Chapter 1
Chapter Text
This story is a twinfic with the insert being Uzumaki Naruto. No incest will be in this story. This is also the first story I wrote, the quality of writing improves after the first chapters. I hope you enjoy.
Death. Passing away. Departing this world. The end. So many names for an event that we all will experience at one point or another. I never paid much attention to it. Such a thing was not what I envisioned to happen to me, at least not for many many decades. My first death, yes, the first, was not a pleasant one. It involved nothing sweet such as friends and family surrounding me telling me they love me and that they hope I'll be waiting for them. It involved a cacophony of noise, a cold floor, and far too much blood. Violent deaths are never fun, who would have thought that?
But this tale is not about the end, but of a new beginning.
Konohagakure, November.
Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, the Yondaime Hokage, was dead. With the unleashing of the Kyuubi came untold destruction in Konoha to only be stopped by the Yondaime's heroic sacrifice by sealing off the beast using the Shiki Fujin, sacrificing his very soul in the process. With that, the beast was slain.
Or was it?
As the villagers buried their dead and celebrated the vanquishing of the demon, one man was sat at his desk, doing the best of his ability to maintain a sense of stability in the village that was his sacred charge to defend.
It should have been me, not you Minato.Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, thought to himself, sitting behind his desk with a mountain of paperwork consisting of orders to be sent out to Konohas' remaining shinobi fit for missions.
With his successors death, he had been forced to take up the mantle of Hokage again. Despite his desire for retirement, he new that few others could hold the position without showing a sign of diminishment in the eyes of the other villages.
Tsunade hasn't been in the village since Dan's death, and would never take the hat. Orochimaru shows too much cruelty, something goodon the battlefield, but leaves him being feared by much of the civilians. And Jirai-,He paused.
Jiraiya was a subject that still left a raw feeling, even after several weeks since their conversation occurred.
(Flashback)
"Why not, Sensei?", Jiraiya nearly shouted, his anger clearly visible in his tone of voice and body language, "Minato trusted me to be a Godfather, and I willnotshirk that duty. I promised to care for his and Kushinas' child should anything happen to them."
"Jiraiya", Hiruzen responded, his whole demeanor that of someone carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, "Konoha is in a precarious position. All the gains that Minato made in the War have been undone by his death and the Kyuubi attack. We cannot let ourselves be seen as weak. I am already putting out plans to send most of our elite shinobi out to increase the level of A and S rank missions we complete to give the image of strength. We can't hope to defeat Kumo and Iwa with our forces in the state they are in. We need to give the perception that Konoha still stands strong. I need your spy network to be at full strength, with all your attention put into it. You aren't able to do that when playing the role of parent."
"I don't care about the network," Jiraiya raised his voice even more, "I promised!"
Hiruzen could feel the air become saturated with his student's chakra, before the white haired Sannin seemed to collapse in on himself, his head hung low.
"I", he started, voice cracking with the effort, "I wasn't there for Tsunade when Dan died. I wasn't there when Minato needed me. Please", he practically begged his Sensei, "Don't make me not be there again. I can't fail again", he finished, his eyes shining with emotion.
Hiruzen let out a depressed sigh. He knew Minatos' death had hit the village hard, but no one had been hit nearly as hard by it as Jiraiya. Losing his beloved Biwako left a wound that Hiruzen knew would never heal. He shuddered at the thought of losing either of his sons. He could understand Jiraiya's pain of losing someone he held dear, but he knew there was no one else better to be Konohas' spymaster than Jiraiya.
Jiraiya wouldn't be able to juggle the roles of caretaker and spymaster, despite any of his protests to the contrary.
"Jiraiya", he said quietly, "Minato sacrificed everything for the village. It will be all for nothing if everything he fought for came crashing down within a few years. Protecting the village will protect what he died for. Things can change in a few years, once we have recovered. Please, can you wait some time?"
Jiraiya stood there, still as a statue for several moments, deep in thought.
If I can smooth things out with the network, I can get back to here within a couple years. I promised you,Minato. And I'll keep that promise no matter what.He thought.
Visibly slumping, he gave Hiruzen his answer. "Okay", he said, all the anger previously disappearing. "For Minato, I'll do it."
Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that Jiraiya would let his grief at the loss of someone he saw as a surrogate son destroy his capacity of being one of the few active S rank shinobi Konoha had on its roster. He knew that Konoha could ill-afford the loss of a second Sannin, with Tsunade taking an "extended leave" since the death of her fiance.
"Thank you, Jiraiya", Hiruzen said, a small, but sad smile adorning his face, "I will ensure that there is no danger to Minatos' legacy. I swear it." He finished firmly.
The toad summoner let a small smile his lips, "Now that we've addressed what will be done, can I go?, he asked, the location he wished to go being left unsaid.
"I'll go with you myself", Hiruzen replied as he leaned back, stretching his back until he heard an audible pop. "I've been behind this desk for too long today. It'll do me some good to go out to see the village."
With that, The Professor stood up and made his way out of the tower. He turned to ask Jiraiya if he would walk with him, only to be met with a slight flash of white near the bottom of the window, before it vanished. With a rueful chuckle and a shake of the head, Hiruzen continued his trek towards the hospital to see a veryspecialpatient.
Never change, my student. Never change.
End Flashback
Still sat at his desk, a stack of mission reports at the side, Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a long drag before exhaling, relishing the sensation.
I'm sorry for what has to be done, Jiraiya. You can be the godfather you ought to be when we can get the village on firm footing again.
He sighed internally, saddened by what he was forced to do as the Hokage. A Kage must put the village first, even above his own life... and his family. The Shodai and Nidaime died for the Village, a fact that never failed to bring a stab of sadness to the Sandaimes' aged visage.
Hashirama-sensei and Tobirama-sensei died for the village. Minato gave up the very possiblity of a peaceful death, and the chance for his family to be whole and normal, for a Hokages family that is. I hope to kami that I never will be forced to make such a choice. The village, or my heart.
He finished those dark thoughts right as he heard a request for entrance into his office.
"Enter", he called, fairly certain of who the identity of the individual was.
Nara Shikaku, commander of Konohas' Jonin forces entered the Hokages office, a look of fatigue adorning his face.
"Hokage-sama," he announced tiredly. "I have the latest mission reports from our forces in the Land of Fire."
"And?" Sarutobi asked, wishing to hear the details, "how goes the mission rate? Is the news good?" he finished, hoping for good news.
"Yes", Shikaku replied, attempting to keep the evidence of fatigue out of his posture and voice. "Despite our losses, we've managed to maintain the same level of mission turnout before the attack. It's been hard, but we've managed.", He finished.
Sarutobi sat there quietly for a moment, thinking over the positive news he had just heard.
We lost over a fifth of our forces in the Kyuubi attack to fatalities or to career-ending injuries. Not to mention Minato and Kushina. To think that we could keep our mission turnout levels even, is a testament to the shinobi forces motivation.
He knew it would take its toll, he could nearly see the fatigue rolling off of Shikaku's frame, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. They couldn't keep that up for a prolonged period. Not with the numbers available.
The council had pitched a potential idea of slightly lowering the academys passing standard. "It can't be that bad", they had said. "More civilians will graduate, and your own student Jiraiya was from a civilian background. it won't be so bad." The council didn't understand that if it hadn't been for Jiraiya's indomitable will to succeed, and having the right teacher, he would not have been what he's known as today.
Out of all my students, Jiraiya's Will of Fire burned brightest.Shaking himself from his thoughts, Hiruzen addressed his Jonin commander. "Thank you for the report, Shikaku. You are dismissed."
At his leader's dismissal, Shikaku turned to leave, only to be stopped by Hiruzen.
"And Shikaku", He called, "Do try to sleep. You'll do no good when you're half dead on your feet. Get some rest, and spend some time with your wife and son. You've earned it."
At his Hokages order, Shikaku nodded and thanked him before leaving to head home, or more specifically, his sweet, sweet bed.
After Shikaku's departure, Hiruzen reached into one of his desk drawers, pulling out a medical report from a medi-nin at Konohas hospital, looking over the report for what felt like the millionth time.
What ails you dear child?He thought, thinking back to the first time he had heard the medi-nins report alongside Jiraiya.
Flashback
Walking through the village he called his home normally would give him a feeling of peace. But now, it only caused heartache and sadness. Hiruzen walked towards Konohas' hospital, a cloak of sadness seeming to cling to his frame. Not even in the ensuing days after the Nidaime's death, and his appointment as the Sandaime, did Hiruzen feel such a sense of defeat. The wreckage of buildings from the Kyuubi attack could be seen with no effort at all. It would take months at the least with shinobi aid to clear it all number of dead and unaccounted for were still being counted.
Kami no Shinobi, The Professor, Sandaime of Konohagakure. All these titles and I still couldn't protect my home. My beloved Biwako.
He knew he shouldn't blame himself. He had no idea that the Kyuubi would break lose from Kushinas' seal, causing untold destruction. He didn't know an assassin would slit his wife's throat as she aided Kushina in childbirth.
But it's so easy to blame myself for it.
He shook those thoughts from his head. He knew where he was headed. He knew how much the remaining night would wring Jiraiya's heart. His student needed him. And he would be there for him.
I couldn't stop what happened. But I can make a difference now.
With that thought, the Sandaime quickened his pace, intent on helping his eccentric student in one of his darkest hours.
Arriving at the hospital, Jiraiya stretched out his senses trying to locate his mentor. He probably should have walked with Sensei, if only for the company. Him being on his own gave him too much time to think. Thinking was bad. Thinking made him remember. Remember his promise.
Stop it. Stop it. You'll only make it worse.He thought to himself.
He didn't need to lose what sanity he did have. Never accuse Jiraiya the galiant, toad sage of Mount Myoboku, of claiming he was totally sane. He wasn't sane, but he wasn't crazy either.
After a brief pause, Jiraiya located his teachers chakra signature, bright as it was, and it was headed towards him. Moments later, they faced one another, where Jiraiya broke the silence.
"What room?", he asked, not certain where an appropriate location in the hospital would be.
"Room 16", Hiruzen replied, walking towards the location mentioned, with his former student to his left. "They had to move the room and seal it as best they could. Chakra fluctuations were causing the other children distress."
"Do you know what's causing it?" Jiraiya asked, "Seal malfunction? I wouldn't think Minato", Jiraiya paused, taking a deep breath. "I wouldn't think Minato would make that kind of mistake. Granted, being in the situation that occurred, there might have been an error."
Arriving at the door Hiruzen responded to the other man. "That's why I want you to check it. I'm not the most accomplished in sealing. You'll likely see something I don't."
With that, the two men entered the room, being met by a haggard looking nurse sitting in a chair to the side of the room.
Upon seeing the two men, the nurse nearly jumped out of her chair in fright, attempting to compose herself.
"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama," she squeaked out nervously, "I-I d-didn't think you would b-be here so soon."
Seeing the near terror in the young woman's eyes, Jiraiya quickly attempted to relieve her of her worries. Using all the charm he had in calming women down,it was a lifesaver in his genin team to have that skill,he put his hands out in a placating manner and responded.
"Nonsense, don't feel worried. You have done a wonderful job here. Your skills are only matched by your beauty, my lady. Think nothing of it."
The young woman's face flushed slightly at the complement, unsure on how to respond to being complemented,or was it flirted with, by one of the legendary sannin.
"T-thank you, sir," she said, before composing herself, " I had just managed to calm him down maybe an hour ago," she continued, gesturing towards the crib. "he wouldn't stop screaming for hours when he was alone."
Jiraiya stepped forward to gaze upon the contents of the crib.
Inside, was a newborn baby boy lying on his side with a tuft of strawberry blond hair atop his head, and whisker like birthmarks on his cheek. Intertwined with his right hand, was the hand of a baby girl, also having whisker like marks, but with a small patch of golden blonde hair on her head.
"Hello little ones", Jiraiya whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek, speaking in a tone seemingly far too soft for a man of his physical stature, "I'm your Godfather."
I deleted this story a few months back because I was revising chapters, but it wasn't wanting to let me edit preexisting chapters.
I've finally gotten around to actually posting the revised ones. I didn't change the first couple chapters, but the ones after have been streamlined and improved.
I hope both new and old readers enjoy.
Raging.
Chapter 2
Chapter Text
Adrift. That's what I felt like. I couldn't feel my hands, the wind, even my heartbeat. They just weren't there. Like I was floating in a pit of nothingness, I felt nothing.
Where am i? What happened?I thought to myself, desperately trying to piece together what I last remembered.Glass breaking. Shouting. The squeeze of a trigger. A shadowy silhouette striking the ground. Another comes from the other door. I turn, but too late. Several somethings punch me repeatedly in the chest, knocking the air from my lungs.I only realized what had happened when I fell to the ground, unable to get up. I'd been shot.No, not like this, God. Please, don't let me bleed out alone.There was something rather tragically ironic about one beseeching God for salvation at the moment of death. Especially when you can't even speak through the blood filling up your lungs.
Does that mean I'm dead?
I thought, desperately trying to understand what situation I'm in.Didn't think Heaven, or Hell for that matter, was supposed to be a void. Unless I'm Not Dead. Coma, maybe? Blood loss causing brain damage resulting in a works. Better than dead. I just need to lay here and wait it out.
And I waited, and waited. For an inordinate amount of time, I waited. Until eventually, I felt, the first time in a while since I felt something,yankat mybeing, for lack of a better term, and i felt my thoughts begin to unravel.
I have no idea how long it took for my thought processing to begin to resemble stability again, but it eventually did happen. When it did, i noticed something had changed. I could feel. Very minute, but i could feel. My whole body seemed to itch and I couldn't scratch it. I tried to open my eyes to see, but they refused to open.
Damnit. Why won't you let me see. I shouted in my mind, at nothing in particular.Open. Open. OPEN.
And like that, a seething inferno seemed to explode within my senses. Reeling from the pain, I pulled back the feeling that had causedit.
Okay, lets try to be a little more careful.Trying to keep myself calm, I tried to recreate the feeling of what I had just done.
Reaching out, but without my hand. Seeing, but without my eyes. Grasping, but without my fingers.Calm. Slowly reach out. There is nothing but yo-. There. There it is.
Slowly gathering my courage, I reached a little harder to paint a better picture of my surroundings. There, 3 lights, from what I could feel. One felt bright. Like a warm campfire in the night, it gave me a sense of ease simply by being near it. Another felt smaller, but so,sobright. Like a fresh fire, it felt so chaotic and in flux, but it was the one nearest to me, only slightly closer than the first.
But the third is what frightened me. It felt biting cold, yet it felt like an inferno at the same time. The shearpresenceit held was something unimaginable.
What's going on?I wondered.If I'm not dead, than I've gone mad. People can't sense others like that. It isn't Star Wars.
But the longer I remained there, I began to wonder what the things I was feeling might entail.I didn't notice it before, but I can feel a heartbeat. It's surrounding me. I can't tell where it is. It's everywhere. What else. My whole stinking body itches, but I seem to be getting better feeling to it. And It feels like I'm floating in som-...ething... GOD PLEASE NO.
I couldn't accept it. It wasn't possible. I didn't believe in reincarnation. People aren't even supposed to keep their memories if theydidhavea second life. Itcan'tbe.
After I had calmed myself down to a reasonable level, I tried to look at the evidence, or lack thereof, involving my predicament.
Fact: I got shot repeatedly in the chest. Opinion: I could've survived, but it's unlikely. Fact 2: I canfeel"lights" around me, something that's not generally supposed to be possible. 3: I can hear a heartbeat that is not my own. Heartbeat indicates either my hearing is useless, or there's something else alive near me within hearing range.
The more I thought about it, the more the likelihood seemed that I had been given a second life. But one, and only one thing, was stopping me from concluding that.How am I capable of this level of thought?Babies don't have the brain growth currently to maintain that high of cognitive function. If I'm not even fully developed, how the hell can i think this in depth? No point to think about it repeatedly. Something else... If I'm a baby in the womb, would that mean that the bright light is my mother? What would that make the smaller one? A sibl-... yes... a twin. A twin sibling. But what does that mean about the cold/hot one? Not Dad, I'm sure as hell that biology doesn't work that way.
This was the last thought I had before deciding to stew on it, for the time being. I had no want to continue nearly driving myself insane trying to find out what the hell's going on. Deciding to do something more productive, I began reciting every word, sentence, and phrase I knew that wasn't in my native tongue. But I needed more. I moved on to songs, film plots, and even philosophical works. But it wasn't enough, I needed something else. Something nice andtotallynot requiring a lot of thought.
After doing this, and a great deal of other mental gymnastics to break up the monotony,somethingshifted. And by something, I mean myself. The small bright light, my sibling, and the light that I assumed was my mother, was flickering repeatedly.
God, if you're listening, f-ck you. Second, I don't want to remember being born. Three, please don't let me be a girl.
With thatheartfeltprayer finished, I felt the thirdpresenceseeminglymove. It had never done that before. After a truly traumatizing event that seemed to carry on for hours, I felt the air on my skin for the first time in this new life.
Let me tell you, being a tiny little thing, naked, and covered in liquidsucks. Within moments, I was shivering uncontrollably, even when I was dried off and bundled up into a blanket. It wasn't simply due to the cold that I was shivering, it was also the emptiness I felt from not having the warmth I've been so used to for the last several months of my to feal that warmth again, I reached out as I did before, feeling only a slight spark.Less than a couple feet of range.I thought to myself. I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard a baby scream just a minute or two later.
Trying to feel what was going on, I pushed my sense,hard.I felt a headache building, but I could feel what was around me. I was being held by someone, the feeling felt similar, but not the same as my mother's.A woman, maybe.
A few feet in front of me, I could feel my mother's presence, it felt diminished, but still burning bright.No suprise, she's just given birth. My mother, the person holding me, and my sibling had a certain feel to them that were similar.I think my sibling is a girl.I thought, before moving on to the only two other presences I could one, I was all too familiar with. It was the one that had been playing the part of a mysterious guest with me, my sister, and mother. It seemed to bestretchingorpushingto expand, I'm not sure how to describe it.
The second presence was what had me looking closely. It was different from the others. It didn't have the samefeelto it as what my mother's was. But it felt slightly similar to my sisters.This must be my father. I thought. Thankful that my mother didn't have some deadbeat ditch her when she got pregnant. That's good.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed somethingverypeculiar. His presence seemed to moveoutsidehim and towards my mother and the unknown presence. Almost as if he weresurroundingthe unknown presence to hold it in place.
Before I could think on what that might have meant, I feltsomethingbehind me for a split second and then the light holding me winked out of existence. I felt as if I were bathed in ice water in that instant. But that wasn't the worst part. I felt a spray of liquid that fell on my face. I didn't even need to think on what it was until I was hit with the smell of it like an out-of-control freight train.
No. No. Not blood.I couldn't think. Could barely breathe. The last thing I smelled before I died. Thethingthat I choked on, was thefirstthing I smelled coming into this new life. I did the obvious thing an infant does when exposed to something terrifying to it, I screamed.
The next few seconds,Or was it minutes? Hours? To this day I can't say,were shear madness. One moment I was being held by athing, the feeling to it wasnothuman. Not the way my mother, sister, and father felt.
The next, I felt myself in my fathers arms, a wave of warmth attempting to calm me down. He spoke a few words that I could not understand. He was stopped in his attempt when the unknown presence, the one that was as much of a companion as my mother and sister, exploded. The feel to it before was like a localized inferno. But now, it felt like my own envisioning of Hell. All encompassing. All powerful. Immortal.
Drawing breathe was a victory unto itself when in thisDemon'spresence. I couldn't remember much but the fight to suck in much-needed oxygen into my lungs until the presence seemed to vanish from my field of range. I assume I had been taken somewhere. I remember the cold feeling of a brush painting something on my stomach, my sister was beside me, I assume being given the same treatment as I was. The next moments were some of the worst I ever felt.
I pulled back my sight as much as I could, so to not feel theDemon'spresence, but it still didn't stop it all. I could feel it coming towards me and my sister. For the first time since my birth, I opened my eyes. What assaulted my vision is something I will never forget.
ABeast,one the size of a mountain, and 9 tails swishing behind it furiously, was roaring in fury, attempting to break free from a collection of glowing chains holding it down. I looked to see where the chains were coming from. I saw a woman with red hair, her face and body screaming exhaustion, with chains coming out of her body to hold the creature. To the left was a man with golden blond hair, doingsomethingthat i couldn't even describe.
There are times where someone is confronted with certain indisputable things. Even when they seemsounlikely as to court madness, one must still acknowledge when the option is true. I was in that situation.
Nothing gives a man recently reborn a bigger madness check as seeing arealliving Bijuu trying to kill you and your new family. Especiallywhoyour family was.
No. Not possible.I thought, desperately trying to make sense of the impossible.You're not real. It can't be. You're ink on a page.
No matter how much I tried to say that it wasn't real, they were still real. I knew what was about to happen, and I knew I was powerless to stop it. I should have shut my eyes, but I didn't. I couldn't help but see the catalyst event that would create a protagonist.Me.I thought. It all seemed to go in slow motion. The chains weakening. A tail shooting forward. A shout of warning. It all came to where my baby sister and I were sat, upon the cold ground outside of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
I saw it all. The blood running down their faces. The soft smiles they gave me. The gentle words said in a language I didn't know enough to understand. And I cried. I cried as the Kyuubi was sheared in two. I cried as my sister was given one half. I screamed as the other half was sealed in me. Molten iron seaming to course in my blood.
I cried as their light faded from my minds eye. I cried out foranyoneto save me from my pain. But not a soul answered. Not as my parents died. Not when the darkness, save for one bright spot, surrounded me. Not when unfamiliar people stole my last light from me. And not when the caustic chakra of the Kyuubi gnawed at my thoughts and dragged me into the realm of unconsciousness. Not a soul.
After dismissing the nurse so she could get some sleep, and more importantly give Jiraiya privacy to work, Hiruzen approached the crib, looking at the sleeping children alongside his former student.
"They look like them", he said softly, so as not to wake them,"The boy takes after his father by his looks, but has much of Kushinas' colouring. The girl has Minatos' hair, but Kushinas' face."
They stood there for a moment, the peaceful silence a welcome reprieve from the hectic nature of the hospital and the Village outside.
The silence stretched on for a moment until Hiruzen broke it with a question whose answer eluded him. "Did they decide on names?" He asked. "I know they had a couple of ideas, but I knew of nothing concrete."
Jiraiya stood silently for a moment, before answering his Sensei, "Rin," he said, pausing before giving the final part, "and Naruto." He finished, voice hollow.
"The character from your book", Hiruzen stated, a wave of sadness making its presence known.
Jiraiya voiced no response save for a slight tilting of his head in a nod.
"Your letter said there may have been something wrong with one of the seals. Which one?" Jiraiya asked, wishing to address one of his current prime concerns.
Hiruzen leaned forward, placing a hand gently on the boy, Naruto's, head. "Naruto is different from his sister, and his mother for that matter," he replied gazing upon the childs face. "His chakra is tilted towards Yin. This wouldn't be a concern for a child that wasn't an Uzumaki. But, as we both know, Uzumaki have more yang alignment for there chakra, much like the Akamichi."
Jiraiya nodded his understanding. Stepping forward to begin running a diagnostic on both children's seals, Jiraiya was thinking of potential possibilities of how this could happen.
Yin alignment isn't necessarily a bad thing.That's common in the Uchiha clan. Even the Nara and Yamanaka clan use yin-heavy chakra in their clan techniques.He thought to himself. But he knew Naruto wasn't any of those.Exposure to the Kyuubis' chakra prenatally? Maybe. But why only him and not his sister?
To the best of his knowledge, no female jinchuriki had ever birthed twins. Maybe that was why. One twin's chakra being influenced by one half of the Kyuubi and the other twin being affected by the other half.Yes, that could work.
"There's no issue with either seal", Jiraiya said, finishing his diagnostic on the seals,
"Minato seemed to have designed the seals to slowly let some of the Kyuubis' chakra drip into the two of them. It couldn't have been better designed." He finished, stepping back and flexing his fingers to get feeling back into them from his checking of the seals and brushing against a remnant of the Kyuubis' chakra still left over.
"Do you have any theories on how the chakra imbalance could have happened?" he asked his Sensei, hoping he had another theory that would make more sense than any of his.
"Few", Hiruzen responded. "And each one more unlikely than the last. The most likely I can think of is that perhaps exposure to the Kyuubis' chakra caused his yin chakra to expand, outpacing his yang alignment. But it's only speculation until a more in-depth study can be done. We will have to wait until things have calmed some. Until we can bring a Hyuga to have a look, we won't know for certain."
"That was the best theory I had as well", Jiraiya stated, his tone then switching to a more guarded one. "Which Hyuga will it be? I don't want word spreading about how children that resemble Minato are being given my attention. It's too dangerous right now."
Hiruzen knew what Jiraiya meant. Too much bad blood still remained between Iwa and Konoha. If it were discovered that Minato had not one, buttwochildren, with an Uzumaki mother, andbothwere Jinchuriki, Iwa would resume conflict and Kumo would almost undoubtedly jump in, seeing the danger of letting Konoha have a few years of recovery.
Pushing aside that very real possibility for now, Hiruzen calmed his student's concern with a raise of his hands, "It will be one that is trustworthy, probably Hiashi. We need to be very delicate about the situation, I agree."
Jiraiya nodded to Hiruzens' choice. Hiashi could be trusted. He and Minato had gone on many missions before when they were chunin and some even when they were jonin. It had helped them to become close friends. Hiashi would not break their trust.
"I assume you have an excuse cooked up for why I will be staying in the Village for the time being?", Jiraiya asked, his brow raised a bit in question, "It would do no good for us to look suspicious. I need a reason for being around them." he gestured towards the children.
"As a matter of fact, I do. If people talk, I can head it off by announcing that it was the Yondaimes' wish that the children be seen as heroic for their sacrifice. No one would think twice that you're ensuring your students legacy, now would they?"
Jiraiya grinned at the plan. "That'll work."
The following weeks were hard on Hiruzen. Somehow, it had been leaked that the twins contained the Kyuubi within them, and it was a miracle that much of the villagers, and even some shinobi didn't rise up to try and kill them. Too many people were still grieving for their loved ones to look at things reasonably. With the rumour mill already giving false or misleading information, it was nearly impossible to clear up any of it.
He had hoped, at the very least posting some ANBU to beseenwould prevent some drunk from doing something he would regret. But it didn't stop a few fools hellbent on trying.
A couple of drunken chunins attempted to sneak into the room that housed the twins. "Getting rid of the demonspawn", a couple of the ANBU had heard them going on about. "My sister's a nightshift nurse. She said that after that one nurse, Akira I think, ends her shift, there's a small window's open to get in. It'll take to two of us to get in", he finished, his voice wavering from the alcohol.
The two ANBU radioed in to the ANBU charged with guarding the twin jinchuriki at the hospital, warning of a potential attack.
Spotting their arrival at the hospital, the ANBU guarding the twins got into position, ready to deliver death upon the two drunk Shinobi.
I won't lose another. The masked ANBU thought to himself.
Not even after taking half a step into the room, their was a soft whistle of metal cutting through the air, followed by a wet thunk, and the sound of two corpses hitting the ground.
The two drunks were dead, a kunai buried hilt deep in both of their spinal columns. The next day, the hospital was down a nurse. None of the nurses knew what happened to her. Some assumed that she quit and left the village to be off to greener pastures after thetragicdeath of her brother from falling and breaking his neck after he staggered home from a bar.
ANBU are considered to be capable, ruthless, and above all, got results. And Inu was one of the best.
Hiruzen set down the ANBUs official report with an irritated sigh. It wasn't simply that he had to deal with civilians, and even a low level Shinobi or two, talking about "Finishing what the Yondaime started". It wasn't that his ANBU had to carry out more than one assassination on valid threats. He could deal with were within his realm of expertise. But the medical report he had received not 2 hours before hearing the news from Inu of an attempted attack on the Uzumaki siblings in their hospital room was not something he could solve, even with his decades of experience in understanding chakra and the wonders and great destruction it was capable of bringing.
The medical report was a difficult thing to understand. For Rin, it was normal, aside from an elevated chakra pool, no surprise there. But when it got to the point on Naruto, it was very strange indead. As was suspected by both Hiruzen and Jiraiya, and later confirmed by Hiashi's Byakugan, little Naruto had a chakra consistency that was naturally more yin than an Uzumaki should have.
His yang aspect was potent, but his yin was even more so. When it was discovered that he had the yin half of the Kyuubi in his seal, it all made sense.
The influx of yin chakra consistently fed into his chakra coils was making the difference dangerous. When a person is in possession of a yang dominant chakra system their physical prowess is generally higher. This is seen with the Akamichi clan, the Senju, and the Uzumaki.
Individuals who are in possession of a yin dominant chakra system generally have a more esoteric collection of potential jutsus. The Uchiha and their eyes, the Hyuga, the Nara, with their shadow binding techniques, and the Yamanaka with their ability to project their consciousness outside their bodies.
Where the danger lay, was so much yin chakra being dripped into young Naruto's fragile system. An overabundance of yang chakra would make the person more physically robust, but could lead to an overdeveloped appetite and potentially hyperactive behavior. But an overabundance of yin chakra, especially in one so young, could lead to malformations in the brain and potential personality issues.
Minato had no way of knowing that his son would have a stronger yin level than an Uzumaki should, even before the Kyuubis' yin half was sealed. If the boy's alignment was a normal yang level like his sister, it wouldn't be an issue.
Jiraiya tightend the seal as much as he could without damaging the seals ability, but it wasn't a guarantee that issues will not arise in the next few years. They could only wait and see what the future held for the young boy.
Chapter 2 is done and it's much longer than the first. I haven't watched the series for a few years. If there are canonical issues, that's why. I'm getting a refresher on the 'verse from reading other fics on the site, so some tropes may be noticable. If there are certain things that don't add up with canon, chalk it up to being AU. This is a fanfiction after all. I'll try to put as much original stuff as I for reading. Any constructive criticism is welcome.
Raging Smurf, out..
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Chapter Text
Konohagakure, October
Uzumaki Naruto was having a bad day. Or at least, one worse than most. The five,almostsix, year old had just returned to the orphanage from his weekly medical check-up at Konoha's hospital. Most of what was said each week went over his head. But by the looks of concern and hushed whispers when they noticed him listening, it wasn't good news this week. Every week he would talk to a kind spoken man with long blond hair,almost like Rins',whose name was Inoichi, about the headaches he would sometimes get. He told the man about how he had the nightmare that he couldn't breathe, no matter how much he tried, and the whole world would fade to black, again. It was a recurring dream that he had when his mind would get fuzzy.Why does this keep happening to me? Why doesn't it happen to Rin. Why do I have trouble with people understanding me? It's not fair,He was forcefully driven out of his thoughts when he didn't notice his escort had stopped and walked straight into her, bounced off her, and promptly fell on his behind.
"Pay attention, we're here", the lady snapped. She didn't like having to escort the brat from the orphanage to its little "mind healing" appointments. More like showing the demon how to be human. The other one at least knew how to act like a human, even if it was hyperactive to the nth degree. The brat's appointments would give the caretakers at the orphanage a reprieve from its crazy yammering nonsense, and odd behavior. And she sadly drew the short stick on who would escort the little beast.
"Bitch", he muttered using a word that onlyheseemed to understand.
"What was that?", the lady asked, with a faux sweet tone of voice. Knowing it was using a word itlovedto use around her.
"Nothing", he replied quietly, not wanting anotherlessonon what happens when he speaks "crazy talk".
"Good, now go on inside", She said sweetly, gesturing towards the orphanage in front of them. Naruto wasted no time in getting away from the witch lady and to go find his sister. They had lunch with jiji today and he couldn't wait for it.
Where is he ? He should have been back an hour ago. We're going to be late.
Uzumaki Rin thought to herself. Her irritation causing her to pace back in forth in the small room shared by her and her brother Naruto.
If he's not back, jiji's going to have to wait.Rin didn't want the old man to have to wait on the two of them. She didn't know if Naruto noticed, but she did, the Hokage seemed more exhausted, less energetic when he would take them on their trip to the ramen stand. She may not be able to hold still for very long, or avoid being loud and being an absolute terror to the caretakers at the orphanage , but she was stillveryperceptive.Somethinghad happened within the last few months. Something that seemed to prematurely age the old man almost overnight.
What happened, jiji?" she thought to herself. Worried about the man she saw as her grandfather. She was drawn out of her contemplating when she felt ,more than heard, an all too familiar presence making it's way up the stairs to her room.He's back, she didn't have to wait more than a few seconds before a yellow and red blur engulfed her into a hug.
"I'm back." Her brother nearly shouted in her ear, lifting her off her feet and twirling her around.
"Put me down, 'ruto," she giggled, trying to pry herself from his grip. "We're going to be late. We don't want to keep jiji waiting."
At the mention of the man's name, Naruto set her down, grin still not leaving his face. "Ok. Let me change my shirt first ." At the mention of the article of clothing, Rin noticed there was a noticeable stain on the front.
"What happened?" she asked. That was odd, Naruto normally was careful about spilling things.
"Eh," He started, putting his hand behind his neck embarrassedly, " I sort of wasn't careful when I was talking to Inoichi, and I, kind of, knocked over my juice." he finished, flushed slightly in embarrassment.
"Okay, I'll be downstairs waiting for jiji. Be quick." she said. As she made her way out of the room, she looked back by the corner of the doorway in the hallway and saw her brother looking for where his other shirt was.Why doesn't he remember where he put his shirt? she thought, as she made her way downstairs.It's one of those days, she realized.
It had been better now than what it was last year. Her brother, on most days, was normally the one playing the role of elder sibling. He would console her when the villagers were particularly mean, and when the children in the orphanage would distance themselves away them, with a look of fear or hatred on their days, he would look back, not breaking eye contact until the children did. He also would fix anyadultthat was rude to her with a look of unmatched hatred, whether it be the caretakers, or villagers they saw when at the park. He was her light. Her protector.
But today seemed to be one of those days where he would get confused easily, overlook things, and would act much different than what he normally did. He would start speaking words that others didn't understand, but she did. She understood the most when he would start speaking strangely. "Twinspeak", Jiji would call it. Another language that twins use. But those weren't words that she helped Naruto come up with. He already knew them, he just tought her what the words meant. She never did tell the Hokagethatdetail. Those days were also whenshehad to be whatNaruto normallywas to her.
Jijiasked me to tell him if I noticed when Naruto would have these days. I'll tell him at lunch, when Naruto can't hear.She hated keeping this secret from her brother. It felt almost like she wasbetrayinghim. But she knew the Hokage meant well. He cared very deeply for the two of them, and only wanted the best for them.
Making her way downstairs, she went to the door to go sit on the steps until the Hokage arrived. She looked out to the street, watching the normal hustle and bustle of a shinobi village. She tried to ignore some of the looks she recieved from some of the passerbys. She didn't get those looks when she was with the Hokage, and she could shake them off when Naruto was with her, giving her support.
Hurry up,She thought, before she heard her brother come down the stairs. Walking out to the steps, he sat down next to her, wearing a clean red shirt.
"Jiji here yet?", he asked, looking across the street to the village outside.
"Not yet," Rin replied, "He should be here in a few minutes, it's almost noon."
After a minute of silence, Rin decided to broach a subject she knew her brother wouldn't want to talk about.
"How was your appointment?", she asked, wanting to know what the kind blond man had said to Naruto about hisproblem.
She noticed him tense slightly before responding. "It was all good. It's getting better," he said, the slight tightness in his tone acting like a flare to one who knew him as well as she did.
"Brother",she quietly requested , switching to the language he seemed to invent, "please don't lie to me. I don't like it when you keep secrets from me." She tried to ignore the guilt at the hypocrisy she was showing.
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't like worrying her about problems that werehis. It didn't seem right. "Okay",he exhaled, speaking in the language he had known for as long as he could remember. "I had the dream again, the one where I can't breath. Inoichi said that it wasn't a huge problem. A "bump in the road" is what he said.He said it won't change anything, it will be fixed in a year."
At the look his sister gave him, Naruto put his hands up in placating manner, "That's all he said", switching back the language normally spoken, "It won't change a thing, I'm getting better.", He finished, offering his hand to his sister to take.
Rin looked at the hand for a moment, before grasping ahold of it, a relaxed smile upon her face, "Okay," she said quietly, " Remember I'll always be here for you, 'kay?
Naruto smiled back, leaning into her shoulder. "Me too". He said simply, before looking back towards the village, waiting for the man he saw as his grandfather to arrive.
The last few years had been rough for Sarutobi Hiruzen. Taking up the burden of Hokage again at his age was difficult enough. And the job did not fail to deliver. The Kyuubi attack and its aftermath. The concessions he needed to make to the civilian merchants and businessmen to get an influx of funding to clear away debris and get repairs done quickly. The Hyuga incident with Kumo less than two years ago. The further disenfranchisement of the Uchiha clan with the rest of the village. But the worst was the one that hedidhave power over. One that he could of stopped, but didn't have the strength to do it.Orochimaru,he thought, the very name driving a spike of shame through his heart.After everything I saw that he had done. The experiments, the innocent lives, his apprentice. I still couldn't help but see the precocious orphan I tried to help when he lost what no child should. I encouraged his curiosity. I stoked the flames that overwhelmed his sense of going toofar.I let him flee. I couldn't kill the person I saw weep at his parents death, his whole world ending around him.
"At least something is better", he muttered to himself as he made his way to the orphanage. His thoughts shifting to a less depressing subject, the Uzumaki twins that he saw as his surrogate grandchildren.
They'll be starting in the Academy next year, he mused.Time does seem to fly.
He got to the end of the street, spotting the orphanage at the corner. On the steps, he could see the two he had come to collect. As he approached, he saw Rin perk up and whisper into her brothers ear, probably that she had spotted him, given that her brother sat up, looked around, and saw him a scant moment later.
"Jiji !", they both shouted at same time, as he closed the gap between them.
He stifled a chuckle as they rushed to engulf him into a hug. "I heard some strange rumour that two children were hungry for some ramen. Do you know who that could be?", he asked, trying to maintain a facade of seriousness and failing miserably.
"Us, jiji." they answered, again at the same time.
"Oh really?" He feigned ignorance, "That must mean, hmmm", he continued, putting a hand to his goatee, stroking it thoughtfully, " that must meanyou'rethe ones I came for." he finished, unable to hide his grin.
"Jiji." the twins whined, not wanting to be teased any further.
"Alright, alright. Let an old man have his jokes. Now, are you ready?", he asked, as they let go of his waist to look up at him.
"Yes," they both, again, copied each other precisely. In both body language, and the giggling they let loose.
In that moment, Hiruzen saw so much of their parents seem to shine through them. He saw so much of Kushina in her daughter, her eyes the most. And he may as well be looking into the past when looking at the boy, who aside from his hair, looked the spitting image of his father. Down to the very grin he had on his face.
"Let's go now," he said happily, walking towards Ichiraku's with the children in tow.Minato, Kushina. You would be so proud of your children. And the love they have for one another.
"One of 'those days' again, you say?" Hiruzen asked, his expression giving nothing away.
They had finished eating at Ichiraku's and were back at the front of the orphanage. Naruto had said his goodbye and entered the orphanage to use the restroom, leaving the Hokage and Rin alone for a minute.
"Yes," she said quietly, "He tried to hide it. But he can't hide it from me."
He noticed she wanted to say something else, but looked like she decided not to.
"I can tell you have a question", he said softly, knowing it must be something that was bothering her greatly. "Don't feel scared, I'll answer as best I can."
Rin looked up to him, he could see tears already forming in her eyes. "When will he get better?", she asked, more like begged, him, her voice cracking with emotion, "He's supposed to b-be my big b-brother. He p-protects me, and I protect him. Why does he act like he d-doesn't know m-me sometimes? When will he stop acting s-so_"
"Different." Hiruzen finished, seeing how much it was hurting her to speak about it.
She simply nodded with a sniffle and a hiccup.
"He will be fine by the time you two enroll into the Academy", Hiruzen explained, pulling her into a hug. "His chakra was imbalanced when you two were born. But it's getting much better. Don't worry Rin, he will never forget you. Don't ever let anyone, even yourself, convince you he will abandon you." He finished softly, stroking her hair gently.
After a minute of them standing there, Rin felt calmed down enough to let go of him.
"Thank you, jiji," She whispered quietly.
"Never think you can't talk to me about your worries, Rin. My door is always open." He told her. He always did love their visits to his office. Even when it distracted him from his work, it didn't bother him in the slightest.
Rin gave a small smile and a nod before turning to enter the orphanage.
"And Rin," Hiruzen called, Rin's stride being slightly halted," there's no need for you to keep secrets from your brother."
With that, Rin opened the door to the orphanage, her posture noticeably more relaxed, and entered. Before the door even closed completely, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime of Konoha, disappeared in a shunshin, a small swirl of leaves left in his wake.
The following week marked averyspecial day for the twins. It was their sixth birthday. The Hokage had arrived at the orphanage early in the day and had given them a collection of gifts. The gifts included a set of blunted kunai, so they would be familiar with the feel of them by the time they were enrolled into the Academy, coupons for a few free orders of ramen from Ichiraku's, a toad wallet for Naruto. Hiruzen hated taking credit for that one. A book on wildlife in the Land of Fire for Rin, she loved animals. And finally, a copy of "The tale of the utterly gutsy Shinobi", by Jiraiya the Sannin. Hiruzen barely held back a grimace when the two thankedhimfor the amazing book.I wish you could have delivered it to them yourself, Jiraiya.He moved his thoughts from that for now. Today was about the twins. After they finished trying out their presents for a bit, Hiruzen told them he planned on treating them to Ichiraku's and a trip to the dango shop later. They jumped in excitement at the thought of not just Ramen, but dango as well,on their birthday. So caught up in their excitement, they didn't see the small flash of sadness appear on Hiruzen's weathered face.I need to have it all done before the festival begins. Before the preparations even. He put on a happy face, and continued giving a bit of a family feel to a special day for two special children.
Naruto woke up the next day, refreshed and feeling lighter than he had in a long time. After jiji had dropped him and Rin off back to orphanage, the two had spent the rest of the day reading the book by Jiraiya, and acting out some of the scenes, to which they broke down into giggles everytime they tried, and failed, to do different voices. They got several angry looks from the matrons from the racket they caused, but screw them. Why shouldtheycare what thosewitchesthought.
Stretching his arms and releasing a jaw cracking yawn, he slowly maneuvered his way out of bed, mindful of his sister still asleep right beside him. Ever since they were babies, they shared a bed. The close proximity brought a warmth to him he couldn't put into words. He always thought of a bright, warm fire. It wasn't something he could put into words. It almost feltspiritualhow right it felt.
Once he was out of bed, Rin only shifting slightly in her sleep, he headed over to the small closet they shared. The room they had was a little bigger than the other rooms, but it was more isolated than all the others.
Reaching into the closet, he grabbed one of the books jiji had given them. The book written by Jiraiya was the one he grabbed. He walked back to the center of the room, sat on the floor, and began reading. This was how Rin found him an hour later when she woke up.
" 'Ruto", she said blearily, sitting up, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes," what are you doing?" she asked, before yawning.
"Morning sleepyhead", he said cheekily, before answering her question. "Reading", he said simply, " This book by Jiraiya is really good. Did you know the hero, Naruto,hehe, is such a good guy? Even when he was in a tough spot, he sti-"
" Stop, Stop. I don't want to here what happens next." Rin responded, hands up and all drowsiness seeming to vanish from her. "I want to read it myself."
Naruto simply responded with a sheepish grin, realizing that she wouldn't appreciate having any of the book's details spilled.
"Why are you reading that anyway", Rin asked, "I thought we were going to read it together." A look of confusion marring her face.
"Well," Naruto started, putting a hand on the back if his neck, " I couldn't get back to sleep and I didn't want to wake you up. Breakfast isn't starting for another 15 minutes", he said as he looked at the clock beside the bed, " and I didn't have anything else to do."
