Chapter 15 – Suspicions

Sakura could not suppress a satisfied smile as she headed for the centre of town, glancing behind her to make sure that Sasuke was still following. She was not sure what to think about what had just happened between him and Kakashi-sensei, but right now she did not really care. Finally, finally, she would go out with him! She had waited just about forever for this. Okay, now... focus on not screwing it up.

"Sasuke-kun, where should we go?" she crooned, and winced at her own saccharine tone. That had come out rather more desperate than she had intended, and she figured that trying to make up for it would just look even more so. For a few moments she just breathed, trying to steady herself. Then, she nodded to herself. She was a shinobi, she could do this. "A restaurant, you think?"

Sasuke scoffed. He stared ahead without much of an expression, clearly thinking of anything but the fact that they were supposed to be going anywhere together. Sakura floundered for a moment, wondering what on earth she could say to him that would change that, how she could get him interested in doing something together, now that they were going somewhere. In all the years she had chased the Uchiha, she had never really put much thought into what happened when she finally did have a date. Those were details she figured she would come up with on the spot.

"We could get something to eat, right? While we wait for Kakashi-sensei and Naruto to finish whatever they are doing?" She glanced at Sasuke. "There are some places in the centre of town that are plenty busy, so we follow the orders..."

As she led him in that direction, she wondered why being on a team was so very different from what she had expected at first, when she had found out who were on her team. At the time, it had seemed crystal clear how the team would function: Sasuke would be the leader, Naruto the idiot lagging behind as usual, and she would be there for Sasuke's support. It made sense; that was how it had worked at the academy.

The bell test was really the first thing that made it clear that things were different than her expectations, and quite a lot at that. Instead of Sasuke taking on the leader's role as she expected, it had been Naruto that gathered them all together. He led the team into forming a plan to take Kakashi-sensei down, seemingly without any difficulty, and she was still baffled by that. Things had gotten even weirder afterwards, with Naruto working on what seemed to be very powerful sealing techniques, and helping Sasuke to gain the Sharingan as well.

Sasuke and Naruto had never gotten along in the academy, that she knew. Naruto was loud, Sasuke was silent, and they tended to get into pretty nasty fights, ones that were usually won by the Uchiha, on account of his superior training. Now, though, things had changed, and very quickly. Only weeks ago, Sasuke had been perpetually disinterested in Naruto, or anyone else for that matter. Then, over the course of mere days, it seemed like something changed there. Whether it was Sasuke finally acknowledging Naruto as having some skills, or Naruto reaching out to Sasuke, there was some kind of connection there that she did not understand. They still insulted each other, but there was no venom behind it anymore; it was like a little joke they shared with each other. They fought and even trained together, and that actually seemed to work as well, something she could never have imagined in the academy.

In short, they were becoming actual friends.

Of course, as soon as she had realized that they were no longer the belligerent enemies from the academy days, and had grown up a little, her own role seemed to shrink. She was the outsider here. Although she had known both Sasuke and Naruto well enough in the academy, she had realized quickly that she was the pointless addition to the group, not Naruto, because her practical skills were abysmal compared to theirs. Naruto was surprisingly quick and strong, had some very powerful jutsu, and knew a lot about Sealing, something she had barely even heard about before. Sasuke was, of course, well-trained in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. That left her; barely able to do the academy techniques, and little else.

She seemed to be a kunoichi without any significant skills, not even worthy of being support for Sasuke or the inexplicably gifted Naruto; it had been a discouraging thought. Though Naruto in particular seemed to think her chakra control was something she should be proud of, it only reminded her that the boys had a far, far greater capacity, and she would never get anywhere close to their amazing techniques. She had considered, for a while at least, asking for someone else to take her place on the team.

Then there had been that surreal moment with Kakashi and Naruto's clone. Quite spontaneously the duplicate Naruto had decided to try and ask her out again. He had not done that since the academy, and she had reacted as she always did, without thinking about it. It was natural to lash out, and Naruto could take the beating easily enough. Of course, she had not figured out that it was deliberate until Kakashi-sensei had shown an interest in her technique, and she was forced to admit she had no idea what he was talking about when it came to Taijutsu. She just punched.

As it turned out, she had been doing something peculiar with her attacks, something generally limited to Taijutsu specialists. Channelling chakra into one's hits was at the core of many styles, but Kakashi seemed to believe she was doing something extra, and dragged her along to a bizarre man with an even stranger hairstyle, wearing a full-body green jumpsuit. Maito Gai, it seemed, was the Hidden Leaf's most powerful Taijutsu fighter, and specialized in the use of techniques that did extreme damage to the enemy.

Maito Gai, in a brief moment of contemplative seriousness in between enthusiastic proclamations of her youth, had concluded that she had natural talent for certain Taijutsu styles. The Sannin Tsunade's name quickly came up, and Sakura had to work really hard not to preen under the compliments from the green-clad creep. Kakashi-sensei, for his part, seemed to be largely unsurprised by the revelation.

Sakura was definitely surprised: Taijutsu was probably the last specialty she had imagined for herself. She was one of the best kunoichi when it came to theory, having graduated at the top of the class on those tests, and logically the connection to the mental ninja arts was easily made from there. Kurenai-sensei, for example, had also finished with high theory scores and was now considered a Genjutsu specialist. Sakura's Taijutsu scores in the academy were lacklustre; she had never really cared for the lessons, beyond knowing how to land a good punch.

Taijutsu and medical techniques. She remembered Naruto's description of what she might be good at, and at the time she had tossed those suggestions aside. Now, she was reconsidering. She had excellent chakra control, a prerequisite for medical techniques, and he had already been right about the hand-to-hand. What if she really could be the next Tsunade? She could be the support ninja for the team that she hoped to be in the first place, and still kick ass when she needed to. Besides, Ino would never expect a full-on physical assault!

