[Team Kakashi Training Grounds]

It was the late afternoon in Konoha and Naruto's team were finishing up with their training session. Kakashi was sitting back and enjoying his newest volume of "Icha Icha" while Sakura watched with excitement as her teammates spared. After hours of drills, strategies and chakra control training Naruto challenged Sasuke to a full contact sparing match and he accepted. Now the rules for sparing matches between team members was that their team leader had to watch and make sure that neither of his students risked an injury that would effect them on an upcoming mission. However Kakashi barely paid attention while reading his dirty novel as Naruto and Sasuke exchanged blows and Sakura watched from the sidelines. And once again Sasuke was winning.

Naruto created six clones and the seven of them surrounded Sasuke. The Uchiha boy took a ready stance and watched closely at Naruto's clones. That was when one of the charged in, coming in from right behind Sasuke. He heard this and jumped upward, dodging the clone and Naruto saw this as his chance. He and two other clones jumped at him while he was in midair but Sasuke was able to block each punch and kick that came his way. The three of them tried putting in as much power into their strikes as they could but Sasuke was able to black, parry and counter strike almost too easily. One counter attack was a quick kick to Naruto chin sending him crashing back down to earth before Sasuke quickly took out the other two before landing on his feet.

Getting back up and wiping his chin, Naruto and his remaining four clones charged in at once throwing as many punches as they could at his rival. Sakura watched in amazement as his hands moved with unbelievable speed in blocking every single strike before he countered with some strikes of his own. One kick and another clone vanished bringing the group down to four. Another quick jab and then there were only three. Sasuke then kicked the real Naruto in the gut sending him skidding across the ground with his arm over his stomach. He then watched as Sasuke dispatched the last two clones leaving just him. Naruto jumped in with full fury throwing wild punches and kicks and this time his opponent didn't even bother blocking any of them.

Sasuke skillfully dodged and then once he saw a big enough window he brought his fist upward into Naruto's jaw which stopped him in his tracks again and then he followed it up with a quick kick to the stomach which knocked the wind out of the blonde orange clad ninja and sent him flying back before he hit the ground. Naruto rolled back until his back collided with the trunk of a tree. He gasped and coughed as he was able to breath again before looking up at Sasuke who stood there with his hands in his pockets with his stoic expression. Naruto stood back up to his feet and was about to launch another offensive but felt a firm grip on his shoulder. Looking to his left he saw Kakashi who was finishing up with the very last page of the chapter he was reading.

"That's enough Naruto." he said closing the book and putting it away in one of his vest pockets. "This victory goes to Sasuke." he told him.

"What?! No way! I can still keep fighting!" he protested.

"I said that's enough Naruto." he replied. "You did well enough but now you need to stop now." he told him.

"But Sensei!" he tried protesting again.

"No Naruto." he replied cutting him off. "It's over now Naruto. Sasuke wins this time. You'll have to try again another time." he said calmly but firmly.

"You can try again as many times as you want but it won't do you any good." Sasuke said getting both his teammates to look over to him. "You can challenge me to a hundred fights and the results will never change. You're a loser." he said arrogantly.

"Sasuke why you!" Naruto said getting worked up. He was about to jump in and try clobbering him again but Kakashi's hand shot out in front of Naruto's chest and stopped him.

"Sasuke, you may have won this battle but that doesn't mean that you can't be respectful to your opponent." he said looking over at the raven haired boy. "Naruto's your teammate and it's very counterproductive to beat him down after winning a fair sparing match. Be respectful and apologize." he told him. Much to his annoyance the Uchiha simply turned around and walked away without saying another word. "Sasuke!" Kakashi called out but getting no response. He then let out a tired sigh. 'Sasuke's skill as a Shinobi is impressive but his pride and arrogance is a real problem.' he thought to himself.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted slamming his fist into the dirt beneath him. "Why can't I beat him?! I beat Kiba and Neji during the Chunin Exams so why is it I can't beat that Teme?!" he shouted angrily.

He then felt Kakshi's hand on his shoulder again. "Naruto you have nothing to be ashamed of." he said smiling behind his mask. "Even if you didn't win the fight you still gave it your best and that's all that matters." he told him.

