Chapter 26

Chaos reigned for much of that day in Konoha, the ANBU were in such disarray, unable to locate the source of the leaves following their backsides around all over town and this led to a huge drop in security over the few hours since the Village-wide prank had begun. The Sandaime had been found sleeping in once again, this time stuck to his bed with some kind of 'sticky seal'.

Kakashi knew just where to find the blond perpetrator. Naruto would attempt to blend in somewhere heavily crowded; he was skilled enough to literally disappear from the people who didn't know him personally, but for the Silver-haired ex-ANBU captain, he knew exactly how the blond would think in such a situation.

So he'd gone on stake-out, simply sticking around the busiest Civilian sector in the entire Village. The Market District was packed practically nineteen hours of the day, from when the stores and stalls opened to when they closed just before midnight. If there was one place for a Shinobi to disappear in Konoha, it was there.

Normally, it would have been impossible to manage such a thing, the elites of the Village recognised this area of weakness and ANBU patrols were moving through and around the district almost every minute of the day. But today...

The ANBU were...indisposed.

Kakashi wasn't surprised when he caught sight of a flash of golden-blond hair, bobbing at gut height in the crowd. Smirking to himself he skilfully navigated through the crowd so that he would come out right in front of his young friend.

"Yo!"

The 12 year old didn't seem surprised at all to see him and the huge grin stretched on his face said a lot about his achievements that morning.

"Interesting day, neh? I'm so glad I quit the ANBU you know? By the way, wasn't the cloud formation meant to be of the Sandaime picking his nose? That looks like one of your paint bombs gone wrong..."

Their conversation remained light-hearted as they made their way through the crowds, cobblestone streets giving way to greenery and colourful plantation, red-brick buildings morphing into trees and bushes. As they reached the outskirts of the Village a form blurred in front of them.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby under arrest for wilful disruption of the Village along with malicious impersonation of the Sandaime Hokage of K-"

Uzuki Yuugao blanched in shock as the two figures in front of her cracked up in laughter at her antics. Her face coloured as she realised just who they were laughing at.

"K-Kakashi-Sempai! This is no laughing matter!"

Kakashi snorted into his mask, the material bending inwards causing him to gag and sputter at the thin cotton on his tongue.

"Bleargh! Uzuki-san, you and I both know that he hasn't done anything wrong. He's a civ and should be treated as such."

Yuugao was caught staring wide-eyed at her ex-Captain, her lips slightly parted in her shock.

"B-but-"

"No buts!"

The midnight-haired Kunoichi huffed before a slight smile crossed her face.

"Uzumaki-san. I would be honoured if you could inform me how that seal was able to attract leaves alone."

It was Naruto's turn to stare in shock. It had been an innocent question on the ANBU's part, but to Naruto it meant the world that someone was actually asking him for help. Kakashi could only smile softly and watch as his Sensei's son displayed an emotion that he had not seen from the youngster once in all the years of knowing him.

The Uzumaki heir was flustered, embarrassed.

The change in the ex-ANBU captain's demeanour was not apparent. If you had told his previous squad that Hatake Kakashi had smiled softly at a 12 year old civilian out of familial affection they most probably would have laughed. Hatake-Taicho, they would say, had not a single emotional bone in his body unless one of his teammates or the mission were at stake, in which case there would be a sort of calculated anger radiating from him. But outward affection?

No way in hell.

So to Uzuki Yuugao, watching her one time captain's single visible eye soften and look at the blond kid with...admiration? Was something she could scarcely comprehend.

Her respect for the child rose once more. He was in favour with the strongest and cleverest Jounin in all of Konoha and that Shinobi respected him.

"I...I don't know what to say..."

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. That was a bit too confused, even for Naruto. Was he really affected much deeper than even he knew?

"I mean, I can't exactly teach ya' know? I dunno how I could teach, I mean I've never really done anythin' like that before ya' see so..."

The purple-headed Kunoichi crouched down in front of him, her lustrous, straight hair swishing from the movement.

"Uzumaki-san. I didn't ask you to be a Sensei. I just wanted to know what the seal was and how it worked."

