Candidates for the Rescue...

As soon as Jiraiya raised his hand…

Naruto shot off in the direction of Tsunade.

Tsunade held up her index finger against Naruto.

(Whoosh!)

"Huh?" Tsunade saw Naruto vanish from her sight.

"Hmm…"

"What do we have here…?"

Tsunade heard Naruto's voice right behind her.

She turned around to see Naruto rummaging through her purse.

"NARUTO!" Tsunade screamed.

("When did he swipe my purse?") Tsunade thought.

"Look at the number of promissory notes," Naruto said as he lifted his head.

"Naruto, it is considered to be rude for a man to check a woman's purse," Jiraiya advised.

Tsunade felt like losing her mind now.

Naruto felt a sweat down his spine.

He turned back around to see Tsunade releasing a dangerous aura.

"You are dead!" Tsunade said as she rushed towards Naruto and launched into the sky with one leg raised so high that it almost touched her head.

< Hidden Taijutsu - Heavenly Foot of Pain! >

Tsunade said as she landed her a dropkick on Naruto, only for him to dodge the last second, following which her foot landed on the ground.

(BOOOOMMMMM!!!) Piles of dust and debris flew about.

The floor of the terrace was almost destroyed.

("What the hell, she really wants to destroy me…")

("Didn't she take my gamma-chan the first time I met her?")

Naruto thought as he stared at the monster that was Tsunade.

"You've lost Tsunade!"

"You needed more than a finger!" Jiraiya reminded.

Though Tsunade was angry with Naruto, she distinctly heard Jiraiya and could not let the comment slide by…

"You've got nerves to provoke me Jiraiya!" Tsunade said.

"Tsunade!"

"Stop it!"

"You've lost," Hiruzen said.

Tsunade finally calmed down.

("What am I doing?")

("I am being led around by a brat like him?") Tsunade thought as she looked towards Naruto with complicated emotions in her heart.

Naruto took a step back in fear.

("She is not thinking of going against me again, is she?") Naruto thought.

"You were always terrible at gambling," Jiraiya said.

"I may not have mentioned this before…"

"But this kid has fought against Orochimaru toe to toe for almost an entire hour," Hiruzen said.

"WHAT?" Tsunade stared at Naruto.

"Not only that, he has done deeds worthy of merit, especially the invasion plan…" Jiraiya said.

Hiruzen walked towards Naruto.

"Naruto!"

"Its thanks to your efforts, that boy from the sand village gave this information," Hiruzen said as he thought back to what Hayate said.

...FB

"I do not expect you to believe my words completely at this point."

"All I know is that I owe something to this village because of the Chuunin exams."

"I do not want lives from both villages to be lost over a meaningless squabble for resources."

"??" Hayate stared at Gaara.

...FB

Naruto knew about Gaara telling the invasion plan to Hayate.

When Jiraiya informed Naruto, he was shocked, but also relieved at the same time….

("Looks like they can handle the problem by themselves.") Naruto thought.

("That boy fought Orochimaru?") Shizune stared at Naruto with a shocked expression.

She then ran to Tsunade with ton-ton in her hand.

"Tsunade-sama!"

"What do you plan to do?"

"You can call off the bet, right? Saying that it was not your intention in the first place." Shizune tried to convince Tsunade.

"No Shizune!"

"The boy deserves Respect for standing up to that man," Tsunade said as she walked towards Naruto.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade raised both her hands to her neck.

She took off the necklace and held it towards Naruto.

"There's only one of this kind of necklace in this world."

"It belonged to the first Hokage!"

"The money you can obtain by selling this necklace is more than enough to buy ramens for three-four lifetimes."

("The necklace granny gave me back then…") Naruto thought back to the time he always used to wear it, only to lose it in the battle against pain.

Naruto felt a bit guilty about losing the necklace back then….

"It's all right."

"I don't want it," Naruto said in a low voice.

Tsunade walked over and tied the necklace to his neck,

"You don't have a say."

"You've got guts to stand against Orochimaru and come out not just alive, but also beating him in the process."

"I know that man, and I also know how humiliated he can feel when beat down by a brat like you," Tsunade said as she took her purse back from Naruto.

