Chapter 3

The duo of Naruto and Karin were currently standing near the entrance of the Hidden Leaf Village, having emerged from the Hokage's office. Luckily enough, Tsunade was lenient enough to grant them permission to go see their homeland, albeit with a few terms and conditions of her own.

An hour earlier

"I refuse!" The blonde woman boldly stated from behind her desk, once she was presented with the request from the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki. Once she had realized that he had graced her with a visit that afternoon, her initial impression was that he had come to ask for a mission to cull his growing boredom within the Village. She had never in her life expected the man to come to her asking for permission to go see the Whirlpool Village.

"Why?!" Naruto's voice shot back with anger towards his Hokage. The blonde man was clearly disappointed at being denied a request that had come to him in a flash of inspiration. He had been entirely sure that the elderly woman would be willing to allow him to go see his homeland, as she would understand that it was an integral part of his life, but having been rejected had thrown him off his good mood earlier day. And after he had discovered another of his kinsmen too! A vein of irritation throbbed in the whiskered man's forehead, and he had to struggle to prevent himself from lashing out right there and then.

"It's not a good idea to go to an abandoned place alone, Naruto. You should be aware of this perfectly!" Tsunade retorted, unfazed by the blonde man's visible anger just then. She was not going to allow herself to agree to such a ludicrous statement.

"But my mom was born there! Granny Tsunade, come on!" He threw his hands into the air in protest, his anger not abating by the slightest. Things had gone awry, and at this rate he was contemplating sneaking out of the village with Karin in the safe of the night in case the Hokage stood firm by her decision. He had done it before, so of course right now would be no different from back then.

At this statement, a memory prodded at Tsunade, one with her white haired old friend that had taken place quite a while back. Jiraiya had told the blonde woman that at one point, he intended to reveal the entire truth of Naruto's lineage, including his parents, to the boy himself, which in turn would cause him to take him to see his mom's homeland. When Tsunade had asked him when he intended to tell this to Naruto, Jiraiya simply smirked and said that he would do it when he reached 20 years. Tsunade herself had no qualms with that, but things had not exactly gone according to how Jiraiya had envisioned them.

The former Toad Sage was deceased, leaving in his wake no other parental figure for Naruto. Of course, Tsunade had scarcely forgotten his promise to her regarding Naruto, so she decided a few days past after his death to take the initiative to take Naruto to his homeland when he came of the decided age. It would be a suitable way of honoring Jiraiya's memory, she surmised. Now here he was asking to go already when it was still three years too early for him.

Deciding to try his last hand before he would have to resort to drastic measures, Naruto recomposed himself, closing his eyes to calm himself momentarily. Opening them once more, he bumped his chest with his hand, before stating in his usual confident demeanor," I'll be fine, Granny Tsunade, I promise. I'm strong enough to handle anything that comes our way!" Looking behind him at the red haired girl who was standing a few paces away from the door, her hands folded across her chest as she listened to the two people before her in their current discussion, Naruto pointed at her with both his hands as if unveiling a princess at a royal occasion, and pressed on," Besides, in case of any enemy attacks or ambushed along the way , Karin will sense out the enemies before they even get a drop on us. We'll be practically untouchable!" He expressed in an enthusiastic manner. This time, he was confident that Tsunade would definitely listen to him.

A moment of silence ensued, Karin briefly nodding to affirm Naruto's statement just then. Ahead of her, the blonde woman was currently regarding her with her brown eyes, her hands pursed on the table before her. Karin squirmed uncomfortably under the gaze of the elderly woman, clearly not used to being looked at so sternly for an extended period of time. The red haired woman had clearly not adjusted to life in the village entirely, Tsunade took note of. Well, she couldn't exactly blame her. Being in a new village was definitely hard for any foreign shinobi, and if it wasn't for Naruto the girl probably wouldn't be in her office in the first place. The situation with her other two teammates, save for Sasuke, was certainly none the better, the Hokage remembered vividly. Suigetsu and Jugo were scarce seen within the Village walls, and according to ANBU reports the two spent the most of their time in the Forest of Death, mostly honing their skills or relaxing. Of the two, Jugo, in particular, spent most of his days talking to the animals and birds within the forest, while Suigetsu napped away at the branches of tall trees. Their days would climax with the duo returning to the estate they shared with the lone Uchiha plus the red haired Uzumaki.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Tsunade gave the request a fair amount of thought this time. Silence still reigned supreme in the air surrounding the room, but Tsunade broke the streak a minute later," Okay, I'll allow you two to go." She caught a brief glance of Naruto's beaming face, continuing," But," she placed more emphasis on this word, and the small flash of nervousness that crossed the blonde's face at that moment was somewhat satisfactory," I want you to promise that you will send occasional reports over your status, plus where you are."

