Chapter 60

Naruto found himself back in the office of the Hokage. He idly wondered whether he had really thought this through when Kurama had presented the idea. Almost immediately as the thought crossed his mind, he discarded it. It was plain for all to see that Danzo had intended to keep a close eye on Naruto, to gauge his threat level.

Whether he could control him or not, directly or indirectly.

Of course, Naruto wasn't stupid enough to believe that Danzo would take a direct shot at him. Danzo was called "Yami no shinobi", the shinobi of darkness, because he worked from the shadows; his modus operandi went completely against anyone's ethical guidelines. His father's journal had provided Naruto a deep insight into the workings of root. And there was one thing that stood out the most.

There was no shinobi more loyal to Konoha than Danzo.

In fact, the man was so loyal, that he was willing to cross boundaries that no one would dare toe.

Now that he stood before Tsunade, Naruto wondered what the man would do. If he called Naruto out on the murder of a Konoha shinobi, Naruto was more than ready with his answer. And if he did, then he would have to answer just when did he have any authority to command shinobi.

Tsunade leveled a stare bordering on a glare to her fellow blonde. "Let's get to the matter. Naruto, I know that you are a very powerful shinobi, and a very intelligent one as well. Otherwise, you wouldn't have earned your bingo book entry. For as long as I have known, I have seen that you never perform an action of this level of depth without thinking it through. So I would really like to hear your reasoning of what made you kill the shinobi on sight."

Danzo stepped forward, and Naruto had to commend the man. The tightening around his eyes was the only giveaway that Danzo was a little more than a bit displeased about the turn of events. "Hokage-sama, I-"

He was immediately silenced, when Tsunade levelled a nasty glare on him. "You may only speak when I allow you to. Is. That. Clear. Danzo?"

Danzo immediately bowed his head. "Apologies, Hokage-sama."

Her glare receded and she turned back to Naruto. "Let's hear your account, Jonin Uzumaki," she prompted.

Naruto nodded and out of his mouth came the story that he and Kurama had cooked up. "Hokage-sama, you are correct in saying that I don't perform any drastic action without thinking it through, and that will never change. In this case, my reasoning is somewhat like this. Do you know that I have an eidetic memory, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade slowly shook her head. "I wasn't aware of the fact. It isn't stated in your file."

Naruto expanded upon his statement. "For those who do not know what eidetic memory is, I will explain. Having an eidetic memory means that everything that I see, hear, smell, taste or feel, I can recall all of that with near perfect clarity, down to the small detail. I can even recall every conversation I have been part of that has taken place years ago."

"What is your point?"

Naruto glanced towards Danzo, who was frowning at him now. "The point is, the shinobi that I just killed was of my age group, 15-17 years old. Isn't that correct, Danzo-san?"

By now, Naruto could almost hear the wheels turning in the war hawk's brain as he tried to see where Naruto was taking this conversation. Almost cautiously, as if he were stepping in a minefield, Danzo replied. "Yes, he was of your age."

That just gives more credibility to my story then.

Naruto pleasantly smiled. "Thank you, Danzo-san." Turning to Tsunade, he continued his justification. "As he said, he was of my age. But like I said before, I have an eidetic memory. Anything that I see, I remember and can recall perfectly."

He brought forward his right hand, almost in a questioning gesture. "And trust me Hokage-sama, every person, who is two to three years older, or equal of my age in this village, I know their name, and their face."

By now everyone could see where this was going. Hiruzen didn't show it, but he was relieved on the inside that Naruto had managed to sort this out by himself. A glint of understanding entered Tsunade's eye, but she kept quiet, gesturing Naruto to continue.

"And when I saw the face of that shinobi, the first thought that entered my head was, who the shinobi was, and why he was attacking us in broad daylight. I recalled every face I had seen, and came to a single conclusion- I've never seen this guy before in my life."

Naruto's left hand clenched behind his back as he struggled to keep a straight face, because Kurama was full on laughing in his mind.

"That led to the conclusion that this was a guy that was impersonating a Konoha shinobi, and could be a possible spy."

