For a second, everyone just stared at each other, and right as Naruto smirked and went to say something, the air became electric as if something bad was gonna happen. Team 7 turned to look at Nariko, whose fists were clenched and she had an angry purple aura around her. She glared directly at Sasuke with her Rinnegan active, and Sasuke paled. "Bye." He said quickly before leaping away. Nariko immediately flickered away, and reappeared with a chakra fist aimed at his head. Sasuke swiftly dodged it, leaping to Sakura's side. "Help me, please?" He pleaded to his girlfriend before leaping away again, Nariko chasing him with her chakra-infused fists and feet. Naruto was laughing his ass off, and Sakura joined him. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun, but you should've known better than to attack Naruto when Shizuka-chan was in his arms." She laughed. Finally tired of chasing him, Nariko used her Universal Pull to drag Sasuke to her. He yelped as he was pulled to her, and fell face first when Nariko punched him hard on the head, creating a small Sasuke-shaped crater in the ground.
Nariko marched off with a tick mark pulsing on her head, and she snatched Shizuka from Naruto to cuddle with her, trying to reassure herself that her daughter was fine. Naruto chuckled before walking up to the groaning Sasuke, who was struggling to lift himself off the ground. "Sorry for taking so long to come back, teme." Naruto told him as he offered Sasuke a hand up. Sasuke glanced at the hand before smirking and taking it, letting Naruto lift him up and leaned on him for support. Sakura came over to check on him, noticing that he seemed a bit weak. "Let me see." She said, and he complied, used to Sakura fussing over him after missions, training and getting into fights with his partner or their group of friends. "That was fun to watch." A new voice commented, and they all turned to see Sai smiling at them. Nariko lit up, putting Shizuka down to pull Sai in a headlock and rub her fist on his head. "Sai!" She cheered. She loved messing with him, and loved even more that he let her, treating him like a punk little brother. "Nariko-san, can you please stop?" He complained, disliking the awkward position she had him in and that she was messing up his hair. Nariko pouted, but let him go. "Alright, but only because I want you to meet Naruto." She told him, still pouting as she crossed her arms.
As Sai picked up Shizuka, who had went up to him and raised her arms in indication that she wanted him to hold her, Sasuke glared at him. "You saw me being attacked by Nariko and you didn't think to help me? What kind of partner are you?" He questioned, still a bit miffed that no one tried to stop Nariko. Sai tilted his head as he stared at Sasuke. "You were being punished for almost harming Shizuka-san. I didn't want to stop Nariko-san from passing judgment on you." He said, and Sasuke became indignant. "You just liked seeing me get my ass kicked." He grumbled, then yelped when Nariko came up to whack his head. "Stop cussing in front of my daughter." She growled, and Naruto laughed as Sasuke frowned and rubbed his head. It was then that Sai finally turned his attention to Naruto. "Oh. You must be the baka everyone has been telling me about." He greeted with his fake smile, and everything fell silent for a moment as they all stared at him. Naruto became comically furious, trying to lunge at Sai while yelling as Nariko held him back from the back of his jacket, smiling fake sheepishly. "What did you call me, teme?! I'll beat you to a pulp!" Naruto yelled. "Naruto, wait until Sai isn't holding my daughter before you attack him. I'd hate to have to beat you up, too." Nariko told him too pleasantly, and Naruto stopped at her threat and creepy pleasantness, cowering at her in slight fear.
"Okay." Naruto agreed meekly, and Nariko let go of his jacket before patting his head. "Good boy. Now, what brings you here, Sai? Besides coming to torment Sasuke as a pastime?" She asked in amusement as she turned her attention to the artist. Sai put down Shizuka as she turned in his arms, watching as she ran to be held by her mother before speaking. "Hokage-sama wanted me to bring you guys to her office. She wanted to speak to Naruto and speak to Team 7 now that all of you have returned to the village." He told her, and Nariko turned serious, nodding in understanding before turning to the rest of the group. "Well then, let's get going. We shouldn't keep Tsunade waiting." She said with a smile, and began walking away, leading the group to the Hokage building.
