With Naruto happily accepting the bribe, Ino couldn't help but shuffle over to him with a faint nudge on his arm.
"Say, Na-kun, I know I asked before, but I wanna ask again, is there really no way you won't give us some sort of advantage on the coming exams?" She asked with a sly grin
Fu's eyes widened, they can play that way as well!?
Naruto laughed
"Oh Ino, Ino, Ino....do I look like the type that will give you any sort of advantages?" Naruto said as he tucked the pouch away.
"..."
At least hide it properly before saying that!
"Then what about that bribe you just accepted" Ino huffed
"That? That's completely within the rules, what they are tasked to do is to locate the forest of death, the method used doesn't matter, so in this regard, this money is simply an exchange for information" Naruto replied with an upright expression
"...uh, that works, I guess" Ino sighed, realising that Naruto will still stick strictly to the rules in this regard.
Naruto rolled his eyes
"Don't mistaken me for some unscrupulous hooligan, I am very upright" Naruto patted his chest and said
"Sure, as long as you're happy" Ino replied with a shrug
"Ey, Ino, sweetheart, those jabs are painful" Naruto said
Sakura stepped in
"Go flirt elsewhere, seriously" Sakura said with a dark expression
The others behind her nodded, completely fed up with this blatant show of affection between the two.
Naruto smiled
"Jealous?" Naruto asked
Sakura huffed and didn't respond to that. Was she jealous? Yes, she wants to be like that with Sasuke!
[Naruto, Hokage-sama is asking for your presence] Shikamaru's voice came through the speaker
"Sis? At a time like this? Kay, gimme a bit" Naruto waved and teleported away
"Wait, sis!?" Fu snapped
"You'll get used to it, just Naruto doing Naruto stuff" Sakura replied
????
Fu now felt even more confused
-In the Hokage's office-
Naruto appeared in front of Tsunade and hopped over to her desk, glancing upon the paperwork in front of her.
"Yikes, did the pile increase?"
"Tch, the Chunin exam is just bringing me more work" Tsunade replied with a click of her tongue
Naruto laughed
"So, sis, why'd you call me?" Naruto asked
"I didn't call for you" She replied calmly
*Gasp*
Naruto let out a gasp before falling backwards
"S-Sis, don't tell me-"
"Yep, I don't need you" She nodded
"H-How cruel of you, to use your lil bro like that, and tell him you no longer need him, you don't love me for me, you love me for my-"
"Now now, we've gone through this bit too many times over the past year already, you know what I need you to do" Tsunade interjected
"....at least let me act" Naruto sighed as he got back up
He grabbed his forehead protector from around his neck, and tied it over his forehead. He then applied a thin skin like mask over his face, which hid his whisker marks and transformed his hair black. Finally, he combed his hair up, copying the style that Minato had.
"Well, Hokage-sama, which group is it this time" Naruto gave her a faint smile and asked
Tsunade took out a scroll and passed it to him
"Kumogakure has crossed the borders, and I am told that they will ambush one of the merchant groups under Konoha's affiliation, thus, we need you, Menma, to make an appearance" She replied
'Menma' smiled as he put a fox mask over his face
"Which merchant group is it, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked
"You'll know when your kunai is thrown" Tsunade replied
Naruto nodded
Soon, he felt one of his personal kunai get thrown, in which he reacted immediately and teleported to the location.
His appearance in the middle of a large camp caught the attention of many, but they soon turned away as the merchant leader informed them beforehand.
"You must be Menma-sama" The merchant group leader, a man with a curled mustache and a rotund build approached with a smile
"I'm Tatsuki, leader of a branch group of the Kasuga clan" He greeted reverently
Naruto glanced at him, then looked around the camp.
"I don't care about that crap, name the problem, name the price...and name the requirements" Naruto said as he raised three fingers.
Beneath his mask, blood red eyes shone through them, causing the merchant leader to shudder
"I-It's like this, Kumogakure has attacked our group already, and we suffered considerable damage already, which is why we decided to call for Konoha's help, and your assistance, the price...we will pay with thirty percent of the profits after today's trade" He replied
"Thirty percent huh? Looks like you studied well before asking for my help" Naruto chuckled
"Of course! We know the rules, all we need you to do is eliminate the threat completely" He nodded
Naruto nodded and raised one hand
*Snap*
His fingers snapped, and five clone appeared, all looking identical to him. He then made a small gesture with that hand.
*Whoosh*
All five clones vanished from sight in an instant.
