NaruSaku Birthdays

by Takeshi1225

An anthology series about the Uzumaki clan on the NaruSaku side of things. Each story celebrating the birthday of the NaruSaku family: Sakura, Hanami, Arashi, Tsunade, Naruto and Shinachiku! Enjoy the adventures and mishaps of each member of the family as they celebrate one another's birthday the only way they know how to! Without holding anything back, dattebayo!

5. Naruto

NaruSaku Birthdays: Part 5 – Naruto

(Disclaimer: Late again. I know, and I'm sorry.)

The Sun started to slowly set over Konohagakure no Sato.

Within the village was a very nice home that belonged to none other than the Hokage of Konohagakure, Naruto Uzumaki, and his wife, Sakura Uzumaki née. Haruno.

Today was a special day. It's Naruto's Birthday.

That's right. The big man himself!

Right now, the patriarch of the Uzumaki household was sleeping peacefully in his and his wife's bed. The moment the sunlight sneaked through her window and radiated upon his face, his eyes scrunched up tighter before he suddenly sat up and stretched with a big loud yawn. After done, he smacked his as he scratched his lower back. He smirked as he quickly lied onto his side and started to inch his hand towards the other side in a walking fingers manner.

"Ohayōgozaimasu, Sakura-chan~." Naruto chimed with a cat-like smile, but after a moment, he noticed the left side was empty. "Hmm? That's never happened before." Naruto said with a surprised expression. "At least, not without a heads up the night before." He added as he got out of bed, revealing his night attire of an orange shirt and black pants.

He headed for the door and when he went out of it, he looked around for anything or anyone as he was getting suspicious.

"Hmm~." Naruto rubbed his chin in thought and narrowed his eyes in thought. He walked down the halls and headed down the stairs, whistling with his hands in his pockets. He made his way into the kitchen to find… no one. "Okay~, now I'm getting a bit worried." Naruto said with a frown. He made his way to the table, only to see a sealing formula written on it. "What the-?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow, before it glowed as then a large cake appeared in its place on the table.

The cake was covered in orang frosting, decorated with pink icing around the sides and bottom, with white icing forming a ring around the edges of the top, along with a second ring of white candles, with black icing forming the outlines for an orange spiral, which also had several other spirals around it: one pink, one green, one a darker shade of pink, one dark red, one yellow, one pure red, one a darker shade of green, one silver, one white and one pale pink.

Suddenly, he felt four new presences surrounding him.

"Surprise! Otanjōbiomedetō, Naruto/Tou-chan!" (Happy Birthday Naruto/Dad!) Sakura and the kids proclaimed aloud as the fired little party poppers that shot out confetti and streamers.

"Shazam!" Hanami cheered as she slammed a pouch onto the ground, causing a cloud of orange smoke that made everybody cough.

"Hanami, I thought we agreed not to use those smoke effects!" Shinachiku complained as he coughed and waved away some orange smoke.

"You guys agreed!" Hanami retorted.

"You said 'fine'!" Shinachiku argued.

"Doesn't mean I was fine with it! Besides, they're orange! They were needed!" Hanami argued back.

"Needed and wanted are two different things, onee-chan." Arashi interjected.

"It's too early for this!" Sakura raised her voice with annoyance.

Naruto burst out with laughter, earning everyone's attention as they saw the man of the house laughing a fit and holding his side.

"See? Papa's happy about it." Hanami said with a victorious grin.

Naruto suddenly stopped laughing as he then started shedding tears, surprising everyone, before he then brought everyone into a big hug.

"I love you guys." Naruto said with a bright, happy grin as he continued to cry tears of joy.

They all blinked their eyes, before smiling and returning the love with embraces of their own, making a big family hug.

After a moment of enjoyment and love, they all ended the hug.

"Man, this cake looks good, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a grin as he faced the cake, rubbing his hands together.

"I know, right? I wanted it to look like a bowl of ramen, but~ kaa-chan and onii-chan made a good point about how disappointing it might be to find out it wasn't, dattebara." Hanami said as she hopped on a chair, now standing on it to be closer to eye level with her father.

"Plus, we're not sure how to pull that off. At least, not made with our own hands that is." Sakura said.

"We weren't even sure to make the cake in an actual huge ramen bowl or just make the bowl as part of the cake. There's surprisingly a lot of complexities to pull off a ramen looking cake." Shinachiku added, looking to the side with his arms crossed.

"It doesn't matter to me. This cake is perfect as it is because you guys made it, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said with a bright grin.

"Check it! These spirals are everyone in our family!" Hanami said as she then listed them off. "This pink one is kaa-chan (pink), this one's onii-chan (green), this one's me (dark pink), this one's Arashi (dark red), this one is Minato-Ojīchan (yellow), this one's Kushina-O bāchan (pure red), this one's Mebuki-O bāchan (white), this one is Kizashi-Ojīchan (pale pink), this is Tsunade-O bāchan (dark green) and this is Ero-Ojīchan-" Her mother then cleared he throat as an interjection. "I mean, Jiraiya-Ojīchan (silver)." Hanami 'corrected' herself.

"I think Ero-Ojīchan works better, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with an amused Uzumaki grin, which his daughter returned, causing Sakura to sigh and shake her head. "But where's me?" Naruto asked, noticing no small spiral on the cake.

"What do you mean? You're right on the cake!" Hanami said, gesturing her hands to the entire orange spiral underneath the smaller spirals. "See? I thought that would be pretty obvious, dattebara." Hanami said with an Uzumaki grin.

"Oh." Naruto said, blinking his eyes in surprise, as he then heard Kurama chuckling from inside. He then felt someone hug him from behind making him turn to see it was his wife.

"None of this would be possible without you, you knucklehead. It only makes sense." Sakura said, smiling to her husband.

Naruto couldn't but return with one of his own. One that radiated gratitude as he got a bit teary eyed.

"Arigato, Sakura-chan." Naruto thanked his longtime love, making her smile widen, as they then shared a kiss.

"Kids are still in the room." Shinachiku said as he turned away with his eyes closed, while Hanami closed her own and stuck out her tongue in disgust, while Arashi simply covered his eyes and frowned.

"Oh, grow up! Besides, it's my birthday! I can kiss your mother on the lips as many times as I want, 'ttebayo!" Naruto retorted with a grin.

"Please don't say it like that." Shinachiku said with a frown.

"In fact…" Naruto suddenly started kissing Sakura over and over again.

"Stop spiting us!" Shinachiku said with annoyance as he and his siblings quickly covered their ears to spare themselves of the sounds of lips colliding.

"Okay Naruto, that's enough. No need to scar them for life." Sakura said with an amused giggle.

"Fine, I'll spare them." Naruto said with an amused grin.

"Thank goodness." Shinachiku said with a sigh of relief.

"I call cutting!" Hanami exclaimed as she took out a large knife, causing everyone to flinch.

"I say 'no'." Shinachiku said as he placed a hand on Hanami's head and extending his other hand to his sister, gesturing for her to hand over the knife.

Hanami groaned with a pout and narrowed eyes. She looked ready to give the knife to her brother but decided to pull away before he could grab it and stick her tongue out at him. She then heard her mother clear her throat, causing the younger pinkette to look up to the older woman, who had her hand out, gesturing for the knife like her eldest son.

"Hmph." Hanami pouted as she handed the knife to her mother.

"You do it, Naruto." Sakura said, handing her husband the knife.

"Arigato, Sakura-chan." Naruto thanked his wife with a smile as he then cut the cake.

"I call my piece though! You can't take that from me, 'ttebara!" Hanami quickly said.

"Your piece?" Shinachiku questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, right here." Hanami pointed to the part of the cake that had the dark pink spiral on it. "That part's mine! It literally has my name on it… kind of." Hanami said, causing her parents to laugh and her elder brother to chuckle with a small grin.

Arashi was just too focused on the cake. He really wanted a slice.

Naruto smiled as he neatly cut the pieces of the cake, and with Sakura placing paper plates on the table, he did what Hanami pointed out, and took every piece that had the spiral that represented each one of his kids and his wife, serving them to their rightful person.

"Itadakimasu!" Everyone said with a grin and clapping their hands together.

Naruto took a bite of his cake, making a delicious moan in the process with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he looked around himself to see his family interacting.

Hanami was boasting about something, while her brother tried keeping her ego in check and failing, Sakura just shook her head at her their arguing but still retained a smile and Arashi continued to eat blissfully, not caring about anything but the cake in front of him.

Naruto just smiled brightly with pure joy at this. For so long, for so many birthdays, he would always wake up with no one around to wish him a happy birthday or celebrate his birth. The only ones who ever did were the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen, and the Ichirakus, but those times were brief. For the rest of those days, he was all alone. Nowadays that's no longer the case. He recalled how each year he wanted one thing and one thing only, and now he has what he always wished for each year.

A family.

Naruto's eyes looked to Sakura. The woman who gave him this family, built by the love between them. Without even thinking, he reached over and took her hand, surprising the pink haired kunoichi, who looked to her husband with curiosity.

"Arigato, Sakura-chan." Naruto said to his wife with a bright smile and eye smiles, causing Sakura to blink her eyes in surprise, but then smile as she knew what he was thanking her for.

"It was my pleasure, Naruto." Sakura responded with a loving smile.

"Hey~, we helped too, dattebara." Hanami said with a pout.

"I don't think that's what he's thanking kaa-chan for." Shinachiku said, having a feeling his father was talking about something more than the surprise they had for him this morning.

"Huh? Nani?" Hanami asked with a confused expression and her eyes closed, but earned no answer

.

.

Naruto got dressed for the day. Now wearing his zip up long sleeve jacket that had the sleeves black with a pair of orange lines, one of each sleeve, about a few inches from the ends of them, the torso was colored orange with a black lines across the bottom hem and another above that with a line of orange separating the two, along with a long black line all the way up the zipper that stopped at the end of the high collar with steel buttons on either side of it and let us not forget the new and improved Uzumaki clan symbol, that being a red swirl with a white ring around it, placed proudly on the back of the jacket and on the side of the left sleeve where the bicep was. Over his jacket he wore a dark grey flak jacket and over that he wore a high collared, short sleeved long haori, similar to his father's own, but it was orange and decorated with black flames at the bottom of it and at the ends of its sleeves and it had a dark orange lining on along the inner parts of it and the collar, along with being closed in the front by a thin, dark orange rope with three crystal gems hanging off it and written down along the back of the haori were the kanji that spelled out Rokudaime Hokage (Sixth Fire Shadow) [六代目火影]. He also wore a pair of beige pants and black shinobi sandal boots that stopped halfway up his shins/calves. Oh, and of course, we can't forget his hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead, proudly adorning the village symbol of Konohagakure no Sato, with some of his bangs hanging over the right side of it but making sure not to cover an iota of the insignia.

"Ready to seize the day as the Hokage!" Naruto proclaimed with a big ol' grin.

"Man~, it's pretty weak that you have to work on your own birthday." Hanami said with her hands behind her head.

"The village still needs their Hokage. No matter how much we miss him." Sakura said as she helped straighten Naruto's haori.

"It'll be just for a bit. Benefit of clones, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with a smile, before he suddenly hugged his wife. "But I'll be missing you too~, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a dopey smile, only to then notice the dull expressions their kids were giving him. "And you guys too, of course!" Naruto quickly said as he released Sakura and lightly scratched his cheek with his finger as he had an embarrassed smile on his face.

"We know." The Uzumaki trio said in unison with stoic tones.

"Y-You better head out now, Naruto. It may be your birthday, but that's no excuse to be late for your job." Sakura said, putting on a calm, yet authoritative demeanor with her head held up, eyes closed, and arms crossed, but she had a tint of pink across her cheeks.

"Yeah, I hear ya. Plus, Shikamaru will be on my case." Naruto agreed with a smile. "Well, I'll see you all later." Naruto said as he headed out the door, but after a few steps, he stopped and slyly glanced back with a smirk. "One more!" Naruto said as he quickly ran back in, embraced his wife and slapped a big one right on her lips, shocking her.

"Oh come on~!" Shinachiku complained as he and his siblings covered their eyes with Hanami and Arashi sticking their tongues out in disgust.

Naruto kept his lips locked onto a shocked Sakura's for a bit longer, dipping her a bit in the process before pulling back a couple of seconds later.

"Ja ne!" Naruto said with a grin as he sprinted out the door, leaving Sakura and the kids, with the matriarch of the Uzumakis to stumble a bit, still shocked and in a dazed, but managed to catch the wall to help keep her on her feet.

Sakura's eyes were wide and blinking as she was hunched over and watched her husband leaping away to travel from rooftop to rooftop. She straightened up, resting against the wall as she continued to stare out the door where Naruto once was a moment ago.

"Woof…" Sakura said breathlessly as she gently placed her left hand on her pink tinted cheek.

"At least we know tou-chan will never be bored with you anytime soon, huh, kaa-chan?" Hanami said with a small, cheeky smile and half-lidded eyes.

"Watch your mouth, young lady!" Sakura quickly said to her daughter as her face turned red and steam came out her ears, which only caused Hanami to chuckle with a cheeky Uzumaki grin on her face.

Sakura just turned her head away and groaned with a pout. Her eyes then looked back out the door where Naruto was. She frowned as she now had something on her mind.

"Mama, is something wrong?" Arashi asked as he and his siblings noticed their mother's change in demeanor.

"What Hanami said wasn't that bad, was it?" Shinachiku asked with concern.

"Sorry." Hanami apologized, feeling bad at possibly putting her mother in such a state.

"Huh? Oh, no! My mind is just on… something else." Sakura said, wanting to assure her kids that none of them were at fault for her moody disposition.

"Want to talk about it?" Hanami asked, curious on what's on her mother's mind.

"It's just… well, your father and I…" Sakura couldn't help, but frown, before flinching as she noticed what it sounded like she was leading into. "I mean, there's nothing wrong between us at all! Our marriage is still as strong as ever." Sakura assured her children.

"Kaa-chan, you and tou-chan getting a divorce is only slightly possible after the end of time." Hanami said.

"Mm hmm." Shinachiku and Arashi agreed with a nod.

"So, what is troubling you about tou-chan?" Arashi asked.

Sakura sighed with her arms crossed.

"I… I want to surprise him." Sakura admitted, causing her children to blink their slightly widened eyes in surprise.

"Nani?" The Uzumaki siblings questioned, definitely surprised by this development.

"You want to surprise tou-chan?" Arashi asked, still surprised.

"That is what you said, right? We just want to make sure." Shinachiku said with a bit of a worrisome smile.

"Y-Yes. I want to surprise your father. He's done it for me so many times, and it's kind of getting on my nerves that he does things that can't be outdone. Well, I'm gonna change that. This year, I'm going to hit Naruto with one hell of a surprise! Better than anything he's ever thrown at me! Chanara!" Sakura proclaimed with utter gusto, a determined expression and an equally determined fist pump.

"Kaa-chan's dreaming big." Hanami said with a huge, proud smile and wide, starry eyes.

"Uh… not meaning to be a downer and all, but is that even possible? No offense, kaa-chan, but I don't see you being able to outdo training birds to sing chorus or literally turning the sky pink." Shinachiku said with a sympathetic yet slightly amused smile and shrug.

"Are you getting smart with me?" Sakura questioned with a stern expression and raising an eyebrow as she leaned in with her hands on her hips.

"No ma'am!" Shinachiku quickly said as he straightened up with his hands up in defense.

"Shina's smart mouth aside, it is going to be a challenge to top your birthday surprise." Hanami said with her arms crossed and ignoring her brother giving her an annoyed half-lidded gaze.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Literally." Sakura said with a frown as she gently placed her hand over her forehead.

"You can do it, kaa-chan! Nothing's impossible for an Uzumaki, and you're the big momma of them all!" Hanami said with a bright smile and a pair of fist pumps, showing absolute support to her mother.

"Thank you, Hanami." Sakura thanked her daughter with a grateful smile. "Although, I can't lie, the challenge is there, and even though I hate to admit it… I'm gonna need help on this one." Sakura confessed with a frown.

"We are talking about tou-chan." Arashi said, earning a nod from his elder brother.

"Yeah. I'm gonna need the best help I can get to surprise the socks off of that guy. A real expert." Sakura said as she gently grasped her chin in thought.

Hanami's eyes widened as her pigtails suddenly, and somehow, started to rise as she was started to feel her core shake with excitement.

Sakura flinched as she realized what she had just said and in front of who, with her sons flinching a moment later as they looked to a now wide smiling, twitching Hanami.

"Me, Me, Me! Pick Me!" Hanami quickly said as she raised her hand up.

"Uh… maybe I should see if Ino might-"

"No, me! I'm qualified! Way more than Ino-obasan! Pick me!" Hanami quickly said with a worried frown as she raised her hand up higher. "There's no one who can outdo tou-chan better than me at this! Pick me~!" Hanami practically begged as she was grabbing her bicep with her other hand and rising on her tiptoes.

"As much as I don't want to encourage anything Hanami might present in an intense fashion… she's not exactly wrong there." Shinachiku said, begrudgingly backing up his sister.

"She already outdoes him in pranks. Makes sense that she'd outdo him here too." Arashi added, being honest despite not liking the idea of supporting anything crazy Hanami might have planned.

