The gates of the Hidden Leaf Village was in eyesight of Team 7. It took them as much time to get back as it took them to get to the Land of the Waves. No bandits attacked nor chunin laying in wait pretending to be puddles of water. While it was nice to have some peace, things were boring without some action.

Naruto, clad in dirty pajamas, cringed. "I was getting used to being away."

"And used to those dirty clothes," Sakura said, giving his muddied outfit a look.

"Not my fault the Wave is a damp dump with no clothing shops and one hot woman in it."

"Please, stay in your age range," Kakashi said. "The bigger an age gap, the more disastrous a relationship is." He, if there were an afterlife, would also have to explain to his mentor why he let his son be deflowered by a woman several leagues above his senior. It was already awkward when he tried to justify his own. Apparently being in a black-ops organization with tasks ranging from assassination to terrorism doesn't mean you're ready to have sex. Granted, he was trying to drown out the creeping despair and guilt he felt.

"I just want to grab some titties."

Sasuke shook his head while Sakura choked down a laugh. "And here I thought you wanted to be strong."

"Can't a man want both?" He groaned. "But to grab titties, I must be strong. To be strong, I must not want to grab titties." His tone grew dour. "This world is cruel."

Sakura tilted her head. "Is love not important to you?"

"What do you think I mean by grabbing titties?" Naruto inched away from her slap, something he predicted with ease. "You're almost there. Not enough to take down those water losers, but you can at least put up a fight."

"With a genjutsu and kunai, you'll do fine. Naruto and I will draw focus while you flank," Sasuke said, doing his best to avoid eye-contact with her blushing face.

Sakura sighed. "I'll need to learn more genjutsu then."

They were more than in range of the ninja posted as guards.

"Holy shit!" One yelled. "Kakashi?! It's been nearly an entire month!"

The one-eyed ninja raised a hand in greeting. "Things got crazy!"

The rest offered their standard greetings. Of course, most gave Naruto the side-eye for more than just his decrepit appearance. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi noticed the stares on their way to the mission desk. Time spent away made them realize just how much the Leaf villagers were wary of the boy usually in orange. He'd grown on them and lightened up after the massacre. In place of his usual anger was a cheeky cheeriness less abrasive than his usual self but still Naruto enough to not disturb them. His reaction to Sasuke's apparent death made them recontextualize many things.

"And then we came home," Kakashi said, finishing his verbal report to the Third Hokage and everyone present.

Sarutobi's pipe nearly fell out of his mouth. "A mission to safeguard a bridge builder led to the death of one of the world's richest men, Zabuza Momochi, and the building of a structure that will have a long term effect on the overall economy in the Land of Fire, needless to say on top of what impact Gato's death will have?"

"It kind of sucked, but it did give us experience," Naruto said. "You got another one that'll take us out of here for a month?"

"...I don't think you realize the magnitude of what you've done. What was originally a C rank mission turned into an A rank concerning the nation's personal interests. We have to renegotiate with Tazuna."

"Lord Third, you aren't likely to get anything." Sakura tried her best to avoid eye-contact with the most powerful Kage alive. "The Land of the Waves is too poor at the moment. I'd say maybe in a couple of years?"

Sasuke nodded. "It didn't take Gato long to suck up the wealth from it, but it's easier to raze than it is to build."

"They're okay people, save one, I guess." Naruto sighed. "Really wished I tried something on Tsunami, even if she would've said no."

Kakashi chuckled. "The decision ultimately lies with you, Lord Hokage. I made the choice to see the mission through, and I take full responsibility."

"You're reckless, Kakashi, but I can't punish you for something that benefited us." The old man smirked. "Gato's company fractured after his death, which means competitive prices and an end to a potential monopoly on shipping. There will be turmoil for a time, yes. With machinations, every village will make it so the outcome benefits us most of all."

"All's well that ends well."

"Just make sure the children don't fight over the money."

Said children made curious faces as they walked to the pay stand. The worker manning it, armed with the info of the mission rank increase and complications, did some calculations. He went in to another room and came back with a suitcase. Plopping it on the stand, he opened it for them to see.

"Fuck me," Naruto said. "Are we rich?"

