Here you go, a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.
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A week later, in the Hokage office;
"First of all, let me congratulate you again on your win in the Chunin exams. That was a stellar performance." Hiruzen said with a warm and proud smile on his face as he sat behind his desk
Tsunade and Jiraiya were present, giving Naruto the same warm and proud smile.
All of them have just arrived back in the village after a week of travel back from Kumo. Now they are safely back in Konoha.
"Thank you, Saru-sensei. I appreciate it." Naruto replied
Hiruzen reached into his desk and took out a scroll before looking back at Naruto.
"Take this, Naruto. You earned this." Hiruzen said with a proud smile as he handed Naruto the scroll. He already had prepared it before leaving for the Chunin exams final.
Naruto took the scroll before opening it and unsealing its contents. Out came a light green vest along with a paper slip containing a promotion confirmation to the Chunin rank, which made Naruto's eyes widen slightly.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Naruto. You deserve it." Hiruzen said with a warm smile that Tsunade mirrored, and Jiraiya.
"Thanks, Sensei," Naruto said as he tried the vest on and sealed away his proof of promotion
"What about Anko, Saru-sensei?" Naruto asked as he adjusted the vest on his body
"While I know little Anko is strong, she didn't show much of her abilities in the finals. As long as she improves herself, I can give her a field promotion if her experience is enough, or she can join the upcoming exams." Hiruzen said, making Naruto nod slowly.
"Can I change something on this vest?" Naruto asked as he checked the vest on his body.
"Well, no. Chunins aren't allowed to change anything on their issued vests. Jonin, on the other hand, can change a few things on their standard issue vest or order custom-made ones." Jiraiya explained.
"Then do I need to wear it all the time?" Naruto asked
"No, but you need to wear it when you are on duty or a mission," Hiruzen said, making Naruto nod.
"Your birthday is near, right, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked
"Yes, in about a month, along with Mito's birthday, a few days later and.." Naruto didn't say it, but his face said it all. The bittersweet look on his face was enough.
Mito's birthday is also the day his father and Kushina died. Although he is happy that his baby sister is growing, he still feels the loss of his dad and big sister.
"You can take the next two days off, and then I will station you here in the village and at the hospital. After little Mito's birthday, I will have a different assignment for you." Hiruzen said
"What kind of assignment?" Naruto asked
"You will know in time," Hiruzen replied
Tsunade gave Hiruzen a complicated look. She knew he was going to assign her son to the ANBU. Although she is still against the whole idea of her son going to that dark organization, she appreciated her sensei not doing it right away.
But still, her son will join the ANBU once her little boy turns nine years old. That didn't, and never will, sit well with her.
"You are dismissed, my boy. Go get some rest." Hiruzen said, to which Naruto nodded.
Naruto walked towards the door and was joined by his mother who pulled him into a tight hug.
"I'm so proud of you, Naru," Tsunade said with a bright smile before both mother and son left the office.
"You know, sensei. Naruto's performance in the exams deserves a promotion to Jonin or at least a special Jonin, not Chunin. Defeating an enraged Jinchuuriki is no small feat." Jiraiya said as he looked at Hiruzen
"True, but the boy already pulled a lot of attention towards himself in the exams. Making him a Jonin at eight years old wouldn't do him any good. Just a bigger target on his back. I will promote him to Jonin soon, but I need him to get more experience and missions under his belt before doing that." Hiruzen said as he pulled out his smoking pipe.
"That seems to be for the best," Jiraiya said while nodding slightly
"Well then, see you later, sensei. Got some research to do." Jiraiya said with a perverted smile as he jumped out of the open office window.
"Use the door like normal people, Jiraiya," Hiruzen shouted, looking out of the window.
"Never," Jiraiya shouted back before disappearing in a burst of speed
"Haaaaaaa. Sometimes I think he didn't grow up from that naughty young kid." Hiruzen sighed
"But at least his new books are quite good," Hiruzen said with a perverted smile appearing on his face.
Hiruzen then turned back to his desk, only for him to drop his smoking pipe while his eyes widened.
"H…..How?" Hiruzen muttered with a voice filled with disbelief and despair
On his desk, which was empty a second ago, were stacks upon stacks of paperwork that seemed to appear out of nowhere right on his desk.
"WHERE DO YOU APPEAR FROM, YOU CURSED HELL SPAWN?" A shout filled with rage, disbelief, and despair came from the Hokage's office open window.
A bit later, at the Senju home;
"We are home," Tsunade announced as she and Naruto entered the home
"Welcome back." Came Shizune's voice from the living room.
As the mother and son duo entered the living room, they saw Shizune sitting on the couch with Mito standing on the ground next to her, while her small hands rested on the couch for support.
"Na, Na" Mito called with a cute squeaky voice as her face brightened when she saw Naruto and Tsunade enter the room.
"Hey, Shizune, Mito-chan," Tsunade said as she approached them
"Welcome back Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun. I hope your travels were pleasant. Congratulations on your promotion, Naruto-kun. I knew you could do it," Shizune said with a soft smile as she saw the new addition to Naruto's attire.
"Thank you, nee-san. It means a lot coming from you." Naruto replied with a smile before looking at his little sister.
"Hey, imouto-chan. Did you miss me?" Naruto said softly
Mito squealed happily before she steadied herself and removed her hand from the couch, and took a shaky step towards Naruto, making all the others' eyes widen in astonishment and shock.
They all watched as Mito took one shaky step after the other, trying not to fall over while her face beamed at Naruto.
