Life in Konoha's ANBU by Shezza

Chapter 53: The Spar

Konohamaru was annoying.

Naruto had always known that. He had lived with the boy for most of the young Sarutobi's life, watching as the then baby grew his first teeth, spoke his first word, walked his first steps, and made Naruto's life hell for the first time. He could even recall the little brats stupid, smug smirk as he stood in the kitchen, an arm outstretched and a bowl of freshly-chopped vegetables atop of Naruto's head. Ever since that moment, he knew that Konohamaru would be a bane in Naruto's life.

He hadn't been wrong.

"C'mon, Naruto!" Konohamaru whined. "Give us a good mission!"

Naruto was gritting his teeth, gripping the stapler in his right hand and resisting the urge to throw it. He had brained the younger Sarutobi earlier, breaking another stapler in the process, and now this was the only one left. If this one were to break, it would be a giant pain to categorise and collate the backlog of documents practically flowing out of the storage room. It would add hours onto an already annoying job.

"C'mon....!" Konohamaru whined again.

It just might be worth it, though. The stapler would fly through the air, wind whistling around it. Konohamaru would try to raise a meagre defence, but the force behind the projectile would be too great. It would break through Konohamaru's guard and strike him in his exposed, vulnerable big fat forehead. The enemy would be defeated, curling up in a little ball and crying like a baby, while Naruto would stand victorious, lording his win over his pathetic underling- until he had to do all of the paperwork by hand.

Naruto glanced at the stapler in his hand and reluctantly put it down.

"You've been given your mission," he said tiredly, and waved his hand at the door where Kakashi and Sakura was waiting, the former looking amused and the latter looking annoyed. "Now scram."

"This mission is garbage!" Konohamaru bellowed.

"All missions, including D-ranks, are vital to the village..." Naruto began.

"It's actually garbage!" Konohamaru stamped his foot down. "We're picking up all of the rubbish by the pond! You're giving me actual garbage!"

Naruto sighed again. "Konohamaru," he said tightly, "I am the Jonin running the Mission Desk and you are the little Genin who should be doing what he's told!" His voice rose into a yell at the end as he jumped to his feet.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be running it!" Konohamaru hissed between clenched teeth.

"Oh?" Naruto smiled darkly. "It's treason, then." His hands blurred and a puff of wind smacked into Konohamaru's chest, launching him off his feet and sending him soaring backwards. He slammed into the wall with a loud thud and slumped down to the ground.

Kakashi merely whistled as he grabbed the end of Konohamaru's scarf and began to drag him away. "Thanks for the mission, Naruto!" he called, the glee obvious in his voice. "I'm sure my cute, little genin will have so much fun!"

"One of the sewerage grates near the northern bridge is clogged with rubbish," Naruto called out at the lanky Jonin's back. "It needs little fingers!"

Kakashi responded with a backhanded wave and disappeared from view, still dragging the dazed Konohamaru with him. Naruto returned to his desk, sniggering, while Yuuka came bounding out of the backroom.

"Did I sense a wind technique?" she asked curiously.

Naruto's eyebrows rose. "You did," he agreed, sounding impressed. "I didn't know your sensor techniques could track elemental composition."

"Aw, shucks, boss," Yuuka said with a grin, placing one hand on her cheek. "I have been training, you know."

Naruto did know. All of his team, barring Daichi and Sasuke, had been hitting the Training Fields heavily the past week ever since they had returned from Operation Hurricane. The sights they had seen and the enemies they had fought had ignited a passion within them, and in between light duties they trained to the point of exhaustion, pushing body and chakra to the limit and beyond.