"What about reading my book?"
Naruto responded to this very maturely by making retching sounds and fake spasming.
"What's wrong with my book?" she demanded, leaping from the bed and fixing her brother with a glare. "It has pictures of Birds, wolves, rabbits, and all the other animals hear, with little cards with facts about them."
"Oh there's nothing wrong with your book," he said, a devilish smirk appearing on his face that she didnotlike. "If you're a girl."
Rin put her hands on her hips and had a glare that could bore through stone if it could, aimed straight at her brother who still had thatannoyingsmirk on his face.
He did not just say that.
"Do you want to take that back?" she asked, oh so sweetly.
"Nope." he said, popping the p, before blowing a loud raspberry at her.
With a growl borderline animal, she leaped forward and tackled her brother to the ground, trying to pin him.
"Take it back. Take it back. Take it back." she shouted, golden blonde hair going askew.
The only thing she got out of him was a mixture of snickers and giggles, which only succeded in provoking her ire even further.
"Grrr", she growled, trying to hold him down, "hold still."
"Never." he shouted, pushing her slightly off him to get room to maneuver.
The next 10 minutes involved the two siblings attempting to wrestle the other into submission, until it eventually degenerated into a tickle fight, and neither side won.
After they had calmed down, they headed down to the dining area for breakfast. Both would have preferred Ichiraku's with jiji. But they knew the Hokage was busy and couldn't take themevery single day. The man did what he could, and it was much more than most of the other adults did.
Entering the dining area hand in hand, the twins each grabbed a plate and entered the line awaiting breakfast for today. Seeing what was his soon to be sustenance for the morning, Naruto snorted.
Rice. Always rice. Every single day. Doesn't matter if there is cow, pig, fish, or any other kind of meat or vegetables with it. Always. Rice.He never did like rice that much. Don't get him wrong, food was food. But no matter how much he and his sister got, they could always eat more. Not that the orphanage workers even gave them the same amount of food as the other children. It wasn't a great deal less, but it was still less. Even when they devoured several bowls of ramen, they could still always eat more.
A scoop of rice hit his plate with a wet plop, causing a few bits to fall off the plate. A slice of dry fish to its left, a serving of soggy vegetables to its right made up his breakfast. Giving a snort at the sight of hisbountifulharvest, he sat intheirown corner, away from the stares and glares of the other children.
After they ate their food, and the rest of the children left to do their own little things, Naruto and Rin decided to head to the park. It was relaxing, even if they received more glares because the Hokage wasn't with them, and with the Kyuubi festival happening just a day before causing the glares to be more intense, with the extra add on of muttering just loud enough for the two to hear. Devil spawn and Demon twins being the most common. No idea why their presence would cause such emotions and insults.
But still, they made sure they had their time of relaxation, Rin with her book, comparing the pictures of the birds with their real life counterparts. And Naruto looking at the shear joy on his sister's face, along with giving glances towards some of the other children and parents at the park.
Some of the parents returned looks of contempt. Others had neutral expressions. But the few that showed something more than neutral, bordering on friendly, almost all had something else in common.
They looked familiar.
The first time he had seen them at the park, they looked familiar. The days where many of them would be there, along with children who looked like their own and were familiar in their own way, happen to coincide on some occasions when his mind would fog over. Names, faces, voices, they would seem to float into the forefront of his mind, only to vanish not long after. It was irritating. He felt like a part of him that he couldn't connect to was being teased in front of him, only to be snatched away.
On bad days, he would catch himself not recognizing Rin's face.Rin. His own sister. The moment she even said one word though, normally his name, it would snap him out of it. Her voice wasn't forgettable. It washervoice. No one elses. It grounded him when his thoughts floated.
Eventually it got late in the day, the parents calling for their children to come to them, for it was time to leave. No one called his name or Rin's name. After a short while since the last of the children left, the two Jinchuriki of Konoha packed up the little things they brought with them, preparing to return to the orphanage. Giving a final look at a swing that seemed to looksofamiliar with the backdrop behind it, Naruto shrugged it off and continued on with his sister, back to the closest thing to a home they had.
"What's wrong, Rin? You can tell me."
Naruto had noticed that Rin was very quiet on their way back from the park. Her demeanor continued even when they had reached the orphanage and were in their room. Something wasn't right. She wouldn't be this quiet for that long unless she was worried about something, hiding something, or both.
Rin just looked at him silently, a look of apprehension, and was thatfearto?, he couldn't tell.
"Do you love me?", she asked, her voice seemingly smaller than what one would expect from the headstrong girl.
"Yes, of course I do, Rin", he replied, as if it were something as obvious as the sky being blue. "Why are you asking?"
"Would you still love me if I kept a secret from you?" she asked, her voice still too small to fit her.
"Why are you asking this?" he asked her, a streak of worry underlining his voice. "You're scaring me. This isn't funny"
"I", she started, but she stopped herself for a moment. She was scared of how he would react.
"Please", he begged, wanting to know what worried his sister.
"I told jiji about your dream." she said, almost at a rapid pace, trying to say it as quick as possible.
One of the things Naruto had alwayshatedwas feeling like a burden. He hated the fog that would obscure his mind, forcing his sister to do whatheas her brother should be doing. Another thing he hated, being pitied. He saw the looks from the nurses at the hospital. If it wasn't the usual hate like the villagers, it waspity. "The poor child, getting lost in his mind. Such a shame." was the common words he heard. He couldn't fathom how they thought he couldn't hear them, it was so obvious. They may as well be talking right next to him. Hell, he could smell whatperfumethey had on. If they were close enough for that, than they're too close. Even Inoichi, on his first few visits with him, had faint looks of pity shine through when his mind would drift and he would say something in the language no one could understand aside from Rin. Come to think of it, is that why jiji took him and Rin to get ramen? Did he do it outpity?Forhim?
His breath quickened at the thoughts running riot in his head. He slowly backed away from his sister, looking at her differently than before.
"Naru-", she started, reaching out for him, before being interrupted by a frantic Naruto.
"No. No.", He flailed his hands out to keep her from touching him.
"You lied to me. You said no secrets. You said no secrets." He finished the last part in a whisper, almost as if it was to himself.
"Naruto, please", she begged, "I'm sor-"
"NO", he shouted, jumping away from her.
"YOU LIED TO ME!", He snarled, "WHY!"
"Jiji asked me to let him know when your mind would fog", she cried, tears running down her face. The venomous look she was receiving from her brother was something she'd only seen when one of the caretakers or a villager said something disparaging aboutherspecifically. Never when it was both of them. She had never been on the receiving end of his fury, it had always been onherbehalf.
Naruto was in freefall. His thoughts were sluggish. His thinking was focused all ononething, and it was right in front of him.
She lied, he thought.She told jiji about my mind. He PITIES me. The villagers hate me. Jiji pities me, like a stray cat needing milk. A pet. And Rin.Rin. His baby sister. His light in the darkness. His one bright spot. She lied to him. Betrayed his trust... Abandonedhim.
A massive tail. A shout of warning. Lights winking out of existence. Darkness.
I can't breathe. I can't see her. Her light is gone. She's gone.
If Naruto had not assumed what Rin was trying to say. If his own fear of being alone wasn't being fed by what hepercievedas validation of his own nightmare, he could have been reasoned with. He could have been able to see that the Hokage was Inoichi's boss. Inoichi answered to him. The Hokage would know about his problems with his mind. The dream. He was probably only asking Rin because she could understand how much it hurt her brother to know he could become trapped, with no escape, save for waiting till it went away. But he was past the point of reason.
Rin saw her brothers face slack as he backed away from her. The slight tilt of his head, that familiar tilt that she feared, was more noticeable than ever. Like a spooked deer, he turned to run. Before she could even call his name, to try and bring him back, he spoke. He spoke asinglesentence that brought her emotions to an uncontrollable level.
"I don't know you." Barely more than a whisper. His eyes were looking straight into hers. But he seemed to be staring a thousand miles passed. As if she wasn't even there. They almost seemed to flash to a shade of violet not dissimilar to her own.
All the blood drained from her face, leaving her pale, cold, and an icy dagger seemed to find its way into her soul.
"He will never forget you. Don't ever let anyone, even yourself, convince you he will ever abandon you."Those words rung through her head as she saw her brother tense like a cornered animal. She could barely think. She tried to find words to say, to pull him back from his mind. But she couldn't. She couldn't find any. She tried to reach for him, to hopefully stop him.
With a speed that seemed to defy human convention on how fast a six year old ought to be, he bolted from the room, down the stairs andthroughthe door, breaking it off its hinges. Rin couldn't reach him. Couldn't see where he went. And she collapsed to the floor , alone, unable to stand, trapped in her own living nightmare.
The caretakers didn't pay mind to the anguished wails they heard in the night.
Arriving at the park in a blur of red and gold, Naruto fell to the grounded, vomiting what was still left of his supper from earlier in the evening. Night had fallen and only a few villagers were even milling about. A few saw him blur by, probably not even recognizing him.
Wiping the foul mess from his mouth, he still remained on his hands and knees, trying to pull his thoughts together. He had feltsomethingcrack. A wave of memories had hit him that seemedsofamiliar. He felt a phantom pain through his body. Almost like liquid iron working its way through. A few little lines of words he hadn't known, hadn't invented, also began floating to the forefront of his rapidly clearing mind.Carpe Diem. Ils ne passerant pa. Storge. Agape.They were words he never heard, but he still knew what they meant in his very bones.
After trying for an unknown amount of time, he managed to calm himself enough to think a little clearer. The fog was still there, but his mind felt more,whole. More than it had in years. Trying to push through it, he was able to decipher and break down what had caused him to flee.
She was telling me she told jiji about my dream.A stab of pain went through his head.Why would she do that? Did she not trust me to tell him eventually? Why?An errant thought crossed his mind. A thought that now, only after he was away from the situation, made its way to the front of his thoughts.
Jiji is the Hokage. He's the boss of the whole village. That means he's Inoichi's boss. You're supposed to tell your boss what is going on. Jiji alreadyKNEW, before Rin told him. Why would he ask her for details? It doesn't make sense. I saw the writing on Inoichi's little notepad when he grabbed a glass juice for me, and when I "spilled" it, he grabbed several napkins from another room. ItHADto be to the Hokage.As Naruto worked through the thought that had taken possession over him, frightened by what it meant.
Rin told him because he cares for me. He doesn't trust Inoichi's word as much as mine. He wants to know I'm safe. Rin. He stopped when he thought of his sister.
I've seen the look in her eyes before. The fear when I couldn't recognize her face. The relief when I knew her voice. She's scared I won't remember her. He realized.
And I said "I don't know you." Naruto, you idiot. You really did it this time, moron.
He realized he needed to get back, now! Tell Rin how sorry he was. That he wouldn't leave her, he loved her.
Trying to stand up, he staggered before falling back down.
My legs hurt. My whole body aches. He couldn't understand why. His whole body, and his legs especially, felt like something had burned it's way through his muscles. He could feel them getting a little better, but he didn't know when he'd be able to walk steadily to the point he could get back to the orphanage.
Please don't come looking for me
, prayed.
Jiji had said for them not to be out in the village at nightfall. "Bad people come out at night", he said. But Naruto thought there was more to it, not simply because of nighttime. Was it dangerous at night for everyone? Or just them?
He continued to lay on the ground at the park, letting the ache in is limbs slowly fade away. He didn't know how long he was there. It could have been a few minutes. It could of been an hour. He just sat there stewing in his thoughts, wondering what he was going to say to apologise to Rin.
Hearing a slight rustling of leaves, he turned and saw someone he wasn't expecting, the caretaker who had escorted him to his appointment two weeks ago. Thebitch.
"Oh thank goodness I found you", she exclaimed, a look of relief on her face. "Nobody knew where you went and we've been looking for you."
That was odd. Normally she was never this polite. What was going on.
"Why are you here?", he asked, suspicion lacing his tone. Was this the same woman who was terrible to him and his sister?
At the suspicion coming from the boy, she seemed to shift into a more aggravated stance.
"Your sister is in the hospital," she said simply, no politeness in her tone.
Naruto's brows shot upwards, a look of shock on his face.
"What?! What happened", he asked frantically.
"She was screaming and wouldn't calm down. They had to take her to the hospital to be sedated," the woman answered, giving a slight glare towards the boy.
It's my fault.
Naruto thought.I wasn't there to calm her down. I did this.
"Take me to her," He begged her, "please."
The woman looked at him for a moment before answering, "You will stay close to me and not move any slower. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded his understanding, before forcing himself to his feet to follow her to the hospital.
Had he been thinking more about her off character introduction, instead of his guilt over his sister, he might have suspected something. He might also have noticed her slightly different posture. And he might have noticed her gate was different when he tried to keep pace with her longer strides if he wasn't thinking of the ache in his legs. But he noticed nothing. Tunnel visioned as he was to help his sister.
I can't believe it worked
, The disguised Shinobi thought. He had henged into the form of one of the caretakers at the orphanage to get the brat to drop his guard. He had copied the voice and the tone to sell it further, but that's where he almost screwed up. The boy looked at him like he had grown a second head before adopting a look of guarded caution.
He was fortunate to have thought quickly on his feet and shifted the tone to a more rude one.She evidently hates the kid, and he assumes bitchiness from her.After selling some BS about his sister,You could have heard the crying from over a block away,being in the hospital, the boy dropped all caution to only be replaced by a look of fear, and was that guilt? Oh, even better.
Setting the pace, the Shinobi quickly outpaced the boy, forcing him to grimace from keeping up with the larger man's stride.
They were within a hundred yards of the hospital entrance when the Shinobi veered to the right, Into an alley alongside the entrance.
"Wha-", the boy started, confused by the change of entrance. Before realizing something wasverywrong.
Turning to look at him, the boys face twisted into a look of hatred at the realization of deceit.
"WHERE IS SHE?," he growled, pulling a kunai from the pouch on his thigh.
Noticing that the kunai was a blunted one for training, the mysterious Shinobi chuckled at the boys audacity.
"Nothing personal, kid. Just business." With that that, the boys chakra spiked, his eyes flickering from blue to violet, and he charged him, murder in his eyes.
Too easy. He thought, as the boy overextended his stab, giving the man the perfect opportunity to drive a knee into the boys sternum. The boy nearly folded over his leg from the impact. He hit the ground, hard, coughing and trying to get air back into his lungs.
Orders are orders. Get the kid worked up and sic him on the hospital, making old man Hokage look like he's slippin.
"Like I said kid, nothing personal." Making hand signs, he cast his choice of Genjutsu.DemonicIllusion: Hell viewing technique.
The moment the Genjutsu took affect, the boy clutched his head and started screaming uncontrollably, gibbering words that were untranslatable from what he was trying to say.
Now, just wait till he breaks. He thought, hoping it was quick. The screaming will attract unwanted attention.
Almost as if fate was listening, he spotted an ANBU closing in,rapidly.
Shit, I can't fight that bastard. Not a chance.As he was prepping to cut his losses and flee, a spike ofvisiblechakra blasted out of the boy, distracting him and the ANBU for a second. Both thought that was the end of it as the ANBU got closer. They wereverywrong.
A scream of pain. A blast of purple chakra. A shockwave that knocked both to their backs, ears ringing. The ANBU looked like he got it worse. He was clutching at his eyes and was struggling to get up, like a drunk staggering home.
The ANBU or the kid?Thinking quick, the man pulled a kunai and flung it at the kid, his aim true, knowing the ANBU may be able to prevent a fatal strike to himself. He saw it in slow motion. The kunai flying, it making contact, the soft thunk of it striking flesh, the boy falling to his back, kunai lodged in his chest.
He turned to stagger away, but was struck bysomethingthat speared a hole through his shoulder and out his back. The boy had a spike of what looked to be chakra coming from him that was a golden colour.
What is this. The man thought. Not recognizing what the hell it was. As fast as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving a boy in the middle of a dark alley, choking on his own blood.
Gritting his teeth, the man fled as fast as his injured state would allow, before the ANBU could recover.I better get paid extra for this.
I hate night shifts. Uchiha Itachi decided. Having recently become an ANBU, he still needed to go through some of thelessermissions that all other rookies had to do before being "one of the group". One of those missions was playing watch over the Uzumaki twins. Daytime wasn't so difficult. It mostly involved watching them play at the park or venture very lightly into the forest surrounding the village. Not too bad. It was refreshing to see two children be happy in spite of all the hatred they received from the village. In the boy, he saw a bit of himself. That protectiveness and fierce love that he had for his sister was something that touched at Itachi's heartstrings.Almost how I love Sasuke. He thought, his thoughts shifting to his little brother who was about the same age as the twins, come to think of it.
He resigned himself to a long night, knowing he could have avoided it, but had decided not. Inu had been injured on a prior mission. And while he was "medically fit" to do the job, he still was moving a little gingerly with a barely perceptive limp.Cracked ribs and a dislocated ankle take time to heal, even with chakra.He mused. He had to offer to take up Inu's shift to watch the twin jinchuriki. Inu wouldn't have up and asked. He would have dealt with it.
That offer of kindness seemed to have been either a good choice or a bad one, as he could hear shouting from the room, even when he was on the adjacent buildings roof.
This isn't good.he thought as he felt a slight spike of chakra, before seeing the boy fleeing the orphanage like a wild bijuu was on his heels.
I'd best follow him.Channeling chakra to his legs, he ran to the edge of the roof, leaping across the street to the other side, hopping from rooftop to rooftop trying to locate where the boy was headed.
The boy eventually stopped at the park, collapsing from exhaustion, by the looks of it.
Did he mean to channel that much chakra into his legs? Chakra enhancement wasn't something to take lightly. If you don't do it often, giving your muscles the opportunity to strengthen themselves to the chakras potential effects, you could damage something.
Looks like he didn't.That's more chakra than many chunins channel.He saw the boy lay on the ground, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He sat there for maybe 10 minutes, before Itachi spotted something a hundred yards or so out from the parks boundary.
It looked like one of the caretakers from the orphanage. He was ready to intervene when the look of suspicion appeared on the strawberry-blonds face, but stayed his hand when the woman said something that caused the boys face to do a complete shift to one of alarm. The boy and woman left, with Itachi playing invisible watcher to the two. He followed them and deduced that based on the route they were taking, they were headed to the hospital.
Why. There was no reason to go. The boy looked much better in how he walked from what was even just a few minutes ago.That would have taken a couple days for anyone else. He thought.Is that because of his tenant? Or a bloodline ability?
His mind switched to its combat form when he saw the woman lead the boy down an alley right beside the hospital and drop a henge. Sharingan active, he dove off the roof and landed with a slight crouch, bolting forward with his blade drawn from his sheath. The unknown assailant saw him, and by the man's look, he knew he was outclassed.50 yards. 35. 20.Before he could get any closer, there was a colossal blast ofpotentchakra that felt like a flash bang had gone off in his head from his eyes picking up the chakra. Stumbling from the temporary vision impairment, Itachi tried to advance further only for a second even more intense blast knock him to the ground, ears ringing.
I can't see. He shouted in his mind. His whole vision having gone white from being so close to the Jinchuriki. Ears still ringing, he deactivated his Sharingan to hopefully see better. It was still bad, but he could see their silhouettes now. Trying to get back to his feet, he saw the mysterious man pull a kunai, ready to throw. Itachi put up a hand, ready to block it.Better a hole in my hand than my chest. But it never came. He threw it at theboy. Watching the boy collapse backwards was one of the worst things he could envision. He hadfailed. Before he could even hope to be able to mount a pursuit, the assailant had already vanished into the night.
Rushing to the boy's fallen form, he checked where the wound was located. It was bad. The kunai had gone through his left lung and he was struggling to draw breath. Itachi's vision was still blurred but he could see enough of the boys face to know what his thoughts were.
Terror. His eyes were full of horror at the realization of how he was dying. His choking, rasping breathing was getting worse by the moment. The boy grabbed at Itachi's face weakly, not recognizing his masked guardian.
"It's okay, I'm here. Your safe," he whispered to him, not unlike how he would console Sasuke when he had nightmares when he was younger.
The boy eventually calmed his grabbing at Itachi's face, but then started trying to grab at the kunai in his chest.
Itachi grabbed his hand, stopping him. "No, don't. You'll make it worse." he said. "I need to get you to the hospital."
Despite the boy trying to rasp out a protest, Itachi hoisted him up, carrying him out of the alley.
"Not yet", the boy rasped, barely meeting the definition of a whisper, "not yet. Not. Ready."
Itachi looked him straight in eyes, seeing something flash within them. He could only describe it asmore, behind those blue orbs. More than what he would have thought a six year old could be in possession of.
By the time Itachi had staggered into the hospital, Naruto's eyes had rolled up into his head, his body going slack.
"MEDIC!," Itachi shouted, grabbing multiple peoples attention at the sight of a uniformed ANBU holding a child covered in blood. "Six year old with a kunai wound to the chest. I need help, now."
Multiple medics rushed to him, grabbing the boy from his arms and taking him in to the medi-nins to try and save him.
Itachi watched as they carried him away, a feeling of numbness hitting him. Collapsing into a chair, he reached into his pocket to radio in what happened. Flicking it on, he only heard a faint crackle be emitted from it.Broken. From the chakra blast. Dragging himself to his feet, trying to ignore the pounding in his eyes and slight ringing in his ears, he exited the hospital and Shunshined to the Hokage tower. To deliver the dark news of what had befallen one of Konohas' children.
I could have continued the chapter but I felt that it was long enough. The next will be where I planned to have the next part. This chapter was very difficult for me. Alot of interaction andfarmore emotion than I expected. I initially planned to have Kakashi instead of Itachi as the intervening ANBU. I hope I picked the correct route I'm wanting to take with this fic.
Thank you for reading and I'll catch you later. Raging.
Chapter 4: Lamentations
Chapter Text
After what seemed like an eternity, my thoughts broke the surface. I was no longer drowning. After the Kyuubi had been sealed into me, I had been out of it. Incoherent, my thoughts and memories scrambled, I wasn't able to remember most things past a certain age. I was probably in a similar psychological stage that I was when I was about eight or nine. Most of the time. The first few days, I was mostly lucid. Minus a bit of confusion, I was mostly fine. Then someone tightened something on my gut, likely the seal, meaning Jiraiya, come to think of it.
Before the seal had been tightened, most of my thoughts and memories were still reachable. Some of them felt more like implants, but they were still there. When I would force myself into a state of anger, or at least as angry as an infant can get, more clarity would enter my mind, with the memories feeling more real. My most likely theory was that a decent part of the yin chakra that represented my personality was dragged by the shear volume of the Kyuubi into the seal. Looking back, that was likely what occured, especially with the conversation I had just overheard between a very familiar voice and one that I could recognize anywhere.
Yin instability since infancy, only to be seemingly cured by a Genjutsu and a kunai to my chest. I remembered very clearly the thoughts and words I had said to my sister, drawing a feeling of guilt from it.I can't imagine what she's going through right now.I think the trauma of what was shown with the Genjutsu, and the near death experience caused the seal tightening to either loosen or maybe even break, causing a sizable chunk of yin chakra to break loose, rejoining the greater portion, fixing most of the disjointed thoughts, and hopefully mind fog.Can't really have a lot of coherency when you have no context for the memories.
That Genjutsu hurt more than the kunai. Don't get me wrong, I didn't exactly enjoy the reenactment of my original death. But I'd already lived that. Felt that. Died from that. The Genjutsu showed the child version of myself his worst fear. And it was directly affected by what had recently transpired.
A mysterious figure taking my sister from me. An unfamiliar figure and me fighting. My blade finding its why into my opponents chest. The hood falls back. My little sisters violet eyes look back, a look of betrayal in them. "Why?", she begs, her eyes slowly fogging over, "you promised. We promised.". The words I heard next were in my own voice. "I don't know you."
The kunai was what broke the Genjutsu. God bless that kunai. The taste of blood and trying to breathe out of a busted lung was far more sufferable than seeing my sister die at my own hand.The first damn thing I'm learning is how to break a damn Genjutsu. I'm not dealing with that shit again.
For the next hour or so, I laid in the hospital bed, feigning sleep. Letting my thoughts wonder to the conversation I had heard between the Third Hokage and Yamanaka Inoichi.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had nearly been ready to go home, his work finally finished. Much of the tedious paperwork had been handled. His missive to Jiraiya about the twins reaction to his presents had just been sent on its way. Things were good.
Everything pointed at him getting an early nights sleep. Something he hadn't had over the last several months since Orochimaru's betrayal. He could finally get some much needed rest. But it was not to be.
A Shinobi knows above all else the total suprise death can arrive as. If given the opportunity, chaoswillstrike at the least opportune time. A discordant note, causing a complete disruption of the symphony. This note arrived in the form of a still uniformed Uchiha Itachi charging through the tower, right into his office, nearly kicking the door off it's hinges to get in.
Rising from his seat, ready for a potential confrontation, his chakra flaired, he shouted towards what appeared to be one of his ANBU, "What is this?". Why the hell was Itachi here? What was going on?Whydid he have so much blood covering his front?
Itachi fell to one knee, head bowed. "Hokage-sama," he said, trying to slow his breathing from running, "Uzumaki Naruto was attacked."
The world seemed to go still. Hiruzen could feel his chest clinch, his eyes widening at what he had just heard.What.
"What happened?", he demanded, wanting to know what happened.
"Someone henged as a caretaker from the orphanage-", before he could finish, he was interrupted by Hiruzen.
"Orphanage?... Where is Rin?" he asked, his voice betraying his near panic.
"She was still there the last time I saw her."
"Guards!", Hiruzen shouted, three of his ANBU guards in hiding appeared before him.
"Sir", they replied, awaiting orders.
"You two," he ordered, pointing at the two on the left. "Go to the orphanage, find Uzumaki Rin and bring her to me."
"Where will you be, sir?" one asked.
Hiruzen gave Itachi a look, demanding to know where Naruto was.
"The hospital on the east side, the one more heavily guarded."
Hiruzen turned back towards the two ANBU, "Bring her there. And if anyone tries to stop you, terminate. With extreme prejudice."
This was not the kind old man that many saw when out in public. This was the man that was the star pupil of the Senju brothers. The Professor. A man who had grown old in a profession where men die young. This, was their Kage.
With a nod, both ANBU left the office with haste, mission on mind.
"Both of you, with me," he instructed shortly, gesturing towards Itachi and the sole remaining guard.
The three then left the office, the hospital as their destination.
Rin had eventually cried herself to sleep. The exhaustion from the effort overwhelming her. Her brother had left her. Alone. Abandoned.
I don't knowyou.
Those words had been burned into her mind, the look on his face as he said that as well. She was pulled from her troubled sleep when she heard a single knock on the door. She jumped from her bed, hoping beyond all hope it was her brother. She pulled the door open, only to be left disappointed.
There were two masked ANBU, they looked like the ones that she sometimes spotted when her and her brother were with jiji.Why are they here?
"What is going on? Why are you here? Tell me!", she demanded, not even giving them time to answer her first question.
"You need to come with us." the one on the left said. Voice neutral.
"Not until you tell me WHY!", she snarled angrily, the past few hours being terrible on her mind.
The other ANBU responded in a clinical matter of fact tone. Almost like he were commenting about the weather.
"Your brother was attacked."
Everything stilled. She didn't hear him right. It was just misunderstanding.
"What?", she asked, eyes wide, all the anger in her voice vanishing.
"The Sandaime told us to bring you to the hospital. He and your brother are there." the one on the left said this with a little more kindness than his partner.
This can't be happening. Her brother was supposed to be invincible. Nothing could hurt him. None of the hate from the village or the orphanage bothered him. What happened?
"What happened", she asked, begging them them to know who hurt her brother.
"You'll know more when we get there." he said, his tone showing that there would be no more discussion on the matter.
Grabbing her shoes, she put them on and was ready to leave. Seeing this the ANBU turned to leave, with their objective behind them.
Hiruzen arrived at the hospital with Itachi and his ANBU guard in tow. Approaching the lady at the front, he asked about Naruto.
"You had a boy come in with a kunai wound to the chest, which room is he in?"
Noticing who the man asking the question, the lady's eyes widened before she answered.
"Um, room 23, s-sir." she said, worried about what the Hokage being here meant.
A brisk "Thank you." was all she heard before the Hokage and his masked guards walked at a quick pace to the aforementioned room. Purpose in their stride.
The sight Hiruzen was confronted with was a terrible one. Naruto was on a hospital bed, tied down, with close to half a dozen chakra suppressant tags on his forehead, limbs, and chest. Not to mention the copious amounts of blood that stained his clothes.
It was Naruto's blood on Itachi, not the assassin's.He realized.I need to know more on what precisely happened.
The nurses on standby spotted the three men, the older of the two approaching Hiruzen.
"What happened? Why is he restrained?", He asked, concerned on why that would be the case.
"The trauma surgeon ordered it. Something about "Shinobi put under Genjutsu thrashing around", or something along that line. I mostly cover non Shinobi patients, you'll need to speak with him if you want to know more." she replied, a look of disappointment that she couldn't give him more information.
"Thank you", he said, "Would you tell the surgeon I'm here? I wish to speak with him."
The senior nurse nodded, before asking the younger one to come with her, the two exiting the room.
Once the two had left the room, Hiruzen turned to Itachi, his face stern.
"Tell me everything that happened." his tone demanding no nonsense.
Itachi told him everything that occurred, leaving nothing out. The henge, the Genjutsu, the first and then second blast of chakra, and the after effects of it. The screaming, and finally the assassin flinging the kunai, and carrying the boy to the hospital.
Hiruzen then noticed how Itachi's eyes behind the mask were bloodshot and squinted. He had also noticed him quirk his jaw like he was trying to pop his ears more than once.
How strong must the blast have been to do that? he wondered. Normally it was the Hyuga that would get their eyes irritated from extremely potent chakra. But it wasn't to this level. And it was a Sharingan that it happened to.
"Go home, Itachi," he whispered, he knew Itachi was not at his best and needed to rest and recover from whatever the hell happened.
"I'm still fine, sir." he responded, not wishing to be dismissed.
"You're focusing on my lips, not my eyes. And your eyes are redder than when they're activated. You can barely hear me, or see me. You needrest. Unless there is something else that you forgot to tell me, you should go home and recover. Don't be like Inu."
At the mention of the other anbu, Itachi deflated. He was right on all counts.
"Ok,sir." he said quietly, before stepping towards the door. "One thing," he added. "I can't be sure if I saw it correctly, but I thought I might have seensomethingshoot out from Uzumaki towards the assassin. It looked gold coloured. But I can't be sure if it was just a trick of my vision."
It was almost imperceptible, if Itachi wasn't looking for it, he would not have seen it. There was a very miniscule tightening of the Hokage's mouth at the mention of the golden thing he had seen.
So it wasn't just me seeing things after the blast.He thought to himself, as he exited the hospital, in need of a rest for his eyes, ears, and mind.
Seconds after Itachi left, the surgeon entered the room. The man looked to be in his early forties, with his dark hair streaked with grey, one hand in his pocket. Spotting Hiruzen, he walked towards him to speak with him. "You wished to speak with me, Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen nodded. Looking at the boy on the bed. "Why is he restrained?"
The surgeon adopted a look of discomfort, as if thinking of a bad event.
"He was fighting us." he said simply, "We tried to treat him but he was thrashing around too much. He ended up breaking one of the nurses arm from a kick."
Hiruzen looked straight at the man, as if thinking of something. "How did you get the kunai out?"
"We didn't." the man said simply, looking at his resting patient. "He pulled it out himself. We restrained him because he started swinging it at us."
Hiruzen looked at the boy, then back at the man. "Tell me everything from the moment he got here."
And the man did. Telling the Hokage how the boy promptly started thrashing around after he was handed over to them by the ANBU carrying him. Him screaming in an unknown language, repeating a certain word over and over again. Them trying to hold him down. The kick and the resounding crack of the nurses forearm. The boy pulling the kunai out of his own chest, swinging it blindly. Only after they pried it out of his hand and restrained him did they notice something. The wound had already mostly closed, looking like days if healing had been done in the course of a minute. They thought was the end of it until a small flash of chakra emanated from the boy. Gold in colour, it caused a couple of shallow cuts on the nurses holding him down. The surgeon got it the worst, with a deep gash in the palm of his hand, explaining why he kept his bandaged hand concealed.
They had to put a suppressant tag on him, but it burned away in seconds, so they put one on each limb, one over his heart, and one on his head. The tag on his head finally put him out.
Hiruzen thanked the man for the information, telling him if he needed to know anything else, he'd ask for him. The surgeon nodded and left the room to get his handed healed the rest of the way, he had been in the middle of it being sealed up when the nurse had requested his help.
Now it was only the Hokage and his remaining Anbu guard in the room. Turning to the masked Shinobi, Hiruzen gave him a simple instruction.
"Do you know where Yamanaka Inoichi lives?" he asked. At the nod of confirmation, he continued. "Go to his house and tell him to meet me here. Tell him it's urgent. It pertains to his number 9 patient."
The ANBU nodded, and promptly left the room, not wasting a minute.
Hiruzen looked at the boy, his state of sleep softening his features, making him look even younger.I don't know how this could have happened. I will need to calm Rin down. Assure her he'll be fine. Kami, I hope Inoichi gets here so I can confirm it.
About a minute later, one of the two ANBU he sent to collect Rin made himself known.
"Sir", He said simply, "We have her. No problems enroute."
Nodding at what he had heard, Hiruzen went to exit the room. "Where is she at?"
"Waiting room."
"Stay here for now", Hiruzen ordered, "I'll be back shortly."
A simple nod was all Hiruzen saw before he exited the room, his path set to help a girl in the midst of an emotional crisis.
Before even arriving at the waiting room, he could here shouting.That's not good.He thought. Getting closer, he began to be able to discern what the shouting was about.
"I WANT TO SEE HIM. LET ME GO!"
Knowing he had his work cut out for him, Hiruzen stoked himself up before entering.Kami give me strength. Hopefully she's more reasonable than her mother or Mito.
Famous last words, you poor bastard.
Upon entering the room, he saw his ANBU guard holding the girl down in a chair, his hair frazzled and what appeared to be a bite mark on his right hand.
When he saw the girl's hair bristled out in the form of several tails, his hopes rapidly diminished.Kami, it's worse.Upon seeing him, the girl's attitude seemed to do a 180.
"Jiji !" she shouted, kicking the ANBU's leg to try and get free.
Nodding towards the ANBU to let her go, to which he did, Hiruzen prepared to speak to Rin about her brother, a certain thought going through his head.
They didn't clean the blood off him. Do I tell her she can't see him and lie? Or do I let her see him in the state he's in?The restraints look like what they do with prisoners. Or animals.With the girl free from his ANBU's grip, she ran towards him, grabbing him in a tight hug.
"Is he okay?" she asked, her tone that of a frightened child, instead of the warrioress just seconds ago, "He's not dead. No. He's not dead, he can't be." she continued, her voice more frantic with every word.
Grabbing her tightly and forcing her to make eye contact, Hiruzen leaned in to look directly into her violet eyes. "Rin," he said softly, "He's not dead. He's going to be okay. They got him here. He'll be okay."
He saw tears of relief spring from her eyes, her whole posture looking like she could collapse in his arms.
"I want to see him."
Lie. Truth. Lie. Truth. Which one, damnit.
Looking at her eyes, seeing the raw vulnerability in them, he made a choice that would plague his thoughts for weeks.
Swallowing his guilt, he replied to the recently turned six year old with his softest tone.
"He will be okay, but there are many people in the room and you would only make it harder for them to help him."
When he saw her about to say something, he continued. "Rin, don't tell me you wouldn't run straight to him and refuse to let go, even if they needed to treat him."
Rin closed her mouth at this, knowing he was 100% correct.
"But it's my fault." she choked, a tear going down her face, "I told him that I told you about his dream."
Oh kami, no wonder she is like this. She blames herself.
"Rin, look at me", he said sternly, getting on his knees to make direct eye contact. "It is not your fault. It is the man who did this where the blame is. Donotblame yourself."
"He said he didn't know me."
... Hiruzen didn't know how to respond to that.What the hell was going through your mind, Naruto? To saythatof all things.
Thinking of something, he looked back at Rin. "Do you trust me?"
At the sudden question, Rin looked up in slight suprise. Swallowing, she nodded a yes.
"Do you trust my judgment?"
Another nod.
"Then trust me when I say you are not to blame. Naruto will not blame you. Trust me that I know Naruto didn't mean it when he said that. And trust me when I say hewillbe okay."
She was quiet for a moment before she relaxed and gave him an answer. "Okay." she said softly, a watery smile on her face.
Sitting up from his kneeling position, Hiruzen smiled softly, looking down at her. "I'll let you know when I here any news. Go and get something to eat if you need. The ANBU wouldloveto take you." He finished, giving the ANBU a side glance.
Not noticing the ANBU flinch, Rin walked away from Hiruzen, looking at a sign for directions to the cafeteria. When Hiruzen was almost to the doorway, he realized this might be a chance to sate his curiosity about something.
"Rin," he asked. Seeing her turn towards him, he voiced his question. "the doctor said Naruto was saying a certain word repeatedly. We think it was a word that you two made up."
At that, Rin's attention was piqued, wondering what word he had said.
"What is it?"
Hiruzen said the word, hoping he had pronounced it properly. He saw her adopt a look of slight concentration, as if trying to remember. When she did answer, he didn't know, till the day he died, how he managed to keep the horror and near terror from showing on his face.
It means "fox".
Yamanaka Inoichi was having, to put it mildly, a fantastic day. He had managed to call in a favor from Shikaku to have him babysit Ino for the night. Choza got in on the action and got Shikaku to take Choji for the night as well. "Bonding experiences for the next InoShikaCho trio" they had told their wives. Despite the man's protests, they got him to take them on the promise of his debt being clean with them, mainly Inoichi. All they had to do was tell Shikaku one thing, or more specifically, a date. October 2nd. With that one sentence, all protests died from Shikaku. That day brought nothing but a combination of hilarity and trauma to Inoichi when he thought of it.
(Flashback)
"For all your smarts, you're a damned idiot." Inoichi grumbled to Shikaku, despite knowing he probably couldn't understand him in his drunken state. It had started with them going to their normal bar. The place the three close friends would go to relax and spend some time together on the weekends, away from their wives. Shikaku, as the jonin commander, had been run ragged the last several months since Orochimaru's betrayal. Needing to give the appearance of continued strength, mission rates had climbed, and much of the paperwork load was split between the Hokage and Shikaku.
Shikaku's wife, Yoshino, was very understanding of his plight and wouldn't demand anything of him when he was home, understanding howverytired he was from all the work. She would show him howgratefulshe was for all hishard work.This included being very nice to the point of doting on him. As well as...otherthings.
The funny thing, his work schedule had returned to normal a month ago. He conveniently left out how his schedule was no longer as intense as it was before. To celebrate his continued good fortune, he decided to imbibe in more amounts of alcohol than normal. Neither Choza or Inoichi realizedhowmuch he had drank until he fell out of his chair near closing time.
Inoichi looked at Choza, shaking his head in exasperation. "We're going to need to carry him home, aren't we?"
Choza snorted, and nodded his affirmative. "Looks like it." He said gruffly, pulling the smaller man to his feet. "Up you get, Shika. We need to get you home."
Pulling the man to his feet, Choza let his grip slacken, only to have to catch the man again as he started to fall. "How much did you drink?" he asked, genuinely suprised that he wasthatout of it.
The only response he received was a light snoring sound.
"He's passed out." Inoichi pointed out unnecessarily.
"No shit. Well, I guess I'm carrying his broomstick looking hide back."
With that proclamation, Choza hoisted Shikaku's form upword and started carrying him to his house.
"We'll take him back to his house. I told my wife that I was meeting you and Shikaku sadly couldn't make it." Inoichi said to Choza.
Choza just responded with a grunt, shifting Shikaku's weight to get a better grip. "Sure thing. Damn, you'd think he drunk half a barrel from how much he weighs."
Inoichi snorted a snicker at that. Several minutes later, they got within visual sight of Shikaku's house when he began to stir. "zzz- Where are we?" he slurred, his vision out of focus.
"We're almost to your house. We'll get you to your room in no time." Inoichi assured him.
At that sentence, Shikaku's eyes widened and he tried to get out of Choza's grip.
"No. No. You can't." he said frantically, barely coherent. "Yoshino can't see me like this."
"What do you mean she can't see you li-... oh." Inoichi realized.
All three of their wives knew how much Shikaku liked to drink. It was a form of relaxation. A way to let his mind slow down a bit. So he didn't think to much. It was such a drag. But there was something all of them, including Yoshino, knew about his habit.
Heneverdrank while on the job.
Yoshino was sharp, not as sharp as her husband, but still sharp nonetheless. Shikaku had told her that he had been working on the weekends, which was true. But that was when his schedulewaswhat he was saying it was. If he came home drunk, on a weekend, with his two best friends in tow, the jig would be up. Not only would she tear strips from her husband for being not only a lazy ass, but alyingone as well. But she still wouldn't have her pound of flesh. She would tear into the two ofthemas well, for helping to hide it. She would tell their wives and leave the both ofthemin the doghouse as well.
"For all your smarts, you're a damned idiot." Inoichi grumbled.
Thinking of a plan, Inoichi came up with a plan that would rival Shikaku in brilliance.
"We're still going to your house." he said, "Shut up and let me finish." he added irritably when he saw Shikaku try to interrupt him.
"Your office is on the west side of your house, yes?" At Shikaku's nod, he continued, " I'll mind jump into you, the alcohol won't affect me as much and Choza will carry me up there. I'll open up some files to make it look like you worked late and I'll have you in your offices bed to look like you called an early night."
Choza stepped in with his own opinion, "I might not be able to get up the wall. I might have drunk too much."
Intoxication. The bane of chakra control. Unless you had a tolerance ofLegendaryproportion, you weren't going to be able to belt out the most effective jutsu, even something as simple as sticking to a wall.
"You have more tolerance than us." Inoichi said, gesturing towards himself and Shikaku.
Several minutes later, they arrived at the side of Shikaku's house. Choza gently let Shikaku down, his form looking like a stiff wind could blow him over.
"You ready?" Inoichi asked.
"Hmmnn", Shikaku nodded.
Using the jutsu his clan was known for, Inoichi made the hand signs very slowly.
Kami, I'm drunk.
Jumping into Shikaku's mind, Inoichi opened his eyes to see his unconscious form just a short distance away.
That was much easier.he thought.
It was normally almost impossible for him to jump into Shikaku's mind. The man was in possession of one of the strongest minds in the Elemental Nations. But that was, of course, operating under the assumption that he wasn't half a step away from blackout drunk.
"Inoichi?" he heard Choza ask from behind.
Turning around, Inoichi nearly staggered from the movement.
If it's bothering me this much, how stinking drunk is he?"Yeah. I'm good." he answered, after seeing the look of concern on Choza's face.
"I don't like this, you shouldn't be doing mind jumps drunk."
Inoichi waved his concerns off. His plan was brilliant. Brilliant enough it would leave Shikaku green with envy.
"Not a big deal. Just get me up there, I'll pull some papers out onto the desk and I'll drop his ass in his bed, and we'll be done.
Choza simply responded by turning to walk to the brick side of the house, muttering something along the line of, "Idiots, the both of you."
Inoichi let it slide. His plan wasbrilliant.It would work. Following Choza, he got another look from his friend.
"Remind me whyIhave to carry your ass up?"
"Shika's chakra doesn't work well with mine."
It had been something he and Shikaku had been theorizing over for years. The Yamanaka clan techniques were not as effective on the Nara. Shikaku theorized that since the Shadow technique of the Nara was yin heavy, just like the Yamanakas mind technique, they acted like same side magnets and repelled one another. But that was just a theory.
Choza nodded his understanding. Grabbing ahold of Inoichi in Shikaku's body and putting his foot on the wall, he said one last thing.
"Don't get pissed if I drop you."
"You won't."
Taking a step up the wall, Choza carried Inoichi up the wall. One step. Two. Three. Four. After about the halfway mark, Choza started to wobble.
