CH 5
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
Naruto had been on his Genin team, Team Eleven for approximately a year and half. (...i...) Their sensei had deemed them ready to take the winter Chunin exams in Suna Country, which was a good thing since their country was under treaty with Konoha.
They'd done several C-Class missions, some within the village, but three were done elsewhere, which gave the blond Jinchuriki a chance to get his much wanted live tanto and wakizashi weapons. The girls had followed him and ensured that some of his purchases were materials for clothing that Akiko was going to show him how to make on his own, so that the boy wasn't always stuck with bright colours.
The team had learned quickly why the boy always wore orange when they had gone team shopping at the local shops in the village. None of the shops offered him anything, but orange clothing or bright colours. The girls had been furious and their sensei couldn't convince the shop keeper that the boy needed to blend into the back ground in order to properly do his job.
"Guys, it's all right," Naruto had told them with a toothy grin. "We're taking C-Class missions now and some involve traveling with caravans of traders. Since they don't know me, I could get better fabrics from those merchants at better rates too."
It was true. Their first C-Class mission had been protecting a small textile merchant and his wares. The blond had been an avid textile student during the entire mission, learning about the fabrics and about the differences that would and would not be useful to a ninja.
He was currently wearing dark brown skin-tight pants at capry length and skin-tight shirt with sleeves to the elbow. He had a sleeveless knee length jumpsuit in dark greens with patches of dark reds, yellows, orange and brown. This was courtesy of Akiko's fiddling and he was currently testing the outfit with a promise from the girl that she'd supply him with a new one when he out grew this one.
"We wanted to buy a team item," Risa pouted and left the shop.
"I know," Naruto said. "Sorry guys, but most don't want my money."
"That's not true," Akiko said. "They'd willingly take your money, but will sell you shit instead of what you need."
"Language, young lady," Tokuma-sensei said.
Akiko pouted and crossed her arms, even if she was fourteen now. "Well what are we going to do?"
Risa tugged on one of her ears and then blinked. She looked at her sensei, then Naruto and then Akiko. "Earrings..."
Akiko looked up, thought about it and grinned. "Oh yes," she said. "We can buy the kits at another store and do it ourselves. My older sister wanted to do mine, but my parents told her I was too young."
"How old were you when you wanted them done," Risa asked, she too was fourteen now.
"I was five," Akiko admitted. "This time it's different." Risa nodded her agreement.
Naruto, who, just recently had his twelfth birthday, thought about it because he was a boy, but he'd seen men wearing earrings so he didn't think that it would be that bad. 'Never had any team activity like that in my past,' he thought. 'I wonder what my old class would've thought about that, if I'd gotten them back then.'
"Naruto," Tokuma-sensei said. "Do you want to do this?"
"Do you Sensei," the blond boy asked him back. The girls looked at him and he shrugged. "I don't mind as long as it's for both my ears and that you two go buy what I need to get them done."
Akiko brightened and so did Risa. "Sensei," she asked the Jounin. "What about you, sir, would you join us in this too?"
"I'm part of your team aren't I," Tokuma said with a gentle smile. He'd never had a team include him in this kind of thing either. It was kind of nice to not be forgotten. "Make sure you buy the items needed for after care too."
"Yes sensei," the girls said and entered another shop that catered to those kinds of items. They ran in giggling and Naruto just moved away from the store's front so that the merchant wouldn't know that the girls were buying him a pair of earrings.
"Does that bother you," Tokuma-sensei asked his student.
"Nah," Naruto said thoughtfully. "I've gotten used to most of the merchants short changing me or selling my garbage that they wouldn't feed a starving dog. The D-Class missions have taught me how to hunt for my own meats and how to cultivate plants and herbs to supplement what I can buy. I'm grateful for that because I don't have to rely on food from the bad ones anymore."
"If you become the Hokage..."
