Naruto awoke in a hospital bed, covered in bandages. His left arm hurt. He looked over to it, "Oh right."

"What is it?" The voice made him jump, "Relax, hema, it's just us," Danzō, Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke were all in the room. Naruto let out a chuckle and went to scratch his face with his left hand. 'Oh, right.'

Hinata couldn't find the right gift. Usually she was able to settle on something, but this time felt different. She really needed to get a stellar gift for Naruto. She had visited every shop in town and couldn't find anything that she liked. She had just about given up. She walked dejectedly out of an antique shop, her head hung low. She heard a voice come from next to her.

"Yo. What's the matter, Hinata?" It was Kakashi. He had his hands in his pockets and was eye smiling to the girl.

"Oh, hi Kakashi-sensei. It's nothing," she looked away.

"Well I'm struggling to find a gift for Naruto. Any ideas?" She looked up at the man, before looking back down.

"No, sorry. That's why I'm in a bad mood."

Kakashi put a hand on the girls shoulder, causing her to jump a little bit, "Don't worry," he said with an eye smile, "We can help each other look!"

"You're real stupid, you know that Naruto?" Shisui laughed as he bit into an apple.

"Hey what are you talking about?! I saved Sasukes life!"

"You couldn't have used a shadow clone or something?"

Naruto looked at him perplexed. He totally could have used a shadow clone, "Why didn't I use a shadow clone?"

"Don't beat yourself up, hema," Danzō patted his nub, "Your adult arm will grow in soon," he said with a smile. Shisui held in a laugh.

"Wait a second... like teeth?" Danzō nodded, "Oh phew. I didn't know they worked like that."

"You really are a loser, Naruto."

"What do you think of this?" Kakashi held up a flowery apron. Hinata couldn't help but giggle, "Wha? What's so funny? Doesn't Naruto like to cook?" She cocked her head at the man.

"He's never told me anything about cooking," she bit her finger as she looked away.

"Hm. I coulda swore he- Hey now this is perfect!" Kakashi grabbed a jacket off one of the racks. Orange wrapped around the entire thing, meeting a black I shape around the zipper. He also found a sew-on Uzumaki logo, "Hinata, do you know how to sew by any chance?"

She nodded, "Actually, Naruto taught me how," she giggled.

Kakashi bought the jacket and the patch, and the two headed out of the store.

"Where should I put the patch, Kakashi-sensei?" They had gone to the Uchiha residence, where Naruto's sewing supplies were.

"We could put it on one of the sleeves. Like my shirt," he pointed to the red symbol on his sleeve.

Hinata thought about it for a second, "I'm not so sure. I think we should put it on the back."

"I think the side is better."

"Well I'm the one sewing it." They both crossed their arms.

"What are you two doing in my room?" Tsunade shouted, hands on her hips. The two intruders stammered for a moment.

Kakashi finally spoke fluently, "We needed Naruto's sewing supplies. This was his old room so they were in here." Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Whaddaya need that for?" She pointed to the jacket.

"It's for Naruto-kun," Hinata held up the jacket, "It's Kakashi-senseis gift. Where do you think we should put this?" She held up the Uzumaki symbol

Tsunade scratched her chin, "Why don't you let him decide. He's going to be wearing it," there was an awkward silence, "Well what did you get him? Aren't you his girlfriend or something?"

"Me and Hinata have been looking all day. She said she wants to find the perfect gift." Hinata looked down. She felt bad that she couldn't find anything.

"Well just spend some time with him," Tsunade grumbled as she walked past the two, "I'm sure he misses you. If you've been out all day, then you haven't seen him at all." Hinata contemplated that. She liked the idea, but she needed something more, "Plus I bet he's hungry. He hates the food at the hospital." Bingo.

"What are you getting him, Tsunade-sama?"

The woman chuckled, "A new arm."

Naruto, the Uchihas, and Danzō, had been talking for a while, "Sasuke cut Orochimaru in half-ttebayo! Did I tell you guys that?" The other three looked at Sasuke in disbelief. Sasuke just smirked and looked away, "Yeah it was crazy. He was just peeing and-" he was interrupted by his stomach growling loudly. The crowd looked at him.

