Chapter 4
*several months timeskip*
"Once again you guys have outdone yourselves on another mission. I think you guys may be ready for the upcoming Chunin exams!" Says 7th Hokage, Naruto Uzamaki, to the new squad 7.
"Well of course we're ready for that." Boruto replied, seeming bored.
"Thank you Lord Hokage!" Sarada and Mitsuki said in unison as they saluted the leader of their village.
"Excellent Naruto. I also second that opinion. I can openly vouch that these 3 are the hardest training genin in all of the village!" Lee Sensei boldly proclaimed.
Usually Sarada wasn't fond of bragging but after all the hellish 'youth' training their squad leader put them through she would readily agree to was just said. The 3 of them spent the last few weeks punching and kicking trees or rocks in addition to their usual ruthless conditioning. Whenever Lee Sensei introduced them to a new exercise it only added to what else they were already doing. However, the fruits of their taijutsu training were beginning to improve even more than they already had.
Because they did such a splendid job with an A-rank mission, Lee Sensei graciously gave them the day off. Mitsuki bid them farewell and went home.
"Man I'm glad that's over with! Now we can chill out! Say Sarada, I'm meeting up with the boys and Chocho for some barbecue! Mitsuki's kind of a buzzkill but why don't you come along?" Boruto invited out of nowhere.
Of course he was just inviting her out to eat and relax with their friends but Sarada couldn't help but fight an oncoming blush from Boruto's sudden invitation. She didn't want to turn him down but she did have other plans since she wasn't training today. Plus her dad was home again and there was no telling how long he'd be in town.
"Tempting, but I can't. Kinda got plans maybe next time?" (And hopefully alone?) Sarada studied Boruto briefly as she answered, scanning his features for any sign of disappointment; but the son of Naruto was clean.
"Alright. Don't say I never invited ya to anything." Boruto replied almost lazily.
(Never said that!) Sarada hid her surprised annoyance like the skillful kunoichi she was.
"Tell Chocho and Hako I said Hi and that I'll see them later." Sarada added cheerily.
"What!? I don't hang out with that weirdo. Won't be seeing her there." Boruto retorted as he began to walk away.
Sarada playfully punched him hard in the back of his shoulder. "Best not call her that around me! Chocho either!" Sarada told him as he waved back at her without turning around.
(Now. It's time.) Sarada decided as she ran into the village. The quicker she got this over with the better. She wasn't going straight home, Sarada figured that if she gave her mother enough alone time with her father that it'd be her turn when she got home.
(And there will be HELL to pay if he even THINKS of leaving before I get there!) She promised herself. She already promised to give 'The Sasuke Uchiha' a piece of her mind. But before that there was work to be done. Sarada was always looking for ways to improve and one major way of doing such was training with her sharingan, but her ways of doing so were so limited, since she had found a perfect training partner….
Weeks ago the orphan known as Big Shin had approached her with a curious proposition regarding the so-called secret training that the squad leaders were having with their genin squads. For some reason he was curious about the training she and squad 7 were undergoing with Lee Sensei and even went so far as to offer her special training with the sharingan if she were to help him out. Sarada saw this as an opportunity to improve her abilities further with someone who was even more available than her own father, who also simply wanted to improve.
So Sarada went against her Sensei's wishes and taught Big Shin what she knew at the time. And since then they'd been meeting in secret when they were both available to train with each other. She also respected Big Shin's resolve to get stronger with additional training.
She met with Big Shin at the preliminary Chunin exam tournament arena. After sending him a text she headed straight there. Unlike usual she couldn't be here with him all night this time. As usual he had beaten her there.
(Damn! How does he get here so fast? I was like almost halfway here before I texted him.)
Now she knew for a fact this was fishy since she already knew he'd been improving, but he still wasn't nearly as fast as herself on his feet.
"If you don't keep your ankle weights on at all times Shin, don't slack on your training!" Sarada criticized, upon entry. The pale, blonde haired youth slowly turned to face her from across the arena. Sarada noted his usual almost serious but blank expression.
"I keep them on. Even as I sleep." He assured her. Usually if someone called Big Shin anything other than that he was swift to correct them. However with Sarada for some reason just Shin was fine but she only called him that here or when it was just them. She didn't really have much other reason to associate with him.
