Crafty Chameleon

Evasive Promotion

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Danzo smirked and handed the blonde a scroll, "You were right. Don't take the promotion."

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Hirzen glared at Danzo, "I know you're not telling me something, Danzo. What is it?"

"It's nothing really. Let's just keep playing." Suddenly, he felt Hiruzen's staff pointed at his head, but he remained strong. "Minato agreed to give Naruto to the Nadeshiko village when he was of age." He blurted out when the staff moved down towards his crotch.

"WHAT?" Danzo winced at his old friend's shriek. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"The arranging of the marriage was before Naruto's birth. Really no one knew until Naruto made a habit of going across those borders to get you your tea, but at the time we thought it was invalid." explained Danzo.

"Because Minato and the others were thought to be dead?" Danzo nodded and Hiruzen sighed, "Well I see why you never bothered to bring it up before ... is that why you told Naruto not to take the promotion?"

Danzo frowned, "Yeah, I did some research and found that if Naruto became a chunin now he would be eligible for marriage right away, but if he turned it down he would have to prove himself in battle or be killed. That worried me, but Naruto says he has a way around that ... Hiruzen?"

"Naruto has a lot of talent. Why is there always a set of hoops to jump through? He should never have had this much trouble getting the promotions he deserves or stayed in the shadows." said Hiruzen.

"We both agreed to his training in ROOT and for a good reason too ... Naruto needed to get a chance outside the village before he snapped." Danzo stated seriously.

"I know, I don't regret that ... I just wish it wasn't necessary." They both sighed, but then Danzo smiled ...

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Naruto laid back against a tree, "Need something, Kankuro?" He heard the sand ninja come out of hiding and looked up. Blue eyes widened slightly in surprise when he saw a handsome brunette without face paint wearing jeans and a white button down shirt.

"Hey Naruto." Kankuro said almost shyly.

"Wow ... you look good, Kankuro ... I never saw you without the paint before." said Naruto earning a slight blush from the sand ninja. The blonde moved over and Kankuro took the hint and sat down next to him.

"Have you heard what happened to your teammate, Sasuke?" asked Kankuro.

The ROOT agent shook his head, "Actually no, I was going to ask, but I had to do some things and forgot. What did happen to him? Last I saw he was going to get something to eat, but the cafeteria was closed by then ... not that I told him that."

Kankuro chuckled, "It's kind of funny actually. When he was denied food he tried to beat up the cafeteria staff. Unfortunately, for him they were retired ninjas themselves ... I guess they can't have normal staff with ninjas around. Anyway, he got his ass beat and has been in jail for the past few weeks."

"You've got to be kidding!" Naruto laughed at the news.

"It has been kept quiet because he's an Uchiha, which is of course why my sister has been blabbing it all over town about it the second she found out." said the sand ninja with an amused chuckle.

"Remind me to thank Temari ... hey Kankuro, is there a reason you use that face paint and cat suit?" asked Naruto.

"W-why do you want to know?" stuttered Kankuro shyly.

"Curiosity ... I had a feeling it wasn't exactly a fashion choice or something battle ready. It has to do with Gaara, doesn't it?" said Naruto.

The sand ninja's eyes widened, "You're too observant ... Gaara was always trying to get close people when he was little, but he was scared of people with weapons. I thought my father was an ass so I never took his warnings about Gaara seriously. I tried to get close to Gaara one day, but because of my ninja outfit he was scared and nearly caught me in his sand. The outfit I usually wear is the only one that didn't scare him ...I was able to make him feel comfortable around me even if he was still unstable."