Not set in Stone

The first round of the Chunin exams was over. The winner? Probably someone who people didn't bet on. At least not many.

The loser was taken to the hospital. The match lasted 15 minutes with ups and downs, a great start to the tournament. But in the end, there can only be one winner and one has to be the loser.

This loser was Neji Hyuga. The prodigy of the Hyuga clan lay on the uncomfortable mattress of the hospital bed. Despite being only a branch member he was probably one of the strongest genin that lived in the village. Not to mention his incredible talent in the Hyuga's Gentle Fist and the Kaiten, a technique only reserved for main branch members.

A high window was the only thing casting light into the huge, bed-filled room prepared for the other losers like him.

"I don't believe in fate!"

A slight twist of his finger. He was conscious. He had woken up only a few minutes ago and was analyzing his mistakes during the fight. That was how he had been taught, to recognise his own mistakes so that he could be stronger the next day.

"I will control my destiny!"

And yet, looking back on his fight, he could not see a single flaw in his form. It was perfect, every move he made was chosen to be executed. Every blow he threw hit the spot he wanted. And yet, why, why had he lost?

"Believe it!"

A knock on the door alerted the medics nins bruises to the person standing in the doorway.

"Hiashi-sama!" one of the medics exclaimed in surprise. Neji scoffed slightly, as much as his aching jaw would allow. Hiashi didn't seem to notice and continued walking to his bed.

"Could I have a little privacy with Neji?" he asked, but his voice betrayed something else.

"Of course," the other Medic-Nin said and pushed his colleague out the door. Now it was just the two of them in the room, Hiashi sighed and went straight to Neji.

Neji gathered his strength and managed to sit up straight to confront his clan leader. "Hiashi-sama, I apologise for my failure during the finals. It will not happen again..."

"Be quiet Neji." came the unequivocal reply from Hiashi. Neji stiffened involuntarily and prepared himself for a series of painful punishments.

But the pain did not come. Hiashi merely took a scroll from his robe and placed it beside him on his bed. "It contains the truth about that day. You have lived too long in your narrow world. This is not what Hizashi would have wanted for you."

Instead of explaining anything, Hiashi turned and walked out of the room, leaving a stunned Neji with the scroll. Neji was initially confused as to what day he was talking about. And also of his 'narrow world'. He picked up the scroll and glanced at the first words written on the outside of the scroll, marvelling at the handwriting. It was the same as his late father's.

Curiosity got the better of him and he opened the scroll as quickly as he could without damaging it.

"Neji, by now you should know that I am no longer here for you. Hinata-sama's kidnapping and relationship with Cloud have deteriorated and they demand compensation. Your uncle and my brother Hiashi, to be exact. But if you're reading this, you should know that didn't happen."

"I see no other way but to surrender to the cloud." a much younger Hiashi said to the Hokage and clan elders in the meeting room. "If it would prevent a possible war, then the price does not matter."

The clan elder, of course, saw it differently. "Wait Hiashi, don't jump to conclusions. We will hand over Hiashi's body in your place," the elder said as his brother stepped out from behind the elder with a mild smile. "Hizashi has already agreed."

Hiashi himself was anything but smiling, his eyes wider than the Hokage had ever seen them and his mouth open. "What, where has your usual resolve gone, Hiashi-sama?" an amused Hizashi asked.

"This is a special situation! I can't say yes- Urk!" Before he could finish his sentence, his brother had already delivered a Junken punch to his stomach, preventing him from standing. The room was silent, the Hokage raising only one eyebrow as the rest of the Hyuga stared at the two siblings with big, surprised faces.

"I hated the main family. To be honest, I still hate them. With my death, it will be the first thing I have chosen for myself." explained his brother to the downed sibling.

Hiashi could only stare and listen to his brother's speech with a pained expression. But with his will alone, he could get his question out. "W-why?"

"I just wanted to go against the Hyuga's fate for once. I had the urge to choose my destiny. That's all."

Neji stared at the last few sentences for a long time, a small, distinct smile forming on his lips. "Hmm..."

