Chapter 20 The Storm

"What's on your mind Baachan?" Naruto asked as he got comfortable.

"What exactly did you do to make three of my kunoichi go on strike?"

Naruto blinked and just looked at the slug sannin in surprise. She thought he had somehow manipulated or coerced Sakura, Hinata, and Ino into refusing to do their jobs? That they were only doing this because he wanted them to?

Surprise started to give way to anger. Did Tsunade really think he had that kind of influence over other people? That he would control people like that if he could? That no one would sacrifice something for him unless they had to?

"Are you accusing me of something?" Naruto asked back, frowning.

Shizune stood beside Tsunade giving her mentor a cautious look. She too took the question that way, more as an accusation than an inquiry. She hoped it wasn't the case though.

"Naruto, three kunoichi went on strike all claiming you to be their motive." Tsunade started. "They believe that you are mistreated and unfairly held back, which we both know is not the case."

Naruto could not resist a loud scoff and rolling his eyes. "If you actually believe that, you've had way too much to drink."

"Naruto!" Tsunade all but yelled. "Do not act like a child!"

"Am I wrong? Have you forgotten everything I've had to deal with my whole life?"

"Those problems are in the past. You're not hated, you're not shunned, you're not neglected. Not anymore."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Wanna bet?"

Years of gambling habits meant Tsunade sensed a challenge here. And sadly she didn't get the reputation 'The Legendary Sucker' by refusing challenges. "Oh, you think you're still treated unfairly? Okay, give me an example."

"Why haven't you told me how I can become a chuunin?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade froze a bit, not expecting that. "What?"

"Apparently the exams aren't the only way to get a promotion. I could have qualified for any of the things I've done in the past, yet you've never once even mentioned that it was a possibility. So why is that? Why were you and everyone else keeping me in the dark? It couldn't be that you don't want me to get promoted, could it?"

"Naruto that is a bold accusation to make." Tsunade warned.

Naruto frowned. "I didn't hear a 'no'."

"You haven't been promoted because you are not ready."

Naruto laughed. "Not ready? That's a load of bull. Every one of my classmates got promoted and none of them can claim what I've done. Did Shikamaru fight Gaara who was using his bijuu at the time? Did Sakura fight Orochimaru's right hand man and nearly die? Did Kiba have to fight the Akatsuki more than once while being specifically targeted by them?"

"This isn't a contest Naruto."

"Actually, it is. The entire Chuunin Exams is nothing but a contest so why not use that logic here? Besides, my point remains, there are other options to become a chuunin and you never once mentioned them. Why? How is that anything other than a way to hold me back?"

"I agree Shishou." Shizune spoke up, catching her mentor's attention. "There are field promotions and teacher recommendations, both of which have been used in the past before. Including with Naruto's generation. It's even how you got the title of Sannin. So it's not unreasonable for him to ask why he's never been informed of the option, let alone considered for it. How is keeping him in the dark a benefit to him?"

"It's not that simple." Tsunade defended.

"Yes, it is." Naruto objected. "This has been happening my whole life. I have too much chakra to use at normal standards yet in the Academy I was given no leeway, but Rock Lee had no chakra and he was given accommodations to have a fair chance. That alone is proof that I'm being held to wrong standards. And if that's not enough, in my Chuunin Exams I beat a Hyuuga prodigy, a psychotic jinchuuriki, and I still had to fight you, Itachi Uchiha, and Kabuto before any promotions were given, and the only one who gets a promotion is the guy who gave up his fight. So don't you dare tell me that I'm not being mistreated or neglected."

Tsunade just looked at the whiskered blonde, unsure how she could argue against him now.

"He's right Shishou." Shizune added. "And it's not just that. I think Jiraiya hasn't taught Naruto as much as he'd have you believe. Just last night I myself had to give Naruto the sex ed talk. Something that Jiraiya or Kakashi should have told Naruto long ago but neither bothered to. Naruto was completely clueless on the matter, so if Jiraiya could neglect this subject, one that we both know is a priority to him, then who knows what else he's neglected to tell Naruto."

Tsunade glanced to her protege then to the whiskered blonde. "So he's not the one who told you about alternative promotions?" Naruto shook his head. "Then who did?"

"Sakura-chan. And even she agrees that it's weird that you've kept me a genin all this time."

Shizune nodded. "I'm inclined to agree as well. Why haven't you promoted Naruto yet?"

