I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
It's been 2 weeks since the chunin exams invasion where Konoha managed to defeat both sound and Suna. It wasn't much of a shocker when Minato forgave Suna and started to work out a new treaty with them since they were being manipulated by Orochimaru. A few days after the invasion, Suna found the deceased Kazekage's body in the desert and some mourned his death as it was evident he was ambushed by Orochimaru.
The village was already being rebuilt thanks to the efforts of the civilians and ninja working together. Minato has been rather busy dealing with the results from the chunin exams, details from the anbu and jonin during the invasion, dealing with the civilian council wanting to take full advantage of the rebuild to get extra things added and announcing that Danzo played a hand in the invasion so he was officially in the bingo book as an S-rank threat due to his root anbu.
Another problem that occurred was Narumi struggling to cope with the fact that Menma was working with Danzo and helped him plan for the invasion. She hasn't even looked at Naruto if they were in the same room together and he didn't blame her at all given how close she was to Menma. Funnily enough, nobody in the village who knew about the situation really blamed Naruto for killing Menma since they all saw the path he was going down.
Naruto on the other hand was back to his usual self and he had high respect from almost everyone in the anbu as they've heard about what he did in the invasion. He didn't really care for praise since it was the right thing to do, but nobody listened to him when he said it wasn't necessary since he didn't do much. His fangirl club grew even larger once everyone discovered he sacrificed an eye to make sure Konoha came out victorious during the invasion and imagine his surprise when he learned he was given high praise from the feudal lord himself which didn't happen often. Currently all genin and jonin sensei were in Minato's office for a meeting he called.
"Thank you all for coming." Minato said
"It's not like we had a choice." Naruto said
"Can you not be a smartass for once?" Kushina whispered
"I could, but that would require me to become something I'm not." Naruto said and her eye twitched
"Anyway, I have some results from the entire chunin exam situation." Minato said
"I thought the chunin exams were canceled because of the invasion." Shikamaru said
"Yeah. Wouldn't that mean nobody gets promoted?" Ino asked
"Usually yes, but some of you were promoted before the invasion and some were promoted after the situation was handled." Minato said
"I'll take my vest now." Sasuke said and walked up to Minato
"Well, you weren't promoted." Minato said
"What?!" Sasuke asked
"There are several reports of your behavior during the invasion and not to mention disobeying orders given to you by your superiors. You showed some skill, but everything you did against Gaara was something you copied from Rock Lee and you barely had control of the Chidori. The only reason you were able to go unnoticed is because Menma was doing a lot more than you were." Minato said
"You will promote me or else." Sasuke said and showed his sharingan, but Minato just stared at him
"Or else what?" Minato asked, as he released his chakra making everyone except Naruto and the jonin get scared
"Minato, you're scaring the kids." Kushina said
"I'm not scared." Naruto said and Kushina slapped his head
"Right. Now, the first promotion goes to Sakura Haruno." Minato said
"Huh? Me?" Sakura asked and Minato nodded
"That's right. While you graduated with little to no skill suited for a genin, your growth was obviously tremendous if you were able to go toe to toe with Narumi during the chunin exams and it impressed the judges. However, you were promoted due to your skills in medical ninjutsu helping civilians with their injuries and helping any injured shinobi you could before nearly suffering from chakra exhaustion. Lady Tsunade, if you would." Minato said and Tsunade appeared with a chunin vest
"Congratulations, Sakura. While you still have a long way to go in the medical ninjutsu area, your potential clearly shows and you earned this." Tsunade said, as she handed Sakura the vest
"T-Thank you." Sakura said and bowed before going back to her team
"Congratulations, Sakura." Kushina said
"Next up, TenTen. You were promoted thanks to your proficient use of weaponry and fuinjutsu skills. Helping protect the civilians until you were down to your last kunai did not go unnoticed. Also, your fathers shop may become a bit busier thanks to the quality of the weapons you use. Congratulations." Minato said and she was handed a chunin vest
"Thank you, lord hokage." TenTen said
"Next, Shikamaru Nara. While you're lazy and unmotivated like your father, I heard you were willingly ready to sacrifice yourself for your comrades in order for them to take out Gaara. Coming up with a plan to stall 10 sound shinobi is quite the feat and I expected nothing less from somebody from the Nara clan. Congratulations." Minato said and Shikamaru was given his chunin vest
"Such a drag. Now I have to do more work." Shikamaru said and Minato just chuckled
"At least it gets Yoshino off of your back for some time. Your father was older than you when he became chunin so you should be proud." Minato said
"I guess." Shikamaru said
"Neji Hyuga, step forward please." Minato said
"Yes sir." Neji said
"Your promotion was one that I had to seriously think about. While you were heavily praised for guarding the nobles during the invasion, your temper and treatment of Hinata Hyuga is not something I will tolerate. Your hatred of the main branch in the Hyuga clan is unwarranted, but I will let Hiashi deal with that. You haven't had any outbursts other than the incident when you tried to kill Hinata and for that, you will get your chunin vest after you apologize to Hinata and speak to Hiashi regarding what really happened that day." Minato said
"Of course." Neji said
"Shizuka, you're next." Minato said
"I didn't really compete and I was unconscious for the entire invasion." Shizuka said
"I know, but during the discussion with both of your jonin sensei and looking over your mission file, you are getting a field promotion. On every mission you've been on, you've shown growth in your physical and your leadership skills. I understand that your team wasn't exactly the best in terms of teamwork, but you have been able to keep a level head and come up with strategies to help the team. Congratulations on your chunin promotion." Minato said and gave her a chunin vest
"Thank you, lord hokage. See that, Naruto? I'm your boss and you need to do what I say. Now marry me!" Shizuka said and Naruto just turned a page in his book
"Not happening." Naruto said and she deflated
"It was worth a try." Shizuka mumbled
