Chapter 15 The Sacrifice

Naruto reappeared in his apartment, seeing it completely empty. Fortunately it wasn't trashed or ruined, if anything it looked like someone made an effort to make it look a little better. But there was no indication if anyone intended to come back, especially with the door locked.

'Well it's not like I expected anyone to stay and wait.' He thought. 'Okay, first thing I need to do is find an adult to talk to about this sort of thing. Someone I can trust and can explain it to me without judging me for it. Baa-chan might work, but I can't help but think Shizune might be safer. Yeah, I think I'll go with her first. After that, I'll find Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, and Hinata-chan and figure out how to make this work between us.'

He went to his door and opened it slowly, just in case anyone was outside waiting for him, and looked around. No teenage girls or their fathers in sight. Taking that as probably the best thing he could hope for right now, he exited and headed off, after locking the door behind himself.

"Alright girls, what can I do for you?" Tsunade asked when it was finally time for Hinata and Ino to speak with her.

"Hokage-sama, we want to address with you the issue of Naruto-kun's treatment in this village." Hinata started.

"Or as I want to phrase it, it's time this place fucking grew up." Ino added.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what these girls were trying to say. Obviously it was about Naruto and the fact that he still faced some prejudice, that much was clear. But clearly there had to be more to it.

"Girls, I am aware that this village has been, let's say less than grateful, to what Naruto has done. But it's been fifteen years. The worst is over and it's up to Naruto to make things better from here on."

The two girls looked stunned, almost shocked and appalled, to hear this. "Are you serious?" Ino asked.

Tsunade nodded though she looked confused. "Why does that bother you?"

"'It's up to Naruto to make things better'? Do you think it's his fault that everyone hates him?"

"Girls, there's a lot to this situation that I can't say anything-"

"We know about the fox." Both Ino and Hinata said together, surprising the hokage.

"How?" Tsunade asked.

"We promised Naruto-kun that we would help him be happy, and he wanted us to know what we were getting ourselves into." Hinata clarified.

Tsunade sighed and leaned back. "Okay then, that makes it easier. Had it been anyone else, I'd have to punish both of you and whoever told you. But since that's not the case, let's start this over and try to be adults here."

"Do you still believe that Naruto-kun is to blame for his own mistreatment?" Hinata asked. "Do you believe that he was the one to give everyone the idea that he was the fox?"

"No of course not. If anyone is to blame it's sadly the Sandaime for thinking people could handle that detail when the wound was so fresh." Tsunade replied.

"So if Naruto isn't to blame, why do you think it's his problem to fix?" Ino challenged.

"That's just how life is. You think he's the only person born into a bad situation and had to pull himself out of it? People just have to learn to pull themselves up by their bootstraps."

Ino frowned and slammed her fist on the desk. "Bullshit! That phrase is based on the idea that doing exactly that is physically impossible! Anyone who says 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' is basically saying 'not my problem you deal with it'!"

Tsunade frowned and let out some KI. "I am not the bad guy here!"

"Are you? Really?" Hinata tested, standing firm to even her own surprise. "Let's look that over. You know full well that Naruto-kun wants to become hokage. Have you done anything to help prepare him for that job?"

"I don't have to train him in anything you know." Tsunade defended.

Hinata rolled her eyes. "And that's the problem in a nutshell, isn't it? No one has to do anything for Naruto-kun. No one ever did. Therefore, all they ever did was what they wanted to do. And look what that resulted in."

"You stand there saying that you're not the bad guy here?" Ino jumped in. "Yet here you are telling us that you don't have to do anything for Naruto. So what is it you want to do for him?"

"He's not ready to be hokage." Tsunade claimed.

"We're not saying make him hokage today. We're asking what will you do so that he can become hokage later on when he is ready?" Ino countered.

"Do you want Naruto-kun to fail here? Are you actively opposed to him becoming hokage?" Hinata asked.

Tsunade frowned at the two girls. "It's not that simple girls."

"You've had three years to think this over. Three years to figure out how to teach Naruto-kun and how to help people accept him as a leader. And as far as we can see you haven't done anything in that time. The only explanation I can think of is you don't want him to become hokage. So if you've got a different reason for doing nothing, you better tell us now." Hinata insisted.

Tsunade crossed her arms. "I don't have to tell you two chuunin anything. My reasons are my own and none of your business."

Hinata and Ino looked to each other then nodded before looking at her. "Then with all due respect Hokage-sama, I refuse to serve you now."

"What?" Tsunade asked, seeing Hinata and Ino remove their hitai-ate. "You're resigning? Over Naruto?"

"Wow, you actually believe he's not worth it. That says a lot." Ino muttered, dropped her headband on the desk.

"We are not resigning per say Hokage-sama. We are in fact going on strike." Hinata clarified, dropping her own headband on the desk too. "As long as Naruto is unallowed to achieve his dreams or feel welcome in this village, I refuse to work for a government that supports his alienation. Be it passively or deliberately."

Ino nodded. "So until you get off your ass and stop acting like Naruto is supposed to magically make himself perfect on his own, we refuse to be your ninja."

