A/N: Welp, two weeks once again!

And I fear I gotta apologize for a cliffhanger… it wasn't supposed to end like this you guys but I was only at 2600 words and I wanted to give you MORE than that and then it happened so, uh…

Maybe I shoulda cut it off at 2600. We'll see I guess!

I'm actually fairly happy with the chapter. It was fun to write!

Hope you guys enjoy it too! Thanks for reading!

It's nice having his team back! He might have thought, once, that having a sensei all to himself, teaching him and noticing him would be great, would be awesome, but that Naruto never knew what a team felt like.

Naruto's not that lonely academy student anymore, with only four people who cared about him - he needs both hands to count everyone now! And it was so hard to just focus when Kakashi-sensei tried to teach him stuff sometimes, cause he could practically tell where the spaces were, places Sasuke would ask a question or Natsu would crack a grin, and he tried his best but nothing felt the same, and Naruto probably didn't learn as much as Kakashi-sensei was teachin'.

And now it's like he got Natsu and Sasuke back, but sensei's the one who's gone, and Naruto just doesn't understand why Jiji couldn't let them all be together. 'Kashi-sensei explained all about how Hokages have to make hard decisions, and gave Naruto lots of exercises and even homework about it, and Naruto did his best cause he's gonna be the best, 'ttebayo! But it didn't make Jiji's decision make any more sense, and Jiji wouldn't talk to him so he couldn't ask.

Naruto understands some things, maybe. Sensei explained all about Orochimaru, and the awful stuff he did before he betrayed the Village, so Naruto knows just how bad it is that someone like that put a mark on his teammates. But Jiji made the wrong call, and sensei even said so!

"What would you do then?" Kakashi-sensei asks, mild and curious. Naruto scowls and crosses his arms.

"Why would I need t'do anythin'? Natsu's got it handled, I'll just figure out how to make him stop getting tired and we'll figure everything else out from there, dattebayo!"

Sensei sighs. "Naruto-kun, that's not acceptable. Not for a Hokage."

"Well, whaddya want then?"

Kakashi-sensei taps his finger on his chin, an exaggerated pose. "Well, let's put it this way - we know that Orochimaru's seal is affecting Sasuke's emotions, and possibly his mind to some extent, yes? We don't know much about how it's affecting Natsu, but Natsu's head's a bit crowded to begin with, so Sasuke's the easiest to study here. You following?"

"Yeeeeeeeees?" Naruto drags out, sensing a trap.

Kakashi-sensei's eyes curl brightly. "So. What happens if Natsu loses control?"

"He wouldn't!"

Sensei's eye cracks open. "So you're willing to bet Iruka-sensei's, and Teuchi-san's lives on that?"

"W-what?" Naruto stares, but Kakashi-sensei doesn't take it back.

"If Natsu loses control, or fails to keep Orochimaru's seal from doing its job, well you saw how it affected Sasuke. And the longer the influence is there, the worse it will likely get. Against a shinobi, Sasuke's young enough that he wouldn't stand a chance if he started lashing out. Right now. If you're blindly assuming that Natsu-kun can fight against that seal forever, without even once faltering, then you're risking the lives of all your other precious people on the hope that you're right. And there's still really no telling on how the seal is affecting Natsu himself, because he's barely been awake long enough for us to see anything. So. Actually think, Naruto-kun. They're your teammates. You care about them. But you care about other people too. What would you do?"

Naruto doesn't really want to think about it. They're his team, his precious people, and even IF Natsu stopped fighting or something, Sasuke's the most stubborn person he knows! He'd never let someone play with his head like that, ever! Not when he knew it was happening! So it shouldn't matter, even if he was Hokage right now instead of Jiji he shouldn't have to do anything to his team-

Sensei sighs, and Naruto's eyes snap to him, but before he can protest that he WAS thinking, really, Kakashi-sensei starts talking again. "Maybe that's a little too much for you. How about this? Pretend it's Manta-kun and Ame-chan who got stuck with seals like this. Does that help?"

Naruto nearly asks who those people even are when he realizes the names sound familiar.

"They're… from the Academy right? Manta-kun hated Sasuke… and Ame was always so mean to Sakura-chan!"

"That's right." Kakashi says. "They already don't like your teammates. So if they had a seal like that, then any loss of control means they'd be a lot more willing to hurt your teammates. And you don't know them very well, because you never really spent time with them. So, what would you do to protect your teammates?"

"That's not fair! Sasuke's a jerk but he could probably take both of them alone, easy! Natsu too!"

"I believe we've already talked about the kinds of tricks Orochimaru's been known to put into his seals, before, Naruto-kun."

Naruto understands what Kakashi-sensei's doing, he does, but it's not fair-!

Maybe that's the point, a voice seems to say. Life isn't fair, something that sounds like Naruto's darkest thoughts seems to hiss. He wants to shove it away like he always does - he doesn't have room for that darkness, he has precious people and that's all that matters! But… he wants to understand why Jiji did this. And to Jiji, Natsu and Sasuke aren't precious people, they're… strangers. Jiji never really met them, not outside a couple meetings, so he doesn't know them, or like them, the way Naruto does. Just like Naruto doesn't know or like Manta and Ame.

