NOTE: Sorry about the Shunshin mistake, I originally had it as the hiraishin no jutsu, but I was reading Kakashi Gaiden to figure out how it worked and it had it as shunshin no jutsu, so I apologise for that.
Some answers to some questions I've been asked:
As for Sakura meeting up with Naruto at the moment, let's just say something, or 'someone' hint hint might just stop her from getting there, but don't rule out them meeting up and going off training together, it will just be….much later on.
Naruto will not be getting with Temari, however I've read a couple of those fics and it worked quite well.
Hyuuga Hiashi is looking after Konoha, will point that out though.
How Rin came back will be explained, I just need the right moment to explain it, I don't want to just blurt it out there in some stupid place.
I wasn't sure about the 'romantic' scene between Naruto and Sakura, didn't seem right to me, but I didn't get any complaints so I'll assume it worked :D And also, thanks for the reviews guys, and remember if anyone has anymore tips please pass them on, I want to make my writing as good as it can be, thanks.
Now we start
Chapter 4:
It was a quiet day in Konoha, which was to be expected without their number one noisy ninja, or without the more often than not drunk Hokage slumped over some bar.
I think I might go and see Chouji today Thought Ino, as she passed the Ichiraku ramen stall.
Ino turned and headed for the hospital, to go see her injured team mate. But as she turned she ran straight into Inuzuka Kiba.
"You idiot, watch where you're going!" Yelled Ino.
"Hey, you ran into me!" He yelled back.
"Whatever, what are you doing anyway?" She asked, always wanting to know what was going on.
"If you must know." Spat Kiba, "I'm going to visit Shino, he's still in hospital, so I thought I'd take him up something decent to eat."
"Oh, he's still there? And weren't you in there too?" She asked.
"I was, but I got out yesterday." He replied as he stretched his arms out wide and put them back at his side.
"Oh, ok, well do you want to go together? I'm heading to see Chouji anyway." She said
"He's still in there? Well, ok then, let's go."He said, and they started walking towards the hospital.
"So, what's been going on around here? I haven't seen anyone since I got out."
"Oh, you don't know do you?" she replied.
"What don't I know, has something else happened?" he asked hastily.
"Naruto left the village, gone to train or to get Sasuke or something." She said
"Left? He just got up and left? Why didn't anyone stop him?"
"Apparently he used a kage bunshin to distract everyone, it lasted a couple of days, by that time he was long gone. Most ninja are out now trying to find him, they all headed to the Sound."
"They think he just charged into the Sound for Sasuke? He's dumb, I'll give you that, but he knows he can't take a whole ninja village, he wouldn't have gone.." he replied, doubting his theory as he spoke. "Then again…Maybe he did.."
"Sakura thinks he's at the Sand, something about a scroll saying he was heading there…" she said as they approached the hospital doors. "Actually, thinking about it, I haven't seen Sakura in a few days now, not since the night that he'd told everyone that he'd left.."
"Don't worry, I don't think Sakura has gone off to try find Naruto, she's probably happy he's gone…"
"I don't think so, she was acting pretty weird the other day, I think something happened between them, I think she may even like him." Said Ino, coming to a sad conclusion.
"HAHAHAHAHA, you cannot be serious? We are talking about the same Naruto and Sakura here right?"
"Laugh as you will, but I think there may just be something there…"
They walked through the doors and headed for the reception desk. They checked the board.
"Chouji's on floor 2…"
"And Shino is on floor 3..I might head up and say hi to Chouji first though, so shall we?" He said, pointing to the hall that leads to the stairs.
"Yeah, ok let's go." She said, letting a smile appear on her face.
She is so hot…. Thought Kiba. HUH?! I did so not think that.With that, a look of fear shot across his face.
"Is something wrong Kiba?" Asked Ino, noticing the fear stricken expression he had across his face.
"Not really…Well it could be, anyway, let's go." he said.
They started walking. What a freak…But he's sooo hot. Thought Ino, with that the fear stricken face that Kiba had displayed was appearing on Ino's face. I did so not think that.
Kiba noticed her staring at him with a look of fear. "Is something wrong, Ino?"
"N-no…nothing, let's go." She said, the look of fear subsiding. They headed up the stairs to see Chouji.
