Chapter Forty-Seven: Objectives

(In Konoha)

Sasuke looked back at the Sound Four incredulously.

"You want me to leave Konoha for Oto," Sasuke asked.

"That's right," Jirobo said, "That's the offer Kabuto-sama has sent us to give to you."

"Why should I even bother to accept such an offer," Sasuke replied, "None of you have anything I want."

"You seek power don't you," Sakon spoke up, "We can give you that power and then some."

"Some power," Sasuke scoffed, "It didn't do Orochimaru any favors when he challenged Naruto and we all saw what happened to him. If you four were trained by him then you guys must be even weaker than he was."

"You snotty little Fuck," Tayuya yelled, "If you think you got balls bigger than mine, than fight me you asshole!"

"If your master couldn't beat Naruto in a five on one fight," Sasuke smirked, "Then the four of you wouldn't last five minutes in a fight with me."

"I knew the Uchihas were arrogant," Kidomaru remarked, "But up until now, I never realized how incredibly stupid they were. It's little wonder why Itachi slaughtered them all. Their stupidity must have sickened him."

Those words seemed to have achieved the desired results from Sasuke as bloodlust started pouring from out of the raven-haired Genin.

"Did we make you mad Sasuke," Jirobo mocked, "Perhaps you wish to fight us and prove who's the strongest of the five of us here."

"You're not worth even wasting a fraction of my chakra on fatty," Sasuke insulted. Jirobo now got mad at the Uchiha and was about to lash out at him when…

"Stop it Jirobo," Tayuya ordered, "We're here to convince Sasuke to come with us, not to engage in some shitless quarrel about your body weight!"

Jirobo snarled at his red-haired teammate but decided to hold back his retort to her.

"You four are wasting my time," Sasuke scoffed as he turned to walk off, "Now get lost. I have better things to do."

"Like being in Naruto's shadow," Tayuya remarked, causing Sasuke to stop where he was. Hearing those words was a blow to his ego, though he verbally didn't want to admit it.

"Yes Sasuke we know all about your ordeals with Naruto," Kidomaru added in, "We've kept tabs on you both for some time. The Uchiha clan isn't what it used to be since the Namikaze clan now stands in the place where your clan once stood. I'm sure you've seen how everyone in your village worships that bastard Naruto, kissing his ass just to get favors from him. Tell us Sasuke, what has this crap-ass village done for you as of late?"

Sasuke stayed quiet for a moment.

"No answer huh," Sakon said, "I guess you having no answer means that this village has given you nothing to bring you closer to achieving your objective in attaining real power you rightly deserve."

"Shut up," Sasuke retorted, "None of you know anything about me!"

"We know about your hatred for Itachi," Sakon said, "You desire revenge for what he's done, yes? But what has this village done to help you find vengeance for your clan's demise?"

"What kind of special training did they refuse you but gave to Naruto instead," Kidomaru added in. That question grabbed Sasuke's attention. He recalled seeking training from Naruto in order to gain more power. But Naruto refused and dismissed him, and instead chose three youths who didn't even graduate from the academy to become his new apprentices.

Sasuke have seen Naruto's power first hand, as did many others. He knew what Naruto was capable of doing and how much he held back against them during their days in the academy.

It's insulting, Sasuke thought, Naruto didn't need his full strength to take me or any of the other Genins on in a real fight back then, and his first fight with Itachi was proof of that, and we were still in the academy then. I fought against Itachi and lost badly in a most disgraceful manner. Naruto fought against him again and…

"What's on your mind," Tayuya spoke breaking his train of thoughts, "Still wondering what good being in this useless village will do for your sorry ass as you grow weaker with each passing day while their beloved blond wonder grows stronger?"

If anything, Sasuke hated the idea that he was an Uchiha stuck in the Namikaze's overcastting shadow. In all the years he's known Naruto, Sasuke felt he's made no improvements. He found that he was nowhere near the level Naruto was at and it angered him that all of the special privileges and training he felt he should have gotten was given to Naruto.

Naruto, Sasuke thought as if the pronouncement of that name left a bitter taste on his tongue, He's achieved everything I ever wanted out of life: personal one-on-one training from the Hokages and Jounins, power, admiration and recognition from both councils from Suna and Konoha, the status as a clan leader, and respect. Unlike me, daughters of two clan leaders and the late Kazekage were betrothed to him for the purpose of helping him revive his clan while I was given nothing in regards of my clan. Naruto's very name is feared by many while mine is looked upon and laughed at.

Sasuke felt the curse seal on his neck activate as it fed off his anger and bitter envious spirit. He held his neck while trying to suppress the pain from it.

