"Noguchi huh... Never heard of the clan, anyway you said that lead into your Chūnin exams, how did you do Naruto?" Tsunade asked as she and Naruto spoke of his past on the path to Ramen Ichiraku. Tsunade was not blind to the way that Naruto was treated by the village before or even after she became the Hokage, but listening to this Naruto's story and observing the way the common folk and some of the ninja regarded him even now that he is walking and speaking with their leader, the idea made her sick to her stomach. She didn't know at that moment how to proceed. The one thing she knew however that she needed to know more, to have more information on the subject. This was why she was here accompanying Naruto to one of what seems both versions of his favorite places in Konoha.
"Right, well for my team calling it a Chūnin exam was not accurate, even before I was assigned to a team Gramps and I had an agreement." Naruto started as if he was having a fond memory of the past.
"And that would be?"
"As a reward for intentionally failing in the ninja academy and helping capture the traitor Mizuki, I got to choose a member of my Genin squad and got to speak on my preference in Jōnin sensei." Naruto began to answer.
Tsunade remembered reading about this, even if the motives and events leading up to the event were not the same as was the outcome. She wondered what else in his life would end up matching Naruto's path so far. Then it hit her that Naruto failed because he wasn't taught properly by the staff in the academy and some had intentionally sabotaged him. Why had her sensei given a brat who wasn't even a Genin a mission like that? Did he have training before entering the academy? The questions dawned on her how much her presence meant to him growing up, and the realization of what the words he spoke to Jiraiya meant. 'Honestly, everything that you have been telling me sounds like this village is lucky to be standing during the Sandaime's second reign.' She now knew the full weight of those words, it was luck that he hadn't turned out like the Suna Jinchūriki turned Kage.
Her thoughts were brought back to reality as Naruto continued. "And Gramps put a plan together for the team I was a part of to be promoted to Jōnin if we all passed the exams." That was a surprise as her late teacher trusted in Naruto's abilities at a young age but it said volumes that he knew that whatever team he was on would be Chūnin if not Jōnin ready in what were six months at most right out of the academy.
"That's impressive, did you believe that Nara and Yamanaka would be ready for such an undertaking? You must have known that you three would have had it harder than other graduates." She continued the line of questioning.
Naruto nervously scratched the back of his neck laughing, not knowing how to respond to that question. "It was something we had to do, although..." A bittersweet smile crossed his face. "Outside looking in you could say that Ino really seemed to hate me. But I hope most of that was towards the situation we were in. At times we would get into it and there were times that I felt I pushed her too hard like in the Chūnin exams."
The way he was talking it looked as if the boy regretted his actions from that time, but as the Kage to understand this Naruto. Tsunade put aside her feelings on the matter and pressed on. "What do you mean did something happen to you two that I should be worried about? I hope it will not affect things going forward."
"No, nothing like that." The tone and mannerisms in those words that he had changed almost to convince her of that fact, clenching his hands into fists for a split second before speaking. "And I doubt that will happen here."
"And why is that?"
He pointed to himself and then to Tsunade, her making the subtle connection to the pair and Naruto's point. "This conversation is a pretty good representation of what I mean..." Naruto stopped, staring off into space before frowning. "Seriously?" He asked himself. "Why would you hide?"
Tsunade stopped in her tracks realizing that Naruto was now motionless with his focus elsewhere. "Is something wrong, Naruto?"
Throwing his glance back at her the serious face that had been gracing his features returned to neutral and became a smile as he began. "I'm sorry about this Lady Tsunade, but someone is demanding my attention, go on ahead. I will catch up with you at Ichiraku."
She didn't know why but Naruto of all people calling her that did not sit well with her, she would rather him call her Granny than something so impersonal. Although they were strangers now she had to say something. Noticing that this boy's mental state might not be what the surface appears, she decides against it despite the feeling that she should, settling for the obvious, the reason for cutting their walk short. "Is everything okay? you seem troubled."
Naruto smiled again, a smile that was a great distance from his eyes, a troubling sight to say the least. "No, at least I hope. I am going to say hi to an old friend. It's nothing to worry about, I don't know what our relationship here was but they seem to be too cautious to approach. It might be because I am with the Hokage... I just want to make sure of a couple of things before I could risk any misunderstandings."
Tsunade took some time to process what he just said and it seemed reasonable to her. "Alright, but if you don't show up within the hour I will come looking for you." She drew a piece of folded parchment from her sleeve giving it to the boy. "I was going to wait until we could be alone, but..." Drawing this out was in her mind a bad decision. "I don't know what you have been told of your birth and parents but I... I wanted you to at least know about the ones we knew."
