you will depart to capture the one tailed beast." The purple eyed man said.
"Un, the one tailed beast? Sure." Deidara said.
"yes." Sasori stated.
"Ah, forgive my man Sasori. He is not much of a speaker." Deidara said to everyone.
"I can speak for myself, Deidara." Sasori stated, his voice heavy as ever.
"Well, un, if you say so." Deidara said, chuckling.
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"I hope you enjoyed our hospitality, Hokage-sama." The kazekage said.
"Of course. We are honored to receive such a warm welcome." The Hokage replied.
The meeting room of the Sunagakure, was very Suna-like. It looked like it was themed after a desert. The walls were dirt brown, the table was oak brown and the glasses on the table followed the theme too.
"The honor is all ours, Hokage-dono." Temari said.
"Well then, shall we get to the business in hand?" Tsunade questioned.
"Of course." Temari replied, prompting Tsunade to begin.
"Hmm. First off, we are yet to finalize our trade route through the wave."
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"We hope we can keep our relations very active." Temari said.
"Indeed. It would a waste to let everything go after making such crucial decisions." Tsunade replied.
"Well, will that be all, hokage-dono?" Temari questioned.
"Actually, no. I have another issue to talk about." Tsunade said.
"And what might that be?" Temari questioned.
"You know of the Akatsuki, yes?" Tsunade questioned in kind.
"I do, yes. They are after the bijuu if I am not wrong." Temari said.
"Indeed. Since they are our common enemies, Konoha would formally like to offer her shinobi to help protect the One tailed beast." Tsunade offered.
"The Akatsuki is, indeed, a common enemy. Even though Suna has set up guard camps near Shukaku, if two S-ranks want to do it, they would kill them all. So, Suna will graciously accept your most generous offer." Temari said.
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"Well, that went better than expected." Shizune said.
"Yeah, it went smoothly enough." Tsunade replied.
"Well, it was not like we were expecting any problems. It is not like Suna has allies in bulk." Naruto said.
"That is true too. But, having the title of 'one of the five great villages' can fuel a lot of ego." Tsunade said.
"Just like having the title of 'one of the legendary three', right?" Naruto mock questioned, smirking.
"Yeah, you just wait. I am going to have you do a thousand D-rank missions now." Tsunade said, just shy of bursting into laughter.
"That is not half bad. That would be a great vacation." Naruto said, adopting a thinking pose.
Before they could talk any further, a sand shinobi came rushing in, reporting to the Kazekage who was still in the meeting room. But, he was loud enough to be heard by the whole of the populous.
"Lady Kazekage! We have spotted the red clouds!" He exclaimed.
"Well, Naruto, I suppose it is time to check how far you have come in these three years." Tsunade said, smirking.
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AN: Apparently, a lot of you didn't like the previous chapter. Be it for the pairing, length or the format, there were complaints. So, I will address the general stuff.
The format- It was intended to be in pointers because I just wanted to write the glimpses of what happened through out the time skip. I did not want to write a whole story on the time skip.
Pairings- Some of you wanted the Ino ship or just did not like Shizune as a love interest. Well, this is not a romance story and is not going to become one. Yes, now that I have stated Shizune as the love interest, I am not going to shy away from it and stop writing it. But, this is not a romance fic.
Lack of development: As I said in the beginning, I cannot write every genre in my first fic. I rushed it because this was a time skip and a behind the camera development can be imagined, as I left a few glimpses of Naruto and Shizune meeting.
That is all I had to say. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate criticism and I will try to improve on the pointers. I am only addressing the concerns that were raised. Until next time!