Sakura frowned. She had to admit, as much as she didn't want to, that her sons made a good argument. Hell, she subconsciously made that same argument before they did. Her eyes then looked to Hanami, to see her with a sad frown and pleading eyes.

The young pinkette really wanted to help out her mother, big time.

After hearing her let out a saddened moan with a quivering lip and eyes starting to get teary, Sakura couldn't help but relent.

"Okay. You can help, Hanami." Sakura gave in.

Hanami gasped with a bright open mouth smile and shimmering eyes as she suddenly ran up and hugged her mother, surprising the older pink haired woman.

"I won't let you down, kaa-chan. I promise!" Hanami said with a bright smile as she continued to hug her mother, who smiled and returned the hug with one of her own. "Alright! I'm off!" Hanami exclaimed as she rushed out of the house.

"Already?" Shinachiku questioned.

"I have to form a team for this! This is something even I can't do alone, dattebara!" Hanami called out as she ran off and leaped away, travelling from rooftop to rooftop like her father.

"A team?" Arashi questioned with surprise.

"I'll be damned. She's really taking this seriously." Shinachiku said.

Sakura couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and smile at her daughter's behavior and dedication to her family.

.

.

Naruto whistled all the way to the Hokage Tower while he walked down the streets. Everyone greeted him with smiles and wished him happy birthday, which he thanked with bright smiles on their faces. He was always happy to greet the masses, especially on his birthday.

However, he had noticed a female shopkeeper had put up a picture of a young shinobi with the words 'Forever Remember' written underneath it.

Seeing the small memorial for the shinobi made Naruto frown. It's always like this every year. Ever since he saved the village from Pain/Nagato, and even more after he married Sakura, his birthdays always started nice with people wishing him well, but sooner or later, he is reminded that the day of his birth was also the day many people lost their lives. It stunk. Like… really, really bad.

He knew people were now happy that he was brought into the world, even though for the first sixteen years of his life it was quite the opposite, but despite that… he always just felt… bad.

"Oh, quit the mental blubbering." Kurama said from within Naruto's mind.

"Huh?" Naruto perked his head in surprise.

"Every year it's always that same thing. First, I'm so happy, and then, I'm so miserable because of others. It's just as much of a migraine for you as it is for me, kit. Make that more actually, because unlike me, you're not force to constantly hear my thoughts whenever they pop into my head." Kurama said with a frown and annoyed tone.

'Sorry.' Naruto apologized as he rubbed the back of his head. 'Hey, Kurama… do you… hate the day I was born?' Naruto asked, causing the tailed beast to raise an eyebrow. 'I mean, I'm glad we're friends and I wouldn't trade that for anything, and I'm glad that I'm your jinchuriki and all, but… given the circumstances of that day… us both being used and people losing their lives… along with tou-chan and kaa-chan… I just felt like I needed to ask-'

"No." Kurama answered, surprising Naruto. "The only thing I feel is regret that even if Obito didn't take hold of my mind, I still would have chosen to destroy Konoha. That's how I was. If anyone should feel awful for that day, aside from that Uchiha, and by extension Madara and that conniving shadow of Kaguya's, it's me." Kurama said as he then closed his eyes. 'Especially since I did kill your parents. Regardless of them already resigning themselves to enter death's door.' He mentally added, still regretting giving Kushina and Minato the final blow.

'Yeah… that's true. You're a different fox now though, and that's what matters. Still though… it's a pain to know you share your birthday with the village's biggest tragedy, dattebayo.' Naruto thought with a frown. 'And that you share it with the death of your parents too.'

"I understand how that last part feels." Kurama said, surprising Naruto as the blonde was reminded that Kurama was created the day that old man Hagoromo passed on into the next world. "It sucks."

'Yeah… yeah it does.' Naruto replied as he had a faint smile. Though saddened for the both of them having to go through that pain, a part of him was happy that he had someone who understood that pain as well, and it's from his closest one.

"At least Obito is dead." Kurama added.

And then he had to go and ruin the moment… I think.

Naruto just chuckled nervously, not thinking of any other way to respond to that comment.

Once reaching the Hokage Tower, Naruto hummed as he walked over towards the entrance, but stopped for a moment. On his way to work he saw several more personal memorials of lost family members from that night exactly thirty-three years ago today. He thought about how the people working at the tower were going to feel today. No doubt there might be some who are depressed about their losses a little over three decades ago. He frowned at this thought, but then gained a determined expression.

'I can't mend their scars, but I can give them the respect they deserve, just like they have been giving me every year for half my life now. I owe it to them.' Naruto thought with a serious and resolute expression as he felt a fire lit in his chest. He took a deep breath through his nose then one out his mouth. 'Let's do this, dattebayo!' Naruto mentally declared as he walked right through the entranceway.

"SURPRISE! Otanjōbiomedetō, Hokage-sama!" A whole group of voice called out as popping sounds were followed with streamers and confetti rained around the area.

Naruto blinked his eyes in surprise as he saw everyone who worked at the tower there to greet him with smiles, gifts and a big cake.

'Not… what I was expecting.' Naruto thought with surprise. He was shaken out of his minor daze by a paper horn blown right next to him, causing the Hokage to flinch as he saw it belonged to Shikamaru.

"Happy now?" Shikamaru asked with a smile.

Naruto stared at him for a moment before laughing with joy.

"Very!" Naruto said with a bright grin.

"Yosha!" Everyone cheered with bright grins.

"Otanjōbiomedetō, Naruto-kun." Shizune said to the Hokage with a smile as she handed him a gift.

"Arigato, Shizune-onee-chan." Naruto thanked his elder sister figure with a gracious smile.

"You should really be thanking Shikamaru here. He's the one who organized this." Shizune said, gesturing to her fellow aid.

"… Willingly?" Naruto asked with a surprised expression and blinking eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said with a frown, his eyes and rubbing the back of his neck.

He really couldn't blame Naruto for being surprised by this, but the reaction was still a drag to him. It only became more of a drag with Shizune laughing with amusement at this reaction as well.

"Thanks, Shikamaru." Naruto thanked his second-in-command with a gracious smile.

"You can thank me by enjoying the day to the fullest." Shikamaru said with a smirk, earning a wider smile from Naruto.

"Alright then! I already had a slice of another cake before coming here, but I think I'm in the mood for another! Let's have fun, everyone!" Naruto announced with a bright grin earning joyous smiles from the crowd, as they were all happy to make the Hokage happy on the one day every year that he deserves to be so.

.

.

In a 'undisclosed' location, several people had come together for what was told to them as a big service only they can assist with.

These select people are Inojin Yamanaka, Inori Yamanaka, Arata Uchiha, Tsukia Uchiha, Kaida Uchiha, Tsubaki Kurogane, Denki Kaminarimon, Iwabe Yuino, Wasabi Izuno-Inuzuka, Shikako Nara and Momoka Ichiraku.

"Anyone else worried about this?" Inojin asked with a worried frown and half-lidded eyes.

"Hanami organized this. Your fear is founded." Kaida said with a stoic frown and her eyes closed.

"I never said I was feeling fear." Inojin retorted, sticking his bottom lip out.

"But we all know that's what you meant." Shikako said with a small frown and resting her cheek upon her fist.

"Should we be feeling fear?" Iwabe questioned.

"It is Hanami, but it does seem odd why she went out of her way to select us specifically." Wasabi said.

"I also wonder why she wanted me to bring my computer and a drone." Denki wondered aloud.

"Oi, Arata, any ideas what this might be about?" Iwabe asked the eldest child of the Uchiha.

"I have a pretty good clue, but I think our host is about to tell us right now anyway." Arata said with his arms crossed, causing everyone to look to him in confusion, before suddenly a big puff of pink smoke appeared in the center of the room.

"Hit the Deck!" Wasabi screamed out as everyone, minus Arata, Shikako and Kaida immediately ducked for cover.

"Ohayō ~!" Hanami greeted everyone with a huge grin as she now stood in the center of the room with her fists pressed against her hips and a very, very large board behind her.

The scene was followed with a moment of silence as everyone, minus Arata, Kaida and Shikako, remained behind cover.

"Is everyone alive?" Inojin asked.

"Calm yourselves. It's not a prank. At the very least, not on any of us." Shikako informed, remaining calm.

"You sure? This is Hanami after all." Wasabi asked, still wary as she was still on her toes like a cat.

"It's fine. She's only planning a surprise for her father." Arata said, catching everyone's attention.

"For tou-chan and~ kaa-chan. My kaa-chan appointed me as head planner of Operation: Orange Journey." Hanami said with her head raised high and a proud, cat-like smile as she gently jabbed her thumb against her chest.

"Orange what?" Iwabe questioned with confusion.

"I've personally picked each and every one of you for this as part of a newly formed team, here at this undisclosed location." Hanami said with a smirk.

"We're in the back of Ichiraku Ramen." Tsubaki said with a stoic expression.

"Undisclosed Location!" Hanami shouted out with her bottom lip out and eyes closed as she thrust a finger high up in the air.

"Speaking of which, please no more smoke or any sort of similar debris. There are delicate ingredients here that we don't want contaminated after all." Momoka said with a bit of a worried frown.

"Anyway, I formed this team because you each have skills that'll help out with this plan I brewed. And before you ask, no, you won't be doing anything that's prank related or anything of the sort. I don't need help with that." Hanami said, keeping her head up high with her eyes closed.

"Well, that's a load off our minds." Inojin said with a relieved expression.

"So, is it safe to assume, given the day, this is all for your father's birthday?" Tsukia asked.

"Of course. See, kaa-chan wants to surprise tou-chan, but her nerves are shaking since she won't stop thinking about how to top what he has done for her-"

"Very founded." Kaida commented. "Also, have you finally driven your mother insane?"

"No, she's just driven. With Passion! And that's why she's trusted me with finally getting one on tou-chan." Hanami said with a proud smile.

"Oh, how romantic! I'm all in!" Inori proclaimed with a gushing smile and a hand raised.

"Topping you dad… is that even possible?" Inojin questioned.

"Who else could do so?" Hanami said with a shrug and confident smile.

"Uh~-"

"Anyway, this job isn't going to be easy. In fact, we're going to be in for one hell of a time." Hanami continued.

"How much 'hell' are we talking about?" Shikako asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hanami suddenly grabbed the edge of the board behind her and spun it around to reveal a drawing of her plan.

"Da, da-da, da~! Cha!" Hanami announced with a bright smile as she showed off her plan.

Everyone stared at the plan with wide, surprised eyes.

"That will require a hell of amount of time." Arata commented.

"You Want Me To Paint All Of That?!" Inojin exclaimed with utter shock and disbelief.

"No~. I want you to help people to make it. It's clearly not a one-man job, so, Inojin, you'll be leading a team of painters to make this masterpiece." Hanami said as she leaned against the side of the board with a bright smile and a leg raised up in glee.

"Why not just make clones of yourself to do so?" Inori asked, raising her hand. "I mean, you're not as great an artist as onii-chan and I, but you still do fine, and you literally can become a one-woman army."

"Because then people will know what's up. Let's not be dense. We all know I got a reputation, and when people see that there's more than one Hanami Uzumaki around without helping an old lady or something, then they'll start to panic and soon enough the whole village is going to be on high alert." Hanami answered.

"She's got that right." Shikako said.

"Hanami may be overly exuberant, but she is very keen in her observations and has excellent planning skills. She has proven herself to be dangerously intelligent when the situation demands it, especially when she is demanding it." Kaida said with her eyes closed.

"Aw~, thanks for the compliment there, Kaida-chan~." Hanami said with a cat-like smile and eye smiles.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm just stating an accurate assessment." Kaida retorted with her usual monotone, but you can clearly tell she was annoyed by Hanami's words.

"By the by bestie-"

"Stop."

"You're gonna be working with Inori and Iwabe." Hanami said.

"Huh?" Iwabe questioned with shock that he would be working with two little girls.

"What for?" Kaida asked, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"Flower arrangement." Hanami said with a small, cheeky smile and sly half-lidded eyes.

"… You infuriate me." Kaida said, furrowing her brow.

"Now hold on, you don't need to touch the flowers. You just need to help our experts by being their watchful eye." Hanami said, still smiling as she had her hands up in defense.

"… Go on." Kaida allowed, willing to listen to the wily Uzumaki.

"Iwabe here is going to use his Mokuton to supply the flora." Hanami said, pointing to the tan-skinned shinobi.

"Say what?!" Iwabe questioned with surprise, confusion and a sense of annoyance.

"And I will be the flower arranger, of course! Perfect! I'll perform spectacularly for this gorgeous occasion." Inori said with a bright, proud smile and her head held high.

"Yeah, you'll help handle the flowers, but you won't be the head flower arranger." Hanami interjected.

"Say what?" Inori questioned with a furrowed brow and confused frown.

"I already have someone for that." Hanami said as suddenly a clone of hers appeared with none other than the middle child of the Uchiha, Kure.

"Surprise!" Kure announced with a bright smile and her hands raised high.

"… You infuriate me." Inori said with narrowed eyes.

"I think this works perfectly." Kaida said with her eyes closed.

"Why you!" Inori exclaimed at Kaida with a ticked off anime style glare and gritted teeth.

"I'm so happy to be working with you, onee-chan!" Kure said with a bright, wide smile directed towards her sister Kaida.

"You're not doing up my hair after this. Just so we're clear." Kaida said to her younger sister.

"I know." Kure said, still smiling.

"Can't believe I'm reduced to a flower boy." Iwabe muttered with a pout. "And do I really look like I need Kaida's eyes on me?" Iwabe questioned with a frown.

"No. I need her more for Inori." Hanami said.

"Nani?!" Inori exclaimed as she directed an incredulous anime look towards the pink haired Uzumaki.

"I don't want you going and babbling the secret like you did before. So, I'm having Kaida work as both your lookout and a lookout for your mouth." Hanami said with her head up high, and eyes closed.

"Oh, come on~! It was only one time!" Inori retorted with a frown.

"That I know of." Hanami retorted back, causing her blonde friend to pout with her arms crossed. "I am giving you permission to use these to shut her mouth, Kaida-chan." Hanami said as she walked over and handed Kaida several tags with sealing formulas on them.

"I will use them wisely." Kaida said with her head held high and eyes closed.

"This isn't fair!" Inori shouted out, aghast by her friends' behavior.

"Anyway, I already filled Kaida in on things, so whatever she says when it comes to flowers, goes." Hanami said with a proud smile as she gently placed a hand on Kure's shoulder.

"I already made a list!" Kure announced as she raised a long piece of paper up high.

"Have fun, Iwabe." Wasabi said with a teasing smirk, earning a growl and glare from said shinobi. "Wait, so what's my objective?" Wasabi asked with a wary expression and narrowed eyes.

"I'm gonna need both you and Moka's help on this." Hanami said.

"Not Moka. No way. I made it a rule to never involve her in any of your schemes. Not after you nearly burned my nose off with that stench in a bag you made that day. The idea of her getting involved in that makes my stomach turn right in the pit of it." Wasabi said with a frown as she gently rubbed her nose, remembering the agony she went through.

"I swear there will be no stench or anything animal unfriendly in this plan of mine." Hanami said with a smile and her hands up.

"Alright… so, what do you want from us?" Wasabi asked with her arms crossed, still not fully convinced.

"I just need you both to rustle up a bunch of cats." Hanami said, still smiling.

"… Why~?" Wasabi asked, very confused and still wary on where this was headed.

"I need them to deliver messages to certain people. Moka-chan can help lead them since she's a cat-"

"She's a wild cat." Wasabi corrected.

"A baby cougar to be precise." Denki added.

"Still a cat." Hanami said with a shrug.

"But why cats?" Inojin asked just as confused as confused as most of the others.

"What's more inconspicuous than a cat? They can act like strays that no one would really bat an eye to, and they can reach certain places that people can't, like high places where kids can't reach them and narrow crawl spaces too small for humans to pass through." Hanami explained.

"Okay, that makes a lot of sense." Wasabi admitted, surprised and genuinely impressed by Hanami's idea. "But what would they be delivering?"

"Special invitations that Inojin and Inori will be helping with thanks to their special jutsu." Hanami said as she took out a three-pronged kunai and then suddenly a very large scroll, bigger than herself, appeared in her arms. "This bad boy is filled with a hell of a lot of smaller scrolls that we will tie to the cats."

"Floral and invitation duty? What? Are we preparing for a birthday or a renewal of vows?" Inojin questioned with a frown.

"Either way, I love it!" Inori said with extreme glee, causing her elder brother to sigh, before Hanami tossed the large scroll to him, which slammed him into the ground.

"Ow." Inojin groaned out in mild pain.

"Tsukia-onee-chan, Tsubaki, and Shikako! You three will be working together for a little spectacle I have in mind." Hanami said, pointing towards the three young kunoichi, as then a clone appeared from behind the very large board and flipped it over to reveal it draws something else onto the back.

"Interesting." Shikako commented with a slightly less bored look than she normally had at times.

"You require my Hyōton (Ice Release) which must work together with Tsukia's immense skills in Katon (Fire Release) and Shikako's grand strength in Fūton to create this? You realize how impractical that sounds." Tsubaki said.

