The large amount of reviews (as of now 9) in my eyes has definitely made me want to get a new chapter sooner than as soon as I can. So I want to thank you guys for your reviews and those of you have tolerated those first couple of chapters that really….well they suck and I do need get to them eventually if only to clean up some of the sentences and spellings. On that note I do know that it is Homura and Not Honmaru. xD
Since I haven't responded to any reviews I'd like to say right now I appreciate each and every one.
Sorry for the lateness of the chapter so here you go.
I am putting the chapter up as it is, one because it's been so long and two I was going to put more into it but I kind of like where I have it ending right now, gives me a good starting point. I haven't exactly proof read it but, it shouldn't be too terrible xD also I do know of the earlier chapters that hurt the eyes and cause my brain in particular to hurt, but I'll fix those in due time.
Chapter 6
She always loved the view she was given over the village. The windows were wide and large giving her a panoramic view of the village allowing her to keep watch over the very people who viewed her as their leader and protector. Tsunade had held this office for only eight years but with everything that had happened during her tenure it felt a lot longer. She had fought tooth and nail with Danzo and his Root over the political direction of the village, still an unfortunate thorn in her side he was. Homura and Koharu were definitely her sensei's advisors and the term advisor is what she wished they would stick to, Sarutobi was Hokage for a reason. Politics aside she has had to fight for Naruto's every turn or so it seemed. She and many who supported her knew he was the future of the village. He surpassed everyone as the villages' greatest ninja at the age of sixteen and it was because of him on three occasions that the village was able to endure and stand. Now if only he would grow up into the man they need him to be. His life has been a strange cycle; he's gone from a troublemaking talent-less idiot, to a rising genin, to the Sage of Myobukuzan, to village hero, to war hero, to renowned ninja, to a cautious fool, captain of the ANBU, and now a mere genin trainer.
Tsunade sighed as she stared over the horizon of her village, as it was being illuminated by the late afternoon sun. "Why don't you grow up and take over for me already? I'm getting to old to constantly deal with all this."
The faded silhouette of Naruto, his back leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, eyes shut, and a quirky smirk on his face was the only presence in the room with her as she spoke. "Can't have a leader that could turn on his village in a mere second could you now?"
"Hmph you're an idiot. Care to tell me why you're here?"
"I want information about the genin you assigned to me"
She looked over her shoulder and raised her brow in question. "I assume Shikamaru already gave you all the information."
"Tch, stop playing the fool old hag. I want information on their parents."
"Why should I comply with your request?"
"Because you and I assume some sort of conspiracy group, has blackmailed me into doing something I don't want to be doing and making sure I have no choice but to deal with Sakura. To top of it off I made the test as hard and ridiculous as I possibly could without going overboard and those little brats somehow passed it. You might as well allow me to give them the best training I can and to do that I need to do things my way"
"Tch no one is forcing you to do anything, I just merely pointed out that it would be a waste to have to send what few ninja I have to chase you down and capture you to be detained. The fact that we were short a genin teacher allowed me to let you get reacquainted with a childhood friend, I thought you'd be more grateful"
"You should be focusing on selecting the sixth. Not on a war criminal"
"This village has not branded you a war criminal and you may not have the backing of the advisors or the civilian councilors, but even if I could choose among the other ninja no one will accept the job. After all the Anbu and the ninja leadership have you pegged as the next Hokage and as their leader I cannot go against their wishes."
"Who would of thought that the soldiers of this village would be more childish than the troublemaker dead last of the ninja academy"
Tsunade walked over to the top drawer of her filing cabinet and opened it. She started to shuffle through the large amount of files in that filled the drawer tightly, from end to end. "These ninja want the best leader for the job and who better to comply with the request than the only child of the great Fourth Hokage?"
"So what if they know? He entrusted me with this power and I can't even control it the way I'm supposed to"
"Not many people can say they have talked and received fatherly advice from their own fathers long after they died" She grabbed the file and tossed in on her desk for him to open. "He told you himself he was proud of you and is one of many to entrust the future of the ninja world to you, don't waste their deaths for petty thoughts of idiocy, because you aren't as stupid as you think." He stood upright and started walking towards the desk, his hands in his pockets, and eyes fixed on her as she put a finger on the top of the vanilla folder. "This girl will never hear her father or see him ever again"
He opened the folder and started to scan the information written on the thick pages that had covered the twenty five years Yasashiku Yamagata had lived in the village. The room was quiet for a good ten minutes as Tsunade turned to look back towards the setting sun and Naruto scanned the pages in front him. It wasn't until a small grunt from him that signaled he'd found something.
