Naruto Uzumaki and the Legendary Sannin Chapter 3: October 10th, a Harry Potter + Naruto Crossover fanfic

"Blah": Talking

'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto

Hello friends and readers! And welcome to the new chapter!

There's not much I can say about this chapter without spoiling anything, but I do look forward to reading your reactions to the continuation of the prank on Kakashi. This chapter originally was going to feature the Tokubetsu more prominently, like Genma, Raido, Aoba, Ibiki, and include Izumo, Kotetsu, and Yugao Uzuki as well. But I decided to hold them off until the next chapter.

I don't know what else to tell you guys without spoiling what happens in the chapter. So let's skip right on ahead to the story :D

I hope you guys like it and I look forward to reading your reviews!

Reviews are welcome and wanted!

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling

Chapter 3: October 10th

The following morning in the village was one that would be remembered for ages. There was a loud and furious roar from one of the most levelheaded shinobi in Konoha. The sound of his roar echoed throughout the entire town, and caused several civilians and shinobi alike to turn their heads. It all started at a local bookstore sometime around noon. Several minutes after he visited that one local bookstore, Kakashi Hatake zoomed across town from bookstore to bookstore, in search for new copies of the books he lost. Much to his horror and rage, he was unable to find his two favorite volumes of Make-Out Paradise and Icha-Icha Violence. Not one copy of his favorite volumes was to be found in all the stores that sold the series, not even the massive, multi-leveled bookstore downtown had one.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE SOLD OUT?!" shouted Kakashi Hatake, "HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!"

"Please, sir," the nervous clerk answered him, "B-But all those volumes of the Icha-Icha and Make-Out series were sold out last afternoon..."

"Each bookstore in town that I've been to has thrown me that same damn excuse," he ranted and than he asked, "Who the hell has been here? Who took them?!"

The freckle-faced teen said, "T-That information is restricted from other c-customers. I c-could get f-fired if I showed the transaction records, sir..."

"Ok," the shinobi said in a more controlled voice as he started to shake in frustration, "Then when's the next restock date? I can't leave Konoha and find them somewhere else. You don't know how difficult it's been around here. How long do I need to wait for?"

The clerk shook, scared out of his wits as he clicked the buttons on the store computer before he turned white and answered the furious shinobi, "We're not due for another restock for at least three months."

The shinobi started to shake as his face turned a brilliant shade of red, like a masked tomato. The freckle-faced teen tried to calm him down, but then he noticed a box hidden underneath the counter that was labeled with the mature audience sticker. Which was weird, since it wasn't there when he closed the store yesterday.

"Hold on a minute, sir! I think we have a few of them down here!"

"You do?!"

He lifted the box and Kakashi's face started to turn back to its normal color and he looked excited. The clerk checked the side of the box and it was, in fact, the last box full of the entire collection. There was another label attached to the box and he checked it before he threw it in the trash. It was a label with a cartoon bottlenose dolphin on the side that winked. But the clerk assumed it was a useless label and Kakashi never even noticed it. In his excitement, Kakashi removed the box from the hands of the clerk and tore off the restraints. He unleashed the box without hesitation or caution, but when he did, the inside exploded with a mixture of rainbow colors that blinded him. Kakashi blinked in irritation, he shook, furious as he cleaned the rainbow ink from his face. His silver hair was like a rainbow as the thick tuffs of hair stuck out for the whole store to see. The jounin looked down into the box and saw it was filled to the brim with the shredded remains of the books he had searched for. Kakashi held the shredded remains of his beloved series in his hands before he fell to his knees and roared to the heavens as he cried:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Back at Iruka Umino's house, the tan chunin looked over his shoulder when he and the rest of his entourage heard the scream. Soon, the man smirked like a mad man and went back to read his boomerang magazine. Sat close to him in the other chair of his entertainment room was his beautiful girlfriend and his little brother. The two of them looked to each other and smirked before all of them broke out into laughter. Iruka dropped his magazine on the floor, while Anko and Naruto almost fell off of their seats and held their sides.

"Hahahahahahaha!" the chunin chuckled out of his control, "This is what happens when Iruka Umino adds the finishing touch!"

Naruto soon sat back down on the footrest and went back to his book. Meanwhile, he let his surrogate older sister do what she came here to do and continued his haircut. Anko worked her own magic as she trimmed and styled his blonde hair, giving him the first trim he needed in months. Iruka collected his magazine from the floor and looked at his brother once in a while when he heard the sounds of wet hair being sliced. He smiled at his girlfriend while she used her angelic voice to hum a soothing tune to Naruto. The kunoichi hummed and revealed her more nurturing side, as she let more and more wet clumps of hair fall onto the towels laid on the floor. Anko's tune helped the preteen relax, since she wasn't using scissors. Instead of scissors, she used an extremely sharp kunai for the styling.

After a while, Anko had to take a break and look at the mass of hair she sliced and still had left to cut, "Look at all this hair! There is so much of it, Naruto! You didn't intend to leave it like this, right?!"

"Of course I did," he announced with enthusiasm, "I wanted to see what I looked like with a warrior's wolf tail or a braid!"

Anko failed to hold back a giggle, "Why the hell would you want one of those?"

Naruto didn't answer, but instead he looked back at the chunin on the couch. Iruka pretended to read his magazine while Anko looked between her boyfriend and Naruto. She then rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head of his blonde-haired head. Iruka laughed, Naruto winced and snickered, and Anko went back to work to finish the trim.

"You are such a dork," she teased as she smiled.

Iruka looked over his magazine and said, "Oh, c'mon! He would look nice with a haircut like that!"

"I hate to bearer of bad news, Naruto," she started while she dowsed more water into his head, "But that wouldn't look nice or fashionable. Stick with a look that's more… You!"

(A/N: My friend from high school, Jake, and I talked about that once in the lunchroom a few years ago XD He said Naruto wouldn't look good with a ponytail)

Within the next ten minutes, Anko was finished and dried Naruto's hair with another towel. She removed the towel tucked around his neck and brushed off whatever hair she missed. The kunoichi offered him a mirror, satisfied with her masterpiece but awaited his opinion. Naruto stared at his reflection and was almost as impressed at how clean he looked. His hair was shorter, still a mess, but it was dressed in a fashion that made it look neater and brought out his face more. Harry studied his new look for a few minutes before he smiled and winked. The smaller wizard didn't have the braid he wanted, but he was fine with this new look. Something about how his hair brushed in one direction and covered his lightning bolt scar reminded him of his other brother. It made him look like he was a true relative of the Potters.