It still weirded her out about him. Only slightly. Knowing he was a clone of the late Shin Uchiha, who'd been an old lab rat of that Orochimaru character. She remembered that there were so many of them. Most of them remained in the orphanage she knew, but for some reason only this one was chosen to become a ninja. Whatever the reason, it was great for her to expand on her knowledge of her Kekkei Genkai; even learning how Shin himself used it. Her notepad was full of notes she'd written down recording what he could tell her of it.
"Right. Well we don't have much time today… so shall we?" Grateful that Big Shin wasn't big on small talk, Sarada immediately prepared herself and activated her sharingan.
"...why the sudden change?" Big Shin surprised her by asking.
"Eh. My dads home. I plan to be home before sunset." She replied eager to train. She already knew how to track her opponent's movements with the sharingan, but by training with Shin she learned how to actually copy some of her opponents jutsu and even mirror their movements. Just sparring with Shin had added to her already deadly arsenal of jutsu and he didn't mind sharing at all. She's even gotten better at casting genjutsu on her opponent in the blink of an eye.
"Hey! How do you get here so fast?" Sarada asked all of a sudden.
"Why do you get here so slow? Senpai?" Big Shin retorted, mockingly.
"Eager for this beatdown are we?" She weaved signs with great skill and speed.
"Wind Style: Breakthrough!" Just to start things off.
Sarada called for an end after an hour and a half of light sparring. She was surprised at the length of time she was able to keep her sharingan active while also firing off jutsu that consumes considerable chakra during the battle. Because she actually strained herself she and Big Shin were actually breathing a little hard afterward.
"Good. You're able to keep your sharingan active even after all that." Big Shin complimented, but she privately dismissed it. Shin kept his sharingan active constantly and still maintained his normal amount of chakra.
"Dude. Can you like, even deactivate your sharingan?" She thought out loud.
Big Shin simply looked at her as he calmed his breathing. "Why would I? Being able to maintain it 24/7 is the goal. Remember?" He reminded her bluntly.
But Sarada couldn't dodge the sense that Shin was hiding something. (There's plenty, I'm sure of it!) And she was determined to find out just what that was.
"Alright. Before I go. I wanna know what else you can do." She insisted.
"Hmm? You haven't shown me your entire hand yet." Big Shin's glare and tone were both knowing and accusatory. He folded his arms in front of his chest.
Sarada sighed reluctantly. "Well there is one other thing…" She mentioned guiltily.
Big Shin simply waited. "Hey! I'm not supposed to show you!" Sarada defended aloud.
"Technically you weren't supposed to show me this either." Big Shin lifted his pant leg to reveal the heavy ankle weight he bore.
"Ugh! Fiiiiine! But this absolutely can't get out! But if I teach you this you have to keep this quiet…you have to promise." She conditioned firmly.
Big Shin studied her momentarily before answering. "I'd never betray or lie to you." Big Shin intoned solemnly.
(Huh!? Where'd that come from?) Sarada asked herself, weirded out by the sudden oath-like statement.
"Um… Ok. But you've gotta tell me everything too!" Sarada told him.
"Understood." Big Shin quickly agreed.
So Sarada told him about the workings of the eight inner gates, their purpose and how they could be forced open to momentarily surpass one's limits along with the drawback of severe strain on the body. She finished by letting him know that abusing this power or simply even using it at the wrong time could result in severe injury or even death.
In exchange Big Shin revealed his possession of the mangekyo sharingan and its abilities.
"So THAT'S how you get here so fast! You faker!" She accused playfully.
For the first time she witnessed the ghost of a small smile on his face. For her it was refreshing to see that he had a bit of a sense of humor. She gave him a smile before noticing a table set up near the wall off to the side.
"Hm? Oh what's that?" Sarada asked.
For some reason Big Shin became just a bit flustered, maintaining his composure before answering.
"I umm. Thought to prepare some lunch. Ya' know for after we were done training and all." Big Shin replied, stepping over to the table.
"How….nice…is that tea I spot over there?" Sarada asked politely but pleasantly surprised.
"Just some Genmaicha and Osenbei. No big deal." Big Shin replied nervously, struggling to keep his cool. "Umm…come on." He offered as he walked over to the table Sarada happily joined him.
(Green tea and sushi? I guess he is human after all.) She kid herself sitting across from him to enjoy a meal with him.
"Shiiiin. You uhh made this yourself?" Sarada guessed suddenly
"Y-yeah so what!?" He sounded almost defensive
"Just asking. Don't be weird about it. Hehe."
