Story until now (summary of last chapter)
Team seven returns triumphantly from a successful mission, and get some down time to relax. Naruto and Sakura use this time to get to know each other better, while Kakashi is assigned with the task of keeping tabs on Naruto so that he does not end up in prison, or falls trap to some conspiring Council member, who would like to know the full truth about the mysterious apprentice of Jiraiya. In the mean time Naruto is also able to show Kakashi some of his strongest jutsus, and Kakashi takes it upon himself to train the jinchuuriki in the arts of deception and espionage (black ops training). It seems like Danzo has taken on active interest in the unknown Uzumaki as well.
Revelations of the Past:
It has already been three weeks since Team seven had returned from a successful mission from Suna bearing the news that Suna had requested a Shinobi alliance with Konoha. The Fire Daimyo had immediately left for the hidden village in the sand to sign papers of the alliance and set the terms for their newly forged bond. The news of Team seven's successful mission and the consequent request of an alliance spread like wild fire throughout the village of Konoha. Many council members, shinobis, and villagers alike had praised Team seven's most established members endlessly. Expectations from the copy-ninja Kakashi was never low as he was the renowned student of the Yondaime Hokage himself. Sakura, the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, also known as one of the best combat-medics in Konoha and the teammate of the ANBU squad captain Sai. Many did not know who the blonde haired teen was that had joined them, but by his appearance he could easily be classified as a skilled Shinobi.
Among the Shinobis who did know that Naruto was the apprentice of Jiraiya, they also knew that the mission would not have succeeded without the crucial role he had played in taking down Sasori as well as Deidara. His strength as a Shinobi did not come as a surprise to many seeing his master was the strongest ninja Konoha had, but his familiarity with battle and his performance in the field did, as his age was far less compared to the level of expertise and experience he had shown. Not just the Jounins, but all the Chuunins had heard about the extra-ordinary young apprentice of Jiraiya, and many were talking. Among the villagers though Naruto was very popular because the young females considered him to be one of the most handsome ninjas they had ever seen, and the ones who had seen him could not argue the rumor, as he was the topic of interest among the Kunoichis sitting in Konoha's most popular Dango shop.
"No I am serious Anko; you should have read Kakashi's report of the mission, if there was not any unnecessary exaggeration in it then this Naruto really seems to be one of the strongest Shinobis in Konoha!" exclaimed Kurenai, much to her own disbelief as her friend snorted derisively in contempt.
"Yeah right Kurenai. You know what type of Shinobi that Hatake is; I will not be surprised if his mission report was false! He would have done it just to make Jiraiya-sama's boy look nice, and stay in the good graces of the Sannin, or his free supply of Icha-Icha might end," said the purple haired Kunoichi with a sly smile across her face.
"I wouldn't be so sure Kurenai-sensei, Anko-san. He appeared to be quite strong when I met him at the gathering on the night when we received the news of Kazekage-sama getting kidnapped." Hinata quipped in a shy voice, as if afraid of countering the thought that the adults had expressed for Naruto.
"Did he now? How do you justify that point Hinata?" demanded the purple haired Jounin, now beginning to get pissed off at the incessant argument that this Naruto truly was a strong as Kakashi had reported. No ninja his age could be as strong as a well experience Jounin. Even the Sannin trio rose to power after the Second Ninja World War, when they were all well in their twenties and had more than a hundred S-ranked missions under the belt. This newbie had popped out of nowhere and was being praised by her peers to be as strong as the Sannins themselves, albeit the fact that he was the student of Jiraiya.
"Umm, well he was faster than all the ninjas in our class, and he said that he had done many S-ranked missions under Jiraiya-sama's orders. As you know, among our class the only ones that went to S-ranked missions were Neji-san, Lee-san, Shikamaru-san, and Shino-san and that too only three or four at most, not many. The other fact is that he not only beat Ino in a straight out fight, he also beat Shikamaru-san in less than five minutes, a feat few of us have managed in the last two years, after he started training extensively with Shukaku-sama in the Nara bloodline jutsus," said Hinata, very fast and very red, afraid that Anko might lash out at her any moment because her anger was famous, not only throughout Konoha, but through all the elemental nations.
