The Tale of the Cursed Namikaze

by Datura7

Jinchuuriki, scapegoats of the village and society. And the jinchuriki of Konoha, a dumb blonde with an optimistic view on life. But what if, that boy was not dumb? What if he was our normal average intellect guy, with some curses or rather gifts? What if his parents were alive? What if he was still alone? How would he proceed? PS: The story will be a bit slower than average.

10. Chapter 10 - What's in the Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other characters, Masashi Kishimoto and studio pierrot does.

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Chapter 10:What's in the Heart

It has been nearly two weeks since the fight on the bridge occurred. The bridge's main construction connecting the wave country to the mainland was completed within the next two days of the fight. The team was ready to leave but Tazuna wanted them to stay as guests for a bit longer. Kakashi not wanting to bother the family was disagreeing but then Tazuna pulled an ace by saying the bridge was not done yet. As the beautification of it was remaining. That means their mission was not over as the bridge was not complete just yet. All just laughed at the loophole that Tazuna pulled out. Kakashi too laughed and agreed to stay, till the bridge is fully complete.

Talking of the fight. It left a great effect on all the genin. As it was their first real ninja fight. They had many questions, both answered and unanswered. The struggle had also brought the spirits of the people in the village up. They were all now fuelled up to work for their land. The trade after the opening of the bridge boosted at an incredible pace. Though Naruto still thought of the last two questions he had asked himself after the fight. They were unanswered, and he knew he wouldn't be getting one anytime soon.

We now find Naruto alone in the market area of the village. He was just wearing his usual dress without the bandages, strapping vest, gloves, or Hitai-ate. Many people greeted him, and Naruto returned the gestures. Naruto gave a small smile seeing the difference in the place. Men and women worked now with smiles on their faces, instead of the grim state they had before. The stores were full of supplies.

He was alone because Kakashi had given them the day off. So, Naruto decided to go and stroll down the market. On the other hand, since the fight and witnessing Naruto taking out a hundred men, Sasuke had no will to stop training. Naturally, Sakura too stayed near Sasuke. While Kakashi took some rest and was catching up on his lost reading time.

Naruto saw a stall with sold ornaments. He went towards the stall. The old lady who stood there to sell her hand-made pieces recognized her customer and gladly greeted, "Ahhh Naruto, hello. How are you?"

"I am fine. How are you…Miss?"

"Tanaka. And I am doing well, thanks to you and your team. After a long time, I am again able to sell the ornaments I used to make. So does anything catch your eye?"

Naruto just looked around. He then asked, "Are all these handmade?"

The lady replied, "Yes dear. They all are made by hand and by stones found on the island itself. So, who are you buying ornaments for? I can maybe help."

"Ahhh…One for a woman whom I call oba-chan but is like a mother to me. And…", Naruto scratched the back of his head and blushed a bit, "…another girl."

The woman giggled understanding why Naruto blushed. She then brought out a necklace. It had a thin silver chain, and it had a red gemstone. It had the shape of a raindrop. It was neither too big nor too small. The lady then said, "I think your oba-chan will like this."

She handed Naruto the necklace. Naruto thought it was a good piece. He then said, "I will take it. What's its price?"

"It is 100,000 ryo. But for you I will give it at 75,000 ryo." said the lady while searching for an ornament. Naruto nodded and proceeded to keep the necklace in a storage scroll. The lady then turned towards Naruto with a confused expression on her face. She showed two ornaments. On the left hand was a bracelet with a circular deep blue gemstone. Its strap was made of purple-dyed silk. On the right hand was a set of earrings. They were small rain-drop shaped same deep blue gem-stoned ear-pieces, with a gold outline. She then said, "To be honest I can't decide between them which should your lover have."

Naruto leaned back a bit and also took a step back. He was blushing and he stuttered while saying, "Wh-what?! She is not my lo-lover. She is my friend. A good friend that's all."

The lady took a while but then laughed a bit at Naruto's reaction. She didn't say anything further about the reaction. She just asked, "Ok fine…But which one do you like?" Naruto looked at both the ornaments. He then said, "Aaahhm could you show me the earrings?"

The lady was extending her arm to give the earrings. But before Naruto could take them. A girl maybe just a bit older than him ran between them and snatched the earrings. She didn't wait for a second and kept running. Naruto wasn't alert because the sentence of him taking the ornament for his apparent lover had kept him off-guard. Naruto took note of the girl with a light brown-haired girl. He yelled, "Oi you get back. That is not yours…"

Naruto was about to start running after the girl. But he was stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a man with dark brown hair. He had grey eyes. He had a slender figure. The man wore a navy blue full-sleeved shirt and a similar colored full pants. The man also wore a yellow scarf around his neck. The man in a calm voice said, "Let it go. Girls of her age like ornaments like that. And she doesn't probably have the money and wanted one."

Naruto brushed off the arm, turned to face the man, and said, "But that doesn't make stealing right, does it?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Then why did you stop me? How will Tanaka-san's loss be handled now?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I am willing to pay." said the man.

"Why?", asked Naruto.

"To make her happy and not to let Tanaka-san have any loss."

"I want a proper answ…", Naruto was interrupted by the man. He said, "Weren't you looking to buy an ornament? I will give another answer after that to please you."

Naruto just nodded and looked at the bracelet. He decided the bracelet was good and asked, "I will take it. What is its price?"

The lady said, "75,000 ryo but you can have it for 50,000 ryo."

The extra man then said, "Tanaka-san could tell me the price of those earrings?"

Tanaka gave a small smile and said, "You don't have to mister. We are not a very big village. We can probably find the girl and then take it back with a light punishment for her."

The man then said, "Please I request to let the girl have the jewellery."

The lady asked, "But why?"

"I think she is still not in a very great position even after the bridge was built. Seeing everyone getting a better life, must have made her jealous. For this one time overlook her transgressions and let her be happy."

The woman sighed and said, "The earrings were 75,000 ryo but just give…"

Before the woman could complete her sentence, the man handed her 250,000 ryo. Both Tanaka and Naruto looked with wide eyes at the immediate handing over of such an amount. Tanaka then said, "Mister I was about to say 50,000 ryo. Why are you handing me five times that amount?"

"Well, I would like to pay for the jewelry that this young man also bought. I had heard the prices. Forgive me for eavesdropping. And please accept full price not discounted ones."

It was again Naruto who in a stern tone asked, "Why?"

The man then calmly said, "Well you see, I am a trader. I have come here to set up my trade. I will get a good profit from it. And if I am not wrong then you are a shinobi, aren't you?"

Naruto just nodded. The man continued, "So accept this as my goodwill for the profits I will gain in the future due to your help. By this Tanaka-san also doesn't have to bear any losses. And that girl will also end up happy. So, there is no reason I shouldn't do it…So please accept it."

Naruto and Tanaka looked at each other a bit. Naruto shrugged and said, "Fine." While Tanaka said, "Thank you very much."

The Man then asked, "Your name is Naruto, right?"

Naruto replied, "Yes my name is Uzumaki Naruto…And yours?"

"My name is Makoto. Nakano Makoto…I have a favor to ask. Could you show me around the market so I can know where to talk when I bring my products?"

Naruto couldn't find any reason to refuse. He nodded and started to give Makoto a tour around the market. As now both of them walked out of the market area Naruto asked, "So Makoto-san what goods do you trade."

Makoto replied, "You don't need to add san. Just Makoto is fine...I usually change my trade from time to time according to the availability or scarcity of things."

Naruto just hummed. After they ended their tour, Naruto asked, "So are you staying somewhere here?"

Makoto then said, "No I will be leaving sometime after dusk. My ride will arrive at that time. If you don't mind, could I accompany you till that time?"

Naruto thought about it. First, he meets this man who just paid for his ornaments. Then he gave a tour of the market. Naruto didn't know why he did it. He usually stayed away from people. He just thought about the question he had, 'It is strange of me to let a person near me…I can't explain why but I feel relaxed, calm, and…safe, as if he is there to protect me if any danger is to come. Why do I feel these emotions?' Naruto then said, "I don't. But I want to go to a place, that requires some trekking."

"That is fine. Thank you for letting me tag along."

While on their trek they didn't have much conversation. Naruto mid-way plucked two flowers. After a while, they reached the edge of a cliff. There were two tombstones at the clearing facing the seaside of the cliff. It was Zabuza's and Haku's grave. The team and Tazuna had dung it for them and gave them a proper burial. Near Zabuza's tombstone, they had also dung his sword, The Kubikiribōchō, underground with its handle above ground.

Naruto went forward while Makoto stayed back leaning against a tree. Naruto kept the two flowers near the two tombstones. He joined his hands and said a little prayer. After a while, Makoto asked, "Were they close to you?"

Naruto calmly answered, "No. They were our adversary."

