Homecoming

Part Thirteen
Bad Omen

"Ryoichi, wait." Sasuke put his hand on the boy's shoulder, to stop him.

"Are you serious?! This guy looks even more stupid than that Naruto!!" Ryoichi yelled at him angrily.

"Yeah, but trust me on this, he's strong. He defeated me the first time we quarreled."

"What??" the boy asked, raising his eyes to his father in disbelief.

"I think you will find some things to learn from him," Sasuke tried to coax him.

Ryoichi sneered and walked back to where his brother was listening to Lee's enthusiastic introduction.

Sasuke watched them for a moment calmly, but suddenly a small bird landed on his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes, listening to the message it carried.

"It's all right," Lee said in response to Ryoichi's muffled apology. He closed his eyes and smiled. "As my renowned sensei used to say, youth and mistakes go hand in hand!"

"Owa…" Kenji took in Lee's words, his eyes shining brightly.

"Hey." Sasuke interrupted them. Lee and the boys turned to look at the Jounin. "I've gotta go."

Ryoichi clenched his hands into fists and frowned. "Where are you going? Mission?"

"Yes. I don't know when I'll be back. Be good." He patted his son’s head and vanished in a puff of smoke.

The boy's face darkened more. "He left me here…" he whispered in disbelief and lowered his head. "I can't believe he left me here."

"Ahhhh!!" Kenji's yelp made Ryoichi jerk back. "Lee-Sensei!!! Why are you crying?!?!"

The boys looked baffled as rivers of tears washed Rock Lee's face.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just so happy. You look just like Sakura-san! Well, minor differences with the hair color, and the eyes, and the nose, and maybe the frame, but-"

"Ehh? You knew mother?" Kenji asked.

"Hmph." Ryoichi shook his head in disapproval. "That's just pathetic. Are you going to teach us Taijutsu or cry all night?"

"Ohhh, Gai-sensei, he's so cute! So passionate!" Lee clasped his bandaged fist and waved it in the air. He looked at Ryoichi intensely and smirked. "As I imagined, you're a true Uchiha member. With Taijutsu, however, advanced bloodline is not enough."

"Lee-sensei, how come you don't have the Jounin vest?" Kenji asked before Ryoichi could reply.

"That's because I am not a Jounin, Kenji-kun."

"But most Chuunins also wear a vest."

"Technically, I'm a Genin," Lee said simply.

For a moment, both boys remained silent, digesting his words. Kenji chuckled nervously and looked at his brother. Ryoichi just started walking away without a word.

"Where are you going?" Kenji asked. "We haven't even started yet."

"Do what you like. I'm going home."

***

This had to be a joke. Ryoichi was so angry. How could his father, one of the highest ranked Anbu captains and an elite Jounin, send him to learn Taijutsu from a mere Genin? It wasn't like his father at all. He's been acting weird lately, especially in the recent days after he came home injured.

The boy's thoughts drifted back to his teacher. That stupid Naruto had turned out to be quite powerful. Ryoichi hadn’t had a chance to give it much thought, but it looked as though the man was hiding his true strength.

And as Hikari had said, he was, in some way, related to the Hokage. It was a real surprise that the Fire Country's mistress hadn’t even mentioned the incident to Godaime.

Maybe now was a good time to discuss with Hikari about his plan, Ryoichi thought and changed his destination.

A few moments after he knocked, the door opened and a little boy with big black eyes and dark hair pulled back to a small ponytail, blinked at him.

"Yes?" the younger boy asked, eying Ryoichi in suspicion.

"Uh, is Hikari home?" Ryoichi asked quietly.

The boy nodded and then leaned on the door, looked back and shouted: "HIKARI-CHAN!!! YOUR BOYFRIEND IS HERE TO SEE YOU!!!!"

Ryoichi felt his face heat up and he frowned, clasping his hands. "Hey, you-"

"Hikari-chan's boyfriend?" A cheerful female voice intervened. "Who is it?" A tall, well-groomed blonde appeared behind the boy.

Ryoichi felt sweat starting to form on his forehead and took a step back.

"Oh, it's Uchiha Ryoichi-kun!" she said with a big smile. "My, Hikari-chan has good taste. He's such a cutie." She scanned Ryoichi from top to bottom, tapping her finger on her chin.

"Mother!!" Hikari pushed her way between her two family members. "You are embarrassing me!" She grabbed Ryoichi by his shirt and dragged him into the house. "Hi, Ryo-kun!"