Naruto snapped out of his apparent indecision and Kakashi could only chuckle as his normal boisterousness replaced his anxiety.

'When did he raise his Chakra levels back to normal though? That must be how Yuugao found us. Why is she without her mask for that matter?'

The answer to the second question clicked immediately in his mind and he chuckled quietly at the antics of his former subordinate. So she had known already had she? She had known all along that she couldn't arrest him, and yet she had still stated it. Was she...joking with them? Or did she just need an excuse to learn what she could from the prank-master?

Naruto tilted his head as he heard his friend giggle under his breath. Kakashi was always weird, one of these days he had to get together with Anko and Shisui and pull something on him again...

The blond prank-master turned back to his questioner who still crouched in front of him, her eyes expectant and alive with the curiosity of someone wanting to learn. That, at least, Naruto could understand; there was nothing quite like overcoming problems when it came to seals although that time he'd tried to 'remote control' his Airboard was still a matter of perplexity to him.

"It wasn't anythin' special really! See, all it was, was a central control seal linked to a Chakra Sticker seal. The Sticker seal was standard issue; I just took the one from an exploding note and cranked up the power a bit!"

For a moment, Yuugao looked startled. Two C-Rank seals?! Was that even possible?

Something didn't quite add up.

"But how did you get it to attract leaves alone?"

Naruto grinned at that. Now THAT was a question!

"Heh, see, the control seal isn't normal like your thinkin'! It has a little bit where you can pass something over it and it will always stick that thing alone!"

"You mean a Chakra Sensor Node?"

Naruto looked at her blankly.

"A what?"

Kakashi snorted loudly this time and the two turned to him.

"Uzuki-san, I think that's what he means. It's ingenious really, to connect the two like that! As far as I know, standard-issue explosive seals don't include a node, do they? They have to stick to any surface after all."

Yuugao looked positively bursting with energy as her face widened into a large smile.

"Ingenious..."

Naruto blushed at the compliment and turned away but not before Kakashi caught a 'thanks, lady' from him. The Dog-Summoner's grin only grew wider at that.

Plus the fact that their impromptu party was about to be kicked into high gear.

The Uzumaki heir didn't know what hit him. One moment he was all hot in the face and staring at the tress and the next he was eating dirt courtesy of the biggest back slap he'd ever had the misfortune of being on the end of.

"Naruto! GOD! That was freakin' awesome man! How the heck did ya' stick Hokage-Sama to his bed?!"

"mmmphmmmhm.."

"Huh?"

The blond pre-teen wrenched his head to the soil with a sickening squelch before glaring at the teenage Uchiha.

"Dumbo! You got mud in my teeth!"

The Kunoichi who had remained quiet up until now couldn't stand by without adding her two cents.

"And that's different how?"

Kakashi snickered at Anko's comment.

"And YOU! STOP LAUGHIN' AT ME!"

Kakashi tugged on the edge of his mask lightly.

"Maa, maa, let's not get too worked up about this guys. I think we all want to know how he managed what he did. But before that, who says he passed?"

"Yup, he definitely gets my recommendation!" Shisui laughed at his own joke.

"I think so too, what about you Anko?"

Yuugao was left staring between the others as it slowly dawned on her what the meaning behind their conversation was.

"Yep! I think you passed Gaki! Although...What the heck was up with the clouds?!"

Naruto's elation turned to confusion as he raised his head and gazed at the aerial bodies.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why do they look like bogey instead of the Sandaime eating said bogey?!"

Naruto 'hmmd' and 'ohhd' before striking his palm with his fist.

"I know!"

The others boggled at him as he seemingly had an epiphany. The Konoha Jinchuuriki bit his thumb and wiped it on his right forearm, a puff of smoke signalling the release of his trusty camera. Aiming it upwards, he snapped a picture of the clouds before storing it back in his seal. When he turned back to his companions, he found them staring at him as if he had grown another head.

"What?"

Four heads collided with the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT BRAT?! WHY THE HECK DID YA' TAKE A PICTURE OF THE CLOUDS?!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he answered as if there was only one logical answer.

