บท 14: Chapter 14
Tsunade-sama! Two familiar chakra signatures have entered the barrier, but they haven't been tagged with our formula."
The head of the Sensor Division presents his findings to Tsunade.
"Description?" Tsunade asks, obviously not wanting to act hastily if they're just two returning Shinobi that haven't been exposed to the new detection barrier yet. This is usually the case, but given the infiltration by the Akatsuki two years ago, she needs to review any intel and ensure that no-one is at risk.
"We believe that they may be Jiraiya-sama and Uchiha Sasuke. Both have large chakra reserves, and one of them has a powerful seal inscribed on them." The division-head pulls up a scroll report, showing a rough copy of the eight-trigrams seal that had been used to contain the Nibi. He pulls up a second scroll, showing a number of generic seals used to contain items. One of which is labelled 'research'.
Tsunade's brow twitches nearly unnoticeable but she smiles slightly.
"Alright, send in one team of ANBU and make them report to the Sensor Division first so they can get tagged with the passphrase. I'll meet them there."
"Understood." The division-head dips his head and makes a hasty exit.
Tsunade pretends that she's not relishing the opportunity to get up and stretch her legs as she meanders out of the tower. She leaves the menial work to her vetted subordinates. Besides, she deserves a break. Being a Hokage is mentally exhausting.
As she walks through the streets of Konoha on a slow trek to the Sensory Headquarters, she dips her head politely from under her customary Hokage hat at each of the bowing greetings she gets from Shinobi and Civilians alike. Although the flattering feeling she once felt from such respect has dimmed somewhat, she often feels that she is alone in her desire to see the village truly thrive in this cold world of Shinobi. Very few people openly admit their desire to become Hokage, with the vast majority of them being children who ultimately grow out of that goal or come to a realisation that they aren't fit for the position. Through pressure from their peers and wavering faith in themselves to become one of the greats of Konoha, many often surrender their desire to become Hokage and chase other pursuits that hold significant meaning to them.
She does not revile those choices. It does take a special kind of person to become Hokage, but she often wonders if the coming storms will forge a new soul worthy of becoming Hokage in time. Life has taught her that the unexpected can often wreak havoc in the village, and sometimes the lessons that those tumultuous moments create are not learned as well as they should be. But some day, she wouldn't be here to lead the village anymore, and Konoha would need someone to replace her when that day comes.
In conflict, people can truly define themselves and their desires. Chasing after the position of Hokage is more meaningful when a person knows why they're doing it, and what purpose they're doing it for. It's easy for a young Shinobi to scream to anyone that will hear them that they will become Hokage, the most recognized face in the village. But those who truly believe themselves when they say it's worth chasing for the result, are few and far in-between. Those who see that Shinobi conflict is centred on the concept of war and other such conflicts, understand that a Hokage is a status in the village that comes with a weight that is more than being a politician. It is to be a breed above the rest, to be someone who will meet that conflict head-on instead of letting it sweep them away.
Konoha citizens often see being a Shinobi as a job title. One that is deep-seated in their lifestyle, but merely a way to pay the bills and feed their kids at the end of the day. Right now, there are only so many people in Konoha that might be willing to replace her when the day comes.
Two of which are Uchiha.
The sheer drive in Naruto and Sasuke is something that hasn't been seen in about twenty years. Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku being the two who came before, and Tsunade doesn't miss the peculiar irony about that, one being a Hokage and the other being a candidate for it. She sees a lot of their fathers in those boys, both in wisdom and in strength.
Naruto's strength certainly surpasses her own at this point, and he is young enough to lead a fulfilling term as Hokage. He's regarded as a Hero by the younger generation for his instrumental place in stopping many of the casualties in the Oto-Kumo Invasion, as well as his rescue of the Academy Students during Itachi and Kisame's infiltration. And now that word is spreading around the village of his battle against Orochimaru, he is beginning to grasp the legend status in the village. If strength alone were enough, he'd be Hokage already. But ever persisting, the wiser ones of her council question his actual loyalty to the village. The public adores him, he is a man with his heart set on his family and his own life, just like them. A champion of the people. Politicians are not so admiring.
Kushina had been reviled for a short few years before everyone began to move on with their lives. Uchiha Naruto does not seem like a forgetful person, so it would take time to truly gauge how he feels about the older generations which he would also be charged with protecting as a Hokage. He has displayed wisdom in his acceptance of the importance of conflict in human growth and he has the strength to take the title, but his reactions to the villagers as a whole is still largely unknown. He is a man who cares about himself and his family, and that is all. Time may teach him to love Konoha, but that is a big 'if'.
Sasuke on the other hand is steadfastly loyal to Konoha, even willing to butt heads with Naruto about his suspect behaviour. His love for the village has so far been unquestioned. His will to succeed and excel may match Naruto's, albeit with less potential than his clanmate. But that hardliner attitude only inspired faith in those who are equally devoted to Konoha, and it would be harder for him to garner the support of the general populace. But... an Uchiha's love can turn to even greater hate, and the higher-ups don't like the idea of an Uchiha holding the reins when something catastrophic happens to their mind. If he ever finds out the truth about Itachi...
Perhaps she's being too hasty. Selecting an appropriate Hokage takes time, and the Uchiha remaining are quite young. There are a few people who can replace her in the worst case scenario. Kakashi could ultimately do it if he works hard enough, and Jiraiya for all of his licentious behaviour, is strong and wise enough too. Might Guy would honestly be her next choice. She has unwavering faith in his loyalty to Konoha, despite his eccentricities.
As for Sakura, well. It's far too early to tell. She is principally too naive, for now.
Tsunade shakes off the weary feeling and takes the starwell into the Sensor Division Headquarters.
"TSUNADE-HIME!" Jiraiya cries out before she can even tell where he is.
She is glomped as he falls down from his hiding spot on the ceiling, invisibility fading.
Her brow twitches.
"I missed you!" Jiraiya's overly-dramatic fake sobs are like someone is dragging their nails on a chalkboard.
She punches him into the ceiling and through the roof.
The Division gives her fearful looks and return to their work.
It is then she spies the other one she'd been expecting. Taller and healthier than he was before. His hair looked much the same with the exception of the black ponytail at the back of his neck. A white Uchiha zip-up shirt with a blue and red crest on its back, stands out in contrast to his dark hair. But his facial structure looks more like his father than his brother or mother, looking more masculine than before.
He turns to face her after being branded with the invisible key to the new barrier.
"Tsunade-sama." Sasuke dips his head respectfully. Not too low. It's just not the style of an Uchiha.
"Welcome home, Sasuke." Tsunade smiles.
"It's good to be back." Sasuke smiles back.
Sakura briefly moves her long pink hair out of her face as she tries to deal with yet another distraction by an unwanted charge for the day. Research on neural damage caused by seals is something unique and untouched to her before, but someone had piqued her curiosity about it so she decided to see if she could find anything that might be worth knowing in other fields.
She gives a deadpan stare.
Minako returns the stare with teary puppy-dog eyes, silently begging.
"You should be in school." Having grown an immunity to it, Sakura doesn't budge.
"Pleeease Nee-chan!" Minako is all but sprawling over Sakura's lap, and the young woman is forced to put her textbook down. "The Academy is soooo boring! I already know everything!"