"Trust me, it's doable." Hanami said with a confident smile and waving it off.

"Well… it's not like Hanami's plan haven't borne fruit from impractical ideas before." Tsukia mentioned.

"So, true." Shikako admitted.

"Also, Shikako's in command of this and she's second in command of this operation." Hanami mentioned.

'What a drag.' Shikako thought with her eyes closed.

"Denki!" Hanami spoke the spectacled kōdona genin's name, causing him to flinch.

"Hai!" Denki quickly responded as he stood up straight.

"I need your knowhow with technology to help with a little something." Hanami said as another clone appeared behind the very large board and flipped it, revealing a new diagram.

"You want me to do all of that?" Denki questioned with shock.

"I want you to accomplish this with the help of a friend of mine." Hanami said with a smirk as suddenly an orange drone flew up to Denki's side, shocking the Kaminarimon, who turned to see a purple-eyed girl around Hanami's age with chin-length, bob-cut styled brunette hair with the right side tucked behind her ear. She wears a grey headband, purple glasses with circular lenses that are half-rimmed on the bottom, an orange shirt under grey overalls.

"Hello everyone." The girl greeted the bunch with a soft smile.

"Neon here has updated her drones with new special effects, and you're going to help her perfected them for tonight! Not only with the last spectacle, but also with the first. Speaking of which, Momoka, I'm gonna need you to call in someone to make it work." Hanami said, causing the young Ichiraku to raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, we're getting things so far, but what's Arata's job?" Inojin asked as he managed to sit up, holding the large scroll in his arms.

"Well, someone's got to be our eyes in the skies to see and notify us if things are going as planned." Hanami clarified.

"Hn." Arata nodded understandingly and in agreement.

"Now, any questions?" Hanami asked.

"Yeah, you said I'm going to have a team of painters with me. Who are they and how are we going to hide that?" Inojin asked with his hand raised.

"Oh, I already have that covered. I just called an old friend for a favor." Hanami said with a smirk as she rubbed her hands together.

.

.

Back at the Hokage Tower, the small party for Naruto had finished with the Hokage and his main advisor, Shikamaru, walked into the Hokage office, with the blonde of the two blowing a party horn as he made his way to his seat.

"Well, that was fun." Naruto said with a smile as he pulled the party horn from his mouth.

"Still happy?" Shikamaru asked.

"Very." Naruto answered as he sat onto his seat. "Seriously though, why all the effort for that?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because every year you always have the same attitude. After you leave your home, you always start to feel bad as realization hits you on what day this also is. Which I get, but from what I've seen, you're the one still the most hang up on it. Everyone does mourn, but they've had time and managed to move pass the pain, even though it's still there. You're the only one who's still having a hard time getting out of the muck. So to speak." Shikamaru explained with a small frown.

Naruto sighed with a frown.

"Yeah, well… expect that when just about half of your life now people didn't let it go, and they didn't make you forget it for four of those years, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with a frown.

"So, even the family you have isn't enough to help with that?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Oi! Watch your mouth! Sakura-chan and my kids being in my life is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me!" Naruto exclaimed with an offended frown.

"Then, I guess you should get to work so you can see them as soon as possible." Shikamaru said.

"Yosha~!" Naruto shouted out as he made several clones that then took several stacks of paperwork.

Shikamaru watched as the clones continued to do their paperwork as fast as they could. After taking a moment, Shikamaru recalled Naruto's past. He always said life could be a drag, but he could not imagine how much of a drag Naruto's really was back in the day. The guy always boasted when he never had the right to, but in hindsight, it kind of seemed like the only way to keep him… mentally stable, in a way. Like all that boasting was protecting him from the reality that everyone was putting on him. A reality he didn't know about until he graduated from the academy. Since then, his life had been getting better, bit by bit. Sure, there were hiccups, one of them sporting a hairstyle in the for a duck's rear end, but he pulled through. Naruto did attribute it to everyone for being by his side, but was that really the only case? Naruto may say it was thanks to everyone that he is where he is, and that is true to an extent, but given that he was given so many reasons to give up and give in to what was festering within him, he somehow always found a way to push it back, even before people like Iruka came along.

Naruto was able to hold himself up for long enough for others to finally decide to grab onto him and pull him back up towards the light. The guy went through so much, and now has come out with so much more than he ever hoped for. All of it wasn't just thanks to others, it was mainly thanks to him. In fact, he's also the reason so much good came to the lives of others, especially those precious to him. The blonde Hokage tended to forget that. So much so that he needed to be reminded of it. Which was what Shikamaru did earlier with that small party.

It really was easy for Naruto to forget that there is a great value to his life that he somehow overlooks while others see it clearer than day.

The knucklehead just had to be reminded of it from time to time.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru spoke, earning the Hokage's attention. "I'm glad you were born." Shikamaru said with a smile, shocking Naruto and his clones, with the original blinking his eyes in surprise.

"What's this all about now? You're acting very un-Shikamaru like today, dattebayo." Naruto teased his main advisor with a big ol' grin.

"Just shut up and do your work. I'm gonna go see how the cleanup downstairs is doing." Shikamaru said as he turned and headed out the door.

Naruto watched as the Nara exited the room as his smile widened.

'Thank you, Shikamaru.'

.

.

Sakura herself was busy doing paperwork just like her husband. She didn't have much so she didn't need to make clones like him. However, despite not having much work, Sakura was having trouble focusing. She worked the best she could, but her mind was so preoccupied with the day and what she was hoping for that she couldn't give her usual absolute focus.

Not only was she thinking about her husband and the surprise for him, but also Hanami as she was the planner. When it came to her daughter, she pretty much surpassed her father in so much of his habits, especially in surprises and pranks. Especially the latter, oh boy. She had faith in her, but she couldn't help, but still worry.

Was the surprise going to be too much? How many people were going to be involved? Were there going to be more problems from this? Will the village be set ablaze?!

Okay, that last one was an exaggeration, but she couldn't be blamed for being worried to an extent.

Sakura groaned as she scratched the side of her head with minor frustration. She started to tap her heel against the floor. It started to increase in pace, which not only made it get louder, but Sakura was also subconsciously focusing her strength into her heel, which was shaking the room around her. She didn't notice until she saw her table shaking with the papers starting to jumble around it.

"Oops." Sakura said with an embarrassed frown as she started fixing up her paperwork. She suddenly heard someone chuckling, making her look towards the door to see her predecessor.

"I knew you were going to get the jitters or something over today." Tsunade said with a smile and leaning against the frame with her arms crossed.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama!" Sakura stood up from her seat, holding a stack of papers in hand. "I… I didn't hear you come in."

"I figured as much. Everyone else was hearing the ruckus you were making in here." Tsunade said with a bit of a teasing smile, causing Sakura to groan and looked down to her desk as her cheeks heated up in embarrassment. "So, fussing over what to give Naruto again this year?" Tsunade asked, rhetorically.

"Again? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're always like this each year. You always make a fuss on what to do each year for your husband, because you always feel, for lack of a better term, inadequate compared to what he gives you on your birthdays each year." Tsunade answered, causing Sakura to frown more as her eyes darted to the side and her cheeks heated up more. "Honestly, I can't blame you. The gaki really goes all out with you."

"I know~, and I love it, but Kami-sama, is it frustrating whenever it's my turn to give it back to him! What the hell can I even do that could match what he does?! Especially after earlier year." Sakura complained as she sat back down with a pout and resting her cheek onto her hand.

"Yeah~. Not many men would literally turn the sky pink for their special someone." Tsunade said as looked up in thought over Sakura's present from March.

"No man can!" Sakura exclaimed as she stood up straight with her hands spread out. "No one, but my baka of a husband. My sweet, sweet, overly loving baka of a husband. Damn you, Naruto. Why'd you have to be so sweet to me?" Sakura whined as she sat back down with a frown as she held her heated cheeks.

Tsunade's giggling sure didn't help her old apprentice at the moment.

"Last, I recall, he's always been this sweet to you. It's just he's never been as refined as he is now as an adult when it comes to showing it." Tsunade said with a smirk and shrug.

"Yeah…" Sakura said as she looked to the side, pressing her knuckles against her cheek. "Hmm… now I can't help but think about those days. Constantly rejecting his date requests…"

"Pining for Sasuke." Tsunade interjected.

"Please, don't remind." Sakura said with a deep frown and dull eyes. She then sighed. "Can't help but wonder… if I said yes to him earlier, would things be as they are now between us?"

"After a while of getting used to the idea of dating, I'm pretty sure. Although, I'd see him screwing up a bit here and there at first. Like I said, not as refined as he is now." Tsunade said with an amused smirk, causing Sakura to chuckle with a smile and eye smiles. "Take it from me though, Sakura, don't dwell on the past or the 'could have been'. Just enjoy what you have today."

"Easier said than done when I'm so worried over what to do for him today." Sakura said with a slightly tired smirk.

"I'm sure whatever you got planned, it'll be perfect for the knucklehead, no matter what it is. The only things that truly matters to him are you and the kids. That's more than enough to fill his heart and soul." Tsunade said with an assuring smile.

"Yeah… that's true." Sakura said with a soft smile as her eyes looked towards the picture of her and her family on her desk. "Still though… that's not gonna stop me for doing something special for the knucklehead." Sakura said with a loving smile as she took the family photo in hand.

"Speaking of that special something, what exactly do you have planned?" Tsunade asked.

"Oh, that. Well, um… you're gonna get a kick out of this. See, I… kind of put Hanami in charge of it." Sakura confessed with an embarrassed smile and eye smiles as she rubbed the back of her head.

Tsunade's eyes widened at this.

"No wonder you were clicking your heel so much. Still, I think it's a good call. Who better to plan it out than the one person destined to surpass him in everything? Surprises especially." Tsunade said, smiling as she thought about her granddaughter.

"You should have seen her today. She practically pleaded for me to trust her with this. She looked like she wanted that responsibility more than going out there to plan a huge prank on every citizen in the village." Sakura said with a soft smile as her eyes focused on Hanami within the family photo. "My little Hanami." Sakura spoke her daughter's name with a warm smile.

"Hmph. You're in safe hands then." Tsunade said as her smile widened a smidge.

"Given who we're talking about, that's saying a lot. Almost like a bad joke." Sakura said as she and Tsunade laughed at how true the statement about Hanami and safe hands almost sounded contradictory. "But seriously… when she's motivated, she accomplishes what she sets out to do. Honestly, I should be disappointed in myself for worrying as much as I do."

"Really?"

"Well, I'm still going to worry since this is my daughter we're talking about, but not as much as before." Sakura said as she placed her family's photo back onto the desk.

"You'd worry less if you took a break from this dinky office." Tsunade suggested. "Come on, let's get you some lunch. It's just about that time anyway."

"I don't know. There's still work to do." Sakura said.

"Just do what your husband does to make the workload easier." Tsunade said.

"Still-"

"Sakura, I may no longer be your teacher, but I am your predecessor, and I know a thing or two about how important it is to take a break from work."

'A little too much actually.' Sakura thought with a bit of a dull expression.

"I can guess what you just thought and I'm letting it slide this once." Tsunade said with a stern expression and pointing to her old apprentice, causing the pinkette to flinch with a look of embarrassment and slight fear. "Regardless, I am right, and someone like you definitely needs a break here and there. After all, if there's anyone who works harder than the Hokage, it's his wife." Tsunade said, keeping a stern expression showing her sense of authority.

"I guess I can't argue there." Sakura said with an amused smile as she gave a small laugh. "Alright. I'm sold." Sakura said as she stood up and made a familiar cross hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Technique) Sakura exclaimed as a pair of clones of herself appeared.

Once nodding to the both of them and earning a nod back, she headed towards the exit to her office where her old sensei waited.

Tsunade pushed off of the door frame and walked out with Sakura by her side.

"I still can't believe that you now have so much chakra to make clones like that effortlessly." Tsunade said with a smirk.

"And all it took was carrying three children who were carrying three tailed beasts within them, right in here." Sakura said with a soft, amused smile as she looked down to her stomach and gently rubbed it, remembering the days she was pregnant with each one of her children.

Tsunade gave a small, disappointed moan with a bit of a somber expression.

"Wish I knew what that was like." Tsunade said as she stared ahead.

Sakura looked to her mentor/mother figure with a frown, before nudging her shoulder with her own.

"Hey… no need to dwell on the past or the 'what could have been'. Focus on what you got now. You got two families and six grandchildren who love you to death and beyond." Sakura said, offering the slug sannin a smile.

"Yeah. That's true." Tsunade said with a genuinely happy smile, causing Sakura's own to widen. "I could go for a seventh though."

"Well, you'll have to discuss that with Shizune then." Sakura said, causing Tsunade to giggle with an amused smile.

.

.

Shinachiku and Arashi were both walking down the roads of the village, enjoying some ice cream. Shinachiku's being watermelon sherbet and mint, and Arashi's having three scoops of strawberry, cherry and cherry vanilla with strawberry syrup.

"You know, we never really find the time to do this. Just hanging out. You and me, dattebaro." Shinachiku said to his little brother.

"A lot has been happening lately." Arashi said.

"Yeah, but even before that." Shinachiku said in response.

The two walked in silence as they continued enjoying their ice cream.

"This is weird." Arashi said.

"Yeah, it's too quiet. It kind of scares me." Shinachiku responded.

"You're usually on Hanami's case by now with her always stirring up trouble." Arashi pointed out.

"Yeah. That would explain why we never had bro time like this so often before. That girl is always up to something, I just can't help but keep an eye or an ear out, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku said as he rubbed his chin, thinking about all the times he had to go after Hanami when she was going too far.

"You think kaa-chan was ever like that with tou-chan?" Arashi asked.

"Nah. Tou-chan's pranking days were practically coming to an end when he became a genin. Before then, kaa-chan just kept her distance and never really cared to bother with his antics. Not like Iruka-ojisan." (Uncle Iruka) Shinachiku answered.

"Ended by the time he became genin, huh? Thank Kami-sama." Arashi commented.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll get lucky with the same happening to Hanami when she graduates." Shinachiku said in thought.

"Let us pray." Arashi said as he and his brother brought a hand up in prayer and closed their eyes, praying any deity listening to them.

After giving a nod, they continued enjoying their ice cream. After some more walking, they stopped and noticed a small traffic barricade. Behind the barricade were none other than Hanami's classmates, along with Inojin.

All the kids were painting, apparently, but the thing was that there didn't seem to be anything being painted where they were stroking.

"Yeah, put more here. We want it to pop right around here." Inojin said to a blue haired boy and merlot red haired girl.

"Hai, senpai." The girl with long merlot red hair and matching eyes said.

"We will do our very best!" The boy with the short blue hair and blue eyes said.

The two continued to act in sync with their work.

'Hanami never said I would be getting a team of professional painters, but still, with the 'masterpiece' she wants us to make, professionals would have made this easier. Even if this makes this an excellent cover.' Inojin thought with a small frown and his arms crossed.

"Yo, Inojin. Whatcha doing with our juniors?" Shinachiku greeted his fellow blonde.

"Oh, hey Shina. Just… practicing strokes is all." Inojin responded.

"Bosu!" Ehō called out with excitement as he saw his mentor, Shinachiku. He got up and ran over.

"Hey, watch it! Don't step on the portrait!" Inojin reprimanded the dark-haired boy who ran over to Shinachiku.

"Just practicing strokes, huh?" Shinachiku said to Inojin with a smirk and half-lidded eyes.

"Shouldn't you be stuffing your face at Ichiraku's or something, Hyōteki Atama?!" (Target Head) Inojin shouted at Shinachiku.

"Oh, Shinachiku-senpai! Yo!" A girl with a narrow face, brown eyes, and brown braided hair greeted the green-eyed blonde with a smile.

"Shinachiku-kun." Yuina noticed her friend's elder brother/crush causing her to smile with a blush appearing on her face.

"H-He's here?" A fair-skinned girl with brown eyes, pink hair and permed up with strands framing the sides of her face and short bangs said with a blush appearing on her face.

"The handsome heir of the Uzumaki clan is here. How enticing." A girl with short red hair that is combed to the right side, grey eyes and short, round eyebrows said with an interested smile.

"Senpai!" The blue haired boy spoke with a bright smile and much vigor.

"Ohayō, senpai!" The merlot red haired girl greeted her senior with an equally bright smile and much vigor.

"Shinachiku-senpai, ohayō!" A boy with amber eyes and dull grey hair that is buzzed on the bottom and parts to reach his ears on the top greeted the elder boy, standing up straight to then give a bow.

"Ohayō, senpai!" The others greeted him.

"Yo, Sōru, Yuina, Osuka, Sōsha, Ran, Suzu, Eiki, everyone. How've you been?" Shinachiku greeted the kids in order with a wave.

"Bosu! Ohayō!" Ehō greeted his 'boss' with a bright smile as he stopped in front of him.

"You know, you don't have to keep calling me that." Shinachiku said with an embarrassed smile.

Arashi noticed a sign on the traffic barricade.

"Special School Art Project. Please respect privacy and discretion for the sake of our students." Arashi read the sign aloud. "Iruka-ojisan authorized this." Arashi said to his elder brother.

