Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

First of all, I want to appreciate everyone on your insight over the Mangenkyou Sharingan. The opinion shared by the majority (which had me convinced) was that the trigger to the Mangenkyou Sharingan was not merely killing your best friend or even your most beloved person, but instead the strong emotion that comes with the act. With that in mind, Obito and Sasuke were fine examples. Obito Uchiha got his sharingan after witnessing the death of his comrade and secret crush Rin, at the hands of his other comrade Kakashi (which by the way Kishimoto is still due to explain what really happened that day. I guess that after Obito is killed, Kakashi will tell him what happened). Sasuke, for his turn, activated his after remembering the sacrifices made by his brother. From this point on, we can extend the same theory to Itachi as he trusted Shisui as his best friend at the time. The act of killing him brought him enough pain and misery that he activated the Mangenkyou Sharingan.

The reason I'm very happy about this research is that now I have enough background to give Naruto the MS. I just need to think of a tragic event that could trigger the eyes' transformation.

Okay with that settled, I'll be brief about the events of last chapter. Naruto and Jiraiya managed to find Tsunade, but as usual, she wasn't willing to accept the invitation of becoming the Godaime Hokage. Tsunade met with Orochimaru, hoping to lure him with his proposition so that she could kill him. Her plan backfired as Kabuto warned his master ahead of time. Jiraiya and Naruto quickly showed up and took control of the situation. Naruto fought Kabuto on equal grounds (even if the sharingan was activated the entire time and Kabuto was underestimating Naruto) and managed to protect Tsunade and Shizune long enough for the female sannin to grow a backbone and control her hemophobia, long enough to bit the living crap out of Orochimaru, forcing him to flee. With the fight finished, the group now returns to Konoha.

Enjoy!

Just as a heads up, there will be an extend time skip.

Chapter 16 – Sharingan Warrior

Beta: Kyuubi123

Since no one was in a hurry to return, the group composed of two sannin, a jounin and a chunnin took their sweet time returning to the village as one of the sannin would take the mantle of Godaime Hokage.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were busy talking about the recent developments in the village, mostly to fill in the gaps of what she managed to hear throughout her travels. Jiraiya focused a lot on the invasion and how Orochimaru managed to fool both Konoha and Sunagakure by killing the Yondaime Kazekage and impersonating the man. The subject of their discussion shifted to the current shinobi force, going as far as to talk about the recently promoted chunnin that happened to be sparring with Shizune now. This time, though, it was a request from Shizune. After seeing how outmatched she was against Kabuto, a fellow medic-nin, Shizune now desired to get back into active duty and requested Naruto to help her in getting up to speed. Naruto had no qualms with it as he didn't share the sannin's enthusiasm of taking their fair time in reaching the village. Naruto's stamina sometimes worked against him, as simply relaxing wasn't in his nature.

The spar was focused on taijutsu and close combat skills only. Shizune, despite lacking stamina, compensated with keeping Naruto occupied with her senbon throwing gadget.

Naruto, though, managed to block the majority of them and pushed forward until he forced Shizune to abandon her strategy and get physical. This culminated in her losing the match as it was tough to match the chunnin in stamina. The taijutsu blows were matched as she happened to be more experienced than Naruto. When Naruto moved to finish the spar, he saw Shizune moving her hands to perform hand seals. Apparently, the taijutsu part of the spar was over, he assumed. She released the same poison fog that she used against Kabuto, but Naruto was already below the ground when the attack occurred. When the fog was lifted, Shizune couldn't find Naruto anywhere. The woman was surprised when two hands grabbed her ankles.

Doton Shinjuu Zanshu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)

Naruto didn't waste time and ruthlessly pulled the woman below ground, keeping only her head out. Naruto got out from the ground and looked at his sparring partner. She sighed in dismay at her performance once more. She was even more in shame when Tsunade and Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto. The fact that both of them were trying very hard, but failing, in not laughing at the situation only made her want to use her medical ninjutsu at the chunnin in front of her. It got worse seeing as her outfit was obviously ruined.

"Was that necessary, Naruto?" The two sannin had already left them alone, while Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

He helped Shizune get out of the ground and waited for the medic-nin to clean her outfit of the dirt as best she could. Looking at the kid in front of him, she supposed it was only fair since she had used jutsu against him.

"Say Naruto, you are pretty skilled for one so young. Who was it that trained you?" Shizune asked as they now walked right behind the sannin.

"When I first received the sharingan, I was trained by Hatake Kakashi in how to use the eyes. Then, when I graduated, I was placed in a genin team under Sarutobi Asuma. Jiraiya trained me for the duration of our trip to find you two." Shizune nodded, already impressed with the two names reviewed by the chunnin. She remembered Kakashi and Asuma as very gifted shinobi of their generation. When she left with Tsunade, Kakashi was about to join the Anbu forces and Asuma was thinking of accepting the invitation to join the Daimyou's Special Guard. Of course, Naruto didn't mention Kasumi-chan or the Anbu that practiced kenjutsu with him every day. Naruto remembered if it was possible to find him once more to have another kenjutsu spar.

Shizune then asked questions about some other names, but the chunnin only knew some of the names.

