Edited: 04.09.20
Disclaimer: All rights reserved by Masashi Kishimoto
AN: Hello my lovelies. I know. Yell at me all you want, but I have been holding back on you guys for the longest time and I'm sorry. I hope this new, extra-long, update makes up for leaving you guys hanging for almost 3 years now. I'll be honest. I don't know when I will update next, but now that I have found a new beta, I hope to be able to get the next chapter out definitely in less than 3 years. I don't anticipate ever abandoning this beautiful piece of mines, so at least you guys have that reassurance. Thank you for welcoming me back.
Shikaku couldn't stop the upturning of the corners of his lips from occurring as he watched the monitors focus on the candidates slowly filing into the large hall. Someone owes him lunch. He had no doubt his kids would make it into the next round.
Sometimes when Shikaku lies in bed at night, regrets begin to surface. His son and only heir…married long before his ninja career could take flight. It's not that he didn't care for the girl, but from the perspective of a father with an only child, oftentimes he questioned the decision he made that day. Then there were those other times. The times when he would catch those two sneaking into each other's rooms at night and having long conversations into the early mornings. The times when they would run into the forest behind the house together to train until neither can stay awake long enough to find their way back for supper. Those precious times assured Shikaku that he had made the right decisions for his son.
He had no doubt that Shikamaru may be the smartest of his generation, but his social skills and motivation are near zero. Ever since he had gotten married to Naruto, however, Shikaku has seen his son opening up more and more, and even putting more effort into his ninja training.
Shikaku continues to monitor the battle hall as the Hokage begins his long-planned speech. He made sure to, thoroughly; observe the rest of the other candidates, trying hard not to just stare proudly at his two teens.
"Quite a few potentials this year." A new voice entered the security room. "So many of the other jōnins are already placing bets on which genin will make it to the final round. Want to join?"
Shikaku rolled his eyes at his close friend and former teammate.
"You know Yoshino would kill me if she knows I'm gambling. Besides, I have no doubt my brats would make it."
Inoichi just laughed, "Live a little! If you're so sure, you should just bet on it! Yoshino would love it if you brought her home a bouquet of flowers from your new earnings."
"Give me an update," Shikaku switched to his commander mode.
Inoichi shook his head.
"So the corpses?"
"Just as Anko said. Shōshagan no Jutsu. It reeks of Orochimaru," Inoichi spat in disdain, early signs of playfulness gone.
Shikaku couldn't help the small bubble of fear rising in his chest.
"We'll need to get the council together." Shikaku squashed the feeling before it could gain momentum. "There are possible causes for his reappearance, but the probability that he's after one of these chūnin candidates is high now that we've confirmed that he's infiltrated the exams. All of our current contenders are clan heirs, as well as children of a foreign Kage."
"Do you think he's after the Kyuubi?"
"…We can't rule that out, either." Shikaku sighed, worry rearing its head again for his daughter-in-law. As he continues to watch the screens for any possible sign of that snake, scenarios fly through his mind, one after another, and not one with a positive outcome.
Inoichi also turned his attention towards the monitors now that the first battle was heading way. Uchiha Sasuke.
The Yamanaka clan head couldn't help silently miming his friend's favorite phrase.
How troublesome.
"TSUCHI KIN IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE, THE WINNER IS NARA SHIKAMARU!" Hayate Gekkō called out in between his hacking coughs.
Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped away the sweat dripping down the side of his temples. He spared his unconscious opponent a side-glance, watching as the medic-nins cart her off to whatever makeshift infirmary they had set up in this tower. If that fight had gone on just a little longer, he would have lost.
"Yeah! That was awesome Shikamaru!"
A small smirk formed on his face as Shikamaru listened to the praises raining onto him from his team and his wife before making his way back to them.
Just as he reunited with his teammates, a large slap on his back threw Shikamaru off balanced and he tumbled into someone's arms.
"KIBA YOU IDIOT!" Shikamaru heard Naruto yell from somewhere above him. After a few disorienting seconds, blinding orange filled his vision and Shikamaru figured Naruto was the one who caught him. "He just finished his fight! Let the guy rest before you try to assault him!" Naruto scowled, helping her husband right himself.
"Please!" Kiba scoffed, his hand automatically reaching out to rub Akamaru's head to calm down his barking. "If he was as strong as me, he wouldn't be so weak after such a boring fight!"
"That's because he's not a dumb mutt like you." Naruto stuck her tongue out and shoved her free hands onto her hips haughtily. "That fight had a lot of strategic planning involved. A brain's a powerful muscle, but it's not like you would know that."
Asuma couldn't help the small burst of laughter escaping his lips at the clever insult he didn't know the short blonde was capable of. A quick jab to his side from Kurenai told him to stop adding insult to the woman's sputtering student.
Kiba's face bloomed a rosy tint. How dare she!
"Well what would you know about strategy!" Kiba snapped, directing his glare to the blonde girl. Feeling his master's tension, Akamaru began to bark again. "If you haven't forgotten, you were dead last back at the Academy! Besides, why are you sticking up for him anyways? I don't remember you guys being all chummy back at the Academy!"
