章節 71: 70. Team Three Reunited!

"Hey, slow down! Stop running!" Iruka shouted as two kids, both around the age of ten, bolted through the hallway of the Academy.

Both kids did not slow down as they stormed into one of the classroom. Iruka sighed, rubbing the temples of his eyes in annoyance. He would yell and punish them in around fifteen minutes, when class officially started.

The Academy Instructor continued to watch as more and more students began to arrive at the academy, entering their respective classrooms and talking to their classmates. His attention was diverted, however, as he noticed a new arrival rush through the hallway.

She was a young girl with long, curly red hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a blue t-shirt that had the Uzumaki Clan's spiral symbol on the front and a pair of grey shorts that went just past her knees.

"Hi! Your Iruka-sensei, right?" She quickly stated. "It's nice to meet you! My name's Setsuko and-"

"Oi, Setsuko-chan, stop running through the halls! Iruka-sensei hates that!" Iruka turned his attention upwards to see that Naruto was following her.

Setsuko pouted in response, crossing her arms. Iruka's eyes moved from her to Naruto before he proceeded to chuckle and look downward to the girl.

"It's alright, I'm not upset or anything. Just try not to make a habit of that, okay?" He told her. "It's nice to meet you, Setsuko. You're just starting here today, aren't you?"

Her pout immediately went away as the little girl beamed at the Academy Instructor: "Uh huh!"

"Your classroom is actually just over there." Iruka said, pointing to a room two doors down the hallway. "Class is going to start soon, so feel free to go inside and introduce yourself to some of your classmates if you want. Or if you'd rather, you can stay with me and I can introduce you."

"No, it's okay, I'll do it myself!" She said excitedly. "Bye Naruto-nii-san!"

Setsuko turned her body and seemed as if she was about to bolt forward, but she looked back and stared at Iruka. She then turned around again and began to walk – albeit at a fast pace – towards the room. When she entered the classroom, Iruka chuckled to himself as he turned his attention back to Naruto.

"I received notice from Hokage-sama that I was getting an Uzumaki as a student, but I couldn't really believe it at first. I'm starting to see it now." Iruka noted. "She seems just as excitable as you were!"

"For your sake, I hope she's not!" Naruto said with a laugh.

"Eh, I wouldn't mind her being a handful in the way that you were. You still are one of the most rewarding students I've ever had to teach. I'd be more than happy if she turned out to be half the shinobi you were." Iruka said with a smile. "Regardless, I'm glad to see you have picked up a 'little sister' it seems."

"Heh, I'm just as glad!" Naruto said, returning Iruka's smile with one of his own. "She and her father have only been in the village for a week, but it already feels like they've been here forever. It feels nice having them here!"

The Academy Instructor nodded his head: "That's what family is like. I'm really happy for you, Naruto."

"Thanks." The blonde-haired Uzumaki smiled back. "Anyway, I was just taking her to school. I actually have to go meet up with my Team for training now. But it was nice to see you! Make sure to not show her anything too cool, otherwise she's not gonna shut up about it later tonight." A chuckle escaped his lips as he started to turn away, waving goodbye. "Later Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka waved goodbye to his former student. His smile seemingly widened as he studied Naruto as the jōnin faded from distance. He shook his head, chuckling to himself.

'One of these days, he'll probably come to the Academy to escort his own child to my class.' Iruka noted with a small smirk. 'Who knows, though? Maybe by that time, he'll be escorting that kid wearing the Hokage's robe and hat?'

With a chuckle, Iruka turned his attention back to his students. Immediately, his eyes twitched as he noticed the same ten-year old kids from earlier running again through the hallway: "HEY! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT RUNNING THROUGH THE HALLWAY?"

"You can come in."

At the sound of the affirmative response, Hyūga Hiashi proceeded to open the doors to the Hokage's Office. He walked into the room and saw Jiraiya, standing, shaking hands with another shinobi. He was a tall man with shaggy red-hair. He wore a black long-sleeve shirt and a pair of grey tight-fitted pants. The man was shaking the Hokage's hand with his right hand, while his left hand clutched onto the standard Konoha flak jacket and Konoha Forehead Protector.

Both men turned their attention towards Hiashi, who bowed his head in response.

"Forgive my intrusion." Hiashi said. "I can leave if you wish to speak later."

"No, it's fine. Susumu and I were just finishing up here anyway." Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "Hiashi, this is Uzumaki Susumu, a newly appointed jōnin to our village."

"Uzumaki, huh?" A small smirk developed on Hiashi's face. He had heard from both Hinata and Naruto about the arrival of two new Uzumaki – a father and daughter. He was finally meeting one, it seemed. "I am Hyūga Hiashi. It is an honor to meet you."

"The honor is all mine, Hiashi-san." Susumu bowed his head. He then turned his head back to the Hokage. "It seems like you two have some business, so I'll leave you both to it. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity, Jiraiya-sama. I greatly appreciate it."

