The author says: Hello guys, here comes chapter 7 for you!
Thanks to all the lovely people who reviewed! I can't believe that there are already over 70 reviews in total! I never imagined this story to get at least twenty reviews :D I'm beginning to think that it might be possible to get over 100 reviews for this! With your help and appreciation, of course ;)
Enjoy chapter 7!
I don't own Naruto.
'He had no idea'
Chapter 7
Now there's no way back from the things you've done
I know it's too late to stop the setting sun.
You see the shadows in the distant light,
And it's never going to be alright
And you know, and you know, and you know I'm right.
And I won't get left behind, when the walls come tumbling in
I'll keep climbing, I'll keep climbing
The rain's going to follow you wherever you go.
The clouds go black and the thunder rolls
And I see lightning, and I see lightning.
- 'Silver lining' by Hurts
Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu were on guard duty. Again. They seemed to be assigned with watching the gates of Konoha more than any other ninja in the village. While Izumo took pride in this duty, Kotetsu was often found slacking off, too bored to pay much attention to the coming and leaving people.
This evening however, even Kotetsu liked being on guard duty for once. Sometimes it granted you very useful information. They were always the first people to see who entered the village. They needed to ask for names, status and the reason for the visit.
So both chuunin were rather curious about the dark-clad person that approached the huge gates of Konoha. The sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon and the remaining light was casting shadows everywhere. They were about to close the gates for the night and it was only mere minutes until guard change.
The lonely figure stopped in front of the guard house, obediently waiting for the two guards to grant entrance. Izumo and Kotetsu shared a nervous glance. There was a certain aura around this person. Although they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was exactly... somehow they just knew to better not mess with whoever it was. They stood up from their sitting position. It felt better to face the dark figure on their feet.
"State your name and business, please, sir... um... lady?", Izumo, confused about the person's gender, looked at his partner, seeking help. Kotetsu just shrugged, shaking his head. He had no idea either. The body was hidden under a cloak that made it impossible to tell, if they were dealing with a man or a woman.
The person chuckled softly. A wide hood hid the face and hair from view. It fell into the person's face, leaving the eyes and nose in shadows. The black cloak moved and an elegant hand appeared, to pull away the hood.
"Did you already forget me?" A definitely female voice answered.
The hood fell away to reveal sunny blonde hair, that shimmered golden in the light of the small lamp hanging in the guard's station. Ocean blue eyes were fixed on the two chuunin expectantly. A smirk was on the full, pink lips.
"Na-Naruto?", Kotetsu stared. There was no mistaking these whiskered cheeks.
"The one and only", Naruto answered in a neutral tone, no happiness in her words.
"Pheeew", Kotetsu let out the breath he had been holding, swiping a hand over his forehead, "you really scared us there for a moment, Naruto!"
Izumo shot his friend a reproachful look. This was only Naruto! The village's idiot! Whatever they had first assumed, the person in front of them was certainly not posing a danger.
The blonde girl scratched her head sheepishly; her grin though, looked forced on the grimacing face.
"What's up with the cloak, Naruto?", Kotetsu wanted to know, eyeing the dark piece of cloth curiously.
Naruto shrugged. She had come to value the cloak while travelling on her own. People tended to stay clear of shady-looking people. It had granted her some kind of privacy on the road. The wide hood also helped a lot in hiding her eye-catching blonde hair, providing anonymity.
The two chuuin wrote down her name on the list of people entering Konoha and waved good-bye as the girl left, immediately jumping on the nearby roof of a house, seemingly headed in the direction of the Hokage tower.
Kotetsu and Izumo followed the retreating figure with thoughtful eyes. They couldn't deny that they initially had been cautious about the dark-clad person. There had undoubtedly been something different about the girl. Although she had grinned at them, the cheeriness that had once surrounded her had been replaced by something else... They weren't able to fathom what it was, though.
"She didn't wear her Konoha forehead protector", Izumo quietly noticed, remembering how she used to wear it on her forehead.