"What'd you find?"
"This explains why Sai was at the training grounds."
"Was he now?"
"This girl Gina had a picture in her hands when we found her that bore his drawing style and he's someone who doesn't draw lightly to just anyone after all. What's really got me curious though is this small tidbit on her mother."
"What's so curious about it?"
"How about you tell me"
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Kisho found himself annoyed at being in a village full of tree's and leaves. Not only did this confirm his suspicions of this village being weak, but it gave him all the more pride to wear his Suna headband in full view of any passing ninja.
"That's right Konoha! Bask in the glory that is the superior nation of Suna!"
Hikaru may have been Kisho's best friend, but there were times he too wished he would just shut up for five minutes. Telling him this though was an entirely different matter for the boy, after all they had been the best of friends since they were three years old and many a time it was Kisho who had protected him from different kids who picked on him and bullied him for absolutely no reason. He may have been an obnoxious kid sometimes, but deep down Hikaru knew his friend had a good heart and cared for those he got to know.
"Hey Hikaru, put your headband like this" he walked over and started adjusting his headband so that the sun would reflect off the metal plate just right and shine directly into the eyes of anyone passing by the small genin group. "There, now no one will be able to see our glorious symbol without being basked in the light of the sun"
Kameko was clearly annoyed with her 'teammate' and the constant cockiness that accompanied him. She huffed and started walking faster to get ahead of the other three and leave the childish Kisho behind.
Seeing this as an obvious attempt to act in a superior manner to him, Kisho, picking up his own pace, passed her and started leading on the group leading them down the streets.
Kameko furrowed her brow and started to walk fast enough so that she could pass him.
Of course not to be outdone Kisho glared at the back of her head and started pacing even faster, momentarily pausing to meet her gaze and giving her a glare he felt was even more evil than the one she was trying to pierce him with right now.
Ame watched as the two self-appointed leaders of the group fought and pushed for every inch they could gain on each other as passing civilians and ninja just looked awkwardly at the group. Sighing, she turned and bashfully looked at Hikaru. He seemed like a quiet boy who didn't have Kisho's outlook on life, right now he was walking briskly behind the group, and his eyes shut in an almost meditating like manner. She didn't know why she had this strange twisting feeling in her gut as she looked at him, but it was becoming really annoying. She looked towards Kameko and Kisho once more only to see that those two were now walking in step perfectly aligned, staring each other down waiting for the other one to either blink, or melt into the earth and become nothing more than a puddle of mud.
She sighed again and looked down on the ground; maybe she could talk with Hikaru a little and get him to open up? Or maybe just get to know him a little better. It couldn't hurt, anything beat having to watch her teammates acting stupid. She took a deep breath and smiled. She slowed her pace down and allowed him to catch up to where she was at and started to keep pace with him. She turned to look at him and opened her mouth to talk and only stopped when she found she couldn't say anything. She blushed furiously and turned away in hopes he didn't see the embarrassing look on her face.
Hikaru peaked open his right eye and confirmed that someone was currently walking beside him and worse so it was that quiet girl on their team. Worse not because he didn't hate her, but because he had always been awful talking to any of the girls of own class and had never been one to say anything right, in fact he didn't even know what to say right now!
"Uh…Uh'm Hikaru right?"
He swallowed and franticly searched his mind for the answer to the question. "I'm Hikaru…yea that's it!" He cleared his throat and answered. "Uhm yea Kihiro that's right"
Ame chuckled lightly at his mishap as he shut his eyes and furrowed his brow in an attempt to recollect his thoughts. "I mean Hikaru…sorry"
She smiled at him brightly that knot in her stomach began churning furiously until he smiled back and chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm Ame"
"Uh ok cool! Eerrrr" He felt like he was going to melt into the ground. Something about this girl made him want to know her more! Maybe because she actually talked to him and Kisho was too busy with his own…thing that he didn't butt in or say anything.
"I'm Not Losing to You! You ugly red-haired Leaf freak!!"
"How dare you talk to me like that you stupid little Sand bug!!"
"I'm going to be the first one there loser!"
"You don't even know the way you jerk!"
Hikaru sighed and became slightly lost in the embarrassment that was his best friend, but unknowingly to him, it allowed him enough composure to hold a short conversation with Ame; one that didn't contain him stuttering and blushing like a love struck schoolboy. "I'm sorry about Kisho's behavior…he's really a good person once you get to know him!"
