Chapter 27

Home

At the gates of Konoha, Izumo and Kotetsu sit in their usual guard booth, killing time with a game of Jenga while they wait for anyone to pass through. Izumo pokes Kotetsu's shoulder just as he's about to poke a piece out, distracting him and knocking the whole tower down. While he would normally be angry, his attention is drawn to the approaching troop of two elite jonin, six genin, a fox, and one surprise guest. Kotetsu calls out first. "Hey! I was wondering when you guys would get back! Everything go well?"

Kakashi hums. "Well, not entirely. We have much to discuss with the Hokage, but all in all, we came out of it alright."

Izumo raises an eyebrow. "Ok, was this better, or worse than Nami?"

Yoko snorts. "I would definitely say worse."

Izumo's jaw drops, and soon, Naruto starts to laugh maniacally. "I told you they'd freak out! We're gonna have so much fun abusing this!"

Yoko huffs. "So glad my sudden sentience amuses you, Naruto-nii. We'll have to see what tou-san thinks when he finds out." This shuts Naruto up right away, but Sakura and Fuu giggle at his expense.

"W-Well, um…" Kotetsu shakes it off first. "We'll need to log this new visitor you're escorting as well. Name, affiliations, fingerprints, rank, and so-on."

Fuu shrugs and steps up to place her fingerprints. "Fuu, no family name, Takigakure's jinchuuriki of the Nanabi, here as part of a proposal by our chief in the wake of an incident that just occurred there."

Izumo almost drops his pen. "A-Another jinchuuruki, here?"

Naruto grins and waves. "I had to bring my newfound sister home, ya know? Besides, her old home just got trashed, she needs somewhere to crash." Fuu giggles a bit, seeming a bit flustered at the "sister" title.

Shikamaru groans and rubs his temples. "Naruto, that is a gross oversimplification, and I swear you're going to get us swarmed by anbu."

"Nah, the anbu are all afraid of Anko, and she'll find whoever messed with me to make them play with her favorite snakes."

"He's right." Asuma cuts in. "Most anbu have fear trained out of them, but Anko still scared them. As long as she's still dating Iruka, Naruto's not getting touched by any of them."

Ino's jaw drops as she looks to Naruto. "Your dad is dating that sadist?"

"To be frank, I'm quite sure she's a sadomasochist, and she has a thing for teachers."

Asuma nearly drops his cigarette. "... The worst part is how much sense that makes."

"Naruto." Chouji turns and stares at him. "Can you stop before you ruin my appetite?"

"Yep!" Naruto turns and crosses his arms behind his head. "Welp, let's get moving, guys! We've got an old man to torment with our report!"

As most everyone leaves, Sasuke stays behind and just stares at their backs for a moment. Izumo leans over to whisper to him. "Having much luck staying sane with your team?"

He shrugs. "I think I checked sanity at the door a long time ago. But Naruto's sort of making me miss it."

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Across the village, Hinata stands in her family's garden, training her eyes and accuracy of long-range vision. The ranged possibilities of her two elements stuck her as something too grand to not take advantage of. So now, she's had her usual attendant, Ko, hide small targets at the edge of her current field of vision, challenged to find them all and focus the blurred fringes enough to notice them.

Thus far, she's managed to find 14 of 30 in a matter of half an hour, and the rate at which she finds them is growing faster. At this rate, she expects to finish in another twenty minutes at worst.

That is, until she catches sight of some mint-haired girl all over Naruto as teams 7 and 10 make their way back to the tower. She's slung herself over his shoulders, and he's laughing along with whatever tale she's telling. She hasn't gotten lip reading down, and especially can't perform it at this distance, but her sparking anger causes her to focus just a tad faster and notice another seven targets in the process. She picks out the others within the next five minutes to go meet them at the gates as they pass.

"So then, I had to hide in the tree for five days, and somehow got adopted by a bee colony!" Naruto and Fuu break into helpless laughter, while Kakashi can't help but chuckle a bit in unison and Chouji almost chokes on his chips.

But everyone comes to a sudden stop as the front doors of the Hyuuga compound open ahead of them and Hinata steps out with a sickly-sweet smile. "Welcome home, Naruto-kun! Team Seven, Team Ten, I see you're both doing well! So, who's this new girl, then?"

Kakashi pales a bit at the sudden yandere energy Hinata's putting off, as do the two girls of the team, but Naruto seems completely oblivious. "Oh, hey, Hinata-chan! This is Fuu, we just brought her here from Taki! Long story short, something big went down there and she's here to set up an ambassadorship deal with Jiji!" He grins ear to ear through the whole explanation, but pauses and peeks around as his smile drops. "O-Oh, and um… everyone here kinda… knows about me now. And Fuu's… well, she's like me."

Kakashi's face falls as he turns to stare at his oblivious student. "Naruto, you never told me Hinata knew about your seal."

Naruto shrugs. "Hey, she figured it out herself. Hard to get anything past those eyes." He chuckles, and Hinata turns red, all her former rage sinking away.