Sakura nearly drooled. "That's...around half a million right?"

"We don't have to worry about ninja tools or scrolls anytime soon," Sasuke chimed in, already loaded from inheriting an entire clan's worth of wealth. He glanced at Naruto. "You can take my cut if you need it."

He scoffed. "I'm not taking your money: you died for a minute, man."

"It's weird how cute you two caring about each other is." Sakura took a stack and flipped a finger through the notes while they looked away from the other. She glanced at Naruto's ruined pajamas. "We are definitely going shopping for new clothes first."

"I'm not your dress-up doll."

Her eyes brimmed with the essence of smug. "If you were, you wouldn't have worn that disastrous white-collar orange jacket."

"It wasn't that bad!"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, "you looked like you gave up partway through your color scheme and went for the first thing you thought would look cool. But it actually looks stupid if you looked at it for more than a couple of seconds."

"...Wow, you actually said something insulting I have no comeback for."

While Sakura applauded Sasuke's accomplishment, Kakashi and Sarutobi looked onward with pride. "They've grown closer and Naruto has eased up quite a bit."

"I knew you were the right man for the job."

"There's something I need to tell you away from prying eyes and keen ears." His one-eye told the old Kage what he meant.

"...Meet me at my office." He stood up and one of the other officials took his place.

"Alright!" Kakashi called out as he walked to his squad. "You're dismissed. Feel free to dress up Naruto or whatever it is you kids want to do." He watched them escort the disheveled young man out before heading for the Hokage Residence himself.

Sarutobi was alone with his paperwork when Kakashi walked in. "What happened?"

"Did you hear about the Wave Massacre?"

"I know you and your team were involved for sure now. Save what you told me, I've heard nothing but rumors and conjecture."

Kakashi looked down. "Naruto's seal loosened and he manifested a cloak of the Nine-Tail's chakra."

"What!?"

"He was under the impression Sasuke Uchiha died. They've been growing closer ever since they made my team. Whatever he felt was powerful enough to summon the power of the Nine-Tails." Kakashi pursed his lips beneath his mask. "It was just one tail, but that means it'll go to nine if he draws enough from it."

"I take it Naruto alone fought Gato's mob then?"

Kakashi nodded. "He grabbed me with a hand of pure chakra and moved me out of the way to slaughter them all himself.

"This is…" Sarutobi folded his hands together. "Has he manifested it any other time since?"

"Not that I know of. It seemed to respond to his anger, dissipating and bubbling when he was eased and provoked. And I haven't seen him angry since. I'm not sure testing that theory is the wisest thing right now."

Sarutobi shook his head. "He seemed like he was doing so well."

"He is. I just don't think we've realized how much he's hurting." Kakashi laughed. "You should've seen him when I praised him. He actually blushed." He looked at his burn-scarred hand. "Deep down, he's longing for acknowledgment or some kind of acceptance, but I doubt he'd see a point in that."

"Hopefully, Naruto's bonds with his comrades will eventually make him realize it. You know what to do if the Nine-Tail's power manifests itself again. I'll send for a Sealing Jutsu master to come inspect the seal."

Kakashi closed his eye, knowing full well who he was speaking of. "That…may take a great amount of time."

"Oh, I know." Sarutobi sighed. "But he always comes when he's needed. You're dismissed."

Kakashi nodded and left the office.

That man would have more than a few things to say about Naruto's current state. He was reasonable and unreasonable depending on the situation and subject involved. Unfortunately, this was also a sensitive situation and subject. Only time would tell what would happen though.


For nearly a full hour, Sakura and Sasuke, but mostly Sakura, was dragging Naruto around the village in search of a male specialty clothes shop they found passable. The shop he got his original outfit from was dismissed by default. Anything Naruto find passable was unacceptable really. All three breathed a sigh of relief when they found one that sold ninja-type clothing of high quality.

Naruto stepped out of the booth wearing blue sandals, orange shorts with blue trimming, a blue undershirt, and an orange vest. "Am I presentable now?!" He posed by sticking out his two middle fingers.

Sakura stroked her chin. "Maybe the orange pants instead?"

"This is fine," Sasuke said, almost as eager as Naruto to get it over with. "Mobile and flexible. Your jacket and pants were slowing you down."

