The enemy had been driven back with combine loss of their giant snake summon and will of the rallied defenders. Once the large beast was slain, the shinobi of Konoha had nothing that stood before them they could not beat.
The casualties were high but they could have been higher if not for the efforts of the Red Headed Angel that had managed to save many civilians and shinobi as the fighting raged on. Stories such as "As I lay against a wall, I thought I was going to die. As my sight was fading this beautiful woman with blazing red hair appeared before me. She told me I was going to be alright. The next time I woke up I was in a field hospital receiving treatment. I'm telling you I was save by an angel!"
Or other versions such as, "I was struck by four kunai through the flak jacket before I was buried under a building. It didn't crush me but I sure wasn't being seen by anyone that wasn't looking for me. As I was losing consciousness I heard some kind of noise. The next thing I could see was light coming through the ruble. She was bathed in light as she stared down at me. She was strong enough to clear the ruble that buried me. I lost consciousness soon after. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital."
Many stories like those were told by the survivors. There was also a major push back against the Medical Corp. Those who had friends who died due to their lack of intervention during the conflict were angered with the Corp. Many claiming that they had fallen in ability since Tsunade was in charge. Numerous veteran shinobi that had been through war while Tsunade was in charge had words with many of the senior staff and supervisors about their ability to operate in such a combat heavy environment.
Excuses were made such as, "We were taken by surprise" or "The area beyond the hospital was full of fighting." These words only seemed to anger many of the shinobi more. "Where were the brave medics that Tsunade-sama had trained who would leap into combat zones to retrieve the wounded so they could be taken to field hospitals or receive emergency aid so they could live to see tomorrow? Where were the great doctors of Konoha who were renowned for being the best? We were on our home turf and we didn't see any of you until after the fighting was over! And you don't get the same excuse as when the damn Kyuubi struck. There was no towering beast that could flatten the village in a single swing. And even with the snakes, after they were slain where were you after?"
Most of the staff either had no words to say or refused to argue with individuals distraught over losing a comrade or someone important to them. Though some of their words did hold true.
Six Chunin and Kakashi Hatake were making their way towards the last known location of what appeared to be a larger version of Katsuyu. They were thoroughly confused but full of hope. Some were aware that Tsunade often avoided returning to Konoha but many were just aware she just wasn't in the village. So to see a massive slug that bore a striking resemblance to the one that Tsunade herself often summons, well it got people hoping she had returned. As they set out however the massive summon went up in a rather large plume of smoke, forcing the search party to guess where the summoner was by where they had last seen the gastropod.
As they traveled, they saw Sasuke huddled over a tree branch, looking like a deer in headlights. Not too far from him was the Suna kunoichi Temari who appeared to be unconscious. What made them understand what had frozen the Last Uchiha though was the massive trench that appeared to have been made by the slug's tail.
Once they realized Sasuke had seen the massive summon, the experienced shinobi were in complete understanding of why he was so frozen. When you first see an animal that is either as large as a person or something that towers over the trees around you it can leave you awe struck if you are allied to it or terrified if you have to fight it.
Kakashi put a hand on his stunned student's shoulder, "Sasuke, you okay?" At the touch and question from a familiar voice, Sasuke seemed to snap back to reality. Sasuke slowly turned his head toward his sensei. "Kakashi-sensei? What was that?" the raven haired youth asked in a shaky tone.
With lighthearted tone Kakashi responded, "That is a slug summon from a contract of one of the three Sannin." This explanation took Sasuke by surprise. 'What! Another Sannin is here?!' he questioned. "Another one of the Sannin is here?! Are you sure?!" Sasuke asked frantically. In response Kakashi squeezed his student's shoulder. "That's what we are going to find out."
At that Sasuke hurriedly told his sensei. "You have to hurry then, Naruto went on to pursue that Gaara kid so we were separated. I don't know if he was able to catch him as the puppeteer was still with Gaara." Kakashi grew wide eyed at that statement. If Naruto was still pursuing Gaara and Tsunade-sama was in the area to summon her companion … Naruto is in trouble. 'What?! Naruto could get buried alive or knocked out by one of her incredible punches if he gets on her nerves!' panicked Kakashi.
"Well Sasuke I need to head out to make sure Naruto is alright hehehe…. Um do you mind filling in one of these Chunin while they wrap up the Suna kunoichi for me thanks~" said Kakashi as he leapt off to prevent one of his students from dying to friendly fire. 'Naruto please for all that is holy don't do anything brash … I hope I don't need to bury any of my students yet.'
As Kakashi quickly left so too did five of the Chunin. The one that stayed behind made his way over to Suna kunoichi to bind her with rope he packed. His team was informed that they may run into the pursuit squad that chased after three Suna Genin that were led by the dead Suna Jonin from the Chunin Exams.
As he was tying up Temari, the man asked, "Uchiha-sama, can you please tell me what happened in your battle with this kunoichi?" Sasuke let out a sigh. He didn't care much for the honorific he was given. It often reminded him of the fan girls he was forced to tolerate during his time in the academy. It felt like they were just kissing up to him before he earned it. With another sigh Sasuke retold his tale though he left out that he had tapped into the Curse Seal's power to ultimately defeat Temari, though he did jostle around a lot from the sand that got into his clothes from the attack Temari used to counter his Gokakyu. The Chunin tried to say that she got lucky but Sasuke put a stop to that.
As Kakashi and his group continued their travel, all they had to do now was follow the path the slug made with its presence. They soon came across the puppeteer that had left with the Suna red head and Shino. 'Hm, well Kurenai will be happy we found her wayward student' mused Kakashi.
Shino was struggling to his feet. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but the appearance of a massive gastropod certainly surprised him but he wouldn't say he would be terrified of it. Surprising yes, terrifying … eye of the beholder he would guess. As he made it to his knees, his kikaichu alerted him to six incoming presences. Fearing the worst, Shino prepared the remainder of his kikaichu to fight as he still had a large amount keeping Kankuro detained.
When the six landed around him, Shino let out a hidden sigh of relief seeing that they were all Konoha shinobi. His hive detected no henge meaning they were not disguised in any way. He even noticed that one of the one's that landed was the sensei of Team 7, Kakashi Hatake.
Before Kakashi could get a report from Shino, the young Aburame spoke up. "Kakashi-san, the detained Suna shinobi that my kikaichu are crawling over had told me I would see something from a nightmare would be coming from Gaara. While he failed to elaborate on this, my kikaichu told me that some rather dense chakra was released before the rather large gastropod made its appearance."
Kakashi was caught off guard from Shino's statement. 'Dense chakra? Well Naruto has rather dense chakra but that is because he has so much from being an Uzumaki, since he has the Kango Fusa and ….' Kakashi now understood what Gaara was. The boy is a jinchuriki. And even more terrifying is that he is not only unstable but also contains the "Mad Biju Shukaku." Fear gripped Kakashi's heart he just sent, who he just found out, his sensei's son to fight a jinchuriki. If Kakashi was moving fast before he left his squad in the dust now, not even waiting for them to follow after. They had a trail to follow they didn't need him.
