Hey, everyone. Hope you're doing well.
VinCS: While I disagree about the possibility of being both Asura and Indra's transmigrates, you're not the only one who brought up the possibility of him being Hagoromo's instead.
Guest: I don't think Sakura using the Shadow Clone Jutsu this way is an issue. I mean; the problem with it is that 1) it divides the user's chakra evenly among the clones, and 2) the user and their clones are still using chakra at the same rate. I think Sakura could handle having half of her chakra if neither she nor the clone uses any additional energy. So, she could handle using one clone this way, and it would still double her studying speed. Now, if she tried to make four, that would probably leave her weak or knock her out. That said, I failed to specify I intended for her to only use one and corrected that mistake. So, thanks.
Jtf0012: Unfortunately, most of the good Naruto/Yugito fics I know are long dead, like The Kit and the Kitten, or Naruto: Eleven if you still want to look at them. I only know of three good ones that are complete: Naruto: Rinnegan Chronicles, Naruto: Whirlpool Chronicles, and Namikaze's Return Redux, and that last one is a harem fic.
JintoLin: Yeah, it surprised me when I did the math on Asuma's bounty too. And I'm sorry, but am I reading that second part right? Are you saying authors have been killing off Hinata lately? I've been burned out on Naruto fanfics for a few years. When I did look some up, I just checked up on some of my favorite pairings until I decided to start this. I haven't looked through general Naruto fics in a long time, so I wouldn't know, but if I am reading that right... why?
Also, thought I'd mention this; I'm considering doing a Rinnegan story with a Rinnegan!Naruto/Tenseigan!Hinata pairing. Because, why not? I like the idea of the Tenseigan, just not how its awakening was executed or the story around Toneri, and if I can give Naruto the Rinnegan, I can probably use the same explanation on why Hinata has the Tenseigan. She is supposed to be the Byakugan Princess. Like I've said, I mostly decided to rewrite Jinchuriki of the Six Paths due to mistakes or what I now consider poor writing choices I made, while the Rinnegan itself was only a small part of it. It would be entirely different than the last one though. A lot of the ideas I had for the original fit better here. That said, I'm only thinking about it. I don't know if I'll actually do it, and if I do it won't be anytime soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
The clunk of wood clashing with wood rang out in the clearing as two kunoichi clashed. Sakura made several rapid strikes with her Bo staff, right, left above, below, only for Tenten to easily block each strike with her own.
The pink-haired girl leaned to the side to avoid a retaliatory jab at her chest before ducking down as Tenten swept the weapon to the side. She lashed out at Tenten's legs, only for the brunette to leap over her attack, flipping and spinning in the air to land on her feet.
Sakura immediately charged, spinning to add momentum to her next attack as Tenten landed. A sweeping blow aimed at her waist. Tenten kicked back out of range. Sakura brought her staff over her head and put all her strength into her next attack.
Tenten raised her staff and blocked Sakura's overhead attack with a final loud crack.
For a moment, the two strained against each other before Tenten smiled. "Pretty good, considering you just started a few weeks ago."
Sakura smiled back. "Thanks."
"But..." Tenten spun to the side and bent her staff, letting Sakura's weapon slip off and throw her off balance. She then jabbed at Sakura's side before following up with a kick that sent her to the ground. "You've still got a long way to go. Friendly piece of advice; if you ever get into that weapon lock like that, break it or back off ASAP. It's way too easy to take advantage of."
Sakura sat up, rubbing her side to ease the pain. "Yeah, I can see that." She replied as Tenten walked over and offered her a hand. "And I think I got another valuable lesson from all this."
"Oh, really? What?"
"Don't try to fight a walking arsenal with a weapon." Sakura smiled as that got a chuckle out of Tenten.
"Meh, it's not like close-range combat is my specialty. That would be more my teammate's shticks." Tenten said, placing a hand on her hip. "Fancy a trip to the hot spring? I know I could stand to unwind after back to back training sessions."
Sakura looked up at the sky and guessed there might be three hours of daylight left. Tenten was right; after training all day with Kakashi and then a sparring match with Tenten, all while her gear was weighing her down, a soak would be nice... "Sure. And thanks for all the help."
"Eh, don't worry about it. It's actually kind of refreshing to train with someone who isn't constantly screaming about 'youth.'"
A thought occurred to Sakura as they began to walk back to the village. "Hey, Tenten. You usually keep all those weapons in seals, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Tenten asked.