"I love it," he exclaimed, "At first I didn't want to do this, but now it's… fantastic!"

Anko smiled sat down beside the tan chunin, she leaned into him and the two of them watched Naruto, as if he were their child. As soon as Naruto was done with his self-admiration, he thanks Anko and returned to his little book, the coat of his tracksuit still wrapped around his waist while he basked in their warmth of Iruka's house, grateful he wasn't outside as he looked over his shoulder to the window and noticed the leafs on the trees were carried with the cold autumn wind.

About a week later, Naruto was inside an old classroom on the third floor of the Ninja Academy, to work on the repairs instead of on a mission with his team. Naruto was alone in the classroom while the rest of the school was filled with the teachers and other shinobi who were there to fix the rest of the school. He closed and locked both of the doors before he moved towards the windows and saw all of the broken glass scattered across the floor. He then removed his wand from his trousers and aimed it at the windows.

He then annunciated in a clear voice, "Reparo!"

The clear shards scattered across the entire room hovered in the air for a few seconds before shooting towards the sills and formed back into solid panes of clear glass.

When the charm was finished, Naruto decided to take a look around and recognized this classroom. This was the room he was assigned to with his first teacher. He looked towards the front desk and examined the chair before he recognized the dark stains on it and smiled when he remembered the morning where he smothered this chair with what he would put on a sandwich. He looked to where he used to sit and searched the desk to find that its contents were filled with another student's tools. He sighed before he turned to see the same stool he was forced to sit on when that cursed Funeno humiliated him on his first week. Naruto aimed his wand at the chair and incinerated it with one flick. The chair turned to ash and dust and then the remains disappeared with another wave of his wand.

With that done, Naruto heard his older brother's voice on the intercom, "Attention staff and volunteers, attention! We will take a break for one hour for lunch. Be sure to be back here at the end of the hour to continue work."

Naruto decided it would be best if he did some work on the roof while the other volunteers were out to lunch. Since he was here for magical maintenance, it would be wise to do it when no one could catch him. He scaled the old staircase and even walked into the corridor where the library was located; smiling in nostalgia when he saw the cameras he had once disabled to sneak inside. He repaired a few more desks and chairs during his walk to the roof before he arrived and fixed the pipes Iruka said needed to be fixed before someone could report the damage.

With a few waves of his wand and a few simple incantations, he was done and free to leave for lunch. But he still wanted to stop at Iruka's office and check to make sure if he wanted him to come with him. So Naruto ran downstairs to the main office and could have sworn he could hear more than one voice on the other side of the door; the sounds of chuckling, girlish giggling, and the shuffling of a wooden chair. He reached out and knocked the door four times hearing an immediate response.

"Just a second," he heard Iruka shout, a few fast shuffles were heard and then he said, "Come in!"

Naruto entered and looked surprised when several documents flew about in the air and Iruka looked a little bit flustered and nervous behind his new desk. The blonde rookie approached his older brother and noticed that he was blushing and some of his hair was a mess, thick brown strands hovered over his headband.

He asked the older shinobi, "I was about to head out to lunch. Wanna come with, aniki?"

Iruka shook his head at once.

"No thanks, I'm fine," he answered, "Besides, I have a lot of work to do here. You have fun without me."

Naruto would have left but then he identified a red smudge on Iruka's mouth. He walked closer to his older brother, believing it was blood for a moment before he realized what was.

The blonde rookie asked, "Iruka-aniki…. is that… is that lipstick?!"

"Uh," the chunin hesitated, "Yes it is."

The blonde shinobi twitched when he heard a shuffle under the desk and his face almost exploded with shock. Iruka sweat out bullets and his face turned a shade red that blended with the lipstick smeared on his face before he lowered his head until his headband touched the oaken desk.

"Go to lunch, Naruto," he ordered with an embarrassed voice.

The blonde wizard turned around and tried his best to forget what he saw while he heard the sound of Anko crawl out from under the desk, also embarrassed. Naruto closed the door behind him and thought about the bottom of a fire escape he remembered passing on the road over here before he turned on the spot and vanished out of thin air.

When he twisted back into existence and reappeared, Naruto was located several blocks from Ichiraku Ramen in the restaurant district of town. He walked out from the darkness and blended into the crowd despite the colors he wore and the complete lack of bustling people. He walked down several streets and was a few blocks from Ichiraku until he heard the loud, masculine voice of a bearded man beckon to him.

"Yo! Naruto Uzumaki," he turned to see Asuma Sarutobi with his students through the floor window of the Yakiniku Q restaurant, "Come in and join us for lunch! We have an extra seat!"

Naruto wasn't expecting this at all but entered the restaurant nonetheless, finding the table located next to the window where he saw the team. He found them at a booth with a menu plastered into the table, taken aback when he saw a charcoal brazier built in the center with miniature tongs lined around for the customers. Naruto blinked and smiled when he saw his old friends Shikamaru and Choji seated. The slothful rookie looked tired as ever but pleased to see Naruto while his much chubbier friend did the rest of the welcoming for him. When Naruto noticed Ino sit down next to Choji, he was a bit surprised to see her smile at him and then invite him to sit down. While he didn't like Ino that much, a blush still arose in Naruto's cheeks from the fact that an actual girl asked him to sit with her. Naruto sat down on the last available seat and looked to the other shinobi for an explanation for their unexpected invitation.

"Thanks for the luncheon," he then asked, "What's the occasion?"

Asuma smiled with his lit cigarette still in his mouth, "No occasion. We thought it would be nice to invite someone else for lunch. Also it's a little gesture to show how much I appreciate your going back to help Shikamaru during the invasion."

"Plus," added Ino, "We needed another seat to fill in the fifth slot for our discount coupon here."

The senior shinobi sweatdropped and scratched the back of his head before he frowned at his kunoichi student, "Yeah, but I wasn't going to tell him that, Ino."

"You told us to be more honest, sensei! Don't fume at me!" she smiled as she shrugged.

The older wizard hidden in the mindscape snickered while Naruto shook his head and waved his hands to reassure the entourage, "It's fine! It's fine! I'll consider it a birthday present to sit here and eat with a few friends."

"Wait a second," Shikamaru shook his head and leaned closer to Naruto in slothful manner, "Your birthday's today?!"

"No," he answered, "It's next week. I'll be thirteen years old on October tenth."

Choji took a second to stop tapping the table with his fingers in anticipation for lunch and smiled as he raised his water glass, "Happy Birthday, Naruto!"

