Here you go, a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.
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In the late afternoon:
Like the previous day, Naruto went to the academy to pick up his little sister from the academy, but today will be the last day he will be able to do that for a while, as he will be returning to his ANBU duties.
As Naruto reached the academy gate, it was crowded but noticeably less than the previous day. Seems like some academy students are returning home on their own from now on.
Well, students returning home or doing what they want after academy hours is the norm. It's just that the first few days in the academy, parents and loved ones come to drop off or pick up their children as a form of encouragement or support. Especially for first-years, so they can feel at ease in the academy.
"Well, well, if it isn't our lovable redhead." Naruto heard a familiar feminine voice as soon as he stopped to wait.
As he turned, he saw two kunoichi approaching him.
"Tsume-san, how are you?" Naruto said with a small smile.
"I am fine. Just coming to pick up Kiba. I didn't do that yesterday because I was busy with something, and the little brat didn't let me hear the end of it all night yesterday." Tsume said with a dramatic sigh, her daughter Hana standing beside her as she gave Naruto a greeting nod.
"Well, it is to be expected. All his friends had their parents pick them up while I picked up Mito and Karin," Naruto replied.
"I did pick him up during my break from my shift in the clan's vet clinic. But all he did was complain after I picked him up." Hana said with a sigh.
"Nothing against you, Hana, but it won't be the same as his mother picking him up after his first day in the academy. After all, a good mother is always her son's first true love. That kind of bond can't be broken," Naruto said with a small smile, making Hana speechless while Tsume burst out laughing.
"Aren't you just a sweet young man? You do know how to make a woman feel special. If my son becomes half the sweet talker you are, I would be pleased. You would be one good husband and father. Don't you think so too, Hana?" Tsume said with a wide grin as she looked at her daughter, whose face started to gain a red hue.
"Kaa-san, please," Hana said as she tried to hide her face from Naruto while glaring at her mother, who started to laugh again.
Hana was trying to look anywhere but at Naruto. This wasn't the first time Tsume had brought up Naruto in such a context. He has become the most sought-after shinobi by Kunoichi. After all, those who know Naruto can tell that Naruto is an excellent young man. He is very handsome; he is a very strong Shinobi, and he is from a great family. He is like the perfect package for any woman. And since Hana was only a bit younger than Naruto, Tsume has tried to push Hana in the direction of pursuing Naruto.
But there are two problems. The first is standing. Hana is a medical genin who is also working as a vet for animals. She is also the eldest daughter of Tsume, the matriarch of the Inukuka clan. But Naruto is on a different level. He is the Senju heir, one of the two founding clans. He is a shinobi by 8, a chunin before 9, and a jonin by 11. From a political point of view, if it isn't Naruto who pursued her, then it would seem that the Inuzuka are trying to do something.
The second problem is Tsunade herself. Ever since the higher-ups in Konoha got to know that he is her son, marriage offers have come from anyone with a woman in their family even remotely close to Naruto in age. It's a chance for many of them to marry into the Senju family. But Tsunade refused all of them and almost turned nasty when some offered again. Apparently, she had said that: 'No one is taking my baby boy from me. If he ever wanted to marry, it would be his choice.'
"Tsume, Naruto-kun, and is that Hana-chan?" Another feminine voice came from behind the three, making them turn around.
"Hey, Yoshino. You came alone? Where are Shikaku and the others?" Tsume greeted the Nara matriarch.
"They are busy, so they couldn't come. I made sure to come to pick up Shikamaru for the first few days, as I have a nagging feeling that if I didn't, that lazy boy would lie on some soft grass somewhere and watch the passing clouds without coming home." Yoshino said with a huff while Tsume chuckled. Naruto just stood there with a small sweat drop.
'It's like Shikamaru is a carbon copy of Shikaku-san. I definitely know that it is a matter of time before Yoshino-san finds out that Shikamaru started calling her 'troublesome woman' just like his father. It seems like the couch would be Shikaku-san's best friend when that happens. 'Naruto thought to himself.
"You know, even if you made it Shikamaru's only choice to come home, he will technically listen to you while doing what he wants," Naruto said, making the two older women look at him with raised eyebrows.
"What do you mean by that, Naruto?" Yoshino asked, intrigued.
