"Now, time to decide your fate." Akira was reminded of a certain Hyuuga. (Any guesses?) "Your captains have given me a scrutinous report. And I must say that this is an intriguing batch." Panther said as he started pacing around. Ooh! Mind games! But the Commander noticed that no one wavered. The captains had trained them well. The hostile aura dropped and he boomed.
"All of you are officially ANBU! Your departments and teams will be informed shortly by your captains. Paint your masks!" They dispersed at the command.
Team Leopard looked at their approaching captain. "Listen carefully, because I'm not repeating twice. I am very proud of you guys." "How about you repeat thrice?" Arata snickered, only to be tugged sharply in the stomach by Daisuke's elbow. The captain took of his mask. "I am Watanabe Kazuhiko, Leopard. Second in command to Tanaka Kioshi, Panther; who was second in command to Uzumaki Kushina, Fox. I would love to say more on the previous commanders, but I don't care. I am 38 years old. This team shall continue and I shall be your captain. Deal with it!" He snapped at Arata who faked a groan.
"We shall shift between assassination, tracking and spying. What animals shall you choose?" He finished lazily. "Lion" Arata said with pride. "Eagle" Daisuke said. "Cheetah" Akira said, surprising Kurama. 'Kit, why not fox like your mother, why not me?' He wiped a fake tear. 'If I ever come to ANBU as Naruto, then my mask will only make it obvious for who I am. Moreover my blonde hair will only add to a cheetah's body, minus the spots. Don't cry Kurama. I shall give you many cuddles.' She cooed. Kurama huffed in denial, his blush would've been visible if his fur was of a different colour.
"Wait!" Daisuke's outburst even surprised himself. His cheeks were tinted pink in embarrassment. It only deepened as he spoke. "I... would like... to change." He mumbled. "Spit it out soldier!" Kazuhiko ordered. "I would like to change my mask to 'Jaguar' sir!" He rushed. Silence ensued for a while among the four before Arata broke it, "Why?" Daisuke mumbled something incoherent. Arata got irritated and punched him in the gut. "If you won't say it clearly to us, I shall tell the commander what you did to his desk the other day!" He threatened. "Well... Captain is Leopard, Arata is Lion, Akira is Cheetah. With me as Jaguar, we can be... Team WildCats?" His voice lowered gradually.
Even Kazuhiko was surprised at that. Arata pulled Daisuke in a hug. "Dai! That is too cliché! I never expected this from you of all people." "Shut up! Not another word!" Daisuke hissed at his teammate whom he considered a best friend in the deepest part of his heart, but never admitted it aloud.
The captain took the masks that have been painted accordingly. He performed a jutsu on them and they morphed from plain shaped to the shape of the respective animals. 'Cool!' was the thought in the minds of the three newly-made ANBU. Kazuhiko looked amused. "I shall teach you that later." He said simply. "Now go celebrate." He shooed them but Akira caught him. "Oh no, you don't Taichou. The four of us are celebrating- Team WildCats!" "She is right." Surprisingly, it was Daisuke who said that and Arata grinned at them.
Kazuhiko sighed and hid a smile as he put on his mask. "Alright team, put on your masks and let's go." Needless to say, they had a good time getting to know Watanabe Kazuhiko. He was a classmate of Minato, Kushina, Fugaku, Mikoto, and almost all the clan heads. He had been closer to Kushina than Minato, but got along well with him as well. Kushina had been in his team before she became commander.
Akira, no, Naruto was filled with nostalgia as she heard more about her parents.
Kazuhiko had weird quirks. He liked to be childish occasionally, but being an ANBU reduced his chances. After becoming the Second in Command, he had no time to be immature. Arata innocently put his two cents, "You can be as much of a child with us, Taichou. Especially with the kid over here." He pointed to Akira, the youngest of the group, who swatted his hand in mock annoyance. "Now we know why he is so sadistic." Daisuke grumbled, only to be whacked in the head. They all laughed and had fun before dispersing for the day.
The Commander had told them once, "the ANBU is like a second family, despite all the missions." Team WildCats didn't need more time to know that. They already were one- much more than Team Kakashi could ever be.
Next morning, the new ANBU were addressed by their masks and were officially categorized. The Godaime herself came and gave each of them the ANBU tattoo, connecting them with the Hokage. She initiated them, called each one, gave then the tattoo and made them swear their loyalty to the Hokage and the Village. She then performed a jutsu that connected them to the contemporary Hokage. It would be her for now, later the Rokudaime if they still lived.
