Chapter 16 The Situation

Sakura soon left the hokage tower, and she wasn't that surprised to see Ino and Hinata down there waiting for her. When she saw them, she lowered her head and tapped the part of her scalp where her hitai-ate would normally be seen, revealing nothing but pink hair.

"So right now all three of us are essentially jobless." Ino summarized.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, hopefully this will get Shishou to take us more seriously, but the sad truth is we have no real leverage over her. Three kunoichi going on strike isn't going to motivate her to do more than she already is doing."

"It won't be just us three for long." Hinata claimed. "I believe I can get my father and clan in on this strike. While they most likely won't do this for Naruto-kun's sake at all, I'm fairly confident I can convince them that the hokage may be neglecting their rights as well as his."

Ino slowly nodded. "That could work. Everyone knows that the hokage has a soft spot for Naruto and if she can dismiss him like this then who's to say anyone else can't be disregarded just as easily?"

"Hold on girls, that could backfire." Sakura warned, walking away from the tower and getting them to follow. "The focus here should stay on Naruto's future, not others. If our strike suddenly becomes about what everyone else wants, then what was the point of even starting this?"

Ino sighed. "Yeah, you're right. So then, how do we make others act on Naruto's behalf when the lack of people doing that is the exact problem we're trying to resolve?"

"Let's start with our classmates, if we can get them to agree that's a good start. Other than that, where can we hit this village where it will hurt too much to ignore?" Sakura suggested.

"I have an idea." Hinata offered.

Naruto was in a training field working on some katas sparring against a group of clones. He was using the style he had learned from the toads while the clones were improvising like he usually did. The restraint on himself helped keep him calm rather than lashing out. Right now he was experiencing a lot of confusing and conflicting feelings, both old and new, and keeping his body busy worked wonders for getting his thoughts in order.

'I've got three girls that are interested in me. Telling me that being a pervert is okay. Their fathers are acting weird about it. Sakura-chan has something wrong with her head. Gran and Gramps Toad are telling me that everything I thought was true was wrong. What can I do to have things make sense again?'

Talking to Shizune later tonight would be a start. Shima was right, Naruto did have an incomplete and rather naive view on sex and he couldn't hold onto a black and white perspective any longer. Shizune would give it to him straight and help him take a more informed stance. And from there, hopefully dealing with the three girls would be easier.

Sakura, Ino, Hinata, these three girls were a blessing to him but that didn't make them easier to understand. Naruto had always sought out acceptance and companionship, but if he was being honest with himself he had given up on being loved years ago. Right around the time Sakura hugged Sasuke after being healed by Tsunade. That moment had struck him harder than any of Sakura's punches, and it showed Naruto that even if he were to someday succeed in getting the pinkette to be with him, it wouldn't be because she wanted to be with him. It would be because she couldn't be with Sasuke. And he didn't want to be a mere silver medal in someone's heart.

But now with recent events, Naruto was beginning to have hope again that he could be loved. Sakura's dark half was still confusing to him, but it was proof that his efforts hadn't been wasted. Ino was showing him respect and affection, a lot of affection, and while his mind was in turmoil his body was far less confused. And Hinata had apparently admired him for years and only now felt comfortable enough admitting it to him. Plus, who's to say there wasn't a fourth or fifth girl out there that wanted a little piece of the whiskered Uzumaki?

Naruto was flattered, but he knew that all three girls would only share him for so long. He would be expected to choose one as a girlfriend and just be friends with the other two. And that was the best case scenario. He wasn't looking forward to that, but he had to admit that he did need time to reach a decision. Sakura had been right about how he had no real standards for a relationship. As long as he could hold a conversation with a girl he was happy. Right now, he basically had that with the three girls. So what else would narrow it down?

"Hey Naruto!"

Naruto and the clones stopped and turned around, seeing Ino, Hinata, and Sakura coming this way with the first mentioned one waving towards him. He dispelled the clones and brushed some dust off his jacket. "Is everything alright?"

"Sort of. You see Naruto, we just did something drastic." Sakura started. "The three of us have gone on strike."

"Strike? What do you mean?"

"You see Naruto-kun, we basically told Hokage-sama that until things get better for you that we refuse to work for her." Hinata explained.