Sasuke glanced at her sideways with a curious expression. "Why are you angry?"

Sakura glanced aside with a startled expression, and realized she had balled her fists when imagining taking Ino down in a single blow. "Ah... I was just thinking of beating someone up," she admitted, blushing.

The Uchiha snorted. "Go hit Naruto, if you want to do that. He can take a hit."

Sakura smiled slightly. "I was thinking about our team, and how weird everything is. It's not like how I imagined it, you know. Not even you, actually." She paused, her mind returning again to that blond dolt. "I was wondering... does something seem off about Naruto, to you? I keep wondering what is wrong with him, but he looks at me with these odd expressions and I can't voice it. It's like he sees someone else."

"Like he knows exactly who you are. Uncomfortably so, even." Sasuke grimaced. "Yes, I have seen that. In the hospital... he was completely serious when he spoke to me."

"And there's also all the jutsu and seals and such that he's throwing around," she replied. "You know that he's weirdly good at that stuff, right? Like, better than he ever showed at the academy, by miles?"

Sasuke grunted.

"It might be a silly idea, but do you think he was acting that whole time? Because he can't have gotten that much better in a short while, and Kakashi-sensei certainly isn't going to spend extra time with him like that. His other new teacher, for the seals, only arrived so recently..."

"Of course he was acting," Sasuke responded after a long moment. "You didn't see him out there, when he helped to activate my Sharingan." He grimaced. "That... he was something else. It was like he could turn his hate on with a switch. It was unnatural."

"So... he's not a Genin, you think? We certainly didn't learn that..."

"No," Sasuke agreed. "He's not. Whatever he is, though... clearly Kakashi-sensei is not freaking out about it, which probably means he knows what's going on."

Sakura nodded, shivering slightly. "It's like Naruto's got our whole future planned out or us, if you hear him talk sometimes. I mean, that whole speech about being the next Sannin, or saying you'll be better than Kakashi... It's eerie. It's like he looks at people and can see how they will be, instead of what they are now."

Sasuke shook his head. "There is... one thing, that could explain his unusual skills, and perhaps even why he is assigned to this team." He looked up with shadowed eyes. "He could be like my brother."

Sakura frowned. "Your brother?"

Sasuke didn't meet her eyes, staring furiously at the ground. "Uchiha Itachi. The one responsible for my family's massacre, and the one I have sworn to kill. Before, when he still worked for the village, he was different. He was a child prodigy, so he started at a early age, like our teacher. He was ANBU."

Kakashi dropped his act the moment that Sakura and Sasuke had left. He turned to Naruto with a grim look of determination. "I take it that you picked up on what just happened with your broody teammate. The scroll that Sasuke brought me is a bit different."

"They're ANBU orders, highest rank," Naruto said immediately. He wondered briefly if he should have known that; technically that was knowledge only available to the ANBU themselves, and he had not been one in this time period. If Kakashi asked, he would admit that he had read it in classified files; he would probably get a reprimand for it, now that he no longer had the clearance. "It's about me, then?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I can speculate on the reasons, but someone is way too interested in what you're up to. They're nervous enough to ask Sasuke to spy on you; presumably they were aware that the Uchiha has had a long-standing rivalry with you, in your academy years. Clearly, though, the sender of this scroll underestimated Sasuke's loyalty to the village or to you in particular." He smiled. "Interesting, don't you think? Sasuke seems to respect you."

Naruto did not respond to the little jab. He knew that Kakashi probably figured out he was laying it on a bit thick with the Uchiha, to get into his good graces. At least it seemed to be working. "I take it that he was offered power in exchange? I can't really imagine what else pink-eye might want."

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "Correct. He was offered training for his Sharingan."

"Figures," Naruto kicked a rock away idly. "Those aren't ANBU orders at all, are they? Or you suspect they're not, anyway. Sasuke would know about black scrolls like that since Itachi knew about them, and probably received one or two near the end." He ignored the intense look that he got for that little comment. "Perhaps the offer of training is genuine, though. There are some who would be interested in Sasuke, I'm sure."

"They probably counted on him assuming it was genuine, at least," Kakashi agreed. "Whoever's responsible waited until Sasuke was alone to deliver it, so nobody could get suspicious. Normally speaking such orders are delivered discreetly, so that fits."

Naruto grunted in agreement. "So it's quite possible that someone's using fake scrolls to con him into spying on me. There are not many who would be that brave in this village, to risk the ire of the Hokage, especially when the risk of failure is so great."

"It could also be a test of Sasuke's loyalties," Kakashi offered.

"Or it was Danzō." Naruto turned away sharply, pacing along the clearing. Kakashi looked after him with an expression that sent chills down Naruto's back. He had to have figured something out, but Naruto was not sure what it was. The occasional odd glances he got seemed downright compassionate or sad, though. He tried to ignore the eerie sensation.

"You are well-informed, I admit. The Hokage will certainly be informed of the possibility, given that it is my real self that is delivering the scroll."

"The bandage-freak is probably kicking himself for missing my potential," Naruto murmured. "Most likely he discovered that I helped activate Sasuke's Sharingan, which is why he put a seal on the scroll to block out normal sight. Perhaps he figured out that I can control the Kyūbi's chakra."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound surprised. You were expecting this?"

"For a while, yeah," Naruto agreed. "Shimura Danzō is a slippery one. Can't say I've had the dubious pleasure of meeting him recently, but I expected him to stick his nose into my things eventually. It does seem a bit simplistic for his doing, to try and get Sasuke to betray me so shortly after the Sharingan's activation. He must have realized that his time was running out, that Sasuke was getting closer to his team, and further away from his grubby hands."

"You are pretty close, aren't you?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Honestly, you're making me look good, which is a new thing. The other Jōnin thought I'd never pass a Genin group, ever, but now it turns out you're pretty much the only group that doesn't have any real strife. Even the Ino-Shika-Chō trio have some issues..."

