Shizukesa: [50] - Shippuden

Breathing in the bright sunny air, Naruto padded towards the gate, clad from head to toe in orange garb that was only interrupted by streaks of black. For an old man, Jiraiya didn't hold back, at least not during training. He was still a cheap, stubborn old geezer, but he could still be an impressive ninja.

“It sure has been a while, hasn't it...” he sighed, almost to himself, slowing to look up at the grand, aging gates, which were beginning to part as he approached them.

“Two and a half years.” his elderly sensei chimed in, grinning slightly.

As they passed the gates, the old man shook his head in amusement, the childish antics of his student manifesting straight away. He watched the orange genin fly up into the air and land lightly on the tall wooden post, spreading his arms wide and shouting his greetings to the whole village.

“Hey, Naruto.” Kakashi's voice came from halfway between the genin and the ground. The silver jounin was perched on a tiled terrace on the second floor of a nearby building.

A grin spread over the orange boy's face. Hopping down, he shouted out to his sensei.

“Kakashi-sensei! You haven't changed at all!”

Halfway across Konoha, Sakura's work had lulled for a moment, providing her the opportunity to gaze out of a nearby window philosophically. Her master's voice brought her back to reality quickly, and she turned to face the hokage respectfully.

“It seems like Naruto has returned.”

“Really?”

Tsunade nodded, grinning. “Let's go meet him.”

The pair of medics headed out of the hospital, walking towards the village gates.

~ ~ ~

The hyperactive genin spotted a familiar red outfit at the end of the street. He jogged down the street, raising a hand in a wave of greeting.

“Sakura!”

She turned, a look of surprise on her face.

“Naruto?”

“Hey! Long time no see!” he grinned, placing his hands behind his head.  

Sakura returned his smile, saying “You got taller!”

“Yeah, I guess...” he said thoughtfully, raising his hand to his forehead.

Wow. Sakura thought to herself. It looks like he grew up...

“Naruto!” came a croaky voice, from somewhere off to the right of the group.

A short boy with brown hair that stuck up all over his head ran over. Naruto grinned at the kid, shaking his head. “Konohamaru, huh?”

“Big bro! I finally mastered the jutsu you taught me!!”

Now, there could be a long, descriptive paragraph here about what happened next, but it's rather racy and a little bit silly. Suffice to say, a teenage boy turned into a naked girl in her twenties.

“Jeez, kid... You haven't grown up a bit.” Naruto's face was set, his mouth a serious line in his face.

Sakura's mouth fell open in an awed grin, incredibly impressed that Naruto was mature enough...

“LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT'S REALLY DONE!!!!” the blond genin shouted, clasping his hands together and adopting a look of intense focus.

Nope.

Her eyes narrowed, green orbs gleaming dangerously.

“Are you...” her voice hissed sinisterly through the midday air, reaching everyone's ears and leaving no questions about what was about to happen.

Her fist crunched into the side of his jaw with a sickening crunch which nobody heard. A ground-rumbling shout roared from her lungs.

“...KIDDING ME?”

Naruto went flying into the stone of the ground, the pathetic hiss of the jutsu he'd been performing fizzling out like a leaky balloon. White smoke puffed out from the point of impact, and the dumbstruck face of the blond boy flew out of it like an out-of-control airplane plummeting through the edge of a cloud. A single drop of blood flew out of his nose as he fell, a red tear that plummeted to the ground in a silent suicide from the face of its owner.

Sakura caught his shirt with one hand and hauled his chest back up until his terrified face was looking her in the eyes.

A low chuckle came from somewhere above them. It was a deep, rolling laugh that radiated out like ripples in a pond.

“What did he do this time?” Sasuke's onyx eyes sparked, contrasting the full smirk of his mouth.

Standing on the roof of a nearby building with the sun blazing at his back, he looked like some sort of avenging angel. White strips of bandages were wrapped tightly around his exposed forearms and legs, disappearing under the black fabric of his short-sleeved shirt and shorts. The white length of rectangular wood that rested on his back lined up with the potent sun, giving the impression that there was a line of fire on his back. The edges of his clothes burned red as the light tried to pass through. He looked supernatural, otherworldly, with a crimson aura lining his obsidian figure. His hair fell to the sides of his face, having grown to almost shoulder length.

Naruto sobered up suddenly, returning Sasuke's smirk with a provocative, challenging grin. He looked up, and the proud Uchiha prodigy moved, too fast to see, re-materializing on the ground beside Sakura, who still had a fistful of Naruto's shirt in a slack grip.

He was taller than both of his teammates, standing almost as tall as Jiraiya.

“Welcome back, moron.”

Kakashi spoke up at this, paying heed to the child hiding behind him.

“Sakura, Sasuke, you guys are scaring Konohamaru.” he drawled boredly.

