The Retainer

Chapter 1

(I own nothing)

-X-

"Hokage-sama, team seven has arrived with Tora,"

Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed the button on his intercom, "Send them in," he replied before going back to his work and waiting for Kakashi and his team to arrive from their recent mission of capturing Tora the cat.

They entered, Sasuke Uchiha leading, his face covered in claw marks while Sakura, his fan girl, looked worse off while carrying the brown cat with a red ribbon tied on it's right ear. Behind them followed Sai, a pale and introverted boy with a disturbing fascination with the male reproductive organ and a love for painting, and lastly Kakashi, the ever perverted jonin who could never show up on time.

"Mission complete, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said lazily from behind his porn while the Hokage checked the time.

"Four and a half hours, that's a new record," he mused, making the Uchiha smirk.

The intercom buzzed again, "Hokage-sama, Madam Shijimi is here… oh and I see your afternoon tea on the way too."

"By all means send them in," the old man replied before the Fire Daimyo's wife entered.

"TORA-CHAN!" she squealed upon seeing her pet, only for it to gain amazing speed and strength out of fear, twisting in the pink haired girls arms and clawing her face again.

With a yelp, Sakura released the animal, allowing it to scamper out like death was on it's heels.

"Oh no!" Madam Shijimi cried, "Hokage-kun, Tora ran away again!"

The Hokage sighed before the door opened, "Pardon me, but did someone lose this?"

Turning, everyone saw a young blond teen holding a silver trey carrying a pot of tea and a set of dishes in one hand, while holding a rather unhappy Tora in the other.

In a flash, Tora was crushed in the large woman's loving death grip. Much to the Genin's joy.

The teen walked in and placed the trey down on the Hokage's desk before turning to the woman, "Excuse me, Madam Shijimi, might I make a suggestion?" he questioned, catching her attention, "Instead of smothering the poor feline like you would a missing child, perhaps you would find that Tora-chan might cease her attempts at running away if you stop hurting her."

"Huh, I'm hurting her?" she asked making them all sweat drop.

"Indeed Madam, Felines are proud and quite lazy animals, and if I may be frank with you… well, the way you treat her is more like a plushy or an object, animals do have feeling and if you were to just sit with her and stroke her instead of crush her, I'm more than certain that you will find her less willing to run away."

She looked at the blond then to the cat, who seemed to be nodding in agreement with him. "I see," she muttered, slightly embarrassed but happy with how Tora stopped fighting and calmed down as she rubbed her head. "Thank you child,"

The blond gave a dignified bow, "Of course Madam, it is my pleasure," then he turned to the Hokage, "Now, if I may be excused Hokage-sama, I have other tasks that need doing, I shall return later to retrieve the dishes."

Team Seven took the time to study the blond he was around their age and just a few inches taller than Sasuke. His blond hair was spiky but not too much, most looked like he pushed it back with gel but the way it moved with him proved that it was natural. He had six marks on his face, three on each cheek and had the bluest eyes that seemed to stare deep into your being. His clothing was different too, he wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a red band around both arms that matched the red tie he had on. Over that he had a dull faded black vest, but not like a ninjas vest, it seemed to be made of silk and fit him perfectly. He had on a pair of blue slacks, tailored and fitted just for him and on his feet were a pair of black dress shoes while a pair of white gloves were on both hands. (Walter C. Dornez)

The Hokage nodded and the blond seemed to vanish in a flash.

"Hokage-kun," Madam Shijimi asked, "Who was that child?"

Sarutobi smiled, "That was Naruto Uzumaki, my butler and retainer to the Sarutobi Clan,"

"Oh?" she exclaimed, "Is he for hire?" she could see how talented the boy was and knew that having him around would make like much easier that it already was, especially after helping her with Tora-chan, only, the Hokage chuckled.

"I'm sorry Madam Shijimi, but he isn't,"

-X-

Walking down the street with his hands behind his back and eyes closed, sixteen year old Naruto Uzumaki stopped, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

The 10 year old Konohamaru dropped a camouflaged sheet made to look like a wooden fence with a grin while rubbing the back of his head, "Aw, I can never trick you Boss,"

"And neither can Udon and Moegi, both of you drop the sheets, your all busted,"

The other two did so with a groan, knowing that they had been caught.

Naruto turned and gave them a smile, "You three should stop skipping class, how will you become great ninjas if you don't learn?"

