Both Naruto and Shisui had to repress their laughter as they stared down at the remarkably short businessman standing in front of them. He was completely consumed in his conversation with Ensui. When the man had first opened the door of his rather luxurious apartment Naruto had thought it must have been somehow mechanically opened. It turned out Naruto was just looking straight over Gato's head. A fact that didn't seemed to have passed by the tiny businessman. Since then the man seemed to harbour an unspoken grudge towards the two Shinobi (minus Itachi, because he always seemed to disappear into the background whenever laughter emerged).
But to add insult to injury, even Shisui, the shortest of them, managed to stand a good few inches above the man, despite being less than half his age. It was all they could do to stop snickering every time he would shoot them a glare. To quote Naruto he said the 'If Anko were here she would be attempting to try that western sport involving kicking a ball around'. In honesty though that was the highlight of the remaining mission, otherwise it was lacklustre at best.
It turned out that after they defeated Masi the harassment attempts and hits on Gato's head just stopped all of a sudden. It swelled Shisui's ego for a while thinking that the assassins feared their team. At least it did until Itachi reminded him that they could merely be waiting for them to leave so they would have better chances. No matter what the reason the results were the same, the three of them became quickly bored. At least Naruto got off slightly easy, he had his scroll with him to jot down notes that struck him.
Even so, they still managed to squeeze in as much training as they could, using the opportunities when they weren't guarding Gato. Itachi was seriously impressed by the rate Shisui managed to pick up on the Sharingan techniques he began showing him. He had even remarked one day that because the way their fights were slowly turning it was like he had already unlocked the Doujutsu's predictive abilities. Naruto hadn't had a chance to spar with Shisui yet but when he did he would be sure to remind the Uchiha that he wasn't suddenly invincible.
Quickly though the time they were assigned to the mission came and went and before they knew it they were back on the road. Naruto had the pleasure of turning one last time to catch one of Gato's disdainful looks before returning his attention to the path ahead.
"I really hated that guy." He didn't need to turn to see the enthusiastic nod he got from Shisui or the slight smirk from Itachi.
"You shouldn't say those kinds of things about the client, it's far too bothersome to deal with the aftermath." Naruto just huffed, blowing air out between his teeth in irritation; it passed quickly.
"He's not the client anymore." Ensui just shrugged lazily before he suddenly jumped into the trees above them, the Genin quickly following.
"That's not to say he couldn't be in the future." Naruto just huffed again, unable to deny the man's lazy logic yet still annoyed by it all the same. He checked around them as they sprinted through the tree branches, looking for any sign of an ambush like the one at the start of their mission. In honesty he kind of missed it; that had been the first real opportunity they had to prove themselves and he wanted to feel that rush again.
He noticed Shisui running next to him, Sharingan active as it had been ever since he had acquired them. At first Itachi had warned him that it would simply waste his chakra, however, after Naruto had pointed out that it could almost work like a passive Chakra control exercise he too had taken to keeping his Doujutsu frequently active. That wasn't to say it was indefinite, even for an Uchiha their eyes were taxing on their chakra systems. Even so, the Uchiha prodigy had definitely noticed a slight rise in both his already considerable control and hearty fortitude.
It was another reason Naruto was anxious to get back to Konoha, he didn't like his teammates suddenly having this edge over him. He needed to get back and start training seriously again, his speed and chakra control among the priorities. He smirked as he sprinted; he knew exactly the jutsu that could help him with that as well as kill two birds with one stone. He had been putting off going through his father's things for long enough.
"Well that was boring as hell." All he got were two nods of agreement from his teammates, surprising him as he saw Itachi actually agreeing that something was boring.
"Yeah, I wonder if all mission reports are like that." Naruto just shrugged, honestly he wasn't sure what he had been expecting; a smirk suddenly crossed his face.
"Then again it might have been worth it to see the look on the old man's face when Ensui-sensei told him we faced Iwa's Stone Bull." Shisui laughed at that and even Itachi smirked, Sarutobi had almost lost his pipe when he heard that and was unable to stop staring at the three Genin in surprise for the rest of the meeting.
