Funny / True Potential

Chapters 1-6: Introduction Arc

Chapter 1

• When Naruto asks Hinata and Shikamaru if they both mean it:
  Shikamaru: Mean what? Be a bit more specific. I don't remember much of class today. It dragged.
  Naruto: [scowling] Every class drags for you!
  Shikamaru: [shrugging] And?
• Naruto decides to invite both Hinata and Shikamaru to Ichiraku, doing so by grabbing their hands and dragging them away. Naturally, Hinata faints pretty much immediately and wakes up roughly 10 minutes later.
• Naruto rolls his eyes when Shikamaru tells him that sleeping is what he does for fun:
  Naruto: Then what do you do when you're awake?
  Shikamaru: [smirking] Try to sleep.
  Naruto: [frowning] Ahhhhh, that's lame.
• Shikamaru tries to sleep at Ichiraku, but Naruto keeps poking him to wake him up.

Chapter 2

• Naruto tells Hinata that the two of them could go to Ichiraku with Shikamaru sometime, before adding they could just go there even if Shikamaru can't come. Hinata blushes heavily upon thinking about going to Ichiraku with only Naruto as if like it was a date. Her crush thinks she's having a fever and put his hand on her head, causing her to faint. He panics and shakes her, trying to wake her up.
  • Shikamaru arrives and sees Naruto shaking the fainted Hinata. The Nara boy smirks and comments that the Hyuga girl would pass out again if she wakes up and sees the Uzumaki boy shaking her. Naruto doesn't understand what Shikamaru is saying, and the latter doesn't even bother explaining.
  • It's then followed by this conversation:
    Naruto: How are you?
    Shikamaru: Tired.
    Naruto: You were tired yesterday!
    Shikamaru: It's almost like 'being tired' is something that can occur more than once. Huh. Who would have thought? [chuckles]
    Naruto: [frowning and crossing his arms] Hmph. Well screw you too.
• When the class begins, Naruto worries about Hinata getting into trouble given that she hasn't awaken yet. Shikamaru takes this opportunity to sleep as well, "so she won't get in trouble alone.":
  Naruto: [thinking while sighing to himself] There's something wrong with him.
• Naruto wakes Shikamaru up for weapons training, only for the lazy boy to complain that this type of training is "too much work and way too troublesome.":
  Naruto: Everything's too troublesome for you!
  Shikamaru: [yawning] Exactly.
• Shikamaru's mother Yoshino comments that his father finally decided to actually eat dinner with his family rather than go out with his friends:
  Shikaku: [mumbling under his breath] I'm here six days of the week and she doesn't bat an eye, but I go out once with friends once a week and all of a sudden, everything's different...
  Yoshino: [her eyes narrowing on him] You know it's not once a week, don't say that crap!
• Shikamaru talks about him going to lunch with Naruto and Hinata the previous day. His mother complains for not telling her about it much sooner as she wants to hear about his social life. She then asks him a few questions in a row upon hearing him say he became friends with Naruto and Hinata, causing her son to sigh.
  • Yoshino complains that Shikamaru hasn't talked about Choji much, only for her son to reply that she should remember that Choji is currently attending a wedding in some other village, and thus he has no reason to talk about his friend. She thinks he's insinuating something about her memory, causing Shikaku to laugh and tell his son to give up as he should know now not to fight with his mother.
• Yoshino tries to sweet talk her husband into training their son and his new friends instead of going out drinking with his teammates. She succeeds and the narration has this to say:
  "Nara Shikaku, among his fellow shinobi, was considered a beyond brilliant man. He was an excellent shinobi who could easily fight and outwit nearly any enemy ninja that dared to take him on. His wife, however, was someone his brilliance could never beat."
  • Shikaku is dreading the next day. Not because of training his son or his new friends, but rather because he would have to cancel his plans with Inoichi, knowing full well that the latter would "bitch about it for awhile probably, especially cause Chōza isn't here to go with him."
• While meeting Shikamaru's parents, Naruto tells them that their son is "really lazy, but he's pretty cool." Both Yoshino and Shikaku laugh at that and even Hinata giggles, putting Shikamaru in an annoyed mood.

Chapter 3

• Naruto decides to pull a prank on the class by making paint shoot out of the scrolls that Iruka gives to each student. Pretty much everyone accuses him of that prank, while Naruto claims he has nothing to do with it.
  • The fact that Hinata helped him pull off that prank by convincing her former caretaker Kō Hyuga to seal paint in the scrolls. Shikamaru says he did nothing to help, unless one counts giving Naruto "some solid advices and arguments on how to avoid getting blamed".
• During training, Yoshino uses blunted kunai against Shikamaru and Hinata. At the end, she tells her husband they were able to avoid most of the kunai she threw at them:
  Yoshino: I think next session, I'll use actual kunai. Maybe the fear of getting hit and a real wound will incentivize them more-
  Shikamaru: [scowling] Mom, I kinda would like it if Naruto and Hinata actually wanted to come over here again, so please don't.
• Both Shikamaru and Hinata praise Naruto for succeeding at doing the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He's so excited by their praise that he pulls them into a Group Hug. Shikamaru has trouble breathing because the hug is too tight, while Hinata has trouble breathing because she's trying her best not to faint from being hugged by her crush.
  • When the hug is over, Shikamaru gasps overdramatically while catching his breath, saying he saw what must be a god calling him to the afterlife. Naruto rolls his eyes and tells him he didn't hug him that tight.

Chapter 4

• When Naruto is doing the final part of the exam, he gets to the part where he has to do the Transformation Jutsu. Iruka wastes no time telling him to not do his stupid Sexy Jutsu.
• Team 3's future sensei, AKA Anko, comes to the Hokage's office to do her mission report. He takes this opportunity to discuss what he has in mind for her and three certain genin. Her reaction is one big "WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" that awakens many of the Konoha inhabitants.

Chapter 5

• Naruto's reaction when learning that both Hinata and Shikamaru will be his teammates:
  Naruto: HELL YEAH! The top three shinobi here! We are so going to kick ass!
  Sakura: [annoyed] Naruto-baka, shut up! Some of us are trying to concentrate here!
  • This is soon followed by Kiba's reaction upon learning he'll be on the same team as Sasuke and Sakura:
    Kiba: [groaning loudly] The prick and the fangirl? Just my frickin luck!
  • Anko's introduction is nearly identical to her introduction in canon. Naturally, everyone else in the classroom's reaction is also nearly identical.
• Anko comes up with a different nickname for each of her students. For Hinata, it's "Stutters-Chan". For Naruto, it's "Whiskers". As for Shikamaru, it's "Lazy Ass" because, among other things, his dream is one of the most boring and average things she has ever heard. Naruto laughs so hard over what she said about Shikamaru that he falls off his seat, with Hinata also giggling at that.
  • Even better is that Naruto also called Shikamaru "lazy ass" three chapters ago.
• All three genin notice that the way Anko is chowing down her dango is just like Naruto with ramen.
• Anko meets up with Kurenai, who is bitter over the fact that she ended up with a team of "kids who should never be made genin". Kurenai then reminds in amusement to Anko that, given that the latter is in charge of a team of new genin, she will have to deal with D-Rank missions for a while. Anko is not all pleased by that as she remembers all those boring hours of doing lame chores from when she was a genin herself.

Chapter 6

• Given that her natural element is fire, Anko is in disbelief to learn that Shikamaru is the only one among her students to have the same element.
• The Training from Hell all three genin go through, with Anko complaining it wasn't that bad:
  Naruto: [incredulous] Not that bad? You call doing one hundred sit ups, one hundred push ups, and fifty laps around the training field not that bad?
  Shikamaru: That's also not mentioning the kunai you would throw at us whenever we stopped for a few seconds, or the times where you forced us to start over because of some troublesome reason. [thinking] She's worse than my mom! Good lord... this is a pain...
  • Anko then tells them that what Gai does to his genin squad is worse, causing Hinata to feel bad for her cousin Neji (who at this point is still a Jerkass to her).
  • This is followed by more Training from Hell involving standing upside down on tree branches while hopping from one branch to another and avoiding any kunai thrown at them by Anko anytime they showed signs of tiredness:
    Shikamaru: You're a sadist... you know that?
    Anko: Yup.
• Anko telling Hinata that the Hyuga clan is "the biggest group of idiots in Konoha" for not fully taking advantage of the Byakugan.
• Naruto had a lot of expectations for his first mission. Was it going to be an assassination mission? Protecting royalty? Infiltrating to learn enemy secrets? Nope, it's pulling weeds:
  Naruto: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
• At the Hokage's office, Anko nervously asks while stuttering if she and her team could get a C-Rank mission for once. Naruto teases her by calling her Stutters-Chan, with Hinata giggling at that.
• Naruto is so excited to finally have a C-Rank mission that he hugs the person nearest to him. Said person is none other than Hinata, who faints once more. Naruto panics over this, while Anko laughs out loud in response and even Sarutobi can't help but chuckle at that. As for Shikamaru, he mentally wonders how could Naruto not notice that Hinata likes him before concluding that he'd probably still be confused even if somebody points it out to him.
• After Anko leaves the office, Sarutobi goes back to dealing with what the narration describes as "the number one nemesis of his entire life: paperwork."

Chapters 7-11: Tenchi Bridge/Han Arc

Chapter 7

• Yen, the client that Team 3 must escort, is a blond-haired man who doesn't shut up and is both impulsive and scatterbrained. All these characteristics remind Shikamaru and Anko of another blonde they're familiar with, much to their annoyance.
• Shikamaru is jealous over the fact that Yen overslept while the former woke up early for once.
• Yen gives some praise to the shinobi, causing Shikamaru to think their client is "not a pain in the ass." However, Yen ends up asking way too many questions in a row to the genin, causing the Nara boy to change his mind and realize their client is a pain, just not in the way he expected.
  • Naruto thinks that Yen "talks way too much", not realizing the irony behind that.
• Omake 1:
  • Yen wants to learn various jutsu. However, because he has a low amount of chakra, he's not able to do most jutsu. Naruto then says he knows at least one jutsu that doesn't require any chakra at all. Before he even shows the jutsu, Shikamaru groans inwardly as he rightfully guesses which one it is.
  • After Naruto uses the Sexy Jutsu, Shikamaru tries to fight his nosebleed while thinking "I knew it..."
  • Hinata, for once, disappoves of something her crush has done.
  • Anko smacks Naruto twice; the first time is for using "such a stupid jutsu"; the second time is for using it in front of their client. She then smacks Shikamaru twice as well; the first time because of his nosebleed, indicating he stared at the jutsu for too long and enjoyed it; the second time because he talked back to Anko after getting smacked for the first time.
  • Anko is afraid such a perverted jutsu would change Yen's view on Team 3 and Konoha. However, Yen says with a perverted grin to Naruto that the latter has given him "more reason to want to learn ninjutsu." Anko smacks him in response:
    Anko: Perverts. All of you!
  • After ordering a five minute break, Anko has two thoughts that she would never admit: the first one being that Naruto "did make a pretty sexy chick"; the second one being that she wonders "what the guy version of that would look like?"

Chapter 8

• Kurotsuchi is the third person to call Shikamaru a "lazy ass", much to his displeasure:
  Shikamaru: [thinking while groaning] Even the girl from Iwa? Ugh. Troublesome. Why does everyone call me that nowadays?

Chapter 11

• Naruto cheers over the prospect of training in order to face anyone from Akatsuki. However, Anko warns him, with a sadistic grin, that his training will be ten times more brutal than usual, making Naruto afraid of what his sensei has in mind.
• Han teaches Naruto how to control the Kyūbi by doing some meditation. Naruto tries to meditate, only to complain one minute later that it's "really boring", causing Han to facepalm and to think that it's going to take a lot of work.
• Han has prepared tea for everyone. Anko is worried it might be too hot, specifically as hot as the tea Han was drinking the day prior, but he says he didn't have enough time to make it as hot as he prefers it to be. This makes Anko think that the tea probably isn't that hot. She was wrong as, after they all take a sip, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Yen end up being nearly unconscious on the floor with bright red faces; Naruto, Roto, and Risho are all getting their hands on water canteens while yelling variations of "WATER!"; Anko herself is chugging her own canteen; and Kurotsuchi tells everyone it's not that hot, even though she's stuttering while saying that and having tears appear on her face.
  • Han thinks his tea is a little cold and comes to the conclusion that humans have weak tongues. He then realizes how wrong he was when he notices that Naruto has already chugged his canteen and is begging anyone to give him their own:
    Han: [frowning] ...I stand corrected. It seems jinchūriki can have weak tongues as well.
• As soon as Team 3 sees the gates of Konoha, Naruto immediately runs towards Ichiraku. However, Anko shoots snakes out of her right hand to grab her hyperactive student by the shoulders and drag him back to his team before reminding him they have to inform the Hokage about their mission first. In response, Naruto frowns and grumbles about ramen, causing Shikamaru to chuckle and Hinata to giggle.
• Kurotsuchi and Risho having an argument over the former calling the Tsuchikage "Gramps" (as the latter is her grandfather) instead of something more respectful, while Roto tries to calm them down to no avail.

Chapters 12-28: Chūnin Exams Arc

Chapter 12

• Shikamaru is concerned over Anko given that she called him and his teammates by their real names instead of their nicknames. She then calls him Lazy Ass and smirks, causing Shikamaru to roll his eyes and think that she's "too troublesome to figure out."
• Naruto tries to learn the jutsu from the scroll that Han gave him. However, on his first attempt, he uses too much chakra, resulting in Naruto sinking himself to the ground up to his shoulders. He curses in annoyance, while Anko's clone falls to the ground and laughs a lot after seeing this first attempt.
• Anko leaves by using the shunshin, causing the following conversation between her students:
  Naruto: [grumbling] Show off! She just loves that shunshin!
  Shikamaru: [rolling his eyes] Naruto, this is Anko-Sensei. She loves flashy entrances and exits. Are you just now realizing this?
  Naruto: Shut up!
  [Hinata giggled as she watched her friends arguing.]
• What's the first thing Kakashi does after his sparring session with Anko is over and she leaves? Read his erotic novel from where he left off, of course. And doing so while blushing and giggling.

Chapter 13

• After Anko once again uses the shunshin, Naruto complains about it and tells his teammates they should corner her the next time they see her and force her to teach them the shunshin. Shikamaru then points out he could just learn it himself as it can't be that hard, causing Naruto to stick his tongue out at him.
• Everyone in the meeting room sighing when Gai recommends his students while doing his trademark thumbs up and Twinkle Smile.
• Temari tells Kankuro to not make a scene when Naruto accidentally bumps into the latter. Her brother tells her he's just giving "this brat a life lesson":
  Naruto: [rolling his eyes] Shut up already! Like a guy who wears makeup could give me any life lessons.
• Upon seeing Shikamaru, Kurotsuchi calls him "Lazy ass" once again, causing Shikamaru to sigh and think that he's starting to hate that nickname.
  • Shikamaru declines Kurotsuchi's offer to accompany her while she's visiting Konoha as he wants to take a nap. This annoys her and she demands that he stops being a "lazy ass" and shows her around his "damn village" before grabbing him by the shoulder and walking off:
    Shikamaru: [thinking] ...she's still as troublesome as last time.
  • The narration then indicates that he "did not get a chance to nap for the rest of the day."
• After Naruto snatches one of the forms from Anko, she smacks him in the head:
  Anko: [grumbling] Don't just take things from me Whiskers!
• Omake 2:
  • Anko is late for the Chūnin Exams meeting. However, once there, she is told that she won't be one of the proctors for the exams this year given that she has a genin team she will very likely recommend for the Chūnin Exams, much to her anger.
  • Anko's incredulous reaction when she learns that Kurenai will replace her as one of the proctors.
  • Everything Anko has written in the scroll she left on the door to Kurenai's appartment on "How to be a badass proctor for the exams".
  • Kurenai's reaction after she's done reading the scroll is to toss it to the side and do a facepalm.

Chapter 14

• Hearing Sakura and Ino fighting over Sasuke, Shikamaru grumbles as he recognizes "that annoying shouting anywhere." It also doesn't take long before he comments that he almost feels sorry for Sasuke.
  • Hinata asks how long Sakura and Ino have been fighting like this:
    Shino: Three minutes, twenty-seven seconds.
    Choji: We've been counting!
  • And of course, there's Sasuke's progressively annoyed reaction regarding the two girls clinging onto him.
• Most of the male genin's reaction when they see Kurenai, with Kiba and Kankuro nearly drooling.
  • Kurenai appears in the classroom with a banner with her name on it. Ibiki comments with a sigh that he thought she was above things like that, but that it's also not surprising given who her best friend is.
  • Later, Kurenai scares a genin named Asuna Kariudo by casting a genjutsu on the latter and making her see several deadly stuff from the Forest of Death:
    Kurenai: [thinking] Anko was right! Messing with these genin is kinda fun!

Chapter 15

• Hinata says to her teammates that if Naruto's clones take too long before coming back, the three of them can just go out and look on their own:
  Naruto: Yeah, yeah. That's what I was thinking.
  Shikamaru: [rolling his eyes] Of course you were Naruto.
  Naruto: [snapping] Shut up!
  Shikamaru: [smirking] I didn't say anything bad. I was agreeing with you.
  [Hinata giggled as the two boys continued to argue about Shikamaru's sarcasm.]

Chapter 16

• One of Naruto's clones asks Shikamaru what did he do to get away from the Taki genin. He replies that he blew up the clearing, causing the clones to gap:
  Shikamaru: [sighing] I said I was putting up traps throughout the area. What did you think I meant by that?
  The clones: Shikamaru...you're scary...
  Shikamaru: [smirking] ...heh. Really? [thinking] I'll make sure Naruto knows that his clones think I'm scary when he wakes up.
• After Hinata wakes up, she's sad because she sees herself as a burden to Shikamaru due to having been knocked out for so many hours while his friend had to take care of both her and Naruto during that time. Shikamaru decides to make her stop being upset by teasingly referring to Naruto as her boyfriend. Hinata blushes and nervously says they aren't dating yet. The Nara boy then retorts the keyword in her sentence was "yet", causing her blush to somehow be even worse.
• Naruto is talking to the Kyūbi inside of his mind, only to complain that his mind, which looks like a sewer, is a dump. The fox dryly remarks how fitting it is, causing Naruto to scowl at the demon.
• Immediately after Team 3 finds the tower, Shikamaru passes out on the floor and proceeds to sleep after remaining awake for so long, causing Naruto and Hinata to laugh at that sight.

Chapter 17

• When Iruka tells Team 3 they've passed the second exam, Naruto cheers by jumping up and down. Shikamaru, who is asleep and on Naruto's back, mumbles in his sleep about an earthquake, making the Uzumaki boy stop jumping and Hinata giggling.
  • Iruka's reaction to seeing Shikamaru:
    Iruka: [sighing] ...typical. I haven't seen him in months since you all graduated, and the first time I see him he is asleep. This feels nostalgic.
• Naruto leaves his team to pay a visit to Han. Hinata wonders if her crush even knows where he's going, while Shikamaru replies with a sigh that it's probably not the case. Anko then comment with a chuckle that she hopes "the brat enjoys searching through this maze of a tower."
  • It took nearly two hours of searching and irritation before Naruto finally found Han.
• After Kurotsuchi calls Shikamaru "Lazy ass" once again, Roto comments that it's a sign of affection. As an example, he says that she calls him dumbass sometimes and he doesn't get offended.
• Shikamaru just wants to sleep and declines to play a card game. Kurotsuchi threatens that she'll get her revenge on him if he doesn't play at least one game. He responds by walking out of the door and closing it. When Kurotsuchi comments that he'll regret this, Naruto, Hinata, and Roto all have a trace of fear in their eyes.
• Anko being surprised when Kurenai is the one who suggests they should go get themselves a drink instead of the other way around.
  • Anko then comments that Kurenai needs something to lighten herself up a little and that, perhaps if she did that, maybe she'll get lucky with Asuma. Kurenai shouts Anko's name and blushes in response.
• Naruto and Shikamaru's confused reactions when they interact with Rock Lee for the first time.
• After the second exam is over, Anko is still bitter over being replaced by Kurenai as the second exam proctor, thinking that she would never have passed this many teams if she hadn't been replaced.
• Omake 3:
  • Shikamaru decides to go to bed. However, it doesn't take long before he's awaken by the grinning Kurotsuchi, much to his annoyance.
  • He tries to sleep, but she uses a water jutsu to soak him.
  • Kurotsuchi tells Shikamaru that she told his teammates her plan to keep him awake that night and, as a result, said teammates are sleeping in other rooms. Shikamaru says "...you have got to be kidding me." in response. He then slams his head against the head rest of his bed in the hopes of knocking himself out, but it doesn't work.
  • Kurotsuchi continues to keep Shikamaru awake in various ways: using a water jutsu on him, speaking in an overly loud voice, and jumping on the bed. This lasts for at least two hours.
  • She then starts to yawn and Shikamaru begs her to go to sleep, but she's too stubborn to accept his demand.
  • The next day, Naruto walks into the room, eager to see what kind of shape Shikamaru must be in after a night of being tortured by Kurotsuchi. However, he's shocked to see the two of them asleep, the boy underneath the covers and the girl on top of them, while also cuddling each other. Leaving the room, Naruto grins as he found "the perfect blackmail".
  • Naruto making a loud noise awakes both Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi. Upon realizing their current position, one of them screams, which is followed by the girl jumping out of the bed and the boy falling off the bed on the other side. They both blush at each other and they say in near unison that this never happened.