So, Kakashi was right…He really did go to the Sand. Thought Tsunade.
Pakkun, one of Kakashi's summoned dogs, had given her the message just a couple of minutes ago. But it's a little too late, Kakashi…
It was early morning and Tsunade sat at the camp they had set up, thinking about the young boy. Naruto…why did you leave? I can't blame these deaths on youI shouldn't have rushed out here, I just didn't want to lose you, not you as well.
They had gone into battle the previous day, and had sustained serious damage, injuries, and deaths. They wiped out a number of Sound ninja, but the price was too costly. 4 Konoha ninja died during that battle, never to be replaced.
"Gai." Tsunade called. "Where is Asuma?"
"He hasn't been seen since yesterday evening." Said Gai, without his usual spark.
Poor Asuma, Kurenai gave them a chance…and now she's gone.
Kurenai had fallen victim to one of the traps the Sound had set in place, it happened so quickly and she had no chance of escaping.
"I see…Gai-san, please gather everyone up, we're leaving." She said, as she stood up and began to pack up the camp.
"But we haven't got Naruto, or Sasuke, Tsunade-sama." Gai said.
"Naruto was spotted at the Sand a few days ago, and I believe that Sasuke is in hiding with Orochimaru. Now, please go gather everyone." She said.
"Of course, Tsunade-sama." Gai said, before walking off to find everyone else.
By the time Gai had gathered everyone from their various places, Tsunade had packed up camp and was ready to leave.
"Ok, we will be heading back to Konoha. Naruto has been spotted in the Hidden Village of the Sand 4 days ago, we no longer have a need to be here, and Kakashi will remain in the Sand trying to find out where he went." Said Tsunade.
"So they died for nothing!" Yelled Tenten, who had just barely escaped death herself.
"That was not his fault, it was mine." She admitted, "I take full responsibility for those deaths, I shouldn't have rushed in like that."
Everyone just stared at the Hokage. "Let's go." She said, before she started running back for Konoha.
Everyone soon followed, each picking up a bag that contained supplies. It took two days to get back to Konoha, it took a little longer than on the way, more than likely due to a lack of urgency, and everyone was upset at the loss of their friends.
There it is. Thought Sakura as she approached the gates to the Hidden Village of Sand.
Please be there….Naruto-kun.
She started to run faster than she had the whole trip, it was the home stretch and the faster she got there, the closer she would be to Naruto.
She arrived at the Sand in less than two days; she was going on will power alone and didn't stop at all. However, for someone with such bad stamina, and low chakra stores, it really wasn't a good thing to do. The last thing she remembered before she collapsed was a grey haired ninja rushing to her side. Crap…Kakashi-sensei. And then she collapsed.
"No..don't…please…Naruto-kun!" she yelled before she sat straight up. She looked up to see Kakashi and Rin standing around her, giving her an odd look.
Oh crap, I'm in for it now…
"Nice to see you Sakura-san." Said Rin, with a pleasant smile on her face.
"Hi, Rin-san, Kakashi-sensei." She said, expecting the worst from her instructor.
"Good afternoon, Sakura." Said Kakashi, firm, but not unpleasantly.
"I thought you were going to the Sound, Kakashi-sensei." She said, now a little surprised to see him here.
"I was, but you and Rin-san here, convinced me that he may have come here."
"How long have you been here?" She asked.
"2 days." He replied, "A little longer than necessary, but its strict instructions."
"…Longer than necessary? Does that mean you found him?!" Asked Sakura, a little enthusiasm creeping into her voice.
"That we did." He replied.
"Where is he now?!" she said, now extremely happy that he had been found.
"Well, depending on exactly when he left-"
"LEFT?! What do you mean left?!" she yelled.
"Well, what I mean is, sometime yesterday morning, he left to head for the Rock village." He said, quite carefree, which just angered Sakura more.
"You…you let him go?" She asked.
"That's right." He replied, not showing any sense of regret.
"W-Why?" she stammered, on the verge of tears.
"We've decided to let you in on it, on one condition." Said Kakashi, a smile crawling up his face.
Rin looked confused. What condition did we agree on?
"What happened after you left the restaurant that night?" Kakashi asked.
Rin hit him over the head, hard. "You idiot, what a stupid thing to say…" Then she thought about it, "But then again, what did happen after you left?" She asked. Kakashi was shocked.
