Naruto wasn't winning any popularity contests, and he wasn't surprised that he hadn't known about the chūnin's betting games for most of them tended to keep their distance from him, but both Rai and Mayu's relaxed attitude towards him had helped to ease some of the misgivings their new comrades may have had toward him.
Their fellow chūnin didn't include him, but they didn't go out of their way to bother him, and that was all he wanted.
...
His training sessions with Kakashi were also going, for the most part, as smoothly as one could expect while repeatedly materializing highly dense quantities of chakra on a regular basis. He'd been able to stabilize the Rasengan to the extent that it didn't drain him, and had even begun experimenting with adding his elemental chakra to the mix, something which, according to Kakashi, the Fourth Hokage had never had the time to complete himself.
But there was still an ever-present weight at the back of his mind: While it'd been over a year since Naruto had had his Taboo Seal removed, he had yet to regain any of his memories of the purported incident when he was six. The few memories he'd lost in the chūnin exams had returned, but his sixth birthday was still a huge blank. Nor had he regained any other memories in between, meaning that they were either so insignificant that he hadn't noticed, that nothing had actually happened, or even worse – that they hadn't come back yet. Kakashi had tried to reassure him, confirming that the seal had really been removed, and that the memories would eventually return in the course of time.
Still – it was unsettling, not knowing for sure whether his own memories were complete or not.
Naruto glanced at Rai, who was now silently walking along with his arms crossed behind his head. There was also the matter of his teammates still not knowing about his jinchūriki status. The problem was, he'd never found the time to do so. Ever since he'd been promoted to chūnin, his daily routine had become a never-ending cycle between training and missions. His remaining time was barely enough for him to sleep, eat, and carry out other basic necessities. With Rai also busy with his new chūnin duties and Mayu practicing hard for the next exam, the chance to bring up such a sensitive topic had just never come around.
A small voice whispered to him that if he'd really wanted to, he could always turn down one or two missions and make time, but Naruto quickly quashed it.
When they were let into the Hokage's office, Naruto was not surprised to find the two remaining members of team 7 already waiting for them. Mayu, glowing in her new chūnin attire, and Kakashi, still in his dusty travel clothes, stood beside a pale black-haired chūnin he had never seen before.
"Ah, Naruto, Rai," said the Hokage, lowering a smoking pipe from his wrinkled mouth. "Good, you're all here now."
The two bowed shortly in the elder shinobi's direction.
Raising his head, Rai curiously stared at the strange chūnin. "You wanted us, Hokage-sama?"
"I realize you've just returned from a long mission." As he spoke, the Hokage nodded at Kakashi and Naruto in turn. "However, with tension escalating between nation borders right now, client requests are at a peak and our manpower stretched thin. I've spoken to Kakashi and he's agreed to accepting this next mission. But if you'd like some rest, Naruto, I am willing to let you sit out on this next mission."
"That will be unnecessary, Hokage-sama," said Naruto immediately. The mission had been long but tedious, and he still had plenty of energy leftover. With Kakashi and his teammates gone, he'd have little to do in Konoha by himself, anyways.
At his response, the Hokage leaned back in his chair with a contemplative look on his face. "Very well, then. I've got here an urgent mission that will require you all to start out by early morning tomorrow. Naruto, Mayu and Rai, you three will be teaming up with another chūnin on a B-rank bodyguard mission to Wave country."
"Wait, what about Kakashi-sensei?" Rai cut in, looking put out.
The Hokage passed his smoking pipe to his hand. "Kakashi is being sent on another mission into Earth country. On this mission, Naruto will be your team leader."
A jōnin standing beside the Hokage stepped forward to hand them their mission scrolls. Unfurling his, Naruto quickly scanned the contents. It was short but clear: it was a standard escort mission that had earned B-rank simply due to the fact that the client was a semi-well known merchant. Considering the current smuggling situation with Gatō in Wave country, it wouldn't be unexpected for the client to be targeted by minor bandits and ruffians on the journey. It was nothing any properly trained ninja couldn't handle, but dangerous for civilian travelers on the road – thus warranting the recent rise in demands for bodyguards.