"To show you that it really is Jiji pickin' his nose. See, I can develop 'em and then draw it on for ya'!"

Kakashi sweat-dropped.

"Err...if you draw it on then that's not what you did is-"

"SHUTUP! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!"

The four friends burst into laughter at the banter and Yuugao could only stare in shock and wonder at the feeling of warmth and friendship ensuing from the conversation.

"Wait just one minute..."

"Yes?"

Yuugao almost asked why they all spoke at once, the same question for that matter, before shaking herself and returning to the matter at hand.

"You mean...thi- this was all...planned?"

Silence descended on the entire group.

"This...y-you all put him up to this?! YOU MADE HIM DO THIS AS SOME KIND OF TEST?!"

Kakashi stepped forward lightly, his hand raised in a placating gesture.

"Maa...Uzuki-san, we needed to test his skills and this was the best way of doing it."

Naruto and Anko grinned whilst Shisui laughed at the inside joke. The only one who didn't seem to change was Kakashi, but they all knew he was bursting out in that weird mind of his. Seriously, who the hell displays emotions inside but not outside?

The purple-haired ANBU remained silent, her mouth wide open and her eyeballs trembling in their sockets. She didn't even twitch when the blond Jinchuuriki produced his camera to take another shot; this time of her face. Memories had to be preserved!

"Alright! I think we can all say he passed, so you're good to go Naru-chan! Welcome to the gang!"

Whilst the Mitarashi broke into a gig at the fact that her words rhymed and that she was 'so clever', Shisui clapped him on the back, a wide grin stretching his features and Kakashi simply smiled under his mask. There was a distinct undercurrent of euphoria, one that most people would attribute to finding out you did something amazing without knowing it and Naruto hadn't quite caught onto what Anko's words had meant. For so long he had been a student, learning and striving for when the time would come to protect himself. The sudden change in that delicate balance, suddenly becoming an equal to three of the best Shinobi Konoha had to offer was something he was scarcely able to comprehend. But he knew one thing.

He'd been acknowledged, not just by one, but by all of them this time.

The warmth in his chest, the feeling long suppressed from the stress of training and strengthening his resolve, rose up once again, this time fiercer, more intense than ever before. It was with a jolt the Konoha civilian realised that this was what he strove to protect. He had confidence in himself now, something he could not claim too long ago, and the reason for this new found commitment was staring him in the face.

It was good to have friends, he realised, better than anything he had imagined about the word before.

"Saaaaa...I'm off people. Naruto, remember 6AM at training ground 7, neh?"

Naruto nodded distractedly as with a final grin the one-eyed Shinobi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I gotta be off too Naruto! Nice goin' yeah?"

Shisui clapped him on the back one last time before he too disappeared. Anko didn't bother with formalities; she simply strode up to him and ruffled his hair, a proud smile showing her teeth as she gazed at her ex-student.

"Jiraiya's gonna be so pleased when he gets back here..."

Naruto stared up at her in shock. Did she just...

With a wink, she too disappeared. The Uzumaki heir was left standing in the middle of a patch of trees with a near comatose Kunoichi only a metre away. Turning to her, he waved a small hand in front of her face.

"Err...ANBU-san? I'm goin' home now, ok?"

No response. Naruto shrugged lightly and turned to leave. Just as he reached the edge of the trees a small voice crept over him.

"B-but how? How did you hide from us for so long?"

Naruto frowned slightly. Did she mean by his training all these years, or did she mean the five hours he spent hiding after his prank?

"Umm...it's nothin' special really! See, I've always been good at goin' around without anyone noticing me!"

Yuugao didn't answer his statement and instead chose to stare at his back in wonder.

"Bye!"

The purple-haired Shinobi could only wonder what kind of ninja was able to get the drop on the ANBU so effectively that he was praised by one of the most successful ANBU Captains of all time. It was unreal, unforeseeable and yet the blond 12 year old had managed all that and more in the course of a single morning. He wasn't even a Shinobi and yet he had the skills and the forethought of a veteran, able to turn things on their heads with a single glance.