He folded the scroll closed, placed it on his bed and looked out the window where the clouds were lazily drifting.

"Is that what destiny is, father? Like the clouds, it can go anywhere?" he whispered to no one in particular.

A small smile played around his lips.

"Thank you, Naruto."

It was about a week until he saw Naruto again. He went to search for him immediately after leaving the hospital but was caught off by working. Specifically, help to rebuild the leaf after the Sound and Sand invasion. After that, he went to search and ask around, until his female teammate told him that he was apparently outside the village searching for someone to help the Uchiha and Lee.

So he did what he does best. Wait and be patient.

They didn't meet randomly in the streets like Neji hoped for, but instead were put together on a team to retrieve the Uchiha that left the village for Orochimaru. In Neji's mind that already made him a traitor to the leaf and he only went with them so that the Uchiha could get his deserved punishment.

It was only too bad that the retrieval mission didn't go as smoothly as they hoped. None of them thought it would be easy, but the first of the guards that escorted Sasuke in the barrel caught them off guard, not to mention they had to sacrifice one of their own to stall him.

But apparently, that wasn't enough because a few minutes later they had to sacrifice one again. And this time Neji volunteered. In his mind, he made it very clear. He didn't fight because he had to.

He fought because he wanted to.

When Neji came back to the living world he was once again strapped to the hospital bed. The team that went with him was also in the room, all of them also strapped to their hospital beds. Besides Shikamaru who was sitting next to the Akimichi.

"You're awake too, huh?" Said the voice to the left of his bed, and when he turned around he saw the Inuzuka with his sleeping Nunken on his stomach. "They got us all pretty good. But we won."

"Not quite. The mission was a failure," Shikamaru replied, peeling a banana for his friend.

"Screw Sasuke! We all survived, and I don't know about you, but it wasn't even me who killed that weird twin guy," Kiba snorted. He actually couldn't stand the Uchiha, but after the action, he had caused today, it bordered on outright hatred.

"I feel the same way," Lee said, who was lying opposite of him, facing Shikamaru. "If it wasn't for Gaara-san, I would have died."

"See! And he just got the ability to be a ninja again!" began Kiba, before going on about Sasuke. Neji, for his part, was already tuning out the animal lover and looking around the room again, searching for a specific person.

"Where's Naruto?"

Kiba interrupted his tirade and looked away, a low growl coming from him. Lee looked down at the floor with sad eyes, clutching his bed sheet even tighter. Choji stopped eating his banana, and Shikamaru turned to him.

"He was the only one who managed to reach Sasuke. From what I heard, they fought in the Valley of the End," he paused and took a deep breath. "He had many injuries, among them was his right lung. It was punctured."

Neji gasped and a horrified look spread across his face. "Somehow he's alive," Shikamaru said. Neji's shoulder sank and he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Where is he now?" asked Neji.

"They said he had to go to the emergency room. You were there too," Kiba replied through clenched teeth.

An oppressive silence filled the room, broken only by Kiba's occasional low growl. Neji let himself sink further back into the comfortable bed, thinking about everything.

How could the Uchiha betray them all, betray his teammates and his sensei? What reason did he have to join that madman Orochimaru? Absentmindedly, he clutched his sheets tighter in frustration and anger. If he had been stronger, he could have helped more. He didn't know what he could have done, but he could have done something!

"Kiba-san! You said you didn't kill your opponent either. Who saved you?" shouted Lee loudly, breaking the awkward silence.

Kiba grinned, "I'm just saying, if I hadn't weakened him first, he wouldn't have stood a chance. He was just lucky he came at the right time!" he boasted.

"Yeah, sure," Neji snorted softly, but not so much that Kiba couldn't hear him.

"Hah and you! You got knocked out cold!"

"Well, at least no one had to rescue me like a damsel in distress," he scoffed.

"You take that back!" yelled Kiba, jumping off his bed toward Neji.

"Even in this state, you'd be weaker than me," Neji said before jumping off his bed as well, trying to hit Kiba in mid-air.

However, they both missed and fell to the floor convulsing in pain, their previous wounds opening again.

