To those who were saying, "you know Tobi isn't Madara", and the like, I know that, but when this story was started it was thought that he was. He is, in a sense, but he isn't the actual Madara Uchiha. Who is he really, no one knows, but we will find out eventually. For now, he is Madara in this story, but will be introduced as Tobi later, just like in the canon.
Chapter 18: Dealing with the Fallout
Inoshi knew as soon as he locked eyes with her, that she was in trouble. The three ANBU members standing at every escape point in the room were only a stronger confirmation of that. And even though he was dressed in a hospital gown, and in a hospital bed coughing as Lady Shizune gently rubbed his back, his glare was still unnerving her for reasons her conscious mind couldn't work out. In his eyes was a predator that seemed to lurk, simply waiting for her to make a wrong move so he could tear into her throat and devour her lifeless body.
He frightened her… and she didn't like it…
"You intentionally disobeyed my orders." Naruto said sternly, though the coughing fit was making it hard on him to be an imposing figure. His irritation at the woman before him (having taken her mask as soon as she walked in) made his chakra flare up, and since his chakra was not at it's best, it was hard on him to function with it.
"I-I'm s-sorry?" Inoshi said, not really seeing when she had disobeyed him… Well, she knew she had, but who had told him and why?
"Don't play games with me, Inoshi Hirako! You directly and willfully disobeyed my orders of staying out of sight, and letting Sasuke deal with his own mentality! I said for you not to allow him to know of your presence! And what do you do? You make sure that both Tora and Ox have gone out to fulfill my orders to secure the village while you have a nice little chat with Sasuke." Naruto said as Shizune gave him some forms to fill out.
"Yes, but it worked! His resolve and loyalty to the village and you are concrete now." Inoshi said, defending her choice to disobey him.
"But that wasn't your choice to make! What if you had only drove him into insanity with that? What if he wanted revenge or something?" Naruto snapped as Inoshi crossed her arms and glared at him.
"So it was your choice, then? The Sasuke I know would have never let something like the truth drive him toward something so stupid!" Inoshi shot back as Naruto glared right back at her.
"That's just it! You don't know Sasuke! You've watched him by himself for over seven years, but you don't know him! You don't know what's in his heart! If you really knew Sasuke then you would have known that he has revenge issues!" Naruto shouted hotly as everyone one was stunned into silence by his last statement.
"Umm… revenge issues?" Inoshi said, blanking her eyes as she tried to comprehend.
"See what I mean? You don't know him! But I do. Sasuke is a true nutcase, right down to his little emo core. If he's not plotting revenge on something, then he's sulking about how no one understands his "pain". This is why I told you not to interfere with him, because now he's gonna have to go back to Inoichi Yamanaka for counseling! This is the squirrel plot all over again!" Naruto said, complaining more to himself than the other five people in the room.
"Wait, I remember something about squirrels. He came home one day and added squirrels to his hate list about three years ago." Inoshi said as Naruto shook his head.
"That isn't just a hate list, you ignorant girl. That list is comprised of all the people, things, and creatures Sasuke wishes to seek revenge on and kill." Naruto said in a condescending tone, as if talking to a child.
"Ohh… so that's why Itachi's name has sparkles, hearts, and designs all by it…" Inoshi said, feeling a little stupid in the fact that she hadn't worked that out.
"See what I'm talking about. You don't know that crazy little ball of hate and vengeance. You heard him cry to himself, or mutter words of hate and whatnot, but you don't really know what's inside of him. Sure he probably has a few little secrets that you know, but I know all of them. It's me he talks to. It's me that he feels that most comfortable with. You're just like… his crazy ex-girlfriend that stalks him even though you both love each other." Naruto said as Inoshi's eyebrow twitched. She was really getting fed up with being talked down to by this brat, and she finally had enough.
"Listen to me, you too short little bastard! I don't need your tone, and I damn well don't need you telling me how to do my job!" Inoshi yelled aloud as Shizune gasped, and Jiraiya's eyes hardened as the ANBU held their weapons at the ready. Naruto shook his head as he kept his gaze on Inoshi.
"I've had it up to twice your height with you! All I here is about how much you accomplished, or how you've protected this village! Well I don't give a fuck! You're not the only one that's protected the village! You're not the only one to accomplish things! You're not the only orphan to grow up and be recognized!" Inoshi shouted as tears welt up in her eyes. Naruto cocked an eyebrow but didn't move a muscle as she went on. He had no clue where this was coming from, but he figured it was best to let her get it all out.
"All the damn attention the Third Hokage gave you! And for what? Supposedly treating you like everyone else while he took you out for ramen? That's bullshit! All of us watched you walk by, him holding your little hand while he took you out for meals while we were stuck inside an orphanage watching. Why didn't we get to be around him? Oh sure he would visit, but do what? Say hello to each of us, talk to us, and play with us, but that was twice a year; if we were lucky!"
"He took to you like you were his own family, but the rest of us got nothing. He kept you protected from the worst of life, while we got beaten in an alley just for being orphans. At least you have an excuse for the crap you faced!" Inoshi said as she broke down and cried for the first time in seven years.
"Why were we beaten, huh? Because our families died? Because we were left with nothing? You always used to say that you had nothing, and no one, but you did. You had the one person all of us wanted to have; Grandpa Sarutobi. Yeah, that's what we called him. He was our only family because he treated us all the same and loved us like his own grandkids… but you; you were always his favorite grandchild. It was always about little Naruto; from birth to now. He'd always have to break time with us in order to get you some food, or get you to a hospital. We never got a walk to the hospital while he held our hand, all we got were bandages from the matron of our orphanage."