"Hey," Ryoichi mumbled politely and shuffled his feet. The atmosphere in the house was very different from what he was used to.

The little boy continued to chirp cheerfully with his mother, until a low, masculine voice drawled from the living room.

"Takumi-chan, it's your move!"

The boy's face lit up and he quickly disappeared. Ryoichi took off his shoes and followed Hikari and Ino into the house. He saw Takumi playing a game of Shougi with his father, whom Ryoichi actually remembered. Shikamaru was one of the Hokage's closest advisors, and rumor had it that he was one of the smartest people in the village. No one would have guessed it by looking at the bored expression that sat permanently on his face.

"Ryo-kun, let's go to my room," Hikari suggested and Ryoichi nodded, slightly abashed, and followed her to her bedroom.

He paused by the window, looking at the pink flowers that covered the window box. His eyes shifted to a framed picture that leaned on the box. Hikari and her brother Takumi, much younger in the picture, with their parents. They looked odd, almost as if they didn’t fit together, but there was still something special about the atmosphere of the picture. They looked happy.

Suddenly Ryoichi's vision blurred. In a flash, he could see a shadow of a man. The voice was harsh as it spoke in his head,

"Looks like no one will come for you." The owner of the voice laughed cruelly.

"You're a weakling."

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Your father isn't coming."

It felt cold, as if ice was running through his veins instead of blood. Pain gripped his entrails, ripping him from inside.

"He said he's not a likely candidate. Too weak, like the mother."

"Looks like we have no use for him."

"Aaaaah!"

"Ryo-kun?" Ryoichi gasped when he heard the girl's voice through the vague flashbacks. "Are you okay?"

Ryoichi panted, realizing he’d fallen to his knees. Cold sweat covered his body. He just stared at his hands, his fingernails digging into the hard wooden floor.

After stabilizing his breathing, he got up, looking at the girl with suspicion. A knock on the door made him drop his eyes back down. Before Hikari had a chance to respond, the door opened.

"Hello!" Ino walked in, carrying a tray with two cups on it. "I thought you might like to have some green tea and cookies." She smiled and put the tray on the desk. "Ryo-kun, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No thanks," the boy mumbled and looked away.

"You sound just like your father when he was around your age," she told him, still smiling. "You should be careful not to follow his footsteps. It took him some time to-"

"Mother, would you please go already?" Hikari interrupted her.

"Geez, kids today have no respect," Ino huffed and walked away. "Dinner is ready in thirty minutes."

Ryoichi looked at the tray. "I came to tell you about my plan," he said quietly and sat down on the floor.

"Okay." Hikari sat down in front of him. "But since he's got the Hokage on his side…" She hesitated when she saw Ryoichi's blank face. "Ryo-kun, are you sure you still want him gone? He showed-"

"The fat lady. She hates him." Ryoichi clenched his fist tightly. "She can force the Hokage to sack him."

"That's true, my father is always complaining about her and the Lord meddling in the village's business."

"Time frame?" Ryoichi asked.

"We should arrive there at seven A.M. Naruto-sensei will have his ramen at nine. So you'll probably have ten minutes to get to the main house."

"I can manage. Now listen, about the other thing…"

"Kenji?"

"Yes."

"It's a little trickier than talking to the mistress."

"I know."

"But are you sure about it?" she asked again, looking at him in concern. "It's not about getting Naruto-sensei fired anymore."

Ryoichi frowned. "Will you help me or not?"

The girl sighed and got up. She walked to her desk and picked the cup of tea her mother had left.

"I know that next week on Thursday mother has business out of town. She will leave Takumi-Chan with Father. I could talk to Takumi-Chan to help us distract Father during lunch break."

"Thank you Hikari, you're great." Ryoichi allowed a small smile to grace his pale face. He walked over to the desk and grabbed the other cup of tea. Hikari blushed lightly and sipped from her drink.

***

Kenji felt exhausted in a pleasant kind of way when he finished his practice and skipped cheerfully all the way home. Lee-sensei was a lot tougher than he seemed at first. From the moment Kenji had started the training, it had been intensive and rough. It was something new. It was exciting. It was… famishing.

He was so hungry, he could have eaten anything in sight. Worrying that his brother had eaten all the delicious leftovers from breakfast, he burst into the house and ran to the kitchen, only to stop short in the entrance.