I thought I'd be abused the hell out of for that…she's getting as bad as I am.
"You can't be serious…" she said. This is a damn serious situation and they ask something like that… "We just got ice cream and walked."
"What did he say?" Kakashi asked, wanting all the details.
"Will it help with something?" she asked.
"Yes it might do, I need every detail." Kakashi said, laughing hysterically in his mind.
Sakura blushed, "He said he loved me…but he didn't want anything to happen, and he left. I went to his house but he just wanted to be friends, he thought I only wanted him because Sasuke wasn't here."
"And is that true?" he asked.
"No…I think I really love him—Hang on, how does this have anything to do with him leaving?" she asked, a little annoyed.
"Oh it doesn't, I just wanted to know what happened." And with that Kakashi just collapsed laughing. "I..haha…can't believe…hahaha…you fell for that." He managed to get out as he laughed.
Sakura burst into tears.."I want to know where he is…And you just sit here and laugh at me, I've been worried about him, but you know where he is, but you thought you'd have some fun with me, Kakashi-sensei?" She went hysterical, she couldn't control it, and she kept crying and crying, unable to get anything understandable out. Rin went over and put her arm around Sakura's shoulders and gave Kakashi a death stare.
Uh-Oh, that isn't good. He thought. But she wanted to know too…Women
He knew he was in for it, so he tried to rectify his mistake as fast as he could. "Sakura, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that….Would you like to hear what's going on?" he asked, showing as much concern as he could possibly muster.
He didn't wait for an answer, just for her to stop crying. As soon as she stopped, he told her everything, from the reason he left, to where he was going, and how Kakashi was monitoring him. He told her about the Kyuubi and the fourth being his father. She was shocked to receive all this information in such a short time, but was glad to hear all of it.
"Let me go with you…when you see him, please?" she asked, but not really intending to give Kakashi much of a choice.
"I think that's for the best." Said Rin
"Yes, I think you should too…Oh, and one more thing, you can't tell anybody about this, not even Tsunade-sama, got it?" Said Kakashi.
"Why can't I tell her?" Sakura asked.
"Because if she knew, she would have to do something, her being Hokage, but she doesn't want to hurt him…I think she'd prefer it this way."
"I guess so…Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto had left the Hidden Village of the Sand 2 days ago, and now sat in front of the fire he had made at his camp. I think I should look at this box. He thought, as he reached into his pack and retrieved the box that Kakashi had given him 3 days prior.
Inside the box was 4 scrolls. I thought there would be more than this He thought, as he picked up the first scroll, which read 'Jutsu'. This must be some of his jutsu, but it's so small…there can't be many there.
He opened the first scroll and across the scroll was 6 words. Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning and Seals. Well that was a waste of time. He thought as he reached for the second scroll. It was labelled 'hiraishin', he opened it and was disappointed once again, written on the scroll were 2 words: Kunai, and Instructions.
Thanks a lot dad, appreciate the help. Dad…that sounds weird. He thought as he reached for the third scroll, hoping not to be disappointed again, to his surprise, was writing, a letter from his father.
Dear Naruto,
If you're reading this, it means you have matured as well as I thought you would, I want you to know that I am very proud of you. First of all I want to apologise for not being there for you as you grow, but I know your mother will keep you in line, so I don't have to worry there.
I know that I can't beat the Kyuubi now, and my last hope is to seal it, and I'm sorry son, but I think you are the best candidate for the Kyuubi's container. It is my hope that having the Kyuubi inside of you will make you stronger, I just hope that it doesn't go the other way, if something were to happen to you because of this, I could never forgive myself, in this life or the next.
You are a hero my son. You will be the container of the Kyuubi, you will end the terror that has befallen on Konoha, and save many more lives, I just hope that people see it this way, and not blame you for the Kyuubi's destruction. However knowing the people of Konoha, it probably won't go as I hope. But, you are your mother's son, and I'm sure you will be just as stubborn as she is, don't give up son, push through, prove your own power, prove to them that you are Namikaze Naruto, the son of the fourth Hokage.
