I've had this one just sitting around for way to long.
Naruto was grinning when he pushed open the doors to the Hokage's office.
"Jiji! Your number one ninja is here!" Naruto said waving at Hiruzen.
Everyone else in the office could only sigh and/or face palm at Naruto's behavior. Except for Hiruzen who let out a chuckle.
"Naruto-chan, as carefree as ever. You didn't cause any trouble on your way here did you?" Hiruzen asked, leaning back into his chair.
"Psh, of course not Jiji, I can't be doing silly pranks that might get me in trouble cause I'm a ninja now," Naruto said with a dismissal wave.
"And what of 'Team Kitsune?' Are they going to cause trouble?" Hiruzen asked.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that. I have no control over them."
"You're a terrible influence Naruto-kun," Hinata mumbled to herself, causing Naruto to look at her.
"Thank you I try," Naruto said with a foxy grin.
Asuma who was standing next to the Hokage's desk cleared his throat.
"Naruto's influence on my nephew and his friends withstanding," Asuma said with an eye roll, "this is a mission debriefing and deserves to be treated as such."
Naruto and Hinata stood stiffly while wiping any emotion from their faces. Shikamaru, who was with them, stood a little straighter but was still pretty slouched over. Hiruzen sighed as he sat up and looked at his shinobi.
"The chunnin exams are going to be held in two months' time. Originally, only Suna and minor hidden villages were interested in sending their shinobi. That has changed. Iwa and later Kumo have made their interest in sending their own shinobi known. Due to our relationship with them, a meeting between us three kages will be held in the Land of Iron," Hiruzen paused as he looked at the impassive faces of the genin. "You three have been selected as some of our most promising genin to escort me to the Land of Iron."
Naruto raised a hand, "Jiji, I understand Hinata-chan and Shikamaru, both being clan heirs. But why me and not someone like Sasuke?"
"A few reasons, your presence was requested by the Tsuchikage. His message talked about how his granddaughter was accompanying him and wanted you there as well."
"Oh Kurotsuchi-chan, awesome, maybe I get to kick her ass again." Naruto fist-pumped.
Everyone sighed, while Hiruzen laughed.
"So long as you don't start an incident, Naruto-chan," Hiruzen said with a smile, "Oh and the second reason is that you're much more enjoyable company."
"Ha take that teme!" Naruto gloated until he saw Hinata staring at him. She had a slight pout that caused Naruto's energy to fade and resume his stoic stance. Hinata kept her face impassive but her eyes were shining with approval. Shikamaru was blinking from disbelief while Asuma raised an eyebrow. Hiruzen was smiling from their interaction.
"That said, your duties will be more aligned with presenting yourselves as capable genin. My security will be composed of a few jonin whom you will meet the day of the mission. I hope you take this opportunity to learn how to properly escort a high-profile individual."
A chorus of 'yes sir' echoed throughout the office. Though Shikamaru's was very lax.
"You're dismissed. Pack for a two-week journey," Asuma ordered causing Hinata and Shikamaru to bow out of the room. Naruto waved Hinata off with a smile as he waited in the room. Asuma was glaring at Naruto and about to say something before Hiruzen raised a hand and dismissed him.
Asuma was about to protest before he silenced himself and left.
Naruto waited until the door closed before speaking softly, "Jiji, Kumo and Hinata-chan in the same room? Isn't that a recipe for disaster?"
Hiruzen nodded, "So you are aware of that, good. I want you to be in charge of keeping Hinata-chan safe. Consider this a secret A-rank mission just for you."
Naruto was silent for a second staring at Hiruzen, his fist clenching and releasing his pants repeatedly.
"Are you sure jiji? Shouldn't someone else more experienced be in charge?" Naruto asked his voice wavering.
Hiruzen stood from his desk and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"While I'm sure everyone will fight for Hinata should anything happen. If something should happen to me at the same time, I will be the priority for the jonins. What I'm telling you is to leave me to them and secure Hinata instead. That is your priority."
"Hai, Hokage-sama, I understand my mission." Naruto gave a firm nod, his eyes blazing with determination.
"I'm proud of you Naruto-chan, you're growing up to become an excellent shinobi." Hiruzen gave Naruto's should a squeeze before stepping away.
