A/N: Looks like I was able to get this chapter out before vacation. Enjoy!

Chapter 18: Just Another Day for the Namikaze Family

Posted: Sept. 1, 2017

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Good morning class. And I see you're back with us, Naruto," greeted Iruka. For Naruto, it actually felt pretty good being back in class with all of his friends. "How was your trip with Jiraiya-sama?"

"Meh, nothing special I guess," shrugged Naruto. Of course, he kind of wanted to say he beat Orochimaru's ass with an original S-rank jutsu, but considering he was supposed to be an academy student, that option was out. "Although, I found out that I had a cousin in a nearby village, dattebayo!"

"Well that explains this announcement," chuckled Iruka. "The first announcement I have for you today is that we have a new student. Class, please welcome Uzumaki Karin."

Karin stepped through the door and smiled as the entire class warmly greeted her. As her chakra senses scanned over the entire class, two chakra signatures stood out to her. The first was her cousin's chakra, something she knew since before they met. He had such warm chakra, but there was something else and she couldn't help but wonder where this 'other' chakra was coming from. The second was the boy sitting next to her cousin. His chakra was cool and refreshing and she just couldn't help herself to basking in it for a little longer. Karin took her seat next to Hinata, who was sitting just behind Naruto and Sasuke as two girls behind them leaned over their desk to talk to the newest student.

"So Karin, Sasuke or Naruto? Which one are you?" asked the girls, causing redhead to shoot the girls a questioning glare. "Which one do you like?"

Naruto and Sasuke felt a foreboding chill run down their spines before the Uchiha turned to his friend and classmate. "You better not have brought another fangirl into the class," threatened Sasuke.

"Don't worry. There's no way Kaachan would let that happen," waved Naruto before a sense of massive killing intent washed over not just the academy, but the entire village, causing all the children in the class to quake in their very seats.

"YOU LET MY SON FIGHT OROCHIMARU AND A BIJU?!"

Despite Minato's foolproof silence seals being active in the office while Jiraiya reported in, they failed to block out Kushina's hormone-induced rage directed at a certain super pervert.

"Minato, where did you hide my sword this time?!" shouted Kushina, causing the blonde Hokage to flash away in a panicked frenzy.

Even Naruto was surprised when Minato appeared directly in front of him during the middle of class. "Dad?"

"No time son. Escape Plan Gama!"

Panic set in as those three words hit Naruto's mind. Escape Plan Gama was only supposed to be used when the village was facing imminent destruction and there was nothing that could be done, though considering the feeling he got just a minute ago, he couldn't help but fear that exactly that was going to happen. Without a second thought, Naruto latched onto Minato and the two flashed away, arriving near a faraway lake on the other side of the globe.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A large toad appeared in the lake as the two of them crawled inside its mouth and the toad dove to the deepest reaches of the lake. Hopefully they'd be safe from Kushina's wrath in here.

Iruka just looked dumbfounded at the Namikaze antics that had crept their way into his classroom before he decided it was just best to continue on as if nothing had ever happened. As Iruka went to read the next announcement on his list, a high-pitched scream that would make a little girl proud echoed throughout the village, signaling the start of Jiraiya's run for his very life.

The entire class found themselves momentarily distracted as a white-haired man came running through the street that passed by the academy with a certain red-headed woman chasing close behind, sword drawn and nine crimson strands of hair whipping behind her. A few minutes later, Minato flashed Naruto back to the classroom and Iruka just shot his student a questioning look.

"What can I say? Kaachan's really moody today and it's not too hard for Jiraiya-oji to make her mad," shrugged Naruto. However, this wasn't mad…no this was beyond mad.

"Naruto, are you sure everything's okay at home?" questioned a worried Iruka.

"Don't worry. Kaachan will cool off soon," grinned Naruto. "I hope." Just another normal day for the Namikaze family.

"Ooookaaaay," said Iruka before returning to daily announcements. "The next announcement I have is a wonderful opportunity for many of you to become medical-ninja and study under the tutelage of Senju Tsunade has just opened up. If you're interested, please take one of these forms on my desk for your parents to sign and bring it back by the end of the week. She will begin classes with those of you who are interested in becoming med-nins at the beginning of the next school year."

Iruka spent the next 30 minutes giving a brief explanation on what medical ninjutsu was and why it was important, as well as the general duties of a med-nin. Needless to say, Naruto could already see that a few of the students were intrigued. However, the one person he thought would be excited wasn't. As the end of class neared, everyone who was interested in this new medical program took a form. However, Naruto saw one person not take a form…the very person who had the potential to surpass Tsunade herself.

