"Here are the petitions and legislations that need your approval, Lady Tsunade." Shizune placed the first set of papers in her arms on the desk in front of her. "These are possible different plans the Daimyō's financial advisors came up with, each with their own separate budget." She set another set of papers down. "This is Lord Jiraiya's most recent report about his findings for his spy network." She set a small scroll on the desk. "And here are the council's recommendations for the next chūnin."

Tsunade groaned as she rubbed her temple, she had been the Hokage for barely a few days and the paperwork was already a pain. It was practically constant since her inauguration the other day. She flipped through the pages and skimmed the contents, the petitions and legislations could wait and the reconstruction would work itself out in the next council meeting. And Jiraiya's report was a burning question that did need to be resolved but she knew if it was something truly important then he would've sent a toad to personally deliver the information. So, her focus drifted to the chūnin recommendations, she opened the folder and read the contents.

The first name was Neji Hyūga. The main thing Tsunade took from his recommendation description was that his high intellect and impressive prowess in the Hyūga's own Gentle Fist taijutsu that he used to near perfection in his two matches and to help repel enemy forces warranted him this opportunity. There was a strike against the Hyūga for his lack of restraint in his match against his cousin, Hinata Hyūga, in the preliminaries, but Hiashi Hyūga personally vouched for his nephew that it would never happen again. The next name was Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru's extreme intellect was also a strong portion in his recommendation, going on about how he practically outsmarted his first opponent, Temari of the Sand, and showed he was able to deduce that he was outmatched in his bout against Sasuke Uchiha and surrender without receiving any major injury. He also proved himself a viable asset during the invasion in conjunction with his teammate, Chōji Akimichi, to fight and defeat some Otogakure shinobi. He had a strike as well, it was well documented that he hadn't performed to standard during his time in the academy. But he also had a high-ranking member on the council to vouch for his talents, his own father.

The third name on the list was Sasuke Uchiha himself. The Uchiha prodigy was praised for defeating Gaara of the Sand, who was predicted to make it to the final round and win the entire tournament, almost in a single attack and then fighting his way into the final match against his own teammate. His description went on how he and his teammates were able to track down Suna's jinchūriki and defeat him before the beast within him could be unleashed on the village. The fourth and final name on the list was, none other than, Naruto Uzumaki. Tsunade smirked in pride when she saw her godchild's name. His description was surprisingly the most detailed. Naruto was praised for his victory over Rock Lee, while challenging Lee in his specialty was not favored, the fact he pushed his opponent to use something as strong as the Inner Gates was a feature in of itself. Again, Naruto was praised for his victory over the Hyūga prodigy, Neji. And the fact the battle turned into a personal one was an attention grabber for the crowd. His description also added that he was a major part in the defeat of the rampaging Gaara.

"There are only four names on this list. I expected more because of our depleted numbers."

"According to the reports on the Chūnin Exam itself, not many possible clients were impressed by the matches. These are only four that won a match in the final stage." Shizune added.

"I read the same reports myself. I also spoke to some of the clan leaders and they said that these four individuals impressively held their own during Sunagakure's invasion, especially Naruto and Sasuke."

Shizune caught something in her master's voice. "You sound surprised by Naruto's recommendation."

"To be completely honest, I am. It's not because he doesn't deserve it, because he does. I was under the impression that most of the village had it out for the kid."

Shizune shrugged her shoulders. "I can't say, m'lady. Maybe he's starting to sway public opinion."

Tsunade adopted a thinking pose. "It's possible but I'm not going to hold my breath on that. Jiraiya did say Sarutobi sensei had some type of plan for Naruto, it's possible this is a part of it."

The black-haired woman nodded her head in understanding. "Do you really think the Third Hokage singled Naruto out for something?"

"The evidence surely does suggest that. But before I condemn my former teacher, I am going to find all the facts I can."

Shizune nodded again. "Of course, m'lady. And speaking of Lord Jiraiya, when was it he'd be back in the village?"

"He said he wouldn't be gone no more than a week, this is just a routine walk-through of his spy network."

