Author's Note: Just a sweet, funny little short story I thought up a long time ago that I wanted to do.

I originally wanted to make this into a comic, but I figure this will be good enough for now.

This is also going to be part of my Naruto - Freelancer One Shot series, all of which are centered around my alternate version of Naruto from the same story I'm writing.

Hope you all enjoy. ;)

NARUTO

Freelancer

The "Flying" Ninja

(Eleven years after Kyuubi)

It was morning over the village of Konoha and as the sun rose steadily into the sky, the weather for the day promised to be both warm and pleasant. The purplish hue of dawn giving way to an endless canvas of blue and random masses of cloud cover, the coming brightness brought forth with it a strong wind from the East, adding a cool, refreshing breeze to the otherwise heated conditions.

The civilians in the town below didn't seem to mind this combination one bit, and as stores and warehouses began opening their doors for the day ahead, it appeared as though it was going to be a busy haul for the working class. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was up earlier than usual to get a head start on his paperwork. With the academy graduation ceremony coming up fast and with new batches of Genin scheduled to be made, things were bound to get very hectic for the old shinobi. He just needed to get all the documents ready for the influx of missions he was expected to give out in the next few days.

While the adults in the village went about their usual routine and the children were sent off to school by their parents and/or guardians, up at the top of the mountain on one of the four heads of the village's most iconic landmark, stood two of Konoha's children who were in absolutely no rush to get to school at all.

Having gotten up way before the crack of dawn to get some much desired training in, as well as beat the traffic to watch the sun rise over the distant horizon, Naruto and Tayuya were positioned at the very edge of the Hokage Monument looking out over the vast expanse of their home village. With the sky stretching on forever, the clouds drifting high overhead, and a cool, stiff breeze blowing strongly across their spot on the lookout, the two children soaked in everything that they could.

Though Tayuya, dressed in her usual outfit consisting of black short-shorts, purple and gold hooded jacket, sandals and cap, was more or less enjoying the view in front of her, Naruto was using his observations for a completely different purpose.

Using his finger to measure the strength of the wind and the distance between where they were standing relative to the village's perimeter wall using the various buildings as waypoints, it was obvious the kid had something big and crazy planned for his morning. The fact that he had also had what looked like a glider propped up against his shoulder, with its wings stretched taut across its frame, pretty much screamed what the young jinchuriki was going to do.

After framing the horizon of the village with his hands and taking a step back to get a good shot of his planned landing point, Naruto then gave an affirmative nod and grinned. "Alright! I think I've got it." His confidence was practically radiating from every pore on his body as the child, dressed in an orange and blue, fur-hooded vest, blue long-sleeved shirt, orange pants, blue leg warmers, orange gloves and green flight goggles, adjusted the pendant around his neck. "This is going to be a piece of cake."

Hand placed firmly on her hip, Tayuya watched with a look of pure amusement on her face as her best friend of three years set his glider down beside him and started going through a series of stretches. "You're not seriously going to go through with this, are you shithead?"

Swinging his arms and legs around, and also doing a couple of lunges, Naruto then shot a smile up at his roommate and training partner, "Aww. Are you trying to say that you're worried about me, Tay-chan?"

"You? No," Tayuya chuckled while shaking her head. "I'm more worried about the poor old sod or roof you're going to end up crashing into in the next few seconds."

"Ah, you're just jealous because I'm the one who thought up this brilliant idea in the first place," the orphan exclaimed while doing a couple of squats to get his legs warmed up.

The redhead considered his response for a moment before shrugging. "Brilliant isn't exactly the word I would use here," she answered dryly, at the same time noticing Naruto pick up his glider and set it over his shoulders. Upon observing him take several steps back for a running start, Tayuya's concerns for her crush's safety finally reached the surface, and the once entertained girl hastily stepped forward in worry. "Naruto. Come on. Don't do this."

"Hey. There's nothing to worry about, Tayuya-chan. I'll be fine," Naruto chirped, kicking his feet through the dirt as he moved back to about twenty yards from his original starting point. With the ledge of the Hokage Monument and the entirety of Konoha laid out squarely in his sights, the boy then readied himself for launch. "Ran-sensei is able to fly using chi to lift herself off the ground. If she can do it without the use of wings, sails, propellers or balloons, then I'm sure I can do it too."

"Not on that thing you're not," Tayuya retorted, shaking her head at the "glider" her roommate was using.

