Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
She heard a knock at the door. Her face mask kept her from speaking very coherently, and whoever greeted her at the door was in for a good laugh.
She opened the door to Shikamaru. He bit his lip and his eyes lit up with mirth, presumably trying not to laugh at her beauty product.
"What do you need?" she asked, annoyed. It reminded him of Temari when he took her out to lunch, and he zoned out, smiling. Ino snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Hello?"
"Oh, sorry." He said. She looked at him suspiciously. "I came by to let you know that Naruto's going to be there tonight."
"Obviously. You think I didn't know that?"
"Just wanted to make sure you knew." He said with a smirk. She narrowed her eyes. Did he know? It was definitely possible. He was the most observant person she'd met.
"What do you know?" she asked.
"What do I know?" he said back, playing dumb.
She gritted her teeth. He was getting in her head, trying to get her to admit it herself. But she was a Yamanaka; her entire clan was known for exploiting the brain, and she was NOT going to let Shikamaru beat her in her area of expertise.
"Nothing." She said. Shikamaru sighed and muttered a "troublesome" under his breath. He turned to walk away, saying he'd see her later. As he walked away, she thought maybe it would benefit her to let Shikamaru in on it. After all, she used to trust him with her life, so what was one secret?
"Shikamaru." She called. He stopped and turned around, the only interest showing on his face was his raised eyebrows.
"I think you know. Whatever you're thinking is probably right." She said. He smirked, and nodded a bit.
"Looks like you're going to get a chance soon. Don't screw up." He said.
She smiled and shot him a thumbs up, before closing the door. She went back inside, finally washing off her stupid face mask. The things she did for beauty.
She went to her closet. It was a bit chilly today, so she opted for a red sweater and jeans. She headed out the door, and was 10 minutes away when she realized she forgot the gift. She ran back and grabbed it. It was almost 6:30; she hated being late, but there was nothing she could do about it now. If she was going to be late, she was going to be late, and chose to walk at her own pace.
She reached the clan grounds and was about to walk in when a voice called out to her.
"Hey Ino," it said. She turned around, and there he stood, in all his glory.
"Hey Naruto." She returned. She didn't know when her opening was coming, so she decided that the best plan of action was to make it now. She slid her arm between his arm and torso, and gave him a side hug. She continued in stride with him, not dropping her arm. "How are you?"
"I'm doing okay. I could be better." He said.
"What happened?" She asked, despite already knowing the answer. She didn't want Naruto to be mad at Ayame for betraying his trust, so she decided to find out the regular way.
"Ah, don't worry about it. " He said. He didn't really want to tell her since she was so close to Sakura.
She grabbed his hand, and the moment she did, she let her brain go into autopilot, letting her instincts flirt for her. "Naruto, you're my friend, and I care a lot about you. I don't want you to be sad without me doing anything about it."
A small smile graced his face, and promised he would tell her later. "Enough about me, how are you?" he asked.
"I'm doing great. I finally tried Ichiraku's, did you know that?" she said, hoping to create another bridge between them. The fog in her brain only increased when his face lit up.
"Really? How did you like it?" He asked eagerly, as they walked through the door of the house.
"I loved it. Best ramen I've ever tasted. But I think Teuchi-san and Ayame's company is better than the food." She said.
"Yeah, it is." He said, remembering just why he started liking ramen.
They saw Kurenai and Mirai, and went to go see them. They wished Mirai a happy birthday, and she jumped into his arms. He picked her up and twirled around with her. "Uncle Naruto, when are we going to get ramen?" she asked.
He smiled widely at Mirai, and then smirked at Kurenai, who was giving him a half-hearted glare. He didn't care, though, because he'd created a ramen fanatic. "Whenever you want." He told her. She squealed and clapped before he handed her off to Ino.
"Hi Miri." she said.
"Auntie Ino!" Mirai yelled. "Auntie Ino, you look so pretty." Ino blushed, doing her best to not make eye contact with Naruto, who secretly agreed with Mirai.
"Thank you darling." She said. Another opportunity presented itself, and she was going to make sure she grabbed every one of them tonight. "Is it okay if I come with you and Uncle Naruto next time you get ramen?" she said, splitting her gaze between Naruto and the birthday girl. Mirai gave her an excited nod, and Naruto smiled, confirming that she could come with them. "I'll see you later okay?"
"Okay!" the girl said. She gave Naruto a high five when he prompted her, and she jumped back into her mother's arms.
They walked over to a couch where they sat down next to each other. "What did you get?" he asked.
