Shinobi: Team 7

Act I

Chapter I

Kiji Naruto

"Love triumphs."

-Senju Hashirama, First Hokage

It was exactly 200 years since the fateful day that Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had agreed on the truce that led to the founding of Konohagakure. The Village Hidden in the Leaves was in celebration.

The streets, narrow on any usual day of the week, were nearly impossible to navigate, packed full of performers and stalls and wonders of all kinds. Adults mingled with their friends, admired the festivities, and compared everything to how it was when they were young (there were always disappointed with how it stacked up). Children darted through the crowds, laughing and playing and singing, drinking in the kind of anniversary that only happened once every hundred years. On the rooftops, Genin, Chunin and Jonin alike participated in the festivities while also going about their usual duties. A light load of course – nobody wanted to work on Founding Day.

Konohagakure was the oldest village of the Five Elemental Nations, though only by a few years. The massive, sprawling metropolis was an eclectic mixture of old and new architecture, from grand, sweep estates that dated back hundreds of years to quick, cheap apartment buildings that had been constructed en mass only recently.

Truth be told, the newer buildings outweighed the older ones. It had only been six years since the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the Kyuubi, cut a swath of destruction through the city, reducing many of its old, proud structures to rubble and ash. But those were dark thoughts, for dark times, and had no place on a day of celebration.

Naruto was six years old, and it was the greatest day of his life. For once, there were no chores to do for the orphanage at which he lived. Ichiraku's was giving out free ramen, and the hyperactive blonde had managed to eat himself full, something he hadn't thought he was capable of just that morning. The sky was clear and sunny, the air was warm and filled with delicious smells and wonderful music, and for possibly the first time in his short life, Naruto was content. He lay on the roof of a random building and looked up at the enormous cliff wall that hung over Konohagakure, imagining the view from up top.

"I remember you."

Naruto's ears perked up at the sound of a voice behind him, high pitched (even for a child) and feminine. He turned and saw the source of the voice – a girl his age, grass green eyes slightly obscured by bright pink hair. He remembered her too – she had been at the Academy Entrance Exam a few months back.

"Hi," he said back.

"I'm Sakura," she said, taking a seat next to him. She smelled nice, Naruto thought. Not as nice as ramen, but it was close. "Haruno Sakura."

"I'm Naruto," he said back.

"Just Naruto?"

Naruto made a face. "Kiji Naruto," he said. He hated his family name, which wasn't a family name at all. It was the name the city gave to orphan kids, those who didn't have a family name of their own. It was only slightly better than being randomly assigned a number to take as a family name, and sometimes Naruto thought he might've actually preferred that.

Sakura bit her lip slightly and nodded.

"But you don't have to call me that," Naruto said quickly. "You can call me Naruto. Just...Naruto."

"Okay, Just Naruto," she said with a giggle. "Did you get into the academy?"

Naruto's face lit up like the sun. "Yeah!" he half said, half shouted. "I did! What about you? Did you get in?"

Sakura nodded happily, and a grin spread across her face. "Yeah, I did too," she said. "My parents were super, super happy for me. We had a little party and everything."

"That's so cool," Naruto said, leaning back and putting his head down on the brightly colored tiles of the roof. "I wish I had gotten a party. That would be so cool."

"It was," Sakura agreed. They lay there in the sun for a long time, enjoying the festival below and each other's company. Eventually the sun began to dip lower in the sky though, and the sounds of Naruto digesting the mountain of ramen he had eaten earlier faded.

"You wanna go exploring?" Naruto asked, sitting up. He suddenly felt ready to go out and do something, but he wanted to do it with Sakura if at all possible.

She blinked once, the setting run glimmering in eyes, and cracked a smile. "Okay," she said, with a delicate shrug of her shoulders. "Where should we go though?"

"Oh man, I know the best places to go exploring," Naruto said. It was true – Naruto didn't care much for chores, and he found that by fleeing to the rooftops and scampering about, he could sometimes avoid doing his share of the work. "Come on," he said, sliding down the roof they were standing on and onto a teal colored one below.