Ame sighed and looked forward at their feuding teammates. "Normally Kameko is a nice person and not so…loud and brash like he is." She stopped for a second and turned to look his face which had become slightly sad and seemed like he was hurt. "But I'm sure once we all get along he'll be a nice guy like you!" that last little bit seemed a bit loud and put together at the last second, causing a slight blush on her face.
Hikaru seemed to lighten up a bit after she reassured him that they would all work together eventually and even though they hadn't been talking for more than ten minutes he really, really, wanted to keep working with her.
"It's to the left idiot!!"
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"Kin I want those noodles cooked faster and they need to be softer, Ringo why isn't my counter clean, you can't expect happy customers to eat on a dirty counter! Father would be hitting you both with his broom if he came back and saw this place in such a mess! Now get moving!"
"Yes Lady Ayame!"
Her hair was tied up and her apron was as white as ever as she scrubbed and rubbed the pots viciously so as to make sure there are no germs, dirt, or grime left on the dishes. Her father had bestowed upon her, the task of running things until he returned from setting up a new shop in a small fishing village nearby. He decided to do this one night when a fisherman, passing through Konoha, had remarked that a good hot bowl of ramen helped warmed him up after a cold morning on the water. Never one to miss a good business opportunity Teuchi left in full force intent on spreading the glorious ramen that truly defined Ichiraku.
She sighed and shut her eyes in an attempt to quell the small headache that was building up thanks to her new helpers. She was happy her father wanted to try new things however…why did Chouji and Naruto have to push him so hard to open another stand?
The bells jingled signaling the start of the dinner rush. After the destruction of the village, Chouji and Naruto had made it a personal priority that Ichiraku ramen would become the most renowned ramen stand in the ninja world; so much so that they alone built a new restaurant, not a stand, but a full restaurant in a mere two days and immediately hired themselves on as waiters and taste testers. Ironically this was also the first building that was up and running after the reconstruction started.
She had become the manager of the restaurant so to speak as her father wanted to handle the chef-like attributes of the job, something she was more than fine with since Naruto and Chouji would not eat any noodles prepared by anyone except her father, something he took great pride in.
"IT'S DINNER TIME!!"
She smiled to herself as she imagined the new hostess being slightly shocked and frightened by the loud declaration of one of their favorite customers, a loud boast he followed up with a maniacal laughter befitting the large ninja.
"LADY AYAME MAKE SURE YOU TAKE YOUR TIME, ONLY THE FINEST NOODLES FOR ME AND MY STUDENTS!"
She started filling the cleaned pot with fresh water to boil as she sat listening to the staff whisper and explain who this loud food loving man was. With most of the ninja seniority being drastically reduced with the constant attacks on the village over the past ten years, it became common that many younger ninja had become sensei's at the young age of eighteen, Chouji himself had become a sensei six months ago along with Rock Lee and Kiba Inuzuka. She, like many of the villagers, knew that Tsunade was starting to show her age more and more as she struggled to keep the villages' forces from seeming weak and unprepared. Luckily Suna had become much more than a mere ally, they were in fact one of two reasons the rest of the ninja world had not tried to take out the village.
She watched the water boil to the perfect temperature before putting the noodles in carefully, if she screwed it up in anyway Chouji would somehow know. The other reason though, the reason for the villages' safety was Naruto, there was no question about it. However he was blamed by those who feared the fox, for the destruction by Akatsuki and the incident at Deep Valley two years earlier. She was one of a handful of trusted civilians that knew of an insurgent assassination coup on his life, one that was viciously put down by Neji and a select few of ANBU. The civilian majority may not have faith in the boy but there was no question, that troublemaking little brat who would eat religiously at her father's ramen stand would become the hokage, just as he had declared so many times in the past; but even she had seen the changes in him, something that was never visible in him as a boy was now clear as day. She missed the old kid with a heart of gold and a lot to prove.
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"Chouji-sensei, I understand your love of food is important to your ninja ability, but why are we eating ramen again?" the girl, with a long blonde ponytail, dropped her head on the table and sighed as she smelt the same ramen he had been treating them to for the fifth night in a row.
"I'm going to side with Oichi on this one sensei, its good food but having it night after night gets old, and seems weird for someone with your appetite." The boy had a thick pair of glasses and dark brown hair. He had tied small ornamental feathers into four small locks, two on each side, by his ears as a sign of respect to the clan to which he belonged.
