Naruto:A New Path

The New Hokage

Naruto and Anko stood opposite of each other, the latter with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. Judging by the smirk, so early in their training, the blond knew that it would be a long one. He just hoped that it wouldn't be a 'run-for-you-life' kind of exercise again.
A few clones were scattered through the area, all of them training. Naruto had half of the clones working on taijutsu while the rest read over and practiced sealing. He might find the book boring but his clones would be able to do it for him, at least for the time being, he planned to read over the book himself later on.
"Listen up brat," Anko began with her usual commanding voice, "Today we're going to train your overall speed. By this I don't only mean how fast you can move. I'm talking about how fast you run through hand signs, throw kunai and, of course, your reaction time. Even if you were the fastest shinobi in the world, you would be nothing without good reflexes."
"Got it," Naruto nodded, motioning for Anko to keep going.
"We'll be going through this all day so don't go pick fights once this is over," she scolded with narrowed eyes. Naruto flinched under her gaze, wondering if she found out about the previous day's events. "Anyway…" she trailed off before pointing at her feet, "We ninja can use chakra to enhance our abilities. Today I'll be teaching you how to use your chakra to enhance you speed."
Naruto held up a hand, a frown on his face. "Wait a minute…" he glared at his current teacher, "If I could just use chakra to get faster why did you have that giant snake chase me yesterday? If I could have just increased my speed with chakra, then why was that necessary?"
"What's this?" Anko smirked, "Does someone want me to summon the snake again?"
"N-no. Of course not," Naruto yelped while sweating bullets. He had been terrified of that thing.
Anko let out a laugh as she walked closer to the blond. "Well then," she focused chakra to her feet, her pace suddenly getting faster.
The Chunin slipped into his new taijutsu style, already knowing how his teacher liked to 'teach.'
"Remember to use chakra on your feet," Anko pointed out, giving the blond a few seconds to get ready.
Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, gathering the chakra on his feet. Once he was happy with the results he opened his eyes, giving a nod to his teacher.
"Let's begin then," the snake mistress smirked as she ran at the blond.
The blond Chunin smirked, this would be a fun spar. He took a single step before the chakra beneath his feet suddenly rose too high and shot him up the air.
Anko laughed as she saw the brat being hurled through the air, this would be a fun training session indeed.
Ino focused on the fish beneath her hands. A green glow emitting from them as she tried to bring life back to the dead fish. A trickle of sweat tran down her face as she focused on the fish. She let out a short gasp as the green glow flickered before finally disappearing.
"That's enough for now Ino," Tsunade said as she walked over to her student with a proud smile on her face. The young kunoichi was progressing in an outstanding pace, it reminded her of the first lessons she gave Shizune. It would take time but she would be great in medical jutsu.
Ino nodded as she let out a sigh. Turning to her teacher she cocked her head to the side. "Why did we stop so soon?" it was true. Whenever she began her training with the fish, it would last a lot more than it just did. Either the training was over or her master had something to say.
"I needed to tell you something," Tsunade stated as she crossed her arms, "I will be taking over the title of Hokage."
Ino's eyes widened, an exited smile on her face, "That's great."
Tsunade nodded with a small smile. "The Third couldn't handle the job at his age so he asked me to take over," she explained. "The council agreed rather easily, the same with the Jonin. However, this will have some effect on your training," a worried look washed over Ino's face, "Don't worry much about it. I'll be taking over some things now but I won't publicly be the Hokage until a month from now."
Ino cocked her head to the side, not really understanding how exactly it would affect their training. She wouldn't be Hokage until the following month.
"Let me explain better," Tsunade continued, noticing her student's confused look. "I'll be taking over functions given to the Hokage. the Third will run me through the functions, it'd be training of sorts," she explained, "Tomorrow I'll start doing the Hokage's paperwork and meetings with him as my advisor. That's how it's going to go until they publicly announce me as Hokage."
Ino nodded, "So what you're saying is that once the month is up, you'll be a lot more busy with Hokage things?"
"That's right," Tsunade responded, "But don't worry. It won't interfere with our training too much, all we'll have to do is change our location to somewhere closer to the Hokage tower."
"Alright," Ino turned to her teacher with a smile, "So, what's next for my training?"
"We'll just train on your chakra control and reserves for the rest of the day," Tsunade informed, "Don't expect to go home until its dark."
