Naruto:Making Of A Hokage

The Missing Kage

After having traveled most of the day, something that was starting to be usual with Naruto as a squad leader, the group of Leaf ninja had finally made it to the Tanzaku Quarters, a place filled with questionable people. It was just as Naruto remembered but he thought as much since, in his opinion, places like these didn't change much.
The group had separated upon taking a few steps into town since it was filled with all kinds of tourist attractions. Naruto left with Ino since they needed to get new equipment while Hinata opted for finding a place to spend the night and, lastly, Choji had left saying something about finding a good place to eat. They hadn't decided on where to meet but it wasn't a problem since they knew that it wouldn't be too hard to find each other.
"Naruto…"
"H-Huh?"
Ino's eyes were narrowed, calculating, on the busy street. Next to her walked a really nervous Naruto who tried to keep himself from looking around, knowing that his girlfriend was already pissed off.
"What the hell is this?" She let out angrily while motioning at the women standing outside of bars and calling him over with lust-filled voices.
Naruto already knew that he was in deep water so he chose his next words very carefully, "W-Well you see… Jiraiya-sensei and I stopped by here a few times actually."
"So you lied about last coming here three years ago."
He winced at the sharp tone she used but knew he had it coming for lying about the whole thing. "Fine, I'll tell you what happened," a blush crept on his cheeks as he averted his gaze from Ino, "I last came here a few months ago."
"Go on," was her blunt reply as her cold glared settled on him, making him more nervous than he already was.
"Well… Jiraiya-sensei thought that it'd be a good idea to take me here for my fifteenth birthday," he spared a glance at Ino and grimaced when noticing the way she was looking at him, expecting him to go on. "He ended up taking me to some weird place and telling all the girls that worked there about me. I've never ran so much in my life."
Ino didn't answer for the next few seconds and, after an eternity to Naruto, she closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay, you didn't let them do anything…" her eyes snapped open, burning in quiet anger as they looked into the deepest part of Naruto's soul, "Right?"
"O-Of course not!" He yelped.
"Fine then, no problem. It's not like you wanted to come here anyway," she walked closer to Naruto and latched onto his arm, pulling him closer while giving a glare to a few of the women. "But I can't say the same about your teacher. I'm going to find a way to get back at him."
Naruto chuckled as the two began to walk once more, "Count me in then. I didn't exactly like being stalked by old ladies."
"Outta the way!"
The two ninja broke apart as a teen rushed past them with a large bag clutched to his chest. They watched him disappear in the distance while wondering what all that had been about before their attention shifted to a man running towards him and stopping to catch his breath right in front of them.
The man let out several pants as he supported himself on his knees while breathing heavily and letting out a few coughs. "Damned brat," he muttered to himself, "I'll freaking find him!"
"What happened?"
The man looked up and noticed the two teens standing in front of him. "You didn't see him? The brat that stole my money!" His nose scrunched up angrily as he motioned around the area with both hands, "He ran through here! I saw! You must have seen him!"
"About that…" Naruto trailed off as he glanced at the direction in which the teen had disappeared.
"You have to find him!" The man pleaded, "He stole all the money from my shop's earnings today."
"Shop?" Naruto replied with his face showing interest, "What kind of shop?"
"Isn't this against some kind of rule?"
"Nah… People hire ninja all the time so there's nothing wrong with this."
Ino rolled her eyes at Naruto's reasoning. The two were currently standing on the roof of a tall building, with Naruto looking over the town with a confident grin on his face.
"Well, it's got to be frowned upon…" she muttered to herself.
Naruto's grin only widened, pretending not to hear her last comment, as he put his hands in a single hand seal, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Hundreds of clones shot in all directions, jumping off the building and scattering. They took the rooftops, streets and outskirts of town. All for one single goal.
"We're going to find that guy in no time," he announced with the same grin. He placed both hands behind his head and sat on the edge of the building, "Then once we get the discount on the equipment, we can go somewhere. Just the two of us."
A smile graced Ino's face as she ran through hand seals before slamming both hand on the ground, "Summoning Jutsu!" A small eagle appeared before her, looking at her expectedly.
"I'm going to look for the guy too then," she announced before glancing at him and winking, "I trust you with my body Naruto."
Something about the way she said it made Naruto blush deeply as he watched her run through hand signs before her body slumped over. Not wanting to have her fall, he jumped from his spot on the roof and managed to catch her before she hit something. He then lay her next to him and set his eyes on the town, trying to keep any mental images out of his head.
