AN: I am sorry that it took a long time to update but I was stuck on the road of life. *coughs weakly* Well, this is chapter is last part of the Introductory Arc and The Land of Waves Arc is coming soon. With that said, the chapters will get a bit shorter but to only make sure I update more frequently with me now returning back to school. I will have omake at the end to make up for the lack of length. If you want me to make of a certain thing, then i will try to do it! I will put in his relationship with everyone as a child and with his family, especially Jiraiya.

You guys probably might skip this but keep this in mind, THIS CHAPTER WAS NOT YET EDITED BY MY BETA! I felt guilt that it took like a month to update so I will have it changed in the next few days. Thank you! Please, review and ask questions. ^-^

Chapter 6: Promises of Hard Work

[Recap]

Naruto gave Sasuke a weird look. "What are they talking about teme?" He whispered softly.

"How am I supposed to know?" He shushed Naruto with his foot.

"Ow!" Naruto cried but Sasuke put his hand on his mouth. "Quiet! We can't get caught. If they catch us, I don't want to even finish that. Kushina-san is very scary when angered."

"Really?" A voice said loudly in Sasuke's ear. He heard her crack her knuckles and he began to sweat. Shit!

She began tapping her foot on the floor impatiently, waiting for them to make a move. Both genin froze and offered a small guilty smile. Kushina shrugged her shoulder and bent over, throwing Sasuke on her shoulder as Mikoto did the same to Naruto. Both beautiful kunoichi carried the struggling boys to the dining room and sat them on the chair despite their protest and complaints.

"Hey!" Complained Naruto as he glared at them a little. He directed his eyes to his mom because he knew how unpredictable she was. He might not see her move directly, he would still feel her chakra signature, it wasn't hard when she a lot compare to most.

Sasuke scowled and avoided their stares. Stupid dobe! If it wasn't for him, we might have heard something interesting… Maybe an important missions or a clan related issue… His thoughts trail as his eyes darted to the floor, ignoring his mother penetrating gaze. He felt the pressure of the two adults stare, more like menacing glare but would not falter.

"You know that eave's dropping is bad Sasuke-chan" Mikoto began as she shook her head in shame. She thought she raised her sons better than that. Itachi and Sasuke were the ones who showed more proper respect in comparison to her younger son Akihiko that complained about everything. She blamed Fugaku for his rebellious attitude and lack of proper etiquette. He never liked it as a child and it seemed to have become the same thing for their youngest son.

"Sasuke-chan?" Naruto snickered as he whipped his head to see Sasuke who grumble under his breath. In all his life, he hasn't heard such a ridiculous things like he has now. Sure his mother called him Naru-chan but she stopped when she noticed the annoyed face he would make when she called him that in front of his sister.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke looked up and saw a dark expression on Kushina similar to his. He gulped and glanced at his mother pleadingly. Kushina might have a soft spot for him being her godson but that did not change the fact how she viewed punishment. He just hoped he didn't get to hurt for their first mission tomorrow. Besides that, he wanted to ask his mother to train him later today. Seems like training with kaasan won't be possible. He thought glumly.

"What did you guys hear?" Kushina demanded. She put her hands on her hip and gave them an expectant look. She knew that her friend wouldn't want her to hurt her son even if it wasn't anything serious. Sure, she was the godmother of Sasuke but that didn't change the fact that Mikoto wouldn't want her son hurt. Not like she can blame her. Kushina wouldn't allow anything bad to happen to her children especially since they were defenseless in her mind. Moreover, she did love the boys but there are boundaries that must be kept to have respect with each other. What Mikoto and her spoke about were very important and private things. Not just anyone could know.

"Just that there was something important and that Mikoto-oba had to tell Fugaku." Naruto answered honestly. Gosh did he hate being in such an open situation. It wasn't his fault that Sasuke kicked his feet and they got discovered. Well, maybe only a little.

Mikoto shared a look with Kushina as she sighed tiredly. "Alright, let's go Naruto." Kushina went over to her godson and pinched his cheek despite a trivial complaint. She smiled innocently at him before walking out of the dining room.

"Bye Mikoto-oba, Sasuke-chan." Naruto giggled as he quickly ran out the room. He avoided a kunai that passed next his head as it hit the wall next to the door. He laughed more when he heard Mikoto began to lecture at him and hurried to catch up to his mother. He knew that he had new bait to tease Sasuke about it, especially in front of Sakura.

"So Naruto, how did it go on your test?" Kushina beamed at her son as she reached for his son's hand. He pouted a little before a small smile appeared on his face. She was curious on whether her son made it after all. Kakashi was a strict teacher and never had passed any of his genin teams. He has claimed that they lack teamwork and that he would not have a team that did not value it. She knew the reason why and kept to herself. If Kakashi wanted to explain his personal belief on it, then he would be the ones to tell them, not her.

"Well we passed! In the beginning, I just charged and attacked while the others hid." Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment with his free hand and continued. "I didn't manage to get any hits but once I manage to distant myself from Kakashi-sensei, I hinted that to my team that something was off. We needed to go to the forest and we made a plan there as we regrouped. Together, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme and me attacked Kakashi-sensei and then Sakura-chan got the bell."

