Well as promised, here is chapter 4! and its 3000 words to make up for the small chapter 3 :) i am feeling better, but still sick, stupid cold, go away and bother someone else :P
anyway for the reviews :)
chickenman00712 - Thanks for the review, and don't worry, i just hope you do great on your exams, and that you hurry back to keep reading :P Good luck :D
dragonshaun9 - Thanks for the review, yeah Masaki is having an impact in the creation of Konoha :) time will only tell how Madara will react with Masaki as he takes on a more active role
RairyuuBlade - Thanks for the review, and for wishing me well :) I do feel better, not 100% yet, but good enough to return to work tomorrow...boo :( well at least i only got sick at the END of my vacation, would have sucked to had been sick the entire time :) "was on a week vacation :P"
xzavx - Thanks for the review, and yeah they are getting worst, find out more about how they affect him in this chapter :)
Bombat1994 - Thanks for the review, actually she is able to stand up, not walk yet, but she can stand, using other things as support, such as the bars in her crib, so she would be around 9-10 months old and on the verge of walking :)
Slop Doggy - Thanks for the review, and i updated as fast as i could :) Hope you enjoy ;)
Cecixx19 - Thanks for the review, yeah, i was trying to do something different, i don't know if its been tried, but i know its not done a lot :P
Well that's everyone, again, thank you for the reviews, please keep them coming :) Now for chapter 4! que intro! :P
Historical Bonds
Chapter 4
PRESENT TIME
A team of ANBU were patrolling the fire/earth borders; the leader of the team had hair as white as snow and wasn't very tall. His ANBU mask in place hid his face, one of the ANBU members of his team joined him "Captain, everything is quiet on the border" The man said, slightly irritated. Although they were all working under code names, the white haired prodigy was well known to the ANBU as a former enemy
"Take a break and rest up before returning to your patrol" The young ANBU captain responded
"With all due respect sir, what do you expect will happen? We have been patrolling the border for the past week" The ANBU responded
"These orders come from the desk of the Hokage himself, I do not make a habit of questioning them. Now do you want to rest up? Or should I send you right back on the patrol?" The captain asked him
"No sir, I will take a break" He said as he jumped away
The captain took off his mask revealing Toshiro's face, he enjoyed the breeze of fresh air blowing on his skin as he sat back on the branch. Unlike back home where he had the respect and admiration of the entire tenth division, he would have to prove himself to these people and earn their respect
A messenger bird suddenly swooped down and landed on a branch next to Toshiro. He took the small scroll attached to its leg and began to read it "Toshiro, I need you to come back home as soon as your mission is over, it's about Naruto. I will explain more once you return, Sakura" he rolled the scroll back up and put it away in his vest pocket. He still had a few days left until he had to return and the return trip itself would take about two days. Well two days for the team, he was much faster than most Konoha ninja's. Only Naruto and Hiyori could match his speed. He took out a new scroll and wrote a response "Patrol is turning out to be quiet, I will leave my team behind to finish up the patrol, I will come straight home. Should be there by sunrise tomorrow" he finished writing. He rolled it up and tied it to the bird's leg and told it to return, he slipped his ANBU mask back on and jumped down to the camp area where two of his team members were resting up
"Captain, would you like something to eat?" One of them asked as he was cooking some fish that they had freshly caught
"No, I just got a message from Lady Sakura, she needs me to return and help her with something. I am leaving you in charge of the squad, finish up the patrol here and return home at the end of the week"
"Yes Captain, is there anything wrong?" He asked
"I don't know, the letter only said that she needed to see me as soon as possible" Toshiro answered "Take care of the squad"
"Aye sir"
Toshiro quickly jumped away in a flash
Back home Naruto had begun his day. However he was more tired than he usually was due to the lack of sleep. He was unable to fall back asleep after waking up to the nightmare. A knock came to his office door, the headache that he had made it sound like explosions "Come in…Just stop knocking"
The doors opened as team Naruto walked in "Nii-San, we completed our mission and… Whoa, you look like hell Nii-San!" Konohamaru said as he walked in fallowed by Yuki and Hanabi
"Naruto Sensei, you look like you haven't slept all night" Yuki commented
That wasn't too far from the truth Naruto thought to himself "Don't worry about it, I am fine, do you have your mission report?" Naruto asked, trying hide his weaken state so they wouldn't worry too much
"Yeah, it's all here" Konohamaru said as he handed over the scroll
"Good job, you have been working very hard" Naruto commented
"Team Naruto is the best!" Yuki said with pride
"You should take the next few days off to rest before your next mission" Naruto said trying to force a smile
"That would be great Sensei! I have a birthday coming up so I was hoping to have it off!" Yuki said with a large smile "Thank you so much!" she added
"Alright, you kids go out and enjoy your time off" Hanabi and Yuki walked out of the room while Konohamaru stayed behind with his arms crossed staring right at Naruto "Is there anything I can do for you?" Naruto asked
"Nii-San, Yuki and Hanabi might have fallen for it, but I haven't. I know you better than that, so don't insult me by saying everything is fine when they obviously aren't. You look like hell and you are trying to hide it, that fake smile of yours isn't fooling me"