Naruto's eyes widened. "You quit? Why?"

"Not exactly Naruto, going on strike isn't the same as quitting." Ino interjected. "Think of it this way, let's say that Ichiraku's decided to stop serving your favorite flavor of ramen. And when you asked for it back they refused and told you there was nothing you could do about it. So then you tell them that until they bring your flavor back, you won't eat anything they still have. That's what going on strike is. Until they are willing to meet your demands, you don't give them anything."

Naruto nodded in understanding. Sakura wasn't surprised to see that a ramen analogy helped her teammate understand what was being told to him. Hopefully there were other ways for him to grasp situations too.

"So you won't do ninja work until Baa-chan does something you want? Okay, what is it you want?" he asked.

"What do you think we want?" Ino asked.

Knowing he'd never actually guess it, Hinata stepped up. "We want Hokage-sama to start taking your dream seriously."

"Huh? What do you mean? Of course she does." Naruto asked, confused.

"Does she? Does she really Naruto?" Sakura asked. "Remember what you and I talked about not too long ago. When has she ever actually taught you anything about the job?"

"Well there's..." The whiskered blonde started, but failed to come up with an answer.

"Has she ever once told you what she actually does as hokage? What you could expect when you got the job yourself? Has she ever told you how to become qualified for the job in the first place?"

"Hold on, are you saying that Baa-chan doesn't want me to get the job?" He asked, finding it hard to believe.

"We're starting to think that ourselves." Ino admitted. "I mean, think about it. You're still legally a genin. Other than the one time you took the chuunin exams, has any adult ever once offered to see if you're worth a promotion?"

Naruto blinked. "You mean there are other options?"

"Of course. If the exams were the only way to become chuunin how could we have so many chuunin and jounin in the first place? The chuunin exams are about encouraging alliances and business, they're not the only option to getting a promotion."

Hinata nodded. "You've been personally trained by a sannin for three years, fought against the kazekage and beat him, fought members of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. You should have been offered a chance to be promoted on that alone. But no one has said a word, have they?"

"No, they didn't." Naruto softly said, letting this sink in. His confusion began to shift towards anger, making him grit his teeth and clench his fists.

"Naruto?" The girls asked, seeing him start to tremble.

"Can't I ever count on anyone?" He hissed, looking and sounding like he really needed to punch something. "No one teaches me, no one takes me seriously, no one wants me around, and now I found out they're intentionally withholding any progress from me?"

Trembling a little, Naruto swiftly formed a rasengan in his hands and threw it into a wooden post, destroying it in an explosion of splinters.

'Whoa, did he just do that without a clone?' Sakura asked. 'Was he holding back in the last two missions? Why would he do that? We were facing the Akatsuki and Orochimaru, why would he hold back?'

After a moment, the whiskered blonde turned and looked at the three girls. "This strike of yours, what would happen if I went on strike too?"

The girls blinked, not expecting this. "You sure Naruto-kun? This could seriously hurt your chances at becoming hokage in the future." Hinata warned.

"If my chances were good you wouldn't be on strike in the first place would you?" He asked back.

"This is different Naruto. This will be marked on our records as a sign of insubordination, which means our loyalty to Konoha will be in question for a long time if not the rest of our careers." Sakura explained. "We just declared that our loyalty is conditional, so in the future any promotions or political influence is going to be met with suspicion."

"It's worse for Hinata and I." Ino added. "As clan heiresses, we're expected to lead our clans someday, or marry someone who will. If we're seen as leaders who don't cooperate with the system, we'll be seen as threats waiting to happen. Our clans will have to remove us from these positions just to save face, even if they agree with us."

Naruto looked more worried now. "So then, why did you do this if it just makes things worse for you all?"

"Because we need Hokage-sama to take this seriously." Hinata insisted. "Remember Naruto-kun, Hokage-sama knows that you want to become hokage someday. But she's refusing to aide you in making that dream become a reality. It's like she expects the problem to solve itself someday, and that's assuming she's on your side."

"And how is refusing to do your job going to change that?" Naruto asked, not seeing how this approach could get the intended results if it was more complicated than they had made it appear at first.