"Hey, I'm not giving you any opportunity! You showed me that you deserve to be a jōnin." Jiraiya chuckled in response.

The Uzumaki shook his head: "You opened up your village to me and my daughter. You're giving Setsuko a real home that she can grow up in. And I greatly appreciate that."

With those words, Susumu bid farewell and left the room, leaving Jiraiya and Hiashi alone. Jiraiya proceeded to take a seat at his desk again while Hiashi took the seat across from the desk.

"He seems rather pleasant." Hiashi noted.

"He's very atypical for all Uzumaki I met. Susumu actually seems fairly introverted and respectful of authority! Who knew that was possible?" Jiraiya stated with a laugh. "But he's definitely a good shinobi. I tested him yesterday and he's got real skill."

"That is good to hear." Hiashi said.

It was then that Jiraiya noticed the new dark-blue seal that was placed on Hiashi's forehead. A knowing smirk developed on his lips as he gestured towards it.

"Looks good on you." He noted.

"Thank you." Hiashi nodded his head, a small smile developing on his lips. "I thought briefly of covering it up, but I believe I will be following in my daughter's and nephew's example and leave my forehead exposed. I am rather fond of this seal and what it represents."

"Again, I'm very glad to hear that. I'm honestly very happy for your clan." Jiraiya noted.

Silence filled the Hokage's Office for a moment. Jiraiya watched Hiashi bring his hands together, the smile on his face fading as quickly as it came. The Hokage proceeded to sigh as his expression turned into a more neutral one.

"Is something troubling you, Hiashi?" He asked.

"I… have a concern, yes." The Hyūga Clan Head sighed. "Hokage-sama, are you familiar with a shinobi named Sai?"

"Sai?" Jiraiya said the name with a frown. "I know the name, yes. What about him?"

"He was the shinobi who fought alongside my father in the spar with Hinata and Neji." Hiashi said, a scowl developing on his lips. "Do you know anything about him?"

"Sai… Sai's a bit of a mystery to me, to be honest. I have a home address for him and I have report on his credentials and skills as a shinobi back from when Sarutobi-sensei was Hokage." Jiraiya noted with a frown. "I have nothing really on his past or his time at the academy, nor anything about any family. Based off all the information I have, he just seemingly showed up one day in Konoha."

"I suspect he is linked to ROOT." Hiashi noted.

Jiraiya nodded his head: "I have no proof of that, but I suspect that as well."

ROOT – an organization that the Sandaime Hokage was supposed to have shut down; an operation organized run by Shimura Danzō. The organization prided itself on its secrecy. Only select individuals in Konoha – and anyone unfortunate enough to cross paths with them, but fortunate enough to survive the encounter – were aware of its existence.

"I am trying to figure out why my father employed one of Danzō's shinobi to work with him. I am also trying to figure out why Danzō would even assist him." Hiashi admitted, frowning slightly.

"Have you confronted him yet?" Jiraiya questioned.

Hiashi shook his head: "Yoshikane will deny the allegations. He won't give any information unless I have proof."

"Unfortunately, I only have my suspicions. I don't have concrete evidence of anything." Jiraiya admitted with a frown. "Only thing I have is reports that suspiciously lack information, but nothing concrete enough to pin him with ROOT." Jiraiya's frown proceeded to deepen as he crossed his arms: "I have even less information about Danzō at the moment and whatever he is planning."

While Hiruzen's former advisors, Koharu and Homura, would come occasionally to chat with Jiraiya and give him advice, the Godaime Hokage had rarely ever seen Danzō since he became Hokage. While he did actively detest the man and was glad to not be around him, it also worried him. Danzō was someone you did not want to run around without some form of surveillance.

"… I see." Hiashi shook his head. He proceeded to stand-up and turn to the door. "If you do not mind this favor, please be on the lookout for him. I am suspicious of whatever he was doing with my clan and anything he is currently planning."

"I will try and keep in eye out on him." Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding. "If I find anything fishy, I'll keep you updated."

The Hyūga Clan Leader bowed his head before leaving the room, leaving Jiraiya to himself. The Godaime Hokage proceeded to sigh as he brought his hands to his forehead.

"All I want to do right now is do some research for Icha Icha Tactics… ugh… why is this job so stressful?" He grumbled to himself.

The Hokage remained motionless at his desk. His eyes moved over to some scattered paperwork he was going to have to do. After a few minutes of staring, he proceeded to push his paperwork to the side of his desk and reach below his desk. He pulled out a small green notebook, titled 'Icha Research Notes', and placed it on the desk. Just as he reached for a pen, a knock sounded on his door.

'Oh for fuck's sake!' He nearly shouted as he hid the notebook. He was really starting to resent this job: "Come in, dammit!"

"Wow, that's not the way you're supposed speak to one of your top, favorite jōnin. You're supposed to be happy that I'm back!"