"You know what; I think all of you have definitely over estimated this gaki. I will ask the pervert Kakashi tomorrow straight up and see just how much he exaggerated about Naruto in that mission report of his. I bet he that the Gaki is probably on the same level as Shino or Neji at most," huffed Anko, there was no one in this village that was sane any more, thinking that a fifteen year old to be as strong as Jiraiya himself. After all Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino were called geniuses and prodigies for a reason, and Kakashi, Itachi Uchiha, and the Yondaime Hokage were known as the best in their respective generations!
"Anko, why is it that you are so against the idea that Jiraiya's apprentice is so strong? Are you not happy that is he is that strong, Konoha is lucky to have him in our ranks, with him, we might actually have the power of all three Sannins again," reasoned Kurenai, if thought practically then this news was the best Konoha had in a long time. Anko didn't reply, she just harrumphed and made a very rude face at her, making it clear that she did not believe it until she would see it first-hand.
"By the way where are the two wayward students of yours? I am getting hungry and those two brats haven't shown up yet, I am seriously thinking about ordering and making them pay for our food if they show up five minutes later!" said Anko earning a glare from both Hinata and Kurenai.
"Anko, this dinner is a tradition among me and my students, there is no way I am going to allow you to ruin it just because you are hungry and irritated that my hard-working students are late! I heard that they have just returned from a scouting mission and are probably turning in the mission report," retorted Kurenai in a rather cross manner, making Anko remember just how attached she was to her students, and what shape she was going to end up in if she did not stop insulting them that instant.
"Nice one Kurenai-sensei, at least someone appreciates the hard work that we have been doing these last couple of weeks! Hokage-sama sure was in a bad mood and she practically threw us out of the tower when we went in to turn in the mission report. And when I asked why she was so upset, mind you I did ask very politely, she said it was none of my bone-sniffing business! Can you believe it?" Kiba complained as he came over and sat down beside Hinata.
"Yes, our most esteemed Godaime Hokage seemed to be in a rather dark mood today when we went to turn in the mission report," added Shino confirming Kiba's claims, though his face was as stoic as ever.
"Well I am glad that you two made it, and just in time too as I was explaining to my friend Anko just how hard my students had been working," said Kurenai with pride in her voice as she gave a meaningful glance at Anko, who rolled her eyes at Kurenai's open admiration of her students.
"It's not just us Kurenai-sensei; everyone in the village is working hard. I have seen how Choji trains for hours with his clansmen. Don't even talk about Lee, he is like addicted to training. Neji and Tenten also seemed to have taken up his traits as they too have been training over-time with Gai-sensei. Sakura and Hinata here work hours in the hospital, and they also train with their senseis. Ino has been doing hours in the hospital and then training with Inoichi-san to learn the advanced stages of the mind transfer techniques. Even that lazy Shikamaru has been training with his dad every-day. And we were just coming 'round the training ground where Naruto seemed to have just about destroyed it for good," said Kiba, surprising everyone with his admiration of the other teens and his lack of the usual pride that he always had on his face. It seemed the Inuzuka heir was finally turning over a new leaf in his life and for the good this time.
"Hey what do you guys know about the new kid Naruto? How strong do you think he is?" asked Anko, hoping to glean some information that will aid her on her side of the argument with Kurenai.
"I have given my utmost tries at investigating Uzumaki Naruto but have been able to find very little information on him, and when I tried to question him about his skills he skillfully evaded my questions by not just un-answering them but he also gave me the names of jutsus that I have never heard of before," replied Shino. "As for his strength, he seems to be the strongest among the shinobis our age, even stronger than the Hyuuga prodigy Neji."
