Something Precious

Chapter Thirty Two

Five days later Team Seven - minus their new member - sat around the wooden table early in the afternoon. Naruto was out training, a kind of daily routine he had set into in the short time of their mission, but he never trained in anything except taijutsu, at least not when anyone was watching. He said that taijutsu was his weakest area but if that was his weak area how strong was his claimed strong area, ninjutsu? Minato wasn't stupid, he knew the blonde had something he was keeping secret, something that had to do with his jutsu. So what was it? He remembered how Naruto had been able to use something that looked suspiciously like his own Hiraishin technique when he had gone to get Obito that one time, but he would need a marker for that so what exactly was it? It couldn't be just his speed, could it?

A throat was cleared to gain his fleeting attention. Minato looked up from where his hands rested on the table and smiled sheepishly. "Ah, sorry guys." he apologized. "Anyway, I called you here because I wanted to know what you all think of Naruto. I know you didn't ask for another team member but it's still important that we all get along." he eyed the children as they thought on how to answer.

"Well he seems nice enough to me!" Obito stated in a happy manner. "And he's pretty strong, like how he took out six jounin all by himself using just taijutsu." he punched the air like he was demonstrating. "And in the woods when we first met him he used sage chakra, I heard that you and Jiraiya were the only ones in the Leaf who could do that!" he said excitedly, leaving out the part about how the teen always acted strange around him. Though in pointing out the sage jutsu he had raised questions in the others minds as they realised that the Uchiha was right. Minato and Jiraiya were supposed to be the only ones in the village who could use sage arts, but from what Minato had observed, Naruto was better than either of them. His transformation had been flawless - no frog features apart from the golden eyes which were signs of success. Not even to mention that those who become sages are usually really strong and therefor well-known and feared though out the shinobi world. This could have been a skill that he only recently mastered - that would explain some - but Naruto had seemed very familiar with it, not only in the speed in which he had collected the nature chakra, but also in the way he fought with it.

"I think he's suspicious." said Kakashi blandly.

Obito glared at him. "You think everything is suspicious Kakashi."

Kakashi glared at his comrade. Minato smiled at him kindly. "Why don't you explain why you think that?" he said.

Kakashi thought for a bit, his brows furrowing. "Well for starters is the fact that I've never heard of him, neither have any of you. He is quite strong but no one seems to know him, even Lord Hokage didn't seem to know him. Second is that he stopped Minato from killing that Cloud nin, I suppose his reasoning made sense but still. . . it doesn't sit right with me." he told them thoughtfully. Another point that he hadn't mentioned but was bothering him more than anything else was how the blonde ninja seemed to know everything about him, it was weird and Kakashi hated it, Naruto had no right to know those things about him, the things he never spoke of, the things he wouldn't tell even his closest friend - that is if he actually ever had a friend.

"So you think he's a traitor?" Obito accused as if he was personally offended. Kakashi only shrugged.

"No. He may be hiding something but he isn't a traitor." their sensei intervened. "Lord Hokage and Inoichi went through his mind, if he was in league with another nation they would know." he added. Obito fixed Kakashi with an 'I told ya so' look which the chunnin returned with a glare.

"He could have fake memories." the silver-haired chunnin argued. Minato shook his head.

"Inoichi is very good at what he does, something like that wouldn't work on him."