Jiraiya's eyes softened and a chuckle escaped his lips as Mitarashi Anko opened the door to his office. The woman had an irritated look on her face as she took a seat.

"Sorry, Anko. I was just wanting some alone time and was expecting it to be someone like Sarutobi-sensei's old teammates. I'll gladly talk to you." He told her.

"Alone time?" Anko repeated the phrase, her irritated look turning into one of disgust. "The fuck are you doing in this office?"

A horrified look developed on Jiraiya's face, which quickly developed into a scowl: "Hey, you know I'm not the kind of person to that in this office! I may be a super pervert, but I'm not that perverted!"

"Sure you aren't…" Anko replied, shaking her head.

"Bah." Jiraiya crossed his arms. "What do you want, Anko? You wanting to give a report back from that mission you went on with Zabuza?"

"I do, yes. I also have a mission from Kiri that might interest you, if you want to do something similar as well." The jōnin said as she pulled out a scroll.

The Hokage remained quiet as Anko began giving him her report.

Naruto placed his chopsticks on his finished ramen bowl, pleased. Training had ended and he had just taken his students out for lunch before they go visit the Hokage for any missions. His eyes moved over to them as he watched Hanabi, Katsumi, and Kanji all work on their own bowls.

"When you all are finished, we can go chat with Ero-sennin and see what missions are available." He told them with a smirk.

"Forduh…" Katsumi began to talk with her mouth full of noodles. She quickly swallowed the bite in her mouth before she gave her jōnin-sensei a defiant look. "For the love of God, please let us have some form of C-rank mission. I think we deserve at least something interesting. Nothing has really happened since the mission in Suna!"

"Naruto-sensei will c whether or not there's a mission, Katsumi." Kanji commented, snickering. He watched his teammate turn to him with a scowl on his face, which caused his snickering to continue. "What? Displeased with that pun? I knew-dle you would be!"

"For fuck's-" Katsumi's words were cut off as Hanabi proceeded to elbow her, a small frown on the Hyūga's lips. "… For the love of God, Kanji. Shut up and just eat."

Naruto proceeded to snicker, watching his students interact. He was about to open his mouth, but he was stopped as he heard a voice: "Oi, Naruto. Been a while man!"

The Uzumaki turned around to see four figures approaching him – Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke.

Nowadays, Kiba wore all black – the shinobi wore a black leather jacket that fit tightly against his chest and black pants. He had grown taller, but any physical changes he had made in the past two and a half years paled in comparison to Akamaru's changes. The 'little puppy' was now a massive, adult-sized dog. He looked large enough for Kiba, or anyone, to ride!

Sakura wore a red sleeveless top and a pair of black shorts underneath a pinkish-grey apron skirt. She also wore a pair of black gloves. The kunoichi also had a satchel-like bag that she was wearing over her shoulders. The bag was a pinkish-grey color that seemed to match her skirt that had the 'Konoha' leaf symbol engraved on it.

Sasuke wore a grey short sleeve shirt underneath a black cloak that had the Uchiha Clan crest printed on its back and a pair of dark blue pants. He also wore a pair of blue wrist warmers. The Uchiha also had his hair styled differently – his long black hair was seemingly straightened and covered a portion of his left eye.

"Hey Kiba, Sakura, Sasuke. How's it going?" Naruto said cheerfully. The blonde's eyes moved over to Sasuke – particularly his hair – and a smirk began to develop on his lips. "Your hair looks different, Sasuke. It doesn't look like a duck anymore; what happened?"

"HA!" Kiba immediately began to cackle, clapping his hands. "Naruto, can you believe it? This little girl about a week ago went up to his face and just called it a duck's butt! Dude, we talked about it that one day and someone finally said it to him!" The Inuzuka proceeded to laugh even harder; it looked as if he was struggling to remain standing. "I've never seen Sasuke look so offended in his life. I've never seen him emote like that before and-"

The Inuzuka was cut-off off, as Sakura proceeded to smack him on his head. He proceeded to fall to the ground upon impact. He winced in pain as reached for his head.

"Ow…" He mumbled to himself. Before he could make any more comment, Sasuke proceeded to kick him in his shin, which caused him to yelp in pain again. "OW! What the hell guys?"

"Kiba, quit making fun of Sasuke-kun! His hair looked fine before and you know that!" Sakura snapped. She then turned to look at Naruto, scowling. "And don't prod him on! You knew that reaction was coming!"

"You're right, I'm sorry." Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. He then turned his attention to Sasuke, who was frowning at him. "I'm sorry about that. Honestly, your hair looks good right now. It'll take some time getting used to it, but it looks good."

"… I wish someone had told me about my hair looking like that before a little girl pointed out to me. But thanks." Sasuke said with a sigh. The Uchiha's eyes moved towards the genin sitting next to Naruto and his eyebrow rose. "These your students?"