"Then we grew up. Most of us were already older than you, but that didn't matter; we were all still jealous. Most of us had trained everyday to become ninja, and we did; all of us. You may know some of us; like Iruka, Tenten, and little Ami from your class. I rose above all of them though. I strived to become the best, and I did! I trained until my hands bled, and became an Anbu Black Op ten years ago. And guess what? He was so proud of me. He told me that he saw greatness in me, and that I would achieve it. I'd never forget the smile on his face when he told me that he said that he was proud to call me family. I almost cried, but I didn't. He hugged me and told me that now I was among the best." Inoshi said, drying her tears with the backs of her hands. She remembered it all like it was yesterday…
"Then it came; he received a message that you had been almost kidnapped by the Hidden Cloud again. He rushed out of the room after handing me my mask with the Anbu. I was once again reminded that no matter what I did I, and all the others, would only be second best to Naruto Uzumaki." Inoshi said, glaring up at Naruto, whose face was hidden behind his bangs.
"I trained and trained for two years, perfecting my Earth element until no one could beat me in it; not even Kakashi-senpai back then. I had surpassed them all, and you know what; I gained the Boar-mask of the Anbu. He handed it to me, and told me again how he had been so proud. I forgot how bitter at you I was, and basked in his praise. You didn't cause trouble that day though."
"My first real assignment was watching over Sasuke Uchiha three times a week. At first I had thought I was cheap ended, but it turned out to be better than I thought. Then came the real shit-storm; your last two Academy years. He would always be found behind his desk grumbling about how you weren't graduating and finally I grew fed up with it and told him to stop griping and do something about it. He turned to me, and said how he couldn't, how you were supposed to pass or fail on your own two feet. I wanted to yell at him about your younger years, but didn't. When you stole the scroll the first thing he was worried for was you. When you were tested by Kakashi; you. When you went on your Wave mission; you! When you entered the Chunin Exams; you! During the month-long reprieve; you! You were always at the top of his concernment list! It was always you, dammit!" Inoshi said, her voice getting louder as she reflected on those times. Naruto still hadn't moved, but the silent tears that ran down his face and landed on his hospital bed sheets were evident of his emotional state.
"Why? Why did he care about you so damn much? Was it the fox, or was it something else? What made him so proud of you when you accomplished the Shadow Clone Jutsu? What made him smile like he did when you came back from Wave with a bridge named after you? What made him so peaceful when he watched you win in the Chunin Exam finals against that Hyuga kid? What, dammit, what?" Inoshi said, breaking into sobs as she sat on the floor. She hadn't cried in seven years, and that last time was when a small orphan had asked her why Naruto was being taken to Ichiraku's by the Hokage.
That was one of the worst days of her life as she watched the sorrow fall on the little girl as she explained "the norm" to her…
"… You really miss him, don't you?" Naruto said in a hoarse voice as he finally looked up at her, showing his tear stained face as he thought about the Old Man.
Inoshi moved quick, and had him up by the scruff of his shirt's collar while she glared into his eyes.
"How dare you? You don't even deserve to speak about him, and you didn't deserve his attention! He was the best human being I had ever met, and he was the only thing of a grandfather all of us had! You were a worthless, moronic, simpleton that didn't deserve to breath the same air as his kindness and companion! You were so disrespectful, and still are! You don't deserve the same title he held, and you didn't deserve his praise! You don't deserve anything, you ungrateful, immature, bastard!" Inoshi yelled in Naruto's face as she breathed heavily. Naruto only turned his face from her, as if looking into the very past itself as his face turned saddened one second and somber the next.
"He was great, and you're right; I didn't deserve any of it. I was such a little punk back then. But you were wrong about a lot of things. I didn't get time with him as much you thought. I only saw him once a month. I never got an orphanage with other kids. Since I was old enough to remember I've been at the same apartment. I was all alone there; with no one but him that one time out of the month. He'd talk to me about things, and then he'd leave. I did anything I could just to have a little more time with him. I begged, pleaded, and everything else I could thing of just to make him agree to me buying him a bowl of ramen. I would follow him out of my apartment, walk with him to the Tower. He'd hold my hand, and make me walk back… alone." Naruto said solemnly as he continued looking out at the memories as if they were displayed on the corner of the room. Everything was silent as heads bowed and tears fell in memory of the Third Hokage.
"He was the best person. Always so kind, so wise, and so companion. He always felt that we were all family, and tht he had to do what was best for the family. That's why I wasn't mad when I found out about everything. I realized that it was just his way of protecting me. I realized that in some way I didn't understand, he was not trying to be mean, but simply trying not to lay anymore burdens on my young shoulders. He was the best, and I was so stupid back then."
"You're right; I don't deserve the same title as him… But I have it." Naruto said, giving Inoshi a look of fire, "I have it, and I plan to live up to his greatness. I plan to surpass him someday, and I won't give up until I do. He was like a grandfather to me, and we were all his family. Now it's my job to take care of the family, because now I'm head of the house. I may not be him, but I will do my best. I am the Fifth Hokage, and I will protect our family." Naruto said, his once wavering voice filled solid with his determination and guts.
"You stupid little bastard! You're not him! You're not, and you never will be!" Inoshi shouted, dropping Naruto as he fell back to the bed while she dropped to her knees. He readied himself, and sat at the edge of the bed, taking her head into his lap and caressing her hair as she cried.
"I know I'm not, but I can try to fill the void… He was our grandpa, our Old Man, and we loved him. We only have each other and our memories of him left… Let me help fill the void he left, let me help ease the pain." Naruto said gently as he smoothed her long black hair.
"I hate you… H-He was my grandpa… and you took him away from me… f-from all of us… I-I hate you…" Inoshi said between sobs as she cried into him while he shushed her and patted her back.
"I know… I loved him too…"
"Okay, kids, we're done for the day." Kakashi said as he got up from behind the large desk and shut his book. Sakura closed the scroll she had stamped while Sasuke looked at the ninja who was with his Genin team. Sasuke gave them a shrug as the guy sighed.
"We never get any screen time…" the Jonin-sensei said as his kids hung their head while they walked out.
"Aww, I feel kinda sorry for Team 3. They're never mentioned or appear in any of these stories." Sakura said as she handed her rolled her scroll up and handed it to Iruka.
"Yeah, neither do Teams 2, 4, 5, or 6, but you don't hear them griping about it. Besides, they're in the games I think." Sasuke said as Kakashi reopened his book as he turned in the paperwork to Iruka.
