The day of the chunin exams...
Naruto sighed as he opened his eyes. He looked towards the sky and saw that he still had about 2 hours until he has to meet his team. It's the day of the chunin exams which means it is also the day Orochimaru might attack his team, mainly Sasuke. Unfortunately for him though, he had another thing coming for him. Naruto sighed as he got up. Kurama was still sleeping soundly inside him dreaming about his "father". Suddenly Naruto heard whimpering coming from him mindscape. He entered and saw Kurama breathing rapidly. What surprised him the most was that Kurama had tears running down his face. Naruto was surprised but he quickly ran up to his friend and tried to wake him up.
"Kurama, oi, Kurama. Are you okay? Wake up!" Naruto yelled trying to get through to the fox.
Kurama woke up with a jolt. He spotted Naruto and immediately changed into his chibi form. He ran up to the blonde and tackled him, tears still streaming down his face.
"There, there, it's alright. Calm down," Naruto cooed as he stroked the fox's back. Kurama had completely dropped his guard and former demeanor as he cried into Naruto's shirt. "It was only a dream," Naruto comforted in a soft voice, "It's going to be alright." After a few minutes, Kurama's cries gradually turned into whimpers and died down. Naruto held the fox at arm's length and wiped away his tears.
"Jiji..." Kurama whimpered.
Naruto smiled, "The sage of six paths?"
Kurama nodded, "I miss him..."
"I'm sorry Kurama, as much as I would like to bring him here for you, not even I know what to do to summon him."
"Hmph... It's not your fault. He's already dead..." Kurama sniffled and snuggled into Naruto's chest, "Don't tell anyone about this please."
Naruto chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't." They stayed like that for quite some time as the Jinchuriki continued to comfort the fox. Finally, the blonde kissed Kurama's little nose and decided to get ready for the exams. Never in a million years would Naruto have thought that Kurama would even shed a tear, although he realized a long time ago that Kurama was a lot like him in many ways. They were both shunned and treated as weapons. They were both feared and held a pain that many others would not understand and lastly, they both had tragic pasts that were extremely painful to bear with. Naruto sighed as he thought of all of this. He made sure to remind himself that Kurama also had feelings and still had emotions even though he never really showed it, just like himself.
At 9:00 sharp... (Hi, author's note here, I haven't watched the chunin exams arc in quite a while so forgive me if the events that take place in the story are not particularly on par with the original but then again, it is a fanfiction... anyway, back to the story!)
Naruto finally arrived at his team's meeting spot, not a second early or late. He had to finish a bit of paperwork and a few mission reports that he still had to give in and he made sure to remind his subordinates about his orders from a few days before.
"Yo, sorry, Tora wouldn't let me leave. Am I late?" Naruto greeted.
"Nope! Just on time!" Sakura greeted back cheerfully.
Sasuke just hn'd.
"Great, let's go." They both nodded as they all started walking towards. On the way there, Naruto met up with a few familiar faces.
"Kankuro, Temari," Naruto acknowledged.
"Naruto, hey," Temari smiled.
"Yo was up," Kankuro smirked.
Suddenly, an object roughly around the size of Kurama's chibi form tackled the blonde to the ground.
When Naruto finally opened his eyes, he found a raccoon-dog sitting on top of him, smiling.
"Shukaku, hey."
"Naruto!!! Has Kurama been crying?"
"What? Well..."
"Naruto you better not tell him," Kurama growled.
"No, he hasn't why?" Naruto answered.
"Oh, nothing. I thought I just sensed something weird coming from him, that's all."
"Oh, how about you? I sense something weird from you as well. Have you been crying?" Naruto teased.
"What???!!! No!!! Of course not!!!" The tanuki pouted as he got flustered. The blonde looked towards Gaara who nodded.
"Oh? Really?"
"Of course, I am the great One tails, Shukaku!!! I don't cry!!!" He yelled.
Naruto chuckled, "You know Shukaku, it's okay to let out your feelings. It's not healthy to bottle them up all the time." Suddenly, there was a plume of smoke and Kurama popped out. The tanuki jumped off of Naruto and tackled him. Kurama groaned as the two fought for a bit. Sasuke and Sakura were just standing in the background, confused as ever. First, it was Kurama, being the nine-tails, now it was Shukaku, the one-tails? And Naruto was friends with both of them!!?? Even the sand genin??!! They both sighed and looked at each other. They shrugged as they talked through their mental link.
