Naruto groggily woke up as his alarm clock blared through his room. He groaned as he tried to slam the alarm clock's snooze button to shut it up, but had accidentally broken the alarm clock into tiny pieces… as well as the nightstand it was resting on. He opened one eye and glared at the now obliterated appliance, as if it was the one to blame for Naruto's actions. He buried his face in his pillow for a few more moments before he lazily got up. He squinted his eyes as he tried to see the calendar with his bleary vision.

'The 15th huh..? What day was that again?'

He sat up and stretched as he got out of bed and changed into his old orange jacket and pants. "You know, I always missed this outfit. Quite nostalgic. Well off to see what my old team is doing today."

Sasuke was walking down Konoha's streets with his hands in his pockets with a slight hunch in his back as he reminisced about how Naruto had been able to keep up with Gaara during the invasion. Sasuke had to admit that he was not a match for Gaara at all when he had gone under a partial transformation, and yet Naruto had not only managed to keep up with him, he managed to push him into a more dangerous state.

He closed his eyes with a scowl etching its way on his face as he replayed the memory in his head. 'In the end, I could do nothing but watch how much Naruto improved.'

"Sasuke don't slouch like that. Straighten up."

Sasuke did so immediately as it had been engraved into him to listen whenever he heard that tone from his…

Father?

He turned around to see Naruto with his head tilted to the side while he had his arms crossed. "You're going to seriously mess up your back if you keep doing that."

"Tch. Whatever. What do you want idiot?"

Naruto walked up to him and grabbed him tightly by the chin and forced him to look into his eyes. "Don't talk that way to me, ok? Now come on, we're gonna go out for some breakfast."

Sasuke watched the blonde walk ahead of him as he begrudgingly followed him. Something about Naruto changed. His tone definitely changed, but there was now a certain air to him.

'When did Naruto get a dad vibe?'

Sakura wiped the sweat from her forehead as Kakashi called for an end to her spar against Sasuke. She winced as she rubbed her arm, already feeling a bruise beginning to develop after Sasuke's kick. She saw Naruto, who was previously relaxing in a hammock, make his way toward her. He pulled out a bandage and began to chide her as he wrapped it around her arm. "Tch tch tch, Sakura be more aware of your surroundings, and don't be afraid to fight back. I know you're thinking that Sasuke won't like you if you hit him, but how many times has he dismissed you because he thinks you're weak?"

Sakura scowled at the beginning of his lecture but softened up when he gave her actual good advice on how to win Sasuke over. And his tone made it hard for her to disagree. She opened her mouth to thank her teammate, but Naruto cut her off by slightly ruffling her hair with an infectiously playful smile on his face. She watched him stand up and walk over to Sasuke.

"Is it me or," Sakura jumped a bit as Kakashi suddenly appeared right next to her. "Is Naruto acting… weird?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded her head as she put a hand to her chin in a thoughtful matter. "He seems more grown up."

"Yeah, I noticed his attitude toward you and Sasuke changed quite a bit."

"Really? How so sensei?"

"He's no longer treating you with any romantic interest at all, in fact, he's treating you and Sasuke more like you're his children."

"What?! That Naruto! He's the same age as us!"

"Physically, yes. But something happened to cause him to change and just act more mature."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi and Sakura turned to see Naruto running his way back toward them while Sasuke was following behind him.

"Hey Kakashi, Sakura, I'm gonna host a cookout at my place this weekend, you guys want to come?"

"...You know how to use a grill?"

Naruto dropped his mouth open in a mock hurt way. "Of course I do Kakashi-sensei! I'll show you this Saturday! So you are coming right?"

"Sure, I'll come."

"Good! I'll give you the address when later this week."

"Are you not hosting the cookout at your place?"

"Nah, I'm currently looking for a new place. I'm wanting to find a bigger place and not an apartment since I want to eventually build a deck."

"…Right."

Naruto was walking around with his hand in his pockets just enjoying the brisk cold air brushing against his skin. He let out a contented sigh as he turned and saw the clan compound he was walking towards. He nodded to the Hyuga gate guards as he walked past them without a care in the world.

"Hey stop!"

"Get back here!"

Naruto ignored the cries of protest and kept walking toward the house entrance. When the Hyuga guards were close to putting their hands on Naruto, they were thrown back by a strong gust of wind.

