16 Chapter 16: The Uzumaki Naruto Chronicles III

After a long day of missions, we find Team 7 at their usual meeting spot. Kakashi was giving them their usual reviews when he noticed a messenger eagle. Knowing what it meant seeing as though it was that time if the year, he dismissed his students and took off to the Hokage tower.

Naruto, who noticed the interaction, figured out what was happening and allowed himself a small smirk, knowing what was coming tomorrow.

"Sasuke-kun, would you like to get some lunch? Maybe we can work on strengthening our teamwork?" Questioned a bashful Sakura. Sasuke for his part didn't even bother looking back.

"Hmph, if you have time to do pointless things like, then you should go practice a jutsu or something. Honestly, your abilities are lower than Naruto's.

Go find a way to make yourself not be useless." Replied Sasuke coldly causing Sakura's shoulders to droop sadly.

His comments really cut into her already fragile self-esteem. She was already questioning her usefulness and the comments of her crush just drove the nail in deeper. She reflexively turned around to reject Naruto's date offer, only to see him walking away.

She almost forgot that he doesn't seem interested in her anymore. Her reactions to him were honed for years that she sometimes does it instinctively. It still hurt though to see him not bothered to try and cheer her up, when he did it constantly before.

Naruto for his part, was taking a casual stroll through the village, completely ignoring the glares sent his way, along with the few curious and lustful stares that made him shiver a little. He sweat-dropped though, when he noticed the square rock that seemed to be tailing him. It was a horrible disguise, and he knew only one person who would use something like that. He turned around with a deadpan look in his eyes as he spoke to the rock.

"Konohamaru, what are you doing?" He asked.

"I should have expected that for the man whom I have high hopes for and is also my rival." Came the muffled reply from the 'rock' before it started glowing.

BOOM!!!

It exploded, kicking up a large amount of smoke. Coughing could be heard from the smoke cloud and Naruto could see the silhouette of three kids on the ground.

"Hey, you used too much gunpowder." Said Konohamaru to his friend as they continued their coughing fit. Naruto noticed that all three kids wore the same type of goggles that he used to wear when he attended the academy.

The kids noticed Naruto staring at them with a dull expression and froze. The two groups continued to stare at each other, not moving an inch. Suddenly the group of kids burst into action.

"The one that possesses the sex appeal of an adult, and the kunoichi from the senior group, Moegi!" Declared the girl with burnt orange hair done up in high pigtails and a permanents blush on her face, while striking a weird pose.

"The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon." Followed the plain looking boy with glasses and snot running down his nose, while doing an equally ridiculous pose.

"This villages number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!" Shouted Konohamaru, following his friend by doing a bizarre looking pose.

"The three of us make the Konohamaru Corps!" All three of them said together, maintaining their poses.

There was absolute silence for a few moments. Naruto could hear Kyu-chan laughing her ass off in his mind. He felt a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face as he wasn't sure how to react in this situation.

He wondered if this was what he was like when he was younger. That wasn't a pretty thought at all. He decided to just ignore the strange introduction.

"Hey Konohamaru, long time no see. I see you made some new friends too." Greeted Naruto in a friendly manner. Unlike his usual tone that he uses to annoy Sasuke with, this one was genuine. He really liked Konohamaru.

He was a good kid who didn't care about the rumours surrounding Naruto. He was one of the few people in the village who treated Naruto as a regular person.

"Yeah, this is Moegi and Udon. We're at the academy together." Introduced Konohamaru.

"Well it nice to meet you both, any friend of Konohamaru is a friend of mine." He spoke kindly, causing a happy smile to blossom on the faces of Konohamaru and Udon, whilst Moegi blushed cutely at how cool and handsome he looked. "By the way, why are you all wearing those goggles?"

"Hehe, so you noticed. We are copying the old you." Replied Konohamaru. Naruto had a soft smile on his face after hearing that reply. He really was happy. It was because of people like these three that he fought for this village.

"Hoh…those goggles helped me a lot in my younger days. I'm sure they will serve you well." He said.

"Yeah! We haven't seen you around lately boss. I like the new look by the way. It's really cool." Said Konohamaru while giving a thumbs up. Udon just nodded in agreement and Moegi nodded shyly with a bashful expression.

