When Naruto arrived at the backyard, he saw Ino diligently practicing her clan jutsu that she had already learnt. She was so focused that she didn't even notice he arrived, so he snuck up behind her quietly with a playful grin.
He reached out his hands and covered her eyes
"Guess who~" He said with a smile
Ino was taken aback, and almost jumped on the spot when her eyes were suddenly covered. But when she heard the voice, her heart calmed quickly.
"Jeez, Na-kun, you can't sneak up on me like that" She huffed and turned around
"What? You can do it to me, but I can't do it to you?" He grinned
"Th-That....y-you just can't" Ino puffed her cheeks up and said
Naruto laughed
"I just got back from a mission, and decided to drop by, I also left some desserts on the front counter, I heard you liked the strawberry tart I bought last time, so I got it again" Naruto said
"Ah, really? Thanks Na-kun" Ino hugged him tightly
She then looked up
"Say, Na-kun....what was it that you like about me? I know you admitted that you liked me way back, but what was it that actually got you to like me?" She asked
Naruto smiled
"You won't let me go until I say it, will you?" He responded
"Yep" She grinned
Seeing her smile, he really wanted to pinch her cheeks, but held back the urge.
"Truth be told, when I first said I liked you, it was more so as a friend, also, you bought me ramen, so I had quite the high favourability towards you from that" Naruto said
"....s-seriously!?"
"No" Naruto stuck out his tongue and said playfully
!!!!!
"Na-kun! I almost believed you, that was so mean!" She said as she held him even tighter
Naruto burst into laughter
"Hahahaha, your reaction is just too cute, alright, I'll be honest, I thought you looked quite cute during school, and decided to approach you near the end, after that, I just kinda grew more fond of you as we hung out" Naruto replied
When Naruto finished, he noticed that Ino's face was a little pink, and chuckled. He then pinched her nose.
"Come on, show me what you've learnt so far from your dad, we can't waste perfectly good training time" He said
"J-Jeez, I thought we were having a moment there, and you're starting to sound like Guy sensei as well" Ino tucked her lips and said
"Ino, Sasuke is being trained by Oochimaru, if I don't want him to surpass me, I need to train constantly" Naruto said
"Na-kun.....your lips are twitching so much, if you want to lie, at least come up with a better one, you're about to laugh at your own lie" Ino said with a blank look on her face
"Pfft....Sasuke beating me....I laugh at that joke every time" Naruto said
"You really don't think he'll ever beat you?" Ino asked
"Beat me? I'm going to invest in Sakura so she can pin him down for me" Naruto replied
"....that could work I guess, Sakura is getting very strong lately" Ino muttered
Naruto chuckled
"Alright, let go now, we'll train together" Naruto said
"Kay~" Ino unwrapped her arms and stepped back
Naruto sat down by the side
"Alright, show me what you learnt from your dad so far" Naruto said
"Hmph, if you want to see, let's see through a spar" Ino crossed her arms and said
"Fine~" Naruto stood up and set up a seal around the yard to block out perception from the outside.
"Ladies first" Naruto said
"Then I'll accept" Ino grinned
*Bang*
-An hour later-
"T-Time out, I need to rest" Ino laid on the floor, panting heavily while Naruto leaned on a tree and grinned
"Ino, it's only been an hour, how can you tap out here? How about I give you the energy recovery item, you'll be up in no time"
"No, I'm tapped...urgh, why did I ask for a spar, I should have just shown you it" Ino grumbled as she pulled herself up towards the bench to sit down.
Ino stared at Naruto's rosy face, which seems to carry no traces of fatigue whatsoever.
"You body building monster, you don't feel tired ever" She said
"Seems like a good thing, no?"
"...ah, just let me rest" Ino flailed her arms around and said
"Hahaha, rest well, I'll keep training" Naruto said
"Mn"
From then on, Naruto began practicing chakra infusion, while Ino watched from the sidelines. It wasn't anything exciting, but watching Naruto made her strangely satisfied, and didn't seem boring to her.
