Naruto:Making Of A Hokage

Destination, Tanzaku Quarters

The group of ninja, currently having finished their mission in Wave, were currently approaching a home, it's brown colored walls appearing to be completely dark due to the sky losing its color blue in favor of a dark orange.
Naruto smiled, finding the home to be a lot smaller than he remembered, and, as he approached the home with his team in tow, he couldn't help but think back about the last time he had been to the place. It appeared to be so long ago.
"Why the longing look on your face?" Ino asked, a bit confused by how his demeanor had changed from serious to happy.
He chuckled, "Just remembering when I last came here."
The young chunin knocked on the wooden door once close enough. It didn't take long to hear approaching footsteps before the door opened to reveal an older version of the boy Naruto remembered as Inari.
"Naruto!" The pre-teen gave a large smile when seeing his idol, the person who had gotten him out of his gloomy attitude.
"Wow, you grew a lot Inari," Naruto pointed out in slight awe, wondering just how he had gotten so much taller, almost reaching his chest. Remembering that he had company, Naruto moved to the side in order for Inari to see the visitors.
"These are Ino, Choji and Hinata. They're my friends."
Ino turned to Naruto, crossing her arms and raising a brow, "'Friends?'"
Naruto shrunk under her gaze as his cheeks reddened slightly, "Um… Ino's actually my girlfriend."
"What!" Inari yelled out in shock. This girl was something else and, even though he liked Naruto, she seemed to be way out of his league.
The chunin's right eye twitched in annoyance at the look of disbelief on Inari's face. "Why does everybody do that?" He muttered under his breath as he crossed his arms in annoyance.
Ignoring the last comment, the pre-teen led the group of ninja into his home, quickly showing them to the living room as he flashed them an exited smile before moving to a set of stairs on the side of the room. He spun on his heels and gave the group a nod.
"My mom's upstairs, I'll go get her!"
Naruto watched the kid leave before glancing at his team, finding that Choji and Hinata were sitting on one of the couches of the room while Ino walked towards him with an amused smile. He fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that the look meant trouble.
"Why are you still acting like a little kid when it comes to 'us' stuff?" She teased upon getting closer to her boyfriend so that the others couldn't hear.
"I don't act like that," Naruto argued with a pout, looking away before a mischievous grin formed on his face, "Besides, you're not that better off. Remember back when I was hospitalized after the Chunin Exams?"
Ino looked at him in confusion, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well I remember feeling something press against my cheek. Right… here," Naruto pointed at his left cheek for emphasis, "I didn't know what happened then but, thinking back, I think I know what happened."
"We weren't even a couple then, of course I'd be embarrassed," Ino countered with an angry blush.
"Oh, Ino you're looking a little red on the face now."
At that last comment, Ino crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, "Fine then, no more kissing from now on."
"Huh?" Naruto let out dumbly as he processed the words.
"You heard me," Ino continued, now with a smirk on her face due to the look on Naruto's face. It could probably be explained as a perfect 'what the hell have I done?' look.
Before Naruto could answer, Inari came back down with an exited smile, standing on the room's doorway with his smile growing as his mother, Tsunami, came into the room.
"Oh my, if it isn't Naruto," she let out in surprise, smiling at the group of ninja, "You sure have grown."
The teen in question smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head, "Everyone says that but I don't really see it." He motioned at the group of ninja with him before speaking, "These are Choji, Hinata and Ino, my girlfriend."
Ino smiled contently at the last comment, taking note of the way Naruto smiled nervously at her, probably not happy with what she had announced earlier. She, enjoying kissing just as much as he did, didn't plan on going through with it but it would be fun to see how he would handle it.
"Nice to meet you all," Tsunami smiled politely at the group. "I made a bit extra food today… if you're hungry that is."
"We are," Choji replied with a big smile, earning chuckles from the team of ninja.
She nodded at them, "Alright, I'll get everything ready. Please, make yourselves at home."
The cool night air washed over the area as a smiling Naruto stood against a tree, not too far from Tazuna's home. His hands were busy with one of the scrolls he had gotten back on Whirlpool, reading over its contents with furrowed brows.
It was his third scroll so far and, while the others had some jutsu and seals he would definitely try later, this one had some history of the place though not too much. The scroll only summarized what the summon had told him, about what kinds of techniques they used and how they mostly kept to themselves.
