54 Peaceful Waves

"And, again." Masakado instructed.

"Alright." Naruto and Tayuya nodded their heads as they began writing their seals carefully.

It had been a week since returning to Konoha from Mizu no Kuni. Naruto began his day the same way he had been since his arrival; after getting ready for the day and eating a quick breakfast, he would meet up with Tayuya and Masakado for fūinjutsu practice. Masakado had designated one of the buildings in the clan estate to 'fūinjutsu practice'. They met up inside a large, open room with green brick flooring and walls, instead of wooden walls and tatami mat flooring and began to work immediately upon arrival.

Feeling a lot more relaxed and less under pressure to teach the Uzumaki as quick as he could, Masakado acted as a much more patient instructor. He only requested at least two hours of training with him each day and urged both Tayuya and Naruto to practice individually on their own what they had reviewed during that day.

After roughly a minute of careful writing, Naruto finished his seal before Tayuya. He then looked over to Masakado expectantly. The man briefly glanced over at the seal, noticing the kanjis for 'wind' and 'shield', along with an ornate pattern that completely encased them.

"Alright, we'll see if you did the seal right." Masakado mumbled as he quickly held out his right hand. His hand was immediately covered in stone that appeared bigger than his actual body. The man then charged forward at Naruto: "Now, defend!"

Naruto nodded again in understanding. He held out the seal with his right hand, directly in front of him: "Fūinjutsu: Protective Winds!"

The seal activated instantly, glowing a bright light blue color. The seal then released winds that surrounded Naruto's body, forming a barrier of sort around him. Masakado's stone-covered fist made contact with the winds surrounding him instead of Naruto. The elder Uzumaki, however, continued to push forward with his attack, trying to break through the barrier. After a few more seconds of pushing, Masakado's technique finally broke through the barrier. The winds scattered, causing Naruto be wide-open for the former Uzukage's attack. He was hit hard by the attack and knocked back a few feet. The blonde winced in pain, but managed to hold his ground slightly and prevent himself from getting knocked against the wall.

"Ugh…" Naruto grumbled, trying to recover from the impact.

"Barrier needs to be a bit stronger, kid." Masakado informed him sharply. "I'm still not giving it my all to bust through. Your seal still needs to be better."

"I'm trying, I'm trying." Naruto replied.

"Better than my progress with it." Tayuya grumbled as she still focused on drawing her seal. "I can't even produce any 'protective winds' around me."

"Naruto probably has an easier time with this since his chakra affinity is wind." Masakado explained with a shrug. "I'd try working on a barrier with your affinity, but your natural affinity, fire, isn't known for being particularly defensive. I'd stick with this. You'll get it eventually."

"I know, I know." Tayuya continued to grumble, still focusing on drawing her seal.

"Although, Naruto, I must be fair, you are making progress." The aged-Uzumaki said, looking back to the boy. "Tayuya has a point; you can actually produce the winds around you to block attacks. And I had to exert more pressure on you that time to break it than I've normally had to. I think if you keep working on the seal, you'll probably have it by either tomorrow or the next day." The Uzumaki then shook his head slightly. "Hopefully Karin's been keeping up to date with her fūinjutsu training."

"Speaking of her, is she alright?" Naruto questioned. "Did she ever write back once she got back to Kusa?"

"She… did." Tayuya sighed as she put her pen and sealing paper down and looked at Naruto. "She was going to actually try and convince Kusa's government to allow her to be the ambassador to Konoha or something. Basically try and convince them to allow her to live here. It obviously didn't work." A scowl then developed on the kunoichi's face. "Now she's kinda on lockdown with the village. They're watching her carefully to make sure she doesn't abandon them and flee here."

"Fucking dumb." Masakado shook his head. "She doesn't deserve any scrutiny. She's too nice."

"I'd agree with that. I mean, I get the concern and all, but Kusa's being dumb as fuck." Tayuya commented. She then noticed a scowl develop on Masakado's face as well and she immediately shook her head. "No, we already discussed this Masakado, you can't go and try and threaten them to let her come here. That'd cause some diplomatic bullshit and could get Konoha and Kusa into war. And while Konoha would mop that shithole off the planet, that's something that should not happen!"

"… You take me too literally. I wouldn't do anything too drastic." Masakado replied, his scowl turning more into a frown.

"Yeah, sure." Tayuya rolled her eyes.

"Well, maybe something may change. Maybe she can get permission at some point to move here?" Naruto suggested with a shrug.

"Pretty naïve there, Naruto." The kunoichi mumbled as she turned her attention back to her seal.

Her comment caused a frown to develop on Naruto's face: "I'm idealistic, yeah, but naïve. Just give it some time. Maybe Kusa will open up more to the idea if we improve our relations with them."

"If relations improve, that's a maybe. We'll see." Masakado replied with a shrug. "For now, though, we'll just be keeping in contact with her through mail. And at the moment, your concern should actually be on perfecting that seal!"

Naruto nodded his head. He went to go pull out another sealing paper and go back to work on his seal. Just as he got his sealing paper out, however, the door to the room opened up. An ANBU operative with a mask that resembled a cat and purple hair entered the room. She bowed after entering the room.

"Excuse me for interrupting, Masakado-sama, but Sandaime-sama has a mission for Naruto." The ANBU reported.

"For me?" Naruto blinked. The blonde shrugged. "Alright then."

"Is this mission going to require him to be away from the village?" Masakado questioned.

"Yes." She nodded her head. "He will have time to report back after meeting with Sandaime-sama."

"Goddammit. We were just getting back into the swings of practicing your fūinjutsu." Masakado shook his head slightly before turning back to Naruto. "You better keep practicing then. Try working on seals whenever you get any form of spare time. At least an hour or two each day!"

"I gotcha." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Already on another mission like that." Tayuya shook her head and let out a small chuckle. "Whatever. See ya soon, Naruto."

"Yes, see you soon." Masakado added. His lips twisted into a small smile. "Take care, alright?"

Naruto returned the smile as he nodded his head, once again, in understanding: "I'll be careful. Promise. I'll be back home as soon as I can be!"

With that statement, Naruto and the ANBU agent left the room. They then left the estate and hurried over to the Hokage's office.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, thank you for coming so quickly." Hiruzen greeted Naruto upon entering the room.

The blonde smiled at the Hokage and waved at him. He then noticed the other people in the room: Haruno Sakura and Inuzuka Kiba, who was accompanied by his dog, Akamaru. Both genin looked over to Naruto as soon as he entered the room. The blonde smiled in recognition

"Hey, Kiba! Sakura-chan!" He greeted the two.

"Yo, Naruto. It's been a while." Kiba shouted, grinning upon seeing his former classmate. Akamaru barked in agreement with his partner.

"Naruto? H-Hi." Sakura greeted with a much-less enthusiastic response. If anything, she seemed hesitant.

The Uzumaki quickly noticed her reaction and frowned. While he had not spent a lot of time around Sakura recently, he definitely remembered her being a lot more confident. He couldn't recall the last time he had heard her stutter before. It was apparent to him that something was bothering her and he was curious to figure out what.

"Naruto-kun, I was just informing both Sakura and Kiba about the mission. It's a follow-up to a previous mission they had." Hiruzen stated as he coughed slightly, drawing full attention to himself. "They were previously involved in a mission in Nami no Kuni where they helped escort a bridge builder named Tazuna to his home to finish building a bridge. With the bridge built, Nami no Kuni now has a much easier time getting resources and has become a much safer, hospitable place to visit." The Hokage allowed a smile to develop on his face. "The mission is a C-rank mission that Tazuna paid for and it's simply delivering supplies to Nami no Kuni that he ordered to assist with development in his village. I already have the supplies gathered and placed in sealing scrolls to make the journey easier. The mission is to simply deliver them and collect the money from his family."

"This is going to be awesome." Kiba exclaimed as he pounded his hands together. "Can't wait to go out and travel again. Also, I'm wondering how that squirt Inari is doing. Hope he's been taking care of himself and everyone there like he said he would."

"Inari?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Tazuna-san's grandson." Sakura answered. "He and Kiba became kinda close after they got into a big argument."

"You call it an argument; I call it just straightening up that brat's attitude. Admit it Sakura! Inari was a little shit when we first met him. I like to think I helped him grow up a bit." Kiba replied, rubbing his nose slightly in pride. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"That sounds like Tsume." Hiruzen commented, chuckling slightly.

"Eh, I suppose." The Inuzuka shrugged. "I'm my Mom's son, after all!"

"That you are." The Hokage chuckled again. His face then turned serious as he pulled out three scrolls. He got up from his spot at his desk and walked over to Naruto. "This mission is simply a delivery mission and should not take long. The three of you should be on. As the chūnin on the team, Naruto will be acting as team leader."

Both Sakura and Kiba frowned almost immediately. Naruto noticed their reactions and a frown developed on his face as well. He took the three scrolls from the Hokage before turning to address them.

"What? Do I not seem like a good leader or something?" Naruto questioned.

"Nah, I'm sure you'll be fine. You're the chūnin, after all." Kiba replied with a shrug. "Sakura and I were just talking before you got here, though, and we kinda wish that Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei could be on the mission too. Nami no Kuni was kinda a weird mission for us, so I think it would have been pretty cool if they were here to see it again."

