The Protagonist System

318 For The Right

I entered the medical room just before breakfast and saw a very happy Anko Mitarashi was already sitting up and she gave me a look full of gratitude and longing. “You look like you're recovering well.”

“Recovering? I feel like a million Ryo.” Anko responded. “I'm ready to get out of here.”

Akiko entered the room behind me. “Are you that eager to chaperone the recent graduates?”

Anko laughed. “I'm not a supervisor. I was only giving them extra lessons to prepare for the Chunin Exams. I meant getting out and learning what my new job for your company is going to be.”

I gave Akiko a look and she nodded. We both knew that little detail was going to cause a lot more trouble for the Konoha Rescue Mission than only killing the supervisors was going to. She would pass it on to the Kazekage as soon as she could to help the smear campaign.

“We only need to do a check-up and you'll be free to go.” Akiko said and she did the actual hand seals to perform the medical exam using her chakra.

I faked it and touched Anko's arm to give her a once-over. She was better than fine and the little tweaks I had done to her system to repair the lasting damage were working perfectly after she had part of Orochimaru inside of her since she was a kid. It was surprisingly like Harry Potter being a living horcrux, which was why I had dealt with Orochimaru in the same way as Voldemort.

I had shared the scene with Tsuru, Yui, and Akiko as well, just so they would enjoy seeing the Sannin of the Snake receiving an appropriate punishment for everything he had done. The best part about that? The five people besides Anko he had succeeded in infecting with his chakra and installing a piece of his soul to ensure he could never die, were also dead.

Kimimaru, Kidomaru, Jirobo, Tayuya, Sakon and Udon, known ceremonially as the Sound Four, or five since two people shared a single spot, and Kimimaru was an unofficial member, all died soon after losing their marks and the dark energy that sustained their bodies.

They had grown too dependent on Orochimaru's powers and their own lives had withered and were snuffed out, just like Quirrell had been in canon Harry Potter. Willingly devoting yourself to your enslavement had shortened their lifespans to the point that it was only the piece of Orochimaru that was keeping them alive. Once it was gone, so were they.

Anko had hated what he did and fought against using the evil chakra for years and she didn't give up, even knowing she would never be strong enough to kill her old mentor. It didn't matter how long she trained and prepared for it, because he could control her chakra use with his mark. That was probably why she was so happy right now. Orochimaru was dead and his sheep carcass was being digested inside the belly of one of his snake summons.

“So.” I said to gain Anko's attention. “What's it like to be the only snake summoner?”

Anko beamed a smile at me. “With Orochimaru dead, no one else can get the contract from the snake realm! It's just me and always will be!”

I patted her arm. “You finally have full control over you life.”

“Yes, I do.” Anko said and glanced at Akiko, seemed to come to a decision, then she grabbed me to pull me onto the bed and onto her lap.

I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing, only to have my mouth covered with hers and her tongue battled mine for only a second.

“Heh. I stole your first real kiss.” Anko said, proudly.

Akiko looked stunned at what she just saw and then frowned. “Naruto, you better start running.”

“It wasn't my fault!” I complained just as the door shattered and Tsuru stood there with an angry look on her face.

“Oh, shit!” Anko shouted and pushed me off of her lap and the bed as she dove the other way and a dozen shuriken and kunai peppered her pillow. “I don't regret it!” She said and smashed through the window before she disappeared in a swirl of leaves. _{𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m}

“It won't be that easy to escape my wrath.” Tsuru said with a deadly voice as she looked at me, then she disappeared as well.

“I swear, there was no indication she was going to do that.” I defended myself and ensured Tsuru heard me. I didn't mention that there was no danger sense feeling, either. That was something I didn't want to think about, since I had been relying on it a little too much if Anko could so easily trick it and still cause danger for me. I felt a slight tingle in the back of my mind and sighed.

“Yui isn't going to be happy, either.” Akiko reminded me.

“I know.” I said and walked over to the window to rewind time for it and it was as good as new. “I have to step up my plans a little to apologize.”

Akiko didn't say anything as I watched me go to the remains of the door and I rewound time to fix it. “When?”

“It has to wait until the end of the week or we'll never stay on schedule.” I said and she nodded. I left the medical room and had a few things to prepare to fix a problem I didn't have a moment ago.