"They'll still be people that I'd fight for," Naruto replied honestly. "They'd allow my precious people to live and their services are essential for my precious people, so I'll fight… even for those that don't like me." He grinned and said, "I'm a Shinobi of Konoha because I earned this and because I chose this job," he fingered to his Hitai-ate.
"You still have a long way to go," Tokuma told him and the corrected what he meant. "I mean to become the Hokage."
"I know," Naruto said as the girls left the shop.
Akiko was eager to get this done and asked, "Where should we do this?"
"My place," Risa said. "There are pups that just finished being weaned and I want to show them to you guys. My parents won't mind either." They'd never said a word about Naruto or any of her other teammates whenever she'd mentioned them, so she was sure they'd be fine with her team visiting.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
(...Gaki...) The fox called to him several nights later.
(...Hmm...) Naruto said and turned his focus internally. (...What is it?...)
(...What the hell is this?...) The fox asked wiggling a long ear in his direction.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and then started laughing. The earrings he'd gotten days before had copied and been implanted into the ears belonging to the demon fox. They were much larger and looked to fit the demon, but the stones were unmistakably similar to the ones in the blond boy's ears.
(...Ah, hah, hah...) He laughed. (...I, hah, got these several days, hah, ago...) He pointed to the dark purple studs glinting from his ears. (...My team each got a pair of the same colour and we pierced our ears...) He'd done Risa's ears and his Sensei had done his. Risa did Akiko's ears and Sakura's cousin did their Sensei's.
(...It was a team thing...) He then paused dramatically and said. (...Welcome to the team...)
The demon fox huffed and said, (...Don't get anything else pierced while I'm still around...)
(...Hai, hai...) Naruto agreed with a chuckle. (...That all, what about tattoos?...)
(...Don't try my patience kid. I expect to be consulted for any tattoos, just in case there are adverse effects with these Seals. There's got to be a way to protect against such reflections...) The demon said as he grumbled and twitched both his ears as though he could remove the offending items.
Naruto's awareness had only been diverted for a short time. He was currently in the middle of packing his supplies. They were going to Suna on the following day in order to take the Chunin exams. He couldn't wait to get there in order to see Gaara and maybe help the poor boy out a little earlier that he'd done in the past.
'Let's be honest, I never knew about him until he arrived for the Chunin exams here,' he thought, packing some overnight camping equipment. 'No real need for a tent, but definitely a cover of some kind. Desserts are cold at night too.' His weapons care kit was placed in his backpack, along with a cloak.
He added a scroll that held a canvas cover, a sleeping bag of down that was made for all types of weather, rope of several lengths and pegs with push buttons that snap an anchor open. In another scroll he had a large wok like pan, a large pot, five bundles of firewood, matches, flint and strikers (in case) and four bundles of prepackaged rations that only needed water to boil them into readiness. The final scroll contained most of the clothing he thought he'd need for the trip.
He paused and then added his watercolour and drawing items in an additional scroll. This was just in case he had some downtime to make some drawings. He usually did that in every town they visited. The girls and their sensei were used to seeing him with a drawing pad and several pencils in a small over the shoulder satchel that tucked easily under one arm when needed to be moved out of the way.
'Thank Kami for storage scrolls,' he thought. 'There's nothing worse than trying to haul all the gear you need in too many bags.' The only problem with storage scrolls was that they were limited by the number of items, item type and sometimes by the chakra strength of the person that activated or created them.
The following day Team Eleven met at the gates and traveled to Suna with five other teams of Konoha Genin. The changes in the countryside were gradual, but they all felt the heat of Suna Country when they passed one of the border stations.
"Wow," Naruto said. "It's like a sea of sand." It did indeed look like a sea, even with the wind blowing sand dust and dust clouds over the surface. It even had waves. The others of Konoha that had never visited Suna Country were equally awed by the expanse.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
"All right you little shits," the Jounin proctor to the Suna exam said to all the Genin in the room. "Take a number from the box, sit down at that spot and shut up." The process didn't take too long and soon everyone was seated at random locations in the room. "Write your name, seat number, team or cell number and the village that you're from at the top of the exam sheet. Put your pencils down and wait for further instructions."