"Sakura-chan!"

"What do you want Naruto?"

"You forgot this." Naruto shot Sakura a questioning look as Naruto tried to hand her a form.

"Umm…why would I want this? It'd be a waste of my time."

"What?! But you'd be an awesome med-nin! -ttebayo!" Why was Sakura being so stubborn about taking it?

"Thanks, but I can't. If I take this then there'd be no time…"

"No time to fawn over Sasuke?" Naruto shot a quizzical look towards Sakura. Of course, she was still in her fan-girl stages. Naruto had seen her hanging around as part of the Sasuke Uchiha Fanclub and he was certain he caught a glimpse of her pink hair in that stamped yesterday. But there was no way he'd ever let her pass up this opportunity, especially because of some silly infatuation.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't need someone who's a fancy doctor. He needs…umm…well he needs…" Sakura actually found herself at a bit of a loss for words. It was a sad fact, but the only person in their class who actually knew Sasuke on a more personal level was the blonde-haired boy standing in front of her. "Oh, that doesn't matter. I'll never impress him by being a stupid med-nin!"

Naruto actually found himself taken aback. Even by his standards, that reasoning was terrible and he knew he had to have given some pretty lame excuses in the past before. "How about this, if you think about this, then I'll tell you a secret about Sasuke."

This caught Sakura's attention. Anything Sasuke-related most certainly would as she took the form out of his hand and nodded, listening intently at what Naruto was going to say.

"This whole fanclub thing, Sasuke hates it with a fiery passion, even more so than Danzo-teme. They annoy the hell out of him…and me," said Naruto. "But, if you become a kick-ass med-nin, he'll notice you. All he wants is someone who's a good kunoichi and I can just tell you have what it takes to be a good kunoichi. You just need to find what you're good at and I think medical ninjutsu is what you'll be good at! Dattebayo!."

"Do…do you think so?" asked Sakura shyly. "And why do you care so much?"

"Of course! Besides, I feel like you were fated to become a good med-nin! -ttebayo!" Walking through the courtyard, having been picked up by his father after the academy, a certain Hyuga prodigy sneezed. "And why do I care? Because you're my friend!"

Naruto's contagious grin got to Sakura as a small smile crept its way onto her face. "Okay! I'll at least give this a try! Thanks Naruto-kun!"

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as Sakura left to meet up with her parents and he took off towards his dad's office for a rather important meeting. One crisis had been averted…Sakura not being a med-nin was just something he could not allow.

"Naruto, do you have any idea how Akatsuki could have found out that you're the jinchuriki?" asked Minato as he and Naruto arrived at the Hokage's office after class. Also present was Kushina, Kakashi, Itachi, Hiruzen, Tsunade, and Jiraiya wrapped up in a full-body cast.

"Now that I think about it, it's probably that Zetsu guy," said Naruto. "If I remember, no one was able to sense him…until I used Kurama's chakra. I was able to sense his hatred, allowing me to kill all of his clones during the war."

"I see…the Negative Emotions Sensing," mused Kushina.

"So…sensei." Minato looked towards Jiraiya, crossing his hands. "Speaking of Akatsuki, I'm honestly surprised you haven't tried going after your students yet."

Jiraiya sighed. It was true, he wanted desperately to go after Nagato and Konan, hoping to save them. "It's taking everything I have not to go after them. But it's too big of a risk right now. If what Naruto said is true, Danzo screwed them over years ago and its far too late to save Nagato from becoming Pain. Honestly Minato, I think you could defeat him especially now that you can use senjutsu, but the question is: Do we want to eliminate Pain or save Nagato? I personally would like to try and save my student."

"Everything you've told me about Nagato…he's also an Uzumaki, isn't he?" Kushina asked.

"I don't have conclusive proof, but I think so," said Jiraiya.

"Then that settles it. We're saving Nagato, dattebane!" declared Kushina. "I thought it was just me…just me and Mito-baachan…but to think that there are still others…"

"While Nagato might be family, Pain is still a threat. However, if he won't be acting against us for many years still, then we can use that time to formulate a plan to save Nagato while defeating Pain," said Hiruzen.

"However, I think if we want to SAVE Nagato, it's going to need to be Naruto who does it…no pressure Kid," said Jiraiya. "He's done it before…so he knows how to do it again."