"You could always give them your screen time, Sakura. If you feel so bad…" Kakashi said lazily as he flipped through pages.
"Oh Kami, no! I barely get any as it is, but enough of the Fourth Wall breaking, let's go see Naruto." Sakura said as Kakashi shook his head.
"Not now, kiddies. Naruto seems to be in a meeting of sorts, so it'd best for you two to get in some training and then hurry on home." Kakashi said as both his students gave him a look.
"You're not gonna train us." Sakura and Sasuke both said, the flat tone of their voices nearly forcing Kakashi to choke on the sarcasm from under his mask.
"That hurts you know. I taught both of you something. I gave Sasuke an entire month of individual training, and I taught you, Sakura, basic First-Aid. And I taught Naruto… Umm…"
"Yeah, you're a real inspiration, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura deadpanned as Sasuke gave her a look.
"You still call him Sensei. I've stopped that like, I don't know, after the Wave mission I guess." Sasuke said as Sakura looked appalled.
"But he's still our Sensei. Just a really half-assed one, Sasuke." Sakura said as Sasuke scoffed at her and her reasoning.
"Yeah, so why call him a Sensei then? If he's so half-assed? Besides, he doesn't mind. You don't have any problem with it; do you, Kakashi?" Sasuke said, turning to his mentor only to find that the man had gone to sit in the corner of the room where gloom lines hung over him in a depressing blue tone.
"I wish Naruto was here… At least he loves me, and I've never done anything for him, you two ungrateful little…" Kakashi muttered as Sasuke and Sakura watched him before blinking. Sasuke turned to Sakura with a raised brow as she shrugged.
"Wanna go get some food and then hang out?" Sakura suggested as Sasuke shrugged in return.
"Sounds better than this. But, just so you know, this isn't a date." Sasuke said as Sakura raised a pink brow.
"Who said it was, you emo-tastic pyromaniac." Sakura said with a cheeky grin as Sasuke gasped.
"That was supposed to be a secret." Sasuke whispered harshly into Sakura's ear, her giggling like a school girl as she ran from him.
"Get back here, you duo-personality pink-haired spawn of circus freaks!" Sasuke shouted as Sakura turned to look at him while she continued running.
"My gramps was an actor, and my insult was way better, Emo."
"I don't give a damn, Pinky!"
Hinata sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had just perfected her advanced chakra control exercises, and now she was going to work on creating her own Gentle-Fist technique. She had everything she needed for it's creation, and more. All she really need now was a relaxing spot to train… Maybe a hot spring or a waterfall…?
"Alright team, good work today. Tomorrow we'll be working on the advanced stealth tracking, so be sure to bring your packs." Kurenai said as she clapped her hands while approaching her team. Shino stooped his insects from engulfing Kiba while Akamaru barked from the sidelines.
"Kurenai-sensei, can we do a mission tomorrow instead of stealth training? I hate all the skulking around in the dark and stuff." Kiba whined as Shino sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose from over his sunglasses. Kurenai mirrored Shino's gesture as she gave Kiba a deadpan look while she shifted her weight to one leg before placing her hand on the hip of that leg.
"Remember when you asked how Naruto painted the Hokage mountain that day before the Genin Exams?" Kurenai asked rhetorically as Kiba nodded.
"Yeah…" Kiba replied like a lectured child as Kurenai waved her other hand about in a vague gesture.
"And remember how you asked how it was that Naruto out ran high-level ninja as an Academy student and Deadlast, and how he beat you in the Preliminaries?"
"Yeah…"
"Do you still want a mission?" Kurenai asked bluntly as Kiba shook his head while lowering it in shame.
"No, I want stealth training so I can give Naruto a wedgie for being cooler, and more awesome than me. And also for using actual ninja tactics in battle." Kiba said as if it was a rehearsed answer while he hung his head, Kurenai patting it.
"Good boy… here's a treat." Kurenai said, tossing a candy to Kiba and a doggie treat to Akamaru, who barked in gratitude for the treat.
"May I have a candy as well, Sensei?" Shino asked in monotone as Kurenai looked at him and Hinata.
"Here you go, Shino. Would you like one, Hinata?" Kurenai said, handing Shino a candy as Hinata shook her head.
"N-No thank y-you, Kurenai-sensei. I'm… w-well…" Hinata said meekly, mumbling her last part too low for them to hear.
"Sorry, didn't hear you. What did you say?" Kurenai said as Hinata began poking her index fingers together while a healthy blush covered her face..
"I'm k-kinda… on a… d-diet…" Hinata said shyly as Kurenai blinked, but didn't ask. Shino did the same, knowing that logically he'd get his ass kicked by both female members of his team if he did.
It was only too bad Kiba didn't understand girls nor logic of that level…
"Huh? Why diet? You're not that fat. I mean, I guess we can all stand to lose some weight, but your not the fattest of us. That'd be Kurenai-sensei, but I think- Umm, guys… w-why are you coming at me like that? W-What did I say? G-Guys… come on, guys! Oh Kami! Shino, not the bugs! Ow! Hinata don't jab you're fingers there! Kurenai-sensei…? Wait, w-where am I? Oh Kami, no! No more Gai-sensei in bikini doing squat thrusts! The horror!"
Kiba learned a valuable lesson that day… Never speak to anyone about their weight ever again…
"Did you guys hear that?" Tenten asked as she pet the Tora cat while Neji folded his arms and nodded.
"I felt that, Tenten. Someone was just subjected to horrors… unimaginable." Neji said sagely as Tenten gave him a look while Lee and Gai came up to them.
"Okay my wonderful team, we have completed our mission! Let us return this friendly feline to it's owner and celebrate this wonderful day with some vigorous exercise! Yatta!" Gai said in his normal enthusiasm while Lee nodded animatedly, saluting his teacher with his crutches.
"Oh thank you, Gai-sensei! Perhaps we could even get in some mile long sprints! Yosh!" Lee yelled as Gai hugged him.
"Yatta!"
Yosh!
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Pupil!"
