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As he stepped inside the small house he shared with his wife, Hinata, and their adopted son, Konohamaru, Naruto Uzumaki rubbed his sore shoulder & smiled as the incredible smell of a pot roast wafted in from the kitchen. "Boy, that smells good..." he said, pulling his headband off his forehead & stuffing it in his back pocket. "Naruto? Is that you?" he heard Hinata call from the kitchen. "Yeah, it's me," he said, "And if I'm not mistaken, that's a world famous Hinata Hyuga pot roast & potato wedges I smell..." Smiling, she drifted out of the kitchen & kissed him on the cheek, saying, "You've got such a good nose, I could swear you're from the Inuzuka clan." Chuckling, he replied, "Only for your cooking." His eyes drifting to where Konohamaru, now 16, sat with arms folded across his chest, Naruto asked, "What happened this time? A fight? Cracking jokes? Skipping out on missions?" "Try all 3," Hinata sighed, "He was never this bad before, & just this year he's gotten out of hand." "It's been tough on him ever since his parents died in the war all those years ago. I'll talk to him tomorrow." Naruto said, wincing as his shoulder flared in pain again. "How was your day?" she asked. "...My day?" he echoed.

Naruto smiled as he walked up to the Ninja Academy, several genin greeting him with a friendly "Greetings, Lord Hokage!" Turning to across the yard, he chuckled as he spotted Sakura Haruno staring daggers at him. "Good morning to you too, sunshine," he said, stepping inside. As he strode towards the Mission Room, a voice called out from behind him, "Naruto! There you are!" Grinning as Shikamaru sprinted to catch up with him, he said, "Morning, Shikamaru. What's going on in our fine village today?" "Another reported break-in," he said breathlessly, "Another homeless woman found stabbed to death on a path outside the village..." "And 2 Sand ninja where killed by what eyewitnesses say was several men with slashed Konoha headbands." Ebisu said as he strolled up to the duo. "Ah, everyone's favorite loser teacher. To what do I owe the displeasure?" "Uzumaki. In this classroom. Now." he growled, dragging Naruto into an unoccupied classroom.

"Gonna ask me out on a date, Super Perv?" he asked, chuckling. "Because I gotta say, you're not really my type..." "Can the jokes," Ebisu snapped, "You need to take care of these murders." "How can we even know that these people are who they say they are? The last of the Akatsuki died with Tobi long ago..." Naruto said. "We can't," he continued, "But that's a story the papers will roll with in a heartbeat. Take care of this, Uzumaki. Make this right, or I swear I will end you." As the fuming jonin strode out of the room, Naruto coughed into his elbow & said, "Geez...That guy needs some better mouthwash." Strolling out of the classroom, he stopped at the end of the hall & waited for his friend to catch up with him. "You want to head to the crime scene, try & find something?" Shikamaru asked. "In a while," he replied, "First...Tell me about these break-ins."

Diving out a window, Naruto broke into a roll & kept sprinting after a black-cloaked young man, Shikamaru on his heels. "Come on, Shikamaru, he's getting away!" he shouted. "I'm trying!" Shikamaru called back. Rolling his eyes, Naruto picked up his pace & reached a hand out, grabbing the young man's collar & slamming him into a wall. "Led us on quite a chase there," Naruto growled, "But it looks like your luck just ran out. "Hff...Screw you, man!" the man spat. "No one messes with the Followers of Jashin!" "The what in the who now?" he replied. "Uh...Naruto..." Shikamaru said breathlessly as he ran up, pointing to a poor drawing of the god of death, Jashin, on the door of a run-down building. As it swung open, 3 burly young men stepped out, one wielding a large sword, another a bow staff, and the third a handful of throwing stars. "...Seriously?" Naruto said, drawing a kunai & activating his Nine Tails chakra with a flash of yellow. "All right, kids, just put down your crappy toys and we'll..." His sentence was interrupted as the third thug hurled 3 shuriken, one slicing through the skin of his shoulder.