"Yeah, but I'm going to need to be able to use Sage-mode again," said Naruto. "Remember, Pain was able to destroy the entire village last time around."

"I assure you I won't let that happen again," resolved Minato. "But so long as Akatsuki won't become a threat for a few more years, we can give it some time. However, should Pain move against us before Naruto is ready, then I'll do what I have to as Hokage."

Minato then went silent for a moment, in deep thought. "From what I can make of things, regardless of how much things have changed, Akatsuki will still come after the Biju…If only I knew how to stop Obito…then we wouldn't have to worry. But I fear he might be too far gone…"

"So, Sensei, has your network picked up on anything yet?" asked Minato.

"Well, thanks to the Kid's leads, we found Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Sea," said Jiraiya.

"That's good to know," said Hiruzen. "Itachi-kun, think you, Kakashi-kun, and your squads can eliminate that base for us? Perhaps see if there's an opportunity to trap Orochimaru?"

Itachi and Kakashi looked over towards the current Hokage and received a nod.

"I've also got my spies heavily focused on the Land of Rice. So far, it doesn't seem like he's formed Otogakure yet, but the minute he steps foot in the Land of Rice, I'll know," said Jiraiya. "I've also got eyes on Deidara. Apparently, he just defected from Iwagakure about a week ago. I think he was also the one who blew up the Tsuchikage's office?"

Minato just let out a nervous chuckle before denying anything. Letting Kushina know he could use the Hiraishin without seals was not something he wanted to tip off to her just yet.

"And while we're on the topic of Orochimaru…I've managed to track down one Yakushi Kabuto," said Kakashi. "He and his team are currently serving as genin of the village."

"Truth be told, I don't know how far back Kabuto's ties to Orochimaru go," said Naruto. "All I know is that when I saw him at the chunin exams, he was the Sanke's spy."

"I see. I don't want to make a move on him yet, but I'll assign an ANBU unit to keep an eye on him," said Minato. "I think if we just let him operate as is, he could lead us to Orochimaru, so long as we ensure he doesn't do anything to harm the village."

"And Danzo?"

Hiruzen let out a sigh. "All of Danzo's usual haunts have been wiped clean," said the Sandaime. "The units I've taken for this investigation are thoroughly searching for any clue as to where he could have gone, but we don't have any leads yet."

"I see. Seeing that he escaped by space-time jutsu, tracking him is virtually impossible," said Minato.

"However if I recall, Danzo and my former student were rather…close," said Hiruzen. "Perhaps our investigation into Orochimaru's whereabouts will lead us to my former teammate."

"I will ensure our investigation is exceptionally thorough, Sandaime-sama," said Itachi.

Unknown Location,

"I'm actually pleased to say the operation was a success, Danzo," grinned Orochimaru as Danzo got off the table. "To think the Shodai's cells have stabilized into your right arm is simply marvelous…even without the addition of those Sharingan eyes you've collected. I don't think I could have done it if you didn't allow me to study that child of yours. To think one of my experiments actually survived. It's a shame though so many of the Uchihas had to die though. Why'd you do it?"

"Sometimes, the tree must be allowed to wither and die so that a new one can take root in its place," said Danzo. "Konoha has grown too soft under that fool Sarutobi and his puppet. However, I simply could not sit by and allow such a power to wither away to nothing along with the rest of the tree. Someone needed to show them the error of their ways. And once I've gathered enough resources, Konoha will finally understand the mistakes it's made. Hiruzen and that pathetic Damiyo should have taken my advice when considering the position of Yondaime Hokage."

"Kukuku…" chuckled Orochimaru. "If I'm correct, you nominated yours truly, didn't you?"

"You understand the value of strength and power more than anyone else I know," said Danzo.

"Speaking of power…" grinned Orochimaru.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten our agreement," said Danzo. "Two Sharingan eyes in exchange of the operation." The bandaged war hawk pulled out a scroll from his robe and unsealed a vial that contained two floating Uchiha eyes in it

"Excellent," smiled Orochimaru.

"Sometimes, the tree must be allowed to wither and die so that a new one can take root in its place," said Danzo.

"Niisan!"

Walking away from the tower, Itachi heard the familiar cry of his little brother. Turning to Sasuke, Itachi made a slight wave with his hand, motioning for Sasuke to come over.

"You said you were going to help me train," scoffed Sasuke.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I had important business with Hokage-sama," apologized Itachi. "I'm afraid I'll be leaving on a mission for a little."