The thing that shocked her most though, was his proficiency with seals; it was unlike anything she had seen or heard of before. The ability to use such a simple seal to do things that shouldn't be possible at that level was astounding.

She found herself wondering whether she should tell the Hokage of her findings.

'Maybe,' she thought 'just maybe...I can do that too...'

Looking up at the sun so high in the sky, she realised that she had to get a move on. Her patrol was due to end soon and she had to make her report to her new captain. Any and all respect for the man had been greatly diminished after just one day of being under him.

Anyone who walked around with a tree growing from their behinds would be ridiculed by the Konoha population.

'Poor Tenzou-Taicho. What did he do to deserve Uzumaki Naruto on his first day as a Captain?'

Giggling lightly, she broke into a fast trot, her smooth purple hair streaming behind her.

XXXXXXX

The next morning broke warm and clear, birdsong heavy in the air as three 'Genin' waited for their Sensei in the middle of Training ground 7. They had been up early in the morning, early enough to be at the ground by 6AM and yet there was neither hide nor hair of their teacher.

For Uchiha Sasuke, he was disgruntled. He had fallen off his bed that morning and found that his alarm clock had been wrapped in brown tape once again, Shisui having taken it upon himself to make his test that much harder. Things had gotten from bad to worse after he had ripped the tape off and found that it was already 6:15. His frantic form had been followed by an equally frantic alarm, one long overdue and the clock was obviously angry at being silenced for so long.

The young Uchiha was forced to believe that his clock was alive or something.

He hadn't had any time to put his hair up in his normal style, although the word 'style' was heavily debated at the kitchen table of the Uchiha's home. Throwing on his battle clothes, he had little time to wash up and steal some small Onigiri from the fridge before dashing off to what could only be a further ruination of his day.

The sun seemed to mock him as it beat down on his back, sweat rolling down his shoulders as he sprinted in the cool morning air. The glorious morning was offset by his dodgy start; he would have loved to simply lie in the grass today, maybe even seeking out his old buddy Shikamaru in the process.

The years had been kind to Uchiha Sasuke, much more so than he would have thought. The death of most of his clan had lain like a shadow over his head after the first day. He had awoken in the hospital to find himself alone; no-one was around when he had regained consciousness, the memory of the night's calamity fuzzy in his mind. Yet his mother and cousin had lived, and the absence of his father from their home had led to a highly relaxed atmosphere, one that the young Uchiha prodigy regretfully enjoyed as compared to the previous highly charged tension that seemed to have become a norm in the clan Patriarch's household.

And then Shisui had started to train him.

It had been slow going at first; many of the things the crazy Uchiha knew were simply too complex for the 'just Academy' student to understand. After backtracking through all the boring bits, Sasuke had been happy at his rapid growth, his uneasiness all but forgotten as he found himself enjoying the company of his family far more than before. His cousin's laid back-yet hand's on, snarky attitude a complete opposite to his elder brother's detached personality. Sasuke found himself content with his life, the bleak past all but a memory long buried in the depths of his mind.

He still mourned their passing, that was for sure, and when the time came and the opportunity presented itself, he would not hesitate to take revenge, but for now, living was a far more important goal.

He glanced blearily at his two teammates, evaluating them objectively. Haruno Sakura, a pink-haired fan-girl whom he had had the misfortune of being around the last five years of his education, and on a daily basis too. She screamed a lot, and yet for all her uselessness she was clever, possibly the cleverest of their graduating class.

His other teammate, Sai, the third and final member of Team 7, was an oddity to the Uchiha prodigy. Not much was known about the boy, especially since he had only joined the Academy at the beginning of their last year. He was quiet and tended to keep himself to himself, in fact Sasuke didn't think he had ever heard the pale boy speak in all his time at the Academy.

Sighing in evident frustration, he looked up at the sun. It was nearly mid-morning now and there was still no sign of their Sensei.