"Well, Kurenai-san is now a jounin and received a genin team. Maito Gai is also responsible for a team and he constantly challenges Kakashi." Shizune smiled at that. She remembered them going at it since both were genin. "I don't know much about this Shiranui Genma, except that he was the proctor of the Chunnin Exam. I don't know who Uzuki Yuugao is and I don't know about about this Raidou is either, sorry." Shizune nodded in appreciation to the boy. Something in her gut told Shizune that if Naruto didn't know about some of them could mean that they were killed. The boy was only now promoted to chunnin, hence he didn't know much about those who came before him. The conversation was put on hold after Naruto's answer and the chunnin took the time to go through some fire manipulation exercises. Naruto even summoned a kage bunshin to do earth manipulation exercises. Shizune looked at the kid next to her and wondered how much chakra he possessed.

She saw the small flame appearing in his hand after a few hand signals. The flames would increase in size and then decrease.

Shizune also saw the clone creating holes on the ground and then closing them repeatedly. Shizune was amazed at how eclectic Naruto was in the shinobi arts. The kid had taijutsu, kenjutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, not to mention the sharingan, followed by his stamina and access to the Kyuubi's chakra. He was only thirteen. The jounin medic-nin couldn't help but wonder how much further the kid can get until his chakra pathways are fully developed. Apparently, the same discussion was occurring between the sannin. Tsunade couldn't help but take her eyes away from the kid who now was busy doing elemental manipulation. She saw his ninjutsu against Kabuto and while his chakra control didn't compare to a medic-nin, it was pretty advanced.

"What's wrong with him, Jiraiya? He never gets tired?" Jiraiya smirked as he turned his head to observe Naruto for a while.

"The brat is relentless in his training, indeed. However, while he enjoys it, I dare say it's necessary." Tsunade kept listening. "Since you'll take the position of Godaime Hokage, there is something you must know and it involves Naruto. A powerful organization by the name of Akatsuki is currently after the jinchuuriki for the bijuu they carry. The organization is made of only S-ranked missing-nin and we so far know that Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, former member of the Seven Swordsmen, are a part of it. Orochimaru was a member once, but no more. We fear that they will come to get Naruto soon, so it's imperative that he trains as hard as possible." Tsunade was surprised at the names. Fighting one S-ranked opponent was already tough, but an entire organization of them was scary indeed. She kind of understood the kid a bit now as she saw him lifting a pillar of flame using fire manipulation exercises. "I have a feeling, though, that the kid will continue to improve at the same rate and will surpass us any day now." Tsunade nodded at the comment, still lost in her thoughts about the blond chunnin.

"Too much pressure can be fatal to a shinobi of his age, Jiraiya. Itachi is a prime example." Jiraiya couldn't help but to agree with his teammate.

"I agree Tsunade, but it's either train him to the bone or keep an Anbu Team with him and I don't even think it'd be enough to protect him against Itachi. I'm sure it won't be a problem, though, as in Itachi's case, he had the Uchiha Clan the entire time pressuring him for results. In Naruto's case, the only one who's pressuring him for results is himself." Jiraiya said as he now saw Naruto fighting his bunshin using only fire jutsu while the clones used only earth based jutsu. Shizune was already catching up with the sannin from fear of being in the crossfire. "He never stops training until he faints. For instance, just before I met you, he was training to perform the Rasengan. He managed to finish the first two stages in only one day, before he passed out when we arrived in Tanzaku Town." Tsunade had heard enough and kept looking ahead of her. She needed to prepare herself for the onslaught of emotions that will certainly come once they cross the gates.

===In Konoha===

After a total of four hours from Tanzaku Town, the group had arrived in Konoha.

Shizune and Tsunade took a moment to readjust their stances as memories began to overcome their minds. Jiraiya, in the meantime, told Naruto that he was free to go home and rest since he would take care of things from now on. The expression 'take care of things' involved taking Tsunade to meet with the council of elders and get her accustomed to her new life here in Konoha. Obviously, a chunnin's presence during these procedures was uncalled for. Naruto simply nodded and left the group, after a quick 'bye' to the two hypnotized females of the group. He didn't wait for any sign of acknowledgment as he realized that from the way they were looking around, it was clear that neither of them were paying much attention to him.

Despite Naruto's never ending stamina, Naruto had been through a lot in this mission, facing not only Itachi and Kisame, but also Orochimaru and Kabuto.

His mind needed rest for now. He calmly walked throughout the streets, wondering about nothing else but his bed. He made a quick pit stop at the ramen stand and greeted Teuchi and Ayame. Both father and daughter could see the fatigue in Naruto's face, so they didn't push too much for a conversation. Naruto was inside his apartment and quickly jumped to his bed, before releasing a long and released sigh. He was about to close his eyes when he heard the noise of someone materializing inside his room. Naruto was tackled by the small white tiger that he played with in Tanzaku Town. Naruto sighed and looked up, only to see Shirotora in the room as well.

"I know I said that I would watch him for you from time to time, but it has to be now?" The big tiger simply nodded, before vanishing. Naruto swore he saw his partner laughing.

Rubbing his eyes a bit, Naruto got up from his bed and tried to take as much energy of the tiger as possible, so that he could have some shut eye. The plan backfired, though, when half an hour later, the little devil simply wouldn't stop bouncing. Not seeing another viable alternative, Naruto activated the sharingan and placed a hypnotizing genjutsu at the small tiger. The small fur ball was asleep before he knew it. Naruto smirked at it and also fell asleep. If Shirotora appeared, he would simply see that his son was tired and had fallen asleep. Naruto closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately, not noticing the crow that kept watching him through the window, before flying away to meet its master.

===With Itachi===

The crow took a bit of time to cross the hidden village in the leaves and a few miles outside the village, to reach its destination.