"What? But who's going to train me?!" argued Sasuke. "I need to get stronger so I can make that bastard pay for what he did to my clan!"

"Sasuke..." Itachi said in a tone that got his younger brother to start rambling. "Forget about Danzo."

"What?!" shouted Sasuke. "But I can't just let him live, after…"

"What Danzo did, not just to our clan, but also the village is unforgivable. Hokage-sama is doing everything he can to track him down and bring him to justice," said Itachi. "You're not the only one affected. Don't force yourself to shoulder this burden alone. Doing so will only make things worse. Okay? Sasuke?"

"I…I see. Sorry, Niisan," said Sasuke.

Itachi just smiled at his younger brother before responding in typical Itachi-fashion and poking Sasuke on the forehead. "Let's go see Kaachan. It shouldn't be too much longer before she's released from the hospital. Especially now that Tsunade-sama's back."

As they arrived at the hospital, Itachi and Sasuke stepped inside their mother's room to see that someone had beaten them to visiting hours.

"So, do you know if it's going to be a boy or girl yet?" asked Mikoto as she placed her hand on Kushina's slightly distended belly.

"Tsunade-sensei says I'm only three months into the pregnancy. I won't know for at least another two," said Kushina.

"Hello, Kushina-san," greeted Itachi as he noticed the redheaded wife of the Hokage seated next to Mikoto's bed.

"I think I'll leave you three alone," said Kushina as she said goodbye to her best friend.

"Maybe you can bring Hinata-chan with you next time," replied Mikoto.

After spending some time with their mother, Itachi and Sasuke left their mother for the night. It was welcomed news that she would be discharged from the hospital in a few days and the two Uchiha boys were thankful that a small portion of their normal lives would be returned to them.

"You can go on, Sasuke. I'll be there shortly" said Itachi as he turned to go down a separate hallway. However, Sasuke opted to follow his older brother until they came to a separate room. Looking through the window, Sasuke saw a brown-haired girl lying in the bed, hooked up to a few monitors and machines. "Who is she, Niisan?"

"Her name's Izumi. She's an Uchiha, but she's not part of the clan," Itachi replied.

"She's an Uchiha? How come I've never seen her around and what do you mean by not part of the clan?" Sasuke asked.

"Because, she and her mother left the clan to live with her father," said Itachi. "However, despite no longer being a part of the clan, Danzo's men attacked her and her family as well on that night. Her parents died protecting her and she was injured to the point where she slipped into a coma…"

Itachi went silent for a minute. "Niisan…do you like her?"

"She's…she's a very close friend, Sasuke," said Itachi before going silent again.

"We are lucky, Sasuke. We still have Kaasan and each other," Itachi said. "However, Izumi lost both of her parents, one of which wasn't even an Uchiha. Many others in our clan lost just as much as her, if not more. It is a tragedy, but we must move forward and not dwell in the past. We must be strong and have faith in the village."

"What will happen to her, Niisan?" Sasuke asked. "She doesn't have any parents…"

"She's strong, Sasuke," assured Itachi. "But I've talked with Kaasan and she said we can take her in if that's what she wants."

As the two returned to the Uchiha district, Itachi was confronted by two of the other surviving members of the clan, that Itachi recognized as Yashiro and Tekka, two of his father's subordinates and two clansmen who Itachi really didn't get along with well. "Sasuke, why don't you go over to the training ground. I'll be over to show you something before I leave for my mission."

Sasuke cautiously nodded before leaving his brother to deal with the two.

"Tell me, Itachi, does this mission involve Danzo?" asked Yashiro.

"I do not know, but it is vital for the village's security," replied Itachi calmly.

"Tsk. Figures…" scoffed Tekka. "It's always about the village isn't it."

"It's been nearly two months, Itachi," said Yashiro. "Two months since Danzo killed Inabi, Fugaku-sama, and most of the clan! Why the hell hasn't the Hokage done anything about him?"

Both Yashiro and Tekka instinctively activated their Sharingans as they glared at Itachi.

"Are you doubting Hokage-sama?" Itachi asked, returning with his own Sharingan.

"Tsk, if I was the one in charge, Danzo would be strung up on the gallows by now," replied Tekka. "You seem awfully close with the Hokage. What's he doing to bring this monster to justice?"

"Everything he can," replied Itachi.

"Yeah…" said Tekka sarcastically. "I heard he took a month's vacation just after the whole mess started. Seems like a good way to start."