He read the rest of the contents dismissively before his eyes widened in shock. There, almost to the end of the scroll, read the words, 'Kyuubi.'
'…the current host was in an advanced age. A new one was needed which is why, in order to prevent the demon from being free, Whirlpool deemed it necessary to assign a new one. A young girl with special chakra…'
"N-Naruto."
Said ninja was torn from his reading, feeling a bit agitated at what he had been reading before turning to the owner of the voice and raising a brow. It was Hinata, looking at him with a bright blush on her face, holding both hands together which he noticed were trembling slightly.
"What's up Hinata? Is there something wrong?"
Hinata shook her head while turning her gaze to the ground, "I, um… have to tell you something." She looked back up to see Naruto giving her an odd look, making her feel a bit more nervous when realizing that he had been busy reading something, "Um… you don't have to if you're busy."
"It's no problem," Naruto assured with a smile, putting the now highly interesting scroll away and moving to stand closer to Hinata, "So, what did you want to talk about?"
Her cheeks reddened instantly, taking a few steps back and gripping the end of her jacket nervously. "F-For a… for a long time… I um…" she stammered, too nervous to form a complete sentence, "I-"
"It's nice out, right?"
Hinata glanced at Naruto, feeling confused at the last comment, and watched him looking up at the stars with a sad smile on his face, "Naruto?"
He shook his head, eyes meeting Hinata's. "It's nothing, don't worry about it," he assured before digging both hands in his pockets, "I'm just happy with how things are right now. I guess you can notice things like the weather when you're happy..."
His gaze fell on the ground, "I'm really happy to have you... everyone, as a friend..."
The words hung on the air as Naruto began to walk away, passing by Hinata and uttering, "...Sorry."
Hinata was left alone, tears streaming down her face at the indirect rejection. She had known that he was with Ino. He was happy.
She had known her chances were close to none. Everything was stacked against her and yet, when speaking to him she had felt hope.
Hope.
Even though she had known that he didn't feel the same, she had still held a bit of hope that maybe he would have a change of heart. It sounded foolish to her now, believing that something like that could happen, it was incredibly childish of her. She had acted on blind impulse.
More tears streamed down her face as she lowered to her knees, letting out a quiet sob.
It wasn't fair. She had loved him first. She had always watched him and have been the only one not to talk bad about him. So why did Ino get to be with him? What was the thing that made Naruto like her ?
"I... shouldn't have told him... I didn't stand a chance."
"It would have hurt more then."
Her eyes widened as she snapped her face to the side, finding Choji standing next to a tree with a sad smile on his face. She tried to wipe the tears away but they wouldn't stop flowing and, the more she did it, the weaker her hands became until they fell at her side as she let out a quiet sob.
Choji, having wanted to talk to Naruto about their travel home, didn't expect to run into such a scene. Hinata's crush on the blond was no secret, at least to everyone except for Naruto, but he had no idea that she would actually confess.
"I don't know much about this stuff," Choji admitted a bit sheepishly, "But holding something like that in… it can't be good for you." He walked next to Hinata and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, trying to make her feel better. They might not have spent much time together but he wasn't the kind of person to leave someone crying like that.
Hinata continued to cry, silently thankful to Choji for being there.
Ino smiled contently as she made herself comfortable on the bed she would be sleeping at, it was almost as comfortable as the one she had at home. She was tired from the long travel but had taken a long bath before getting changed and getting ready to sleep.
She glanced around the small room. It was light brown wall, a few pieces of furniture against the walls and a single bed next to a window with a clear view of the starlit sky.
There were four rooms in the home, though one was a lot smaller than the other and could only fit one bed, and it had been decided that whoever went into the single room first would get to sleep in it while the others would have to share the other room. A smile formed on her face, knowing that she had gotten the room to herself.
Her gaze turned to the window, watching as the trees and bushes rustled with the wind, and couldn't help but wonder where Naruto had gone. He had left right after they had finished dinner, saying something about being busy.
"Oh well…" she yawned as she covered herself with the bed sheets, "I'll talk to him in the morning."
Her eyes closed before she heard the door creaking open before closing. 'I was just about to sleep,' she groaned as she turned to see who had entered the room and couldn't help but let out a quiet gasp.