In a puff of smoke, said masked Jounin appeared right in their midst, jerking Sakura from her sleep induced haze and Sai from whatever the hell he was looking at in the trees. Kakashi regarded them with a critical eye, and Sasuke almost snorted as the green-eyed Haruno hastily wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth whilst blushing lightly from embarrassment.

Setting down a small alarm clock on the stump of a tree at the centre of the training ground, he turned to his students.

"Right then. Let's get down to business shall we?"

Sasuke straightened from his slumped position against the side of a great elm, Saukra and Sai stood to attention. The one-eyed Shinobi held up his hand, showing a single bell clenched in his fist.

"See this bell? I've planted two more somewhere in this training ground. To pass the test you have to find and retrieve the bell and keep it in your possession until the clock strikes noon. When the alarm rings the test is over and all three of you fail if you don't have a bell. You pass by obtaining a single bell each. Any questions?"

The Haruno and Uchiha exchanged furtive glances whilst Sai simply nodded.

"B-but Sensei, why are there only two bells? Shouldn't there be three bells, one for each of us?"

Kakashi smirked inwardly as he turned to face the pink-haired girl.

"Oh, that's because one of you is definitely going to fail! Have fun!"

And in a puff of smoke, the test began. As Kakashi hid up in a tree he watched his three prospective students scatter. The Haruno had given a single hopeful glance in the Uchiha's direction before taking off, obviously disappointed to find Sasuke already on his way. The test was set up to pit them against each other, and having the bells hidden would only promote competition as they raced to find it before the time limit was expended.

'I just hope Naruto goes easy on them...'

Sighing, he stood from his perch and followed the graduates as they moved out.

XXXXXX

Naruto preened himself as he waited for the test to start. Well not exactly preened, he liked to think it as simply 'smoothing his clothes out'. Plus that ghost-like boy was freaking him out by staring at him as he sat on his tree branch. It wasn't like he was trying to hide; frankly he was shocked that only one of the triplet managed to sense him from only fifty metres away.

'What are they teachin' those guys?!'

Then again, if TenTen was anything to go by all those years ago...not much. Naruto descended into a contemplative silence. The bun-haired weapons-mistress was a big question mark on his mind. He had no idea what she was thinking now. Had she realised her mistakes yet or was she still blaming him for not telling her his secrets? He was confused by her attitude; she acted normal, as normal as any other stranger or 'acquaintance' would and yet there was a certain frostiness in her personality.

Pride? Arrogance? He had no idea what it was, but it wasn't the animosity from before he had left the Village. So what had changed?

Standing on his branch, his Ryu-Zashi strapped in an 'X' to his back over the top of his newly crafted Airboard, he brushed himself off and stowed the two bells Kakashi had given him in his utility pouch. Without a sound, he hopped to another tree, sticking himself lightly to the surface with Chakra as he followed the 'duck-butt' Genin he vaguely remembered from somewhere.

'Maybe one of TenTen's classmates back when I pulled that stunt at the academy?'

That brought a smile to his face, the events of that day had been fun and he remembered really thinking of joining the Academy that day.

How long ago had it been?

Without warning, a moderately sized fireball missed him by inches, the heat searing the right side of his body as it passed. The blond looked down to find a scowling Uchiha glaring at him.

He remembered that face, but he couldn't quite place it. For some odd reason the expression was exactly the same too...

"YOU!"

Naruto sucked in a breath. Had he been recognised? He went to such lengths covering himself in order to hide his identity and he had been caught out so early. What was the point in his new face mask courtesy of Kakashi? Or the wide spread bandanna from Shisui?

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Naruto let out the breath he'd been holding. Luckily he was safe!

"Who me?"

"Yes you! Is there anyone else around?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and the Uchiha suddenly felt a great rush of irrational hate towards this individual even though he had no idea who would be loitering around a Genin training ground at this time of day, especially a pre-booked one.

"Err...the trees?"

Whatever answer Sasuke had been expecting, it wasn't that and his stance faltered as he raised a shaking fist at his opponent staring down at him from the side of a tree.

"How are you standing on a tree anyway?!"

"Huh?"

"The tree dumbo! How are you stuck to the tree?"