"Must you call Hokage-sama something so disrespectful? I would have thought your own father having been Hokage would make you more inclined to respect the position." Naruto just chuckled as they walked down the streets, enjoying being back after a few weeks.
"I have the highest respects for the position, but for me respect in a person is earned, not given." Itachi raised an eyebrow at this but didn't break stride as they continued to move towards the Uchiha compound and by slight extension the Namikaze household.
"And his defending the village through the second and third Shinobi wars, as well as his aid in defeating the Kyuubi on top of his years of service to the village are not grounds for respect?" Naruto just gave Itachi a blank look before looking ahead and walking a little faster. Itachi glanced at Shisui but his fellow Uchiha just shrugged, not knowing what had Naruto so touchy all of a sudden.
"Naruto, the Leaf is our home and Hokage-sama is our leader." Naruto turned on Shisui swiftly, an anger and betrayal in his eyes that they had never seen in him before.
"And where was he when my parents died?! Where was he when I went home to an empty house where I knew I would never see them again?!" Shisui could only blink in surprise as he took a step back, not expecting the outburst; a few civilians even stopped to look at them. Itachi went to put a hand on his friends shoulder but the redhead shrugged off the contact. "Six months! It took him six months after their funeral for him to visit me! I know he's busy, but six months!" Itachi just looked lost, unable to speak because he didn't know what to say.
Naruto just breathed heavily for a few moments before turning on a heel and sprinting away, leaving the two Uchiha speechless in the middle of the street. He raced back through the village, moving towards the one place where he could think clearly, where his mind didn't become one big angry blur. He vaulted the walls of his home in one bound, dashing around the side of the house until he was able to stop and stand still out in the training ground.
He looked down at the reflection of himself in the small pond, watching as the wind gently disturbed the image that stared back at him. He collapsed to his knees, eyes still locked on the water until a single drop disturbed the pond, rippling the image until he couldn't see himself anymore. He wiped away the other tear that was just about to fall, stifling a sob as he angrily punched the water, turning away from it harshly to lie back on the grass, just staring up at the sky, lost in his thoughts.
Time moved on and Naruto apologised to his friends, he knew he shouldn't have lashed out like that but he was bottling up his emotions unhealthily. They of course forgave him, after very little thought, but to say their eyes hadn't been opened slightly would have been an injustice. To Shisui, Naruto had always been a pillar of strength; before he came along he was always known as the other Uchiha, the one that wasn't Itachi. Of course he held no resentment towards his cousin but it was lonely when everybody else only paid attention to the 'prodigy'.
To see Naruto, somebody who worked hard for what he wanted and achieved it, without any kind of Kekkei Genkai or Doujutsu, it made him hope. He was the calm one, the one who kept his head but still found the time to have fun and enjoy life. To see him lose it like that, it cracked the image the aspiring Uchiha had of his friend. In the same way thought helped their friendship; when Shisui stopped seeing Naruto as some kind of goal to strive for and instead saw a person with emotions and limits. He found it easier to smile and speak softly with Naruto, after those thoughts.
For Itachi, his body clenched painfully in silence; while both he and Naruto would call each other friends, he knew it was a loose term at best. They were sparring partners, rivals, people who used each other to improve themselves. He never went over to talk; never saw a purpose to that. He never specifically considered Naruto for something other than a mechanism for training. In a way, Itachi envied his cousin. Shisui and Naruto were friends; that much anybody could admit. When he witnessed how wrenched Naruto felt about feeling abandoned by the Third (and perhaps by his parents), he realised that something would need to change.
Over time after that incident the three only managed to grow closer, Itachi began to try more, acting like a friend instead of an acquaintance. Shisui and Naruto were already close, frequently spending time together. But afterward, each practically lived in the other's house. There would always be a place set for Naruto in Shisui's home and a bed ready for Shisui in Naruto's. They continued to do missions, always excelling and getting noted for their impeccable teamwork and innovation in tight situations. In the six months after that both Shisui and Itachi managed to reach the final stage of their Sharingan, the youngest in recorded Uchiha history since Madara Uchiha.