"Naruto?" She let out in surprise, finding her boyfriend standing in front of her bed without saying anything.
Before she could ask what he wanted, he leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. She was a bit surprised at first but returned it with just as much affection. The two let out short pants as the kissing got more aggressive, both lips searching for more as his hands rubbed her back.
At this point Ino pulled away, letting out shot pants as she rested her forehead against Naruto's, her blue eyes staring into his, "W-What was that for?"
"I wasn't about to let your 'no kissing rule' go on for more than a day," he smiled as he sneaked into the bed and draped an arm around her waist, making her flush. Naruto, seeing this, looked deep into her eyes, "I won't do anything you're not ready for. I just..." He pulled her closer to him, closing his eyes as he took in her scent, "I just want to stay like this for a little bit."
Ino smiled as she snuggled closer to Naruto. "What made you think any of that was going to happen? You just broke your no kissing punishment and I'm not too happy about it."
Her eyes lit up in mischief as she caught Naruto's lips in a short kiss, pulling away just as he was about to return it. "Don't worry though, it was a stupid punishment anyway," she spoke quietly, earning a smile from Naruto as the two kissed again, this time a bit more heatedly.
' Sleep can wait,' Ino concluded as she gripped the front of Naruto's shirt.
It had rained recently, Kakashi noticed due to the smell of the forest he and Asuma were currently walking through. Their trip, which hadn't been quick due to the place they were going to being a considerable distance away from Konoha, had been pretty uneventful. At least they were getting closer, considering the change in temperature.
"I hate days like this," Asuma commented as he reached into his flak jacket for a pack of cigarettes.
Kakashi looked at his traveling companion with his eye squinted in boredom, "Are you talking about how quiet it is or the weather?"
The other ninja shrugged as he lit his cigarette and inhaled its contents before letting them out in a cloud of smoke, "Both to be honest."
"Ah."
Despite having known each other for some time they weren't the type to start a conversation but it wasn't necessarily bad. The two of them appreciated silence, considering the people they associated with on a daily basis, but having that silence on a long trip got boring really fast. He was sure he wasn't alone in wishing to meet with someone they were familiar with on their trip to the Waterfall Village.
"I don't understand why we have to represent the village on this Chunin Exams..." Kakashi let out with a hint of annoyance.
Asuma nodded as he looked up, half-expecting to see the bright blue sky but instead seeing nothing but leaves, "She can't be bothered now that Jiraiya is back. Who knows what he found out to keep her so busy all the time?"
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed in thought. Jiraiya must have come with news of the Akatsuki, the group that had its eyes on one of his students. As his sensei, Kakashi had taken it upon himself to train back to where he once stood and then some, all of this in order to fight the Akatsuki.
If Tsunade had declined an invitation to the Chunin Exams then that meant that whatever information Jiraiya had was highly important.
Most likely meaning that the Akatsuki had begun to move.
"What do you mean he didn't get there?" Temari all but spoke to the Sand countil.
"We've just received word from the Waterfall Village," a councilmen spoke, "The Kazekage did not make it to the meeting place with the stationed Waterfall ninja."
Shikamaru, now older and wearing the standard jonin uniform with a flak jacket on top. His mouth was formed in a deep scowl as he thought of what could have happened on Gaara's way to the Waterfall Village. Beside him stood Kankuro, just as worried as his sister was about his brother's disappearance.
"A group of Waterfall ninja are on search of the Kazekage but, of course, we'll be sending out own men," the councilmen continued.
Temari and Kankuro stepped forward, placing a hand to their chests with their eyes burning in determination.
"We'll go," Temari spoke with no room to argue, "We're already a formed team. It would be best to send us first and then prepare the others."
Chiyo, the head of the council, nodded at the siblings, "As this is an emergency you may leave immediately. We'll send others as soon as possible."
"Right," the two Sand ninja replied before bolting out of the room with Shikamaru following behind.
They moved fast, quickly making it out of the building and moving through the hot streets of the Sand Village. It wasn't long until they were running on the outskirts of the village, heading for the desert that would lead them to the Land of Fire.
"I know you guys are worried," Shikamaru spoke up from behind the two siblings, gaining their attention, "But we can't just leave like this. We have to at least resupply somewhere, we're low on equipment from our last mission."
