A/N – Hi!!! I'm back from my vacation now and I've finally got the next chapter up. ^_^ Hehe. Wow! 36 reviews! Hehe! (I live on reviews!) ^_^ Thanx to all my reviewers for your support! I'm so glad you like my fic! This chapter is a bit on the lighter side. It will be more on the serious side later. There still isn't much in Naruto's POV yet, but there will be more next chapter. Sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes. Just too lazy to search them all out, I guess. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and stuff and stuff and… O_o… er… nevermind. *blinks* On with the story.

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

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The Hand Fate Deals

Chapter 2 – The First Hand

Four Years Later…

           
            Naruto hated mornings. He really, really hated mornings. He really hated them. Not only did the early hours of day mean that he had to wake up from whatever sleep he had gotten, it also was a particularly evil part of the day. Yes, it was evil, in every sense of the word. Not to say that he liked the late hours of the night much better. The late hours of the night was when Tsunade dreamt up her schemes and plots. Just the thought sent chills down his back. But, of course, it was the mornings after these nights that were especially scary. It was in the mornings that Tsunade began to hatch her evil plots. And this morning she looked particularly evil. The grin on her face was just too cheerful and the sparkle in her just eyes too bright. This did not bode well for Naruto. No, this did not bode well at all. She was planning something. He had to do something about it. He had to prevent her from succeeding in her evil plot (whatever that was). However, it was just too early in the morning, and he was still half asleep. His mind was too groggy to properly function. So, even though he knew that Tsunade had something evil planned, all he could do was yawn in what he hoped was an intimidating way and rub his eyes sleepily while trying to glare (which, needless to say, didn't work all that well). Hence the earlier stated fact. Naruto hated mornings.

            It was not until after they had cleaned up their campsite and were once again on the road that Naruto found out exactly what Tsunade had planned.

            "So, where exactly are we going?" Naruto asked warily. "You didn't mention it."

            "Well, I think you'll like it where we're going next. They have a particularly good ramen stand. We should have enough money to eat there at least once," Tsunade said cheerfully.

            "Oh?" Naruto replied skeptically, knowing there was more to it. "And what is this placed called?"

            "It's a hidden ninja village. And the best part is I don't have any gambling debts there!" Tsunade grinned.

            "Yet. You don't have debts there, yet," Naruto muttered. "You still haven't mentioned the name of this place," he said in a louder voice.

            "You sure are insistent. For your information, we're going to the place I grew up and lived for most of my life," she explained. Now Naruto was curious. She had never told him exactly where she had come from before. They had always wandered from place to place, and the subject had never come up. Naruto himself wasn't inclined to talk about the time before they'd met, so he'd never brought it up. It hadn't mattered.

            "You grew up in a ninja village? I suppose that makes sense, considering you're a ninja," Naruto mused, temporarily side-tracked. Tsunade sweat dropped. The kid was bright, it was true. However, he often gave the impression of being an idiot due to his unfailing tendency to state the obvious aloud.

            "Anyway, I had an idea. I've taught you as much as I can. You've come a long way, and I'm very proud of you," Tsunade smiled. Naruto grinned at the compliment. Tsunade wasn't the kind to hand out praise where it wasn't deserved.

            "So what's the problem?" he prompted, knowing that this was leading somewhere.

            "Simply put, you need to be taught by someone else for awhile," she said bluntly.

            "…Why?" Naruto was truly puzzled.

            "Because while you are skilled, you're lacking experience. The only person you've ever fought is me. You know how to fight me, but everyone you fight will be different. Not to mention the fact that you've got no experience in completing missions. The only thing I've really taught you is how to fight, besides the basic academics. Therefore, I'm going to see if you can be put onto a team of genin," she explained. Seeing his dismayed look, she continued on before he could protest. "Don't worry, I'll still be around. I'll just have to rent an apartment for awhile in the village or something. I'm not just going to drop you off and leave you on your own," she reassured him.

            "I see," Naruto sighed in relief. He supposed that maybe this scheme wasn't so evil after all. Tsunade's reasoning seemed sound. Plus, if things turned sour, they could just skip town like they always did, right? Really, what could it hurt? "Alright. When do we arrive there?" he inquired.

            "We should get there in a few days," Tsunade told him. Success!!! They traveled in silence for several minutes more, Tsunade silently rejoicing while Naruto was deep in thought.

            "Wait a minute! You never told me exactly where we're headed!" he exclaimed suddenly.

            "Konoha, in the Fire Country, of course!" she spouted happily.

            …silence…

"WHAT???!!!"

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The Hokage looked up from his tedious paperwork as an anbu rather suddenly appeared in his office. Well, that wasn't so unusual. The man began babbling immediately. Now that was unusual. An anbu was babbling? And in front of the Hokage? Actually, the anbu looked a little worse for wear. There was a crack in his mask and he was covered in dirt. The Third started as he finally began making sense of the man's rushed words.

            "…and this woman is now at the entrance demanding an audience with you and she's dragging a blond kid that's all tied up and gagged with her and she won't listen to us and when we tried to restrain her she began screaming insults and she sent me flying with a single punch and…and…she's completely insane! Hokage-sama, please do something!" he pleaded. The Hokage's eyebrows rose.

            "And just what did this insane woman look like?" he asked calmly. He had a suspicion already.

