Naruto returned Ino to her house, and avoided Inoichi to the best of his ability before returning to his own home. With this over, he finally relaxed and slumped down onto the floor...
"Time to slee-"
*Bzz*
He suddenly realised that there was a talisman on him, which began glowing.
[Brat! Take these two away already!] He heard Orochimaru's voice from the other end, which made him let out a deep sigh...
"Fi~ne..." He groaned as he picked himself up
Truly, it's a miracle with how many times he has been disturbed when he wants to rest...
He teleported to Orochimaru's hideout, and was met with Haku's thousand yard stare...
His gaze shifted to Zabuza, who was sitting behind Haku with the executioner's blade over his shoulder.
"What's gotten into him?" Naruto asked
"He heard that we're moving out, and is worried you'll attack him at night" Zabuza replied, his voice was laced with a hint of threat as he spoke, his gaze didn't seem very friendly either.
Naruto stared at them blankly
"Two things, one, I don't swing that way, two, I got someone I like" He said
Haku immediately covered his body with his hands
"I don't like you" He replied
"Neither do I" Naruto responded with a blank look, he wasn't going to bother arguing with Haku, as Zabuza would immediately enter his 'dad' mode.
'If one thinks sage mode is powerful, they should really be careful of the legendary 'dad' mode' Naruto thought to himself
[Dad mode? What's that]
'You know, the legendary dad mode is achieved only by the most protective of fathers, allowing them to achieve the unachievable, like Inoichi, he became a jinchuriki through his dad mode, whilst Zabuza is able to use jutsus with one hand through his...it's a mystery of life...' Naruto replied to Kurama's question
Upon hearing this response, Kurama was at a loss for words. He wanted to retort, saying that such a ridiculous thing doesn't exist, but there are already two living examples of such...
[Scary indeed]
'Yep...'
"Anyway, protective father Zabuza, get your son ready so we can leave" Naruto said
Zabuza remained where he was, and a conflicted look appeared on his face
"I've thought about it...but calling Haku my son is still a bit too much for me" Zabuza sighed as he shook his head
"...then what do you call him?" Naruto asked
Zabuza tapped his leg as he thought
"I feel quite happy when I see him react differently" He muttered
"So you're a dad"
"And seeing him smile makes my heart rumble with joy"
"So you're a dad"
"Not to mention, seeing him mess around makes me react with pride" Zabuza added
"So you're a dad"
"Am I a dad?" Zabuza tilted his head to the side and asked
As the two stared at one another, a pale face emerged behind Naruto. Orochimaru's long hair covered his eyes as his mouth opened so wide it could fit a person's head inside.
"DISCUSS THIS ELSEWHERE! GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" He roared
Naruto covered his ears
"Fine, we'll talk more when we get to my place" Naruto grumbled
He placed a hand on Zabuza's shoulder, then turned to Haku
"Oi, grab on" He said, though, Haku walked over and grabbed Naruto's neck...
"..." Naruto stared at him, completely at a loss for words
"This is just in case you touch me" Haku said with an innocent look
"Pfft" Zabuza snickered
"GO!" Orochimaru screamed
Naruto clicked his tongue, and teleported the two back with him. When they arrived, they looked around to inspect the place.
"Decent place" Zabuza said
"I won't get attacked at night, will I?" Haku asked as he looked around the room
"The only form of attack you'll receive from me is my fist in your face if you don't shut up about this" Naruto replied with a dead pan expression
Haku stared at him suspiciously, then returned to looking around the house. It was two story high, and had quite a few empty rooms that they could use. Haku and Zabuza took two rooms upstairs which were next to one another's.
"The toilet is just next to the stairs, take showers before ten at night, or the hot water will be out, and don't walk around too much at night, I'm right below and will hear it if you're too loud" Naruto explained
Zabuza nodded, but he still had an uncertain look on his face
"What will you do if we are discovered, we are missing nins after all" He asked
"Who cares, I'm drinking buddies with the current Hokage, I'll bribe her to get you two some sort of identity clearances" Naruto replied
"...alright, as long as we're safe" Zabuza said
He couldn't help wonder who the criminals here are, because at the moment, Naruto is way more efficient at crime compared to him and Haku.
