I DO NOT OWN NARUTO/Naruto Shippuden
Chapter 7
"You are the Nine Tailed-Fox" In return all he received a blank stare.
"You thought I didn't know?" In Naruto's confusion he tilted his head to the side, he was surprised that people had such a low opinion of him.
"Huh?" Mizuki couldn't believe that the brat knew, there was a law that prohibited any of younger generation discovering said truth, especially the boy himself.
"I mean seriously I'm not that stupid. Neko-chan he's all yours" And with that Naruto turned and began to walk away with the fake scroll in hand, Iruka in tow. Iruka had quickly been briefed on what was happening and was ready for a confrontation.
"Don't just walk away from me, give that scroll you demon!" He obviously did not hear Naruto invitation to the hidden ANBU operative. Naruto just kept his pace.
As Mizuki was about to make his move towards the duo a purple-haired ANBU appeared right before him.
"Mizuki Suganama, you are to be taken to Torture and Interrogation for questioning about your attempt to steal village secrets" Before he could retort the ANBU had sped behind him dealing a knockout blow to Mizuki's neck.
Luckily it was quite a simple affair, without the aid of the ANBU guard it could of lead to a fight. The pair of Iruka and Naruto were trudging back to the Hokage tower, they were supposed to be celebrating, Naruto had passed! But Mizuki had ruined it, Iruka had thought he had known Mizuki, but this showed that he truly had no clue. Seeing the look on his older brother's face decided to do something that he never done before.
"Iruka-nii-san! Let's go get some ramen, on me!" The instructor knew that the boy was just trying to cheer him up. The child who was looked down upon by the entire village, the one who should need cheering up was giving him a one-thousand-watt smile and he was sure that there weren't many better sights than that.
"That sounds great" It was a tired response but there was hope in it
~ Two Days Later with the Elders and Shinobi Council ~
The Clan Heads and Elder council had been summoned; none knew the reasons for the summons but most assumed that it had to do with the scroll incident. Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the Elder's council, teammates of Hiruzen Sarutobi and fellow students of the Second Hokage.
Hiashi Hyuga is quite a straight-forward man, as a Clan head he valued his time and letting meeting such as this drag on was not in his interests. "Hokage-sama, may I ask why we are he tonight?"
"Hai, we are here to discuss three topics, first will be the Mizuki incident two days prior as well as the graduating class of this period" Receiving nods, some were intrigued by the third topic but when Hiruzen attempted to continue, he was interrupted by Hiashi again. "What will the punishment be for Uzumaki? Stealing the Scroll of Seals is a grave attempt of betrayal and is traitorous no?"
"I was actually coming to discuss Naruto-kun's reward for identifying a traitor and helping in his capture" This was received a lot of confused stares; many clan heads knew that Naruto would never betray the village but had to swallow their feelings for their duties. So, to hear that Naruto was in the right was surprising.
Koharu voiced her confusion "I'm sorry Hokage-sama?"
"Two days ago, Naruto Uzumaki brought to my attention that Academy instructor Mizuki Suganama attempted to coerce him into stealing the Scroll of Seals and bringing it outside of the village. He told me of this before-hand, I assigned an ANBU operative, Neko, to oversee the meeting. Naruto had a fake scroll and Neko was tasked with waiting for Mizuki to state his intentions in which they would make a decision to apprehend or kill."
Naruto had identified a traitor and drawn him out to taken away? Most clan heads were taking in the news with a bit of pride. They knew he was a pure child. Shikaku had run through the facts and had determined what he thought was a fair reward.
"Hokage-sama, I believe a b-rank mission pay and addition to his record would suffice. A pre-Genin ninja against a Chunnin level ninja, outside of the village walls further more. I believe that is fair" Everyone nodded in agreement, for someone to put themselves in danger when they were not even a shinobi of the village yet was an incredible feat. The boy had done the village a service.
"I agree, I will inform Naruto later today before team assignments. Now that Naruto Uzumaki has graduated the Ninja Academy, he has already decided that he would claim his inheritance." All apart from Tsume Inuzuka and Shikaku Nara were confused.
