A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. Life hit me pretty hard these past couple months, and it hard coming up with new ideas when you're just trying to make ends meet both personally and professionally. Nevertheless, this chapter is shorter mainly because I have no idea the way eight-year olds think. The next chapter will involve a time-skip, so it should be easier.

Chapter 4

In the briefing room at the T.I. Headquarters, Anko reported back to Inoichi for debrief. However, the dango girl is known for having a nonchalant attitude to these sorts of things, relaying the information as if it was just a passing moment. "Kids got guts, I like him" she told Inoichi. Inoichi has a shadow over his face concerning the significance of this mission. "Lighten up, Yama-chan. You shouldn't be spying on your daughter anyways." The older blonde laid his head over his palm. "Thank Kami Naruto was there. Maybe I should just trust him with Ino" he said "but are you sure you didn't witness the jutsu he used?"

Anko shrugged "All I could tell was that it was blue and required a lot of chakra." Inoichi humored the idea of the Seal loosening on the young Jinchurikki, but brushed it off on the Uzumaki clan's massive chakra pools. 'Lots of chakra, huh' he rolled that marble in his mind, remembering how when he and the Hokage spoke to Naruto a couple of years ago that he mentioned that the Kyuubi suggested becoming a sage. The marble almost hit the stack of Uchiha bodies before he disregarded the notion. 'No, I'm expecting too much out of an eight-year-old.'

Meanwhile, said eight-year-old was prepping to teach that man's daughter an A-Rank jutsu. A few days had passed since the near-death experience, and Naruto knew Ino wouldn't shut up otherwise. After the academy, they met at training ground 7 since it was practically never in use due to Kakashi failing everyone and will continue until they're twelve. They both sat on one of the steps near the training posts and Naruto handed her a water balloon. Ino deadpanned "you never took the request to train me seriously, did you?" "Ma, I think it's still a bit too early for you to learn this, but you want to know this exact jutsu, so this is part of the training."

Ino looked down at the purple balloon and slushed the water back and forth in her palms. "Ino-chan, this is phase one of training. But—" Naruto stopped short and inspected the blonde beside him. 'Ino is pretty smart, maybe I'm approaching this teaching method wrong' Ino blushed slightly, not sure what has gotten into Naruto "what are you staring at?" Naruto shook his head. "It was nothing, I was just thinking of how best to teach you this" the golden blonde shrugged. Naruto then turned his body towards Platinum blonde and sat cross legged and suggested she do the same. "Ino-chan, I want you to look at the jutsu closely" he instructed forming the blue orb in his hand. Ino stared in amazement, but snapped out of it to deconstruct what she was witnessing.

After about thirty seconds of scrutinization, the orb dispersed. Ino looked up at Naruto who had an expecting grin on his face "so, tell me what you saw."

Ino grinned back "that's a rotating ball of condensed chakra. It's rotating in all directions, which means I need improved chakra control. Also, due to its density it requires a lot of chakra to give it power." Naruto let out a genuine smile, one that Ino hadn't seen before, colored by the light of the sunset and a brightness in his blue eyes "Perfect, Ino-chan." In this moment she didn't know what struck her, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment or happiness, she didn't know. She felt as if it was the first time he has spoken with her and not at her.

Despite the young Yamanaka being taken aback, the Uzumaki lifted one of the balloons in his hands and slowly began rotating the chakra until it popped "that's why, as tedious as it seems, that this is a necessary first step." She nodded silently in response holding the balloon in one palm and rotating. Still unfamiliar with chakra manipulation outside of tree climbing and water walking, it was unsuccessful; she tried for a half an hour after that before calling it a day. "Good work today" Naruto complimented to a bummed, usually over-achieving Ino. "Don't look so down, if it was meant to be easy it'll never be an A-rank jutsu." Ino had a small yet melancholic grin "how long did it take you to learn this?" Naruto paused knowing he can't say it took him a week or he'll be setting Ino up for failure. "Comparison is an act of violence against oneself [1]. Work at your own pace." She frowned slightly getting off the floor. "Besides we still need to improve your chakra reserves when we move onto the next step." "Mmm" she hummed nodding in deep reflection.