"Naruto you need to eat the food," Itachi said, pushing the tray on the end table closer to him.

"Psh whatever, mom," Itachi grew a tick mark, "No! It's so dry. And it tastes like hair-ttebayo," he looked up and away from the food, "I'd rather starve."

"Naruto you don't like Ichiraku anymore?"

"Yeah real funny Shisui, like I'd fall for that." He did smell something good though. It smelled familiar. He opened one eye to see Kakashi, Tsunade, and Hinata standing in the doorway. In Hinatas free hand was a wide plastic container. She held it out and smiled. Kakashi handed him his jacket and placed the bowl on the table beside him.

"Oh so you forgot to get me something, granny?" Naruto raised an eyebrow while reaching for his meal.

Tsunades eye twitched, "Oh I got you something all right," she plopped the severed arm onto Naruto's lap, causing the boy to squirm to get it off of him. It felt rather gross to feel his own arm while it wasn't on his body, "Everyone clear out! I'm giving Naruto my gift."

"Uhhh..."

"No it's not like a Pervy thing. I'm reattaching his arm," the group nodded in understanding before taking their leave.

They could hear shouts from the room, "OW! Granny watch it-ttebayo!"
"Stop squirming around you baka! Stay still!"

The shouting quieted as Jiraiya approached the group standing outside the hospital room, "Hey this is Naruto's room, right?" He reached for the door, "So why are you guys out here?" The group tried to stop him, but he opened the door anyway, "Some friends you are, just standing-" he noticed Tsunade holding onto an arm. She and Naruto were staring at the man, who just chuckled.

"GET OUT!" Jiraiyas hair stood straight up as he shut the door and turned on a heel.

"Why didn't you guys say something?" Everyone but Hinata and Danzō grew a tick mark. Jiraiya noticed Danzō and scowled, "Oh right. You're here." Danzō continued to look at the man, unphased. The two continued to stare at each other, lighting sparking from Jiraiyas eyes.

"Uh, Danzō-sama? Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi waved a hand in between them. Jiraiya just looked away with a 'hmph,' and Danzō eased the mans wrist down.

Jiraiya still couldn't really forgive him for the hidden rain. He knew it was in the past, and that he had changed, but there was no way that he could ever respect him.

After the arm was reattached, the room flooded with Naruto's friends. They had all brought some type of gift. Akamaru growled at Naruto. He was still upset about losing to him.

Lee was crying, "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU NARUTO!" He was holding a thumbs up.

"Thanks Lee. You know, I got the tailed beast death kick from your fight against Gaara. I couldn't have done it without you-ttebayo!" He matched Lee's thumb. The boy began to whimper, his lip began to quiver, and he went into a full out sob.

Tenten knocked him on the back of his head, "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! KNOCK IT OFF LEE! YOU'RE WEIRDING EVERYONE OUT!"

It was late and the last person besides Naruto and Hinata left, "I'll leave you two alone," Sakura giggled as she shut the door and left.

The two laughed awkwardly and looked at each other before blushing and looking away.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke up, holding back tears. "I was so worried."

He poked her forehead with his new arm, "You were just getting upset with me for being worried a month ago," Hinata just looked away and frowned, "I'm already okay-ttebayo. See? Look." He waved his arm around, only to grab at his elbow and wince.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said sternly as she climbed onto the bed. She held the boys arms down, "You need to stay still. If you move it could fall off. The doctor told me."

"Why are you holding my right arm?"

"The... Naruto the doctor he... you have to stay still," she was flushed red and she looked away. She moved his right arm to her butt and planted her head on his chest, "He also said you could put it here."

"H-Hinata-chan uh-" he was cut off by someone barging into the room.

"NARUTO GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER YOU PERV!" Sakura busted in and was charging Naruto with a clenched fist. Naruto immediately withdrew his hand, only for Hinata to place it back.

"I WAS FRAMED!"

'You're finished, baka.'
'My, this is the maddest I've ever seen Sakura.'

