OMG I UPDATED! Okay~ So I'm really really really really really slow at updating, truthfully I got this chapter out before but people started complaining about a couple of things (and really no hard feelings, was just trying out something new), obviously it didn't work out so well considering peoples reactions to it so I took the chapter down edited it and now I'm posting it back up again!

Hopefully it turns out better this time around.

Story so far: Naruto's come back to the past with Kyuubi's help, his intentions are to stop Konoha's destruction and at the same time save Sasuke from self destruction. He's allied himself with Itachi, Zabuza and Haku, who all know of Naruto's situation along with Kakashi and the Sandaime. Naruto has also allied himself with Hiruma, trading blackmail material for weapons and information against enemies and allies alike. Team 7 are on there way back from the wave mission and the pranking war between Kakashi and Sakura & Sasuke and Naruto is still going strong.

Team 7 along with Zabuza and Haku walked along the dirt covered road, Sasuke and Naruto had released their henge upon getting their clothes back from a sour Kakashi, who decided he would rather give the genins their clothes back then die from blood loss. Zabuza was still chuckling every now and then at the stunt the two Konoha shinobi had pulled on their sensei.

Sakura, understandably, was a bit traumatized after the incident and had not spoken to Sasuke for a while now, his actions throughout the entire mission had caused her to rethink everything she knew about him, getting more and more depressed the further she pondered on it. Haku was by her side, sweatdropping at the girls depressed mood and tried desperately to cheer her up, though with little success. Sasuke on the other hand, was as happy as he could be, not that he showed it.

Naruto was grinning alongside Zabuza, both talking about the oddities of Konoha, Kakashi would pitch in his own opinion every now and then however would mostly keep to his sour self and read his R-rated dreams*.

Without any civilians slowing them down the group of shinobi (plus Sakura)** made it back to Konoha in just two days time. Sakura gave a sigh of relief as she saw the gates come into view on the horizon, "Finally! We're home!" She moaned in exhaustion, behind her Kakashi gave a small chuckle, yet couldn't help but agree with the younger kunoichi. 'It's been a weird couple of weeks' He thought, returning to his novel.

"Ne, ne, Zabu-chan! Where do you think you and Haku-chan will be staying?" Naruto piped up after Sakura, the thought occurring to him.

Sakura chocked on her saliva at the state of address used, similarly Sasuke, quite uncharacteristically stumbled mid-step, Kakashi on the other hand gave no indication that he had heard the young blond, while Haku looked on with curiosity as to what the answer to the question asked would be.

Zabuza growled threateningly at the hyperactive blond, who either didn't care or was too thick to notice, because Naruto just kept smiling up at the ninja. Noticing his intimidation tactic was not working Zabuza settled for gruffly replying a short "Not sure."

"Sou desu ka…" Naruto replied going quiet, a thoughtful expression on his features, "Then do you want to stay at my apartment until you can find a place to stay permanently?"

Kakashi looked sharply over at Naruto from the corner of his eye, the blond ignored the pointed glance with a smile, rather seeming to favor focusing his attention on Zabuza's answer. Said man was giving the blond a curious and suspicious expression, it was a odd combination and looked startlingly comical on the man, Naruto had to fight not to laugh outright at it.

"Sure thing gaki."

Naruto gave a wide smile "Great!" he faltered a bit, before replaying the words spoken in his head, a small light bulb went off in his head "Who're you calling gaki, mayuge resufurīku!"

The group chuckled at Naruto's actions, walking like that happily until two suddenly froze in their tracks, an ominous aura suddenly running down their spines. Kakashi stopped noticing his students suddenly stopped as well "Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, Is there something wrong?"

"Ē to, I'm not sure… Sasuke?" Naruto turned to his male team-mate silently questioning if he had felt the same thing. The Uchiha silently nodded, searching his surroundings, hand slowly inching towards a hidden kunai.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, putting his novel away, but before he could do anything else the ground started vibrating, small rocks and pebbles on the path suddenly jumping.

Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto had all seen it enough times to know what it was,

"It can't be…"

"…not possible…"

"…shouldn't even know we're here..."

Suddenly, from the horizon, where Konoha's gates were, came hordes of screaming fangirls, hearts in their eyes, photographs and banners in their hands, and confessions pouring from their mouths. Idly in the corner they registered the guards at the gates yelping in shock and fright before leaping over the ledge, out of the way and into safety.

"SASUKE-KUN~!3"

"NARUTO-KUN~!3"

Both boys paled, life draining from their faces, the mob was huge, bigger then Sasuke and Naruto had ever seen, but that wasn't what had frightened them, there on the enormous banner the girls were holding were the simple words 'SASUNARU YAOI FANCLUB' in big bold letters. Accompanying the words was a picture of a half-naked Sasuke straddling Naruto, both boys wearing a befuddled expression.

"Nē, you two should probably run" no sooner had Kakashi finished the sentence then both shinobi took off in a sprint down the opposite direction of Konoha.

"I'm going to kill Sakura" Sasuke growled.

"Where the hell did she get that picture?" Naruto cried, yelping as he noticed the girls steadily gaining on them, making both run faster then they ever done before.

Both raced away from Konoha thinking 'Sakura is dead when I get back!'

Meanwhile back with the rest of the group, Zabuza whistled appreciatively at the amount of fans, "Sugoi! They're going to need a miracle to get out of that one, eh Haku"

Haku lay on the side of the road disheveled from being knocked about by the fans, Sakura clinging desperately to his frame, absentmindedly he nodded. Kakashi looked back at the trail left and giggled, 'Oh the wonders of e-bay, Sakura should stay clear of Naruto and Sasuke for a couple of days.'

Taking out his novel, Kakashi gave another giggle before continuing once more towards his home, everyone else eventually following, Sakura a bit happier then the rest.

Time Skip ~ That Afternoon

"Ah, now that all are present, we can continue with the proceedings" Sandaime announced staring over at the tousled appearances of the two male genin, both twitched at random intervals, had bruises and bite marks all over there bodies, rope burns around their wrists, lipstick trails disappearing under their shirts and a haunted light in their eyes.

