Another Choice

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Naruto x ?

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Story Start

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The D ranked mission of the day was pulling up weeds and cleaning up around a field. The field in question was a massive farmland that contributed to a good portion of produce in the village as well as land use for flowers. A good deal of the land was owned by Inochi, head of the Yamanka clan and his wife, the owners of Konoha's premier floral shop.

Not only were the flowers used for decoration, the majority of them were actually used for more practical things like poisons or ingredients in antidotes for said poisons. A smaller portion of the land was also used for various herbs that had a longer turn out rate than the plants.

This mission was one that popped up only once a week and was considered the most challenging of the D-rank missions because of how vast the land was. The average genin team would take the entire day to complete it which considering the pay wasn't bad, but that also meant the number of ranked missions under the belt would lessen on average by taking this mission.

With Naruto's use of Kagebunshin they would actually be able to finish it in a couple of hours. Sasuke focused wholly on the task ignored Naruto and Sakura who were chatting to pass the time. "So you still haven't settled on your specialty Sakura-chan?"

The cherry blossomed haired girl shook her head. "No, as much as I've been enjoying learning the ins and outs of Genjutsu I have yet to experience that flair some people experience when they discover a talent they're truly good in. On the other hand with the way you go on about Fuiinjutsu you probably ruined the experience for me." She dryly remarked as Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey now, I can't help it. If you read all the crazy stuff that I have about what it can do you would get lost in it too. That'll be my claim to fame Sakura-chan. The Kage seal master. I'd be the scourge of the enemy. Men would want to be me and the ladies will swoon." He finished with a grin that didn't stay long with Sakura gave him a firm bop to the back of his head. "Ow. What was that for?"

"Don't ruin the moment baka." Despite the tone used Sakura she actually wasn't angry at him, just a little annoyed. She just hated the thought of one of her oldest friends changing and becoming something unrecognizable. Especially with what he would have to one day do to restore his clan.

"Right, right, just don't beat me anymore." He pleaded to which Sakura rolled her eyes. With the mission done earlier than expected it was time to begin training.

First was a spar between Sasuke and Sakura.

Naruto was to stay on the sidelines and watch. The spar was to be pure Taijutsu, no nin, gen or weapons were allowed. Also no breaking of bones or going for vital organs.

"Begin." Once Kakashi had said the word Sasuke sought forward.

Sakura immediately went on the defense. Sasuke was much faster and stronger than her. In a straight out fight there was no way she could win, especially since Genjutsu was forbidden.

She had managed to jump back, narrowly missing the blow to her face. A solid strike to the head could cause disorientation or other such ailments such as a fractured cranium or brain leakage if the blow was strong enough.

His fist had skimmed past her. Sakura let out a startled cry, stumbling back as Sasuke had flipped over her and landed a kick to Sakura's back sending her crashing forward.

Naruto felt a surge of protectiveness coursed through him. "Sakura-ch…" He was rooted in place when a firm hand placed itself on its shoulder.

"Don't move!" Kakashi ordered the blond who simply gritted his teeth but complied. He could see the blond brewing with anger.

Naruto's mental conditioning was far from perfect, but then again it was expected the son of someone as wily and spirited as Kushina. Nothing short of Danzo's practices could completely erase the blond's spirited nature. On one hand it was a shining example of comradery. That Naruto truly cared about his team mates and was capable of forming powerful and personal bonds with others. Something extremely rare for Jinchuuriki outside their family members, on the other hand this was also rather dangerous.

His emotions could be used against him. His feelings for Sakura could be used to compromise the mission or take away his focus. The easiest would be to separate them into two separate teams, but a pain in the ass that would be in terms of the plan he was already forming for this team. The other would be to caution the blond on letting his feelings compromise the mission.

It was not unheard of for viable assets to have conditions set on them if they wished to continue their shinobi career and with Naruto carrying both the Kyuubi and being one of the last known Uzumaki he was simply too valuable to be left to his own devices or to suffer from ill-advised training.

Then again Kazuma had mentioned he was guiding the blond in the ways of romance. For shinobi, especially those who took on high ranked missions from the village with a long staying time having a few lovers were not unheard of, especially around the nation. It was a form of stress relief for those who found themselves dealing with the darker side of things like the ANBU.

With Naruto's high metabolism and regeneration factor it was almost expected for him to gorge on meals or have his pick of a few civilian girls to help satisfy his necessary needs so he would be stable.

As a shinobi having a few lovers outside of the village was a commonly known matter not talked about it was a matter almost accepted as Kunoichi having to use their sex appeal for assassinations or information gathering.

Male. Female. Certain labels were to be expected and while people had an idea of what was to be, it did not mean the opposite was a myth. A male ninja could just as easily seduce and gain information through such tactics as a kunoichi can have multiple lovers. It was just society's expectations on certain roles why there were expectations for certain groups.

