Meetings and Moving On
Sasuke blanched at the punishemnt he had been assigned. Even with a defered punishment now, if he screwed up in the eyes of anyone, he would lose everything. He could only nod and accept the 'justice' of the Hokage. Jiraiya took Sasuke to a nearby room to apply his containment seal.
Once Jiraiya had applied the containment seal and Sasuke had been taken home, Sarutobi looked at everyone in the room; Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and Ibiki. "This private council is made up of all those I deem worthy of following me, as being candidates for Hokage. I value all of your opinions highly and I need honesty here. Ibiki, you are far enough away from the situation to be non-biased. What is your opinion on this Uchiha problem?"
"Honestly, I would say kill him now and save us all the trouble. He is a bad one Hokage-sama. His whole posture was screaming he has no respect for any of us. He told the truth as he sees it but he is still hiding a lot from us."
Sarutobi nodded. "I have thought about that. I feel he is still salvageable in some form. At the moment, he is still a greater asset to the village than he is a liability. I wish there was some way to get through to the boy. Itachi messed his mind up so badly that even the Yamanaka Clan will not go into his head. We tried the loving approach for too long with him. The bigger stick approach will have to do."
"Kakashi, I want you to remain his jonin trainer for at least the next month. Use what Sharingan tricks you have to get into the boy's head. I will assign your other genin to Kurenai for the time being. Both have solid clans to fall back on so they will not lack for training." Kakashi nodded.
"Other business now. Tsunade how is the Haruno girl?" Sarutobi asked.
"She is stable but we are keeping her in the hospital for a few days. You can never be too careful on lightning jutsu. They can mess up a body's system in more ways then we know how to fix. Also, I have been getting some resistance from the hospital staff over the new training I told them about this afternoon."
Good, keep on that. Work your new training programs into the hospital. Reassign whomever you wish. It is your department now and you have a free hand." Tsunade grinned at that. She had a few ideas that would make some of the more complacent medical staff cry.
"Jiraiya, what happened with Naruto in there this morning?"
Jiraiya smirked, "Simple explanation. He saw his teammate get fried and went ballistic. He unconsciously pulled enough chakra from inside the seal of his to make us all combined look weak. If not for the chakra seals I keep with me knocking him out, he would have dove down to the floor of the place and shredded the Uchiha and anyone who got in his way. I looked over the seal on his stomach before I removed the suppression seal. There is no damage to it that I can see."
Ibiki shook his head, "How can a 12 year old have so much normal chakra anyhow? Most jinchuuriki go mad long before this but the kid is fully functional. He has a chakra presence as large as or larger than most jonin I know. All the times I met him I could feel it. It is all his, none of it demonic whatsoever."
"It has to do with the nature of the seal Minato used. Most seals used on jinchuuriki as designed to let the demonic chakra flow throughout the body of the container. The people doing the sealing wanted weapons so they never develop their own chakra to any extent. The one Minato used does not let the demonic chakra mingle directly. It is all contained within the seal itself and the seal is powered by the boy's own chakra. Imagine the toughest training regimen for chakra building you can conceive of, and then double or triple it. Then have it going on 24 hours a day for nearly 13 years. The chakra we see in Naruto right now is merely his EXCESS chakra. It is the part that is not needed to maintain the seal holding in the Kyuubi. Any times he uses the demonic chakra is under conditions of extreme mental stress when he actually pulls it through the seal."
Ibiki whistled softly. "That is some kid."
Jiraiya smiled, "Yup, and to top it off, he is loyal, kind hearted and relatively well adjusted, in spite of the treatment he has had over the years."
Sarutobi cut in now, "Jiraiya, this will be trouble for you but I need you out gathering information on Orochimaru and his plans. I need you to get with all of the contacts you can over the next 3 weeks to find out everything you can about Orochimaru and that group Akatsuki. I have already received word via messenger summons that the Raikage wishes to attend the Finals this year. Apparently, he had one in the area observing and had his interest piqued by one or more genin. If he gets permission from the Daimyo, he will come with his bodyguard, Nii Yugito. That will mean there will be three bijuu jinchuuriki in one place at one time. That bothers me greatly. It is too much of an enticement to pass up. I fear something will happen."