Big Shin suddenly found the food before him very interesting. Sarada sensed he was a bit flustered, was he embarrassed? (Nice to see another side to him for once.) She pleasantly noted.
Both surprisingly hungry they quickly finished before Sarada announced it was time for her to go. She hadn't forgotten about her father. Though she was proud that she took it upon herself to improve her training.
"I'll give you a kind of demonstration on opening the first gate, the next time ok?" She promised him.
He nodded in response. The male sharingan user had already told her that she would have to somehow awaken her mangekyo sharingan on her own since he knew little about the ability he'd just been blessed with. So he couldn't help her with that, but he wanted his ability kept secret just as much as she wanted to keep her own quiet.
Sarada was in a hurry to get home. Perhaps her father could provide her with details of the mangekyo sharingan and maybe she could unlock some cool space-time ninjutsu of her own. After bidding Shin farewell and thanking him for the meal Sarada rushed home with a mixture of excitement and anxiousness. She still had a bit to say to her father….
**Flashback -about the time Sarada started training with Shin**
Sasuke stepped into the Hokage office and saw his friend, since childhood, Naruto Uzumaki, swamped by paperwork. "Goddamnit, how did Granny Tsunade handle this workload for so long," the blond haired Hokage thought out loud as he signed off on several documents. The one armed swordsman cleared his throat. "Hm, Sasuke?" Naruto quickly composed himself. "Jonin, Sasuke Uchiha, what is your report on the situation in the land of hot water?" Naruto said trying his best to act professional with his Hokage cloak having stains from ramen broth along with a 5 'o'clock shadow and bags under his eyes. His desk was littered with several empty cups of instant noodles and had many stacks of paperwork.
"That professionalism doesn't really suit you. Especially when you're surrounded by garbage and look so unkempt." Sasuke just says bluntly
Naruto puts his head down. "I guess you're right…"
Sasuke smirks "As for the mission… I've exterminated the nest of White Zetsu hiding out in the mountains." which gained a nod from Naruto "Are there any reports of any other nests or do you have another mission for me?"
Naruto shakes his head "Your next mission is all in this file right here. However, you don't have to leave immediately so why not spend some time with Sakura and Sarada? How did you smooth things over with your daughter anyway?" asked the Hokage, who got nothing but silence from Sasuke. Naruto raised a curious eyebrow, "Is Sarada still mad at you?"
"Not sure" Sasuke said simply.
"Huh? What do you mean you're not sure?"
"I haven't spoken to her since that Uchiha Shin incident." Sasuke said plainly which caused Naruto to stay silent for about 30 seconds.
"WHAAAAT!" Naruto screamed as he suddenly stood up and slammed both his hands on his desk. These actions caused the stacks of paperwork on his desk to fall over and avalanche. "What!? Nooooooo! I spent all morning on that! Grr, you know what, forget the paperwork." Naruto reasoned before running over to sasuke and grabbing him by his shoulders "What do you mean you haven't spoken to her since then?" The Uzumaki aggressively questioned the surprised Uchiha.
Sasuke sighed, "I didn't know what to say… I just poked her forehead and said 'next time' it's what itachi used to do to me and it works on Sakura…"
Naruto looked at Sasuke with a look of disbelief… "you're kidding right? And Sakura used to call me an idiot… wait hold on, but there's no way that'd be enough for Sarada! She pretty much spent her entire life without you! Both of us were orphans, growing up, so we both know more than anyone how it feels like to not have their parents at least present in their life. It probably hurts even more for her since her dad is alive, but never even bothers to show his face to her anytime he's in the village. I know you've been back to the leaf at least 3 times since that incident! Why haven't you been seeing your daughter!?"
Sasuke looked towards the ground for a moment. "Tch." said the Uchiha before he looked towards Naruto with a bit of anger "You think I don't know all that!? Its just…"
"Just what!?"
Sasuke took a deep breath and exhaled "it's between me and my daughter, don't but in."
Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes, the blond knew his friend well enough to gain enough understanding about what was currently going through his head by looking him in the eye. "Do you love her?" the Blond asked, making the Uchiha take on a puzzled look "I asked if you love your Daughter!?"
"What kind of a question is that Loser? Of course I love her. She means the world to me."
"Have you ever told her that?" The Hokage asked sternly.
"Of course I…" Sasuke started before he paused trying to remember one instance where he'd actually said those words to her. When he couldn't find a trace of that ever happening in his memory banks his eyes slightly widened in realization.