Over along the other side of the room Sakura and the missing nins held back their laughter, only Kakashi held his solemn silence 'The poor souls…' he thought not lifting his eyes from his book, 'I give them a week before they crack'

Clearing his throat, all eyes went back to the Sandaime once more, the mood suddenly more solemn and serious then before "First order of business, missing-nins Momochi Zabuza and Haku, I've been informed you two seek refuge in my village."

Naruto glanced at said males from the corner of his eyes, also catching the small nod Kakashi gave the Sandaime, the blond wondered when it was that Kakashi informed the Sandaime of the situation. Zabuza gave a firm nod to the Hokage, not being undone by the harsh stare, Haku faded behind his expressionless façade of a tool and looked as if he wasn't about to resurface any time soon.

"Under any other circumstance I would have been disinclined to acquiesce this request***," Sandaime started, both shinobi stayed ever motionless at the statement waiting for the Hokage to continue. "However, due to certain votes of confidence and general proposals been made clear, the decision was made final that the admittance of missing-nins Momochi Zabuza and Haku into Konohagakure, though unnecessary, would prove advantageous."

Sakura suddenly let out a breath she had not known she had been holding, on the other side of her Haku's stiff posture relaxed slightly. Sasuke gave no outward reaction to the news and continued his brooding silence with the same coolness he did every matter; the stiff atmosphere did not disappear completely still lingering in the shoulders and postures of the remaining occupants in the room. They, unlike the younger shinobi and kunoichi had had further experience with politics and had caught the underlining message.

(You will be allowed into the village should you abide by our orders and give us what we want)

Naruto understood the Sandaime's cautiousness and was not surprised at the specific act, what he could not wrap his mind around was the 'general proposals been made clear'.

'Proposals made clear…as in already discussed? But that would mean Zabuza and the old man have already been in contact with one another…' Naruto looked on between the Hokage and the former missing nin,

'Not only that, but Zabuza would have had to agree to the terms and conditions as well. As far as I know the guards at the gates made no distinct actions to stop them from entering the village as well and they certainly would have been inclined to, especially with Zabuza's reputation. The old man knew they were coming.'

Naruto snuck a peek at his Jōnin-sensei, 'I suppose it's possible that Kakashi acted as a mediator between them, he had been in touch with the old man without my knowledge after all, and it's not too difficult to believe someone like him would be able to pull it off without suspicion. But this means I've been too lax in my proceedings, I'll have to be more aware of my surroundings from now on.'

Pushing those thoughts away to the side of his mind for the moment, Naruto snapped back to reality just in time to hear Zabuza thank the Sandaime after, Naruto assumed, accepting the admittance and in turn the conditions laid out before him.

The Sandaime nodded, a thin trail of smoke rising from his brown pipe, "Then we shall proceed to discussing your lodgings until Konoha is able to find the both of you a suitable and permanent residence."

"Anou sa," The Hokage turned to Naruto "Ojī-chan, I've already welcomed Zabuza-kun" Naruto stumbled over the suffix a bit but decided to spare Zabuza in front of the village leader "and Haku-chan to stay in my apartment for the time being until more appropriate lodgings have been found."

Naruto gave a grin as Sandaime raised an eyebrow at his confession and stayed silent for a few seconds, contemplating what he just heard before finally speaking up "I wasn't aware you had the space, but if you find yourself able then it should be no problem."

Naruto gave a grin responding with a hyperactive "Hai, Ojī-chan!"

Team 7 and the newly admitted residents of Konoha found themselves sweatdropping at the child, not knowing what to make of him. The Sandaime simply continued smiling at his youngest(?) shinobi.

"That being settled we shall continue with the mission reports" Everyone sagged a little at the announcement, only Naruto had the honesty to groan at their predicament.

Time Skip ~ Later that night

"Kami I thought we'd never get out of there!" Zabuza grumbled following Naruto up a flight of stairs. The blond grinned at the comment, his hands linked behind his head as he lead the way to his apartment.

"The old man gets like that sometimes but he's a really good guy! He knows heaps of ninjutsu and is really strong! But I'm gonna be heaps stronger when I take his place as Hokage." He declared nodding self assuredly as he did so.

"Ho?" Zabuza raised a brow giving the blond an inquisitive look. "Yep! Not only that, but I'm gonna be the strongest Hokage their ever was, dattebayo!"

The new resident of Konoha snorted, "That's great kid, but I would appreciate your statement more if you could get this guy out of my ass." He growled as he pointed behind him to a certain grey-haired sensei, Haku was treading along next to him a smile on his soft features.

Kakashi answered before Naruto could "I'm doing no harm"

"You're annoying me, that's harm enough"

"That's not fair, I just happened to be walking the same way as you guys" his eye in an downturned 'U'.

"Oh? And I suppose you just happened to be climbing the same stairwell as us too." Zabuza added sarcastically.

"I wanted to explore this part of the village, I don't get to see much of it, and what better time then to go with someone who lives there!" Kakashi refuted happily, just as they reached the door of Naruto's apartment.

"Well you won't be able to see much of it indoors, so why not be a big boy and go exploring without holding mummy's hand."

"Hmm, that's a good idea unfortunately I suddenly got really tired, maybe I should sit down with you guys for a while!"

"OR you could get your ass to your own place, scarecrow"

"But it's no fun alone, besides Naru-chan doesn't mind, do you Naru-chan?"

"Geh?" Naruto blanched at being pulled into the argument and looked over from Kakashi's smiling face towards Zabuza's irritated features. Haku sweat dropped at the boys circumstance.

"There! See, he agrees!" Kakashi exclaimed happily.

"He didn't say shit you bloody scarecrow!"

"Maa maa, what's with all the shouting? We'll wake the neighbours, perhaps we should take this inside?"

"Why you..!" Zabuza rounded on Kakashi, who stared back a bored expression seemingly coming over his features, although you couldn't really tell the difference with his mask in place. Grabbing the front of the Jōnin-sensei's vest Zabuza pulled the male closer to him roughly fully intent on pulverising him or at the very least threaten him till he was crying for his mother, until Naruto stepped in.

"Oi, oi, calm down minna-san. Zabuza-kun I don't mind, really and Kaka-sensei means no harm."

