Naruto's Kit

Chapter 37

After a lot of running, Naruto, Hinata, Tsunade, and Akane made it back to Konoha. Waiting for them at the gate were the guards Izumo and Kotetsu, along with Kakashi, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai, and Shizune. Everyone smiled to see the others return safely, although you couldn't see it on Shino's face. Before they could say anything, Tsunade held a finger to her lips, telling them to be quiet, before gesturing to a sleeping Akane. Everyone nodded and decided to save it for later, and everyone except Izumo and Kotetsu left for Naruto's apartment.

"Where's the Uchiha?" Tsunade whispered to Kiba and Shino.

"He's contained as well as blindfolded. My insects, Akamaru, and Anko-san are standing guard as we speak." Shino answered quietly.

"Good enough for now. But it's going to get worse for him." Tsunade whispered in response.

Nobody else said a word until they got to Naruto's apartment. Naruto and Hinata entered while the others waited outside. They all wanted to talk and felt that for the girl's sake it was better to do that away from her so they wouldn't wake her. Naruto gently placed the little girl on her mattress and put the blankets over her. Hinata patted her head and Akane seemed content and relaxed. The two adults smiled and quietly went back outside.

Everyone stood at the base of the building together before they decided to actually discuss what was on their minds. "So what exactly happened out there?" Kakashi asked for everyone.

Tsunade chose to answer, using a fabricated story to guard Akane. "Sasuke and the last member of the Akatsuki tried to take the kyuubi from Naruto. Naruto fought off Sasuke and rendered him one arm less and drained of a lot of blood. Then the Akatsuki member, Madara Uchiha, tried to finish off Naruto, but he used the kyuubi to kill him." Technically it wasn't a complete lie.

"Are you sure about that?" Kakashi asked Naruto. "If he's been alive all this time, maybe he's just playing dead."

Naruto shook his head. "No way. I cut off his head myself then baa-chan burned the body. Nobody can play dead that well. Besides, it turned out that the kyuubi's chakra was his weakness, and getting it into him in even a small way was enough to kill him. Trust him, the geezer's dead."

"Wow Naruto, you must be the strongest person on the planet to pull that off." Kiba remarked.

Tsunade nodded. "As of this moment, Naruto Uzumaki is an official jounin. And first thing tomorrow, I'm declaring him my successor."

"Why not now?" Naruto asked.

"I need to get that registered and I'd rather wait until after I get some sleep myself first." Tsunade said, trying to hold back a yawn. "After that, Sasuke Uchiha goes to trial. Just a formality before he gets punished."

"How bad do you think it's going to be, sensei?" Sakura asked, earning her a few looks.

"It's going to be bad. Don't delude yourself thinking otherwise, you hear?" Tsunade told her.

Sakura nodded. "I know. He's a criminal and needs to suffer for it. I was just curious." She then turned to face Naruto. "By the way, thanks for keeping your vow, even if you didn't have to anymore."

"I never go back on my word." The blonde shinobi stated confidently. "I'm just glad you're not trying to beat me senseless for hurting him."