"You okay, Choza?" Inoichi asked alarmed.
"Yeah", he grunted. "Just getting a little slick."
Taking another step, a chunk of brick broke off the wall, causing Choza to lose his balance. Being forced to either fall, with Inoichi in tow, or drop him, Choza made the right choice.
He dropped his friend.
The look of betrayal on his face wouldn't have been comical if it were any other situation.
You bastard.Inoichi thought.
Inoichi looked back as he fell, trying to see where his fall would take him. It all seemed to go so painstakingly slow. He saw where he was going to fall, and it was the worst spot imaginable.
He was going to fall on himself.
Kami, not the face.
His prayers went unheaded. He saw, in his minds eye wear he was going to hit. 20 feet. 15. 10. When he struck the ground, Shikaku'sbonyelbow found its landing in a quite sensitive area of the male anatomy.
The agony was unimaginable. The force of the impact broke his mind jump. He was back in his own body, experiencing pain no man should ever feel. Gasping for air, he rolled to his side, eyes watering and heaving from pain.
Choza had a look of horror on his face, rapidly turning green at the thought of the pain his friend was in.
Shikaku chose that time to wake up from the mind jump, confused as to why he wasn't in his bed.
"The hell happened?" he slurred, looking down.
He was pulled from his lethargic thoughts by the sound of gasping to his left. Seeing his friend clutching his genitals and on the ground, Shikaku asked a question any man in his situation would.
"Tha hell happened to you?"
Pulling himself up, after the worst of the pain had subsided, Inoichi looked at Shikaku with contempt.
"You. Owe. Me." he gritted out.
Inoichi sat there a moment, before dragging himself to his feet, pulling Shikaku up with him. He pulled Shikaku several feetfurtheraway from the wall before turning to him.
Inoichi went through the hand signs again, only to be interrupted by Shikaku's swaying.
"Hold still Shika," he growled, in no mood for anything else.
"I think I'm gonna be sick. I'm gonna vom-blaagghhh", Shikaku vomited all the alcohol he had consumed out of his stomach. And all over Inoichi.
Choza took that as his que to drop from the wall, laughing his ass off.
Inoichi stood there. Shaking. He looked at his friend with an unmatched hatred.
Putting his hands up, Shikaku tried to placate his friends rightfully irate mood. I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-", he was punched in the face by his blond friend, dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Inoichi went through the hand signs again, jumping into hispossibly formerfriend again. "Stop laughing, jackass." he bit out irritably atanotherpotential former friend.
Choza had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. Composing himself, he walked up to Inoichi, his voice still full of mirth. "Idiots. The both of you. I said I might drop you."
Inoichi couldn't even offer a counter. Hewascorrect when he said that. Sighing with a since of defeat, he contemplated on what he could even do.
"What are we even going to do?" he asked, with none of his former optimism. "You can't climb, I can't, and the drunk can't either." Not even addressinghimby his name.
Choza stood there a moment, before a moment of realization seemed to dawn on him. "We're all idiots." he stated firmly, before expanding his arm, using his clans technique.
"I thought you couldn't do that?" Inoichi stated, thinking Choza would have been too drunk to do it.
"I can do one arm." he stated, before grabbing ahold of Inoichi. "Arms and legs closed."
"If you spike me into the wall, I'll kill you."
Choza just snorted at his friendsthreat. "As if." Before flinging him at the window. Somehow, it worked. Inoichi, in Shikaku's body, flew through the window and landed on the floor of the office.
I can't believe that worked.
Dusting himself off, Inoichi stepped over to Shikaku's drawer, pulled out a few papers, arrayed them in a fashion as if they were recently finished, and was prepared to strip off Shikaku's clothes when he heard the door to the office open.
Oh what fresh hell is this?Inoichi saw Yoshino walk in, a purple nightgown draped across her frame, looking like she wasstalkingtowards him.
She knows. She knows. Don't panic. Just play it cool.Mimicking Shikaku's posture, he looked at Yoshino with Shikaku's normal look when he talked to his wife.
"Yes?" he asked.
"I didn't realize you were back." she said simply. A look of confusion on her face. "Why didn't you wake me?"
Inoichi had to play this safe. If he screwed up on anything, he was doomed.
"I needed to finish some papers I left here." he said, with Shikaku's familiar drawl. "I didn't want to wake you. You've done so much for me these past few months and I don't want you to think I'm taking it for granted."
At that response, Yoshino's features softened, "Oh sweety, you don't have to do that. You worksohard and I'm proud of you for sticking to it anyway."
Each word was punctuated by her taking another step towards him.
Oh no.he thought.Please no.
As she was within a foot of him, her hand reaching to cup his face, he made a decision. Even if it caused him to break character.
Screw it. I won't do it.
Stopping her hand, he looked at her softly. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I have to finish these papers and take them to the Hokage tomorrow. It will take me a few more hours.
Pouting at the denial, Yoshino patted his cheek. "Okay. But I expect you to take your reward tomorrow."
Inoichi simply nodded. Very uncomfortable right now.
As she was about to leave the room and he turned to reach for the papers, he heard her voice call for him.
"Sweety," he turned, and saw something he would never imagine he would see.
She stood at the doorway, nightgown on the floor, not a stitch of clothing on her. She smiled smugly at the look of shock on his face, mistaking it for desire.
"Here's just a taste of your present." she said, before stepping out of the room. Getting his heart rate calmed down, he shifted the papers around some more, before heading to the bed.
"I hate youso much, you drunken bastard." Feeling extra vindictive, he stripped Shikaku's clothes off and chucked the shirt out the window. Shutting off the light and climbing under the covers, he had a few parting words for his friend.
"Nighty night, jackass."
Opening his eyes, his own eyes, he sat up, feeling the vomit drip from his hair.
"What took so long?", Choza asked, wondering why it took more than a few minutes.
Inoichi looked at him with an empty look. "I don't want to talk about it."
Seeing that is friend was in no mood to talk, Choza let it be. "Why the shirt?" he asked, having seen the shirt fly out the window.
Inoichi stepped towards the article of clothing, grabbing it, and proceeded to wipe the vomit off his face with it.
"Oh." was Choza's only response.
The two then parted ways and headed to their respective homes, silently vowing not to bring it up with anyone but themselves.
(End Flashback)
Inoichi was shaken from his thoughts by the sight of his wife. She was in a silk lingerie outfit, approaching him like a predator stalking its prey. They weren't able to do this when Ino was home. They weren't wanting to scar her for life.
Thanks, Jackass. Thinking of his close friend.You got to reap the benefits of me and Choza lying for you. Now it's our turn.
She walked towards him, settling herself on his lap. He leaned in for a kiss, only to be stopped by his wife, a coy smile on her face.
"Ah Ah Ah", she said, finger on his lips, "I want to know, howdidyou convince Shikaku to take Ino and Choji for the night?"
Inoichi responded with a wry grin, "My silver tongue?" He asked rhetorically, grin not leaving his face.
"Oh, I think I can find out. And it involves your "silver tongue".
Before they could go any further, a knock was heard at the door.
"Were you expecting someone?" she asked confusedly. This was supposed to be a night off for the both of them.
"No. It's probably nothing, let's just continue." he said, not wanting to give upthisnight of all nights.
Another knock. This time, much louder.
"Just get it", his wife said finally. "See who it is and then we can get back to it."
She rise off his lap to go in the other room, obviously not dressed for guests. Inoichi walked to the door, murder in his eyes.
"Shika, I swear if it's you and you've got yourself drunk again, I'm gonna drop your ass in the Inuzuka kennels with raw beef tied around you-", he was stopped in the middle of his tirade by seeing the individual at the door.
It was an ANBU, one of the Hokage's guards, to be exact. "What are you doing here?" he asked, realizing that he answered the door without a shirt on.
"Patient number 9 was attacked. You are needed."
Digesting what the anbu had just said, Inoichi's brows nearly disappeared into his hairline.
Naruto attacked? Why would I be neede-... Damnit, the seal.
"Which hospital?" he asked urgently, needing to know which one.
"The east one." was the reply.
"Wait here." he said, heading back into his house to inform his wife of the change in plans, and to grab a shirt.
At the confused look from his wife, he walked up to her to inform her of what had transpired. "The Uzumaki boy was attacked, they need my help." the look on his wife's face said it all.
"Your help? That means something is very wrong. Could it be -"
"I don't know." he replied, his hand cupping her cheek, "I need to get there to see what is going on. I'll be back soon. I love you."
She gave him a quick kiss before handing him his shirt. "I love you too." was the only thing she said before walking to their bedroom.
Sighing at the mess of an otherwise romantic night, he put on his shirt and walked back towards his front door, opening it.
"I'm ready," he said.
The ANBU nodded, before turning to leave, beckoning Inoichi to follow. With that Inoichi stepped forward, closed the door, and followed the anbu to Konoha's hospital in the hopes of helping a young boy.
Arriving at the hospital, the two men walked to room 23, the masked one guiding the blond. Entering the room, Inoichi saw that the only other person in there aside from Naruto, who wasrestrainedto the bed, was the Sandaime.
Stepping forward, he addressed the elder Shinobi. "Hokage-sama?" he asked questioningly, wanting to know the precise reason he was here.
"Inoichi," he said softly, " I fear something far worse has happened then I previously thought."
"What do you mean, sir?" he was confused now. how serious was it if the Hokage was worried?
The elder of the two stood there silently for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. "Leave us." he said, looking at the sole anbu in the room.
The masked man nodded, before exiting the room.
This wasbad. Very bad. What would cause him to dismiss one of hispersonalguard?
"What can you tell me of Naruto and Rin's personal language they have?"
That was a bit out of the blue. Shaking off the slight bit of surprise, Inoichi gave an answer.
"Not alot, I confess. Twins tend to sometimes make their own language up. It's not the same as any language I've heard before. Different sounds. Different stressing of syllables. And he also says them more slowly."
"Anything else?"
Inoichi thought for a moment, before answering. "He showed me a few words. He wrote them out with a different alphabet. Not one I recognize. He showed a few words to me. I couldn't make heads or tails of it."
All of this had been written in his weekly reports to the Hokage. Why would he be asking this in person?
"Do you remember any of the words, at the top of your head?"
Inoichi tried to think of any of the words, but came up short. "No. I can't."
"Would you recognize one if I said it out loud?"
Now Inoichi was getting concerned. Why was the Hokage doing this? It wasn't like him to play games, especially for this event.
"Why are you asking me this, sir? What's wrong with Naruto?"
The Hokage turned to face him, having had his back to him the whole time. What he saw was something that took his breath away. The Hokage was pale. Paler than he had ever seen. His hand slightly shaking from stress.
"The surgeon said that Naruto pulled the kunai that had stabbed him out of his own chest." He started. Inoichi flinching at the image. "He swung it at them and they were forced to restrain him with restraints and suppressant tags."
"But that is not what worries me. What worries me is what the surgeon had said afterwards. He said Naruto was shouting words that he could not understand. One word, in particular, was repeated. He told me how it sounded. I asked Rin if she knew what it meant, when she arrived here. Now, can you guess what her answer was?"
Inoichi knew it was bad if the Hokage was evading like this. Mustering his will, he looked the man in the eye, requesting the answer.
The Hokage looked straight to him, and answered.
"She said the word meant "fox".
The look Inoichi had on his face at the answer mirrored the Hokage's.
"That's", he started, not knowing what to say." That's not good. The only way that seal would let something like that leak to him, tight as you said it was, would mean-"
"It's breaking." The Hokage finished, his eyes downcast.
Inoichi didn't know what to say. They had a plan. Jiraiya tightened the seal, keeping the excess yin chakra from flooding the boy's brain. Inoichi was the one that spotted gaps in the boy's personality. He thought up the reason for it. He, with Hiashi's help, found that there was a large portion of chakra, mostly yin, that was trapped in the seal. And it wasn't the Kyuubis'. His best theory was that when the Kyuubis yin half was sealed into the boy, the seal pulled in the extra yin chakra he was born with. It seemed to have stunted his mind fir the first couple years.
His appointments with the boy were a mixture of talking, and scanning the boys mind. With each passing year, the seal leaked out a bit of the Kyuubis' chakra, "as was intended" the Hokage had told him. When the small amount of the Kyuubis' chakra leaked into his system, it carried a small portion of his own personal Yin chakra that was accidentally sealed at his birth. The more time that passed, the more chakra that reconnected with its source.
He noticed, over the years, the boy's "mind fog" and confusion steadily improved. His thoughts were more clear, his speech more precise, and he seemed to carry a level of maturity that belied most children his age. If Inoichi had to place a bet on it, he would have bet that had the seal not caught the over-reach of his yin chakra and pulled a large chunk from the original, he would likely have shown an intellectual brilliance on the same level of Namikaze, Hatake, or the Uchiha heir.
A once in a generation prodigy.
He had planned on having the Hokage's help by popping one of the tighteners on the seal and shepherding the largest yin portion still behind the seal into the boy's chakra system for reintegration, curing him of all of his maladies.
But that only works if the seal isn't collapsing.
There is in no possibility, according to Jiraiya, that the seal would weaken enough to give him images of the fox, unless the seal was structurally destabilized. It shouldn't do so until Jiraiya removed the tightenings himself.
That's why he's shaking. Naruto is asleep. He needs me to mind walk to see if the Kyuubi is in his mindscape. The question is, what will he do if I find it?
Steeling himself, he asked the Hokage that very question. "You want me to mind walk?" at the nod, he continued. "And if I see the Kyuubi in his mind? What then? Jiraiya-sama won't be here in time to stop it." he continued, knowing, despite not being well-versed in seals, what happens when a Jinchuriki seal breaks down.
Hiruzen simply gave him an empty look, before pulling a kunai from his hip. "I will do what I must." any strength the man had was absent from his tone. Inoichi approached the boy's sleeping form. He didn't know if it was a trick of his hearing or not, but he thought he heard a whisper that sounded like "The village, or my heart." He couldn't be quite sure.
He looked down at the boy who was the same age as his own daughter, face soft in sleep. Innocent.
Kami, please let there be nothing.
Going through the handsigns, he did his mind jump.
Entering Naruto's mind, Inoichi was confused. There was darkness.What memory is this?
Fasting it forward, he saw something that he wasn't exactly expecting. He saw three lights. They felt very much like fire. The one was safety. One was bright. The third wasintense.
What are they?
It only took him a minute to put the pieces together.
Are these chakra signatures? Who's are they?Fasting forward the memory further, he eventually got to something aside from seeing the bright signature grow brighter. He saw the one that felt of safety, and brightness begin flickering. Wonderingwhat the hellthis memory was, he fast forwarded further. Things went black for a moment, the flames went out. Not long after, he heard what sounded like a baby crying, he saw a flicker, then somethinggreater. Multiple signatures. One was right next to him. He knew he was looking at things from Naruto's perspective. He finally realized what this memory was.
The day of his birth.
How the hell does he remember this? This isn't supposed to be possible. Even the Nara, with their greater than normal minds don't remember this far back. Could It be a side effect of something? I don't know.
He was taken out of his thoughts by a slight sign of movement in the boys "vision.
This is chakra sensing at a level I normally don't see in most children who are sensors, let alone a newborn who sensed his mother, sister, and Kyuubi before he was even born.
The slight movement was there in an instant. The light holding him winking out and a burst of blood falling on his face. Even insulating his mind from his patients, or prisoners, didn't completely stopallof the feedback. He felt Naruto'sterrorat a light vanishing.
He probably doesn't even know what that would mean.
Somethingnothuman grabbed him. Everything got a little fuzzy, until the whole world seemed to explode in light.
I can't breath.Inoichi thought.Wait. IsthisNaruto's dream? Did he subconsciously have this in the back of his mind? This is what the large chunk of chakra that simply wouldn't budge was holding back? If I'd tried to shepherd it in without realizing that there is this intense of a memory with it, I might have got my mind damaged. Badly.
Themassof chakra disapeared from the boy's range.Thank Kami for small blessings.The next part was Naruto feeling a cold sensation on his stomach, something painted on his stomach, with his sister right next to him.
The final part was near the end. He could feel the memory was almost over. For the first time, he saw through Naruto'sactualeyes.
Of course the first thing the boy would see in this world was the Kyuubi out for his blood.Nine tails swishing furiously, a deafening roar. He saw Namikaze Minato summoningsomething. He sawKushinaholding the beast down with our chains, attempting to keep it still.
He saw it. The chains weakening. A tail shooting forward. A shout of warning. He saw the two jump forward. A sound of flesh being pierced. Their faces. The memory looked slightly damaged, he couldn't see what they were saying.
What came next was one of the worst experiences he'd ever felt in a mind jump. The lights winking out in front of him. The crying as his sister screamed in pain. The screaming of his own, when the other half was sealed in him. It felt like he was on fire, and this was an insulated sensation. It was much worse than what he was feeling. His lonely cries for help. No one coming. But then, when he thought he was going to be saved from his pain, these strange lightsstolehis sister from him. His light vanished. Darkness.
He was forcefully driven into another memory, this one far more recent. He saw Naruto and his sister talking. A look of concern on the boy's face. "You're scaring me," he said, wanting his sister to tell him something that she was keeping from him.
She told him of her telling the Hokage about his dream. The feeling of betrayal. Abandonment. Darkness... Hatred. The shouting was awful.
I shouldn't be seeing this. It's too private.He saw Narutoblastthrough the door and out of the orphanage, to an unknown destination. He saw that they were now at a park, one that Inoichi recognized. The boy was there for maybe 10 or 15 minutes until he saw one the caretakers at the orphanage. Inoichi recognized this one. She never did seem friendly towards the boy whenever he saw two of them together.
He noticed the out of character tone that she addressed him with.
Henge.Inoichi thought.
The assailant in disguise lied to Naruto about his sister being at the hospital. His caution was tossed to the wind and he followed "her" in the direction of the hospital. Some minutes later, they made it to an alley. The henge was dropped, fear of his sister being hurt by this stranger spiked. The snarled demand of where she was. The non answer. Pulling a blunt kunai and charging. Getting knocked to the ground.
Here it is.He thought.This will likely determine whether it's seal collapsing.
The Genjutsu cast. The sight Inoichi saw through Naruto's eyes.
Oh Kami, no wonder you were screaming.
He saw what Naruto saw. His sister looking at him in betrayal as she died in his arms. "I don't know you."
Thekunaiis what broke the Genjutsu. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.
I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Seemed to be the only coherent thoughts that he could muster up.
He didn't remember the Kyuubi attack. He only remembered the effects its Killing Intent had on him. The inability to breathe was only part of it. It reminded him of losing his "light".
The last decipherable portion was of Naruto pulling the kunai out of his chest, the sensation of the wound knitting together like a medi-nin was using theirMystical Palms technique, but there was no one doing that. The last part was him screaming thatwordagain. The memory of the Kyuubi attack dancing through his head. But Naruto didn't truely believe that the word meant fox. He didn't tell his sister that he thought it meant somethingworse... far worse.
Demon.
Inoichi pulled away from the mind jump, falling to his knees, his stomach desperately trying to rebel against him.
"Inoichi." the Hokage asked alarmed, walking towards the man. "Are you you alright?"
Inoichi just simply looked at him and replied with a monotone voice. "He remembers the attack."
The Hokage looked slightly confused at the answer. "That's not that suprising. That's what put him here."
"No. Not this attack." he gestured to the boy. "The Kyuubi attack."
He heard a deep intake of breath. "Impossible." the Hokage gasped, not wanting to but leave such a terrible thing could be remembered at that early of an age.
"I didn't want to believe it either, but itwasthe attack." After forcing himself up, he continued. "Isawit."
Hiruzen's response was three words.
"Tell me everything."
And so he did. The attack. The argument that causedthiswhole debacle. The recent attack. The Genjutsu. The reason he was screamingthatword. What the wordreallymeant.
Even with the clarification on howdeepthe issues were, Hiruzen couldn't help but see the good in it.
"The seal isn't damaged. Only the memory was jarred lose."
"Yes." Inoichi replied. " This was actually abetterway to get his remaining yin chakra free from the seal. The tightenings felt like they were still there. If we'd removed one andthenI tried to pull some of his chakra back, like we planned to, it might have caused my mind or his to break. I wasn't expecting a memory to be the center the remaining portion of chakra. It felt like a limb's worth."
That was the frightening part. If the yin chakra had not been accidentally sealed away, the excess amount may have potentially caused development issues that would have been aggravated further with maturity. But that was more of a worst case scenario. It seemed almost as ifsomethingcaused a series of increasingly unlikely events that actuallybenefitedthem in the long run. Neither man was going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Will there be a psychological or personality differences?" Was Hiruzen's only question.
Inoichi thought for a minute or two, before giving his best answer. "Very unlikely on the personality. One memory, no matter how traumatic, won't change a personality to something else. On the psychological part, we know what that event did to seasoned war veterans. I'm worried what it will do to a 6 year old boy who hasn't seen war. Hasn't seen death like we have."
Hiruzen got quiet at that, deep in thought. "You, me, and Rin are the only ones who he can trust with this." he said firmly. "We will need to be there for him."
Inoichi nodded before adding something else. "I think his thinking will be much clearer than it was before. He always had more maturity than the average child his age."
Hiruzen had noticed that. Some of the boy's behavior almost reminded him how Jiraiya had describedMinatowhen he was that age.
"I got my own little genius, Sensei", He said gleefully. "And I think he's even better than Orochi was." Before doing that ridiculous little dance of his.Hiruzen knew that trauma could change a person. It had changed such abrightchild that was Orochimaru into someone obsessed with stopping death. Hiruzen knew, even when his student tried to hide it, that he was trying to stop death so no one would feel like he had seen Tsunade feel.
Or himself.
He never thought he would stoop to such levels to defy death. Man's Last Night. The love that he had for his mother and father. The love that he had for his teammates. That beautiful, bright love. Was the same love that fortified him in evil.
I can't let that happen to Naruto.The death of his parents and the sight of his friend's pain is what initially drove Orochimaru. Was there something else when he decided to sever ties with the village? His home? His friends? Perhaps. But he likely wouldn't find out.
Hiruzen needed to be there to help Naruto. He couldn't let another Orochimaru happen. Not with the power of a bijuu. Not with a power he believed the boy inherited from his mother's line.
I will be there for you, even if it kills me. I've lived a long life. Yours has just begun.
His thoughts turned to Inoichi. He looked at the man, seeing his slight swaying.
"It took a great deal out of you, yes?" He asked, noticing the mans fatigue.
"The memory was intense," he admitted, "I can feel my pulse in my head."
"Get some sleep. You need to be at your best."
Nodding, Inoichi left to go home, wishing for an end to the night.
Hiruzen left a minute after, but before he left, he turned to have a look at the boy that was his grandson in all but blood. "I'm sorry, Minato, Kushina."He whispered to himself, A tear rolling down his cheek, before exiting the room.
Unbeknownst to either man, as the Hokage's back was turned again to leave, a pair of sharp blue eyes opened, a look of deep thought in them.
///////////////////
End chapter. Not much else to say.
Chapter 5: Training
Chapter Text
I decided to "wake up" at about 8 in the morning. I had been awake through a fair portion of the night thinking of the things I had heard between two men. Men who were phantasms of a Japanese man's mind just 6 short years prior.
Is this world fake? Or did Kishimoto "see" it in his dreams, mistaking it for his own brilliance?
I didn'tthinkthe world was fake. It couldn't be a coma dream. Operating under the assumption that the bullets that hit me struck a lung,The choking on blood adds credence to that.I would have succumbed before an ambulance would have been able to arrive to my home, given the sound of gunshots would have woke the neighbors. I also wouldn't think there be some type of Robot Chicken like mad scientist who grabbed my corpse of my floor, or the morgue, and decided to play Frankenstein with it and hook my brain up to some freaky anime simulator. Reincarnation sounded less ludicrous than that. So, in conclusion, I died.
Didn't even make it through 2020. Shit.
Going back to the subject of the conversation I heard, Sarutobi and Inoichi's conversation took a great burden off my mind as I listened to his explanation on what he had seen in my head. Thankfully, he was unable to look at memoriesbeforemy rebirth. No idea why. The second was that the yin chakra accidentally trapped behind the seal,-which included most of my memories-, was one in the same with the yin chakra that was free. I didn't have to worry about accidentally killing a child from supplanting his soul. Iwasthe child. I just forgot many things from losing a part of myself.
If this is even remotely what people with strokes or dementia had to go through, being trapped in your mind, your very SELF being inaccessible, I'd likely prefer the state I was in on my living room floor.
Moving away from the existential thoughts I was having, I needed to focus on the conversations details. Memories of the Kyuubi attack, check. Seeing my mother and father's last moments, check. Remembering me and my sister getting sealed, check.
How the hell am I gonna do this?I didn't want to lie to Rin. But she wasn't ready for the truth. Knowing who our mother was may not be so bad. She couldnotknow who our father was. If any other villages found outhehadtwoJinchuriki children, there'd be a whole nother war over our lives. And the Kyuubi sealing would be a kick in the nuts, figuratively.
I need to play the fool on my father. I'll ask about Mom, but word it as if I'm confused why my father wasn't there. I'll give Sarutobi an out.
Having my mind made up, I waited for a nurse or doctor to eventually come here to notice I was awake. As I waited there, I noticed something.
Why the hell is the clock so loud?That was when I remembered something. The hushed whispers that I could still here. The smell of perfume from further off than I should have been able to smell.
Are my senses heightened? I thought that was only fanon.
For the life of me, I could not remember if there was ever anything mentioned in the series about Naruto having that. This means some things could be off.
I swear to God, if Madara is a chick.
Hearing footsteps at the door, I quickly put on a look of confusion as I waited to see who was coming in. I was not disappointed when a nurse walked in, saw me awake, eyes widening, saying a quick "I'll be back.", and swiftly leaving.
That was quick.
Laying there on the bed,stilltied to the bed like a damn boat anchor, a sensation of dread creaped up on me.
I can't scratch myself.Maybe if I ask one of the pretty nurses real nicely, she might help... Jeez, that sounds like some bullshit Jiraiya would try to pull. "Oh Tsunade, my arms are broken, can you help me?"Waiting for the stinking nurse to get back took a couple minutes, but she returned with Sarutobi in tow. The two of us made eye contact, his eyes hopeful. I responded in the way I thought would be the kindest to him.
"Jiji." I said softly.
I saw the relief and face splitting grin appear on his face, his whole posture changing.
"It's good to hear hear your, Naruto. You had us worried."
"Jiji?"
"Hmmnn?"
"Could the nurse take off my restraints? I need to scratch myself." I said, the last part deadpanned.
Sarutobi threw his head back in a laugh, not expectingthatof all things.
"My dear," he asked, voice full of mirth. "would you mind?" he finished, still chuckling away.
She nodded and walked towards me, a look of mock irritation on her face.
"Boys." she muttered as she removed the restraints, shaking her head.
"Thank you, and... I'm really sorry for this." It is very uncomfortable to have a woman who was old enough to be my mother in my previous life be right next to me as I had to do something that most men would need to in my situation.
After the embarrassing incident was finished, Sarutobi asked the nurse to give the two of us and privacy. After she had left and he that made sure she was far enough away, he looked straight at me.
"How are you?" he asked simply.
I needed to answer this carefully. I can't sound well adjusted to it.I'm still freaking out, I just have it under control right now. But I needed to show I wasn't an invalid. I settled on a simple one.
Swallowing I answered quietly. "Not good."
Sarutobi gave a small nod of his head. "You remember it?" asked, already knowing the answer.
"The fox?" I questioned.
"Yes."
"I remember it." I started, my voice quiet. "I know why I was scared of not breathing. What was it?"
"That is Killing Intent. It's when someone is able to manifest their desire to kill outwards and cause fear to their enemies." he answered, with a hint of an educational tone to it.
"It did a good job at that." I said, trying to play off howterrifyingit was when the damn thing was less than a hundred yards from me.
Frowning at my attempted deflection with humour, Sarutobi asked another question.
"Are you not worried? Do you understand what happened? You nearly died."
"Jiji," I said softly, "I know I did. I can smell the smoke on your clothes from here. You only smoke that much when you're worried. I don't want you to deal with me falling apart right now. I can wait a few minutes."
At my suprising level of thought, Hiruzen looked concerned. "It's not healthy to bottle things up. You need to let it out."
"Rin is here, isn't she?"
At my sudden change of subject his left brow rose up questioningly. "What?" he responded.
"I can feel her. She's about 40 yards away in another room. How can I feel her there without seeing her. Why can I feel you if I shut my eyes?"
Realizing he wouldn't get me to budge on anything until I got an answer, Hiruzen sighed exasperatedly.
"I think you are a sensor, you can sense chakra."
"And?"
Hiruzen sighed, "Your a quite skilled one. Inoichi told me that you could sense your mother and sister."
I got a bit contemplative for a moment, I had assumed that over the last few hours, but it was good to get confirmation. Knowing Ineededto address the Hokage's concern, I gave the reason why I wanted to delay the conversation.
"Does Rin know? About, all this?" Gesturing towards myself.
Hiruzen understood what I was meaning, "No." he said, "No she doesn't."
"Should she know?"
That was where I could see a flash of indecision on his face. He probably thought she wasn't ready for all this, and he's likely right.
"What do you think?" he asked.
I sat that there for a moment, thinking about it. Telling her would be bad. I didn't think she was ready for it. She would continue to dig, trying to find out our mother and my father's identity. I could placate her withjustmom. Don't tell her about the fox, or dad.
She'll be pissed years down the road for us hiding it, but I can deal with that. She's not ready now.Steadying myself, I answered him, "No. I don't think she should."
Hiruzen nodded sadly at my answer, before asking again, "Are you ready to talk?"
I shook my head, "I want to talk to Rin first. I don't want her to see me like how I feel. She'll blame herself."
Nodding at my accurate opinion on what would likely happen, Hiruzen responded by turning to leave the room, seeking to tell my sister I was awake.
I sat there for a minute, thinking to myself.This is going to be hard.Shortly after, I saw a golden blur come racing towards where I was at. My sister was here.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." she repeatedly said, as she ran to the bed to hug me, tears in her eyes. "I should'nt have kept a secret-", she then started speaking to quickly for me to understand.
"Rin," I said, grabbing her shoulders to look her in the eye. "It's not your fault. I assumed you lied to me. You didn't."
"But I -"
Again, I interrupted. " You told Jiji because he was worried about me. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. You wanted to protect me. I'll never stop loving you." I finished, pulling her closer.
That was when the waterworks began, for the both of us. She cried into my shoulder as I rested my chin on her head, tears sprouting from my eyes.
I did this to her. It's up to me to put the pieces back together.Putting my hand in her hair, like I did when I would console her after a particularly bad day, I gently rubbed her head, whispering to her. "I will never forget you. Don't let anyone, not even me, tell you that."
She seemed to shudder at the words for some reason. We sat there for I don't know how long, just holding each other. After some time, she calmed down enough to step a little bit away. "You're okay? Nothing bad?" Her tone demanding no lies
"Yes." I said. "No problems."
At my answer, she seemed placated with it. For now.
"Okay. Jiji", she asked turning to the Hokage, "can I get something to eat? I'm hungry."
Chuckling at the change of subject, Hiruzen told her to go ahead, He'll meet her in a little while. Walking past the door, I could still sense her, a more muted signature right next to her.
Anbu.Hiruzen then turned to me, a sharp look in his eye. "Are you ready to talk now?"
I slumped a bit and nodded my affirmative. "Ready as I'll ever be."
He beckoned ne to continue. Taking a deep breath, I did.
"Why?" I asked simply, "Why did our parents give us up?Whywas the Yondaime there? Why was he beside my mother, holding the Kyuubi in?"
If I wasn't looking for the look, and if I didn't know his face so well from being around him for a few years, I wouldn't have spotted it. His eyes widened slightly and his hand twitched slightly.
Take the out, old man. You'll only get it once.
Hiruzen's whole frame shifted. Praying that was a sign that I made the right decision, I continued. " Whywasit in my mom? Why wasn't it put back in her, instead of us?"
Hiruzen gathered himself and answered. "The Kyuubi can't be killed. The Nine Bijuu can only be sealed away, not killed. Your mother was the previous container. She had it sealed in her to protect the village. So the beast wouldn't be free to cause destruction. The reason why she couldn't have it put back was simple," he said, his voice now getting very dark, "Once a container, they are called jinchuriki, has their bijuu removed from them, they die."
I just look at him, suprise on my face that he wouldn't pull his words some. He probably mistook it for shock at what he said, nothowhe said it.
"Your mother was from a clan that was known for their vitality, the Kyuubi is much stronger than other bijuu. Only an Uzumaki can hold it. She lived long enough to help seal it into you and Rin."
"And the Yondaime helped her." I whispered.
Take the out, Sarutobi."Minato was the best seal user Konoha ever had, save for you mother. When a female jinchuriki has children, the seal weakens. Minato was there to prevent it from breaking."
Thank you for taking it. For both our sakes.I sat there quietly, thinking of something else to ask.
"Our father is dead then?"
Hiruzen's look said it all. It was a look of resignment. I didn't even need to hear a vical answer.
I leaned my head forward, shaking at the thoughts that my future held.
They will come for us. Orochimaru. Akatsuki. Pein. Obito. Madara. Kaguya. And they won't stop till we're both dead, or brought to heel.Demons. Masquerading in the flesh of men. Men without souls, no, men with souls, but still tossing aside their humanity because they can. What the hell am I to do against such reckless hate? Pein became the very thing he swore to protect the world from, a monster of a Shinobi. Obito is lost in his own failure to save the girl that symbolized a time when he was carefree and innocent. Letting her remain dead would mean acknowledging that he was too weak to save her. He would never do that.I wouldn't do that.
He'll probably have Kurama ripped out of me. He already saw one Rin get gutted. He probably won't like seeing it happen a second time.
Trying to calm myself, but failing miserably, I started breathing heavily, the air seaming to thick. Hiruzen stepped forward and pulled me into a hug, trying to console me.
"It's okay", he said softly, his tone softer than I had ever heard. "Let it out. Let it out, child."
"We're alone." I gasped, not being able to have a semblance of stability. "He tried to kill me. If Rin had run, it would have been her. I could have killed my baby sister." I couldn't keep it together, I cried out all my terrors and fears to this man. A man who had lost so much in his long life, but still remained at his center, agoodman.
I could barely hear his soothing words over my sobs. He continued to hold me as I seemed to let loose years of fears and heartbreak.
"They hate us. Moms and Dads look at us like we're going to eat their kids. They think we're monsters. They look at Rin like she's a monster. They see me and look at me and say I'm a demon with a hero's face."
Hiruzen just held me, my tears soaking his robes, but he still held me. He held someone who had his life stolen from him not once, but twice. I don't know how long we were there, just sitting on a hospital bed, in a village hidden in the leaves. A dream two friends had. And a dream that didn't bring light to the world like they envisioned. After crying it out, I was able to speak clearly. I was going to ask something that would pave the course of my future. And the future of this world.
"I want to learn to fight."
The conviction in my voice suprised him. He leaned away from me and looked into my eyes.
"Naruto," he said, "You will be enrolled into the Academy soon enough, you will learn how to be a Shinobi there. That includes fighting."
I shook my head, this isn't where I want us to go.
"No. I wantyouto teach me. You are the oldest man I see, and everyone I see respects or fears you. Adults older than me act like children around you. You are the strongest person I know."
"Naruto," he said again, "You should have time to be a child. A Shinobi's life is a hard one."
"And what is my life now?" I asked sharply. "Me being a child didn't stop the Kyuubi from trying to kill me and Rin. It didn't stop me from seeing my mother killed in front of me. It didn't stop the Yondaime from dying to save us. It didn't stop me from getting stabbed and being tied to a bed. It doesn't stop the hate from the villagers."
With each word, Hiruzen seemed to shrink into himself, knowing I was right on all counts.
"I won't be able to help you a lot. I have my duties as the Hokage."
"Then find someone who can give me more time."
I knew that I had Hiruzen on that. I wasnotletting this go. He sighed heavily, before answering. "You will listen to what you are told. You will not try any experiments without me or your tutors knowing aboutallof it. You can only show Rin whatIsay is alright. If you fail to promise me this, I will teach you nothing until you graduate from the Academy. There are too many ways a curious student has got themselves hurt or killed because they didn't listen to their elders. Do. You. Understand?" he finished, his tone solid as iron.
This was what I wanted. Hiruzen not babying me, but still setting the boundaries for what I can do.
"Yes, sir." was my answer.
"Good." was his reply, "I will talk to the doctors to see if you can be discharged. You're training starts next week."
With that, he walked from the room. Sitting back into the bed, I let out I breath you seem to have been holding in at the last part of our conversation.
His chakra felt like a roaring fire. Very dense. A no nonsense feeling... No experiments? Why would he say tha-, oh shit. I don't need him thinking I'm going to be in the habit of giving kids hickeys. Screw that.
After a few minutes, He arrived with the doctor assigned to me. After being told I was in perfect health, I was discharged from the hospital. We grabbed Rin and went to Ichiraku's for a meal to celebrate my recovery. Before Hiruzen dropped us off at the orphanage, he told me something. "You and Rin will be moved to your own apartment. I know what is going on in the orphanage. I know what they are doing."
So he must have found out about our treatment here. The scathing tones. The less food. It must have made himpissedif he was giving us our own apartment to live in.
"You'll be out of here tomorrow. Have your things ready."
I nodded, before going into the orphanage to tell Rin the news.
She took the news very well. And by very well I meant "Grabbing ahold of me and shouting in my ear happily on how we were free".
The next day, we were out. The Hokage showed us to our new apartment. Nothing special, but it was a fresh start. A new dawn. When Rin was inside, practically jumping up and down about ahugenew home we now have, Sarutobi had pulled me aside to speak with me.
Pulling out a scroll from one of the pockets in his robes, he pushed a small amount of chakra into it. The scroll then deposited a couple of worn books into his hands.
Storage scroll.
"These are books handwritten by myself on techniques for those yet to join the Academy. Read them before the end of the week. Come to the Tower at the week's end. I'll have some hands on material for you."
I looked at the books, amazed.These were handwritten books by The Professor.Taking hold of the books, I looked at them, feeling the age of the books.
"Thank you, jiji." I said.
He smiled at me and ruffled my hair. "Do take care with them, those books are older than most of my jonin."
Snickering at the idea in my head, I spoke my mind. "You don't need to remind me how old you are, jiji."
Chuckling, he turned to head back to his office. "Old huh? I'll have you know that this "old" man still has some fight in him yet."
"Later, jiji." I said.
"Goodbye, Naruto. I'll see you at the end of the week." With that, he left.
The next couple of days were two parts hectic and one part fun. Rin hadn't calmed down from the high she was riding from the fact that we had our own home. The hectic part was when I realized I was theonlyone who knew how to cook.
Damn.
The market was a pain in the ass. Overcharging food. Telling me to get out. They never did give me rotted or out of date food.Why the hell would they keep that crap around? Huh, fan fic writers?
A great deal of things writers had put about Naruto's upbringing and interaction with the food markets were greatly imbellished. But not all things were like that. I nearly learned that the hard way when I got home late at night. Drunken idiots thought it would be funny to screw with me. The Uchiha police on duty conveniently "ignored" that some drunk bastards were ready to rough up a six year old. They would have likely stepped in before anything serious happened. But the fact that they were ready to let it happen said a lot on how paranoid they were about the village.
Or they just hate me. Why though? This clan of "geniuses" shouldknowbetter than to think me and Rin are the Kyuubi. They're aShinobiclan.
Maybe they blame the fear from the villagers on me. People think an Uchiha unleashed the Kyuubi. They're technically not wrong though.The joke was on the idiots. They didn't know I was a sensor. The "demon" seemed to know where they were at the whole time and disappeared into the night. Morons.
The highlights were that Rinlovedmy cooking. It takestalentto make potluck instant ramen and it still coming out delicious. The other was the books Hiruzen lended to me. Those are too good of books to not read over and over. The day before I was to meet with him at the Hokage Tower, I had read through the three books twice.
One covered chakra exercises to expand a prospective students fledgling reserves. That may not be as useful to me. The inner workings of it however, was very enlightening. Chakra was like a muscle. Exercise it, and it will grow stronger, and a greater dexterity with it, over time, will build up. The second book wasveryuseful. It was about chakra control. It had both the leaf sticking and tree walking exercise. It also alluded to water walking for "advanced" students. I tried the leaf sticking one as a gaffe. I ended up making the stupid thing explode like a Pop Rock. And it was on my forehead.
The last book was about the use of small time jutsu that were for survival. Lighting a fire. Drawing small amounts of water from the air. Using dirt to pull up a small shelter against the elements. Each of the techniques required such a low level of chakra, you didn't need to worry about having an opposing affinity.
He made sure to give me books to discourage "flashy" stuff. He wants me to know what I'm getting myself into. And why the hell was most of this not shown in the series? Did the Academy slip this badly since the Kyuubi attack? No wonder Hiruzen's generation and the Sannin's were full of monsters.
That would make sense. Sasuke and Neji were considered geniuses in their years. But they graduated at 12. Kakashi was my age, physically, when he became a chunin. Unless there were lower standards for what made a chunin nowadays, I find it pretty damn likely that the Academy used less effective lesson curriculums in this generation.
Most of the good chakra control exercises were delegated to the jonin team leaders to teach their students. If they had to teach stuff that wascommonjust 20 years ago, that would lead to less time teaching the crap that will keep you from coming home in a body bag.
I will not be fodder.
The day had arrived. I had explained to Rin where I was going. She didn't like that I was getting lessons from the Hokage, but she wasn't. I told her I had to read the books the Hokage left me for him to even accept my request. After looking through the first page, and Hiruzen'sveryclinical and intellectual writing -which was very good for me- she was less upset about it. Shehatedthose types of books. I couldn't understand how she would like books that had facts about the different animals and wildlife of the Land of Fire, but hate books written by jiji.
Maybe the animal book is for little kids. Better not let Rin hear me say that.After finishing breakfast and promising to tell her about what I would learn, I gave her a goodbye hug and left. Stepping outside, I took a moment to look at the village. The village that reviled me. The village full of so many innocent people. The village that would face terrible events within a decade of this moment.
Not if I've got a say in it.With that, I walked towards the Hokage Tower, purpose in my steps.
Arriving at the Tower, I informed the lady at the desk that I had an appointment with the Hokage. Recognizing me, she gave a slight glare, before checking her list I have appointments for the Hokage. Evidently seeing my name, she gestured for me to go on.
Walking towards the door, I sensed two presences, one was the Hokage, the other was one that was similar, yet still different then the one that was familiar with. There was a shard of chakra emanating faintly from the second persons head that was not his own. It felt like the small part of Obito that still felt human to my senses.
Hello, Kakashi.
Knocking to announce my presence and hearing a "come in", I entered the office. Inside, I saw Hiruzen sat at his desk, and to his right was a dog-mask wearing man in an Anbu uniform with gravity defying silver hair.
Deciding to be an ass, I asked Hiruzen a question. "Who's the old man?"
Kakashi twitched at the reference to his hair. He likely had heard the jokeseveraltimes, to the point of it getting old.
Hehe, getting old.Hiruzen cracked a smile, "Now Naruto, be nice. Inu is definitely not old. He's one of the best Anbu we have, and he is here to evaluate your knowledge. So, treat him with the respect you treat me."
Nodding at his request, or was it command?, I looked to Kakashi. "What will you be evaluating me on? Specifically." I said this with no humour, wanting to get straight to the point.
Kakashi's posture shifted to a more relaxed one. "We will be covering your general knowledge, situational awareness, hand to hand capabilities, and chakra control."
That is...very detailed."That all?" I asked, unable to let a bit of sarcasm leak through.
I could almost see the smirk behind his mask. "For this week."
I gave a look of horror towards Hiruzen, wondering what the hell did I do to deserve this. Smiling, the Hokage answered my fearful expression. "You did ask for this, Naruto."