"Look in the mirror." Sakura gestured towards it. "See how much the white collar took away."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto turned to the sheet of glass and raised an eyebrow at his reflection. "Damn… Tsunami wouldn't have turned me down if I asked her out looking like this."

"You almost slammed her only child's head against their dinner table," Sakura deadpanned. "You also told him he should kill himself if he didn't stop whining."

"He was being a little shit, and I'm pretty sure that made him start going out of his house. You should look at Konohamaru: I almost did the same thing, and he's now on the road to success." Naruto turned to the confused faces of his teammates. "Old Man Hokage's grandson." He blinked when their looks pained. "What?"

"Does he know?" Sakura asked.

"He was there."

"Oh my fuck."

Sasuke tilted his head, eyes questioning him before his lips did. "What is your relationship with the Hokage where you can almost physically harm his grandson, act out in his presence, commit high treason, and still be on good terms with him?"

"Oh yes, tell them and see if you're still tolerable."

Naruto nearly drove his fist into the mirror. "...Well, you'll have to ask him." He shrugged. It wasn't an outright lie: he was uncertain the old man really cared for him since he first spoke with the fox. "And I didn't commit high treason, I was tricked into committing high treason on someone else's behalf."

"Did you really believe anyone could pass by stealing from the Hokage himself, especially his scroll of forbidden jutsu?" Sakura eyed him with rightful suspicion.

"I really wanted to get out of that fucking academy," he half-lied. "Also, wouldn't you make a civilian a shinobi if they managed to pull something like that off? I mean, like it or not, I did, and I did make genin for it."

Sasuke hummed. "Sets a bad precedent."

"Old Man Hokage has been a shinobi for a long time." Naruto led them to the counter and held out a hand at Sakura, who had the suitcase. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing." When he felt a bundle in his hand, he took out the cost of his outfit, handed it over, and returned the rest to Sakura.

"Now where should we go to eat," she said.

"Ichiraku!" Naruto raised a fist of victory in the air. Every time he said it, they ate there.

"That's what we've gotten literally every time!" She turned to her other teammate. "What do you want to get, Sasuke?"

He shrugged. "Whatever."

"Then how about we go…" Sakura drifted off, getting the 'please-stop-you-never-make-up-your-mind' look from them. "Uh, I don't really know."

Naruto brought his fist down with a grunt and started leading them out the door. "Ichiraku Ramen! Ichiraku Ramen!" He knew the way by heart at that point, regardless of where he was in the village.

"Uh, ninjas." The counter man glanced at the changing room to them as they walked out. "Did you forget your clothes?"

"Keep them," Naruto said.

Sakura smiled in apology and embarrassment. "Sorry!"

"I don't even know why people wear pajamas anyway," Sasuke chimed in.

They shut the door behind them and left the man with the delinquent ninja's castaways. His boss would save them in a container in hopes of throwing at them if they ever returned. Unfortunately for him, he never would: Naruto Uzumaki preferred cheap places, Sakura was a woman, and Sasuke had an entire clan's worth of clothing left for himself. It became an oddity yet a tradition to display as an example of their superior craftsmanship.


It was sundown and Sarutobi was still in his office. The paperwork of Hokage was never done, consequences of a centralized government. One could entrust other, weaker men to the paperwork or even clones, but that was likely to produce less results. Tobirama outright told him Hashirama's clones more often than not deliberately made mistakes to end their torturous, meaningless existences. The younger brother had to set down the older one for a stern talking to about responsibility.

The door to the office opened and a familiar, equally old face emerged from the darkness. An old scar on his chin still lingered, refusing to fade away. His one-eye was tired yet stern. Part of his face was bandaged away as consequence of an old war wound.

"Danzo," the Third greeted. "I hope the next words that come out of your mouth aren't what I think they are."

"I'm afraid they may be, Hiruzen. Other than myself, you are the one that knows me best." He didn't waste time with the Kage's questioning glare. "The Nine-Tail's seal is weakening, and his vessel is a fragile boy."

"I told you once. I will not tell you again."

"Someone must watch him."

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe. "Kakashi Hatake is already safeguarding him. I believe you have trust in his abilities."