True to being Hatake Kakashi's daughter, Minako is frustrated with Konoha's slow academic system. Only she isn't afforded the opportunity to graduate early like the old days, and neither Kakashi nor Shizune want her to. They tutor her of course, but they're also her parents which leads to some difficulty in teaching her without being frustrated. There'd been a phrase that passed her ear once, 'Don't teach someone you like, because you won't like them afterwards.'
Naruto had gotten away with being truant, but even as a child his skill level had been leaps and bounds ahead of his peers by such a significant margin that even Tsunade-sensei agreed that the Academy hadn't been doing him any good. Outside of reading and writing comprehension and ability, anyway.
"I'll teach you one Jutsu, and you go straight back to the Academy, and don't skip the Academy and come crawling back to me until you're sure you've mastered it, understand?" Sakura compromises, but sternly.
"Pleasepleasepleaseplease!" Minako begs again, willing to do anything not to be sent back to the Academy.
"Alright, I want you to pay attention." Sakura knows that Minako is astute, so she gives her simple but not too much so rundown. "This Jutsu was made by Naruto and he taught it to me, you remember Naruto?"
"Onii-chan." Minako confirms, though the time passed may make her memories of him foggy.
"It starts out just like Genjutsu, you reach out with your chakra using these signs," She waves the signs slowly and precisely, saying them aloud with each one. "You 'stamp' something with the chakra that you just wove. And then," She weaves the remaining signs, bringing the total up to seven.
The stack of paper on the deskis suddenly replaced by her backpack that had been laying inconspicuously in the corner.
"Sogo Kawarimi no Jutsu(Mutual Substitution)." Sakura states after the demonstration.
"Wha-?" Minako looks confused but intrigued.
"It's like the Substitution Jutsu, but instead of swapping you, it swaps two different things. When your chakra control is good enough," Sakura points out the window to her neighbour's room across the street. "You can swap with things that are far away too."
The bag on her desk vanishes and is replaced by the pot plant on the adjacent window sill, before it swaps back.
"And if you're really good at chakra control-" Sakura starts swapping multiple objects in the room, making it seem like a messy blur. "You can do several at once and confuse people."
"Onii-chan made this?" Minako asks in amazement.
"He sure did. He needed it for our Chuunin Exams, so he invented on the spot." Something dry slips into Sakura's voice, but it is also fond.
"Show me the signs again!"
"Please."
"Please show me the signs again! I wanna learn Onii-chan's Jutsu!" The begging is back in full force.
Sakura hides an exasperated sigh. "Promise me you'll go back to the Academy if I do."
Minako nods solemnly, light slipping out of her eyes. "I promise."
It takes only a few minutes before Minako gets the signs down, and she's already running out of Sakura's room, rushing past Mebuki as she's bringing her daughter a snack.
"Thank you Nee-chan! Bye Nee-chan! Bye Nee-chan's Kaa-chan!"
Mebuki sucks in her lip in amusement before entering Sakura's room.
"Taking on students now, oh great apprentice of the Hokage?"
Sakura groans at her mothers teasing. She takes the offered chance to have a break from her personal Genjutsu study and sees her mothers face shrouded in the silhouette of someone outside the window.
Kakashi and Shizune are scaling each side of the window, peering in with cheeky grins.
"That was some impressive chakra control, Sakura-sensei." Kakashi gives her his signature eye-smile and her face heats up.
"I hope-" Sakura grits out. "-your mission isn't to make fun of me today."
She cracks her knuckles for emphasis, leading the couple to take a cautionary lean back.
"Don't be like that, Sakura." Shizune waves it off sheepishly. "We actually are here for a good reason."
"What's happening?" They don't seem particularly panicked, but it could be an act not to agitate Mebuki.
"Jiraiya-sama and Sasuke have returned. They're getting stamped at the Sensor-"
Sakura is leaping out of the window before they can finish. Kakashi and Shizune follow quickly.
Mebuki eyes the abandoned snack with discontent.
"Hmmpf! Shinobi!"
Ringed purple eyes observe the barrier from the outside.
"I couldn't see this before. It's interesting."
Something of a mischievous gleam enters his gaze.
Sasuke is quizzing the Sensor Shinobi out of curiosity, just trying to understand what it's going to do to help Konoha as a whole.
"So this-" Sasuke gestures towards the floating water sphere. "-Picks up chakra anomalies as soon as they enter the barrier? What about wildlife and such, wouldn't that set it off?"
The Division Head - Doumeki - strokes his white goatee and nods a confirmation.
"Hmhm, they certainly do. However, the beauty of the field is that it can distinguish types of life. Even if someone were to say, transform into a small rodent, they would still have distinctly human chakra that can be assessed by chakra nature, chakra strength and capacity, as well as a recording of any seal that enters the barrier. It's how we picked you up. See over here."
Doumeki brings him over to the scroll printers with large jars of ink feeding into them. Sasuke sees a near-perfect rendition of his Eight-Trigrams Seal, along with coloured Kanji denoting his chakra natures of Fire and Lightning. There are a few blips that don't pass as anything legible above and beneath the markings showing his and Jiraiya's chakra alignments.
"The little scribbles are just wildlife really. The water sphere in the middle of the room helps us track them just in case but as you can see, this advanced design is quite sufficient at detecting intruders. If an outlier pops into the barrier, we investigate and see if they're a threat or a friendly that hasn't been tagged with the entry formula."
"Could a potential intruder tag themself with the formula if they study the barrier for long enough?" Sasuke asks, wanting to know if it's possible that Itachi or his undesirable allies could outsmart the formula.
"Not unless they take the barrier plans straight from our minds." Doumeki taps his temple. "It's impossible to see the barrier. In addition, it's a two-stage system. The sphere displays anomalies and the printers record them in detail. We're right in the heart of the village, so it would really just be a stupid idea to come straight for us when we can alert every Shinobi in the village to converge and protect the barrier recipe."
"You don't tell this to every Konoha Shinobi do you?" Sasuke feels that it would be unwise to readily hand out that information to anyone.
"Of course not." Doumeki scoffs. "But I've seen you and what you've done for Konoha, Uchiha-kun. It takes a brave soul to defend Konoha by any means necessary. Sacrificing yourself to prevent Konoha's destruction by becoming a Jinchuuriki is something that I can respect."
His eyes show his age when he looks at Sasuke directly.
"I count myself among the most loyal members of Konoha's military and I believe myself to be a good judge of character. Word of your actions and devotion to the village have spread like wildfire. You've got something strong in you boy, and I'm not talking about your Bijuu. Even in this age the Will of Fire burns strong in a good few."
Sasuke is somewhat struck by the old man's tangent but feels flattered at the praise.
"I live to protect Konoha." Is all he says in response.
"No matter the cost. There are many things about this great village that must be protected and preserved." Doumeki nods solemnly with understanding.
"Children."
"The culture."
"The food is to die for."
"Brotherhood between Shinobi."
"So many beautiful people."
Mid-way through their spiel, the rest of the barrier corps join in.
"Best women in all the land."
"The tasteful thickness of Hyuuga women..."
"Wild-in-bed Inuzuka..."
"...The things that Yamanaka girls can do."
An intense sensation of comradery emanates from them.
Things are silent between them while Tsunade and Jiraiya chitter in the background with hushed whispers. This would probably be one of the safest places to have a discussion about important village details in private, Sasuke thinks.