The common thought was vocalised by Danzo "What inheritance is that?" The judgemental tone did not go unnoticed by anyone, it was clear that Danzo wanted to limit the Jinchuuriki's freedoms as much as possible. The old war hawk had had his suspicions about the boy, I mean just look at him.
"He will be claiming the Namikaze household, Namikaze and Uzumaki capitals as well as properties."
Dead silence.
No one dared to breathe, apart from the laziest of the clan heads.
"Thought so" Everyone stared at the Nara head as if he'd grown another head and Choza just chuckled at his friend. "So that's why you wanted him at the clan get-togethers?" Shikaku merely waved him off, explaining it was such a drag. Hiruzen looked among the while shaking his head.
"Did no one else know?" Tsume raised her hand meekly, Hiruzen merely quirked an eyebrow.
"How did you come across this knowledge Tsume-san?"
"You don't think I would interrogate the man in a relationship with my daughter?" It was a good lie, she knew she had hide his abilities from the rest of the council.
Danzo scoffed "To crack under such pressure, he has no place amongst our shinobi. Had he had proper training he would not be so weak." This
"To be taken away from my daughter was not something he wanted, I admire him, and I am sure that she in is in safe hands."
Homura spoke up at this time "He is the last known Uzumaki correct?" Hiruzen gave a solemn nod "Then he falls under the CRA, I recommend this legislation."
'You bitch' Tsume thought, forcing more women on a boy who was with her daughter almost made her violently ill. "I support this, they would be able to sire more children who would suffice for containers." Danzo's logic was more than crude, to make a boy breed simply so his children would go through the same hell that he had.
Koharu was pleased, she would have supported this as well. "With the support of two village Elders, Naruto will have to take on a minimum of five wives by his eighteenth birthday and produce an heir for each by his twentieth. If he has not met these terms we shall chose the women and should he refuse his ninja license will be revoked"
The council had not been able to get a word in, they were stunned at how quickly the council had jumped at the opportunity. The rage was flowing of Hiruzen in waves, his adoptive grandson was going to become a broodmare.
~ The Academy, Team Assignments ~
Naruto had been seated in the back row of desks at the academy, the only difference was that he had his chokuto strapped to his back, perfectly vertical between the shoulder blades.
Once again it was him, Hinata and Sasuke all in the classroom, Hinata had been able to contain herself. She wasn't short of breath or beet red, at least when Naruto didn't look at her.
Sasuke's eyes were glued to the sword on Naruto's back, Naruto's demeanour had changed ever since he had returned. The blond boy who seemed to put no effort in seemed professional, a calm aura was surrounding him, this infuriated Sasuke. How could someone bee this peaceful when people like his older brother existed?
To not show too much interest he lazily turned to the Jinchuuriki. "What's with the sword loser?"
"It's... a weapon?" Naruto was confused, one, what else is a sword? And two, why did Sasuke care? Sasuke smirked, to him the answer was clear, of course Naruto had no idea what he was doing. "For a second I thought you weren't so stupid"
By this time Naruto had lost interest so he emulated a certain Jonin. "Huh? You say something?"
Sasuke's left eye twitched, he had just been ignored, by Naruto no less. Seeing no point in furthering the conversation he let out a muffled grunt. Turning to look out the window, he resumed his previous silence.
Hinata was also interested in Naruto's changes, he had always seemed aloof to the treatment of the villagers. That tid-bit of knowledge had not gone unnoticed to her, she admired his ability to brush off the disrespect and remain positive, there was no way she could do that, it just wasn't her.
As more people streamed into the classroom, he received more odd looks, why did he have a sword?
Luckily as the sword was black, being the chakra conductive metal, the seals inscribed on it were not visible, though a familiar bug user picked up on it when entering the classroom. "It has that seal on it doesn't it?"
Naruto gave the Aburame a curt nod. These conversations were normal, to talk more than necessary would simply be a waste of energy.
The pink haired Haruno had voiced her surprise by saying that an idiot shouldn't use such deadly weapons, she received the same response that the Uchiha did. That got a round of snickers from the class. She attempted to hit Naruto but after he swiftly moved out of the way of the punch, she tripped and fell, to avoid more embarrassment she grumbled to herself before residing to a seat in the back row.