Ino's eyes widened slightly. "W-wait master Tsunade," she muttered a little nervously, the medic had that effect on people. Tsunade turned to her student with a raised brow. Ino let out a sigh before speaking, "It's just that I have to leave a little early today."
Tsunade scowled, "Why's that?"
Ino blushed, "I have a date."
"A date?" Tsunade sighed out incredulously, "You want to stop our training early for a date?"
"It's not just a date," Ino reasoned, "It's our official first date. Plus, it's not normal for Naruto to agree to this kind of things."
Tsunade furrowed her brows, "A date with Naruto?"
"Yeah," Ino muttered, "He's my boyfriend after all."
The medic smiled, this being the first time she had heard it. Or course she had heard rumors from the young ninja that lazed around the hospital from time to time but she had never heard it from the source. Still, dropping training just for a date seemed a bit too much. But, seeing the way look of hope in her student's eyes, she couldn't deny her.
Tsunade let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Fine, you can go," Ino cheered, much to the medic's nerves. "However!" she said loudly, getting the attention of the younger kunoichi, "This will be the only time that I allow this to happen."
"Don't worry I got it," Ino nodded with a smile, "Thank you master Tsunade."
Tsunade smirked, "You won't be thanking me later."
Orochimaru snarled as he sat on his throne-like chair. The last bit of new had been anything but pleasing. According to his remaining ninja, Sasuke had lost an eye. Such a thing was unacceptable. He needed both eyes.
If he was to learn all jutsu then he needed both sharingan. There were countless of secret jutsu available only to the Uchiha. In order to unlock them, a pair of sharingan eyes was needed. It would be the only way for him to reach his goal.
"Kabuto…" he called harshly, his eyes burning with anger. Next to him, Kabuto flinched under the harsh tone. Orochimaru was not one to lose his cool but when he did, there was nothing that could stand his wrath, "Get Kimimaro… I want him to make sure that Sasuke is taken here as soon as possible. I can't risk him getting hurt again."
"Will be done Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto bowed before leaving the room.
Orochimaru clenched his fists, a growl emitting from his lips. The person that took his eye sharingan would pay dearly. He would make sure to make their death as painful as possible.
Naruto panted as he laid on the ground. His training long over now since Anko had let him leave early. Thanks to his clones he had gained new knowledge on seals, though it was only scratching the surface of something much deeper. On the other hand, his taijutsu had increased by leaps and bounds. The training his clones went through, added to the countless spars with Anko, had sped up his training.
He suddenly scowled, thinking back to one of the memories he had received from one of the clones. One of them had decided to play hooky and went to explore the nearby woods. It had run into some large webs and had gotten stuck before something ran cleanly over its neck.
At the time Naruto had been in the middle of a spar and received a heavy blow on his face. He had asked Anko about the weird occurrence but she had simply waved it off and told him that the woods were full of weird creatures.
Naruto stood up, dusting his pants before walking towards the woods. He looked up at the sky, it was still early so he could afford to waste a few minutes, he didn't need to see Ino until sunset. He let out a sigh as he entered the woods, scanning the area around him but finding nothing out of the ordinary.
He jumped up the branch of a tree to see a few webs here and there. The place seemed familiar, meaning that his clone had passed through there. The Chunin jumped down to the ground, walking through the woods with a frown on his face.
His eyes darted through the area before he let out a sigh. "I'm being too paranoid," he concluded. A growl emitted from his stomach, making the blond frown and place a hand on it. "I might as well leave," he shrugged before turning on his heel and leaving the area.
"Don't you dare fucking move," Tayuya growled. She had a hand covering Kidomaru's mouth and pointed a kunai to the ninja's neck with the other.
The blond ninja they had fought before could be seen disappearing in the distance. Only a few minutes ago he had been steps away from seeing them but had suddenly left. She and her team had stayed in the shadows before Kidomaru decided that it would be a good idea to attack.
Tayuya released the Sound ninja and glared. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she growled, "If I tell you to do something. You do it."
Kidomaru snarled. "Why couldn't we just kill the bastard?" he asked in anger, "I could have killed him easily."
"He's right," Jirobo broke in.
The last Sound Four member simply looked at them, not really interested in what they were talking about.
"You two don't know shit," Tayuya face palmed at the stupidity of the idiots she had been stuck with. "Remember the fight we had with that ninja," she began, "We could kill him if we fight together but it would be too loud. The last thing we need is to bring attention to ourselves."
