AN: Review responses are at the bottom.

Chapter 2 - Azuchi

Uchiha Izumi's day began well before dawn on most days.

She got up, showered, and brushed her teeth. Afterwards, she got dressed in the usual clothes she opted to wear when she was helping her mom out with the morning baking: a plain white shirt and some white shorts to best hide the flour. She'd have an apron when she got down, but it still helped to use clothes that wouldn't look messy after she was done working. She had more work to do once today's fresh batch was out of the oven and cooling before being put on the shelves.

Tying her hair, she made her way down the stairs and turned left towards the back of their little shop. Going right would have taken her to the kitchen and then the living room of their compact residence. It still amazed her how much was squeezed into the little place's first floor. Somehow, there was a sitting room, a kitchen, a breakfast nook, and the bakery's front and back.

"Good morning." Her mom wasn't looking at her, but heard her coming down the squeaky, wooden steps. Hazuki was already looking over the large batch of dough that was being mixed. Without a word, her mother took a cup of coffee that had been sitting on the table beside her and offered it to her daughter.

Izumi accepted the cup with a grateful smile. Sending her mother a thank you, she took a sip and sighed. Cream and just enough sugar. Bless her mother.

She moved to check the tray filled with dough that was set aside to proof. These should be ready now. Lifting the sheet, it looked like they were.

Alright. Time to get started.

The morning rush was always the busiest part of the day for them. Between getting the fresh orders done as well as the usual stuff they stocked their shelves up front with, they had their work cut out for them. It really made Izumi appreciate the fact that her mother had gotten the two hire-ons to handle things up front while the two Uchiha took care of actually getting all the bread ready. Still, once she'd finished getting the batches she was in charge of out of the oven and on cooling racks, she'd be right in front helping Emiko and Sae.

Their not-so-little bakery was situated along the thoroughfare that serviced Konoha's western gate, which was where any travelers from further inland would come from, such as the lands of Wind, Rain, River, Waterfall, and Grass. Traveling merchants crossing from country to country usually liked to take goods home with them, some bringing soft pastries if they lived a day or two away, more from further out taking home tins of biscuits or cookies. It was good business.

Besides that, they had their regulars that they made daily deliveries to. Rice may have been the preferred staple food in the Land of Fire ─ and the continent in general really ─ but there were those households in Konoha that seemed to enjoy having baked goods for desserts, snacks, or even just for breakfasts.

Izumi certainly had memories of running out to various training grounds to meet with her old team with buttered toast in her mouth when she'd still been serving as an active kunoichi.

So it was also Izumi's job to handle those deliveries while her mom minded the shop along with Emiko and Sae. It didn't bother her much anyway. She got to walk around while meeting different people, and after the morning rush, things at the shop tended to settle down till it was time for people to go for afternoon tea.

They had this lovely little deal for chocolate-stuffed buns and a cup of their regular coffee or tea for twenty ryo, and they were all the rage. Really. They'd sell out on choco-buns before sunset most days.

Her first few deliveries were all inside the village. Izumi's next few stops were closer to the walls, and then the security station nearest the western gate which sponsored brunches for the staff. Spiced sausage rolls went really well with the hot green tea that the office provided them. Izumi would know, they'd given her a cup to try herself one day.

Her last delivery was always her favorite, though it was also the furthest. It was why her mom usually didn't expect her back until just before the afternoon rush.

The road leading up Kinenhi-zan was made of well-paved cobblestone that started at the foot of the mountain. A stark contrast to the dirt roads that cut through most of the village proper. Considering those that lived up there, Izumi couldn't really say she was surprised.

Ascending the mount, though, she could always feel like the rest of the world seemed to fall away. The hustle and bustle of the village life below faded, sometimes being completely out of sight as the road went deeper into the mountain and the view of the buildings were obscured by the woods that flanked it. Light filtered through the canopy above, so different from the darker forests that surrounded their village. It made Izumi feel like she was in another world.

To some degrees, Kinenhi-zan was another world for how different it was.

The mount was the residence for Konoha's wealthiest. Not many families lived up here. Certainly not the old clans that all still occupied their places from when the village had been built. Even the Hokage lived inside the village proper.

