Naruto Uzumaki - The Greatest Prodigy

Chapter 19

Note :- Hello everyone welcome back, I hope you're all doing well in this hard times. Also I would like to thank each and every one of you who has supported me in this journey and I'm very happy that we have completed two years on this site. And we have crossed over 450k plus views on this story and its only going to increase.

Now, its a added responsibility for me to keep improving my writing and bring quality content. So I hope you guys understand if I took some extra time to upload the story. Thank you and God bless you.

Talking - Normal Human

Thinking - Normal Human

Talking - Summon/Bijuu/Jutsu

Thinking - Summons/Bijuu

(Disclaimer :- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. This is only for entertainment)

Naruto made his way out of the Hokage tower on to the busy streets of the village, and let his gaze wander.

After the hectic day, walking under a night sky full of stars while the full moon shone upon the world was the best thing he could've hoped for to calm his mind.

It had been a while since he had taken a walk in the village without his Anbu gear on. In fact, he couldn't recall the last time he had been out in the open like this.

Working in the Anbu had forced him to cut himself off from normal social life. He didn't know many people in the village, ninja or civilians. His life until now had only been about missions and training for hours to get strong, just so he could protect the village from any threat.

Now, when he had finally gotten the time to collect his thoughts, he began to think about the gravity of the situation he was currently facing. It made him uneasy.

Things didn't feel in his control and he hated that.

Ninjas like him were trained to die on the battlefield without glory. For them, the mission was absolute and all other things came secondary, even their lives. That was the common rule they all lived by. How could someone like him train young genins whose minds were still not developed fully?

How dangerous could that be if he failed?

He thought of seeking out Kakashi Hatake, his old superior. Kakashi had been in the same situation a few years back and maybe he could help and guide him through this situation. But even Kakashi had first been given a chance to adjust to the life of a Jounin.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no choice but to follow the Hokage's order with no preparation whatsoever.

He continued his slow pace, his thoughts racing ahead while his eyes observed the life around him. He noticed some people looking at him curiously, which he could understand. After all, they had probably never seen Naruto Uzumaki walking the streets so casually.

But some of the people even nodded, and he returned the gesture. It was a new experience for him, seeing the villagers slowly starting to recognise him as more than just a Jinchuriki.

He supposed it was all good, but he could also never forget the events of his childhood, where these same people used to mock him and glare at him with hate, when every step of his life he was reminded that he was alone and unwanted in this world.

It was painful, but the pain had eased a bit, and he knew those experiences had made him stronger mentally. It was those experiences that had helped him succeed as an Anbu. When everyone was rejecting him, telling him he didn't belong with them, not trusting him, he had kept his focus on his goals and continued moving forward doing his duties as a loyal shinobi.

The mission success rate had always been guaranteed with team Ro. But one of them, the youngest of all, a raven-masked Anbu, had always stood out. The fighting talent he had shown on various missions had gained him respect among his subordinates.

Everything had been going great until his real identity had been leaked somehow and his name started coming up in various black market bingo books. It had caught the unwanted attention of various countries and as a result, his name was now also added to every major ninja village's bingo books.

It had made Hiruzen very upset because of the work he'd had to put in to calm the situation.

It was still difficult for Naruto to process the fact that he could no longer be part of an organisation that had given him all this respect in the world and even his identity as Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf.

Though it was kind of ironic, he supposed, where the identity of any Anbu is suppose to be top secret. His name was now known throughout the shinobi nations.

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realise when he reached his apartment. He took a last look around before slowly walking up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, a purple-haired figure was sitting and waiting for him, and he raised an eyebrow in question. The moonlight illuminated her gentle smile, and Naruto sat quietly beside her and relaxed his shoulders with a long sigh.

"What are you doing outside?" he asked.

Yugao inched closer to him, interlocking her fingers with his, and laid her head on his shoulder. "Waiting for you."

"You already have an extra key to the house," Naruto said with a glance down at her face. "You don't have to sit outside, you know."

"Ahh . . . it's nothing." She shrugged her shoulders while smiling at him. "I just wanted to enjoy some fresh air for a bit."

Naruto couldn't help but let all his stress and worry melt away just by the look of her smiling face. There was something about that smile which put his mind and soul at ease no matter what mood he was in.

Yugao was the kind of person who didn't show her emotions in public and always had the aura of a deadly kunoichi. Only her close friends got to see her other side. The playful, sometimes a bit annoying, idiotic side.