Itachi was inside some cave alone, waiting for it to arrive. When the crow arrived, Itachi used his sharingan and looked at the crow's eyes, seeing everything he needed to know about what happened to Naruto since last time. The former Anbu Captain acknowledged Naruto's improvement in his fight against Orochimaru's second in command Yakushi Kabuto, even if Kabuto wasn't taking the fight as seriously as he would against a jounin level shinobi. Naruto's constant search for improvement made Itachi believe that in a few more years, Naruto would be able to hold his own against a jounin level shinobi, perhaps even keep up with the members of Akatsuki. However, Itachi reasoned that Naruto's improvement still wasn't enough for the challenges ahead of him. Skill and strength alone doesn't dictate the outcome of a battle better than experience. Naruto needed to constantly face opponents that could kill him at any time.

Constantly training with comrades was fine, but the chunnin needed to face adversaries that want nothing but his death.

Itachi knew that his actions were both against Akatsuki and against Konoha, but if he wanted Naruto to improve faster, he needed the boy to be have as much experience as possible. Placing Naruto in the bingo book as a B-ranked shinobi would no doubt attract the attention of many out there. Itachi hoped that within three years from now when Akatsuki begins to hunt the jinchuuriki, Naruto will be more than ready to face the members of the organization. Itachi was confident that the kid wouldn't be killed until then.

===The next day===

Naruto had woken up the next day, surprised with himself when he saw the sun just on the verge of rising outside.

It was the first time he had slept so much, since he had two factors that always kept him away from the bedroom. One was the constant nightmares of the Uchiha incident, to which Naruto was already accustomed to. He had memorized the images that came with Sasuke's eyes. The other reason was his never ending stamina that never allowed him to get tired, well not physically tired at least. The mind still remained a fragile organ that needed the rest. The chunnin didn't take long to get dressed and leave the apartment, towards nothing really. Just as he closed the door, though Naruto realized that he had nothing to do for the day. Tsunade was still due to be nominated for Hokage, so the missions were put on hold until then.

Deciding to take a walk around the village and perhaps find someone to talk to, Naruto bumped right into Kakashi and Kasumi as the couple was passing by his building.

"Well, Naruto, we were hoping to catch you for some breakfast but it seems that you caught us. Want some?" Kakashi smirked at his little brother figure. Naruto smiled at the invitation and nodded.

The three began to talk about Naruto's mission to find Tsunade and the enemies he faced throughout the mission. Kasumi and Kakashi were startled to hear that Itachi appeared together with a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Hoshigaki Kisame. Naruto told them how he had to resort to the help of his summon, before Jiraiya appeared and forced them to flee. Kasumi in particular was irritated at the damn pervert for being tricked by Itachi's genjutsu. According to Naruto, Itachi had placed a genjutsu on a woman and controlled her to flirt with the sannin. Seriously, if Naruto wasn't able to hold his own, she wouldn't rest until she closed all of Jiraiya's tenketsu for good. Kasumi had to stop, though, when she realized that she was releasing killing intent and was making the population uncomfortable. Kakashi and Naruto were beginning to sweat, since they knew never to piss her off, even if Kakashi secretly has a fetish for seeing her angry.

"Jiraiya-sama told me you showed great progress, huh. You even learned the rasengan during the trip, didn't you?" Naruto nodded with a smile.

The three shinobi stopped inside a nice place for some breakfast where they met Kurenai and Asuma there as well. It was rather funny to see both getting red faced at Kakashi's insinuation of a date. It was even more amusing when Asuma drastically changed the subject and asked about Naruto's training as well as his mission to find Tsunade of the Sannin. Naruto smirked at the attempt, but gave his sensei some help, relaying the story once more as everyone placed their orders.

===At the Hokage's Office===

Taking the same seat as her old sensei, Tsunade couldn't help but look up and see herself next to her old teammates as they reported a successful or failed mission. The day before was entirely filled with getting the perks of the job from the old fossils from the council as well as to inspect the Hospital facilities and the patient' treatment. Shizune was right now running the place and forming a report for Tsunade about the main diseases being treated at the moment as well as the number of shinobi currently being attended. Now, Tsunade was slowly reading the many reports left by her predecessor. The woman couldn't simply take a look at every report, so she focused on the still pending ones and hoped to be filled in slowly about the past events.

"Morning there princess, how does it feel to be wearing the hat?" Jiraiya asked just as he entered through the window.

"Slightly overwhelming; however nothing too strenuous that I can't handle. It's good that you arrived as I've meant to speak to you about something important." Jiraiya smiled as he grabbed the book that Tsunade handled for him to see. "This morning, I took an updated version of the bingo book to recollect those to look out for out there and even those who were already dead. Imagine my surprise when I saw an interesting new enter. Please open at page number 302." Jiraiya saw the serious look on Tsunade's face and complied, already feeling that something bad was about to happen. Years of experience allowed senior shinobi to anticipate when bad things were about to happen. This was one of those times as Jiraiya opened the page and saw a picture of Naruto listed as a B-ranked shinobi. Quickly reading, Jiraiya frowned as Naruto's skills were practically all there: Sharingan, earth and fire ninjutsu, genjutsu and kenjutsu.

"Do you think Orochimaru is the one responsible for this?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade shrugged her shoulders.