"Thanks Kakashi-Sensei." he replied. "But I really do hate that high and mighty attitude Sasuke has all the time. Really pisses me off sometimes." he said scowling as he watched his rival casually walk away.

"I admit I'm tired of it as well." his teacher and friend replied. "Personally I really wish Sasuke would lighten up and help to improve yours and Sakura's fighting skills and help to strengthen our team. But unfortunately I don't think he fully understands the importance of teamwork yet." he told him.

"What he really needs is for someone to kick his ass." Naruto said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Maybe one day you will be the one to give him the beating he needs." he said smiling again. "But for now, we need to call it a day and get some rest. Restoration is just as important as training y'know?" he asked.

"Yeah I guess." he replied. "But I think I'd like to train for at least a little while longer. Maybe work on another strategy for my next sparing match with Sasuke." Naruto said slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Well our session for today is done and I'd like to advise you get a little rest and relaxation in before our next session tomorrow, but the day is yours and if you really want to train some more then I won't stop you." he replied.

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei, will you teach me a few new Taijutsu moves before you go? You're really good so maybe you could show me a thing or two about hand to hand." Naruto said lighting up again.

"I'm sorry Naruto but I already said that our training session is over. Maybe another time." he answered. "But hey, maybe you could offer to train with Sakura. She could use some improvement in her Taijutsu as well and I'm sure the both of you will benefit as sparing partners." he suggested.

"Hm, yeah okay I'll ask her." he said. Naruto was still a little disappointed that Kakashi would help him some more but it would be nice to train with Sakura a little at least.

Meanwhile, Sakura walked up to talk to Sasuke who still casually had his hands in his pockets. "Sasuke-Kun that was amazing." she said trying her best to try and flatter him. Sasuke stopped but still didn't look in her direction while she blushed a little. "So Sasuke-Kun, there's this really nice tea house that's opened up just recently. I've been there a few times already and it's really nice. Maybe we could go together and have a nice hot cup?" she suggested.

Her hopes were instantly dashed as soon as he looked over to her with a calm yet cold expression. "Sakura, do you really think I have time for tea and dating?" he asked her.

"Well...it's just...I thought..." she replied with her smile melting away.

"You really should get out of the habit of constantly flirting with me and try actually taking our training sessions with our team seriously. Naruto's an idiot but even he takes it more seriously than you do." he said coldly as he started walking off again.

Just walking away as he did left her feeling pretty bad now That was when Naruto walked up to speak with her. "Hey Sakura-Chan." he said with his trademark foxy grin.

"Huh? Oh, hey Naruto." she replied soundly less spirited after her talk with the boy she really liked.

"So I was going to train a little while longer. Care to stay and help me out? I could use a partner." he asked.

"No, I think I'll just call it a day and go home." she answered. "Either that or stop by and see how Ino is doing." she added. "But why don't you try asking Sensei to train with you some more?" she asked him.

"I already did and he said he was done for the day. He then suggested that I try training with you instead." he told her.

Sakura smiled a little bit. "I see. Well I'm sorry Naruto but not right now. I've trained enough for today. Another time maybe." she told him.

"Okay." he replied as she started making her way back to the village. It didn't take long at all before he was the only one left at his team's training ground. "Well, looks like it's solo training again." he said as cracked his knuckles. "Not as much fun but it gives me something to do and this way fewer people actually see how I train." he said summoning a half dozen Kage Bunshin.

Naruto had a clever way of using his Kage Bunshin for his personal training sessions. Normally, Kage Bunshin aren't actually meant to be used for combat training or even combat in general. They're meant to be used for gathering intel on the enemy. Normally a shinobi will make one or two clones to sneak in and spy on other shinobi. And once they've gathered enough information they will be dispersed either by the enemy or if the one who casts the jutsu decides to. Once they're gone all the intel they've gathered will automatically transfers to the mind of the one who used the jutsu. But this can have a negative backlash too because making one too many clones can cause headaches or even migraines. There are even greater risks that Naruto doesn't even know.