"Very well. Is there anything else I can do for you, m'lady?"

"Yes. Send for Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Might Gai with their respective teams. I think promotions are in order."

Shizune smiled brightly. "As you wish, Lady Tsunade!"

-Hyūga clan compound-

"Ok! Ok! Alright! Keep pushing, Neji!"

At the main branch house of the Hyūga estate in the common area, Neji had just disengaged from a very heated sparring match his uncle and leader of the clan, Hiashi. The prodigy of the Hyūga stood in his Gentle Fist taijutsu stance as he pushed his body to keep his Byakugan active.

'I must keep going…I will surpass him!'

Walking out of the surrounding building was Hinata as she carried a small tray. "Um…I brought tea."

Hiashi noticed this. "Neji, let's take a break."

Neji breathed out while he moved to a standing position and deactivated his dōjutsu. "Yes, Lord Hiashi."

"Neji please, we talked about this. Call me 'uncle' from now on." The man said as he sat down on the step and took a glass from the tray.

Neji relaxed on the same step and took a cup of his own. "Yes…uncle."

It was still surreal that Neji had this sudden change in relationship with his uncle, it was barely two weeks ago that Neji couldn't stand the sight of the man. But it all changed when Hiashi came to see him in the ICU after his match against Naruto. There Hiashi told Neji the truth about his father's death. Hizashi Hyūga volunteered to take Hiashi's place in the exchange with Kumogakure. Hiashi got on his hands and knees to beg for Neji's forgiveness and to show that he was being truthful. Neji couldn't remember the last time he cried like that.

"Lady Hinata, I'm glad to see that you've made a full recover from your injuries." Neji pointed out.

"As am I, Hinata. I will want to be training you in your off time as well." Hiashi stated.

Hinata nodded timidly, though she could not hide her small smile. "Y-Yes father."

Silence filled the area for a short time as the three enjoyed the gentle breeze that cooled the air around them. The silence was suddenly interrupted when a Hyūga dressed in the standard shinobi uniform entered the estate.

The man bowed before he spoke. "Excuse the interruption, Lord Hiashi, but Might Gai is requesting that his, and I quote, 'youthful' student come with him at once."

Hiashi nodded and looked at his nephew. "Neji, you are free to leave." The man had an odd smirk that Neji couldn't figure out.

The young prodigy nodded and stood up. "We don't have any scheduled meetings today. I wonder what this is about. Hopefully this won't take long, and we can continue our training, uncle." He began to follow the Hyūga shinobi.

"Don't worry about it, Neji. Take all the time you need."

-Nara clan compound-

"Jeez…will you ever take it easy on me?"

"Why would I? The aim of the game is to win."

Asuma grumbled noncoherent words to himself as he looked over the board again, trying to see if there was any possible way he could get out of the losing situation he was in. He looked at every angle, every piece, every open square…he had lost…terribly…again. He took a long drag off his cigarette and blew out the smoke before he spoke next.

"Why don't you play your dad? He'd be a better, more challenging opponent for you."

"You're easier to beat, sensei. Besides, he'd want me to try a bunch of other strategies and all that crap…it would be such a drag." Shikamaru stated with an elongated sigh.

Asuma annoyingly grumbled to himself again. He took pride in the fact that he had a once in a lifetime genius placed under him, but those smart-ass comments, that brutal honesty, and near crippling laziness did get on Asuma's nerves at times. The laziness would hopefully disappear as he matured, but he definitely inherited his honesty from Shikaku and his mother was not one to mince words either.

"Have you seen Chōji and Ino lately?" Asuma asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Ino's been busy with her parent's flower shop lately and Chōji has been training with his dad the past few days. Last time I saw them was when Ino dragged me and Chōji to the hospital the other day to see Naruto and Sasuke, apparently two unconscious people aren't very good company."

Asuma nodded his head, already knowing this. "And what have you been doing in your time off?"

"Watching clouds, mostly." The boy stated, as if it was the most obvious thing, while he reset the game board.

