Previously: Naruto and Sakura both learned that Nagisa Inugami has a rare type of Kekkei Genkai: A Chakra Manipulation skill that allows her to control and amplify chakra in short, intense bursts. After learning about Nagisa's hardships, Naruto runs into Hinata Hyuuga, who happens to the Genin's Godmother.

After spending time with Nagisa, unbeknownst to each other, Naruto and Sakura are begining to get closer to one another...

Naruto: Rewind ~ Chapter Five

Ichiraku Ramen

"Ah!" Naruto said, just finishing his bowl of ramen, "I actually feel a whole lot better now!" "After one bowl of ramen?" Sakura said jokingly, "You must be getting old! Usually, you have at least several bowls before your gut decides to burst!" "Well, what do you expect..." Both Naruto and Sakura looked at Nagisa, who just finished her tenth bowl of ramen. "...When Nagisa eats more than me?" "Excuse me!" Nagisa shouted, "Another bowl of ramen, please!" "The girl's got a tapeworm!" Naruto said, being embarrassed. "Well," Sakura began, "you did say that you would pay for lunch..."

Naruto continued to look at Nagisa and remembered about what Kakashi said to him; that her friends are too scared to be near her due to her power.

'That's it!' Naruto thought. "Nagisa, how about you do some training?" "Training?" Nagisa asked. "Yeah! It's exactly what you need!" "Naruto?" Sakura asked, "What are you doing?" "Nagisa, by the time I'm done with you...not only will you be just as strong as I am, but every single rookie, in the entire village, will knocking down your door begging you to train them!" Nagisa's eyes bloomed with hope after hearing that. "But," she said, "where are we going for training?" Naruto smirked with confidence as he said, "Don't worry, you'll know soon enough."

Back at Nagisa's house, her father, Garudo Inugami, was sitting at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. "Hey, Daddy!" Nagisa said, entering the front door, "I'm back!" "You're back early from your date with Sakura," Garudo said, hiding his face in the newspaper, "Did something happen?" "Can't talk now, Dad! I've got to pack for my training!" One of Garudo's eyes peeked out from the newspaper as he said, "You're doing some training? Who is going to teach you?"

"Naruto is going to be training me!" Nagisa said, "He has it all set up for me!" "Naruto?" Garudo said, "He's the one who's going to train you? What type of training is it...?" "Well, actually..."

Naruto and Sakura's Apartment

"You're taking her to Mount Myoboku?" Sakura asked, "Are you sure about this?" "I never been more sure about this," Naruto replied, packing his stuff, "Nagisa needs a new outlet for her level of chakra, and getting some training in at Mount Myoboku should help. Besides, her becoming a sage should be good enough."

Sakura, placing her hand on her head, tried to wrap her mind on Nagisa's Sage training. "This doesn't make any sense, Naruto," she said, "You're taking her to a place where you had to learn to be a sage for at least a week in advance. Especially, when you had to fight Pain, remember?" "Sakura..." Naruto replied, "...Do you remember when you first saw me use Kurama's power? Out of anger...?" Just then, Sakura thought back to when she saw Naruto's jinchuuriki ability be exposed out of anger and hatred. She also remembered the time he attacked her and scratched her arm, despite it being an accident. Thinking upon that, she grabbed her left arm.

Sakura didn't want to say anything; making Naruto feel guilty is the last thing she wanted. "Just imagine what would happen if she ever stopped smiling..." Naruto then replied, "Considering her level of chakra in unprecedent..." "I don't want to think about that..." Sakura answered. After packing, Naruto strapped on his backpack and walked past her. "How long..." Sakura began, "...are you going to be gone for?" "That's up to her," he answered, "Hopefully, we'll be back in three days."

Naruto placed his hand on the doorknob until Sakura stopped him. "Naruto..." she said. Turning around, Naruto saw her kissing him on his cheek. "Sakura?" he said surprised. "Just...make sure that you and Nagisa come back in one piece..." she answered, blushing in embarrassment. Naruto touched his cheek in confusion.

Meeting at the village gate, about an hour later, Nagisa waited as Naruto walked up along with Sakura. "I'm all ready here!" Nagisa exclaimed. "I'm ready, myself!" Naruto replied.