Chapter 18

• Shikamaru and Choji are not enthusiastic over having to fight each other. Ino, on the other hand...
  Ino: SHIKAMARU'S LAZY! HE WON'T WANT TO DO SHIT! YOU CAN TOTALLY KICK HIS ASS! GO CHŌJI!
  • Both Asuma and Shino sigh in response to her reaction.
• Kurotsuchi congratulates Shikamaru over his victory. She then comments that it looks like he "can actually do things besides lying down and sleeping." This causes both Anko and Naruto to laugh loudly, Hinata to giggle, and Shikamaru to roll his eyes.
• When it's Lee's turn, he and Gai are naturally overly enthusiastic about it. Tenten looks embarrassed by their actions, while Neji has his eyes twitching slightly despite acting as if he didn't notice a thing.
  • After the fight is over, how do Lee and Gai celebrate the former's victory? By shouting each other's names and doing so over and over again:
    Roto: [shuddering] ...you Konoha shinobi are weird
    Kurotsuchi and Han: Agreed.
    Shikamaru: [shivering] I like to think we aren't like that. No...not like that at all.
    Anko: [shivering] Not even a little bit. Gai is a special case...
    Naruto: [quietly] ...I think they look kinda cool.
    Hinata: [frowning] Naruto-kun...it really isn't.
• Naruto is worried over Sakura after seeing her crying and running to the bathroom. Anko tells him that, given that people cry at times, he should just give Sakura "some time to let out whatever's bugging her and she'll be fine later." Shikamaru states that what she said is actually pretty wise. Anko then says "Your beautiful and lovely jōnin-sensei is filled with plenty of ancient wisdom. Ask and you shall receive any answer." with a dramatic bow, causing the Nara boy to roll his eyes.
• Right after Hinata makes it up the stairs following her fight, Naruto runs over to her, hugs her, and spins her around. Not only does this make her blush, but, given that she had been poisoned by Roto during her fight, her face turns into a mixture of red and blue, slowly becoming purple. Hinata tells him to put her down before she faints (although she doesn't know whether she would faint from the hug or the dizziness caused by the poison). Naruto does so and apologizes while rubbing his head in embarrassment.

Chapter 19

• Anko smacking Naruto on his head for loudly complaining about Sasuke having his fight before him.
• After seeing Sasuke in action, Kurotsuchi comments that he doesn't seem that bad, leading to this conversation:
  Naruto: [scoffing in annoyance] He's okay, but any of us could take him.
  Kurotsuchi: I didn't say we couldn't! I could take that guy With My Hands Tied behind my back!
  Naruto: Same. Hell, I could do it blindfolded too.
  Kurotsuchi: And on one leg!
  Naruto: Hell, who needs legs against him? I could take him on with just my body and teeth!
  Han: [amused] ...I never realized how alike those two were.
  Shikamaru: [amused] Both are troublesome.
• Naruto is excited to learn it's finally his turn to fight. Anko and Shikamaru both ask him if he can quit his "bitching about waiting now", causing Naruto to hang his head and comment that the two of them are mean to him.
• Following his fight against Tenten, Naruto receives a hug from Hinata, the latter telling him that he did great out there. Naruto blushes and returns the hug, thanking her for that. Shikamaru then tells them to break it up and refrain from their public display of affection. This makes Hinata realize what she's doing and she pulls away while heavily blushing, with Naruto also having a similar blushing face:
  Naruto: [scowling] S-Shut up Shikamaru!
• Kurotsuchi asks Shikamaru if Ino is a friend of his, only for him to reply that she's just an acquaintance. Naruto then tells Kurotsuchi that Shikamaru is all hers given that he and Ino aren't that close. One brief silence later, Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi proceed to ominously ask him what does he mean by that. Naruto then nervously points out that the next match is about to start, trying to Change the Uncomfortable Subject.
• After Kurotsuchi comments with a smirk that Dosu will be tough to fight in the exams and that she'd love to try and take him on:
  Shikamaru: [thinking while sighing] Usually when someone appears to be strong, you would be a little afraid to fight them. But with her... God, she's almost worse than Naruto in that regard.

Chapter 20

• Shikamaru complaining about Naruto talking with his mouth full.
• When Teuchi gives the bill to Anko, she is completely shocked over seeing the high price caused by all the ramen eaten by Naruto. Teuchi tells her with a chuckle that both Iruka and the Third Hokage had a similar reaction during their respective first time where they treated Naruto to ramen:
  Anko: [thinking] Naruto, what the FUCK? How do you eat this much ramen!?
  • The next morning, Naruto notices how angry Anko is and she explains it's because of all the money she lost due to the bill she had to pay. He then says that he was actually trying to eat not as much as he usually does to save her some money. Anko chokes upon hearing that, with her anger being replaced by surprise and fear:
    Anko: [thinking] Not...eat as much? But...HOW MUCH DOES HE NORMALLY EAT? HOW MUCH DOES HE NORMALLY PAY?
  • Witnessing his sensei going from being angry to not angry at all so suddenly, Naruto thinks that she has "way too many mood swings..."
• Yoshino nearly shouted over learning that her son made it to the final exams. Shikamaru then complains that she's louder than when she's upset with him.
  • Yoshino smirks and giggles in a maniacal tone while thinking about how fun it will be to train Shikamaru during this entire month, making her son gulp in fear.
  • She tells her son that the training will start early every morning and that she and Shikaku will train him into the dirt that it hurts to move. Shikamaru finds it troublesome and goes to his room. Shikaku then tells his wife they already discussed some of their training plans and that she knows it won't be that bad. Yoshino says she knows that, but she just wanted to mess with their son a little as opportunities like that don't come all that often. Chuckling, Shikaku calls her a scary woman, only for her to lightly punch him on the arm and say "Oh shut up! You know you love me."
• Anko is still clearly bitter over being replaced as the second exam proctor, causing Kurenai to chuckle.
  • Anko calls Ibiki one of her friends. He says that "friend" is a loose word in this case, causing Anko to ask in an innocent tone "Oh be quiet you! You know you love me, don't you Biki-kun?" He glares at her, making Anko and Kurenai burst into laughter.
  • When Anko leaves once again by using a sunshin:
    Naruto: [scowling while pointing at where Anko was] Okay, that! She does that all the time and its really annoying! Can you guys teach me that?
    Ibiki ... [rubbing his hand against his head] You act just like Anko...in all the wrong ways.
• Yoshino complains that Shikamaru is still tired ever after she allowed him to sleep for two extra hours. He says that he's always tired, only to widen his eyes as he dodges a kunai knife thrown at him by his mother to make him more awake.
• Ibiki decides to teach Naruto how to develop strategies. The Uzumaki boy agrees, wondering "How bad can these be?" Well, at the next paragraph, taking place after the training for the day is over, Naruto mumbles to himself that it was 'Bad. Very bad. Very, very bad.' given the massive headache he ended up getting.

Chapter 21

• After arriving at the Hokage's office, Jiraiya tells Sarutobi that he headed over there as fast as he could, only making one or two stops for his 'research'. He then tells the Hokage that the latter should have some tissue or something before starting to read Jiraiya's next book, making the Sandaime blush slightly and laugh uneasily.
• During his training, Shikamaru asks his parents what's next. Yoshino grins slightly maniacally while pulling a scroll and tossing it to her son, which is followed by Shikaku sighing and shaking his head after noticing her grin.
  • After Shikaku leaves the area, Yoshino makes another maniacal, borderline sadistic grin:
    Yoshino: [in a sing-song tone] That leaves you with me Shikamaru. Time for training to begin! [pulling out a kunai] For your sake, I hope you learn the jutsu fast!
    Shikamaru: [thinking and groaning] ...she has to be friends with Anko-sensei. Troublesome women...why can't I just get normal training?
• Anko complaining while trying to find Kakashi and complaining some more after finally finding him.
• Shikamaru complains about being pelted with kunai by his mother. Chuckling, his father thinks that if his son thinks he's having that hard, he should've seen how Shikaku's own parents trained him back in the day.
• When Naruto gets excited after Ibiki tells him he will finally teach him how to do the shunshin, Ibiki sighs and thinks about how the blond genin is clearly Anko's student in every way.
• Naruto's shadow clone is at the hospital and keeping company to Dosu, the latter reading a book. The Sound ninja just wants to read the book peacefully, but, much to his annoyance, the clone keeps asking him several questions about said book.

Chapter 22

• Hinata tells Hiashi that she practiced her new jutsu (known as 'Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms') at a waterfall near the outskirts of the village. She then rubs the top of her head in relief and blushes while thinking about how thankful she is that no one was there to see her practice, implying that she did it while being in the nude just like in the Search for the Bikōchū filler arc.
  • Hiashi laughing out loud at the jutsu's name, making Hinata quite surprised.
• Yoshino hugs Shikamaru in response to him getting down the Shadow Protection Jutsu almost perfectly. Shikamaru then complains about how tightly she's hugging him, to the point he has hard time breathing. Things get worse for him when she tightens the hug.
  • Shikaku arrives with a sake bottle, causing Yoshino to complain that he seemingly can't "go a day without a bottle of that shit".
• Yoshino is angry because they have to cancel Shikamaru's day of training due to the Hokage calling for a meeting with all Konoha shinobi. Shikaku tells her to calm down. She responds by tossing a kitchen knife at him. Her husband simply catches it before it hits his shoulder and sighs, implying this is not the first time she did this to him.
  • Shikamaru is surprised that Shikaku doesn't know what the meeting will be about. His father reminds Shikamaru that he's not the leader of the village, before commenting how thankful he is to not have a job as stressful as Hokage. His wife comments with a giggle that he'd make "a pretty shitty Hokage", making Shikaku grumble and Shikamaru chuckle.
• At Ichiraku, Naruto thanks Shikamaru and Hinata for believing in him regarding becoming Hokage and bringing peace to Konoha. Shikamaru then notes with a teasing smirk that he and Hinata will probably be there by Naruto's side when he'll be Hokage to make sure he doesn't "fuck up things." In other words, the Uzumaki boy will work on the peace and his friends will do everything else. This turns into bantering between the two boys that goes on for a good ten minutes.
  • Hinata asks Naruto while giggling if what Shikamaru said means that the latter and herself will be the Uzumaki boy's advisers. Naruto replies he's not so certain after what the Nara boy said, only for the Hyuga girl to exclaim in a mock-pouting manner to not punish her because of Shikamaru's comments.
  • Naruto says he's ready for his fight against Risho:
    Naruto: I'm gonna pull the stick out of his ass and whack him with it a good few times!
    Shikamaru: [rolling his eyes] ...that's a beautiful mental image.
    Naruto: [sticking out his tongue] You know it!
  • Naruto expresses how much he missed Hinata and Shikamaru during this month of training by doing a Group Hug with them. Once again, Shikamaru complains about how the hug is too tight. Much to his chagrin, not only does Naruto respond by tightening the hug, but so does Hinata:
    Shikamaru: Can't...breath...hate...you...both...
• Onoki says he's not that old to Hiruzen, claiming he's still got thirty years left at least. He then strikes a pose to show-off his 'youth', only for a cracking sound to be heard that is then followed by the Tsuchikage gripping his hip.

Chapter 23

• Kurotsuchi is practicing the Scorching Rocks Jutsu with Rōshi. However, she ends up with her mouth burning, causing her to sprint towards her water canteen and drink it rapidly. She then comments that her mouth hadn't burn that badly since she tried Han's 'extra hot' tea.
• Hanabi Hyuga, who is normally serious and without emotion, excitedly describing Hinata's new jutsu like any kid her age would do.
• Everything that Lee and Gai do in this chapter, which is very similar to when Gai was introduced in canon:
  • Lee says that he's never been stronger. Gai responds by punching him and yelling "YOU FOOL!", which is followed by him making a dramatic speech about how Lee can never boast about his strength like that. Lee weeps at what his sensei just said, with his tears rolling down his eyes like waterfalls, and tells him to forgive him for his behavior. Gai then pulls his student into a hug and tells him that he is so proud of him. This is followed by the two of them once again yelling each other's name and doing so multiple times.
  • A little girl sees the two of them hugging and yelling each other's name. She feels like she's seeing not only a sunset despite the fact it's currently the afternoon, but also a cliff and waves. Coming to the conclusion that she must be hallucinating, the little girl decides to head towards her home as fast as she could.

Chapter 24

• Jiraiya has left a letter on the door to Naruto's appartment. Among other things:
  • He tells Naruto that civilian ladies will be all over the blond ninja during the first few days after his chūnin promotion and that he should take advantage of it.
  • He's also planning on putting a lot of money on Naruto in a few bets. He tells Naruto that if the latter makes him lots of money, he will split the profit with the Uzumaki boy.
  • Having never met Jiraiya at this point, Naruto is confused as he has no idea who could be this person who signed the letter as "The Gallant Toad Sage".
• Hinata wishes good luck to Naruto for his fight and tells him she knows he can do it, making him blush. With a teasing grin, Shikamaru notes to Naruto that the latter is looking red. Becoming aware of his blush, the Uzumaki boy glares at his friend and tells him to shut up.
• Anko is sitting next to Kurenai and Ibiki. After the latter compliments Naruto, Anko, with a grin on her face, asks him "Did he grow on you Biki-kun?", causing him to respond with a growl and an eye roll.
• To say that Kiba is enthusiastic after Naruto manages to defeat Risho is an understatement:
  Kiba: NARUTO, IF YOU WERE A GIRL, I WOULD KISS YOU! [whistles loudly]
  Sakura: ...Kiba, that's creepy! [slowly inches away from him]
• Ibiki smiles and says that Naruto "did do good indeed". After hearing that, Anko yells "HEAR THAT WHISKERS? EVEN MORINO FUCKING IBIKI IS PRAISING YOU!" Ibiki facepalms in response, causing Kurenai to giggle.

Chapter 25

• Hinata gives another hug to Naruto. This time, however, she hugs him too tightly, making him wince a little. When he points out that her hug is too tight, she stops hugging him, blushes, and apologizes.
• Ino loudly cheering for Shino. Too loudly in fact for Asuma, who's worried for his ears. Things get worse for him when Choji loudly cheers for both Shino and Shikamaru:
  Choji: GO SHINO! GO SHIKAMARU! DO GREAT YOU GUYS!
  Ino: SHIKAMARU, DON'T YOU DARE LISTEN TO CHŌJI. IGNORE HIM! THAT WAS ONLY MEANT FOR SHINO! COME ON SHINO! KICK HIS ASS! KICK. HIS. ASS!
• After Shikamaru wins his fight, Anko naturally cheers loudly, much to Ibiki's annoyance as he's debating about searching for a different seat.
  • Both Ibiki and Kurenai agree over Shikamaru and Shino being potentially promoted:
    Anko: OF COURSE HE'S GETTING PROMOTED! SO WILL NARUTO AND HINATA!
    Ibiki: [thinking and sighing in frustration] ...I'm starting to wonder if she's slightly drunk. I don't think I've seen her this excited except when we get really hard-to-break 'visitors' to the T&I department.
• When Shikamaru returns to the waiting area, Naruto and Hinata force him into a Group Hug. Once again, he complains about not being able to breath. After the hug is over and he catches his breath, he glares at his teammates and tells them that they're going to cause his death one day, probably from suffocation. Naruto tells him in a teasing way that it would be easier for him if he either returns the hug or gains some more muscle.
  • Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi have an exchange where she praises him for his fight and he accepts her compliments. However, Naruto complains that their flirting is too boring and gives them some 'advice' on how to improve it. Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi blush in response before trying not to look at each other. Naruto notices their reactions and grins happily, while Hinata notices them as well and giggles quietly. Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi then look at the Uzumaki boy with anger and frustration, the two of them about to say something only to be interrupted by Genma Shiranui calling for Sasuke and Lee to come forward for their fight.
• Sakura asks Kiba how does he think Sasuke will do during his fight. Kiba notes with a snicker that "Lee kicked his ass pretty hard last time." Sakura raises her fist as if like she's going to punch his teammate, causing the latter to nervously say he was just kidding.
• Watching the fight between Sasuke and Lee while the two of them are moving extremely fast, Shikamaru has this to say:
  Shikamaru: ...And you're telling me I'm going to have to fight one of them later? Fan-fucking-tastic...
• Kakashi finally arrives behind Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru in the middle of Sasuke's fight against Lee. Kiba angrily asks him where he was, with Akamaru being just as irritated:
  Kakashi: [sheepishly running his hand through his hair] Sorry about that. I kinda slept in today and by the time I got here, there was a really long line in the concession stand. But I skipped breakfast this morning, so I had to wait so I could get something to eat.
  Kiba: [barking alongside Akamaru] Liar!
• Naruto comments that Sasuke did a good job. His eyes widening, Shikamaru makes a hand sign and shouts "Kai!" Why? Because he thinks that Sasuke used a genjutsu on everyone in the waiting room, as it is the only way to explain why Naruto would give a compliment to the Uchiha boy. Rolling his eyes, the Uzumaki boy tells him to shut up, while Hinata and Kurotsuchi both giggle at the two boys bantering.
  • Shikamaru grumbles over having to fight Sasuke. Hinata tries to reassure him by telling him he'll do fine and putting her hand on his shoulder, but he scoffs at that. Frowning at that reaction, the Hyuga girl then giggles after getting an idea:
    Hinata: Then again, you'd need to stop being a lazy butt and actually work for that victory.
    Shikamaru: [widening his eyes and shaking his head] Hinata, don't you get started on that shit too. I already have enough people calling me out on that stuff.
    Kurotsuchi: What, she's just stating a fact: you're a lazy ass.
    Naruto: She's right, you know?
    Hinata: Mhmm.
    Shikamaru: [grumbling] ...Troublesome people.
    [His friends laugh at that.]

Chapter 26

• Naruto gives some encouragement to Hinata, blushing while doing so. In response to his encouragement, Hinata quickly hugs him, all while blushing and grinning. After she leaves, Naruto is confused to see both Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi looking at him with matching cheeky grins and asks them "What?" Shikamaru teasingly asks him "So, should we be expecting a declaration of love once she gets back up here, or immediately after the match when she's still on the battlefield?" Naruto blushes even more and tries to say something, only for his two friends to start laughing at him. He scowls at them and tells them to shut up and stop laughing, but the laughter ends up growing louder.
• Anko is talking to Kurenai and gushing over Hinata, only to be interrupted when an irritated Ibiki tells them "If you two actually want to see what she is capable of, then shut up. The match is about to start."
• After seeing Hinata using explosive tags, Kurotsuchi sarcastically wonders where she got that idea from and comments that it's "Surely not from somebody who overuses those things to death." while looking at Shikamaru. The latter is getting annoyed over having to constantly defend his usage of explosive tags just as much as he is annoyed by people calling him 'lazy'.
  • He explains that they are a great tool and should be used by everybody, adding that it only makes sense that Hinata would see that too as she's the only other sensible one here that would see them like him. This causes both Naruto and Kurotsuchi to nearly shout in unison "What did you say?"
• Anko once again loudly cheers, this time for Hinata winning her fight. Instead of complaining over her reaction, Ibiki simply massages the temples on his head in the hopes of avoiding the headache that Anko will very likely give to him.

Chapter 27

• Roto having a pale face upon seeing Kurotsuchi using a jutsu that allows her to release large balls of lava from her mouth and send them towards her opponent.
• Hinata nearly screams "NARUTO-KUN!" after her crush is announced to be the winner. Shikamaru immediately grabs his ears and winces, wondering out loud what happened to the quiet Hinata he used to know. She then blushes and apologizes for that.
• Once again, Anko joyfully screams over seeing one of her students winning a fight. Annoyed and embarrassed by her, Ibiki tells her this may or may not be the last time they'll associate with each other outside of the T&I department.

Chapter 28

• Right before Sasuke's fight against Shikamaru begins, Kakashi decides to continue reading his Icha Icha Paradise book, much to Kiba and Akamaru's annoyance:
  Kiba: [growling alongside Akamaru] Damnit Kakashi-sensei! Put the book away and pay attention to your student!
• Shikamaru grumbles to just get this over with when he gets ready to fight Sasuke. The latter thinks his opponent is putting on that attitude just so the Uchiha boy would underestimate the Nara boy and tells him it won't work. Shikamaru then thinks about how he wasn't putting on an attitude and that he made this fight even more troublesome for himself without even trying.
• After punching Shikamaru, Sasuke asks him while smirking if this is too "troublesome" for him.
• Once again, Anko is loudly cheering for one of her students. And once again, Ibiki is annoyed by that:
  Ibiki: [growling] Anko, for the love of God, SIT DOWN!
• Just like in canon, Shikamaru forfeiting his match results in some funny reactions:
  • Naruto, Anko, and Kiba all scream a Big "WHAT?!". The former two fall over, while the Inuzuka boy laughs over realizing that Shikamaru is still "the same lazy ass" that he's familiar with.
  • Ino does a long and screaming rant over how Shikamaru was a waste of space and that she and Choji would have actually fought until the very end if they had his spot in the exams. Naturally, Asuma covers his ears and wonders if he'll ever be able to hear properly again. He then thinks about how Shikamaru, despite having lost this fight, will still very likely be promoted to chūnin, while also hoping, for his ears' sake, that he wouldn't be there to hear Ino's reaction in person when she'll hear that news.
• After the fight is over, Sasuke tells Shikamaru that, at some point after the exams, they are going to spar, with the Nara boy having full access to all his chakra. Both Naruto and Hinata realize that Shikamaru and Sasuke have become rivals, making the lazy boy grumble as this is the last thing he wanted.