"Naruto-kun is right Zabuza-sama, it has been a long day, perhaps it would be best to retire earlier then usual." Haku suggested his soft voice attracting the attention of the swordsman like no one else could. Naruto had already opened the door and was now beckoning the two adults in. Giving Kakashi one last sneer Zabuza let go of the vest and stormed in through the door followed closely by his apprentice, Kakashi gave his student a cheerful smile which was returned with a raised brow.

"Should I ask?"

"Hmm? Ask about what Naru-chan?" Kakashi asked innocently. Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

"Iie, yappari iidesu"

"Then shall we go inside?" Kakashi asked motioning for Naruto to go in before him, the blond gave one last suspicious look before sighing in defeat and entering, annoying or not the guy was still his sensei. Zabuza had already made himself comfortable on the lumpy lounge placed around the centre of the room. Haku was bustling around trying to get all their belongings sorted, catching sight of Naruto the male asked "Would you mind showing me to our room Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded giving Kakashi an expression that clearly told him to behave, Kakashi himself did nothing but smile and give a nonchalant air about him, doing nothing to ease Naruto's worries 'My apartment is going to be obliterated before a minute passes, I knew it was a bad idea to have Kakashi-sensei come along…that damn pervert, just what on earth is he up too?'

"Ne, this way Haku-chan!" Naruto said cheerfully before leading him down the hall way towards the private quarters of the apartment. Kakashi watched them disappear into the hallway before walking over towards the couch Zabuza occupied and sat down neatly beside the man watching the other flick through channels on the small television that occupied the space. All was silent for a few moments before Zabuza finally had enough "What are you here for you damned scarecrow?"

Kakashi didn't bother glancing up from his novel "Hmm? I thought we already established that I'm here to take a look around," He replied his usual bored tone.

Zabuza growled, "You know for someone I was beginning to like, you're really starting to piss me off."

"How flattering Zabu-chan! But unfortunately I strictly stick to melons and eyebrows" nodding solemnly Kakashi continued "I'm sure you'll find someone more suited to you….without eyebrows…or with them! Whichever you prefer, I'm not going to judge. Eh? Zabu-chan your eye seems to be twitching uncontrollably, perhaps you should get that checked out?"

Said swordsman glared so hard at the Jōnin one would think Kakashi would combust into tiny particles of ash at any moment. "Alright damned scarecrow what the fuck are you up to?" he snarled fiercely, flipping onto Kakashi and once again grabbing him by the front of his vest. Having no choice Kakashi ripped his gaze from the novel and levelled his coal eyes onto the raging form of Zabuza.

"Just conducting a test. It's called 'What does it take to crack a missing-nin called Zabu-chan'"

Zabuza growled, having had enough the swordsman pulled a fist back intent on knocking Kakashi's own eyebrows off his face, however the Jōnin reacted at the exact same moment having expected Zabuza's reaction. Disposing of the novel Kakashi shifted his position to counter to Zabuza's attack, both attacks would have collided had it not been for Naruto and Haku coming out to see what the commotion was about.

Before Naruto could so much as gasp Haku was between both shinobi blocking each attack, "Zabuza-sama, I beg you, stop this!" desperation seeped into the boys tone as he gazed into his masters eyes, he had just gotten to Konoha, he didn't want to leave so soon afterwards.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing!" Naruto demanded, stalking up to the older man and leading him out of the apartment by the arm, Kakashi and Zabuza took no notice of either pupil opting instead to glare at each other.

When Naruto finally had the ninja outside he slammed the door shut behind him leaving the new residents alone inside to talk. Having done that Naruto whirled around to face his sensei, confusion and annoyance evident in the lines of his frown, clearly trying to make sense of what was happening. What was Kakashi doing?

"Kaka-sensei" Naruto started furiously, fully intending to rip the man a new one before he saw his stoic expression, holding in the rant he had just formulated Naruto heaved a sigh before messing his hair in frustration. Giving another sigh Naruto looked back up at his mentor "I really don't know what you're thinking Kaka-chan"

Kakashi who had stayed silent throughout the whole of the boys performance just shrugged, going to grab for his novel before realising he had left it inside and mentally cursed himself. Naruto, noticing the action mumbled "I'll return it to you later."

Kakashi nodded his head in thanks and both went silent once more. The smaller of the two turned his head skyward before turning back to Kakashi "Ne, shall we go up to the roof? Its more comfortable then standing in the hallway."

Kakashi did nothing but make his way over to the staircase, Naruto watched him go, thinking the Kakashi in front of him reminded him a lot of the young Uchiha. The blonde shivered 'Don't even think it Naruto, it would be bad for all of us, the world has enough Uchiha's in it.'

Once on the roof Kakashi took to leaning on the wall besides the entrance while Naruto bounded over to the edge and looked out over to the horizon where the vast village stretches. The copy-nin watched him soundlessly, they both stayed that way for a few minutes before Kakashi broke the silence.

"I don't like it."

Naruto stirred from his musings and turned back to look at his sensei, his head tilted to one side, showing his confusion at the statement.

'It? I thought it was Zabu-chan, but maybe I read the situation too fast, after all Kaka-sensei had no problems with Zabu-chan on the way here.' He stayed silent however, waiting for Kakashi to explain what he meant.

Kakashi, on his part seemed to understand that the blonde didn't know what he was talking about and expanded on his thoughts, "They're not the same people you knew before Naruto-kun, and even before you only knew two of them briefly, you're a shinobi, obviously you realise that not everyone can be trusted. Why do you trust these two so far as to let them into your home?" Kakashi's voice gradually grew louder as he continued "They're former missing-nins Naruto-kun! Haku-kun may be a little better, but Zabuza is a ruthless killer! You can't change that with just one sentence! Or one act of kindness! He's been living that way since he started his career as a shinobi, maybe even longer! I can't just stand by and let my student, sensei's son, take them both in like it's nothing! You may be fine with this and Hokage-sama may not want to do anything about it, but I will not allow one of my students to live under the same roof as two fomer missing-nins." He finished vehemently, breathing heavily from working himself up.