Anko, well... she was Anko. If there was something in Naruto's life he could count on to always be there and never change, it was her. She was like an immovable rock. When she had heard about the way he had erupted at his friends she had forced him to go straight over and apologise, after squeezing him to death for about five minutes of course. It had led to an amusing conversation regarding who exactly was the guardian in their relationship, needless to say it didn't end well for Naruto and he ended up in the Uchiha district with an aching side.
It turned out that during his absence on the mission Anko had practically thrown herself into her studies and training, easily becoming the top Shinobi in her class. Naruto couldn't wipe the grin off his face when he heard that, but there was a lot of teasing about her having nothing else to do without him around. It was amusing because of the shade of red her face had turned when she couldn't think of a suitable comeback or answer.
Six months later and nothing had changed; Anko was still flying through the academy with distinction, although she did have Naruto helping her whenever he could between missions. It turned out that after their first successful B-ranked mission, it had opened the floodgates. After a while they even began to be specifically requested by clients; although some were sceptical when they actually showed up due to their age. The team wasn't complaining though, the missions paid well and usually the most they had to deal with was the occasional errant A-rank missing-nin.
In essence, life was good! Everybody in their close-knit group was never bored, never abandoned to themselves. Naruto and Anko's frenetic antics were enough to keep Shisui entertained while Itachi found pleasure in training and carrying out his missions. Sometimes Naruto believed he believed too heavily in the ideals of the village and not enough in his own but he couldn't really do much about it. Despite not being open with it Itachi could almost prove to be as stubborn as an Uzumaki; whether you could take that as a compliment or not was debatable however.
Finally, time had passed quickly enough that Naruto found himself lazily, yet nervously sitting on the couch in his home. He was trying to flick through a scroll of intermediate sealing but his mind really wasn't focused on the paper in his hands. Instead his gaze kept flickering between it and the door, anxiously awaiting Anko to walk through. She had passed her Genin exam a few days ago, the only one in her class to do so even though others had tried.
That worried Naruto, thinking she might be placed with an older group of Genin who would no doubt belittle or under-appreciate her because of her age. Right now she was in the academy with the rest of the Genin who had passed this year, all likely waiting for their Jounin Sensei to arrive, or already having met them. He desperately wanted to know who she got; it would more than likely define the Kunoichi she became in the future, even with his own influence in her training. They say there was always at least one student who took after their sensei; in their group at least it was Shisui.
Just as he was about to get up and move outside to train and calm his nerves he heard the front door open. He swivelled on a dime and immediately walked over to the hall where he watched a grinning Anko practically bounce through the door. The sight brought a smile to his face; the Jounin instructor must have been a good one for her to be so happy.
"So I take it by your smile it went well?" Anko just beamed as she skipped towards him, actually skipped; it was enough to make him double-take. Anko wasn't particularly girly so to see her acting this way was...weird to say the least.
"Better than well; awesome!" The redhead just raised an eyebrow, chuckling as he followed the euphoric girl back through the house to where she simply flopped down on the couch with a satisfied smile.
"So who did you get?" Anko's happy smile quickly morphed into a very mischievous and somewhat smug grin as she turned and stared him right in the eyes.
"Oh nobody..." She turned disinterestedly and began to pick at her fingernails with a kunai, a habit Naruto had no idea how she picked up because it wasn't from him "...just, you know, Orochimaru of the Sannin." She said it with such nonchalance that it actually took a moment for Naruto to register what she had said.
"Orochimaru? As in the teammate of Jiraiya, the guy who trained my father?" Anko just nodded happily, yet again with that same slightly smug look on her features.