"I'll clean up in five minutes" Naruto said calmly before vanishing as well
Tatsuki's tense shoulders gradually loosened after Menma vanished, and sweat rolled down his face. Simply talking to Menma took a toll on him, and now that he was gone, all that pressure vanished in an instant.
"Phew...father was right, he's a scary man" He muttered
As he walked back to his tent, a guard greeted him
"Ah, head guard, thank you for your hard work last battle, without you, we might have failed in protecting our goods"
"All a part of my job sir...but sir, who was that man?" He asked
Tatsuki smiled
"A reliable guard I hired" He replied
"Reliable? But what can one man do against dozens? We only managed to fend them off after setting off explosives and catching them by surprise, even then, we didn't kill any of them, only scaring them off temporarily" He asked
Tatsuki shook his head as he stared at the ignorant guard
"He is quite famous, rising up in the past year, Konoha's secret weapon" He replied
"What? That strong? But why has he only risen to fame in the past year if so?" The guard asked
"Because Konoha hid him until a year ago, not long after the attack a year prior to his appearance, Konoha needed to show the world that even after that attack, they are still strong" Tatsuki said calmly
He then looked off into the distance
"Have you heard of Konoha's yellow flash?" He asked
"Of course, the fourth Hokage, who sadly perished at a young age" The guard nodded
"He...is the next successor of the very same man, wielding the flying raijin technique, he executes his enemies with great precision and efficiency, a true killing machine"
"What!"
"That isn't all, because like the yellow flash, he has made a terrifying name for himself amongst the Shinobi world, we, who are affiliated with Konoha, are standing proud because of past legends like Minato, and now, we have..."
-A few kilometers away-
*Whoosh*
A long blade came down on a man in silence, no cries, nor scream came out. An unknowing death as his head flew. Before long, a terrified scream echoed.
"The black flash! Retreat! Full retreat!"
One by one, the Kumogakure Shinobi were cut down in the same, silent manner. Even at death, they didn't seem to realise they had died. What follows is the sight of a black light that flashed by them, before another head flies.
"Mission complete" Naruto's clones all reported back
Naruto nodded and undid the clones. He scanned the area one last time before teleporting away. And right under the tree he vanished from, a terrified figure trembled in a fetal position.
"Th-The black flash, it's him again" He muttered before burrowing underground in a hurry
*Bang*
Right when he went underground, he felt something tug at him. He looked back, and on his back collar, was a hand that pierced through the ground, grabbing him tightly.
!!!!!!!!
Before he could even scream, he was pulled out of the ground
"Hey" A chilling voice entered his ears
"B-Bl-Bla-"
"Shhhh, you won't die, like usual, I leave one man alive, and you go back and report everything that happens, lucky you, you hid well enough to be the last survivor" Naruto said with a cold smirk
"A-Ah" The man nodded as his face became deathly pale
"Tell your Kage to stop with these pointless attacks, or I might just decided to invade instead" He said with a cold chuckle before throwing the man to the ground
The man scurried off underground, panicking, almost crying from that experience. Once he left, Naruto chuckled before truly teleporting back to camp.
When he returned, Tatsuki came to greet him
"Thank you Menma-sama, you're truly incredible, it has yet to even be five minutes" He said
Naruto gave him a nod
"The job's done, all of them are dead" Naruto said calmly
"Thank you sir!"
"Don't forget to send the profits back to Konoha" Naruto said
"Of course sir, we will not dare forget" He said with full sincerity, after all, if they dared to even take out one percent of what they promised, this black flash may be sent after them next!
Naruto nodded before returning to Konoha
When he came back, Tsunade was holding a stopwatch in her hand
"Hm, four minutes and thirty six seconds, not bad, a new record" She said before tucking it away
"So, what did they promise?" Tsunade asked
"Thirty percent of their profits from this trade" Naruto replied
"Oh? Thirty percent? You know what that means?" Tsunade smiled
"Oooh? Do I know?" Naruto removed his disguise, revealing his cheeky grin, completely contrasting his cold and aloof appearance earlier.
"Oooh, you definitely know" Tsunade replied with a similar cheeky grin
The two pointed at each other with a wide grin
"Booze! Booze! Booze! Yeah!" The two chanted as they slapped one another's hands
"They promised thirty" Tsunade said
"We take twenty five" Naruto continued
"Four goes to the village" Tsunade nodded
"And we can gamble the last one!" The two laughed
A thirty percent profit is astronomical for a large merchant group like the Kasuga clan, one trade alone is worth plenty. And it is usually three to four percent that goes to the village after they make the trade, so what Naruto and Tsunade took is simply the 'extra' that is clearly not needed.
