It was a festive scene at the entrance of the now completed bridge in the Wave Country. Tazuna, with the help of the workers who finally came back once the treat of Gato was gone, plus a heavy dose of shadow clones from Naruto, was able to get the job done efficiently.
The result was a beautiful and sturdy bridge that signified the hopes and dreams of the people of the Wave Country. Team 7 was able to locate Gato's base of operations and distribute whatever food, clothing and other essentials they could to the people. Gato's cash was also distributed amongst the people as a way to help them cope and to jumpstart their economy.
We now find Team 7 plus Kakashi facing the residents of the country they helped liberate. They were packed and ready to head back to Konoha as their mission was finally complete.
"I want to thank you Kakashi-san and your team. None of this would be possible if it wasn't for the help of you guys. The Wave Country will forever be thankful to you." Praised Tazuna sincerely. Kakashi just scratch the back of his head awkwardly.
"Maa maa Tazuna-san. We are shinobi of Konoha. It's our job to complete our missions. Just be sure to send the proper amount to the Hokage for the revised ranking of the mission." Answered Kakashi.
"Do you really have to go Naruto-niichan?" Asked a sobbing Inari as he clung to Naruto's pant leg. Naruto for his part just smiled wryly.
"Come on now Inari. You're a big boy now right. You protected your mom and your country. I know you'll do great in the future. I'll even try to come visit if my mission ever pass through here." Replied Naruto with a gentle smile. Who knew that the whiny and moody little boy would open up to him in such a way? It made him happy to know that he could help others in such a way.
As their final goodbyes were said, Team 7 finally set off for Konoha.
"There they go….We need to decide on the name of the bridge. I was thinking the super Amazing Tazuna Bridge. What do you think?" Queried Tazuna, earning deadpan stares from the people around him and causing his daughter to cover her face in embarrassment.
"The Great Naruto Bridge….that should be its name." said Inari, earning shouts of approval from the people. Tazuna himself couldn't argue with that, so he settled for a smile.
....
Team 7 were currently standing at attention in front of the Hokage as Kakashi gave the mission report.
The journey back was an uncharacteristically quiet one as Naruto kept to himself for the most part. His teammates didn't care much about what was going on with him. Sakura was too lost in her fantasies of her precious 'Sasuke-kun' while said avenger-wannabe was enjoying the thrill of his newly awakened Sharingan by constantly turning it on and off. Kakashi did keep a somewhat worried eye on them but decided to leave them be.
After the report was done, the Hokage dismissed them but asked Naruto to stay behind.
"How are you feeling Naruto-kun?" Asked the aged leader delicately. He knew how painful it was to lose a loved one. It came as a surprise to him that Naruto fell in love with an enemy kunoichi, but he wasn't going to judge his surrogate grandson. He would do his best to comfort him though.
"I'm doing better Jiji. It was painful at first, but I tell myself that she would want me to live on. The pain is still there but it helps me get through the day." Answered Naruto with a sad smile. The Sandaime just nodded in understanding.
"Just now Naruto-kun, if you ever need to talk, my door is always open." Advised the Hokage. Naruto nodded his head in thanks.
"Thanks Jiji, I'll take you up on that sometime. I'd like to get home now though. It's been a long journey and I'm missing my place." Answered Naruto. The Hokage just chuckled sympathetically and motioned to Naruto that he is allowed to leave.
...
[I'm surprised you didn't blow up at him and demand answers. More importantly, I'm a bit shocked you can still speak to him in the same manner after knowing all he's hid from you and all the lies he's told you.] The voice of the Kyuubi rang through his head as he put his backpack down immediately after getting home.
'It would accomplish nothing but revealing that I somehow know classified information to him. He won't tell me the truth even if I throw it in his face.
Doing that will bring up questions about how I found out. It might lead them to interfering with your seal and I don't want that. Rather just keep it to myself. If they can't trust me with that information, then I can't trust them with my information either.
I'll just keep the status quo. He seems to be intent on keeping information about my parents and myself from me, in some strange method of protection that he's convinced himself is the only way. I just don't understand it." He supplied.
[The path to hell is paved with good intentions, they say.]Quipped the Kyuubi.
"Wow Kyu-chan, you're quite the philosopher aren't you." Teased Naruto. He could her huff in annoyance in his mind.
[I thought you would be more mature now, but you really are an insufferable little brat.] Commented the Kyuubi in annoyance causing Naruto to grin widely.
"You know you love me Kyu-chan." Declared Naruto.
[Keep telling yourself that you impudent monkey…and for the last time…STOP CALLING ME KYU-CHAN!] She argued for what felt the 100th time to her. Her container just had this annoying habit of getting under her fur.
"Anyway, we need to think up an efficient training schedule for me to follow." Pondered Naruto.
[Oi! Don't ignore me!] She protested.
"Shhh Kyu-chan…I'm trying to plan here. We can deal with your womanly issues later." Said Naruto causing the Kyuubi to splutter incoherently in denial. "We've got plenty to work with thanks to Zabuza and Haku-chans hoarded stash, but we still need to branch out a little more. I'd like to find out my chakra nature.
I have enough information on Fuuton and Suiton Ninjutsu, so if I have any of those natures, I'm good to go. Zabuza also had a ton of Kenjutsu scrolls, plus with all the different blades he left behind, I can probably find one that fits, or I can melt some of them down and get a new blade forged. Luckily they are chakra conductive metal, so it's a plus in my book." Pondered Naruto.
[You also need to get your chakra control to an appropriate level. Even with you having done the tree-walking exercise, your control is absolute shit.