No, Kinenhi-zan was commonly occupied by civilian families, those that spent most of their working time dealing with the business of the inner village and wanted to get away from it all when they wanted to rest. Although, since many merchants tended to travel, the houses were also unoccupied most of the time except for maybe the children that were too young to travel with their parents.

Eventually, she came upon the large arch that marked the entrance to the Namikaze estate, the vertical three slash marks of the Namikaze clan carved into the height of the wood.

Walking through the property and approaching the house, Izumi remembered how much she was still amazed by Azuchi's size. While the canopy and the surrounding woodlands made it difficult to really appreciate the scale of the building from the street, it was still much larger than any residence she'd ever seen, more akin to the palaces of faraway lands she'd only heard of in stories.

Cobblestone walls rose five stories up with balconies, a stark imposition to the trees surrounding the house and casting a shadow that wouldn't recede till almost noon, with how close this part of the house was to the trees surrounding it. The path led up to a raised porch and a polished double door. Izumi walked up to it, and rang.

Steps approached from the other side even as Izumi felt eyes watching her from all around. The door opened.

"Good morning, Jiraiya-sama." She gave one of the Legendary Sanin a bow. "I didn't know you were already back in town."

The man in question rubbed his eyes and yawned before replying. "Yeah, I got in late last night. It was a long trip." He gave her a small smile. "Good morning, Izumi-chan. Come on in."

~TtT~

When Uchiha Itachi was first assigned to the security detail of Namikaze Naruto, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

He'd heard of the child. It was very hard not to considering the circumstances of his birth and the identity of his parents, but it wasn't exactly a common occurrence to encounter the young Naruto, either. He lived in the Namikaze clan's ancestral home which wasn't in the village proper and he'd never seen the boy venture down the mountain.

Itachi really hadn't been expecting a precocious little thing that enjoyed watching his guardians train and running around the property with his friends.

In hindsight, maybe he should have seen that coming since Naruto was Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina's son.

Naruto wasn't a prodigy, however, or he certainly didn't remind Itachi of himself all that much. He observed Nohara Rin and Jiraiya when they practiced together in the yard, or when he or another one of the ANBU were requested to join either of them for training, but he didn't do much else. But all the same, there was a spark in his eyes that spoke to Itachi of understanding, or at the very least a desire to.

Otherwise, the son of the Yellow Flash was a rather normal child despite the affluence he was growing up with. He liked running around the gardens, visiting his neighbors, and playing with his friends who were by the house along with their families almost every weekend.

As was the case right now, actually. Enjoying seats on a veranda that overlooked the inner training yard were Aburame Shino, Aikuchi Tenten, and Haruno Sakura, all of whom were there to spend the weekend with the little Naruto that also sat with them.

Off to the side, Mitarashi Anko heckled him.

"Not gonna lie, Itachi-chan, it never gets old watching you get your ass handed to you."

Which he had. Itachi sighed as he took Nohara's offered hand to get up. The older woman gave him a pat on the shoulder as she gave him a once-over to check for injuries. She was ever the dutiful medic-nin.

"Well, this was just taijutsu and kenjutsu. I'm a little more experienced with weapons than Itachi-kun is, I'm sure." The late Hokage's student demurred. "I'm certain he would have been more than able to handle me if he was able to use ninjutsu and genjutsu."

She absentmindedly dusted off what dirt she could see on him that Itachi wasn't paying attention to before adding, "Thank you for joining me this morning, Itachi-kun. Jiraiya-sama was a little too tired from his trip." Nohara looked to the kids that were now talking about what just happened. "And I'm sure the kids found it very educational, too."

Itachi always suspected that it was as much for Naruto's education as it was for Nohara's maintenance of her skills. She was already quite capable, and Itachi did wonder whether he'd be able to hold up to her if they were fighting even marginally seriously.

They had been doing this since before he joined the security detail, and if it wasn't Jiraiya or Mitarashi Anko, it was some other member of the ANBU detail that they could spare. Apparently she picked a different one each day. Nohara always restricted what could be used during the training, and it was usually nothing too destructive. The little Naruto was always there to observe. If the other children were in the house, they'd be nearby watching, too.