Naruto smiled at the gesture, but was a little bit overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and uncommon attention.

"I have a question," asked the lazier rookie, all of a sudden, "Why didn't you ever tell us it was your birthday when we were in school? Choji and I would have done something for you to celebrate. Choji's mom would have baked an entire selection of cakes if she knew about it. Even my mom nagged me about when you celebrate it after she found out I was actually friends with you. She wanted to make a fruits basket or something."

Naruto didn't know how to answer Shikamaru's question. He didn't even know until now that he and his much chubbier friend even cared about him that much. Not to mention, this was the first time Shikamaru called Naruto one of his friends out loud. The blonde-haired rookie tried to hold back a blush as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled softly.

He then answered his friend, "I dunno… Guess it never occurred to me."

The bearded shinobi seated beside Shikamaru leaned in close to him and then muttered into his ear while he looked at the blonde wizard with a curious face, "You were right. He does have a weird accent."

"You know I'm sitting right here… right?" the blonde rookie reminded him.

After a few minutes, the waiter arrived and tossed an enormous amount of uncooked barbecue meat on the table and adjusted the flames beneath the table. Naruto and the others could feel the heat radiate and warm the area around the table as Choji sweat and drooled in anticipation. Each of the patrons on the table plopped the meat slices down on the grill and smiled when the irresistible smell of the cooking meat flooded their nostrils. Naruto could not recall when he ever ate barbequed meat before and was excited to have some. Once most of the meat was cooked well enough for eating, Choji had lost control of his appetite and stole most of meat stuffing it into his mouth.

Ino screamed at her teammate, "CHOJI!"

"That was for all of us," his slothful friend added, "Slow it down!"

Choji's full, rounded face formed a wide smile while Ino fumed, Shikamaru frowned, Naruto snorted in laughter, and Asuma sighed. Once some more meat was landed on the grill, the chaos settled and the team with their guest decided to kill time and talk for a bit. Shikamaru started first with a question he had been meaning to ask his old classmate for a while.

"Naruto," he started, "Where the hell is that coupon that you promised me back when we went after Uchiha?"

The blonde-haired rookie reached into a fold in his headband and withdrew a somewhat crumbled coupon, "The one for the new mattress? Here it is, mate."

"Excellent," he smiled back, "I've been looking forward to this."

But then a large, tan masculine hand reached out and snatched the discount out of his student's hand, "I'll take that!"

"HEY! THAT'S MINE!" Shikamaru shouted at his teacher, and tried to reach for it back while Asuma teased him and hovered the white slip above his head, out of his reach. Asuma chuckled while Shikamaru moved faster than he ever seemed to move, even in the middle of a battle. It was like taunting a cat with a flashlight.

Naruto snickered at his slothful friend before he looked back at his lunch. The meat was cooked and he stuffed a slab into his mouth. Naruto smiled as he savored the remarkable taste and his mouth filled with saliva. How he never came here to eat lunch before now was a total mystery to him. Naruto hadn't eaten such a delicious lunch since he tried his first bowl of ramen. Naruto then used the various spices and sauces that his chubbier teammate seemed to drown his share while he and the blonde kunoichi were amused at the expense of Shikamaru as he continued to reach for that discount ticket.

After the first plate was finished, Shikamaru recovered his discount ticket and tucked it in his vest. Choji decided to take a break to breathe and Ino ordered a diet drink. Naruto asked for some more water while Asuma finished the last of his cigarette and shook the ashes into the charcoals of the fire.

Asuma threw out his cigarette bud and observed Naruto with a curious look on his bearded face. He knew the child while he was raised in the Sarutobi estate, but Asuma never spoke to him, not even once. He maintained his distance from him because he used to hate children, and he was a little uncomfortable around him with the demon fox he knew was sealed inside of him. When the teams were chosen several months ago, he used to think that he was a complete wimp, too skinny, nothing special; no more than a comic book nerd wearing a headband. But then he ate his original opinion about him after the Chunin Exams and the invasion. Looking at him now, he almost wished that he had Naruto as one of his students instead of becoming Kakashi's student.

At the thought of Kakashi, the bearded shinobi remembered the chaotic episode he had with his missing Make-Out Paradise books. He didn't know who was behind the prank, but he had a feeling that he had just invited the culprit to lunch. If Naruto were behind it, he wanted to offer the rookie his compliments. Asuma was never a fan of Naruto's antics back then, but that particular prank was undoubtedly hilarious.

"Naruto, I have a question," he beckoned.

The blonde drank some water and answered, "Yes?"

"Your sensei, Kakashi," he started after a bite of delicious meat, "How has he held up without his precious Paradise novels?"

"I wouldn't know," the child frowned at the mention of his instructor and answered, "I haven't seen him in a while. But I'm sure he's fine. "

Asuma looked more curious, "You haven't seen him? Since when?"

"Last week," he said back, "Our team hasn't been on a mission ever since we visited the farms with the new water tower. It's weird that we took a break this long after one mission."

The bearded shinobi asked and then he said, "You haven't done more missions since then? One week is a long time for a break. Hell, that's a vacation after how much we suffered from that invasion!"

"Kakashi-sensei said that he had a lot of paperwork to finish," he said with a subtle hint of disdain and sarcasm in his voice, "He also said that he didn't have time to train me. He probably has mountains of paperwork to do."

Asuma almost laughed, "Paperwork?! Since when has he ever done that?!"

"Then he must have been out training the teme," he said with a flat, serious voice, "Kakashi-sensei seems to think that Sasuke is more important than the rest of the team."

The bearded shinobi looked back at him but failed to attract the attention of the others except for Shikamaru, as Ino and Choji bickered over the last piece of meat, "What?"

"Then that means he never told anyone else," he reminisced and then answered, curious to see the bearded shinobi's answer, "Kakashi-sensei likes to pick favorites now and he's shut Sakura-chan and me out in the dark with our training… and then he lied to me to blow me off to train Sasuke instead of all three of us."

Asuma looked a little bit serious now and said, "Your sensei shouldn't do that."

"It didn't stop him from doing it anyway," the blonde rookie said, unsure if Asuma could or would take action, but he secretly wished the bearded jounin to confront Kakashi and bash some sense into him, "I caught him when he lied to me and he weaseled out with the paperwork excuse. So I followed him and found him training with Sasuke. The two of them were about to work on their Chidori."