Of course, there is a reason why Naruto charges so much.
"Whoo!"
The two laughed and celebrated every time such a request came in.
After a while, the two finally calmed down, and Naruto sat down nearby.
"Phew..." He looked up
"Hey sis...my old man will be proud, right? Like, ignoring our embezzlement, what I'm doing right now" Naruto asked
"What embezzlement? We gave the profits to the village, the rest are just gifts for Menma" Tsunade replied with a straight face
Pfft
Naruto chuckled
"Yeah" But his expression was a little out of it
Tsunade noticed his current state, and understood why. He had practically inherited his father's position of the Yellow Flash, so he acts a little more sentimental after each mission success.
"Naruto, do you know why I had you become the black flash under a different name" Tsunade suddenly asked
Naruto looked back
"I...have some ideas" He replied
Tsunade nodded
"To be expected....our village isn't as strong as it used to be, and our cooperation with Sunagakure became shaky after that last attack, so we needed another pillar for the public to see, so that they will think twice before attacking during this Chunin exam, of which is the lifeline for our relationship with Sunagakure to be amended" She said calmly
"Naturally" Naruto agreed
Tsunade continued
"If people knew the new black flash is also the jinchuriki, they will plan against a single threat only, but if we have you as two different people....they will need to figure out how to go around both the black flash, Menma, and the jinchuriki, Naruto" She said
Naruto already guessed something similar, so hearing it from Tsunade wasn't too surprising.
"Now, your name as the Black Flash has solidified well, your father will be proud that someone has inherited his title" Tsunade said gently
Hearing that last line, Naruto was a little shaken, but a smile crept onto his face
"Sis, tonight, let's get wasted" Naruto said
"Hah, f**k no! You have to oversee the next exam tomorrow!" Tsunade laughed coldly and said
"Hah, the responsibilities I have to carry as a fifteen year old" Naruto shook his head and sighed
"Who cares, the Uchiha clan, during war, even had a four year old on the battlefield, making use of you, a fifteen year old, is completely justified" Tsunade rolled her eyes and said
Naruto crossed his arms
"Hmph, I'm way better at my job than that four year old" He said
"Why are you even comparing yourself to a four year old?" Tsunade's lips twitched as she asked
"You brought him up, so I compare myself to him" Naruto huffed
"...fine, you're awesome, after the second exam, we can party all night" Tsunade waved her hand and said
"Hell yeah!"
The two joked around for a bit, with Tsunade hinting that she wants someone to take over her role already as she glanced at him.
"Sis, I ain't becoming the Hokage no matter what" Naruto said
"Hah, worth a shot"
While they were joking around, the Shinobi that Naruto let go had returned to Kumogakure, and the report was seen by the Raikage, A. He stared at the report with his brows furrowed, as a scenario from the past played in his mind.
A complete and utter loss on his end, the tragic defeat all those years ago came flashing back to him.
*Bang*
He slammed his hand against the table
"The Yellow Flash has a successor, what is this crap, and why has he been hidden until a year ago" He snapped
"One by one, he took down groups sent by not just me, but the other villages as well..." He muttered with a frustrated expression
He felt a sense of unease, that Konoha is slowly regaining their former glory.
"Send down a notice....if any groups sent out encounter Menma, the Black Flash...issue an immediate retreat, no repercussions" He hesitated on the second half, but after thinking it through, he decided to do so.
He knew that this is what Konoha wanted, for this to be issued down, but he no longer has a choice. Of the groups that he sent, only one has ever returned each time from each group.
His intentions were clear
"They wanted to instill the same fear we had for Minato" He muttered helplessly
Even a few Jonins had been lost during the past year due to the new flying raijin user, so he didn't dare act rashly any more.
"Perhaps I need to have B take action" He muttered
But quickly dismissed the idea. The act of sending a jinchuriki into another village is no different to an act of war. If they erupted into war right now, neither side will benefit.
*Bang*
The door slammed open
"Yo bro, what's with that look, acting all shook, got an issue, I can help you" From the door, a built man with a pair of sunglasses over his eyes entered.
His every word only served to make A even more annoyed, but he held it in...barely.
