Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ When Old Dreams Shatter, New Ones Emerge ❯ Part Three: The Trails of Fame ( Chapter 3 )

Part Three: The Trials of Fame

 

Naruto sat down on the bed and was finally able to peel off his shirt and see to his wound. He was lucky nobody had noticed he was injured besides Inutaisho, who knew that he was uncomfortable with anyone seeing him without his shirt. He didn't want anyone to question why he didn't have a scar or even a wound in the morning.

 

He had to rip his shirt away from the wound as the blood had seeped into the fabric making it impossible to take off without reopening it. He examined the opening in his stomach where the seal used to be. He could see some of his intestines, but at least they were not ripped open like last time. Still, it would take all night for the wound to heal. It would have healed faster if he had changed into either of his other forms, but he didn't want to take the chance anyone would see. He got a fresh shirt from his storage dimension and went to bed. Sleep wasn't something he had had very much of in the last week.

 

Naruto had felt Sasuke leave the house an hour ago; he still hadn't come back. He wondered if he had a girlfriend or something. There was always the possibility that he had some secret Anbu duties. He went to sleep pondering the changes in his friends: Shikamaru didn't complain as much; Sakura was much more grown up; Ino, Choji, Shino, and Kiba seemed the same as ever; Tsunade was still a bossy hag; Neji seemed to smile more; Hinata was much more confident; Akamaru had gotten even bigger; and Sasuke…he seemed…almost at peace. He wondered if he had killed his brother yet. That could account for the peace. Or a girlfriend could have put that look on his face. He could be trying to repopulate his clan as Naruto was laying in bed thinking about it. He had no idea why that annoyed him so much. Maybe it was because he was jealous. Yes, that had to be it. He was jealous he would never have the chance to have a family.

 

Why did it sound as if he was trying too hard to convince himself of that?

 

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Sasuke was returning to the Uchiha mansion early the next morning to pick up Naru to take him to see the Hokage. He really wasn't looking forward to this busy-work; his time would be much better spent training. He still needed to defeat his brother. The only reason he stayed in Konoha was to honor his friend's memory. It was what Naruto would have wanted or he wouldn't have brought him back in the first place. He now wanted to live after he defeated Itachi; he blamed that on Naruto, too. He had to live for both of them and honor his memory by protecting this village, even though he didn't know what his goal would be after Itachi was gone. Even after all these years, he still couldn't forget his best friend. No one could replace Naruto. The dobe.

 

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“So, what sort of missions was the Hokage talking about last night? They must be something if she assigned two Anbu captains to them.”

 

Sasuke came to a dead stop when the other man mentioned `Anbu.' How did he know that Neji and he were a part of the Anbu, much less that they were captains? They weren't wearing their masks or their uniforms, so there shouldn't have been any clues to who they were. “How-”

 

Naruto interrupted him, knowing what he was going to ask. “When you have seen as much as I have, you get pretty good at reading people. The way you walk, fight, and even look at people show who and what you are. People used to killing are easy to spot, no matter what mask they wear, even when that mask is their own face, sometimes especially then.” Seeing the look on Sasuke's face, Naruto laughed. “Don't worry, it isn't you; most people aren't able to tell anything but the most superficial of information from these things. I doubt that anyone else would have been able to tell except for maybe Inutaisho. He has been around a long time and learned many tricks during that time. But he also knows when to keep his mouth shut, especially when it is none of his business.”

 

Sasuke resumed walking towards the Hokage's office, deciding to drop the subject for the time being. “The Hokage will brief you on the missions when we get to her office.” They walked the rest of the way in silence, Naruto just enjoying the other's company after so long and Sasuke thinking over what Naru said.

 

They made it to Tsunade's office in little time. Shizune waved them in saying that Neji was already there. They went in to stand in front of the desk beside Neji and wait for instructions. Shizune came in with tea for each of them and left.

 

Tsunade finally looked up at them just as Naruto was starting to get impatient. He had never quite outgrown that feeling of annoyance at being ignored.