The steely, eyed Jounin proctor noted that many listened to her and that quite a few did not. A few discrete coughs from their seat companions had them complying, since the exam couldn't begin until everyone paid attention to the large Jounin woman at the front of the room.
"NOW," she said in a tone that made most of the Genin jumped because they'd been startled by it. Team Eleven from Konoha and eight others did not react.
Shinobi were not to take note of loud noises unless in direct relation to their active missions. Notes by the examining proctors were marked on the clipboards that they had in their hands. "You must pass with your team. Ten questions total overall are shared among your team or cell members. Each question is worth five points. Your team needs a minimum of thirty points total to move onto the next phase of the exam. Anyone caught cheating and you'll leave the room, with your team members joining you, immediately to leave in disgrace."
"BEGIN NOW," she bellowed loudly. Again the same teams that took no notice of the volume of her voice were noted. The others had points marked against them in increments that would be used to take away a team's accumulated written exam points. Whereas the teams that never reacted gained points, this included a gain for those that quickly followed the initial instructions. Points were taken off for those that caused a delay in the start of the exam time.
Naruto looked at the questions, sighed and answered every question that he believed a Genin could answer with a bit of judicious observation of the room. This made it seem like he was looking around for someone to copy from, but in reality he didn't need to. He returned to his paper every once in a while and wrote another answer.
He skipped a couple and answered another one that looked like he was following one the plants in the room. Then he returned to fill out most of the rest and chose to leave what he'd thought were the harder ones alone. His written exam was still a guaranteed forty pointer for him and his teammates. He hoped that the girls caught on to the information gathering part of this exam.
The exam time was two exact hours long and three teams had already been eliminated because their technique in information gathering was very poor. "TIME," the proctor yelled. "PUT THOSE PENCILS DOWN NOW."
One additional team lost points, including the same others that reacted to her initial bellows. It was not Team Eleven from Konoha village. They were used to loud noises because of Risa's love of things that explode. 'At least it's only noise,' Naruto thought. 'If there was anything added to the noise like Risa's pepper bombs, I know that Akiko and I would be out of here.'
"Go into the room across the hall, while we correct these and evaluate your conduct in this room," the Proctor said.
The room allowed the Genin teams to mingle. However most were too nervous and chose to hang out in their cell formations. Half an hour later another proctor show up and said, "All right everyone, the following teams go back into the room across the Hall. Team eight Suna, Team five Kiri, Team nine Suna, Team eleven Konoha, Team six Konoha, Team three Suna, Team..."
Naruto noted that only one third of the teams that had taken the written portion of the exam came back to that original room. The girls stuck close to him and that made him feel like a protector for them, even though he knew full well that they were very capable in defending their own honour. Besides they were way taller than him now.
It was one of the ploys to make them seem like an easier target and a suggestion that their Jounin-sensei had advised that they take whenever they travel. This strategy made many people underestimate them. It was still a strategy that made the blond boy feel ten feet tall, though.
As soon as no other Genin team entered the room the first proctor said, "Congratulations. You guys pass on to the next phase of the exam. You have two hours to prepare, meet your Sensei and get guided to this year's exam location. It's the The Buried Palace in the dessert, dismissed!"
Akiko eyes glittered and Risa was about ready to laugh at nothing in particular. Naruto wanted run fast and far, but instead he left the room with his teammates to seek out their Sensei. They needed to make sure that they had the right combination of supplies to succeed the second stage of their exam.
Hyuga Tokuma watched with worried eyes for the emergence of his team with the others that had been disqualified. His team plus one other from Konoha seemed to be delayed. A Genin from one of four other failed teams said, "They passed."