Makoto raised an eyebrow in confusion. Naruto seeing the confusion said, "Yes you heard right. But in the end, they showed their true self. They were shinobi like me. They were fighting for their cause. We were for ours. They linked with a wrong person which has now caused them to go to the afterlife."

Makoto asked, "You don't hold anything against them."

"I do…I didn't like the way they chose, the path they took to complete their goals. But in the end, when they showed their true self, it didn't indicate they were bad by heart. I couldn't help but ponder on what happened. What happened was a result of how this world is. The shinobi world is vile...Makoto what do you think about us, shinobi?"

"Shinobi, eh? They are complex to understand, I guess. All fight for a reason. I have heard this from another shinobi with whom I had a chat once. He said, a true shinobi always fights for the welfare of all his people under him."

Naruto just hummed and said, "You talk like my Jiji back in the village." He then looked at the flowers he had given to the dead. He then chuckled a bit and said, "It is weird, isn't it?...The dead receive more flowers than the living."

Makoto left his spot from the tree and went to the edge of the cliff. Looking at the setting sun, which made the sky orange over the dark blue sea. Naruto also stood at the edge of the cliff. Makoto then said, "It is very peculiar and kind of sad. But the truth is people nowadays rarely live…"

"I don't understand." Said Naruto.

Makoto in a calm matter said, "Living has become one of the rarest things nowadays. Most people just exist. Life is the small gap between birth and death. People are supposed to be happy when they live. Or else they just exist."

"So do you suggest if someone has been hit by a tragedy should he be happy?" Asked Naruto.

Makoto then said, "I didn't mean happiness at every second. If you are always happy then how do you realize about other emotions?...I mean one should not be in prolonged negation of positivity. Thats harmful. The ups and downs is what makes the journey memorable. I am trying to convey that live your life to the fullest. Because one day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure that it is worth watching."

Naruto chuckled at the last words and said, "A great sentence to be honest."

Makoto also smiled. He then asked, "Say Naruto, what are your goals? I know all shinobi have some."

Naruto didn't feel like hiding them and said, "Well I do have two…One to become the Hokage…and the other, I want to clean this vile world, I want to stop all this unnecessary fighting."

Makoto then asked, "You must already be quite strong to aim for the top seat, aren't you?"

"Naahh I guess I am ok at the moment. I still have lots to learn. I am just a fresh genin you see." said Naruto nonchalantly.

"And your second goal…It is very admirable of you to aim that."

Naruto just smiled at it and nodded. Makoto turned towards Naruto and kept his hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair a bit. He then said, "I believe in you…that you will achieve your goals. No matter what is thrown at you, just never give up. I am sure you will achieve great things."

Naruto didn't know why but the gesture brought him tranquility and satisfaction that made him happy, gleeful from the heart. He just looked at the man called Makoto, who smiled at Naruto's vague expression.

Makoto then removed his hand. Naruto still had a vague expression on his face. The man then said, "Well I think I should start my journey back." In his mind 'Makoto' said, and in an inaudible whisper, he said, 'Pardon me for causing you all these troubles that you face. Sorry. When I get my chance, I will try to fix things and help you attain your goal.'

Naruto just nodded and now both of them trekked back to the village. While they walked midway, they saw a silver-haired man come in their direction. Makoto tensed a bit and immediately relaxed. This was only caught by Kakashi. However, that was only the outward reaction. Internally Makoto felt very happy.

Kakashi then said, "Well Naruto I was finding you. Dinner will be ready in a while."

"Okay, Sensei." was the blonde's response. Kakashi just asked, "Naruto who is this man?"

Naruto answered, "This is Nakano Makoto. He is a trader that came here to see for an opening."

Kakashi just hummed and then said, "Naruto you go ahead to Tazuna's home. I would like to have a chat with Makoto-san."

Naruto looked at Kakashi strangely but obeyed and went to Tazuna's home. Kakashi ensured that Naruto had gone. He then looked at the man with a lone scrutinizing eye. He asked, "You look quite familiar. Have we met before?"

Makoto just said, "I don't believe we have."

Kakashi then asked, "Are you a trader?"

Makoto just said, "Yes."

Kakashi immediately said, "Lie."

"Excuse me?"

"You are a shinobi." Said Kakashi bluntly. Makoto kept an impassive expression. He said, "You are mistaken."

"Then why did you flinch when I arrived." Asked Kakashi.

Makoto giving a sheepish expression said, "Well who wouldn't flinch on seeing the ever-so-famous Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi took a thinking position and said, "Huh, is that so?" He immediately took out a kunai and jumped to strike Makoto. Makoto's eyes widened and he dodged the strike, by moving to the side. Kakashi went for a slash but Makoto caught his hand. Kakashi applied a lot of force. So did Makoto to stop the jonin from injuring him. Kakashi now asked, "You match this speed and strength. No civilian should be able to do so."

Makoto just grunted at the strength he was forced to put. Kakashi then asked, "What are your motives? Do you hold any grudges against the leaf village?...If you ever try to do anything against my village or Naruto…I promise it won't be good for you."

Makoto in a strained voice said, "No I don't. I never can." He then pushed the jonin and jumped back. Kakashi again went for a roundhouse kick. Makoto ducked and rolled to the side. He immediately ran towards the woods. While running he thought, 'Sharp as always. Aren't you, Kakashi?'

Kakashi followed him. As soon as Makoto entered the woods, Kakashi lost track of the man. Kakashi entered the woods and started sensing chakra. He couldn't find anyone. Kakashi just thought, 'Where did that man go?...It was like he disappeared in a…flash.'

---

"So, what all did you find?" asked a feminine voice.

We now see four people sitting around a dining table. This place was located in the fire country within a forest near a civilian village. Yes, this was the Namikaze family. They after their dinner still sat at the dining table. Kushina had asked the question.

Menma then said, "From the talks I and Mito had with some traders, revealed that a new bridge has been built which has allowed them to easily go the wave country. And all are looking for some trade endeavour there."

Mito continued, "And yeah, I think we hear that previously there was a business tycoon who was sucking the economy out of the country and trying to kill the men who opposed him. They had hired some rouge ninja from Kiri to kill the bridge builder as he was the head in leading the opposition."

"Hymn…is there anything else?" asked Kushina.

Both Mito and Menma looked at each other. Mito then with some hesitation said, "Apparently the ninja team that protected the bridge builder from the other ninja that the tycoon hired were from…Konoha."

Minato then cheerfully said, "As expected from Konoha ninja. Stand for what is right."

All the other looked a bit shocked that Minato hadn't been depressed by the mention of Konoha. Menma was quick to say how he felt about the news, "Tou-chan, kaa-chan when will we have such exciting missions? And what was with this mission? Finding about rumours or news about this trade increase in the nearby village. What is that gonna teach us?"

Kushina got a tick mark on her forehead due to the usual rant of her son saying, "Menma learn to be patient."

Minato calmly said, "Well gathering info is one of the most crucial things a ninja should know. Well, what you all did was way easier than what usually happens but it gives an idea."

Mito and Menma only sighed at the explanation. Their father had an answer for everything. Minato then said, "If that is all then it is way past your bedtime. Go and sleep."

Menma immediately retaliated, "What we are not kids that you can tell us to go to bed."

Mito sided with Menma by saying, "Yes you can't."

All protests were blown away when they saw their mother's hair start flowing in the air. They knew this happened when she got very angry. Both of them whimpered back and within a second in unison said, "Fine, fine, going…Goodnight." With that, both ran to their bedrooms.

Minato nonchalantly said, "Ahhh…why did you get so angry with them just due to refusing to go to bed."

"Ohh no I am not solely angry about that." Said Kushina in an angry tone, along with that she also raised a privacy seal. She didn't want the kids to hear what she was thinking and say now. Minato realized the anger was directed at him. He with fear asked, "Ku-Kushina-chan wha-whats the matter?"

"Who are you seeing?" Asked Kushina while Minato whimpered back and had gone to a corner of the room.

"Wh-What do you mean?", said Minato.

Kushina while slowly marching towards her husband said, "I saw you release your kage bunshin before dinner. You had replaced it while you should have been here. Not a kage bunshin. You were gone the whole day. Without saying anything…You didn't want me to know. So, tell me where were you? Who are you cheating me with?"

If there was one soul who could laugh at Kushina's anger, then it was Minato. And he chuckled at the accusations. Kushina was getting angrier at the apparent disrespect and said, "I swear Minato…I am gonna beat the crap out of you."

Minato just said, "Calm down Kushina calm down. Okay, I will tell you."

Kushina yelled in both anger and fear, "So you were cheating on me with another woman!"

Minato immediately said, "No! Jeez just give me a second to say something more. Now sit on the couch calmly so I can tell you where I was today."

Kushina sat on the couch. While Minato took a seat opposite to her. Kushina then immediately said, "Say it now."

"I was in the wave country.", said Minato.

Kushina now with a confused face asked, "Why?"

