AN: I was on vacation so I did not publish for a while. I was waiting for my beta to go through this chapter (which has been ready for a little while) but unfortunately, he was too busy and I did not feel like looking for another beta. LK, I'm without news from you so I'll assume you are doing well.

Thanks to "guest" Kazekira for their absolutely useless review. It is not because you use nice words that your non-argument becomes any more valid. Your first sentence literally reads: "your story is shit because it's shit -I don't like it, it's shit- and your execution is shitty". You've been a tremendous help in your analysis, please don't do it again. But you are right of course: how dare I put challenges in the way of Naruto? How dare I make him train like the shonen protagonist he is? How dare I weave a plot that is not entirely related to Naruto that you are apparently blind to anyway? How dare I not throw Naruto immediately in a senseless, useless, tasteless storm of action?

The Naruto fandom likes to bath in mediocrity alright yet I'd like to thank you for taking the bath with us. You read until chapter 15 after all...

The return to Konoha was a confused blur and Naruto could not say he remembered it, except for the fact he had been carried a part of the way after having collapsed from nervous exhaustion.

When the boy awoke, the first thing he knew for a fact was that he was not in Rice Country anymore. The blond could not tell if the exhaustion he was feeling was still a reminiscence of combat or due to the fact he had excessively slept. He did know he was beyond happy to be anywhere else than Rice Country though.

His keen ears picked the songs of various birds and his good nose smelled the unmistakable odor of medication and disinfectant that typically reigned supreme in a hospital.

"Where... Am I?" The boy asked aloud, his voice still rocky and raspy, his diction barely understandable.

"In the reserved section of Konoha military hospital. Today is the second of July and it is nine in the morning." A voice, deep and soothing, slightly raspy too, answered.

"Shlept... too late," groaned Naruto, his words slurred, still only half aware and entirely afraid of having missed his alarm. Tiger was going to kill him.

"No worries, you are currently on rest."

"Ish that sho?"

"Yes."

The boy nodded, still too asleep to bother identifying the voice. Doing his best to fully awaken himself, Naruto reflexively made his chakra surge once, before molding it in the specific fashion that served to open his tenketsu. His chakra surged a second time and the boy smiled contentedly as the inner energy started to flow everywhere, warming him up. It took a minute to chase the last cobwebs of sleep away and another to open his eyes.

"I'm sho thirshty." He croaked, realizing his throat was as dry as Wind Country.

Immediately, he felt a straw being pushed against his lips. Without asking himself too many questions -if whoever was here wanted him dead, there was no need to poison his drink- the boy drank avidly. Fresh, pure, delicious water flowed in his mouth and down his throat. Eventually satisfied, he pushed away the glass that was presented to him and turned his head toward whoever was by his side.

"Jijie?" The blond exclaimed in surprise before coughing violently, his throat protesting the sudden effort.

"Yes, my boy. How are you feeling?"

Naruto did not answer immediately and mentally took stock of what he was feeling. The memories piled suddenly upon him. Excitement and relief welled and surged forth. He was alive and back in Konoha. It was too much and his chest was too small to contain everything. He felt tears of joy slowly drip down his eyes and a mix between a sob and a laugh shook his body. He felt strong arms circling around him and engulfing him inside a hug.

"I'm alive. I'm alive." The blond repeated in his drawl, almost like a mantra, as if the reality of his situation was too unbelievable for him.

Having to wait nearly two weeks in that hole in Rice Country without being able to do anything had taken a heavier toll than he had thought. He hadn't realized how much he had been afraid.

Terrified, even, of not seeing Konoha again, of never being embraced by his grandfather, of missing on Ayame's ramen. It was something to know life was fleeting when one was a ninja; it was something else entirely to live through it. The truth was that he had very nearly died and it was crashing down on him now, when he was finally safe.

The blond took a few minutes to collect himself, still securely held in the arms of his grandfatherly figure, who kept whispering soothingly in his ear.

"You are back and safe Naruto, back and safe."

Eventually, the boy calmed himself and willed his arms to move in order to return the hug of his grandfather for a long minute, basking in the warmth and the contact. He had been so close never to experience that again. The thought churned his insides and he hugged his Jijie harder.

"How are you Naruto?"

The boy hesitated for a second. "I'm fine." He mumbled in the robes. Slowly he disentangled himself from his grandfather and looked at the older man in the eyes. "I'm fine." He repeated in his new drawl, swallowing thickly.

Hiruzen felt his heart split when he saw fear and wavering courage fight it out in the boy's eyes. The Hokage cupped the Naruto's cheek with his hand and sighed when the blond leaned in the contact. "You are not but I know you'll surmount it." The old Sarutobi said, locking gaze with the blue-eyed boy. "Just… Do not try to win this fight alone, Naruto. Can you promise me that?"