Kotetsu nodded at his friend. He then shook off the feeling of uneasiness. Their shift was over. Once they had closed the gates, all thoughts on Naruto were forgotten.
Konoha. Naruto was back. After three years she was finally stepping foot into the village she had called home for the longest part of her life. Her sharp eyes took in the shadows around her as she was roof-jumping towards the Hokage tower. As far as she could see, the village had not changed much. Very few people were on the streets, due to the late hour. But Naruto guessed that Tsunade was still working; the woman's attitude had probably not changed over the time, which meant she still had to stay up late to finish all her paperwork.
In the distance, Naruto saw that Tsunade's face had been added to the Hokage monument. How often had she dreamed of seeing her own face looking back at her from these stones? Uncountable times. Seeing it now, she tried her best to feel anything. She had not returned to become Hokage. That was a goal for another time. Maybe. Right now, she had more important plans to pursue.
Once again, Tsunade was in her office after dark. As much as she hated the long hours she spent in this room, the latest development had changed her opinion on this.
The blonde Hokage was giggling like a schoolgirl. She was sitting on the large chair behind her huge desk – or rather she was sitting on Jiraiya's lap, while Jiraiya was sitting on the chair. Her legs were swinging joyfully back and forth – like a schoolgirl indeed – while Jiraiya's lips were trailing kisses along her neck, down to her shoulder. Without putting any effort into her pushes, she tried to make the white-haired man stop.
"Not in the office, Jiraiya!", she giggled a protest, but couldn't suppress a low moan as Jiraiya nibbled on her earlobe. He had soon discovered that this was one of her more sensitive areas.
Too absorbed in each other and their playful foreplay, they both jerked at the sound of someone clearing his throat rather forcefully.
Their heads snapped around, facing the window.
There, balancing in a crouching position on the windowsill, was Naruto – a red-faced, embarrassed-looking Naruto. But still – Naruto!
"Naruto!" With a joyous shriek, Tsunade pealed herself off Jiraiya and had closed the distance between her and the missing girl in two big steps. She pulled the girl off the windowsill and into her arms; against the huge bust that only seconds ago had received a thorough treatment by Jiraiya.
Naruto returned the eager hug. She felt warm at Tsunade's way of openly showing her that she had missed her.
Finally Tsunade released her gaki and Naruto was able to catch a good look of a reasonably disgruntled Jiraiya, who seemed to be quite disappointed that Naruto had interrupted. "Your timing sucks, brat", he muttered, but a fond smile lit up his face at the sight of his returned student.
Naruto smiled back. She had not realized that she had missed the flamboyant man.
"Welcome back, Naruto!", Tsunade said. Angrily, she added, "What took you so damn long, gaki?"
Then, without warning, her fist shot out to bump the girl on the head to make her anger known, like she used to. However, this time, her fist didn't connect with her aim. Instead, Tsunade found her wrist caught in a death grip.
Surprised, Tsunade followed the line of Naruto's extended arm, which had stopped her own from hitting the girl, to the blonde's face. Tsunade's breath hitched for a second at the expression in Naruto's eyes. But it was gone in an instant. Still, Tsunade would definitely refrain from hitting the girl in the future.
Naruto, realizing that she had acted without thinking of who was standing in front of her, flashed a grin at the astounded Hokage. "Huh, sorry, baa-chan. New habit." She rubbed her neck sheepishly. Trying to break the tension she had unintentionally created, she quickly added, "So, I see that Ero-sennin finally confessed to you, huh?"
Tsunade only stared at the girl as she gave a perfect imitation of Jiraiya's typical suggestive brow-wiggling. A vein appeared on the Fifth's head. Naruto suggestively wiggling her eyebrows like Jiraiya was not amusing her. She just hoped that Jiraiya hadn't corrupted her innocent daughter-figure in any other way.
Jiraiya chose that moment to interfere and got up from the chair he was still sitting in. He strolled over to the two women and was about to hug his new lover around the waist from behind, when a warning glare from Tsunade made him pull his hands back to his side. Instead, he went over to ruffle Naruto's hair.