"Sakura-chan it's okay," Hinata spoke, snuggling deeper into Naruto. Naruto gave a nod before quickly looking away from the fuming girl.

'CHA! He's lucky I couldn't get my hands on him.' She turned and left, crossing her arms. She had to admit, she was kinda jealous.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto called out. She turned back around, "Sasuke really likes tomatoes. They're like, the only thing he eats," Naruto winked.

Sakura smiled back before continuing to leave. She waved over her shoulder, "Okay, now I'll really leave you alone. Don't have too much fun." She shut the door and made her exit.

The next day, Sakura picked up some tomatoes on her way to the hospital. Sasuke wasn't in the hospital for injuries, but she thought she might as well be prepared if she crossed paths with him.

She was visiting Gaara first. He had been in an awful mood since the chūnin exams. Sakura knew he felt bad for hurting Naruto, but she felt like there was more than that, "Hello Gaara, lord Kazekage."

"Sakura," Gaara spoke, "Could you leave us alone right now?" Sakura nodded before setting a small package on a table by the door. She exited and shut the door. She would just have to come back later.

"So you have friends now?" Rasa asked, looking sternly at his son, who still wouldn't make eye contact, "How'd you do that?"

"Naruto." That had basically been the boys answer to every one of his fathers questions. Followed by, "Why did you kill my uncle?"

Rasa would change the subject every time, "I heard you were very strong in the preliminaries. Who was the boy you fought?"

"His name was Rock Lee," a pause, "Why did you kill my uncle?"

"Gaara I've told you I'm sorry-"

"Why did you kill my uncle?" The man looked down, "Why did you kill Yashamaru? Why did you make him say he didn't love me?"

"How do you know all of this?"

There was a long silence, "Naruto."

"He knows about this? How?"

"I don't know. Go ask him. He said he wanted to talk to you." Rasa was intrigued. How could this boy know so much about the villages secrets.

Sakura walked into Naruto's room and saw Sasuke sitting on the window sill and Kakashi leaning on the wall next to the end table. Kakashi and Naruto waved. Sasuke continued to look bored. "Hey Sakura," Kakashi spoke, "Team 7, are you ready for your mission?" They all looked at him confused, "Relax, it was just a joke."

Sakura eased up, "Hey, Sasuke," the boy didn't look at her, "You're the only one from the finals who hasn't got their gift from me," she held out a bag, "I got you something," she smiled.

"Why should I get a gift? I didn't win."

"Well I already gave Naruto and Gaara theirs. You made it so far. So what if you didn't win, you worked hard and you earned it."

"You gave a gift to Gaara," Sasuke scoffed, "That monster?"

Naruto and Sakura both squinted at him. Naruto began to speak, "Hey sa-"

"GAARA ISN'T A MONSTER!" Sakura interrupted, "If you're calling Gaara a monster, then you're calling Naruto a monster too," she looked down, "How could you say something like that, Sasuke? You don't even know him," she threw the bag on the ground and stormed out of the room, bumping into Rasa on the way out, "Sorry, lord kazekage."

Team 7 stared in shock. Sakura just stood up to Sasuke. She had never yelled at him before, that was usually reserved for Naruto. Kakashi walked over to the bag and picked it up. He looked inside, "Tomatoes," he said, still looking into it. He tossed the bag to the Uchiha, who was looking bored, "Go apologize."

"No. Why should I? He tore Naruto's arm off."

"Gaara didn't, Shukaku did," Rasa cleared his throat. Naruto glared at him.

"Oh. You."

"Lord kazekage, would you give us a moment?"

"Don't call him lord kazekage. He's the worst scum you could ever meet." Kakashi and even Sasuke looked at the boy. He had just insulted the kazekage directly to his face.

"How do you know so much about Gaara?"

"You two," Naruto looked at Sasuke and Kakashi. He made a couple of hand signals, "Leave," the two got up, "Oh, Sasuke," the boy looked over his shoulder, "you still owe me. Apologize to Sakura." The Uchiha grumbled and shut the door behind them.