Before anyone could respond, a perverted grin slowly appeared on Kiba's face forcing the girls around him to back away in disgust. Naruto couldn't help but cringe from the look the other teen was shooting at her and Shikamaru.
Kiba wiggled his eyebrows at Shikamaru, who just exasperatingly sighed his usual catchphrase, before turning his attention back to Naruto. He shoved a closed fist towards her face, nearly cuffing her nose in the process, and flicked up a thumb.
"Is he your boyfriend?" The eyebrows wiggled in glee.
Naruto scoffed as she slapped his hand away. Honestly. How stupid. "No he isn't. Now get your nasty mug away from me. I'm going to catch stupid talking to you for so long."
Kiba growled, his short fangs baring at the unimpressed girl. "Why you stupid bi—"
"Kiba." A quiet baritone cut in.
"What?" Kiba nearly snapped at his quiet teammate.
Shino only nodded his head towards the large screen showing the names of the next contenders.
Kiba turned to see what his teammate was gesturing to before a large grin reappeared on his face.
He snapped his fangs at the orange-clad girl once again.
"I'm going to wipe the floors with you, dead-last."
"Tch," Naruto glared back. "We'll see who'll be wiping whose floors, mutt."
"Will Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba come down to the floor?"
After the Prelims
Naruto could feel her heart beating a mile a minute as she sprints through the village. Her blue eyes darting back and forth as she frantically searched around the busy streets, trying to catch a glimpse of a familiar head of gravity-defying gray hair.
Just then, a sliver of what she's been looking for appeared in her periphery. She nearly crashed into an unexpected vendor as she abruptly halts her movement to make a sharp turn towards her target still casually moving further away.
"Oi!" The old vendor cried angrily at the girl just as she started to sprint away.
"Ah!" Naruto grimaced, briefly looking back behind her with her hands clasped together. "Sorry!"
She quickly turned back around to continue her pursuit, missing the dark look sent her way by the vendor as he recognized whom it was that nearly bowled over his stand.
Naruto raced after the figure as they disappeared into a large building, one many in her profession have grown to know rather intimately. The hospital.
"Is Kakashi-sensei going to visit Sasuke?" Naruto questioned aloud as she took in the many stories of the large building structure, as well as the other surrounding branch buildings behind the main one. "Well I guess while I'm here, I should too!" Naruto shrugged.
Naruto made her way into the busy lobby, avoiding a near crash experience with one of the hospital's patients.
"Move it!"
"Sorry!"
Naruto dodged a disheveled nurse rushing to her next station.
"Out of the way!"
"I'm sorry!"
There were reasons why Naruto hated coming to this place, voluntarily or not. Between the constant high tension vibrating the area and the restlessness in every person here, it just puts her on edge. She also never had any good memories of this place anyways from when she was younger. Those unpleasant days were over. She's in a better place now.
Naruto carefully weaved herself up to the information desk. Her eyes searched for someone who could point her to where she needed to go before landing on a petite woman staring aimlessly at nothing. Right as she got there, Naruto watched as the woman opened her mouth in a wide yawn while trying to keep her eyes from shutting.
"Hiya…uh…" Naruto stifled her yawn as the other woman let another out. This woman needs to stop doing that!
"What are you here for?" The receptionist drawled monotonously, barely lifting her head to address the girl.
"I'm looking for Uchiha Sasuke's room." Naruto shook her head to get rid of the sudden tiredness that briefly overcame her.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have a patient by that name here." A chill shot up her spine. Naruto quickly whipped around to look behind her, just to see the same chaotic scene from when she first arrived.
Where did that come from?
It reminded her of the time she faced that weird person in the forest of death, but somehow this time feels even scarier.
"Miss?" The nurse questioned, her eyebrow raising and giving the girl the standard 'I don't have time for this' look.
Before she could respond, a familiar voice startled her.
"Naruto?"
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, turning away from the scowling nurse to see the man she's been looking for casually leaning against the wall across from the desk. "I was looking everywhere for you! Also, since I followed you here, I thought I'd go visit Sasuke, but they're telling me that he's not here!"
"Ah…" Kakashi glanced up at the ceiling as if his answers were there, "they're telling the truth, Naruto-kun. Sasuke-kun is definitely not here."
Naruto knows that tone.
Officially, Uchiha Sasuke is not a registered patient here. Unofficially, he was recuperating somewhere close by. Probably under high security and, hopefully, safe from slimy snake bastards. Naruto unintentionally shuddered. She still can't stop feeling out of sorts ever since they came face to face with that person. He definitely did something weird to her stomach. At least it hasn't affected her appetite.
"Is he…?" Naruto trailed off, concern starting to bubble in the pit of her stomach.
"Resting," Kakashi assured her, reaching out to, fondly, ruffle her head. It brought a smile to his face knowing that his cute students care so much about one another. "So why were you looking for me, Naruto-kun?"