His eyes are drawn back to the water sphere in the middle of the room with general fascination.
"Does it do this regularly?" Sasuke observes a ballooning of the sphere on its equator, denoting where someone would be approaching on the main road.
The three Barrier Shinobi all make exclamations of shock.
"What the hell is that?!"
"This chakra... I've never felt anything like this in my life!"
"Maintain form!"
Doumeki narrows his eyes, seemingly unnerved by the size of the anomaly.
"Report." The old man orders.
"A massive amount of chakra just entered the barrier! Sir, it's far stronger than even Tsunade-sama!"
"Bring me the record reel!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade evidently hear the commotion and hastily make their way over to them.
"That's not possible." Doumeki mutters in disbelief.
"Doumeki-dono?"
"This print says that the person who just entered the barrier possesses all five basic chakra natures."
"Many Shinobi can use all five natures Doumeki-dono-"
"But possessing an affinity to all five?" Doumeki cuts off Jiraiya.
Suddenly, the room appears as if the water sphere in the middle of it is collecting the light and everything darkens for a moment.
The water sphere ripples from the middle, becoming purple with black rings and a pupil from which they ripple out from.
It looks at them before everything in the room goes back to normal, including the sensor sphere.
Jiraiya in particular seems struck by the pattern.
Tsunade is not so easily thrown-off. "ANBU! Teams five through seven, all of you muster outside of the main gate! Jiraiya, Let's go meet whoever this is."
"Tsunade-sama, they just tagged themselves!" Doumeki calls out, seeing that the sensing sphere has returned to its normal shape and the recorder isn't picking up anything else from the intruder.
"Impossible, huh?" Sasuke murmurs, thinking that he might just know what's going on.
Naruto withdraws his fingers from over his right eye.
"Sasuke has grown quite a bit." He comments.
"This Rinnegan stuff is going to your head." Precious Karin, always there to set him straight. Or so she thinks.
He gives her ass a light slap.
"You perv!" Karin tries to use her bodyweight to push him over, rather ineffectually.
Naruto hides a smile. He doesn't need to tell her that he just placed the barrier pass code on her right cheek. Though nobody without the Rinnegan would be able to see it.
"What can I say? My girlfriend's hot."
"And don't you dare forget it."
"What's going on?" Sakura asks, seeing the rush of ANBU towards the main gate.
"Something big is happening. Do you think it could be Akatsuki?" Shizune looks toward her husband, eyes darting toward the Academy.
"Possible. Sakura, let's go. Shizune, you'll-" Kakashi switches to captain mode before being cut off.
"I know." Shizune immediately leaps away, heading straight to the Academy to make sure Minako is safe.
Sakura and Kakashi leap to the rooftops to begin a fast dash to the gate.
"Do you think that they know Sasuke came back today?"
"It might not be the Akatsuki at all Sakura, keep a level head."
"Hai, Sensei."
But what could spook the barrier corps into sending all these ANBU?
Naruto juggles Orochimaru's head between his hands, but at least it's concealed in a bag and Karin doesn't have to fear him for trying to chase her around with it.
"Do you think they'll let me keep this when I cash in his bounty?" Naruto asks and Karin feels only disbelief.
"Why the hell would you want to keep it?" Karin knows that Naruto can be ridiculously obtuse about stupid things but for what possible purpose could he need Orochimaru's head?
"Well, I was thinking we could get it taxidermied and put it up in the living roo-"
Karin holds her hands over her ears.
Soon enough, they see Konoha's massive walls pop up from the horizon. The village is bright and not a cloud is in sight, and the familiar flutter of activity begins to reach their ears.
"Minako is at the Academy." Naruto smiles wistfully after his long-range sensing surveys the village. "I've missed out on quite a bit, but it's good to be back. I have a lot to do."
Karin is glad that there might be a chance for respite. Naruto is a brutal and controlling teacher. She knows it's for the best but two years straight of training has left her wanting to indulge in the simpler things.
She is startled when two sets of arms sprout out from Naruto's shoulders, reaching out from the high-collar of his coat.
"Didn't mean to do that. How do I put these back in?"
Karin is done trying to figure out all the crazy shit that his Rinnegan can do. Naruto's struggle to figure out how to control it is amusing in its own way but equally confusing.
The mechanical arms retract back into his shoulders but his neck and jaw open up with neon red and blue lights. He uses this transformation to amplify his scream and his booming, deep voice echoes across the entirety of Konoha.
"KONOHAGAKURE! BRING ME THE NIBI JINCHUURIKI AND YOUR VILLAGE WILL BE SPARED!"
Karin takes a calming breath through Naruto's wicked laughter. She opts to sneak in another way and let Naruto have his fun.
"KONOHAGAKURE! BRING ME THE NIBI JINCHUURIKI AND YOUR VILLAGE WILL BE SPARED!"
Sasuke struggles to keep a straight face as the sheer panic overwhelmes the majority of the Shinobi present. An amused huff in his mind makes it clear that he isn't the only one finding it at least a little funny.
He watches as Tsunade barks out orders and the ANBU and 'off-duty' Shinobi arm themselves and stand in formation in front of him. As if it
would make any difference.
"Sasuke, get to safety NOW!"
"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Sasuke pretends to obey and starts sneaking off to see his family.
Tsunade and Jiraiya steady themselves. Through the crowd of Shinobi, they see a figure clad in black in the distance running at insane speed towards them. Beads of sweat run down the faces of those who are adept at chakra sensing, knowing just how out of their class this threat is.
"Get ready!"
Shaky hands grip their swords and others weave signs and set their chakra.
The figure is getting too close for comfort.
"Attack!"
A sack lands at her feet after the order, causing Jiraiya and herself to be momentarily alarmed as it uncoils and strands of smooth black hair furl out of it.
"That's-!" Tsunade looks up too late. "That damn BRAT!"
Jiraiya facepalms. "I see his sense of humour hasn't changed in the slightest."
Roars of fake courage erupt and everyone charges before Tsunade can issue the order to stop.
They can only watch as every one of them are completely and brutally bulldozed out of his way. The most elite ANBU are flung into the top of the gate. Jounin are thrown into each other and get knocked down like dominos. Howls of pained horror resound and yet not one is severely wounded.
"Stand back!" An ANBU issues while he and his three teammates whirl up a collaboration Jutsu.
"Futon: Daitoppa(Great Breakthrough)!" "Katon: Dai Endan(Great Fire Bullet)!"
Naruto raises an arm while still moving into the village and the wind-enhanced fireball impacts with a translucent shield that absorbs the entirety of it.
A pair of arms erupt out of the ground and try to catch his legs. Naruto takes one longer stride and stomps the ground, likely smashing his foot into the head of whoever just tried to grab him.
"Sorry, Kakashi!" Naruto's voice is unapologetic, which annoys Tsunade even more.
Her fists clench angrily and she decides to teach this brat a lesson for messing with her and her Shinobi.
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura lands next to her.
"You're here, good. We're going for the student-teacher punch!" Tsunade knows that her beloved apprentice will be more useful if she doesn't know who exactly she's attacking.
"Tsunade..." Jiraiya errs on the side of caution. "This might not be a good idea-"
Naruto is still a blur of motion, too quick for even their trained eyes to see his face and eyes. All they can really see is his hair billowing behind him in the rush.
"Let's go!"