Sakura followed him, hesitantly at first, but then with more confidence, and soon they were both dashing across the rooftops in breathless laughter. Every once and a while a Shinobi would spot them, but the mysterious protectors of the village never interfered. Naruto like to think it was because they knew that he and Sakura would be Shinobi themselves soon.

Eventually, they reached the oldest section of the city – the Uchiha compound. Gleaming white walls separated the co-founders of Konohagakure from the rest of the populace, but Naruto and Sakura simply scrambled over them, undaunted.

They continued along, quieter now, in case they were caught and exiled. The Uchiha compound was much quieter and emptier than the rest of the city, but both Naruto and Sakura could hear someone speaking a short ways off. They made their way towards the voice, curiosity and adventurous spirit driving them to continue.

They finally reached the source of the voice, peeking over a large bannister to see what must've been the entire Uchiha clan assembled in a courtyard. One Uchiha stood on a raised platform – he seemed to be reading from a large scroll, but Naruto couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

"That's Uchiha Fugaku," Sakura whispered so quietly that Naruto could barely hear her. "He's the head of the Uchiha clan."

"Really?" Naruto whispered back, matching her tone. "He must be crazy strong then."

"He is," came a third whisper from behind him.

It took all of Naruto's self control not to leap back in fear, and he turned around to see two Uchiha in front of him. One was his age, pale, with blue-black hair and a curious look on his face. The other was older, though not by much – maybe twelve, or fourteen. He had long, pronounced tear-troughs, and his hair was a much duller black than the younger ones'.

"Looks like we've got ourselves two little intruders, Sasuke," the older one whispered, just loud enough for Naruto and Sakura could hear. "Think we should escort them out before dad gets angry?"

The younger one nodded emphatically, and then next thing Naruto knew he was being unceremoniously yanked through the air.

He landed butt first on the other side of the Uchiha wall, back in Konoha Proper, and scowled up at Sasuke and the older Uchiha. Sakura was sitting next to him, as dumbfounded by the older one's speed as Naruto was.

"I'd better get back," the older one said. "Dad'll miss me. You give 'em the talk?" Sasuke nodded happily. "Then I'll cover for you. Later." He dashed back over the rooftops of the Uchiha district, too fast for Naruto to follow.

"You can't be here," Sasuke said, crossing his arms and staring down at him. "This is Uchiha property, and it's off-limits to people like you."

"Whaddya mean, people like us?" Naruto shot back. He pushed himself to his feet and pointed a stubby, defiant finger in Sasuke's direction. "We can go wherever we want! We're explorers!"

Sasuke sniffed dismissively "You're not explorers."

"Are too! Aren't we Sakura?"

"We're exploring," Sakura explained, her tone diplomatic. "Doesn't that make us explorers?"

Sasuke frowned, apparently trying and failing to find a flaw in that logic. "Well, you can't explore here," he said. "Only Uchihas can explore here. You can explore over there though." He pointed to somewhere off in the northwest, where Naruto could see a large bell tower. "It's really cool," Sasuke finished.

"You wanna come with us?" Sakura asked, smiling. Naruto groaned, less than thrilled with the prospect of Sasuke joining them, but he kept his mouth shut.

Sasuke cast a hesitant glance back towards where the rest of the Uchiha were gathered. "I don't know…" he said, his voice obviously conflicted. "They're reading the history of the Uchiha Clan. It's pretty important."

"Oh," Sakura said, slightly crestfallen. "Well, that's fun."

"I guess," Sasuke said with a shrug. "I've already heard the history a million times though, so it's getting pretty boring."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances – Sakura's face was questioning and a little pleading, and Naruto's was just screaming "please don't make me do this please don't make me invite look at him and ugly smug face oh man please Sakura?"

Eventually however, Sakura won, and Naruto turned back to Sasuke. "So come on then," he said. "If you already know your clan's history, what's the point of sitting around being bored by it?"

Sasuke frowned and threw another look backwards. "I…guess…" he said after a moment. "I guess that makes sense. Itachi will cover for me. I'll bet Dad never even notices that I'm gone!" He snickered and hopped off the wall, landing gracefully on the rooftop next to them.

They all introduced themselves again and set off towards the bell tower Sasuke had pointed to. "So are you gonna be going to the academy?" Naruto asked as they ran.

