~~Flashback~~
"I want a crack at him!" Naruto demanded with a snarl as he stood in front of the Sandaime with his hands on the Hokage's desk. Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up from the various mission reports that had gone wrong since tensions between Iwa and Konoha had been rising. Numerous encounters with their sworn enemy had been rising and the recent attack on Uzuoshigakure no Sato did nothing to cool the two factions down. That and having one of their strongest shinobi in the ANBU holding cells seemed to make Iwa think Konoha was falling apart.
"I cannot allow that Naruto-Kun," Sarutobi replied with a heavy sigh, "You're not in the right state of mind. You are too emotionally involved."
"You're damn right I am!" Naruto snarled, his eyes flashing red as his fist nearly broke the desk before him, "He experimented on me! Like I was some fucking animal!"
"And how does this attitude prove him wrong?" the Sandaime asked as he interlaced his fingers, eyeing the Jinchuriki, "You're still emotionally recovering whether you like it or not, and Orochimaru will take advantage of your current state of mind!"
Naruto's teeth grit and he pushed off the desk before storming out of the office. Sarutobi waited for the door to slam before he summoned an ANBU. Under his breath, the Hokage gave an order, "Follow him and observe him. I don't want him to do something he'll regret."
"Yes Hokage-sama," The ANBU replied with a nod before vanishing. Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his temples with two fingers. Things were going to get very, very bad soon.
Naruto walked through the village with a scowl on his face, not looking up as he walked. His build and scowl caused the walking villagers to give him a wide birth, hence why he could walk without watching where he went.
Until he knocked someone on their butt.
"Hey watch it, mister!" the young girl with purple hair growled as she tilted her head back to glare at the man, only to freeze when she saw the man looking at her with an arched brow.
"Sorry," Naruto apologized sheepishly, his angry mood quickly switching to a happy façade he had been trying to stop using. He bent over and offered the girl a hand. Her almond-colored eyes widened and a faint blush crossed her face before she took his hand with a quiet "Thank you."
"No problem," The blonde replied with a smile as he pulled her to her feet. Naruto patted the now standing girl on the head, "Where were you off to in such a hurry?"
The girl looked at her feet shyly, "Well, I, um, I...I wanted to get back to the orphanage before the dinner is out."
"Is that right?" Naruto asked with a smile, putting his hands on his hips, "Well, need a lift?"
"Um...N-Not if it's too much trouble, niisan..." she replied, giving a surprised shriek as the well-built blonde suddenly hoisted her onto his shoulders.
"Your shinobi transport for today is Namikaze Naruto," he said with a hand cupping his mouth, getting a laugh from the girl, "I'm gonna need a name for my clientele list."
"Mitarashi Anko!" The girl joyfully replied, getting a grin from the man.
"Well, Anko-chan," he replied, "Hold on tight!"
Naruto crouched down with his hands lightly gripping the girl's ankles before he jumped straight up, the rushing air making Anko laugh in joy, and leaped to a nearby rooftop. He took the 'scenic' route back to the orphanage, jokingly playing the part of a tour guide. Anko enjoyed every second of it, laughing along the way. His little game had caused her to miss dinner, but to compensate he took her out for a doughy treat that she would learn to love.
Anko would grow to love her Naruto-niisan, and the blonde would find himself growing attached to the little spitfire. When his inevitable vanishing would occur, the then ten-year-old would be distraught and cold, rising in her class to the top and attracting the attention of a certain snake. His later experiments would cause the girl to forget about the blonde super-nin, but she'd never been the wiser.
~Present~
"So let me get this straight," Naruto started as he, Ibiki, and Kakashi sat at the table in the Namikaze estate, "Little Ko-chan, my little imouto, is one of your best interrogators?"
"Tch, I think it's because she's your imouto that she's the best," Ibiki chuckled out as he took a sip of his sake. It was only an hour after the first proctor had reported to the Sandaime with the results of the first section of the Exams, and Ibiki had run into the laid-back shinobi pair, who asked him to join them for a drink. They returned to the Namikaze estate and were greeted by a rampaging sugar-high Akane. Naruto tapped a few pressure points and had put her to bed, deciding to forgo the joy of trying to exhaust a five-year-old. Dispelling his clone with a growl, Naruto quickly pulled one of the best bottles out and opened it, pouring three cups and downing five shots in record time.
