Chapter 36
Sakura woke up when her alarm went off. She stopped it and got out of bead. She stretched a bit before doing some push-ups and sit-ups. After her morning routine, she took a shower to get ready for the day. It was still pretty early but it did not deter her from where she was going to go. Besides, it was the only time that her sponsor could see her. She got dressed and went down to eat with her parents. She had a quick breakfast and left, saying good-bye to her parents.
Sakura walked the streets to see that the rebuild of the village was still going on. Only two days had passed since the Sandaime's funeral and Naruto's 'pep' talk. After that day, the family went to see the Yamanaka family to get some help. Ino was very surprised to hear what Sakura was going through and was there for her. Inoichi also understood and sent for someone. He assured the Haruno family that this person would be great for Sakura.
Mitsune was a godsend to her. In those two days, mistune had managed to get her to sleep properly. She didn't use genjutsu or her families' jutsu on her. Mitsune just talked to her and listened to when she spoke. She got her to see that she was no monster and what happened was a case of survival. What made Sakura really happy was that Mitsune treated her like a ninja, as an equal. It felt great.
Sakura arrived at Mitsune's door and knocked.
"Come in Sakura!" she called out. Sakura entered to see the Yamanaka woman sitting with some tea made. Sakura smiled at her and entered, closing the door behind her.
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Naruto and Anko were having an intense spar in mid-air. They were using their kunai and were engaging each other viciously. They would counter, block or dodge the others strike. By the cuts, Naruto was losing but he gotten a few cut on Anko as there were some cut marks on her. The two prepared to attack each other again when someone entered their battle.
"Hello my apprentice and his sexy sister." Called out an amused Jiraiya. He quickly caught the kunai that was thrown directly at his jewels. "Hey, that was uncalled for!"
"So was pushing me into a ravine and playing with my life." Naruto countered. Jiraiya looked annoyed by that statement and the smirk on Anko's face did not help.
"What are you doing here pervert? We were in the middle of something." Anko said.
"I need Naruto to come with me on an important mission." Jiraiya said.
"With you? Yeah, right! Any mission with you is probably a stupid peeking mission for that dumb book of yours." Naruto commented.
"Like you know anything about literature brat! We are going to search for our new Hokage!" Jiraiya shouted. That got their attention. Anko was trying to figure out who was outside of the village that he could be going to get. It suddenly hit her.
"Okay brat, go and get ready for this mission. It's important to the village." Anko said.
"Oh the hell that you care! You're just scared that I was catching up!" Naruto shouted. It earned him a smack upside the head.
"No, you moron! This is an important mission. We need a leader or we are going to be in trouble." Anko explained. "Besides, it's not every day that you could say to people that I personal met all three of the Sannin." Naruto looked at her and was not convinced.
"Come on, one Sannin is a traitor because he didn't become Hokage and the other is a pervert who needs to spy on women. This Sannin is probably as messed up as the other two." Naruto argued.
"Are you seriously arguing with me?" Anko asked dangerous.
"Fine, fine, I'll go." Naruto said. He turned to Jiraiya. "I'll meet you at the gates in an hour." With that said, Naruto vanished. Anko and Jiraiya faced each other.
"He seems a little hostile toward me. Is he really still hung up about the ravine thing?" Jiraiya asked.
"Maybe it has something to do with things being kept for him. Just a thought." Anko said sarcastically.
"Well, I'll make it up to him. I'll show him a jutsu and he'll forget all about it." he said.
"Oh yes, I'm sure that he will." Anko's voice dripped with sarcasm. She just shook her head and vanished as well. Jiraiya couldn't help but wonder why those two had it out for him. What did he do that was so wrong in their eyes? He just sighed and made his way to prepare for the trip.
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Kakashi was waiting for Sasuke at the tea shop. He sent a message to the Uchiha to explain that the team was on hiatus for the time being. Thinking about his team upset him a little. It was bad enough when Naruto would give him attitude but with Sakura's choice to take time off, he really wished she would have come to him first. Her decision caused a lot of issues between him and the council.
When he was called by the council, he could see by the looks on their faces that they were not happy. They told him about the discussion that they had with Sakura, who asked to be removed from duty until she got straight. While proud of her decision, the council them turned on him and demanded to know why he did not confront the problem himself. Kakashi tried to make an excuse but they were not having it. Due to the reports mad by the late Hokage and Sakura's meeting with them, they decided to put Kakashi under review. The jōnin was shocked by the decision.
Kakashi sighed because he knew what a review would mean. He could be removed as sensei and he could even be fined or demoted. He decided to ignore his fate and focused on the two men in the tea shop. They were wearing the robes that Jiraiya told him about. That's when he saw Asuma and Kurenai.
"Hey guys, you guys on a date or something?" Kakashi asked.
"Don't say stupid things Kakashi." Kurenai stated with a blush.
"What are you doing here Kakashi? Shouldn't you be concentrating on what you're going to do about your review?" Asuma asked.
"I'll deal with the review when it comes." Kakashi said. "I'm waiting for Sasuke. I'm going to get some sweets."
"For Obito's grave? That's a nice gesture." Asuma said, noticing the small motion by Kakashi. That's when Sasuke made his presence felt. He took one look at the tea shop and turned his nose up in disgust.
"I don't like sweets." He said.
"Is that so?" Kakashi asked. He saw that the two were gone. Asuma and Kurenai nodded and disappeared as well, leaving a very confused Sasuke.