As she neared him, Naruto bent down while opening his arms, which Mito fell into as soon as she reached him. Naruto stood back up while hugging his little sister to his chest before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead, making her squeal happily.
"Is this her first steps?" Tsunade asked Shizune with an emotional and happy voice.
"Yeah. She started to stand up and try to walk just after you left Tsunade-sama. That was her first steps on her own." Shizune replied with the same tone of voice.
"Did you want to surprise me, Imouto-chan?" Naruto asked Mito with a soft and happy tone.
Mito giggled happily as she tapped her small palms on Naruto's face
"Of Course, I love your surprise, little princess," Naruto said as he hugged her closely.
After resting for a bit and playing with Mito, Naruto looked at his mother before saying: "Hey, Kaa-san. I will go out for a bit. I am going to visit Anko in the hospital to see how she is doing."
"That is fine, just take care and be back soon for lunch so we can eat together," Tsunade said.
"You got it, mum. I will be back in an hour or so." Naruto said before he left the house
Sometime later, Konoha market;
Naruto has just released his henge jutsu in a small alleyway after getting what he needed.
He had used henge before entering the market to buy some dango and some fruits for Anko. Before entering the alleyway to release the henge before entering the market again.
And true to the reason why he used the henge in the first place, as soon as people saw him, he could feel their whispers, glares, and negative emotions directed at him. But that didn't bother him; he already had what he came for and was leaving.
As he was walking out of the market, his eyes caught sight of someone he knew.
He could see Mikoto Uchiha carrying little Sasuke and walking towards the markets. Her eyes caught sight of him, making them widen slightly before she let out a soft smile.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. When did you come back?" Mikoto said as she approached Naruto. She has heard that he had gone to Kumo to take part in the Chunin exams.
"Hello, Mikoto-san. I returned just today." Naruto replied
"Oh, then welcome back and congratulations on your promotion," Mikoto said with a soft smile, seeing the light green chunin jacket.
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Naruto replied
"How is little Mito. Is she fine?" Mikoto asked
"She is doing fine. She just started to walk." Naruto said with a proud smile
"That is wonderful. I hope she grows up strong." Mikoto said
"So, how is Sasuke? And where is Itachi?" Naruto asked
"Sasuke is fine, he started to walk already and say a few words. Itachi is training with Shisui. He is going to enter the academy soon." Mikoto replied as she looked at her sleeping baby for a second before looking back at Naruto.
"That is good." Naruto said before continuing, "I shouldn't hold you up anymore, Mikoto-san. I also need to get going, I have a teammate to visit."
"I will leave you to it, but you know Naruto-kun, you don't need to add 'san' to my name. It is too formal and we are close, aren't we?" Mikoto said with a small smile.
" If that is what you want, then I will do it, Mikoto-oba-san," Naruto replied, making Mikoto's smile freeze and go rigid with her eyebrow twitching.
"Naruto-kun," Mikoto said with a tone that made a chill crawl up Naruto's spine
"Me and your sister, Kushina, used to be teammates, and here you are calling me Oba-san(Aunt)," Mikoto said with a tone that made Naruto know immediately that he had done wrong.
"S..Sorry, Mikoto-nee-san. It won't happen again." Naruto said with a slightly nervous tone
"That is good. See you later, Naruto-kun." Mikoto said, her tone turned warm, as she gave Naruto a gentle smile before walking into the market.
"What was that?" Naruto muttered as he stood still, processing what had just happened
'Women don't like to be called old, Kit.' Came Kurumi's voice from his mindscape
'I didn't call her old. I'm just confused that a woman old enough to be my mother wants me to call her nee-san.' Naruto said with a confused tone
'There you go again. You are basically calling her old. She told you that she was Kushina's teammate. So if you call Kushina, nee-san, while calling her oba-san, you are definitely calling her old.'Kurumi said making Naruto quiet for a moment.
"Women are weird and confusing," Naruto muttered, making Kurumi burst out in laughter, as he started walking to the hospital
A few minutes later, Anko's room in the hospital;
"Hey, Anko," Naruto said as he entered the room
"Hey Naruto." Anko said while lying on the bed in her hospital gown
"Are you alright?" Naruto asked as he sat beside her bed
"Yeah, I'm fine. They said they have to monitor me for a day or two, and if everything goes fine, I will be discharged." Anko replied
"That is reassuring," Naruto said
"Congratulations on your promotion, by the way," Anko said, seeing the flak jacket
"Thanks. Yours isn't far too. Hokage-sama said that you either get more missions under your belt or participate in the next Chunin exams. Just make sure you don't get caught off guard next time." Naruto said
"I will, and thanks," Anko said with a small smile
"Here, I brought you something," Naruto said as he pulled out a small scroll and unsealed its contents on Anko's bedside table.
As soon as the Dango and the fruit basket appeared, the dango disappeared and appeared in Anko's hands with one already stuffed into her mouth, making Naruto look at her with a sweat drop.
"What? Do you know have tasteless the hospital food is? It is the blandest thing ever." Anko said, making Naruto raise his hands in mock surrender.
He knew from experience how bad the food in the hospital is.
to be continued.
Guys and Gals, show me those powerstones.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
(A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this long Chapter. Especially the one who called me stingy. I am looking at you, Just_act_lazy
Just kidding, how can I get mad at my number one fan😁😁)
'200 power stones if you want an additional chapter with next week's release.'
I would appreciate feedback, comments, and power stones from you guys. I would like to read all of your comments. I would like to know if I am doing well and if you enjoy what I write.
Thank you all for your support.
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