"Have you ever thought of branching out? Adding seals to those weapons?" Seeing the look Tenten was giving her, Sakura raised her hands. "It's just, well, one of my teammates has been learning wind jutsu lately and when we try to throw weapons at him, well..."
"Wind jutsu?" Tenten replied before looking upward in thought. She grimaced a moment later. "Yeah... my style probably wouldn't work well against something like that..."
"Maybe step up the training on close-range weapons? Or branch out with seals, like I said?"
Tenten thought before she nodded. She then smiled. "See? Helping you is paying off after all." Sakura smiled; glad to help her fellow kunoichi after all she did for her. "So, made any progress with that boy you like?"
"I wish..." Sakura grumbled before she brought her fist to her chest, a determined look on her face. "But I'm not going to give up." She then deflated as she remembered something. "Besides, I think my chances are better than they were before. I'm pretty sure how I acted before just annoyed him..."
"Probably, if he's anything like Neji." Tenten agreed. "And how'd things go that old friend of yours?" Sakura hung her head, shadows covering her eyes. "That bad, huh? Well, just keep trying. And if it doesn't work out, at least you can say you did your best, right?"
"I guess..."
With a few final swishes, Naruto finished his work and set his brush on the floor, sitting back and smiling as he pulled up the scroll to look at his handiwork.
It was an array of kanji and sealing symbols, the bases of which fanned out slightly and formed a broken circle. It was just a simple storage seal. It was the most basic of the basics, but everyone had to start somewhere, right?
It wasn't his first time making one. Right now, it was all about repetition like Kakashi-sensei said: using these simple seals as practice for getting this down as fast, neatly, and accurately as possible. While many high-level sealing jutsu allowed you to conjure the array out of chakra, most required you actually them write out. One single mistake and the seal wouldn't work at best, and who knew when you'd need to draw one up on the spot? He'd had him take up calligraphy for the same reason.
He placed the scroll back on the ground, pulled a single kunai on the circle before making a hand sign. "Seal!" In a burst of smoke, the kunai vanished. He smirked for a moment before focusing on it again. "Release!"
The kunai reappeared in a similar cloud of smog. Naruto grinned as he picked up the scroll. Another job well done. He may only know a few basic techniques at this point, but he had already cooked up several ways to use the few seals he knew.
Considering how complex the art was, he'd come a long way in the last month or so, with some help from his shadow clones. And he was glad to say his other skills had improved by leaps and bounds too. He'd really been pushing himself as he tried to live up to his parent's legacy, quickly learning to abuse the hell out of Sakura's gift and his own healing. And the idea that his parents were watching gave him all he needed to muddle through all the reading.
And wow, there were a lot of things he'd missed out on. History like the rise of the Sannin. Basic facts like chakra being composed of mental and physical energies. Also, apparently, the Second Hokage invented the Shadow Clone jutsu... neat. He was still catching up, but he was determined not to let himself be caught lacking in that department again. Like the old man said: the Hokage was supposed to mark the road for all to follow. An example, like the Fourth had set. How was he doing that if he let himself stay an idiot because studying was too hard?
... Speaking of example, looking back at his Sexy Jutsu... yeah, that was probably never going to be seen again. He probably needed to talk to Konohamaru about that... well; at least he had inspired the kid to work harder outside of that technique... that was something, right?
Kakashi had since upped the number of clones he'd used a day to 50. That had required a bit of an adjustment. While the combined fatigue of 8 clones left him a bit tired, he could shrug it off. 50 knocked him out cold. So now, rather than disperse them immediately, they'd disperse in groups of 5 at the end of starting in the last hour of training. It worked pretty well: he got all the experience, and there was enough time between the hits that he could get through and not fall flat on his face and wind up in dreamland.
He looked over to the kitchen, where five clones were getting in some extra training. It had taken a few weeks, but he'd mastered both the water walking and the leaf-cutting exercises Kakashi had taught him. The man had since given him a new method to train both in control and in the wind element: each clone their hands before them, channeling wind chakra through their palms. The aim was to levitate a leaf and keep it as stable as possible.
Their training had only gotten more intense as the days went by and Kakashi made them a set schedule to stick to. They would spend half an hour on warm-ups before adding the weighted gear. One hour doing exercises, one on chakra control, another on taijutsu and teamwork, a final one on ninjutsu and genjutsu tutoring before finally taking a D-rank mission after a rest period. With some pointers for independent training like his own.