            "Well, she's blond, and looks maybe in her late twenties or early thirties. Oh, and she had a weird red diamond mark on her forhead and brown eyes. She's freakishly strong, too," the anbu said, flustered.

            "I see. I'll guess I'll have to go talk to her myself. I wouldn't want Tsunade to injure all of my ninjas, now would I?" Sarutobi chuckled. He walked calmly out the door, leaving a sputtering anbu behind him.

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All activity stopped when the Third Hokage arrived at the scene in a cloud of smoke.

            "Well, it's about time!" Tsunade fumed as she stalked towards her sensei.

            "Don't you dare attack Hokage-sama!" a female anbu snapped, rushing to attack. The Hokage motioned her to stop.

            "It seems there has been a misunderstanding," the Hokage said to his student.

            "Yes, there certainly has," Tsunade muttered irritably. The Hokage nodded to her before turning to the anxious squad of anbu.

            "It's alright. Tsunade is no threat to me or the village. There has simply been a misunderstanding. You can stand down now," he informed the anbu. They seemed hesitant still. "You're dismissed," he added, with a significant look. The squad finally left, still reluctant. Now that they were gone, the Hokage took notice of the boy on the ground. The Third recognized him almost immediately.

            "Naruto?" he asked. The boy said something in reply, but it was undecipherable because of the gag in his mouth.

            "If I take off the gag, will you behave? No swearing or insults or threats?" Tsunade frowned at him. He glared at her, but nodded. Once free of the gag, it became apparent that Naruto was trying very had to keep from saying something unwise.

            "You didn't come just to visit your old sensei, eh, Tsunade?" the Hokage observed.

            "How little you think of me, Sarutobi-sensei!" the blond woman smiled. The Third chuckled lightly. "Give me a moment, Sarutobi-sensei. I need to speak with my stubborn student for a minute." Tsunade crouched in front of the bound boy. "Naruto, I need to speak to the Hokage for a while. I'll give the money to you since you still don't trust me with it, so why don't you go buy yourself some ramen at Ichiraku's. It'll be awhile, so feel free to reacquaint yourself with the village. Don't worry. The majority of people here probably won't recognize or remember you. After all, not many knew you in person. Be a good boy, and don't maim anyone, okay?" Tsunade ordered as she unwound the ropes.

For the first time, the Hokage noticed that the ropes had been enforced with a large amount of Tsunade's chakra. That was interesting indeed, but he kept his questions to himself for the moment. As it was, he took his first opportunity to properly study the boy. He was short for his age, but not extremely so. He wore baggy, dark orange pants and a black t-shirt. Over his shirt was a sleeve-less vest. It was a dark metallic gray. The material seemed durable and probably offered a reasonable amount of protection from minor physical attacks. On each forearm was a metal bracer in a matching color to the vest. Strapped to his right leg was a standard shuriken holster. Only one thing he wore seemed purely for ornamentation. An azure crystal dangled from Naruto's left ear. It was unlike any stone the Third had ever seen. It was an inch long and appeared to be naturally shaped as a fang, or perhaps a tongue of fire. Naruto's whine broke the Hokage out of his thoughts.     

            "Whatever. I guess it's better than hanging around you old people anyway," he pouted. Naruto was one of the few who knew Tsunade's real age. When he'd found out her true age, he'd been struck dumb for half and hour (not an easy task). It was something of a shock, considering that Tsunade looked roughly half her true age. He smiled suddenly. "Besides, I never turn down free ramen!" he exclaimed. The Hokage laughed outright at this. Tsunade pouted, knowing that he'd probably spend all of her gambling money on ramen. Then again, she'd probably be too busy to gamble for while anyway. Sighing, she handed her money pouch over to Naruto who grinned happily. The blond boy sauntered away, whistling a cheerful tune, already contemplating what flavor of ramen he would order.

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            Tsunade lounged comfortably in a chair across from the Hokage's desk. The Third was deep in thought, seriously considering what she had requested. It was true that Naruto needed experience as a ninja beyond what Tsunade could teach.
The Third knew his student well, however. There was another reason, he was sure of it. A ninja had to be able to read underneath the underneath, after all.  

"Why?" he finally asked. Tsunade had been expecting the question.

            "Naruto needs to experiace with people. He needs to find people he cares about," Tsunade explained. Sarutobi could not stop the surprise from showing on his face.

            "He does not consider you an important person?" he asked.

            "Oh, he does. As of now, I'm the only person he cares about. That is the problem. Only recently did it occur to me that it was a problem," she sighed. Sarutobi understood immediately.

            "I see," the Hokage began, "If anything happened to you…"

            "…he'd be completely lost." Tsunade finished the thought. "Not just that either. Naruto will inevitably outlive me by several decades. And while I'm not quite old yet, I'm not exactly young, either. I don't plan on dying anytime soon, but…" Tsunade shrugged elegantly. "I'm sure you understand."

            "I do, and I completely agree," the Third responded. "Things will work out rather conveniently, in any case. The genin exams took place today, and we are one person short of being able to form the usual three-man teams. In fact, I already have two graduates in mind for his teammates, as well as a particular jounin instructor."

            "Thank you, Sarutobi-sensei! You won't regret it," Tsunade gushed.

            "I certainly hope not."

            "Oh, and one more thing," she began.

            "Yes?" he prompted.

            "Do you think I could have my old job as a medic-nin back?" the unmatched medic-nin inquired.

            The Third sweat-dropped. As if he'd say no!

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