Present Future Demons

March of Time: The Final Time

Naruto POV

Landing back with the rest of the pack, I heave a massive sigh. "Sorry guys. I was already agitated, and his question just pushed me over the edge. I don't usually get that angry, but I could tell he was already irritating my loved ones."

Dad comes over and pulls me into a hug. "I'm pretty sure I would've done the same. The only reason Shikaku didn't is that you were already there. I'm sure he would have jumped to kill the idiot if you weren't there."

Ino joins the hug and smiles at me. "Besides, he had almost everyone you care about angry at him. You would have killed him eventually if Sakura didn't accidentally punch him across the village." She chuckles a bit at the mental image.

"Temari will be here soon, so Sakura might not have even had the chance." Hinata seems amused by the very thought of what Temari would do, and the bond radiates with her excitement to see Gaara again.

"I forgot about that. Thanks for bringing it up, Hinata." I shoot her a smile that she returns.

"I really hate to interrupt this, but I want to clarify something. We're going to tell the Hokage that there is a very important thing we're gearing up for after the Chūnin Exams, and we'll offer him proof of Danzō's crimes including framing Orochimaru in the meantime. Did I get that correct?" Pops sounds and feels anxious, and I know why.

"Yeah. We're also planning to rescue Itachi and deal with his partner however we need to because our intel shows they are the closest to Konoha. You guys should be able to deal with them before the end of the Forest of Death section. The next duo we'll deal with is Deidara and Sasori. If the original plan doesn't work out, we have the three backup plans for that. After that is Hidan and Kakuzu. Keep in mind who we want to save and who we want to kill." As I talk, we all start to drift until we end up sitting in a circle with our feet stretched out in front of us. We sit like this every meeting. It's so natural at this point that it doesn't interrupt my flow. "You should also remember that if you run into a pair before we plan, go ahead and deal with them. Taking out Itachi and Kisame first will probably spook the Akatsuki, and we have plans for that when it happens. Because of the hints we'll give Jiji during our meeting today, he'll likely team us up with the Sand Siblings to go on bonding missions and not get caught by an Akatsuki member. When Temari gets here, we'll reveal that the entire pack is now together. The only thing that will stop that is if Temari is uncomfortable with that. I'll fix Gaara's seal as soon as I can, so you shouldn't worry too much about that Hinata." Hinata taps my foot, and I tap hers back. 

"Thank you for that Naruto. I know we all learned seals to varying degrees of competence, but you've always been the best. It puts me at ease that you'll be helping Gaara." Ino taps her foot, so she taps Ino's foot. 

Ino smiles brightly at all of us. "I sensed Sai nearby, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say you saved him." At Shikaku's nod, she cheers, bouncing in place a little bit. "That's great news! We can include him in the meeting where we hand over proof because he has a first hand experience with Danzō and his crimes." Neji nudges her foot gently. She turns to smile at him as she nudges him back.

"In the spirit of talking about our loved ones, we showed them that it isn't a good idea to tick us off, but what would we do if they are scared of us now?" He's so afraid that it comes out through his voice. Hinata and Neji are two of the best at keeping their emotions from not affecting them, but there are always exceptions.

Shikaku taps his foot, and Neji readily taps back, giving him permission to talk. "That's why I told them that Naruto would never harm his loved ones. The smart ones will realize that we all won't harm our loved ones, and they'll tell the others. It might even be the Hokage who figures it out. You don't have to worry about Lee hating you because I don't think that's even possible." He smiles gently at Neji as he reassures him, but the steel in his eyes tells Neji that he's serious.