Grouping with his close set of friends the wait on the instructors began. Naruto was not visibly excited, well, you wouldn't notice the gleam in his eye if you hadn't looked closely.
Slowly the door slid open, Iruka ambled inside the classroom. Initially most were confused by the lack of assistant instructor, that was excluding Naruto. Their sensei sensed their confusion, he decided to not speak of it as it could lead somewhere that would put Naruto in a very awkward situation.
"Welcome everyone, today you receive your team assignments, you will be recognised as a part of these teams until you are promoted to Chunnin. These teams are made up of three Genin Until then, you answer to two people your Jonin-sensei and the Hokage, of course in certain situations you must follow orders of your superiors but currently that is a moot point. Now let's see about those teams."
Naruto decided to study the inside of his eyelids until his name was called out, though he took notice of the squads before him.
"Squad '7', Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Sai" Who was this Sai? He hadn't heard of him before, though there were overflow graduates from previous years who likely needed teams as well.
There were complaints from all females in the classroom from not being placed with their 'Sasuke-kun', all males shuddered.
"Squad '8', Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame" 'A tracking and reconnaissance team, interesting. Naruto was aware of each clans ability in tracking and information gathering. Hinata was inwardly saddened by not being placed with Naruto, Kiba gave an affirmative grunt and Shino merely readjusted his glasses.
They were and expressive group.
"Squad '10', Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi" Squad '10', Shino and Naruto boiled this decision down to the villages attempt to reincarnate the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho formation. With the talent and mindset, they were already expressing this could be even more successful than their predecessors and parents.
Iruka finished up with the teams and a thought struck Naruto.
"Uh, Sensei?"
"Yes Naruto?"
"You didn't assign me a team?" Sakura thought this would be the perfect time for payback. "I'm not surprised, they either didn't expect you to pass or just forgot about you. I can't blame them."
The class murmurs were silenced by the light chuckling coming from the homeroom sensei. "See Naruto-baka, even Iruka-sensei agrees"
"You couldn't be more wrong Sakura" Everyone stared incredulously at Iruka.
"Naruto Uzumaki, personal apprentice of Jiraiya of the Sanin"
Bug-eyed expressions, everywhere, no one had any clue what to do until…
"Woohoo! Pervy-sage!"
The surprise changed to just pure confusion.
"Naruto, you shouldn't call someone of his stature something so disrespectful." Iruka said in a light scolding tone while holding his forehead in his hand, he was fully aware of the reasons for the nickname.
Suddenly everyone outside of the two talking turned to the source of rage, Sasuke Uchiha had been given a regular team and the 'dead last' had been apprenticed by a Sannin. He would be slowed down while the loser would be given personal training, how unfair.
"Who did you suck up to to get that loser?" There was venom laced in his voice, the disinterested stare that was given in return only further infuriated him.
"It isn't common knowledge but Jiraiya was the 'dead last' of his graduating class. So, when he see's potential in someone who was in the same position as him, he jumps at it." And with that, Naruto shrugged before assuming his previous position.
The calm and dismissive tone had removed any tension that was in the air, he obviously felt no fear form the Uchiha heir. Sasuke shot out of seat in a fit of rage, sending a glare to the young Uzumaki that could have melted steel.
Intending to severely injure his classmate he pulled his fist back. When his fist was mere inches from his face a larger hand caught it. This hand had a strap that held the forearm protector against his arm.
The slap had drawn a lot of attention. "I would appreciate it if you didn't attack my apprentice." Oh god, this was the Jiraiya. Squeezing his fist, a little tighter to emphasise his point Jiraiya pinned the raven haired boy with a stern look.
Sasuke gave a fearful nod.
It was a large man, long spiky white hair. The most confusing thing about him was that he had a spiky grey-haired man draped over his shoulder, unconscious.
"Kid, you and squad '7' meet me on the roof." He left in a whirl of leaves.
Naruto calmly got up from his seat, as he stood up in walked a boy. This boy had bloodless white skin, short and well-kept black hair. Black shinobi sandals, tight, elastic pants, a mesh undershirt, black jacket and a red sash stretching from his right shoulder to left hip. A short, sheathed blade was attached horizontally at the height of the small of the back. On both his left hip he had two scrolls, and on the right him two small grey tubes.