"The one and only, and not only that but he took me on as an apprentice!" Naruto blinked in surprise; he wasn't doubting Anko's abilities of course, or Orochimaru's judgement; in fact Anko was an astounding Kunoichi already. There was the fact that it was almost unheard of for somebody to take such a young apprentice; at that age it was usually difficult to predict the kind of ninja the student would become. Even so that didn't stop the smile that spread across Naruto's face as he pulled Anko into a somewhat unexpected hug.
"Congratulations!" Anko was shocked for only a brief moment before she accepted the hug, smiling happily into Naruto's shoulder until he broke away.
"Thanks, I already know it's gonna be awesome, he's going to teach me so many cool jutsu, maybe I'll even get a summoning contract!" Naruto grinned again; getting a contract was one of the greatest honours bestowed on a Shinobi, usually passed down from parent to child or sensei to student. His own father had inherited the toad contract from Jiraiya as Anko would no doubt receive the snake contract from Orochimaru.
"Well I think we should celebrate!" Anko initially looked happy at that thought but her face suddenly took on a slightly green tinge as she remembered the last time the two had 'celebrated'. She now knew that alcohol, no matter how delicious, would have to wait until she was older and it wouldn't incapacitate her for an entire day.
"Alright, how about visiting that new restaurant that opened up, the Dango place." Naruto just nodded happily, already getting up and pulling on his tracksuit top; today was Anko's day and they would do whatever she wanted to do. As they left Anko was wondering how dango tasted, never having had the pleasure of tasting the sweet dumplings; ironic considering her namesake. She just shrugged; she would find out soon anyway.
Naruto just watched on in a subtle mix between horror, fascination and jealousy; it turned out that Anko liked Dango. By 'liked' Naruto meant that Anko had taken to the sweet delicious dumplings like fish do to water or birds to air or he did to ramen. It was both disgusting and hypnotising to watch her shovel down the food, sliding the treats off the skewers sometimes in one bite. It was just something to try and imagine where she was putting it all, as far as he could tell she didn't even appear to be slowing down after the fifth plate.
He had to admit the dumplings were pretty delicious, not as much so as ramen but they would probably constitute his favourite dessert from now on. However when he reached for his own Anko would merely slap his hands away before picking up the skewer, despite having more in her own hands. In the end, just to get any food at all, he had to resort to using his speed to quickly steal the dango from the ravenous girl as quickly as possible.
Finally, although it seemed like it would never end, Anko sat lazily back in her chair with contented, lidded eyes as she gently swayed and allowed her delicious meal to settle. He smile matched her body language, relaxed and content; it at least let Naruto know what to get Anko if she was ever in a mood again, the sweet dumplings were better than drugs. Suddenly the girl shot forward in her chair, sitting bolt upright as her eyes became fixed on something at the door to the small Dango bar.
Naruto turned only to see a tall man with long black hair wearing the standard Jounin garb, the navy jumpsuit with the olive flak jacket. He walked confidently and seemed to hold an aura of power about himself while his yellow eyes showed experience and intelligence. Of course Naruto immediately knew who it was; his team's fight with Hanzo of the Salamanders was legendary after all.
"Orochimaru-sensei!" Well at least that confirmed it; the older man took note of the excitable purple-haired girl waving to him and smiled warmly. His smirk held a little bit of a calculative edge but otherwise he appeared friendly and kind, if a bit distant and aloof.
"Ahh, Anko-chan, surprise seeing you here, so soon after we meet nonetheless." Anko just grinned happily as she motioned between Naruto and her new sensei.
"Naruto, this is Orochimaru-sensei and..." She would have continued if Orochimaru hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder.
"No need child, I know of Namikaze-kun already; how could I not know of our dear, departed Hokage's son?" Naruto blinked a moment, confused when he thought he heard a hint of bitterness when the man mentioned his father but quickly shrugged it off as his ears playing tricks. He held out a hand which Orochimaru took, only a slight hint of hesitance to substantiate Naruto's previous confusion.
"Nice to meet you Sannin-san." Orochimaru just smiled, the edges of his lips turning up.