"If you suspected him to be a spy, then you should have brought him in for questioning instead of killing him there and then," Tsunade countered reflectively.

That was a tricky question, and needed some bullshitting. That was the standard procedure when any suspicious individual was encountered. Perhaps some deflection was required?

"To be honest, Hokage-sama, I was operating on instinct at the time. While anyone my age couldn't have been a spy for long, I was unaware as to what his full capabilities were, whether he had sure means of escaping us or not. Which is why I neutralized him before he could make any such attempt. There was a juinjutsu, a curse seal on his tongue that likely prevented him from divulging any secrets. Someone has a lot of dirty secrets to hide, Hokage-sama," he replied, his emphasis on the word clear to all.

Everyone in the room flickered their eyes towards Danzo, whose face remained inscrutable as ever. Inside however, was a different story entirely. He was cursing himself for bringing this matter up in the first place. He had made it pretty clear that Sai was his shinobi, and with Uzumaki revealing the purpose of the seal, it meant that he was subject to a lot of unwanted attention from now on. He was already aware of Hiruzen giving him the stink eye in his peripheral vision.

Naruto decided to put a little more heat onto Danzo. He shrugged, "Of course, I could have removed the seal if I hadn't killed him, and maybe you would have gotten him to talk, but no use crying over spilt milk now, right?"

Tsunade took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. From what Naruto had told her, it sounded like he had genuinely believed that Sai was a spy. But Tsunade knew it not to be true, for she had been introduced to him only a few hours ago, as Danzo's underling. But what she wasn't aware of was that Sai had a juinjutsu on his tongue to keep him from spilling out unwanted secrets.

She still remembered the discussion with the elders.

Flashback

It was like a standoff against two opposing sides. Tsunade, Hiruzen and Shizune were sitting against the two elders, with the latter standing. The atmosphere in the room was tense, and Tsunade just wanted to get out of here and get some sake. Dealing with the old codgers was never a pleasant experience.

She internally sighed. 'Oh, how I wish I could just pass on the hat to Naruto now, now that he's strong enough. But…..he isn't ready. Not yet.'

"So, what is it this time?"

The two elders eyed her with disapproval at the lack of her formality, not that she cared. Those two could go die in a pit somewhere and she wouldn't even bat an eye. "It's about Uzumaki Naruto," Koharu opened the discussion.

Tsunade and Hiruzen didn't say anything, which Homura took as the cue to continue. "From now on, don't assign him missions that have the possibility of him running into the Akatsuki," he firmly stated.

Tsunade suppressed the urge to admonish the elder harshly for speaking to her like that. Who did he think he was, ordering around the Hokage like that?

"You know the reason, don't you?"

Tsunade's eyes flickered to the female elder. She was the worst of the two, always thinking as if the decisions of the elders were absolutely right. Whenever the discussion was about Naruto, these two always talked like Naruto was nothing more than a deterrent to war for the leaf. They were only concerned about the beast within, not the container, and that pissed her off.

Oh yeah, she and her sensei were well aware of what Koharu was implying. Don't send him out of the village or the Akatsuki will get him. She would have snorted if not for the manners that still somehow remained ingrained in her mind.

"You do realize that Naruto is now a shinobi capable of defeating Jiraiya at his best, right?"

The eyes of the two elders widened at that. But Koharu once again reminded Tsunade just how stubborn she was. "I refuse to believe that. Naruto might be a prodigious shinobi, but defeating Jiraiya is compl-"

"Are you accusing my student to be a liar, Koharu?" Hiruzen interrupted her with a steely glint in her eyes.

Koharu swallowed as she backtracked hastily. "N-no, Hiruzen. It is just too shocking to believe that a shinobi who has not even reached his physical prime is capable of defeating one of the Sannin."

Hiruzen receded his glare. "I thought so."

Tsunade fought the urge to smirk at the elders. Even retired, sensei hadn't lost the ability to effectively shut the elders up. She continued, "Besides, what could we possibly gain by keeping a shinobi of his caliber confined in the village?"