"And how can you say that, it is not like you have seen them in a spar or something have you?" asked Anko in a very annoyed voice.
"No, but I did bug him ("literally" whispered Kiba to the others) after I first met him and I have all the details of his fight with the Akatsuki. Since he did discover that I bugged him I have also realized that he quite proficient at reading chakra signatures and could be classified as an excellent tracker. As for his fight with the Akatsuki members, I have not seen anybody move as fast as him, not even Rock Lee without the weights on him. And he has some jutsus that are even stronger than Kakashi Hatake's famous invention Rairiki. Oh and he is also good at Fuuinjutsu, but that is to be expected as his mentor is Jiraiya of the Sannin himself," Shino's finished, and he took off his hood before taking a seat next to Kiba. Kurenai had the biggest 'I told you so' expression on her face and Anko grudgingly gave up.
"Fine, fine believe what you want but don't be surprised when it turns out that you guys were living in a false impression," said Anko, as she had her hands in the air in a sign of exasperation.
"Hey look who is here?" barked Kiba as he saw Team Ten enter the Dango restaurant along with their sensei Asuma Sarutobi.
"Hey guys how are you doing?" asked Choji in a cheerful tone. He had not expected to see so many familiar faces at dinner.
"We are all fine, how you are doing Choji?" asked Kurenai in a warm voice. Out of all the students Asuma had, she liked Choji more than the other two; he was probably the most innocent and naïve ninja in the whole world.
"I am fine Kurenai-san. So what were you guys doing?" he asked as he slid in beside Shikamaru, who looked like he could fall asleep any minute now.
"You mean besides waiting for you? We were talking about the new hot-shot in town." Said Anko in a bored voice before she gave a manic grin to Choji even though she knew it scared him.
"Stop it Anko," Kurenai slapped Anko lightly on her arm before continuing. "So what were you guys doing today?"
"Asuma-sensei was training us the whole day," groaned Ino. "And he gave us a few new techniques that are so hard that even after trying for hours I haven't been able to do it. Who is this hotshot you are talking about?"
"The one who kicked your sweet ass the other day," said Kiba loudly before breaking down in raucous laughter.
"Shut it Kiba before I make you!" snarled Ino.
"Oh yeah, I would like to see you—" Kiba was interrupted when Shikamaru's bored voice cut in.
"Talk of the devil," everyone looked towards Shikamaru before turning their heads to look in the direction he was. Naruto was entering the shop while taking his head band off. He looked around for a little bit and then his eyes settled on a group of familiar people. There were two older Kunoichis that he hadn't met yet, but the rest he remembered from the party and he clearly recalled the Nara and the Yamanaka from their previous spars. Ino waved at him and beckoned him to come over and join them.
"Naruto, how is it going?" asked Asuma with more familiarity than any of them had with Naruto. Ino gave her sensei a questioning look and he answered. "Well, Kakashi asked me to show Naruto some Fuuton techniques and I gave him a couple of them to practice. How are they going?"
"Got them down already, Kakashi sensei told me to thank you for the help," said Naruto as he sat down beside Kiba. "I don't think I have met you before he said looking at Anko and then at Kurenai.
"Oh, I am Kurenai Yuuhi Team Eight's Jounin instructor, and this is Anko Mitarashi, Konoha's number one interrogator," said Kurenai pointing at Anko who raised her hand lamely and said 'hi'.
"Oh, I read about you, you are Konoha's best Genjutsu user, and also known as the Ice princess, don't know why though," said Naruto excitedly. Kurenai's face turned pink at the mention of her old nickname that others had given her before she started dating Asuma because she rejected every guy that tried to ask her out before him.
"By the way Naruto what have you been doing today?" asked Ino, what she really wanted to know was whether he had made a move on any ladies since he had been in Konoha.