Naruto stood off to the side gazing at the Jōnin a little surprised at the sudden outburst 'Uwaa, how out of character for Kaka-sensei'

"Maa na, I really worried you, ne sensei?" Naruto gave a childish grin, rubbing his nose in slight embarrassment at the display of emotion for his safety, stopping the action he turned and walked straight up to the other male until he was directly one centimetre away from him, Kakashi attempted to back up a bit at his students proximity only to bump into the wall behind him. Looking back at his student he turned his head just in time to get a full dose of Naruto's punch.

Kakashi's eyes widened in slight bewilderment "Kaka-chan while I thank you for worrying about me, you seem to be forgetting one small fact" Kakashi, who was still in shock at the unsuspected action could do nothing more then turn to look at his pupil "While I may be in a considerably weakened state in this 12-year-old body, I can still kick even your ass. I think I can handle a couple of ex-missing-nins, don'tcha think?" The blonde gave a cheeky grin.

The older man blinked staying silent for a moment obviously thinking over the blondes statement before his eye turned into a downturned 'U', "Ah, my mistake. Gomen Naru-chan, I'll take my leave now, remember to give me back my novel"

Giving a satisfied smile Naruto nodded and watched as Kakashi left bounding from roof to roof, however he managed to hear Kakashi gleefully shout something out to him before being completely out of earshot

"Good luck with Zabuza! He might be destroying your apartment in his anger!"

The blonde paled dramatically hand freezing mid-wave. Damn Kakashi, guessing it was pay back for punching his sensei.

True to Kakashi's word Zabuza did indeed destroy most of the apartment in his blind rage, Haku spent the whole night apologising profusely as he helped clean the damage but Naruto simply waved the apologies off after the first dozen.

Time Skip ~ Days Later

One morning Naruto could be found resting on one of the many open fields in Konoha, simply gazing at the clouds slowly drifting by and trying to make shapes out of them, at a rare moment he'd be able to make a animal or object out of one of them, but that didn't happen very often. He had been given a day off, something he felt he hadn't had in a very very long time, so he was using it to the fullest and squeeze every drop of laziness out of the day, the blonde contemplated on finding the young Nara heir (a.k.a Prince of Laziness, only bested by the King of Laziness, Shikaku Nara), however he decided that finding the heir would be considered doing something active and opted it to 'troublesome' and went out to cloud watch instead.

Just as Naruto was getting to drift off to sleep there was a sudden shift in the air, someone was travelling towards him at incredible speed. Naruto shot up from his laying position to a sitting one only to find a small boy with big hazel eyes and spiky hair smiling down nervously at him, a scroll grasped tightly in his fists, dust was still billowing behind him from being disturbed.

Blinking owlishly at the figure for a second, Naruto had to wait for his mind to catch up and process what he was seeing before his bewildered expression turned into a massive grin "Sena-kun! What brings you here? I wasn't expecting anything from Yoi-chan so early."

The poor boy seemed to hyperventilate at the blatant disrespectful term of address, however he seemed to regain his composure after 30 seconds "H-H-H-Hi-Hiruma-san w-wanted me to give you this." Sena managed to stutter out and thrusted the scroll in Naruto's direction (N/A: I said he composed himself I didn't say he did it well). The blonde gave another huge smile, "Thanks Sena-kun!" he said while taking the scroll, mentally he also praised Hiruma's genius at using Sena as a messenger…'That sounded a bit cruel, but still, you can't infiltrate something you can't catch.'

Naruto unfurled the scroll hearing the soft sound of wind rushing by as Sena exited the vicinity. Unlike what Hiruma first thought when Naruto stepped into his store, the blond hadn't wanted to buy any type of weaponry or materials from the shopkeeper(/part-time demon). What he wanted to buy was information and he paid and would continue to pay handsomely for it.

Being from the Jōmae Village in the Land of Keys Hiruma was an expert in espionage in order to gain information for negotiations with larger, more powerful nations, although in Hiruma's case to use it for his own advantage. Ninja in this village seem to be specifically trained in gaining information while giving none in return. Hiruma was definitely the best of the best in this case.

Although his shop was small Yoichi Hiruma was the best known weapons supplier across all nations, what Naruto wanted to know was, 'Who's been buying?', How much?' and of course 'Were there any rumours of war?'. Basically Naruto wanted Hiruma as an inside man.

The genin barely had time to skim through the first line before a familiar voice carried his way "Naruto-kun!"

Naruto glanced up in surprise, shoving the scroll in the pocket of his jacket, gaining his bearings his eyes settled on his old sensei, "Iruka-sensei!" a full blown grin dominating his features as he tackled the other man into a bear hug.

Iruka laughed at the child's antics and hugged him back "It's good to see you too Naruto-kun", Naruto directed his grin towards the older man who in turn asked the one question Naruto was always happy to hear "Shall we go get some ramen? My treat."

Naruto's features suddenly hardened, looking directly at Iruka he answered "Zettai!"

Iruka sweat dropped, 'No need to be so serious.'

Once they were comfortably seated at the and Naruto had gotten his meal Iruka began the conversation "Ne, Naruto-kun"

The blonde looked up with wide innocent eyes, a strand of noodle dangling from his overstuffed mouth, swallowing with little difficulty (which Iruka thought he should be commended for…or at least given to Konoha's research laboratory to see what exactly Naruto's stomach and oesophagus were made of). "Hai?"

"How are you finding your new team?"

Naruto pondered the question while slurping down the noodle soup in front of him "Anou…it's great!" Naruto grinned up at a surprised Iruka who smiled warmly "Sou, yokatta."

The Jinchurriki glanced at the chunin questioningly "Ah, iya, anou…maa na….I was worried?" Iruka shot a helpless smile towards the blonde who blinked for a couple of seconds at the sight of his old academy teacher scratching his cheek in a sheepish manner.

For a split second Naruto's eyes softened, letting memories of the past wash over him, remembering when days like this had been all that he knew at the age of 12, before the screams, before the charred flesh, before the blood, before the carnage, before anything had ever happened.

"Kit."

Naruto snapped out of his daze and grinned widely "No need to worry Iruka-sensei! My teams great! Although Sasuke-teme can be really annoying at times, he's still super good with pranks." Naruto nodded affirmatively to himself, while Iruka blinked in surprise 'Sasuke…pranks?'