First of all, Kage Bunshin uses a lot of chakra so summoning a large amount can drain the average shinobi and leave them exhausted of chakra. But once they've all dispelled at once they're at risk of getting brain damage too. What Naruto doesn't know is that his chakra is actually so huge that it's the only reason he can summon as many clones as he can without draining his chakra completely. In fact, his reserves actually surpass most jonin in the village. If he were to actually learn how to better control his chakra he could be a very formidable ninja. And also, he's not at risk of receiving brain damage from all his clones bursting at once because his healing factor repairs any damage to his mind faster than he suffers from using so many clones. The Kage Bunshin was meant for him.

Naruto stood in the center as his six clones surrounded him. Each had a kunai drawn and they all took a stance for battle. Naruto waited for one of his clones to make the first move and just as one did, he reacted quickly by turning and catching him by his wrist and stopping him from stabbing him with his kunai. Knowing another attach was coming quickly, he maneuvered to the left with quick footwork and dodged another clone who attempted to kick him in the head. He then let go of the first clone and dashed back as two more dashed forward slashing at him. He quickly dodged and blocked their strikes before jumping backwards and flipping over two other clones who tried an attack from behind. They all then threw shuriken while he was midair and Naruto quickly drew his own kunai.

With a combat knife in each hand, he deflected each shuriken that came flying at him. He then landed on his feet again and made ready for another assault. All six clones came charging in at once. But then they all heard someone speak up which threw them all off.

"This is fucking embarrassing." said an all too familiar redhead.

Tayuya's comment out of nowhere tripped up all the clones and Naruto who all gasped and collided into one another comically before dog piling on top one another and then dispelling. Naruto looked up to see his very rude and foul tempered house guest sitting atop the branch of a tree just above him.

"Tayuya?" he asked not expecting to see her at his training ground.

"Whiskers." she greeted back leaning against the trunk with one leg crossed over the other and her arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Keeping an eye on you obviously." she answered plainly. "I'm still waiting until you finally learn to use your brain and say yes to Orochimaru-Sama's offer so I can go home." she said in her usual crabby attitude.

"Uh, how long have you been here?" he asked.

"Not long after your team went home." she answered. "So, you end your training sessions with your team...by training more." she said now leaning forward with her arms resting on her lap.

"Yeah, I figured I may as well get in a little bit more before I call it a day." he said rubbing the back of his neck. "We don't have any missions we're doing and I don't have anything else I have to take care of." he added.

"And you spar with yourself?" she asked raising one of her brows.

"Yeah." he answered. "I figured that if I made several clones at once and gave them more independence when fighting I can sharpen my reflexes and reaction time if I'm fighting more than one enemy at once." he explained.

She shrugged her shoulders at that. "I see what you're trying to do and credit where credit's due for creativity on your part, but it's not good to train by yourself." she said hopping down from the tree branch and landing gracefully on her feet. "The problem with training by yourself is that you're not capable of finding and fixing your own flaws as someone else is. And therefore your progress is limited." she said crossing her arms again.

Naruto didn't like it when she had a point but he couldn't argue that logic. One of the things he's always noticed about Konoha's most powerful clans are that they have private training sessions with their children and help them advance by helping them find their flaws and address them. But since Naruto's an orphan and never had any of that special attention he's never had someone like that. Someone who could help him improve where he needs help.

"Well, it's not like I have a whole lot of options at the moment." he finally replied. "I want to be train with someone who can help me improve, but my teammates have all gone home now." he told her.

Tayuya was about to yell that he could just ditch Konoha, move to Oto and Orochimaru would make him far stronger than Kakshi could ever make him, but she stopped herself. Clearly just saying that Orochimaru could give him whatever he wanted wasn't going to work so she decided to try and switch up her tactics a bit. She uncrossed her arms and came forward a bit closer.

"Alright, how about I help?" she asked.

"Wait, you wanna help?" he asked surprised by that.

"Just so happens I've got nothing better to do and I could use a workout. You said you could use a real sparing partner and help improving your own fighting techniques so it's a win win." she smirked.

Naruto was a bit cautious with this very sudden generosity. "Are you planning on trying to use this as a tactic to make me betray my village to Orochimaru again?" he asked.