She was a lot like Naruto in some ways, but still so different. Maybe that's why she had been able to break the wall which he had built around himself. Now she had became an integral part of him. Without Yugao, Naruto felt incomplete.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Tiring." He frowned and Yugao giggled.

"Come on, man up Naruto-kun." She hit him on the back and flashed a bright grin. "It was your first day as a sensei. I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

Naruto rolled his eyes. If he could, he would make Yugao take care of a bunch of kids and listen to their pointless bickering for a whole day.

"Why don't you try and take my place then, idiot."

Yugao shook her head mockingly. "You should be more careful how you speak to me from now on Naruto. After all . . ."

Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye and waited for her to continue. The mischievous glint in her eyes told Naruto that it was something he would never hear the end of.

"After all, what?"

Again she smirked. "After all, I'm your superior now."

"Superior?" Naruto said. "Just because I'm no longer a part of an Anbu unit doesn't make you my superior."

"I'm not talking about that my dear Naruto-kun." She shook her head before she continued dramatically. "From today onwards, I the great Yugao Uzuki, am the captain of Anbu squad Ro."

Naruto's eyes widened and a dumbfounded look appeared on his face.

"Did I break you?"Yugao finally asked when he didn't respond. She waved her hand in front of him for any reaction. "Hello Naruto, earth to Naruto . . ."

"W-what the heck." Naruto finally managed to speak. "Congratulations. What about Tenzo?"

It was hard to believe that Yugao would be appointed over someone like Tenzo, who was much more experienced. But Yugao was not someone who would joke about such a serious matter.

"He was appointed on a different position. Apparently there are a bunch of new recruits in the Anbu. So the Hokage-sama made a lot of rearrangement among the squads."

The Anbu until played a very crucial role in the safety of the village. They were the ones who had to deal with a lot of dangerous and dirty missions and because of that, the survival rate of an Anbu was very low.

Most of them wouldn't pass the age of 25 while some would either quit under the pressure of missions or from the intense training they had to go through.

While all the nations were at peace and trying to recover from their past losses while preparing the new generation of ninjas, this was the best opportunity to strengthen secret forces hidden from normal eyes.

It was also a good sign for the village that it had finally recovered from the losses of the great war and started to strengthen its force.

A smile played out on Naruto's face as he brought a surprised Yugao into a warm embrace and whispered softly in her ear. "I'm proud of you Yugao."

Yugao blinked, then blushed. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she leaned her head against the steady beat of his heart.

"So, Captain Yugao, how was your day?" Naruto asked playfully.

Yugao giggled. "Well, nothing too eventful. Spent the morning with Hana and after that, had to report back to HQ. Then I went for some training and now here I am in your arms."

"In my arms, huh?" Naruto laughed. "Were you waiting for this the whole day?"

Yugao nodded before she released the hug and looked at him. "Speaking of Hana, you should go meet her sometime. I can't keep making excuses on your behalf. I can't even tell you how upset she was."

"I know, but it's not like I'm deliberately avoiding her," he responded with a frown. "It's just that with all the missions and training, I hardly get time for myself."

"Then it's a good thing you're not a part of Anbu anymore," Yugao said, and before Naruto could argue, she continued. "Like it or not, but I agree with Hokage-sama's decision completely."

"Of course you would agree with the old man." Naruto frowned.

Yugao shook her head. She had been observing him very closely over the years and one thing she understood about him was that there was something very dark hidden behind Naruto.

And not just the nine tails. Something darker than that.

From starting their journey as ninjas on the same team to working in the Anbu together, Yugao had gotten closer to Naruto than anyone else.

She had seen him kill people ruthlessly in cold blood. She had watched him turn into a completely different individual with each passing day. How his cold blue eyes would be full of anger and frustration as they glared down on his enemy was something she hated with her core.

Naruto had always been a strong individual in her life and someone she looked up to as her rival. He had always motivated her to keep improving. It was still her dream to someday stand next to him as an equal.

Not only that, he was the man she had fallen in love with and she couldn't just stand and watch him sink deeper and deeper into his own darkness. She had to do something.

That was the reason she had gone behind his back and suggested to the third Hokage that putting Naruto on a break from his Anbu duties for a while would be a good option for him. But she hadn't known that the Hokage would hand him a bunch of kids to deal with.

She had definitely not asked for that. All she had wanted was for him to focus on himself rather than missions for a while.

"Are they really that bad?" she asked, beginning to feel a bit guilty for her role in forcing Naruto into this situation.