Konohamaru's frightened face poked out from behind Kakashi's torso, gaping wide-eyed at Sakura's fist, the bruise forming on Naruto's face and what was obviously a sword on Sasuke's back.

Tsunade looked like she was getting a headache. “Jiraiya... He's become like you...”

You're one to talk... The old man thought mutinously, You've got yourself a mini-Tsunade, what with that crazy punch and short temper...

Instead of shortening his lifespan with that remark, the old sage turned his attentions to the youngest Uchiha, who had grabbed Sakura's wrist and Naruto's shirt and was drawing the two apart.

“Has Orochimaru made any more attempts to capture him?” he muttered to the hokage.

“He knows better.” Sasuke's voice overpowered Tsunade's whispered 'no', and he turned to look Jiraiya in the eyes with his sharingan.

The old frog hermit grinned darkly. “Don't get too confident, now. He has to transfer bodies soon, and you know he's got his sights on you.”

“Still overestimating yourself, Sasuke? Talking big with bandages all up your arms?” Naruto jabbed, smirking malevolently.

Sasuke took it in good humor, smirking and turning his sharingan on Naruto. “The only blood on these will be yours.” he chuckled, raising his right forearms to show him that they were pure, clean white.

Tsunade cleared her throat meaningfully.

Kakashi closed his newly acquired 'romance novel' with a loud clap. “Alright, let's not all kill each other before you've spent five minutes on the same team... Try to focus your bloodlust on this.”

Two bells dangled from his fingertips, still as stones.

“Remember what I told you the first time?”

Quoting him word for word at the exact same time, Sakura and Sasuke replied, “If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll never succeed in getting the bells.”

Naruto gawked at them, dumbstruck, for half a second before sobering up and bluffing. “Yeah, I knew that.”

~ ~ ~

Team 7 stood opposite their sensei.

“Alright, the rules are the same.” Kakashi declared, snapping his book shut. “Do whatever you need to to get the bells before morning.”

“Uhh, Kakashi, it's four in the afternoon.” Naruto pointed out.

Silence.

“Not going to read?” Sasuke said, arms folded over his chest, head tilted slightly to the side, smirking.

“Somehow, I get the feeling I'll actually have to put some effort in this time.” He straightened the Konoha headband that usually covered his right eye, revealing the long scar that ran vertically down his eyelid.

He opened his right eye and closed his left, revealing his single Sharingan.

There was a pause, and then several shuriken flew out of Naruto's hands. Kakashi ducked them, swiping his own from his pocket and swinging his arm in a wide arc that threw them back at his student.

Naruto hopped over them, but his teacher tossed another three at him while in midair.

Clasping his hands in the telltale sign, he created a clone which pulled him out of the way.

As he landed on the ground, his clone transformed into a massive shuriken with a puff of smoke. He began to rise, to run at Kakashi, but the jounin was behind him, twisting his arm so that one of the four bladed tips was pointed at the back of Naruto's head.

Yet another clone stood at Kakashi's back, pointing a kunai at him.

“Impatient as ever...” Kakashi chuckled. “Now then... GO!”

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto looking around frantically for where he could have gone.

“Sakura.” Sasuke's voice rolled out over the empty battlefield. Green and black eyes met, to Naruto's confusion, but Sakura nodded and grinned.

Sasuke leapt high into the air.

Drawing her hand back, Sakura brought a fist down on the ground.

Massive chunks of stone and earth began to move, like miniature tectonic plates being shoved by the gods. Pseudo-mountains and valleys formed from stones the size of elephants that were displaced by the force of a single punch from a delicate little pink haired girl.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin, throwing his arms in front of his face like a shocked little kid. Note to self... Don't mess with her ever again. She'll kill me...!!

“Found you, Kakashi.” Sakura stuck her tongue out at her sensei, grinning innocently.

The silver haired jounin clambered out of his jostled hiding place between two huge chunks of earth, a queasy look on his face.

He barely noticed the shadow that was forming in front of him in time.

Sasuke plummeted like a meteor towards Kakashi, so fast that he barely had time to step back.

A roaring inferno blasted out of the point of impact, sending the jounin flying away. Kakashi caught the ground with both feet and one hand, skidding along it in a long scrape that kicked up a considerable amount of dust and dirt.

Sasuke straightened his posture from his crouch until he was standing tall amidst the raging fires, which littered the ground around him and gave the appearance of an apocalypse, his three-pronged sharingan eyes wide open.

He looked like a deity of fire, brushing flames off of his hands like they were flecks of dirt. The stare-down between him and Kakashi was playful, however, Sasuke adopting an innocent smirk.

“Well... I guess it's my turn.” Kakashi clasped his hands together in rapid succession, forming seals faster than the eye could see.

~ ~ ~

“Man, Kakashi's too strong!” Naruto panted.

In the space between a few trees, Team 7 was recuperating from their most recent attempt at the bells.