Grumbling under my breath about misleading old men, I shot a glare at Kakashi. "Well? Where are we going? I don't think jiji's office is a good place for an evaluation."
Kakashi just looked back at me silently, before answering my question. "Training ground 17. Sit outside for a moment. I will need to speak with the Hokage."
Knowing it likely pertained to me, I nodded and stepped out of the office, wondering what exactly was going to be said.
"I don't think I can do it." Kakashi said quietly.
It had been one thing to guard them, silently, out of range, safe. It was another to speak to him, face to face. He had Sensei's face. The quiet strength in his steps. His sharp eyes. If it wasn't for the hair, he would have thought his Sensei was right in front of him, albeit in a younger body.
"Kakashi, we already talked about this." Hiruzen said, having had this discussion with Kakashi before. "I don't have the time to give him the consistent training he would need to grow. Any other jonin that is available has no experience with a child like him. He's like you and Itachi. For reasons we both understand, I can't assign Itachi to train him."
Kakashi hated the Hokage's logic. If word got out that one of the "demon twins" was receiving training from not only an Uchiha, but the clan heir, it would be all the encouragement many villagers would need to cause more issues with the Uchiha. Things were hard enough as is. No need to potentially open a botched seal tag over a grown man was getting cold feet about training his Sensei's son.
Kakashi sighed, resigned to his fate. "How long will I need to do this?" he asked.
"Just until he enrolls into the Academy." Hiruzen said, "Or when he gives up." he added.
Kakashi saw what Hiruzen was saying. "You want me to make the trainingthathard? I was just joking." He asked incredulously.
Hiruzen sighed and took off his hat, combing his fingers through his hair. "He's terrified of being weak. He saw himself as weak in his first memory. He saw himself as weak when he was nearly killed just a week ago. I think he's jumping into this. No matter how mature he is, I saw he was frantic when he was trying to convince me to train him. He's scared."
Kakashi let that sink in.I can understand that fear. But that's not healthy in a six year old."You don't want him to break under the stress he'd put himself under." He stated.
Hiruzen looked straight at Kakashi. "Yes, exactly. When he sees what it will take, I hope he learns patience. I didn't get to where I was in the course of a few years. My students didn't. And neither did his father. All of them went through the Academy. He doesn't need to get it in his head that he needs to outdo everyone to be strong. Jiraiya is the strongest of my students, and he was the dead last of his class."
Jiraiya's story was one of legend. It showed that a clanless orphan, with little book smarts, could rise to be an S rank ninja of the same caliber of natural geniuses and clan kids. All it took was will power and a patient and understanding teacher.
Kakashi now understoodcompletelywhy Hiruzen selected him. He was good at training those like him. Talented individuals that had a strong grasp on things without being shown what to do. It wasn't effective with kids or young students. But it was with thebestof the best. Itachi was quick on the take. He thrived in the situations Kakashi had him in during their missions together.
Kakashi wanted to ensure he understood his superior's request in its totality. "You want me to train him with nothing barred? To make sure he fails? To give him the perspective of patience? Make sure he doesn't reach too far to fast?"
Hiruzen responded with only one word to his query.
"Yes."
Nodding at his orders, Kakashi went to leave the office to meet Naruto outside. Before opening the door, Kakashi turned back. "What if he doesn't give in? What if he sticks to it no matter what I say or do to him?"
Hiruzen thought for a moment, before saying something that gave Kakashi a small sense of shock.
"Then Kami help our enemies. Because we have a child who could surpass his father in power."
That's it for this chapter. Kakashi has now been introduced proper in the story. Looking forward to writing him, he'll play a recurring part in this arc.
On the whole "yin chakra getting sealed". I was not looking forward to writing a grown adult in a toddler's body. So I wrote that the memories were accidentally sealed off, unbeknownst to anyone else. Not sure if any authors have written it inthatway. If there are, point them out to me, they obviously slipped through the cracks for me.
Thanks for reading, and good luck.
Raging.
Chapter 6: Bakakashi
Chapter Text
After they had their talk, Kakashi exited the Hokage's office. I was out in the waiting area thinking of certain things that were prevalent in fanfiction, but were either not true or simply unmentioned.
Civilians forming mobs to attack me and Rin. Never happened. Granted, it could be because I was never an idiot and actually went out when they celebrated the Kyuubis' defeat. Markets poisoning food: I honestly can't say. They might have, but either being an Uzumaki/Jinchuriki could make me show no symptoms of poisoning..
The poisoning hypothesis got me thinking. If Uzumaki are known for strong vitality, long lives, large chakra reserves, and hyperactivity, would I still have such a strong healing factor as I do if I weren't a Jinchuriki?
Maybe the healing factor was already there. Could be that having bijuu chakra coursing through me makes my body's healing factor work harder to heal. Muscles slightly tearing, healing, re-tearing and healing again makes stronger muscle. Could be how my healing works. Could it be taken higher? Accelerated healing turning into regeneration? No clue. And... There's Kakashi.Sensing Kakashi coming out of the office, I prepped for his arrival. Seconds later, he was right beside me. Giving me a look, he said only two words to me. "Follow me."
Not wasting a moment, I hopped out of the chair, following him as we walked to the training ground booked for us. The walk there was completely silent.
Was hethatuncomfortable around me, or was he doing it on purpose? We got to the training ground after an awkward walk. It was flat, grassy, and had a few rocks spread around. Nothing exactly special.
Turning to Kakashi, I raised an eyebrow in question, wanting him to tell what he wanted or was doing. He looked at me, again, with no emotion.
"Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, and goals."
Really? Mind games? Trying to overwhelm me? You're on, Baka.
"Uzumaki Naruto, my sister, you, getting training done."
Kakashi blinked at that, suprised that I responded that quick.
"Why do you want to be trained?" he asked.
I took a deep breath before answering. "The Hokage won't always be there to protect me and Rin." I exhaled. "The civilians fear him more than they hate us. That may change eventually. I won't let my sister or myself be victims to cowards and idiots."
Kakashi was paying rapt attention to every word I said.
"And how do you think learning to fight earlier will help you?"
I gave him an "are you kidding" look, my eyes narrowed.
"I'd rather be able fight them off or hurt them enough to scare them than have jiji kill them. Idiots don't deserve to die for being idiots on one occasion. Better to break something than kill someone."
I could almost see the cogs moving in Kakashi's head.
What is he thinking?
"Many kids like you are all bark and no bite. They talk tough, but won't put effort into it. There's no shame in being that."
"Sounds like something a failure would say." I snorted.
Oh dear. His chakra sharpened.I thought as his posture shifted a fraction and his chakra felt like it could cut glass.
"Is that so?, he asked, adopting a contemplative stance. "In that case, show me how much of a prodigy you are."
His stanceshifted. It reminded me of when I've seen cats or dogs ready to charge their prey. It's the stance of a predator.
Is he really expecting me to fight him?
Realizing that he wasn't screwing with me, I put myself in a ready stance. Any of the muscle memory I had from amateur boxing and a bit of grappling left me when I was born in this body, but I still remembered the stances. Proper footwork meant balance and balance meant not getting your ass kicked.
Before I could even say "ready", he charged. One punch. One. Stinking. Punch. Was all I blocked.
Throwing a telegraphed haymaker, which I ducked, he reached out with jab from his left. I blocked it, at the cost of the impact pushing me on my back heel.
God, I hate being small.
The next thing I felt was a foot going into my ribs. The next, a gloved fist colliding with my face. Sadly, I did not lose consciousness in this one sided beat down. By the time he stopped, my eye was starting to swell, the left arm was sore, and I thought I had a busted lip.
Kakashi looked at me with a look of mock astonishment. "Remarkable." he cried. "Such a gem of talent. You blockedonelove tap."
Spitting out some blood from where I bit the inside of my cheek at his feet, I looked at him with undisguised contempt.
Why the hell did he do that? Make me think a beatdown is par for the course? Jokes on you, cyclops, that kunai and bullets hurt worse. You're gonna have to sever something to get something out of me.
"Stop, you're gonna make me blush." I snarked back, feeling my busted lip heal and eye feel less swelled.
Kakashi stared out me as if he just realized something. I could see him eye smiling behind his mask. "It's going to be fun breaking that wit of yours."
That first week was torture. Every day at six, I woke up, ate a quick breakfast, had leftovers in the fridge for Rin, dragged my ass to the training ground to have it kicked by "Inu". The taste of blood in my mouth, the deep ache from physical exertion, and the ache of my abused forearms trying to block strikes from a man who has made killing a profession for nearly 15 years.
In short, I was having the time of my life.
Every time that I was thrown about the training ground, every kick, every bruise, brought me closer to my ultimate goal.
Become a Kage level Shinobi.
Kakashi was getting irritated. He realized that you couldn't get someone to give up when they were desperate to train. He then switched to mental games.
He took my training out into the woods for a mixture of educating me of different toxic plants to avoid, or edible ones if I was caught out with no supplies.
The other portion was tracking and evasion. I was to play the role of prey, and him hunter. I fared much better in this at first, being a sensor, up until he suppressed his chakra. The bastard used Genjutsu for this training. Everytime I couldn't call out his presence, I'd get hit with one, and a pretty bad one at that.
I had to learn to track him. If I botched it, I got a Genjutsu hit. I realized after the third day that the torture/training being done was probably so the Hokage would know for certain whether I was serious about adopting an accelerated learning regimen. I could wait till the Academy, or have a leg up on the other students. Ineededthat leg up for my plans.
After the first week, Kakashi laid off on much of the Genjutsu part when I made a mistake, probably from me passing somemind test. After showing I wouldn't break from something aselementaryas getting mentally electrocuted or copious amounts of being hunted by this worlds apex predator(Shinobi), we moved to the theory and chakra control parts.
I had wondered whether Kakashi wasreallya lazy teacher, or just a garbage genin instructor. At this point, I was leaning towards the latter. The man could not dumb down a theory discussion, even if his life depended on it. If I wasn't a reincarnated adult, whotechnicallyhad more life experience than Kakashi, as well as a better understanding of what chakracanandcan'tdo than the average six year old, I wouldn't have understood what the hell he was saying.
It was irritating how little progress was made, yet it took more focus to follow and comprehend the man then it was to try and track the bastard.
Sadly, this training was causing unforseen issues. Rin was like me. No matter how well I could hide it, the initial training with Genjutsu left me pale and shaking. She could see me as I would walk back home late at night. She would berate me for my recklessness, demanding to know who would dare hurt her brother. It never failed to make all the pain seem worth it. Someone cared whether I hurt or not. Someone would be there when my body was fatigued, my mind wrung, to put me back together.
The things I was permitted to teach and show her was limited to chakra exercises and the katas I had picked up from Kakashi using those movements to push me on the ground. The lessons with her on theory and control weremuchbetter than mine with Kakashi. I knew how to talk to Rin. Kakashi didn't know how to do that with me. The first conversation with Rin ended up being a very good one.
(Flashback)
"Why do I use a rock again?" Rin asked.
This was getting to be aggravating for me. It took me finding it out myself, Kakashi was useless for this, to use a rock or other dense object for Rin's and my own chakra control. Our chakra was too damn dense, with the added bonus of having chakra reserves close to Kakashi's in size... Atsixyears old.
With dense chakra, I'd end up making leaves explode. I couldn't know what I was doing wrong if crap would blow up everytime I channelled chakra into it. That's when I thought of the idea of starting with heavy and dense objects. It's easier for a giant to lift a boulder than it is for him to ice sculpt with human sized tools. Start big and work our way back.
It worked well enough for me. After a week ofhardeffort, I could make a leaf stick to me for a couple seconds before it ignited from a chakra overload. Rin needed a little more explanation though.
"We have really strong chakra, Rin." I said kindly. "Just like mom."
Bringing up our mother never failed to bring happiness to Rin. With the help of Hiruzen, wediscoveredour mother was Uzumaki Kushina. It did Rin good to see that she had our mother's eyes, and her face. She was disappointed that we could not find out who our father was, but was content with knowing Mom's name.
"So, our chakra breaks things that are weak, and using strong things help us to grab it softer?"
That's my sister. I smiled.
"Yes, exactly. We need to know how to pull back on our strength. We can't dance until we learn to walk."
I used the dancing analogy because sheloveddancing. "Feels like I'm flying" she says. She nodded towards me, getting what I'm saying.
"Okay. So, when can I train with you?" She asked for perhaps the hundredth time.
I groaned at the same question she asked every day.
I almost prefer Kakashi.
(End Flashback)
After three weeks of near mind breaking training, Hiruzen requested I talk with him about it. With the lazy mutt escorting me, I let my thoughts drift as we walked to the Tower.
My taijutsu training is coming along pretty well, but my chakra is messed up in its growth curve. It'll take half my time keeping up with my reserve growth to keep it under control.
I was disappointed at this realization. All the chakra exercises did was make me feel like I was trying to stop a flood with a bucket. It was a depressing day when I found out how futile my most desired training was.
Looks like we're here.I thought as we arrived outside Hiruzen's office.
Stepping inside, I saw the old man, sat at his desk as usual, smile on his face. "Inu, Naruto, how is your day?"
Inu offered a shrug of his shoulders, not having really a good or bad day as of this point. I looked at Hiruzen, false smile plastered on my face.
"I'm having a good one, the training is real good."
God that sounded bad.
Sarutobi just nodded, pulling his pipe out and packing it with tobacco. "You can be truthful about your opinion, Naruto." he said, lighting his pipe with some fire chakra at the tip of his index.
I let my shoulders sag at his noticing. Of course he knew.
"It's no use." I said, none of the metal in my voice that I usually had, "Most of the chakra training will be pointless in a year. The book you gave me last week showed me." I finished, my voice empty.
The book was something that took the wind out of my sails. It stressed how some, but not all, children between the ages of four and ten had high chances of experiencing spikes in chakra capacity and that it was not recommended to try and teach them advanced control techniques duringpeacetime.
As Jinchuriki, Rin and I fell in that category.
Too much time would need to be dedicated to control techniques instead of fleshing out the childs education in other matters. Wartime was another story entirely, fleshing out of non combat related education was put on the back burner.
Our chakra growth would be far more stable after age ten, where it would be steadier. Certain clans were exceptions to that, namely the Hyuga, who had constant stable growth through childhood into adulthood before stopping at full maturity.
I can't even dispute this because the Slug Princess herself wrote this.
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at me closer. "Do you understand why I gave you that book?" he asked, leaning in closer.
I think I knew why. "To show I could have avoided wasting my time and getting myself frustrated from my chakra control being terrible."
"And how would you have avoided it, hmmnn?" he asked, not taking his eyes off me.
I looked back at him with a sense of guilt. "If I had trusted you when you said I should wait."
I had been advised by the old man to focus on taijutsu training, even after I wanted to focus on chakra control so I could make Kage bunshin for training.
Hiruzen gave me a small smile, dipping his head forward in acknowledgement. "I know you want to be strong for your sister and yourself, Naruto. It is a noble thing to be strong for others. But you shouldn't charge head on into something because you knowyoucan deal with it. Many of my teammates would have been killed had they followed me into a situation that I was better equipped to deal with than they were. How many people do you know can heal as quickly as you?"
I didn't answer. Icouldn'tanswer. The realization of what I could have done if it wasn't pointed out to me was a chilling one.
What use is being the strongest when everyone who would follow me into hell is dead?
Hiruzen looked at me with sympathy. "Your chakra control training is at an end. You ended any of my doubts about your dedication to getting stronger when you refused to back down, even after it got difficult. I'll drop off some better theory books for you to study before the Academy. Inu will still train you in taijutsu. You've made excellent progress, Naruto-kun, but please remember this," He leaned forward out of his seat, "This time, you lost a couple weeks. The next time, you could lose somethingfarworse if you're reckless."
Remembering the Genjutsu, I stiffened. If I'm dead, nobody will know about the Akatsuki. No one to warn the village of the dangers.
No one to protect Rin.
I nodded my understanding to Hiruzen.
"I know, jiji." my voice was quiet as I replied.
"Now, why don't you head back home and wash up. I'll be by with some more books for you." He then lifted up a letter he was holding, "I need to finish this letter to one of my acquaintances."
Understanding that he needed time to finish the tasks a Kage needed to do, I turned to leave.
But before I did, I gave a final parting shot. "Later, old man. See-ya, jiji."
I could hear Sarutobi's laugh even with the door closed.
Kakashi gave a look to Hiruzen, requesting that he stop laughing. After calming down, his Hokage fixed him with a look of curiosity. "What exactly was the physical training you put him through?"
Kakashi knew that either the Hokage would be aggravated at him, or proud that Naruto had gotten through it. "Modified Anbu training." he said simply, wishing to make it quick, like pulling off a band aid.
Shit.was Kakashi's thought when he saw Hiruzen's look changed to irritation.
"What?" he asked, his tone slightly clipped.
Aggravatedat me, it is.
"I didn't start on it right away." he said quickly, not wanting for there to be any misunderstanding, "I did what you wanted me to do, be physically harsh until he called it quits. He didn't call it."
"I do not doubt that you took a very 'loose' definition of when I gave the orders for you to teach him." The Hokage's eyes had a steely glint to them. "Tell me precisely what you taught him and how you did so.
Kakashi didn't want to tell him everything, so he gave most of the story, leaving a few parts out.
(Flashback)
This little bastard is just like I was.
Every day, Kakashi would train him. Every day, he'd get back up. Kakashi would call him weak, seeing it worked to get a rise out of the kid. He never expected his Sensei's son to respond with one word.
"Failure."
Every time Kakashi failed to keep him down. Every time Kakashi would hit him with a Genjutsu and have him break out of it, he would call himthatword Every. Single. Time.
"Failure."
The tone of voice. The little sneering grin. The condescension behind it. It wasexactlythe tone Kakashi addressed people his age when he was younger. The boy was a younger Kakashi, with Minatos' face.
He could have dealt with it on most days. But most days, he didn't decide to visit his father's grave, Kushinas', and the memorial. Thinking back, he shouldn't have today.
They had finished an exchange. Narutowasgetting better. His taijutsu skills were excellent for someone with only a few weeks training. And even with some blood coming his nose after he missed a block, he still grinned likehewas winning.
"Couldn't keep me down, failure."
He hated how much thisboyacted like him. Being in the short mood he was in, Kakashi tried something.
"How can you expect to protect your sister when you can't even protect yourself?" Kakashi didn't like usinghername if he could avoid it. Too many memories.
That got him.
The sheer look ofhatredon Naruto's face was something he didn't expect from a six year old.
If he can't deal with someone talking about killing his sister, how can he hope to keep a steady head in combat when they do this type of talk?
Enemy ninja did this all the time. Mind games could end up making an opponent slip up for just thatonetime needed to prevail. Stronger Shinobi had been killed by such things.
Naruto's anger slowly morphed into what looked like a predatory grin. "I wouldn't trust your sight, Cyclops."
Kakashi had to fight the urge to roll his eye at the rather weak display of trash talk. But that was to be expected from a six year old.
"Really," Kakashi asked, a look of disappointment on his face, "that's the best you could come up with?"
"Nope," the boy responded, malicious grin still in place. "It's not really true. Is it? I know you've got a second eye under wraps."
Kakashi stiffened.How does he know that? Sensor? Is his sensing that good?
"Not sure what you're talking about." he said, trying to play it off.
"Liar." Naruto growled. The boyhatedliars. "I can feel that eye under your patch. It's not yours."
Kakashi was going to say something, but was cut off by Naruto.
"You probably took it from somebody. Probably a fallen enemy. But that eye feels like the Uchiha police's. That's an Uchiha eye."
Kakashi was getting worried at how well the boy's deductive skills were.
If he can sniff this out, what else could he discover? Minato?
"You didn't take that from an enemy. You took it from an ally... Or was it a friend?"
Kakashi could see the memory going through his head. Rocks coming down. A shout of warning. The gnawing ache in his ruined eye.
"Don't." he said, barely a whisper.
Kakashi felt he owed Minato the effort to train Naruto, even if every moment felt torturous to him emotionally. He would have preferred the Hokage send Itachi to train him. But the village was becoming wary of the Uchiha, sadly, and it would have made things worse
"Itwasa friend. Only a friend would let you get close enough. Did he feel betrayed? Did he scream as you ripped his eye out? Did he, friend killer?" Naruto practically demanded, his eyes narrowed in accusation.
That term. Friend killer. Failure. Obito dead. Killed by my arrogance. Rin. "K-kakashi". The light fading from her eyes as my Chidori made its way through her heart. Obito's eye preserving it in my mind. My nightmares. The blood never coming off.
Kakashi felt his chakra flare and he was immediately within arm's reach of Naruto, his hand on his shirt. Kakashi levelled a look of unmatched anger at thischildthat thought he was clever for probably overhearing some Chunin talk about the silver haired friend killer, or an Uchiha talking about the 'Eye thief'.
"Do not speak of things you knownothingabout." He said coldly, but the anger in his voice was just as visible as if he were shouting.
His chakra kept shaking and he could see Naruto rapidly paling as he refused to let go of his shirt collar.
"I've met self assured kids like you," Kakashi kept speaking, the boy's red hair seeming to flash to a familiar silver in his vision, "They think they're the smartest in the world. They think they can do anything because they're smarter than others their age."
Kakashi didn't even know who he was talking to. Naruto, or himself.
"You'll getRinkilled by thinking you know better than everyone else." Kakashi felt his chakra slipping from his control as he kept visualizing his Sensei's son in front of him as a younger version of himself.
"Please." Naruto was almost white as a ghost, his entire body shaking. "Stop." He pushed on Kakashi's hand, causing the man to blink.
Kakashi took a shuddering breath and reigned in his chakra, letting go of Naruto's shirt.
The red haired Jinchuriki fell bonelessly to the ground, still shaking from the point blank contact from Kakashi's chakra.
"Cold." He heard Naruto whisper, his eyes looking at the ground.
What have I done? Kakashi thought in horror, rushing to the boy he had just frightened.
Shinobi he had been tasked with killing on ANBU missions had been nearly paralyzed from fear at how his chakra felt as he rushed at them. And he had just inadvertently done that to a six year old who had almost been killed just several weeks ago.
"Naruto." He said gently, getting on his knees to look more evenly at him. "It's alright. You're safe. It's ok."
Naruto slowly stopped shaking after a few minutes, but he didn't say anything.
Please, say something. Kakashi practically begged, horrified at what he had just done because of the memory that haunted his dreams.
"I want to go home." The words were quiet, but the boy's familiar blue eyes seemed to be cut from stone, a look his father had when he was angry or disappointed in Kakashi.
"Alright." Kakashi replied, fighting the urge to look away in shame.
Kakashi pulled Naruto up and the boy left the training ground, not looking back.
"I'm sorry." Kakashi whispered, his mask feeling like it was suffocating him.
Naruto paused for a moment, his right leg hovering off the ground slightly. His posture loosened and he kept walking.
Kakashi pulled his Hitai-ate up and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, needing to get to his apartment.
He arrived and practically threw the door open, tearing his face mask off and flinging his Hitai-ate to the right.
The ANBU member took in several gulps of air, trying to steady his breathing. He rushed to the sink in his kitchen and turned it on, cupping some water in his hands to splash his face.
I can'tdo this. He thought desperately, trying to fight the images burned in his head.
"I'm sorry, Sensei." He managed to push those words out with extreme force of will, "I'm so sorry."
He couldn't do it. He couldn't train his Sensei's son without seeing the person he hated most in the world shining through the boy's eyes.
The intellect. The harshness in his words. The borderline arrogance and impatience to get better.
The one that killed Obito and Rin.
(End Flashback)
Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts by the Hokage asking him a question.
"Was what you said everything that occurred?" The Hokage asked, his voice neutral.
It was, in fact, not everything told.
"Yes." Kakashi nodded, hoping the Hokage believed him.
He couldn't bring himself to tell his superior of the horrible memories that came up when he saw Naruto, or when he kept thinking of Naruto as just like he was. He'd only given a general explanation of the different theoretical things that students needed to know to Naruto.
The Hokage said nothing for several long moments, eventually sighing and reaching into his desk.
"This," He pulled out an orb that he sat down gently on the desk, his hand holding it in place, "Is something that was gifted to the Shodai. He used it, the Nidaime used it, and so have I."
Kakashi gazed at the ball not knowing it was for.
"It gives me the ability to see almostanythingin the village." Hiruzen kept speaking, his voice starting to tighten, "You lied to me, Kakashi."
Realizing what had just been said, Kakashi put up his hands in a placating way.
"Hokage-sama." Kakashi began to say, but a raised hand and a flare of chakra from the Sandaime had him freezing.
"You will speak only when you are permitted to." Hiruzen said sharply, his chakra simmering just below the surface.
"Now," The Hokage set the orb back in his desk, steepling his fingers as he finished, "I'm going to tell you what I saw from the one training session where you nearly caused Naruto to pass out interrorfrom your chakra before I move on to the other training sessions I monitored."
Kakashi felt like a cornered mouse looking up at a particularly vicious cat licking its chomps.
"A six year old child, being a precocious boy, managed to discover the story of Hatake Kakashi," Hiruzen said, his dark eyes staying fixed to Kakashi's face, "And proceeds to say certain words to get a rise out of you. And you, an ANBU who has killed and been called horrific things in your career,reactto it?"
"I," Kakashi tried to say, his shame clinging to him like a shroud, "I wasn't thinking straight."
"Not thinking straight?" Hiruzen said flatly, sounding unimpressed, "You paid your respects to the fallen and then thank their sacrifice by scaring a child, even if it were an accident?"
Kakashi desperately wanted to deny what was being said, but he couldn't defend the action he took.
"We will discussthatpart in a short while," Hiruzen continued, "Theothertraining sessions have my attention for another reason."
The Hokage's voice somehow got even colder.
"You were neglecting to tell Naruto of any errors he was making in chakra control exercises and rudimentary Jutsu. These are things even the most lax of teachers explain to their pupils. It wasn't an oversight. You were sabotaging his progress. As the Sandaime Hokage and your superior, I order you to tell me why."
Kakashi didn't know what to say. How could he? How could he say that he was haunted by seeing too many parallels between Naruto and himself at that age and wanted to prevent him from becoming a broken wreck by the time he was a teenager?
"He acts like I did," Kakashi replied quietly, "It's like looking into a mirror and I don't want him to become like me."
The Hokage looked unimpressed by his explanation, taking a deep breath before he responded.
"Naruto will not always be uneducated on these subjects. He will learn them in the future and what do you think will happen when he discovers that he was intentionally held back, hmnn?" Hiruzen asked, "What will he think of you when he andRinlearn of their father? What will he think ofmewhen he discovers I selected you specifically to train him? He already detests the civilians. Through your selfishness, you could sever the strongest connection to the village that he has.Must I remind you of what is out there?" Hiruzen's voice remained cold and unforgiving, refusing to give a single ounce of mercy.
"Orochimaru," Hiruzen clenched his hand tightly as he said the name, "Would be more than open to welcoming an Uzumaki Jinchuriki as a pupil and tool against us. All he would have to do is offer the thing you are depriving Naruto of, and that is knowledge andtrust."
"As punishment forlyingto me," Hiruzen said, "You will be given a month of forced leave, will be takingnomissions during that time, and will be speaking with a Yamanaka mind therapist twice a week about the deaths of your teammates and your Sensei."
Kakashi wanted to protest, but Hiruzen shot him down with a look.
"If you had told me you were incapable of handling his training after a few days, I would have understood," Hiruzen spoke softly now, "I would have simply accepted it and had Itachi or Shisui train him."
Kakashi could guess why they were the other two choices.
"I believed you would be the better choice out of three prodigies that can relate to Naruto because of the animosity between the Uchiha and certain parts of Konoha. I obviously didn't realize you were still not recovered from what you have experienced."
"I can't sit around and do nothing." Kakashi said desperately, "The ANBU and the mission is when I feel alive. Ican'tdo nothing."
"You will if you don't want to be discharged from the Shinobi corps," Hiruzen replied simply, "If one month is too much for you, then you truly are more lost than I ever feared, Kakashi."
Kakashi wanted to refuse. He wanted to tell the Hokage he wasn't going to listen to his order, but he couldn't. He was sotired.
"I will follow your order, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said quietly, turning to leave.
"Kakashi," Hiruzen said, standing up from his chair, "I'm not angry that you lied to just me or Naruto. I'm disappointed. Disappointed that you lied to even yourself."
With that last statement searing itself in his head, Kakashi left the office.
Here's chapter six. Either next chapter or the following one will have the Academy in it. It depends upon what I want to add in. I didn't want the protag to be some type of monstrosity in power by the time he reaches the Academy. So that's why I added the little thing about "chakra growth spurts" in some children.
Anyways, here's the chapter, and best of luck.
Raging.
Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Chapter Text
Konohagakure, Late November..
The Academy starts in the spring, while enrollment begins in the winter, which is all I remember on it. Several small things eluded me about the world that tended to get vexing to me. I had made the risk of writingsomethings down in the event that I started to forget events. I was certain that no one wouldeverdecipher anything I didn't want them to. It's rather difficult to translate a bastardized amalgamation of Latin, English, and German.
Much of it wasn't even themostgrammatically correct, but nobody here could tell me otherwise. I then encoded it with references onlyIwould get. I could not afford to have this discovered, Hiruzen would likely think it was the Kyuubi trying to drive me insane.
He was already worried about me rambling on in English when my brain was still scrambled. I didn't need to make crap harder for him.
Between Kyuubi mind shenanigans or dimension jumpers, I'd definitely think I was crazy.
What made this difficult was that I didn't speak these languages as often. I talked with Rin in English when we were alone at home, which was good, but the bits of Latin I knew was difficult, and so was German. I had to talk to myself and have imaginary conversations to keep up my understanding of the two languages.
Hopefully Rin doesn't think I'm losing it.
I'd been going stir crazy since my physical training was brought to an end temporarily. I still did basic katas and jogging around our neighborhood, with a bit of chakra exercises for personal entertainment, specifically blowing up leaves by putting too much chakra in them,but the theoretical and book knowledge that Hiruzen's books gave me wasn't enough. He flat out refused to give meanybooks on sealing until I was in the Academy.
I probably shouldn't have said I heard about sealing from ninjas talking about exploding tags. Made me sound explosion happy.
I still sometimes did some training with Kakashi, but it wasn't until after over a month of waiting. He'd evidently been injured on a mission and took some time to recover from it.
Mostly, it consisted of learning how to make fires without chakra, looking for animal tracks, setting up snares, etc. Things that the Academy didn't exactly cover. I could tell from his suprise that he thought I was anexceptionallearner when it concerned surviving in the wilderness though.
But he shouldn't be, I already knew this stuff. Tracking deer, skinning a squirrel, fishing, I knew it. Some things never do get forgotten. I focused more on listening instead of talking to him, having still felt disgusted with myself for what I pulled when I mentioned his eye. IknewI would get a rise out of him. Iknewhe'd react badly.
But I wanted him to hurt as much as he'd hurt me byintentionallybeing lazy in telling me the basic stuff needed for certain types of training. I'd had a nightmare of Rin having her half of Kurama ripped out of her, and I could do nothing to save her.
So on that day, I dideverysingle thing I could think of to piss off Kakashi. I acted like how an arrogant, self righteous bastard would. I did it so his punches and kicks would come harder and with less mercy.
The pain makes me think of something other than potential failure.
The angry reaction I expected occurred. But something else happened afterwards. I could still see and hear, even if I looked out of it. My sensing was pretty advanced and I could feel his chakra spasming in a way that Rin's did after I tried to leap from the roof of our apartment to the next one and fell down to the ground, smacking my head against the road and getting a concussion.
He was terrified.
That was the reason I never brought up the subject again. I genuinely hurt him by bringing it up, so I never did it afterwards.
The only thing out of the ordeal that I gained that wasn't confirmation on what someone's chakra felt like when they were terrified was that I could still sense chakra when I was unconscious, which I did when Rin was shouting my name to try and wake me up.
Much of my free time when I wasn't training or teaching Rin was me doing stupid crap to entertain myself. That caused me to realize the reason canon Naruto did pranking. He had too much energy. I felt like the energizer bunny and was a constant menace to the market place and civilians that tried to be jerks to us.
Sometimes I'd torment Rin, asallgood older siblings ought to do, most of that consisting of me "talking crazy". Changing accents in "our" "special language", evidently constituted crazy talk. But in my defense, it's not my fault she wasn't blessed with the understanding of how beautiful the context of "Hello there" was in the English language.
So uncivilized.I thought.That gets me thinking, I'm gonna have so much fun when I can pull off a henge and shadow clones.
Why is he being an idiot again?
Rin thought.
She knew she was no idiot. Her brother just happened to beverysmart. There had been times where she thought he was crazy, but she could tell, in his eyes, that he just loved to mess with people. Mainlyher.
She couldn't wait till the Academy. There, he would have someone else to torment other than her with his crazy proclamations of the "High Ground". That didn't even scratch the surface of his intentional madness. Calling Kami "The Log", singing at the top of his lungs about "Erika", whatever the heck that is, or talking to himself in his own made up languages. Sheknewhe was doing it to her on purpose.
This is his revenge for me asking him about training all the time.
Training was a sore subject for him. Any time she'd ask how his training was going, he'd get a flash of annoyance, before telling her they had to wait some time before they could go to the next level. He did his best to explain the things in the books jiji gave him, but some of it required context.
He'd try to use examples that were lost on her. She saw howhardhe was trying. He genuinely cared and wanted her to understand things that would help her be an amazing kunoichi. But she could tell the lack of training for him and her need for help was grating on his nerves.
Maybe I could convince jiji to give us some books Naruto would like.
Hiruzen read Inoichi's psych report on Naruto with a look of irritation on his face. Apparently, Naruto found ithighlyamusing to talk either like a certain spandex wearing jonin in Konohas' employ, or in the third person. Inoichi said he likely knew why. The mind sessions had mostly ended. Only a bi-weekly appointment for his yin chakra was done now.
Aside from beingverydense, there were no more issues surrounding his chakra. Inoichi believed Naruto acted comically around him to hopefully draw attention away from certain behavioral traits that were more noticeable in his body language. Most of those included a more alert pose when sitting down, softer footsteps, and an inclination to look around in every direction.
Most of the time, it would point to severe terror or post traumatic issues, But Hiruzen knew better. Those traits also get ingrained in Shinobi after a few years of applying their trade. It's no suprise that Naruto adopted those traits when he underwent the closest thing you could get to entry level ANBU psych training without going through the actual training. The Yamanaka clan head didn't know Naruto was getting trained.
Inoichi, you'rea good mind doctor. But you sometimes look too far into things. Naruto might be bright, but he's still six. You've been pranked.
"Try and drive a shrink to drink' he says." Hiruzen muttered to himself. "Inoichi is going to feel like a fool when he finds out."
But the irritation he had wasn't from Inoichi's report. It waswhythe report had Naruto's behavior in it. The boy was, quite simply, bored. Hiruzen saw how depressed Naruto got when he discovered how much of a waste of time it would be for he and his sister to try chakra control exercises this early on.
The boy was so in need of entertainment that he goaded an ANBU Captain into lashing out.
Every time he made a little comment, every time he called his trainer "failure", he was saying he wasn't fazed by the training that would have been considered torture by other six year olf.
Kakashi, being the way he was, possibly didn't realize it.
But thankfully, concerning Kakashi, the month of leave he received had improved his mindset, including when he resumed his duties in the ANBU.
Hiruzen wasn't blind to the reports from the other ANBU about how Kakashi had almost been caught out and nearly killed because he tried to intervene constantly to protect his squadmates, even to the detriment of his own safety.
EvenItachihad come to him to discuss his concern for Kakashi's well-being, the young Uchiha clearly concerned by the acts taken by Inu.
But, the forced leave had a noticable improvement on the silver haired man. So it turned out to be worth the hassle.
The thoughts concerning Kakashi had Hiruzen being contemplative about Naruto. Specifically, why and how he was able to stab at the festering wound that was Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin.
It is disturbing how close Naruto was on reading Kakashi.Hiruzen couldseethe smirk appear on Naruto's face when Kakashi made the comment about his sister.
He wanted a reason to hurt Kakashi. Why though?
That was when Hiruzen remembered something. Something that he had overlooked when he first thought of this.
Naruto showed no surprise when he met Kakashi in my office.
Hiruzen knew that strong enough sensors could indentify specific chakra signatures at close range. That would include the body and specific parts.
His Sharingan has a different signature to the rest of him. Naruto probably noticed it and wanted to know why.
It all made sense now. Naruto had not trusted Kakashi. That's why he kept staring at him. That's why he was acting like such a brat around Kakashi, but changed back to his normal and polite self when he was around anyone else.That'swhy he gauged Kakashi's reaction to calling him a friend killer.
He was almost on point to Kakashi's fear. Either he knows Kakashi, which is unlikely, or he used himself as a reference point, knowing that he personally would respond terribly to being told he was responsible for his sister's murder.
Hiruzen groaned at this realization. "If I'm right, he can dissect people's thoughts and motivations as good as a Yamanaka. I need to speak with Inoichi. But first," he said, reaching into a drawer to pull out a small bottle of sake, "I need a drink."
Filling up a cup, he saluted to himself, "To Uzumaki Naruto. You precocious little gaki." he said, before he downed the drink.
I fixed up parts of this chapter in the same way I did for the previous one. It bothered me how I originally wrote it and I think the new version is better overall.
Thanks for reading.
Raging..
Chapter 8: Unforseen
Chapter Text
Konohagakure, December.
Rin is thebestsister ever. Somehow, she had convinced Hiruzen to give me a book onFuinjutsu. FUINJUTSU. It was only for beginners, but it would keep me entertained for a week or two. He expressly forbade me from trying anything until my calligraphy was up to a level thathedeemed acceptable.
The last month involved pretty much involved me reading the book from top to bottom and working on my handwriting. Hopefully, when I can do control exercises a few years down the road, I can paint on seals by touch, like my father..
I havesomany ideas on what wonders that will do for my hand to hand skills.
I still did the katas for taijutsu, so I wouldn't forget them. Rin was learning more from sparring with me, and I was starting to iron out some of my own errors from sparring against her. Sheneverpulled her punches. "OnlyIget to beat you black and blue." Is something along the lines of what she said.
She's very possessive that way.
I had also kept up on cardio exercises to make sure I was in decent enough shape for a six year old, along with light muscle building exercises so as to not over do it and stunt my growth. It would have been considered a strenuous workout for an adult, but it was just okay for an Uzumaki Jinchuriki.
I'd also started on some parkour without the use of chakra. It would be alongtime before I could get to the level of suppressing my chakra that would be necessary to fly under the radar on assassination missions. I'd noticed some improvement in my hand eye coordination and balance.
I knew some of it would be nullified as I grew taller, but I needed the sense that Icouldmake progress so I didn't feel like I was just turning my wheels and not moving.
I had decided to go for walks on my own during the month. Rin didn't know why, given it wasn't something I'd tell her. I needed time out of the apartment because I didn't want her to worry why I was looking at windows and our front door.
It was snowing when I died.
The thoughts I had before I went to sleep the last night I was alive was how much I wanted to see the snow on the ground, feel the flakes land in my hair and on my face. It was something I had cherished throughout my childhood and adulthood.
And this was the first year I remembered.
She knew I'd sometimes get this way. Doing something that defied conventional sense of logic, but I had always told her I was alright. It was the truth. I simply needed some moments to myself to remember who I was and how it's made me into who I am.
Shaking my head at the thoughts, I pulled my coat closed and trudged through the snow, the delicious crunch of it beneath my boots was exhilarating.
Where to go, I wonder.
Deciding to do something I hadn't done, I made my way to the memorial stone. I decided to take my time to get there, given that most of the villagers were inside.
The Land of Fire didn't exactly adore the snow like I did, so the streets were mostly empty, only a handful of people scattered about here and there. With my scarf and coat, they couldn't tell who I was. They simply saw me as another child, not the symbol of all they had lost.
The love they had for their family members lost, homes, livelihoods, everything else destroyed, was what caused their hatred. They didn't hate children. Theylovedtheir children. Theyfearedwhat I could do to them.They don't believe something so powerful that it killed The Yellow Flash could ever be defeated.
I was tempted to hate them. Truely, I was. These were the same people that would have made life a hell on Earth for my sister, if I wasn't here as a shield. A child can only be seen as pathetic by everyone above them for so long until they pathologically believe themselves to be worthless.
They feared us. The Kyuubi was more than just a tailed beast. It was the demon that Uchiha Madara tried to kill Senju Hashirama with. Hashirama, the man they selected to lead them into an uncertain future. The beast, and its master, nearly stole their protector from them. A scar upon the land was left as a reminder.
The second time, just six years ago,didsteal their protector from them. An orphan. A genius. A warrior. A Kage. The man who faced off against the son of the infamous Sandaime Raikage, the force of nature he was with his lightning cloak, and the Jinchuriki that contained the second most powerful bijuu in the world. He didn't merely survive, he nearlybestedthem. This beacon of hope, when Konoha was beset by hostile villages, ready to destroy everything that was built from the dreams of two young boys, charged into the fray, doing his duty as a Shinobi of the Leaf.
When the forces of Iwa, a thousand strong, threatened to overrun one of the fronts, threatening to send everything spiraling out of control, this beacon of light shined bright and descended into infamy to save Konoha.
I knew how my father was seen by Iwa. He was hated there as much as he was loved here. He sent siblings, children, and spouses back to Iwa in caskets, if they were mercifully killed by something other than hisRasengan.
In Konoha, he was seen as a life saver. "What did a thousand foreign enemies matter to my brother coming home?" "My children wouldn't have their father if the Yondaime didn't do what he did." Theychosehim to safeguard their futures. He, the strongest of his generation, took upon the role a father has to protect his children. The Village, his bride. The People, his children. And there are few greater honours than dying so your children may live.
And me and Rin "killed" their light.The war had ended. Shinobi came home to their families. A new Hokage is sworn in. One who even the greatest student of the Shodai and Nidaime considered worthy. His reign was short-lived. With so much that he could have done, if only he had more time, he was struck down by a monster. The old man who had protected them for decades took up the mantle again.
What followed was events that the people saw as the consequences of the Yondaime's death. The Hyuga incident, the attempted abduction of an innocent girl, on herbirthday, to be used as breeding stock forKumo'swar machine. The distrust of the Uchiha, with rumors that the Kyuubi was unleashed by an Uchiha, like it had decades before. It didn't help that Uchiha Fugaku was irate that he got next to no consideration for candidacy of Hokage. His career record warrentedsomeconsideration in his own eyes, and the eyes of his clan. Orochimaru's betrayal.
They saw it asallbecause the Yondaime was killed. The seemingly immemorial order had cracked. It was the beginning of the end. The first breath of winter.
And they see us as the cause.
I couldn't hate them. The same love that turned to unlove when they saw me or Rin. The same hate they had in their eyes when they looked at us... Was the same hate I held for Obito.
He took our parents from us. He destabilized nations. He exterminated entire clans through his actions. The bloodline purges in Kiri. The Uchiha massacre. He couldn't live with the fact that good people die.HisRin didn't deserve death.Ididn't deserve death either. But I still found myself gasping for air on the floor. I won't kill innocent people so I can be free to love anILLUSION.
I couldn't let go of myhatredof Obito. So, I won't fault the villagers and some of the Shinobi for not letting go of theirs.
Kakashi knew it was cold, but he still visited the memorial. Looking at the names on the wall, he started speaking.
"Hello, Obito, Rin, Sensei, Kushina. I'm sorry I haven't visited lately."
Missions had gotten harder. Most of his time had been dedicated to ANBU missions and missions that took him much greater distances than usual.
This was one of the few times he had some alone time that wasn't mission related.
"Your son issosmart, Sensei." he continued, his voice soft. "Rin," his voice hitched. He needed to start using her name more often instead of "Naruto's sister". "She's just like Kushina. All fire and brimstone. She'll be an amazing kunoichi. Your son, Naruto," he was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. "He's smart, like me. He's six and he's ready to take on the world. But he doesn't know what that can do." Kakashi paused as his eyes left his Sensei's name.
