Having disposed of Zabuza, the rest of the mission had become much simpler, as the remaining rogue Shinobi hired by Gato are nowhere near as skilled as he was.
When Tazuna was brought to complete the bridge, they were ambushed by Gato's gang, surrounding them from all sides.
Kakashi glanced at the kids, and a thought came to his mind
"I will not step in during this fight, defeat them all yourself" He said calmly as he stood by Tazuna with a book in his hand.
His casual attitude meant that he trusted they would be able to do it, so the team was more than eager to do this.
Naruto and Sasuke both took a side on the bridge, whilst Sakura remained behind, often sending groups of enemies into a genjutsu.
Though it wasn't strong, it was more than enough time for Naruto and Sasuke to finish them off.
*Fwoosh*
A fireball flew through the air, immediately taking out a large group. Sasuke evaded many attacks, even throwing in counters amidst the chaos, however, the numbers kept piling up.
He gnashed his teeth and pressed forward, holding a kunai in one hand, he deflected many attacks, but injuries also began stacking on him. Sakura did her best to support, with occasional shurikens, and genjutsu, but the sheer number made her heart sink.
Kakashi's gaze remained calm as he stared at Sasuke, as if he was waiting...
As for Naruto's side, he long stopped worrying, as not only is he wielding Zabuza's executioner's blade as if it was a toy, he also some control over the nine tails power, allowing him to use the demon fox cloak.
His control over the nine tails' power surprised Kakashi, but also made him feel relieved that he isn't consumed by the nine tails when using this power.
He turned his gaze back to Sasuke...
*Shing*
A blade suddenly came from behind Sasuke, and when he turned around, it was already right in front of his eyes...was he...going to die?
Absolutely indignant, a burning desire to become stronger rose in his heart, and his pupils suddenly became red, with one tomoe in each eye.
'He finally awakened it' Kakashi nodded in satisfaction
With the Sharingan awakened, Sasuke was able to perceive the movements of everything around him much faster, and raised his kunai to deflect the attack right before his every eye.
*Clang*
The kunai deflected the blade, and he even took the chance to slash the man's neck.
Naruto cleaned up his side of enemies with relative ease, the executioner's blade made it much more efficient as every time he swung it, it would kill nearly a dozen at once. He turned his gaze to Sasuke, who used his newly found powers to easily avoid all fatal attacks, and even sped up his hand signs.
"Fireball jutsu" He fired a fireball amidst the barrage of attacks, not letting a single one through
Naruto glanced at Kakashi, then at a man who stood at the very back of the enemy forces. Gato.
He stood there, shaking, understanding that his entire force was about to be annihilated by them.
"Naruto" Kakashi said
"Yeah?"
"When did you gain control over the nine tails' power" He asked
"When I was fighting Zabuza" He replied
Kakashi felt that Naruto was making it up, but he had neither the evidence nor reason, to say he was lying. As long as he's fine, then he was at ease.
"You should go help finish this" He said
"Do I really need to? Sasuke is about to finish it himself" Naruto groaned
"Naruto" Kakashi said in a low voice
"Urgh, fine" He coated himself with the red chakra once more, and held the executioner's blade with one hand.
Had he not used the demon fox cloak, the blade would actually be too heavy to use. But he had no fear of showing Kakashi the demon fox cloak, as he trusted Kakashi enough to do so.
With the blade at hand, Naruto rushed into the massive group, and sliced numerous foes in two with a single swing.
With his help, Sasuke's pressure eased up, and Sakura slumped to the ground, having overused her chakra. From this battle, she felt her insecurities rise once more, as she couldn't keep up with the two in front of her at all.
While they are in the front line fighting without stop, she has gotten tired from merely supporting from behind. It dawned on her that she couldn't keep up at this rate, no matter how much she trains...
Kakashi seemed to have noticed her struggles, but said nothing, as this was something she had to figure out herself.
*Psht*
With a final push, Naruto slashed Gato's head off, and kicked his corpse off the bridge. With him out of the way, the mission can thus be classified as complete.
