The warm broth – all that remained of the ramen Naruto had been eating - particularly veraciously, even he himself would have to admit – poured down his throat, warming his insides as he felt it descend into his seemingly bottomless stomach. He couldn't help but smile as he began raising his hand to order yet another pristine white bowl of his favourite meal from the chef, who himself wore a grin; as since the pair of Konoha shinobi had taken a seat at his stand, takings had been particularly good. He had every right to look smug, Naruto briefly considered; his ramen was nearly as good as Teuchi's, the man who owned Ichiraku's, his favourite restaurant, the man who in his expert opinion, cooked the greatest ramen in the world.
Another steaming bowl had soon found it's way under his nose, and he thanked the chef enthusiastically, and began eating, enjoying both the food and the sights and sounds of the strange place that Naruto found himself in, not to mention the company of a more subdued than usual Shikamaru, his team-mate on their recently completed mission. After talking with Kakashi, Naruto had been allowed to leave the hospital in order to eat with the Nara, something he was infinitely glad for. He hated hospitals more than almost anything he could think of and had desperately wanted to leave it from the moment he had woken up.
However, equal to his desire to leave the hospital, was his desire to explore Sunagakure, the shinobi village he now found himself in. And even during the brief walk to the ramen stand where Shikamaru had been waiting, the village didn't disappoint. It was the first shinobi village he had ever been to outside of Konoha, and he couldn't help but stare and gape at almost everything in the village, much akin to the many civilian tourists who travelled to Konoha. Everything was built from the sandstone that laid all about in the rockier areas of the desert that surrounded the village, rather than the brick and timber used for construction in Konoha. It was all so different, the shapes of the buildings, the way the people dressed, the very air he breathed held a different feeling to Konoha's, parched and hot, like it was trying to make him dry up and turn to sand even as he walked, all so very alien; and yet, it was all so familiar. Shinobi weaved expertly to and fro amongst the civilian bustle of merchants and people shopping, going about their business of missions, patrols and reports, and despite their different exterior, Naruto identified various shops and banks, and towering over them on the distance was a building that dominated the landscape, much the same way that the Hokage tower dominated the Konoha skyline. Not only that, but the blonde could feel eyes on his back at all times, although he couldn't see anyone following him, and he knew that he was being watched by the local Suna equivalent of ANBU black-ops; as often he was in Konoha, albeit for different reasons. At the forefront of his mind however, was naturally, how similar the ramen stand here looked to Ichiraku's.
He glanced sideways at Shikamaru, who was still only on his first bowl, and had spent more time playing with his food than eating it. The Nara seemed to be lost in thought, which wasn't exactly unusual; however, it didn't take a genius to notice that he was definitely more sombre than usual. Shikamaru had apparently noticed Naruto's not-exactly-subtle concerned glances and turned the the blonde sitting beside him.
"Naruto...can I ask you a question?" Shikamaru spoke tentatively, seemingly unsure of himself. Naruto simply nodded, gesturing for Shikamaru to continue, not wanting to speak with his mouthful whilst the Nara was trying to talk about whatever had been bothering him. "Why do you try so hard? To become strong, I mean. Before you always said you wanted to be Hokage, but it's not hard to see you've changed a little since those days in the academy. Is that still the reason, or has that changed as well?"
"Yes and no, I guess." Naruto began, searching his minds for the words to express how he felt. "I still want to be Hokage, but I suppose the reasons I want that have changed. Before, it was to gain the recognition and the attention of everyone in the village. I guess I wanted the love and respect that the old man has now, you know?"
Shikamaru nodded in understanding. Everyone knew Naruto was an orphan, and not particularly well-liked, although the idea that the reason for this was because of his reputation as a prankster was highly dubious in the Nara's eyes. At any rate, it was obvious why that would have appealed to the blonde.
"And now?"
"I get what being Hokage really means." Naruto answered, as though it was the most simple thing in the world. "A Hokage has to be the best, not because they want people to care, to see them; but because they're the ones who have to protect everyone. Every ninja, every civilian - a Hokage has to be able to ready to fight for everyone, no matter what it takes. And, once I realised that, I realised that it's exactly what I want to do, too. Konoha is my home, and the home of those precious to me, and as cheesy as it sounds, I'll die before I let anyone hurt them, or it."
Naruto sighed deeply, and stared into his own bowl of ramen, just as Shikamru had been doing before.
"But, as I am I'm not nearly strong enough to protect everyone the way I want to. So I've got to train as hard as I can, for as long as I can, until I am that person that can protect everyone. And I won't fail. I'll become Hokage, and I'll keep everyone safe."