"Sasuke and I fight all the time, and Sakura likes to punch me," Naruto complained. "Why does that not count?"

Kakashi smiled, turning to the centre of the clearing. "The Hokage did tell me that you were a bit odd, but clearly even he underestimated just how much. I've noticed that you're the one keeping the team from getting broken up, you know. You keep Sasuke busy by giving him a good challenge, and you give Sakura a way to feel part of the group as well. Clever, clever. Perhaps you're even manipulating me? Let's see the real you, please. No acting."

Naruto forced himself to stay calm, looking at his teacher with a lazy expression that usually belonged on the Jōnin's face. Really, he should not be so nervous. He had brought this on himself at the monument, by telling some part of the truth; Kakashi knew more than anyone, and he probably had some theories of his own. At least he could trust Kakashi, unlike so many others. "Very well," he said at last, reluctantly ditching all the faked emotions or expressions, and looking at the man like he was once more an ANBU captain talking to the Hokage. "No more Genin, then. Even if I technically am one."

"Technically," Kakashi muttered caustically. "I was technically a kid, when I got onto my Genin team, led by your father. I was a Chūnin already, and powerful. What else to expect from the son of the White Fang? Of course I was bound to be peculiar; it was in the blood."

Naruto smiled thinly. "I suppose we have something in common, there."

Kakashi returned the smile with one of his own. "More than a few things, I think. I didn't know why you were placed on my team, when it was first announced. I figured it was because I was your father's student, actually. Now, at last, I see." He raised his hitai-ate, exposing his Sharingan eye. "You're exactly like I used to be."

Naruto tensed involuntarily under the red stare of that eye, ready to jump away at any moment to avoid its gaze. He had been looked at with those eyes by too many people to be comfortable with the bloodline, even if he knew that none of the really nasty users were around right now. Almost unwittingly he called on a little of Kurama's chakra, an edge of power to augment his senses, his muscles. "So, what does that mean for the team?"

Kakashi smirked as he took a Taijutsu stance with elegant ease. "Tomorrow morning we will leave on our C-rank mission, you know that much already. There is however something that I haven't told you yet. I'm putting you in charge."

Naruto blinked. "Isn't that a little quick? We haven't even had a C-rank yet."

"It's unorthodox, but I think that it'll be a learning experience for us both," Kakashi said easily. "I want to see your practical skills, but I don't believe you were lying about those in any significant way. What I really need to see in practice is your ability to lead a squad, one of the requirements for becoming a Chūnin."

"Already thinking about that, huh?" Naruto noted, slowly putting a step sideways as Kakashi did the same in the other direction. "Trying to impress the other Jōnin by beating them to the punch, maybe? Don't you think you should wait until the Exams, at least? They are not that far away."

Kakashi shrugged. "Sakura and Sasuke have quite a bit of work to do before they reach that level. Not as much as some other Genin of your year, but neither is quite as well-rounded as they need to be. I would have said that Sasuke was closest to Chūnin level, before I realized how much I had missed about you." He grabbed a kunai, flicking it into the air and catching it by the handle in a single movement. "Dodge."

Naruto's survival instincts flared up alongside his chakra and he ducked before the kunai had fully left Kakashi's hand, his heart suddenly hammering in his throat as it seemed everything slowed down. The whistle of metal travelling through the air lasted for a mere moment before the metal projectile thudded solidly into a tree behind him.

The assault was not over; Naruto managed to keep himself from flinching as a second kunai whisked by his face, at a distance of a mere inch. As he watched it pass, as if time had slowed down to a crawl, he realized he could have avoided it, but it was not necessary at all. It only managed to snag a few blond hairs on its way through.

Before Kakashi's next attack could land, Naruto moved. A kunai appeared in his hand and he slashed it sideways before him, knocking the third kunai off course and into the bushes with a shower of sparks.

"Good," Kakashi said calmly as he straightened. "No hits at all, eh?" He slowly circled Naruto, who mimicked the movement, his kunai still before him. "You clearly have good speed for your age, which is definitely a plus. About a Chūnin's level, as you said."

"Do I have to throw knives at you, now?"

Kakashi held up his hands. "No, no, I've seen that you're accurate enough with those things when training with the team. You're fine on accuracy. If you ever figure out your father's prize technique, I'll revisit that particular skill; you're serviceable enough for basic uses." He paused. "How did you train to get that quick, by the way? Most kids your age don't have the body for it, and you don't seem particularly lean."

Naruto sighed. "Everyone seems to think I'm chubby under this vest. It's just bulky fabric, damn it!" He rubbed the back of his head and tried to smile. "Actually, I got pretty quick from the kind of stuff I did as a kid. You know what I mean, right? Doing pranks all across town, and then making a quick getaway? It did wonders for my balance, plus I got good enough to hop from roof to roof without chakra. Speed's just a natural consequence."

"Ah, right…" Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "I remember that I was assigned to catch you one time. I sort of lost you in the market street, when you slipped between stalls. Sneaky little devil."

"You were probably just lazy," Naruto muttered derisively.

Kakashi sighed. "Be that as it may, we still have a lot of ground to cover." He rubbed his wrists as he stretched the muscles. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but when I was young, I was a bit of a Taijutsu specialist, though I switched to Ninjutsu later on. I kept up with Maito Gai for quite a while, which is no mean feat, so that should tell you something about my skill level." He took a step forward suddenly, closing the distance that Naruto had made between them as he slowly circled away. "Let's see how far you have come, hmm?"

Naruto saw the kick coming, but he knew he was too slow at present to avoid the hit. He was forced to jerk his arm up to block the assault. Kakashi's foot hit his lower arm with so much power behind it that he skidded backwards and landed squarely on his back; he heard something snap in his arm and for a moment there was only numbness. Then, with a surge of heat, the pain erupted. Biting through the pain, Naruto met the Jōnin's normal eye for a split second; then he retaliated.