"Yeah, it's a special he's initiated. We have to finish by tonight though." Ehō explained.

"Tonight?" Shinachiku questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"That's a bit of a strict time limit." Arashi commented.

"It came up last minute." Yuina said.

"But we're going to complete it by then! Nothing is going to stop us from accomplishing our task!" Sōru proclaimed with much vigor.

"Still seems kind of odd if you ask me. Normally we'd be informed beforehand. Hmph. The principal must be off his game lately." Osuka said with a frown and her arms crossed.

"That doesn't sound like Iruka-ojisan. Even when things are rocky, he tends to remember details like this." Shinachiku said, surprised by this development.

"I'm also wondering why these traffic barricades have sealing formulas on them." Arashi said, noticing the writing on the barricades.

"Hmm?" Shinachiku leaned over to see what his brother was talking about. "Yeah, you're right. From the looks of it, this fūinjutsu is meant to conceal the image of paint within its barrier." Shinachiku said as he analyzed the seal. "Okay, this has to be Hanami's doing."

"Where did she get the barriers? I doubt she stole them." Arashi wondered aloud.

"I asked Kōtarō-ojisan if we could use these for today. I don't like bothering a member of the clan for anything trivial, but I figured this could be an exception." Eiki said with his arms crossed as he tried putting on a calm, yet serious demeanor.

"You're calling this trivial?!" Sōru, Osuka and Ehō shouted with annoyance, causing Eiki to flinch.

"N-No. Just… compared to police work, it's just, you know… eto~…" Eiki couldn't find the words as he brought his hands up in defense as his three hot-headed classmates growled at him a bit with miffed expressions.

"I'm pretty sure that this has something to do with Hanami-chan though. I just feel it." Yuina said.

"Knowing her and with how eager she is to get this done, it's not hard to believe." A fair-skinned girl wearing a headdress that looks like an aviator's helmet complete with goggles, through which two pigtails of brown hair stick out said with a knowing smile.

"You don't need to be an investigative journalist to find that out." Sōsha said with her own knowing smile.

"You want to see it?" A girl wearing a black, cat-eared hood, hiding the upper half of her head, with a bell around her neck, and a tail sticking out from the back offered with a smile.

"If it's okay." Shinachiku said with a shrug.

"Here, here!" Ehō said as he grabbed Shinachiku's arm and pulled him pass the barricade, giving him a clear picture of what they were painting.

"Wow… for something short notice, you're all doing one hell of a job." Shinachiku complimented with a sense of awe as Arashi joined him by his side to look.

"Will you be able to finish it in time?" Arashi asked.

"So long as we go at it with all we've got and never give in, even when are hands cramp like hell, then I know we will succeed!" Ehō proclaimed with a look of pure determination.

"You're really trying hard to emulate Shinachiku, aren't you?" Inojin questioned, rhetorically, with a dull expression, causing Ehō to flinch.

"Oi, oi, senpai! When we're done with this, can you teach me some more taijutsu?" Sōru asked with an excited and pleading look on her face.

"Hey, no way! Bosu is supposed to train me!" Ehō complained.

"You always occupy his time! Give someone else a chance!" Sōru retorted with an annoyed frown.

"There you go butting heads again, pining after senpai's affections." The girl with the aviator helmet said with a teasing smile.

"Shut up, Harika!" Both Ehō and Sōru shouted at the pigtailed girl.

Suddenly something large landed on the other side of the traffic barricade behind them, causing them all to look to see a large pink fox two times the size of a horse, with Hanami and a pale-skinned woman with red eyes, straight waist-length black hair with red tips held in a side-ponytail on the end that hangs over her right shoulder and a Konoha hitai-ate wrapped around her forehead, riding on its back.

"We got more paint!" Hanami called out as she raised up an oversized scroll that had the kanji for 'paint' [塗料] written on it with another one in the arms of the pale-skinned woman. "Oh, onii-chan, Arashi-kun, yo!" Hanami greeted her brothers.

The woman riding behind her groaned with a sense of nausea as she managed to get off of the large fox's back, albeit slowly, only to stumble after getting off. Luckily, Shinachiku appeared and caught her before she met the ground.

"Oh, arigato, Shinachiku-kun." The woman thanked the young shinobi with a smile.

"No problem, Hana-sensei." Shinachiku said as he helped her stand up straight.

"I'm actually glad you're here for once. I need you and Arashi to feed Inojin some chakra so he can use his Chōjū Giga (Super Beast Imitating Drawing) to speed up the process, 'ttebara." Hanami said to her brothers.

"Great. More work to do." Inojin said with a tired frown.

"You're starting to sound like Shikamaru-ojisan." Arashi commented.

"Well, you would too if you didn't have that stupidly large stamina of yours!" Inojin retorted with an annoyed anime look.

"Hanami, what exactly are you planning?" Shinachiku asked. His sister just grinned and raised a fist to him in response. He pressed his fist against her own as the next moment he was given the information on her plan. "Oh, I see. Alright, I'm sold." Shinachiku said, agreeing to help.

"Awesome!" Hanami cheered with a grin. "Oi, everyone! If we do a great job on this, Shinachiku-onii-chan is going to treat us all toe ice cream!" Hanami announced.

"Nani?!" Shinachiku questioned with an exasperated expression.

"Sugoi!" Ehō cheered with a huge grin.

"Arigato, Shinachiku-onii-chan!" All the students cheered in unison.

"Suman, Shinachiku-kun." Hana apologized to the blonde kōdona genin, offering a sympathetic smile.

'Great. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that one of Hanami's schemes leads to something at my expense, else it wouldn't be a day that ends in 'y' or something, 'ttebaro.' Shinachiku thought with a frown and half-lidded eyes as he slumped over a bit.

.

.

Sakura and Tsunade walked down the streets of Konoha, enjoying the beautiful day they were being given so far.

Sakura took a deep breath into her nose and sighed with delight.

"It really does feel good to be out of that office." Sakura said with a delighted smile.

"See? What I tell ya? You need to be out of that stuffy office every now and again. I should know." Tsunade said with a smile.

"I don't plan on staying out for too long. I still have a job to do." Sakura said.

"Quit with the work talk for a while. Just worry about it when you're back in that office of yours. Which, hopefully, won't be for a while." Tsunade said with a dismissive wave and smile.

Sakura sighed and shook her head but kept her smile.

"Hmm?" Sakura noticed a familiar face in front of Ichiraku Ramen, talking to Ayame. "Iruka-sensei! Hi!" Sakura greeted her old academy sensei, causing him and Ayame to flinch and look to her.

"Oh, Sakura, hello!" Iruka greeted his old student as he and Ayame quickly put smiles on their faces, which caught Tsunade's attention with an eyebrow raised. "And Tsunade-sama! It's been a while!" Iruka greeted the slug sannin with a bow as Ayame followed his lead.

"It's only been a few months." Tsunade pointed out as she and Sakura stopped in front of the principal and ramen shop owner.

"Regardless, welcome back." Iruka said with a smile.

"Let me guess. Here to celebrate our favorite knucklehead's birthday?" Ayame 'guessed' with a smile.

"Yeah, but also to celebrate Shinachiku-kun's birthday coming up next month." Tsunade said with a smile and shrug. "Hope you don't mind me staying under your roof for a while again, Sakura." Tsunade said to her old apprentice.

"Not at all. I'm positive the kids are going to be ecstatic when they hear. Hanami especially." Sakura said, smiling to her old mentor.

"I wonder what that little firecracker is right now." Tsunade 'wondered' as she noticed Iruka and Ayame glance to one another with a subtle sense of worry, causing her to smirk. "Eh. She hasn't burned down the village yet or anything, so I guess there's nothing to worry about." Tsunade said with a shrug.

"I don't think Hanami has it in her to burn down the village. Not on purpose." Ayama said, muttering the last part.

"Even if she did, she'll rebuild it by scratch by herself if need be. That girl is determined to become Hokage, probably even more than her father. Nothing's going to stop her, not even having to reconstruct the village from scratch." Iruka said with an amused smile.

"That's definitely Hanami." Sakura said with an embarrassed smirk as Tsunade giggled with her own smile.

"Well, let's not waste time on worrying about her. I think everyone does that enough. Right now, we need to fuel up on lunch, and I can only think of one place for that right now." Tsunade said as she looked to the ramen shop beside them.

"Here! Why not sit out here at one of our outside tables? Knowing you Sakura, you must have been inside this whole time. No need to put you back into stuffy air so soon." Ayame suggested with a smile.

"That sounds nice. Come on, Sakura. You're buying by the way." Tsunade said patting her old student on the back.

"You sure don't waste time, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said with a pout.

"Please, please, allow me to pay. It doesn't feel right having members of the Hokage's family to pay for their meals today." Iruka offered with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's Naruto's birthday, and you're his family-"

"So are you, remember?" Tsunade said, causing Iruka's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You've pretty much been a member of the family yourself long before I ever was, Iruka-sensei." Sakura said with a warm smile.

Iruka's lips quivered a bit before he formed a joyous smile.

"Please, all of you, it's on the house. I insist!" Ayame said with a bright smile.

"Are you sure, Ayame?" Sakura asked, a little unsure to take such an offer from a longtime family friend.

"Of course, Sakura! Your family is practically part of ours as well." Ayame said, causing Sakura to smile warmly.

"Well, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. O bāchan needs some tonkotsu ramen and some grade-A sake!" Tsunade proclaimed with a big ol' smile as she marched her way over towards one of the outside tables.

"Did she actually just say-"

"Sh." Sakura shushed her old academy teacher to keep him from feeling what being punched by a hundred people at once felt like, courtesy of the slug sannin. "Anyway, why don't you join us, Iruka-sensei?" Sakura offered with a smile.

"You sure? I don't want to intrude." Iruka said with a bit of a modest smile.

"I'd be honored." Sakura said with a smile, causing Iruka's own to brighten up as he then followed her towards the table Tsunade picked out.

"So, Iruka, how's the day been treating you?" Tsunade asked as Iruka, and Sakura sat down.

"Fine so far. A little surprised with how quiet things seem to be." Iruka said.

"I don't blame you." Sakura said with a small frown as she rested her cheek against her hand.

"Something on your mind, Sakura?" Iruka asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Sakura said, putting on a smile and giving a dismissive wave.

"She's just worrying over Naruto and what to do for his birthday today." Tsunade answered for her successor.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura exclaimed her old sensei's name as Iruka then chuckled.

"My, how much things have changed since your days at the academy." Iruka commented with an amused smile.

"Don't remind me." Sakura said with a frown and groan, feeling disappointed in herself for her past behavior.

"Don't beat yourself up so bad, Sakura. It's not you were the only one who didn't see Naruto as he truly was. Sort of." Iruka said.

"Sort of?" Sakura questioned.

"Well, while he was a good kid in the end, that didn't change the fact that he was a rowdy child who loved pranks and skipped out on class to pull them or eat ramen. It's not any of that was a cover or anything." Iruka said.

"That is what turned me off from him." Sakura said with a pout, only to flinch in realization at what she said with the two elder shinobi looking to her with widened eyes. "I mean, turn my attention away from him! I wasn't like that back then! I'm… oh man, how embarrassing!" Sakura cried out as she covered her embarrassed face, which got worse with Tsunade laughing at this.

"Wow! You really are off your game today." Tsunade said with an amused smile, causing Sakura to groan with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Sakura. We know what you meant." Iruka said, giving his old student a smile.

"So embarrassing." Sakura muttered to herself as she pulled her hands back a bit and stared down at the table.

"Look on the bright side. The gaki came a long way since his knuckleheaded ways. I mean, he's still a knucklehead, but a more mature knucklehead." Tsunade said, offering Sakura her own smile.

"Yeah, but now his old knuckleheaded ways were inherited by our daughter. You win some, you lose some, I suppose." Sakura said with a pout and her arms crossed.

"At least she is more educated than Naruto was back in those days." Iruka said, trying to cheer up Sakura a bit.

"Which also helps her out in being a more notorious troublemaker than her father as well. You win some, you lose some. In fact, I recall her still skipping class from time to time to go out to train on her own or have ramen just like her father as well." Sakura retorted with a frown.

"Y-Yes. That is true." Iruka said with an embarrassed grin and sweat drop.

"Ha! I still remember the first time I heard about that skeleton puppet she used as a substitute. 'Here sits Hanami Uzumaki. She died of boredom.' Classic." Tsunade said, laughing at her granddaughter's antics just as Ayame came by with some sake and three saucers. "Thank you, sweetie." Tsunade thanked the ramen shop owner, earning a smile and nod before she headed back to get their ramen.

"Yeah, a barrel of laughs, unless you're her mother. Do you know how many meetings I've had with her sensei and Iruka here over her behavior? Let's just say, the school isn't the only one that has a written record." Sakura said with a frown.

"I wonder if Kushina would have needed to do the same." Tsunade wondered to herself as she poured some sake into the saucers. "Mm~. Nah. Who am I kidding? One meeting and Naruto would have never even thought of doing something again."

"Man, I wish I had the same level of strength Kushina-sama had over others like that." Sakura said with a frown reflecting her self-disappointment.

"Don't beat yourself up like that, Sakura." Iruka said, offering a comforting smile.

"Yeah. Hanami's just more headstrong and fearless than Naruto ever was. It's only natural that you would have a hard time with that little firecracker. I doubt even Kushina would have a better chance." Tsunade said as she brought up her saucer.

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the slug sannin's words, before raising her own saucer up with Iruka following her lead.

"Kanpai!" The three tapped their saucers then downed their sake.

Sakura coughed a bit and stuck her tongue out for a moment.

"Boy. It's been a while." Iruka said as he lightly bopped his chest with his fist.

"Lightweights." Tsunade said with a smirk as she poured more sake for herself.

"We're very busy individuals, Tsunade-sama." Iruka said.

"Not to mention we deal with Hanami on a regular basis, and trust me, you never find the time for a drink. In fact, I'd advise against it. That girl requires absolute focus to maintain, and liquor will only dampen your senses." Sakura said with a frown.

"Well, good thing I'm her O bāchan then. Responsibilities like that of a parent or educator don't fall on me as harshly. I practically already filled those roles for Naruto." Tsunade said as she drank up her saucer full of sake.

"Honestly, between the two, I don't know who needed more attention. The one with the gigantic fox sized problem since the day he was born or the one who can paint an entire government owned wall sized graffiti project the second you turn away from her." Sakura said, as she and Tsunade laughed at this. However, they noticed their table had only a pair of laughter, instead of three. They looked over towards the only man of the group to see him looking down to his sake with a bit of a somber expression. "What's wrong, Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked with clear concern for her old teacher.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing to worry about. Well, not for me." Iruka said with a dismissive. "Just… how is Naruto feeling?" Iruka asked, causing Sakura to sigh a bit.

"Probably as he does every year. Happy until he left the house. Hopefully Shikamaru might get him to focus on other things." Sakura said with a small frown.

"He's still feeling bad?" Tsunade questioned with a frown and raised eyebrow.

"Can anyone blame him? We can't even really blame the village's past behavior for this mindset. At least, not entirely." Sakura said with somber eyes.

"It's not fair though. Everyone is entitled to how they feel from that day's events, but it shouldn't hang over Naruto like this. Especially not in this day and age." Iruka said with a frown.

"It's not something easy to get over." Tsunade said.

"Yes, but it's not his fault that… so much was unleashed. That was on someone else." Iruka said with a frown and furrowing his brow a bit as he recalled the one known as Obito Uchiha.

"But it was his birth that made it easy for Kurama to be ripped out of his mother. That's an undisputed fact, and one Naruto won't easily forget." Tsunade said, causing Iruka to somberly groan with a frown. "Look, we all know the big lug isn't responsible for any of that and was dealt an ugly hand of fate. We love him, we appreciate him, the three of us wouldn't even be where we are right now without him, but it's not like it's something so easy to push to the side when it's something that has defined him for so long, even to this day. We can't blame him for feeling this way, as much as we should never blame him for that day. All we can do is what we've always done. Be there and remind him how important he truly is."

"Yes. That is the best we can do for him." Iruka conceded with a nod.

"And believe me, it's more than enough." Tsunade said with a smile. 'I should know.' Tsunade mentally added as she thought about her two families with all her grandchildren calling out to her with bright smiles.

'I hope it is.' Iruka thought to himself as he thought about his little brother figure/pseudo-son. He then heard a groan of disappointment making him turn to Sakura. "Still blue?"

"And green thanks to the both of you. You both have been there for him more than I have and before I even really started to." Sakura said with a disappointed and jealous frown.

"Oh, quit your bawling! You know there is no one who can make him happier than you! Especially behind closed doors." Tsunade said.

"TS-TSUNADE-SAMA!" Sakura exclaimed her old mentor's name with utter embarrassment and her whole face turning red.

"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help it, but you do know I'm not wrong at all." Tsunade said with an amused smile, causing Sakura to groan with major embarrassment as she glared at her predecessor.

'I really didn't need to hear any of that.' Iruka thought with puckered lips and his face turning red as well with steam coming off of him.

"Iruka-sensei… you got a little something right here." Sakura said with a frown and furrowed brow as she pointed to right under her nostrils.