As Kakashi bolted from the area she shouted out commands. "Detain the Suna puppeteer! Be sure to get Shino's statement of what happened!" Some of the remaining Chunin understood that the missing Suna Genin was a jinchuriki but they were not in a hurry to face one. They were not aware that Naruto had gone off to face jinchuriki of Suna. With evident hesitancy, four of the Chunin set out after their squad leader while one remained to detain Kankuro and take Shino's statement.
Kakashi hurried through the trees, following the path the slug created all the while praying for Naruto's safety. 'How did I not see Naruto was Minato-sensei's son? I was too buried into the Anbu wasn't I? I guess this is another gift Yamato and Yugao-chan gave me when they saved me from burying my emotions' he thought with a fond smile. There was something else that bothered him. 'If Sandaime-sama knew that Naruto was Minato-sensei's son, why wasn't I told even after I got out of the Anbu? I was part of Kushina-san's guard detail so it's only right I'd have been made aware that' thought Kakashi as he leapt through the trees.
Soon he came across a familiar sight, one that he had seen in the arena before Naruto and Sasuke had to pursue the, now, rebound red head. Kakashi immediate dropped before Naruto, combing over him like a mother hen. "Naruto are you okay?" asked a worried Kakashi. He took in Naruto's appearance. From what he could see his clothes were full of tears with remnants of blood but no wounds underneath. Kakashi couldn't understand how Naruto was okay. 'Is having the Kyuubi sealed within him really that much of a boost to his endurance?' thought Kakashi.
"Ne ne Kakashi-sensei what are you doing here?" asked an excited Naruto. Kakashi quickly recomposed himself. With an eye smile Kakashi said, "Well I came out here to make sure you were okay."
Naruto beamed at that. "Well, you don't need to worry about me Kakashi-sensei. I mean Gaara here is really strong but I'm going to be the greatest Hokage so he was no match for me!" Naruto cheered happily. "I mean you should have seen it. Gaara began transforming into his biju, then your dog Pakkun just ditched me! I mean come on who does that?! Then we got into this really big slugging match where I beat across the forest cause he was not match for me!" Naruto cheered as he retold how he beat Gaara. He made sure to leave out that he summoned Katsuyu as he remembered what Shizune told him about summon contracts closely guarded so he kept his connection a secret.
Kakashi was greatly surprised by Naruto's story. If not for the damage to his clothes, which showed at least some validity to Naruto's story, neither Kakashi nor the arriving Chunin would believe the young blonde. That meant Kakashi had to come to terms with, even partially, 'Naruto had a fist fight with a partially transformed jinchuriki.' The thought alone left the higher-ranking shinobi speechless. A Genin, a Genin just fought a jinchuriki with nothing but his fists.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei" said Naruto getting the stunned shinobi's attention. "Shouldn't we get Gaara here back to the village? I can hold him for a while but like shouldn't he be placed in some kind of holding cell?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, you're right Naruto. Okay everyone let's get this boy back to Konoha so we can put him in detention center." The Chunin agreed with that. The group began making their way back to Konoha. They were so caught up in Naruto's near unbelievable story that they forgot their entire reason for traveling out there in the first place.
Back in Konoha, there was a council meeting underway made up of the Elders and Clan Heads. The Clan Heads consisted of Hiashi Hyuga, Tsume Inuzuka, Shibi Aburame, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara and Choza Akamichi while the Elders consisted of Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitikado. In addition, the Anbu Commander was also present in the meeting. There were a few vacant seats among the Clan Heads. Those seats belonged to the Kurama, Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki who became a recognized Clan of Konoha after their fall in their homeland of Uzushiogakure during the Second Great Shinobi War.
Tsume Inuzuka is slightly shorter than average woman with fair skin and an animalistic look. She has long, untamed, spiky brown hair while her brown eyes hold vertical slit-like pupils. Her canines were slightly longer than normal and extremely sharp like her nails. On her cheeks were the red fang markings. She has pronounced eyelashes that seemed to be enhanced with mascara while she wears dark purple lipstick. While she wears the standard Konoha Jonin outfit her blue shirt and pants were replaced with black versions of both. She also has the sleeves of her shirt rolled halfway up her forearms, a utility pouch on the back right side of her hips, a shuriken holster on her right leg and blue shinobi sandals.
Shibi is has a tanned complexion while his eyes were obscured by dark sunglasses with a tassel hanging from the shades left arm. He has spiky black hair and a short Fu Manchu mustache. He is wearing a tan, high collared jacket with brown tightening bands at the cuffs. He wore brown pants that stopped midway down his calves with the rest wrapped in bandages as he wore brown shinobi sandals.
Inoichi is man of average height with long ash blond hair tied into a long ponytail with his side bangs falling to his chin. He has blue pupilless eyes and a well-defined jaw line. He was wearing the standard Konoha shinobi uniform with a black shirt, pants and black shinobi sandals. He has two utility pouches on the back of his hip and a shuriken holster on his right leg. He was wearing a red sleeveless hiyori over his flak jacket, grey gauntlets over his hands and his hitai-ate around his forehead.
Shikaku is a man with tan skin, a black, pointed goatee and two diagonal scars on the right side of his face with one on his cheek and the other on his forehead. His black hair was tied up into a short spiky ponytail. He wore the blue pants of the standard Konoha shinobi uniform along with blue shinobi sandals. Under his flak jacket was a short-sleeved mesh armor shirt, while he wore green gauntlets, and a deer hide coat over his flak jacket.
Choza is a tall, plump man with short brown hair hidden beneath a long head piece that looks like red hair. His eyes appear to be squinted shut, while he has purple face paint in the form of line that run from the edge of his nose to the hinge locations of his jaw. He has a black body suit under a metal chest plate secured by several thick leather straps as well as gauntlets and greaves. He has a on a purple rope belt and a white hachimaki tied around his head.
Danzo appears to be a frail, old man with a cane. He has shaggy black hair with bandages wrapped around his missing right eye. He has an "X" shaped scar on his chin. He wore a white nagajuban, with a black robe over the top of it that fell to his feet. The robe only covered his right shoulder and concealed his right arm which was heavily bandaged from his time in serving Konoha.
Homura is a man as old as Danzo with a grey chinstrap beard and spiky grey hair. He wore ovalish green glasses. He was wearing a long blue robe under a tan hiyori with a white, high collar poncho.
Koharu is an old woman with long grey hair held up by a long golden ji with three red beads hanging from the top. She wears a grey kimono with a brown nagajuban and dark grey hiyori. All of this under a white sash.