Kidomaru scowled while Jirobo let out a frustrated sigh, neither of them liking the ways things were. They wanted revenge on the blond that had fought them back on their invasion.
Tayuya looked at her team and frowned, she couldn't wait until she was free of the two idiots.
Ino smiled as she finished getting ready. She looked herself over in the mirror and smiled, happy with the way she looked. She wore an outfit similar to her ninja one. It was made up of a purple blouse, with a few flower decorations on the lower left side, and a purple skirt that reached a little over her knees.
She didn't really like civilian clothing since it seemed too plain for her. That's why she managed to recreate her ninja outfit using civilian clothing, she liked the way it looked and was told that it was great.
She looked over herself one more time before finally leaving her room and heading to the living room. Her parents sat on a couch, engaged in conversation before looking at Ino oddly.
"Why are you wearing that?" Inoichi asked in confusion.
Ino smiled. "I have a date with Naruto today," she announced. Inoichi's eyes widened, a sign that he was panicking while Ino's mom simply smiled.
"Well, have fun," Miki giggled.
"Wait a minute," Inoichi put a hand on his chin and looked towards the door, "I want to have a word with Naruto before you two leave."
Miki turned to her husband, "What are you going to tell him?"
"I'm going to give him a few pointers," Inoichi winked with a smirk while on the inside he was in turmoil. His little princess was going on a date with a boy, nature's parasite. He had been a boy before so he knew of their true nature.
A knock on the door got the attention of the family, Ino smiling and going to answer the door. Inoichi rose from his seat and walked after his daughter, keen on getting having a few words with the blond.
"Honey…" Miki called with a glare.
Inoichi flinched under the glare before laughing nervously. "I just wanted to stretch," he sat back down on the sofa, shrinking under his wife's gaze.
Naruto stood outside Ino's home. He wore black Anbu pants without the usual kunai holster. Deciding to wear something different, he wore one of the shirts he had bought on his mission to the Sand village. A white long-sleeved shirt with red stripes running along the sleeves.
He wondered if he was presentable, never having experienced a date before. Sure, he spent time with Ino all the time but this was completely different. Here they were supposed to just spend time alone and act more like a couple than usual. At times like this he wished he could just ask Jiraiya but then again, his advice might not be the best.
His head perked up when the door opened, revealing Ino ready for the date. Her clothes were much like her usual but at the same time, they made her look stunning.
"Hi Naruto," Ino greeted with a smile, a light blush on her cheeks. "Are you ready for the date?" she asked but got no answer, Naruto simply looking at her with a dark blush on his face, "Are you okay Naruto?"
"Y-yeah," Naruto answered nervously, realizing he had been staring. He took her hand and began to lead with a smile on his face, "Let's get going."
The two walked through the streets of the village, earning looks from the onlookers. Some of them smiled, remembering their younger days while others looked at them in shock. Ino took note of the looks but didn't care, today was just about her and Naruto.
It wasn't long before they reached a restaurant near the Hokage Tower. The place wasn't fancy or anything but it was still good for a first date. They approached the building before Naruto stopped on his tracks and looked at the place with a scowl.
"What's wrong?" Ino asked in worry.
"N-nothing," Naruto responded with a nervous smile, gripping Ino's hand a little tighter, "Let's get going."
Ino looked at her boyfriend in concern. "We don't have to eat here if you don't want to," she assured, "We could just walk around the village and have dinner at my house."
Naruto shook his head, releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "I'm alright, we can eat here," he persisted as the two entered the building. The blond couldn't help but feel nervous since not all establishments allowed him to enter. It was normal for them to just deny him service but, looking at Ino, he wanted to give the place a chance.
The two approached a man wearing a suit, greeting each costumer with a polite smile. The couple stiffened when the man's eyes landed on Naruto, looking at him through squinted eyes.
"H-hey, I'd like a table for two," the blond muttered nervously.
The man focused his gaze on Naruto before finally smiling in excitement, "You're Naruto Uzumaki, right?"
"Eh?" Naruto let out in confusion.
"He is," Ino broke in with a polite smile.
The man's smile grew as he gripped the blond's hands. "It's very nice to meet you," he began with an exited smile, "I wanted to thank you in person but never had the chance."
"Thank me for what?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"For saving the village of course," the man smiled, "You were the one that stopped the rampaging monster outside the village after all… Oh! Excuse my manners, you'd like a table right?"