Tsunade and Sakura make a synchronised attack, both putting all their might into a combined blow that would leave that moron licking his wounds for the rest of his damn life!
"Hyah!"
Naruto pulls out his Gunbai at the last second and blocks all of the impressive kinetic energy they could muster. It gains a slight white glow from the wind chakra emanating from it.
The Gunbai dips slightly, letting him view his assailants in the eyes.
Sakura's arm slackens. "Naruto?!"
He smirks. "Uchihagaeshi(Uchiha Return)."
There is a foreboding pause before the Gunbai's stored energy hurls them away, down the street and into the village while they tumble and flail.
"Did you really have to?" Jiraiya asks weakly, predicting that Tsunade would 'vent' that anger out on him at first opportunity.
Naruto looks at him like he's the stupid one. The nerve! Kid is taking way too much after his mother.
"STAND DOWN!" Jiraiya orders the pursuing Shinobi. "He's an ally! Just tend to your bruises and go back to your posts!"
"Jiraiya-sama?" One brave female Chuunin with her brown hair done in buns looks towards the 'threat' on behalf of the men who'd just been made to look like Academy students to a Kage. She can only see his back, and is still poised to strike.
Naruto actually looks faintly approving. Seems he appreciates someone who's willing to stand up after being beaten down and continue the fight. He turns to face her directly.
"Well done, Chuunin." Naruto places his Gunbai on his back. "You've passed our assessment drill of Konoha's response time to a threat detected in the Sensor Division."
Jiraiya looks in utter shock and disbelief at Naruto. How could he just straight-face lie after the shit he just pulled?!
"What?" Tenten looks up at him. "Naruto-sama?!"
"That's right." Naruto's purple eyes are eerie and yet his face displays someone who is proud of her performance. Maddening. "This operation was set up by our Hokage in order to prepare for a potential invasion by the Akatsuki once more. To make the drill seem more... real, she asked me to come at you with force. I hope that you can understand, I don't want to be on anyone's bad side here."
He finishes his little speech with a charming smile and Jiraiya can only watch in mystification as most of the Shinobi and ANBU converge around him to listen.
"I- of course Naruto-sama." Tenten straightens out, leaving Jiraiya gawping.
"You all did well!" Naruto raises his voice. "I do, however hope that this experience has been revealing to all of you! The Akatsuki, or any enemy nation for that matter, will not be so merciful as to let you live as I did in a real invasion! We are no longer dealing with the likes of a pitiful skirmish as we saw two years ago and we must be prepared! Review yourselves now while you can because when an enemy with my kind of strength comes knocking on Konoha's gate, we'll all meet them with the full might of Konoha and the Will of Fire!"
Cheers and screams erupt. In the crowd, Kakashi's jaw hangs low.
"Didn't you just hurt Tsunade-sama and Sakura-san?" One voice calls out over the noise, leading to a brief silence.
"Come now, those two have busy schedules. Neither of them have time to be here in person. What you just saw were two Kage Bunshin. Besides, don't underestimate those two. They're too strong to be defeated by one mere attack." Naruto chastises, and the person who asked looked slightly embarrassed. "If you have business with her, go straight to the Hokage Tower."
Before he can apologize however, Naruto makes a show of being a commanding presence.
"Remember to render aid to yourselves and return to your posts!"
"Hai, Naruto-sama!" The collective of Shinobi call out before limping or vanishing away.
Once all but Kakashi and Jiraiya are gone, Naruto's face dissolves into helpless amusement.
"Pffft, HAHAHAHA!" His laughter keels him over and he looks red-faced. It might have been enough to set them off into peels of laughter if his own weren't so scary.
Tsunade and Sakura come out from behind the building that they'd hidden behind once Naruto started his speech of inspiring bullshittery, looking red-faced for another reason. The embarrassment is clearly too much to bear for them.
Kakashi puts a hand on Naruto's shoulder and looks annoyed that he has to look up to his once-shorter student and little-brother figure.
"One of these days, I'm going to strangle you to death."
Naruto smirks. "That day will never come."
Kakashi's visible brow twitches but before he can retort, Sakura hides the shame at being so utterly decimated and wraps her arms around Naruto, barely managing to wiggle her hands under the Gunbai.
"I missed you, you giant idiot." She whispers into him.
She feels the rumbling of his chest from his cute, happy laugh. It's so much nicer to hear than the scary noises he'd made in the past. It helps to remind her that despite the monstrous nature of him, that there is a kind, human contrast to everything about him that is oh so easy to admire. For all his conflict-seeking actions and words, inside beats a heart of devotion and love.
Her face heats up when he pulls her close.
"I've missed you too, Sakura." Naruto smiles down at her. She keeps her face pressed to his chest, not wanting him to see how much she's blushing.
"Yes- yes, this is all very touching," Tsunade grits out, eager to ruin their reunion. "Where's your redhead menace?"
"Karin is already in the village. She's dropping off our belongings at our apartment." Naruto pulls away from a reluctant Sakura but doesn't deign to look towards the Hokage.
"How?" Tsunade's tone shifts to something serious. "This isn't something to joke about! That barrier is the best pre-emptive measure we have against another invasion attempt, so you're either lying to me or you found a way to circumvent an advanced barrier that your father laid the groundwork to create."
"I suppose it wouldn't be conventionally possible, yes." Naruto's response is guileful and dismissive.
Sakura takes a closer look at Naruto's face. Now drawn under her more attentive gaze, she does see that he hadn't just gotten taller and deep-voiced.
"What happened to your Sharingan?" She mutters softly.
"I got the latest edition." Naruto winks before turning slowly to face the other three high-ranking Shinobi.
Jiraiya's breath catches in his throat. Tsunade looks as though she'd seen a phantom of the past, a long-forgotten memory dredging its way up out of irrelevance. Kakashi doesn't know what to make of it and just stares blankly.
"You don't have to fear for the integrity of the barrier. It's actually impressively advanced. But you should know that these eyes can make anything possible if I have enough will and understanding to make it so." Naruto starts meandering down the street, eager to make a visit to certain people.
He already knows that he's not the first Rinnegan bearer that Jiraiya has met in person.
Kiba stares blankly with a mouth full of unchewed food open to anyone unfortunate enough to look in his direction.
A pair of impatient fingers snap in front of his face and his attention is drawn to his Sensei.
Kurenai stares him down, her intimidating gaze makes his stomach drop even more than his mother could hope to do. Kiba tries to defend himself.
"Oh c'mon, Sensei. Any guy would look twice at that!" Kiba thinks he's being reasonable.
She gives a slight eye-roll. "Yes, I suppose boys will be boys. But I'd think twice about who you go eyeing up in the future. And chew your food."
"I didn't mean to do it..." Kiba mutters around a mouthful. How could he have known some gorgeous redhead would walk past just as he'd been looking in that direction? You don't see beauties like that every day. Unless you're Kurenai's students, but that doesn't really count in his books.
He is dragged away from those thoughts by Hinata, who tugs on his jacket timidly.
Kurenai-sensei had explained at length to Shino and himself that the past two years had not been cozy by any means for the former heiress. Her father is a real piece of work, going as far as to brand his own eldest daughter with a curse mark used on all branch members of the clan. Even now Kiba doesn't really understand it. They say it's to protect the sanctity of the Kekkei-Genkai, but Kiba and the other Inuzuka that he'd deferred(vented) to about it, said that it was as good as admitting their weakness to everyone. After-all, never had a Senju or Uchiha branded members of their clan, displaying faith in the abilities in their blood.