He regarded her for a moment, then placed a hand affectionately on her shoulder. "You're back. So I assume, you found what you were looking for?" His face was serious. Had the girl found herself again? Had she found answers to all her questions? Or at least did she finally know what she was planning for the future?
Naruto returned his questioning but comforting eyes. She saw genuine concern for her in his gaze. For the second time that evening, a warm feeling was creeping up inside of her. Maybe coming back to Konoha had been the right decision after all? On the other hand, these two people had always supported her, even before she had left. She didn't know yet how the rest of Konoha was going to react to her return.
"Yes", she finally replied, "I think I did."
Tsunade was watching the two; master and student. She had a vague idea of what this silent conversation was about, but she didn't interrupt them. Both obviously needed the moment. It also gave her the opportunity to take a closer look at her daughter-figure.
Naruto's hair was pulled back into a neat bun. Tsunade had not seen the look on the girl before. It made her look older, somehow more mature. Even her messy bangs that usually framed her beautiful face, were pulled back. A little alarmed, she noticed that the forehead protector was missing. She quickly remembered that Jiraiya had told her that Naruto had stopped wearing it almost as soon as they had left Konoha. The Hokage's hazel eyes took in Naruto's clothes. Her whole body was covered by a loose-fitting black cloak, which seemed to have a wide hood.
She had to stop her assessment of the young woman, as she saw Jiraiya heading over to her desk. To her irritation, the Sannin quickly stole the sake bottle stashed in her secret drawer and filled three glasses with the intoxicating liquid. Before she knew it, a glassed was shoved in her hand and she only watched in quiet amazement as both Jiraiya and Naruto downed the glass in one go.
She dead-panned and the vein started twitching again on her forehead. And here Tsunade had been hoping that Jiraiya had not corrupted her poor girl. Silently fuming, she emptied her glass in a well-trained motion.
The three settled on the chairs around Tsunade's desk, Jiraiya already refilling their glasses.
"So, gaki, I suppose you're here to stay?", Tsunade broke the sake-filled silence.
"Yes", Naruto answered, "I have a lot to do."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in question.
Naruto nodded and took off the loose cloak to reveal the clothes underneath.
Tsunade, laying eyes on her outfit, choked on her sake. "What are you wearing, gaki?"
Jiraiya chuckled, apparently amused. "I told you she grew up, Tsunade-hime." A self-satisfied smirk was on his strong features. But secretly, he was ogling his female student, as well. He had not seen this outfit on her before.
"Hehe", Naruto chuckled nervously. Her clothes had changed again. The outfit she was currently wearing had been given to her by one fierce kunoichi by the name of Temari, Gaara's sister. Thanks to Naruto and Gaara's passionate spars, Naruto's clothes had disintegrated into very many pieces. Temari had deemed them no longer wearable. Claiming Naruto looked way too plain anyway, she had changed her outfit to her liking. Naruto had gulped the first time she had seen herself in a mirror. Gaara had quickly left the shop with a very red face, while Kankuro had only whistled in appreciation. Over the last two weeks, Naruto had learned to not feel uncomfortable in the clothes and by now she even liked them.
The blonde was still wearing the black leather pants Jiraiya had given her; she valued them too much. They were just so much more practical; even if they drew a lot of glances due to how tight they were. Her hands were also still protected by the fingerless black gloves. New was the dark belly top that covered the upper part of her body – and left her midriff bare. It ended just under her breasts, not showing any cleavage, but white bandages, which Naruto had bound around her chest instead of wearing a bra. It was just easier for a kunoichi to move in. And although the top and bandages were covering all the important parts in a decent way, Tsunade was quite shocked at the sight. She had never imagined the girl to go from the bulky orange jumpsuit to... well, this.