"Hah Yukio! You and Oichi just don't appreciate the lasting taste that is Ichiraku Ramen, here a ninja can come in after a long hard day of work and relax with a warm bowl of perfectly prepared noodles with just the right amount of sauce and pork!" The boy named Zen turned to his sensei and proudly asked for his reassurance. "Isn't that right sensei!"
Chouji's eyes were shut as though he was in meditation and calmly spoke. "There is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen my students. You have done well in your training and are going on your first B-Rank mission tomorrow, a mission that will allow me to determine if you are ready to take part in the upcoming chuunin exams. However Yukio, as usual you're sharp with your senses. I have specifically been choosing this place in hopes of meeting up with an old friend I have not seen for quite some time and unfortunately have yet to see him." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes quickly revealing the wild flame that burned in his soul.
"ICHIRAKU RAMEN IS HOLY GROUND! APPRECIATE THAT YOUR SENSEI IS TAKING YOU TO SUCH AN ESTEEMED PLACE REGULARLY AND PAYING FOR IT!!! MY STUDENTS YOU MUST REMAIN FRESH AND PREPARED FOR THE UPCOMING TRIALS THAT ARE YOUR NINJA LIVES!"
Yukio shut his eyes and furrowed his brow as he listened to his sensei rant on in a ridiculous and loud manner befitting his attitude only. He may have been embarrassed at his sensei's outbursts but he respected him a great deal and knew that when it came to battle he was a formidable foe. Oichi on the other hand kept banging her head on the table in an attempt to quell the queasiness that sat in her stomach from having ramen for so many nights.
The energetic Zen however, a boy with a spiky head of black hair and brown eyes to match, looked on with admiration and inspiration as his sensei bluntly pointed out that since he was paying they would eat where he desired!
"I only know of one other person who speaks so proudly and loudly about this restaurant. The only one who could rival the great Sage's eating abilities"
Chouji's fiery, firm look of glory remained sowed to his face as he moved with lightning fast speed, a speed that was slower to most of his counterparts but blazing to his students, especially considering his size, and moved immediately to Sakura's side. As quick as he had built up his excitement he seemed to calm down and become proper, in Yukio's eyes anyway, as he greeted the mysterious woman. "Sakura old friend, good to see you again"
She chuckled at his formality, something she noticed he only did when he was in an inspired mood. "How have you been Chouji?"
"Good as usual and preparing for a good hearty meal, I was hoping to see Naruto here but he has yet to show up"
"Yes he took off a little while ago after finishing the genin exam, business as usual I assume" The sad flare in her voice did not go unnoticed by him.
"So I am to assume things are still as they have been for so long:" She nodded slightly knowing that if Chouji had any questions he would ask her privately later on. "Well don't trouble yourself with it! These four young genin behind you must be the new graduates! Something I must say I'm rather surprised about."
Leiko furrowed her brow and looked directly in the man's eyes. "And just what do you mean by that you fa-" in a split second Sakura was covering her mouth and smiling uneasily at her large friend. His firm look of inspiration was now a firm look of anger as he stared down the girl.
"You were saying!"
Sakura whispered in her young students' ear. "Never, ever, say that word in front of him! It's a trigger of destruction." Leiko stared un-amused at the man as he looked ready to burst. "She was just saying she didn't understand why you feel they shouldn't have passed"
His look changed to a jolly one as he smiled at her, something which caused the young girl to be very, very confused about the situation. "Oh is that all" He looked and met with Sakura's eyes, behind them she silently pleaded he not say the whole truth. "Shikamaru spoke to me of a talented group of genin with no teamwork, something that is the key to passing almost any genin test."
Leiko huffed as Sakura took her hand from her mouth.
"One giant hot bowl of Miso-Ramen!" Ayame smiled as she walked up to the group.
Chouji was now in full excited mode, one of the new menu ideas he had convinced Teuchi to do was to have a giant bowl of ramen delivered to a table and have the party of people take their shares from that bowl that rested on a grill much like the meat restaurant. "Sakura! Students! Join us! It's time for a feast!"
The grumbling of the genin's stomachs confirmed the looks of hunger that graced their faces causing Sakura to chuckle. "We don't want to intrude on your meal."
He pounded his chest proudly. "Of course not! This is why we have these large booths in here, right Ayame!"
She smiled happily nodded. "Of course, will there be anything else?"