So if he has to think about it like that…

"Jiji shouldn't have separated our team."

Kakashi-sensei stares levelling, patiently, and Naruto tries to gather his thoughts, cause he's gotta say this right. It's not a test, not really, but he wants to be Hokage so it's more important than ANY test! He takes a breath, and meets Sensei's eyes.

"Konoha's all about the Will of Fire, an' teamwork. Uh- we believe that our Village is strong BECAUSE we trust our comrades, rely on them. Yeah? An' this seal, it's tryin' to mess with Nat- uh, Ame n' Manta's heads. So we can't lock 'em away! Instead, we gotta make sure they're around LOTS of people, so they never forget why they're fightin' against those dark thoughts, so they never give up cause they can see what they're tryin' to protect right in front of them! And maybe they won't be strong enough, and they'll mess up, but as long as their sensei was there, like, all-the-time there, he'd be strong enough t'hold em until they got themselves back together, and they'd fight twice as hard the next time! Hiding them away, taking them from everyone important to them, that just makes it easier for Orochimaru t'mess with them! Cause he can say stuff like, 'no one cares about you', and there won't be anyone with them to say 'THAT'S WRONG!'. They gotta be where their precious people are, and there's gotta be someone strong enough to protect everyone, but it's not right to lock them away for something that's not their fault! That's what I believe, 'ttebayo!"

Kakashi-sensei stares silently, and Naruto tries not to fidget, but he needs to know if that was okay, if that was right-

"You…" Does Sensei's eye look a little misty? Naruto squints, but then Sensei blinks and it's gone. "Yondaime-sama would have said much the same, I think. It's a good answer. Now," Kakashi-sensei stands up, turning away and heading into the kitchen, "Why don't you take some time to really think about all the safety precautions you'd need to implement something like that, how you'd approach informing everyone involved of your decisions. Let me know tomorrow what you come up with, and if it's good enough perhaps I'll take you to see if you can change Sandaime-sama's mind, ne~?"

"Wha- YOU BET, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto shouts, leaping to his feet. "Thanks sensei! I'm gonna go to Ichiraku's!"

He bolts out the door, something warm sprouting through his chest.

A good answer, echoes through his mind, something the Yondaime would have said. Naruto's not quite as certain how to feel about that, cause the man put the Kyuubi inside him, and the way Natsu's talked about it, Naruto's pretty sure that's an even more bad thing than he first thought, but… the Kyuubi was also killing everyone, and no one could fight it or make it go away, so maybe he didn't have a choice…? If Kakashi-sensei says he was the kind of guy who would agree that precious people are more important than anything…

For a moment, Naruto wonders if he left any precious people behind when he died. Was he trying to protect them, and because Naruto's own parents were already dead this was the only way…?

He doesn't want to think about it. But it's nice to know, just a little bit, that there was even one Hokage who would have agreed that locking up Natsu and Sasuke was the wrong way to do things.

He'll ask Sensei all those questions tomorrow. He's going to be the best Hokage ever, a-and it feels like Sensei really means it when he says he'll help, so… maybe he should make a list of questions?

Teuchi-jii-san will loan him some paper, and thinking is always done best with ramen, dattebayo!

Naruto wishes he had some ramen now, really. They made it to the village early in the morning, and then Jiraiya made them leave like, right after, they barely had time to explore, and it's quiet. At first, Natsu was arguing with Sasuke about tomatoes, though Naruto's pretty sure it was Sakura-chan arguing with Sasuke while Natsu relayed everything - he was smiling too much, like he was amused, and not like he was actually arguing - but then Sasuke stormed ahead in a huff to 'scout', and Natsu keeps lookin' at him like he's waitin' on Naruto to say something and he does wanna talk, about everything, about the Yondaime and the stuff that Kakashi-sensei said cause Natsu looks at things different and maybe he could help Naruto make sense of everything, but he doesn't know how to start! And he's not really sure he wants to talk about it around Jiraiya, he doesn't know the man, not really, but he thinks he remembers Kakashi-sensei saying something about the Yondaime being his student, so maybe Naruto shouldn't ask if he's around…

He's still trying to decide what to do when Sasuke drops down from the trees, eyes fixed on Jiraiya.

"It seems like there was a fight, up near the crossroads. There was a knocked over horse-cart and supplies all over the ground, but I didn't see any attackers. Looked like a merchant family."

The last real fight Naruto was in, he lost control and hurt both his teammates. Natsu's bloody face and Sasuke's burned hands flash through his mind, and it feels like someone dumped ice down his shirt. M-maybe he really should see if Jiraiya could help him, at least so he never loses control like that again!

But when he glances over, Jiraiya… he doesn't get serious at all. He grins roguishly, brandishing a notebook. "A merchant family, you say? Let's go take a look! There mi- ah, they might need our help!" he steps forward, long strides quickly putting him in the front of their group, and Naruto can't help but scowl, comparing his every move to Kakashi-sensei. He can almost see it, the way Sensei would get serious-but-not-that-serious, not the cold, angry serious, but the one where it feels like all his attention is on him, like Kakashi-sensei is listening to everything he has to say, and maybe he'll stop being serious again after, with some silly, "Maa, Sasuke-kun, worrying about poor little merchants now? You've come so far!", but- but it'd still feel like the report was important!