"O-Oh, um... So Fuu is…"

Fuu sighs and nods. "Yep. Taki's jinchuuriki. It's nice to meet someone Naruto trusts to know, though." Her perpetual grin gets a tad gentler and more genuine. "Thanks for being so good to my brother."

Hinata has to fight not to sigh in relief at the word 'brother'. "W-Well, I've always thought the best of him. And I think no less of you for your status, Fuu. You're more than welcome here."

Fuu giggles a bit, starting to blush slightly herself. "W-Wow, gonna take a while to get used to that. Well, we should get going, the Hokage's waiting for us, and we've got a lot to report."

"If Taki's offering their jinchuuriki to us, I'd imagine so." All eyes fall on Hiashi as he approaches. "Your home must be in dire straits. I'm deeply sorry for whatever losses you've had."

Fuu sighs and hangs her head. "Well, knowing what I am, I'm sure you can guess I didn't lose much that mattered to me. A fresh start here is exactly what I need, and I'm sure Chief Shibuki knows that."

"I've met Shibuki. Quite experienced in politics for one so young. A mind to be admired. Working personal motivations into a favorable political move is difficult to achieve, but I believe when working with our Hokage, he knows his chances are higher than most anywhere else. The man is quite generous, and just as shrewd in regard to lacing deals and actions with secondary motivations, though his age provides a wealth of experience to improve upon it." He hums and peeks across the team. "Speaking of shrewd politics, I surmise the mission was largely a success?"

Shikamaru smirks. "Sir, Iwa is going to be eating out of our hands, and we even got the Tsuchikage's own granddaughter helping us. She seems just as gung-ho on the whole kage deal as the orange nimrod here, and peaceful to boot."

"Oi!"

Hiashi can't help but chuckle. "Now that's promising. Onoki must be fuming over it all."

Asuma blows some smoke straight up to keep away from company. "Yeah, probably. He's always been a sore loser."

Hinata giggles. "Naruto-kun, you seem well on your way to building a political record to support your rise to Hokage. First Nami no Kuni, now this deal with Kiri and showing it off to Iwa, there's no telling what you'll do next."

Sasuke snorts. "Probably convince Iwa and Kumo into a peace treaty and start some kind of exchange program that doubles as a mutual hostage situation." All eyes turn on Sasuke, and he peeks around in confusion. "What?"

Naruto's maniacal giggling the moment after is all the answer he needs.

Yoko sighs. "Sasuke, you really need to learn not to give him ideas."

Hinata's jaw drops. "Y-Yoko?"

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Hiruzen rubs the bridge of his nose. "Two missions, Naruto. Two missions out of town, and you already encounter and combat two A-Rank shinobi, alter the political landscape, and somehow create an entirely new summon species."

"He is quite the preposterous dumbass, isn't he?" Yoko mumbles with a yawn as she lays across Hiruzen's desk, accepting a slow petting.

"Umm…" Naruto somehow manages to be sheepish, despite the pride swelling in his from such achievement. "When you put it that way…"

"You're an avatar of chaos, Naruto." Ino huffs.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes go red and he turns on Ino with widened whiskers and blackened lips. "No, that would be me, Yamanaka."

Ino shrieks "Damnit Kyuubi, stop doing that!"

Kurama just chuckles to himself before his features recede and Naruto picks up where he left off with evil cackling. Yoko chuckles in approval of her father's antics.

Hiruzen raises an eyebrow, but shakes it off. "Well, glad to see him being friendly. And honestly, don't apologize for your excellent progress. You're giving me a heart attack with how much danger you're getting into, but I've been waiting for a wild card like you for a long time. Just expect I'll be keeping you up my sleeve for quite a lot."

"Just be sure to play me when it'll fuck with the most heads."

"Oh, certainly."

"That being said.." Kakashi cuts in. "I think we should address a few things. First and foremost, the status of Takigakure and Fuu."

Hiruzen nods and he looks the girl over. "... Your ambassadorship is accepted, and I'll be sending a contingency of chuunin and jonin there to assist, as well as an anbu from my personal guard. You'll be given dual citizenship and a new headband that depicts both villages. I can provide you an apartment, but it may take until tomorrow to secure a location. I believe for your first night here, you may have to stay in a hotel, unless you can manage other arrangements."

Fuu's eyes slowly light up as she hears his judgement. "R-Really?! I get to stay?!"

"Of course, dear." His smile is as familial and comforting as can be. "Welcome to Konohagakure."

She cheers and jumps, suddenly growing her wings and flying circles around the office. Hiruzen merely chuckles as he savors his pipe for a moment. Naruto leaps up and grabs her hands as she passes, letting her carry him around the room, only to then throw him into a sofa along the south wall and crash into it beside him a moment later. Yoko jumps up to join them, laying across Fuu's lap.

Sakura's eye twitches. "Great. Now there's two reckless idiots."

Asuma shrugs. "Tends to happen when you heal from most wounds overnight."

She pauses and narrows her eyes. "... That makes way too much sense."