After a few minutes, the group soon arrived at Tsunade's office. Nariko gently knocked on the door, and they all went inside once Tsunade told them to come in. Nariko walked a few paces into the room before stopping and staring hard at Jiraiya, who came to Tsunade's office ahead of Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and Sai walked further into the room while Shizuka floated out of Nariko's arms and into Tsunade's to greet her. Tsunade chuckled at the child and sat her on her knee, bouncing her and keeping one arm secured around Shizuka's waist. Jiraiya paled at the sight of Nariko, and before he could run, she flash-stepped above him and chakra punched him on the head, making him collapse and his soul to leave his body. Everyone besides Naruto sweat dropped at Nariko's violence, and Naruto couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh at Jiraiya's misfortune or worry about him. He simply remained shocked and a bit horrified as Nariko cracked her knuckles and her hair floated. "Jiraiya, what kind of person sends someone Icha Icha Paradise for their birthday? Especially when that someone is a child?" She scolded, nearly growling in outrage. "It's a book! Orochimaru sent me a message saying you got a kid and their birthday was coming up! All I could send you were my own books to read to the kid since I was low on money and I get a huge discount on the books I published!" Jiraiya groaned. "Wait, you knew Nariko-sensei had a kid and you didn't tell me?" Naruto questioned, offended that he was left out of the loop. "Nariko-chan wanted it to be a surprise." Sakura explained as she placed a hand on his arm to soothe him. "Shizuka is a child, and what you write in those books are practically porn! Even Kakashi wasn't dumb enough to get her that for her birthday!" Nariko exclaimed, waving her arms around in frustration.
Tsunade cleared her throat, and everyone turned to look at her. "Nariko, I understand that you're upset with Jiraiya, but may you deal with him at another time? Preferably outside of the Hokage building so you don't destroy it?" She asked Nariko with a smile, who crossed her arms and let out a harsh breath before nodding. As Jiraiya stood back up, Tsunade set Shizuka back on the floor, who went up to Shizune and made grabbing motions at Ton Ton. Shizune smiled and put Ton Ton down, who happily went to play with Shizuka on one side of the room. Tsunade then looked to Naruto and Jiraiya. "It's been a long time, you two. I'm sure you're training produced good results, right?" She asked, and Jiraiya placed his hands on his hips while smirking at her. "Do you think we came back without making progress?" He questioned. "It went perfectly, believe it!" Naruto added while giving her a thumbs up and a grin. "Then show me those results immediately." Tsunade told him, and Naruto raised his hands in confusion. "Show you...?" "You will take on a particular man. I didn't send him on any missions for the past several days, and had him stand by for this very purpose. Your opponent will be..." Tsunade drifted off as someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" She called, and the door opened to reveal Shikamaru and Temari. "Hello." Shikamaru greeted as everyone turned to look at them. Sakura smiled excitedly and waved a hand at them. "Shikamaru! Temari! Look who's here!" She told them, and the pair looked shocked at the sight of Naruto. "Naruto. Hey! That is you isn't it, Naruto!" Shikamaru greeted, perking up in excitement for once. "Shikamaru!" Naruto greeted, and Temari continued to stare at him in shock. "So you're back?" Shikamaru asked as Naruto walked up to him and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I got back this morning." Naruto agreed with a grin, and Shikamaru chuckled. "You don't look as stupid as before... I mean, hey, have you changed?" He questioned with a smirk. Naruto grinned wider with his own chuckle, but they both turned as Sakura waved a hand in front of her mouth. "No, he hasn't." She told Shikamaru seriously. "Oh... I thought so." He said, and Naruto drooped as Sakura crossed her arms. "Sakura-chan." He said dejectedly. Everyone laughed, though Jiraiya kept his chin up and eyes closed with a light blush on his face.