"Don't worry. He'll come around eventually." Kushina whispered
"Are you really encouraging her?" Naruto asked
"Maybe." Kushina said
"He's going to have his hands full with her in the future." Minato thought
"Narumi Uzumaki-Namikaze, step forward." Minato said
"Yeah." Narumi said
"First off I'm really proud of you and everything you've done so far as a ninja. You were promoted for your match against Sakura and for being the reason Gaara didn't unleash Shukaku in the village. All of the judges were impressed with your skills and even civilians recommended you for a promotion for saving their lives. I didn't have a vote due to me being your father and being the hokage, some would consider that favoritism. Congratulations. You earned it." Minato said
"Thanks." Narumi said and gave him a smile when she was handed her chunin vest
"Last, but certainly not least, Naruto Uzumaki." Minato said
"Yo." Naruto said
"Your promotion is a field promotion since you never competed at all in the chunin exams which isn't your fault. You were already up for a promotion, but you jonin sensei, Kushina Uzumaki refused to give you a field promotion when it was recommended and well, I'd rather not argue with her." Minato said
"Wimp." Naruto mumbled
"The reasons for your promotion are as follows. Giving orders quickly to your genin comrades to make sure both civilians and the nobles were protected. Gave orders to make sure Gaara didn't successfully release his tailed beast, taking out sound shinobi, Suna shinobi and a group of unidentified anbu that were illegally in the village helping the enemy. Taking out Menma who betrayed our village by siding with the enemy, helped secure the chunin exam stadium, taking out what appeared to have been a mutated experiment by Orochimaru that was causing havoc in the village. Finally, helping me defeat Orochimaru, the first hokage and the second hokage while willingly sacrificing an eye in order for the village to successfully win the war. You were promoted to chunin, but after talking to the anbu commander, some jonin and the feudal lord himself, I hereby grant you the rank of jonin." Minato said and Naruto received his jonin vest
"Sweet." Naruto said
"Now that you are a jonin, your responsibilities will increase and with the village getting more mission requests thanks to our victory, you'll be sent out on high ranking missions that could last up to months at a time." Minato said
"Okay." Naruto said
"Everyone is dismissed except for Naruto. Congratulations to those who were promoted and those that weren't you are more than welcome to try again in six months for the next chunin exams or try to get a field promotion." Minato said and they all left
"What did you need me for?" Naruto asked
"When you leave for your long term mission, I set it up so you'll meet with somebody by the name of Najenda. Apparently she's the leader of night raid and she'll be looking for you." Minato asked
"Am I still leaving around the same time?" Naruto asked
"Yes. You'll be gone for quite a while, but just send reports through your summons and keep me updated." Minato said
"Sure. I can do that." Naruto said
"I do have some concerns though. It's about your eye." Minato said
"It'll be fixed before I leave for the mission. You don't have to worry about that." Naruto said
"You do know that your eye is blind, right?" Minato asked
"Yes and I wouldn't have given it up if I didn't know how to fix it." Naruto said
"I see. Tell me, Naruto. How good are you with fuinjutsu right now?" Minato asked
"Only you and mom are better than me." Naruto said and Minato nodded
"Then I believe it's time I gave you these." Minato said and pulled out a scroll
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"It's a scroll containing my space-time ninjutsu." Minato said
"Why not give it to Narumi?" Naruto asked
"Because she can barely make a storage scroll without it exploding. Menma never showed any skills in fuinjutsu, but you took to it like a true Uzumaki. Narumi is learning the rasengan and I haven't given you anything since the day you were born, so consider this a late or early birthday present." Minato said
"Thanks. There is one thing I want from you though." Naruto said
"What?" Minato asked
"I want to learn the rasengan. While the Chidori is good, the rasengan would be more useful if I need to defeat a strong opponent without killing them." Naruto said
"Alright." Minato said and unsealed a water balloon before tossing it to Naruto
"You just walk around with water balloons sealed away, huh?" Naruto asked
"Never know when you're going to need them." Minato said
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Naruto asked
"Pop it with only your chakra." Minato said
"This better not be a joke." Naruto said
"It's not. This will additionally help with your chakra control. The rasengan is the pinnacle of change in chakra form so if you master this then you'll be able to do much more with your chakra. There are three steps to learning the rasengan and this is the first one." Minato said
"Give me a week." Naruto said
"To get this step done?" Minato asked
"No. Give me a week to get the rasengan done." Naruto said and Minato chuckled
"One week and if you don't have it done, you're getting a genin team." Minato said and started to cough violently into his hand
"You alright?" Naruto asked
"It's just a cough. Nothing to worry about." Minato said and kept coughing
"You suck at lying." Naruto said and raised his chakra levels bringing the anbu into the room
"Lord hokage, are you alright?" Cat asked
"He's not. Bring Tsunade here to check on him." Naruto said and Cat vanished
"I'm fine, Naruto." Minato said
"Yeah. Like I said before, you suck at lying. Let's say I already left and you managed to hide this from everyone, how do you think mom would feel? How do you think Narumi would feel? They just lost Menma and I highly doubt they could handle losing you a short time after." Naruto said and Minato sighed
"I suppose you're right. Perhaps this is a sign for me to retire." Minato said
"What if it's not nothing serious? Are you still going to retire?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. While I have enjoyed my time as hokage, I think spending more time with my family before it's too late is more important." Minato said
"What brought this on?" Naruto asked
"I don't know honestly. I've been hokage for nearly 14 years and out of those 14 years, I've spent a grand total of 5 years with my family if I combine all of the days. Then there's this group Jiraiya was telling me about that seems to be trouble." Minato said
"I think that's the group Itachi joined." Naruto said
"Itachi? When did you speak to him?" Minato asked
"At the massacre. He wasn't the only one there." Naruto said
"Who else was there?" Minato asked