Hiruzen clears his throat. "Now, all students are dismissed. Fuu, here's a check and my orders for your boarding at my establishment of your choice." He throws the envelope like a shuriken and she catches it with ease. "Go with the genin and explore the town a bit. Enjoy your first day in your new home."

"Hai!" She giggles and chases after Naruto as he waits for her at the door.

Once they've left, Kakashi turns to Hiruzen with a narrowed eye. "You're sending Tenzo?"

"Given what Naruto had to report regarding the tree and Hero Water, I believe it best that Tenzo take a look for himself and come closer to the roots of his bloodline. It's an advantage we absolutely must take."

Kakashi nods. "Of course. Well, I need to have a drink with him before he leaves, then." He peeks over to a blank spot on the wall. "How's that sound, Tenzo?"

An anbu slowly sinks out of the wall halfway and removed his mask. "I'd be delighted, Kakashi-sempai. I was just thinking the same thing as I heard the Hokage's intentions."

"Well, that's good and all.." Asuma puffs out another ring of smoke. "But now we've got something else to worry about. Someone who apparently took the secrets of the Hero Water, a sample, a heart affected by it, and wields a forbidden jutsu that's been lost to Takigakure. Someone who's seen as an old ghost story there, come to life." He taps the ashes off into a dish by the door. "Reminds me of something you once mentioned from the Shodaime's old journals."

"Indeed." Hiruzen sighs. "It would appear that Kakuzu may still be alive through whatever horrendous forbidden technique he's altered himself with. The sort of thing my wayward student would surely covet."

Kakashi nods. "And given what Jiraiya had to say about Akatsuki, we can likely bet on him being part of that organization. Few men would dare take on a biju. Someone who dared to fight the greatest kage to ever live would most assuredly qualify."

"Then my latest gambit grows twofold." Hiruzen leans over the table. "We unify the nations and villages during the upcoming chuunin exams, under a single flag against this organization to prevent their horrendous schemes. United, S-rank or not, they will either cower or fall."

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"So…" Naruto wanders back into the town with Fuu at his side. "Watcha think of the place so far? Lot brighter than your old home, for one."

She nods. "I'll get used to that. That big open sky, though…" She slowly grins. "I'm gonna be flying through that all day as soon as I have my new headband."

"Damn, wish I could join you. It's gonna take forever for me to find a way to fly, even with wind chakra."

"Eh, you're smart, I'm sure you'll figure it out." She pats his shoulder. "For now, lemme have this and be better than you at one thing, at least."

Naruto sticks his tongue out at her, but pauses as he sees someone ahead at his favorite place in the world. That bring a huge grin as he takes her hand and starts running. "I've got a few people to introduce you to!"

"Nii-san…" Yoko huffs. "Learn how to handle a girl, you buffoon."

Once they're less than a block away from Ichiraku's, Naruto calls out. "TOU-SAN! We're back!"

Iruka almost spits out his ramen, but gulps it down and jumps up to greet his son with a hug. "Otouto, welcome home!" Naruto leaps into his arms as he lets go of Fuu, pulling him into an almost painfully tight hug. "It's so good to see you… I suppose the mission went well?"

Naruto nods as he lets go and steps back. "More than well. I'll tell you more later, but the most important part…" He steps aside and waves Fuu over. "Dad, this is Fuu. Fuu, this is my dad, Umino Iruka."

Fuu approaches a tad nervously. "Um.. h-hello, sir. I'm Fuu, newly-instated ambassador of Takigakure, and... " She takes a moment to peek around and be sure nobody else will hear. ".. A-And jinchuuriki of the Nanabi, Choumei."

Iruka's eyes widen for a moment, but his slacked jaw rises into a fatherly smile. "Welcome to Konoha, Fuu. Naruto and I will make sure your time here is pleasant. In fact, you're welcome to stay with us if you'd like. I still have an empty room I was considering making an office, but…" he shrugs. "I'm doing less work for the academy lately."

"W-What?!" Fuu pulls back. "But… a-are you serious? You want me in your home?"

Naruto chuckles and pats her shoulder. "You'll get used to it. He wanted me, didn't he? And we're practically siblings."

"Hmm." Yoko mumbles from her perch in a seat just behind Iruka. "Something tells me home is about to get a lot louder."

Iruka wheels around and falls over at the sight of her so large and talking. "W-What the fu-uuu-!" He lands at Naruto's feet to find his own son laughing his ass off at him.

Yoko gets a cocky grin of her own after. "You know, this really is fun."

Teuchi grumbles. "Yoko, if you're gonna start getting this much bigger and scaring customers away by talking, you're gonna have to pay for your meals here now."

"Damnit."

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A.N.: Evening, everyone. Sorry I took so long! had a lot going on, another fic in the words, speedpaints for youtube, and a busier dayjob schedule. But I am so looking forward to the next arc, and the next few months in general! Picking up Psychonauts 2 on Wednesday, and can't wait to play it for the channel! But enough of that. For now, feel free to speculate- but I doubt any of you will see what all I have coming for the exams...