"Is that Asuma sensei's chakra infusion?" Ino asked
"Yeah, after you told me where he lived, I stormed his house" Naruto replied as he continued to make the wind chakra grind against itself as it coated the kunai in his hand.
"Should I get you a better weapon? I've seen you use a basic kunai for so long, I think it's about time you get yourself your own weapon" Ino said
"Yeah, I do need to do that, wanna go get one with me some other time?" Naruto asked
"Sure"
After training for a while, Naruto decided it was about time to leave, but was stopped by Kiku, who was watching them from inside. She often turned over to see what the two were up to, and when Naruto was about to leave, she decided to invite him for dinner.
"Naruto, why not stay for dinner? Ino will be happy if you do" She said
"M-Mum!" Ino blushed faintly when Kiku said that, she felt as if she's being used as a bargaining chip!
Naruto wanted to say yes, but thought of Inoichi, who is finally warming up to him.
'Dinner should be fine...right?'
"Alright" He agreed
"Fantastic, it is just about done" Kiku said gently
Naruto walked in, and Ino brought him to the dining room, where the two of them sat down. It was only after he sat down did he realise...Inoichi was sitting on the other side.
'I swear, Ino must have gotten her stealth from him, I didn't even notice him until we were face to face' Naruto gulped
"Uh, hi" He smiled
"I saw your match against Ino" Inoichi ignored his little greeting and spoke
"Oh, what about it?" Naruto asked
"You...didn't hold back against Ino" He said
When this was brought up, Naruto's expression became serious
"I don't hold back so she can feel the pressure of a battle" He replied
Inoichi shook his head
"I didn't say that to reprimand you, you did well, that's how spars should be, and help both parties grow" He said calmly
"Oh? Oh~, that's good" Naruto patted his chest and let out a relieved breath
"Naruto, I still can't completely entrust Ino to you because you are still young, I don't know what will happen in the future, nor will I know if you will still love her the way you do now, so until then, I will continue to make sure there is some distance between the two of you" He said calmly
Naruto paused slightly, but a smile crept onto his face.
"Stop smiling, it's creepy" Inoichi suddenly said
"....Ino, you don't think that, right?" Naruto turned to Ino and asked
"...well...."
"Sometimes, even I need some comfort, okay?" Naruto said as a drop of tear ran down the side of his face
"Sorry. I can't lie to you" Ino replied
"...."
After dinner, Naruto thanked Kiku and bid farewell.
"The dinner was lovely, I'll drop by again some other time" Naruto waved
"Drop by more often, Ino will be very happy to see you every day" Kiku giggled
"I already see her everyday unless I'm on an extended mission" Naruto replied
"...Oh my~" Kiku covered her mouth and gasped
Once Naruto left, Kiku turned to Ino with a curious gaze
"He visits you every day? Why didn't I know of such an interesting little story" She smiled
Ino sighed and relayed what Naruto meant, and how he would always take a bit of his time every day to go find her, sometimes even bring some snacks.
When Kiku heard this, she was surprised, but then placed a hand on her cheek
"Ino...is that why you've been gaining weight?" She gasped
"....ah!" Ino exclaimed as both of them came to a realisation....
-Home-
"Where were you all this time?" When he popped back home, Tayuya, who was on the couch shifted her eyes over and asked
"Planning my next great crime and what I should bribe the Hokage with to cover it up" Naruto replied casually
"Bleh, I'm sure our presence here is already the biggest crime you've covered up" Tayuya rolled her eyes and said
"Probably" Naruto shrugged
"Did Hinata come along today?" Naruto asked
Upon mentioning Hinata, Tayuya's expression soured
"Don't bring her up to me" She waved her hand and grumbled
"Why? Did she finally win against you?" Naruto lifted a brow and asked
Tayuya groaned
"It's not like she was close to winning, but she got a seriously dangerous jutsu now, and it became frustrating to need to dodge more than usual" Tayuya muttered
Naruto let out a faint chuckle
"Then you better not slack off, at the rate of which Haku and Hinata are improving, they'll catch up to you in just a few months" Naruto said
"Tch" Tayuya shifted her gaze and clicked her tongue
She also knew that Naruto was somewhat right, but wasn't willing to admit it. Naruto let out a faint laughter upon seeing her expression. Tayuya is prideful, and isn't willing to admit to such things, but that was none of his business.