Shikamaru commented, "He should never do that… That Sasuke shouldn't have more special treatment and feel like he's more important than the rest of the team. That would unbalance the team even more than it was to begin with and destabilization would become inevitable. You should approach Kakashi and convince him to break this bad habit he has and force him to be fair. Since it's your birthday next week, you could use it as an excuse… It's troublesome but people usually get whatever they want on their birthday."

"Yeah, but I don't want to act like a spoiled brat and start making demands," said the blonde wizard, and then he smiled, "But thanks for the advice, Shika-chan!"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto with a flat look on his face and said, "Don't ever call me that."

Almost a week later on October ninth, Naruto was at home, counting his mission money on his desk. Ever since he had started doing missions after graduation, he had saved whatever credits he earned to accumulate a small fortune of his own. He counted all of the credits he saved and smiled when he realized he would be set for at least a year. He would even be able to afford the limited editions of his favorite comic books if he wanted them. Naruto soon folded all of his credits and collected his coins, tucking them into a secret container in his beaded rucksack. He didn't have a wallet or a bank account, so he would have to hold onto the cash so it wouldn't be stolen. He soon hulled the rucksack over his shoulder and smiled while he contacted his older brother.

'Let's see,' he pondered,'How about we go shopping, Nii-san?!'

'That could be fun. Where should we stop first?'

'I think we should visit Tenten's store. I think she and her folks might have some good cloaks for our invisibility cloak experiment.'

'Excellent choice.'

Naruto arrived at the weapons shop much later and searched the section filled with cloaks and coats in search for the perfect material he could use for his experiment. He checked the slides and hangers filled with traveling cloaks that high-level shinobi wore in harsh weather conditions, such as mountains, blizzards, and wetlands. The blonde shinobi figured he should get one of these but had to feel all the varieties of cloth to have his companion compare and choose which one was the most compatible. He rubbed his fingers into the separate cloaks and tried to focus some raw magic into them to observe the effects.

While he concentrated, Naruto failed to notice that he was being watched from the upper levels. There was a shadowed kunoichi that used her chakra for stealth and appeared beside to Naruto without a sound. She then tapped his shoulder and smiled when his hair seemed to rise when he was surprised.

Tenten welcomed him, "Hi, Naruto!"

"CHRIST," he screamed, backed off and breathed, "Tenten-chan… Hi!"

She smiled and then said, "I noticed that we're not wearing the survival outfit from the exams, huh?"

"Yeah," he apologized, as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I lost it in the invasion. Do you have more of them in stock?"

Tenten then said, "I'm afraid we're out for a while. We won't be in stock for another few months."

"That's a shame," he answered, "It was a nice outfit while it lasted."

She then said as she tried to entice Naruto into another purchase, "I think that means it's about time for a new outfit?"

"Yeah, I think so," he answered and then winded, "I need a shinobi cloak for the winter. A cloak that can cover me and at least one or two more people, can absorb and be modified with chakra for blending into environments, and won't deteriorate under strenuous circumstances. Is that too much to ask?"

Tenten adopted an amused look and thought out loud, "Well, that's one tall order… let me think for a sec…"

Naruto smiled and waited while the kunoichi pondered over the request. Once she was finished brainstorming, she snapped her fingers and looked up to the next level of the store. There were a lot more clothes and cloaks on the upper level and there were one or two cloaks that she could remember that matched Naruto's requirements. Tenten then vanished out of sight with an excited expression on her face. When she returned a few seconds later, she was holding a large cloak like the others Naruto was browsing through, but this one was about the same size as the original cloak that his brother had described in his stories about Hogwarts.

She announced as she handed it over, "Here it is!"

"That was fast," he commented back, "And this looks nice!"

Naruto took the cloak to the closest mirror and pressed the fabric against his front. He then unbuttoned the front and wrapped the collar around his neck to test it. He checked how much the hems of the cloak would cover and was pleased to see his feet disappear beneath the cloth even while he walked around, but did not trip him as he strolled. There were no holes or sleeves for his arms, but that didn't matter seeing as Naruto was expecting to use this like a blanket once he had it enchanted. He walked around and even hopped up to the upper level to test the cloak's endurance. Naruto smiled once he returned to the floor and smiled at Tenten with one of his excited faces.

"How much is it?!" he asked eagerly.

Tenten answered him, "This one's on the house."

"What?!" he stammered, "How come?!"

The kunoichi told him with a proud smile, "It's compensation for the unintentional sponsorship. Ever since you wore the full survival outfit during the finals, over thirteen communities around the world have been calling us to send them similar clothes, all of them in various colors and textures! That's the reason mom and dad are not here now, the two of them still need to settle with the last customers that ordered them, all in advance. We are swimming in cash and it's all thanks to you, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Um," he hesitated and then said in a somewhat awkward tone, "You're welcome, I guess!"

Tenten then removed the cloak from Naruto and stored inside a golden packaging box with vibrant paper to cushion the cloak and keep it preserved. She then taped the box shut with the help of a silver cloth used for wrapping gifts and presented the box to Naruto with a warm smile. He took the box without question and looked up at her with a subtle blush in his cheeks.

She then told him, "Take this cloak as a token of our gratitude!"

"Thanks, Tenten-chan," he said with wide smile of his own, "This is the kind of cloak I needed!"

Naruto then thanked her one last time and decided to leave. The two of them exchanged a few more words with each other and then soon departed once the sun started to set. The blonde shinobi looked back and waved at Tenten while she stood outside the store and waved back at him and smiled. When Naruto returned to Iruka's house later that afternoon, he removed the cloak from the box and smiled as he stretched the fabric. He raised the cloak with him as he stood and then noticed as a small card fall out between the folds of the hood in the back. He collected the small white card and saw a picture of two chibi anime characters designed after Tenten and her teammate Neji Hyuga. It showed the chibi-Tenten smile with a chibi-Neji that looked a lot more serious; the two of them held a colorful banner that made Naruto smile, blush, and wished he didn't leave the store so soon. He would have thanked Tenten in person had he noticed earlier or even hugged her.

Happy Birthday, Naruto Uzumaki!

October tenth had arrived, but Naruto Uzumaki didn't feel all that excited when he awoke and sat down on his bed. He did smile as he looked outside and saw the weather looked fantastic. But then the remembrance hit him like it did ever since he learned about the truth about the demon fox sealed within him. This was the same day his father was killed, the same day Iruka lost his parents, and countless others died in the destruction of Konoha. It felt awkward for him as he listened to the sounds of the annual festival rumble outside, but to a much lesser extent. Due to the events of the invasion, the festival that celebrated the defeat of the fox demon was downsized. The citizens of Konoha would still wear their kimonos and set off fireworks, but there wouldn't be as much food or a lot of vendors or rides.