The boy nodded, contentedly rubbing the old, callused hand with his cheek, relishing the affection. Closing his eyes for a few seconds, Naruto inhaled deeply before he returned the Hokage's gaze. "I promise Jijie."

The Sarutobi nodded and hugged his surrogate grandson once again. "Good. Coming this close to both side of death is a harrowing experience."

Naruto returned the embrace and marveled at the strength his grandfather's old arms still possessed, at the warmth he exuded, at the beat of his heart still powerful.

"You've ever been… This close Jijie?"

"Yes. During the first Great War before I became Hokage. During the second as well."

Naruto modestly decided to not pry any further. He sure as Flame did not want to recount his death-yet-not and he would not make his grandfather relive his own experiences for his curiosity. He did not even want to know anyway.

"I…" The boy began only to close his mouth, unsure of what he even wanted to say in the first place. He had refused to see it sooner, refused to acknowledge it, because he knew that, had he done that, he would have gone off the far end in Rice Country.

There was a dark, viscous fear in the back of his mind and in the corner of his heart. The disgusting, unsightly fear of death. "How am I going to go back?" He eventually asked in a whisper, his eyes glazed and his voice shuddering, the question thrown as much to the Hokage as to himself.

"This is a question only you hold the answer to, Naruto." Hiruzen answered tiredly. "But I'm certain it is here," he said, trying to be as reassuring as he could.

"Here?" The blue-eyed blond asked weakly.

The old Kage tapped his finger against the boy's chest, just above the heart. "Why did you become a ninja, Naruto?"

The blond looked down, lost in his whirling thoughts. He had an easy answer to that question. Was it worth giving up his life for it? Was it egotistical to not want to? Was it cowardly to be afraid? He was shaken out of his thoughts by his grandfather. The boy locked gaze with the older man, cerulean blue meeting dark brown.

"It is alright to not answer it now. It might help if you talk. This hospital has an entire section of specialist but you also have people who hold you dear, Naruto. Never forget that and help yourself."

"Hai."

Silence fell and blanketed the room for a minute. Soon, the boy started to fidget uncomfortably, something apparently weighing on his mind.

"Jijie…" The boy eventually whispered through a constricted throat, his tone wavering and hesitant.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"I… We need to talk about It." He said, gesturing vaguely toward his stomach, his voice cracking on the last word.

"Tiger reported what happened to me Naruto. We can discuss it later, once you're-"

"N-no!" The blond moaned fearfully in an urgent whisper, panic rising slowly within him. "We can't wait. We can't."

"Alright, Naruto, calm yourself and breath." The Hokage enjoined firmly, gripping the boy's hand and holding it tightly, anchoring him.

Encouraged by his grandfather unwavering presence, the blond regulated his breathing and pushed back the panic and the fear. Deeply inhaling three times, the boy swallowed thickly and looked at the Sarutobi, his eyes holding a resolute shine.

"Thanks, Jijie."

"You're welcome, my boy. Now if you'll allow me…" Having said that, the Hokage sped through hand seals before his chakra surged. Black marking, seals, realized Naruto, etched themselves on the door and the window. "No one can hear us now."

The blond nodded. It was a good precaution considering what he was going to reveal. Taking another very deep breath, Naruto steeled his resolve.

"The Kyuubi. It talks." The boy breathed out. "It's… It's sentient." He whispered.

The Hokage gazed back at his surrogate grandson stoically, allowing nothing to show on his face just like the excellent ninja he was. Inside his skull, however, the gears were turning full speed.

Little was known of the Bijuu in general and of the Kyuubi even less. The very first time Konoha had jailed the beast away, it had been within Mito Uzumaki. But the Shodai's wife's seal was completely tight, which meant that, while the Kyuubi had no way to get out, Mito herself could not interact with the Fox.

Such were the laws of sealing. The prodigious Uzumaki had not wanted to risk using a fuinjutsu that allowed passage, and so she did not have access to the beast locked inside her.

The process had been repeated identically for Kushina, making use of the Uzumaki bloodline she possessed.

In Naruto's case, however, the massive eight pronged seal that kept the best at bay had a minuscule rift in its middle, to allow for the Kyuubi's chakra to trickle down in the boy's own tenketsu, expanding his reserves.

This aperture also meant that Naruto's chakra could potentially go up the seal. The boy could potentially meet with the beast, interact with it.

"Did you plan for that to happen, Minato?" The old man thought silently, wondering, not for the first time, why his predecessor had not opted for a tight seal. Had the Fourth Hokage known something Sarutobi did not? Did he simply want to give his only son power?

Had he actually panicked and made a mistake when designing the monstrosity of a seal Naruto sported today on his stomach? Equally powerful men had wavered in less stressful situations after all. Everyone was prone to errors, even the Kage.

The Kage doubly so, maybe.

"Tell me everything, Naruto." The old Hokage ordered in his business, no-nonsense voice.

The blond opened his eyes wide, his left hand nervously twirling the covers of his bed. "Where… Where should I begin?"