"Ah! But don't tell him I said that! The teme will get a bigger head then he already has!" Naruto pleaded, however he didn't stop talking to get an answer from the other shinobi.

"Sakura-chan has also gotten really strong, but she can be really annoying sometimes,"

'Eh? Sakura, annoying?'

"She's definitely started a pranking war with me and Sasuke-teme after what she did the last time! We'll definitely get her back, just you wait Iruka-sensei! We'll defend our honour!" Naruto exclaimed with so much conviction that Iruka could do nothing but nod and agree.

"Ah..h-hai…" 'Although I have no clue what you're talking about.'

"But the best part is Kaka-chan! Ne, ne Iruka-sensei! Kaka-chan is super strong! And he has the Sharingan! And he can do heaps of jutsu's! AND he can make bad people go flying! He's super amazing! And although he's not very good at pranks, he's still really cool and I like him a lot! He's definitely someone I want to protect, dattebayo!"

Iruka gazed at his ex-student as he spoke of someone he didn't know with such happy and fond expression. This was his student, the one that was so often mistreated, misguided, misjudged, the one that was more often then not to naive to see the real intentions of others. Although Naruto could be quite surprising at times, he, more often then not, needed something shoved in his face to see the general picture. And then suddenly the very same student goes on speaking of someone that obviously found his way into Naruto's heart without Iruka's knowledge made him uneasy…Iruka didn't like it. Not one bit.****

"But, Naruto-kun, there must be something you don't like about your new sensei…" Iruka suggested innocently.

"Hmm, nope! I like him!" Iruka face-vaulted.

Meanwhile as he walked along the crowded streets, Kaksahi glanced up from his novel in surprise as his stomach gave a rumble, looking up he checked the position of the sun for the time. 'I didn't expect it to be this late, I lost track of time.' He thought to himself as he glanced around the area.

'Not to mention…exactly where am I?' A sweat drop formed on the back of his head, before his ear caught the slight mention of his student's name being called. Curious he hid in the shadows and listened in.

"Nothing? Nothing at all? Think really really hard about this Naruto-kun. Is there anything at all you don't like about your new sensei." Iruka asked seriously making Naruto turn to face him and Kakashi to raise a brow at the topic of conversation 'Heh…this is interesting'. Putting his 'thinking face' on Naruto continued.

"Well…"

"Yes, you know you can tell me anything" Iruka prompted, Kakashi twitched 'What's with this guy…I don't like his tone'.

"…he's a pervert, but most men are so I can't really fault him for that." Naruto said, Kakashi smiled into his book at his cute student's response. Iruka's eyes gleamed for a second before he spoke

"Iie! You can! You absolutely can!" Iruka said, crossing his arms across his chest. 'Eh?' Kakashi blinked, suddenly getting more annoyed, 'Who is this guy?'.

"Hmm, really? Does that mean I have to fault you for being a pervert too Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked genuinely confused "after all you did fall for my Oiroke no Jutsu."

Iruka froze, "Ah…."

Kakashi grinned underneath his mask, 'Naru-chan is definitely getting a treat after this. My student is so cute!'

"Iya! My mistake, you can't fault someone for something they can't control!" Iruka amended quickly, Naruto glanced questioningly at the academy teacher "Neh, Iruka-sensei you're acting weird today."

"Iie! I'm fine."

"...Un, if you say so."

'Iruka, huh? Well, might as well see what this guy looks like while getting some lunch.' Pushing himself from the wall he entered the store and greeted the store owner with a smile "One miso ramen, oji-san" he ordered simply, by this time he had captured both occupants' attention.

"Kaka-chan!" Naruto launched himself from his chair and wrapped around Kakashi's waist in a bear hug, patting him on the head Kakashi simply smiled down at his student. Meanwhile Iruka surveyed the sight before him calculatingly 'How long was he there?'

The chunin got his answer when Kakashi threw a smirk his way, Iruka's eye twitched in irritation 'That…!'

"Ne Iruka-sensei! This is Kaka-chan! My Jōnin sensei!" Naruto grinned, snapping both remaining shinobi out of their staring match and focused their attention on the blond in the middle.

"Ah, is that so, but Naruto-kun, you should address your Jōnin sensei with more respect and not so familiarly and besides your ramen will get cold if you stay over there too long."

Naruto, who was about to refute Iruka's statement suddenly gasped as he was reminded of the sweet tasting ramen and ran back over to Iruka;s side "Arigatou for reminding me, Iruka-sensei!" going on about the horror that was to ignore the freshly made ramen that was placed in front of him and continued to eat.

All the while missing the smirk Iruka threw back to the Jōnin, who retaliated by sitting on the other side of Naruto and commenting nonchalantly "I don't mind at all of the way my student addresses me, ah by the way, Naru-chan," Iruka's eye twitched "I was thinking of teaching you a new jutsu soon."

Naruto's gaze shot up from his meal and glanced at the Jōnin with stars in his eyes, his whole visage lit up like christmas had come early "Honto? Yatta! Kaka-chan, you're the best! Can we start now? Can we? Please~!"

"Well, I don't see why no-"

"Naruto-kun you haven't finished your meal yet, you wouldn't want my money to go to waste would you?" Iruka interrupted before the Jōnin could finish his sentence. Kakashi glared over Naruto's head at Iruka, while said blonde looked over to the ramen sitting on the counter and back to Iruka, with a determined expression "Yosh! Ramen first!"

Iruka gave a satisfied smirk ignoring the glare directed at him until Kakashi pulled Naruto's chopsticks away from his mouth as he was about to take a bite "But you know Naru-chan, eating too much ramen isn't healthy for you, you should probably stop now, I can treat you to something else if you'd like."

Naruto went to answer but Iruka spoke before Naruto could, taking the blond by the arm Iruka pulled the genin closer towards him "I think I can tell whether my student has had enough ramen to eat."

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's other arm, emitting a small "Eh?" from the blonde and pulled the genin away from Iruka and closer to himself "I insist! You must be tired of taking care of my Naru-chan for the day."