The first punch was pitifully weak; Naruto hand glanced off the Jōnin's knee as the latter repositioned, trying to swing his leg away from his student's grasp. The hit was a feint, though; Naruto clasped his elbow around Kakashi's ankle and twisted forcefully. His entire body came off the ground and Kakashi didn't have a choice; he backed off to avoid being hurt. He still rubbed his ankle with a grimace.

"Pretty good counter, though that break looks serious," Kakashi said easily, returning to his previous spot. "Excellent reaction speed against a Jōnin-level attack, though avoiding the hit would probably have been smarter."

Naruto snarled, checking his arm while ignoring the pain that was fighting for attention in his mind. It was difficult to keep focusing on something else, but he had enough experience to know how to do it. This was nothing compared to the kind of wounds that Hidan had delivered only a short time ago. Kakashi had not been lying; his arm was broken. Thankfully, the pain was not too spread out, which meant it was probably a clean break. Kurama's chakra still coursed through his system, flickering at the edge of his consciousness with its mildly corrosive, malevolent edge. With a simple direction of will, like he had done at the hospital, he forced it to heal him as quickly as it could, diverting it from the rest of his body. He would need two minutes, before he had his arm back; he had to keep Kakashi talking.

"You kick like a girl," he drawled, and immediately he winced. He probably should not have said that, even if it was true. The future's Sakura had broken more than a few of his bones in spars, and usually healed them up afterwards. Her hits, if anything, were stronger than Kakashi's.

"I will take you to the hospital in a minute," Kakashi said, though he did not sound apologetic. "You heal quickly enough that you'll be ready for the mission tomorrow morning. Chūnin-level strength and speed seem accurate, with that little display just now. Granted, you're probably on the high end with speed. That last hit was about as quick as I get without calling on some serious Ninjutsu as well."

"Liar," Naruto said easily. "I have seen Maito Gai fight. He can go two or three times as fast as you just did, if he really wants to, even without Ninjutsu. Since you say you can keep up with him..."

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "That man doesn't know when to limit himself... and it's been quite a while since we really had a fight. I don't know if he's quicker these days."

"I can go faster than just now too," Naruto said. "I could be a lot faster, under the right conditions. Maybe, when I get that under control, we can test our full speed against each other, without holding back at all. I think you'll be impressed."

"I will believe that when I see it." He paused. "Or don't, I suppose. If you're quick enough to beat me in a fight, you probably won't have much of a problem getting a Jōnin license."

Naruto smiled. "I'll hold you to that." He focused the remainder of Kurama's chakra into his legs and his wounded arm, as he realized the broken bone had stopped sucking in chakra. He would only get one shot at this.

Without a warning, he stormed forward; he could tell that Kakashi had been expecting the attack, had been prepared for the inevitable counterattack. His arm came up to block a punch, and he only barely survived as a devastating blow glanced by just half an inch from his face. If that had been even a little closer…

"You hit me with your broken arm?" Kakashi asked after a moment, as he backed off. "That was a close one. You remembered I was a clone at the last moment, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I figured you wouldn't like having to send more copies this way." He smiled as he showed off his arm, ready for combat again. "I did learn how to use the Kyūbi's chakra properly. Its healing can be very quick, especially when mending clean breaks like the one you gave me. In a real fight, you would probably give me a real messy one instead, which would take longer to repair. Though... probably still less than five minutes."

"Remarkable," Kakashi said seriously. "You can use it at will, then, even without really tapping into its instincts?"

"More or less. I was just diverting it all to one location, so you probably saw it gather with your Sharingan. Of course, you would probably assume that it's instinctual." Naruto flexed his arm exaggeratedly. "If I really drew on the chakra as much as I could, wounds would close in seconds, but it would be hell on my body and my chakra system. Besides, with every tail of Kurama's power, I get more and more berserk and uncaring about any damage I might cause."

"Great," Kakashi muttered sarcastically. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't hesitate to ask me to use it, though," Naruto said sharply. "A jinchūriki's power is a fantastic way to intimidate and frighten people, and that can be pretty useful on missions. I can always play up the stereotype of the mildly insane monster."

Kakashi sighed. "You say that so easily."

"I am what I am, and everyone already thinks I'm a monster," Naruto muttered. "Don't think I fail to recognize what people say about me in the streets. I'll just have to prove that I can be a lot more than a liability. "

"Fair enough," Kakashi said, focusing his Sharingan eye on his student. "I question the wisdom of what you are doing, but I can understand it somewhat. You have met another like you, I understand. Gaara of Suna, host of the One-Tails. It must be quite the story, how you two met each other, but I can guess why you get along with each other."

"He had it worse than me," Naruto said sullenly, looking away. "Anyway, we're getting off track."

"True; I was testing you. It's been ages since I've done this kind of thing; it's what we do in ANBU, you know, with new recruits. Perhaps you'll have to do it again someday, if you get strong enough. We've already had weapons, speed, strength, Taijutsu… What's next?"

"Suna is clearly changing its approach," the Hokage stated with a frown as he looked over the map, pacing around his desk as he moved to Jiraiya's side. "With forces gathered in the east and north, there is only one explanation that fits the facts. Orochimaru and Suna are already in armed conflict, and they're keeping it very quiet."

Jiraiya peered at the map with a keen eye. "They don't want to seem weak, I take it. They will probably fend off his forces until they're overwhelmed, and then ask their allies for help," he said. "What is this all about, you think? First the Kazekage informs us of Orochimaru's activities and invites his ire, then they pawn off their jinchūriki to a neighbouring country. Yet, while we expected the attacks to move towards Konoha, Orochimaru seems fine with attacking Suna instead. A diversion, maybe?"