The Sarutobi took a second to think about the question before he answered. "Tell me about your first meeting."

The blond recoiled and, for a second, looked positively frightened before he took a deep breath. Centering himself, Naruto looked the Hokage in the eyes.

"Yes, Jijie."

Kakashi had his nose in his opened little orange book, giggling lowly in a rather creepy rendition of a schoolgirl. He had been doing just that for the last two hours but apparently, it was the last straw for Ibiki, who smashed his palm against the table.

"Hatake! Stop it with your acting, I can't hear myself think with your constant noises. Or if you must continue, then get out of here!"

The jonin lowered his book slowly, eyeing the head of T&I hard with his lone orb, only to be returned a glare. Kakashi sighed. That was the problem with Ibiki. While the chief interrogator wasn't a match for him, he feared no man. The Hatake withheld a groan -it wouldn't have been hip- and cocked his head to the side.

"You say something Ibiki?"

"I'm going to burn this book of yours. Before you invite me to just come and try it, you know full well how I operate. So make yourself useful or fuck off," retorted the gruff bear of a man.

Kakashi flipped his book around for a second, observing the cover, finding nothing.

"Where and how?"

"I'm not going to tell you that."

"You could be bluffing."

"You want to risk calling it?" Ibiki threatened, his eyes a thunderstorm.

Kakashi considered for another second his priceless, signed copy of Icha Icha Paradise and sighed. "No." The jonin closed the little book and stored it in the front pouch of his flak jacket. "So, what are we doing?"

Ibiki groaned. "You missed nothing Hatake, I know how you are. Get on with it."

"Why did I have to stop reading then?"

"Because the noises you make are worse than Gai's voice."

"Unyouthful," remarked said jonin in a grumbling whisper.

"Ouch." Kakashi commented in a monotone.

"Are we done?" The T&I head demanded, rubbing his temples in exasperation.

"I suppose. What do you need my help for anyway? What could I find that you didn't?" The white-haired jonin asked, apathetic. Kakashi was an excellent ninja, a well-rounded one at that, but Ibiki hands down had the best deductive mind of all Konoha.

Ibiki knew how to look underneath the underneath better than Kakashi.

"I need a fresh look on this because it leads nowhere alright? Your Sharingan trick was nice but in the end, it only gave us so much. We know Danzo was the one who encoded the S-ranked mission that was given to the Academy teachers. We know he did it years ago before he was even banished; it's a long term plan. We also know he admits it's something that goes against Konoha's interest. And that's not Danzo Shimura. What does it mean?"

Only silence answered the T&I chief as all jonin were lost in their own thoughts.

"There's something more to it." Gai offered eventually.

"Then what is it? We have nothing to go on from here. What are we looking for?" Ibiki thundered impatiently. The interrogator had been thinking in circles for the better part of a day and nerves were starting to show.

"You know…" Aoba stated hesitantly, slowly formulating his thoughts. "I still think it's too elaborate for a diversion."

Ibiki shifted and focused his gaze on the genjutsu specialist. "Go on."

"I do not know what started this investigation but we only discovered this scheme thanks to it. It would have continued otherwise."

"What do you deduce from that?"

"That the sabotage might have been a diversion but it had also an objective on its own."

"Weakening Konoha?" Gai asked.

"No," answered Aoba. "It's not Shimura' way, remember?"

"And he told the truth when he said he had no interest in weakening the village." Kakashi offered in a bored voice.

"People change," remarked Gai.

"Not when they are as old as he is. Rarely, at least." Ibiki countered. "And as Kakashi said, he did not lie about his convictions. So let's assume that Danzo actually did what he did for Konoha's best-"

"He admitted himself this action weakened us. Or rather, his heartbeat did."

"No!" Ibiki suddenly interrupted Aoba feverishly, his eyes wide in realization. "He admitted to it impacting Konoha's forces. Possibly negatively, given the way your previous question was worded. But he indeed told us what he perceives as the truth when he says it's not going against Konoha."

"So while the sabotage itself could possibly weaken Konoha, its true objective doesn't?" Gai asked, perplexed.

"Exactly," Ibiki answered.

Silence fell over the four men who mulled over the conclusion.

"Let's go with that, even if it's farfetched. We haven't progressed much though: we still do not know what the true objective of the sabotage was if there was even such a thing." Aoba said, scratching something in a notebook.

"Let's start from the beginning. What was the effect of the sabotage?" Kakashi asked rhetorically.

"It nearly condemned this year's new batch of teams," Gai answered.

"But it did not…" Ibiki said in a whisper. "It did not. It was caught before. The effective result is that the only teams who passed were those made of clan hairs or ninja-born hopefuls."

"It still weakens Konoha if the clan heirs are not educated." Aoba objected.

Kakashi's own visible eye widened as various gears fell into place. "No. I mean yeah but not really."