"What the heck is going on?" Sakura asked.
"Hn."
"How does Naruto know all of them?"
"Hn."
"Can you stop saying hn?"
"Hn."
"Please!!!"
"Hn."
"I'll tell Naruto you like him."
"HNNN!!!"
"Okay!!! I'll tell him!!!"
"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!"
"What?"
"Hn."
"Hey, Naruto!!!" Sakura called out.
"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!"
Naruto looked back at them and tilted his head curiously.
"Fine, fine I'll stop!!!" Sasuke yelled.
Sakura smirked.
"Oh, nothing, nevermind."
Naruto looked at Gaara and shrugged.
"Don't do that ever again," Sasuke growled.
"Hmm... Well, you were annoying so I had no choice," Sakura shrugged.
Sasuke growled in response.
"Guys, the sand genins are also coming along with us. Let's go," Naruto beckoned. They both nodded and followed, Shukaku and Kurama were walking along beside them with their tails swishing around wildly. The 8 walked along the path silently. Naruto, Gaara, Shukaku, and Kurama were in their little world whispering about things that the others couldn't hear. Sasuke kept eyeing the red-head as he hn'd away to Sakura, Kankuro, and Temari talking.
"Naruto, Orochimaru plans on using me to attack the hidden leaf," Gaara explained.
"I had a feeling," Naruto muttered.
Kurama sighed in exasperation, "Are they that idiotic?"
"Just like you?" Shukaku teased.
"Shut it baka Tanuki, you're no better than I am!"
"Tch!"
The two jinchuriki looked at the two and chuckled.
Naruto continued talking, "After the second stage of the chunin exams are done, I'm going to back out or else it wouldn't be a fair match with the other test-takers. It's basically, genin vs a jonin/anbu commander."
Gaara nodded in understanding.
The teams finally reached the building and they walked in. Naruto paused for a fraction of a second when he realized that he smelled the scent of snakes. The blonde raised his guard as they continued walking. They headed to room 301 which was the room they were assigned to the previous day. When they reached the second floor, the saw a bunch of teams huddled around a door, trying to get in. They all immediately noticed the poorly made genjutsu and completely ignored it. Suddenly, a boy around the same age as they are jumped in front of them and stopped them in their tracks. He was wearing a hideous green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers strapped to his legs. He had a bowl-cut and the Konoha headband tied around his waist.
"Hello, my youthful friends, I am Rock Lee. What is your name?" The guy asked as he pointed to Sasuke.
The emo-duckass smirked, "Uchiha Sasuke,"
"I challenge you to a fight!!!" The guy declared.
"Tch, let's end this quickly," Sasuke smirked as he activated his Sharingan.
"Sasuke," Naruto warned, "Don't, the second part of the chunin exams is on the same day as the first part. Don't get me wrong, you can fight him any other day, but just make an exception for today. I can't have you hurt or else nothing good will come out of it. Heed my advice. Ignore him for now."
"Tch, whatever dobe," Sasuke sighed as he deactivated his Sharingan.
"Wait! What is your name? You seem to be very wise and youthful!!"
"Uzumaki Naruto, anyway, we really should be going," Naruto sweatdropped.
"Tch, weakling," Someone said behind them. Naruto paused and looked towards the voice. He immediately identified him to be Hyuga Neji from the branch family.
Naruto smiled, "Don't let appearances fool you, a mistake that many shinobi have made and that is what leads them to their downfall."
Neji looked at him with narrowed eyes, trying to study and calculate his movements. Naruto sighed as he started walking again towards the room that they were supposed to be at, followed closely by the sand genin and his teammates. Shukaku and Kurama have gone back to their Jinchurikis by now and were watching everything through their "owners". The moment Naruto opened the door, a dark aura surrounded them. There were many people in the classroom. Most had shadows covering their faces making them look like they were about to murder someone any second. It was deathly silent that you could hear a pin drop. Naruto sensed an immediate rush of snake presence and chakra from 2 sources. All 6 of them walked in and some people took the time to stare at them. Suddenly, a male with grey hair and glasses walked up to them with a smile. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he realized that one of the sources the smell of snakes was coming from that he sensed was from him.