Iruka blinked his eyes as he brought his finger up and felt blood coming from his nostrils.

"Oh. Apologies! I don't know where that came from." Iruka said with a nervous grin as he quickly grabbed a napkin and cleaned the blood from his upper lip and nostrils.

"Mm hmm. Sure you don't." Sakura said, still frowning while Tsunade giggled.

"But, uh, Sakura… Tsunade-sama isn't wrong. You are the one who knows how to make him the happiest." Iruka said with a smile, surprising his old student. "Try as I might, I can't brighten up his day as effectively as you."

"I'll never understand what he sees in me to have that sort of effect." Sakura admitted with a sigh.

"If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure you do. He saw it in you the first time you met. At least that's what he told me." Iruka said with a smile.

"H-He's probably over-exaggerating things like he normally does. That baka." Sakura said, looking away to hide her loving smile and blush as she thought about her loving, fool of a husband. Her fool.

"Or you could be underplaying things as usual." Tsunade added with a smirk, causing Sakura to groan with her lips puckered as the pinkette then poured herself more sake and sipped from it.

"I guess Naruto isn't the only one who hasn't changed completely." Iruka teased with a smile, causing Sakura to turn away with a 'hmph.'

"Here you go." Ayame appeared with a platter carrying their ramen. "Sorry for the wait." Ayame said as she placed the platter atop the table.

"Don't worry about it, Ayame." Tsunade said with a smile. Once the restaurant owner left, Tsunade grabbed her chopsticks when her eyes fell upon one of the fishcakes within her ramen. Her smile widened as she snapped apart her chopsticks then grabbed the fishcake before raising it up high, catching Iruka and Sakura's attention. "To Naruto." Tsunade said, causing the two to smile.

"To Naruto." Iruka said as he mirrored Tsunade's actions.

"To Naruto." Sakura did the same.

"We wouldn't be here right now without you, ya big lug." Tsunade added.

"Kanpai!" The three exclaimed as they ate their fishcake with smiles on their faces before proceeding to enjoy their ramen.

'Yeah.' Sakura's eyes softened as she looked between her two elders. 'We all wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Naruto.' Sakura thought as she looked down to her ramen. 'Our kids wouldn't be here without you. Especially Hanami.' Sakura thought with a smile and her eyes closed as she had more of her ramen. 'Whatever you have planned, I hope you pull it off spectacularly, Hanami-chan.'

.

.

Back with Hanami's group, the young Uzumaki grinned with utter joy and pride at the work before her.

"Yatta!" The young pinkette said, her grin never leaving her face.

"We did it. I can't believe we actually did it… and with so little proper assistance!" Inojin said, shocked by their finished product and how well it turned out.

"The heck are you talking about? You older kids aren't the only ones who can pull off some spectacular things, dattebara." Hanami said with a proud cat-like smile and half-lidded eyes with the rest of her class agreeing.

"Still though." Inojin said with a pout.

"You're just mad that kids younger than you know how to paint better than you did in our academy days." Shinachiku teased with a smile.

"Oh, keep those big fat lips shut!" Inojin said with clear annoyance, causing Shinachiku to chuckle in amusement.

"This was a nice project." Suzu said with a smile.

"I had fun." Ran said with his own smile.

"So, what was the purpose for doing it anyway?" A boy with a buzzcut hair and walnut brown colored eyes questioned.

"Come on~, don't you know?" Sōsha questioned with her usual energetic smile. "It's clearly for-" She was then interrupted by a sudden clap a few inches in front of her face, causing the poor redhead to flinch with a scared look on her face as she saw it was Hanami.

"Sorry… I thought I saw a bug." Hanami said, acting as if she didn't scare the living daylights out of her classmate.

"Na-Nani?" Sōsha questioned with an unnerved frown, on her toes now thanks to Hanami.

"You better not have killed one of mine." Harika said with a frown.

"Alright everyone, now that our assignment is complete, how about we celebrate a job well done with a meal?" Hana suggested with a loving smile, earning cheers from her students. "Inojin-kun, Shina-kun, Arashi-kun, you're more than welcomed to join us. You three did great work as well."

"Thanks Hana-sensei, but personally I want to save some room for tonight, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku said with a smile and dismissive wave.

"Same here." Arashi said.

"I unfortunately have more work to do." Inojin said with a frown and shrug as the kids passed by him. His eyes then looked to Hanami, who was passing by without a care in the world. "Slave driver." Inojin muttered with a pout, but Hanami ignored him.

"That was fun." An Inuzuka girl with dark eyes and bushy orange hair that covers her ears and frames the sides of her faces with strands on the top that stick up and resemble dog ears said with a smile.

"Yeah, but I'm surprised Inori-chan and Kaida-san weren't here for this." Yuina pointed out.

"Kaida I can see skipping out on this. Can't say the same about Inori though." Ehō said.

"True. I don't see how the ghost girl would ever willingly contribute unless blackmailed, and even then, she would just beat that person up instead of taking it." Osuka said with her head held high. "Although, what surprises me is that Neon wasn't here either."

"Yeah. I wonder where they went." Sōru wondered aloud.

"Maybe Hanami knows. She's usually with them outside of class." A large bow with a bushy unibrow and short, curly brown hair said as all eyes then looked to the pinkette, who was just absentmindedly picking her ear and flicking any lingering crumbs at the tip. "Then again…"

Everyone just decided to focus on their way, following their classroom teacher, Hana Kaka, to get some lunch.

After noticing that eyes were no longer on her, Hanami took her chance as she quickly and quietly made it to Harika's side.

"Oi, Hari-chan. Mind helping me out with a little something, something?" Hanami whispered to the Aburame girl with smirk.

'What a shocking turn of events.' Harika sarcastically thought with a small frown.

.

.

Naruto was furiously working to the best of his abilities so as to leave as soon as possible. Thank goodness for clones. He didn't want to imagine the workload he'd have to go through solo without the technique under his belt.

'Almost done. Sort of.' Naruto thought to himself as he continued working his paperwork. After a while, Naruto was close to finishing his own stack of paperwork, but when he reached over and grabbed the next piece of paper from the top of the pile, he felt it slip out of his grasp, causing him to perk his head in surprise. "Huh?" Naruto turned his head to see that the paper he had grabbed a second ago now laid on the table.

He scratched the top of his head with his finger before grabbing the slip of paper, only for it to slip out of his grasp, causing his eyes to widen in shock. He then raised both his hands up, ready to grab the slip with both.

"What are you doing?" One of Naruto's clones asked.

"Sh." Naruto shushed his clone as the next second he slammed his hands atop the piece of paper, only for it to slip right out from under them and float off into the air. "Haunted paper!" Naruto exclaimed with shock and worry. He then noticed the slip of paper fly around for a second before going out the window. "Oi! Hold it! You're not meant to do that, 'ttebayo!" Naruto shouted as he chased after the flying slip of paper, leaping out his office window.

The clones blinked their eyes in confusion before looking towards each other and shrugging.

Naruto chased after the piece of paper via roof tops, too preoccupied to notice someone hovering high up above him with their eyes on him.

None other than Arata, who was flying on a large hawk with his Tōmeigan (Transparent Eye) active.

"He's out of the tower." Arata said through a walkie-talkie. "How's it looking on everybody's end?"

"We're ready on our end, but Neon and Denki still need a bit more time." Shikako replied through her own walkie-talkie. "We're still a go on the stadium plan, correct?"

"Yes. That'll buy them enough time. Trust me." Arata responded.

"Oh, I have no reason not to." Shikako said. "How about the first spot?"

"We've been ready. Kure and Inori are just making sure the flowers don't lose their sheen." Kaida said in response.

"Now what of Ichiraku's?" Shikako asked.

"All set." Momoka said through her own walkie-talkie.

"The effects we have there are at least ready for action." Denki said through his own.

"Wasabi, what's your status?" Arata asked.

"Practically already done." Wasabi answered through her own walkie-talkie.

"So, aside from the last spot, everything is a go?" Arata asked.

"Yup." Wasabi said.

"Pretty much." Shikako replied.

"Hn." Kaida responded.

"You can't give a clearer answer than that?" Wasabi questioned in response to Kaida's response.

"Nevertheless, I got what she meant." Arata said.

"Alright! Then it's time to start Operation: Orange Holiday, dattebara!" Hanami exclaimed through her own walkie-talkie.

"That's what you call it?" Harika's voice was heard on the other line, sounding beside Hanami.

"I thought it was Orange Journey." Inojin questioned with confusion.

"I changed it. New name sounds better, 'ttebara." Hanami answered.

Down below, Naruto tried to grab the sheet of paper, but it was zipping around away from his grasp each time. His patience was very limited right. So limited that it vanished the next second.

"Aw, screw it." Naruto said with a frown as he summoned a golden chakra arm that stretched over and grabbed the slip of paper. "Gotcha!" Naruto said with a victorious grin as he brought it back to his original hand, only to notice several spec sized bugs flying off of it. "Hmm? Kikaichū? Hold on a minute." Before Naruto could react, a sealing formula appeared beneath his feet as he suddenly disappeared in a flash.

.

.

Naruto suddenly appeared somewhere else entirely. He was instantly on high alert, ready for anything. However, he wasn't ready for what came next. He noticed he was within Konoha Cemetery, then noticed a path made with two rows of flower buds.

'The hell is…' Naruto thought with a raised eyebrow.

After a moment, he decided to walk down the path, but remained prepared for anything. He doubted this was a trap that actually threatened his life or anything, but he still felt he should be ready for it being a trap, nonetheless. He walked down the path presented to him, soon noticing that the two rows were being slowly replaced by buds that were closer to blooming the farther he travelled down it. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on with this, but he had to give whoever organized this credit, they sure were creative.

He then noticed something else rather interesting. The two rows were actually made of red and yellow roses. He raised an eyebrow and blinked his eyes at this, before a certain pair of people flashed within his mind. None other than his mother and father.

He suddenly noticed light up ahead of him. When he looked forward, he gasped with wide eyes as he saw the end of the path.

It led to the gravestones of his parents, Minato and Kushina, which were surrounded by flowers and had lit lanterns around them. They were all yellow likes yellow zinnias and marigolds, and red ones like red camellia and tulips, and in the center was a patch of orange flowers like begonias, bird of paradises and chrysanthemums. What really caught his eye was what was resting atop the center of the patch of orange flowers.

It was a drawing of his parents, smiling, with his father holding his mother who was holding him as he was when he was born into the world.

Naruto stared at the picture with shock and awe. He walked over, stopping in front of the patch, and slowly knelt in front of it. After a moment of silence, he reached his hand over and took the drawing in hand. He brought it closer and stared at it with softened eyes. He noticed something written on the bottom of the drawing.

"Born into this world with love that never fades away." Naruto read the writing aloud as his eyes got a bit teary, which he wiped away before they could spill. "Who made this?" Naruto wondered. He then looked up to the gravestones of his parents. After a moment, the tears finally spilled. Naruto wiped them away as he smiled to the stone in front of him, with his eyes on the names of his parents written on them. "Hi, kaa-chan. Hi tou-chan. It's good to see you." Naruto said with a smile as he then sat in front of the gravestones.

.

.

"So yeah, nothing much has happened since Arashi's birthday. You know, except for the new member to Sasuke's extended family getting more used to the place. Everything just seems the same. To be perfectly honest, I'm okay with that. Nothing's boring when I'm with my family. Especially with Hanami being… well, a more skilled version of me when I was her age. To be honest, that girl kind of scares me with how effective she is sometimes. A part of me is jealous, but another says that I'm kind of happy I wasn't as chaotic, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a grin as he laughed at the memories of his daughter causing havoc. "I will admit though, I am jealous. At least, of her reasoning to do it. Believe it or not they're kind of more noble than mine. I mean, pranking isn't really noble, but the reason she does it is better than my reason for attention." Naruto said with a sigh as he then looked off into the distance. "The world is more dangerous outside of these walls than it's ever been. It's nice to have your mind off of all that doom and gloom, even if it's for a bit you know. Hanami… she really does love this village. It doesn't matter if she builds a bad reputation for herself. Wanting everyone to forget what's beyond those walls, waiting for them to leave, even for a moment… it's pretty darn nice, 'ttebayo. Even if someone will literally end up with egg on their face." Naruto said as he gave a small chuckle. His eyes looked to the names of his parents on the stone, softening and shimmering a bit in the light of the lanterns. "Every time I come here, I really wish you both could be here to have fun with us, 'ttebayo. If I could have one wish, it would be you guys and Ero-sennin, I mean, Jiraiya-sensei… nah, I mean Ero-sennin." Naruto said with a big ol' grin and eye smiles before his eyes soften again. "I wish you guys were here with us, 'ttebayo. I love you both." Naruto said with a somber, yet warm smile.

A gust of wind then came by, blowing leaves around the Hokage as he felt a presence with him. It felt like arms belonging to a pair of people, giving him all the warmth they could offer.

"We feel the same way, Naruto." Minato said with a warm smile.

"Your wish is ours." Kushina said with her own warm smile.

"We're just happy you have so much love in your life. Even though we're not beside you, our love will always be with you." Minato said, smiling with love and pride in his son.

"And it'll never fade away." Kushina said as her own smile widened. "Same for our grandkids and our lovely daughter-in-law, who you should bring over next time. It's been way too long, dattebane!" Kushina added, causing her husband to laugh with slight embarrassment, but all love for his wife's antics.

"We'll see you next time, alright?"

"All of you." Kushina said, emphasizing her desire to see her whole family.

"Yeah. I hear ya." Naruto said with a warm smile, causing his own parents' smiles to widen as they gave him a tighter and warmer embrace.

"Until next time, Naruto." Minato said with a warm smile.

"We'll be waiting." Kushina said with a warm smile.

"We love you." Both parents said with love felt within their voices as they faded away with the wind and leaves.

"I love you too. Arigato." Naruto said with teary eyes and a warm, loving smile. He then stood up from the ground and looked to the portrait in his hand. His smile widened as he continued staring, unaware about a sealing formula glowing on the back of the paper, before he was then flashed away again.

.

.

Naruto suddenly appeared in the middle of a road of Konoha. He picked his head up with his eyes widened.

"The hell?" Naruto questioned as he looked around to find himself in a different part of the village. "Wait a second, I know this part of the village." Naruto said blinking his eyes as he recognized some familiarity to this road. He looked down to the portrait, regaining a smile as he then folded it up and pocketed it in a safe place within his cloak. Right after he put it away, thunder was heard, surprising the blonde as rain then poured onto him. "Great." Naruto said with a frown and half-lidded eyes.

Naruto was ready to leave at a high speed, but suddenly noticed something on the ground, glowing. Looking down he saw it was painting of a fishcake. His eyes widened a bit and blinked in surprise. He then noticed a golden glowing line starting to appear from the fishcake and extending down the road with a bit of a curve to it. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he was now very curious about what this was leading to.

Any normal shinobi would have been wary, but for some reason, he felt no sense of worry at all. He was calm and delightfully curious on this sudden occurrence. He decided to follow the line, taking it as a guide.

The Hokage walked through the rain, continuing to follow the line. After a bit, he noticed it was attached to another fishcake, which had another slightly curvy golden line. He followed it to find another fishcake in between two slightly curvy lines.

It was clearly a pattern that was guiding him somewhere. To where, that was the question.

As Naruto continued on, his nose caught wind of a new scent. He took a few sniffs as he immediately recognized that smell. He could never forget it. he smells it all the time.

However, this time, he was being hit by a wave of great nostalgia. It wasn't the scent that was giving him this feeling. Not alone anyway. It was the fact that he caught it during the rain. Down this specific road.

'Wait… I know this road now. This is…' Naruto's eyes slowly started to widen in shock. He picked up the pace, following the patterned path, until he made it to the one place that he has been to almost as many times as his own home.

Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he suddenly recalled a memory. The first time he had ever been to Ichiraku Ramen.

He remembered walking down this same road.

.

.

It was after leaving the park, seeing everyone being picked up by their parents, taking their children home as it was close to dinner time.

His younger self was so sad. Too sad to go back to the apartment he was given by the Sandaime. He had decided to just walk down the streets of Konoha aimlessly with no real concern on where he was going. He just walked and walked. He flinched with when the sound of thunder was heard, followed by rain. His day was dampened even more. Yet he continued to walk. Walk and walk.

Until he caught the scent of something that smelled so… good. It made his stomach growl. Upon instinct, the young blonde's feet moved on their own, desiring to be closer to that scent.

He walked and walked, until he found a quaint little food place. He looked up at the paper sign. He was still pretty young, and no one really spent a good amount of time to teach him how to read, at least not as good as other kids. Yet he tried the best he could.

He slowly pronounced every syllable as best as he could, until he managed to read it altogether.

Ichiraku Ramen.

Curiosity got the better of him as he took a peek inside to see a man behind a counter.

The man was busy doing something behind it, when he noticed the boy at the entrance peeking inside. The man smiled at the young boy and gave him a wave.

.

.

"Naruto. Long time no see." The voice of an elderly man greeted the blonde.

Naruto had upon instinct stepped in, only to be surprised to see none other than that same man who had greeted him warmly the first time they met.