Konohamaru grinned, "But you stopped going to the academy, Boss!" he said, "I'm gonna drop out and train with you."

"Yeah!" "Me too!" the other two added.

Naruto chuckled, walking over and patting the shorted boy's head, only to send him to the ground with a sudden punch that sent his eyes spinning and scared the other two, "Don't you even think of dropping out, if your grandfather hears that he'll have a stroke!" he yelled at them, "And don't you care about me? I need those seven hours of peace to while your in class!"

"But Boss!" He whined, "I wanted to train with you!"

"Oh no, that little whine don't bother me anymore… I fell for it for a year," Naruto ended with a grumble before crossing his arms, "Now, you are going to the academy and that's that… if you do good on your test maybe I'll teach you something."

"But-" getting a glare, Konohamaru stopped, "Never mind, I'll go,"

Naruto smiled, "Good, now hurry along before you get in even more trouble."

They nodded and scurried away with a wave, "Bye Boss!"

Waving back, Naruto sighed and vanished once again, going to the Sarutobi compound and using Shadow Clones to clean the place.

As the Butler and Family retainer, Naruto took care of a lot of things depending how Biwako Sarutobi, Hiruzen's wife was feeling. Sometimes she would take care of the washing or cook dinner but if she were feeling bad or needed a break, he would take over and finish. She was never mean to him and loved him like a son but she was still strongly opinionated about 'girl-power' saying that women were far stronger than men as they can endure childbirth. But despite her view, she would be the first to admit, he was extremely skilled and could protect himself or them in the blink of an eye.

"Welcome back Naruto-kun," Biwako greeted the blond as he appeared in the home, not batting an eyelash as she folded clothes.

"Afternoon, Biwako-sama… I see your up and about." he replied with a bow before moving to help her.

She frowned, hating that he was always so formal. She had tried to break him of the habit before but the best she got was for him to show his humorous side every once and a while, although she had no idea why he disliked her son Asuma, maybe because he smoked and accidentally burned a hole in his favorite coat one time. But damn could the blond hold a grudge.

FLASHBACK

Standing in the kitchen, 13 year old Naruto helped Biwako cook as Asuma walked in with an excited smile, "Hey mom guess what!"

Naruto turned around, "Ms. Yuhi finally left a message on your machine?"

"No, no… I was…" Asuma stopped and gave the blond a glare, "NO," he growled in annoyance, "I was chosen to be one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja!"

FLASHBACK END

FLASHBACK

Looking at a carton of milk, Naruto glanced at Asuma who was eating a bowl of pudding, "So, Asuma… how's it taste?"

"It's pretty damn good," he answered while licking what his spoon couldn't get.

Naruto sighed and set the carton down roughly, "I knew it, these expiration dates are meaningless,"

Asuma stopped and turned green, seeing the date from where he was sitting and saw that it was two weeks old.

FLASHBACK END

"Oh ho!" Biwako giggled while picking up a leopard print Speedo, "I never knew Hiruzen-kun had this."

Naruto reached over and pulled it out of her hands, "Guess again,"

-X-

Walking towards the training grounds, team seven and their sensei were silent. Mostly thinking about the strange person they had seen in the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked after a moment, only to get a bored 'hm' from her teacher, "Exactly who was that guy?"

For the first time ever, Kakashi closed his book to answer a question, gaining their rapt attention. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki, he should be a year or two older than you. He's been a Retainer to the Hokage and his clan for nearly ten years."

"So he's a servant to the Hokage," Sasuke stated, "Then how could he vanish like that?" he questioned, feeling that a lowly servant shouldn't be able to out do him.

"He's no ordinary servant, he may not look like it but he is highly skilled and very loyal to the Hokage. Only the Hokage knows just how strong he is but he's been known to take down escapees and traitors to the village. He's even the one responsible for preventing the forbidden scroll from being stolen." he told them as the knowledge was widely known around Konoha.

Sasuke didn't speak but was annoyed and angry that a common servant was stronger than him, he made a mental note to go to the council to demand that he be given that training.

"So he's a ninja?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi slowly shook his head, "No… well not really, but he could be. He's been offered before but he never accepts it. I personally think it's because being a retainer is much simpler, especially when you have ninjustu to help."

"So how strong is he?" Sasuke demanded to know.