Both Tsuru and Yui had been waiting for years to kiss me like that and Anko had stolen it right out from underneath them. That meant I needed to do something drastic or I was going to lose their trust and their loyalty, despite it not being my fault. It happened and I had to deal with it.

My first stop was the local ninja academy. I signed up and paid extra to be slipped into the current graduating class with Temari after proving I could fake doing the jutsu they taught. They agreed, as long as they could advertise that I had graduated from their academy, especially since Konoha had rejected me.

It was a small price to pay and it barely added insult to injury after what just happened with them failing to rescue a single shinobi. The question Suna wanted people to ask, was what kind of ninja were Konoha allowing to graduate if they could fail so spectacularly?

I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, though. I wanted it to be a surprise that I could have myself declared an adult long before I physically was. Then again, I also had several specific powers that would help me apologize properly. I just had to decide who was going to be first.

The sounds of battle brought me out of my musing and I sighed. There wasn't a choice at all, was there? Tsuru had to be first and she would be shocked when it happened. Then again, she might just be too happy to care how shocking it was going to be.

*

The last four days of training went by without any further incident. Anko had been given a similar job to what she was used to and helped as well, after she had been healed by Akiko and Naruto. Tsuru had made her pay heavily for what she did and Anko accepted it without complaint. She even commented that she was surprised at the other woman's restraint, both for the beating and for not taking the kiss herself.

Her attitude had ingratiated herself with both Yui and Akiko and they accepted her into the group with grudging respect. The children being taught had loved getting more advanced lessons and were more than happy about taking the academy exams that Saturday.

It wasn't until that morning and they were being dropped off at the academy building that they all knew Naruto was also staying to take the exams. Tsuru felt lightheaded and figured out what he was doing right away. Yui needed some prompting from Anko before she realized what it meant and then she fainted. Akiko caught her and nodded to Naruto, knowing it was how he was going to apologize to them, and he looked both grim and determined.

Temari blushed as she, her two brothers, and her recent crush entered the academy and went to her classroom. She wasn't sure how she was going to perform the exams if she was so distracted, then she felt small arms wrap around her from behind.

“We know you're smart and pretty and you kick ass. Now you have to show everyone else.” Gaara said and Temari sighed. She turned around and hugged him back.

“You, too.” Temari said and kissed his forehead before she let him go. “Thanks, Gaara.”

Gaara nodded and they sat down in the four seats in the front of the room. The rest of the seats were quickly filled up and then the written exams started, seemed to take forever, then they were over. Each person was called by name in no particular order and they went into another room to perform the techniques the examiners asked them to do.

Temari did exactly what her brother told her to do and she showed off and impressed her instructors. She left the little room to enter the waiting area and had a huge smile on her face, letting the other students there know she had succeeded. It wasn't official until the end of the day; but, they told her she was one of the top scoring students in the school and she couldn't have been prouder.

Half an hour later, Kankuro came in and he smiled and nodded. Temari realized she could feel prouder and couldn't hide her happiness as she hugged him, then they whispered back and forth about what they did for the examiners.

Ten minutes later, Gaara entered the room and he was smiling as well. Both of his siblings hugged him and he joined them for their whispered discussion. The three of them felt like they had done their best and they couldn't wait to become a team under their uncle.

It was another half an hour and after the rest of the examinees had finished when Naruto entered the room and the three siblings didn't wait for him to confirm he passed before they dogpiled him and shared hugs and back pats with words of congratulations, which he did right back to them.

At the end of the day, the four of them were handed their diplomas and official papers as graduated Genin of the Hidden Village of Sand. They left the building and met up with the people waiting for them, the Kazekage, his wife's brother, and the members of Uzumaki Construction.

“We passed!” The four of them said and held up the proof.

They were swarmed by their friends and family as more hugs and words of congratulations were shared. They weren't the only ones celebrating, since everyone else had passed as well and the grounds were crowded with family and friends of the other students. Not surprisingly, almost no one paid the Kazekage any attention, since he was there with his children, just like they were.

“Let's go home.” Rasa said and they left the academy grounds for the last time.