All three jonin turned toward the Hatake. "No?" Ibiki questioned pressingly as if knowing what the Hatake was thinking but wanting to hear it nonetheless.

"Of this year's batch of teams, only the hopefuls who were raised in a ninja family were accepted. I like to terrorize my genin by saying only a third only is accepted..."

"Which isn't true," cut Ibiki. "That's… Not… True. Yes. Konoha is weakened by the fact that only a few new teams were confirmed and no new blood was really introduced in the ranks. But ultimately, the teams that passed were all superior genin given to excellent jonin to counteract the sabotage. Kakashi taking care of the InoShikaCho, Asuma taking care of the two dojutsu wielders and the Inuzuka heir. You Aoba, watching over the Haruno and the Aburame."

"The result is fewer teams but all groomed by elite jonin." Gai summarized.

"But why go through the trouble of sabotaging the Academy for that? And we are still talking about a traitor who attempted to assassinate Lord Third as if he were perfectly loyal." Aoba protested.

"He is perfectly loyal to Konoha. Or his own idea of Konoha at least." Gai remarked.

"What's his idea of Konoha then? I thought Danzo was the most militant of all the old coots that still gravitate around the Hat. Reducing the number of successful teams doesn't really play to this!" The glasses-wearing jonin exclaimed.

"Because it's a distraction. A necessary sacrifice, one Danzo himself admits to it damaging Konoha. He knew we would try to rectify it. The real goal…" Ibiki muttered, his voice dying the more he spoke before falling completely silent. "This cunning old bastard." The head of T&I muttered in an almost appreciative tone.

"You have something?" Gai asked.

"Yes, I might. You're not cleared to know of it but I think there is a possibility the sabotage reached its actual goal already."

Kakashi trained his gaze on the scarred jonin, his piercing eye trying to piece for himself the conclusion Ibiki had reached. He was lacking a crucial element still.

What had kickstarted the whole investigation?

He watched as Ibiki got up and withdrew a rolled up piece of parchment from his long coat. The man spread the paper to reveal a seal specific to summoning. Pinning the four angle with as many shuriken, the T&I chief took another scroll, a storing tag this time, and unsealed its content.

After placing a fresh apple and a bottle of sake near the summoning scroll, Ibiki nicked his left thumb, ran through hand seals, and slammed his left hand on the scroll.

In a puff of billowing smoke, a small monkey appeared. Ibiki immediately bowed to the animal as the summoning parchment started to consume itself into ashes.

"Saru-sama. Please accept this food and drink as offerings. I need your help to pass a message to one of your summoner, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who lent me this scroll of summoning."

The monkey observed the apple for a second before he took a bite from the fruit then a swig from the bottle of sake. With a satisfied burp, the summon turned to Ibiki.

"What is your message, friend-of-my-summoner?"

Ibiki leaned above the monkey and, carefully hiding his lips, whispered something so low, none of the other three jonin could hear it.

Kakashi frowned. What was so secret that Ibiki did not trust them with it? Was the head of T&I maybe not even allowed to share it with them? As an elite jonin, the Hatake was certainly unused to be outside the loop.

With a nod, the monkey took the apple and ate it in three quick bites before taking the bottle of sake -"for the road"- and darting away at a blinding speed.

Silence fell over the four men who eyed each other for a moment before Aoba broke it. "So? Does that mean we're done here?"

"It means we wait for Hokage-sama's answer," Ibiki answered. "Time for some time with your respective team, don't you think?"

Aoba and Gai nodded, the taijutsu specialist pumping his fist with enthusiasm, and left. Kakashi intently eyed the T&I chief for another five long seconds.

"You're not going to tell me anything?"

"Sorry not sorry, Hatake. Hokage's direct orders." Ibiki countered with a shake of his head.

The white-haired jonin sighed. "Alright, fair enough," said Kakashi as he rose from his seat and departed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he fell in his seat in an exhausted heap. For a full minute, the old Kage rubbed his closed eyes and the edge of his nose, desperately trying to fend off the migraine he could feel coming.

"Get me Dragon. Immediately."

Shadows shifted and the air moved, signifying the departure of an ANBU. Minutes later, the door opened and the commander of the special force entered the Hokage office.

"Out, everyone, now," ordered the supreme leader of Konoha, who was wordlessly obeyed again. "Dragon, barrier if you please."

The ANBU general flashed through hand seals and the air shimmered for a second before settling into a strange, otherworldly stillness.

"What is it?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Apart from the fact that a boy I consider my grandson nearly died on his second mission?" The Hokage asked tiredly. "Apart from the fact his right hand his useless for anything else than punching? That he is now traumatized?" The old man continued more animatedly. "Apart from the fact he used the Kyuubi's power? Apart from the fact I nearly lost him?!" Hiruzen bellowed furiously before inhaling a large breath. "Everything is fine," concluded the aged leader in a conversational tone.

It seemed as if only silence would answer him before the ANBU general broke it.