"I got you killed, Obito."he now looked at Obito's name. "and you, Rin." he then turned towards her name, "I learned too late what trying to do things alone, and using teamates as tools, does to you. I see alot of you in him, Sensei." He paused, "But I see alot of myself in his eyes."
This was his fear. That he couldn't protect a boy from turning into him. Kakashi knew that the first couple years after the Kyuubi attack were ones that should have killed him. He did things on ANBU missions thatshouldhave got him killed from his recklessness.
I waslookingfor a death in combat. Naruto wasaware of how much it would hurt me.Why did he do it? Did the memory terrify him that much?
He had gotten blackout drunk when the Hokage had told him about Naruto's memory. It's not natural for a child to remember things that early. But whether out of prenatal exposure to bijuu chakra, as Sarutobi suspected, or just bad luck, Narutosawwhat happened. He felt the presence of the person who killed his parents. He saw the light leave their eyes.
Thank Kami he didn't know that Sensei was his father.
Something died in Kakashi when he found his own father dead by his own hand. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he found him in the act of killing himself. And Naruto sawbothhis mother and father die in front of him.
If the memory motivated Naruto to try and fail to destroy his body in order to better himself, what will he do when he's an active Shinobi?
I'm starting to understand why the Hokage is worried.
He'd been one step away from begging Sarutobi to not go through with the training, to simply tell Naruto no. He didn't want the boy to be consumed by the need to be better at any cost.
Like I was whenmyfatherdied.
Sarutobi had offered an olive branch in the form of, "If Naruto sees how difficult the type of accelerated training he wants is, he will learn patience."
It was Kakashi's chance. A chance to stop his Sensei's son from doing something that could destroy him in the future. He had the chance. But Fate, the cruel mistress she is, didn't let that happen.
Every chakra exercises that failed, the Genjutsu dispulsion training, the taijutsu training. All went unheaded.
Naruto simply shrugged it off, called Kakashi a failure, and dared him to keep teaching. He resigned himself to another period of heartache, when Naruto struck a raw nerve. And he decided the boy needed to know what defeat was.
Kakashi had learned his lesson about trying it alone, by Kami he did, but the cost was more than he could bear. And he didn't want Naruto to share his pain. He stood at the monument with these thoughts until he felt a presence in his peripheral.
No. Not him. Anyone but him. Why's he here? I'm in no condition to be near him right now.
Seeing Minatos' ghost would have been less painful than seeing the object of his thoughts making his way towards the monument.
The boy finally reached the monument, sparing Kakashi a quick glance, before looking at Kushinas' name on the monument.
The two stood there, less than six feet from one another, silently. After several minutes, his Sensei's eldest broke the silence, "What were their names?" he asked, voice quiet.
Kakashi stood there silently, pondering whether he wanted to, or evencouldanswer.
After a minute, he spoke. "Obito," he whispered, "and Rin."
He saw the boy stiffen at the names. He looked at the names etched in the stone, his gaze falling on Obito's.
"It's his eye, isn't it?" he asked, his voice soft.
"Yes." was the hoarse reply.
Naruto then turned to look him directly in the eye. "The police I seelovetheir eyes. A man spat in an Uchiha police's eye, and he got beaten. They'll destroy them before they'd let them get stolen." he said. "He gave it to you." he finished, not as a question.
Kakashi simply nodded, unable to answer.
"I'm sorry for insulting his judgment. He trusted you with his eye and I challenged that."
Kakashi looked at him for a moment, thinking of something. "Why did you say it?" he asked, his voice neutral.
"I saw you were holding back." Naruto started, a look of irritation flashing across his face."I saw it as you being too scared to teach a child how to fight. I wanted the training to be harder. I thought that faster training would help me protect Rin. So I did something I knew would anger you. I questioned whether you were a good person."
Kakashi now understood why Naruto did it.
He thought me holding back out of kindness would make him too weak to stop Rin from getting killed.
But one thing still eluded him. "How did you know I would respond to it?" he asked. Hestilldidn't know how Naruto knew what to say.
Naruto stood there in front of him, contemplating an answer.
He eventually replied. "If someone told me Rin was killed because of me, I'd lash out. I see the same look in your eye when I look in a mirror." With that, the boy turned and left.
He never saw what that answer did to Kakashi. With his back turned, walking to his next destination, he didn't see how much Kakashi was shaking.
What are the odds that Kakashi was there the time I wanted to go?
It had been strange talking to Kakashi about Obito in a kind light. I had contemplatedspittingon the name when I was enroute there. Something told me Kakashi wouldn't understand.
"December," I mumbled as I tried to make my way back home, "and not a single caroler, fake Santa, or Christmas song to be seen or heard."
The West, and its cultures, religions, and holidays, didn't exist here. I was the last of my kind. In spirit, my people would die with me. Physically, I was one of the last of the Uzumaki.
It starts to feel suffocating when one realizes a clan, a language, or a culture, would be forgotten whenyou, the last one, finally draw your last breath.
This world has never been graced with the songs that gave me such hope and joy when I was with my family. I think I can be charitable.
Clearing my throat and walking through the streets, I sang words aloud that had never been heard in Konohagakure, the Elemental Nations, or this entire world.
"Adeste Fidelis-"
Why are they so mean?Hinata thought, tears rolling down her face. The three boys had made fun of her eyes and said so many cruel things to her.
They had made herapologizefor being stuck up and arrogant. She wasn't like her father and most of her relatives. She couldn't understand why they would think she would be like that. Her familyhatedher because she was kind.
She didn't think it would ever end until she heard a shout from behind her.
"What the hell are you doing, you little shits?" Shocked at the language used, and by someone her age by the sound of it, she turned to see who had shouted at the boys. She was suprised by what she saw.
It looked liketheboy. The one who most of her clan, but strangly not her father, told her to avoid when they were outside of the clan compound."He's dangerous."they would say. But she couldn't understand why. She had first seen him when she had ran out in the snow when she was much younger, the boy being full of energy and escorted her back home. That wasn't something someonedangerouswould do. Would they?
The boy lookeddifferentnow, and not by his attire. He walked differently. The smirk on his face looked like it promised pain to the boys that had been bullying her. The way he walked almost reminded her of how her father or her late uncle walked. Light footed and with grace.
"Oh, you're just having some fun." he said, as if realizing what they were doing.
She was too shocked to say anything.What?He can't really mean-
"Yeah," one of the three said, grin on his face.
The next words she heard sent a shiver up her spine. "Can I have some fun too?"
The boy who had been so nice to her before waswantingto join in.
He's dangerous.
Starting to shake uncontrollably, she started crying some more. Nobody cared about her. She was weak. There was no one to help her. When she looked back up, she saw that he wasn't even looking at her. He wasglaringat the boys.
"Well?" the one bully asked, as the boystalkedforward, "You gonna joi- hrrgghh" the rest of his sentence was stopped by a fist making its way into his stomach, knocking him to the ground.
Before the other two could even digest what happened, they too were struck with speed and force. One got a kick to the outside of his leg, causing it to give out and he took a tumble to the ground. The third was grabbed by the boy and was smacked across the head hard, as if he were a misbehaving child, before being shoved to the ground.
Groaning as he tried to get up, the first bully looked up in suprise. "Why'd you do that? You said you wanted to join in."
"No." the boy growled, before changing his voice to a more cheerful one, " You were bullying someone 3 to 1. I thought it would great fun beat some sense into you. I don't think you learned."
Gritting his teeth at the insult, bully #1 pulled himself to his feet. "I'm gonna make you wish you ran." he growled.
The boy just snorted. "I've seen newborns that were scarier than you."
Yelling, the bully charged at the boy, determined to teachhima lesson. The first punch met nothing but air. Putting too much weight behind the punch caused the bully to stagger forward, and received a kick in the rear, causing him to hit the ground face first. Jumping back up, he ran at him time, the boy blocked the strike and returned a quick slap to the bully's face.
"Tsk tsk." he clicked his tongue with a shake of his head, "bad boy."
"Aarrgghh!" the bully snarled, before trying to punch him again.
The boy diverted the punch away from him, "Please stop." was all he said.
The bully didn't listen and continued to try and punch him. Finally the boys face changed to afuriousone and said one word.
"STOP!" He snarled. Hinata jumped at the tone. The air seemed to get even colder than what it was before.
The three bullies began shaking as the res haired boy gave them a cold look of anger.
"You pick on a girl," he said, his tone dripping contempt, "You make her cry, snd then you try to getmeto join in. You disgust me."
The lead bully tried to stammer out an explanation. "B-but she's a H-hyug-"
"I don't want your excuse." he snapped, "I want you toleave.I don't want to see you ever again. Right now, you're the rabbits," he said sinisterly, "and I'm the fox." he finished, a dangerous grin on his face.
The three bullies wasted no time running away, fear in their eyes.
Hinata saw the boy take a deep breath before exhaling loudly. "I hope they learn. I don't want to do that again." he whispered to himself.
Trying to calm herself, Hinata tried to breathe normally. He evidently heard her because his head perked up and without turning to look at her, he began to speak.
"Sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean to."
Turning around , he continued. "I don't think I got your name mi-" he was cut off when he looked her in the eyes, his own widening for a moment.
Does he remember me?
She saw how tense he was after he saw her eyes. "Hinata?" he asked.
"Y-yes." she stammered out.He remembers me.
"We've met, haven't we?" he asked, almost to himself.
"Yes. It w-was s-some time ago."
He seemed to think for a moment, before relaxing. "Yeah. I remember."
He looked at her with a kind smile on his face. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
Her face turned a slight shade of red, thinking of the kind action he was offering. "You d-don't need t-to do tha-."
"Oh nonsense." he said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I don't have anything to do right now, and I've got worse problems if I don't even have the time to help someone in need."
Hinata smiled softly at what he said. "T-thank you, Naruto."
Returning a smile, Naruto offered her a hand. "You ready?" he asked.
She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.
"I'm gonna need to know where your house is. I'm not sure where it's at."
Pointing towards the east, she let him know where they needed to head.
"Ok." he said simply, "Lead on, my lady." He said cheekily, before they went on their way to her home.
Ask and ye shall receive. Youidiot.
Hear I was, singing to my heart's content, having not heard the words out loud in a long time. As it came to an end, I noticed a chakra signature. The signature was bright, like a child's, and kept fluctuating in a pattern that I had noticed amongst individuals having a certain emotional response. The person was sad and/or scared.
Making a beeline towards the signature, I eventually reached it. I could see a girl with dark hair on the ground, crying. Much of what was being said, I couldn't understand. But her crying was whereallmy mind was focusing on.
Idon't like it.
Stepping forward, I decided to be a complete bastard right now, civility be damned. What followed next was something that would have been frowned upon in my previous life; disciplining and intimidating kids that weren't your own.
Hopefully they learned to not be little jerks. There's always a bigger fish and you shouldn't stir things up to feel like a big man.
I heard the girl behind me shift and try to control her breathing.
Damn. My KI scared her.I only meant to use a little. Just enough to make the kids run. I probably overdid did it, looking back. You don't exactly learn subtlety in bootleg ANBU training or when you have a chakra beast sealed inside you.
When I turned to apologise, I was stopped completely in my thoughts by the sight of the girl I had helped.
Dark blue hair, shy demeanor, and eyes that looked like the full moon.
A Hyuga... Hinata. Hyuga. To be exact.
When did this happen?
I had thought Naruto and Hinata had met in theSpring, not winter. This was bad. This was something that I didn't foresee, and I've only been fully aware fortwomonths.
Like an idiot, I tried to talk my way through my shock. "Hinata?" I asked.
Evidently, we had met before a few years prior. I rememberednothingabout that. Yet, she seemed sure. I wasn't exactly a forgettable person.
After offering to walk her home, to which she accepted, I took a few minutes to try and think things through.
I'd heard of some post-shippuden movies. But I'd never seen any. Only heard some things about them.
If I was flying into unknown terrain, it could get ugly very fast. I'd planned on letting things pan out the way they did, until acertainpoint. I wasn't going to delude myself in the naive thought that I could ensure that everything went the way that it had in the show or manga. My very presence changed things. I'd been banking on the belief that I could reach my chosen shatterpoint event that would send things cascading into my favor. I had selected where I would send canon into a complete unrecognizable state.
If I couldn't even reachthat,I'd need to re-evaluate a great deal of my plans.
But that could wait for now. Now, I was walking beside the first member of the rookie twelve I'd encountered.
A new time had begun.
Chapter 9: Shatterpoint
Chapter Text
Hyuga Hiashi, clan head of the Hyuga, frowned at what he saw. Next to his eldest daughter, as she was walking back home, was the Uzumaki boy. He didn't have anythingpersonalagainst theboy. By all accounts, aside from being a menace to some of the more aggressive shop owners, he was an intelligent and driven young man. But with the strained relations with the Uchiha, the Hyuga could ill afford anybody thinking they were trying to influence one of the village jinchuriki.
We don't need that suspicion towards us.
Much of the clan, at least the Main branch, were seen as uptight and arrogant jackasses. It wouldn't be a lie if one were to point it out. They were. He had tried to change, for the sake of his wife. She was his better half.
And then she died.
Saddled with an infant, and a inconsolable child that resembled her motherfar toomuch in appearance and temperament, he was barely able to function as a clan head and father. Hizashi was there for him when his whole life seemed to be falling apart.
And I let my brother die for me.
Hiashi wanted to die. He didn't want a war to break out because he struck down the Kumo "ambassador" in anger. He had been taught since childhood that he mustn't let his anger get the better of good judgment. He failed that lesson when the thing that resembled most what he had lost,theirlittle girl, was almost taken from him. His actions made it look like the Hyuga, and Konoha, had fabricated a false tale of an attempted kidnapping to justify killing an ambassador. If conflict arose, not everyone that was a third party would assume Konoha could claim aggrieved status.
Hizashi died because of me.
Hewas supposed to protect his little brother. Their father might have said it was a duty and anhonourto protect the clan heir, but theirmother toldthem something else.
Protect your little brother, Hiashi. You're the big brother and his twin. Stick together, and you'll never be alone.Those words were dancing in his head when Hizashivolunteeredto die for him.
"I'm not choosing to because it's my duty to protect the clan head. I'm doing it because I love you, Hiashi."No matter how much he pleaded, his brother wouldn't listen.
"If you die, who will protect Hinata and Hinabi from the elders machinations?"He had whispered. The elders were paranoid that the heir and spare would be physically delicate like their mother. Hiashi's wife didn't fully recover from Hinata's birth. The Kyuubi attack, and more specifically the remnants of caustic chakra left behind, caused multiple miscarriages and physical deformities in the current generation of children. Hyuga iryo-nin had done their own examinations on their clan head's wife. They had talked about concerns on whether the child would be premature. Hiashi had waved off their concerns, hiring capable caregivers to ensure his wife deliveredtheirchild on the proper due date. But Fate didn't care about the well layed plans of mice and men. She had gone into labour,twomonths early.
He had prayed to every deity he could think of, desperate to not lose what he held most precious.
They both survived. His wife, weak and ill from the effort. And their daughter, their precious daughter, struggled to even breathe on her own. The first few weeks were a nightmare for him. Frightened that he would wake up with their daughter's chest not rising and falling in the rhythm it should.
Hinata was physically weaker, but she would live. Two types of medical reports came from medics who werepayed handsomelyfor their discreetness. Some of the reports said that she would not physically recover from it, that she would remain weaker than normal. Others said that shewouldrecover, but it would take a few years. The elders assumed the former was the case. They demanded that he "Do his duty as clan head", and provide an adequate heir.
He was only able to delay for a few years. He knew what went unspoken.
His daughter would be marked.If she didn't show improvement in her taijutsu, he would be forced to try for another child, which could very well kill his wife. Hinata was too kind. Hizashi's son was an amazing prospect, even at such a young age. Even if Hinata had shown a marked improvement in her taijutsu, it would have been overshadowed by Neji's prodigious understanding of the gentle fist.
The elders had promised Hinata wouldn't get marked, so long as he gave the clan a suitable heir. His wife had been the one to convince him.
"We have to protect our daughter, my love."They did. She was pregnant. She gave birth to a perfectly healthy girl.
Two weeks later, she died. He had been in bed. Waking up earlier than usual, he turned to look at his wife's face, only to see her soulless eyes staring back at him.
He had fallen apart. His brother was the one who tried to help keep him together. But then the kidnapping attempt occurred. His brother dying for him.
I should be one to do it.
His brother protected Hinata and Hanabi by choosing to die. The Main branch would resent him, as a Branch member, taking temporary regency until Hinata or Hanabi reached maturity. It could have very well caused a schism in the clan.
To stop it, and to keep the Byakugan out of enemy hands, Hizashi let himself get killed.
"Protect Neji for me, brother."Was his last request before the light left his eyes.
Hiashi had found the idea of "Twin Telepathy" to be silly. It was likely just the fact that siblings close in age would understand one another better. He had his doubts when hefeltthe moment his brother died.
Died because I couldn't think of losing her again.
Hinata was kind like her mother. She looked like her, sounded like her, and had her eyes.
Soulless eyes that once only had warmth when I saw them.
He started to blame their daughter for his brother and wife's deaths. If Hinata had been stronger, the elders would not have demanded a spare. His wife wouldn't have died. He would have had a clearer head when rescuing his daughter. The "ambassador" wouldn't have been killed. His brother would still be here. The guilt that felt like poison in his veins wouldn't have ever been.
And so he stopped being a father to her. He tried to avoid her eyes. He demanded she do better. How dare she be allowed to be weak when that weakness caused her mother to die?
Poison. In his veins.These thoughts all flooded into the front of his mind when he saw the jinchuriki of the beast that caused his daughters weaknesswalkingwith her back home.
Ironic.Was Hiashi's dark thought.The thing that took her strength and mother is just three feet from her, held back by ink and chakra.
He could see a small level of chakra trickling into the boys tenketsu that wasn't his own. The sight of thatsmallamount was one of the mostfoulthings he had laid eyes on since the Kyuubi itself had torn apart the village. He got a slight phantom pain at the memory of the near blinding level of chakra that came from the beast.
More premature vision issues occurred that one night than decades of life.
Several Hyuga were killed when they were caught off guard when they activated their eyes to see where the kyuubi was, only to have the equivalent of an ocular flashbang exploding in their head. It did nothing to engender sympathy for the Jinchuriki twins. The low level of Bijuu chakra swirling around in their tenketsu acted as the rubbing of salt in a festering wound.
It reminds me of how things all went wrong.The war had ended. He and his brother returned home to their wives unharmed. His close friend, Minato, was selected as the next Hokage. With the Yellow Flash at the helm, nobody would dare cross Konoha with an army killer as it's Kage. But then he died. The man who had saved his life in the war, giving him the chance to have a family, was stripped of the opportunity to do the very thing that he had.
The chance to be a father.
He had remembered when Jiraiya and the Sandaime had requested his assistance in seeing what was wrong with Minatos' son when he was a newborn. It was a sight he'd never seen. A large portion of yin chakra had been disconnected and trapped behind the seal that also held back the Kyuubi. He had feared the worst. If the seal wasn't robust enough to hold backtwodifferent types of chakra, could it break? Jiraiya had assured the little "Club" that it was safe. The Sandaime, Jiraiya, Yamanaka Inoichi,and possibly Shikaku,and himself were the only ones who knew about the strange phenomena that was Uzumaki Naruto.
Hiashi still didn't know what a detachment of yin chakra would do. Would it even fuse back together properly? Inoichi and Sarutobi had assured him that the incident two months back fixed the issue. But he still had his worries.
Traumatic incidences don't "fix" an issue of the mind, it destabilizes it. Yamanaka should know that.
He had the feeling they had hid something from him about the incident. He had been forced to stop the train of thought he had been on when his daughter and Uzumaki arrived at the entrance of the compound. Dismissing the two guards beside him, he stepped forward to speak with his daughter on why she had left without an escort.
"Hinata." He said simply.
"F-father." she replied quietly, not making eye contact.
He was about to demandwhyshe left without informing anyone when he looked to the Uzumaki boy.
He wasglaringat him.
Deciding not to show his disappointment with his daughter in front of a stranger, he kindly asked for Hinata to go inside, wanting to speak with the boy whonicelyoffered to escort her back. He had been able to read some of the words the boy had said with his Byakugan activated.
Hinata nodded slightly before walking into the compound.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" He asked, brow raised.
"Your presumption is correct, Lord Hyuga." he said with a slight bow.
Either he's always formal, which is unlikely, or he's being intentionally like this to insult me."Let us skip the pleasantries and get onto the point of what you're wanting to say to me." he continued.
There it is. The defiance I've heard about.Hiashi then responded. "Why were you with my daughter? It's not normal to decide to walk a stranger home, now is it? I ask, why."
He wanted to know what sparked the boy to walk her home when to the best of his knowledge they have never met.
The boy then shrugged his shoulders, a look of unimportance on his face. "She was being bullied. I stepped in to stop it."
Bullied? Who would dare do that to the Hyuga clan heir?"Explain." he demanded stiffly, "Now." he ordered.
The boyglaredat him from the tone of demand, but he answered him.
"Three boys saw that she was a Hyuga. They thought she was "Arrogant and stuck up like they all are". he said, using quotes around the reasoning. "They offered to let me join in. I took offense."
Hiashi was angry at the thought. "She didn't fight back?"
He saw the boys faceshift.Before, there hadn't been much aside from a small amount of glaring. But now, there was something akin tofuryradiating behind his gaze. "What is that suppose to mean?" the boy asked, his tone quiet.
"She is the clan heir," Hiashi said stiffly, "The Hyuga clan heirmustnot show weakness."
There was a moment of silence between the two. The boy looked down for a moment, before levelling his gaze back at him.
His eyes weren't violet.Was Hiashi's thought when he saw his eyes.
"When I heard her crying," he said, his voice hardly above a whisper, "Her chakra was shifting. It shifted the same way my sister's would when a villager showed hatred towards her."
Hiashi discreetly pushed some chakra into his eyes.There's more.He thought, seeing more of thatfoulchakra moving through the boys system.
"I saw a little girl, all alone in the snow, crying. I drove the ones who hurt her off. I walked her home so she wouldn't be alone. When we walked back here, she said she wasuseless." The boy's voice was still quiet.
What is he saying?"And?" Hiashi asked, with a questioning tone.
"Youare more focused on your daughter not fighting back, instead of concern for her being hurt." he gritted out.
"It is unbecom-", he started, before the cut him off.
"Bullshit." he snarled. "Spare me your excuses for being a shit father."
Hiashi glared murderously at the boy.
How dare he."She told me enough to fill in the blanks." he continued, his voice a little calmer than before." Of how you are so demanding of her. That you are always disappointed. I had to console her because Iknewyou weren't going to. No child should fear their father." he finished, his voice quiet again.
Hiashi just stood there silently.
"When the villagers called my sisterdemon,"he continued, " I had to tell her she wasn't. They hated us because they didn't understand. I protected my sister because I love her."
"I'm not choosing to because it's my duty to protect the clan head. I'm doing it because I love you, Hiashi."
Hiashi's bit downhardto stop his face from twitching. This boy was comparinghimto the villagers that hurt his sister.
His twin.
Hiashi desperately wanted this conversation to end. It brought doubts. Some private, traitorous thoughts. He refused to believe that what he was doing would hurt Hinata's potential. The demeaning worked for him and Hizashi. It'll work for her. But the conviction in the boy's tone made him doubt.
"We need to protect our daughter."
Giving the boy a look, Hiashi spoke in a formal tone to hide his emotion. "You are dismissed."
"Didn't realize I was summoned, m'lord." Was the boy's sarcastic reply. Hiashi turned to leave but before the gates closed, he heard the boy say one last thing.
"You can only call someone a demon so much before they become one. Same goes for the 'worthless'." With that, the gate closed.
This chapter was the other half of the previous one. Most of the people I'm trying to expand on is being done for a reason. Feel free to guess why I'm usingcertainindividuals.
Chapter 10: Nightfall
Chapter Text
Konohagakure, Spring.
It had finally arrived. The first day of the Academy. I knew intellectually that the first couple years were going to be small knick knack things that I could easily learn from a trip to the library, but still, ACADEMY. It would be interesting to see the children that would become a part of the Konoha 12.
Plus one.I thought. I didn't know what issues would arise from there being an odd one out. I'd read more on how students were selected for Jonin instructors. Only the top performers, mostly clan kids, got selected to be taught and led by Jonin. The lower bracket of students were trained by either veteran Chunins, or were part of the genin corps for their careers.
The only Shinobi the series showed were the top bracket.
There was no way that a Hidden Village with tens of thousands of civilians and a couple thousand in clan numbers could survive militarily if the only Shinobi of Konoha in our year was 8 clan kids and a civi.
Make that 9.
Technically, Rin and I weren't "clan kids" in the conventional sense. Children from Shinobi clans are taught the ins and outs of Shinobi life in preparation for their future career. Civilians don't exactly know how to prep their kids for the life.
I knew how to prep us.Clan kids would have to betruelyincompetent to not be selected by a jonin instructor. It wasn't likely that a civilian would outclass all his clan born classmates.
Jiraiya the Sannin is an exception... As is Namikaze Minato.
Orphanages got a stipend from the village funds to have food and shelter for their residents. They received more if the children were attending the Academy. Eventually, it became customary for most orphans to be enrolled. It is no suprise that those without guidance have the lowest success rate of graduation.
Unfortunate. Damned if you don't enroll. And damned if you do.
All this made me think. Sakura had the highest grades in the Academy. She was even able to force a draw in a fight against a clan kid, not that it was very impressive to fight Ino. She also hadsomethingthat caused Tsunade to see her as a worthy apprentice.
Why on Earth was she so incompetent?
Most characters saw improvement. Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke (perhaps Kishimoto embellished things because you liked the character), etc. Sakura was pretty much like Jiraiya. He started out at a disadvantage. He wasn't a natural intellectual like Orochimaru, nor was he the grandchild of the Shodai and had the best non Uzumaki seal master of their generation as a grand uncle in the form of Senju Tobirama.
The best explanation for why Jiraiya succeeded, and not Sakura, was that one, he didn't let his infatuation with women, or more likelyonewoman, get in the way of his training. Second, and possibly the biggest one, Sarutobi was amuchbetter teacher than Kakashi.
Kakashi could train a seasoned Shinobi into being an A rank instead of being fodder. He helped to train Tenzo and helped Itachi on his way. He could train those who had a base to build on or the brilliance that matched his. But he couldn't build someone from nothing. Maito Gai trained Rock Lee into being a monster of a taijutsu fighter. No ability to use ninjutsu, no way to cast Genjutsu, only the power of his fists and the fire in his soul.
Youth.
I'll never insult the will that would carry a hopelessly incompetent genin in the form of Maito Duy to slay four of the Seven Swordsman of Kiri. It was the same fire that drove me in breaking and bleeding myself to greatness.
Nothing worth anything is easy.
My thoughts returned back to the Shinobi whodidmake improvement.
Much of the nightmare abilities were from the late stage war arc. How accurate are these?
This had plagued my thoughts for some time. Kakashi went from being dead on his feet using Kamuionce,to being able to launch it in rapid succession. Hopefullysomeof the doomsday shit was "Author's Embellishment" by Kishimoto.
I hope.
Dropping these thoughts, I turned to Rin. She wasskippingas we walked to our first day at the Academy. She looked so happy and full of life. I let myself just relax at the sight.
Things are good, for now.
"First day!" a young girl shouted, her blonde hair flying in her face.
Inoichi smiled at his daughters excitement. It was going to be her first day as a Shinobi student.
How time seems to keep moving faster.He thought wistfully.
It only seemed like yesterday when he had taken her home from the hospital, all bundled up in a blanket, her hair, much like his own, showing through the wrapping.
"Ok, Ino," he asked, a broad smile on his face, "do you have your lunch packed?"
"Yes daddy." was her only response, before going back to being excited.
Will she calm down?He thought amusedly.
"Then let's go, dear." he said, offering his hand.
She took his hand, before nearly dragging him along for the ride.
"C'mon daddy we don't want to be late."
Chuckling at his daughter's exuberance, he had no thoughts except happy ones.
I live for these days.
Hiruzen was in his robes and at the Academy, waiting for all the students to arrive. He had told Naruto and Rin that he couldn't take the two of them on their first day because it would look unfair to the other kids. The two understood, but Rin seemed to be a little more irritated by it.
Each year, I do this.In many ways, he saw this as a symbolic offering of the torch. When he, the keeper of the Flame, the Will of Fire, offered it to the next generation. Something that wasn'taliveso to speak, but it still hadpresence, something that couldn't die.
But I'm also placing a burden.He knew that many of the students would fail their exams. Jiraiya had been the dead last of thefinalyear. So many others simply gave up. Most transferring to civilian schools to learn a useful trade.
Many people simply weren't cut out for the Shinobi life. Shinobi were many things. Not all good. They were the creatures that go bump in the night. They're the ones that will deliver medicine through hostile terrain. They're the ones that wouldstealsupplies to weaken an enemy.
They. Were. Human.
They were seen as dangerous because they had power that most people couldn't dream of. Hiruzen had seen the beautiful display of chakra that his student Tsunade had used to save a little boy's arm from needing to be amputated. He saw her restore a little girl's face when she had been struck by an errant fire jutsu.
But he had also seen what it could do in a destructive capacity. His fire jutsu when he, his teammates, and his Sensei were on the run from the hit squad sent to kill the last Senju brother. His jutsu struck one of the squad when they ran. He remembered the screams. He remembered the sizzling of scorched flesh. He remembered the smell.
Man was capable of great and terrible things. Chakra did not change Man's nature. It merelyelevatedhis base nature. It elevated healing and restoring to that of a god. And it elevated the diabolical in Man to that of a god of death and destruction. Those who could heal with their left, and strike down with their right, were seen as gods among men.
But gods, we are not.
Gods don't die. They don't wither away. They don't lose family.
They don't fear death.
Hiruzen didn't fear what lay beyond the veil of this world. He had fought and bled for Konoha. He had given what was his and gave it to something greater than one person. He gave his youth and his hope of retirement to the village that housed him as a boy. It was a refuge that he built his family in. It was something that emerged from a world of war and destruction.
But who will carry my burden when I'm gone?
Hiruzenfeareddeath, but not out ofhisown demise. He feared that no other would follow. The Fire had to be stoked by the next. He had done so when his Sensei entrustedhimwith the lives of thousands. Hiruzen entrusted Minato with the fire that had been started generations before, when two boys, twohopelesslynaive boys dared to think that they could do better than their fathers. Dared to think that there could be a walled garden from which life could sprout in a ruthless beauty. Where a man could cast aside all armour around his heart, to love recklessly, to embrace his children without fear of them being taken from him, to leave the world knowing that even when your light faded from your children's lives, they could still see.
He was one of the last of his generation of Shinobi. None of his students could replace him. The wars had touched them all. Tsunade lost her entire clan to targeted assassinations from those who feared another like the Senju brothers. Jiraiya was always a free spirit and would feel stifled with the job. And Orochimaru. Orochimaru was the one, when the 2nd Shinobi war began, that Hiruzen saw as his eventual successor. He was brilliant and an amazing leader. But the war changed him. The emptiness in him left by his parents death was so much more noticeable after the three's fight with Hanzo the Salamander. He became obsessed with finding more techniques to prevent death.
He then saw Tsunade after Niwako and Dan's deaths.
His prospective successor as the torchbearer was lost to his own darkness. Jiraiya's student was a godsend. He waseverything. Even after the soul breaking loss of two of his students and being forced to slaughter over a thousand people,with his own hands,he still shown as an example.
All who are strong enough to relieve me are either broken or dead.
He had only thought oftwo. Two in the entire village who might be able to succeed him in the future. The first: Uchiha Itachi. Even with the pressure of being clan heir, even with his clan being seen with suspicion, helovedthe village. A once in a generation prodigy that loved their village more than themselves was a very rare thing.
The second was one that could potentially go down in history in how much he could change the world with the potential he had. The boy he saw as his grandson. The boy who clawed his way through a mind stifling affliction in order to protect his sister from those who would do her harm. The boy who responded to nearly dying with a demand. A demand aimed at one of the strongest Shinobi in history.
"Train me."
The boy that threw his body into torture after torture so he could be strong enough to save what he held most precious. The boy who seemed to lose all the fire in his eyes when he was told that he must wait a couple years. The boy who he could see just a hundred yards in front of him.
I see them all in you, my boy.
He saw Tsunade's fierce love for her younger sibling in Naruto. He saw Jiraiya's determination and sarcastic shenanigans. And he saw Orochimaru's intellect and desire tounderstandthe world around him. He had Minatos' face and his seemingly kind nature.
And Hiruzen didn't know who he'd be. Naruto would look at him with the utmost respect, Rin with unmatched love, Kakashi as a kindred spirit and perhaps older brother. But there were times he had seen Naruto assocold. He had, after picking the two up from the orphanage to move into their new apartment, seen the caretakers give a look of glee at the thought of the two leaving. Naruto hadn't noticed him staring. He saw the look on Naruto's face. Such hatred shouldn't come from a child.
He had seen the look a couple of occasions afterwards. Everytime it involved people looking at Rin, never did he respond to looks aimed at him,onlyRin. He had responded with hostility to Kakashi when Kakashi had tried to gauge how well he would react to a common tactic of mind games that enemy Shinobi engaged in. He never thought that a six year old could be perceptive enough to find a chink in a masked man's armour. Something that would make a man resistant to sessions of torture/training cast aside his resistance to it.
Uzumaki Naruto had peerless potential. A once in a lifetime.
If you stay the course, like your father, you will bring the brightest dawn. But if you are lost to your own darkness,like Orochimaru, you will bring the darkest night.
Uchiha Itachi was having a good day, something he hadn't for the last few months. After he had saved the Uzumaki boy, he had been grilled by his father so he could gauge the stability of the Jinchuriki and to see whether the boy was a danger to the clan. Given that the boy was discharged the next day, there likely wasn't any issue.
Itachi had been run ragged. ANBU missions were getting more intense. His father's demands for more inside information on the inner workings of village military was tearing him in both directions. "To stave off any preemptive attack on us."His father had said. But Itachiknewthe Hokage would never order the elimination of the Uchiha clan. He wanted to fix things. The Hokage had even mentioned in passing thathe,Itachicould be capable of taking over from him in a few years. He had nearly run to his father to tell him the news. It would fixeverything. All the hate and suspicion. The division that was occurring between clan and village.
But his father didn't believe it. He thought it was a ruse. To make them lower their guard. These things drove Itachi nearly mad.
But they all seemed worth it when he looked at the reward. He was walking to the Academy with his little brother in tow. His brother barely containing his excitement.
"This is my first day, big brother." he said gleefully, having said it more than once already.
"I know, Sasuke." he replied, a soft smile on his face.
"I'm gonna be just as strong as you." he declared, looking up at his older brother with adoration.
Itachi just looked back at him, smile still on his face. "I don't doubt it." he said softly, "Not at all."
Something is not right with him.
I thought.
Hiruzen was giving his speach to the group of new students this year. Many of them, I didn't recognize.
Civilians and dropouts.Is what I guessed. They would likely be the ones shuttled into the genin corps ormightget to train under a chunin if they were lucky. But, back to my thoughts on Sarutobi.
He was giving a speech about us being the next carriers of the Will of Fire. Most of the other children probably saw the speech as the old man, power in his voice, entrusting them with a great honour.
But I knew better. His voice was off. The tiger of ferocity he displayed was a paper one. No one but me, and likely Rin as well, could see that his eyes didn't have the same light in them. His voice didn't have the same iron in it as usual.
What the hell was he doing today that made him this way?
I turned slightly to look to my right. So many people I recognized. Hinata, who was giving me a shy smile. Ino who was sat next to Sakura. And Sasuke. Sadly, I didn't get here before Sasuke got here. Evidently, Itachi brought him here on his first day. I needed to speak with him. It was something I wanted to do to help him. Hopefully he would be the one to pick Sasuke up.
Itachi returned hours later to pick up his brother. He had spent his day off walking around the village, talking with Shisui a little bit, and eating at the dango shop. The day took a great weight off his shoulders.
Arriving at the Academy, he saw his brother talking with both the Uzumaki twins, the boy being in an in-depth looking talk with his brother. About what, he didn't know. Itachi saw the boy perk his head up when he came within a certain range.
Sensor.
He saw Uzumaki lean towards Sasuke to say something. His brother sharply turned his head towards him.
Yes. A strong sensor.
His brother started to run towards him, smile lighting up his face. But Itachi wasn't looking at his brother. He was looking at the six year old lookingstraightat him. Thisboyhad made coded hand signs to him.
ANBU handsigns.
Thank. You.
Itachi was shocked.Could he remember my signature after only feeling it once?Hehadto speak with Uzumaki. Heneededto know where he learned anbu handsigns.
Giving Sasuke a slight hug, he whispered to him that he'd be a minute. He wanted to talk to some of Sasuke's new friends. Sasuke pouted, saying they weren't his friends.
Not yet.Itachi smirked to himself.
Approaching the boy, noticing that his sister went to speak with what appeared to be the Hyuga heiress.
"Hello." Itachi said.
"Hello there." was the reply.
For some reason, the boy grinned slightly, almost as if he were laughing at an inside joke.
"Do you remember me?" he asked quietly.
The slight nod was all he needed.
"Where did you learn those handsigns?"
The boy gave a knowing grin. "From a certain one eyed mutt."
Kakashi taught him. I wonder why.Being somebody as important as one of the villages jinchuriki, he'd likely been receiving some training on the side. It would be no surprise that the Hokage selected Kakashi.
"I just wanted to say hello." Itachi said, ready to now take Sasuke home. But before he could leave, he heard the Uzumaki boy speak.
"You're sick." were the only words said.
What?
Turning around, he looked the boy dead in the eye. "What did you say?" he was confused, what did he mean he was sick?
The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Something feels wrong about you. I've felt it when old men are coughing horribly. I've felt it when someone is very ill with something. You might want to get yourself checked. You don't want to be caught out in a bad situation and not be at your best."
He stood there for a moment, trying to digest what this boy, who was the same age as his little brother, had just said to him.
Could I be sick with something and not realize it? Could it be something serious?
After cataloging it to be addressed later, he nodded a thanks to the boy before walking towards Sasuke so the two of them could go home.
"What did you say to him, big brother?" his brother asked, curious about what he had said.
"Just that he'd better be nice to you." he said quietly. "He wouldn't like me if he hurt you."
TIMESKIP: ONE YEAR, SIX MONTHS LATER.
It'shappeningtomorrow.
Hiruzen thought to himself. Plans to speak with the Uchiha clan led nowhere. They continued to draw themselves further away from the village. Itachi and Shisui, before his death, had been giving information to him on what had occurred. He had held out to the end that a peaceful solution could be found. But that changed when he recieved news from Itachi that made his heart sink.
Fugaku had the means and the will to unleash the Kyuubi and control it.
A seven, almost eight, year old pair of jinchuriki were next to nothing in a fight of this magnitude. It meant that he was willing to extract it from one of them.
Fugaku would kill them.
That was when he called in all the clan heads. This wasn't simply a threat of one clan. It was a threat against the entire village.
"How can we be certain?" Shikaku asked Hiruzen, his voice contemplative.
The meeting between the Hokage, Danzo, the Nara, Yamanaka, Akamichi, Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka clan heads was a very tense one. The subject concerned what was to be done about the Uchiha clan.
"Are we certain that negotiations are no longer possible?" Hiashi asked.
Hiruzen looked at Hiashi, then the rest of the room. "Itachi has informed me that the Uchiha plan to overthrow me and install Fugaku as Hokage."
Shikaku was the one who spoke up. "They wouldn't do this unless they thought they had a guaranteed victory. I don't see how they could." he finished with a frown.
Hiruzen then spoke, his voice missing any positive emotion, "They plan to unleash the Kyuubi."
Silence reigned in the room, before Inoichi broke the silence. "They can't possibly think that won't backfire." he said, shock in his voice. "It would elevate this to a war of annihilation instead of a simple coup attempt."
"It is likely only Fugaku and the inner leaders of the clan that wish to even do this coup." Hiruzen said.
"If they're willing to do this," Hiashi stepped in, "there is no chance of reconciliation. Wipe them out." he finished, a look of anger leaking through his normally stiff visage.
"You can't be serious," Inoichi declared, shocked at Hiashi evenconsideringthat level."You can't just kill all of th-"
"My brother died for this village!", Hiashi snarled, all pretenses absent, "I will not let what he died for be destroyed by a couple of petulant bastards who can't take no for an answer." he spat.
"You can't kill innocent people, Hiashi!"
A shouting match occurred between the Hyuga and Yamanaka clan heads. Choza stood ready to step in when Hiashi's eyes subconsciously activated and he was beginning to step out of this chair. Before it gotcompletelyout of hand, Hiruzen put an end to it.
"SILENCE!" He shouted, the whole room going silent at his command.
"Now, we are going to be very calm about this," he said, using a tone one would use for a misbehaving child, "and I'm going to ask each person their opinion on the matter. Hiashi, your thoughts?"
Hiashi was still glaring at Inoichi, "Wipe them out for all I care." he spat.
Hizashi was a sore subject for him. This likely aggravated him to the point of saying something that he normally would not have.
"Now, Inoichi," the Hokage continued, "Your thoughts?"
"We'll be no better if we kill off an entire clan." he said simply.
"Can you think of another alternative that would stop it?" the Hokage asked, genuinely wanting to know.
"I," Inoichi started, before slumping into his chair. "I don't know."
"Choza?" The Hokage asked next.
"It's a bad situation no matter how you slice it. I can't think of any good solution." He replied, being at as much of a loss as his blond friend.
"Shikaku, your thoughts?"
Everybody leaned in to this. If there was anyone that could think of a preferable solution, it was Nara Shikaku.
Taking a deep breath, Shikaku voiced his thoughts. "The Uchiha clan did not support Madara. He was their clan head, yet they turned against him when they saw him as a danger to the village. It's unlikely that Fugaku would have informed anyone but a select few that he trusts that he planned on releasing the Kyuubi. The Uchiha clan feared Madara, everyone did. Butevery single clanwas in support of the Uchiha. They knew Madara couldn't take on the whole village. They were just as appalled as everyone else when he returned with the Kyuubi at his command. Fugaku will make no friends if he openly spoke to his clansmen about his plan. He won't want there to be any parallels drawn between him and Madara's behavior." He took another deep breath, "He is likely betting on being installed as Hokage before the clan realizes what he has done. They won't turn against him when they're in the middle of the coup."
"What do you propose to stop it?" Hiruzen asked.
"A public show of support on part of every clan," Shikaku said, "Show the Uchiha that we do not doubt their loyalty to the village, only their leader and elders."
"How will we stop Fugaku from forcing through his plan?" Hiruzen asked, knowing what Shikaku's likely answer was.
"Simple." Shikaku stated, "We arrest or eliminate him. Preferably arrest, as we'd be using Itachi."
The room stayed silent after he said this, contemplating what he had said.
"How would we do this?" Hiruzen asked.
Shikaku took a deep breath before continuing, "We secure the two Jinchuriki, after they've been secured, we move in. Once we have heard that Itachi has arrested his father, we make a public statement on what happened. Fugaku will be seen as Madara reborn. The Uchiha will be seen as victims who were deceived, and Itachi will be seen as a hero. Someone who put the village before his traitorous father. He will be seen as someone who made agreatsacrifice to save the village from the Kyuubi.
Hiruzen understood what Shikaku was getting at.
He wants them to see Itachi as a second Minato.
After so many years, years of trial after trial, Hiruzen began to hope.
Is this the dawn I have longed for?
This could solve everything. Reconciliation with the Uchiha. Innocent lives saved. Another to carry the flame.
"Does anybody have any arguments against this?" he asked quietly.
Not one single hand was raised.
Thank you Kami.