"He said it was some guy in a mask. All I know is whoever it was kept appearing and reappearing all over the Uchiha district." Naruto said
"If this guy is the mastermind behind this group, then his goal is the tailed beasts. Narumi is in trouble if that's what he's really after." Minato said
"Do you know who he is?" Naruto asked
"He said his name is Madara Uchiha." Minato said
"You believed him?" Naruto asked
"No, but he was able to control the nine tails just like Madara though." Minato said
"I can control the nine tails if I wanted to. Besides, I highly doubt somebody like Madara would hide behind a mask." Naruto said and Tsunade appeared in the office
"You called me here about a cough." Tsunade said
"Look at his right hand." Naruto said and they saw blood on Minato's hand
"I didn't even notice that." Minato said
"You need to come to the hospital with me for a better evaluation. Coughing up blood when you haven't really taken any damage or anything isn't a good look." Tsunade said and Minato nodded
"I understand, but before we go I'd like to talk to you about something important." Minato said
"Hm? What would that be? Are we finally implementing my medical program?" Tsunade asked
"I can't due to the council blocking me every chance they get, but I know of a way to get it done." Minato said
"What is it?" Tsunade asked
"A new hokage has the power to pass on or two major changes in the village without the interference of the civilian council getting in the way." Minato said
"Minato, you can't be offering what I think you're offering." Tsunade said
"I am. Due to my health scare right now and more importantly some recent discoveries, I think I need to be more hands on with Narumi's training to get her prepared for something big that could be happening. You're the best candidate for the position and you have the pedigree that not even the feudal lord would argue with. Do you accept it?" Minato asked and Tsunade thought about it
"If I accept, you need to fill me in on everything you're talking about." Tsunade said
"I will." Minato said and started coughing again
"I accept. Let's go." Tsunade said and left with Minato just as a crow landed at the window
"A crow? Itachi." Naruto thought and grabbed the note attached to the crow
"Must be important for Minato." Naruto said and vanished
1 Month later
Another month went by since the entire chunin exam debacle and the village was still being repaired, but under a new hokage. Tsunade was named the fifth hokage about a week after Minato verbally gave her the position, but the feudal lord wanted to come see Tsunade get inducted himself so they held the ceremony a week later. Nobody outside of Naruto, Tsunade, Kushina and Narumi knew why Minato stepped down, but that's how they wanted to keep it. The entire village was shocked when the announcement came that Minato was stepping down and that Tsunade was taking over as hokage, so naturally other countries tried to send spies into the village, but Tsunade managed to plug every weak spot the village had.
"Hey, Naruto." Shizuka said, as they were returning from a mission
"Hm?" Naruto asked
"After we're done with the mission, want to grab a bite to eat?" Shizuka asked
"I can't." Naruto said
"Why not?" Shizuka asked
"I have to meet with Shizune about something." Naruto said
"Maybe after." Shizune suggested
"I have to train." Naruto said
"Maybe I can join you." Shizuka said
"It's private training." Naruto said and she sighed
"You changed." Shizuka said
"How?" Naruto asked
"I get that you're a jonin now, but ever since the invasion you've been avoiding me, barely talking to me and on your days off you never want to do anything with me. Did I do something wrong?" Shizuka asked and he was silent as he had a flashback of what happened to her during the invasion
"No." Naruto said
"Then what's wrong?" Shizuka asked
"Nothing is wrong. I just have a lot to deal with at the moment." Naruto said
"Right. Of course you do. Sorry for bringing it up." Shizuka said and he sighed
"Let's hurry back to the village. It's going to rain soon." Naruto said
"Okay." Shizuka said and sped up leaving him behind
"Sorry, Shizuka, but for right now this is how things have to be." Naruto thought and touched his headband covering is left eye
Konoha-Tsunade office
"We're back. Oh. Didn't realize you were busy." Shizuka said, as she entered the office to see Kushina, Narumi and Minato
"It's alright. How'd the mission go?" Tsunade asked
"Mission complete. The leader of the group was a B-rank criminal who was wanted dead or alive for multiple murders of civilians in multiple villages." Naruto said
"How'd he get away with it for so long?" Tsunade asked
"He used a genjutsu to confuse people and lead them off his trail, but it didn't work on me." Naruto said
"I see. What of the body?" Tsunade asked
"I have it sealed away." Naruto said and gave her a scroll
"Look at you, Naruto. Big bad jonin already taking out bad people." Kushina said and nudged him
"I guess." Naruto said and she frowned
"Come on. Show a little enthusiasm. You did good on your first mission as a jonin. Taking out a murderer is a good thing." Kushina said
"He wasn't just wanted for murders of civilians." Naruto said
"What else was he wanted for?" Tsunade asked
"While he did murder civilians, he would rape them before it happened. He was skilled in medical ninjutsu so he was able to hide his tracks and I only found that out once a lady told me about this new doctor coming in around the same time people started to disappear." Naruto said
"That's a good thing right?" Kushina asked
"No. After he raped his victims, he would take pictures of his work and keep them in a secure place. I managed to enter his mind and found the location of his hideout where he had everything set up. He had civilians there chained up without clothes on as if he was coming back to rape them." Naruto said
"Shizuka, did you see any of this?" Tsunade asked
"No. I was helping guard the safe area the village had set up while we were there. Naruto went on his own for this one." Shizuka said
"I see." Tsunade said
"Where's Shizune?" Naruto asked
"She's covering a shift at the hospital right now." Tsunade said
"Is this meeting over?" Naruto asked
"Yes. You're dismissed. I actually need Shizuka for a mission with Narumi and Kushina. Minato's my assistant for the day." Tsunade said
"Okay." Naruto said and vanished
"I'm not the only one that sees he's more distant like Kakashi, right?" Narumi asked
"He's fine." Minato said
"How do you know? He isn't talking to anybody outside of missions." Shizuka said
"I talked to him when he was learning the rasengan. He's fine." Minato said
"What did you talk about?" Kushina asked
Flashback
"Naruto, if you keep this up you'll have the rasengan down in less than a week." Minato said, as Naruto was trying to pop a rubber ball
"It's not that hard once you know what you're doing." Naruto said