Chapters 29-32: Konoha Crush Arc

Chapter 29

• Rōshi decides to take care of the Otogakure shinobi pursuing him, Team 3, and Han by himself. Having written several novels in his life, he thinks that these Oto shinobi aren't anything special and are "nothing more than 'filler characters', waiting to be killed by the power of the author."

Chapter 30

• When Rōshi arrives just in time to help Naruto and Han against Shukaku:
  Naruto: [grinning] Old man! You got away from all those Oto shinobi.
  Rōshi: [rolling his eyes] Give it a rest with the 'old man' thing, kid! There's many shinobi older than me.

Chapter 31

• Because there are too many shinobi to fight at once, Ibiki complains that he can't just focus on only one of them, thus preventing him from using either his iron maiden or any of his 'fun' weapons on them. Kurenai comments with a sigh that she sometimes forgets that he can be just as sadistic as Anko and wonders if everyone at the T&I Department is as bad as these two.

Chapter 32

• Manda calls Onoki 'a small, old human'. The latter warns him to be careful with what he says, as this 'small', 'old' man could be the one who kills the giant snake. Jiraiya then deeply gulps and thinks about how he doesn't want Onoki to ever hear any of the things he called him before.

Chapters 33-40: Uzushiogakure Arc

Chapter 33

• Naruto is surprised to see that Han and Rōshi have already eaten the entirety of their first bowl of ramen, while he managed to eat only half of his. He thinks about how he's getting slow or something and must pick up the pace.
• Han and Rōshi take their first bite of their bowls of chicken curry ramen. Upon tasting them for the first time, their eyes widen, with Rōshi commenting that this is the food of the gods, while Han concurs.
• Hiruzen arrives at Tayuya's prison cell. Much to his shock, she angrily removes both her top and her bra, assuming he wants to have sex with her. Why? Because she's the only kunoichi among the Sound Four and also the only one that the Sandaime Hokage spared among these four. Also because Orochimaru told her that Hiruzen was a pervert. Tayuya wants to get this over with, but also swears that she'll make the old man pay for that. Unconsciously releasing some of his killing intent, the Hokage angrily tells her he's not a pervert and would never force a prisoner into sex, before ordering her to put on her clothes. Shocked and frightened by his reaction, Tayuya eventually regains her composure before putting her clothes back on.
  • Tayuya angrily complains upon realizing that Hiruzen believes that stereotype of anybody with red hair being an Uzumaki.
• Even though he's proud of his work, Shikamaru complains that he's going to have more work due to him becoming chūnin. Kurotsuchi tells him "You need to do more work, lazy ass!" Both Naruto and Hinata laugh at that comment while Shikamaru scowls in response, with Sasuke even being amused by that interaction.
  • Kurotsuchi asks everyone in the Hokage's office if anyone wants to join her for lunch, saying that her grandfather will be paying. Onoki widens his eyes in response. However, before he could say anything, the other chūnin agree to come with her. It's only after everyone except Onoki, Hiruzen, and Naruto left the room that the Tsuchikage is finally able to speak back:
    Onoki: KUROTSUCHI, I SAID I WOULD PAY FOR YOUR LUNCH TODAY! I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT COVERING FOR A WHOLE GROUP! GET BACK HERE!
  • After Onoki quickly leaves the room, a loud 'crashing' noise can be heard in the hallway, which is followed by a meek whisper of 'My back.' Both Naruto and Hiruzen laugh out loud at the Tsuchikage's expense.

Chapter 34

• Shikamaru complains about how much of a mistake it was to invite Kurotsuchi for dinner at his house. Yoshino freaked out over being told what he did, dropped everything to personally cook the meal, and made both her husband and her son clean every area of the compound possible so it would be 'presentable'. Shikamaru was also forced to wear a kimono that he only wore for formal occasions.
  • After Shikaku tells his son "Anybody that you actually have an interest in must be something special.", Shikamaru's eyes widen as he realizes what his parents are thinking and he tells his father that he and Kurotsuchi are just friends and nothing more. Shikaku replies "Not yet." with a snicker and a teasing grin, causing his son to groan in response.
• While talking with Jiraiya, Naruto laughs over learning that his father was so nerdy instead of being "this cool badass type". Jiraiya says that Minato was badass on the battlefield, but "just way too much of a dork" in his personal life.
• It turns out the rule-abiding and polite Minato did a Wacky Marriage Proposal to Kushina. He did so by writing "Will you marry me, Kushina-hime?" on the Hokage monument and painting a chibified version of himself on his knees. She responded by writing "Yes!" underneath and painting a chibified version of herself kissing him.

Chapter 35

• After revealing who his parents were to the rest of Team 3, Naruto tells them he doesn't want them to think differently of him. Shikamaru replies that, even if Naruto was the direct son of the Rikudō Sennin, he would still see his friend as the same annoying blonde that he's known since the academy.
• When Team 3 arrives to meet the Iwa shinobi before they leave Konoha, Kurotsuchi tells them "For a moment there, I thought you were all going to arrive late and miss us." Her eyes focus on Shikamaru when she says the word "late". He asks her while sighing "You think you're so funny, don't you?", to which she replies with "Please, I'm more than funny. I'm fucking hysterical." This causes the Nara boy to grumble, as well as their respective teammates to laugh.
• Hinata is about to finally confess her feelings to Naruto, only for the Third Hokage to request he talks to the Uzumaki boy privately. After Naruto and Hiruzen have left, Hinata does a frustrated groan over having to delay her confession.
  • While thinking about how she would talk to Naruto, Hinata remembers the hug between Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi. She then asks her teammate with a sly, teasing smirk how are he and Kurotsuchi doing, given that this hug between friends was rather long. Shikamaru blushes in response. He tries to come up with some coherent response, but fails to do so, causing the Hyuga girl to giggle.
• After Naruto, Tayuya, and Jiraiya leave the Hokage's office, Hiruzen complains to himself about the paperwork he has to do, wonders why is he still doing that job, and thinks that he needs to find a successor and fast.
• Jiraiya is about to visit Naruto at the latter's appartment. However, he instead decides to go to some hot springs in order to do his 'research'.
  • Later, he says to Naruto that he had "a very productive afternoon" while making a perverted giggle. Naruto gives him a strange look before shrugging, having no idea what his godfather is talking about.
  • Naruto is confused when Jiraiya reacts negatively in regards to Rōshi (who has written a book that is being read and enjoyed by the Uzumaki boy), with Jiraiya simply saying he has a bad history with Rōshi without explaining why exactly.
• Gamakichi calls Naruto a weirdo for falling asleep during a conversation, before being told by Jiraiya that the latter's godson has been trying to summon a toad for the past four hours and has used too much chakra as a result.
• Shikamaru has a surprised blank stare when Anko tells him they'll be doing three hundred push-ups for the warm-up exercise before moving to sit-ups. She says his exercise routine needs to be taken up a few notches now that he's a chūnin, but he thinks it sounds a lot more than just a few notches.
• Omake 4, which is set one week before the finals of the Third Exam:
  • Jirayia bumped into Rōshi. Recognizing and scowling at each other, they pointed their index finger and shouted "YOU!" at each other.
  • It turns out Rōshi is Jirayia's Sitcom Arch-Nemesis. Not only because they met each other during the Third Shinobi World War, but also because they're both professional writers and have a rivalry about it.
  • Jiraiya bragged over his novel, Icha Icha Violence, selling more copies than Rōshi's latest novel, Tengoku no Sato. This turned into a long disagreement between the two, with Rōshi saying that he writes "real literature with gripping plot and character development" while Jiraiya's work "is nothing but shameless smut". Jiraiya, in turn, tried to defend his own work by saying, among other things, that it has a compelling plotline and well-developped characters. However, he kept getting interrupted by Rōshi saying that they're really just about sex.
  • Jiraiya pointed out that he wrote at least one book without any sex scene, The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja. However, Rōshi pointed out that not only is it the only book he wrote without any sex scene, but it was also a complete commercial flop.
  • This whole conversation ended with this:
    Jiraiya: [sharply and scowling] You. Me. Training ground forty-three. Right now.
    Rōshi: [returning the scowl] Heh. Lead the way.

Chapter 36

• Hiruzen finds Anko in his office, sitting on his chair. She claims that his secretary let her in, but he correctly guesses that she snuck in there, with Anko rubbing her head sheepishly soon after:
  Hiruzen: It used to be only Jiraiya and Kakashi that would come in like this, but it seems like I have to add your name to that list as well.
• Naruto is excited to learn that Jiraiya is also a writer just like Rōshi. However, he stops being excited upon learning that his godfather is the writer of the Icha Icha series. It doesn't take long before the blond chūnin finally calls him "Ero-sennin". Hearing that causes both Tayuya and Karin to laugh out loud as they keep calling him by that name. Eventually, Jiraiya has enough and angrily yells at them to stop calling him "Ero-sennin", but the laughter and the use of that name simply keep going much to his chagrin.
• Anko is given a B-rank mission that consists of escorting a caravan of merchants, with Hinata and Shikamaru being among the shinobi she has chosen to take part on that mission. The Nara boy complains that it's too similar to their first C-rank mission. The Hyuga girl asks him why he's complaining. After all, if he already did a similar mission, then he should be familiar with what to do and it would require less work on his part. Shikamaru simply sighs and grumbles to himself before Anko realizes while smirking that he is starting to become less lazy and thus wants a mission that would actually challenge him. She teasingly comments how precious that is, making the Nara boy blush. That reaction causes Hinata to giggle and Anko to laugh loudly, which is followed by Shikamaru calling them "Troublesome teammates".
  • Dosu is revealed to be the fourth shinobi to take part on that mission. However, his arrival is ten minutes late, causing Anko to grumble that she doesn't want to deal with another Kakashi.

Chapter 37

• Hinata expresses some concern over being on a boat given that her father got really sick from a boat ride during the first time he had a mission that was this far from Konoha. Shikamaru chuckles while thinking about Hiashi being bent over on the side of a boat and says that his father would find it hilarious. Hinata immediately begs him to not say anything about it to Shikaku, as her father would not like it if anybody knew what happened to him. The Nara boy tells her their fathers don't talk unless they have business with each other and his father is unlikely to bring up that subject to Hiashi:
  Shikamaru: ... Unless he was drunk or something.
  Hinata: [pleading] Shikamaru-Kun! Please!
• Haku makes an appearance in this chapter. Just like Naruto did in canon, the Konoha shinobi mistake him for a girl and are shocked when he reveals that he's actually a boy. After Haku leaves, Dosu comments that he was much prettier than any girl he had ever met. As for Hinata, she blushes when she remembers that she was jealous of Haku's natural looks the first time she saw him:
  Hinata: [thinking] ... I was jealous of a boy!

Chapter 39

• Masakado says that he took down the seal in order for Jiraiya to enter the building, otherwise the Sannin would have still been outside trying to unsuccessfully break in. Jiraiya grumbles that he would have eventually broken that seal, only for Masakado to be dismissive and say there's no way he would have succeeded.
• Masakado expresses some surprise over the fact that Kushina decided to name her kid after ramen. Jiraiya is about to reveal the real reason why she chose that name, only to be interrupted by Naruto asking a question to the older Uzumaki.
• Having known Tayuya's parents and knowing that they were sixteen years old and already married before the invasion, Masakado asks her how old she is. She replies that she's fourteen years old. He then makes some 'mental math' and makes the following comment:
  Masakado: Your parents were pretty fucking old when they finally decided to have you. Did they make some commitment not to fuck for the first fifteen years of marriage?
  Tayuya: [blushing in embarrassment] H-How the hell would I know that? I don't want to talk or think about my parents' sex lives damnit!
• Hinata ends up being seasick while on the boat, just like her father when he was younger.
  • Haku arrives, causing Hinata to blush over the fact she just threw up in front of somebody else.
• Naruto, Tayuya, and Karin each try to make a sealing paper remain stuck on the wall by using their chakra. However, both Naruto and Tayuya's attempts fail as the papers immediately fall to the ground, making Masakado do a facepalm. Jiraiya points out that at least Karin's paper is still on the wall, only for said paper to fall down immediately after he says that. The Sannin bursts into laughter while Masakado is sighing.

Chapter 40

• After Anko's team arrives at Kibō, Shikamaru suggests they get some rest and prepare for their journey the next day. Anko refuses and says they're going out:
  Anko: And we're going to be social, party, get completely wasted, and do some fun shit.
  Hinata: [her eyes widening] Wasted? I, er, have never had alcohol before. I d-don't think-
  Anko: [smirking] Old enough to kill, old enough to drink.
• While Dosu and Anko are talking about tea, both Shikamaru and Hinata are amused by the fact that Anko of all people was the one to get Dosu to open up by talking about tea.

Chapters 41-52: Kirigakure Civil War Arc

Chapter 41

• Honoka Uzumaki gets really excited when she realizes that Hinata knows someone who is also an Uzumaki. So excited that she jumps out of her seat and rushes over to Hinata's face, making the Hyuga girl yelp in surprise. Clapping her hands, Honoka pleads Hinata to introduce her to him when the war is over, with the Konoha chūnin replying "I... um, can do that." while feeling uncomfortable due to the Uzumaki woman being so close to her. Hinata then wonders if all Uzumaki get that excited and thinks that Honoka really is Naruto's family.
• Zabuza arrives at the bakery where Hinata, Haku, and Honoka are to tell the latter two that the meeting is about to start. Honoka teasingly calls him "Mei's little messenger boy" as that's all he seems to do these days, causing him to sharply tell her to can it.
• At the meeting, Anko recognizes Jinin Akebino. The latter tells her it's been way too long since anyone recognized him. He then gives her a thumbs up and says "First round of sake is on me." Anko mentally notes that she just found her new best friend, all while failing not to grin.
• Sugita Doku, a medic in Kibō, is a little too enthusiastic when he has to treat Hinata, Shikamaru, and Dosu's wounds. He gets distracted by their respective blood types, going so far as to guess their respective personalities based on their blood types, until an irritated Anko asks him to get back to treating their wounds.

Chapter 42

• When Naruto's group is ready to leave Uzushiogakure, Naruto says "You take care." to Masakado, which is followed by Tayuya saying:
  Tayuya: What Naruto said. For the love of God, take care of yourself better. Your clothes are falling apart and you fucking smell. Seriously, the next time I see you one day, you better not look like shit!
  Masakado: [laughing] I'll try. I'll try.
• Mei asks Anko if she can borrow Hinata because the latter could sympathize with Utakata and convince him to join the rebels. She has chosen the Hyuga girl among the Konoha shinobi specifically because, according to Mei's own investigation, she's the one who is the closest to the Konoha jinchūriki to the point of having romantic feelings for him. Anko then resists her chuckle while thinking about how Hinata's feelings for Naruto are so obvious that even someone who has never met the Uzumaki boy or seen him interact with the Hyuga girl knows that she likes him.
• Anko is rather annoyed when she learns she has to work with Misora Kawada, given how much she disliked the latter when she met her during the meeting:
  Misora: [smirking playfully] It appears, from my understanding, that the Hokage has ordered you and other Konoha shinobi to assist with the rebellion. It appears he understood it was the logical decision.
  Anko: [hissing] Zip it. [thinking] Great, she also is smug. God, what an insufferable bitch!
• Anko's team, Misora, and Ao have to share one room at some inn:
  Misora: [nonchalantly] Fair warming; Ao snores. It may be best if we sleep outside.
  Ao: [scowling] That's a lie and you know it!
  Misora: [slightly chuckling] Or is it?
  Anko: [thinking] Is that emotion in her voice? She can laugh? She can be human? Huh. Guess that's proof of a god and that miracles can happen.

Chapter 43

• Shikamaru is confused when Hotaru suggests to Utakata that everyone present should all eat lunch together after Utakata tried to kill Ao. He's even more confused when Utakata agrees to that:
  Shikamaru: What the hell just happened?
• Sai is introduced in this chapter. When he notices that Naruto isn't paying attention to what Jiraiya is saying, he tells him "Hey dickless, the commander is speaking. You should stop zoning out." Naruto is about to angrily respond to him before realizing that his godfather is indeed speaking to the army.

Chapter 44

• When Naruto is reunited with his teammates, he gives a deep hug to Hinata. For the others, he simply gives them a high-five each, leading to this moment:
  Anko: What, no hug for us? I'm starting to think that you are favoring Hinata over us. I'm your former jōnin-sensei, Whiskers. You can't do that! [brings her arm to her face in mock-lamentation]
  [Naruto has a slight pinkish-tone on his cheeks, making her eyes widen.]
  Anko: [thinking] Does he? There's no way. There's no-
  [The pinkish tone darkens slightly.]
  Anko: [still thinking while having a large grin] There is! He finally gets it! Oh boy, you two are going to be such a cute that actually lasts. And when you are a couple of years older, you two are going to have some extremely kinky sex and-
  Naruto: [feeling a little uncomfortable] Anko-sensei? Why are you staring at me like that?
  Anko: [talking and proceeding to shake her head] Huh. Oh. Um. Sorry. I was zoning out. [thinking] Damnit Anko. Thinking about your students' sex lives? What the hell is wrong with me? ... It must be because I haven't actually had any action in a while. I need to get laid again soon.
• Naruto says he arrived one day ago, sometime after sunset. Shikamaru comments with a chuckle that his friend arrived just in time for some sleep, but Naruto says he didn't do so right away because there was some work that needed to be done. The Nara boy then says "... Nah, I still would have gone to sleep.", earning a laugh from all his Konoha teammates.
• Naruto refers to Jiraiya as "Ero-sennin", causing the following reactions:
  • Both Hotaru and Misora are simply confused by that.
  • Anko laughs loudly at that nickname:
    Anko: Holy shit, is that your new nickname for Jiraiya? Cause that's fucking gold!
  • Ao whistles in amazement:
    Ao: Kid, you got balls. Either that or a death wish. Regardless, I respect that.
• Hotaru learns that Mei met Utakata before, having not seen him since eight years ago. However, Mei tells Hotaru with a laugh that she's not trying to steal her man. Hotaru blushes while Utakata is actually amused and even chuckles at that:
  Utakata: You misinterpreted our relationship, Mei.
  Hotaru: [nodding in agreement while still blushing] Y-Yeah! You did!
• Hotaru calls Jiraiya "Ero-sennin". The Sannin's skin tone becomes pale and he is absolutely mortified upon hearing that. As for Mei, she bursts out laughing, trying to control her laughter by slamming her fist on the table only for the laughter to keep getting louder and louder. This is followed by Jiraiya fuming over what Naruto did and swearing that he will kill his godson if that nickname spreads even more than it already did.
• At some café, Anko notices Naruto blushing at Hinata. She smirks and comes up with the excuse of having some business to deal with and needing Shikamaru and Dosu's help just so Naruto and Hinata could spend some time together alone:
  Shikamaru: [slightly yawning] What do you need help with?
  Anko: [grumbling] ...Stuff. [crossing her arms and angrily looking at him] Just come on and help me! I don't got all day, you know?
  Shikamaru: [thinking while rolling his eyes] No need to be so angry. It was just a question.
• After Dosu suggests to Hinata to introduce Naruto to Honoka, the Hyuga girl grabs her crush by his hand and drags him along while rushing towards the bakery where she met Honoka. When they both arrive at the bakery, Naruto is a little dizzy due to how fast Hinata brought him there, making Honoka comment while chuckling "You rushed in here so fast, you nearly killed him."
  • Before the two Konoha shinobi arrive, Haku is trying to have a conversation with Honoka, but the latter is too busy with some seal she's working on. Haku comments he doesn't even know why he agreed to meet with her:
    Honoka: [grinning at him] Cause you love me. I'm the big sister you always wanted.
    Haku: [nearly snorting] ... Heh. [shaking his head while having an amused smile] The big sister I never wanted.
    Honoka: [pouting] Don't be so mean to me. I'm just trying to be nice.
    Haku: [rolling his eyes] Nice. Sure.
  • Haku says to Naruto that Hinata has said a lot about him and asks him if Hinata got a chance to talk to him about anything. Remembering what she told to Haku on the boat, Hinata widens her eyes and blushes before quickly rushing to him and covering his mouth with her hands:
    Hinata: [laughing in an awkward, forced manner] I-I said a lot about my friends back home! Y-Yeah!
• At a ramen stand, the ramen chef is staring in amazement at Naruto after he ate eight bowls of ramen and asked for a ninth one. Thinking about all the money he's going to make, he considers the possibility of moving to Konoha to continue to service to that boy.
• Shikamaru nearly chokes after seeing Naruto giving Hinata a peck on her lips.
  • After replaying that kiss over and over again in his mind, Shikamaru brings his hand to his forehead as he finally realizes something:
    Shikamaru: [grumbling] That's why Anko-sensei wanted us to go help her do her stupid errands. She wanted them to have some alone time. I'm a fucking idiot.
    Hinata: [blinking in confusion at him] Huh?
    Shikamaru: [shaking his head] Never mind. [making a sly grin and looking at her intently] So how did your talk with Naruto go? Pretty well I can assume, based on what I just saw.
    Hinata: [her pink blush becoming redder] It, huh-
    Shikamaru: [teasing] Go ahead and stutter all you like, Hinata. I got the time. Make sure to not miss any details.
    Hinata: [looking down slightly and mumbling] ...Don't make fun of me like that.
    Shikamaru: [chuckling] Hinata, I, and the rest of Konoha have been waiting for this moment to happen now for years. I think I'm entitled to a little bit of teasing. Just be grateful you're not Naruto. Both Anko-sensei and I are going to give him so much shit about him taking this long to realize that you felt this way about him.
    Hinata: [thinking] That probably also means I'm going to get teased by Anko-sensei too, though.
  • During this entire time, Dosu was too busy reading his book to pay attention to what they were saying. When Shikamaru asks him if he wants to hear Hinata talking about how she and Naruto got together, Dosu looks at the Nara boy in surprise after hearing his name and tries to pretend as if he listened to their conversation.
• Naruto arrives just in time for the meeting, where he ends up sitting between Anko and Kakashi. His former sensei then nudges him, leading to this brief exchange:
  Anko: [teasing] Cutting it close, Naruto. Lose track of time? Did somebody distract you?
  Naruto: [defensively] N-No! Hinata-chan wasn't responsible!
  Anko: [thinking while nearly squealing] Yup. There's no way they didn't get together. Great! I'll get the details after the meeting!
• The next day, early in the morning, Haku knocks at the door to the room where Anko's team is staying. Anko demands Shikamaru to answer the door. The Nara boy does not get up from his bed, to which Anko responds by throwing a pillow to his face. He jerks upward after the pillow hit his face hard. Shikamaru then rubs his cheek while reluctantly agreeing to open the door.