Kushina beamed at her son. "You know that Kakashi has never passed a genin team? I believe that you are the first team that managed to pass." She complimented as she ruffled his hair. She knew what the bell test was and was privilege to see Minato do the test on his genin. Gosh did he love his students, Obito was just something that she loved too. She smiled and sighed a little troubled.

"Cool! I'll be Hokage before you know it! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly as he they passed down the busy market district. Kushina smiled deepened and began swinging their locked hands. She truly did missed spending time with her son, taking leisure walks.

"Naruto, it's been a long time since it's been you and me walking around the village and having some mother and son bonding." She commented as her gaze landed to mothers with their young children. She felt a little sad but then guilty. She was a kunoichi of Konoha. She chose that her life, wanting to be a ninja before she to having a family. By having a career as a ninja, she knew the probability that her children would follow those steps which made the moments together very important.

More guilt came as she remembered the war. While Minato was with his team, she was busy along with many others jonin fighting for the lives of her villagers. Minato earned the nickname of Konoha's Yellow Flash while her nickname as Red Hot Habanero of Konoha became known throughout the countries. Her undying spirit and her brutal attacks would plummet anyone she faced to death. She wasn't proud for the nickname but feared that those who survived will attempt and succeed in killing her children. She wouldn't allow that she came up with a decision.

"I know. Kiyo-chan came when I was four and the pregnancy was a bit difficult. I assume that it was easier when you were pregnant with me because of the Kyuubi. With Kiyo-chan, you were in the hospital a lot. Otousan seemed worried a lot." Naruto commented sadly. He figured that was what his mother meant.

She squeezed his hand and suppressed a frown. She wondered if he ever thought about the enemies she and Minato had. Naruto questioned them about it once when he was in the academy and they were covering the war but it seemed like the thought of revenged never crossed his mine. "The pregnancy was difficult and bit different when I had you but it was not that bad. Your dad was just paranoid. You should have seen him when I got pregnant with you. He would take me to the doctors all the time. He wouldn't let me do missions and would take me to Rin every time I threw up. He would always question the doctors diagnostic and they would get mad." She chuckled despite herself.

Naruto laughed and shook his head. "That sounds like dad. It's a miracle that he didn't make you do that with Kiyo-chan."

"It's not like he didn't try" She grumbled darkly. Unlike most of Naruto's adoptive aunts and uncles, she found Naruto thoughts and comments hilarious. It always brought out a piece of her as a child. Kushina was still pretty young but felt a little out of it but as someone she knew, his 'youthfulness' made things more bearable. She knew that he had her personally but even a blind person can see that. She chuckled at that and walked in a comfortable silence. She looked down at her son and noticed a slight frown that matched hers earlier.

Naruto stopped walking and glanced at his mom with a shine in his eyes with resolve. "Kaasan, can you train me some more? I want to get stronger and be a shinobi that protects my friends. I think I mastered tree walking and I want to try something else."

She smirked instead of gaping at him like a fish out of water. "Hai Naruto! I train you to be the best shinobi there is! You might not like my methods but I know that with time, you'll get accustomed to it. Let's go home now and we can start." Thank you Kami! Now I can train him to his full potential and then Kiyomi will be next. I didn't want to scare him with the thought of nins coming to kill them because the role we had in the war but they need to be able to hurt them so in the end they won't have to be.

"Alright! Race you!" He grinned as he ran down the market district street. Kushina nodded her head and in no time, they arrived at the Namikaze estate. They quickly wasted no time and heading to the training grounds and setting up dummies and the target practice.

"Naruto, show me how well you mastered tree walking." Kushina said as she quickly grabbed her hair in a high pony tail. Naruto nodded his head energetically and began walking up the tree before going into a run. He reached the highest branch and walked under it, hanging upside down.

"I told you I can do it kaasan!" Naruto waved his hand at his mom and grinned cheekily. Kushina was so proud, words couldn't explain how she felt. She considered teaching him water walking for more practice but he would just get mad. It would be more practical if he had more control of the profuse amount of chakra however, she would rather have him be able to defend himself. In Great Third Shinobi War, both were famous and sought out for their abilities. Perhaps she would teach him how to do wind style jutsu like his father, it was more probably that it is his affinity.

"Very good Naruto!" She praised. "I'm going to teach a wind style jutsu. It's called Ranboukazenenten."

"Ranboukazenenten?" He asked.

"Yes Naruto. It's a jutsu for offense and defense. You must apply chakra to your feet and spin on your heel three times simultaneously, each spin releasing a violent burst of wind from all directions. It will cover a range about eight feet out. This jutsu is very helpful to displace incoming projectile and possible jutsu such as water and fire."

"Cool!" He quickly wanted to master this jutsu. He was not going to be left behind in the department of fighting. He remembered how he saw his sister fought the Uchiha boy and laughed. To think that he was able to perform those taijutsu moves much faster and with more brute force. He just had to no longer hold back.

"The only drawback would be that the jutsu will get you a little dizzy for a second if not more, slowing your reaction time. You could use it to knock opponents who come too close. Sadly, I cannot make is as strong as a ninja with a natural affinity of wind, but I can perform the jutsu nonetheless."