"Granny…" Naruto murmured.

Tsunade froze in her tracks.

"W-What"

"did"

"you"

"call me?"

Tsunade had a scary look across her face.

("Sh*t!") Naruto regretted calling her that immediately.

Tsunade rushed up to Naruto.

Naruto flinched as he closed his eyes in fear.

(clank!)

Tsunade sent his forehead protector flying.

"Mm..?" Naruto felt nothing happen.

He opened his eyes, only to see….

(author's note - Ahem! Two big rasengans near the face.)

CHU!

Tsunade kissed his forehead.

Naruto looked up to see Tsunade who put her hands over his shoulder.

"Become a fine man…" Tsunade smiled.

("and, a fine Hokage!") Tsunade said in her mind.

Naruto was stunned at Tsunade's actions.

"So do you accept yet?" Hiruzen interrupted.

"Not so fast old man."

"I still need to think this through…" Tsunade said.

"Back to the matter at hand."

"What is your plan?" Jiraiya asked.

"Currently, I have no reason to fight it out with the sand village, since the Kazekage is being involved out of desperation."

"I intend to send teams to subdue their external forces, be it sand and sound alike."

"A fight not to kill, but to make them surrender."

"The only problem is Orochimaru…" Hiruzen paused.

"Yes, you never know what that snake is thinking…" Tsunade said.

"And you rejected me when I asked you out saying Orochimaru was smart and all…" Jiraiya sulked.

"That was a long time ago," Tsunade argued back.

"But why does Orochimaru want to destroy this village?" Shizune asked.

"I reckon it has things to do with him being rejected for Hokage position and being chased out of the village for conducting experiments with human bodies," Hiruzen explained.

"But it mostly has to do with the Uchiha kid," Hiruzen concluded.

"Uchiha?"

"You mean the only boy who survived?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes."

"Not only he was after that kid, but he was also after the one who went rogue," Jiraiya said.

"Luckily, the boy has managed to disappear for the past three weeks now…" Hiruzen said.

"Disappear?" Naruto walked towards the group.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked in a firm voice.

Hiruzen felt a trouble was on its way.

Naruto closed his eyes.

< Sage Mode! >

Naruto's eyelids turned Orange.

His sense searched the entire village until it finally locked on to Sasuke who was in the Uchiha district.

Tsunade and Hiruzen were surprised to see Naruto in Sage Mode.

Especially Tsunade, who knew the difficulty of sage mode, after seeing Jiraiya's intense training.

"He is truly talented" Tsunade commented.

"He is in the village!" Naruto said causing the group's expression to change.

"How do you know?" Hiruzen asked.

"I just scanned the entire village. He is in the Uchiha district," Naruto said.

"Amazing!" Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Hiruzen commented at the same time.

"Naruto!"

"I want you to find out what happened after we finish the meeting here," Hiruzen said.

"Mm.." Naruto nodded.

"So how do we deal with Orochimaru, not to mention the Kazekage as well," Tsunade asked.

"I'm sure you can figure something out in regards to Orochimaru, as for the Kazekage, I'll see if I can handle him by myself…"

"However, I still believe that the Kazekage can be convinced to back out, except that I cannot mention it beforehand."

"It can only be done on that particular day…." Hiruzen said.

"Regarding the Kazekage…"

"Why don't you leave him to me…" Naruto suggested.

"The Kazekage?"

"Don't be ridiculous, no matter how much powerful you are.."

"The Kazekage is a Kage level Ninja."

"I will not allow you to risk your life on such a mission," Hiruzen argued.

"Trust me; I am not going to rush my death on this one."

"In fact, I have been thinking of the people I might require for this particular mission." Naruto continued.

"People?"

"Who do you want?" Hiruzen asked.

"I want to take Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke with me on this one," Naruto said.

"Naruto there is a limit to what you want to do.."

"Don't be suicidal, and don't drag people to their deaths," Tsunade said.

"No!"

"Naruto may be able to pull this off," Jiraiya assured.

Hiruzen turned towards Naruto.

"Naruto, I know that there is more to this than what meets the eye,"

"Especially the changes that has occurred over the past few months," Hiruzen said.