Naruto eyed Tsunade's reaction. Naruto knew that her new outfit was totally different from three years ago. But she was totally different from three years ago, too. While she had been hiding behind the orange jumpsuit during her childhood, she now felt that she no longer needed to do so. It had nothing to do with vanity – although she had grown into an exceptionally beautiful young woman and the fierce training had resulted in her having a nicely toned body. She didn't intend to get attention by wearing less, but she no longer cared in case she did. Ino and Sakura had been wearing less than she currently was already three years ago! It was just another change. If most were unremarkable in comparison, this one was definitely visible on first glance.
Tsunade eventually stopped staring and concentrated on what Naruto was doing. The girl was taking a scroll from her back pouch. She unrolled the scroll; the seal in the middle of the paper indicated that it was a storing scroll. Naruto made a single hand sign and unsealed another scroll. Again, she unrolled the paper and in the middle of this paper was another seal. This one was more intricate, though. The blonde bit her thumb and smeared some blood on the seal. Whatever was sealed in this scroll, Tsunade was sure that it was something important; what else would you use a blood seal for.
Naruto summoned yet another scroll. This one was black on the outside, with red markings. Naruto held it up for Jiraiya and Tsunade to see. "Before I tell you what this is, I need you, Tsunade, to send out your ANBU and seal the room."
It turned out that Tsunade had sent away her ANBU already some time ago and Naruto remembered the private scene she had stumbled upon. Surely no ANBU wanted to watch the two old Sannin exploring their new-found love for each other.
Once the office was sound-proof, Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at the sixteen-year old in front of them expectantly. The blonde held up the scroll and tossed it on the desk between them. Tsunade grabbed it and Jiraiya moved closer to her, reading the content of the scroll from over her shoulder.
Their eyes skimmed the scroll and Tsunade finally looked up, a puzzled look on her face. "Where did you get this, Naruto?"
It was the scroll containing the information on the Akatsuki. The scroll Itachi had given her. Naruto had pondered about telling them of the scroll's origin for the last two days. On one hand, she wanted to be honest with them, but on the other hand, she knew that they would try to convince her that trusting Itachi was a bad idea. And maybe it was a bad idea, but she had made a deal with him and somehow she knew that she could trust him. As stupid as this was sounding even to herself, the pain and love that had showed in Itachi's eyes while talking about Sasuke had been too real. No one could possibly fake that. And she still had to confirm what he had said about everything not being as it seemed about the Uchiha massacre. She still needed to find out what this was about. Until she had either a confirmation of him telling the truth or him lying, she would not reveal the origin of the information.
"I can't tell you right now-", she held up a hand, telling the others to shut up, as both Sannin opened their mouths to voice their objection. "I can't tell you yet", she repeated with a look that told them she really wouldn't tell them now, "but I promise I'll eventually tell you. I just need to confirm certain facts first. This information, though, is reliable."
Jiraiya trusted Naruto enough not to question her opinion. He was probably the person who knew her best right now. If Naruto judged the information to be reliable, he would accept it. After all, he'd trust her with his life. However, he couldn't help but marvel at how easily Naruto had just shut the two seasoned shinobi up with a single gesture of a hand. He chuckled inwardly as he realized that he had not even tried to question her authority in this situation. Taking control seemed to come natural to her. So much like your father, Jiraiya thought, at the same time pained and yet amazed.
Her voice was steady and serious as she explained what she was planning to do. Great plans indeed, Jiraiya thought, while listening. He had hoped that his godchild would find back to herself. And he was sure that to some extent she had, but still not entirely. The smiles she gave them did not yet reach her eyes each time and she also seemed to be too tense.