"B, enough with your 'rapping', why are you here"
"Dropped by to say hi, but you're lookin all glum so I'll introduce some fun" B, A's brother, grinned at him as he leaned on the desk.
"Hah, you know the black flash, right?"
"Yep, he's a beast and a powerhouse to say the least" B nodded
A ignored his terrible rapping, and continued
"Another squad was nearly wiped out by him, all but one survived and his survival was intentional" He replied
"Want me to fight, the beating I give ain't light" B said proudly
"No, I want you to stay away from him for now, Konoha is not to be disturbed for now" He said
"Sure bro, I'll follow the flow" B agreed without hesitation, he was just here to hear what happened, he wasn't actually going to pick a fight with another village.
After that, he left A to think about this matter on his own.
Back in Konoha, Naruto left Tsunade's office, and noticed the sky was already growing dark.
"Quite an eventful day today, huh?" He muttered
His gaze turned to the stone faces, staring at the fourth face, his father.
"Yo dad...I'll see you soon" He said
[Oi oi oi, don't go dying on me, let me leave your body, and then die on me] Kurama's panicked voice came through
"Hah, as if, don't you know the saying, a scourge can live for millennia, I'm still too young to die" Naruto laughed
[Hm] Kurama somewhat agreed, with Naruto's personality, this lil sh*t is indeed hard to kill.
Naruto went to visit Ino's place, and see how she's preparing for the upcoming exam.
"Hey Inoichi-san" Naruto waved
"Mn" Inoichi gave him a faint nod
"If you're looking for Ino, she's in her room" He said
"Oh, thanks....what are you scheming" Naruto asked as he narrowed his gaze, it wasn't like Inoichi to be this eager to tell him where Ino is, especially when she's in her room.
Her room is practically a death sentence for Naruto if he walked in without seeing Inoichi first.
"Scheming? Am I such a person? I'm just doing what Kiku asked me of, to bear with you" Inoichi said 'calmly', though his hands were clenched so tightly that Naruto thought he heard Inoichi's bones crack a little.
"The head interrogator is asking if he's a scheming person? I must be dreaming" Naruto said
*Bang*
Inoichi's gaze on him became dangerous
"uh...I'll be going now" Naruto coughed awkwardly and headed to the back of the shop
Inoichi's gaze lingered him, and for some reason, he felt as if he's being watched even after Inoichi was out of sight.
*Gulp*
'He couldn't have awakened the byakugan or something, could he? No, no, I must be overthinking it, being a jinchuriki is insane enough, if he also awakened the byakugan, then that'd just be absurd' He shook his head and smiled to himself
Naruto arrived in front of Ino's room, and knocked on the door
"It's opened" Ino called out
When Naruto stepped in, Ino was laying on her bed with a book in hand.
"Reading again? What is it this time?" Naruto walked over and asked, leaning on the side of the bed to see what she was reading.
But when he saw the title, his gaze became strange
"Ino...where did you get that book?" Naruto asked
"Jiraiya-sama" She replied
"...." Naruto was honestly speechless
The book, funnily enough, wasn't a p*rn book that Jiraiya usually writes, no, it was a love story between two people. Who are those two people?
"Uh, so do you have a copy?" Naruto asked
"Na-kun, this is about you and Sasuke, yet you want a copy???" Ino asked
"Wow, so you know these two are based on me and Sasuke, yet you still read it?" Naruto lifted a brow and asked
"Bleh, it's kind of funny, also, most the information between you two came from me and Sakura, so it's actually almost lore accurate" Ino added with a grin
Naruto leaned over
"Let me see"
"Ooh, this is quite intense"
"Huh? I clearly winked at him when I held his hand that time, why am I the one blushing? Clearly, Sakura didn't describe that scene well enough"
"This part is wrong, it was actually him who screamed my name first, then I screamed it back"
"Ah, takes me back, but to think you turned a fight between me and Sasuke into a full fledged lover's quarrel"
Naruto read through it with Ino and nodded at times, while shaking his head at other times. He truly didn't seem too bothered that it was about him and Sasuke, which surprised Ino. But then again, thinking of how he used to act around Sasuke, it wasn't a surprise.
This guy is shameless enough to say he kissed the guy outright, what wouldn't he do?
"Hm, at least Jiraiya had the decency to make me the top in this" Naruto nodded after they finished the book.
Ino was a little speechless, truly, he has no shame...
The door opened
"I've got some snacks, Ino~" Inoichi walked in with a smile
He saw Naruto leaning on her bed as he sat on the floor, both holding a book that they read together.