"I can go back to my headquarters then?" Dragon asked as lightly as his deformed voice allowed him.

Hiruzen snorted. "You could stop being an ass for a second?"

"If you increase my budget by five percent I might consider it."

"Why are you my friend?"

"Because you need someone witty by your side, otherwise you'd have lost it years ago."

Hiruzen eyed the masked ANBU incredulously. "Right."

Dragon sat and laced his fingers. "What is your concern, Hiruzen?"

"That it wasn't such an excellent idea to trust Naruto into ANBU."

"Why would you say that?" Dragon asked, his voice betraying nothing but neutrality.

"Why would I- By the Flames Dragon he nearly died!"

"And as his grandfather, you are worried about that. As Hokage, you know perfectly well that ninja die on missions. It's our way of life."

"Naruto is too important to lose during a stupid incursion in Rice Country."

"Missions always go wrong. Can you give me a non D-rank operation that did not go pear-shaped in some way? No, you can't. We can gather information, formulate plans, in the end, it doesn't survive the action. Naruto is a jinchuriki but you did not want to use him as such and I respect that. But he is a ninja. Are you going to keep him secure in a cage to keep him safe?"

"He got brain damages! He is not even thirteen and he is already suffering from brain damage!"

"And Kakashi became a cyclops at fourteen and his replacement eye sucks all life from him in five minutes top. Gai is nearly deaf since he is fifteen and it's not improving. Your son had his back so badly burnt at sixteen he needed five different grafts before it took hold. I could go on. Hiruzen, all our best ninja have some form of disability. It is the life we have chosen." Dragon said, his tone patient but firm.

"I know that. I…"

"Just wish it weren't like that. But that is the grandfather speaking. As long as you wear this hat, you cannot make the decisions solely based on what a grandfather would do. Even if you could, it's his life, not yours. Why not be grateful that he only lost the use of his right hand and has returned alive?"

"I know," sighed Hiruzen. "I loathe when you are right. It's just… I thought it was Sora all over again."

Dragon clasped the old Kage's forearm firmly and squeezed reassuringly. "We know in our hearts that no parent should bury their children. But the truth of the matter is that we chose a warrior's life and there is nothing to save us from this reality. Hold onto the Will of Fire, Hiruzen. I trust that if Naruto must lay down his life, he'll do so for a cause he believes in. Do you?"

The Sarutobi inhaled deeply. "Yes. Thank you my friend."

"That's what friends are for. Now, what is your concern?"

Hiruzen fell silent and massaged his temples for a while, visibly organizing his thought and pushing his worries down. The old leader laced his fingers for a few seconds before they reflexively fetched his pipe. The Kage absentmindedly prepared his smoke and lit it before he puffed a big cloud of odorant smoke with a satisfied noise.

"The Kyuubi is an intelligent being capable of speech."

Dragon froze for a full minute as his mind processed this new piece of information. Eventually, his brain returned nothing satisfying so the man swore loudly, slapped his forehead, swore again while shaking his hand before he eventually rose from his chair and started pacing around the office. A minute of silence settled between the two men.

"Fuck," offered Dragon at some point.

"I'd say shit but that summarizes it pretty well."

"We always thought it was nothing but a mindless beast."

"I know."

"We always thought Madara had somehow tamed it."

"I know."

"It means that either Madara convinced the Fox to attack-"

"Or that he had a way to control it. Would that be possible?"

Dragon stopped pacing. "No? Yes? How would I know Hiruzen. How do you go about controlling something like a Bijuu?"

Hiruzen shrugged. "Genjutsu."

"The thing is an ever-moving mass of chakra. No genjutsu would take hold on that. And genjutsu manipulates chakra in the target's brain. The Kyuubi doesn't have a brain."

"Well, how do we even know that? What about Madara's eyes?"

"No. No, they would not have been enough. I can guarantee that."

Dragon fell on his seat and silence once again blanketed the office.

"So. The Kyuubi helped Madara voluntarily." Hiruzen stated.

"No. Remember what Shodai-sama and Mito-sama used to say. The Kyuubi fought like a mindless beast and signs pointed to it following Madara's compulsions. Yet, if he is a sentient being…"

"It means he was robbed of his thoughts somehow, which brings us back to genjutsu. You're positive that the traitor's eyes could not put a bijuu under?"

Dragon sighed and massaged his temples. "I don't know. From a theoretical point of view, it would not make sense."

"But?"

"But we just learned the Kyuubi actually isn't a mindless monster like we thought before. Much has been lost about the powers of the eyes or never even discovered in the first place. Did Madara find a way to make them powerful enough to have a bijuu at his beck and call? Possibly."

"What do you truly have in mind?" The Hokage asked, long since used to deciphering when his subordinate and long-time friend was not telling him something.

Dragon hesitated, rose from his chair, made a full circle around the room, before flopping down in his chair again. "A third party."