Koharu spoke again, her voice showing signs of frustration now. "By remaining in the village, the Akatsuki-"

"Had no problems in kidnapping the Kazekage, right from the heart of his village," Tsunade cut her off dryly. Koharu was now visibly gritting her teeth, and that was a good sign in Tsunade's eyes. "And they were successful. What makes you think they wouldn't try this again?"

This time, it was Homura who spoke. "Then from now on, make sure he works in a four man squad with more skilled shinobi, and increase the surveillance on him."

Koharu wasted no time by piggybacking on the argument. "Furthermore, decrease the amount of missions assigned to him as much as possible, and limit the scope of his activities. If possible, don't let him leave the village at all."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the old bat. "You know what my answer is."

Both the elders truly looked as if they were exhausted by explaining to her that their point of view was absolutely right. "Tsunade, Naruto is not an ordinary kid. He's a jinchuriki!"

"Don't," Tsunade spoke right after her, fury shining in her eyes, "raise your voice when speaking to me." To enforce her statement, she leveled a healthy amount of killing intent at the elders. Once they looked properly scared, she continued. "I am the Hokage and you will treat me as such. Call me by my first name again and I WILL revoke your authority as village elders!"

She stared them in the eye, increasing the amount of killing intent until it was almost suffocating. They nodded hurriedly, and she dropped the killing intent slowly. She won't allow them to push her around like they did to her sensei.

Taking a deep breath to abate her anger for the moment, she resumed speaking. "As to your suggestion, I can say with absolute certainty that currently, Naruto is THE most powerful shinobi in this village. Do you expect people weaker than him to protect him?"

Tsunade glared at the elders, getting frustrated by the second. "He will operate in a four man cell anyways. And I won't keep him confined in the village. He is one of the very few, no, the ONLY ninja in our village who can kill Akatsuki members without risking much of his life. You know the power of Hiraishin, don't you?"

The elders and her were locked in a glaring contest, until Homura sighed. "If he does get taken, what will you do?"

Tsunade didn't even hesitate for a moment before giving her answer. "Naruto won't be beaten. But if it does get to that, then I will put my life on the line as the Hokage!"

Tsunade had a triumphant glint in her eye when she saw that the elders looked defeated. She was about to declare the meeting over when Koharu spoke up once more, a cunning glint in her eyes. "But, in exchange for your conditions, you will use the shinobi that we select in order to complete their four man cell."

Tsunade had a bad feeling about what she was about to hear next. She already had had a person in mind to fill the incomplete squad, but she had to listen to the elders at least sometimes. Otherwise, they would keep hounding her until she gave in. Any and all sense of triumph left her in a sigh. "Fine."

"Come in, Danzo!"

Flashback end

Long story short, Danzo had put forward Sai, someone he claimed to have personally trained. While there was no mention that he was from root, Tsunade knew better than to fish around.

With Kakashi incapacitated, she also had to look for another leader for the team. But now wasn't the time for that.

"Naruto's account tells me that he genuinely believed that Danzo's suggested shinobi Sai, was a spy in the village. Naruto, you're free to go. But don't repeat this action in the future," Tsunade warned him.

Danzo stepped forward, his eyes showing frustration. "Hokage-sama, are you really going to let him off with a slap on the wrist? He murdered my subordinate!"

Naruto frowned, then refuted the claim calmly. "Murder is premediated. But," a sly glint came in his eye as he eyed the elder, "I wonder just why would you put a juinjutsu on your own subordinate, Danzo-san."

Then his eyes narrowed, and his voice turned suspicious. "Maybe you just didn't want him divulging the secrets that Root still exists?"

The question was more than enough to calm Danzo down. "Root was disbanded years ago due to Sandaime's orders, Uzumaki-san. He was simply someone I trained to be one of my personal guard."

All the people in the room except the elders collectively held back a snort. Only one thought went through their heads.

That is the biggest load of horse shit I've heard.