"Or it could just be your natural ability." Minato said
"I guess, but you have to factor in a few things for the people who know it. It took you three years because you created something that never existed, it took Jiraiya like a year because he just goofed a lot and it took Narumi a month because of her poor chakra control. Other than you, everyone else could possibly learn it in a week or less like me." Naruto said and stopped trying to pop the ball
"Giving up already?" Minato asked
"No. I want to ask you something." Naruto said
"What is it?" Minato asked
"During the invasion Menma kidnapped Shizuka and beat her nearly half to death with some root anbu because he wanted to get to me. How would you react if something like that happened to mom?" Naruto asked
"Believe it or not, it's already happened." Minato said
"Really? When?" Naruto asked
"We were genin at the time and she was kidnapped by some Kumo shinobi. They wanted her for her ability to suppress a tailed beast thanks to her Uzumaki ability with the Adamantine chains. She left a trail of her red hair and I was the only one that noticed it. I used my stealth skills to take out the Kumo shinobi and saved her from being used as a breeding factory I guess you could say. We weren't really close before that, but after that we were inseparable." Minato said
"So that's why mom says the two of you are bonded by the red thread of fate. She was talking about her hair." Naruto said
"Exactly. Now, why bring this up all of a sudden?" Minato asked
"If you were close to mom when that incident happened like I am with Shizuka, how would you handle it if you knew your enemy is still out there? I mean Danzo knows how close I am with Shizuka and I just don't want her to get hurt." Naruto said
"I simply trained and got stronger just like she did. She was important to me and I'd do anything to protect her." Minato said
"Even distancing yourself from her?" Naruto asked
"Have you ever tried to ignore your mother?" Minato asked and gave Naruto a blank look
"Hypothetically if you wanted to keep her safe and she didn't have a terrible temper. Would you distance yourself from her to keep her safe?" Naruto asked and he sighed
"I don't know. Are we talking about distance for a few weeks or what?" Minato asked
"Until your enemy was completely gone." Naruto said
"I would, but then I would also run the risk of breaking her heart and losing the love she had for me." Minato said
"So I'm screwed either way?" Naruto asked
"Not really. You can either choose the path that keeps her safe, but breaks her heart or you can choose the path to keep her happy and by your side, but endangers her life." Minato said
"I see." Naruto said and touched his headband covering his left eye
"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Minato asked
"What?" Naruto asked
"Your missing eye. You think without that eye you'll put Shizuka in danger." Minato said
"Yeah. It's why I'm hesitant to go on missions with her now. It's a blind spot and what if she's in my blind spot then killed? I don't think I'll be able to live with myself if she dies due to my weakness." Naruto said
"Then overcome that weakness. You said you can have your eye fixed before you leave, why haven't you done it yet?" Minato asked
"Because it's a medical procedure and I haven't been able to talk to Shizune yet." Naruto said
"Tsunade has been free. Talk to her." Minato said
"That's like talking to a complete stranger. I'll wait for Shizune." Naruto said and Minato chuckled
"I understand. In all seriousness, I personally think you shouldn't distance yourself from Shizuka. With that nearly three year mission you have coming up, I don't think it's good if you leave on bad terms or without even saying goodbye to her. I highly doubt you'll ever find a girl like Shizuka ever again." Minato said and Naruto sighed
"This sucks." Naruto said
"Welcome to the world of love. It's tough. It took me years to figure this love thing out and I still struggle from time to time." Minato said
"I feel like it's my brain telling me to do one thing, but my heart is saying something completely different." Naruto said
"Well, I can't tell you what to do, but whatever you do, just hope you can handle the consequences." Minato said
"I guess. Thanks for the advice...dad." Naruto said and vanished
"You're welcome, son." Minato said
Flashback end
"Just some guy talking. Nothing too serious." Minato said
"Are you telling the truth?" Kushina asked
"Kushi, do I even look like I'd even attempt to lie to you?" Minato asked and she stared at him trying to break him, but failed
"I guess you're right." Kushina said
"Sheesh. A few more seconds under her stare and I would've given up." Minato thought
"Well, I'm going after him to give him a piece of my mind! Nobody ignores me!" Shizuka said and stormed out of the office
"He's a deadman." Kushina said
"I think he'll be alright...Maybe." Tsunade said
"Wasn't she supposed to be on our next mission?" Narumi asked
"We'll fill her in tomorrow." Kushina said
Konoha hospital
"So, can you do it?" Naruto asked
"I can, but I'll have to brush up on my knowledge on it. Why do you want this anyway?" Shizune asked
"Because I'm going out on a mission soon and I'll need both of my eyes. I'll need all the strength I can get when I go for the mission." Naruto said
"I know, but an eye transplant rarely works." Shizune said
"Trust me. This is going to work." Naruto said and she sighed
"Why not ask lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked
"I trust you the most in this village after my mom and Shizuka." Naruto said and she sighed
"Alright. Come back in a few days and I'll be able to do the operation, but just know you'll be off of missions for a month, maybe longer to heal up. The nerves and chakra pathways will need the proper time to heal up." Shizune said
"Thank you and keep this a secret." Naruto said
"No problem." Shizune said
"Why exactly is this hard for you? I thought you would have done something like this." Naruto said
"I've healed people's eyes, but I've never done an eye transplant before. I've read up on them and studied it, but I just need to brush up on the procedure first. It's not everyday when somebody comes into a hospital and asks for an eye transplant." Shizune said
"True." Naruto said and the door was kicked open
"NARUTO UZUMAKI." Shizuka yelled and he sighed
"Yes?" Naruto asked and Shizuka stomped over to him
"YOU DO NOT IGNORE ME. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Shizuka yelled and he just looked at her
"I'll see you in a few days, Shizune." Naruto said and grabbed Shizuka before vanishing
"Such a cute couple." Shizune said and giggled
Naruto's apartment
"LET ME GO." Shizuka yelled and shrugged him off
"If you stop yelling, then I'll talk to you." Naruto said and she took several deep breaths