"Show me kaasan!" Naruto stared at his mother with awe.

She nodded her head and began signing. "Fuuton: Ranboukazenenten!" She spun around three times with each spinning letting out a wing span of wind of ten feet radius. Naruto quickly lifted his arms to his face as the gust of wind ran through him and applied chakra to the soles of his feet, staying to the ground. He was pushed back several feet back and felt his arms tremble from blocking the wind. He dug his heel deep in the dirt and grunted until she finished.

"That was powerful kaasan!" He put his arms to the side and ran to his mother, enveloping her to a hug. "I'm going to be a great ninja thanks to you and tousan!"

She smiled down and her son and ruffled his hair. "Start practicing Naruto! I know you can master this jutsu easily! Come and attack me with it."

He nodded his head in determination. The first step was completing the seals before applying the right amount of chakra near his toes. He quickly turned to the right and felt gust of air flying through his clothes. Each spin giving off resilient attack and Kushina waited as the air push her caused her to take a step back and moved a few strands of her hair. "Not bad Naruto. Practice pushing the dummy back as I throw some dull shurikens and kunai at you. Motivations are always a good thing. Don't give up until the very end."

Naruto began with the same steps as before and caught the sight of the shurikens and kunai hurled at him. He began spinning faster and heard the sounds of clanging of metals. He stopped and felt the dizziness his mom warned him about. He grabbed his head to steadied it and saw the weapons on the ground. A small smile formed and he looked back at the dummy in the training ground. It was moved few feet away and he couldn't help to feel happier. He knew within time, he would master the technique without having to be dizzy.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Naruto practicing the new jutsu and each time he managed to perform it, he would feel less dizzy until to the point he would feel nothing at all. After a suggestion his mom made, he created a few clones and began to gain mastery very rapidly. He managed to push the dummy across the field and the shurikens and kunai back to his mother with one of his clone. Naruto smirked and dispelled his clones and gain the memories, and did the jutsu again. Kushina dodged it at ease and jumped back as the distance the air covered expanded. His mastery of the jutsu is incredible! Perhaps his elemental affinity is wind like Minato. If that the case, it would be best if he learn more of the wind jutsus. Let's see if he can use it in combat with me.

She jumped off a tree bark and charged at her son. Naruto was surprised but quickly pulled out his kunai to stop the incoming one to his neck. The kunai clanged at the touch and Naruto held his ground. He lifted the kunai up to his face and jumped back. He looked up and saw his mom smiling. He smiled back and went on the offense, closing the distance between them and throwing jabs at her. She blocked them all and she returned them faster in a blur. Barely managing to block most, Naruto pulled back and reached into his pouch and pulled out a few shuriken before hurling them towards her.

With a good distance from Kushina, he began performing the necessary seals for Ranboukazenenten. He finished and called out his new jutsu. "Fuuton: Ranboukazenenten!" He spun around and Kushina widened her eyes in shock. The wind that attacked threw her back in the air and she jumped backwards and kneeled down. She lifted her arms to form an X and let the attack hit her in a distance. She was now sure that the attack had more strength and the speed to perform of the jutsu increased rapidly with the thirst of knowledge Naruto had. She felt her hair blowing hard against the attack and her dressed flapped around her.

"How was that?" Naruto asked as he panted slightly. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and waited for a response. He saw his mother slowly stand up to jump in the air.

"That was great Naruto! Dattebane!" She yelled happily but then stopped and quickly clamped her hand on her mouth.

Naruto stared at her with wide opens and lifted his finger to point at her. "You do say it!"

I really need to stop saying that! It's a miracle that only Naruto caught this habit from me. It would have been weird if Itachi learned it when I would babysit the young heir. Kushina gave him a small smile while innocently giggled before ignoring the comment all together. If she answered him back, they would end up in argument and the last thing that you wanted was an angry Kushina training you.

"I'll teach you one more before I have you train for endurance and strength. It's called Kaze Ya no Jutsu, also known as Needles in the Wind. You gather air with your hands and mix it with chakra. By doing this you transform them into sharp and deadly needles. The needles are almost invisible so it is hard for the enemies to see them. Because the needles are made of air they cannot be blocked or deflected. The only way to ensure safety is to dodge them. That's one of the wonders on using wind ninjutsu, invisibility."

Naruto put his arms in front of him and began concentrating and carefully listened to steps his mother gave him. He closed his eyes and felt as he grabbed some of the air but felt a burning sensation and opened his eyes to see a ball chakra. He ignored the pain that shot through his arm but his arm started to shake. Kushina, with her hawk like sight, saw this and frowned deeply. Naruto tried to increase more amount of chakra until Kushina yelled aloud. "That's enough!"

She pulled on his arm and saw a few burn marks and grimaced. "Naruto, let's focus on training on your chakra control and then manipulation. It would be easier then with more control. I thought maybe it was okay to just let you tree walk but it seems like water walking would help you immensely. Afterwards we'll go inside and you can help me prepare dinner." Naruto sighed and she commented. "Naru-chan, I know that it isn't easy but we never said it was. If you want to be a great ninja, then don't give up! Like I say, don't give up until the very end because only then do we see the end result and then you'll know your capabilities. These chakra control exercises are not the only ones you will have to do but we stop and mixed in taijutsu lessons and your normal physical strength practice more likely tomorrow."