Chapter 45

• After Naruto manages to comfort Hinata regarding Shikamaru going on a dangerous mission, they hear a snort coming from Anko, who is grinning at them. She's pretty much behaving as if like these two became Sickeningly Sweethearts, even though this recent interaction between Naruto and Hinata is no different from any past interaction they had prior to their Relationship Upgrade:
  Anko: [snickering] You two are so fucking cute that it's almost sickening. And I actually like sweet and sappy shit, so that's saying something.
  [Both Naruto and Hinata blush at that comment.]
  Naruto: [frantically] W-What did we do that was sappy?
  Anko: [nearly squealing] Just by being you two! You're so goddamn cute!
  Naruto: [his blush seemingly brightening] Sh-Shut up! What does that even mean?
  • Naruto asks Anko if her making stupid comments like that about him and Hinata is going to be a thing. Dosu comments that it's most likely and that he'd get used to it if he were these two.
• While Haku is talking about a medical shinobi named Kiri, Shikamaru notices that Haku has a slight pink tint on his face. The Nara boy then asks him if he likes Kiri, causing Haku to be quiet for a moment and to darken his cheeks. Shikamaru teases him over it, to which Haku responds by frantically saying "Keep your voice down. I don't want him to wake up and hear this conversation!" This is followed by the Nara boy having a laugh over the fact he was able to get under the skin of someone who is very good at controlling their emotions.
  • Shikamaru agrees to not talk about Haku's feelings for Kiri when the latter is around, but he gives a warning to Haku:
    Shikamaru: But you best be prepared for shit later. Ask Naruto and Hinata; I'm prone to make a few comments from time to time.

Chapter 46

• When Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru are training with Jiraiya, the Uzumaki boy asks his godfather "What did you have planned next Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya then shakes his head and mumbles something along the lines of "Don't call me that" upon hearing that nickname again.
• Hinata tries to do her jutsu by creating a massive circular object made of water. However, the construct of water eventually blows up, resulting in the water plummetting to the ground. Jiraiya's clone then comments that it's a good thing the construct wasn't over her head or else she would have been soaked, before adding with a playful smirk that it's also a good thing she's not wearing all white. Hinata blushes and tells him to not talk about that, remembering her previous training sessions where she ended up being soaked.
• After Jiraiya praise Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru following a training session, his godson gives him a thumbs up and declares "We'll make you proud, Ero-sennin!" The Sannin then shouts "STOP CALLING ME THAT!", causing Hinata to giggle and Shikamaru to snort.
• At a ramen stand, Naruto pulls Hinata and Shikamaru into a Group Hug. However, their hug is interrupted by the sound of Shikamaru's rumbling stomach. He looks bashful while his two friends look at him in surprise:
  Hinata: Shikamaru-kun, was that you?
  Shikamaru: ...Yeah. [shrugging] What, if you haven't been paying attention, I've barely eaten my food. I've just picking at it!
  Naruto: Why? It's ramen! I know it's not Ichiraku's or anything, but it's the food of the gods! Eat!
  Shikamaru: [shrugging] I wasn't in the mood when we arrived.
  Naruto: [going back to his seat and starting to slide Shikamaru's bowl of ramen closer to his chair] Well, if you aren't in the mood then-
  Shikamaru: [immediately reaching for the bowl and grabbing it back] Hey, you heard my stomach just a moment ago. I'm hungry now, thank you very much!

Chapter 47

• Unlike in Chapter 44, Utakata is annoyed when Mei misinterprets his relationship with Hotaru. She then says "I'm familiar to the feeling. I know the signs. Even if you aren't aware of the feelings yet, I can tell they are there. And I'm pretty certain that maybe sometime after this war, something may develop between you two." Utakata then has a blush on his face, to which Mei takes as a confirmation of her theory before she laughs.
• Unable to sleep, Hinata decides to sit down on the grass and look at the stars. She then nearly jumps out upon hearing Naruto's voice, making her notice his presence. After he sits down next to her, she slightly elbows him and says:
  Hinata: Y-You scared me Naruto-kun!
  Naruto: [with a playful smirk] What? Was I able to sneak up on a Hyūga with their perfect vision?
  Hinata: In fairness, I didn't have my Byakugan activated.
  Naruto: And I'm totally not going to mention that when I retell the story.
  • Hinata falls asleep while lying on the grass. Naruto decides to bring her back to her sleeping bag, but he has no idea where it is. He then decides to bring her to the cave where he is sleeping and to put her in his sleeping bag while he'll be sleeping on its outside. The Uzumaki boy blushes as he hopes that nobody will misinterpret this, not wanting to be seen as a pervert like Jiraiya.
• While dealing with Tomoe, who just said several sentences in a row, Dosu comments that she talks a lot and asks her if she enjoys the sound of her own voice:
  Dosu: It's a legitimate question. I've never known why so many shinobi like to chat when they fight.

Chapter 50

• In a flashback taking place when they were teenagers, Mei congratulated Yagura for his transformation training by hugging him. However, doing so caused her teammate's face to be against her developping chest, making him blush. After hearing him stutter and realizing why he was stuttering, she had a playful smirk, slightly pushed Yagura away, and flirtatiously asked him if he liked that. Mei then talked about the development of her chest, only for her teammate to nervously say he had nothing to contribute to this discussion. This was followed by her saying "It's important that at least one of us is physically developping, little turtle.", making fun of his short height much to his annoyance.
• In another flashback, Mei called Kisame "a fucking jerk". Yagura frowned at her and told her "Mei-san, please don't swear like that. It's not proper speech." He then said that he and Mei would be nearly invincible if they kept sparring like this every day. She responded by exclaiming "Fuck yeah! ... er... heck yeah!", amending what she said while her teammate frowned again.

Chapter 52

• During a discussion between Naruto and Mei at the Mizukage's office, the new Mizukage tells the Uzumaki boy that he can go see his friends at some inn and tell them the secret about Yagura's circumstances:
  Mei: [leaking more-and-more killing intent towards Naruto with each word] However, I will hold them to the standards of an S-Rank secret. I would advise you warn them of that and let them know that it is a secret that I will make sure remains secret with all of my might.
  [Naruto gulps and nods in understanding.]
  Naruto: I-I will inform them of that, yes.
  Mei: [the killing intent being replaced by a small smile] Good. Then tell them hi for me, please.
  • After Naruto leaves, Jiraiya asks Mei "You can be a scary woman, you know that, right?" while having a slight shiver, as even he felt the killing intent and was intimidated by it despite everything he's been through as a shinobi. She replies that she's aware of that, but she needs to have some fun from time to time, even if it's just messing with someone with killing intent. Scaring Naruto was her way to lighten up after dealing with the past few days and Yagura's situation.
• While Naruto and Hinata are hugging each other after the former was in a coma for three days:
  Hinata: But whatever; you're good now! Now-
  Anko: -you two can get a room?
  [Naruto and Hinata turn around and see Anko, Shikamaru, and Dosu standing at the door. Anko is grinning and eyeing the couple teasingly. The two of them immediately separate and blush.]
  Hinata: A-Anko-sensei!
  Naruto: Get your mind out of the gutter! We're thirteen!
  Anko: [holding up two fingers] Two things, one, you're almost fourteen. Two, old enough to kill, old enough to-
  Hinata: [her blush brightening] A-Anko-sensei...
  Anko: [laughing] Lighten up, you two; I'm kidding.
• Naruto is invited to spend the night in the room his teammates are staying in at the inn. Seeing how there's only two beds and one couch, he offers to take the latter. However, it doesn't take long before he regrets his decision as he is having trouble sleeping on that couch and decides to ask for the bed next time.
• Anko reminds Naruto and Hinata that she has a meeting to attend. Zabuza asked her to come to that meeting:
  Anko: Said he's actually treat me and a few others to drinks after too, so I'll probably be back late and wasted. [grinning] Actually, scratch that. Hopefully, I'll be back sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping to find some hot looking guy tonight. I could use a good fuck.
  Naruto: [grumbling and shaking his head] Okay, we did not need to know that last bit!
  Anko: What? Whiskers, it's just sex. Lighten up. I've teased you two enough about it already. [chuckling while Naruto and Hinata both blush] I haven't had any action since before I became you guys' senseis back when you all were genin. Believe me; I need this.
  Hinata: [mumbling while still blushing] T-Then you go do what you need to do.
  Anko: [winking] Oh I will!
  [Her students blush further, causing her to laugh loudly while walking away.]
• Anko asks Zabuza if the latter is serious when he is offering the third and final scroll that contains a sword. He asks her if he looks like the kind of person who makes jokes like this. Suigetsu comments while snickering that he doesn't look like the kind of person who makes jokes in general. Zabuza gives a Death Glare to Suigetsu, who stops snickering and gets shivers running down his spine.
• The next morning, Naruto notices that Anko is absent from the room, realizing she never came back after the previous night. He then suddenly hears Kurama telling him he should follow her example at some point, taking the Uzumaki boy by surprise. The latter soon blushes after realizing what the fox exactly said:
  Naruto: K-Kurama, what the hell?
  Kurama: What? It's just some advice for you. I managed to get around a bit before that bastard Madara found me years ago, and I have to say that-
  Naruto: [shaking his head] Okay, I was not going to have this conversation with Anko-sensei and I'm definitely not going to have it with you!
• Mei warns Naruto about the paperwork he would do if he ever becomes Hokage. The Uzumaki boy swallows uneasily and tells her she's the third person to have warned him about it, adding that he's starting to get concerned.
• Naruto nervously asks Hinata if her father would have an issue with their relationship. She says she doesn't think so, making her boyfriend sigh in relief. However, she says that Hiashi is pretty traditional and thus Naruto should probably ask for his permission to date her. The Uzumaki boy's eyes widen given that her father could technicaly say no. His girlfriend giggles at that and says "He wouldn't. He wouldn't want to upset me, now would he?" Naruto then replies while panicking "I don't know; you know him better than I do!", causing Hinata's giggle to turn into full-blown laughter.
  • Naruto and Hinata having a contest on who eats their ramen the fastest. Hinata wins, but Naruto complains that she had a second head start.
  • Back at the inn, the two of them are lying down on a bed, unable to get up due to their stomach being full. They then have an argument on who actually won their eating contest. Hinata says she ate more than Naruto did, while he says he ate his bowls faster.
  • Gamikichi appears in the room and complains about what Naruto made him do, saying he doesn't want to do something like that ever again. Before he leaves, the toad grumbles something about 'not being a messenger toad'.
• Before Anko's group leaves Kiri alongside the rest of the Konoha shinobi, Misora takes the time to embrace Dosu in a hug and kiss him on the cheek. After she leaves, Dosu is unable to have any response until Anko says what follows:
  Anko: Hey, I know you want to remain in whatever dimension you're in, but the rest of the Konoha shinobi are leaving. We should be following behind!
  • Dosu explains that he confessed his interest towards Misora the last time he met her. She also had feelings for him, but wanted to think about them in detail before any conclusion about it. He adds that this happened two days ago. Naruto teases him by saying she seems to have to come to her conclusion, only for Dosu to point out that at least he and Misora reached a mutual understanding of their relationship faster than the Uzumaki boy and Hinata did. Thus, he asks Naruto to refrain from teasing him too much given that the former Sound ninja is the one who teases the two chūnin the least. The blond ninja and his girlfriend both blush at that comment, causing Dosu, Shikamaru, and Anko to laugh.

Chapters 53-56: Nami no Kuni Arc

Chapter 53

• When Tayuya meets Naruto's teammates for the first time, she tells Hinata and Shikamaru that the blond ninja told her a lot about these two during the Uzushiogakure mission. She then grins smugly while looking at Hinata before saying "A lot of things about you, mind you." The Hyuga girl blushes upon hearing that. Naruto shakes his head and tells his cousin that she can't tease him about his feelings towards Hinata given that he already talked to the latter about it. Tayuya retorts that she can tease him about anything whenever she wants to before grinning and saying "Still, props on you for growing some balls and talking to her.", making Naruto blush as well.
  • Masakado tells Naruto and his teammates that he got into an argument with the Third Hokage regarding his grievances over Konoha not helping Uzushiogakure:
    Masakado: After I was done and calmed down, I almost felt bad for the old monkey. I think I aged him a couple years with that, and since he's close to my age, I know that's something he didn't need.
    Tayuya: [smirking slightly] Yeah, you shouldn't do that to somebody. You're old as dirt. You shouldn't make somebody feel that old.
    Masakado: [rolling his eyes] Go screw yourself.
• Jiraiya enters the Hokage's Office through the window once again. Hiruzen asks him while chuckling if he can't be a respectable person all the time and use the door. Jiraiya replies while shrugging that using the window is more fun.
• After learning that Naruto is going to ask Hiashi's permission to date Hinata, Anko has a teasing smirk and says "Heh. Hiashi's a well-known killjoy. Have fun with that conversation."
  • Anko reminds Dosu he doesn't have to call her Anko-taichou given they're not on a mission, but he does so anyway with a small smile:
    Anko: [resisting the urge to laugh] You think you're so funny, don't you?
• Shikamaru comes across Team 10 sitting at a table outside the barbecue restaurant. The former declines Asuma's offer to join them for lunch as he wants to go home and see his parents. Shino starts commenting on how understandable it is, only for Ino to interrupt her teammate by asking Shikamaru if it's true that Naruto killed Yagura.
  • Ino smugly saying to Shikamaru that she knows about any gossip before anybody else thanks to her connections.
• At the Hyuga estate, Hiashi asks Naruto if he's there to escort Hinata back home or to discuss something with him. Hinata giggles when she notices that her boyfriend is trying to come up with what exactly he wants to say:
  Hinata: Naruto-kun mentioned he had something he wanted to talk to you about.
  Naruto: [thinking after his eyes widened almost instantly] HINATA-CHAN, DON'T RUSH ME!
  • After Naruto promises that he will always be by Hinata's side when she needs him, Hiashi tells him "Also, remember; Kyūbi or not, and accepting the possiblity of becoming a missing ninja, if you hurt my daughter, I will hunt you down and kill you myself." Naruto's eyes widen upon hearing that. The fact that Hiashi said that threat while smiling and without any killing intent somehow made it even more sinister to the blond ninja. The latter notices a sword displayed in the study they are in and has a shiver when he briefly imagines the Hyuga Clan head hunting him down with it:
    Naruto: I-I promise to never hurt her.
    Hiashi: [his smile slightly growing a little wider] Good.
• Tayuya and Masakado having an angry argument over what meal to make for Naruto to celebrate him returning from his mission and moving into the Uzumaki Clan estate. This is followed by more arguments after Naruto arrives before they finished preparing the meal.

Chapter 54

• After losing a game of shogi against Shikaku, Shikamaru asks him if he cares for a rematch. His father declines, saying he's gonna go see if Inoichi and Chōza are up for a drink and that it's been a while since they last went out. Shikamaru points out to Shikaku that the latter and his friends met up for drinks three days ago. His father then says "Like I said; it's been a while.", making the Nara boy shake his head in disbelief.
• After reading Hiruzen's letter, Tsunade chugs her sake glass all in one-sitting before slamming her hand on the table. The glass is shattered as a result, frightening Shizune and the other patrons at the restaurant. Tsunade then loudly demands another glass, making the bartender widen his eyes in fear and quickly rush over with another wine glass of sake:
  Jiraiya: [chuckling] Damn, Tsunade. No need to give him a heart attack.
• Similarly to canon, Tazuna comments on how short Naruto is when they first meet each other. The Uzumaki boy also doesn't appreciate it, but he doesn't go so far as to try to attack Tazuna and be restrained by someone else like in canon.
• After being summoned by Anko, Mamushi complains about her son Manda, calling him an "ungrateful hatchling" who has let the position of "boss snake" go to his head.
• Hidan and Kakuzu bickering at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 55

• Sakura is walking on water and remaining afloat as long as possible to strenghten chakra reserves. However, when Tazuna walks outside and tells her and Naruto that breakfast is ready, the sound of his voice takes her by surprise, resulting in Sakura sinking into the water. The Uzumaki boy nearly falls to the ground in laughter upon seeing that:
  Sakura: SCREW YOU NARUTO, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!
  Tazuna: [thinking] Did... I come out at a bad time? [shaking his head while still thinking] Ninjas. I don't get them.
• There are two instances where Hidan calls Gamaken a giant frog. In both instances, Gamaken is annoyed, who feels the need to correct that he's a toad.
• Anko summons Mamushi inside a room at the Hyuga Clan estate. However, because of the size of the room, the snake has to avoid hitting the ceiling by lowering her head:
  Mamushi: [grumbling] Anko-chan, you summoned me in a cramped place like this? Why?
  Anko: [rubbing the back of her head while chuckling uneasily] Er...sorry. I got kinda excited. I should've probably asked if Hinata would come outside with me for a minute.
  • Hinata politely greets Mamushi. The snake compliments the Hyuga girl for being so respectful and says while smirking that maybe the latter could teach something to Anko, who scowls upon hearing that comment.
• Omake 5:
  • Sakura asks Kiba what kind of animal she smells like, seeing how the Inuzuka boy commented the previous night that Naruto smells like a fox. He replies that she smells like a rabbit for some reason, much to Sakura and Naruto's confusion:
    Kiba: [frowning] I don't know why. I will admit, though, I can only smell that scent if I really concentrate. 'Cause honestly, Sakura, I have no clue what kind of shit you use when you bathe, but that shit's overpowering sometimes. Can you change brands to something less powerful? It actually burns my nose?
    Sakura: [quietly] ... Kiba, don't tell me how I should bathe. That does not concern you.
    [She tightens her hands into fists while threateningly glaring at him.]
    Kiba: [crossing his arms while scoffing slightly] Hey, you brought up the topic and I was just saying! I don't know if whatever you use in your hair or your soap, but it fucking burns my nose.
  • Sakura looks like she's about to attack Kiba for what he said, only to be interrupted by Naruto commenting he "kinda thought Hinata would smell like a rabbit." The Inuzuka replies that all Hyuga actually smell like cats, or rather what he assumes a lion or tiger would smell like. He comments that this explains why he doesn't like most Hyuga, adding that Neji in particular smelled more like a cat than Hinata did and that made Kiba want to punch him when he first met him. Naruto says while chuckling that he also wanted to punch Neji when he first met him, but it had nothing to do with his scent.
  • Kiba is asked by Naruto about the other shinobi they know. The Inuzuka boy says that Shikamaru smells like a deer. Choji smells like a cow, with Kiba thinking it's probably because of all the fried beef he eats:
    Sakura: [frowning] That's... sorta dark if you think about it.
  • Kiba says that Shino smells like honeybees. As for Ino, she smells like flowers, but also a bit of pig. Sakura snorts "HA!" upon hearing that before falling over in place and laughing loudly. She makes a mental note to tell Ino about it when she'll be back in Konoha, while Naruto also finds it to be hilarious.
  • After revealing that the Third Hokage and Kakashi smell like a monkey and a dog respectively, Kiba says that "Sasuke smells like some snake and duck combination." Sakura is confused by that. Kiba doesn't know why his teammate smells like a snake, but he chuckles when he says that "the duck thing makes sense if you think about it." Sakura doesn't understand why, until the Inuzuka boy explains that Sasuke's hair looks like a duck's butt. He laughs about it, with Naruto soon laughing loudly as well. Unlike the two boys, Sakura looks horrified by what Kiba said. She then narrows her eyes on the latter before walking closer to him and cracking her knuckles.
  • The next paragraph describes several animals hearing a loud howl of pain. They think it must be some animal that has been attacked by a human and they hope that said human would not come after them.
  • The paragraph after that one focuses on Sasuke and Kakashi returning to Konoha after a mission in the Land of Snow, which is apparently going to be called the Land of Spring. Sasuke sneezes, causing Kakashi to ask him if he's sick. The Uchiha boy replies he doesn't get sick. However, he has a strong desire to punch Kiba in the face, but he doesn't know why.