Jiraiya skips ahead, and when Naruto glances over, he isn't surprised at how Sasuke scowls at the man's back.

Natsu glances between Sasuke and Jiraiya, before settling his gaze in a way that makes Naruto feel like he's looking at both of them, equally, at the same time.

"He's so weird," Natsu says, and Sasuke scoffs.

"Hn."

"Guess we'd better catch up," Natsu muses, fingers laced behind his head as he tilts it back to look at the canopy of leaves above them.

Naruto groans. "Do we have to?"

Natsu laughs, and starts walking slowly. "Sakura-chan says we have to go save the merchant's wife from his 'absolutely reprehensible behavior how dare he!', so…"

Sasuke laughs slightly. "She still hasn't let that go, huh?"

Naruto looks between Natsu and Sasuke, feeling left out. "Huh? Let what go? Why's the merchant's wife need saving from Jiraiya?"

Natsu shrugs slightly, tilting his head back with a grin. "Who knows! Girls are weird, better to just accept it now!"

Naruto nods slowly. "Yeah... yeah I think you're right! I never really understood why everyone liked Sasuke, even though he's such a jerk, but maybe girls are just messed up that way! 'Ttebayo!"

Sasuke scowls. "Hn."

Natsu winces, dropping his arms to scratch at his ear. "Sheesh Sakura-chan, no need to yell. Everyone's a little weird!"

Natsu pauses before laughing brightly, and starts walking toward the road, and Naruto scrambles to catch up. Even if things feel different now, like Natsu and Sasuke sticking together more, and Natsu talking and making faces and stuff even though Naruto knows it's Sakura-chan but it's still weird and-

Everything feels different, but they're still his team and he's not letting them go!

They reach the main intersection quickly, and Jiraiya's right there in the middle, animatedly waving his hands and laughing as he talks. Natsu gets a weird look on his face, sniffing the air like he smells something weird, but he doesn't say anything and Jiraiya turns back to them before Naruto can ask.

"Ah, you made it! C'mon kids, get over here." He waves eagerly, and Naruto can't help squinting suspiciously because Jiraiya's smile is weird and Naruto doesn't like it, but Natsu grabs his arm and leads him over.

He didn't even look back at Naruto, and he wonders if Natsu even realized what he was doing.

Naruto's arm feels warm as his teammate bounds forward with a grin. "Bandits, right? Are we gonna hunt them down?"

Sasuke perks up, and Naruto feels an equal mix of anticipation and dread. Jiraiya gives Natsu a funny look, but laughs.

"Huh, your ears are pretty sharp. Yeah, it seems like a simple banditry issue. But we won't be looking for them. We'll be getting this lovely young woman and her family back to their village. You guys know basic formations, right? Uchiha, you're on point. Kid, make some clones to get the rest of this gathered up."

Naruto nods eagerly, taking just a moment to glance around the clearing and see how much stuff there is, before he puts his hands together in the sign and calls out his clones. The civilian lady starts, staring, and Naruto can't help but chuckle to himself.

That's right, 'ttebayo! I'm the best, so you can't help but stare!

It takes him a minute to realize that even though he and his clones are picking everything up, and Sasuke's already started heading down the road to make sure everything's clear, Natsu isn't doing anything. He and Jiraiya moved a little away from the civilian, and they're talkin' to each other, but Naruto can't hear what they're saying at all.

Jiraiya looks serious, but just as Naruto stealthily hands off his box to a clone and tries to sneak closer, they stop. Natsu shrugs, conceding something, but he doesn't look annoyed as he heads over to help with the boxes.

"What was that about?" Naruto can't help but blurt, and Natsu laughs.

"I'll tell ya later, promise! But now, let's get this done before Sasuke comes back to gloat about it!"

"Right!" Naruto scoops a bunch of things into a tipped-over box, and by the time Sasuke comes back everything's packed back into the wagon.

Jiraiya helps the lady onto it with a wink, as a man and a kid quickly join her. "Pinky, you take the back. Naruto, you're left flank. If it's clear ahead Sasuke, then let's move. And don't you worry about a thing, miss. You and your family are in good hands~"

Escorts are boring, and Naruto learned that well enough last time. Lots of boring, and then a fight, and then more boring. But Jiraiya sits there, chatting with the civilians, making jokes and laughing! And when Naruto tried to talk to Natsu or Sasuke, Jiraiya scolded him, cause talkin' on missions is a 'jonin privilege'. Naruto decides that he's gonna prank him so hard the next time they set up camp!

But until then, he has to stand here and watch Jiraiya make gooey eyes and not pay attention to his flank at all and Naruto can't even go talk to Natsu-!

He grumbles a bit under his breath, glancing at Jiraiya from the corner of his eyes every time the man laughs really loud.

It feels like forever before Sasuke calls back that he can see the village, and Naruto's never been so relieved to hear the jerk's voice.

Finally!

Something pinches at his neck, and Naruto slaps at it by reflex.

His hand slams into the other end of a thin senbon needle.