"Training," said Naruto and every one sweat dropped. It was pretty obvious that he had been training, his bare muscular arms were bruised, and his t-shirt was torn in more a few places. His palms were littered with small scratches and his left elbow had a bad cut.
"You know, Hinata can fix that for you in a few seconds if you want?" said Ino pointing at his elbow. Naruto also bend over and looked at his elbow.
"Oh, I didn't even notice that, but it's fine," said Naruto waving it off.
"That's fine Naruto-san, I am training with Tsunade-sama too," said Hinata and she bent over the table and placed her palms on his elbow, a green light surrounded her hands and when she removed it there was smooth skin, his cut was gone.
"Wow, that's awesome thanks!" said Naruto delightedly as he bent his elbow every way, making sure that the cut was gone.
"So Naruto have you been to this Dango shop before?" asked Choji, he was trying to get the others to order but everybody kept asking him questions and he was hungry.
"Yeah, once with Sakura, she said this was the best Dango shop in Konoha and since today I won't be having dinner with her I just figured Dango would make a quick and easy dinner," said Naruto as he flipped the menu open.
"You have been having dinner with Sakura every day?" exclaimed Ino; she had never heard Sakura do that with anyone before.
"Yeah mostly, I mean I have dinner with her and Kakashi mostly, sometimes Sai joins us too, but usually it's me, her and Kakashi, why do you sound so surprised at that?" asked Naruto not looking up from the menu.
"You know why because Sakura is afraid of dating anybody," said Kiba, before feeling a kick on his left shin from Ino. "YOW! What you do that for?" he growled, pulling his leg up to see his shin rapidly turning blue.
"Seriously Kiba, man up and get over it," came Shikamaru's voice where he had laid his head against the table. Everybody had thought that he had fallen asleep, but apparently not.
"She doesn't date anybody?" asked Naruto in a dejected voice. The more he learned about Sakura, the more he realized that his chance with her was as good as a beggar trying to marry a princess.
"It's not like that. When we were around twelve Sakura had a huge crush on a guy, well actually the whole class had a crush on him. But Sakura got in the same genin team with him, and she really started to love him, but he broke her heart and deserted the village, just after the Sand/Sound invasion attempt on Konoha. After that Sakura had been really hoping that he would return because she believes that he had a good reason to desert Konoha and still now she hopes and that is why she had never had a real guy in her life because she never gave anybody else a chance," the way Ino said he whole speech showed that she really cared about Sakura even though she showed that she did not really like her, inside she loved her more like a sister than a friend and knew that Sakura also felt the same way that she did.
"See, don't you think that it is stupid to pine and whine over one guy when there are so many others that can and will love you," said Kiba, even he knew that Sakura's feelings for Sasuke was no joke, it was serious and it was very deep.
"Hey why are we talking about that traitor anyway, I am hungry and want some Dango!" shouted Anko, she had been sitting here for more than an hour now and her patience was running thin. She was here for Dango after all. Asuma called a waiter over and everyone gave their orders to him, and he scurried away saying that it will take a few minutes to get that big of an order, but they will be as quick as they can.
"So who is this guy that you guys are talking so much about?" asked Naruto, he had a pretty good idea about who it was but he still needed to know for sure.
"Everyone's favorite Sasuke Uchiha," said Kiba, and the reaction from Naruto was immediate.
"Like Orochimaru's vessel Uchiha?" he almost growled, he had a past with the guy that had not only deserted the village he always dreamed of but had also broken the heart of the girl that he really liked. Man this guy has a way of getting on my nerves even without realizing he is doing so.
"How did you know?" asked Choji, a question that was spinning on everybody's head.
"I met him during my travel with Jiraiya-sensei a little more a year ago. It was the second time I faced that teme Orochimaru, and this time he had his protégé with him. He said that since they had fought countless times before, they should have us fight to see who the better teacher was," said Naruto. His expression showed that he had not enjoyed that particular incident at all, but everyone's curiosity got the better of them.