"I'm afraid Kakashi is compromised in this matter. If he cannot be replaced, he must be kept in line by someone else. Someone the both of you will accept." Danzo closed his eye at his old friend's questioning ones. "The man with wood jutsu."

"...I'm surprised by your recommendation."

"There is no one else with the ability to suppress a tailed beast. He may be Kakashi's ally, but he is not biased towards the child." Danzo opened his eye. "It's in the village's best interests he be involved as a failsafe."

"That may very well be a wise choice regarding this manner." Sarutobi sighed. "If someone Naruto cherishes dies, it may damage the seal even further. All of Team 7 could've been wiped out with the exception of him. Having them shadowed by a powerful operative would prevent the chances of that ever happening again."

Nodding, Danzo turned to the door. "I'm glad you see things my way for once."

"Before you go," Sarutobi said, "I need you to promise me something."

"You know I can't keep any, Hiruzen."

"If anything happens to me, I want you to leave the boy be."

Danzo looked at his old friend from the corner of his eye. "He holds the power of the Nine-Tails."

"And it won't take much for him to turn against this village if he feels threatened. He is already despised and an outcast. Bringing him into your fold will only push him over the edge." Sarutobi's gaze softened. "I trust your intentions, as despicable as your actions may be. Trust mine."

"Why this boy? You've already seen hundreds die, used, and discarded. What is special about him?"

He puffed his pipe and looked down at his desk. "He was never given a choice to be a weapon. Just so happens he made the decision to become a shinobi on his own. If I can give him something, I will give him the choice to decide on which type he is."

"I'll think about it, Hiruzen." He opened the door. "The village's best interests come first, always." He stepped out and vanished in the dark before shutting the door.

Sarutobi shook his head.

The old, young and brash Danzo would've never imagined himself to be what he was now. It was ironic how Sarutobi would've loved him to stay that way when they despised each other mutually. Both lived through Ninja World War to Ninja World War up until that point. Sarutobi would've stayed in retirement had it not been for the Fourth Hokage's death at the hands of the Nine-Tailed Fox. While he wished Danzo would stop his meddling when died or stopped his administration, he knew he wouldn't. He could only hope his old rival died before he did or returned to some semblance of decency, both far off possibilities considering their personalities.


Several days passed since their return. Team 7 spent most of its time either training or doing missions, just as they had before. Naruto, feeling especially antsy for various reasons, insisted they spend a few nights or even entire days in the village woods. Sakura didn't want to worry her parents, and Kakashi had smut he couldn't enjoy to its fullest if he had to oversee them, so Sasuke alone went to keep his fellow orphan company.

Naruto was watching the stars in his sleeping bag as Sasuke was already fast asleep in his own. "I can barely land a single hit now." He frowned, recalling their spars since the massacre. While he could still get him into holds, he learned to break out by attacking and disengaging before his body went taut. Only when he blindsided him or attacked when he blinked could he get the upper hand. "Fucking Sharingan."

"You should kill him while he's asleep. After all, you're too weak to beat him outright ever again."

He rose from his bag and walked to the direction of a nearby river. "Shut. Up."

"Another thing you need me to do that you can't do on your own."

"I'm going to rip you out of me and kill you myself, you piece of shit." Naruto reached the river bank, sat down, and leaned over the flowing water to see himself with red eyes. "...What?"

The beast laughed. "I've always been a part of you. Rage, anger, and hatred… This body. We share many things."

His whisker marks deepened before he splashed himself with the cold water, the shock of it taking away his burning feelings. "What did you do?" Taking deep breaths, he calmed himself down.

"It's this seal. It was made to blend our chakras together and weaken over time to give you power. Took little over half a decade for you to hear my voice and visit. Now, you can manifest a cloak of my chakra with a single tail."

"That yellow dipshit." Naruto dunked the top of his head in the flowing ice cold water, his eyes flickering between red and blue in the moonlight reflection. "Really couldn't let me have anything to myself. My mind, my body, my life…" He pulled himself out. "I'm going to take all of it back and make them regret everything."

"You die if I am ever freed from you, and the Fourth is dead, so good luck with that."

