Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto-sensei.
"We are being followed," said Shikamaru as he jumped from one branch to another.
"How many?" asked Sasuke.
"I don't know," said Shikamaru.
"Stop for a second," said Naruto bringing the group to a halt. Naruto bit his thumb and made a few quick hands seals before slamming his hand down on the branch, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." When the smoke cleared it revealed a small monkey.
"Yo boss, what's up?" asked the monkey as he jumped up onto Naruto's shoulder.
"We're being followed, I want you to find how many and how strong and then return to me as fast as possible. We'll be moving ahead so you'll have to catch up to us," explained Naruto to the little monkey.
"You'll owe me a banana later for this," said the small monkey.
"Sure," said Naruto as the monkey jumped off his shoulder and ran away from the three Genin.
"Since when can you summon? And why a monkey?" asked Sasuke as they started moving forward again.
"You're not the only one that got specialized training during the month off. And it's an Ape, not a monkey. If you call him a monkey where he can hear you and you'll piss off him and Enma, so do me a favor and just don't do it again," said Naruto as he followed behind him.
"Training is just too troublesome," said Shikamaru lazily.
The small ape returned quickly, "Boss, you got a big problem."
"How many?"
"Just one but he's at least Jounin level, maybe higher," said the monkey.
"That's not good," said Naruto.
"Sasuke and I will stay and deal with the Jounin," said Shikamaru lazily, "You take care of Gaara."
"What?" demanded Sasuke, "Why should he take care of Gaara?"
"Fine, you go after Gaara and Shikamaru and I will take out this asshole," said Naruto very much not in the mood to argue.
"No one listens to me," said Shikamaru slightly annoyed.
"Good luck Sasuke, we'll catch up if we can," said Naruto as he and Shikamaru dropped off to lay an ambush.
"You know he doesn't have enough chakra left to finish off Gaara?" asked Shikamaru lazily.
"I know, but he'll at least keep Gaara busy for a while," said Naruto concentrating more on preparing the ambush and traps.
"You're assuming we'll survive this mess," said Shikamaru.
"There's a leaf shinobi not too far behind this guy," said the small ape.
"See," said Naruto, "Help is already on the way."
"This is too troublesome," said Shikamaru, "You go after Sasuke, I can hold this guy until help arrives."
"You sure?" asked Naruto.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Shikamaru.
Naruto paused for a minute before turning to the small Ape, "You can go, thanks for your help. I'll call you out later to give you that banana."
"Thanks boss," said the small ape before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto pinched his finger that he cut earlier drawing a bit more blood out and then again starting a series of hand seals before striking the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
This time an ape the size of a fully grown man appeared.
"Oi, who woke me up?" demanded a slightly grumpy ape.
"I did," said Naruto, "Remember me."
"I remember you," said the Ape, "What do you want?"
"There is a shinobi coming this way, Shikamaru will stay behind and fight him and I want you to help him, while I go on ahead," explained Naruto quickly.
"Fine," said the grumpy ape, "But you owe me a bottle of sake later."
"Deal," said Naruto before he nodded to Shikamaru and left after Sasuke.
"What's your name?" asked Shikamaru.
"Guru," said the Ape gruffly.
"Right then wise one," said Shikamaru, "Naruto and I have already set out a number of traps for this guy. If necessary I can hold him but I don't know how long I'll be able to hold him down."
"Don't worry, if you can hold him I can assassinate him," said Guru unhappily. If anyone were to watch the pair talking it would be hard to decide which was more apathetic.
"Whatever," said Shikamaru, "Hide somewhere and when the time comes you can do whatever it is you're going to do."
Guru snorted before vanishing in a blur of speed. Meanwhile Shikamaru sat down and put his hands together in his favored thinking position.
"I see that you were waiting for me to come and kill you little one," said a masked man who just dropped down after a few traps forced him down.
"You are too troublesome," said Shikamaru, "Man, why did I volunteer for this?"
"Nara Shikamaru," said the masked Shinobi, "known for his excellent strategic skills and knowledge. Weak in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu. Single strength lies in his family Kinjutsu."
Shikamaru opened his eyes to see the Shinobi reading the information off of a card. "So, you were a traitor after all. I suspected as much when you quit the exam early."
"Ah, so you have already figured out who I am," said the masked man as he removed his mask, "but you don't know what I am."