Naruto finished her explanation – or rather demand – and Tsunade found herself gaping at the girl in front of her. She quickly closed her mouth and put two fingers under her chin in her favourite thinking-pose. Naruto's plans were way too dangerous for her liking. It would be very difficult to convince the council to approve of this. Although Tsunade was the Hokage, the council still held enough power to forbid this. She might be responsible for assigning missions, but if the council disagreed with for example the shinobi she had chosen for a certain mission, it was easy for them to oppose her and have someone else go instead. Considering that the council kept an especially close eye on the demon container, Naruto's plans were even more likely to be opposed by them. Maybe she could somehow find a way to stop them from interfering? She needed to be the only one to be able to assign missions to Naruto... The figurative light bulb lit up in her head. The only shinobi in Konoha she had absolute power over, were the ANBU. With exception of Root, which was supposedly eliminated, all ANBU members primarily reported to the Hokage. The council had almost no say in missions concerning the Hokage's personal forces. And with that, Tsunade had found a nice solution. It was actually a really good one, which only helped Naruto's plans.
Tsunade gave Naruto a conspiratorial smile. "Prepare yourself to become an ANBU, gaki."
Two days later:
"Did you hear?", Ino whispered, leaning over the table, shielding her mouth with one hand from listening ears.
"Hear what?", Chouji prompted, while chewing on a piece of meat.
The old Team Ten had met for dinner in their traditional barbecue restaurant. Team Ten did no longer exist, all of the three were now pursuing different paths. Ino was apprenticing under her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Morino Ibiki in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Unit. Chouji was on active duty in a team with two other chuunin and a jounin captain. Shikamaru was mostly avoiding any kind of troublesome work, but had accepted Tsunade's demand to help with planning the next chuunin exams. As they seldom found the time to see each other in this constellation, they often made appointments for dinner. Their old sensei Sarutobi Asuma joined them most of the times, but today the jounin was on a mission.
"I heard two of our customers talk about it today", Ino stated mysteriously. The bleach-blonde still helped out at the family-owned Yamanaka flower shop, whenever her working hours allowed it. Thanks to talkative customers, Ino had a steady income of gossip.
"About what?", Chouji asked again. The boys knew that Ino loved it when they appeared to be interested in her latest piece of information. So they played along, wondering what dirty little secret they'd find out this time.
Ino grinned behind her hand. " This one's really good! I still can't believe it myself! And I'm also a bit mad at her for not telling us." She frowned.
The boys let out a simultaneous sigh. Ino just loved to spread her gossip. Before she could get angry about their lack of real interest, Chouji took pity on the blonde and asked again, "What is it, Ino? I'm so curious." Next to the Akimichi, Shikamaru was rolling his eyes at his friend's poor acting skills.
Ino, either ignoring the poor attempt to please her or just not realizing it, gave a little squeal and leaned even closer, almost burning her bust on the barbecue. "Okay, listen! There were these two women in the shop today. One of them was buying red roses and the other was asking about those blue flowers we had last week and she –"
"Ino!", Shikamaru suddenly barked, "just get to the point!" The Nara was usually the last, who would willingly ask her to tell him someone else's secrets, but this was just getting annoying. Whatever it was, Ino was obviously excited about it. She was making quite the fuss about this.
"Oh, Shikamaru, I had no idea that you were so interested!", she said sarcastically, a little annoyed about how he had interrupted her explanation that had only slightly drifted off topic. "But if you really want to know it so badly, I'll just tell you!"
She gave both of the boys a pointed look and then revealed the 'big secret'. "Naruto is back."
Two pairs of eyes stared at her. Then Chouji shrugged, chewing his food and silently helped himself to another piece of meat. "So when did she come back?", he asked, obviously unfazed. He thought it had been only a matter of time until the loud-mouthed blonde returned. That didn't mean he didn't care for her return, he just didn't understand why Ino was being so secretive about it.
Shikamaru was squinting his intelligent eyes at Ino, not feeling as indifferent about this as his best friend did. "Are you sure, Ino?"
"Yes, at least that's what the women said", she explained, "And why would they lie about it, right?"
Yes, the genius mused, why would anyone lie about this? He saw no reason for them to spread a rumour such as this. Shikamaru had sensed how the village had been strangely peaceful for the last three years; how the civilians had whispered about the 'demon being finally gone'. He had not yet concluded what they had meant, but it was definitely related to Naruto and her absence.
