AN: Wow, you guys were really divided on the last chapter, weren't you? I've received arguments from various viewers and I have to admit, it was a tough decision.
WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT PRESENT IN THIS CHAPTER.
Yamato looked up at Naruto, looking contemplative. "Let's look at the pros and cons of this, shall we?"
Naruto pointed at him. "Good idea! Pros: We discover his research, future plans, information on Akatsuki, possibly find locations for all his bases, kill him, possibly find Sasuke and drag his pansy ass back."
Yamato looked at him, part amused and part reproachful. "Cons: We're possibly outnumbered, that too against bearers of the curse seal. Not only that, but it's also possible that by the time we get there, it's empty and he's rigged the place to blow."
There was silence for a few moments. Arguments of both sides were sound, but one side carried more weight than the other. Sakura spoke up hesitantly, "I think we should go back."
Naruto turned to face her. He didn't glare at her, or even look surprised. He just silently asked her why. Sakura shrugged, "We've already got Kabuto, didn't we? So we don't really need to go to the base to hunt for information. As Orochimaru's right-hand man and a spy, he's most probably privy to a lot of information the other villages would kill for."
Naruto raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Huh…that's a very good point."
Sakura smirked and crossed her arms. "You aren't the only one intelligent on this team."
Naruto smirked back and pointed out the hole in her argument. "But as you said, he's only the right-hand man. Orochimaru isn't a person who shares everything, even with people he trusts."
"Be that as it may," Haruto interrupted before Sakura and Naruto could really get started, "I too believe that we should head back. We've already prolonged it more than necessary. We got what we came for, so let's not be greedy."
Yamato nodded. "He's right. Better not to be hasty when it comes to dealing with Orochimaru."
Naruto pursed his lips and looked off to the side. He let out a deep sigh- they were right. They already got what they came for. Plus, the fight with Orochimaru shouldn't have even happened. They were just supposed to grab the spy and get out of there.
He felt Kurama's displeasure from within. He knew he could probably take whoever came their way, but that was just being overconfident. He could take care of himself, but as the team leader, he couldn't just afford to think merely about himself. The team always came first.
Sakura and Haruto were good shinobi, but Yamato was right on the end that there was a high chance they would be outnumbered. And separated. United they stand, divided they fall, and all that crap.
"Fine," he said at last, turning back to his team. "We head back." He looked at each member in the eye. "We grab Kabuto, and double-time back to Konoha. Everyone cool with that?"
Haruto and Sakura smiled, and gave him nods. Yamato smiled and gave him an approving nod. "But before we move," he spoke suddenly, gaining quizzical looks, "I need to test something out."
He bent down, taking out a sealing scroll from a vest pocket. Taking out the ink and brush, he started drawing seals on the paper, with swift and precise strokes. Haruto and Yamato knelt beside him, with Sakura leaning over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"
Naruto smirked. "Completing a seal. I put one on Orochimaru."
Sakura had a skeptical look on her face as she tried to remember what little she knew about seals. "He was spitting out bodies like crazy, what makes you think he didn't do it after reaching his base? That way, you could just be tracking another corpse."
"That would be the case if I had just used a normal tracking seal," Naruto reposted as he added the necessary layers to complete the seal. "But we've seen that normal doesn't work with the guy. Which is why I added a different one."
He finished the seal, and packed away the ink and brush. Haruto studied the seal closely- he was still studying fuinjutsu, and he hadn't gotten to the part where layers were added to a seal, but he could take a hint. "You're not tracking his body?"
Naruto smirked as he pressed his palm on the scroll and pushed his chakra, activating it. "Nope."
To the others' amazement, all the seals vanished as if they were never there, leaving a blank paper. A few moments later, a dot named Orochimaru appeared on the upper left side. Naruto then touched the map with his index finger, and pushed his chakra again. This time, a dot named Naruto appeared, on the down left. On the bottom of the scroll, readings appeared of the distance between him and Orochimaru, the direction in which Naruto should go in order to reach Orochimaru.
"I'm tracking his chakra."
"Incredible," Yamato breathed out as he gazed at the scroll. He could already see how beneficial this seal would be to the hunter nin corps and the ANBU.
"Orochimaru can change bodies all he wants, but his chakra signature will not change. The tracking seal is imprinted on his chakra, which I doubt he wants to lose in order to not be tracked. And that's if he manages to discover that I put a seal on him," Naruto explained smugly, with a touch of arrogance to his voice.
Haruto grinned and gave his cousin a disbelieving laugh. "When did you even put it on him?"
Naruto chuckled, "When I grabbed the back of his head and made him kiss a wall."
Yamato made an approving sound. "Not bad." Then he gave Naruto a side glance. "But how do you know you aren't tracking a curse seal?"
Naruto immediately shook his head. "No, that's not possible. Contrary to what many believe, Orochimaru's curse seals only carry a very minute, small portion of his chakra, and even that isn't normal chakra and…" Naruto debated whether to say the next part, but decided against it, shaking his head, "look, I could speak for hours on this but the bottom line is, this seal is tracking his core chakra, the reserves held inside his body, the place that holds the largest concentration of his chakra. Curse seals are a different thing entirely."
He rolled the scroll up and tied it, placing it back in his vest. "I'll give this to Tsunade. It's her job to figure out what to do with this scroll."
He got up and stretched. "Alright guys, let's fetch our guy and get outta here. Hold on to me."
Once everyone had done so, Naruto traced the chakra of the kunai he had planted in the forest, inside the barrier. Ensuring that everyone was holding on, he pushed himself into the slipstream, the shortcut that allowed him to travel instantaneously.
The four of them appeared to an empty clearing. Naruto spent a few moments looking around, checking whether or not someone was tracking them. His team tensed up just as they saw him tensed up, trying to determine the position of any threat that Naruto might be looking for.
"What are we looking for?"
Naruto straightened, his tense posture completely gone at Yamato's question. "Nothing. I was just waiting to see if we would see an owl."
With that, he walked forward, leaving others to stare at his back, bewildered. They watched as he stopped a few feet in front of them, and positioned his hand in the shape of a claw. The tips of his fingers lit up with deep blue chakra, forming kanji characters. He then moved his hand forward, fingers clenching as if grabbing thin air.
"This," he said in a dramatic tone, "is my trap."
With that, he pulled his hand back. Almost like ripping off a curtain, the air literally came off, revealing a blue pyramid that was hidden behind it. And inside the pyramid, lay Kabuto, completely knocked out.
Naruto watched as the others had a, disappointingly predictable reaction to his reveal. They whipped out their kunai, Haruto preferring to whip out his chains. He resisted the urge to scowl. Did they really think his trap was that simple that Kabuto would escape?
Sakura whispered, as if afraid that Kabuto would hear her. "Naruto…what is that?"
Naruto made seals and pressed his palm on the pyramid, which then dissolved into wisps of chakra. "That was an Uzumaki style barrier, meant to keep the prisoners contained."
Sakura tilted her head, slightly impressed. "Huh."
Naruto opened a scroll and quickly began to draw kanji for a seal. The prisoner scroll wasn't the right one for sealing the rogue medic, seeing as he's still alive. But a few tweaks should do it, he mused.
Haruto walked up beside him. "I gotta say, that was one hell of a fight, cousin," he complimented him.
Naruto snorted. "Please, once he started spamming his customized snake skins, he became sort of predictable." He then paused, lifting the brush, looking contemplative. "Then again, I doubt anyone forced him to that so many times before."
He continued writing, finishing the scroll with the last stroke. He lifted it, placed it on the unconscious medic, and pulsed his chakra. In a pop of smoke, Kabuto vanished, sealed inside the scroll.
"Alright fellas," Naruto breathed, tying up the scroll and putting it inside his vest, "mission accomplished."