And there was that laziness again. Asuma swore it was genetics, Shikaku was no better back in the day. "Don't you think you should dedicate some time to train as well? Our relationships with the neighboring lands aren't exactly at their best right now, you never know what will happen on a mission."

"I doubt another great village will go out of its way to meddle with one of our genin missions, and the odds of me being on that particular mission aren't very likely."

"True. But who said it'll be a genin mission?" The tone the bearded Sarutobi used made the question sound more like a statement.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Asuma smirked, his cigarette firmly between his lips. "I've heard that there are four recommendations for chūnin this year, and all four were approved by the council."

Shikamaru was starting to piece things together. "Okay…what's that have to do with me?" He really didn't want to hear the next sentence.

Just as Asuma was about to answer, a third shinobi entered the area. Coming up from behind the seated Shikamaru was another jōnin sensei, Kurenai. She was standing in the doorway that led onto the walkway that they were playing on.

"I figured I'd find you two out here."

"Kurenai sensei? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked, turning his head to look over his shoulder.

"Has Lady Hokage summoned us?" Asuma questioned.

The black-haired, red-eyed beauty nodded her head. "Yeah. She wants you and your team there."

"What's going on? Are we getting a mission?"

Asuma shook his head as he stood up. "Nope."

"You haven't told him?"

Asuma shook his head again. "Nah. I figured I'd let him figure it out himself."

Shikamaru was not a fan of being in the dark like this, especially when it involved him. He just hoped whatever the Hokage wanted wouldn't turn out to be a huge drag…

-With Team Seven-

"So, did Kakashi sensei say what Baa-chan wanted from us?"

"Naruto! She's your Hokage now! You shouldn't call her something like that!" Sakura huffed as she continued to walk in between her two male teammates. "And to answer your question, no he didn't. I was told to find you guys then head over to the Hokage's office, he said he'd meet us over there."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's probably a mission. There have been a lot more missions lately."

"Maybe, but I'm not going to out my money on it. Sasuke was just released from the hospital yesterday, he was told to take it easy for the next few days by Lady Tsunade herself. Right, Sasuke?"

The young Uchiha did not say a word, he just continued to walk without a noise. Sakura wasn't even sure that Sasuke had even heard her, he certainly didn't give any indication that he did. Sakura looked her teammate curiously as worry began to set in. Sasuke had been silent the past few days leading up to his release from the hospital. When she found him and told him about their meeting at the Hokage's office, he made some sort of grunt and just followed Sakura's lead until they found Naruto at the training field.

Naruto noticed something immediately about Sasuke when he and Sakura came to him, there was an odd look of resentment in Sasuke's eyes. Naruto could easily tell what was hidden in his rival's eyes, the last six years of resentment taught him how to figure out who legitimately hated him or who just didn't know any better and followed the pack.

The blonde glanced beyond Sakura towards the brooding Uchiha. "What's gotten into you, teme?"

Naruto hoped by saying his nickname for Sasuke would generate a reaction, but Sasuke remained stoic and silent. The boy just shook his head and returned to facing forward. If Sasuke didn't want to talk about what was on his mind then Naruto wasn't going to push the subject, he had done the same thing to them both on multiple occasions in the past.

The trio continued in silence as they made their way into the Hokage's Mansion and up towards the Hokage's office. Sakura knocked on the door and waited for their appointed leader to allow them entry.

"Enter." A womanly voice said from behind the door.

Sakura was the first to go through the door, then Naruto, then Sasuke. Once in the office, the three genin were surprised to see that the room was filled with people. Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino were there with their sensei, Asuma, and that team from the year before them; Rock Lee, Neji Hyūga, and Tenten with their jōnin sensei, Maito Gai. Kakashi was standing off in the corner with his eyes glued to his Icha Icha Paradise book. Shizune stood next to her master and current Hokage, Tsunade.

"Well, it's about time you guys showed up. We've been waiting for like ten minutes!" Ino said with a huff. Her frustration quickly went away the second Sasuke stepped into the office. "Hi Sasuke!"

The boy made no motion or notion towards the practically bouncing girl.