"Well, it's about time you two!" a voice said as an orange frog came from behind to bushes. "Gamakichi!" Naruto replied, "How's it been?" "It has been a long time, hasn't it, Naruto?" Gamakichi replied, "How long has it been? When we took on Pain?" "Probably longer than that...So, has Fukasaku prepared for us yet?" "The old man is ready and willing! So, if you're ready to go, let's get a move on!"

As Naruto and Nagisa waited for Gamakichi to perform the Reverse Summoning, Sakura waved goodbye to them. "Just make sure that you two can get along without me running interference!" she replied. "Don't worry about us, Sakura!" Nagisa shouted as she waved, "And, once we get back, I'll be just as strong as you two!" "We'll be back before you know it, Sakura!" Naruto replied, "Believe it!" Sakura nodded in silence as Naruto remember that she kissed him on the cheek. 'I wonder why she did that?' he thought pressing his hand to his cheek.

"All right, Ladies and Gentlemen!" Gamakichi said, "Watch your hands and elbows as we prepare to teleport. Reverse Summoning Jutsu! (Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu!)" With that, Naruto, Nagisa, along with Gamakichi disappeared.

"There he goes!" Sakura said to herself, "I just hope that he can get along with her..." "Hey!" a voice said, "Wasn't that Naruto I just saw leaving with Nagisa?" Sakura, recognizing the voice, slowly turned around, and in shock, saw who was behind her. "Hey, Sakura!" the person said, "Long time, no see!"

"Sasuke..." Sakura breathed.

Mount Myoboku

A few minutes after arriving, Nagisa looked around in excitement. "Amazing!" she shouted, "This is actually where you trained?" "Yup," Naruto said, "Just don't go no farther than the fountain..." "Ah, Naruto-boy!" a small, yet old frog appeared in front of him, "It has been a long time!" "Fukasaku!" "I see that this is the new prodigy of the Leaf Village," Fukasaku said, "So, shall we begin the training?" "We're starting my training now?" Nagisa asked as Naruto and Fukasaku nodded in agreement.

After placing their stuff down, Naruto, Fukasaku, and Nagisa entered into a large field, with plenty of open space. "So, what's up?" Nagisa asked, "We're not starting my Sage Training?" "Not yet!" Naruto said, "First, if you want to be a Toad Sage, you'll have to go proper procedure. Fukasaku, do you have the scroll that Pervy Sage left behind?" "I've got it right here," Fukasaku replied clapping his hands together, making the Toad Summoning Scroll appear. Rolling it open, Fukasaku continued to speak. "Nagisa-girl, please place your signature and a blood sample on this scroll," he replied, "Once you do that, you'll have the ability to summon toads, like myself, in battle, if you need to."

Understanding everything, Nagisa signed her name, as well as placed her blood on the scroll. "There we go," Fukasaku said, closing the summoning scroll, "Nagisa-girl, you're all set!" "All right!" Nagisa said, pumping her fist. "Hold on there, Nagisa!" Naruto spoke up, "The Summoning Jutsu isn't as easy as it looks! When I was your age, it took me several tries until I completely mastered it..." Nagisa's smile disappeared as she stood in front of Naruto, who was getting ready to demonstrate.

"First, I'll show you how to do it," Naruto said, biting his left thumb, and making a line of blood on his right palm. Then, he peformed five hand-signs and placed his whole, right hand on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu! (Kuchiyose no Jutsu!)" A puff of smoke appeared out of nowhere and out came a yellow frog. "You summoned a frog!" Nagisa said, "He's so cute..." "This is Gamakichi's brother, Gamatatsu. I held back on my summoning, so I could show how to perform it. But, when you do peform your summoning, you will summon a bigger frog than Gamatatsu." "A bigger frog than Gamatatsu..." Nagisa repeated. "Nagisa!" Naruto then exclaimed, "Once you summon Gamabunta, Part One of your training will be complete."

"Gama...bunta?" Nagisa said being confused. Then, she got the gist of the situation. "Okay, here it goes!" Repeating the same thing Naruto did, she did the five hand-signs and slammed her right hand on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" she shouted. However, the results were not on point. "Eh?" she breathed, "It's just a tadpole!" Naruto laughed at the response. "Don't worry about it!" he replied, "I started it out that way, myself! You'll get use to it, everytime you try." Nagisa smiled as she nodded.

Back at the village, Sakura was sitting on a bench with Sasuke; many thoughts rushed through her head as she looked at the person she had a crush on since childhood. What was Sasuke doing in the village even though he was no longer welcomed back?

