Sasuke and Sakura barely repressed their urge to shudder at Naruto's tone as well as the way the boy seemed to emphasise the word, "training".
Naruto smiled cheerfully, saying brightly, "Now that all of that's over and done with, we shall start with chakra control!"
The two groaned at the mere thought of the tedious exercises they were about to start doing while Naruto chuckled at their expense.
"It's not all that bad. I already mastered it while you two were busy catching up with your families," Naruto shrugged slightly.
"Just recall the amount of chakra you need and test it out before going a distance away from the tree, You probably need a running start. Run up the tree and start channelling that precise amount of chakra to your feet as you begin running up the tree," Naruto explained.
The two former shinobi nodded their heads after sighing dramatically at the thought of the awful experience they were likely about to make.
"Oh yes! Here's a kunai for you to mark your progress!" Naruto said before chucking a kunai at each of his friends' feet.
Sasuke eyed it with suspicion while Sakura raised an eyebrow at the blond, asking him what was on both of their minds, "Where'd you get those from?"
This made him laugh sheepishly as he mumbled, "A shinobi in the mob chasing after me threw them at me. I just grabbed them either from mid-air or from where they were embedded in my body...."
"Oh."
Naruto shrugged it off before asking sweetly, "Why have you not started on your tree-climbing exercise yet?"
His honeyed voice set the two teens in the bodies of children into motion, immediately walking up to their chosen trees and setting a foot on it while exerting chakra from that foot. Naruto watched their actions with a hawk-like gaze before declaring that he was going to go train.
While Sasuke and Sakura were trying and failing to climb up their trees with chakra, Naruto decided to try out using wind chakra to suspend himself in the air.
He started to push wind chakra out of his tenketsu points but noticed that it would cause a rather significant chakra drain that he still could not afford with his current chakra reserves. He had to either train to increase his chakra reserves or find another method to accomplish this feat.
'What the hell can I do...' Naruto thought to himself while nibbling his lower lip
'You can try doing it with the perks of the Tenseigan,' Kurama commented after yawning loudly.
'Oh yes! Why didn't I think of that?' Naruto thought to himself as he face-palmed at his lack of thought into the true extent of his abilities.
"Wait... doesn't that mean that if I replace all my jutsu with a variant of element-control, I should be able to use the same attacks with less chakra but more power?" Naruto mumbled aloud.
'Yep!' Kurama replied despite knowing that it was not a question, popping the 'p'.
Naruto thought to himself, 'Well I can learn all of that later, it can wait. For now, I'll expand my chakra reserves and improve my physical strength, speed, flexibility, agility, stamina and all that first.'
Naruto hummed to himself before making a lot of shadow clones, deciding that it would be a good idea to master using all the elements with chakra first. One of the clones was ordered to go get fūinjutsu equipment while the rest were split into five groups, with one being smaller and the rest of equal size, to practice elemental chakra control.
Naruto, suddenly remembering Anko, ordered the clones to dispel immediately upon sensing the snake mistress' chakra signature entering the forest. This was answered by a simultaneous curt nod from his clones.
Naruto had run five laps around the training ground when he felt Anko's chakra signature entering the Forest of Death.
Naruto used Hiraishin to teleport to the location of his two friends, noticing the two all tired out but already on the top branches of their respective trees.
"You need to leave right now. The crazy snake lady will be suspicious if she sees the two of you!" Naruto shouted at the two while dispelling his clones in groups.
Their eyes widened as they hopped off their trees, using chakra to cushion their falls, and running off while using fair amounts of chakra to increase their speeds as they dash out of the forest.
At the same time, Anko was rapidly closing on on his location, the exact place she left him. She was already halfway there. Thankfully, his clones have dispelled just in time to not be seen by her trained eyes.
Anko landed in front of Naruto, slightly out of breath, a while later.
"I told Hokage-sama about 'cha situation. He told 'ya to make yourself comfortable in the tower," Anko paused and pointed at the tower in the middle of the forest, "and also to meet him within a week. He wanted 'ya to be careful and all that since the forest is really dangerous, blah, blah, blah."