She was here purely as his experimental test subject, nothing more.
-Next day-
Naruto received a message from Tsunade that he had to meet her for a private matter that even Shizune was asked to be pardoned from. Naruto fiddled with his fingers as he sat across from Tsunade and smiled
"So, what do you need, sis?" Naruto asked with a grin
"Not so much what I need from you, but your three little 'Uzumaki members' in your house, Haku, Zabuza, and Tayuya" She replied
"Oh? What do they need to do? Don't tell me, did one of em commit a crime or something?" Naruto gasped
Tsunade rolled her eyes
"They are Chunins of this village now, thus, they need to start taking missions, or the elders will start acting up when they realise those three has zero missions completed" She replied
"Oh~, sure, I'll inform them" Naruto nodded
"Get them to move as soon as possible, and warn Zabuza to be respectful to the employees, I've seen how he does things back then, and I don't want him to do the same here now that he is no longer a mercenary" Tsunade said in a low voice
"No problem~" Naruto laughed, Zabuza has mellowed out so much since they first met, he doubt anything unrelated to Haku will even stir him now.
"Right, have you thought about organising a second Chunin exam as of late? With the first one being interrupted and all, we have quite a few genins who should have been in Chunin" Naruto said
Tsunade tapped the table
"I have had thoughts, but our relationship with Sunagakure is not the greatest after the last incident, so hosting another will bring trouble" She replied
"I see..."
'If we want to go through with it, perhaps we will need Gaara to become the next Kazekage, but the village elders won't approve so easily, perhaps it'll take a year, or two' Naruto thought
"Alright, we'll get to it when we get to it I guess, I'll go tell my fellow 'clan members' that they need to do some missions" Naruto smiled
Tsunade's eyes darted around quickly when Naruto got up
"Hey lil bro, not gonna give me anything?" She gave him a wink
"...sis, I'll be direct, I'm low on stock, you need to wait a few months before the next batch is done, and I currently only have enough to supply you once a month as we agreed upon" Naruto replied
"Not even an extra jar to spare?"
"Nope" Naruto shook his head
"....hah, fine" Tsunade waved her hand and sighed deeply, she really hoped she could have gotten her hands on another jar of wine.
Naruto rolled his eyes, as if he could give any away right now even if he had some to spare. He needed to save some for himself as well after all. Aside from the times he drank with Tsunade, he had not touched the wine as he wanted to age it properly to enjoy in the future.
As Naruto was about to leave, he came to a stop as something else came to mind. His expression became a bit more serious as he sat back down.
"There is another matter I need to talk to you about" He said
"What is it?" Tsunade asked seriously, as it wasn't often that Naruto showed such an expression.
"Do you know of the Akatsuki" Naruto said
"The Akatsuki? Sounds familiar...." She muttered
Naruto explained the situation of the Akatsuki that he knew of to Tsunade, and after he finished recounting the incident in Sunagakure, Tsunade's expression was darker than the night sky.