"Not a clue, but it's possible. Tell me one better way of killing someone without getting your hands dirty in the process?" Jiraiya frowned, but couldn't help but agree with the comment. "It seems that Naruto's enemy list just got higher as now every missing-nin, bounty hunter and even other villages will target him for his reward. We don't have another choice but to increase his training, even more than he already does. I have an idea of what to do with him, but I was hoping to run by them with you." Jiraiya nodded, allowing her to continue. "I was thinking of placing in a chunnin first response team under the leadership of a Jounin or even Tokubetsu Jounin. If Naruto is attacked during one of their missions, then his team will be better equipped to handle the opposition."

"A sound plan; I was hoping to take him away with me for a training trip, though. I heard from one of my contacts that the Akatsuki won't be hunting the jinchuuriki for another three years."

The proposition of keeping Naruto on the constant run and under a sannin's protection was nice as well, but now that the Akatsuki wouldn't hunt Naruto for three years, being under the sannin's protection wasn't necessary.

"It would be good as well, but I believe it to be unnecessary, Jiraiya. You can better protect him by keeping your spy network prepared for any action moved against him. Do you have anyone you can talk to inside the Bounty Stations?" Jiraiya nodded. He knew about a person who happened to have a contact inside the black market bounty station and knew a lot about who was the target of the hour. If Naruto was chosen, this guy would tell Jiraiya. He was slightly saddened that he wouldn't be spending time with his godson, but he figured that he could come to Konoha and make a visit once or twice a year.

"Do you have the names for his team?" Tsunade nodded as she grabbed the notebook that contained the list of the shinobi force.

"First, I checked the more experienced Jounin that weren't responsible with a genin team. Shiranui Genma can be the leader of the squad. Before you say anything, yes I know that he was chosen by the Yondaime for the Hiraishin. This was precisely why I have chosen him for the assignment. Aside from working closely with the Yondaime, Genma's record is quite impressive. He has also the attributes of a nice captain, even if he's only a Special Jounin." Jiraiya nodded. He remembered when Genma, chunnin at the time of the Yondaime, was chosen by Minato to receive the Hiraishin formula. He was a fine choice for team leader. As for Naruto's chunnin partners, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo; from what I gathered, these two work well in coördinated attacks. Naruto is kind of a jack of all trades and should fit in well with these three." Jiraiya thought for a while, before looking at Tsunade with a smile on his face.

"Looks like your time away hasn't diminished your abilities, princess; it's a fine assessment indeed." Tsunade nodded at the pervert, before asking him to be gone so that she could read the rest of the reports. The pervert was already at the window with a perverted giggle on his face when he received a punch from Tsunade, followed by a warning not to go peek on women. Jiraiya nodded quickly, before vanishing from the window quickly. The wounds he received from Tsunade when he tried peeking on her were still fresh in his mind, even though it happened a long time ago. Tsunade snorted at her teammate, before going back to her reports.

===With Naruto===

After leaving the jounin, Naruto began to wander throughout the village once more. With nothing left to do, since Kakashi and Kasumi practically used rank on him not to exert himself training today, Naruto was left with perhaps finding someone he knew to see how things were. According to Asuma, his old teammates were last seen travelling with their parents for an extended training trip to further increase the Ino-Shika-Chou formation. According to Asuma, Shikamaru was complaining a lot since both Ino and Chouji's level of workout was far greater than his own. Naruto smiled at that and said that he missed his old teammates. His remembered that he owed Itsuko lunch, but he imagined that the woman was busy in Anbu now. One sad part of training as a hobby, was that he couldn't do it if his body went against him. Because of this, Naruto was left with nothing to do. He looked up to see his path and saw, much to his surprise, Itsuko waving at him from inside a sushi stand.

Apparently, she was alone.

"Hi there Itsuko, I thought you were working now?" Naruto said as he sat next to her. The woman rarely used clothes that didn't belong in the battlefield. She was wearing the standard jounin uniform.

"Boss gave us the day off after a tough assignment we had yesterday. So…tell me, I heard you were quite busy having your ass kicked during the mission."

Naruto snorted at first, but smiled soon after. One thing he caught on about her was that she enjoyed making rude comments.

"Well, when you face Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame all alone, simply getting out alive is considered a feat. I was lucky that they didn't want to kill me." Itsuko widened her eyes and ordered one more round of sushi while she heard the entire story. "Also when we found Tsunade, we ended up facing Orochimaru of the Sannin and his second in command Yakushi Kabuto, whom I believe participated in the chunnin exams as a Konoha shinobi." Itsuko nodded, all too shocked to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. She had to stop listening to rumors of some jerks in her unit saying that Naruto got thrashed around and was saved by Jiraiya. Apparently, no one believed Naruto's entry to the bingo book to be real. "When I fought Kabuto, I had thrown everything I had at him and the man would simply get up without any damage on his body. It appeared though that he wasn't expecting me to put much of a fight as he didn't move much. In the end, Tsunade overcame her fear of blood and joined in the battle. Orochimaru escaped with Kabuto and we came here shortly after." Naruto finished as he placed a salmon sushi inside his mouth.

Frankly, he didn't get why Itsuko enjoyed this type of food so much.

"Who would believe that Kabuto was a traitor? He fooled everyone, including the Sandaime Hokage. No doubt, he was trained by Orochimaru." Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I was surprised as well. And what about here? Any news since I left, that isn't bound by Anbu secrecy?"

Itsuko smirked at the chunnin. It sure was fun talking to him.