Itachi couldn't contain himself anymore as he lashed out at Tekka, sending the elder Uchiha to the ground. "You think yourself above everyone else? You overestimate your power. If you had been Hokage, the entire clan and more would have been wiped out," spoke Itachi. Yashiro and Tekka just glared at Itachi before walking off, but not before getting in one last statement.

"The Hokage had better do something about that traitor soon. I've about had it with this village's incompetence," said Yashiro.

Itachi let out a sigh. "I think I'm beginning to understand now, Naruto."

"I tried to stop her, Kaachan! But she just broke down the door and came right in, dattebayo!"

Arriving home after visiting with Mikoto, Kushina was greeted by a busted door and a panicking Naruto.

"It's your fault, Gaki," shouted the voice that could only belong to one Senju Tsunade. "I gave you a good five seconds."

"But considering I was busy going over a fuinjutsu scroll with Nanase-obachan and Karin-chan…well…"

"You knew very well I was coming over here!" shouted Tsunade.

"And I was going to open the door before you went and blew it off the hinges, Baachan!"

"Will you stop with the Baachan crap already?! I'm not old!"

"And Ero-Sennin's not a pervert," retorted Naruto. "You're only making it worse by covering it up."

"Will you two SHUT UP?! Dattebane," Kushina shouted, only adding more noise to the arguing, her hair taking on the trademark 9-tailed appearance. "You're scaring poor Hinata-chan, dattebane!"

Tsunade's attention quickly diverted towards her original target and away from the two hot headed Namikazes she was previously arguing with as she knelt down to eye level with Hinata, who was now cowering behind Nanase.

"There you are!" chirped Tsunade as she went from aggressive and yelling to smiling and cheerful all in the span of a second. "Hello, Hinata-chan."

"Umm…h-hello, T-tsunade-s-sama," stuttered the scared Hyuga.

"So, Naruto-kun thinks you'll make a great med-nin?" smiled Tsunade. "Doesn't that sound just great?"

"Umm…h-hai," said Hinata.

"I can't wait to work with you," said Tsunade. "Oh I can just imagine how great you'll be at medical jutsu…especially with those wonderful eyes of your."

"Baachan, you're scaring her!" shouted Naruto, jumping on Tsunade's back and trying to stop her from pressuring Hinata. Despite Kushina working on improving Hinata's confidence, the young ex-Hyuga was still rather shy and timid and didn't like being put on the spot.

"GET OFF, BRAT!" shouted Tsunade as she grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt and threw him through the hole in the door that she made her grand entrance through.

Minato let out a sigh as he Hirashined just outside the door in his house…the door that was supposed to be solid and intact, but was smashed and broken in. Before the Hokage could even begin to ponder what was going on, he was hit by a flying miniature copy of himself, sending him and Naruto tumbling to the ground.

"Naruto, what's going on?" asked Minato.

"Oh, not much. Just Baachan getting acquainted with Hinata-chan," shrugged Naruto.

"And she had to break down the door? She couldn't have just knocked and waited like a normal person?"

"Remember, this is the same woman who threw the desk out of the Hokage Tower on a daily basis," said Naruto. Minato just sighed. "Were the two of you always like this?"

"Oh no," smiled Naruto, reassuring Minato. "This is actually pretty tame, dattebayo!"

A few weeks later at the academy,

"I'm pleased to say that after today, you'll all be one step closer to becoming ninja," said Iruka. "It's been a wonderful school year and I look forward to seeing you all again in a few weeks after the summer break. Before we all say goodbye for the year, why don't we have a little pop quiz on the Henge no Jutsu."

As Iruka said that, the door into the classroom opened and the Sandaime stepped in.

"Oh? Sandaime-sama? To what do I owe this honor?"

"No need to be so formal, Iruka-kun," waved the Sandaime. "I just came to see how the next generation is shaping up." Despite being retired, one thing Sarutobi Hiruzen greatly enjoyed was visiting the Academy on a regular basis to see how the next generation of to-be shinobi were coming along. Minato had even been tempted to bring him out of retirement by instating him as the Academy Headmaster, but Hiruzen just waved it off, saying these 'rounds' of his were more enjoyable when he wasn't duty-bound by anything.

"Well, I figured we'd have one last pop quiz on the Henge no Jutsu and I want to see how everyone's coming on their two personal jutsus before we call it a year, Sandaime-sama," said Iruka. "You're more than welcome to join. In fact, perhaps you have some valuable advice for our prospective young students?"