Sasuke was still quiet and brooding as always, but he didn't put him down as much, and Naruto had turned down the jealousy. While they competed during just about every training session, there was a slight sense of camaraderie there now, rather than the spiteful rivalry they once had. Sakura was kinder too. She hadn't even hit him in the last month! She'd really put her all into catching up to them. And she'd toned down that thing she had with Sasuke. They'd all really had come a long way since the day they first met Kakashi-sensei.
Naruto rose to his feet and made his way to his kitchen. A quick cup of ramen for a job well done, and then he'd get ready for bed. Once those clones dispelled, he'd be out like a light.
Things were much quieter than they had been a month ago as Team Seven awaited their chronically late sensei. This time Naruto was sitting on the ground as he worked on a seal. This one was a bit more complex than the standard containment seal, but he'd gotten it down. Three completed ones lay beside him, and a few feet away, a circle had been carved into the ground where he'd tested one of them. Finishing the fourth seal tag, he pocketed them and pulled out a book on sealing jutsu, looking to find another to try out.
Sakura sat nearby, leaning back on one of the posts as she read a book on poisons. Sasuke had been the last to join in, reading a book on the many ways to use chakra. Kinda surprising when he was the former head of their class.
Naruto found himself a lot less frustrated with his sensei's antics this way. Oh, he was still annoyed as all hell that the man had to be at least 2 hours late to the meetings he set, but it was more bearable when they weren't standing around doing nothing for those two hours.
Case in point...
The three looked up as their sensei walked into the clearing, not showing the least bit of shame at having kept them hanging. Again. "Hey guys, how're you doing?"
"Not even going to try to come up with an excuse, sensei?" Naruto asked dryly while throwing a slightly bitter look his way.
... He felt a lot less high strung about the silver-haired man showing his face without so much as a hint of guilt. It had helped them adjust a bit. He and Sakura could settle for scathing looks nowadays instead of screaming at him.
That didn't mean they were any happier with him. They just weren't as worked up when he finally got there.
"Well, you never seem to believe what I tell you anyway..."
"No surprise, I'd expect better excuses from a 5-year-old," Sakura spoke up, still glaring at her sensei.
"You wound me, Sakura," Kakashi said with a straight face.
Sakura scoffed. "Go cry to that black cat you keep telling us about."
Yep, just another typical day for Team Seven.
"So guys..." Sakura said, getting her teammate's attention as the three walked back into the village proper, about to go their separate ways after another successful D-rank mission. They came to a halt as they looked back at her. "I was thinking. I know that you two live by yourselves, so, well... I asked my parents if they'd be ok if you came over for dinner."
"Huh, really?" Naruto asked with a blink before grinning. Needless to say, getting invited to Sakura's place was the last thing he expected today.
"That's not necessary," Sasuke said with a shrug.
"I know that," Sakura replied with a shake of her head, raising her hands as if to reassure him. "I just thought it'd be nice, is all... I mean, you two haven't had a home cooked meal in a long time, right? And after that, I thought we could put our heads together and brainstorm on ways to improve. Kakashi-sensei's not going to do everything for us, you know..." She looked away.
Ain't that the truth? He hadn't been the one to suggest they start studying while they waited for him. And Sakura was the one who bought their weights. The silver-haired jonin was definitely working harder at it than he had before, but still...
But then, maybe he just didn't want them to rely on him for everything? He was there to teach and guide them, not hold their hands. He'd been trying hard, so he'd give him the benefit of the doubt.
Sasuke closed his eyes. "... Ok."
Really? Wow, that was a surprise. Naruto had been sure Sasuke would turn her down. Maybe they were starting to grow on him, even if he did still act all cool and distant.
He couldn't help but smile at that.
Sakura's face lit up at that. "Really? Great! I'm sure you'll love it! And we really need to think about how to we can communicate in the field. I mean, right now we have to rely on radios, that's not going to work all the time. We need to find other ways to communicate and..."
"Woah, slow down. Save it for the after-dinner meet." Naruto said though he couldn't deny she had a point there. Sasuke was giving her a look of vague interest. "You've put a lot of thought into this, huh?"
Sakura seemed a bit bashful at that. "Well, I just want our team to be the best we can be, you know?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I get you. Thanks for looking out for us, Sakura."
The pink-haired girl grinned, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, someone's gotta keep you boys in line. We all know how you like to show off."