"As I said earlier, Kiba, both Sasuke and Kakashi are on missions. I already assigned them to different tasks before I even received the mission request from Tazuna." Hiruzen replied. "I apologize that I potentially deprived a sentimental mission for your team, but that is why I got you and Sakura involved. I had assumed the two of you would want to get some closure from that mission and just see how the village is doing."

"No, you are right. We do." Sakura spoke-up, letting a smile cross her lips as she bowed to the Hokage. "And we appreciate it."

"I'm glad to hear." Hiruzen returned her smile. "Anyway, your mission is now underway. You may leave whenever you are ready. Tazuna mentioned in his letter that he had no real rush, but I still would prefer you three getting there and returning as quickly as possible."

"Of course." Naruto spoke-up. He then looked over at Sakura and Kiba and shrugged. "Um, so, let's try and leave in maybe an hour? Get all of your stuff together and say goodbyes to people. We'll meet up at the entrance to the village then and head-out."

"Right!" Sakura and Kiba said in unison. Akamaru barked, expressing his agreement as well.

Within moments, Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru left the room, hurrying off to get ready. Naruto and Hiruzen remained in the room. The Uzumaki stood still for a moment, blinking, while the Hokage looked at him in amusement.

"Huh… I actually just ordered people… and they followed through with them." Naruto mumbled to himself.

"It tends to happen when you have some degree of leadership." Hiruzen chuckled. "You are aiming for Hokage one day still, right? You may need to get used to that. But you'll need to be a responsible leader."

"Right." The blonde nodded his head. He finally turned his attention back to the Hokage and smiled. "Anyway, I need to get ready myself. See you later old man!"

With those words, Naruto rushed out of the room. Hiruzen continued to chuckle as he watched the blonde leave.

'Prove that to me Naruto. Be a good leader.' The Hokage thought to himself. 'I would love to have just a few records of you being a good leader to justify promoting you quickly.'

After getting his supplies ready for the mission and saying goodbye to Hinata, Shikamaru, Anko, Dosu, and his family, Naruto remained still, waiting at the entrance to the village. He pulled out a map and briefly looked at it. His eyes focused on Nami no Kuni's location.

'Okay, this honestly isn't that far away. It's nowhere near as bad as Mizu no Kuni! Maybe it will take us three days to get there? Maybe two if we actually hurry. We are shinobi, so we don't have to slow our pace down for any escorts.' He told himself.

Once he was satisfied with his sense of direction, Naruto put the map away and remained still, waiting for his team to arrive. A few more minutes passed by before Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru arrived on the scene.

"Hey!" Naruto called out, greeting his teammates. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are." Sakura replied.

"Lead the way." Kiba nodded his head in agreement. He immediately snorted. "That felt weird to say."

Naruto started walking out of the village, with Kiba and Sakura following behind him. As they left the gate and began heading towards Nami no Kuni, Naruto turned his head back to the Inuzuka and gave him a curious look.

"What's weird to say?" He questioned.

"Well, eh, it's not really what I said. Just looking at you as my captain." Kiba admitted with a shrug. "I mean we were classmates after all. It feels like you shouldn't be much ahead of us." He then shook his head again. "Then again, Sasuke's also ahead just like you, as is your whole team. Some of us other rookies need to step up our game."

Kiba's comment seemed to affect Sakura's mood, as a frown developed on her face again. Naruto noticed her frown, causing him to sigh.

"Anyway, let's really start heading out." The Uzumaki suggested. "If we go at a quick enough of pace, I think we may make it to Nami no Kuni within two to three days. We just need to keep going for as long as we can. We'll stop for the night eventually, but I'd love to make as much progress as we can."

"Right." Both Sakura and Kiba stated, along with Akamaru, who barked to express his affirmation.

The trio proceeded to rush out of the village and headed on the path towards Nami no Kuni. Naruto took the lead while Kiba and Sakura followed close-behind. The group traveled in silence for a few minutes before the Inuzuka chuckled, breaking the silence.

"Isn't it weird, Sakura? That Nami no Kuni mission was the first chance where we got to really be shinobi and we are going back again." He stated. "I'd like to think the two of us have grown since then. Us especially. We've definitely matured as shinobi!"

"I'd like to think so too!" Sakura replied, smiling again.

"How'd that mission go again, by the way?" Naruto questioned. "I heard a couple things for you guys, but nobody really said anything."

"That mission was hell at first. Exciting, but hell." Kiba admitted. Akamaru barked in agreement. "We got ambushed immediately after leaving the village and the rating of the mission got bumped up to an A-Rank mission. Some dude named Gatō was after Tazuna and hired a bunch of missing ninja to kill him."

"Kakashi-sensei protected us and is the reason we and Sasuke-kun did not die. The three of us, in particular, got overwhelmed by one of the missing ninjas in a three on one fight at the bridge." Sakura continued. "It… was an eye-opener. The shinobi world was a much more dangerous place than we ever could have thought."

"It just meant we have to take this more seriously." Kiba mentioned. "I… I could have died that day. We all could have. So, I've tried to remember that every time I train to make sure something like that never happens again." The Inuzuka let a small smile develop on his face. "Something like that was good for us. It really showed me, at least, what was important in life and motivated me to work a little harder on stuff."

"That's good to hear, at least." Naruto replied with a smile. That smile faded as he recalled his own C-Rank mission and the encounter with Akatsuki. "We had something like that happen on our first C-Rank mission. It… was scary. Almost killed us. But, we didn't die. We survived." The smile returned to his face as he recalled meeting Han and his team. "And I think I learned a lot about myself then too."

"That's good to hear, but that's almost kinda scary, Naruto. Something like that I think happened on Ino's team's first C-Rank mission too." Sakura admitted with a slight shiver. "I'm starting to think C-Rank missions are cursed."

"Ha!" Kiba snorted. "No need to worry this time, Sakura. I'm sure Zabuza and the ice-guy won't be showing up this time."

Naruto's eyes widened at Kiba's words. While he remained focused on rushing down the path, he turned his head slightly to face the Inuzuka.

"Zabuza? Ice guy? Are you talking about Momochi Zabuza and Yuki Haku?" He asked.

Both Kiba and Sakura nearly gasped at Naruto's question. They remained silent for a second as they processed what he said before nodding their heads.

"Well, yeah, that's Zabuza, but how the hell do you have a name for the ice guy?" Kiba questioned. "None of us got to know him at all."

Akamaru growled after Kiba's statement, suggesting that the dog was interested in getting an answer as well.

"I met them in Mizu no Kuni. Can't say I talked much to Zabuza ever, but Anko-sensei seemed to really like him." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Haku was usually with him and he had the ice-style kekkei genkai, so I just thought that might be who you two were talking about. He's actually a very cool dude if you get to know him."

"Mizu no Kuni? Oh, yeah." Sakura mumbled as realization came to her. "I forgot that you went on that mission. Kakashi-sensei was assigned to the civil war mission as well. So you met Zabuza and Haku-" Before she could fully finish her question, the kunoichi stopped herself as she gasped. Her eyes were now incredibly wide as she recalled another thing she had heard about the Mizu no Kuni mission. "Wait, Naruto, you fought the Mizukage, right? That's what everyone has been saying. Even Kakashi-sensei said it!"

Realization dawned on Kiba's face. It was his turn to gape at the blonde in front of him.

"More than fight! Didn't you kill him?" He questioned.

Naruto, this time, unlike when Sasuke had talked to him, resisted the urge to frown. He reminded himself of what the Hokage had told him – don't act suspicious and take ownership of killing Yagura. As a result, he managed to nod his head in affirmation.

"I was acting as backup to Terumī Mei, who is now the Godaime Mizukage, and another shinobi named Utakata, but yeah, I helped fight and kill the Yondaime Mizukage." He answered neutrally.

"Dude… that's just…" Kiba shook his head. "How tough are you, Naruto? That's unreal."

Akamaru whined, expressing his surprise at the fact. Sakura, in turn, shook her head.

"Sasuke-kun couldn't do something like that. I wouldn't think anybody of our age and strength should be able to do it. But you managed to…" She mumbled to herself, her frown returning and seemingly growing.

"I mean, I repeat myself; I had backup." Naruto admitted. "There's not a chance I would have survived two minutes into that fight if Mei and Utakata weren't with me. Mei especially. I just managed to provide help when I could."

Kiba shrugged in response: "More than we could do, probably. Mom told me a few things about the Mizukage and I know it would be a big deal to actually kill that dude." He then let out a small chuckle. "Shame it wasn't the Tsuchikage. That bastard deserves his death when it comes."

His 'joke' caused Naruto's neutral face to drop into a scowl. Kiba noticed the change in mood and scoffed.

"Whatever, man." He grumbled. "Thought you had enough pride in Konoha to not care about a stupid Iwa joke, but whatever."

Silence filled the area. None of the three shinobi said a word as they focused solely on their journey to Nami no Kuni.

"Checkmate." Shikaku declared as he moved his final piece.