"Haha! Thanks for the compliment guys. Yeah, I had a bit of a growth spurt and needed new clothes, glad you think they look good. I was going for a different look. And sorry I haven't been around lately, it's been a bit hectic with missions and training. Tell what, I'm free right now, so what would you like to do?" Replied Naruto kindly causing all three of their faces to light up in joy.

"Let's play ninja!" They shouted, causing Naruto to chuckle at their enthusiastic behaviour.

"What kind of ninja plays ninja with a bunch of brats? How stupid." Came the unwanted comment from a gloomy looking Sakura as she sneered at the group. Naruto's expression sharpened for a moment, causing her to shiver, before is melted into his usual placid expression. Sakura was frozen for a moment. It was like being caught in the crosshairs of a predator, stalking their prey. She didn't want to feel that again.

"Ara Sakura-san, I'm the kind of ninja that does that. They are my friends after all. Do you have a problem with that?" He asked calmly, but Sakura was smart enough to pick up the underlying threat in his tone, causing her so shake her head negatively. He honestly scared the crap out of her just now.

"Hey boss, who is this girl? Is she your…you know?" Asked Konohamaru with a sly expression on his face while holding up his pinkie finger. Sakura just blushed at his insinuation, whether it was from embarrassment or anger, not even she knew. Naruto just chuckled lightly in response.

"Nothing like that Konohamaru, she's just my teammate, nothing more." Responded Naruto. Sakura felt like a dagger pierced her heart at that comment. He didn't even consider her a friend. She honestly just wanted to crawl into a hole. First Sasuke-kun and now Naruto, this day was turning out to be horrible.

"Heh, I'm not surprised. She's kind of ugly. I'm not even sure if she's a girl. She's flat chested, not to mention her huge forehead. I think you can find a prettier girl." Commented Konohamaru bluntly, not knowing the danger that was lurking. Naruto just chuckled ruefully, at the comment and at his tenants howling laughter in his mind.

Sakura felt the flames of feminine fury envelope her at the comments from the little brat. She had a lot of frustration built up from the day and a perfect target just made itself available.

"You might want to start running Konohamaru." Advised Naruto. Konohamaru looked at the direction Naruto was looking at and saw Sakura about to blow a gasket. His self-preservation instincts kicked in causing him to take off in a sprint, with his friends following him. The object of his fear was hot on his heels as she chased him down.

Naruto was amused by the whole exchange. He followed then at a languid pace. He would never let Sakura put her hands on Konohamaru, but he decided it would be a good lesson for his little friend in learning to keep his mouth shut. He wished he learnt that early in his life. He was brought out of his musings by a loud crash from around the corner.

He knew Konohamaru was involved as he had been following his chakra signature. It was the other three signatures in the area that caused him to pause though. They were pretty large, probably high Chuunin level reserves. However, it was the hostility they were giving off that caught his attention.

Any person in this village would recognise the Hokage's grandson and unless they had a death wish, they would never try anything funny with him. This implied that they weren't from Konoha. Given the fact that the Chuunin exams were in a week, he figured they were foreign shinobi.

He wasn't too worried about the two that were near Konohamaru though, it was the one a bit further away that put him on edge. The bloodlust and pure intent to kill that were rolling off him was unnatural. Naruto decided he would keep an eye on that one.

He carried on his languid pace though and decided to observe the scene, making sure to intervene if they tried anything with his young friend.

"That hurt you little brat." Commented what looked like, at least to Naruto, a gender confused boy wearing a full body black cat suit, with purple make-up on his face and a large bundle on his back. He noticed the pair of them were wearing Suna hitai-ate's.

The girl next to him was dressed in a traditional battle kimono with a mesh undershirt and leggings. She had teal coloured eyes and dirty blonde hair that were done up in four spiky pigtails.

She was also quite curvy for her age and had a considerable bust. She also had what looked like one of the trademark Suna battle fan's on her back. All in all, Naruto found her to be quite attractive. He directed his focus back to the weirdo tough, when he picked up Konohamaru by the scruff of his neck.

"Stop messing around. You're going to get us into trouble." Said the blonde female.

"I'm sorry, I was joking around, so…" Pleaded Sakura nervously. She was trying to figure out who they were. She noticed that they had a different hitai-ate than what leaf shinobi wear.

The make-up wearing weirdo just glanced at the girl, noticing her hitai-ate and deducing she was a Genin of Konoha.

"But I want to play around before some noisy people come." He said with a smirk. The girl just rolled her eyes at him.

"Let go!" Struggled Konohamaru.