The next few minutes were quiet before his eyes suddenly widened. He quickly stood up and, almost jumped out of his skin when seeing Ino do the same.
"Don't you have some kind of warning to when you wake up?"
She only smiled, "Nope, but it's worth it to see the shocked expressions on people's faces."
Naruto chuckled before jumping off the building with Ino following behind. The two landed on another roof and proceeded to make their way through town quickly. They didn't want their target to escape before they could get to him.
The blond was thankful of having the shadow clones since they proved to be quite useful in situations like these. With the help of Ino, one of the clones managed to find their target before dispelling and giving him the location which was somewhere on the outskirts of town.
Soon the two ninja finally made it to their location and hid among the trees as they looked for their target.
"Over there," Ino whispered over to him while pointing to where their target was. Naruto followed her direction and noticed the guy sitting against a tree while panting heavily. He gave her a grin before putting up three fingers and counting down.
The teen, having just stolen the money, smiled to himself as he reached for his bag but, before he could even touch it, ninja wire wrapped around him and tied him to the tree, effectively immobilizing him.
"W-What the hell?" The teen let out as he struggled against the hold but to no avail, the wire wouldn't even budge and his movements were making it hurt. He stopped moving and looked around in fear before yelling when seeing the outline of two people from the shadows moving towards him.
"Got you," Naruto grinned before picking up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He then gave Ino a questioning glance, "What should we do with him? I was thinking of just leaving him here but I don't think it'll be safe."
Ino had to agree. Leaving this guy alone would probably end up with him being eaten by some wild animal. "We could just return him to the shop owner."
"Sounds good," he made a hand seal with his left hand and, with a burst of smoke, a clone appeared next to him.
"What the hell? You're ninja!" the trapped teen yelled out in shock as the Naruto clone walked over to him and began to take off the ninja wire. The teen waited and when his hold gave out, he instantly ran before being tackled to the ground.
The Naruto clone smirked as he kept the teen down with his right knee, "I love it when they run. It makes things a lot more fun."
Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead, knowing that there was nothing worse than having a sadistic clone. Ino simply looked at the scene in amusement before raising as brow as the clone suddenly stood up straight and grunted slightly.
"What are you doing?" Naruto let out in annoyance before his clone suddenly burst in a cloud of smoke, making the real one reach for his katana with his eyes concentrated for any sort of movement. Ino stood with her back to him, covering his blind spots while he covered hers.
"Wha-" He let out in mild amusement, having received the memories of his clone, and eased his stance, instead looking at a tree and grinning, "It's been a while Shikamaru."
Ino looked at Naruto oddly before following his line of vision and noticing her friend sitting on a tree branch covered by the darkness of the forest. She couldn't help but sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest, why the hell had he freaked them out like that?
"I can't believe I'm saying this since you can be a real pain in the ass, but it's good to see that you're back," Shikamaru joked as he dropped off the tree. "But still, what's up with that guy about to run away?"
Naruto and Ino yelped as they turned to the teen that broke into a sprint. He only took a few more steps before a shadow latched onto his, stopping him dead on his tracks and making him yell out angrily.
"Why did you guys capture this guy? He can't be an assignment from the village since he doesn't look like a threat."
Naruto chuckled as he made a clone and had it hold the teen's arms in order to keep him from running away again. He would usually just use more ninja wire but they didn't have enough to do the job since the stupid clone had cut the wire holding the teen against the tree.
"Just an odd job," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "We just came back from Wave and came here to resupply," he explained before pointing a finger at the trapped teen, "And that's when we ran into this guy."
"That's good enough for me. All these details are just annoying."
"What are you doing here Shikamaru?" Ino spoke up, a bit confused, "Weren't you supposed to be in the Sand Village for a few months?" Naruto glanced at Ino with a raised brow before shifting his gaze to Shikamaru, who only sighed and dug both hands into his pockets.
"I'll tell you guys later," he let out as he motioned towards the trapped teen, "Just get rid of that guy and we'll talk. I've got a few things to do so I'll meet you guys near the castle's walls."
Shikamaru began to walk away, lowering his pace when getting closer to Naruto. "This information is going to be important to you, Naruto," with that he passed by both ninja, leaving them confused.