Though that was a whole other matter in itself.

Meanwhile the spar between Sasuke and Sakura drew to a close. The moment Sakura tried to make any effort to fight back a fist drove itself in her stomach causing her to double over clutching her stomach.

"The match is over!" Kakashi called, letting go of Naruto who rushed over to help Sakura up. 'I suppose this was a bit too early.' He thought noticing the look in Naruto's eyes putting any plans of Naruto and Sasuke sparring on the back burner. "Sasuke-san, can you tell me why Sakura-san lost this match?"

"Because she is weak."

Kakashi was finding it harder and harder not to question the wisdom of the council and the Hokage. He supposed the good he did for Naruto had allowed him to rationalize the issues and errors with Sasuke and even worse the academy standards.

"Sakura, you have fifteen minutes to recover your bearings and then you'll spar with Naruto."

Naruto though was not receptive to this idea. "Kakashi-sensei there's no way I can fight…"

"I'm….fine." Sakura grounded out as she moved from Naruto. Sasuke's little comment had stung her pride and she wanted nothing more than prove him wrong. 'And to think Ino and I used to have a crush on him. Oh he's so handsome and mysterious. Bah. Bakas the lot of us.' She thought as she turned her head to look at Naruto. He really didn't want to fight her, which was clear by his expression, but he had to. "Naruto, don't coddle me."

She had to fight. He was the one who encouraged her to continue being a Kunoichi after Sasuke's harsh rejection all those years ago. She couldn't remain weak.

Once the break was over the reluctant Naruto and Sakura got out onto the meadow.

"Begin!" Kakashi ordered. What happened with Sasuke wasn't a spar. He attacked her with the intent to defeat her as quickly as possible, whereas Naruto seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move.

"Naruto-kun, if you ever had any respect for me at all you'll fight me." Sakura jeered at him. For a moment the blond hesitated for a little while before giving in and going on the attack.

Naruto charged forth and Sakura barely threw up her arm in time to block. Her blond companion was much faster than Sasuke, but she was familiar with his movements. She winched thanks to the pain in her abdomen and was knocked over for her trouble.

She rolled from the follow up attack and attempted to knock him off his feet with a sweep kick to which he easily jumped to avoid.

Sakura scrambled to her feet and narrowly avoided a blow to her head as Naruto launched a series of high kicks to which forced Sakura back closer and closer to the edge of the lake they were at.

Sakura ducked under one of the kicks and attempted to strike his midsection only for the blond to grab her wrist and yanked her forward. The next thing Sakura knew Naruto's leg shot forward, his right foot slamming against the inner portion of her still rooted foot and she was sent flying a few feet, landing on her front.

She was then pinned down to the ground as Naruto rested his knee on her back.

"This match is over." Kakashi called as Naruto got off and helped Sakura to her feet. "Naruto, do you know why Sakura lost?"

"She isn't physically capable of keeping up with me in any category. The pain from Sasuke's attack earlier drew away her attention and that showed in her weak stance. Without a strong stance I was able to easily break her foot."

"What else?"

"Her attempt to knock me off my feet was weak. She also left the top portion of her body exposed, an enemy would have immediately capitalized with a weapon or jutsu."

Sakura's eyes widened. Was this….was this really Naruto? The only time she seemed him so focus was when he was working on Fuiinjutsu and even then he was just ramble. But the blond before her sound so professional and cold. Sakura knew the blond had some relation to their Jounin-sensei as he had mentioned how excited he was to be his student when they were waiting for the man to pick them up, but until now Sakura didn't have an idea of how much that was until now.

"I was easily able to bait her with a transparent attack strategy allowing me to lull her into my attack and make her vulnerable. On your back you still have the capacity to estimate or counter your enemies attacks as you have a visual. Once placed on your stomach your overall combat readiness and effectiveness is cut by sixty-six percent. Then again that statistic is for common shinobi and an estimate for shinobi with specialized seduction training or Kekki Genkai has no value to them because of how varied people are as well as blood lines. If I had wanted to rape or kill her there was effectively little she could have done."

Sakura's blood had chilled at that statement. It was the reality of a shinobi and it hadn't truly finally sunk in until now. If this had been out on the field then…

"Excellent. The ability to analyze a situation is an important part of being a shinobi." He turned to Sasuke.

"Now Sasuke-san, can you tell me the mistakes Sakura-san made during your fight?" The scowl on the Uchiha's face had an obvious answer to it. He didn't like being shown up. He had issues with pride. This was going to be an issue.