"You're a spy for the Sound village," said Shikamaru, "It's too bad really. We can always use more medic-nins but with Tsunade-sama having returned I suppose that's not as much of an issue as it used to be."
"Tsunade?" asked Kabuto, "She is here?"
"Yeah, and you call yourself a spy," said Shikamaru, "She's been here for the last eight months."
"This is not good," said the shinobi, "Orochimaru doesn't know, I have to warn him."
Kabuto looked away for a moment. That moment was all Shikamaru required to trap the man in his Kagemane no Jutsu.
"Not a very good spy to be caught so easily," said Shikamaru lazily.
Behind Kabuto Guru dropped down from above. He used one arm to pin Kabuto's arms behind him and then his feet to hold on to his legs. "You can release the Jutsu now," said Guru lazily.
Shikamaru sighed and released the man. The instant he did Guru slashed Kabuto's throat. Guru then let him drop to the ground to bleed out. "Not very much was he?"
"I guess not, and he was supposed to be Jounin level," said Shikamaru, "This is too trouble . . ." but he stopped short as he watched Kabuto stand again.
"Not a bad plan Shikamaru," said Kabuto, "I was wondering who was hiding."
"Hmm, so you saw through it," said Shikamaru more annoyed than anything, "Still, you should be dead."
"I would have been if it weren't for my advanced healing," said Kabuto, "You see, I'm a medic-nin for more than one reason."
"This is too troublesome," said Shikamaru before he smirked.
Kabuto's eyes widened from the smirk but by then it was too late to react. It felt as though he was hit in the back by Manda's tail, an experience he'd suffered more than once for his mistakes.
"I was expecting more," said the woman that just hit him. Then he stood up and looked at his attacker.
"Ah, Tsunade-hime," said Kabuto with a smirk, "So I finally get to meet the legendary medic-nin."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow curiously as the man stood after a direct hit like that.
"This guy has some strange healing powers," said Shikamaru with a yawn.
"Tell me Tsunade-hime," said Kabuto as he approached the woman while drawing a Kunai, "Do you still have that problem?" Kabuto then charged forward quickly before stabbing his own hand and spraying the woman with blood.
Much as Kabuto expected Tsunade started shaking and her lip trembled.
Kabuto smirked, "Just as I thought, hemophobia still plagues you." Kabuto then foolishly turned his back on her. Once again he was hit solidly sending him bodily through several trees breaking numerous bones along the way.
BREAK
"I'm going out to play now Kaasan," shouted the seven year old Naruto as he ran out of the apartment with his new shuriken pouch strapped to his leg.
Tsunade and Shizune both gave him their approval a few days prior to practice using his shuriken without their supervision as he'd learned how to control and aim them without injuring himself or others.
Tsunade was happy he was going out to play because it meant that she could also go out to play since Shizune was at an Onsen for the afternoon enjoying the hotsprings.
Tsunade had a wonderful afternoon, except for the fact that she lost all of her money in the first hour and had to seek out a loan-shark. Still, Tsunade returned home about thirty minutes before Naruto was supposed to be home so that she could 'prepare' dinner. 'Prepare' meaning place an order with a take out shop.
After an hour passed Tsunade was getting angry with her wayward son, but after two hours she was getting really worried. As such she went out to find her little boy. She went to the park where he was supposed to be but he wasn't there. After searching the area she found a small spot of blood and one of Naruto's new Shuriken. Not much further away she found another Shuriken and another spot of blood.
Tsunade's mothering instincts kicked it overdrive and was quickly tracking after he son. She was able to follow a trail of blood and shuriken for quite a ways but then the shuriken stopped abruptly. The area she was in now was that of a forest. The ground around her showed signs of a struggle and someone being beaten with a stick. The stick in question was covered in blood and laying on the ground.
The trail of blood that was previously very small and hardly noticeable became thicker as if a bleeding person was dragged through the forest. Tsunade was able to follow along much more easily now and therefore much more quickly. Once darkness fell she could see a small fire burning in the distance. Tsunade wanted to rush in and get her son but she knew she'd be better off going in cautiously.
"Are you sure this is her brat?" asked a man's voice.
"I'm certain," another replied.
"Do you really think she'll pay the ransom?" asked the first voice.
"If she knows what's good for her," said the second voice.
"But Kinji, if she sees him like this she's likely to try and kill us," said the first voice.