"Yeah, but it could be because of Orochimaru's curse mark," Kakashi said before finding his air path cut off. Naruto's hand was clutched tightly around the cyclops and his eyes were red.
"What curse mark?" Naruto snarled. Kakashi's hands went to his sensei's brother's wrist.
"C-C-Cap'n...A-A-Air..." Kakashi gasped out. Ibiki quickly grabbed a portion of the Taichou's arm, making the blonde warrior release the silver-haired one. The masked shinobi's head hit the table with a loud gasp.
"Ow! Dammit!" Naruto growled, glaring at Ibiki with his normal blue eyes, "What the hell?"
"You snapped," Ibiki calmly replied as he poured more sake for the super-shinobi, "A few years after you vanished, Anko became determined to become a top shinobi so she could find you. Her determination and skill attracted Orochimaru's attention, and he took her under his wing. Forth-sama had believed Orochimaru had turned a new leaf, as did the rest of the village. Hell, the man had seemed to have let go of his desire to be the Hokage. So he took Anko as an apprentice. But he had an underlying motive: testing on our shinobi."
"Son of a bitch," Naruto growled before quickly downing a shot, "Hit me."
Ibiki obliged the blonde and refilled his glass before he continued, "The first thing we found was a mass grave...of children. Orochimaru had spliced some of the Shodai's DNA into them. Fifty-nine children found. No names, no family ties. All orphans. One survived and he's in our ANBU, skilled in Mokuton. His current cover is Tenzo."
"Remind me to look him up and buy him a drink," Naruto noted as he took another drink, "Hit me."
Kakashi obliged this time and continued where Ibiki left off, "Before sensei could act, Orochimaru bolted and took Anko with him. He marked her and nine others with the Cursed Seal of Heaven, which is a seal of his own creation. She was the only survivor of the marking, but consequently lost the memories of anything before meeting Orochimaru."
"...He sealed her memories of me away..." Naruto snarled before crushing the glass in his hand. He flexed his hand as the shards fell and glanced over his shoulder towards Akane's bedroom. After a moment, the blonde looked back at the table and continued quietly, "I need to talk to Hiru-Jiji. Ibiki, you find out where Anko is this second, and when you find her, get her to my room. You remember it. Kakashi, I need you to stay and watch Akane."
"I understand," Kakashi said with a nod. Naruto smiled gratefully before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
"Tch, show off," Ibiki muttered before taking another drink. He left the same way once he had put his glass down, leaving Kakashi alone in the room. The masked shinobi looked around the room and reached for his book. The second it was pulled out, he shoved it back as a kunai shot from somewhere in the room.
Kakashi frowned beneath his mask, "Well, that's just cheating..."
"Hm, it's only been one hour since I sent them in, Ibiki," Anko mused as she chewed on a Dango stick, "Why should I leave the proctoring to you?"
"Because I have a friend that can get rid of your hickey," the head of Torture and Interrogation replied, making the woman stop what she was doing and swing an armed hand at him. Ibiki lifted his gloved hand and caught her wrist, "Don't do that, Anko."
"You're yanking my chain!" Anko hissed, "Jiraiya-sama couldn't get it off, and the Forth died before he could try. There's no one else alive!"
"That's where you're wrong," Ibiki pointed out, making one Kage Bunshin before he used shunshin to transport his best interrogator back to the 'room'. Anko lowered her hand and quickly spun around to strike an approaching shinobi, only to be caught in the same manner by a tanned hand. Blue eyes bore into her light brown ones and suddenly, a memory went through her head.
~~Short Flashback~~
"Niisan! Niisan!" she cried in joy as she jumped from the top of a slide to his arms. A brown-haired couple with markings on their faces laughed as the blonde who caught her fell to his back.
"Ugh! You're getting heavy, Ko-chan!" he teased, getting a scowl from the girl.
"Nu-uh! I'm just stronger than you!" Anko shot back, getting a frown from the boy.
"The hell you are! Ow!" the blonde shot back before wincing from a blow, "Hey! Don't hit your niisan!"
"I'm stronger than Nii-san~!" Anko sang out.
~Flashback End~
"Ah, I saw that," the blonde holding her wrist said with a smirk, making Anko blink as she came back to reality. Naruto grinned, "It's not as repressed as ole white-skinned hoped. Good, good. Now...I need to see the blemish."
"And who the hell do you think you are?" Anko asked with a growl. Naruto's smile fell.