"To see some people?"

"Some people? How many bitches are you handling at once?" Said an irritated Kushina.

"Why are you taking it to that direction?", asked Minato with a sigh.

"Because you didn't take me. What else could you be doing that required to trick me with that kage bunshin?"

"Listen Kushina, I love you. I am never ever gonna leave your side…But I had my reasons why I couldn't take you.", explained Minato.

"And what are they? And why had you gone to the wave country?" asked Kushina still some anger visible in her tone.

"Well as you know the bridge has increased trade and other various things in the land of waves, as the kids said. They were correct about the rouge ninja being from Kiri, he was Momochi Zabuza. They were also correct that a Konoha team had come to protect the bridge builder. I had gone there to see that team. I got information on the squad leader of that team so I wanted to see him." said Minato calmly.

Kushina in an irritated tone asked, "What kind of team was it that you wished to see? And who was the leader?"

Minato in a happy tone said, "Well it is a genin team. And the team leader was ours truly Hatake Kakashi."

Kushina repeated, "A genin team taking such a mission. I don't think it was rightly allotted…And who was the leader you say?...Hatake Kaka…Our Kakashi?" Her mood took a full one-eighty-degree turn. In a gleeful tone, she asked, "Our little Kakashi is a jonin sensei now! How did you get to know about it?"

"Well, that was the one news that neither Mito nor Menma were able to catch. As you know my student is quite famous, and recognized by all. It was expected to have details of that going around in talks. I think their lack of info on shinobi made them miss this detail."

"Hymn true Kakashi has built quite a reputation for himself…I wonder what kind of sensei that masked brat must be now. Do you know who are his cute genin?"

Minato was glad that the privacy seal was on from the beginning. He then said, "Yes, I do. I saw them and found out about them."

With excitement, Kushina asked, "Who are they? Is there any chance I know their parents?"

Minato calmly said, "Well the first is Haruno Sakura. She is a civilian, so I don't think you know her parents…Second is Uchiha Sasuke, Mikoto's youngest."

Kushina showed a small smile remembering her best friend. She said, "I saw the child when he was a few months old. I wonder how he would have coped with the massacre. To think little Itachi, to do that…I can't imagine why and how he did it."

They had been told about the massacre by Jiraiya four years back. It was the last time they had heard anything about Konoha. After that the toad sage never came back for a visit, saying he was busy with something important.

"I too can't imagine why Itachi committed such a crime…", said Minato while he exhaled. It was a blow for him to hear such a piece of news. All he wanted was good for the place he belonged to. It frustrated him how could a clan like the Uchihas go through such a blow by someone of their own.

Kushina leaving the sad feeling then asked, "And who is the third student?"

Minato chuckled a bit and said, "It is an Uzumaki."

With a confused look and state, Kushina said, "What? Uzumaki?! I don't think there are any Uzumaki left in Konoha, Minato. I was the last one."

Minato gently said, "Kushina…Kakashi's last student is Uzumaki Naruto…Our son!"

The next second, Minato was immediately pinned to the ground. He just looked up at his attacker. Kushina pinned Minato to the ground. Her eyes were watery. She in an angry tone said, "You knew didn't you! That he would be there…didn't you?"

Minato calmly said, "Yes I had guessed Kakashi would be Naruto's sensei."

Kushina grabbed Minato's collar and while shaking him, said, "So selfish…very mean and bad…Why did you not take me if you knew he was there?...Shame on you!"

Minato keeping his calm nature said, "If I would take you…What would have you done after seeing him?"

Kushina immediately said, "I would hug him. Keep him close to me. Beg for forgiveness. And never let him leave my arms ever again." She said this while recalling and reseeing the memories of the time when her decision led to Naruto being pulled out of her arms.

Minato then in an empathic tone said, "That's the reason I didn't take you."

"Why? What's wrong with that?" asked Kushina.

"No, it isn't wrong. But we can't do that now. We can't reveal ourselves now. I went with a disguise, not only in appearance but also in character. Kushina you are too good of a person to disguise your character as something else. I spent quite some time with him. Don't you think I wanted to hug and keep Naruto in my arms?...It was painful to resist. Every second I was happy to meet him but also sad that I had to hide myself."

Kushina in a gloomy tone said, "But still…I want to see him. I am jealous. You go and spend time with him. While I don't even know how he looks. It's unfair."

Minato got up a bit, still sitting on the ground and holding his wife in his arms said, "Well I think this will help." He then took out a photo that he had taken. He handed it to Kushina. Kushina took the photo as if it was the most delicate thing. She looked at the face which had a small gentle smile adorning it.

She then moved her fingers tracing the whisker marks. She now let her tears flow. But it was due to happiness. Her breathing became uneven and odd. She was experiencing joy derived from seeing her son for the first time. Minato hugged her tighter. Kushina in a calm and cheerful tone said, "Minato look how similar he looks to you! Those blue eyes, blonde hair, gentle smile…And look those cute whisker marks are still there!...So this how my boy Naruto looks like."

Minato wiped the tears off. Kushina then asked, "Minato tell me about the time you spent with Naruto. I wanna know."

Minato then said, "Well you see it took me some time to find him. Then I found a boy who looked very much like me, with whisker marks. I knew that was Naruto. He was buying ornaments that time."

"He likes ornaments?"

"No, he was buying it for some other girl and a woman who is like his mother."

Kushina initially noted the first part only. With a small chuckle said, "Huh? So little Naruto is a womanizer, eh?..." She then registered the other words. With some pang in her chest said, "An-and someone who he considers like his mo-mother?"

Minato realizing what Kushina was feeling said, "Kushina we can't expect us ever to be Naruto's sole parent figure, that too if he forgives us. He must also be having a father figure." Kushina just nodded slightly understanding. Minato then to cheer her up continued, "He calls the Sandaime, Jiji. He also aims to be the Hokage just like you did."

Kushina getting some gleam back in her eyes said, "Really?"

Minato nodded and said, "Yeah, he does. He has two aims…One is to become the Hokage and the other is to stop all the unnecessary fighting."

"Unnecessary fighting? But don't we all fight for the right and justice?"

Minato then explained, "Well Kushina I too thought about it for a moment. Then I realized we say we do justice but our opponent too may be doing justice according to his village, his people. Then how do we determine who is right?...Till the time these fights go on, without meaning. The whole world will never be stable. I guess that's why he considers the world vile."

Kushina took some time to think about it and nodded, as it did make some sense to her. She then asked, "Minato you still haven't told me how is Naruto like. I mean his characteristics."

"Hymn let's see…I would say he is respectful to all as he greeted everyone back with equal sincerity as the other person. He thinks a bit more mature than his age, I guess. And I think he is also a person who carries a kind soul." said Minato while in his mind he prayed, 'I hope this shinobi world or our decision those twelve years ago doesn't shatter that kind soul.'

Kushina again looking at Naruto's photo said, "So this is what our Naruto is like."

---

"So, this is all that happened in your mission, Kakashi?"

"Not completely sir." Said the silvered hair jonin.

We find Hiruzen sitting, and reading the report Kakashi had made about their recent mission, while Kakashi alone stood in front of the Hokage. He had sent the three genin to their home to rest and let him solely do the report. Hiruzen then asked, "What do you mean?"

"There are two things that can't be written."

"What could there be that can be worse to write than a fresh genin team's C-rank mission turning to an A-rank? Facing off with Momochi Zabuza, the demon of the Hidden Mist. Sasuke being in a death-like state for a while. And Naruto racking up his first hundred kills, at once!"

Kakashi then just to lighten the atmosphere said, "Well there were good outcomes also. The wave country was saved. Sasuke activating his sharingan. Naruto getting a monument named after him already. The Great Naruto Bridge…Don't know why Tazuna was so fixated on naming the bridge that. Though Naruto doesn't know about it. I don't want such things making Naruto overconfident and boastful."

Hiruzen just slightly glared at Kakashi. Hiruzen then said, "Kakashi you should have turned back with your team the moment you knew that the mission got an upgrade. That's the protocol."

"Yes, but I wouldn't have come back. Aren't we supposed to help the ones in need?...I would have continued anyway. I did want to send the three back but gave them a choice of what they wanted to do. And the choice they made is evident."

Hiruzen then sighed and said, "Well you are right. I will overlook it, just this once. You and your team did a great job…Now what are the two things that you couldn't write?"

Kakashi just pointed at some places in the office. Hiruzen understanding signalled the Anbu guards to go away. Kakashi then in a serious tone said, "Firstly Sasuke and Naruto quarreled. It was initialized when Sasuke realized Shisui trained Naruto, due to Naruto's vest."

"Hymn…so that's the thing?...Were you surprised when you heard what Sasuke said that day?"

"To both, the answer is no."

"Since when did you figure it out and how?"

"Day of team allotment, due to some specific words in his goals. I realized it."

