Kusari no Naruto

Eighteenth Link

"Ah Naruto, a little later than usual today?" The Hokage questioned, without looking up from his work as the blond strode into the mission office.

His spiky hair was more dishevelled and messy than usual and the Chuunin in the room could see the lightest sheen of sweat on his exposed skin. It was the day after the preliminaries and his mind's unconscious excitement over the sand-wielding boy from Suna had him a bit more energetic than usual. This equated to him losing track of time during his and Haku's morning session. She didn't seem to appreciate the extra effort.

"I've come for a mission," he stated blandly, reigning in the roiling energy bubbling beneath his surface; Haku was only ever a warm-up.

"Well I assumed that much." The Hokage chuckled, moving his pipe from one side of his mouth to the other with deft ease. "But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you once again Naruto, Jounin are suspended from missions during the month break between the second and third tasks of the examinations." The Hokage looked up just in time to spot the Jinchuuriki's expression darken considerably.

"But…" Naruto began to protest, only to be silenced by a swiftly raised hand; Hiruzen knew him well enough to predict his outbursts.

"This is not just you Naruto, this is a dangerous period for Konoha as we let all sorts of people into our village," The aged Shinobi explained patiently. "It is not just dignitaries, nobles and people looking for a good show that walk through those gates in the lead up to the Chuunin exams. Many foreign powers will look to take advantage of the confusion and stress the entire event will place on our shoulders. That is why we need our best close to home, to look for anything suspicious or underhanded from our venerable… guests. In the meantime the ANBU will be picking up the slack, they are more than used to this arrangement by now."

Naruto's brow furrowed at that, he didn't remember such a period of extra work during all of his time as an ANBU. Then again, the kind of missions, both in number and danger, his squad would receive would make most operatives blanch. That squad was already doing extra work twenty four seven.

"Understood Hokage-sama," The blond grumbled. He already knew at this point that it was fruitless to argue with the old man over this topic. It had certainly come up enough.

"I'm glad we're on the same page; try to think of it as some time to relax and shore up your skills." Hiruzen resumed his work just as more Shinobi began shuffling into the room for their missions. "Who knows, you may even find the break… enlightening."

The blond could only huff as he made to leave, shouldering past a few sleepy Chuunin that looked as though even they didn't understand why they were up so early. If he noticed the tiny amphibian watching him curiously from the windowsill, he paid it no heed.

One broken training ground and a quarter of his chakra reserves later, and Naruto was feeling a great deal better. The ANBU didn't exactly appreciate him destroying their private grounds, but they weren't exactly of the mind to stop him either. If they did, then he might consider using the more accessible areas, and that ran the risk of Chuunin or even Genin stumbling across him in one of his 'moods'. Naruto was content with the arrangement too, especially when it involved training grounds sixty through sixty five.

They ran along a series of natural hot springs, which made excellent places to relax after a tiring workout or session. A quarter of his reserves was hardly what the blond would call 'tiring', but he appreciated the hot water leeching the tension out of his muscles all the same. At least he would, if his ears didn't keep twitching as a terribly unsubtle presence danced around at the edge of his periphery. He tried to ignore it, keeping his eyes closed and focusing on the feel of the water; However, he wasn't exactly known for his patience, and a chain quickly lashed out at the source of the annoyance.