"Oh right!" Naruto began to bounce excitingly up and down, "I need your help preparing for the finals Kaka—"
"Ahh…" Kakashi drawled, "Actually about that, I'm sorry Naruto, but I have some other business to take care of…" Sasuke.
"But…!" Naruto felt her excitement disappearing along with her chances of defeating her next opponent that Hyūga bastard whatever his name was. Nami? Neggi?
"Oh don't worry! You didn't think I was actually going to leave you without proper training did you?" Kakashi smiled at the girl, watching as she perked up once more.
"Really?" Naruto could feel her heart beat faster with anticipation.
"Of course! I found you an even better teacher than me, and they'll definitely be able to get you in tip top shape for the finals!"
If Kakashi-sensei picked this person to be her trainer for the final, then they must be extremely strong just like him!
"Just in time too," Kakashi nodded to the person walking up from behind Naruto. "Naruto say hello to…"
Naruto felt like a broken kite when her eyes met her supposed new trainer.
"Not you…" Naruto groaned, her body sagging in defeat.
"How rude," her new instructor scoffed, unconsciously lifting a finger to readjust his fallen glasses.
"Oh?" Kakashi wondered, looking back and forth between his usually positive student and his visibly irritated senior, "Naruto you've already met Ebisu-sensei?"
Naruto nodded solemnly, trying to work her kicked-puppy look on Kakashi with hopes that he would change his mind. "He's such a closet pervert—"
Kakashi watched as Ebisu froze with his lips beginning to twitch manically. Interesting.
"—Not to mention, I had to take over training Konohamaru because he's such an incompetent teacher! Please don't make me train with him Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto pleaded.
"Why you little…" Ebisu growled towards the teenage girl.
Kakashi internally laughed at the sad man as he flinched when his cute little student hissed at him.
"Naruto be nice to the closet pervert," Kakashi faked being mad at the pouting girl, totally ignoring Ibisu's growing red face, "despite his more questionable hobbies, he's good at what he does and he's going to help you for the next month as you prepare for your upcoming fight." Because at least your opponent won't kill you when he beats you.
Letting out an unladylike grunt, Naruto eyed her teacher and then the upset pervert who's now throwing a tantrum rivalling that of Konohamaru's.
In between being insulted by both student and teacher, Ebisu had turned away from the pair with crossed arms, wondering why he's still sticking around for these two to make fun of him. He was NOT a closet pervert!
Looking back at her teacher who only lifted an eyebrow in response, Naruto sighed loudly before throwing out a hand towards Ebisu. Ebisu stared at her hand suspiciously, causing Naruto to only get more irritated.
"Truce!" Naruto nearly screamed, only to be hushed by a passing nurse. She flinched before turning back to the bespectacled man, "for Kakashi-sensei, I'm willing to call a truce and let you…ugh…train me."
"Hmph!" Ebisu scoffed, "And why should I train you? Someone like you wouldn't be able to appreciate my perfected methods."
Before he could say anymore, Ebisu suddenly felt a heavy killing intent directed at him. A cold sweat dripped down his temple as he stiffly looked around for the source. He didn't need to look far, because one glance at the single-eye jōnin let him know that he's treading on thin ice.
"…but," Ebisu nervously continued, "Since Kakashi-san asked me personally, I will make an exception and help you train."
Ebisu internally sighed as the killer intent disappeared.
"Well you hear that Naruto-kun?" Kakashi smiled down at the pouting girl before reaching out to ruffle her hair again, "Don't give Ebisu-sensei such a hard time, okay?"
It was grumbled beneath her breath, but Kakashi still caught her resigning "fine".
Kakashi turned his attention back to the other jōnin, "Thanks for taking her on, Ebisu-san."
"Hmph," Ebisu readjusted his glasses, "only because I'm forced to."
"What was that?" Kakashi hummed, his fingers reaching into his back pouch.
"N-nothing!" Ebisu stammered, "I said I look f-forward to it."
Kakashi smiled back at the trembling man, before stepping away from the wall. "Alright Naruto-kun, go on now and don't forget to bring your new sensei with you." Kakashi turned the girl towards the front entrance. "I have some place I need to be and you have training to get to."
"I guess I'll see you around then Kakashi-sensei," Naruto softly spoke, "Can you tell Sasuke, I tried to visit him?"
Kakashi smiled down at his student, "Yeah."
Training Ground 7
SPLASH!
"UGH!" Naruto screamed, swimming her way out of the frigid pond again. Once she reached the edge, Naruto flopped onto her back and lay there trying to catch her breath. She has been at this stupid task all day and still haven't gotten any further from when she started. Why is this so damn hard? It's definitely not her first time.
"I see you still need a lot more work trying to perfect even the basics of chakra control," Ebisu looked down at the soaked teen sprawled across the ground.
Naruto just glared back at him, too exhausted to even respond. She's done water walking before. She just doesn't understand why she was having so much trouble with it this time.