"Alright let's get this meeting started" stated Shikaku. "First" said Koharu, "A moment for the passing of the Sandaime." At that, the rooms occupants bowed their heads in respect for their fallen leader. After a while, they raised their heads and began the meeting in earnest. "Our first order of business is to organize search and rescue, and clean-up operations now that the enemy has been driven back" stated Choza. "What of the funeral arrangements?" asked Tsume. "We should have this cemented so we have something to tell anyone who asks, as this will no doubt be something we will be asked about quite often."
"There will be a mass funeral service, similar to what we did after the Kyuubi's attack thirteen years ago" stated Hiashi. "I assume you have a time frame in mind?" asked Tsume. As head of the Inuzuka Clan, she has a pack-oriented mindset. As such she would look out for the whole of what could be considered her pack. Inoichi spoke next, "I suggest that we hold it after the recovery of the wounded has concluded. If we wait until we finish the clean-up the people could get mad and either blame us or begin doing what they want to do." To this, the council could agree.
"We must also consider having forces ready to counterattack those who would press our boarders after such an attack" added Danzo. Despite being a known Warhawk, Danzo always argued for the best of Konoha even if his views were a bit militaristic.
Everyone had to agree to that. In the village's weakened state, the other hidden villages could press an attack and launch an invasion into Hi no Kuni. "So how do we divide our forces?" questioned Tsume. "To start with, we shall have the Genin moved to village recovery and search and rescue. The Chunin will be divided based on their skills or kekkei genkai if they have one" stated Homura.
"Our Jonin will be mostly sent out to act as deterrent forces or doing high profile missions with some of our most well-known will stay close to home for village defense. Most of the Anbu will be used to patrol the area surrounding the village" advised Danzo. In terms of broad stokes, the council could agree to that form of an outline. "Now that we have the broad strokes determined, it is time to lay out the details of these operations" commented Hiashi.
As the council was in session, the recently graduated Genin were seeing the results of war for the first time. Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru were grouped together. They were temporarily off duty while teams were organized for clean-up. Choji, Hinata, Kiba, Neji, Shino and surprisingly Naruto were called to help with the search-and-rescue teams as they had skills that allowed them to aid in the locating and retrieving individuals in difficult to reach places. What took the group further by storm was that Naruto demonstrated actual skill in first response medical procedures, doing preliminary diagnostics and provide basic medical attention on ones that are found by the group he is a part of.
"Can you believe it?" asked Ino. "I mean who would have seen Naruto as a Medic Nin of all things?" she said with a huff. "I mean he was the dumbest person in class, had the worst grades and could barely pay attention. Now he's some kind of upcoming Medic Nin, helping patch people up before they get taken to field hospitals or …." She didn't want to say "marked for burial", the thought made her shiver in horror. As they walked through the safest parts of the village, they saw a group of Naruto's Kage Bunshin run past, holding a stretcher with someone who had their neck supported and both their legs splinted.
"Yeah" replied Sakura. "It's kind of hard to imagine that he would grow so much in just a month" she said with a downcast expression. In just a month Naruto had grown so strong that he lived up to being the tournaments Dark Horse. Meanwhile what has she accomplished? She tied with Ino in the preliminaries despite not putting as much effort into her physical training but that doesn't mean much. Ino was probably as strong as she was. She was learning genjutsu but she was only reading the theory. She had yet to learn any of the practical jutsu available so could it really be as skill she has?
Ino seemed to notice her rival for the Uchiha's heart sour mood. "What's wrong Sakura?" Sakura snapped her head towards her blonde traveling companion. Waving her hands in front of her face, she frantically replied "Uh nothing! It's nothing Ino!" Ino leaned in to stare into the pinkette's eyes. Sakura was nervous. Ino knew when she was being bugged by something. She was hoping that the blonde wouldn't push any further. Luckily, she was saved by their other traveling companion. "Give it a rest Ino, would ya. Taking about what bothers you can be such a drag" complained Shikamaru.
Ino quickly rounded on the lazy Nara. "Oh don't you give me that buster!" growled Ino as she rounded on him. Despite his blonde teammates ire being directed toward him, Shikamaru looked as impassive as ever. "You hardly trained for the finals and look what happened! You got blown around the arena by some Suna kunoichi who's only skill was to swing her fan around!" Here she stomped her foot in anger. "I mean come on you totally could have had her. But no! You would have rather watch the clouds than develop additional skills beyond your one jutsu!"
Shikamaru didn't have much to say other than "What a drag" as he kept walking. Ino was right though and he knew it. He was placed into a position where his intellect was not enough to see him to victory. And now he was surrounded by the destruction of war. He was haunted by the idea of the fallen being any of his friends. Could he live with himself being so weak that he lets his friends die or get wounded like the one's in the hospitals or being found by search and rescue teams?
Ino and Sakura follow after picking up a similar conversation. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" pressed Ino. With a sigh Sakura conceded. "I … I was just feeling inadequate you know. I mean we were used to Naruto being this loud, immature kid. Now he is helping out while I am stuck here on the sidelines."
Ino felt for her friend. At her current skill level, the most she was able to do was just help in the clean-up. Meanwhile Choji was pulled to help move debris for the search teams. Ino put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, getting Sakura's attention. "Well that mean we have to train harder! We can't let the boys get ahead of us can we?" Sakura smiled at Ino's attempts to cheer her up. "Yeah your right!" replied Sakura.
Neji and Tenten were visiting their friend in one of the field hospitals. At least before Neji was assigned to a search and rescue team. Typically, Lee's high energy attitude would get on Tenten's nerves however after seeing the brutality of the invasion, she wanted to spend as much time with her friends as possible. Neji on the other hand … had regrets. Seeing the potential power Naruto could have hit him with along with his own short comings from the invasion left him much to think about, as a person and for his training.
Lee on the other hand was lying in bed with his leg suspended by a harness to prevent it from moving while it healed, the excitement of invasion agitating the already broken leg. He was changed into a set of hospital attire that honestly look like formal night ware of a noble. "It's great of you to visit Neji, Tenten!" greeted Lee cheerfully despite his continued condition.
"It's nothing Lee, we are friends after all" replied Tenten. Neji on the other hand remained quiet. He was still coming to grips that he was not as big as he thought he was. All his life he was told that the gentle fist was the greatest fighting style in the world and yet he failed to reach any of those that challenged him in the invasion. He had no way to close the gap on his foes as they were either faster than him or had greater reach. There were then those that he struck in the arm that did not care as they continued to fight, treating the sealing of their chakra points as a pinched nerve cluster. So many times he fought across the arena, there were so many times he could have died. From what he saw of the Jonin and some of the Chunin fight, they aimed for single strike kills while he tried to use a flurry of strikes that showed off his prowess in the Gentle Fist.