Jiraiya looked at Sarutobi, "What about Naruto? He is in the Finals and specifically my apprentice. I don't feel right about just leaving him with Anko. It is not fair to her with Tsunade being involved in the hospital. It had been agreed upon earlier that I would be the field sensei for the apprentices."
"Hmm, let me think on that one, Jiraiya. I will have answer for you before you need to leave town to meet with your contacts. It is getting late and we need to get started on our plans. I will see most of you tomorrow at the arena to assign the matches for the Finals."
The Konoha Arena stood high over Naruto's head in the morning sun. Naruto had never been inside of it before. No one would sell him a ticket to the previous Chunin Exam so he had to miss it. A chunin directed him to a tunnel that led to the arena floor. He found several people waiting but he was relieved that he was not the last to arrive. Shortly, Jiraiya arrived and stood with Naruto. A clock in the distance struck nine and the Hokage walked in followed by Kakashi and Sasuke. Naruto bristled a bit at seeing the primadonna but Jiraiya just put his hand on Naruto and motioned for him to calm down. Naruto took a few deep breaths and regained his composure. Jiraiya smiled, 'Good job, Naruto. Keeping it professional is hard but it is the best way.'
Sarutobi smiled at the 8 genin and their sensei. The three from the Sand shared the same one so he merely stood behind his team. Kurenai stood behind Shino in place of Kakashi. "It has been decided that Uchiha Sasuke was still acting within the letter of the rules when he won his match, so he will continue into the Finals. He has been warned that such conduct will not be tolerated in the future and suitably punished for use of an assassination jutsu in the tournament. I am also informing Gaara of the Desert that his use of his Sand Funeral technique is forbidden as well. Jutsu designed to cause quick death are now prohibited from use when the Chunin Exams are in Konoha."
Sasuke just stood with a frown on his face as the other Leaf genin all looked over at him before paying attention to Sarutobi once more.
"Today, we will get back to what should have been finished yesterday. The 8 of you will draw lots to determine who you will face in a month's time for the Finals."
Hayate walked down the line of genin with a box and each one took a number.
"3" read Kankuro.
"6" read Temari.
"1" read Gaara.
"5" read Shikamaru.
"8" read Naruto.
"2" read Rock Lee.
"4" read Shino.
"7" read Sasuke.
A chunin had been recording the names as the numbers were read off. He handed a paper to Hayate who read off the matches.
First Match Gaara no Sabaku vs. Rock Lee
Second Match: Kankuro no Sabaku vs. Aburame Shino
Third Match: Nara Shikamaru vs. Temari no Sabaku
Fourth Match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto.
"The winner of the First and Second Matches will fight in the Fifth Match and the winner of the Third and Fourth Matches will fight in the Sixth Match. There will be a special Seventh match for two genin to be decided who lost in the first four matches to give the finalist a short break. The Final will have the winners of the Fifth and Sixth Matches."
"Any questions?" Hayate asked.
None of the genin had any so they were dismissed.
The three Sand genin were led by their jonin sensei, Baki out of the village. They would travel for 2 days to train for 3 weeks in their own country away from prying Leaf eyes. The border outpost they were to stay at was remarkably well manned for a border with an ally.
Sakura lay in her bed just staring at the ceiling. She wanted to get out of here and away from all the darn tests. She knew from her training that the tests were important to insure the patient was healthy but she did not like they were being performed on her. Her mother had stopped by early and was much more composed than Sakura had ever seen her. It seems that her mother's breakdown with her father had some benefits but only time would tell if they held. Sakura just enjoyed the lack of nagging and smiled for her mother at all the appropriate places.
The hospital was relatively quiet this and no nurses had been by to check since breakfast when Hinata came in. The Hyuuga smiled at her teammate and fellow apprentice. "I wish you could see what is happening outside, Sakura."
"What's up?"
"Well, with you in here, me on light duty for a week and Naruto going to his finals meeting this morning; Anko-sensei was going nuts with no one to torture, um 'train', today. But as luck would have it, Tsunade-sensei was given control of all medical personnel by the Hokage. It turns out many of the medic ninja we do have are sorely out of shape since they hang around the hospital all day."