 

Tsunade waited until Naru had taken a sip of his tea before starting with her questions. “So, Naru, before you start on your missions, I need a little information from you. First of all, what village are you from? We would like to contact them to check on a few things.”

 

“I prefer not to give the name of my village. I left there a long time ago and have no intention of ever making it my home again. Anything you need to know, you can ask me.”

 

Tsunade got a hard look in her eye. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I need the name of your village. I don't want to have a spy from an enemy village running around and want to make sure you aren't one. If I have to get in touch with every village and ask about you, I will.”

 

Naruto shrugged unimpressed. “Your inquiries will not turn up anything you couldn't find out without leaving this village. The truth serum that you had Shizune slip into my drink should tell you I'm not lying. Why don't you just ask me if I'm a threat?”

 

Tsunade looked stunned. How had he known about the serum? It was tasteless and odorless; virtually undetectable. She had developed it herself. It only lasted a few minutes after you got finished drinking it so it wouldn't cause any unnecessary problems. But this Naru was just sipping his tea, in no hurry, as if he didn't care that he couldn't lie.

 

Naruto really didn't care. The secret with things like these was to just refuse to answer any question you didn't want to answer. Give them reassurance without giving away more than you intend to. And if pressed for answers against your will…burn out the serum with demonic chakra. It was no match for that, but there was no need unless Tsunade got too pushy. As to how he had detected it in the first place, it may be tasteless and odorless to ordinary humans but he was anything but ordinary.

 

Tsunade got over her shock. Who is this guy? “Are you a threat to this village or to anyone else?”

 

Naruto thought for a second. “Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm not a threat to anyone. If someone attacks me, I will attack back, but I don't go looking for trouble, at least not usually. I will help protect this village and the people in it to the best of my ability. I am a threat to anyone who seeks to harm this village or any innocent person.”

 

Neji spoke up. “Why would you care about this village? You were not born here, nor do you have any ties to it. You obviously have some fighting experience. You also refuse to give the name of your village. Are you a missing-nin from another village?”

 

Naruto smiled ironically. “No, I'm not a missing-nin from another village. And I care about protecting this village because it is what I do. Let's just leave it at that. You will probably find out eventually anyway and I want to enjoy this while it lasts.”

 

Neji was still not satisfied. “What-”

 

Tsunade interrupted him. “All that is important is he does not seek to harm the village. We can let him have his secrets for now. He said we would find out eventually; that is good enough for me. I understand wanting to keep your past to yourself.” She paused for a moment, a dark, sad look on her face. “Now, on to my other questions.” Tsunade paused again to consider how to word her next question. “Your forehead protector is unusual. I have never seen one like it. Does it represent something? Your shinobi rank perhaps?”

 

Naruto smiled and took another sip of his tea. “Actually, no. When I left my village, I took off mine and started traveling. After a while I noticed that people tended to look at me strangely and I was drawing more attention than I wanted to. I finally figured out that it was my lack of a forehead protector that was causing this. You don't see someone dressed as I was who isn't a shinobi. So I had this made. It has no special meaning. I just saw it somewhere and liked it.” Mmmm, ramen.

 

Tsunade was frustrated. That didn't tell her anything. She would just have to be direct in dealing with him. “So what is your rank?”

 

Naruto lifted his hand to rub the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, you see, I never actually got around to retaking the Chuunin exam before I left my village. So I guess you could say that I'm still a genin.”

 

Tsunade's mouth dropped open and Sasuke and Neji stared at Naru incredulously. Shizune fell thru the doorway where she had been listening with the door slightly open. Tsunade snapped her mouth closed. “You left your village when you were a genin?!”

 

“Well, yeah. It wasn't that I was at genin level; I just hadn't gotten around to taking the exam again.”

 

“Again?”

 

“I only took it the one time. I didn't pass.”

 

“When did you take it?”

 

“I would rather not say.”

 

“How old are you?”

 

“I would rather not say.”

 

Tsunade almost smiled. This guy was good. He didn't even try to lie; he just avoided answering the questions that he thought would give them enough clues to find out his identity. “Is Naru your real name?”