A thin trail of blood drops led to his brother's body lying nestled on the floor, next to the cupboard.

"Brother?!" Kenji shrieked, feeling his heart beating faster. "Brother!!" he kneeled in front of his brother and started shaking him. "Are you alive? Brother!!"

He rolled Ryoichi over and gasped when he saw the blood that covered his face. He started shaking him again, when suddenly Ryoichi opened his eyes.

It took him a few seconds to come back to himself and he pushed Kenji off forcefully. "Get off me!"

"I was just trying to help…" Kenji mumbled apologetically. "What the hell's your problem?"

"Shut up," Ryoichi growled. "None of your business. Get lost!" He wiped away the blood that dripped from the cut beneath his eye and walked away.

"Whatever. See if I care if the asshole dies." Kenji frowned and opened the fridge, happy to see there were still a lot of leftovers. As he cheerfully prepared to fill his stomach with the delicacies, he quickly forgot about the disturbing scene.

***

Kenji rubbed his eyes as he returned to his room, getting ready to sleep. But when he saw the bag stashed under his bed, all his weariness evaporated. With shaking hands, he grabbed his backpack and took out the brown envelope.

If his father found out he’d been going through his stuff, he'd kill him. His father was really strict about his privacy, and Kenji felt lucky enough he hadn’t been punished for breaking into his father's room… and wrecking it up a little.

"Ah well, he threw it away, so it's no longer his," Kenji said to himself as he poured the contents of the envelope on his bedspread.

'And he won't be back any time soon anyway.'

"Whoa…" he gasped in surprise as the pile of pictures spread over the bed. The first picture was the framed yellowish one with the broken glass. It had now been taken out of the frame and crumpled.

The pile turned out to be an assortment of pictures from different periods in Sasuke's life. Naruto-sensei seemed to have been a prominent part of that life, as he appeared in every picture. In some of the pictures Kakashi, Iruka and other people Kenji recognized appeared as well. In those pictures, he also saw his mother. It was odd seeing her in the same picture with his father; it didn't look like they were a couple. Kenji didn't really know anything about them, except what his grandmother had told him, and she didn't know much herself. She made sure he knew that she didn't like Sasuke, and Kenji was the only one who kept in touch with her since Ryoichi disliked her with passion.

"Why did he throw it away?" Kenji wondered aloud as he looked through the pictures. It was hard to digest that his father could be a friend of someone like Naruto-sensei. They seemed to be the polar opposite of each other in personality.

He made a mental note to ask Kakashi about it when he got a chance. There was no way he could ask his father, and Naruto-sensei hadn’t mentioned his father at all, so it seemed better not to bring it up. He put the pictures back into the envelope, got up and hid them in his drawer.

***

Naruto sighed and looked at the two Genins in front of him. It was rather unusual for Kenji to be late for the meeting point, let alone for the second day in a row. Both Hikari and Ryoichi were in a weird mood too. He sensed something unnatural in the air around them, some anxiety that he couldn't explain. In addition, Ryoichi had an odd red mark running down from near his left eye to the middle of his cheek. Naruto was forcibly reminded of Uchiha Itachi, who had had similar marks on both sides of his face. The boy didn't say anything, and Naruto knew there was no point in asking him about it.

It was probably just a coincidence anyway. He shrugged off the thought and looked at the road for the umpteenth time, when suddenly Kenji came running up, holding tight to his backpack.

"Sorry, sorry! I slept in!" he apologized between deep breaths and glanced at Ryoichi. "You bastard! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Be responsible for yourself, stupid," Ryoichi snarled and started walking away.

Naruto rubbed his neck and motioned for Kenji and Hikari to follow.

"Naruto-sensei!" Kenji rushed to catch up with Naruto.

"Teacher's pet," Ryoichi sneered when Kenji passed by him. Kenji frowned, stuck out his tongue at his brother and continued to run towards Naruto.

***

Naruto sighed and put down his brush. It seemed unbelievable, but they were close to a finish. Kenji had been hyper, telling him about his new Taijutsu practices with Lee. It made Naruto think the boy was trying to get information from him.

"And he said he already proved he's a real high level ninja, and that's why he chose to stay Genin!" Kenji concluded his wrap up.

Naruto sighed inwardly. He remembered being shocked at Lee's decision not to take the Chuunin exam again.

'When life is given to you as a gift, it'd be a shame to throw it away. You have already proven that you're a true ninja. You don't need a vest for that.' Naruto remembered Gai's speech.