"Oh right, any of you hungry? We can go grab something to eat for lunch" Naruto said
"I'm good" Zabuza replied
"I'll stay with dad" Haku nodded
"So you are a dad" Naruto narrowed his gaze
Zabuza tapped his chin
"Am I though? It feels too sudden, to have a son out of nowhere"
"It's not out of nowhere" Naruto replied
"And I haven't exactly treated him the best"
"You're not listening to me, I see that now..." Naruto's lips twitched as Zabuza just rambled on, he sighed and just slumped onto the couch.
His tired eyes gazed at Zabuza, who was still rambling, then at Haku, who was wondering around the house. He sighed, slowly closing his eyes as he fell asleep swiftly.
After a while, his sound snores were emitted. Once that happened, Haku and Zabuza both paused, staring at him silently. In Haku's hands, senbons were taken out, laced with poison.
His gaze revealed a sharp killing intent as he clenched the senbons tightly, slowly approaching Naruto's sleeping figure.
Just as he was about to act, Zabuza grabbed Haku's wrist, and shook his head, which made Haku's eyes dim. But he nodded in the end, and retracted the senbons.
The two then made their way upstairs, and once they were gone, Naruto's eyes opened.
[Seems like you were right]
'I always win my gambles' Naruto chuckled as he changed positions to make himself more comfortable.
[Though you were quite tense, were you not? When the kid pulled out his senbons, I could feel your heart rate increasing]
'Hush, no one needs to know about it'
[Who would know? It's just between us two] Kurama chuckled
Naruto shrugged, and went to sleep.
-Next day-
Naruto was called to the Hokage's office once Jiraiya returned. The reason? Well, he snuck out to find Tsunade with Jiraiya without informing the village! When Hiruzen learned of this, he quickly called Naruto over to question him.
As for Tsunade, she hasn't been officially announced to be the Hokage yet as Hiruzen has to get through some final paperworks to get the process through.
"Naruto, why did you sneak out without asking me, had you told me the reason, I would have allowed for you to go" He asked with a frown
"Huh? When did I sneak out?" Naruto asked with a confused look
"Hm?" Hiruzen frowned further
"Did the people guarding the gate notice me leaving?" Naruto asked
"Well, no, but-"
"Did they see me come back?"
"No, however, your jutsu-"
"So I didn't sneak out, where's the proof? Where's the evidence?" Naruto asked with a frown
Hiruzen pinched between his brows
"Jiraiya himself has told me that-"
"Jiraiya?" Naruto turned to Jiraiya
"He's lying, either that, or you two are working together to punish me" Naruto said in a low voice
Hiruzen's lips twitched, this kid is even more shameless than he is!
"You're saying that Jiraiya, one of the three sanins, will lie?" Hiruzen asked
"Well, one of the three sanin is a mad scientist who use human experiments, the other peeks on women in the baths, and the last one is a gambling alcoholic, tell me, which one of the three sanins have a clean image?" Naruto replied calmly
"..." It was most hurtful because he couldn't refute any of that...
Not to mention, all three of them were his students, which is simply salt on the wound. In fact, how did it even turn from questioning Naruto, into questioning the image of the three sanins!?
Tsunade was sitting by the side, and she revealed a grin
"Indeed, I can vouch, only Jiraiya was there on the mission" She said
"Tsunade, you!" Hiruzen and Jiraiya were stunned, she is actually couching for Naruto!?
Naruto and Tsunade both wore a similar grin on their face
"I am very grateful for lady Tsunade's assistance, please accept this as a gift" Naruto held a small bottle of wine in his hand that he passed over to Tsunade, who received it with glee.
"Bwahahaha, of course, how can I let an innocent child be framed for something he didn't do?" She said as she tucked the wine away
'At least give her the bribe when we're not looking!' Hiruzen and Jiraiya were left at a loss, this is simply bullying!
Naruto then shifted his gaze to Hiruzen
"Humph, if you don't even have evidence aside from the pervert acting as a witness, then don't go pinning baseless wrongdoings on me" Naruto huffed and left the office...
"..."
"Sensei" Jiraiya said awkwardly
"Nothing happened today, got it?" Hiruzen said as he pressed his face into his own hands before letting out a deep sigh.