"I'll find a way." He turned to go back but splashing contrary to the stream's natural noise drew his attention. Drawing chakra to his limbs, he jumped to and swung from tree to tree using himself as a vine, appearing like a monkey with no patience for the foliage to accommodate him. He stopped some ways from the end of a waterfall and saw a lithe figure bounce from the ball of one foot on the water to the other towards it.

When she reached the center of the forming river, she turned her body and stood evenly on both feet suspending her above the water. She shifted her weight to one foot before using it to launch herself up. Her body twisted in the night air as her arms circled. She returned to a neutral position and landed on her feet, droplets of water forming a sphere she used the motions of her entire body to create.

"Wow!" Naruto clapped his hands and smiled while the figure glanced at his direction. "That wa–" He paused as it jumped into the other side of the forest. "...Beautiful." Groaning, he headed back to his sleeping bag.

The morning after they spent eating their packed meals. Ramen in a thermos for Naruto and rice balls in a wrap for Sasuke. While the air was chilly, it was exhilarating for them to be in. They setup a picnic tarp to sit on, which would make anyone who walked in on them mistake it for some kind of romantic date.

"I'm telling you, man." Naruto leaned his thermos and pulled out some noodles with his chopsticks. "This looks really gay. And I don't mean 'those-guys-are-too-friendly' gay: I mean, those guys are so gay they came out here so no one would see them gay."

Sasuke's eye twitched. "You wanted to come out here and when have you ever cared about what people think about you?"

He slurped some noodles and licked his lips. "I care when it might lessen my chances of getting laid." He raised an eyebrow at his comrade's look. "You of all people should care about having sex. It's not like your clan is going to reproduce itself."

"When Itachi is dead, I'll restore my clan." Sasuke's expression soured. "I can't have children until I'm sure they're safe."

"But is making sure there's no more other Uchiha what he wanted? He left you alive."

"...He told me he wanted to test himself against the clan. Said I was his last challenge. Wanted me to become as powerful as I could and face him."

Naruto hummed. "Not Old Man Hokage, other Kage, or even entire villages? That doesn't make sense."

"I'm starting to realize that now, but I don't have anything else to go off of. Itachi wasn't an idiot." Sasuke took a bite out of his rice ball. "And I doubt anyone can fake a smile for every day of their entire lives. Something must have happened; I just don't know what."

They ate in silence for a minute after. Not much else could be said after discussing the motives of a mass murdering kinslayer. It started off tame in comparison.

"Soooo you ever gonna fuck Sakura?"

Sasuke nearly choked on his rice as he swallowed it. "What is it with you and sex?!"

"You're making me feel like the only guy in our class that hit puberty." Naruto's cheeks grew a pink tint. "I used to hang around the red-light district a lot. Saw a lot of people have sex and thought it was weird. Moment my balls dropped, I understood everything, even the girls in black strips." He laughed. "It's why I stopped going as much."

"She's a comrade. I think getting involved that way will interfere with our missions, at least right now." Sasuke smirked. "Is there anyone you're interested in that's actually our age?"

He shook his head, paused, and raised a hand to his chin. "I saw a girl by the waterfall last night. She was walking on the water, so she had to be a ninja." Smiling, he made her arm motions, thermos and chopsticks still in hands. "The water moved with her. It was beautiful." He paused at Sasuke's confused stare. "What?"

"All of that talk about wanting women with big breasts, and the one you're attracted to just moves in pretty ways?"

"We're barely teenagers: I doubt there's any girl our age that can really fill a hand." Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek with a finger. "And I couldn't really see her body in the dark or tell who she was."

"Are you sure you just weren't dreaming or something? I heard that happens sometimes." Sasuke suppressed the curiosity he felt that inclined him to look anywhere close to his teammate's crotch.

"If that were a dream, I would've thought I drenched my shorts when I woke up because something definitely would've happened if it were."

"...Eww."

"You were already thinking it." Naruto sipped some soup from his thermos and looked around at their surroundings. "It's nice here, isn't it? Like Wave."

Sasuke munched away the rest of his rice ball. "The town was an eye-sore."

"What town isn't an eyesore? I mean the forest."

"You...don't like being around people, do you?"