If you are anything like I was, the first scroll you will go for is the one labelled jutsu, then you would have noticed the hiraishin, I wanted you to read this first, so I left it a mystery on how to retrieve the information. What you must do is smear your own blood across the word of the item or items that you wish to retrieve, only someone related to me can unseal this information, this is meant for you, and only you my son. The first one I want you to unseal is the one labelled 'seals' it will help you re-seal the scrolls and such when you are done.
Love always, your father.Namikaze Minato.
Underneath the letter was another messy bit of writing.
Naruto, your mother is gone, and I fear that she is out after the Kyuubi. If this is the case, I want you to know that your mother and I love you very much, and that it's possible that your true heritage will be kept secret once I am dead. I have spoken to the Third and we believe it is best for your sake that the children of your generation don't know of your 'guest'. If this is the case then once you receive this letter, I wish for you to head for the Country of the Wave, the Uzumaki clan is currently there. The Namikaze clan is at an end, you are the last remaining survivor. Head to the country of the Wave and find the Uzumaki clan, they are the only relation that you have left and they will inform you of very important matters, I believe there is a bloodline limit that your mother was unable to master, but I know that you can
Your mother and I love you very much, we are sorry that we can't be there for you.
Love always, your mother and father.
Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato.
Naruto cried. Slowly and softly, he sat there crying, re-reading his father's last words and trying to process everything.
"Tsunade." Said Hyuuga Hiashi as he nodded his head.
"Hiashi-san, how is Konoha?" The Hokage replied.
"All is well, how did your mission go?" The Hyuuga asked.
"The mission was a failure; Uzumaki was seen in the Sand almost a week ago." Said Tsunade, sounding almost defeated.
"Will you be sending anyone out to the Sand to investigate?"
"No, I sent Kakashi and Rin out instead of accompanying us to the Sound. They just missed him by a couple of days; they will remain and try to find any clues as to his whereabouts." She replied.
"I see, so what will you do about the genin's status?"
"I have yet to decide. He did not betray Konoha and merely left its precinct, I shall review the evidence before coming to a decision." The Hokage replied, not wanting to continue this discussion with the Hyuuga.
"Of course, Tsunade, now I must leave. Farewell." Said Hiashi before he left the Hokage's office.
What should I do…..I can't label him a missing-nin can I? But what else can I do?
This thought led her to the scenes of the battle at the Sound that had taken place a few days ago.
Flashback:
Everyone knew what must be done; they were to infiltrate the border that separated the Sound and the Fire Country, and to surround the village. No one was to enter, and Hinata would be at the front of the city, examining for any traces of Naruto or Sasuke.
Her search turned up nothing, and only found a few ninja. She informed Tsunade of this and they, despite their previous plan, entered the city. They ran into a few ninja, who were knocked out immediately by Tsunade, with a quick hit to the back of the head, a hit that almost decapitated the unsuspecting chuunin of the Sound.
"Right, Ebisu I want you to inform the rest of the groups that they are to move into the city. They are to infiltrate quietly and if they encounter any serious trouble to run away. Got that?" Said Tsunade.
"Yes, of course, Tsunade-sama." Said Ebisu, before shooting off to the other entrances of the city.
"The rest of you, walk behind and be aware of any danger." Said Tsunade as she turned to face the rest of her team.
They walked on; stopping every couple of minutes whenever they thought something was coming towards them, or for Hinata to check places that Naruto or Sasuke could be. They finally came to a fairly big building and stopped. "Hinata, our information tells us that this is Orochimaru's main building. If they are anywhere, they might be here."
Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan once again. Please be here, Naruto-kun. She thought as she searched the building for Naruto. She searched the whole building over twice but didn't find him, what she did see however was shocking.
"T-Tsunade-sama, there are at least 40 ninja in this building." She said, "They all seem pretty strong."
"Right, is there any trace of Naruto or Sasuke?" the Hokage asked.
"N-no, n-none at all." The Hyuuga replied.
"Ok, we have no option but to retreat, we can't take that many ninja at the moment, let's go." She said, disappointed that their search had turned up nothing.
They turned and swiftly, but stealthily made their way back to the exit of the city. On the way they met Ebisu and the other ninja's that were coming in for backup.
"Our search turned up nothing, we're leaving." Said Tsunade, and then kept on running.
They were almost at the exit when Tsunade heard something, a sound that would send chills to the bone of every ninja on that mission until they died. It was the sound of a sharp instrument slicing, and following, the sound of blood splattering in every direction.