"You're very energetic, kid." He mocked, before looking at Sakura. "Konoha's Genin look pretty weak." She said before turning his attention back to Konohamaru. "I hate short people anyway. And you're so impertinent for someone younger than me….It makes me want to break you." He finished with a cruel expression on his face. His companion just sighed.

"I'm not going to be responsible for what you do." She said with a bored look on her face.

"Ara ara….I don't like the way you're treating my little friend here. I'm going to have to ask you to put him down please." Said a voice from behind the two foreign shinobi causing them to tense up as they didn't even feel him get behind them.

They looked behind them to see Naruto in all his gory, lazily holding a kunai at the gender confused boy's jugular, causing said boy to break out into a little sweat.

The girl just had a blush on her face at how handsome her fellow blonde was. Konohamaru and just sighed in relief that their boss got them out of this jam, while Moegi was having a little fan-girl moment. Even Sakura had to admit that Naruto looked really cool right now.

"Oh a tough guy…What are you going to do if I refuse?" He asked snidely even though he wasn't as confident as he made himself out to be. He recognised that the blonde was dangerous.

"Well I honestly don't want to have to spill your blood over this nice, clean street. I'm sure it would be quite a chore to clean up." Answered Naruto.

The casual way said that put both Suna-nin on edge. He said it like it was an undisputable fact that couldn't be changed. It didn't sit right with the tow of them at all. "I'm sure I will be pardoned though. I can see the story now. 'Badass Blonde rescues Hokage's grandson from bloodthirsty Suna transvestite'. I'm sure you don't want that happening right?" He commented airily.

The blood drained from the boy's face when he realised that he almost harmed the Hokage's grandson. That would have gotten him executed on the spot. He released Konohamaru, who ran back to his friends.

Naruto just nodded at his decision before putting his kunai away and casually walking past the two Suna-nin, purposely showing his unguarded back as a way to imply that he didn't see them as a threat.

The two understood what he did and it irked them how he disregarded them, but knew better than to make a scene after almost harming the grandson of the village leader. Naruto got down on one knee and dusted off Konohamaru's clothing before checking him over for any injuries.

"You're not harmed are you, Konohamaru?" He queried. Said boy just shook his head negatively.

"I'm fine boss. Thanks for saving me." Naruto just smiled gently and ruffled his hair playfully causing the boy to beam up at him happily.

The blonde Suna-nin just cooed at the cute scene. Not only was the guy strong and kind, but he was good with kids too. So far he seemed like the perfect package.

After finishing his check on his friend, Naruto got up and faced the Suna-nin. He had a friendly expression on his face that spoke of no underlying motives, and that was something that unnerved them a bit.

"It's not often one sees foreign shinobi in the village. However, considering the Chuunin Exams that are coming up, it is understandable. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Konoha, would it be too much trouble to ask the names of our guests?" Inquired Naruto politely. Sakura was just confused at the mention of the Chuunin Exams.

"My name is Temari, and this is my brother Kankuro." Answered the blonde girl, now identified as Temari. Kankuro just grunted in dissatisfaction.

"Temari. What a beautiful name for a beautiful desert flower. The pleasure is mine." Said Naruto as he kissed the back of her hand causing said girl to blush prettily. Naruto didn't really have a romantic interest in the girl, and while he did admit that she was pretty and would grow up to be a real beauty, for the moment he would just try to remain friendly relations with her and her brother.

You would never know when connections like this came in handy in the future. And while he could possibly pursue a relationship with her in the future, his heart still belongs to Haku-chan right now.

Sakura didn't know why, but it irked her to see Naruto flirting with the, admittedly pretty blonde. It used to be her that he did those things with, albeit not as smoothly. It left her feeling a little hollow.

Before anything else could be said, Naruto used his impressive reflexes and caught a stone inches away from Kankuro's face, just as it was about to impact it. It caused both Suna-nin to put their guards up. Naruto just looked in the direction the stone came from.

"Sasuke-san, I understand the need for you to exert your dominance in whatever unique mating ritual you seem to be performing, but please don't assault a foreign ninja especially one of our allies, at least not without consent.

This is a somewhat litigious society after all. Even though he's dressed in a cat suit and is wearing make-up, I don't think he swings that way. Please be mindful of that in the future." Naruto kindly advised his teammate who was sitting up in a tree, bouncing a stone in his hand in an attempt to look cool.