"Mentor!"
"Shut up! And Lee, what are you even doing out here? You're supposed to be confined to your room in the hospital. Lady Tsunade, and Naruto are both going to be angry with you if they find out you're gone." Tenten said as Gai sobered his expression upon hearing what she said. He gave Lee a stern look as he realized the boy was still in hospital garbs.
"She's right, my youthful student, you must return to the hospital. Tsunade-sama said that she'd have everything ready for your surgery in about a week, but you must stay in the hospital." Gai said, a more stern expression than they had ever seen him take when he spoke with Lee. Lee gulped as he lowered his head, but raised it again when he felt Gai's hand on his shoulder.
"Now Lee, this isn't for the sake of making you feel bad. It's a healing process. When your injuries occurred in the Chunin Exams, it was said that you'd never be a ninja again…" Gai said solemnly as Neji and Tenten gasped. They hadn't known his injuries were that serious.
"But now… Now the best and brightest healer in the world says you have a chance to get that back. A fifty-percent chance at that, but it's growing everyday as she works on your case. So, when she says that you must rest and relax, I expect you to follow her orders with as much enthusiasm as you would mine." Gai said, uses his order hand and grasping Lee's shoulders in a firm hold as he looked his student in the eyes.
"Rest and relaxation are as much apart of training as the exercise you put into it. Rest and relaxation are important, and this is one of those times where you need them most. Because now Lee, in order to keep your dream, your goal of becoming a splendid ninja; you must not train for it. You must stay in bed and relax the day away." Gai said, his voice speaking no nonsense as he shook Lee lightly while all three of his students looking at him in a new light.
"I… I think I u-understand, Gai-sensei…" Lee said, his voice wavering as his eyes downcast.
"Lee…" Neji began as all attention shifted to him.
"Listen Lee, I know that I haven't always been a good teammate, but thanks to Naruto-sama I wish to change that. You, Lee, are most determined and unyielding person I've ever known. You and Naruto-sama are two of the only people I look up to in that respect. So with that said, I will not sit idly by while your dream is in danger. I will help you achieve your dreams, lee, doing whatever I can to help; even if that means putting you in a hospital." Neji said, his voice never wavering as he looked at Lee with a determined expression.
Lee and the others looked at Neji as he spoke. They had never thought that his battle against Naruto would have that much of an effect on him, but they were happy for it all the same. Though they were slightly apprehensive when he said that he would "put Lee in a hospital".
"Umm… Neji?" Tenten said as Neji turned to her.
"What is it, Tenten?" Neji asked as Lee and Gai exchanged looks of uncertainty.
"That last line… about putting Lee in a hospital… What did you mean by that?" Tenten asked, uncharacteristically meek for her as Neji blinked.
"I meant just what I said, Tenten. I don't see anything wrong with that." Neji said as they began walking back to the Hokage Tower, which just so happened to be located near the hospital.
"Yes, Neji, but you must admit that your statement was a little ambiguous." Gai said with his arms crossed as he gazed over to his eldest student.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I merely expressed my wanting to help Lee. I don't see any ambiguity to it." Neji stated as he gazed at Tenten, Lee, and Gai.
"Well, yes you did, but you see, your words having a double interpretation to them. One could take what you said and interpret it as you wanting to do harm to Lee, and physically put him in a hospital." Gai said, explaining what they thought to Neji, who only smirked as he walked ahead of them.
"As I said, I see no ambiguity about it. I meant what I said, and there was no misreading it." Neji said smugly, as the others stopped in their tracks watching Neji go off without them in a confident stride.
"Did he just…" Tenten said, trailing off as she and the taijutsu duo exchanged looks.
"I think he did…" Lee said, his mouth a gape as he rubbed his arm in the spot Neji had lasted punched him. That had hurt, and he was sure that if he didn't make it back to the hospital before Neji, he'd be getting many more slugs to the arm.
"Gotta go!" lee shouted as he blazed down the street, passing Neji as he sheer anime-speed kicked up dust in his wake. Neji chuckled as he watched Lee burn through the streets to get back to his hospital room.
"Works every time…"
"… and that's why Kunoichi Hina is a much better singer than Lady Shika." Asuma explained as Ino scoffed.
"Yeah, but at least Lady Shika is an actual woman." Ino said as she did a sassy hair flip.
"Sure… but can she actually sing?" Shikamaru said lazily s he raised a brow. Ino only crossed her arms in a huff while Choji did push-ups with Shikamaru on his back. He was sweating worse than a pig around wolves as he looked to his Jonin-sensei.
"Asuma-sensei… c-can I… Can I stop now?" Choji begged as Asuma glanced at him lazily while Shikamaru yawned on his back.
"How many, Shika?" Asuma asked as Shikamaru shrugged.
"So far… seven." Shikamaru said as Choji dropped in a heap.
"Good work, Cho. That's one more than yesterday! Now, if you can do three more we'll go get you some dango and rd bean soup." Asuma said as he took out his pack of smokes, taking a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it.
"Should I even bother to point out how counter-productive you are as our Sensei?" Ino said as Asuma turned to her, blowing a cloud of smoke into her face.
"Hasn't stopped you the last 375 times, so why would it now?" Asuma said as Ino got up in a huff. She reached over and took his cigarette from him, throwing it into the near by river as she dusted off her skirt and stomped off.
"Umm… dismissed…?" Asuma said, not really sure how to respond to a woman taking his smokes that wasn't Kurenai. If Kurenai ever took his smokes, he could just sex her up in any random place that she did, however, Ino wasn't anywhere near Kurenai-level…
And then there was the fact Kurenai didn't like it the one and only time he had tried to sleep around with a younger woman. It was a shame no one else remembered Ikaria… she had been such a beauty…
"Hello Naruto, feeling any bet-… Okay, what the hell is going on? It's like the new season of the Mai Suriname show in here." Tsunade said as she walked in with her lab-coat on and her clipboard and pen in hand.
