The Neglected Genius

Foreshadowing

3rd Person POV

"You know... Had I known how tired we would be, I would've chosen to stay in Nami for a while longer..." Naruto said as Team 7 were making their way back to Konoha.

Following the events of Gato's assassination and the celebrations in Nami, they were all exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. Naruto more than anyone.

"I swear, nii-san... You're the one that suggested that we left Nami as soon as possible, so quit complaining!" Menma scolded playfully as Naruto turned to look at him with a scary look.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Naruto asked as a scary aura began to emanate from him, making the genin shiver in fear while responding "NO!" at the same time.

"That's what I thought." Naruto said as he turned to look at the path ahead of them.

"We should be about 30 minutes away. Then you can finally take a break in the hospital where Tsunade-sama will most probably keep you when she finds out what happened." Kakakshi said with an eye smile, making Naruto go white in fear.

"Damn it... You know, it is getting late, maybe we should camp out here..." Naruto said, faking fatigue.

"Nope. We're almost there." Kakashi said while innerly laughing at his surrogate little brother's demise.

"You can laugh all you want, Kaka-nii. I don't know why you think that Kushina-san will let you live when she finds out we're coming back from an S-Rank mission." Naruto rebutted, making Kakashi go white in fear while, now, Naruto laughs at his demise.

"Well, we're going back to the village as soon as possible. I need a bath after all that happened in Nami." Sakura said with huff at hearing her sensei banter like kids... well, keeping in mind that Naruto was their age.

"Fine... well then, let's pick up the pace!" Naruto ordered as the team began running.

Soon enough, they saw the gates peek in their line of sight, making everyone slow the pace to walking as they neared the check in booth, where the eternal gate keepers, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, were playing poker.

"Oh, come on, Kotetsu! You're cheating, aren't you? There's NO way that you're not!" Izumo complained after losing for the fifth time in a row that day.

"Don't be a sore loser! Now, pay up!" Kotetsu said as he beamed in happiness at the amount of ryo he had amassed.

"*clears throat*"

Hearing someone clearing their throat, they turned white seeing one Uzumaki-Senju Naruto glaring at them.

"Izumo... Kotetsu... How many times have I told you to not slack off while on gate duty?" Naruto was in "Kage Mode" as the Chuunin stammered out any answer they could come up with.

"N-Naruto-sama! S-sorry! It won't happen again!" both Chuunin apologized as they slammed their head onto the table in a bowing manner.

"I sure hope so. Now, to what we're here for. Team 7, reporting from our mission." Naruto stated as both Chuunin straightened as signed the team in.

"Very well. Welcome back, Team 7. Please make sure to report to Hokage-sama for your mission report." Izumo said.

"Hai. Thank you. See you around!" Naruto said as the team walked inside the gates.

"Okay, team. Usually, I would send you all off while Kaka-nii and I report the mission, however, due to the nature of the situation that came up in Nami, you three will need to be present to provide your own report on the B-Rank mission you were given when the mission reached the peak status. We'll begin the report for the overall mission so you can see how to do it and one of you will have to step up and provide the B-Rank mission report. Is that understood?" Naruto asked as the genin replied with a resounding "hai", despite the fact that they were very nervous, not knowing who should do the report.