"Nothing much…a team found an entire platoon of Iwa genin lead by one jounin trying to see how Konoha was fairing despite the invasion. Shirakumo Hayama happened to be leading a scout mission nearby and scared them away. Aside from that, and Anbu secret stuff as you put it, nothing much happened." Naruto nodded with a smile. He didn't know much about this jounin Hayama, except that he was an experienced jounin that fought in the last great ninja war together with Kakashi. His big brother shared some stories about Hayama as being one of the few wind users in Konoha, aside from Naruto's sensei Asuma.

And so, Naruto and Itsuko kept chatting about everyday occurrences followed by some theories behind the ninja arts. Both were chatting amicably with one another, getting to know each other better, not realizing that the time passed by faster than both realized. Eventually, Itsuko said that she had to go run some personal errands and Naruto went back to his apartment to relax for the day. He wasn't supposed to strain his chakra coils by any means, so Naruto was left with nothing to do, except to sleep and hope that time passed by quickly. As he walked back to his apartment, though, Naruto smiled as he remembered how nice it was to spend the entire afternoon talking with Itsuko. All the time, he didn't realize that he was being spied by Kasumi's byakugan eyes a fair distance away. Naruto's sister figure was startled when she used her eyes to search for Kakashi, only to find her little brother hanging out with an older woman inside a sushi stand.

At first, she was enraged that this girl was taking advantage of Naruto like that, but then she took the time to observe them as they shared a conversation together. In the end, Kasumi smiled when he saw the look on Naruto's face as he left. Her little brother was growing up. Still, Kasumi wanted to run some background checks on the girl just to be sure that Naruto isn't falling for someone that isn't worthy in her eyes.

===Two days later===

Two days later and after the Hokage's official nomination, Naruto was scheduled to meet with his new team according to what Kakashi told him. Naruto became aware of his entry in the bingo book as a B-ranked target and couldn't help but smirk at the situation. Sure, it would suck to be hunted by many other enemies, as he was told to expect, but he at least knew where he stood among the other strong shinobi out there. Kakashi was listed as an A-ranked shinobi, bearing on S-ranked in the future. As soon as Naruto jumped from the last building, he saw three shinobi waiting for him on top of the Hokage's Office Building. According to Kakashi, this team was formed by Tsunade personally, and would serve as a first response team. The term 'first response', Naruto learned, was actually one of the toughest types of assignments in Konoha.

First response teams were more common when the wars were occuring and any failed missions ended in shinobi getting killed or captured for interrogation.

As soon as he arrived, he made sure to present himself towards the only person he knew from the group, which happens to be the leader of the team.

"Chunnin Uzumaki Naruto reporting for duty Genma-taichou." Naruto said as he kneeled right in front of the laid back captain Shiranui Genma, who was busy chewing his senbon. Genma smirked at the kid he saw from the last chunnin exams. When he received word from the new Hokage that he would be leading a first response team, Genma was kind of glad to hear that he would be working with Naruto. Aside from him being the Yondaime's offspring, the kid's skills surprised the jounin when he managed to beat a Hyuuga prodigy. Also, Naruto's late accomplishments only allowed Genma to project the kid's future. No doubt, Naruto would be a legend similar to his father.

"At ease Uzumaki and fall in line."

Naruto nodded and got up before standing next to his chunnin peers Izumo and Kotetsu. He quickly greeted both as the three heard Genma.

"As you may or may not know, Tsunade-sama formed this squad precisely for first response type situations. As such, our range of assignments will be limited to backing other teams up and saving those in dire straits. This actually will be the first and only first response team, so I can say in advance that we can get the call at any minute. Since time is of the essence for us, each of you will be branded with Anbu level seal on your wrist. When it's activated, it means you three should abandon everything you're doing and report to the Hokage's Office in less than fifteen minutes." Genma was about to continue when Kotetsu elbowed Izumo and smirked at him.

"Hey Izumo, that means you have to abandon your girlfriend in the middle of sex and report." The comment made Izumo mad and he turned to yell at Kotetsu to stop playing around.

Naruto looked at the two and couldn't help but smile at their antics, even if he couldn't help but blush at the comment. He was slightly baffled as the image of Itsuko suddenly appeared in his mind. Genma cleared his throat, though he found the comment amusing as well. He did catch on Naruto's slight blush and remembered to tease Naruto in the future. This team formation would keep until Naruto was promoted to jounin, which would take a while, even if the kid had the skill. He needed the experience as well.

"Now, we'll be performing drilling exercises for the duration of this week, meant to test our individual and team skills. I expect the team to be operational by the end of the week."

All three chunnin nodded, before following their leader to the assembled training ground. Throughout the way, Naruto couldn't take the smile off his face at the future assignments.

===Three Years Later===

It's been three years since Naruto's first team meeting and the boy now turned man's routine was astounding. Even if he was still a chunnin, everyone was hard pressed to consider him as such, if his accomplishments were anything to go by. Naruto's first assignment with his new team happened to consist of backing up a team of jounin that were sent to protect a caravan of merchants as they travelled close to Water Country. The caravan was ambushed by some missing-nin from Kiri, so Naruto's team was sent to back them up. The fight overall was brutal, but Naruto managed to keep up the pace, even managing his fair share of kills against B-ranked missing-nin. At the time, his face was recognized from the bingo book and the missing-nin targeted him specially. After dealing with the opposition, Naruto's team finished the other team's mission and returned to Konoha with the wounded.

Since then, Naruto's team was sent on a considerable amount A and even S-ranked first response assignments.