"And what is the actual thing you want to say?"

"In the quarrel one thing led to another and Naruto got angry. Very angry. For some moments when he was angry his iris colour changed from blue to purple. From his father's color to his mother's. It was strange and I have no theory why it happened."

Hiruzen kept a calm face. He knew exactly what happened. His genjutsu was not fully safe as he had initially thought. He just said, "Quite strange…And the second thing?"

"…Chakra from the seal leaked." That was all that Kakashi said.

This time Hiruzen lost his coolness a bit. It was a confirmation of the theory he had thought twelve years ago. That the kyuubi's soul will regenerate chakra. And now the Kyuubi was back to his hundred percent capacity. But at the same time, it was a grim fact that Naruto was subjected to that malicious chakra. The Sandaime asked, "How bad was it?"

"It was less and didn't last for long. I guess Naruto subconsciously controlled himself before he crossed the threshold. And I say subconsciously as I didn't hear him ask me anything about it. So I think he is kind of unaware or not wanting to talk about it."

Hiruzen hummed and said, "Well okay Kakashi…I will talk with him. Take some rest and collect your, Sasuke's, and Sakura's payment according to an A-rank as I am officially changing it. I will take Naruto's payment and give it to him." Kakashi bowed and left. Hiruzen now alone in the room said to himself, "I will have to change some of your perceptions, Naruto."

---

Naruto was leisurely laying on the couch and…reading to relax from the travelling. He kept reading with a slight blush on his face. He diverted his concentration a bit and looked at the door. He thought, 'Man giving Oba-chan a pair of the keys doesn't seem to be the brightest idea now. She just barged in, even if she came to check on me, she could have knocked…That was the closest I have been ever to being caught reading or seeing these magazines. If Oba-chan would have seen it. I would be dead now…Thank you, god, for having mercy on me.'

He was talking about earlier when Mikoto had dashed into Naruto's house when he was with pleasure reading an Icha-Icha book. Naruto with panic hid the book in the space between two couch cushions. Mikoto had come after she had heard Sasuke spill some details he knew of the mission. She had first ensured that Sasuke was okay and was calm when an irritated Sasuke told her to stop and stay calm. She then lost that calmness when the boy told her about the kill count that Naruto had to rack up.

She immediately went to the blonde's house. Resulting in startling a focused blonde when he was on a rather interesting part, and effectively stopping his reading. The whole time Mikoto was checking over Naruto and asking how he felt. Consoling on not to feel bad about what happened and motivating him.

Naruto stayed silent the whole time, he was listening and grateful for the concern shown by the woman. But internally he was terrified the whole time because both of them were sitting on the couch where Naruto had hidden the far-from-decent book. Mikoto's fingers were just an inch away from the gap. Naruto knew if she felt something odd there. With no doubt, she would inspect it. And he didn't want to think of the consequences that would follow.

Well, he sighed in relief when Mikoto left. He also had to go the Uchiha's place for dinner. Mikoto wanted Naruto to come with her but the blonde said he wanted to rest a bit more. In truth, he wanted to calm down. And to calm down he went back to his reading from the part he left. He was contently reading when he heard someone knock on his door.

Naruto sighed kept the book in a secret storage seal and said to himself, "A person can't read in peace it seems." He then opened the door and said, "Oh hey Jiji how are you doing?"

"I am doing fine. And you?" Asked Hiruzen.

"Fine as well. Come in."

Hiruzen entered and sat on a chair near the couch. He then directed Naruto to sit in front of him on another chair. Naruto followed. Hiruzen then said, "I read through the details of the report that Kakashi provided. I must say you fought well against a stronger opponent. It was amazing how you used the underwater territory and his mist against him. The mission has been upgraded to an A-rank. And here is your pay according to an A-rank."

He handed Naruto an envelope. Naruto took it while also saying, "Thank you."

"So also, I did read about the kills you had to commit. I know you must already have had a talk and might not want to talk more about it. And I won't if you don't want to, I will just say, we are shinobi and we can't prevent killing even from our hands."

Naruto sighed a bit and said, "Kakashi sensei gave me some words immediately that soothed me. It still soothes me. Yes, I would rather not talk more about the hundred kills to my name. I now accept that a shinobi will always have his hands dirty when necessary."

Hiruzen hummed and then went to his first main point. He created a privacy seal. In a serious tone he said, "You see Naruto, Kakashi has kept two details out of the report as he deemed them sensitive…So, Naruto while you were in the dome, did you feel irresistible anger?"

"Yes."

"For what reason?"

"I thought Sasuke died and then…", Naruto took a confused expression. It was the first time he tried to recall of that particular incident of the fight and he couldn't remember.

"You can't remember I guess."

"Yes, but how do you know this?"

"That's because you had subconsciously tapped into the kyuubi's chakra. Even if less, you had used kyuubi's chakra. When you got angry it was released. Kakashi had sensed this and now has let me handle it."

"So that's why I can't remember some parts of the fight?"

"That is my theory. I will ask you to keep your emotions tight until you learn how to use that chakra. Would you like to learn how to use it?"

"No! I don't desire to use that despicable chakra…I will keep my emotions in check." He said the inverse of what he had recently thought and was told about emotions. But he would rather tighten his emotions than use that chakra.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I have no doubt."

"Hymn okay then…The second thing is…Kakashi kind of saw your sharingan."

"What?! And what do you mean by kind of?" Yelled Naruto while also getting off his seat.

"Calm down Naruto and sit down. I will tell you." Naruto sat down and was a bit impatient. Hiruzen then continued, "Do you recall your quarrel with Sasuke?"

Naruto a bit annoyed said, "What sensei told about that also!"

"Yes, he did. Because apparently, you got so angry that your eyes turned purple."

"Purple?! How?"

"What do you get when you add red and blue?"

Naruto with some shock to the information let it in. He then asked, "But still I thought the genjutsu was supposed to work to keep the sharingan blue. Only while evolving it would be red, you had said that."

Hiruzen then calmly said, "Yes, I did say that but I think apparently anger weakens the genjutsu. That's why it hid the red color only partially. Which resulted in showing purple eyes."

Naruto sighed and muttered, "So both of my slips happened due to anger…I need to control my impulses."

"Yes, that is true. You need to have more control over your emotions. I am not asking to be totally passive. Just a tad bit more control…But I also want you to use your sharingan. Don't keep it to rust."

"Have you forgotten that I don't want to use it?" Said Naruto.

"No, I haven't. But you should use it. At that time, I let you take the decision without a suggestion. Now I think that was wrong. And I believe you need to use the sharingan you have gained."

"Has your old age gotten to you? You very well know I don't want to use something obtained from Shisui's death." Said Naruto in a bit irate tone.

"Now tell me, did the sharingan by itself get activated during your fights due to your body's involuntary reflexes?"

Naruto grumbled, "Yes it did. But I didn't use it. I never will."

"Hymn…Then how did you react when the sharingan got activated?"

"I deactivate it immediately."

"So, you shift your focus from the fight to your sharingan just to deactivate a tool that can help you. And your continuous shift in focus causes you to make mistakes. Doesn't it?...Now tell me. Not using your sharingan sounds foolish, doesn't it?" Said Hiruzen calmly.

Naruto now getting angry at the persistence of the Sandaime said, "Jiji…Don't push it. I don't want to use it. I don't care if it causes limitations and setbacks to me. I still opt to do as I am doing…For the final time, I will say. I don't feel like using it."

Hiruzen knew he was going beyond his line which he had previously set. Nevertheless, he in a stern tone said, "You are responsible for how you feel. When you choose to be less than what you are capable of. Everyone around you suffers…And in life, you need to have no fear, no hesitation, no doubt, and mostly no limitations. It is only then you can accomplish and surpass your goals."

Naruto just pinched the bridge of his nose and thought of what the old man said. He knew the Hokage was trying to convince him to use the eyes he had gained. And little by little the man made points which he couldn't counter. Hiruzen not hearing anything, continued his speech, "What do you think that Shisui didn't know that this would happen when he was falling? He knew everything."

With some surprise, Naruto said, "What?"

"Shisui very well knew that this could happen. That is why he let you see him die so that you could gain these eyes. He could have easily put you in an unconscious state and died. But he didn't do that. He has gifted you with the sharingan. He wanted you to use it."

Naruto then grumbled and said, "I don't know if it's a gift or a curse."

"Just like the kyuubi in you. Those eyes are both your gift and your curse. It all depends on how you use it…Didn't you always want to accomplish his dream? Let him see his dream turn to reality with the eyes he has given you. With the help of the sharingan, you could also protect people that matter to you better. Wouldn't you like that?"

Naruto in a confused and irritated state recalled the conversation he had with Haku. He mused, 'It surely will help me protect my precious ones. But….Ahhhh, what should I do? Should I really use it?'