"Yes we better order thirds!"
Yukio spoke up as everyone got settled in the booth. "Sensei I don't think we need thirds, after all we just got the one."
He looked at the boy for a second until realization came to him. "Your right Yukio we don't need thirds" The boy nodded, satisfied of his sensei's decision. "Ayame! We need seven orders of the giant bowls!"
"No sensei that's not-"
"Good thinking Yukio, as usual you think ahead!"
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Tsunade stood by the windows and watched as Naruto slowly made his way down the street, leading away from the mansion. She sighed and shut her eyes; he was becoming too smart, too witty, and too determined for his own good. All these qualities were essential for being a leader and he no longer wanted anything to do with the position of Hokage, and yet he would defend the position and this village with his life. "He's certainly got a lot going on in that head of his, if only I knew what it was."
A figure clad in black from head to toe dropped in front of her desk, kneeling before her and speaking in a deep, growling voice. "Do you think he knows?"
Tsunade put a hand to her chin as she pondered the question. "I wouldn't say he knows, though I can't say he doesn't, what I can say, is I believe he suspects something, that kid is a chip off the old block, he's more like his father than he knows. In the end though he's more action oriented like his mother." She turned around and to acknowledge the person. "What brings you here Hitoku"
The figure stood up letting the loose robes fall listlessly against his body and adjusted the cowl that graced his head, to make sure no light revealed his face. "Were you able to work it out?"
The Hokage smiled ruefully and nodded. "Yes, I made sure the child was put in his care."
"You have no idea how reassuring that is, my lady"
"You've served this village for a long time, and have faithfully done what has been asked of you"
"I had no choice"
"I know…have you discovered anything else about Sounds' movements or actions?"
"No, Kabuto's plan, if he has one, is tightly guarded and is not revealing anything. I'm also afraid that my contact inside has been captured and exposed. He was so close to discovering exactly what the serpent lord was plotting, but I haven't heard from him in two weeks. If he was indeed captured then I might be exposed. If that's the case and you don't hear from me in a month's time, I need you to give this scroll to young Gina."
Tsunade nodded and took the scroll from the outreached hand of Hitoku. "I promise I will."
"It's a scroll that will explain everything that has happened. It will let her know how her father's died and the truth about her mother's death…it may be a long time before she should know it, but one day she has to learn about the mess she was born into. I appreciate all of this my lady"
Tsunade nodded and in the blink of an eye Hitoku had disappeared leaving nothing, not even a thread, in the place where he'd been standing. She sighed and looked at the scroll in her hand. "You would learn so many things you don't even know exist; if only you'd become Hokage, Naruto"
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"I hate ramen, I hate ramen, I hate ramen"
Yukio shut his eyes as he mentally agreed with the ramblings of his female teammate, however he felt it best not to hit his head on the table continually as that could, and probably would cause a severe headache later on. He had taken one normal sized portion of the first mega ramen bowl and had found he could only eat about half of that before he'd had enough of the cooked noodles. Oichi had just given up and refused to eat the food put in front of her as she absolutely hated it, a fact backed up by her continuous mumbling of the phrase 'I hate ramen'
"Eat more of the noodles you guys! It's good stuff!" and then there was Zen, who had eaten one of the mega bowls on his own and was now having seconds of the normal sized variety. Zen chowed down happily as his sensei looked on proudly and rubbing his own belly from having his ninth bowl of the Mega-sized variety. Sakura looked on happily, as though she had not a care in the world. Watching her childhood friend chow down like he always had and then seeing the eyes of at least six of the genin look on in utter shock as he devoured bowl after bowl really brought back some good memories. What surprised her the most though, was that Leiko seemed to enjoy ramen as much as Zen, even though she didn't nearly eat as much.
"Good to see another young student realizes the importance of a hearty bowl of ramen!" Leiko slurped her noodles quickly and efficiently as she ignored the fat-sensei's remark. It wasn't until he slapped her on the back that she realized he was talking about her…and causing her to choke on the food she was currently chewing. She growled menacingly as she recovered from her coughing. This guy seemed obnoxious and just plain annoying to be around. She furrowed her brow and looked up to see her sensei giving her a possessive look or maybe it was a threatening look, she didn't know, but it was one that deemed a terrible future for her if she didn't mind her manners and acknowledge her elder. Leiko grunted and went back to eating her noodles, since when did her sensei, a woman she'd known for only a couple hours, start acting like her mother!