Naruto got a serious expression on his face. "Sasuke, I know Sarada. She's a smart girl; just tell her the truth and she'll understand of course, with leaving the details of your missions out of it. You always act like everyone can read your mind, but that isn't going to work for this. I think the thing she needs to hear more than anything else right now is how much she means to you."
Sasuke felt irritated with himself knowing that Naruto was right and tightened his fist in frustration "thank you, Naruto… I guess I needed to hear that."
Naruto started grinning from cheek to cheek "No problem Sasuke, anytime. You're like a little brother to me." The blond said which irritated the black haired shinobi more, Sasuke wanted to shoot back that Naruto was only a couple months older but decided to let it go. "So does my 'little brother' want some more fatherly advice?"
"Tch" said the Uchiha before turning around and attempting to leave but stopped upon seeing Kakashi in the doorway. Since Kakashi was holding a stack of papers, Sasuke assumed he was helping Naruto out with his Hokage duties.
"Ohhh… Is Sasuke trying to get some advice on how to be a father?" Kakashi questioned in a cheerful tone as he dropped the paperwork on Naruto's desk. The former Hokage put his arm around his former pupil "Come with me, Sasuke, I'd be glad to teach you all that I know." Kakashi said as he walked out of the office with Sasuke leaving Naruto to reorganize his scattered paperwork. "The first thing you should do is break the ice with a nickname. I call my dear little Hako, Puddin' and little Hoki… Tinki. I think something like… Peanut would suit Sarada…"
**End Flashback**
Sarada was disappointed to find that her father had just left home shortly before her timely arrival. "How could you just let him leave?" Sarada yelled at her mother impatiently before she left the house herself in a full on sprint. Where was her father now? Was he gone already? "There's no time!." Sarada exclaimed as she rushed to the gate of the village with her feelings hurt. (How could he just leave AGAIN without seeing me? I don't believe this, am I getting abandonment issues?)
"Hey!" A Chunin watching the gate yelled towards her, but she zipped by without glancing back. Nothing was gonna stop her this time. After a while she caught sight of some curious tracks and followed them. She noticed the tracks were made by two people. Sarada jumped through trees in the woods just outside the village until she came to a hidden secluded area where she heard voices.
"Ha! How's that!" She would recognize Boruto's voice anywhere.
"That's quite satisfactory. Though you've still got a ways to go." She had to stop herself at the sound of her father speaking. His voice was another she could have never mistaken all though it was one she rarely heard.
(Daddy!?) She had to calm her sudden excitement which was instantly replaced with melancholic jealousy. She was beginning to have an issue with Boruto training so much with her father.
(WHY!? Why does Boruto get to see my dad even more than I do? Before I do?) It made no sense to her. She refused to restrain herself any longer. Sarada walked into the area.
"Hey Peanut." Her father greeted her without turning around to see her. She knew he was trying to be sweet but it further annoyed Sarada. And it was embarrassing to know that Boruto heard him loud and clear. The son of the Hokage turned to face her with a giddy smile.
"Peanut? Hahaaa!" Boruto teased. His smile promised future teasing.
"If you repeat that I'll never speak to you again…" She swore softly as she glared at him. She was in no mood to play around right now and she was very embarrassed. Boruto's demeanor softened.
"Whoa Sarada. My bad, I didn't know it was that big a deal." He apologized.
"Just shut up and go home, idiot." said Sarada, dismissing Boruto, not wanting her crush around while she was in this embarrassed state. Then in the same breath turned towards her father "And Daddy, I'll tell you this once, Peanut is lame and embarrassing; don't ever call me that again, especially in front of one of my classmates from the academy!?"
Sasuke Uchiha sighed as he sheathed his sword. "That's enough for today Boruto. It seems my daughter has something to say to me." He told his pupil.
"Damn right I do." She replied.
"Sheesh Sarada. What's going on? You good?" Boruto approached her with a look of concern on his face.
For once Boruto's concern meant nothing to her. "The sooner you GO I'll be 'GOOD'." She checked him.
Not knowing what was up. Boruto simply sighed and left with the body flicker technique waving to his sensei as he performed it.
Sarada sighed in relief as the puff of smoke dissipated.
"Sorry again about the Peanut thing. How's everything been? I've heard you've been training quite hard." Sasuke approached his beloved daughter to place a hand on her head and slowly mess up her hair affectionately. Sarada closed her eyes and savored the feeling before finally hugging her father tightly.