Shikamaru grumbled to himself, shaking his head slightly and trying to ignore the smug look on his father's face. He went to get his remaining pieces and adjust them on the shogi board back to their starting position.

"Care for a rematch?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm always up for another game, but I might ask for one later." Shikaku replied as he stood-up and stretched his arms slightly. "Gonna go see if Inoichi and Chōza are up for a drink. It's been a while since we last went out."

His son blinked in response: "Dad, you three met up for drinks three days ago."

"Like I said; it's been a while." The Nara Clan head repeated himself.

Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief before going back to adjusting the pieces on the shogi board. Shikaku looked at his son and chuckled at his reaction before he looked back to the shogi board. His eyebrow rose in curiosity as he recalled their match.

"Say, Shikamaru, I noticed that you were playing differently than usual." He noted. Shikamaru gave him a confused look, so his father sighed and proceeded to elaborate. "You were a lot more careful with your pieces and seemed to get frustrated whenever I got any of your pieces, even the pawns. Any particular reason?"

"… Shogi is used to help develop our strategies for future missions." His son said with a sigh. "I tried to see if I could emulate a real life scenario and have a successful mission with no casualties."

His response widened Shikaku's eyes. The man closed his eyes for a moment as his face fixed itself into a neutral expression.

"So you saw every piece as a potential casualty on a mission?" Shikaku questioned. "I presume you saw yourself as the king then?"

"Nah, I'm not that important. I don't really know what I'd classify as myself as." Shikamaru answered.

"Then what was the king?" His father pressed.

Shikamaru closed his eyes in thought. He had worked out this metaphor in his head based on his own experiences and previous discussions he had with his father, but he never finished it. He really didn't know what he would classify as the king.

'The mission' was the first thing that came to Shikamaru's mind and he nearly opened his mouth to answer that, but the thought rubbed him the wrong way. Was a mission alone really worth sending off shinobi to die for? Shikamaru recalled his first mission, where his team stayed behind and fought off the 'Akatsuki' shinobi to try and help Han's team survive. There was no mission involved with that, but they were still willing to do that. However, why were they?

He opened his eyes as the answer hit him.

"The king is the Will of Fire." Shikamaru stated sharply. "Every mission, every battle, every strategy is based on what is in the best interest for all people of Konoha. The desire to love and protect is what is important to all shinobi and what we all are willing to die for. That is what the king is."

Shikaku opened his own eyes and smiled at his son in pride. He nodded his head as he turned his head back to the shogi board. He walked over to it and placed his index finger on it.

"You're correct. The king is the Will of Fire. We are all the other pieces and, regardless of if we are a gold general or a knight or a pawn, we all fight for that king. And that king is something we are willing to die for. And as such, it is alright to be a bit more reckless with your strategy. You can't be too cautious Shikamaru. In certain missions, where our 'king' is in danger, it is important to keep it alive. Without the Will of Fire, Konoha would cease to exist." The Nara Clan head stated. His smile, however, seemed to grow. "But you have the right idea, for the Will of Fire gives us the desire to protect each other. You work hard to keep casualties to a minimum or even a complete zero if possible. You are thinking with the heart and mind of a true strategist of Konoha, Shikamaru, and I have no doubt your mind is going to be legendary one of these days."

Shikamaru's eyes widened at his father's words and praise. Shikaku chuckled at his son's dumbfounded reaction as he walked away from the shogi board. He then made a hand gesture, urging Shikamaru to follow him.

"I was going to go out, but I think I'll save that for another day." He stated. "Come on Shikamaru. We can play another game later, but I think I have something I can show you that might do you more good in the long term."

"Hmm?" His father's words snapped Shikamaru out of his state. He stood-up and walked over to his father's side. "What do you want to work on?"

"A jutsu that I was going to teach you a little bit later, but I think you definitely have the right mind and heart to use it right." Shikaku stated with a chuckle. "It's about time I teach you the Shadow Sewing Jutsu."

"That'll be all." Hiashi informed Hinata and Neji. "Neji, you are dismissed. Hinata, if you don't mind, I'd like you to stay. I have something I wish to discuss with you."

Neji and Hinata nodded their heads at the Hyūga Clan Head's request. Neji walked over to the door, bowed, before leaving the room. Hinata hurried to her father's side and looked at him expectantly.

"Yes, father?" She questioned.

"Hinata, a thought has entered my head for a little over a week now and I think you may be more of an expert on the subject." Hiashi informed her. "I wish to hear what you think of the issue."

"Ah! Of course." Hinata nodded her head once again. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Since you and Uzumaki Naruto are officially a couple now, I have to ask you; have you spent time with the other Uzumaki in Konoha? Have you interacted much with Uzumaki Masakado?" Her father asked.

The question took Hinata aback. She closed her eyes in thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"I've met with Masakado-san a few times. He's relatively reclusive and our conversations are usually short. He also seems to have quite the temper and gets frustrated easily." She admitted. Despite her statement, a small smile developed on her face. "However, he seems like a nice man and Naruto-kun has nothing but good things to say about him. He's very knowledgeable, especially on the topic of fūinjutsu." She then gave her father a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

"I've only met Masakado-san twice: once when we had first entered the village and the second time when the Hokage and the Clan heads met with him to discuss his intentions in our village. Both meetings were in public, professional settings and he didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood during both." Hiashi explained. A small frown developed on his face. "I'm trying to figure out how to approach him for a request and see if he is able to do it."

"What request?" Hinata questioned.

Hiashi said nothing for a moment. He closed his eyes before re-opening them, his Byakugan activated. He focused around him and detected no presence nearby. The closest person was Neji, who was already far enough away that he would be unable to hear anything. Feeling satisfied, Hiashi deactivated his dōjutsu before turning his attention back to Hinata.

"I want to see if he potentially would know how to redesign our clan's cursed seal." He answered.

"What?" Hinata nearly shout. 'R-Redesign the cursed seal?'

The thought had never even occurred to the Hyūga heiress. She knew something had to be done to her clan's traditions in regards to the branch family, but she was uncertain exactly what she was going to do. The ideas that seemed the most 'realistic' to her was to either have the seal applied to all Hyūga, including those of the main branch, and force the discrimination between the main family towards the branch to come to an end or to simply no longer allow the seal to be placed on branch family shinobi and designing some type of 'alternate method of keeping the Byakugan safe from outsiders. She had never considered anything else, let alone altering the cursed seal.

"Wh-What revisions were you thinking about, father?" Hinata, after organizing her thoughts slightly, managed to ask.

"I think you should know what I would like removed, Hinata." Hiashi replied quickly. "I'd like to remove the qualities of the seal that damage the person's brain cells when activated." The Hyūga Clan head proceeded to shake his head. "The seal was designed long ago and the dual natures of the seal – to keep the Byakugan within the Hyūga and to control the Branch family – are interconnected too much. I like the idea of the seal that prevents others from taking the Byakugan, and would want that applied to all Hyūga, including the Main family, but I need to discover a way to remove the secondary affect." His eyes proceeded to narrow as he looked Hinata in the eyes. "That is what I want to discuss with Masakado-san. As an Uzumaki shinobi, a former Uzukage at that, I assume he is somebody who could help me redesign the seal."

A wide grin developed on Hinata's face. She immediately nodded her head in understanding and clapped her hands together.

"I believe Masakado-san would be able to assist with this, father." She informed him. "Based off of everything Naruto-kun has said, he surely has the skill for such a task."

"I would hope so. I'll try and meet with him within the week." Hiashi sighed. His eyes then narrowed back on Hinata. "If he can, however, I still need you to be strong: both you and Neji. The clan elders will object to this plan, which is why I intend on only bringing it up when both the seal is ready, if it is possible to be redesigned, and when you and Neji are strong enough that I can point to you both as potential leaders to the clan. I want to make you both the strongest Main and Branch family shinobi respectively and usher in a new era for our clan that will start with the two of you as the beacons for that era."

"I understand father." Hinata proceeded to bow slightly. "If it means potentially uniting the clan, I will work even harder."

"Good." Hiashi nodded his head. A small smile developed on his face. "You've done well, Hinata. You've grown. I know your mother would be proud of you." His smile seemed to grow slightly wider. "Tomorrow, I'd like to train for more time, if that's alright. I have an idea for a technique that I think could suit you."

"An idea?" Hinata looked at her father in confusion.

"Well, to be honest, it's not my idea. It was one of your mother's: a jutsu she was unable to complete before she… passed on." The Hyūga Clan head stated. Hinata's eyes widened at his statement. She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't seem to notice and continued to speak. "However, I saved her notes. I think we can work on it. Hinata, perhaps you can complete the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists."

'A jutsu of mother's…' Hinata closed her eyes.

Her mother was somebody she had not really thought of as a shinobi too often – she had stopped going on frequent missions by the time she had Hinata and she died giving birth to Hanabi. However, she had heard stories of her mother as a shinobi. She was considered an exceptional shinobi – both from other Konoha shinobi and other Hyūga Clan members.

'Mother couldn't finish this jutsu of hers… maybe it's too much for me. Maybe-' Hinata proceeded to shake her head. She opened her eyes slightly as they filled with determination. 'No, that's not how I can afford to think. Father needs me to be strong to help unite the clan. I can do it! I need to be strong! I can learn this jutsu!'