Tsunade concluded her response and she could see the blonde man sigh with relief as his dreaded wishes had not come true. The Hokage was not entirely sure of her decision even as she passed it, but she realized that if she robbed Naruto of a chance like this, it would prove to unfair to him. That and she had the nagging feeling that he was planning something along the lines of sneaking out of the village in case she didn't concur with his wishes. If that happened it would open a whole new can of worms, and Tsunade was not ready to deal with such a backlash at the moment.

Naruto basked in his new found bliss, his eyes gleaming with happiness as he looked at the elderly woman before him, a surge of affection for her coursing through him. Just then, the words of the Hokage rung in his ears once more, and his face contorted into an expression of confusion.

"How are we supposed to send the reports?"

What followed next was something that both Tsunade and Naruto had not anticipated at all. There was the brief sound of heavy footsteps, and the loud sound that resulted from a smack. Naruto's head edged slightly forward from the impact with Karin's hand, and robotically, he turned backwards, looking disbelievingly at the woman who had just hit him on the back of the head. Tsunade's eyes had widened a little as well, but there was a small hint of amusement in her expression shortly afterwards.

"You're the Toad Sage, aren't you? You can figure something out," the red haired woman spoke in a curt manner, her eyes closed and a small frown evident on her face. She was almost at the edge of her patience, having initially thought that once she and the blonde had gotten the clear, they would already be on their way out of the village. Lingering here longer served no further purpose to her.

Clearing her throat ahead of them, Tsunade regained her usual demeanor, before addressing them, "Well, that's how it is, Naruto. There's something I need to ask the two of you first," She eyed the two kinsmen momentarily, Karin having drawn level with Naruto after hitting him on the back of the head, then continued," Do you know exactly where you're supposed to go? If not I can refer you to the library where you can get one or two maps to show you where your destination is."

The bespectacled girl surprised the two Konoha ninja once more by being the one to respond this time. Shaking her head slightly, she responded, this time in a tone with an undertone of respect," its okay, Hokage-sama. I know where the place is. It might take a while to get there though." Tsunade paused a little, registering the girl's stern expression just then and taking it as a show of her honesty, before dismissing both of them with a wave of her hand," Okay then, I think everything is in order. I'll trust Karin with navigating the two of you. You best be on your way now."

Naruto raised his fist into the air in a show of ecstasy, and jolted for the door. Karin beat him to the punch, however, her hand already placed on the door knob, swinging it open. Naruto followed suit after her, but just before he was outside, an idea flashed across Tsunade's mind. She hastily called out to the blonde man, "Naruto, aren't you supposed to tell a certain someone before you leave?"

The blonde man halted in mid motion, resting his hand on the door he was about to swing further open to let himself through. He looked back at the Hokage, a confused expression etched upon his face. Karin spared a glance backwards from the corner of her eye, wondering herself whether there was anything that they had forgotten. Tsunade had fallen eerily silent, tapping the edge of her desk with her finger, one of her eyebrows arched upwards as she looked back at the blonde boy, hoping that he would catch on to what she was trying to tell him.

It didn't work, since Naruto continued staring dumbfounded at the woman, expecting her to cough out an explanation any moment now.

Sighing in exasperation, Tsunade complied, "She'll get angry if you leave without telling her, you know."

Realization slowly became evident on Naruto's face, his mouth widening slowly and his eyes growing wide. Soon enough, a nervous sweat broke out on his forehead, and he tried to smile nervously to ebb away the small fear that had just cropped up in him. He knew full well what Tsunade was trying to get at now, and from the look on his face just then, Tsunade was glad that he wasn't planning to leave impromptu without properly informing his female teammate first. Ever since the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Haruno Sakura had become increasingly protective over her teammates, wary of leaving each of them on their own for extended periods of time. Naruto and Sasuke had nearly died after their battle on the Valley of End, blowing each other's arms clean off, and Sakura had to be the one to witness the horror of both of them in their near death state. The pink haired girl had been scared stiff since that day, and had vowed that she would never allow anything like that to ever happen again as long as she was still part of Team Seven with them. To prove serious on this vow, she checked up on both of them regularly, both for medical purposes and for her own purposes, Naruto more than Sasuke. This wasn't out of bias of any form, but rather, she seemed to be aware of the relationship between Sasuke and Karin, one founded on trust, and left him mostly in the care of his red haired teammate. Once Tsunade had gotten wind of this news, she chuckled, realizing that Sakura was acting as the mother figure of Team Seven, worried over what her two boys would be up to in her absence. It was nostalgic to the elderly woman, realizing that this was what their camaraderie was.

If she caught wind that Naruto had left without telling her, the pink haired girl would be livid, and in the event of his return, Naruto would be in for a world of hurt and a flurry of lectures.