This threw the man for a loop, as he wasn't sure, "Well… ah… I'm not sure," he mused to himself, "The Hokage trained him… and there's been rumors that he gave Jiraiya-sama a beating for letting the Hokage's grandson get his hands on one of his books… so I guess he could be anywhere from ANBU to Sannin level,"

-X-

Later that evening, Asuma walked into the clan compound after team training with a lit cigarette in his mouth and sat down in the living room with a huff. Suddenly, there was a small blur of light and he found the tip of his death stick cut off.

"Now, Asuma-san, what have I said about smoking indoors?"

Turning his head, Asuma grimaced at the sight of the blond butler, fixing him with a cool stare as he held his arms behind his back. The Smokers bane of the Sarutobi clan he called him, it seemed that no matter what, if he tried to smoke in the house when the boy was near, he'd lose his cigarette or be forced to go outside. Never mind the fact that his nephew and mother agreed with the blond and would sometimes help him. He still hadn't found his silver lighter after Konohamaru nabbed it.

All because he had fell asleep on the couch one day after training and burned a hole in one of Naruto's winter overcoats, who buys a 50,000 yen (700 USD) overcoat anyway?

"Fine, fine…" he groaned before standing up, "I'll go outside."

Naruto smiled and turned around before leaving to finish cooking dinner for the family while some clones took care of some other things.

"Naruto-kun, what do you think about inviting Konohamaru-chan's friend over for supper?" Biwako asked after a minute while stirring a pot of stew for the night.

"Well, today is Saturday, most people do have a life." he answered only for Asuma to walk in. He looked at him and started laughing lightly, "Well some people do, besides, Hiruzen-sama will be busy tonight I'll be taking him a plate soon"

"BOSS!" Konohamaru screamed while running in from the door leading to the back yard, jumping and trying to tackle the blond.

Naruto ducked, letting him sail over him and right into Asuma, knocking him over before standing straight and turning to the pair, "Now Konohamaru, you know better than that…"

"He's right Ko-chan" his grandma chided, "We've both told you, no horse playing in the kitchen,"

"Really?" the boy mused while standing up, not minding that he had knocked out his uncle, "He told me that I'd never get the drop on him,"

Without missing a beat, Biwako turned to look at the blond.

"What?" Naruto defended, "I told him the truth, who knew he'd take it as a challenge."

"But you said," the child stopped after getting the evil eye. One thing that he learned right quick was never try to get the blond in trouble or try to blackmail him. Naruto had babysat him many times and knew many embarrassing things or secrets that would get him grounded. As retainer, Naruto had permission to sign anything that the academy sent home, much like report cards, progress reports, notes from the teachers, or even the discipline referrals he'd get for skipping or missing class.

He'd often sign the referrals depending on how serious the trouble was or cover for him by righting a sick notes, he'd even sign progress reports with a bad grade but if it didn't improve, he'd show Hiruzen or worse… Biwako.

Thinking for a moment, he tried to think of something to say as he had already caught his grandma's attention.

"Oh?" she exclaimed, looking at Naruto, "And what did he say?"

"Ah… that he would train me for passing my test," the 10 year old replied, "I was so excited that I could help it." He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when Naruto smiled.

"Of course Konohamaru-kun, I'll teach you something just as soon as I return from taking your grandfather his dinner," Naruto told the boy before fixing said plate and walking towards the door, stopping next to Asuma and looking down at him, "Would you look at this, lazing about in the middle of the floor."

-X-

A little while later, Naruto stood in the back yard training ground of the compound with Konohamaru standing across from him in a battle stance.

"Ok Ko-chan, let us see what you have learned in the academy, come at me full on." Naruto told him with his arms behind his back.

The boy rushed him and tried to kick him in the head, only for Naruto to sidestep and pull him back by his scarf and throw him back. "No Ko-chan, do not rush your opponents head on, I said full on. Use your mind and access the situation,"

Konohamaru threw a few Kunai and followed up with running in to attack, only, a blur of light sliced the knives in two before he found himself tied up by thin wires.

"You are learning… yet you make the same mistakes-" Naruto stopped, looking down to one of the cut kunai only to see a explosive training note wrapped around the handle. Quickly, he unraveled the wires holding the boy and vanished just in time for a small bang to erupt from the note followed by a large plume of smoke.

"My, my, you have indeed improved Ko-chan," Naruto said from behind him, "I guess I can teach you a little something better that Taijutsu."

