Chapter 3
"Ok, Naruto... Let's call it quits for the night."
Out in the woods near Konoha, Naruto and Jiraiya finished a training session.
At Naruto's request, Jiraiya continued to teach him 'cool ninjutsu'... mainly as an artifice to keep him under watch, AND to ensure that he would be strong enough in case Akatsuki made their move.
Of course, it helped that Naruto had finally slain his traitorous teammate three days before.
So, Jiraiya woke Naruto up each morning, took him out to the woods, and continued to train him.
Jiraiya was more then a little impressed by Naruto's dedication to improving himself, though that was balanced out with his constant demanding to be taught 'cool jutsus'.
This time, though... Naruto had managed to exhaust himself a little bit earlier then usual. They HAD been working on a more advanced chakra control exercise, one that would, if mastered, probably let Naruto create half again as many Kage Bunshin then he already could.
"Come on, Ero-sennin! We still have some more daylight... Teach me something else!"
"You're too tired to learn any ninja skill right now, idiot! You need to rest to regain some chakra!"
Naruto's desire to learn pushed Jiraiya to his wits end, to be honest. If it wasn't for a combination of factors, Jiraiya would probably have already left to go peeping. Dealing with Naruto when he wasn't actually teaching him something was very frustrating.
Besides... For his latest book, Jiraiya wanted Naruto to spend some time doing something OTHER then training, just so he could observe the kid interact with that Tenten girl.
Something that Naruto always looked confused about whenever Jiraiya brought it up.
"Well, teach me something else! I just need to learn something to make me cooler then Sasuke!"
'He still needs to be 'cooler then Sasuke'? Didn't he take out one of the most dangerous ninja in the world? Jeez... What could he possibly be competing with the little Uchiha over?'
The stupid argument continued a little bit longer, as Jiraiya weighed his options.
'I can't really teach him how to peep... He'd just ruin it for me and rat me out or something. But what else could I show him that would shut him up?'
"Fine, fine... Let me look through my pack and see if I have anything else to teach you. I wasn't planning on anything like this, so don't get your hopes up."
Stalling to give himself time to think, Jiraiya began pawing through some stuff he carried around with him.
He didn't carry much around, just useful supplies and a few trinkets from his youth.
'Heh... The panties of the daughter of the Fire daimyo... The mailing address to the Wind Daimyo's sister... The deck of cards that we used when me and Orochimaru finally convinced Tsunade to play strip poker... Hmm... That could work.'
A metaphorical light bulb appeared over Jiraiya's head. Teaching Naruto to gamble would both keep the kid occupied, as well as giving him another opportunity to empty out the boy's wallet.
Plus, it might even shut him up for a bit.
Jiraiya, having a game plan, turned around to face Naruto.
"Seeing as you're too tired to work out anything physically... I'll teach ya a more mental game. It'll help you hone your lie detection skills, you're own ability to lie... And chicks dig guys who are good at poker. So, uh, I guess that qualifies it as being really cool.
"I'm gonna teach you how to play Poker."
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"Kakashi, I'm telling ya, he's a natural! I've never seen anyone as lucky as him! Hell, last night alone caused me to have to teach him 5 new 'kickass jutsus', as well as 15 meals at Ichiraku! And you've seen how much he eats!"
The next day, Jiraiya had sought out Kakashi, to talk with him about Naruto's absurd gambling luck.
Jiraiya, after explaining the basic rules of poker, taught Naruto a common version of Hold 'em poker.
And proceeded to get his ass handed to him.
Every hand where Jiraiya thought he might have something, Naruto had him beat.
Hell, he had never seen anyone actually get a Royal Flush without cheating before... And Naruto got TWO of them last night alone!
Either Naruto was the luckiest kid around, or the best person Jiraiya had ever met at slight of hand.
"While that's nice and all, Jiraiya... You aren't really well known for your amazing gambling skills yourself. You're no Tsunade or anything... But you aren't that great. And why are you telling me this all again?"
Kakashi, though... Kakashi didn't believe it.
Kakashi was a fan of card games himself, as many ninjas were. It was a way to test essential ninja skills without actually putting yourself in a life-threatening situation.
Also, you could pretty easily supplement your income if you were good enough.
And Kakashi was more then good enough. He was among the best of the Jounin, only consistently losing to a few of the Torture and Interrogation people. But nobody beat them, except for Yamanakas. And frankly, its harder for them NOT to cheat when it comes to games like poker.