"Don't be stupid Naruto," Sakura said before Sasuke could answer. "Of course he's going to the academy, he's an Uchiha. Pretty much all Uchiha go to the academy."

Naruto did his best to suppress a groan. There would be three hundred students in the academy, but he got the feeling he was going to be running into Uchiha Sasuke way more than was strictly necessary.

The three of them clambered up the bell tower, as fast as they could, and when they finally reached the top, all tensions were forgotten in favor of pure, childish awe. The tower wasn't the tallest structure around, but the city still stretched on beneath it for miles in every direction, and the three six year olds couldn't get enough of it.

They sat up there for what seemed like a short eternity, talking and laughing in the way only children could, without hesitation or reservation. They talked about what they all expected to learn from the academy. They learned about Sasuke's brother, who was already a Jonin, and according to Sasuke, an ANBU captain.

"And he's only fifteen?" Sakura asked.

"That's a load of crap," Naruto said. "You graduate the academy when you're fifteen."

"Not Itachi," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "He's the best, so they put him in the accelerated program. He only went to the academy four years, and he learned all the disciplines – covert, assault, scout, and diplomat."

Naruto scowled. "Oh really."

"Yeah, really!"

Naruto stuck out his tongue at him, and Sasuke stuck his own tongue out back.

"Fireworks!" Sakura said, pointing out the sudden explosions of color in the darkening sky. Naruto and Sasuke, their argument temporarily forgotten, stared up in wonder as patterns of light danced across the stars. "There's the first Hokage, and Madara," Sakura explained as the fireworks exploded into two men shaking hands. "And there's the second Hokage…and there's the third, fighting in the First Great war!" Now the fireworks showed a man with a long katana cutting down an enemy ninja. "And there's the fourth Hokage…and the fifth…and the sixth!" Naruto laughed in delight as he saw the old man's face light up the entire village.

"There should be more Uchiha up there, if you ask me," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. Naruto shushed him, but Sakura didn't seem to notice.

"There's the seventh Hokage, killing the Kyuubi," she said. "And oh! Oh! There's the Sanin fighting Hanzo in the Third Great War!" She clapped her hands. "Look at Princess Tsunade!"

Sasuke mumbled something about Senju, and Naruto shot him a dirty look. They both glared at each other until the next round of fireworks erupted above them, and both of them dragged their gazes back up to the fire and stars.

Friendships Rarely Start How One Expects Them To

Two years passed, and Naruto was eight. He was taller, and leaner – skinnier and more muscled than he ever could've imagined he'd be. It was still young muscle, a child's muscle, but it filled him with pride whenever he flexed in a mirror.

He still lived in the orphanage, sleeping on the floor surrounded by a dozen other kids his age. He would be leaving in a few years, moving into his own apartment (he'd the get the money…somehow, he hadn't really been paying attention when the old lady had explained the situation to him) and he couldn't wait to finally be rid of the place. Not that he was ever there anymore – there was a permanent cot set out for him in the attic of the Haruno household that he was allowed to crash on whenever he needed to. Sasuke had a cot there too, though he rarely ever used it. He claimed his dad didn't like it when he spent too much time in the civilian part of town.

Naruto sat in a chair in the waiting room, idly swinging his feet back and forth. Sasuke was still testing, and Sakura had run out to get some lunch for the three of them, so he sat alone, staring down a few of his classmates. Senju Keikan smirked at him from the far corner, and Naruto just barely managed to repress the urge to shove his face in. A Hyuga girl tried vainly to hide as his gaze swept over her. He smiled. None could avoid his all-powerful stare. Tremble before the might of Kiji Naruto, who will certainly not be dead last for the second year in a row.

Sakura sat down in the seat next to him, handing him a wooden bowl full of steaming hot ramen. "Only one?" He asked, his tone somewhat offended. She rolled her eyes and used her foot to nudge a bag towards him. It was filled with two other bowls, and Naruto smiled happily as he dug in.

"How do you think you did?" He asked in between bites.

Sakura bit her lip with her canine, something she always did when she was thinking about what to say. "I think I did well," she said, somewhat hesitantly. "I know I passed."

"Good for you!" Naruto said. "Your parents will be happy about that."