Tsunade was surprised but then shook her head. "Two kunoichi going on strike isn't going to accomplish anything."

Hinata and Ino smirked. "Oh, I think it will." They then left the office.

Naruto came across one of his least favorite places in all of Konoha, the hospital. He had nothing but bad memories of this place, so he paused to take a breath and went inside. He managed to get around the receptionist, not wanting to see if this was one of those 'get out of here' people he remembered, and went down the halls. He wasn't the best tracker, but a good prankster needed to know how to find their target so it wasn't hard for him to find who he was looking for.

"Hey, Shizune-neechan!"

Shizune was seated on a chair sipping something steaming from a cup then looked towards the whiskered blonde. "Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"I had a few questions and I thought you were the best person to get honest answers from. Is this a bad time?"

Shizune put her cup down. "I'm on a break so now is the best time if you can make it quick. What is it you want to ask?"

Naruto looked around, wanting to make sure that others weren't listening in, and fidgeted a little. "It's... personal. But you know all that stuff that Ero-sennin likes? I want to get the details from a nonpervert."

Shizune blushed with her eyes widening. "You mean... you never had The Talk?"

"My male teachers were Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin. Do you think either one of them would be serious about this?"

Shizune nodded. "Touche. Well, the good news is I can tell you what you need to know. I just can't do it right now. I've got maybe fifteen minutes left and I could maybe give you some cliffnotes, but that wouldn't do it justice. How about I come to your home after work and we discuss this then and there?"

"Why my home?" Naruto asked.

"It'll make you feel more comfortable, and trust me you will get uncomfortable during this no matter how much I try not to make it so."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, I'll be home tonight. See you later Shizune-neechan."

After talking with her father, Sakura felt that things in her house were too awkward to immediately deal with so she went outside. She had no idea where to go, so she mentally listed all the places that made her feel better. She wasn't hungry or needed to buy anything so going to a cafe or shop wasn't an option. Maybe a talk with Tsunade would help her out. Her mentor did have a way of picking her up out of a funk, and helping make it into a lesson at the same time.

With some determination under her belt, she walked with some vigor now rather than wandering aimlessly towards the hokage tower. That however went away when she saw Ino and Hinata walk her way.

"Oh Sakura, perfect timing." Ino said once she spotted the pinkette and hurried towards her with Hinata following. "You're going to want to hear this. Tsunade-shishou isn't going to do anything about Naruto's situation."

"What?" Sakura asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah, she admits that Naruto doesn't deserve his suffering and she admits it's not his fault people are so cruel to him, yet she claims he's the one who has to fix the problem. I mean, as a doctor how could she of all people look at someone and say 'heal yourself'?" Ino ranted.

"Worst of all is she refuses to help him become hokage." Hinata added, frowning a bit. "It's like she's just stringing him along or expects him to get bored of that goal."

"You guys, this has to be a misunderstanding." Sakura countered.

"Ask her yourself if you want, but I don't think you'll be any happier than we are right now." Ino claimed, with Hinata nodding.

Sakura nodded. "I think, I was about to talk to her anyway."

"Before you do, you should know one thing." Hinata told her. "Ino and I went on strike. If Hokage-sama is choosing to be part of the problem then we refuse to be in service to her."

"But... isn't that a little extreme?" Sakura asked.

"Would you be saying that if this was about Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

Sakura frowned and clenched a fist, feeling that little bit of a headache again. "Hinata, have you ignored everything I've been doing for Naruto lately? I got him to consider having girlfriends, I kissed him, I've even stripped for him. I think I've proven that Naruto means more to me than Sasuke does." The headache eased, and she suspected that what she said had a lot to do with that.

"Try talking to her Sakura. Maybe you'll be able to get an answer out of her." Ino advised.

Sakura nodded and headed towards Tsunade. Ino and Hinata went to search for Naruto. Being one of Tsunade's apprentices, technically more official than Ino was, she didn't have to make any appointments or check ahead as long as Tsunade wasn't in any meetings. She walked into the office, seeing the slug sannin hunched over her table looking over some papers, and not in that good a mood. The bad mood was made more clear when Tsunade glanced her way.

"What Sakura? You've come here to bash me about the knucklehead too?"

Sakura nervously paused for a moment. "Shisho, I understand that Ino and Hinata may have disturbed you, but you're not really against Naruto are you?"

"Hell no. Would I be here if I was?"

"But then, if Naruto really is the reason you came back to Konoha, why aren't you helping him become hokage?" Sakura inquired. "I agree that he's not ready to become hokage right now or even this year, but shouldn't you be showing him the ropes? You do believe he deserves the chance to become hokage, don't you?"

"Sakura, can this wait?" Tsunade asked, annoyed.

"It could, but the longer I wait, the more likely I am to believe that Ino and Hinata are right about you." Sakura said, knowing it was a risk but she had to get answers.

Tsunade glared at her second apprentice but in the end put the papers down. "Alright Sakura, the fact is Naruto does deserve the chance to become hokage. The thing is, he only deserves a chance, not a guarantee. I can't promise him the role, and teaching him before he's even nominated is giving him and other people the wrong idea. Plus Naruto spent years badgering everyone about the subject. Don't you think if he gets training for it when he doesn't fit the criteria already it will just give little kids the idea that they can nag and nag until adults finally give them what they want?"

