Chapter 171: CH 171
Shizune paused in her current actions with her pseudo-little brother's hair, "Well why don't you just take some time now Naruto-kun? We're not going to really do anything until we set out for Konoha tomorrow morning."
"My job is to watch out for Tsunade-baachan, I'm her first and most vital line of defense." Naruto said, "Even if I kept some Kage Bunshin handy around here if anyone actually attacked her that wouldn't even slow them down."
Tsunade had finished painting her nails and was simply waiting for them to dry, "It's good of you to say that brat, very responsible."
Naruto nodded and shut his eyes against the side of the bed, it was a good thing that Tsunade was none the wiser to the very long date he ended up taking Temari on the day before the chunin exam finals. You've got to love Kage Bunshin no Jutsu... and the bounty checks for S-ranked ninja.
XxX
(Five Days Later)
After getting an early start back to Konoha the next morning, the trip back was as slow as the trip up there. There was a lot to digest nowadays, there was no real doubt about it, Akatsuki was beginning to make their move and the new enemies discovered had somewhat startling abilities. There was seriously a lot of work to do if he was going to be ready for the next encounter, because for all he knew the next two-on-one encounter wouldn't be with just a pair of body doubles, it would be the real deal.
After the trek back to Konoha and a quick debriefing, brief because Tsunade was there, she knew what happened, and it was after midnight when they got back, Naruto slogged through the empty village streets, too out of it to attempt a shunshin to his own house. After kicking off his sandals and dropping his gear, operating seemingly on auto-pilot all the way through the apartment, he proceeded to drop face first on his bed and blackout.
XxX