Naruto then straightened. "Then, does this mean you're my opponent, Shikamaru?" He asked, and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him. "Opponent? What do you mean? I just came to deliver some documents." He told him. "Huh? You're not my opponent, Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned. "Then...?" He turned to Temari and squinted at her before raising a hand with a sheepish expression. "Who're you again?" He asked. "You don't remember me?" Temari questioned, a bit offended that he forgot her. "Naruto, that's not your opponent. He's out there." Tsunade interrupted, making everyone look at her as she pointed out the window, turning their attention in that direction. Naruto walked up to the window as Sakura and Jiraiya followed a few paces behind, though the others stayed put, knowing who it was. Naruto opened the window, looked right and left, and grinned at the person outside. "You sure got tall... Naruto. Yo!" Kakashi greeted from his seat on the roof, raising one hand in greeting while holding his Icha Icha book in the other. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, happy to see his old mentor.
"Sensei, you haven't changed one bit!" Naruto told him as he hopped out the window and onto the roof before pausing in thought. "Oh yeah. Listen, listen... I've got a present for you, Sensei." He told Kakashi as he crouched down and rummaged through his back pouch. Tsunade, Sakura and Nariko watched them with a smile, Sakura having a hand by her chest. "This is sure a nostalgic sight." Tsunade commented. "Yes, it is..." Sakura agreed, Nariko nodding as well. "What?! You got me... Th-This is..." Kakashi stammered in shock, his hand shaking over Naruto's gift, which was revealed to be an Icha Icha book, making Nariko deadpan at them. "This is the first new title in the Icha Icha series in three years!" Kakashi exclaimed as he carefully took the book. "I think it's totally boring, but you like this stuff, don't you, Sensei?" Naruto asked, and Nariko face palmed. "I can't believe my own brother read those books." She muttered under her breath, and Jiraiya turned away with a frown and his arms crossed, though he did glance back dryly at the two outside. Kakashi gasped as he opened the book, the inside glowing in his eye.
"Alright! That's enough fun for now, Kakashi." Tsunade told him before walking back to her desk. "Thank Kami." Nariko sighed in relief as she walked back to stand by Temari, who smiled and nudged her arm in greeting. She would have hugged her, but she was currently holding Shizuka, who was trying to play with her ponytails. Kakashi looked up a bit annoyed at being interrupted before reluctantly closing his book and standing up. Naruto looked up at him in a bit of realization. "Don't tell me... Are you my opponent...?" He asked, and Kakashi hummed. "Hmm, not quite..." He told him before walking to the window. As Naruto stood up to go inside as well, Kakashi paused and leaned an arm on the window frame. "Gee, it's been a while since I saw you too, Sakura." He greeted. "Yes, it has, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura agreed. "What about Nariko-sensei and Sasuke? Have you seen them recently?" Naruto asked, and Kakashi shrugged. "I see them every now and then. Sasuke's sometimes busy with missions for the ANBU, and I check on Nariko and Shizuka once in a while." He responded as he looked at said people, Sasuke closing his eyes and crossing his arms with a grunt while Nariko gave Kakashi a small smile as she tried to stop Shizuka from undoing one of Temari's ponytails.
"My opponent will be..." Kakashi trailed off in suspense, making Jiraiya smirk, and he hopped onto the window sill. "Naruto... Sasuke and Sakura, the three of you!" He told them as he looked at the three in his crouching position. Sakura and Naruto became shocked while Sasuke opened his eyes only to narrow them at Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei's our opponent..." Naruto murmured. "Why am I a part of this? I'm an ANBU member, that should indicate how strong I am already." Sasuke questioned, and Naruto frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to say that you're stronger than me, teme?" Naruto argued, moving to go toe-to-toe with Sasuke, who scoffed at him arrogantly. Nariko moved between them and placed a hand on their shoulders. "That's enough, you two. Listen to the rest of the explanation before you start a fight, would you?" She told them with a slight glare, and they huffed before turning back to Kakashi.
