I do not own naruto anime, manga or other released formats.
After 30 missions and a very heated competition. Naruto, Mikoto and Koji where all promoted to Chuunin. Sakumo Hakate was breathing easier to be sure. The time as a Jounin teacher had been difficult. If someone had told him that leading a team of genin was easy now, the only thing he could scream at that person would be liar!
The missions that his team had become more and more dangerous. The situation between rock and sand was getting worse by the day. Minato, Kobito, and Kushina too passed. But unlike Sakumo the village was not happy to see this teacher no longer leading a team. Jiriaya having free time it would mean that the women of the village could not enjoy the hot springs as much. But thanks to the Hokage ordering him to start recruiting possible spies in other villages and towns. He was kept busy.
Orochimaru was doing great at his research, the cloning techniques were getting closer and closer to being able to copy an organ. It would not be much longer than a person did not have to fear losing an organ as a cause of them no longer being able to carry their ninja duties. The cure of the magenyou sharingan blindness was getting closer and closer.
Naruto was training even harder. If the situation was bad with the imprint of his grandfather teaching him when he was asleep. Now he had Kurama teaching her own style of kenjutsu, and demonic ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. If Naruto believed that Madara was a slave driver he would be reconsidering his choice of words. Kurama had been what everyone pictured a demon would be. Endless torment and pain with little to no mercy. She knew her end would come soon, the time when Kushina used her own tailed beast mode, she knew that there could not be 2 nine tails beasts at the same time in the same plane. She knew the fight between them would happen soon and so she needed to train Naruto as much as she could. Her own survival was at stake.
But this severe training was doing something horrible to the way Naruto was growing. He looked like he was aging faster than he should. His body had begun to grow faster, to accommodate his growing strength, chakra, and stamina. To everyone was funny how his clothes would not fit from one morning to the next. Until one day his hellish training came to an end. Kurama had finished teaching him everything she wanted to teach him. If you looked at Naruto after his training and said that he was 5 years younger than Mikoto you would not believe it. The training had caused him to look the same age as Mikoto. Mikoto was not unhappy about it one bit, if she felt that Naruto was cute before. She felt now that Naruto was right down handsome. She looked at his face, his muscles, those hard abs. The daydreams she would have about him, the blush on her face and the many times she began acting like a lovesick girl were also increasing.
Minato and Kushina were what people called in a solid relationship. The other students teased them that they sometimes behaved like an old married couple. Minato used to make comments to Naruto that he behaved like he was whipped, Naruto simply turned the argument on Minato and said if he was any different. That tended to stop the teasing from him for a little while.
2 years and the teams grew by leaps and bounds. And that was when the thing most people feared happened. Suna and Iwa ninja had begun fighting each other in the territories of the allies of Konoha. It appeared as if the third world war was to begin. The Hokage due to his duty to protect their allies was forced to declare war. The third world war begun with border disputes but now there was no stopping it now.
The Hokage decided to protect their allies by setting camps lead by a specially strong Jounin. Danzo, Orochimaru, Jiriaya, Tsunade, Tsume Inuzuka, and Sakumo Hakate. These would lead their forces. Orochimaru only agreed because thanks to Naruto the last steps on his cloning treatment was coming to completion. Sakumo of course asked that his own team be in the camp he chose to lead. He would lead the camp that was in the land between Suna and Konoha. The teams of people would live in small groups to minimize detection.
As Mikoto and Naruto got up the morning of their deployment they both gave a kiss to their parents. If there was something that Kagami hated was not being able to go instead of them. No parent liked to risk the lives of their own kids.
Since his training Kurama and Naruto had settled for would be called a seen almost like siblings. When he was alone the demon fox would tease and make jokes at her bro. As she came to call him that. "So bro, when are you finally going to show that you got a pair! Tell that chick you are so hot and bothered for that you love her already! It is pretty sad seeing my bro not being honest about his feelings." Naruto began to think an answer. "Kurama for the last hundred time, we are going to war the last thing she needs is for me to distract her or worse I don't need a heart break by being told that she only considers me her brother. So drop it already and help me pick some clothes. Thanks to the way I trained I had to end up wearing some of dads old clothes."
"Alright, alright you are no fun Naruto! Lets get to the store. I don't imagine you want to look bad in front of your secret love interest!" Naruto began to curse himself for ever linking his senses to the fox. She never let up, she kept dropping his annoying little remarks, and about wanting to be an aunt eventually. Give me a couple of nephews and nieces to spoil she said. He simply need to remark that she was stuck inside him and even if he did have kids how would they see her. This often stopped the aunt business and started the depressed Kurama bit. He could never win. Kurama was always there, and always getting into things his sister would better leave alone.