For a moment, Shikamaru almost found himself believing that last part. At the very least, Naruto was proving to be interesting to be around. He was like a jigsaw whose pieces kept changing. He hadn't expected such an honest or detailed answer, but somehow, he knew it was the one he needed.
That, however, didn't make the answer any less troublesome.
"Say, Naruto." Shikamaru noticed the blonde had finished the bowl of ramen he was on, and decided that now was as good a time as any to break the comfortable silence that ha broken out after Naruto had spoken. "Hana's gone to explore some more of the village. How about you head out and join her? Kakashi's given me enough money to pay for the food anyway."
"How about you, Shikamaru? You're not coming?"
"I'll come and find you guys later on, I've got some things to do."
Naruto looked curious, but decided not to question the Nara before getting up from the stand and heading off to find the Inuzuka they had set out on this mission with, something for which Shikamaru was very grateful. He thanked the chef, and paid for the food before setting out in the opposite direction to Naruto. He needed to think some more, and could do without the distraction of an energetic blonde.
In truth, their mission was still heavily weighing on his mind. He knew he should have been able to do more, but in the end, he had been little more than a distraction. In the end, Naruto had gotten injured saving his skin.
He had often repeated his mantra of wanting to be an 'average shinobi'. But it was only now he had truly gotten started as one that he realised the massive error and oversight involved with that line of thinking. Being a shinobi was not some 9-5 desk job, where average was the name of the game. The average die more often than they live, or someone dies trying to keep them safe. He, or a friend could be killed because the Nara wasn't as good as he could, or should be.
Yet, could he just back out? Could he really leave those same friends to risk their lives as shinobi, whilst he went and took an easy civilian job? It was out of the question.
When he had been assigned to Asuma, his Jonin sensei's team, and they had discussed their dreams and plans for the future. When he had heard Shikamaru's 'average life' plan, Asuma had chuckled, and smiled knowingly. He had told him that his attitude wouldn't last past his first few missions. Now, the Nara thought he understood what he had meant.
All of a sudden, Shikamaru got the feeling that him being requested for this mission had more to do with his own sensei, then the Hokage himself.
It didn't matter either way. Shikamaru had made his decision. He guessed he didn't have much choice in the end, because he, like Naruto, wouldn't be able to just stand by and watch his friends fight. Which really only left him with one option, no matter how very troublesome it was.
"I said apologize, you bastard!" Naruto's voice escalated the more he repeated his command to the Suna shinobi in front of him again.
The blonde hadn't been walking long before he had run into Hana, who had been using her medical jutsu to help a small boy who had managed to bang their head, and had apparently been bleeding pretty badly. Naruto didn't really need anything more than the glare the Inuzuka had been sending towards the ninja that now stood before him to figure out that that he was probably the cause of the problem.
Unfortunately, the red-headed shinobi wasn't willing to play ball, and simply stood silently, staring at Naruto, his expression totally unreadable.
"I won't ask you-"
"The weak..." The boy, who was about the same age as Naruto, finally rasped, as though it were a struggle just to speak. "...Should not stand in the path of those... who are strong."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the boys words, trying to work out what exactly he was referring to.
"Are you saying you did that to a kid because he was in your way?!" Naruto's incredulity was evident in his voice.
"I was talking... about you."
"What the he-" Naruto was cut off again, but this time the interruption came in the form of the sand he had been standing on attempting to coil itself around his ankles. The blonde jumped back in surprise, but failed to notice the tendril of sand emerging behind him until it was too late; the tentacle-like apparition swinging horizontally at him as he turned to face it, crashing into his ribcage and sending him staggering sideways. Winded, and clutching where he had been struck, the blonde created a pair of Kage Bunshin who made towards the Suna ninja, who he figured to be the cause of the weird sand.
Right though he was, the Kage Bunshin were ineffective at best; the first attempting to sound out the other ninja's taijutsu by throwing a few basic punches, all of which were blocked by sand, before yet anther tendril burst from the ground at speed, impacting with the underside of it's jaw and dispelling it. The second attempted to attack from above with a vicious looking axe kick, but the tendril of sand was faster, forming it's tip into a razor sharp point and piercing the Bunshin's leg, instantly destroying it.
The original Naruto, having recovered from the earlier blow moved to confront the sand-wielding shinobi himself, but as he tried to move, he began to sink into the sand under his feet, the process speeding up as he began to struggle to free himself from the sand. In only a matter of seconds he'd been dragged waist deep into the ground, and could feel the sand compress and tighten around his legs, the pressure becoming more and more unbearable every second he was trapped. Glancing around he noticed Hana had let fly at the ninja with several of her kunai, but they were swatted away with ease.