"Hello! My name is Yakushi Kabuto." The person greeted. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him even more as he continued speaking, "I'm guessing this is the first time you are taking the chunin exams." All of them nodded as Naruto just decided to play along. Kabuto sweatdropped at the look the blonde boy was giving him.
'Does he know who I am? Am I that obvious? No, it can't be, they are only mere genin, they can't possibly have figured it out."
"Well anyway, do you want to see something cool?"
The genins hesitantly looked at each other until Naruto replied, "Sure, why not."
Kabuto smirked as he pulled out a stack of cards, he applied chakra to them and they revealed pictures and information of people who previously took or are taking the exams. Naruto spotted a card that had his picture on it but it was of him when he was much younger. The jinchuriki mentally cursed as he quickly swiped the card at lightning speed and demolished it. Nobody saw since Naruto was so quick, not even the Rinnegan could follow his movements. After showing the genins the cards, the proctor of the first part of the chunin exams walked in.
"Everybody take a seat," He ordered. Everyone obeyed. As Naruto walked past his exam proctor, he whispered.
"Snake."
Ibiki glanced at him and understood. He nodded as Naruto sat down at one of the desks. Beside him was a girl name Hinata from his class and a random ninja from Iwa. His teammates, Sasuke and Sakura, were sitting far away from each other. They all made eye contact and nodded. They were going to get through this together.
"Good morning, my name is Morino Ibiki, I am going to be your proctor for the first part of the chunin exams. Part one consists of a written test. Rules are simple, you have 45 minutes to answer 9 questions. The test that will be given to you will contain 9 out of the 10 questions, however, the tenth will be given out after the 45 minutes are finished. If you or your teammates are caught cheating, you will automatically be disqualified and dropped out of the exams. Understood?" Everyone nodded as the papers were being given out.
"45 minutes start, now."
Naruto smirked as he looked at the paper. The test that they are taking were created by none other than him. He knew all the answers and he was their cheat sheet. The blonde quickly filled out his paper as he pretended to use his arm to cover his answers.
Sasuke's point of view...
I stared down at the paper as my eye twitched.
'I know none of these answers,' I thought to myself. Suddenly, something popped into my head as I remembered back to what our exam proctor told us in the beginning.
"If you or your teammates are caught cheating then..."
'Wait! Caught cheating! Of course!' I looked down at my dobe and saw that he was filling out the answers with seemingly no problem at all. I was surprised at first but realized that I still didn't know much about him at all. I sighed as I activated my Sharingan. I peeked at his test paper and quickly copied his answer down. I smirked and looked towards Sakura.
'By the looks of things, I guess she figured out the objective of the first part as well.'
Sakura's point of view...
'What the? These aren't questions that a normal genin would know the answers to.' I glanced towards Sasuke and saw the same look of confusion on his face. I then glanced towards Naruto who was... FILLING OUT THE QUESTIONS!!!???
'Think Sakura, think. Focus.'
"If you or your teammates are caught cheating...." The sentence flashed through my head and suddenly, something clicked inside my head.
"Hey, Naruto!" I said through our link.
"Understood the objective?"
"Yep, answers please~"
Naruto sighed, "Question one: target C. Question 2: rule number 136..."
"Thanks!"
"Mhm."
Back to a normal point of view...
"Hey, Sasuke!" Sakura greeted cheerfully.
"Hn."
"How'd you cheat?"
"Sharingan, Naruto," he answered with the least amount of words possible.
"Cool!"
"Hn," Naruto and Sasuke said in unison. Naruto rolled his eyes, Sasuke deadpanned, and Sakura sweatdropped. The raven sighed as he propped his head on one of his hands and looked out the window, occasionally glancing at a certain blonde. Sakura put her head down and closed her eyes while Naruto had a bit of chit chat with the fox and tanuki.
After the 45 minutes passed, Ibiki started talking, "45 minutes. You all still have one more question that has yet to be answered. But before I tell you, there are a few things that you should know. 1: If you get the question wrong, you will never be able to take the chunin exams ever again. 2: If your teammates also get the question wrong, then the consequences will be the same as number 1. And lastly, you will be allowed to quit right now and you will still have the chance to take the chunin exams again next year. Now, people who want to quit, please stand up and leave the room." It was silent for a few moments until someone stood up and looked towards his team.