Naruto gave a small smile for his nickname but still didn't get it. He wanted to continue practicing and master the wind jutsu but she did have a point. When he drew out chakra, he could feel that it was a lot of it. He would pay attention with he would do Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu when a lot of chakra went into the jutsu, though not so much that he felt tired.

I should have complete mastery of my chakra control and then maybe then tousan and kaasan can teach me their ninjutsu. Tousan has his Hiraishin and according to him, kaasan was a true seal master. I'm going to have to look into that.

"Well start with endurance. We'll spar with the intention of lasting longer with stronger kicks and hits. Just staying in battle for a long time won't guarantee victory. You have to fight and attempt to hurt me. Don't hold back Naruto. Be offense and I 'll be defense until you get tired." She instructed with a hint of humor in his voice. "You make clones if you can't handle me." She taunted a little.

He scowled a little and leaped forward in a flash. He threw his fist in attack his mom face and she caught them easily. He continued to punch until he landed a total of three hits that were directed to her midsections though he didn't deepen the distance as he threw a kick to her head. Konoha Daisenkō He thought as he connected with something hard.

Kushina caught his leg and spun him around with a mischievous smile. Almost got me there Naru-chan. Almost… but not entirely. She stopped and tossed him at the dummy in the middle of the training ground.

Naruto quickly shifted in the air and landed on his feet to only backflip from the momentum of the attack. Kushina jumped right into it and was welcomed with various punches and kicks that had no pattern. Quickly, a swift roadhouse kick came from her side and she jumped in the air to only slap herself mentally. I regret teaching him that move. Shishi Rendan!

Naruto took advantage of her being in aerial move and slipped above her to summersault in a ball, sending multiple kicks and punches before delivering a final strong kick to the stomach. Sadly, Kushina fell on the ground and gritted her teeth with pain and irritation on her abdomen. This might be the last time that I have to completely hold back on him. Maybe next time he can actually get me good!

Kushina slowly sat up and heard some slight panting. She turned over to see two blue eyes staring at her in concern. "Are you okaasan? Did I hurt you? Man, dad is going to get mad! Wait right here whil-"

"I'm fine Naruto." She interrupted with a small smile. "I've been through worse and seen better by the way." She jumped on her feet and almost fell back. Maybe not?

"Well then maybe don't hold back. I can handle myself." Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. He had a pout and refused to look in the direction where his mom stood. He knew that his mother was one of the strongest kunoichi there is in the village. He would be stupid if he thought he almost got her with Shishi Rendan, a simple C rank move.

"If you only showed more determination and if you didn't hold back, I would either. I don't want you think that I think you are weak but I will not go all out on you. You're still a genin and not fighting me like you would in battle. I've been in plenty of battles before where the enemy where up to par with me or stronger. I've endured and fought to my fullest at war. Besides, ask Kakashi how I treat those who offend me or anyone who insult those I care for." She said casually. Naruto took a step back and decided to shut his mouth.

"Now, let's go into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Your dad said they would come later as he promised to take your sister to the park." Both Namikaze stood up and walked to the house with no hurry .

Naruto stole a glance at his mom and made another decisions. I will keep my promise to protect my friends from everyone that comes to harm them, by doing so, I will no longer hold back on training! I have a lot to live up to and I won't be slacking off now just because I am genin. I will get stronger and fight kaasan and tousan with them full on! Dattebayo!

"Mom, I'm home!" A pink haired girl said as she took off her shinobi sandals and placed them neatly on the floor.

"Sakura, come inside the kitchen! Tell me how did it go? I made yakitori to eat while we talk" A warm voice called. She took a step back from the stove and held the pan above the fire as her daughter walked through the living room. She looked at her daughter and noticed a trouble look on her face. "Sakura, honey, what's wrong?"

The pinkette raised her emeralds eyes and looked at his mom. "Mom, do you think it's a bad to care about one's look instead of being a ninja?" She asked cautiously as she took a seat on the wooden chair near the table.

"I think that you need to balance it out since you are a girl. You should mostly focus on being a ninja then anything else if you want to live long enough. What brought this?" Mebuki turned off the flames and place the chicken on a plate and took out a few wooden spears.

Sakura sighed deeply before she began to recall the survival test her team had with Kakashi. She thought that she could have trick Kakashi into her trap with volley of shuriken but in the end, she was caught in genjutsu that only made her appear weak. She was in a team with two shinobi that came from famed clans but they also the top two ninjas. "Naruto and Sasuke seem to handle things quickly and swiftly. I feel that I am holding them back. The only useful thing I was able to do was get the bell while they attacked."

Mebuki repressed a frown and began nibbling on yakitori. "Dear, you are incredibly smart however you need to improve." Sakura stared at her mom flabbergasted but then frowned even deeper with the words Kakashi said before the test. Usually the loud ones are the one that fails or the one with least experience. "You can just expect to be good, especially compared to those two that come from the strongest clans. Perha-"

Sakura stood up quickly before bowing to her mom, not caring a bit when she interrupted her. "Excuse me mom, I'm going to the library." She quickly went to the living to put her shoes on and left hastily. Her mom looked after her worried but stayed seated.