Tsunade looked around Naruto's private room, which a week ago had been redesigned to be his Hokage room, only to see four ANBU, Jiraiya, Shizune,. And most importantly Naruto all around the young blond Kage's bed while he was speaking. She could see that all of them had been crying more or less (even the ANBU with their garbs stained with tears) as she moved into the room and shut the door behind her.
"Oh… Hey, Tsunade. We were just having a… memorial of sorts." Jiraiya said as he blew his nose into a handkerchief comically. Tsunade shot him a look before she turned the irate expression to Naruto.
"What the hell is all this? Why are you making Anbu ninja cry? This is a hospital, not a re-run of The Young and the Ninja!" Tsunade shouted as Naruto winced at her volume.
"We were just sharing a few stories about the Old Man. He was… he was like a grandfather to me…" Naruto said, lowering his head as his voice took on a solemn tone.
"And me…" three of the ANBU, mainly the one in his lap crying, said in unison.
"A father to me…" Jiraiya said in an uncharacteristic tone of sadness.
"And me…" Bird said as he lowered his head like all the others in the room.
"I never even got to really know him…" Shizune said as Tsunade raised a blonde brow while she took in the solemn faces of the occupants. It was like a funeral had taken place and they were all getting in their "post-funeral" drinks while they remembered the dead guy that started their bender.
"Well, I need to check on Naruto's health, so umm… Get the hell out!" Tsunade said before shouting at them as they all ran out of the room. Naruto only shook his head while he watched the door close shut.
"We were kinda having a moment there." Naruto said as Tsunade scoffed.
"Yeah well, you shouldn't be depressing your ninja with pointless crap like that…" Tsunade said irritably, her voice a bit more somber than she would have liked.
"… What do you remember about him, Granny?" Naruto asked as Tsunade sighed while she raised his shirt and checked his heart rate.
"Ugh… I remember the first mission we had as a team. Back then there were no D-ranks, so we had real missions since peace was rare in those days. It was a joint mission with some other ninja of various ranks." Tsunade said as she wrote in her clipboard, never looking at Naruto directly. The past was the past, people died, she mentally chanted to herself as she wrote.
"We were to aid in retaking a village outpost from the Hidden Rock. Naturally, since we were just Fresh Genin, we were made to carry the supplies and other stuff like that. … Sensei gave us a useless lecture about how it'd benefit us in the long run, but I didn't pay attention. It was halfway through our mission that we were attacked. They made us take cover in a nearby cave while the real ninja did the fighting." Tsunade said as she checked various parts of Naruto ranging from his hearing to his reflexes.
"I'll never forget that moment. The smoke bombs and paper bombs going off. The kunai and shuriken whizzing through the air. Only one of them grazed Orochimaru's cheek and cut some of my hair. Jiraiya fell to the ground, and was squirming like a worm to get into the cave. I look back for a moment, and saw a sight I'd never forget." Tsunade said, her voice going from somber to wonder as she put herself into her memory.
"What was it?" Naruto asked with rapid curiosity.
"It was the look on Sarutobi-sensei's face…" a voice said as Naruto and Tsunade snapped to the door to see only Jiraiya leaning against the door-frame.
"Yeah… that was it… Sensei's face was one of pure outrage… and yet… untold sorrow. His look spoke volumes to his emotions in that one second. IT showed how he felt enraged from the attack and us being hurt… but also his sorrow for being made to take the lives of his enemies." Tsunade said as she sat at the edge of Naruto's bed while Jiraiya came into the room and stood at the end of the hospital bed.
"Sensei always did hate killing others. He would always ask himself why there was so much hate in a person's heart that would make them enjoy the destruction of others. He would always tell us to never judge a book by it's cover, or to never leap before looking. It was always a life lesson with that old monkey…" Jiraiya said as he leaned against Naruto's bed while Tsunade leaned her back onto him and sighed.
"This world is filled with the hate of it's past generations. One clan kills another, and so the survivors of that clan hate the first. They plan, they attack, and they kill the first clan. From there it breathes an endless cycle of hate within the hearts of shinobi the world over. The formation of the five great villages is only another testament to that hate. The division of our continent only brought us to the inevitable power struggle my grandfather and the ours said was coming…" Tsunade said, forgetting about Naruto's presence as she eased into Jiraiya's embrace.
"Yeah… Sarutobi-sensei did say that another Great Ninja War would be on the rise after the third one… I just hope he's wrong…" Jiraiya said as Tsunade sighed.
"You know he isn't… what with his absolute truth and all…" Tsunade said as Naruto decided to make his presence known once again. Those two geezers were getting a little too comfy with each other in front of him for his liking.
"Umm… what are you two talking about…?" Naruto asked as Tsunade and Jiraiya jumped in surprise. Remembering themselves, they straightened up and stood apart from one another as Tsunade went back to checking Naruto over.
"So… umm… how bad is it, huh?" Naruto said, trying to ease the tension in the room.
"Your physical health is perfect… like always… Now to check your chakra levels." Tsunade said as her palm began it's green glow. She had Naruto lift his shirt while she placed her palm to his stomach, the seal of the Kyuubi coming up as soon as she had.
"Hmm… interesting… hmm… hum, hmm… very interesting…" Tsunade muttered to herself, breaking from her exam to scribble notes every now and then while she looked from Naruto's face to his seal, "Does this seal cause any discomfort?" Tsunade asked as Naruto blinked in surprise.
"Umm… no." Naruto replied as Tsunade muttered to her and wrote in her clipboard.
"Do you ever feel it when it comes to surface, or when it fades back into itself?"
"No, not really."
"Do you ever feel like you're pulling charka from it, or your mind?"
"Both, I think. Most of the times when I use a lot of chakra I can feel it like a heat in my stomach, but some times it can feel like it's coming from my head." Naruto said, trying to explain the weird sensation of having two different chakras in himself.
"I see… understood. Well then, you're all good, brat. You're chakra is nearly back to it's nearly limitless amount, so you'll stay the rest of the day, and then be back to your place for tonight. Until I give the go-ahead don't use your chakra. The amount you used was too much a massive drain on you at once, so it was lucky you're still alive. Until it's been fully restored, you could experience any range of side-effects to using it. Hell, I've never studied a Jinchuriki before, so you might blow up for all we know." Tsunade said with a shrug as Naruto gaped at her.