"Mission complete" Naruto swung the blade over his shoulders and grinned
Sasuke let out a faint breath as his body swayed.
"Sasuke-kun" Sakura ran up, catching him as he was falling
Kakashi checked up on him, his injuries were minor, and his collapse was purely due to overusing the sharingan.
After resting up, the team returned to the hidden leaf. During the reporting of the mission, Kakashi kept the fact that Naruto can use the first tail form of the nine tail's chakra hidden, and attributed Zabuza's defeat to himself as to not draw suspicion onto him.
"Finally, some proper rest" Naruto returned to his house, and slumped onto his bed with a gleeful grin on his face.
*Bang*
A knock came from his door just as he was about to take a nap, making his mood suddenly sour.
He groaned and got back up, dragging himself towards the door...
"Urgh, who is it" He opened the door and saw Ino, who has a rather conflicted expression
"Oh, Ino" His expression lightened up a little when he realised who it was
"Naruto, what should I do? Sasuke's birthday is today, should I give him this scarf, or maybe this cute fox plush?" She held both items up and asked with a concerned expression
"Have you asked Shiki?"
"I have, but he just said it was a drag and closed the door on me" She huffed
Naruto sighed faintly, his eyes narrowed in on her fingers, which had bandages wrapped on them, then at the scarf that looked rather low quality.
"The scarf" He replied
"R-Really?" She asked, seemingly happy with his choice
"Mn" He nodded
Ino revealed a determined expression
"Thanks Naruto, I'll treat you to ramen later" She waved her hand and ran off
Naruto yawned, and returned to his bed where he laid down and...realised he couldn't sleep at all...
'Dammit, she just makes me worried' He thought to himself as he thought back on Ino's gleeful expression as she held her scarf.
He sighed and got up from bed
-Ino's side-
Ino rushed to find Sasuke, and happened to come across him in front of the academy's training ground with Sakura. She was about to walk up when she saw Sakura give him a present, wrapped up nicely.
She quickly hid behind a tree, wanting to see how things turn out.
"Sasuke-kun, happy birthday" Sakura said with a faint blush
Sasuke stared at the present in her hand, but turned his head
"No need" He replied
"Come on, I picked it out just for you" Sakura smiled, though her smile carried a trace of desperation
Sasuke stared at her, then scoffed
"I don't need your grarbage" She responded in a low voice before leaving
Sakura felt her heart tighten in an instant
"S-Sasuke-kun" Sakura trembled, the gift in her hand almost fell had she not held it tightly to her chest, but Sasuke never turned back.
Ino frowned a little...would that happen to her as well? However, she was already this close, so she mustered up the courage and chased after Sasuke.
When she reached him, he turned around and saw the scarf in her hand. After what happened with Sakura, he somewhat knew why she was here, but he still decided to hear her out before responding.
"Sasuke-kun, I heard it was your birthday today, so I-"
"Don't bother, it's just a waste of time" Sasuke replied coldly before walking off without looking back, the gaze he gave her made it impossible for her to word out anything.
Ino's words were suddenly stuck in her throat, she couldn't even call out to him. Her mind immediately flashed back to his cold voice, and spiteful gaze, as if what she was holding was garbage.
Her lips trembled, so after all this time of picking out what she should give him, she wasn't even able to give it to him the scarf that she made herself. Being unable to pick a present, she thought a hand made gift would be best, but...what was all that time and effort for?
The injuries on her fingers suddenly started to hurt again, as her vision began blurring from the tears that was slowly covering her eyes.
"If he doesn't want it, I'll take it" She heard a calm voice behind her
When she turned around, she saw a yellow and orange blur, but after a bit, she realised it was Naruto. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to a bench so she could sit down.
"N-Naruto, Sasuke, he...*hic* he..." Her voice was horsey, and she would often choke on her own words when she tried to speak
Naruto patted her back gently
"Sasuke is just too focused on his own things, he can't find the time and space in his heart to worry about matters of love" Naruto said
"E-Even so..." Ino held the scarf in her hand tightly and looked down.