Hiruzen sensing the confused state, gambled by asking, "Naruto did your focus on the sharingan rather than the fight hinder you and cause you to make any mistake?"

Naruto then gritted his teeth. The old man had his shot in the dead center. He did blame himself for letting Sasuke fall into a death-like state. 'What would have happened if I had used my sharingan?...I could have dodged the senbon that paralyzed me. Sasuke wouldn't have gone through becoming a porcupine. I wouldn't have tapped into Kyuubi's chakra. The outcome would be different. The fight would have gone longer. It wouldn't have ended before Gato had arrived. We would stop our fight. We could work together. Both Haku and Zabuza could have been alive now…Only if I had used my sharingan…'

Hiruzen not hearing a word said, "Well Naruto I don't know what are you thinking. But in this world to safeguard your interests, people, or whatever it may be, you need strength."

"But strength is not the sole thing."

"I never said it was the sole thing needed. But it is the primary thing of this world. Like it or not…Naruto all I want is that you shouldn't have any regret. There will be situations where you will feel that if you had a bit more strength you could change unfavorable outcomes." While Hiruzen said this Naruto kept his head down and remembered the time how helpless he felt when he saw Shisui falling down the cliff. He did feel if he had more strength, he could have stopped Shisui. The Hokage continued, "Naruto, life is such a good teacher that if you don't learn your lesson then…it will repeat…again and again, till one learns the lesson."

Naruto and Hiruzen stayed silent for some moments. Naruto exhaled and calmed himself. Lifted his head and said, "Fine then…I will not stop its activation when it happens. And will only voluntarily activate it when I deem it necessary."

Hiruzen nodded at the words. He then said, "I was hoping you would understand…And also what have you thought about your new weapon? Your tanto snapped, didn't it? Will you again buy another tanto?"

And just like that the topic was changed. Naruto had a bit of sweat drop on such a casual change of topic. Nevertheless, he said, "Yes. I am gonna buy a new tanto."

"Why don't you take a katana now? Initially, you started with tanto because it had a better arm-to-blade length ratio at your younger age. Now I think you should use a katana. It would suit your Uzumaki style better due to its better range."

"Well, you are right. It might be better to use a katana now…So do you know which weapon store has the best katanas?"

---

"Hymn so this is the store Jiji said about." Naruto now stood in front of a weapon store named Higurishi's Weapons. He had come here after he and his Jiji had left. He now entered the shop.

"Welcome to Higurishi's weapons. What would you like?" Said a voice, clearly belonging to a girl.

He then looked at the girl, around his age, behind the cashier's desk. She wore a pink sleeveless Chinese-style kimono with red trims at the edge. She had her brown hair tied into two buns. She had dark brown eyes. Then Naruto noticed the Hitai-ate around her forehead. Naruto said, "I would like to purchase a katana."

The girl nodded and took him to the katana section of the shop. She noticed the Hitai-ate on the boy and asked, "So you are a shinobi too, I see…But you don't seem to be older than me. Are you a fresh genin?"

Naruto started to pick and look, examining the katana in front of him. He with half-mind said, "Yes I am a fresh genin."

"Hymn isn't it a bit early for you to start with a katana? Most start after four to five months of being a genin. And if I am not wrong you must have only been a genin for a bit over two months."

Naruto lied, "Maybe but aren't katana's cool and stuff." He found no reason to say that he was good in kenjutsu.

The girl then gave a small laugh at the apparent desire to buy a katana only due to it being cool. Nevertheless, she didn't discourage the boy from buying one, cause business was business. She showed a few options and talked about the pieces. After some time, Naruto selected a katana whose blade length was around 25 inches and total length nearly 35 inches. It had a black circular hand guard, with its handle too being black with small diamonds of white on the handle.

Naruto kept the blade back into its sheath. He then said, "I will take this one."

"Fine choice…It will be around 250,000 ryo." Said the girl. Both of them went to the counter and the girl was making the receipt when they saw the door open. Both of the men had jonin flank jackets on them. Both recognized the two elite jonins.

One of them was a tall well-built man with fair skin and a strong jawline. He wore a green spandex under his flank jacket. He had his Hitai-ate used as a belt buckle. Though the most noticeable features were the black hair cut in bowl style and the huge bushy eyebrows the man had. This was Maito Gai also called Might Guy. He was Konoha's best jonin when it came in terms of taijutsu. He also held the nickname of Konoha's Green Beast.

And the other jonin was ours truly Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi was just strolling in the village when his friend found him and tagged along where he went. And now they were in this shop.

Gai then in his loud and cheerful voice said, "Tenten from tomorrow we are gonna start training from four in the morning with our youthful energy."

Tenten just grumbled at the shift of timings and said, "No one is energetic at four in the morning sensei! Come on wasn't five good enough?"

"Oh, come on Tenten, stop being so unyouthfully. Dawn is the time of youth. And youth is the dawn of life. Dawn is the best time to train." said Gai.

Naruto just looked at Kakashi and pointed towards Gai. Asking if Gai was always like that. Kakashi sighed at the antics of his friend. He just nodded. Kakashi then seeing the sheathed blade in Naruto's hand asked, "So deciding to have a katana now, Naruto?"

"Yes, Sensei. I have." Said Naruto.

Gai now shifting his complete focus from his student to Naruto now said, "Yosh! So, this is your student Naruto, Kakashi! He seems very youthful."

Naruto not knowing how to react just said, "Well…Thanks."

Guy then getting a bright idea said, "Say Naruto would you like to train with me? Let's burn our flames of youth and become the best. So, what do you say?"

Naruto had a sweat drop due to the antics with which he spoke. Behind Gai he could see both Kakashi and Tenten giving big cross signs with their hands, guiding him on what to do. Before he could speak another voice came from the door, "Gai-sensei I am done with a hundred laps of the village. What should I do now?"

Naruto then saw the boy who looked like the exact photocopy of what a young guy would look like. He also wore the same kind of clothes. Guy appreciatively hummed and said, "Splendid my youthful student Lee. Now give me five hundred push-ups on the spot and then another hundred laps of the village. Come on Lee show me your flames of youth!"

"Hai sensei! I will burn my youthful flames to no limits." And with that, the boy started his push-ups. Naruto too liked a good workout but even for him, this was too much. He realized the big warnings from the two. Naruto then said, "Gai-san thanks for the offer but I don't think my sensei would like me being trained by someone else."

Gai then turned towards Kakashi and said, "Kakashi how unyouthful of you! Come on let him train with me."

Kakashi grumbled under his breath as Naruto transferred the blame of rejection on him. The silver-haired jonin then said, "Gai for the time being let me solely take care of Naruto. I am new to teaching. An intermixing may not be good for now."

Gai thought about it and then showed a bright smile and said, "Well fine Kakashi. But Naruto remember that this offer will always be available."

"Thank you…And Tenten the receipt." Said Naruto.

"Oh, sorry I almost forgot!" She then completed it and while Naruto handled the cash thought, 'He must be good to be placed under a ninja like Hatake Kakashi. I need to get info on him. But he doesn't seem that serious and just buying a katana just because it is cool. A normal immature and average academy graduate in my opinion.'

And with that, Naruto left the shop with Gai switching between arguing with Tenten that four was the best time and cheering up Lee. Kakashi had waited behind as he wanted to purchase a set of new kunais. While walking home, he lifted his sheathed katana a bit he thought, 'Need to make some minor changes to my strapping vest. And also, I need to get adjusted to this blade length fast. I hope my kenjutsu improves and this blade doesn't snap in a fight.'

---

Naruto knocked on the doors of the Uchiha house. Moments later Sasuke opened the door. He just commented, "Came for free food."

Naruto immediately acted as if he was anchoring a show and enthusiastically said, "And to look at a monkey who opens doors."

"Why you?! You come to my house and dare insult me." Said an irate Sasuke who had a tick mark on his forehead.

"And apparently that monkey can talk! Wonderful! Oi monkey can you show me your tail? Or some tricks perhaps I could feed you some bananas for a trick. What do you say?" The next moment both the teammates were on the ground and wrestling.

Mikoto and Kiyomi came to the front door upon hearing shuffling and wrestling sounds. Mikoto just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose due to the incoming headache of seeing the two pathetically wrestling on the ground. Kiyomi giggled and fetched her camera. Mikoto just thought, 'These two! What did they even find to quarrel and wrestle on now? Both together are too chaotic. How do they handle themselves in the mission?'

Mikoto gave another sigh and then yelled, "Both of you stop! Both are just making your clothes dirty. If you fight another second more none of you are getting dinner."

At this, both teammates stopped. Got up off the ground and dusted themselves. Sasuke then said, "Because of you now my clothes are dirty."

"My clothes are dirty because of you! Don't play the victim."

"Victim?! If kaa-san wouldn't have made me stop you would be the victim of my clean punch now."