Naruto smiled, but this time it was genuine "I am sorry Konohamaru, I am not trying to fool you or anything, I just don't want you to worry about it. It's nothing really, it's just that I have been having a hard time getting a full nights worth of sleep lately, that's all" Naruto tried to explain
"Somehow, I think there is more to just a simple sleeping problem, Nii-San, do you not trust me?" Konohamaru asked him seriously
Naruto felt bad, he honestly wasn't trying to hide anything from him. So he decided to just tell him the story about the nightmares and how they have been plaguing him since the end of the war, but that only recently have they begun to get worst
"That's horrible Nii-San, you know that I would never blame you for the death of my family… You are the closes thing to family that I have left… And everyone in the village loves you, no one cares that you have distant ties to the night country!" Konohamaru tried to cheer him up
"I know, and Naoto can't talk, yet the nightmares keep coming, it's come to the point where I dread going to bed. I have been drinking a lot of coffee to try and make up for it, but I believe that I am reaching my limit" Naruto said sadly
"Yeah, you have large bags under your eyes, and they seem to be turning red, and I don't mean your fox red color…" Konohamaru said concerned "Maybe you should take a few days off yourself. You can't be of much use to the village if you pass out from exhaustion" Konohamaru suggested
"I thought of that, but what would I do? Go home and sleep? It doesn't matter if its day or night, the nightmares haunt me" Naruto told him
"I understand, but you won't be able to function as Hokage if you keep this up, eventually you will collapse. It's better that you are home until you can find a solution"
"He is right you know" A voice came from the door, Naruto lifted up his head to see Sakura standing in the doorway "Naruto, I want you to come home" She added
"But Sakura Chan, I still have work to do here and…"
"As executive head doctor, I have the authority to relieve you, there is also the fact that as your wife I can drag you home as you kick and scream through the streets and tie you up, and no one would dare ask questions…"
Both Konohamaru and Naruto had the same expression on their faces, knowing that she wasn't kidding; she would indeed drag Naruto through the streets knowing full well that no one in their right mind would dare try to stop her; they would just assume that Naruto had done something stupid to piss her off
"Alright, alright, I get it, you win. Just let me inform the council" Naruto answered, mostly out of fear
"No, I will inform them, you head straight home. The council doesn't need to see you in this condition, Konohamaru I trust you to make sure he gets home, understood?"
"Yes Nee-Chan!" he quickly answered, afraid of the consequences that would come with refusing. Sakura shut the door before she left "Sakura Nee-Chan can be scary at times…" Konohamaru commented
"I would like to remind you that Yuki has the same personality as she does" Naruto said with a slight grin
"I know, but just like you, I don't care" he said with a large smile "Now let's get you home before she comes back and drags us BOTH through the streets…Because you know she would" Konohamaru said with a scared expression
"Yeah I know… Just let me grab my book" Naruto said as he grabbed the book of Konoha's history that he had brought with him and fallowed Konohamaru home
IN THE PAST
The meeting was over. The Uchihas, Hyugas and Senjus had all agreed that they would talk to all the clans in their respected regions about joining in the construction of the great village
As promised by Tobirama and Hashirama they had returned to the beach to help Masaki search for any other survivors from his crew. They searched until sundown but the most that they had found were dead corps, either floating in the water or washed up on the shore. Masaki, helped by his new friends buried everyone that they could find. On each crosses he had engraved the night country emblem of the moon. On the last grave, he was holding onto a small arm band, it was the band indicating the tenth division vice captain. He had a tear forming around his eyes
"Are you alright Masaki?" Hashirama asked him
"She was my second in command, she was so loyal, so young. I lead her, and everyone else to their deaths. I knew the storm was coming, had I acted right away rather than argue with the other captains I might have avoided it, or at least avoided the rocks… This Is my fault"
Both Hashirama and Tobirama felt horrible, this man had lost his entire ship and crew. He was stranded alone in an unknown land "It wasn't your fault, as leader of my entire clan I know the burden of leading and even losing people under my command due to orders I gave out. It's never easy, but you couldn't control the weather, no more then you could control those other captains"
"I know, but still, I can't help but feel responsible" he said as he got down on his knees and prayed for his fallen vice captain and crew. Hashirama and Tobirama remained silent out of respect for their new friend. After a few minutes Masaki got back up and faced them
"So what are you going to do now?" Tobirama asked him
"I don't know, I mean it's not like I can get home on a small boat, it would take me too long and I would run out of supplies. I would never be able to run a large ship on my own and I seriously doubt I could find a crew that would be willing to take me home, so I am stranded here. Unless one of the other ships somehow made it safely here, but I doubt it. Their captains were stupid enough to try and outrun it, more than likely the winds ripped there ships to shreds as the storm caught up with them" Masaki said sadly