"What happened?" whispered Ino; she was still interested in knowing how her old crush turned enemy was doing.
"We fought, and he had the Sharingan, but I or Jiraiya-sensei did not know that he was the last surviving Uchiha and I fell for his genjutsu. It was a close fight, and I was almost beaten, before I realized what was going on and started fighting without my eyes. Finally I was able to turn the tables but then Kabuto jumped in and I was not strong enough to take both of them on at the same time," said Naruto, distastefully remembering his first defeat at the hands of someone who was his age and was able to beat him, making him realize just how negatively hubris can affect a person's capabilities.
"You fought Sasuke, and nearly beat him! That is unbelievable, he was very strong when he left the village and you fought him nigh a year after that, and you were able to fight him on even legs. That is incredible, no that is just outright genius!" shouted Asuma, while all the others sitting in the same table nodded (with the exception of Anko).
"It is true; he was a Chuunin level Shinobi when he left that village, and was probably a low Jounin level when you fought him, and you would have had him if he did not have the Sharingan, that is a feat that few people your age can accomplish," said Kurenai, making Naruto blush a little at the praise.
"Yeah well he beat me so that means there are shinobis my age that are stronger than me and that means no matter what I have to train to get stronger so that I can protect the people who are important to me," said Naruto, as bluntly as possible, making every one realize that his character was not one to be suspicious of.
"A noble goal indeed Uzumaki Naruto, but one that cannot be achieved by people with experience such as ours. To accomplish that we will need years of practice, skill, and experience in the field, something only few and extremely well established ninjas are able to get," said Shino, his hood and sunglasses were still on and it unnerved Naruto a little bit, but he refrained from motioning it to the Aburame, Sakura had told him that if people commented on his unique fashion of clothing, he got very irritated and upset.
"Okay, enough talk about the past. How about we get some good tasting Dangos in our bellies?" said Asuma, as the waiter came carrying two big trays with lots of platters filled with a variety of Dango dishes.
"Mmhm, finally I can have some food," yelled Anko before stuffing her mouth with four Dangos at once. All the people except for one were not surprised at the barbaric intensity with which Anko devoured her Dango.
"So Naruto how is your training going with Kakashi?" asked Asuma, he was the second one to be done with his meal, only beaten by his student Shikamaru, and was pulling out an almost empty pack of cigarettes to get his after-dinner drag.
"Asuma Sarutobi, you will put those cigarettes away this instant!" said Kurenai, with such a stern voice that Naruto was sure that even Tsunade would have put her sake away for a long time. Asuma just sighed but complied, he was not about to have another night where Kurenai was going to 'discipline' him.
"It is going worse than I thought. Kakashi-sensei is good at hiding, and even better at tracking. No matter how creative I get, he always finds me, but I cannot find him even if I try my hardest. I have gotten better at silent movement, and my stealth was good enough already, but my tracking skills need more work, and Kakashi-sensei says that my clothing stands out too much so I have to buy ones that are darker colors. I don't have many dark colored clothes because Jiraiya-sensei always told me how people are always attracted towards light and colorful things, I guess ninjas have to be as inconspicuous as possible," said Naruto, earning nods from all the older ninjas at the table.
"Yeah well that's to be expected, especially if you are learning from Kakashi after all," said Asuma, and Kurenai and Anko's opinions concurred fully with his statement.
"Why do you say that Asuma-sensei?" asked Choji, intrigued because he had no idea of the Hatake's past before Team Seven.
"Well that is because he was an excellent ANBU squad leader, the best in fact during his time in service. Ranked just below the ratings of Itachi Uchiha, who is said to be the best squad leader the ANBU ever had," replied Shikamaru, again surprising everyone because they thought he had fallen asleep after finishing his meal.
"Itachi Uchiha, one of the most interesting people from Konoha's past," muttered Naruto, instantly earning every-one's complete attention.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Ino, she had the least knowledge in the table about the elder of the last Uchiha, except for the most obvious fact that he killed the rest of his clan and Sasuke harbored a grudge the size of Hokage Mountain against him.