Naruto walked her home and went back to his apartment. He looked at the book on his table and took a deep sigh. He managed to sneak one of the fuuinjutsu books out of the library. 'It's just borrowing... I'm not a bad guy' he thought. 'And I can't visit the Uzumaki clan shrine without tipping someone off'. He was tired and he knew the fatigue will get to him eventually, but for now he would cram his head into studying. He continued until late night with sketch ups of failed seals around him. Understanding beforehand what character affects what part of the seal will help when creating the complex ones.

At dawn, Naruto met Anko in the Forest of Death. "What's up, kid? You look like shit." The bags under his eyes didn't do his fatigue justice. "I'm starting to feel my own age" he joked. Anko laughed and slapped his back "don't worry, brat, when you grow up you'll be able to hide that pain on the inside." Naruto then peered into his mindscape 'Hey, Kurama, can your chakra get rid of this weighted feeling?' The red fox scoffed 'my chakra isn't a soldier pill, kit. Besides, do you really want to show her your transformed form?' Naruto bit his tongue. Keeping that a trump card until the chuunin exams will be more beneficial, as Kabuto will most likely get access to his public records. Anko poked his head a few times "you okay, kid?" Naruto wearily weaved his body back and forth "just throw me in coach, just throw me in."

And throw him in she did. Naruto's bruised and swollen face was his notable feature of the day at the Academy, but due to his intense composure the other kids didn't say anything. Hinata tried to ask him what happen gaining up the courage to approach him, when suddenly Ino appeared out of nowhere and asked "What the hell happened, Naruto?! You look like crap!" Hinata subtly made a pouting face at being overshadowed while Naruto stuttered at explaining "I-I fell..." to Ino's retort "on what? Someone's fist?" Naruto sighed 'make that a fist, a roundhouse kick and something close to a wholesale price of ass kicking.' Anko didn't go full shinobi as one never goes full shinobi unless in a war, but her valuable lesson was understood by him: a leader can't let his arrogance get the better of him, especially while half-heartedly covering his exhaustion. If you're on the ropes and have been rocked, getting into a slug-fest with the enemy is just stupidity.

Out of the corner of his eye, a pink-haired girl stood behind the platinum blonde. Naruto let out a half-hearted smile "Hi Sa—" he paused short as they haven't met this time around. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki" he said rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Oh, hello. I'm Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you" she said somewhat timidly. 'This isn't how we met last time' he thought letting out an uncomfortable laugh. 'It's better than greeting me with a punch in the face.'

Although the memories aren't as fresh as they were when he first came back, every familiar face he meets is encountered with the cruel reality that they might die. 'Now more than ever, I have to get stronger' he thought. When the academy let out, he figured he'd have to ramp up his training, but that requires tools and tools require money. He pondered on the thought "maybe.."

"Naruto! Go take this order to the Naras!" Teuchi commanded as Naruto grabbed the neatly packaged box of ramen bowls. "You got it oji!" He paced in his white garb, making his way out. He had replaced his ninja headband with green and yellow bandana still made in its shape. "He's pretty quick-witted for a kid his age. It's only been two weeks and he's handling it well" the old man laughed as Ayame smiled in agreement saying "He'll grow up to be a great man if he keeps this up." Teuchi looked at his daughter surprised. "Don't tell me..." he paused stirring the noodles "... you're a cradle robber". Ayame threw a colander at him while blushing explaining how she barely turned 13 [2].