"Don't fight it," Kidomaru said, "Embrace this power Orochimaru-sama has bestowed to you. Use it to help you accomplish what you seek most in life. Come with us and Kabuto-sama will see to it that you gain more of what you seek."

Black markings started appearing around half of Sasuke's face and body. He turned to look at the Sound Four and his Sharingan activated. He clenched his fists and he looked at them with a hardened expression.

Smirking, Sakon remarked, "Looks like you're interested in testing your power against ours. Alright, I'll be glad to test you out first."

And with that Sakon activated his curse seal and engaged Sasuke.

(Elsewhere In Konoha; At the Sarutobi Estate)

Sandaime was in his study office reading his rare golden platinum edition Icha-Icha Paradise book. A heavy blush was on his cheeks with perverted giggles escaping his mouth here and there.

"I knew it," Sarutobi remarked with a naughty grin on his face, "That jungle ninja has quite the charm on those kunoichis. I always suspected Sango was using her bossy demeanor as cover so no one would suspect that she and her younger sister were having a thre-"

"Jiji!," Konohamaru yelled while making his way toward Sandaime's study office. Sarutobi speedily hid his book before picking up a scroll and hiding his face in it to look like he was occupied doing something else by his desk.

"Yes Konahamaru," Sarutobi said in his best impression as someone breaking out of his train of focus. Konohamaru opened door and hurried over to his grandfather.

"I want to ask something of you. Are you busy?"

"Not at all," Sandaime smiled, Damn! Just when the story was getting good!

"Naruto-niichan said that he has summoning contracts with toads and foxes. Though he could summon snakes from his arms because of a smaller and different kind of contract his signed with the permission of that nutty purple-haired older lady he likes so much…"

Sarutobi knew whom his grandson was referring to but stayed quiet as Konohamaru continued, "He said that he can't summon the Snake Boss, Manda, but that he could summon the Toad Boss, Gamabunta. However, he didn't tell us whether or not he could summon the Fox Boss, whoever that is."

"I'm sure he has his reasons for not disclosing that information at this time," Sandaime said, "So what's this all about?"

"You said that you have a summoning contract with apes and that you can summon Elder King Enma. Do you think it's possible for me to have a summoning contract with apes like you jiji?"

Sarutobi turned his eyes to Konohamaru and saw that the youth was serious. He knew when his grandson would joke around and act childish, but this wasn't one of those times.

"It's not that easy Konohamaru," Sandaime said, "Not every ninja has what it takes to acquire a summoning contract of any sort."

"Well I'm not every ninja," Konohamaru replied, "Just because they don't have the capacity to gain a summoning contract doesn't mean that I won't either."

"True," Sandaime admitted, "However, summoning requires a large amount of chakra and that in itself takes years to build up. Also, if the boss requires it, you must pass a test they'll give to you. If you fail, you won't be allowed to summon them or any of their kin."

"Alright then," Konohamaru said with determination, "I'll practice and train harder to build up my chakra reserves to high levels! And I'll pass whatever test Enma-sama throws at me! Naruto-niichan trains hard all the time to become stronger since he feels that he still has a lot to learn in spite of all he can already do. If niichan made it that far, I know that as his protégé and future successor, I'll be as great as he is, if not close enough!"

Sarutobi looked at Konohamaru in the eyes to see if his grandson was really serious about what he was saying.

"Are you saying all this just because your objective is to become as great as Naruto," Sandaime asked.

"Naruto-niichan uses his power and skills to protect the village and everyone who is precious to him. He even left the village a few days ago to rescue someone from another country who's precious to him. I desire to become stronger so I protect you, Asuma-jisan, Naruto-niichan, my friends and everyone in this village! That's why I seek to become Nanadaime Hokage! Please jiji, what must I do to earn this summoning contract?"

Sandaime never felt more proud of his grandson. He wasn't acting like a spoiled child like how he used to. Konohamaru stayed quiet as he looked at his grandfather as he rose off his seat and walked over to him until he was standing in front of him. Kneeling down, Sandaime took and embraced his grandson into his arms.

"You truly have grown Konohamaru," Sandaime said with a sense of pride in his voice, "You came a long way from how you used to behave. If you had come to me for an entirely different reason for seeking such a summoning contract, I'd have refused you. But what you told me tonight speaks volumes to me. If you truly seeking a summoning contract for the reasons you've told me, then I'll help you attain it."

"Really," Konohamaru replied happily, "You'll help me?"

"Of course," Sandaime assured, "But like I said, attaining such a contract won't be easy and you'll have to work very hard to earn it. Still, I'll provide you with whatever help I can so you can possess the ape-summoning contract as my successor."