Tokuma blinked and thanked them for the information. The four teams from Konoha that failed were permitted to stay until the end of the Chunin exams or leave depending on the reports received from the exam results. Their Jounin-senseis chose to receive the exam results first before making any decision, after which they all elected to leave Suna. It seems that those teams were some of most the disruptive ones and needed quite a bit of remedial training in stealth and information gathering.
Tokuma watched an excited blond come flying out of the building, followed by two equally excited young ladies. They all squealed, giggled and jumped for their joy in passing the first phase of the exam. Naruto handed their Sensei the map that they were to follow in order to get to their new location. Apparently there was transport that they could opt to take to the place, so he led them to the area with the funniest looking creatures.
"They're camels," he told them. They followed the instructions to mount them and then they were off, racing into the dessert. The transportation was offered to all visiting Genin teams, as this might be the only time that they'd experience such a strange mode of transport.
The Buried Palace looked like it lived up to its name. Once they had arrived they still had an hour to prepare. "Tokuma-sensei," Naruto said. "Can I draw for a bit?"
"Are you ready for the next phase," the Jounin asked.
"As much as I can be," Naruto nodded his head.
"Very well," Tokuma-sensei told him. He watched as the blond Jinchuriki sat down in the sand and pulled out the charcoal pencils he'd just picked up locally with the various tan and brown colours of the region.
Naruto began to draw the milling animals that they had just ridden to get there. The man had to smile because the image was obviously going to be a good memory for the boy.
The girls were happy when Konoha's Team Six finally arrived because one of their friends was on that team and they wanted to chat about what they thought might be happening for their next phase of their Chunin exam. The also watched fondly as their teammate quickly captured the desert people that had escorted them, the animals and a few of the groups of Genin teams milling about the area.
He even captured the parts of the building that had been exposed and emerged from the sand in order to be used for this portion of the exam. He drew his team in the front of it. They were mock posed as though a picture had been taken instead of his imagination drawing it.
"Naruto," Tokuma-sensei said. He watched as the boy finished his last quick sketch.
"Thank you Sensei," Naruto said. He stood up, put away the drawing pad and pencils and then stretched his arms. He stretched, did a few handstands to unkink his fingers and asked, "Should I remove them?"
"Not unless you think you need to," Tokuma said to him about the weights that the blond was wearing on his wrists and ankles.
The Proctor in charge of this second phase spoke to the groups, "All right everyone listen up. See these forms," he held up a bundle of papers. "You sign them and then we can go onto the next phase. Basically it's a form that states we will not be held responsible for idiots getting themselves killed by being stupid in there. Your task is to carry a statuette of either red or black. To successfully finish the exam your team must have both colours."
He paused and then continued, "You fail if even one of your members is unable to finish with you, for any reason. This is the first time we're using the Buried Palace for a Chunin exam. It's an ancient structure full of ancient traps that will destroy you completely. Your task is to enter one of these four entrances," he pointed to four darkened entrances that they could all see. "Find a team with the statuette of the colour you need and take it from them. There is a pedestal somewhere in the centre of the building with places for the two of them. You need to place the two different coloured ones on it to complete the second phase of this Chunin exam. You have seven days to finish this task."
Naruto gripped the Tanto handle in the belt of his outfit. He had his Wakizashi sword strapped to his back on an angle. The Akiko flexed her hands. Risa placed hers on one of the pouches at her hips, which contained a number of her bombs.
They'd signed the papers and were handed the black statuette, which meant that they needed to find a team with a red one and take it from them. They also had to navigate the palace and avoid any old and possibly newly laid traps.
Akiko was the one selected to carry the item and had it tucked away in one of the many blank storage scrolls.
"When I call your team, you go to one of the entrances until there is a team at each entrance, after which the four teams will enter and then we'll call for the next four teams until all cells are in the Palace," the proctor said.