"Oh daddy.." Sarada whispered, just happy to hold on to him. It was hard to stay mad at her daddy. Her mother had the same problem.
"I know it's been a while. Let's… talk." Sasuke offered, smoothly. A moment later the father daughter couple sat on a log together before a blazing fire.
"Something on your mind Pea….I mean Sarada?" Sasuke corrected himself before feigning a cough.
"A Lot…lately." She whispered her eyes on the fire. She wondered where to begin.
"Ya know… it always happens like this. I feel like I'm the least important person in your life. Like something you have to go see about from time to time. Not a…priority." Sarada began slowly and sincerely.
"How so Sarada? You're the most important thing in my life right now." Sasuke assured her.
(Yeah he SAYS that) "Then why am I always the last to see you. I know I'm busy with training or missions. I may even be hanging out with my friends. But whenever Sasuke Uchiha comes to the village the first place you go is straight to the Hokage's office…"
Saradas tone was soft but full of sorrow.
"...Sarada-" Sasuke began to interrupt, but Sarada wouldn't let him get a word in and she was far from finished.
"And I get that part. You're a very busy man with important things to report. And there's probably important errands you have to run even after that. But it's like you'll be home in the village for maybe a week…..and you're NEVER home. You barely come to the house. I knew that you were training with Boruto. I dont get WHY or HOW but ok. Fine. Whatever. What's your deal with mom then? You know all she does is work and wait around to see you no matter how long it takes. Sometimes, you barely say a word to her before you go? What's the deal!? Do you….not like my mother? I don't think you do. I spent the first eleven years of my life without ever even seeing you. I had to leave the village to find you. Remember how we met? How you mistook me for an enemy and….."
Sasuke had to cut her off then. "Sarada wait, that had nothing to do with you. It was an impulsive reaction. You were just there all of a sudden and my warrior instincts kicked in." Sasuke spoke up for himself.
"But do you see how ridiculous that is? That's how I MET you. I left the village convinced that this woman who may love you also may not be my mother. Because of how weird this whole thing is. Would I even know who you are if I never bothered to chase you down? Why do you hate my mother? Why can't she get you to stick around at all? Why dont you ever spend a week at home just to ease our minds for once?" All of Saradas concerns that she kept hidden inside of her came spilling out of her in a torrent she felt she just couldn't stop.
"Slow down a bit, Sarada." Sasuke tried to calm his daughter.
"No YOU slow down SASUKE UCHIHA!. Or do you have to go and do something that's really important and be away from the family that you can't stand to be around again!" Sarada stood up off of the log to step away from her father as she became overwhelmed with emotion.
(Damn you..don't even think about crying.) Sarada told herself as she fought back tears harder than she'd ever done.
"No. You've got it all wrong I swear." Sasuke replied to her softly as he came off of the log as well but on his knees so that he could look his daughter in the eye.
"How many times have you come into the village to report to the Hokage and left without…ever seeing me? How….do I feel important to you after knowing that? Dude, that doesn't make any sense!" Sarada backed away from him but Sasuke caught his daughter by the shoulders gently as he gazed into her eyes with one of his own, his Rinne-Sharingan covered by his hair.
"I…can't deny it. I've been….a shitty dad huh? I've let work and missions keep me too busy. But I can assure you Sarada you've always been in my thoughts. I've never thought about anyone as much as I have you. I always wonder and worry about you. Even as I fight against enemies who could potentially take my life." He revealed with sincerity.
"Then…why am I the last one to see you? Why does it feel like Boruto has two dads instead of one? You training him doesn't bother me… but you haven't trained with ME at ALL! I had to like learning my fire style jutsu from mom and Ive put off learning any lightning style because I heard you're the best at it and I don't even wanna bother learning from someone else. Even Hako's dad taught her lightning style. ALL my friends know that shit! What the fuck is wrong with you? …You don't like my mom…." Tears suddenly exploded from Saradas face as she revealed what bothered her to her core. And she pulled away from her father hard.
"Wait Sarada!" Sasuke got to his feet urgently.
"No. YOU DON'T LIKE MY MOM! That's why I thought she wasn't even my mother and I look around at all my friends who HAVE a dad at HOME but for some reason I don't and it's freaking confusing. I don't understand why you're never ever home at all. It's stupid and it's really starting to make me mad! I don't even wanna think about it anymore cause I don't wanna look like some spoiled brat who doesn't care about important shit like whatever the hell your out there doing…..It must be some REALLY IMPORTANT SHIT cause….cause it's more important than us right? It just kills me cause I can't figure it out but the whole planet must be at stake like right now or something!" Sarada was becoming more emotional by the second as tears ran down her face and more pain spilled from her soul. The girl was bleeding her heart out all over the ground in front of her father. And Sasuke Uchiha was speechless.