"I am almost sure that Shikamaru would listen to you and return home. But that is where his obedience to you ends. Without announcing he is back, he will find a shaded corner of your huge yard and lie down to watch to see the clouds. And when you eventually find out, he would say he had returned home, which is technically true. You may think smart people are dangerous, but the more dangerous ones are the smart but lazy people. They find out what needs the least amount of effort to do as they are told while also staying in their comfort zone." Naruto replied, leaving Yoshino stunned while Tsume laughed.
"You seem to have spent too much time with the Nara," Tsume said, amused.
"It's a double dose, really, since the father and son seem like clones of one another." Naruto said with a chuckle while Tsume laughed, saying 'True' over and over again.
The conversation was cut short when the gates of the academy opened, and students started to pour out. Some ran to their parents, their elder siblings, or just started to make their way home.
A few seconds later, a young girl with dark blue hair and white eyes walked out. Hinata's eyes fell on her mother in the crowd, making her expression brighten, but at the same time she saw Naruto, only for her expression to turn hesitant.
She didn't go to her mother; instead, she walked towards Naruto, who smiled warmly as he saw her approach.
"Hey, Hinata-chan. How was your day?" Naruto said warmly, only for Hinata to seem to hesitate even more.
"I..." Hinata started before stopping, making Naruto start to feel worried.
"What is wrong, Hinata-chan?" Hitomi asked softly as she walked over when she saw her daughter.
"Kaa-san," Hinata said softly before turning back to Naruto.
"Ammmm. Naruto-ni-san," Hinata said almost shyly.
"Yes, Hinata-chan?" Naruto inquired softly. Naruto knows that Hinata is a shy girl. Normally, she isn't like this with him, but she would be like this when she is doing something new or doing something out of her comfort zone.
"Iruka-sensei wants to talk to you," Hinata said, making Naruto blink in slight surprise
"He wants to talk to me?" Naruto asked
"Hmm." Hinata breathed out as she nodded.
"Not only you." She started again in a soft voice.
"He said he wanted to talk to whoever came to pick up Mito-chan, Karin-chan, Shikamaru-kun, Kiba-kun, Ino-chan, Choji-kun, and Sasuke-kun," Hinata said.
Naruto, Hana, and the older ladies exchanged a surprised and concerned look before looking back at Hinata, who seemed to shrink slightly from the attention.
"What happened, sweetheart? What is going on?" Hitomi said softly. Hinata looked at her mother and stayed quiet for a moment.
"There... there was a fight during break time," Hinata said in a low voice, but it was heard. Naruto's eyes narrowed when he heard that.
"A fight?! Shikamaru was in a fight?!" Yoshino said with disbelief and worry.
"That is a lot of names for a simple fight," Hana said.
"It's the second day, and there was already a brawl. Did they fight each other? They all go along very well from what I have seen and from what Kiba told me." Tsume said, with her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Thanks for telling us, Hinata-chan. We will see your sensei." Naruto said in a soft tone as he patted the little heiress's head.
"Shouldn't we have asked her for details?" Hana asked as she watched Hitomi and Hinata walk away.
"It will be difficult to get details for the girl," Tsume said.
"I hope she grows out of that excessive shyness. She is the Hyuga heiress after all." Yoshino said
"I am sure Hitomi-san will help her out," Naruto said.
It wasn't just shyness, and Naruto knew that. Ever since the attempted kidnapping of Hinata when she was three years old. She had difficulty meeting, being around, and speaking with people she didn't know or barely knew.
"Shall we go in? I want to know what happened; this isn't something Shikamaru, Choji, or Ino would do." Yoshino asked
"Yeah. Mikoto-nee-san isn't here, so I will be picking up Sasuke too." Naruto said as he walked into the academy, followed by the ladies.
...
In Year 1's section, classroom A:
Iruka sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose. He doesn't for sure know how many times he has sighed this day since the break time in the afternoon.
He eyed his colleague, the chunin teacher of the second years, then glanced at the three students and their parents.
The three boys looked roughed up, with tears and dirt on their clothes; you could see bruises on their arms and face while their hair looked disheveled.
Their parents looked annoyed and angry but also slightly confused. They had just arrived a moment earlier, and since then they wanted to know what happened. His colleague tried to calm them down, telling them he'd explain everything once everyone was here.
And by everyone, he meant the parents of Iruka's students who had yet to arrive.
Iruka looked at his students, and he immediately knew that this might not end well.
His students looked a bit roughed up, but not as much as the three older boys. Mito, Ino, and Karin were looking a bit more roughed up than their friends, but not by much.