Yamato nodded, pleased with how the mission had gone despite their encounter with Orochimaru. "Good job team. Not only do we have our spy, but we also acquired Orochimaru's favorite sword."
Naruto stepped forward, looking curious. "Yeah, about that, what's gonna happen to it?"
Yamato shrugged. "It's your loot. You could keep it if you want. Or you could give it to Hokage-sama, if you don't want to keep it."
Naruto put his hand forward, palm facing up. "Then give it to me."
Haruto rose an eyebrow. "You don't even know how to wield a sword, Naruto."
Naruto countered. "I know someone who does, and I think they'll appreciate it greatly. In fact, I think they will benefit from it."
Yamato tossed the sword to Naruto, who caught it by the handle. He took a moment to appreciate the sword, which was considered legendary. He gave it a few experimental swings, testing out the weight and dexterity. Contrary to what his cousin thought, Naruto could wield a sword. He just wasn't an expert at it. Compared to those who used swords regularly, he was an amateur at best.
Which is synonymous with saying, 'I suck at it'.
Naruto just rolled his eyes at the mock. When did I ever ask you?
You don't need to. I offer my services when they're needed.
…no, you offer your 'daily dose of sarcasm' when it is certainly, not needed.
Naruto tuned out whatever Kurama said after that. It was one of those days when the fox felt that it deserved the ultimate props for remaining inside Naruto, and that Naruto should worship him for it.
"Let's go home, guys. Grab on," Naruto instructed the other.
Yamato looked a bit perplexed, but Sakura and Haruto understood his words and looked immensely relieved. No one fashioned tree jumping for consecutive days.
Naruto knelt and put his finger on the ground, switching his chakra to sensory mode. It took him half a minute before he was certain that he had the marker for the Konoha gates in mind instead of the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees.
That was not something he ever wanted to repeat.
Once the others had gripped him firmly, he pushed. The next instant, they found themselves on the entrance of Konoha and right after, surrounded by ANBU whose swords were pointed at their jugulars.
Naruto mockingly rose his hands up, even adding a smile. "We surrender Neko-san."
He had a feeling she was narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously, but signaled the others to back down. Without a word, they jumped out of his team's sights.
Sakura released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. "Holy shit," she breathed out, "they sure are fast."
"Team Ro is considered the best ANBU team in Konoha," Yamato told her, and Naruto detected the smallest hint of pride in his voice.
That was probably his old team before he was taken off the force, Naruto theorized.
"By the way Naruto," Naruto turned around to face his co-leader who was smiling at him, "that was a sure-fast and quite an efficient way of getting us back to the village." He gave a thumbs up. "Good job!"
Naruto rubbed his head, a sheepish smile crossing his face. "Aw, you're making me blush."
Sakura nudged him in the ribs, looking slightly annoyed. "Quit it. We have to report to Tsunade-sama."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Right, let's get that done. Yamato, grab Haruto. I'll grab Sakura. Outside the office."
Yamato rose an eyebrow, and before he could ask Naruto to clarify what he meant, Naruto had grabbed Sakura and vanished in a leaf body flicker.
They appeared right outside the Hokage's office, the leaves from the jutsu falling to the ground. Sakura swayed for a second in dizziness, making Naruto grab her shoulder to steady her. "You alright?"
Sakura glared at him. "Next time, give a warning."
Her whisper might have made someone change their skin color in seconds, but Naruto just nodded absently as he turned to knock on the door three times, just as Yamato and Haruto appeared by their side, the same way Naruto and Sakura did.
"Come in!"
Naruto opened the door and stepped in. "We're back from the mission, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade looked up, looking shocked for the briefest of seconds before calming down. Naruto frowned. "Something the matter?"
Tsunade shook her head as she rearranged the paperwork on her desk. "Nothing it's just that, you are quite early. I didn't expect you for another weak at least."
Naruto shrugged, grinning. "We took a shortcut on our way back home."
Tsunade deadpanned, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Clearly."
Then she got serious. "Team 7, I want a verbal account of your mission now. Did you succeed?"
"Believe it or not, we actually did."
Naruto reached into one of his vest pockets, pulling out the prisoner scroll and tossing it to her, causing Sakura and Yamato to nearly gape at him. It was a rule that nothing should be handed to the Hokage the way Naruto did just now, but Naruto and Tsunade never really had the strictest of relationships.
Tsunade deftly caught the scroll in her hand. "What's this?"
Naruto pointed to the scroll. "Your spy. He's still alive, just in a sort of stasis right now. The release mechanism is just the same as a prisoner scroll, so you shouldn't have any problems."
The Hokage leaned forward. "So who was the spy?"
Naruto gave a savage smirk. "Yakushi Kabuto."
Tsunade's shock lasted five seconds longer this time. She snapped her fingers, and an ANBU appeared by her side, wearing a parrot mask. "Get this to Ibiki, and tell him that this is a class-A priority. Take full precautions."
The ANBU nodded and took the scroll, vanishing wordlessly. The next thing to come out of her mouth was a command. "Tell me everything."
Naruto shared a glance with Yamato, before turning back to her. "I'll go. I'll keep it brief, you will read the written report anyways," he said, shrugging in the end.
Tsunade scowled but nodded. "Continue."
Naruto took a deep breath. "We traveled for six days and reached the bridge. I set up a trap and we waited. Yamato disguised himself as Sasori and revealed himself when Kabuto walked out on the bridge. But it turned out he stopped working for the guy long ago, so he really was in cahoots with Orochimaru, who was also present on the bridge. I flashed in and bagged Kabuto, fought Orochimaru and scared him away. We then flashed home."
Tsunade stared at him, looking as if he'd gone insane. Naruto frowned- he hadn't said anything wrong. He looked around and saw Sakura and Haruto gaping at him. Even Yamato was looking at him strangely. "What?"
Tsunade snapped out of her shock and when she spoke, her voice was faint. "You fought Orochimaru, and scared him away?"
Naruto nodded, looking as if it was just a regular day at work. "Yeah, he ran away. Spammed too many bodies and ran low on chakra, so he slipped away. Damn reptilian bastard."
Tsunade carefully kept her face from showing just how absurd the statement sounded. Orochimaru, scared away? What the hell was the world coming too? If Naruto was able to make Orochimaru, one of the craftiest and most powerful shinobi in the world, retreat, then just how powerful was he? Not only that, but Naruto said that they flashed home, which meant the fight had taken place mere hours ago. No, perhaps not even an hour ago. And he didn't even look winded.
What. The. Absolute. Hell?!
Even back when they were kids, Orochimaru was a tough fight even on a good day. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised, considering that Naruto beat Jiraiya in his sage mode, something not even Orochimaru can boast to do. But Naruto was only 16 years old for kami's sake! She subtly activated her limited sensory abilities and tried to get a feel for Naruto's chakra reserves. Her mind boggled when she found out that only a fourth of his total reserves were depleted. And the rest that remained could rival hers when she released her seal. She couldn't even form any sense about this, so she did the only thing she could at the moment.
She groaned, raking her fingers through her hair and clutching it tightly. She ground out in frustration. "Why can't your team have a normal mission for once?!"
Haruto and Sakura glanced at each other nervously. Stroking the Hokage's temper never really ended well for anybody, and Sakura knew that from firsthand experience. Yamato was stoically glancing straight, boring a hole in the wall.
Tsunade's frustration only increased when Naruto looked genuinely confused. "To be honest, even I don't know."
She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. Calm down Tsunade, the mission was a success. There should be no need for you to get mad at him.
"Do you think you managed to injure him enough that he would succumb?"
Naruto's reply was immediate. "No. I would've killed him, but I got outvoted."
Counting to ten, she opened her eyes. "I see. Anything else you need to inform me right now?"
Yamato stepped forward. "Naruto managed to snatch Orochimaru's sword."
Tsunade raised both of her eyebrows. "The Kusanagi no tsurugi?"