After that, Gai had taken off his own Jounin vest, saying he always preferred Taijutsu over the rest anyway.

"Naruto-sensei?" Kenji interrupted Naruto's train of thought. "Are you okay?"

Naruto blinked and straightened. He had been feeling a presentiment ever since he had woken up that morning. It made him less focused, but he wasn't going to share that with the kid.

"I'm all right. I'm going to have my cup ramen early," he said and smiled, patting his stomach. "I'm already hungry."

Hikari, listening in not far from them, looked at Ryoichi, who kept a distance from the rest. He stopped and glared at Naruto who went away to sit under the tree.

"Dammit, he's too early," he muttered as he walked over to Hikari. "I haven't finished painting that area."

"I'll try to keep him occupied. Just be quick."

Ryoichi nodded and performed a seal, focusing chakra to his feet.

"Hey! Are you going to the top of the wall again?" Kenji asked, stepping closer.

"None of your business," Ryoichi growled and threw a glance at their teacher. He really didn't need the attention that Kenji attracted.

"Fine, I'll race you there!" Kenji frowned. "And this time I'll win, you bastard!"

"Seven minutes…" Hikari hissed between clenched teeth.

"Ah, I can get there in just two!" Kenji smiled. "After yesterday's practice…"

"Kenji, just stay here," Hikari grumbled. "This competition is really tiresome."

"But Hikari-chan, I want to-"

"And I'll be left here alone?" she tried her best to sound warm and inviting.

Kenji gasped in surprise. "Hikari-chan! You really mean that?"

Ryoichi took the time to focus his chakra again and disappear up the wall.

***

Naruto finished the last drop of his ramen. Whatever problems or uproar he’d been through, he could always count on the heavenly taste of ramen to make him feel better, at least for the few minutes he spent eating it. The three minutes of waiting were still hellish though.

He threw the plastic cup into his trash bag, and got up. He saw Kenji painting the wall, rather enthusiastically. Hikari stood next to him and looked like she was anxiously awaiting her death.

"Oi." He startled both of them, appearing behind them. "Where's Ryoichi?"

"He went up there!" Kenji pointed.

"He's just training." Hikari shrugged.

"This long? He shouldn't be able to have enough chakra to hold himself up." Naruto shielded his eyes from the sun and tried to see up the huge wall. Even his enhanced fox vision couldn't see that far up. He wondered what the child was up to. "I'll go see how he's doing."

"Oww." Hikari let out a yelp and dropped the brush.

"Hikari-chan! Are you okay?" Kenji asked.

"I think I twisted my wrist. How tiresome…" she muttered.

"Hm, let me see." Naruto stepped closer.

"It's nothing really. Just hurts like hell…"

"It could be serious. Let me have a look," Naruto insisted.

"Um," she huffed and glanced up. "I guess it's…"

Before she could finish, Ryoichi approached them, walking out of the main gate, a smug grin on his face. "Yo!"

"Oh, I'm fine. Forget it." She turned her back to Naruto and picked up her brush.

'I wonder what they're up to.' Naruto thought and stood in front of Ryoichi. "Where did you go?"

"Just didn't feel like seeing your faces." Ryoichi shrugged.

"Like we want to see your stupid scar-face!" Kenji frowned at him.

"Shut up," Ryoichi growled and grabbed him. "Get lost, moron!"

"Hey, hey, go back to work, both of you." Naruto stopped Ryoichi's fist before he could punch his brother.

Ryoichi huffed and walked away to stand next to Hikari. "That little bastard…" he muttered in anger and rubbed his face, over his wound.

"What took you so long?" she whispered to him. "Your brother talks too much. Annoying."

"I hate that old fat hag even more than Naruto," Ryoichi muttered. "But at least I convinced her to talk to Hokage. She was actually scared of him. Said something about a fox, but I didn't have time to listen."

"Fox? How odd." Hikari shrugged. "I just hope they'll get us a better teacher."

Ryoichi looked away to glare at Naruto who was busy talking to Kenji. "Anyone would be better than him."

***

Sasuke sucked in air as his water clone exploded a few feet away from their boat. It seemed like their pursuers were closing in on them. He hoped the explosion would hold them back a little, at least until his two other soldiers arrived back at the boat. The fog thickened around them, and he wondered if the enemies knew of his identity as a sharingan user. He was wearing a mask, so someone must have tipped them off.