"...Sarada. It's….*sigh*…..there's a very long history involved with me and this village. It's long and complicated. I'm not exactly as trusted as you may think. There's not only a lot of work to do outside of the village but damage to be fixed within it. As for your mother, you honestly wouldn't be here if I didn't like her at all so that's just not it. Sakura was the only woman that would've… no, the one I needed to have my child and she did. So… don't think that I don't like you or your mother and that you guys aren't important to me. Because you are." Sasuke stepped toward his daughter as he spoke. When he reached her he knelt again and hugged her fiercely. He squeezed her HARD as she cried into his shoulder.
"...Can you PLEASE come home dad! PLEASE just for a little while!? …..I feel like you don't like being home. How come you can't just stay home for a little while daddy!" Sarada begged as she wept. She suddenly didn't need explanations for his absences or even answers to her many questions or excuses about saving the world. She was being a selfish little girl who wanted her father at the damn house for once.
Sasuke picked his daughter up as she continued to weep uncontrollably in his arms. Snot and tears dampened his cloak.
"What have I done? What have I been doing?" Sasuke asked himself, thinking back to his conversation with Naruto, as his little girl broke down in his arms.
"I do like you Sarada. I do like your mother. More than that. You are my family. I'll love you two forever I promise. I just…don't express it well. That's all. Come on pea- baby, let's go home." Sasuke poured a bottle of water over the fire with one hand as he cradled his daughter with his arm stump. Whoever had a problem with Sasuke Uchiha in the village was going to be very upset for a while because he was going home. (*Sigh*. Sakura will be ecstatic.) Sasuke sighed and prepared himself for a very long night.
Naruto Uzamaki brushed his teeth as he checked the message on his phone Sasuke just sent him.
*****Naruto's phone*****
Little Brother: That mission is gonna have to wait, For a WHILE you may want to send someone else.
"Whats going on!?" Naruto complained before spitting into the sink. He trusted Sasuke with this important mission due to his strength and the intel he'd already provided. Sending another in his place wouldn't be easy. He may have to send an entire cell in his stead and not before providing them with sufficient information. Also this wasn't like Sasuke to just put something like this off.
*****Naruto's phone*****
THE Hokage: What's up? Sending someone else may be a bit difficult. ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ You know how Shikamaru is. He thinks you're the only one that can do this!
Naruto texted back before a very loud distraction "HIMAWARI STYLE JUTSUUUUU!" He heard his daughter yell before she struck him hard in his abdomen with a running palm thrust.
"Ugggghhh" Naruto suddenly bent over dropping his phone and toothbrush on the bathroom floor.
"Himawari, your fathers busy. Go play with your brother." Hinata suggested helpfully from the bedroom.
"What're you doing in here anyway!" Naruto cried from the tile floor as his daughter fled the room.
"Is there a problem, Naruto?" Hinata asked always ready to help.
"No…it's nothing…" Naruto concluded. He'd figure this whole thing out with Shikamaru tomorrow.
"Then come to bed it's getting late." Hinata requested with just a hint of impatience.
(Whatever Sasukes up to…it better be damn important! The only explanation I'll accept is if it has to do with his family!) And with that the Hokage put it out of his head as he quickly shaved before going to bed with his wife.
***Squad Leader Instigation Tournament***
That same night the Jonin leaders of the 6 genin squads all met at a favorite bar of theirs. Rock Lee of Squad 7, Mirai Sarutobi of Squad 5, Sakura Uchiha of Squad 15, Tenten of Squad 10, Kiba Inuzuka of Squad 25 and Shino Aburame of Squad 40.
Kiba looked towards Mirai "Hey, are you even old enough to be here?" The Inuzuka questioned the 17-year old.
Shino turned towards Mirai "You'll have to forgive Kiba, he's an idiot." The Aburame stated in a matter of fact tone which enraged Kiba.
"What was that!?"
"You're asking questions you should already know the answers to. Anyone of Chunin rank or higher is allowed to legally drink alcohol." said the Aburame, which surprised Kiba.
"What!? Since when?" Kiba questioned.