"Shut up Toru, you worry too much. This is why I'm the leader. She hates the sight of blood. She'll be so paralyzed by the sight of seeing her precious son so bloody that she'll pay us and then we can kill them both," said the voice belonging to Kinji.
"Where the hell is Kotoru?" asked the voice belonging to Toru, "He should have delivered that ransom note a long time ago."
"She probably killed him since he doesn't know what I know," said Kinji, "That's a good thing anyway, it means more money for us."
"But I thought he was your friend?" asked Toru.
"I don't have friends," said Kinji, "Only associates that help me get what I want."
Tsunade looked around for Naruto but didn't see him until she looked up to the branches above Kinji. Naruto was dangling by his feet dripping blood from a few open wounds. His hair was caked with dry blood. She was paralyzed at the sight of her little boy covered in dried blood. Suddenly she was having flash backs of her little brother Niwaka and her only love Dan.
"Snap out of it," Tsunade said to herself softly, "If you don't your son is gong to die."
Suddenly the shaking stopped and Tsunade attacked. She killed both men with a single punch to each of their chests. With them out of the way Tsunade quickly cut her son down and healed him. Lucky for here most of the damage had already healed itself but that didn't change the fact that Naruto still bled a lot.
BREAK
"That was resolved a long time ago you idiot," shouted Tsunade at the downed Kabuto. She was about to finish him when he disappeared.
"Damn it," said Tsunade angrily.
"That guy is too troublesome," said Shikamaru.
"Do I have to go after him?" asked Guru equally annoyed.
"No, he's long gone. He'll be licking he wounds for a long time," said Tsunade.
"Good, then I'm going back to my nap," said Guru before he disappeared with a puff of smoke.
"Ready to go Shikamaru?" asked Tsunade.
"Huh?" asked Shikamaru as the sound of a falcon screeched over head.
"The ambush is about to begin," said Tsunade with a grin.
"Ambush?" asked the still confused Shikamaru.
"I thought you were supposed to be smart," said Tsunade, "This entire attack has been a trap from the very start. The entire village that wasn't in the stadium has been evacuated already. We were just waiting for the Sound and Sand shinobi to enter the village. Now, I'll ask you again, are you ready to go?"
"This is so troublesome," said Shikamaru before he nodded and followed after the legendary medic-nin.
BREAK
Naruto had to put on a lot of speed to catch up to Sasuke and when he arrived he didn't like what he saw. Sasuke was covered in some strange black marks and was in an obvious amount of pain. The thing Sasuke was fighting against it was really boggled his mind though.
It looked like some kind of sand demon.
"Sasuke, where the hell is Gaara?" asked Naruto fearing the answer he knew he was probably going to get.
"That is Gaara," said Sasuke, "The sand is turning him into some kind of demon."
"Great, just what I need today," said Naruto, "Fine, I guess I'll just have to fight fire with fire." Inside his mind Naruto was screaming for Kyubi to give him power.
Kill that bastard Shukaku, Kyubi screamed through Naruto's mind as he was flooded with more chakra than Kyubi had ever given him in the past. It was so much that Naruto's physical appearance was beginning to change. His hair lengthened and took on an orange tint. He felt fangs protruding from his mouth. His vision became a thousand times sharper than ever before. The muscles in his arms, and legs bulged with a boost of strength. His finger nails changed into claws before his very eyes. The difference though was that he felt calm and in control. There was none of the usual rage that accompanied this much chakra from Kyubi.
After Naruto's transformation finished he looked up and into the demon eyes of Shukaku, as Kyubi identified him.
"Naruto, what are you?" asked Sasuke in awe of Naruto's changes.
"Not now Sasuke," said Naruto before he vanished from sight. There wasn't even a flash of light preceding it. Sasuke didn't see Naruto again until he had struck Gaara arm of sand causing the arm to explode in a cloud of sand.
Gaara was shocked that his arm could be destroyed by a single punch like that. He didn't even have time to blink before he was kicked in the side of the head sending him into a tree rather painfully.
"You're not going to hurt my village," said Naruto venomously.
"How can you be so strong?" asked the stunned boy.
"True strength comes from the will to protect others," said Naruto, "I will give my life to protect my friends and my village."
The time there was an orange flash followed by several heavy hits to Gaara. Gaara sand just couldn't keep up with the flashes or the speed and power of the hits. They never stopped coming either.
"No," whispered Gaara, "My existence will not be erased." Gaara looked up into the demonic eyes of Naruto and then shouted, "My existence will not be erased."
