Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
...
Seasons came and went, the world ever shifting as children went about their days with little knowledge of the monstrosities going around them. The exasperated sigh that left Sarutobi's mouth as he prepared to ask one of his most prized shinobi do the unthinkable was one such monstrosity. He knew that he could trust the ninja in question, but that didn't make asking it any easier.
Yet even this was just the beginning. If what Jiraiya was saying was true, the movements of this 'Akatsuki' were getting too big to ignore. A group of individuals which seemed to be comprised of only the most villainous Missing-Nin. Each of these shinobi were a terrifying figure on their own, let alone a number of them working towards a common cause.
What that cause was, he did not know.
What their numbers were, he did not know.
What their base of operations was, he did not know.
The man known as The Professor did not like being in the dark in most situations, more so when it involved enemies that potentially had 'Flee on Sight' orders in the Bingo Book. He needed information, vast amounts of it and sadly, he believed he would only get such information through having one of his own on the inside. For one to get into said group, that would require them to become one of the most notorious Missing-Nin the shinobi world had ever known. For that to happen, they would need to do something unthinkable.
A knock at the door broke Sarutobi's thoughts. "Come in," he said.
It was no surprise for him to see Itachi stride in, his gaze focused on the Hokage. Sarutobi let out yet another sigh. This was not something that he wished to do but for the good of the village, it needed to be done.
...
Sakura had to say that her time at the academy had changed quite significantly since Ami and her allies had stopped ganging up on her. That didn't mean those three were friends with her by any stretch of the imagination, actively going to school every day no longer filled her with a sense of dread. No longer did she have to hide her tears and ie to her parents about how much of a good day she had had.
While those three didn't actively speak with her, a number of her other classmates had begun to converse with her now that she wasn't a target. It was nice having a social circle of her own.
One thing she noticed though was that all of her friends were similar to her in that they didn't hail from families with a shinobi background. There was nothing wrong with that. Many successful ninja didn't have a clan backing them. When her class had so many clan members in it however it almost felt a bit too cliquey.
It wasn't that she blamed them specifically, she could only imagine what their respective families expected of them. It would just be nice though if they socialized a little bit outside of their groups. They were all students studying together at the end of the day.
Silently, she wondered whether one of them would be interested in studying together. It wasn't like she needed help with her studies and more than likely they were at a level similar if not better than her. Sakura knew that the whole study point of it was moot, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a way to break the ice and maybe make some more friends.
...
"Henge!"
A puff of smoke erupted forth before Iruka sensei stood where Naruto previously had. Or, in reality, calling it a copy of Iruka would have been an insult. They knew what Naruto was trying to accomplish and even given the fact they had started learning the technique a month prior and only a handful could do it perfectly, Naruto was slipping behind. By a long ways.
Another puff of smoke occurred before Naruto once more stood there with his fists clenched. "I don't get it," he complained. "I'm visualizing Iruka sensei perfectly, I'm doing everything right but I'm making no improvements."
"Troublesome," stated Shikamaru as he adjusted himself, making himself a touch more comfortable against the wall he was leaning on.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence," grumbled Naruto as he took a deep sigh.
"Don't worry about it Naruto," said Choji, a lot more upbeat than his close friend. "Just because you can't get it now doesn't mean that you won't get it. Think of it like a slow cook roast. If you rush it then it's going to be ruined. You just have to keep monitoring it, make small adjustments when necessary and give it all the time it needs."
"Small adjustments," said Naruto. "So you're saying that instead of trying to fix everything at once I should just try to fix one thing at a time."
"Oh...um, yes, exactly what I meant," boasted Choji between nervous chuckles.
"That's all well and good but it doesn't get to the crux of the issue," declared Shikamaru. "I know you want me to be as blunt as possible but your chakra control is not good. You've been doing the same exercises as us but for some reason you struggle a lot more than we do. Unless we can find out what that reason is then we will find ourselves right back in the same situation again."
"Do you think it's because my body doesn't generate enough chakra?" asked Naruto.
"It's a possibility," said Shikamaru. "It's not something that we can measure however. You'd need to talk to a sensory ninja to see if they can help. If it's not that in the first place, at least we can remove that as a reason."
"Less possibilities does make it easier to come to the correct reason," said Naruto as he cupped his chin in between his thumb and index finger. The problem was that if it actively was to reason there wasn't really any sort of way to rectify it that he was aware of.
"All this talk of seasoning is making me hungry," added Choji.
"We said 'reason,' not...you know what, lunch sounds great," said Shikamaru, giving up on his train of thought before it went too far.