"For one thing Naruto, it sets a bad standard for the hokage." Sakura started. "Two of her prodigies just effectively left her service. That could lead to others wondering if she's the one to blame, or if she's as good a leader as she presents herself. It will also make her more stressed since Ino and I aren't there to lighten the work load for her anymore."

Naruto didn't look happy to hear this. "I don't want to make things worse for Baa-chan."

"This is how we get her to take this seriously Naruto." Ino insisted. "If there's no risk to her, then what's to motivate her to do anything? She's not taking you seriously because there's no pressure for her to. So now the only option left is to put pressure on her. Make her realize that her negligence towards you will have consequences."

"There's more to this though Naruto-kun." Hinata added. "Naturally at some point, others are going to learn that we're on strike. Once that happens, it will make the people we know think about you and your situation. If they don't care, they'll make it obvious and then you'll know who still doesn't see you as anything other than a failure after all this time. But if they do respect you, then they'll agree that something is wrong and needs to be done."

Naruto took a moment to think this part over. "Hmm... yeah, this would force everyone to make their real opinions known. Especially the adults like Kakashi-sensei. It would be nice to know for sure who's really supportive and who's just putting up with me."

Sakura nodded. "Our strike will start small with us Naruto, but it should get bigger later. Others may join in, hurting the amount of shinobi the hokage can rely on. And being on strike means we can do things that we couldn't do before. We can teach you things we know about getting promoted or how the village works without it being a legal problem. Or at least as big as it would have been were we still active shinobi. The hokage cannot forbid us from telling you things without risking overstepping her authority, since she can't forbid 'civilians' from helping ninja."

Naruto was quiet for a bit, but then smiled. "Well girls, I'm still not sure how this will work, but I trust you know what you're doing. And thank you all, it really means a lot that for once someone's willing to make a sacrifice for me."

All three smiled brightly.

Naruto looked to the sky for a moment. "I feel better now, but I should get home. I'm expecting Shizune-neechan to come by and..." He stopped and started blushing.

The girls saw the blush and got curious. "And what? What do you need with Shizune-senpai?" Sakura asked.

"Uh... well, you see..." The whiskered blonde fumbled with his words, scratching the back of his head.

Ino smirked. "Oh, is our favorite Uzumaki already looking for a fourth girl to date? Maybe wanting to see if older women are his type?"

'I sure hope not.' Hinata thought, a little possessively.

"What? No, not at all. Besides, it's not like she would ever think that about me." Naruto objected shaking his head.

"But what if she did?" Sakura asked, just to test his reaction.

The whiskered blonde fidgeted, looking uncomfortable but not disgusted. "Honestly, if she was willing to, umm... not sure what I'd say."

"So then why do you need to see her?" Hinata asked.

"Just some questions that I think she's the right one to get answers from." He replied.

"Like what? Maybe we can help. We're trained medics." Sakura offered.

Naruto shook his head vigorously. "Not with this. I'd prefer someone more... professional."

The three girls looked to each other for a moment, then back to him. "It's about us, isn't it?" Ino asked.

"Uhh... sort of." He admitted.

"Okay, if it will make you feel better we won't press you more. But for now, how about we kill time together with some training?" Sakura suggested.

Naruto nodded with a smile.

"I can only imagine what the outcome of this will be." Tsunade said to herself as she wrote out notices on three pieces of paper. Beside her desk were a couple of crumpled up prior attempts to write out what she had to but disliked the results. Right now she was just trying the simplistic, direct approach, and it still didn't seem like enough.

With a sigh she signed her name and title on all three. "I can't make it better. Whatever happens, happens." She then folded the papers and summoned three slugs, giving them instructions. The slugs took a piece each and disappeared.

"All I can do is wait now."

In the evening Shizune finished her shift at the hospital. She paused to have some coffee and a small sandwich before leaving, and when she stepped outside she glanced towards the hokage tower.

'I suppose I should go to Tsunade-sama and see if she needs me.' She thought. 'But then again I did promise Naruto I'd come by his place after work. If I go to Tsunade-sama and she does have work for me, there's no guarantee I'll finish in time to give Naruto what he wants. And if I don't, Tsunade-sama will likely be unhappy and...'

Her thoughts trailed and she sighed. 'What can she do to me that she hasn't already done?'