"A word of warning or opportunity for those of you going in there, the Kazegakage of Suna has given all of you blanket permission to take and keep whatever treasure you happen to find during the course of your exam." This announcement elicited frowns from most of the visiting Jounin-senseis, but the Suna proctor just continued. "However any of those treasures are likely to hold the deadliest of all traps, but the choice is yours."
He looked at some of the Genins excited faces and there were very few that frowned at the prospect of treasure. The most notably frowning Genin was the small blond boy that was surprisingly teamed up with two older girls. The proctor shrugged and began to call out the team numbers.
Naruto's team was part of the second wave of Genin going into the building. He pulled out a blank scroll to make notes and another piece of paper to begin mapping the entrance area. He trusted the girls and followed their Chakra using primarily the 'Gyo' technique from Nen Jutsu that he was practicing. He wore ninja goggles to hide that ability.
"Stop," he said. He looked up and down and then said, "There's dust on the ground. That means that no team has passed before us in this section."
"What," Akiko said. "There were only four entrances to the Palace."
Risa sniffed the air and nodded. "He's right. There's no smell of human sweat or of the eraser that one of the team in front of had used for the written exam."
Akiko looked more closely at the walls and then looked back. "Gengutsu or shifting walls?"
"Maybe both," Naruto said. "It'll make mapping useless, but I'll still make notes in case we encounter traps."
"Good point," Akiko agreed. "So who leads?"
"Naruto," Risa said. "He more quick on his feet plus he's got that technique."
"All right," Naruto said, taking point. He headed down the single tunnel and kept an eye out for potential openings. He handed his notepaper and pencil to Akiko to continue them. "We're headed downhill." He told them.
Risa placed small one inch squared of very lightly scented tags of paper on the walls. She had several in different scents that would allow her to change a scent if they changed direction. They would also let her know if they'd walked around in a circle.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
Four days later they had their second statuette and had fought three teams, only one had what they needed. Now they had to get to the centre of the structure before the seventh day. They were close because it was only one floor above them.
On their fifth day they found a large treasure room. They had a very spirited debate about whether to take anything. Naruto was against it because the dead and items of the dead should remain sealed.
"But Naruto," Akiko said. "The Kazekage had given us permission to do this. Think of what we could learn."
"That's what scares me," the boy told them. "Some things should never be exposed."
"Yeah, but…" Risa started and when they were both paying attention to her, she continued. "Other teams will pass through here and take the treasure."
"All I see is an Alter," Naruto said. "The pots look empty and the walls are creepy. There are holes where the eyes should be in the wall carvings."
"We'll step were you step," Akiko said. "We'll stop when you tell us."
"That's a lot of responsibility," Naruto said.
"There's an opening of fresh air near the Alter area, though," Risa said with her nose in the air. "We can't even really go back now either, because the walls shifted again." Sure enough that path that they'd taken to get to this room was no longer there. They had no choice, but to go through the large room.
Naruto sighed and could see how this wouldn't turn out well for them. He chewed on his lip and then said, "All right, but you two rest a bit, while I have a look around."
He activated his Nen Jutsu and cycled through the meditative techniques to centre his inner core. "Ren," he breathed in. "Ten," he breathed out. "Gyo," he opened his eyes and focused everywhere he could. The Gyo Jutsu revealed auras from only four of the many pots that were lined up along the walls and something on the top or in the Alter.
"There are four pots that we could store away," Naruto said and pointed them out. "Look at the floor, there are hidden spring traps, which may or may not activate."
"I'll get them," Risa said. She crouched down and activated a partial Inuzuka technique that allowed her to crawl on all fours and increased her sense of smell.
"Put them in these," Akiko said and handed her four small storage scrolls. "They've never been used and this way we can each have a treasure, plus give one to sensei."
The Inuzuka girl nodded and very slowly made her way around to the pots their companion had indicated. She successfully collected all four and was about to make her way back.
"No," Naruto said. "Stay where you are. Akiko, look up."
The Haruno girl did and gasped. Spikes were slowly lowering. The removal of that last pot had triggered a trap. "Shit," she said. "Risa, try and get to the Alter, but take your time. Naruto?"