Chapter 56

• While walking around Konoha, Tsunade is annoyed when she's reminded of Jiraiya's perverted books. With a perverted grin, her former teammate is about to say something, but he notices some killing intent coming from her and he decides to not say anything.
• Hinata has trouble summoning any snake. Anko mentions that she also had trouble when she started practicing and that Orochimaru made a bet with her that she couldn't summon a snake on her first day of trying:
  Anko: Loser had to buy dinner. Naturally, I took it as a challenge and accepted only to fail in a gloriously awful fashion. [narrowing her eyes and shaking her head] And when I did lose, that fucker decided to take me to the most expensive restaurant he could find in Konoha just because he knew I would have a difficult time paying for it! What a dick!
  Hinata: [blinking in confusion] Er, I agree?
  • Hanabi getting into an argument with Anko. Hinata tries to make them stop, as she doesn't want Anko to get too agitated and say things her younger sister should never hear at her age.
  • Anko comes up with the idea of making a bet with Hinata. If the latter manages to summon a snake, Anko will do a favor for her. If not, it will be the other way around. Hinata agrees and immediately succeeds at summoning a snake, much to Anko's shock:
    Anko: ...Are you fucking serious? Literally right after we make the damn bet?
  • Anko complains about the fact Hinata has been able to win the bet immediately. The Hyuga girl then says "In my defense, you forced the bet. It's your fault." while laughing loudly. Anko shakes her head and grumbles some obscenities to herself while Hinata continues to laugh.
• Yoshino wants to repay Tsunade for agreeing to make Shikamaru her apprentice. Tsunade tries to say she doesn't have to, only for Jiraiya to say at the same time that they were about to eat. His former teammate glares at him while he sheepishly rubs the back of his head. Yoshino insists on cooking food for them and grabs Shizune's hand to drag her to her home. Shizune pleadingly looks at Tsunade, who then sighs and follows the two younger women:
  Jiraiya: [chuckling slightly while following them] ...Heh. One small comment netted us a free a home cooked meal.
• At the Uzumaki Clan estate, Tsunade tells a story to Masakado about how she made a bet with her team over her being the only one among all three to become chūnin during their first Chūnin Exams, only for all three of them to pass the exams:
  Tsunade: It took two whole months of missions to pay them. And Orochimaru was such a fucking bitch back then; there wasn't a day that went by when he wouldn't remind me exactly how much I owed him. And the fucker was even thinking about charging me interest!
  • She says she then vowed to never gamble again, only to admit she broke that vow the first day she walked into a casino.
  • Tsunade complaining when Masakado refers to her as Mito Uzumaki's 'snotty granddaughter'.
  • When Naruto meets Tsunade for the first time, he asks her if she was 'Ero-sennin's teammate'. Upon realizing that he's referring to Jiraiya by that nickname, Tsunade laughs raucously to the point of slamming her fist on the table. However, because of her Super-Strength, the table is split in two, while two teacups that were on the table end up shattering upon landing on the floor. This is followed by Masakado complaining over what Tsunade did, who then promises to pay for the replacement.
• During Naruto's birthday, Han reveals to Naruto that the latter's teammates had sent invitations to the former and the other shinobi from Iwa. He says that convincing Onoki to let them go to Konoha was complicated, but he eventually approved thanks to enough badgering. Han adds that it helps that Kurotsuchi was among those invited and she bothered her grandfather about wanting to come. One can easily imagine all the heated arguments the Tsuchikage and his granddaughter must have had.
  • Having met Hiashi, Han says, among other things, that the Hyuga Clan head is protective. Naruto grumbles "Protective is one way to put it..." The Iwa jinchūriki laughs upon hearing that, causing the Uzumaki boy to laugh along.
  • Naruto thanks Han for his meditating lesson:
    Han: [shaking his head] Do not remind me of that. That was quite the difficult task. For a moment, I thought it was biologically impossible for you to sit still and remain silent for any given period of time.
    Naruto: [sternly] I wasn't that bad!
    [Han gives him a look, causing Naruto's stern expression to slightly falter.]
    Naruto: I-I wasn't... right?
    Han: [bluntly] I repeat myself; it was a horrible difficult task.
    [Naruto drops his face slightly, making Han chuckle.]
  • Han decides to draw and tells Naruto that the former, while not minding any company, might bore the latter like this. He suggests to the Uzumaki boy to find better companionship in one of his friends, such as Hinata. The Iwa shinobi then winks at Naruto, causing the latter to blush:
    Naruto: Wh-What the- [shaking his head] I'm fourteen now! I'm not thinking about that kind of stuff!
    Han: [smirking] I never said anything. I merely implied that you might enjoy her company more. Aren't you two in a relationship now? Anything you thought I was implying was something you thought to yourself. There's actually a psychology student about such thoughts-
    Naruto: [quickly standing up] Okay, I'm leaving!
• Kurotsuchi asks Shikamaru how long have Naruto and Hinata been together. The Nara boy replies it has been since the mission in Mizo no Kuni. Smirking, he says that it took them long enough and that he was honestly about to make a betting pool on when they'd get together.
• Kurotsuchi complaining about Naruto not giving her enough information in order to write the letter meant to cheer up Shikamaru during the Mizo no Kuni mission, forcing her to fill a bunch of holes:
  Shikamaru: [chuckling] Sounds like him.
• The next day, at the Hokage's Office, Homura tells Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru that he hopes none of them manage to disappoint. Hiruzen tells the three young shinobi to forgive his former teammate as "[h]e was never the most sociable person growing up and it has only gotten worse with age." Homura scowls slightly in response, making Hiruzen chuckle.

Chapters 57-65: Sunagakure Arc

Chapter 57

• Anko and Dosu arguing while the former is trying to convince the latter to come see the exhibition, with Anko calling him a stick in the mud both before and after he agrees to come.
• When Shikamaru is making sure he has everything he needs before the exhibition, his parents tease him regarding his overreliance on explosive tags, making him roll his eyes in response.
• Hinata asks her father if he's annoyed that he doesn't know what she and her teammates have been teasing regarding the exhibition, only for Hiashi to say that he doesn't get annoyed:
  Hanabi: [mumbling her breath] Not true
  Hiashi: [turning his head towards Hanabi] Did you say something, Hanabi?
  Hanabi: Um... er...
  Hebihiro: We have some chores that need to get done! It was nice talking to you Hiashi-sama, Hinata-sama!
  [Hanabi quickly leaves the room alongside Hebihiro, muttering a 'bye' to her family. Hiashi slightly shakes his head while Hinata giggles at what just happened.]
• At the training private grounds, the fact that Hiruzen and Koharu spoil their grandkids is brought up after the former two explain that Koharu stalled her former teammates due to treating her granddaughter to a special lunch. Homura says he's glad that he never had any children, let alone grandchildren because he thinks they are awful. In response, Koharu tells him that he "seems to have an aversion for anything that could possibly bring [him] joy.":
  Hiruzen: [chuckling] An aversion that has only grown stronger with age.
  • Homura has a wide scowl in response to what his former teammates have said. In turn, both Naruto and Shikamaru are laughing loudly while Hinata is giggling:
    Dosu: I... I can believe Sandaime-sama to have this side of his personality, but I'm surprised to see his advisors are this... petty?
    Anko: [snorting] This is the most I've seen either Koharu or Homura emote, honestly.
    Tsunade: [chuckling] That's the work of Sarutobi-sensei. The two of them are humor-sucking leeches, but he seems to bring out another side of them. ...Or, at least, he can with Koharu. Homura is still the same boring, fun-hating old man he always has been.
    Homura: [turning his head towards Tsunade] You know I can hear you, Tsunade.
    Tsunade: [shrugging] Oh, I know.
    [Homura shakes his head, grumbling to himself.]
• After the exhibition, Homura admits that he and his former teammates went easy on Team 3 because they would be here all day otherwise:
  Koharu: And, honestly, I have plans for later tonight. I'm going-
  Naruto: [smirking] Let me guess. Spoil your granddaughter some more?
  Koharu: [huffing] ... Actually, I'm spending time with my grandson this time and spoiling him, thank you very much.
• Naruto is greeted by an Anbu agent (who is heavily implied to be Tenzo AKA Yamato). The latter gives him a scroll and tells him that Jiraiya wishes to talk to him at Naruto's earliest convenience. The Uzumaki boy asks the Anbu how important is it. The man asks him if he has plans that are more important than seeing the Hokage. Even though the Anbu is wearing a mask, Naruto has a creeping sensation, as if the man's eyes behind his mask were somehow piercing his soul and judging him. The blond shinobi quickly shakes his head, only for the Anbu to chuckle and say that he's merely joking.
  • Naruto's reaction while reading the scroll:
    Naruto: HE'S MAKING ME A JŌNIN-SENSEI!?

Chapter 58

• Naruto knocks at the door to the Hokage's office and already opens it before Jiraiya could say anything. The latter smirks before saying:
  Jiraiya: [chuckling] You know, if you are going to actually knock and attempt to be respectful, you should probably wait for permission before entering the room.
  Naruto: [bluntly] And you barely ever knock anyway, so you shouldn't criticize me for that.
  • Naruto calls himself a horrible student, only for Jiraiya to point out that everyone who has worked with the Uzumaki boy after the academy thinks he was exceptional:
    Jiraiya: Hell, Mitokado Homura liked you as a student and that man hates everything!
    Naruto: Hey, Homura's a bit of a grump, but he's actually not as bad as you say he is.
    Jiraiya: [bluntly] Bullshit. That man legitimately sucks the fun out of any room he enters.
• Anko laughing and nearly falling out of her chair after learning that Naruto will be a jōnin-sensei. Naruto grumbles something unintelligible and crosses his arms in response, only for the laughter coming from Anko to worsen.
  • Anko tells the Uzumaki boy that he's taking it better than she did:
    Anko: I was so fucking pissed when the Sandaime told me. I went straight to the bar across the street right after and nearly passed out after all the shit I drank!
    Naruto: [narrowing his eyes] You do know you're saying this to one of the 'students' that you got forced on, right?
    Anko: Yeah, I know, but that was before I even met you all. I think my reaction was justified!
  • Anko feeling like she's getting old after learning that one of her students already got their own team, only to have a scowl when she remembers she's only twenty-eight and thus shouldn't feel old.
• Konohamaru's excited reaction over being put on the same team as Moegi and Udon is very similar to Naruto's own reaction when he was put on the same team as Hinata and Shikamaru:
  Konohamaru: Hell yeah! All three of us got picked on the same team!
  Iruka: Konohamaru, sit down!
• Naruto mentally cursing himself for forgetting to do a flashy entrance for his students like Anko did for him and his teammates.
  • Even better is that when Anko did her flashy entrance in Chapter 5, Naruto thought that he'd "probably do something like that if [he] had a genin team", only to miss that opportunity in this instance.
• Naruto tells his students to introduce themselves. However, when Kanji introduces himself:
  Kanji: So I can talk about stories from my childhood? Or even stuff before that? [bringing his hands together and grinning] Because I have an interesting story about how I was born! So, about nine months before my birthday, Mom and Dad we're assigned to a mission somewhere in Hi no Kuni and they were wanting to experiment in bed and-
  Naruto: [scowling slightly] Okay, nope. Nuh uh. Not happening! Let's be real here; I'm just going to get know you all. I do not need to know stuff like about your parents' sex lives!
  Kanji: [his grin growing wider] But you said I could talk about anything I want. And there's a pay-off to the story down the line. I just need to get to the part after they-
  • This is immediately followed by Naruto throwing a kunai in Kanji's direction to make him stop, with the kunai barely passing the genin's head. Both Katsumi and Hanabi gasp at what just happened. As for Kanji, his eyes are opened wide, clearly shocked by this event:
    Naruto: [grumbling and shaking his head] Smart ass.
  • While introducing herself, Katsumi mentions that she likes to go to a tea shop by her house:
    Katsumi: I mostly just go visit the place because there is a girl that works there that I could like- [she stops talking upon realizing what she is saying and immediately shakes her head while blushing slightly] Er, forget I said anything.
    Kanji: [smirking slightly] The tea shop you're talking about wouldn't happen to be called Eichū, would it? That would mean the girl you are talking about is-
    Katsumi: I'M TRYING TO FINISH MY INTRODUCTIONS, KANJI! FUCK OFF!
  • It's also during this part that the Running Gag of Hanabi correcting others whenever they're swearing is established when she says "Screw off." in response to what Katsumi just said, after the Hyuga girl asked Kanji to not swear earlier on.
  • Both Naruto and Katsumi tell Hanabi they'll try to not swear in her presence. With a wide grin, Kanji tells them he's been studying magic and knows a curse that can help prevent swearing. Katsumi immediately shoves him in response, with Kanji grumbling and rubbing his shoulder in pain afterwards.
  • Naruto tells his students they'll have to pass the 'real' graduation exam the following day, with all three students not exactly having any happy reaction over it. After the Uzumaki boy disappears through the shunshin, his students remain where they are for roughly a minute as they are too focused on their own thoughts. One minute later, Katsumi shakes her head and asks "What the fuck just happened?" And for the first time during that day, Hanabi doesn't correct her teammate for the swearing as she is too stunned to properly notice it.

Chapter 59

• While talking with Itachi, Tayuya complains about his habit of using the Tsukuyomi genjutsu. Every time this happens, she leaves the conversation "with a bitch of a headache."
• When Kanji makes another pun by saying "He just decided to leaf me alone, I suppose.", his father Osamu blames his wife Shio for their son's "stupid jokes."
• Hebihiro tells Hanabi that if Naruto's pranking is too extreme, he'll return to Ryūchi Cave for the rest of the month. Hanabi complains that he can't leave her to face that pranking alone. Hebihiro's voice trails off, causing Hanabi to scowl and Hinata to giggle.
• Katsumi once again shoves Kanji, this time after he makes a pun with the word 'eye'.
  • Kanji tells Katsumi she could've just asked him to stop making puns and he would do so. She has a surprised, hopeful look and asks him if it's true. However, he replies with "Of course I won't, but it works just as effectively as you shoving me and it doesn't involve physically hurting me, so that's a bonus." while grinning cheekily. Irritated, Katsumi shakes her head while Hanabi giggles.
• Naruto's students must find their sensei somewhere at the Uzumaki Clan compound as part of their test. Immediately after the Uzumaki boy disappears, Hanabi uses her Byakugan and easily finds him. When she and her teammates arrive to where Naruto is, Hanabi asks the latter if he designed the test like this even though he knows she has the Byakugan. He blushes and sheepishly rubs the back of his head, which is followed by Katsumi complaining that this is almost too easy. However, Naruto grabs a scroll from his jacket and uses it to summon one thousand shadow clones. After most of the clones leave the room, the remaining one at the center of the room smiles smugly at his students and asks them if they all actually thought he'd make it that easy on them. In other words, Naruto pretended to make such an obvious mistake just to take his students by surprise.
• Kanji uses his Mind Transfer Jutsu to end up in the body of one of the Naruto clones. However, it doesn't take long before another clone manages to unmask him and tells him to dispel his jutsu as he wouldn't want any of the clones to do anything to his body while he's in the mind of a clone. Kanji immediately dispels the spell and continues to search for the real Naruto, only to notice something:
  Kanji: [thinking] Is it just me, or do I smell ink?
• At the meeting point, Katsumi asks Hanabi what happened to her, as the latter and Hebihiro are both completely soaked and annoyed by it. The Hyuga girl replies that she doesn't want to talk about it.
  • Kanji arrives, only for his two teammates to notice that he has both a mustache and a beard drawn on his face with black ink. Katsumi bursts into laughter and nearly falls to the ground while Hanabi starts to giggle. Kanji makes another pun about his situation. However, Katsumi keeps laughing and tells him he can say as many puns as he wants, but that's not going to ruin her mood. Kanji takes this opportunity to make several puns until Hebihiro opens his mouth and releases a gush of water to the Yamanaka's face, making him yelp in surprise while also allowing him to get rid of the ink.
• Shikamaru visits Anko at her apartment and tells her what Naruto has been planning for the test. This puts her in a good mood and she "can't wait to see how bad his students got fucked up!"
• During a conversation between all three of Naruto's students while they're still searching for the real one:
  Kanji: I think my mind is beginning to play tricks on me too, because I always think I'm seeing Naruto-sensei everywhere. I see him in one room, then he's in another room, then another, then another, then-
  Katsumi: We get it; he's using his clones! Shut up Kanji!
• After the test is over, Naruto suggests they all go to Ichiraku for a celebratory lunch. Katsumi says she doesn't think she's ever tried ramen before. In response to this, Naruto rushes over to her, grabs her by the hand, and tells her they're going to fix "this life mistake" before dragging her out of the compound:
  Katsumi: Whoa, okay, okay; I'll go try ramen! Come on! Let go of me!
  • Hanabi and Kanji simply stand there as they watch their sensei dragging their teammate away. They shrug at each other and Hanabi asks if they should follow them. Immediately after that, two Naruto clones arrive and grab Hanabi and Kanji before one of the clones replies with "Yeah, you guys should. Come on!" and they drag the two genin away.

Chapter 60

• When Hanabi is about to leave her room and take a bath, she ends up being drenched by cold water coming from the ceiling, making her shivering. As it turns out, the water was caused by some seal marked with the kanji for 'water'. Next to the seal is a note from Naruto explaining it was a prank like he said he would do to whoever showed up last at the test:
  Hanabi: [hissing to herself] Y-You're horrible N-N-Naruto-sensei!
• During a one-on-one conversation, one of Naruto's clones asks Kanji if the former can give an assessment on the latter based on the fight from the previous day:
  Kanji: [shrugging] Knock yourself out. [seemingly realizing what he said and shaking his head] Actually, don't. I don't want you to accidentally dispel. That'll cause Naruto to have to send another clone here and I like you. You're my favorite clone he has ever created!
  Naruto's clone: [resisting the urge to chuckle slightly] ... Suck up.
• When Choji asks Naruto if the latter will attend Shino's jōnin promotion party, the Uzumaki boy pretends to be confused and not remember who Shino is.
• At the Hokage's office, Jiraiya is giggling to himself while writing something on a piece of paper. However, upon hearing a loud knock at his door, he quickly stashes the paper and pulls out a stack of paperwork. There's a very likely chance he was writing another erotic novel of his at that moment.
  • Naruto and his students enter the office, with the former once again calling his godfather 'Ero-sennin'. Both Hanabi and Katsumi are confused by it, leading to Kanji explaining what that nickname means:
    Kanji: Well, that name directly translates to 'perverted sage'. I would assume that means that Naruto-sensei is calling Hokage-sama a-
    Jiraiya: Honestly Naruto; can you act professional in front of your students?
    Naruto: [smirking] I have been acting very professional, thank you very much! Just to them, though. I don't see a reason to be professional with you.
    Jiraiya: [deadpanned] I'm the Hokage.
    Naruto: [shrugging] And?
    Jiraiya: [about to respond, only to decide against it before shaking his head and sighing] Why do I even bother with you?
  • For his own amusement, Naruto deliberately gives his students the impression that their first D-rank mission will be something very important. All three of them fall for it, only to be confused when they learn the mission is about finding a cat named Tora.
• At Shino's jōnin promotion party, Shikamaru nearly gasps and Hinata grimaces slightly when Naruto tells them he gave to his students the 'Tora' mission:
  Hinata: Why would you do that to them? Don't you want them to enjoy being a shinobi?
  Naruto: [shaking his head and developing a playful smirk] I do! I just wanted to have a little fun.
  • He then explains what happened to his students during that mission, which includes the fact that "Kanji accidentally stepped in cat shit".
  • Shino tells Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru that Ino decided to play 'matchmaker' with him and other women around their age:
    Shino: The dates she sets up never end too well and the women usually have no interest.
    Ino: Because you don't bother to try to be social with them, you jerk!
  • This is followed by an argument between the bug expert and the blonde kunoichi:
    Shino: What did you mean I don't bother to try to be social?
    Ino: [rolling her eyes] You just don't! I've asked all the girls I've try to set you up with and they say that you never tried to keep the conversation going!
    Shino: I did try. None of them however seemed particularly interested in any topics I chose to bring up. Therefore, the logical conclusion was for me to remain silent until they could choose a topic to discuss.
    Ino: [shaking her head] Ugh. Look; next time, just try and talk to them about different topics than training routines and insects, okay?
    Shino: But if I am going on a 'date' and I'm trying to give them the chance to get to know me, should I not be discussing things with them that I am interested in?
    Ino: [groaning and bringing her hands to her head] Ahhhh... You're hopeless.
  • Later on, Ino tries to set up a new date for Shino by describing a regular customer at the Yamanaka Flower Shop she thinks would be perfect for him, much to the bug expert's chagrin while Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru all laugh at it.
• Both Anko and Kahyō want to kill Raiga. To decide who will kill him, Kahyō suggests they play a game of janken. In other words, Rock–Paper–Scissors. Anko agrees, while Zabuza snorts at that. He then asks the two kunoichi to have the winner mention to Raiga before killing him that his executioner was chosen by a game like janken, as that's "the kind of thing that would piss him off just before he dies."