Each of them more dangerous than the last and Naruto went through hell and back.

One specific assignment close to Iwagakure went badly as both Izumo and Kotetsu were beaten pretty badly and Genma had to protect a genin team against a jounin level shinobi. Naruto was facing three chunnin on his own. The chunnin weren't that special individually, but their teamwork was unparalleled. Naruto's sharingan was enough to follow two enemies, but he couldn't follow three at the same time. The team of chunnin was gaining on him, but thanks to his earth manipulation abilities, Naruto was able to block every strike to his body by using his stone armor technique. His attacks were deadly as Naruto's ability to cast genjutsu by simply looking at the enemy rendered them useless against his fire techniques. Naruto managed to deal with the Iwa-nins, but Genma couldn't save one of the genin from being killed. The mission was a success, but Naruto took the genin's death seriously.

His assignment consisted basically in bringing them back alive, not in a body bag.

That specific mission got to him and Naruto vowed himself to train even harder to save as many people as possible. In between assignments, the chunnin would be seen training his ass off. It was this drive that allowed Naruto to create his first magma release technique called Youton Inseitokkan (Magma Release: Meteor Rush). Naruto's technique allowed him to throw boulders covered by magma at the enemy. Everyone was shocked to see this accomplishment and some were in favor of promoting Naruto to Tokubetsu jounin in ninjutsu and even genjutsu. To Naruto, the only thing that mattered was saving as many people as possible. Thus, if people believed that his workout before was inhuman, nowadays his training regimen nearly doubled. Naruto wouldn't allow any death to befall his team anymore, receiving worried glances from his loved ones.

Naruto didn't train until exhaustion because he could be summoned any time to rescue another team.

In no time, people began to acknowledge Naruto's actions and how he helped save a lot of wounded shinobi in the field. His first response team was highly recognized for its efforts and both Izumo and Kotetsu were promoted to jounin because of it. The only reason Naruto still wasn't one was because of his experience. However, his skills were indisputable. His fire and earth ninjutsu capabilities were pretty much on par with the elite jounin and even the Sandaime Hokage as people began to compare him to. His sword and close combat skills only increased in time as Naruto's sharingan allowed him extra speed against his opponents.

Right now, the high level chunnin was sleeping in his bed as he was dead tired from yesterday's assignment close to the village borders. Still, Naruto didn't require much time to sleep. He opened his eyes even before the alarm clock reached the six o' clock mark. He didn't allow it to ring, because he didn't want to wake his girlfriend up. He and Itsuko started dating one year ago, at Izumo and Kotetsu's insistence. These two and Itsuko happened to be on the same genin team under Shikamaru's father Shikaku. To this day, Naruto is still constantly teased by his comrade. Izumo less so, since he cared a lot for Itsuko, considering her like his sister. It was funny to see Kotetsu angering his partner by insinuating the number of sexual positions that Naruto and Itsuko were attempting together. Even their captain Genma joined in on occasion, when the mission was over.

Of course, Naruto wasn't that far ahead in the bed department, since his first time was actually two weeks ago, but it was fun to see the look of anger in Izumo's face.

Itsuko was even introduced to Kakashi and Kasumi as they happened to be Naruto's family. Kakashi recognized her as a junior Anbu when he was close to retiring from the special forces. Kasumi, though, went through a bunch of questions about her. Itsuko, though, didn't take it lightly at the time. Kakashi did the wrong thing and giggled at the scene, so Kasumi and Itsuko both pounded on him for being a pervert. Well, Itsuko did wait for Kasumi to start the attack, but still. Since then, Kasumi approved of Naruto's relationship with Itsuko. They are now the best of friends, even going to the public baths together when Itsuko is free from Anbu. Naruto even remembered an amusing moment when Jiraiya tried peeping on them. Kasumi used her byakugan and sealed all his tenketsus. The funniest, though, was that Tsunade even congratulated the Hyuuga for her actions.

The blond chunnin stopped wondering about the past events when his wrist tattoo flared once more.

Naruto quickly got up from bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash himself and dress up in less than five minutes. Quickly finishing two power bars, Naruto got out from his bedroom fully dressed and ready to go. His outfit now consisted of the standard Konoha attire with a few changes. Instead of navy blue, his clothes were fully black below the light green vest. His swords now hidden inside black scabbards, were strapped to his vest in a cross shape. Last year, Naruto considered a better adjustment of his swords. For instance, while he had a kodashi, able to both attack and defend, he believed it was better to replace his wakizashi for another kodashi. Since it was Kakashi who gave them, Naruto felt inclined to explain his reasons to the elite jounin. Kakashi nodded with a smile at the request. He bended both sleeves twice just like Kakashi, before appearing by his girlfriend's side.

"Itsuko-chan…I have a mission now." The Anbu woke up immediately at the words, before seeing her boyfriend already changed and ready to go.

She didn't even hear him move at all.

"Okay Naruto-kun, be careful."

Naruto nodded, before giving her morning kiss on her lips. After closing the door to his apartment, Naruto used his body flicker straight to the Hokage's Office.

===Hokage's Office===

Naruto arrived in less than twelve minutes counting from the call sign and sighed when he saw the Hokage sleeping on her desk. His captain was already there since he happened to be one responsible for activating the seal in Naruto's wrist. Izumo and Kotetsu appeared just before the final fifteen minutes and mirrored Naruto's behavior. Shizune entered the office followed by Sakura. After extensive training in the genjutsu department from both Kurenai and Sakumo, it was discovered that Sakura's chakra control was second to none other chunnin or even jounin and thus she could apply for medical ninjutsu, tutored by the Hokage herself. In three years, Sakura had excelled in every step of the way, earning her rightful place as a medic-nin. Shizune soon went to awaken their leader to issue the first response team's next assignment.