"Honestly I'm more concerned with our Academy system. They are just producing numbers while filling up these kids' heads with the idea that they can go on dangerous missions and fight powerful enemies as genin." Naruto said aggressively. "They could die on the field."

Yugao reached out and ran her fingers against his cheek in a soft caress. He turned to look at her. "Why do you always try to compare everyone to your standards, huh? Just because they don't match up to your standards doesn't mean that they don't have the right to improve. They are still kids, just starting their lives as ninjas. There's a lot they still have to learn and I'm sure with time they will improve."

There was such a gentle look on her face that Naruto could only stare silently into her eyes.

Slowly he reached up to his own face and held her hand against his cheek while his other arm pulled her into a hug. He let his fingers trail through her silky long hair. She shivered at the contact.

"It's not that Yugao," he whispered. "The thing is, I don't know how to proceed from here in all honesty. Today I didn't do anything. I just stood there lost while the kids tried to impress me." He chuckled at the memory.

"Even if temporary, they are my students now. But I don't know if I'm capable for this. I'm not the ideal person for kids to hang around, you know."

"That's nonsense." Yugao said, and tried to sound stern even as she began to leave soft kisses along his throat. "You just have to be yourself. Just be the Naruto I love."

Her lips trailed up to his jaw as he ran his fingers along her back and kissed her exposed shoulder. In a swift motion, he then brought his hands down to her thighs and tugged her up to his lap. They both breathed heavily as they looked at each other and slowly their faces closed the distance between their lips.

Yugao's fingers buried themselves in his blonde hair, gripping the wild locks hard as her body pressed against him, hips grinding. Her body melted against him.

There lips were locked, tongues fighting for dominance and she could feel him smirk in satisfaction as his hand found their way on to her firm lower back and giving soft squeeze, making her moan louder.

After some time they finally pulled away, not before Yugao nipping his lower lip. Naruto chuckled, his lips still grazing Yugao's. "So much for serious talk."

"Don't care anymore." Yugao held his face in her palms, their lips only inches apart. "We should get inside."

"We should," he echoed. "Hold on to me." And with her legs interlocked behind his back, he stood and carried her inside.

(The Hokage Tower)

Hiruzen sat inside his office with eyes narrowed at Hamura and Koharu, his two elders and advisers, who stood before him with hard expressions.

They had been in a heated argument for the last thirty minutes and the topic of their discussion was again Naruto Uzumaki and the recent developments regarding him.

"How can you possibly think that we will sit quietly after what you have done without consulting anyone first?" Koharu said, apparently not intimidated by the glare she was receiving from her old friend and Hokage.

"Not only that, you have changed the whole formation of our Anbu black ops without giving any prior notice," she added. "Do you even understand how dangerous that could be for the village security?"

Hiruzen was silent as they stared at each other before letting out a heavy sigh. He took a long puff from his tobacco pipe and relaxed his shoulders. "And what gives you the idea that I have made all these changes without any proper planning?"

"Then how do you explain Naruto Uzumaki, one of our best Anbu operators, suddenly pulled out of his rank to lead a squad of fresh genins without any experience? Is that what you call planning?" Hamura asked.

"I know what I am doing." Hiruzen frowned. "I have given long thought to the matter and I already made it clear with the Anbu and Jounin commander what my intentions are."

Hamura sighed. "Listen Hiruzen, we understand that you care deeply for the boy and only have his best interests in mind. But you also have to understand that you can't force your decisions on him. I'm not saying this as a political adviser but as an old friend."

Hiruzen frowned deeply. He may have forced his decision on Naruto this time, but it was important for his development and for the village's future.

When Yugao had come to him with the concern regarding Naruto's behaviour, it had given him the opportunity to take him out of the Anbu and put him in a healthy environment in hopes for him to understand the value of bonds he had in his life.

There was something about Naruto that made Hiruzen believe in a better future for this world and he believed that Naruto would be the one to lead this generation and bring that much needed revolution.

And one thing he was sure of was that if Naruto were the one, then he wouldn't achieve that by hiding in the shadows. The world would need to know his face and follow his lead.

"The decision is already made" Hiruzen stated firmly. "If memory serves me right, weren't you the ones against the proposal of Naruto joining the Anbu? What has changed now?"

At Hiruzen's comment both advisers had the decency to look away.

"That was in the past Hiruzen. Naruto has exceeded our expectations and proved us wrong and we have nothing but appreciation for his service," Koharu said sincerely, and Hamura nodded.