"...I'm the best damn seals master on the planet," he replied neutrally before turning around and going through a book, "And here I thought this was going to be easy..."
Anko looked to a smirking Ibiki, " Seriously, who is this guy?"
"Now that's just annoying," Naruto spoke without looking and waving at Ibiki, "Get out, Bick. I'm working here."
Ibiki rolled his eyes and shunshin-ed away, leaving Anko alone with the blonde as he flipped through a large book. The second snake summoner kept her eyes on the blue-clad back of the blonde shinobi as he spoke quietly to himself, "This thing does that...and that does this...but then...Oh-whoops, wrong symbol...That makes much more sense...Are you still staring at me or am I going to have to strip you?"
"I'd like to see you try," Anko growled, lifting her kunai-wielding hand into a defensive position. Naruto didn't look back and merely shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Do it." He said in an orderly tone. Anko was about to ask the inevitable 'do what?' when two sets of arms grabbed her own and two legs were planted firmly in front of hers. A second later, the woman found herself face-down eating the floor as a third person sliced her jacket from the collar to the middle of her back, peeling it away to get a view of the seal.
During this, Naruto remained where he was flipping through books. Over his shoulder, he asked, "Did you get lost?"
"Stow it, Oyabun," a duplicate voice shot back in annoyance. Anko felt him breathing down her neck and held her breath. It wasn't the first time she'd been a familiar predicament, but it certainly would be the first where there wasn't an out. The breath on her neck backed away and the duplicate spoke again, "It's ugly. Sporadic, poor design, I'd be surprised if she didn't die immediately after placement. Maybe it's because of us that she lived?"
"Don't get too hopeful on me," the original said, "Dispel and let me see."
There was a familiar-sounding poof before the weight on her back vanished. Two weights on her back from either side replaced it before she could act and a growl escaped her lips.
"Come off it, Imouto..." Naruto drawled as he turned around and knelt down to her line of vision, "Where's the trust?"
"Asks the blonde bastard that has two men pinning me after he cut my favorite jacket," Anko spat back before smirking, "What, no dinner first? I can be persuaded to remove my clothes."
Naruto's face became deadpan, "There's not enough dango in the world to get you to do that. And the clones are there for a reason. Now don't move. One wrong stroke and...well, basically we go boom."
Anko bit back a response as his words, although humorous, had a serious tone underlying them. She remained still, as still as she could be, while the mysterious blonde applied the ink to her shoulder's "blemish". After an agonizingly long wait, Naruto sighed in relief, sitting back on his knees. Before she moved, he put a hand on her head, "Wait...FUIN!"
The cool ink instantly heated and Anko's eyes widened as memories that were locked away flashed before her eyes. Different pranks, different games, different days all came and went before her, and an empty spot in her heart filled. Before she went unconscious, she looked up at a worrying look on the whiskered blonde's face with a happy smile.
"N-Naruto...Niisan..." she whispered before succumbing to the exhaustion. Naruto gave a sigh of relief and dispelled his two remaining clones before turning the Hebi-Hime onto her back. He tucked one arm under her legs and the other around her shoulders before he stood and shunshin-ed to the hospital, leaving her with a trusted doctor before flickering to the Namikaze estate to prepare a spare room.
She's gonna want to know everything, he thought as he walked through his home. A small smile came over his lips, I wonder how she'll feel about being the same 'age' as her niisan?
A flare of chakra got the shinobi's attention and he focused on it. It was familiar...Dark, twisted and almost...snakelike.
"He's here!" Naruto said to himself as his eyes widened in alarm. He dashed to his room and grabbed his helmet before jumping out the window and taking it to the rooftops. The super shinobi felt his muscles tense and tightly clenched his teeth as he raced towards the Forest of Death. With narrowed red eyes, Naruto growled to himself, "You die today, Orochimaru..."
"W-What do you want from us?" Sasuke asked with a small stutter, silently cursing his fear to the strange woman wearing the Kusa headband. The woman chuckled with her disturbing voice as he struggled to remain in a defensive position over his fallen teammates. Sakura was out from a quick taijutsu combo, and the bitch took Kiba and Akamaru out with a genjutsu, causing them to slam into each other while they used the Gatsuuga (Fang Passing Fang) and knocking themselves out. Sasuke could feel the exhaustion from overexerting his Sharingan slip in and struggled to remain conscious.