"The one truly controlling the Kyuubi?" Hiruzen hazarded.

"Or the one who gave Madara the ability to do so." The ANBU commander offered.

The old Kage sighed. "That complicates things. That complicates things immensely. Who could even do that? Madara and Shodai-sama were supposed to be without equal."

The two shinobi fell into silent contemplation. It was Sarutobi who broke the peace with a sharp inhale.

"Could it be… Could it be related to your incident?"

Dragon looked up. There was only one thing his friend would call his incident. The ANBU commander analyzed the idea for a full minute. He still had no certainty as to what the mysterious enemy had been after. Could it have been the eyes of his people? It was a distinct possibility, the most immediate and the reason the incident had been ordered. Had the enemy known of a way to cultivate the eyes further?

Dragon shook himself like a dog; losing himself in conjectures would do him no good right now. "We can dig deeper later. Is there anything we should do immediately?"

"I already contacted Jiraiya. He will be here in two to three weeks."

Dragon fell silent, contemplating something. "Perfect. Team Ro is temporarily suspended from active duty. It'll give Naruto the time he needs to adapt."

"You have something for him? To help him?"

"Of course. Remember what Kirigakure's specialty is?"

"Swordsmanship of cour-" Hiruzen interrupted himself with a smile slowly blossoming on his lips. "Of course not. Brilliant. You'd give him the book?"

"I already did. It's going to be imperative for him to learn them."

"That's a clan treasure."

"One my clan never exploited anyway. He has no choice but to make use of it and he is talented and bullheaded enough to succeed."

Hiruzen smiled fully. "Right."

Naruto was quickly released from the hospital after a battery of tests and assessments that found him fit for duty. The blond and his team were momentarily suspended from active duty for three weeks, a time span Naruto had to use to the best of his ability to recuperate, train himself further, and compensate for what he had lost.

A number of sessions with iryonin were scheduled in order to work around his vertigo and his speech impediment, something the physicians were positive could be restored. The boy had even been offered a face-to-face with a Yamanaka, which he had accepted. Talking about his kills and the doubts that came with it, about the ghosts that were haunting him, about the fear that now lurked in the back of his mind, all of it had been immensely liberating.

Only his right hand did not seem to want to heal. He could still form a fist or open a palm but anything subtler than that was lost. It meant he could still punch and grab though, so it was not too bad. Fine motions, like flicking a shuriken or hand signs, were impossible for now and he lacked the touch to truly use his chokuto or a brush effectively.

Tiger greeted him first thing in the morning on the first day of training with a hand on his shoulder, an appreciative nod, and a book about a foreign, secret, stolen method that would help the blond overcome his handicap. Naruto caught the man in a hug, snatched the book, and fled before his squad leader could deck him. The boy worked his ability for the Shadow Clones jutsu in a single day.

Not that it was complicated given he could perform the technique sealless if given enough time.

Fuuton: Wind Bullet and Great Breakthrough came back to him three days later but Naruto was not content with getting his ninjutsu back, of course. The blond threw himself in kenjutsu training with a rare intensity, requesting from Tiger the permission to attend some sessions as himself and from Cat to make those sessions more demanding. Both ANBU had accepted.

When the end of the first week came, Naruto had recuperated from his week and a half of lounging in the shack of Rice Country and had even broken his own endurance record on the Warmer.

Sunday was his day of rest though and the boy had been warned he would not cut it. Tiger, Cat, and Dog had seen to it that his fire was fanned appropriately but all three of his teachers had insisted rest was just as important for him as anyone else. Hence, he was supposed to take it easy, a suggestion he had decided to respect, to a certain extent.

After running up the Warmer in forty minutes, a full hour of chakra control, strength, and speed building exercises, and another of pure taijutsu and kenjutsu kihon, the blond exited his barrack, leaving behind two clones practicing left-handed calligraphy and another practicing more kenjutsu drills under the watchful eyes of a fourth.

It was still relatively early and Konoha was not really awake yet. It was Sunday anyway and the village would not be truly active today, as it was a day of rest for everyone, save ninja on assignment. Naruto took a deep breath in and started to walk, without a set destination in mind.

He was not certain bothering the Ichiraku was acceptable at this hour. He knew they were open already of course but he would go eat lunch there, no use imposing on them before that.

Knowing Konohamaru, the little tyke was still sleeping in. Apparently, his cousin Ichiro was on a mission. It was his grandfather's only morning of rest so Naruto was not about to go and bug the Sandaime.

He had no friends from the Academy to visit because he had had no friends in the Academy, period. The only two he wanted to see, Shikamaru and Choji, were away on a mission.

He had things to think about anyway and motion was his preferred state of being to do so. Namely, how he was going to "even the field" when faced with stronger opponents, practically speaking.