Nohara Rin wasn't a known factor like her other teammate was. Hatake Kakashi was well-known both in and out of Konoha. She, however, wasn't. When he had first seen her noted as part of the mission details, he'd approached Shimura Danzo who was one of the principal coordinators to ask him about her, and was told that Nohara was purposefully kept hidden, and that she mostly worked alone, outside of the village.

It raised flags with him, as the only other person that Itachi knew worked that way was Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Very unlike the Sannin who also lived in Azuchi, however, Nohara Rin appeared to be a very mild-mannered woman. Itachi could even say she was downright maternal, especially with how she handled Naruto based on what the other ANBU had told him, and he certainly saw it in how she treated the boy on a daily basis.

He didn't expect to see it from a woman of twenty-two, especially a kunoichi, but he'd also learned that part of her travels had her stay at a place called the Grand Hinata Inn somewhere in the Land of Rain where she lent a hand to take care of some children.

Itachi later found out that the place was a Namikaze-owned property, and was a major hub for trade going to and from the lands of Earth, Wind, and Fire.

"I think it's about time we had something to eat. Why don't you go back to your post, Itachi-kun. Have you eaten?" Itachi nodded. "Alright. Off with you, then."

That had been another thing that bothered Itachi when he'd first been invited to join her for training in the morning. She knew him by name despite the mask. When he'd brought it up with his captain, the man had told him that she knew the identities of everyone of the guard detail, and she didn't really make it a habit to refer to them by their code names when there wasn't anything going on.

Strange woman. The fact that she was being allowed to get away with what she was doing was stranger still. The fact that Mitarashi Anko, who was technically in charge of handling security in Azuchi in Shimura Danzo's stead was okay with all of that confused him even more.

Who was allowed to pull one of their ANBU guards away to train with them of all things? Who was allowed to refer to them in their real names? Even the Hokage didn't do that. Itachi was always Crow when he had first been introduced to the old man, and during training.

Was this a Root thing? Both Mitarashi and Nohara were affiliated with Root, right? Mitarashi was at present, and Nohara was previously during the last war. This had to be a Root thing.

Root was weird.

~TtT~

Nohara Rin felt her lips curl up in a mildly-amused smirk as she saw Jiraiya of the Sannin enter the sitting room that was attached to the veranda.

"You're up earlier than I expected. From how you looked last night, I didn't think I'd see you out of your room till dinner."

The much older man shrugged. Even though he was up and about, he really looked like he'd rather be in bed right now.

"You still look dead on your feet Jiraiya-sama." She took him by the shoulders intent to march him back to his room and put him back to bed when he interrupted her.

"Doorbell was ringing, I figured you weren't going to be able to answer it." He gestured to the younger girl dressed in a purple shirt and carrying a large canvas bag that had followed him into the room.

"Izumi-chan!" Rin gave the girl a wave as the Uchiha entered and put down her pack on a nearby seat. "Sorry I couldn't come to the door. I was showing the kids some things they may find useful once they start out at the academy."

Actually, she was surprised Anko hadn't been the one to get the door and let the baker in, but the Root administrator was also watching the show she was putting on with Itachi, so there was that. Goodness, didn't ANBU have the decency to let the girl in? They really needed to have more people on-hand to staff the house, didn't they? Rin was plenty fine on her own when it was just Naruto, and having Jiraiya here as well as Anko during the day was a big help.

But with all the kids in right now, and none of their parents around, she was feeling a smidge overwhelmed. She wanted to keep her attention on them, but she also had to mind the house, and they were expecting guests. Rin also didn't want to push Jiraiya right now since he'd just spent the last few days moving nonstop from Kirigakure to here. And Anko, while more than happy to help her with the housework, was supposed to be head of security.

Really, Rin kind of wished she could put up helping with the housework as a D-ranked mission, but this was Azuchi, and currently housed the only living son of Namikaze Minato.