Konohamaru spun around to see Naruto smirking with a one handed Seal, "Shinkirou-no-wangetsu-tsuki" (Mirage of the Crescent Moon)

Everything turned black until they both stood in a void, Naruto was the only thing he could see until a large crescent moon appeared above him. Naruto moved his arms to the side but every time he move he had a long line of after images sluggishly following and it was confusing to see.

Naruto pressed his hands together and pulled them apart, a bright blue line connecting to all five fingers before he swiped his hands through the air, breaking the lines into ten separate ones that lengthened and seem to float in the air.

They flew towards the boy who closed his eyes, those lines were dangerous on their own and in the hands of Naruto they were deadly.

-THUMP-

"OW!" Konohamaru yelped, knelling down and rubbing his forehead. Looking up he found himself back in the back yard with Naruto standing over him, hand still out from thumping him.

"Ko-chan, you really didn't think that I would be so cruel as to use my wires on you like that did you?" he chuckled, "Now stand up, I'll teach you to use one of my Jutsu."

In a flash, Konohamaru was standing and paying rapt attention.

"Now, Ko-chan… this isn't anything to… flashy… well technically it is but I created it and you will be the first person to learn it." Naruto started while slowly showing him the hand seals needed. "Dog… Tiger… and Snake, those are the needed seals for my Kosenkou-no-Jutsu (Great Flash)"

Watching him slowly go the seals Naruto nodded, "Good, now… when you channel your chakra, let it flow through your arms and to the palms of your hands."

The final seal had his hands pressed together with his fingers interlocked, Konohamaru did as he was told and noticed that his hands felt like something was in it before voicing his discovery.

Naruto nodded, "Good, that's how it's suppose to feel, your doing it right. Now, compress it and open your palms while forcing the chakra out." he said before stepping aside and looking away.

A moment later and Konohamaru called out, "Kosenkou-no-Jutsu!" before a bright flash of light followed by a light breeze came from the boys palms. It was weak, something akin to the flash of a camera but with practice it would blind an opponent without them looking directly at it. "Cool!"

Naruto patted Konohamaru on the head, "Keep practicing when you can, it took you far to long for it to be of uses right now. But now we need to go on in and have dinner,"

-X-

"What do you mean?" Sasuke demanded Sunday morning, standing in front of the council, "I'm a Uchiha, I deserve that same training!"

He had walked into the meeting, unannounced, to demand his 'rightful' training from either the Hokage or that lowly servant only for them to laugh and tell him that they wouldn't help him.

"He's right!" called a civilian with pink hair, "Uchiha-sama has every right to receive the same training as that servant."

Tsume Inuzuka snorted, "You'd have more luck making Hiashi tell jokes," she said while rolling her eyes at the boy, making him growl.

"Watch you mouth dog!"

Tsume raised an eyebrow, "I'd say the same to you pup," she shot back, more than happy to relate herself to a K9 than the idiots of the civilian council, "You come in here demanding to be trained and expect us to bow down and kiss your ass like those idiots over there?"

"I'm a Uchiha! You should be begging to help-" Sasuke didn't get to finish as Tsume vanished, appearing in front of him and slapping him across the chambers.

"Inuzuka!" the pink one screamed, "You are out of line, apologize now!"

She flipped her off, "Kiss my ass crosskicking whore," Tsume spat while going back to her seat. "He insulted me so I'm well within my rights to knock him down like the little bitch he is, and we Shinobi don't answer you civilians."

Hiashi stood up, "Well if this was all we came in for today, to watch the Uchiha act like a spoiled child, then I'm leaving. I have better things to do than sit here and once again listen to the pathetic complaints of a worthless Uchiha," he said coldly before leaving, all the other Shinobi clan heads following his lead.

-X-

Naruto, dressed in a fresh set of his clothing, walked down a side street while humming to himself and wondering what to do on his day off. He absently thanked Kami for the Ninja Academy having class on Saturdays because he had already had to deal with little Konohamaru for nearly a year before he was old enough to join the academy after they changed back to the peace time academy standards of only graduating a class when they were 14 or 15 instead of 12. It wasn't that he disliked spending time with the boy it was that for someone as small as him, he could make a mess and annoy a Nukenin into killing themselves.