Was he really that vain to believe he was invincible? Were his beliefs so shallow that he nearly died numerous times yesterday? And not just to the invading shinobi but to Naruto as well. It would have been one hit, one hit from Naruto that would have done him in. He was nothing more than a simpleton, a fool who struggled to defeat an opponent who's only strategy was "hit his opponent harder." Now he was strong enough and smart enough to defeat himself as well a foe that Lee struggled to beat, even with his incredible power, in just one move … like the Jonin and Chunin he had seen fighting in the arena.
Then there was Lee himself. He had written Lee off as an individual that would never achieve his goal. That he was a loser and nothing he would do could change that. That was until his match in the preliminaries. There he had shown off that through his time, effort, and dedication he could become a splendid shinobi.
Neji did something that surprised both Tenten and Neji, he bowed at the waist to Lee. "Lee … I am sorry." At that Lee and Tenten were really terrified for their friend. Never had they known him to apologize without being compelled to do so. "I am sorry that I did not believe that you could go beyond where you started. You have helped open my eyes that fate does not dictate who we become, rather that we forge who we want to be."
Both Lee and Tenten were stunned to silence at Neji's words, now fully grasping how his experience from invasion affected him. Lee was the first to break the silence. "Thank you, Neji. It shows that your flames of youth can grow ever brighter. When I get out of here and make a full recovery let us enjoy a youthful spar to fan our flames to ensure they never dim!" proclaimed the bowl cut youth.
By now Neji raised his head and looked at his bedridden comrade. "If you would like, can we begin a new and forge a friendship?" asked the pale eyed youth. Both Tenten and Neji were surprised by Lee's next words. "No." This shocked his teammates. Tenten was about to chew Lee out for dismissing Neji's olive branch of friendship until he spoke next. "I already and still do consider you my friend so there is no need to forge something that already exists" he told them with fire in his soul.
Kiba was not feeling so great. He was assigned as part of the recovery operations like much of his Clan. Before this, he was rather boisterous believing that he was unstoppable with Akamaru by his side. That was until his loss against Naruto where he was beaten by a horrible smell, and more so from what he was seeing and smelling as he aided the more senior shinobi.
Never before had he been around so much death. He had seen dead bodies in the Forest of Death, he even had to watch that crazy red head, who smelled so much of blood it's like he bathed in it, kill those Ame shinobi. What he was seeing before him though shocked him to the core. When the invasion had passed, his sister, Hana, had taken him to hospital to see his injured and fallen Clanmates. They both went with their ninken, because for Inuzuka it is rather rare for them to be without their partners.
Hana was an older teen woman with smooth brown hair tied into a ponytail with two locks that frame her face. She has fair skin, large black eyes, with the traditional Inzuka Clan fang markings on her cheeks with a complimentary shade of lipstick. She has an additional tattoo on her upper right arm that resembles a flower. She wears a brace on her left wrist, bracelets on her right hand as well as bandages wrapped around her right bicep. She was wearing a beige, full length Konoha Medical uniform, and if she was meant to fight, she wears a more form fitting Konoha flak jacket that she keeps partially zipped down to reveal some of her breast as well as form fitting purple shorts that stopped above her knees. She was also wearing blue shinobi sandals.
She had taken him to see how she offered condolences for their loss. She never intended for him to see the morgue but took a walk around and found the place. Luckily, before he could see inside, one of the Haimaru Brothers, Hai one of the his sister's ninken, had found him and Akamaru. He had faintly heard from his hospitalized kin that they had either lost their partner from being to being blindsided by someone they weren't expecting as they were too focused on the one in front of them, or they needed to be protected by their partner leading to their death.
Kiba couldn't believe that someone would allow their partner to die because of such "weak reasons" and he told his sister such. But now, here he was seeing his fallen kin and their ninken as he helped locate the dead and wounded. His squad had recently uncovered another dead ninken. This one nearly made him vomit. It was a large hound but what got to him was that was white like Akamaru. 'Could that have been Akamaru?' he questioned. He was remembering his match with Naruto, specifically when the blonde managed to have Akamaru at kunai point. Fear gripped his heart. 'If that had been an enemy, they would have killed him' he thought worriedly as he shakily looked down at his partner. Akamaru could feel his partner's distress. Akamaru nuzzled Kiba's leg while whimpering to get his attention.
Kiba looked down to his partner and rubbed the top of his head. "Hey it's alright buddy." 'I promise I won't let that happen to you' thought Kiba.
Sasuke was alone at his home within the Uchiha District. Luckily the district was relocated toward the outskirts of the Northern side of the village so it was left untouched in the rampage of the giant snakes. So too was the Senju Compound as it was protected by Uzumaki Seals but Sasuke didn't know that. He was reflecting over all that happened from the invasion until now.
The first thing on his mind was that he was late to his match. 'Of course Kakashi made me late to my match. The man is late to practically everything so why wouldn't that be any?' he questioned. 'Or was that his plan all along? he thought. "But wait, did Kakashi have so little faith in me that I could still lose?" Sasuke was overanalyzing the actions of his sensei, trying to find out why Kakashi would allow him to arrive late to such an event. However, thinking of fights got him to think of his match with the kunoichi from Suna that, essentially, beat him.
He didn't know there was a Futon jutsu that could overpower a Katon jutsu. Sasuke had been taught at a young age, which was reinforced in the academy, the Katon always overpowered Futon. It was just how the cycle of the elements worked. And now he just had an encounter that proved that statement wrong. This showed he was ill-equipped for the tournament. He and Kakashi were so focused on facing Gaara that he had no plan to counter any of his other potential opponents. If what he found out between the relationship between wind and fire was to be believed than that must mean there is a Raton that can counter Futon. If there was, he surely doesn't know it and he couldn't be sure if Kakashi knew it either as they focused too hard on facing Gaara.
Did this heavy focus on a singular foe cloud his ability to see more fighters he would come across. Did this make him blind to other enemies he would face on his path to take down his Ani-san? Was he … weaker than he could be because rather than focus on getting stronger he was focused on only getting stronger to face one person? Was his revenge holding him back from truly becoming strong? Was he even developing the correct skills to face Itachi?
At these introspective thoughts, the mark on his shoulder began to twinge, bringing Sasuke's attention to it. Then there was this mark. This was what allowed him to overpower the Suna kunoichi. This supposed "gift" was what allowed him to win. But could he truly call it winning? Out of everyone he knew who fought in the exams, everyone relied on their own power to fight. Even Itachi had no outside power when he did what he did. Sure, this was a great tool to achieve his goal, but he was dead set on doing this with his own power. Could he truly say he did it on his own if he needed a power boost from someone else to win?
Once more the mark thrummed, whispering in his mind but ever so faintly. "Don't reject the power. If your hands do the deed then none shall question the method. Don't deny what you have! Use the power offered to achieve your goals." The itch in the back of his mind was something he felt once more, but the whispers of the seal were not heard for now, as his will was strong but it was always there, whispering for Sasuke to use the power once again.