But regardless of the ridiculous politics going on in that stupid clan, Hinata had become extremely withdrawn since having that seal applied to her forehead. She doesn't go anywhere without her headband over it and although she'd never said it, Kiba is pretty confident that the mark itself held meaning in the form of failure to her. Failure to receive her fathers love and approval. She is getting very thin these days, and damn if he isn't trying to lift her spirits up. Shino hasn't been any help at all, preferring to maintain his clinical outlook on everything and saying everything matter-of-factly, which he doesn't seem to understand isn't helping Hinata. Maybe he doesn't even want to help.
The only people she really even speaks to are Kiba, Kurenai and only two members of her clan, Neji and Hizashi-san. The two of them are exceedingly kind people with big hearts that are nearly worn on their sleeves. Any other time she's flinching away from people, and her performance during missions has drastically decreased as a result. Hinata had been off of missions for a few weeks now, pending a reassessment of her skills to see if she's still fit for active duty. Whenever they left the village, Sakura often replaced her.
"Neji's been asking me some weird questions." Sakura reveals to him as the dash through the trees. "Asking about unexpected seizures in Hyuuga Clan members."
Kurenai stiffens in front of them.
"Well, I suppose he's just looking out for his clan. Neji's like that." Kiba dismisses it.
"Karin-san." Hinata whispers to him, always gloomy and fretful. "N-Naruto-sama... must be back... too."
"I'll be damned. Thought he'd never come home." Kiba sneakily drops a few pieces of meat onto Akamaru's feet, where the dog is not so discreet about chomping it up.
The dry look Kurenai gives him is one of exasperation, but not dissuading at all. They had gotten closer as a team, so she's often willing to look the other way when he does something he shouldn't strictly be doing. In a restaurant at least, he probably shouldn't push his luck when they let him have his dog in here in the first place. But it's cruel to eat in front of a dog and not give him any of it.
"I wonder what he's been up to?" Kiba ponders, holding another piece of meat up to Hinata's mouth. She really does need to eat more.
Hinata blushes a little and shrinks into herself. But she still nibbles on the food presented to her, and Kiba counts that as a win.
"Naruto-sama has been training." Shino deigns to speak-up, pointing out the obvious. Kiba withholds a sigh.
"Yeah, but I wonder how strong he's gotten. He was already pretty crazy when he was here before. Remember when he held up that lake above the Academy? One of my clan's brats has a huge crush on him, and calls him her 'hero'."
Shino pulls out a small book from his pouch and opens it to an entry about Naruto.
"He is responsible for killing Orochimaru."
"...Why are you carrying that around with you?"
Shino puts it away before Kurenai can reprimand him for talking about things like that while they're trying to bond as a team. His disconnectedness from them as a whole has been getting progressively worse, little-by-little each day. Kiba has been trying to hold them all together because it seems Kurenai-sensei is struggling to do so.
Kiba idly wonders if it's the influence of that former ANBU Aburame who'd been reintroduced to the clan after the death of the traitorous Shimura Danzo. Keeping someone like that around kids doesn't seem like the best idea in the grand scheme of things unless your goal is to turn that child into someone like them. Maybe he's carrying around that Bingo-book in order to imitate ANBU, to try and become like them so that he could join them some day.
He refrains from letting his inner frustration show. Never once did he think that he'd end up taking the responsibility of making sure that his team wouldn't disband, while also trying to prevent Hinata from sinking into despair any further and trying his best everyday to train and study so that he could take the reigns of his clan. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, Naruto and Sasuke had been role-models to him over the past two years. Their relentless chasing of their dreams had been somewhat inspiring, as much as it made him feel inadequate for their progress compared to his own.
But he is not them, and he is chasing his dreams as fast as his body will allow him to. Part of him guiltily thinks that Kurenai should be doing more for their team but stops it there. There's no point dwelling on those thoughts. As much as he likes the praise from Kurenai and his clan for his hard work it still feels like he isn't afforded the time to chase more things that he would like to do. More mission variety, maybe learning things that Inuzuka don't typically delve into. Chatting up cute girls would be another priority.
"Here Hinata, one more." Kiba holds one last piece of meat up for her. She blushes again but does as she's told. She's a beautiful girl too, despite the increasingly pale skin and dangerously skinny body.
Well, at least he's doing his best. There's only so much of himself that he will sacrifice before he gets fed-up, but these burdens he takes upon himself make him stronger and wiser. He'll surpass those who came before him in the Inuzuka Clan, and he reluctantly accepts that the Uchiha were who inspired him to improve.
Hizashi and Neji are seated before Hiashi, both with identical scowls marring their faces. Hizashi likes to consider himself a patient a tolerable man, but there's only so much he can take before even he snaps.
He used to have a good relationship with his brother, even after being branded with the Caged-Bird Seal. He'd even been willing to die for him during the attempted theft of the Byakugan- no, Hinata, before Tsunade-sama set things straight. It had admittedly been a moment of weakness that he later shared with his son, to hate his life so much that he was willing to die and do the 'right' thing for the clan, but expressed that in reality he had been trying to escape the life of a caged bird. Hiashi changed after that incident and took things to heart that he shouldn't have. He embraced the power of his status and used it to further his ambition at the complete expense of the submissive souls of the branch house.
Part of him wonders if he would have been better off dead, to maybe make his brother feel even a slight part of compassion for the loss of his brother, but he knows that Neji may very well have fallen into his own doomed footsteps without his father's guidance and lessons. Unfortunately, Hiashi's schemes had all but destroyed his eldest daughter and Hanabi had fallen completely to her father's cruel and unrestricted influences.
"You are both to assess the Uchiha boys. Report to me their weaknesses and goals. Get close to them so that the Hyuuga may know the best method to remove them from Konoha's control hierarchy. Your softness will make it easier to approach them."
Hizashi grits his teeth. He wants to shout and scream at this husk that was once his brother, but the fear of the pain that the seal brings him stays his mouth.
"No." Neji refuses.
"...Neji?" Hizashi mutters incredulously.
Neji's face becomes like iron, strong and confident but not lacking in emotion. A stark contrast to the man in front of him.
"You cannot refuse." Hiashi states emotionlessly.
"I can, and I have. I am not your slave to do with as you please. I refuse to be at the whims of a coward like you."
Hizashi keeps his mouth shut, the lump in his throat growing in fear of his brother's imminent reaction.
"Then you are a dissident and of no use to the main house." Hiashi readies a hand-sign.
"Brother, please no!" Hizashi leaps to his feet, standing between Neji and Hiashi to try and deflect the ire to himself.
"Go ahead." Neji smiles with something cunning on his lips. "Torture me. Kill me."
Hiashi pauses with some confusion.
'Have you lost your will to live, my son?' Hizashi's throat clumps up tightly.
"I find myself curious as to what excuse you'll give when I turn up at the hospital with neural damage or maybe even dead this time. I think that Hokage-sama would like to know what happened to one her Jounin too, not to mention my team."
Hiashi's Byakugan flare to life, the skin around them pulsing in anger.