Kankuro's face paled at the implications and back away from the vicinity of Sasuke as fast as possible, taking refuge behind his sister. He even ignored the shot about his war-paint. He was much too concerned about his chastity at the moment.

Temari was a bit disappointed. Even though he seemed kind of cute, it seemed that he wasn't interested in girls. Oh well, the blonde was much more scrumptious in her opinion.

Because of the sincerity and politeness of Naruto's voice, they both immediately believed him with regards to Sasuke's sexual orientation.

While he maintained his outwardly polite demeanour, he was laughing his ass off at the constipated look on Sasuke's face. It seemed that the Suna-nin believed his as well which only made it better.

[ MWUAHAHAHA! The look on his face is priceless! This is why you're my favourite boya! Serves those stupid Uchiha's right! ] The boisterous laugh of his tenant could be heard in Naruto's mind causing him to chuckle at how giddy she was at his little prank. Messing with Sasuke became a favourite past time of theirs.

Sasuke was fuming at the nerve of the dobe. How dare he imply that! He wanted to go down there and put him in his place but he didn't want to make a scene. He knew it would only make Naruto's claims more believable if he did something like that. So he settled for trying to set the annoying blonde on fire with his glare.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend Sasuke-san?" Questioned Naruto, who was looking to the right of a Sasuke, who followed his gaze to find a redhead Suna-nin standing upside down on the branch right next to him. He didn't even notice his presence. None of the present gathering did, with the exception of Naruto.

"Kankuro, you're a disgrace to our village." Commented the newcomer coldly. Kankuro just broke out into a cold sweat, his body trembled with fear. Naruto's sharp eyes picked up all this in an instant.

"G-Gaara…" He Whispered. "Listen, Th…these guys started it, and…" He stuttered fearfully before he was cut off.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you." Gaara cut him off coldly, causing Kankuro to tense up.

"I got it. My mistake. I'm sorry, really sorry." Placated Kankuro.

Naruto watched the exchange with interest. With his Negative Emotions Sensing ability, he could almost taste the fear radiating of Temari and Kankuro. It was the most fear he's ever felt a person give off.

It was intriguing. The redhead though, Naruto was able to discern that he was the source of the unbelievable bloodlust that he sensed before. He was much shorter than either of his teammates with cropped red hair and thick bags under his eyes. He had the kanji for 'love' tattooed on the left side of his forehead.

It was his chakra though that really caught the interest of Naruto. It was huge. Not as large as his own reserves, but not that far off either. It was larger than even the Hokage, and it was tinged with something else as well.

'Kyu-chan.' He called out to his tenant in a serious tone of voice.

[ I know. Be careful of this one. The bloodlust and insanity coming off him is nostalgic. If I had to guess, that boy has Shukaku, the Ichibi, sealed within him.] Replied the Kyuubi in an equally serious manner. That sent alarm bells ringing in Naruto's head. Sending a Jinchuuriki to a foreign nation for the Chuunin exams isn't necessarily illegal, but it is heavily frowned upon. Something wasn't right here.

"I apologise on behalf of my teammates." Said Gaara as he looked directly at Naruto. He disappeared from his spot on the tree and appeared before Naruto, in what appeared to be a sand Shunshin.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Said the redhead. Naruto inferred that he was introducing himself. Gaara looked at him unblinkingly. For most people, it would have been unnerving, but for the boy who got glares sent his way since he was little, it was nothing new to him. He just smiled back politely.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He answered. Gaara just nodded before motioning his team to leave.

As they walked away, Sasuke decided he didn't like being ignored, especially by what looked like a strong opponent.

"Oi…don't you want to know my name?" Asked Sasuke with a smug smirk on his face. Gaara just stopped, turned to look at him, and continued to do so for about 5 minutes, seemingly measuring him up. There was absolute silence. Sasuke was seriously unnerved by the stare.

"No." He finally answered before turning around and walking away. It infuriated Sasuke to be disregarded in favour of his idiot teammate. Said teammate just couldn't let things lie either.

"Sorry Sasuke-san. It seems like you aren't his type. But don't worry, I'm sure there are plenty of butch guys in the Chuunin Exams looking for a little bitch to play with, so don't lose hope." Commented Naruto, causing Sasuke to fume with embarrassment.

He was about to attack the blonde before Naruto grabbed onto Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon and disappeared in a swirl of wind. Sasuke just screamed in frustration.

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