"Dear Sasuke-Kun...I simply want to test you," The woman hissed with a smile, reminding the raven-haired teen of the second proctor. A shudder went down the Uchiha's spine as the woman continued, "Your eyes...they're so, so precious. With me, you could use them to learn more, get more power! To become stronger than your hated cousin."
The woman vanished and Sasuke stiffened when he felt her breathing on his back. The woman put her hands on his shoulders and lowly hissed, "Itachi..."
"Who are you?" The boy countered out of fear and unease. The person behind him radiated power, that much was true, but in comparison to his sensei's sensei's brother, the man was cold. He was a frozen night whereas Namikaze Naruto was a bright day. The darkness was stronger than power.
"I will explain everything when you come to me," the woman cooed in her hissing voice. It sent another shiver down the boy's back, and just when he thought it couldn't get weirder, she bit him.
"AAUUUGH!" Sasuke cried out after she had backed away. The woman opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by a flying shield flying right into her mouth and sending her deeper into the woods.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out in concern, dropping to the boy's side and carefully pulling his high collar down. His eyes hardened and a growl escaped his lips. The curse seal was still cooling but if Naruto left it, it would corrupt Sasuke and the boy would attack the first thing he sees when he wakes up. The Captain pressed his hand onto the seal and pulsed his chakra through it, destroying the still settling seal before it could finish. Sasuke fell forward, barely conscious, and gasped for air.
"Ku, Ku, Ku...And here I thought you forgot me," a familiar (and hated) voice chortled out to the armored nin. Naruto's head whipped around and his eyes glowed red. His fangs were bared threateningly and a red aura flickered around him.
"Orochimaru..." Naruto growled the name like it was acid on his skin. The woman with a sliced face chortled and peeled the lower half of her face down, revealing pale white skin and a snake-like golden eye surrounded by a purple eyeliner.
The snake sanin gave the equivalent to a frown as he peeled the rest of his 'mask' off, "You stopped my seal. Interesting...What else did you learn from the Dobe and your dear brother?"
"I learned enough," Naruto snapped as he caught the rebounding shield without taking his eyes off the Sanin, "So...Rumor has it you became a Kage of a minor village. What? Didn't want to fight Nii-sama for the title after I 'left'?"
"Ku-Ku-Ku...Always the cheeky one, aren't you TL-09?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk. Naruto snarled and rushed at him, cocking his shield-wielding fist back with the intent to bash the Sanin's face in. Orochimaru ducked and aimed a punch for the blonde's gut, only for the man to vanish in a plume of smoke upon his fist's impact.
The snake swiveled around and blocked an incoming attack with a smirk, "So predictable, Naruto...That's why you'll never beat me."
"Is that right?" A voice said behind him making the Sanin's eyes widen as he turned, only to be sent flying back from a blow to the face from a chakra enhanced shield-wielding backhand. Orochimaru had the decency to groan while Naruto pressed a foot onto the Sanin's neck, "Then why do I get the feeling that I'm about to choke a bitch?"
"Grr...HYDRA! Kill the Captain!" Orochimaru shouted into the woods, his voice scratchy from the blonde's foot on his throat. Naruto bitch-slapped an ANBU with a sound symbol on his mask without looking up.
"HYDRA, eh? Returning to your own roots, Orochi-teme?" Naruto asked as he tossed his shield at the tree a few feet from them. The shield rebounded and took out two other HYDRA before returning to Naruto's location as he punched another approaching ANBU in the face, sending the man to the ground. Naruto caught his shield and slammed its edge into the man's mask, slicing the mask and the head through the middle. He looked back at the Sanin and snarled angrily when he saw an oxygen-deprived HYDRA ANBU.
"Ku-Ku-Ku...A noble effort, Taichou-Kun, but futile. We will meet again when the Leaf burns to the ground!" the Sanin's voice echoed around him. Naruto growled before lifting his foot from the HYDRA's throat and slamming it back into the neck, killing the agent instantly.
"You can bet your ass we'll meet again," Naruto growled to himself, "But you can be damn sure I'll stop you before the village burns!"
~~Flashback~~
Naruto sighed as he sunk into the hot springs that most of Konoha's shinobi use. Despite his already abnormal healing factor from the Kyuubi, he did get sore from his healed wounds. Considering he just returned from a spar with his brother's sensei, he was rather sore. The Jinchuriki let his eyes shut as he sank further into the waters.