"Hey!" The number one hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja started. He then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he remembered he had that nickname. "Well... yeah, that's kinda true, I guess..." He admitted, causing Sakura to chuckle. "So, where is your place, anyway?"
Naruto arrived at the Haruno family apartment the next day after cleaning up in the wake of the day's training and mission with a light spring in his step. No surprise really, it was the first time he'd ever been invited over to someone else's home. It wouldn't be a big deal to most, but for someone who'd been shunned by just about everyone for most of his life, it was a milestone.
Reaching the door, he gave it a knock. Soon enough, a blonde woman with green eyes a shade darker than Sakura's opened the door. "Naruto. First one here, I see."
Naruto gave the woman a wide grin. "Hi, nice to meet you! You must be Miss Haruno."
"Please, call me Mebuki." Sakura's mother replied before standing aside. "I'm just putting the finishing touches on dinner, so you shouldn't have long to wait as long as Sasuke shows up soon. Sakura's in her room; it's just at the end of the hall."
"Thanks," Naruto said, stepping inside and taking off his shoes. He followed the instructions as he got a look around. It was a lot better than his apartment. A lot bigger too, but that was no surprise. His place was on the cheap side of things and was meant for one person. You could tell this was a family home, knocked on the door.
"Come in." He heard Sakura say before he stepped inside. The pink-haired girl was lying on her bed, reading one of her books. "Hey, Naruto, glad you could make it." She said as she swung around and sat up on the bed.
"Well, not like anyone would say no to free food, right? Nice place you guys have, by the way."
"Thanks, only home I've ever had," Sakura replied as Naruto walked over to a nearby desk and pulled out the chair. He sat down backward and rested his arms and head on the back.
Naruto looked over and saw several books that had depictions of the body or flowers on them. "I see you've been working on some extra credit, huh?"
Sakura rubbed the back of her head. "Well, it's interesting stuff. Honestly, I think I've found a new hobby..."
Naruto chuckled. "Same here. Never thought I'd find burying my nose in a book fun until I took up sealing jutsu."
Sakura grinned and looked to the side. "Oh wow, Naruto's found joy in studying. I'll have to look outside; it could be raining fire..."
"Very funny..." Naruto said dryly with squinted eyes before his lips turned upward. "You should have seen the look on Iruka-sensei's face when he caught me in the library." That got a laugh out of Sakura. "So, what kinda things did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought maybe we could look at each other's skills and see if we could come up with some suggestions. You know everyone has their own way of thinking; maybe we missed something." She began to tick off her other ideas on her fingers. "We could look at ways to combine our skills and work out ways to share information. Maybe give each other some advice in training..."
It was then that there was a knock on the door, drawing both of their attentions. "Door's open."
The door opened to reveal Sasuke with one hand in his pocket, the same look on his face as ever. Still, that he was actually here said a lot.
"Sasuke!" Sakura smiled widely.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Naruto said in greeting. The Uchiha heir just nodded and grunted in reply, stepping into the room and leaning against the wall. "Sakura and I were just talking about what she had in mind after dinner. She's got some pretty good ideas."
Seeing Sasuke's questioning look, she repeated what she'd told him. Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I can see how we can benefit from that. Good thinking, Sakura." The pink-haired girl beamed at his praise.
"Dinner's ready!" They heard Mebuki call out.
Naruto wondered if this was what family dinners were always like. Kizashi guffawed at the many jokes he made, several of which had Naruto laughing as well as his daughter grumbled in exasperation while his wife occasionally chided him. Sasuke was quiet as usual, rarely speaking unless spoken to.
It was nice. Warm in a way he could only remember from birthday parties or his times at Ichiraku's.
The food was great too. Mebuki had cooked a full course meal: steaming bowls of vegetables, a heaping bowl of rice, nori, miso soup, and grilled fish lay spread out at the center of the table. He could count on one hand the times he'd actually seen a full course meal in front of him like this.
"Great food, Mebuki. Thanks again for having us over!" Naruto said after swallowing a mouthful.
"Thank you for the compliment... You know, it's strange." Mebuki admitted as she looked at Naruto. "It never occurred to me that you were actually a member of the Uzumaki clan... "
"Same here. Members of the Uzumaki clan are so rare these days, I guess I just assumed..." Kizashi chuckled sheepishly. "And well, you know what they say about that..."