"Oh this?" Naruto pointed at his feet.

Kakashi laughed into his hand as he witnessed the scene and he saw Naruto's eyes flick towards him imperceptibly. So he could sense him could he? His Sensei's son was better than he thought; he was masking his Chakra and not even well trained Chuunin would detect him at this point.

"Yes that! How come you're not falling down?!"

Naruto looked at him as if he was stupid, and the young Uchiha got the feeling that he was being looked down on not only physically.

"You mean you don't even know how to tree-walk? Aren't you a Shinobi?"

"Of course I am! Didn't you see my fireball?"

Naruto sweat-dropped. Fireball? That was a Goukakyu, not just any old fireball!

"Err...yeah. Anyway, you want a bell right?"

The blond Jinchuuriki held up his fist from which the two bells hung, jingling softly from the movement. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he took in the new information.

"H-How do you have them?! Where did you get them from?!"

"Who me?"

"YES YOU!"

Naruto giggled lightly and it only served to anger the Uchiha further.

"Oh, you don't know?"

"I WOULDN'T BE ASKING YOU IF I DID!"

Naruto paused to chuckle again. The masked Jounin couldn't help but feel sorry for Shisui's cousin, Naruto could be infuriating at times and he definitely wasn't used to such behaviour. Shisui was much more open in his jokes and games after all.

"Hmm, where did I get them from again?" Naruto tapped his chin in thought.

The young Uchiha emitted a strangled scream of fury, already speeding through hand seals for a Jutsu. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Sasuke rested on the Tiger Seal.

'A Fire Jutsu?! That's too high for an Academy graduate...So Shisui's been teaching him, huh?'

Naruto yelped in surprise as he sprang to another branch, the raging inferno totally missing him as he dodged.

"Hey! It's like you're tryna ki-"

"I AM TRYING TO KILL YOU!"

Naruto sweat-dropped. That was the best he could do?

A devious grin spread on his face as Kakashi watched the cogs turn in his head. He definitely did not envy the young Uchiha; he was about to be on the receiving end of Naruto's cunning mind, and that always ended with someone in tears.

Naruto brought his hands up and began making hand seals.

'What Jutsu is that? I've never seen that combination before...'

Suddenly he stopped, a puff of smoke heralding the arrival of something obscured in smoke. Sasuke's eyes widened in fright as he realised he might be in too far over his head.

"SUPER SOAKER OMNI-PAINT NO JUTSU!"

The blond prank-master pumped the pressure gauge of his modified water gun, a pressurised stream of grey goo erupting from the nozzle and dousing the pitiful Uchiha from head-to-toe. As soon as it settled, the gloop shimmered and turned to every colour in the rainbow. Kakashi winced up in the trees.

'That's going to take forever to wash out...and that's from experience...'

Sasuke stood stunned, his entire form frozen in shock. He thought he was in dire straits when he had seen the masked person forming seals. And now he was...

He was...

Covered in paint?

In a roar of anger, he threw himself at the object of his shame as said person landed on the grassy clearing, a triumphant grin visible under his mask. Kunai and Shuriken were whipped out at high speed and hurled at Naruto who was forced to dance around like a tap-dancer to avoid the dangerous projectiles.

"O-Oi! It's like you're tryna hit me!"

"I AM TRYING TO HIT YOU! DIEEEEEEE!"

One of the Shuriken caught the edge of his mask as he jumped, slicing through the strap and through the knot of his bandanna as it whizzed past. The two articles of his disguise fell to the floor and Sasuke froze as he realised the identity of his enemy.

"Y-You..." He breathed.

'Damn! Now I've been recognised!'

Without wasting a second, Naruto Shunshined behind the Uchiha and knocked him out with a Hibana to the nerve cluster at the base of his neck. The 12 year old slumped to the ground in a heap, his pale face unnaturally white, with his shocked expression preserved in his unconsciousness.

Naruto laughed and released his camera to take a picture before stowing his water-pistol and gadget back in their seal. Squatting down, he raised the Uchiha's shirt and began drawing in his tummy with a black marker.