Her smirk disappeared instantly and was replaced with her usual scowl. "Y'know I was just trying to help you out here but fine whatever." she said turning around and walking away sounding both mad and offended.

"Wait! No I'm sorry I didn't mean it." he protested. "Yeah, I'd like to have some help." he said hoping it changed her mind.

While her back was still turned, she smirked again. 'Hook, line and stinker.' she thought with her wicked grin. "Alright fine you've twisted my arm." she said turning around again. The two of them then faced off Tayuya stretching a bit to loosen up her muscles and joints and get ready for the fight. "Okay Whiskers, you go ahead and make the first move. I can take whatever you throw at me." she said bringing her fist into her other hand and popping her knuckles.

Naruto charged in and yelled as he drew his clenched fist back and swung at her with all his might. Tayuya rolled her eyes and stepped aside before sticking her foot out and tripping him. Much to her amusement though he reacted quickly from having his feet swept out from under him and rolled forward before quickly recovering and standing up again. He then charged forward again throwing as many punches as he could at the redhead who simply swatted them aside and kept calmly stepping back while he flailed wildly trying to land one punch. All the while she was beginning to feel more and more embarrassed for him as he didn't even try covering his torso or face. It's like he never spent a day in his life in the Academy and learned basic Taijutsu. So she decided to exploit an opening.

Naruto was stopped dead in his tracks when she brought a fist straight up into his ribs and knocked the wind out of him. "Your fighting style is very sloppy." she said with a disappointed look on her face. "Seriously, is it any wonder that the emo freak made you his bitch in your last fight?" she asked him.

This got under Naruto's skin. "Shut up!" he shouted as he tried to hit her again.

Tayuya quickly countered by stepping to one side, grabbing hold of his wrist and twisting his arm behind his back. Then before he could try and escape she swept his feet out from underneath him and then putting her weight down she pinned him to the ground. She sat on his back while holding his arm in a lock and forcing his fact against the dirt with her free hand.

"Y'know from this position I could do anything I fucking wanted to right now right?" she asked with a cruel smirk. "I simple twist and I could break your arm." she said twisting just a bit and causing him to squirm in pain.

"Ow! Stop it!" he yelled while looking back up at her in anger.

"Why the fuck should I?" she asked smiling cruelly. "I'm the one who has you pinned to the floor here, not the other way around." she told him. "I could draw a knnai and slit your throat if I wanted to. I could tie you up and hold you for ransom or even use you as bait and draw out the rest of your team in an ambush if I really wanted to." she said coldly.

"You wouldn't!" he shouted back.

"Don't kid yourself." she said with her cold sneer disappearing. "Don't forget that I'm no friend to Konoha or your team. If killing them or you was my mission I'd do it. The only reason I'm not is because I'm supposed to bring you with me back to Oto to swear loyalty to Orochimaru-Sama. Although now that I've had a chance to test your strength for myself, I'm starting to wonder why he wanted me to recruit you in the first place. You're a total fucking loser and an embarrassment to Shinobi everywhere." she said sneering again not paying attention to the sudden spike in his chakra. "Seriously, how the fuck did a pathetic lowlife sack of garbage like you ever even graduate from the Academy? Perhaps the standards for Konoha Shinobi have fallen way down." she said cruelly.

This was the final straw. Just like that his chakra level skyrocketed and he shot up, knocking the redhead off his back and befor4e she could react, Naruto grabbed Tayuya by the throat with both his hand and held her up. The Oto ninja was now dangling and kicking to try and get down so she could breath again. At the same time she started down at a pair of angry red eyes with slit pupils that glared daggers at her.

"I said shut up!" he growled. "I'm not a loser, I worked really hard which is why I finally graduated the Academy and I'm sick and tired of you and everyone else constantly looking down on me!" he shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped as she struggled to get lose from his grip. "I get it...I won't call you names again...please let me go!" she wheezed.

Naruto seeing the fear in her eyes let go and relaxed, letting his chakra die down and his eyes return to normal. "Tayuya...I'm sorry I...I just got fed up with that. Are you okay?" he asked her.