"Oh yeah? Try me!" Said Naruto in a mocking voice. Sasuke took a step forward but had to stop. Mikoto now came between the two and pulled an ear each. Naruto and Sasuke both complained of the pain but Mikoto was having none of it. She in a slightly angry tone said, "Didn't you two hear what I said? Now just shut up till dinner is served. Or else…" She proceeded to activate her mature sharingan to intimidate the two.

Neither of the two said anything knowing that had the best outcome for them. Mikoto pulled the two kids in the house by ear. Behind Kiyomi was delighted by the amount of photos worthy of combined hate of the two boys she had taken.

Dinner was normal. Nothing fancy. Grilled fish, rice, miso soup, a vegetable dish, and a side of sushi. Dinner was also uneventful, it went smoothly without any fights between Naruto and Sasuke. All were now in the living room and talking a bit.

Kiyomi in a whin said, "You two are too lucky to have an A-rank when you are still a genin. I had got one B-rank just recently and that too was not as excitingly adventurous as the ones you had."

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke gave a reply to the comment. They just looked at each other. They would rather say the mission was dangerously adventurous. Mikoto said, "Kiyomi their case was an unexpected one. Luckily, they survived. I will be having a talk with Kakashi over his decision though."

Naruto immediately said, "You won't say anything to Kakashi sensei. It was a group decision. He had given us the option to return but we didn't. You won't and can't say anything to sensei."

Sasuke nodded and said, "It was me and Naruto who didn't want to turn back. Kakashi had no influence on our decision."

Mikoto just sighed and asked, "What went through both of your minds to continue the mission?"

"To stand for what is right." Said Naruto.

"But at the cost of your safety?" Asked Mikoto.

"Don't say that you have never made similar decisions. You can't implement different rules for us. If you have never taken such a decision then say or else drop the topic." Said Naruto with finality in his voice.

Mikoto grumbled a bit due to the legitimate point Naruto made. Naruto knowing there was no counterargument coming said, "Well it is getting quite late now I shall go home now." With that, Naruto got up. Mikoto said, "You could use the guest room you know right."

"I can but I have some chores left at home so need to complete them…So yeah bye…Oh wait I was forgetting this." He then proceeded to take out the ornaments he had bought. He then said, "I forgot to give you the souvenirs I bought from the Land of Waves."

He then proceeded to hand the necklace to Mikoto and the bracelet to Kiyomi. Mikoto simply smiled and said, "Thank you Naruto. This necklace is very beautiful. But you didn't need to. Like see Sasuke didn't buy anything and it's fine."

This, to be honest confused both Naruto and Sasuke on whether the woman was taunting Sasuke or was it just a normal statement. Sasuke just scowled and said, "Materialistic things mean nothing. They are just a waste of money. I don't need to buy anything for anyone."

Naruto knew now Sasuke would have a small lecture on how materialistic things matter, maybe. It was something Naruto also got to know via his study material. He just said, "Bye all." Sasuke just spared a look at the blonde. Mikoto said, "Bye Naruto…And Sasuke let me tell you why materialistic objects have meaning." Sasuke just looked at his mother with an odd expression, due to his concepts being utterly different.

Naruto just gave a look towards Kiyomi as he hadn't heard any reaction from her. He saw she was mesmerized by the bracelet so didn't say anymore and started his walk to his home. Kiyomi looked at the gift that Naruto gave her. She held it with great care. She then wore it on her arm and saw how good it felt and looked. She turned her head up to thank Naruto. But Naruto had already started his walk to his home.

She saw her mother telling something to an uninterested Sasuke. She then headed for the door of the house. She saw Naruto just outside the gates of the front lawn. She called out, "Naruto! Thanks for the gift."

Naruto turned to see Kiyomi and with a smile asked, "You like it?"

"Yeah, I do. It is very beautiful and lovely." Said Kiyomi. Both of them now realized they were alone out of anyone's audible range. Both had a blush, with Kiyomi's being larger. Naruto looked up at the moon shining. He just thought, 'The moon is lovely…That was a normal sentence in my opinion. I added my emotional impulse to that statement. That has triggered my somewhat now biased reactions when I think of her. I still don't know how to properly define what I feel. It would be immature and impulsive to jump to a conclusion. And it would be foolish of me to guess what she feels when I can't confirm what I feel. These emotional impulses are a damn tricky thing.'

He then saw Kiyomi also looking at the moon. Naruto then said, "The moon is certainly lovely." Kiyomi immediately turned her head to look at Naruto. Her blush increased tenfold. She in her clustered mind could only think, 'Does he-he mean it? Is-is he saying the three words?!'

Naruto continued, "And so are the other celestial bodies. All are magnificent. But the most magnificent is the moon you know why?" Kiyomi having all her hopes shattered made her very sad and irritated, but still asked, "Why?"

"Because it is visible to the naked eye and still doesn't hide its dark spots."

"Doesn't that decrease its beauty? I mean imagine a moon with a clear surface. It would look more amazing."

"I differ in that opinion. The dark spots are what make it beautiful and natural. It signifies the beauty of nature has imperfections…Well, I will take my leave now. Bye." With that, both of them waved bye and Naruto left. Kiyomi still at the doorsteps thought, 'Do I have to say it for him to realize?! Why is this so hard?! Why can't he interpret it? Baka Naruto!...'

---

Naruto opened the door of his house and subconsciously in a low voice said, "I am home."

He realizes what he said. He heavily sighed and closed his eyes. Not wanting to see the empty apartment. He then in a sad manner said his thoughts aloud, "When will this habit go? I hurt myself with this. Every time I remind myself that there is no one waiting at home for me. No family. There are some I consider family figures. But whatever it may be, they are not blood. There is a difference. Initially, I thought there wasn't any but there is. I could stay with them for the night, but it felt like troubling them more than needed. My decisions are derived from the fact we don't share blood. Due to that I will always feel obliged to them and feel in debt. Such feelings make me take decisions like buying gifts and all."

Naruto thinks of the actual mother-son bond that Mikoto and Sasuke shared. With a downcast expression, he continued, "While in real blood relation, you don't feel that need as both sides know what are they supposed to do, naturally things like happy face and expressions are enough…No need to thank with materials, just pure feelings. I would like to experience that one day…To have a real family…To have unconditional feelings of attachment. The last time I really had such an attachment was with Shisui-nii. It may be cruel of me to say this but all the other relations I have, mainly from the Uchiha side, is because Shisui became my brother. They only came near me because Shisui-nii became close to me. Or else I would never have met them…Nii-chan why did you have to go? It is lonely without you…"

Naruto violently shook his head before his tears could fall and before he fell deeper into the memory lane.

---

A few more days consisting of D-ranks and training had passed since returning to Konoha. After finishing one such day, Naruto now strolled on the streets of Konoha. He was in his full shinobi wear, with the now adjusted strapping vest and his katana. While walking his mind went to think about his new weapons, 'As Jiji said. This katana did make my moves more book perfect. Adjusting to the blade length happened faster than I had anticipated…' Naruto then looked at a specific area on the fence, it was perfectly normal to all but Naruto. He grinned and thought, 'Well you have got better. This attempt is not bad at all. But Kono I am the master in this stuff. You can't beat me.'

Naruto proceeded to take out four kunais and threw them at the area on the fence. They stuck on the fence as a perfect square. To all the others on the street, they thought the blonde was doing some rubbish. But after a while, one could easily see the bulge forming. After a while, one could see motion in it as if some appendages were moving. "Ahhh nii-chan take this out! I am trapped."

"Should have thought before trying to trick me."

Naruto then proceeded to remove the kunai and release the cloth with an amazingly realistic depiction of the background face. As soon as the cloth fell all could see the academy student behind it. Konohamaru then yelled, "You could have just pulled the cloth out. Not confine me like that."

"Oh, is that so…"

Then both heard, "Wooah Konohamaru, he is really as good as you said." Said a voice belonging to a little girl.

"Yeah, he found you even when it seemed nothing out of the ordinary." Said a voice belonging to a little boy.

Naruto then looked at the two newcomers. Konohamaru then said, "They are my classmates. Her name is Moegi and his name is Udon."

The boy had short brown hair and dark eyes. He wore a black shirt which had a zipper. With that, he had brown pants. He also had a bit of snot coming out from one nostril. He introduced himself and said, "Hi I am Ise Udon. I like maths." The girl had orange hair tied into two pigtails. She wore a pink shirt and a red tank top over it and grey pants. She introduced herself and said, "Hi I am Kazamatsuri Moegi. And I am gonna be the most beautiful kunoichi."

"Well, hi. I am Uzumaki Naruto…So what are you all doing?" Asked Naruto.

Konohamaru nonchalantly said, "Well you see they think I am brilliant at hiding. And when I said there is one genin who could easily catch me. They didn't believe it. So here I am giving them the proof."

Naruto just hummed. While Moegi with amazement asked, "But Naruto how did you know Konohamaru was there? It was too perfect to identify that a cloth was there."