It's time like this when I wish that I was still friends with Ino-pig. She thought sadly. She closed the door behind her and walked around the village, glancing at the shops and the busy merchants.

No! She was in the way of the love of your life! You guys had to end it so either one of you can be Sasuke-kun. It's obviously you!Her inner self proclaimed.

She didn't answer and began walking down the dirt road aimlessly. She glanced at the sky and stared at the clouds before returning her gaze in front of her.

She walked pass the park and looked at the kids playing on the swings. She saw two girls arguing and a little boy silently swinging. One of the girls had two pig tails, but looked a little too big for it with a yukata. The other girl had her hair down, wearing a traditional Chinese dress and both seemed to intensely argue with the other.

Sakura walked towards them without her knowledge until she was a good ten feet away from them. The girls did not hear here approach but she could now hear them bicker.

"Get away from him Aki!" The ones with pig tails cried out as she pushed her.

"You Noa!" The girl hissed and jumped forward to only get caught by a pink haired. Aki froze and looked up to see a pissed of Sakura.

"What are you guys fighting about?" She asked, with her voice raised. She held on Aki's collar and pulled her back from Noa. Her eyes flickered to the boy who watched everything with shame in his eye and worry that a crazy pink haired girl was holding on one of his best friend. "Don't waste your time fighting! You have to stand together and not fight over a boy"

Nao looked at Sakura with wide eyes before looking at Aki. Sakura dropped Aki and turned around, to hear one of them apologize and call her some names.

"That girl was crazy."

"Did you see the look in her eyes?"

"Noa, Aki, why were you guys fighting? I was just swinging before that crazy chick came over!"

Sakura heard the last two comments and hurried to the library to take her mind of today occurrence. They don't realize how good they have it, just a bunch of little kid, having nothing to worry about or anyone to protect. They are still too young to even think to enjoy the academy, another pile of worries and precaution added to life.

"This is Sasuke, arrived on point B." The raven haired said as he quickly jumped in the air and hid behind the tree.

"This is Sakura, arrived on point C." Sakura was crouched down near a green bush and looked around, waiting for Naruto to speak.

"This is Naruto, arrived on point A. Dattebayo!" Naruto was in the lead and was hidden behind a tree. He looked back and nodded his head back at them.

"Naruto, you are going to burst my ear drum." Kakashi muttered into the ear piece. He was busy concealed within the trees of the forest. He was keeping an eye on his team along with the target. "Okay seventh unit. The target has moved. After it!"

The team quickly jumped into action as the swiftly moved after the running target. Naruto jumped on a tree branch and acted as a cover for Sakura who was in the front. Sasuke was back up as he was a few meters behind Naruto, hidden behind a tree.

"Okay she is here" Naruto jumped down and softly landed a few more feet forward. He quickly went to the right and felt his teammates follow in suit.

"What is the distance of the target?" Kakashi asked into his ear piece. He secretly had his book out and was reading until they finally caught sight of their target.

"Five meters. I'm ready to go." Naruto warned as he took a peek of the target.

"I am too." Sasuke said, staring at the unidentified target. He was at least fifteen meters away from Naruto and a good ten meters from Sakura.

"Me too." Sakura added in as she was facing north. She caught Sasuke and Naruto's eye and nodded her head.

"Okay. Go!" Kakashi commanded.

The young soldiers jumped from their spots and went after the target. Naruto, who was closer to the target managed to grab the target and heard hissing and saw incoming paws out to scratch him. He quickly pulled away and groaned. The cat began to meow and hiss at Naruto while continuing to attempt scratch his face, getting a few accurate jabs. "Ah! Stupid cat!"

Sakura giggled and took the cat from Naruto. "It's not that bad. She's seems nice." The cat instantly stopped hissing and meowing and started to purr at the touch of Sakura, rubbing her head against her.

"Does it have a ribbon on its right ear? Is it our target, Tora?"

"It's our target for sure." Sasuke replied.

"Okay. Operation Capture Tora the Lost Pet complete." Kakashi finalized as he shunshin to his team. "We have to take it back to the Fire Daimyo's wife."

Naruto smirked and placed his hands behind his back. "Can we do better missions? All we have been doing is going around the village and cleaning or picking up stuff from fields."

Kakashi looked back at Naruto and smiled. "You still need experience to perform any higher missions."

"Well shouldn't doing higher missions give us that experience?" Sakura questioned as she looked at her sensei for a response.

"I agree. The village missions don't help us much." Sasuke said calmly as they neared the academy.

Kakashi looked at his team amused before smiling under his mask. Seems like they are working together better than I anticipated. Maybe they will have a C rank mission. "How about we have one more D rank mission and I'll ask the Hokage for a C rank?"

The team stopped and looked at each other. Sakura seemed a little nervous but nodded her head with the cat still in her arms. Both Naruto and Sasuke gave a slight nodded before Naruto spoke for them, well more like yelled for them. "Deal. But you have to teach us something! It wouldn't be fair if we a mission outside the village and we seemed weak. You owe that much anyways! I already have enough training in the physical department."

