Naruto Senju Shippuden

Chapter 6

Naruto and the rest of the Konoha-nin stood outside the walls of Sunagakure no Sato. "It looks like I owe you an even bigger debt... Senju Naruto," Gaara says. He was there with his entourage to see them off. "Naruto... Just Naruto. Friends call each other by their first names," Naruto corrects him. "Naruto then. Thank you for everything..." Gaara says with a small smile. Gaara lifts his hand for a handshake. Naruto takes it. "It doesn't hurt to have the Kazekage in debt, now does it," Naruto says with a cocky smile as he grabs Gaara's hand. "Next time we meet. I'll be Rokudaime Hokage dattebayo!" Naruto says as his cocky smile transitions to a more genuine one. "I can't wait for the day, my friend," Gaara says, and a small smile spreads on his own face.

The trip back was tense. Guy and Lee were obnoxious as usual, but they took a considerable distance from Naruto. So was Tenten. Sakura and Neji were the only ones from their age group who didn't seem afraid of Naruto. It was like they were worried he would lose his cool and kill them all. Kakashi sighs. Guy should have known about Naruto's "condition" already. Naruto looked unaffected on the outside, but he was despondent on the inside. He hated the fact that he had scared them. 'I swear I won't use his chakra until I can control it...' Naruto swears to himself.

They reach Konoha after the three days required to travel. "I want the Konoha 11 to meet for lunch," Naruto says before entering the village. "I don't care where but we need to have a talk," He adds. "We should have the next few days off since we took an S-ranked mission," Neji says before anyone of their teammates can turn him down. "Thank you, Neji... I'll send out the information as soon as I can," Naruto thanks the Hyuuga, and he nods back. Sakura sends him a nod of support as well. "Guy, I need to talk with you as well. After I report to Tsunade-sama," Kakashi says. "Kakashi and Sakura... we need to have a team meeting as well," Naruto says before leaving.

Naruto was walking around Konoha, looking for his peers. He had his hands in his pockets and had an aloof expression; no one could doubt that he was Kakashi's student. He decides to walk to Ino's house first. He wanted to see her. And that would be the most straightforward team to convince to go to lunch with. So he walks into the Yamanaka flower shop. The bell alerts Inomi that someone has entered the store. "Hello there Naruto! What brings you here in an all geard up fashon?" She asks the boy. "Hello Inomi-san. I just got back from a mission... I need to talk to the Konoha 11," Naruto says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. Inomi caught it right away. "I see... she is with her team at training ground 10," She says, not wanting to keep the boy longer than he needs. It was clear to her that Naruto was having a hard time at the moment. "Thank you... I'll get out of your hair," Naruto says as he bows and leaves the flower shop.

Naruto stood and looked over Team Ten's training. They were moving like a well-oiled machine. Naruto smiles genuinely this time. He loves the village from the bottom of his heart. So seeing a team be this interconnected made him happy. Asuma notices the presence and stops the spar by holding his hand up. "Come out! Or I'll use force!" Asuma says. "No need to be so confrontational Asuma-sensei..." Naruto says as he walks onto the training field. "Naruto? Since when do you have such an overwhelming chakra presence," Asuma asks, shocked at the growth of the teenagers before him. "Since I came back," Naruto answers honestly. "Naruto!" Ino screams out when she sees him. She runs up to him and hugs him. Naruto smiles at the enthusiasm. He hugs her back. "Hello, Ino..." He says it was clear from his tone that he really cared for her. Asuma smiled at the tender moment. "Did you want something or just flaunt your relationship with my teammate," Shikamaru asks lazily. Ino lets go of Naruto and start to berate her lazy teammate. "Shikamaru! What was that for! Naruto wouldn't do something like that!" Ino screams in his face. Choji tries to get in between the two. "Calm down, Ino. I'm sure he didn't mean anything bad by it," He says.

"Is it always like this?" Naruto asks Asuma. He sighs and nods. "Unfortunately... They work well togheter when in a fight but as soon as you take them out of the grove they start to fight..." He sighs again. "Alright Team Ten I need your attention for a second!" Naruto screams out authoritatively. They all stop their bickering and look toward Naruto. "I need to talk to everyone in the Konoha 11 about what happened on the mission I was on," He says. "We will be having lunch and I'll explain what happened, Am I clear?" He asks in the same tone. "Yes, sir!" Choji answers with a salute on a reflex. "What are you doing Choji? You don't need to salute one of your classmates," Shikamaru says to his friend. "I don't know I just responded to his tone..." Choji says quietly. "We will be there, Naruto. Don't worry about it," Ino answers. "Thank you. See you in a bit," Naruto says and walks away from the training ground. "Damn even I almost saluted him in the end..." Asuma says quietly.