Shino was also part of the search and rescue teams like much of his Clan. Thanks to his Clan's unique talents, the task was rather menial and could be handled by his kikaichu leaving him time to lament the outcome of his day's conflict. In his battle with Suna shinobi Kankuro, if he had been struck with a deadly poison instead of a paralytic, he more than likely would have died before the squad that passed by could find him. There were many options that came to mind to rectify this, 'Perhaps I could grow my hive so my allies are not spread as thin? Maybe I could add a second hive to my arsenal?' he thought.
He was brought from his musings by his Chunin squad leader, "Yo, Aburame. You sense anyone in the area?" the man asked in a tired tone. Shino used the connection he has with his kikaichu to determine what they found. At his call, several beetles flew from some of the many buildings to relay their findings by landing on his outstretched index finger.
After a while of what appeared to be silent communication with his allies, something that the other Genin in his squad found weird while his squad leader was indifferent to it, Shino relayed what they found. "They have found some individuals beneath the rubble under that building while finding one on the roof top to our left." With a nod, the squad leader relayed his orders. "Okay, you two" he said pointing to two of the Genin, one of which appeared to be an Akamichi from a different class than Shino, "will help me dig out those trapped beneath the rubble, while you" here he pointed at Shino, "will get the one on top of the building. Remember, it is possible for our enemies to be using a henge for us to let down our guard. So, keep on your guard."
Once he received a nod of understanding from his squad, "Okay let's move out!" The groups then dispersed to do their tasks. The Chunin in the mean while used his radio to call for a medical team. Thanks to Naruto, the Medical Corp had a large number of personnel who were able to ferry those located to any of the medical facilities set up to aid in the response of this crisis. Though it was pushed heavily by Naruto, and backed up by Kakashi Hatake who could be convincing when he wants to be. As such Naruto, his bunshins, or other medical personnel would often make trips to called in locations to help get people to medical facilities or preform field treatment before they are transported.
As he leapt to retrieve the person he had located on the roof, Shino went back to his thoughts, devising methods to grow hives and the types of insects the Aburame have access to that would be compatible with his hive. 'I must also discuss things with Tou-san to ensure the proper methods are used no matter the path I chose. He may also have some advice himself' thought Shino as he had his kikaichu deduce the status of the person before him.
To his amazement, the woman was alive. She landed face up to ensure she didn't bleed out as two of the four kunai that appeared to have struck her flak jacket went through. Remembering what his sensei taught his team about field first aid, Shino made sure to leave the kunai in but surround the wounds with some of the bandages he had in his utility pouch to ensure they wounds didn't get worse by the kunai moving in the woman.
Naruto had just finished his shift at one of the many field hospitals in Konoha that were that were set up to aid the survivors and wounded during the invasion. The sun was setting in the horizon as Naruto walked out of one of the many tents in the field hospital. He was exhausted and he felt a bit uneasy with seeing so many wounded and dead that either he had to pick up or died in transit to a medical facility. While his Kage Bunshin were useful in aiding in transporting the wounded, it also meant he had to see far more dead than anyone else. Suddenly he felt someone hug him from behind. "You had me so worried Naru-chan!" said an all too familiar voice.
Recognizing the voice, Naruto quickly rounded in the person's embrace, his mood instantly brightening. "Mito-chan!" cried the boy. "I was so worried about you! What happened? When I lost sight of you, I got really anxious!" she said as she began to fuss over him. Naruto gave her a nervous smile in response to her question. "Well it's an interesting tale" he said nervously.
Tsunade gave the blonde a calculating look before her eyes softened. Tsunade could tell something was wrong with her blonde ball of sunshine. "Well let's get to our shelter, I can tell you're exhausted. Once there you can tell me all about it" she said before she bent down to whisper in his ear, "especially as to why you needed to summon Katsuyu." Naruto nodded hesitantly, not fully keen to tell Tsunade the whole story surrounding his confrontation with Gaara. With that the two set out to where Tsunade said they would be staying. On the way there Naruto reached up to take Tsunade's hand. The action did not go unanswered by the older blonde as she took his hand gently getting a soft smile from the younger blonde. Due to her response, the two blondes walked on hand in hand to their destination.
Tsunade led him to what appeared to be an untouched section of the village. They reached what appeared to be a rather traditional looking series of building behind a long, single piece wall that had the Senju symbol above the gate.
Naruto's curiosity kept him from being silent. "Is this the Senju Compound?" asked Naruto. Tsunade nodded in affirmation to his question. "Yes, this will be our temporary residence for the time being as the hotel we were staying at is being used to house Konoha citizens that lost their homes in the invasion. Plus, this place will allow us to talk without ease droppers so you can tell me everything" she said with an emphasis on everything. "Now come on, Shizune and Tonton are already inside" Tsunade said as she pulled him to the gate.
Interestingly enough, when Naruto passed through the gate he felt an odd sensation wash over his body. With a slight shudder he asked, "Ne Tsu-chan, what was that?"
"That Naruto is one of the many seals that my Baa-chan, Mito Uzumaki, installed in the compound's barrier. It prevents anyone that doesn't have Senju or Uzumaki lineage pass unless a second seal being placed onto a guest or a person is added to a secondary repository that contains a genetic sample of someone the Clan wishes to allow a more permanent access to this place" Tsunade explained.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. He had only recently begun his training in fuinjutsu so he had no idea of the possibilities of the art. Then something struck him that made him curious. "But Shizune-sensei said during my lessons that the Senju and Uzumaki are Cousin Clans, so shouldn't she had only needed to set the seal to accept one and the other would be allowed access by relation."
Tsunade smiled at the question. "Before the separation of the Clans, that would be true. However, as time went on there became a lot of genetic diversity between the two Clans that the genetic similarities became less dominant to the point of it being more of a loose relation. It was partly why Baa-chan Mito and Oji-san Hashirama were able to get married and not have been considered a form of inbreeding. Technically you and I are loosely related. We share a common ancestry that we both hail from the Senju Clan but our relation to each other beyond that is rather loose when mapped" Tsunade explained.
"Though one trait the Uzumaki and Senju Clans still share is a persons increased vitality" Tsunade said as she continued her lecture. This managed to keep Naruto's attention, though it was because it was history about their Clan. "Basically, when are bodies hit puberty, they age far more slowly than other people to the point our biological age is half of that of are chronological age. Because of that, it's easier to go off of our biological ages as we get older.
"Well we got each other backs until the end!" replied a cheery Naruto. Tsunade smiled at the younger blonde, "Yes we do" Tsunade said as they entered the main building in the compound.