"R-Really?" Naruto said with comically wide-eyes and horrified expression, kind of afraid if he could just suddenly blow up. Tsunade shrugged again as she glanced down at her clipboard before moving toward Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya… meet me later on in the Hidden Bottle tavern. We need a drink." Tsunade said as she walked passed Jiraiya and out the door. Jiraiya merely sighed as he looked at Naruto.
"One more night, kid, then it's back to real work, and the start of some real training." Jiraiya said as Naruto sighed aloud.
"Yeah, I know. Hey, can you give the Anbu this for me. Make sure you do it first thing before you go peeking in on girls." Naruto said as he hurriedly scribbled a note down and handed it to Jiraiya.
"Sure kid, I'll do just that." Jiraiya said as he disappeared out the window.
Naruto sighed as he let his upper body drop on the bed. He didn't want to dwell on the thoughts of the Old Man, but he found himself thinking back to all the good times they had together. Then he thought of all the other good people that had died. Like Haku, Zabuza, and Hayate Gekko. He wasn't sure he wanted to think about them either, since it drew his mind to the question of who would be next to die because of some madman or midget tyrant.
Naruto sat up in the bed and pounded his fist into the mattress. No, he wouldn't let another innocent pawn die just because some screwed up person thought that they were "in the way"! He was the Hokage now! He had the power! He… he…
Naruto flopped back onto the mattress as he thought about the Old Man again. The Old Man had been the Hokage too, but he had died and Orochimaru was still somewhere in the world scot-free!
"What did you die for, Old Man? What did you die for if that snake bastard is still running around free as a bird?" Naruto said as he gazed up at the white ceiling.
Mysterious wind blew through Naruto's window, and moved through the room as Naruto sat up. He glanced about as the wind moved around him, but for some reason; instead of being tense and on-guard, he felt at peace and comforted by this phenomenon.
"To protect the family with your life, that is what it means truly means to be Hokage…" Naruto heard as his eyes widened.
"Old Man…" Naruto whispered out as the wind moved out the window.
"Protect the village, Naruto… Protect the family…" the wind whispered to him as Naruto nodded, his determination and resolve strengthened to new levels.
"I will, Old Man! You hear me? I'll protect everyone!" Naruto shouted as the wind blew into the sky and past the Hokages' Mountain, the leaves that were dancing in it coming to rest on the face of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, before they scattered in the breeze of a new stronger wind.
Naruto gazed out the window in wonder as he looked upon the Hokage faces… Then he was truly in wonder when he found that half the village was in darkness while the other half were bathed in sunlight. He turned his head only slightly and his jaw dropped as he saw the enormous tree towering over the village like something straight out of a comic book.
"Heh, heh… I guess Yamato overdid it with my chakra, but still for him to make that is amazing.." Naruto said with a shrug as he tried to see over the tree, and found that he couldn't stretch himself out of the window enough to do so. In fact, he was pretty sure that the entire building wasn't tall enough for him to see over the tree. Hell, he wasn't sure anything in the village was tall enough to match the height of the gigantic plant-life that was now blocking out the sun on little more than half his village.
"Umm… okay… what do I do now?" Naruto asked himself as he went back over to his bed and sat at the edge of it.
He knew for a fact that he would have to tell the villagers (ninja and civilian alike) what went on that night. He knew that he'd have to deal with this Barrier Team that Jiraiya had informed him over, and inquire why they had allowed the Akatsuki into the village. Now that he thought about it, this was the second time they had let Akatsuki slip pass them!
He knew he'd have to recall Itachi to the village and have him meet with Sasuke. He knew it was a risk, but Sasuke and the village as a whole deserved closure and to know the full truth. Naruto slumped into his bed as he thought more about what needed to be done. He had to let the village know that Yamato had protected them. It was a given, and Naruto knew that the villagers would be lined up to get a glimpse at whoever got rid of the giant tree.
Oh, and he'd be dealing with Sakura and Neji soon, too…
A knock was heard at the door as Naruto filed his thoughts away for later.
"Come in." Naruto said as Shizune came in with a neatly folded set of clothes for him. They were a tailored set of orange and black clothes while a pair of black shinobi-sandals rested atop them.
Naruto gave Shizune a smile as she handed him his clothes.
"You're Kage robes are… Well… We all felt that you didn't need to wear those robes all the time, so a few of the kunoichi went out and bought you these with your money… And when we- I mean they saw just how much money you had… We- I mean they, kind of went crazy in the shopping. Though most of it was for you…" Shizune said with a light blush as she tried to explain. Naruto laughed good-naturedly, throwing back his head as Shizune blinked at him.
"Thanks, Shizune. I needed some new clothes anyway. I didn't have anything except my old jumpsuits, and those were too small. Besides, who cares if you all went a little crazy, my money is your money. Not all the time, though, but for the most part if you ever need anything, then feel free to ask." Naruto said as he grabbed the hems of his hospital gown. Shizune blushed lightly as she averted her eyes.
Shizune was a professional healer, now that her and Lady Tsunade were off the road, but while they were she didn't have much (barely any!) experience with the opposite gender. In fact, the first time she had ever seen a male more than half-naked was when Naruto had answered his hotel door in only a towel. While she had taken an odd job or two to heal people, Lady Tsunade had been surprisingly protective over her, healing any injuries that the males had while Shizune only worked with small children or women. If a man had been so hurt that it required the both of them, then Lady Tsunade would work on the "below waist" while she was forced to heal stomach and above.
Now that she was an actual doctor in an actual hospital, Lady Tsunade had made her the Assistant Director of the entire hospital, which was mostly paperwork and helping interns. Though, she had caught Lady Tsunade three days ago writing a slip to have her tested as a medic-ninja and Jonin of the village. Shizune could only wonder why the sudden change had come about, but she shook away those thoughts as Naruto was about to raise his gown.