"Thank you jiji!," Konohamaru exclaimed happily as he hugged his grandfather, "I promise, I won't let you down!"

"I'm sure you'll make me proud Konohamaru," Sandaime replied before standing back up, "Now, go get some rest. You'll have a long day tomorrow training to start earning that contract."

Konohamaru nodded before he turned and hurried out of his grandfather's study office. After the door was closed, Sandaime sat back down on his seat and took a breath. Looking at the picture of Minato, Sandaime remarked, "Your son has quite the influence on people Minato."

With that said, Sandaime, seeing however everything was back to how it was previous, pulled out his book and continued where he left off. Sounds of giggles were heard moments later.

(Meanwhile)

Sasuke was breathing hard at his fight with the Sound Four. That battle went everything but in his favor. It was clear that the Sound Four had more experience with the curse seal and were better trained with it. At this point, Sasuke's clothes were tattered and torn in a couple of places.

"Even with your Sharingan," Kidomaru said, "You had a hard time with us, though you provided for us quite a fight. Still, you're weak Sasuke, and you'll only get weaker with every passing day the longer you stay in this decrypted village."

Sasuke scowled at the six-armed Oto-Jounin, but inside himself he felt that the Oto-nin made his point.

In all the time I spent in this village and with Kakashi I haven't improved at all, Sasuke thought, I couldn't even land a single blow on Itachi, and now I'm a walking joke to these guys.

"Seeing the way you handled the powers of the curse seal Sasuke shows that you still carry potential to achieve a level of power this village has denied you," Jirobo said, "Had they allowed you to use and train with the seal, you'd have had better control of it and utilize it to further advance your capabilities."

"Instead," Sakon interjected, "They refrained you from using the seal, wasting its potential and what it could do for you in the long run. Orochimaru-sama may not be alive to help you achieve your goals Sasuke, however Kabuto-sama has been at Orochimaru-sama's side long enough to be about the guide you down the rode you seek to travel."

"Kabuto-sama has all of Orochimaru-sama's manuscripts and scrolls on jutsus and seals," Tayuya spoke up, "Come with us and all of Orochimaru-sama's secrets and scrolls will be at your complete disposal."

"Why should I trust any of you," Sasuke interrogated, "If anything, this could be some kind of trap."

"We wouldn't waste all this time trying to get you to leave this village and come along with us if all we were going to do was trap and kill you in the end," Kidomaru said, "Besides, what do you have to lose by leaving this village? Do you have ties with anyone in particular that moves you to remain in Konoha, only to grow weaker and remain below Naruto's level?"

Sasuke scowled at them before thinking about Naruto, Team 7 and the rest of the Genins. When he sat there to think about it, he never really made solid ties with anyone in Konoha. His only ambition was to kill the one responsible for the slaughter of the Uchiha clan.

"We'll be leaving for our return to Otogakure tomorrow," Tayuya said, "If you seek to travel back with us, meet us at the south end of the forest outside Konoha tomorrow night."

Not waiting for Sasuke to reply, the Sound Four took off into the night, leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts. Putting his hand on where his curse seal was…

Will remaining in Konoha really help me in my objectives, Sasuke asked himself before retreating back to his home.

(Two Days Later; Far From Konoha)

It was a clear sunny day and everything seemed peaceful. Naruto, Anko and Ryota made fast tracks to Nami No Kuni. Taking his mind off his troubles momentarily, Naruto's mind started drifting off to an occasion when he set off one of his most mean-spirited pranks back in his days as a Genin. The fruitage of his prank was priceless…

(Flashback; Several Months Ago)

Naruto, in his thirteen-year-old form, was with Kakashi and Team 7 for their D-rank mission. Their mission was gardening work for a man name Aoiyama Kenji.

"Alright everyone," Kakashi started, "Today's mission involves pulling the weeds out of Aoiyama-san's garden."

"A mission," Naruto snorted indignantly, "You mean chores someone else wants us to do for nearly free labor."

"Shut up dobe," Sasuke retorted, "We don't have time for your stupid complaints."

"Yeah," Sakura added, "Learn to work hard once in your life."

"Staring at Sasuke's ass for as long as you can without blinking doesn't count as hard work Sakura-san," Sai mocked, "Though I admire your efforts."

Sakura was about to hit Sai when Kakashi stepped in.

"That's enough, both of you," Kakashi said, "Let's get this mission started. Now, since there are four of you here each of you will work at an assigned corner of the garden."

After Kakashi assigned them their corners, each other them got to work in pulling out the weeds. Kakashi in the meantime was busy reading his beloved orange book with perverted giggles escaping his mouth here and there.