With that in mind, she walked towards Naruto's apartment. She saw the lights were on when she got there but nothing outside, so she hoped that Naruto was waiting for her rather than out and forgot to turn off his lights. Nevertheless she went up the stairs and knocked on his door, informing him she was here now.

"Ah, thanks for coming Shizune-neechan." Naruto greeted, dressed in a black shirt with orange sweat pants. Judging from some residual dampness in his hair, Shizune suspected he had been in the shower not too long ago. "Come on in."

"Thanks Naruto." She replied, coming in and sitting on his couch. "You know, I think this is the first time I've ever actually been over here. Kind of weird that I've never been here before."

"Why? Neither you or your master ever invited me to your place." Naruto commented.

Shizune felt a little hurt by that, both by the small bit of bite in his tone as well as how he referred to Tsunade. But she couldn't protest, it wasn't like he was wrong or anything. "Anyway, I understand that you want some details about intimacy. What exactly is it you want to know?"

"Most anything and everything. Assume I know nothing, what should I know."

Shizune looked bothered. "Why don't you start with the single biggest question you have. If you could only ask one question, what would it be?"

Naruto thought it over. "Well, I guess that would be 'is it okay or not'?"

Shizune arched an eyebrow. "Is what okay or not?"

"Anything. Everything. All of it." Naruto clarified, pausing to groan in frustration. "I mean, I've been told my whole life to never be a pervert. That it's wrong and that's all there is to it. Now I'm told that's not true? That girls can actually want sex? How can that be? How can something be true one day then false the next day?"

Shizune didn't know how to respond. Thinking it over, she took a deep breath and leaned closer to him.

"Naruto, if I'm interpreting this correctly, your main concern is about the morality of sexual attraction, not the act itself, am I right?"

The whiskered blonde nodded. "Actually it's both. I really don't know anything, not how it's done or why, but yeah the morality is what bothers me the most. I mean, if right and wrong can change like this, then what's the point of right or wrong in the first place?"

"Naruto, right and wrong are not absolutes." Shizune stated.

Naruto cringed, remembering what Shima had told him. Sure he respected her, but a part of him wanted her to be wrong. Like Shima had said, it was easier for him to think in terms of absolutes, no grey areas to consider. If Shizune was telling him the same, that absolutes were wrong, then he just didn't know what else to think.

"I understand that for years you were told not to want sex. Wait until marriage or when you were in love. But you're human, it's natural to want intimacy with another human being."

"Do you ever want that?" He asked.

Shizune blushed but nodded. "Yes, I have. I've wanted sex too before Naruto, but no I won't tell you anything about past experiences of mine. That's too personal to share right now."

Naruto looked surprised and confused. Shizune of all people could get horny? If she could, that meant any and all women he knew could, and that was mind-blowing.

"The point is, wanting sex is not wrong. Unless you're asexual or nonsexual, I forget the specific term right now, everyone wants sex. What can make it wrong is a lack of respect for the other person. Let's say for example that you wanted to have sex with a girl, let's say Sakura just to have a name to use, that by itself is not wrong. Sakura can react however she wants, but whatever she does you need to let her choose. If you refused and only cared about your own needs, that would be wrong. That's the kind of perversion you're thinking of, the selfish kind."

"So then, what makes perversion unselfish?" Naruto asked.

"Mutual respect and a desire to make the other happy." She answered. "Again, let's use you and Sakura as an example. If you respect her and she respects you, then doing things like kissing or touching each other won't be bad because you wouldn't do it to hurt her and she wouldn't do it to hurt you. Respect and consent, that makes the difference between being a pervert and being a lover."

"So when-I mean if Sakura-chan kissed me or say, stripped and let me touch her body, it would be okay for me to enjoy it? It wouldn't be wrong?" Naruto asked, sounding a little hopeful.

Shizune had a bit of a playful smirk. "No, as long as she consented without pressure and intended you to be happy, that wouldn't be wrong. In fact, most healthy couples do things like that. Even Tsunade-sama did things like that for my uncle. That's not perversion Naruto, that's love."

"So then, if I loved a girl and she loved me, what would we do?" The whiskered blonde asked.

Shizune leaned back. "Here's where we get to the real talk Naruto."