Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Naruto didn't slow down as he walked through the main gates of the village. Going through the time consuming process of being processed would be, well… time consuming. He was in a little bit of a hurry, so it really just wasn't worth the fuss. That, and the longer it took people to recognise him, the better. Even if it was only a few minutes' worth of peace gained in doing so. The fact that the gate guards were already drawing their weapons only meant that said time of peace was drawing to a very quick close.
Coming to a sudden stop, the teen was quickly surrounded by seven ANBU, each with the edge of a blade pressed gently against all of his accessible vital points. Surrounding them were no less than thirteen ANBU, all readied and prepared for anything. Naruto was flattered. To think that such attention and forethought was put into something as simple as his presence. It was almost as if they truly feared him.
"Good reaction time, guys," he said. "…and girls" he added, noticing a few mask covered glares from the females of the group. "Although I must say, this is entirely unnecessary. I even sent a message ahead of me to avoid this exact situation"
"You will be silent," one of the ANBU said. "The Hokage will be the one to say what happens to you once she arrives"
Naruto nodded. "Fair enough. But it still would have been much better had you just let me go straight to her in the first place" he said, making a slow gesture to their surroundings. "This particular course of action has caught the attention of a crowd"
The surrounding ANBU were quick to take notice of the encroaching civilians, all eager to see what the fuss was all about. Many were quick to disperse of their own accord after seeing the bloodied and crippled form of Tayuya resting on Naruto's back. Those that stayed in spite of such a sight were quickly ordered to leave by the ANBU, not that they listened. As it were, the civilians didn't actually have to take orders from shinobi. It was more of a guideline; accepted and respected, but not actually enforced.
It took a few moments, time in which Naruto remained guarded by the unflappable group of overly serious ANBU, but eventually a new face made itself known to the group. A blond woman wearing a green haori jacket, a strange violet gem embedded into her forehead, and an annoyed but analytical expression. She seemed to observe Naruto scrutinisingly, as if not quite sold on him being who she thought he was, until eventually her eyes stopped on the unmistakable whisker like marking on the boy's cheeks.
Her expression softened as she looked up at the redhead. "You've gotten taller," she said, trying to ease the tension.
"And you've gotten older" Naruto replied without hesitation. "Might want to look into giving that Genjutsu a little update, Tsunade"
Tsunade didn't react. She didn't glare at him, nor did she lash out violently. She simply took the comments in stride as she continued to stare at the teen, seemingly looking for something that appeared to missing. Eventually her attention turned to the girl on his back, noticing her less than lively appearance, as well as the extensive amount of blood that now covered most of Naruto's back. A mere glance was all it took for Tsunade to label the girl as a lost cause, but she couldn't, in her right mind, let that stop her from trying. Not when it would give Naruto a reason to stick around.
"We are still in the process of treating a team that came back from a bad mission," the blonde explained. "We will do what we can for the girl, but I make no promises"
"Then stop talking about it. If you insist that I need a permanent guard, then they can follow us to the hospital," Naruto said emotionlessly.
Tsunade gave a nod to the ANBU, ordering them to stand down before heading off towards the hospital, Naruto following behind her. She sighed mentally, glancing back at his cold blue eyes. It was going to be a long night.
The Hokage was not wrong in her assumption of a long night. The mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha could only be described as a complete disaster. The medical records were all one needed to see to know that much. With two young clan members now dead, one from the Akimichi clan, and the other from the Hyuuga, it was unlikely that Sasuke would be receiving any more sympathy from either clan from now on.
The stupid little brat had finally drawn the last straw. However, Tsunade knew that it meant nothing. The elders, along with Danzō, would see to it that all was swept under the rug, the blame taken off of Sasuke at all cost. After all, it would be unwise and foolish to let such a valuable Kekkei Genkai slip away so easily. Had this been a time of war, Tsunade would almost be inclined to agree with them. The Sharingan would be too valuable. But, as she signed off on the death certificates of the two boys, each barely in their teens, the Hokage had to wonder just how far things had to go before the line was finally drawn.
Forcing herself to focus more on the surviving members of the team, Tsunade still wasn't too pleased with the outcome. The Nara clan heir was the best off, physically that is. The psychological blow he took with the loss of his Akimichi friend was proving to be extreme. The Inuzuka had been roughed up rather badly, one of his more dire wounds having been self-inflicted, strangely enough. The Aburame boy was suffering from mild chakra exhaustion, multiple bone fractures, and some severe contusions, but was otherwise okay considering he had been the one to confront Sasuke himself. One of the more worrying cases was that of Rock Lee, a boy who by all means should not have even been out of his hospital room in the first place, but even he was stable medically.
There were also three extra medical check records that Tsunade was required to look over, each one being of the three-man Suna team sent to aid in the mission. How Suna even knew of the mission, let alone managed to send a team to assist so quickly, was something the Hokage would have to look into at a later date. It smelt fishy, but considering it stopped her from signing off an entire generation of clan heirs as dead, she would allow it to slide.