'This is nice…' he thought to himself, getting a content growl from his tenant as an agreement.
His ear twitched when female voices suddenly spoke in the female's side of the baths; "So...Have you made a move on him yet?"
Ooh, village gossip. Blackmail material here I come, Naruto thought with a smirk as he sent chakra to his ears to listen.
The other woman in the baths sighed before she replied, "He just returned from the front lines and sparred with Jiraiya-sama, thankfully that pervert was put in the hospital. I'm not going to ask him with him coming and going like the wind-Hana! Get down from there!"
Naruto's eyes shot open and he looked up when a child's giggle distracted him. Peering down at him from the top of the fence separating the baths was a little girl, around 2 years old with long brown hair, two red clan marks on her cheeks. Her brown eyes glistened in joy and she attempted to pull herself over the fence, "Tousan!"
"Hana? Hana!" the blonde exclaimed when the girl toppled over heading for the concrete ground below. Naruto acted quickly, pushing himself to his feet and diving to the spot she would fall on, twisting so he would land on his back. The child landed on his chest, making him cough as the impact knocked the wind out of him.
"HANA!" the two women cried in worry, both of them popping up at the edge of the fence. Naruto looked through blurry eyes to see a redheaded woman biting on her bottom lip to keep from laughing and a brunette staring down with a blushing face. Keeping one hand on the giggling girl's side, Naruto weakly raised his other and waved.
"I got her..." he managed to say before coughing as he sat up. The women sighed in relief and dropped back to their side, two splashes alerting the super-shinobi that they reentered the pool. He looked from where the two women's heads were to the giggling Hana and frowned, "What were you thinking, Hana-chan? You could've gotten hurt."
"I find Tousan!" Hana cheered happily as if she hadn't done anything wrong.
Naruto sighed and dragged a hand down his face before smiling at the girl and lifting her up under her arms, "Yeah, but you gotta stay on the other side with Tsu-chan, ok?"
Hana frowned before tightly hugging the blonde, "No! Stay wif Tousan!"
"Hana-chan, you can't stay with me," the blonde sadly replied, despite being touched that she would want to be with him. He felt bad that he hadn't visited her as much as he should have been, but her calling him 'father' had seemed to be hurting Tsume. His friend and childhood crush had been slowly coming out of her depression, but he didn't want to be the cause for a re-spiral.
"No! Stay wif Tousan!" the girl continued, shaking her head before she started to cry, "Missed tousan! Make Tousan stay fo'ever!"
Naruto frowned and hugged her tightly, "Shh, shh...Hush little flower. It's ok..."
"Why you leave?" Hana bawled out, "Why Kiba-niisan leave? Kaasan sad, Hana sad! No wanna be sad!"
The blonde shinobi slowly rubbed her back with a sad frown at the mention of his friend. He frowned in concern for his friend but shook the feeling off as he focused on the girl in his arms. Kissing the top of her head softly, Naruto whispered soothingly, "I'm here now, Hana-chan. You don't have to cry anymore. Shh."
The girl's sobs quieted to small hiccups and sniffles before she yawned. Naruto smiled and kissed her head before readjusting his towel and leaving the springs. He laid Hana on a chair before going into the dressing room stall to re-clothe himself. As he pulled his shirt on, he heard the curtain slide open and a small weight braced against his ankle. Smiling down at the girl, he lightly patted her head before picking her up and carrying her out to the front of the springs, where her mother and his sister-in-law waited patiently.
Well, Kushina was surprisingly patient at least. Though the smile on her face was a little cause for concern...
"Hana!" Tsume exclaimed in relief as she approached the two, reaching out to take her from the blonde. Naruto made no move to stop her, but both were surprised when Hana stubbornly clung to his neck.
"No!" the little brunette cried out stubbornly, her face scrunched up in anger and exhaustion, "Stay wif Tousan!"
"Inuzuka Hana!" Tsume said sternly, "You will come home with me this instant!"
"NO!"
"Hana-chan, just go with Kaasan, hm?" Naruto suggested almost pleadingly. It's not like he wanted Tsume to get mad at him all over again...not like he needed that either.
"NO!" Hana cried, hugging the blonde's arm tighter, "Stay!"
Tsume's eye twitched and she growled lowly, "Hana..."
"NO!"
