A Fox and His Wagtails

Chapter 3

Tsunade smiled as she read the current letter from her loveable idiot, Naruto. It had been a little over a year since she had saw him in the Hidden Whirlpool and got her first impressions of the Sekirei that had bonded to him.

The letter was mainly a status update on the rebuilding efforts of the once revered village. Thanks to Naruto's heroics during his early years as a ninja, he had received help from various parts of the world from people who hoped to pay him back.

The Land of Waves, the Hidden Sand, the Land of Spring, and the Crescent Moon Kingdom all contributed to Naruto's self-appointed endeavor. With their support, Naruto's liberal use of clones and fūinjutsu, and the Sekirei themselves, the Hidden Whirlpool hit the ground running with its restoration. Some of the inhabitants of the other countries had even requested to live in the village, finding it to be a peaceful location to reside.

Thanks to Naruto's friendship with Gaara, the Hidden Sand was now allied with the Whirlpool and had started various trade agreements. Tsunade had also spoken with the Clan Heads that made up her Ninja Council, along with the three Elders of the Hidden Leaf. While the Elders were quite vocal about their disagreement, the rest of the Council believed that this decision on Naruto's part was one of his better ones.

It was only Naruto offering to refortify the Leaf's defenses with his fūinjutsu knowledge that eventually won the Elders over; Danzo being the only one not to budge. The man was a fantasist of the Leaf, and he refused to relinquish the "right" the village had over Naruto as their Jinchūriki.

Tsunade was never more grateful than when the Council shot down his proposals of forcibly bringing Naruto back or taking the Kyuubi from him.

"Another letter, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked curiously as she brought the woman a small pile of paperwork.

"It's from the brat. He's telling me about how far the rebuilding efforts have gone," the woman answered. "He also says that he'll be spending a week in the Hidden Sand to finalize another agreement between the villages."

"I'm still surprised how far he's come since you left last year. When you told me what he planned to do, I didn't know how to take it."

"I had a feeling he'd decide to fix up that place after I saw it for myself. It really drove home what could happen to even the strongest of places; especially with war and time breaking them down."

"Is he going to return to the Leaf at all?" Shizune questioned. "I'm sure that his friends miss him, and he must still have some things he's left behind here."

"I spoke to him about that, actually. Once he's done visiting Gaara, he'll spend a few days here so that we could finalize our own agreements and synergy."

A knock at her door prompted the Hokage to grant entrance to Sakura. "I have the files you asked for, Tsunade-sama," the pinkette declared, handing her leader the two stuffed folders. "May I ask why you wanted me to get the medical files for the Fourth and his wife?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about. The files are actually going to be sent to someone."

That made Sakura almost pout, not liking to be left in the dark when she does errands for her instructor for the past three years. "Is it connected to Naruto? The Fourth's wife had the Uzumaki name."

"Again, you don't need to worry about it," Tsunade repeated, her tone firm and telling Sakura to drop the subject.

"Yes, ma'am," she replied, showing her displeasure before excusing herself.

Shizune looked worried for a moment and asked, "Are you sure that was necessary, milady? She was one of Naruto's teammates, after all."

"A teammate that was part of a squad doomed to fail," the blonde shot down. "While Jiraiya and Naruto were gone, one of the things I spent a great deal of time on was reading the files concerning Team 7. To put it plainly, the team should've been dropped years ago."