Temari frowned as she cast a look at Shikamaru, "Then what do you want us to do? Go back to the village and waste time?"
"No," Shikamaru replied calmly, "We just have to keep our cool and think before rushing there. There's a place on the way to the Waterfall Village, the Tanzaku Quarters, it's about midway to it. We can resupply there and rest since I doubt we'll make the whole trip in one go."
Kankuro glanced at his sister, watching as she gritted her teeth, a sign that she was debating the suggestion. "Sounds good," he spoke up, "We can't just rush there since we'll end up with no energy once we get there and be nothing but a burden. If we want to find Gaara then we'll have to be at full strength."
"Fine," Temari agreed after a moment of silence, "We'll stop there but we're only resting for a few hours."
"Sounds good," Shikamaru replied, rolling his eyes at how bossy she was, "Troublesome woman."
"We have to get some new equipment..." Naruto muttered to himself as he and the others walked on the outskirts of Wave, having passed the 'Naruto Bridge' a few hours ago.
He had been a bit embarrassed about having a bridged named after him and the bit of teasing that came from his team did not help. But, all things aside, he guessed that he had left a big impression on Tazuna after his first mission was over.
"What are we doing then? Going straight to Konoha?" Choji asked from his spot behind Naruto.
"We're not," he responded as he glanced back at the group, "There's a place where we can get new stuff. It's not too far away from here and it's on the way to Konoha so it should't be a problem."
"Really?" Ino spoke up, looking at her boyfriend in curiosity, "What's the place called?"
"Tanzaku Quarters," he replied with a small smile, thinking back at his first trip with Jiraiya. Ridding himself of those memories for now, he continued to speak to his team, "The place is filled with gamblers and bars but I saw some shops with ninja equipment the last time I was there."
"And when was that?"
"Three years ago."
Behind the group Hinata watched the exchange with a downcast look on her face, still feeling the aftermath of her 'confession.' Though feeling a bit better of getting something like that off her chest, she was still far from okay.
"You alright?" Choji asked quietly, having lessened his pace in order to talk with Hinata.
Said girl looked at the couple ahead, now engaged in a playful banter with Naruto blushing while Ino got closer to him and told him things that made him blush even more.
"I'll be alright..." Hinata spoke quietly.
The Akimichi gave her a grin before turning back to the road ahead and then to the sky, noticing the faraway storm clouds.
'Looks like there's a storm coming...'
Kakashi was an observant man, which is why he instantly knew something was wrong when they set foot on the Waterfall Village. Upon nearing the village's gate there was a large amount of ninja moving from place to place with a bit of panic on their faces. After that, they had told the gatekeeper the reason of their visit and had been simply let in with no escorts or ninja keeping an eye on them which was what told him that something was wrong.
He and Asuma were currently entering a large building that stood before a large lake that surrounded a giant tree in the middle of the village, having only one bridge leading to it which was behind the building he was about to enter.
They entered the place, almost instantly noticing how hectic it was. People rushed about with piles of papers on their hands, ninja entered and left the place and others wrote furiously behind their desks.
"Just what happened here?" Asuma muttered to no one in particular as he and Kakashi walked over to a young girl standing behind a reception desk..
"Hmm?" The girl let out as he looked up, noticing the two ninja approaching. Her eyes widened when seeing their headbands and flak jackets. She tensed up before speaking, "Oh! Um... What do you want?"
Kakashi dug a hand into his right pocket as he threw a glance at the people rushing about, "We're here to see your leader. We came here for the Chunin Exams and are reporting in to him."
"S-Sure," she nodded at them with a sheepish look on her face before bowing apologetically to them, "I'm sorry! But he really can't see you now! Sorry."
"It's okay," Asuma assured, trying to calm the girl down since they were getting odd looks from the people in the room. He cleared his throat as he turned back to the girl, "Then when can we see him?"
The girl pulled out a clipboard, running through the many pages on it before coming to a stop, "Um... you can see him tomorrow at noon."
"Fine then," Kakashi sighed out as he and Asuma left the building.
Upon leaving, the two were met with the usual cool breeze as they thought of what to do. They didn't know the place so it would be best to find the inn the village had reserved for those attending the Chunin Exams. The two walked quietly, both having much more than finding an inn on their minds, like wondering what was going on in the village.