Thankfully, Moegi and Udon came over and all he had to do was show them and explain the Jutsu he taught Konohamaru and soon they were off practicing under the watchful eye of Biwako, who just so happened to be a retired Medic Ninja.

"Hey you!" called a voice, "Hey, Servant!"

Turning, Naruto saw Sasuke, sporting a nice bruise on his cheek jumping down from a rooftop holding a scroll.

"It's not servant, I'm a Retainer, there is a difference. Now what might you need?"

"Train me,"

Raising an eyebrow at the slightly younger teen, Naruto turned to fully face him, "I'm sorry but I am not a jonin, nor am I your sensei"

Sasuke threw the scroll, only for Naruto to catch it with ease. "What is this?

"Orders from the civilian council" Sasuke smirked, "You are ordered to train me or face charges of treason."

Naruto opened the scroll and chuckled, making him sneer.

"What's so funny Servant!"

Naruto rolled up the scroll and slid it into his pocket, "Why you are Uchiha, do you think I will fall for these empty threats? You nor the council may order me to do anything, that's the beauty of being the Retainer to the Hokage." he said with a smile, "And besides, even if they could order me around I still wouldn't obey, you Uchiha are like spoiled children, in my opinion, I think your brother did us a favor, too bad he left you alive though"

Shaking in anger, Sasuke flashed through the hand seals for a grand fireball and tried to murder the blond, only for Naruto to vanish.

Reappearing behind him, Naruto backhanded him through a fence and into the tree behind it, knocking him out and giving him a bruise to match the other.

"You Uchiha are all the same," he muttered before stopping, "Ok… not all of them at least, your mother had quite the attractive ass, her rack wasn't too bad either…"

Naruto pulled the Uchiha out of the broken fence and threw him into a half empty trashcan ass first with his hands stuck between him and the edge before walking away musing to himself, 'I hear that there's a new movie out in theaters that's pretty good, maybe I'll check it out.'

-X-

A few weeks passed and nothing seemed to change, Naruto served as the retainer and butler to the Sarutobi clan as always, sometimes acting as Konohamaru and his friends part time sensei when his after-school tutor, an uptight Tokubetsu Jonin named Ebisu who like to boast about being an elite trainer, suddenly lost his vision for close to a week.

He tried to say that it was from faulty flash pellets, but Naruto instantly knew that Konohamaru or one of the other two had temporarily blinded the man. They were afraid at first, thinking that he would be mad at them, but to their surprise and relief, Naruto congratulated them. Ebisu was a fool and thought that being a 'elite' trainer was an honor, that he was better than others. But honestly, no other ninjas wanted the job or the title that came with it, calling it a pussy job… which it was.

On another note, Sasuke had once again tried to weasel training out of him, this time going to the Hokage and asking, quite rudely, for him to order his servant into training the village elite.

Once again, Sasuke was laughed at, this time by the Hokage himself. Naruto thanked Kami that he had been there at the time…

FLASHBACK

"I want your Servant to train me," Sasuke blurted while walking into the office, ignoring the secretary telling him that he couldn't go in there. "I need and deserve that training and I want you to make him,"

Hiruzen looked to the side, where Naruto was standing in his usual stance with his arms behind his back, then to the Uchiha, who seemed rather smug.

"HAHAHA!" the old man bellowed while Naruto allowed a few soft chuckles to escape.

Sasuke's smugness, thinking that he would now have his way, vanished and was replaced by anger.

"Oh that was good one!" the Hokage sighed after a moment of gut busting laughter, "Like I would order him to train someone, even if I did he'd refuse."

"What?" Sasuke growled, rage bubbling in his veins at being deigned what he wanted and deserved.

"What, you don't think that you're the first person to try and get training from him do you?" Hiruzen chuckled, "Each week I get letters and requests asking for him, usually it's some wealthy family wanting him to train their child or a noble wanting to hire him. A Retainer of his skill and talent is always in demand."

Naruto nodded, "I'm somewhat of a hot commodity," he added, losing all emotion and looking at the teen without a trace of humor.

"Now, leave and don't burst in here again without being called for, this is the Hokages office, my office… Not some snot nosed Genin's. The civilian council may have treated you like a prince because of your name but to me… and to every other ninja, your just a spoiled little brat playing ninja." Hiruzen's words were empty and cold as he glared at the teen, "The next time you enter my office without me allowing you in, much less start demanding things, I will have you sent to the IT department to learn some humility."