Neji continues unabated. "I did some research, you know. Old criminal cases that were hushed up during the reign of the Sandaime Hokage, along with some reports that weren't followed up due to the Uchiha Police Force being... decommissioned. Investigations showed that whenever a member of the branch house came forward with information regarding domestic and sexual abuse, strange things would happen to them. Sometimes, they would be inconveniently sent out on a dangerous mission and never return. Other times, they would suddenly have an intense stroke or seizure that would result in brain-death that was chalked up to a genetic happenstance that occurs in Byakugan wielders that strikes at random. How... curious."
"You mock your dead clanmates for their sufferings over a mere coincidence." Hiashi brushes it off.
"A coincidence indeed. A mysterious illness that only affects branch members. More interesting is that instead of giving me no information or torturing me like usual, you spoke to me. Do you perhaps have something shameful to hide that you need to make excuses for?" Neji finishes with his own narrow glare.
Hiashi's brow deepens to show his immense rage. "I will not have you slandering the greatest clan in Konoha's history!"
His fingers move to use the curse mark and Hizashi reels back in horror.
"NEJI!" A voice booms from outside.
Hiashi freezes as the fast and heavy footsteps invade the Hyuuga compound.
Neji gets his last word in.
"Funny how these incidents decreased in volume after Tsunade-sama became Hokage. I have already taken measures to ensure that if I die or find myself inflicted with any suffering from you and your pathetic house, then your clan is going to be under quite a bit of scrutiny going forward."
"The only way for my house to end is my death." Hiashi spits. "Do you plan to kill me, weakling child?"
"Kill you?" Neji looked amused at that. "What good will killing you net me? All that will do is open a vacuum for an equally conniving cockroach to fill your shoes. I am now someone who doesn't live within the control hierarchy of the Hyuuga Clan, what does it matter to me that you scheme away? You can do nothing. The truth will come out, and that will be a fate worse than death for you and anyone who has ever helped this clan of murderers, slavers and rapists."
Hiashi's pale skin stands out. He turns on his foot before the owner of the slapping footsteps can see him.
"Neji!" Rock Lee thunders, looking quite healthy and motivated.
Hizashi looks at the two teammates as they whisper into each others ears.
"Did it work?" Lee mutters, unusually quiet.
"Yes. This conspiracy has lasted nearly sixty-years, and it's high-time that it ends."
"Do you really think that it's possible?" Rock Lee, tempered by his catastrophic defeat at Naruto's hands, has become wiser and capable of seeing events for the great echoes of change they can create.
"I know so." Neji states fiercely to his friend. "Whatever this is involves all of us. Every Shinobi and Civilian in Konoha, we're getting bound to politics and reputation instead of personal strength. Hyuuga, Sarutobi, Uchiha and Senju, all of us are connected somehow in conflict and I refuse to let this be swept away in time while there are forces snuffing us out. There has never been a better time to act than now."
Hizashi's eyes well up with emotion.
To think that his son would be the only one to come close to breaking this cycle of suffering.
Things hadn't been all-too-great since Tsunade-sama removed Tenzo from ANBU, transforming him by giving him a name and placing him in the regular forces as a Jounin. She insists that his abilities, skills and professional demeanor make him a good role-model when he's in the eye of the public. She then went on to spout off 'psychological' concerns that he paid attention to but didn't entirely understand.
But apparently, the tiny amount of time that he'd spent babysitting Uchiha Sasuke while he played around with Bijuu chakra had caught the attention of some other training-neglected kids.
"My dad said you were some super-strong ANBU once and that I should ask you for advice."
Yamato blinks at the Nara kid. He doesn't even know his name yet. Probably some knock-off of Shikaku's own name. Clans are weird like that sometimes, but maybe he isn't one to judge when he doesn't even have his own real name.
The kid doesn't look like he wants to be there, but he's asking anyway so that probably counts for something.
"Don't you kids have a Sensei?" Yamato asks, or really points out.
The blonde girl gives a sassy hair flip but her countenance has a frail etch to it, like she's afraid of an imminent rejection. How many people had these kids asked for training and had been shut down?
"Yeah but like, aren't we supposed to go out and find people that have different experiences or whatever?"
"Our Sensei was never an ANBU." The Akimichi one adds.
True. But that doesn't actually reveal what they really want from him. Welp, better just ask. No point in dancing around in conversation.
"So why did you come to me?"
The Nara looks like he wants to sigh but opts to hold it in. "We wanna see if anyone can teach us better than our Sensei can. Our parents aren't happy with Asuma's training and they keep applying to get us a new Sensei, but someone is blocking it before it gets to Tsunade-sama."
That's quite a bold thing to admit in front of someone you just met, probably. Yamato isn't so good with the whole 'social' thing yet and Kakashi is way too busy to bother him about every little thing he needs help with. But if Shikaku referred Yamato to the kids, then he probably expects him to keep this hush-hush.
"Okay." Yamato says bluntly.
The kids are silent for a moment.
"Really?" Yamanaka-gaki asks incredulously.
"Sure," Yamato confirms just as easily. "But I want something too."
"We can pay you for services rendered." Shikamaru jumps on the opportunity.
Yamato waives it off. "Nah, I just want help. I'm not really good at socializing. I've been an ANBU for pretty much my whole life and I don't really know how to be normal. If you help me, I'll try my best to train you."
They blink up at him with undeserved hero-worship.
Yamato slurps loudly on his ramen while Ino cheers him on.
"That's bowl ten! You can do it, Yamato-sensei!"
"He's gonna beat his record!" Choji eggs him on joyously.
"Go for it, Yamato-kun!" Ayame cheers with a blush.
"ELEVEN!" Teuchi cries out, declaring Yamato's new record.
Yamato's bowl slips out of his grasp as he tries to put it down. He feels sick.
"Don't tell me you're gonna hurl, Sensei?" Shikamaru asks with a conniving smile.
Brat! I'll show you all! He holds it in with as much concentration as he can.
The curtains of the ramen staff pull open unexpectedly.
"Er, time for a mission."
Quickly, the mood dims as Sarutobi Asuma enters with his own declaration.
Yamato isn't blind or deaf. He prides himself on being like his own role-model, the Nidaime Hokage. Always assessing. Always watching and listening and understanding. Meeting any conflict with calculated intelligence. And he knows that while his relationship with Team 10 has improved drastically, it has not with their former(not officially) Sensei.
Asuma, he has come to understand, is a bitter and grudgeful man. Sure, he hides it under a caricature of the carefree 'just-an-everyday-normal-man', but he doesn't like it when people impose on what's his. He isn't strong enough to outright say it, but Asuma is someone far too used to having things go his own way.
Not unlike many Sarutobi, actually. Even the Sandaime took no advice from anyone, always demanding that his vision be seen to, no matter the cost. He was someone that didn't listen to the common people, only his advisors and members of certain clans and factions. Konoha had survived due to the leadership of better men than him through the fires and horrors of war. Hatake Sakumo and the Sannin. Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku, among many famed and powerful people. They disregarded the lunacy that was Sarutobi Hiruzen's battle strategies and forged their own path that more often than not, led to complete victory over Konoha's enemies. Yes, Yamato truly believes that the Sandaime had been the worst Hokage of all of them, and he had been Hokage for far too long.
He snaps out of his thoughts when Choji and Shikamaru put a hand on each of his shoulders, while Ino hugs him from behind.
"We'll come back soon, okay Sensei?" Ino squeezes extra hard before reluctantly dredging away.