"Walk on the walls," Naruto said. He pulled out a harness and had her put it on. He tied a carabiner to himself and roped the two of them together. "If you slip, you know what to do. Don't worry, I'll hold you, but keep moving. I suspect darts likely poisoned ones, are in the walls."
"Okay," Akiko said. "Let's do this. Risa?"
"There are spikes coming up from the floor now," the Inuzuka girl said, as she side-stepped to avoid one coming up.
"Drop your four footed Jutsu and walk the walls," Naruto said. He chose to walk on the wall with the most holes because if anything came out from the opposite wall it was likely to miss them. "You're closest to the supposed exit. See if there is something to stop the traps near the Alter."
Ten minutes later Akiko slipped and that's when they sped their movements. "Now," he said as he ran and jumped, avoiding more spikes coming from the walls this times. 'Not poison darts at least.'
Akiko kept up and Risa was already at the Alter area. She was transfixed by something on it though. Suddenly she pushed a hidden button and all spikes retracted. "Oh my god, you guys hurry up," she cried. "I pressed the wrong one and there's a gas leaking into the room."
Naruto cut the rope and dropped Akiko to the floor. He dropped down next to her and said, "We can run from here."
They ran to the Alter. A blinding flash appeared from its top. "Countdown to room's destruction continued," a mechanical voice said. "Five…," Risa was through the slowly closing door.
" Four…"
Naruto hauled Akiko through the door. The girl crashed into Risa, who grabbed a hold of her friend. They both shouted, "Naruto!"
The blond Jinchuriki pressed three buttons on the Alter.
"Three…", a hidden compartment opened.
"Two…", he grabbed the item inside, stored inside a scroll and slid under the stone door before it fully closed.
"One," the muffled voice said.
"This way," Naruto said and grabbed both the girls' arms to get them up and out of the way of the explosion that was coming. "Go… quickly." The area rocked from the muffled sound behind the door. "Keep going," he told them, as he tucked storage scroll away in a pouch.
The walls cracked and that indicated to the girls that they had to run no matter what. The cracks were racing them and suddenly there were more cracks in front of them. "Shit," Akiko said. She found a passage that split in two and turned into one, but it was the wrong way. "AAHHH!"
"AKIKO!" Risa screamed and grabbed the girl's hand and arm. Naruto skidded up behind her and helped her to pull their teammate out that room. As soon as they pulled her out, they noticed that she was missing one of her feet. Her right leg bled from her ankle. "What happened?"
"Something bit it," Akiko said. "Or it was cut by an old trap. I couldn't see into the room and I forgot to sense for traps with my chakra. I'm getting woozy…" She passed out.
Naruto pulled the cut climbing rope from his belt and bound Akiko's ankle in a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. He then bound the whole thing with white clean silk and then he tossed the remainder of the silk roll to Risa.
He hauled Akiko onto his back and secured her there. "Risa," he said to the crying girl. "We're done, lead us out."
"But the exam," Risa said.
"We'll have another chance at another time, we can't finish it now," he said. "We need to get the both of you to a medical centre first."
"What are you talking about," the Inuzuka said.
"Risa," Naruto said in a patient tone. He took the silk roll from her right hand and wrapped up the other hand, quickly and efficiently. He bound injured arm to her chest. "Let's go," he said. "Lead us out of here."
"Yes," she said. "Aren't you injured?"
"Not that badly," Naruto said. "We can't waste time, keep moving. I don't think that we're too far now." They turned around the corner and there was the pedestal for the statues. That's how close they had been to finishing the second phase of the Chunin exam without injury.
"I'll put the statuettes on the pedestal," she said and took them from the scroll that Akiko had stored them in.
As soon as they were in place, a proctor appeared from the puff of ninja smoke. He took one look at all three and said, "Hold onto this." He held out a length of wood. "We'll get to the medical centre. We'll also inform your sensei where you are, what's his or her name?"