"I'd like to try to learn it." Hinata vocalized her determination

"Good." Hiashi smiled at his daughter. "Training will begin at our usual time. Together, we'll finish your mother's technique."

Naruto, Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru had traveled for hours until the sun finally started to set. Naruto quickly rushed to a nearby tree and stopped moving, causing both Sakura and Kiba to stop moving as well.

"It'll get dark soon. Now's probably a good time to set up camp." The blonde said with a shrug. "We'll pick up with the pace tomorrow. If we keep up at our pace, we should reach the bridge by tomorrow evening and get to Tazuna's village in Nami no Kuni maybe two days from now. If not, then we'll get there the next day."

"Sounds good to me." Kiba nodded his head in understanding. "So you want us to camp here then? Akamaru and I can go get hunt for some food real quick."

Once again, Naruto shrugged his shoulders: "Go for it."

The Inuzuka and his canine partner shared a look between each other before grins developed on their faces. Within seconds, the two were off back into the forest around the newly-appointed campsite, looking for food. Naruto and Sakura were now alone.

"Do you want me to go get firewood or something?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto shook his head. He then made a singular hand sign. A poof of smoke filled the air and six shadow clones of Naruto were spawned in the area. Each clone shared a look with the original Naruto before they hurried off in separate directions. When they were gone, Naruto turned his attention back to Sakura, who was looking at him in surprise.

"I sent two of them off to go collect firewood." Naruto explained to her. "Two of the others are going to go see if they can find any good berries or something to go along with whatever crap Kiba brings back while the last two are going to just patrol the area around us and make sure no other shinobi or any threats are nearby."

"Ah." Sakura nodded her head hesitantly in response. "So, what are we going to do while we wait?"

"You can do whatever you want. Train or something." Naruto offered as he took a seat by a tree. "I'm going to do some practice myself!"

Sakura remained still as she watched Naruto pull out a few sheets of sealing paper and a pen. He then began drawing seals rapidly on the pieces of paper. The pink-haired kunoichi watched him finish one seal within thirty seconds before he quickly frowned, crumpled the sealing paper, and pulled out a new piece of paper.

"Naruto, what are you working on?" She questioned.

"Fūinjutsu." He answered, still focusing on making the seal.

"Fūinjutsu?" Sakura repeated his answer in surprise. "Since when did you have an interest in that?"

"Since I got more interested in being an Uzumaki. I'm good at it and I want to get better!" Naruto answered with a chuckle. He finished drawing the seal he had been working on and was now studying in closer-detail, making sure it was perfect. "I'm working on a seal right now that Masakado-jī-san taught me that would help create a barrier of sorts when activated. I could use some more defensive techniques and make my jutsu arsenal a little bit more varied, y'know?"

"Er… yeah, I know." Sakura mumbled in response.

The kunoichi looked downward slightly upon seeing Naruto work on his seals and hearing his response. He seemed incredibly passionate about his work and, based on his words, he was probably already very skilled in it. He was clearly somebody way above her league.

"Shadow clones, fūinjutsu… I don't know why they said I was a better student than you." Sakura commented as she sat down, a frown developing on her face. "I'm way behind all of you."

"Huh?" Naruto looked up from his work and stared at the kunoichi in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a chūnin Naruto. And a good one that apparently was able to kill the Mizukage!" Sakura declared. Naruto frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but Sakura shook her head and continued to speak. "God knows that you're going to be jōnin soon at your rate. And you're not the only one; both of your teammates are chūnin as well. As is Sasuke-kun. People are also saying that Shino is guaranteed to be chūnin at the next Chūnin Exams and lord knows that Kiba is a better shinobi than I am." She closed her eyes, trying to resist the urge to tear up. "I don't compare to any of you. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying."

"Sakura-chan, you try because you are strong. You were one of the best shinobi at the academy of our grade!" Naruto informed her.

"Can you even say that, Naruto?" Sakura nearly scoffed in response, which caused Naruto's frown to deepen. "You only just saw my grades and whatever we did in front of the class. I'm not whatever shinobi you think I am, Naruto. I'm probably not even the person you think I am."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped himself as he processed her words and realized that she was right; Naruto really did not much about Sakura, as she did not much about him. The most interactions they ever had was when Sakura would get irritated at him for either asking her on a date, when he tried to one-up Sasuke, or whenever he was pulling a general prank. He never really talked much with her and figured out much about her.

'Why did I even like her in the first place? I never knew her to begin with!' Naruto realized. His frown deepened as he continued to stare at the kunoichi. 'But I know she's not as bad as she says is…'

While Naruto couldn't recall precise interactions between himself and Sakura, he always remembered her getting praise from Iruka and the other academy instructors. She was viewed as the brightest kunoichi of their class for good reason!

An idea entered the Uzumaki's head and his frown was replaced with a small smile. He stood up and walked over to and held his hand out to her.

"Well, since we apparently didn't really get to know each other, let's start over." He told her cheerfully. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

Sakura looked back-up at Naruto. She wiped at her eyes, getting rid of any tear-strands that managed to come-out. The girl was looking at him in confusion.

"Huh?" She managed to ask.

"This is the part where you introduce yourself." The chūnin informed her. He waved his hand at her, urging her to shake his hand.

"Um… okay?" She mumbled as she extended her hand and shook his hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"I was one of the dumbest guys to ever graduate from the academy." Naruto admitted with a chuckle. "How about you?"

Sakura actually let out a small chuckle at Naruto's blunt answer: "I was actually one of the brightest. Not like it did much for me now, but it's what I was."

"Hey, you never know?" The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "When I say I was one of the dumbest people at the academy, I meant it. I really was as bad as I was doing. But I finally made a few friends who saw potential in me and started training with them to get to their level and then to keep going further." The smile on Naruto's face seemed to grow a little wider. "And, if you want, I could be that friend for you?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked in response.

"Well, Shikamaru and Hinata-chan really helped me become tougher. So if you really don't believe in yourself and want to grow stronger, maybe you and I can train together when we got some spare time." He reiterated. He then let go of his hand and gestured towards his sealing paper and pen. "Like, I know you're a pretty focused person who likes to get everything perfect. Maybe you'd like to learn fūinjutsu with me? Cause you might have the right mind to do good at it?"

"Really?" Sakura, once again, blinked in response. "Me? You think so?"

"Mhmm." Naruto nodded his head once again. "And if you got anything for me, I'd love to try and learn. We could motivate each other to get better!"

Sakura said nothing for a few moments. Her face morphed into a neutral expression, as if she was contemplating what he was telling her.

'Me? A fūinjutsu user?' Sakura repeated the idea in her head. 'That'd… be cool! But I don't know much about fūinjutsu at all. I only know extremely brief stuff the academy went over. I'd have to do a lot of independent research if I even want to try and study it!'

'… But that's not a bad thing.' She quickly told herself. Her face morphed into a more relaxed, happier expression. 'Sakura, you were just telling yourself you need to work harder. You haven't found your niche yet. Maybe this is it?'

"If you want to work with me, I'd love to." Sakura informed Naruto, still smiling. "I was mostly looking into genjutsu at the moment, so if you'd like to try and help you with that in exchange, I'd definitely love to practice fūinjutsu with you!"

"I actually have piss poor chakra control, so I don't know if genjutsu is for me, but I definitely need more practice on dispelling genjutsu!" Naruto informed her with a chuckle. "We'll work out the details when we're back in Konoha, but this stuff will definitely happen!"

"Heh." Sakura giggled in response at his positive attitude. It really was infectious. "You're very nice, Naruto. I can see why Hinata was so into you back at the academy."

Her comment caused Naruto to stop chucking. A red blush developed on his face as he looked at the kunoichi in surprise.

"You knew about Hinata too?" He questioned.

"Everyone knew. She wasn't very subtle. You were the only one unaware, I think." Sakura admitted with another giggle. Her face proceeded to light up as she recalled some more 'gossip' she heard. "By the way, I heard a juicy rumor from Ino not too long ago that you and Hinata are officially a thing! You two are dating, right?"

"Um, yes." Naruto replied, his blush seemingly growing. Despite his blush, he was smiling. "We are, yeah."

Sakura's smile grew exponentially upon hearing his answer and seeing his reaction: "That's great news! You two deserve each other."

Conversation relaxed as Naruto and Sakura simply talked to each other. They talked more about what has developed in their lives since the academy. Their talks did not get too detailed, but it was refreshing. The two appeared to be on the first track to becoming friends.

Around twenty minutes later, Kiba and Akamaru returned, holding the rewards of their hunt. The trio proceeded to cook and eat. Afterwards, they went to sleep, preparing for the next day and for the completion of their mission.

"For fuck's sake Tsunade, my information better be right this time." Jiraiya grumbled to himself.

The Sannin had left Konoha the day after his arrival back in the village at Hiruzen's request to retrieve his fellow teammate, Tsunade. He had assumed the task would be quite easy; he kept tabs on Tsunade regularly to simply check-up on her and see if she was in trouble. He did not assume it would be difficult to track her down and that he would be back in Konoha in no time with her so that Hiruzen could dump the responsibility of the Hokage's hat onto her and he could be on his merry way.

