Naruto:Making Of A Hokage

Cruel Reality

Neji, Lee, and Tayuya jumped from tree to tree with a couple of Naruto clones following after them with an unconscious Kiba.

A few moments ago Naruto had stayed behind in order to make sure that the base was destroyed while Neji led the team to the nearest village to seek medical aid for Kiba. Thanks to the Byakugan, they avoided the groups of Sound ninja still searching for them. If things remained that way then they could get Kiba the help he needed.

"Hmm..." Neji narrowed his eyes on the area up ahead. Groups of Sound ninja were sitting in a clearing, probably taking a break from their search. The way they were spread out left little room for them to slip by unnoticed so he changed directions to an open area of the forest that had a single person walking. Since it was just one person then they wouldn't have much trouble since they had the advantage in numbers. He could also go around but that would waste time Kiba did not have.

With that in mind he sped his pace in the direction of the unwatched part of the forest.

Ino, Sakura, and Shino moved through the trees surrounding Konoha. They had just been gathered for a mission in the Sand Village. It was a C-Rank but because it could become more dangerous due to the resent Akatsuki activity, they were chosen for the mission instead of the usual Genin team.

Ino was a bit torn on taking this mission. On one hand she could take a break from the Flower Shop but on the other, she probably wouldn't be there when Naruto returned.

Sakura smiled when seeing the pout on her friend's face, "Don't worry Ino, we'll probably be done with the mission quickly so that you can go back to Naruto."

"Shut up Forehead," she rolled her eyes, not missing the teasing tone in Sakura's voice, but laughed nonetheless. She was still a kunoichi of the Leaf so she had to take herself a bit more seriously when it came to missions.

Naruto was leaning against a tree when the memories of the clones finally hit him. They were finally done setting up the explosive tags and while it took a lot more time than he first thought, it was great to finally be done with the mission.

Without a word he made the appropriate hand seal and the whole base went up in flames causing powerful shockwaves to rock the area. He shielded his eyes from the debris before jumping up a nearby tree.

'I'm finally done with his mission that was a lot more taxing than I thought,' he let out a breath, stretched his arms over his head, and began to make his way South of the base.

All he had to do now was regroup with his friends and -

He landed on a tree branch with an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes shadowed by his hair. Memories from the two clones with Neji and the others had just gotten to him...

With the same unreadable expression he jumped at the nearest tree branch in order to make his way South, where the group had gone.

...

The reality of the world they lived in had never struck.

There were many times when he felt threatened but something on the back of his mind always believed everything would be okay in the end. And why shouldn't it think that? His missions, despite being dangerous, never went wrong.