"Tsu-chan," Naruto whispered, getting the woman's attention, "I'll just carry her...if that's ok? Just trust me on this, please?"
Tsume bit her lip before nodding. Naruto smiled and walked the young Inuzuka home, her mother following behind with a frown on her face. Later that night, Tsume would be grateful that her daughter had the same bull-headedness that she was said to have.
...It goes without saying that Naruto would be, too.
~~Present~~
"Ow..." Kiba groaned out as he sat up, "Ugh...T-Teme? Sakura?"
"Kiba!" A familiar voice cried in relief. The scent of cherry blossoms hit the young Inuzuka's nose before two rather scrawny arms wrapped around his neck. When the arms released him, a smaller weight landed on the preteen's lap before enthusiastic licking his jaw. Kiba laughed as he pushed the puppy down and patted him on the head while he examined his surroundings.
"Glad to see you're okay too, boy," He said to Akamaru, who barked once in reply, before looking at his teammate kneeling next to him, "Where's Sasuke-Teme? And where's the snake-smelling freak? How'd we get in this cave?"
Sakura looked around worriedly before looking back at him, "Sasuke-Kun is resting a bit because that person bit him. I woke up a while ago and found this scroll. Read it."
Kiba blinked before taking the small offered scroll, unrolling it and reading it.
Team 7,
You're all okay now. I suggest taking a few hours to rest before you hightail it to the tower. The snake person was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. I managed to drive him off, but I doubt he came into the village alone. Keep your guards up and remember what Kaka-baka and I taught you.
Good Luck,
Taichou
Kiba blinked before sighing and rolled the scroll back up. Tucking it into his jacket, the preteen Inuzuka stood and stretched in the small cave before looking at Sakura. With a hushed voice, Kiba spoke, "Taichou-sensei's right. My head is still killing me and Sasuke's unconscious. We've got to stay put for just a bit longer before we bolt to the tower."
"Is that the smartest idea though?" Sakura asked with a bit of concern. The Inuzuka heir grinned much like the Forth's brother.
"He's the Konohagakure no Taichou, why shouldn't we believe in him?"
Meanwhile, the shinobi in question was standing before the Hokage and the Council with his arms crossed. He had just debriefed the collective heads of the village and informed them of the Hebi-Sannin's presence within the village. Naturally, the civilians began whispering worriedly while the clan heads with their heirs in the exams were vocalizing their concerns.
"Don't cancel the exams," Naruto instructed with hardened eyes, silencing the room before he sighed and elaborated, "That's the last thing we want to do. If we send the other participants away before the conclusion of the second test, it will tip the Kages off that something is up. Consequently, if we decide to call the exams during the month wait, it will be another form of warning. What we must do now is go through with it and double-check our security."
"Are you questioning the Hyuuga Byakugan?" Hiashi asked, knowing full well that most of the village's security relied on the Hyuuga's bloodline. In fact, most of the gates were under the constant gaze of the Byakugan, with various members of the clan taking up the roster for the watch/guard position. Minus Kotetsu and Izumo, of course.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Oh get over yourself, Hiashi. I'm not questioning your bloodline. Hizashi was on my genin squad, remember? I know how effective it is, firsthand at that, too."
"What do you suggest then, Nar-er, Namikaze-dono?" Tsume, who had been unusually silent for the past few meetings whenever said blonde was brought up, asked. The blonde super shinobi glanced at her in shock before shaking his head and addressing the council as a whole.
The grin that suddenly split the Captain's face caused a few to shiver in worry while some felt sweat fall down the sides of their heads. Those closer to the blonde younger brother of their deceased Forth and current head of the Namikaze household felt that whatever would leave the blonde's mouth would be both genius and idiotic.
"Let me be the proctor for the prelims and finals!"
...They were not disappointed.
Though the others were severely confused. Surely their Hokage would make sense of his words and ask the man to explain them...right?
"Hm...I approve, Naruto-Kun. You may proceed and relieved Hayate of his duty. If that is all?" Their Sandaime asked, his hands folded and an approving expression on his face. Naruto nodded in response before holding two fingers from his right hand to his temple in a salute.
"Ja ne, Hokage-sama," the blonde super shinobi said before he vanished in a gust of wind. The Council collectively groaned. It was official, they were out of the loop.
Naruto reappeared in the Tower of Training Ground Forty-Four, right outside the lunch hall. He walked in and blinked.