As they entered the large, traditional style home, they could hear some activity in the kitchen as well as smell the food cooking. With Shizune already being in the home, she had taken to cooking dinner for the four. Luckily, the Senju were a Founding Clan as well as have a powerful barrier around the compound. As a Founding Clan, the Senju used their influence to have the compound on a separate line when it came to utilities. This allowed the compound to have access to any utilities even in the evet the lines across the village were brought down by a foreign or domestic threat.
When they approached the dining area, they noticed Shizune setting the table with Tonton balancing the glasses and dinnerware on her back with the aid of her chakra. When she placed all the dishes on the table, Shizune had noticed the presence of the two blondes. "Hello Tsunade-sama!" she greeted her master cheerfully. When her eyes fell onto Naruto she gasped lightly, "Hello Naruto-kun! Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?" she asked as she rushed over to the younger blonde, fussing about him almost as badly as Tsunade did earlier today.
"Hehehe, hey Shizune-san. Yeah I am fine. I came out okay thanks to Tsu-chan teaching me the Byakugo no In!" exclaimed Naruto. The two were happy to hear that he was fine but were anxious as to what sort of fight he had gotten into that required him to use the seal. "The amazing thing is, after I used it, it was refilled each time so I got to use it twice!" continued Naruto. Now he really got the two older women's attention. 'There is no way he was able to refill the seal in such a short amount of time after using it, especially if he was still fighting. The amount of concentration required to make the seal is quite impressive. Unless the Kyuubi had a hand in it!' thought the two women. "Well" said Shizune, "You two are right on time as I just finished making dinner" said Shizune.
"Excellent!" said Tsunade, "After we eat you can tell us all about what happened after you left the arena" said the older blonde as she looked down at Naruto rather sweetly. Naruto was immediately put on guard from the smile, feeling as though he had no choice in the matter and hiding anything would not be conducive for his health.
The three sat at the rather large, rectangular table with a dark stain coloring it making the wood forever vibrant, while Tonton ate near the table. The table had a modern seat setting, using chairs instead of kneeling pillows. Tsunade sat at the head of the table with Naruto on her left and Shizune on her right. Shizune had made wonderful meal using the rather limited ingredients she had access to. The meal the trio partook of was steamed rice with lightly salted venison complimented by steamed carrots and skillet roasted potato slices. During the meal most of what was talked about was Naruto's success during the tournament and being praised for not using overly flashy techniques while criticism was brought forward against many of the other competitors that also fought.
When the meal was concluded, the three plus piglet had made their way to the sitting room to allow Naruto to recount his experience of what happened after he left the arena. The sitting room had tatami mats along with floor pillows for seating. There were ink art kakejiku around the room, cementing the traditional feeling.
Naruto was taking in a deep breath, knowing this is a long tale. "Well after I lost my hold on Gaara by taking a hit from Temari, though she caught me off guard" he mumbled. Too bad Tsunade and Shizune heard him. Not wanting to interrupt him, Tsunade made a mental note 'Well we will be improving his dodge training by having him dodge additional objects during taijutsu training. And when we do dodge training I'll have Shizune and some of the slugs attack him from different angles. Shizune can use paint darts while the slugs spew one of their adhesives at him' thought Tsunade as a dangerous gleam in her eyes went unnoticed.
"Well after that the guy with the purple face paint and Temari took Gaara away, Kakashi-sensei summoned one of his ninken, uh Pakkun I think his name was." With a shrug of his shoulders, he continued. "Well me and Sasuke followed the ninken until we caught up with the Suna trio. Originally the guy with the face paint wanted to stall us but the girl with the fan said she would fight instead. From there the two boys leapt away. Sasuke said I should pursue. When I asked if he was sure he got a little intense as he told me to go. So me and Pakkun leapt after them, leaving Sasuke, but I want it known I did so under protest" Naruto said with a huff. Tsunade and Shizune approved of Naruto's thoughts when it came to dividing his team even if he needed to do so to complete his mission. "I'm assuming he won because I didn't see him at any of the medical facilities today" continued the younger blonde.
"Well eventually we found the two Suna boys. The purple face painted one then put Gaara down and pulled out his puppet, ready for a fight. Before we could fight again, Shino appeared. At some point though Gaara had wandered off while we were bantering. I … um … forgot I could sense him so I got worked up until I thought about it. After that Shino ended up fighting the puppet while me and Pakkun went after Gaara." He got a deadpan look from Tsunade, Shizune and even Tonton for forgetting about such an important skill. 'Well his reaction during a crisis will only improve with time' thought Tsunade. 'For now we will have to train the skills he has more to ensure he remembers them.'
"After a while we found Gaara struggling to walk through the forest, using the trees as support. I guess he sensed us because he slowly turned to face us. He then gave a crazed grin and he started talking like he 'I'm going to kill you Uzumaki!'" Naruto said in gruff voice, attempting to mimic the Suna jinchuriki. "He then started gain the characteristics of his biju as half his face changed and he gained a new arm! He was all set to charge us but then Kakashi-sensei's canine left me! He just poofed away! I mean can you believe that?!" the young blonde said with a huff. He then crossed his arms and said under his breath, "I bet the slugs wouldn't have left me just because someone intimidating wanted to fight!" proclaimed Naruto.
Tsunade smiled at Naruto's compliment towards his summon. "Well, the next time I summon a member of the Slug Clan, I'll be sure to relay that you think so highly of them" stated a proud Slug Sannin. Naruto smiled at the older blonde before being prompted by Shizune to continue his story. "Well, he charged at me really fast, but I managed to dodge him!" Naruto stated proudly. "The next time he charged me I struck him in the face sending him backwards. We kept going back and forth like this, all the while he kept gaining more features of his biju. When his upper body was fully covered, he hit me with this wind blast from his back that caused me to crash through several trees."
Tsunade was distressed by his story. Despite the fact he was clearly fine from the fight it didn't make her any less worried about Naruto's safety. "Well that was when I activated the Byakugo no In the first time. I was really surprised that after I used it, it was full again." This immediately caught the attention of the two kunoichi. 'Could the Kyuubi have aided Naruto in his fight with Gaara?' they both thought. "I didn't think too much about it as I needed to beat down that Gaara kid. So I kept beating on him until I managed to get him into the air where I loaded my arm with so much chakra that I rocketed him into the ground" the young blonde said, hoping he wouldn't have to tell the two that he overloaded his arm that his muscles tore and he needed to use the Byakugo no In to save his arm.
He must have been a bad at hiding it as Tsunade gave him a scowl that said she knew he was leaving something out. With a deep sigh he told the two experienced Medic Nin's of how he overloaded his arm and used the Byakugo no In to save his arm as he struck Gaara. There were two reactions. Shizune's was to gasp while Tsunade bopped him on the head as she fretted over him while scanning his arm. The scan yielded no negative results, saying that Naruto's arm was perfectly fine. That being said, Tsunade felt the need to hug the blonde after she bopped him on the head again. "Damn it gaki! Don't you dare think of doing that again, you hear? I don't want you to permanently hurt yourself got it?" she questioned harshly.