Naruto looked at them hopefully, eager to hear more about his lost family. "Did you know anyone from my clan?"
Mebuki shook her head. "Sorry, the only ones I knew of were only by reputation." Kizashi nodded in agreement beside her, much to the blond's disappointment. He had really hoped to hear more about his mother from someone who grew up alongside her. "So, do you three have any dreams or aspirations?" Sakura's mother asked, drawing their attention. "A lot of genin just look to get by... trust me, that won't get you far."
The way she said that said she was probably speaking from experience...
Naruto smiled proudly and put his fist to his chest. "Well, my dream is to become Hokage! I want to be the guy everyone in the village looks up to."
Kizashi snorted and smiled, shaking his head. "Hokage, huh? Well, there's something to be said about dreaming big."
"Well, you've got a long road ahead of you, but nothing worth doing is easy as they say." Mebuki turned to her daughter. "Have you given any thought to your future?"
"M- My future?" Sakura's eyes darted back and forth, finally landing on Sasuke before bashfully looking away with a blush. "Well, I mean, my dream is..."
'I see that hasn't changed...' Naruto noted flatly.
"But aside from that..." Sakura then continued. "I... I don't know. I want to be a great kunoichi someday, and I think I'd like learning to be a medic-nin, but..." She shrugged. "I can't think of any real goals specifically..."
Mebuki smiled in approval. "That's fine. You're just starting your career. It's no surprise you don't know what you want to do yet. I'm sure it'll come to you once you've gone out and experienced enough." She then turned to the Uchiha survivor. "And Sasuke?"
The Uchiha looked at her for a moment before his eyes narrowed in determination.
"I've only ever had two things I wanted; to restore my clan. And avenge it."
Kizashi looked at him seriously while Mebuki nodded and closed her eyes. "I thought as much... it's understandable after what happened."
Yeah, Naruto could somewhat understand why Sasuke wanted to restore his clan. He hadn't even known his own family, but he pined for them, mourned what had been lost, and wished to make them proud; both his parents and his clan. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have all that, to have such an enormous family and lose them.
Though he couldn't say that he agreed with how Sasuke had closed himself off from everyone. He hated being alone, and Sasuke had had so many people who wanted to be there for him... but maybe that was part of the problem? That, for all that they wanted to help him, they couldn't understand how he felt, and he knew it.
"I'm not going to say I understand or try to tell you how you should live your life, but listen," Mebuki said, regarding the Uchiha seriously. "There are a lot of ninja out there who hold grudges... and a lot of them end up dying young because they fly off the handle when they cross paths with the one they're after. I'm not telling you shouldn't want revenge or that there are more important things. That's for you to decide. Just don't go after him until you know you're ready, ok?"
Sasuke was quiet for a moment before he gave a quick 'Hn.'
There was silence for a moment before Kizashi spoke up; "So was that yes 'Hn,' no 'Hn,' or whatever 'Hn'? We need the context of the 'Hn' to fully understand and grasp the 'Hn.'"
"Dad!"
Mebuki watched as the two genin said goodbye to her daughter and made their way to the door later that night.
She had to say she was glad she'd agreed to allow them over when Sakura had asked her. Honestly, it had been much too long since her daughter had last had friends over. Not since she'd broken off her friendship with Ino and let her crush on the Uchiha dominate her social life, in fact.
And Naruto... She and Kizashi had never hated him like a lot of the village, but they'd been a bit wary. After hearing about what happened in Wave, they had decided to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. He seemed like a good kid. From what she'd seen and heard, he was the type who would stand by his teammates no matter what, and what more could she want for her daughter's teammate?
She couldn't help but worry about Sasuke, though. As she said, his behavior was perfectly understandable, given what he'd been through. But it was far from healthy. She could only help his teammates could pull him out from the dark cloud that had been hanging over him. Remind him that he didn't have to go it alone... and they seemed to be doing a good job of that so far.
"Thank you for having us over," Sasuke said with a nod. Well, the boy may not show much respect these days, but at least he still knew how to show gratitude.
"Yeah, I had a great time! And I think it helped us a lot." Naruto said with cheer, his hands behind his head.
"Well, you two are welcome to come and visit whenever you want; just try to give us a heads up, alright?"
"Sure thing, Mebuki!"
She smiled and nodded before looking between the two. "And listen. I know that the two of you live on your own, and that isn't easy. I'm not going to pretend I understand what your situations are like, but if you ever feel the need to talk about something; my husband and I are here. It's the least we can do for Sakura's teammates."
