Chapter 21

Both Naruto and Shisui had to repress their laughter as they stared down at the remarkably short businessman standing in front of them. He was completely consumed in his conversation with Ensui. When the man had first opened the door of his rather luxurious apartment Naruto had thought it must have been somehow mechanically opened. It turned out Naruto was just looking straight over Gato's head. A fact that didn't seemed to have passed by the tiny businessman. Since then the man seemed to harbour an unspoken grudge towards the two Shinobi (minus Itachi, because he always seemed to disappear into the background whenever laughter emerged).

But to add insult to injury, even Shisui, the shortest of them, managed to stand a good few inches above the man, despite being less than half his age. It was all they could do to stop snickering every time he would shoot them a glare. To quote Naruto he said the 'If Anko were here she would be attempting to try that western sport involving kicking a ball around'. In honesty though that was the highlight of the remaining mission, otherwise it was lacklustre at best.

It turned out that after they defeated Masi the harassment attempts and hits on Gato's head just stopped all of a sudden. It swelled Shisui's ego for a while thinking that the assassins feared their team. At least it did until Itachi reminded him that they could merely be waiting for them to leave so they would have better chances. No matter what the reason the results were the same, the three of them became quickly bored. At least Naruto got off slightly easy, he had his scroll with him to jot down notes that struck him.

Even so, they still managed to squeeze in as much training as they could, using the opportunities when they weren't guarding Gato. Itachi was seriously impressed by the rate Shisui managed to pick up on the Sharingan techniques he began showing him. He had even remarked one day that because the way their fights were slowly turning it was like he had already unlocked the Doujutsu's predictive abilities. Naruto hadn't had a chance to spar with Shisui yet but when he did he would be sure to remind the Uchiha that he wasn't suddenly invincible.

Quickly though the time they were assigned to the mission came and went and before they knew it they were back on the road. Naruto had the pleasure of turning one last time to catch one of Gato's disdainful looks before returning his attention to the path ahead.

"I really hated that guy." He didn't need to turn to see the enthusiastic nod he got from Shisui or the slight smirk from Itachi.

"You shouldn't say those kinds of things about the client, it's far too bothersome to deal with the aftermath." Naruto just huffed, blowing air out between his teeth in irritation; it passed quickly.

"He's not the client anymore." Ensui just shrugged lazily before he suddenly jumped into the trees above them, the Genin quickly following.

"That's not to say he couldn't be in the future." Naruto just huffed again, unable to deny the man's lazy logic yet still annoyed by it all the same. He checked around them as they sprinted through the tree branches, looking for any sign of an ambush like the one at the start of their mission. In honesty he kind of missed it; that had been the first real opportunity they had to prove themselves and he wanted to feel that rush again.

He noticed Shisui running next to him, Sharingan active as it had been ever since he had acquired them. At first Itachi had warned him that it would simply waste his chakra, however, after Naruto had pointed out that it could almost work like a passive Chakra control exercise he too had taken to keeping his Doujutsu frequently active. That wasn't to say it was indefinite, even for an Uchiha their eyes were taxing on their chakra systems. Even so, the Uchiha prodigy had definitely noticed a slight rise in both his already considerable control and hearty fortitude.

It was another reason Naruto was anxious to get back to Konoha, he didn't like his teammates suddenly having this edge over him. He needed to get back and start training seriously again, his speed and chakra control among the priorities. He smirked as he sprinted; he knew exactly the jutsu that could help him with that as well as kill two birds with one stone. He had been putting off going through his father's things for long enough.

"Well that was boring as hell." All he got were two nods of agreement from his teammates, surprising him as he saw Itachi actually agreeing that something was boring.

"Yeah, I wonder if all mission reports are like that." Naruto just shrugged, honestly he wasn't sure what he had been expecting; a smirk suddenly crossed his face.

"Then again it might have been worth it to see the look on the old man's face when Ensui-sensei told him we faced Iwa's Stone Bull." Shisui laughed at that and even Itachi smirked, Sarutobi had almost lost his pipe when he heard that and was unable to stop staring at the three Genin in surprise for the rest of the meeting.

"Must you call Hokage-sama something so disrespectful? I would have thought your own father having been Hokage would make you more inclined to respect the position." Naruto just chuckled as they walked down the streets, enjoying being back after a few weeks.

"I have the highest respects for the position, but for me respect in a person is earned, not given." Itachi raised an eyebrow at this but didn't break stride as they continued to move towards the Uchiha compound and by slight extension the Namikaze household.

"And his defending the village through the second and third Shinobi wars, as well as his aid in defeating the Kyuubi on top of his years of service to the village are not grounds for respect?" Naruto just gave Itachi a blank look before looking ahead and walking a little faster. Itachi glanced at Shisui but his fellow Uchiha just shrugged, not knowing what had Naruto so touchy all of a sudden.

"Naruto, the Leaf is our home and Hokage-sama is our leader." Naruto turned on Shisui swiftly, an anger and betrayal in his eyes that they had never seen in him before.

"And where was he when my parents died?! Where was he when I went home to an empty house where I knew I would never see them again?!" Shisui could only blink in surprise as he took a step back, not expecting the outburst; a few civilians even stopped to look at them. Itachi went to put a hand on his friends shoulder but the redhead shrugged off the contact. "Six months! It took him six months after their funeral for him to visit me! I know he's busy, but six months!" Itachi just looked lost, unable to speak because he didn't know what to say.

Naruto just breathed heavily for a few moments before turning on a heel and sprinting away, leaving the two Uchiha speechless in the middle of the street. He raced back through the village, moving towards the one place where he could think clearly, where his mind didn't become one big angry blur. He vaulted the walls of his home in one bound, dashing around the side of the house until he was able to stop and stand still out in the training ground.

He looked down at the reflection of himself in the small pond, watching as the wind gently disturbed the image that stared back at him. He collapsed to his knees, eyes still locked on the water until a single drop disturbed the pond, rippling the image until he couldn't see himself anymore. He wiped away the other tear that was just about to fall, stifling a sob as he angrily punched the water, turning away from it harshly to lie back on the grass, just staring up at the sky, lost in his thoughts.

AN: sorry if there's alot of angst, but it's needed. Naruto might be a genius here, but dude's a kid