After the incident during the chunin exams, it made sense that Suna would be prepared to pounce at any chance it got to redeem itself in the eyes of Konoha. While both sides had lost a powerful Kage in the overall event, it was Konoha that took the brunt of the hit. The Ichibi's rampage resulted in more deaths and destruction than could be simply overlooked. It was only by the divine mercy of Konoha that Suna even had its jinchuuriki returned to them, although it was more due to the lack of any potential new jinchuuriki, and the unstable nature of the current one. That and the village would tear the boy apart had he been kept around.
Still, despite the animosity she held towards Suna, Tsunade was thankful for the help. If there was one thing she had learnt from her late sensei, it was how to move on from things, even if it took far too long to actually learn, and resulted in her losing more than she could ever imagine. She idly reached for the crystal necklace around her neck. Sometimes she really wished she had never inherited her grandfather's love of gambling. Then maybe she wouldn't have left so many important things to chance, and perhaps not have lost them in the process.
Taking a deep breath, Tsunade calmed herself. Walking through the hospital halls, she was not all that surprised to see many of the nurses and doctors were exhausted. While it had not been an exceptionally busy night, many of the staff had been working none stop for the past several weeks, tending to the numerous patients wounded during the chunin exams. It had only been recently that the hospital had finally stabilized itself, only for another, albeit smaller, incident to occur.
Making her way to a more private room in the ICU sector, Tsunade let the two ANBU guarding the door leave before entering herself. The girl that Naruto had brought in was something of a miracle. The doctors that had been assigned to her were fully expecting her to die on the operating table, yet she persevered. She was still in a less than okay condition, but at least she didn't have the Shinigami breathing down her neck anymore. Still, Tsunade figured that there was more to the girl than there appeared; a suspicion brought about by the simple fact that it was Naruto to bring her in.
Speaking of the boy, he was standing in the corner of the room, his eyes set keenly on the sleeping form of the girl. It would have almost been a cute scene had there been any warmth in his eyes, but his attention seemed to be more observational and calculating than caring.
"So, who is she? Your girlfriend?" Tsunade inquired, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him.
Naruto didn't even glance at her. "No" he answered simply.
"Then who is she? I need a name to put on her medical records," the Hokage said.
"Don't make any records then" the redhead countered.
Tsunade sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy. "I see you're still keeping your hair red. No doubt your mother would be proud," she said with an attempted smile.
"My mother is dead, Tsunade" Naruto replied coldly. "The hair is simply to keep Iwa off my back" he turned to look at her blankly. "Care to try at any more conversation topics?"
The blonde looked at him sadly. "Naruto, I know we aren't on the best terms…"
"We aren't on any terms. You know me, I know you. That is it"
"Come on, Naruto. I'm trying here" Tsunade pleaded softy.
The teen glared at her. "Don't you dare," he said. "Trying now means nothing when you didn't even try when I needed it. You and Jiraiya lost any and all rights to forgiveness with your negligence"
Tsunade looked down shamefully. "Alright then" she said softly. "The girl is stable now. I wouldn't recommend moving her for at least a week, but she should be fine for travel within a couple of weeks, if you intend to take her with you that is"
Naruto turned his attention back to the girl. "That is why I am here. I need you to teste her blood. Her chakra as well if necessary" he explained.
"What exactly are you trying to find?" the blonde asked curiously.
"Look for any traces of Uzumaki DNA, along with any signs in her chakra to indicate her as such"
Tsunade quirked an eyebrow. Looking at the girl, she could somewhat tell how she could pass off as an Uzumaki. The hair was right, as was the miraculous survival of otherwise fatal injuries and chakra exhaustion. But Tsunade still wasn't sold on the idea. Apparently, Naruto wasn't either. While not exactly happy with his attitude towards her, the Hokage wasn't going to refuse Naruto. Such action would only garner more of his ire.
"I'll do the tests, but they will take time," she said. "A day at least to get reasonably accurate results, and another two before I can clear her as not being in any real danger anymore. I can work on her recovery personally and move her discharge forward to four days, but that is the best I can do for her. She will still have to stay in the village for a little while so I can keep an eye on her"
"Take all the time you need. Just make sure you're thorough. I don't intend to waste time on her if she isn't at least part Uzumaki"
The Hokage nodded in understanding, holding back her desire to point out that she herself was part Uzumaki. Such a statement would not end well in the long run of things. "I had a room prepared for you at a nearby hotel. It will be available to you for so long as you are in the village. Is there anything else you need, Naruto?" she asked.
"I'll need an updated copy of Konoha's bingo book," he said, giving the woman an odd look. "Although I wonder… will that Uchiha I passed on the way here be included in it now? He didn't seem to have held back on that Aburame by the looks of things. Good thing the kid gave in before he got killed"
Tsunade's eyes widened. "You passed Sasuke?"