"Okay. Why the hell have you been ignoring me since the invasion?" Shizuka asked
"Because I failed to protect you." Naruto said
"Huh? What do you mean?" Shizuka asked
"How do you think you got away from Menma and his root anbu soldiers?" Naruto asked
"I thought Kushina-sensei found me." Shizuka said
"No. I found you and you were barely recognizable because of how badly you were beaten." Naruto said
"Oh." Shizuka said
"I didn't want you to get involved with my enemies and when you did, I went into a rage. It hurt me a lot to see you were like that because you were close to me and they wanted to hurt me by using you. Now that I lost an eye as well as some of my power I just wanted to keep you safe and distanced myself from you to throw people off." Naruto said
"So you ignored me because you thought you were too weak to protect me?" Shizuka asked
"Yes." Naruto said
"Naruto, I don't blame you for me getting captured. Clearly you're strong enough to protect me if you killed Menma, his root buddies, took out some huge beast and helped defeat Orochimaru. As for your eye being gone, I don't think it really matters. You were never dependent on your sharingan before so why let it stop you now?" Shizuka asked and lifted his headband
"It's not the sharingan powers I'm really worried about. Say we were on a mission and you were in my blind spot. What if something were to happen and I didn't help you because I couldn't see it happening due to my weakness? Like I said, I don't want anything to happen to you because of my weakness." Naruto said
"Then that means I just have to get stronger so it won't happen. So what if you lost an eye, it doesn't take away your other abilities that are able to put some jonin to shame. If I didn't think you could protect me no matter what happens, then I never would have come to Konoha with you in the first place. I said I was going to stick by your side and it doesn't matter if you're weak or strong. We're a team, remember? I have your back just like you have mine." Shizuka said and smacked him
"What was that for?" Naruto asked
"That was for ignoring me for nearly two months." Shizuka said and gave him a hug
"What's the hug for?" Naruto asked
"The hug is for caring about my well-being. It means a lot." Shizuka said
"You're welcome." Naruto said
"Did you really think ignoring me was the best way to go about keeping me safe?" Shizuka asked
"Yes." Naruto said and she sighed
"I appreciate the thought of you wanting to keep me safe, but next time let me decide on what will keep me safe and what won't. Deal?" Shizuka asked
"Deal." Naruto said
"Now, what were you talking to Shizune about? Don't tell me it was nothing. This is the least you could do after ignoring me." Shizuka said
"I was talking to her about an eye transplant." Naruto said
"An eye transplant? Why?" Shizuka asked
"Because I need it. You probably haven't noticed, but even before I gave up my eye to stop Orochimaru, I was still going blind. I was overusing my Mangekyo and it was eating away at my eyesight. That's why when we were out on missions, my eyes had blood coming from them. It was because I was using my Mangekyo at that point." Naruto said
"So you just needed some new eyes?" Shizuka asked
"Not exactly. I need another pair of Mangekyo eyes that I share a blood relation with to restore my vision so I'll never go blind again unless I use one of the moves to sacrifice my eyes which I won't do." Naruto said
"So this entire time you knew a way to get rid of the blindness, but you still chose to ignore me?" Shizuka asked
"Yes. I didn't know if Shizune would be able to do the transplant and I don't trust Tsunade. That and Tsunade would ask too many damn questions before she even thinks about doing the operation." Naruto said
"Is that why you're going back in a few days?" Shizuka asked
"Yes. I'm getting the transplant after she brushes up on her knowledge of the procedure since she's never done it before." Naruto said
"How long will you be out of missions?" Shizuka asked
"Shizune said a month or possibly longer than that. My nerves and chakra pathways need time to recover." Naruto said
"I guess that means I'll be staying here for a month." Shizuka said
"Huh?" Naruto asked
"You'll be unable to see. It's only right that I stay and take care of you." Shizuka said
"I appreciate the gesture, but I don't really need any help." Naruto said
"Sorry, but my decision is final." Shizuka said and he sighed
"Fine. You can stay for a month. In your own room." Naruto said
"W-Well, what if you need something at night and wake up?" Shizuka asked
"I won't." Naruto said
"What if you fall out of the bed by accident?" Shizuka asked
"I'll get back in the bed." Naruto said
"What if you need help washing up?!" Shizuka asked
"Not happening." Naruto said
"Dammit." Shizuka thought
"Fine. What are we eating for dinner tonight? I'm starving." Shizuka said and he just looked at her
"Don't you know how to cook?" Naruto asked
"Yes, but I'm too lazy to cook." Shizuka said
"I don't know what we're eating for dinner. I might just go to Ichiraku ramen and have something there." Naruto said
"Great! You're paying." Shizuka said and pulled him out of the apartment
Uzumaki-Namikaze estate
"Dinners ready!" Kushina said and Minato came to dinner with Narumi
"Oh finally. I'm starving." Narumi said and sat down
"Kushi, why are there 5 plates instead of 3?" Minato asked and there was a knock on the door
"I bumped into Naruto who was being dragged by Shizuka and invited them for dinner." Kushina said as she opened the door
"Hi, Kushina-sensei." Shizuka said
"Sup." Naruto said
"Hell you two. Come in. Dinner just finished." Kushina said and they sat down
"Hello you two." Minato said
"Lord Hokage." Shizuka said and bowed
"Hey." Naruto said
"This is lovely. My family all together." Kushina said
"Not really. Menma isn't here." Narumi said and looked at Naruto
"He's here in spirit. You know, the teeny tiny good part." Kushina said and Narumi sighed
"Switching subjects to something less emotional, Narumi, I've decided to take full responsibility in your training." Minato said
"Really?" Narumi asked
"That's right. Before Jiraiya was kicked out of Konoha, he was looking into a specific group for me and what their intentions were. I kicked him out before he could find out what it was, but a very reliable source told me that this group is after the tailed beasts and I fear the man I fought the day you were born who ripped the nine tails out of Kushina is part of that group." Minato said
"What are they called?" Kushina asked
"The akatsuki. They wear black cloaks with red clouds on them and they always travel in groups of two. They're all S-rank criminals and according to my source we have just over three years before they start to come for the tailed beasts." Minato said
"Why so long?" Kushina asked