"This is an important exercise to go through Sasuke. For you especially. Analyzing an enemy's jutsu, technique, body movement, and style means the difference between life and death. When you unlock the Sharingan you will gain an ability to see and analyze on a deeper level than most shinobi sort of experienced veterans trained in the art of body and technique reading could hope to achieve." It was almost certain the boy would unlock his Sharingan. Now whether he lived long afterword was another story in itself. His words seemed to placate the boy for the time being. Getting him to bond with his team mates was going to be an arduous process.

The next phase of their training was now that of chakra control exercises. Bringing the trio to a tree he began explaining the tree walking exercise.

"The key is to form chakra at your feet to stick to the surface. Too little chakra and you fall off, too much chakra and the bark will explode beneath you, I suggest getting a running start. Mark your progress with a kunai. Naruto since you have already mastered this exercise create thirty clones and have them go up and down the trees until they dispelled."

Naruto nodded and complied.

'Uzumaki has already done this?' This sparked Sasuke's determination. If Naruto could do this then so could he. Anything to get the power he desired. He was four steps up when the bark exploded underneath the soles of Sasuke's feet but not Sakura's. Sakura actually made it all the way up the tree!

Sasuke glared at Sakura; how the hell had she mastered this technique first?

Uzumaki in the academy at best was an average student who had a ton of chakra. What little that was covered about the Uzumaki was noted that they had a lot of chakra so Naruto's success while annoyed him didn't hit as hard as Sakura's who he still saw as one of his fan girls who had spent years pursuing him instead of worrying about being better shinobi.

"Why does your teammate's success anger you so Sasuke-san?" There was that dangerous edge to the Jounin's voice.

Sasuke was unable to come up with an answer. He kept coming back to the idea that Sakura was weak.

"I asked you a question boy. I expect an answer." Sasuke didn't have much people in his life after the massacre. He had been essentially left alone to his own devices with an agent of the village checking up on him once a week that handled such matters.

The matter of clan and shinobi laws were always a bit muddled since situation like Sasuke's rarely happened if at all. The boy was used to depending on no one but himself and that led to the behavior he was seeing now. A boy without a guardian or adult to instill a sense of boundaries and etiquette in him, or at least a sensible one. Considering the incident with Mizuki, Kakashi's opinion of those at the academy was an all-time low for not picking up on the fact that their coworker was a traitor.

"Because I should be the one succeeding not her. I have been the one busting my ass off to grow stronger. Dedicating nearly every moment to my taijutsu form or improving my ninjutsu. I need to get stronger and it infuriates me that some silly girl who has put more time into her hair than her ninjutsu is beating me."

"You are a fool Sasuke-san." Kakashi called him causing the Uchiha to tremble in anger. "Have you forgotten there are shinobi specialist in nearly every village? Of the different forms of jutsu and legends out there? No one Nin can be the best of all of them. Instead of thinking ill of your teammates gain you should be thinking well of them and celebrating their accomplishments. A strong teammate means a greater chance of survival.

I understand the incident has left you with many emotional and mental scars Sasuke-san, but its time you learn just because your name ends with Uchiha doesn't mean the world is going to bend itself over backward to accommodate you or forgive your sins. That's not how the world works in any sensible faction. I assure you Sasuke unless you straighten out that attitude of yours you can forget the benefits of my teachings."

Sasuke wanted nothing more than to scream out in frustration and to say to hell with the man, but everything he knew about any other specialists he heard about in passing none of them suited his needs. He did not need a Genjutsu instructor as his Sharingan would take care of it and from what he heard Konoha's Taijutsu and Kenjutsu specialists refused to take on any students who weren't willing to dedicate their lives to the art and adhering to their codes.

'I…I have to kill that man. He has to pay and I'll do anything to see it happened.' Sasuke had no choice but to swallow his pride and put in effort if he wanted to get anywhere. Anti-social behavior aside that did not mean Sasuke was an idiot. He was Rookie of the Year for a reason and it was obvious that Naruto and Kakashi knew each other to some degree.

Naruto's trust in the man as well as Kakashi expressing not once, but twice of having a vague understanding of Naruto's abilities allowed Sasuke to come to the conclusion that Kakashi not only trained the blond to some degree, but cautioned him not to show off his true skill. "Kakashi-sensei I will work on the issue of working with my team mates."

Kakashi couldn't help but be a bit surprised. It was something. Better than nothing he supposed. He turned his attention back to Sakura. "You have a long way to go Sakura-san. Your reserves are much lower than what is expected of even an academy student. Every day you will dedicate at least an hour's time to going up and down the tree building your reserves. The only reason why you were able to scale the tree so easily is because you lack the much higher reserves of our colleagues."

"Hai sensei." Sakura was unable to hide her disappointed frown. So much for feeling good about herself. Her weakness was the reason why this exercise was so easy for her. Well, she was going to make sure she grew as strong as possible.