Naruto shrugged. "I guess. Didn't pay much attention to him. His chakra was distinct though. I'm assuming it was Itachi's little brother"
"Yes, it was. There was an… incident. As far as we know, he has defected with the intention of joining Orochimaru. As you probably already know, the team we sent to retrieve him did not succeed"
The teen's eye twitched slightly. "I probably should have killed the kid then" he said before sighing. "Oh well, I'll just do it later"
"I doubt he will be added to the bingo books," Tsunade stated. "The elders won't allow Sasuke to be killed. He is, in a sense, under the same circumstances as you are"
Naruto scoffed. "Doubt it. Not that I really care. If he really has sided with Orochimaru, then he'll die soon enough anyway. He always has wanted those eyes"
Tsunade knew that the boy was probably right. Her old teammate had been lusting after the Sharingan for years now, so it made sense that Sasuke would be his prime target. And now, with the Uchiha walking right into his hands, there was very little that doubt in the Hokage's mind that Sasuke would come out second best. A prodigy he might have been, even if barely, but that amounted to nothing when faced with someone of Orochimaru's prowess. It was just a waiting game now, to see just when and how the snake would reveal his new shiny skin to the world.
Letting her thoughts drift back to Naruto, she took interest in what he had said regarding passing Sasuke on the way here. If he had also seen the condition of the Aburame boy, then it stood to reason that Naruto had followed the path of destruction made by the retrieval team. Glancing at the girl he had brought in, she turned to look at the boy suspiciously.
"Where exactly did you find this girl?" she asked.
"Hanging from a tree," Naruto answered.
"Naruto… was she one of the ones that assisted in Sasuke's escape?" Tsunade questioned.
He shrugged again. "Probably. Didn't actually see much in regards to the fighting. Why does it matter?"
"If she helped in the aid of Sasuke Uchiha's escape, then I will be forced to take her into custody. She will be tried for her crimes and punished accordingly. Considering that she is alive in the first place indicates that she was one of the two that killed two of Konoha's genin. The clans of the deceased will want to make sure that she is executed" Tsunade explained.
"Well then, I guess it would be best for you to keep your mouth shut until the tests are completed. If she is in fact an Uzumaki, then she falls under my clan's protection," Naruto said.
Tsunade shook her head. "She is not a registered shinobi or civilian of Konoha, and neither are you to an extent. There will be nothing stopping the clans from putting a bounty on her head. Even if she is an Uzumaki, that is nothing more than a name now, a simple legend in our history"
"So, what you're saying is that even now, with a Senju once again taking the mantle as Hokage, the Uzumaki are not properly respected by this village" he said coldly. "I could understand Hiruzen's reasoning for covering things up. It was pathetic and dishonourable, but I could understand his intentions, which for the most part were decent in nature. But, I cannot see why his mistakes have not been corrected after so long. You'd think thirteen years is enough time to sort things out. It's not as if my identity is a secret anymore"
"Many of the laws he created have been annulled, including the cover up of the Uzumaki clan's history with Konoha. That being said, one boy isn't enough to keep a clan, even the Uzumaki, in the system"
"Oh really?"
Tsunade chastised herself mentally, knowing the flaws in her words the moment they left her mouth.
"Then I suppose I should apologise for referring to you as a Senju. Clearly you cannot hold the clan name, being the only living member. And I guess that Uchiha, Sasuke or whatever, also doesn't get his clan name. How amusing. Konoha just lost three of its most prominent clans in the time frame of about thirty seconds. Be sure to explain that little titbit of information to the elders the next time they try and renounce my clan status"
The Hokage sighed deeply. "I'm too tired to argue with you, Naruto. I'll keep quiet until the tests are complete, but once the results are in, I will be required to inform the elders, and the clans, about this girl's involvement with the mission. What happens to her after that is dependent on how far you wish to take things"
Walking over to the hospital bed, Tsunade took a small sample of the girl's blood before giving her one last overlook. Happy with her condition, she walked back to the door and walked out, only to look back at Naruto.
"Come to my office tomorrow evening. I should have the results by then. Other than that, I merely ask that you try not to cause any trouble while you're here"
He grunted in response.
"And Naruto…" she looked down sadly. "It's nice to see you again," she said softly, closing the door as she left.
Naruto remained silent and unmoving for a few minutes afterwards, simply staring at Tayuya. Eventually, he gave in and sighed, walking out from the corner of the room and moving the window.
"You had better be worth this, girl," he said. "You have no idea how annoying things are going to get for me once they figure out who you are. But, if you are actually are an Uzumaki…" his eyes softened slightly. "Then I'll make sure you're worth it" he whispered softly.
"… Believe it"
A/N:
So yeah, I decided to not make Naruto a complete and totally cold asshole. There are still fragments of his actual character in him, but don't expect them to show up very often. The actual personality of Naruto makes me rather sick, hence the OOC version. As you can see, this story will definitely not be full of forgiveness and the powers of friendship or any other forms of that weird crap from the actual anime/manga.
Now, I will actually be requesting help from you guys on a couple of things. For one, I have a lot of issues with understanding and conveying emotions, so if I happen to portray an emotion or something similar that is wrong or seems too robotic, please tell me and help me correct it. Grammar is my second point, and while I do proofread each chapter before posting, some mistakes may slip through. I would appreciate being informed of such slip ups. Other than that, some simple suggestions and ideas for this story can go a long way in helping me actually plan out awesome moments to come, so don't be shy with the reviews.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the next update should hopefully be a little longer. Not sure when it'll be updated though, so don't hold me to any dates.
Till next time.
Soul out!