"I'm sorry guys. I-I can't..."
A female glared at him with menacing eyes and another male tch'd. They both reluctantly get up and all 3 of them left the room. One by one, teams got up and pulled out of the exams. By the end, only 12 teams were remaining.
"What's the final question?" Someone asked.
"That was the tenth question. Congratulations, you all pass." Someone people sighed in relief while some other people were confused.
"Wait, then what was the test all about?"
"The written exams were merely to test your ability to gather information from other sources. There was a person who had all the answers planted among all of you. You were meant to cheat but not be caught doing so.
"Then what about the tenth question?"
"The tenth question was to test your bravery, endurance, and determination. 3 traits that are needed to becoming a shinobi worthy of respect."
Suddenly, the moment his voice cut off, the window burst open as a purple-haired woman jumped in. A banner rolled into position and blocked Ibiki from view.
"You guys! This isn't the time to be celebrating! I am Mitarashi Anko and I am going to be your proctor for the second exam! Let's move onto the second stage! Follow me!!!" She shouted as she pumped her fist into the air.
The blonde facepalmed as everyone else in the room sweatdropped.
'Anko, stop embarrassing yourself," Naruto sighed.
"Anko..." Ibiki started.
"No! You shush! This is my time to shine!" She shouted. (I know this is not how it went in the original but as I said before, this is a fanfiction and one more thing, I am not saying this again! Thanks!)
Everyone sighed as they got up and walked out of the room.
"Anko, Ibiki, stay here for a moment," Naruto ordered. They nodded and stayed in place.
"Sasuke, Sakura, go on without me for now, I will be with you shortly." He called out. They both looked at him, shrugged, and walked out.
By now there were only a few people in the room. Naruto, Anko, Ibiki, and a few others that were secretly Anbu members that he planted there specifically since they knew who he was. They all immediately dropped into a kneeling position.
"I think you all were able to sense it. That snake and his subordinate were here," He growled. Everyone nodded.
"My main purpose is to protect the village and for my mission, the Uchiha as well. Secure the perimeter of training ground 44. Do not let anyone who is leaving out of your sights. Report to me the moment you see something suspicious. Understood?" They nodded. "Good, dismissed." The nodded and shunshined away, leaving Anko and Ibiki still in the room.
"Well, I'm pretty sure you guys will have a lot of fun after the second stage," Naruto smirked.
"We'll be waiting!" Anko sang. Ibiki nodded. "Now follow me Naruto-sama! Onwards!!!" The blonde facepalmed and Ibiki sweatdropped. She ran out of the room and towards training ground 44. Naruto followed behind, embarrassed at his subordinate's antics. When he finally got to the designated area, Anko was already there, explaining the rules and introducing herself although she looked uneasy. Naruto walked to his team with his guard up as he glanced around at the genins who passed. He could sense Kabuto and Orochimaru within the pack but he decided not to strike just yet. He wanted to wait for them to strike him first.
"...There are 2 different scrolls. One is heaven and the other is the earth. You will be given one of the 2 and the other you have to retrieve from other teams. There are a total of 36 of you which means there are 12 teams. By the time your 5 days are over, you will be cut down to at least half that number, maybe even less. Each team will start from a different entrance. Good luck!" Everyone nodded and headed towards their designated entrance.
"Hey, Naruto, where were you?" Sakura asked.
"I had some personal business to complete," Naruto shrugged.
"Oh, okay! But you will tell us after the chunin exams right?"
Naruto hesitated for a second before answering, "That will depend on how things play out."
"You still need to tell me about that thing that you promised me in the beginning dobe," Sasuke said.
"Yes, I know, as I said before, after the chunin exams," Naruto sighed.
"START!!!" A voice rang out, signaling for them to start the second phase of the chunin exams. They ran into the forest as they searched for the earth scroll. Naruto made a clone to retrieve the needed scroll as the team continued to jump through the trees. He could sense Orochimaru coming towards them at a fast pace. He made sure to have no one other than him and his team within a 50-meter radius.
"Guys, be on your guard, there's danger. Follow my lead. Understood?" They nodded when suddenly, a huge snake appeared before them. A person was standing on its head licking his lips as he stared at Sasuke.
"Get behind me, both of you," Naruto whispered. They both ran behind him with kunais in hand and defensive stances.