Sakura could already see where this was heading. Tsunade had been livid about the training most of the medical corps had and had made her displeasure known often. Since she never took an official place in the command structure, there was little she could do but advise. She giggled softly as Hinata continued.
"So, this morning after a quick meeting, Tsunade called in her new PT advisor, Anko-sensei. All medical personnel who hold a ninja rank will have to train under Anko 2 days a week in a group. I think the only thing that could make her happier right now would be free dango." Hinata giggled herself at that. "All civilians are being 'encouraged' to get fit themselves. Tsunade-sensei said 'In the future, the only guts I want to see hanging over a belt in this hospital had better be from a patient with a belly wound'. She wants the medical corps to be respected again. No ninja respects a fat doctor who tells them to exercise more."
Sakura nodded in agreement. She had seen a huge difference in herself the past year since she had begun taking training seriously. Getting somewhat fit the months before graduation had nearly doubled her chakra at the time. Under Anko's fierce training regimen, that doubling seemed to occur each month. One standard Anko was trying to reach in the team was one of mythic stature; to run 50 miles (80 km) in the morning without chakra then to fight and win a battle in the afternoon. Only a pair of Konoha ninja could reach that goal at this time, Gai and Kakashi.
The girls chatted away the rest of the morning with the usual girl things; boys, clothes, boys and the shortcomings of other girls. By unspoken agreement, neither Naruto nor Sasuke was mentioned.
Shortly before lunch, Naruto knocked on the door. Both girls smiled at him as his smile was one not normally seen on the blonde. Naruto looked like predator and grinned like his prey was in front of him helpless. It looked out of place on his features.
"I got Sasuke in the first fight. I am so going to pulverize him for what he did to you Sakura," he almost bragged.
Sakura looked at Hinata who also looked concerned about this darkness to Naruto's normally sunny disposition today. Sakura looked down and after a few moments quietly said, "No, Naruto."
The blonde was pulled up short by Sakura's soft voice, "But, why not? He hurt you intentionally! He should get hurt in return for doing that to you!"
Sakura shook her head, "Not like this, Naruto. Yes, he should be punished but not by you, not for revenge. Fight him because he needs to lose. Fight him because he has to learn that even he is not the best. Fight him to show your skills but never fight him for vengeance. You have seen what that has done to Sasuke. A few years ago, he was everything in the world I wanted but he lost his way. His path is leading him to destruction, Naruto. Don't go down path that like him."
Naruto's smile had faded as Sakura spoke. "I just wanted him to pay for hurting you. It felt like he was beating up on my sister when he put you in here, if I had a sister."
"A sister, huh? I can live with that," Sakura smiled at Naruto who began to smile in his seldom seen honest heartfelt smile that made both girls want to hug him. Sakura laughed and grinned mischievously, "Now then you had better listen to your big sister and train hard or no ramen for you!"
"Whaaaa?! No ramen! But I need ramen, Sakura," Naruto whined.
Hinata spoke up now to tease the boy more, "Then you had better train to win or we will tell Ichiraku-san and Ayame-san that you did not earn it."
Naruto's increased acceptance and notoriety following the Academy fire had helped the small ramen stand thrive. Teuchi and his daughter had been more than willing to adjust the recipe to their ramen at Hinata's suggestion. In addition to the bits of meat they always added, each bowl had a full serving of vegetables in it. Tsunade had tried to get the boy off ramen completely once but after a frank discussion with Teuchi and his soup ladle in her face, she compromised after seeing his recipe. If they would use less salt in it, she would stop in once a while as well. Ichiraku's was well on its way to becoming a restaurant in its own right now as the old man kept adding menu items like 'diet' ramen and dango and drinks like sake and various teas.
Hinata had gotten the idea early on to tell Teuchi when Naruto slacked off from training. At one point during the pranking days, Hinata was so upset at Naruto missing a meeting to gorge himself on ramen that she told the stand owner. The man wanted the boy to succeed so he set up a policy of no ramen for Naruto if he slacked off and did not 'earn' it. It only took one week of no ramen to make Naruto realize the man was serious. Ayame soothed things over with the boy but the lesson was learned.