Tsunade turned to see Kurenai in pieces. Wires had sliced every bit of her body, she was on the ground, in one inch squares. The scene was horrific, and screams were heard all around her, the loudest was that of Asuma.
"NOO!" He yelled as he pulled out his trench knives, which he lengthened with his chakra. He began laying into any Sound ninja that he saw, from the young Genin that were present, to the few jounin that were present. He had 3 jounin level ninja on him, while the others had battles of their own.
Asuma started on the closest one, which was about 5ft 10" short brown hair with a scar going down the left side of his face. Asuma threw punch after punch with only about a quarter of them landing. After about a dozen combos, a mix of punches and kicks flying everywhere, the jounin was gone, the only thing recognisable was the scar on his face.
Tsunade had her own battle, but it was against only 3 chuunin. She kicked the closest into another which sent them both flying. She turned to the other and sent a chakra powered fist straight into his face, blood covering her hand at impact. With those three taken care of, she looked around to check on the others. Asuma was going insane sending a blast of wind from his blades that sliced the last jounin in half. Anko had taken care of the couple of ninja she had, as did Shizune, Jiraiya, Ebisu and the other ninja which had been sent on this mission. She looked around again and noticed 3 missing. She looked down and about 100 metres to her left were two bodies belonging to Kongatsu Misuri and Montachi Nigari, two very talented chuunin. She looked behind and saw Shino still in combat.
Crap, she uses those sound attacks, I can't use my bugs to block them, I need a plan. Thought Shino as he tried to block the oncoming kicks and punches from the kunoichi he was fighting. He instructed half of his bugs to sneak up behind her and to completely cover her and drain all of her chakra.
"You're stupid bugs won't work here kid." And as she said that she released an extremely high pitched sound by flicking her left index finger. The sound instantly killed all of Shino's bugs and Shino collapsed due to the ringing in his ears, which left him completely defenceless and vulnerable. He didn't see her coming until it was too late. She had sliced his neck with her kunai, which instantly decapitated the bug user, sending his head flying at least 10 metres form where his body lay.
His enemy had a smirk across her face as she announced victory and didn't even see the Hyuuga start to attack.
"Jyuuken, 64 strikes." Hinata said as she made contact with the kunoichi.
"2 strikes." She said, "4 strikes. 8 strikes." She said, getting faster as she went. "16 strikes. 32 strikes. 64 strikes." She finished and sent a killing strike at her chest and was sent flying into the gate at the exit to the city.
Tsunade looked on in awe, another dead because of her. The blood was everywhere, blood on her hands, caused by her. She had sent these ninja's to their deaths by bringing them in here.
"Everyone! Go!" Yelled Gai" and everyone evacuated the Sound, carrying the bodies of their fallen comrades, every last piece.
End Flashback
The Hokage sat there recalling the events of the mission. Horrified at the vividness of her recollection.
A ninja never shows any emotion…In Root maybeShe thought as she sat at her desk, looking at a picture of the young genin.
She couldn't announce the blonde that she saw like a little brother a missing-nin and place a bounty on his head. That meant there was only one thing that she could do. She would lie.
It was raining on the day of Kurenai's, Shino's, Nigari's and Misuri's funeral. Most of the remaining ninja of Konoha were assembled at the ceremony, paying respects to the fallen ninja. Iruka, Anko and Asuma stood towards the front, Asuma crying throughout the entire proceedings, while Iruka and Anko stood, thinking about the ninja's and trying to comfort Asuma as best they could.
No one said anything at the ceremony, everyone was entitled to speak their minds and say their prayers to the person, the person's grave inprivate. Hinata was crying, she hadn't stopped since she'd arrived in Konoha, but she'd vowed that she would become stronger for her sensei. Kiba stood beside her, comforting her as best as he could, while also mourning for his fallen sensei and teammate.
Only the people that went on the mission, as well as Hiashi, Kakashi and Rin, knew the true purpose of the mission.
Everyone else was told that it was a mission to finish off the Sound's forces. It was written in the records that Uzumaki Naruto had been sent on a training mission, and its length was undefined. It didn't sit well with the council, but they had no choice to accept it as they had no way of contacting the genin.