"You're all so troublesome…"

As soon as Neji was released from the hospital, he set out again to find Naruto. He wanted to finally thank him in person and apologise for his behaviour during their fight.

But for some unknown reason, they were never meant to meet for any reason other than the mission or once at the Chunin exams, it seemed.

Neji would swear he would have blamed it all on fate if his father's letter and Naruto hadn't convinced him there wasn't.

When he finally got tired of running around and playing hide and seek, he went to the Hokage to inquire about Naruto and learned that the day before he was to be released, he was going on a three-year training trip with Jiraiya of the Sannins.

He didn't know why he hadn't been able to talk to Naruto, but he blamed it on bad timing. But his patience was pretty much at an end now.

So instead of sulking, he went off to get stronger. Naruto would have to come back eventually, and by then Neji would be strong enough to protect his teammates.

B-rank missions were Neji's least favourite mission rank. They are not as difficult as A-ranks, but not as easy as C-ranks either. You have to balance it somehow and then it's mostly about escorting or messaging, just with more valuable scrolls.

He was attacked by them 5-8 times, and that was just by some bandits who thought they could overpower his team. Not the best idea when you have three beasts attacking you in melee and a weapons specialist who can send an endless tornado of weapons at you.

It wasn't even worth mentioning in his files, he thought, he rarely fought anything dangerous, apart from the one time they encountered a missing B-rank nin from Kumo. The friendly spars with Lee were more exciting than that fight.

So it was not surprising that the members of the Hyuga branch aspired to a higher mission. He had only completed 17 A-rank missions in his young Jonin career, and all of them were far more enjoyable than this one.

So when Neji and his team were sent on an A-rank mission and he got to see Naruto again, he was thrilled.

It took 3 hours plus another hour after the fight with the strange fish guy for them to meet Team 7 and an older woman.

Said Team was looking at a huge boulder protected by a single strip of paper that looked like it had a seal on it.

"Oh hey, guys! What are you guys doing here?" asked Naruto, waving at his team and giving Lee a high five.

Neji could only shake his head in amusement. It looked like the blonde hadn't changed much.

"Lady Tsunade ordered us to act as your reinforcements," Guy-Sensei replied with his trademark grin.

"That's good. Neji, see if you can find anything other than the rock and the seal on it," Kakashi said.

Neji stepped forward and brought his left hand into a half-ram seal. He didn't need it, but it gave him a bit more precision.

"Byakugan!" He said loudly and the veins next to his eyes began to bulge from the increased blood and chakra flow.

He couldn't see past the boulder, for whatever this seal was, it made it impossible for him to penetrate through it and the nearby walls.

He widened his vision around him to look for something he might have missed.

'Ah, look at that' He thought, finding four particular seals scattered all around.

"There are four more of these seals connected to the one on the boulder. I suppose if you remove all four at the same time, the fifth one should disappear too. Or at least weaken it enough for a jutsu to penetrate it." Explained Neji.

"Alright, Team 9 can I count on you that you can handle these seals?" Asked Kakashi from which he got a resounding nod from Neji and Tenten and a loud yell of "YES!" from Gai and Lee respectively.

So that's how the two teams split up. Sadly, Team 9 was not able to support Team 7 in their fights with the two Akatsuki, too involved in their fights with a clone that emerged from the ground when they tore off the seal.

It was rather sweet, but also strange that Gaara, of all people, was cheered on. Not that he had anything against the Kazekage, he just couldn't imagine that this person was the same one who had almost crippled Lee and was feared by his village.

And now his resurrection from death and return to the sands were being celebrated like there was no tomorrow.

But Neji gave it to him, his life has been pretty shitty after what info Lee told him, he got when Gaara snuck into his hospital room to kill him.

He still can't believe they're the same person.

A small party was held and the teams from Konoha were invited as special guests. The party itself was pretty great, something he had only seen at the highest level of his A-rank mission when he had to guard the customers during a party while dressed as a guest.

The best part was when he hit the chandelier and killed the assassin, making it look like an accident.

Ah, good times.