Team Seven was seated at a table with the rest of the Rookie 9 as they were called. Eyeing them, Naruto mentally compared the teams.
Team Eight is Kurenai's squad, he thought as he looked the three kids over. The first he spotted was the shy and reclusive Hinata, the heir to the Hyuuga Clan. She was shaking all over and it was obvious, due to her nervous glances, that it was because of the other Hyuuga in the room.
'Neji…' Naruto thought sadly, ashamed of how he failed the obviously cold branch Hyuuga member. Shaking the thought, he looked to the rest of Team 8, his eyes locking on the Aburame.
'Shibi and Mushi's boy, if I recall correctly,' mused the tall blonde as he watched the tall boy sit quietly. Blue eyes flickered one space next to the human-hive.
'...Now, who is this?' Naruto thought with furrowed brows, frown becoming prominent as he observed the other female. She had pale skin and light brown hair, which meant she wasn't outside often or that she had a condition like Hayate Gekko. He looked her over, her long sleeves similar to Kurenai and her equally enticing attire, for a girl her age anyway, made her out to be a genjutsu mistress in the making.
'Interesting...I'll talk to Kurenai-san more about this if she's who I think she is,' Naruto mused before looking at the noisy Team 10. Frowning, he thought, 'Asuma needs to teach these kids discipline and self-control. And what was Hokage-Jiji thinking? A second Ino-Shika-Cho group? Surely he realizes that the first squad would have been made examples in Iwa and Kumo's academies, right?'
"Hey! Stop staring at us!" cried out the platinum blonde girl of Team Ten. Naruto blinked when the genin in the room looked his way. Immediately, much to the shock of the others, the members of Team 7 were surrounding him and asking him questions.
"Captain-sensei, how'd you beat that snake guy? Did you kill him? Sasuke says you didn't, but you had to have! Akamaru couldn't catch a single scent!"
"What was that thing he tried to do to my neck? And where'd you get the scroll?"
"Sensei, what happened to Sasuke-Kun after we were knocked out? He won't tell us!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Naruto cried out over the three's questions all the while holding his hands out, "Settle down! I'm just checking in to see who made it."
The Yamanaka from before scowled, "Who are you? I thought only jonin sensei are allowed in the tower?"
Naruto snorted and crossed his arms, but before he could reply, Team 7 came to his rescue with a combined, "SHUT UP, INO!"
Chuckling at the outburst, Naruto rested his hands on Sakura and Sasuke's heads before ruffling their hair. The two scowled while Kiba snickered before he joined them as Naruto gave him a light whack upside the head. Akamaru yipped happily from his place in his partner's jacket, safe from the abuse.
"To answer your question, Yamanaka-san, my name is Namikaze Naruto," he replied once he finished correcting his pseudo-students. The Yamanaka heiress gave him a confused glance, but before she could speak, a pair of squeals were heard.
Tenten and Rock Lee soon found themselves being stared at by the many eyes in the room. The former also turning to stare at the latter, who quickly shot to his feet and in a green blur appeared in front of the so-called intruder.
Lee stared in awe at the man before him before clasping his hands together, "Ah! The Youthful younger brother of our Forth has returned! Can you teach me the secrets of the Hidden Leaf Swallow? Gai-Sensei said he hasn't mastered it yet and didn't wish to teach me until he could! Please, most youthful Taichou, teach me!"
"...The Hidden Leaf what-now?" Naruto asked as he scratched his head before he snapped his fingers, "OH! You mean the Uzumaki Draining technique! It must have been renamed when...Anyway, sure, maybe after the exams."
Lee nearly exploded as he bowed repetitively, "AH! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Maa, go sit down, Green," Naruto waved the preteen off with a grin, "You're getting glared at by the bun haired girl and the Hyuuga girl."
"Ha! Told you that was a girl, Temari!" Kankuro exclaimed as he nudged his drooling sister as she stared at the older blonde. Neji's eyes shut and twitched irritably before glaring at the Suna nin.
"I'm a boy," he growled, making the paint-wearing boy lose his smile. Neji then glared at the blonde standing behind the snickering members of Team 7. Naruto smirked and crossed his arms.
"The Hyuuga Glare doesn't work on me, Neji-chan," teased the Tokubetsu Jonin, getting a darker scowl from the boy, "Ooh, you've mastered level two. Hiashi has been teaching you well."