Jiraiya nodded solemnly whilst Tsunade was laughing
-Outside-
Naruto just left the office, when he noticed Ino and Sakura who were walking together. The two of them were chatting happily as they headed for the hospital.
"Oh, Na-kun, we're going to the hospital because my bestie wants to visit her little crush, wanna join?" Ino asked
"Do I have a choice?" Naruto asked
"Of course, either go with us, or don't" She replied with an innocent smile, the choices had no problems, but why did it give him a bad feeling?
He felt that if he rejected Ino, something bad might happen...
It was a similar feeling when Ino was about to go fight Gaara, he felt that he didn't consider...
"Alright, let's go" Naruto nodded
"Great! Had you said no, I might've just followed you to your house instead" Ino smiled
"..." Oh...that was what he forgot...
[Kid, how will you hide those two when your little girlfriend is going to be visiting you?] Kurama chuckled
"..." He didn't consider that when he brought them in...
He sighed in his heart and smiled at Ino
"Let's go then, I'm curious as to how Sasuke is as well" Naruto said with an earnest smile
"Really?" Sakura and Ino stared at him suspiciously
"Nah" Naruto replied
"Sounds about right" They knew that recently, the two of them have grown a little distant, and even argued a little.
Especially after the chunin exam, their interactions soured quite a bit. The three of them made their way to the hospital, and when they met Sasuke, he was already on his feet, with all injuries healed.
Naruto's first thought was Tsunade, as she probably healed him when she returned.
"Sup" Naruto waved at him
"Sasuke-kun, how's your injuries" Sakura ran over and asked
Sasuke ignored her completely, with his eyes focused solely on Naruto...
[Hey, I'm just gonna say it now, okay?]
'Say what?'
[I think he swings that way for you, look at those thirsty eyes]
'I think you're right, I do see thirst in his eyes'
[Of course I'm right, it's such obvious thirst]
'Very obvious thirst' Naruto agreed as he raised his guard against Sasuke for a whole new reason
Naruto then smiled at Sasuke.... he wanted to give him a good beating at this moment. Why? Because he felt like it. Ever since he beat up Sasuke during the chunin exams, he realised...he felt like his stress was being taken away.
Sasuke was such a good punching bag, every hit would reduce his stress!
It's like an addiction...
"Naruto" Sasuke said
"Yeah?"
"Fight me" He said coldly
[For a moment, I thought he asked you to f**k him]
'Okay, good, I'm not the only one who heard that'
In fact...
"Hey, Na-kun...w-will Sasuke become my next love rival?" Ino leaned in and asked
"...I hope not" Naruto replied
[So even that lass thinks the same, kid, you should run and cover your rear while you're at it, you wouldn't want him to chirdori your a*s]
'Kurama, can you not right now? Now the image is stuck in my head!'
[Fufufufu, I hope it is]
On the surface, Naruto maintained his smile as he tilted his head to the side
"You want to fight?" He asked
"Yes" Sasuke replied, his eyes were filled with a desire to win, which made Naruto feel a shiver run down his spine.
"I mean, I won't say no, but are you sure? If I remember correctly, our last fight didn't exactly go in your favour" Naruto said, his smile was laced with a hint of mockery, that made Sasuke tremble in anger.
"Last time was a mere fluke! I have heard from Kakashi, about that thing inside you, do you dare to fight me without using its powers!" Sasuke said, he revealed a faint smirk, as if he has figured Naruto out...
"..."
[This kids does know...that you didn't borrow an ounce of power from me during that fight, right?]
'Nope...he has no idea...'
Naruto sighed, he then glanced at Sakura
"You've seen it, he instigated this, if he gets injured, you better not blame me" Naruto said
"Uh...I won't...maybe" Sakura fiddled with her fingers and said
"...Ino~, Sakura is being unreasonable" Naruto cried as he ran behind Ino
Ino giggled
"Come on Sakura, Sasuke is the one asking for the fight anyway, so you really can't blame Na-kun"
"I know~" Sakura stuck out her tongue and replied
"Welp, that settles it, Sasuke, let's fight...not in here, I see that stance, you better not use the Chidori in here, we're going to fight elsewhere" Naruto said
Sasuke stared at him intensely, and nodded, however, the way those three spoke as if he was guaranteed to lose made his anger surge even more.