"Him throwing a tantrum about it isn't doing him any favors." Tsunade remarked.

"Excuse me?" Shizune replied. "You called him here, he didn't invite himself here, and when he got here you immediately accused him of being the one responsible for three shinobi going on strike. Not only that, you told him that he's not being mistreated and when asked to prove it, he does. This is him throwing a tantrum?"

"You have no intention of ever promoting me, do you?" Naruto asked in an accusing way. "Don't you? Yes or no?"

"I didn't call you here to talk about your job Naruto. We're here to talk about why three girls would go on strike because of you." Tsunade proclaimed.

"Because unlike you and the rest of the adults here, they want me to be happy and achieve my dream. They told me that you have no intention of promoting me so they're not going to keep working for you. And you know what? Unless you change my mind, maybe I should go on strike too."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare. If you go on strike you'd never be considered qualified to become hokage in the future."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and leaned in. "I'm fed up with having a carrot on a stick in front of me. Either help me get closer to my goal, or I'm going on strike too. Which is it?"

The slug sannin leaned in too. "Listen to yourself, you're sounding just like Sasuke did before he betrayed the village."

Naruto jerked back in surprise and Shizune gasped. Tsunade looked like she had won the argument right there.

"Shishou, that was completely uncalled for." Shizune stated. "You just accused Naruto of being a potential traitor. That's how you see him when he wants to be treated fairly?"

Tsunade lost some of her smugness with that, even more so when she saw an angry tear in the whiskered blonde's eye. She took a deep breath. "Perhaps we should stop here and try this again when you're calmer."

Naruto reached up and took off his hitai-ate. "If I'm leaving his office now, I'm not taking this with me."

Tsunade now looked worried. "Naruto please, don't be rash."

"You know what I want, so you show me what it is you believe."

"How about this, get those three girls to rescind their strike and I'll put in a word about you becoming chuunin soon."

Naruto grit his teeth. "Big mistake." He put the hitai-ate down and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

Tsunade sighed. "Shizune, bring him here and-"

"Absolutely not!"

Tsunade looked to her first student with wide eyes. "Excuse me?"

Shizune glared at her in a way that Sakura would have been proud of. "I cannot believe you Shishou. How dare you give Naruto an empty promise like that? You and I know damn well that you don't have to 'put int a word' about him getting promoted. You could have promoted him right now and no one would be allowed to stop you. No, you wouldn't need to talk to anyone about it unless you wanted an excuse to deny him and say it wasn't your fault."

"It's not that simple Shizune."

"Isn't it? Who other than you actually has that kind of authority?" Shizune challenged.

"It's not a matter of authority, it's about repercussions. Naruto getting promoted means he has more responsibilities and expectations. He'll be expected to take more dangerous missions that put him even more on Akatsuki's radar, and he'll lead others into those dangers as well. And if he ever became jounin, he'd be expected to train his own students. Do you think anyone wants him to teach their children?"

"There, right there. You just admitted that you know there still is a stigma against Naruto and you had the gall to pretend otherwise. You looked him right in the eyes and told him all those problems he had are over with, yet you sit there right now admitting they never went away. What are you doing to solve the problem? This is why those girls went on strike Shishou. What are you doing to solve the problem?"

"There's only so much I can do without it being obvious favoritism." Tsunade defended.

"Would you be saying that if Nawaki was the victim here?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade immediately rose to her feet. "Don't you dare bring my little brother into this!"

"I just did, so answer. If it was Nawaki here would this subject even be an option?"

"Nawaki didn't live long enough to have this issue. He didn't have to deal with this problems, he didn't have to become a chuunin and put himself in greater danger. He didn't have to grow up."

For a moment Shizune just looked at Tsunade, appearing to be thinking something over. The slug sannin hoped that meant she was getting through to her student. Then Shizune looked surprised but only for a moment. The surprise was quickly replaced with indignation.

"That's it, isn't it?"

"What's it?" Tsunade asked. Even Tonton oinked in a questioning way.

"You once told me that Naruto reminded you of Nawaki. It was one of his most endearing traits." Shizune stated.

Tsunade nodded. "Yeah, it is. I wasn't lying."

"But Nawaki never got a chance to grow up. He never got a chance to become chuunin. Or jounin. Or hokage. He never stopped being the hopeful little kid you remember him as." Shizune continued. "But Naruto did."