"Jeez, Ino…do you have to be so loud?" Shikamaru groaned as he scratched the inside of his ear with his pinkie finger, trying to stop the ringing from Ino's sudden scream.

"Just leave Sasuke alone, piggy, he's not in a good mood." Sakura defended.

"You're just saying that because you want to have Sasuke all to yourself, bill board brow!"

As everyone instantly ignored the two arguing girls, Naruto approached the Hokage's desk with such confidence and a casual manner that all shinobi in the room were floored by his actions. He stood in front of the desk with his hands behind his head. "What's going on Baa-chan? Why is there so many of us here right now?"

"B-Baa-chan?!" Asuma nearly choked on the unlit cigarette in his mouth. Gai just stood there with his mouth agape and Kakashi chuckled silently to himself.

A vein popped out of Tsunade's forehead, she could hear Shizune cover her slight giggle with her hand. "Naruto…I told you not to call me that anymore."

"I know, I just don't care."

Tsunade sighed, but she really couldn't be upset. She didn't mind the nickname, even if it stood for 'grandma'. "Yes, well, to answer your question, as well as all of yours, I called everyone here because I have something to give to four of you. Could Neji Hyūga, Shikamaru Nara, and Sasuke Uchiha come stand next to Naruto here?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion as the three moved from the small crowd to stand next their blonde counterpart, falling at the position of attention. The blonde became even more confused by his comrade's actions.

"What gives? Why so formal, you guys?"

"Naruto…" Kakashi glanced up from his book. "you are before the Hokage, show some respect."

Naruto sighed, but followed his orders. He moved from his relaxed stance into the position of attention, placing his hands on the seams of his pants and heels touching, bowing his feet into a 'v' position.

Tsunade smirked and stood from her chair, playing her hand in her hip. "I have called the four of you here, along with your respective teams and leaders, to give you your hard-earned promotions to chūnin. The four of you won, at least, one match during the final stage of the exam and handled yourselves amazingly during the unfortunate invasion. I may have not personally been here in Konoha to see what you're capable of, but I trust my advisors and the many reports."

Tsunade moved from behind her desk and stood in front of the four shinobi. Shizune grabbed four individual green vests from behind her master's desk and began to hand them out to the young men as her master spoke. "On behalf of Konohagakure and her people, I, Tsunade Senju: Fifth Hokage, hereby promote Neji Hyūga…Shikamaru Nara…Sasuke Uchiha…and Naruto Uzumaki to the rank of chūnin! Congratulations!"

A series of applause filled the room from the others in the room while the four newly promoted chūnin stared at their new green flak vests in their hands. Neji was the first to put the vest on, opting to zip it up fully over his tan colored shirt. Then Sasuke slipped on the vest over his blue, high collared shirt and only zipped it up to about halfway. Shikamaru sighed annoyingly as he put his vest on over his short sleeved grey jacket, pulling the zipper up to the top. Naruto rested his vest over his already unzipped orange jacket, opting to keep the vest unzipped as well.

"Attention to orders!" Tsunade called out, causing all the shinobi in the room immediately snapped to the position of attention. "The following vows are one must agree and keep to those who truly want to be chūnin."

The room was silent, and the four young men remained unmoving, as one was not allowed to move at the position of attention.

"Do you vow to risk your life and protect the mighty Konohagakure no Sato and the people of the village from any and all danger that may come her way?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage." The four replied in unison.

"Do you vow to uphold the Will of Fire, a belief held since the days of, my grandfather, the Shodaime Hashirama Senju?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

"Do you vow to represent Konoha with honor and courage in any and all circumstances?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

"Do you vow to remain loyal to Konoha, never revealing any secrets to any who may seek her or her people harm?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

"And finally, do you vow to respect and cherish our home of Konohagakure no Sato?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

"Then I, Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato promote you Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyūga, and Naruto Uzumaki to the rank of chūnin. May the Will of Fire flow through your spirit and be your guiding key."

The four bowed in honor of their promotion and Hokage. "Thank you, Lady Hokage."