But he caught himself right away, he finally had to find Naruto and thank him. This apology was three years overdue. Luckily, he didn't have to look far. His teammate with the bubblegum hair stood out among all the brown and black-haired sand shinobi, not to mention Naruto's terrible fashion sense.

Although he had to admit that the orange suit looked kind of great on him. Naruto somehow managed to make the colour orange look good on him, how he didn't know. It was probably one of his many secrets.

Walking towards them was easier said than done. He was constantly asked to dance, which he had to politely decline, and when they left, Naruto was nowhere in sight.

This was happening 3 times and he was starting to doubt that there was no fate or anything like that. If there was a God, he would probably be laughing his ass off at his inability to apologise. And it wasn't even his fault!

So he just gave up. If some deity up there didn't want him to apologise, for whatever reason, because he was a huge idiot in his genin days, then he would just give in. It's not like he and Naruto would never see each other again. He is just going to apologize when they meet on the street or are sent on a mission together.

With these thoughts in mind, he left the party. The only reason he was there at all, and not simply in his hotel room, was to find Naruto. Since his main reason was no longer possible, or at least not worth the trouble, there was no reason why he should stay.

"Hey, Neji wait!" His teammate's voice sounded behind him. Turning, he saw Tenten coming towards him in an elegant white and red dress. He didn't know her tailor or where she got her clothes, but she always seemed somehow exotic to him.

"Yes?" he asked, watching her catch her breath quickly.

"I've been looking all over the place for you. I wanted to ask you if you would like to dance with me?" she asked, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Neji only raised an eyebrow. 'She was looking for someone too?

"Sure." He shrugged, seeing no reason why he should refuse. If he was already here with nothing to do in his hotel room, he might as well enjoy the rest of the day.

It burned.

He didn't think it would feel like this. Honestly, he didn't even think he'd made it this far. Probably his will alone is the only thing holding him together anymore.

"Quick, I need a medical team, there's a critical injury!" yelled Naruto, holding onto Neji.

All he could do was smile. Even now he would take someone in his condition over him.

"No... I think... I'm done..." he groaned out, laughing out a small amount of blood.

"Naruto... Hinata was willing to give her life for... ...for you. So remember... you have more... Then one life in your... Hands."

Hinata wept openly, hot tears streaming down her eyes and her lips quivering.

"But why! Why should you- you can't die here! You wanted to change the Hyuga!" Shouted Naruto trying hard not to shake Neji's body too hard.

Neji tried to take a deep breath, which only resulted in a coughing fit. When he finally calmed down, he continued.

"A long time ago, you said those words ... ...to me. You freed me ... From the shackles of faith..." he replied.

"But why? Why did you want to sacrifice yourself for me?" Asked a slightly sobbing Naruto.

"Because... you called me a genius..." breathed out Neji.

'Father, I finally understand the freedom you felt. Choosing to die, to save your comrades. Thank you, Naruto.'

Neji Hyuga, beloved Cousin and friend, died without regrets.

Yeah, It's all coming together…

It was a late night in Konohagakure. The streets of the village were deserted and only the occasional lights from a window illuminated the streets below.

That night, a lonely six-year-old little boy slept peacefully in his bed. The boy had blond hair and wore a walrus nightcap that he had been given by a strange mask-wearing man. The man had simply fallen on him in the middle of the night of his birthday, dropped a wrapped box and then disappeared in a strange, swirling hole in the air.

The boy, named Naruto, thought it was a nice ghost who had previously lived in the flat and gave him a gift for cleaning it. It was only a few years later that he realised that this man must have been killed to become a ghost and haunt the flat, which made him hugely afraid of ghosts.

Normally, this was a completely normal night like any other. The shinobi ran across the rooftops, delivered messages, changed their posts or returned home. But something else was happening in Naruto's stomach.

And it was in the seal that had been placed on him when he was still an infant. Normally, the seal only appeared when the boy channelled chakra through it, but that night it was there without him channelling chakra through it.

Something was happening inside the seal. It was the thing that was sealed inside the boy. A giant nine-tailed fox, also known as the Kyubi.