"You went there alone, knowing they are after the tailed beasts?" She said to him in a low voice
"I had confidence in escaping" Naruto replied
"Then what? What if they had ways to prevent the flying raijin marks from working? It isn't an omnipotent technique!" Tsunade said angrily
"...I'll be more careful from now on" Naruto lowered his head and said
Tsunade let out a sigh
"Naruto, you need to remember that you are not alone anymore, you cannot risk yourself just because you 'think' you can get away safely, always be wary" She said
"Yeah, I guess I am getting a bit too overconfident" Naruto sighed
Tsunade rubbed her temples
"But what you said is also of utmost importance, if that is true, I will send a message to all villages that contains a jinchuriki, whatever their objective is, it mustn't be good" She said
"Thanks sis" Naruto smiled
"Shoo, just thinking about this matter is annoying me" Tsunade waved her hand and said
"Pfft, alright" Naruto left the office wearing a faint smile
After he stepped out of the office, Tsunade's expression became darker as she stopped working on the papers in front of her.
"Akatsuki....I won't forgive you" she muttered coldly
Outside, Naruto left for the training ground, and saw Sakura training there instead of being in the hospital like she usually is.
"Finally out for once?" Naruto smiled
"I don't just stay in the hospital, my strength didn't grow from nothing" Sakura tapped her arms and said proudly
"And how's things with Sasuke?" Naruto asked
"It's going well, he sees me as an equal after I thrashed him for the first time, and now is opening up to me as well" Sakura's smile is unlike before, where it always seemed as if she was just spacing out half of the time.
Now, she is genuinely smiling, no longer restricted by her emotions.
"Naruto, I still can't thank you enough for this, but is it really impossible for you to alter the Itachi illusion? She is so realistic it's a bit scary" Sakura said with a shiver
"Nothing I can do about it, the base of the seal is on Sasuke, so I cannot change anything on your end" Naruto replied, blatantly lying through his teeth.
He just didn't want to, what can she do about it if she doesn't know?
"How's the spars with him? Is he realising any growth in there?"
"He's growing quickly, but I doubt he'd ever beat me in terms of taijutsu considering the difference in our physical strength" Sakura responded
"That's good" Naruto nodded his head
"Now that he's training even in his dreams, what excuse will he have to lose to me I wonder?" Naruto rubbed his chin and said with a wicked smile.
"Naruto....are you into Sasuke?" Sakura asked
"Huh?"
"It's just, every time you talk about him, you sound like you want to bully him, and isn't that typically how boys express their interest in a girl? The bulling is just to get their attention, is it the same with you?" Sakura asked
"....."
Naruto stared at Sakura in silence for a long while. He then let out a deep breathe.
"Sakura, I'll give you a thirty second headstart" He said in a low voice
"Oh, thanks, I'll need it" Sakura giggled and quickly darted away
As promised, Naruto gave her a thirty second start, before he burst with great speed towards her direction, his eyes filled with malice as Kurama's chakra was utilised as well. Sakura turned around, and saw Naruto with one tail behind him, darting towards her, and was left stupefied.
"Crap, he's serious!" She exclaimed and ran even faster
Naruto's eyes narrowed in on her, focusing on her so he wouldn't lose sight of her. He had made sure to only use one tail worth of chakra so Danzo won't get too worked up if he caught wind of this, and quickly clsoed the distance between himself and Sakura.
"I'm sorry, jeez, stop chasing me!" Sakura yelled
"Consider this training, survive and you did well" Naruto replied
"I'd rather not have such a training!" Sakura shouted back
"Too bad, it's the mandatory lesson of a Jonin, to a Genin" Naruto said calmly, though his eyes were anything but calm.
"INO!!!! SAVE ME" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran for the flower shop
*Bang*
However, before she can made it, the chakra tail behind Naruto formed into a hand and struck her down to the ground, pinning her down so she couldn't move.
Naruto landed beside her, his smile widened
"You failed the training, therefore, your life will be forfeited" Naruto said with a malicious smile as he knelt down on one knee next to her.
*Gulp*
Naruto reached into his pocket, and took out a....marker
"Y-You wouldn't" Sakura's eyes widened
"Oh, but I will!" Naruto crackled
"No, anything but that!" Sakura struggled, but was held down by the chakra hand
"Bwahahaha!" Naruto laughed maniacally as he began drawing on her face
He drew a turtle on the left side of her cheek, and a swirl on the other side
"You cruel b*stard" Sakura cried out
*Step*
"Uh....the crap is this?"