"Old man Teuchi… holy crap, it's been a while!" Naruto said with a bright, joy-filled grin. He took a deep inhale through his nose as he caught the most delightful and familiar scent. "Oh man, the sweet taste of ramen. So good~." Naruto said with a wide, delighted smile.

"I had a feeling you would stop by. Don't ask me how, I guess it's just being in the shop again. I just had this odd feeling to make some ramen. Would you like some?" Teuchi offered with a smile.

"Made by you? Hell yeah! Any day, dattebayo!" Naruto cheered with a bright grin as he rushed over with a pep in his step and sat down at the bar. "Man, it has been too damn long! How's retirement?"

"Not bad. I just came back from Kiri. Very nice place. They cleaned up rather nicely. Heard your son and his friends did some good work there some time ago." Teuchi said.

"Yeah. That was one hell of a time apparently. Sometimes I wish I knew what would have occurred there ahead of time and spared them of that hellish experience. For them and Hanami's class." Naruto said with a frown.

"If I recall something I heard from Momoka-chan, all the kids from your daughter's class were inspired by Shinachiku and the others. How they fought and stood their ground, even against those wannabe swordsmen, and from what she told some sort of ogre woman?"

"Well, she wasn't an ogre, but she did act like one apparently. Shina took her on and managed to push her back. Even though it was a little, it did something. Hmph. He really gave his all that day. Well, maybe not his actual all, but his all without turning himself unable to protect the others." Naruto said as he recalled the story before then smiling. "Heh. It was doing all that with his friends giving it all just the same that made the younger ones want to try even harder when they got back home."

"I heard they're becoming very promising this year. In fact, Momo-chan told me that your son took one of them as his own student?" Teuchi asked.

"Oh, yeah. His name is Ehō. Ehō Norimaki." Naruto answered.

"Norimaki? As in Koda Norimaki? Must be his grandson. He told me he was a hot-blooded youth who wants to be a shinobi more than anything." Teuchi said with smile.

"Yeah, that's him. Although, I wouldn't call him hot-blooded youth. That sounds way too much like something related to Lee… who pretty much influenced Shina a bit too much, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with a bit of an embarrassed and unnerved smile.

"Well, if it wasn't for him, along with you and Sakura, I'm sure Shinachiku wouldn't have had the same drive that inspired those kids." Teuchi said.

"Yeah. Ain't that the truth." Naruto said with a more satisfied smile. He then laughed a bit. "You know, he isn't the only inspiration. Hanami's just the same. Well, in her own way that is. Heck, that same kid, Ehō, has a thing for her."

"A hot-blooded, strong-willed boy who wants to be the best shinobi ever having feelings for a strong-willed, short tempered pink haired girl? Sounds an awful lot like a certain whiskered youngster I knew back in the day." Teuchi said with a smirk, causing Naruto to chuckle with an embarrassed blush and grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Maybe that's why I like him so much. He's kind of like a mix between me and Konohamaru. He's a good kid, but he can be way too thickheaded when it comes to certain things. Like he was so hard pressed on following the rules before Shinachiku and Hanami got to him." Naruto said with a smile.

"That older boy and daughter of yours sure are influential." Teuchi commented with a smile. "What about your youngest?"

"Arashi is a different case. He doesn't want to be a shinobi, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his own resonance. His is more with animals though. I think it's because he has an affinity for nature, 'ttebayo."

"An affinity for nature?" Teuchi questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. You know how I gather nature energy for my sage mode? It's like that." Naruto said with a proud smile.

"Isn't that something really difficult?"

"Very, but it's natural to him. Literally. Although, it really shows when he gets angry. I still feel the ache in my belly." Naruto said with a bit of a pained smile as he rubbed his belly upon instinct. "Kurama too."

"Shut Up!" Kurama shouted, causing Naruto to chuckle with a grin, making the tailed beast growl with annoyance.

"Still though, I'm proud of him. Even though he doesn't want to be a shinobi, I'm already happy with the life he chose and the dream he desires."

"What is his dream?" Teuchi asked.

"He wants to sign every animal summoning contract there is. All just to befriend them all." Naruto said with a bright smile.

"That might be a little tough since he doesn't want to be a shinobi. Be easier if he did become one." Teuchi said.

"Yeah, but my kids are like me. They always aim for what sounds like the impossible, but I know they can do it, and it's not just because they're my kids. There's so much more to them than that. That's why I know Arashi will accomplish his dream, just like I know Hanami will become an even greater Hokage than me, and Shina… well, his is sort of both down to earth and overwhelming, but I know he can accomplish it all the same. They'll all accomplish their dreams, and when they do, I have the feeling they'll all surpass me, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with a proud smile as his eyes softened, reflecting love within them.

"My… how time flies. I still remember when you were as young as they were, always saying how you'll become the Hokage and gain everyone's respect. I always believed that you could accomplish it, but it still shocks me that the little boy who was a little scared to enter my shop so long ago grew up to not only become the Hokage, but the most powerful person in the world." Teuchi said with a soft smile.

"Most powerful for now anyway." Naruto added with a smirk, causing Teuchi to chuckle in response.

"Naruto… I'm happy you came into my shop… and I'm glad you always came back." Teuchi said, smiling warmly to his favorite customer.

"It can't be helped old man. Your cooking was just that good, dattebayo." Naruto said with his own warm smile.

"Speaking of which." Teuchi placed a nice, freshly made bowl of ramen right in front of Naruto. "Sorry it took so long. I can't cook as fast as I used to thanks to old age." Teuchi said with a humorous smile.

"Nah. It's worth it. Taking the time to make this just makes it richer." Naruto said with a smile as he then brought his hands up in prayer. "Itadakimasu." Naruto said before he grabbed his chopsticks, snapped them apart, picked up some noodles and a fishcake with them, then slurped them up. After a moment of silence, Naruto looked down to the ramen with a warm smile. "This is the best Ichiraku ramen that I've had in a long time."

"Glad to hear it. I was worried my skills had gone stale." Teuchi said with a proud smile.

"Old man, you're nowhere near close." Naruto said with a bright smile.

"Arigato, Hokage-sama." Teuchi said as he laughed with joy with Naruto joining him.

.

.

After having another bowl of ramen, or two… six. Naruto patted his stomach and gave a satisfied sigh.

"Man… I haven't had a meal like that here in ages." Naruto said with a satisfied smile.

"It does feel nice to be here cooking for you again." Teuchi said with a joyous smile.

"Feels nice to be served by you again. I'm always happy that Ayame-onee-chan and her family are here, but there's always something special whenever you're here, Teuchi-sama." Naruto said with a bright smile.

"Please, none of that. Just go back to calling me old man." Teuchi said with a humorous smile.

"You got it, old man Teuchi." Naruto said with a grin. "Anyway, I better head out." Naruto said as he got up from his seat and pulled out his wallet, Gama-chan.

"Don't worry about the payment, Naruto. It's on the house." Teuchi said with dismissive wave.

"Oh. Arigato, old man Teuchi." Naruto said with a surprised smile.

"No problem, Naruto. Otanjōbiomedetō." Teuchi said with a warm smile.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before they became a bit teary as he smiled warmly back.

"Arigato, old man." Naruto thanked the original ramen shop owner with a grateful smile.

"Until next time." Teuchi said with a smile and wave.

"Yeah. Until then. Ja ne." Naruto said with a smile as he walked away, giving the original ramen shop owner a wave in return.

'Naruto… I'm truly grateful to call you my number one customer. Thank you for always coming back.' Teuchi's smile widened as he watched his most favorite customer heading for the exit.

Naruto left the ramen shop to notice the rain had passed. With a brightened smile on his face, Naruto was ready to head home, only noticed a sealing formula appearing right under him as he was then flashed away again.

.

.

Naruto suddenly appeared again in a different part of the village. He blinked his eyes as he gently held the side of his head, feeling a bit dazed.

"All this teleporting is doing a number on the old noggin, dattebayo." Naruto said with a bit of a tired frown. After recomposing himself, he finally noticed that he was right in front of Konoha's academy. He blinked his eyes in surprise and confusion. 'What is going on here? Seriously.' Naruto thought to himself.

He suddenly heard whistling a distance away. Now curious on who that was, and since he sensed no danger at all from this whole experience, Naruto decided to follow the sound to its owner. He didn't have to walk long as in a few moments, he saw that it came from none other than his old academy sensei, Iruka Umino, who was sitting on the swing under the tree that the Hokage used to occupy in his youth.

"Oh, hello, Naruto." Iruka greeted his old student with a smile.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei." Naruto greeted his first teacher. "It pretty late out. You were stuck doing some leftover paperwork or something?" Naruto asked.

"No. Just here thinking." Iruka answered.

"About what?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"The past mostly." Iruka answered. "Like how much of a troublesome student you used to be." He added, causing Naruto to chuckle nervously and rub the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I could have been way better, but I was way too stubborn back then, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with an apologetic grin.

"Yeah… well, so was I for a bit." Iruka said, surprising Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto looked to his old sensei with a raised eyebrow.

"You weren't the only one who thought he wasn't going to mesh well with who he was assigned to." Iruka said.

"Oh." Naruto said recalling those events. "I guess we both had a lot of growing up to do back then. Me especially."

"Yeah." Iruka agreed as the two then stared ahead at the academy in silence. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Yeah, me too." Naruto said.

"At least you had a reason for it. I had nothing but a selfish one." Iruka retorted.

"What reason could have had other than me being a pain?" Naruto asked.

"Believe me Naruto, you being a pain still wasn't a good reason either." Iruka said. "No, my reason… well… I suppose it's the same reason you always feel sad for a while on your birthday." Iruka said, surprising Naruto.

"Oh. Right… sorry, sensei." Naruto said with a frown.

"Don't apologize. You've done enough of that, and even then, you never needed to say it once." Iruka said with a bit of a stern tone. "I'm the one who is sorry. I was just like everyone else. So wrapped up in my pain that I was blinded from seeing yours until you finally showed it to me. It honestly disgusts me." Iruka said as he hung his head in shame with the blonde standing next to him hanging his head. "It's been over three decades now, and I still miss my parents. However, it's not as bad as it used to be. In fact, it only stings a little. I'll always wish they were still around, being here with me, seeing my accomplishments and always finding the time to be together and share memories both good and bad, laughing, crying, anger, joy… I'll always wish we could have that again in this life. However, I don't know how proud of their son they would be knowing my past behavior."

"Iruka-sensei, come on. Don't blame yourself. You lost your parents, and you were hurt. No one should blame you for missing the people you love like that. I don't." Naruto said with a frown, not liking how his sensei was talking about himself like this.

"Yes, well… I still feel ashamed. However, it's not just because of how I was so focused on my pain, but after learning the truth about who you came from, I realized that you had suffered something similar. I wasn't the only one who lost both his parents that day… but I was fortunate enough to know who they are. I knew my parents were heroes… you always wondered if they were good people." Iruka said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. "That must have been scary. Not knowing where the heart of those who brought you into this world lied."

"Yeah… it was." Naruto said with a frown and somber eyes. "I'm sorry about your parents."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Iruka said, looking to his old student.

"Well… in a way, it was." Naruto said, looking down and rubbing the back of his head.

"No it wasn't." Iruka said with a stern tone and expression. "Naruto… no one should ever apologize for being born."

Naruto looked to his sensei with wide eyes. They then softened as he looked towards the ground.

"Yeah… you're right." Naruto said with a nod as he slowly gained a soft smile. "The past is pretty wicked. You're supposed to move pass from it, but it always seems to follow you every day too."

"Well, that is the purpose of the past, Naruto. It's always behind you. Reminding you of what to do in the present and future. What it says isn't always pretty, but it is important a lot of the time." Iruka said.

Naruto suddenly chuckled.

"Even now with me as the Hokage, I'm still learning stuff from you, as if I never left the academy." Naruto said with a small grin.

"Well, there's always something to learn. In my opinion, a life without learning can be either be a real hell or a real bore. That's just me though."

"Sounds more like a fact to me, dattebayo." Naruto said as he and Iruka chuckled with small smiles on their faces. Naruto looked towards the academy as he had softer eyes. "You know… to be honest, this place doesn't hold a lot of pleasant memories. Anyone fun ones I had was immediately followed by disappointment and sadness. I practically forget a good amount of my experience here."

"Except for your rivalry with Sasuke, of course." Iruka said with a smirk.

"Yeah… but even that held no weight for me. At least, not positively." Naruto admitted, surprising Iruka a bit. "No. I don't have anything really that positive to remember here." Naruto said, continuing to stare at the building, not noticing the saddened frown from Iruka. "Well, except one thing." Naruto said, causing Iruka to perk up.

"That being?" Iruka asked as Naruto suddenly cracked a smile.

"It's where I got to meet you." Naruto said, giving his old sensei a smile and a pair of eye smiles.

Iruka's eyes widened in surprise before they softened as he smiled to his favorite student.

"That was great. Even if we didn't make it easy for each other." Iruka said, smiling with amusement at the end.

"True, but I'm definitely the one who mostly made it that hard." Naruto said with a grin as he and Iruka laughed, recalling all the times they butted heads in the academy.

"Well, I think we've spent enough time on the past. Don't you?" Iruka said.

"Yeah… I think we have." Naruto said with a small smile.

"Good. Because I have a prior engagement I need to get to." Iruka said as he got up from the swing.

"What? You got a hot date?" Naruto asked with a teasing smirk.

"No, nothing like that. Be nice though." Iruka said with a smile.

"Why not ask Anko? Hanami's told me that she's eavesdropped a couple of times to hear her flirting with you." Naruto said with a cheeky grin, causing Iruka to flinch with his face turning red.

"Damn that girl. She's way too much like her father." Iruka said with a frown, eyes closed, and his arms crossed.

"Guilty!" Naruto said as he laughed while rubbing the back of his head. "Good talking to you as usual, sensei." Naruto said with a bright smile.

"Even when you're pretty much my boss, you still won't stop calling me that." Iruka said with an amused smile.

"Mm~, nah. Just feels natural, dattebayo." Naruto said with a shrug and still smiling, causing Iruka to chuckle in response.

"Naruto… I'm glad you were born into our lives… and I wouldn't change it for a thing. Otanjōbiomedetō." Iruka said with a warm, proud smile as he walked away.

Naruto stared at his old instructor's retreating form with wide eyes, before gently smiling.

"Arigato, sensei."

With Iruka gone, Naruto was left alone in front of the same tree he had spent so much time under. He looked up to it, then back to the swing. Remembering all those times he sat under here with that sad look upon his face. Despite recalling those unpleasant memories, Naruto wasn't feeling sad. Not like he was before.

The Hokage walked over and sat atop of the swing for old times sake. He hummed a bit as he swung back and forth, alone with his thoughts. Although, he wasn't given enough time as he was suddenly flashed away, leaving behind a still swinging swing that had a sealing formula written upon it.

.

.

Naruto suddenly appeared in a different part of the village again, but this time falling on his behind.

"Ow! Dammit! I'm starting to get real sick of that, dattebayo!" Naruto said with annoyance. "Huh?" He noticed that he was in the center of an arena. The one where the held the Chunin Exams.

Naruto got on his feet and looked around, only to noticed something painted on the walls of the arena.

They were paintings of him back in his genin days. Four of them to be exact. One was him fighting Kiba, another was him fight Neji, another was him and Gaara with Kurama and Shukaku behind their respective jinchurikis at the time, and the final one was what caught his attention the most. The final one was of him and Sasuke, both with their signature jutsu in hand, which had never happened during that time.

They never got the chance to fight one another in the exams.

That was really a bummer.

Naruto lightly frowned at never getting the chance to fight his rival during the exams. He felt it would have been an interesting bout.

"Brings back memories." A voice spoke.

"Yup." Naruto said as the source of the voice walked up next to him. "We never got to do this though, dattebayo."

"I'm aware." The voice said.

"So, what brings you here, Sasuke?" Naruto asked his longtime rival.

"Just walking by." Sasuke answered.

"Liar." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Hn." Sasuke simply responded as he kept his eyes on the art before he and the Hokage.

"I know this isn't the same ring, since the original one was destroyed by Nagato, or, well, Pein, at the time, but it still brings back memories. Good and bad."

"Bad for me especially." Sasuke said.

"Yeah." Naruto said with a frown. "Still though, even with Orochimaru screwing things up, it was still fun. We made so many friends and had so many fights here that led to some really interesting things. Changed some people for the better. So many things changed. We always knew that with the exams we would be a step closer to become some real kick ass shinobi. Never expected it to so accurate though, dattebayo." Naruto said with a nostalgic smile.

"That's a surprise coming from someone who boasted such a claim with every other sentence." Sasuke said, causing Naruto to chuckle with embarrassment.

After a moment, the two went back to staring at the painting of them.

"This painting has a flaw." Sasuke pointed out.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked to him in confusion.

"You never had the Rasengan back then." Sasuke clarified.

"Oh, yeah. Still, I could summon." Naruto pointed out.

"I heard not that well." Sasuke said.

"Hmph." Naruto responded with a small chuckle and amused smirk. "Still sucks how we never got to fight in the final rounds." Naruto commented.