Sand exploded all around him and when the smoke cleared Naruto was staring a giant badger made out of sand.
"I'm going to kill you all and your stupid village," shouted the raving demon, "I will show you that true strength comes only when you fight for yourself. When you fight to prove your existence, only then can you be truly powerful."
"You're wrong," said Naruto as he drew a bit of blood. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
Beneath Naruto appeared the boss toad Gamabunta.
"What did you call me for?" asked the boss toad.
"I need your help boss," said Naruto as he pointed to the demon.
"Shukaku," said Gamabunta, "Incarnate of the sand. Do I really have to?"
"If we don't stop him he'll destroy the village," said Naruto pleadingly.
Gamabunta blew out a large cloud of smoke, "Fine, better hold on tight." Gamabunta then drew his short sword and charged forward rapidly. His blade hit the arm of Shukaku and his progress was halted. Gamabunta put on a boost of effort and managed to slice off the arm but not without losing his sword.
"Very interesting," said Gaara, "You interest me very much." On the head of the sand demon Gaara's body emerged.
"He shouldn't have shown himself," whispered Naruto to Gamabunta.
"I think he is going to use a forced sleep," said Gamabunta.
"He going to sleep in the middle of a battle?" asked Naruto in disbelief.
"Idiot," said Gamabunta, "when he sleeps, the demon will take over."
"Oh, that's not good," said Naruto, "I guess I should wake him up."
"I'll try to get you in close but then it's up to you," said Gamabunta as he launched himself into the air. "Oi, do you know any Katon Jutsu?"
"A few, why?" asked Naruto.
"When I say to give me a light," said Gamabunta as he puffed his chest out. Naruto formed the seals as ordered but held it for Gamabunta's word.
"Now!" shouted the toad as he spewed out a jet of oil
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu," shouted Naruto adding his fire to the attack.
Shukaku put up a wall of sand to block the fire. As a result there ended up being a wall of glass instead. Gamabunta was about to destroy it and attack Shukaku when a giant ball of air smashed through the glass and sent several shards of glass at the pair.
Gamabunta shot straight up over the glass and debris.
"Fuuton: Renkuudan," shouted Shukaku sending another huge blast of air at them which Gamabunta met with a blast of water. "Renkuudan, Renkuudan, Renkuudan," shouted Shukaku sending three more air blasts.
Gamabunta responded with two blasts of air but the third got through and hit him.
"Yes, I killed him," shouted the gleeful Shukaku as the smoking mass hit the ground.
"Oi, that hurt," shouted Gamabunta.
"What? You're still alive? Goodie, more for me to play with," shouted the happy Shukaku.
"This guy is really annoying," said Naruto, "Let's go boss."
Gamabunta charged forward and grabbed hold but lost his grip almost right away, but it didn't matter as it was close enough for Naruto.
Naruto leapt of the top of Gamabunta and charged up the face of Shukaku. Just for the sake of distracting Shukaku, Naruto punch hard between the eyes blinding the demon momentarily while he continued on towards Gaara.
Naruto charged directly at the sleeping Gaara while a mass of red chakra accumulated about his fist. Upon reaching Gaara, Naruto unleashed his powered up fist delivering an uppercut that knocked Gaara out of the Shukaku body and into the air.
"I just came out," howled the angry Shukaku as Gaara woke up.
Gaara woke up to see a bright orange flash before he felt the most intense kick to the abdomen. Gaara coughed up a large mass of blood from the impact. Gaara shot into the ground like a bullet after the kick sending up a huge cloud of dust and sand.
Naruto landed gracefully on the ground next to the crater to see that the sand managed to catch Gaara. Gaara appeared to be floating on the sand but only for a moment until his chakra gave out and the sand unceremoniously dropped him.
"Why?" asked Gaara, "Why are you so strong? Why couldn't I defeat you?"
"Strength comes from the will to protect your precious people. Everyone in that village is precious to me," said Naruto.
BREAK
"Kaasan?" questioned the young Naruto.
"It's okay Naruto-chan," said Tsunade, "You're going to be just fine."
"You came for me," he said weakly, but she could still here the surprise in his voice.
"I would die for you my little Naruto-chan," said Tsunade kissing his forehead.
"You're not shaking," said Naruto as he saw the blood on himself and on her too.
"No I'm not. I remembered something today that I'd forgotten," said Tsunade softly.