"What are you two doing?" He asked with a smile
"Reading a book that Ino helped write" Naruto replied
"Oh? Ino wrote a book with someone? What's it about? Is it about your old man" Inoichi laughed
"Nah, it's a love story between me and Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto replied with a straight face, causing Inoichi's face to freeze...
"..."
He slowly placed the plate of snacks down, then sat down on a chair
"What?" He asked after sitting down
"A love story between me and Sasuke" Naruto repeated
"..."
Inoichi scratched his ears
"I think I misheard, did you just say it was about you and the Uchiha brat?" He asked
"Yep, your daughter provided the information for the writer" Naruto replied
Inoichi was speechless, he didn't realise Ino had such an interest!? Also, aren't they dating now? Why is she helping someone write such a thing!? And why does Naruto seem okay with that? Could he actually be...
"I'm not g*y" Naruto added
"I wasn't thinking that" Inoichi said with a dark expression
"Of course you aren't" Naruto replied quickly
"Hah...I'm too old to understand you youngsters now" He rubbed his temples as he stood up
"You two do...whatever you're doing, I'll be going now" He closed the door and left
Naruto leaned back against the bed
"Say, Ino, mind if I get a copy? I'll have it delivered to Sasuke, if you want, I can record his reaction to it" Naruto said
"Just take this one" Ino said eagerly when Naruto said he was going to give it to Sasuke
She was actually hoping for more reactions out of Naruto when she got this book from Jiraiya, but he actually went along with her to read it, even commentating on the scenes! But if Sasuke got it, his reaction will surely be much better.
Naruto tucked the book away
"How's your preparation for tomorrow's exam" Naruto asked
"It's fine, I'm just relaxing so I'm in the best state I can be tomorrow" She replied
"That's a good choice, want more items from me?"
"That's unnecessary, you already gave me a full packet of those cigarettes, poison bombs, medicine, plenty more, I won't finish it even if I use something every few minutes for a full day" Ino said
She recounted everything Naruto gave her in preparation for the Chunin exam, her heart felt warm.
"Say, what did Hokage-sama talk to you about?" She asked
"She told me to save the world, fight for world peace, and feed the poor" Naruto grinned and said
"Pah, tell me the truth" Ino said
"Oh, you want the truth? What if I say that's something sis told me to keep confidential?"
"Then don't say it, sounds like trouble" Ino replied
"Hahaha, it's not a big deal, it's just handling a few bandits for a merchant group" Naruto waved his hand and laughed
"Just that?" Ino asked, finding it weird that the Hokage will ask Naruto to help with such a small thing
"It was an immediate situation where they were in danger, and needed support, so I was sent since I can teleport, only the most trusted merchant group associated with Konoha gets one of my kunais, so they were also quite important" Naruto replied
"Oh" Ino nodded, seemingly understanding the situation
Ino laid back down on her bed
"Man, I wish I can leave the village whenever I want" Ino sighed
"I mean...I don't have permission to go out whenever, I just go out anyway because no one has proof that I left the village" Naruto grinned
"That's just like you" Ino chuckled
Naruto smiled and helped himself up by grabbing the side of the bed. But as he was standing up, Ino gave him a playful jab at his torso, causing him to stumble a little
"Hahahaha" Ino laughed, but that laughter was short lived as Naruto pulled the blanket down as he fell, along with Ino, who was on top of it.
*Bang*
Ino fell down with Naruto, landing on top of him
"uh...you okay?" Naruto asked after he accidentally pulled her down with him
The blanket fell on top of both of them, and as Ino was about to get up, the door slammed open, causing the both of them to jolt in shock.
"Ino, are you okay?" Inoichi came in and asked but froze upon seeing this scene
*Whoosh*
In a fit of panic, the two stumbled, and Ino ended up beneath Naruto while the blanket bound them together...
"..."
At the sight of this, his expression became darker by the second
"Inoichi-san, this was an accident! I swear!" Naruto shouted
But tails already started to sprout from behind Inoichi, causing Naruto's heart to drop. He didn't have time to enjoy a close embrace with Ino like this, all he could think of was escaping while he still had the chance.
*Bang*
On that day, Konoha witnessed another chase where a humanoid figure covered in dense orange chakra chased a blonde boy across the streets. Most of them were used to it by now as it has been a common occurrence over the past two years
"Inoichi-san! It's an accident, I swear!" Naruto shouted, but Inoichi continued to chase him down the village