"Umm… N-Naruto…" Shizune sputtered out, trying not to seem so embarrassed at the fact he was about to change in front of her. Naruto turned back to her with a confused look as he took in the sight of her slightly reddened face.
"Yeah, Shizune? What's up?" Naruto asked as she began to make vague gestures.
"W-Well, Naruto, it's just that you aren't supposed to c-change clothing in front of others. It's… umm… rude, ya know." Shizune said, trying to keep cool and seem more like the experienced and professional woman she normally was.
"Okay, you can go into the bathroom if you want…"
"That's not what I meant, Naruto!"
"Oh come on, Shizune, I'm thirteen years-old. You act like you've never seen a guy naked before." Naruto said without facing her. When his only answer was silence, Naruto turned back around and saw that Shizune's face was as red as a festival cherry. Naruto raised a brow at her strange behavior, but then the light bulb in his head lit up before he smirked at her devilishly.
"You've really never seen a guy naked, have you? Not even a kid like me? Ha, ha, ha!" Naruto asked before he busted into laughter at Shizune's defensive sputtering. How could a woman as good lookin' as her have never saw a man's privates before? Ha, it was so funny he couldn't stop laughing!
"Don't laugh at me! Lady Tsunade is a lot more overprotective in that respect than you think! She once broke a man's arm just from looking at me when I came out of a hot spring! Why do you think Lord Jiraiya doesn't perv on me like other women?" Shizune shouted in an embarrassed fury.
Naruto simmered down in his laughter as he actually thought about it, and found that Shizune might have been telling the truth. He couldn't really remember Jiraiya even thinking about Shizune in the wrong way, except by pairing him (Naruto) and her (Shizune) together for the old perv's books. He actually wondered why Jiraiya had never hit on Shizune, and now he had his answer. It… unnerved him somewhat on just how scary Granny Tsunade must have been to get even the Pervy Sage to not perv on Shizune.
"Wow… But you have at least been with someone before, right? I mean, you're too pretty not to have at least dated." Naruto said as Shizune blushed in both embarrassment for his question, and his unconscious compliment.
"Well, no, I've never dated. Lady Tsunade and I moved from town to town, never being in the same for any longer than a week. One time we were really bad in debt, so we had to take on disguises and new identities. She made me the old crone while she masqueraded as my beautiful teenaged daughter." Shizune admitted shyly as Naruto tried (and failed) to keep in his laughter.
"What is wrong with Granny? I mean, she trained you to be a doctor, and you haven't even seen a man nude before! She's goin' senile on us." Naruto said aloud as Shizune looked affronted.
"I-I've seen pictures in textbooks! I know more about the male body than you do!" Shizune said as Naruto looked at her in mocking disbelief.
"Yeah, and you're how old?" Naruto asked as Shizune took on the look from before. Naruto noted that Shizune looked like she had swallowed a lemon at him asking her age.
"You never ask a woman her age, Naruto!" Shizune reprimanded as Naruto frowned and folded his arms.
"Answer the question!" Naruto shot back as Shizune huffed.
"I'm 28, Naruto. More than half your own age. I left the village with Lady Tsunade when I was a thirteen year-old Chunin." Shizune said as Naruto snorted.
"And yet, I've seen naked girls before you've seen naked guys." Naruto said proudly as Shizune looked cross at his proclamation.
"Naruto! I knew Lord Jiraiya was a bad influence on you!" Shizune shouted as Naruto looked like someone had smacked him with a smelly fish.
"It was long before I met that dirty old perv! Besides, it was by accident anyway, and I don't feel like going into the details." Naruto said with his arms re-crossed. He looked down at the bed and saw that while they had been arguing, he had yet to change and get out of the hospital. His clothes were still there on the bed, as neatly folded as when Shizune handed them to him.
"Look, I've got stuff to do, and so do you. So, the question is; do you wanna see a naked guy or not?" Naruto asked as he placed his hands on his hips.
Shizune, being completely caught off-guard by that, sputtered out nonsense while she was in shock. Her face turned a whole new shade of red as Naruto gave her an impatient stare. She really had to ask herself the question. Did she really want to see a guy's unmentionables? Plus, this was Naruto for Kami's sake! He was a kid to her! And yet… he was a Hokage, a fighter, and a pretty decent guy. Besides, he was just a kid. Seeing his "little buddy" wouldn't be such a big deal, especially since she could just say that she had given him a check-up or something.
Shizune took a deep breath, and sighed it out before nodding to him. This was her one chance to see what had been so bad about the male genitalia that Lady Tsunade refused to even let her see pictures of them with the skin on.
Tsunade sighed as she sipped at her sake, which she had cleverly disguised a coffee with a genjutsu. She had just finished working on some new methods and practices for Rock Lee's upcoming surgery, and she felt good. She was walking pass Naruto's private room, when she suddenly heard a loud exclamation. Now knowing Naruto, she wasn't really surprised by the volume of the yell, or the fact that it was coming from his room. No, she had been caught unaware by the voice the yell had come from, and what was exclaimed by said person.
"Oh my Kami-sama! Are they all like that! Is that why Lady Tsunade wouldn't let me see them! Dear Kami, it's huge, Naruto!"
Tsunade spit out her sake like a garden hose, and it all went into the face of the nurse and doctor she had just been about to talk to. The two medical staff didn't even get angry as they ran in fear. Tsunade's mug was crushed into practically dust as she bared her teeth and glared at the door next to her.
Naruto would be dying soon!
Tsunade busted into the room ready to kill the brat and say that he died in surgery or something like that. However, the only things in the room were; an extremely shocked and red-faced Shizune who was still sputtering about how Naruto was "so big", Naruto's old hospital gown, which had actually been two sown together since the boy had to be so damn gifted. Tsunade raced to the open window, only to see Naruto was already halfway to the Hokage tower by then. She cursed as she slammed her fist into the wall, knocking it out with her super strength.
"I'm gonna murder that brat!" Tsunade roared as she rounded on Shizune, who snapped out of her stupor and flinched back in fear now that her teacher's anger was practically radiating in the room.