"Hyuga Tokuma from Konoha," Risa said. "Thank you."
The Jounin nodded and didn't bother to let them know that they failed. It was evident by the bandages on one girl's hand and on the other girl's foot.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
Haruno Akiko's foot had been fully severed and technically amputated in the Buried Palace. She was going to be in rehabilitation for a long while and would probably never be able to continue the path of the Kunoichi. At least she'd already planned her retirement, so-to-speak, and had prospective customers already lined up. She wasn't bitter because it had been her decision to take that path.
Inuzuka Risa's hand had been deeply burnt. Rehabilitation was part of her long-term future too. However she did plan to continue her Kunoichi training, she knew would never go past the rank Chunin. She still wanted to open facility for women to go train without any male presence. There might be one exception. That is if he used Sexy Jutsu and went there to teach.
Uzumaki Naruto visited the girls as they did their rehabilitation, but Team Eleven was officially disbanded for the time being and another set of three Genin will inherit that team or cell number. The twelve year old, blond boy needed to be recycled into a new team. It was felt that he'd able to aid his new Jounin-sensei in training two newly promoted Genin, rather than being made to fit into an older team.
"Will you be all right," Risa asked.
"Of course," Naruto said. "As long as I'm not placed with the Uchiha or Akiko's cousin Sakura, those two would probably be the worst combination to mix with me."
"So true," Akiko said from her bed in Suna's medical centre. Team Eleven were saying their goodbyes to the girl now that her parents were here to oversee her transportation back to Konoha. "You still have to buy your clothes from me."
"That's a promise," Naruto said, along with Risa. His attention was split when he felt the presence of another Jinchuriki just outside of the room. "I'll let the two of you say goodbye. We'll see when you get back to Konoha."
"Thanks for everything Naruto," Akiko said. "Come by anytime to bitch and moan about your teammates."
"I'll do that," he stepped outside of the room and closed the door. He watched a red-headed youth walk away. He scaled the walls, ran along them, caught up to the one that was Shukaku's container and dropped down in front of him. "Hey," he said. "Who are you?"
This was the first time that any visiting ninja had asked for his name, "Gaara," the Suna Genin replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Just making sure," Naruto said. He leaned in and whispered, "I can help with that." He pointed to the shifting sands that were the cause of the red-head's sleeplessness.
"How do you know," Gaara said. "What is your name?"
"I'm like you," Naruto said. "Uzumaki Naruto."
"A weapon," Gaara said with a nod.
"No," Naruto said. "A Protector, for my village."
Gaara blinked at that. The sand at his feet moved as though it wanted to attack, but hesitated. Then the youngest son of the Kazikage stated, "You failed to become Chunin."
"True," Naruto said with a good-natured grin. "But the future's not written in stone. I'll have other chances. I can still help you with that, if you want me to."
"Hm…no," Gaara said. "Perhaps... in the future."
"That's a guarantee," Naruto said and watched the sand lift up to try and attack him. He let out invisible heat in a stabbing motion that stopped the sand. Gaara looked surprised, as Naruto's friendly expression never change, but he'd shrugged at the curiosity shown. "Told you," he'd said and then he watched the confused red headed boy and future Kazikage continued on his way.
Tokuma and Risa were waiting for Naruto at the entrance of Suna's medical centre. "Let's go home," Tokuma-sensei said to the last two members of Team Eleven. "You two will have to write a report about what happened in the Buried Palace and perhaps try to explain why the Kazikage is not happy about it collapsing."
Naruto's eyes twinkled and he winked at Risa, who giggled and that caused to him to chuckle, as they used chakra in their legs to speed up their travel time to home to Konoha.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
TBC…
(...i...) Yes, I'm pushing the time line in a twisty way. He'll still only be twelve when he'll be joining Team Seven. They take the Chunin exams only months after they graduate anyway, so the timeline fits.