Naruto flushed at the praise before bowing his head. He gave Hiruzen a small smile before moving towards the door and leaving the office.
The office was silent for a moment as Hiruzen leaned against his desk. As he did so a purple hair neko mask ANBU appeared before him. The ANBU kept their head bowed down as they waited for the Hokage to speak.
"Remove your mask Neko." Hiruzen waited until he could see her face. "Yugao Uzuki, I'm giving you the mission to protect Naruto Uzumaki at all cost. This is an S-rank mission."
"Hai Hokage-sama," Yugao answered but continued to wait. The Hokage simply took out his pipe and lit it up and took a few deep breaths from it. As he released it he finally turned back to Yugao.
"When we return from the mission, you may seek Naruto-chan out and take over his training from Kakashi."
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Yugao disappeared in a blur after that.
Hiruzen took a few more puffs of his pipe before he stood and walked around back to his chair. The never ending demon that is paperwork had to be fought back again.
000
It didn't take long for the ninjas to leave the Land of Fire. Naruto noticed that the Hokage had two jonin that Naruto was unfamiliar with. Well not completely, he thought he recognized the purple-haired one but was unsure. The brown-haired shinobi with a stick up his butt was one Naruto certainly did not know and did not care to.
While they were walking through a small country, an unexpected white-haired, red jacket, geta wearing pervert showed up. How Naruto knew he was a pervert he was not sure. Oh wait Naruto knew exactly how he knew, when the fool introduced himself as the gallant super pervert Jiraya. Hinata looked at him in such disdain that Naruto thought Jiraya would combust but the man seemed used to it. Even the purple-haired jonin Yugao glared at him with the desire he'd to drop dead, Jiraiya was unfazed though.
"Sensei! It's been a long time old man," Jiraiya said before pulling up a wrapped package. "Here's the next book, a special copy just for you, sensei."
"Thank you Jiraiya-kun, it's good to see you after all this time," Hiruzen said patting Jiraiya's shoulder. Hiruzen turned towards the genin. "Genin, this is Jiraiya of the Sennin."
While Shikamaru and Hinata made noises of surprise, Naruto just squinted at the man.
"He doesn't look all that special. You sure this pervert ain't a fake?" Naruto asked getting Hinata to tug of his jacket whispering about being respectful.
"Gaki, I thought I introduced myself, I'm no pervert. I'm THE super pervert." Jiraiya posed heroically. Everyone else just sweatdropped.
"Naruto-chan, please treat Jiraiya with some respect. He was my own personal student." Hiruzen said, sighing a little.
Naruto gave a noncommittal grunt as he turned back to Hinata and began gushing about some prank he pulled when he was younger. Jiraiya blinked, not quite used to being dismissed like that. Turning to Hiruzen, Jiraiya held a silent conversation with him before moving to walk behind the Hokage.
"Jiji, why's ero-sennin following us?" Naruto asked. Everyone paused for a solid second before Jiraiya started to cry about no respect while most of the adults burst out laughing. Hinata had to cover her face as she was both embarrassed but silently laughing. Shikamaru just sighed to himself while mumbling about Naruto being troublesome.
Once Hiruzen calmed down, "He's just extra insurance Naruto-chan. He didn't get the title of Sennin for no reason."
"Gaki, I'd teach you anything you want if you don't call me that again," Jiraiya said as tears rolled down his face.
"How about we make a bet? We have a match, and if I win you have to teach me one thing regardless. If you win I'll stop calling you ero-sennin, ero-sennin." Naruto said with his foxy smile.
"Naruto-kun, are you sure this is wise?" Hinata whispered. Naruto gave her a thumbs up causing her to relax.
"Hokage-sama?" Yugao asked concern filling her voice. Hiruzen just smirked while nodding his approval to Jiraiya.
"Fine then brat, you're on. I hope you don't regret challenging the Mighty Sage of Mount Myoboku!"
Naruto just stared unimpressed as he moved to stand in the middle of an open field. Jiraiya sauntered towards the opposite end of the field.
"Because you're an old man I'll let you have the first move," Naruto said putting his hands behind his head completely relaxed.