Another round of applause filled the room as the four newly annotated chūnin turned around to greet their comrades and leaders. Neji was flooded with two hyperactive green-clad shinobis of Rock Lee and Maito Gai, yelling and shouting things about the 'power of youth'. Tenten didn't even try to stop them from making a scene. Shikamaru stood there bored as ever as both Ino and Chōji congratulated him, Asuma just smirked at his student's laziness.

"Do you think they're ready?"

Kakashi glanced up from his book. "They'll have to be. There are a lot of things in motion."

Asuma nodded. "You're right. This group you called the Akatsuki is something we all need to be ready for."

"I wasn't talking about just the Akatsuki."

"Hm? Then what are you talking about?" Asuma questioned, moving in a little closer so they wouldn't have to talk so loudly. Granted, the room was filled with chatter of the genin congratulating their four peers, but it's better to safe than sorry.

"What's your assessment on the village as of late?"

"My assessment? Well, I'd say everything is going well all things considered. Minus the Akatsuki incident, everything seems nice and peaceful. The villagers look to be in a good mood with Lady Tsunade taking over as Hokage."

"I see…"

"Do you see it differently?"

Asuma could tell that Kakashi was slightly grinding his teeth under his mask. "All this peace feels ominous to me…Orochimaru is out there waiting for us to let our guard down again."

Now it was Asuma's turn to clench his teeth together. The mere mention of Orochimaru caused Asuma's blood to boil. The death of his former Hokage, and father, was still fresh in his mind. "Do you sense him?"

Kakashi's stare was hard and stoic. "You could say that."

"Hm…if you have a bad feeling thing, I guess I'll keep my guard up."

"Right…I'm counting on you. I'll get Gai up to speed as well."

A few minutes passed of more congratulations before the teams began to leave the Hokage's office. First it was Team Ten, though it seemed Shikamaru lingered behind them slightly. Then Team Gai followed shortly thereafter. Just as Team Seven was about to leave, Tsunade spoke again.

"Naruto, stay back for a minute."

'Aw shit. She's probably going to chew me out for calling her Baa-chan in front of everyone.' Naruto inwardly groaned to himself as he watched his teammates and sensei close the door behind them. He turned and faced his godmother. "Is this about what I said?"

Tsunade smiled. "No, it's not. I just wanted to congratulate you personally."

"Oh…"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, I just thought I was in trouble." The blonde chuckled. "Guess I was surprised is all."

The woman's smile softened and moved down to eye level with her godchild. She reached around the back of his head and untied his headband, confusing the blonde boy. Naruto became even more confused when he saw the other object in her hand.

"…That's your necklace."

"No…it's not…"

What Tsunade did completely floored her godson. Tsunade used both her hands and placed the emerald green crystal over Naruto's head and left it to rest around his neck.

"…It's yours."

"Baa-chan…" Naruto could barely fathom this. The necklace that was now around his neck was a very precious heirloom that had been passed down from the First Hokage. Not only was it an heirloom but it was also worth a fortune, three mountains worth of gold. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"It's my gift to you for making chūnin. I know how hard you work and I'm so very proud of your accomplishments in your short time as a shinobi. You're really something amazing and I can't wait to see how far you'll go. I couldn't think of anyone else who deserves this."

It was at that moment that Naruto couldn't stop a very rare blush on his whiskered cheeks. "You're just saying that Baa-chan…"

Tsunade smiled at her godson's modesty, he was surprisingly very humble. "You know I meant every word."

Naruto nodded, she was being very truthful and he knew she wasn't just saying things to make him feel better. It was an odd feeling to have someone take pride in his actions, it almost felt like Tsunade was his actual…

"Do you think my parents would be proud?"

Tsunade's eyes, as well as Shizune's, went wide from Naruto's question, she was not aware that Naruto knew about his heritage. There was no doubt that Jiraiya had told him, but there was also the possibility that he figured it out himself. Minato was obviously a very well-known shinobi and Kushina had a bit of a legend of herself.