Naruto glanced at the wan-faced chūnin standing beside Kakashi. The boy, dressed in all black with a tantō strapped across his back, looked only one or two years older than him, but Naruto had never seen him in the Academy before.
"Is that the chūnin we'll be teaming up with?"
"Indeed – this is Sai," the Hokage said, with a simple gesture towards the boy, whose face split into a wide smile. Its intended purpose may have been to disarm, but to Naruto, it looked more eerie and offsetting than anything.
"Hiya," said Sai, with a wave. Turning to Mayu, he held out a hand. "So you must be...Mayu, was it?" With a shy nod, Mayu raised her hand. His smile grew even bigger. "Wow you've got a really forgettable face, don't you?"
Mayu froze. Snarling something incomprehensible, Rai took a step forward, but stopped when Naruto firmly grabbed his arm.
"You must be Naruto!" said Sai, turning to him with a look of delight. "Looking forward to working with you, short stuff."
Naruto let go of Rai. After a beat, he stepped forward to grip the other boy's hand. "Likewise."
After receiving a few more mission details from the Hokage, they began to all file out of the room, when the Hokage cleared his throat. "Naruto."
He paused.
Mayu and Rai stopped as well, but the Hokage shook his head. "I'd like to talk to him privately for a minute."
Once the door had clicked shut, Naruto turned to the elder shinobi. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"You may be wondering why I'm sending you without a jōnin's supervision." Naruto nodded. "It's only been a year since you became a chūnin, but your name has come up several times for a jōnin appointment. Your skills certainly would match up well. The only thing you're missing is experience in leading missions, as you've always been paired with Kakashi. So I'm putting you in charge of the other three – this should be a good learning experience for you."
"Understood, Hokage-sama." Naruto wasn't surprised, and in fact, welcomed the promotion. Being a jōnin would mean he would get more challenging missions, have higher clearance in the Archives, and best of all, he wouldn't have to report to anyone besides the Hokage.
"Naturally, my council is not pleased with my decision to grant you more autonomy, but they've grudgingly acknowledged your good work this past year. However, they pushed me to add this 'Sai' to your team, and I saw no reason to deny them...but I want you to always be aware that his role is to be their watchdog and to report back to them anything he learns about you. I assume you know what this means."
"Yes, sir." Clearly, the Hokage wanted Naruto to gather information on Sai at the same time he was being observed.
"Lastly, I sent Team Shirakumo to Wave country just yesterday, so if you do run into trouble, you should find friendly faces at a reachable distance. Don't let your pride stop you from taking advantage of that."
"...yes, sir," said Naruto slowly.
With a satisfied nod from the Hokage, he was dismissed. Turning sharply around on his heel, he left the room. Walking down the empty hallway, his thoughts turned to the journey that lay before him.
It would be his first long-distance mission without Kakashi. He wasn't nervous about whether he was up for it, since the jōnin had always preferred to take the backseat and let Naruto handle most of the dirty work. But it was a little strange to realize that this time around, if he somehow mishandled things, his teacher wouldn't be around to clean up after him...
Naruto frowned, clenching his hands tightly. Such a feeble mindset wouldn't do. He'd sworn to get stronger since he'd lost in the final round of the chūnin exams, and now, a year later, this was the first test to truly prove his own mettle to himself. There would be no 'ifs' about it – he would fulfill the mission, period.
As he stepped out of the building, he was surprised to see the rest of his team waiting for him. Seemingly having gotten over the less-than-optimal introduction in the Hokage's office, Rai was grinning widely, and even in the dim lighting, Naruto could make out Mayu's red cheeks.
"About time!" said Rai, pouncing at him. He began to drag Naruto down the street. "C'mon, I'm starving!"
"There's really no need," Mayu protested, Kakashi following languidly behind her.
"What're you talking about? I promised you a meal if you passed the chūnin exams, remember?" Mayu flushed even more, the very tips of her ears turning red. "So? Ramen or tonkatsu? Which will it be?"
"Ramen," said Naruto, raising a hand obediently.
Mayu smiled despite herself. "Ramen sounds good."
"Ramen it is, then," said Kakashi cheerfully.
"Then full steam ahead!" Rai crowed, pumping his fist in the air.
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