Kakashi simply watched from the tree above, curious as to what the blond Jinchuuriki was doing. Was it another seal?

Suddenly, Naruto's head whipped around and his marker slipped in his hand trailing a long line down the Uchiha's side. Cursing he turned to confront the newcomer.

"Oi! What was that for?! Can't you see I'm tryna work here?"

The black-haired Sai, stood expressionless as he regarded the one who had apparently taken the Uchiha down with ease. This one was strong, he could feel it.

Naruto turned back to his seal, before shrugging and making a hand seal. Kakashi blanched and almost revealed his position at that. What was he doing?! An unknown seal was dangerous! Why was he activating it?

"Won't know till I try!"

Kakashi caught the words as they floated up to him. He relaxed as he realised that his friend knew what he was doing. It wasn't a dangerous seal.

In a puff of smoke, the Uchiha reappeared almost indentical to how he was previously.

Sans the long hair.

"There we go! Now his girly look is complete! What do you think mister ANBU?"

Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed as he realised what Naruto was trying to tell him. To Sai's credit, he didn't even flinch.

"Very nice."

Naruto cocked a blond eyebrow.

"You're no fun! What's a gay person like you doin' here? I didn't know ANBU were joinin' Genin teams these days! I mean ain't you meant to be all 'top of the range' and stuff?"

"I'm only a Genin. What makes you think I'm an ANBU?"

Naruto chuckled slightly.

"Oh I don't know! How about the large Chakra supply, or the mask you have tucked into your pants?"

Sai stared down in shock. He was sure he'd hidden that before he'd come here this morning. In his dismay, he realised what the blond was trying to do as he discovered that he didn't have his mask on him. It was back at the hideout.

"GUILTY CONSCIENCE!"

Naruto rolled around on the floor as he laughed at his own antics. Kakashi's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, the foremost of why an ANBU, one that he didn't recognise, was present in Team 7.

On the ground Sai whipped out a paintbrush and a scroll, rolling it out and scrawling something along its length.

"Whatcha doin'?"

This time Sai flinched as the blond appeared at his shoulder, regarding his drawing in curiosity. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was fast!

Kakashi, groaned and stood up. Sai was finished and he didn't even know it. With one last glance, he hopped towards where he knew Sakura was determinedly roaming, no doubt attempting to find her 'Sasuke-kun' in order to 'save him from the gates of doom' or some other ludicrous rubbish.

This would be quick.

XXXXXXX

"CHANGE HIM BACK!"

Naruto clapped his hands over his ears as he stood in the middle of the clearing, all three Genin tied to the posts of training ground 7. The pink-haired girl was screaming at him whilst the Uchiha was struggling to get out of his bonds, obviously incensed over looking like a peacock, this time due to his...colourful make-over and the fact that he had apparently changed genders recently.

"Err...I already tried to."

Kakashi laughed so hard that he bit his tongue and all three Genin stared at him as he suddenly started gagging and retching whilst holding a hand to his mouth.

"WHAT?!"

This time both the Uchiha in question and the pink-head shouted at the same time. Naruto took a step back and glanced at the other member who was doing a bad act of trying to look like he was still unconscious.

"Don't worry!" He chirped. "The ink for the seal usually fades after about two to three weeks or so! When that happens, he should turn back to normal again!"

Kakashi flopped onto his front; apparently he'd knocked himself out from laughing too hard.

"Aaaaanyway! Nice meetin' ya'! I gotta be goin' now see? Bye!"

Turning as he strode away, he couldn't help a last comment to the pink banshee.

"Oh, and I hope you like him still! He's more like you now!"

Sakura screamed in fury as said Uchiha's speech degenerated into mindless mumbling and guttural noises. Sai could only wonder what he was talking about, although he did catch the words 'Kaa-san' and 'Naruto'.

Now they just had to wait for their Sensei to wake up.

That was a highly unorthodox test...

XXXXXXXX

Uchiha Shisui strode down the hallway leading to the Sandaime's office, decked out in full ANBU gear, the Captain's sigils glinting from the light streaming down from the overhead lights. His Lion mask grinned morbidly at anyone who saw it and the intimidation factor only elated the Genjutsu master further.