Naruto laughed lightly at how Anko ended her 'speech', causing the kunoichi to grin in response. Anko ruffled Naruto's hair.
"Hokage-sama said that 'ya can choose your guardian as you're still a squirt. It is either me or Hokage-sama himself," Anko told Naruto, making Naruto pout as he heard what the teen called him.
"I'm not a squirt!" Naruto protested, smacking the kunoichi in the arm as he glared at the ground at the painful reminder that he was little again.
"Sure thing, squirt!" Anko replied teasingly.
"Anko-san!" Naruto glared at her slightly.
Anko just laughed at the boy's adorably pouted lips and furrowed brows, commenting, "Don't be so formal! You can call me nee-chan or just Anko if you wish."
Naruto looked up at Anko, nodding as he said, "Okay then, Anko-nee."
"You're so cute!" Anko squealed as she pinched the poor boy's cheeks as he stood there awkwardly.
"Let's get you your clothes and some food!" Anko exclaimed cheerfully.
"But I don't have any money..." Naruto tried to protest.
"It's okay. It'll be my treat!" Anko declared.
Naruto sighed, knowing that he had no way out of the situation. He silently followed the kunoichi out of the safety of the Forest of Death and into the general area where civilians and shinobi mixed.
Anko immediately started heading straight for the dango stand, ordering ten sticks for herself and another two for Naruto. She paid him the money and handed Naruto a bag of dango.
"Trust me when I say it's the best thing on earth," Anko said seriously as she popped a steaming hot sweet dumpling into her mouth, "try it."
Naruto nodded awkwardly as he sniffed the food, checking for poison (well, you can never put it past the villagers to not do such a thing) and only taking a bite when he was satisfied that there was no trace of any poison. He chewed slowly, savouring the taste, unlike the girl beside him who was stuffing her face with dango.
"It's good," was Naruto's muffled reply that was laced with surprise.
"What'd I say? Did you really doubt my sense of taste?" Anko replied cheerfully after swallowing her mouthful before gaining a darker tone nearer to the end.
Naruto quickly shook his head.
"Good boy!" Anko pats his head, regaining her cheerful demeanour.
Naruto sighed in relief, thinking to himself, 'Women are scary.'
'I know kit, I know,' Kurama mumbled in Naruto's mindscape with a shudder.
Anko dragged Naruto to vegetable stands and got him some vegetables and fruits. She proceeded to go to another stand to buy him poultry as well as other meats that he was not informed of the types of.
Anko then pulled him into several clothing shops to buy him clothing.
"What's your favourite colour, squirt?" Anko asked.
"Blood red and silver, I cannot decide between the two..." Naruto replied hesitantly.
Anko nodded and busied herself with choosing clothes of different styles to match his desired colour scheme, proceeding to lay them out to allow the boy to choose his favourite sets.
Naruto eyed the clothes. He decided that three of them were completely not his style and that another was not practical. Naruto nodded to himself as he pointed at the two outfits remaining.
Anko smiled at him and grabbed a few sets of each before telling him to choose a jacket, coat or sweater.
Naruto had stared at the clothing rack for a while before seeing one that caught his eye.
It was a black coat that would go all the way to his knees and can be zipped up if he wanted. It had silver and red flame designs at the bottom as well as the sleeves and a red and silver Uzumaki swirl at the back that would rest between his shoulder blades.
Naruto chose one that was his size and passed it to Anko.
"Good choice," Anko remarked as she internally commented on how much it looked like the late fourth Hokage's cloak.
She shook the idea out of her head as she bounded to the cashier, more excited than Naruto about purchasing his clothes.
"I should probably pay you back for all this when I earn enough money..." Naruto stated plainly.
"Nonsense! I'm paying 'cos I wanna! It's on me, got it?" Anko told him menacingly, as though to threaten him to say otherwise.
Naruto nodded his head vigorously, "Of course, Anko-nee."
Anko pet Naruto's head in approval.
The two returned to the Forest of Death after purchasing some daily necessities, heading straight into the tower.
