Naruto: The new beginning

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Sasuke felt unsettled. He wasn't sure why, his mother had told him that Itachi had been extremely busy since the Chunin Exams, and today, he left without even having breakfast.

Seeing Sasuke's troubled expression, Naruto decided to stir things up: "My dad is super busy lately, and even Kakashi-sensei got dragged into extra work. There's no way your brother has time right now. Even if you ask him, he'd probably just say, 'Forgive me, Sasuke... next time.'"

Naruto, mimicking Itachi's tone perfectly, delivered the final blow by poking Sasuke on the forehead.

"You're so annoying." Sasuke swatted Naruto's hand away. He thought about his brother's usual behaviour but couldn't find a good comeback.

"I get it," Sasuke muttered, saying goodbye to Mikoto with a sense of defeat. After gathering his things, he and Naruto went to find Sakura.

---

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled from below her window.

Sakura lived in a small, three-story building near Ino's house. Naruto had passed by with Sasuke while heading to school, so he knew exactly where she stayed.

"What's all this noise? It's early!" Sakura poked her head out groggily, still in her pajamas. But the moment her eyes locked on Sasuke, she snapped awake. "Sasuke-kun!"

She quickly ducked back inside, frantically fixing her messy hair. After a moment, she reappeared with a sweet smile. "What's up?"

"We've got a mission, and we need to head out," Naruto explained briefly.

Now fully awake, Sakura moved with a speed that rivalled Lee in his training. In the blink of an eye, she was dressed, packed, and out the window, shouting back inside, "Mom! Dad! I've got a mission, I'm heading out!"

Naruto vaguely heard Sakura's mom shouting from inside: "How many times have I told you not to jump out the window like that? You're going to ruin your image as a proper young lady!"

With their team now assembled, Naruto smiled in satisfaction.

Sasuke, still sulking over missing training with Itachi, and Sakura, glowing with excitement, followed Naruto as he led the way to Konoha's gate where Jiraiya was supposed to meet them.

---

At Konoha's village gate.

"That guy… is he Jiraiya-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, pointing at a lecherous old man with white hair.

"...Yeah, it's him," Naruto sighed, clearly embarrassed. "You'll get used to it."

Sakura stared, wide-eyed. "How do you get used to that?"

Their surprise was understandable. Jiraiya was crouched in a corner, crystal ball in hand, with a creepy smile on his face.

The image in the crystal ball? The women's bathhouse. Drool was almost escaping his lips.

"It's not that bad. Kakashi-sensei is kind of the same," Naruto muttered.

Naruto's words silenced both Sasuke and Sakura. Did all-powerful ninjas need weird hobbies? Surely not.

The Hokages had always been strong, and they didn't seem like the type to have... peculiar habits.

The two pushed the strange thoughts from their minds, but little did they know they had brushed close to the truth.

The First Hokage, revered for his strength, was quite the gambler, the Second Hokage had sibling issues, the Third was a notorious peeper, and the Fourth... well, his sunny smile concealed a middle-schooler's heart.

Determined not to let Jiraiya's behaviour slide, Naruto called out, "Oi, Pervy Sage! We're ready!"

Jiraiya quickly tucked away the crystal ball and stood up, adopting the demeanour of a serious elder. Even Jiraiya had to care about appearances in front of new students.

"These must be your teammates, Naruto. They're fine young ninjas."

Sasuke observed him thoughtfully. Judging by how fast Jiraiya had hidden the crystal ball, he probably was stronger than Kakashi.

Sakura responded politely, "Thank you for your kind words, Jiraiya-sama."

[Inner Sakura: Kind words?! I don't want praise from this perverted geezer!]

"Ahem," Jiraiya coughed, perhaps out of embarrassment. "Well, if everyone's ready, let's head out."

"Wait a second." Naruto raised his hand. "Give it."

"Give what?" Jiraiya feigned ignorance.

"The crystal ball. That's from the Hokage's office, isn't it?"

"You must be mistaken."

"Oh? Should I ask my mom if she remembers otherwise?"

"Is that necessary...?"

"Yes." As a good young man of the new era, Naruto wasn't going to let such behaviour slide.

Sweating, Jiraiya finally gave in and shoved the crystal ball into Naruto's arms. "Alright, fine. But I picked it up! It's not like Minato would've left something so valuable lying around. Good thing I found it!"

---

After Naruto sent the crystal ball back to Minato using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, the four of them officially embarked on their journey to find Tsunade.

Naruto was excited to meet the legendary "Legendary Sucker" and thought about making some extra money by challenging her to a few bets.

---

Meanwhile, back at the Uchiha compound, Itachi returned home shortly after Naruto and Sasuke had left.

"Itachi? Why are you back?" Mikoto asked, surprised to see her eldest son.

Itachi smiled. "I managed to take a break this morning. I came back to train with Sasuke and help him get ready for his next exam. Where is he?"

Mikoto's face fell. "Ah... Sasuke left with Naruto. They've got a mission outside the village."

Itachi's expression faltered. "I see... that's unfortunate. I rarely get time off."

Mikoto smiled, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry. Sasuke's in good hands with Jiraiya-sama leading them. It'll be fine."

"True, but... I don't have anything else to do now. Maybe I should just head back to work," Itachi said, his sense of duty kicking in.

"There is something you could do," Mikoto said, suddenly remembering. "Izumi has been by the house several times recently, but you were never here. You should go see her, at least as a courtesy."

Itachi hesitated. "Well, I suppose, but..."

"No 'buts.' I know a nice little shop that sells dango. You and Izumi used to go there all the time when you were kids, right?" Mikoto knew her son well. 

After his responsibilities to his clan, his ANBU team, and his family, few people could get his attention. Izumi is one of them.

"Alright," Itachi sighed and headed out, changing into his casual clothes.

As Mikoto watched him leave, she smiled to herself. Finally, with Sasuke out of the house, she could focus on something else. Mother's wisdom at work.

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