Hiruzen scoffed. "With almost a thousand shinobi, Jiraiya? Orochimaru's army cannot be so great that he would field such numbers without a second thought. Even if it is only a fraction of his entire force, this is far more than a border skirmish. If it is a diversion, I shudder to think what he intends."

"It is an interesting scenario," Danzō commented, gazing over the map with a sharp eye. He glanced between the Hokage and Jiraiya. "Konoha should not get involved if we are not requested to do so. The village should prepare to counter any attack that might be directed at us. We must not risk our defences by sending our forces far away."

Hiruzen nodded idly as he sunk back in his chair. It was strange, really, seeing Jiraiya and Danzō sitting side by side, without overt antagonism. Danzō was not an easy man to get along with, and Jiraiya had never been a fan of his, but at least they had a common goal.

Shimura Danzō had changed greatly over his long life, and Hiruzen thought back to the distant past, when the old man before him had been a hot-headed boy with a drive to prove himself, part of the same squad as his own under the Second Hokage. Though his emotions had long taken a backseat to his reason, Hiruzen was convinced that much of that boy still remained to this day, and that it was why Danzō was so passionate about protecting the village, even if he would always stand in the shadows. Perhaps he even preferred it that way.

"What of the jinchūriki?" Danzō asked after a long silence. "With both the One-Tails and Nine-Tails in the possession of Konoha, we are now armed as well as any other country, if not more so. We could use such power on the battlefield, to show Konoha's power."

"The jinchūriki are young," Jiraiya argued. "Others are a lot better trained. For example, I know that the Eight-Tails host can manifest his creature's entire body. Naruto is still too young to channel more than a fraction, and Gaara-san's seal is compromised. For the moment, they cannot be considered as genuine weapons, even if they were to agree with your proposal."

"Relying on Naruto to win our wars should hardly be considered a plan in any case," Hiruzen said sternly. "He is only a Genin, at present. No, we must consider alternative ways to boost our defences. The Border Patrol forces will be bolstered with a large number of Chūnin that have been promoted over the last two or three years. Depending on how well the rookies perform, they too will be enlisted for that duty."

"You may claim that the Kyūbi host is not ready," Danzō observed. "He is, however, part of a very powerful team. Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke are within it, alongside the jinchūriki, which would make it a severely combat-oriented group, even if there were no was looming, Hiruzen. All they require is a Medical-Nin, and I hear that this Haruno girl is quite adept at chakra control..."

Jiraiya scowled. "I don't care for your insinuations, Danzō. The team was determined alongside all the others."

"I did not intentionally create such a team," Hiruzen said. "However, one cannot always predict which teams will stand out. Must I remind you of the beginnings of the Sannin, Jiraiya? They were… less than stellar, if I recall."

Jiraiya grumbled something unintelligible. "Can we return to the important things? What do we do in case of an assault?"

"The ANBU will take stock of any foreign threats, and inform me immediately," Hiruzen said. "Jōnin have been divided into groups, as well as Chūnin under them. If something happens, we can be ready to counterattack within several minutes. The Barrier Corps has been strengthened with several more people, to make their observations even more precise."

"Very well." Danzō rose slowly. "I will see to it that the village is brought to readiness. It will likely not come to war, but we shall be ready either way." He looked towards Jiraiya. "I will expect a full report on what improvements you believe can be made to the Fūinjutsu protections of the village. If you wish, you can enlist your student as well. It would be interesting to see how good he is."

The door to the Hokage's room slammed open before Jiraiya could answer, and Kakashi stepped in. He froze when he found Danzō right there in front of him. Clasped tightly in his hand was a small black scroll.

Danzō actually smiled thinly as he noticed the black scroll. He turned back to Hiruzen momentarily. "I will speak to you when I have completed preparations. It seems you have other matters to tend to."

Hiruzen seemed unsurprised by the whole affair, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

When Danzō had vanished, Kakashi finally breathed normally again. "Okay… can anyone explain what that was all about?"

The world wavered, the trees vanishing from around him as a featureless plane stretched out in all directions, filled with comfortable warmth that wafted over Naruto like a spring breeze, and there was a slight scent of lavender. Naruto stared for a long moment, basking in the heat, when his mind suddenly protested violently against the vision. Something was wrong, horribly off. His instincts, honed over many years, told him something was amiss, and he reacted. Genjutsu! Without even thinking about it further, he stabbed himself in the leg with his kunai.

The world surged back into existence around him, the warmth and lavender scent vanishing instantly, replaced by the less palatable scents of the real world. Naruto shivered a moment, almost feeling regretful for breaking the Genjutsu. Before he could fully think that through, he swerved aside almost automatically; Kakashi's fist just barely missed his face. It was not nearly as quick as earlier, and Naruto let out a slight sigh of relief as he flipped backwards away from the Jōnin.

"That was quicker than I expected," Kakashi admitted immediately. "Crude method to break that illusion, but it worked."

"I can heal quickly enough to make it a good option," Naruto argued. "The alternative works, but it takes too long, I think."

"There are instances in which pain will not be so effective," Kakashi warned.

Naruto tried to recall his lessons about Genjutsu. He had never cared much about the topic, so it had been a while. As he contemplated his lessons, he studied Kakashi, and blanched.

"Hey, why…" The conclusion came swiftly, and Naruto cut himself off. He brought his hands together in an instant, forcing chakra to concentrate. "Kai!"

The world popped once more, shifting only ever so slightly. He was lying on his back, staring into the sky with a little confusion. Kakashi stood over him with an amused expression, twirling a kunai around his finger idly. "Looks like that needs some more work, huh?"

Naruto sighed laboriously as he got up, dusting off his vest. "Two layers, then? You must have figured out what I was going to do. How did you do that?"

