Naruto: The Neglected Hero

Naruto's sharingan spun lazily as he took the bells off of Kushina's belt, "Well, my genjutsu came in handy."

When Naruto had locked eyes with Kushina after she watched Kakashi get exploded by the fire balls he activated a genjutsu to make it seem as if the match had continued, but in reality she was just standing in one spot. Now it was Kakashi's turn.

Sasuke and Sakura went after the pervert as he got into a defensive stance, Naomi came from behind Kakashi and roundhouse kicked him, but he grabbed onto her leg and threw her at 7A, to which Sakura grabbed Naomi and let her down gently so she can run alongside the two, Sasuke went through some signs, " Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! " He shot 3 medium sized fireballs at Kakashi who countered it with a water style.

Menma took this advantage and swiped Kakashi from underneath his feet, the older man caught his fall and flipped his way out of another attack from Menma.

He noticed a beam of hope from Sakura as she tugged on something, as soon as Kakashi's feet touched the ground he was lifted into the air from a string. His eyes darted towards his feet and went to cut the string, but that wasn't all Sakura had waiting for him, "I don't think you want to break that string Kakashi-sensei, once you let go that string will activate the explosive barrier I put around you, you may not be able to tell from the naked eye but with your sharingan you'll notice the chakra strings around you," Sakura explained, Kakashi activated his sharingan and gasped, "That's right Kakashi, if you somehow managed to substitute to another area, the explosive will still set off, and just to make this more deadly, Kushina-sensei has been put near you, now its a matter of life or death, simply gives us the bells or struggle Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi stared at Kushina who was still caught in her genjutsu, he sighed and was reaching to grab the bells until he didn't feel them, "We lied Kakashi, I took the bells from you when I dragged you underground," Sakura said as she smiled, "So I guess we win," she deactivated her trap as Kakashi watch the strings disappear.

Naruto deactivated his genjutsu on Kushina, who only looked around blankly, "Kakashi? What happened?"

"It seems as if we were outclassed by the kids, "Naruto put a genjutsu on you when you looked him in the eye, as for me I was put into a ultimatum between escaping or causing you to be exploded to death, obviously I took the best route," he explained as Kushina nodded and turned her head back to them, mainly Naruto since the genjutsu he put her in took a turn for the worse, "Well, since it seems you all worked as a team to get both of us in this position I suppose that means you passed!" Kushina cheered, earning a bunch of cheers from the team, "Tomorrow we will begin your missions!"

Before they could all leave Kushina pulled Naruto aside as Sakura and Sasuke distanced themselves a bit but not leaving, "Naruto, is what you said in the genjutsu world true?" Kushina asked with a worried expression, Naruto stared at her, his blue eyes looking in her darker ones, "Kushina, you all have done nothing for me, you should be happy I didn't leave the village in hopes of seeking power to destroy you all," Naruto looked at Sakura and Sasuke, "See them, they're my family now, biologically you fools are but definitive wise, they are," Naruto turned back and looked at Kushina who had a frown on her face, "You shouldn't worry about me anymore Kushina, I'll try to cut my ties with you before you can strengthen them," Naruto was going to turn around until Kushina stopped him.

"Naruto, I don't want you to forgive me, in fact I don't even want you to give me any form of sympathy or empathy, I won't even try to push you into becoming my family one more time, but know this, whenever you feel down, or feel lost, you can come to me, I won't be able to fully understand your pain, or even come close to it, but I want to be the one who holds you as a mother when her son is in his darkest hours, I want to be there for you when you feel as if you're pinned against a wall, even if you can't respect me as a mother, think of me as someone who will be there." Kushina finished as tears rolled down her face, Naruto looked down, he pulled Kushina into a hug, "Thank you," he whispered, he let go and went with Sakura and Sasuke, giving her a wave goodbye and a small smile.