Yukio sighed as he listened to his sensei laugh heartily, and loudly, at the genin. "So sensei, who's this friend of yours you keep waiting to meet?"
He stopped laughing and calmed himself so he could speak seriously with his ace student. "He's a friend who always believed in everyone he met, always brought the best out of them. I'll admit seeing his declarations of victory in an outnumbered battle brought an air of confidence to anyone and everyone who could hear his words. He wasn't the reason I myself grew into a powerful ninja, but he was once a terrible student only worse to me and my good buddy, your academy sensei, Shikamaru."
"You have such pride when you say that sensei…"
"That aside…many of your current ninja leaders and jounin have been affected one way or another by him; some more than others" He looked up and eyed Sakura in a teasing manner, causing her to blush furiously and shut her eyes in an attempt to stop the heat from creeping visibly on her face. "There was a time when we went on our first real A-rank mission, no sensei, just us four genin and our chuunin leader. It was a group that was quickly put together and given one goal; retrieve our comrade. Our buddy had such an air of confidence as he swore to bring back his friend, and even guaranteed it to the girl he had a crush on, a girl who was infatuated with our lost comrade. All throughout that fight we faced life and death, all of us, and we all still hold scars from that mission."
"You of course succeeded right sensei?" Chouji smiled and patted the energetic Zen on the head.
"No, we failed miserably in our actual goal, to the point that all five of us almost died. Only reason we survived I suppose is the arrival of the Sand genin who aided us. You would have to ask the rest of the details from the other four, but my fight was the first and it was the one that allowed me to grow up and become the ninja I needed to be."
Yukio slumped his shoulders feeling a bit saddened that his sensei wasn't going to be able to tell the whole story himself, but felt it to be an opportunity to speak to excellent jounin and learn from their experiences. "Sensei who are these other ninja?"
"I can't tell you the subject of our mission as that is top secret, but you my young student have always sought a higher learning, eager to protect your friends and your village so I will tell you who they are and I know you will seek them out and learn from their experiences and when you do…take your teammates with you"
"Hah sensei the only ninja I need to learn from is you!"
Chouji chuckled and rubbed the young Zen's head. "I'm flattered but I can't teach you everything, besides these ninja will only give you advice you can use in your studies." He cleared his throat. "Anyway my comrades were Neji Hyuuga, Shikamaru-sensei, Kiba Inuzuka, and Naruto Uzumaki"
The four genin under the former's tutelage mulled silently to each other as they heard their hated sensei's name. The way this Chouji-sensei was talking, they came to the conclusion that his friend he was waiting for couldn't be their sensei, after all he was an ass.
"Sensei why didn't you tell us you knew such famous ninja! You mentioned the name Naruto before, but I didn't think you were friends with such a village hero!"
Leiko choked on the noodles she was swallowing and started coughing in a fit as she heard the young Yukio's declaration of heroism associated with her sensei. "You're joking" she cleared her throat, as she struggled to catch her breath. "Naruto-sensei is the guy we were assigned to learn from and he's an asshole"
"How can you say such things about a hero?! Not only has he saved the village from complete obliteration, but he has used thousands of his own money to provide food and defense for not only our village but tons of villages around the fire country! Even if you dislike someone you should always feel honored that anyone, especially such an esteemed ninja, would be training you to eventually take their place in protecting the village!"
"You're very wise for such a young student"
Yukio bowed in appreciation. "Thank you, Sakura-sensei"
Leiko grunted and pushed her bowl towards the center of the table. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you claim this man is so glorious and noble, the way he treated us today was despicable and I refuse to believe any of the crap coming out of your mouth." She got up in a huff and tugged at Gina's shoulder. "Come on, we don't need to listen to this crap. I'm going home." Gina nodded and followed her teammate out of the restaurant as Raidon and Hiroshi looked on. They mulled over what they should do, but in the end agreed that this Naruto wasn't the same as their sensei and got up out of the booth.
They both eyed their sensei and bowed respectfully. "Excuse us, Sakura-sensei"
Chouji watched the genin leave with a disappointed look, he didn't know the extent of the situation, but he wouldn't be surprised if his old comrade had acted in a bad manner, after all he had changed since that night.
"Sensei is there anything else you can tell me about your comrades!"
He turned and smiled at the ever eager Yukio, the boy was really never excited about anything and always kept a calm serious look on his face, but when it came to learning how to expand his knowledge and getting advice from the ninja elite, he became more giddy than a child diving head first into a seven-layer cake. "Why don't you three head on home…get some sleep you have a big day tomorrow."