Naruto looked at the man dumbly, not knowing what exactly was going on.
"We do," Ino answered for him.
"Then follow me," the man instructed as he led them to a table. The couple ended up sitting down near a large window with a clear view of the Hokage Monument. "If you need anything then please tell me," the man smiled, "I'll get someone to take your orders."
"Thanks," Naruto muttered with a small grin. The man nodded before leaving.
Ino smiled at her boyfriend. "Looks like you have some fans," she pointed out. Naruto nodded with a smile, his eyes lighting in happiness. The young kunoichi let out a sigh of relief. It looked as if some people were starting to come around when it came to Naruto. By the way he was smiling, she guessed that he had never had this kind of treatment before.
' You deserve this Naruto,' she thought happily.
The rest of the night went on without a hitch. The two enjoyed dinner and left the restaurant, not before finding out that the man that greeted Naruto had been the owner of the restaurant. After dinner the two walked around the village for a while before finally calling it a day. It had gotten dark out and, for some reason, Naruto knew that he should get Ino back home as soon as possible. Something inside of him told him that Inoichi wouldn't appreciate him keeping his daughter for so long.
The couple walked through the streets hand in hand, happy to have each other's company. Ino enjoyed the date, it had been her first and was happy with the experience. Although Naruto had been acting a little awkward, surrounded by so many villagers, the two managed to have a good date.
"I had fun," Ino said as soon as they were standing in her doorway.
"Really?" Naruto asked with a raised brow. Ino replied with a nod, making the blond let out a sigh of relief. "Good," he sighed out, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "It was my first time doing something like this so I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Exactly what were you two doing!" Inoichi yelled as he threw open the door, instantly glaring at Naruto, "What did you do to my little princess?"
Naruto yelped, raising his hands in a defensive manner. "W-we just had a date!" he let out in terror. Inoichi simply moved closer to the blond, making him take a step back, "I'm serious. We just went out to eat."
"My, my," Miki smiled from the doorway, a frying pan in her hand. "What are you doing here Inoichi?" she asked as she pulled on the man's ear. Inoichi was wide-eyed as his wife dragged him inside, her eyes burning in silent fury.
The couple watched the door close, neither of them saying anything.
"Um," Ino mumbled before turning to Naruto. She smiled as she pulled him into a hug, closing her eyes, "Thanks for the date."
"Yeah," Naruto replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He suddenly pulled away with a smile on his face, "Do you want to train with me tomorrow? You have tomorrow off so you could just go with me."
"You mean with that weird ninja you keep talking about?" she asked a little hesitantly.
Naruto shook his head. "She gave me the day off tomorrow," he began, "We could train on each other's jutsu again. It'll be fun."
Ino pecked him on the lips, pulling away with a small smile, "I'd love to."
"I'll see you tomorrow then," he muttered, pecking Ino on the lips before taking a few steps back.
"Good-night Naruto," Ino smiled.
"Have a good night Ino," Naruto responded before making his way back to his apartment, looking forward to the next day.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk with his usual pipe on his mouth. In front of him sat his old student Tsunade, the medic holding a look of seriousness. She would be taking over some duties of the Hokage the next day, the Third didn't think that anyone else was more suited for the job. Tsunade loved her village and was an excellent kunoichi.
"What was it that you wanted to tell me?" Tsunade asked, her eyes narrowed.
The Third let out a puff of smoke, his mouth forming into a thin line. This would be the first time a Hokage would retire. All knowledge of Konoha's affairs would go to Tsunade, along with secrets he had kept for the good of the village. He trusted Tsunade would do good with the secrets.
"You will start as the Hokage next month," he began, "I'll be helping you with the next few days but you have to know of the village's secrets before any of this begins."
Tsunade nodded slowly. Konoha was really secretive when it came to certain issues, she knew that much. A few of the secrets had leaked over the years but they were vague and only known to a handful of ninja, most were dead now but managed to pass on bits of information. Tsunade, herself, knew a few of the secrets the village held. Naruto's heritage was one of the things she was aware of, having been close to his mother. All other kinds of secrets could be passed on as speculation since there was no proof to support them.
Hiruzen inhaled the contents of his pipe, closing his eyes in a show of exhaustion. "I trust that you won't tell anyone about this," the Third begin, getting a nod from the legendary medic. He let out a sigh before letting his hands fall on the desk, "Then let's begin."