"Gaki, I'm a shinobi with more experience than you've been alive. Shouldn't you be taking this more seriously?" Jiraiya said looking annoyed.
"I'm taking this with all the seriousness that it deserves, which is absolutely none with an old perv like you. I bet you even have trouble getting it up on a good day," Naruto's brazen comments got Hinata and Yugao to burst out laughing. While Asuma and the unnamed jonin facepalmed.
"That's it kid, I'm going to knock your arrogant ass out," Jiraiya grunted before launching himself at Naruto.
Naruto simply poofed into a column of smoke. Before Jiraiya's punch landed the smoke cleared to reveal a petite blond girl with bright blue eyes smirking at him. Jiraiya immediately froze as he found himself staring at his teammate, Tsunade, as a kid.
"Come one baka, we don't got all day to play around," Tsunade said rolling her eyes.
Suddenly two more Tsunades appeared and grabbed Jiraiya's arm. The soft feeling of his arms trapped between boobs while staring at grown-up Tsunade's face caused Jiraiya to blush hard.
"You've kept me waiting Ji~ rai~ ya~ kun~" Tsunade whispered into his ears. A few more Tsunades joined and Jiraiya found himself surrounded by her.
Jiraiya was a blubbering mess before feeling a pinch followed by darkness.
"Harem no Jutsu: Tsunade Paradise." The child Tsunade deadpanned while staring at Jiraiya's limp body.
The Tsunades let Jiraiya drop to the ground before disappearing. The kid Tsunade just shook her head before also dispelling. The adults blinked, wondering where Naruto was until they found him sharing a bag of popcorn with Hinata and Shikamaru. Hiruzen walked over to where Jiraiya laid.
"So that was Tsunade Senju, I can't believe you did that and it worked," Shikamaru said popping a handful of popcorn.
"I thought it was brilliant Naruto-kun," Hinata said beaming up at him.
"Ah thanks," Naruto was blushing as he rubbed the back of his head.
Jiraiya woke and sat up confused before he saw the smirking face of Hiruzen.
"I… I lost?" The disbelief was clear while Hiruzen nodded. Jiraiya fell back onto the ground and just laid there. "Of all things I expected, I didn't expect that."
"Just be glad he is not aware of your relationship with him yet. I'm sure it would have been a lot worse." Hiruzen grimmanced a little.
"How did the kid even know I had a thing for her?" Jiraiya said rubbing his face.
"I told him," Hirzuen said getting a glare from Jiraiya, "Don't look at me like that. I'm allowed to talk about my youth and students when I like."
Naruto watched as the student and teacher talk a little before calling out to them.
"Jiji, we should get moving, I doubt we want to fall behind schedule. I'll make ero-sennin teach me back at the village."
Jiraiya looked like he was about protest before Hiruzen smacked him upside the head.
"You're right Naruto-chan, you shall have to wait to settle your bet back in Konoha. And you will settle it, Jiraiya-kun." The dark glare Jiraiya got from Hiruzen caused him to shiver.
Without further distractions, the ninjas continued their journey in relative peace.
000
As the Konoha shinobi entered the Land of Iron, they were greeted by a group of samurai. Naruto couldn't help but look at their armor in amazement.
"Whoa, they look so cool," Naruto said in an excited whisper to Hinata. "I bet I could learn a lot just by fighting them."
Hinata giggled softly, "Don't cause an incident Naruto-kun."
"No promises," Naruto teased bumping shoulders with Hinata. Hinata blushed lightly before returning the bump.
Shikamaru said nothing but smiled a little at the lovebirds. The adults, shinobi and samurai, also had small smiles when they looked at the pair. Hinata and Naruto realized everyone was paying attention to them and blushed while returning to their mask of neutrality.
As the group began to move towards the city, Naruto fell back from the group. In the back, there was a young man and young woman both slightly older than Naruto. In only a few moments, Naruto managed to get them to laugh and the three started talking about training and life as samurai versus as a ninja.
Some of the older samurai looked annoyed at how easily the teens were chatting but the leader of the group seemed pleased. Hiruzen was glad that Naruto was able to make friends despite his childhood. Jiraiya was also pleased by how cheerful Naruto was. There was one Konoha ninja that seemed displeased. The one with brown hair, dead eyes, and a headband that framed the sides of his face.
