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On one of the roads near Konoha's market;
Mito, Karin, and Sasuke stood together under a lamppost. They had just left the academy a few minutes ago with Naruto after saying 'goodbye' and 'see you tomorrow' to the others.
Now, they are waiting for Naruto to return after he told them he would go get something in less than a minute.
"What are you going to do when you go home, Sasuke?" Mito asked with a head tilt. Sasuke looked thoughtful for a moment before looking at her.
"Kaa-san should be making dinner right now. So I will eat with her, then train." Sasuke said as his expression tightened ever so slightly.
"With just Mikoto-oba-san? Where are your tou-san and ni-san? Are they on missions?" Karin asked with a little intrigue in her voice.
"Tou-san is always busy, but sometimes he joins us for dinner. As for ni-san..." Sasuke's expression turned slightly sad before continuing
"I haven't seen him for five days now. Kaa-san says he always comes very late at night, then leaves early in the morning before I wake up." Sasuke said
"I thought it was like Ni-chan on a mission, but it seems like yours is different. Ni-chan may not come home for weeks, but we always know he is on a mission." Mito said casually.
Naruto may be busy a lot of the time, and she knows that, but when he has time off, he always spends it with them.
As for Sasuke, he had his own thoughts. He wished that Itachi was there on his first day to pick him up with Mikoto.
He knows that Itachi is busy. But he can't help but feel a bit of envy toward Mito and Karin that Naruto was there for them for the first two days of the academy. His mother had once told him that Naruto is one of the busiest Shinobi in the village, and yet it seems he has time for his sisters.
Well, at least Sasuke sees him as a big brother, and Naruto sees him as his younger brother, so that counts for something. Right?
"What are you talking about?" Naruto's voice reached them, making them turn towards him.
Naruto was walking towards them, carrying something.
"I was asking Sasuke about what he would do when he returns home," Mito said, to which Naruto nodded
"Is that...?" Karin's face brightened when she saw what Naruto was carrying.
Naruto smiled warmly as he held two cold packets.
He opened the first one and took out what was inside, revealing an ice-cold orange Twin popsicle.
He split the cold treat and gave one to each of Mito and Karin, whose faces had huge smiles on them.
"Just a small treat for you guys after what happened today. At the same time, it won't affect your appetite, as we have a huge dinner tonight." Naruto said with a warm smile
"Thanks, Ni-chan," Mito said with a wide smile as she took her popsicle
"You are the best, Ni-san," Karin said with a wider smile as she took hers. She loves this cold treat.
He smiled warmly as he turned to Sasuke while opening the second packet and taking out an ice-cold blue Twin popsicle. He then split them and offered one to Sasuke.
"Here you go, Sasuke," Naruto said warmly as Sasuke took the cold treat.
"Let's go. I am sure Mikoto-nee-san will be worried since you are late." Naruto said as he and the three kids walked together towards the Uchiha compound while enjoying a cold treat in the late afternoon sun.
As they walked, Sasuke paused eating his popsicle for a moment as he said, remembering something: "Ni-san."
"Hmm?" Naruto, who had his popsicle in his mouth, looked at Sasuke, who looked up at him.
"Do you think I will be a strong shinobi?" Sasuke asked, but Naruto could sense the vulnerability behind the question coming from the six-year-old.
"That depends, Sasuke." Naruto began softly before continuing, "Do you put effort into your training?"
"Yeah, I train hard," Sasuke said while nodding.
"Then there you have it. Real effort doesn't go unrewarded. If you train hard for your goal, you will reach it." Naruto said, to which Sasuke nodded.
"What brought this question up, Sasuke? Did something happen in the academy?" Naruto asked softly, only for Sasuke to shake his head.
"No. Nothing happened in the academy." Sasuke started, but his voice got a bit smaller as he continued
"Tou-san took me to the river after my sixth birthday and taught me the Great Fireball Technique, but I was only able to make a small fireball." Sasuke finished, his voice becoming very small in the end.
"That's amazing, Sasuke. You were able to breathe out a fireball on your first try. That's great, then why are you sad?" Naruto replied with slight confusion that increased when Sasuke looked up at him with shock and confusion
"But... but Tou-san just turned around and left. He didn't say anything. I thought what I did was not good enough. I didn't make it as Ni-san's first try," Sasuke said, getting sadder at the end.
'Of course,' Naruto thought to himself, trying not to drag his hand over his face.
'Sometimes I wonder what Fugaku-san is thinking. First, he took his eldest, who was 3 or 4 years old at the time, to a battlefield in the last Shinobi War. And now he is destroying his youngest self-worth, even though what he accomplished is what young shinobi double his age train to try and achieve. 'Naruto thought to himself.
"Sasuke," Naruto called softly, making the boy look up at him.
"You know what the elemental affinities are, right?" Naruto asked softly, and Sasuke nodded.
"Yeah, it's fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth," Sasuke answered
"That is correct, Sasuke," Naruto said softly, smiling warmly. He expected Sasuke to know the normal elemental affinities.