Naruto blinked before smiling again. "You got it! Thanks a lot, really. Have a good night!"
She nodded. "Same to both of you."
Sasuke just grunted in response. She watched as the two walked off. Yes, this had been a good idea that her daughter had. She hoped that they took her up on that offer. It wasn't like they could fill the gap left by their parents, but she wanted to offer them what support she could. Children shouldn't grow up alone.
That night, Sasuke stepped out of his bathroom, the night's events running through his head as he finished readying for bed.
It had been a pleasant experience, he couldn't lie. They'd been pretty productive. Some of it they'd have to bring up with Kakashi, but they'd walked away with new ideas on how they could develop and combine their skills. Naruto had made an offer with his sealing jutsu that he could see a lot of potential in. And he had to admit he was glad to see Sakura turning over a new leaf. She'd also backed off on fawning over him, something he was infinitely grateful for. Honestly, it annoyed him to no end how the girls of his class would hang off him even when they barely knew him. Not to mention how most of them sacrificed their fighting skills to maintain their looks just to try and get his attention.
Just stupid. What kind of life did they think they were signing up for?
Well, at least she wasn't that way anymore. Much as he didn't want to rely on others, he had to admit she was becoming someone he wouldn't mind standing alongside.
And the same went for Naruto. Though there had been hints of that as far back as their first encounter with Zabuza.
When he had been assigned to a team, he had wished that he could just become the sole apprentice of a skilled jonin. Get around all the grunt work and become as powerful as possible as fast as he could.
He had a long way to go to catch up to him.
But... this actually wasn't so bad.
As he got to his bed, he looked at his nightstand. At the picture of his team on the day they officially passed.
He thought of Sakura's earnest efforts to change. The few times they'd gone to Ichiraku Ramen at Naruto's behest...
He smiled.
"Another day, another D-rank mission... Man, I can't wait to put these behind me," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms as he and his team walked down the street after yet another mission that may as well be a chore.
Weeks had passed since their first after-training get together. It had become a somewhat regular thing for them, though they didn't always meet at Sakura's home. Something that Naruto was glad he'd decided to tidy his place up all that time ago. New ideas had been shared between them, and with Kakashi's help, they'd managed to make some of their ideas work out.
And, of course, they'd taken plenty of D-rank missions. Can't forget about that. Today they'd had to clean trash out of the river. That was a lot of fun.
"Do the words 'be careful what you wish for' mean anything to you?" Sakura asked with a raised brow. "Do you want to get into another mess like the Wave mission?"
"I have to agree with Naruto on this one," Sasuke admitted. "We could be out getting real experience, but we're wasting time with these stupid chores instead..."
"D-rank missions exist for a reason, you know," Kakashi spoke up, getting their attention from his place at the rear of their group. They turned to find that he once again had his nose in that orange book of his. "For one thing, they're meant to teach some humility to genin who think they're ready to take on the world just because they graduated." He looked pointedly at all three, and Naruto could only chuckle and sheepishly rub the back of his head. Yeah, they'd all thought that in one form or another, before Wave anyway. "They also help your sensei get a better idea of your synergy before they take you into real combat. And you get a bit of spare change, not that you three need that... I hope."
Yeah, he didn't know about his teammates, but that money Kakashi had given them had really been burning a hole in his pocket. He'd thought of all the things he could buy with it tons of ramen, a better home, a new TV... but the blond got the feeling his sensei would be disappointed if he did any of that. Besides, the stuff he had now had worked well enough. He had splurged a bit on ramen, gotten some mesh armor that he wore beneath his shirt, and stocked up on weapons and on ink and sealing supplies, but not much else.
Just getting them some quality training gear had demolished Sakura's savings. That gave him second thoughts on what he should be spending his money on.
"Well anyway, I have to go make my report on today's mission, so that's it for today," Their sensei said. "Feel free to do some independent training, as always. You should know your limitations by now." And with that, he was gone. Vanishing in a burst of speed.
Naruto turned back to his teammates with his hands behind his head. "So, you guys want to grab a bite or..." He then heard a sort of hollow scratching behind him. He didn't even have to look; he knew what it was. They'd tried this before.
He saw Sasuke and Sakura looking at something on the ground behind him with either minor annoyance or incredulity. Yep, just like he thought.
