Naruto: Return
Four days later Naruto bounced on his toes as Tazuna officially inaugurated his finished bridge to the cheers of the villagers. Construction had ended well ahead of schedule because Sakura had browbeaten Naruto into making droves of clones to help.
"You scared them all silly when you went berserk," she had scolded him, "this way they can see you aren't a danger to them."
Sakura was partly right -she didn't know the whole story, just the official cover for the Kyuubi- so the blond had allowed himself to be coerced into helping. He had learned a great deal about load distribution, sinking foundations and metal stress in the process, which would come in handy if he ever needed to do some demolition. He liked blowing things up. He could probably build a solid, safe apartment complex as well now -if someone else provided the raw materials for construction- using his shadow clones. I'll have to get Sandaime-jiji to put 'experienced in construction- on my profile; I'd like to do a bit more of that kind of thing.
Finishing the bridge had also been a good way to wind down after the bloody slaughter and messy disposal of Gatou's thugs. Even Sasuke had joined in after a while, the hard work tiring him to the point of that he collapsed into bed each night.
Kakashi-sensei had done nothing at all on the first day after the fight except read, generally somewhere in the vicinity of the bridge. On the second day an ANBU in a ram mask had shown up and Sensei had spent all his time with him doing kami-alone-knew-what. Naruto had not seen the ANBU since the moment he turned up, but he had sensed the elite nin and his three squad-mates moving in and out his sphere of perception many times. It was a surprisingly homey feeling: he slept better that night than any other since leaving Konoha. The blond had never realised before that his concept of home included ANBU moving in and out of sensing range at all hours of the day and night.
Day three -yesterday- had involved handing out hard cash and confiscated goods to the locals. Apparently the ANBU had gone through Gatou's hideout with a fine toothed comb and then dumped on team seven everything without immediate value to ninja. Naruto had spent the entire morning using clones to divvy it up and give it away to people who could use it. By mid-afternoon the blond was being hailed as the hero of wave both for getting the bridge finished and for single-handedly restarting the economy. Tazuna had then insisted they stay for dinner and leave after the official inauguration the next day rather than set out immediately.
"You will be the the first people to ever use my super bridge!" the bridge builder had exclaimed excitedly. Kakashi-sensei had seemed indifferent to the fuss but had nonetheless put off their departure until morning.
And here we are. I wish the Old Drunk would get a move on though; I miss kaa-san. Although from what I gathered from Benihime, she seems to have been keeping herself busy. Naruto had not told Kakashi about the uproar Ame had instigated by accusing Shimura Danzou of treason -where would I begin and how would I explain my sources?- nor that the Hatake compound was currently hosting the jinchuuriki of the Gobi, formerly of Iwa. Hopefully the ANBU will warn him.
Benihime had also had an interesting few weeks. Firstly the Sandaime had -after various surreptitious interviews- pushed through a scheme to have geisha teach infiltration skills at the Academy. He had been successful only because the Council had been unable to counter the fact that the best people to train ninja in that field are the ones who usually work there. Geisha were widely acknowledged to be masters of becoming what their client wanted. This change of policy meant that Benihime had been sucked into assuming some of Himitsu-okaa-san's official duties so that the elder lady could dedicate more of her time to teaching now that the new term at the academy had begun. The red-headed clone had been officially made atotori, making her second in command and nominally in charge whenever the Okaa-san was absent. The increase in responsibility was something Benihime was working hard at being worthy of and Naruto was beginning to notice how responsibility changed a person. Responsibility for people's health and well-being more than anything else.
There was also the fact that Himitsu-okaa-san was now teaching ninja hopefuls. Naruto pitied them; The Okaa-san was a harsh teacher who demanded nothing less than perfection; her students would have to either get serious or suffer the indignity of being evicted from class.
The second occurrence that had shaped Benihime's workload was the evisceration of ROOT, which had brought in a lot of clients seeking distraction. Most of said customers had very high clearance levels and were badly shaken by what they had learned, regardless of whether they chose to show it. Ibiki had actually been late for one of his appointments, which had been a first.
The third -and to Naruto most significant- incident which had taken place was Benihime's discovery of her own chakra, which she had discovered she could actually mould and manifest. Her reserves were small, but enough to be useful. Her careful forays into using the jutsu Naruto knew revealed a talent for genjutsu that Naruto simply lacked the control for and -thanks to a bit of careful snooping and petty theft- an almost unnaturally high water affinity. What little free time Benihime had was now being spent in expanding and refining her chakra control and genjutsu repertoire, with some additional attention to increasing her ability to manipulate water chakra. The geisha-clone was also incorporating the basics of Moun Satsujin into her Crane taijutsu whenever she practised kata and increasing her physical flexibility.
