Konoha looked better from a distance.
Naruto decided that was probably because distance made it harder to see the missing rooftops, collapsed walls and entire sections of the village still covered in scaffolding. Repairs had progressed quickly since the invasion, but there were some things hammers and Earth Release couldn't fix overnight. The village was still missing one old man.
Naruto's hand drifted toward his chest.
Nothing hurt anymore.
Tsunade had made certain of that.
"You keep touching it."
Naruto looked sideways.
Jiraiya walked beside him with both hands tucked into his sleeves, appearing far too relaxed for someone who had spent most of the trip back repeatedly checking whether Naruto was still breathing. Tsunade and Shizune traveled ahead of them, arguing about paperwork Tsunade hadn't even officially inherited yet.
"I'm not touching anything."
"You literally have your hand over your heart."
Naruto immediately dropped it. "Making sure it's still there."
Jiraiya didn't laugh.
That bothered Naruto more than a joke would have.
They continued for several minutes before Jiraiya spoke again. "You've gotten stronger."
Naruto grinned automatically. "Obviously."
"I'm serious."
The grin weakened.
Jiraiya stopped walking.
Naruto made it three more steps before realizing he was alone and turning around. The Sannin wasn't smiling now, and Naruto suddenly remembered that Jiraiya had personally trained shinobi long before Naruto was born.
"Your speed has improved drastically." Jiraiya said. "Your strength is beyond someone 10 years your senior. Your chakra control is better, your taijutsu changed almost overnight, and somehow you went from moving dirt around to reshaping an entire battlefield."
Naruto scratched his cheek.
"And then there's the fan."
"What fan?"
"The enormous Uchiha war fan you pulled out of nowhere."
"Oh. That fan."
Jiraiya's eye twitched.
Naruto considered several answers.
The truth was impossible.
Hey, Pervy Sage, I have a magical invisible System that gives me quests, stats, lottery rewards and occasionally drops legendary weapons into my inventory.
Even Naruto knew how insane that sounded.
So he gave Jiraiya pieces.
"I can kinda tell where I'm at."
Jiraiya frowned. "Meaning?"
"Skills. Training. Me." Naruto struggled to explain something he'd never needed to put into words. "It's like... when I work on something enough, I know I'm getting closer to another level."
That part was true.
Mostly.
Naruto continued. "And fighting makes it easier. When I actually use stuff against somebody dangerous, I understand what I'm doing wrong way faster."
Also true.
Mostly.
Jiraiya studied him.
"So you're telling me you possess some innate ability to measure your own progress."
"Pretty much." Naruto started walking towards the village a bit faster, eager to end the conversation.
Jiraiya filed that reaction away.
"And the sudden physical growth?"
"Training."
"Naruto."
"Really hard training."
"Naruto."
"Genetics?"
Jiraiya stared at him.
Naruto folded his arms. "You know my mom was an Uzumaki. Maybe I'm finally getting all the cool Uzumaki stuff."
That answer worked considerably better.
Jiraiya's expression became thoughtful rather than suspicious. Kushina's clan had been famous for abnormal vitality, enormous chakra reserves and abilities that even Konoha had never completely catalogued.
Naruto took advantage immediately.
"And every time I accomplish something difficult, I feel like I come out stronger afterward." He shrugged. "Maybe that's just how I work."
Half truth.
Half lie.
Jiraiya eventually started walking again.
"I'm going to figure you out."
Naruto grinned.
"Good luck."
Tsunade's inauguration happened three days later.
Naruto expected a massive ceremony.
Tsunade apparently expected paperwork.
She hated both.
By the end of her first morning as Fifth Hokage, she'd threatened two council members, thrown one stack of documents through a wall and informed Shizune that if anyone added another meeting to her schedule she was declaring war on the administrative department.
Naruto decided she'd fit in perfectly.
Her first major announcement surprised considerably more people.
Konoha needed Chūnin.