"And we have nothing against the boy," Hamura added. "We also understand that we have had many differences in the past and you don't trust us after what happened with Danzo. But you also need to know that our job is to look after our village's interest, not just one individual's."

"Our time has long gone my friends." Hiruzen laughed light-heartedly. "Don't you think that it is time for the future leaders to rise up?"

Both advisors stared back with wide eyes. After a few seconds of complete silence, Koharu spoke. "You want N-Naruto to be . . .to be." She tried to speak, still looking at him with shock.

Hiruzen couldn't stop his laugh. "Who knows? He has shown interest in the past and more importantly, he has qualities of a leader. But at this time, he is still young and has much to learn before that can happen."

Hamura shook his head. "I hope you understand what you're doing Hiruzen. And in future, we would really appreciate if you'd inform us before making such decisions."

Hiruzen nodded. "I will."

They both nodded in response. "Very well then. We will be taking our leave now."

"Have a good night," Hiruzen said, standing as they walked out. With the click of the door, he fell back on the chair and let out a heavy sigh.

"Finally I can have some peace for the rest of the night," he muttered while enjoying the smoke.

(Next Day)

The sun was rising above the horizon as Naruto looked at his genin team with arms folded and his back resting against a tree. His expression was calm while his eyes maintained their usual steel gaze.

It was complete silence around them, other than the birds and leaves rustling in the wind.

The three genins stood firmly at attention trying to hide their nerves as they waited for their new team leader's order. But it was obvious from their sleepy gazes that they were not used to the early hour.

In their last encounter, the way Naruto humiliated them had really affected them deeply, and it had ignited the desire for recognition in their hearts.

Even Shikamaru, who usually would be making excuses by now, was standing with determination in his eyes and eagerly asked, "So, what are we going to do today, taichou?"

"I'm impressed that you guys came on time," Naruto said.

"Well, we had to, otherwise you would have made us run nonstop," muttered Ino quietly to herself. But Naruto heard and smirked.

"Well anyway," said Naruto. "Since looking at your pathetic display of skills, we have to start your training from scratch."

The three genins look down in shame.

"So, we will start with building up your stamina and improving your chakra control."

"But taichou, I think we already covered the chakra control exercise in the academy," said Choji, with a curious look on his face.

Naruto raised a single eyebrow. "Did you now? Well then, why don't you guys show me by climbing that tree over there."

The three looked at the tree, and then each other, their expressions confused.

"Without using your hands," Naruto added.

They all looked at him like he had grown a second head. "I think, umm . . . I must not have caught what you said taichou," said Ino. "Because I don't think it's possible to climb a tree with no hands."

Naruto walked to the tree and said, "Just watch."

They watched him make a single hand sign before moving forward.

Then their eyes bugged out in amazement when he stuck his leg on the tree then took another step and casually walked all the way up the trunk to the top like he was walking in a garden with his hands in his pockets.

"Wowww . . ." The genins' expressions were awestruck as they stared up at Naruto, who was standing upside down from a tree branch with no support of any kind.

"Still not possible?"

"Well . . . not an-anymore, heheh . . ." said Ino embarrassingly with a little laugh.

"H-how did you do that?" Choji and Shikamaru asked at the same time as Naruto jumped back to the ground.

"We all need chakra for performing any jutsu. But what's more important is to use chakra efficiently," stated Naruto.

"Umm . . . what does that mean?" Choji asked.

"Do you guys know why after just performing a couple of Jutsus, your body starts feeling so worn out?" Naruto questioned. "Because even if you're able to combine a lot of chakra, if you're not able to control it in a balanced way, the effectiveness of the jutsu is not only cut in half, it may not even be activated at all. It will also prevent you from battling for long periods. These are some of the weaknesses that occur."

"So . . .this tree exercise will help in balancing our physical and spiritual energies to sustain the chakra in battle, is that it?" asked Shikamaru.

"Pretty much, yeah." Naruto nodded. "Focus the chakra on the bottoms of your feet and make them stick to the tree trunk. The aim of this training is to accumulate the required amount of combined chakra to the required spots. This is surprisingly difficult even for an expert ninja. The amount of chakra used for tree climbing is very subtle and the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult place to gather chakra."

The genins listened as Naruto explained the details. "Anyway . . . in other words, if you master that control, it will be possible to master any jutsu. In theory, that is. The second aim is to maintain that combined chakra. Ninja combine the most chakra during battles. Under such situations 'control' and 'maintenance' of chakra becomes most difficult."