He was brought out of his -rather fruitful, in his opinion- musing nearly an hour later by the sound of dogs barking. The blond whirled around; he had felt them coming, of course, having carefully maintained his awareness of his surroundings. Naruto smiled as the Haimura trio piled up over him with joyful yips. His face was soon dripping with canine saliva.

"Hello guys." The blond greeted, scratching the war-hounds behind their ears, careful to be fair in his ministrations.

La whined a bit and carefully bit his right hand, the hound's fangs not even scratching the skin.

"Ha you heard of course. No worry, I'm alright," answered Naruto before he cocked his head to the side. "Hello, Inuzuka-san." The boy greeted, not having to look behind him to know who was standing there.

"Hello, Uzumaki-san," responded the unmistakable voice of Dog.

The boy rose from the ground, turned to face his ANBU teammate, and bowed slightly. It wasn't the first time he was seeing without her mask: they had violated this taboo during their time in Rice and they had been both admonished by Dragon for it. It was the first time he was seeing her wearing anything civilian though.

Dog was seventeen, maybe eighteen, had an oval face and soft features that made for a pleasant visage. She bore the traditional, fang-like marking of her clan on her cheeks. There was no doubt she was an Inuzuka but he did not even know if she lived in the compound. He did not even know if her clan knew she was an ANBU. He still did not know her name, which was the reason Dragon's punishment had been so light.

That and the act Dog had argued that she had acted as his physician first and foremost and as such, implicit trust had to be established. Something a mask would have prevented. She had winked at the blond on their way out.

Naruto fidgeted slightly, unsure of what to do before Dog broke the silence. "Would you like to walk with me, Uzumaki-san?"

"Ah? Sure!" The boy immediately answered. He had not much better to do for now. He had to let the ideas he had cooked up sink in and simmer.

The two fell in pace as they followed the whimsical journey imposed by the trio of war-hounds.

"You're up early," remarked Dog in a conversational tone.

"Not really. I can't sleep in anymore. It was beaten out of me I think."

The teenager snickered her amusement. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It was hard for me. We Inuzuka are not morning people."

Naruto smiled. "Even with all the oinin in your ranks? Don't you have to rise early to catch scum?"

"Trust me, every last one of us has it beaten out of them."

The boy kept his smile on. In fact, he had never been a big sleeper. He had always had too much energy. The fact he had been regularly late in the academy had everything to do with his sleeping habits but nothing with sleeping in.

It was pretty hard for a lone kid to fall asleep in an empty apartment but people did not seem to realize that.

"Do you have to beat out of the hounds too or are they more disciplined than their companions?" The blond joked.

"They are way worse, Uzumaki-san. Way worse." The Inuzuka answered with a little grin.

"So. What is it you actually do, Inuzuka-san?"

"Oh, I work at the hospital with a special division of iryonin. I work on special chemicals. Can't say much more."

Naruto nodded. That sounded like something absolutely not for him. He was a thought away from dismissing it with an exaggerated grimace but stopped. "You know your way around chemistry huh?" The boy asked, his left hand twitching apparently at random.

The teenager frowned slightly. "Yeah, I'm not too bad." She said, both her hands twitching minutely too.

Naruto hummed. "Do you think it would be possible for you to help me for a project of mine? I've never been too good myself."

"If I find time between my assignments, then yes. But shouldn't you ask one of your teacher at the Academy?"

"I'm quite sure you'll prove to be more qualified than them, Inuzuka-san." Naruto assured with a bright smile.

The girl's hands twitched furiously and the blond boy snorted before ducking when the Inuzuka took a swing at him.

"You brat."

"You're not that much older than me, Inuzuka-san," retorted Naruto, showing her his tongue.

"That just disprove it, entirely."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Does n-"

"What the Flames are you doing with my sister, dead-last?" The rude call, delivered in the hoarse, changing voice of a male teenager, was laced with aggressivity.

Coming toward them was Kiba Inuzuka, his little white dog Akamaru roosted on top of his head. Dog facepalmed just as Naruto registered what the meaning of Kiba's declaration was.

The blond turned to his teammate, who apparently was no other than Hana Inuzuka, daughter of the Inuzuka matriarch, and sister of the waste of space that was Kiba. The famous Hana, who her brother kept bragging about during their days at the Academy. Or rather, Kiba kept bragging about how he'd seduce his sister's friends and "become a real man". The blue-eyed boy bit on his lower lip in order not to laugh and his left hand twitched once.

Sorry.

Hana produced a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a whine.

"I'm discussing with a fellow ninja, Kiba. Is that a problem?" The blond asked carefully, willing to give the Inuzuka boy a chance to drop the hostility.

"What could you discuss with my sister, dead-last? You're too dumb for her!"

The brown-haired boy had dropped his direct attacks on Naruto getting a hitai-ite after his jonin sensei, Asuma, had threatened him but the Inuzuka had simply resorted to simpler, tested means of bullying: insulting Naruto's intelligence and indirectly questioning the legitimacy of his status as a ninja.