Dropping his knife & clutching the wound, Naruto grabbed the bo staff effortlessly as the leader charged forward, swinging his weapon. "Oh crap." the man said, backpedaling slowly as Naruto advanced, the staff now held in his hand. "Damn right." he snarled. Whipping the staff around, he slammed the end into the man's head, sending him down hard. Jerking in Shikamaru's direction, he rolled his eyes as he watched his friend jump back, barely avoiding the blade of a thug's sword. "Hey! Cut it out, kid! That's not cool!" he shouted. Hooking the end of the staff through the guy's legs, Naruto jerked back, causing his feet to fly out from under him. Striding up to the third thug, he growled, "You got any more of those things?" As the young man frantically searched his jacket, Naruto grinned & said, "I didn't think so." Jamming the staff into the kid's gut, he helped Shikamaru up as the last thug coughed up a bitter wave of vomit & crumpled to the ground.

Suddenly, another ninja appeared in a burst of smoke. "Lord Hokage, the Sand ninja have been identified. Master Ebisu says..." "I know what Ebisu says." he snapped. As the ninja disappeared again, Naruto turned to Shikamaru & said, "I gotta go. Backup'll be here every minute. Can you handle booking the Teenage Mobster Ninja Morons on your own? I've got an old friend I need to see." "Sure thing." he replied.

A little while later, Naruto strode into a beautiful clubhouse where Sasuke Uchiha sat flanked by 2 hulking bodyguards, sipping high-end sake from a cup. "Hello, Naruto." he said. "I thought I might hear from you today, but I didn't expect you to drop by unannounced."How could I resist coming to digs like this?" he asked. "Can I speak to you...In private?" Waving off his bodyguards, Sasuke sighed & said, "I guess this is about those 2 Sand ninja." "You're damn right it is," Naruto snarled, "We had a deal, Sasuke." "I wasn't the one who killed them. Those were my men, executed in cold blood on my turf." he snapped. "I didn't say you swung the sword." the Hokage growled. "But part of our agreement is that you keep crime activity in Konoha low." "Trust me, I have soldiers in all 5 principal territories looking into it," Sasuke replied, "We will find who did this, and they will be punished. In the meantime...Can I ofer you a drink?" "Why the hell not?" he said, taking a seat at the bar.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the other side of the building, accompanied by loud scuffling. "Sounds like we're about to get hit." Naruto said, drawing a kunai. "I'm afraid you're right, my friend." Sasuke growled, whipping his sword out of its scabbard. As the doors burst open, the 2 friends dove over the counter as a torrent of weapons & varying jutsus flew over the countertop, scorching the wall black. Leaping to his feet as an enormous thug burst through another door, Naruto cried out in pain as the man balled his hands into one massive fist, slamming it into his already-wounded shoulder. "Damn! I already hurt that arm today!" he shouted, weaving beneath the gigantic man & smashing his head into the tile counter. "Talk about hitting the bar." he said, grinning broadly. Whipping in Sasuke's direction, Naruto hurled his kunai & helped his friend to his feet as the weapon buried in the back of another ninja's head.

"I'm guessing this little hit squad is behind the deaths of the 2 Sand ninja." he said. "I believe you're right." Sasuke replied, tearing the headband off of a dead ninja's forehead, revealing a slashed Rain symbol. "There's no way...They all died out with Tobi..." he said shakily. "I'll keep my eyes out for more activity. We'll get these guys, Naruto. I swear." Looking to where his shattered cup leaked sake all over the table, Naruto sighed & said, "Thanks for the drink."

Walking home an hour later, Naruto groaned as he spotted a pale figure pinning a struggling young woman to the wall of an alley. "Hey! Crappy McSucks! Step away from the lady & put your hands in the air."he shouted. Whipping around, a tall, lanky man holding a kunai slick with blood growled, "Who dares speak that way to..." The ground around Naruto grew a bright yellow as he activated his Nine Tails chakra & hurled a Rasen-Shuriken at the attempted murderer, cutting off his sentence. Scowling at the smoking corpse, he said, "Sorry, buddy. Another night, I might've given you a chance, but tonight, I'm hungry, I'm tired, and just not in the mood." Helping the girl to her feet, he asked, "You alright?" Nodding, she stuttered, "Th...Thank you...Lord Hokage..." "Got any problem with how this went down?" Grinning as she spat on the body, he said, "I didn't think so. Let's get you patched up."

"How was your day?" Hinata asked, snapping Naruto out of his trance. "...My day?" he echoed. Grinning as he glanced around at everything he had worked his entire life to achieve, Naruto replied, "It's looking better."