*

Once we were at home and had finished celebrating, I managed to get some alone time and blocked off the room. I needed the privacy, because I stripped off and did something I had been holding off on doing for a while. With a mental activation, I used my chronomancy powers on myself and accelerated my physical growth.

Since my body was a combination of divine construction and Kryptonian superior genetics, there was no warping or distortion from the forced growth and lack of nutrition and fluids. I grew myself up to the point that I reached my full height of 6 feet and 3 inches, putting me at the top of physical perfection and maturity.

I chose a nice outfit that wouldn't stand out in the local environment, sandals and all, and hung my hitai-ate, or forehead protector, around my neck. As long as I had it on me, I was allowed to use my skills anywhere I went, since it identified me as a shinobi.

With my long delayed task done, I mentally prepared myself for what was about to happen as I unsealed the room and opened the door. There were three soft gasps when Tsuru, Yui, Akiko, and Anko saw me. Yui fainted again and Akiko didn't try to catch her this time, so I cast a cushioning spell on the floor. Akiko and Anko stared at me with blank faces, clearly not knowing how to react.

“N-N-Nar...” Tsuru paused and swallowed audibly. “...Naruto?”

“Surprise.” I said and walked over to her.

Way back when she was Yugao Uzuki, she was only 5 foot 5 inches. After I healed her and changed her looks, I made her several inches taller to distinguish her from her previous form. With me at my full height, I was 6 inches taller than her and quite muscled.

“Wh-what... wh-what... h-how...” Tsuru stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I thought I had plenty of time to grow up for you and neither of us were in any rush.” I explained and put my arms around her.

Tsuru let out a sound like a purr and cuddled into my chest as if she had always done it.

“Then we kind of missed the obvious and Anko jumped ahead and took something from you that we didn't realize could be taken.”

Tsuru leaned back and looked up into my eyes. “I was so angry...”

I nodded and then glanced down at her lips and looked back into her eyes. Tsuru let out another purr sound and reached up to wrap her arms around my neck and pulled me down into a real kiss. It started slow, just like all good kisses did, then we both got into it and we were making out like we hadn't seen each other for years and had to make up for lost time.

Tsuru broke the kiss and her face was flushed red. “Please.”

I nodded again and scooped her up into my arms. I stepped with her to our underground base back in Konoha and into the master bedroom. She let out a happy sound and I sat her on the bed, then I slowly stripped off for her.

When I was done a minute later, her nipples were so hard they could have cut glass and her panties were soaked. Tsuru moaned when I stepped close and she laid back and spread her legs. I snapped my fingers and her clothes disappeared, just as she knew I would do to her, then she opened her arms to welcome me inside of her.

I would worry about dealing with Yui tomorrow. For now, I had a wonderful woman that had been waiting for years for me to become the man she desperately wanted me to become.

*

The next morning, Yui stared at the very handsome and fully grown man that had been her cute little barnacle only the day before. She didn't question how Naruto could have done something like that, since she knew of several techniques that could make him look like anyone else, including a Henge and other chakra illusions.

What she couldn't explain was how he could keep the illusion up indefinitely and she couldn't feel any difference between real flesh and his supposedly solid chakra illusion. Of course, as soon as he asked her if she wanted to start a relationship with him, she immediately refused, on the grounds that no matter how handsome and sexy he looked, he was still only 8 and wouldn't have his birthday until October.

Naruto only sighed and didn't try to convince her again that he really was aged up that she was seeing and touching his real body. She was in full denial mode and wasn't going to believe that he wasn't tricking her, since she knew that ninjas did it all the time to succeed on their missions.

Akiko wasn't much help, either. Despite her saying she could feel a real body, she admitted that she had never been able to detect any chakra use and couldn't confirm or deny that it was his real body.

Naruto couldn't blame them for being skeptical, since that mindset had served them well over the years. No one had been able to infiltrate their business or their homes because of it. So, he reluctantly accepted that there was no way for Yui to get over her mindset and to give in to her desires.

All Naruto could do was be who he was and he hoped that she wouldn't give up on him or start to hate him while he remained as his older self. Since it wasn't an illusion or a transformation, there would be no point where he would revert to his previously young body. Time and understanding was all that could be done to eventually change the situation.