Anko helped Naruto put the food items in the kitchen area before telling him to select his room. He chose a large room beside Anko's (she practically lives there throughout the whole year) and placed his new clothes into the closet and folded his pyjamas and underwear neatly, placing them in a drawer.
He also made the clone that got his fūinjutsu equipment by using Hiraishin to get to his location through his telepathy with his clones. He dispelled it after gingerly placing the items on the study desk in the room.
Naruto looked around his room, deciding to turn the space under his closet into a storage area for items he did not want others to know of. He used fūinjutsu to alter the design of the closet, such that there was a hidden drawer at the bottom that merely seemed to be part of the base of the closet.
He placed some seals on the inside of the drawer to make it almost indestructible, with a blood and chakra locking seal as well as several other seals to conceal the rest of the seals placed on the drawer. Another seal made it seem like a normal part of the closet, even to those of the Hyūga clan.
Naruto quickly slid his fūinjutsu equipment into the drawer and shut it after ensuring that the seals were flawless. He activated the seals silently as he looked over his work.
He couldn't help but smirk at how well it turned out.
It looked perfectly ordinary and completely innocent.
He was startled from his thoughts by Anko shouting from the kitchen, "C'mere, squirt! I've gotta give 'ya somethin'!"
Naruto blinked twice before shouting back, "I'm coming, Anko-nee, I'm coming!"
Naruto made his way down to the kitchen-dining area where he knew Anko was waiting for him.
When he finally made it there, he was greeted by the sight of Anko and a few of the ANBU that normally watched him and protected him from villagers, all wearing party hats and standing around a birthday cake.
Even the Sandaime walked into the room, also wearing a party hat.
"Happy belated birthday, Naruto-kun/squirt!" the ragtag group shouted in unison, only Anko out of sync.
"Eh?" was Naruto's intelligent answer as he gaped at the group of people before him.
The ANBU began to unmask themselves.
"Hello. I'm Inu (Dog) and my name is Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi introduced (while still wearing a half-mask).
"I'm Karasu (Crow)! The name's Shisui, Uchiha Shisui!" a male with short black hair and black eyes almost shouted in his excitement.
"I'm Neko (Cat). My name's Uzuki Yūgao. Nice to meet you!" a violet haired woman introduced with a smile.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. I'm Itachi (Weasel). My name's Uchiha Itachi," Itachi said as he smiled at Naruto.
"Word puns..." Naruto mumbled to himself.
"Ah, you noticed?" Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage asked the boy sheepishly.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, his expression seeming to scream, 'Who wouldn't?'
The aged Hokage hung his head.
"Here's my gift ta 'ya!" Anko shouted excitedly while thrusting a parcel at the boy.
"By the way, I'm Hebi (Snake)!" Anko added as an afterthought.
"Here's mine," Kakashi handed Naruto a box.
"Here you go!" Shisui passed Naruto a large box.
"This is from me," Yūgao said, passing Naruto a smaller box.
"For you," Itachi said simply as he passed Naruto a long, wrapped object which was either a staff or a sword, though leaning towards the latter.
"I did not know what to give you, so I'd just give you some money to get yourself something. We'll discuss the arrangements later, if you don't mind," Hiruzen said while handing him a wad of cash.
Naruto blinked in surprise, making the Hokage feel uncomfortable.
"Thank you..." Naruto said softly.
The rest smiled and sang a birthday song for Naruto before he cut the cake.
After finishing the cake and washing the dishes, Shisui and Anko pounced on Naruto.
"Open our presents!" the two shouted loudly.
Naruto turned to the others for help, however, all he received were shrugs in response.
Naruto sighed, picking Anko's present up from where it was on the top of the pile. He unwrapped the parcel to see a fox mask that looked a lot like an intricate ANBU mask, all in red and silver. The pretty thing left Naruto awestruck.
"I like it," Naruto replied to Anko's unspoken question, making her punch the air in victory.
Naruto then reached for Shisui's present, pulling the bow off and opening the box to reveal many, many books on all sorts of shinobi arts. There seemed to be four per topic. Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Master.
Naruto grinned, "Thanks, Shisui-nii!"