Hiruzen smiled at this, but he wasn't the only one. Out of the corner of his eye, one Uchiha Sasuke caught a grin on Naruto's face he knew all too well…this was going to be good.

One by one, everyone went through the motion of performing the Henge no Jutsu. So far, 10 students had gone and all 10 students succeeded in performing an acceptable transformation. "Naruto, you're up."

Naruto walked up to the front of the class, his mind already set on who he would transform into. "Henge!" A could of smoke erupted around Naruto and as the smoke cleared, Naruto had transformed into a female version of himself with a busty chest and curvy body, exposed for the entire world to see with the exception of a thin wisp of smoke covering her private areas. "Hokage-sama…" Naruko said in a seductive tone. "It's cold in here. Can I borrow your coat? O-ne-gai?" One last seductive wink sealed the deal.

Hiruzen, Iruka, Mizuki, and even many of the male students all froze at the sight of Naruto's transformation as the effects of Naruto's jutsu ravaged the blood vessels in their noses, resulting in a fountain of blood sending the three veteran shinobi crashing back against the wall and knocking them unconscious. As he dispelled the transformation, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. It had been too long since he pulled that trick on someone (with the exception of those guards in Kusa). Looking back at the unconscious form of the Old Man, it was just like the good old times.

The rest of the class was a mixture of reactions. Some, like Kiba, started whistling and catcalling Naruko. Others, like Sakura, Ino, and Karin were yelling and threatening Naruto for doing something so embarrassing. Hinata went bright red and fainted. Most of the boys were struggling to contain the blood in their noses. And Shino…well nobody was really sure.

It took awhile before the three adults in the room had a chance to recover. "Naruto, what do you have to say for yourself?!" shouted Iruka, using his Big Head no jutsu.

"I wish Jiji was still Hokage? Then I could say I just beat the Hokage, -ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

"He's been hanging around Jiraiya too much," groaned Hiruzen internally. "So, this must be how he defeated me in the past…that certainly is a most…effective technique."

After the rest of the class went through their transformations, thankfully none of them pulling what Naruto did, Iruka directed the class outside where he would see where everyone stood on their two supplementary jutsu and have a few taijutsu spars to end the year off.

Out of the entire class, only 6 students had an additional jutsu which they could demonstrate. Going around the class, Kiba showed off his Jujin Bunshin (Beast-Human Clone) and proceeded into his clan's signature move, the Gatsuga (Fang over Fang). Chouji was next and managed to pull off two of his clan's signature jutsus as well, the Baika no Jutsu (Expansion Jutsu) and the subsequent Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank). However, after completing his jutsu, Chouji was extremely dizzy and disoriented, showing he still had some work to do on the jutsu.

"Hinata, let's see what you have," called out Iruka. He barely caught Hinata's hand being raised, which she had been hesitant to raise at first until she got a reassuring smile from Naruto. To say Iruka was surprised when Hinata managed to form a whip of water from a nearby pond and lash it out towards the training dummy was an understatement. However, before the whip could wrap around the post, it shuttered and dissipated, causing the poor girl to look down in disappointment.

"Yeah! That was awesome, Hinata-chan!" cheered Naruto from the peanut gallery and causing the young girl's head to perk up. "You almost had it this time! -ttebayo!"

"Naruto-kun's right, Hinata-chan," Hiruzen spoke up. "To be able to even attempt an elemental jutsu at your age speaks highly of your skills and potential. Besides, I can actually see the Suiton: Suiben (Water-style: Water Whip Jutsu) being a perfect jutsu to compliment your taijutsu style."

"Umm…t-thank you, H-hokage-sama," squeaked Hinata before shrinking back into the crowd. While Kushina was working on raising the girl's confidence, the stupid Hyuga elders had stripped it down so much that she still had a lot of work ahead of her.

"Sasuke, your turn," said Iruka as Sasuke nodded.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu! (Fire-style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)" Sasuke shot out a dozen or so smaller fireballs towards the training post, earning a number of cheers from the fangirls watching.

"Impressive, Sasuke-kun," acknowledged the Sandaime. "Your skills in fire jutsus are coming far. I take it Itachi-kun's been helping you?"

Sasuke just nodded.

"That's good to hear. We're going to need as many talented shinobi as we can get to inherit this village," said Sarutobi. "I hope everyone's Will of Fire will burn brightly one day."

"Shino, your turn," called Mizuki as the Aburame nodded. A swarm of bugs emerged from Shino's coat and formed into an identical copy of the bug-user.