"My whole clan will," Sakura said. "But that's not the problem."

"There's a problem?"

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, after this year we get sorted into our Pre-discipline school."

"I know," Naruto said. "So what?"

"So you're obviously going to be going to Pre-assault school," Sakura said. "Sasuke could technically go Pre-covert, maybe, but he's most likely going to Pre-assault too. But me?" She placed a hand on her chest. "I don't know. They might put me in Pre-diplomat."

"Ew," Naruto said, making a face.

"Look, it's not that bad," Sakura said. "I don't mind the diplomat stuff. But I'd rather be with you and Sasuke!"

"Yeah, that would suck if we went to different disciplines," Naruto said, cracking open his second bowl of ramen. "Then we couldn't all be teammates."

Sakura nodded glumly.

"But don't worry about it," Naruto said. "If you don't Pre-assault and me and Sasuke do-"

"Sasuke and I."

"Me and Sasuke do, then we'll go to Iruka-sensei and make him transfer you!" Naruto finished happily. "And if he doesn't do it, we can go to old man Hokage, and make him do it!"

Sakura gave a reluctant smile. "Sounds like a plan."

Sasuke came back into the waiting room a few minutes after that, looking just as smug and self-assured as usual. "Piece of cake," he said, sitting next to Sakura and taking a bowl of ramen and a tomato from her bag. "I'll bet you anything I'll be first in the class again."

"You're on!" Naruto said.

Sakura shook her head and sighed. "No bet."

"Oh come on Haruno," said Keikan, sauntering up to the three of them. "Uchiha here might think he has the top spot locked up, but he's forgetting about me." Keikan was tall for his age, and lanky, but Naruto knew from personal experience how strong he was and how hard he could pack a punch. He had pale skin and spiky white hair, and a red band tattoo on his face, stretching from temple to temple.

"I didn't forget about you," Sasuke said, not bothering to look up from his meal. "I just decided that you were irrelevant."

Keikan snarled. "Really funny," he said, turning and walking away. "But we'll see who's laughing after the grades come out, Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't deign to give a response, but Naruto grinned and shot Keikan the bird as he walked off.

"He's such a jerk," Sakura muttered once he was out of earshot.

"He's a Senju," Sasuke said. "It's to be expected."

Sakura shook her head. "His cousins are alright," she said. "It's really just Keikan."

"His cousins are just as bad," Sasuke said, draining the last of the broth from his bowl. "They're just more subtle about it. Let's get out of here."

"That's what I'm talking about," Naruto said, grinning and grabbing his last bowl. "One for the road. This place is so boring."

They both stood and threw a glance back at Sakura, who was chewing on her lip, a conflicted look in her eyes.

"Are you coming?" Sasuke asked, in a tone that made it very clear he didn't particularly care whether she was coming or not. (Naruto knew he cared though. Sasuke liked to act like he didn't give a shit what Sakura thought, but his carefully sculpted "aloof bastard" personality slipped far too often for it to be anything other than an elaborate mask.)

"It's just…the teachers don't want us leaving until all the testing is done," Sakura said.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks, sky blue eyes meeting obsidian. They both smirked simultaneously. "So what?" Naruto asked, extending his hand to Sakura. "Come on Sakura. Take a walk on the wild side."

Sakura gave a very undignified little snort. "You two are ridiculous," she said, taking his hand with her own. "And you're going to get all three of us in trouble."

"The only reason they want us to stay is because the Hokage is speaking later," Sasuke said as they pushed open the door into the bright sunshine. "And they want us all to go see that. So we'll go to that, and they won't get mad at us."

"I guess," Sakura said, her hand slipping out of Naruto's. The world seemed suddenly a little darker and colder, but only for a moment. The smell of something delicious filled Naruto's nostrils, and he bounded ahead of his two friends in search of the source.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back!" Naruto promised, before squeezing between two large women carrying baskets and shoving his way through the crowd. He followed the mystery scent across the street, scrambling over a chain link fence and emerging in a small garden.

He glanced around. Koi pond, immaculately cut grass, colorful trees and flowers. The architecture was old fashioned, and he could see several banners with a red setting sun on them.