Recovering from her initial shock, Tsunade put another soft smile on her face and leaned in to place a kiss on her godson's unprotected forehead. She pulled back to see that Naruto's face was completely red, she inwardly chuckled as she had never seen him so flustered. "Of course they are…but so are we."

Hearing that put a few of Naruto's secret worries about his parenthood to rest, but that still hadn't dosed the burning questions about why his father chose him to be the Kyuubi's jinchūriki. Or why the information had been kept from him for so long. Or even why the Third Hokage sent Jiraiya away thus leaving him alone in the village. There were so many questions that he didn't know the answers too and that irritated him greatly.

"Thank you Baa-chan…I promise I won't let that faith you have in me go to waste. I will surpass everyone and become the strongest!"

"And I can't wait to see it happen. Now scram kiddo, I've got some paperwork to catch up on."

Naruto gave his best salute. "Yes ma'am!" He turned and bolted out of the office, leaving the two women chuckling at his antics. The young blonde ran through the halls of the Hokage's mansion at break-neck speed and jumped through the open door that led to the outside.

"Hey Naruto! Hold up!"

Naruto slid to a stop when he heard the voice call out to him. He turned around to see Shikamaru walking out from his position under a shady tree and towards him, sporting that new chūnin flak vest that he had received not too long ago. "Shikamaru? You need something?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, not really. I just thought I'd invite you to play a game of shogi with me?"

"Shogi? Isn't that like chess?"

"More or less, it's pretty much a variant."

"Okay…but why the sudden interest to hangout? You've never wanted to before."

"Well, maybe if you had shown up to the academy then we might've then." The Nara boy a point that Naruto couldn't refute. "Besides, we're chūnin now and more than likely going to be sent on missions together soon. It would be smart to get to know each other and have some chemistry between us so that we aren't making stuff up on the fly during the real deal."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding, the logic was sound and it made perfect sense to him. "What about Neji and Sasuke? They were promoted with us."

"I was going to get them but Sasuke looked way too pissed about something, that didn't seem a very good use of my time because he normally isn't to keen on listening to someone when he's mad, and Neji left with his team too fast for me to ask him. So, I waited for you."

Naruto nodded once again. Shikamaru had a point, Sasuke really did seem upset about something. He had noticed it earlier, but he wasn't going to push the subject. Maybe addressing this issue wasn't avoidable after all. For some reason, Naruto had a feeling that conversation wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Alright then…I guess I'm down to play a game or two."

"Cool. Then let's head to my place." Shikamaru begin walking and Naruto moved to walk next to him.

"So, is shogi like your hobby or something?"

"In a way but playing will give me an idea how you are in battle."

Naruto raised his eyebrow in confusion. "And how will playing a board game tell you that?"

"I'll tell you after we play a game."

-BBQ Palace-

The BBQ Palace was notorious for Team Ten's after mission celebration spot, but what made the restaurant famous was the Akimichi clan's seal of approval. The Akimichi clan was the unofficial food critics for the village of Konoha, largely due to their overwhelming appetite and love for good food. But what set this restaurant apart from others was the self-service. The customers ordered the food they wanted but cooked the food to their liking with the small grill that was attached to the table. And since a member of said team had been promoted to chūnin, a celebration was in order. Team Seven decided to join their comrades and wait on their two missing members.

"Man, I thought your team was bad about being on time forehead." Ino groaned as she rested her head on her hands. "What on earth could be taking Shikamaru and Naruto so long?! I'm freaking starving!"

"Don't even get me started, Ino." Chōji groaned in like fashion, if she was starving then there was no telling how he felt.

"The Hokage did want to have a word with Naruto, who knows what that could've been about." Asuma stated, sitting at the end of the table with Kakashi across from him. "Do you have any idea what that could be about, Kakashi?"

Kakashi turned the page of his book. "Not a clue."

"Do you even care?" Asuma asked rhetorically.

"I may be his genin teacher and still have things left to teach him, Naruto and Sasuke technically aren't my responsibility anymore and are now our peers in the force."

"But we outrank them."