But as awkward as it was for him, Naruto had every right in the world to be happy today; it was still his birthday. As he stretched out and folded the blankets back on his bed, the blonde teenager started to hear orchestral music echo from inside his mind as Harry did every year to make his little brother rise and shine. He smiled as he felt the sensation of his older brother's hand ruffling his blonde hair.

'Happy birthday, my old friend!'

Naruto laughed as he reached for his wand on the bedside table and flicked at the calendar on the wall. A red x-mark was scratched over the tenth before the blonde teen crawled out of bed. Naruto rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he walked down the hall for breakfast, but was surprised to see Iruka wasn't there. He turned around to check his bedroom, but the chunin wasn't there either. He went to the bathroom and he wasn't in there either. Naruto was certain he didn't have to be at the school today and doubled back to the kitchen. Once there, he noticed a note left behind on the dinner table.

He took the note and read it out loud, "Naruto… Went out with Anko for a few errands and shinobi business. Meet me for dinner at Ichiraku tonight. Love, Iruka."

The blonde teen didn't think much of it and decided it was about time for him to get dressed. Without Anko around to restrict his use of magic, Naruto took his wand and cleaned the apartment, prepared his breakfast, and washed his clothes. He headed off to take a shower while his clothes washed themselves, the kitchen switched itself on and cooked breakfast, while his clothes folded themselves. When Naruto was showered, dried, and dressed, he returned to see his breakfast; eggs, marmalade on buttered toast, ham, ketchup, and orange juice. Naruto felt like he was in heaven as he ate some of his favorites foods and listened to the old radio.

"Mmmm," he smiled and said out loud, "I love this one, Nii-san!"

The older wizard sorted some documents and designs in his office in the mindscape while he smiled back at his little brother and listened to the same tune on the radio. Naruto tapped his foot against the wooden floor as he ate and turned toward the window he left open and waited for someone to be perched on the sill, but no one arrived with a basket of vegetables. Naruto turned back to his breakfast and flicked his wand at the window to close it shut. Once he was done eating, he flicked his wand at the dishes and commanded the sink and dishes to take care of his chores for him while he retreated to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once the blonde teen was finished, he collected his rucksack, flicked his wand at the radio and then the dishes as all his magic was cancelled over the apartment, so that no one could stumble upon it.

While Naruto walked down the street to the reservoir to meet with his team, he shared a curious thought about shadow clones.

'Nii-san, do you think it's possible for you to posses one of my shadow clones?'

'Huh?!'

'I thought about it ever since I baked those Cauldron Cakes, back when I mentioned we'd find a vessel for you. Do you think it's possible for you to possess one of my shadow clones, like when you took control of me in the Forest of Death? If you could do that, not only could you get a chance to eat some real food in the real world, but you could actually help me out in the real world too.'

'It could be possible. I maintained contact with one of your individual shadow clones once before in the Forest of Death. It might be possible. If I could, I would be a lot more useful in the real world and we could actually fight side-by-side!'

'We should test it out sometime!'

'Yeah, but let's test it out after things have settled down a bit.'

'Right.'

The blonde-haired teen smiled as he strolled down the street. When he arrived at the red arches, he waved to Sakura and she smiled back at him. Sasuke was there as well, still stoic as he leaned back on the rail with his arms crossed. Sakura swooned over him as usual and the Uchiha couldn't care less. But as soon as she turned around and said hello to their blonde teammate, Sasuke seemed to frown more and looked back at the kunoichi. Sakura didn't seem to care about him at all as all of her attention was on Naruto. The Uchiha's face twitched in irritation as he stared at the blonde-haired teen. He didn't process the conversation the two of them had, but instead thought back to the invasion when Naruto revealed his unbelievable strength and skill, the likes of which he had never seen before. That battle had been on his mind for months and each time he thought back to it, his insides felt so twisted. It made him wanted to bash his fist into a tree or run off into the woods, but he remained silent and stared at his blonde teammate.

After a half an hour, Kakashi arrived. But almost as soon as he descended from the arch, he stood before his students with an announcement.

"I hate to be the barer of bad news, but there's no mission for us this time," he said, "The Hokage's office is flooded with other teams and we'll be stuck in line waiting for a mission until sunset even if we leave right now. It looks like we're going to have to cancel on our mission this time, guys."

Sakura seemed surprised but not all that bothered. Sasuke looked disinterested and seemed to have other matters on his mind. Naruto, on the other hand, frowned at his sensei, as he was sure the masked man had lied through his teeth. But even so, Shikamaru's words of advice echoed in his mind and Naruto was tempted to take up on it. The blonde teen still didn't want to act like a spoiled kid on his own birthday and tried taking a different approach in getting what he wanted, hopefully breaking the bad habit his sensei had developed in the process. Sakura ran her mouth off at their teacher as she ranted about wasting her time while Kakashi laughed uncomfortably and tried to cool her temper. After Sakura crossed her arms and pouted as she turned her head in the other direction, Naruto made his move.

"Isn't there something else you want to say, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked.

Kakashi looked at his blonde student with a blank look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Something you want to say about what day it is today?" the blonde teen egged him on, somewhat irritated that Kakashi didn't pick up on it, "A special day that only comes once a year..."

"Oh," the masked teacher blinked in surprise, Naruto started to feel better as a smile rose on his face, but then he frowned as Kakashi looked more somber and said, "Today is the day of the annual October festival. I almost completely forgot about it. Thank you for reminding me, Naruto, I have to go pick up something to put on a grave. This was the day my sensei lost his life. I really should pay him a visit."

Naruto couldn't feel worse right now. He wanted to shout at his sensei and tell him it was his birthday today. But he stopped himself immediately when he realized how selfish and bratty he would look and sound if Naruto made it sound like his birthday was more important than the death of someone that must have meant a lot to Kakashi. The blonde rookie remained silent now that he realized he lost his window of opportunity. He should have told his teacher and teammates that it was his birthday right from the start, he thought. But it was too late now as Kakashi bid his students farewell.

Sakura marched back home as she ranted about what a waste of time it was to come down to the reservoir. Sasuke walked off and Kakashi vanished while Naruto remained alone next to the arch.