"I am Sai" The smile looked so forced everyone else in the class felt the pain, it looked like it hurt. "Assigned to squad '7'"
Naruto frowned at the boys actions, to be this emotionless, one must be trained to be that way. "We are meeting on the roof" he said before reaching the door.
"Thank you, Sunshine." Naruto almost tripped mid-step clearly irked by the nickname. "It's Naruto Uzumaki, Sai"
"Actually, it should be loser." Sai turned his strained smile to the voice, Sasuke was trying to save face. "I will think upon that, Dickless."
Naruto burst out laughing, he liked this guy. Sure, the lack of emotion was concerning, but to have the gall to say that to Sasuke within minutes of meeting him was hilarious. "You can keep calling me 'Sunshine' only if you keep his nickname" Naruto said between the retrained snickers.
Sai's smile for a brief second had a hint of genuine warmth.
"Don't blow your top Dickless, we should get to the roof. Pervy-sage can be quite impatient."
"Naruto! don't call Sasuke-kun and Jiraiya-sama that!" Sakura's protest continued until the group of four reached the roof of the building. They were met with a worrying sight. Jiraiya was intently scribbling in his notebook while the other man, previously unconscious was leaning in whispering in his ear occasionally before letting out a bashful giggle.
The two didn't notice the four Genin sit themselves down on the steps and three of them stare expectantly. A sharp cough from the blond broke the older males out of… whatever they were doing.
"Ah yes, sorry about that" Giving the group a sheepish chuckle. "We were discussing some very important business"
"Yeah right Pervy-sage! I bet you were discussing your smut!" pointing an accusing finger at his sensei. "Don't call me that you brat!" The silver haired man simply nodded sagely.
Jiraiya turned to the Genin "Normally this would just be between a squad an their sensei, but as Naruto will not be on a team and I am close to Kakashi here" Gesturing to the other man "We decided to work together, and due to who Naruto is, I believe he should be involved in this test."
Naruto thought to himself for a moment, then it clicked. His father was Kakashi's sensei. The others just looked on incredulously, Kakashi would have raised an eyebrow if he thought it was worth the effort.
"But that will be tomorrow, as for now we will do introductions, I'll begin. I'm Jiraiya of Mt. Myoboku, my likes are the female anatomy, my summons, the toads, a certain kunoichi and my books. My dislikes are disrespectful brats" Giving a pointed look to the young Uzumaki "Critics of my legendary literature and hobbies are writing, travelling and my research. My dreams for the future to get the women of my dreams and to bring peace, not just any peace but true peace to the shinobi nations"
The final statement shocked two Genin of squad '7', to have someone that thought that was not uncommon. Many people pursued peace, it was an admirable goal, but the conviction he spoke with was intense, they almost belived him. Jiraiya then continued by giving the now named Kakashi a bump to the shoulder that almost knocked him over as a gesture for him to go next.
"Ah, ok I guess it's my turn" The words felt like they barely made it out of his mouth with lethargic tone he spoke in. "Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake, things I like and things I hate, err... I don't feel like telling you that, my dreams for the future? Hmm... Never really thought about it, as for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies"
Sasuke and Sakura had the same thoughts of 'That was totally useless, all he told us was his name'. Naruto on the other hand had the third Hokage's words ringing in his head. 'When you meet him give him a chance, he has so many demons from his past that I'm surprised that he hasn't cracked, he needs people'. He understood what he meant now, the man had likely become socially and emotionally stunted.
"Now let's start with you guys" gesturing to Sakura, furthest to the left "You on the left"
Brightening up he cupped her cheeks on the buts of her palms. "I'm Sakura Haruno, what I like, I mean the person I like is, uhh, my hobby is, oohh, my dream for the future is" Before she could finish, she squealed while glancing towards the Uchiha heir.
"And? What do you hate?"
"Naruto-baka and Ino-pig!" This got the same reaction all around the group. 'Girls her age are more interested in boys than in ninja training' thought Kakashi.
"Next" This person was Sasuke, Sakura couldn't be too far away from her 'soulmate' Afterall. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality, I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone"
'Just as I thought' Kakashi wasn't surprised.