"They're here!" Konohamaru called in alarm.

"Shush," Sasuke silenced him, keeping his eyes on the second water clone that was still standing on guard in his eyesight.

He couldn't believe they had been ambushed so easily. He shouldn't have split up the team. His decision had turned out to be wrong.

"Seki, this is Sasuke in point A. Do you copy?" he whispered into his earphone.

Only static noise greeted him back. He raised his eyes to look at Konohamaru. The young man had his eyes on the shore. His hand was wrapped tight around the hilt of his katana.

"Keishirou, do you copy?" Sasuke tried again. "This is Sasuke."

Konohamaru turned to look at him. "You don't think… ?" he asked quietly.

Suddenly the radio gave a signal. "… This is Seki. Sasuke, we're… Keishirou…" the voice was hardly heard through the static noises.

"Seki can you hear me?" Sasuke covered his ear, trying to listen in. "Seki?"

When no further response came from the missing team members, Sasuke got up. "Konohamaru." He turned to his young subordinate. "I'm going to retrieve Seki and Keishirou, stay here."

"I'll come with you," Konohamaru said and rose to his feet. "You can't go alone."

"We have to complete the mission," Sasuke said softly. "No matter what."

Konohamaru sighed and looked at the box that lay in the back of the boat. "All right."

Sasuke jumped to the water, channeling his chakra in the way that allowed him to stand on the water. He gave Konohamaru a nod and started running on the water, towards his clone.

He wasn't sure what happened next; all he knew was that a huge wave of water suddenly washed over him.

"SASUKE!!!" he heard Konohamaru yelling his name, as he gasped for air, trying to release himself from the icy cold waters that were wrapped around him like an iron fist.

***

"Finally we've finished this annoying painting mission!" Kenji stretched out his hands over his head the moment they walked through the gates of the village.

He stopped grinning and lowered his hands when a Chuunin approached them.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, looking at the young man.

"Naruto-senpai, Hokage-sama requests to meet you at once," he said without any delay.

"We're just on our way to report the mission status," Naruto replied.

Ryoichi watched the two grownups with a blank expression on his face. Hikari lowered her eyes, standing behind him.

"I'll take the children. Hokage-sama is waiting for you in her office."

"What's going on?" Kenji stepped in, looking at the Chuunin. "Naruto-sensei, did-"

"Don't worry, Kenji." Naruto turned around and smiled at his young student. "I'll meet up with you later," he said and disappeared instantly.

***

Naruto wondered why it was that he felt so uneasy. His senses had been screaming with premonition since morning. It couldn't be that…

Naruto sighed and shook his head. He shouldn't be worried about him. He shouldn't care about him at all.

And besides, Sasuke could take care of himself.

In an attempt to relax his nerves through the long stairs that led to the administrative building, he took off his headband and tugged at it nervously. He stopped when he met up with two of the Hokage's robed and masked Anbu bodyguards.

"Sorry, you'll have to wait," one of them said.

"But she called me."

"Hokage-sama is still in a meeting with the head of the Hyuuga clan," the second bodyguard said.

"Oh…" Naruto paled and took a step back. "Hyuuga-sama is there."

"But they should finish any moment," the guard added.

"It's okay!" Naruto smiled brightly, feeling cold sweat covering his forehead. "I'll just stop by later…"

Just as he finished speaking, the door opened and he stopped smiling at once, watching the man that walked out of Hokage's office. Naruto's eyes passed over the man's black kimono and he held his breath, raising his eyes slowly to meet the man's silver eyes.

"Neji…" he mumbled finally once he recognized the man.

"Naruto," Neji drawled. "I heard you were back."

"I…" Naruto cringed and raised his hand to run it through his hair, when he realized he was still holding the headband. "I got back a while ago…"

He tied the head protector back and looked at Neji again. "I…" he hesitated again, then looked at the Hokage's door. "Wait, you're the head of the Hyuuga house now?"

"Yes. Hiashi-sama retired several months ago and Hanabi-sama renounced the position."

"I see." Naruto lowered his eyes. He'd been avoiding the chance of meeting any of the Hyuuga house family members. How typical that when he was least prepared for it, he would meet up with one of them. And not just any one of them. Neji.

"H-how's Tenten?" he asked, his voice betraying his anxiety.

"She's good." Neji nodded and continued, "we had our third son recently."