Hinata had never been a very confident person nor the most emotionally stable, which is why, while surprised at fist, she had been more than hesitant of taking Choji's offer to take her out to eat. Part of her was grateful to have him help her through this, though he obviously had no clue of what he was doing since he would act really awkward around her, but she couldn't help but feel a bit peeved since she had wanted to be alone for the next few days.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
The sudden voice startled her, eyes widening slightly before she regained herself and looked at Choji, who had his eyes on her. She looked down at her plate to find it almost full, telling her that she had been spacing out again.
"Y-Yeah," she muttered as she ate a bit more of her red bean soup. It was one of her favorite meals but it tasted a bit bitter to her.
She looked down sadly as it dawned on her that maybe the food was fine and she was just too troubled to enjoy it.
"Nothing like good food to make you feel better, right?" Choji announced with a smile as he continued to eat.
Hinata looked at him with a small smile. While the food wasn't making her feel much better, knowing that Choji wanted to make her feel better… it was enough for the moment.
"Did you get enough for everyone?" Ino asked her boyfriend upon exiting the store belonging to the man they had helped out earlier.
It was a simple building with cream colored walls and a sign hanging over a wooden door, a pretty common place though it sold really different merchandise than the other shops near it. The man had said that ninja tools sold for high prices which is why he got into the business, though the couple had half-listened as the man rambled on.
"Yeah," he answered while looking at Ino through the corner of his eye, "Maybe if you hadn't been looking around, you would have noticed…"
Ino rolled her eyes, having known that Naruto would be a bit stingy of having to deal with the shopkeeper by himself. He looked a lot more comfortable around adults but she noticed that he was a lot quieter when left alone with one. Things like these would have to be dealt with head on, at least in her opinion, so having him get used to it would do him good.
"Fine. Fine. I'll stay with you next time," she sighed out. Naruto, having had his pride just wounded at needing to be with her like a little kid, nodded absently. Ino noticed this and decided to change the subject, "What do you think Shikamaru wanted? He actually looked serious for once."
Naruto's brows furrowed, appearing deep in thought. "I have no idea," he responded with a hint of worry in his voice, "It's not like him to look get so worked up over anything that isn't major."
His eyes hardened when noticing that they were almost to the castle, "We're here anyway. Let's just look for him." The blond kunoichi nodded as she and Naruto walked along the gates of the castle before their eyes caught sight of movement.
Three figures jumped down from a nearby building, making the couple take a few steps back in order to have more space in case of an attack, but they relaxed upon getting a good look at who had just landed on the ground in front of them.
There stood the Sand Siblings minus one and Shikamaru, the latter digging both hands into his pockets and rolling his eyes.
"Just like you to be late."
Ino scowled, "You didn't tell us when to get here. If we're late then it's your fault."
Shikamaru grumbled something under his breath as he motioned at his two companions, "These guys want to talk to you."
"Hmm?" Naruto let out in confusion as he and Ino glanced at them.
Temari took a step forward, her face taking a grim expression as she began to speak. "This is important so I'll be blunt," she began as her eyes narrowed, "Gaara's missing."
"What?" Naruto replied instantly. He tightened his right fist and frowned deeply, "When did it happen?"
"About a day ago," Kankuro replied with his arms crossed, "He was on his way to the Waterfall Village but he never made it. We have no idea what-"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The group of ninja let out surprised gasps as a large toad appeared before them.
"Yo Naruto! Why'd you summon me?" The toad spoke as it looked around, wondering just where he had been summoned this time.
Ino looked at the toad in shock before shifting her gaze to Naruto, "Naruto! Why did you summon it so suddenly?"
Naruto ignored her question and wrote furiously on a scroll he had taken out of one of the pockets on his vest. "Here," he extended his arm towards the toad once he finished writing. The toad took the scroll as Naruto pocketed his brush. "Take it to the Hokage. Jiraiya-sensei should still be there so summon yourself to him, it'll be faster. Get back to me once you're done."
"Got it," the toad responded before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
The ninja present were thrown off at what had just happened but waited for Naruto to explain himself.
"Why did you guys come here?" Naruto asked the group of Sand ninja plus Shikamaru.
This time it was the Nara that responded, "We came her to get some equipment and rest." He clasped the back of his neck while giving the blond an odd look, "I knew you knew Gaara but don't you think you're getting too worked up?"
"I guess you're right," he responded a bit lamely before turning to Ino, "Let's go get some rest. We have to keep moving tomorrow."
"R-Right," Ino agreed though still not knowing what Naruto was doing.
He turned to the other group of ninja and gave them a small wave, "We're leaving guys."