 

Naruto thought for a moment. Well, it wasn't the name that he was born with, but it was kind of a nickname. And he had been going by it for eight years. So it was real enough. “Yes.” Tsunade should really be more specific with her questioning.

 

Well, that's something. Tsunade decided that that was enough questioning about Naru's background. “Well, Sasuke and Neji already have the lists of missions I want them to complete. They are just basic, genin level missions, so they should be right up your alley. Mostly D ranked, but there are a few C ranked missions. I don't know if you can do a shadow clone jutsu, but if you can't then you can just pick a handful of missions and do them one at a time. Sasuke and Neji should be able to take care of the majority of them anyway.”

 

“I can make shadow clones. I would also like to try to perform some odd jobs around the village or even a few missions when I am done with my friend's debt to you. I am running low on funds. I also need to do some personal tasks I have trouble finding the time for when traveling.”

 

“I will see what I can do. You will be getting a little money from these missions anyway. We could always use more ninja. Although I will probably limit your missions to things that need to be done around the village. That means mostly lower level missions.”

 

“That will be fine. It will give me more time to do my inventory.”

 

Sasuke looked at him sharply. “You don't have any bags. What do you have to take inventory of?”

 

“I have a certain jutsu that allows me to store my things in an alternate dimension. The space is unlimited, so I tend to accumulate a lot. The only way I can keep track of them all is by keeping an inventory list. Shouldn't we begin to work on the missions? How many clones do I need to make?”

 

Sasuke ignored Naru's talk of storage space, wondering what the big deal was. Tsunade seemed to have spaced out again so Sasuke gathered all the lists and found the end; luckily they were numbered so he didn't have to count them. “There are 950 missions here. Together, Neji and I can make 175 clones. Why don't you take about a hundred and we'll handle the rest? When we get done with ours, we will finish yours for you. How many clones can you make? Three or four?” Since he was still a genin, Sasuke didn't expect much from him, despite having witnessed his performance with Inutaisho. But the dog was his friend, so it was easy for him to know his weak spots.

 

Naruto grinned, glad some things never changed. Sasuke was still a pompous ass. If Naruto was his old self, he might have gotten into a fight with the other man right then. But he had learned the value in letting people underestimate him. “I can make enough.”

 

Tsunade finally shook herself out of her stupor. “Do you know how dangerous opening other dimensions is? What if you open the wrong one and unleash some monster? The risks…not even Orochimaru was crazy enough to mess with them to my knowledge.”

 

Sasuke glanced at her. “He tried it once and almost got sucked into one before he could close it. He never tried it again. I don't see what the big deal is. All he can do is store things.”

 

Tsunade glared at him and opened her mouth to speak.

 

Neji beat her to it. “But wouldn't it be extremely useful to be able to carry anything with you and have it if you needed it? Medical supplies, weapons, clothes, tents, blankets, food, etc. Being able to store it in another dimension means you don't have to be weighed down carrying it. It seems to me it would be a jutsu worth learning.”

 

Tsunade opened her mouth again.

 

Naruto spoke up this time. “It is an extremely difficult jutsu to learn. You can't do it around other people because of the risk of opening up a different, possibly hostile, dimension. You have to get the exact frequency of the dimension in order to access the dimension you want. It's too dangerous and if I hadn't so young and stupid at the time, I wouldn't have learned it in the first place.”

 

Neji smiled. Sasuke smirked. “So you admit you are stupid?”

 

Naruto grinned wider than before. “I was. But you know what? I was happier that way.” It was true, but he wouldn't go back to that time even if he did have a choice. He was who he was now and he liked the person he had become. He didn't feel that incessant urge to prove himself anymore. Although he really missed all his friends.

 

Why do they keep ignoring me? Don't they realize that it's rude to ignore their leader? Their HOKAGE! Tsunade thought, outraged. Then she deflated and sighed. There was no point in reprimanding them. They wouldn't listen to it anyway. “Just get on with the missions. We could really use the revenue and I want these requests off my desk.” Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the beginning of a headache. She was really getting too old for this. Maybe it really was time for her to choose a successor and begin their training. Then she could go back to gambling in peace without people chasing her with paperwork.