"Since forever, Kiba" Sakura said before taking on a thoughtful pose. "Actually, Kiba never really drank with us back then, come to think of it… did you really not know?" when Kiba just said nothing, everyone took it as confirmation and laughed at him. The laughter died down as the bartender brought out a few bottles of alcohol and shot glasses.
As they sat at the bar and threw back shots they began to argue about the superiority of their squads. The main reason some of the genin were so competitive and even confrontational with the other were the fault of these 6 Jonin level shinobi.
"Haha! I think we can all agree on one thing! Shino's squad is so outta there!" Kiba was already a bit tipsy, proclaimed aloud for the entire bar to hear.
"Actually Kiba. Underestimating my squad would be a grave error. You'd know something about grave errors, wouldn't you?" Shino said back.
"My squad's the ones everyone's overlooking! Seriously, Sumire is among the top talented ninja in that generation and Wasabi trains very hard and fights harder." Sakura bragged.
"Well shince we're hal here discushin' hour squads why don't we make thish abit mooer interesting?" Lee proposed as he sipped his liquor, clearly already drunk from just a sip.
"I know that tone. Lee wants to gamble!" Tenten revealed excitedly.
"Damn straight! *hiccup*" Lee banged his fist on the table.
"Absolutely not! Gambling was a vice of Lady Tsunade. I can't condone it." Sakura reproached before she took another shot as she recalled all the debt Tsunade racked up.
"You just sound scared to me. I'll take all you guys on. Me and the latest installment of Ino-Shika-Cho!" Mirai announced before calling another round of shots.
The Jonin began arguing excitedly before Sakura's phone beeped loudly. The text she read made her face go red and a big smile broke out across her face.
"That-a girl Sarada! Well guys I've got to go. An urgent matter has come to my attention!" Sakura announced with a cheerful determination as she body flickered herself out of the bar.
These actions left Mirai confused, but the other 4 squad leaders looked at eachother knowingly since Sakura only gets like that when it involves one person.
"Sasuke!" They all declared in unison as they laughed and drank to the revelation.
"Whoohoo go Sakura! Mamacat! Meow!" Tenten cheered.
"She deserves it too. Ya know I don't know how Sakura and her daughter deal with what they do. Cause I wouldn't put up with it!" Mirai declared.
"Enuff! Back to the *hiccup* matter at hand! I shay squad 7 is the shtrongust genin shquad in not only this village but all of the ninja WORLD!" Lee boasted with a bright red face and no sign slowing down his drinking.
"Sit down Lee, you're drunk. Which is why You're saying that with the squad I've got!" Kiba challenged.
"Put your money where your dog breath is!" Mirai slapped the counter hard.
"Don't mind if I do! I've got plenty of it! What're you guys talking about doing then!?" Tenten let it be known which is due to her side business.
"I second that. And after hearing about the rest of us Sakura won't want to be left out. Especially with all the loans she took out." Shino announced before chugging his bottle suddenly.
"Then it'sh SHETTLED! Wheel convince our squads to compete with each odder even harder when it comes to misshions and *hiccup* encourage regular sparring shessions amongst themselves!" Lee banged the counter again, shaking the drinks on the counter.
"That's it! I'm cutting you off before you break something again." The bartender said as he took Lee's glass.
"Sorry sir!" Lee shouted with a salute that wasn't even close to straight.
"This is great! We'll have 'em fight and tally up the wins! Singles or team battles?" Kiba egged on.
"Team battles should be in secluded locations. But the Single battles can be done quickly and out in the open. Anyone injured can be sent to Shizune Senpai or even Sakura! I Love it!" Mirai exclaimed.
"Shquad 7! PREPARE FOR GLORY!" Lee shouted as he stood up from the bar.
"AWROO AWROO AWROO!" The other Jonin chanted with their voices as deep as possible.
Early the next morning Kiba sent a group text that included the other squad captains, Hinata Hyuga and The Hokage himself.
Kiba: Since we're tallying up wins Squad 25 has THREE WINS ALREADY COUNT EM! Hoki got Denki early this morning. Shin defeated Mitsuki already and BEFORE THAT Hako defeated Wasabi! Once again That's THREE AND COUNTING! Inuzuka out! #whoissquad7?
Hinata: Get em KIBA!
Lee: Please do not encourage him, Hinata. That so-called victory over squad 7's Mitsuki does need to be investigated. I WILL get to the bottom of this!