The blonde teen frowned and felt miserable. But he decided to go to the woods and train to vent out his frustrations instead. Naruto trained vigorously that afternoon and viciously too, so much so that he was drenched in sweat, dirt, and a little blood at the end of the session. He took dozens of kunai and threw them all at faces of trees carved with the likeness of his masked teacher. It made him feel a little bit better when he slashed and stabbed the bark until the faces were unrecognizable or blasted them out with his spells.

But no matter how hard he trained or what spells he used with the trees as his cover, Naruto still felt rotten that no one he knew in the real world remembered his birthday. This wasn't something Naruto wasn't familiar with; few people ever remembered other than Sarutobi and he braved his recent birthdays well enough with no tears or crushed feelings when no one in the world cared. But this year was particularly painful for him to endure. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he actually had friends now, family even with Iruka adopting him unofficially. Naruto had gotten used to having a few friends and even received acknowledgement from a kunoichi he knew very little about. Those experiences had built up his expectations this year and he expected more from his closest friends and allies. Naruto felt now, he should have reminded Kakashi and his teammates that it was his birthday today. Then he started to think that maybe it was acceptable for him to be more selfish for at least one day of the year. But then the memories of watching other children screaming, crying, and loudly complaining on their own birthdays quickly stomped the thought out of Naruto's head.

Naruto slumped down at the base of the closest tree in the forest and slowly cleaned the sweat and grime off his body and clothes with his wand. He sulked, frustrated that he had to be born on such a disastrous night, that his closest friends couldn't remember the day he was born, that his mother wasn't alive to bake him a cake, that the Kyuubi had to attack Konoha thirteen years ago and ruin his childhood. Naruto knew his thoughts were selfish, but he couldn't help it. In a fit of frustration, he slammed his closed fist into the tree and slowly stood up. The tree cracked as a result of his strength combined with the influence of his magic.

Harry watched from the mindscape sadly, lamenting the past seven birthdays he was around to witness. Naruto didn't show it much, but he knew he was silently suffering and hoped his magical influence helped him forget. He focused the sensation of his hand on Naruto's shoulder and helped him calm down. It worked as Naruto decided to leave the forest, as the sun was setting now and his stomach growled loudly. Maybe having dinner at Ichiraku with Iruka would make him feel better.

Naruto did start to feel a bit better as he approached his favorite place in the world to eat. Right on time too, as he arrived when Iruka asked him in the note that morning. Naruto cracked a smile when he saw the back of Ichiraku Ramen from around the corner, feeling his stomach growling once again at the thought of a fresh bowl of delicious noodles and broth. But then his spirits took a nosedive when he walked around the corner to discover that Ichiraku was closed.

The steel shutters were down, sealed shut several hours earlier than usual. Ichiraku didn't close until midnight and it wasn't even eight o'clock. Naruto looked crestfallen and confused, before his face became twisted with rage and he kicked the shutters.

"I don't believe this! NOT EVEN ICHIRAKU?!" he shouted as a few civilians around he turned to look at him and soon walked off in a rush, "That does it! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS DAMN DAY! Screw this!"

The blonde teen stormed off in a huff, walked down the closest dark alleyway and Disapparated.

Naruto approached the front door of Iruka's home and frowned sadly as he tapped the lock with his wand to unlock the door. He didn't turn the handle for a while as he felt this was indeed the worst birthday ever. He didn't even know what else was left to do to turn everything around other than go to bed and try and forget this day even happened.

He sighed, "Some birthday, alright…"

He opened the door and discovered the apartment was pitch-black inside. None of the lamps were on and the entire living room was shrouded in darkness. Naruto sensed a presence in the darkness that alerted him at once. His scar didn't burn, but he didn't take a chance as he slowly walked inside and closed the door behind him.

"Aniki?" he asked out loud.

When no one answered, Naruto was about to draw his wand from his sleeve. He went on full alert when he sensed four people in the room with him. But before he had a chance to react, he was blinded with an intense flash. Naruto was almost scared to death when the people in the apartment roared, waved their arms in unison as an explosion of confetti filled the entire room.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!"

The blonde teen shouted, took one step back, and then he tripped. Naruto hit his head hard against the door behind him as Iruka, Anko, Teuchi, and Ayame all stopped dead in their frozen poses, their faces full of delight and enthusiasm slowly shifting to an awkward stare as the four of them realized Naruto was unconscious.

When Naruto came to, he saw Iruka and Anko hover over him as the two of them checked the back of his head with an icepack in hand. It took Naruto a while to come around and see the relieved faces of his brother and surrogate older sister. He blinked a few times and was astounded to see he was surrounded with warm, familiar faces. There was Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, both of them dressed in normal civilian clothes for once. The two of them were almost unrecognizable without their signature chef outfits and hats. The two of them looked like normal, warmhearted Muggles, as Ayame no longer held her beautiful brown hair back with a bandana and let it flow with freedom. Without his chef outfit, Teuchi looked a lot more like the older, beloved uncle seen in most families with the khakis and the tucked-in collared shirt that failed to conceal the size of his large belly. The two Muggles seemed concerned about Naruto while Anko and Iruka tended to the teen to check if he had a concussion. Once the blonde rookie was fine, the couple stood up, as the master ramen chefs were quick to stand back with them and shouted with their arms in the air.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!"

The teen focused his vision and took in the outstanding scene around him. There were auburn and scarlet-colored Japanese lanterns hanging up from the ceiling that radiated a warm and inviting light throughout the house. Standing on a majority of the tables and counters were white candles and dozens of crystal bowls filled to their capacity with white-pedaled flowers that matched the candles perfectly. Even the kitchen had been decorated with scattered light-colored flower petals. But one detail that took Naruto's breath away was a collection of various sized boxes, wrapped in silver paper and over half a dozen cards on the kitchen table.

"Oh…" was all he could utter, as the blonde teen was beyond speechless.

They were presents, actual birthday presents. Naruto didn't know what to say or how to react, as he never received such a gesture on his birthday of all days. He felt so grateful and so wonderfully embarrassed as tears began to well up before he wiped them clean before someone could see. But all the people in attendance saw the sheer happiness on his face from the moment his shoulders trembled and smiled at him sadly.

"Happy birthday, Naruto-kun!" cheered Ayame, "Iruka set up the whole thing in case you had a bad day on your mission!"

Teuchi explained their surprise appearance in a jovial voice, "Iruka told us he was going to throw you a surprise birthday, so we decided to help out and give you the best damn birthday a little hero like you deserves!"