"Because I want to take him with me to Tanzuki Gai and win me some money, that's why!"
"Not happening, Jiraiya... You know who's after him. You know the risks. I don't think it could possibly be worth it to do this."
Jiraya was not so easily dissuaded, though. He KNEW this would be a good idea. It would give him nice filler work for his story, for what Naruto did in his off time, as well as gave him a large chance of making money. Just sponsor the boy by paying for his games, and reap the rewards.
The plan practically couldn't fail.
But the Hokage had told him that he would need Kakashi's permission to take his genin out. So first... He had to convince Kakashi that this was a good idea.
Jiraiya, eyes gleaming and mouth smirking, offered unto Kakashi a challenge he could not refuse.
"How about this, then... You and Naruto play some poker. If he wins, you let me take him out to gamble with. If YOU win... I'll send you preview copies of the next Icha Icha that comes out."
As Jiraiya started his offer, Kakashi frowned. It was practically giving up right there, having a boy who practically wore his heart on his sleeve go up against a man who NEVER showed any of his real emotions in a game based heavily on reading people? Hell, Kakashi knew that Naruto would never have the head for the math required to be good at the game without reading people. This was like sticking a fish in a barrel, and telling Kakashi to shoot it.
But then... Jiraiya baited his hook.
And Kakashi didn't even think that maybe HE was the fish waiting to be caught. Because there was no way he would turn down the chance for free Icha Icha.
"DEAL!"
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The scene was a strange one, at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.
Sitting at a table that was set out in front of the bar were Kakashi and Naruto.
Surrounding the two were Sakura and Sasuke, Jiraiya, and numerous villagers who were enjoying the spectacle.
Most in the audience were stunned. Sasuke didn't even pretend to hide it, standing behind Kakashi with his mouth gaping open.
He hadn't moved in the past five minutes.
Sakura, on the other hand, was standing behind Naruto. Hell, she was actually cheering him on! She was happy to see Kakashi finally getting payback for all those times he was late! And, while she wouldn't admit it... She was happy that Naruto was the one making him pay.
Naruto's face was glowing with pleasure, as he counted out another stack of chips that just became his. Not only were the villagers cheering him on, not only was Jiraiya praising him... But Sakura was cheering! For him! This was pretty much one of the best days of his life!
"Well, Kakashi-sensei? Ready to admit defeat?"
"NEVER! Shit... What can I put up for chips, though?"
Kakashi was stumped. There was no way this was happening. No effing way.
The game was going pretty poorly for Kakashi... Naruto had about 4/5 of the chips, as well as a paper that guaranteed him training until mastery of form and shape manipulation.
He wasn't going to lose the match to a genin, much less one with as little emotional control as Naruto. His pride refused it!
The next hand was dealt out, and Kakashi put up the ante, which took up most of the rest of his chips. So, if he wanted to win... He needed to bring something else to the table.
'I refuse to put up my Icha Icha, on the off chance I don't win this all back! But I need this money... I don't get a paycheck until next Tuesday! Shit, what do I have that Naruto might want? There's always dad's-'
"How about putting up a day without your mask for one stack of these chips?"
Kakashi reached a decision. If Gai couldn't get him to take off his mask, no one could.
However... You had to be a blind idiot not to see what Naruto was up to lately.
He was actually incredibly proud of Naruto, who seemed to finally move on from his old crush, to a new one. Even more so, he showed his affection in true ninja fashion- Killing absurdly overpowered ninjas, taking their swords, and giving them to his One True Love.
The fact that Jiraiya had already announced that he was going to turn it into the next volume of Icha Icha didn't have anything to do with it. Nope. None at all.
So... That left Kakashi with an option to put on the table something he, frankly, didn't care that much about to begin with.
But it was something that Naruto would probably put great stock into.
And, seeing his hand against what had just come out on the flop, Kakashi felt it was worth the risk.
"... No. Not happening, Naruto. But how about this?"
Even as Kakashi began speaking, new people arrived at the game.
The crowd had been slowly growing the whole time, with new people arriving every hand. Teams 8 and 10 were already there with their jounin, though Kurenai was more then a little put out to be present. She had been working on drying out Hinata, and removing her new addiction from her system, and she just knew that anything involving Naruto would cause Hinata to backslide.
However... A new team had arrived on the scene. Team Gai just showed up, because anyone beating his Eternal Rival merited as 'something to see' to Gai.