He looked at them. "Well anyway, nothing's gonna happen with me saying all this." He pulled out three kunai and with a single flick of his wrist, threw them on to different trees side by side.

"Use that kunai to put a mark at the spot where you can climb up to under your own strength now. Next make an effort to put a mark further from it."

The genins looked at each for a moment before they moved to stand before the trees. They made the same ram sign which Naruto had done before and concentrated their chakra at the bottoms of their feet.

While they were doing that, Naruto said, "When you feel you've gathered enough chakra on your feet, take a run and use your momentum to get a good start, since you don't yet have the control to walk up from the beginning."

"You just relax taichou . . .we'll have this training down in no time," Choji boasted, and his teammates smirked. With that they all sprinted towards their trees.

They each made it four or five steps before Choji felt his leg slip. He quickly marked his distance and fell back. Just after him, Shikamaru and Ino followed and landed back on the ground.

"I didn't think it'd be this difficult to maintain a constant amount of chakra," said Shikamaru, noticing the marks of his teammates and surprised to see Ino had already made it to the half-way mark on her first try.

"I only made some steps before I felt my grip slipping away," Choji said.

"It's not that difficult . . . if you ask me," said Ino, eyeing the mark Shikamaru had made. "If the chakra is too strong, you get pushed back. But if the chakra is too weak there's no sticking power."

Just a little distance away, Naruto looked at their progress. "As I suspected, she already has better control of her chakra than her teammates." His gaze then focused on Shikamaru and Choji. "These two have chakra levels slightly above genin rank but still little to no control whatsoever."

Choji looked at him and nervously said, "Taichou . . . can you give us some pointers?"

"I've told you enough for you to figure out how to complete the exercise."

"Techh . . ." Shikamaru frowned and muttered to himself. "Troublesome."

"Hehehehe . . . I'm not gonna tell either." Ino giggled before she readied herself to start again, while Shikamaru and Choji looked on in hopes of getting some idea on how to do it.

She started just like before and soon passed her previous mark before she felt her leg slip. She quickly marked her spot before jumping back down.

"You two idiots wanna race to the top?" She smirked. "The loser has to buy food for the whole team for a week."

Shikamaru and Choji's eyes widened for different reasons. Choji was thinking about all the free food he could eat while Shikamaru was thinking about all the money he could lose, being well-acquainted with Choji's appetite.

"FREE FOODDDD . . . I'M COMING . . ." screamed Choji with fire in his eyes as he started sprinting towards the tree.

"YOU CAN BUY YOUR OWN FOOD AND FOR MEE . . ." Shikamaru screamed back at him and started too.

Ino laughed and then flashed Naruto a bright smile with both her thumbs up. He shook his head in amusement.

"Techhh . . ."

.((XxxxxX)).

"I . . . c-can't even move a . . . muscle." Choji groaned while he lay flat on the ground, his chest heaving.

"At least . . . we're still alive," said Ino in a hoarse whisper.

"Can't you guys be quiet for a while?" Shikamaru asked as he lay beside the other two, eyes closed. "I'm trying to take a nap here."

Climbing the tree hadn't been as easy as they thought it would be. Ino had completed the exercise first while the other two had to put some extra time in to complete it, and still wouldn't have managed but for Ino's advice.

But they had completed it. Their training hadn't ended there though. After that, Naruto had forced them to do the same exercise over and over again until they had no energy to move.

It was in the early morning they had started their training and now the noon sun was hovering high in the sky.

"Heheh . . . I hope you didn't forget about the deal Shika. You're still treating us BBQ today and for the week," said Choji joyfully.

At that, Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. "Says who?" he said. "If I recall correctly, I definitely wasn't the last one to the top." He wasn't really looking forward to buying meals, especially not for Choji.

"We all saw it Shika, I was there before you. You can even ask Ino."

"Don't drag me into this, Choji," Ino remarked while she glared up at Naruto sitting high on the tree branch. "All I want right now is to kill someone."

"Count me in . . ." voiced Shikamaru.

Naruto, meanwhile, looked down on his team's interaction with mild interest. He was impressed with the efforts they had put in to today's training. There was definitely a positive a change in their attitudes from yesterday too.

Which was a very good thing, in his opinion. Since his childhood Naruto has always respected people who took themselves seriously and put effort into their work. He had been certain when he'd first met these three that they'd only been playing at being ninja.