'Danzo-sama was right' Neither was Sai.
'Ughh' Naruto didn't see it as his problem.
'Sasuke is so hot!' Sakura didn't seem to really listen
'I'm worried he might be like him' Jiraiya frowned.
Sai had been taking notes on everyone involved, he had been assigned to squad '7' to fill the hole made by Naruto's absence to protect the Uchiha heir. He had been told to make personal connections with the group. He had also just completed the conditioning training with Danzo's 'Foundation'.
Kakashi was made aware of Sai's history, Hiruzen had briefed him on Sai, the boy was likely the most advanced of anyone his age. Barring Naruto, but he didn't need to know that yet.
Naruto aware of Sasuke's hatred of his elder brother, he understood it, but he didn't agree with it. He was disappointed in Sakura's introduction, but he couldn't stop focusing on Kakashi, this was the Kakashi of the Sharingan, Copy-cat Kakashi, but he just looked broken. Naruto always wanted another big brother, Kakashi would be perfect!
Kakashi simply moved his hand in the direction of Sai, ushering him to begin. "I'm Sai, I do not have any of what you discussed, I'm intrigued by these 'bonds' of friendship people talk about. I don't like or dislike anything as I don't know what that feels like, I have no dreams, I draw."
There was no tone in his voice, no one appeared to be there, he had no personality, he was just vacant. Kakashi, Jiraiya and Naruto all frowned at the pale boy, he was empty to the point of being aloof.
"Finally, onto you" rolling his wrist to point at the Jinchuuriki.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I really like ramen, the Pervy-sage" Cue silent cursing "My adoptive siblings Iruka-nii-san and Saseru-nee-chan and of course Hana-chan! I dislike ignorance. My hobbies include training, trying different types of ramen and studying seals. My dream is to be the Hokage and make everyone who cares about me proud."
Jiraiya openly smiled, it was great to see Minato's boy like this, he really was their son. Kakashi did not openly react but his trail of thought mimicked that of Jiraiya.
'He's grown up in an interesting way'
'Nothing so far'
'loser'
'Ughh, what an idiot'
'You've already made them proud'
Kakashi was glad it was over, not being one for drawn out interactions. "Great now that that Is all over, we can discuss what will happen next. Knowing that we will be including Naruto, you'll have your first mission tomorrow"
Sakura raised her hand, clearly not used to life outside of the academy. "What will that be sensei?"
"A survival exercise" It was a short response, but his tone carried an edge. "Huh? We already did this stuff at the academy, that's how we got here."
"This is not like your previous training"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this, not want to be left behind in the conversation. "What training will this be?" The demanding tone impressed Naruto, he wished he could care that little about others, then again, maybe not. At least he had friends.
Kakashi looked over to Jiraiya before studying the floor and chuckling, Jiraiya too had a knowing smirk. This drew the ire of Sakura. "That was a normal question sensei, what's so funny?"
The grey haired Jonin did rise to the tone, he just looked up. "Well, if I tell you the answer, you're not gonna like it" he said in a teasing manner while shaking his hand.
"Huh?" For someone regarded for her intelligence she really makes you question if somethings wrong.
"Of the twenty-eight graduates who just came here only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. Of course, that's different for apprentices." Naruto could've sworn there was a disturbed edge in the final part. He thought that he was already recognised as the toad sage's apprentice, so when he looked over to the man, he saw a look that said, 'play along with it'. "The other nineteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass, fail test and the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty-seven percent."
Sai once again just gave his quickly become standard, blank stare. Sakura looked like she'd just gone through the washing machine and even Sasuke looked a little on edge.
"As you might have guessed, the graduation exam you all had to complete was just to select the candidates that might become genin. Or not." Turning to face Jiraiya everyone resigned to realising what was expected of them. "I decide whether you pass or fail, you too Naruto. Be at the designated training spot at five am and bring you ninja gear"
Standing up off of the rail he turned away from the group.
Kakashi heaved a deep sigh. "That's it, your dismissed. Oh, and tomorrow you might want to skip breakfast, or... you'll puke" with a flick of the wrist Kakashi disappeared, leaving a disgruntled group. Even Sai had a displeasure written all over his face.