"I say that because his history, as far as I know it, sounds very ironic, and the consciences in his life feel very… convenient is the best word I suppose," said Naruto after thinking over the last part for a bit.
"I would like to hear the elaborated version Uzumaki Naruto," said Shino, as he leaned forward on the table, his fingers crossed in front of his nose, covering the lower half of his face in shadows making him look even more mysterious than usual. Every one nodded, this particular man was not discussed in Konoha often and the mysteries surrounding him ranged from weird to psychopathically insane. Naruto could have information on this regarding the fact that he was the apprentice of Jiraiya who was a very popular political figure during the time when the massacre happened. He probably had details about this regarding the fact that he might have had a major say about the decision that the council had made right after the massacre had occurred.
"Okay, well first off, he was supposedly the only one who had killed his own clan. Seriously, one guy with a Kekkei-Genkai killed off a clan who had the same blood-line limit as his? One in a million chance of that happening yet still believable. Second, even though Konoha went into a level one alert and lockdown, he was able to escape, I mean the ANBU had the Uchiha compound swarmed and they couldn't even track him? Third, right after he left Konoha, within two months he was sighted as a full member of the Akatsuki. In two months, he became one of the top operatives of a criminal gang that is lucrative enough to escape the grasp of all the elemental nations gave a top priority position to a ninja who they didn't know of two months before. All this facts lead me to believe that there was a bigger mind running the plot. The coincident and the chances of this happening is next to negligible, and yet it did leading me to believe that Itachi Uchiha is not the simple traitor to the village that we most people seem to think of him to be." Naruto stopped, and looked around the table to see all of them staring at him like he had grown a second head, well all of them except Anko who had a mischievous smirk on silent.
"And who do you think might be behind this grand scheme?" asked Anko, lowering her vocals to sound mysterious and cryptic.
"During the Uchiha massacre, the Sandaime was the Hokage, so he would have all the answers, but the second strongest man during his reign was Danzo, he still is one of the most powerful citizens of Konoha. So I am suspicious that Danzo knows the whole story behind the massacre, or as much as anyone alive knows, other than Itachi himself of course," said Naruto, looking at Anko with as much intensity behind his gaze as he could muster. Anko held his gaze with just as much intensity, and none of them blinked as they kept staring at each other. After what felt like a really long time, Kurenai hit Anko in the shoulder breaking their intense eyeballing of each other.
"A very good theory Naruto, but it is just that, a theory and since there is no proof, we really cannot do anything other than wait for this mystery to unravel itself," said Asuma as the waiter came back carrying the bill for the night. Anko was about to pick it up but Kurenai slapped it away going for the bill herself. Asuma proved to be the fastest as his hand snaked down below her snatching the bill away from both the kunoichis with a triumphant smile, which soon wilted when he saw the amount written on it. Quickly and effectively he covered his surprise and paid the necessary amount, before giving it back to the waiter.
"Well Kurenai sensei, we will see you next week then," said Kiba, and when Kurenai raised eye brow Shino filled her in.
"We have another mission tomorrow and this time Hinata has to come with us as well, it's for team eight," Shino's sufficed and Hinata rushed off, saying she had to pack her things. Kurenai followed, she is going to help and she needed to talk with Haishi Hyuuga about something as well.
"You three better not be late tomorrow, I am going to make sure you get those jutsus down before you guys are done with tomorrow's training, I can promise you that!" said Asuma in a stern voice and all three of his students groaned in unison, they knew they were going to have another tough day ahead of them.
"Well Asuma-sensei, since you have made up your mind about being troublesome tomorrow, I am going to head home to have a long nice sleep full night," muttered Shikamaru and took to the rooftops, followed closely by Choji.