Naruto bit his lip. It was obviously a clan compound of some kind, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what clan it was supposed to be. It looked small – maybe Hatake? No, their symbol was a tanto. It could've been Kamizuki…but their symbol was a moon. Naruto kicked a rock in frustration. He wasn't good at this. He wished Sakura were here, so she could tell him whose yard he was standing in.

"Enjoying the view?"

Naruto spun around to see a man sitting idly behind him. He was older than Naruto, but he wasn't old like the Hokage – more old like the teachers at the academy. He had shaggy black hair and wore a Shinobi headband on his forehead, with an oversized green jacket hung loosely around his shoulders. The faintest wisps of a beard cling to his chin, and a cigarette was clenched beneath his teeth.

He sat in a lawn chair, with a small table in front of him. The table had a few drinks and some food – Naruto smelled octopus and immediately remembered why he had even come here in the first place.

"That smells good," he said, pointing at the table.

The man gave a bemused grin. "Good," he said. "I made it myself."

Naruto took a hesitant step closer. "Why are you sitting here?" He asked.

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for who?"

"Hold up on the questions for a minute," the man said, holding up a hand. "It's my turn. What's your name?"

"Naruto."

The man gave him a curious look. "Family name?"

Naruto grimaced. "Kiji."

"Ah," the man said, taking a short drag on his cigarette. "Hello then, Naruto."

"Hi."

"I'm Sarutobi Asuma," the man said.

"You don't live here," Naruto said immediately. He knew the Sarutobi clan crest – a mess of lines and circles. The Hokage kept on in his office.

Asuma nodded. "I don't," he admitted. "I'm just waiting for someone."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"A girl," Asuma said. He blew a cloud of smoke in Naruto's general direction. Naruto scowled and waved it away. It smelled awful and stuck to his tongue.

"What kind of girl?"

"Just a regular girl," Asuma said with a shrug. He paused however, and then shook his head. "Actually, not a regular girl at all." He took a long, heavy drag on his cigarette. "You wanna hear a story, kid?"

"What kind of story?"

"It's a love story," Asuma said. "Hopefully."

Naruto made a face. "Bleh."

"Oh come on," Asuma said, laughing. "It's short, and not all that bad. See, there was this kid in the Shinobi academy once, right? And he was friends with a girl."

Naruto nodded. He was in the Shinobi academy, and he was also friends with a girl. He had the sneaking suspicion this story was about him.

"This kid's name was Asuma," Asuma said, and Naruto promptly lost interest. "The girl's name was Kurenai. And now, Asuma, you see, had a bit of a reputation with the ladies, if you get what I'm saying."

"Yeah," Naruto said, although he didn't really get at all what Asuma was saying because he was too busy watching a bumblebee go from flower to flower.

"So Asuma played around a bit, because he was young and stupid and kid, when you get older you'll really start to appreciate what women have to offer." Asuma chuckled slightly. "But after a while he realized something."

"What did he realize." Naruto said, still watching the bumblebee. If hours of sitting through boring academy classes had taught him anything, it was that parroting back statements in the form of questions was a great way to pretend to be engaged.

"He realized that all the fun in the world didn't mean anything if you couldn't find the right girl when it was all over," Asuma said. "And then he realized that the right girl had been next to him all along."

"Mm-hm."

Asuma either didn't notice or didn't care that Naruto was obviously more interested in a solitary cloud than the story, because he kept going. He blew sloppy, misshapen rings of smoke as he did so. "The only problem was that by the time Asuma figured out who the right girl was, she had already moved on. And rightly so! Because Asuma…" he sighed, and glanced wistfully off towards the clan compound. "Because Asuma had been kind of a jackass," he admitted.

Naruto glanced up at him.

"Oh for the love of…forget I said that last word," Asuma muttered, waving his hand around. "She'll be here soon, kid. You should scram."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Maybe I don't wanna scram," he said, crossing his arms and planting his feet. "Maybe I wanna stay right here."

Asuma laughed and stood, and Naruto realized for the first time how tall the man really was. "Come on, kid," he said. "Don't make me remove you."

Naruto scowled and began to settle into his fiercest taijutsu stance. But before he got the chance to kick the fight off, he was interrupted by a high-pitched shout.