"Sensei!" yelled Zen "It's only like six o'clock!"
Yukio read the seriousness in his sensei's eyes and nodded his head lightly. "Yes sensei, we will see you tomorrow." He motioned for Oichi and Zen to follow him. "Let's go"
Chouji watched as his students left for the night and chuckled wryly to himself, in hopes that they could grasp just how difficult a mission they would be going on. He knew deep down that until it actually came to battle, they wouldn't understand that their life would truly be on the line. That of course could wait until they left in the morning, right now…he looked to see Sakura had hid her eyes with her bangs and was clearly crying from her body language. "Sakura…"
She slowly lifted her head and revealed a very tired and depressed look. "He was never like this Chouji…" She spoke between tears. "He loves this village so much…he still would do anything for it but now he doesn't care about those around him…"
"You've been gone for going on four days…when was the last time you slept comfortably at your own apartment."
"It's not just what he's been doing…the villagers…I hear them mock him whenever I go past and few even go to whispering about how I'm a whore and how our daughter is cursed…all because of that damn thing in his body!! He's protected the villagers countless times! It's not his fault Chouji! He has control of it! But just because of that stupid disaster two years ago he's lost all confidence in his own willpower and the villagers know it, and if the villagers can't look up to him, then those who are discontent will take advantage of it!"
She covered her shoulders with her hands and curled her body as tried to calm herself. Chouji scooted next to her and put his arm around her. "Don't worry about it old friend…you always have a shoulder to cry on whether it's me, Shikamaru, Ino, or the others. We want the old Naruto back as well, and we'll get him, we've all sworn to it."
She cried into his shoulder only loud enough for him to hear, she may have been distraught from everything but public appearance was too important when you were the Hokage's top aide and the top medical ninja in the village.
A bird sat on the window that overlooked the booth and cocked its head in curiosity before flying away after being startled by a slight motion.
Naruto, arms crossed, eyes shut, stood leaning against the part of the building that sat right next to the booth. He listened as Sakura let out her frustration and Chouji confirmed his suspicions of his old friends all being in on this little conspiracy theory he'd come up with. He felt his heart drop little by little as she carried on about the treatment she herself was receiving…something he, no matter how much he wanted her to find someone better, would not condone. He crushed the rock in his hand, leaving nothing but dust and took off; he had one more thing to take care of before he called it a day and headed home.
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"Glad to see you all could make it." Shikamaru muttered as he lifted his arm to check his watch. "You're thirty seconds late by the way."
Kameko pushed Kisho slightly then turned and crossed her arms in defiance as she defended her own lateness. "We would have been right on time if someone didn't try to find the damn place himself!"
"Tch you just lost your way, admit it"
She turned and met his casual, I'm the best there is smirk, with a look of, you're going have my foot half-way up your ass you little punk…look.
Shikmaru sighed and walked towards the group. "You couldn't even work together for one hour to find a place that takes twenty minutes to get to. You four have an obligation and a trust given by your village leaders to make this work. If you fail not only will you disgrace your respective villages, but it could tarnish relations and hurt the deep trust that has been built up for the past eight years. If you fail your ninja careers are over, do you think you could accept that?"
"Tch I hear the wind trying to speak to me I think. It's seems that all I hear though is nothing but, crap."
Shikamaru sighed and walked towards the boy. "You're going to end up dead if you don't learn to work with your comrades." He motioned to put a hand on his shoulder "In addition-" the moment he made contact the boy tensed and immediately spun around, kunai in hand, and swung at his sensei. The swing was sloppy to the point that Shikamaru caught it with his free hand.
"What the hell are you doing!? Sensei are you alright?"
Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgment but for the most part ignored the girl as he stared into the eyes of the boy. "This look…a look of fear…" He looked towards Hikaru to see he had tensed up himself and clearly knew what had just happened. There was no doubt in his mind, Gaara sent these boys for a specific reason, something he was sure Temari knew about. Why didn't she explain to him though…?
"They're just too much Shikamaru…"
Oh right…she was drunk. He smiled and let the boy go. "I didn't mean to startle you, just wanted you to pay attention."
"Tch" Kisho shook his head free of whatever was on his mind and gave his full attention to his sensei, or at least made it look like he was giving his full attention.