"Good luck!" Yamato calls out. "Remember, I'm proud of you!"
They straighten in pride while following their back-hunched "real" Sensei.
Yamato turns to Ayame, who looks at him unabashedly while her father tends to the stock in the back room.
"You're great with kids." She practically purrs.
"I am?" Yamato asks, bewildered at the statement. Is that meant to be a compliment? People like compliments back, right? "Well, I think you're the best cook in the village and I like your hair. It's pretty."
A great 'crack' noise resounds next to him, and he is startled to see a large hand smack against the counter. Ayame looks like she'd jumped out of her skin in fright.
One strange, ringed purple eye stares down at him like he's prey about to be devoured.
"Flirting with my big sister, are you?" The deep voice asks with little emotion, but there is still a tangible rage felt through the sound rather than the tone.
Yamato swallows.
He is given a ten-minute dressing down about how he must be responsible with her and treat her with utmost respect at all times, no matter how much Kakashi-senpai and Tsunade-sama try to drag The Uchiha away from the stall. He doesn't miss the furious blushing of the waitress nor the general amusement around Kakashi's eye.
"Stop harassing my Jounin, brat."
"Don't get jealous Tsunade-hime, a pensioner like you is too old for a handsome young man like-"
Jiraiya is sailing off into the distant sky before he can finish his sentence.
"He is pretty good looking." Is Sakura's only contribution.
Sasuke takes a deep breath. This is the moment he's been looking forward to for the past two-years.
His shaky hand knocks on the door. His rudimentary senses hear the clattering of utensils and he can feel a tiny rumble of untrained legs slapping against a wooden surface.
"Tsukimi-chan, please stop wriggling around- Coming!" He hears Himari's voice through the door and his breath catches.
The door opens jerkily, and just the people he's been aching in his heart for show themselves to him.
Himari has barely changed. She still has the distinct motherly aura that she always had. The tiny lines under her eyes show a labor of love in taking care of a little one.
Said little one is more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. Tiny flecks of light brown hair lick off the top of her head like feathers, and dark green eyes take in his appearance with unreserved curiosity. She's also got her four fingers in her mouth, drenched in saliva.
"Uh, hey Himari. I'm home."
Himari reaches out with her free hand and clumsy as it is, it finds its way to his arm and skitters up delicately as if to make sure that he's really there. Her hand gradually makes its way to his shoulder, and then to cup his face.
"It- it's really you! Oh honey!"
She pulls him into a one-armed hug and cries and god does it really feel like home. Contact with someone that he loves is so much better than the prostitutes that Jiraiya tried to shack him up with, always grabbing him and running their hands over him until he got annoyed and left them behind.
"You're finally home- we need to catch you up- Yuito will be so happy, wait- you haven't met your little sister yet!"
Sasuke laughs as she stammers. She looks faintly embarrassed but soon extracts revenge by placing Tsukimi in his arms.
He fumbles at the unexpected weight. "Himari!"
"There." Himari nods resolutely. "You are now officially babysitter number one! Better get used to it, Sasuke-chan. She's more than a handful."
There's a sense of foreboding there, but he tries his best to ignore it and gets a better grip on Tsukimi.
Green eyes look up at him. "Buh?"
"Tsukimi-chan." Sasuke tries and her big eyes show recognition to her name. "I'm your Onii-chan."
"Prlblblb." Tsukimi blows a raspberry at him. Sasuke takes it like a champ.
Himari laughs. "C'mon, let's go find my dearest husband and you can tell us all about your training trip."
"Hai-hai, Okaa-san." Sasuke's retort comes out as sarcastic.
She takes his arm immediately and doesn't even try to contradict him.
"Found you!" Karin pounces on Naruto.
"Well if it isn't the most beautiful woman in Konoha's history."
Karin pulls him down into a long and full-tongued kiss. Right in front of his annoying chauffeurs through the village, persistently following him around as if he's going to listen to anything they have to say.
So he ignores them and immerses himself in Karin's mouth shamelessly.
A long streak of saliva between their mouths is quite visible to the jaw-hung spectators when they're finally done.
"...In the middle of the street?" Sakura asks weakly. Kakashi gives a thumbs up, having no words to describe Naruto's accomplishment at scoring someone who he is obviously destined to be with.
"Sakura!" Karin perks up. "You look great!"
"Thanks, Karin. You do too... and you've changed a bit." Sakura makes a point of looking at Karin's exposed arms, free of the bites that plagued them before, and she clearly takes notice of her now-pupiled scarlet eyes showing off freely and without the lens of glasses obscuring them.
"Perks of having Naruto as my boyfriend." Karin states with a grin, apparently learning from Naruto how to give an answer and yet provide absolutely no information at all.
"How?" Tsunade butts in with curiosity.
"Uchiha Kinjutsu." Naruto deflects quickly. He thinks if he keeps it close to his chest then maybe he can take advantage of it again someday, without being taken advantage of.
Tsunade's nose scrunches up in distaste but pushes no further.
"You haven't seen Sasuke yet?" Karin asks her paramour.
"Not yet, I keep getting distracted." Naruto admits. "I'm going to see him now though."
"This is the part where I go." Jiraiya announces. "I've had enough of that brat! You know how much money I spent trying to shack him up with total babes? I never want to see his face again!"
Tsunade pinches the bridge of her nose and Sakura looks disgusted. "Stop being melodramatic."
"The will of a super-pervert cannot falter." The geezer says sagely. "I'll meet you in Tsunade's office, kiddo. We have some things to talk about."
"Later." Naruto waves. He's glad that things have quickly gone back in place between them, no awkwardness of having been away for so long.
Jiraiya is just a lecher that for some reason everyone likes.
The Toad Sage leaps off in the great journey to find research. Naruto wishes him well.
Tsunade blows a strand of hair from her face and an unwitting smile darts across her mouth.
"Alright, come to my office before the day is done. I won't hold your reunion up any more."
"Bye, Tsunade-sensei." Sakura dips her head politely.
"Shall we?" Naruto gives his hand to Karin and she takes it up gladly. Sakura takes up to his other side, looking slightly envious but happy to have their team back together at last.
Sasuke keeps the tick to his brow hidden as Himaru laughs patronizingly at his suffering. Tsukimi insists on grabbing his bangs and gives tugs none-too-gently.
"Is that my baby girl I hear?" Yuito's voice comes from his bakery.
Himari leads Sasuke into the bakery and Yuito doesn't take so long to recognize him. Or is at least, less dumbfounded by his appearance.
"And my baby boy!" Yuito laughs and Sasuke nearly cringes at the embarrassing term of endearment.
"Pa!" Tsukimi gurgles at him. He scoops her out of Sasuke's reluctant arms and hooks him around the shoulders like he used to.
"C'mon my boy, welcome home. We have some catching up to do, huh?"
"I was about to say the same thing." A voice from the door resounds.
Naruto leans against the doorway of the bakery but doesn't make any move to come in. He instead looks on at the reunited family with some understanding and fondness. The sunlight at his back shades his face and makes his visible eye stand out to them.
Himari and Yuito straighten and bow. "Naruto-sama!"
Naruto gives a dismissive gesture. "No need to stand in ceremony for me. Friends of Sasuke are friends of mine."