"You like it? Do you?" Shisui asked while glancing at Anko coyly.
"Yep! You're the best, Shisui-nii!" Naruto proclaimed and hugged him tightly, making said teen chuckle and Anko pout.
Shisui stuck out his tongue at Anko childishly, making said woman huff.
Naruto bounced over to Kakashi's present, unwrapping the box and opening it to reveal a whole set of around five hundred well-sharpened kunai and shuriken.
"Thanks, Kaka-nii!" Naruto chirped, pecking said male on the cheek.
Naruto's sudden action left Kakashi stunned for a moment before he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, "No problem, otōtō."
Naruto proceeded to open Yūgao's box, now bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Naruto gasped as he saw its contents. Incredibly sharp senbon needles sat in one side of the box, the other having twin daggers that had silver chakra metal blades and red hilts with silver thread.
"It's beautiful..." Naruto breathed.
"Arigatō, Neko-nee!" Naruto hugged said ANBU before kissing her on the cheek as well.
Naruto hopped to the last gift, his eyes now sparkling in excitement.
Naruto tugged off the piece of twine that held the rather bulky and long parcel closed. He unwrapped the gift to reveal a pair of katana.
Both of them had black sheaths. One of which had silver embroidering and the other, gold. Both had black hilt wrapping though one had silver peeking through while the other had gold.
Naruto unsheathed the swords to reveal that both had transparent crystal blades that were veined with their respective colours of silver and gold. Both had tassels at the base of the hilt, red and with a few strands of gold for the silver sword and red with a few strands of silver for the golden one.
Naruto tilted one of the swords, marvelling as the light caught the edge of the deadly sharp blades. His eyes widened as he realised that the blades were completely invisible at certain angles.
These blades are perfect for assassination.
"Do you like them? I specially commissioned them from the very swordsmith that crafted the swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He owed me a favour which I made him repay by making these for me..." Itachi asked the dazed boy before explaining the origins of the swords.
Naruto nodded his head, still marvelling at the beauty of the swords.
He sheathed them and carefully placed them on the floor before pouncing on Itachi, causing him to fall onto the floor with Naruto on top.
"Arigatō, Ita-nii! You're the best! They're so pretty!" Naruto practically shouted as he hugged the older boy and kissed him on both cheeks.
All the while, Anko and Shisui were crying over how their gifts paled in comparison to that of the others while Hiruzen hung his head in shame. The three were consoling each other.
Itachi gently pried Naruto from him, picking the small boy up in his arms and patting the boy on the head with a tiny smile adorning his normally stoic face. Naruto giggled as he continued to play the role of a little kid that he never managed to as a child in the past, poking Itachi in the cheek.
Naruto decided to inform his friends of this turn of events. He turned on the mind link and shouted in their heads,
"Sasuke, Sakura! Something's changed! My ANBU guard is celebrating my fourth birthday and even gave me presents!"
This made the two flinch at the sudden intrusion before replying,
"We can hear you."
"Don't shout."
Naruto sent them mental images of his gifts as he informed them on which was from who, leaving the two gaping, much like he was before.
"What?! Those are so nice!"
"I know! Though Ita-nii gave the best present, they're all brilliant!"
"Not fair! Aniki never gave me anything like that on my birthdays!"
Sasuke complained while pouting, sending a mental image of a chibi version of himself pouting sulkily.
"Ha! Too bad!"
Naruto retorted while sending him a smug look.
"Damn you! He's my brother!"
Sasuke shouted through the mind-link, pettier than usual.
"Watch your language, 'Suke!"
Sakura scolded, causing the boy in question to huff haughtily.
They all broke out into laughter that could be heard through their connection at the silly exchange before Naruto cut the link.
Naruto blinked as he concentrated on his surroundings. Most of the ANBU had left, except for Anko, who practically lived in the tower, and Itachi, who was still carrying Naruto.
"Goodbye, Naruto-kun. I have to go," Itachi stated as he put Naruto down.
"Bye, Ita-nii!" Naruto replied with a wave.
That left Naruto standing alone with Anko and the Sandaime.