"What?"
"At Ichiraku's. What did you get?"
She smiled sheepishly and blushed. "They offered me the Naruto Special, since they apparently knew I was friends with you."
"Oh? I have a special?" he asked.
"Yeah, they love you." she said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "It seems like they see you like the son and brother they never had."
He chuckled, enjoying the touch from a woman he'd been lacking all his life, regardless of if it was platonic. "So you liked it?"
"Oh I loved it! I can see why you get it every time." she said happily. He smiled again, glad that he'd put another on the ramen bandwagon. Now he had an adult who would willingly go to Ichiraku's with him. He couldn't go with Sakura for a while since he couldn't even think about her right now. "Temari liked it too. Tenten and Hinata ate something else but they liked that as well."
"So all of the girls went?" he asked.
"Everyone except Sakura since she was on that mission with you."
"Oh." he said, his sadness creeping back up on him.
"What happened with Sakura?" Ino asked, planning to blame her knowledge about his problems with Sakura on his facial expressions.
"How do you know something happened with Sakura?" he asked.
"I saw it in your face. Your mood dampened when I mentioned the mission with her." she said.
"Oh." he said. She waited for a moment to let him gather his thoughts. She didn't want to be pushy in case he closed up entirely. "I found out she doesn't like me like I like her."
She sighed heavily, doing a good job of acting like this was the first she'd heard of his news. "Oh."
"She's still hung up on Sasuke. But she wouldn't be if he wasn't talking with her. Why is he talking to her? He's Sasuke, he's not supposed to talk to people!" he whispered harshly, so that people wouldn't hear. She laughed at that, and his frown deepened.
"I'm sorry Naruto. But for what it's worth," she rubbed his arm for effect. "I think you're amazing, and any girl would be lucky to have you. It's Sakura's loss if she doesn't recognize that."
That statement got a smile out of him, and he excused himself to go get a drink. He asked her if she wanted anything, and she declined. She waited for him to come back, but as he was walking towards her, he was stopped by Kiba and Hinata. He had such a short attention span, and she briefly wondered how he ever survived as a shinobi. Oh yeah, he has god-like power.
Before she could get up to find someone else to talk to, Sai game and sat next to her.
"Hi." She said.
"Hello." He returned. He stared at her for a good 3 seconds before she asked him if she could help him.
"Sorry, I was just marveling at your beauty," he said. He may have come from Root, and been trained to suppress emotion, but he sure knew how to get a girl's attention. She blushed and said a soft "thanks". "I was wondering if you'd allow me the honor of taking you on a date?"
She bit her lip. He was a nice guy, and she thought she'd be okay going on a date with him. But she looked over at Naruto, now talking amicably with Tenten, Neji, Kiba, and Hinata. She'd just gotten her chance to get closer to him. If she said yes, she'd have an obligation to Sai, and she'd feel guilty flirting with Naruto. She couldn't do that Sai, and she wouldn't do that to herself. Plus, if she dated Sai, Naruto would see her as off-limits, and she certainly didn't want that.
"Sorry, Sai." she said, sounding as apologetic as she could. "It's just not a good time."
Sai was a very intelligent person, and he noticed her look over at Naruto. "It's quite alright. Good luck with him." he said with a smile. She turned to look at him with wide eyes, and he gave her a piece of advice. "Don't be so obvious about it." He wished her a good night and walked away.
She thought for a moment about how many people knew about it now. Temari, Hinata, Tenten, Sakura, Ayame, Teuchi, Shikamaru, and now Sai. Within a week, she'd spilled the beans to 8 people. And to think she used to consider herself good at keeping secrets.
She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Sakura call her name. She looked around for her, and found her at the dining table, walking away from Temari and Gaara. At the sight of her friend, she looked around for Naruto, and he was nowhere to be found.
"Hey Sakura." she said. Sakura sat down next to her. She took a deep breath, and started talking.
"I think Naruto figured out I don't like him." she said.
Ino just nodded. "He was a mess apparently. Teuchi-san and Ayame tried to convince him that maybe he had a shot but he turned down each suggestion."
"I just feel so bad. I wish I could like him, just to make him happy." she said.
"Yeah, I understand. Sad Naruto is heartbreaking." Ino said.
"I can't like him. But you can. You can sweep him off his feet now." Sakura said, remembering the conversation they had the first night Temari was in town. Ino smiled at her friend's suggestion, and nodded again. "Come on, let's go get dinner."