Kakashi grabbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Alright. Let's give out report and get another mission. Afterwards, we will see what you guys need training in."

The team seemed content with that and hurried along the road to the academy. Outside the door was a woman clad in purple. Her lips were coated with a dark shade of pink with her eye shadowed with purple. She was a big woman with many type of flashy jewelry on herself, not hiding the fact of her social status.

She looked up and saw Team Kakashi and ran towards Sakura, snatching the cat that was settled in her arms. "Oh, my cute Tora-chan!" She cooed as she began to press the cat onto herself. Tora instantly began to hiss and cry in annoyance. "I was so worried about you!"

"No wonder the cat left." Naruto commented quietly to his teammates as he looked at the cat in pity. They smiled in response and walked in together, hiding their smiles from the Hokage.

"Thank you Kakashi for finding my little Tora-chan." She smiled before walking ahead and paying for the mission. The genin ignored the fact that she thanked their sensei while he sat on his ass and more likely read his book while they were the ones that went after the cat and caught her.

Team Kakashi stepped forward in the academy room to see a large long white table in which the Hokage and fellow other shinobi sat next to them, working diligently. Minato looked up and smiled as he saw the team. He got a small scroll with C written in green all over and began looking through. "Say, how did it go team?"

"Boring!" Sakura and Naruto said tiredly. Sakura flinched from her comment and blushed, giving a small smile for her outburst. Sasuke cracked a smile and shook his at the child like behavior of his teammates.

Minato chuckled and shook his head. "Kakashi's seventh unit's next mission is, babysit Yojyu-sama's son, grocery shopping at the neighboring town, or help dig up potatoes from the local farm."

"No more potatoes! We have already picked that up along with litter from the village!" Naruto complained.

"Naruto" Kakashi warned. His visible eye narrowed and a dark gleam entering, meaning that he was serious.

"I know." Naruto slumped his shoulder and looked at his team in defeat.

"We'll babysit Yojyu-sama's son." Kakashi chose as he team stared at him in wide eyes. He smirked under his masked and almost laughed at their faces but wouldn't want to do so, especially not in front of his sensei.

Naruto and Sasuke groaned as Sakura looked at them in confusion. Kakashi and Minato shared a knowing look before having a big grin. "You're sure your team can handle him? I hear that he is a trouble maker."

Naruto looked up at the comment before pointing a finger at his dad. "We can do it! I spent most of my time taking care of Kiyo-chan! I can handle a little kid." He stated a little insulted.

Sasuke placed his hand on his forehead and began to mutter under his breath. Gosh Naruto. Didn't we suffer enough from taking care of our own little siblings?

Sakura gave a bright smile at the mission. She was in a position that she felt comfortable in the mission. I can finally show Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun that I am not that useless. Afterwards I can even ask Kakashi-sensei if he could help me with learning some things I found in a few books. "What's the boy's name?"

"His name is Katsuro. Yojyu is in Suna with a meeting with their council and Kazekage. Yojyu won't be back until later today or tomorrow at the latest." Minato read as he put the scroll down. "You'll take care of him until he arrives or his wife does. They might have hired a nanny but Yojyu-sama wanted his son in capable hands so this missions will be easy with the nanny's help."

The team bowed to the Hokage and left to Yojyu's house. They jumped on the rooftop and ran in silence until Sakura spoke up from curiosity. "Sensei, do you have any experience with children?"

Kakashi visible eye gleamed and he looked at Naruto. "I babysat Naruto once. Let's say it wasn't the easiest mission I was given."

Naruto blushed in embarrassment and chuckled. "I wasn't that bad!" Kakashi raised his eyebrow and return his gaze forward.

Sasuke smirked and looked at the blonde as he had an annoyed look on his face and Sakura a big smile. They arrived at the house and looked at the size. It was a long traditional house with blue roof shingles and the wall were beige. The doors were a light tint of brown and nice garden in the front.

"Who's taking care of him right now, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked worriedly as she walked further ahead to the sliding door.

"Probably a house maid but since Yojyu is a fellow noble, and we have to take care of his son in case any danger could present itself."

"Shouldn't it then be a C rank mission?" Sasuke questioned as he followed Sakura.

"No. There is no promise of combat what so ever. Come on." He opened the sliding door and waited for the team to go in.

They sighed annoyed and walked inside to only stop when they saw the mess before them. Wailing could be heard as you walked inside into the hall. The floor was littered with toys and torn pieces of paper. Sakura took a step forward to only slip back and be caught by Naruto. "What happened here?"

"Are you the hired ninja to take care of Katsuro-san?" A large woman exclaimed. She had short crop brown hair that went to her shoulder and a pin that held the right side of her hair in place. She wore a casual yukata in a light hue of blue. A darker shade of midnight blue was the color of her obi that was tied tightly that was allowed, accenting her big curves.

The team nodded and waited for their sensei to speak. The woman seemed to have trouble keeping a little boy in her arms. He kept squirming away and throwing his feet in the air which the woman would only switch the boy to the other side. "Yes, we were given the task to take care of Katsuro-san."