Naruto was hopping rooftop to rooftop, taking in the little bouts of peace between deliveries and soaking in the cool breeze. When he arrived at the Nara compound, no one answered the front door when he knocked. "Ma, Why order something if you're not going to be here?" He retorted. He made his way around to the back where he saw Shikamaru laying under a tree, Choji sitting next to him cross legged and eating a bag of chips, and Ino concentrating on the water balloon she had in her hand while sitting in a seiza position. "Hey guys, I got your lunch here!" Naruto grinned. While Ino jumped, startled to see Naruto who has gone MIA for a few days. "The money is on the table" Shikamaru waved off. "C'mon Shikamaru, you're just gonna let a random kid enter your house?" "Eh, Ino trusts you, so I will too" he responded. 'I think he just doesn't want to get up' Naruto deadpanned.

"Naruto...!" Ino exclaimed, not entirely sure how to complete the thought. "What's going on, Ino?" "Umm... I think I almost got it" she said referring to the balloon in her hand. She has always seemed a bit too proud to ask for help, so she can't express it correctly. She rotated her chakra in the balloon, with a few large rotations being noticeable from outside. Naruto grinned and nodded "condense your chakra a little more, this way it can flow at a higher rate of speed". The platinum blonde focused on her chakra when many short rotations can be seen from the outside before the water balloon burst. Chouji and Shikamaru looked over in surprise. "I did it!" She responded ecstatic at her accomplishment. "Nice job, Ino! I'll see you after work to start on the next step" Naruto praised to Ino who rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin. Naruto then walked inside to get the money from the table, to walk out and see everyone eating. "Did you find it?" Shikamaru asked to Naruto yelling "Yeah, I can't fit anything else in my pockets!" before taking off.

After work, Naruto helped close up the shop before heading home to change. The sun had begun to set. Even though he said he'd meet Ino he didn't tell her where, so to save time he jumped on his apartment rooftop and sat down to meditate, directing his attention in various places she'd be. 'Not at the Nara's, not at home, not at Sakura's...' his attention was drawn to Training Ground 7 where she was introduced to the first phase. Naruto swiftly made his way over to the three posts so she wouldn't have to wait any longer.

When he arrived, Ino was focusing on a water balloon, trying to compress the chakra and spin it without popping the balloon. Naruto grinned at her tenacity "working as hard as ever, I see" he said sitting next to her. "Yeah, you can say I'm anxious to learn the next step" she smiled back. Naruto pulled a blue rubber ball out of his pocket and handed it to her. She gave him an inquisitive look before saying "you want me to pop it?" Naruto gave a slight nod and grin. Not as childishly enthusiastic as usually, but out of sincere eagerness to see her grow. That intelligence to see a step or two ahead now will help her in the future. She might not rival Shikamaru, but she sure can plan things out better than himself at the very least.

She tried pushing as much chakra into the rubber ball as she could, but it didn't budge. She tried twice more before she let out a whine "ugh, this is going to take forever." Naruto patted her shoulder "Ino-chan, you need more force—"

"Like this?" She asked smashing the rubber ball with her hands jokingly. "It's going to take awhile. First we have to build up your physical capabilities." Ino sighed, but still as passionate as ever asked to follow Naruto's schedule for now on. A sweat dropped on Naruto's forehead "that's a bit... heavy." However, she was adamant about getting stronger. Naruto stood up and she followed his lead. "It still might take a year or so, but we'll learn some other stuff in between" said the golden blonde "... are you prepared for that?" "Yeah!" The platinum blonde said clenching her fist with a grin.

Meanwhile, Inoichi reviewed his case filings before closing the binder and letting out a deep sigh. "Chief...?" one of his subordinates asked concerned. "Here, file this under our cold cases..." A high profile massacre and they're left with just Itachi as the primary suspect despite a witness saying there was someone else. "...I'll inform the Uchiha Heir about our findings and clear him from protective custody."

Footnotes:

[1] Iyanla Vanzant Quote

[2] I couldn't find Ayame's exact age, however, the Naruto: Shippuden's 34th ending sequence [ep: 418-431] shows a young Ayame hugging the leg of pregnant Kushina. So I'm going to say she's Naruto's age + 5 years