"This was not what I visualized being a ninja would be all about," Naruto complained, "I've gone from training to battling missing-nins and enemy ninjas to training to battle weeds and garden trash. (Quoting Sandaime) 'Those who seek to become Hokage must cultivate an intense love for the village and view everything about it as precious and worth taking care of as a parent nurtures and takes care of their child or children. When it comes to raising and caring, refining, and protecting their children, no task is too tedious, too small or too great for the parent to assume responsibility for.'

"(Indignantly) Seeking to become Hokage shouldn't entail getting on your knees and getting your hands dirty doing someone else's garden work because they were too lazy to do it themselves!"

"For the proclaimed Rookie of the Year Naruto," Sakura scolded, "You're such a crybaby! Sasuke-kun is doing the same mission as the rest of us and not once did he complain about it, unlike you! I tell you Naruto, you could learn a lot from Sasuke-kun!"

Sai chose to stay out of their argument, finding no real point in adding his two cents into it, for now that was.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said as he went about his business. Naruto gave no reply as he went about his chores.

"I guess that put him in his place," Sakura said, feeling satisfied with herself and her accomplishment as she resumed her work. After another fifteen minutes into her work, Sakura felt something odd inside her red blouse.

"What the," Sakura said while kneeling down on her knees before opening the top of her blouse a bit. She looked into her blouse and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGG!"

Kakashi and the three male Genins with him turned to see Sakura screaming and running around like a headless chicken while hurriedly trying to get whatever was inside her blouse out.

"GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!," Sakura screamed while feeling a creature in particular slithering around her body from inside her blouse.

"Get what out," Kakashi asked while looking unimpressed with Sakura's unprofessional behavior as a kunoichi.

"A SNAKE!," Sakura shrieked while frantically reaching for her blouse, "THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BLOUSE!"

She removed the blouse from off her, revealing her pinkish white tank top and bra that was partly visible through her tank top.

"What snake," Sasuke asked with a clearly annoyed expression. Sakura looked around for the garden snake that was inside her blouse and found that the snake wasn't there. She looked all around for it and found nothing.

"Sakura," Kakashi started, "Are you sure there was snake at all?"

"I'm not making this up!," Sakura yelled, "I know what I saw and felt!"

"Or what you thought you saw and felt," Naruto remarked, "Or maybe you cried "snake" as a ploy so you could have an excuse to strip and show off your body to Sasuke-kun."

Before Sakura could yell at Naruto for his accusation and mockery about Sasuke, she blushed heavily when she realized that she was in Sasuke's presence with her blouse off. Despite the situation, she was hoping Sasuke liked and found her figure sexually appealing. Naruto saw the sudden change in Sakura's facial expression as he noticed a particular smile formed on her face.

I'd rather not visualize what perverted thoughts with Sasuke are going through that large cranium of hers, Naruto mentally grimaced.

"It's very clear that you're really one of the guys Sakura-san," Sai remarked with one of his fake smiles, "Your flat chest and built is proof of that."

Sakura's reply to that remark was her fist to Sai's face as he fell to the ground.

"And you have the strength to back it up," Sai added as he rubbed his face, "I have to hand it to you Sakura-san, you really got thick balls."

Sakura yelled and chased after Sai around the garden, forgetting about the fact that she wasn't wearing her blouse, and that she was only in her black shorts and tank top. She was screaming things along the lines of beating him to a pulp and other things of that aggressive nature. Sai ran and evaded all of Sakura's punches she threw at him.

"You have the balls to fight boys and tell Naruto-san off," Sai remarked, "Yet you don't have the balls to go against snakes. Such backward display of ninja from one like yourself is best kept underneath a paper bag over your head."

That remark only served to fuel Sakura's rage as she ran after Sai again.

Naruto was sitting on the ground clutching and holding onto his stomach while laughing his ass off in tears, while Sasuke frowned upon the scene indignantly; looking at both Sakura and Sai as hindrances to his advancements. Kakashi sweat-dropped at the sight of his Genins while Kenji came out demanding what on earth was going on in his garden. When Kakashi explained what happened, Kenji was quick to deny the accusation of snakes ever being in his garden. No one noticed however the green garden snake that slithered back up Naruto's left arm and disappearing into his shirt.

(Later That Day)

Kakashi and Aoiyama Kenji had to clear up matters with Tsunade about the incident in the garden. Kenji argued that there was no snake and there have never been any early incidents of snakes or garden snake ever being found in his garden. Tsunade got a headache from dealing with the extra paperwork concerning Kakashi's mission and the incident that occurred during the day's mission. She knew all too well that her son was the culprit behind the incident since he was the only person in Konoha besides Anko who could summon snakes from his arms.