It had been quite trendy during his days at the Academy for other students to do the same. No teacher save Iruka had cared enough to curb it. Even Iruka himself had apparently never truly seen it as bullying as he had never acted to make it stop entirely. Just children playing with each other, nothing to worry about.

Naruto gave the Inuzuka boy a smile. "Oh, she was simply telling me how you wet your bed until you were eight." He said conversationally.

"What?" The other boy sputtered, looking as if he had just been hit squarely. "How did you even kn-"

"Yeah, and you reeked so bad, your cousins started to call you "Pissy-boy", hilarious really."

Naruto did not know what he expected, really. He had been trusted into ANBU, had been beaten black and blue until discipline and self-control had become ingrained, had been trained until chakra exhaustion for a month and a half, and had nearly lost his life on his second mission.

He knew that normal genin were not treated like that. He knew they were not being pressured nearly as much as he was. Somehow, he was still disappointed when Kiba become red with rage and angrily stomped toward him, the Inuzuka boy's fist clenched white.

"Say that to my face again?" The boy hurled at the blond, his face inches from Naruto's, his two hands holding the blond's collar, and his spit flying everywhere.

"Alright Kiba, that's enough!" Hana thundered, a hint of urgency mixed in with her anger. "You needlessly antagonized Uzumaki-san here and he teased back. If you can't take it, go back to pissing your bed!"

"You gonna defend him?!" Kiba roared in disbelief.

"Yes and if you don't drop it now, you can be sure I'll report your behavior to the matriarch!" Hana roared even louder, her blazing glare silencing her brother. Her was it her threat to tell on him to their mother?

Whatever it was, the Inuzuka boy took a step back. "Tch. Always relying on others to speak for yourself, coward." He said as a last parting shot before turning his back and walking away.

Naruto's left hand twitched but the repeated whines and the tongue lapping it, courtesy of La, slowly relaxed him.

"Thank you for not gutting my brother, Naruto."

"This fucking moron." The boy answered, disappearing the kunai his left was gripping in his sleeve. "He did not even see them and he calls himself a ninja."

Hana sighed. "I apologize for his behavior, I'll talk to our mother-"

"You have nothing to apologize for. I should not have answered him. That being said, he is going to get himself killed if he flies off the handle so easily like that."

Hana smiled hesitantly. "Let's say sleeping in is not the only bad habit that needs to be punched out of us Inuzuka."

The blond grinned at that. "I can't imagine you were that bullheaded."

The teenage girl snorted. "Yeah, maybe my brother is a bit of an extreme case. Just, remember he is not… In the same tracks as you."

"He is a brat."

"So are you."

"You're supposed to agree with me here, Inuzuka-san." Naruto protested, mock hurt in his voice.

"I'm not supposed to do anything." Hana retorted. "Brat." She added as an afterthought.

"Mean mutt."

"I wouldn't push my luck, Uzumaki-san." The Inuzuka said with a freezing smile, an aura of danger seeping around her before she returned to normal when Naruto raised his hands in surrender. "Good. how did you even know about Kiba and his bed problem."

"I did not crown myself the Prankster King for nothing, Inuzuka-san. Do you want to know what I have on you?"

For a split second, Hana considered murdering her teammate on the spot, to hell with the consequences, if it could avoid her being blackmailed with something unmentionable. The fall out of such an act quickly out-weighted a few possibly embarrassing revelation and the girl decided that the life of a missing-nin was not for her.

"No."

"Wise decision, mean mutt."

"What-"

"I wouldn't push my luck, Inuzuka-san," interrupted the blond boy in a convincing imitation of her frosty smile.

Hana silently swore before she smiled. "Not bad, Uzumaki-san. Not bad. You actually have nothing on me, do you?"

"Where would be the fun if I told you?" The boy answered with a laugh before he hunched his back and whispered directly into Hana's ear. "Fear not, your secrets are safe with me, especially this little pink-"

A hand crashed against Naruto's mouth and the boy was soon in a chokehold, courtesy of Hana, who was squeezing seriously hard, only to relax when she felt the tip of a senbon tickling the skin above her liver.

"How much?" She whispered.

"I know a good ramen stand not too far away. How about we have some lunch there?" offered Naruto in a conversational tone. "I could go for some company."

"Deal," agreed the Inuzuka as she relaxed her hold and freed the boy completely. "I'll pay."

Naruto grinned widely. "You are offering that of your own free will." He said, curiously foreboding despite his carefree tone, sauntering away.

AN: This chapter 16 was originally a monster that I cut. Chapter 17 is on its way, very soon. Leave a review if you're inclined. After all, I'm apparently "comment farming". Is it my fault I feed on them, though? ;-)

(I'd like to say that feedback is absolutely necessary for us authors, be it to better ourselves or simply for motivation. Those who say they "only write for themselves" are nonsensical liars: if they were "writing for themselves" they would not publish their work (here or anywhere) in the first place.)