And her. Rin was more or less a high-profile secret at this point, and only very specific people were allowed to know about her being in the village. Izumi had been somewhat of an exception, and one she'd had to negotiate with Shimura Danzo on. Izumi had been permitted to stick around and not be mindwiped after that first delivery, but she'd been asked to keep quiet on the matter, and she was being kept under observation for almost all of the first year that she'd been coming by.

Ultimately though, the fact that the girl almost never went into the Uchiha compound helped her case, and so Danzo let her be.

Really, Rin was going to have to deal with all of this eventually. But she didn't have to right now, and she couldn't be bothered. It wasn't affecting her work ─ in or out of the village ─ and she'd already asked about her wayward teammate of Anko several times over the years.

The coward didn't even have the balls to ask for permission to visit.

As Izumi started taking out the bread that she'd brought with her while Anko helped sort what was going into the stores in the kitchen and what was staying out here for ease of access, Rin continued to guide Jiraiya up the staircase in the main hall and towards his room.

"As for you, Jiraiya-sama, back to bed!" He looked at her over his shoulder with a sleepy grin that she returned. "I'm sure the kids are excited for whatever souvenirs you brought back with you, but you're not all that fun company when exhausted and sleep-deprived."

"Yeah, yeah. I was just getting the damn doorbell and you know it."

"I know." She answered, more softly this time. "I'm sorry no one else could get it. Anko was distracted, and I was busy."

"You can get more help for the house, you know. I'm sure Danzo wouldn't mind."

"What do you suggest? Get him to send us another Root member to be full-time staff?"

Jiraiya chuckled as they reached his door. "That could work. We already can't get genin in here for D-rank missions, and normal domestic help isn't going to fly." Looking back to her with his hand on his chin. Rin failed to suppress a smile at seeing that paired with bags in his eyes. It made him look like he'd been up all night writing. "There's also that apprentice of yours."

"He's still in Amegakure helping out at the Inn. He's the best on-hand medic they have for that place until they hire a replacement. Maybe in a few months, sure." She reached past him and opened the door. The blinds were lowered and the lights off. "Now get in there and get some rest, old man."

Jiraiya didn't put up a fight, probably still too exhausted to do so, really. She shut the door behind him before making her way downstairs to check on what they could get ready for lunch.

Rin shook her head. Really, Jiraiya. The information he found in Kirigakure wasn't anything urgent. Sure it was a major political event for the Land of Water, but the global fallout was going to be relatively minimal. No, the old toad had decided he didn't want to be away from Konoha for longer than necessary when Rin had asked him about why he pushed so hard to get home. The dedication brought a smile to her face.

She really was grateful to have him here and helping her. Rin had honestly expected to be by herself in raising Naruto. And while Azuchi was as peaceful and out of the way a place as it could get, it also made it exceedingly lonely.

But a year after Naruto had been born, the old Sannin had come knocking and asked if he could stay and help out. Rin hadn't expected it, but had spent enough time working with him to accept. She'd had her doubts at first, of course. The nature of their work with the information network required a lot of travel. It's why she'd spent so many years on the road after the Third Great Shinobi War ended, and Jiraiya was nothing if not dedicated. Rin had honestly expected the man to be on the road more than he wasn't.

Rin would be lying if she didn't say she was pleasantly surprised.

Jiraiya took to raising Naruto like a fish to water. He'd struggled at first, of course, especially when Naruto had been a toddler. After that though, he and the boy took a shine to each other.

He'd even kept his trips out to a minimum. A weekend a month was the usual with only emergencies ever pulling him away. She'd asked him at one point why he didn't need to go out of town so much.

"We've already got everything setup." He'd told her with a grin as he was setting the dishes at the table while she had been finishing up dinner that night. "You were a big help with making it take much less time. Now it's all about maintaining the relationships with our people out there and giving them a hand every now and then. Usually, that just takes a letter to the right person."

The toad sage then thanked her. Rin then told him that he'd been returning the favor by being here with her.

When she'd started this, Rin had worried that Naruto would be in need of a father figure. That wasn't a concern anymore, not at all. 'Jiraiya-jii' was as fantastic at the job as Rin had hoped she was at being the mother Naruto had lost.