Kakashi, Rin and Sakura returned from the Sand the day before the funeral and reported nothing on the location of Naruto. Tsunade decided not to punish Sakura for leaving Konoha immediately, but warned her that she would be absolutely brutal in their training. Sakura stood there wishing for punishment in any other form.
Life in Konoha, as disrupted as it had become since the departure of what could have been the best two shinobi's Konoha had seen in a long while. But everything was starting to settle down, elsewhere, worlds were being turned upside down.
There's too many things to think aboutThought Naruto as he approached the border to the Earth Country.
I came out here to train…and now there is so many things I need to do. I'm not sure where to start.
"You haven't trained in a while, perhaps that is where you should start."
That's a good point…it has been a while since I've trained, in fact I've only really trained the once.
"That's right, you want to set off on a training trip but only train once, not seeing the logic there kid." Said the fox.
"Oi fox, would you stop with the whole mind reading thing, it's really annoying not being able to think openly." Naruto said to Kyuubi, getting annoyed at the fox.
"Well you can either communicate with me, or think, there's two different brain waves there kid, you will just have to learn which is which." Said Kyuubi in a very much know it all tone.
Oooh look at me, I'm a know it all fox. Thought Naruto, mocking the fox.
No reply came from the fox. Haha yay I got it.
"No you didn't.."Said Kyuubi, "I just decided to ignore you. Ok, on a serious note, find somewhere safe to rest and come to my cage." Said Kyuubi, who then shut down any link to Naruto.
Naruto did as he was asked, he hid in a cave and entered his mind, which made his physical body become unconscious. He followed the sewer-like system until he found the cage that imprisoned the Kyuubi.
"What do you want now?" Asked Naruto.
I still can't believe I'm helping this kid at all…
"YOU IDIOT, SHOW SOME DAMN RESPECT." Yelled Kyuubi, as he yelled he let off an enormous amount of killing intent which would have frozen anyone but Naruto who had got used to Kyuubi and his moods.
"Yeah, yeah I'll try, now, what can I help you with Kyuubi-san." Said Naruto, sounding like a real smart-ass.
It's the best I'm going to get with this idiot isn't it
"You left Konoha to train, but you're too hopeless to organise yourself, so we're going to stay here until we have something organised." Said Kyuubi, trying to act like he was in charge.
He does know that this is MY body right? Almost sounds like he thinks he's in charge. Thought Naruto, finally being able to control what thoughts could be heard by Kyuubi.
"Ok, Kyuubi, what do you have in mind?" Naruto asked, trying to be polite, but he was also curious as to what the fox had to say.
"Right, the kage bunshin method is effective, extremely effective, in that one day using 1000 kage bunshins, you managed to get 3 years of training into just one day which is a remarkable amount, however unproductive the training was. But you shouldn't do that anymore." Said Kyuubi.
"Why not?" Asked Naruto, still calm and civilly.
"Because after you did that you were knocked out for 2 days, and it caused an enormous amount of strain on your body, it's exactly like saying that your body was going at a 1000 times faster than you normally go. You can't continuously keep doing it, so you will be reducing the amount to 400. It's still plenty to get a decent amount of extra training, without permanently damaging your body. That combined with a good training schedule, you'll be the strongest there is."
"Yeah I guess, but Kyuubi, can you do me a favour?" Asked Naruto.
"What, I don't do enough for you?" it replied.
"Apart from enough to make the kage bunshins and to heal, could you please cut me off from your chakra, I want to be able to do this on my own, well most of it anyway; otherwise I'll never get strong for myself." Said Naruto
"That was the plan kid, I was only intending to give you chakra for those couple of things anyway, I need my host body as strong as it can be without my help."
"Ok, thanks Kyuubi." Said Naruto, with his foxy grin appearing over his face. "Oh, and one more thing before we get onto this training schedule, do you know anything about the Uzumaki bloodline?" Naruto asked.
"Up until you read that letter, I didn't know such a thing existed, so you'll just have to wait and find out." Kyuubi replied. "That being said, why aren't you heading for the Wave to see them now?" It asked.
"I need to do some more training first; I'm not ready to face my clan until I'm stronger, once I've become a lot stronger I'll go." He replied.
"Even if this bloodline might help you with that?"Asked Kyuubi.
"Even if." He replied, "Now, on to this training schedule…."