"Yes, but we shouldn't underestimate them. Besides, I was made jōnin at thirteen, there's no telling what their potential could be."

"Wow, you were promoted to jōnin at thirteen, sensei?" Sakura asked in amazement. Even the ever silent Sasuke had his interest peaked by this. "Were you fast-tracked?" Fast-tracking is a term that means someone who is, and or was, pushed through the ranks faster than others because of their talents and knowledge.

"You could say that, but that doesn't mean I didn't earn my way through the ranks. I knew what I was doing, and I was awarded for my hard work."

Asuma stared at Kakashi with a deadpanned expression. 'Yeah, and being a freaking prodigy had nothing to do with it…'

"So, Kakashi sensei, what are some of the responsibilities of a chūnin?" Sakura questioned. "You said Naruto and Sasuke aren't your responsibility anymore. Does that mean we won't be Team Seven anymore?" The mere thought of not being on the same team with Naruto and Sasuke worried Sakura to no end.

"Don't worry Sakura, Team Seven will still be together but they will have the ability to choose if they want to come on the mission. Genin are normally stuck with the D-Rank missions with the occasional C-Rank mission while chūnin are offered the C-Rank missions with the occasional B-Rank mission, and if enough promise is shown then they could be chosen for an A-Rank mission with a jōnin leading."

"Phew. That's a relief." Sakura breathed. "Isn't that great Sasuke? The three of us are still a team!"

The young Uchiha said nothing from his position at the end of the table, he continued his silence throughout their prolonged wait. So many thoughts had run through Sasuke's mind during his silence but were centered around single entity.

Naruto.

Only one time before had Sasuke focused on a single thing, and that was about his plan to kill Itachi. When he saw the new Hokage embrace Naruto like a mother who had just found her lost child, something in Sasuke's mind snapped. At the time, he really wasn't sure why but seeing that caused Sasuke feel an unearthly amount of jealously towards Naruto. Suddenly, everything had changed.

Since the formation of Team Seven, and even back in the academy, Sasuke always felt some odd relief because there was someone else that was experiencing the same type of loneliness he was. Despite their differences, him and Naruto had an understanding. A sense of equality between them. That felt like it was gone now. They had both made it to chūnin and continued to remain peers but that understanding felt gone…

"Screw it! I'm not waiting any longer!" Chōji couldn't take it anymore, his stomach was practically singing now. If he waited any longer to eat something then he was going to lose it. He took the plate of uncooked meat and dropped every slice onto the already warm grill. The meat slices were the perfect size to be cooked in rapid succession and all were quick fill their plates.

Sakura made herself a plate then decided to make Sasuke a plate as well. She wasn't sure how much to give him, so she just opted to start small then see if he wanted more. "Here Sasuke."

The second the plate passed through Sasuke's vision he swiftly hit the plate away with a loud crash, earning shocked expressions from most of the other customers. Sakura was obviously the most surprised, she had never seen Sasuke act so aggressively.

"Hey, what gives?!" Chōji shouted. "That was a perfectly good plate of meat!"

Sasuke paid no attention to the fat boy's anger and stood up to leave the restaurant. He stopped momentarily to look back over his shoulder at his pink-haired teammate.

"Tell Naruto that I'll be at Lone Pine Hill, waiting for him."

With those parting words, Sasuke left the building.

-With Naruto-

Time had passed faster than Naruto had thought, he didn't think playing a single game of shogi would last a few hours. Shikamaru was a tough opponent, he plans so far ahead that trying to think of a strategy was extremely difficult. Naruto did what he could but ended up losing to Shikamaru. Granted, that was Naruto's first time playing the game and Shikamaru had been playing for years. But the aim wasn't to win, it was to learn how each other operated during a fight. Hopefully Shikamaru got what he needed out of the long game.

Naruto had just entered the training field to finally get his second training session for the day but was surprised to see his pink-haired teammate standing in the middle of the field, watching the sun set on the horizon.