"Oh, I know a little diner near the Yamanaka Flower Shop that does some really neat pastries," stated Naruto, suddenly feeling the urge to eat as well.
"I find it odd that you are using the flower shop as a reference point," said Shikamaru.
"That's cause I own twenty percent of the shop," said Naruto with a beaming smile.
Needless to say, that caught Shikamaru and Choji by surprise. "I'm sorry, did you say that you own the Yamanaka Flower Shop?" asked Choji.
"Part of it," said Naruto as he recalled the business transaction. "It was the first time Boss let me handle business by myself and while it was for him and the family, he let me keep what I had done. He said it was a reward for how I had performed."
"Yeah, I don't want to get into that," stated Shikamaru as the three of them started walking down the street.
"Look, you guys get to learn cool family jutsu that I will never be able to do while my family teaches me how to do different things," stated Naruto.
"Shikamaru, remind me to never do a deal with Naruto."
"Done."
...
Boss sat on the porch, gazing up at the clouds as he considered the movements of the city. While he held great power in this part of Konoha, he was by no means a strong man. He made deals with money and a silver tongue. If he failed, he had no physical strength to prevent anybody from retaliating against him and his family.
It was a good thing that he didn't fail.
"You seem lost in thought Boss," said Renka as he meandered up and lent on the nearby post. "Has something got you stumped?"
"Not quite," said Boss as he pulled a cigar out of his pocket and placed it in his lips. Renka, ever vigilante, pushed himself off his leaning position and pulled a lighter out of his pocket. With a swift motion a flame was brought to life and soon Boss was puffing away. Reaching up and taking the cigar from his mouth, he exhaled before he spoke. "Things have been slow as of late and I think it's only going to get slower."
Renku raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He knew that there wasn't really much point in arguing against what Boss was saying. He was not one to look at bookwork and numbers. It wasn't that he couldn't, he just chose not to. He found life so much easier being just the hired muscle. If Boss said that things were going to slow down, then he believed that they would.
Before Boss had the chance to elaborate, the youngest member of their family made themselves present. "Greetings Naruto," said Boss as the young boy gave a small bow. "What ails you?"
Naruto didn't even bother asking how Boss knew that something was under his skin. He had just learnt that such things were done purely because Boss was Boss. "I'm falling behind in my studies," he said openly. "Not the written stuff, Makina would tear me a new one if she felt I was falling behind on my book work. It's my jutsu. Even though I do everything the same as everyone else, I just can't quite get it done properly. My friends think that it might be because I don't have enough chakra. Would we be able to hire a sensory ninja to see whether or not this is the case?"
"I don't see why not," said Boss although he shot a glance at Renku that Naruto couldn't quite understand. Naruto just figured it was something that he would learn in time. "Renku, be sure to track down the finest sensory ninja you can find and we will get to the bottom of this."
"Of course."
"And Naruto, don't let this get you down. There's always more than one way to success and if this just so happens to be the situation, then we will find another way for you to achieve your dream."
"Thank you Boss."
"Now run along, I'm sure Makina has something she wants to teach you," said Boss with a light tilt of the head.
"Right," said Naruto as he ran off.
Several seconds passed before Renku spoke up. "You know as well as I do that it's not a chakra shortage this is preventing this, given what's inside him and all that."
"While true, we do not know for certain how his own chakra regulates with the beast and this is one topic that I have no knowledge of. I want Naruto to succeed and to do that we need to help him how we can. If getting a sensory shinobi in to explain something properly that we can't then so be it. Spare no expense."
"Of course Boss."
...
Danzo walked through his isolated chambers, hidden well away from prying eyes. If what his sources told him were true, the Uchiha clan would be suffering an unfortunate accident in the near future. While it would be a shame to lose the local police force, perhaps he could make proper use of them one last time.
The Hokage was the great tree that supported all while he was the roots that were forever essential. While the branches and leafs all thrived, the fungus growing at the base of the tree were nothing more than a burden. They had a purpose, but without them the tree would still thrive regardless and wouldn't even be aware if the fungus was removed.
Given that they were nothing more than civilians, he was sure that with the right money changing hands, the job would be finished within mere minutes and by the time that anybody realized what had happened, the culprits would have met their untimely end. Two blights would be removed from the village and none would think to even point a finger in his direction.
What happened to the boy thereafter would be interesting. From what he understood, the Hyuga owed that family a debt, one of which would likely result in them taking care of the boy in his hour of need. There, he would be given a proper education and likely become an outstanding member of society. There were far worse fates for a Jinchuuriki.
It seemed as if there was work to be done.
...