"Oh." Naruto gaped in surprise. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Naruto continued to sweat. Those eyes always made him uncomfortable, as if his soul and his entire being were exposed.

"Well, I… Tsunade is waiting for me…" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hn." Neji turned to walk away and Naruto walked in the opposite direction to Hokag's office. When suddenly he heard Neji speak again.

"Naruto."

He winced and closed his eyes without turning to face Neji.

"No one is blaming you for her death."

Naruto opened his eyes. He still didn't face Neji. Instead, he just stood silent, biting his bottom lip.

"What I've said to you that day… I was very upset. With the years, it's become easier to-"

"But I am to blame," Naruto interrupted him and turned around. "It's my fault she died! It was because…"

"Hey, you're the one who told me a person is responsible for his own destiny," Neji said quietly. "You've set me free, Naruto. Why do you insist on binding yourself to the past?"

Naruto had no reply. He just stared at Neji, contemplating his words. Neji gave him a nod of recognition and walked away.

Naruto sighed and leaned against the door. After a few moments he shook his head and knocked on the door before entering.

"Ah, Naruto," Tsunade sighed and got up. "How are you?"

"I don't know," Naruto said quietly. "Why don't you tell me?"

He eyed her as she made her way to stand before him. She seemed more worn out and tired than he'd seen her since his return. Even though she still wore her young form, he could feel the burden of her years.

"What were you thinking?" she asked, raising her voice only a little.

"Hm?" he asked in confusion. He had already expected to hear morose news.

"Threatening the Fire Country's mistress?!"

Naruto blinked, before chuckling in relief. "What, she finally told you?"

"Finally? She spent here more than an hour complaining that you are teaching the children in unorthodox ways, that you've destroyed her property, raised your voice on her, talked disgracefully in a casual manner, yelled at her and even threatened her with Genjutsu," Tsunade washed him in one breath.

"Well, I was joking about the Genjutsu." Naruto snickered.

"This is not funny at all. She said she was scared for her life."

Naruto still laughed. "Damn, that's the best thing I've heard all day. I've had such a shitty day, I kept feeling-"

"Naruto," Tsunade cut him out. "She demanded that I suspend you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"As of this moment, you will no longer accompany team five in missions."

"What, are you serious?" Naruto arched his brow.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the matter. I could barely stop her from taking legal action. In fact I was this close to wiping out her memory if it didn't have serious side effects."

"I'm not scared of the damn hag, you shouldn't have interfered," Naruto said quietly.

"Naruto, let me say this in a way you would understand," Tsunade sighed and then grabbed his hands.

Naruto gasped when he found himself holding hands with Tsunade's true form. A form probably no one had the privilege of facing. He had seen it once as a kid, but he'd never seen it again since that time. She had been exhausted from fighting back then, but this time the real Tsunade looked even more worn out, without facing a deadly battle.

"I'm old and I'm tired," she said. "Even with my Genjutsu that makes my exterior look young, my body feels its years."

Naruto just watched her quietly, without pulling his hands out of hers.

"You know I've been waiting for the moment I could retire and leave the village, get back to gambling…" she sighed, taking time to breathe, before continuing her speech. "But you weren't ready to become my successor."

"Me?" Naruto found himself asking dumbly.

"Frankly speaking, you don't have a lot of supporters in the council. But since the few supporters you do have are powerful and influential, there is still a chance that you could become the Sixth Hokage."

"Really?" Naruto gasped.

"But Naruto, if the mistress picks a grudge with you, you'll never be able to fulfill your dream."

"Isn't it too late now?" Naruto asked. "I think she already hates me."

"You could try apologizing," Tsunade suggested and stepped back, hiding her true form again with that of a much younger woman. "I can vouch that she likes flattery."

"No way!"

"Please, Naruto, just think about it, it's your future we're talking about… more than that, it's Konoha's future!"

Naruto furrowed his brow. "I'm not going to grovel!"

"Just go home and think about the bigger picture," Tsunade said softly.

"Are you sure you can't wipe her memory?" Naruto asked and stuck out his tongue.

"Oh, believe me, I would have. But because the results are unpredictable, the outcome could cause trouble. People have changed their entire personality--" she stopped talking and sighed. "Just go home."

"All right." Naruto lowered his head. "Who will replace me with the children?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm too upset. Kenji has been making great progress."

"I'm sure he will be fine." Naruto smiled lightly. "Good night."

He walked out of her office without further delay.


TBC