Kakashi smiled. "Don't assume your own tactics to be so obscure that nobody else can figure them out," he said. "Your method of breaking the illusion was a logical progression from your healing ability, and I assumed you were going to use it. A bi-layered Genjutsu is very useful like this; the first one seems simple and weak, which makes a shinobi overconfident, so they miss the second layer. The first is abstract, the second is realistic. Some people go even deeper than two levels, but that's mostly for specialists like Kurenai, Team 8's sensei."

Naruto grimaced. "How did you make it so that pain didn't break the jutsu? Usually that works well enough for me…"

"Did you really stab yourself?" He gestured down to Naruto's leg. "You supposedly hurt yourself with a kunai, but I am holding the one you had earlier, and you have no wound at all, nor even a hole in your pants. The stabbing and pain itself were part of the technique. This is the risk with the quick but painful way to break Genjutsu like this; the really difficult and dangerous Genjutsu techniques take it into account."

"Guess I'll have to train the speed of breaking Genjutsu again," Naruto murmured in annoyance. Then he blinked. "Wait, did you say difficult and dangerous? What rank was that Genjutsu?"

"B-rank, give or take," Kakashi admitted. "It's impressive you beat it so quickly, even if it was too slow to stop me from finishing you off in any real fight." He paused. "What gave the second layer away? I thought I had copied the environment nearly perfectly, and the differences would have been hard to spot with the little moment of blankness in between to cover up any inaccuracies." Kakashi looked slightly embarrassed. "Genin don't usually catch these at all..."

Naruto chuckled. "It was your eye, actually. You had the Sharingan on the wrong side of your face."

Kakashi stared for a long moment, eyes wide. Then he ran a hand through his mop of grey hair and cursed silently. "Damn traitorous mirrors." He shook his head. "Right, you're pretty much at Chūnin-level Genjutsu breaking, though you need to work on your detection, so you don't need mistakes like that to detect them. You clearly don't have enough experience with the real thing to detect the chakra disturbance."

"Or I'm out of practice," Naruto murmured to himself. It had been years since he fought a Genjutsu user; most were Ninjutsu specialist like himself, since people were all too aware that he could decimate a small army if he did not have a strong enemy. Usually he just stabbed himself until the annoyance of Genjutsu went away, and then stabbed whoever was trying to put him under. He could take more stabbing than anyone.

"Well, with that we have the boring stuff out of the way," Kakashi exclaimed happily. "Ninjutsu! Always my favourite." He raised his hand and Chidori burst to life within moments. "Here's a little scenario for you. What would you use to counter this attack?"

Naruto paused. That was a good question, actually. He could have gone for Rasengan as the easy answer, since he had actually used it against that exact technique. Still, he remembered well the level of destruction left behind by those clashes of chakra against chakra, and just how beaten-up he was half the time. It was a brute-force solution, not a very elegant one. He could of course name any of its advanced forms, like the Rasenshuriken, which would overpower it. That was essentially cheating, and he could not demonstrate the latter technique without Sage Mode. That left him with a vast array of elemental techniques, most of which he had never tried in this time period.

He gathered his theoretical knowledge on elemental techniques, one of the few subjects he had actually learned quite a lot about from Kakashi himself, in another age. "Lightning natured attacks are weak against Wind, which is my element," he started. "Considering your lightning attack is a speed-based one that basically skewers the opponent, I would put up the strongest point defence jutsu I could, of the Wind element." He focused momentarily as he tried to recall a good technique that fit those characteristics. He flipped through hand seals quickly. "Fūton: Shahei Kabe!"

A furious blast of wind erupted from Naruto's hand for a split second as he held it out before him; a hexagonal part of the sky seemed to ripple before him before it went still, and the air was empty again, though he could sense the layer of chakra in the air, humming softly in the breeze. It was nearly invisible. Kakashi looked on with interest as he reached out tentatively with the hand that was not keeping Chidori active, apparently to check the strength of the shield technique.

"Don't touch," Naruto warned. "It'll shred anything."

Kakashi retracted his hand; then he struck. Chidori smashed into the shield with incredible ferocity, lightning bolts racing across the surface of the wind shield and curling themselves around the edges. For a moment it seemed like the whole thing glowed. Kakashi's attack stopped quite abruptly, and there was a soft thud as air raced in to fill the void left by the intense technique. "Stronger than I thought," the Jōnin said, waving his hand and wincing. "That's a powerful barrier technique you have there."

Naruto shrugged. "It's a C-rank Fūton jutsu. Of course, I'm probably the only one who can make it block pretty much anything. Usually it's to divert water techniques, and not very well, but I have so much chakra it's basically impervious. I'm pretty sure it would even take a fire technique or two, though I wouldn't risk it." He dropped his hand, and the shield vanished. "I also need to stand still to make it work. Oddly enough, that's sometimes a viable strategy. Gaara might like the technique, if he can manage this element."

"I came for a little more than a C-rank," Kakashi drawled. "Even if it is an overpowered one."

"Be careful what you wish for," Naruto said easily. "Fūton: Kaibutsu Nakigoe!" Kakashi's eyes widened as he grasped at his ears, and he jumped away in a hurry, his coordination poor at best as he nearly ran into a tree on the way. He was less than graceful as he suddenly stopped and sat down in relief, about twenty meters away.

"What… the hell?"

Naruto grinned; he knew what that technique felt like far too well. Kakashi had taught it to him, in the future. Of course, he had taught it by using it on him. Wind had many uses, but usually the jutsu focused on its cutting and slicing properties, or on causing mass destruction. Few people remembered that it was the air that allowed sound and pressure waves to travel, and that Wind nature could also influence those aspects of the air, to an extent. This particular technique generated pressure waves that reverberated within the skull and ears of a victim, messing up their sense of balance and their thinking. It was extremely effective on the battlefield, and as a consequence it was A-ranked.

"Never do that again," Kakashi said haggardly as he rubbed his ears. "I'm still hearing the beeping!"