Ebisu dismissed her glare and glanced up at the horizon. "We will continue training on your chakra control tomorrow." He looked back down at the girl, "Meet me here again at sunrise."
Before Naruto could respond, the man quickly disappeared to who knows where.
Probably didn't want to be around the demon much longer.
Naruto slowly got up from the ground, shivering from the evening cold as it passed by her damp skin, and began to leave the field.
"I'm not coming back," Naruto mumbled to herself, trying to squeeze some of the nasty pond water out of her clothes as she made her way home.
"I don't need an incompetent teacher like him."
"Ah, but would a better teacher like me be of more use to you?"
Naruto whipped her head around, her eyes frantically scanning the area.
"Who said that?" Naruto yelled out into the wind. "Come out you coward!"
She was definitely not in any state to fight anyone at all.
"Please don't be alarmed." An elderly man with a cane appeared from behind the shadows of the trees. Naruto glared suspiciously at this unknown person even as he smiled back at her. "You're Naruto right?"
"Who are you?" He didn't look scary, but then again, old unsuspicious men don't just appear from behind shadowy trees.
"My name is Shimura Danzo and I am a…close friend of the Third Hokage," the man claimed as he hobbled over to her.
At the mention of the Hokage, Naruto perked up. However, she continued to keep her guard up, "Oh? That's funny. He's never told me anything about you before."
Danzo chuckled, his laughter taking on a friendlier tone. Just hearing his laugh, oddly puts Naruto at ease. It reminds her of the Third's grandfatherly laughs she often heard growing up.
"That's because he's still upset with me for beating him at our weekly games of shogi."
Naruto nodded, "Yeah I get the feeling. Every time Shikamaru and I play, even though I know I can never beat him, it still makes me so mad when I lose."
Danzo smiled at the young girl.
"So I just happened to be in the area and I couldn't help but overhear about your training struggles?" Danzo slowly gestured to her still damp clothes.
Naruto looked down at herself, almost having forgotten about her poor state ever since Danzo appeared. A scowl formed on her face.
"Yeah…well," Naruto attempted to squeeze more water out of her clothes, "My current teacher isn't the greatest at explaining things to me."
"Perhaps, I could help you instead?"
Naruto gave the elder man an unsure once over. His cane and his bandages really don't help his image.
"Are you sure, old man? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but you look like you could die at any moment," Naruto deadpanned.
Danzo chuckled, "Certainly. I understand your concern, but despite how I may look now, believe it or not, when I was your age, the Hokage and I were on equal footing."
Naruto still looked unsure despite what she just heard.
"Well how about this," Danzo began, "I help you train tomorrow, and if you don't find yourself improving, then you can return to your previous sensei. If you do find my teaching methods to be more helpful, then you can allow me to take over your training."
"What's in it for you?" Naruto questioned.
"Nothing," Danzo smiled back at her, "I am beyond my prime. For an old man like me, the only thing that I ever want now is to help the new generation grow and become stronger all for the good of Konoha."
Naruto took a moment to think it over, "I guess that makes sense."
Danzo hobbled closer to the girl. When he was within arms length, Danzo held out a hand towards her, "Are we in an agreement?"
Naruto hesitated as she considered her options. She still doesn't trust this strange man who basically came out of nowhere and suddenly offered to help train her, but then again she really doesn't want to continue her training with Ebisu. He did say it is just a trial.
"Deal!"
Training Ground 10
"Okay, Shikamaru! Time to stop!" Asuma called out to his exhausted student from across the training ground.
The teen stumbled as he slowed his momentum to a walk, practically dragging his tired body towards his highly amused teacher before falling onto his back, his eyes closing like the setting sun on the horizon.
Asuma took a long drag of his dying cigarette before toeing out the last glowing butt under his sandals. He eyed his student, still very proud of the boy for being the only one on Team 10 to make it onto the final round of the Chunin Exams, before nudging the teen's side to wake him up.
"Oi," Asuma watched as Shikamaru grunted, too tired to even dodge the foot tapping his side, "You're going to catch a cold sleeping out here. Not to mention your mom will kill me if I let you stay out late like this."
Shikamaru groaned at the mention of his mom, a scary motivation for him to get up to despite his muscles screaming for him to stop moving.
Asuma hummed as he reached into his vest pocket for his cigarette pack.
"You know," a thought suddenly occurred to Asuma as his eyes latched on the last sun rays catching the orange-glitter hairband holding back Shikamaru's remaining strands of hair from falling out of place. "I never got around to asking you this before the exams and all, but ah…how long have you and the Uzumaki girl been dating?"
Apparently, the question caught the young genius off guard. Asuma watched as his student's shoulders tensed and his head slowly turning up to stare back at Asuma's amused face.
"Oh come on now!" Asuma chuckled, taking a deep inhale of his burning cigarette. "You can't be hiding things from your sensei! I know what that Uzumaki girl told Kurenai's student during the prelims, but you can't think that I would believe that lie, right?"
Shikamaru just quietly eyed the older man for a moment longer before letting out a tired sigh.