The two looked up, and saw Ino standing before them, looking as confused as can be. Seeing her, Naruto stood up and tucked the marker away.
"Nothing, we played a game of tag, and she lost, so she got punished" Naruto said with a friendly smile as Kurama's chakra was retracted
"Two faced lier" Sakura cursed
"What was that?" Naruto turned around and grinned
"Uh, yeah, I lost and got punished as promised" Sakura coughed
"...yeah, so if any of you two were in my shoes, will you believe this?" Ino lifted a brow and said
"Probably not" Naruto replied
"I'd be an idiot if I did" Sakura nodded
"So...why are you even trying to lie?" Ino asked
"Cause it's funny" Naruto said
"I don't have a choice" Sakura responded
"..." Ino pinched between her brows, Naruto is simply too shameless, while Sakura is being blatantly threatened by him...
She sighed as she patted Naruto's cheeks with both hands
"Na-kun, don't bully Sakura, okay?" She said
"Accusations! She bullied me first" Naruto shouted
Ino's lips twitched, as she sensed that he was not lying. So what in the world is going on!?
"Um, I guess I'll explain" Sakura muttered
She gave Ino a quick run down on what happened, and after hearing what she said to Naruto, Ino got a rough idea as to what happened next. She knew Naruto well, he's very petty, and will take revenge on almost any grievances.
"First of all, Sakura, you shouldn't go making fun of Na-kun like that, you know that I also don't like talking about Na-kun's ambiguous relationship with Sasuke" Ino sighed
"Oi oi oi, ambiguous? What?"
"Hush Na-kun, anyway, don't go talking about it, even if there is a chance he ends up being bi-s*xual" Ino said calmly
"Okay, Ino, seriously" Naruto said
"Na-kun, stay quiet a bit more please" Ino said flatly
She then turned back to Sakura
"So make sure you don't talk about it again, okay? I know the spark between the two of them is obvious, but keep it down" She said
"Ino, I-"
"Na-kun, baby, hush" Ino said
"...." Naruto was stunned, i-is Ino seriously doing this right now!?
As Ino was about to speak again, Naruto walked over, and pulled her into his arms, holding his arms around her so she couldn't move.
"N-Na-kun? Uh, I-I won't joke about it anymore, s-sorry" She stuck out her tongue and said
However, Naruto's gaze remained unmoved
"Ino, listen carefully" He said in a low voice, his gaze was sharp, and his expression was dark
It was now that Ino realised that she pushed a bit too much. She intended to just joke with him, but it seems she went too far, and started to regret it.
"I li-...no, I love you, so just stop....even as a joke, don't ever make fun of my feelings for you, okay?" It was now that she saw his sharp gaze waver, showing a vulnerable bitterness as a layer of moisture covered his eyes.
"Na-kun....I-I-...what have I done?" Ino muttered
Naruto's words were unexpected, and she had never seen him like this before. She thought he would knock her head, mess with her, or some sort of punishment, but this....this hurt more than anything else he could have done.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't hate me" Ino's eyes moistened as she hugged him back, crying as she buried her face into his arms.
The lonely look in Naruto's eyes became gentler
"Forgiven" He smiled as he leaned down and left a quick peck on her forehead
He raised a hand to wipe her tears, then...
*Bang*
He knocked on her head
"Ow!"
"And that's for everything else" He smiled
Ino held her head and looked up at him. Her lips tucked
"S-Still...sorry" She sniffled
"Just don't push it too hard, kay? My feelings for you won't change" Naruto said gently
"Na-kun..."
"Urgh" As the two were speaking, they heard someone almost vomit, and when they turned, it was Sakura who was staring at them with her hand covering her mouth.
"Bleh, go flirt elsewhere you damned couple, ptui" She spat to the side and cursed
"...."