"Well it's clear to me that you all have a little tension built up, so I want you all to formulate a plan and subdue me using all the skills at your disposal. It's pretty clear you all are showing some animosity towards me, some more than others. I am the architect of this entire program, as such that is why I volunteered to lead the group and it's clear you're all not pleased with the each other and the choice of your comrades." The children seemed to be listening, although he had his doubts since Kameko and Kisho were currently staring each other down. "So I'm giving you a chance to kill me"
This caught their attention. "What are you talking about sensei? We can't kill you, even if we had the ability why would we?"
"Question!"
Ignoring Kameko's questions he pointed at the seemingly excited Kisho. "yes?"
"Can we use anything to kill you? and will you be defending yourself?"
"What the hell kind of question is that?!?" Kameko turned her attention back from Kisho, and to her sensei. "Sensei what if we actually kill you?
Shikamaru scoffed and smirked at the young genin. "You won't be able to lay a finger on me, let alone kill me. The object of this training is to see how close you guys can actually come to wounding or killing me, but I have an advantage no one else will claim."
"What is it sensei?"
"I don't underestimate people, even you younglings have the power to kill the mightiest warrior. After all it's all about reading the situation and getting everything to play out as though you're reading the story."
"Tch, you seem over confident pineapple head."
"I don't let confidence determine the outcomes of my battles, and I most certainly don't seem anything. I do everything one hundred percent or I don't do it at all."
"Always thinking ahead sensei?"
He grinned at the boy. "I could have killed you all at least one-hundred and forty five times now, of course that is not the objective of this training is to subdue me successfully, and show how quick you all catch on and work together. Can you come up with a successful rhythm? Can you put aside your differences to bring down a superior foe?
"Ha I don't need anyone to bring you down!" Kisho pulled two kunai out from hidden wrist pouches and charged head on at the Jounin.
Shikmaru watched with dull eyes as the boy charged him in what looked like slow motion. Yawning he took a step backwards pulling with him a piece of thread that was secured tightly around his ankle. He smiled wryly at the boy. "Too slow"
In a split second Kisho found himself caught and trapped in a net that held him off the ground. "What is this?!? You laid a trap? Are you kidding me? This isn't fair you set this up beforehand!"
"Yes I did set this up, in fact I set it up last week to allow nature to disguise the traps a little better."
Kameko was the first to question him. "Traps sensei?"
"Yes, I have set up multiple traps to hinder each and every action you genin take. Only by working together will you succeed in getting to me, let alone getting out of the grounds unscathed. As to your unfair comment Mr. Shonji, in a real battle there is no such thing as fair." He cleared his throat and started pacing as though he was teaching his class once again. "In school you were all taught that the puny ninja with no skill could beat the most powerful kage of the five villages if the kage was being foolhardy and obnoxious. However, whether it is the Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage, Kazekage, or Hokage, they will never underestimate their opponents and they will never, ever, ignore their surroundings. They will look for that misplaced flower, or that rotten piece of fallen fruit, they will look for the bent branch and which side the moss on a tree's trunk is growing. You as genin need to work together to spot inaccuracies, spot the traps that lay blindly in the open or you will die at the hands of your enemies." He pulled out a kunai and walked over the net that had trapped the boy and began to cut him loose. "Now Mr. Shonji, shall we try again?"
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Mrs. Haruno sat in the easy chair humming to herself as she read the paper given out each day courteously by the villages administration, oblivious to the activity quietly going on outside the window.
Quietly he slipped past the window and started to climb carefully up the wall so as not to startle any animal or human within ear shot. This was where those few months in the ANBU really came in handy, he was now able to go almost anywhere, anytime without being seen, heard, or sensed. These were traits that had not only kept him alive, but kept his entire unit from having any casualties for the entire time he was a member. He took a deep breath and grasped the windowsill, grunting he used what strength he had to easily lift himself up and through the window.
He sighed and scanned his surroundings. The familiar scent that was her sweet smelling aroma permeated around the room. This wasn't the first time he'd been here, but it had definitely been a long time since he been here, so long in fact that he was nowhere near prepared for what he heard next.
"Mo-momma…"
Frozen in place he slowly turned his head to the left and was greeted by a little girl standing at the edge of her crib just staring at Naruto with a look of curiosity. "uhm…hi?"
The girl started to laugh as she bounced up and down in her crib. "Nato!"
With the quickness any father would show, he rushed to the crib shhing her to the best of his ability. The last thing he wanted was to be exposed by the very daughter he had never actually seen…he put a hand on her head and stared longingly at her for the first time.....