Considering how the village had reacted to Naruto's departure, he couldn't help but wonder why the people were so restrained about her return. After all, Naruto was the loudest and most obnoxious ninja in Konoha. Wouldn't there have been some kind of uproar? Surely, her orange jumpsuit was rather flashy and if she had really returned, wouldn't he have seen her already?
Before Shikamaru knew it, they had paid their bill and Chouji was offering to walk Ino home. Shikamaru waved a distracted good-bye and headed in the opposite direction. There was a very troublesome person, who would know for sure, if Naruto was back.
"So you heard it, huh?", the grey-haired jounin guessed, giving Shikamaru a single-eyed look.
The Nara nodded at the man, that was probably just as lazy as the boy himself. "When did she return?"
Kakashi gave the chuunin, that had appeared on his doorstep some minutes ago, his famous eye-smile. "Oh, Shikamaru, the question should be 'when will Naruto return again'?"
A frown appeared on the Nara's irritated face. "So she is not back?" He had thought so; the women in Ino's parents' flower shop had been wrong.
"Well", Kakashi said, acting like his usual aloof self, "she was back. But she left again."
Shikamaru intently gazed at the jounin. Was Naruto's former sensei trying to make fun of him? But for what reason? "When did she leave again? And why?" His irritation was growing with each word. It was just too troublesome to talk to this man.
Kakashi gave him another eye-smile. "Oh, Naruto returned the day before yesterday", he stated casually, "and she left again. Yesterday", he added, like it was no big deal.
The Nara heir's brain was trying to make sense of the situation. If what the jounin told him was correct, then it was no surprise that Naruto's return had not caused a scandal. No one had probably seen her at all in the mere hours she had spent in Konoha. But how did the rumour of her return spread? Maybe the guards had seen her as she had entered the village? Of course she would've been questioned at the gates before being allowed into Konoha. Mentally nodding to himself at his conclusion, he concentrated on Kakashi again.
"So, you say she only returned to leave again? Why would she do that?" Shikamaru saw no sense behind her actions; but they were talking about Naruto after all; with her, almost anything was possible. And Kakashi seemed rather unbothered by her very short visit after three full years. But had he ever seen the jounin being actually bothered by anything?
"She left on personal business", Kakashi said, not revealing the girl's reasons.
Automatically, Shikamaru's over-sized brain began working again. Personal business could mean a lot. Kakashi's answer wasn't helpful. His thoughts were interrupted, as the jounin's free eye focused on him. The eye-smile faded and a serious look replaced it.
"Why are you asking, Shikamaru?", the jounin wanted to know.
Well, Shikamaru guessed he was just curious – wait! Shikamaru and curious? Troublesome. Being curious was not at all like him. That's something new. But thinking back, he remembered how Naruto had had this effect on him before already. He had been very curious after the incident in the alleyway. After she had been beaten. He had even paid a visit to the Hokage to ask about it. How troublesome, he realized. What was it about Naruto that made him act so out of character?
Remembering Kakashi's question, he answered. "It's very bothersome, but there are a few things I want to ask her." About why people refer to her as 'demon' and why the villagers hate her so much, he added silently in his mind.
The grey-haired man's gaze was piercing him, trying to read the Nara's irritated face. The kid is too clever for his own good, Kakashi thought. He had the suspicion that Shikamaru was very close to discovering Naruto's secret. If any of Naruto's former class mates would find out about the Kyuubi on their own, it would be Shikamaru. With his intelligence and perceiving nature, it was actually a wonder that he hadn't picked up on it yet.
"Tell me, Shikamaru, why do you care about Naruto so much?", the jounin wanted to know, his single eye still regarding the chuunin coolly.
Unknowingly, Shikamaru had been asked the almost exact question three years ago in Tsunade's office. After asking all the questions about Naruto being beaten, Jiraiya had asked the Nara why he was worried about Naruto. And unknowingly, he now gave the almost exact answer. Shrugging lazily, he said, "Why wouldn't I care about her? I consider her a good friend of mine."