The invasion had killed experienced shinobi, disrupted existing teams and left the village desperate to maintain strength along its borders. More importantly, Tsunade refused to pretend the Chūnin Exams had ended normally when several genin had performed well beyond their rank during an actual invasion.
Shikamaru Nara's promotion remained the easiest decision.
Naruto's had already occurred through circumstances that made several jōnin complain loudly until Tsunade invited them to spar him personally.
Nobody accepted.
The next name caused considerably more discussion.
Sasuke Uchiha.
His performance against Gaara, pursuit of an enemy jinchūriki and combat ability during the invasion earned him a battlefield recommendation despite never completing the final exam properly. Tsunade signed it.
The third was Shino Aburame.
His composure during the invasion, pursuit of Kankurō and ability to operate independently earned him his own promotion recommendation. Tsunade approved that one too.
Three members of the Rookie Nine were now Chūnin.
Sakura stared at the announcement board for almost a full minute.
Naruto wisely remained silent.
Sasuke stood beside him wearing the same expression he used for almost everything, although Naruto noticed he'd read his own promotion notice three separate times.
Sakura finally turned around.
"You two are Chūnin."
Naruto immediately puffed out his chest.
"Yep."
Sakura's fist hit him in the stomach.
Naruto folded.
"WHY ME?! SASUKE'S STANDING RIGHT THERE!"
"Because Sasuke-kun wasn't about to say something annoying."
Sasuke's mouth twitched.
Naruto pointed accusingly at him. "YOU ALMOST SMILED!"
Sakura ignored them both and looked back at the board.
Her hands tightened.
They'd started together.
Same academy class.
Same team.
Now both boys had moved ahead of her.
Sakura hated how much that hurt.
Then she hated herself for standing there feeling sorry about it.
She turned.
"I'm training."
Naruto blinked. "Right now?"
"Right now."
Sakura walked away.
Naruto watched her go.
"Think she's mad?"
Sasuke stared at him.
"You're an idiot."
"Yeah, she's mad."
Sasuke found Kakashi the next morning.
"I need training."
Kakashi lowered his book.
Usually that sentence would've been enough.
Not today.
"I'm leaving."
Sasuke frowned. "Where?"
"Mission."
"I'll come."
"No."
Sasuke's expression hardened.
Kakashi sighed and closed the book.
"The village lost the Third Hokage and suffered a direct invasion. Every neighboring country is watching us right now, waiting to see whether Konoha is weak enough to exploit."
Sasuke remained silent.
"That means our jōnin need to be visible," Kakashi continued. "Border missions, diplomatic escorts, intelligence work. We need other villages hearing that Kakashi of the Sharingan is operating normally."
"So appearances."
"Appearances prevent wars."
Sasuke hated that answer.
Mostly because he understood it.
"When do you return?"
"I don't know."
Kakashi studied his student for a moment.
"You were promoted, Sasuke."
"I know."
"Then act like it."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Kakashi opened his book again.
"Chūnin don't wait for their sensei to tell them how to improve."
Naruto was halfway through lunch when Sasuke sat across from him.
Naruto continued chewing.
Sasuke said nothing.
Naruto slowly lowered his ramen.
"This feels weird."
"There's a mission."
Naruto waited.
Sasuke looked annoyed.
Naruto waited longer.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.
"Do you want to come?"
Naruto nearly dropped his chopsticks.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Forget it."
Sasuke stood.
Naruto grabbed his sleeve.
"WAIT!"
Half the restaurant looked over.
Naruto lowered his voice.
"You just asked me to go on a mission with you."
Sasuke yanked his sleeve free. "We're both Chūnin. They need small teams for assignments while the jōnin are occupied."
Naruto's grin slowly became enormous.
"You missed me."
"I changed my mind."
"You missed Team Seven."
"Naruto."
"You were lonely."
"I'm leaving."
"Sakura's coming too."
Sasuke stopped.
