"We still have 2 months until the chunin exams." Shikamaru said to the blond next to him.

The blond hummed and looked at the ramen in front of him.

" This is going to end badly." He said and Shikamaru turned to him.

" There was no way you could have predicted this Naruto" He said and Naruto sighed.

" But what are we going to do about it? We know better than anyone that he doesn't stop until he gets what he wants" Naruto spoke with his lips thinning.

" We fight," Hinata said entering the ramen shop with Lee seconds behind her.

" We didn't go to the past just for Danzo to stake a claim on you," Lee said.

" He went over Jiji and asked me directly if I wanted to join Root," Naruto said and Hinata's eyes narrowed.

" What did you say" She asked slowly and Naurto raised an eyebrow.

" I said no of course, but he kept asking me so I put the conversation off and told him that I want to wait for the chunin exams until I make any decisions" Naruto groaned and Lee cursed.

" Is everything okay Naruto you seem off" Shikamaru states and everyone's eyes go to the blond.

" Kurama's chakra hasn't been purified yet so I still have the burning chakra and thanks to my shit chakra control I can't block out my negative emotion sensing so..." Naruto trailed off and Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.

" You not only have your negative thoughts, which we all know you have so don't try denying it, but also the Kuybii's and that of everyone around you" Shikamaru said and Lee choked.

" You have Sasuke on your team, plus the fact that everyone hates you at this time..." Lee said and Naruto slumped.

" It gets overwhelming sometimes" he states honestly.

" Naruto" Hinata whispers.

" I'm going to ask Jiji if I can have another mission. I know that I should probably have some time to unwind." Naruto said and Lee nodded.

" All four of us are on a mission, just like old times," Lee said and Naruto smiled.

" Yeah" he whispered as Shikamaru draped himself over the blond's shoulder and Hinata kissed him on the cheek.

--------------------------

It was Friday. Jonin Senseis usually train their students for half the day and then let them leave at midday( Or they are too lazy to teach them and give them a full day off *Kakashi*). Then they sometimes even get together for a drink or lunch. This was one of those days.

Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai were all heading out of the Jounin Standby Station at around 12.

As they were walking to the BBQ restaurant that Asuma always like Kurenai pointed to the ramen shop that Kakashi was very familiar with thanks to his blond student.

They saw Naruto, who had bags under his eyes that were not there during training, walking in the front, with Shikamaru draped over him explaining something. Hinata was to the right of the boys and laughed at something Shikamaru said before nudging a blushing Lee, who was pouting.

Lee suddenly grinned and jumped onto Naruto and Shikamaru making them stumble forward and Shikamaru screeched.

Naruto then grabbed Hinata and practically tossed her onto Lee making her squeal as Naruto was practically carrying the three genin through the streets gaining a few looks.

" It's good to see Lee acting like a kid again" Guy said beaming.

" I love the new confidence Hinata has now but it's like she grew up way too soon. I've heard her father is disturbed by the change too" Kurenai said, her red eyes tracing her female genin.

" Shikamaru never acted like this," Asuma said, lighting a cigarette before Kurenai slapped it away.

" Naruto's been different, mature, he smiles brightest when Shikamaru, Hinata, or Lee come to pick him up." Kakashi said slightly salty that he didn't trust his team at all.

" It's the same for Lee, all of the comradery that took a year to build was suddenly less important to him" Guy said.

" I've known Hinata since she was 8 and she was always the one trying and failing to get everyone together, now one look send Kiba and Shino into overdrive" Kurenai said.

" Don't think we can't hear the amusement in your voice Kurenai" Asuma said amused and Kurenai winked.

" What! Even I have limited patience. Kiba and Shino would not work together for anything and now Hinata gets them to practice after hours together! I'll tell you one thing I'm not complaining about!" She laughed and the rest joined her.

" For Naruto it's like he knows what Sakura and Sasuke are best at without even looking. He instantly knew that Sakura would excel at medical ninjutsu and that Sasuke should try fighting with a katana" Kakashi mused.

" Let's just wait it out, we're Jonin for a reason" Asuma said.

" I don't have restraint for that," Guy said.

" Hey Guy, you want to have a joint training session for the next few days. I want to see if I should nominate my team for the chunin exams but I want to see where they stand first" Kakashi asked, really just wanting to observe Naruto with Lee.

--------------------------

Naruto shook the water from his wet hair. Turning the sink faucet he left the bathroom and turned to the kitchen. These last few days have been hard enough with Root following him, waiting for Itachi to show up, and dealing with the villagers hating him again. Then Kakashi just had to have the team start to train with Guy.

It's proof that some things are changing but what is going to be the result of this.

The roots following him everywhere are driving him crazy, it's a constant presence at the edge of his range, it's honestly driving his already short fuse to new heights.

Taking a look at his clock Naruto recoiled. It was 10, training started hours ago. He's never liked being late, and has only been late to one thing in his life. Naruto's routine is one of the most important things to him. He was always up with the sun and he shouldn't be late. By the time these thoughts filtered through Naruto's head he was already up and passing the mirror next to his door.

Before he could react in the mirror was a red eye swirling with black marks. He felt his legs turn to lead as he blacked out, but not before sending a pulse of chakra to the closest person he could feel.