"Apparently that's how long it will take the three tails to be reborn. This is classified information that cannot be repeated out of this house, but the fourth mizukage has been killed in the Kiri civil war and nobody knows who did it." Minato said
"What kind of training are we going to do?" Narumi asked
"We're going to train in every aspect of being a shinobi. Now comes the difficult part." Minato said
"What do you mean?" Narumi asked
"Since we don't know if the akatsuki leader just said three years as a way to throw us off and randomly attack, we're going to travel around the elemental nations for 2 and a half years. This is a training trip that will get you stronger and keep the akatsuki in the dark about where you are." Minato said
"A family trip? For two years? I can get behind that." Kushina asks
"Not exactly. Naruto won't be going on this trip." Minato said and Kushina looked at Naruto
"Why aren't you going?" Kushina asked and he sighed
"I have a mission to go on." Naruto said
"We can delay the trip for a week, right?" Kushina asked
"It's not that simple." Naruto said
"Why not?" Kushina asked
"His mission requires him to be gone for nearly three years and it's very important." Minato said
"A three year mission is classified as a SS-ranked mission. Why on earth would Tsunade send him on that mission?! Tell her to cancel it!" Kushina said
"She can't cancel his mission." Minato said
"Why not? Isn't it simply canceling this mission or finding somebody else?" Shizuka asked
"No. The people who requested this mission are already expecting Naruto to show up and Tsunade can't retract a S or SS ranked mission given out by a previous hokage." Minato said
"Missions given out by a previous hokage? Wait a second. You did this?! You gave him the mission?!" Kushina asked
"Yes." Minato said
"Take it back!" Kushina said
"No. You don't understand that this mission is extremely important and he's the only person I trust to get this done." Minato said
"When do you leave?" Kushina asked
In about two months." Naruto said
"I managed to push it back so he can at least spend his fourteenth birthday with us, but he's leaving the next day and we won't see him again until the time we come back or possibly after." Minato said
"Wait. When were you going to tell me this?" Shizuka asked
"I wasn't." Naruto said
"We're partners, remember?" Shizuka asked
"Yes, but this wasn't something that required your opinion. The reason why I didn't tell you is because you'd beg and plead to go on this mission with me. I know how you are and I can't have any distractions on this mission." Naruto said
"So, I'm a distraction now?" Shizuka asked
"Yes." Naruto said and she stood up
"I'm going home. Thank you for dinner, lord hokage and Kushina-sensei." Shizuka said and left
"You really suck when it comes to other people's feelings." Kushina said
"If she didn't want the answer to that question she shouldn't have asked. Not my fault she can't handle the truth." Naruto said and Kushina sighed
"You could have lied." Kushina said
"Lying gives you false hope and if she wouldn't have stormed off, I would've said that she's a distraction because where I'm going would require me to be 100 percent focused on the mission and I can't do that because I'd be too worried about her well-being. I didn't tell her the truth to be harsh." Naruto said
"Well, when you put it that way I guess you're right. You should still go after her." Kushina said
"I'd rather not get yelled at again today by her." Naruto said
"I don't know what she sees in you." Narumi said
"When you find a boy to like, I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing about him. Until then, be quiet." Naruto said
"You know what, fuck you!" Narumi said
"Language!" Minato said
"No. Let's hear her out. It was coming eventually. Go on Narumi, tell me how you really feel." Naruto said
"I don't feel anything towards you. I thought you were better and that we could have some kind of bond like me and Menma did, but you screwed that up when you killed him! You killed my brother! I hate you! You're not an Uzumaki! You're not a Namikaze either! We wouldn't kill our own no matter what! I could have handled Menma and brought him back to our side! You're just like Itachi! I fucking hate you and I hope you die on your mission!" Narumi said and ran away from the table
"That was interesting. I figured she'd have a lot more to say." Naruto said
"Aren't you going to say something to her?" Kushina asked
"I would only tell her the truth and she's still fixated on this image of Menma she had when they were younger. She can't stand the fact that Menma changed and sided with the enemy. If she hates me for the rest of her life then oh well. I won't lose any sleep over somebody hating me and I damn sure don't care. She's still hoping for that fairy tale ending where she and Menma are the saviors of the world when in reality it won't happen." Naruto said
"Minato say something." Kushina said
"What could I say? You want me to lie to her?" Minato asked
"Say something that will make her feel better." Kushina said
"Only a lie would make her feel better and the only lie I could think that would help is if we make it seem like Naruto was in the wrong. We both know that isn't the truth." Minato said and Kushina sighed
"So much for a nice dinner. Minato, will you clean up after you're finished?" Kushina asked
"Yes." Minato said
"Goodnight." Kushina said and walked away from the table
"Naruto, let me ask you something." Minato said
"Go for it." Naruto said
"You're all for world peace and a better world. How far are you willing to go to make sure the world is peaceful?" Minato asked
"I'd become the world's number one enemy if it would mean everyone could get along and live in peace." Naruto said
"I see. Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." Minato said
Few days later
"Alright. Are you ready?" Shizune asked
"Yes. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Naruto asked
"Yes. I went over the book hard every single day and made careful corrections to increase the success rate." Shizune said
"Alright. Let's do it." Naruto said and unsealed Mikoto's eyes
"How long have you had these sealed on your body?" Shizune asked
"Almost a little over seven years, why?" Naruto asked
"Nothing. It's just not everyday somebody unseals a pair of eyes from their body." Shizune said
"I didn't want to lose them." Naruto said
"Right. Let's get started." Shizune said and used a jutsu to put him to sleep
5 hours later
Shizune was finally finished with Naruto's transplant and she took her time with this one. Each eye took two hours for her and then she took an additional hour to check her work before wrapping his eyes in bandages since light would disturb the way his eyes heal. She wheeled him to his room and bumped into Shizuka who was there delivering some papers for Tsunade.