The Kyubi attacked the village 6 years ago on the day Naruto was born. That night, the Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life to split the Kyubi's souls in two, sealing the yin part into himself and the yang part into Naruto when he was still a baby.

Since that day, Naruto was determined to be an outsider. Not because people didn't trust their beloved Hokage because of his sealing skills. But Naruto was the physical embodiment of what happened that night when so many families were torn apart, lovers separated and young people robbed of their dreams of becoming something great in the world by one injury.

He was the memento of that disaster. A constant reminder to the adults of the village of their pain.

The nine-tailed fox was only amused by the child's neglect. He couldn't do much except sleep and watch his host being emotionally damaged. The first four years, when his host got no attention and was practically put away like a toy that no one wanted to play with anymore, was quite funny, but seeing the same thing over and over again quickly becomes boring.

Unless he watches his brother fail miserably at claiming to be stronger than him. That probably won't get boring. At least not for him. Watching his brother or one of his siblings would probably be more entertaining than the dreams his host has. Either he becomes Hokage, he counted 457 times he had dreamed about it, or there's ramen. Just ramen.

It's actually quite sad to see, seeing that the boy has no creativity at all. Until the sadness is swept away and replaced with schadenfreude when the kid runs into a post or something because they weren't paying attention. Actually, there are two things Kyubi will never get tired of seeing.

But today it tried something else. The emphasis is on trying. He tried to bring the child into his mind and break the seal. But no matter what he does, the seal shuts off any influx of his chakra beyond the bars, however small. He suspects it's a safety measure because the child's body can barely hold its own chakra, which is much more chakra than that of normal adult shinobi, adding even stronger stuff would probably make him implode from the inside.

Technically, it would free him, but the pain he felt and the fact that he would probably be captured immediately and temporarily lose his mind upon resurrection make it a big loss situation for him.

And despite all this, he was still trying to free Chakra from his prison. It must be said that Kyubi is very stubborn. As stubborn as a huge concrete wall 6 kilometres thick, said his brother, the Hachibi. So stopping the plan, the only activity he can do besides counting the cracks in his cell, 2736, was a big no-no.

But that triggered something in Naruto's brain. No, not a seal that prevented him from using the full power of his brain and made him as stupid as a 10-year-old by our standards. He's just naturally that stupid, no need for seals. The constant flow of strong chakra somehow managed to get into his brain and make it work on cocaine. Or something similar to cocaine,

I don't know if ninjas know about drugs.

Alexa, does Naruto have drugs?!

I'm sorry. I couldn't understand you.

Now drugs are not normally good. Generally, they are not good, but in this case and in this universe, his mother was not only high in the chakra department, no, but she also was high a lot of the time and built up a natural resistance to mind-altering medicine that got passed down.

Alexa, can you become resistant to drugs?!

According to A person may develop tolerance to a drug when the drug is used repeatedly.

So Naruto experienced his first journey without any negative effects on his mind, body and dignity. Not that he had any before, because if you lived like a ghost, you had to wonder if you were a ghost at all. There was a lot of yelling and fines for "disturbances" as well as a heavy lecture on circumstantial and social behaviour from his grandfather.

But back to Naruto. Whose brain was just coming up with the most ridiculous conspiracy theory imaginable. It was so crazy and improbable that he woke up in a cold sweat.

"The reason the villagers call me a demon is because the Kyubi is sealed inside me since my birthday coincides exactly with the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, which means that one of my parents must have been the Yondaime since he couldn't sacrifice a child if he couldn't even sacrifice his own. That would explain the Third Hokage's interest in me, a random orphan because he sees me as the son of the Yondaime!" he breathed out until he had no more air in his lungs.

His heavy breathing suddenly stopped and instead he put on a smug smile, "Yeah, it's all coming together."

With that expression, he paused for a few seconds before his eyes rolled in his skull and his trip ended. As with many trips taken under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he wouldn't be able to remember anything the next morning.

Inside the seal, the Kyubi blinked.

A Fake Smile Part 1

Deep underground in Konohagakure in a hidden facility...

