The Third Hatake: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 7: Demon of the Hidden Mist

"You have to be kidding me. . ." Naruto spoke as they saw their reinforcements arrive in the form of Team 10, which was lead by Asuma, with Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino, who was already giving Naruto a heart filled stare, causing him to cringe inwardly. 

"Keep her away from me," He whispered to Sakura, gesturing towards Ino. Sakura nodded. 

"Leave it to me." She replied back in a small whisper before Asuma decided to greet them. 

"Hey guys!" He called out, raising his hand and smiling warmly at the other team, causing Kurenai's face to be dashed a little in red, something that Naruto did not miss, making him stew in anger quietly. 

"Hey, Asuma." Kurenai greeted, nodding towards the man. 

"Jeez, you guys just had to request back up, didn't you? What a drag." Shikamaru complained as he looked at Sasuke and Sakura. "Why didn't you guys just abandon the mission?" 

"Because we're not cowards." Naruto responded swiftly, getting Asuma to raise an eyebrow. 

"Sometimes it take a man to back down from a situation when he can't handle that. But you're just a brat so I don't expect you to know that." Naruto glared at the Sarutobi. 

"And sometimes, it takes a man to shut his mouth when he doesn't know of what he speaks." He replied coldly, before jumping back as Ino went to hug him. 

"Aw, don't be so cold, Naruto-kun!" She exclaimed, slowly approaching him. "Your Ino-chan is here." She cooed. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at Sakura, who only nodded and tackled Ino. 

"Come on, Ino! You have to stop going for him! He doesn't like you!" She shouted at her best friend. "So get serious, this is a B-Rank mission." Ino frowned, puffing her cheeks out. 

"I guess you're right, forehead." She looked at Naruto. "But as soon as this mission is over, I'm going for you." 

"Um, please don't. My girlfriend won't like it too much?" Naruto said, closing his eyes in a small, awkward smile behind his mask. Everyone's eyes widened. 

"You have a girlfriend?!" Everyone shouted except for Kurenai and Asuma, who kept their shock to themselves. 

"Uh, yeah." He let out a nervous chuckle. "I've had a girlfriend for about a couple months." Of course this was a lie, he just wanted Ino off his back. He knew her well enough that she would respect when a woman already had claims on the man. 

"Who is it?" Ino shouted, fury in her voice. "Who dares to sink their claws into my Naruto-kun?!" 

"You don't know her, she's a civilian and I think you'll understand if I don't say her name aloud." Ino's glare lessened, but she was still angry. 

"Well when you open your eyes, you'll see that I'm plenty of women for you." She said before she began walking in the direction of Wave Country, her nose in the air. 

"Wow, I've never seen her that mad before." Choji commented as he ate another chip from his Family-Size potato chip bag. 

"Great, and she'll be like that for the next few weeks. Thanks Naruto." Shikamaru commented. "What a drag. . ." 

"You have a girlfriend, Naruto?" Kurenai asked, a smile on her face. Seems the boy had someone to go through his troubles with. Naruto swallowed the saliva in his mouth before nervously nodding. 

"Y-yeah." He got out. 

"W-wow. Never thought you'd be the first out of our graduating class to get a girlfriend that you actually liked." Naruto shrugged.