Naruto chuckled as he took out the scroll and unsealed the sword. "You should have seen his face at that moment. He looked spitting mad."
He handed the sword to Tsunade, who gazed at it curiously. Kusanagi no tsurugi was legendary, even more so than the seven blades of the mist. And now, it was in Konoha's hands. In the hands of a skilled kenjutsu user, this blade could do some real damage on the field.
She looked to Naruto. "What do you intend to do with it then? It was you who disarmed him."
Naruto took the sword back and sealed it back inside the scroll. "Actually, I was thinking of giving it to a friend."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You have in your possession, a most legendary blade that can cut anything, and you're giving it away?"
Naruto shrugged. "Hey, I'm no expert with a sword. I'd be doing a disservice to the blade by waving it around like an amateur. It deserves to be in the hands of someone who appreciates it and wield it like it was meant to be."
Tsunade slowly nodded, agreeing with his reasoning. It was rather logical and mature of Naruto to choose not to use the sword, seeing as he wasn't really inclined to the art of kenjutsu. "So who are you going to give it to?"
"Tenten."
Tsunade frowned, finding it rather odd. Naruto and Tenten never really struck to her as close friends. Granted, Tenten was a skilled user of swords, but there were better kenjutsu users in Konoha. Like a certain ANBU and Gekko Hayate.
"I suppose there could be…worse choices," Tsunade said at last. "If this is all, you all are dismissed and can collect your fees from the registration office. Except you, Yamato. I need to talk to you. Also, Naruto, report to me at seven in the evening."
Nodding, Naruto and the others turned to leave, but Naruto suddenly paused. He turned around, reaching for his vest pocket. "Oh, I almost forgot!"
He tossed the tracking scroll to Tsunade, ignoring Yamato's frown of disapproval. "Do with it what you will."
Tsunade inspected the scroll. "What is it?"
Naruto rubbed the bottom of his nose in a self-satisfied manner. "I slapped a tracking seal on Orochimaru. Not something he can take off too."
That was another shock for Tsunade. "You what?!"
Naruto nodded, holding back a snicker. "I doubt he even knows that he has a tracker on him. Anyway, to scout his location, you just need to press the tip of your finger on the opened scroll and pulse your chakra. The scroll will do the rest."
With that, he left.
Tsunade was close to gaping, something which no village leader should do, especially in front of their subordinates, if they want to hold on to their dignity. She didn't know what she should be more surprised at: the fact that this mission had succeeded beyond what she could even imagine, or the fact that Naruto had humiliated Orochimaru beyond possible measure. Not to forget, he made it so that the leaf now had a way of tracking down the Sannin anytime they wanted. At the rate he kept surprising her, she was going to need much more sake to calm down her nerves. Deep breathes weren't doing shit.
As soon as the door closed, Yamato turned back to her, expression serious. Tsunade cleared her throat and set down the tracking scroll aside delicately. She was going to need some serious thought and advice on what to do with it.
"Yamato, I need to know how Naruto performed on this mission," she said, looking at him directly in the eye.
Yamato tilted his head a little, a little confused. "Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade closed her eyes. "I'm not talking about his performance as a fighter. It is clear from what he has told me, and you not refuting his statements, that he just might be, no, is the strongest shinobi in the leaf right now. What I want to know is how he performed as a leader."
Yamato nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. I would say that his performance as a leader is admirable. He is serious when it is needed, and knows how to boost the morale of his team. He also is well acquainted with his team members, knowing enough about their skills and areas of specialization to pair them such that they cover each other's weaknesses. He isn't afraid to take charge, but prefers to have a second opinion. He is very adept at strategizing as well. He was the one who came up with the plan to capture. As for his decision making…."
Yamato frowned, trying to find the right words.
"….I would say that…he is a bit hasty, but his hastiness defers to his logic."
Tsunade rose an eyebrow. "Elaborate."
Yamato nodded. "When Orochimaru had retreated, Naruto had proposed that we track him down to his base and finish him off, despite knowing that this was a strictly recon mission. I would say that he has a tendency to go beyond mission parameters, but only when he thinks that it can be achieved. A bit short-sighted on his behalf, but I don't know if it can be faulted. With how powerful he is, I would say that he has a right to be that confident."
Throughout his explanation, Tsunade listened attentively. So far, it seemed that Naruto was a capable team leader, if a bit aggressive. Sticking to mission parameters was good, to go beyond them was better. She didn't doubt that Naruto could handle whatever minion came his way, but a team leader should always think of his team first before himself.
"He said he got outvoted. What did he mean by that?"
"The team was divided on opinion when Naruto suggested we track Orochimaru down to his base. He raised a few good points, but I believe that it was part reason, and part adrenaline talking. We voted to return since we already had captured Kabuto. He didn't object to the overall opinion, but he seemed a tad bit disappointed by it," Yamato answered, looking contemplative at the end.
Tsunade closed her eyes, deep in thought. A few minutes of silence passed, where Yamato kept standing at attention, waiting for his next order.
Tsunade was mentally cataloguing the points that Yamato made about Naruto. Overall, it seemed like Naruto handled it pretty well for his first mission as a team leader. He took charge, planned well, listened to his teammates, made the logical decision.
Looks like he's shaping up to be a good leader, she thought with a small smile.
"Thank you for that Yamato. You may leave."
Yamato nodded, and turned to leave. Once he was gone, Tsunade let out a big sigh, and all but sunk into her chair. She reached down, opened her drawer, pulled open the secret compartment and took out her secret stash of sake. So many shocks to her system in one day wasn't healthy.
I really need a drink right now.
XXXXXXX
"Alright, I'll see you guys later!" Naruto waved to Haruto and Sakura and turned away, walking in the direction of his house. He created a clone and sent it off to Asuma to ask him if his team was free this evening. A chance to utterly humiliate and thereby motivate his comrades? Yes sir!
He smiled as he thought of the most recent conversation. Haruto asked Sakura to lunch and- he was still finding it hard to believe that happened – Sakura said yes. This was actually a good sign. Their outing proved to him that Sakura really had moved on from crushing over their former teammate. To be honest, it would have been unbearably sad if Sakura still wanted to wait for Sasuke to come over.
The thought of his estranged friend brought a frown to his face. He didn't know what kind of crap Orochimaru had been filling in Sasuke's head for the last three years, but one thing he couldn't stop worrying about was that Orochimaru was planning on taking Sasuke's body. He knew Sasuke wouldn't let go of his revenge for the world- what a selfish ass – but how the hell would he fight his brother when he was already dead?
He let out a deep sigh. Sasuke wasn't right in the head, and how the village let him be like that for so long was something he didn't want to think about. The guy had the superiority complex and the inferiority complex the size of Konoha. The village let him think he was too weak, something that drove him away.
Seriously, he kept thinking he was weak if he couldn't defeat Kakashi. One would think he held Itachi on a pedestal that went as high as the moon.
That's the problem with Sasuke, brat. Your former teammate is one of a kind, a kind that still exists in this world.
Constantly comparing himself to everyone is not something a healthy person does, Kurama. In his eyes, everyone is weak if they're not Itachi. And if he can't beat them, he sees himself as weak.
Hmph! The truth is, even as much as he says that he hates his brother more than anything else in this world, he places him on a ridiculously high pedestal.
…you know, you might be closer to the truth than anyone else. Sasuke had this tunnel vision when it came to getting revenge from Itachi. He always thought that no one could beat Itachi….except himself.
That's the bitter truth about revenge, Naruto. If you're not careful, it will swallow you whole until you can see nothing but darkness. The cycle of revenge is an unending one. First, there is love, followed by betrayal, which gives way to hate, which then gives birth to revenge.
Naruto had no reply to Kurama's wisdom. He couldn't refute it, because he couldn't find a hole. Sasuke would cut down anyone who stood between him and his revenge. He was out of rational thought.