"Oh. Hey, Shizune." Shizuka said
"Hey. What are you doing here?" Shizune asked
"I was delivering some papers for lady Tsunade. Why do you seem so out of breath?" Shizuka asked
"Naruto's surgery was today. I had to be extra careful since it was my first time doing it." Shizune said
"How'd it go?" Shizuka asked
"It was a success. He still needs to keep the bandages on for a month though. He's actually in this room. Do you want to see him?" Shizune asked
"I don't think that's the right idea. We sort of had a falling out." Shizuka said
"Again?" Shizune asked
"Yes. He thinks I'm a distraction to him on missions. I haven't talked to him since I walked out of the dinner we had at his parents house." Shizuka said
"I'm sure the two of you will work it out. Maybe he didn't mean it as an insult." Shizune said
"I'm sure he did." Shizuka said
"If you say so. I have to get going for my daily check up routines. Nice seeing you again." Shizune said and walked away
"Yeah. Nice seeing you as well." Shizuka said and looked at Naruto's hospital room
"I'll see him tomorrow." Shizune thought and left the hospital
2 months later
Two months went by and it was time for Naruto to leave for his mission. Not much has changed with him since he was sidelined after his eye surgery and he fully recovered thanks to the help of Shizuka. She was a big help for him getting around and stayed at his house. He was kept up to date on everything going on in the village and it wasn't much of a shocker that Narumi killed Sasuke after tried to defect to Orochimaru. Apparently she used three tails of the nine tails chakra and unintentionally killed him. The civilians who praised the ground he walked on were not happy and demanded she be executed, but Tsunade put that to rest as she told them Narumi was a shinobi fulfilling her duty.
Right after Naruto was healed he was kept off of duty since he was getting ready for a SS-ranked mission. He celebrated his birthday with his family despite him not wanting to as he never cared for celebrations, but Shizuka talked him into it and that means she kept bothering him until he agreed to go. They made up about 2 weeks after Naruto was released from the hospital and he further explained his reasoning behind saying she's a distraction to him. Now after getting everything out of the way, Naruto was ready to get on with this mission as he was at the front gate with Shizuka, Kushina, Minato, Narumi and Tsunade.
"Are you sure you have everything? Maybe you should go back home and check for about 3 years." Kushina said
"For the tenth time, I have everything." Naruto said
"Are you sure? Let me check." Kushina said and Naruto sighed
"Will you get your wife? I need to leave now." Naruto said and Kushina gave him a bone crushing hug
"You better come back alive!" Kushina said
"I will." Naruto said and used the substitution jutsu on Minato to get away
"Um. So, I guess this is it, huh?" Shizuka asked
"Yeah." Naruto said and she wrapped her arms around his neck
"Please come back to me. I know you're going on a dangerous mission. Just come back to me." Shizuka said and he hugged her back
"Don't worry I will." Naruto said
"Make sure you get plenty of experience out there because when you get back you're mine." Shizuka said and he chuckled
"From the way you are with me I thought I already was." Naruto said
"Not yet. Just get some experience and you know what I mean." Shizuka said
"No fair! She's hugging him longer than I did!" Kushina said and tried to run over to them, but Minato held her back
"Narumi's leaving as well." Minato said and nodded towards Narumi standing far away from them
"You're right." Kushina said and went over to her
"I know I said this to my mom earlier, but I really have to get going now." Naruto said and she nodded
"I know." Shizuka said
"I'll send you a message when I can." Naruto said and she just kissed him on the lips
"For good luck." Shizuka said and he returned the kiss
"Just felt like that was long overdue. I'll see you later." Naruto said
"Yeah. I'll see you later." Shizuka said and Naruto summoned a wolf
"Naruto, how may I be of assistance?" The wolf asked
"Genshi, how fast can you get me to the land of waves?" Naruto asked
"Full speed shouldn't take me no longer than 10 hours." Genshi said
"Good. My boat leaves in 12 hours. I'll see you all in about three years and Narumi for what it's worth, I did give Menma multiple chances to change his ways. Let's go, Genshi." Naruto said and Genshi took off
"How long will it take him to get there?" Tsunade asked
"About 3 weeks. He has to catch the boat from wave and then it will go around to Suna where it stops for a few hours and then it takes him to where he needs to go." Minato said
"Um. Where exactly is he going?" Shizuka asked and Minato looked at Tsunade
"He's heading out west to the empire." Tsunade said
"HE'S GOING WHERE?" Kushina yelled
"What's the empire?" Shizuka asked
"It's a dangerous place out west way past Suna across the sea and their ruler is said to be strict to the point where they execute civilians for not agreeing with his methods." Tsunade said
"You sent him there?!" Shizuka asked
"Minato, do you know what would happen if they saw him with his Konoha headband? We can't afford to go to war with them and fight off the threats here." Kushina said
"That's why he doesn't have his headband with him. He can still use all of his techniques over there since they're similar to what they do and he's not going to be alone. He has some help waiting for his arrival." Minato said
"Have faith in him, Kushina." Tsunade said
"Fine. Fine! Minato, if he dies, I'm cutting your nuts off and hanging them on the wall." Kushina said and he paled
"R-Right. Narumi, ready to go?" Minato asked
"Yeah, but what did he mean by saying he gave Menma chances?" Narumi asked
"That's exactly what he means. Naruto understands being a shinobi will sometimes require making unpopular decisions and living with them. He honestly didn't want to kill Menma because he didn't know if he could handle the hatred that he thought would come from me and you. He put our feelings first until Menma attacked Shizuka which is a big no no in his book. So he didn't kill him out of cold blood or anything like that." Kushina said
"Well, we better get going. Got a long two years ahead of us and we're burning daylight." Minato said
"Are you sure you don't want to come mom?" Narumi asked
"Yeah I'm sure. Besides, I'd slow you down in a few months anyway." Kushina said and rubbed her stomach
"You're pregnant?!" Narumi asked
"Yup. 6 weeks. When you get back you'll have a little brother or sister." Kushina said and Narumi gave her a hug
"I'll come back stronger just for her or him." Narumi said
"I'm sure you will." Kushina said and Minato joined in on the hug
"I can't wait to see this one." Minato said
"Hopefully he or she takes after both of us. A delicate balance of craziness and smarts." Kushina said and he laughed
"Let's hope so." Minato said and gave her a kiss before breaking the hug
"Take care you two." Kushina said
We will. Let's go." Minato said
"Bye mom! I love you!" Narumi said, as she took off into the trees with Minato
"I love you too, sweetie!" Kushina said and wiped a tear
"So now what?" Shizuka asked
"Now, we train. I'll become your personal teacher for the next 2 and a half to three years and teach you all I can. When I'm done with you, Naruto won't have to worry about you so much any more." Kushina said
"What about Sakura?" Shizuka asked
"She's my apprentice. Girl has potential and I've taken her under my wing officially. As of right now, team 7 is disbanded." Tsunade said
"Let's get to work then." Kushina said and left with Tsunade, but Shizuka looked at the gate for a few seconds
"You better come back alive, Naruto." Shizuka thought and ran after Kushina
3 weeks later
Naruto finally arrived at his destination and along the way he found out about the empire giving him a better understanding of what he was dealing with now. There was a war going on within the capital between the revolutionary army and the imperial military who supported the emperor. The moment he stepped off of the boat and started walking, he blocked a sword strike with his own sword and blocked a punch with his other hand.