"I will see ya'll later, I have one more prisoner to interrogate before heading home, Ibiki's express orders, have to be done before tomorrow morning," said Anko, and she too took to the rooftops, but headed in a completely different direction. Ino was also turning towards her home and Naruto was about to head towards the Hokage tower, where he had taken up temporary residence until they found an apartment for him, when Asuma stopped them. "Hey you two, wait up, I have something to ask, and I am guessing it won't hurt to have a guy's opinion either."
Naruto and Ino both turned back around to see Asuma pulling out a small thin box wrapped in a delightfully eye-catching red velvet cloth. He slowly opened it, as if something very delicate was inside the Ino and Naruto huddled around to get a good look at the object inside. It was a gold necklace that was threaded with rubies and the pendant was huge emerald that was worked to look like a very stylized version of the letter 'K'. Naruto gasped, it was a very beautiful piece of jewelry, and it looked like it must have cost a fortune.
"Wow!" squealed Ino, jumping up and down lightly on her toes excitedly. "So is this what you are going to give her next month?" she asked, and Asuma nodded before noticing the clueless face of Naruto.
"Next month its Kurenai's birthday and I thought that if I gifted her something really nice before asking her out, she would appreciate it and see that I am really trying hard to make this work," said Asuma, in a strained voice that said that their relationship was facing difficulties recently, and realization dawned on Naruto's face.
"I am sure that she is going to love it, and the art is really beautiful," commented Naruto and Asuma nodded, agreeing with his opinion.
"Yes, good luck Asuma-sensei, I am sure she is going to love it!" squealed Ino again, but this time in a low and hushed voice as the street was empty and it was getting late.
"Thanks guys, I really hope she likes it too. Ino I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning and both of you have a good night," said Asuma before heading on towards his own house. Naruto was about to leave too when Ino stopped him by putting her hand lightly on his.
"Naruto we need to talk, can you walk me to my house please?" she asked, and Naruto nodded, there was nothing wrong with walking her to her home right?
"So what did you wanna talk about?" Naruto asked as he fell in step with Ino.
"I wanted to talk about Sakura…and you," she said hesitantly, looking at him closely, as if searching for something on his face.
"What about her?"
"About your feelings for her, it is plainly obvious to everyone that you like her. I am not sure if she is ready to take that step with you, or anyone yet," said Ino, making Naruto stop and turn towards her.
"What is it that I don't know about?" he asked his tone serious.
"I told you, she has major guy issues, why do you think that she has not dated anybody for the better part of the last three years of her life? She still thinks that Sasuke is going to come back, she still naively believes that he left because he couldn't live in the place where his family was murdered, and she still thinks that he loves her, just the way she loved him back then," Ino's voice was rising with each word, and she was shouting, and breathing very hard, when she stopped.
"So what are you saying that I just forget about her and find someone else? Just leave her to believe what she wants only to have a lonely future?" asked Naruto, now his voice had gone up too.
"No that's not what I meant!" snapped Ino. She stopped, took long breaths and calmed down before continuing. "Look, I can see that you already care for her, and that you really like her, but she doesn't. She is not even ready to move on from him, much less look at other guys. If you are going to make her move on from Sasuke, do it slowly. If you make a direct move on her, it would end badly for both of you, and I don't want to see her get hurt again, it was hard enough getting her out of depression once, this time it might have a much worse effect on her. As a Yamanaka I had first-hand experience of what her mind went through when Sasuke left her, and it was a devastating blow to her emotionally and psychologically. Sakura was on the brink of losing herself, either into a coma or madness. If it wasn't for my father she would probably be in one of those states right now. It was hard watching her back then I don't think I can see her lose it like that again. So please, I am begging you take it slow, and don't push her. Even after all these years, her emotional security about herself is almost non-existent," Ino stopped; she had told him everything that she knew Sakura, her oldest and best friend, had gone through, and what it had taken for her to pull it all together and get her life and career back on track.