"What's that?" asked a tired and weak Naruto.
"True strength Naruto," said Tsunade, "True strength comes not from yourself but from those who are precious to you. If you want to be truly strong, then protect your precious people. You are my precious person Naruto and I would do anything to protect you."
"Weren't you afraid?" asked Naruto.
"I was very afraid, but you can't let fear rule you, especially when your precious people are at risk," explained Tsunade to the quickly fading Naruto.
Naruto smiled before sleep claimed him that day.
BREAK
"Is that it? Is that what true strength is?" asked a quickly fading Gaara.
"Yes," said Naruto with a nod as the Kyubi feature receded leaving behind a thoroughly exhausted Naruto.
At that moment Temari jumped down, "Gaara."
"Temari," said Gaara, "Don't fight him, it's not worth it. Let's just leave here."
"Okay Gaara," said Temari, "I'm taking you out of here. Kankuro has already fled."
"Thank you Temari and I'm sorry . . . sorry for everything," said Gaara before he passed out due to chakra depletion. Now, even if Shukaku could take control, he would have no chakra with which to do anything.
A moment later Sasuke dropped in behind Naruto.
"You're just letting them go?" asked Sasuke.
"Yeah," said Naruto before he fell backwards into Sasuke.
BREAK
Sasuke took Naruto to the hospital that day. The entire trip he kept replaying the conversation he'd had while Naruto fought with Shukaku.
"Sasuke-kun," said a man wearing a black cloak and an ANBU mask.
"Who are you?"
"I've come here to speak with you," said the man, "My master has sent me."
"Who is your master?"
"Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin," said the man, "the same man that gave you the heaven seal on your shoulder."
Sasuke would have killed the messenger right then if he could move at all.
"He wishes to make you an offer to join him and become his personal apprentice," said the man, "You could become very powerful with Orochimaru's guidance. Let's face it, you will never gain the strength you need to defeat your brother if you stay here. With Orochimaru you would grow quickly and become very powerful. More power than Naruto. As long as you stay here Naruto will always overshadow you. He will get all the attention you once had and the respect and honor. You will be nothing and you will be cast aside by your trainers and the other shinobi in this village. Think about it, you need not answer now. Just watch and see how the village begins to treat Naruto. You will see I am not lying to you. I will send messengers to collect you in three months. It will be up to you whether or not you join them."
Just as suddenly as the man appeared he disappeared.
Sasuke question whether the man told the truth. He puzzled over Naruto's strength and that odd transformation the boy went through before he fought Gaara. A hint of jealousy was starting to take root in the crack of doubt brought on by that masked Shinobi. Could he really get stronger in Konoha? Then he remembered his brother was already so much stronger by the same age than Sasuke was.
When Sasuke arrived at the smashed in gates those thoughts were driven from his mind. Scattered all around him were the bodies of Sound and Sand Shinobi with the occasional Leaf body. "Is Konoha really this weak?" Sasuke asked himself as he traveled through town towards the hospital. He could tell that the battle had long since ended but the damage was surreal.
"Sasuke-kun," shouted Sakura as she ran towards him, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," said Sasuke coldly. The last few months he'd begun to warm up to his teammates but his conversation with the masked Shinobi reminded him of his purpose.
Sasuke could see in Sakura's eyes that she knew something was wrong with him.
"Here, take Naruto," said Sasuke dumping Naruto on the floor before he turned and left.
Sasuke took to the roofs to explore the damage that was once his home. It appeared as though no building escaped harm, even if it was just a stray kunai stuck in the wall or a broken window. Sasuke could see in the distance that some buildings were still burning.
"When did Konoha become so weak?" asked Sasuke to himself.
"You should the other guys," said Kakashi from next to him.
It startled Sasuke because he didn't even detect his arrival.
See that Sasuke wasn't going to respond beyond the slight start when he arrived Kakashi carried on, "I'm glad to see you survived."
"Naruto is in the hospital," said Sasuke coldly.
"Was he hurt badly?"
"No, just Chakra depletion," said Sasuke with disgust, "He beat Gaara. I don't understand it but he dominated him."
"Naruto is special Sasuke," said Kakashi honestly, "But then so are you."
Sasuke snorted, "He had to save my life today. Why am I so weak?"
"You are not weak Sasuke," said Kakashi, "You have an enormous potential, one of the greatest in the Village."
"But not as great as Naruto is that it?" asked Sasuke angrily.