Man, I really hope there's something redeemable left inside him. I'd hate to fight him to the death.
Given your luck, that's exactly what would happen. And perhaps next time, he might not give you a choice.
Naruto shook his head. He really didn't want to be depressed for the remainder of the day. A sudden rush of memories informed him that he would be fighting Team 10 at six in the evening, on training ground 10. Looking up, he was mildly surprised that he had arrived at his home.
Huh, I was really out of it.
He jumped over the gates and landed right in front of the door. Pushing it open, he called out. "I'm home!"
"I'm at the back!"
Naruto followed Temari's voice and came into their backyard, where she was sitting on a chair under the umbrella, reading a book. She looked at him and smiled, standing up to greet him. "How was the mission?"
"A resounding success," he answered, smiling against her lips when she gently kissed him.
"Oh?"
Naruto pulled back. "You sound surprised."
Temari just sighed in relief as she embraced him. "I'm just glad you're safe. S-ranks are no joke."
Naruto hugged her back and they just stood there for a few moments. It suddenly struck to him, the severity of their profession. They were killers in a world full of killers, and going out every time raised their chances of dying drastically. And they were entering a war now. A war with people who won't hesitate to kill them for the sake of their goal. His arms tightened around her just a bit more. Temari didn't take anything higher than a B-rank by herself, A-rank occasionally, but he found it hard to accept the thought of her being alone in the field.
Even if she had become a lot more skilled and stronger, he couldn't help but worry. And it was true on her end as well.
"You got that right. This mission could have gone off the rail so badly it wouldn't even have been funny," Naruto agreed.
Temari pulled back with a concerned frown. "Why, what happened?"
Naruto grabbed her hand and led her to the chairs. "We ran into Orochimaru."
Temari felt her eyebrows shoot up. "Oh my god…."
Naruto sat down in a chair, pulling Temari into his lap. "More specifically, he ran into us."
He rested his head in the crook of her neck, taking a deep sniff of her scent. The scent of the sunflower soap that Temari always used hit him full force, and the muscles he didn't know that were tensed loosened.
Temari ran a hand through his hair. "So how did you escape?"
That question caused him to grin. "Oh, we didn't. He did."
Temari tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean?"
Naruto's eyes glinted devilishly. "You're not gonna believe this."
XXXXXXX
"Oh my god!"
Temari felt like she was on a constant orgasm, with how deep Naruto was thrusting into her. The tip of his shaft was kissing her womb with each thrust, and he wasn't delicate about it either. She supposed she should be thankful that she was on her hands and knees, for she had run out of strength for what felt like ages ago. Naruto had made her cum for…..she forgot the number, but it was clearly high enough to make her lose count.
Naruto, on the other hand, had cum only three times. And each load was large enough that his cum came out of her pussy in rivulets, dripping down on the bed and making a puddle, a testament to the large amount of semen he seemingly didn't seem to be running out of.
Kami, the Uzumaki really had legendary stamina.
Naruto's mind was clouded in the haze of lust as he continued to plow Temari. The sight of his shaft disappearing into Temari's pussy and coming out, coated with a mixture of his and her love juices really drove him wild. Her ass gave a small ripple every time his hips collided with hers, and he couldn't help himself.
SMACK!
Temari gave a yelp as Naruto spanked her, hard. Her hands balled into fists around the sheets below her, the mixture of pain and pleasure pushing her to the edge faster. She could feel another orgasm nearing.
"Naruto…..I'm-oh! Cumming!"
Naruto's thrusts continued with renewed vigor, spanking her occasionally. He was also nearing his edge, and the feeling of her juices washing over his cock might push him over as well. One particularly hard thrust sent Temari moaning loudly, as her pussy tightened around him. She used what little strength she could muster to move back and forth, almost as if milking him.
Naruto groaned like an animal as he leaned forward, biting down on the curve of her neck and shoulder as he thrust in as deep as he could, attempting to cram every inch of his cock into her. "Fuck, me too!"
He continued giving small thrusts as the first shots of his seed exploded inside her, painting her womb white with his thickness and texture. She could never get amazed enough at the amount he let out each time. Her already full womb was bombarded with another large dose, bloating it a little more. The mixture of their juices leaked out of her pussy, forming yet another puddle below their joined hips.
Both heaved deep breaths as his cock finally stopped shooting out ropes of thick semen. Temari's arms couldn't hold out any more and she collapsed, giving out a moan when a surprised Naruto landed on top of her, moving his still hard cock around her. Juices spilled out of her pussy when her bloated stomach was pressed against the bed.
Temari let out a weak moan. "I don't think….I can go any longer Naruto."
Naruto panted as well as he nuzzled her neck, hands brushing over her arms as they intertwined with her fingers tightly. "Don't worry. I think that was my last shot as well. Give me a minute."
He moved off her and beside her, spooning her. His softening cock came out of her, letting out the juices that it was blocking. His eyes flickered to the wall clock and his lips stretched into a smirk.
"Huh. Not bad. Three hours is a new record."
Temari carefully rolled over, snuggling into his chest and weakly hitting him with a fist. "You can still speak?"
Naruto chuckled as he ran a hand through her hair. "I might be exhausted, but not so much that I can't even lift my head up."
Temari groaned and just wrapped her arm around him. "Just hold me. I'm going to sleep."
The sudden fear and vulnerability in her voice gave him a pause. "Temari?"
She was quiet for a few moments, but when she spoke, her voice was like that of a scared child. "I could have lost you today."
Naruto let out a sigh, then pressed a kiss to her crown. "No, you wouldn't have."
She shifted against him. "If it was a recon mission, why didn't you just flash away when you already had Kabuto? Why stay and fight?"
Naruto stared at the ceiling for a few moments, trying to decide the best way to answer. "If I had the opportunity to remove a stone from our path, why would I let it go? I knew that I was capable of beating him, love."
He took her silence as his cue to continue. "Plus, there were others with me. Can you imagine just how scared I get when you go out in the field alone?"
Temari sighed against his chest. "Well then, fortunately for you, I can't do that anymore."
Naruto frowned. "Why, what happened?"
That got her attention, and she lifted her head to lock perplexed eyes with him. "You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?"
Temari sighed and plopped back down. "Then it's better if you hear it from Tsunade herself."
Before he could ask what she meant, Temari had dozed off. Frustration and confusion swam through his mind.
Did I miss something?
XXXXXXX
After two hours of snoozing, Naruto opened his eyes and let out a silent groan. Temari was buried into his side, her warm breaths tickling his rubs. Her legs were entangled with his, and he could feel his arousal growing. As gently as he could, he eased Temari's arms off him and sat up. He took a look at the wall clock and winced.
Shit, I'm going to be late.
He got up and stretched, blinking away the sleep. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. He just returned from an S-rank mission, had an incredible three hours of sex with Temari, was supposed to humiliate Asuma's team and meet the Hokage. Last but not the least, he had two weeks off.
Awesome.
"Now that is a view I could get used to seeing when I wake up."
He turned around to see Temari looking at him with sleepy eyes, an adorable smile on her face. He snorted as he moved over to where his clothes were. "You like seeing my behind?"
"It is a gorgeous ass if I do say so myself." Somehow, she managed to sound completely serious even when sleep was clogging her throat.
"Why, thank you." Naruto began putting on his clothes. Temari shifted on the bed, sitting up.
"Where are you going?"
"Asuma asked me a favor. He wants to test how his team holds up against an S-rank shinobi. So I've been invited to beat them up," Naruto cheerfully answered, putting on his shirt.
Temari snorted. "You shouldn't be sounding so happy about beating your comrades up."
"Jiraiya used to do it all the time. He said it improves perspective on life," he replied nonchalantly.
Of course, that was complete horseshit. It was just an excuse to beat someone up, and they both knew it.