"Well, you if see carefully, one could see the suction by using chakra on the cloth so it stuck to the fence, it caused some patterned irregularities. Though you need to be good at identifying those stuff. And I also sensed Konohamaru's chakra so it was easier."

"Wow, you noticed such small details also!" Said Udon. While Konohamaru snapped his fingers in dismay as he thought he had done a good job in hiding his chakra.

"A shinobi must notice such things."

Konohamaru then suddenly said, "Hey nii-chan want to play ninja with us? It can act as a light training and will be fun also. So, what do you say?"

Naruto thought a bit, 'Well if I say yes, the remainder of the day goes. But I guess, its okay to throw one day once in a while.' Naruto then smiled and said, "Yeah why not!"

"What kind of ninja, plays ninja with kids?" Said a new voice.

Naruto immediately recognized the voice and in a lazy manner said, "You got a problem with it, Sakura?"

Sakura in her mind raged due to the leisure time Naruto was having. The rage and irritation were initiated because Sasuke had said she was useless on her face just moments ago. It happened when she had asked for a date from the Uchiha, but the boy pointed out the obvious problems in her mindset and didn't sugar-coat it. 'A problem?! Yes, I do have a problem. You here are having the time of your life. Always happy and content. While here Sasuke-kun calls me the dead-weight and useless. I too train but what do I do when luck favours you? Being trained at a young age by such a high standard shinobi. Sasuke-kun was right. That Shisui should have trained him instead of this orphan. Your life is so good that even the Hokage considers you as his grandchild. God, I hate my luck. I wish I had Naruto's luck and life. Such a happy, easy and a pleasant life.'

Little did she know she couldn't handle a minute of the said blonde's life, but can be blame someone for such assumptions? She is just ranting on due to her lack of knowledge, like everyone does. Well anyways, on the younger side of the group, Konohamaru was getting some funny ideas, "Hey nii-chan is that your?…you know."

Naruto just sighed and said, "No Konohamaru you are getting wrong ideas. She is just my teammate. Nothing more than that."

Sakura got more annoyed at the boy's implementations. Konohamaru while giving an approval sign said, "Good decision nii-chan. Look at her forehead it is so big. Like a big forehead alien."

Sakura's anger skyrocketed. There was one thing she couldn't tolerate. And that was mocking of her forehead. She yelled, "WHAT?!"

"Look at a mirror lady. And see your forehead carefully. If you are observant then you will notice your abnormally big strange forehead…Huge forehead girl." Said Konohamaru in a manner that he was stating facts.

Naruto in a calm manner said, "Kono…start running."

Konohamaru looked at Naruto and asked, "Huh why?"

Naruto pointed him to see Sakura. The girl was visibly shaking in anger. Konohamaru found the aura a bit too intimidating now. He with some nervousness asked, "Nii-chan can't you stop her? I mean she is your teammate and you must be stronger. So how about helping your otouto?"

"Hymn that is a possible course of actions…But I want to see how much your speed has improved in the month…So 3, 2, 1 run."

With that, Konohamaru dashed down the street with Sakura in high pursuit. Moegi and Udon also ran after the two, with the aim to not leaving Konohamaru alone and preventing any beat-ups. Naruto now alone, sighed and told himself, "Well I should go and prevent anything big."

Naruto walked in the direction of the place where he felt Konohamaru's and Sakura's chakra. They had taken a halt. He mused, 'So did she catch him or is he hiding and she is unable to find him?' He continued his walk and took a turn to the destination. From a little distance, he saw the scenario in front of him.

Added to the four people he had already met, there were two more new members. One was a boy who looked a little over his age. He wore a bunraku, a black baggy full-body suit, and a black hood that covered his head, with cat-like ears on top of it. And his Hitai-ate protector around his forehead. He had dark eyes and some purple face paint on him.

The other was a girl yet again looking a few years older than him. She had teal colour eyes. Dusty blonde hair was tied into four pig-tails. She wore a light purple modified long-sleeve kimono that went to her mid-thigh. She also wore a red sash around her waist. She had her Hitai-ate around her neck.

To Naruto, the most prominent feature of the two was the symbol on their Hitai-ate. It belonged to Suna, the village hidden in the Sand. Naruto then looked at the extra visible equipment they carried and thought, 'Hymn the girl holds a big traditional tessen. The boy is keeping something in his bandaged package and has slung it over his back. Considering they are from Suna the girl uses her fan for wind transformation and sends torrents of gusts towards people. Now the guy over there wears a bunraku of puppeteers. Suna is famous for their puppet ninja style. I can only guess he is having a puppet under those bandages…But well now I need to give them a piece of myself.'

The Suna boy had held Konohamaru by the collar and above the ground. The girl behind just sighed at the way her companion was doing things. Moegi and Udon hid behind Sakura a bit intimidated by the foreign shinobi. Sakura too felt a bit intimidated by their presence as her previous encounter with foreign shinobi had a small impact on her. Then too she said, "Leave the boy. He bumped into you only because I was chasing him. It is not his fault. Leave him."

"Whatever it be. He bumped into me. He needs to apologize." Said the boy.

"Apologize?! You are holding me by the collar and expect me to apologize?! You weird human cat boy or whatever you are." Said Konohamaru not being intimidated a bit by the other two.

The Suna ninja getting angrier pulled Konohamaru higher and said, "You have some nerve gaki."

All now heard another voice. Naruto while walking with his hands in his pockets, calmly said, "Leave him now, Suna-nin."

All from Konoha were glad to see Naruto arrive at the place. The Suna girl with a calculative gaze looked at Naruto. While the boy in an annoyed manner said, "Piss off blondie."

"I won't. What will you do?" Still moving forward in the same manner.

"I will hit this kid and then beat you up...Now not a step forward."

The girls behind him then said, "Kankuro you are overstepping the limit line now."

The now-identified Kankuro in a whisper that only Temari and Konohamaru could hear said, "Shut it Temari. I am just doing so that blondie will stay in his place."

Both the Suna ninja saw Naruto still moving forward now pretty close to the others. They didn't think he would advance. But yet the blonde boy with now his eyes dangerously looking at them.

Kankuro then said, "Oi you! Are you deaf? I said not a step forward. Or this brat gets a good punch."

Naruto in a calm tone said, "I would like to see you try."

"Oh, is it…" Kankuro then whispered to Konohamaru, "Looks like you are going to have a big swelling kid." Konohamaru just gritted his teeth. He knew Naruto wouldn't let him get seriously hurt, but the ways his brother went through made him very anxious.

Kankuro raised his fist to punch Konohamaru in the face. All others, except Naruto, watch with slight disbelief. Naruto now was ahead of the other Konoha inhabitants and stood in front of Kankuro, at some distance. Naruto before the punch could start its path, said, "But you will also have to face the consequences of it."

Kankuro then saw the blonde's hand leave the pockets. One was free, while the other held the handle of the sheathed katana. Naruto seeing the attention on his katana, using his thumb just unsheathed a bit and showed just a little bit of the blade. Kankuro in a smug manner said, "Oh so blondie thinks he is cool just because he has a katana which he can't use…You can't match my speed or reflexes. There are no consequences you can give me."

Kankuro just made a jerk to initiate his punch but stopped immediately. He felt a cold sharp object touch his neck, right where the jugular vein is supposed to be. He didn't even realise when the katana was fully unsheathed and now it was ready to kill him. Cold drops of sweat started to drip down his forehead. All the other also saw that now Naruto was holding the katana by a single hand, extending it to touch Kankuro's neck. All, irrespective of friend or foe, felt chills running their spine as they realized they couldn't track the movement, even when he did it with a katana, made of lustrous metal.

The tone with which Naruto now spoke just increased the chills that all were feeling. In a dangerous tone, he said, "Pray to god that, please do not let this blondie be the one who give me the consequences of these actions. Cause if you hurt him. You will have to bid farewell to the hand which will hurt him…And matching your speed or reflex. No, I can't do that…I can't slowdown that much Suna boy…", pressing his katana a bit more to send an incentive, he commanded, "…Now leave him."

Kankuro immediately left Konohamaru. The boy to with same speed hid behind Naruto. Kankuro in a bit strain voice said, "Now take the katana out. I left the boy as you said."

Naruto in an asserting tone said, "Hands up in the air and I will decide what I will do. You will just answer."

The girl behind got over her initial shock of the fellow blonde's speed and now said, "Hey leave my brother now!"

"Well, your brother here assaulted my brother, Konohamaru. You expect me to let that slide?...If yes then you are wrong.", said Naruto glancing at the kunoichi. She was taking a fighting stance sensing danger from the other blonde.

Kankuro with a bit amazement said, "Woah dude he was the one who bumped into me. You have got it all wrong."