"So formal, like your father." This time there was nothing, the snake-like man kept his voice perfectly level, although his handshake was rather tight. Anko didn't seem to notice the tension between the two, only happy that her best friend and soon-to-be mentor were getting along.
"We need more Dango!" Naruto groaned while Orochimaru just seemed amused; he had certainly chosen an interesting apprentice.
Anko was outside working on a jutsu her sensei had instructed her to learn, except the only problem was she was finding it incredibly difficult. Surprisingly Naruto was no help; the Redhead had been very mysterious over the last few days. Whenever she would ask him to train he would simply reply he was busy before returning to his father's study. She had tried to get in and see what it was he was so enraptured with but it was nearly impossible to sneak up on the boy, at least for her.
She focused on her technique again, moulding the chakra Orochimaru had said was required as she tried to unconsciously tap into the summoning contract. Slowly she went through the hand seals; her sensei had told her that if she kept at it she would do it without them but for now this would do. She built up the chakra before sticking out both her arms, letting her new long sleeve shirt hang loosely from her wrists.
"Hidden shadow Snake hands!" She gritted her teeth before miraculously a single long green snake slithered from her wrist, building its body from the chakra she provided. She sighed when it dispelled; she was still unable to maintain the chakra required to use it effectively but at least it was a start. She nearly flopped to the floor out of exhaustion but caught herself on a training post, managing to move her body back towards the house to see if Naruto wanted anything to eat. However as soon as she crossed the threshold of the house she heard what sounded like a slight buzzing come from upstairs like swirling wind.
"YES!" Anko just raised an eyebrow as she turned her head upwards towards where she heard the cry. With a tired sigh she half-dragged herself up the stairs and walked over to the old Hokage's study. Tentatively she pushed open the door, surprised when it actually opened; Naruto had usually kept it locked when he was working on his secret project. Oddly the room was empty save for a scroll on the desk with complex notes and diagrams as well as what appeared to be balloons and rubber balls dotted around the room, all burst.
Suddenly she heard that same strange sound and made her way over to the window to look out over the training field out back. Naruto was outside, the redhead apparently staring at his right hand in intense concentration. To the young girl's amazement chakra began to swirl hypnotically around his palm, seemingly drawn out of the air itself. Finally, it coalesced into a perfect sphere, just larger than Naruto's hand, which pulsed almost excitedly with blue swirling energy.
If Anko had been amazed by that simple display what came next practically had her on the floor out of shock. Naruto charged at a nearby tree, slamming the ball of what seemed like pure unbridled energy into the trunk. Instead of stopping or fading away, the sphere just kept going, sheering through the tree like it was butter. Finally Naruto pushed it all the way through, watching with a satisfied smile as the large tree simply toppled over, it's support now weakened.
He spotted the purple blur out of the corner of his eye, side-stepping as she raced passed; she was suddenly full of energy. She excitedly looked at the remains of the tree, now just a haphazard stump in the ground, before turning back to Naruto with a look of pure amazement.
"What was that!?" Naruto just smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, noting the slight tingle in his right hand that let him know the technique wasn't quite perfect yet.
"That was what I've been working on recently." When it looked like Anko wasn't going to be satisfied with that answer he sighed and continued "It's a Jutsu my father created as a compliment to his fighting style, basically just high tier chakra control." Anko just blinked at the very humble way Naruto described the incredible technique he had just displayed. After seeing what it did to a fully grown tree she could only imagine what kind of damage it could do to an opponent.
"Chakra control?" Naruto just nodded as he held out his right hand, palm upwards, just slightly cupping his fingers. Quicker than before the Rasengan formed, once again pulsing brilliantly with blue light as the energies contained within Naruto's palm tried to break free of their spherical prison.
"It's pure shape manipulation; according to the scrolls he based it off of some kind of attack used by Biju, scaled down of course." He suddenly looked down, slightly sadly as Anko noticed, staring wistfully at the large ball of Chakra. "It's unfinished though." Anko raised an eyebrow while simultaneously scoffing; from what she had seen that attack was anything but unfinished. She couldn't imagine what the proper version would look like or even do.