"It is settled then." Hiruzen said with finality. "Uchiha Itachi will arrest his father for treason. A statement of support will be sent out by all clans to the Uchiha. Itachi will be installed as clan head, as is his birthright, and we will stop a civil war without a single life lost."
"When should this happen, Hokage-sama?" Shikaku asked.
"Three days," he said. "I will personally handle the securing of the two jinchuriki. Hiashi, send a few of your clansmen to monitor any movement around the Uchiha compound."
"Will that not tip them off?"
"Not when a 'security breach' in the barrier is detected." Hiruzen replied.
There in factwasone, but it need not be mentioned in this current predicament that was in their lap right now.
"Your clansmen will act as a 'temporary barrier' unto themselves." Hiruzen finished.
Hiashi nodded his understanding.
"Now, we have three days to prepare. Begin on your statements, and get some rest. It's going to be a long 72 hours. Dismissed."
With their Hokage's last word, the clan heads departed to head home, not paying attention to the look on Danzo's face.
He'd failed. Uchiha Itachi thought he could stop it. He told the Hokage that he was ready to stop his father from killing one of the Jinchuriki to take over the village.
I was ready to kill my own father for the village.Fugaku stepped too far. If he targeted the boy, it would destroy the girl, leaving a shattered remnant of what once was. If he killed the girl, he didn't know what the boy could do.
He'd probably murder the entire clan himself.Itachi saw the love the boy had in his eyes for his sister, and it was the same he had for Sasuke. If Sasuke were killed, no force on Earth or even Kami would stop his fury from being unleashed upon his brother's killer.
Uzumaki reminds me of myself.
He'd listened to Sasuke on his brother's opinion on the Uzumaki twins. He'd watched the boy himself. The last year and a half saw him develop into what would be a truly gifted Shinobi. Most of the students saw him as a hyperactive fool who skipped class with his sister. But they didn't see what he saw. He didn't see them go to the training fields to spar with purpose. They didn't see that most of the skipped classes were book studies, things such as mathematics, history, geography of the Continent. Theyseldomskipped days when physical training occurred.
They're studying on their own time.
Uzumakiintentionallydisrupted certain teachers. Explosives in the staff bathrooms, Icha Icha books being left on teachers desks, so many things that caused him, and sometimes his sister, to be kicked out for the day and marked as an absent, with the two getting a reduced grade by that alone.
Why does he do it? Is he aware of what happens to those perceived as prodigies?Shinobi on the front lines that were noticeably younger always got targeted. If an 11 year old could reach ANBU material, what would they be in less than 10 years in the future?
Hedoesknow. He doesn't want to be noticed. A true Shinobi then.A Jinchuriki prodigy. One who was tutoring his fellow jinchuriki sibling in subjects that he could. They would be labeled "Kill on sight" before they even reached puberty. Uzumaki somehow knew something at age 8 that Itachi didn't realize until a few months in ANBU when he was wading through enemy nin out to kill the "Shortstack ANBU".
He'd wait till he was strong enough, then he'd kill every Uchiha.
He would have done the same thing if another clan had killed his brother. He'd have shown everyone why he'd been told he'd reached S rank not long after his thirteenth birthday.
And my family will find that out tonight.
Danzo had told him the Hokage and clan heads had reached a verdict. The entire Uchiha clan was to be executed for treason, and conspiracy to unleash a tailed beast inside an area with thousands of civilians. Sasuke would be permitted to live, So long as Itachi did the deed.
Kinslaying. I'll be a monster.He knew that the Hokage would have gotten the two Jinchuriki out of his father's reach. Without them, and witheverymajor clan aware of the coup, his clan would not survive. His brother would likely be killed, being seen as the son of the traitor.
Kill them myself, or damn myself for letting my brother die.
Itachi had made a decision. He would forgo a happy life in the village. He would give all his hopes and dreams to his brother. His brother will be the clan heir. His brother will be the one the village will see as one of the best. His brother willlivewhen he, Itachi, will be hunted like a beast by the Shinobi world.
Every person he killed. Every swing of his blade. The sound of steel parting flesh. The slight gasps of suprise. The light fading from their eyes. He remembered it with an unforgiving clarity. His Sharingan picked upeverything.His eyes were burning as he cut down the father that he had sought to be like as a child. The tears began to fall as he then did the same to the woman who brought him into this world. The one who would console him when he was frightened. The one who would tell him that everything would be okay, even when she knew it wasn't.
"I love you, Itachi."
These were the last words she said to him.
He stood there for a moment, looking at the terrible action that his failure wrought. He could have saved them all, but he failed. He turned to leave, but he heard a voice that felt like a knife in his heart.
"Nii-san!"
No.Itachi thought.I didn't want him to see me here.A failure yet again.
He saw as it happened. The relief on Sasuke's face at finding his brother alright. It turning to confusion, then to fear.
Fear of him.
Itachi knew he had no time. He needed to do one final thing. He should have used hisTsukuyomito spend a few more moments with Sasuke. To tell him why he did it, why he had no other choice. He couldn't let the village kill his clan and baby brother.
But his brother wouldn't hate him then.
Sasuke would still love him. He would grow to pity him. He would never free Itachi from his pain.
He will never kill me.And so he put hatred in his brother's heart. Gave him the fuel to better himself. Gave him a goal to strive to.
The goal to avenge his family.
He saw the terror on Sasuke's face, how it turned to anguish as he screamed, watching as his whole world was torn from him. His unconscious form crumbled to the cold ground.
"I'm sorry." Itachi whispered, the tears now flowing freely.
He only moved a few steps before he staggered and fell to his knees, the blade he held dripping blood onto the ground.
It would be so easy.He thought staring at the piece of metal in his hand,the blood of his mother and father still on it.Hold it horizontal to my sternum, and just lean forward. I'll be free.
He'd be free from his pain. His guilt.
His mind decided to provide him with a memory he hadn't thought of in a long time.
"Not yet. Not yet. Not. Ready."A boy who had nearly been killed, just been hit with a Genjutsu that showed him his worst nightmare, choking on his own blood, still found a way to be defiant to the end.
Dropping the blade that he had slain so many with, hearing it clatter to the ground, he pulled himself to his feet, a stronger resolve in his stride.
The village would need to know about this organization that was led by a man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara. Sasuke would grow strong in the village. He would be strong enough to defend the village against this enemy.
As he left what was once his home, he turned to see the form of his brother on the ground.
"I will never stop loving you, Sasuke."
The 13 year old disappeared in a blur of black.
The entire village was in an uproar. The entire Uchiha clan had been massacred in the night. Only one, out of hundreds of men, women, children, and newborns survived.
The clan heads were in shock.This wasn't supposed to happen. Itachi was to only arrest his father. What happened?They all came to the same conclusion.
They had been decieved.
Itachi must have wanted to kill his clan before. He said the issues had risen to an unprecedented level. It was very suspicious that Shisui turned up dead not long before Itachi killed his clan. Could he have been lying about the treachery? Did they decide to not go with the coup, and Itachi killed Shisui to prevent him from telling the Hokage?
They knew something was going down at the Uchiha compound. They had spun a tale that they were repairing an issue in the barrier around the village. The Hyuga couldn't be scouting the village as they usually could. It wasn't safe for them to use their eyes when seal renovations were being done, it would cause irritation in their eyes from the chakra released.
Hiashi had discreetly ordered some trustworthy Hyuga clansmen to monitor the "breach", as the Hokage ordered.Every single onewas found dead with their throats cut, a look of shock on their faces.
They didn't even see him.Hiashi thought. The thing he demanded in anger be done to stop the Uchiha, had been done. He knew he wasn't in his right mind when he said it. His thoughts were plagued by Hizashi's death, and what a coup would mean for his sacrifice.
I didn't think me saying something in anger would cause it to happen.The clan heir had murdered his entire clan, save for his little brother. Did he do it because he went mad? Because he was tired of being ordered around? He didn't know. But everytime he activated his eyes to see the Uchiha compound. The absence of any chakra signatures, the dark emptiness, he was reminded of the same lack of light he had seen when he looked at his wife's empty eyes.
What have I done, my love?
His own daughter, the clan heiress. He had been so demanding. So demeaning. Cruel. Would she grow to hate him? Would her kindness turn to hatred of her own clan? The ones who called her weak?
Would she kill us?
Itachi, by all accounts, adored his brother. He tortured him with a Genjutsu for hours, but still let him live. Hinata adored Hanabi. So much love in her eyes when she looked at her little sister.
Would she do what Itachi did? Would the demands, belittling, and borderline cruelty cause her to destroy the Hyuga? The Main house and Branch both? Would all the actions he had justified by telling himself that "It's for her own good. The clanmusthave a strong heir." Cause the very thing he had dirtied himself to prevent? The fall of his clan? For the first time, Hiashi felt shame for what he had done to his daughter.
"Sweety, are you alright?" Yoshino asked him, her voice full of concern.
He had been nursing a drink in his hand for some time, nearly half the bottle already empty.
"You couldn't have predicted what would happen," she told him softly.
"I know." Shikaku whispered. "But it doesn't change how I feel."
Yoshino just smiled sadly at her husband. "I'll be here if you need me."
"Okay." He whispered.
She then stepped closer, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Don't be up too late." she said to him, looking straight into his eyes, before leaving the room.
Once she had left, Shikaku downed the entire glass in one gulp. Growling softly at the burn of it going down his throat, he set it down onto his table.
It washisplan. A brilliant plan that would be remembered as one of the greatest any Nara had ever devised in history. Ending a civil war before it even began. The establishing of a new hero in the Leaf. A worthy successor to the spirit of the Yondaime.
And we were lied to.
He never thought that Itachi could have lied. He trusted that the Sandaime would have noticed any treachery. But they had all been fooled.
His plan had been their own undoing. His brilliance had never been turned against him the way it had been. His brilliance was what helped his squad survive the 3rd War. Even when they were facing against an S rank foe, they were still able to prevail. Even when two had ambushed them, his mind had been able to save his two brothers in all but blood.
The scars on his face were well worth their lives. He may carry that fight with him for the rest of his life, everytime he looked in the mirror. But those scars symbolized what he had gained as well.
He saw his two best friends become fathers. He saw the joy in Inoichi's eyes when he held his newborn daughter for the first time. The celebration when Choji was born, and the hangover after. His wedding day to Yoshino. When his own son was born. All of it was fruits of his brilliance.
But it didn't work this time.
A boy was left broken. His world coming to an end. And Shikaku was the one who gave the world breaker the kunai to do it.
Filling the glass again, he took another gulp, relishing the burn.
Inoichi stared at his sleeping daughter, her expression almost ethereal in how peaceful it was.
Did I miss something?He thought.
He was the best mind healer the Yamanaka had. He had been through things in the war that would break lesser men. Shikaku, himself, and Choza brought each other home. But many others minds were still out there. In a field, their comrades bodies finding a final resting place in foreign soil, hundreds of miles from the village that was their home.
I saved more Konoha Shinobi from themselves than how many enemies I killed.
Only two men alive today aside from him knew who he treated after the war. The Sandaime knew, and so did Jiraiya.
Namikaze Minato.
Nearly all of Konoha and her people saw him as their savior and protector. They didn't see the man. They didn't see him when he woke up from night terrors, trembling and sweating from what he had done. Most of the army killer Shinobi used wide area techniques from a distance to bring their opponents down. Minato teleported to them. He used blade, fist, and hisrasenganto end them. One thousand people. One thousand soldiers following orders. They simply had the misfortune of not following their orders as well as Minato did.
He had to talk with the best Shinobi Konoha had alive. Senju Tsunade had been broken by her losses, Konoha could not afford to losehim.So he had talked with Minato, helping him get through it. Kushina was a saving grace for Minato. He recovered. He came back stronger than ever. He took the mantle of Hokage.
And I had to do the same with their son .
He had suspected who Naruto and Rin's parents were. The two resembled their parents in looks and temperament. He had to console the son, just as he had consoled the father.
If I missed something with Itachi, did I miss something with Naruto?
Inoichi did psych evaluations on each anbu. They had a high burnout rate. Kakashi had beendangerouslyclose to being given forced leave. He'd nearly gotten himself killed in 3 consecutive missions. He'd finally started to be less death happy after a few years.
But Itachi showed nothing like that. he was very well adjusted for an Uchiha his age. The Uchiha had the highest rate of breakdowns for veterans of harsh campaigns. Their eyes caused them to remembereverydetail from events that are most likely to affect someone's mind.
But Itachi, aside from some stress that could have been related to his mission turnout right, didn't show signs of psychopathy.
Was he that good of a liar? Or did I miss it?
He wanted to think Itachi was a good liar. The alternative chilled him. There was another boy that was very much like Itachi. Just as brilliant, but would divert probing questions or suspicions with jokes and eccentricity. He too was someone that Inoichi thought was okay, even if he was a bit quiet when not getting up to his shenanigans.
Please be a good liar.He thought.Naruto won't be him.
Leaning in and kissing his sleeping daughter on her cheek, he walked out if her bedroom, hoping that is sleep will be as undisturbed as his daughter's.
Hiruzen was at his home, his thoughts those of a dark kind. He had been betrayed by one who was his comrade. He and Danzo were not friends, but they had shed blood together, saved each other. Danzo had his back throughout the wars Konoha was in. When they were both deployed to the front in the First war. His assassination missions that he carried out himself in the Second. And his Root Shinobi doing so in the Third. Root was feared. A secondary shadow to the Anbu.
The Shadow's shadow.
Danzo was the cold pragmatist that could wage a peerless shadow war against foes that surrounded them in the Shinobi wars.
Hiruzen had his trust in him rewarded with betrayal. They had a plan, a good one. Itachi would stop the coup. The dawn would arrive.
And it was taken.
Danzo approached Itachi. Told himtheyhad made a decision. The Uchiha were to be killed. Hiruzen still remembered Itachi's face when he had learned that he had been lied to.
What little light seemed to vanish from him.
Danzo's Root was disbanded, his power limited. He would have been executed or imprisoned if the man didn't have many of Konohas' secret at his disposal. He would leak that he overheard the clan heads scheming to wipe out the Uchiha.
Hiruzen had promised Itachi that he would look after his brother. The last he saw of Itachi was a shadow of his former self. A single dying ember that was once a roaring flame.
"Damn you, Danzo." He growled, no one else to hear him in his home. "You have robbed us of strength in your paranoia. You took a successor from me."
Walking towards his liquor cabinet, he pulled out his pipe to try to light it. His hands were shaking so much from anger that he couldn't even put the tobacco in his pipe.
Snarling at his inability to even smoke, he threw it to the ground, reaching for the cabinet and its contents within. He pulled the door too hard and it broke off completely, causing the contents to spill out on the floor.
Roaring in anger, he shot a fire jutsu at the cabinet, incinerating it and the flammable liquid inside.
The heat from the flames felt warm on his face, but he didn't feel it.
When will it end? When can I finally rest?
How does it feel?I asked myself, feeling Rin's chakra right in our room, my little sister fast asleep.
I was in the front room of our apartment and I snuck into a merchant shop to steal some alcohol earlier today...
Which I was currently drinking.
The stuff was a shitty brew, but the alcohol content was what I cared about. Even with me drinking a third of the bottle, my eight year old body had only managed to gain a buzz from it because of the fox and me being an Uzumaki.
It's because of you getting ripped out my mom that this happened.I thought darkly, almost visualizing Kurama behind the cage.And now I can't even get drunk because of you.
Assuming I would survive, I ducked my head back completely and chugged the bottle, my eyes watering from how strong it was.
I shivered as I finished and wiped my eyes, my hands shaking.
"They died because of you," I whimpered in English, pressing my head against the cheap kitchen table,"You didn't even try."
I don't know if I could've found a way to clue Itachi or Shisui into what was going to happen. Danzo was never around for me to lie and say I sensed that his chakra was different, as indifferent like the guy who released the Kyuubi. Hell, Tenzo would've been acceptable enough, but he never guarded us.
So, like the extremely cautious person I was, I allowed hundreds of innocent people to die instead of risking my own life.
I let Shisui die. I let Itachi be shattered as he murdered his family, and I destroyed Sasuke's childhood.
I had to.I tried to assure myself as I started shaking more. I couldn't accept that I was a coward and my cravenness caused innocents to die. It was unavoidable. It had to be!
All the lives lost to protectmewill enable me to protect the village. To protect Rin. It will be worth it.
"But what if tonight were the world's last night?" I could almost hear a voice say that in my mind.
"No," I muttered out loud, clenching my hand as my gut burned from the alcohol, "I know what will happen. Tonight isn't, nor is tomorrow."
Four years before Orochimaru comes, and seven before the Akatsuki make their first moves.
"It's for the good of the world."I said to myself, praying that I could convince myself."It'll be worth it. I'll make sure of it."
So long as I lived and killed Obito and Zetsu, it will all be worth it. I'll save millions of lives.
I can imagine no man who will look with more horror on the End than a conscientious revolutionary who has, in a sense sincer-
"Shut up shut up shut up."I grabbed my head, almost knocked over the empty bottle and I grabbed ahold of it as I buried my face into my sleeve to muffle my sobbing.
I didn't need moral lessons that I cherished and held firm to shattering my resolve. I wasn't saved, I was dropped into this hellscape and now I'm being punished by my own conscience.
Justifying cruelties and injustices upon his contemporaries for the sake of future generations.
I was openly crying now, my fingers digging into my head as I gripped my hair tightly. I was just short of begging my own thoughts to stop hurting me like I'd gone insane. I didn't need everyone to think my Yin chakra was destabilized again.
Generations who, as one terrible moment now reveals to him, were never going to exist.
I bit back anything I was going to say and sprinted to the bathroom, falling to my knees as I started vomiting into the toilet.
It could've been minutes or hours, I didn't know. All I knew was that I hated myself because Ishould'vedone something, even if it was something small.
After vomiting up the alcohol I had ingested and managing to pull myself together, I stood up shakily and slowly went to the couch, wanting to be as far away from Rin as possible.
I let Itachi and Sasuke have their sibling relationship destroyed. I had no right to be relaxed and content that Rin was safe right next to me.
My legs collapsed as I practically fell on the couch, curling up in a fetal position.
Sleep would not come to me, but I still laid there, trying to ignore the guilt that gnawed at me even when I had tried to rationalize it as necessary.
End chapter.
This was the most painful chapter I've written. So many different characters thoughts, their fears, and their feelings of defeat. It was hard for me to get in the characters heads and make them more than just characters in a book. They have their own fears, loves, and doubts. I'm wanting to give a sense of humanity to them.
Next chapter will probably be another time jump. Maybe two years, I'm not sure. Thanks for reading and good luck.
Raging.
Chapter 11: Insanity
Chapter Text
Konohagakure, 10 years after the Kyuubi attack.
"State your purpose for being here." The Hyuga guard asked in a near monotone, having said the same exact thing for the last several weeks.
"I'm here to kidnap the Hyuga heiress." I said the same exact thing I'd said in response to the idiotic request that the guard had.
The two guards fixed me with the trademark Hyuga deathstare that was unnerving because of their eyes being almost completely unreadable, but I could tell a bit of their thoughts from the slight shifting of their chakra.
They were about as impressed as they were the first few times, meaningnot at all.
"If you weren't what you are, I would enjoy putting you on the ground with your tenketsu closed and spending a night in TI for being an admitted traitor." The unamused guard seemed to lament while his Byakugan was activated to try and intimidate me.
Today was a Saturday and was a day off for us at the Academy. Kakashi had told me that Ninjutsu training would start up and that Rin and I needed to be prepared.
So, like I had been for some time, I was picking up Hinata to help her out with taijutsu and a few other things that I had picked up from Kakashi that I'd been showing to Rin as well.
"And what am I?" I asked innocently, "I'm just a little boy that everyone hates."
I didn't stop there.
"The voice tells me you're going to hurt me, that I need to hurt you before you hurt me. 'Free me', it says."
The one guard that was a dick tilted his head in confusion, before shifting into an aggravated expression.
"Stop with your jokes. Hinata-sama will be out shortly." The guard signaled for the other to go collect Hinata.
"My stomach itches," I rubbed right where my seal was, forcing my chakra to spasm slightly to screw with the Hyuga, "The voice tells me to eat you." I started adjusting my voice to do that laugh yip that a fox makes to sell it further.
Before I could continue torturing him further, a familiar and soft chakra signature closed in right next to the one guard.
"Hi, Hinata!' I waved at her, the rather quiet girl wearing less conservative clothing for the training I was helping her with.
She had a simple t-shirt and sweatpants on, her midnight blue hair still at neck length.
"N-naruto-kun." She said quietly, greeting me before her head tilted in confusion, "Where is Rin?"
"At the training ground we booked." I replied, remembering how aggravated Rin was when I won the game of rock paper scissors on who had to stay to reserve spot to train.
Hinata gave a thank you to the guard that escorted her and I shot a wink towards the one guard.
The two of us walked away from the Hyuga compound and I heard the gate close, causing me to glance at Hinata.
"Is everything alright with Hanabi?" I asked, remembering something Hinata had told me a few days ago.
Hanabi had some kind of stomach bug that made her sick and caused Hinata to worry about her.
"S-she is," Hinata's slightly nervous expression slowly gave way to a relieved one, "doing better. The Iryo-nin b-believed it was something s-she ate."
It wasn't lost on me that her stutter was more pronounced. When she was sure about something, it was almost completely absent. But when she was worried or was stressed, she would try and repeat a syllable to try and speak clearly, causing her to continuously try and say it properly.
"Hinata," I said kindly, the two of us still walking, "You can tell me if something's bothering you. I won't be angry."
Hinata swallowed audibly and kept her eyes down towards her feet.
"Neji." She mumbled, my hearing barely able to pick it up.
I refrained from tearing into Neji only because I did it once when Hinata mentioned something about him being an asshat before and it frightened her how angry I looked and acted.
To be fair.I thought.She's grown up in a household that is very reserved about showing emotions, while Rin and I are decidedlynotlike that.
"Just give me the word and I'll have him terrified of every redhead after I'm finished with him." I said, not being totally sarcastic.
"Please, no." Hinata managed to look at me, giving me a half hearted look of admonishment. "I know what you'll do."
I could feel her gaze on me as I smirked to myself, not elaborating further.
We eventually got to the training ground and I saw Rin, her eyes practically glowing in irritation.
"What took you so long?" She asked, her arms crossed and she was tapping her foot against the ground.
"Would you believe me if I forgot you were here?" I asked, snickering at the more heated glare.
"Yes." She said flatly, taking out a storage scroll that I made.
Fuinjutsu was awesome.
"Hinata," I turned to look at mine and Rin's friend, "We'll still do the exercise like before, followed by some taijutsu. Okay?"
Hinata nodded and started to stretch some, preparing for the warm up exercise.
I followed suit and stretched a bit, not wanting to pull something.
After a bit, I jogged around the training ground, slowly picking up my pace until I was running at almost full speed.
Rin did the same and was trying to keep up with me, the two of us keeping it up for about a half an hour.
Honestly, being an Uzumaki was awesome. The Sharingan and Byakugan may be amazing dojutsu, but being able to run, and run, and run without having to suck in air was amazing. Even after I was covered in sweat, having outpaced Rin, I was still not winded and was brimming with energy.
Hinata basically did a few laps of her own, but at her own pace. The one time she tried to match the two of us left her wheezing on the ground, unable to stand. It was a little funny when I had to carry her back home in hindsight.
"Slowpoke." I said to Rin as she stopped right next to me, her face flushed from running.
"Your legs are longer." She said, looking up at me.
The top of her head was at about the bridge of my nose from a growth spurt I hit, which I relentlessly teased her about.
"You're just slow," I responded, noticing Hinata had finished her own warm-up, "We ready now, Hinata?"
The girl nodded and pushed her bangs back some, her hair having fallen forward some.
"You go through the katas again," I turned to Rin, "I'll help Hinata and we can switch afterwards."
Rin nodded and went towards the storage scroll I made, popping out a training dummy to punch and kick for herself.
I walked towards Hinata and raised my hands up in a regular taijutsu stance, smiling reassuringly.
"Ready?" I asked, noticing Hinata mimic my movement.
"Yes." She replied, coming towards me with her Byakugan activated.
"You need to not hesitate, Hinata," Naruto said kindly, avoiding a halfhearted Juken strike aimed at his arm, "I'm not made of glass."
Hinata really did try, but she just didn't seem to be fast enough or strong enough to land a hit on Naruto without him stopping it or avoiding it.
"I can't do anything." She turned away from him, fiddling with her fingers as she was frustrated with herself. "I'm slow and weak."
"Hey," Naruto walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, "That's not true. You're in the top half of taijutsu in our class. Don't compare yourself to me, because I'm not exactly average."
Hinata knew how good Naruto was, and Rin as well. But that didn't exactly make her feel better about her abilities with the Juken being lacking.
"I know," She said sadly, looking down at her hands, "But I don't see how any of this is going to help me with the Juken."
Naruto got quiet for a moment, his hand tightening slightly on her shoulder.
Eventually, he spoke.
"Can you keep a secret from your father and your clan?" He asked quietly, his eyes flicking towards Rin.
Hinata looked at Naruto worriedly, unsettled by the way he worded it.
"Why?" She asked, looking directly into Naruto's blue eyes to try and read what his thoughts might be.
"Well," He scratched the side of his head, "I think I know how the Juken works."
Hinata's breath caught and she stared at the red haired Uzumaki in a different light.
"Um," Her hands her trembling slightly from how nervous she was, "Do...um, you know how dangerous that is?"
"That's why I haven't said anything," Naruto said, "I've watched how some Hyuga genin spar and I noticed certain types of attacks that they did or didn't do."
Hinata was listening with rapt attention.
"You don't need to punch me hard, Hinata. You can basically touch me and do the same amount of damageIcould do if I hit as hard as I could."
Hinata didn't follow.
Naruto sighed and put his fingers up to his mouth, whistling to get Rin's attention.
"Rin!" He shouted, the blonde ceasing her katas she was practicing against the dummy, "Assistance is requested."
Rin jogged to the two of them and stopped a few feet from her brother, her brow raised in question.
"Could you be a dear and punch me in the face?" He asked simply, not sounding like he was joking.
Rin scowled and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
"I'm wanting to train," Rin ground out, "You said I needed to be ready to train with Kakashi and you're making stupid jokes."
"Rin," Naruto said sharply, causing his sister to flinch, "Punch. Me."
Rin realized he wasn't joking and cocked her fist back, pausing for a moment.
"Watch how her body moves." Naruto said to Hinata, the Hyuga girl's eyes going to Rin's body.
The blonde leaned forward and drove her fist into Naruto's face, causing his head to jerk to the right.
Naruto groaned softly as he touched his cheek, the spot already beginning to swell.
"Nice." He muttered, turning to Hinata as he rotated his jaw.
"You saw how she leaned and extended her arm and how she positioned her body to dump as much kinetic force into the hit without unbalancing herself?" Naruto's voice adopted a more clinical edge to it, on that reminded Hinata of her father or Neji when he deigned her worthy of a comment.
"Er, yes," Hinata replied meekly, internally frowning at the instinctive reaction she had to that tone of voice, "I think I understand, Naruto-kun."
"Then explain to the class, Ms. Hyuga." Naruto's voice shifted back to its normal laid-back tone as he requested she use her own words.
Hinata cleared her throat explained what she thought.
"I can move more quickly because I don't need to punch like you two."
Naruto started smiling, his head dipping down in a nod.
"I might just make a kunoichi out of you, Hinata." His smile turned into a smirk.
At this point, Hinata had become use to Naruto using small little comments to bring levity to something serious or tense, so she smiled along with him.
The rest of the training that day was her basically practicing a mix of the traditional aspects of the Juken with a more flexible base for mobility and agility.
The startling part was that she could already noticed that it felt more natural to her than the rigid structure of the Juken, or even the other minor variants of it that her father had attempted to teach her at times, but to no success.
"I think that's enough," Naruto said as it was around 3:00, judging by the sun, "Your form's starting to get a little sloppy and you look tired."
Hinata wanted to protest and keep going, but her ragged breathing and the sweat dripping down her face pretty much said otherwise.
"M'kay." She replied, sitting heavily on the ground to try and catch her breath.
"Don't sit there." Naruto rolled his eyes, walking forward and hoisting her up. He then grabbed her and set her on his shoulder, causing her to let out a startled squeak.
Naruto whistled as he carried her, the Hyuga heiress too tired to complain as he set her down on the ground next to the stuff Rin brought.
The red haired Uzumaki popped open a storage scroll and pulled out a water bottle, handing it to her.
Hinata was pleasantly surprised that it was cold, but she didn't say anything and opened it, taking a small gulp.
Naruto went over to Rin and talked to her for a moment, the younger of the two stopping her katas.
Hinata just looked at them silently as they came back.
Rin grabbed herself a bottle of water and so did Naruto, the two sitting down on the ground as well.
The three were quiet for some time as they relaxed and rested some.
Eventually, Hinata decided to speak.
"Thank you," She said to the two of them, having said it before, "For helping me and being my friends."
Rin jumped up immediately and pulled Hinata into a hug, squashing her face against her.
"Of course we're your friends," Rin pushed her away a bit and had her trademark toothy smile, "You're just too sweet and nice."
Naruto sighed and shook his head amusedly.
"Friends help friends, Hinata," Naruto poured some of the water on his face to cool off, shaking his head almost like a dog, "I don't need a reason to help a friend other than because I want to."
If Hinata were to be honest, she only said anything because she wanted to hear it said again by the two closest friends of her's. Anytime she felt useless or weak when she had to be humiliated when sparring against Neji, she always went back to what was just said.
They eventually exited the training ground and left to go back to her home, but not until they made a detour to pick up some food.
After a satisfying training session, Hinata had a slight spring in her step as they got back to the gated compound of her clan, the guards from before still there.
"The ransom money?" Naruto asked, putting his right hand out expectantly.
Hinata was completely lost on what he meant by that, even more so when the one more uptight guard narrowed his eyes at Naruto and her friend made a type of yip sound that sounded like a fox.
"Seeya, Hinata. Later, Hinata." Her two friends said, the twins turning and leaving.
Hinata smiled softly as she walked towards her home, the last thing she heard from her friends being Naruto wondering what the training with Kakashi was going to be like.
Plain and simple, Anko is a bitch.
Mine and Rin's chakra finally stabilized its growth several months prior. I had noticed an uptick in my sensing ability after it had occurred, to the point that I could almostseesilhouettes and some background things like trees and shrubbery..
Training with Kakashi had started in full swing, with Ninjutsu training at that.
Rin had also been basically 'tested out' by Kakashi on general knowledge and passed the needed ability to keep up, being allowed to join in as well.
I don't know if it was Kakashi or Hiruzen that thought of the idea of who another trainer would be, given that Kakashi wasn'ttheabsolute best at training different students, but whoever did was a jerk. Kakashi helped bring Rin up to speed on her taijutsu and did theactualversion of training you'd expect to give to an above average student, not the death march taijutsu training I got.
Kakashi/Hiruzen had it in their heads that I needed to "learn what happens when you take a hit when you don't need to" in case I wanted to be more of a masochist than Gai was in his training.
Enter Anko.
I could deal with getting a kunai cutting me, or deal with broken bones, or even concussions.
I couldnotdeal with being paralyzed by poisons or toxins that caused me to lose bowel control and hallucinate of giant purple dinosaurs singing that they love me.
Anko, thy name is bitch.
"Ah, are you thinking nice things of your Anko-chan?" the aforementioned female canine asked, her tone more poisonously sweet than the poison she stabbed me with.
The training ground currently used by Anko and me was two over from where Kakashi was giving Rin some personal taijutsu training that I already had gotten accomplished at.
I tried to speak, but the poison caused me to slur like a drunk. "I haet yuuu."
"Ah, you're at a loss for words, I'm touched." she said, hand over her heart. "At least you didn't shit yourself this time."
I responded with a spasming right hand flipping her the bird.
"Don't be like that." She said, affronted by that, "I'm doing you a favor here, kid. I ain't getting paid for babysitting your ass."
"Don't act so offended." I said slowly, trying to fight through the slight paralysis affecting my mouth, "You stabbed me in the ass the first time we met. Youlickedmy face like a snake."
"Mind games, sweety." She stated with a grin, "It's not all about pissing people off. Making people think you're crazy also works."
"You don't need to make people think you're crazy." I said flatly, "You do that well enough on your own."
She just glared at me.
"And," I continued, "If you could be such a dear, I'd prefer the seduction mind games, far more "productive" if you know what I mean." I finished, grin on my face.
Anko snorted at that. "I'm flattered, but you're like 10, you don't even know what you're talking about. Who the hell would even be perverted at 10?"
"Ask the Hokage." I said, snickering.
Thatgot a reaction from her. She seemed to shiver, as if remembering a bad memory.
"Super pervert." She mumbled to herself.
In my "surveillance of people", I had learned that Jiraiya was something akin to what the Safari hunters were to rare species. He was something that seemed to lurk in the shadows, ready to pounce when they least expect it. You know when you are doomed when you hear the giggling of a grown man.
The rare species being kunoichi.
He was a lecher, plain and simple. The older generation of kunoichi,the generation that was between the Sannin and Hiruzen's age, used it as a sort of game. They had been far more comfortable displaying their bodies than the later generations. The Warring clans mindset held great sway in that timeframe.
The women play the role of assassins and seductresses, and the men for the most part played the role of the heavy hitters when one could not be covert about things. If the little pervert that was a young Jiraiya could avoid being caught, he was free to peep all he wanted.
But there was a catch. If he got caught, he'd be in for a beating. It gave him the incentive to be much better at covert action, but all bets were off it wasn't kunoichi he was peeping on. He'd get arealbeating then.
I learned this from no history book, especially the academy accepted ones. The instructors at the Academy didn't want students to realize how insane the Sannin were, instead of the titanic warriors they were portrayed as.
I learned it from the source. I asked Hiruzen, under the guise of wanting to know more about the trainer of the man that saved me and my sister, about Jiraiya. Hiruzen had then told me about the crazy things his three students had gotten up to. But could tell that some of the memories bothered him, so I stopped with my questioning.
Anko, being a student of his friend, had probably heard of the elusive Jiraiya's habits from Orochimaru.
I'm starting to think of Jiraiya as a perverted anime Steve Irwin. Dear God.If he had his own show, instead of books, I'd be on point.
Anko just glared at me now. "You even think about being like thatpervert,I'll skin you."
"Don't worry, Anko-chan," I said sarcastically. Before adopting a predatory grin. "My eyes would only be onyourvoluptuous frame." I then bolted away from her, making two handsigns for aShunshin, but I realized too late that I screwed up when I shot forward.
My legs were still partially numb.I ended up smashing into a tree face first. The distinct cracking sound and feeling of my face fracturing was one the most awful experiences ever. I just layed there moaning and fighting off the nausea as the bones in my face tried to fuse back together. I then heard footsteps behind me.
Oh God no.Anko stood above me, sinister grin on her face.
"Why are you scared, Naruto-kun," she asked sweetly, "You'll be fine. I've got somemedicinethat will help."
I felt a snake crawling up my leg.
Shit.
"Did you here something, Sensei?" Rin asked.
"No." Kakashi said, having not heard a thing. "What did it sound like?"
Rin frowned for a moment. "It almost sounded like screaming."
Kakashi knew Rin had better hearing and a sense of smell, much like her brother. It made Kakashi work a little harder when he was training them to detect him during some of the ambush detection training. Rin probably heard Naruto reaping the fruits of some other sarcastic thing he said to Anko.
"It's probably nothing." Kakashi said, secretly suspecting that it was his Sensei's son being his regular annoyance, "Now back to the lesson."
Kakashi was trying to show Rin something that Naruto had stumbled across in a spar a few weeks back.
( Flashback)
Naruto collapsed to the ground with a rapidly shrinking knot on his head. "Ow." was all he said.
Kakashi had kicked up the pace of Naruto's taijutsu training last year. He had progressed enough where the training wouldn't cut into other facets of his abilities in the following months or years. His and Rin's chakra had also stabilized somewhat, which was a blessing and a curse in Kakashi's case.
He's wanting to learn combat ninjutsu.He thought. He'd been drawing up a list of the techniques Naruto needed to not simplyknow, butmasterin a combat situation. It included the Academy Three, and knowing the Shunshin.
"You're getting better." He said simply, "You're making me work a little more."
Naruto pulled himself up, giving a slight nod. "You could still turn my head into a foot rest if you want."
"I don't like having trash on my sandals." he said. Everytime Naruto said something about his progress, he'd get a takedown.
"Cyclops." was the only word he heard before Naruto got back into a fighting stance.
"Ready." Naruto said, a look of deep thought crossing his face for moment.
What's he up to?
Charging forward, Kakashi brought his right fist down towards Naruto's ribs. The strike was blocked, as was the jab from his left and the kick to the knee. Several quick punches to Naruto's face were diverted instead of being caught, the 10 year old knowing he'd lose if he met force with force.
The exchange went on for several seconds longer until Kakashi spotted an opening that didn'tseemto be intentional.
Not fast enough, Naruto.
His fist made contact with his target's ribs, but at a glancing angle. Naruto thengrabbedhis arm as he fell backwards, pulling Kakashi with him. Kakashi didn't realize that thebackof Naruto's hand was the only thing making contact with his sleeve until he had a sandal impact his stomach and was thrown a couple feet behind Naruto's head.
Not letting the temporary shock impede a counter, Kakashi flipped up with his foot shooting out in a blind kick, feeling it hit and heard a grunt of pain. Naruto was behind him, grabbing at his leg before getting up.
Was that a chakra sticking technique?
"How did you do that?" He asked.
Naruto looked at him with a grin, likely happy that he'd actually landed a genuine hit on Kakashi.
"Chakra sticking. Like it?"
"I know that." Kakashi said. "But how did you stick it to my sleeve? It's chakra resistant."
There were certain cloths that could be made to beslightlyresistant to chakra. Not enough to stop a technique, butjustenough to make a grappling move be a little slick. But Naruto's grip didn't waver at all.
"I don't know," he said, confusedly. "This is an actual fighting style?"
"Itwas." Kakashi said. "All a Shinobi had to do was flare their chakra slightly and the grip would slide right off."
Kakashi then thought for a moment as he said that. "Let me try something."
Stepping forward, he reached his arm out to Naruto, "Try to stick to my arm." he said, pulling up his sleeve.
Naruto put his hand up against Kakashi's arm and pushed chakra into his hand. Kakashi felt a slight stinging sensation as the ratherdensechakra pressed against his skin, before he pulled his arm away. Naruto's hand still stuck.
Kakashi flared his chakra out in the way he would when he was in the middle of a combat situation and Naruto's hand stopped sticking to him.
"I think you haveverydense chakra." Kakashi vocalized as a response to Naruto's look of confusion.
"My chakra stops yours from fully sticking to my actual body, but cloth could still stick."
Naruto got a look of thought on his face. "Would it work better on those with weaker chakra than you?"
"Definitely." Kakashi said, "My chakra is dense enough and I have enough control to prevent you from sticking to me if I didn't want you to."
Naruto again was thinking deeply.
Is this what it looked like from Sensei's perspective?
"This'll work on those my age, or weaker chakra." It waa worded as a statement, not a question.
Naruto and Rin both had a slightly smaller chakra reserve than Kakashibeforetheir chakra went through a growth spurt like what occurred with children before they hit puberty. Now, it was easily twice his level.
"Yes, it would."
(End Flashback)
Rin did as Kakashi instructed, using something that generally involved sticking to surfaces to climb to grab ahold of him. It took her balancing her chakra for a moment until she got it to work.
This could be a surprise grapple that could be useful.
Kakashi had done it only a handful of times in his near twenty years as a Shinobi. There seldom was a time where his opponent had such a low level of chakra that he could use his own chakra to stick to them to pull a joint out of socket.
Rin or Naruto just needed toforceit on an opponent that wasn't flaring their chakra. It was a tactic of veteran Shinobi to randomly flare chakra in the event that a slight perception genjutsu was placed on them. It could also be useful as an unexpected thing. It definitely wouldn't be recognized by rookie Shinobi or those in their class.
Rin gave Kakashi a look. "Is that all for today?" she asked, it now being late afternoon.
Training would have likely stopped earlier, but since the ones doing the most strenuous training were Uzumaki jinchuriki, stamina and recuperation issues weren't a problem.
"No." Kakashi responded, "We just need to wait for Anko to finish up with Naruto."
Kakashi saw the little smile Rin had at the thought of Anko. She had taken a shining to the older kunoichi, much to her brother's mortification.
No brother wants their sister to dress up or act like Anko does.Kakashi thought amusedly.
Kakashi didn't even want to imagine what would happened to the village. Both jinchuriki having their own specific brand of insanity. The village probably wouldn't survive.
After around 15 minutes, Kakashi saw Anko and Naruto arriving from a separate training ground. Anko looked positively gleeful, and Naruto... well, Naruto looked terrible.
He had blood caked on his face, a limp in his step, a chunk of his hair sheared away, and his face seemed to twitch involuntarily.
Anko's special poisons.Anybody else would have full-body paralysis for over an hour. Naruto only had numbness and partial paralysis, with the occasional muscle twitching.
When they got to Kakashi, he spoke. "Nice of you to join us. You look different, Naruto, did you cut your hair? It looks nice."
Naruto scratched the side of his nose with his middle finger at Kakashi's little jab at the fact that part of his hair had a noticeable chunk missing from it.
The expression Naruto would make if he ever mentioned that he looked adorable when he was angry would be amusing. Kakashi reminded himself to think of saying that later.
"At least mine doesn't make me look like I have to piss half a dozen times in the night."
"Getting better," Kakashi said, "but not good enough. I've heard it from a dozen before you, and I'll hear it from a dozen after."
Anko decided to step in. "We get it, you're both beautiful, girls. Now what was it you wanted us to be here for, Kakashi?"
Kakashi looked to her, before pulling two sheets of blank paper out of a storage scroll. "Chakra affinities." he said.
Rin's eyes rose at what he had just said. Naruto showed much less suprise.
He likely already realized that I had these.
Kakashi handed the two sheets to the two of them.
"Push some chakra into it. If it burns, your affinity is fire. If it crumbles, it's Earth. If it crinkles, it's lightning, which is my affinity. If it gets wet, water. And if it gets shredded, it's wind. Naruto, you go first." he finished.
Naruto looked at the sheet, almost as if there was no reason to do it, and pushed some chakra into the sheet.
It got wet, then it crinkled slightly.
Kakashi could've been blind and still seen the look ofshockon Naruto's face.
"Water affinity with a secondary for lightning. Both work together well." Kakashi told him, reminding himself to think on why Naruto reacted that way.
But he noticed something, Naruto didn't seem to care. He wasstaringat Rin's sheet, almost as if heneededto know what his sister's affinity was.
She channeled her chakra into the sheet, the paper being split like it was nothing.
Wind.
No. This isn't suppose to happen.
I'd been paranoid for the last year. I justhadto go to a bargain clothes store to buy new disposable clothes for training due to the others getting shredded all the time. And I justhappenedto see an orange jacket there.
The o range jacket.
I thought it would be amusing to probably buy it as a joke. See the look on Kakashi's face when I rolled up to stealth training wearingthatmonstrosity. I looked at the tag on the jacket, that now looked a little different than the series.
It was for a girl.
I had dropped the jacket, the shock getting the better of me.
No. That doesn't mean anything.My greatest fear was that Rin was the "prophecy child". Canon Naruto only survived to the point he did because of plot armor. This world was not governed by plot armor. My sister would not be protected from it.
She won't find this.
I bought the jacket. I took it out into one of the forested training grounds. I torched it. Problem solved.
But now, the girl that resembled a female canon Naruto, more so than how muchIresembled him as aguy,had the same affinity.
Doesn't matter. The prophecy only applies if the issue reaches that point. I'll kill anyone who is a part of the Moons Eye plan. Anyone who tries to stop me can die screaming alongside them. Fuck canon.
With these thoughts running around in my head, I calmed myself down, not wanting anybody to be worried.
"So," I said, "The both of us have very rare affinities."