"Sasuke, if that were true I would not have taught you the Chidori," said Kakashi, "Naruto has his strengths, no doubt but you have something more to give."
Sasuke sneered but didn't leave.
"Sasuke today was a bad day for the village. Sandaime Hokage died while fighting against Orochimaru. The Sand has broken a long standing treaty with our village and joined with the Sound in a declaration of war against Konoha. Now more than ever we must come together as one village," said Kakashi.
"How can I get stronger in a village that was too weak to stop this from happening?" asked Sasuke not really wanting an answer.
"Find something worth protecting," said Kakashi, "I know I've said it before. A shinobi who doesn't follow orders is trash. But a shinobi that abandons his teammates is lower than trash."
"How does that help become strong enough to defeat Itachi?" asked Sasuke.
"I've given you the keys Sasuke, it up to you to open the door," said Kakashi before he vanished.
"I ask how to get stronger and he gives me riddles," said Sasuke angrily.
BREAK
"This ceiling is starting to look familiar," said Naruto as he opened his eyes.
"I would expect so," said the voice of his mother.
"I'm in the hospital again aren't I?" asked Naruto.
"Yes," said Tsunade, "Feeling better?"
"Much," said Naruto, "I just used up way too much chakra fighting Shukaku."
"Shukaku?" asked Tsunade.
"Didn't Sasuke tell you?" asked Naruto.
"I haven't had the chance to talk to Sasuke yet. From what I understand he dumped you on Sakura and took off," explained Tsunade.
"Well, as it turns out . . ." and Naruto explained everything that happened and all about Gaara.
"You're certain you had him completely under control?" asked Tsunade. 'Him' referred to Kyubi and as they were in a public place it wasn't safe to call 'Him' by his name.
"Yeah, it was really weird," said Naruto, "He seemed almost too happy to give me chakra to fight against Shukaku and yet there was none of the rage that usually accompanies it."
"We might have to check the history books to see if there are any legends about disagreements or anger between the pair," said Tsunade thoughtfully.
"I suppose I can look while I'm trying to get my family history," said Naruto.
Tsunade suddenly turned serious, "Naruto, there is something I need to tell you about. Yesterday, during the attack, Sarutobi-sensei fought with Orochimaru. He fought and died. He gave his life for this village and the counsel has already chosen the next Hokage."
Naruto had to force himself to hold in his tears. He may not have know Sarutobi-sensei very long but in the last month he'd come to really appreciate the old man despite the fact that he was a pervert.
"How could the counsel already replace him? They haven't even had the funeral yet," said Naruto slightly choked up.
"Naruto, we are at war suddenly. The village cannot afford to wait to appoint a new leader. Anyway, it's not official yet and it won't be made official until after the funeral but in the mean time it will be unofficial," explained Tsunade sadly.
"The new Hokage better be great or he'll have to deal with me," said Naruto.
"She will have to deal with you," said Tsunade with a smirk.
"Yeah, she'll have to . . . what did you say?" asked Naruto doing a double take.
"She, as in me," said Tsunade.
"You're the new Hokage?" asked Naruto incredulously.
Tsunade nodded with a small smile at her son's antics.
"Really?" asked Naruto.
"Yes really," said Tsunade lightly.
"Really?" asked Naruto again still not entirely sure.
"Yes Naruto really," said Tsunade this time she was much more forceful.
"Congratulations . . . I think," said Naruto catching the tone in her voice.
"Thank you Naruto-kun," said Tsunade.
"So, do I still call you Kaasan or is it Hokage-sama or Tsunade-sama or Kaasan-sama?" asked Naruto.
"At home or here in the hospital you can call me Kaasan but when ever you are meeting me in an official capacity you will call me Hokage-sama just like everyone else," explained Tsunade.
"So, do I need to make an official report for you about the whole Gaara incident?"
"No, I'll take your informal report you just gave me," said Tsunade, "We don't want an official paper trail about your little friend."
"Yeah," said Naruto with a slight grimace at the yelling coming from Kyubi after the 'little' comment.
"Anyway, you can go home. You're off duty until the day after the funeral. I'm calling for an official meeting of the four top Genin teams," said Tsunade.
"Okay, when will you be home?"
"Tonight, we'll have dinner but I'll have to come back to the hospital," said Tsunade, "There were a lot of injuries in the battle yesterday."
"Okay then, see you at home," said Naruto as she left his room.