Naruto personally felt that he was getting the hang of being two people at once, but really didn't want to have to expand his cast unless it was absolutely necessary. How Ame-kaa-san coped with being half-a-dozen people at once he had no idea.
Of course, on the blond's own side of things was his discovery of his obligation to the bijuu in his belly, but he was working on that one. Further inquiry resulted in the discovery that the fox did not want a collection of half-siblings but rather wanted Naruto to 'aquire' genetic material from various men so that it could put together a genome which it could combine with what Naruto had inherited from his mother. The idea of the Kyuubi as a mad scientist bent on creating its own 'super-race' was very hard to get past, especially when the fox had commented on how other demons had done similar things in the past when creating some of the kekkai genkai clans.
Connected to this was the fact that now the jinchuuriki had established contact with his prisoner he was unable to re-establish the original distance between them. True, he could not communicate with it -nor it with him- without entering a trance, but he had become aware of it in a way he had not been before. It was just present in his chakra system now, like a giraffe in the stairwell or a tiger in the kitchen: Large, alien and mesmerising in an 'oh kami what am I supposed to do with it' kind of way. At least it does come with instructions, although I could do without the superior attitude, jabs at my ignorance and total lack of sympathy.
Naruto pulled his thoughts back to the present as he joined his sensei and team-mates as they walked onto the bridge and set off towards the mainland. Pausing briefly to wave goodbye to Inari -who'd been less bratty after Gatou's defeat- the blond took up rearguard as team seven moved off at a steady jog. A steady shinobi jog that is; by civilian standards it was almost a flat-out sprint.
"What are you going to do once we get back to Konoha, teme?" Naruto asked, just to pass the time.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, then expanded: "Study, practice and make inquiries. You?"
The jinchuuriki smiled a little sadly at Sasuke's new-found maturity. "Study of course, work on my taijutsu and try and bug kaa-san into letting me start on two-bladed combat. Oh, and play with Konohamaru. Little squirt's probably gotten bigheaded while I was away."
Naruto had met the Sandaime's grandson shortly after graduating; more specifically on the day after his second kill and subsequent nervous breakdown. As a result he had been extremely short with the bratty boy, which had somehow resulted in the 'honourable grandson' dubbing him 'oyabun' -boss- and following him around begging for training. The boy's tutor, a tokubetsu jounin whose name Naruto couldn't be bothered to remember -Ibisu? Ebaso?- had been loud and eloquent in his disapproval of the 'fox brat'. Naruto had retaliated -childishly, he'd admit- by teaching the boy his centrefold technique. The eight-year-old had done magnificently, learning both henge and the prank variant in a matter of hours. Interestingly Konohamaru's Orioke had manifested as a reinforced henge rather than the shapeshift that Naruto experienced, despite the handseals being the same. Interesting, that.
"What have you got planned, Sakura-chan?"
"I have to document my new technique, for starters, as well as do more medical reading; I've barely scratched the surface of how ijutsu can inform genjutsu," Sakura said, breathing a little more heavily than her male team-mates. "Sensei's promised to recommend me to a medic, too, so I can actually learn real ijutsu."
"I will also be giving all of you more theory homework in future," Kakashi-sensei added from his position at the rear of their running formation, nose still buried in his book. "Now you've started taking missions outside the village you will need to brush up on your geography, biology and politics."
"Geography and politics I understand, Sensei, but why politics?" The kunoichi asked.
"The plants and animals of a region are just as important as its terrain," the jounin chided her. "A lot of poisonous and venomous species are endemic to specific areas, and it does you no good to henge into an animal as a disguise if that animal is not native to the area you happen to be in, does it?"
Sakura winced."Gomen, Sensei. I didn't think it through."
"Better ask now than make mistakes in the field," Naruto offered. "How long will it be until we reach the village, Kakashi-sensei?"
The jounin somehow managed to shrug while running, eye never leaving his little orange book. "Tomorrow around noon, provided we stop for the night."
Perfectly acceptable timing. I might even be able to get ramen for lunch.
Naruto was overjoyed to finally be able to sense the shimmering mirage-like dome of chakra that was Konoha's external defensive barrier. Kakashi-sensei had spent the entire morning teaching them to run silently -it involved a lot of bending the knees to absorb shocks- and had refused to let them take so much as a two-minute bathroom break. Anyone answering a call of nature had to either run on ahead to do so or catch up from behind. When Sakura, being the least physically disciplined, had started to get sloppy the jounin had lightly clipped her around the head with his book and calmly reminded her to 'behave professionally in the field'. All three of them had taken the warning to heart and not slacked off in the slightest after that.