~TtT~

Haruno Sakura breathed in the crisp mountain air. The cold wind nipped at her, helping dry the hair that had gotten wet after her shower. She and her friends had all made messes of themselves that afternoon running around the Azuchi grounds. It was something that Sakura appreciated about spending weekends up on the mountain. Her parents usually got upset whenever she got messy while playing with Ino in the village.

Playing with her friends on the mountain also made her really tired. It was hard to keep up with them sometimes, but she was getting better at it. Was this what it was like playing with ninja kids? The pleasant tiredness gave her an oddly satisfied feeling, and if not for the fact that she was looking forward to a big dinner, she had honestly considered taking a nap in the sitting room nearest Naruto's bedroom.

She thought of her friend Ino, and wondered if the Yamanaka was also capable of running around the way Naruto, Tenten, and Shino did. Her oldest friend wasn't one to run around a lot of the time, usually, and much preferred to go around the village with the other children. Sakura was sure that Ino could navigate most of central Konoha like it was the back of her hand.

Walking down the balcony, she greeted the adults that were occupying the large, oaken table that had been brought out for them. Shino and Tenten's parents arrived while they had been traversing the grounds that afternoon and were having tea with Rin when the kids had returned to get cleaned up. She wasn't sure when Danzo and her grandmother had come. Probably sometime while she was getting dressed after showering.

Jiraiya had finally woken up and was entering the balcony a few paces behind her. He called to the table, "Nana, I heard your kid's started out at the academy this year."

The brown-haired woman sent the old sage a smirk as she answered, "Tenten just started this month. Kaoru and I couldn't be more proud." Turning, the woman shot her daughter an approving grin. Tenten probably heard her name being mentioned and looked to the adult's table with some confusion, but returned her mom's smile anyway.

Sakura made sure to give her grandmother a kiss on the cheek and the councilor a shallow bow that he waved off.

"So you started at the academy this year, Ten-chan?" Sakura heard Naruto ask as she got to the table and she took the last remaining seat to his left.

"Yeah," The older girl said, puffing her chest up a bit. "Shinji-sensei says I'm really good at using kunai."

Sakura laughed at that. "Your family runs a weapon store. You gotta be."

Pink dusted the older girl's cheeks. "Dad said that, too. He's really happy about it."

"So what's the academy like?" It was Naruto this time. "All Rin-chan's told me whenever I ask her is that they teach you how to be a ninja there and not much else." He scowled. "After that she just makes me go back to training."

Tenten paused to think about it, leaning her chin on the hand that she rested on the table as she looked to some point behind the blond.

"They make us do all these exercises like running and jumping around. Kind of like what we were doing earlier today, actually, but they usually time us or grade us over it. After that, they make us sit down for all these classes where they tell us stories about how the village started and stuff." She sighed. "Just remembering it is making me feel more tired. The weapon things they show us how to do are pretty cool though. Sensei showed us this thing with shuriken and wire that let us turn it after we threw it."

That got Sakura and Shino's eyebrows to rise. "That sounds pretty cool." said the Aburame heir. "Dad says I'll be attending next year." His brown eyes turned away from the older girl and towards Naruto and Sakura. "I guess you guys will be, too."

"Definitely." Naruto said, crossing his arms and looking like the very picture of smugness. Naruto was always excited to finally start on becoming a ninja. Sakura kind of got it. The boy was the son of the Fourth Hokage, and he heard lots of stories about his parents from both Rin and Jiraiya. Sakura liked to sit-in on those stories whenever she could, too.

It certainly gave her a very different view of the man that had once run their village. Sakura found it very easy to be in awe of the man when she read the history books in the library that mentioned him. Things changed very quickly when she was told that he once got his foot stuck in the brick walls around the training grounds just below the balcony where they currently ate while he was learning the Hiraishin no jutsu. She'd even been shown the plaster that replaced the bricks they had to tear out to get him free.

Both she and Naruto had been reduced to uncontrollable laughter at the end of that.