"You left your back open." A voice said
"Look behind you." Naruto said and the person turned around to see another Naruto with a kunai at their neck
"Ooo. I like this one." A different voice said
"I'm guessing you purposely scheduled the ship to come at night so you could test me." Naruto said
"That's right. My name is Najenda and you must be Naruto." Najenda said and he looked at her
She had short silver hair and purple eyes. She has an eye patch over her right eye and wore a black suit that gave everyone a look at her cleavage. She was about two inches taller than him as he was only 5'6 at the moment and she had a mechanical arm.
"Nice to meet you." Naruto said
"The one who tried to punch you is Leone." Najenda said
Leone in his eyes is a young and curvaceous woman. She has short blonde hair with two long bangs that frame the sides of her head and golden eyes. She wears a revealing outfit with a black tube top, detachable sleeves, pants, boots and a scarf around her neck.
"Hey, kid. Bring it in." Leone said and pulled him into a hug squishing his head into her breasts
"Not that I don't mind, but I'd like to breathe." Naruto said
"Oh I like him already! We should have a drink! Got any money?" Leone asked and Naruto just looked at her
"We'll talk." Naruto said
"Yes!" Leone said
"The one with the sword is Akame." Najenda said
Akame is a pretty young girl with long black hair that reaches down to her knees and red eyes. She wore a dark sleeveless dress with a white collar and a red tie. She wears a red belt that has a red side skirt cover over a black, pleated skirt. She wears long black socks and black shoes. She also wears red gauntlets and black gloves.
"Sup." Naruto said
"Hey." Akame said
"We should head back to the base before we're caught." Leone said
"Right. Follow us, Naruto." Najenda said and they left
Night raid base
"So, now that we're here, I'm sure your leader informed you of our status in the capital." Najenda said
"Not really, but I got the gist of everything during the boat ride over here." Naruto said
"Good. We're still a few years away from our original goal, but we still do things to gather as much information as we can." Najenda said
"No offense, but I was expecting someone older or at least more people." Leone said
"Naruto is all we need. I've been briefed on his skills and there aren't many people in the village he's from that can beat him." Najenda said
"Who is this?!" A voice asked
"This is the guy the leader from the Far East sent us. Naruto, this is Mine." Najenda said
Mine has very long, pink hair tied in twin-tails on the right and left sides of her head, although, on occasion, it is free-flowing. She has big, pink eyes. She wears a pink outfit, consisting of a tied shawl with a high collar, a pink, long-sleeve shirt, a gown and black stockings with pink shoes.
"I'm guessing your favorite color is pink." Naruto said
"So what if it is?!" Mine asked and Naruto had a bright idea so he transformed into her
"What the hell?!" Leone asked
"Turn back to normal!" Mine said
"No!" Naruto said and sounded just like here
"Captain, make him stop!" Mine said
"You make me stop!" Naruto said
"Don't push me!" Mine said
"Why is Mine arguing with Mine? Uh. What's going on?" A green haired boy asked
"Lubbock, this is Naruto from the elemental nations Far East from here. Apparently he has the ability to transform." Najenda said
"Sweet. Hey, since you're Mine, do you think you could show me what's underneath?" Lubbock asked
"YOU BETTER NOT." Mine yelled and Naruto went back to normal
"In order for me to do that, I'd have to see what she looks like without clothes on and I still wouldn't do that, pervert." Naruto said and Lubbock deflated
"At least I tried." Lubbock said
"I bet you wish you saw what was under here!" Mine said
"Sorry, but you're too small to ride this ride. Grow a few inches and we'll talk." Naruto said and Leone burst out laughing as Mine's face turned completely red
"Oh my goodness! That is hilarious!" Leone said and banged her fist on the table
"I can feel the headache between these two coming." Najenda thought
"Akame, please show Naruto to his room. After that, you may get started on dinner if you'd like." Najenda said
"Shouldn't we wait for Sheele?" Lubbock asked
"She's probably sleeping knowing her. She'll wake up once she smells the food." Mine said
"Want me to help with dinner?" Naruto asked
"I don't know. Akame is pretty strict when it comes to food." Lubbock said
"He can help." Akame said and took him to his room
"Are we really counting on a teenager to help us?" Leone asked
"He's right. I mean how old is he anyway?" Mine asked
"14 which is the same age as you, Mine and he's already killed before so we don't have to worry about that. Plus with his skills at transforming he can sneak into places we normally wouldn't go. He'll be fine and according to his leader, he'd rather fail a mission than have one of his comrades die and so far nobody has died when he's on the mission with them. It also helps that he can make physical copies of himself as well." Najenda said
"I call first dibs on him!" Leone said and the others looked at her
"No fair! I want to break him in first!" Mine said
"Will you two stop? Akame or Sheele will have him first and then Leone will show him around. After that, the two of you will decide." Najenda said
Naruto and Akame returned from his room to begin cooking. Akame watched on with a close eye as she wanted to make sure he didn't screw up, but to her surprise which didn't show, he was doing everything perfectly and she left him to his own devices while she did her thing. After dinner was done and everyone saw Naruto's appetite was just as big as Akame's, everyone went to their own rooms where Naruto looked at the moon from his window. It was going to be a long couple of years for him.