With that, Naruto left three very confused ninja behind. His behavior had been all-but normal which led Shikamaru to believe that the blond knew something that they didn't. He didn't know why he kept the information to himself but at least he knew that it had something to do with Gaara.
He looked over his retreating figure with a frown, 'What do you know, Naruto?'
"Naruto! Why did we leave like that?" Ino let out desperately, trying to find out what happened to him all of a sudden.
She was currently walking after him since he had yet to stop moving since talking with Shikamaru. It was beginning to scare her.
"Do you remember why I left the village back then?"
The words took her by surprise, making her concentrate on him and noticing that he had stopped walking. They were alone now, standing on an empty street with a few open shops. She shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts as she focused on the question she had been asked.
' Why did he leave the village?' She repeated in her mind. He had said something about needing to protect her from some people… Her eyes widened at the revelation, "Some people were after the Kyuubi."
"Yeah," Naruto nodded before he turned around to see her properly. "Gaara is a jinchuuriki, like me," he went on as Ino's face began to show realization.
"T-Those people showed up!" She let out in shock, watching as the blond nodded once more. No, it couldn't be. Why did they just show up like that? Just when Naruto got back to the village.
"It's too early for me to say that but I'm pretty sure it's them," he explained with a scowl, "Gaara is just like me. He experienced everything I did as a kid. No. He's life was even worse. And now those bastards want to kill him... I won't let that happen."
"Then that letter…" Ino trailed off, having an idea of what was in it.
"Yeah, I asked Granny Tsunade to let me go with Shikamaru and the others," he admitted, "I'll have her answer by tomorrow."
"Then I'll go with you," she declared while placing a hand on her chest, "I've been training hard for something like this. So I'll go."
"But it'll be dangerous and-"
"I don't wanna hear it," she crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. "Just like you would fight to protect me, I want to fight to protect you ." A blush crept onto his cheeks as Ino gave him a smile, "Quit being so stubborn and let me help you."
He couldn't help but smile. Ino was just as he remembered but something in her had changed. Something that made her look strong and confident. For the first time since he got back from Konoha, he felt as if he had missed out. Missed out on seeing these changes take place.
"Fine," he smiled as he looked into Ino's eyes, making her a bit confused. A chuckle escaped the blond as he broke the gaze, "You know, you've really grown up."
Ino cocked her head to the side, "Really?"
A grin spread on his face as he leapt at Ino and pulled her into a sudden hug, making her yelp and let out a laugh.
"What are you doing Naruto?" She cried out with a smile.
He didn't respond but grasped her sides, making her yelp and let out a series of laughs as he pushed her against the wall of a building. His tickling session ended as he pulled her into a hug and rested his forehead against hers.
"There's something seriously wrong with you Naruto." She giggled as her cheeks reddened. Her eyes looked lovingly into his while feeling his breath tickling her lips, she couldn't help the involuntary shudder that shook her body.
With a mischievous grin, Naruto pulled away, "Let's get going."
"Huh?" Ino let out confusingly and only now noticing that her lips were slightly pursed. She blushed in embarrassment before regaining herself and looking at her boyfriend with a fake frown. "Why did you do that?"
He shook his head, "No reason." A yawn escaped his lips as he clasped both hands behind his head, "Besides, we can do it later and I'm sure that you wouldn't like us kissing here."
She rose a brow at that before looking around the street and noticing how empty and gloomy it was, clearly not a romantic setting. She had to smile at that, it looked like Naruto had learned a little more about relationships, though the way he said 'it' sounded like something else entirely.
With a smile, Ino walked closer to Naruto and clung to his arm, resting her head on his shoulder before the two began to walk once more.
' We should walk like this more,' she decided while trying not to look too much at their surroundings. The town, clearly being a place for gamblers and other shady people meant that it didn't have the best setting. She looked up at Naruto, having just thought of something.
"Hey Naruto…" She called out. Naruto turned his gaze to her with a bit of curiosity on his eyes, "Are we going to tell the others about what you think happened to Gaara?"
The change was instant. Naruto's jaw clenched, eyes hardened and a scowl etched on his face. Ino felt a bit bad about bringing up the subject but she had to know. She didn't want anything to slip out if they met again.
"No," he decided after a moment of silence. His eyes lingered on the area ahead before they closed and looked back at her, "I really think that it's them but it's still not a sure thing. I don't want to worry the others if there's the chance that Gaara is just running late or there was some kind of roadblock."