Naruto knew what Hiruzen was talking about. Even Jiraiya was able to figure out a few hints.

"Now is not the right time."

"I can only tell you in another two and a half years to be honest," Naruto said.

"What is he talking about?" Tsunade asked.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya stared at each other.

Jiraiya nodded to which Hiruzen smiled.

"All right Naruto!"

"We will wait."

"Mm.." Naruto nodded as he jumped towards the boundary of the terrace,

"I will talk to Sasuke about this," Naruto said as he vanished from their sight.

__________________________________________________________________

(Whoosh!)

(Whoosh!)

Naruto whizzed past the buildings as he headed towards Sasuke's house in high speed.

"Hmm?"

(Whoosh!)

Naruto landed on the ground in a somewhat deserted area.

("Why is Dad (father-in-law) following me?") Naruto thought as he turned back.

("I guess I can't call him dad for the time being.")

"Care to step out?"

("Impossible!")

("The boy detected me?") the man thought.

"I know you have been following me from the Hokage's office," Naruto said in a firm voice.

"Hmph!" Hyūga Hiashi stepped out from the shadowy area by the turning that Naruto was facing.

"How did you know?" He asked in a calm voice.

"I am able to sense your chakra," Naruto said.

"…" Hiashi stared at Naruto.

"Is there a problem?" Naruto asked.

"Since you have brought it up yourself…"

"I will say it without restraint."

"STAY"

"AWAY"

"FROM"

"Hinata," Hiashi said these words one by one in a deep voice that signified both threat and Warning.

"Hinata?"

"Why should I stay away?" Naruto asked.

"You dare ask questions?"

"You dare to counter my statement?" Hiashi asked in a voice that contained anger.

"What are you trying to say, old man?" Naruto asked.

"Don't feign ignorance."

"Hinata is not someone you can casually approach!" Hiashi said.

Naruto frowned.

("What is wrong with Dad?")

("From what I knew about him, he was always an amiable man, who would run towards Boruto and Himawari to shower them with love.")

("He never seemed to have a problem with me marrying Hinata…")

("What could have happened while I was away?") Naruto thought.

"I do not understand."

"What is the problem?"

"Did something happen to Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hiashi became more angry, to the extent that nerves budged at the side of his eyes.

Hiashi calmed his anger, fearing that it would activate his Byakugan, as he did not want to hurt a junior like Naruto.

Hiashi held out a palm and ran towards Naruto.

Naruto instinctively countered the palm by deflecting it away with his own palm towards the bottom of Hiashi's wrist, ultimately sending the incoming palm in a different direction.

("This boy, he knows the proper way to counter the gentle fists.")

("Did Hinata teach him?") Hiashi thought.

("No, that would be impossible since she herself has not mastered it, much less teach someone else to counter it perfectly.")

("Could there be a traitor in the midst of our clan?") Hiashi thought as he sent palm after palm towards Naruto who deflected all of them perfectly.

"I will not hold back anymore," Hiashi said as he got into a stance.

("Does he want to hurt me so badly?")

("Enough to the point of resorting to the Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms Offense?") Naruto thought.

"Old Man, please calm down. There must be something wrong." Naruto tried to calm Hiashi down.

"No!"

"I must do this for both your's and my daughter's sake so that you both will part ways…"

"Leaving my daughter to focus on her life," Hiashi said as he rushed forward.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted, being totally unprepared to face this technique right off the bat.

Naruto could easily fight him toe to toe, but that would only make him angrier. Not to mention the fact that he was Naruto's future father-in-law in this world, so he could not really force himself to beat his dad.

"Eight palms!"

Hiashi declared as he sealed eight chakra points.

Naruto gritted his teeth in pain.

"Sixteen Palms!"

"Thirty-Two Palms!"

"Sixty-Four Palms!" Hiashi sent his finger sealing each chakra point in Naruto's body.

"Ah!" Naruto ground in pain as he fell on his knees, he half-kneeled as he faced Hiashi.

"Know your place!" Hiashi said as he turned around.

"Your chakra points have been sealed temporarily."

"You will not be able to move for the next one hour or so…" Hiashi explained to Naruto as he walked away.

Naruto did not want to unleash his nine tails mode.

