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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +50 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
~ Very soon, we'll return to releasing two chapters daily, including bonus privileges for Power Stone contributions
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Akihiro looked right at his daughter, making her feel uncomfortable. "Sakura dear, I may not be shinobi, but I'm not gullible either. What are you really doing?"
Sakura frowned. "I'm telling you the truth Dad. Hokage-sama has an assignment for me and Naruto that we must start tonight. Why don't you believe me?"
"I heard a lot of commotion outside and your mother and I were worried since you weren't home yet. We've been waiting with the lights out to avoid drawing attention here all this time for you to get back, and now that you have you're heading out again to do an errand for the hokage? Surely she has more sense than to send two genin out while there's a conflict going on here in Konoha."
From behind him, Sakura's mother Mariko Haruno appeared, wearing a white bathrobe. She looked like an adult version of Sakura but with dull blue eyes and her pink hair worn in a braid. "Sakura? Where have you been?"
"Mom, Dad, I'm only saying this once. I have to go away for a while. I don't know when I'll get back, but I will when I'm able to." Sakura told them, trying to avoid telling them the real nature of what she was doing.
"This sounds too fishy to me. I want to hear from the hokage about this first." Akihiro stated.
"She's busy right now, but you can talk to her assistant right now."
"Not good enough. I want to hear from the hokage directly." Akihiro announced firmly, crossing his arms.
Sakura held in a sigh. "That's not up to you. Look Mom, Dad, I'm sorry but I'm in a hurry. I love you, but I have to go."
"But why?" Mariko asked.
Sakura now sighed. "All I'm allowed to tell you is it's for my own good and I need to do this to help my teammate."
Mariko held her daughter. "Stay safe dear and try to come back soon."
Sakura hugged her mother back. "I'll stay safe, but I can't promise to come back soon. I could be gone for a long time."
"What? No, you can't. This is your home you can't just leave it." Her mother said, pulling back to face her.
Sakura sended a single tear. "Mom, I'm going to miss you both, but I have to do this."
"Why?" Both her parents asked.
Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't tell you anything. For the time being you'll both be safer if you don't know. Just please believe me when I say I will be safe and I will come back someday."
Akihiro's gaze softened. "This isn't a normal mission, is it?" Sakura nodded her head. "And you can't turn it down?" Sakura shook her head this time. "And you want to go on this even if you could reject it?" Sakura was slower to react this time, but she nodded.
Mariko tightened her hold on her daughter, as if afraid or unwilling to let her go. "Please sweetheart, don't do this."
Sakura pushed her mother away a bit. "Mom, I told you, I have to do this. I don't have the time to tell you everything, just trust me when I say I need to do this. Maybe later I can send word to you on how I am and a better explanation, but tonight, let's just leave it at this."
Mariko pulled away and pulled a dark red ribbon out of her hair that she put in at night to keep it from going all over the place and irritating her husband. "Sakura, keep this with you. As a reminder of us and your promise to come back as soon as possible."
Tentatively, the young genin accepted the offered ribbon and put it in her pack. "Bye Mom. Bye Dad. I love you both." She hugged them one more time and went downstairs.
Mariko embraced her husband for support. "Do you think we're doing the right thing by not putting our foot down?"
Akihiro shrugged. "Maybe we should have. But sadly we're not the only authority figures in our daughter's life anymore and we have to trust her to know what orders to follow and what ones not to." He put his arms around his distraught wife. "C'mon, let's get back to bed. All we can do is hope for the best."
"Mom? Baa-chan?" Naruto called out.
"What is it Son?" Kushina asked, bringing them to a stop.
"Before we go, there are two people I have to see. I owe it to them to let them know I'm not going to be around anymore." The whiskered blonde told the group.
"We don't have too much time, but if it's really important Naruto then make it quick." Tsuande told him. "I'll be at the top of the monument. Kushina, you come with me. Hinata, you go with Naruto to keep an eye out for him."
The genin nodded and although Kushina looked reluctant to obey she did not argue. Then the two teens broke away and headed back into the village.
"Where are we going Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
"I need to see Moegi and the Ichirakus. I can't just leave without saying goodbye, not to them. Moegi is closest so I'll get to her first."
"Why her?" Hinata asked, not objecting, just wondering.
Naruto struggled to answer. "Her mother died tonight and her dying wish to for me to keep an eye on her. If I can't be here to do that I need to tell her why. Would you like to let your family know about you while we're at it?"
Hinata shook her head. "No, I don't. If I did they'd try to stop me and they'd likely succeed. It's best if we just ignore them."
Before more could be said, the pair arrived at Konohamaru's house. Naruto knocked at the door and Konohamaru's mother answered the door. "Welcome back Naruto. Is something wrong?"
"Boss!" Moegi screamed, running right to the orange-clad ninja.
"You ok Moegi?" Naruto asked.
The orange-haired girl nodded. "I'm just afraid of being away from you right now. You're strong enough to keep the enemies away."
Naruto was afraid to burst her bubble right then, but had no choice. "Umm... Moegi, I'm going to have to go away to make sure they stay away. So I won't be around here to keep you safe for a long time."
Moegi was wide-eyed. "What? No. Don't go Boss. I need you."
Konohamaru was equally surprised. "You can't go Boss. Konoha needs you here to become Hokage."
"I know Konohamaru, but Konoha unfortunately doesn't want me here for the time being, and they're going to try to kick me out or maybe even kill me. I have to leave until they change their mind." Naruto explained.
"Can I go?" Moegi asked.
Naruto shook his head. "I'm afraid not Moegi."
"Why not? I'm all alone here. Where will I go?"
Naruto looked at the Sarutobi's. "Could you watch over her?"
Konohamaru's mother shook her head. "Maybe for a night or two, but nothing long term. It's not that we don't want to, but we don't have the room or money too."
Hinata looked at the young girl. "Do you have any other family?"
Moegi shook her head. "I was adopted. Unless Boss takes me with him, I'm going to have to go back to the orphanage."
Naruto cringed. That was a fate he wouldn't wish on anyone. "I don't know what to do, but... maybe Baa-chan would. You want to go ask her?" Moegi nodded and Naruto faced Konohamaru's mother. "Thanks for watching her. If I don't bring her back tonight, just know she'll be in good hands."
"Hey, can't I go where you're going Boss?" Konohamaru asked.
Naruto shook his head. "Sorry Squirt. Your mother needs you and I need someone I can trust to keep an eye on Konoha while I"m away. Plus someone has to tell Udon everything right?"
The young boy sighed then stood diligently. "I'll do what I can to make this town see it needs you Boss."
"Thanks Konohamaru. I'm counting on you."
After saying goodbye to Konohamaru's family, Naruto created a clone and had it take Moegi home to gather a few things she wanted to keep on her before heading to Tsunade. During that time he and Hinata headed to Ichiraku's ramen.
Naruto was quite surprised to see the lights on. "Maybe they're pulling a late shift tonight." He thought aloud before entering. "Old man? Ayame-nee-chan?
"Naruto?" Teuchi and Ayame called out before coming out of the kitchen. "You alright?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Despite this weird thing." He then held out his tail.
The ramen chefs gasped. "What is that?"
"Some strange tail that appeared tonight while I was fighting. Even weirder, my mom showed up today and she even has one too." Naruto answered.
Hinata looked at him. "She has one too? I didn't see one."
"She can apparently hide it. I don't know what's going on here."
"How do we know you're really Naruto then?" Teuchi cautiously asked.
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