"Actually, I think I'm gonna take off and do some training by myself. Later!" And then he formed a hand sign and disappeared as his sensei had. Unlike his teacher, he just leaped behind the nearby fence. Quietly, he walked back a few feet, hearing faint whispers and sounds of disappointment on the other side, before he silently climbed over the wooden barricade.
Just like he thought; there on the ground was... really?
Naruto jumped down, channeling chakra to cushion his footfalls, took a few steps forward, and lifted up the cardboard box that had been painted to look like a rock. Three voices exclaimed in shock as he held their disguise above them and looked down at them flatly. "A square rock? Seriously? Maybe try a fake wall or the transformation jutsu next time?"
"Ah, you saw through us without even looking! That's the man I view as my rival!" Konohamaru said, crossing his arms and trying to look tough in front of his two friends.
The blond grinned as he set the box on the ground. "Hey, Konohamaru. You guys been working hard, I trust? And what's with the goggles; are you trying to copy me?"
"Yep! Nice touch, huh boss?" Konohamaru said, shifting the goggles on his forehead with a wide grin.
"Eh..." Naruto shrugged.
"What do you mean; 'eh'!?"
"I just wore those as a placeholder for when I'd get my forehead protector, you know?" Naruto replied before he grinned again. "But they work for you just fine. Just remember that's what you're aiming for when you've got them on, ok?"
Konohamaru's eyes lit up before he nodded excitedly.
"Um, are you free today? You said you'd play ninja with us." The girl beside Konohamaru spoke up.
"A ninja playing ninja?" Sasuke asked flatly.
"Hey, how else am I supposed to help them out? They're a bit too young for our kind of training, you know?" Naruto said back.
Sakura thought about it before nodding. "Fair enough. So, who are these three anyway?"
"Ah, let me introduce you!" Naruto gestured towards the still silent boy. "This is Udon." Then to the girl smiling shyly at them. "That's Moegi." He then pointed to their leader, who stood as tall and proud as he could. "And that's Konohamaru! He's the old man's grandson!"
Sakura's brows shot up. "The old man?" She then reeled in shock, looking between the blond and his protégé. "Wait, you mean the Third Hokage!?"
"Uh-huh! Big surprise, right? But don't think that makes him special; he's just like any other little kid."
"Hey!"
"But..." Naruto began before looking at the younger boy. "He's the guy who's going to be the Hokage after me! As long as he doesn't slack off." He smiled confidently. "Right?"
"Oh... right boss," Konohamaru raised his fist into the air.
Naruto chuckled before looking at his teammates with a deadpan expression and waving dismissively. "Seriously, though, don't give him any special treatment; he hates it."
Surprisingly, Sasuke nodded and looked at the boy appraisingly. "Tired of living in your grandfather's shadow, huh?
Konohamaru blinked at him. "Yeah, I mean... everyone always looks at me as just the Hokage's grandson... until them at least." He said, looking at his friends and then at Naruto before returning his gaze to Sasuke. "I want people to acknowledge me as my own person, and the boss told me that means I have to work hard until I can stand on my own two feet. Until I've made a name for myself."
Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes. "Well, it sounds like Naruto gave you good advice. Listen to him, and you'll get there someday."
Huh. Sasuke had been less cold lately, but Naruto couldn't say he expected outright words of encouragement from him. Never mind the compliment.
Konohamaru seemed surprised too before he grinned widely. Naruto smiled. "Well, thanks for the support, Sasuke." He then gestured towards the Uchiha heir and the pink-haired girl. "And these are my teammates, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. You just missed our sensei, Kakashi."
"Oh, so you're the boss's teammates? Nice to meet you!" Konohamaru said.
Naruto smiled as he watched the younger kids run over to his teammates, but then his eyes trained on two people walking towards them from further down the alleyway. A blonde girl with her hair in pigtails carrying a giant fan on her back and a hooded boy in all black with purple face paint.
And both had forehead protectors with another village's symbol. Sunagakure, if he remembered right. It wasn't long before the others turned to look at them too.
"Huh, what do we have here?" The boy asked. His eyes squinted and seemingly closed, but his head turned to look at the discarded box. "A couple of kids playing ninja?"
When Sasuke asked that, it was a question. This boy's tone, however, was mocking. Talking down to them. Yep, this guy wanted to start something.