You have had to see Iruka's expression when he heard the commotion on the academy grounds, only to see his students jumping, beating, and pulling the hair of the second years. And when he heard the reason for the fight, he resisted the urge to sigh and put his face in his hands.
But that wasn't what worried Iruka; he knew who these kids were. They are either heirs or from clans, which means whoever is coming isn't a civilian or a normal shinobi's parent. But that wasn't all. He knew what Mito's and Karin's surnames were, and he hoped that the person he was thinking of wasn't the one to come in.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in," Iruka said
The door opened, and it seemed to be held open by someone as three ladies entered. Iruka recognized two of the women. The Inuzuka and the Nara matriarchs. The third young lady seemed to be an Inuzuka genin.
But then the person who was holding the door entered; Iruka and the other adults who were inside the room stiffened to varying degrees. One of the civilian parents even took a step back from the door.
Everyone knows who this is. Naruto Uzumaki, known to a few as Naruto Senju. The red-headed young Jonin who terrified most civilians since he was eight and before entering the academy. But to the chunin and the Shinobi parents, Naruto is a lot more. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki, the red death, the red reaper, and many others.
"Ni-chan." Mito's voice cut through the silence.
Iruka saw the warm smile on Naruto's face as he looked at Mito, but he also spotted the slight narrowing of his eyes when he saw the state Mito was in.
Iruka hoped this ended on a good note.
"Can we finally get to know what happened here?" Tsume said as she looked between Iruka, the other chunin, the kids, and the other parents.
"It's just kids playing, and it turned rough." The second-year's Chunin teacher tried to downplay what happened.
"Yeah, we were just playing when they started to beat us," one of the three older students said.
"Now that is just a lie," Ino said, standing up, making everyone turn towards her.
"Then tell us what happened, Ino-chan," Yoshino said, while Iruka sighed.
"We sat together around the big tree with the swing near the training grounds like yesterday. When we started to eat lunch, we heard the other kids, along with those three, talking and pointing at us," Ino started.
"They talked about Mito, Karin, and me, saying how bright our hair is and that it looked fake. They even talked even more badly about Karin's hair, saying it's bad to look at. How she looks like a tomato and how fake it looked." Ino continued.
"We didn't reply as we continued to eat our food. But just after we finished, Karin sat up on the swing, and before she could play with the swing, that boy (she pointed at one of the three olderboys) came with the two others. Saying something about showing them that Karin's hair is fake. He pulled Karin by the hair, making her fall from the swing onto her back. Mito-chan punched the boy in the face, making him fall, and kept punching him. His friends tried to fight Mito, and that is when we fought them." Ino finished, making the room return to quiet.
"So she threw the first punch," the mother of the instigator said as she pointed at Mito.
Naruto, Yoshino, Tsume, Hana, and even Iruka looked at her as if she were stupid.
"Hey, it's not my fault that he pulled Karin's hair and made her fall to the ground. When he was running his mouth, we didn't even reply, but the moment he touched my cousin, he signed himself up for a beatdown." Mito slightly snapped at the woman. Ino nodded while Tsume and Yoshino looked impressed.
Naruto's face was blank, but in his mind, he was proud. He was the one who told Mito and Karen that.
'If anyone is saying anything that you don't like about you or to you, you can either reply with equal or higher intensity or flat-out ignore them; it's your choice, but nothing physical. But the moment anyone touches either of you, then they are not talking anymore; let your body and fists do the talking.'
That was one of the things he told them a few days before coming to the academy. He felt weirdly proud of his little sisters.
And for some reason, he felt that Kushina would be laughing from the pure lands while cheering that their hair is the best, either red or Mito's sunny blond.
"Ok, that is enough," Iruka said, bringing the arguments to a halt.
"We called you here since this situation turned physical, and it's only the second day of the academy," Iruka said to the parents of both sets of kids.
"This will be the final warning for them since this isn't their first incident, and they have gotten a couple of warnings last year. Anything happening again from those three will be met with disciplinary action." Iruka said to the parents of the older kids, while his colleague nodded slowly in agreement.
"As for you all," Iruka said as he looked at his students.
"I can't really give you a warning since you didn't start this. But I hope there won't be a next time, ok? This is still the second day, and we still have six years together." Iruka said to the kids.
The instigator's mother wanted to say something, but her husband stopped her.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei." Mito and her friends replied.
"Good. You may all leave now; have a good day," Iruka said.