"No…it's not that," Shikamaru shook his head, his hands starting to mess with the hair tie loosely dangling from his head. Not once did he let his hair fall, depriving Asuma from getting a glimpse of that "mysterious" hair-down Shikamaru apparently Ino obsessed over trying to see. "I would have thought you of all people would have been given access to that information seeing as how you're my sensei and all."
Information? Asuma blinked, watching how the orange hair tie twinkled with the moonlight as if mocking him. "What do you mean? You guys are just dating right?"
Shikamaru grunted as he stood up, making sure to dust his clothes enough to satisfy his crazy mother when she saw him later. "Come home with me Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru sighed, turning dull eyes towards his confused team leader. "It's better if you hear this directly from my old man."
"Okay…" Asuma nodded, dropping his half-finished cigarette and crushing it next to the previous butt. Eyeing his student's back, Asuma couldn't help the growing curiosity bubbling inside him. This must be something major.
The sound of cheerful humming echoed the slowly emptying streets as vendors packed their stalls up for the remainder of the evening, and preparing themselves to meet up with friends and family for a good drink after a long day of work.
Naruto couldn't help the grin glowing on her face as she thought back to her meeting with the odd old man and his promise to train her the next day.
Now I don't have to waste my time with that closet pervert! Naruto thought, her excitement bubbling out into a cheer as she abruptly stopped her trek home to dance in place.
The few people around her quickly backed away from the girl. Their faces slowly morphing into fear, as they can't take their eyes off the village pariah laughing ominously to herself in the middle of the darken street.
"YOSH!" Naruto pumped her arms into the air, "I can't wait to tell Shikamaru!"
An extra skip to her steps, Naruto resumes her humming as she makes her way back home, paying little attention to the night crowd coming back to life around her with drunken laughter and clicking of sake cups.
As Naruto passed by the bathhouses, a high-pitched giggle caught her attention.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as she turned in circles, trying to find the source of that perverted laugh. Her blue eyes land on a large shadow plastered against the fence of one of the bigger bathhouses in Konoha. Another giggle came from the hunched shadow.
A PERVERT!
Naruto quickly ran over to the shadow as it slowly turned into the figure of a large man crouching with his eyes glued to the bathhouse fence, meant to keep privy eyes from ogling at the women on the other side.
Naruto could feel her right eye dangerously twitching as the man started wiggling in place, letting out another giggle as he continued to peep on the helpless women behind the wooden walls.
Making up her mind, Naruto took in a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth.
"PERVERT!"
Naruto's face turned red as she heaved, catching her breath while watching the chaos erupt in front of her.
Unfortunately, for the pervert, the women bathing on the other side of the fence were mostly trained shinobi as they scaled over the fence, their modesty loosely covered, and their eyes all screaming murder as they let loose their fists onto the crying man.
Honestly, Naruto almost felt bad for the poor pervert, as his screams grew quieter against the sounds of connecting flesh. Then, she recalled his disgusting giggles, his gross wiggling backside, and the anger came back in full force.
"YEAH BEAT HIM UP!"
It was such a spectacle watching the beat down that Naruto didn't know how much time had passed. A while later, the women finally decided that they had had enough of the pervert and returned to their bath as a well-deserved reward.
Naruto curiously walked over to the lump that was once a man. Hearing no sound coming from the lifeless form, Naruto left to find something to poke at it.
"Ah hah!"
Armed with a large stick, Naruto trotted back over the lump and readied her weapon.
"YEOW!"
Naruto jumped away, the stick abandoned for something sharper and heavier, clutching tightly in her guarded hands. She watched as the large lump began to move in an odd manner, creepily wiggling in place, before exploding high into the air, catching her off guard.
Wide eyes, Naruto couldn't help but stare at the pervert as he quietly lands back down on the ground, eyes closed, in a weird pose.
Well, it is getting late. Naruto returned her kunai back into her pouch before turning to walk away.
"WAIT!" A deep voice called out from behind her, "Where are you going? Don't you want to see more?"
Naruto turned back around to look at the weird pervert who is staring right back at her with a single eye open.
"Yeah…no." Naruto turned away again, trying to get as far from the stranger as possible
"Oh come on!" The man whined, "At least watch this!"
POOF!
Smoke filled the area and, unfortunately, Naruto breathed it in a little too quickly.
"W-What exactly did you just do pervert?" Naruto angrily coughed.
The moment Naruto's eyes landed on the man, he's now standing on…"Is that a giant frog?"
"I'm a toad, little girl!" the toad croaked from beneath the man.
"A summon!" Naruto's eyes widened, "teach me!"
"Hmph," The pervert eyed the girl, "I don't teach flat-chested brats."
Naruto have never felt so insulted before. She is still growing! How dare he.
"I'll call the ladies back," she threatened.
This time, the pervert froze as he stared back at the teen in terror.
"Okay, I'll teach you." The man grumbled in defeat.
"Heh, the girl got you, Jiraiya," the giant toad laughed.