He wasn't about to take someone making a jab at his friends lying down. "Well, what else are they going to do when they're in the academy?" Naruto shot back. "And they might be playing ninja, but at least they're not playing dress-up! Does your mom know you raided her make-up supply!?"
The blonde girl and Sakura giggled. Konohamaru and his gang burst out laughing while the boy snarled. "It's WAR! PAINT! ASSHOLE!"
"Yeah? I didn't know war paint came in bright purple!"
The boy growled, raising a fist while the girl at his side sighed. "How many times have I told you to lay off the face paint? No one else in our village dresses like that."
"Damn it, Temari! Whose side are you on!?"
"Temari, huh?" Naruto asked as he turned to the girl, putting his hands behind his head. "I take it you guys are here for the chunin exams?"
"That's right," Temari replied with a nod.
"Well, I'd give you guys a real Konoha greeting, but I think you're teammates already worn out his welcome."
"You guys already know where to go?" Sasuke spoke up. "If so, then I suggest you take that one and beat it." He jerked his head at the boy in face paint.
"Oh, a couple of tough guys I see... in that case-"
"Kankuro, back off."
All eyes were drawn to a nearby tree. There, hanging upside down, was a boy with short, spiky auburn hair, with a tan gourd at his back that was nearly as big as he was. Oddly, the kanji for 'love' had been tattooed on the side of his forehead. He stood with his arms crossed, his face utterly apathetic as his cold green eyes gazing down at the black-clad boy.
Taking in his teammate's reaction, he realized none of them had even noticed his presence.
Beads of sweat broke out over Kankuro and Temari's foreheads as they stared up at the newcomer. A single glance was all that was needed to know that they were afraid. The face-painted boy plastered a smile on his face, trying to accommodate the other sand genin.
"You're embarrassing our village." The boy continued
"U- Uh... but they started-"
"Shut up, or I'll kill you."
Kankuro trembled. While the new kid didn't show any malice beyond the empty gaze he gave his apparent teammate, his reaction made it clear that he believed he'd do it without a moment's thought.
That put him on edge. Sure the kid was a jerk but to be intimidated by his own teammate...
The boy vanished from his spot in a swirl of sand before reappearing in between his teammates. "My apologies for my teammate's behavior. We may have gotten here early, but that's no excuse to play around..." He then turned and began to walk away. "Let's go."
"Hang on," Naruto said, getting their attention. They all turned to face him. "I got your teammate's names, but not yours."
"... Gaara of the Desert." The red-haired boy answered. "... And you three. I assume you'll be at the exams too?"
Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. The application's today, and our sensei's been tight-lipped about it."
Gaara nodded before looking at the three appraisingly. "What are your names, in case you do participate?"
Naruto smirked confidently. "Naruto Uzumaki."
Sasuke did the same. "Sasuke Uchiha."
Sakura, on the other hand, just frowned. "Sakura Haruno."
The sand genin nodded and walked away with his teammates.
"What was that about?" Sakura asked as she stepped forward. "You want to fight him or something?"
"Kinda," Naruto said, frowning at their retreating forms. "He seems strong, and I'm always up for a good fight, but something about how his teammates acted around him rubs me the wrong way."
"Well, at least we know it won't be boring," Sasuke said.
All in all, gate guarding duty was one of the dullest things one could pull; the man currently guarding the village's main entrance couldn't help but think. Sure some thought boring was good, especially when 'exciting' could mean your risking life and limb, but most would agree that this was one of the worst jobs you could pull short of catching Tora the cat.
Sure, there'd usually be a steady trickle of people coming in and out of the village, but it's not like you were a bartender. You'd usually share two or three sentences and then send them on their way. And spend all the rest of your time watching the clouds go by.
"Wow, this place is huge!" A young female voice caught his attention. Walking down the road was a group of four, the forehead protectors they wore marked them as shinobi of Taki.
Earlier exam takers, he saw.
The sole girl in the group, a young genin with green hair, ran ahead. Her eyes were alight with excitement, and she wore a smile on her face as she looked up at the gates and the Hokage monument beyond. "I can't wait to go sightseeing! This is going to be so much fun!"
One of the boys sighed. "There she goes again... 5th time since we left..."
The jonin just shook his head. "Just let it go... at least she's not running off into the wilderness this time. Worst comes the worst; we can find her in the village."
The girl just laughed as she ran towards the gate.
I thought Sasuke would sympathize with someone living in someone else's shadow, given how things were prior to the massacre.
Anyway, hope you liked it and please review.