"Well, don't hurt them too much," Temari cautioned, though there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
Naruto finished putting on his vest. "No promises," he chirped.
He stole a quick kiss from her and headed out. Temari flopped on her back, hissing a bit. "Wow…I'm going to feel this for a while."
XXXXXXX
Ino pursed her lips in annoyance. "He's late."
Chouji gulped down his chips. "Maybe he ran into someone?"
That simple question ticked Ino off. She turned to Chouji, teeth bared, which scared the Akimichi into backing up a few steps. "Then he should have given us a different time! I could be doing better things than waiting around for a guy who doesn't bother to arrive on time!"
Chouji nervously chuckled as he tried to placate his teammate. "Let's wait for a bit. I'm sure he's on his way."
Beside them, Shikamaru lay on the ground. The Nara sighed; partly he agreed with the highly troublesome blonde on his team. He could be taking a nap, but Asuma-sensei insisted on this training session.
Shikamaru snorted. Training session. Right.
Knowing his friend, it would be anything but a simple training session. Looking back, Shikamaru would like to say that everyone on their team worked pretty hard, training to get better. Asuma had told them that Naruto had gone on a training trip with Jiraiya-sama, just like the Yondaime had gone. And everyone knew the result of that.
Naruto was already crazy strong when they were genin. He was bound to become a monster, and that proved true. A year ago, Asuma showed them that Naruto had managed to get an entry into Iwa's bingo book. And it was a pretty hefty entry at that. He was given the coveted SS-rank, flee-on-sight status, a status he shared with his father and Senju Hashirama.
Seeing just how far Naruto had progressed in only two years, all the rookies trained with renewed vigor. Shikamaru trained hard for the first time in his life and got his team to do as well. Chouji was already training hard, his reason being that he wanted to be strong enough to stand beside Naruto and Shikamaru. Ino was already fired up, saying that she wouldn't let Naruto get ahead of her so easily.
Shikamaru didn't bother telling her that Naruto was probably so far ahead of them that he couldn't even see them behind him.
The point was, Naruto was being trained by Jiraiya-sama, and the results showed in the form of his bingo book entry. Or at least that's what everyone liked to think. Even all the sensei were fired up. It was a glorious day in Konoha when Asuma shut Ino up by saying that he was going to resume his training.
But that was probably because Asuma didn't want to let Kakashi get ahead of him more than he already was. Kakashi-sensei had been training pretty hard as well. He was seen with Gai-sense more often than before.
"Hey, guys!"
Ino and Chouji turned around, with Ino's words getting caught in her throat and a pretty blush gracing her face. It was the first time she had met him after three years, and to sum it up: He. Was. HOT!
Naruto covered the yawn that escaped him and walked over to the team. "Sorry, I'm late."
"What, were you sleeping?" Chouji jabbed at him.
Naruto smiled. "Actually, that's exactly what I was doing."
That threw the Akimichi for a loop. "Oh." Then he remembered that Naruto was married. Blood rushed to his cheeks as he struggled to look Naruto in the eye. "Oh."
Naruto turned to Ino. "It's good to see you, Ino. It's been a long time."
It amused him that Ino stuttered out a greeting. She was the most hotheaded and outspoken girl among the rookies, and her shy demeanor tickled his sense of humor. He knew exactly why she was stuttering, and kept his smirk to himself. Naruto turned to the jonin sensei on the ground and nodded at him. "Hey, Asuma-san."
The jonin nodded back. Naruto turned towards Shikamaru, who still hadn't bothered to get up. He walked over to him and lightly kicked him in the ribs. "Wake up, you idiot!"
Shikamaru opened one eye to look at him with annoyance and got up, grumbling about troublesome blondes. Naruto gave him a sugary smile. "So glad you could give us your time of the day."
Shikamaru snorted. "Get on with it, Uzumaki."
Naruto took a deep breath and let it out. "Alright so-"
"YO NARUTO!"
Surprised, the blonde turned back to see Team 8 and Team 9 enter the training grounds. Kiba was waving at him, riding on Akamaru who gave a loud bark upon seeing him. Naruto turned to Asuma, looking bewildered. "You called them?"
The cigarette smoking jonin shrugged, looking completely at ease at the sudden audience they had gathered. "I slipped a word to Kurenai. Figured it would be an informative lesson for everyone."
Naruto lightly snorted, looking to the side. It's going to be a beatdown, is what it's going to be.
Lee was positively jumping around, all the while standing at one spot. "Yosh Naruto-kun! It seems that your youthfulness has increased so much more! So much that you are imparting it to others so that they may become youthful like you!"
As usual, Naruto had no answer for that. "If you say so, Lee."
Neji and Tenten shoved him along, going to stand alongside Team 8. Naruto clapped loudly, seeing that everyone had started chatting. "Is everyone comfortable enough? Or do you want some tea as well?"
He scoffed when he received sheepish apologies. Turning to Asuma's team, who were standing together facing him, he figured now was the best time to begin.
"Alright people, let's get this over with quickly because I got a meeting with our esteemed Hokage in about," Naruto did a quick mental calculation, "forty minutes."
Chouji spoke up. "What are the rules?"
Naruto hummed in thought. "Well, let's see. Number one, you will treat me as an S-rank shinobi who's out to kill you. Don't, and I'll make you regret it for the rest of the week. Got it?"
He was pleased to see Chouji and Ino gulping anxiously. Shikamaru on the other hand, gave no visible reaction other than the narrowing of his eyes.
"Number two, since we're comrades and this is a training session," he made sarcastic quote marks with his fingers, "let's not break each other's bones. But there's no limit to bruises. Got it?"
Ino and Chouji were definitely rattled by now, and even Shikamaru had tensed up. Good, it was rather nice to see his eternally lazy friend taking something serious for once.
"Number three, you get no outside help. That includes you, Asuma-san," he nodded at the jonin. He frowned at his exclusion, but accepted the rules thus far. There would be times when he wouldn't be with his team.
"Number four, you all get two strikes. If I land two cuts on you, or knock you out two times, you're dead."
"Why two?" Asuma asked curiously.
Naruto turned to him, shrugging. "I want to give them at least one chance to pass. I'll be holding back a lot."
He turned back to the team. "We start on my mark."
He then moved over so he was standing a few feet away, hands still in his pockets. "Also," he pointed with his index finger towards a surprised Asuma, "I can't believe that you invited all the rookies to watch me humiliate your team."
Ino's response was predictable. She blew up.
"HEY! Who do you think you're going to humiliate?! We weren't sitting down on our asses all these years! We were training hard! If you think this is going to be easy you got another thing coming! We are going to reck you!"
God, there were so many openings he could exploit that it almost pained him to remain in his spot and not strike them.
Naruto did his best to look unimpressed. "Oh really? You and what team? All I see in front of me is a flower girl who can't bother about anything but her looks, a lazy airhead who doesn't bother to move his ass around unless someone tells him to, and a fatass."
The teams on the sidelines winced collectively, even the sensei. Some even gasped. Everyone knew just how Chouji felt about being called fat.
Ino was growling about the remark he made about her, but Shikamaru literally had to hold Chouji back from rushing in. "Dammit, he's playing with us Chouji! Can't you see?"
Indeed, when the Nara looked into his friend's eyes, it became clear to him that Naruto knew exactly what he was doing. And as much as it pained to hear him about Naruto deliberately badmouthing Chouji about the one thing the guy couldn't tolerate, he couldn't do anything. The enemy wasn't going to care about their feelings.
Chouji growled and held back, but looked ready to pounce as soon as the fight began.
Naruto bent down and picked up a pebble, bouncing it in his hands. "You ready?"
The good thing was that Team 10 looked just about ready to tear into his hide. Taking it as a cue to begin, he flicked the pebble high into the air. It was a classic start to a competition, known to pretty much everyone. You flick the pebble or a leaf into the air and wait for it to reach the ground. As so as it touches the ground, you're good to go.