"No, no, I haven't got it wrong. He may have bumped into you. A minor transgression…But you held him by his collar just to hear the word sorry. Holding a person by his collar, a major transgression. So, for that both of you will say sorry to each other."

Konohamaru without a second thought said, "Sorry mister cat ears." Naruto didn't show it but he had hard time not laughing at the apparent apology by Konohamaru. He kept his face impassive.

Kankuro gritted his teeth at the dig. He mentally decided that he wouldn't apologize whatsoever. Naruto not hearing anything from the other side, said, "So Kankuro right?...", on getting a small nod, he continued, "I haven't hear your apology yet."

Kankuro said, "I am not going to." Naruto increased the pressure applied by the katana, now piercing the neck just enough to draw out a drop of blood. Naruto then asked, "So you want to fight puppeteer."

Kankuro admittingly said, "Kids usually aren't able guess these things. Let alone someone from another nation. Your mind seems to be as sharp as your skills…But you can't defeat me when I am going all out." With that he started lowering his hands a bit and directing it to the bandaged stuff tied to his back. Naruto just glared harder. He could have stopped Kankuro but he wanted to see what was there with the puppeteer.

The girl with a disproving tone said, "Kankuro stop! And are you really planning to take that out."

"Yes, why not!", but before Kankuro's arms went below his head level each arm was hit by a stone. All heard a voice say, "He never said you could lower your hands, paint boy."

Kankuro raised his hands back in shame and with anger said, "Who the hell threw the stones? It hurt. Come out I want to punch you!"

Naruto just said, "You are quite cocky even while a katana is on your neck…And you finally decided to show yourself?...Got bored by just seeing?"

The next moment the person who threw the stones, jumped from the tree and stood next to Naruto. Naruto just spared a small glance at his other teammate. Sasuke said, "Well I shouldn't be surprised that you knew I was there the whole time, I guess. And yes, it would be boring if I let you fight alone. And I can't let you fight alone, can I? It will be fair also two verses two."

Naruto corrected Sasuke, "Two verse three."

Sasuke in a surprised tone asked, "Are you really considering Sakura will fight?" He didn't care if the girl heard what he said. And neither did Naruto. He yet again correcting Sasuke said, "I am talking about him."

Naruto removed his katana from Kankuro's neck and kept it at the direction of the tree where Sasuke was few moments ago. Everyone's eyes followed the direction showed by the katana. All now saw a figure standing upside down like a bat on one to the lower branches of the tree.

Sasuke with shock thought, 'How the hell I didn't sense him?! I was there on that very same tree moments ago. How is this possible?!' On the other hand, the siblings from the Sand village were sweating thinking, 'Oh god not him!' Kankuro still had his hands up due to fear which he had due the new presence.

In a raspy voice the person said, "Well I guess no point of hiding now." The person disintegrated into sand which then integrated back near Kankuro. Now all could see the boy. He had short red spiky hair with green eyes and fair skin. His most prominent facial features were the black markings around his eyes, like a racoon. On top of that he had the kanji for love on the left side of his forehead. He wore a black body suit with open neck and t-shirt like sleeves and full-length black pants with bandages at the ankles. He had a wide leather strap from his left shoulder to his right side of the waist, with which carried his giant body sized gourd on his back. On top all this he had a white sash over his other diagonal.

The height difference was drastically visible with Kankuro being around a foot taller. But then too he feared the other boy. The red headed boy said, "Kankuro put your hands down and stop bringing shame to our village…Or else I will kill you."

The girls behind stuttered while saying, "Wh-what?! How could you say that so easily to our brother?"

"Shut it. Or else I will kill you too.", said the red haired boy to his sister. He then looked back at Kankuro in the eye.

"So-sorry. I won't do anything such again." Kankuro dropped his hands and took a step away from his brother.

The red haired then said, "To that little boy also."

Kankuro immediately turned towards Konohamaru, who still stood behind Naruto and said, "I am sorry. I will correct my behaviour from now on."

All from Konoha were astonished by the sudden complying nature of Kankuro. Naruto in his mind analysed the red-haired boy, 'Such fear those two hold for him. And apparently all are brothers and sister. He openly also threatens to kill them. I am a seal-master and can easily say that that kanji is a seal not some normal tattoo. Though I can't say what kind of seal it is. Most probably a storage seal for a weapon it seems. It doesn't look that strong though. He looks a bit of a stoic person to me on the basis what he is showing now. He carries some aura that intimidates people I too can feel it. He is more than what he is showing now. He is someone to keep an eye on.'

The red-haired face the group from Konoha and said, "Please accept my apologies on their behalf."

All Naruto did was nod. The boy then turned and started to walk away, with his brother and sister following. It was now when Sakura got the guts and asked, "Hey all of you, even if Suna and Konoha have a peace treaty now, you all need a valid reason and passport to enter the other village."

The girl from Suna turned while taking out a document and said, "This is my passport. And can't you guys even guess that we are here for the chunin exams."

"The chunin exams?! Are they already happening." Asked Sakura herself aloud.

"What you all don't know? Not knowing even when it is happening in your village. And by guessing all of your age, you all seem to be genin." Said the girl.

"Well, we weren't informed you see." said Naruto.

"Wow that is pitiful." Replied the Suna kunoichi.

Sasuke now asked, "What is your name?"

"My name is Temari." Said the girl.

Sasuke just blandly said, "Not you. The red haired one."

The boy stopped and turned around again to see the group belonging to Konoha. He then said, "My name is Sabaku no Garaa…What's your name?"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke." The other siblings gave a slight reaction to the surname. But Garaa simply said, "I was not asking you. You don't interest me much. I was asking the blonde one. What's your name?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth at the blatant disrespect. Naruto answered, "Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara didn't spend a second more and continued his walk. While walking away he whispered to himself, "Uzumaki Naruto…you interest me…you interest mother…", his face showed an emotion the first time. And it was similar to a maniac with a wide smile, "…mother cries for your blood. And she will have it. I will kill you to prove my existence."

---

"Ughh, is it already that time? I thought we would have them a little longer." Said the lazy jonin.

Hiruzen had called a meeting of all the jonin sensei who were in charge of a genin team. The Sandaime said, "Yes Kakashi the chunin exams are here and will commence in a week from now. So…"

"Wow, that's a short notice. Hey old man did your age finally get to you?" Asked Kakashi politely. Hiruzen got a tick mark on his forehead. If there were only two ninjas in Konoha who could tease or disobey him and get away without punishment. The other jonin had a big sweat drop at the antics of Konoha's best jonin.

"Kakashi, will you let me finish my sentence or shall I burn all our Icha-Icha book collection?"

"I am all ears, Hokage-sama." Said Kakashi respectfully after the threat.

"So, as I was saying, the chunin exams will happen to start in a week. I would like to know which all of you are ready to enroll your students for the exam." Asked Hiruzen.

One by one all the jonin started to say they would enroll their genin for the exams. See the chance Kakashi then said, "It seems all the other jonin are selecting their students for the exams…Very well I also name team 7 consisting of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto eligible for the exams."

Muttering started to emerge as it would be the first time in a span of five years fresh genin would take part in the chunin exams. Following Kakashi's lead Kurenai said, "I also name team 8 consisting of Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba eligible for the exams."

Asuma too stepped up and said, "I name team 10 consisting of Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino eligible for the exams."

The murmurs now were louder as all the freshly elected genin were to give the exams. Iruka being one of the organizers of the exams asked, "Are you three sure of your decision? They were my students a few months ago. I don't believe all are ready yet." Internally he said, 'Only three of them are capable at the moment if I am right. Kakashi may be right to elect his team as it has a two-to-one ratio. But Asuma has a ratio of one to two. And honestly, I don't see Team 8 ready yet. Shino is good, but needs more time.'

Hiruzen too asked, "I will side will Iruka and ask you three to consider once more."

Kakashi lazily said, "Nah…I am sure one of them will make it to be chunin. Making him wait is of no use."

Kurenai gave a competitive smile and said, "So confident on the Uchiha?...Well I too have been training my team hard. They can easily match any other genin in the village."

Asuma said, "My team may not be the strongest but I would like to see how they surpass this difficulty. I am confident they can survive it, if not pass it."

Kakashi didn't react to the comment made to him. He in his mind lazily thought, 'Kurenai and all of you are in for a big shock. Sasuke may have high skill set. Deserving of the rank chunin but he has to improve his battle IQ. On the other hand, Naruto's skills are also deserving of the chunin rank. But his battle IQ, it is out of our world. That lets him even handle jonin opponents. No normal genin is of his match. And if he wants, anyone facing him will be destroyed.'

Hiruzen then with a smile concluded, "Well then this time's exams will see the inclusion of the fresh genin."

---

AN: So the exams start. And pardon for the massive time gap. The teachers have gone crazy with the amount of assignments and mid terms too. I have been writing and will upload faster now.

Thanks for spending your time reading, and criticism is welcomed.