During his training with his two masters Ran and Saito, Naruto had been constructing a whole bunch of unusual contraptions and implements, both as part of his own personal study, and a unique attempt to diversify his fighting style and toolkit as a shinobi. While some of his little inventions had been great and actually served a genuine purpose in improving his arsenal, others had been… not so great. This one included.

What the blond had essentially done, in a few simple words, was stick together a makeshift gliding frame using several sticks of bamboo, ninja wire, a shit-load of duct tape, and kite paper. Aerodynamically speaking the entire construction looked fine, since the entire thing was very sparrow-like in its outline and design. But it was the material he'd made it from that had the girl most concerned. The handle bars he'd put together didn't look like they'd be able to take his weight at all.

Plus he had no steering system to speak of, which made this device pretty much a one-way flight.

Sensing Tayuya's continuing worry prompted Naruto to smile reassuringly at his friend, "I'll make it. You'll see. After all, this baby here-" The blonde then patted the glider's handle bars, "the Naruto Wind Blade Mark I, patent pending,will revolutionize the way ninjas travel and fight. Imagine it… in just a few years' time, shinobi and kunoichi from the hidden leaf will be able to drop down from the skies thousands of feet above the ground to infiltrate castles and strongholds all across the continent, catching enemies by surprise and seizing objectives with no losses at all." He said this while lifting his hand in the air in a typical, grandiose Uzumaki fashion. "We will be unstoppable!"

Though he didn't mean any of this for the military's benefit, as none of his devices were intended for anyone's uses other than his own or Tayuya's, his posturing was mostly in an attempt to get his girlfriend onto his side. From the way he sold his invention, it seemed to have done the trick.

Tayuya however responded with a deadpan stare, "It's not going to work."

Naruto, positivity unyielding, grinned brightly, "Of course it will work." Leaning forward and digging his soles into the ground, while his roommate palmed her face, the blonde then reached up and pulled his goggles over his eyes. "Alright… ready… steady… aaaand-"

XXX

(30 seconds later)

Sitting in his chair, back turned to his office window and pen still in hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi could be seen staring down at his desk, where he'd previously been signing off on a request to provide more funding for the Yamanaka's psychological research and development division.

At least… that's where his desk was supposed to have been.

Instead, what the old Third Hokage was now staring at was the ass and legs of a still remarkably conscious Naruto, who'd just seconds ago came crashing head-first through his ceiling and right into the top of his desk, which he'd effectively broken in half, caved in, and left a sizable crater in the hardwood floor of his office. With the dust settling around them and the First Hokage's vestige, not only was Hiruzen's work station absolutely destroyed, but all of the paperwork he had stacked up on his table had been scattered across his entire office, along with all of his pens and his crystal ball.

The incident had happened so fast that the Hokage was still frozen in the position he'd been before Naruto had unexpectedly dropped in, pen in his right hand and cup of tea in his left, with a comical look of surprise slapped across his wrinkled mug.

Once the smoke finally settled and the last of the loose timber from the hole in the roof clattered to the floor, the half-buried and feet-up Naruto, glider still in hand, gave a low and muffled groan.

"Ow."

Hiruzen… had no idea what to do now. He didn't have the leadership skills nor the wisdom necessary to deal with this kind of situation. Nothing in his last two decades of teaching and counseling could even come close to what he'd just witnessed.

Moments later and through a great deal of effort, Naruto managed to yank his body out of the hole he'd formed and stood up amongst the remains of the village's management department. His body covered in dirt and splinters, his orange vest torn in several places, and his goggle sitting lopsided over his face with both lenses cracked and broken, the blond stumbled a bit before looking up at the old man sitting silently in front of him. Pulling up his eyewear to reveal a black eye, the child then grinned brightly and waved at the person he immediately recognized as Konoha's village leader.

Though there were currently three of them, the blond didn't think anything of it.

"Hey, Hokage-jiji," Naruto chirped, ignoring the fact that his voice was slightly slurred and that he was also missing a tooth. "You're just the man I wanted to see." His expression continuing to reflect sheer delight and cheerfulness, the blond then rocked his arm in a very clumsy, salesman-like manner, "I just invented an awesome new machine that I know you're going to love. Let me tell you all about it…" Still grinning from ear to ear, the orphan then took a deep breath as if to begin his big pitch.

That was until he suddenly keeled over and landed face-first in his crater, his consciousness vanishing with a hilarious 'thud'.

Staring down at the out cold child for several moments, completely ignoring the sounds of a girl laughing hysterically in the distance, Hiruzen blinked, sighed, and looked up towards his office door.

"Nurse!"

END