The trio watched the pebble sail through the air, their brain automatically calculating where and when it would land. They tensed up just as it began to descend, but got a whiplash right when it went down before their eyes.
Naruto was already there, burying a fist into Shikamaru's gut. All breath left his lungs as Naruto's fist tore into his abdominal muscles. The force was such that it knocked him back almost a dozen meters, rolling roughly on the ground. The one thing that was worse than the pain was that the force of the blow left him not unconscious, but on the verge of blacking out.
That took a while to recover from. A while in which his team stood no chance.
Ino and Chouji were so shocked that they were too late to react to what came next.
Naruto spun into a back roundhouse that caught Ino right in her face. The Yamanaka's tolerance to pain was significantly lower than that of her teammates, something which Naruto could just tell by looking at her. So it was most likely that she was knocked out as well.
He didn't wait to check whether she was knocked out or not. He completed his spin, just in time to catch Chouji's enlarged fists in his hands. The force was such that it sent him skidding back, but he used chakra to stick to the ground.
Chouji was still enraged by Naruto's earlier comments. He couldn't believe that Naruto would say such mean things despite being his friend, but that anger was quickly replaced by shock when he incapacitated his teammates in one second flat. It was only due to his intense training with his father in clan techniques in the last three years that he was able to attack before Naruto took him out too.
It scared him to see that no one on his team even see Naruto move.
Naruto was positively brimming with delight as he locked Chouji in a strength contest. This was just what he needed to wake up!
"I'm surprised you managed to turn around with that fat belly of yours!"
Under normal circumstances, Naruto wouldn't even think of calling his childhood friend the derogatory word hated not only by him, but his entire clan as well. But Chouji's short temper was one of his biggest weaknesses. Anger always blinded a person, and Naruto would take full advantage of that. He needed Chouji to see his weakness and work on it.
Naruto found it highly impressive that Chouji's entire face turned red in under two seconds of the ridicule. "Why you-"
Whatever he was going to say, Naruto didn't give him a chance to finish. His right heel brutally slammed into Chouji's chin, snapping his head back. He stumbled back due to the force of his kick, and Naruto took the opening. His left fist thundered right in Chouji's cheek, knocking him out.
Naruto stiffened in his place, then found himself grinning. "Whatever took you so long?"
He turned around to see a visibly straining Shikamaru, who was breathing heavily from the strain of keeping Naruto in place. He was still bent over, trying to give some relief to his muscles. Shadow bind was a great restraining technique, but Jiraiya had taught him how to get out of it.
Naruto flexed his powerful chakra, which created a spider web of cracks around him like a ripple. The technique snapped, and Naruto flash stepped to deliver a brutal knockout punch to his friend's face.
Strike one.
The teams on the sidelines were struck speechless at what happened in front of them. It seemed almost unbelievable.
It was exactly what Naruto had said: this wasn't a training session. This was a brutal humiliation of one of Konoha's best teams. Asuma's cigarette had long fallen out of his mouth when he saw Naruto take out Shikamaru and Ino in one hit each before wrestling with Chouji for a brief moment before taking him out as well. Then he saw Naruto casually flex his way- and he didn't even know that someone could possess chakra that powerful -out of Shikamaru's shadow bind and knock him out, for real this time.
Naruto turned to him. "That's their first strike."
Kami, all that training and these were the results? Taken out in one hit? This was just….absurd! Ridiculous!
Team 9 had varied reactions. Tenten was the only one gaping, while Lee and Gai were unusually serious for once, along with Neji. The three of them being taijutsu specialists, it was important for them to work on their speed. But even the three of them were baffled as to just how was Naruto able to build up so much speed without prior momentum, to move from one spot to the other? Granted, they were able to track him, but they had to admit they weren't sure they'd be able to react in time as well.
Team 8 was completely shocked. Kurenai was at a loss of how to react to Naruto completely decimating Asuma's team. It could be said that the Ino-Shika-Cho was not exactly a combat-oriented team, but they were a force to be reckoned with when they were together. Turning towards her own team, she was rather surprised. Hinata was watching everything with a peaceful smile, as if she always knew that Naruto was capable of this. Kiba wasn't showing an ounce of remorse for friends getting beaten up by Naruto, and Shino looked like he always did, analyzing everything critically and logically. Seeing the beatdown, Kurenai doubted that she could best Naruto in a fight. She was a bit embarrassed to say, and wouldn't admit it to anyone, but her speed was nothing in front of Naruto's. He would blitz her before she even moved. She doubted her Genjutsu would even work, given how dense his chakra was.
Naruto sat down and folded his legs, waiting for the team to come around. That was just embarrassing.
Thanks for the entertainment partner!
Anytime pal.
It was five minutes later that everyone was awake. Ino groaned as she got up, feeling the right side of her face tenderly with her hand. Dammit, what happened?
"You're dead is what happened," came a voice to her right.
Turning her face she saw Naruto sitting on the ground a few feet away, looking completely serious and disappointed.
After a couple of minutes, both Chouji and Shikamaru were sitting up, looking at him with alarmed eyes. Seeing that he had their attention, he stood up. "Let's go over what you did wrong, shall we?"
He ticked off a finger. "First, you waited for me to start. What are you, rookie genin? Your enemy isn't going to wait for the rock to fall on the ground. There are no rules in a fight between shinobi. You either die, or you survive."
He ticked off another finger. "Second, your decision-making? Everyone knows that when you face a superior opponent you retreat. Live to fight another day, or come up with a different strategy. Instead, you chose to fight me head-on. Seriously, guys, we are not Samurai."
He ticked off another finger, not bothering to look at Ino's outrageous expression. "Third. Chouji," he gave a pointed look to the Akimichi, "you let your emotions get the best of you. Anger blinds a person, it tricks them into making the simplest of mistakes which can ultimately cost you your life."
Chouji looked down, as if realizing for the first time just how much his temper tantrums could cost in the field.
He then rested his hands on his hips. "And fourth, what the fuck are you all doing listening to your enemy's monologue?! You wanna get your second strike right now?!"
Three pairs of eyes widened before the three members jumped out of sight. Naruto sighed and looked over to their audience, most of which looked dumbstruck. "If you wanna watch, then keep your distance."
With that, he vanished in a flash step.
The three members of Team 10 were hiding high up in a tree, chakra suppressed to their maximum capability. Ino was panting, frustration written all over her face. "Dammit! We can't beat him. He's too fast for me."
Shikamaru winced as he breathed slowly as to not aggravate the pain in his gut. Any plan that they had gone through to combat Naruto earlier in the day was thrown out of the window the second Naruto "killed" them in ten seconds flat. "He's too fast for all of us."
"And he's just not fast. He was strong enough to hold against me and beat me," Chouji added in.
"What the hell did Jiraiya-sama put him through to make him so strong and fast? He wasn't even using Hiraishin." Ino grumbled.
"If this is how an S-rank shinobi fights we're gonna get creamed against the Akatsuki," Chouji lamented in defeat.
Shikamaru shook his head. "No. Naruto fought like that because that's the way he fights. He is a speed-oriented fighter, the one who incapacitates or kills his enemies as quickly as he can. His entire fighting style is based on speed. And he has killed an Akatsuki member before. So if anything, we're against an opponent possibly tougher than an Akatsuki nin," he reasoned, trying to bring their morale back up.
Shikamaru kept checking his surroundings for any sounds, or anything that might signal Naruto's presence. "We need to come up with a plan."
"No shit, Shikamaru," Ino snapped. "But you can't bind him, Chouji can't beat him and therefore, I can't use my jutsu to take control."
Shikamaru paused. "He doesn't need to beat him. We just need to hold him, if only just for a second."