They had an array of items, including sushi, yakisoba, and yakitori. Ino went for the sashimi first, and decided to get the yakitori next. She scanned the room again, and couldn't find Naruto. Where did he go? She went up to Hinata, Tenten, and Temari.
"Have you seen Naruto?" she asked. Their eyes lit up and smirks formed on their faces.
"You're going to talk to him?" Tenten asked.
"Yes. I was talking to him earlier, and now I can't find him." she said.
"Perhaps he's in the bathroom." Hinata suggested. "Just wait for him."
She nodded, and joined their conversation when it started back up again. Mirai waddled in their circle and Temari picked her up. "Where is Uncle Shika?" the girl asked.
"I don't know sweetie." Temari told her.
"But you always with him." Mirai pouted. Temari blushed at this statement.
"Go to the kitchen, maybe he's with your mom." Temari said, and Mirai jumped out of her arms and ran into the kitchen.
"What did you guys talk about?" Tenten asked Ino.
"First about Ichiraku's, then about Sakura." Ino said.
"He spoke to you about it?" Temari asked.
Ino nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think he wanted to continue talking about it. That might be why he ditched me." she said sadly.
"No, he really was going to go back and talk to you, but we stopped him. And then he saw Sakura and vanished." Hinata said. "He's probably gone home."
She sighed. She was doing well talking to him, but it was cut short. Sakura walked up to them, and Temari asked her how her mission went.
"The mission itself was completed. But the rest of it sucked." She said.
"Did he talk to you about it?" Temari asked.
"No, he asked Sasuke not to tell me about it. I figured it out." She said. "Wait, how do you know?"
"Ayame." Temari said. Sakura nodded her head in understanding.
"He's barely spoken to me in a week. I wish I could cheer him up, but I'm the last person who should be doing that." Sakura said.
"Don't worry, Ino will do it, won't you Ino?" Tenten teased. Ino nodded confidently, happy that she'd renewed the relationship she had with Naruto.
"Look at the moon." Hinata said. "It's beautiful."
"I remember Gaara used to get very angry around the full moon. It was that time of the month for him." Temari said, and the other girls laughed.
"Do you guys want to go outside? Sit on the patio?" Sakura suggested. They all nodded, and Ino led the way outside.
As she stepped through the glass door, she caught a glimpse of orange. She turned to her right and saw Naruto sitting there in a porch swing, out of view from inside the house. Ino stopped and turned around, shaking her head at the girls. She stepped outside and closed the door on them. She mouthed "Naruto" to them, and they headed back into the living room.
"Hey." She said to him.
As if just now aware of her presence, he stared at her for a second. "Hi." he returned.
"You doing okay?"
He just nodded, staring at the moon.
"I need to tell you something." she said.
He turned to her, interest showing on his face. She shifted a bit, gathering her thoughts.
"I didn't realize I needed to say this until recently. You accepted me as a friend so quickly that I forgot how I treated you in the academy." She said. "I was mean to you, and I was obsessed with Sasuke. I thought it was okay to laugh at your expense since that was what everyone else did."
"Ino," he said.
"I know it was horrible of me to treat you that way, and I'm sure you hate me a little, which you should."
"Ino."
"But I just wanted to apologize because I never did before, and say that I-"
"Ino!" he yelled. She looked at him, baffled. Why was he yelling at her. Here she was apologizing to him, and he had the audacity to be mad.
"What are you mad about? I'm apologizing to you and you're getting mad," she said, her ire growing.
"I'm not mad. I just had to raise my voice because you were rambling. That was the third time I called you." he said. She looked down sheepishly. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize for it, I've already forgiven you. And I definitely don't hate you."
She smiled, and looked at the moon. Naruto turned his head towards it, but kept his eyes locked on her. A slight gust of wind blew, blowing some strands of her hair in front of her face. He stared at her as if it was the first time he'd ever seen a woman.
He remembered Shikamaru's advice, especially your female ones. And then he remembered that Ino said she couldn't let him be sad without helping him. "Ino." he said. When she turned to him with a serene smile on her face, he continued. "Can you help me get over Sakura?"
Of all the things she was expecting him to say to her, which included several smutty remarks, that wasn't in the list. "Yeah sure." she said, taking the question in stride. "I've had my share of bad breakups, so I know a thing or two about getting over someone."
"I didn't know that," he said. "How many?"
"3." she said. "One before the war, but he was barely 2 weeks. 2 more after the war. The last one was especially bad." She shuddered remembering her last one.
"Why was the last one bad?" he asked.