"Hokage-sama, shall I tell Uzumaki-san to return to position?" the shinobi asked.
"No need Yamato. Leave Naru-chan be." Hiruzen waved away Yamato's concern.
"Sir, it's inapro-"
"Enough. Let the children be. They are not needed for the mission at the moment," Hiruzen ordered with a stern voice. Yamato instantly fell back and stayed silent. He kept his eyes forward refusing to look back.
Yugao shook her head at her senpai's behavior and let herself smile as the other two genins joined the conversation.
Soon enough they entered the city and were being guided towards their inn when a loud but familiar voice called out.
"Oi, sap sucker, I got a bone to pick with you!"
Naruto grinned as he turned around to find Kurotsuchi grinning back at him.
"Oh? Looking to get your ass handed to you again, uke-chan?"
"I bet you're more interested in copping a feel," Kurotsuchi teased popping her hip out a little.
"I wouldn't mind that," Hinata said to herself not too softly.
Everyone could not help but stare at Hinata for a moment as said girl turned into a tomato. Kurotsuchi burst out laughing as she walked over and pulled Naruto and Hinata into a headlock.
"You Konoha nins are something else for sure," Kurotsuchi said as Naruto and Hinata blushed. "Never would I've imagine I would get admirers from Konoha."
"Let us go Kurotsuchi-nee, I don't want Hinata-chan fainting on us," Naruto said struggling a little.
"Oh? She's a fainter? You must be really good in bed then huh casanova," Kurotsuchi said causing Hinata to squeak but surprisingly not faint.
"Kurotsuchi-san please let us go, the Hokage is watching us," Hinata pleaded.
"Psh, as if I care about some grumpy old man. The only Hokage I'm ever going to acknowledge is this blond perv."
Hiruzen let himself chuckle while feeling impressed that Naruto managed to befriend someone from a rival village to believe in him. Yamato was glaring angrily at everything while Yugao and Asuma looked concerned but amused. Shikamaru just looked done with everything as normal.
Hinata blinked before she smiled up at Kurotsuchi.
"You believe in Naruto-kun too? That's wonderful, he said you're aiming to become Tsuchikage."
"Oh? I hope he also said good things about me." Kurotsuchi released Hinata before giving Naruto a noogie.
"Ouch, damn it, let me go." Naruto struggled to get free before Kurotsuchi finally released him. Naruto was grumbling to himself while Kurotsuchi and Hinata laughed together.
"Kurotsuchi." A reprimanding voice called out.
Kurotsuchi only sighed and rolled her eyes looking over to where a short old man with a large nose stood. Behind him was a large man that only wore one sleeve also glaring at Kurotsuchi.
"What is it Jiji? I'm trying to catch up Naruto-kun?" Kurotsuchi said looking annoyed.
"Frantinizing with the enemy-" the taller man started before Kurostuchi simply ignored him and took both Hinata and Naruto's hands.
"Yea yea, stone pillar shoved up the butt and all that. I'm borrowing your nins for lunch old man," Kurotsuchi said to Hiruzen before dragging the two genins away.
"So that's the brat Kurotsuchi worked with?" the short old man mumbled to himself.
"Oonoki, it's been a while." Hiruzen greeted as he walked up to his fellow kage.
"Hiruzen, I see you're still kicking," Oonoki grunted looking up at Hiruzen. "That brat, is he?"
Hiruzen said nothing as he continued to smile at Oonoki. Oonoki grunted once more before turning away.
"I hope our meeting goes well Tsuchikage," Hiruzen said.
"As my granddaughter would say, up yours Hokage," Oonoki said flipping Hiruzen off. The Hokage took that in great humor as he laughed. The Konoha jonins were tense and about to attack if it wasn't for Hiruzen waving them off.
"As my favorite genin would reply, I'd like to see you stuff it up your ass first."
Oonoki paused for a second before laughing himself even as the Iwa nins looked ready for blood. The Tsuchikage waved his shinobi down.
"No wonder those two got along so well. You're certainly more carefree yourself Hiruzen."