"Hokage-sama, wake up, the first response team is here."

Tsunade mumbled some incoherent cursed to her assistant, before looking at the four assembled in front of her.

"Oh, right…a couple minutes ago, we received a call for backup. Asuma's chunnin team consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino were sent on a B-ranked document retrieval mission near the land of Birds. The mission consisted of simply grabbing the document, which contained relevant Intel about Kumogakure's actions. There was a risk that Kumo would find out and send a team to retrieve it, but we didn't believe them to move this quickly. Right now, the team is currently hiding at the location in the map held by Shizune. According to the message, Akimichi Chouji was injured and Yamanaka Ino is unconscious from misusing her clan technique. Asuma and Shikamaru took into hiding, but the enemy still lurks in the area. They won't let the document get away from their hands. Your mission is to first protect Team Asuma and if possible, retrieve the document. Genma, your team is to avoid any direct confrontation and only attack if attacked first." The captain nodded and received the map from Shizune, before turning to his team.

"The hiding place is two hours away from here; as usual time is against us. We need to make the trip in an hour; move."

No sooner had Genma shouted, four blurs left the office.

Tsunade waited for the wind generated by the shunshin to stop before turning to her assistant.

"Shikamaru was supposed to be here when Suna sends their ambassador for the upcoming chunnin exams. When is Temari supposed to arrive, Shizune?"

"Two days from now, Tsunade-sama. Are you sure Genma will bring them back?" Sakura remained quiet as she saw her master's response. Tsunade snorted at Shizune's doubt. If Tsunade could recall one good decision she made throughout her reign as Godaime Hokage, it was the formation of the first response team. Ever since those four were gathered, the number of deaths in the field decreased considerably. Their fast response allowed Genma's team to arrive quickly and provide the first team some backup. If possible, once the first team was secured, Genma's team could complete the mission the first team was sent out to. However, retrieving the injured shinobi was their first and greatest concern.

"I have the utmost faith that Team Asuma will be saved, Shizune now would you please bring some tea. My head is killing me."

===Team Genma===

As the captain instructed, it took the team one hour to reach the cave in which Asuma's team was hiding.

Since Naruto had the sharingan and the kage bunshin, he was asked to scout ahead for the Kumo enemies to pinpoint their position. Three kage bunshin immediately left their hiding position and ran towards different locations, while transforming into different tiger species. Naruto worked extensively under the Tiger Clan's tutelage and managed to learn some specific techniques that allowed one to increase his speed as well as his scent. The real one had his eyes closed and was guarded by his teammates, while the blond worked his magic. It took Naruto a total of five minutes before the bunshin dispelled and sent him the information.

"Genma-taichou, there are five of them scattered in two groups; three chunnin level, one jounin and one genin. The groups are searching for Asuma's team at this moment."

Genma was busy chewing on his senbon as he considered his options for the moment. He turned to Izumo as he was the tactician of the group.

"Any thoughts?" Izumo nodded as he turned to Naruto for more questions.

"Where is Asuma's team now, Naruto?" Naruto nodded and pointed to a mountain with a small hole in the middle, indicating a cave entrance.

"There are inside that cave, but I believe that Kumo has a sensor type shinobi. The only reason I believe they haven't been spotted yet is because Asuma and Shikamaru must be low in chakra. Ino and Chouji are unconscious." Izumo nodded and then turned to Genma for his plan. Their orders weren't meant to engage in combat against Kumo, so their course of action was limited to simply attract their attention for a while.

"Genma-taichou, we should divide in two as well. Naruto and you sir can attract their attention with diversion tactics while Kotetsu and I rescue them. After we rescue them, we send the signal."

"Izumo, why the hell do you always send me away from the fight?" Izumo smirked at his friend.

"Do you remember what happened when you fought against those Kiri-nins?" Kotetsu snorted at the memory. His close range abilities were rendered useless against those long range water techniques. In the end, Naruto managed to keep those guys occupied lifting earth barriers, while Genma went behind their backs and disabled them. At the time, Kotetsu was mocked by both Genma and Izumo until they reached the village with the injured chunnin team they managed to rescue. Izumo smirked at the downed face of his partner. "Don't be like this man. We can still have a piece of the action. Genma-taichou, shall we proceed?" The captain nodded, before they separated. As soon as Naruto and Genma arrived close to the Kumo team, their sensors stopped searching for Asuma's team and focused on the arrivals. Naruto did help by flaring his chakra for them. He couldn't allow the sensors to focus on Kotetsu and Izumo's presence as he could see them running towards the cave entrance.

The group of five Kumo-nin appeared in front of Naruto and Genma.

"Greetings, my name is Shiranui Genma and it seems that you're after one of ours. I'm afraid we cannot let them come to harm." Genma's hands were inside his pockets as he eyed the opposition.

"I'm Darui and I'm afraid we cannot do that, since one of your peers contain Intel about Kumogakure." The man who spoke happened to be the jounin as he possessed the largest chakra capacity from the group. He was black in skin color and his hair was white. Genma recognized the tattoo in the man's shoulder, as it once belonged to the Sandaime Raikage. Next to him, was a blond kunoichi, looking at Genma and Naruto with an icy expression in her eyes. The other two chunnin, also possessed a black skin color and both had long swords strapped to their back. The genin appeared to be the sensor as he was being protected by the three chunnin.