Chapter 61

• At Ichiraku, Naruto asks his students if they are all getting used to training yet. Katsumi replies that it is getting easier every day. Her sensei then says he'll have to bump up his plans a bit for next time in that case. Katsumi's eyes widen at what he said:
  Katsumi: [gulping] Uh... o-okay.
  Hanabi and Hebihiro: [mumbling in unison in frustration] Thanks Katsumi-san...
  Kanji: [dryly] Ooh boy. I can't wait. [gesturing to his arms and legs] I love leaving training with absolutely no feeling in my body.
  • Naruto takes this opportunity to pull a prank on Kanji by switching the ramen bowls, with his student getting a curry chicken ramen bowl instead of a miso ramen one. The young Yamanaka is forced to drink a lot of water as a result.
  • This is followed by Naruto telling his students to finish their bowls so they can go visit the Hokage and see if Tora the cat needs to be rescued again. Both Katsumi and Hanabi look at him in horror:
    Hanabi: [mumbling while clapping her hands together in prayer] ... Please tell me you are kidding.
• Hinata gasps when she's under the impression that Naruto gave his students the Tora mission again and asks him what kind of horrible sensei is he. While laughing and with a grin on his face, he replies that said mission wasn't available and he instead got Jiraiya to give a runaway dog mission to them instead, making his girlfriend sigh before she mumbles:
  Hinata: I hope you know that Hanabi speaks very highly of you as a jōnin-sensei... until she gets to the end of the day where she discusses missions. I'm probably going to have another long night of listening to her theories on why Naruto-sensei is torturing them.
  Naruto: [still grinning] I wouldn't call it torture. I'd just call it being a genin that's gotta do D-rank missions. I do like them overreacting to missions, though. It's the only thing keeping me sane from having to do these worthless types of missions again.
  Hinata: [giggling to herself] Hehehe. Glad I'm done with those.
  Naruto: You'll have to deal with them again if you ever pick up a genin squad yourself.
  Hinata: [playfully sticking her tongue out while continuing to giggle] I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
• When Naruto enters the Hokage's office:
  Naruto: It's just me, Ero-sennin. No need to pretend you weren't working on your next smut novel.
  Jiraiya: It's not smut; it's erotic literature, and a high-quality level one too- [stopping mid-sentence and shaking his head] Never mind, I'm not even going to bother. I know you don't care.

Chapter 62

• When Naruto tells his students they have a mission to do, all three of them have a brief look of horror as they think it's gonna be another D-rank mission like finding a missing animal or helping some merchants in their stores.
  • Naruto reveals to his students the truth about him being a jinchūriki (albeit while keeping certain information secret like the Kyūbi's real name). He tells them he can tell the Hokage to get them on new teams with different jōnin-senseis if any of them are uncomfortable knowing about him having the Kyūbi sealed in him. All three of them make it clear they're not uncomfortable at all and have no desire of having a different jōnin-sensei. However, Kanji tells Naruto while smirking that the latter can start making some puns of his own if he actually wants Katsumi to leave the team. This is followed by both Kanji and Naruto making a few puns, much to Katsumi's annoyance:
    Katsumi: [hissing while walking out] Alright, screw this. I'm outta here. I'm going to get a new team. Not dealing with you punny jerks! [immediately stopping in place and turning back to her team while shaking her head] I-I meant funny, not-
    Kanji: [smirking] Punny? A little basic, but it's a good start if you wanna develop some good jokes.
    [Hanabi and Naruto laughed loudly in response while Katsumi said nothing. Instead, she opted to fume silently in her spot.]
• At a tea shop called Eichū, Naruto is saying goodbye to Shikamaru and Dosu when he sees Katsumi there as well, having an argument with a girl named Naomi. He tells his two friends that Katsumi is one of his students:
  Shikamaru: [chuckling] Really? Actually, I can believe that. Considering I can hear her conversation all the way from over here, I'd say she is just as loud as you are.
  Naruto: [lightly shoving his friend] Shut up.
  • After noticing Naruto, Katsumi introduces him to her best friend Naomi. Katsumi enthusiastically calls the latter the brewer of the best tea in Konoha. Naomi says she's not that good and is just the server, only for Katsumi to pull her into a tight hug and say "I repeat: best. Tea. In. Konoha!" Naruto's student doesn't realize she's choking Naomi because of the tight hug, not even after she stops hugging her. After Katsumi leaves, Dosu comments with a chuckle that she definitely resembles Naruto, which is followed by Shikamaru asking Naruto with an amused smirk if she's always that scatterbrained.
  • Before she leaves in order to arrive on time to the village entrance, Katsumi tells Naruto that he should be heading out too given that walking to the entrance takes a little longer than ten minutes. Her sensei smirks and replies that he can get there in three minutes. She shakes her head and mumbles something akin to 'stupid fucking jōnin' under her breath.
• Naruto arrives at the entrance, where all of his students are waiting. Both Katsumi and Hebihiro comment on how fast Naruto was able to get from one place to another. This is followed by Kanji sarcastically saying to his teammates "Wait, so you all are telling me that Naruto-sensei is faster than you all at an alarming rate? Wow, what a shock.", and then telling to Naruto "It's almost as if you are a whole league above us in skill... maybe even two leagues! I'm starting to wonder if you are a jōnin or something!" In response to this, Katsumi crosses her arms and says "Sarcastic ass-", only to be interrupted by the arrival of Lee and Tenten.
  • Lee introduces himself to Naruto's students by shaking their hands one-by-one without waiting for them to reciprocate and making an over-the-top speech to them:
    Lee: It is an honor meeting you three. Naruto-kun is a marvelous shinobi full of youth! I know for a fact that he will guide you all down the path to being fantastic shinobi as well!
    Katsumi: [mumbling] Th-Thanks?
  • Not too long afterwards, Lee expresses that he can't wait to meet the 'youthful students' from Suna. While he says that, Naruto's students are under the impression that there are literal flames in his eyes.
• Eating what Naruto has cooked, Tenten tells him it's much better than when she actually tries to cook something. She then has a shiver going down her back and adds "Or worse; when Gai-sensei tried to make something."
  • Katsumi once again gets annoyed when Kanji says another pun. Hanabi then explains to Lee and Tenten that Kanji says them quite a lot and they can get a little too much. She then adds that she thinks he sometimes makes those puns on purpose just to get a rise out of Katsumi:
    Kanji: [clutching his chest in a dramatic fashion and looking intently at Hanabi] Really? Me? Well, I'd never do that! Honest!
  • Lee asks Naruto's students why they all wanted to become shinobi. After hearing Katsumi's answer, he offers to train her. However, he then asks her what is her opinion on the color green. Upon hearing that, Tenten coughs, drawing attention to herself, and asks him if he doesn't want to ask Naruto's other students about why they wanted to become shinobi. The Uzumaki mentally thanks her, sweating slightly as he was getting worried about where Lee was going to take that conversation. There's no doubt the boy with the bushy eyebrows was going to try to convince Katsumi to wear the same infamous green jumpsuit he and Gai are known to wear.
• Omake 6:
  • After Naruto, his students, Lee, and Tenten have set up a camp, Kanji asks them if any of them knows why the word 'kunoichi' is a thing. Tenten explains why through a passionate speech, culminating with her saying how proud she is to wear this title. However, Kanji asks why using the word 'kunoichi' instead of the other. Tenten is confused and asks "What other word?" He has a large grin and asks "Why call yourself a kunoichi instead of a she-nobi?" Tenten has a dumbfounded look on her face while Katsumi is irritated over the fact Kanji asked that question just to make that pun. It doesn't take long before the young Yamanaka notices a killing intent coming from Tenten, who approaches him slowly while cracking her knuckles:
    Tenten: [with a soft voice] So, do you think everything I just said right now was a joke?
    Kanji: [quickly shaking his head and laughing uneasily] N-No! Of course not! Heh. Hehehe. It was j-just I had that pun in my head all day and-
  • The next paragraph reveals that Kanji now has a comically-large bump on his head that causes him pain. Even with that injury, he says that it was totally Worth It.
  • During the nightwatch, Kanji looks at the sleeping figure of Tenten. He has a shiver when he remembers that she'll be the next person on the rotation for the nightwatch. Given that she was still angry at him when she went to bed, he comments that she'll probably hit him again when he'll wake her up. The young Yamanaka then chuckles when he notes to himself that she'll probably hit him multiple times, resulting in ten-ten bruises after that. Immediately after he makes that comment, Tenten's body moves in place, causing Kanji to have another shiver:
    Kanji: [thinking] Okay, note to self; don't make any more puns around her.

Chapter 63

• Anko and Zabuza having an argument about the former's impatience.
• At the Kazekage's Mansion, Naruto lies down on a bed and finds it comfy:
  Naruto: I could sleep for days. Hinata would totally love this bed.
  Gaara: [a small frown developing on his face] Do not take this personally, but I am thankful that she is not there. The last time a previous girlfriend of Kankurō's came over for the night, they made enough noise in one of these rooms that I could not sleep. And I do not even sleep on this floor.
  Naruto: [his face immediately reddening] W-W-W-We would n-never!
  Gaara: [giving his friend a disbelief look] Oh? Kankurō told me something similar. I know how couples work and-
  Naruto: [still blushing] Stop. Let's not talk about this right now, okay?
• Hanabi, Katsumi, and Kanji have to put various objects around the store owned by a man named Hideo. The problem is that the latter is, as described by the narration, "a rather fickle, fickle person." Because of that, the three genin's attitude during this mission is a mix of boredom and annoyance, with Katsumi feeling that this isn't a C-rank mission, but a D-rank one in the sand. Even Hebihiro is so bored that he ends up falling asleep around Hanabi's neck. Meanwhile, Kankuro is observing them and is amused by it, to the point of being tempted to "pick up some bratty genin to watch do errands like this."
• Regarding Jiraiya's idea of a joint alliance, Naruto tells Gaara that Kiri and Iwa have both agreed to it after they received the scrolls and that Taki, while it hasn't responded back yet, will most likely say yes. Kumo, on the other hand...
  Gaara: I assume they sent back the scroll without reading it. [shaking his head] The Yondaime Raikage is a stubborn fool.
  Naruto: [with a slight chuckle] More stubborn than that old man Ōnoki, and that's saying something!
• During the dinner at the mansion, Katsumi complains about how the mission was another D-rank mission, while Kanji makes another pun by saying he was "super close to becoming a turncoat and deserting the mission all together." Katsumi's eyes twitch upon hearing that, while Hanabi, Hebihiro, Naruto, and Kankuro all find it funny. In turn, the brown-haired genin shakes her head and mumbles something about 'stupid jokesters'.
  • Lee and Tenten are supposed to stay in Suna for five days as part of their own mission. Kanji asks if he and his own team will stay for those five days as well, even though Team 9's mission is already done. Gaara replies they can stay or leave whenever they want, while Naruto suggests they could stay for a day or two and take this opportunity to spar against some of the genin from Suna. Katsumi approves of the idea and says they "can see how they stack up against a couple of foreign shinobi", only for Kanji to say "Technically, we're the foreign shinobi in this scenario, Katsumi." His teammate replies by tossing a fork at him, who catches it and asks "What the fork was that for?" while grinning widely. Katsumi then says "Screw it; I'm done with dinner." before abruptly leaving the table while everyone else, including Gaara, is laughing.
• At Ichiraku with Shikamaru, Hinata sighs and comments on how much she's missing Naruto. Her friend snorts and says that she now knows how he feels with Kurotsuchi:
  Hinata: ...Oh. Oh! [blushing and shaking her head] You're right! You do experience this with Kurotsuchi-san and it's much worse for you two! I am so sorry! I'm sure that this little rant of mine probably sounded pathetic to you!
  Shikamaru: [his snort becoming a small fit of laughter] Hinata, it's fine. I was kidding.

Chapter 64

• At the council room, Mukade is eventually considered to be a suspect regarding the matter involving Kankuro. Gaara says that he will go to Saba Village alongside Chiyo to get a confirmation about Kankuro. The Kazekage then tells Temari to apprehend Mukade for the time being until his guilt is either confirmed or denied. Smirking, his sister says "With pleasure." while walking towards the suspect. Before the latter could try to escape, his body is surrounded by rocks rushing forward from the ground, which is caused by Katsumi doing a hand seal:
  Gaara: [to Naruto while having the slightest hint of a smirk on his face] Strange. I don't recall your student being named 'Temari'.
• At the Kazekage's Mansion, after dealing with the council, Naruto comments that he's "not the biggest fan of political crap", only for Kanji to point out while grinning the irony behind that given that the Uzumaki wishes to become Hokage:
  Naruto: [chuckling] Touché.

Chapters 66-76: Takigakure Arc

Chapter 66

• Dosu shares with Hinata and Shikamaru his theory that Anko and Zabuza have a thing for each other. The Hyuga and the Nara stare at him in surprise before laughing loudly at that theory:
  Shikamaru: [snickering] I have no idea where you came to that conclusion, but I hope that's true. They're both sadists; they're perfect for each other.
  Hinata: They'd be so cute together! I hope you're right about that!
  • The next paragraph has Anko sneezing loudly, leading to this exchange:
    Kahyō: Getting sick, Anko-san?
    Zabuza: [grumbling while crossing his arms] If you are, stay far away from me. I hate getting sick. I'd rather take a kunai to the back then catch a fucking cold.
    Anko: [grumbling] I'm not getting sick; don't worry. I think some bastard is talking about me if I had to guess.
• Katsumi once again being annoyed by Kanji's latest pun. She says "Kanji, I swear to-", only to interrupt herself when she notices Hanabi eyeing her curiously:
  Katsumi: [taking a deep breath and sighing] Shut up. Just shut up. I'm trying to enjoy being back home, okay?

Chapter 67

• Naruto and Hinata are kissing and hugging each other after the former has returned from Suna. When they break apart, Hanabi tells them to get a room, making her sister and the latter's boyfriend blush.
  • Naruto is so excited when Hinata reveals that she got her new seal that he grabs her hand and leads her out of the Hyuga Clan estate to celebrate, making her stutter his name and nearly trip before catching herself.
• After learning from Naruto that Gaara is now Kazekage, Shikamaru has this to say:
  Shikamaru: [smirking to Naruto] With someone our age already become a Kage, it almost suggests you're slacking. Better step up your game there, Naruto.
  Naruto: [smirking back] You're the last one who should talk to me about slacking!
• While training with one of Naruto's clones on the "Lightning Style: Spider Web" jutsu, Kanji smirks and says "Alright then, let's take a look at how to use the jutsu. Then I'll decide weber or not it's worth using." This is followed by a pregnant pause while the young Yamanaka, having what the narration describes as "a 'shit-eating' grin on his face", is looking at the clone. The latter eventually sighs and shakes his head before saying:
  Naruto's clone: [sharply] Look Kanji, you know the original me likes your puns. But I have to say, that one was kinda pushing it.
  Kanji: [frowning] ... Meh.
• Naruto and Hinata are walking around Konoha when they end up talking about Hanabi's interest on medical ninjutsu:
  Naruto: I know she'd be breaking with tradition in your clan, but man, fuck your traditions.
  Hinata: [giggling] That has been a motto of mine for a while now.
  Naruto: [snickering] Oh? That phrase specifically. Didn't know you liked to swear that much, then. Best hope I don't tell your sister.
  Hinata: [shaking her head and still giggling] Please don't!

Chapter 68

• Before the fight, Yoshikane has a conversation with Sai, who ends up asking a few questions to the Hyuga while smiling. Eventually, the latter has enough of those questions and sharply tells the young shinobi "Sai. You say you follow my orders? Until the battle starts, I'd like you to stop asking me questions." In response, Sai nods his head and remains quiet while still smiling.
• Naruto arrives at the stadium and sees Shikamaru, Dosu, Hanabi, and Gai in the seating area. When the Uzumaki recognizes Gai, the latter makes an over-the-top speech over how he's going to cheer for Neji. For a brief moment, Naruto feels as if he could see tears coming from the green-wearing shinobi, an image of a sunset, and a waterfall. He shakes his head and concludes that he must be seeing things.

Chapter 69

• When Anko meets Mei at the latter's office:
  Mei: [with a playful smirk] Nice to see you today, Anko. I trust last night was eventful for you.
  Anko: [returning the smirk] It actually wasn't, and that's the best part. The best nights are the ones you can't remember!
  Mei: [chuckling] I can attest to that. [turning her head towards Yagura] Don't you agree?
  Yagura: Not necessarily. I've never been much of a drinker. You know this.
  Mei: [frowning] You've always been a bore to go out with. [having a playful smirk] You're much more fun to be around at home alone, though, Yagura-kun.
  • Yagura looks downwards in response. Even though he's wearing a mask, Anko can tell he's blushing at what Mei just said.
• When Setsuko enters the Hokage's office, Jiraiya smiles at her and cheerfully asks what's her name. She tells him her name, but his smile drops and his eyes begin to twitch when she calls him 'Old Creepy Guy'. When Tayuya enters the office, the Hokage can tell she's the reason why Setsuko called him that:
  Jiraiya: Tayuya... for crying out loud, can't you at least give people a good impression of me when you talk about me?
  Tayuya: [with a knowing smirk] Hey, I've said nothing but good things. That's why she was so happy to meet you.
  Jiraiya: [thinking while making a deep sigh] I swear to God, no Uzumaki respects authority in the slightest.
• At the Uzumaki Clan Compound, Naruto sees Masakado talking with Setsuko and Susumu. Masakado is laughing because Setsuko told Sasuke that his hair looks like a duck's butt, with the Uzumaki elder saying he wish he could have seen the Uchiha's face. Naruto snickers as he remembers when Kiba made the same comparison.
  • Tayuya arrives soon after and tells Naruto "Oh? So you're back, finally? Bout fucking time!" Susumu frowns and asks her to not curse in front of his daughter, making Tayuya apologize sheepishly. Masamune then mumbles under his breath "Heh. Good luck with that. She has even less of a filter than Setsuko." Hearing that, Tayuya glares at her cousin while saying "What was that, Masamune?" The blacksmith looks downward and pokes his finger together in response, making her chuckle.