"Well, until you figure out what you want to do, you are more than welcome to come back with us" Hashirama told him
"Thank you, at least I have some friends here" he said with a smile
"Yeah, and perhaps you can keep helping us with the construction of the village, that idea you had to build it at the base of the mountain really was great" Tobirama said with a grin
"Indeed, I believe that since you are an outsider, you are unbiased, thus you can view everything in a way that we cannot. Everyone was trying to have the village constructed in their area because it was close to their current clans settlement. You were the only one who looked at the map for the right location for the village, not the best location for your clan" Hashirama commented
"Well I only looked at the map and considered all the options, the village where I come from is very large" Masaki told them
"Really? So your people have already united their clans?" Hashirama asked him
"It was done a while ago. My village was founded about fifty years ago, however it is already the home to a few thousands of ninja's and villagers" Masaki said proudly
"WOW thousands?!" Tobirama commented
"And are the Namikaze clan a big part of this village?" Hashirama asked curious
"Well we have been a part of the village since the beginning and have a say in the government, but the Kurokage is the real leader. I am actually the first Namikaze to make it to Captain, it was a big deal since I am still very young" Masaki told them
"Well then, it seems like you know a lot about how a village works, you could be a great help to us" Tobirama told him with a large smile
"I would be happy to help in any way I can" Masaki responded
"Kage huh?" Hashirama said with a slight grin
PRESENT TIME
Naruto was laying on the couch, he barely had the energy to stand. He was fighting the temptation to shut his eyes because he knew that the nightmares would return. Konohamaru walked into the room with Naoto in his arms, she was happily sucking on her bottle "Konohamaru, I can't thank you enough for sticking around until Sakura returns, I don't think that I am in any condition to take care of Naoto"
"Says the guy who didn't want to come home" Konohamaru felt that he had to remind Naruto that he wanted to stay and keep working "And don't worry, I couldn't leave you alone like this, you have always taken care of me Nii-San. now it's my turn to return the favor" Konohamaru told him
Meanwhile Sasuke had jumped into the Hokage's office through the window expecting to see Naruto, but was surprise to see Sakura doing some paperwork, and she was surprise to see him come in through the window "Sakura?!"
"Sasuke?!" She answered back
"Where is Naruto? Shouldn't he be the one doing that?" He asked her
"I sent him home, he is in no condition to be working, and I am only doing the paperwork that had to be urgently done before I go home. What about you, why are you coming through the window?!"
"I always come through the window… It's faster, so what's wrong with Naruto?" Sasuke asked concerned for his friend
"He doesn't like to talk about it, but you are his best friend so I guess he wouldn't mind if you knew" Sakura explained to him about the nightmares and how they had gotten worst, to the point where he can barely sleep anymore "So I sent a message to Toshiro, he is from the night village so perhaps he can do something, anything to help" She told him
"I see, that explains a lot" A voice came from the window, Sakura surprised and shocked to see Kakashi perched on the windowsill reading his book at the same time and flipping a page "KAKASHI SENSEI?! How long have you been there…"
"Since the beginning of the story" he answered
"Doesn't anyone use the door anymore?!" Sakura commented
"This is faster" Kakashi answered back
"So I am told…" Sakura said looking at Sasuke who had a slight grin
"So what do you plan on doing about it?" another voice came from behind Kakashi
"There is someone else out there?!"
Kakashi entered fully to allow the other unknown to show himself, it was Itachi "Let me guess, it's faster?" Sakura asked him
"Well it is…" Itachi answered back
"Naruto really should look into having that window bolted shut or something" Sakura told them
"Well, he keeps saying that he is going to, but he never does. Honestly, I think he enjoys people dropping in" Sasuke said with a grin, however it quickly faded away as he became serious "But this is concerning, the people may become worried if they hear that their Hokage is in a weaken state" He added
"That's right, the village is only as strong as its Hokage" Itachi commented "But Naruto is strong, I know he will pull through" He added
"Yeah, he will...Now will you all get out of here so I can finish this paperwork and get back to him?" She asked them all
"Yeah, let's get out of here guys" Kakashi said as both he and Itachi jumped out, Sasuke was about to do the same but turned around
"Sakura, You and Naruto saved me from the darkness. I owe a lot to the both of you, so if there is anything I can do, anything at all, just tell me" He said with a smile before he jumped out of the window
"Thanks Sasuke…" she said before returning to work
In the forest, the young ANBU Captain was making good time, the darkness had enveloped the sky, the stars and the moon were shining brightly. As a former night ninja, this is when his powers were at its peak. He used the boost in power to augment his speed "Don't worry Hokage Sama, I will be there soon"
End Chapter 4
Well that was chapter 4, as you can see the nightmares are affecting Naruto's ability to sleep, or even wanting to sleep, and thus have impacted his ability to do his job as Hokage, i also wanted to add a little bit more humor in this chapter, i always enjoyed the Naruto humor :P anyway until chapter 5 ;) READ RAVE REVIEW :D