"While your group may have an extra member, you remind me of my team" the four still looking at the white-haired man squinting their eyes. "While I do not believe that any of you will abandon our village, we have a genius, a kunoichi with a lot of potential and an idiot. Yep just like us." Naruto knew the man was just hamming it up for the point of humor, but even so he couldn't resist rebutting "Yeah so what you pervert?"
"I already told you, I'm not a pervert. I'm a super-pervert!" Sakura looked even more dumbfounded, one of the most legendary ninjas in their village openly admitted to being a pervert? Sasuke looked on in anger then sighed and just chuckled.
"You know, I was going to ask you to help train me but now I think about it you two are perfect for each other." That comment was not taken lightly by Jiraiya as he scoffed.
"That's the reason I chose this one here as my apprentice, he has no ego. Overconfident to a fault maybe, but he doesn't think he's the best, he knows how to work hard." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the elder man but the other had lost interest and was walking to apprentice.
Sasuke had had enough, he was leaving.
"Sasuke-kun? Where are you going? Let's get to know each other better, we are teammates after all." According to the Uchiha heir that did not warrant a response as he just continued walking, careless.
The pink haired girl looked distraught before dragging her feet back down of the roof. Sai stood up like a machine and left in a swirl of leaves.
"I knew he was good, but we'll see"
"Now that it's official let's go celebrate Pervy-sage!"
"Don't keep calling me that, if we're celebrating, your paying" Naruto shrugged before leaving with Jiraiya.
~ Same Time, Dango Store ~
Anko and Hana had not had any issues over the Naruto problem, Yugao was the only one aware of what Anko was going through and neither thought it best to voice it.
Hana slapped down a book down on the table, the other two recognised the title. The 'Clan and Village Laws Charter', Hana looked downright furious, one could not identify her as an Inuzuka her clan marks had been lost in the storm of blood that occupied her face.
She was pissed.
Anko and Yugao were taken aback by the outburst, Hana was the calmest of the group. "Hana-chan? What's that?" Yugao knew what it was but wanted to confirm something.
"Those scumbags, look at the page that's marked" Anko tentatively picked the book up for her and the fellow purple haired kunoichi to see. Both women's eye was as wide as dinner plates.
'Clan Restoration Act'
Both now fully understood what this meant. For a second Hana swore that see saw Anko flash through multiple emotions, surprise, confusion, understanding, anger, hope, lust and finally disappointment. Hana was not in the mood for any more problems, so she questioned it there and then.
"Got something to say Anko-chan?" Yugao froze, that tone led her to believe that Hana might know or at the very least be suspicious. Anko held perfectly, she had been trained by Ibiki Morino in survival mental torture, femininity in all its righteous fury was nothing. "Nothing Hana-chan"
The scene was quickly descending Hana was glaring daggers at the snake mistress. It was at this point that the final member of the group arrived.
Kurenai had just delt with a boy trying his best to impress his classmate, Kiba barely got Hinata to glance at him. They had their introductions, Kiba was as loud as expected, Hinata was no different than before, they had been quite close for a few years now. She thought of her as a surrogate, sister? Daughter? She wasn't sure. Shino had been a surprise, he was somewhat vocal, more than what was normal for an Aburame.
She was honestly just a little bit tired, so when she saw the tension in the group she didn't care. Plopping herself down on the final seat surrounding the table, she sighed. "Hello girls, what's the problem?"
Snatching the book of out Anko's hand, Hana passed it to the red-eyed Jonin. In a similar state, to that of the other two.
Complete disbelief.
There was only one reason why Hana would be angered about this. Kurenai following her reputation frowned. "So, he's taking on multiple wives, and he seemed like a great guy." Kurenai said while shaking her head. The snarl that escaped Hana's lips was felt in Kurenai's stomach, though there for a brief second were two more of them. Hana did not notice them in her state but Kurenai did, her other two friends were giving her displeased looks.
"You make it sound like he chose this; I'd be surprised if he even knows" By now all the people in the nearby vicinity were moving away, the temperature had dropped significantly, and the murderous feeling was enough to weaken some knees.