< Sage Mode! >

Naruto's eyelids turned orange, changing his pupils in the eyes as well.

"I don't know what has happened to you or Hinata."

"However, No one can stop me from seeing Hinata!" Naruto declared as he stood up.

Hiashi was shocked.

"How are you able to stand up?" He asked.

"Don't change the subject old man, tell me what is going on," Naruto said in a firm voice.

("This boy, Is he the one Neji is supposed to fight for the next stage?")

("Neji will definitely lose.") Hiashi thought.

"You are very strong for your age." Hiashi complimented Naruto.

"I read the message you left for Hinata."

"I understood that you wish to pursue her."

"Am I wrong in making that assumption," Hiashi asked Naruto.

Naruto did not react to Hiashi's message, but his silence agreed with Hiashi's words.

"Hinata is of the main branch, and she is the heir to the Hyūga household."

"She would not have been in Academy if it wasn't for her failing to her sister."

Naruto knew the backstory between Hanabi and Hinata. After hearing this statement, he also understood Hiashi's way of thinking.

("It looks like he agreed to the wedding because I was strong enough back then.") Naruto thought back to the first time Hinata introduced Naruto to her father.

"Old man!"

"I am sorry!" Naruto said as he bowed towards Hiashi.

"However, I will not give up on Hinata!" Naruto said.

(Poof!) Naruto disappeared from the spot.

Hiashi stared at the spot where Naruto disappeared.

("Hmph!")

("He got away!") Hiashi thought as turned back towards the direction of his house.

...

(Whoosh!)

Naruto entered the Uchiha district as he headed towards Sasuke's house.

(tk!) A piece of information entered Naruto's brain.

"It was that message huh?" Naruto thought back to when He had left a clone as soon as he activated his sage mode.

Naruto slowed down his speed and deactivated his Sage mode.

"Kurama!"

"You've got it!" Kurama said as he circulated the Nine tails mode in a short burst around Naruto's chakra network, unsealing all his chakra points.

"Thanks!" Naruto said as he increased his speed.

…..

(Whoosh!) Naruto landed in front of Sasuke's house.

("It has been a long time since I have been in this place…") Naruto thought as he stared at the building and its surroundings.

It was a large courtyard that solely belonged to Sasuke's family with its own lawn in the front and a small pond at the back of the house.

Naruto rang the doorbell.

Ding-Dong!

A few seconds later Sasuke appeared with his usual arrogant expression.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out to him happily.

"Mm." Sasuke accepted Naruto into the house without any further comments.

"You've changed!" Naruto said as he stared at Sasuke in his new attire.

Sasuke opened the door to the backyard as he sat down by the pond.

Naruto also followed and sat down beside him.

They both stared at the Horizon for a while before Naruto broke the silence.

"Sasuke!"

"I heard you went missing for the past few days," Naruto said.

"I went for training too," Sasuke said.

"Training?"

"But weren't you supposed to train under Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Doesn't matter!"

"I want to fight against you!" Sasuke said.

"Sasuke!"

"I would like to fight you, but that would have to wait until the Chuunin Exams," Naruto said in a low voice.

….

"So…"

"Where did you go?" Naruto asked.

"None of your business," Sasuke said in a grumpy voice.

"Anywhere is good as long as it was not Orochimaru…" Naruto said.

"Mm." Sasuke agreed.

"Sasuke!"

"We have a week before the start of the Chuunin Battle Stage."

"I plan to go to the Sand village in the following evening after tomorrow," Naruto said.

"Why at that time?" Sasuke asked.

"By my calculations, it will take us about two and a half days on foot if we are slow, probably half a day of battle and remaining days to be back just at the start of the exam," Naruto said.

"Wait!"

"Did you say it will take 'us' two and a half days?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah!"

"I plan to take you and Kakashi-sensei along…" Naruto said.

Sasuke thought back to Naruto's words...

... FB

"I will rescue the Kazekage." Naruto proudly declared with battle intent brimming across his face.

"Is your body powerful enough to fight against Kage-level right now?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Yup!" Naruto said as he looked back at Sasuke.

... FB

("I will get to fight stronger people now!")

Sasuke grinned lightly...