He was cool, the ANBU were cool, so that made him TWICE AS COOL, right?

Just as he reached the door to the Hokage's office, it opened revealing Maito Gai and his Genin squad; a Hyuuga, a bowl-cut mini-me and a brown-haired girl that he faintly recognised. Shaking himself and nodding at Gai's salute, he strode past them into his leader's office, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Ah Shishi-san."

Shisui winced at the name. Not only did it sound too close to his real name, but also, didn't it mean 'poo' in one of those other eastern dialects?

It reminded him of Itachi's codename back when he was still in Konoha. It had been the same as his real name.

'What's the point in that?!'

"Hokage-Sama, I'd like to request a modified squad for the mission at the outskirts of Nami no Kuni."

The venerable Hokage raised a wizened eyebrow. That was new.

"And who would you suggest?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and Mitarashi Anko. I would choose Kakashi as well but he has a Genin team now and so someone else will have to do."

Sarutobi's pipe fell from his teeth as he stood up in anger.

"Do you not know of the previous incident including Naruto-kun? There is no way he would even listen to such a suggestion, let alone join you on this mission!"

To Shisui's credit, he remained standing exactly where he was and his voice did not change in the slightest.

"And if I asked him directly?"

Hiruzen rested his back in his chair as he sighed in frustration. Raising a wrinkled hand, he massaged his forehead at the suggestion.

"And what would be different from last time?"

Shisui grinned behind his mask.

"Well, I'm his friend, and he trusts me and Anko with his life!"

The Sandaime picked up his pipe as the new ANBU Captain broke his formality. What he was suggesting was hard to believe; Naruto was vehemently opposed to doing anything for the Village and so the old Hokage didn't know how much truth there was to his subordinate's claim.

"And why would you even want him on this mission with you? Are there not any suitable Shinobi among your comrades?"

Shisui returned to his former position, his hands clasped behind his back and his spine rigidly upright.

"I feel they are the best two people to compliment my skills. The mission will proceed far more effectively with them than without."

It was a good argument, Sarutobi realised, yet risking the life of a civilian in such a way...

Wait a minute.

'Best two to compliment his skills?' that almost sounded as if young Naruto was on his level.

Shisui could literally see where his leader's thoughts were taking him by the scandalised look that flitted across his visage. His grin only widened at that; Sarutobi knew nothing of his training then?

"I assure you Hokage-Sama, Anko and I will make sure he comes to no harm. The mission will be pulled off without a hitch if he comes along."

The Sandaime Hokage placed his pipe on his lips as he turned to stare out the window of his office. A group of swallows soared past the window, catching his eye as they wheeled in the sky, the sun's rays gleaming off their feathers in the midday radiance.

"Very well, but only with his permission. Also your fourth and final member will be of my choosing. I must warn you that Team 9 will also be in the area under a scouting mission. If you run into Gai, tell him the details and warn him to stay away. Is that understood?"

Shisui felt elated that he was allowed to bring them along and his hasty salute showed hit happiness. The Sandaime sighed as his new ANBU Captain sped out the door like a cat after a mouse. He was slightly anxious at what the outcome of the mission would be. How would Naruto react to such a proposal? In effect, he would be being used again and the venerable Hokage didn't know if the boy would take kindly to such a suggestion.

Then again, the hint that the Uchiha survivor had dropped interested the Sandaime enough to pique his curiosity. How strong had the blond Jinchuuriki become that Shinkirou no Shisui considered him to be on his level?

It seemed he would find out through his own methods.

"Taka! Report to the West gate at 5PM tomorrow. I want you to shadow the group yourself, use a shadow clone in your place. Find out the skill levels of each member of the team and report to me alone once the mission is over. You are not to compromise your identity. Is that understood?"

A small 'HAI!' was heard as a slight breeze played through the room. The room went silent as the Shinobi in the shadows disappeared without a trace.

Only time would tell in this latest development. How would Naruto react?

ZZZZZZZZ