"Of course, he chose this, he's a guy" Hana was on her in a flash, almost as quick as her boyfriend. "Do not talk about him like he's just another man, you have no idea what he's like" Kurenai knew of the relationship between the two, what she didn't realise was the care she had for him, before she could respond Hana continued.
"He's the best man I've ever met. So what he's twelve, he's through more than you and me put together and still goes through it daily. Maybe if you looked past your blatant stupidity maybe you see that too. My mother told me that this decision was made without his consent or knowledge and he had no choice if he wants to remain in this village. Do not bad mouth him in front of me again." The chill in her voice was frightening.
By this time Hana had picked the Genjutsu mistress up of the ground by the scruff of her neck, giving her a final scoff, she dropped her before storming off.
"I never picked you to be stupid Kurenai" There was no 'Nai-chan' that she normally received from Anko. "You know that he's a good person, a bit dense and on top of that he's with Hana, yet you still group him with them. Just because he's not your perfect Asuma-kun you immediately brush him off." Anko and Yugao left then as well, the former giving a disappointed shake of the head.
The Hidden Leaf's Genjutsu Mistress had never felt so small.
~ With Hana ~
'What a bitch' Hana quickly realised that she was feeling pretty stressed, whether that be because of the ever-mounting pile of work at the compound or the fact that her boyfriend had just been forced into a harem.
She had slowed down from the brisk pace she was moving at before, now she just wanted to let everything sink in. A nice, peaceful stroll, one to clear the mind.
Hana revised her time with the blond, at first it was amusing as he was so bashful around her and it got a great reaction out of Kiba. After their date to Yakiniku Q they had walked around the village until it was time for Hana to return to the compound. It was at this point that Naruto asked if they could do it again, as she had enjoyed herself, she agreed.
Once a week, that's how often they would go on dates, it wasn't until halfway through Naruto's time away at the Hidden Waterfall that they had decided to make it official. Hana stayed with Naruto because he did whatever he could to make and keep her happy and Naruto stayed because seeing her happy had a flow on affect.
Naruto was too mature for his age, but luckily, he had his moments of childishness, the pouting and whining were always a nice change of pace.
Rounding a corner, she was met with a voice she had come to enjoy, not love, not yet. "I can't wait to go on some missions, exploring the nations. Like you did Pervy-sage!" Hana instantly relaxed, his voice drew you in.
As the blond received a bop on the head from his sensei Hana joined the conversation "Aww do you really want to get away from me that bad" she teased, her anger hadn't fully dissipated. Naruto was stiff, what could say? Then he caught the anger and… fear? In his partners voice. Turning to her he talked "What's wrong? Did something happen? Oh god I knew this would happen; I knew I wasn't good enough" Naruto kept further mumbling to himself as he slunk into depression.
Jiraiya was wide-eyed, the boy looked like he was about to break, like the finest sheet of glass, if he was breathed on it would snap. Hana merely rolled her eyes, Naruto did this occasionally, did he really think that she was so high maintenance? Nah… he was just dense.
Similarly, to Jiraiya she bopped him on the head, this one more forceful with the intent to break him out of whatever he was in. They really remind you of a particular hidden Cloud duo.
"Ahh! What was…" before he could finish, he felt the light pressing of velvet against his cheek. Hoping he wasn't imagining anything he flicked his head to face Hana with a stupefied expression. As soon as he was sure of what was happening, he flushed a deep crimson.
Hana let loose a soft giggle, as this all occurred Jiraiya slid away, pervert, yes, completely ignorant to the situation, no. He was told by the old man that the CRA would be in effect, that was what was likely the cause of the anger being exhibited by the generally collected Chunnin.
Naruto calmed himself down, "Hana-chan, what's wrong?"
"This" dropping the book on the seat next to him. Naruto immediately recognised that book, it had been the bane of his life for nearly a year. Naruto sighed "So they made their decision, did they?"
Hana's silence answered his question.
"Could you handle it?" Hana wasn't sure herself; she knew that the relationship between him and the wives did not have to stretch past, sex until pregnancy then nothing. But could she have Naruto when he had to go through that.
She thought about it. Naruto pursued her because she made him happy and with the lives he had been denied, the happiness he had been denied. It would be a leap of faith, to continue their relationship would effectively be like a proposal, it would be a commitment. Naruto would do it for her without question.