The four of them moved to the training ground, and Sakura couldn't help but tense up when she thought of the two of them potentially getting hurt. Well, mostly Sasuke, as she felt that Naruto was going to win, especially after what happened last time they fought.
She didn't really know where Sasuke got his confidence from, but she was worried nonetheless.
*Puff*
Sasuke quickly summoned a clone, and both of them ran towards Naruto. They took out shurikens and threw it at him, aiming for his vitals directly without a care for injuries. Naruto sighed when he realised this, and responded with a simple teleport.
He vanished into a golden flash, and appeared in the sky.
"Naruto!" Sasuke looked up and roared
"Sasuke!" He yelled back, but he couldn't understand why...the moment Sasuke yelled his name, it was as if an instinct driven voice exited him, one that he could not control, leaving him perplexed
"..."
"What are we even watching" Ino asked
"No idea" Sakura replied
Sasuke looked up, and his eyes began spinning, activating his sharingan. But Naruto realised something interesting.
[That kid awakened a second tomoe already? I guess he hates you that much, huh?]
'Wha~t? No~, it must be because he hates his brother' Naruto replied
[Whatever you say]
Naruto chuckled faintly as he dove down towards Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes focused on Naruto intently, not letting him out of sight. He could see his every movement, and took this chance to use the great fireball jutsu.
The fireball was right in front of him, but Naruto rolled his eyes, he allowed the fireball to draw closer, and...
*Swoosh*
Naruto summoned a rasengan in one hand, but unlike a normal one, it was emitting a strong expulsion force. He pressed it into the fireball, and in an instant, the fireball was neutralised on impact.
"What!" Sasuke was shocked, he couldn't understand how Naruto neutralised the fireball instantly, but his expression remained firm as he knelt over and allowed his clone to jump off his back towards Naruto.
The clone approached with great velocity, it threw some shurikens at Naruto before pulling out a kunai to force him into close combat. Naruto simply used the rasengan to blow the shurikens away before throwing it at the clone.
!!!
Once it was thrown, the rasengan's force changed from push, to pull, instantly drawing the clone towards it.
*Puff*
Unable to resist it, the clone was dragged in and immediately dispelled upon impact.
Sasuke gnashed his teeth, he stared at the strange jutsu Naruto keeps using, and a thought came to him. His sharingan began spinning, and on his hand, a ball of condensed chakra that resembles the rasengan slowly began to form.
"Take this!" He yelled as he attempted to throw the 'rasengan' that he formed towards Naruto
However, the moment it left his hand, it instantly vaporised
"Huh? Why didn't it work!" Sasuke was stupefied
Naruto, on the other hand, was speechless. He has trained his chakra control to the best of his ability, so he can throw the rasengan, but did Sasuke really think he could copy the process of creating the rasengan, and immediately throw it?
Not even Minato can do that, yet Sasuke thought he could do it? He shook his head and landed in front of Sasuke.
"Tch" Sasuke gave up on the rasengan, and punched towards Naruto's head.
*Bang*
Naruto raised his arm, blocking the blow before returning with a knee to Sasuke's stomach.
His hands quickly raised as he blocked the blow, but he felt an incredible amount of force behind that strike, causing him to slide back from the impact.
"How, just how is our difference so great!" Sasuke gnashed his teeth and yelled
Naruto sighed
"Sasuke...did you ever actually train your body?" Naruto asked
This question made Sasuke pause...train his body?
"I-I'm an Uchiha! My jutsus are my specialty, why would I waste time on body training" Sasuke responded, believing that whatever the Uchiha clan had taught him was correct.
Naruto pinched between his brows
"Goodness...well, time to end things" Naruto said as he summoned a rasengan in his hand
"I was thinking the same thing" Sasuke growled as lightning crackled in his hand
The two dashed towards one another, but in the critical moment before their attacks struck one another, they saw a white figure flash by, and redirect both their attacks away from one another.
Sasuke's Chidori struck a tree, sending it toppling down, whilst Naruto's rasengan...
*Bang*
*Boom*
It struck the ground, pulled every rock and dust around it into itself, before releasing a powerful repulsion force that caused the ground to crack open and even pulsate below.
!!!
The person who stopped them was Kakashi, and when he saw the result of the rasengan, he was sweating buckets. If that attack connected with Sasuke...goodness, there won't even be a whole body left!