"Here. Since Yojyu-sama left and lady of the house, the boy has been fussy. I'll take my leave and you handle him for the rest of the day." She huffed and quickly placed the boy on the ground with his toys. It only angered the little boy who stood up and went to the living room with the stares of everybody else following him. The nanny glared at the boy and went to her bag, checking if she didn't leave anything behind.

"Wait, Minato-sensei said that we would be babysitti-"

"I'll take my leave." The woman interrupted as she walked pass the opened mouth genin, gracefully avoiding to step on the mess scattered on the floor and went out the house before the genin can think of a response. Did the lady really brush away what Kakashi say? The woman did indeed and she had every reason too. When those who commented on Katsuro being a troublemaker only knew how he was to an extent. The rumors were that Yojyu would always have to hire a new nanny to take care of his son which he would drive away was just the beginning. It was first thought that Yojyu didn't like the work of the nanny but once there was a large number of unemployed nannie from Yojyu, it was then revealed the true reason of the boy.

Before any could sigh or complain, the door was slid open rather forcefully to reveal the woman that brushed them off rudely. "I forgot to say that Katsuro-san must be washed, perhaps might need a diaper change, will need someone to play with and a nap at three o'clock. Don't feed him a snack before the nap which would only lead to him to stay awake. That seems to be all." She left again and Naruto couldn't help to groan in frustrations.

"Come on! I thought we were to supposed to take care of him but with her to supervise us!" Naruto stated, viewing the toys that were scattered all over the floor.

"He's just a little boy Naruto-kun. What's the worst he can do?" Sakura reassured with a big smile.

Naruto frowned and Sasuke did the same as their female teammate made her way to the little boy. He noticed her make a move and looked up to show his wide brown eyes.

"Hey there little one." She said softly. Katsuro turn his head slightly to the right and gaze at her attentively, raising his small hand to her face. Sakura smiled at the kid and did not move, making sure not to scare the child as the male of her team watched with curiosity.

He moved his hand to the left and pulled on the long lock of her hair, hard. Sakura, like everybody else in the room did, widened their eyes in shock and watch as he dragged her to his toys. "Play." He commanded with a single word.

Inner Sakura couldn't handle it and began to curse aloud. Gah! What is wrong with this child! Was he not raised right! How dare he pull my hair and then drag me with him! I need to teach him a lesson! She said fuming, cracking her knuckles and eyeing the three year old like a prey. Boys are not supposed to pull on a girl's hair! Especially not a girl who is a ninja!

The real Sakura looked at her team and gave them a cheerful smile. "It's okay. I'll play with him for a little bit before taking him up for that shower. Hmm... Maybe I should take him for that diaper change." She said, scrunching her nose in disgust.

The boys flinched and looked after Sakura as she grabbed the boy's arm and headed down the hall. The two genin looked at Kakashi and gave him a deadpan look.

"What?" Kakashi said almost defensively. The genin didn't answer and Naruto muttered something under his breath.

"Let's clean this place up. I think Sakura might go ahead and give the boy a shower and we can clean the mess the little boy made." Sasuke grunted and made his way the mess.

"Kakashi-sensei, as the adult, you should supervise Sakura. She might be a girl, but we don't know if he might get 'fussy' and Sakura-chan might not handle him. Also, you have more experience with children then the three of us." Naruto suggested smugly.

Kakashi looked at Naruto with no expression and walked to where Sakura left. Naruto sighed when he left and looked at Sasuke. "I can have this room cleaned in no more than ten minutes." Naruto perform his favorite jutsu and about 15 Naruto's appeared.

Sasuke looked at them amused and walked off to the corner to seem to be the little's boy corner to play. He began to pick up the toys while the rest of the house began to shake of the movements of the Narutos.

"Don't try to destroy the house dobe." Sasuke said as he stood up to see the trash on the ground cleaned.

The Narutos stopped and looked at Sasuke sheepishly. They all laughed together and stopped when they hear a bloody scream come from the bathroom. Naruto dispelled his jutsu and ran to the source of the sound, with Sasuke behind.

The opened the door wide opened to see Kakashi drenched yet his hair was still defying the force of gravity with an expressionless look. Sakura was kneeled the bathtub and trying to control the infant while trying to control her laugher that would getting louder to only be stop by covering her mouth. Naruto eased the silence with his own laugh and Sasuke joined in along with Sakura.

Kakashi stood perfectly still, ignoring the laughter of his students with his hands still in front of him with his favorite limited edition of Icha Icha Paradise, signed by the great Legendary Sanin with a note made for him when he went to Naruto's 12 birthday party, all wet and the ink of the book starting to smear. Damn Katsuro! I did nothing to the child yet he wet me and not Sakura! I might never know what will happen to Yuuto and Reina! They finally got together! It even seemed like Ryouta was giving them space and hooking up with Reina's sister.

He was brought back to reality when Naruto slapped his knee and his laughter began to subdue. Kakashi gave a last glance at his students and to his book. He gasped and jumped out the window to put his beloved book in the sun.

"He so had that coming!" Naruto said as he sobered up.

Sasuke gave a small smile and turned to Sakura. "What happened to Kakashi-sensei besides him getting wet?"