Naruto sped out of the room with the cry of, "I need to find that pervy teacher and get to training!"
The girls looked at each other, rolled their eyes and laughed before going back to 'girl talk'.
Naruto searched for Jiraiya for several hours before he was called into the Hokage's office by a messenger. Grumbling, Naruto waited for the meeting and was surprised to find 3 people waiting for him in the office. The Old Man was in his usual seat but sitting on the couch were Jiraiya and Hyuuga Hiashi. Puzzled, Naruto began to back out until he was called in to sit by the Old Man.
"Naruto, you have not disturbed anything. We were just discussing you and your training for the next month. I need Jiraiya to be out of the village on business and that would leave you without an instructor for your match with Uchiha Sasuke."
"Out of the village? But, why?" Naruto asked.
"Konoha business, Naruto," Jiraiya put in. "If it was not important, I would not be going and leaving you like this. But, lucky for you, Hyuuga-san here has graciously accepted to teach you during the month until Finals."
"Um, ok. Hinata has said you only train members of your clan. Why change that for me?"
"Let us just call it settling an old debt, Naruto. I will not be teaching you Hyuuga techniques but rather helping you refine things you already know from a different perspective. You have never faced off in a serious fight with someone possessing a doujutsu and you will be facing one in the Finals. My nephew Neji will also be working with me and the two of you may have need of a sparring partner. Of course, working out with the pair of you will satisfy my new reserve jonin training physical requirements for Tsunade-san. We all benefit from this situation."
Naruto was upset that Jiraiya would be gone but it had happened often enough that it was not a major surprise. The more surprising thing was how fast Tsunade was implementing her new programs in the hospital and village. Since the medical corps set the minimal physical standards all ninja must follow, that now fell under her supervision. The stricter standards for kunoichi and genin had been pushed through months before but the people in charge of higher rankings had been reluctant to push up the standards in peacetime for chunin, jonin, and reserves. Even the Hokage would be getting out of his office one day per week for PT now. She had not even been in charge of things for 24 hours and already had the system in place. Naruto shuddered thinking about what else Tsunade might have already planned and waiting for everyone.
"Thank you, Hyuuga-sama," Naruto said politely and bowed. He could do little else in front of the Hokage. Sarutobi had drilled the boy extensively on protocol during the months of authorized pranking and reports with clan leaders. Naruto had to act properly in situations that required it since he now understood that clan leaders held the keys to the Hokage's door. If he were ever to get the Hat, he needed support and manners were the first step to respect.
Hiashi smiled at how far the boy had come since that terrible fire. The boy still had the same manic energy he always had but it had been tempered greatly first by Hinata's influence and later by the Sannin. A Naruto with control was much more dangerous than a Naruto simply running wild like an idiot. Hiashi smiled a small bit larger as he recalled Jiraiya's lecture a long time before, 'It's all about control'.
Sunset had Konoha's night life severely muted tonight. Too many ninja were at home and the pharmacy was short on ointments and blister cream. Tsunade hoisted some sake and toasted the village. They might be hurting now, but in the long term she would be having less work.
Next Chapter: Many Taskmasters
End Notes: Yes, more filler. I am getting all my plot points in place to get into the next section of the story. Things will get more active next chapter as the preparation for the Finals begins in earnest. This chapter spanned the evening after and the first day following the Preliminaries. The beginning of this chapter was originally slated to be included in the previous one but I felt on proofreading that the impact of Sasuke's sentence would be lessened by further storytelling. Also, the remainder of this one was originally to be part of the one to come but like the one before, a natural stopping point was reached.
Review Notes: The fate of Sasuke was a hot topic in the reviews. Most who stated an opinion want him dead, maimed or both. It is good to have a villain that makes such a reaction. I hope my Orochimaru later gets a similar response.
Hinata is not a snake summoner. I did mention that in a previous chapter. Hiashi said no and Anko is not the contract holder. Her 'Arms of the Dancing Asp' is a genjutsu to hide her Gentle / Flowing Fist attacks. Simply building off the impression that she has snake jutsu by being Anko's apprentice is the key to it working. So there will be no impressing Manda any time soon.