"So," Sasuke spoke up, "What did you want to talk to me about?" "Well, um..." Sakura began, "I-It's just been a long time since I saw you..." "Well...It can't be helped..." Sasuke said, rubbing on his shoulder, "Being on a reconnaisance mission for three weeks can take a toll on you, especially when you're teaming with the ANBU Black Ops." "You were on a mission this whole time?" "Yeah, I've got to go back in less than an hour, too." "I'm just surprised that you're welcomed back at the village, you know, after everything that's happened..."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked with a questionable look on his face, "I've always been welcomed here." "Then," Sakura began, "What about that situation with Itachi?" "Oh, yeah..." He leaned back into the chair as he explained. "My mom and dad told me all about it; Itachi was undercover in the Akatsuki for over five years. Whenever they didn't go out looking for tailed beasts (bijuu), he would return to the village and talk to the higher-ups. One day, he made the mistake of getting caught passing information, and he was killed trying to escape..." 'He already knew?' Sakura thought. "I was so angry after losing my brother; if it hadn't of been Naruto and Garudo, I would've been caught in a suicide mission..."

"Let's just be glad that you didn't take the path not taken," Sakura replied smiling. "Yeah, me too," Sasuke replied standing, "My two best friends really saved me from making one giant mistake...Well, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later, Sakura..." After that, he left as Sakura waved goodbye. 'I guess that everything is okay...' she thought. 'But...something didn't feel right about that conversation... And, who is THIS Garudo...? '

Ten minutes later, Sakura made it back to the apartment. Being tired from today's events, she sat down on Naruto's bed. After stretching, her hand hit something underneath Naruto's pillow. Pulling it out, it was a book of some sorts. "A diary?" she breathed. She looked to see if anybody was looking and opened it to the first page... "This is yesterday's date..." she then said as she continued reading.

Four Hours Later...

It was nearly sunset as Nagisa summoned a small frog. Seconds later, she fell on her back, exhausted. "This is not as easy as it looks..." she barely spoke out. "That's the twentieth time in the last four hours alone," Fukasaku replied, "Not to mention, you've been putting out a lot of chakra for this jutsu to work. Naruto did tell me that you have unique type of Kekkei Genkai..."

"Maybe it's because she's not serious enough," Naruto said walking up, "Nagisa, the ninja life you have has been about blue skies and rainbows. But, one day, your smile will go away and you'll have to get serious. Think about what you would do if I were to die... If Sakura were to die..." Nagisa heard every word Naruto said and stood up. "You're pretty exhausted..." Naruto said, "And, it's nearly dark. Why don't we try again tomorrow?" "Let me try one more time," Nagisa pleaded, "I have enough chakra for one more go..."

Without saying a word, Naruto nodded. Nagisa took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. 'The change in demeanor in her eyes...' Naruto thought. 'She just got serious...' Nagisa looked down at her thumb, which it already had blood on it. He wiped a small line on her right palm. Slowly, she performed the five hand-signs. "Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram!" she said in a calm, but serious, voice. She slammed her right hand down, but gave her arm more leverage by placing her left hand on her shoulder as she put the last of her chakra into the technique. "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

A massive puff a smoke appeared as Naruto, Nagisa, and Fukasaku standing on something...A gigantic toad appeared with a pipe in his mouth; Nagisa had finally summoned Gamabunta!

"Congratulations, Nagisa-girl!" Fukasaku said, "You finally did it!" "Yeah...!" Nagisa said standing up, with her body shaking, "I did...didn't I?!" She, immediately, fell backwards on Gamabunta's head. "Is she alright?" Naruto asked. "Don't worry. She's only unconscious due to loss of chakra..." "Well, if it ain't Naruto!?" Gamabunta replied, "How are you doing, kid?" "I'm doing fine, Chief Toad! But, it wasn't me who summoned you! It was the girl on top of your head as well!" 'Now, Nagisa!' Naruto thought. 'It's time for you to become a Sage!'

Back at the apartment, Sakura dropped the dairy on the floor as she had a scared look on her face. "Is this what Naruto was trying to tell me...?" she said.

"Why would you do something like that...?"

Nagisa finally learns Summoning to its fullest potential! Now, she is finally ready to become a Sage...Is she ready for the task? And, what did Sakura read that has made her so scared?

A/N: Happy New Year! In the next chapter, the seriousness will begin!