FLASHBACK END

So now he stood in the Hokages office once again, helping him with his work load by filing scrolls and documents away in their right places. He often wondered why the man had yet to use the shadow clone jutsu to quickly finish the work quickly, much like he had this morning by leaving a clone to pack a lunch for Ko-chan and another to vacuum the living room.

He thought about telling him but decided that he might need some time off or a favor in the future so he bit his tongue.

"So Naruto-kun, you got any plans for tomorrow?" the old man asked.

He shrugged, "Besides the usual? Not really,"

He usually got off around 7:30 and would either help Konohamaru with his Homework or just watch a bit of TV, take a shower, and then go to bed. He never really got out too much, normally his vacation days were spent going to a movie or polishing his skills and it wasn't like he had a girlfriend. In this line of work one didn't meet too many girls and those he did meet wouldn't be interested in a someone who was a Retainer, which was only a step or two above domestic servant.

Then it hit him, making him curse inwardly. Biwako and Hiruzen had both started conspiring to get him to socialize with others his own age. It wasn't that he was scared of meeting new people or being known as a Retainer, after all he took pride in the position, but he just didn't like being around people his own age. He could and has, held a conversation with Hiashi Hyuga about village politics one day when Hiruzen was being held up before a meeting, distracting him from noticing how late the Hokage had been.

But put him with a bunch of teenaged boys whose daily routines revolved around the female anatomy, food, and sleep, or a bunch a girls who talked about… whatever their exceedingly complex minds revolved around and his mind went blank. Sure he found a woman's body to be a beautiful thing but he wouldn't allow himself to be led around by his cock. As for girls he would rather spend his time with a older, more mature woman.

"Well there is a small festival tomorrow at the academy, all the classes have been canceled and there will be a few small contests and competitions for ninjas and students."

Naruto felt a 'but' coming in.

The old man sighed, "Konohamaru-kun want's to go and enter the tournament for students and watch the rounds between Genin and other higher ranked ninja"

Naruto picked up and finished the sentence, "But students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and as the Sarutobi Retainer, I can act as such."

He nodded, setting his pen down, "Yes… I would go but I have to work, sometimes I hate this job…"

"Of course, Hokage-sama, I'd be happy to go," the blond said after a moment.

-X-

Later that afternoon, after helping the three ditch Ebisu, Naruto helped Konohamaru and company practice their skills in preparation for the little tournament. It was mainly a thing were Parents got to come and watch their children shine… or fail and watch some other seasoned ninja battle for their amazement and to motivate them. There was also a small festival before it where people could play games and win prizes, show off their skill at throwing kunai, and generally have a good time.

He didn't train them too hard, not wanting to lower their chances at wining the prize from being too sore or tired the next day.

And for the first time in… ever, Konohamaru didn't complain or try to hold off on taking a bath and going to bed.

The next morning, Naruto awoke and got up early around 5AM as usual, he had been given the day off from his normal duties to take Konohamaru to the festival so he took his time in gathering his normal clothing and heading towards the bathroom in a bathrobe.

On the way down hall, he saw the kitchen light on but shrugged it off, as one of the elder Sarutobi's sometimes got up just as early. But when looked in, he stopped. It wasn't Hiruzen or Biwako sitting at the island bar in the middle of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand while reading the morning post, it was Konohamaru.

He looked downtrodden and seemed to have just gotten out of bed, sitting on a stool in his underwear while eating cereal.

The boy hadn't noticed him yet and he had a clear shot at getting to the best shower in the house before anyone else did, he had a dilemma. On one hand he could put it off and be the first to use the bathroom for a shower, seeing at it was closest to the hot water heater it always heated up faster and got the most hot water. But on the other hand, Ko-chan was like family and it was his obligation to at least try and help, besides he didn't want to feel too guilty cashing his paycheck this week.

Sighing, he turned into the Kitchen and walked over, placing his neatly folded clothing on the counter and pulling another stool out to sit next to Konohamaru. "Is something wrong Ko-chan?" he asked, forgoing a greeting

He murmured something that sounded like 'no', making Naruto sigh.

"Ko-chan, I've been living here for ten years, nearly a week before you were born," Naruto sighed while leaning on the bar. "I've known you and helped take care of you your whole life, I've helped bathe you, bottle fed you, helped change your diapers, and so much more. I was there for your first word, your first steps, and have held you after you had a bad dream, do you honestly think that I can't tell when something's bothering you?"