"It's a stealth technique, sensei," Naruto said with some amusement. "There is no audible frequency at all. Actually, usually the victim's vocal chords give out for a while too, so they can't scream for help. Ideal for assassination, as you can just wander up to the stunned enemy and cut their throat."

"Where did you learn it?" Kakashi asked, rubbing his poor ears.

That was hard to answer, really. Technically, Kakashi would go on to invent it in about ten years, give or take. It had been the first in a slew of new jutsu that Naruto had come up with in the past, or future. "I sort of came up with it myself."

Kakashi's intense look was back. "You invented an assassination technique?" He shook his head suddenly, smiling wryly. "I had Chidori, you have this. I should have guessed."

"Assassination was just an example, though. It's basically a disabling technique," Naruto argued. "It uses way too much chakra for most people to pull off, anyway. Besides, how many Wind element users do we have around here?" He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I thought it would come in handy."

"So, you have that technique, multiple elemental techniques, as well as the Rasengan. I see that you weren't joking about the Jōnin-level jutsu, and now I'm getting really suspicious on who's been teaching you these things! You could probably beat half the current Chūnin with that kind of firepower, considering your Kage Bunshin technique is available to you as well."

Naruto smiled devilishly. "Ah, but you haven't seen the best stuff!" He raised his hand again, holding the other besides it. "Rasengan."

"Yes, I know about that one…"

Naruto grinned wider as he used his second hand to manipulate the attack, and the Rasengan began humming as wisps of white chakra seared through it. Wind-natured chakra suffused the sphere of chakra in moments, leaving a sharply humming ball that promised destruction to everything it touched.

Kakashi watched with wide eyes. "You… completed it? Impossible!"

In lieu of an answer, Naruto turned to the nearest tree and hit it. "Fūton: Rasengan!" With a thunderous explosion the entire lower half of the tree disintegrated as the attack unleashed itself, cutting wildly around in all directions, except directly backwards. He had enough control to prevent the destructive effects on his own body, though he was still screwed with the Rasenshuriken. The wind quickly died down and all that was left was a pile of rubble and falling debris.

"That's…"

"Instant death," Naruto finished for him. "Not even the Rasengan can promise that. If I hit someone with this, and they're not protected by some crazy kekkei genkai or technique, they're dying. Period. This is an S-rank jutsu, and it's not even at its strongest."

"It's not?" Kakashi sounded positively shocked now. "Naruto, its one thing to learn the Rasengan, since there are some people who know it. But it's imperative I know who is teaching enhanced versions like this. The only person who I can see developing that is..." He looked at Naruto and his jaw slackened. "No, that's ridiculous."

Naruto sighed. "I don't want to lie to you, Kakashi-sensei, but you can't tell anyone about this. Not yet."

"Naruto..."

"I told you. It's dangerous." He shook his head. "Most of my techniques, I learned through application of the Kage Bunshin. I can make more than just about anyone, and they help tremendously with Ninjutsu training. Training in the use of the Wind element only took a short time to figure out with so many focusing on the same problem."

"I know you were aware of your father, but this is ridiculous. You're surpassing his technique?" Kakashi shook his head. "He never finished that technique during his life; the Rasengan's elemental version was always just out of reach for him. With a few more years he probably would have gotten it, but fate intervened. How...?" He glanced up. "Minato-sensei is dead, right? Right?"

Naruto flinched. "Yes... he is." He rubbed his stomach uncomfortably, well aware that the Fourth would be listening in, or some remnant of him. He really should get around to figuring out how to preserve that chakra. Kakashi stared at his gesture and some gleam appeared in the man's eyes that Naruto really didn't like. After a moment he glanced away with a fake expression meant to mimic lazy acceptance. Naruto wasn't buying it.

"Of course he is," Kakashi said, though his voice wavered slightly. "You probably know that I was asked to assess how good you were, on the Hokage's behalf."

"I figured."

"I will have to tell him about your Rasengan," Kakashi pointed out. "He will want to know the answer to how you learned that."

Naruto grimaced. "I will save that until after the C-rank."

Kakashi nodded carefully. "You... mentioned that you can take the Rasengan even further?"

"I can make it stronger, but only at high cost to myself." Naruto grimaced. "I have the chakra, but not the control. I'd cut myself up. Given that this attack is fine-weave enough to cut apart a chakra system from the inside, the technique would probably ruin my entire arm in one or two shots, even with Tsunade of the Sannin around. It's basically a suicide move."

"So, how do you know you can do it?"

Naruto stared at Kakashi. "I have the Kyūbi's chakra available to me, sensei. I was just using my own right now; pouring in that stuff supercharges everything. It's the advantage and the curse of any jinchūriki. It is my ace in the hole, should I ever need it."

"Let's hope you don't." Kakashi shook his head. "I trust that you have more A-rank or higher techniques?"

"A few."

"If I could excuse a field promotion without a proper mission, you would already have it." Kakashi shook his head with a slight smile, though Naruto didn't miss the continued wariness that he showed. Probably it was in part because some of these Ninjutsu were like weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a kid. "Tomorrow you will be squad leader, and I'll follow your lead. That remains the same. I will try to make it clear that everyone gets a shot at it, so the others don't feel like they're disadvantaged. I expect an exemplary performance."

"Understood." Naruto said. "The team would understand this sort of thing, anyway. They're not stupid. By the way, since I'm team leader, here's my first order. Be on time."

"Ah…" Kakashi winced. "A direct order, huh?"

"Don't be late, or I'll arrange a suitable punishment with the Hokage. He will probably listen to me." Naruto smiled. "How about cleaning out the men's side of the public baths, while they're still in use? Preferably by Maito Gai?"

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror. "You wouldn't!"

Naruto grinned broadly. "Fine, you'll be banned from reading Icha Icha for the duration of the mission instead. How does that sound?"

"Monster."

