Reporting for Duty
"Are you excited?" Usagi asked Karasu as soon as he opened his eyes the next morning, her face inches from his.
"Yes," he answered sleepily. He still felt tired after using his abilities so extensively in his match against Sasuke.
"Well get up already! We're going to be late for our appointment with the Hokage!" Usagi said, her tone urgent.
"Does Inu have any of his tonic left?" He asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Here," Inu surprised him by saying, the flask in his outstretched hand when Karasu turned to look at him.
"Thanks," Karasu said after downing a hearty mouthful.
"Let's go!" Usagi exclaimed, her voice coming out closer to a whine as she stood ready by the door. Karasu and Inu sighed as they followed her out.
"Good luck!" Sakura shouted as they left.
Sarada accompanied them to the Hokage's office, wanting to make sure they wouldn't get lost in the rapidly expanding village. They made the trip in a few short minutes, Sarada's teammates joining them along the way. Naruto's son, Boruto, seemed to take an immediate liking to Karasu, mostly because he had heard that he had outmatched Sasuke. Karasu wasn't surprised at the blonde youth's excitement, Sarada had told him that her father had become the boy's mentor.
"I heard you made a unique Rasengan after seeing my dad's once," Boruto had exclaimed excitedly after joining them, causing Karasu to smile when his cousin sighed heavily.
"Yes, I used my uncle's Amaterasu to form it," Karasu replied, much to Boruto's amazement.
"Whoa. I don't think even Sasuke could copy the Rasengan," Boruto replied in awe.
Karasu shrugged, ignoring Sarada's angry glare towards her teammate as they walked. The third member of their team had remained silent throughout their short walk, walking alongside Inu. Usagi had a difficult time keeping herself from laughing whenever she looked at them, the two looking to have similar dispositions towards people they didn't know. Sarada and her team left Karasu's group when they reached the Hokage's office, waving enthusiastically as they departed.
"Hold," an Anbu guard commanded as they entered the stairwell leading up to Naruto's office, three others lining the walls behind him.
"I don't see any shinobi headbands on you. What's your business here?" The guard asked as he approached.
"We're new recruits into Konohanagakure's forces. We're here to report to the Hokage for our first mission," Karasu said, hoping that his explanation would be enough for the guard to let them pass. He was wrong, unfortunately.
"Any could claim such. Do you have any documentation or proof?" The guard replied.
Karasu began to worry that they would be turned away or forced to fight their way through when one of the other Anbu guards placed a hand on his sword. Fortunately Naruto appeared before either side could move against the other, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Guess it was a good thing I went home last night, looks like this was about to get ugly," he said, his tone light.
"Lord Seventh," Karasu and his team said with a bow.
"Do they have business with you, Lord Hokage?" The Anbu guard that stopped them asked.
"Yeah, they're getting their first assignments as Leaf shinobi today," Naruto answered with a bright smile.
"By the way, they outrank you. Lord Kakashi and Granny Tsunadi conferred with me last night on naming them the new Sannin team, and we agreed that they have earned the right to the title," he added with mischevious grin as he entered the stairs, stopping to throw his arm over the Anbu's shoulders.
"S-sorry, Lord Seventh," the man said, bowing deeply.
"C'mon you guys, lets get up to my office," Naruto said.
Karasu and his team were surprised to see three ornate black boxes on Naruto's desk as they entered, their surfaces shining brightly. Naruto smiled widely as he motioned for them to take the boxes, happy to see their excitement when they opened the containers and found their new Leaf headbands. They each bowed deeply as they offered their thanks and gratitude to the Hokage. Naruto and Usagi jumped as Kakashi and Tsunade spoke from their position against the door's wall, Karasu and Inu having been the only two to detect their presence as they entered.
"Congratulations on becoming the new Sannin of the Leaf," Kakashi said.
"I dare say the three of you will throw a heavy shadow on my own time with the title," Tsunade added.
"Thank you," Karasu's team answered in unison as they bowed to the previous two Hokages.
"You three are the first to inherit such a lofty title without having to go through the regular ranking system, but you have all proven to be beyond the capabilities of even special Jonin," Kakashi said to them, his warm smile visible through his cloth mask.
"We will do our best to properly represent Konohagakure," Karasu replied.
"Are you ready for your first assignments?" Naruto asked, to which the trio nodded.
"Usagi will act as Kakashi and Tsunade's escort to the Land of Hot Springs, and train with Tsunade along the way to improve her chakra control. Inu will oversee the training of a select group from the Inuzuka, as well as their leader, Kiba. Karasu will assist in Sasuke's mission, seeking out more of the Otsutsuki's secrets," he said.
"When do we begin?" Usagi asked excitedly.
"We'll leave shortly after this briefing, we already have our light packs," Kakashi replied.
"Inu can begin as soon as we're done, as well," Naruto said.
"Karasu, I'm meeting with Sasuke later today to brief him. You should join us, you won't be leaving until he does anyway," he added.
"Well, I think we're all done here," Tsunade said, heading for the door.
"Safe travels!" Naruto shouted cheerily as they left, Inu following behind.
"Is there anything else I can do while I wait for my uncle to meet with you?" Karasu asked the seventh Hokage.
"Hmm? Oh, that's right! Hang on a sec," Naruto replied.
He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number rapidly, not having to wait long for an answer.
"Hey, can you come up to my office?" A pause as the other person answered. "Yeah, now. It's about what we talked about last night," he said before wrapping up the call and hanging up.
"My wife, Hinata," he said in answer to Karasu's unspoken question.
"We were talking about you and your team, and she recognized your mother's name when I mentioned it. She wouldn't tell me how she knew the name, that she'd tell me after she told you," he went on to say after a short pause.
"Why would she want to tell me first?" Karasu asked, dumbstruck.
"Couldn't tell you,you'll have to ask her," Naruto replied with a shrug.