Chapter 70

• At the beginning of the chapter, Iruka shouts at two kids to stop running through the hallway at the Academy. Later on, after Naruto leaves, Iruka's eyes twitch when he sees the same two kids running through the hallway again:
  Iruka: HEY! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT RUNNING THROUGH THE HALLWAY?
• Hiashi meets Jiraiya at the latter's office and comes across Susumu Uzumaki. After the latter leaves, the Hyuga notes that he seems rather pleasant:
  Jiraiya: [laughing] He's very atypical for all Uzumaki I met. Susumu actually seems fairly introverted and respectful of authority! Who knew that was possible?
  • After Hiashi leaves, Jiraiya sighs and grumbles that all he wants to do at that moment is do some research for Icha Icha Tactics and how stressful his job as Hokage is. Just as he's about to work on his 'Icha Research Notes' notebook, he hears a knock on his door, much to his annoyance:
    Jiraiya: [thinking while hiding his notebook] Oh for fuck's sake! [speaking] Come in, dammit!
    Anko: Wow, that's not the way you're supposed speak to one of your top, favorite jōnin. You're supposed to be happy that I'm back!
    [His eyes soften and he chuckles when Anko opens the door. The jōnin has an irritated look while taking a seat.]
    Jiraiya: Sorry, Anko. I was just wanting some alone time and was expecting it to be someone like Sarutobi-sensei's old teammates. I'll gladly talk to you.
    Anko: [disgusted] Alone time? The fuck are you doing in this office?
    Jiraiya: [looking horrified before scowling] Hey, you know I'm not the kind of person to that in this office! I may be a super pervert, but I'm not that perverted!
    Anko: [shaking her head] Sure you aren't...
    Jiraiya: [crossing his arms] Bah.
• At Ichiraku, Kanji makes a few puns that, once again, annoy Katsumi:
  Katsumi: For fuck's-
  [She's interrupted by Hanabi elbowing her, with the Hyuga girl frowning at her teammate.]
  Katsumi: ... For the love of God, Kanji. Shut up and just eat.
  • Right after that, Naruto and his students meet Kiba, Akamaru, Sakura, and Sasuke. The Uzumaki notices that the Uchiha has a new haircut (which is pretty much the same one from the Boruto era) and smirks before pointing out it no longer looks like a duck. Laughing, Kiba gleefully brings up when a little girl (Setsuko) told Sasuke that his hair looked like a duck's butt. The Inuzuka laughs harder about the reaction the Uchiha had that day, only to be interrupted when Sakura smacks him on the head and thus making him fall to the ground. This is followed by Sasuke kicking Kiba in his shin:
    Kiba: OW! What the hell guys?
    Sakura: Kiba, quit making fun of Sasuke-kun! His hair looked fine before and you know that! [scowling at Naruto] And don't prod him on! You knew that reaction was coming!
    Naruto: [rubbing his head sheepishly] You're right, I'm sorry. [looking at Sasuke, who is frowning at him] I'm sorry about that. Honestly, your hair looks good right now. It'll take some time getting used to it, but it looks good.
    Sasuke: [sighing] ... I wish someone had told me about my hair looking like that before a little girl pointed out to me. But thanks.
  • Kanji is tempted to make a pun based on the last three letters in Sasuke's first name. However, after looking at Kiba being knocked to the ground for making fun of the Uchiha's hair and looking at Sakura, who seems quite defensive towards Sasuke, the young Yamanaka wisely decides against it and simply waves his hand at them.
  • Kiba decides to whisper to Katsumi in a way that is loud enough for everyone else to hear it and says "Hey, don't tell Naruto, but if you all want to learn some actual skills, come find me around Konoha and I'll show you what I know as a shinobi!", with Akamaru barking in agreement. Naruto tells him "I heard that Kiba." and rolls his eyes while playfully pushing him backwards. Sakura then tells the Uzumaki's students while giggling to ignore Kiba because he's an idiot who doesn't have anything to show them that their sensei can't show them. Her giggle becomes a much louder laughter while Kiba crosses his arms and pouts.
  • After Sasuke and his teammates have left, Kanji notes that the Uchiha isn't the most social:
    Naruto: [chuckling] Actually, he was pretty talkative just then. He must have been in a good mood before I reminded him about the duck hair.
    Kanji: [incredulous] Talkative? He barely spoke!
    Naruto: Talkative for him.
• Outside the Hokage's office with his students, Naruto literally bumps into Anko. They have a brief reunion before she leaves. The Uzumaki then confirms to Katsumi that Anko was his jōnin-sensei:
  Naruto: [chuckling] That she was. And she's the best one in this village, to be honest. Well, I guess second best, now. I am a jōnin-sensei now, after all.
  Jiraiya: [from his office] I resent that. I was clearly the best jōnin-sensei of the village. I trained the fucking Yondaime, after all.
• Naruto meets up with Hinata and Shikamaru in some park in Konoha when he tells them he gave to his students the Tora mission again. His girlfriend looks at him in shock and tells him to not torture his students, while the Nara adds that it's "sorta fucked up".
  • In his defense, there were no 'short-term' C-rank missions available and Jiraiya wants Naruto to go on one specific mission in the next couple of days. However, the Hokage didn't tell his godson anything about the mission, saying that someone else would fill the Uzumaki in:
    Naruto: I hate when he doesn't tell me things. I think it's just him getting back at me for calling him Ero-sennin. You know. Cause he's a pervert.
    Hinata: [giggling] I know Jiraiya-sama is your godfather, but it still surprises me he tolerates you saying that nickname in front of other people.
    Naruto: [smirking] Cause deep down, he likes it. That's the only explanation. He'll never admit it, but I know that's the truth!
    Shikamaru: That's like saying I enjoyed being called 'Lazy ass' by Anko-sensei and Kurotsuchi when we were younger. I sure as hell didn't and I can guarantee you that he doesn't either.
    Anko: [making her presence known] What? A lazy ass didn't like being called a lazy ass? Why's that?
  • Shikamaru asks Anko "How's Zabuza?" The kunoichi is confused, having no idea about Dosu's theory concerning her and Zabuza:
    Anko: [tilting her head in confusion] Huh? Uh, Zabuza's fine I guess? Why do you ask?
    Shikamaru: [snickering] No reason.
    Anko: [shrugging her shoulders] O...kay.
  • Not too long afterwards, Anko is confused to see the seal on Hinata's forehead and says she knows "that's not [her] Clan's Caged Bird bullshit" before asking what is that, making all three former-genin of Team 3 realize they have a lot to fill in for her.
• Sasori, Deidara, and Kabuto arrive at a large rock formation. When the former two make a singular hand sign that reveals an opening to a cave on the inside of the rock formation:
  Kabuto: [chuckling] Really? A rock blocking a secret entrance? That sounds like something out of a kid's manga.
  • Tobi being upset in his own comedic way over Kabuto being chosen to join the Akatsuki instead of him. He even cries in a way that one could see his tears despite the fact he's wearing his mask. Tobi then calms down and becomes hopeful that there'll be an opening for him sooner or later, perhaps if Kakuzu finally finds a way to kill Hidan. The latter angrily shouts that, given that he's been blessed by Jashin, his partner could never hope to kill him. Kakuzu then tells Tobi he's been looking for a way to kill Hidan and will continue to do so, all while narrowing his eyes on his partner.
• Waiting at the entrance gate alongside Shikamaru, Hinata asks Naruto who did he end up getting to watch over his students during Team 3's mission. Snickering, her boyfriend says it's a friend of his, but doesn't elaborate on who it is. She frowns and pockets her hands while sighing before telling him she hopes it's not someone too bad as she doesn't want to hear her sister rant about him.
  • When Anko arrives, she grins at her former students and cheerfully says:
    Anko: Nostalgic, huh? This'll be just like old times. Going on a mission with Whiskers, Stutters-chan, and Lazy Ass, with the badass and sexy Mitarashi Anko leading the charge!
    Hinata: [giggling] Except I don't stutter as much anymore. Or at all, really.
    Shikamaru: [grumbling] And I swear to God, if one you calls me 'lazy ass' again, especially nowadays...
    Anko: [chuckling] Ah, lighten up. You know I'm just screwing around!
• Omake 7:
  • This omake reveals who will temporarily replace Naruto as Team 9's sensei. Who is it? None other than Ibiki Morino.
  • Ibiki makes a speech to Team 9 about how his training will be brutal, culminating in him summoning the Torture Chamber. All three genin have horrified reactions in response. However, the narration indicates that Ibiki will be training them in a more relaxed environment. His speech and his demonstration were things he always wanted to do if he ever was assigned a genin team by the Hokage and they were the reasons why he was more than willing to accept Naruto's favor. He smirks as the genin's reactions made everything Worth It.
  • Ibiki then thinks that maybe he should ask the Hokage to give him a genin team of his own. While having a malicious grin towards Team 9's horrified reactions, he also thinks he would have to find some way to outdo what he just did to them with his own genin team, but it's a challenge he's certainly willing to attempt.

Chapter 71

• Fū asks Naruto if his bijū talks a lot, given that her own bijū, Chōmei, is always talking in her head. She does appreciate the company, but she admits "it's sometimes kinda annoying", making Chōmei grumble "WOW! That's so rude of you!" The demon's comment makes Fū giggle in response.
  • Kurama tells Naruto that he does pity Fū for having Chōmei sealed in her:
    Kurama: That beetle never shuts up. It's always yammering on about how lucky it is and shit. He's nice in small doses but can get exhausting after a while.

Chapter 72

• At Fū's house, Naruto leaves the bedroom he's sharing with Hinata. He then comes across Fū, sitting on a couch and holding a book. After the Uzumaki tells the Taki jinchūriki that her bed was "super comfy", she has a playful smile while looking at the bedroom door and says:
  Fū: That Hinata girl is your girlfriend, right? I hope you two didn't do anything in that bed last night; that's the one I actually sleep in, so I hope I don't have to clean it too much and-
  Naruto: [his face turning bright red] Okay, hold up; we didn't do anything like that! We literally just slept!
  Fū: [giggling] Suuuuuure.
  [Naruto's blush becomes even redder as a result.]
• Naruto notices the room that Fū uses to plan her pranks. He has a mischievous grin and asks her how legit she is as a prankster. She has a similar grin when she replies that she's pretty legit before asking him "Why you asking?" His grin widening, the Uzumaki replies that he'd like to compare. They both rush into her planning room, working immediately on some prank.
  • The next paragraph shows Shibuki discovering his mansion to be covered in orange-and-green paint that depicts various foxes and horned beetles. He's unable to keep a straight face and ends up laughing. As for Zagi, he doesn't find it amusing that it happened to his home as well and he reveals that many shops got hit by that prank.
  • The paragraph after that one has Anko, Shikamaru, and Hinata all openly gaping at what Naruto and Fū did, while the latter two are snickering. After Fū talks about what other damage she and Naruto can cause together, Anko cracks her knuckles and tells them:
    Anko: Okay, I'm just gonna say this once; try and prank me and I'll kick both of your asses faster than either of you can say Taki. So plan ahead but I better damn well be not one of your targets!
    [Naruto and Fū freeze in place while Anko is leaking killing intent. They laugh nervously and rub the back of their heads.]
    Fū: D-Don't worry, that's not gonna happen!
    Naruto: Y-Yeah. Y-You're on my good side, A-Anko-sensei!
    Anko: [proudly] Damn straight I am!
    Shikamaru: [shaking his head and snickering] Wow. All that confidence just flew out the window.
    Hinata: [giggling] In their defense, Anko-sensei is still an intimidating woman.
• Fū and the Konoha Shinobi hear two civilians on a bench badmouthing the Taki jinchūriki. Naruto is about to teach them a lesson, only for Fū to tell him to not waste his breath on them as they're not going to change if he yells at them. Anko agrees with her before cracking her knuckles and saying "And since, they're not gonna change or shit, let me yell at them and put the fear of god in their minds instead." She gets the two civilians' attention by stomping on the ground in front of them and angrily gives them a "The Reason You Suck" Speech. Fū then hears Shikamaru snickering and turns her attention towards him:
  Shikamaru: Heh, they look like they're gonna piss themselves.
  Hinata: [bringing her hand to her face to conceal her laughter] Anko-sensei is the second-in-command of the T&I Department still, after all. She's good at this. Maybe next time they'll think more when they decide to 'gossip'.
  Naruto: [crossing his arms and scowling] Serves them right.
  • After Anko is done with her rant, the two civilians look at Fū and Naruto, with the Taki jinchūriki thinking she could see one of them mouthing 'I'm sorry' before they both bolt away. Anko then says while chuckling that she thinks she "went a little overboard, but whatever."
  • After Fū admits that what Anko did was pretty cool, the latter once again shows she's not that humble by saying "Hell yeah. Cause I'm the coolest."
• Fū accidentally reveals to the Konoha shinobi a way to enter Taki. She rubs the back of her head sheepishly and recognizes her mistake before saying she assumes they're all fairly trustworthy and won't try and lead a Konoha invasion on her village:
  Hinata: [giggling] You know we wouldn't. Also, we'll pretend we didn't hear any of that.
  Naruto: [shrugging] I mean, to be honest, I probably will genuinely forget that fact.
  Fū: [snorting] Even better!
  • Upon seeing Fū using the Nanabi's chakra to fly, Naruto exclaims how cool it is and tells Kurama he wishes he could do that too:
    Kurama: I am a FOX. How the hell would I be able to fly?
• At Fū's house, the Taki jinchūriki mentions when she met Utakata and Hotaru and says:
  Fū: By the way, they're totally a couple, right? I couldn't tell.
  Hinata: [giggling] They have to be. I can tell that they seriously care about each other.
  Shikamaru: [shrugging] Don't think they're official yet, though. Utakata seemed fairly oblivious to her feelings for him... like another jinchūriki I know.
  Naruto: [scowling at his Best Friend] ... Hey! I'm the one who asked her out, y'know?
  Anko: [snorting] Roughly a year late on that. Naruto, from the day I met you guys, I could tell she was crushing on you hard. How you never noticed I'll never know.
  Hinata: [blushing while poking her fingers together] Well I think I wasn't that... um... obvious when around him...
  Anko: Fuck that.
  Shikamaru: [smirking] Incredibly obvious to his face.
  Fū: [snickering while her eyes move from Hinata to Naruto's blushing face] I can't really comment, but I don't think you both would be as red as you are if they weren't right.
  Naruto: [grumbling] Sh-Shut up.

Chapter 76

• At Takigakure's hospital, Shikamaru meets Asuna Kariudo. Eventually, the latter recognizes the Nara as the guy who took her scroll during the Chūnin Exams. However, she scowls when Shikamaru recognizes her as the girl who Kurenai hit with a genjutsu rather than for anything else that would be less embarrassing.
• After Hinata manages to cheer up Fū, the latter smiles and holds out her hand to the Hyuga, the two of them sharing a firm handshake. However, the Taki jinchūriki pulls Hinata into a tight hug that she keeps tightening, causing the Konoha kunoichi to gasp as she has a hard time breathing:
  Fū: Thank you so much, Hinata!
  Hinata: [choking out] N-N-No p-problem! [thinking] My lungs...
• When Kabuto tells Hidan that he's been curious on how to become immortal, the immortal man tells him "Open your mind to Jashin-sama and you will discover the way." But when Kabuto replies with "Okay.", Hidan is astonished, as if like he was expecting a negative answer, and asks "You're... serious?"

Chapters 77-90: Shimogakure/Iwagakure Arc

Chapter 77

• At the Hokage's office, when Fū tells Naruto that she'll redo his garden if it's boring:
  Naruto: [crossing his arms] It's not boring!
• At Ichiraku, Fū being confused to see how much of a Big Eater Naruto is, while everyone else is so used to his behavior.
  • Right after taking her first bite from her own bowl of ramen, Fū finds it so delicious that she has this strong desire of eating it fast. However, she just made a big deal over Naruto speed eating so she tries to restrain herself, only to end up eating her meal pretty fast anyway. When she asks for another bowl, Teuchi thinks while chuckling about how the Uzumaki always brings him the best customers.
  • Naruto's students arrive, which is followed by Katsumi and Kanji making it clear that having Ibiki as their temporary sensei was not a pleasure:
    Naruto: How was it with Ibiki?
    Katsumi: [her eyes twitching] I-Ibiki-sensei was... he wasn't as bad as he made himself seem at first. [crossing her arms] But I refuse to go to the T&I Department building ever again thanks to him. Also he's an ass!
    Kanji: [sounding distant] I think I developed a phobia of chains because of him. And tight spaces. And spikes. Actually, I think he gave me a lot of fears in general.
  • Naruto takes this opportunity to make a Pun by asking them if it was deserved punishment. Katsumi once again complains about it, only to be interrupted by Kanji naturally enjoying the pun. Soon enough, the Yamanaka himself makes a pun while talking to Fū. This makes Katsumi complain to her sensei that he triggered Kanji's habit of making puns again after several days of behaving himself.
• Ino being quite surprised when Fū says she knows about the Aburame Clan's kikaichū and wants to see one. She's then even more surprised when the Taki shinobi is talking to the bug.
  • After Fū reveals to Team 10 that she's the jinchūriki of the seven-tailed horned-beetle, Shino asks about the beetle's disposition. She replies while chuckling that he's pretty cheerful and also a little too chatty sometimes. This makes Chōmei internally shout "RUDE!", causing Fū's laugh to get louder.
  • Ino mentally screaming "OH MY GOD" when she notices Shino having a very slight blush while talking to Fū.
  • The Yamanaka then sighs in a dramatic fashion and claims she and Choji are supposed to help her clan with something just so Shino and Fū could spend some time alone. Choji doesn't get it at first, causing Ino to send him a sharp glare. He then quickly nods in agreement.
  • Ino mentions to Fū that the Aburame's compound has a forest around it:
    Fū: [to Shino while her eyes are widening] Your clan has a forest around its compound?
    Shino: [nodding] It does. [turning towards Ino] However, I-
    Ino: She's interested! NOW GO SHOW HER! OKAY BYE!
    [Ino grabs Choji by the hand and starts to rush off.]
    Choji: [tilting his head] Um... bye?
    Ino: IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU FŪ!
  • This is followed by Shino shaking his head and complaining to Fū that he still doesn't understand Ino after all these years:
    Shino: An acquaintance of mine would refer to her as 'troublesome'.
  • While observing Shino and Fū from behind a tree, Ino is so excited over the Taki shinobi potentially becoming her teammate's girlfriend. Choji chuckles and tells the Yamanaka that she seems pleased with herself. After exclaiming that Operation 'Get Shino a girlfriend' seems like it'll be a success, she tells Choji:
    Ino: Now, you'll be my next project!
    Choji: [blinking] Huh?
• After arriving in Iwa, Tayuya complains about the village upon assessing it:
  Tayuya: [thinking] Kumo did 'mountain village' so much better than this dump.

Chapter 78

• Tayuya being shocked to see Han without his armor and mask:
  Tayuya: [thinking] Seeing him like this... it just looks so weird! Like, I know he's wearing clothes, but he looks naked!
  • A few minutes later, Tayuya drinks Han's tea. However, she immediately spits out the tea and screams "WATER!" before trying to find water in Han's kitchen. She finds it, but it still burns even after drinking the water, much to her annoyance.
• Hinata blushes heavily and is taken aback when Naruto says that she'll make an amazing wife. She then lightly slaps his shoulder and nervously tells him to not tease her (even though he wasn't as he soon admits).
• In his office, Jiraiya has a perverted look while working on his next erotic novel. He then comes up with the perfect title. However, he's interrupted in his thoughts by Shikamaru knocking on his door, much to his frustration.
  • After Shikamaru leaves, Jiraiya eagerly goes back to writing his novel. However, he cannot remember the title he had for it, resulting in the Hokage letting out a loud groan.
• Tobi being so annoying to Hidan. Then the former says he just wants to talk to Kabuto, who inwardly sighs as he can think of a thousand different things he'd rather do.

Chapter 79

• Hanabi hears both Naruto and Hinata cursing and she complains about it. This results in her sensei declaring that he's going to make her say either "fuck" or "shit" one day, making her stare at him while looking mortified.
• Fū and Chōmei having a disagreement over a poem the former did.
• Omake 8:
  • On their way to Shimogakure, Jiraiya's group gets to hear a poem from Kanji, who ends up insulting some of his traveling companions. After a silence, the Yamanaka complains over nobody having anything to say on his poem, only to be interrupted by Katsumi tossing a kunai at him that he barely avoided. This is followed by nearly everyone in the group being irritated by his poem (and yes, including even Hinata).
  • The poem mentioned Hinata and Fū preparing to attack Sasuke. The Hyuga complains by saying she has nothing against the Uchiha and tells Kanji to not try and create bad blood between them.
  • Katsumi complains over the poem mentioning that she's whining:
    Katsumi: If it's about the 'not having a mission by ourselves' thing, then you're a goddamn hypocrite, cause you did the exact same thing!
  • The poem also mentioned Sasuke brooding. The latter points out while scowling that he's been in a good mood during that day and barely spoke, thus not brooding at all.
  • As for Jiraiya, he complains that the poem mentioned him having a perversion rivaled in myth. In this case, he complains that nothing, not even some mythological human being, can match HIS perversion.
  • The only ones not offended at all by the poem are Naruto and Fū, who instead laugh about it.
  • Hanabi tells Kanji that his poem was bad, adding "It was actually kinda shitty-" Upon hearing that, Naruto stops laughing and gasps, being overjoyed that she finally said "shit". Realizing what she did, the young Hyuga heavily blushes in a way similar to her older sister's numerous nervous reactions and says while stuttering that it was an accident. Her sensei then gives a high five to Kanji for making her curse and tells the Yamanaka he'll take him to his favorite seafood place when they return to Konoha.

Chapter 80

• Upon arriving in Shimogakure, whose overall temperature is pretty cold, Naruto complains while shivering that he didn't dress right for this place. Smirking, Sasuke points out to his friend that the village's name means "Village Hidden in Frost" and that he should have known better, causing Naruto to tell the Uchiha to shut up.
• In one of the hotel rooms, Naruto asks his students if any of them wants to come with him to pick the herbs for their C-rank mission. Kanji declines, all while making a pun by saying he's afraid he'll "get frostbite if he stays out too long". Katsumi's reaction upon hearing that pun is to say "Alright fuck that, I'll come. Not dealing with your puns today, Kanji."
  • When Kanji, Sasuke, and Fū end up being the only ones who haven't left the room, the Yamanaka pulls out a deck of cards, leading to this exchange:
    Kanji: So... Care to pass the time?
    Sasuke: [shrugging] Eh. Fine. Any game in particular?
    Fū: [grinning] Poker. And if we wanna put actual money on the line, I'm down for it. I'll walk away with all of your money!
    Kanji: [grinning as well] Oh? I'm a Yamanaka, you know? I'm a master of mind games and psychology. Are you suuuuuuure you think you can beat me?
    Sasuke: [rolling his eyes] Just deal the cards already.
• At the meeting, the Raikage introduces his bodyguards and the two Kumo jinchūriki, only to be interrupted by Killer Bee doing his usual Gratuitous Rap. This is followed by a silence, with Hinata and Sasuke both confused over what just happened. By contrast, both Naruto and Fū really enjoyed their fellow jinchūriki's rapping. Killer Bee then continues to rap until his brother angrily tells him to shut it.

Chapter 81

• When Sasuke mentions while smirking that it's been a while since the last time he saw Naruto fight and he wishes he could get involved in the spar between the jinchūriki:
  Naruto: [nodding in agreement and smirking back] It'd be nice yeah. It really has been a while since we fought, hasn't it? Wanna fix that when we get back to Konoha?
  Sasuke: [cracking his knuckles] Sure. You. Me. Training Ground Seven. I'll be looking forward to that.
  Katsumi: [grinning] Can we get invited to that as well? Cause I really would like to see you two duke it out all the way!
  Sasuke: [his smirk growing] If your sensei is okay with his genin watching him get his ass kicked, then sure.
  Jiraiya: [chuckling] Alright, alright. Enough testosterone-fueled shit talk. Save that for when you're back home.
• Han offers to brew some tea for Tayuya. Given what happened to her a few chapters ago when she drank his tea, she naturally refuses and instead asks for some food. This makes Han shake his head and comment on how weak human tongues are.
  • Tayuya tells Han she's going to find him a girlfriend. His response is to do a Facepalm and to complain about Kurotsuchi and Roto already pestering him over the same thing. Tayuya keeps talking about it, only to be interrupted when Han threatens to make her poison-flavored sushi. She then snorts and, in her mind, considers finding him a girlfriend a challenge accepted.
• Before the spar begins, Killer Bee does some rap where he calls Yugito a princess. The latter scowls and tells him to quit forcing his "dumb raps" and that she's not a princess:
  Bee: That was a compliment, ya fool! No need to be rude, ya fool!
  Hinata: [thinking and moving her eyes between the two jinchūriki] These two seem to get along...
  Kanji: [thinking] Did he just rhyme 'fool' with 'fool'?
  Katsumi: [thinking and her eyes narrowing on Bee] Is... this the type of shinobi Kumo produces?
  Sasuke: [thinking and shaking his head] The Bingo Books have to be lying. There's no fucking way this idiot can be as serious of a threat as they say.
  • After Yugito has spit a hairball that then turned into multiple hairballs, Naruto has a shiver and says that's gross.
  • When Yugito says "Cat got your tongue?", Naruto snorts at that and points out that she just called "Killer Bee's raps lame". In response, Yugito is offended that the Uzumaki compared her pun to Bee's rapping.