She could do it for him. "Yes, yes I can" Naruto, in the blink of an eye wrapped his arms around Hana's chest.
"Really?" Hana frowned, the fragility in the question was worrying, but she told herself that she would be there for him. She would not cave. "Really" it was soft and quiet, but it was exactly what he needed to hear.
The two ramen chefs had idly listening, letting out low chuckles at Naruto's antics, the boy could be odd. Though after that it was good to see the two working hard for each other.
Naruto slowly released Hana who in turn interlaced her fingers in between Naruto's. Looking up to meet her gaze he saw a smile that promised nothing but warmth. Nodding to themselves they walked out of the ramen stand to get some air.
Naruto was happy.
~ The Next Morning, Training Ground '7', (4:50am) ~
Sakura finds herself sleepily trudging her way into the clearing of training ground '7'. She had not gotten enough sleep and had followed Kakashi's advice in skipping breakfast, this was on top of her dieting and missing dinner as well.
The sight she was met with made her feel even worse, the three boys were standing together all facing away from each other. There was no animosity, just indifference.
She let out a despondent yawn before talking "Good Morning"
"Good Morning" Sai repeated
Good Morning Sakura" Naruto offered with a small smile.
"Hn" A true poet.
Too tired to be disheartened by the final response, she decided to join their circle. The group proceeded to wait until ten o'clock, it was at that point that Naruto and Sai noticed a presence nearing from the shrubbery.
Out walked the same lazy Jonin from the day before.
"Hey there" Kakashi started while giving a disinterested wave.
"You're late!" Sakura exclaimed; the others were too angry to care about the volume of the scream.
"Ah, well a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way" Preparing himself, he heaved a heavy sigh.
The silence was deafening.
Clearing his throat, he walked to a tree stump. "Well, let's get started"
The growling that then followed relieved the pressure. Kakashi now at the tree stump that protruded from the ground, placed a clock on it and pressing the top button down, beginning the timer.
"Here we go, it's set for noon." Pulling to silver bells out of his pocket he jangled them in front of himself for the squad and apprentice to see. "Your assignment is very simple; you just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it."
Naruto was thinking back to reading through his father's notes. Minato himself had used this test for Kakashi and his teammates. He could imagine who that would go from the notes, Kakashi, solitary, skilled, unsuccessful. Obito, loud, brash, stupid, unsuccessful. Rin, talented, smart, unfortunate, unsuccessful.
He wondered how this test would go, he wouldn't spoil the point of the test. He would still attempt to work with the others, though. Then he thought how this would go if he hadn't trained, didn't know of his parents, he chuckled.
He would be exactly like Obito.
"If you can't get them by noon you go without lunch" Gesturing to the two bentos the were placed on the nearby memorial stone. "You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you"
The dramatic blank stares he received told him all he needed to know. While their stomachs grumbled, they all had the same thought.
'That's why he told us not to eat breakfast'
Sakura was confused "Wait a minute, there's four of us, how come there's only two bells?" the blank stares from the other Genins made her feel quite sheepish. She stated the blatantly obvious.
"Well that way, at least two of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission." Giving what the group had quickly identified as his trademark eye smile, as it was the only part of his face visible. "Those two go back to the academy"
"Then again, all four of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons including shuriken, if you're not prepared to kill me you won't be able to take the bells."
Sakura was concerned, to be using shuck weapons in what would be a training drill seemed unnecessary. "Those weapons are too dangerous sensei!"
"Hmph, and the way you were being dragged around by Pervy-sage, I doubt you live through this sensei" In all truth Naruto was aware that Jiraiya was the strongest ninja loyal to the Hidden Leaves but Kakashi was up there too.
"Class clowns are usually the weakest links, you can safely ignore them, lowest scores. Losers" Naruto growled, he still hated being known as that, he knew he was the strongest in the group, well maybe not. Sai was a complete unknown, and his emotionless behaviour indicated a certain level of training.
"When I say start, you can begin" The four prepared, the boys shot the hands over their kunai holsters and Sakura stood in a semi-active taijutsu stance.
Narrowing his one visible eye, he studied the group. "Get ready… and start!"
End, How's that?