Naruto nodded. "I said I hated almost everyone, and I meant it." He scowled. "There's always something stupid almost everyone is thinking or doing. They'll tell you live and let live then turn around to say someone else should suffer. Tell you you're a weapon and tell you not to be one. Say people should be strong but watch the words you use." Groaning, he let himself fall back on the tarp, looking up to the blue sky. "Is it hard to be honest? To not be a hypocrite? So what if I'm an asshole few people like? When I say something, people believe it and listen."

"I never thought you were an asshole," Sasuke said, taking another rice ball in his hand. "I just thought you were too dumb to have restraint: from punching Iruka, jumping out the window, stealing from the Hokage, provoking me with Itachi, what you said about Sakura being incapable of defending herself, killing that chunin that tried to ambush us, and attacking Zabuza without a second thought after he trapped Kakashi." He took a bite out of it, munched, and swallowed. "Almost like you're trying to get yourself killed."

"This from the guy who took a blow that killed him for me?" Naruto grimaced at the memory. "Those 'last' words of yours…"

"It was a spur of the moment," Sasuke said, grateful he couldn't see the red on his face.

"Being around you...doesn't make me feel alone."

"Obviously, someone is with you."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah. Stupid, I know." He lifted his upper body up and dug back into his ramen thermos. "Les fit ter tis."

"Don't talk while you eat." Sasuke finished his rice ball.

"Yu snd lik ame."

"That's because I'm trying to stop you from choking."

Naruto swallowed and looked at what he had left. "I might have to swing by Ichiraku for some more." He looked up to Sasuke and his rice balls. "You up for staying out here for a while? When we're not doing missions or training with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, I mean."

"Not like I have anyone waiting for me back home." Sasuke hummed. "But if neither of us bathes, we're going to stink."

"...Oh yeah, bathing."

Sasuke shot him a look. "You need to take better care of yourself."

"Now you sound like Iruka-sensei." Naruto sighed.

"Let's pack up and leave after we're done with some sparring. Don't want to give people the wrong impression, do you?"

"The ladies at least."

"...I thought they actually liked that sort of thing."

Naruto raised an educated finger. "They like seeing guys together, but they don't actually like the idea of being with a man that also goes with guys." He lowered it. "I don't get it because a girl that goes with girls is a man's dream. In the end, we're different like that."

Sasuke's eyes grew doubtful. "I have never seen you interact with a woman in any meaningful way. How do you know?"

"You don't need to be around girls all the time to know how they think. Like, let's talk about you and the girls you attract." Naruto smirked. "No matter how you treat them, they will still simp for you because you're a pretty boy."

"Simp?" Sasuke blinked. "I'm a pretty boy?"

"It means unrequited lovey dovey dumbass who still goes for someone that shows no interest, especially if they've said no." Naruto frowned and scoffed. "And yes, you're a dude who can probably pass for a chick. They love that. Don't ask me why; girls are weird."

It was Sasuke's turn to smirk. "What does that make you?"

"A social outcast. An average social outcast, so my chances in the village are super low. Girls like bad boys but not bad boys that will make them look bad for being with. I know it sounds confusing, but that's just how they are. Social outcasts just attract other social outcasts. Never met anyone who was as much as an outcast as I was in the village, so I'm probably shit out of luck."

"Never thought I'd hear you give up on something."

"Who says I'm giving up?" Naruto laughed. "I just need to show how much better I am than everyone or go out of the village. Bound to meet someone one of these days who wants me, but I can go without: I'm used to being alone."

"So am I."

Closing up his thermos, Naruto put his chopsticks away and stood up. "You ready for a fight?"

"Yeah." Sasuke's eyes whirled, revealing his stage 2 Sharingan. "Are you?" He pushed himself up and followed him away from their camping site.

They fought, packed up, reported for their terrible D rank mission, completed it, and trained again. Unbeknownst them, summoning birds flew the sky. Their purpose was lost on most people but known by high-ranking chunin and jonin. It was the beginning of a chunin exam that would forever be remembered and lamented by everyone involved.


AN: And we're here. I had to give some downtime, some hints, and not immediately jump into things. If Wave felt too confined to canon, what I have planned for the Chunin Exams will relieve those pains.