"The same could be Oonoki, you're normally far stricter."
"I ain't going to live forever, might as well enjoy being old." Oonoki gave Hiruzen one last shrug before walking away. He took a few steps before shouting, "Arg, my back."
The tall man with one sleeve just sighed as he picked up the Tsuchikage.
"Come on dad, let's get you back to the inn."
Hiruzen and the other Konoha nins could only sweatdrop before returning to their own journey to their inn.
"Shall I go retrieve Uzumaki-san and Hyuuga-san?" Yamato asked but Hiruzen waved him off.
"They're fine as they are. Besides, Uzuki-chan has already left to watch over them."
Yamato did a double take to realize that Yugaoo had indeed already left.
000
Kurotsuchi was highly amused as she watched bowels of ramen and plates of cinnamon rolls devoured in seconds and began to stack around her. Not that she could say much as she was stacking plates of mochi as fast as they were. Eventually, the three were sitting back rubbing bloated stomachs.
"I knew you would be a hoot to eat out with. You both could really pack it away," Kurotsuchi said.
"Of course we could, I need my energy to kick your ass." Naruto bumped his fist against his chest.
Hinata just sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Naruto-kun, no starting fights in the restaurant please."
Naruto's will to fight melted away instantly as he relaxed into the booth.
"Right sorry Hinata-chan, afterwards we fight though."
"Whipped much bark biter?" Kurotsuchi teased while giving Hinata a thumbs up. The two genins blushed. "So I know this whole meeting is because of the Chunnin exams. Are you two taking it?"
"Don't know yet, Kakashi-sensei hasn't said anything." Naruto shrugged with his free shoulder.
"Kurenai-sensei mentioned preparing for it, but nothing officially," Hinata said sitting up. "What about you Kurotsuchi-san?"
"One, drop the honorifics, I care little for that. And two, I wish I could have taken this exam with the both of you. Sadly, I'm already a chunin." Kurotsuchi grinned as she thumped her vest.
"Oh, so that's what the chunin vest looks like for Iwa. You're awesome senpai!" Naruto said grinning while giving Kurotsuchi a thumbs up.
"Senpai? You know, I like that. You're both my kouhai," Kurotsuchi appeared between the two genins. "That means I have to take good care of both of you."
Hinata and Naruto blushed as Kurotsuchi's voice became deep and husky. Before either could say something a loud voice broke the moment.
"There you are!"
The three shinobi looked up to see a disheveled dirty blonde shinobi with feathers sticking out of her hair and some slimy stuff on her uniform.
Kurotsuchi barked out a laugh, "What happened to you Yugito-chan? Did you get egged and feathered?"
"I don't want to hear it." Yugito grouched as she slumped into the seat Kurotsuchi was just sitting. "You owe me sashimi."
"I do? Since when?" Kurotsuchi asked leaving the genins to seat next to Yugito.
"After that last farce of a match you owe me some sashimi. Atone for my embarrassment!" Yugito said tackling Kurotsuchi.
It took a second, but Kurotsuchi eventually wrestled Yugito to where Kurotsuchi was sitting in her lap. Naruto and Hinata were both just silently watching with amused smiles.
"Birch biter, Hinata-chan, you want to hear about how I embarrassed Yugi-chan here?" Kurotsuchi's smirk grew to a devilish grin seeing them nod. "Hinata-chan, I'm assuming you're familiar with wood choker's Sexy Jutsu. Well, I came up with a special version. Sexy Jutsu: Nyotaimori (Nyotaimori: Serving sushi/sashimi on a naked body). You should have seen Yugito-chan faint from it. It was glorious."
Yugtio buried her face in Kurotsuchi's hair. "I can't believe you're outing me to a bunch of kids."
"One of them kids was the one to teach me the base jutsu to begin with. Blame him." Kurotsuchi pointed at Naruto.
Before anyone else could say something, Hinata turned to look at Naruto.
"Would you like it if I did a ramen version of that?" Hinata asked with a tilt of her head.
There was silence for a second before Naruto let out an eep and lit up like a light bulb while steam came from his head. Both Kurotsuchi and Yugito were dying of laughter and had fallen down under the table. There was also the sound of choking followed by coughing from a table where a purple-haired kunochi sat.
