The meeting lasted half an hour. The Jonin who had received their assignments headed out.
After Naruto and the others finished eating, they went their separate ways. They'd been away for a long time, so they wanted to go home and get some proper rest. They agreed to continue training together the next day. When Naruto got home and opened the door, a cloud of dust hit him in the face.
Did I forget to close the window? Naruto wondered.
He looked around and saw that dust covered the whole house.
It had been so long that Naruto couldn't tell whether anyone had been inside, but there was nothing here worth stealing anyway.
I remember closing the windows. Looking at the dust in the room, Naruto couldn't help feeling suspicious.
At the same time, he held out his right hand, and a ball of wind appeared, much like a Rasengan. It sucked in the dust, leaving the room considerably cleaner.
Naruto couldn't possibly have guessed that Danzo had been coming by to investigate him repeatedly because of that drop of blood. But Naruto was wary of Konoha, too. There was nothing of value in his home, and anything important wouldn't be kept there.
Even Root's people, careful as they were, had left traces behind.
Naruto slept well. He wasn't going to worry about Konoha.
The next day, Naruto and the others met up to train, but when Sasuke showed up, Naruto frowned.
"Long time no see, Sakura." Naruto couldn't help frowning at Sakura, standing behind Uchiha Sasuke.
It wasn't that he hated her, but he certainly didn't feel any fondness for her.
"Well, we're on break, so I came to see Sasuke. I heard you guys were getting together, and since it's been so long, I thought I'd come see my old classmates." Sakura wasn't stupid. She could tell Naruto didn't much like her, which confused her. She'd often bullied Naruto in the past, but surely not enough for him to hate her. Still, she thought that if Sasuke hadn't insisted on coming, she wouldn't have bothered seeing Naruto.
"Okay, then. Since we're all free today, we might as well get together." Naruto quickly understood. Because of the Chunin Ninja Exams, every team was on break. Since Sakura was here, it wouldn't be a good time to train.
They could use the time to relax and have fun with everyone else.
"Mm-hmm." Sakura had thought Naruto was really unpleasant, but after hearing him, she felt he wasn't so bad after all.
Naruto didn't bother saying anything. Two Shadow Clones appeared and went to find Shikamaru, Kiba, and the others.
Naruto's real body went fishing with Hinata, relaxing and chatting with her. Before long, Shikamaru and Choji arrived. Shikamaru looked like he'd just woken up.
"You idiot, is this really how you're planning to spend your break?" Naruto couldn't help teasing Shikamaru when he saw his face.
"This is what life's all about. I'm not a training maniac like you." Shikamaru walked over to Naruto as if he'd done it a hundred times and picked up a fishing rod to join him.
Choji arrived soon after, but he wasn't interested in fishing. He sat nearby, snacking and chatting with the two of them.
Tenten and Neji came over, too. When Rock Lee spotted Sakura chatting nearby, his eyes lit up.
In a flash, he vanished and appeared right in front of her.
"What are you doing?" A bowl-cut boy suddenly appeared in front of Sakura, startling her.
"I like you! Please go out with me!" Rock Lee said excitedly.
Neji was speechless.
Tenten couldn't help taking a few steps back, making it clear she didn't know him.
The commotion behind him caught Naruto's attention. He glanced over, then lost interest. Sasuke also took a look, impressed by Rock Lee's speed.
As for helping, Sakura wasn't on the same team as Rock Lee anymore, so there was no reason for Naruto to step in.
"No! I don't like bushy eyebrows!" Sakura rejected him at once. She nervously glanced over at Sasuke, and when she saw he wasn't paying attention, she couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Rock Lee was crushed and drooped his head, but soon his fighting spirit returned. He circled around Sakura, talking about how the flames of youth never gave up.
The boys didn't pay much attention to the commotion behind them. They relaxed, fishing and chatting, and talked about the Chunin Ninja Exams, too.
"A joint Chunin exam? You've all signed up?" Sasuke frowned.
"Don't even think about it. You know what Kakashi-sensei is like. We'll definitely be the last ones to sign up." Naruto couldn't help complaining.
Uchiha Sasuke immediately thought of Kakashi's perpetually tired eyes and understood.
The group couldn't help laughing. Everyone knew about Kakashi's habit of showing up late.
They chatted and grilled food together.
That evening, Kakashi brought them the Chunin exam registration forms. The three of them filled in their information without hesitation, completing their registration. Kakashi was confident in their abilities, so he gave them a few reminders and then went off to attend to other things.
The next day, Naruto and Hinata were out shopping. They chatted and ate as they walked, when Naruto suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Hinata asked, looking at his expression with eager curiosity.
"It's nothing," Naruto said with a smile.
He was actually rather pleased. Their meal had arrived—the One-Tail Shukaku's chakra was here. Naruto had never encountered the One-Tail before, but a Tailed Beast's chakra was full of negative emotions. The moment Gaara and the others entered Konoha, Naruto sensed it.
Hinata secretly rolled her eyes. She wasn't stupid; she could tell Naruto was happy. At the same time, she realized that Naruto had a lot of secrets.
In Konoha, Gaara and the others looked at the bustling streets and couldn't help thinking how different they were from Sunagakure. Even during the day, few people went outside there because of the strong winds and sand.
"Kankuro, let's find somewhere to stay first. You three can look around, but try not to cause trouble," Baki said to them.
As an experienced Jonin, he understood what young people were thinking.
"Don't worry, we'll be careful," Temari quickly promised. As the Kazekage's children, they knew the purpose of this mission.
At the same time, her promise was a discreet way of telling Baki she'd keep an eye on Gaara.
"Come on, let's go look around together," Temari said softly.
Kankuro nodded. Gaara said nothing and looked rather gloomy, but the other two were used to it.
The three of them looked around Konoha. The villagers were used to seeing people like them and knew they were from another village.
Inside the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tails suddenly raised its head.
"That stinking tanuki's chakra." With the seal gone, the Nine-Tails' senses were sharp. The moment Gaara arrived in Konoha, it sensed Shukaku's chakra.
"Happy? Your brother's here." Naruto appeared and teased the Nine-Tails.
"He's caught your attention." The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes. Since it lived inside Naruto, it knew how strong his senses were. If the Nine-Tails could sense him, Naruto definitely could, too.
Naruto smiled without answering, and his figure slowly disappeared.
"What exactly are you planning, anyway?" The Nine-Tails found Naruto more and more difficult to understand.