"I've managed to secure a spot on Team 7 for you. Your primary task will be to observe and report on the Jinchuriki. And your secondary task will be to execute Sasuke Uchiha." Said a man covered in bandages to his subordinate.

Said subordinate smiled.

"You are the same age as Uzumaki, but you are better than him. I chose you because of your special skills, especially your art."

The subordinate was still smiling, which made the old man frown. "Don't smile so smugly in my presence."

The old man was pleased with himself when she immediately stopped smiling.

"Sorry, I've read that it's easier to be comfortable with a smile. I've practised a little, but it's very hard for me to show emotion."

The old man did not indicate whether he had been listening.

"Your Codename on this mission will be Sai." Finished the old man and turned around, leaving the facility, using his cane for support.

It was a beautiful day in the village hidden in the leaves. Flowers were blooming, birds were chirping and a grumpy Naruto was lying on the hospital bed once more. The reason was not really a good one, at least Naruto thought so. After the Kazekage rescue mission where he saved his fellow Jinchuuriki Gaara, who managed to become Kage before him, from the Akatsuki, a criminal terrorist organisation that acts like mercenaries for hire at a low price but their true goal is to capture all the Bijuus, he and his team were sent to the hospital.

Why they are doing it he had no idea. Perhaps they want to open a giant zoo? Jiraiya didn't find that very amusing when Naruto told him his idea.

So once he and his Team as well as Team 9 arrived back in Konoha were all nins who attended that mission required to check in the hospital for any injuries. Not like he could get seriously injured anyway, thanks to the Kyuubi his regeneration is many times faster than normal people. A little cut or something close to it will be regenerated before he even blinked and registered that he was damaged. A side effect, for good or for worse, was that his pain resistance is noticeably higher than many veteran Shinobi. Couple that with his unlimited endurance and it would take a giant samurai avatar to exhaust him.

He didn't know why he thought of something so specific…

Luckily for him, it was only a check-up, a perk from having Tsunade as your personal doctor was that she instantly knew if there was something wrong with your body. And since she couldn't detect anything wrong with him, she let him off the hook. Team 9 got it worse, although the regeneration of Shinobis is naturally better than that of civilians if only slightly, cuts and bruises can lead to inflammations. A lot of bandages and plaster later and Team 9 looked like mummies that came back to life with very itchy bandages on them, have tried to remove the majority of it, but the really sticky one was still plastered on their skin. It was kinda amusing to be honest seeing Neji seconds away from trying to rip his injuries open so he could scratch himself.

Poor Lee had to reapply his bandages three times already because he couldn't take them.

With him in the room was his crush and Teammate Sakura Haruno, who was a medic herself so she didn't need a check-up. Favouritism if you asked Naruto. And next to the window was his Sensei who used a new cool Jutsu that could remove everything he saw. That was hella awesome! And he did it with his Sharingan eye that changed pattern if he saw right. The only bad side was that it used a lot of Chakra. So much so that after his third use of it he collapsed from Chakra exhaustion and had to be carried from Suna to Konoha. And the way how scarred Naruto was. He really didn't need to see that.

So since they arrived their Sensei drifted in and out of consciousness, sometimes awaking with heavy breathing. Probably has nightmares about… something he imagined. Now that he thought about it, what was their Sensei's time as a genin like? Looking towards him he was still lazily staring at the ceiling, his left eye closed and right like a slit. light breathing could be heard and his mouth and nose were somehow covered by the blanket. Oh wait, he is drifting back into unconsciousness.

And then Naruto blinked, a particular memory resurfacing from a time long ago. Before a wide grin spread through his face. Sakura, who was watching the gremlin carefully, just in case he does something that would explode the hospital, she actually believes it would only explode the hospital, didn't like the shit-eating grin on his face.

"What are you up to now Naruto?" She sighed. Even though they have been three years apart from each other, he didn't change at all during that time, leaving her with a basically ten-year-old in a room. With Kakashi-sensei out of commission, she was the only responsible adult in the room. Not that Kakashi was very responsible in the first place, a good shinobi for sure, just not a good adult.