Naruto nodded solemnly and returned the hug. After about a minute, Naruto continued his tale. "After I knocked him into the ground, that was when Shukaku came out" he stated shocking the two. "Well I knew I couldn't beat him so I prepared to summon Katsuyu but then I guess I summoned her at her full size" Naruto said bashfully. Tsunade took in Naruto's story and thought about every detail he put forward. After a while Tsunade responded.
"Well Naruto I must I am very proud of you." Here he smiled proudly at Tsunade's words. "But I have to ask, why didn't you use your Kango Fusa or any additional tactics in your fight?" Here Naruto looked down in shame. He didn't want to admit this, but he knew she wouldn't judge him for it. "I was scared and wasn't thinking straight when Gaara first charged me. When he became aggressive like that the only thing that I could think of to do was to hit him as hard as possible to beat him. I'm sorry Tsu-chan."
Tsunade put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Naruto. Sometimes we have to face things that scare us or against an opponent that has a tactic we are unprepared for. The best thing to do about it if you survive is to include what happened in your training regiment so as to not be caught by it again."
Naruto looked up to the older blonde with stars in her eyes. "Really Tsu-chan?" Tsunade nodded in an affirmative. "That being said we will need to add that to your training so you can be used to fighting such aggressive opponents. I want you to be able to use every skill you learn so we will train hard to make sure you can use them even in nasty situations like against that Gaara kid." Naruto took Tsunade's declaration to heart. "Awesome! Just you see! I'll train so hard that I'll use every skill you have to teach me!"
Shizune giggled at Naruto's reaction to their masters increased training. Letting out a yawn, Shizune told the two blondes "I believe it is getting late and the day has been rather exhausting. I suggest we get to bed, after all Naruto does still have to help in the morning." The two nodded in agreement as Shizune left the room. As Tsunade began to stand but Naruto caught her wrist. Looking down at the young blonde, Tsunade could tell he was troubled by something.
"Naruto are you okay?" she asked with great concern. "Tsu-chan … can I talk to you?" Tsunade immediately sat back down. "Of course Naruto, what is it?" Naruto took a deep breath before answering. "How?"
"How what Naruto?"
"How can you see all those that died during treatment and not be weighed down by it?" he asked desperately.
Tsunade wondered when this was coming. 'He probably saw more than his fair share of the dead today thanks to his Kage Bunshin today' she thought. Tsunade pulled the troubled blonde into a tight hug to comfort him. "I mean some of them died as I was taking them to the field hospitals" he said in a defeated tone. This made Tsunade hug him closer.
With a sigh, Tsunade spoke. "To be honest it's hard Naruto. When you go out and see people you can save but at the cost of another it eats at you almost like taking a life would. It just happens that you could have saved them rather than take it. There are times that no matter how hard you try you simply cannot save them for one reason or another." Tsunade paused and took a deep breath before continuing.
"As a doctor, it hurts you, as a medic it hurts but this is the worst part of our field just as the happiest is when we can save a life. Just remember, those you do save and help live to see tomorrow because of you. Focus on the good you can do and do your best to help everyone you can but never forget those that we failed to help as they also help push us forward to become better medics. Sometimes though, the only way to get through it is to have someone to lean onto."
Naruto paused for a moment and let her words sink in. He then spoke with so much conviction it warmed her soul. "Then I will always be there for you Tsu-chan! Always." Tsunade looked down at the younger blonde and smiled. She placed a kiss on his forehead before resting hers on his, and "I you" she replied.
The fire she had seen in Naruto now grew into an inferno when he spoke next, "And when I'm Hokage I'll make sure all my shinobi come home." Tsunade held him close, "I'm sure you will Naruto." There was not a hint of doubt in her voice. She fully believed he would become strong enough and wise enough to ensure the safety of the shinobi he will someday lead.
"For now, you will share a bed with me. It will help you sleep through the night." Naruto nodded, accepting her advice. With that the two made their way to Tsunade's room. The room was rather large, far larger than the hotel room he had stayed in during his month of training with Tsunade and Shizune. There was a bed that looked like it could fit three people in it. It had forest sheets with a white comforter on top that was decorated with the image of a mountain range printed on it. There were two nightstands, that had two drawers each, with an analog clock on the right nightstand.
There was a large window on the far side of the room with two torchiers and a light fixture in the center of the ceiling, the switches for these were near the large bed. Throughout the room there were multiple paintings, in a variety of styles on scrolls or canvas, in the room that really likened up the rather white walls. There was a large TV with a VHS player nearby, both were set on an equally large chest of drawers, facing the bed. Connected to the room appeared to be a bathroom and a walk-in closet.
"Here is my room Naruto, and like I said earlier, yours as well" said Tsunade. Naruto looked in awe of the sight before him. He like the look of the place but a yawn prevented him from saying anything. Seeing this, Tsunade told Naruto "Go get cleaned up so you can go to bed. I'll join you after I freshen up myself." With a nod, Naruto went to go get cleaned up.
After freshening up before bed, Naruto passed out as soon as he laid down on the soft mattress. After Tsunade climbed in after him, she wrapped her arms around him, intent on keeping him close that night, hoping to keep the nightmares away from Naruto.
It had been almost a month since the Suna, Oto Invasion had occurred. Thanks to the large-scale Search and Rescue operation that the forces of Konoha had undertaken, they were to recover their wounded and fallen in a few weeks. For some that had missing relatives were elated that they were wounded but alive while others weren't as lucky.
As dictated by the current governing Council, a mass funeral service was arranged for the citizens of Konoha to honor their fallen. All that attended wore simple black shirts with deep cut collars and black pants.
The Konoha cemetery was on the south side of the village and was one of the largest plots of land not owned by any Clan or wealthy individual. There were headstones that came slightly out of the ground which held the name, dates of birth and death of the buried individual. If they were a shinobi then their rank would also be included on the headstone. At the very back of the cemetery was an elevated platform that held the headstones of the fallen Hokage which laid before a ten-foot-tall statue of the symbol of Hi no Kuni. As a new row was added to the cemetery so to would an additional walkway that branched off from the much larger main walkway. The entire plot of land was fenced off by a seven-foot-tall fence made of wooden planks with the only hole being that at the main walkway.
Despite the service taking place at mid-morning, the dark clouds above prevented any warmth of the sun to fall on those in mourning. In front of the Hokage memorial were the caskets of all the fallen with the Sandaime being placed in the center. Atop each of the caskets was the shinobi ID photo of the fallen defenders of Konoha while the civilians used photos they could salvage of their deceased family.