"We would have caused a panic in the end." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, maybe. Still sucks that we never had the chance." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Well… we're in the center of the ring right now. How about we take the opportunity?" Sasuke suggested, looking to Naruto.

"Seriously? As we are now, we will cause a panic, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with a bit of a nervous grin.

"Not if we lay a specific win condition." Sasuke said, catching Naruto's attention. "Whoever lands one direct hit on the other, wins." Sasuke said, bringing up a finger to emphasize his point.

Naruto blinked his eyes in thought.

"One hit, eh? Sounds like my kind of challenge." Naruto said with an excited grin.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked in response.

The two then jumped back a good distance from one another. Naruto and Sasuke brought their hands up in the sign of confrontation. They mentally counted from three and once hitting zero, they dashed at one another.

.

.

Naruto and Sasuke panted as they were knelt over with Naruto having his hands on his knees.

"Dammit~! Almost had you! Literally, but like half a second!" Naruto complained.

"I'm just faster than you." Sasuke said.

"At least I'm stronger." Naruto said with a pout.

"So, even as a Hokage you lick your wounds this much." Sasuke commented.

"Oi! You're looking for a rematch or something?! Because I will happily oblige, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted with annoyance.

After a moment of silence, Naruto started to chuckle with Sasuke doing the same a second afterwards, before Naruto let out a full-blown laugh while Sasuke's laughter was on a much less audible level.

"Otanjōbiomedetō, Naruto." Sasuke said, surprising the blonde.

"Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto said with a smile. He was then surprised as Sasuke vanished from sight just as a large sealing formula appeared upon the floor of the ring. "Oh, come on!" Naruto shouted with annoyance before he was flashed away again.

Sasuke stared at the ring where Naruto was as the sealing formula vanished.

"Won't lie. I expected your time to take longer than that." Arata said as the hawk he stood upon hovered above Sasuke.

"You expect too much out of me, my son." Sasuke responded.

.

.

Naruto appeared again, but this time outside of the village. He let out a groan as he held the sides of his head.

"Dammit~! I'm starting to get real sick of this, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted out with annoyance.

He looked around to see he was in a forest, but then heard a croak. Looking down, he noticed a toad looking up at him. He blinked his eyes in surprise and confusion as he and the toad stared at one another.

The toad turned around and hopped away but stopped and turned to Naruto after a few hops.

Naruto stared at the toad, before following after it, figuring that's what it wants. He followed the hopping toad who guided him through the forest. He actually felt that he was walking down a very familiar path. Naruto had soon noticed a light up ahead. As he followed the toad, the glow became bright until he finally noticed what was ahead and realized where he was.

In front of him was the memorial he created for none other than his old mentor/godfather, Jiraiya.

Naruto stared at the memorial he had made which had some new additions to it. There were a pair of stone frogs on the sides of the main stone with one being white and the other being black, around the grave were hydrangeas of several color, but what caught his attention most was there being a scroll in front of the copy of Tales of an Utterly Gutsy Ninja and the bouquet "never-dying flowers of hope".

The toad landed in front of the scroll, turned and croaked to Naruto before hopping away, leaving the Hokage be with the memorial of his long-departed master.

Naruto watched the toad hop away into what was now becoming the evening forest. His attention was then directed back to the scroll in front of the memorial. He knelt and grasped it, bringing it up towards himself. He cautiously opened the scroll only to see a new sealing formula. It was an average storage formula. Deciding to see what was sealed inside, Naruto laid the scroll upon the ground and unfurled it. He brought up his left hand as a golden glowing sealing formula appeared on the palm, then slammed it onto the one upon the scroll, followed by a puff of smoke appearing from them.

Naruto pulled his hand back as he stared at the smoke and once it dissipated, his eyes widened in shock.

There on the scroll was a sake bottle, two saucers, a blue two stick popsicle and a framed drawing. He stared at the drawing with wide eyes as he took it all in.

It was a drawing of him, Sakura and his children, but also within it were Minato, Kushina, Mebuki, Kizashi, Tsunade and Jiraiya. In the center, Jiraiya was grinning with his left arm wrapped around a grinning Naruto and his right wrapped around a grinning Tsunade. On Naruto's side was Sakura, Hanami, Mebuki and Kizashi, and on Tsunade's size was Shinachiku, Arashi, Minato and Kushina, all with grins on their faces.

Naruto eyes got a little teary as he slowly reached a hand over towards the framed drawing, grabbing it and bringing it closer to himself. He shed a tear with his lip quivering a bit, before soon smiling. He brought the drawing to his chest, smiling with his eyes closed as he enjoyed the moment. He opened his eyes and placed the picture back where it was, then grabbed the popsicle and proceeded to snap it in half.

"Yo, Ero-sennin."

.

.

Sakura focused on finishing what was left of her paperwork. She pushed herself to quicken her pace but made sure to not make a mistake so close to the finish line. Soon enough, the Head Medic managed to finish her paperwork, sighing afterwards. She placed the final sheet atop the completed pile, then got up from her seat, stretching with her arms up high.

After her quick stretch, she headed for the exit of her office.

Once making it out the door, something had occurred.

A sealing formula appeared beneath her feet once she made it out the door, shining with golden light, shocking the pink-haired woman as she then disappeared in a flash.

.

.

Naruto took a bit from his half of the popsicle as he smiled with delight.

"Yeah, you're not missing much at the moment. Things seem calm, at least for now, dattebayo. I'm counting my blessing at the moment since whenever things get bad nowadays, Shina and his friends are usually the ones to fix things." Naruto said as he then sighed. "I'm happy I'm the Hokage now and all, but at times I do wish I was able to just go out there and help them. I believe in them, but I can't help but wanting to be there. I guess that's just the parent part of me talking, 'ttebayo." Naruto said with soft eyes. "You know, remembering it, you usually had me do things on my own a lot of the time. I always thought it was because you wanted to spend time doing your 'research', which you did, but it was also to help build me up too, wasn't it? Trying to instill a sense of independence in me and my own skills by forcing me to accomplish my training by my own means and ideas instead of just telling me how." Naruto said with his eyes closed. "Was that… your way of preparing me for the role of Hokage? Making me into a great shinobi?" Naruto asked as he opened his eyes and stared at the memorial before him. "Nah, that must have been a by-product for your research time." Naruto said as he laughed a bit with nostalgia. After a moment, he looked towards the drawing with a somber, yet joy-filled smile on his face. "Arigato, Ero-sennin. For everything. Still wish you were here."

Naruto finished off his popsicle and placed the stick down upon the scroll. He then grabbed the sake bottle and poured some in the pair saucers. He took on, raised it up in cheers.

The wind suddenly blew around him with leaves surrounding the Hokage as an image of his former mentor smiled to him with pride and joy, raising the second saucer full of sake up in response.

The two smiled to one another before drinking their sake up.

Jiraiya then at his popsicle whole and placed it upon the ground in front of him.

"Don't have to worry about brain freeze as I am now." Jiraiya said with a joking grin before it was replaced with a content smile. "The journey was fun at least, wasn't it, Naruto?"

"Yeah. Glad we got to share some of it together." Naruto said with a smile of his own. "Wish you still could have been there to see me fulfill my dream."

"Honestly, I didn't really need to. I knew you would get it. You were just that stubborn. Plus, you had those qualities to not only attain it, but be better at it than the rest. I believed in it before ever needing to see it." Jiraiya said.

"Still wish you could have seen it, 'ttebayo." Naruto said as he lightly scratched the top of his head.

"Who says I didn't?" Jiraiya said with a smirk, earning a widened smile from Naruto. "Good seeing you again, gaki. Until next time, don't burn down the village."

"Like I'd be able to get away with that with Hanami and Sakura-chan around!" Naruto said with a humorous grin, making Jiraiya laugh.

"Good point! Until then, ja ne." Jiraiya said with a grin as he vanished with the wind and leaves.

Right where he was a moment ago, the second saucer no longer contained sake and other half of the popsicle was eaten with the stick lying on the ground.

Naruto grabbed the saucer and placed it upside down upon the stone, then placed the popsicle stick atop it. Naruto then sealed away the framed drawing into the scroll, with the bottle of sake and other saucer being left upon the ground, as the Hokage got back up to his feet with the now rolled up scroll in hand. After raising the scroll and waving farewell with it, Naruto headed back towards the village.

.

.

Once making it back into the village, Naruto noticed that the streets were looking… kind of barren. He raised an eyebrow in confusion at this as he was now on his toes for anything.

He noticed his path was blocked by traffic barricades. The Hokage raised an eyebrow in confusion at this, and after a moment, walked away towards another direction. Soon enough he was stopped by another traffic barricade, which confused him a bit more.

As Naruto continued on another way, he was being blocked by more traffic barricades.

It was clear that he was being guided by these things, but he kept an open mind and allowed himself to be guided.

After a while he made it to a four intersection of the streets with two of the streets that he could have taken being blocked by traffic barricades, leaving only one path for him to take.

Naruto travelled down the available route which led to a more expanded street. As he continued to walk, he noticed a light up ahead.

'This seems familiar.' Naruto thought with a stoic frown but continued towards the light. Once making it, he noticed it was a lantern, as if that was a shock, but also something on the ground behind it.

It was a painting of his child-self with teardrops hanging from his eyes and behind the child Naruto was Kurama, looking very angry.

Naruto blinked his eyes in surprise as he took in the painting. He then noticed a new lantern lit ahead of him. Walking over, he noticed a painting of his child-self with a huge open mouth grin on his face surrounded by ramen. The Hokage couldn't help but smile at this.

Naruto walked forward to notice a painting on the ground of him in his classic orange jumpsuit making several clones. Going further ahead, he noticed a painting of him and Iruka, grinning with peace signs as a defeated Mizuki was beneath them.

Further ahead was a painted portrait of Team Kakashi when they first started. Further ahead was a painting of Naruto with a Kiri hunter-nin mask and what looked to be the Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife) behind him, clearly representing Haku and Zabuza.

Further ahead was not just a painting on the ground but one on the walls of buildings surrounding it. All of Naruto's friends back when they first took the Chunin Exams were painted on the walls while on the ground was a painting of Naruto and Gaara clashing with Kurama and Shukaku behind their respective jinchuriki at the time, just like the one painted back onto the walls of the Chunin Exams arena earlier.

Further ahead, Naruto came upon a painting of a young he and Sasuke back with their signature jutsus ready to collide with one another.

Further ahead, he noticed that a painting on the ground was that of a red tail that went towards the side where Naruto found the painting of himself in his old red biju cloak, which was then followed by a now teenage Naruto shaking hands with Gaara.

Further ahead, he saw a painting of he and Sakura yelling at a smiling Sai on the wall, which made him chuckle at the sight.

Ahead of that was a painting of Naruto's fight with Pein, but there were also small stone statues of toad in front of the painted wall, representing his succession as a Toad Sage.

Ahead of that painting was the painting of a golden tail that extended towards the ground, crossing the street over to the wall of the building on the other side, revealing it was connected to a painting of Naruto now in Kyūbi Chakura Mōdo (Nine-Tails Chakra Mode) with his golden Kurama avatar beside him.

He noticed another golden tail extend back towards the ground where he noticed a painting of himself surrounded in golden flames along with the same markings that came from the Byakugō no In (Strength of a Hundred Seal) around his form as he faced a being covered in black flames with a malicious grin.

Walking further up ahead, Naruto noticed a line of painted golden flames extending forward until it reached up to a wall up ahead where the last painting was.

The last one was a painting of Naruto, recently becoming Hokage with his friends surrounding him, with Sakura on his right and Sasuke on his left.

Naruto blinked his eyes as he smiled at the painting.

"It really was quite the journey." Naruto commented. The Hokage the painted golden line of fire beneath him started to shift and take new form of that of a sealing formula. "Of course." Naruto said, not even surprised anymore, as he was then flashed away.

.

.

Naruto suddenly appeared in a snowy region surprising the Hokage as he did not expect to arrive at a place that looks to be outside of the village. He looked around with a surprised expression and an eyebrow raised.

"What that-? Where am I?" Naruto wondered with confusion.

Naruto looked around, trying to find anything remotely resembling a structure of civilization, but all he saw was a vast blanket of snow. Not even any trees. He was really confused now.

"THIS IS STUPID!" A very familiar female voice screamed out, catching Naruto's immediate attention.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto spoke his wife's name in surprise as he looked ahead and saw her in the distance, stomping around.

"What the Hell Kind of Bull Crap Is This?! After All That Work and Worry, I Get Sent Here?! Dammit! Some Kunoichi I Am, Being Captured Like This Thanks to A Crappy Fūinjutsu Sneak Attack! GRRR!" Sakura shouted out with a pissed anime expression and her teeth very grit as she growled with anger.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he hurried over towards his wife.

"N-Naruto?!" Sakura looked in shock to see her husband here with her, before she suddenly moaned with disappointment. "Of course this would happen. Like in the old days, I got to rely on you to help me out in a pinch. So much for maturity." Sakura said with her eyes closed and a frown reflecting her self-disappointment as she turned to the side with semi-crossed arms with one of her hands gently grasping her cheek.

"Actually, I got trapped here." Naruto admitted with an embarrassed smile and rubbing the back of his head.

"Seriously?" Sakura looked back to Naruto with a surprised expression. "What a pair we are." Sakura said with a sigh as she frowned again with her eyes closed.

"Yeah… but at least we're stuck together." Naruto said with a bit of a gushing smile.

Sakura couldn't help but smile back at her husband with a warmer one as her eyes softened.

"I'll never understand how you can still smile at me like that after all these years." Sakura said.

"And I'll never understand how you don't." Naruto said as he and Sakura then laughed at this. After a moment of laughter, Sakura smile slowly started turning into a frown as an air of familiarity was coming to her from just being in this situation. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with a confused and worried expression after noticing the change in his wife's demeanor.

"Just… doesn't this remind you of… one of our less happy memories?" Sakura asked as she was unable to look her husband in the eyes.

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion, until realizing a moment later what she meant.

"Oh~… yeah." Naruto said with a bit of a frown as he and Sakura were now standing in silence for a moment.

"Naruto, I-"

"I forgave you already." Naruto interjected.

"Dammit, let me talk!" Sakura complained with an annoyed frown. Naruto just blinked his eyes in response as he watched his wife hang her head. "I'm… way too fortunate." Sakura admitted.

"Huh?" Naruto looked surprised and confused by this claim.

"I practically did everything that would have guaranteed a different outcome… and yet here I am… your wife… and the mother of three wonderful thanks to you."

"And that's great, isn't it?"

"More than great. It's the best thing that could have ever happened to me." Sakura said as she gained a quivering smile and shook a bit. "But that's the problem. Am I even deserving of it?"

"Don't say that. Of course you are." Naruto said with a stern expression. "You really got to stop thinking like that."

"And you got to stop being so held up on what happened the day you were born!" Sakura quickly retorted, surprising Naruto. "You think I like seeing you be sad on the one day you deserve to be at your happiest?" Sakura rhetorically questioned with a frown and stern eyes.

"… Good point. Suman." Naruto said with an apologetic frown.

Sakura sighed with a frown.

"Guess we both got hang ups." Sakura said with a saddened frown.

"Yeah… not unfounded, but still not something that should hit this hard, I guess." Naruto admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Still though, what we're sulking about is practically what helped define us. Even if it is bad, good did come out of it."

"That I can't deny." Sakura said shrugging and gaining a soft smile. "I just still can't believe that you never gave up on me, even though I gave you many reasons to."

"I never give up or ever go back on my word. That's just who I am, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a proud grin, causing Sakura to giggle with a warm smile. "You remember how we first met, right?"

"Thanks to you I remember it vividly. You hurt yourself and I came and fixed your scraped knee." Sakura said with a nonchalant smile and shrug.

"You were the only one who decided to help me. Everyone just ignored me in usual, even though I was crying in pain, but you said screw it, came over, cleaned my wound, and bandaged it, all while scolding me to boot." Naruto said with a small sort of bashful smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, it was your own damn fault for trying to show off your balancing skills on a large wall. Baka." Sakura said with her eyes closed and arms crossed.

"You were the only kid who cared at the time." Naruto said with a smile, causing Sakura to open her eyes and look to him. "I know you said that shouldn't have been enough, especially since you tried ignoring me to not become an outcast, which as one with experience on that, I don't blame you, but after seeing how kind you really were to others… I knew you were worth it."

"Even though I wasn't kind to you." Sakura said with a soft, saddened smile as she looked downwards.

"Sakura… no one was really kind to me, except Sandaime-jiji and the Ichirakus. Even Iruka-sensei was a bit reserved for a while." Naruto said with a shrug.

"I still can't believe that given how close you both are." Sakura commented.

"And now look how close we are." Naruto said, causing Sakura's smile to widen a smidge. "Sakura-chan, please stop beating yourself up over this. We were just kids after all. Things change when you get older. People and feelings. Hell, I was never as in love with you when I was a kid like I was before the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War. My love for you grew over time, and if I remember correctly, your love for me grew to. That's what you told me after that fake confession of yours."

"Kami, I hate being reminded of trying to lie to you like that." Sakura said with a frown.

"Like I said, I forgave you already. Sure, it hurt, but it's not like there was anything else anyone could have said to stop me from trying to get back Sasuke. Even Ero-sennin couldn't convince me to give up, and he had decades years of experience of the same thing." Naruto said.