"Oh come on, you're curious too!" He pointed towards Kakashi. Sakura needed a moment to figure out what he meant before a sinister grin spread through her face.

So maybe she was also ten, but this question was plaguing her sometimes randomly while she was bored or waiting for someone. This might be the only change in their lifetime!

Naruto moved quickly and quietly towards the left side of Kakashi's bed while Sakura went towards his right side. Both of them were holding their breaths and Naruto moved his hands very carefully towards the blanket.

A bit closer…

A bit closer…

Closer…

With one heavy and impactful tug, he threw the blanket off the bed exposing their Senseis body that was covered in a hospital gown.

Both of them blinked and took a good, long look at their Sensei's face.

Sakura lost a bit of blood through her nose before falling unconscious on the floor. Naruto just stared at his sensei. And then stared some more. He robotically picked up the blanket and covered his sensei like it was before.

He then moved to his own bed and lay in it, silent tears streaming down his face.

Life was just not fair….

Later in the Hokage Office…

Shizune was stacking a few papers together and sorting them in the correct file. Although she wasn't required to do these kinds of things as the Hokage's assistant, she would be happily willing to help her Master.

Said master was looking through a few files of the current ANBUs. She saw her Master rarely active in her Job, but since it has something to do with Naruto, of course, she would be more motivated. Her surrogate brother/son was possibly in grave danger, yet she knew he would be in more danger if she didn't let him on the mission she was currently preparing a Team for.

Shizune frowned a bit, remembering the conversation they had with Sakura and her report.

"My enemy, Sasori of the red sand, informed me of a meeting he will have in six days with a spy he sent to infiltrate Orochimaru as a token of Victory." Reported Sakura back to the Hokage.

Tsunade herself was thinking the information over. It was too good to be true. "It could be a trap, luring you and Naruto out to capture him." Replied Tsunade back, to which Sakura gazed down.

Seeing the downed look Shizune sprung in. "Tsunade-sama, perhaps we should send a smaller Team ahead to investigate. Preferably one without Naruto in it…" she suggested which caused Sakura to gasp in shock.

"Never!' Naruto has as much right to this as me!" Cried Sakura outraged.

"I understand that Sakura! But what if it is a trap? They would be able to easily capture your Team and Naruto!" Argued Shizune back.

"That won't happen, I-", "Enough both of you!" Shouted Tsunade at the two.

Taking a deep breath she turned to Sakura. "Naruto will go on this mission.", "But-", "Silence! You will need a new Team. Kakashi cannot be in the field and as a two-man squad you can't defend yourself against the Akatsuki in case of a Trap."

Sakura looked down again, her hands forming into fists trembling with emotion. "I understand."

"I will let you and Naruto decide on the last Team member. Should you be unable to find one until the end of the day I decide who will go with you."

Shizune turned back to her Hokage, an unanswered question on her mind.

"Say, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Well, the last mission went smoothly, but um, is it advisable to send Naruto on a mission where we know through Jiraiya that the enemies are targeting him because he has a bijuu inside him? I mean, of course, Kakashi is usually with him, but he's incapacitated at the moment. Isn't the risk too high to send Naruto on such a mission?"

Tsunade stopped working on her paperwork and laid the pen aside. Folding her hands before and resting her chin on them she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"He won't give up Shizune. His bond with Sasuke is strong, it's the same for Sakura and you know that. No matter what I would do, he would try to bring Sasuke back. I would rather have him officially on this mission with someone I can trust, in case it goes wrong than him sneaking out of the village with nobody else as backup." She answered truthfully, a down gaze accompanying her answer.

Shizune only stood there and took the information in. As much as she wants to deny it, Tsunade was right. Naruto and Sakura would do anything to repair their bond with Sasuke.

Even breaking a few rules in the process if necessary.

Sighing she turned back around and continued with the sorting of the files. Behind her, Tsunade eyed her for a few more seconds before picking her pen back up and continuing with her Paperwork.

"..."

"..."

"Damit Shizune! Bring me some sake!"