"Yup!" Naruto nodded his head as he quickly gestured at them. "Guys, meet Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, also known as Team Seven! Team Seven, meet my incredibly awesome and amazing genin team, Hyūga Hanabi, Inoue Katsumi, and Yamanaka Kanji!"

"Hanabi?" Sakura spoke the youngest student's name with a surprised look. "Your Hinata's sister, right?"

"Mhmm." Hanabi nodded her head. "It's an honor to meet you all."

"Yo." Katsumi waved at Team Seven.

Immediately, after hearing Sasuke's first name, an idea for a pun entered Kanji's mind: one based on the last three letters of his name. He opened his mouth to make the pun, but his eyes trailed back to Kiba, who was knocked to the ground simply for making a joke about Sasuke's hair. His eyes then turned to Sakura, who seemed particularly defensive of the Uchiha.

Deciding it wise to bite his tongue and not risk getting hit himself, the Yamanaka waved his hand instead of saying anything.

"Naruto a jōnin-sensei, huh? That just sounds weird." Kiba mumbled to no on in particular. He proceeded to walk forward towards the nearest student – Katsumi – and whispered loud enough so that everyone can here. "Hey, don't tell Naruto, but if you all want to learn some actual skills, come find me around Konoha and I'll show you what I know as a shinobi!"

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I heard that Kiba." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes as he playfully pushed Kiba backwards, away from his students.

"Ignore him; he's an idiot. He doesn't have anything to show you that Naruto can't show you." Sakura said with a giggle.

Her giggle turned into much-louder laughter as Kiba crossed his arms and began to pout.

"I honestly doubt any shinobi has much to offer us in comparison," Katsumi said with a shrug. "Naruto-sensei has done an incredible job working with us. I really can't imagine another jōnin-sensei doing as good of a job as him!"

Naruto turned back to his student with a surprised look on his face. While he was not a particularly modest person and would take credit for the way he was training, he did not know it he would go that far. Hearing his own student make such a claim was rather surprising to him.

A smile developed on his lips. It was surprising, but it felt nice. 'Very nice.'

"Well, I'm glad he's doing good with you all." Sasuke spoke-up. His eyes then moved to Naruto. "I assume you're nominating them for the next Chūnin Exams then?"

"Huh?" The blonde blinked in confusion.

"Damn right he is!" Katsumi stated with a chuckle. "We're gonna kick so much ass then!"

"Naruto-sensei's team promoted on their first exam. It's our duty to fulfill that same fate." Kanji said with a shrug. "Maybe. I don't know. If we're lucky."

"It won't be luck." Hanabi commented, turning to her Yamanaka student. "If he takes us there, we will surely do well and it won't be because of luck!"

"If? He's definitely taking us." Katsumi said again.

Naruto was silent, crossing his arms. He was initially hesitant to nominate his students for their first Chūnin Exams, since it was occurring in Kumo. However, perhaps they did have a point. He and his own team went through their first exams and learned quite a bit through the experience. Even if he had not been promoted, Naruto felt the experience was overall worth it for his development as a shinobi.

"I guess I'll think about it." Naruto spoke-up, answering Sasuke's question.

"I suppose it's not our business to ask, anyway." Sasuke said. He then turned around and started to walk away from the restaurant. "Enjoy your food. Sakura, Kiba, and I were on our way to training, so we should be getting back to that."

Both Sakura and Kiba blinked in response as they turned to see that Sasuke was, indeed, heading away from Ichiraku's. They quickly bowed their heads.

"Nice to meet you all. Hope you all have a good day!" Sakura replied as she hurried off.

"Yeah, same. All seriousness; Naruto's a great guy. You have a great sensei!" Kiba added as both he and Akamaru went behind as well.

Team Nine was left alone for a moment. The three genin watched the older shinobi walk away for a brief moment before they shook their heads.

"That Sasuke guy isn't the most social, is he?" Kanji noted.

"Actually, he was pretty talkative just then." Naruto commented with a chuckle. "He must have been in a good mood before I reminded him about the duck hair."

"Talkative? He barely spoke!" Katsumi said incredulously.

"Talkative for him." Naruto amended his statement. He then looked over at his genin. "Well, are you all done eating? Let's go bother Ero-sennin for another mission!"

His three genin students nodded in agreement. Naruto quickly paid Teuchi and Team Nine marched forward, heading towards the Hokage's Office.

"I approve of the mission." Jiraiya nodded his head as he pulled out a scroll. "I'd like to give you a scroll of my own to give to Shibuki, as well, to propose an alliance between Konoha and Taki."

"I figured you would." Anko said with a chuckle. "Question, though. Do you know if anyone in my old squad is out of the village right now, or are they all available for this mission?"

"Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru are all available right now, yes." The Hokage noted. His eyebrows rose. "You want to bring your old genin for nostalgia's sake?"