Naruto flippantly shrugged. "Whatever you say." He then turned to Tsunade. "Any further orders, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade frowned and nodded. "Yes, you are to meet your new teammates in half an hour, in front of training ground 7. I'll pass along any further details relating to the leadership of the team. Don't be late."

Naruto nodded sharply. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Making a half ram, he was gone in a shunshin. Tsunade finally let the wide smile she had been holding back for the entire meeting blossom on her face. "Well, this was a very upsetting turn of events," she said, not sounding upset at all.

The elders especially looked crestfallen. Before anyone could speak, Tsunade did. She wasn't going to give them a chance of outmaneuvering her this time. "This would have been a setback if I didn't have a contingency plan."

The elders looked up, confused. "Contingency?"

Tsunade nodded cheerfully. "Yes. A contingency named Uzumaki Haruto."

The elders immediately protested. "Tsu- Hokage-sama, you can't! We don't know if he could be trusted!"

Tsunade held up her palm, stalling all complaints. "What you know or don't is irrelevant. Naruto has given me his word that Haruto can be trusted, and that he will personally take responsibility if anything happens. And before you say he's not qualified," she didn't even bother to hide her glee, "Haruto has proved himself to be a highly capable chunin just last week. And I was planning to put him on the team anyway before being persuaded otherwise by the elders."

Danzo knew that he had lost his play on this. He himself had kept tabs on the other Uzumaki, and had to admit, the boy was just as good with his chains as Kushina, if not better. He had debated on whether he could somehow convince him to join the Root, but later discarded the idea. For every Uzumaki, family came first. And Haruto was too close to his cousin for Danzo to take the chance.

If he didn't know better, and he really didn't, he would have thought that this was a masterful play by Uzumaki Naruto.

"Danzo!"

He gave no indication to his thoughts as he faced his leader. Tsunade gave him a shark like smile. Not grin, but smile. "I have no further need of your shinobi and as such, won't trouble you anymore. You may leave."

Danzo gave a short nod, and exited the office. Things were spiraling out of his hand, and he needed to do some damage control.

XXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later, Naruto was standing with Sakura at the entrance of training ground 7, waiting for their new teammates. His pink haired teammate didn't bother to hide her curiosity when she saw him coming.

"Any idea who this new teammate and sensei will be?"

Naruto shrugged. "I have no idea as well."

They both stood in silence for a few moments, after which Naruto quietly spoke up, cautious and a bit hesitant. "Listen, about what happened in Tsunade's office earlier-"

Sakura cut him off with a shake of her head. "No, it's…fine. I can see where you're coming from." She sighed, memories of her genin days coming to the forefront of her mind. "I could never see past Sasuke, the reality of our world. I never really got serious until the second phase of the exam. All I wanted was, for Sasuke to see me just like I saw him." She sighed once more, looking a bit depressed. "I used to be quite the bitch, huh?"

Naruto quickly spoke up, "I never called you that."

Sakura gave a chuckle, but it was humorless. "You didn't need to, Naruto."

Naruto was impressed just how far his teammate had come. Admitting your own faults was the most difficult step to overcome and improve. It was basically taking a shot at your ego and pride, and making sure they crumble to pieces before you begin to repair them.

Sakura shook off the thoughts. "Well, I don't ever want to think back to those days if I can help it."

"I completely understand."

Once more, silence reigned for a few moments and once more, Naruto couldn't help himself. But this time, it was a deceptively innocent start to his conversation. "So, I never got the chance to talk to either of you but….." he leaned in with a sly look in his eyes, "did you have a good time with my cousin?"

The reaction was priceless. Sakura choked on air, and her face flushed deep red. As he patted her back, Naruto couldn't understand whether it was because she was choking, or whether she misinterpreted his words, or he had hit the bullseye. As she leveled out, she fiercely glared at him.

"What the hell are you talking about?! We did nothing of that sort!"

Naruto gave a cheshire grin at that. This was too good to pass up. "Whenever did I say anything about that?"

Her face heated up even more, and Naruto pushed a bit more. "My my, already imagining yourself in those situations with my cousin, Sakura? You naughty girl~"

He leaned back to avoid the smack to the back of his head. "Hey! I was kidding!"