Sasuke stared at the crater left by the rasengan with red eyes, as his indignant heart became colder.
"Naruto...you weren't planning on using that on Sasuke, were you?" At first, he was going to reprimand Sasuke for trying to use the chidori on Naruto again, but when he saw the rasengan's destructive capability, he was so shocked he decided that he needed to talk to Naruto first.
"Nah, I can control myself, after dispelling his chidori, I would use the repulsion force to knock him down, it wouldn't made direct contact with him, but then you showed up and scared me, so I went all out with the output" Naruto replied
"..." For some reason, he had a hard time believing him...
Kakashi then turned to Sasuke
"And Sasuke, how can you use the Chidori on your own teammate, even for a spar, it is too much, both of you better reflect on your actions" He said in a low voice
After lecturing them for a bit, Kakashi brought Sasuke away for another matter. Once they left, Naruto let out a sigh.
"Tch, I couldn't even properly beat him up" He muttered
[Should have just beaten him up from the start]
'Well, I wanted to see if he had any growth, and aside from his extra tomoe in his sharingan, nothing new' Naruto shrugged
He turned to Ino and Sakura, who were staring back at him. Sakura was surprised by that final rasengan, whilst Ino...she seemed rather down at the moment. Her gaze was a bit empty as she fell into deep thought.
Sakura glanced at Ino, and somewhat understood what she was feeling, as she too, has been in her place. Unable to understand how she should keep up with such monsters...
She hopped over to Naruto
"I'm going to go train, try to cheer Ino up" She patted his shoulders and left
Naruto nodded, he could see that she was feeling conflicted. He had a rough idea why as well, but he didn't say it directly, rather, he wanted Ino to say it herself.
"Ino...is something wrong?" He asked as he held her hands
Ino's gaze became clearer when she heard his voice, but it was still quite dim.
"Na-kun...I know you're amazing, you always have been ever since graduation, and every time I see you shine, I feel so happy, but after the incident during the Chunin exam, I finally realised why you were so scared of my weakeness" She said bitterly
"Whenever I think I'll end up dragging you down..." She began choking on her own words, sniffling a little
*Donk*
"Ow!" Ino suddenly felt Naruto flick her forehead as he grinned at her
"Didn't we go through this? Last time, I was nearly crying when I said I was worried about your strength, yet you revealed such a wide grin, why is it that you're crying now?" He chuckled
He grabbed her cheeks and began pinching it as she stared back with her eyes widened
"Listen Ino, I'll make you stronger, and I believe your potential is also massive, after all, you succeeded in my chakra control lessons in nearly half the time I spent mastering it, you're no doubt a genius" Naruto said firmly
Ino felt slightly giddy when she heard all these complements, and even her previous worries seem to have faded as she listened.
"N-Na-kun" Ino muttered
"Mn?" Naruto smiled
*Bang*
"That's for flicking me, and pinching my cheeks" Ino grinned widely as she flicked his forehead back.
Naruto was at first surprised, but then he began laughing with her
Ino then leaned closer as she nudged his chest
"Say, Na-kun, did I really master chakra control in half the time you did?" She asked with a cheeky grin
"Pfft, of course" Naruto replied, though the main reason was because he spent a lot of time figuring out how to efficiently utilise his own chakra, whilst Ino got to experience the most effective method that he perfected over time. Of course, he didn't tell her, so she can feel more confident in herself.
"Then, how will you make me stronger? Hm?" She asked
"Well..." Naruto indeed have an idea for Ino, but he was a little hesitant as one of the biggest issue for Ino now isn't actually her chakra control, rather, it's her chakra capacity. And for the idea to work, Ino needs to have a better chakra capacity...
He rubbed his chin, and an idea came to his mind.
"Got it!"
"Got what?" Ino asked
"Ino, I have a thought of how you can become stronger, but are you willing to learn something new?" Naruto asked
Ino thought for a bit
"Like what?" She asked
"Puppet control" Naruto replied
"Hm?" Ino was surprised by this, she hadn't expected Naruto to decide such a thing for her future growth.
"P-Puppet control? Why that all of a sudden?" Ino asked
Naruto smiled
"Give me some time, okay? I'm sure you will be pleased with it when I show you" Naruto said with an eager smile
Ino saw his bright smile, and felt an odd sense of reliability, so she nodded.