"You're right." It could have really been anything that kept Gaara from showing up. Worrying the others wouldn't help since they were already moving pretty quickly and it wouldn't be safe to have them rush without thinking.
"Anyway…" he trailed off as a grin formed on his face once again. "Let's go find somewhere to sleep. We can look for Choji and Hinata tomorrow."
"Sounds good, I'm pretty tired," Ino admitted with a weary grin.
The sun's rays hit the Waterfall Village as Kakashi and Asuma made their way through the large street on the side of the large lake. The giant tree, the monument of the village, covered most of the sun which left the place cool unlike Konoha, which had pretty warm mornings this time of year.
Kakashi glanced at his traveling partner before looking back ahead. He was a bit insulted at having Asuma wake him so early in the morning and watch over him so keenly since, according to him, he would end up being late if not watched. He took offense at that. Being late in Konoha might be his thing but he didn't remember being late to a meeting with other villages, he didn't want them to get think that Konoha shinobi were always late.
"We're almost there."
"You didn't have to announce it did you?" Kakashi replied while watching Asuma take a long drag on his cigarette.
Smirking, the bearded ninja took the cigarette between his fingers and let out a small cloud of smoke. "I didn't want to risk you leaving. A repeat of what happened in Suna is that last thing we need right now," at the mention of the place, Asuma placed the cigarette back on his lips, "Looks like I'm bringing them up unconsciously."
"Yeah," Kakashi agreed.
It hadn't been difficult to find out why the village was acting so strangely. The Kazekage, due to meet with a group of Waterfall ninja, had never made it to the checkpoint. They had sent several groups of ninja to look for him but so far nothing had turned up.
Kakashi didn't know much about the relation between the Sand and Waterfall villages, but he did know that this was not good. If the Kazekage wasn't found then there would be tension between the two villages. Even if Waterfall had nothing to do with it, the Sand Village would become suspicious.
"Our hands are tied," Kakashi spoke up after a moment of silence. "While they let us walk around the village, I'm sure they wouldn't let us just come and go as we please. Not to mention their reaction to our assistance. They might appreciate it but, more likely, we'll be on their way."
Asuma nodded, "We might be allies with Sand but it's not our mission to look for him. Who knows? With so many teams around, someone will find him."
The other jonin agreed though he didn't voice it. Their walk continued a lot more quietly this time. They were on their way to meet with the village leader and knew that thinking about the Sand's predicament wouldn't help.
"Do you think they'll be okay?"
"Yeah, there's a lot of them and I don't think just anyone can go head to head with them."
"Right…." Hinata replied worriedly as she kicked off a tree branch and aimed for the next one.
She and Choji were making their way back to Konoha. After a small gathering with a very serious Naruto and Ino, it had been decided that she and Choji would leave for the Leaf while he and Ino went with the Sand ninja, plus Shikamaru, to do another mission. She hadn't asked about it since spending time with Naruto was not something she wanted to do, so she had simply followed orders.
"But I wonder what the mission was…" Choji rambled off with a thoughtful look on his face.
The Hyuuga glanced at the Akimichi and shrugged. "Whatever it was, it sounded serious."
"Yeah," he agreed while looking off in the distance. "I just hope they'll be okay."
Shikamaru sighed from his spot next to Naruto. The group was currently rushing towards the Waterfall Village, the spot Gaara never reached, in order to look for him. Temari and Kankuro ran at the front of the group while he, Naruto and Ino ran behind them.
"So let me get this straight. You summoned a toad to give a message to the Hokage. Then, after getting an 'okay' from her, you and Ino came with us while the others went back," he spoke to Naruto, who regarded him with a raised brow.
"Pretty much."
"Then randomly summoning the toad and leaving dramatically was just you being an ass," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
Naruto exchanged a look with Ino before they both chuckled. "I guess it might look that way," he responded with a grin before holding up a hand, seeing as how Shikamaru seemed annoyed, "But I had a good reason."
"Which was?"
"I'd tell you if I could," Naruto responded with an apologetic grin. He looked ahead, now more serious, "If more things point to it then you'll be the first to know."
' If more things point to "it"? What is "it"?'
Such thoughts ran through Shikamaru's head as the group continued to move. He knew Naruto, at least he thought he did, but he didn't appear to be shaken at all. He looked pretty calm but, glancing back at the look of worry Ino held, he knew that there was something going on.
'Looks like I don't know him that well after all,' Shikamaru thought as he wondered just what was going on.