canadian: stop refering to naruto being inconsistant. Its annoying when you dont back yourself up with facts about recent things in the series (not counting der fillers). Also, back before the chuunin finals, jiraya attempted to teach naruto to control the rojo chakra, and he kind of did (naruto now learns to call upon it whenever he is in danger or sumone he loves is in danger which will come often in tough missions. ) Also, gaara is now allied with the leaf and will join them on highrank missions. Also, if you havent noticed, gran gran tsu sumtimes chooses ppl who suit the requirements for a mission. Naruto can be put in combat-type missions. Also, when the village is under attack by the sand/sound, naruto will be able to defend the village and save lives, which i think is more important than finding buried treasure (excuse my reference towards fillar arcs).