Now, he could see that they were trying to make a change. They had potential. Completing the tree climbing exercise in just a few hours was no easy feat.

Naruto knew he couldn't teach them any elemental jutsu and since they were clan children, he knew they had their own traditions of training. His main focus was to develop a solid base for them in the time he had.

Now Naruto noticed their bickering had stopped soon after Ino had started glaring at him and he didn't know whether he should laugh at the expression on her face.

He jumped down, landing softly on the ground. "Well, how are you guys feeling?"

"Breathing . . ." was all he received from Ino, who responded through gritted teeth.

"That's good."

"What do you want now? Can't you see we're resting after the torture you put us through?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her tone and blinked. He understood the training was rough at the start but wouldn't call it a torture. Instead of responding, he shook his. They'd get used to it.

"I just want to know if you guys ready to continue the training?"

His team's eyes closed and they made no response. Even Ino appeared like she had fallen asleep.

"Oii oii oii . . ." Naruto lightly kicked Shikamaru's leg but still got no response. "Get up you all. I know you guys are awake."

After a moment, Naruto sighed and folded his arms. "Fine, you can take the rest of the day off."

"Finally, I can have some food," exclaimed Choji. "I'm STARVING . . ."

Naruto let out a heavy sighed as they sat up and stretched. "Seriously . . ." he muttered. "Anyway, be here tomorrow morning at the same time and we'll maintain this routine for now, understood?"

"Yeahhh . . ." They all responded with no enthusiasm.

Naruto threw a small round packet towards them before turning on his heels. "They're food pills, they'll help restore your energy." Then, as he walked away, "You guys did well today."

After making his way through the busy streets of the village, Naruto reached the front of the Hospital building. It was empty and much quieter than usual, and looking around, he noticed only a few people here and there going their way.

He stood arguing with himself if he should go inside the building or not.

He had never liked the place and had always preferred to keep himself away from the Hospital as much as he could. There was just something about it that left a bad taste in his mouth.

After a couple of minutes, he decided against entering and quietly stood with his back against the outer wall, his hands in his pockets. He was only there to find her, so there was no need to enter the building anyway.

He had waited for around ten minutes when the person he was looking for exited the main gates. There stood Hana Inuzuka in a white lab coat over her chunin outfit.

Hana narrowed her gaze for a second when she spotted Naruto, before she shifted away from him and headed down the road.

"Doesn't my handsome face even deserve a hello?" he called after her as he jogged to catch up.

Hana frowned and responded, "Do I know you Whoever-san?"

Her tone was so flat that for a second Naruto actually believed her. "That actually hurt," he muttered, before smiling again. "As a gentleman it is my responsibility to ask if I can be of any help to you."

Hana folded her arms with a glare. "The only help you can give right now is to get the fuck out of my sight."

"Such anger does not suit you," Naruto said calmly. "If you don't mind my lady, maybe you can provide me a helping hand in this one."

Hana looked at Naruto sceptically. What kind of friend disappears for almost a month and makes someone else give excuses on his behalf? "What do you want?"

His smile widened. "Well you see, I have this friend who is a girl, and you know how girls are, hehehe . . ." He hand rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly nervous. "Of course you would know, hehe, you're also a girl after all, and a quite beautiful I must say . . ."

"Get to the point already . . ."

"Ahh . . . I was wondering, maybe . . . if you could help me. We can go for lunch together, you know, and maybe give me some points so that I can impress her." Naruto leaned towards her. "Did I tell you that she looks exactly like you?"

Hana rolled her eyes, but her hard glare had softened and Naruto could see the hint of a smile at the corners of her lips. "Maybe you should go and ask your friend instead of me."

"Hmm . . . I think you're right, I should ask her." He nodded in agreement. "Wait . . . what if she refuses me?"

"She could . . ." Hana said thoughtfully, as if she was thinking hard. "What else can you do though . . ."

"Ahhh . . . I know what I'm gonna do."

"What are you gon- . . ." Before she could finish, she found herself lifted up in the air. "Eepp . . . what are you doing Naruto? Put me down!"

"Hahahaha . . . it's a special Naruto ride just for you, my lady." He laughed at her flustered face as he adjusted his hand under her knees to better hold her while she continued to struggle.

"What THE FUCK . . . PUT ME DOWN YOU IDIOT . . ."

"Ohhh kami . . . this is so embarrassing," she muttered, trying to hide her face in Naruto's chest as she noticed some onlookers giggling in their direction while Naruto continued on the path holding her bridal style.