Chouji frowned. "How will you do that? He moves too fast, and he knows what you can do Shikamaru. All our plans are useless now."
Pieces of a plan were forming in Shikamaru's mind. "We need to hurry. Right now, he's hunting for us. Here's what we can do…"
Elsewhere, Naruto was walking leisurely among the trees. He wasn't actively trying to find anyone. He just switched his chakra to sensory mode, and was pleasantly surprised when he couldn't find them like that.
Well, Asuma at least taught them well on how to hide.
Still, there were other means.
Naruto sniffed out, his powerful nose picking apart the scents in the air. Males had a relatively easier time of hiding in the woods. Kurama was the one who taught him that females had a distinctive scent, which made them easier to track. This fact was the reason Temari had a can of "Camo spray" in her dressing closet. That spray disguised a kunoichi's scent to make it look like just any other scent.
Also, Chouji was eating barbeque chips when he arrived. That should narrow it down.
For a while, he just walked around, sniffing the air. A few dozen meters away, Kiba looked a little confused when Naruto started sniffing the air. "Huh? Since when can Naruto track by scent?"
The jonin sensei looked at each other, sharing a glance, knowing very well the reason why Naruto could sniff others out. What they missed however, that Neji caught their glances and narrowed his eyes. What did the sensei know that they didn't about Naruto?
Back in the woods, Naruto smirked as he caught a faint scent of barbeque. He created a shadow clone to check it out while he continued sniffing for Ino's scent. It took him a while, but the scent of flowers eventually entered his nose. The training grounds in Konoha mostly have just trees or bushes but not flowers. That's why he figured that Ino was bound to stand out. He narrowed his eyes.
Damn, it's broken up. Looks like I gave too little credit to Ino.
Prime, I got them.
A sudden spike in chakra caught his attention, followed by a rush of memories. A predatory grin spread across his face as he flash stepped, ending up in the clearing where Chouji had grabbed his clone. He arrived just as he saw Chouji jumping up. Getting excited, he called out. "Way too slow, big guy!"
His neck hair rose up in alarm, but he didn't bother moving. Instead, he let Shikamaru's shadow connect to his. Curious, he called out while flexing his chakra to break the bind once more. "You know this doesn't work, right?"
He ducked under the enormous arm that was Chouji, going in with a leg sweep that the Akimichi avoided. "What, you're trying to restrain me?"
He easily made his way into Chouji's guard and slammed his elbow into his ribs. Chouji winced in pain, but instead of stumbling back, he ignored the pain and wrapped his arms around Naruto, getting him in a chokehold.
Naruto's grin faltered a little when he saw Ino standing fifty meters away. Oh no, I can't let that happen.
"Nice ass Ino!"
The completely vulgar compliment about her butt came out of nowhere. The fact that it came from Naruto, who was a married man, sent Ino into brief shock. "W-What?"
Naruto used her shock to slam the back of his head into Chouji's nose, elbow him in the same spot once more and used his heel to ring Chouji's bell.
The Akimichi's hold immediately loosened as his hands clutched his crotch, an expression of pure pain on his face. Naruto put him out of his misery by knocking him out in one punch. He then jumped behind a tree to avoid a mind switch.
Kiba was snickering when he saw just how Naruto got out of Chouji's hold. "Hahaha, very clever! Distracted her perfectly!"
Kurenai glared at him. "He shouldn't be talking to other women like that when he has a wife!"
"But it worked rather well, I'd say," Neji's smooth voice stopped Kurenai from tearing into her student. "And I know Naruto. He only meant it as a distraction."
"Indeed. It shocked Ino long enough for Naruto to escape Chouji's hold. A comment like that sticks out in the seriousness of battle, which is most probably why the distraction worked so well," Shino chipped in.
Back with Naruto, he observed cautiously for any sign of Ino or Shikamaru. He wanted to avoid Ino's jutsu at all costs.
Just let her in one time. I'll give her a good enough reason to stay out the next time.
And didn't that just sound tempting? It was like the sadistic side of him was shaking hands with his inner prankster.
Promise you won't do anything serious?
I'll just scare her a little.
You'll traumatize her for life.
I AM a fearsome legend, after all.
Coming back to the present, took a quick look around. "Last chance guys. Chouji is dead. What do you intend to do now?"
His sense of danger buzzed again, and less than a second later, the shadows leaped at him, curiously shaped like sharp tendrils. What boggled his mind was that the shadows seemed to have a solid feel to them, a physical touch. He easily avoided them, flash stepping to the higher branches.
That is a new one.
His ears picked up the sound of something whizzing through the air. He jumped off the branch as shuriken peppered it, but was unprepared to deal with the shadow tendril that came through the air, wrapped around his middle and dragged him down to the ground. He landed as safely as he could with the shadow disrupting his balance before straightening up, but wasn't given a reprieve when tendrils kept grabbing him left and right. Naruto gave Shikamaru silent props when one tendril even wrapped tightly around his throat.
"Shintenshin no jutsu!"
Had Ino seen the grin on his face, she still wouldn't have known that it would be a trap. Shikamaru pulled back his shadows just as Naruto's body went stiff, pantingly heavily. He was honestly surprised he had managed to hold Naruto for as long as he did, given how weak his chakra was compared to the blonde's.
Well, he did say he was going to be holding back.
He got up from his spot and walked over to Naruto, who was standing in one place. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "You got him Ino?"
He paused in his steps when he heard Naruto snicker. Why was Ino snickering?
"Oh-ho man, this is bad," Naruto kept snickering, and Shikamaru pieced it in a second. Naruto was in control, not Ino.
Not bothering to wait and think about how that was possible, he leaped away. He would have escaped successfully as well, had Naruto turned around and grabbed him by his ankle. He used his grip to slam Shikamaru on the ground, hard.
He's gonna have a bump on his head tomorrow, that's for sure.
All the jonin sensei landed in front of Naruto, alarmed expressions on their face. Asuma's face was especially pale, eyes brimming with terror as he looked at a snickering Naruto. Gai was looking dead serious, and Kurenai even had a kunai in hand. They were soon followed by their surprised pupils.
Lee was tensed up as well. "Gai-sensei, what is going on?"
Gai didn't answer, instead choosing to keep looking at Naruto, who was still snickering.
"N-Naruto?"
It was scary how quickly Naruto sobered up and met Asuma's terrified eyes with calm ones. "You didn't warn her?"
"I-I-didn't-I wasn't-"
Naruto held up his palm, silencing the Sarutobi. "Don't worry, she's fine. It will take a few minutes though."
Kiba was frowning. "Shouldn't Ino be in control right now?"
Naruto gave a grin that was all teeth. "Doesn't work on me."
"Will you let her go now?"
Naruto's eyes flickered to Kurenai, who was tightly clutching a kunai. She kept it in front of her, pointed to the side as if warning him to stay where he was. Just to mess with them, Naruto acted all nonchalant. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he tilted his head. "What is that kunai supposed to do, Kurenai-san?"
Kurenai slowly lowered the kunai, but eyed him with distrustful eyes. Naruto figured she was one of those people who never really forgot what happened all those years ago. He gave her a wide smile, as if thoroughly enjoying this. He didn't give a shit about what she thought of him.
"Naruto," Gai said slowly, "where is Ino?"
Naruto looked up with a thoughtful eye, as if the sky would give him answers. "She should be coming up right about…now."
Right as he finished, Ino's body shot awake with a scream. Not just any scream, but a scream of true terror. Naruto shut out all of his emotions when Ino's eyes locked with his, and tears leaked out of her eyes as she desperately shuffled back until her back hit a tree.
"S-STAY AWAY!"
Asuma and Kurenai rushed to her, with the former wrapping his arms around her. Hinata and Tenten walked over to Ino, trying to get her to calm down. Naruto stood rooted to his spot, knowing if he took even one step forward it would likely send Ino into a panic attack. All the chunin and Neji were looking at him and Ino curiously.