Unfolding the paper Naruto's eyes widened at what he saw. "This is..." His eyes traveled across the page in mild shock.
The tightness in Tsunade's chest elevated just a bit, it turns out that the teen recognized the map she handed him meaning the Konoha that he came from had at least the same layout it did here. She smiled when he looked at her intently. "I would not think you would want to be living alone so I had made arrangements, the place has not been touched in fifteen years so it will take some time but I want you to know you have a home here with us, and as long as you want with me and Shizune."
As she finished speaking Naruto took her in a gentle embrace. "Thank you." He said while burying his head into the crook of her neck. It took a moment but the sign of affection was returned. "I will be off then."
"Take care."
(...)
"So why were you following us?" A girl that appeared to be the Yamanaka heiress asked a pale boy in a crop top and black pants. He was cursing himself as he wasn't prepared to be caught... Obviously, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how. From the intel that he was given, she didn't have any Dōjutsu or sensory abilities that would not be visibly activated. "Not going to answer me, Sai?... That is a shame." The girl responded to his inaction while stretching in her loose-fitting clothes.
Wait she even knew his name, he couldn't let that get to him as the pair had their little standoff in one of the training grounds that the academy graduates would use. He didn't have any knowledge of any of the Yamanaka's jutsu so he couldn't speak on the weirdness in their introductions. Though he was not sure about the situation he readied himself for a fight.
"Huh, well since we are alone I might as well not hold back." She smiled sweetly at him. She crossed her arms closing her eyes in thought, all the while Sai had not said a word. The girl seemingly came up with a plan, undid the Konoha headband around her neck, and tied it in her hair as a hairband. "Don't want to lose that, he would be pissed that I lost his first one." She straightened after producing a kunai with something engraved on the blade, Sai did not recognize the language used, however. Twilling it on her finger she threw it at him.
The kunai came in hot but he was able to deflect it, taking out one of his own. When did however a flash of white overtake his vision as he felt his legs being kicked from under him. Falling backward he found the girl standing above him, her bringing the weapon down onto his chest. In that split second, he summoned a reasonable amount of chakra, a bird dive-bombing the pair. He drew it in between the blade and his heart, exploding in a shower of black ink in the process. Sai then caught himself and kipped up to his feet in the same motion. Finding the situation dangerous, to say the least, he gained some distance between them. To his surprise, she did not follow and even gave him room to get back to his feet.
He had no choice in the matter of hand-to-hand, he couldn't follow her attacks with her apparent instant travel, and he had no faith in his taijutsu in the face of her confidence. He grabbed at this back expecting to find something that was not there. "Looking for this?" The girl said, revealing a scroll half her length from behind her. "You are over-reliant on these things, although it is good to have your specialties." She said using the item for support while leaning on it, twirling the kunai again. "This would be so much easier for the both of us if you just surrender, there is no honor in fighting a losing battle." When she finished however her face twisted into one of pure rage. "I guess a member of Root would not know about that, huh." The statement brought new light to the situation, it appeared even if he had gotten away there was no way he would have had a life after today. The girl in some respects appeared to him as an executioner.
Resigning himself to defeat he defiantly prepared for whatever outcome awaited him raising his kunai in a fighting stance for round two. The girl collected several Shuriken from the pouch strapped to her leg, throwing them at a staggered pace. The Shuriken were easy enough to deal with as they came at him one by one, but what he did not realize was the fact that she threw the kunai first and higher than the others. He looked at the girl offering him a shrug with a hold on his scroll. His instincts took over dodging a kunai being dropped on his head. Looking up he was surprised by an exact copy of the girl.
"Rasengan" The copy shouted as a swirling ball of chakra appeared in her hand, catching it in time he was able to use the substitution jutsu replacing himself with one of the three logs that were being used as target practice exploding on impact. Sai was not in the position to rest however, a third copy appeared where the kunai landed and came towards him in a dead sprint.
She poised her middle and index finger in both hands. "Two palm." She muttered as both pairs of appendages connected with his torso. "Four palm." Another volley of fingers connecting differently from the first two points of contact. Another round of doubled and painful contacts were made, this continued until she got up to sixty-four in one round. Sai's vision distorted after that and he didn't notice an open palm being placed on his stomach, but he did hear what she said next. "Palm explosion." With that said his body was not acting normally, he could feel his chakra rushing in all directions in his body as if the network was being overwhelmed by a sudden change, and his vision began to fade. The last thing he saw as he flew backward parallel to the ground was his opponent with a fist primed, her body covered in black vein-like markings. A sickening crack reverberated in his ears, and then there was nothing.