Tayuya was on her knees coughing and gasping as her lungs filled with oxygen again. 'Holy fucking shit!' she thought as beads of sweat rolled down her face. 'Orochimaru-Sama said that he had an extremely large chakra and he wasn't fucking kidding.' she thought looking up at the boy who merely seconds ago had his hands around her throat. 'He could have killed me in an instant if he wanted to.' she thought as her breathing returned to normal. 'I don't know if I should be impressed, scared shitless or...aroused.' she thought with a small flush on her cheeks.

"Tayuya?" Naruto asked looking down at her as she looked back up at him.

She stood back up to her feet and did her best to make sure she wasn't blushing anymore. "I'm fine." she said calmly before crossing her arms. "In fact, I obviously spoke too soon. I see now why Orochimaru-Sama likes you. Clearly you've got a lot of power. It's a shame that nobody here was willing to help you reach your full potential." she told him.

"Well, I didn't have the very best teachers during my years in the Academy." he replied rubbing the back of his neck. "With the exception of Iruka-Sensei, most of them would ignore any questions I asked and if I was having trouble with studying, whether it was schoolwork, chakra training or Taijutsu training they wouldn't help me." he explained.

"Didn't this Iruka guy help you though?" she asked.

"Only on days he was working." he answered. "And even then he could only help me so much. Teachers at the Academy are only allowed to help with the basics and they're not allowed to pick favorites. So I had to just do the best I could with whatever I got each class." he told her.

"And it's mother fucking obvious." she replied. "Your chakra control is terrible, your fighting technique even worse and after spending a couple of days with you it's obvious that you're the stupidest son of a bitch that exists." she said coldly.

"Gee thanks for the vote of confidence." Naruto replied sarcastically.

"But you're not hopeless." she said walking over to the center of the sparing ring again. "You've got real raw power and you've got creativity which I think are your greatest strengths. All you need is just a little help tapping into it. Now come over here." she told him. Naruto did as he was told and stood where she instructed him to. "First two obvious problems are you're not guarding your vitals." she said reach down and taking his hands. "You wanna keep your hands up like with so that you can react quickly and guard both your face and your torso." she said positioning his hands so that his left hand was higher than his right. "This way, you can quickly strike any oncoming attacks directed towards your face or your body. Won't last long if someone is able to land a critical hit early in the fight." she instructed.

"I guess that makes sense." he said thinking carefully about her instructions.

"You guess it makes sense?" she asked raising one of her brows again. "What do you think keeping your guard up isn't the smart thing to do?" she asked him.

"Okay okay, I get it. Makes sense." he replied.

"Now, bear in mind I said strike." she continued. "What I'm about to show you is a different kind of Taijutsu then the one you're probably used to. I'm gonna try and strike you and I want you to counter my punches. Don't block them, strike them. The way your arms are up it shouldn't be hard for you to do." she told him.

"Okay." he said readying himself for her attacks.

Tayuya then brought her right fist forward aimed at Naruto's face. Reacting quickly, he shot his left hand forward an in a slapping motion he knocked her strike away before she could make contact with his head.

"Bit sloppy but at least you've got sharp reflexes." she commented. "Again." she said attacking him again.

This time she attack with two quick jabs to his face which he struck away easily and followed it up with a low blow to his gut. But Naruto was quick enough to knock it away from his abdomen before she could make contact.

"Hey this is easy." he said with a grin.

"Pay attention shit for brain!" she shouted before kicking low and sweeping his leg out from under him. Naruto fell forward landing flat on his face in front of her and she looked down with a disappointed look as she placed her hands on her hips. "And that's another problem you have Whiskers. You're off balance." she told him as she offered a hand to help him up. "Your own attacks are predictable, your chakra control is terrible, your balance is laughable and you're too easily distracted and quick to anger. Obviously there's a lot of work to be done here." she told him.

"Are you...gonna help me with all of that?" he asked her.

"Not at the very moment no." she said turning to walk away.

"Huh? Why not?" he asked her.

"Because it's the late afternoon and I've wasted enough time babysitting yo today." she said looking back. "I'm not going anywhere until you've made up your mind so we can probably pick up again another time. If you've got any questions you can ask me about them back at your place but for now, take me out for lunch. It's your treat to me." she said walking away again.