The kids were all called to dinner. Anko and Rin had both gotten all the food that her grandmother had brought up with her warmed up and plated while Jiraiya helped pass plates and chopsticks out to everyone. A bottle of sake was brought out by Anko who then shared it with the others at the table while Sakura and her friends were given sweetened tea.

While they ate, they caught up on what they'd been up to during the week. Tenten told them more stories about the academy and some of her classmates such as her strange seatmate Rock Lee and the Hyuuga that looked like he'd be the top student of their class. Shino talked about a member of his clan that he'd recently started spending time with, while Sakura shared her most recent misadventures with Ino. Naruto talked about some of the funny things he'd seen the ANBU guards do when they thought he wasn't paying attention.

After they'd had their fill and the adults had talked a while, they were called by Jiraiya to join everyone else at the big table.

They must have also looked like the night was catching up to them because Jiraiya gave the four of them apologetic looks. "Before you kids head over to Naruto's room for bed, I wanted to give you guys your gifts from my trip to Kiri."

Four children perked up at the mention of gifts. Even Sakura found herself a bit excited. Jiraiya travelled every few weeks, and he'd occasionally brought gifts for them. This usually took the form of food, but it probably would have been part of the dinner in that case. Guess this meant they were getting something else?

Jiraiya took out a sealing scroll. He addressed Tenten first. "Tenten-chan, congratulations on starting at the academy." The girl once again puffed out her chest and sent the old sage a proud smile. "I heard from your parents that you've been having a good time learning how to use all sorts of weapons."

With a puff of smoke a piece made of something shiny and black appeared in Jiraiya's hands. There was a click and a silver blade was withdrawn and held up to the light of the lanterns that lit the balcony.

"Kirigakure is known for the Seven Swordsmen. So outside of the Land of Iron, they make some of the best swords on the continent." He resheathed the weapon and held the katana out to the girl who accepted it with both hands. "I hope you enjoy learning this as much as you do the other weapons you've picked up."

Tenten gave the Sannin a deep bow. "Thank you, Jiraiya-jii." She gave the old sage a dopey grin as she addressed him the way Naruto did. All four of them had taken to doing so, though the old man didn't appear to mind. "I'll become one of Konoha's best swordmasters!"

On the other side of the table, Nana laughed. "We'll see if we can find someone to teach you."

"I think we may have someone in Root." Chimed in Danzo. "I'll see when they're free." Tenten cheered, hopping while still holding the gift close to her chest.

"Shino-kun," The older of the two boys stepped towards the Sannin.

"While on my trip, I met a man that studied insects and similar things for a living." Through the burst of smoke, Jiraiya pulled a book out from the scroll. It was a dark-colored thing with a glossy cover. Sakura thought there may have been a picture, but she couldn't tell from where she was sitting. "He told me some very interesting things such as how spider silk is stronger than steel."

At this statement, Shino perked up. Sakura saw her friend's eyes snap to the book in Jiraiya's hands.

"This is a book he published with other interesting facts about insects. I think most of the things in here you already know." Reaching into his vest he took out another sheaf of papers, these ones looked more disorganized. They weren't bound or even in the same size. "These are copies of his research on spider silk that he was willing to give me in case someone could help further it." The old sage turned to Shino's dad. "I think you and your dad may want to work on this together."

Shino accepted both the book and the stack of papers and gave the Sannin a bow. Aburame Shibi stood beside his son and did the same.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-jii." Shino said.

It was Sakura's turn after that. Naruto's godfather sent her a smile and beckoned her forward.

"From what Naruto's told me, you want to be a ninja. Is that true?" Sakura nodded. "And last I checked, your parents weren't training you any since they weren't very big on the idea. I've talked with them a few times about it."

Sakura also nodded at this, and looked to her feet despite herself. Her parents were alright with her spending time with the children of ninja, but weren't very approving of her desire to become one herself. They were worried about her, they said when she asked. They'd talked about how hard the life was and the dangers they faced and why they didn't want that for her, didn't want her to be put in danger when she didn't have to be.

"Well, that just means you're going to need to be strong enough to make sure you can take it, won't you?"

Sea-green eyes snapped up to meet Jiraiya's dark ones. Sakura could see the mirth in them as he grinned down at her.