"It's… well…" Konohamaru started, struggling to find the right words, "Today is the day that Kaa-san…"

Naruto's eyes widened at that, 'How could I forget such a thing!' he yelled at himself mentally. Konohamaru's mother had died not even a whole year after Ko-chan had been born due to an infection. Her immune system had suffered and was severely weakened from the stress of childbirth and without it she had slowly gotten ill until passing in her sleep. They had all suffered from the loss but Konohamaru was too young to remember, so they decided to try and shelter him from it until he was older.

"Oh Ko-chan," he sighed with a small frown while rubbing his shoulder, "I know it hurts to think about, but she's in a better place, always watching over you."

"I know… but…" Konohamaru turned to look at him fully, eyes downcast but devoid of tears, "I don't feel sad about it, that's the thing. I can't remember anything about her… will you tell me about her again?"

He nodded, "Your mother was… something else," Naruto started while looking at the bar with a soft smile, "You look just like her too, same eyes, same color hair… I didn't know her as much as your grandparents though… and when I wasn't training I was helping her with anything she needed, but I didn't have to know her to see how much she loved you."

Naruto laughed lightly, "I remember how violent she got when anything she though was harmful got near you, especially with your uncle Asuma. She would threaten him and nearly killed him one time for smoking in the house while you were asleep. I know everyone thinks that I'm against Asuma smoking in the house because of him burning my coat but honestly it's because of Chiyoko.

He stopped an turned, rubbing Konohamaru's spiky brown hair, "Don't feel down about not remembering her, she loved you and still loves you. You might not feel it or even see it, but she's always with you, watching over you."

Neither noticed Biwako hiding around the corner, smiling sadly as she listened in on them.

-X-

The arena used for the tournament wasn't nearly a big as the one used for the Chunin exams, it was just a wide stone platform close to fifty yards long and wide with stadium seats around it. Seals had been placed to keep any ninjustu from flying into the audience and a barrier team was agreed to raise an invisible shield to block any weapons or jutsu just in case.

The tournament for the students was held first and the rules were the same as any other all out spar, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu were allowed but if anything got out of hand or too dangerous, they would be stopped.

Konohamaru was a little nervous, especially when Hyuga Hanabi took down her target with ease and gave him a pointed stare, as if saying, 'your next,'

Udon was the first of the three to go and despite being much smarted and giving his opponent a tough time, he lost. But instead of pouting or crying like some had, he kept his head held high and never let the loss faze him.

Soon, the proctor called for Konohamaru and a boy named Nobori was called. With Naruto's training, he hadn't even needed to rely on a Ninjutsu to win.

The fights continued until Moegi was knocked from the tournament by Hanabi, who had already had the spot of top female student and Konohamaru showed that despite his normal grades, he had been hiding his skills and easily tricked the top male student with one of Naruto's usual, quite humiliating tricks, this one being to grab the back of his opponents shirt and pull it over his head before delivering a devastating knee to the head of the boy.

But now, he was standing across from Hanabi waiting for the match to start, this girl was brutal in her attacks and close quarters was a no go.

When the man yelled begin, he dodged any attack she threw at him by keeping some distance between them before hurriedly flashing through the three hand seals for his newest jutsu.

Everyone watched, shocked that a academy student already knew an earth jutsu, if the Snake seal was anything to go by.

Hanabi, thinking it to be a trick, rushed him head on only to be blown back moments later.

"Kosenkou-no-Jutsu!"

The resulting flash was blinding, the Hyuga stumbled and was thrown on her ass by the following pressure wave before screaming that she was blind, rolling around and holding her eyes, not able to tell that it was only temporary.

Naruto chuckled lightly, knowing that teaching Konohamaru that jutsu was the only reason he won. After all, the only reason he had created it in the first place was to easily disable Hyugas if he ever needed to.

Due to the nature of the Hyuga bloodline limit, their eyes were more sensitive to light and massive chakra flares. The Kosenkou-no-Jutsu acted as both, it they weren't actively using the bloodline then the bright flash of light got them, if they had it on, then the massive flash of chakra would get them and temporarily blind them. Although it was a bit painful.

To be continued…

-X-

Please review and tell me your thoughts, if it's no good then I'm not going to keep going.