"Katsuro wanted Kakashi-sensei to bring him some toys in the tub, and he said no. he told him that showering is to get clean and not to play. Katsuro then got mad and reach for a cup and chucked water and Kakashi when he was reading his book." Sakura explained as she got the boy out of the tub and wrapped in his a fluffy white towel and threw him over her shoulder and walked to his room where she managed to see some clothing.

The boys followed her and she sat the boy down on his bed. She went to his dresser and took out a green shirt with matching brown pants. She quickly changed him and put on his sneakers. Once those were on, little Katsuro dashed out of the room.

"Play with Katsuro while I see if there is something we can feed Katsuro. He said that he was hungry when I was changing him. I won't be long." She commanded as the left the boys in the room.

"What will we play with him? I saw that he had some action figures and a doll of Princess Fuun from the movie." Naruto asked as they walked up to the boy. "We can play with the dolls of his for a while."

"I will not play dolls with the boy." Sasuke answered with a stoic look. He was an Uchiha for Kami's sake! The y never played with dolls, even if you called them action figures because they were still dolls. They would play with something more realistic and manlier than long haired dolls.

Naruto ignored him and handed him the doll of Princess Fuun and began to play with Katsuro. "Oh look over there, it's Princess Fuun!"

"Princess Fuun!" Katsuro said delighted as he held an action figure of a built man who protected her from the evil samurai.

"I will attack you both and kill you!" Naruto said as he made the action figured that was an ancient samurai walk. He nudge Sasuke, who was staring at the doll in his hands and motioned him to move.

Sasuke didn't answer and stared at the two with no expression. He looked at the boy read, and noticed how impatience he was getting. "Go!" He whined.

Sasuke sighed and placed the doll on the ground and made her walk to them. "I will stop you." He stated in his monotone voice. Naruto stopped and gave him a look that probably read, Dude, who are you trying to fool? You not even fooling the brat.

"No."

"You didn't even give it a good try! You just said, 'I will stop you'" He imitated Naruto and even made the look Sasuke did when he was bored. Sasuke continued to stare silently at Naruto and sighed.

"I will try to stop you and make sure you don't hurt anyone!" Sasuke said in a somewhat pitchy voice. It made his throat feel funny and decided to just talk softer and maybe it would be okay.

Naruto laid down and began to laugh. "What the hell was that? It sounded like Tora being strangled by the Daimyo's wife!"

"Fine. Then you be Princess Fuun." Sasuke chucked the doll to Naruto.

"No way! I am the evil samurai that cause terror to the villages. I am the renowned killer that was never caught. I've killed over a million of people. The man that names itself is enough to kill those who faced him." He narrated and stopped to add suspense. "I am…"

"Who are you baka?" Sasuke asked as he noticed Naruto was waiting for him to ask.

"Sasuke, the teme of the land!"

Katsuro found it funny, though he did not know most of the words Naruto said but the express Sasuke had was enough to make him laugh. Sasuke only did one thing he could think off, without getting in trouble for damaging the house. He punched him. Hard.

Gosh, this is going to be a long day. Kakashi-sensei seems too busy to do anything. Sasuke thought sadly as Naruto began to cry out in pain.

Sakura managed to get Katsuro asleep with no help from Kakashi or either of her teammates and smiled at her work. He was peacefully sleeping on his bed. She glared at her sensei for the lack of help and went to go see her teammates in the living room. She hoped that Naruto wasn't too upset with Sasuke but hoped that going to train would make him happier, to let of some steam.

She walked down the hallway and noticed how silent it was. She narrowed her eyes and look in the living room. Sasuke was on the couch sitting with a bored expression and Naruto sat on the ground and seemed to be mediating with a slight purplish bruise under his eye.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, what are you guys doing?"

"Thinking."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Sakura, "I was mediating. I saw kaasan do it so I thought I might give it a try. I have to admit, that it's not that hard. Very relaxing."

"Naruto-san!" A voiced called.

Naruto instantly flinched and look at the direction of the door. The woman had bright shining brown eyes and wore a long dress that matched the color of her hair, a bright orange shade.

"Naruto-san, I didn't think that Hokage-sama would give you a mission to take care of my son. My apologies! I know how bad he can be." The woman said, bowing to Naruto and shaking her head. "It's my husband idea to spoil our only son."

Naruto scratched the back of his awkwardly and gave half a smile. "It's okay. I mean, sure he was troublesome but it's not like you can't change that. He still is young."

"Yes. I will speak to Yojyu about this. I can see that Aoi left. Hm… I will have to speak to her afterwards. Please, stay for dinner. I insist for the troubles you might have had with my son."

Naruto looked at his team for help and saw them shrug their shoulders. "I am sorry to have to refuse that invitation but team seven has some training to do. They must work on their chakra control." Kakashi spoke, appearing out of thin air.

Naruto stopped at looked at his sensei to see if he was lying. Oh come on! I already did that! Probably kaasan put him up to that because of yesterday. Well, it's better than having dinner with her.

"Sorry ma'am."

"Let's go team seven. To the training field." Kakashi ordered as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. His genin groaned and ran out to meet their sensei.