"Let's take fire, for example. Normal shinobi, if they attempted it using it for the first time, would blow out air or a bit of smoke. If they were lucky, they would blow out a thin line of flame. Being able to blow a small fireball on your first try is already better than most shinobi, and you just entered the academy." Naruto said softly
"But Ni-san made a much bigger one on his first try," Sasuke said
"I am getting there; no need to rush," Naruto said softly as he ruffled Sasuke's hair, making him pout.
"Itachi happens to have a stronger affinity for fire. But that also means that he only has an easier time learning and doing fire jutsu, and that is it. He still needs to train and work hard to be better. You, on the other hand, need to put in a bit more effort into it. Make your hand seals more seamless and mold your chakra better for now." Naruto said, but Sasuke didn't seem convinced.
"Let's look at Hokage-sama for a moment, Sasuke. Hokage-sama can use all the elemental affinities. But he wasn't always good at all of them. When he was young, he had natural affinities, but how did he get the rest? He learned and trained hard to the point where he is much better with an affinity he learned than someone who had it naturally." Naruto said, and Sasuke looked up at him.
"Do you think I have other affinities, Ni-san?" Sasuke asked, making Naruto look thoughtful.
"Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Maybe you have an affinity stronger than fire, or maybe weaker, or maybe you only have fire. What is important is that you work on what you know and have, leaving the rest to its time." Naruto said, making Sasuke nod slowly.
"What about you, Ni-san? What affinities do you have?" Sasuke asked thoughtfully, making Naruto grin.
"Well, can you keep a secret, Sasuke, from a big brother to his adorable younger brother?" Naruto said with a grin.
"Yeah. And I am not adorable," Sasuke said with some embarrassment and a small blush at being called adorable, making Naruto chuckle before bending slightly in Sasuke's direction while they still walked behind the girls.
"Your Naruto-ni-san has all five affinities," Naruto whispered, making Sasuke look up at him in shock.
"No way," Sasuke said with shock and amazement
"Oooh yeah, Sasuke. Your ni-san has all of them," Naruto said with a grin.
"So cool, can you teach me?" Sasuke asked eagerly. To him, Naruto seemed to be the coolest shinobi now and his favorite big brother.
"Graduate from the academy first, and we can all have the training you want. But for now, focus on your studies, training, and your fire affinity. In the end, fire is Uchiha's pride, right?" Naruto said, looking at Sasuke.
"Yeah," Sasuke replied with a big, enthusiastic nod.
"Good, and remember, Sasuke," Naruto said, his voice turning gentle yet firm.
"You will know if what you are doing is enough or not. You see what others are like around you. Don't feel discouraged. If you feel that what you did isn't enough, try again and train harder until you reach what satisfies you. Remember, as long as you train hard to reach what you want, don't ever feel disappointed. Feel disappointed if you give up. Got it, Sasuke?" Naruto said, to which Sasuke gave a nod.
"Good, now keep eating your popsicle before the sun and the ground eat it from you," Naruto said before chuckling when he saw Sasuke panic slightly upon seeing his popsicle melting slightly and about to start dripping onto his hand and the ground.
Somewhere in the village, an Anbu with a weasel mask felt like he had become the second best in something very important.
...
About an hour later;
Earlier, Naruto dropped Sasuke off at his home in the Uchiha compound. Mikoto was already standing in front of the door with a slightly worried look on her face, which turned to relief but also slight confusion and concern when she saw Naruto accompanying her youngest home.
That confusion and concern turned to understanding, and she gave a slightly amused smile when she learned what happened in the academy.
Mikoto thanked Naruto for looking out for Sasuke, which he brushed off, saying that he was looking out for his adorable little brother, which made Sasuke embarrassed again while insisting that he wasn't adorable, making Naruto and Mikoto chuckle while the girls giggled.
After Naruto and the girls said goodbye to Mikoto and Sasuke. Naruto led them somewhere for a special celebration.
Right now, at a private table in the famous Yakiniku Q. Tsuande, Naruto, Akari, Shizune, Mito, and Karin are seen sitting around the table filled to the edge with food, with a hot grill in the middle with high-quality cuts of meat and pork.
Tsunade led a toast for Akari, who is now a fully fledged medic and doctor, and the reason for the celebration. Four cups of sake clinked together with two cups of fresh fruit juice as the celebration began in full swing, filled with food, laughter, and talk.
And between the talking, what happened in the academy was said. At first, it was concern for the girls, but it turned to amusement and praise for the girls.
Tsunade, for a moment, had a look of nostalgia on her face. Looking at the two young girls and what happened in the academy, her mind could not help but to think back to Kushina's first days in the academy and how many fights she was in due to her being teased and mocked for her hair. And here, many years later, her cute daughter punched down a kid who pulled her cousin's red hair.
Looking around the table, at Naruto in particular, Tsunade could help but be deeply content.
She now has a family that she deeply loves, nothing like her dark days during and after the Second Shinobi War.
And then there is her son, her most beloved in her entire life. Her most cherished gift.
No one had ever been this close to her heart. Her pride and love for him are endless.
She had a soft smile behind her sake cup, cherishing the peace and contentment that surrounded her.
It really did start when Naruto entered her once-dark life. Her son really is her luckiest charm.
To be continued.
Guys and gals, show me those powerstones.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
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