"In the scrolls it said he always wanted to add his elemental affinity into it but between the war and becoming Hokage he never found the chance." He sighed again before a small smile worked its way onto his now rather apparently tired features. "But that's why I'm going to do it for him; I'll add my elemental affinity and make him proud." Anko smiled at that, unable to avoid being caught up in his infectious confidence that spilled out like waves.
"So what's it called?" Naruto grinned as he slammed the sphere of energy through another tree.
"Rasengan." Anko just stared at the newly disfigured tree or a moment with what can only be described as awe before grinning right back.
"Oh, you are so teaching me that!"
The next month passed in a blur of training for everybody; aside from missions the two Uchiha stayed in their compound a lot, apparently both being trained in the Sharingan. Apparently it was some kind of tradition for when an Uchiha reached the three-tomoe state, however it had never happened at such a young age. Naruto missed Shisui's company but he had plenty to keep himself occupied in the meantime and he knew they would all come back stronger for it.
He continued to work on the Rasengan, experimenting with making it bigger or more concentrated. He knew elemental manipulation was a bit out of his league at the moment, only recently getting to grips with his wind affinity to even begin to attempt it. Instead he trained his speed as usual as well as trying to teach Anko the Rasengan. Strangely the girl didn't seem to take to it, apparently finding the concept of moulding her chakra into something visible hard to wrap her head around.
When Naruto had asked the Hokage about this during one of his infrequent visits he had simply replied it had been the same when Minato had tried to teach his own students. Apparently, the technique in itself wasn't all that difficult to achieve, it was just so alien an idea to most that they couldn't wrap their heads around it. Even Sarutobi had to admit that Minato's self-created jutsu was far beyond even him, he was too set in his old, structured ways. However it appeared that one of his father's students had managed to create their own jutsu based off his father's, apparently making it quite famous, the Raikiri.
That wasn't to say Anko had nothing to keep her occupied, Orochimaru turned out to be quite the intensive sensei. As soon as she would master a technique he would give her it would be straight onto the next one. He also proved to be very attentive, always willing to help out Anko as long as it was only to adjust what she was doing. Apparently he praised natural talent, enjoying those that could take a concept and flesh it out on their own without assistance. To be fair, it showed commitment, ingenuity and creativity; all good qualities in a Shinobi.
Naruto often watched the two of them during his own training, at least when Orochimaru actually supervised Anko's training in the Namikaze training ground. When the man had first seen Naruto use the Rasengan, obliterating a training dummy in the process, he had first been stunned. He had quickly recovered, congratulating the redhead on mastering such a difficult jutsu that he, begrudgingly, admitted he could not re-create.
Naruto found the man's company to be pleasant; he was incredibly interesting to listen to and he had many stories from his time as part of the Sannin, at least when they were a team. While he sometimes came off as slightly arrogant, when his reputation was brought into question it was actually understandable. He had once jokingly suggested a spar between the two of them; needless to say he dominated the fight from start to finish. At least Naruto learnt that day that Orochimaru wasn't the kind to pull a punch, or in his case, a snake.
The man was like wind when Naruto wanted to hit him and, despite all the advancements he had made in the area, his speed was nothing compared to the Sannin. His body still burned a little from the toxins the man kept pumping him with with various snake bites. All his attacks would come out of nowhere, all in unconventional means like through the ground or once even out of a tree. In all Naruto could plainly see that he was outclassed hopelessly and, without somehow injecting years of training in the forthcoming months, that wasn't going to change any time soon.
Anko also showed marked improvement under his tutelage, mastering Jutsu after Jutsu, including some unique to the Sannin himself. He had allowed her to sign the snake summoning contract which had involved a frightful experience with Manda, the boss summon, that would be ingrained into Naruto's memory for quite some time. The two of them would be starting missions soon which lowered Naruto's spirits slightly, knowing that they would only see less of one another in the next few years. Still, it only meant that he had to make the time he had no count all the more.