Naruto stood up, he stepped over so he was standing right in front of Ino, and crouched down so he could see her eyes.
"Ino, I don't know how much effort you put into that scarf, but I do know that you gave everything you had, to have all of it treated that way, I'll go give him a beating and spank his a*s for you" Naruto said
"N-No need, you can't be-beat him anyway" Ino rubbed her eyes
"Hah? You don't believe me? I'll slap his a*s red and let you see!" Naruto said with a determined look
The image of Sasuke with his rear smacked red emerged in Ino's head, and for a moment, she forgot her sadness and almost choked as a small snicker snuck out. But her expression was still bitter, making her expression rather conflicting.
"You're so stupid Naruto" She muttered as she wiped her eyes, she looked up with her reddened eyes and revealed a faint smile
"Thanks, Naruto-kun"
Naruto smiled
"Now that's more like it, smile more, kay?"
"Yeah" Ino nodded, Sasuke's indifference made her realise that her feelings for him isn't as deep as she initially thought.
It all stemmed from his good looks, and grades. But after that, what else is there? No kindness, no care for what others think, and the indifferent attitude as if no one else around him matters.
She realised that what she wanted wasn't a good looking guy, but someone who would listen to her, and put up with everything she dishes out...
At this thought, a cheeky face appeared in her mind...
'Maybe...'
She looked up at Naruto, who was grinning with his arm behind his head
"Hey Naruto"
"Yeah?"
"Can I call you Na-kun from now on?" She grinned, her eyes shone brightly as she moved on from the sadness of Sasuke's rejection.
"Na-kun? Sounds intimate, finally want to ditch the edge lord and give me a chance?" Naruto joked
"Pfft, you call Shikamaru Shiki, should I say you're also interest in him?" Ino replied with a warm smile
"..." Naruto paused, and he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw that smile
[Officer, right here...]
Naruto didn't respond to the assistant's remark, he stared back at Ino as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.
"Are you blushing, Na-kun?" Ino jumped up and poked his cheeks
Naruto pushed her hands away
"Nonsense, then what am I supposed to call you then?"
"Just Ino, like usual" She replied
"Sounds unfair" He grumbled
"You can always call me Ino onee-chan" She grinned
"...Now that you're feeling better, I'll be off" Naruto turned around, about to leave.
However, Ino ran up behind him, and suddenly wrapped the scarf she had around his neck.
"There, you said you wanted it, no?" She smiled
Naruto felt his neck warm up, and his heart rate sped up a little.
"Th-Thanks" He didn't look back, as she would see his face slowly turn pink if he did, so he thanked her and ran off.
Ino giggled
"He's so cute to tease, nothing like Sasuke" She smiled
The different expressions Naruto showed gave her a better sense of familiarity, in comparison to Sasuke's cold and aloof expressions.
"Sakura, you can have Sasuke, I think I should move on" She giggled to herself as she looked up into the sky, feeling much more refreshed, as if a burden was lifted from her chest.
-Later that night-
"Boss, another bowl" Naruto ordered a bow of ramen at Ichiraku's, and beside him were Kakashi and Iruka.
"You owe him a bow as well?" Iruka turned to Kakashi and laughed
Kakashi shrugged
"Just two bowls" He replied
He also ordered a bowl himself, and picked up a pair of chopsticks. As he was about to dig in, he realised that both Naruto and Iruka were staring at him.
"What?"
"Kakashi sensei, you always wear a mask, right?" Naruto asked
"Yeah?"
"I wanna see what you look like without it" Naruto said as he narrowed his gaze
Kakashi lifted a brow and let out a chuckle not long after...
"So that's it" He removed his mask, revealing his face to them
!!!
Iruka and Naruto stared at him in stupor
"Holy f**k sensei! Why do you hide your face when you're that good looking" Naruto gasped
*Ding*
In the span of time he used to ask that question, kakashi already finished his bowl of ramen and pulled his mask back up.