Pfft
Ino was at first taken aback by Sakura's words, but soon after, she let out a faint snicker as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Thanks bestie" She said
"Bah" Sakura crossed her arms and looked elsewhere, refusing to look Ino in the eyes
Naruto let out a faint breathe as he patted Ino's back
"Don't get too hung up about feeling bad, we're human in the end, making mistakes are part of our lives, and we grow to never make the same mistakes" Naruto smiled gently
"Yeah...I'll become a better me each time I make a mistake" Ino grinned
"That's the spirit"
*Tsk*
Sakura clicked her tongue at this....
"Well, I'll be off to meet Asuma sensei then, also, Sakura, don't forget to wipe your face later" Ino stuck out her tongue and left
She waved at Naruto from afar afterwards before leaving for good.
"Dah, right, I need to wipe my face, damn you Naruto" Sakura groaned
"I'll be going back, but don't leave, I want to properly train with you as well" She said as she ran off
"Kay~, I'll be waiting at the training ground" Naruto waved and headed back to the training ground to wait.
Sakura arrived a little later, having thoroughly washed her face and made sure none of what he wrote ealier remained. Her eyes sparked with fighting spirit as she cracked her knuckles.
"Ready when you are" Naruto smiled
"Any rules?" Sakura asked
"Nah, just go all out, I want to see how sis has been training you" He replied
"S-Sis? Urgh, sometimes I wonder if you two are genuinely treating each other like siblings, or you're just messing with everyone" Sakura said with a speechless look
"Hahaha, could be either, who knows" Naruto said with a playful grin
Sakura smiled back, but she immediately burst forth with incredible speed, leaving a crater where she initially stood.
*Bang*
A cloud of dust was kicked up from her movement, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of him.
"Ooh, how fast" Naruto smiled as he tilted his head to the side, and Sakura's punch missed. She then used her initial momentum to swing her arm to the side, changing the trajectory of the strike mid punch, but Naruto seems to be able to see it coming as he ducked down and delievered a punch into her stomach.
"Puah" Sakura coughed, her pupils shrunk and a strong urge to throw up overtook her.
She took a few steps back, holding her stomach with a pained expression. Naruto saw a faint green light coating her hand that held her stomach, realising that she was healing herself.
"Sakura, do you know what makes a healer so scary when they can put up a fight?" Naruto asked
"Wh-What?" Sakura asked
"Pain tolerence" He replied
"H-Huh?"
"Sis became terrifyingly strong, and can heal herself from near death, but what use would it be if she couldn't tolerate the pain she has to endured? If her arm gets cut off, she can reattach it and keep fighting without stopping, all because she is able to endure the pain" Naruto said calmly as he walked over
His figure blurred, and Sakura couldn't even keep up when Naruto appeared next to her, and spun a kick at her arm.
Sakura quickly jumped back, but Naruto pressed his hand against the floor, and pushed himself forward, delivering another kick at her.
"Argh" Sakura was pushed back, but she didn't fall
"You need to be able to handle pain during combat, or you will show openings every time you start healing yourself, this won't be easy, which is why I'm asking you now, do you have the resolve to become a healer like sis?" Naruto asked
Sakura clenched her teeth tightly, the pain from the two blows Naruto gave her was intense, nothing like she had ever endured thus far. He didn't hold back at all when he struck her, which was why it caused so much pain, but he did so for her to realise what she is currently lacking.
She hesitated for a moment, but as the pain gradually diminished, her mind also cleared. She remembered why she wanted to get stronger, and the thought of Sasuke leaving fueld her resolve.
"I will become a healer like lady Tsunade, I'll even surpass her!" She yelled as she charged at him fearlessly
Naruto smiled
"That's a good spirit" He smiled
"So....I will now beat the sh*t out of you" He grinned
"H-Huh?" Sakura didn't realise, but this is just the beggining of her upcoming hellish training with Naruto, her future looking bleak....