"Be quiet you," He growled back. "What's your name brat?"
"It's Naruto!"
Oh.
"Well you're in the presence of the GREAT JIRAIYA-SAMA!"
2 Hours Later
"Alright brat!" Jiraiya called out to the girl, watching as she fell over onto her back from near exhaustion, a tiny tadpole flopping near her feet. "It's getting late. You really should go home."
Naruto blinked, her eyes taking in the night sky and its twinkling stars and her ears picking up the sound of drunken laughter drifting from the nearby bars as certain people began to come out.
"OH CRAP!" Naruto shouted, rapidly shooting to her feet, earlier signs of exhaustion gone.
"Yeah, come on brat, I, the GREAT JIRAIYA-SAMA, will take you—"
"Mom's going to kill me!" Naruto panicked, forgetting that she wasn't alone.
Jiraiya paused.
"Oi!" Jiraiya called out to the panicking girl, her hair nearly torn from her head as she worried it with her hands. "I SAID OI!" He placed his large palm on top of the girl's golden head. "Don't worry about it!" Jiraiya raises a thumbs-up towards her, an unusual grin plastered on his face. "I'll take you home and explain things to your mother."
Jiraiya rubbed his eyes once more for good measure, making sure to shoot a burst of chakra through his system to disrupt any genjutsu that could have been placed on him in the last 10 minutes or so. The girl standing next to him growled beneath her breath as she impatiently tapped her sandal against the dirt, keeping her arms crossed so she wouldn't be tempted to beat the pervert again. If he'd let go of her shoulder, she would be inside already and not waiting around outside her own home!
"YES! For the last time," Naruto pointed at the gates in frustration, "this is where I live! Can we go in? I'm in so much trouble already!"
Jiraiya coughed into his sleeves to cover up his shock, "Well, of course!" His voice oddly choked at the end.
Lucky for him, Naruto didn't notice as she exasperatedly threw her arms in the air before pushing at the wooden gates, "Finally!"
Just as doors opened up, a familiar face appeared.
"Jiraiya-sama, what an unexpected surprise." The clan head greeted the toad sage.
"Shikaku-kun," Jiraiya acknowledged with a nod, "I'm just here to drop off—"
"Tou-san!" Naruto interrupted timidly looked up at her father-in-law expecting some reprimanding for being out so late, with a pervert no less.
"Naruto," Shikaku looked down at the girl, "Go inside first. Your mother has been pulling her hair out worrying over your whereabouts, young lady. Don't make her wait any longer."
Naruto visibly grimaced at the thought of having to face her mother-in-law when she is in one of her moods. She nodded to the elder Nara before muttering a quick "I'm home" and giving him a squeezing hug before running into the manor.
The two men listened as cries of "Naruto" echoed loud enough to reach them, neither person taking their eyes off the other.
"Please," Shikaku gestured towards the house, "Come in, Jiraiya-sama. You're actually just in time."
"Just in time?" Jiraiya gave Shikaku an incredulous look. "Shikaku, I want answers and you better have them!"
Shikaku motioned for the larger man to follow him to the back, "In due time, sir. Now if you could follow me."
Along the way, Jiraiya got to briefly witness Naruto smothered between Yoshino's bosoms in one of the passing rooms. Lucky brat. That should have been him.
Jiraiya looked back up again as Shikaku continued to lead them further into the complex.
Finally, they stopped in front of a lit room with hushed voices behind the rice paper screen doors. Looks like he isn't the only one with questions.
Shikaku pulled the door open and gestured to the larger man, "after you."
Jiraiya walked inside the room where another man and some teenage boy abruptly ended their conversation.
"Jiraiya-sama!" The other man exclaimed, standing up from where he was sitting to greet the large sannin.
Jiraiya lifted a brow towards the man's direction, before a name popped up in his head to match the face. "Asuma. What are you doing here?"
Asuma stared back incredulously, "Well I could ask you the same thing." He motioned back at the teenager still silently watching the adults' exchange. "I'm Shikamaru's sensei, so of course I would be here, but what about you?"
Hm. Touché.
"My new student apparently lives here."
Shikamaru perked up. "One of the legendary Sannin is now training Naruto?" Maybe he shouldn't have said anything, because all eyes were on him.
"Naruto?"
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the young heir. "Hey kid, how did you know I was talking about Naruto?"
"…Uh simple deduction?"
Jiraiya turned back to the man of the house, "That's your kid?"
Shikaku chuckled, "Yeah, pretty obvious huh?" He closed the screen doors behind him and moved towards the center of the room, settling himself on the tatami mat next to his son. "Please come and get comfortable. It's a long story."
"So wait, let me get this straight, these two have been married since they were TEN?" Asuma nearly shouted, his unlit cigarette dangling precariously from the corner of his mouth. "Why did my old man even allow for this to happen? I thought child marriages were a thing of the past?"
His poor student didn't even get to enjoy life as a bachelor.
"It actually isn't all that uncommon in large clans," Shikaku answered, "It's true that most clans have grown past that old custom, but political marriages are nothing new."