Anko giggled and Iruka smiled before he nodded to the ramen chef in thanks for his assistance. The chunin then presented his little brother with a hot meal he had never seen before. Teuchi had cooked his best deluxe ramen, filled with all the most delicious meats, tender noodles, vegetables, fish cakes, and the richest of broths. Naruto walked over with a wide, genuine smile on his face as he blushed and drooled at the sight of the meal. He then embraced the warmth, kindness, and love that filled the room with his oldest and kindest friends in celebration of his birth.

The celebrations went off with a literal bang as Teuchi, Iruka, and Anko blasted crackers that filled the room with confetti and surprise gifts hidden inside them. Ayame cheered with delight, as did Naruto when he caught a red hat made of thin paper and slipped it on his head. The others found little tokens and gifts of their own and relished in the foolish festivities as Anko switched on the radio.

Iruka found a kazoo whistle and blasted it while Ayame collected a large bottle filled with sake and shared it with her father and the other adults. Naruto delighted himself with a simple cola and toasted with the adults. Iruka took a few pictures with a disposable camera before he organized the silver-wrapped boxes according to size and weight. Anko, Ayame, and Naruto chatted for a short while and teased Iruka that earned Naruto a balled fist to the head that only made the blonde teen laugh. Teuchi returned from the kitchen with the ramen and Naruto was the first to delight in what was some of the best ramen noodles he had ever eaten from Ichiraku. He blushed and cheered while Iruka followed suit and wished he could have ramen like that on his birthday. The snacks that followed their meal included countless dango as requested from Anko as well as macaroons served with apple juice. The kunoichi and the female ramen chef delighted with their sweets while the men took a break to chat.

After the main course digested in their slightly swollen bellies, the radio continued to blast with wondrous, festive music as Iruka turned toward the kitchen. The chunin left but soon returned to the main table and surprised Naruto with a cake. The delightful dessert was smothered with smooth vanilla and marshmallow icing, topped with fresh strawberries around the edges, drizzled with melted milk chocolate, and a solid, two-inch thick bar of milk chocolate and white chocolate. The cake was like a diabetic's most delicious nightmare as it was served with a side of ice cream, dango, and a choice between sweet English tea and hot chocolate. Naruto could have cried as Teuchi, Ayame, and Anko gathered around the table with more crackers in their hands. Iruka lit the candles before the tan-skinned chunin broke out in song, the others sang with him as the lights dimmed down and the candles illuminated the tearful smile on Naruto's face.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Naruto! Happy Birthday to you!"

The blonde-haired teen couldn't believe his ears as his heart overflowed with emotion. He couldn't contain it as his face turned red and fresh tears flowed down his face. The others were shocked to see the tears, but soon understood that he wasn't upset at all and let him take his time as he smiled. It was time for him to make his wish and blow out the candles, but he couldn't think of what in the world he could ever want. He didn't feel the need to make a wish at all, not with all these wonderful people around him.

Naruto cleaned the tears from his face and blew out the thirteen candles with no wish in mind. Iruka and the others cheered and tossed Naruto a cracker. The guests gathered while Iruka set a timed camera to capture the moment. When the camera flashed, all of the guests and Naruto had blasted their crackers, their faces filled with elation, no tears, as their moment was captured and frozen in an instant of time.

Back in the mindscape, Harry smiled while he watched his little brother immersed in the merriment. It meant the world to the older wizard to see Naruto so delighted and blissful after all this time. The wizard tossed a blue hat on his head and drank some tea as he sat back and watched his little brother stuff an entire slice of cake in his mouth. He laughed when Iruka told him to slow down and show some manners. The blonde rookie blushed and rubbed the back of his head as he apologized with his mouth still full of cake.

Teuchi and Ayame switched the station on the radio as Naruto was given his presents. In Konoha, gift exchanges for birthdays were unusual and fluctuated with no clear tradition. Some people in stricter, wealthier families or clans exchanged presents but didn't open them in the presence of the person that gifted to them. In those families, or the wealthier clans, people often thanked their loved ones for their kindness and opened their gifts when alone later. But common families and middle-class citizens took on more Western traditions and opened their presents while surrounded with their friends and families.

On Naruto's thirteen birthday, he received a multitude of gifts from his loved ones, but also received presents from people he didn't expect would ever give him gifts. Most of them were from Anko's friends, the proctors of the recent Chunin Exams, and the friends and relatives of the late Hayate Gekko: Naruto received a blank journal from Genma, a green frog-shaped wallet from another Tokubetsu named Aoba Yamashiro. The blonde rookie was surprised to receive dozens of fresh, new kunai and shuriken from Ibiki Morino, the scarred proctor of the written examination of the Chunin Exams. Naruto also received storage scrolls, new clothes, fresh new equipment that he needed replaced. Teuchi showed Naruto his present from him and Ayame, which was one of the main highlights of the evening, without a doubt. The ramen chef gave his best customer a miniature stew-crafting kit complete with a portable stewpot. Teuchi mentioned it was powered with batteries and could use it to heat fresh meals while on a mission without the need of a fire. This was invaluable for Naruto, as a shinobi, because a fire could alert dangerous foes of his location if his rations required to be cooked.

"You never know when you're on a mission and you need a good meal once in a while. It's a multi-purpose portable stew-maker," the ramen chef boasted, "It should fit inside that beaded backpack of yours. At least I hope it can fit..."

Naruto smirked when he thought about his enchanted beaded rucksack and said, "I have a good feeling that it will, Teuchi."

Ayame had a special custom-made ramen bowl for her favorite customer with his name engraved around the outside rim. Naruto loved it and Ayame kissed his cheek to make him blush. Iruka captured the innocent kiss on camera and laughed while Anko howled with laughter as Naruto's face turned as red as a tomato from embarrassment. Later on, Iruka surprised his little brother with the first of his set of gifts to one of his most precious students. He handed Naruto a tall silver box as the blonde rookie stared at it with interest.

"This is from Anko and me. Happy birthday, otōto," the chunin smiled.

Iruka's smile stretched as Anko stuffed cotton balls into her ears. Teuchi and Ayame stared at the couple in confusion until Naruto opened the box to discover a collection of brand new comic books. Harry moaned with misery as Naruto stared at the fresh issues and then his voice broke out across three blocks from the apartment.