Later, when Naruto when to the Hokage's office, Tsunade questioned her, "Gaki, where were you? I didn't see a mop of blonde hair among the recruits today." Naruto blinked innocently. "Oh, I was there Hokage-sama. I'm just the person you would expect the least. And don't bother finding me out. I shall join ANBU as myself soon enough." Tsunade began protesting, but Naruto simply gave her a bouquet of lilies. If it was anyone else, Tsunade wouldn't have bothered in the least. But this was her 'brother'. She fell too easily to Naruto's charms.
Soon it was New Year's Day. A festival beautifully celebrated. It was also a great day for Konoha 12 since Sasuke could step out of his house again. The gang had unceremoniously barged into his house and 'kidnapped' him, much to the joy of Mikoto and amusement of Fugaku. Itachi only helped them, and ignored the the sweet insults his brother directed towards him.
They participated in the fair with enthusiasm and helped break the uncomfortable ice between Sasuke and the rest. Sasuke would never admit it aloud but he had been very nervous about how his peers would behave with him. His father had told him that there had been few misunderstandings in the past that caused the clan to be in an unstable position in the village, putting the existence of the clan in jeopardy, the ties were slowly being rebuild. Fugaku had not said anything about Sasuke's attempted betrayal, but the teen felt guilty enough to try and make up with the gang. However, he had always been an anti-social being before, and old habits die hard. He decided to follow the wind that his friends carried with them.
Though Sasuke was still being an arrogant, anti-social emo-king, the rest of them had noticed the subtle changes in his attitude and encouraged him for it, in their own ways. Sakura couldn't help but crush on him more.
The gang dropped him in the Uchiha Clan head's home by dinner time, only to be invited by Mikoto join them. That night, they got to know how persuasive, sweet and scary the Matriarch of the Uchiha clan could be. Naruto wondered if her own mother was like that too, only more expressive- being an Uzumaki- since both of them were best friends.
The next morning, Naruto opened the door to the Hokage's office without knocking to see a smug Jiraiya and an angry Tsunade, who seemed to be losing a verbal battle. "If you don't stop doing that, I shall shut off the window for good!" Yep, Jiraiya had entered through the window once again. "But Hime, you know you love my flashy entrances. Otherwise you would've shut the window long ago. Just admit it Hime." "I don't like it and won't-"
Naruto decided to help the Hokage. "Ero-sennin! Tsunade-sama!" The smug expression on Jiraiya's face shifted to Tsunade as an angry vein popped on his forehead at the nickname. He caught Naruto in a headlock. "Gaki, show some respect to your elders!" "Tsunade-sama!" Naruto whined. "Jiraiya, leave the poor kid alone." Jiraiya withdrew his hand and sputtered in shock. "Poor kid?" He was at a loss of words. Naruto smirked. "Hokage-sama, if you want, I shall place a seal on your windows, making anyone who enters through them go through... fire burns, perhaps?" She suggested. Tsunade's face brightened while Jiraiya paled. "Gaki, you don't." He growled in warning.
"I'm just doing my Hokage a favour, Jiraiya Sensei." Naruto said, her voice and face completely innocent. "Oh no, you don't! Not that 'playing innocent' card. I know just how much of a devil you are." Jiraiya huffed. "Oh really? I wonder what Yondaime-sama would say if he heard you saying that." She subtly put him in a genjutsu, where he faced an extremely angry Minato, before dropping it after a couple of seconds. Jiraiya paled even more. Taking pity on her former teammate, Tsunade changed the topic.
"So, what brought you here after all this time?" Jiraiya looked happy and normal all of a sudden. "I came to offer Naruto something." Said teen raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what would that be?" "A trip outside Konoha to train you and increase your network." "How long?" The question in Tsunade's mind was voiced by Naruto. "Three and a half years. That's when the Akatsuki shall be making a move." Jiraiya replied with a casual look, but his eyes betrayed a him as they shone with hope, the hope that Naruto was almost sad to crush. Almost.
"Jiraiya Sensei, I would love to," Jiraiya looked positively gleeful while Tsunade was puzzled. "But," she continued, "Can you wait for a few months? I have some things to settle in Konoha. Like helping that Uchiha moron settle in the village. Will the offer still stand?" She finished softly, afraid to hurt Jiraya, bracing for a rejection.
The toad sage looked stumped, but content nonetheless. "I understand, Gaki. I just want to train you against the Akatsuki. But the offer still stands." Naruto nodded in appreciation. "I will accept your offer, just not now, but soon enough. I can perhaps make it up to you over dango?" Jiraiya grinned. "Of course! Tsunade, I'm borrowing one of your shinobi." They flickered away. The Hokage simply shook her head, smiling at their antics. She had to ask Naruto later about the delay in accepting Jiraiya's offer.