"Sorta." The jōnin admitted sheepishly. "Well, I do think Naruto is important to bring along if we're going to be meeting with the Nanabi jinchūriki. It'll make developing a friendship with her easier. I just figured, since I was going to probably get Naruto for the mission as well, I'd-"

"See if Hinata and Shikamaru are available as well?" Jiraiya finished with a small smirk. "I understand that sentiment. Yes, I am fine with that. Naruto will have to make some arrangements for someone to watch his genin students while he is away, but that can be done." The Hokage then lifted his hand. "Would you mind if you give me a day or two to get my scroll ready to send to Shibuki before leaving for the mission?"

"Of course. Just tell me when's good to go." Anko said with a smile. "Thanks a lot, Jiraiya. Appreciate it!"

Anko bowed her head and went to the door. She opened it and proceeded to walk outside the Hokage's Office.

She then proceeded to bump her head against Naruto's.

"Hey, watch where you're going-" Anko cut herself off as she noticed her blonde student, along with the three genin following him. A smirk developed on her lips. "Well, well, well. Look at this jōnin-sensei! How's it going?"

"Anko-sensei!" Naruto grinned at the woman. "How are you doing? How was the mission for the Seven Swordsmen?"

"Took way too long for what it was, but it was good. We killed Raiga and have already replaced him, so the only traitor left is Kisame. Once he's dead, a full new generation of the Seven Swordsmen can be formed." Anko said with excitement. Her eyes then trailed backwards to his genin. "Anyway, I have some things I need to get ready and you've got some jōnin-sensei stuff to do. We can catch up later and you can properly introduce your brats to me!"

"Of course." Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "Later Anko-sensei!"

The 'Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure' member nodded her head as she rushed off, beginning preparation for another mission outside of Konoha.

"Sensei?" Katsumi repeated the word as she looked at Naruto. "Was that your jōnin-sensei, Naruto-sensei?"

"That she was. And she's the best one in this village, to be honest." Naruto said with a chuckle. "Well, I guess second best, now. I am a jōnin-sensei now, after all."

"I resent that. I was clearly the best jōnin-sensei of the village. " Jiraiya spoke up from his office. "I trained the fucking Yondaime, after all."

A chuckle escaped Naruto's lips as he and his genin proceeded to walk into the Hokage's Office, looking for a mission.

"You gave them the Tora mission again?" Hinata looked at her boyfriend in shock. "Naruto-kun, don't torture them!"

"That's sorta fucked up, you know that?" Shikamaru added.

The three friends had agreed to meet up in a small civilian park in Konoha to relax later that evening. It was a full park – with swing, slides, monkey bars, and other things for kids to climb – but the sun was starting to set, so no kids were in sight. It was simply the three of them.

Naruto was swinging on one of the swings, getting rather high into the air. Hinata was sitting down on the swing next to him but was not swinging – she was just sitting down. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was lying down on the ground by a nearby tree.

"In my defense, I did ask Ero-sennin for a C-rank mission, but he told me that there was no 'short-term' C-rank missions available right now. And apparently, he has a mission that he wants me to go on in the next couple of days." Naruto said with a grumble. "Which that's kinda annoying. I'm going to have to find someone to look after my genin while I'm away on this mission."

"Did he tell you anything about the mission?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. He said someone else would fill me in." Naruto said with a sigh. "I hate when he doesn't tell me things. I think it's just him getting back at me for calling him Ero-sennin. You know. Cause he's a pervert."

Hinata proceeded to giggle: "I know Jiraiya-sama is your godfather, but it still surprises me he tolerates you saying that nickname in front of other people."

"Cause deep down, he likes it. That's the only explanation." The Uzumaki noted with a smirk. "He'll never admit it, but I know that's the truth!"

"That's like saying I enjoyed being called 'Lazy ass' by Anko-sensei and Kurotsuchi when we were younger." Shikamaru spoke-up. "I sure as hell didn't and I can guarantee you that he doesn't either."

"What? A lazy ass didn't like being called a lazy ass? Why's that?"

Naruto immediately stopped swinging and Shikamaru pulled himself up. The three shinobi turned their heads to see Mitarashi Anko, standing by the park entrance with a smirk on her face as she walked towards them.

"The hell are you three doing here anyway? It took a lot longer to find you all then I was expecting." She grumbled to them.

"We're just relaxing. Nothing wrong with that." Naruto said defensively. A smirk developed on his lips. "Enjoying being back in Konoha, Anko-sensei?"

"Naturally. I love coming back home after a long mission." She answered.

"Do anything special in Kirigakure?" Shikamaru questioned. "How's Zabuza?"

"Huh? Uh, Zabuza's fine I guess?" Anko titled her head in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." The Nara replied with a snicker.

"O…kay." Anko shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, I overheard a little bit about what you all were talking at the end there. Yup, Naruto is going to be assigned a mission in the next couple of days. As are you two, Shikamaru and Hinata. And guess who your leader during the mission is?"