Sakura was still blushing, and Naruto could actually see her veins on the back of her fist as she waved at him threateningly. "Would you seriously stop?! Or by your advice, I'm liable to beat you up!"

Naruto raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever you say. I was just wondering whether you and he had a good time when you were showing him around Konoha."

Naruto didn't know whether it was possible, but Sakura's blush could have rivalled Hinata's when they were genin. At once, the anger drained out of her and embarrassment took its place. "Oh."

Naruto let her stew in her embarrassment for a while. "So, did you have a good time?"

Sakura nodded, not looking at him. "Your cousin is really nice."

Naruto smiled at her acceptance. "Knowing him, he must have asked you out on a date."

Sakura's head whipped so fast, Naruto heard a crack in her neck. "H-How do you know about that?!"

Naruto gave her a dry look. "He's my cousin, Sakura."

She gaped at him for a moment before sighing defeatedly. "I guess he is."

"So you accepted?"

Sakura huffed, crossing her arms and looking the other way. "B-Baka! Who the hell asks a complete stranger out after just meeting them?"

But Naruto could see the pink on her cheek. Smirking, he looked up to the sky. It was obvious that Sakura clearly held some attraction towards his cousin. It was only a matter of time.

My cousin is not the one to give up, Sakura. Jiraiya saw to that.

Soon, Naruto felt two chakra signatures closing on their position. He grinned when he recognized one of them. The other one was distinctively unfamiliar.

Two people appeared in front of them. One was Haruto wearing a chunin vest over a standard uniform, his headband wrapped around his forehead and the other was a relatively normal looking man with a jonin vest. Naruto closely observed the latter, who was supposed to be Kakashi's replacement.

He had ordinary features- brown spiky hair, coal black diamond shaped eyes. Stretching his senses, he tried to get a feel for this man's chakra. It was high jonin level, highly refined, and extremely calm, and since he was standing in such close proximity, Naruto could even tell the natural affinities of the person.

Earth and water. And yet…..there's something more.

For as long as he had been a sensor, Naruto could feel other people's natural affinities if he concentrated hard enough. The presence of more than one affinity pointed to the presence of a bloodline limit. Not only that, but the strength of both the affinities of this man was unusually high. Usually, when a person has two affinities, one is always comparatively weaker than the other.

Except for himself and this guy. He was a special case.

And yet this guy…

Naruto decided to leave the deductions alone for now. He smiled at the man, giving no indication of his thoughts. "Nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. You can call me Naruto."

The man smiled as if amused. "I'm well aware, Naruto. You can call me Yamato."

The man's calm expression hid most of his nervousness, and Naruto could detect a hint of insecurity in his tone. But still…

Call him? Not many people in village can match Kakashi's caliber, so where did Tsunade find a guy to replace Kakashi?

The answer came to him the instant he finished the question.

ANBU.

ANBU were the black ops of Konoha. They operated in the shadows, without being seen or heard. They remained coiled like a snake and when ordered by the hokage, sprung like a snake. They were supposed to be the best.

Naruto turned to his cousin, who was grinning at him. He smiled softly. "So Tsunade chose you for team 7, huh?"

Haruto clearly couldn't resist bragging to his cousin about it. "Tsunade-sama saw fit to promote me to chunin after the test. She said that she was considering putting me on your team, but then someone had already claimed it. Now that he's gone, she put me back!"

Naruto nodded, proud of his cousin. "Good for you."

Haruto then turned to Sakura, whose cheeks had reddened once again. "Oh, Sakura! How are you today?"

But not every girl was shy as Hinata. Sakura smiled back at Haruto, once she had gotten her bearings. "I'm good, Haruto. How about you?"

The redhead looked positively delightful that Sakura wanted to talk to him. "Yeah, I'm good. Being on a team with my cousin and you is sure gonna be fun!"

Naruto eyed the jonin beside him, and saw him calmly observing the interaction. He wasn't even looking awkward, which usually what people feel when they are not part of a conversation. In fact, he looked as if he approved the fact that all the members of the team knew each other.