"I could have worded things better though! But no, I had to think saying I love you was enough!" Sakura exclaimed with her eyes shut tight and a self-disappointed frown on her face as she hung her head.

"You just didn't want me to suffer." Naruto reminded her.

"… I just didn't want to lose you. I was scared… I didn't want you to end up killing yourself. Even if it wasn't over Sasuke… I just couldn't imagine life without you at that point. I still can't." Sakura said as tears started to shed from her eyes. She then felt herself brought into a warm, loving embrace.

"I can't imagine my life without you either." Naruto said with a tone radiating love and comfort. "When Sasuke almost pierced you back then everything just slowed down for me. If I had been a second too late… I don't think I would have still been as willing to bring him back. We wouldn't have been Team 7 anymore if you weren't around with us."

"That's not the only reason." Sakura stated, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Remember what you said to me afterwards?" Naruto asked with comforting, knowing smile.

"Yeah. I apologize for what I did, and I told you that what I said about you wasn't a lie. I did love you… I just wasn't in love with you yet. Not like now." Sakura said with a soft blush upon her cheeks. "I remember… when you said that you would happily die with Sasuke the next time you clashed… my heart just stopped… like it just vanished at the thought of losing you both… losing you… I didn't know if I was in love with you… but I did know that I didn't want to live without you." Sakura confessed as she closed her eyes, snuggling closer into Naruto's embrace with her eyes closed.

"I felt the same way. Except, I knew I was in love with you. Even though I still felt a bit hurt from before, it never stopped me from continuing to love you. Honestly, me giving up on my dream of Hokage was easier than giving up my love for you, dattebayo." Naruto said with a smile.

"Hold your tongue!" Sakura exclaimed as she glared at her husband.

"It's the truth though." Naruto said with a shrug, still smiling.

"I still don't like hearing that sort of talk though." Sakura said, still glaring at her husband.

"Why?" Naruto asked with a bit of a confused look.

"Because your dream became my dream dammit!" Sakura exclaimed, causing Naruto's eyes to widen in utter shock.

"Say… say what?"

"Don't act like you didn't hear me! I said your dream is my dream, baka!" Sakura said, still keeping a stern glare. He remained silent with a look of shock upon his face. After getting no answer, Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. "Naruto… your dream made you who you are. Why would I ever want you to give that up over me. Even though what you said is sweet… if you had ever done that… I don't think a part of me would have ever forgiven you. I know it sounds harsh, but-" she suddenly stopped when she felt something wet fall upon her face. Snapping open her eyes, she noticed that Naruto was crying. "N-Naruto… look, I'm sorry that my words may have hurt you, but it's how I feel. Your dream matters so much to me that it hurt just thinking you'd never achieve it… and when you were dying in front of me in the war, I couldn't help but say that you couldn't die before you-"

Naruto suddenly brought her into an even tighter embrace.

"Sakura-chan! Arigato!" Naruto cried out, shocking his wife. "Arigato! That… means the world to me, dattebayo! Thank you so much for being my wife! Itoshi Teru!" (I Love You) Naruto cried out with pure joy and love.

Sakura's eyes were wide at this. After a moment she closed them and chuckled with a smile.

"I didn't expect you to have been so moved by such words." Sakura said, genuinely surprised.

"I've never been more surprised, 'ttebayo." Naruto said, causing Sakura to silently gasp as her eyes snapped open. "Arigato." Naruto said as the tears continued.

After a moment of silence, realizing what she had just heard, Sakura let out a chuckle as she closed her eyes.

"Is that so? That makes me so happy." Sakura said with a joyous smile as now she started crying.

"I love you. I love you more than anything." Naruto confessed as he continued to hold his wife in his arms.

"I love you too, you big baka. If I had to do it all over again and again for the rest of eternity, I would pick you, every time. I love you, Naruto." Sakura confessed as she enjoyed the sensation of being in her husband's arms and the warmth they gave.

Suddenly the wind started to pick up as they were now surrounded in a vortex. The snow from the ground spiraling into the vortex, surrounding the pair.

The vortex suddenly burst as now snow was slowly falling, but the snow then started to heat up as it they then illuminated into small balls of orange light.

Naruto and Sakura stared up in awe at what they were witnessing. They were both speechless for a bit as they watched as the little balls of orange light slowly fell towards the ground.

"Wow." Sakura said breathlessly.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed with amazement. "You know, this feels like a fairytale." Naruto said, causing Sakura to look to him in surprise before laughing.

"Baka! That was so cheesy, even for you!" Sakura said as she lightly bopped her husband's chest, continuing to laugh.

"Sorry, but you got to admit, I'm not wrong!" Naruto said in response with a big ol' grin.

The two laughed as they enjoyed each other's company.

Suddenly a new sealing formula appeared under them, glowing with golden light.

"What the-?!"

"Oh, here we go again." Naruto said.

"Wait, what?!" Sakura questioned with surprise before the pair flashed away.

.

.

Naruto and Sakura suddenly appeared in a new place.

Sakura groaned as she rubbed one of her temples.

"You okay?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah… I'll just never understand how you and kids have gotten used to that mental ache." Sakura said as she tried shaking of her minor sense of vertigo.

"Sakura-chan…"

"Hmm?" Sakura looked up to see Naruto staring to the side with a look of utter shock. She turned her head towards the direction he was looking at, only to gasp with a look of shock as well.

There before them was the small palace upon the beautiful grassy mountain where the two had their most precious memory after the birth of their children. Their marriage.

The two took a step back from one another as they faced the palace. They started walking over towards the small palace, passing by cherry blossom trees that scattered their petals around.

They stopped in front of the small palace, side by side, staring at the incredible sight.

"Man… it's still as beautiful as I remember it." Naruto said.

"Yeah. It sure is." Sakura said.

"I mean, no near as beautiful as you, bust still pretty darn good looking." Naruto said with a smile and shrug.

"You never miss a beat." Sakura said with an amused smile.

"Not when it comes to talking about how great you are." Naruto said with a grin, causing Sakura to laugh and shake her head.

The two continued to stare up at the palace. After a moment, the two reached for one another's hand and held it.

"Sorry I still feel hung up on my past." Sakura said.

"Same here." Naruto said.

"You know, it really does hurt me when you feel that way on this day." Sakura said, looking down with a frown and soft, saddened eyes.

"And it hurts me to see you putting yourself down." Naruto said, looking to his wife. Sakura turned her head a bit to the side before looking back to her husband. "To keep looking ahead?" Naruto asked with a sympathetic smile.

"To keep looking ahead." Sakura said with a smile of her own. The two gave each other a kiss on the lips, with their smiles widening after they pulled back. "You know, I have to admit, I've been feeling stressed today."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"See, I've been kind of feeling overwhelmed by all the surprises you've been giving me. Not that I don't appreciate them or love them, I really do. It just feels a bit intimidating when I know I can't top any of them, hard as I try." Sakura confessed.

"But you already topped them. You told me that we shared the same dream. None of those surprises are ever going to top that, dattebayo." Naruto confessed, shocking his wife. "Sorry if I made you feel like you had to do something super big. I just can't help showing how much I love you, 'ttebayo. But you don't have to try and do something just as big. To be honest, the kinds of words you've said to me before always mean more to me than any action, because I know you always mean what you say. I just feel that warmth in your voice and I know what you say is true. That's more than enough to make this my best birthday so far." Naruto said with a loving smile.

"You… big old baka! Come here!" Sakura pulled Naruto in and locked her lips with his own.

Naruto's eyes were widened in shock for a moment, before he closed them and returned with a kiss of his own.

The two held one another as they enjoyed the warmth of one another's embrace and the warmth and sensation of their lips against the other.

After a few moments, they pulled back and smiled at one another lovingly.

They then noticed another sealing formula shine under them as they once more were flashed away.

Once they were gone, the area vanished like that of a mirage as now there was a regular mountain in a forest with many, many flying drones with illuminating light coming from their lens flashed off.

.

.

The Hokage and his wife now appeared in none other than in the center of Konoha's town square, where after a moment, they discovered that they weren't alone.

"Surprise! Otanjōbiomedetō, Naruto!" A crowd of people exclaimed as fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky as everyone cheered.

Naruto and Sakura blinked their eyes as they saw what looked to be everyone in the village there to greet them.

"Okay, now this is a surprise." Naruto admitted.

"Ha, ha! Got you!" Hanami announced with a big ol' grin as she hopped over, landing in front of her parents.

"Wait, you planned this?" Naruto asked.

"Duh. Who else could pull off something this big?" Hanami with a shrug.

"You could have let me in on this." Sakura said with a frown.

"If I did, the surprise wouldn't have worked. You would have spent the day rehearsing whatever you wanted to say to tou-chan, which wouldn't have held as much weight as you just speaking from the heart. It was the only way you could have really surprise him, 'ttebara." Hanami said with a smile, surprising her mother.

'Damn. The kid knows me too well.' Sakura thought with a pout.

"You know, I really should have known it was you behind all those surprises So, why the particular theme?" Naruto asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Hanami questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Every year, the same always happens. You feel a bit bad, so I figured you just needed a reminder is all."

"She pretty much got a good number of our peers to help." Shinachiku said as he walked over with Arashi beside him.

"Even though she probably could have done a lot of it on her own." Arashi added.

"It wouldn't have been as special." Hanami said with a shrug. "So, what did you think about it?" Hanami asked her father.

Naruto blinked his eyes as he recalled the walk down memory lane that he had experience. He couldn't help but smile in response.

"It was perfect." Naruto answered with a bright smile.

"Yatta!" Hanami cheered as everyone cheered as well.

Naruto looked to everyone with a gracious smile on his face. His mind went back to the sulking he had done which in turn made him frown as he felt that he needed to get something off of his chest.

"Everyone, I want to say something." Naruto announced, causing the crowd to quiet down. "I want to say, I'm sorry." Naruto said, surprising everyone. "Every year, I get a little mopey because of something that's pretty much effected a large margin of us. I know that decades have passed, but I can't help but still feel effected by it… but, seeing people put so much work into making me smile today… I can't help but feel bad that I might have been putting stress on people. People who just want me to be happy today instead of remembering exactly what happened when I was born. It's a difficult thing to move pass, but for everyone's sake, I'll try to move on ahead, like so many of you have done. I just wish I decided this sooner, since what Hokage feels can be felt by everyone, good or bad. I've been feeling a little bad and you have gone out of your way to show me that I shouldn't be feeling that as the case, and yet I still put a toll on you. For that, I am sorry." Naruto said as he gave everyone an apologetic bow.

"Naruto… this isn't about a toll being put on us." Kakashi said.

"Yeah. It's about you. It's always been about you. The best parts of you. The you that brought us all together like this!" Shizune explained.

"We're happy just to be here for you. There's no toll on anyone right now from that." Choji said.

"Yeah. Although, it is still pretty much a drag that you need to be told this to make things clear." Shikamaru said, rubbing the top of his head, ignoring a jab from his wife's shoulder afterwards.

"We're here to celebrate your birthday, gaki. You just seem to be the last person ready to do so." Tsunade said, earning agreements from everybody, as Naruto stared in surprise.

"You really want to make it to us? Acknowledge how happy we are to have you as a part of our lives, as more than just our Hokage." Sakura said with a soft, loving smile as she placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder, just before Hanami hugged her father.

"More than a dad." Hanami said with a smile and her eyes closed.

"A student." Kakashi said.

"A friend." Ino said with a smile.

"A partner." Shikamaru added.

"An inspiration." Tsunade said with a smirk.

"A brother." Sasuke said with a small smile.

"You are more than just a citizen of Konoha. You are Naruto. And we wouldn't have you any other way." Iruka said with a proud smile.

"Arigato!" Everyone cheered with grins on their faces.

Naruto gained the widest smile he ever had in a long time.

"Arigato, everyone. I mean it! Thank you all! Sorry I was so focused on past that I overlooked how good the future is, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said with a grin.

"So, will you stop sulking from now on?" Sakura asked with a smile.

"I'll do everything I can to remember that I don't have to any longer!" Naruto said, still grinning.

"That's what I like to hear." Sakura said with a thankful smile.

"So, everything's good?" Hanami asked with hope in her eyes.

"Everything's great now thanks to you. Thank you Hanami-chan and good work." Sakura said as she knelt and hugged her daughter.

"I am so proud of you." Sakura said, causing Hanami's smile to widen as she enjoyed the warmth of the hug her mother was giving her.

"Alright! Now onto the next surprise!" Hanami said, as she quickly pulled back from her mother, surprising the elder pinkette. "Kai!" Hanami exclaimed as she made a ram seal, just as a large sealing formula appeared upon the ground before a giant pinata of Kurama appeared.

"… I don't know how to feel about this." Kurama said with a frown.

"No looking back anymore, right, tou-chan?" Hanami said, smiling to her father.

Naruto stared at the pinata for a moment before smiling.

"Yeah. No more looking to the past." Naruto said with a smile as he got into a horse stance. 'Sorry about this buddy.'

"Shut up and break the damn thing." Kurama said in response.

Naruto leaped up and slammed his fist onto the head of the pinata, causing it to break apart to pieces with candy flying everyone.

Everyone cheered with the kids collecting the candy around them.

"Strawberry mochi!" Arashi exclaimed as he quickly went to grab as much strawberry confectionaries as he could, causing his family to laugh.

Naruto smiled to Sakura as he then laid a kiss on her cheek.

"Ew." Shinachiku and Hanami said as they covered their eyes, all done out of lighthearted humor as Naruto just chuckled with a huge grin on his face.

"You know… I'm happy with how things turned out, dattebayo." Naruto said with a happy grin.

"Great. That was my wish." Sakura said with a warm, loving smile.

"First the same dream, now the same wish… what more can a man ask for?" Naruto said with a smile.

"The same appetite for ramen?" Hanami suggested.

"Now that's asking for too much." Sakura said, causing she and her family to laugh at this.

The rest of the night went very well. The Hokage, once seen as the village pariah, enjoyed every second of it. It really has been a long and strenuous journey, but for it all to lead to this point, it was worth it. And he wasn't the only who was happy with where he ended up. All the Hokage wanted was acknowledgment, but he never expected such a level of acknowledgment where everyone was happy so long as he was. He was truly grateful. All the pain for practically half of his life could not come close to overshadowing this sensation. Not any longer. And he had his own people to thank for this, and, of course, his own family.

It truly was a gift to live a life where everyone had a smile on their face so long as you have one of your own. That makes it a life worth keeping, no matter what. A life he will continue to live to the fullest. This he promised.

End of Chapter 5

Yup. Another late one. Yeah, not going to lie, this was a bit of a pain to handle since I had to make this whole plan thing Hanami was making work coherently. Not easy trying to think of every little detail and executing them proper on your own. I'm pretty sure that's why TV shows have multiple people working on them, and even for mangaka, I think, since they need help to finish a new chapter, which is something I recall from Bakuman.

Anyway, I wanted to post this after Shinachiku's birthday, since I finished it the day before, but I got too tired to post it. I became focused on other things afterwards, like already starting on Shinachiku's portion… on his birthday. Not happy about it since this chapter took so much time and mental effort, which gave me several headaches, but whatever. What's done is done and this is finally done. Either way, I don't give a damn anymore, well mostly, that I didn't get to post on Shinachiku's birthday, but screw it, to me, all of November is for celebrating Shinachiku! Be it his birth or his character in general, I love the kid and am determined to at least finish and post his portion in November!

For now, just enjoy this. It may not be the right month, but I think it's still an enjoyable read to come back to, and FanFiction is forever, or more accurately not going anywhere any time soon, so you can always come back to this next year. That's the main reason that keeps me going with this even when I miss out of the appropriate time.

Still wish I could have posted it early though and will forever kick myself for this but screw it. I don't have time to sulk. I just got to do what shinobi usually do and endure for the sake of others, those being my readers who just want me to post something they might like. Sorry if the ending feels rushed though. I was barely hanging on to consciousness when I wrote it, but honestly, I don't think it needed much. What happened between Sakura and Naruto at the climax felt more than satisfying enough for me.

Also, another note before I finish this. In case you're wondering, I didn't create any of Hanami's classmates or her homeroom teacher. They're part of the Boruto anime in the Kawaki & Himawari Academy Arc. Yes, I actually keep up with Boruto, but mainly because I want my Shinachiku universe to parallel Boruto's own, and I actually like some of the new characters introduced into the anime. Emphasis on some, like Iwabe, Denki, Wasabi, Namida and Tsubaki. In fact, I like the anime a bit more than the manga when it doesn't focus on Boruto and just has little self-contained adventures for the side characters like Tsubaki's quarrel with someone from her old home who became a bloodthirsty ronin after losing to her. Stuff like that is more enjoyable to me than watching Boruto being like his father on his adventures, except when he isn't.

Kind of ranted there. Sorry.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed what you read. Sorry it was late, again, but at least it is here. Hope you'll stick around for the next one which I will try to have it posted before the month's end. No more distractions, dammit! Well, you know, ones that don't focus on family, career, and health.

Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful day!

Takeshi1225, Out!