"And don't think you're off the hook either, Shizune! I'm telling you that kid is dead for showing you his wang! Dead, I tell you! Dead!" Tsunade raved on and on as she stomped out of the room, her heels creating craters with each step and shaking the building while everyone cleared out of her war path.
Shizune was only left there as she shook like a leaf in the wind. She had never seen Tsunade so enraged before! She scrambled to her feet as she hopped out the window. Naruto would need to be immortal or really good at hiding to survive whatever Tsunade had in store for him.
"Did you hear that, Master Jiraiya?" Kakashi said as Jiraiya looked both elated and fearful.
"I felt that, Kakashi. My godson is a man among men! He has done what no other man would have ever dreamed of." Jiraiya said in a highly praising tone as Kakashi looked at him.
"What?" Kakashi asked as he was sure that Tsunade had just sworn to kill Naruto.
"He has corrupted the closest thing to a daughter and little sister Tsunade has. That means, Tsunade is now going to either kill him…" Jiraiya said, trailing off as Kakashi put his book away.
"Or…?"
"Or… she's gonna set the two of them up." Jiraiya finished as Kakashi looked confused.
"Aren't they at least ten years apart?" Kakashi asked as Jiraiya nodded.
"Doesn't that kind of make her a pedophile?" Kakashi asked as Jiraiya looked affronted.
"And you call yourself a lover of my work, my number one fan! Have you not read page 356 of Icha-Icha Hospital?" Jiraiya accused as Kakashi gasped and went wide-eyed.
"Forgive me, oh great creator of the holy relic. I did not take into account the Medic edition. Please, forgive my stupidity." Kakashi said, bowing to Jiraiya in the middle of the street as Jiraiya looked aloof.
"I suppose I can forgive this offense this once. However, it shall not happen again. Now come, Kakashi! We must save my student! If he is to make it with Shizune and do what no other man can, then he mustn't die at the hands of the Horrid One!" Jiraiya said as Kakashi saluted him, both of them speeding off toward the Hokage tower.
"Open this door, you little-" Tsunade yelled as she banged on the door to Naruto's underground Hokage compound.
"Umm… Lady Tsunade… He's not so little-" Shizune interjected meekly with a light blush as Tsunade fixed her with a glare.
"Shut up, Shizune! Open this door! Why can't I beat it down, or break it! Damn you, Grandpa for making these damn things! Open up!"
"Tsunade, you mustn't harm my apprentice."
"Shut up, Jiraiya!"
"He's right Tsunade-sama. You can't hurt Hokage-sama, or else you'll be executed."
"Shut it, Kakashi. I'm gonna rip his wang off, and stab it through with his own sword! Open up, and take your punishment like a man! How dare you ruin my little Shizune!"
"Lady Tsunade! I'm 28 years-old!"
"I said shut up, Shizune! Open this damn door so I can murder you!"
"Not by the hair on my chinny-chin chin!" Naruto yelled back before he went to his room in the subterranean compound.
"I'll catch you someday, brat! And then you'll be sorry! Do you hear me? You're dead!"
"Konan…"
"Yes, Pein? What is it?" Konan said as she looked back at Pein from by the open window of their office. He opened his eyes to her.
"Itachi and Kisame have arrived. Please, go and greet them while bringing them here. I'm sure you and Itachi can find another opportunity to discuss various things. I find it pleasant knowing that you and he have grown closer since his joining." Pein said as Konan gave him a look.
"… You just want me to distract Itachi while you, Madara, and Kisame all talk." Konan said with her arms crossed as Pein rolled his eyes.
"No, I like seeing the you grow closer to your fellow Akatsuki." Pein said as Konan didn't even blink as she gave him a dead stare. Pein sighed in defeat as he threw up his hands, "Fine! I really do want Itachi out of the way while the three of us talk. Madara doesn't trust Itachi as well as it looks, but it's got nothing to do with you."
"… You had better feel lucky that Itachi is actually a very nice person, and a keen mind on origami techniques along with being a fellow Pocky-lover." Konan said as Pein sighed in relief when she disappeared in a paper trail.
"Glad to see you two could make it. The Leader is expecting you, Kisame." Konan said as Itachi rolled his onyx black eyes while Kisame grinned, puffing out his chest as he strutted forward through the constant rain.
"So… you and I are alone once again?" Itachi said as he and Konan gave each other impassive gazes while standing in the middle of the rain.
"Yes… it would seem that way…" Konan said as Itachi gained a ghost of a smirk on his face. Konan broke out into a full grin as Itachi stuck out his arm while Konan latched onto.
"Well then, my old friend, do I have some news for you." Itachi said as Konan rolled her eyes while they strolled through the rain.
"You always have a tale to spin, you little weasel." Konan said as Itachi chuckled.
"Yes, but this time it comes with a proposition. So, me and Kisame snuck into Konoha, and you'll never believe what we found." Itachi said as Konan raised a brow.
"What?" Konan asked as aloofly as Itachi smiled at her.
"Well, it all started after Kisame and I fought off three Jonin at once; making it look incredibly easy by the way…"
I'm so sorry I haven't done Omake for this chapter or the last. I just couldn't come up with anything that was funny, so I decided not to do anything until I could. Please forgive me and my worthless comedic humor-block. I'm garbage, worthless filthy garbage! Me, and my nonsymmetrical humor-block! I deserve to die!
Also, I think I'm gonna focus more on this story and Naruto Sesshomaru Uzumaki more than the other stories. I realize now that these stories and their popularity help make me a better writer because of how well they're received. So, if I continue to do a good job on these, then it will make people want to read my other stories just I do when I find a great author on this site.
That doesn't mean I'm stopping completely with the other stories. Just that you'll see more UPDATES for this story and "Naruto Sesshomaru Uzumaki" more often than in the past. Oh, and "Perfect Little Mistakes"! Can't forget about that one.
Oh well, that's all the crap I wanted to say, so I'll let you guys move on to bettter stories than this.
See Ya!
-T.K