"Well, well, well, you finally decided to show yourself, you snake," Naruto growled.
"Oh, you know me? I am honored," He hissed.
"Well, I suppose you're after the Sharingan?" The blonde smirked.
"How did you know?" He furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well, I've done my research. Anyway, I don't think you want his Sharingan, how about I offer you another one, a better one, one similar to Uchiha Itachi's?" Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered the echoing phrase that his brother left with him. He remembered the genjutsu that he was put under and he collapsed to the ground with his head in his hands.
"Tch, Sakura, get him out of here. I will deal with him," Naruto ordered.
"But Naruto..."
"Go!" Naruto growled.
Sakura hesitated but immediately left with Sasuke in tow.
"Oh, well I guess I will have to deal with a brat before I go after my target but what were you saying again? A different Sharingan? Similar to Itachi's?"
"Very, very similar but possibly a bit better," Naruto said.
"Let's hear it then,"
Naruto activated his Sharingan as he looked at the man in the eyes. He had already won, he already had his enemy under a Tsukuyomi.
"Another Uchiha? I thought there were only 2 left?!" The snake sannin exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh no, you're wrong, there are 4 Uchihas left. 3 of whom you already know by now. Itachi, Sasuke, and me."
Suddenly, Orochimaru felt pain flowing all around his body. He looked down and saw that there were nails pinning him to a pillar and he was being burned alive. He looked forward and saw a kunai coming straight for his head. He tried to dodge but realized that he couldn't move. The kunai shot straight into his forehead as blood spurt everywhere.
'A genjutsu, no, more than that, a Tsukuyomi. Shit.'
"Having fun? Well, your sensei didn't want to have you killed so I'm sparing your life. One of your original experiments will be waiting for you. She would be glad to see you again." Naruto smiled as he sat on a tree branch.
"W-who are you?" Orochimaru studdered as he had trouble speaking.
"Hn," Naruto pulled out a mask and placed it on his face.
"I see, no wonder you defeated me so quickly, not only because you have the Mangekyou Sharingan, but also because you have the skill to use it properly and skillfully. You are Kitsune, the feared Anbu commander known throughout the lands. Skilled in every form of technique. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, fūinjutsu, kenjutsu, senjutsu, and juinjutsu. I fell into your trap like a child grabbing candy from a kidnapper."
Naruto sighed as he took off his mask, "Yes, correct. You may be evil, but all you want is power and to learn forbidden jutsu. You seek power and try to become immortal. Maybe I should take you to Hidan. He can give you a few pointers." Naruto chuckled. "Anyway, you remind me of someone. Indra Otsusuki. You are a lot like him. Your desire for power and strength that made you turn to the dark side. You conducted experiments on innocent people and children just for your selfish desires. Well, that aspect of you is different from him but that's beside the point. Jiraiya and Tsunade both miss you and I know deep inside, that you also long for you all to be reunited again. You may not want to admit it, but it is true. Kurama is very similar. He bottles up his feelings and pushed them away but over time, all that emotion, the pain, the grief, the sadness, the frustration, and the longing will ultimately reveal itself. It will come out whether you want it to or not. You need people in your life to be there for you, to guide you down the right path. You have walked into the dark and now I want you to walk back into the light. I will be there for you, Jiraiya will be there for you, Tsunade will be there for you, Hiruzen will be there for you. We all will, it's just a matter of choice and your decision, whether you want to push us away or let us in. I advise you to take my advice. I know how you are feeling. I have been there. The difference between you and me is that you pushed others away while I accepted them. I once was angry at the village, I thought about destroying it and taking my revenge on them for everything that they have done to me, but I realized that I never saw things from their perspective. The fox inside of me killed their loved ones and that saddened them to not be able to see properly. All they saw was the desperation to take revenge on the fox to whom they thought was I. What they did was wrong but they also never saw things from his perspective. The truth 13 years ago on the 10th of October, the day of my birth, the day of the rampage, and the day my parents left me alone in this world, was that the Kyuubi was being controlled by another Uchiha. He claimed himself to be Uchiha Madara but I doubt that. You have been given another chance Orochimaru. Are you willing to take it, or are you going to abandon the village and seek power yet again? Don't get me wrong, it is okay to seek power but you have to do it in the right way. You need to help me help you," Naruto finished.