Ino cannot, will not, have someone else do the same to her and see her fall back to where she came from again. It would be too much to handle and she knew that Sakura's psychological state was still delicate.
"Is that your house?" asked Naruto in a tight voice, as they rounded the corner and the flower shop came into view. Ino nodded, there was nothing left to say between them, and Ino had the feeling that somewhere along her thoughts for Sakura, she had hurt her new blonde friend. They came to a stop in front of her house, and she waited uncertainly to see if Naruto had anything left to say to her before they departed. When he remained silent, she turned and walked to her door and as she was about to enter Naruto stopped.
"Ino," he paused as she turned back towards him. "Thank you. I did not know you cared for her so much, now I know that she has a friend that she can count on no matter what happens." Ino nodded and a small smile touched her face.
"You are welcome, and Naruto please don't tell her I told you all this, then she will really think that I have gone soft," said Ino as she entered and closed the door. Naruto stood in the walkway with a dumbfounded expression before shaking his head.
"Ero-sannin was right, girls are weird," he muttered before moving towards the Hokage tower.
Danzo's Office
The brooding war-hawk sat in his office. For the last month, he had been contemplating on one and only subject that had started plaguing him in the form of Naruto Uzumaki. The problem, that had started as a trivial matter had turned into a massive political jumble. This boy posed a threat not even knowing the amount of power and sway he holds with the council, the clans and his own seat as the leader of the black-ops division. It did not help the fact that the boy was quite powerful in his own rights, and his mentor was not one that could be talked into spilling the secrets about him. Jiraiya was just as hard of a shell as this boy was proving to be. But then again, his father, the Yondaime Hokage, was also a hard headed, righteous, and stubborn man. During his reign, most of the black-ops divisions were closed down, and all root operations were disbanded, as they were based on unethical and unlawful means of eradicating threats that were dealt with even before they rose. "No matter what happens, I have to talk to the boy. He needs to know about his heritage, about his powers with the political side of his village. If he agrees to work with me, I just might get the key to solving all the problems that Tsunade brings up with the clans at her side.
There was a knock on the door and the door opened to reveal one of the Nins he had placed on Tsunade's own ANBU. It had aided him very much in preparing his arguments when he knew what kind of problems and questions the Godaime Hokage was going to ask him to show the council how his plans were flawed. But in all entireties, Danzo never went against Konoha; his means were a little…under-handed. He did not understand why that was such a big problem with the Hokages in general. "Any news?" he asked, there was going to be big council meeting with the Hokage in the next week, he wanted to know why she had called such a big meeting.
"Yes sir, but this does not involve the council meeting that will be held next week. This is about a report that was sent by on the frog summons of Jiraiya. It seems that he has located where Orochimaru is hidden right now, along with his prized pupil, the Uchiha," said the man.
"So Konoha's last Uchiha is showing his face to the world again," thought Danzo, before getting up and picking up one of the folders. He quickly flipped through the pages, and his eyes landed on the sight of Sai. Yes, a perfect opportunity to influence it but with a member they trust. "Good work bat, keep this up. Send in Sai on your way out," ordered Danzo as he sat back down behind his desk, returning to his brooding once more.
"Yes sir," the ANBU saluted smartly before leaving his room, closing the door behind him.
Okay, done with another chapter. So what do you think happened between Naruto and Sasuke in the past to make him so angry at our favorite Uchiha? Next chapter we will find out a lot about the mysteries surrounding the new Naruto, and they are going to set out on their famous Sasuke retrieval mission. Now someone pointed out to me that why did Naruto not notice a Root ANBU spying on him while he was sparring with Kakashi. Well the most basic reason is he couldn't. I mean he was giving his all to beat one of the most powerful characters in Naruto-verse, of course he had to pay his full attention towards Kakashi, or he would have been filleted. Anyway, if you want to discuss the story in more detail, shoot me a P.M. and don't forget to review.