 

Shizune herded them out of the Hokage's office. They divided up the list and ran off in the directions they needed to go. Naruto thought it strange they didn't even bother to ask him if he could find his way around the village. He could but, as far as they knew, he hadn't seen very much of it last night. Oh well. They were probably hoping he would get lost and stay out of their way. They were both still complete bastards after all. He glanced at the list and almost laughed when he saw Tora's name. I'm surprised that cat is still alive after all the times she's run away. He shook his head and ran off to look in all her favorite hiding spots, splitting into about twenty clones along the way. After all, it wouldn't do to finish too much before the others. He was fast so there was no need for more than that amount of clones. He found Tora in the first place he looked: where they had found her the first time they were assigned the task. Only this time she took one look at him and jumped into his arms, purring. Naruto laughed as he noticed something he was unaware of before he left the village. “Well, I'm glad that you recognize me, Tora. You must have missed your favorite scratching post! I guess even the lack of smell can't fool you. Just don't tell anyone else.” Glad there are no hard feelings. Or is she just sucking up? He immediately took the cat back to the fire lord's wife who exclaimed over how happy she was to have her Tora back. He moved to the next task and, before long, he was sitting in front of the Hokage's office, waiting on the other two. Unfortunately for him, it was right beside the bookstore. And sitting in the front window were a couple dozen books with his `name' on them. And people (a.k.a. girls) were starting to notice the resemblance between the renderings in the books and him. They were advancing. (A/N: Ahhhhhh! Attack of the fangirls!)

 

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Sasuke and Neji walked at a leisurely pace back to the Hokage's office. Neji turned to Sasuke. “So, do you think he got even one item on the list completed?”

 

Sasuke smirked and shook his head. “He might have gotten one or two done, but I gave him the list with finding Tora on it. There was no way that he would find her unless he knew her usual hiding places. He probably got lost.”

 

Neji shook his head. “You knew he wouldn't be able to complete that list. He doesn't even know anything about this village. How would he even know where to go for the missions?”

 

“That was the point. I don't like him. He annoys me for some reason.”

 

“It's probably because Tsunade made you baby sit him. I would have been annoyed too. Although it's probably a good thing.”

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

Neji was not one to beat around the bush in fear of arousing the Uchiha temper not often seen, but legendary. “You need to stop brooding about Naruto. Maybe this idiot will take your mind off him, if only by deterring you from your routine.”

 

Sasuke almost went into a rage and would have if his eye hadn't been caught by something simply shocking. Naru was standing in front of a bookstore. Maybe standing wasn't the right word. Some of Sasuke's fan club had attacked the man and were trying to tear his shirt off. He heard a ripping sound and saw a screaming woman run away clutching the material.

 

“I GOT IT! I GOT IT!” the woman ran out of sight, so intent on keeping her prize that she didn't stick around to see the result of her handy work.

 

Sweat gleamed on a hard, darkly tanned chest. Luckily his wound from the night before was gone or he would have had some explaining to do. As it was the whole street fell silent and stared at this perfect specimen. Even the girls who were partially responsible were now silent as they drank in the sight.

 

Sasuke's mouth fell open. He then felt something foreign stir in his groin area. He felt himself get harder and harder the longer he stared at Naru's chest. But he couldn't seem to pull his eyes away. His jaw clenched shut as did his fists. It was all he could do not to march up to him and…do what, he didn't know. Yank those women away from him. Or…

 

Sasuke finally found the strength to close his eyes. This was not happening. He had never felt the slightest attraction to another person in his life. Why did it have to happen with this guy who he wasn't sure he even liked? He knew how sex worked. He could imagine what it would entail, the mechanics of how it would work between two men. But just imagining the two of them was almost enough to send Sasuke over the edge. All those years of sexual repression was about to make themselves known. The question was: would he be able to control it?