"Hmm?" Hinata looked at the jōnin in surprise. "Anko-sensei, really? We're all going on a mission together?"

Anko nodded her head in response: "Just like old times. Team Three is reunited again, dammit!"

A wide smirk developed on Naruto's face as he nodded his head in approval: "Hell yeah! Alright, I'm definitely down!"

"What's the mission?" Shikamaru questioned. Just like Naruto, he had a smirk of approval on his face as well. "And when is it?"

"Should start either tomorrow or the day after. We're going on a diplomatic mission to Takigakure." Anko noted. "We're also going to be meeting with the Nanabi jinchūriki and both form some relationship with her and give her information about Akatsuki."

"Understood." Naruto nodded his head. The smirk that had been on his face seemingly widened as a thought just entered his head. "Nanabi jinchūriki, huh?"

Naruto was personally pleased with the relationships he had with all the jinchūriki he had met so far. Seeing Gaara again and finding out that he was the Kazekage was the most rewarding thing about the mission in Sunagakure for him. The blonde was already excited about this mission and getting the chance to meet another jinchūriki!

"I wonder what she's like…" Hinata mumbled to herself. The Hyūga had yet to meet a female jinchūriki and was curious to see what she was like.

"We'll find out on the mission. I'll fetch you all when it's time for it!" Anko said with a smirk. Her eyes then moved over to the Hyūga's forehead and a confused look developed on her face. "Not to change the topic, by the way, but what's on your forehead, Hinata? I don't recall seeing that seal there before. I know that's not your Clan's Caged Bird bullshit, so what is that?"

Realization dawned on all three former-genin of Team Three. They had a lot to fill in for their jōnin-sensei.

Sasori and Deidara walked towards a large rock formation, deep within a mountain range in Kaze no Kuni. They both made a singular hand sign, which caused a rock on the rock formation to move apart, revealing an opening to a cave on the inside.

"Really? A rock blocking a secret entrance?" Kabuto commented with a chuckle. "That sounds like something out a of kid's manga."

Deidara turned his head back. The silver-haired shinobi was following the two Akatsuki members, his hands in his pocket. Deidara turned his attention to his partner and elbowed him.

"You sure the leader is going to be okay with this?" He questioned.

"I have spoken to Zetsu about the topic already and have sent letters to Pain. I am certain there is no issue." Sasori answered. "Zetsu was supportive, at least."

"… Hmm." Deidara crossed his arms. " I hope you're right, Sasori no Danna."

The two Akatsuki members continued to walk further into the cave, with Kabuto following behind them. They continued to walk for roughly five minutes before they stopped in a large, circular room within the cave. In the center of the room was ten stone pedestals.

Deidara and Sasori both walked to two of the stone pedestals. Sasori then turned his attention to Kabuto and gestured over to the stone next to him.

"Put on the ring that you have and make the same hand sign that we make. Follow our example." He explained. "Do not speak unless spoken to. I know that is difficult for someone like you, who loves the sound of your voice, but believe me; you will be spoken to quite frequently."

"Heh. I understand." Kabuto nodded his head.

As the former 'right-hand' of Orochimaru walked to the stone pedestal next to Sasori, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring that was marked with the kanji for 'sky'. He put it on his right hand's ring finger as he stepped onto the pedestal. When he stepped on, Sasori and Deidara proceeded to make a singular hand sign. Kabuto quickly imitated the hand sign.

Ten seconds passed by before the room started to glow. Colorful lights began to form above the other pedestals. The lights quickly began to change shape until they resembled silhouettes that resembled the other members of Akatsuki.

Immediately, attention was drawn to Kabuto. All seven other Akatsuki members were staring at him.

"Heh, do we have a new guy? How interesting." Kisame noted.

"You are Yakushi Kabuto, yes?" Itachi spoke-up, his eyes narrowing on Kabuto. "Former right-hand of Orochimaru and a spy of his on Konoha. I also believe you were Sasori's spy on Orochimaru."

"Interesting resume. However, how are you here?" Kakuzu questioned, his eyes narrowed as well. "You should not be able to be here. The jutsu that allows us to meet up in this fashion requires one of the ten rings of the Jūbi."

"I happen to have one of the rings, actually." Kabuto spoke as he lifted his right hand, showing off the ring. "This is the ring that belonged to Orochimaru-sama. After his death, I acquired many of his belongings to aid in my research and personal work. One of the things I obtained was this ring right here."

"The missing tenth ring. The thing that prevented us from obtaining a tenth member." Kakuzu noted. His eyes seemingly narrowed further. "And you're here with it because you with to join the Akatsuki?"

"Sasori and Deidara brought him. I assume they trust him." Kisame noted.

"Don't lump me in with this!" Deidara quickly lifted his hands up, defensively. "Sasori no Danna decided this."

Sasori sighed, giving his partner a look of annoyance. He took in a deep breath, preventing himself from commenting on Deidara's statement, before turning his head towards the leader of the Akatsuki.