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Naruto and Jiraiya were a great distance now. They were moving at a civilian's pace and they had not spoken to each other since leaving. Jiraiya tried but he would get a snarky reply from the blond. It was starting to get annoying."
"Okay kid, what is your problem with me? You can't still be mad at me about what I did during training?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto stopped and turned to face the Sannin. He gave him a serious glance.
"Were you ever going to tell about the Akatsuki?" Naruto asked, surprising Jiraiya. "I mean, that is the reason you really wanted me to use the Kyūbi's chakra, right?" Jiraiya cursed mentally and was a little peeved at Anko. His hesitation only pissed the blond off. He turned to walk off but Jiraiya got in front of him to stop him.
"Okay, okay, perhaps I should have told you why I wanted you to use its' chakra. Yes, part of the reason is the Akatsuki. They are after you, or rather, they are after your tenant. That is one of the reasons I forced you to use its' power. You need to be ready to face them in the future." He explained.
"Then you should have said so Ero-Sennin (Pervy Sage)! I'm so sick of people thinking that I'm some stupid kid! I understand things as well enough when it comes to me!" Naruto shouted.
"Look, there is a reason why things are like that. We are just trying to protect you." Jiraiya said.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with." Naruto said and walked off. Jiraiya sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was really hoping to get to know his godson a little but it looked like it would be harder than he thought. He followed Naruto to the nearby town, unaware that they were being followed.
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Sakura was annoyed. She looked at the treats that she brought that were crushed thanks to Sasuke. She was beginning to wonder what she ever saw in him. Huffing in annoyance, she decided to buy some more treats and go to visit Lee in the hospital. That's when she walked pass a tea shop and saw Anko. Sakura decided to say hi to her.
"Hello Anko-san." Sakura greeted.
"Hey pinky, how are doing?" Anko asked with a grin.
"I'm doing a little better. Mitsune tells me that I should be good to go in a month or two. Iruka is going to do my evaluation when Mitsune gives the word. Still, I'm a little annoyed today." Sakura said.
"Why? What's going on?" she asked.
"I really don't know. I was going to offer Naruto one of these 'mochi' as a thank you for his words. That's when Sasuke ran up on me and demanded to know where Naruto was. I didn't know and he knocks over my box of 'mochi'. He rushed off without an apology and crushed my treats."
"That's something all these prodigies have. I call it the 'asshole' gene. You shouldn't let it bother you so much. If you want I'll tell Naruto when he comes back from his mission. I'll even buy you some dango to replace the 'mochi'." Anko said.
"Thanks a lot Anko-san. I think that Lee would like them." Sakura said.
"So you're interested in 'mini' Gai huh?" Anko asked slyly.
"W-What? No, no, we're just friends!" she exclaimed.
"Oh that's so cute. It's that type of denial that makes it so amusing. You and that Hyūga girl have to take control; like I do when it comes to the man you want. Speaking of control, hey Iruka-kun!" Anko called out. Seeing Anko, Iruka immediately turned and darted in the other direction. This just made Anko grin widely. "I love it when he runs. It gives me a good view of that butt." She turned to the shopkeeper. "Put those dango on my tab for pinky here. I have a chūnin to chase." With that, Anko took off after Iruka.
Sakura just blinked at the scene and wondered just how much she influenced Naruto.
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Naruto was bouncing a ball around the room while his clones were also doing various things. He did this to take his mind off that stupid pervert. They didn't even get settled until he chased after some skirt. Why was he burdened with such a poor sensei? He should have fought harder with Anko about coming on this stupid trip.
His attention turned to the door when he heard a knock. One of his clones went to the door and was about to mock Jiraiya for his failing. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see a pair of Sharingan eyes. The older teen looked a lot like Sasuke. That's when he saw his robes and realized just who this guy worked for.
"Oh shit." The clone cursed. This got the attention of the other clone and the original. They joined him and saw who they were facing. They also cursed but mentally. The young adult noticed the look of recognition and wondered how he knew. That's when his partner stepped into view. Seeing him, Naruto knew that he was in some real trouble.
"You never told me that the boy knew the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Itachi." He said.
"It also seems that he also know just who we are Kisame." Itachi added.
"Is that so? Well, I guess that means we don't have to explain ourselves. Isn't that right Kyūbi?" Kisame asked with a grin. Being called that did not sit well with Naruto or his clones.
"Hey, the name is Naruto fish face!" they all exclaimed.
"Fish face, I haven't heard that one before." Kisame said with a chuckle.
"Have you heard that you're overcompensating with such a large weapon and you really have to pay for it because of the smell you produce?" was the innocent question from one of them. Kisame lost his smile. The amused snort that came from his teammate only made Kisame frown.
"Can I cut off his legs now?" Kisame asked with annoyance.
"Itachi!" a voice shouted. Everyone looked down the hall to see an enraged Sasuke. Naruto couldn't believe that his luck was this bad.
"Who's the brat?" Kisame asked.
"He's my younger brother." Itachi answered.
"Really? I thought you killed every Uchiha?" Kisame asked with a grin.
"You were never held as a child, were you?" Naruto insulted. Kisame gave him a glare.
"I swear, the first chance I get, I am shaving off your legs." Kisame said.
"Enough!" Sasuke shouted, tired of being ignored. "I have done as you have asked. I have hated you. I have loathed you! I have done nothing but hate you! Now, I SHALL TAKE MY VENGENCE!" Sasuke activated the Chidori and charged at the group, his Sharingan blazing.
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