 

Naruto sensed Sasuke and Neji just on the outside of the crowd. His eyes met Neji's first and he silently pleaded for help. Even after all this time he still couldn't bring himself to risk hurting girls, at least when he was in his current form, or he would have shoved his way out. Neji just laughed at him. It wasn't often you saw a fully grown man looking that desperate. If it had been Sasuke he would have just thrown them off him as soon as they got too close. Hell, even he would have, just more gently than Sasuke would have. But this guy wouldn't even push his way through a crowd out of fear he would hurt one of them.

 

Seeing no help was going to come from Neji, Naruto moved his eyes to Sasuke. For some reason he had his eyes clinched shut and looked like he was in pain. “Hey, Sasuke you bastard! Get over here and help me!” he yelled to get his attention.

 

Sasuke jerked his eyes open and Naruto almost fell over in surprise. His eyes were full of fire and his face was flushed. Did he have a fever? Naruto didn't even realize he had bulldozed his way through the crowd to get to Sasuke until he was right in front of him. Naruto put his hand up to Sasuke's forehead. “Are you okay, Sasuke? You feel like you have a fever. We should get you home and in bed.”

 

Sasuke almost leaned into Naru's hand before jerking away, cheeks darkening even more. Naru pulled his hand back, confused. “You need to rest Sasuke. It isn't healthy to walk around with a fever.”

 

“Just leave me alone. I don't have a fever.”

 

Neji got himself under control and gave Sasuke a knowing look before turning to Naru. “So, Naru, what are you going to do about them?” He said, pointing at the group of girls who were standing off to the side who suddenly developed cases of shyness now that Neji and Sasuke were around. They would never treat them the way they had Naru because they knew they wouldn't put up with it.

 

Naruto jerked himself around, having forgotten about the she-demons who had attacked him. He pulled Sasuke in front of him and tried to hide behind him, hard to do as he was about half a foot taller. “Sasuke, use your mysterious death-glare to scare them off. I can't take much more of their abuse!”

 

Sasuke turned his “death glare” on Naru, then on Neji who had started laughing again. “What the hell? You can't even take a bunch of weak girls? And you call yourself a ninja?!”

 

“I can't help it! They're GIRLS!” Naruto whined.

 

Sasuke sighed, feeling very put upon. He didn't want their sweaty hands all over Naru anyway. He turned back to the girls and glared menacingly. They got a really scared, slightly dreamy, adoring look on their faces before scampering away. Only Sasuke's fan-girls had completely mastered that look.

 

Naruto left his hiding place and sighed in relief. “Thanks, Sasuke. I didn't think how I was going to get out of there without getting raped.”

 

Neji went into a new round of laughter, clutching his stomach.

 

“Hn.” He would have asked why they were after him but after seeing him without his shirt, he could guess. He turned to stare at Neji. He had never seen him laugh that hard before. He didn't really see what was so funny. The jackass.

 

Neji's laughter finally died down. “Kami, Naru, I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long. At the very least, you're entertaining.”

 

Naruto pouted. “I'm so glad you finds my misery amusing. You were absolutely no help. At least I know I can count on Sasuke to keep those she-demons away.” Naruto ignored the fact that he was actually insulting himself in a way when he called the fan-girls demons and put his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke promptly shoved it off.

 

“Keep your hands to yourself.” Sasuke was having trouble thinking with Naru this close.

 

Guess it was too much to hope for us to become friends again this soon. “Bastard.” Naruto mumbled.

 

Sasuke glared at him before continuing his walk toward Tsunade's office. “Since Neji finds you so amusing, he will be finishing the missions you failed to complete while we start giving reports on the completed missions. Give him your list.”

 

Naruto followed behind him, practically skipping. He had always loved surprising Sasuke. “No need. I finished it.” He was just glad he had outgrown the need to rub things in people's faces. Well, most of the time. He wasn't so sure he could resist all the time with Sasuke around.

 

Neji and Sasuke stared incredulously at Naru. They just hadn't expected someone as weak as him to be able to complete all those missions, even given how low ranked they were. He would have had to be really good at the Kage Bushin no Jutsu. “How…”

 

Naruto allowed a small smirk to escape. “I told you I could make enough. Just because I'm still a genin doesn't mean I'm weak. And I believe I told you it was a mistake to judge people solely by appearances.” Naruto put his hands behind his back and began whistling on his way to Tsunade's office.