"You havetwo.That's so unfair." Rin crossed her arms irritably.
"Now Rin," Kakashi tilted his head down at her, "Wind is therarestaffinity in the Elemental Nations. It is also one of the strongest offensive natures."
Rin looked at him, surprise on her face. "Really?" she asked.
"Yes, in fact, the Yondaime had a wind affinity."
I was able to stop any outward reaction.
You have it because Dad had it.
"What would you recommend for us to learn nature transformation?" I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.
Kakashi gave me a look. "With this." He made a cross handsign. A sign that I recognized in that pattern from a bygone era.
A perfect copy of the Copycat Nin stood before us as a small puff was around it.
A shadow clone.
Rin didn't know what to make of it. "What good will a bunshin do?" she asked, not realizing exactly what Kakashi had just done.
"This is a Kage bunshin." Kakashi said. "It's not an illusion like the clones you two are having trouble making." he clarified.
"This," he said, throwing a punch at the clone, only for it to be blocked. "Is solid."
I decided to step in. "How would this help us? It's a chakra construct. I don't see how that would be helpful for nature transformation."
I knew what Kakashi was going to say before I even heard him. "They are connected to the original. Anything they do have their memories transferred back."
"No feedback issues?" I asked, a leading tone present.
"There can be." Kakashi admitted, "But only if you make close to a hundred and dispel them all. Not like most peoplecouldmake that many without it killing them from chakra exhaustion."
Rin's eyes widened in surprise at that. "You can die if you use this?"
"Only if you have low chakra." he elaborated. "This jutsu splits your chakra in half, half staying while the other half is in the clone. Any of the chakra not used by the clone returns to you when it is dispelled." He finished the explanation by popping his clone as an example.
This is what I had wanted for a long time. Shadow clones. I could get a great deal of progress on jutsus and nature transformation that would free me up to focus on taijutsu, physical endurance, and Fuinjutsu.
"They obviously won't work for physical training, will they?" I asked.
Kakashi looked at me again, probably thinking I was the one doing the asking for the both of us.
"Correct, but chakra control will work. But, there's a catch, you'll have a smaller chakra pool after you do it just once. Do the math."
I loved but also hated when he would give me a hint but would try to have me solve it myself. Chakra control gets more difficult when you have a larger degree of chakra flowing in your tenketsu. When a large amount is in a clone, neither you or the clone would be doing chakra control exercises at full capacity. You become adept at running, but you skipped learning how to walk. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it was something that was not mentioned inanystory or theory about the series to my understanding.
Nature transformation wasn't an issue. You can throw as much chakra as you want into it, you just need to make your chakra act in a certain manner, the volume is less important than for a chakra control exercise.
"Control will be easier," I said finally. "but it will not help as much for fine tuned chakra conservation."
Rin and I will hit a wall for how much chakra we waste. I could feel that I use over 5 times as much chakra inmysingle Shunshin as Kakashi does, and this is from over a year of intense chakra control exercise. Sensory levels of a nearly unmatched level helps almost as much as having a Byakugan to see what the hell you're doing wrong. The clone spam exercising might cut it down to three times that, but I wanted better than that.
IknewI could do better.
Naruto actually did it.Kakashi thought. Naruto had wanted to learn at least two jutsu per affinity of his. The following weeks after he and Rin learning their affinities was hectic. The two would skip school, or Naruto would do something to get the both of them kicked out for the day.
Where does he come up with some of the things he does?
Putting low level exploding tags in toilets was a time honored tradition of a prank. Henging into a female and reading out the racier parts of Icha Icha into a loudspeaker, including the'moans of ecstacy'in the staff break room, was something that he didn't think an Academy student, or any 10 year old, would do.
Where would he have even learned about that? Did their neighbors make enough noise that he could hear it?
Kakashi shuddered at the thought. Naruto and Rin had enhanced hearing. It would be nightmarish to him to even have to deal withthat.
Can't say it didn't get results though.
Naruto got kicked out for the week, and Rin was pissed when she got kicked out as well. She was more irritated by what he haddone, instead of why he did it. Kakashi would sometimes make a bunshin to look at what the two of them did at the Academy.
Rin was mostly quiet, or at leastlookedquiet in comparison to her brother. Naruto was a terror to the teachers that were unfair to him and Rin. But that was nothing compared to what he pulled with a number of his classmates. Almostallthe girls in his class received ridicule from him when they were falling over themselves about Itachi's little brother.
It sometimes bothered Kakashi that he internally still thought of Uchiha Sasuke as Itachi's younger brother, but he'd worked with Itachi for about two years.
Out of all the girls in Naruto's class, the Hyuga heiress was one of the only ones not on the receiving end of his ire. He practically doted on the girl similar to how he was with Rin.
He'd see both Rin and Naruto wince and rub at their ears when the blonde Yamanaka and her pink haired rival/friend would shout about "Sasuke-kun".
He still would chuckle at the memory of when they stopped they're high pitched squealing.
(Flashback)
"Spare us all your ear damning squall!" Naruto shouted at the two girls.
Kakashi's clone was concealed outside the window, listening in to Naruto's "talk".
"What did you just say, Baka?" Sakura shouted.
Naruto winced at her tone. "At the pitch you're going, only dogs will hear you."
Sakura's face turned beet red from anger, " Did you jus-"
"Yes, " Naruto interrupted, "I did just refer to you as a dog."
Sakura's breath turned erratic and she raised a fist towards Naruto to punch him. Her fist came down, only to be caught by Naruto's off hand, no effort at all.
"Good. Good." He said in a gravelly voice, sinister grin on his face. "Let the hate flow through you."
Another one of Naruto's inside jokes that not even Rin knew.
Ino started snickering at Sakura being looked like as an idiot in front of everyone, but most importantly, Sasuke.
"Don't think your turn isn't next, Peppa pig." Naruto snarked at her, making a pig snort to emphasize who he was talking to, before letting go of Sakura.
The Yamanaka girlhatedjokes about her name. Her dadhadto name her partially after him, just like how Choji and Shikamaru were named after their fathers.
"Not going to defend the honor of your brides-to-be, Sasuke-kun?" He asked sweetly, turning to the black haired boy.
Sasuke hated being dragged into conversations with the idiot. He couldn't bring himself to consider Narutoweak. He and his sister hadterriblescores, but both were painful to fight against with taijutsu.
She punches harder than I do. The idiot is even worse.Both helped him improve his taijutsu simply by him being motivated not to get his nose broken for a third time. He didn't want his face looking like a squashed tomato.
Might keep some of the fangirls away.Naruto did a better job at keeping the irritating ones in check, by being sarcastic and insulting them, than what Sasuke's tactic of ignoring did.
"Hn." was all he said as a response.
He saw the look on Naruto's face before he even said a thing.
Not again.
"Now, Uke-kun." Sasuke twitched atthat damnedshortening of his name. "Don't be like that. Use your words."
Thatnicknameneverfailed to piss off all the fangirlsandhimself.
"Shut up." he said.
"Two whole words," the idiot said in wonder, "The world must be ending. I've broken the cold exterior of the Uchiha Prince." he finished, grandiosely.
Sasuke didn't understand why he did this. Ever sincethat night,Naruto had been trying to be friendly to him. After the first six months of Sasuke not opening up to him, he switched tactics. He began to be sarcastic and insulting to him, forcing him to speak out and tell him to either shut up, or have an actual conversation, albeit a short one.
Rin and Hinata were the only two girls he could tolerate talking to. Neither of them would blush and giggle within seconds of him making eye contact. Hinata simply wasn't interested in him. She was quiet and mostly spoke with Rin and Naruto, the first being her best friend.
Rinwas almost as bad as her brother in her interactions with him. She hated the fangirls as much as her brother. "Insults to real kunoichi." he had heard her mutter. She'd intentionally make the other girls jealous when she'd mock giggle and pretend to blush when she was talking with Sasuke, especially when he would actually talk with her.
Naruto hates it as well.Sasuke had noticed howvicioushe could be when his sister was insulted.
It almost reminds me of Ita-, no. Don't go there.Naruto would insult the girls that tried to insult his sister, if she didn't get to them first.
He doesn't like me much and hates it when his sister evenPretendsto like me. Finally found something to piss him off for a change.
Sasuke shook himself out of his thoughts before responding to Naruto. "Not 'brides-to-be'," he said, a small grin showing on his face, "There's only one for me." he finished, sparing Rin aslightglance.
His grin grew further when he saw Naruto's face visibly twitch. Nobody but Naruto noticed his glance at Rin.
Checkmate, idiot.He thought, before seeing a grin appear on Naruto's face.
Damnit.
"Oh Sasuke-kun, why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his tone full of joy. "That'swhy none of the girls can grab your attention. Youloveme." he finished.
"No." he growled irritably, "That's not wh-"
"Don't deny it." Naruto interrupted, his eyes seeming to shine. "You want someonestrong, not a skinny little fangirl. You talk with Rin because she reminds you of me, something forbidden that you could never have." he finished, with a grandiose wave of his hands.
Rin evidently understood what Naruto was trying to do because she fell out of her chair, laughing hysterically.
"I'mnotgay!" Sasuke shouted, the conversation beginning to drive him mad.
"Oh," Naruto said, almost like he was trying to think of something, "So you just like stronggirls?"he asked curiously.
"Yes." he growled out irritably, before realizing what he had just said.
Naruto was quiet for a moment, before he dropped the dramatic tone and body language had been using for the last minute. "Thank you for the information, Sasuke." he said simply, before sitting back down.
Sasuke could notice a contemplative look on all of the fangirls faces.
Once their teacher finally entered, Sasuke thought back to what happened.
Why the hell did you even do that, Naruto?
(End Flashback)
Kakashi had never thought to use that kind of tactic to motivate fangirls to perform better physically. The last month, from what he heard from the Hokage, showed an improved taijutsu rating for the female students.
There was not a jump in Rin's or the Hyuga heiress.
Naruto knows how to read people. Extremely well.
With Naruto and Rin's free time from getting suspended for Naruto's stunt, the two had abused the Kage bunshin training option, something that Kakashi had originally been resistant on. There was a reason that it wasn't often used for training. Using it for safe Fuinjutsu experimentation was one thing, but using it for general chakra control and jutsus was not common. Unless you were a lightning affinity and could enhance your brain's electrical signals moderately, you'd end up getting blinding headaches and difficulty thinking.
The Sandaime had eased his worries by saying two words.
"Healing factor."
No headaches for the two. No difficulty thinking. Just non-stop progress. More progress was made by the two in this last year than the previous three. The Hokage still told him to keep an eye on Naruto in case there could be issues with him having memories pushed into his mind. It would do nobody any good if his yin chakra might have still been slightly off.
There seemed to be no issue at all, but it was irritating how his clones acted. They seem to understand that there would be no repercussions to them because they eventually dispel. It resulted in so many crazy things that were happening in the village.
Non-stop pranks on the markets, Henging as a vague resemblance to Jiraiya, and walking around the general vicinity of the hot springs, giggling away and being a general nuisance to the women there.
One time, two clones Henged as the Hokage and a vaguely looking Jiraiya, had caused a flurry of complaints to get sent to Hiruzen.
The old man wasnotamused.
Naruto was finally told to keep his clones in line when he had two of them,there is no way they cooked this up themselves outside of his orders,to henge as two men, one that looked to be in his twenties with dark hair, and the other in his mid-30s with auburn hair and a beard. The two then proceeded to draw two training swords,no idea how he snuck them out of the armory,and had a fight in the street. It was one of the more realistic choreographed fights Kakashi had seen. He realized who it was who was fighting when it was near its end. There is onlyoneperson who repeatedly shouts words that sounded like what the older of the two men said.
"I have the High Ground."
End chapter.
I can truthfully say, hand over my heart and the other on a Bible, that if I were in the Narutoverse, I would Henge clones into characters to re-enact movie scenes. This chapter was mostly to show how the world is progressing over the last couple years following events. Naruto has finally struck the gold mine and will be makingrapidprogress leading up to him and Rin turning twelve. The next two years will show how dangerous he can be.
Like I said in the authors note at the beginning, I'll likely be upping the rating to M. Don't want to possibly toe a line and get in any issues.
Thanks for reading, and Good Luck.
Raging.
Chapter 12: Mind Games
Chapter Text
Konohagakure, 12 years after the Kyuubi attack.
"Group one, pop!" I shouted, sweat dripping down my face.
I was doing some intense training, Rin currently not here because she was visiting Hinata.
Two hours of constant running and strength building without chakra, combined with going through the correct Taijutsu katas, while my clones worked on both Lightning and Water release.
The ones working on lightning popped first, causing me to let out a groan of pain as a temporary headache set in.
I didn't do anything for a few minutes, squinting my eyes at the sunlight.
It was high noon and I still wasn't physically fatigued, Uzumaki blood keeping me flying high and mighty.
"Group two!" I called put, the others now popping.
They did so and this time it was less intense, water release training feeling less painful for some reason.
I sat down and let my mind process everything, the amount of progrees I just made tickling me pink.
Once I was ready, I jumped up and made a clone, the twin smile on its face cluing me in to what I wanted to try.
"Ready?" I grinned, my hands up to make hand seals.
"Believe it!" The clone shouted intentionally.
I went through hand seals and pooled chakra into my gut.
Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu.
A wave of water was shot from my mouth and I felt my clone's chakra crackle.
Right as I finished blasting the water out, my clone shoved its hand into the water, shooting electricity through it.
I watched as the bootleg version of Storm release tore into a group of trees, the wood exploding under the pressure and impact of lightning.
Smiling as the Jutsu ended, I high fived the clone and it popped, leaving me alone.
Pleased with another step of progress, I gathered up everything and left the training ground, whistling for the clones on overwatch to disperse as well.
Now, I was on my way to train with Kakashi. He didn't know about my independent training, and I was fine with that.
Kakashi can keep his Sharingan to copy jutsu. Kage bunshin is king.
Thathurt.I thought.
Throwing up my arms, I blocked a kunai strike from Kakashi. His breathing was slightly labored, a slash across his arm was bleeding freely, and he wasdrenchedin water.
I have was going all out, and I was making him work for the edge he held over me. It would come down to whether my chakra and stamina would carry me over, while Kakashi's two decades of experience was keeping a slight edge over me. Asubstitutiongot me away from him, a water clone left in my place.
A concentrated projectile of water I shot was promptly dodged by Kakashi and we were back to a taijutsu fight. Things sped up as I was seamlessly stringing together punch after punch and I kept light on my feet to avoid him from tripping me up. A strike deflected, a deft jab stopped, a rising knee. Neither of us seemed to maintain an advantage.
Kakashi's breathing was a little more erratic by now and I saw a flash of desperation in his face. The next thing I saw was a flash of his Sharingan and tomoe spin. The momentary Genjutsu placed on me gave him time to pull a quickShunshin.
I dispelled the Genjutsu with a hand seal, only to find Kakashi charging straight for me,Chidoriactive.
The hell, Kakashi?
My hesitancy from shock is what got me. I didn't notice that there was a great deal of standing water, that I was in the middle of. He simply slammed his fist into the water, insulating himself from the electric shock by forcing chakra into his arm and feet. I didn't have time to do that and avoud getting completely shocked.
My whole body tensed up from the surge of electricity that arced across my body. I bit back a scream and I fell to the ground, slightly smoking. I didn't even need to look up to know I was done. I looked up anyway and saw a kunai a few inches from my face.
Kakashi looked like shit. Breathing heavily, he still had a slight grin, judging by the crinkling of his eyes.
"I win, again." he said breathlessly, offering me a hand.
I waved him off. I needed a little bit for the numbness to wear off.
"Just a sec." I said. "I almost had you a few times."
"A strong water affinity makes it hard for me to hit you without hurting myself." he said simply.
He was right. I was undoubtedly a rarity in Konoha. I had averystrong water affinity. The last person to likely have this degree of one was Senju Tobirama.
The last two years did wonders for me and Rin. I had several well learned Suiton jutsu under my belt and Ifeltstronger than ever before. I was confident that I could match almost anyone my age that wasn't Itachi at twelve.
Rin had been discreetly given some notes by Hiruzen that were a written by the Yondaime on a few tips for genin and fresh chunin to train up their wind release. The stuff she could do with her chakra after spamming shadow clones to train it up was scary. You'd never think the sweet and bubbly girl that was my twin sister could split rocks in half and cleave trees with wind chakra.
But I guess she takes after me.
The two of us weren't the only ones that had gotten better over the last couple years.
Kakashi was in better shape, in both body and spirit, than what he would have been had things played out the way they had in "Canon". Mine and Rin's presence helped give him purpose. Even with his better mindset, I still made him work for our fights. If I limited myself to using lightning jutsu, I'd be screwed. I had the chakra and brains to nullify most of Kakashi's game winning jutsu.Chidoriwas a no go. And a great deal of his tactical ones likeHiding like a moleand his Sharingan were hampered by mefloodingthe ground, making theMolejutsu near useless, and me making mist coated in my chakra limited his Sharingan's vision.
Kakashi had the misfortune of fighting against someone like me. He faredmuchbetter against Rin or Anko. I actually had a great deal of trouble facing off against Rin or Anko. Kakashi was a straight hitter, a mixture of strength and speed, neither winning over the other, and had a disturbingly high level of Ninjutsu to draw upon.
I had no doubts that he'd kill me 9/10s of the time if we fought to kill. The training we've been doing was to get me even better at mixing Ninjutsu and taijutsu in an active fight. Kakashi was using it to get himself into better physical shape, forgoing the use of jutsu that would end the fights quicker.
Simply by hearing Gai go on about his eternal rival seeming to rediscover hisyouthshowed that Kakashi was healing, in no small part due to me and Rin.
Speaking of Rin, Anko is the number oneniceperson on my shit list. Iknowit's because of her that Rin harasses Sasuke the way she does. Non-stop flirting, calling the other girls "dumb bitches", and getting into Sasuke's personal space.
I had no issues with what she calls the fangirls. Seeing your little sister shamelessly try to embarrass a boy who is about to go through puberty is a little too much for me.
It's because I screwed with Anko.
She knows I love Rin. She knows I'm protective of her to the point of the extreme. I pissed off Anko by responding to her insanity with flirtation. Treat me like a pincushion, my eyes won't leave your chest.
I think she won.
Ihatedadmitting defeat, but Anko won. My sister now knows the way to get back at me... Pretend to like Sasuke.
I couldn't tell her why it made me uncomfortable. Part of it was because I knew we were getting older. I knew there would come a point where I couldn't be around to protect her, but the largest reason was because IknewSasuke. Better than anyone alive.
The same person whostabbedsomeone he called his best friend with aChidori. The same who betrayed his home for revenge. The one who tried to kill the Kage. The one who forsook his brother's wish for him to protect Konoha. Not that I didn't have my own issues with Itachi. Why would he torture his brother like that? No reason that I could think of.
But Sasuke was dangerous. If I couldn't get a change in his personality, I'd be forced to kill him. And that wasn't something I wanted.
It also didn't help that it was a reminder that I knew it was going to happen and didn't do a thing.
Kakashi looked at me with an expectant eye. "Ready for lunch?" he asked.
I pushed my hair down slightly, the electric shock having caused it to stick up, before answering. "Sure thing. Let's go find Rin and Anko."
Kakashi nodded as we left the flooded training ground, on route to the outskirts of the forest of death.
"Not good enough." Anko shouted, landing another hit on Rin.
Rin's taijutsu varied from Naruto's. His involved morepowerthan hers, while hers involved speed and flexibility, much like Anko's fighting style.
And he's still faster than me.Rin thought.
Try as she might, she couldn't keep pace with her brother. Taijutsu, he would outsmart her. Ninjutsu, his jutsus helped him dominate the battlefield, although her wind jutsus were a terror when she would slice right throughhisclones like a thresher. Their full spars looked more like entire squads going at it. Complete chaos with non-stopsubstitutions, jutsus being flung everywhere, and the two trying to pound each other into the ground.
But I still can't beat him.
She had finally brought him to the ground last week. She beat him into the ground. And yet, he still won. Somehow, he had pulled off making a water clone without a hand seal behind her. She never could beat his intellect.
But I'm better than everyone else.Nobody at the Academy, aside from Sasuke, had a chance at making a spar difficult. She had listened to her brother and kept a low score. "Don't attract undo attention" he had said.
She learned recently that the two of them were jinchuriki. She waspissedwhen she found out Naruto already knew. He'd told her of the memory he had. How he didn't want her to know that he saw their mother die, and of how he remembered the Kyuubi being sealed into them. She shuddered at the thought of remembering any of that.
He remembers Mom's voice. And it was as she died.
She was drawn out of her thoughts by another poison laced strike from Anko.
"Better." The purple haired kunoichi said simply.
Both her and Naruto had developed a resistance to most poisons due to being Jinchurikiandgetting hit repeatedly by Anko. Painful, but it was helpful.
Blocking the strike, she retaliated with a quicksubstitutionthat would've left her brother impressed and a blast of wind chakra sent towards her target. Anko's response was a B-rank fire jutsu that she almost seemed to casually blast at her.
Uh oh.Rin never forgot the first time she tried to use wind against fire. It nearly burnt an entire training ground to a crisp. Substituting with one of her clones and sinking into the ground after weaving hand seals, she was able to avoid the wind enhanced flames. She still flinched at the clone's memory of getting lit on fire returning to her.
Rising from the Earth sluggishly, she made a clone and then made handsigns for another wind jutsu. The clone prepped a C-rank wind jutsu as she looked at Anko.
Anko evidently thought she was going to mix the two together, but she was wrong. A quick substitution with a rock 20 meters away as a last second change made the trajectory of the jutsus different from one another. Both were launched at the same time, and Anko had toShunshinout of the way, the only safe space being the trees.
It's not recommended to use aShunshinnear trees, unless you have the Sharingan. Anko crashed into a tree after hitting something, giving Rin the opportunity for a kill strike.
Before she could get there, Anko called the fight to an end.
"You did good. You learned from your fight with Naruto." she said, I look of pride on her face.
Rin smiled at that, thankful that she felt like she was making progress.
"I could do better." she said to herself.
Anko just scoffed at that. "Don't be like your brother. I worked too hard to beat that stupidity out of him. I don't need you doing the dumb shit he pulled a couple years back."
It still bothered Anko what Naruto had been willing to do to try and squeeze out a little bit more in training. It reminded her a littletoomuch of her bastard sensei.
Unlike what her threshold for training and injuries were until she stopped, Naruto would keep going until Kakashi or Anko either knocked him out or had him restrained. Her brother was extremely driven and it didn't engender any positivity in Rin when he'd take his shirt off and his chest and torso were a dark purple and he didn't say a thing about it, stating that he'd heal and could continue training.
Speaking of her twin, she could see both him and Kakashi making their way towards them, neither looking in the best of shape.
Kakashi was still wet, and Naruto's hair looked like he touched a live electrical circuit.
"Have fun?" Anko asked with a grin.
Kakashi just looked at Naruto, then back at her. "You could say that." he said simply.
Rin looked at her brother's hair, smiling. "You ready for another round, sparky?" she quipped.
He squinted an eye at her. "Not really, already had to deal with Mr. pervert here, I've had my fair share of crazy today."
Rinhatedthat word. Crazy.
Only Naruto could get away with calling her that without getting suplexed into the ground. The fangirls found out what happened when they called her either that, orbitch.
Rin just growled under her breath, muttering something about idiot brothers.
"Now, now, use your words." he said, as if he were talking to a misbehaving puppy. "Don't be like Sasuke."
Rin's face couldn't help me break out into a smile at what she thought. "What about my Sasuke-kun?" she asked sweetly, relishing in the look of disgust on her brother's face.
"Don't do that." he groaned, disliking her talking excessively girlish about Sasuke.
"But I want him to be the daddy of your nieces and nephews." she said, a fake look of sadness on her face. "Why won't you respect my choices onii-chan?"
Naruto maturely responded by making hand seals and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Rin just snickered at her brother's predictability. "Works every time."
Following their taijutsu training, Kakashi made his way to the Hokage Tower to give his report to Hiruzen on the progress made. It was getting to the point that there wasn't a great deal left that he could teach Naruto. Only the higher end Jutsus such asChidoriandRaikiriwere left untouched.
Naruto had been hard focusing on his water element and it would be at least a few more weeks before he felt safe to teach Naruto how to do theChidori.
TheRasengan, on the other hand, might be an interesting project.
He probably made the right choice going water.Kakashi thought. The sheer amount of versatility water offered was a boon for someone as creative and prodigious as Naruto was.
Arriving at the Tower, he walked to the Hokage's office. Knocking and hearing a "come in", Kakashi pushed open the door to see the Hokage at his desk, taking a break after finishing all the documents needing overview.
"Ah, Kakashi." He said, a soft smile on his face. "What news do you bring?"
"Naruto and Rin's progress." he said simply.
Hiruzen sighed and then leaned forward to look straight at Kakashi. "Very well," he said seriously. "Please, go ahead."
Kakashi got straight to what he wanted to say. "Naruto will be an A-rank with probably two or three years in the field."
Hiruzen straightened at that. "So soon?" he asked.
"He's like me." Kakashi said. "Or like It-" he paused.
"Itachi." Hiruzen finished softly.
"Yes." Kakashi said. "Like Itachi."
"He won't end up like that, Kakashi." Hiruzen assured him.
"I know." Kakashi said, not exactly assured due to the cynical part of his mind that was definitely overfed from constant loss, "But out of all those hailed as "geniuses" Konoha has produced lately,I'mthe only one that isn't dead or a traitor. It doesn't give a lot of assurance." he finished.
Hiruzen understood his worry. Kakashi didn't know what transpired around the incident involving Itachi. Nobody could know.
"You couldn't have forseen what would happen, Kakashi. Itachi lashed out and left. We both know Naruto wouldn't do that."
Kakashi nodded, wishing to continue the debriefing. "Hissubstitutionis something I never thought you could pull off. It likely isn't something anybody but him can pull off."
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen asked.
"Did he ever explain to you about thepeculiarityof him being knocked out?" Kakashi asked.
"Not in detail."
"He can still think and sense things around him. He can also manipulate the chakra outside his body. He made a sealless water clone from the mist he had projected."
Hiruzen was shocked at that. "How is that possible? That almost sounds similar to what the Yamanaka do."
The Yamanaka could project their chakra and consciousness outside their bodies. To do so wasverydifficult to do. But to manipulate your own chakraoutsideyour body? With no handsigns? It wasn't something Hiruzen thought could be done effectively.
"Does he know how he does it?"
"He thinks it's because of his high yin density. He thinks it gives him the ability to push some of his consciousness intohischakra, similar to how a shadow clone can work.
"Could he do it with other jutsu?"
"No," Kakashi answered, " He's only able to do it withwaterand it has to be deeply coated with his chakra to work."
Hiruzen was silent for a few minutes, deep in thought.
Could it be because water aligned chakra flows? That could make sense. Tobirama-sensei never humoured the idea of projecting mist and making a water clone from the mist behind an enemy. If he thought it was possible, he would have tried it.
The only person alive Hiruzen had heard that may be a better water user than Senju Tobirama is Hoshigaki Kisame, the Tailless-Beast. If Naruto was thinking of things at the age of twelve that Hiruzen never saw a hint of in his Sensei's journals, it bodedverywell for Konoha.
I probably need to show some of Sensei's journals to Naruto. Give him better perspective from one of the most dangerous Shinobi in history.
"I sense there's something else you want to say." Hiruzen said to Kakashi.
Kakashi just pulled off his jonin flak jacket, showing a slash in the back of it.
"He did this," Kakashi said, pulling his shirt sleeve up to reveal the bandaged slash on his arm, "and this in one move. If we were enemies, I'd be dead."
Hiruzen was suprised at that. Training prospective Shinobi involved the trainer to slowly raise their level of effort in the fight. What did Naruto do that would have killed a higher A-rank nin like Kakashi?
"What did he do?"
"The closest thing to a poor man's Hiraishin." he said quietly.
What?
"He flung a kunai at me. He can lace weapons with wind chakra to increase the velocity, but not much else. The kunai had a leaking chakra storage seal with his blood on it. I was charging at him, the kunai went over my head as he did a quick stepShunshin. He then substituted with the kunai without looking at it."
Naruto understood the concept of forward momentum being important in substituting with a moving object. You had to be moving at a fast pace yourself if you're wanting to maximize what he had tried to do.
"I tried to dodge them. The kunai clipped my shoulder, and Naruto mistimed his slash as he was behind me. I later won the fight, which happened today."
Substitutionwith an object much smaller than you wasverydifficult. Shadow clones were the easiest. Same size and had the same kind of chakra. Living things were a good choice as well. They had their own chakra, which added a little moreweightto fix the discrepancy. Shinobi didn't generally substitute with kunai,particularlyflying ones, because it cost too much chakra and the concentration needed the pull it off was steep.
And he got around that by putting an intentionally leaking storage seal and his own blood on it.
A sensor could tell where it was and reach out with their chakra, like what a normal substitution was when making eye contact with the object.
"Do you think he knows?"
This had been a point of contention between the two. Kakashi suspected that Naruto knew who his and Rin's father was. Hiruzen didn't think so. He remembered the day six years ago when Naruto had the broken look on his face.
So my father's dead then.
"I don't think he does." Hiruzen replied, "But he'll figure it out eventually."
Kakashi slumped slightly. "Do you think he'd forgive us for keeping it from him?"
"Undoubtedly." Hiruzen replied swiftly, "He more than anyone understands keeping a low profile."
Naruto succeeded in making almosteverystudent and teacher think he was a class clown and an idiot who happened to be good at taijutsu. Only the Nara heir and the Hyuga heiress knew what he actually was. The Nara boy being just as bright as his father was at that age, and the Hyuga girl being a close friend of the twins.
"What about his tracking and clandestine skills?" Hiruzen asked.
Kakashi was positively glowing with pride. "He can evade me for hours. His Henge is on point. When I give him five minutes to prep, he henges dozens of clones as different people and disperses in different directions. He's gotten to the point that he can suppress his chakra signature to that of a genin. He found out how to do a solid transformation on himself."
"On himself?" Hiruzen asked, surprised that could be done.
Clones, since they were chakra constructs, could undergo a solid transformation into practically any object. It usually shortened the clones lifespan as it required a greater deal of chakra to maintain the form instead of the normal human form.
"How did he pull that off?" Hiruzen continued.
Kakashi just grinned. "I wouldn't have thought to do it because I don't use Kage bunshin as much as Rin or Naruto. He modified the creation of one so that a shell of chakra would surround him. His chakra is dense enough that he can rein in the chakra emission that comes from a solid henge."
(I've not come across how a solid transformation would be seen as an E-rank when the possibilities are limitless. I'm going with the theory that there's a difference between a solid and illusionary henge. If I'm wrong, please correct me in a comment.)
Hiruzen was stunned.No chakra emissions? That's what gives away a henge disguise when viewed by the Byakugan, Sharingan, or a sensor. If he could do that, he has a peerless assassination tool.
"Just so I'm certain I understand you, Kakashi," Hiruzen started, " Naruto knows the normal henge, the solid one, and has dense enough chakra that he can stop the chakra emissions without destabilizing the henge?"
"Yes." Kakashi said simply.
Hiruzen just smiled. "Cheeky little gaki." He chuckled. "I assume you had fun finding him?"
Kakashi flinched. "Not really." he answered, thinking about what occurred.
(Flashback)
Kakashi had been unable to find Naruto. He'd been able to take down three henged clones but there were still several covering his tracks. He was pulled out of what he was doing by a familiar voice behind him.
"Yosh, Kakashi!"
Not now,Gai. Turningaround to try and not appear rude, Kakashi went to tell Gai that he would have to wait.
Gai was with his genin team. His mini-me, a brunette girl with her hair in two buns, and a standoffish looking Hyuga right behind him.
"Kakashi, my eternal rival, what say we have a spar to show my wonderful genin how wonderous your flames of youth burn!"
"Youth!" the mini-me shouted.
The Hyuga got a tick mark at the side of his forehead and the girl just sighed exasperatedly.
Something seems off. Gai doesn't normally train his genin team on Wednesday. He normally doesn't challenge me to spars with his team watching unless he wants to teach them something. He just did this three days ago...Naruto.
Before he could attack, he saw "Gai's" eyes widened at something behind Kakashi.
"Kakashi, KUNAI!"
Kakashiknewit was a lie, until a kunai, with a tag tied to it, sailed just a foot away from his face.
Damnit .
The next thing he knew, his vision went white and his ears were ringing horrifically.
Damn flashbang.
Naruto had developed a flashbang exploding tag that worked extremely well on dojutsu users, and could disrupt sensors to a degree.
By the time his hearing and sight came back, he saw Gai with his eyes squinted, standing in a defensive manner in front of his genin, the girl was the second closest to the blast and was trying to pop her ears to get the ringing out of them. Gai's mini-me was trying to rub his eyes, and the Hyuga was on the ground screaming bloody murder with his hands clutching his head.
Naruto, you idiot. Those hurt MEwhen I use my Sharingan. YouKNOWthe Byakugan is worse.
Naruto would pump his chakra into the tag so it would mimic when he would flash his chakra intentionally, making it very effective against dojutsu users.
Kakashi felt a presence behind him and he whirled around.
"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted.
His eye narrowed to see what didn't appear to be Naruto, but was a peculiar looking individual. The man looked to be wearing some kind of tunic looking thing with a clasp on one shoulder. In his hand was a long stick that had a fire hardened tip.
"MY NAME IS NOT NARUTO." the man shouted at the top of his voice, "I AM ODYSSEUS, DESTROYER OF CITIES, YOU SLEW MY COMRADES AND I HAVE TAKEN YOUR SIGHT FROM YOU, CYCLOPS!" He then blew a raspberry and turned into smoke with a puff.
Yep. Naruto. Nobody acts like that kind of lunatic.
Gai just stared at the sight of where the clone used to be.
"Was that Naruto?" he asked, genuine confusion in his voice.
"Yes." Kakashi grumbled, popping his ears to try to get the ringing to stop. "We're doing a tracking exercise and I can't seem to find him. His clones are causing too much of an issue finding him."
Gai adopted a look of contemplation. "Kurenai was acting strange at the dango shop." he said finally. "She acted strangely around Asuma and me. Like she was hiding something."
"That's him." Kakashi stated, before making his way to the dango shop.
Unbeknownst to Kakashi, "Gai" started snickering. "You suck, ya jackass." before dispelling along with the other three clones henged as Gai's team.
Racing towards the dango shop, Kakashi spotted "Kurenai" walking on her own to who knows where.
Probably for another ambush.
Approaching "her", she turned to see him walking straight towards "her".
"Hi Kakashi," she said. "Is there something wrong?" she added upon seeing the look he was giving her.
"Give it up." Kakashi said, "I caught you."
"What are you talking about, Kakashi?" she asked, confused by what he was talking about.
"Screw it. This day has been long enough as is." he said, before grabbing "Kurenai" by the arm.
"What are you doing, Kakashi?!" she shouted, wondering what the hell he was doing.
Kakashi then put his hand on"her"chestand hit "her" with a blast of lightning chakra to drop the henge. Kurenai yelped and fell to the ground, slightly twitching.
"Why did it not dispel?" Kakashi asked himself, his confusion giving way to irritation.
"Naruto, drop the damn henge!" Kakashi ordered promptly, his mind made up on giving his Sensei's son a proper scolding for using a flashbang on a Hyuga.
"I'm not that idiot, moron." She growled, pulling herself up. "You grabbed my chest and shocked me. Don't try to lie to me with something as stupid as the brat henging as me."
Kakashi was at a loss for words.
Gai said Naruto was here. It has to be him. Unle-... oh no.
Naruto must have henged as Gai.
"K-kurenai," Kakashi said, hands up and backing away as he looked at the furious crimson gaze of the Genjutsu Mistress, "believe me, I didn't know tha-"
The next thing he knew, he was in a Genjutsu. In front of him was Gai, wearing nothing but a green speedo as a slow romantic tune played in the background.
Oh dear God, no.
"Show me your flames ofyouth, Kakashi." Gai said, the tone in his voice having no business saying his name or the word "youth".
"This isn't real," he mumbled, "It's not real. It's not real." His thoughts became more frantic when he felt a hand on his cheek.
"Then why does it feel soright,Kakashi?"
Kakashi started screaming and trying to break the Genjutsu, but something was impeding his chakra. Thankfully, before the speedo came off, the genjutsu seemed to end, and he promptly lost consciousness.
Kurenai was pissed.That wasn't a part of a deal.
She made a deal with Naruto to get back at Kakashi fordaringto openly read his smut book when she was trying to have a serious discussion with him. The plan was simple. Trick Kakashi into coming to the dango shop, have him make a fool of himself by having a genjutsu put on him, and show Naruto where Kakashi lived to finish it off.
As two of Naruto's clones carried Kakashi's unconscious form to his house, Kurenai said to the clones. "You owe me another round of dango."
The lead clone just nodded before he resumed what the others were doing, while singing in words she didn't understand.
Kakashi woke up in his bed, wondering how he even got here.
What was the last I remember? Hunting Naruto, Kurenai, talking with Gai. GAI!
Looking around frantically, he saw no one aside from him in his house.
"It was a dream." he muttered, "Thank Kami."
"What was a dream?"
He saw Gai in the doorway, no shirt on.
Kakashi started hyperventilating.
"Are you alright, Kakashi?"
Kakashi frantically reached to his right and flung his clock at Gai.
"Gai" dispelled in a puff of smoke.
Kakashi growled to himself angrily, his teeth clenched.
"I'm going to kill you slowly, Naruto."
Pulling himself from his bed, he headed to the bathroom to get a glass of water to wet the dryness in his mouth from the trauma he had just witnessed.
Standing in front of his mirror, he pulled off his mask.
What he saw was arguably more infuriating than what just happened.
There was a penis drawn on his face, in Fuinjutsu ink, meaning it wouldn't come off for weeks.
Breathing heavily, he saw a note on the counter. Snatching it up, he read what it said. The note crinkled, then burst into flames from the chakra that was shot through it.
I traced it.
(End Flashback)
Kakashi pulled itself away from the horrible memory. "I really don't want to talk about it." he said quietly, his plea for no elaboration present.
Hiruzen nodded, knowing it was likely very unpleasant, knowing how creatively vindictive Naruto can be.
"What about Fuinjutsu? Where are the two of them at?"
Kakashi just shook his head. "There's only so much I can teach them. Rin is actually better than Naruto. She's more like Kushina and Naruto is like their father."
Hiruzen was surprised at that. Rin was always behind her brother. Still noticeably above-average, but still behind her brother. If she was better than her brother at fuinjutsu, if even just a little bit, that's phenomenal.
"What level would you rate them?" he asked.
"Both can make sealing scrolls and exploding tags of several different varieties. Naruto came up with his own brand of flashbang, and Rin made it better. The resistance seals they've started using were made by her."
Two creative seal users. Jiraiya would be pleased to hear that.
"Thank you for the report, Kakashi, you are dismissed."
Nodding at the dismissal, Kakashi left the office, leaving the Hokage alone in his thoughts.
I definitely need to give Naruto Sensei's journals. Rin would likely get more out of some of Mito's books, I'll see if I can get them out of storage soon.
He needed to tread carefully. Twins that look like the Yondaime and are both jinchurikiandfuinjutsu prodigies could potentially garner a great deal of attention, and not the good kind.
"I don't want to be around the little devil." Rin grumbled, the two of us going to meet with Hinata for dinner at the Hyuga compound.
Hiashi had told Hinata that he would like to talk with his eldest daughter's two closest friends in a relaxed setting, thus the dinner invite.
But Rin didn't want to go for one big reason. Last week was the first time she ever met Hanabi when Hinata went to get some cinnamon rolls, and Hanabi wanted to come along.
The little firecracker seemed to be guarded around me, but straight up turned her little nose up at Rin, calling her loud and rude like a dog.
Hinata and I had to keep the two apart, while I was laughing at how two diametrically opposed peopleinstantlydid not like each other.
"She's not a devil, Rin," I rolled my eyes at overdramatic sister, "She's just a little cold sometimes. And besides, she's probably jealous of your hair."
Rin was wearing a fairly good quality kimono that I bought her with some of the money I got from selling Fuinjutsu tags at a discount to the village. Of course, she insisted it have some orange to it, which it did on the sleeves while the rest was more of a silver colour. And I went through the effort of helping her style her hair just enough where it went well with her outfit, which wasnotfun.
I was much easier. A kimono of mine, red trimmings of course, and my hair pushed back a little bit and I was good.
All in all, it was to show Hiashi we were willing to go through the effort of being respectful guests to the Hyuga.
"She's an annoying brat." Rin grumbled, the gates to the compound in sight.
At least in appearance.
"Fine," I agreed, "A younger sister would know best about how annoying they can be."
I ducked the slap Rin aimed at my head and stuck my tongue out at her.
"Jerk.' She muttered.
"You love me." I said simply, waving at the guards at the front of the gates.
"State your reason for being here." The one on the left said stiffly, Byakagun active.
"To bring about the corruption of the Hyuga clan heiress and destroy your clan." I replied simply, hiding my amusement behind cold detachment.
Rin reallydidslap me this time.
"Hiashi-sama," Rin made an impressive effort to sound formal, bowing her head some, "Invited us to a dinner to learn more about us. Please excuse my brother," She shot a glare at me, "He was dropped as an infant."
"You were dropped,"I said in English, "And I was thrown at a wall."
Rin fought the urge to hit me again, managing to continue smiling at the guards.
"Hinata-sama and the day shift warned us that you had a penchant for juvenile humour, Uzumaki-san." The one guard said, stepping aside, "You may enter."
The gate opened and Rin and I walked forward.
"Thank you." Rin and I said as we entered, the gate closing seconds later.
Hinata was outside her home, standing on the porch. Her entire body perked up as she spotted us and she walked towards us, her eyes widening slightly.
She had on a lavender kimono and her hair, which was around shoulder length, was tied back in a ponytail.
"Rin," She smiled at my sister, "Naruto-kun." She smiled at me as well, tilting her head at my clothes, "Where did you get the clothes?"
"Bought them with some of the money I made selling some things." I replied, not wanting to potentially raise awkward questions about making the money off of selling explosives to a military village, even if it was the one that we currently lived in and were basically conscripted into.
Hinata nodded and her eyes went back to Rin, specifically her hair.
"Your hair looks very lovely, Rin," Hinata seemed to marvel how it stayed together in several curls, "How did you do it?"
Rin had a faint pink tinge on her cheeks, but she smiled lightly as she gave me an appreciative look.
"Naruto read a book on styling hair and spent over an hour helping me to do it."
Every single moment I had to teach myself was worth it when I got it to work on Rin.
I could practically see Hinata's eyes glow as she realized the effort we took in making a good appearance for her father.
"Thank you," She said quietly, sniffing lightly, before grabbing ahold of me and hugging me, "You're a good brother, Naruto-kun."
I returned the hug and the two of us broke away, Hinata turning towards the entrance to her home.
"I'll show you around." She pushed the door open, a man with long brown hair that I hadn't seen in person for some time standing there with a girl at waist height with the same eyes and hair.
"Hiashi-sama." I bowed respectfully, my eyes meeting his after I bowed.
Rin followed suit and Hinata was glancing between her father and us, trying to fight the urge to fidget nervously.
"Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Rin," Hiashi actuallysmiled, even if it were extremely faint, "My daughters have spoken to me about you two, particularly my eldest."
I could tell he had some degree of surprise and respect for us actually taking the effort to dress up a little better, and I nodded at his statement.
"I hope that it has been positive." I looked at Hanabi, who was absolutely adorable as she glared at my sister, who was glaring back in turn.
"Hinata speaks very highly of you," His normally stoic face twitched as he looked at his youngest, "Hanabi is rathe-"
"She called me a vacant eyed chibi." Hanabi's eyes bored into Rin's own. "Dog."
"Hanabi," Hinata chastised her sister lightly, her voice remaining the same, "They are guests. Do not be rude."