"Sorry," Naruto replied as he kept walking without ever taking his hands out of his pockets. "But I'm here to invite a couple of my friends to a cookout."

With the guards now incapacitated, Naruto's journey to find his friends was uninterrupted and swift.

"Naruto-San, what are you doing here?" Neji asked as he knocked on his bedroom door. "And how did you know where my room was?"

Naruto shrugged in an uncaring manner. "Sensing people is easy for me now, and I came here to invite you to a cookout."

"You know how to operate a grill?"

"Why is that everyone's first thought?" Naruto bellowed out of laughter. "Yeah I do, and I'll send you the address when I have found a nice place."

"Ok? I'll see you later then Naruto-San."

Naruto smiled as he ruffled the boy's hair which earned him a scowl. "Be more loose Neji, you never know when your time is up, especially in our field of work."

"While I am grateful for the advice and will think more about that later, I did not appreciate you ruining my hair." Neji shot back which just made the blonde boy let out more chuckles.

He ruffled his hair again as he apologized for his actions which did not improve the Hyuga boy's attitude. Just as Neji was about to send a gentle fist strike toward Naruto's hand, he disappeared in a show of raw speed.

"Naruto Uzumaki, what brings you here?"

"Sorry to stop by Hiashi, but I came here to invite a couple of people to a cookout I'm hosting this Saturday. You're more than welcome to come if you'd like."

Hiashi put aside his cup of tea and gave Naruto his full attention. "Well thank you for the offer and I might take you up on that just so I can get a break from my work as clan head. Who are you wanting to invite?"

"Oh you know, Neji, Hanabi, and Hinata."

"While I understand Neji and Hinata as they are close to your age, I have to ask why invite Hanabi? To my knowledge, you two have never interacted."

"I wanted her to get along with Konohamaru and his friends. Younger kids should really socialize more otherwise it'll hinder them in the future."

Hiashi stared into the young blonde's ocean-blue eyes before he closed his own and took a sip from his tea. "I can see that you meant that statement as a jab toward how I raise my daughters and Neji."

"Yeah, I wasn't really hiding it."

"Of course. I'm aware that how I raised Hinata was terrible for her gentle nature, but Hanabi is turning out quite well."

"Because she saw what happened with Hinata who wouldn't throw away her gentle and caring nature."

Hiashi let out a sigh before he looked into Naruto's eyes once more. "Well, how would you raise them Uzumaki-San?"

Naruto smirked as he raised a hand to halt Hiashi's thinking. "First, just call me Naruto. Second, come to the cookout and I'll show you."

Hiashi let a faint smirk come across his face as he nodded his head. "Very well then, I shall bring Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji."

"I'll invite them separately so that way they won't be forced to go if they don't want to. I just came by to invite you."

"Very well, I can see the logic behind it. Now, where will this cookout be hosted? Your residence I presume?"

"Yup, just give me till the end of this week to find a new place and I'll come by to give you the address."

"Ah yes, finding a new place for this event would be wise. Your current residence is quite compact, no offense Naruto."

The blonde smiled and shook his head. "None taken. Alright, I'll be on my way to find the other two."

"Here let me help… you."

Hiashi looked around the room before using his byakugan to locate the boy and found him talking to Hanabi.

'That boy is very interesting.'

"Hey there Hanabi-Chan, want to come to a cookout I'm hosting this Saturday?"

Hanabi jumped at the sudden voice breaking the silence the girl had been in. She turned around to see that it was the boy that defeated Neji back in the chunin exams.

"You're the one who defeated Neji in the chunin exams."

"Yup, the name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well didn't you hear me a second ago? I came to invite you to a cookout I'm having."

"Why?"

"Because I want you there." Hanabi gave Naruto an unfocused gaze as a sign of her confusion before Naruto let out a chuckle. "If you want to come, ask your father where it's gonna be held. I'll give him the address later in the week."

Hanabi opened her mouth to decline the boy's offer, but he simply ruffled her hair with a warm smile on his face.

"Hope to see you there little Hanabi-Chan." And with that, he disappeared. Not a sound, nor a slight chakra flare indicating a jutsu was used.

"What a weirdo." Hanabi scrutinized with her face scrunched up.

"Hey Hinata, oh you're cleaning? Here let me help you."

Hinata flinched as soon as she heard his voice. She could tell the owner of that voice with ease. She robotically turned around and came face to face with Naruto, who smiled warmly at her.