There was a silence for a couple of minutes as Rasa stood by the door.

"You're a monster. For what you did to Gaara."

"How do you know about that?"

"I can't tell you. It's a classified village secret."

Rasa squinted at the boy, "Well listen to me. You have no idea why I did what I did to Gaara."

"I don't need or want to know," he looked out the window, "torturing a small child can never be justified."

Rasa was yelling now, "I HAVE NEVER TORTURED THAT BOY! The people of the village are the ones responsible."

Naruto laughed, "Some Kage you are, blaming your people for your crimes. What did you do to stop it? Why did you never step in? Why did you never-"

"ENOUGH! I have reasons for everything that I did. He needed to be stronger. I had to remove the love from his life."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Yashamaru was the only person who loved him, I made sure of that. He was hardly even able to see his own siblings. I made him kill Yashamaru to test whether he could handle all of his power. He failed."

Naruto's face twisted in confusion, "He was 5 and you killed his closest and only friend in front of him. What the fuck did you think would happen?! What about the other times you tried to kill him?"

"If he could not handle the spirit inside him, he would be too dangerous for the village," he began walking towards Naruto, "I am tired of your games and your attitude," he pulled out a kunai, "I'll finish this."

"That's not a good idea, Lord Kazekage," the door slid open. Standing in the doorway was Kakashi, Sasuke, and most importantly, the third Hokage. "I am incredibly disappointed that you were able to remain a Kage all this time."

"What? Why are you-"

"Naruto told me all about what you have done to your son. See, he has a special tool that allows him to see all of a persons memories in an instant," Hiruzen stepped towards Rasa, taking his kunai away, "He utilized that tool before the final round of the chūnin exams had begun. He told me as soon as he got the chance. When there would be a good opportunity to catch your confession, I told him to get me, to have a reputable eyewitness. I spoke to Gaara earlier as well. These two," he pointed to Kakashi and Sasuke, "were in on it the whole time."

Sakura was sitting next to Gaara. He had opened up the gift. It was a small keychain with the leaf symbol, "Just remember that I will always welcome you here. I enjoyed spending time with you all and I hope you come back soon." He rolled the keychain around in his fingers.

"You know, you were the first people to ever give me a gift," he untied a bandana from his belt, "This is more than a face cover for me. This is a reminder of the compassion of the leaf village."

"Gaara," Hiruzen walked into his room as Rasa walked by, being escorted by anbu, "I'm very sorry for all that you've been through. Remember, you're always welcome in the Hidden leaf." Hiruzen nodded and turned to leave.

"Thank you." Hiruzen turned his head and smiled, before walking out.

Two cloaked figures stood on the path to the leaf village. One carried a blade wrapped in some sort of cloth. Although both figures were fairly tall, the one with the blade was an ant compared to the other one, "Kisame," the larger figure spoke, "Why do we have to capture the Jinchūriki? I thought this organization fought for peace."

Kisame looked at the man, "Why do you say that? As long as I've been here our goal has been to capture Jinchūriki."

"Orochimaru said something about it," the man paused, a bird landed on his shoulder, "He says Naruto is in the hospital right now," another pause as the bird tweeted, "he just had an arm reattached." The bird continued, telling them of the going-ons of the village.

"We're not here to take him with us yet. We have enough information. Let's go."

The other man was confused, "If it's our job to capture them, why not just do it now? He's weak."

Kisame was getting a little impatient, "Listen, we can't absorb the nine tails until we have all the other tailed beasts. The kyuubi has too much chakra and the statue wouldn't be able to handle it," he sighed, "You know, you're lucky Samehada likes your chakra so much. If it weren't for that, you'd be done for already." The other man was staring off into space, "Jūgo! Let's go!"

Jūgo in the Akatsuki what?! I promise you there's backstory and this isn't just random because Itachi isn't there. I have it all planned out. It was still kind of hard for me to figure out what to do with the kazekage and with the Akatsuki. The next chapter might be dedicated towards exploring that backstory and why Jūgo is there.
Anyway~
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. I also hope that you have a good day/night (or else!)
Xoxo
Jerry