(A Week later)

Shikamaru and Choji walked slowly side by side looking around for anything of interest. They were roaming around the village with no destination in mind as this was their first day off after almost a week of hard training.

Shikamaru's face was exhausted while Choji had a look of satisfaction as he muched over a bag of potato chips. "Do you want chips Shikamaru?"

"No thanks," muttered Shikamaru, dragging himself along with his friend. "If it wasn't you I would be sleeping peacefully at home. Troublesome . . . but no, you had to go out to buy a bag of snacks." He shrugged. "Why did I even agree to come along with you."

"You came because you wanted to find a place to take a nap without having to listen to your mother shouting for you to get up every five minutes."

"Yaaawnnn . . . what a drag. I would prefer a quiet place for my much-deserved rest after all the hell we've been through this week."

Choji nodded and took another bite of chips. "Yeah . . . but have you noticed Ino and how much effort she's putting in her training?"

"Of course. She's much less troublesome and loud during training now," said Shikamaru. "What do you think of Naruto so far?"

"Well, he is hard and mean most of the time, but I think he's a good guy deep down. Otherwise, why would he train us in the absence of Asuma sensei? And more importantly, I do think we've grown closer as a team."

"Yeahh, maybe you're right." Shikamaru muttered. "But something about that guy doesn't add up."

Choji blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru sighed before he spoke. "He was my father's student a while back but still we never saw him in the village. As if he just popped up out of nowhere. I asked my father about him and even he didn't say anything."

"Heyy Shikamaru?" A surprised Choji's got his attention and pointed in front of him. "Isn't that Ino hiding there?"

"Ohh don't tell she's stalking Sasuke again." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Let's go . . ."

.(XxxxxX).

Ino had just finished helping her mother in their family flower shop, since today was her off day from training. She was going to head back inside after finishing when she saw something that caught her interest.

Ino was someone who wouldn't let go of things easily once she had dug deep into the matter and right now she had found something just like that.

She might be young but she wasn't naive enough to miss when a person was trying to deceive someone with their behavior. So when she saw Naruto in such a surprising situation, she couldn't stop herself from going after him.

Ino had been maintaining her distance so that he wouldn't notice her presence. But just when she was about to move again, she was startled by a voice.

"Ino what are you doing here?"

Ino's focus had been so honed in on Naruto that she would have shrieked from the sudden appearance of her two idiot friends if she hadn't managed to stop herself just in time. Quickly grabbing their hands she dragged them to the side. "Be quiet, can't you see I'm on a mission?"

"Huhh."

"Huhh . . ."

Both blinked in confusion as she took another peek from the corner. "Hey, is that Naruto-senpai?" asked Choji as Shikamaru followed their line of site and saw Naruto walking and holding hands with a purple haired girl.

"Who is that girl with him?" The girl was wearing a white sundress that reached to her knees while Naruto had some flowers in his free hand.

"Be quiet, idiot. They could hear us," whispered Ino harshly. "Come on. Before they get away."

"Humm . . . Ino I don't think that's a good Idea," said Choji with concern.

Ino sighed before turning around to look at them and scoffed. "What? Don't you want to find about Naruto-senpai and that woman?" Her eyes glinted. "Just think about it, we could use this information against him and demand him to take us on missions."

"You mean to say blackmail him," Shikamaru said.

"I don't think that's a good Idea," Choji repeated.

"Whatever, if you guys aren't gonna help then get lost. I can do it alone." Ino huffed. When she turned back, she suddenly straightened and began frantically looking around when she didn't find her target. "Where did they go . . ."

She ran forward, leaving behind Choji and Shikamaru with blank expressions. They glanced at each other and Shikamaru grunted. "Troublesome blond . . . let's just go after her. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble she'll get into."

.(XxxxX).

"Look there he is . . ." said Choji, pointing her out and quickly approaching her, while keeping an eye on Naruto so as not to alert him to their presence. They watched him enter the cemetery with the purple haired girl following closely.

"But why would he bring a girl to a cemetery on a date." Ino murmured.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Why would they go there?"

"I just said that Shikamaru," grumbled Ino.

It was impossible to hear Naruto's conversation from this distance, but from the looks of it, they were having some kind of emotional talk.

"It's not that," Shikamaru said. "In that area, some of our very high profile ninjas are buried, including our past Hokages."

"I think we should leave, guys," Choji said. "I think we might be invading Naruto's personal matter."