Unfortunately, it did not work out that way; apparently, Tsunade had racked up more debt than usual since the last time he checked in on her and she was currently fleeing debt collectors through Hi no Kuni. While it did not make her impossible to find, it meant Jiraiya was having to work much harder, traveling to villages for only a few minutes to find information about if Tsunade had been there and, if so, which village she had been last seen traveling to.

The last news Jiraiya had heard was that Tsunade had travelled to Totsukawa, a remote village near the Ame no Kuni border. Upon arrival, he had received confirmation from a confidant of his that Tsunade was, indeed, in the village. It was only a matter of finding where in the village she was.

Jiraiya roamed the city for hours, looking in every casino and gambler parlor he could find. Once it became evident that she was not present and had not been seen in any establishment, he started looking in bars. It took him four bars before he finally found what he had been searching for.

Sitting at a bar stool and slightly slouched over the bar was Tsunade. The woman looked exactly as Jiraiya recalled; her blonde hair was still stylized shoulder length, she wore her grass-green haori with the kanji for 'gamble' on the back with a grey kimono underneath it and a dark bluish-grey pants, and she had a glass of sake in her hands. Although her back was turned, Jiraiya could still tell she had her genjutsu activated to keep-up her younger appearance.

Sitting next to her was Shizune, her apprentice. She, on the other hand, looked very different from what he recalled – she looked older. She had black, shoulder-length hair and was wearing a dark blueish-black kimono. She was holding onto a small pink pig in her hands and was looking at Tsunade in concern.

"Finally." Jiraiya nearly shouted as he walked forward into the bar. "Tsunade!"

Both Tsunade and Shizune turned their heads at the sound of the voice. Both women appeared to be stunned at the sight of the white-haired man.

"J-Jiraiya-sama!" Shizune mumbled upon seeing the man. She quickly bowed and let an apprehensive smile develop on her face. "It's nice to see you again!"

Unlike her apprentice, Tsunade did not immediately say anything to Jiraiya. She, instead, chugged the rest of her sake before slamming the glass down on the bar, nearly shattering it.

"Hey, another round!" She shouted to the bartender.

"Don't charge her, though." Jiraiya requested as he took the seat on Tsunade's left side. "I'll pay for her."

The bartender nodded his head before pouring her another drink. Tsunade shook her head in frustration as she quickly took her new glass and took a sip.

"How gracious of you, Jiraiya." She commented, rolling her eyes slightly. "What do you want?"

"Wow, Tsunade, that's a harsh greeting." Jiraiya let out a chuckle. He signaled for the bartender to pour him a glass of sake before continuing to speak. "I had assumed you would want to see me again after so long."

"You don't make casual visits anymore, Jiraiya." Tsunade replied plainly, taking another sip of her drink. "You don't have the time for it. It means that this is going to be a business visit and it's going to piss me off."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune admonished her mentor. Tsunade simply took another, longer drink of her sake, causing the black-haired kunoichi to sigh before turning her attention back to Jiraiya. "Forgive her. We haven't had a particularly good day. We had to leave the last town we were in."

"Believe me; I know." Jiraiya grumbled as he finally received his own glass of sake. He took a long drink of it before placing his glass on the table and looking at Tsunade. He then pulled out the scroll Hiruzen had given him. "Well, if you want to just get this business stuff out of the way, then here. Sarutobi-sensei wanted me to give this to you."

Jiraiya held out the scroll to her. Tsunade looked over to him and took the scroll. She then opened it slightly.

"Before I look at this, should I be aware of anything?" She questioned.

"I don't know." Jiraiya shrugged in response. "Haven't read what he wrote. However, I do know that Sensei wants you back in Konoha-"

"I'm not going back." Tsunade interrupted, her eyes narrowing.

"And Sensei thinks he has the authority to bring you back." Jiraiya replied immediately. His eyes narrowed as well. "Just read the damn thing."

Tsunade let out a small snort before turning her focus back to the scroll. She opened it fully and began to read it.

Tsunade

Before I get too far into this, please do I understand that I have been incredibly patient with you. I understood the grief that you were going through with the loss of your little brother and Dan. It was heartbreaking for me to lose both; I could only imagine what you are feeling. For that reason, I gave you permission to leave the village. I also decided I wasn't going to put you on any 'missing shinobi' list and allow you to stay away, so long as the village did not need you. I stand by that statement.

Which is why I am here to tell you, unfortunately, that the village needs you.

I am getting old, Tsunade. We had an invasion against our village that ended with my successor dying and we had another invasion, led by your former teammate, that nearly killed me and destroyed the village. I'm not up for the job anymore. I want the village to be strong again. Therefore, I need you back. Konoha needs you.

Bare in my mind, I think you will find some things enjoyable in the village. For example, the Uzumaki Clan has recently started to develop again. We have two young shinobi who seem fit to usher in a new era for the clan, as well as the arrival of Uzumaki Masakado. Surely you know who he is? I'm sure your grandmother must have told you something about him when you were growing up. Regardless, I know you have some invested interest in the clan, as the Senju and Uzumaki were connected. I know that is something you'd be interested in at least.

But I will be clear right now, Tsunade. This isn't a request for you to come back; this is an order. And I intend on enforcing it. If Jiraiya does not return with you, I will personally seek you out and bring you back. By force. And if I cannot find you even when I go to search for you, I will add you to the 'missing shinobi' list.

I'm sorry, but I need you back in the village. I hope you will be able to understand my logic and forgive me for this. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Sarutobi Hiruzen – Sandaime Hokage

Tsunade read through the scroll. Each word seemed to sober her up more-and-more. As she continued to read, her eyes narrowed further. By the time she finished it, she crumpled up the scroll in her hands before reaching for her sake glass. She chugged it all in one-sitting before slamming her hand on the table, shattering the glass and frightening both Shizune and the other patrons of the restaurant. Her eyes then focused on the bartender.

"ANOTHER GLASS!" She demanded.

The bartender's eyes widened in fear before he quickly rushed over with another wine glass of sake.

"Damn, Tsunade. No need to give him a heart attack." Jiraiya scolded her with a chuckle.

"This isn't something to laugh about, Jiraiya. Sarutobi-sensei is threatening me to come back!" Tsunade hissed.

She immediately began chugging on her sake glass. Upon finishing it, she placed her glass down, making sure not to smash this one. The bartender immediately rushed over and poured her more.

"I assume you are going to come with me then, right?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Do I even have a choice? I'm not stupid. I'm not going to risk having Sarutobi on my ass." Tsunade replied as she lifted the glass. "I have go back with you, I suppose."

Jiraiya was quick to notice that a small smile seemed to develop on Shizune's face upon hearing the news. While she did seem to always to respect Tsunade and her decisions, she seemed to also clearly miss her home village. Shizune already appeared excited and relieved about returning back to Konoha.

"Well, we'll head out first thing tomorrow then." Jiraiya informed her.

"Goddammit." Tsunade grumbled as she chugged the next glass of sake. Upon finishing it, she turned her head to face her fellow Sannin. "That old bastard mentioned something about the Uzumaki clan coming back. That true?"

A smile developed on Jiraiya's face. He took one more sip of his own glass before beginning to explain stories about Naruto, Tayuya, and Masakado to her.

Naruto's prediction was correct; after two days of non-stop, quick travel, the team arrived in Nami no Kuni. After traveling over the newly constructed bridge, the trio walked into the first village of the country and looked around.

The village resembled Konoha in the aftermath of the Suna/Oto invasion. Many buildings seemed to be under construction and a lot of people were going back-and-forth with various equipment. Despite the state of the area, the people walking on the streets appeared to be smiling. There was a positive attitude that seemed to cover the entire village.

"This place has made a lot of progress, hasn't it Kiba?" Sakura questioned cheerfully as she looked from place-to-place.

Akamaru yipped quickly in agreement, causing Kiba to chuckle before nodding his head in agreement.

"How bad was it here before the bridge was finished?" Naruto questioned.

"Pretty bad." Kiba noted with a frown. "Bunch of Gatō's thugs ran around like they owned the place. The buildings looked even worse and no one appeared this happy." His frown then developed into a smile once again. "Good to see that people are finally able to get over him, though. That bastard's dead and Nami no Kuni can actually grow as a country again."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. Silence covered the group as they continued to walk forward through the village. Upon thirty minutes after arriving, they arrived a wooden, two-storey house that was built on a wooden platform above the water.

A grin developed on Kiba's face as he rushed ahead of his team. He ran to the front door of the building and knocked. A few seconds passed by before the door opened up. A young boy with spiky black hair and dark-colored eyes, dressed in a green jumpsuit over a yellow shirt and a blue and white striped hat, appeared and looked out and greeted Kiba.

"Hello? Can I help-" The boy's words died on his tongue as he actually looked at the person standing in front of him. "Wait, Kiba?"

Both Kiba and Akamaru snickered in response to the boy. Akamaru walked over to the boy and gave his foot an affectionate lick.

"Been a while, hasn't it Inari?" Kiba questioned. "How've ya been, squirt?"