Naruto's grin grew.
"You were gonna ask her next, weren't you?"
Silence.
That was enough.
Sakura expected Naruto to be the one pounding on her door.
She did not expect Sasuke.
"We have a mission."
Sakura blinked.
Sasuke stood on her doorstep wearing his normal indifferent expression while Naruto waved obnoxiously from behind him.
"You... want me on your team?"
"It's Team Seven."
That answer meant more than Sasuke probably realized.
Sakura's surprise disappeared.
"When?"
"Briefing in thirty minutes."
She slammed the door.
Naruto stared.
"...Was that a no?"
The door opened again.
Sakura was already wearing her shinobi gear.
"Why are you still standing there?"
Naruto grinned.
There she was.
Shizune waited for them inside the mission office.
Tsunade sat behind the Hokage's desk with several documents spread before her, looking profoundly unhappy about each one. Her attention shifted between Naruto and Sasuke before finally settling on Sakura.
"Interesting."
Sakura stiffened.
Tsunade looked back at the file.
"Two Chūnin and one genin. Normally I'd assign a jōnin leader, but normally half our senior shinobi wouldn't be scattered across Fire Country making sure our neighbors don't smell blood."
Sasuke stepped forward.
"What's the mission?"
Tsunade slid a folder across the desk.
"Missing persons."
Naruto's expression became serious.
"Six Fire Country citizens have disappeared in the Land of Hot Water over the last month. All were travelers, all disappeared in or around resort towns, and local authorities have found no bodies."
Sakura opened the folder.
"Bandits?"
"Possibly."
Shizune shook her head.
"Bandits usually want money. None of the victims' families received ransom demands, and several disappeared while their valuables were left behind."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Why us?"
Tsunade produced another page.
"The sixth victim."
She placed a photograph on the desk.
A teenage boy stared back at them.
"Daichi Matsuda. Seventeen years old. Son of a senior Fire Country trade official."
Naruto grimaced.
"So if he's dead..."
"Then this becomes political," Tsunade finished. "And if someone deliberately selected him, it may already be political."
Sakura looked through the remaining reports.
"We're investigating six disappearances in another country with no confirmed enemy."
"Correct."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto.
Naruto glanced back.
Neither needed to say it.
That was considerably more serious than chasing cats.
Tsunade leaned back.
"Your official mission is investigation and recovery. Find the missing Fire Country citizens if possible, determine who's responsible, and avoid causing an international incident."
Naruto raised his hand.
Tsunade stared at him.
"This isn't school."
Naruto lowered it.
"What if the people responsible try to kill us?"
"Evaluate the geopolitics of the situation. Trust your judgement."
Sakura stared.
Tsunade shrugged.
"Act within reason."
"Naruto."
He straightened.
"You're senior Chūnin on record."
Naruto's eyes widened.
Sasuke's narrowed.
Sakura looked between them.
Tsunade continued.
"That makes you mission leader."
Silence.
Naruto pointed at himself.
"Me?"
Tsunade smiled.
"You wanted responsibility."
Sasuke crossed his arms.
"This should be interesting."
Sakura suddenly looked worried.
Naruto slowly grinned.
His first mission as team leader.
Team Seven together again.
A foreign country.
Missing civilians.
No Kakashi to bail them out.
For the first time since leaving the academy, Naruto realized something had changed that had nothing to do with his System.
People were starting to trust him with their lives.
Tsunade tossed him the mission scroll.
Naruto caught it.
PING
B Rank Mission Received:
Lost in the steam!
Investigate missing persons reports from the land of hot water!
+80 System Points
Medium Skill Experience Pack x1
Free Lottery Rolls x5
+2 Intelligence
+1 Charisma
Hidden Rewards Available!
"Team Seven leaves for the Land of Hot Water at dawn."
Naruto looked toward Sasuke.
Then Sakura.
His grin returned.
"Try to keep up."
Sakura punched him before they left the office.