Chapter 82

• Naruto and Hinata remembers when the former lost control of the Kyūbi during their first C-rank mission. The Uzumaki says that Han was there to talk to him about it. Hinata then has the idea of asking another jinchūriki to talk to Fū in regards to her losing control of Chōmei. Naruto thinks about sending a toad to deliver a message to Han, only for his girlfriend to tilt her head in confusion and points out that both Killer Bee and Yugito are jinchūriki currently present in Shimo. The Uzumaki then facepalms and chuckles over his mistake.
• Etoro and Metoro bickering after they've been captured by Shikamaru, Dosu, and Susumu.
• When Killer Bee asks Naruto about having a beer together, the Uzumaki sheepishly admits he doesn't drink much, only to be immediately interrupted by Bee grabbing him and dragging him to the nearest pub he could find.
• Fū being confused when Yugito pulls out a carrot stick and tells her to eat it:
  Fū: [blinking] What?
  Yugito: [inching the carrot forward] Eat one.
  Fū: [blinking again] Uh... why?
  Yugito: [rolling her eyes and inching the carrot forward] You need to eat something and they're good for your health. Come on; eat it
  Fū: [crossing her arms and frowning] ... No-
  Yugito: Did I give you an option on that? Or do you need a demonstration? A carrot is a slightly harder vegetable than most. You take the carrot stick and-
  Fū: Ugh, I know how to eat a carrot dammit! [rolling her eyes before snatching the carrot and taking a bite] Happy, Mom?
  Yugito: [her eye twitching] I am, but would be happier if you never called me that again.
  Fū: [grinning] Sure thing, Mom.
  Yugito: [gritting her teeth] Cheeky little shit...
  • When Fū explains what she remembers during her fight after going version two:
    Fū: All I remember was feeling pissed off. All I wanted was to smash Bee's head.
    Yugito: [chuckling] Yeah, but he's Killer Bee. I want to smash his head right now. The challenge is to try and have a serious conversation with him where you don't want to smash his head in.
  • Fū is concerned that what she did when she blanked out and was in a state of wanting to kill Bee would justify everything the Taki villagers said about her. However, Yugito points out that it doesn't justify it unless she was still planning on killing Bee and some of the other shinobi in Shimo:
    Yugito: Are you planning on killing him?
    Fū: [shaking her head and frowning] No.
    Yugito: [her smile widening] Cause if you were, I'd help.
    Fū: [snorting in laughter] Oh my god. He's not that bad, stop saying stuff like that! I'm starting to think you actually want to kill him!
    Yugito: [rolling her eyes] I'm kidding.
  • Fū asking Yugito if the latter is always hyper serious and if she actually goes out and does things for fun, and then asking if Yugito is actually a real person. This only puts the latter in a bad mood, causing the Taki jinchūriki to have a laughing fit.
• Omake 9:
  • Tayuya tries to find a girlfriend for Han. However, her first idea is Suzumebachi Kamizuru. She talks about it to Kurotsuchi, Roto, and Risho. Understandably, the latter three are against this idea.
  • Roto explains to Tayuya that Han's biggest issue with people is when they think too highly of themselves. He then says "I mean, look at how he handled Risho back when he had a stick up his ass!", causing Risho to raise his middle finger.
  • Han learns about Tayuya's idea of Suzumebachi being his girlfriend. He facepalms and asks if this is a joke before telling the Uzumaki to not make suggestions ever again.

Chapter 83

• Before being awakened by the Raikage, Jiraiya is having an Erotic Dream and clearly having a lot of fun with it.

Chapter 84

• Jiraiya, Hinata, and Fū are interrogating Torune after the latter wakes up. However, he keeps answering "I have no identity." whenever he's asked a question. This eventually leads to what follows:
  Jiraiya: Were you trying to create a war with Kumo? Or was something else the reason? What benefit does Danzō get from this?
  Torune: I have no reasons.
  Fū: [frowning] ... Can you say anything other than that?
  Torune: I have no reason to.
  Fū: [crossing her arms] ... Well, you're a smartass.
• When Kanji thanks his teammates and Naruto for cheering him up:
  Katsumi: No need to thank us, Kanji. It's all the truth. Cause you're a cool guy. Even though your puns suck.
  Kanji: H-Heh. My... My puns... are the best thing about this team. Y-You know you love them.
  Katsumi: [crossing her arms] I draw a line somewhere in our friendship, Kanji. That's the line.
  Kanji: Boring.
  [Team 9 laugh together in response.]
• Roto tries to describe Risho's cousin Kusari to Tayuya. He does so by asking her if she ever met Risho "before Naruto pulled the stick out of his ass". This causes his teammate to immediately raise his middle finger, with Tayuya snorting.
  • Kurotsuchi thanks Tayuya for sharing important information about the Suzumebachi, leading to this:
    Tayuya: [grinning] Of course I'd help out. Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine. And you all are pretty cool fucking people. Even Risho, now that he's not an ass!
    Risho: [raising his middle finger again] Oh fuck off, you weren't even there back then to comment on that!
    Roto: [grinning] SEE?! EVEN SHE AGREES!
    Risho: You can fuck off too!
• At the end of the chapter, we once again have Etoro and Metoro bickering, putting the blame on each other over their capture. This causes Dosu to complain that their bickering makes his "sound ninjutsu feel tame in comparison", while Susumu comments that his daughter behaves herself better than the two criminals:
  Susumu: [to the Konjiki Brothers] Are you both elite jōnin-level missing ninja or belligerent academy students?

Chapter 85

• Onoki banging his head hard on his desk and complaining to himself over Konoha shinobi requesting to meet him, as it will likely start a brand new pile of paperwork right after he was done with the paperwork he was slacking on.
  • Onoki asks Kitsuchi to escort the Konjiri Brothers to T&I. Kitsuchi grabs the two brothers and is about to leave the room, only to stop in his tracks and focus his eyes on Shikamaru. The latter is confused and eventually unnerved by that. This awkward moment is then interrupted by Etoro taunting Kitsuchi, doing so by asking him "Does the golem here not know how to walk? Is something this freakishly big unable to move?"
  • Shikamaru being horrified when Onoki reveals that Kitsuchi is Kurotsuchi's father. By contrast, the Tsuchikage is quite amused by the Nara's reaction, laughing at the latter's expense.
• Tayuya and Roto having a disagreement when the former wants Han to come to Konoha with her after tasting the food he cooked. Roto tells her she's "not stealing his amazing cooking", causing Han to chuckle and comment that food is what's most desired about his company and not his actual company itself. This is followed by Kurotsuchi saying that she and Risho want Han to stay in Iwa because he's the best jōnin-sensei ever, which makes Tayuya roll her eyes and call the Tsuchikage's granddaughter a suck-up.
  • When Shikamaru and his group enter Han's house:
    Tayuya: [to Shikamaru while chuckling] Lazy fuck, the hell are you doing here? And you brought Dosu and Susumu with you, huh?
    Kurotsuchi: [grinning] Hey, Shikamaru's not a lazy fuck. He's Lazy Ass. Anko, Naruto, and I confirmed that together!
    Shikamaru: [rolling his eyes] You think you're so funny.
    Kurotsuchi: [giving him a thumbs-up] Hell yeah I am; I'm fucking hysterical.
• When Shikamaru enters Kurotsuchi's bedroom for the first time, the first thing he immediately does is rush over to her bed and collapse onto it, sighing and nearly moaning over being on a bed:
  Kurotsuchi: [rolling her eyes] Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow. Some things never change with you, huh?
  Shikamaru: I hate camping out in the woods for nights. Sleeping bags are fine, but they're not beds. Nothing beats a bed. And you have a really soft feeling bed. I may not wake up at all tomorrow.
  Kurotsuchi: [pouting] That'd be a problem, mister! You literally just got here; I can't have you literally sleep the entire day away, especially since I'll be busy in the nighttime!
  Shikamaru: [opening his eyes as he looks up at her and nods his head] Promise. I'll be awake. Just for you.
  Kurotsuchi: [chuckling] Heh. Good.
• Omake 10:
  • This omake begins with Sasuke calling Fū Yamanaka by his first name, causing some confusion as the other Fū (the one from Taki) thinks he's talking to her.
  • One minute later, the group has an argument, leading to them deciding to give a nickname to Kanji's brother so there would be no more confusion. Naruto suggests calling him "Orangey" because of his orange hair:
    Katsumi: Naruto-sensei, don't take this the wrong way, but that sounds stupid.
    Naruto: [crossing his arms] ... Hmph. Well, what name do you think?
    Katsumi: [blinking] Um... Uh... m-maybe Fūman, because he's Fū, but this one is a guy-
    Naruto: [rolling his eyes] Okay, you can't criticize me if that's the best name you got! That's even worse than mine!
  • Kanji has a grin while explaining that his brother was "an emotional, easy to anger person" when they were younger. Therefore, he suggests calling him "Fūrious", only to be immediately interrupted by Katsumi angrily making it clear she doesn't want his nickname to be a pun.
  • Hinata suggests calling him "Yamafū". She explains that it combines part of his last name with his first name, and it also has the kanji for 'mountain' and 'wind'. Everyone agrees with that nickname, except for Kanji's brother himself. While the group continues to travel, the ROOT agent is scowling and complaining in his mind over that nickname.
• Omake 11:
  • At Han's house, Tayuya suggests to Kurotsuchi, Risho, and Roto the idea of having Susumu dating Han. Kurotsuchi asks her what's her logic with Susumu:
    Tayuya: [grinning] Okay, hear me out. Han's an artist right?
    [The three Iwa shinobi look at all the paintings and scrolls that Han himself created surrounding them, which they knew Tayuya knew he did.]
    Risho: [deadpanned] No. I didn't know that. Interesting revelation.
    Tayuya: [rolling her eyes] Ah bite me.
  • Tayuya says that Susumu is also an artist. Kurotsuchi acknowledges that and asks "What else?" However, the Konoha shinobi says nothing else and simply grins. This causes all three Iwa shinobi to facepalm at the same time as they realize it's her only argument. They then have an argument about it, making Risho conclude that Tayuya has never been in a relationship before.
  • Han arrives in the room, only to be asked by Roto if he likes men. Tayuya yells "ROTO, WHY THE FUCK DO YOU DO THIS?" in her mind while nearly pulling out all of her hair. Han is confused by it and asks for the context, only to chuckle and says he has "never found men particularly attracting" when Roto asks if he's sexually interested in men:
    Roto: So you're attracted to women, then?
    Han: Yes- [his eyes widening in realization before bringing his palm to his face] I am not interested in a relationship, dammit! Quit this foolishness already.
  • After getting confirmation that Han is not gay, Risho admits while chuckling that it's a shame because he thought Kitsuchi would have been a good match:
    Kurotsuchi: [chocking] ... My father? [narrowing her eyes on Risho] Why the hell would you think my stick in the mud, boring father would be a good match for Han-sensei?
    Risho: [shrugging his shoulders] Your father's a quiet, serious man. Han-sensei would approve of that. Also-
    Roto: Look, let's just move on, okay? To someone else? [his eyes narrowing on Tayuya] And when you suggest a woman for Han-sensei, I hope you'll do better than simply suggesting another person who likes art.
    [She raises her middle finger at him.]

Chapter 86

• Shikamaru laughing over learning that Kurotsuchi, Roto, Risho, and Tayuya have been trying to find a girlfriend for Han. He then says that Naruto is going to die laughing when he'll tell him all of this, only for Kurotsuchi to tell her boyfriend while grinning "You better save it till I'm there; I wanna break it to him too!"
  • When Kurotsuchi says that Onoki is ruthless as an instructor and he doesn't let her slack off, Shikamaru chuckles and, while faking a shiver, says that it "[s]ounds horrible", only for his girlfriend to frown and tap his shoulder while saying "To you, lazy ass!"
  • Not too long afterwards, the two of them come across her father Kitsuchi. Naturally, given his previous meeting with him, Shikamaru is rather nervous upon meeting him again. He then nearly chokes when Kurotsuchi's father suggests training with him instead of observing her training. Having no idea about their previous meeting, Kurotsuchi is in favor of it and grins while commenting that Shikamaru can get the chance to get to know her father, causing her boyfriend to think about how that's the last thing he wants at this moment.
  • When Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi go their separate ways, the former wonders why did he agree to train with Kitsuchi and hopes it isn't an elaborate excuse for her father to kill him while they're alone.
• 'Yamafū' complaining about his nickname, causing the other Fū to giggle and think about how it's such a petty complaint coming from an emotionless person.

Chapter 87

• Tayuya and Gamakichi having an argument over the former summoning the latter despite not being a toad summoner.
• When seeing Naruto again, Gamakichi tells him to summon him more instead of Gamaken, calling the latter "a boring dude."
• While eating and talking to his brother Akemi at their house, Roto says the word "shit". Their mother, Keiko, tells him "Roto, we're at the table. No swearing." in response. This causes Roto to immediately have a shiver down his spine and say "Yes Mom."
  • Shikamaru remembers when Roto said he fished during the Tenchi Bridge mission:
    Roto: [chuckling] You remember from back then? Dude, that was years ago and we all hated each other back then. Good times.
    Risho: [slightly rolling his eyes] Ah yes, getting jumped by S-Rank missing ninja and nearly dying on one of our first missions out of the village. Good times indeed.
    Roto: F- [noticing his mother's look towards him and shaking his head] Shove off Risho.
  • Roto's sister Takara comments that she was hoping her brother would have gotten together with Kurotsuchi, saying that the latter would have been an amazing sister:
    Roto: [shaking his head] ... Exactly, Takara. Kurotsuchi makes an amazing sister. Dating her would be weird.
  • Keiko mentions that Roto would always talk about how Hinata is the most beautiful girl he had ever met:
    Shikamaru: [chuckling] Oh yeah. I forgot you had a thing for her.
    Risho: [smirking] He still does.
    [Roto raises his middle finger, only to drop the gesture upon seeing his mother scowling at him and he shakes his head instead.]
    Roto: [crossing his arms] I mean, course I liked her. And of course I still do; she's phenomenal. But nooooo, of course she and Naruto got together. [raising his eyebrow towards Shikamaru] They're still together, right?
    Dosu: They are.
    Roto: [shaking his head and sighing] Dammit.
• Onoki and Rōshi bantering in the former's office.

Chapter 90

• Tayuya grumbling over the toads always giving her the same lecture about how non-summoners should not be allowed to use them like this.

Chapters 91-98: Danzō Pursuit/ROOT's Last Stand Arc

Chapter 91

• Jiraiya ends up in a clearing to talk to Itachi. However, both Naruto and Hinata soon arrive, with the former asking his godfather what is he doing there. He claims he's just enjoying nature, but the Uzumaki narrows his eyes and asks "You were going somewhere private to work on one of those pervy books, weren't you?" Jiraiya then has a perverted grin and expresses some eagerness in doing so, only to be interrupted by Hinata (who's blushing and shaking her head over what the Hokage is saying).
• Omake 12:
  • When Tayuya suggests having Kurotsuchi as Han's girlfriend, the new Tsuchikage widens her eyes in horror, while both Risho and Roto also have negative reactions.
  • Tayuya explains her idea, only for Kurotsuchi to shake her head and mumble "You're... actually being serious. This is actually a serious suggestion..."
  • Kurotsuchi angrily reminds Tayuya that Han was her jōnin-sensei. The Uzumaki argues while smirking that it's irrelevant given they're both adults and Kurotsuchi is now the Tsuchikage, meaning their whole dynamic will not only shift, but could do so in a romantic way. However, Risho points out that Han is fourteen years older than Kurotsuchi. While Tayuya argues that age difference doesn't matter that much given that these two are both adults, Roto adds while shivering that fourteen years is a bit much, especially given that Han knew Kurotsuchi when she was twelve.
  • Kurotsuchi then angrily reminds Tayuya of another thing, all while having some killing intent radiating from her body:
    Kurotsuchi: I AM ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP AND AM IN LOVE WITH SHIKAMARU! WHY THE HELL WOULD I BREAK UP WITH HIM TO DATE MY GODDAMN SENSEI?
    Tayuya: [rubbing her ears and frowning] Oww... You don't have to be so loud.
    Kurotsuchi: THEN DON'T MAKE STUPID SUGGESTIONS!
  • In response to this, Tayuya says she doesn't think Shikamaru would mind it and that he "knows [Kurotsuchi] needs an Iwa lover when he's back in Konoha." The new Tsuchikage asks her "Excuse me?" while her eyebrow rises, which is followed by:
    Tayuya: [grinning] Besides, you two always struck me as kinky motherfuckers. I really don't think he'd mind, just as long as you invited 'Han-sensei' to bed the next time you two go at it.
    Kurotsuchi: [feeling the urge of vomitting] What. The. Fuck?
  • However, Roto makes the mistake of asking Kurotsuchi if the latter and Shikamaru are really that kinky in bed. Her killing intent is now aimed at him and she angrily yells "I AM NOT DISCUSSING MY SEX LIFE WITH YOU THREE! HELL NO! END OF DISCUSSION!" That reaction causes Roto to pass out on the floor in fright:
    Risho: [thinking, shaking his head, and facepalming] That fucking idiot... That's a thought that you keep to yourself...
• Omake 13:
  • Kurotsuchi angrily suggests to have Tayuya become Han's girlfriend instead. The Uzumaki says that she's not interested in men who are more than ten years older than her. Naturally, the new Tsuchikage is furious over her hypocrisy and loudly calls her out on it.
  • Smirking, Risho agrees and comes up with a few arguments supporting Kurotsuchi's idea. Tayuya points out that she's always on the move and thus wouldn't make a good girlfriend for Han. Smirking as well, Kurotsuchi points out that, as Tsuchikage, she could appoint Han in charge of Iwa's spy network:
    Kurotsuchi: And I could just have him work directly with Konoha's 'spy master'. Have him work 'very close' with her, if you know what I mean.
    Tayuya: [shaking her head] No. I don't.
    Kurotsuchi: [her smirk widening] I meant-
    Tayuya: [clapping her hands] Read between my lips. Not. Happening.
    Kurotsuchi: WELL, THEN READ MY LIPS. IT. WON'T. HAPPEN. FOR. ME. EITHER!
    Tayuya: FINE!
  • In response to that, Risho moves his eyes back-and-forth between Kurotsuchi and Tayuya while wondering "What the fuck did I just watch?"

Chapter 92

• At the gates of Konoha, Kotetsu and Izumo check the documents given to them by Yoshikane Hyuga that would justify him leaving the village with an escort made up of ROOT agents for a diplomatic mission (which is just one big lie to help Danzō). Yoshikane tells them to hurry up and that he and his 'escort' are already behind schedule because one of them was late. He then looks at one of the ROOT agents and says:
  Yoshikane: Looking at you, Tsumiki Kido.
  Kido: [facepalming] Zip it, geezer.
  • Several minutes later, Kotetsu and Izumo allow Yoshikane and his 'escort' to leave Konoha. After the Hyuga and the ROOT agents are out of range of sensors:
    Kido: Was that comment necessary?
    Yoshikane: [hissing] Fuck you.
    Kido: [sighing] ... I'll take that as a yes.
  • Given that Kido was the one who threatened Yoshikane earlier in this chapter if he wasn't willing to help Danzō, it seems like that comment served as a little payback on the Hyuga's part.

Chapter 93

• At the beginning of the fight between Sakura and Sai:
  Sai: [with a small smile] Wow, I didn't realize that the Hokage was going to send such an ugly opponent to fight me.
  Sakura: [her eyes twitching in irritation] Who the hell do you think are you? I'm not ugly!

Chapter 95

• After being attacked by Fū, Maguire complains that she shattered his favorite pair of glasses, making her roll her eyes and say "Oh. I ruined your favorite pair of glasses. How will I live with myself?"
• Upon seeing Kido doing a technique that requires the Kyūbi's chakra, Kurama comments that he never considered using a technique like that one, but also that he thinks it's possible he could do it. However, his speech is interrupted by Naruto hissing at him and telling him it's not the right time to be inspired by their opponent.

Chapter 96

• Once again, Kurama is told by Naruto that it's not the right time when the former comments over how Kido is unable to do things that the fox can do.

Chapter 98

• When Shikamaru, Dosu, Susumu, and Tayuya are about to leave Iwa, Rōshi smirks and says "Tell that Perverted Hokage of yours to fuck off for me, alright? And tell him that Tengoku no Sato is currently outselling his most recent version of Icha Icha Filth!":
  Susumu: [nervously chuckling] We'll... er... make sure Godaime-sama gets the message.
  • Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi have a romantic moment where they say a few things and hug each other. Roto smirks and tells them to not make out in public, only for the Tsuchikage to give him the bird and give a deep kiss to her boyfriend.
• At the Hokage's office, Koharu and Homura open the door and walk in. Jiraiya asks them to knock next time, only for Koharu to frown and point out it's rather hypocritical for him to say that.
• Etoro and Metoro once again bickering, this time after being reverse summoned by Tagitsuhime.
  • Etoro smirks upon seeing Hidan's scythe and asks him if it's Compensating for Something or if it's just 'absolutely necessary' to have something like that for his fighting style. Needless to say, Hidan is not in a good mood upon hearing that.

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