Naruto landed lightly on the roof, catching himself easily as he dropped down. The sun had finally gone down, which gave him maybe an hour or two before he would need to get packing for the next day's C-rank, and catch some sleep.

The apartment was dark, too dark. Tensing up involuntarily, Naruto made his way into the window as silently as he could, relying on his experience with stealth to duck into the darkest parts of the room, using moonlight to give him a basic layout of his home. Was someone here?

Then, he heard it. It was soft and muted by the walls, but it was unmistakable. Snoring.

"I'll be damned," Naruto muttered. "He actually did it."

Gaara was stretched out on Naruto's bed, the only one in the house. For the first time that Naruto could remember, the boy actually seemed to be at peace, his dark-ringed eyes closed without seeming forced to be like that, as they usually did. A small booklet was still loosely hanging in one hand; a history of Konoha that he kept in his drawer, a gift from the Hokage from a few years earlier. It was the first place, besides the monument, that he had ever seen a picture of his dad, even if he did not know it at the time.

It was strange to think that even in the future he had come from, finding Gaara asleep was effectively impossible. Even if he did sleep at times, he was alert enough even while unconscious to react to anyone coming close; he would be awake instantly, with no transition period whatsoever. He was the Kazekage, of course, so it was not a huge surprise; without Shukaku interfering his thoughts, he had only gotten better at controlling his abilities. As far as he could recall, this was the first time he had seen his fellow jinchūriki completely helpless.

"I'll keep you safe," Naruto promised, smiling wryly. The last time around, he had saved Gaara, but not until he had already died and had his Tailed Beast removed. He did not intend to let that happen this time around. If he could help it, all the jinchūriki would survive.

Slowly he retreated from the room; Gaara's breathing did not hitch for a moment. He closed the door very slowly and made his way to the couch; he could make do for a night. He had something to do, anyway.

Tomorrow morning he would go on a C-rank, which meant that if he was going to finish Pervy Sage's assignment, it had to be today. He had been a bit busy with other things to spend much time on it, but he had probably gathered all the pieces. The little book still looked innocuous, but the three intricate seals that Neji had drawn for him definitely did not.

The first was the simplest; a seal to block him from reading the book. It was no Genjutsu, really; it was just a minor seal that prevented him from remembering what he had seen inside the book. The moment he closed it, the memories vanished. Clever, but very tricky. It was easy to disrupt, and this was probably about the extent that such a jutsu could be used, or there would already be a variation to erase memories entirely. Jiraiya would certainly use that, if it were possible. He put that seal aside for the moment.

The second, unsurprisingly, was the one that prevented Kakashi from accessing the pages. Jagged and pointed as it was, it did not seem like Jiraiya's style, but he had probably used it to make sure that the easy route was blocked off. This seal was essentially the same as the first beyond the target, though it reached the same goal; it also made someone inattentive, which was probably to prevent questions from being asked.

"He was damn clever," Naruto muttered in annoyance. Two out of the three were just there to block the third one.

The third seal was a beauty. Easily twice as complex as the others, the last seal was composed of spiral-shaped parts that interlocked with each other to form a shape not unlike a shuriken, though jagged at the edges. Tracing the lines, Naruto was not sure what to make of it; it definitely did not work like any of the seals he had seen in his books, except one. With some trepidation, he pulled up his vest, and channelled chakra.

The seal that kept the Nine-Tails trapped; there was a spiral shape just like the one in the drawing.

"It's an Uzumaki seal," Naruto realized in surprise. He got up quickly, making his way to his closet and quickly rifling through the small stack of scrolls he kept there, most of them beyond him. There was at least one there… "Gotcha."

Uzumaki Kushina's rather messy handwriting stood out on the edge of the scroll as he quickly unrolled it and put it besides Neji's drawing. The spirals were everywhere, as he remembered; they were a part of practically every seal. Uzumaki Fūinjutsu, a lost art; he probably had some of the last information on that style in his hands here. Right now, there were still scrolls. With a start he realized that they would have been destroyed, forever, in his old time. Nagato's attack had vaporized what remained.

"So, what are you trying to tell me here, Pervy Sage?" Naruto opened the scroll all the way, and there it was. All the way at the bottom of the scroll was the same shape as Jiraiya's seal, identical in every way, except one. Right in the middle was an extra part, different in design, that was not present on his mother's version. A part that made the entire seal work. This was the reason for the test: The first two steps were to see if he could break into the book, the third was to get to this last seal. The moment he had unlocked the functional version in the book, he would be able to replicate it for himself.

"No way," Naruto said to himself. He didn't recognize the seal, but he had realized its purpose. This was an Uzumaki locking seal.

Locking seals like these were highly prized and extremely difficult to make. They allowed one to seal a scroll, quite permanently, and only those that were incorporated into the seal's design could unlock it. This one, in particular, would only open to an Uzumaki, and nobody else. He had just found himself the ultimate way to keep anything he wanted a secret. Jiraiya had just given him a seal that could protect any information, a seal that would make it harder to figure him out, instead of simpler.

"…Pervy Sage, what's the big idea here?"

Naruto could only come to one conclusion. Jiraiya knew something, and he was playing along with it, giving him the tools to keep his activities secret from all but those he trusted.

"Things are getting too complicated," he complained to nobody in particular. "Where's a good old-fashioned fight when you could use one?"

He shook his head as he went through the rest of his scrolls. Stashed next to his private collection, safely tucked away in a hidden compartment, was the one containing Hidan's head. He picked it up and studied it for a long moment.

"Nah. He would just try to bite me, probably."

He tucked it back into its compartment, and locked it away. Vaguely, as if from a great distance, Naruto thought he could hear cursing.

Author's Note: The next chapter or two/three deal with the C-rank. Doesn't go much better than canon. :P

Fūton: Shahei Kabe - Wind Release: Shield Wall
Fūton: Kaibutsu Nakigoe - Wind Release: Monster's Cry