The stores looked like any regular shop in the Uchiha District. The one place he liked he had to never visit again. Fugaku had become a major stockholder in it. The condition was that as long as he was a stockholder, Naruto Uchiha would pay 300% more for anything. Hokage did not know about it, but the one store doing that he would have simply told him to shop somewhere else. He walked in front of what looked like a run down building. But there was something in the air, the smell was something off about the building, "Hey sis, am i going crazy or do you smell that?" Kurama laughed, "Bro how can you not notice it, it has all the markings of a weak human genjutsu! I started getting the stench from a block away!"
A store hidden by a genjutsu. He walked into the building and slammed both hands on the ground. "Genjutsu Release!" The shop interior changed into a incredibly well organized shop, except that the customers wore all masks. "Oh all places I had to try and by clothes at I end up in a shop for Anbu only. My teacher Sakumo would laugh his head off when he hears about this." Kurama was already laughing all nine of her tails off.
"Young man, you are mistaken this shop is available to anyone that can figure out the genjutsu." Said a tough looking hawk masked anbu. "It only happens that only anbu have done so so far" Said one of the shop clerks, he looked like a brawny tall man with blonde hair. "So what can I help you with Mr. Uchiha?" He told him he would deploy to the war soon and he needed some new clothes and gear. He got 5 pairs of anbu pants, anbu style shirts, steel toed boots, headbands and fingerless gloves. All of course in black and with highlights in red. The flack jackets where the exception. One of the lady anbu joked that it looked like something a samurai would wear. The shop owner mentioned that indeed it had extra plating for the arms and abdomen. It was mostly red, and the highlights were black. With the Uchiha symbol on the right shoulder. It looked like a seal of some sort. The owner told him it was a cloaking seal. Activate it and it would hide all his weapons from view.
He paid the clerk for everything and was surprised by the fact that Sakumo Hakate was a major stockholder here. "Oh great, how much more would I need to pay above the regular price." As all the anbu began to laugh, "Our former commander is nothing like that bastard Fugaku! He became a major stockholder so we anbu can buy things at a discount. I am sure he placed his own team on the list!" The hawk anbu was right he was on the list. "Well sir you mentioned needing gear what would you like to get?" Naruto smiled, "I need a katon katana, 50 fuuton shuriken, 50 fuuton kunai, and 1 fuuton gunbai." Well this was a major purchase and the owner knew that the total sale even with the discount was making his store a good profit. For shops like him, there was nothing better for business than a good war.
The shop owner walked up to him, "I am Mokoro Namikaze, sorry for the late introduction, and don't worry everyone here knows who you are. Naruto would you do me a favor?" Naruto gave a nod, "My son is going to be in the same camp as you are, so is my future daughter-in law Kushina. I would like to stick close to him when you can and keep that knucklehead out of trouble. If he is alive, and his captain doesn't give me complains I will give you a special fuuton katana I been making!" Naruto simply told him it was a deal. He was going to backup his fellow leaf ninja anyways.
As he got everything in a massive sac, the same cat masked lady anbu tried to make fun of him. "So how are you going to carry all this stuff home? You need any help?" He simply looked at her and made it clear he did not. Specially since 50 shadow clones appeared, "We got it, boss. We will take the stuff and get it ready with the scrolls. Seeya!" All the anbu specially the cat anbu had not expected that. Shadow clones jutsu without hand signs or needed to call it out his orders. The same idea crossed the minds of every single person in the shop, "Kami, I am sure glad this guy is on our side."
The day was over but not without getting dressed in his new clothes and walking outside to see if his family approved. For a second the Uchiha matriarch felt like Madara was in her house. She got close and saw the hair. "Naruto, don't scare me like that. I swear if I didn't know any see your hair, I would think Madara Uchiha was back and still seeking revenge on the village." Naruto could not imagine his grandfather having such a vengeful mind. He simply asked if he looked good. If the blush on Mikoto's face was any indication he did. She just got back from getting gear, and weapons with her friend Kushina. She ran home, because she could no longer stand the teasing her friend had subjected her too. Honestly if he made one more comment about when is she going to jump that hunk of hers she would lose her mind.
The very next day, they left towards the camp of someone Mikoto and Naruto both knew very well. But as they stopped for a brief rest he got something from a storage scroll. Naruto gave her a beautifully detailed Gunbai. She was so happy that she could not keep it in any longer and gave him a kiss on each of his cheeks. He had to henge to hide his blushing face. "If that face for any redder we might have gotten spotted by the enemy, bro!" Naruto ignored Kurama's comment he was enjoying the memory of those kisses a lot.