Our Heavy Burdens(Naruto Fanfic Gaara Love Story)[Slow Update]

Chapter 37: Training and Trap

When Shizune, Tsunade, and my paths entered the village, I immediately sent my paths back to their pods before going to walk with them myself. As we walked, everyone greeted us, and we politely greeted them back. "Nariko, go and get Naruto for me. Once I tell him the news, I want you to prepare for the travel. We'll be meeting at the shelter above the Hokage Monument." Tsunade requested, and I nodded before leaping away. It didn't take me long to find him. Naruto was at Ichiraku's, and eating his 5th bowl of ramen. I chuckled as I walked up behind him, making him look up at me as Teuchi smiled at me in greeting. "Nariko-sensei! You're back! Does that mean Grandma Tsunade and Shizune are back, too?" Naruto exclaimed as he set his bowl and chopsticks down. "Yes. I'm actually here to get you. Tsunade needs to tell you something important." I told him, and he immediately jumped up. "Okay! Thanks for the food, Teuchi-san!" Naruto said as he quickly placed his money on the bar counter. As he was about to run out, I grabbed the back of his jacket, pulling him back to me and making him look at me in confusion. "Follow me, Naru. You don't know where Tsunade is." I chuckled, and he laughed sheepishly before following me out of the restaurant.

Once we arrived at the small building, I opened the door for Naruto to walk in, then I walked in myself. After closing the door behind me, I went to stand next to Yamato on the left side of Tsunade, who was seated at her desk. "Thank you Nariko." Tsunade said as she glanced at me, and I nodded in response. "Grandma Tsunade, Nariko said you have something to tell me, that it's important! What is it?" Naruto asked, excited by the word 'important'. "Yes, I do, and it is very important. Naruto, I'm assigning you an S-ranked mission." Tsunade told him, shocking him for a second.

"S-rank mission?! You're assigning me to an important mission like that?" Naruto asked excitedly. "Yes. This is a mission that only you can undertake. You, Yamato and one of Nariko's paths will go to a certain place in the Hidden Cloud region." Tsunade told him. Naruto looked to Yamato and I, and Yamato nodded to him while I gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'll remind you, Naruto, that we're on the verge of a war. Hence, this S-rank mission. When you get to the site, you will follow Yamato and Nariko's orders." Tsunade added, and Naruto glanced back at us, Yamato nodding to him again. "Okay! I understand! You can count on me for this S-ranked mission!" Naruto told Tsunade in determination.

~time skip (I'm not doing those filler episodes during their travel, I'll just briefly mention it)~

After we all packed, Naruto, Yamato, Guy, Aoba and Asura traveled to the resort in the Hidden Cloud. My other paths went to escort the other Jinchuurikis as well, arriving at the resort before Naruto did due to his group running into some trouble. Preta remained with Isobu, and managed to convince him and Anubis to have Isobu be sheltered in the Mayonaka Plateau. It's too dangerous for him to be out in the wild, so both Bijuu and Alpha came to an agreement that he could stay with the wolves in their realm.

Motoi, the supervisor of our stay here, informed everyone where they were going to stay and that they could eat in the great dining hall on the first floor. Aoba added that we'll all gather for the meeting tomorrow at 7 am. Once everyone was gathered and settled in the Gyūki-looking inn, I returned my paths to their pods and teleported myself to Naruto's side. Naruto was laying back on his bed, looking up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head as he seemed to think about something.

"Hey, Nariko-sensei. What's this mission really about? We came all this way to this dangerous island, but I still don't know what's going on. Who are all those other ninja? What's that old guy in shades doing here, and how was he able to control his Tailed-Beast?" Naruto asked as he glanced at me from his bed. "Well, those other ninja are also Jinchuuriki, like you and Killer Bee. Bee-san is here to teach all of you how to control your Tailed-Beasts like him. That's what this mission is — for you to learn how to control the Kyuubi, or as I like to put it, befriend and work alongside him." I explained with a smile.