"I prefer it this way" He replied with a smile
'Damn...why is that line so cool? He was just eating ramen' Naruto thought to himself
-Next day-
Naruto went to the training ground to practice using the greatsword. Having gotten such a good weapon, he felt that he should at least train with it.
When he arrived, he came across Rock Lee, a student from another class prior to graduation. Lee was doing pushups with one finger, with flames burning in his eyes.
When Lee saw Naruto, he paused and jumped up.
"Hello, I am Rock Lee! Member of team Guy!" His voice was loud and clear, reflecting his straightforwardness.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki from team 7...Lee, can I ask for a quick spar?" Naruto asked as he held the greatsword in his hand.
It was still too heavy to wield with one hand, but if he used both hands, he can still manage quite well with it.
"A spar! I am very happy to do so!" Lee yelled
Naruto smiled, he used a leather sheath to cover the blade so it won't be lethal if he did land a hit on Lee, and held it with both hands.
"Such a big weapon, you must be a formidable foe!" Lee's excitement was clear as he faced Naruto as he made his stance
*Swoosh*
Naruto dashed forward, and swung the blade down on Lee, however, Lee's reaction was beyond his expectations, as he side stepped the slash, and raised his leg up to kick Naruto in return.
Naruto slammed the blade into the ground, and swung his own body on the handle to return a kick towards the incoming leg.
*Bang*
When they came into contact, Naruto felt a strong pain from his shin, whilst Lee barely even flinched.
"Amazing! Show me more!" Lee grew more excited, knowing that Naruto can keep up with his speed.
Naruto jumped back and slashed the blade horizontally, forcing Lee to jump up. He is currently imagining this to be a fight where the blade isn't sheathed, so coming into contact with it means he would be severely injured.
His thought process was seen through by Naruto, so he made use of it and changed the direction of the blade, making it swing upwards from right below Lee. Lee's eyes became focused as he spun his body in the air, and kicked he side of the blade to push himself away.
Naruto was pushed to the side, almost dropping the blade. Even in the air, Lee was able to exert an impressive amount of force, which made Naruto wonder just how strong his body had become under Guy's training.
Lee pushed off the ground when he landed, and dashed towards naruto. He rushed into close range, so the great sword is rendered useless, before punching towards him.
Naruto raised a hand to block the incoming punch, but the force behind it was so great he fell back, and landed on the ground.
*Clap*
"It was a fantastic duel, I hope we can spar more often" Lee cupped his hands and said with a vibrant smile
Naruto sat up and grinned
"You bet, you're amazing Lee" Naruto said
"It is the power of youth! Naruto, why don't you join me on my training? We can become stronger together!" Lee said with an excited expression
"Not a bad idea" Naruto smiled
"I look forward to it!" Lee helped Naruto up
*Bang*
A loud explosion suddenly occured next to him, putting them on guard. But it was followed by a loud laughter.
"Bwahahaha, Lee my student! I have seen your match, it was brilliant! Truly, the definition of your burning youth!" A man with a bowl cut and green tights emerged as he laughed
"Guy sensei! I am still far from the final goal of depicting my burning youth! But I will work hard, ten thousand times the efforts!" Lee yelled as he clenched his fists
"Hahaha, that's the spirit of youth! Naruto, you have made a wonderful choice in joining our training, I will let you realise the power of our youthful bodies!" Guy said with a fiery gaze
[Mission, shout "My youth is burning!" and start doing pushups]
[Reward, minor increase to physique]
Naruto's eyes lit up, how can he say no to free power ups? Immediately, he started doing pushups in front of Guy and Lee.
"My youth is burning!" He yelled
"Yes! That's the spirit!" Guy shouted
"What a wonderful spirit Naruto!" Lee clenched his fists and yelled with Guy
-By the side-
"What the heck?" Ino, who came to train, and witnessed the entire scene, was left at a complete loss for words
But then her lips curved into a smile as she laughed
"Really, what the heck, hahaha"
She watched Naruto start doing pushups with Lee and Guy, then started running around with the greatsword on his back to use as training weights.