And they arrived to hear Kakashi say something quite extraordinary.
"I'll place my father's old Chakra Blade, repaired and all, on the table, in return for everything else in the game thus far."
The crowd immediately hushed. The White Fang's chakra blade? That was one of the signatures of the Konoha of days past!
The crowd began whispering, about the possibility of Naruto gaining ANOTHER legendary sword.
Jiraiya was silently praying, thanking God above for his student's absurd luck.
Icha Icha Swords practically wrote itself, damnit!
"Ok! Whatcha got?"
Tenten's heart stopped.
Everyone in Konoha knew who Kakashi's dad was. He was a legend, equal to that of the Sannin. And one of the most incredible things about him was his white chakra fang, one of the two strongest swords to ever come out of Konoha.
Naturally, as she arrived, all the villagers started whispering, and quietly moved out of her way, letting her (and her team) approach the gamblers unobstructed.
Tenten didn't pay it much mind, as she was too caught up in the game. But her team, the other teams, and the villagers thought that she was up in the clouds for a different reason.
"Heh... This game is mine, Naruto. Full House, Queens over Jacks."
Tenten's head dropped. Even if Naruto didn't give the sword to her, she'd have loved to at least see it.
The whole of the audience noticeably sighed. It seemed as if Naruto wouldn't have another gift for his beloved... It was a sad day for romantics everywhere.
"Hehe... You better get to reforging it, Kakashi-sensei. Straight flush to the 9, in hearts."
The audience immediately picked back up, and there was much applause from the crowd. Naruto looked up, finally noticing all the people there. He had been too intent on the game to really notice just how many people were watching.
Planning on looking for Sakura, to show her how cool he was with his Mad Card Playing Skills, Naruto instead saw someone else.
Directly in the front of him stood Tenten, who's face had gone pale after hearing Naruto gain ANOTHER legendary sword. Naruto, remembering the fact that he didn't actually know HOW to use a sword, much less a legendary chakra blade, decided to approach her, and offer her another one.
"Oh, hi Tenten! Didja hear? I just won-"
Before he could say anything, Tenten swooned, passing out right into Naruto's arms.
Somehow completely missing half the crowd 'awing' or cooing, Naruto turned to Gai, wondering what was wrong with the girl.
"Uh... What's going on? What happened to her?"
"The moment must of just gotten to her, Naruto-kun! Why don't you just take her someplace to rest?"
Wondering at what the heck Gai was winking so much about, Naruto decided that it was probably a good idea to get her away from all these people, and walked off with Tenten, carrying the girl bridal style.
Jiraiya walked over to Kakashi, who was still sitting at the table, head in his hands.
"Well... It looks like I'll be taking the kid on over to Tanzuki Gai now. You better get on fixing that chakra blade, eh? But... Seeing how upset ya are, I'll still send ya previews of my next chapters, alright?"
Even as Kakashi bucked up, and Naruto wandered away... Sakura stood in the shadows, growling frustrated to herself.
And she completely refused to admit to herself why.
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Naruto decided to take Tenten out to one of the training grounds that Team 7 used, to give her some fresh air and time to awaken and compose herself. After all, she must be pretty embarrassed, fainting in front of all those people.
So he placed her leaning against a tree, and sat on the ground, waiting for her to wake up.
Five minutes later, Tenten awoke. Naruto had ceased to pay attention to her, instead turning to one of the chakra control meditation techniques Jiraiya had taught him the day before.
"Hello... Naruto."
Tenten, having thought about a moment similar to this for a while now, found herself completely without words. She just didn't know what to say. Luckily, Naruto was both clueless enough not to notice, and talkative enough to fill in the silence.
"Oh, hiya Tenten! Awake now, eh? Yeah, Gai-sensei said to take you somewhere else when ya fainted back there. So, is everything better?"
"Yeah... yeah it is, Naruto. So, uh..."
Tenten had wanted to know more about her surprising benefactor. It seemed appropriate, what with his odd way of courting her. But now that he was actually there with her... She couldn't think of anything to say.
But... There was one thing that was bothering her that she wanted to double-check...
"Naruto... Was that Jiraiya of the Sannin standing behind you before?"
"Yeah! He's been training me for the past month or so. He's a good teacher, once ya get past his massive perversion."
"Has he... introduced you to the other Sannin, Tsunade?"