Iruka's eye twitched at the sentence "Oh not at all Jōnin-san" he said, voice frosty as he pulled Naruto over his way again.

"I must insist, Chunin-san"

"Iie! I would much rather you not."

Both shinobi glared at each other, seemingly forgetting about the other three occupants in the room, who stared at the confrontation with confusion, wariness and foreboding. Just as this was going on Sasuke stepped into the shop having heard the commotion from outside and sensed the chakra-spike and killing intent rise in the area, looking around he glanced at the scene in front of him in confusion.

"Ne dobe, what's going on?"

"Eh? Sasuke-teme, when did you get here?"

"Just now, why are Iruka-sensei and Kaka-sensei glaring at each other."

"Moi…I don't know, it's really confusing all of a sudden Iruka-sensei was talking about how Kaka-chan could be bad and then when Kaka-chan came both of them started being really nice to me and Iruka-sensei said I have to eat my ramen and then Kaka-chan offered to teach me a new jutsu and then Iruka-sensei said that eating my ramen was important but Kaka-chan interrupted and said that training was more important and then suggested that I should eat somewhere else with him. Mah, it's really confusing and I don't get it cause then they started to glare at each other!" Naruto explained frustrated.

Sasuke lifted a brow at both adults who were still glaring then turned back to Naruto 'Baka…' He thought before getting an idea.

"Ne Naruto" Sasuke said loud enough to gain the attention of everyone in the ramen stand.

"Hai?"

"Wanna know what my plan for revenge against Sakura is?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Well then lets go" Sasuke offered his hand to Naruto who took it without hesitation

'Too easy'

As Sasuke led the blond out of the stand the raven-haired male threw a smirked back at the two shinobi who were now glaring daggers at the prodigy 'That little!' But by the time they both recovered it was too late and both boys were gone.

Time Skip ~ Minutes Later

Naruto blinked.

Sasuke stared.

Naruto blinked again.

Sasuke continued to stare.

"Really?"

"Hai."

"Are you sure?"

"Would I suggest it if I wasn't?"

"No, it's just that…."

Raised eyebrow.

"Iie…as long as you're sure…?"

"I'm sure."

"H-hai…"

Sasuke stared, Naruto blinked.

"This course of action will have repercussions, you realise that right?"

"Hai."

"You know we have different options."

"I know."

"But this is what you want to do."

"I already said so didn't I?"

"Yeah, I know that but….Why?" Naruto blurted not able to contain his bewilderment. Sasuke merely shrugged and stated

"Because this will shatter her."

"Ah…you're cruel."

"I know."

Shaking his head Naruto decided it would best to change the topic of conversation, "Kit, now wold probably be a good time to drop a reference about the Chunin exams."

'Un', "Ne Sasuke-teme, have you heard anything about the Chunin-exams?"

"BAKA you call that a reference! You useless Gaki!"

'SHUT IT YOU OVERGROWN MUTATED RABBIT!'

"I'M A FOX DAMN YOU! THE ALMIGHTY NINE-TAILED DEMON FOX!"

'DAMARU! NO ONE CARES!'

"Iie, I haven't. Why do you ask?" Sasuke asked, looking over at Naruto curiously. Naruto returned the gesture with a small shrug, casually stating "There is no reason. I just heard some rumours going around and thought you might have heard something also."

Sasuke gazed at his comrade for a small while before nodding and turning away, seemingly lost in thought. Naruto glanced at his comrade from the corner of his eye "Demo, I would want to be prepared whether the rumours are true or not." Sasuke turned back to the blonde who was nodding determinedly to himself, the raven haired boy gave a small smirk "Un" was all he said.

"But also Kaka-chan seems more inclined to throw us to the pack of wolves rather then train us in preparation." Naruto went on as an afterthought, Sasuke sweat dropped "…Yeah probably."

Silence reined over the two boys for a few more minutes before Naruto broke the silence.

"Neh Sasuke-teme….we might be in a bit of trouble."

"…Un, dobe"

"….Should we tell Sakura?"

"…Probably…teamwork and all."

"Right…."

"…"

"...are we going to tell her?"

"…..nope"

"Hehe…'kay"

Both boys stayed in each others company idly talking and planning their training strategies for the (maybe) upcoming chunin exams, Sasuke seemed to come up with the idea of training themselves should Kakashi not pick up his slack.

"Demo, you won't be able to learn a lot of new things by teaching yourself in a short amount of time, besides improving on the basics." Naruto said matter-of-factly.

Sasuke didn't reply, Naruto took the hint and suggested "How about we look for someone to teach us?"

The Uchiha turned to the blond questioningly "I mean, Kaka-chan can't know everything we want him to teach us, he's super-strong and all but maybe we should go to an expert on the art we want to learn?" Naruto continued animatedly "Like maybe Konoha has a few master swordsman, I also heard about this super-scary taijutsu specialist who has horrible fashion sense, an obscene amount of body hair and refers to himself as Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey!"

Sasuke sweat dropped again (he seemed to do that a lot around Naruto), "What are you saying?" The genin shook his head at his team mate before pondering over his words (the ones that made sense!). 'That…sounds like a good idea' he thought hesitantly.

Naruto smiled before he found himself tackled to the floor with an armful of a brown-haired chibi. Naruto yelped in surprise flailing his arms, he shouted "Get it off me! Get it off me!"

Sasuke blinked unsure of what to make at the sight, too shocked to do anything else but watch.

"Naruto-nii-chan! It's me!"

Naruto stopped struggling when he heard the familiar voice and actually looked down to what was grabbing onto him "Oh! Konohamaru, it's you!"

Sasuke deadpanned "Dobe" he muttered before getting up and walking away, not bothering to turn around when he said "I'll see you later, dobe." 'I don't know why I take him seriously.' he thought as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Ne Boss, who was that grumpy jerk?" Konohamaru asked glaring at the retreating figure in distain. "Eh, that's my team mate, Sasuke. He can be a teme sometimes but he's not all that bad."

The academy student looked back up at the blonde he was still sitting on "Boss! You're so kind!" He said stars in his eyes. Naruto adopted a haughty expression crossing his arms he nodded his head "You should do well to learn from me, my young student!"