"Alright"
Naruto chuckled
"See you soon" He waved
"Mn"
Naruto teleported away after making his promise. As for where he ended up...
"Ah!" A boy dressed in all black and had face painting fell backwards when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him in a golden flash.
"N-Naruto?" The boy gasped
*Bang*
His room door slammed open as a blonde girl with fishnet stockings rushed in
"Kankuro, is something wro-...why are you here?" The girl's expression dropped immediately upon seeing Naruto
"Sup Temari, Kankuro" Naruto grinned
That's right, he came all the way here to the sand village, as Kankuro was the first person that came to his mind when it comes to puppet control.
"I came to ask a favour from Kankuro" Naruto said
"Huh? From me?" Kankuro was rather surprised, as he felt that he wasn't of much help to someone like Naruto.
"Yep, of course, I won't ask for your help for free" Naruto added
Kankuro got up
"Well, you helped out our third, so if I can do anything to help, I'd be glad to" He said
He was genuinely grateful to Naruto for helping out Gaara, he didn't know what he did when he sat down with Gaara that day, but since then, Gaara's face has brightened up much more.
He even started to call Kankuro and Temari brother and sister, which made them overjoyed.
"Thanks a bunch, I want you to teach me the basics of puppet control" Naruto replied
"Huh? That's it? I don't mind, but why would you need this? With your strength, puppets might only hold you back" Kankuro replied
Naruto laughed
"Well, it's for experimentation purposes" He replied
Kankuro nodded
"I see, alright"
Seeing that Naruto was just here for a simple task, Temari left the two of them to their own business. Kankuro summoned his own puppet out, and showed Naruto how the chakra strings worked, as well as how he controls the puppet.
Naruto nodded, he inspected the chakra strings closely, before checking the overall structure of the puppet.
"I see, so the structures are actually much simpler than I expected..." Naruto muttered
He then created a few chakra strings to attach to the puppet to experience how controlling it actually felt. After a few trials, he was able to move the puppet as if it was part of his own body, leaving Kankuro with a mind boggling expression.
"You're learning so fast, it took me a few weeks to even get the basic down" Kankuro gasped
"Thanks, Kankuro" Naruto smiled
"No problem" He waved his hand
Naruto thought for a bit, and gave Kankuro a kunai
"This has my flying raijin mark, if you throw it, I will know you're in trouble and teleport over, I gave one to Gaara as well, but I get the feeling that he's the type to not use it" Naruto said
Kankuro clenched the kunai and nodded
"Thanks, but don't try to take it back when I use it too often" Kankuro grinned
"Hahaha, I'd be surprised if you can manage such a situation, though I hope it won't need to be used" Naruto smiled
After thanking him again, Naruto teleported away. But instead of heading home right away, he went somewhere else.
And that person was less than pleased to see him
"Brat, what do you want, you better not be here to drop off more people" It was Orochimaru, who gave Naruto a wary look.
"Re~lax, I'm here today to ask for your help with some experiments" Naruto said
"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up, now that was something he has been hoping for
Naruto took out a scroll, and he opened it up to a blank page. He then took out a brush and began drawing out a detailed design for a puppet.
But what intrigued Orochimaru wasn't the design of the puppet, rather, it was the thing in the centre.
"What is that?" He asked
"That's what we'll be researching, to create a source of near infinite chakra for a puppet, much like the edo tensei" Naruto replied
His suggestion was interesting, but Orochimaru didn't understand the use
"Why would you need such a thing?" He asked
Naruto smiled
"It's a gift for someone" He replied
"...suddenly I don't want to work on this" Orochimaru sighed
Naruto laughed as he patted his back
"Aw, don't be like that, I have other research that you'll definitely be interested in, take a look at this one" Naruto said as he pulled out a scroll and pushed it to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru opened it up, and after reading the content, a smile grew on his face.
"Wonderful, if this theory is correct, then my curse marks can grow even further by gathering nature energy on its own" His eyes lit up
But before he could continue reading, Naruto snatched the scroll back
"So~ mind if you help me with the first one?" Naruto asked
Orochimaru's tongue flicked as he smiled
"Of course, such a wonderful theory, I cannot give up on it" He chuckled