 

Just how many more surprises does this guy have? Sasuke thought.

 

Just how strong is he? Neji wondered. He doesn't appear to have enough chakra to make that many shadow clones. Or is he just that fast?

 

Shizune waved them into Tsunade's office, secretly surprised they were done so soon but not giving anything away. There were already other people in with Tsunade giving their mission reports but Tsunade had made it clear they were to report to her a soon as they got there.

 

Kakashi and Gai turned when they sensed them outside the office. He doesn't feel like much, Kakashi thought. But that doesn't mean anything. If he is who I think he is then hiding his true chakra level would be child's play.

 

Gai was nearly in tears from hearing that his beloved student had been injured. He desperately wanted to check on Lee himself to make sure that he was as uninjured as the Hokage said he was. He didn't even consciously register that he didn't recognize one of the chakra signatures before turning back to the Hokage.

 

Kakashi didn't let any of his shock show on his face when he saw Naru. So, this is the legendary demon slayer. Kakashi studied his outfit. He had to say the guy had remarkable fashion sense. That in addition to all the stories he could tell…it would almost be better than his Icha Icha books to hear all the stories Naru was sure to be able to tell about all the women after him. Kakashi had a feeling he would like him. Maybe he could get him to sign his copy of Seven Nights with the Demon Slayer. Complete fiction, of course. Some of the things in that book didn't even seem anatomically possible. Which was one of the reasons Kakashi enjoyed it so much.

 

Naruto knew the look in his old sensei's eyes and as much as he was happy to see his old teacher, he rushed to hide behind Sasuke again. He wondered how Kakashi had heard of him. Maybe on a mission? It certainly couldn't have been from the books. As far as he knew, Jiraiya hadn't written any Icha Icha books about him, although he wouldn't put it past the pervert. Everyone knew Kakashi didn't read anything but perverted books so there was no way that could be where he knew about Naru from.

 

“So,” Kakashi began.

 

Gai interrupted. “Hokage, may I be excused to check on Lee? I know you said he was completely healed, but I would feel better if I could see for myself.”

 

Tsunade nodded, understanding. “Go. You've already finished your mission report anyway. Good work.” Gai nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke, too worried about his former student to even say goodbye or wonder who the unfamiliar ninja was.

 

Kakashi cleared his throat. “I was wondering-”

 

Tsunade interrupted. “Oh, Kakashi! I forgot to introduce you. Naru, this is Kakashi Hatake. He is Sasuke's and Sakura's old sensei. You may be going on missions with him some time in the future. Kakashi, this is Naru. He defeated a demon that attacked the village. The demon turned out to be his friend who didn't really mean to attack us, and now they are staying to help repair the damage he caused. Naru is also trying to earn some money as he is low on funds at the moment. He will be staying in the village until the damage is repaired.”

 

Kakashi took this all in, only slightly irritated that Tsunade had interrupted him. At least now he knew he was right. But he would have never expected a demon slayer to have a demon as a friend. Well, he had heard of stranger things. Some of those books…but now wasn't the time to get sidetracked. “Naru-sama, it is an honor to meet you. I was wondering if you would sign my book.” Kakashi pulled his copy of Seven Nights with the Demon Slayer seemingly out of nowhere.

 

Naruto wondered if Kakashi had learned the void jutsu too. He had never thought about it before but Kakashi always seemed to have exactly what he needed at all times. It would make sense. Naruto sighed. Well, the jig is up. It could have been worse. It's not like it wouldn't have gotten out anyway what with all those girls chasing me around. Naruto stepped out from behind Sasuke and toward Kakashi. “Sure.” Naruto took the pen and signed the cover without looking at it until Kakashi was pulling it away from him. Naruto grabbed it back and almost had a heart attack. It had someone that looked remarkably like him tangled in not one, but four beautiful women, almost as beautiful as him in his Sexy Jutsu form. It was enough to make his blood boil. He felt his face flushing in both embarrassment and anger. He had never even had sex much less an orgy! What were these people thinking?! “What the heck is this?! I knew they had a book out because that damn woman kept on following me trying to get quotes and a couple people mentioned one, but this?! What the hell is going on?”