The boy, Inari, responded by rushing forward and giving Kiba a tight hug. The Konoha genin chuckled as he quickly bent down slightly to better return the hug.

"It's great seeing you again!" Inari exclaimed.

Naruto and Sakura walked forward, arriving at the door.

"They are close, huh." Naruto noted.

Sakura nodded her head, smiling in response: "Told you. It's actually kinda cute in my opinion."

Just as Kiba and Inari stopped hugging each other, two more left the house and walked outside. The first was a woman with long blue hair that went to her upper back and the same dark-colored eyes as Inari. She wore a pink shirt with a red collar and had a long, blue skirt on. The other person was an older man with grey-hair underneath his yellow pointed hat, a beard, and glasses. He wore a black sleeveless, V-neck shirt, an obi, and a pair of pants. He also had a white towel around his neck.

"I was wondering who was at the door." The older man said with a chuckle. "Sakura, Kiba, it's good to see you both again. Where's the rest of your team?"

"Hello again Tazuna-san!" Sakura greeted the man with a bow. She then turned her head to the woman next to him. "Hello, Tsunami-san!"

"Sasuke and Kakashi are out on a different mission, which sucks." Kiba commented. He then pointed to Naruto. "Instead, we got stuck with this guy."

Naruto shook his head, resisting the urge to frown at Kiba's dismissive introduction. He, instead, held out his hand and smiled at Tazuna.

"The name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet ya." He said.

"Hmph." Tazuna let a smile develop on his face as he shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Naruto. Judging by the fact that you're wearing the same jacket Kakashi was wearing when I met him, I take it you're the leader right now."

"Yup." The blonde nodded his head in affirmation.

"You don't look much. You're pretty short." The man said with a loud laugh.

Naruto's smile immediately fell. A small scowl developed on his face as he broke their handshake.

"Hey, I'm not-"

"Forgive him, Naruto-san. He's had a little bit to drink today." Tsunami spoke-up, smiling at the blonde. She bowed respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for accepting my father's mission."

"Yeah, really. Thanks for accepting it and getting it done so quickly." Tazuna admitted, shaking the back of his head slightly. "You all have the supplies I ordered, right?"

"We got them, yeah!" Kiba stated proudly. He then looked over at Naruto expectantly. "Hand them over to him, Naruto!"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes as he pulled out the three scrolls that Hiruzen had given him. He then held them out to Tazuna. "I can unseal them for you now, if you'd like."

"Nah, you can unseal them a little bit later." The bridge builder shook his head. "I need to pay you first and thank you all."

"You all should stay the night here." Tsunami spoke-up. "Father and I do want to thank you all, especially knowing that you two are here, Sakura and Kiba. Nami no Kuni owes you all for what you have done!"

"Everyone owes you guys so much that Grandpa ended up naming the bridge the Great Konoha Bridge!" Inari spoke-up with a snicker.

Kiba and Sakura smiled at the boy's comment, looking visibly touched at the sentiment. Naruto, too, smiled and turned his back around. His eyes focused back on the bridge in the distance that they traveled to reach the country.

"Tsunami's right, you all should stay the night here. I'll pay you all tomorrow after I treat you all to some good food and drinks!" Tazuna stated with a loud, happy laugh.

"That means Kiba and Akamaru and I can hang out today too!" Inari stated happily. He then looked over at the Inuzuka and smiled. "Do you wanna go fishing really quick? I found a nice spot that's super easy to catch stuff!"

"Lead the way, squirt." Kiba replied with a grin.

Within seconds, Inari ran off, away from the house. Kiba and Akamaru followed close behind. The group watched them leave before they turned their attention back to each other.

"I'd like to hear more about everything that's changed since you all left. Would you like to talk more about that, Sakura?" Tsunami questioned the kunoichi.

"I'd love to!" Sakura replied with a smile as she walked forward.

"You wanna come in to… Naruto, right?" Tazuna questioned the blonde. "Tsunami made some tea, so we all can drink it and talk and stuff."

Naruto turned his head away from the bridge and focused back on Tazuna. A small smile developed on his face.

"I'd like that, yeah, but do you mind if I take a quick walk around the village?" He asked. "I kinda want to just see the place here."

"Do whatever you want, kid." Tazuna replied. "You're the one who did me a favor. The door is always open when you get back. Just knock."

The Uzumaki nodded his head in understanding. The group proceeded to separate, as Sakura, Tazuna, and Tsunami entered the house while Naruto began his walk around the village.

'It's really nice here.' The Uzumaki told himself.

Naruto's walk had gone on for nearly an hour. He had no clear destination in mind; he just simply walked through the village. He passed new buildings that were under construction with each street. Each person he walked by seemed to beam at him, waving cheerfully and wishing him a good day.

'The people here are so nice. I don't think I've ever seen a happier place. Not even the people of Konoha are this nice to me.' He realized. A small smile developed on his face as he recalled the stories Kiba and Sakura had told him about Nami no Kuni. 'They're clearly a strong group of people. They've already gained their strength back after that Gatō guy and seem like they're on the path to making their country great again!'

"Excuse me, Konoha shinobi?"

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts by a woman's voice. He turned his head and noticed a woman long, curly black hair and icy blue eyes approaching him. She wore a long blue dress with a black ribbon tied across her waist. The thing that stood out to Naruto, though, was the gentle expression on her face.

He quickly smiled back at her and walked towards her.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Naruto greeted her.

"I just wanted to ask you a question, if that's okay." The woman questioned. Naruto nodded his head, which prompted her to continue. "I've heard rumors from passing merchants that the civil war in Mizu no Kuni is over and that Yagura is dead. Are they true?"

Her question took Naruto by surprise. While he was uncertain what a Nami no Kuni resident would want to ask him, he wasn't expecting something relating back to the civil war in Kirigakure!

Like he had been practicing, he resisted the urge to frown: "The war's over, yeah. Yagura's dead. Terumī Mei is now the Godaime Mizukage."

"Terumī… as in the Terumī Clan?" The woman questioned. Before Naruto could confirm her answer, a smile developed on her face as she started to speak again. "Perhaps things maybe will change for the better, with a woman with a kekkei genkai as the head of the village."

"Were you from Mizu no Kuni?" Naruto asked.

"I was. I was from a decently large village, but I was forced to leave once the civil war began." She said, the smile turning into a frown. "I have a son and I didn't want him growing up in a place like that and potentially dying in the crossfires, so my brother and I moved here." The smile took a bitter-note. "Even when Gatō was in power here, it was still better than being surrounded by full-blown war."

"That makes sense." The Uzumaki nodded his head in understanding. A smile proceeded to develop on his face. "Things have changed, though, if you ever want to go back. I can't speak for the rest of Mizu no Kuni and where you are from, but I know Kirigakure itself has become safer again. Mei's trying to do as much work as she can to fix all the damage that has been done. And more people are able to come-out as having kekkei genkai?"

"Is that so?" The woman questioned. "Things are really getting better?"

"Mhmm." Naruto, again, nodded his head. "My friend, Shikamaru, has a good friend he worked with during the civil war named Yuki Haku and he's from a clan with a kekkei genkai." The woman's eyes widened at the name, but Naruto didn't notice as he continued to speak. "Shikamaru would tell me all the time about everything Haku has said. There's a noticeable change in atmosphere in the area. It really has started to become peaceful again. And the Kirigakure shinobi are getting sent out on missions throughout Mizu no Kuni to make sure that violence in other villages ends." The smile on his face turned into a full grin. "I know Kirigakure is a safe place again and I think Mizu no Kuni as a whole will become safe again in the coming years."

The black-haired woman remained still for a moment. She closed her eyes, processing Naruto's answer. A few seconds passed by before she let a smile grace her lips.

"When I asked my question, I was expecting to hear that another man like Yagura had taken control of Kiri. I see that is not the case. Thank you so much for telling me all that." She told him. "What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." The boy greeted.

"Uzumaki?" Her eyes widened, once again. "So, you've been to Kiri and Mizu no Kuni correct, Naruto-san? And you, as an Uzumaki, feel it is safe?"

"I do. And I have a cousin, Uzumaki Honoka, in Kiri that thinks it's safe as well." Naruto nodded his in affirmation.

The smile returned to the black-haired woman's face and seemed to grow exponentially.

"I see. I'm so pleased to hear that my home village of Kiri is finally safe again. I'll inform my son and brother immediately and see if they wish to return as well. Perhaps see the family you mentioned I have in the village." The woman said cheerfully. She then bowed to Naruto, who was now looking at her in surprise. "It was a pleasure speaking to you, Naruto-san. My name is Kahyō. Yuki Kahyō. I'm not certain how much you, in particular, were involved in the Kirigakure Civil War, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping rid the village of the hate and violence that forced me to flee my home. Thank you so much."

With those words, the woman, Kahyō, started to walk away. Naruto stood still, watching her leave. A few seconds passed by before he fully recovered. Another smile developed on his face as he finally began to walk in the direction he came from, towards Tazuna's house.

'Haku, you are going to have some company soon, I think.' He realized. 'Can't wait to tell Shikamaru about this!'