The glare dropped and looks of confusion were sent his way. Naruto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Goddamn it, you didn't get detailed reviews of the Third War did you?"
"Told ya so, Sensei," Sakura said to the blonde as he hung his head. Naruto merely started muttering about crappy peacetime lessons before he turned to leave. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at Team 7 with a smile.
"If you don't manage to win your fights, just know that I'm proud of you for making it this far," Naruto said with a nod to the three before leaving in a shower of leaves.
"Aw man...when's he gonna teach us that technique?" whined Kiba. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.
"You're an idiot." "Hey!"
Naruto returned to the Namikaze manor after his visit with Team 7, his shoulders sagging in relief. The blonde made a few quick hand seals before his armor dispersed, returning to the hidden compartment in his bedroom after doing so. Naruto stretched his arms upwards as he continued to walk into the living room shirtless and clad in only his boxers.
He was a bachelor, what did you expect?
"Naruto-oji!" a very excited squeal cried out before something slammed into his leg. Naruto grunted at the impact before looking down to see the twinkling blue eyes of his niece and her smiling up at him. Naruto beamed one back.
"Akane-chan! How was your nap?" he asked as he hooked his hands under her arms to lift her up. The girl giggled and hugged him around his neck, squealing when he spun her around with a hug back.
"It was good, Naruto-oji," Akane replied as she smiled at him, "Especially after Nee-chan made me some pancakes!"
"Nee-chan?" Naruto asked with his brows furrowed before his danger sense kicked in and he ducked. A flying blur crashed into the wall with a groan and Naruto smirked as soon as he made out the figure.
"So, did you have a good name, Ko-chan?" the blonde teased. Anko sat up with a huff.
"Dammit! Why can't I ever catch you with that?" the purple-haired woman, still dressed in her usual attire, asked with a pout before she asked, "And where've you been all this time? When I asked Kakashi he shrugged and resumed looking over a scroll."
"He left shortly afterward, didn't he?" Naruto deadpanned, and receiving a nod, Naruto shook his head, "Ero-Sennin's influence is deep if he left after you woke up. Hn, and I was supposed to debrief him...Oh well. Akane-chan, why don't you go do your homework? Ko-chan and I have to talk about grown-up things."
"Aww..." the disappointed girl whined as she was set on the ground. Naruto pats her on the head.
"I'll take you to the park if you do it all today," he bargained, getting a determined smile from the girl.
"Ok!" Akane replied before dashing towards her room where her school bags were. Once the two shinobi were sure she was out of the room, tension filled the air. One that was thick enough to be cut with a physical kunai.
"...Before you start interrogating me, can I at least get some pants on?"
"...Why?"
"Yeah, I figured you would say that..."
And like that the tension was gone.
Nearly four hours later Naruto, now wearing shinobi slacks and a white shirt, sat in the living room with Anko going over the defensive plans for the next month. Anko had taken Orochimaru's infiltration relatively well if by that one meant she started foaming at the mouth and demanded to know where he was before Naruto had literally smacked some sense into her. Luckily, it was just a few upsides the head smacks, and no bruises were left. Yet.
"...No, I'm telling you, if he's going to do anything it's going after Hokage-Jiji," Naruto argued, "I know Oro-teme better than you, Anko, and he hates Nii-sama and Hokage-Jiji more than he loves little boys. He wants to see the village burn, but if we manage to repress the invasion, what better way to put out the Will of Fire than killing the Hokage?"
"I still say he'll go after the Uchiha-Inuzuka," Anko muttered with a scowl, "But if that's true, I'm asking to be his guard."
"No," the blonde sternly replied, "Not only will that tip-off Orochimaru, but he'll use you against the Old Man. You're on security duty with the jonin sensei."
"Tch, fine! But I don't want to be near the nobles," She warned, "Last time I had to bodyguard one of those stuck up bastards they tried to cop a feel."
Naruto gave her a deadpanned stare, "And with how you dress you're surprised by this?"
"...Shut up, Niisan."
Before the sibling banter could begin, a knock came from the door and Naruto went to answer it. Upon opening the door, Naruto's eyebrows vanished into his hairline when a defeated Tsume stood on the front porch with a smiling Hana and a gob-smacked Kiba.
However, before a word could be said by the confused Namikaze, Kiba exclaimed, "I can't believe you're my father and you didn't tell me!"