 

Kakashi looked bewildered but eyed the book in Naruto's hands worriedly. He didn't like the way he was waving it around. He waited for his moment and snatched it out of Naru's hands and clutched it to his chest, relieved it was safe. “What are you talking about? The bookstore is full of books about you. You are a living legend and everyone is fascinated by you. You had to have known before today.”

 

Naruto frowned. What was this? There were more than just one or two books about him? Sure, he thought it was a little strange that just about everywhere he went he was mobbed and everyone seemed to have heard of him, but this?! It was strange. And that book of Kakashi's! It was indecent. He didn't want anyone seeing that. “Well, I'm going to find that author and make sure he or she never writes another book like that about me. I don't like the kind of message it sends. I'm not a sex fanatic and I don't want women to jump me in the streets. It's inconvenient and I want it to stop.”

 

Kakashi's chin hit his chest. The guy honestly had no idea how famous he was. And he's demented to not want all those beautiful women all over him. “You will have to visit about twenty authors then. I have the entire collection and there are more where this came from. You might as well accept it. Although I can't imagine why you wouldn't want those girls `jumping you' as you put it. Sounds like fun to me.”

 

Naruto stared at his former teacher incredulously. “Would you like getting scratched and kicked and getting your hair pulled, just to get a souvenir? A few minutes ago a girl outside ripped my shirt off. One time someone cut off half of one side of my hair. That isn't fun no matter who you are.” Naruto ran his hands through his hair, making sure that it was all still there. That experience had been the worst. Maybe it was the vanity of a kitsune, but he didn't like not having his hair, even if it did grow back in a week.

 

Kakashi pondered that for a moment. “I guess you're right. I had never thought of it that way.” Kakashi smiled. “I knew I was going to like you. If you want, I can take you to the bookstore and you can see what has been written about you.”

 

Naruto was about to agree when Tsunade interrupted. Naruto started; he had forgotten all about the others.

 

“Just what are you two talking about?!” she yelled.

 

Kakashi looked at Tsunade in wonder, amazed she hadn't read his wonderful books. “Naru's famous. Surely you've heard of him? He's a traveling shinobi who wonders from village to village and slays demons that are causing trouble. He goes around learning new jutsu so he can be as strong as possible to protect the innocent. And girls throw themselves at him wherever he goes.” Kakashi was really getting into his speech. Naruto could barely stomach it and was about to interrupt when Kakashi realized Tsunade was going to hit him over the head if he didn't stop gushing. “Well, I suppose I could let you borrow this.” He pulled another book out of thin air. Luckily this one didn't have any semi-naked women on the cover. “This one covers just the facts; no fiction, at least I don't think so. I haven't really read it; I just found it outside the building coming in. I still can't believe you haven't heard of him.” Kakashi seemed more offended than Naru, which didn't really say much as Naru had been happy with no one knowing who he was.

 

Tsunade took the book and glanced at Naru who was back to looking impassive. Could what Kakashi said be true? Was Naru really that strong? If so, he could be a real asset to the village if he stayed. But why would a demon slayer be friends with a demon? “Is all this true Naru?”

 

Naruto nodded, resigned. “For the most part. I can't really tell you if the book is accurate because I've never read it. But I will fix that.” Naruto said determinedly.

 

Sasuke stood there impassively, seemingly uninterested in it all. But inside his head it was an entirely different story. He hadn't really heard of Naru before this but to learn that Kakashi was impressed by him was enough for Sasuke. It took a lot to impress his former teacher; no ordinary person could do it. Of course, it could just be his supposed prowess with women that impressed him; it was hard to tell with this pervert. Either way, it would be interesting to spar with him just to see if he was as good as Kakashi seemed to think he was. Maybe this babysitting job wouldn't be as bad as he thought. And if he got to see him without his shirt again…Stop it! He yelled inside his head.