Neji took a cautious step forward. "Naruto?"
Naruto minutely shook his head, and Neji backed off. Now wasn't the time.
Naruto heaved a sigh. I thought you promised not to do anything serious.
Kurama's reply was indignant. I did no such thing! I just showed her my teeth and rambled a little nonsense. Nothing big.
She's traumatized, Kurama.
Hey, not my fault if they have such weak wills.
You aren't really a scale for comparison.
Why thank you. Plus, it was just a little harmless threatening! NOW LET ME SLEEP!
Naruto looked off to the side, a conflict raging inside. This was not how he wanted his friends to find out the truth, and he certainly didn't want to break it this way, to Ino of all people.
He took a step forward, ignoring how Ino's screams started again. He also ignored how Kurenai hissed at him to stay back. He came to stop right before Ino, who was almost buried into Asuma's side. The bearded jonin was shaking his head at him in a warning.
Don't Naruto.
Naruto shook his head back. I need to fix this.
He knelt down before her and hid his wince when Ino looked at him in terror. Feelings of hurt long forgotten came rushing back, and it took all of his training to not let anything show on his face.
He looked right in her eyes, feeling a bit guilty for the cruel prank. "I'm sorry you had to see that…." he paused, considering his next words, "and I sincerely apologize on his behalf."
"If you were sorry you wouldn't be laughing!" Kurenai spat.
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten. He was so not in the mood to deal with Kurenai right now. He turned his head and when he opened his eyes, Kurenai's breath got caught in her throat when she gazed upon the hauntingly familiar red slitted eyes. The sheer rage in them was fully directed at her. "Trust me, no one except him is laughing right now."
He blinked, and his blues were back. Kurenai shakily released her breath when he looked away from her. She was reminded once again that she really shouldn't be provoking him of all beings.
Ino didn't even look like she had heard him. She looked seconds away from calling him the M word that he hated. Her voice was similar to that of a scared child. "What are you….?"
Naruto clenched his jaw and answered in a tight voice. "A sacrifice."
He then stood up and gazed around. All of his peers were looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "All chunin here," he paused, "and Neji, come to training ground 7 at eight in the morning tomorrow. We need to talk."
Without another word, he walked away. He hadn't taken more than ten steps when he paused and turned around. "Oh, Asuma-san!"
The jonin jolted in surprise. "What?"
He pointed to the unconscious forms of Shikamaru and Chouji. "I think you now know how they hold up against an S-rank shinobi."
He nodded and flashed away.
Lee stepped closer to his sensei. "Gai-sensei? What was that?"
Gai's answer was somber. "It's better if Naruto tells you, Lee."
XXXXXXX
Naruto appeared right outside the Hokage's office, scaring Shizune and almost making her drop the pig. "Oh, sorry nee-san."
Shizune smiled. "It alright. Here for your meeting?"
"Yeah."
Naruto opened the door, letting himself and Shizune in before closing it. He was only a little surprised to see Kakashi though. He gave him a wave. "Yo Kakashi."
"Yo Naruto."
He walked forward until he was standing right in between Yamato and Kakashi. Tsunade finished shuffling the papers on her desk and gazed at them. "I called you for an important announcement. I'm taking Team 7 off the mission roster."
And didn't that throw him for a loop. "Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade held up a hand. "I wasn't finished." She opened the drawer on her left and took out a large file, which she handed to Naruto. "What's this?"
Leaning back in her seat, she folded her arms. "I'm putting together a new group, called the Nijuu Shoutai. The sole purpose of this group would be to hunt down and kill Akatsuki members whenever they enter Hi no Kuni. I want Team 7 to be a part of this."
Naruto's eyes flickered over the list, noting that Asuma was in charge of Shikamaru, Izumo, and Kotetsu. Temari was put in charge of another group under Genma. Tsunade leaned forward. "So what do you say?"
Naruto bit his lip in thought. "I would love to accept but," he smiled sadly, "I would hate to get you into trouble with the elders."
Tsunade gave a dismissive wave. "Don't worry about that. I could give less of a fuck about what they care. I want every capable shinobi at my disposal right now, and Team 7 is quite possibly the strongest currently."
That was a pleasant surprise to hear.
Naruto glanced towards the jonin. "What do you guys say?"
He weighed the pros and cons mentally. Pros: he got to kick Akatsuki ass, get a chance to fight top tier shinobi, which meant some really good fights. Cons: literally do nothing until Akatsuki comes knocking. What to do…
"We accept."
Both Yamato and Naruto turned to face Kakashi. "We do?"
Tsunade smiled, clapping her hands once. "Great! You're all dismissed!"
Yamato and Kakashi turned to leave, the former looking a bit annoyed at Kakashi who cheerfully ignored him, but Naruto stayed. "What is it Naruto?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. Since I successfully completed an S-rank mission, do I still get two weeks off? Or is that rule null and void now that I'm on the Nijuu Shoutai?"
Tsunade looked at him curiously. "It still applies, but we never know for sure when the Akatsuki would come so….why are you asking, by the way?"
Naruto straightened up. "I was actually planning to take Temari out on a holiday."
Tsunade raised her eyes in disbelief. "Now of all times?"
Naruto shrugged. "I thought the rule still applied."
Tsunade folded her arms. "Four days."
"Six."
"Five."
"Deal!"
Tsunade blinked, as the space before her was suddenly empty. Grumbling, she sat down to do her paperwork. "The brat wants to go on a holiday, and here I'm stuck with this infernal paperwork!"
Shizune unhelpfully added in. "To be fair Tsunade-sama, you were on holiday for eighteen years."
"Goddammit Shizune!"
XXXXXXX
Orochimaru paced in his lab, utterly furious with Naruto.
The blonde had taken his prized sword! And the worst part was, he wasn't even aware just how many pains Orochimaru had to go through before he found Kusanagi. He hated how Naruto acquired his beloved sword just like that when he had to work his ass off.
Just like the sharingan, the part of his mind whispered that Orochimaru ignored most of the time. He ignored it this time as well.
If the theft of the sword wasn't the worst part, Kabuto's kidnapping certainly was. Orochimaru hadn't thought even once that someone could kidnap his right hand man like that.
Damn Hiraishin. Damn Naruto. And damn Minato too!
The flaky blonde was fucking things up for him from even beyond the grave.
Kabuto's kidnapping threw a wrench in his plans. Besides being the most skilled medic in the nations after Tsunade, the man was an excellent spy as well. He held various secrets from all other nations. He was also privy to some of Orochimaru's worst and most well-kept secrets.
He knew too much.
Orochimaru grit his teeth. "Prepare to move out. This base is compromised," he ordered the other scientists in the lab.
The scientists nodded fearfully and went to do as he asked. So absorbed he was in his fury that he failed to notice a pair of coal eyes watching him from the shadows.
Sasuke kept his smirk to himself as he watched Orochimaru rant to himself under his breath. So Naruto managed to beat his teacher, huh?
That meant he had gotten a lot stronger than Sasuke had expected.
In three years, Sasuke had gone through a lot of changes. Orochimaru was both indulgent and ruthless as a teacher, and Sasuke grown leaps and bounds under him.
But Orochimaru would still kill him in a fight.
Long ago, he would have gotten jealous of his teammate's growth. Now…he was still a little jealous, but no longer throwing tantrums.
Naruto could be a problem if I run into him. I'll need something to even things out between us…
Unnoticed, he slipped away.
AN: That finishes this chapter. Huh, didn't even notice when this ended. Anyway, I'll try to put out regular updates. Also, I'm starting a new story on Ao3, a sequel to my Spider-man story. If you're interested in reading about Spider-man, don't forget to hit my story! It's under the same name!
Leave your thoughts about the chapter in reviews! Kamikaze132 out!