Anko sighed after arriving in the Forest of Death. She looked upward in the sky. Despite the fact that the trees covered the area, preventing her from seeing the sky fully, she could see traces of the sunset. She remained stationary, looking upward for a moment before she turned her attention to her hands. She quickly bit her thumb and ran through a series of hand signs before slamming her hand on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A poof of smoke filled the area. A large, purple snake with black scales and green eyes appeared once the smoke dissipated. The snake towered over all of the trees around her. Despite her size, the snake appeared to have wrinkles over her scales. She looked around the area for a few moments before directing her attention to Anko.

"It's been a while Anko-chan." The snake spoke respectfully. "I haven't seen you since you signed our fair contract. You've grown."

"It has been a while, Mamushi-sama." Anko greeted the snake politely with a small smile. "My apologies for that. Orochimaru and I had a falling out, to put it as simply as possible with no profanity, so I haven't really been as proactive with meeting with members of your family. After all, Manda hates me."

"I'm glad you remember my rules and are trying to make an effort for me. No profanity. It's undignified." The snake, Mamushi, seemed to smile in response to Anko's comment. That smile faded almost immediately after. "And I understand. I was never fond of Orochimaru, to be honest. And I've just about had it with Manda. Ungrateful hatchling! I hatched him and he lets the position of 'boss snake' go to his head. Bah."

Anko chuckled in response. It had been so long since she last summoned Mamushi that she forgot a few things about her. Talking to her for the first time in years felt like a reunion long overdue to her!

"I have no intention of ever talking to him again and have no intention of ever summoning the snakes like him. That's why I wanted to go through you and talk to you." Anko said.

"Well, I'm here now." Mamushi let out a small chuckle before looking at Anko in curiosity. "Judging by your word choice, though, you seem to have a request for me. What can I do for you, my child?"

"I… In the past year, I've taken on a few students. And it's been one of the greatest experiences of my life, honestly." Anko admitted, a smile on her face. "They're progressing so far at such a fast rate. I don't even think they really need me anymore. But I think have something I'd like to pass down to at least one of them."

"Oh. I see where this is going." The elderly snake continued to chuckle. "You want my permission to let them sign the Snake summoning contract, yes?"

"Not all of them." The Konoha jōnin shook her head. "One of them already signed a contract with the toads." She noticed the frown on the snake's face and immediately shook her head. "Don't think bad of him for that. It's a student-teacher thing. He also got some training from Jiraiya, so it makes sense."

"Jiraiya… he's an interesting man." Mamushi commented with a sigh. "But he seemed like he had a good spirit. I would have much preferred him as our summoner than your instructor."

"And I would have preferred him as my sensei as well." Anko shook her head for a moment. "But getting back to the topic; I have two students who I would like to sign it."

"As the snake in charge of the summoning contract, I can give my permission. I also happen to trust you and like you, Anko-chan. You can pass down the contract." Mamushi informed her. Almost immediately after her comment, a frown developed on her face. "However, I must ask that you only let one sign it."

"Only one?" Anko questioned, frowning slightly.

"Forgive me, but I must keep the interests of my snakes in mind and, to be frank, we, as a Summoning Clan, are tired of the constant use Orochimaru put us through. I would like to have less and less people summon us so that way we can recover from all the numbers we have lost due to Orochimaru and his various schemes." She informed the human. "I respect you as a shinobi and a person, Anko-chan, which is why I will allow you to pass it down to a student. I can trust that whoever you pass it on will be a shinobi like you who won't abuse our clan. However, I'll remain firm about this; only one summoner."

Anko frowned in response. She was hoping to give the opportunity to both Shikamaru and Hinata. However, she wasn't going to argue with Mamushi. If she was allowing her to let even one sign it, she was going to take it. As a result, she bowed her head in respect.

"I'll make arrangements then. Thank you so much, Mamushi-sama." She told her.

"Please do. I'm sure I will greatly enjoy their company!" Mamushi replied with a laugh.

The two said their farewells before Mamushi dissipated, returning back to her home. With her business finished, Anko started to leave the Forest of Death. Her mind focused on the conversation she just had with the elderly snake and the decision she was going to have to make.

'Who would be better suited for the snakes: Shikamaru or Hinata?' She wondered.

Within seconds, Mamushi returned back to Ryūchi Cave. She slithered through the cave, recalling her conversation with Anko.

'I'll make arrangements right-away and get this approved by the sage. It may be nice to have new blood.' She informed herself.

"Mamushi-sama? Is that you?"

Mamushi snapped out of her thoughts and looked towards the source of the voice. Standing in front of her was a human – the grey-haired young man who had physically arrived to Ryūchi Cave and has asked to be trained.

Professional as always, Mamushi forced a smile on her face: "Good evening, Kabuto-san. I assume you are doing well."

"I am, but apparently not as well as you. You appear to be in a great mood!" Kabuto chuckled in response. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing in particular. Just thinking of fond memories. You tend to have a few good ones when you've lived as long as I have." The snake replied.

"I understand. Maybe one day I will have memories just like those." Kabuto chuckled. He then proceeded to walk away, heading down a tunnel within the cave. "I was just heading to meet with the sage again for training. Do you want me to give him your regards?"

"Please do." Mamushi requested.

With those words, the two parted ways. Kabuto continued walking down the tunnel that he had been heading into while Mamushi slithered away. Upon getting away from him, a scowl developed on her face.

'I don't understand where he came from and how he knew where this cave was. Apparently he was an assistant to Orochimaru? I have no idea how he and Manda convinced the Sage to let him train here and sign the contract himself.' Mamushi thought to herself, her scowl deepening. 'Anko-chan, I hope whoever you sign the contract is a more trustworthy person than him. I do not get a good read from this Kabuto fellow.'

Mamushi forced the thoughts out of her head as she turned her attention back to her plans for Anko's student, whoever they were.

Tazuna and his family were incredibly sweet and caring to Naruto and his team. They cooked a large meal and provided good company, happily chatting with them about various topics. It did not take long for time to pass and night to fall over the area. Tazuna quickly showed the shinobi to the guest room where they'd be staying before he, Tsunami, and Inari retired for the night.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm still bit awake. Anybody want to go out for a walk with me or something?" Kiba questioned.

"I'm actually pretty sleep." Sakura admitted with a yawn. "I'm gonna stay in."

Sakura opened the door to the guest room and walked in. As soon as she opened the door, Akamaru let out a yawn of his own before walking into the room himself.

"What? Akamaru? You two?" Kiba shook his head at his partner's behavior. He then turned to Naruto and looked at with an expectant look. "You gonna stay in too, I suppose?"

The Uzumaki shook his head: "Nah, I'm not fully tired. I can go out with ya."

Kiba smiled slightly at Naruto's comment. The two proceeded to walk out of Tazuna's house and into the streets of the village.

The moon was high in the sky above them, providing the only real source of light in the area. Naruto and Kiba walked with no real direction in mind. Both shinobi were quiet at first, not having anything to say, until Kiba let out a sigh.

"It's nice. Being back here and seeing that it's kinda rebuilt itself." He said.

"I bet." Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "If I didn't know about the stories you all have told me, I wouldn't think anything bad about this place."

"That's good. That's really good." Kiba replied. The Inuzuka then gave Naruto a curious look. "Did you feel anything like that when you were in Kiri?"

"Sorta. I wasn't in Kiri before the invasion, but I was in Mizu no Kuni for a bit and I definitely got to see what Kiri was like after the war was really over." Naruto smiled at his memories. "It was nice. Really nice. Knowing all the stuff about Kiri's reputation, it really felt like the place was getting better. By the time we left, I honestly felt like the place was going to become a lot better."

"Heh. Sure it was nice." Kiba snickered. "Wish I could've gone on that mission. Sounds incredibly awesome."

Conversation stopped there for a moment. Naruto and Kiba turned their attention back to their walk. Nearly a minute passed by before the Uzumaki turned to face Kiba. Thinking back to his mission in Kirigakure reminded him of an earlier 'joke' Kiba had made, which caused him to frown.

"Can I ask you a question, Kiba?" He asked.

The Inuzuka looked at him in confusion for a moment, before nodding his head: "Shoot."

"Why do you dislike Iwa so much?" Naruto questioned.

"Cause Iwa sucks, dude." Kiba answered simply. He gave Naruto a confused look. "You know the history, don't ya? As much as you worship the Hokage, I thought you'd know something about them since our Yondaime became famous for fighting against them."

"I know all about the Third Shinobi World War, Kiba." The Uzumaki replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not a dumbass."

"Then why even ask the question?" Kiba answered, glaring slightly. "Iwa did a lot of fucked up shit during the war, Naruto. Like a lot."

"I'm not asking about what Iwa did." Naruto shook his head. "I asked why you hate them so much."

"Dude, because they killed Konoha shinobi! Have some fucking pride in your village!" Kiba growled. "Do you even know how many Inuzuka clansmen died during the war? How many people my mother and father knew? My uncle died then, for fuck's sake!"

Naruto remained quiet for a moment. Both shinobi stopped walking. Kiba tightened his hands into fists and began to release minor killing intent. Naruto stared at him for a few moments, a frown on his face, before he simply shook his head. This caused Kiba to growl once again as he rushed up to Naruto and got in his face.