"Tsunade-hime, you aren't fooling anyone." Said Danzou, leader of the Root ANBU.
"What do you want now, Danzou?" Asked the Hokage of Konoha.
"Where is Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke. The Hokage loses 2 shinobi in a fortnight. That makes what, 2 rogue-nins, 2 traitors-" He was cut off as he noticed a kunai fly straight past him, slicing one of the bandages on his face.
"So the blonde is a sensitive subject for you, Tsunade-hime, is it because he reminds you of your younger bro-" He started, but was again cut off by a flying kunai, this time headed for his throat.
Danzou just dodged it in time and said, "Quite a temper there Tsunade-hime, not good for our leader. Uzumaki Naruto is on no training mission, he ran out and now you are protecting him, am I right?" Asked Danzou with a smirk.
This time no kunai was thrown, but Tsunade said, "Uzumaki Naruto is indeed on a training mission, he will be back when he feels he is ready and not until then, he has my full support on this mission and will fulfil it to the best of his abilities. Now, if you have nothing else, leave." She finished bluntly.
"As you wish, Tsunade-hime." He replied, before turning and leaving the Hokage's office.
You just wait Naruto, you'd be safer out there, because when you get back…you're going to get a beating like you haven't seen before. Tsunade thought before once again reaching for her bottle of sake.
It's going to be a long day. She thought looking at the piles of paperwork in front of her.
"Yes kid, now onto this schedule."
"Well, I still need to improve my taijutsu…so maybe 100 clones on that." He said, trying to think of the different things he needed trained and how many he could afford to use per activity.
"You only have 400 clones to work with, 100 is too many for one area." Replied Kyuubi.
"Yeah I guess so, 75 then. There's a hell of a lot of jutsu here…so I think I definitely need at least 100 here."
"Yes, that's a good idea, but until you've mastered your elemental manipulation with the elements, I suggest you look at those sealing jutsu." Said Kyuubi, actually making an attempt to help his 'vessel'.
"mm, I agree, so I'm going to need at least 20 on each element, and I'd like some moves of my own…so I think I shall allocate 50 there."
"That should work, now you need another 50 on building up your chakra supply because like I said, without my chakra, your levels are pathetic."
"Yeah I know, I'll have 50 working on chakra building and molding exercises and the last 25 working on kage bunshin combo's. That's all done, now is that all fox?" He asked, wanting to leave the sewer-like system that is his mind.
"Not too bad kid, but one more thing, while only using 400 clones won't knock you out, it will cause some drain on the body, so you will train every second day, and on the other day you will rest and travel. With these Akatsuki guys onto you, we can't be in the same place for very long." Replied Kyuubi, also wanting Naruto to leave. "Now leave. Travel and rest today, but tomorrow you're going to train like you never have before." Finished Kyuubi.
So that was 75 on taijutsu, 100 on ninjutsu, 100 in total for elemental training, 50 on new my own new moves, 50 on chakra building and 25 on kage bunshin combo's. I think that's all of it. He thought as he wassucked back into his physical body which had now regained consciousness. Ok, there's a few hours until dark, I'll have to find somewhere decent but secretive to train. Thought Naruto, knowing he was in enemy territory and one false move could see him dead.
He travelled around the border and just inside looking for somewhere to train. It took him 2 hours to find a suitable place where he set up camp and set up traps for any unsuspecting visitors. This was the first time that Naruto had a chance to sit down and think.
He had decided that he would meet with his clan once he had become stronger, but that wasn't all that was worrying him. He was torn up inside that he had left Sakura like that, but deep down he knew that it was Sasuke that she really loved, and any relationship that they may have had would've been broken as soon as the Uchiha returned. He wanted Sakura to be happy, even if that meant that he would be forever tortured by her being with Sasuke, if she was happy, Naruto was happy…on the outside.
He wanted nothing more than for team 7 to be re-united and would do anything to bring the only person that he saw as family back. He would bring back the one that he saw as a brother, he would bring Uchiha Sasuke back home.
Sakura knocked on the door to the Hokage's office, arriving for her first training session.
"Enter." Tsunade boomed.
"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Said Sakura as she made her way over and stood in front of the Hokage's desk.