"Huh?! Why am I paying for your lunch?!" he asked shocked at the idea.

She turned around with an annoyed look. "Because one, I took some time out of my day to help you with Taijutsu training so now you owe me." she said in a nasty tone. "Two, because I'm hungry and I want some stir fried rice and some dango. Three, because you're a boy and I'm a girl which means you're the one who pays and four, because I fucking said so now move!" she barked.

Naruto let out a tied sigh and started walking to catch up to her. "Okay fine." he groaned. Naruto followed the redhead to the nearest restaurant that she thought looked good and wasn't just another ramen stand. As soon as they entered she clung onto his arm which surprised him. "What are you doing?" he asked trying not to blush.

"Shhh." she said quietly. "I'm getting into character. I'm on a mission, can't risk blowing my cover so we're supposed to look like we're on a date." she told him before brushing some of her hair back with her hand.

"R-Right." he said as they entered the eatery together. As they waited in line, Naruto couldn't help but notice something pleasant smelling. 'She's wearing a different perfume.' he thought to himself. 'The first one smelled like cinnamon but I can't quite tell which this one is. Gingerbread maybe?' he wondered to himself. 'Wait a second, why do you even care what kind of perfume she's wearing?! You don't even like her remember?!' he shouted inwardly.

The both of them finally got to the front and the waitress turned to see them both. "Welcome to the Shushuya's" she greeted with a warm smile. "Table for two I take it?" she asked looking at the young "couple" in front of her.

"Yes, table for two please." Tayuya said in her cheery schoolgirl act like when they first met.

"Is there anywhere in particular you two wish to be seated?" she asked.

"Somewhere private would be nice." she answered while looking at Naruto with playful eyes.

"We actually have a more quieter section of the Shushuya's in the back if that's where you'd prefer." she offered.

"That would be great thanks." she replied.

She then led the both of them to the back of the restaurant past many other men and women who were all enjoying the fine food and one another's company till they reached a small slightly more isolated part of the Shushuya's that was further away from everyone else. In fact Naruto and Tayuya would have this spot all to themselves which satisfied the Oto Kunoishi. She could talk privately with Naruto here and not have to keep the schoolgirl act the whole time while she ate. She was confident that it would be just her and Naruto the whole time. As the table was being set she actually looked at the blonde boy who's arm she clung to. This close now she was able to get a better look at his fine features. She couldn't help but think that he was actually pretty easy on the eyes close up.

He wasn't drop dead handsome sure but then again he wasn't ugly either. She was pretty sure that if he cleaned up a little better, wore some different clothes other then bright orange, trimmed his hair he'd actually be pretty good looking.

"Is this spot okay?" the waitress asked them.

"Huh?" she responded realizing she was distracted. "I mean yeah, that's great thank you." she said smiling brightly.

The both of them then took their seats across from one another before the waitress placed some menus on the table before them. "Is there anything I can get you to drink?" she offered.

"A soft drink would be nice." Tayuya replied.

"Cola." said Naruto.

"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks and to take your orders in just a few minutes." she said taking the notes down in her notebook.

"Thank you." replied the redhead with a smile.

As soon as the waitress was gone and Naruto was sure he wasn't going to blow her cover he looked to Tayuya who looked back at him with her fake smile. "Tayuya please don't take this the wrong way but the way you switch back and fourth between personalities like that is really creepy." he told her.

Her smile disappeared instantly and was replaced with a scowl. "Asshole." she hissed. After Naruto bought Tayuya lunch and the both of them ate their fill, the two of them walked the streets of the village to talk a little. Tayuya was still trying to talk Naruto into joining Oto and so far Naruto wasn't having any of it. "I take it that your answer is still no?" she asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" he asked back. "I don't understand why it is you think you can convince me to betray my village." he told her stopping where he was at.

She stopped to face him as they talked. "What I can't understand is why you're loyal to Konoha in the fucking first place." she shot back. "It's obvious that most of the people here treat you like dirt and nobody really appreciates your skills and talents." she told him.