"Don't act so high-and-mighty about this, Naruto! I know you hated Iwa just as much as I did back in the academy. We made Iwa jokes all the fucking time!" Kiba reminded him.

"I grew up, Kiba!" Naruto shouted back. He pushed back against Kiba, getting him out of his face.

The Inuzuka raised one hand and looked as if he was going to swing at the Uzumaki: "The fuck does that mean? Is 'growing up' another way to say that you don't care about all the lives we lost during the war?"

"No! Kiba, don't you dare assume I don't care. I want to be Hokage for a reason; I care about the village and I care about all people in it. Don't assume shit about me!" Naruto snarled back. "I just had to come to the realization that we weren't much better during the war!"

"What?" The Inuzuka snapped.

"We killed Iwa shinobi too. A lot of them." The chūnin informed him sharply. "The Yondaime himself killed one thousand people in one battle. Which, on paper, sounds badass until you realize that one thousand families in Iwa lost a brother, sister, father, mother, child… whatever. Everyone lost family: Konoha, Iwa, Kiri, Suna, and Kumo." Naruto's face softened as he looked downward. "And it all repeats. Someone like you hates Iwa for everything they did to your clan. Someone like Risho hates Konoha for everything they did to his clan. And we all grow-up hating each other and no longer seeing them as human, only wishing death for them."

Kiba's demeanor seemed to soften. The genin seemed to relax. There was still a scowl on his face, but he seemed to be paying attention to what Naruto was saying.

"The same stuff happened in Kiri. The government blamed the war on people with kekkei genkai and fostered that same hate." The jinchūriki sighed. "Hate leads to war. Hate leads to people coming back from missions dead. Hate leads to funerals and crying families and friends."

Kiba's scowl vanished as his eyes dropped to the ground. Naruto looked up to him, expecting some type of response, but the Inuzuka remained quiet. The blonde sighed and looked up to the moon before continuing his speech.

"The more I think about this stuff, the more it makes me want to be Hokage. That's the kind of thing I want to prevent, y'know?" Naruto mentioned, looking over to Kiba. The genin still did not reply, causing Naruto to continue. "I want to do my part to make it not only a safe place for Konoha, but all the world. I want to make alliances and negotiate and just make sure that war doesn't happen. I want to make sure that no needless hate and death happen."

"That'll take a miracle, Naruto." Kiba replied, finally looking up to face Naruto with a neutral expression on his face.

"Then I'll make one happen dammit!" Naruto exclaimed, pounding his fists together. "That feeling of peace you and I were talking about earlier? I want that to be everywhere! And I'll do everything in my power to make sure it spreads everywhere!"

The Inuzuka remained still, looking at Naruto carefully with the same neutral expression. Naruto didn't seem to notice; he was looking at the moon in the sky and thinking of the future. Roughly a minute past before Kiba finally broke the silence with a small chuckle. Naruto turned to face him only to see a small smile on his face.

"Some goal you got there. Don't know if it's possible, but hell, it sounds like a nice world you want to make." Kiba admitted. He held out his hand. "That's something I can support. I'll try and do my own part to help with that, even if it's going to be hard."

Naruto looked at Kiba in surprise at his statement. Soon, a grin developed on his face as he quickly took Kiba's hand. They both shook hands.

Both Konoha shinobi quickly returned to their walk, this time heading back to Tazuna's house. No words were said throughout the walk. No words were needed. They were seemingly satisfied with how their conversation had ended and didn't want to change that. Both shinobi walked, enjoying the quiet and the peace around them.

"Are you fucking serious, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu shook his head as he ignored the rampant screaming of the man next to him. He briefly looked over to him – a man with grey hair styled backwards, wearing the same black cloak with a red cloud pattern that he wore with black pants underneath, and carrying a red triple-bladed scythe – and sighed. His eyes then turned downward to the reason for the man's screaming: a now-deceased body of a Kirigakure shinobi.

"Hidan, we've discussed this already when we agreed to hunt him." Kakuzu informed the man, now identified as Hidan. "This man had a high bounty in Kumo. I'm taking him in and collecting the bounty."

"Bullshit. This is like the third kill we've made as a team and I haven't gotten a chance to do my ritual and sacrifice to Jashin-sama on any of them!" The grey-haired man hissed. He quickly reached into the inside of his cloak, pulling out an amulet with an upside-down triangle on it. "I've already prayed for forgiveness too many times. I need to sacrifice this asshole!"

"Not happening." Kakuzu shook his head as he picked up the Kiri shinobi's body.

"Fuck you!" Hidan hissed.

The former Takigakure shinobi shook his head.

'For once, can Pain assign me a partner that's not a dumbass?' Kakuzu questioned. 'I'd rather have Nasumareta back. As annoying as he was, at least he wouldn't argue with me about me going after bounties.'

"Can't believe I let you drag me all the way out to the middle of fucking nowhere just so you can collect another bounty!" Hidan shook his head before glaring at his partner. "Money is the root of all problems, Kakuzu. It'll be useless to you when you are burning in hell."

"If there is such a thing as hell and I somehow die and end up there, then I'll be fine. Everything operates on money and business. It'll just be a new environment I'll adapt to." Kakuzu replied dismissively. "By the way, I wouldn't call this the middle of nowhere. We are right by the Great Konoha Bridge at the Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni border. This spot has been booming in regards to business since the completion of the bridge."

"Like I give a fuck." Hidan hissed in reply. "Konoha's too far away and Nami has no shinobi village. There is literally no reason to be out here."

'Goddammit. I'm not dealing with another episode of his. I'm not in the mood for his bullshit.' Kakuzu shook his head. 'There's gotta be some way to get him to shut up.'

Within seconds, an idea entered the former Taki shinobi's mind.

"If you want to kill something so bad, why not slaughter some villagers nearby? There's villages on both sides of the bridge." Kakuzu suggested.

"I will, but I don't want civilians. They're not worthy sacrifices to Jashin-sama." Hidan grumbled.

"Then wait. I'm certain that some shinobi should arrive here at some point." Kakuzu continued to suggest, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "If anyone has a mission in Nami no Kuni, they'll have to cross the bridge. You'll certainly find someone to slaughter soon."

The former Takigakure shinobi proceeded to start walking away: "I'm going to go cash in this body. I'll be back here in two days. I'm sure by then at least a team of shinobi will have passed by that you can kill."

"You're just going to up and leave like that?" Hidan questioned, scowling slightly.

"You're an adult. You don't need company all of the time." Kakuzu informed him sharply. "I'll repeat myself; I'll be back in two days. Pain wants us all to meet with him to discuss things in three days. So stay here, kill any passerby shinobi, and we'll be back together to meet up with the leader."

"Whatever. Do whatever. I'll just wait here." The grey-haired shinobi grumbled. "Fuck you!"

Kakuzu didn't reply; he simply continued to walk as he headed in a random direction to turn in his bounty. Hidan remained where he was and sat down. He looked up to the sky, staring into the moon.

'Guess I'll just wait here. Entertain myself.' The man shook his head. 'Fuck you Kakuzu!'

A malicious grin quickly developed on Hidan's face as he reached for his amulet again. He tightened his grip on it.

'Then again, he has a point. I'm sure that at least one team will pass by here, and I'll sacrifice them each for Jashin-sama!'

Quick Notes:

1: I just wanted to briefly acknowledge that characters probably aren't behaving the way did in the original anime/manga simply due to different relationships. Sakura, in particular, is someone who I think really did benefit from her interaction with Naruto. Kiba is somebody with a slightly similar 'on-the-surface' personality, but I think Naruto was instrumental in some of her development as someone who simply always believed in her. As such, I see her starting to lose her confidence without that constant Naruto-praise for so long. I also wanted to say that, in regards to the conversation with Sakura and her potentially becoming a fūinjutsu, this is just an idea I've had in my head. Sakura, as someone who as meticulous as she is, would make a good sealing expert if she actually put forth the effort to learn it. I have a lot of plans for Sakura and I actually do like her as a character. The other members of the Konoha 12 are going to become more important in time and I can't wait to see what you all think of them! :)

2: Also want to acknowledge Kiba's hate for Iwa, but I probably could have mentioned it when Naruto has issues with them very early-on; I think it's a natural reaction for shinobi who are incredibly proud of their village. Naruto growing up an orphan and Kiba, with the added stuff I gave to his backstory, I think had natural reasons to have negative feelings towards Iwa. Why I chose to give them these prejudices is because I think they would be natural to have and would show how they evolve as people when they grow out of them. This little conversation had planned for a while (and a conversation like this between the two was supposed to come much earlier in the series; I just didn't know where to fit it in naturally) and I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I did! :)

3: Yuki Kahyō, along with her son and brother, are not OC's. Look it up on Naruto wiki! :) I must admit, I have not read the book she was in, so if anybody has, feel free to correct me on aspects of her personality (as she will, at some point, return). However, I was very interested in the backstory that I found on the website and wanted to feature her. I'm incredibly interested now in these books written after the manga and if I can ever get the resources to look into them, I will!