"Give it back…that scroll belongs to us." One of the chunnin screamed at the Konoha-nins. This time, it was Naruto who spoke, in a calm manner.

"That may be, but we cannot allow you to harm our shinobi."

Looking at their odds, Konoha had two while Kumo had four. The genin was being protected by them, so he was out.

"Unfortunately, we can't allow this chat to continue. You see, my leader will be very mad if Konoha gets a hand on that document." Genma signaled for Naruto to get ready. The two chunnin with the swords charged first, but Naruto could see the others flanking them from behind. Quickly activating the sharingan, which earned a gasp in surprise from Darui, since he recognized him from the bingo book, Naruto quickly went through hand seals, before gathering chakra inside his lungs. Naruto's movements were considered too fast for them to anticipate. The chunnin were still airborne and quite certainly, they would be burned alive.

Katon Shiroi Hidan (Fire Release: White Fire Projectile Technique)

The white fire projectile was targeted at the attacking chunnin who were in mid-air. Genma was already moving to intercept any that escaped. Darui used all his speed and appeared in front of Omoi and Karui, before releasing a water barrier technique. He managed to save the chunnin, while Samui was busy engaging Genma. The smoke from the technique enveloped everyone and Darui stood in front of the chunnin. This Naruto person had the sharingan and had the advantage. When the smoke was cleared, Naruto stood in front of the three with his sharingan activated. A quick flare from his eyes, rendered the Kumo team paralyzed, before Naruto vanished from his position. He used one of his swords and attacked the kunoichi right in the stomach. The pain Kamui received was enough to break her from the genjutsu, but Naruto was already in position to finish her. He moved his sword to finish when Darui suddenly appeared and parried the sword with his own.

The jounin quickly grabbed Naruto's body and charged enough lightning chakra in his hand to paralyze the chunnin. Naruto used a replacement technique and created some distance while making seals.

Doton Yomi Numa (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Technique)

Darui managed to jump away, but the chunnin and the genin didn't. Darui didn't think about saving them first, because of the threat.

"You need to save them quick." Naruto told Darui. "This technique works like quicksand. The harder they struggle, the deeper they sink." Darui looked at the threat in front of him before turning to see if the man was right. He gasped when he saw Omoi and Karui were struggling to keep the genin from sinking. However, they weren't fairing very well. Thinking quickly, Darui moved to take them away from the swamp before facing the threat from Konoha. However, both Naruto and Genma were already gone from the vicinity. Darui only saw an unconscious Samui resting by a tree, no doubt victim from the damned sharingan's genjutsu. Darui sighed as he imagined how pissed the Raikage will be. Darui remembered when this Naruto person went from B-ranked to A-ranked shinobi in the bingo books. He too was an A-ranked, but Naruto targeted the weaker link instead. Quickly tending to Karui's flash wound, while wondering why Naruto didn't move for the kill, Darui wondered if he should place an entry in Kumo's bingo book advising against facing him.

===A few miles away from the battle===

Izumo and Kotetsu formed a perimeter of defense around Team Asuma while waiting for Naruto and Genma to arrive. The bearded jounin received a soldier pill and had replenished half of his chakra capacity. Shikamaru received one as well and was busy tending to Ino and Chouji's wounds. Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji were still chunnin, being promoted together. Shikamaru had changed his outfit to the standard outfit as he knew it would be troublesome to think of a different outfit. Ino maintained her choice of purple clothing, adding fishnet outfit in her legs and below her chest area. She left her stomach open, though. Chouji wore what appeared to be gray armor with the symbol of food in front of it.

Asuma got up and looked at Izumo's direction.

"What are we waiting for?" Izumo and Kotetsu looked at the bearded jounin.

"Our captain and our teammate should be arriving soon." As they expected, Naruto and Genma shunshined close to their location, earning a smile from Asuma when he saw his prodigy student. Ever since Naruto was nominated for the First Response Team, Asuma tried to keep track with the kid's missions and improvements. The bearded shinobi was impressed and very proud of his once genin student. He also knew that Naruto would be promoted to jounin any day now.

Naruto quickly went to check on his old team, greeting Shikamaru while Genma moved to support Asuma. After making all the needed arrangements, Team Asuma was escorted back to Konoha, though Naruto was selected to take Chouji back, through whatever means possible. Of course, the blond chunnin snorted at the choice, using the speech that he was the youngest one of the group and thus the strongest because of his age. He saw the amused looks on his team's faces as well as Asuma's and Shikamaru's and wondered about Chouji's weight. He didn't mind carrying his old friend, though he would need the help of some clones for the job.

Author Note

Okay, I'll stop for now.

Tell me what you think. I know that I didn't mention the Mangenkyou Sharingan part yet, but I covered a lot of ground here and managed to create a situation for him to experience great pain. I now have to come up with the scene for it. Aside from that, Naruto is pretty strong now even without the mangenkyou sharingan. He managed to acquire a lot of experience throughout the time under jounin Genma's leadership. Now as we move forward in time, Naruto will start facing Akatsuki and Orochimaru once more. Is he ready to face foes that Itachi warned him about? Wait until next chapter to find out.

Please tell me what you think of everything and please do not hold back.

See ya.