A New Path

Ch.7 New Mission! Naruto's in Charge!

Naruto was not an emotionally stable person, the mask he wore around people was proof enough of that. Growing up alone and being ignored by everyone made Naruto cherish whatever kind of relationship he could have with other people. He didn't care if people thought of him as an idiot, as long as his existence was acknowledged Naruto didn't care about looking bad. It was no surprise that the blond panicked when Shikamaru asked how he was so sure of Gaara having a demon inside of him.

Shikamaru watched Naruto with a questioning look. The blond seemed to be having an internal battle. He guessed that this was a sensitive subject for Naruto but he didn't know why. Shikamaru had always been an observant person and had been able to notice the way people looked at Naruto. Every time they would look at him with cold eyes, Naruto would get a sad look on his eyes. The genius noticed that Naruto had that same sad look at the moment. Putting two and two together, Shikamaru immediatly knew that the looks people gave him had something to do with what Gaara had said on the hospital.

"How do you he has a demon inside of him Naruto?" Shikamaru asked once again.

Naruto clenched his left fist before relaxing it. "Just a feeling I have!" He exclaimed with a smile plastered on his face.

Shikamaru was about to call him a liar but saw the look on Naruto's eye, a look of pain and desperation. "Fine," he said with a sigh, "What do you plan on doing about Gaara?"

"I'm not sure," Naruto admitted, "We should see how Sasuke does against him and if things look bad I'll enter the fight."

"You'll be disqualified if you interrupt a fight," Shikamaru said with a frown.

Naruto smiled. "I know," he glanced at Sasuke and Gaara with a smirk, "But I really want to fight Sasuke so I can't let him get killed."

"Man," Shikamaru said with a sigh, "I guess I'll help if the situation comes."

"You should also watch your backs," Shino said from behind Naruto.

Naruto jumped away with a yelp. "What the hell Shino! Don't just appear behind people's backs!" He exclaimed with an angry look.

"What did you mean Shino?" Shikamaru asked with a frown, whatever it was Shikamaru knew that it would be a pain in the ass.

"I overheard the sand shinobi talking about a plan," Shino said, "I'm not sure what that plan is but my bugs have detected small spikes of chakra throughout the village's outskirts that disappear before being traced. This means that whatever their planning is big."

"Just what I needed," Shikamaru said with a groan, "I should've never gotten out of bed."

"Do you think we should tell the Hokage?" Naruto asked in a serious tone.

Shino shook his head. "I'm not really sure," he explained, "I noticed that there are several Anbu around the crowd so he probably already knows."

"I still have to tell him," Naruto said, "Even if he already knows. I'll feel better if I know for sure."

"Alright," Shino said with a nod, "You're right, it's best to make sure that the Hokage is aware of the situation."

Naruto smiled. "I'll go see him right now," the blond said, "You guys stick close to the sand ninja in case they try anything."

"What about Gaara?" Shikamaru asked.

"Let Sasuke fight him for a while," Naruto said before grinning, "He's more than capable of holding him back."

Sasuke stared at Gaara with a frown. Kakashi had helped him increase his speed and master Lee's taijutsu style. The jonin had even taught him a move that would be of great help against the sand ninja. Not to mention the aid his sharingan would give him on the fight. The Uchiha knew that he would win and smirked.