"Shizune-"

"You don't want Naruto to succeed because if he does, he won't be like Nawaki anymore will he?" The younger medic kunoichi asked, not letting the older woman counter her. "As long as Naruto stays a bright-eyed optimistic genin wanting to become hokage someday, it's like you have Nawaki again. But if he ever actually makes progress in that dream, then it's just another reminder that Nawaki is gone, isn't it? If Nawaki couldn't succeed, then why should Naruto get to?"

"That is not true!" Tsunade shouted.

"Is it? Swear on Dan's grave that it's not true! Swear on the memory of your brother and my uncle that you have no selfish reason to prevent Naruto from becoming chuunin or hokage someday! Swear that if you could promote him today you would with no problem and that the reason you don't promote him has absolutely nothing to do with your personal issues! Swear it!"

Tsunade and Shizune locked eyes trying to intimidate the other into backing down, but neither said another word. Then after a bit Shizune backed away.

"You can't do it, can you? You really are willing to sacrifice Naruto's future so you can hold onto your past."

"I am not trying to hurt Naruto!" Tsunade defended.

"But you aren't trying to help him either, are you? Sure, keeping him alive is one thing, but that's the bare minimum of what anyone can ask you to do. You don't get a clear conscience for doing the bare minimum Shishou, you have to do more. No one is helping him, except for those three girls."

"I will Shizune, but only when I'm ready for it to happen." Tsunade declared.

Shizune sighed in disappointment. "Thank you for proving me right. Consider myself on strike too now."

Tsunade silently gasped. "You can't go on strike. I need you."

Shizune smirked. "It wouldn't be a strike if you didn't need me, would it?"

"Shizune!" Tsunade shouted when her protege got to the door. "Don't do something you'll regret."

Shizune glared at her mentor. "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm warning you, walk out that door and you may lose more than your job."

Shizune scoffed. "Refuse to do anything for Naruto, and you may lose more than a reminder of your brother."

She walked out the door, slamming it like the whiskered blonde had done before. Tsunade was left alone in her office with a confused Tonton.

After finishing the chore that her mother had asked of her, Sakura went out to go find one of her friends.

"I think I should start with Naruto. He'd be interested in hearing more about the Hekikai, and it would reassure him that there's nothing wrong with me. Later I should see Ino too, though that will be awkward. Now where would Naruto be this time of day?"

Having a hunch, she headed for the Ichiraku shop. She got there and saw no one eating but the store owners were busy getting ready.

"Hello, has Naruto been by yet?" Sakura asked.

Ayame was at the front counter and she shook her head. "Not yet, but I'd expect him to show up soon anyway. Hey, aren't you Naruto's teammate? You don't come around enough for me to really recognize."

"Yeah that's me, and judging from things I might be around more often, including some other girls."

"Oh?" Ayame asked, confused.

The pinkette sat down. "Say, how exactly do you feel about Naruto? As a man I mean, not a customer."

Ayame raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"If Naruto asked you out on a date, would you say yes or no?"

Ayame's eyes widened and her face went red. "What? Naruto's like a brother to me."

"But he's not your actual brother, is he? So he's an option, isn't he?"

"I... he'd never see me like that."

Sakura shrugged. "You never know."

Ayame looked away, something catching her eye. "Oh hi Naruto, good morning."

Sakura turned and saw her teammate approaching. She was glad that she didn't have to wait too long, but that joy faded when she saw his angered look. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything." He muttered, taking a seat refusing to make eye contact. "You were right, the hokage is working against me."

Sakura sat there stunned for a moment. "What happened?"

"I asked her why she wouldn't promote me and she acted like it's all my fault. She challenged me to prove that there was any unfairness used against me and when I did, she said I was throwing a tantrum like a kid. Oh, and she thinks that I'm making you three go on strike."

Sakura looked annoyed. "Seriously?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, like no one would do anything for me unless they were forced to. Is that how she really sees me? Just some annoyance that she's required to put up with? That everyone is required to put with? Oh, and apparently if I want that to change, then I'm no better than Sasuke was when he left Konoha."

Sakura silently gasped. Sure, someone pointing out that Sasuke was a traitor was a sore subject for her and her teammate, but even she had enough sense to know that there was no other way to look at it. And saying Naruto was no different? That was a low blow.

He hung his head a bit, small tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "All this time, I thought she actually cared about me. I thought she believed in me."

"She does Naruto, but that's part of the problem."

Sakura and Naruto turned around to see Shizune walk up to them.