Some took the deaths of their friends and loved ones hard. One such person was Naruto who was crying while next to Tsunade at the loss of the Sandaime. Naruto stood in the funeral line staring at the picture of Hiruzen. News of the Sandaime death hit him rather hard. Tears rolled down his cheeks as Tsunade wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He lost one of the few people that didn't look at him darkly.
Tsunade had come with him but she still kept her henge up, though this time her hair was brown rather than red. Her identity as Mito still garnered a lot of recognition as the "Red Headed Angel" and she didn't want to have the ceremony of the event ruined by people rushing to greet her. Shizune and Tonton had also come, but unlike Tsunade their henged forms did not gain the same notoriety so they were safe to continue to use them.
In the time leading up to the funeral, word had spread about some kind of purple box that was on the roof of the Kage Booth during the invasion. It was said that Orochimaru of the Sannin had fought the Sandaime in there which is how he died. Tsunade had not taken the news well, claiming that if she had seen the barrier she could have helped.
Shizune looked on at the picture frames of the fallen. 'So many died' she thought somberly. She wasn't the only one that shared that sentiment. Many of the shinobi also shared this sentiment. Two of which were Kakashi and his lover Yugao. Yugao is woman with fair skin, long purple hair that reaches her waist, bangs that cover her forehead and side bangs that reach just blow her bust and a curvaceous figure. She has warm brown eyes and wears a dark shade of red lipstick.
Kakashi stood as close to Yugao as possible, as it would be inappropriate to show consolation to those of an adult stature. The two had lost a few of their Anbu colleagues during the conflict. Though it had been a while since he was in the organization, as a former Captain he still felt sadness at their deaths.
The ceremony lasted for a few hours. It even began to rain part way through ceremony. Asuma commented that the heavens appeared to be weeping at the loss of life. Sakura looked around the cemetery hoping to see her teammates and sensei. From where she was standing, she couldn't see Sasuke anywhere. She noticed Kakashi standing next to a sad looking, beautiful woman with long purple hair.
She also noticed Naruto was standing near a woman with brown hair that bore a striking resemblance to the Red Headed Angel. 'Are she and the Red Headed Angel related?' wondered Sakura. She figured she would ask some time after the service.
The service ended with the lowering of caskets into the new plots of land. With end of the ceremony everyone began to file out of the cemetery at a sedate pace. Due to how crowded and tightly packed the patrons were, Sakura was unable to make her way over to the woman she wanted to talk to.
As the four, consisting of Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton arrived at the Senju Compound, the rain increased in intensity. Tsunade guided Naruto to her room, though that did not prevent the blonde from latching on to her in his grief. Shizune watched, along side Tonton, as the young blonde grieved at the loss of one of the few people that did not let his life become nothing but hell. Naruto, for his part, was lost in his thoughts as soon as they started making their way out of the cemetery. So lost was he that he was not aware of his surroundings and held onto Tsunade as a means of comfort.
Naruto reflected what the Sandaime had done for him while growing up as he arrived back at the Senju Compound. The Sandaime was one of the few people he had growing up that didn't look at with fear or scorn. Naruto was partly conflicted on how to feel about the old man. On one had he was the man that provided money for him to pay his expenses. Sure, he didn't do much else for him, but I sea of disdain such things meant a lot to the young blonde. Sure, he let him face the villager's scorn alone, nor did he have a caretaker or let him know he had family. But that was the thing, despite all that he could have done he at least made sure he wasn't homeless and had some money for his expenses.
So lost in his thoughts about his feelings over Old Man Hiruzen, he didn't notice that he and Tsunade had made their way to her room. She had guided him to where they sit on her bed. As she sat him on the bed, Tsunade took in his features. Instantly she noticed his sorrow and confusion as she had worn those expressions hundreds of times over the years. "Naruto are you okay" she asked with a soft voice. When she was met with silence, she sat next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me anything. If something is bothering you it's best to talk about it rather than keep it locked away. I would know that all too well" she whispered. Still her words were met with silence. Rather than back off, she stayed with him, waiting for him to speak when he was ready. It wouldn't be long when he spoke.
"I … I don't know how I should feel Tsu-chan. About the Old Man I mean. I mean he helped me sometimes but it wasn't a lot. Originally, I was happy that he at least was willing to talk to me but now I know he also hid things from me and I don't even get to ask why. Why would he not tell me I still had family? Why would he hide who my parents are from me? It feels like part of me is glad he is dead because he hid stuff from me but the other part of me is sad he is gone. Does that make me a bad person?" Naruto asked as he the tears of conflicted mind rolled down his cheeks.
Tsunade pulled Naruto into a tight hug, allowing him to rest his head in the crook of her neck. Naruto wrapped his arms around Tsunade in response.
"No Naruto it makes you human. There are times those we trust will make decisions we don't like or won't agree with. These decisions can be done with the best or worst of intentions, however we will never know unless we confront them and get closure. Right now, you have no closure so you are torn at how to feel."
Tsunade took a deep breath "As we go through life, we will often find those closest to us can leave unexpectedly. You may feel guilty that you could have done something about it. When I lost my otouto, I blamed myself as there were many things I feel I could have done. The same can be said when I failed to save Dan as he laid before me. Even now, at the loss of my sensei I can't help but blame myself. If had been more aware of my surroundings maybe I could have done something" she told him solemnly.
Naruto turned his head slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you tell me before that shinobi can get caught up in a task that they can be blind to the world around them." Tsunade nodded in agreement. "They you can't full blame yourself" retorted the younger blonde. "But this is what I mean Naruto. You will often feel regret or remorse or confused when you lose someone close to you. I should be better and noticed the barrier above where Sarutobi-sensei was in the arena." Naruto tightened the hug he had around Tsunade. "You told me that no matter how skilled you are you can always make mistakes."
"You're right. The only thing we can do is remember them and try not to repeat our mistakes."
"Well actually you are right as they are your words" he said with a large smile. "You cheeky brat" Tsunade retorted as she shifted their position to rest her forehead to top of his head.
Kakashi guided Yugao towards his apartment. He had left her alone since the death of Hayate, he was not going to let that continue. As they were leaving, they were met by Yugao's close friends, Kurenai and Anko, who once again gave their condolences to Yugao and a nod towards Kakashi. Kakashi tightened his hold on his lover as her sorrow rose and buried her face in his chest and returned the nod to the two women. When the two arrived Yugao calmed down enough to at least no longer be crying. "Thank you Kakashi-kun" said the current Anbu Captain. "Hmm. Well, if it weren't for you and Tenzo I wouldn't be here now. Plus I can't leave someone close to me alone like this can I?" he asked. Yugao gave him a soft glare made all the less intimidating by her puffy red eyes. Kakashi in response merely pulled her into a tight hug which was returned.
"Just as you were there for me when I was at my lowest, I am here for you" said the former Anbu Captain. In response, Yugao pulled down Kakashi's mask and gave him a kiss on his lips which was returned with equal passion as she put into it.