"Think you can do that, Sakura-chan?" He asked her, crossing his arms. "Prove your mom and pop wrong?"

It was her own turn to puff out her chest and stand taller. She pinched her eyebrows together and did her best to be the face of determination.

"Yes!"

Jiraiya grinned down at her and nodded. "Good." With a puff of smoke he took out a lacquered box and another book, though this one was bound in leather instead of whatever glossy finish had covered what was given to Shino. "This book should help you learn how to get started on using Chakra. Naruto's already started on the basics with Rin and I, so you'll want to do some catching up." He turned away from her after letting her touch the book first. "Your godfather's offered to help you out."

Sakura turned to the councilman, who nodded.

"I'd be more than happy to, Sakura." Danzo said with a smile. "And if I'm not available, Anko has also offered to help." On the seat to the far end of the table, the Root administrator cheered in agreement.

"What's in the box, Jiraiya-jii?"

The sage let her take the book before bracing the box on his knee and opening it, revealing a set of brand new kunai as well as all the items needed to maintain them.

"This is a kunai set from Kiri. Made by the same people that made Tenten's katana. Nothing fancy about them, but they're of good quality. I figured you ought to have somewhere to start on learning how to use weapons. Maybe Tenten-chan can give you some pointers."

Sakura bowed to accept the gifts.

Finally, it was Naruto's turn. Her friend took her place as she went to sit with her grandmother. Nabiki gave her a pat on the head and an encouraging smile. Her godfather gave her a nod.

"Naruto."

"Jiraiya-jii."

Another lacquered box came up from the scroll that Jiraiya had pulled all of the gifts from. This one was smaller than the one Sakura got, though. Her kunai were in a box that she had to carry with both arms. Naruto's box was less than half the size, and perhaps the smallest of all the gifts.

Jiraiya put the box on his lap and opened it, showing his godson the contents.

From what Sakura could see, it was a pair of dark-colored bottles without any kind of labeling. They rested on a velvet cushion and held in place by what might have been garter. What was that?

"I-is that… ink?" Naruto's brows were furrowed in thought. He looked up to the sage.

Jiraiya nodded. "Cuttlefish ink. Treated to be usable for writing."

Immediately, Naruto's face brightened, and Jiraiya barely had time to close the box and set it to one side before he hopped up and gave the man a hug.

Sakura wasn't sure what it meant, but she'd ask him later. All the same, she was glad he seemed to enjoy the gift even if it may have been less impressive than hers or Tenten's.

The night started to wind down after that. The adults would stay on the balcony for the remainder of the evening, but Rin walked the kids to Naruto's room and laid the futons out for them to sleep in. She and her friends talked excitedly about their gifts, and the older three listened as Naruto explained that the ink meant he was going to be able to learn how to use chakra with writing now, even if it was just super basic.

She recalled stories of how Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina could do amazing things with ink and paper, and wondered if her friend would grow up to be able to do the same. Sakura wondered what they'd all be capable of once they learned how to best use the gifts they'd been given today. She could see Tenten being Konoha's next swordmaster. Shino using ropes of spider silk to tie up their enemies, Sakura using chakra to cut through entire trees.

They were going to be some of the best ninja Konoha had ever seen.

And as Haruno Sakura slept that night, she dreamt of the future.

Review Responses:

bankai777 - I think I'm mostly keeping team assignments the same. From what I understand, the team assignments besides Team 7 all had their own thing going, with Ino-Shika-Cho, and Team 8 being a more or less dedicated tracking team. While the academy's dynamics are going to be notably different, I felt I didn't want to change much more on that front.

Lord Bz - Thank you! I'm glad you really like the piece so far. I do my best to check and re-check the manuscript before I upload. I'm hopeful that I can keep it up. As for how long we're spending on Naruto's childhood, we have about five chapters total that take place before graduation from the academy, starting with the first chapter. There are some important elements I want to establish such as how the kids are going to be developing as well as introducing some other characters and how the divergence changes some major events, that I feel warrant being shown rather than mentioned in passing.

Cheers!