She had admitted to Naruto and Shikamaru before their mission that without her partners, the dogs that most Inuzuka fought alongside, she was pretty useless in a straight up fight; and she had been brought along primarily as a medic.
The blonde wracked his mind for a way to free himself, he summoned more Kage Bunshin around him, but they were all destroyed as swiftly as the first. He couldn't move his arms to use jutsu, and his Bunshin had all been destroyed before they even had a chance to act.
"Gaara. That is enough. Release him."
Immediately, Naruto felt the pressure around his chest loosen, allowing him to take a breath he didn't realise he had been unable to take; and he noticed he was gradually rising out of the pit onto level ground. It was Baki, the Suna jonin they had rescued that was standing between himself and the one he had called Gaara.
"I cannot apologise enough for Gaara's behaviour towards you ninja's, Kakashi-san, it is unacceptable." Naruto's eyes widened when he realised that Kakashi had, at some point arrived and placed himself between Gaara and Hana.
"I believe I understand the situation Baki-san, and your apology is accepted. Although, I would say that maybe I'm not the one it should be given to." Kakashi's single visible eye was bent upwards, indicating that he was smiling, but his right hand had never left the pouch that contained his kunai.
Baki himself glanced towards Naruto at Kakashi's implication, but he instead chose to turn to Gaara.
"Return home. Now. You will be dealt with later."
Gaara folded his arms, and began to turn away from the group, but stopped short of actually leaving the scene.
"In a months time... Konoha is hosting the Chunin exams." He turned his head and looked directly at Naruto, "And there, I will kill you." And with that, he walked away, leaving Naruto utterly speechless, for just about the first time in his life, if only for a few moments.
"Well, I can think of better ways to spend my first day in a foreign village..."
The rest of the Konoha ninja's stay had been quiet in comparison, the group staying one further night in order to ensure they were fully rested for their journey back to their own village. For Naruto, it seemed that any apprehension he felt about the threats made by Gaara the previous day were utterly overwhelmed by his excitement to be going home.
And it was true, he was looking forward to getting back to the village. His first mission had been a success, although much to his disappointment, he never managed to even get a glimpse of whatever weapon Baki had been carrying. But, as much as he was loathe to admit it, he was craving the amenities of home. Not only that, he wanted to get back into a proper training routine. Catching glimpses of Kakashi's fight with the two Iwa jonins had been eye-opening to say the least. He had a long way to go before he would be even close to that level, but rather than daunted, the idea excited Naruto. It was a challenge that he was relishing.
They left Sunagakure with very little fanfare, and immediately settled into a comfortable walking pace through the rocky, arid desert surrounding the village. Once again, the trio of Genin settled into a conversational rhythm, with Shikamaru carefully taking in everything said by the other two Genin, and Hana and Naruto excitedly swapping stories. Naruto spinning wildly exaggerated tales of his days as Konoha's most renowned prankster, and Hana responding with equally over the top stories of missions with her old team.
Much to Kakashi's pleasure, not that he'd ever admit it; Hana had seemingly taken a liking to Naruto, despite the fact that, unbeknownst to the blonde, she was well aware of the Kyuubi being sealed within him. More than almost anything else, the boy needed friends, and it finally looked like he was gathering some to him. Kakashi supposed, given his personality, it was almost totally inevitable that he would eventually force people to see past the Kyuubi.
However Kakashi's mind could not be kept away from more serious matters for very long. Gaara, the redhead who had attacked Naruto and Hana in Sunagakure had as good as promised to seek out Naruto and end his life during the Chunin exams in a months time. Amongst shinobi of course, this was a regular occurrence; however the status of Naruto and the other boy elevated this issue. Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but also almost totally inexperienced, and had not been a Genin for very long at all. If it hadn't been for the presence of both himself and Yuugao, whom had returned to the shadows, Naruto would never have been allowed to leave the village at all.
Gaara, was a different story. He had been a Genin for almost a year. Had taken a good number of C-rank missions, and also undertaken a B-rank - a sign of particular skill amongst Genin. And Kakashi had been assured his combat record was exemplary. If that was all, the Jonin probably wouldn't have been worried. However, Gaara also happened to be a Jinchuuriki, and reportedly was thoroughly unstable.
That, was reason for even a shinobi like Kakashi to worry. The fact that he had singled out Naruto, was extremely unnerving. The blonde didn't know it yet, but he had some serious work to do.
***
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