"Sakura, it's nice to see you, now, your boyfriend made a real effort to get you this before he left, so I suggest you work hard." Said Tsunade, smirking as she talked.
"B-butNarutoisn'tmyboyfriend." She rushed, blushing profusely.
"Yeah yeah I bet." Said Tsunade, "Now, as of today you will be my second apprentice. If you ask me, my first turned out to 'professional' always wanting to do it by the books. You however, will not be like that, you understand me?" She asked, glaring at Sakura.
"Yes? Tsunade-sama." She replied, not really understanding what she was saying.
"Good, now I'm told you have excellent chakra control, but a minute amount of chakra. Until you have sufficient chakra, we cannot go any further." Said Tsunade.
"What am I supposed to do then, I can't magically make new chakra." She said, thinking it was all over. "Tsunade-sama." She finished, not wanting to sound impolite.
"Not magically no, but there are exercises that you can do which will help you with that. If you walk over there," She said, pointing to a big cabinet. "you will see a scroll sitting up on top of that cabinet, in that is the instructions to a few of those exercises, I suggest you look at it. Take it and leave, practice with those for a week, come back to me at the end of this week and we will start. By that time you should have a considerable amount more chakra."
"Thank you Tsunade-sama." Said Sakura as she walked over to the cabinet picked up the scroll and headed for the door.
"One more thing Sakura, if you need any help with these exercises, see Rin, she is among the best medic-nin that Konoha has ever seen." Said Tsunade as she pulled some paperwork towards her. "Now go do those exercises, only stop when there is now way that you can go on, but I warn you, you may push yourself this week, but starting next week there will be no stopping." Her face narrowed into a very blank but serious face before giving a wide smile as she finished.
"Yes…Tsunade-sama." Sakura said before she left the Hokage's office in a run.
She's really scary… She thought as she made her way towards her old training ground.
Oh..my..god. Thought Rin as soon as she had taken 'the' test. "K-k-kakashi-kun" she said, calling for her husband who was in the other room.
"What now?" Kakashi sighed as he got up from the lounge.
"Just get up and get in here now!" Rin yelled, annoyed at her husband's lack of urgency.
"Ok, ok, what's wrong. " He walked in and saw what his wife was holding. "Is that a pre-" but he was cut off as his wife launched onto him.
"Yes! I'm pregnant." She said, with a huge grin on her face.
"That's great Rin-chan." Kakashi said as he smiled under his mask, wider than he ever had before.
Rin let Kakashi go and sat down on their bed. "There's so much to do, we need to decide on godparents, we need to inform the Hokage, we need to let everyone else know, I need to put in my temporary leave of duty forms…" Said Rin.
"Yes yes there's all of that, but let's just enjoy it for now hey, don't worry about all the other details just yet." Said Kakashi, still amazed at the fact that he was going to be a father. "But we need to organise a name, and somewhere for them to sleep and.." Started Kakashi.
"Take your own advice, Kakashi-kun." Said Rin playfully as she fell back onto the bed.
"Yeah I guess you're right…when was-"
"I think it was that night before we went to the restaurant." Said Rin, blushing as she remembered the genin's comments.
"Ah, I see, well it's late, let's go to sleep and decided on what we need to do in the morning hey?" Kakashi said before he too fell back on the bed.
"Yeah, ok." Said Rin, before they both fell asleep, not bothering to get under the covers.
Well that's the end for Chapter 4. I didn't really want to end it there, I wanted to make the chapter longer but everything sort of came to a good place to finish and I thought that going any further would have pushed it too far..sort of thing. Anyway that's where it ends but future chapters will be longer.
The whole Ino and Kiba thing at the top sort of just came out, I started typing and it sort of just happened..I don't think anything is going to develop from that, but you can never be sure.
Battle scenes aren't my thing, so I apologise for that 'thing' up there. It wasn't meant to be a full on battle scene like some other battles I have planned out will be, I promise that I will make them somewhat decent though.
Now, as the Uzumaki bloodline isn't completely decided upon, I am happy to hear any suggestions that people might have for it, as long as they haven't stolen it from anywhere else. On that note, I would also appreciate some help for some names of some new moves, again, please don't supply me with someone else's work.
Again, if anyone has any tips, suggestions or complaints, please let me know so I can address them as soon as possible, thanks. until next time, ja.