The pineapple-haired boy thought he saw a look of appreciation flash through Kakashi's single dark eye, but it was gone too soon to be sure of it. Kakashi's scrutinizing gaze vanished and the famous eye-smile was back in place. "I'm glad you say that", he smiled.
Knowing he would get nothing more than more vague answers from the jounin, Shikamaru nodded his head in good-bye and went to the door of Kakashi's apartment. He was about to close the door behind him and leave, when he heard the man speak up again.
"Naruto will be back in four weeks."
Shikamaru met the man's eye, nodding in thanks at the information and left.
Kakashi watched the boy leave his apartment. He kept staring at the closed door for several minutes. Naruto had paid him a visit right after she had talked to Tsunade and Jiraiya about her plans for the future. Kakashi had been more than glad to see the girl in one piece. He had been worried about his former student. While Konoha didn't know that the Sannin had returned without the girl already six months, Tsunade and Jiraiya had told Kakashi. He had been sad to hear about Naruto's confused state of mind. And seeing her last night, he had seen the changes in the girl. She had spent the night sleeping on his couch, becasue she didn't want to sleep in her own apartment yet. Tsunade had told her that she'd leave again the next morning, so cleaning her apartment was only a waste of time.
Naruto had come back with plans that were dangerous, to say the least. But Kakashi knew that if anyone could do this, it was Naruto. However, to go through with her plans, she needed to leave again; but Tsunade had limited the time to four weeks. Four weeks of training. Again? Yes, again. While Kakashi didn't know yet how strong the girl had become during her absence, she still needed special kind of training. Tsunade wanted to make her an ANBU; and ANBU needed to know more than the average jounin. So they had gotten Naruto yet another sensei.
A sensei with the name of Mitarashi Anko. Kakashi thought the young woman was a good choice to introduce Naruto to the ANBU. In her early years, Anko had been the only student of Orochimaru. But after Orochimaru had branded her with the first version of his Cursed Seal of Heaven, she had returned to the Konoha. To some degree, the villagers' hatred towards Anko had been as fierce as towards Naruto. Both knew how it felt to be despised, to receive hateful looks and to be the pariah. With time, the villagers had learned to accept Anko again, and the young woman felt only slight distrust directed at her at times. As Anko was an ANBU, Tsunade had deemed it a good pairing. And knowing Naruto and Anko, Tsunade had probably foreseen that it would be good to both of them to be around the other. Anko would also be Naruto's first female sensei; maybe the blonde could learn more from her than battle tactics, ANBU strategies and team leadership.
Although Kakashi had approved of the training, he also knew that Anko was a very strict and – in his opinion – more than mildly insane sensei. Still, Anko was one of the most respected jounin in Konoha and Naruto could learn a lot from the purple-haired woman. Even if she was insane. But people had said similar things about Naruto. A good match indeed.
One week after Naruto had left Konoha once again to train under Anko, Tsunade received a scroll delivered to her by one of Naruto's toad summons. Once again, it was already late in the evening and once again, there was still light in Tsunade's office. Sighing at the circumstances in which she found herself too often these days, she unrolled the scroll after pressing her bleeding thumb on the seal that reacted exclusively to Tsunade's blood. Trying her best to decipher Naruto's incredibly bad handwriting, she skimmed the page.
Tsunade had expected this scroll. Naruto's plans depended on her having a very reliable team of most capable shinobi. The Hokage had given Naruto permission to choose freely from all shinobi in Konoha. This decision must not be made rashly. Naruto's – and probably even Konoha's – future depended on it.
The scroll contained a list of the three people Naruto had chosen as her future team mates. Next to the three names were short explanations for why she had chosen the named person. The explanations showed her that the girl had seriously thought about this decision. Maybe she had even asked Kakashi's opinion on it before she had left.
Tsunade couldn't suppress an appreciative smile. She remembered the three people on that list very well. She highly approved of Naruto's choice.
And at least one of them was in for a very troublesome surprise.
Thanks for reading everyone! :)