"As I have mentioned in my letter to you, Kabuto is someone who I have a working relationship with. He was a former spy of mine who has developed more as a shinobi. He's a practical person and is a skilled medical shinobi, which is something our organization lacks. He already possesses one of the rings and is interested in working towards our end goals. I feel it would be fruitful to allow him to join." Sasori explained.

Pain was silent, having not spoken a word since the meeting started. He nodded his head in understanding of Sasori's words before turning his attention towards Kabuto. The silver-haired shinobi understood his silent request and began to speak.

"It is as Sasori-sama has stated. I personally am interested in your end goal, Pain-sama." He said. "With Orochimaru-sama dead, I struggled to find a purpose in my life. I decided to continue pursuing his ambition, but I felt I needed more. I am, admittedly, curious about your goal and would like to see if it is the future that I am looking forward to." A small chuckle escaped his lips as he adjusted his glasses. "If anything, I am a solid medical shinobi and can perform complicated treatments and transplants. I'm also rather skilled in espionage. I believe I have the skills to be a useful tool for your end goals."

"Heh." Kisame smirked as Kabuto finished his speech. "We'll get along just fine. Nice to work with ya, Kabuto!"

"He seems like he would be rather useful, wouldn't you say Pain-sama?" Zetsu spoke-up. "I personally support him joining!"

"Well, I DON'T!"

Kabuto blinked in response. From behind Zetsu's body developed a new projection. A new silhouette formed, showing a person wearing a spiral mask. No other physical features could be gleamed from their appearance.

'Strange. Did they not just say that you must be wearing one of these rings to participate in these meetings? How is that person appearing, then?' Kabuto thought to himself.

"Pain-sama, you can't SERIOUSLY be thinking of putting this guy in Akatsuki! I'm the next in line to join, right? RIGHT? You all promised me that I would be able to join when a spot opened up! Zetsu-sama promised! Come on!" The masked man began to pout. "Please? PLEASE? Let me have his spot! I can fight him if you'd like!"

Instinctively, Kabuto began to tense-up. Before he could say anything, the Akatsuki leader spoke-up.

"Tobi, I appreciate your passion for the organization, but I am willing to accept this man's proposition." Pain spoke-up as he turned to face Kabuto. "Yakushi Kabuto, I resent your former master, Orochimaru, for his treachery. However, you are not him and have returned his ring. You bring skills that could be quite useful towards our end goal. I will also acknowledge Sasori vouching for you. Therefore, I will give you a chance. Consider yourself a member of Akatsuki."

A smile graced Kabuto's lips as he bowed his head: "I promise, you will not regret this decision."

Orochimaru's former right-hand seemed as if he was going to continue, but he stopped talking at the sound of sniffling. The masked-wearing shinobi, Tobi, appeared to be crying. It also seemed as if you could see the tears despite wearing his mask.

"I-I cant believe I was passed up! WAH!" He shrieked. Almost instantly, however, the tears dried up and he clapped his hands together. "Well, it's okay. I'm sure an opening will develop sooner or later! Maybe Kakuzu-senpai finally finds a way to kill Hidan-senpai?"

"Like hell he will!" Hidan shouted, crossing his arms. "I'm blessed by Jashin-sama. A heathen like Kakuzu could never hope to kill me!"

"Tobi, believe me; I have been looking and will continue to look for a way to kill this man." Kakuzu grumbled, his eyes narrowing now on his partner.

"Let's get back to business." Pain spoke-up. All members of Akatsuki turned silent and focused back on their leader. "While adding a new member to Akatsuki is important to discuss, that is not the primary reason I called for this meeting. I wanted to discuss our plans for the future."

"You referring to the invasion on Kumo?" Kisame questioned with a smirk.

"No. I actually have something else I'd like to accomplish." Pain stated as he turned his head towards Hidan and Kakuzu. "You two are the closest shinobi to Takigakure, correct?"

"Bah." Kakuzu crossed his arms at the mention of his former village. "I believe we are. We are approximately three days away from that shithole."

"Good." The 'leader' nodded his head in understanding. "While I do intend on us carrying out the invasion of Kumo, we still have some time before the Chūnin Exams. I believe it would be beneficial for us to capture one of the jinchūriki at this time. We currently do not have any captured and I believe we can rectify that."

"So you want us to go take the one in Taki right?" Hidan questioned. "Why that bitch? Couldn't we do one of the others?"

"It is to our benefit that we go after her." The figure next to Pain – the blue-haired woman next to him – spoke for the first time all meeting. "Unlike the other jinchūriki, with the exception of the Rokubi jinchūriki, she is the only one who could feasibly go missing without drawing attention. Taki has been particularly secretive with her identity and many people do not know her identity. It would be rather simple for us to simply kidnap her without drawing much attention."