Naruto was seen walking aimlessly around the village, his hand behind his head, deep in thought. Having been told the news about the third Teammate as well as a temporary Team-Commander it was his and Sakura's job to secure them a third teammate.

If not, granny was allowed to assign them one. Naruto grimaces, he had no idea who could be the third teammate. It had probably something to do with the fact he was gone for 3 years and lost pretty much all contact to the other rookie 9.

So deep in his thought, he didn't even sense the other fellow Konoha nin resting under the shade of a tree he was walking past.

"Is it not rude to not say hello to your fellow comrade?" Said the figure before stepping out of the shadows into the sun. The young boy that couldn't be older than him was wearing a plain camouflage green jacket with the hood on. His eyes were covered with black goggles and his mouth was obscured by the jacket.

Naruto who had turned around when he first spoke looked at the newcomer with an unimpressed face.

"Who are you?"

Beyond a slight twitch in the other person's index finger, no outside emotion was being shown.

"You couldn't possibly Forget my name why? Because it has only been 3 years." Answered the hooded figure.

'Wait, I know that speech pattern!' With a suspicious gaze, he eyed the newcomer critically, to which said newcomer did nothing in response. The staring contest remained for a few seconds before a little insect flew out of the Jacket of the hooded figure.

"Shino!" remembered Naruto after an embarrassingly long time. Grinning from finally recognizing his old Comrade, he didn't sense another Shinobi dropping from the sky.

Because a second later a large dog landed in front of him with a person riding its back. Naruto staggered back a bit, surprised by another newcomer.

The said newcomer smiled at his dog and patted it on its head. "Great landing Akamaru, we totally got the hang of it now."

Naruto instantly knew the voice of the new person, not to mention the name he said.

"Kiba!" smiled the young teenager walking nearer to the canine lover, attracting his attention towards him. After a second of looking confused Kiba also sported a large smile recognising the get-up the person wore.

"Naruto! That's right you're back." smiled Kiba and got off his giant dog. "Your smell didn't change at all during all this time."

Naruto frowned at the comment "What the hell does that mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's good to see you again. Hey, Shino did you already see Naruto-" Kiba turned to his right to see Shino resting his head on the nearby tree, looking gloomy.

"You recognized Kiba almost immediately…" wheezed the bug user quietly out.

"What's his problem?" asked Kiba looking at his friend with a confused look.

It was at this moment Naruto heard a quiet squeal behind him, but upon turning around he found nobody.

Hinata who saw him before he saw her, hid behind a corner trying to calm her beating heart from exploding. In these 3 years with Naruto gone, her feelings for him didn't diminish a bit, one could say they got stronger. Having her light in the world gone, she made it her task to become as strong as him during his absence.

And yet despite that she still can't find the courage to approach him, let alone have a conversation with him, without almost fainting.

"I knew someone was there! Hey, Hinata!" Shouted Naruto right next to her.

Hinata violently jumped back before getting a look at Naruto. 'N-Naruto-kun… was so close to me!' Before fainting in a red mess.

"Not again." Sighed the canine user. "I thought she was over this."

"Hey, Hey Hinata!" Panicked Naruto and caught her in his arms. "Speak to Hinata!"

From the shocking and shouting she did eventually woke up. Slowly opening her eyes to see why she was shaking she came face to face with a relieved Naruto.

"Puh, I thought I lost you there. Listen, I really need you for…" Naruto said but for Hinata only the first part of the sentence was important.

'Naruto-kun needs me!' Was all she could hear… before fainting again.

"Huh, Hinata!"

"Give it up, she's fine." Said Kiba who took Hinata of his arms. "What did you need her for anyway?"

Standing back up and dusting off his pants Naruto elaborated. "Well, we currently don't have a third team member for a mission, I was about to ask if she could fill that role."

"I hate to break it to you man, but we've got our own mission already from Kurenai-sensei."

"What! Oh man, who am I gonna ask now…"

"Sorry to leave you hanging like this. See you later." With his goodbyes said he lifted the unconscious form of their female team member before departing with his other comrade.

"Who am I gonna ask now…?"