With Haruto looking as if he wasn't going to stop chatting with Sakura anytime soon- and Sakura should realize it's her fault as well- Naruto knew it was time to step in. "Alright you two, that's enough socializing for now."

Seeing his serious expression, Sakura adopted one as well as she stood straighter. Haruto only lessened his grin to an easygoing smile before standing at ease.

Seeing both of them paying attention, Yamato spoke up. "First off, let's get one thing clear. You may be thinking that I'm the leader of the team, but that's only partially true." Seeing Sakura and Haruto's perplexed expression, he clarified. "Usually, the uppermost rank in the team gets leadership. However, due to his jonin rank, Naruto automatically gets a say in team dynamics. To be simple, Naruto and I will be sharing the leadership position among us."

Sakura nodded sharply, while Haruto frowned a little, but nodded at last. Yamato continued, "You will take orders from both of us, depending on who is present with you. As for the mission, we assemble in front of the gate in one hour. We are heading to the Tenchi bridge. We intercept the spy, and bring him in for questioning."

The others nodded. Yamato dismissed them, letting them go in order to pack their supplies.

Naruto immediately flashed back home, leaving Haruto and Sakura. The former had eyebrows raised, wondering just what put his cousin in such a hurry. "Well," he broke the silence, "you heard the boss. See you at the gate!"

With a ram sign, he disappeared into a shunshin.

Sakura sighed as she turned and took to the roofs. "I really need to learn the shunshin no jutsu."

XXXXXXX

Naruto arrived in his home and kicked off his sandals, going straight to his study. He took the large, travel scroll leaning against the wall in the corner of his study and spread it open. Pressing his palm against one of the kanji, he pushed chakra into it.

In a small puff of smoke, a normal sized scroll came out. He tucked the scroll into a belt loop and closed up the larger one. His organizational system was rather simple- no need to gather and pack up supplies for every mission if you can just keep a scroll prepared beforehand. When the time comes, just grab the scroll and be on your way.

"God bless fuinjutsu," he murmured sagely as he placed the scroll back in its place.

Exiting his study, he locked it and went straight to the kitchen. Temari was at the stove, flipping a pancake and humming a tune. She was wearing a loose shorts and t-shirt.

Naruto smiled and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hey."

Temari smiled as she leaned back against his chest. "Hey. Going on a mission?"

Naruto sighed. He knew he was addicted to his wife's touch, and it made it difficult to let go at times like these. "Yeah. Pretty important one."

"Oh?" Temari absently asked as she put the pancake in a plate.

"It's S-rank."

Temari froze just as she was about to pick up her plate. Then she turned around with a grim look. "Akatsuki?"

Naruto frowned a little. "Technically no, but yeah. It could be."

She put her hands around his neck and drew him into a hug. "Be careful, alright?"

Naruto returned the hug gently. "I will."

They stayed like that for a few moments. Kissing, making out and sex was great and all, but there were times when Naruto just enjoyed the gentle touch of his wife. Sometimes, just a hug was enough to express what one felt. This was one of those moments. But still….

"Can I have a kiss before I go?"

Temari giggled softly. "We're married, Naruto. You don't need permission to kiss me."

Naruto grinned as he closed the distance between them. "I'm glad for that."

Her lips tasted of sugar as he molded his with her. His right hand went to the small of her back and the other to the back of her neck, pulling her close and deepening the kiss. Temari sighed as she rubbed his cheek where his whisker marks used to be. The area was still sensitive, and a pleasure point for Naruto. As she predicted, he purred low in his throat, his grip on her tightening.

Soon, the kiss came to an end and Naruto pulled back reluctantly, because they needed to breathe sometime. Naruto stepped back, but not before pecking Temari's cheek one last time. "I love you. Bye."

With that, he flashed out. Temari stood there in the kitchen, blushing and looking slightly dazed.

"I love you, too," Temari whispered to an empty kitchen.

She then broke out into a goofy smile, picking up her plate and sitting down to eat. The pancakes tasted extra good today, she mused.