"Yes boss!"

Time Skip ~ Minutes Later

Naruto and Konohamaru were met up with shortly by Moegi and Udon, who later convinced the blonde to play ninja with them halfway throughout the game Naruto got the tingling feeling that what he was doing was all very familiar. However he ignored it and continued playing with the three chibi's, that is until Sakura came into the picture and then things came crashing back down on him. 'Uh oh…'

Within him Kyuubi gave a dark chuckle, ignoring it Naruto went about playing as normal, although Konohamaru sensed a small tenseness in the jinchūriki but he wrote it off as his boss taking him seriously.

Naruto stopped as Sakura approached the small group, effectively stopping the other three as well.

"Sakura!"

"Naruto…why are you, a ninja, playing ninja…?"

"Eh? What's wrong with playing ninja?" Naruto asked seemingly genuinely confused.

Sakura stared finally managing to get out the word "Baka."

"Eh? Nani! Dōshite!" Naruto asked, acting devastated, Sakura just shook her head and then things went downhill from there, Naruto could have, if he wanted to, prevented things turning out the way they did however he needed to meet Gaara…

Naruto played his part…right up until Konohamaru was lifted from the ground by Kankurō

"OI! FATASS LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Okay so it wasn't all far off what he said in the original timeline, Kankurō glanced at Naruto sizing the boy up but didn't seem to find anything interesting and promptly ignored him "Hmm, lets play a little before the boss comes" He said smiling darkly down at the academy student who struggled even more to get out of the boys grasp.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the suggestion and ignored Temari who warned her brother about his actions, instead Naruto spoke up once again cutting the blonde female off "Oi, are you trying to start a war" Naruto growled, effectively freezing both sand genin who whirled around wide-eyed, silence filled the road for a moment as even Sakura and Konohamaru corps looked at Naruto curiously, before Kankurō finally recovered enough to shout a response

"What the hell is that supposed to mean gaki?" Naruto raised a brow at the insult, but ignored it, he had had worse, crossing his arms Naruto nodded at Konohamaru

"The boy you're holding up and are no doubt about to injure is Hokage-sama's grandson. Being in the village of Konoha with a pass to the chunin exams is one thing, however choosing to beat up the grandson of said village's leader is just begging for war, you being the Kazekage's son yourself should be aware of your actions and the concequeces that come with them." Naruto said, all seriousness returning to his features as he stared down at Kankurō willing a little of his chakra to seep out to back up his words.

Kankurō stared at the blonde and then back to the brat in his hands and sneered, he was about to let go when another voice appeared.

"Oi dobe, is everything alright?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried in relief.

Naruto didn't bother turning to face Sasuke opting to leave his gaze focused on the sand non in front of him "Fine teme, just warning someone that tearing-up leaves before they fall naturally isn't the best course of action in this village."

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment before accepting his words, looking towards Kankurō he spoke "I'd do what he says, beating up an academy student won't get you very far in terms of strength and reputation. Not here anyway." He said calmly, Kankurō gritted his teeth in anger, who the hell were these brats? Telling him what to do and how to think.

As if knowing where his thoughts were taking him Temari spoke up "Kankurō, just let the brat go we need to move before-"

"Kankurō, stop it." Sasuke kept himself from jumping and turned around eyes wide at the fact that someone was behind him and he didn't notice. All that were gathered turned to the tree where the voice made it's appearance, stepping out of the shadows and casually standing on a branch upside-down was Gaara. Kankurō immediately let go of Konohamaru who scampered off to Naruto's side, however no one noticed this as they all stared at the newcomer.

Not the least bit perturbed by the amount of attention he was getting Gaara continued "You're an embarrassment to our village."

"Gaara…Listen Gaara, they started it and-"

"Shut up, before I kill you"

Sakura shivered at the amount of killing intent that was backed up by those words 'but…aren't they team mates…?'

"Alright I'm sorry.. I'm really sorry... really sorry!"

'So he's there leader huh' Sasuke thought, paying no mind to Kankurō's apologies. Gaara turned to face Sasuke who was closest to him "Sorry to you guys." He said before vanishing in a swirl of sand and reappearing in between his comrades, startling Sasuke, Sakura, the academy students and the rest of the sand nin.

"It looks like we got here early but we didn't come here to play around" Gaara said addressing his siblings, "I know that!" Came the indignant squawk from the red heads right. Not bothering to respond Gaara simply commanded them to get moving.

"Wait." Sasuke called, jumping down from his original position to standing next to Naruto "You with the gourd. What's your name?"

Gaara turned "Gaara of the desert."

Naruto kept himself from smiling, 'The chunin exams are starting.' Ignoring everyone else Naruto turned with narrowed eyes at three unfamiliar chakra signatures hiding in the trees, noticing they've been spotted the signatures shifted and disappeared but not before Naruto saw a glimpse of one of their hitai-ate.

'The sound…so they're already moving…I didn't notice this before.'

"That's because you were an incompetent brat before, you still are." Kyuubi rumbled from within.

Naruto's eye twitched in irritation 'NO ONE ASKED YOU, YOU MUTATED RABBIT!'

"IT'S FOX DAMN YOU! THE ALMIGHTY DEMON FOX!"

'DAMARU! NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR IT!'

"Naruto-nii-chan!" Naruto started and glanced down "Eh? What is it Konohamaru?"

"Everyone left already Naruto-nii-chan, so can you let go of me now?" True to the chibi's word the street was empty and everyone was gone. "Eh? Where did they all go?"

"I'll help you look for them boss!"

Time Skip ~ Minutes before

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk while puffing his tobacco, calmly observing the group of Jōnin in front of him, 'Kakashi-san is late again…' taking another glance around the room he narrowed his eyes thinking 'So is Iruka-san…interesting.'

He turned back to the group as someone spoke out "Geez this is so annoying, why does Kakashi have to be late all the time." grumbled Asuma, putting his hands in his pockets after lighting another cigarette.

Kurenai smirked at the male "You'd think you would be used to it by now."

"Tch, I never said I wasn't, I'd just find it annoying that he is."

Kurenai rolled her eyes "That means you're still not used to it."