The deafening silence coming from the strongest man in the room made it much more oppressing.
"Is everything okay, Jiraiya-sama?" Shikaku asked the quiet sage. "I know it's a lot to take in given how you just came back and all, but…"
"I'm fine, Shikaku," Jiraiya finally spoke up, grinning back at him in false reassurance. "I think it's about time I visit my old sensei."
For once, Asuma was glad he wasn't in his dad's shoes.
Shikaku quietly observed the sannin, wondering to himself whether he should send Hokage-sama some notice. It might not be necessary.
The entire time, Shikamaru sat in the room quietly observing the exchange between the three men, dreading the fact that he had stayed and not left before it all started. It's embarrassing enough, knowing that they were discussing his marriage with Naruto, but to be present and spoken about as if he wasn't there, was just sweet icing.
"Shikamaru," Shikaku finally addressed his son, "you may leave, son. I believe Naruto is waiting for you."
Jiraiya observed the fresh rosy bloom on the teen's cheeks as he mumbled his way out of the room.
When the door closed, Jiraiya could feel eyes focused on him.
"Jiraiya-sama," Asuma relight his abandoned cigarette, "When do you plan on meeting pops?" Smoke began to fill the dimly lit space.
"First thing tomorrow morning."
Hiruzen stared wistfully out the window of this office. It is such a nice day out, but here he is stuck inside with a mountain of documents to go over. Minato, that asshole. He barely got to enjoy his short-lived retirement.
"MARRIED?"
The bolstering voice vibrated against the walls of the office. Hiruzen quietly dipped his brush into the ink tray before bringing it back to the spread scroll on his desk.
"MARRIED?"
"I do have a door, Jiraiya-kun," the elder man spoke as he calmly finished applying the last few strokes on the new trade document with Nami no Kuni. Perhaps he should consider sending Naruto and her team on more foreign missions. After what was supposed to be a simple escort mission that became something wildly more, their team brought back such promising deals for the village with just a single small nation, Hiruzen has no doubt that that girl will be a great leader for Konoha when it's her time.
"WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH THAT HEAD OF YOURS, OLD MAN? MARRIED!" Jiraiya stomped back and forth across the room, his arms waving around like a madman. "THIS IS INSANE! YOU'RE INSANE! YOU'VE GONE SENILE!"
Hiruzen finally set his brush down and picked up his precious pipe, gently lighting it without any visible signs.
"Calm yourself, Jiraiya-kun." Smoke began to fill the room with a lazy haze.
"CALM DOWN?" Jiraiya snapped, his head whipping fast enough to give Hiruzen the image of another former student of his. A brief solemn thought filtered through his mind. If only he had never failed him. However, it seems it will soon be time to face his failures once more.
"I CAN'T CALM DOWN WHEN I JUST FOUND OUT THAT MY OWN GOD-DAUGHTER IS MARRIED AT TWELVE!"
"She'll be thirteen soon," Hiruzen mused, watching his most rambunctious former student pace the room.
"THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!"
Hiruzen took a moment to inhale his imported tobacco, a sigh escaping his mouth along with the wispy white clouds. "It had to be done, Jiraiya."
Angry eyes stared head on into wise hardened ones.
Jiraiya couldn't help the frustrating groan billowing out of his mouth as he went back to pacing, his fists waving angrily again at the air around him.
"FUCK DANZO! This is why we should have gotten rid of that no good bastard all those years ago when we had the chance! Now he's trying to get his slimy hands on my...MY GOD-DAUGHTER! First Itachi and now Naruto! When I get my hands on him…" Jiraiya cried.
Hiruzen can only sigh as he watched Jiraiya begin to mutter darkly under his breath while choking the air with his hands, his mind likely providing the images of his worst enemies.
"Well let me reassure you, Jiraiya-kun, that Naruto is happy with the Nara's and we've already begun addressing our overgrowing problem."
Jiraiya abruptly ended his imaginary fight.
"I want in. Tell me more."
By the time he left the old man's office, the evening sun had just started to set. A whole day wasted, and he didn't even get a chance to do some research or train the brat. A small rumbling from his stomach told Jiraiya that he'd almost missed dinner too.
"I wonder if that old ramen stand is still around…" Jiraiya thought aloud to himself and began wandering towards where he remembered the place his former student loved to go.
As he got near the stall, familiar voices drifted out from behind the restaurant's curtains.
Ichiraku Ramen
"Shika!" A girly voice screamed.
Jiraiya pushed away one of the curtain flaps to see his temporary student out with her…husband.
"Pervert!" Naruto called out to him, her arms waving wildly in the air.
"It's SUPER PERVERT to you, young lady," Jiraiya grinned back, internally laughing at Shikamaru's shocked face. He looked around. They were the only people occupying the restaurant, so Jiraiya went in and grabbed the other seat besides his student.
"Shika, remember the pervert I told you about last night who's teaching me how to make a summon?" Naruto ignored the man for her shell-shocked husband next to her, "This is him!"