"He's right, let's go Ino. We should respect his privacy," said Shikamaru. Ino frowned.

Just when she was about to agree, Naruto kissed the girl's forehead and Ino's eyes widened in excitement. "Did you see that?" She clapped her hands together. "I knew it . . . they are together."

"What a dragg . . ."

"Let's go, Ino." Choji said again.

Ino grumbled under her breath before turning towards them. Suddenly, their eyes widened and they each took a step back. "What?" she asked, confused.

But then she felt a shadow looming over her from behind, and she slowly turned around to find herself under Naruto's soul piercing gaze.

"Se-senpai . . ." She said, her own eyes now as wide as her teammates'. She giggled nervously. "Funny seeing y-you here hehe . . . the w-world is sure a small place." Her hand was rubbing the back of her head. "Wouldn't you say so?"

Naruto maintained his gaze before shifting it on the two boys behind her and instantly they both tried to make a run for it, but were stopped by the same purple haired girl from before.

"What are you three doing here?" asked Naruto. "Seriously . . . don't you have any other things do other than following me around?"

The genins looked away in embarrassment before Ino folded her arms and stared back to Naruto. "Fine, we were following you. But we were just trying to ensure your safety."

"Don't drag us into this, you forced us to come along with you."

"I did not." Ino glared at Shikamaru, daring him to speak again.

"My safety?" Naruto wondered in amusement, his eyebrow raised. "Do tell me, what kind of danger it is that you're saving me from."

Ino instantly pointed her finger at the other woman. "Her . . ."

"Me?" What do I have to do with any of this?"

"Who are you?" demanded Ino with narrowed eyes.

"Well if you're gonna point a finger at me and demand, then forget it," the girl responded with a smirk.

"Ino . . . behave yourself." Naruto scolded.

Ino frowned. "We saw you guys walking holding hands and-"

"Naruto . . . Yugao."

Ino was interrupted when another girl with brown hair and two identical fang marks on her cheeks come running toward them. "Sorry I'm late. Had to finish some work."

The new intruder then noticed the three young faces and asked, "Who are you guys?"

"They're his students, trying to 'ensure his safety'," Yugao answered.

"Huhh?" Hana stared in confusion then quickly smiled. "So you're also going to join today."

"Join in what?" asked Shikamaru.

"We're going to Ichiraku ramen," said Yugao, pausing for a moment to look at Naruto, who just shrugged his shoulders, before she continued. "It's his birthday today. You guys can join us if you want."

"Ohh . . ." The three genins smiled sheepishly as the realisation hit them and they repeated together. "Happy birthday senpai."

"Thanks, I guess," said Naruto. "Now, will you tell me why you guys are following me and Yugao?"

"I saw you exit from my family flower shop with her and I just got curious and followed, while they both joined me on the way." Ino admitted.

Naruto shook his head.

"Excuse me, what are you talking about?" Hana asked.

"Let's just get going, I'm hungry," said Naruto before he turned around and started moving forward, Hana following behind. The three genins just stood there, not sure whether they were invited or not.

Yugao was about to move when she noticed their concern, and smiled softly. "Come on, we can introduce ourselves on the way and don't you want to 'ensure his safety'?" She laughed.

"Ohh . . . I didn't mean that," Ino responded with a flustered expression.

"Come on, I'll tell you all the little secrets of Naruto," teased Yugao. "After all, who would know him better than his girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend . . . really?" A glint appeared in Ino's eyes as she ran after Yugao, leaving behind her two dumbfounded teammates.

"Troublesome women."

"Come on Shikamaru, its free ramen day today." Choji called behind as he too ran after them in excitement.

Shikamaru only muttered, "There goes my peaceful nap," before he also followed behind them.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Finally...it took al lot of time then expected but nonetheless I hope you ha have enjoyed the chapter.

I don't really have anything extra to add here. Just that I'm trying to give Naruto some time to adjust in to his new life. So let me know what you think of that.

Also one thing I would like to mention is that I really wanted to write a lemon scene at start with Naruto and Yugao. But I'm not sure if I'm ready enough, because I don't want to present just anything rubbing and ruin your mood. So I just left it to your imagination.

So yeah, that's all. I hope you've liked the chapter and have anything to suggest or any question please let me know.

And don't leave without giving your REVIEWS just so you I really enjoy reading all your messages and reviews especially the long ones. So please it really helps a lot...

I'll meet you guys in the next chapter...Bye...