Asuma was about to retort when the subject of their conversation opened the door.

"I'm telling you it's all your fault!"

"And I'm telling you that it's not! You're the one that showed up uninvited!"

All present turned to the newly opened door, revealing not one but two shinobi. 'So that's where Iruka-san was…with Kakashi-san?' Sarutobi thought, curiosity creeping up inside of him.

Kakashi glared at the chunin "You're the one who got competitive!"

"You're the one who fuelled it!"

"You're the one who let him slip through your grasp!"

"You're the one who wasn't watching either!"

"I'M TELLING YOU IT WAS YOUR FAULT!" They both shouted together, huffing and panting as they glared back at each other.

A throat clearing itself snapped both shinobi out of their glaring match long enough to notice that they had arrived at their destination….and that everyone was staring at them.

Iruka had enough sense to blush and apologise bowing slightly, while Kakashi just whipped out his porn book "Yo" He greeted with a wave of his hand. The Jōnins sweat dropped at the calm gesture, while Sarutobi tilted his hat to hide his smile. Iruka on the other hand glared once more at the Jōnin who noticed and glared back before both stomped off to opposite ends of the room and promptly ignored each other.

Meanwhile in everyone else's mind was the thought 'What the hell?'

Clearing his throat again, Sarutobi both shook himself out of his stupor and got the attention of everyone else in the room "Now that we're all present," He gave a meaningful glance at Kakashi (who ignored it, most likely used to it by now) and Iruka (who blushed again). "You've been assembled for only one reason. It should be obvious by the members here."

"It's already that time." Kakashi commented offhandedly, looking up from his novel.

"It's already been reported to the other countries, I saw them in the village." affirmed Genma "So when is it then?"

"In a week." Sarutobi replied.

Murmurs erupted in the crowd, "That soon?" Someone commented, the Hokage ignored it and continued "Well, I'll announce it properly seven days from now. On the first day of the seventh moon…the chunin selection exam will commence!"

Varied reactions came from the crowd at the statement but it wasn't one they weren't all expecting. Seeing he still had their attention Sarutobi continued "Now, first we'll hear from those who are watching over the new Genins."

Three stepped forward.

"Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma, well…?" The question didn't need elaborating on but the old man did so anyway "Are there any Genins that you would like to enter into this chunin selection exam? I don't have to tell you but…after a benin has properly completed at least 8 missions they may take the exam if nominated by their sensei." Sarultobi paused taking a puff from his pipe "Of course taking more missions than that is the norm." He added.

'He doesn't need to ask,' Iruka thought 'they aren't ready.'

"Now, starting with Kakashi…The Kakashi led Team 7 Uchiha Sasuke, Uzamaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura..."

"Under the name of Hatake Kakashi I nominate them to take the Chunin selection exam."

"What?" Was all Iruka could get out before Sarutobi continued and Kuranai said her piece. "The Kurenai led Team 8 Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino…"

"Under the name of Yuuhi Kurenai the same as to my left." She said indicating to Kakashi who took no notice.

"The Asuma led Team 10 Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji"

"Under the name of Sarutobi Asuma the same as to my left." Asuma replied.

"How rare." Sarutobi voiced as he stared at the Jōnin in front of him, although from what he heard from Naruto he was half expecting it.

"Hold on a second!" Iruka shouted unable to keep quiet any longer. Naruto's team getting elected was bad enough but half the genin he saw off as well?

Sarutobi turned his attention towards the academy teacher "What is it Iruka?"

"Hokage-sama, please let me have a word!" Iruka said anxiously, "I may be speaking out of terms here, but most of these nine were my students at the academy, of course they are very talented but it's too early to take the exam."

Iruka said seriously looking over to Kakashi, who stared right back "They need more experience, I can't understand the Jōnins reasoning."

"I became a chunin when I was six years younger then Naru-chan."

"Naruto is different from you! Are you trying to crush the kids-"

"We're doing nothing of the sort Iruka-san! I can understand you feelings, but-"

"Kakashi stop already…" Kurenai commented warily from next to him, unused to seeing both shinobi in front of her this riled up, as she glanced around she saw that everyone else was thinking the same thing, however Kakashi continued regardless.

"-stay out of this. They are no longer your students…right now they are my soldiers."

Iruka gritted his teeth in frustration, not being able to think of a reply to that.

'Geez, this guy is getting so annoying, going and saying useless things…' Asuma thought staring warily at Kakashi and Iruka. Sarutobi did nothing but watch the scene unfold for a few more moments before continuing with the meeting. Iruka, unable to do anything watched from his original spot at the back of the room.

"In that case, we'll continue…"

Iruka clenched his fists.

Okay! So that's that! Another chapter down, it's a bit longer then usually but thats only because you guys deserve it for waiting so long XD

* - I'm going by Australian ratings, R is usually used for adult only content, so that means either 18 or 21 year olds

** - I'm not having a stab at Sakura I just couldn't be bothered looking up the proper spelling for female ninjas

*** - Yes it's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, deal with it :P

**** - It's the mother-hen! Run for your lives! xp

Translations/Phrases

anou = "well..." ('sa' is something you say when stalling)

arigatou gozaimasu = thank you very much (arigatou = thanks, thank you)

damaru = Shut up

demo/datte = but

dattebayo = "Believe it"

Dōshite = Why

Ē to = Uh

gaki = Brat

Hai = Yes

honto = really ("honto desu ka" = "really?")

iie, iya = no

Kami = God

maa, maa = "now, now"

maa na = I guess

mayuge resufurīku = As far as I can tell this means "no eyebrows"

minna = everyone

Nani = what

Nē = hey Sou desu ka? = Is that so?

sou ka = I see or "do I?" (the ka indicates a question)

sugoi = "amazing', 'wow', "fantastic", "awesome", etc.

Un = yeah

yappari iidesu = "Never mind"

yatta! = he/she/I did it!, or an exclamation of excitement/celebration

yokatta = an expression of relief, usually translates as "I'm so glad" or "thank goodness!"

zettai! = absolutely!

Techniques

Oiroke no Jutsu - Sexy Technique

Until next time!

Ja ne