There is the water-walking that you found in Zabuza's scrolls, not to mention the kunai and senbon balancing exercise from your mates scrolls, that should up your level. You can even combine some of those to increase the difficulty, therefore increasing the results.
The tree-huggers granddaughter was said to have the greatest chakra control in the elemental nations, you should try and find some information about her training exercises, along with the exercises of the iryo-nin as they usually need perfect control.]Suggested the Kyuubi.
"Wait are you referring to Senju Tsunade? One of the Legendary Sannin. I suppose I could ask Jiji, but I don't want him or one of his lackeys poking around my training. And I doubt the hospital will allow me to view their training methods." Pointed out Naruto. The Kyuubi just face-palmed.
[Why the hell would you need permission? Are you a shinobi or not? Just sneak in and copy it down. If there was one thing your idiot self was good at, it was stealth and infiltration.
Weren't you the brat that broke into the Hokage tower and stole the Forbidden Scroll of Seal, one of the most valuable treasures of this village, without anybody finding out till much later on.
You also seem to have forgotten that you pulled pranks and the major clans of this village including, the 'all-seeing' Hyuuga, as well as infiltrating and pranking the ANBU Headquarters, a location that's supposed to be top secret to even the highest ranked Jounin, whilst wearing a fucking bright orange jumpsuit! It's only because of that one with the scar on his face that you were even caught most of the time, and that's because he was actively looking for you because you skipped class.
Now that you are free to roam, for the most part, plus with the Negative Emotions Sensing ability, so can get around easily without getting caught. Do the same with that shiniobi library available, if they don't let you in, just sneak in and take what you want.] Argued the Kyuubi.
Naruto just smiled to himself when he heard her praise, lost in the memories of some of his greatest triumphs.
"Huh, I guess I kind of forgot about that. I was so used to trying to be some kind of hero that I forgot what profession I'm in. They really should do something about that academy filling our heads with all those heroic tales of saving princesses and stuff…..But now that you pointed it out, I can easily get in and out without getting caught.
The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu will be invaluable here. I can cause a diversion with a regular prank, pulling away the ANBU and my clones can sneak in and copy down what I need for my training. Damn….that's a good plan…plus thanks to the new clothes I got from Zabuza's stash, it will be even easier when I blend it wearing all black.
Fufufu this is going to be good." He chuckled menacingly. "But first, I need to find out my chakra nature before so I can get a basis of what I need.'"
[ Do you remember those squares of paper you can across in their things….if I remember correctly, humans call that chakra paper. If you channel chakra through it, you find out your nature depending on the reaction. If it burns, your nature is fire.
If it gets damp, your nature is water. If it crumbles, your nature is earth. If it crinkles, your nature is lightning. If it splits, your nature is wind.] Answered the Kyuubi. All she heard in response though was complete silence. Naruto was completely still as he processed her words.
"Is it wrong that I pictured you wearing glasses, with a pointer in your hand when you explained that? If you were human I would probably picture you in some sexy teacher cosplay…" Commented Naruto, inciting a blush on the fur of his tenant. "How do you even know this stuff?" He queried.
[Hmph…you forgot that I was sealed into two of the most powerful kunoichi that this pathetic village has ever seen, regardless of how much I hate them. Plus they were both wives of the Hokage. I'm a treasure trove of information my dear host. In fact, I think you should start referring to me as Kyuubi-sensei.] She said pompously.
"Yeeeah….nice try Kyu-chan, but no dice." He said causing her to 'tsk' in annoyance. Meanwhile, Naruto was rifling through his hoarded treasures before finally finding what he was looking for.
"Ah Ha! Hmmm…Kyu-chan said to just channel chakra through it. Here goes nothing." He said before channelling as little chakra as he could through the paper, which meant a hell of a lot of chakra. The reaction was instantaneous as the paper split evenly down the middle before both sides were drenched in water. He also noticed that the edges were slightly crinkled. There was complete silence as they both contemplated their discovery.
[Huh…it seems that you have a very powerful Fuuton and Suiton affinity. It's not surprising as your father had a powerful wind nature and the Uzumaki clan were famous for their powerful water nature. That little at the end though, it seems that you have a minor lightning affinity. How peculiar.] She commented.
"Are you just going to ignore the fact that I somehow have strong affinities to the elements that I coincidentally happen to have a ton of Jutsu scrolls on?" Dead-panned Naruto.
[Meh…sometimes lady luck swings your way. When that happens, you have to pounce on her and fuck the shit out of her.] Answered the Kyuubi nonchalantly. Naruto for his part did a spit take. While no stranger to such crass language, having lived in the red light district of Konoha for most of his life. But to hear the most powerful being in existence spout such obscenities, it really takes one by surprise.
"I've spent enough time with the nice nee-chans at the brothel to roughly translate that to mean something like, 'when things go your way make the most of it'. Right?" Queried Naruto.
[Give the boy a prize! Now stop complaining….you have work to do. Put together a plan to allow us to pillage that shinobi library for what we need to whip you into shape.
You should do that before hitting the hospital as you may find the advanced chakra control exercises we are looking for in there. If we don't, then you can ransack the hospital.
Also, you should get a lot of blank scrolls as well as some sealing scrolls. People will notice of stuff is missing, with the use of your clones, we can copy down whatever we need then seal them away before getting the fuck out of there.] Advised the Kyuubi, before she remembered something.
[ Did you just indirectly compare me to a whore? ]
"Good idea Kyu-chan. Hmm…that means I can hold off on the pranking diversion I was thinking up. Oh well, I'll keep it in the back pocket if I ever need it for a rainy day. I'll spend a few days scoping out the library first to get the general layout and security details, if any." Responded Naruto, wilfully ignoring her question, much to her annoyance.