Orochimaru looked down, ridden with guilt. He realized something during Naruto's speech. Everything he said was true. He truly did have the feeling of longing for his old team. The feeling of being reunited again. The feeling of being accepted again and if Naruto was willing to give him another chance, then he would take it. The snake sannin looked up at the blonde's piercing but gentle blue eyes, filled with wisdom, compassion, empathy, resolve, will, experience, and power. He nodded.
Naruto smiled, "You will be receiving punishment but just know that it is only temporary. Oh, and please pardon Anko if she does anything rash. She kind of hates your guts and all that but you'll get through it. Nothing is worse than my Tsukuyomi." Orochimaru chuckled as he let out a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Naruto-Kun, I owe you..." He whispered. Naruto nodded as he put on his mask.
"No problem." Suddenly, 2 Anbu shunshined in front of them.
"Kitsune-sama."
"Take Orochimaru away to T&I and tell Anko to go easy on him."
"Hai, Kitsune-sama," they both nodded. They hooked each of Orochimaru's arms within their own and sunshine away. Kitsune smiled as he put his mask away. The moment the Anbus shunshined away, one of his clones came up to him and smiled. He held out his hand and there was an earth scroll in it. The original smiled and thanked him before he released the jutsu. Naruto sighed as he shunshined away to reunite himself with his team.
"Hey, sorry." Naruto smiled as he walked over to his team. Sakura was rubbing Sasuke's back trying to calm him down.
"Naruto, you need to come here, Sasuke's not coping too well," she said. Naruto ran over to them and bent down.
"Hey, Sasuke, look at me," Naruto ordered.
Sasuke reluctantly looked up, still shaking. "Sakura, can leave us or a moment?" She nodded and jumped away into the trees.
"Sasuke, it's okay, please, just wait a little longer," Naruto said as he connected his forehead with the raven's.
"H-how do you know about my brother's Sharingan? W-why? What's going on? Naruto, who are you? You're not a normal Genin, are you?" Sasuke stuttered.
"I promise I will tell you everything after the chunin exams. I promise, just wait a little longer." Naruto looked at Sasuke straight in the eye, immediately calming him down.
"You better dobe."
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto chuckled.
"Now get away from me before I get the wrong idea," Sasuke smirked.
"You know, I don't think I mind that," Naruto smiled as Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto smirked and quickly leaned in for a quick peck on the lips. The Uchiha was stunned as the blonde stood up. "Let's go, Sakura's waiting for us." He jumped away, leaving the shocked raven. He brought fingers as he gingerly touched his lips. He looked towards the direction Naruto left and he smiled. He got up and followed him. Once they all got reunited again, they headed towards the tower. They only spent a few hours and they already had both scrolls. The way there went smoothly and they had no trouble from other test-takers. They got to the tower shortly and one of the exam proctors told them that they passed after they opened the scrolls. After all that shenanigans, they went to meet Kakashi to tell him everything. Naruto left immediately to go meet his Anbu subordinates so they could report to him everything. He released his clones and all of the information that they gathered immediately transitioned into him. Everything was going smoothly. All the sound ninja were being scouted out and brought to T&I for interrogation and it turns out that Orochimaru was going the Kazekage in disguise during the final round of the chunin exams. He sighed as he shunshined to his office and sat down. He closed his eyes and smiled at the thought of being able to tell his team everything and finally tell Sasuke the truth about Itachi so they could be happily reunited again.
"Yo, Kit,"
"Kurama, hey,"
"I see you have taken a liking to him. My suspicions are proven to be correct." He chuckled.
"Oh, shush. It's nothing to fuss over. I guess I just grew to like him," Naruto shrugged.
Kurama chuckled. "Your teammates are going to miss you, you know."
"I know, but I don't have the time for all 3 jobs. Making decisions for the Hokage, and sometimes doing his paperwork, commanding the Anbu, missions, and being on the same team as them. It's too frustrating and tiring, although I will visit them as often as I can."
Suddenly, Naruto flung his mask on as an Anbu member sunshine in. "Kitsune-sama, the Hokage requests your presence at TI."
"Understood, dismissed."
"Hai." And shunshined away while Kitsune immediately headed towards the Interrogation department. When he got there, he saw Orochimaru, Anko, Ibiki, and the Hokage waiting for him...