"While the effort at creating a different version of a clone is commendable, it's not going to count as one of your two additional jutsus, Shino. I'm afraid it will only act as a replacement for the clone jutsu," said Mizuki in a disappointing tone and causing Shino to raise a rare eyebrow. The Aburame raised his arm and the insect clone dissipated into a number of insects that proceeded to surround Mizuki, cutting off any route of escape for the chunin teacher as they closed in.

"Hijutsu: Mushidama (Hidden Jutsu: Beetle Sphere)," called out Shino as he ordered his insects to close in on Mizuki and causing the teacher to let out a little yelp before Shino recalled his insects.

"Excellent display at the mastery of your clan's techniques, Shino-kun," said Hiruzen. "Might I suggest delving into some non-insect-based jutsus for your second jutsu? Diversity in abilities never hurts."

Shino stood there for a moment before nodding at the former Hokage. "I understand. Thank you for the advise, Hokage-sama."

"Naruto, you're last," said Iruka. "And please use a serious jutsu this time."

Naruto chuckled a little before settling on what he wanted to show. Most of his big jutsus were still off limits to use under the observation of anyone outside the circle of people who knew, but he supposed there was one he could show as he bit his thumb.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A small cloud of smoke appeared and a small orange and red toad, no larger than Akamaru, appeared where he had slammed his hand.

"Yo!" greeted Gamakichi, creating a mixture of reactions.

"EEEK! It talks?!" screamed a few of the fan girls who were creeped out by the sight of a talking toad.

"Wow, you can summon already, Naruto?" exclaimed Iruka. Despite knowing Naruto knew two jonin-level jutsus, the fact that Naruto could summon was a surprise to him.

"Well, Touchan and Ero-Sennin can both summon," said Naruto.

"Ero-Sennin?" questioned Iruka.

"He's referring to my student, Jiraiya," said Hiruzen.

"I see…that explains…a lot actually…" groaned Iruka as he thought back to the earlier transformation quiz.

Gamakichi was starting intently at Shino, who was actually taking a step away from the bug-loving amphibian. A fly flew in front of Gamakichi as the small toad grabbed it with his tongue before swallowing it and licking his lips in satisfaction.

For the first time anyone could recall, Shino actually displayed an apparent emotion as he cowered behind the rest of the class and a sense of gloom overtook him.

They proceeded to finish out the school year with a taijutsu tournament with Sasuke winning for the boys and Naruto cursing about 'stupid Sharingans'. While Naruto and Sasuke were always about even at taijutsu, Sasuke awakening his Sharingan had pushed the Uchiha over the top to the point where he would win every taijutsu spar. Unfortunately for Naruto, despite his training with his mom and dad, taijutsu's bottleneck was still the physical build of the body, something he and Sasuke were about even in at this time, but the Sharingan gave Sasuke a clear advantage.

Hinata managed to pull off the win for the girls after receiving some much welcomed cheering from Naruto. However, half of the female population's eyes were glaring at the poor girl. How dare she not only get to live with their Naruto-kun, but also steal his attention away from them.

"That was uncalled for, Niisan!" scolded Karin as she, Hinata, and Naruto walked away from the academy for the start of their summer vacation. "If Kushina-obasan saw that…"

"Oh come on, Karin-neechan, it was all in good fun!" cheered Naruto. "Besides, I even defeated the Old Man! I guess I'm not as far from being Hokage as I thought! Dattebayo!"

"Well it was embarrassing!" shouted Karin.

"Yeah, if you're the Old Man, Iruka-sensei, or Mizuki-sensei," responded Naruto. "Besides, it's summer vacation! I had to leave everyone with a reminder of my awesomeness! Dattebayo!"

"Yeah, summer break for you…" groaned Karin. "Tsunade-sensei gave us so much summer reading that Hinata and I will be lucky if we even get a chance to sleep. Tell you what. Teach me how to use those shadow clones of yours and I'll forget what happened in class today."

"N-no f-fair!" squeaked Hinata. They both knew about the added benefit of shadow clones, but despite being an academy student, Karin actually had large enough chakra reserves to maybe pull a shadow clone or two off thanks to her Uzumaki heritage. Hinata on the other hand…it was a good thing she liked reading.

"Yeah, well Kaachan's using these weeks of break from school to really step up my fuinjutsu training," argued Naruto. "So much for not studying…"

"Why don't you just give up you loser!"