The blond jinchuuriki really wished he could warn his sensei of what would undoubtedly be waiting for the jounin in the village, but to do so would compromise his secrets. Secrets that, while not strictly illegal, were certainly questionable. So Naruto said nothing at all as the four of them approached the main gates of the village hidden in the leaves, his mind churning wildly with all the myriad ways this could go.
They were joined at the front gate by an ANBU in a bear mask; not a bloodline user, Naruto noted with interest, but powerful.
"Based on the preliminary report sent ahead, team seven will be debriefed by the T&I Department in the lower offices of the Hokage's tower," the animal-masked shinobi said briskly. "Uzumaki and Uchiha will accompany me. Hatake-san, please escort Haruno to office zero-point two-three."
"Hai, hai," Kakashi-sensei agreed amiably, slight tension cording his neck and shoulders under his mask as he pocketed his book and gripped Sakura's shoulder. "Hold on tight." Sensei and kunoichi vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto was about to ask exactly who from the T&I Department they were going to be interrogated by -'debriefed' my tenant's fuzzy behind- when a gloved hand gripped his upper arm and there was a sudden sensation on intense speed. Next thing the blond knew they were in a gloomy corridor that he recognised as being several floors below ground level under the Hokage's Tower.
"Uchiha Sasuke, this room is gamma-twelve. Within is one of Konoha's highest ranking information specialists. Your mission was nominally B-class, but deemed S-class due to potential political repercussions. You will answer all questions completely and honestly. Understood?" Naruto got the impression that the ANBU wasn't impressed with Sasuke's status as the 'Last Uchiha' or the fact that the younger boy was supposedly a genius.
"Hai. Bear-san." Sasuke bowed stiffly.
"Then enter."
Sasuke opened the door and walked in. Naruto caught a glimpse of Yamanaka Inoichi sitting inside. Oh crap. S-class indeed, to have him called in when he's supposed to be retired. Which means the one asking my questions is probably going to be Scarface. Dammit.
"Naruto, follow me."
Naruto trotted after him. "Ano, no offence intended Bear-san, but why are you calling me by my name and not my surname like you did with Sasuke?"
The ANBU's eyes seemed to gleam through the eyeholes of his mask. "You have led my men on many a merry chase all over this village, exposing numerous holes in the security protocols as you went, Naruto-kun. I believe I have earned the right to dispense with the tedious formalities."
Eep. Naruto swallowed hard. Bear-san is an ANBU captain? What kami have I offended this time? Inari protect me from potentially vengeful elite shinobi.
"Kakashi-san's report states that you made use of your burden, which was witnessed and recognised by the Uchiha. Neither of you will be punished for that, the law notwithstanding, however it makes any and all information pertaining to your mission S-classed and confidential," the ANBU captain went on, leading Naruto down a corridor, across an intersection and down some stairs. "In the interests on maintaining village security Morino-san will be debriefing you."
Naruto gulped. Yep, Scarface. I'm doomed. Doomed!
"Amemai-san however requested I remind you that you are not required to explain to Morino-san what she has been teaching you of clan hijutsu, either her own or that of the Uzumaki's," the masked nin went on, voice tinged with irritation. "How she found out about this is beyond me."
"I believe it relates to her kekkai genkai, Bear-taicho. At least she isn't your mother; I can't hide anything from her at all," Naruto commiserated.
"Hm; perhaps. We have arrived."
Naruto stared at the door labelled epsilon-five. "Do I have to?"
"Aa," Bear drawled, amusement colouring his tone. "Now move."
Naruto pushed the door open, crushed his trepidation into the smallest ball he could manage and went in.
atotori = heir to a geisha okaa-san's okiya
orioke = centrefold
hijutsu = secret techniques; specifically clan-specific secret techniques
A/N: That's the Wave Arc completely finished now. There will be a few chapters to fill in the time until the Chunnin exam arc, which is two months ahead, plot-wise. Before that Ame will be giving birth and the Kamen kids plus carers will be arriving in Konoha. Oh, and Kakashi will get serious in training his team. Hehehehe! oh and hi there invisible-gurl, thanks for the review. Bad Habits, you'll note I've clarified Naruto's obligations in this chapter. Thanks for pointing out the lack of clarity there. Naruto will probably settle down with a nice girl eventually, but he's going to have FUN before then. Lots of it, kitsune style.