As for Naruto himself, he spent the rest of the day avoiding Tsunade who wanted to yell and berate him for making her day more difficult than it already was. He stayed with Shizune for the rest of the time, knowing he could count on her protective sisterly spirit in cooling Tsunade's anger and escaping her wrath.

(End Flashback)

If Naruto sought to be malicious, he could have summoned a viper to slither up Sakura's dress. But he knew something of that nature would have given him away as the culprit behind the prank, despite the fact that Tsunade already knew it was him.

Naruto's previous reasons for pulling pranks was to maintain his sanity and distract him from the problems he was going through when Kyuubi started to awaken within him, resulting in the horrific nightmares he started having about the bijuu for several months as a kid then. His pranks however, caught the attention of Sandaime and Anko. They saw that Naruto's use of pranks on unsuspecting ninjas of various ranks and escaping their wrath demonstrated his cunning, skills as an escape artist and strategic ability to set traps that could be made deadly, efficient and effective if he wanted to; his battles with Ryota, Tenten and Neji was proof of that.

Anko had trained and helped Naruto hone in on sharpening his skills as a trap setter and escape artist and in the end, she was at the receiving end of one of his traps during one of their training sessions. She was proud to see that her training Naruto was paying off and that her tendency in being cruel, harsh and if need-be cut-throat in her methods had rubbed off on him.

I wonder if a should pull off another prank when I get back, for old time's sake, Naruto thought with a chuckle escaping his mouth.

"What are you laughing about Yondaime-gaki," Anko asked as she and Ryota noticed Naruto laughing lowly to himself.

"Nothing," Naruto replied before returning his attention back to reality, "Just thinking about some fond moments of my life during my time as a Genin."

"Whatever," Ryota remarked before she and Anko turned they eyes back to the front. Naruto shrugged and continued on his way with his two female partners.

(An Hour Later)

The trio arrived at the bridge. Upon arriving there, they were shock to see that was in front of the newly constructed bridge.

Ryota asked, "Is that a statue of-"

"Me," Naruto asked as he and the other two kunoichis stared at the recently built dark-colored bronze statue of him, surprisingly in his present Elite Jounin appearance. He was standing tall with a strong and determined look on his face. Looking at the golden plaque on the bottom of the statue, the inscription read:

Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto

Through one act, he inspired a boy.

Through that boy, he inspired a nation.

Through that nation, he inspired the natives to fight.

Through that fight, he inspired the natives to protect what's precious to them.

In his honor, this bridge was named after the heroic shinobi of Konohagakure No Sato

Who saved and inspired the nation of Nami No Kuni.

His inspiration and courageous spirit will forever live in our nation

And be carried through this bridge as we link ourselves with the rest of the world.

Looking at the front of the bridge, they saw an arch built in front of the entrance of the bridge. On top of the arch was engraved the name "The Great Naruto Bridge."

"Wow!," Naruto exclaimed in surprise, "They named the bridge after me and even went as far as to build a statue in honor of me! I wonder how they knew how I look like now since the last time they saw me, I was thirteen and…shorter."

"Word about you traveled fast around the shinobi world," Ryota answered for him, "Especially since you're a feared high S-class shinobi."

"You must have really made quite the impression on the people of Nami No Kuni," Anko said, "You seem to have that affect on everyone you come across."

"Hey," Naruto replied, "I wasn't the only one who fought to protect this country. Kakashi-niisan and his team were there too in fighting against Gatō and his thugs."

"Modest aren't we," Anko teased as she played with his unruly spiked hair.

"This place holds no favorable memories for me whatsoever," Ryota interjected.

"That's right," Anko realized, "This was where you and Yondaime-gaki first met when you were trying to kill him."

"I had no real intentions of killing Naruto-kun," Ryota retorted, "That was…until he defeated me in a most disgraceful and humiliating way."

"Being a pervert when required has its use," Naruto remarked.

"Says you," Ryota shot back.

"This coming from a kinky closet pervert who daydreams about whips, cuffs and chains," Naruto countered.

"Sounds like fun," Anko remarked with a mischievous smile on her face. Ryota frowned but said nothing, not seeking to add to Naruto's point.

"We wasted enough time as it is," Naruto said getting back on focus again, "Let's head over to Tazuna's place to see if he's O.K."

Ryota and Anko nodded their heads, and followed Naruto as they hurried over across the bridge to Nami No Kuni…

Naruto, Anko and Ryota have made it to Nami No Kuni. What will they find there and will they get to Inari and Tsunami in time? Will Konohamaru succeed in his new training to acquire the summoning contract from his grandfather? Will Sasuke leave Konohagakure for Otogakure? Stick around to find out next time.