Naruto approached his teammate. "Sakura?" It wasn't until the girl turned around, he could see the worry and fear in her eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"Naruto…I don't know what I should do anymore…Sasuke's waiting for you. I bet he's still waiting, even now."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke's waiting for me? What do you mean?"

"I…we were all waiting for you and Shikamaru at the BBQ Palace to celebrate. But he never said anything…he barely looked at any of us. He suddenly freaked out and threw his plate of food I handed him. Before he left, he gave me a message for you."

"A message?" It was clear Sakura was upset and holding back tears.

"He's waiting for you at Lone Pine Hill. I think Sasuke issued you a challenge."

"A challenge?!"

Sakura couldn't take it anymore, the tears she was holding back broke through and begin to run down her cheeks. "Why…why is this happening?! Aren't we supposed to be comrades?" She tried to up her tears away with her hands, but it was pointless, she couldn't help but sob.

Naruto wasn't sure what to do here, this was a new situation. He wanted to comfort the crying girl but he had no freaking idea how. Was he supposed to pet her or something? There was only one thing he could think of, something he has always wanted. When he was growing up the thing he wanted most when he was troubled and crying was a simple hug and being told that everything would be okay.

And that's exactly what he did. Naruto approached Sakura and slowly brought her into his arms, trying to calm her worries. The girl didn't even hesitate in burying herself into him. "Sakura…don't worry, everything's gonna be okay."

The pinkette just continued to sob into his vest.

Naruto let out a long breath through his nose. "Okay…I'll go find Sasuke."

Sakura's head shot up and became eye level with Naruto, still in his embrace. "But…!"

"It'll be okay. We're comrades, right? I'll make things right Sasuke, don't worry."

Sakura saw it in Naruto's eyes that there was no changing his mind. "Okay…please be careful. I still can't get the image of Sasuke's hand around your neck out of my head, just the thought of you two fighting again…" She was about to start sobbing again.

"Hey…" Naruto brought up his thumb and wiped away the forming tear on the girl's face. "You don't need to cry for us, I'm pretty sure me and Sasuke will always be like this. But no matter what happens, we will always be together. I promise you that, Sakura."

And there it was. Naruto's unbelievable smile. Sakura had no idea how a person could have a smile like that, but Naruto did. The words of Jiraiya clicked in her head. He smiles at you. A registered skipped heartbeat caused Sakura's face to blush. "Naruto…thank you."

Naruto's smile remained. "You don't have to thank me, you already saved me once." He released Sakura from his embrace and turned away to leave. "Actually, I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"M-Me? What for?"

"Ero-Sennin told me you went with him to go find Baa-chan. He said you wouldn't take no for answer, said that you wanted to go for me. You have no idea how much that means to me, Sakura. I'll never forget that."

Naruto took off into woods and headed for Lone Pine Hill.

-Lone Pine Hill-

The hill that was true to its name, a single tree sat alone atop of hill. Sasuke stood on an outstretched branch that gave him a perfect view of the valley that led up to the flattop. Night had taken over the sky some time ago as he waited for his opponent to show. It didn't matter to him how long he had to wait, as long as he could finally put this to rest.

Leaves trailed a dashing blur across the moonlight that caught Sasuke's eyes.

"So, you've come, huh…?"

Naruto came flying through tree tops, flipping through branches and landing on the ground in a full sprint. He quickly approached the hill and vaulted himself up a series of boulders up to the flat. He flipped over the edge and landed gracefully the on grass. He looked up to the lone tree to see Sasuke glaring at him with his Sharingan active.

"What's the big idea calling me out to place like this?"

"…I want you to fight me, Naruto."

The blonde's left hand clenched into a fist. "Why all the way out here? We can do that anywhere, right?"

Sasuke unbuttoned the flap on his kunai holster, embedding his finger into the ring. "I mean a real fight. Live or die. Play for keeps."

"…Why on earth would you want to do something like that?"

"…I want to prove my own strength. And nothing else!"

Twirling the kunai from his leg holster with his finger, Sasuke fell from the branch and charged Naruto the second he touched ground. Naruto brought his own kunai up to block, sparks flying in the moonlight…