She debated telling him. On one hand, they weren't exactly best friends; but on the other, she wanted to get close to him, and what better way to get close to someone than share a secret with them? She knew she could trust him with it.
"He was manipulative." she said. Upon hearing this, Naruto, who was leaning against the back of his seat, sat upright. "He made me feel really insecure about myself."
"Why would he do that?" he asked.
"He was probably insecure himself. He wanted to make sure I didn't leave him." she explained.
"Well I can see why he thought you would." Naruto said.
"What do you mean?" she said. She hoped he meant what she thought it meant, but she had to make sure.
"You're really pretty. You could have any guy you wanted," he told her. Something along those lines was what she was hoping to hear, but it was completely different coming from his mouth, so casually, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her heartbeat quickened, a blush rose to her cheeks, and she started having trouble thinking. He just called her pretty. Naruto called her pretty. He also said she could have any guy she wanted. Maybe he meant himself too?
"I wouldn't say any guy, but thank you." she said. He simply smiled.
The door opened, and Mirai came out with Kurenai in tow. She let go of her mother's hand and jumped up onto the swing, seating herself in between the two blonds.
"Uncle Naruto, can we get ramen after?" Mirai asked. Naruto looked up to her mother, asking for silent permission. She tilted her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders, telling him that she was fine with it.
"Yeah, sure." he said to Mirai. He turned to Kurenai "But you'll have to ask Teuchi-san if we can. And it may have to be at his house since they're both here."
—
Flashback:
They all stood at the gates, there to see Naruto off. She had no clue why he was taking 3 years to train, but he was allowed to do whatever he wanted.
They all stood in a group, facing Naruto and Jiraiya. He looked at all of them meaningfully as he waved. It was almost as if he was telling them that he'd miss each and every one of them, with just a look.
"When you get back, we're going to spar, you got that?!" Kiba shouted at him.
"You wouldn't want to do that because I'll kick your ass." He shouted back.
Everyone knew he would yell, and everyone knew he'd say something along those lines. That's how he was: simple, yet so extraordinary. It was unbelievable how much her perception of the boy changed in the short time since the Chuunin exams. To start off, she respected him now, probably more than she respected any of her other friends, barring Choji and Shikamaru. And she realized that once you got past the gratingly annoying quality of his voice, he was a fun-loving ball of happiness. His wide smile no longer pissed her off, but gave her a sense of comfort, just as it did for everyone else.
He and his sensei turned to leave, and walked off. Sakura suggested they go eat, and they all agreed.
They sat down at a large table at Choji's favorite restaurant, and began talking to each other amicably. It was comfortable enough, but it wasn't like it was with Naruto.
"It seems like he's the glue that holds us together." Shikamaru said.
"Then that means we will have to work extra hard to maintain the youthful demeanor of our group!" Lee screamed, earning them a few glares from the other patrons of the restaurant.
"We have three years. That is more than
enough time." Shino said quietly.
"Since Naruto is what holds us together, why don't we go in a circle and say one thing we like about him." Choji offered.
"I'll start!" Sakura said. "I like that if you mean something to him, he'll do whatever he can to help you." She remembered his fight with Gaara, and the fact that he took a beating from the most dangerous Genin they'd ever seen, just to save her. Admittedly, it was extremely stupid, but she was alive because of it. She couldn't thank him enough.
"He inspired me to want to get better too. I've never been one to put in effort, but he makes me want to. As much as I hate it, I can't complain because my mother is complaining less about my laziness." Shikamaru said.
"I like how he can keep up with me in an eating competition. He makes me feel better about my appetite." Choji said. Next it was her turn.
"I like that he's funny." Ino said.
"That's it?" Kiba asked.
She huffed, and thought for a moment. "I like that he does things that haven't even crossed your mind, even though he seems so predictable. Like in his fight with Neji. Nobody knew he had so much more chakra, and nobody thought he'd use a shadow clone and get Neji off guard. Is that good enough?" Shikamaru noticed that her answer didn't connect to her; Naruto didn't help her in any way. It was admiration. They all seemed satisfied with that answer, and Shikamaru didn't voice his observation, so she gestured to Hinata.
"I l-like that he tries to protect y-you even if he doesn't know you." Hinata said softly. They accepted the answer and moved on to Kiba, but once again, things didn't get past Shikamaru. This time, Sakura was thinking along the same lines as him. She barely knew Naruto. Yet she acted like she loved him. And now she says he'd try and protect you even if he doesn't know you. She hadn't been on any missions with him that they were aware of where he could've protected a stranger, so why was she saying that? Perhaps Naruto saved her before, and that triggered her crush on him.