Sakura's head pokes out from behind him and she too takes in the appearance of the happy family. She smiles too, finally getting to see her teammates in the same place at the same time after two years, with their Sensei too.
"We'll come find you again, Sasuke-kun." Sakura's bright mood couldn't be soured if anyone tried.
"I can't believe you came back with a baby." Kakashi sounds comically surprised.
Naruto sees through the game as Sasuke immediately rises to defend himself.
"Don't worry, Sasuke. We'll give you enough time to let you and your daughter get settled in."
"She's not my daughter! Her name is Tsukimi, you morons!"
Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Karin instantly vanish, leaving the Uchiha boy grinding his teeth together.
"I'm gonna kill them both!"
Yuito and Himari nervously quiet their laughter before Sasuke's claws get any longer.
Sakura had ditched them, claiming that she's had her fill of Minako for today.
"Tsukimi, huh?" Naruto hums the familiar name. "That's a good name."
They walk past several mystified parents and into the Academy.
"Hey Shizune." Naruto walks past casually in the Academy hallway.
"Hey Naruto." Shizune replies without even realising. "Wait, Naruto?! I should have known all of the commotion would have been you!"
"Me? I'm the picture of innocence."
"Your bingo book entry says otherwise." Shizune replies dryly.
"...I have a bingo book entry? How much is my bounty?"
"That's all you care about?!"
Kakashi decides to fill him in. "Between fifty-million and seventy-million, depending on which nation."
Naruto frowns. "What a pitiful amount. I guess they can't afford the Shinobi it would take to kill me."
"Don't worry Naru," Karin attempts to cheer him up. "Maybe next time you can wipe out the Akatsuki and someone will put a bigger bounty on you."
"I guess..." Naruto mopes. What a stupid thing to be sad about. "Anyway, I have someone to abduct from class. I take it you're here because of the village overreacting to my presence?"
Shizune narrows her eyes.
Naruto puts his arms up disarmingly with a smile that wouldn't set anyone at ease. He swore he could feel her eye-roll.
The former assistant turns her attention to Karin.
"You look absolutely incredible, dear." She compliments genuinely.
Karin blushes expectedly, hands crossing over her clean and silky arms as if to trace the bites that marred it.
"Thanks, Shizune. It was a surprise when I woke up like this but-" Karin turns a loving gaze to Naruto's back. "-my boyfriend was pretty relentless about it."
"It's good to know that he's still the same Naruto under all that scary reputation."
Karin can't find the words to reply to that. She's been with Naruto for every step of his journey in his quest for power over the past two years. Just over two and a half, really. She'd never been on the receiving end of his raw battle prowess. Yes, he trains her, but that is something quite different to struggling for survival like all his enemies do. She can't think of a time that she'd ever been fearful of him or what he could do.
And maybe that's just the physiological difference between Uzumaki and normal people. Maybe their brains are just wired to think that someone who shares the innate power of the Uzumaki is inherently a guardian and protector, someone to be revelled instead of reviled. She can't explain why she loves Naruto. She only does. And she makes sure he knows it every day, as he does with his affection for her.
"He's special to me." She says only, watching him open a classroom door without knocking.
The teacher looks ready to relieve himself. From life. At the mere thought that an S-Rank Shinobi wants something to do with him or his students.
They observe as the students' heads perk up to the sudden noise.
Minako even stands up, silky silver hair bouncing around because it looks like she knows who he is.
"Well? Aren't you going to give your brother a hug?"
"ONII-CHAN!"
Ishigakure, Akatsuki Mobilising.
"I've heard your Otouto is good friends with the guy that offed Orochimaru, Itachi-san."
Itachi's face remains blank.
"It might make it a bit harder to capture him. If you even want to, that is. Sure you don't have any feelings left for your baby brother?"
Kisame is trying to find a button to push. That much is obvious. But Itachi himself doesn't know the answers to how he's going to solve this problem. Akatsuki is a world-level threat with powerful members. It's going to quickly become harder to protect his brother from their wrath, but he knows any action he takes will force the Akatsuki to take on a different strategy. One that he might not know. At least without interfering now, he can save that as a trump card of betrayal when the Akatsuki is on the brink of capturing Sasuke and are sure of success. The Modus Operandi of Senju Tobirama.
"We will adapt and plan around it. As always." Itachi provides stoically.
"Uchiha Naruto, huh? Heh, you don't see guys like that around anymore. Well, besides Pain-sama." Kisame ponders aloud.
"If Leader-sama is fearful that we cannot defeat him, he can make an appearance on his own. He is not a man to be dissuaded from his goal." Least of all with Madara really holding the reins.
"Well, we still have a bit of time." Kisame shrugs it off. "Maybe we can start a war here and there. Brew some chaos, draw the Jinchuuriki away from the people holding their leashes."
Itachi says nothing. He only thinks of how many more evil deeds he can commit to protect Sasuke. How far is he willing to let the rest of the world fall into despair to protect him?
He tries to blink away the spots in his eyes but it's no longer illuminating. His sight isn't fuzzy like he thought it would become.
No, it's just getting harder to pierce the veil of encroaching darkness that consumes the heart of an Uchiha.
Otogakure, Hidden Base.
"Yakushi Kabuto."
Kabuto swings a chakra scalpel at the unexpected intruder.
It goes right through him and this swirly-masked man is completely unharmed.
He recoils. What kind of Jutsu is this?!
"I have a commision for you, young scientist." The Masked Man continues as if Kabuto hadn't done anything. "I'd like you to research a most peculiar trait of the Mokuton."
"Easier said than done!" Kabuto snarls. "Don't you think that I'd know more about it if I could get my hands on it?"
A white creature with a slight green tinge and green hair rises up out of the ground.
"This is a Zetsu. It's essentially a weak clone of Senju Hashirama. I want you to discover how well it can replicate the Kekkei-Genkai traits of Shinobi and see if that adaptability can be passed on to a human. I can provide more than enough test subjects for this cause."
"And if I refuse?" Kabuto says just to be petty. To feel some semblance of control for once in his life.
The masked man takes no heed of it. "Then we part ways. You," he looks over Kabuto's shoulder. "can go back to grinding up what's left of Orochimaru's corpses, or you can be a part of something greater and define yourself as someone who is more than Orochimaru could have ever dreamed of becoming."
Kabuto swallows as sweat beads pur down his face in the humid lab.
"I accept."
"Splendid." The man is candid about it. "However,"
Killing Intent erupts and Kabuto feels like he is drowning.
"If you double-cross me, you will only wish you had died here and now."
Amegakure, Pain's Tower.
"We still haven't received anything on the Kyuubi." Konan states, expressing some desire to halt the plan before they can locate it.
"It matters little." Pain states stoically. "It will appear when the world becomes a calamity once more. It always does."
"That is only what Madara told you." Konan doesn't want Nagato to fall further into that man's lies and half-truths.
"He has been correct about a great deal of the nature of this world." Pain dismisses.
Konan's nervous habit of pushing her piercing on the inside of her lip rears its head.
'If you're in there, Nagato, please just think this through.'
-------------
This is late because I broke my finger playing drunk backyard rugby and couldn't type. That'll teach me to socialise.
Karin: Does not have the Sharingan. She has had her eyes fixed and her pupils are now visible as a result.
Rinnegan: Like Madara's and Pain, it's the simple standard pattern for now. It may evolve with the introduction of Senjutsu.
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