“Maybe for you.” Sasuke grunted.

Sakura gave him a cold, pointed stare. “Don't even think about it, Sasuke.”

He turned to meet her glare, his eyes level. He seemed to be evaluating the sincerity of the comment.

Naruto was shocked that she would talk to him like that. Last time he'd seen them, she was timid, embarrassed and in awe when she was around Sasuke. She wouldn't dare... threaten him?

Was she strong enough to threaten him?

Probably. She could beat the earth into submission, who was to say she couldn't do the same to him?

“Guys, we need to figure out his weakness. He has to have one.” Naruto huffed, still out of breath.

Sakura cut the staring contest short and turned to the blonde troublemaker. “His sharingan is causing the most problems. He knows what we're going to do before we can even think about it.”

Turning to his brooding rival, Naruto asked “So, Sasuke, does the sharingan have any weaknesses?”

Sasuke let out a grunt, and shook his head. “We could try and blind him with sudden light, but he would see it coming.”

“What if I go in with shadow clones disguised as you two...?”

“He'd see through it faster than we would.”

Naruto made a face at Sasuke.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave Sakura a slanted gaze.

“No, Sasuke.” she said firmly.

“Hn.” He folded his arms like a child who had been denied candy.

“It's a team exercise, you know what he'll say if you do everything yourself.”

Sasuke made a scoffing noise and got to his feet slowly.

“Then you guys better help me out. Naruto, distract him with that shadow clone idea. Sakura, try and knock him off balance. I'll attack him, you guys go for the bells. Got it?”

Both teammates nodded.

Two shadow clones puffed into the clearing, quickly transforming into the likenesses of Sasuke and Sakura.

“Let's go!”

Naruto hopped off with his clones eagerly, and Sakura prepared to follow, but she found Sasuke's hand around her wrist. She turned to see that he was grinning at her mischievously, and before she knew it he had pulled her into an embrace that put his face an inch away from hers. She smiled conspiratorially and pressed her lips against his lightly, quickly, before slipping out of his arms and speeding off after Naruto, who had disappeared into the forest.

“KAKASHI-SENSEI!”

Idiot.

From his hiding place in a nearby tree, blending into the night sky with his dark pallor, Sasuke watched Naruto and his clones confront Kakashi. They split off and ran at him from three directions, which undoubtedly failed. The jounin deflected all of their attacks, and, true to form, dispelled the two clones with a flick of his kunai. Naruto was sent flying backwards, but Sakura's role had begun.

Kakashi knew where she was coming from, what she was going to do, and what was about to happen, but sometimes that knowledge didn't help you in the slightest.

She appeared in true ninja form, without a sound and in a blur of pink hair, and brought an almighty fist down on the ground at Kakashi's feet.

He leapt into the air, avoiding the shock wave that was travelling out and shattering the earth where he had been standing.

Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of him, sword drawn, swinging just as fast as the elder's sharingan could keep up. Kakashi's reflexes were acting on their own in response to the premonitions that the sharingan provided, but they fell short when Sasuke did something completely unexpected.

Pushing the blade into Kakashi's kunai, he simply dropped it there, immobilizing the short knife for a split second.

Then the attacks really came. Fists blurred into Kakashi's chest, at his head, and suddenly Sasuke was behind him, kicking at his back, and Naruto was rushing up from the ground, and Sakura was above him, and he couldn't keep up.

Back on the ground, he watched his students pull a brilliant combination on the log he'd left in his place, effectively turning it into wood chips.

Sasuke's own sharingan had seen that trick in the making, and he touched down onto the ground seconds after it occurred, his sword falling into his hand. When the splintered remainder of the log fell near him, he sliced it in half without a wasted movement, moonlight glinting off of his sword almost as threateningly as it did off of his eyes.

“HEY, KAKASHI!” Narutos's voice screamed down from midair.

Both sharingan turned skywards to see Naruto with his hands cupped over his mouth, yelling with all of his might.

“Y'KNOW THAT BOOK I GAVE YOU? THE MAIN CHARACTER IS REALLY...”

The effect was instant. Kakashi's hands went over his ears, but his sharingan widened considerably when he realized that he could read Naruto's lips even from such a distance. He forced it shut.

Sasuke stood stock still while Sakura landed and lunged at Kakashi, swiping the bells and tossing one to Naruto, who landed seconds later. His eye seemed to be twitching as he tried to comprehend the level of stupidity that had just transpired in his presence.

He let out a ragged sigh that was more of a groan. “Really, Naruto? Really?”

Kakashi chose this moment to reopen his eyes and take his hands from his ears, incurring a blazing glare from Sasuke.

“Hehe, Sensei!” Naruto jangled the bell he held like it was cheese in front of a mouse.

Kakashi looked surprised, then everything clicked into place.

“Ah.” was his only response.

Sasuke shook his head, disgusted.