Hinata, while blushing like mad, wore a smug smile at how frazzled Naruto was.
Eventually, everyone calmed down and Yugito got her sashimi. While Yugito stacked her own plates, Naruto was busy quizzing Kurotsuchi about earth jutsu and fire chakra exercises. Yugito had finished her own food by this point and joined the conversation. Eagerly adding some tips and her favorite fire jutsus to Naruto's joy. Hinata eventually asked about water chakra which Kurotsuchi and Yugito could only share their teammate's experience they observed.
The four of them eventually left the restaurant and were wandering through the village. Naruto and Kurotsuchi easily fell into their habit of trash-talking each other and roughhousing. Hinata and Yugito could only roll their eyes together while talking about their shared passion for cooking and baking.
"You can cook and bake Hinata-chan? You hear that you pervy midget? Grade S wife right there. I better hear that you're treating her right," Kurotsuchi said while poking Naruto's side. Hinata was blushing very red while Yugito patted her back.
"Ugg stop it, you don't need to tell me twice. I would never dare mistreat Hinata-chan. What about you and Yugito-nee? You going to take care of her too?"
A solemn mood fell over Kurotsuchi and Yugito.
"Unlikely I get the chance to pervy midget," Kurotsuchi said, "Yugito-chan is too important to Kumo for them to allow her to risk fornicating with another village."
"The life of being a jinchuriki," Yugito spat softly. Kurotsuchi and Naruto winced while Hinata looked concerned and confused.
"Wait bark baka, you know what a jinchuriki is while princess here doesn't?" Kurotsuchi asked stepping back.
Naruto looked around finding they were in an empty park. Naruto only spotted one person nearby. The purple hair of the jonin.
"Huh? Yeah he would that's cause-"
"Yugito-nee please don't say it. I'd like to explain." Naruto cut in. Yugito was confused but relented.
"Information about the jinchuriki are an S Rank secret back in Konoha. This secret is only shared with shinobi chunnin rank and above." Naruto said.
"Wait, then why do you know it?" Kurotsuchi asked.
"Keeping the jinchuriki themselves in the dark about the secret is a pretty bad idea, don't you think." Naruto shrugged. Understanding dawned on Kurotsuchi's face while Hinata's brows furrowed.
"What exactly does being a jinchuriki mean, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a whisper.
"Have you heard of the bijuus before?"
"Yes, mom used to tell me bedtime stories of the bijuus. Mighty beasts made of chakra that were akin to walking disasters. Their power was represented by the number of tails. The Kyuubi no Kitsune was the strongest of them." Hinata's eyes were glassy as she reminisced. They suddenly became clear as she stared hard at Naruto. "Chakra can't be destroyed, only dispersed or sealed. The Yondaime could not kill the Kyuubi, otherwise, it would simply come back. So he must have sealed it. Jinchuriki… human sacrifice… he sealed the Kyuubi in a someone…" As understanding dawned on Hinata, a horrified look appeared. She latched herself on Naruto barely holding her tears back.
"Your birthday, the same day as the Kyuubi was defeated. Did he? Did the Yondaime sacrifice you?"
"Yeah… yeah he did sacrifice me."
The palpable sadness in Naruto's voice made Hinata squeeze Naruto to the point he heard a few joints pop. Naruto looked over to Kurotsuchi to see the rage in her eyes. Yet she did not look angry at him, instead, she looked like she was angry for him. Hinata squeaked when she felt Kurotsuchi wrap her and Naruto in a hug as well.
"Yugito, get your ass over here. Group hug time and I know you need it as much as the blond idiot here does."
Yugito was hesitant but the second she was in range, Kurotsuchi snatched her arm and pulled her into the group hug. Hinata moved so she was hugging both of the jinchurikis.
Yugao watched the teens with an empty and emotionless face. But even with her anbu training, could not stop the twinge in her heart and the lone tear that rolled down her face. She stood by watching Naruto's hard life since he was a baby. From what little she knew of Yugito Ni it was the same for her. Instead of the young shinobi she normally saw, all she could see were children who lived hard lives.
Without a sound, Yugao turned away from them. The kids deserved a little privacy.