It was fact that there were more male ninja then female ninja. The disparity grew larger and larger the higher the rank went, from the 2-1 ratio of male/female genin, to the 30-1 male/female jounin.
This didn't give little kunoichi that many people to look up to.
However, this was assuaged by the existence of Tsunade, a woman who managed to be both a kickass fighter and the world's best healer at the same time. Little girls who wanted to be either profession could look up to her with ease.
Tenten was no exception. Seeing few female role-models, and having even fewer NORMAL male ones... Tenten had stuck to her desire to be like, no... To be BETTER then Tsunade. It wasn't likely, sure... But it gave her a good yardstick to measure her progress against.
"Nope! Though, err... I killed the other one, the other day; I haven't met Ero-sennin's third teammate yet. Why?"
"Oh, no reason, I guess. So, uhh... Anything you want to talk about?"
Naruto was a little confused. There seemed to be more to that statement then there was... But damned if he knew what.
Before he could say anything in reply, though, Tenten continued.
"You know, I've been wondering. Why me? Why did you choose me? I mean, it's not like we even know each other, you know?"
Tenten meant the statement one way. Naruto took it to mean something else.
"Well... When I received Zabuza's sword... He told me that a sword should always be used. And, well... Kakashi-sensei told me that it would take too much time to train myself in Kenjutsu, and that I wouldn't be able to also master Ninjutsu at the same time. So, I decided to look for someone that used swords, and would be worthy of wielding Zabuza's weapon. And I found you."
'That... That's pretty much as unromantic as you can get. But then again, his idea of romance is giving a girl giant bladed weapons, so maybe it can be forgiven a little.'
But something in what he said bothered Tenten.
"Well... Maybe I can help you with learning how to fight with swords? Your teacher was exaggerating a bit... Learning to fight swords doesn't take THAT long. Mastering it might, but the basics don't. It would give us a chance to get to know each other a bit, and maybe see if this would all work out?"
Tenten quickly turned away, blushing at seeming so forward. To her, she had pretty much stated her acceptance of Naruto's courting, to see where it could possibly go.
If she had kept looking at Naruto, she would have seen his face grow incredibly confused, as he turned her statement over in his head.
Not really following most of it, he latched onto the parts of it that made sense.
"Sure! That sounds great! I even just got a new sword... You'll teach me how to use Kakashi's Dad's chakra blade?"
"Yeah... That sounds good."
Naruto was elated. The more people who taught him stuff like that, the cooler ninja he would be! If his current rate of learning how to be awesome continued, he'd practically be Hokage in a year or two!
"Well, Ero-sennin wants to take me out on a trip to some nearby village or something... But when we get back, you'll be the first person I look up, ok?"
The two, finishing their chat, didn't even notice the several observers.
The obvious person to be watching was Jiraiya, who was quietly taking notes on their conversation, planning on working it into the dialogue of the book.
The rest of Team Gai was nearby, ready to appear and kick Naruto's ass if he said anything to hurt Tenten, or did anything inappropriate.
And finally, there was both Hinata and Sakura, there to make sure that Tenten did nothing inappropriate to Naruto. Sakura wasn't sure why she cared so much, but she justified it to herself as she had to watch out for her 'clueless teammate', and to keep him away from evil women who would steal his heart and then walk away.
Maybe someday soon she'd be ready to admit to herself that she wished Sasuke would give HER legendary weaponry... But not yet.
Hinata… Hinata just hung her head. Kurenai be damned, she needed another drink!
Author's Notes: Well… Someone put up the good idea that a way for Tenten and Naruto to bond is if Tenten taught him how to use a sword. There will be many hilarious rumors abounding, once word gets out that Tenten is teaching him the proper use of 'his sword'.
This sets up nicely for the next chapter, which should be fairly obvious in what the basic premise will be. Some other stuff might happen… But that's pretty much it.
Sakura is reaching the breaking point of her temper… But what she's so angry about, and how she will react… She has no clue.
Hinata? She's just here for the hilariously cute image I have in my head of what a drunken Hinata would look like. I am by no means a fan of any particular girl in the series (and if I was to choose any match up as my favorite, it wouldn't be Naruto/Hinata)… But out of all the girls, she'd have to be the one that ended up being the most adorable drunk. She'll play a larger part down the road, though. Maybe Temari will, too, but I'm not sure how that will go down.
Note that this will NEVER crossover with another series to bring in alternate super swords, or anything like that.