How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

Now that Naruto had mastered the Rasengan, Kurama was going to honor his promise to take Sasuke along for training. He hadn't revealed their destination yet, but they would be accompanied by Jiraiya along the way.

That day, the members of Team 7 gathered with Jiraiya in the Hokage's office. Tsunade had also been informed about Naruto leaving for training.

Inside the office, Tsunade, who had finally cleaned up most of the recent mess, sat back in her chair, holding an unfinished bottle of sake. She looked completely relaxed. Glancing at Naruto, who seemed down, and Sasuke, who looked confused, she asked Jiraiya: 

"I don't know much about the Nine-Tails, but are you sure you can trust that guy?"

She wasn't targeting Kurama specifically—it was just her personality. Even if Jiraiya himself was taking Naruto out to train, she would've questioned it. Plus, Kurama had indeed done things that harmed Konohagakure in the past, so her concerns were understandable.

Jiraiya shrugged. 

"I'm not sure either. That's why I specifically went to see the Great Toad Sage. Although his words were a bit cryptic, he said Kurama could be trusted."

"Oh" Tsunade said, taking a sip of sake.

She knew the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku had the ability to foresee the future—Lady Katsuyu had mentioned this as well.

"n that case, I don't have any objections. It just so happens that the direction you're heading aligns with another mission. You might as well take care of it along the way."

Tsunade handed Jiraiya a mission scroll with an expressionless face. 

"An A-rank mission" she said. 

"A-rank?" 

Jiraiya looked a little surprised as he opened the mission scroll in his hand, his expression turning somewhat strange. 

"Isn't it a bit too early for them to be doing A-rank missions at their age?" 

"It's fine since you're going with them," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively and then turned to Kakashi, who was standing nearby. 

"Kakashi, step down from your role as a squad leader for now. There are some accumulated missions in the village that need jonin to handle." 

Most matters had already been taken care of, but after Sarutobi Hiruzen's death, some tasks had been delayed, leaving a backlog. Many could be assigned to genin and chunin, but a few required the skills of more experienced jonin. 

Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, and other jonin had already been sent out on missions by Tsunade. 

Initially, she had planned for Jiraiya to train Naruto while Kakashi took Sasuke on some relatively challenging missions to improve his skills. Meanwhile, she would personally train her new apprentice, Sakura. 

But plans couldn't keep up with changes. Kurama unexpectedly suggested taking both Naruto and Sasuke to train together. 

Given the situation, she decided to let Jiraiya take those two out while Kakashi handled some jonin-level missions alone. Sakura would stay behind as originally planned. 

Perfect. 

"Understood," Kakashi nodded. He also knew Jiraiya's training would benefit Naruto and Sasuke more than his own guidance could. He was happy they would have such a valuable opportunity. 

A-rank missions weren't just tasks—they were also a requirement for advancing to jonin. Completing at least one A-rank or higher mission was mandatory. With Jiraiya protecting them, there was no need to worry about their safety, and it would serve as excellent experience for them. 

As for Sakura, the promotion system for medical ninjas was different from regular ninjas. She didn't need to complete missions like others did. In theory, this made her the least burdened of the three. 

And with Tsunade teaching her, there was no concern about Sakura's combat skills. Team 7 could essentially graduate as full-fledged ninjas right then and there. 

Of course, Kakashi still glanced at Sasuke and asked, "Are you okay with this, Sasuke?" 

"No problem." Sasuke shook his head. Why would he have a problem? Training under someone on par with Orochimaru? That was a golden opportunity. 

However, Sasuke couldn't help but glance at Naruto curiously. 

"What's with Naruto? Ever since I saw him earlier, he's seemed a bit off." 

At that moment, Naruto was staring blankly out the window with a dazed expression, mouth slightly open as if he might drool any second. There was no spark in his eyes. 

"Don't mind him. He's been like this since training this morning," Jiraiya waved it off as unimportant. 

Initially, Jiraiya had been worried that something was wrong with Naruto, even arriving early to have Tsunade check him over. 

Tsunade's conclusion? Nothing was wrong with Naruto physically—his brain just seemed to have stopped functioning properly. 

That was enough to put Jiraiya at ease. 

After all, Naruto's brain had always been a bit odd, so this wasn't much of a concern. 

"Really?" Sasuke's expression turned strange as he looked at Naruto. For some reason, he found himself feeling a little curious. 

Sakura was also curious. In fact, compared to the others, she knew just a little bit more about the situation. 

Seizing a moment when Jiraiya and Tsunade weren't paying attention, she quietly moved next to Sasuke and whispered, 

"This morning, I saw Naruto, and he was still acting normal then." 

Sasuke's eyes lit up. 

"You know what happened?" 

Sakura nodded lightly, then shook her head. She explained: 

"This morning, Naruto climbed onto my balcony and confessed to me. He was acting normal at the time. After I rejected him, I didn't see him again, so I don't know what happened after that." 

It was clear Naruto couldn't have ended up like this just because Sakura rejected him. Sasuke understood that too, which only made him more curious. 

Sakura glanced at Naruto, who was still mumbling nonsense, and spoke in a low voice: 

"I don't think this has anything to do with me rejecting him, but if we can figure out why he came to confess so early in the morning, maybe we'll know why he turned out like this." 

"That makes sense," Sasuke agreed, nodding. He started to think about how to investigate why Naruto ended up this way. 

Don't think Sasuke's thought process was out of character. Remember, Sasuke had moments of whimsy when he wasn't brooding. Just like in the original story, when he teamed up with his teammates to figure out what Kakashi looked like under his mask. 

You might assume Sasuke wouldn't participate in something like that, but he actually contributed to the plans perfectly. He was just too proud to admit it. Later, when he became more withdrawn, his mindset darkened, and he stopped engaging in such silly antics. 

But right now, he wasn't withdrawn. 

Kakashi rolled his eyes from the side. 

"You two—are you being influenced by Naruto? If you want to discuss, don't do it here. This is the Hokage's office." 

Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully and stepped back, staying quiet. Sasuke, on the other hand, had a confident look as he stared at Naruto's back, secretly plotting something. 

Tsunade sighed as she watched this scene, taking a sip of her sake and muttering: 

"Sigh, I've gotten so used to Naruto's constant chatter that it feels weird now that he's quiet. Without him around to annoy me, I don't even know who to hit anymore." 

Jiraiya shivered slightly. 

"I've been… keeping my head down lately." 

"Hmph." Tsunade scoffed, not responding further. 

As Jiraiya nervously wondered if he had recently done something to anger Tsunade, there was a sudden knock on the door. The polite gesture left the three members of Team 7 momentarily stunned. 

Wait—people knock before entering the Hokage's office? 

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