"It's okay, I went on strike too. I'm on your side." She assured him, walking up and taking a seat as well.

"You did?" Naruto asked.

Shizune nodded. "Guess we're all out of a job for now."

"Strike? You all went on strike? Why?" Ayame asked.

"In a nutshell, no one in our government wants me to accomplish anything." Naruto explained. "So as long as they refuse to let me become hokage, I'm not going to be a ninja either."

"Wait, Naruto you went on strike too?" Sakura asked. "But don't you remember? We told you that if you go on strike too, it will seriously hurt any chance you have at becoming hokage."

The whiskered blonde nodded. "I know, but I don't think I had any chances to succeed in the first place. Apparently it was never anything but a pipe dream. So why be a ninja anymore if this is as far as I can get in it?"

Sakura looked to Shizune, hoping to see some denial.

"There's another thing here Naruto. You see, Tsunade-shishou sees you as a reminder of her dead little brother. The one who also wanted to become hokage, but never lived past being a genin."

Sakura gasped, immediately seeing the implication. "She's keeping Naruto a genin just so he can keep reminding her of her brother?"

Shizune nodded. "I'm sure there's more to it than that, but yeah that's a big part of why she's not letting Naruto become a chuunin."

Naruto grit his teeth, looking ready to let some of Kyuubi's chakra loose. Then he stood up. "Excuse me, I need to be somewhere else right now."

"Naruto, can I come with you?" Sakura asked, getting up too. "I've got something to share with you."

He shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Talk to me whenever you want Naruto, I'm here to help." Shizune reassured the orange-clad genin who nodded in appreciation before walking away from the ramen stand.

"Excuse me." Teuchi said as he came into view from the kitchen, standing beside Ayame as he looked at Shizune. "This strike, tell me more. I'm very interested."

Naruto made his way to the same training ground that Sakura and the others had found him before. Taking a deep breath he sat down under a tree, looking like he was trying to meditate.

"You know how to meditate?" Sakura asked, sitting beside her teammate.

"Yeah, something I learned from the only real senseis I ever had. I'm not too good at it, but it's supposed to help with the more advanced training I'm supposed to get later and let me focus. Keep my emotions in check without suppressing them. Sometimes easier said than done."

Sakura nodded and held his hand, hoping it would comfort him. He seemed to relax. "So what will you do now?"

"Well, at some point I'm going to contact my senseis and see if this will affect anything. Just because I'm on strike doesn't mean I can't still train. After that, I might as well start looking for a job. If any place in town will actually hire me that is. What about you? What was it you wanted to share with me?"

"I went looking into some old family records, and I found out that I'm not the only Haruno who's had this happen to their mind."

Naruto perked. "Oh? Really?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, apparently it's like a kekkei genkai but not at the same time. They say I need to bond with Dark Sakura in order to fully awaken it, and when I do I can help others awaken their own dark sides and help them bond too. The idea is to remove mental limitations so people can reach new heights they didn't even know they could reach."

Naruto grew a smile. "Sounds awesome. But how do you bond with Dark Sakura?"

"I have no idea." She sighed.

Naruto shrugged. "How about you try meditating with me?"

"I don't think it's that easy Naruto."

"Worth a try."

After just looking at him for a moment, Sakura couldn't help but smile. "Maybe you're right. Maybe all I really need to do is ask her."

Straightening herself and getting into position, Sakura closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, trying to put herself into a trance. Which naturally wasn't something a person could do just by making themselves do it. Still, she tried.

'Dark Sakura, are you there? Can we talk face to face without needing Ino this time?'

There was no response.

'Yeah I didn't think this would work.'

"Don't give up that easily."

Sakura opened her eyes but she wasn't in a field with Naruto, she was in an open featureless place with white above and black above. And there before her was her red-eyed double.

"All you had to do was ask."

"Okay, so what do we do to bond? Do you have any ideas?"

"Yeah, I'd think it's obvious when you really think about it." Dark Sakura replied. "I'm the part of you that you don't accept. The solution is for you to accept me."

Sakura arched an eyebrow. "Accept you? You're supposed to be all the thoughts and feelings that I don't want to accept. How am I supposed to just do that?"

"You've started accepting my feelings for Naruto-kun as your own too, haven't you?"

Sakura hesitated, then nodded. "Okay, you're right there. But that's easy. You must have opinions that are harder for me to accept."

"Then let me show you the side of you that you never knew you had."