"Do not fret Sakura-san, as long as you keep your superb control while building your reserves then your current capacity has a chance of becoming your ultimate weapon."

'Ultimate weapon?' she thought. "Like using Genjutsu sensei?"

"Yes. But do not limit yourself to only Genjutsu. Assassination. Becoming a medical-nin. Even Fuuinjutsu. There are other possibilities for you."

The rest of the day was spent on him instructing Sasuke and Sakura in the exercise while seeing Naruto's progress in his taijutsu. His plan was to help Naruto find a style better suited than the standard ones thought in Konoha. Far too many enemies were accustomed to many of the styles used in the village as a result of several of their shinobi going for a flashy battle instead of a clear shot and quick kill. Only to learn Naruto was learning two, one from Anko Mitarashi and a chunin by the name of Kojiro who was an orphan.

The Kojiro was a no name and there wasn't a shinobi in Konoha who hadn't heard rumors about the former apprentice of one of Konoha's most notorious traitors. Kakashi himself only met with Anko mostly in official capacity or heard stories about her from Naruto. Apparently the two of them had some sort of odd friendship going on, but to be fair, if there was a shinobi in the village he would say had a fair shot in challenging him it would be Anko.

Kakash had to admit he was looking forward to see the benefit of whatever Naruto would be learning from the woman. Once more Kakashi dismissed the team. Sasuke was the first to immediately leave, but not before pausing, sighing, and muttering out a 'later' before continuing on. It was progress.

Naruto didn't know all the details, but he knew enough. He knew Sasuke's entire clan was massacred. He knew the boy had been tortured as well. And Naruto had earnestly tried to make an effort to make friends with the boy, but his own pride had stopped him. By the time it was an option again it was far too late.

Sasuke was no longer approachable. He was cold. Bitter. Angry. He was determined to kill 'that man' as he had said during their introductions.

It really sucked. Any given time Naruto flipped between wanting to kick his ass or feeling sorry for him and in some capacity relate to what it felt like being looked at like some spectacle or having people being cautious of you. While a lot of the younger generation, particularly the girls at the academy loved Sasuke, there were those who either wanted to use Sasuke for his family name or were weary of him.

"Naruto-kun." The sound of Sakura's sweet voice dragged him out of his thoughts.

"Aah. Sakura-chan, sorry, got lost in my thoughts." He apologized. "Are you okay?" he asked as the pinkette nodded.

"I'm fine it was just my ego. And my stomach. And my back." Her attempt at a joke brought a smile to his face. "I knew…I mean I had a feeling you were stronger or I should say more skilled then you showed Naruto-kun, but I had no idea until now. How come you never showed me before?" She was honestly curious. She began to wonder just how strong the blond was.

"Well, I didn't want to brag." He suggested as Sakura quirked a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "Okay total lie, but I was told to becareful of how much I expose myself. I am an Uzumaki. Until I am strong enough I can't go exposing myself to everyone. Even in the fun wa…" He let out an oof as Sakura jabbed him in the gut. "Uugh Sakura-chan why?" He cried out, his expression a look of betrayal.

"Oh shut up I hardly put any force in that." She said with a roll of her eyes. She had grown aware some time ago Naruto played up how much her little taps on him hurt. Didn't mean she was going to stop. Someone had to keep the baka in line after all.

"Will you be okay to walk or do you want me to carry you?" He suddenly asked out of the blue.

"W-What?" Sakura's cheeks colored pink as she thought of Naruto carrying her. "N-Naruto-kun I am fine. Stop being a baka. J-Just walk me home okay." She stammered as she tried to push the image out of her mind.

Naruto saluted. "Yes mam!"

By the time they reached Sakura's home it was early in the evening. Answering the door was Sakura's mom, Mebuki Haruno fair-skinned woman with shoulder-length, blonde hair with a single bang which fell down into her face. She also had green eyes and was wearing a white qipao dress with three red circular designs at the bottom of the front of her dress as well as the back. Underneath the dress, she wore pink ¾-length pants along with brown sandals.

Mebuki greeted her daughter before turning to her friend. "Why hello Naruto-kun will you be joining us for dinner?" she asked the boy. Mebuki had been rather neutral on the whole situation with Naruto until the day her daughter introduced her to the boy and told her how he was her new friend and how he saved her from some bullies. Mebuki's opinion had turned positive seeing how her shy and rather withdrawn daughter seemed to express herself whenever the blond was around.

"If its not too much trouble." The blond replied as Mebuki invited him in. Now if only her daughter would get the leg out and snatched that boy up before her shy friend or that Ino girl made her move he'd be such a nice addition to her family.

Oh well, a person could dream.