"What are you doing here?!" Naruto glanced around Asuma to see a dark haired girl in a Chunin flak jacket and red pants. She was standing with her arms crossed, staring at both of them with angry, rippled red eyes. Naruto snapped his fingers happily as the clan name jumped to mind – Yuhi. Sasuke had told him that they were a clan that had served under the Uchiha during the Warring Clans era. Their eyes were red because of the gene mixing with the Sharingan – many of them were also proficient with genjutsu.

Naruto beamed with pride. The history lessons Sasuke and Sakura insisted on giving him were helping. There was no way he'd be dead last again.

"Kurenai!" Asuma said, whirling around. "I was waiting for you."

Kurenai shook her head and walked past him, keeping her eyes fixed on Naruto.

"I brought vodka!" Asuma said as she walked past. "And takowasa!"

Kurenai grabbed Naruto's wrist, long thin fingers with a surprisingly tough grip. Naruto didn't even struggle as she pulled him up the steps into the clan compound. He was too busy watching Asuma collapse into grass below, running both hands through his hair.

Kurenai shut the door with a loud thud, and Naruto collected himself. The inside of the Yuhi compound was quiet and sparsely decorated. White and red were the dominant colors, but Naruto caught of bit of orange mixed in as well. He smiled to himself. He loved orange.

"You're Naruto," Kurenai said. She shrugged off her flak jacket, hanging it on a hook near the wall. Her arms were bare, pale and almost delicate looking.

"Yeah," Naruto said, not in the least bit surprised that she knew his name. He was more surprised when people didn't know him, which unfortunately meant he was surprised a lot. "What's it to you?"

"Just surprised to find you here," Kurenai said. She undid the heavy knot of black hair, letting it tumble and cascade around her shoulders. "I should get this cut," she murmured to herself, glancing at a mirror. "It's getting to be a handful." She looked back down at Naruto, then cast a quick look out the window. "Were you talking to Asuma?" She asked, leading Naruto into a small kitchen.

"Yeah."

"And what kind of nonsense was he filling your head with?" Kurenai asked. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and began munching on it, no milk.

Naruto shrugged. "Just some stuff about a pretty girl he really likes," he said, taking a seat at the counter. "Can I have some?"

Kurenai smiled and poured him a bowl, which he tore into ravenously despite having eaten three bowls of ramen just a few minutes ago.

"Did he really say that?"

"Yup," Naruto said in between bites. The cereal wasn't the best, but he was too hungry to care. Smelling the octopus out in the yard and not being able to eat it had been practically torture. He looked up at Kurenai, then checked to make sure the coast was clear before leaning towards her. "I think he was talking about you," he said in his best whisper.

Kurenai's eyes sparkled, and the corners of her mouth twitched. "Yeah, I'll bet he was," she said. "That man…that boy has the gall to treat me like…like I wasn't even there for Sage knows how many years, and once he finally gets it through his thick skull that maybe, just maybe, I have actual feelings like a human being, he…" she sighed. "Sorry, Naruto. I'm a little on edge."

"You can keep talking," Naruto said, doing his best to keep his words decipherable despite the mountain of cereal in his mouth. "Got any milk?"

"In the fridge," Kurenai said, turning away and pacing around the kitchen. Naruto pulled open the fridge, careful not to disrupt the seals that kept the whole thing cold, then grabbed the milk. He also helpied himself to some grapes while he was at it. "It's just, my life is good right now, you know?" She asked nobody in particular. "I have a…huge promotion coming up, mine for the taking. Sure, Danzo has a…reputation, but the pay is fantastic. And…and I'm engaged," she said.

"Mm-hm." Was that a banana? Naruto snagged that too. He had found that one could never go wrong with a banana.

"Of course, it's a political engagement," Kurenai said. Her voice had taken on a nervous edge, and Naruto noticed that she was talking much more quickly than she had been when the conversation had begun. "But I've met him! He's very nice. An academy teacher. And our relationship with the Umino has been…fragile, recently. So this is a very good thing!" She nodded to herself.

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out then," Naruto said.

"Yeah…doesn't it?" Kurenai said with a laugh that didn't sound like she found anything particularly funny. Naruto stared up at her, and she stared back at him.