The older kids' parents took their children and filed out of the room, with their kids' chunin teacher following a moment later.
"Iruka-sensei," Mito called, making Iruka turn towards her.
"What if they or anyone try anything again? Are we going to be in trouble?" Mito asked, making Iruka sigh.
"I don't think anyone would try anything with you all after what happened today. But if it did happen, I won't tell you how to defend yourself, but please don't continue punching someone who is already down. They are fellow students in the end. " Iruka said, making Mito look a bit sheepish.
"Kids, come here. Let me take a look at you all," Naruto said. It was the first thing he said since entering the room.
As the kids stood up from their benches, the first to reach Naruto was Sasuke, who sat in the front.
Naruto checked him all over but found nothing wrong with him except some dirt and slightly roughed-up clothes.
"Are you going home alone today, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he checked Sasuke's hands and knuckles for any bruises or torn skin.
As Sasuke nodded, Naruto patted his head before straightening up the boy's clothes and saying, "We are leaving together, so wait up, Ok?"
"Yes, Ni-san," Sasuke said as he stood to the side.
Next was Kiba, followed by Ino.
As Naruto checked on them, like the medical ninja he is. Tsume had a grin on her face while gossiping in a low voice with Yoshino. Talking about how tender Naruto's treatment is with the children when his nicknames are associated with death. Gossiping about who would be the lucky girl to dig her claws into such a fine young man and how he would be a great father. Hana stood by their side, her face gaining more red color with each sentence she heard from the two gossiping matriarchs.
As Kiba went to his mother, Ino stood by Yushino. Mito and Karin were in front of Naruto.
"You ok, Karin-chan? Does your back hurt?" Naruto asked tenderly as he checked her all over. His hand glowed with that calm green color of medical chakra as he hovered his hand over Karin's back to check her for anything.
"No, ni-san. I just got surprised when he pulled my hair, but the swing wasn't far from the ground, so I am ok," Karin replied.
"That is good," Naruto said as he found nothing wrong with her back. He then patted the remaining dirt off her clothes and back before he moved his hand through her hair to even it and style it like it was in the morning.
"Don't be discouraged about these boys saying anything about your hair, sweetheart. They are just jealous of how good, smooth, and shiny it is. Our red hair is one of the best." Naruto said as he shook his head from side to side, making his red hair sway.
Karin giggled as Naruto turned from her towards Mito.
"You ok, Mito-chan?" Naruto asked tenderly as his hand glowed with that calm green color of medical chakra, healing the bruises on Mito, especially on her arms, hands, and knuckles.
"I am fine, Ni-chan. I just hated it when he hurt Karin." Mito said as she looked with fascination as her bruises and small cuts disappeared before her eyes.
"It's ok, Imoto-chan. He hurt your cousin, so it's fine if you didn't like it or him, for that matter," Naruto said.
Iruka stood to the side, watching Naruto carefully. He had long known about Naruto. They were in the academy together. He knew what Naruto contained and what was told and said about him. He had very complicated emotions about Naruto since that time. Hate, fear, and others. But looking at what most think is destruction incarnate being so gentle, so kind to the little ones, makes you want to pause and look carefully. This isn't a monster; this isn't a merciless killer. They thought of him as such, and he really doesn't care about them or what they think. From what Iruka knows and has seen, Naruto has his own circle of people he is around; the others are just there.
Naruto finished checking on his little sister. It was Shikamaru's and Choji's turn. Naruto didn't find anything wrong with these two.
"You entered a fight, Shikamaru?" Yoshino said in a slightly astonished tone. Her lazy boy entered a fight.
"No, that would be troublesome," Shikamaru said with a sigh.
"I swept one of those boys' legs away from beneath him; they did the heavy work," Shikamaru said, pointing at his friends.
"That is definitely something you would do," Yoshino said with a sigh as the others laughed. Her son participated in a fight with the least amount of effort.
To be continued.
Guys and gals, show me those powerstones.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
(A/N: Hey guys and girls. Sorry for the absence, but I was very busy, as I have said before. Here is a question. Would you like the story to time-skip to the graduation of Mito and the others, or would you like us to continue at our pace of small time skips to the major events? Just know that if you choose the first option, there will be a lot of unknowns for you all, as there are a lot of major events that happen between now and graduation, both in the setting and Naruto's own personal life, which will be given later as short memories or flashbacks. I would like to know your thoughts.)
...
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