 

“How can a demon slayer be friends with a demon?” Neji asked, still a little weirded out that Naru was famous. Even he had heard of him; he just didn't connect him with this Naru. He would have expected someone that strong to be a lot older. And have more chakra.

 

Naruto shrugged. He was definitely not going to tell them he was a demon, too. “I see no reason to kill someone or something that is not evil. Just because they're demons doesn't necessarily make them bad. There are many demons that just want to be left alone, away from humans. Sometimes it is the humans who are in the wrong, humans who hunt and kill demons. And sometimes they want to seal the demons away to use their powers at a later date. But there are some demons that eat humans, some that think humans are inferior beings that need to be destroyed, and some that just enjoy killing humans. Those are the demons that I destroy. I do not like needless, mindless killing. It serves no purpose and only turns you into the very thing you hate. In Inutaisho's case, it is not in his control. He is the one demon I have met that truly enjoys humans and their company. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot that no one else would have been able to. He also gave me Tetsusaiga.” Naruto patted the hilt of his sword. “He is one of my best friends.”

 

The others were fascinated by this insight into demons. They had thought that demons were all evil and hated humans. Look at what Kyuubi had done to the village twenty-three years ago. They thought all demons were like that: causing havoc in villages and death to thousands. They hadn't realized there could possibly be some demons that were decent and possibly even good. It was mind-boggling.

 

Tsunade cleared her throat, forcing the ramifications of this discovery to the back of her mind to be pondered at a later time. “We can discuss this later, boys. Now, for the business at hand.” She leaned back in her chair. “Did you complete your missions?”

 

Sasuke stepped forward to address the Hokage. “All the missions were completed. I had no trouble with my portion of them.” He handed her his lists.

 

Kakashi backed away from the others. “I think there is a new `Icha Icha' book calling my name. Ja!” he said, tipping an imaginary hat at them before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 

Neji stepped forward next. “I completed my missions also.”

 

Naruto was still glaring at the spot that Kakashi had just disappeared from. Why did Jonin insist on disappearing like that all the time? Maybe it was some secret that you only found out after you reached that rank.

 

Tsunade cleared her throat. “Naru? Did you complete your assigned missions?”

 

Naruto glanced back up at her then took a step forward to hand her his list. “Yes.”

 

“Did you have any trouble completing them?”

 

Naruto shook his head. “No, it wasn't until after I had already completed the missions that all those women attacked me. I just don't get it.” He muttered, crossing his arms and went back to brooding about all the things in his life that he just didn't understand.

 

Tsunade sighed and glanced at the book Kakashi had left on her desk. She should probably read it so she could know what kind of ninja Naru was and what made him so special that numerous books were written about him. She remembered hearing the name vaguely but she had been so wrapped up in being Hokage and all her paperwork that she didn't pay much attention, especially not when the Sound Ninja village was still being troublesome, even without their founder and leader, Orochimaru. “You guys are dismissed. Sasuke, don't forget to keep an eye on Naru. Your team will temporarily be put under Neji's command unless something comes up while you keep watch over him. And tell Shizune that I don't want to be bothered for a while on your way out.”

 

Sasuke and Neji bowed before disappearing in puffs of smoke. Naru let out the breath he had been holding since Kakashi's exit as he left the Hokage's office. Sure disappearing in puffs of smoke was cool, but was it really necessary? And the smell…sometimes having a superior sense of smell wasn't a good thing. Didn't they realize that that smoke was hazardous to a fox demon's health? Naru grinned. Who was he kidding? He would do it too if he could afford to. But he had learned long ago there was no point in wasting chakra just for the sake of coolness when it didn't have a training purpose. Training was planning for the future; looking cool, or whatever the point of it was, wasn't worth your life when that little bit of chakra could mean the difference between living and dying.

 

 

*********************************break*************************** ******

 

You will here more about Konoha's Sound troubles in a later chapter.

 

I hope that I didn't overdo it in this chapter with the whole `Naruto is a super cool famous ninja' thing. I was debating on whether to edit this chapter further before I just gave up and decided to post it as is. Thank you to all those who reviewed!