Naruto's attention was grabbed from a few yells coming from the nearby field. He saw a group of five boys surrounding another boy with glossy black hair and bushy eyebrows…Lee. It was obvious what they were doing.

"Yeah, how can you be a ninja if you can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu?"

"NO! I will become a splendid ninja! On that I swear!"

"Tsk. Let's leave this loser. He's not worth our time." The five boys ridiculing Lee turned to walk away and as Lee was left there crying, Naruto was about to approach the future taijutsu-master…until he noticed a glint of green spandex out of the corner of his eye. While Naruto wanted to help his friend, he knew Lee would be just fine in Gai's hands…even if that meant bringing the Flames of Youth down upon Konoha.

Kushina was already 6 months into her pregnancy and it was clear to the rest of the village that there'd be another Namikaze on the way. Unfortunately for the village, between Naruto and Kushina, two crazy Namikazes were enough and they desperately hoping this next one would turn out more like Minato, calm and collected.

Speaking of Minato, the Hokage found himself at the door of the house late in the evening. There was some sort of emergency going on and his duty as Hokage was calling. However, before he could leave the house, he was confronted by a teary-eyed Kushina.

"I'm sorry Kushina, but I have to leave. It's my duty as Hokage," said Minato.

"Please be careful. I worry for you," said Kushina. "And after this child is born, I'll have one more thing to worry about, dattebane!"

"Don't worry, I'll do whatever it takes to protect our family," grinned Minato, bringing a slight smile to Kushina's face before she began worrying again.

"But you're going to be busy! Between that and worrying about me and Naruto, you've already got a lot on your plate! What if our she becomes a troublemaker who's impulsive and has a temper? Dattebane!"

Minato just chuckled as he remembered having this conversation once before, when Kushina was pregnant with Naruto.

"Or worse, what if she's a time traveler who never even knew he parent's love until after 17 years?" worried Kushina. In the other room, while looking over the last bits of Minato's beginner-level fuinjutsu scrolls the night before the next year of the academy began, Naruto sneezed.

"Kushina, don't you think you're getting a little carried away? It's impossible that our kid could be a time traveler…err, scratch that," grinned Minato. "You're just worrying too much. Besides, what makes you think this one will be a girl?"

"It's because…I'm her mother."

Minato just laughed. "Well, I'm off. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"On your way back, can you get me a double-dark chocolate espresso?" asked Kushina.

"Kushi-chan, you hate coffee and dark chocolate," reminded Minato. "Besides…its 9:00 at night. If you drink that, you'll be up all night."

"Yeah, but I really want a double-dark chocolate espresso, dattebane."

November 21,

"MINATO WHEN THIS IS OVER I'M GOING TO CASTRATE YOU, DATTEBANE!"

A panicked look set in on the Hokage's face. "Oh stop it, Minato," smiled Biwako. "She's strong and will push through this." Unlike the last time Kushina was giving birth, they were stationed in the hospital with not only Biwoku present, but also Tsunade and Shizune. In addition, Naruto, Itachi, Kakashi, Hiruzen, and Jiraiya were just outside the delivery room. If Obito was gutsy enough to try and repeat 10 years ago, he'd have to take on all 8 of them this time.

"I can see the head, Kushina. Just a little more," said Tsunade. Once again, Kushina gritted her teeth and gave one last push before the sounds of crying filled the room. Breathing heavy, Kushina smiled when she heard the cries of her newborn daughter fill the room.

Minato made a move to see his newborn child, but Tsunade just slapped away his hand. "Kushina gets to see her first," scolded Tsunade to a pouting Minato before handing Kushina the wrapped child.

"Look Kushina, she's got your hair," said Minato softly.

"I know, the red threads of fate…" replied Kushina happily.

"So what are you going to name her?" Tsunade asked.

"Umi," replied Kushina. "Umi Uzumaki Namikaze."

Author Notes:

I am still undecided on whether or not Danzo will join Akatsuki, but I am leaning no. However, that doesn't mean he won't maintain his association with Orochimaru as seen in this chapter. As of now, Akatsuki is/will be: Pain, Konan, Zetsu, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Orochimaru. Obito wasn't a member, although he pulled the strings, and Itachi is obvious. I don't think I'm going to have Deidara join because there's no Itachi. I'll probably do an OC or something from Kumo as one member and I'm unsure about the last.

By the end of this chapter, Naruto is 10. I'm thinking the next chapter will be the last of the academy years, but that'll ultimately depend on the content of the next chapter.