Go to the meeting with Tsunade

The image of Tsunade's evil eyes staring him down and her fist on his cheek made Naruto shudder. "On second thought," he said meekly to himself, "maybe a meeting doesn't sound so bad."

A few moments later, he was in front of the Hokage's office. He swallowed his nerves--it never got any easier facing Lady Tsunade when she was angry--and knocked. "Come in," the familiar voice called through the door.

As he stepped inside, he saw Tsunade already sitting in her chair, hands interlocked as she glared at him with her amber eyes and a smile that betrayed her anger. "Well, now...if it isn't just the idiot I wanted to see."

"Heh heh," Naruto nervously laughed. "How's it hanging, Grann--"

"Quiet!" Tsunade yelled. "Now, Naruto, let me ask you a question. You are a shinobi, aren't you?"

Naruto swallowed his fear. "Y-yes, ma'am..."

"So as a shinobi, shouldn't you be aware of the deadline for submitting mission reports?"

Naruto didn't get what was happening, but he felt the pressure growing in the room--all of it direct at him. "Wait! That's what I'm here for! To give a mission rep...oh..."

Something he had forgotten slowly crept back into his memory: a conversation he once had with Sakura after he came back from his trip with Jiraiya.

"Now that you're going on solo missions," she said, "you're responsible for your own mission reports. And Lady Tsunade is very strict about them, so make sure you get them to her within a week. Got it?"

Naruto counted the days on his fingers, and...

He laughed weakly. "Y-you know, Lady Tsunade--the ol' Pervy Sage used to tell me that in the Land of Trees, their weeks are ten da--"

Before Naruto could finish his question, he was interrupted by a brush on his cheek and a whizzing sound shooting past his ear. Slowly, he turned to see a kunai stuck into the wall behind him, and looked back at Lady Tsunade, who, with a wicked smile, was fuming.

"YOU IDIOT! IF I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I'VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES! WHAT KIND OF BRAT WHO WANTS TO BE HOKAGE CAN'T EVEN DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS SUBMIT A MISSION REPORT ON TIME, DAMMIT!?"

"H-hang, Lady Tsunade!" Naruto wailed, feeling himself getting smaller in the face of the pressure she exerted. "Can't we talk about this?"

"Enough talking, you brat!!" But just as Tsunade rolled up her sleeve and wound up her fist, another knock came at the door.

"Lady Tsunade?" a voice called. Naruto recognized it as Shizune. "I have urgent news from the Land of Wind."

Tsunade's eyes pierced Naruto, a look of sincere annoyance on her face. Naruto just did his best to smile, and finally she sighed and sat back down. "Come in!" she called back.

Shizune entered and didn't even nod at Naruto before she rushed over to Tsunade's side. As Naruto took the opportunity to sneak out, though, Tsunade shouted from behind him. "Hold it, buster! I'm not done with you yet..."

Naruto froze, felt a shiver run up his spine. He had really done it this time. And now as Shizune delivered her news to Tsunade, Naruto just stood and watched, waiting with bated breath the punishment that was in store for him. A good socking would be a mercy, if he was being honest--anything but watering the training field gardens again...

Just then, though, an idea came to Naruto. He did just learn a new jutsu, after all. Maybe he could use it in some way?

Yeah, yeah...that's it!

Naruto smirked to himself in the corner of the office, weaving the hand signs and turning his eyes to Tsunade and Shizune. He let his chakra gather in the pit of his stomach, siphoning some of it up to his head, as the scroll instructed.

Well, he thought before performing the jutsu, here goes nothing!