"I like that he's sort of a target for me. He's someone I can look at to catch up to. A rival." Kiba said.
"I like that he makes everyone feel welcomed." Shino said. He didn't want to say that Naruto didn't make him feel like an outlier, so he broadened the scope of his sentence.
"I've never really talked to him before. But I do appreciate the fact that he pulled the stick out of Neji's ass." Tenten said, getting a laugh out of the rest of the group, even Neji.
"That's what I like about him as well. He made me see that I was nowhere close to being good yet. He also proved me wrong about destiny, something I've been struggling with ever since I was branded. I'm indebted to him." Neji said.
"I admire that he has the same type of ambition as Gai-sensei!" Lee said. "He inspires me to embrace my youthfulness!"
With everyone done, they sat for a few moments of awkwardness. Talking about Naruto made them closer. Naruto was their middle ground, so Ino figured they could build their relationship starting from there.
"Sakura, can you tell us about his fight with Gaara?" Ino asked. Kiba let out a noise of confusion. Everyone was under the impression that Sasuke took on Gaara.
"I don't know what happened during it. I was out cold. But judging from the way Sasuke acted when he had to tell me Naruto beat him, I'd say it was awesome." Sakura said. "I think that fight was what made Sasuke challenge Naruto."
"What do you mean challenge?" Choji asked.
"He challenged Naruto to a fight the day he left." Sakura said. "They fought on the roof of the hospital. And they might've broken it, not to mention each other and me, if Kakashi-sensei hadn't jumped in at the last second."
"Wow, I didn't know they were equal in strength." Tenten said.
"Yeah, and they're really strong. They each broke holes through the water towers on top."
"That's what broke them?!" Ino yelled angrily. "Tenten, Hinata, and I had to fix them!"
"Those are made of reinforced steel aren't they?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah, and it wouldn't have been that bad if one of them didn't have a gaping hole in it. The one on the right had one side almost completely torn off." Ino said.
"Really? Sasuke's was maybe the size of a pie, and Naruto's barely made a hole the size of mochi." Sakura said.
"Then it was Naruto's. The one with the smaller hole on it had a much larger one on the opposite side." Tenten said.
"Oh my goodness." Sakura said. Oh my goodness indeed. Naruto created a gaping hole in reinforced steel, meaning he was way stronger than they thought he was. Ino remembered the size of that hole, and thought perhaps a Summoned animal made that, or a large strike of lightning. Never in a million years would she have thought that Naruto did that.
"Could that be what triggered Sasuke? He saw that huge hole and realized he needed to get stronger fast?" Shikamaru asked.
"That sounds reasonable." Kiba said.
Ino figured that since they were all talking about Naruto's feats, she would add one that she knew of. "You know Sasuke used a Chidori through his chest? If he was normal, he could've died from it, but all he's left with is a scar."
"How do you know that, Pig?" Sakura asked.
"I talked to him about it after his mission." Ino responded.
"Something is definitely up with him. He's nowhere near normal. He must have some secret kekkei genkai that allows him extra stores of chakra that he can use to heal and whatnot." Kiba said. This all made sense to them, and they agreed.
"That would explain his fight with Neji." Sakura said.
Just then, all of their sensei came in as well. Asuma walked in first and spoke to the hostess, so it seemed as if he was the one that suggested the idea of coming to the restaurant.
"Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled.
"Lee!" Gai shouted back. He and the other Jounin walked over to their huge table. There was nobody else at other tables, so they brought a nearby table and connected it to their already long one. They sat down, Asuma much closer to Kurenai than he should've been, Ino noted.
"What are we talking about?" Kakashi asked.
"About how Sasuke realized how much weaker he was than Naruto, so he left looking for power." Choji said.
The other three sensei looked at Kakashi as he laughed. "What do you mean Choji?" Kurenai asked.
"When they fought, apparently, according to Ino, Naruto's attack was much more devastating than Sasuke's, and he was pissed about it. So pissed that he went off to find Orochimaru." Shikamaru explained.
The sensei all looked at Kakashi for confirmation, and when he nodded his head they let out noises of confusion. "Jiraiya-sama taught him Rasengan. Took him only 3 weeks apparently."
"3 weeks?! 3 weeks to master it?!" Asuma exclaimed.
"What's so great about that?" Kiba asked, voicing the rest of the group's confusion.
"Will you guys let me brag about my student a little?" Kakashi asked. The rest of the group nodded, and he continued. "The Rasengan is a jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage." At this, Hinata let out a small "wow". "It took him 3 years to make it. It's an A-rank jutsu, and it's stronger than my Chidori."