He swallowed down another spoonful of soggy cereal. "Are you not happy?" He asked finally.

"What? That's…beside the point," she said, turning away. "Shinobi serve as tools for their clan and their village. Happiness comes from successfully performing your duty."

"Well, yeah," Naruto said, nodding. He had heard that sentiment countless times since enrolling in the academy. "But some duties make you more happy than others! Like the duty to practice taijutsu and become a better Shinobi makes me way more happier than the duty to clean the toilets." He made a face, and Kurenai hid the beginnings of a smile with her hand. "So yeah," he said with a shrug, jumping back down off the chair and grabbing an apple from a nearby counter. "The trick is finding the happy jobs, and not letting them make you do the unhappy ones."

"You're…" Kurenai said, looking at him with a look on her face that Naruto couldn't quite place, "exactly right. And…impossible."

"I don't know what that means," Naruto said, rubbing the apple on his pants to make sure it was clean.

"You're an orphan in the Shinobi academy!" Kurenai said, rushing out of the kitchen and beckoning Naruto to follow her. He did, and watched as she began putting her flak jacket back on. "No clan connections, no special skills, horrible grades-"

"Hey!"

"Sorry Naruto, but it's true," Kurenai said. She opened the door and peered outside. The table was still there, along with the chairs, but Asuma was notably missing. "Your grades might set an academy record. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him outside, past the walls that separated the Yuhi compound from the rest of the village.

They emerged into the bustling streets of Konohagakure, Naruto hanging on for dear life as Kurenai weaved in and out of the pedestrian traffic. He stumbled along as best he could, trying to keep up, but Kurenai was simply moving too quickly for him to do anything except hope she didn't let go.

And then suddenly, they weren't moving. Naruto felt Kurenai's grip unclench and she was gone, reappearing several dozen feet down the road in front of a tall, gangly figure who was most certainly Asuma.

Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying, and he didn't honestly care. He was hungry.

"Naruto?"

He turned and saw Sasuke and Sakura staring at him curiously, popsicles in their hands. Sakura handed him, one, which he happily accepted.

"What's going on with those two?" Sakura asked, nodding towards Asuma and Kurenai.

"I don't really know," Naruto said. "Think we should go see the Hokage speak?"

"That's why we were looking for you," Sasuke said. "Where did you go?"

"An adventure," Naruto said, and they started walking towards the Hokage's office. "It was a pretty boring one though."

From One End Of It, Perhaps

The Hokage stood on the balcony outside his office, red and white robes flapping majestically in the wind. Naruto stared up at him, tossing the now bare popsicle stick to the ground as he waited for the old man to speak.

The plaza below the Hokage's balcony was packed full of people, Shinobi and civilian alike. An almost unnatural quiet had settled over the entire crowd – the only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling idly through the empty streets.

When the Hokage spoke, people listened.

"People of Konohagakure," the Hokage said, his voice clear and strong and hard as steel. "I come to you today with good news." He glanced out over the crowd, and Naruto could've sworn that the Hokage had given him the tiniest fraction of a nod. "Eight years ago," he said, "after the tragedy of the Kyuubi attack, I took the mantle of Hokage back from Namikaze Minato, the Seventh Hokage. I intended to take it back for only a short time, until a suitable replacement could be found…but no candidate was."

"You don't think…" Sakura whispered to the two of them.

"But now, finally, I have found a worthy heir," The Hokage said, and Naruto could feel the tension in the plaza skyrocket. "Though he is young, he is our village's brightest and most talented Shinobi. I will take him under my wing, and in four years time, he will replace me and become this village's Eight Hokage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your Hokage to be…Uchiha Itachi."

"Dude!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke, as the rest of the plaza erupted into cheers. "Your brother's gonna be Hokage!"

Author's Note

Shinobi Team 7 is a fic idea I've been kicking around in my head for a while – a massive, sprawling Naruto AU, with the goal of rewriting the world from the ground up so everything makes a little more sense. Filling out holes in worldbuilding, elaborating on the political structure of the villages and the countries they inhabit, and keeping power levels to around Part I levels. It's a little hard to explain, but hopefully you all enjoy it.