"So, Hidan and I are going to sneak in and bring her back to take the Nanabi." Kakuzu noted. "Hmph. I can't believe I'll be stepping my feet back in that wretched village. But I'll accept. I'd be more than willing to take down any Taki shinobi, as well."

"I'd prefer you not draw much attention in the process, but do whatever it takes to obtain her." Pain suggested.

"With pleasure." A smirk developed underneath Kakuzu's mask.

Two days had passed. Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru stood in front of the gate to Konoha, all carrying their bags and equipment. Each of them had an excited look on their face.

"Who did you end up getting to watch over your students while you're away, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked the blonde.

"A friend of mine." Naruto said with a snicker.

Hinata waited a brief second for him to elaborate further, but he did not. She proceeded to frown, pocketing her hands with a sigh.

"I hope you did not give them someone too bad. I would personally like to not hear my sister rant about you, you know?"

"In all seriousness, I got them someone who would take care of them. They'll be fine." He told her.

"You three ready?"

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru turned around to see Anko walking towards them. The purple-haired shinobi was grinning as she looked out on each of her former students.

"Nostalgic, huh? This'll be just like old times." Anko said cheerfully. "Going on a mission with Whiskers, Stutters-chan, and Lazy Ass, with the badass and sexy Mitarashi Anko leading the charge!

"Except I don't stutter as much anymore." Hinata commented with a giggle. "Or at all, really."

"And I swear to God, if one you calls me 'lazy ass' again, especially nowadays..." Shikamaru grumbled to himself.

"Ah, lighten up. You know I'm just screwing around!" Anko said with a chuckle. "Anyway, let's get on moving then! Team Three is back in action!"

"Right!" Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru all spoke simultaneously.

With those words, the four shinobi moved through the gates of the village and headed in the direction of Takigakure.

Omake 7: Your Temporary Sensei?

"Hey guys, so Ero-sennin has a mission for me that he needs me to go on, so I'm going to be out of the village for a little bit. Don't worry; I got someone to work with you all while I'm away. He's a good friend of mine and someone who actually helped train me back when I was a genin, so I know he'll do you all good! Just make sure to meet him at this address. I'll be looking forward to seeing you all when I get back. None of you better slack off in your training when I'm gone!"

Hanabi, Katsumi, and Kanji all remembered Naruto's words when he left. While a little disappointed, they understood that he was needed for a mission and accepted they it. They also were intrigued and curious to meet this 'temporary jōnin-sensei' that they would be working with.

It was to their surprise, however, when the address directed them to the Headquarters for the Torture and Investigative Department of Konohagakure.

It was to their greater surprise when, upon mentioning Naruto's name, the genin were immediately directed into a small, dark room with only one other person.

"Now, let this be clear." Morino Ibiki started to speak slowly. "I do not know how Naruto instructed the three of you, but I can assure you that I am nothing like him. I will not tolerate being spoken back to. I will not tolerate laziness, or anything that I perceive to be laziness. I will not tolerate stupid questions. I am of the firm belief that, upon graduating from the academy, no shinobi should be treated with 'kid gloves', and I intend to follow through with that philosophy. My training will be brutal. You may call it cruel."

Ibiki proceeded to make five hand signs slowly as he continued to speak: "If you all wish, you can run home to 'Naruto-sensei' when he gets back. But until he returns to Konoha again, you're my students and I will ensure that you will become the shinobi that I feel you three need to become, whether or not my training breaks you or not!" He then proceeded to finish his hand signs and slammed his palm on the ground: "Summoning: Torture Chamber!"

Large, iron bars quickly developed from the ground and surrounded the four shinobi in the room.

"H-Holy shit..." Katsumi mumbled under her breath. Her hand went instinctively to her sword, but her fingers were trembling as it went towards it. She was unable to properly grip onto it, at the moment.

"Th-This..." Hanabi mumbled to herself, trying to verbalize the amount of horror she was feeling. She felt herself growing sick and was struggling with the urge to throw up.

'I... I knew I was going to die one day. I just figured it would be against an enemy shinobi. I didn't think a Konoha shinobi would be the one to kill me!' Kanji's mind was racing a mile a minute as the Yamanaka tried to calm himself down.

A smirk developed on Ibiki's face as he looked at the terror on the three genins' faces. He had always intended on giving this exact speech and demonstration if, for whatever reason, the Hokage ever assigned him a genin team. When Naruto had asked him for this favor, he was more than willing to accept, if for no other reason than to finally perform this 'idea' of his.

The Current Head of the T&I Department would take his temporary jōnin-sensei status seriously and would train the three to the best of his abilities in a more relaxed environment. However, seeing their reactions to him, in this very moment, made everything worth it.

'Hmm... perhaps I should ask the Hokage for a genin team of my own when the next group of academy students graduate.' He thought to himself. A malicious grin developed on his face as he still focused on the horror of Team Nine. He would have to find someway to outdo what he just did to them. It would be a challenge, but one that he would be willing to attempt!