"Naruto-Kun? What are you doing here?" She asked in a high-pitched tone.

"Just came here to invite you to a cookout that I'm hosting this Saturday."

"A-A cookout?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd invite everyone."

"So all of the Konoha 12?"

"Yup."

"Oh… that's nice." Hinata let out a sigh as she shook her head to drive away the darkness her fainting spells always give her. She smiled warmly at Naruto before she went back to wiping down the counter. "Thank you for the offer Naruto-Kun, but I don't need help cleaning this. I made the mess after all."

Naruto's warm smile grew as he placed his hand on the center of Hinata's back, causing her to jolt up before his hand once more made contact. "Alright, I'll leave you be. I hope I see you there on Saturday. I'll tell your dad the address when I find a new place. Cya Hinata."

Hinata instantly felt the second Naruto's hand left her back because of how warm and gentle his touch had been, but it took a while before she could actually move her body as it had been in a state of shock for a long time.

"I'll buy this one."

The real estate agent froze up as her body was filled with excitement at finally selling herfirst house. She turned around with a smile on her face before it turned into confusion. "Excuse me?"

Naruto looked up into the eyes of the real estate agent, who was giving another person a tour of the house. "I'm going to buy this house."

She blinked out of disbelief for a few seconds before she responded. "With what money? You're still a kid."

"Well, I'm a genin so I can earn money that way."

"Aww, I'm sure that's true but this house is quite expensive kid."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the woman before he turned to look at the shinobi couple that was touring the house. "Is it quite expensive for a genin's pay?"

"Well, how long have you been a genin?"

Naruto ran towards the Hokage Momunment before he nodded his head and walked back. "Is the chunin exams over?"

"Yes? Weren't you the one that fought against the Ichibi?"

"Ah yeah but I got hit pretty hard so my memory is a bit fuzzy, ya know." Naruto lied as he laughed and scratched the back of his head. "How long ago was that by the way."

"Two days ago."

"Oh, so I have been a genin for around six months then. Feels like I've been a genin a whole lot longer." Naruto said with a chuckle.

"This house is out of your price range kid." The real estate agent butted in coldly. "This house is priced at 79 thousand ryo. Six months of genin pay can't possibly-"

Thud

Wide eyes were laid on the treasure chest that Naruto just unsealed from a sealing tag he kept in his Gama-Chan wallet. "Will this be a viable payment?"

"Where did you get that!" The unnamed jonin yelled out of shock.

Naruto scrunched up his face as he turned to face the jonin, thinking back to where he had found the chest.

Naruto, with his hands in his pockets, calmly strolled into a bandit camp that the mission scroll specified. He had nabbed a couple of mission scrolls to help out the village since they were low on man power. All of the gathered bandits stood up with their weapons branded and giant arrogant grins smack on their faces.

"Well well, look at what we have here boys. Looks like a kid strolled into our camp."

"Boss! Let's klill him and take his weapons!"

"Good idea." A man who looked terrible, in Naruto's opinion. He had a very muscular build and was wearing a tight plain white shirt with dark brown shorts. His outfit wasn't what made Naruto decide that he looked terrible. No, the thing sole responsible for him looking terrible was the fact that he was completely bald except two twin neon pink pig tails atop his head.

"I'm doing this world a favor by taking you out man. I'm not even sorry about doing this." Naruto told him before he sent out a pulse of wind chakra that decimated the bandits and surrounding trees. Naruto looked around at the damage he had done before he went to go look for anything useful or dangerous that were left from the bandits.

"Sword, sword, a pickaxe? Why did they have this? Oh ho ho, a treasure chest don't mind if I do."

"It's a treasure chest. I found it after clearing out a bandit mission and it should have," Naruto trailed off as he opened it and searched through it before he pulled out wads of ryo with a cheeky grin on his face. "More than enough."

The agent huffed as she turned to the jonin couple. "Well, are you guys willing to make an offer?"

"Actually, I think we're gonna check out another house. I'm not a fan of that large deck in the back anyways."

The jonin's eyes widened when he suddenly felt a heavy pressure weigh him down before it suddenly disappeared. He slowly turned around to look at the little genin and was greeted with a tight smile on his face.

"I quite like the deck."

Ok, next chapter is the cookout since I think I wrote this bad and wanted to try to make the cookout better.