"That's not true. Iruka-Sensei says he's proud of me and Kakashi-Sensei says he's glad to have me on the team." he replied slightly offended.

"Are you sure he was saying that because he actually likes you or is it because he's just trying to keep moral up?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"Let me ask you something. When did Kakashi really ever take your training seriously?" she asked him. "Whenever your teammate Sasuke mopped the floor with you did he ever speak with you afterwards to help you improve and help you get stronger or did he bail on you the first chance he got after your training session was over?" she asked him.

"I...well." was his response.

"And how about during the Chunin Exams?" she continued. "Didn't he ditch you to only train Sasuke? He's your teacher too so he shouldn't be putting off your training just to focus on one student only. Both of you made it to the preliminaries right? So why couldn't he make time to train you both?" she asked.

"I don't...I don't know." he answered not really thinking about it before she brought it up. Truth be told, he started training with Jiraiya so soon that he actually forgot all about it.

"Do you think he or either of your other teammates actually like you? Or am I the first person to actually give enough of a shit to help you improve?" she asked him taking a step forward.

"I..." was all he could respond with. He was at a complete and total loss for words right now.

"I hate to break it to you Whiskers but I honestly don't think the people of this village care about you the way you think they do." she said plainly. "In all honesty, you're either a weapon that the Politicians can use for their own means or you're a scapegoat for the common people to blame all their problems on. Why would you want to remain loyal here in the first place?" she asked him.

He really didn't like this mind game she was playing on him. "Well how would it be any different with Orochimaru?" he asked her. "Don't forget that he did attack our village and kill our Hokage. People around here may not treat me the way I like all the time but this is still my home. Honestly, how would it be any different if I were to take Orochimaru up on his offer?" he asked her.

"And how would it be better if you refused and just chose to stay here?" she asked back. "You think the leaders of Konoha are any better than Orochimaru-Sama? Tell me, how many assassination missions do you think your precious Hokage had issued during his reign as your leader? Do you think his hands are any less bloody than Orochimaru-Sama's?" she asked him. "I really hate to break it to you but the reality is that no village is clean from doing terrible things. The only difference between them are the leaders in charge and how they play the game. Orochimaru-Sama is just another player." she told him honestly. She then took a few more steps forward so that they were only a few inches apart. "But if you came over to Oto, things could be much better for you personally." she told him.

"Really? How?" he asked her.

"You want someone who'll take your training seriously? Orochimaru-Sama isn't the sort of man who wastes talent." she answered. "Ask it of him and he'll grant you the best training sessions you could ever hope for. Chakra control, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu, anything you want. He'll help you fulfill your full potential." she told him. She then leaned in and whispered quietly in his ear. "Just something to think about is all." she told him before stepping back and walking away.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

"Heading back to the apartment." she called back. "I'm tired and wanna lay down a bit. I'll see you again later tonight whenever you get back from whatever it is you're doing." she told him.

And just like that, Tayuya and Naruto parted for now after the Oto kunoichi had planted the first seeds of doubt in the young blonde ninja's mind. Naruto would walk away from their talk thinking deeply about his recent conversation with Tayuya. He didn't like having to admit that she had some points but looking back, did his teammates really care about him or his progress? Kakashi does seem to pay more attention to Sasuke after all. He very rarely shows him any cool new jutsus. And what about the previous Hokage who he looked at as a surrogate grandfather? Did he really act nicely to him out of genuine kindness or was it really to keep him under the control of the village elders and the council? Despite his best efforts to banish these thoughts from his mind he couldn't stop thinking about Tayuya's words.

Is he really better off here in Konoha?

[Author's Notes] I'm really sorry for making you all wait months at a time before updates but this one seems to be a very popular story and I want to do it right. I really want to take my time with updates and deliver a really good story and that means having to think carefully in between each chapters. But I do hope that you all enjoy them as they each come out.

And I would also welcome any help from someone who'd like to offer advice on improving my stories including this one and if anyone as some thoughts they'd like to share lay em on me and if I like it, I'll give you a shout out in the following chapter.

As always thank you all so much for reading my stories. Please leave me a Review or a PM on what you think of it because I love reading what my readers have to say.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)