"I want to see what you can do against Kakashi..." Tsunade began, and everyone looked at her. "I will determine your status in the future based on the results." She told them, and Shikamaru placed his hands on his hips. "Status, eh?" He muttered. "Sakura, show me that you weren't just wasting your time training under me." Tsunade continued. "Yes, ma'am!" Sakura said as she stood at attention. Tsunade then turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, though you are an ANBU member, I want you to also show what you learned under Orochimaru, Obito and Itachi's teachings." She told him, and Nariko smirked at him. "And that you haven't forgotten how to work as a team." She teased, grinning as he narrowed his eyes at her in a half-hearted glare. "Then, shall we get right to it?" Kakashi asked, turning everyone's attention back to him. "That's what I'd like to say. But since you just got back Naruto, you must be tired. I'll give you a short rest." He told Naruto. "I'm not particularly tired or anything, believe it!" Naruto insisted as he stepped forward.
Kakashi turned a bit. "Let's meet up at the Third Training Grounds later. See ya." He said, briefly giving a two finger salute before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Shizune turned to Tsunade in confusion. "Why's he in such a hurry?" She asked, and Tsunade pushed her chair away from the table a bit before crossing her arms. "I have a pretty good idea..." She replied. "He's going to read his book." Shikamaru answered. "Oh." Naruto said, one hand raised in finger-gun position. Sakura made the same motion. "With that look he had, there's no doubt about it." She added, and Jiraiya nodded with a smirk and his arms crossed. "Well, since we aren't meeting up until later, I'm going to go see Obito-san and Nī-san." Sasuke said before body flickering away. Sakura turned to Sai. "What about you, Sai? I want to go walk around with Naruto. Do you want to join us?" She asked, and Naruto made a face at the suggestion. Sai simply tilted his head while having his hands behind his back. "No thanks. I'm not even actually here, anyway." He told her before melting into a puddle of paint. Nariko looked at the fading paint with a half-smile. "As for me, I need to get this little one home. It's almost lunch time, and I want to teach her a few new jutsus before your guy's fight." She said as she took Shizuka from Temari, who patted her hair and was grateful it was still intact. "Come and visit us before you head back to Suna, okay Temari?" Nariko requested as she placed a hand on Temari's upper arm, and they both smiled at each other as Temari placed a hand over Nariko's and nodded. Nariko then looked to Sakura and Naruto. "See you later!" She bid with a wave before using her Flying Thunder God technique to teleport away.
A/N I'm so sorry for the really late update, guys! I've had to babysit my nephew nearly everyday these past few months and if I wasn't taking care of him, I was either passed out tired or helping around the house. I've also been trying to write new chapters for some of my unpublished stories, and I also came up with two more new stories. Both have my own OCs of course, and they're a Blue Exorcist and Hunter X Hunter story. Those two are also gonna have some smut and slow burn, so I hope you guys read and enjoy it when I eventually put it out. Anyway, hope you guys liked this kinda long chapter (I usually keep it to 1500 words but this one's almost 3000 :/), and I'll try to put up the next chapter soon. Btw, Happy early 4th of July!
(Last updated 6/3/22, now 10/8/22) again sorry for the late update! Just wanted to let you know I will be putting out the next chapter soon! I didn't know what to put, but now I have ideas for the next chapter and the few ones after that. I just need to break down Shippuden ep 3 and 4, incorporate Sasuke and Nariko into the fights, and break down another episode in the show for one of the later chapters ;). I'll try it tomorrow, so again, expect the update(s) to be soon, sometime between this or next week. Cross your fingers that I won't be busy with something else during that time, I swear all I've been wanting to do was update this story for you guys 😭 you guys make this story my pride and joy and I want to give you more chapters. So, see you again soon, my wonderful readers!