A nervous sweat had broken out on Naruto's face by then, and he scratched the back of his head, "Granny Tsunade, can't you think of something to help me out here?" He asked, his words coming out in a slur. He shuddered to think what would happen if per chance Sakura got wind of him as he was exiting the village. The need to leave the village suddenly deepened, and he was ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Behind him, however, Karin's earlier irritation, which had reduced some after they had gotten permission to leave, came back in a rush. Cursing slightly under her breath, she remarked, "This is stupid," before leaving the room completely and leaving only her blonde comrade. Naruto realized that he was about to be left behind, and all the dilly dallying had only served to anger Karin further. Hastily waving a goodbye to Tsunade, without waiting to hear her response to his earlier question, he promised to keep in touch with the village leader, following suit after his red haired friend.

"Are you ready to leave?" Karin asked the blonde man, who was currently in the middle of putting the final touches to his backpack. Tightening the last loose strands, Naruto refocused his blue eyes back to her. His growing excitement was visible in the way his eyes shone when he looked at her. Grinning at her, he said, "Hell yeah!", and his voice was brimming with enthusiasm. Karin herself was not particularly familiar with the blonde man's antics, only knowing the much she knew about him from seeing him in the Land of Iron and from what Sasuke told her, so this was a new side of him she was seeing. It put her at quite a loss.

Turning her head to face the gate entrance, where a dusty path stretched out ahead of them, Karin took a step outside the village, to meet the outside world for the first time in a very long time. The members of Team Taka were not exactly granted reprieve to go on missions by the Hokage, as part of their retribution and also on account of them being, so the red haired girl felt strangely pleased at being allowed outside. She took a couple of steps forward, before the blonde called out to her again.

"Wait." Karin looked over her shoulder at the blonde man, and was surprised to find out he had not made any single attempt to move from his initial position, which was quite odd.

"What is it?" She asked, and edge of frustration in her voice. At the rate they were going they would never reach Whirlpool Village. Karin had it up to her neck with interruptions that day, and she decided that if the next thing that came out of Naruto's palate was trivial or unnecessary, she would clobber him over the head one more time like she had done in the office earlier. This time, using more force.

"What about you?"

"What do you mean what about me?" She folded her arms across her chest and shot a dull look towards the blonde man.

"Aren't you going to tell Sasuke you're leaving?" Naruto asked a curious manner to his voice. Talking with Tsunade about Sakura earlier had made him realize that he wasn't the only person who was leaving without telling a teammate.

Karin's gaze widened for an instant, before she averted her gaze away from Naruto and focused intently on the ground beneath her feet. Just when she was trying her hardest to ignore that feeling too.

Naruto as usual, was none the wiser to what he had just done, choosing to press on;" He's your teammate isn't he?"

The red haired girl remained silent awhile longer, before she turned her back to the blonde man and began trudging on the dusty path leading out of the village.

The Nine Tails vessel grew worried, thinking that he had struck a chord with what he had said carelessly, so he moved to make amends immediately. "H-hey," he called out to the bespectacled girl once more, stretching out his hand as if beckoning to her.

"He doesn't need to know something as trivial as this," the red haired girl grumbled under her breath, but loud enough for Naruto to catch wind of what she had said. His hand froze in mid air. She continued," We'll be back before he even realizes it," she concluded her response.

By this time, she was already a fair distance away from the village entrance. There was a seed of hesitation planted in her when Naruto asked her about her decision whether to tell Sasuke, and she realized that if she lingered longer within the village walls, there was a chance she would go back on her earlier decision not to inform Sasuke about her impromptu decision. As she reflected on what she said earlier, she realized that there was a small truth in her words, she really didn't think it was such an important matter that Sasuke should know of it. This was coupled with her decision not to make him worry unnecessarily over her over something that would not take too long.

Naruto looked at her retreating back for a moment, his thoughts centered on what a weird girl he had gotten stuck with this time. He hadn't expected her to react that way about Sasuke, but it allowed him to see a side of her he didn't think of her. He rushed to draw level with the woman, placing his hands behind his head.

"I didn't think you had that side to you," he stated, a slight tone of awe in his voice just then.

Karin closed her eyes, "What side?"

"An impulsive one, like me. Apparently I got that from my mom," he said, breaking out into a smile at the end of his sentence. A wave of nostalgia overtook him when he realized who he had remembered, but Karin did not reply to this statement. But it was okay, Naruto did not think that she needed to say anything just then. He would have enough time on the road to talk to his new relative, well, as soon as he figured out how they were related.

As he walked beside her, Naruto surmised that it was his first time on a mission with someone of his age outside the Konoha 12. Perhaps this would be something that would remain an integral part of his memory on the road that lay ahead of them.

A/N: I know that this story hasn't been updated in two months, so first I would like to apologize for the lengthy delay. Writers' blocks can be pretty annoying at times. But well, I finally broke past it, and this is what I was able to get for this chapter. I hope you guys will love it; well I know the length is disappointing, but I promise that will be rectified from next chapter. Read, review, and enjoy.