"Then what criteria does he need to meet before he's eligible. Have you told him?" Sakura asked.

"I don't have to. Jiraiya did when they were out."

"Did he? I mean, Naruto still seems unclear about the process. And despite seeing him against Akatsuki and Orochimaru, and even Sasuke, I didn't see Naruto do anything that he couldn't do before. Did Jiraiya-sama actually tell you what he taught Naruto during those years?"

Tsunade lost her annoyed expression and replaced it with a more confused one. Jiraiya had assured her that Naruto had been a determined student and worked on what mattered, but now that she thought about it she couldn't recall what specifically he referred to. Had she forgotten already, or had he used vague non-answers to avoid telling what had actually happened?

"I'm going to have to look into that. Either way, I can't teach Naruto along with all my other responsibilities you know. I need some time to eat, sleep, and bathe too."

"Then why not have me do it in your place?" Sakura asked. "As his teammate it's no legal quandary for me to help him and I can keep you informed."

Tsunade blinked. "You would do that?"

"Would you rather I go on strike?" Sakura asked back.

Tsunade frowned. "No, but I'm afraid that it's still not a good idea. You've got your responsibilities and Naruto needs to focus on the Akatsuki. Him trying to be hokage right now would just distract him."

Sakura frowned slightly. "Naruto needs something to live for, not just an enemy to fight. That's how Sasuke acted and look where that led him."

"That was different. Naruto wouldn't ever abandon Konoha." Tsunade countered.

"Why? Because he wants to be hokage? You won't teach him how to earn the job but you want him to believe he still has the best chance of getting it? Do you seriously not see the contradiction here?"

Tsunade sighed and held her head in her hand. "Sakura I do not want to have this argument. Why are you girls all of a sudden so interested in what happens to Naruto? You never cared before."

"No, I cared. He was my teammate, I may not have been the friendliest or the most observant but there was never a moment I legitimately didn't care about Naruto. I just opened my eyes and realized how neglectful I've been and I want to make it up to him. And frankly I'm not the only one guilty of that, I'm just willing to admit it and do something about it."

"That's good, but I still believe that people should deal with one problem at a time and right now Naruto's priority should be keeping the Akatsuki away from him. When that's resolved, then he can get ready to be hokage. Unless he still insists on retrieving your other teammate."

Sakura thought this over. On the one hand she could understand her mentor's stance. As a medic she preferred focusing on one problem rather than trying to fix several at once. And ninja did work better when they had only one mission, not several simultaneously. So Tsunade not wanting to give Naruto more than he could handle was more helpful than it looked.

"Then why didn't you tell Ino and Hinata that?" Sakura asked, not seeing why those two could have been told this too.

"I trust you more I trust them Sakura. Those two came in here demanding answers and accusing me of disrespectful things. Frankly they were both acting like fangirls so I treated them as such. If they come in here throwing a tantrum about things not being fair then they're going to be taken as seriously as they act."

"Still Shishou, what about the part where you said Naruto has to fix the problem of people being cruel to him? I can understand that you can only do so much without it looking like favoritism, but surely you can do something about his public image. Make it so that when he's ready to become hokage they're more willing to accept him in the role."

Tsunade sighed. "I can't control how people think Sakura. They'll think what they want regardless, so like I told those girls it's up to Naruto to convince them to accept him."

Sakura frowned. "And you don't see how that would offend them? You know it's not his fault they hate him but you still expect him to pay the price? Isn't that like being forced to pay for someone else's bar tab when you didn't even go to the bar yourself?"

"I'm done with this conversation Sakura, I don't want to hear more from you or anyone else. Naruto's life wasn't great but he's just got to deal with the cards he's been dealt. People have to deal with crap, not rely on others to make the problem go away."

Sakura clenched a fist. "Bullshit Shishou. You spent years wallowing in booze and misery, you most certainly were not 'dealing with crap' in the same way you expect Naruto to. And Naruto did help your problem go away, or at the very least he helped you resolve it. So don't you dare act like a hypocrite and tell me you can take the easy way out but he can't."

Tsunade frowned. "I was a warworn jounin who had just lost two loved ones because people refused to listen to my ideas. I had a right to take a break and deal with my grief how I saw fit."

"And Naruto was a newborn baby forced to contain a monster by adults who hated him for doing the job they put on him. He had to put up with it his entire life, he wasn't allowed to take a break from it. While I agree that Naruto does need to focus on the Akatsuki, he needs something to live for other than life for the sake of life."

"I said this conversation is over Sakura." Tsunade stated firmly.

The pinkette looked at the slug sannin for a moment considering her next move. With one choice standing out the most, she reached for her hitai-ate. "Let me know when you're ready to finish it." She then placed it on the desk.

"You can't do this." Tsunade warned her.

"How is what I'm doing any different than what you did when your loved ones died?" Sakura asked, and Tsunade surprisingly could not answer. She then left the office, leaving a stumped older woman to her work and uncomfortable thoughts.