"OH MY GOD," he screamed, "THIS IS THE ULTIMATE PLATINUM COLLECTION! THE BEST OF THE BEST COLLECTIONS! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

All of Naruto's favorite comics were collected in a series of thick comics that featured Naruto's favorite fictional heroes and their best stories to date. Teuchi had to cover his ears while Ayame was certain she went deaf for a little while. Iruka laughed at his little brother's reaction to his gift and nodded as he crossed his arms, as if he had won the contest for best gift and boasted. Anko shook her head at Naruto's dorky behavior but still smiled, as she was happy to see him look so delightful. Naruto ran over to Iruka and tackled him into a hug while the chunin laughed, smiled down at him, and ruffled his blonde hair.

"YOU'RE THE BEST BIG BROTHER EVER!"

The last present Naruto received from his adoptive older brother would be a framed picture of the moment after Naruto blew out the candles on his birthday cake. It was arguably the best present he received. The blonde wizard was surrounded with his friends, family, and confetti with warm smiles on their faces and a delicious cake about to be eaten. Naruto would later make another copy of the picture and had it inserted in his leather photo album.

At the end of the night, Teuchi and Ayame decided to call it a night and walked home after Teuchi had a little too much sake and his cheeks were pink from the alcohol. Naruto had fallen asleep on the couch reading his new comic books and surrounded with his presents. Iruka bid the ramen chef and his daughter farewell and thanked them to no end for their assistance and company. Teuchi and Ayame were more than happy to be there and looked forward to next year's party already. After their departure, the chunin cleaned up the kitchen and tables while his girlfriend snuck up behind him as he washed a few dishes. Anko rested her chin on his shoulder, pressing up against Iruka's back to make him blush as a small dribble of blood ran from his nose.

The two of them flirted a little bit and looked back at the slumbering blonde teenager on the couch. Naruto still had chocolate crumbs on his cheeks and it made the chunin and kunoichi take a breather and decided to tuck him into bed. Anko snorted when she saw Naruto had drawn a colorful unicorn on the front cover of his new journal. Iruka then lifted and carried the blonde rookie over his shoulder as he remembered how his dad carried him to bed when he was little.

"Let's move, little soldier," the chunin said to quote his father, "C'mon, it's bedtime!"

Naruto moaned but continued to smile as he leaned into the chunin's neck, "Aniki… that shoulder's too stiff… use the other one…"

The tan-skinned chunin chuckled as he took Naruto to bed and Anko smiled warmly as she watched her boyfriend. A little part of the kunoichi wished she could have tucked him in with Iruka but remained where she stood as she cleaned the tables and collected Naruto's presents.

Around this time, the festival of Konoha released fireworks that earned the attention of the Sandaime. The old man was still in his office, alone as he sorted through endless documents. He looked as sick as ever and didn't look like he had much strength left in him. Sarutobi missed out on the festival and even missed his chance to visit Naruto. The old man had waited for his team to come and take on a mission; he would have had his assistant deliver him the treacle tart he had saved for him.

But the old man was certain he wouldn't be alone. Naruto didn't live in that old miserable apartment anymore. He lived with his former teacher and Sarutobi knew Iruka would celebrate with him. Despite his failure to see his surrogate grandchild, the old man stood from his seat to take a break and walked over to the window behind him.

Sarutobi looked out and smiled as the fireworks went off and ignored the pain that erupted in his chest when he forced himself to stand tall.

"Happy birthday, Naruto-kun," he muttered as he heard the subtle sounds of celebration outside.

But as the old man stood there at his wide window, Sarutobi felt that pain within strike. It felt like he had been stabbed with a cold blade as he looked down and clenched at his chest. His breath was cut short and his vision blurred. His muscles constricted and almost seemed to shrink as he stumbled in his step. He knocked over a large tower of paperwork, causing a domino effect that knocked down almost all of the papers stacked in the office. The old man started clutching at his robes and tore through the cloth, as the flesh on his fingers almost seemed to blacken in the darkness. The Hokage tore through his robes with his immensely strong hold and exposed his wrinkled chest. He turned bloodless as the bite marks of Orochimaru's snack turned darker. The veins around the wound darkened beneath his skin and spread out across his chest. It was like black ink spread through his veins like poison as the Sandaime doubled over with unbelievable pain.

"ERK! AHH!" he mumbled and shouted as he fell on several sheets scattered across the floor, "ARGH!"

The Hokage tried to reach towards his desk and cried out the name of his assistant. His fall to the floor was heard as the female assistant burst into the office. The woman arrived in time to see the old man squirm on the floor and scream, sweat drenching his face and robes with his chest exposed. The old man let out one loud moan before he collapsed and lost consciousness.

She tried to revive him after she screamed for the medical team. The people outside the office scrambled about and called for the medical team.

The woman felt the old man's pulse but tried to wake him as she screamed, "Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama! HOKAGE-SAMA!"

Sarutobi remained unresponsive, the only sign that he was still alive being his harsh, uneven breaths.

To Be Continued…

CLIFFHANGER! I know, I'm a cruel, sadistic bastard for doing that :P but I'll work hard on the next chapter as soon as I can, I promise. But I hope you guys enjoyed Naruto's surprise birthday party. As I mentioned above, the Tokubetsu, Yugao, Izumo, and Kotetsu were supposed to have a greater involvement in this chapter, but as guests at the party, which was originally supposed to be hosted at Ichiraku Ramen with Izumo and Kotetsu already being drunk and setting off crackers as if it were Christmas, getting a little beatdown from Ibiki and Anko.

But I decided to change it at the last minute and did re-write. I thought Ichiraku was too small a location to host a big party with so many people. And I really wanted to downsize the guest list and have Naruto's first real birthday celebration feel more like a family experience with people he has known for years. After watching Road to Ninja in English dub, I realized you don't really need a lot of people to make a birthday celebration special. Naruto and Menma only had their parents around to celebrate and they both had a blast. In fact, Road to Ninja was the primary inspiration for most of the birthday party when I really think about it. But I figured a handful of people you've known well for years are a better amount of people to work with to make this event special for poor Naruto. It feels more comfortable than celebrating with a whole bunch of adults you've met fairly recently.

I also really liked including Teuchi and Ayame in this chapter more than I have before in the previous installments. I'm glad I gave them a more active family role in Naruto's life, at least for this chapter. And it was kinda funny having Teuchi dress in normal clothes XD I don't know why, but Teuchi does remind me of every kindhearted uncle I've ever seen or known.

You know what? I really actually enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed it much as I did writing it.

Next time, we'll look into the fate of the Sandaime, have a visit from the Tokubetsu and the other characters I excluded from this chapter making an appearance, and the next chapter will include the very first active appearance of Danzo Shimura.

I'll work hard on the next chapter and I look forward to the reviews!