Shikamaru slowly nodded, "Yeah…we met." He can't believe she can get away with calling him a pervert in public.
"You have?" Naruto questioned, "Well anyways, he's definitely better than that other closet pervert, Ebisu. Wait a second…" Naruto abruptly stopped her story.
Jiraiya and Shikamaru both leaned in closer.
Naruto's brows furrowed, "So many things happened yesterday, that I forgot to tell you all about this weird encounter I had after my training with Ebisu."
Now Jiraiya's curious, "Was this before we met?"
Naruto nodded, "Uh-huh. I met this old cripple who offered to train me."
Alarm bells rang in Jiraiya's head.
"Did he tell you his name?" Shikamaru asked, curiously.
"Yeah, I think it was Danzo?"
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "Naruto."
Both teens looked at the toad sage as his tone became deadly serious.
"Under no circumstances, should you ever get close to that man ever again, do you understand?"
Jiraiya watched as the teens glanced back at each other, making silent movements with their eyes as if they could read each other's minds. They can't read minds, can they?
It seems their silent conversation is over, because Naruto finally turned to look at him, "Yeah, okay."
Jiraiya smiled back, feeling the tension ease in the food stall. "Now who wants ramen? It's on me, kids."
"YES!"
Shikamaru watched as Naruto and Jiraiya talked animatedly as if the odd conversation earlier never happened.
Danzo. Who is this man?
One Month Later
She can't believe it! Naruto raced across the rooftops, her breath leaving her every single time she landed on another. Shikamaru that no good husband of hers! She can't believe it! How dare he not wake her up today of all days! It's the first day of the Finals!
Naruto could finally see the stadium gates in sight as she picked up her pace. Judging from the noise coming from that direction, she can guess that the place was already packed with spectators.
From the last rooftop, Naruto jumped off to land lightly on her feet. Just standing in front of the large gates, she could feel her heart pounding along with the roar of the crowd. And she hasn't even gone in yet. Just then, the feeling of awe left her as she is reminded of why she was almost late in the first place.
"Ooh, I'm going to kill him!" Naruto narrowed her eyes, unaware of the terrifying aura that she is giving off.
"Now who were you going to kill?" a familiar voice drawled out from behind her.
"You!" Naruto rounded on her husband who stood right behind her with a smirk on his face.
"Hi Naruto!" Chōji greeted between bites of chips.
"Hi Chōji," Naruto responded, still not taking her glaring eyes off her smug husband. Wait a minute… "Where's Ino?" She looked around, but the other blond girl was nowhere to be found.
"Oh," Chōji answered, "She actually left before us this morning, something about catching up with Sakura before the Finals start."
"Hey Chōji," Shikamaru drew their attention back to him, "Why don't you go ahead and head inside. I'm sure Asuma-sensei has saved you a good seat."
"Yeah," the bulkier genin nodded, "It's nice seeing you, Naruto! You two kick ass today!" He waved at the both of them as he continued his way into the arena.
"Thanks!" Naruto waved back with a big grin on her face. Despite what happened to him from the preliminaries, Chōji's still such a positive guy.
Naruto remembered another guy standing right behind her who's been irritating her since this morning. "Now you better have a good reason why…"
Before she could finish, her sentence was cut short by a pair of lips belonging to the lazy teen who has somehow gotten even closer to her. Naruto's eyes grew to the size of ramen bowls as she could feel Shikamaru's soft lips press even harder into hers, his eyes twinkling back at her.
It could have been seconds or even minutes, but as her eyes began to flutter shut, she felt the touch of his lips leaving hers and she unconsciously followed.
"W…wha...what was that for, Shika!" Naruto yelled once he finally let go of her now swollen lips. She could feel her face burning with such intense heat; she no doubt resembles a ripe tomato. "What if someone saw that?"
Shikamaru shrugged, pushing his hands back into his pockets. "Let them. There's nothing wrong with me wanting to get a good luck kiss from my wife before the tournament starts."
Naruto sputtered. How was she supposed to respond to that? Her face grew warmer as she continued to stare back at her smiling husband. Cheeky bastard.
"I hope you lose."
Shikamaru chuckled as he resumed his walk towards the stadium, knowing Naruto was right behind him.
"You don't mean that."
Naruto caught up to his side.
"No…I want to beat you myself." Naruto shook her head, their paces now matching.
"Ouch!" Shikamaru rubbed at his arm where Naruto just cuffed him, "What was that for?"
"For letting me sleep-in today of all days!"
Troublesome.
The noise of the crowd exploded as they reached the inside of the packed arena. It seems like they were the last few contestants to have arrived on time.
Wait…where's Sasuke?
"Ladies and gentlemen, here are our final contestants," Genma announced over the roaring cheers, "I hope you're ready to see some amazing battles ahead!"
The Hokage stood up from his seat, automatically silencing the arena with his presence. "Let the final portion of this year's Chunin examination, begin!"
To Be Continue
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