The rest of the group was in awe. "So Naruto mastered what took the Fourth 3 years to make, in a mere 3 weeks?" Neji asked.
"Yes, but Sense —The Fourth created it, Naruto only learned it." Kakashi said.
"What's the big deal?" Sakura asked. "Sasuke mastered an A-rank jutsu as well."
"That's because he copied it, Sakura. I've copied the Rasengan, and mine is pathetic. There are only two people who have mastered it: Naruto, and Jiraiya-sama."
"It's like it never ends. We're just now finding out about all these crazy things that Naruto's accomplished." Tenten said.
"He failed the graduation exam 3 times, and now look at him." Neji said. "Failed because of the clone jutsu, and now he can make solid ones."
"That jutsu he uses is forbidden, did you know that?" Asuma said. "It's a Jounin-level technique, and my dad said he learned it in a little over an hour. After he stole a sacred scroll from right under my dad's nose."
Kakashi laughed. "He almost became a felon because of it."
"Woah, what is this? Why don't I know this?" Sakura demanded.
"Wait who is your dad, Asuma-sensei?" Choji asked.
"He was the Third." Asuma said sadly.
The group didn't say anything, and they took a moment of silence for Hiruzen. Surprisingly, Shino spoke up. "What happened that almost made him a felon?"
"It was the night after graduation. Naruto didn't pass. You guys remember your sensei Mizuki right?" Kakashi asked the group. He continued at their collective nod. "Mizuki told him where the scroll was, and told him that if he learned a jutsu from there, he'd pass. Obviously that incited panic among the ninja, so there was an all out search for him. Mizuki planned to kill him and take the scroll, but Iruka stepped in. He was going to kill Iruka too, but Naruto produced hundreds of clones, and beat him to a pulp."
The group just stared at him in shock. Naruto learned a Jounin-level technique in an hour, and performed it perfectly in the face of mortal peril. "Why is it forbidden?" Lee asked.
"It takes up too much chakra. A Jounin usually can produce anywhere from 5-20, but for Naruto it seems like there's no end." Kakashi said. "The First Hokage forbade it."
"The First made it?" Shikamaru asked.
"His little brother did. Second Hokage." Asuma said, inciting a couple of raised eyebrows.
"He has enough chakra to make hundreds of clones." Kiba said thoughtfully. "That keeps in line with the theory about his extra chakra reserves."
The four Jounin looked at each other worriedly, but nobody except for Neji noticed.
"He summoned the Chief of Toads on one of our missions." Shino said.
"Yeah, he did. None of us saw it, but Isaribi and Anko-san said he did." Ino confirmed.
"Last time I remember someone summoning him was the Kyuubi attack." Gai said. "Fourth did it."
"He likes to copy a lot of things the Fourth used to do, huh?" Kiba said. "No one ever thought Naruto was capable of anything, and now we find out he can do all these things the Fourth did."
The Jounins' stomachs dropped. They were getting close. Asuma prayed Shikamaru didn't pick up on anything, but he knew it was probably a lost cause. A gasp from the Nara confirmed it.
"No way." He said. "Naruto is..."
"Naruto is what?" Choji asked.
"He's fond of doing things the Fourth did," Neji started. "He looks like the Fourth too. Who else but an offspring would fit those criteria?"
The entire group was staring at the group of Jounin at the end of their table. Their faces were white with panic, as the Third ordered them to never speak of Naruto's heritage.
"No that's not right. Naruto is an Uzumaki, and the Fourth was a Namikaze." Kurenai said.
"It fits too well though. Naruto is an orphan, and the Fourth died during the Kyuubi attack. It fits the timeline as well." Sakura said.
Kakashi sighed. "They already know. There's no point." He whispered to his colleagues. "Yes, you're right. But you cannot speak a word of this anywhere. Naruto's life could be put in real danger. People outside these village walls weren't on very good terms with Minato-sensei. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sensei." They all chanted.
"If his dad was the Hokage, why is he so dense?" Shikamaru asked. "Sure, he's good in battle, but he was dead last in our class. He was terrible in school."
"That, I can't tell you. He is the Leaf's most hyperactive knucklehead, so perhaps he didn't think it was worth his time."
"He probably spent that time thinking up those awesome pranks he let us in on a couple times." Kiba.
Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji laughed, remembering the good times they had with their friend in the academy.
"Wait a minute! We haven't even ordered our food yet!" Choji whined.