Hanabi muttered something about 'dog' again and got quiet.
Hiashi maintained his emotionless expression, but the tightening around his eyes suggested that he was expecting something like that.
"Dinner is nearly ready," He said simply, walking towards the room I assumed was where we were to eat, "Hinata informed me of your preferred foods. Chicken," He glanced at me, "Miso soup with beef?" His eyes turned to Rin.
Rin preferred red meat, while I was an addict for anything chicken.
"Yes," I replied, "And thank you very much, Hiashi-sama."
"As friends of Hinata, you may refer to me as Hiashi."
I gave him my thanks after getting over the initial surprise and we entered the room.
Given that I didn't know if Hyuga could tell if I was sensing the area, I didn't use my sensory ability.
To my surprise, Neji was there, giving me a speculative look, before his eyes went to Rin.
"It seems you recognize my nephew." Hiashi looked at me, a confused look on Rin and Hinata's faces.
"Hatake Kakashi uses some of his free time to help Rin and me with training," I looked at Hiashi, then back to Neji, "He's talked of Maito Gai and his students."
The boy a year older than us seemed to decide on being civil, given that we were invited by his uncle.
"I hope my Sensei spoke well of me." Neji replied, glancing at Rin and me again.
Neji probably didn't have anything against us, given that he likely knew Kakashi's competence and assumed the two of us were skilled enough to have his attention.
"Aside from being a little withdrawn," My eyes flicked towards his outfit, which was a plain white one, then back to his pale eyes, "You're supposed to be an extremely skilled taijutsu fighter, praise coming fromMaito Gaino less."
I was going to be diplomatic with him to try and see if I could have a more civil accord. Sadly, anything disparaging towards Hinata cancels it out. She's my friend and I won't tolerate Neji's Fate yammering.
Neji nodded slightly and glanced towards Rin, before he seemed to think to himself.
Seeing that Neji wasn't interested in talking, I looked around to take in the contents of the room.
It was fairly traditional, with mats on the ground and several lamps across the room for lighting.
We sat down and Hiashi signaled a servant, the young woman nodding and exiting.
The next few minutes involved food being handed out by servants, which wasdefinitelya strange thing for both of us, even more so for me. If I ever tried to request food from a sibling, they'd've chucked it at my head with a crappy nickname towards me.
We all ate in a companionable silence for some time, Hiashi's stoic gaze moving between Rin and me.
"I can tell that the two of you are being exceedingly polite and quiet, despite the supposed rumours of your lack of propriety."
Rin looked a little nervous, having been fidgeting slightly from keeping still, which was definitely a tall order for her. I simply shrugged and set my utensils down and returned a flat gaze towards him.
"Hinata told us how you and her clan are very reserved, something contrary to mine and Rin's normal attitude," I decided to be merciful to Rin and talk to Hiashi instead, the man was fairly intimidating to someone who wasn't comfortable with people she couldn't read well, "And since this dinner was meant for you to know us more, we wanted to show we're ready to be out of our comfort zone for our friend."
"And it is noted," Hiashi nodded, "But I would also wish to know more about the two of you yourselves. I remember your mother and she was a kind woman."
I smiled and nodded, beginning to tell Hiashi a little about myself and relaxing some. Rin did so as well once I finished and she too was less prim and proper.
Hiashi almost undoubtedly knew who our father was, but kept quiet on it, sometimes glancing at Hinata.
Once Rin started explaining some training we had done, Hiashi cut in.
"Hinata has progressed faster since she has befriended the two of you," He glanced at his eldest daughter, who's face was starting to redden at the focus on her, "Do I see a pattern?"
"Y-yes, Tousan," Hinata said quietly, her hands fidgeting a bit, but she kept her eyes on him, "Naruto-kun has helped me with some training."
I felt my eye twitch when I heard Neji scoff.
Here we go.
"It is not befitting of the clan heiress to train in techniques that are not of the Hyuga clan."
Hiashi turned sharply towards Neji as Hinata seemed to sag in sadness, but I beat the Hyuga clan head to the punch.
"I thought the arrogance of the Uchiha was absent in your clan,Neji," I said coldly, "Why shouldn't Hinata learn some of the things Rin and I have taught her? She's gotten better and is at the top of our class for Kunoichi. Unless you believe the teachers are biased because of her status as heiress?"
Neji's eyes narrowed and Hiashi seemed to take a step back to hear what his nephew's response would be.
"The Juken is the most effective taijutsu style in the Elemental Nations," Neji's eyes, which almost reminded me of Hinata's, but extremely cold, were levelled at me, "I doubt anything you could have learned could be beneficial to Hinata-sama."
He didn't seem to be making jabs at her capabilities, likely from him knowing that she was better, but he still was a little irritant.
"The things we've helped her with are things Rin and I learned from Hatake Kakashi," I smirked as I saw his eye twitch, "I think I'll listen to the Copycat nin on what is helpful for a prospective genin over a Branch member."
"As if your word could be trusted," Neji said coldly, his eyes narrowed, "I've heard enough about the two of you to be certain that Hinata-sama will be hamstrung by cavorting with you two."
Rin tried to jump up, ready to smack the idiot, but I grabbed her shoulder and held her in place.
"Naruto-kun, please." Hinata looked worried thatIwas going to be the one to punch Neji through a wall, but I was more restrained than that.
"That is very rude to say to guests of your uncle, Neji," I narrowed my own eyes, glancing at a concerned Hanabi and Hinata, "You insult his hospitality and it reflects upon him and your cousins. Know. Your. Place." I finished coldly, staring directly at his covered forehead.
Neji's glare intensified and he turned towards Hinata, ready to say something, but Hiashi seemed to decide now was the time to step in.
"Neji." He said with a faint coldness, his expression otherwise flat, "The two are guests of mine and Naruto-san is correct. Perhaps some time away will clear your thoughts."
Hiashi was more polite than Neji deserved, but I chalked it up to Hiashi not wishing to distance his nephew further.
Neji, without speaking, stood up and left the room.
Hiashi sighed as his nephew left and shook his head, glancing towards Rin and me.
"My apologies," He inclined his head a small amount, "Neji can be rather...short with others." He looked a little uncomfortable at the comments made by Neji.
"It's fine," I shook my head, letting go of Rin's shoulder and giving her an apologetic look, "We've gotten used to it."
Hanabi was quietly trying to shrink away from it all, while Hiashi seemed resigned to hearing that.
"Hinata," He turned to his daughter, "Why don't you show them the house. Your room, perhaps?"
"Yes, Tousan." Hinata practically jumped to her feet, wanting to exit the situation.
Rin and I followed her, going down a hall and making a right, our escort stopping in front of a door.
"I'm sorry Neji-niisan said that." Hinata seemed to shrink into herself, "He," She paused, "He doesn't realize that he can be cruel about things."
I knew why Hinata was being generous towards Neji, but I still didn't like it.
"I wanted to kick some sense into him," Rin grumbled, folding her arms across her chest, "He's a jerk like the others."
Hinata sighed sadly and she looked between us, eventually focusing on me expectantly.
"Fine," I sighed, "I'll trust your judgement on him because you know your cousin better."
"Thank you." Hinata said, opening her door, "This is my room. Please, don't touch anything."
Before the last sentence left her mouth, Rin had already picked something up from Hinata's table.
"What's this?" Rin grabbed a sheet of paper, Hinata letting out a squeak in response.
"N-nothing." She stuttered, blushing profusely, "It's nothing."
Rin looked at the sheet and her eyes widened, a soft smile on her face as she looked at me then back to the paper.
"I didn't know you could draw, 'Nata." Rin whispered, handing the sheet to the embarrassed girl.
Hinata was avoiding looking into my eyes as she tried to hide the paper.
"Hinata," I said quietly, putting my hand on hers, "You don't need to feel embarrassed. We're your friends. We won't laugh."
Hinata managed to look into my eyes and I saw her calm herself and the colour left her face, her hand that held the sheet lifting towards me.
"I-I've been practicing for a few weeks," She looked nervous as she showed me the sheet, which I looked closely at it.
I gasped softly as I looked at it.
"Yo-" I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat as I kept looking at it.
It was a drawing of Rin and me, sitting on the rooftop of our apartment and looking at the sunset, a brilliant orange that looked almost exactly like it.
"You said something about liking the sunset," Hinata whispered nervously, her fingers tapping as she tried to gauge my reaction, "So I tried to draw it."
"How," I wiped my eye as I felt moisture build at the edge, "How long have you been practicing?"
"Um, a few weeks," Hinata repeated uncertainly, glancing towards a box under beside her dresser, "I still don't think it's good. I wanted to s-surprise you two for your birthday and I-"
I stopped her by lifting her up and pulling her into a hug, biting back a snicker as she squeaked like a mouse as I held her up.
Setting her back down, I smiled brightly as her face was flushed red again from me hugging her with all my might.
"Consider us surprised." I hugged her more lightly, Rin wrapping her arms around the two of us as well.
"So," I eventually whispered, breaking the silence, "Is that why Hanabi is jealous of Rin?"
Hinata giggled and the three of us let go of each other, the soft spoken Hyuga setting the drawing back on the table.
"I think she's jealous because I'm spending time with you two." Hinata admitted, "Ever since I've trained more with you, she has been wanting to know how I have improved."
"Then why wasn't she acting like that towards me, only Rin?" I asked confusedly.
"Maybe it's because I'm a girl and she seesmeas her replacement, kind of." Rin said uncertainly. "I don't know. And I'm not like the little brat."
Hinata sighed and gave Rin the closest thing to a warning look she'd usually give at her little sister being called a brat.
"Rin," I assured her, "You don't have a vacant stare because of your eyes."
I then smiled in a way that Rindid notlike.
"Your's is because you're a blonde."
I decided to let Rin smack me, her palm striking my temple as she glared at me.
"Jerk." Rin muttered, "And why'd you let me hit you?"
"To guilt trip you." I shrugged, "Don't give an opponent leverage, Rin." I reached out and pinched her cheek, causing her to scowl.
"Don't you feel lucky Hanabi isn't like Rin, Hinata?" I smiled, ignoring my twin's squawk of indignation.
Hinata looked torn between agreeing with me or defending Rin, and my sister didn't like that.
"Don't make me answer, Naruto." Hinata eventually said, "Would you choose between a friend and your sister?"
"Yes." I immediately said, shooting a smirk towards Rin.
Rin rolled her eyes and ignored me trying to rile her up, simply looking around at the room.
"Your room is tidier than mine." Rin mumbled, her eyes dim.
To be fair, Rin wasn't an absolute pig from how her room looked. Hinata simply had an immaculate one. In fact, I'd say it was better than mine whenIwas a borderline perfectionist about organizing my stuff.
I glance at how her bed was properly made, her notes on different chakra control exercises we'd shared with her after learning them from Kakashi were organized by date and were properly stacked.
"I see you like lavender." I eventually said, noticing her blanket was the same shade as her kimono.
"Yes," She said quietly, "My mother loved it and I do too."
Even if I'd been friends with Hinata for almost 4 years now, I hadn't ever asked to come to her actual home. Most of that was from the less than civil way I talked with Hiashi when we first met, but I should've requested so she didn't feel isolated.
Hinata blinked and she walked towards her dresser, grabbing a little booklet type thing. She sat down on her bed and gestured for us to come sit down, which we did.
Hinata opened it up and I saw it was her flower collection, each one individually pressed.
"This one," Hinata pointed at the newest addition, a red flower, "Is a Kaneshon. They are a symbol for love, while the red ones are a normal gift for mother's day." Hinata's smile turned a little bittersweet, but it seemed to vanish after a moment.
"Hinata," Rin asked a moment later, "Where's the bathroom?"
"Down the hall and three doors down." Hinata replied.
Rin stood up and thanked Hinata, leaving the room for a moment.
Hinata continued to explain each flower I asked about, genuinely curious since I'd never had an interest in flowers.
Pink roses meant trust and happiness, Daffodils meant respect, and a Bluebell meant respect as well.
Rin eventually returned at some point, but I'd been focusing on Hinata pointing out the different collection of flowers that I didn't hear my name called.
"Naruto." Hinata whispered, tapping my arm.
I blinked and looked at her, noticing that she was looking at Rin.
Rin was looking at me with no small amount of concern.
"Hinata's dad wants to talk to you." Rin told me, fidgeting a bit.
With a sigh of resignation, I got up and left the room, focusing on locating Hiashi's chakra signature.
I eventually came across him in one of the front rooms that had several mats on the ground, speaking with Hanabi, his back remaining turned to me.
"I know you're looking at my eyes, Hiashi-sama," I raised a brow, several feet from him, but I could assume he was capable of reading my lips, even if i wasn't right behind him within earshot, "It's a bit awkward talking to someone who can see behind them."
Hiashi finished speaking with Hanabi, who looked like she didn't like the conversation with her father, and left me and her father alone.
"My apologies," He turned to face me, "I was speaking with my daughter about appropriate etiquette."
"Concerning my sister?"
"Yes," Hiashi replied, "I don't know why neither my nephew nor youngest were able to remain civil when I insisted upon it beforehand."
"Rin irritates people that most Hyuga are like, no offense to your clan," I added the last part, "But you clansmen are rather reserved and Rin, well,isn't."
Hiashi hummed his acknowledgement, before his eyes narrowed slightly.
"I request that you try to be more understanding about Neji's temperament. Hatake undoubtedly informed you of certain things and I would rather Neji not stew in hatred."
"As long as he doesn't insult my sister or Hinata, I won't respond in kind." I offered, "I'm sure you understand the bond between twins."
Hiashi's face twitched and I saw his jaw tighten slightly, an identical reaction when we first spoke.
"Yes," He replied with a steady tone, "I do."
"Is that all?" I raised a brow, "It's getting late and Rin and I need to get going."
"Yes," Hiashi nodded, "And thank you for accepting my invitation. This was an enlightening experience that I would very much like to repeat."
"You were an excellent host, Hiashi-sama," I replied respectfully, "And your daughter is a kind girl. You should be proud."
Out of all ways Hiashi reacted, I didn't expect his chakra to dim and his eyes to minutely flick away from mine.
"She is a soft-spoken, but a capable heiress," I couldn't tell why Hiashi almost seemed uncomfortable, "I thank you for being patient and helping her on your own time. You give credit to yourself for it. It is getting rather late now, though."
I noticed the tone as permission for me to leave and I did, going back towards Hinata's room. I opened the door and told Rin it was time to go, which she pouted and gave Hinata a hug before getting up.
An easy decision was made when I walked towards Hinata and gave her a hug as well, whispering into her ear as I did.
"The drawing was beautiful. Thank you, Hinata." I let go of her and Rin and I left the room, walking towards the door to the outside.
"What did you think of Hiashi?" I asked as tussled my hair a bit, the two of us back home.
Rin just exited the bathroom, her relaxation clothes on and her fancy kimono put away, collapsing right next to me on the couch.
"Cold," She mumbled, looking up at me as she leaned on my arm, "But he cares for Hinata."
She then ran her fingers through her hair, cursing under her breath when her hand got caught in a curl.
"I can fix that." I lied, hiding the smirk on my face.
"Then fix it," Rin grumbled, "I know it makes my hair look pretty, but I want it normal."
Little did she know that I pulsed lightning chakra into my fingers, blue static dancing along the digits.
"Here you go." I pressed my fingers against the back of her neck, pushing upwards to drag my nails against her scalp lightly.
Rin nearly jumped out of her skin as I shocked her, a sound like a cat that got dropped in a bathtub coming from her mouth.
"Naruto!" She shrieked, glaring at me as I was laughing to the point I was wheezing.
Her hair was sticking completely straight, looking like a golden halo with bits of static in it.
"Fixed it." I giggled, wiggling my fingers to mess with her.
She growled and jumped on top of me, the two of us wrestling.
After a few attempts at punching me, Rin got up and stormed towards her room.
"G'night, Rin." I called towards her, her chakra making her hair stick out more as it irritated her more.
Annoying her was like a drug to me. She had such adorable reactions to it and I could do it all the time. Sure, she threatened to break my legs a couple times, but what's a threat like that when I heal quickly.
After she closed her door rather forcefully, I went to my own room and prepared for retaliation tomorrow, but I wonthisday.
End Chapter.
Chapter 13: The Steadfast
Chapter Text
Chapter 13: The Steadfast
Ouch.I thought.
Since the start of mine and Rin's enrollment in the Academy, I had been doing what I could to motivate the Rookie 9 to be better than their "Canon" counterparts. Shikamaru was a little more focused on his physical ability. The phrase "a liter of sweat today is better than one drop of blood", seemed to resonate with him, especially when I inferred that the blood mentioned could very well be an ally's, or a friend's. Like Choji.
Kiba and Shino were surprisingly similar in how I spoke to them. I appealed to Kiba's sense of being a strong alpha to protect the pack. Perception and patience were a strength unto themselves and it would do him good to learn how to unleash his fury, and when to temper it. I got mixed results, hopefully it would get better after we graduate.
Shino's was the easiest. Very logical, and was suprised that I wasn't repulsed by his clans insect based techniques. "Konoha is the hive, the Hokage the queen, and we are the warriors." is what I told him. He listened to some of my advice on how to train, and it paid off.
The dressing down of Ino and Sakura was a stroke of genius. It got the two to get better when Sasuke let slip that he likedstronggirls.Thank you, Uke. You made things much easier.
The one that was difficult for me, was Hinata. My mindset went contrary to her's completely. Beat me into the ground, call me failure, call me weak, I'll rub some dirt in it, spit at your feet, and dare you to put me in the ground again. That didnotwork for Hinata. I didn't even humour the idea.
Still, I persisted. She still would be nervous around me sometimes, but I had been able to mitigate the worst parts of it. Rin helped by being her close female friend. The clan elders didn't want her to "cavort" with us. "Unbecoming of the clan heiress to be around such people", Hinata told me they said.
This is what brought me to the current situation I was in. Hinata had got over her aversion to striking someone with a Juken strike when she saw the way me and Rin spar. If one of us didn't break something or draw blood, it wasn't a real spar. Hinata got much better at sparring to actuallyfightinstead of the katas we did for the last couple years when she realized that we dealt with pain on a daily basis from spars that would leave most other individuals a massive walking bruise.
I saw her potential. Iknewwhat she was capable of. It would be a tragedy and waste if I didn't step in when I could to prevent the damage to her spirit at the hands of her clan.
The current spar I was in was the hardest one yet with Hinata. She was focused. Driven. I still stopped her strikes. Kakashi wasfarmore dangerous in a spar, but there was a noted improvement in Hinata's drive to train since what transpired a month ago.
(Flashback)
The weekly spars that would occur between me, Hinata, and Rin, which Kakashi initially was against, was the staple of her progress. Any crush she had on me did not impede her from speaking with me, thank God for that. I was already uncomfortable with some of the looks I got from some of the girls my "age". No one with years more life experience wants to be the object of young girl's affections. It wouldn't be as bad if they wereseveralyears older.
But that's not what concerned me at the moment. What concerned me was that I could feel Hinata's chakra signature from a hundred yards in front of me, aprroaching the training grounds where Rin and I were located, and it was flickering in a manner reminiscent of the day we met.
She was fearful. Sad. Anguished.
I made a beeline towards her, ignoring the confused look on Rin's face at my abrupt change in mood. Briskly walking and reaching Hinata, she fell into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sh," I said softly, holding her tightly, "It's ok, you're not alone. I've got you."
She cried in my arms for a few minutes longer, before she was able to look at me.
"What's going on?" I asked, feeling Rin just a few yards away.
"T-they," Hinata started, tears beginning to form in her eyes again, "They're g-going t-to make me and Hanabi f-fight over who g-gets marked." She started sobbing after the final word.
I was silent.How dare they! Forcing someone to choose whether their sister or themselves get marked by thatBRAND!
"Everything will be ok," I assured her, "I'll make sure of it."
"How?" she practically begged, "M-my father can't c-convince the elders d-differently."
This was something that I had only learned last year. Hiashi evidently took what I said to heart. He was less scathing, more understanding, dare I say, more fatherly. It made my plans on fixing Hinata's self-doubtsmucheasier.
And these damned elders are destroying that.
I got quiet for a moment. I had plans. Plans that involved espionage and infiltration levels that the Shinobi world simply didn't have in great supply.
"When is it scheduled to occur?" I asked her.
"T-two weeks." She sniffled.
Sighing and dragging a hand through my hair, I tried to think of a plan.
"I'll talk with you when I have a plan. Training is called off today. You're in no mindset to train right now." I told her, to which she nodded sadly.
"C-could I..." she started, before going silent.
"If you want to know something, just ask. Don't be scared. We're your friends." I said, Rin nodding right beside me.
Hinata seemed to swallow before asking, "I don't want to be at my home. It hurts." she said quietly. "Can I stay over?"
She's that torn up. She can't deal with being reminded that she might be forced to make an impossible choice.I looked to Rin, she'd need to be the one to be playing host. Hinata would be bunking with her if she stayed over.
Rin looked at me resolutely and nodded, before walking straight up to Hinata.
"Don'teverthink we wouldn't help you 'Nata " She said firmly, "You. Are. Our. Friend. Don't think you're imposing. We'd be bad friends if we said no."
Hinata stepped away from me, and hugged Rin tightly.
"Thank you." she said. "Thank you."
I just watched my sister give comfort to our shared friend, no thanks needed to be given.
I need a plan.
The following week involved me making a plan that would either work spectacularly, or fail in a way that would make me look like the next Itachi.
In for a penny.I thought.
The Hyuga eldersdaredto hurt my friend. Forcing sister against sister. Sibling against sibling.
They. Would. Pay.
The week leading up to them forcing Hinata and Hanabi to fight involved me testing something out that would determine thepossibilityof my plan. I had learned, through training with and listening to Kakashi, that my densehengecould not be seen through by the Sharingan. A normalhengecould be penetrated by the Byakugan. I learned training and tailing Hinata, that the Byakugan couldn't detect my densehengeunless they could see the near non-existent chakra halo thehengeleaked.
For nearly two weeks, I went through all the little things I'd thought of to do with my clones. Transforming them into small animals lowered their lifespan.
My plan required a great deal of moving parts. I had to terrify the Hyuga, make them think they weren't safe. Threaten to exterminate them all if they tried to destroy a sibling relationship. I knew who my target would be. Iknewwhat would be effective.
I stationed myself about 150 yards outside of the Hyuga compound, near a small collection of trees. My alias was that I was testing out my new flashbang seals. The Hyuga were irate that my flashbangs were within their vision. I politely told them tofuck off, and that I didn't care. If they wanted to bitch, they can bitch to Jiji.
They grumbled about "Demonspawn" and promised to make sure I "knew my place".
Branch members to high for their britches.
The Branch house had almost as many bastards in it as the Main branch. Hyuga arrogance went through the whole clan. Some of the more "learned" members called it "Sword and Sheath", "Lock and Key". Different reasons to justify things.
No wonder Neji believed in the Fate bullshit. Both the Main house, and older members of the Branch house are content with the status quo.
It's kind of difficult tofreepeople when they think their shackles are for the greater good. If branding close to half your clan prevents bloodline theft, is that not a good thing? What's worse than convincing someone that their servility isnecessaryfor your clan's survival? Why two distinct houses? Why not everyone?
Did someone find out how to hijack the seal?That was a possibility. Seals can be turned against their own user, so long as you're a damned good seal master.
My plan involved many things. One, a disguise. My clones would play the part of small animals, mice, foxes, etc. I could afford the chakra burn.
The last week, I had been on autopilot, learningmanythings about the guard pattern and a couplesensitivesubjects that the elders discussed. Ineededan alias to throw off the scent. I can't have anyone suspect me.
I remember Henging as an individual only I would recognize, went to a blacksmith to forge me a helmet.
Needing a name for the order, I smirked. Giving anappropriatename, I moved to the next order of business, the trap. The Hyuga werewellequipped to prep for a suprise attack. Unless I had a space-time jutsu like Kamui or the Hiraishin, I was screwed on blitzing them.
Ambushing them would be the only path to success. I had finished testing their ability to see my clones for what they were. Suppressing their chakra in their transformed state seemed to work. The guards evidently don't lookintothe animals, they simply look at the near non-existent chakra emissions that would be expected in an animal of such nature.
The night had come. My clones hadhengedand I was still "testing" my seals. The Hyuga guards kept their vision to a minimum, which would work in my favor. I put the final touches in place. I made a clone to take my place setting off the seals. Unsealing my disguise from a storage seal, I put it on.
"AureEntuluva" I muttered, wearing a very fitting disguise.
Onward to business.I thought.
My clones had their orders. Use poison senbon to knock out the guards when a flashbang pulse hit. Take all members sleeping prisoners, children being the first. Let the elders know how well and truelyfuckedthey were.
Hiashi was at his wit's end. He had shouted himself hoarse at the clan elders.
How dare they go back on their word! They promised that Hinata would not be marked if me and my wife gave them an "adequate" heir.
The elders saw her improvement. They saw she could be a capable clan head. They told Hiashi they would go ahead and markHanabi,as a "spare" wasn't needed. Hiashi argued against it. The elders offered for a fight to occur between his two daughters and the one who performed best would be heiress. Hiashi knew that Hinata would throw the fight. She'd never do something to hurt her sister.
"I'm not choosing to because it's my duty to protect the clan head. I'm doing it because I love you, Hiashi."
Those words were haunting him now, as he lay in bed.
I failed to protect them.
The plan was a go. My clones, in theirhengedstates, had infiltrated the compound. Most had storage seals on them, containing the poisoned senbon to knock out the guards. Others had paralysis seals strapped to them to incapacitate myactualtargets. I personally had a storage seal full of animal blood, among other things to get this plan going. My clone I left behind triggered a flash, two senbon struck the guards at the gate, right in their visual blind spot. The two crumbled to the ground. Slapping a paralysis seal on the two, I moved on. Each time a guard was secured, thehengedclone would dispel, giving me the information on which sections were clear.
I don't know if it was from the slight secent of poison in the air, but my head started hurting some.
It may also be because of the mask.
Shrugging the thought aside, I crept through the building, knowing my other clones would be in the clear.
I personally went room to room as I entered the bedrooms themselves, laying down a noise suppressing seal as a precaution for each time I went to the rooms.
I started with the elders first. Paralysis seals could be blasted off with a concentrated burst of chakra, but that wasn't likely when you had a chakra suppressant tag on you, along with an "explosive" tag sticking to an area right next to your genitals.
It almost seemed to easy. They didn't wake up at all, almost like they were in an extremely deep sleep, and I struck.
The elders were conscious, bound, and gagged, with a myriad of seals strapped to them, before I went to the clan head's master bedroom.
Next phase.
"Wakey wakey, dipshit." Hiashi heard, before something struck him in the face.
Bolting awake, he sawsomethingstanding above him.
Rolling out of bed, the veteran of a Shinobi world war, and survivor of multiple attempted kidnappings and assassination attempts during said war, lashed out with several juken strikes in an attempt to kill this trespasser. The masked man obviously had experience fighting against a Hyuga. He blocked and redirected multiple strikes before being struck in the heart, a fatal strike.
Hiashi could only gloat for a fraction of a second before his hand struck the target. He heard a loud bang emanating from the point of impact.
Armour.He thought, but no armour could stop a concentrated juken strike from averycompetent user, such as Hiashi. Even a breastplate made of chakra conductive metal couldn't stop all of the strike going through. The Hyuga had learned to fight armoured opponents effectively, for they would never have been able to survive as long as they had if their hand to hand fighting style could be nullified by something as cheap as metal plates.
The next thought of his was the pain that tore through his hand. The bang happened, then the realization that two of his fingers were blistered and bent at anunnaturalangle. Lashing out with a kick and several punches that weren't chakra enhanced, which was blocked, he activated his Byakugan to see his opponents chakra. He was nearly blinded by the sight of the armour he wore.
It was practicallyglowingwith chakra. In the fraction of a second that he saw it, it looked like a standard ANBU style breastplate withseveraloverlapping exploding tags, of a variant that he did not recognize, with one of them over the heart looking like it had been triggered.
He hasEXPLOSIVESstrapped to him?Was Hiashi's final thought before a flashbang went off before he could deactivate his eyes. Two kicks to the ribs and a punch to the gut brought him down.
"I'm impressed." The mysterious man said. "None of the elders reacted until I had seals placed on them. You could have killed me if I didn't come prepared to fight." he finished, placing multiple seal tags on Hiashi's fallen form.
"Who are you?" Hiashi growled out in a demand, trying to fight through the pounding in his eyes from the flashbang.
It feels like what the Uzumaki boy's flashbang tags do.
"I am to your clan what the Shinigami is to Man." He whispered, "That is, if what I hear from you displeases me."
Dragging Hiashi to his feet, he marched him out of his room.
"If my heart stops," the man said, "The explosive tags I have strapped to your neck will trigger.
What tag?
Hiashi then felt where the paper was. A feeling of terror striking him.
My blind spot. He knows.
If this man wanted to, he could destroy the Hyuga. He knew their best kept secret.
Please be over thinking it. It could just be a coincidence.
Hiashi doubted it though. This was the same man who thought of usingexplosivesstrapped to his chest to prevent a fatal juken strike. Only the brilliant or mad would evenhumourthe thought.
The two reached the hallway and Hiashi was struck by the staggering scent of blood in the air. He could see it flowing out of several different rooms, coalescing into a foul puddle in the center.
What has he done?
Several other men dressed the same dragged the elders into his line of sight. All of them were pale and shaking.
"Any trouble?" The man with Hiashi asked.
"None," a man with one of the elders said. "All guards have been liquidated and processed."
What the hell does that mean?
"Good." the assumed leader said. "Follow me." he gestured the others, as he pulled Hiashi to his daughter'sroom.
Kami, please keep my children safe.Hiashi prayed. Thismonsterkilled so many innocent people. Why though?
After he and the elders were forced to the ground, the man looked around.
"A very clean room," he said, before swiping a finger across Hinata's table. "A bit dusty." he added. "Perhaps... she is... Not here?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
He's just trying to get to you. He can't enter the Uzumaki's apartment. There's Anbu and more security seals than anywhere outside of the Hokage tower.
Hiashi just kept his mouth shut.
"No answer?" the man asked. "Very well, I'll be back." he said, walking out of the room.
"Oh, and by the way," he added, stopping at the doorway, "If you try to activate your eyes, the tags I placed on your blind spots will detonate." he then exited the room.
Most of the elders were shaking uncontrollably. Two were weeping. Hiashi was desperately trying to keep himself together.
Where did he go? What is he doing. Hinata, I love you and I'm sorry for all I've done.
Hiashi knew he was going to die today. He knew wherever he went, his wife wouldn't forgive him for what he did totheirchild for years.
I won't be able to keep my promise, my love. I'm sorry you died for nothing Hizashi. I couldn't protect them.
The masked man re-entered the room, blood dripping from his clothes. Thisdemonhad a mask that matched its nature. He wasn't able to look atitsface before the flashbang or the tag was placed on him. Its mask was a metal helmet with spaces for its eyes and mouth, the chin was pointed, a protrusion pointed straight up from its brow, with several metal thorns adorning the crown of its head.
A crown of iron thorns.
The man then chuckled at the horror on Hiashi and the elders faces at the state his robes were in.
"Sorry for the detour." he said, "There was a pressing concern I had forgotten about. On an unrelated note Lord Hyuga," he turned to Hiashi, mock bowing, "You might want to find a new guard for the clan children, especially your youngest daughter, I fear I'll never be able to give you all of him back." he finished, gesturing towards the blood on his clothes.
He killed them. He killed them.
Hiashi rose to his feet snarling at the man.
"Who are you, demon?!" he shouted, "Why have you done this?!"
The man just shook his head, chuckling. "You'll know once you stop shouting." he said amusedly.
Hiashi simply gave him an unmatched look of hatred.
"Speak." he spat.
"Very well." the man said, before turning to the elders, "You sought to have two siblings fight. I didn't like that."
One elder had the courage to look at the man directly. "That's it?" he asked angrily. "You kill our clan because we wished to select a strong heir?"
"No," the man said shortly, his fingers twitching lightly "I came merely to cause chaos and destruction in Konoha. I simply decided to hit a hardened target. Who would be harder to catch off guard than the Hyuga?" he finished.
"Give the name of the one who hired you, and we'll double the price." Hiashi stepped in.
"That's not the way it works." the man chuckled, still moving his fingers lightly. "I'll make more money off a couple sets of your eyes than how much wealth you could offer. Far more lucrative for me to simply tear all of your eyes out. Even the eyes of an elder will fetch a good price."
Kumo.Hiashi thought.
"Kumo ordered you!" Hiashi growled, "They wish to have our eyes and they hired you!"
The man turned to him, a thoughtful expression in his demeanor. "Very likely, save for one small problem. The current Raikage was displeased with the plans of bloodline theft via kidnapping a child. He'd reluctantly accept the eyes, before parting my head from my shoulders." he finished. "Guess again, my friend." he added.
Hiashi couldn't think of anyonespecificallywho would want the Byakugan. Everyone coveted their dojutsu, even more so since the death of the Uchiha. Anyone could have hired this man.
"Nothing?" the man asked, the silence dragging on for a minute. "No one ordered me to kill your clan. I broke in because it would be lucrative to my goals. I flipped a coin on who I'd go after. It would have been another clan if it didn't land against you. I'm simply getting enjoyment out of this because I discovered what you planned to do with two sisters."
Hiashi tried to speak, only to be cut off by the man.
"I'm offering you a choice as a father, Hiashi. Choose which daughter you wish to keep."
Hiashi looked at him, shocked.
What did he say?
"What?" Hiashi asked weakly.
"You are the clan head. You could not decide on an heiress and instead of coming to a solution that wouldn't destroy a sibling relationship, you went the easy way." he said, a spike of Killing Intent for effect.
"It wasthem." Hiashi growled, pointing at the elders, "They promised that Hinata would not be marked if I made Hanabi heiress. They lied to me." his voice beginning to crack.
Please, don't take them from me.
The man was silent for a moment, before speaking.
"I thought less of you, Hiashi." he said softly. "You will be rewarded for that." he then changed tones, almost like he was complimenting a prized pet. " I won't kill either if your daughters, but you still need to choose."
Hiashi's head shot up.
"What do you mean choose?" he growled.
"Your deaths are inevitable." he said, gesturing towards Hiashi and the elders. "But you will get to choose, as their father, which daughter stays in Konoha."
"And where will the other go?" Hiashi asked furiously.
"Kumo, of course."
Those three words felt like a punch in the gut to Hiashi.
Why? He said he wasn't hired by them. All that would do is -... No. Not the CRA. Please no.
At the look of fear and realization, the man began cackling.
"Yes," he drawled, "Now, at the end, do you understand?"
Hiashi knew what thiscreatureplanned to do.
"I will take what is precious to nearly every girl, the opportunity forlove. With the death of your clan, the CRA will be forced upon whichever one stays. Konoha won't be able to risk losing another dojutsu. Both of your daughters will be a new start to the Hyuga, and their descendants will destroy one another on the field of battle. Kin shall slay kin. The bonds of family will end, just asyousought to do with them." the man looked at the elders. "Your clan's legacy will be that of self destruction."
He's going to take them from me.
"Now, Lord Hyuga," the man requested, "I'm on a very tight schedule. I need to know which daughter you want to stay."
"I will not choose." Hiashi growled. "You will be hunted like a dog and will be put down like one for this."
The man just laughed. "I'd prefer to take your youngest, even if it would be more ironic to take your eldest to Kumo."
Hiashi glared at the man.He's not even frightened.
"Your daughter is staying at the Uzumaki's residence." he stated simply, Hiashi flinching at that, "It was a stroke of luck that your clan did something to irritate the boy. I dare say it would have been far more difficult for me to infiltrate this compound if he hadn't been testing out hislovelyflashbangs. You did something to anger him."
"Did he help you?" Hiashi demanded.
The man simply was silent for a second. "He did not know of me, nor did he willingly give me his flashbangs." he said, "Your daughter has a very loyal friend. He refused to tell me how to get past the seals around his house, even when I had a couple kunai buried in him. Takes a verygoodfriend, or a lunatic, to tell someone to "get fucked" when you threaten to kill them and their sister very painfully if they don't give you what you want."
Hiashi was disgusted by what he heard.
Uzumaki is being tortured right now.
"I'll break through the defenses in due time," the man continued, flexing his fingers again, "I'll bring Hinata here, and I'll bring your youngest. I'll then force you to choose."
"I told you I won't choose." Hiashi snarled.
Whatever the man was doing with his hand, it was confusing to him. Was he injured? Hiashi refused to activate his eyes to see.
"You will," he said knowingly, "When you hear of the alternative."
What alternative?
"If you don't choose, I will. I will force the two to fight, and the winner will stay here." he said firmly, "But we know how the fight will go down, won't we Hiashi?" he added.
Hinata will throw the fight.
This man was going to take them away from one another.
"I have a better idea." the man said suddenly. "I can bring your eldest here, and tell her I'll kill her entire clan, unless she does it herself, and I'll let her younger sister live if she does it. Yes, that could work. Make everyone think that she is like Uchiha Itachi. Kumo would have no qualms about accepting a clan killer into their breeding program."
He'll frame Hinata so he can sell her.
"Please," Hiashi begged the man, "Don't take them from me."
The man just stared down at him for a moment, silently.
"Would you kill your clan?" he asked, "Would you forsake your duties as clan head in protecting the clan, to save your daughters? Would you kill your clan, become a missing nin, just so your daughters would still have each other?"
"Yes." was Hiashi's only answer.
The silence was deafening. The man adjusted his posture for a moment, before answering.
"That was the correct answer." he said simply, before making one hand sign. Hiashi and the elders felt the explosive tags on them fizzle out.
"Do not try to pursue me. Do not try to find out my identity. Tell Hiruzen that if I find even a hint of Konoha ANBU trying to find me, I will leak the information about the Byakugan, along with a couple of other unsavory things about Konoha. I will do the same if I find out that you mark or harm any of the two girls."
The man then pulled out a letter with multiple seals on it. "Hand this to the monkey in the morning. Ifyouopen it, it will explode."
The masked man then looked at the elders.
"Which one is your father?" He asked Hiashi, "They all look the same."
Hiashi remained silent, not answering.
"Answer me or I start ripping eyes out." The man growled, his fingers clenching.
Before Hiashi could do anything, his father stood up.
"I am." He answered simply, standing fearless, "Are you going to kill me?"
The man laughed, stepping towards him.
"No." He answered simply, before lashing out with a punch that Hiashi could barely see.
The fist struck his father's face with a sickening crack, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Why?" Hiashi demanded, drawing the attention of the black clad assailant.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He chuckled, flexing the same hand again.
He then turned to leave the room, but was stopped by a question from Hiashi, a desperate one "Who are you?"
The man turned to him, his posture seeming to sway slightly. "One who should have died long ago."
Hiashi saw what was about to happen. The man turned his back and his father charged, having recovered from the hit.
Hiashi tried to shout for his father to stop, but didn't have time to. His father struck just as the man turned to face him. The same thing that happened to Hiashi, happened to the older man
Broken and blistered fingers.
The man simply looked down at the writhing form of the elder clutching his damaged hand.
"That was rude." the man said, leaning down and grabbing a handful of greying hair.
Hiashi's father growled in pain as he was lifted up by his hair, his hands up to try and reduce the pull.
"Unlike you, former clan head," A predatory growl emanated from behind the mask, "I value my family over anything else."
Hiashi didn't understand until what was said next.
"You let your son die," The grip tightened, his chakra causing the air to shimmer, "You were fine with it as he volunteered to protect youprecioussuccessor!"
"I would burned the world to protect my child," Hiashi's father suddenly fell to the ground, a chunk of hair missing, "Unlike you."
Hiashi had missed it, but something caused his father's hair to be cut ckean through.
It was almost like the ban was sending a message tgat he could take his head off whenever he pleased.
Hiashi then heard movement from outside of the room. Two individuals dressed in a similar attire to the man approached him as they walked through the doorway.
"Everything fine, sir?" one asked.
"Yes." the man replied. "Finish your tasks, then disappear. We have what we came here for."
The two nodded before leaving.
The man then did something that shocked Hiashi.
He removed his armour.
Tossing it down the hallway, he got on his knees. Hiashi could only wonder for a moment what was happening before he heard the man beginning to speak. It was afoullanguage. One that he didn't recognize, but the words were gutteral and the man's very voice seemed to distort.
"Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul."At the last syllable leaving the man's lips, the armour in the hallway detonated, and the man seemed to fold in on himself. He disappeared, leaving only a pair of robes and a mask.
It worked. It actually worked.
I took advantage of the likelihood that they'd have their eyes on constantly since the attempted kidnapping of Hinata. The flashbangs worked perfectly, and the reactive armour worked better than what my loftiest hopes were. I had switched out with a clone when I "went to the children's quarters" and came back covered in blood. I personally went to Hiashi's room. If a bad hit landed, or if the whole breastplate exploded, a clone would pop.
The flashbangs didn't bother me ever since I put sound suppressant seals right beside my ears in my hairline. All I had to do was keep my eyes, with my sensing active, shut for a moment with the sound seals active, and I was immune to the effects. I'd been trying to work on something such as a polarized contact lens that would protect the eyes, something that I'd still been struggling to get right.
My clones had managed to find the clan library. The library almost reminded me on how the Uchiha would have had multiple jutsu that they documented when they were able to copy them from enemy Shinobi during the wars Konoha had been involved in. The Hyuga could see chakra. They could feasibly find out how certain high-level jutsu work by looking at them with their eyes active.
It wouldn't be as effective as the Uchiha's perfect recall version, but it would still work. I'd copied the scrolls on the Main branch jutsu, using English until I could take the time to translate it into the other languages I knew. Kaiten was just one that I'd noticed. Vacuum Palm was another. I'd also found the blueprints to a sealing matrix that would render certain objects nearly impenetrable to the Byakugan. This was likely a means to prevent stolen eyes from being used to look at secrets. The Hokage tower had a certain "fog" around it when I used my sensing abilities on certain rooms. It was less focused than normal. Opaque would be the best word to describe it.
Not a reassuring thought. After being tied to a tree and being stabbed by one of my clones multiple times, I got the memories back from the clone that I had switched places with. After realizing what my clone had done, I actually spoke out loud my thoughts.
"You fucking asshole."
Hiashi and the Hyuga elders had spoken with Hiruzen. They'd been able to conceal whatreallyhappened from most of the Hyuga. Most had already been knocked unconscious before they even realized what happened.
Hiruzen had deployed more ANBU to Naruto and Rin's apartment as a response to Naruto being discovered tied to a tree, multiple healed wounds all over him.
After he'd been told what happened, Naruto had come up with the idea thathewould take the blame for all the blood, and knocking out the guards with a "knockout gas".
Most of the Hyuga would be pissed at him, but it would be a preferable alternative to word getting out that the Hyuga had been successfully infiltrated and that not a single Hyuga had been killed, even though all of them were at the infiltrator's mercy.
Given that every single Hyuga was suffering from slight poisoning, which was a mix of a mild paralytic and a sleeping agent, the likely thing done was several seals that had poison clouds sealed in them getting discreetly dropped and triggered.
Those seals were complex.
Hiruzen was angr- no, furious. He was furious that this infiltrator had managed to breach all of Konohas' defenses and successfully infiltrate a compound inhabited by individuals that can see through walls and disguises. With that skill, he could have easily killed several clans in the night, no one being the wiser.
Hiruzen knew this man had many secrets at his disposal. Dangerous ones. It wasn't a coincidence that he said he could get Hiashi's eldest to kill her clan to save her younger sister.
He knows about Itachi.
Hiruzen could count on one hand how many knew thetruedetails of what happened that night, but there was now another. These thoughts were dancing in Hiruzen's head as he stared at the letter addressed to himandKakashi.
Why the both of us?
He had called for Kakashi's presence not long ago, he should be here shortly.
The mask of the infiltrator was traced to an order made to Higarashi's Weapons. The name on the order was likely a fake one. It didn't sound like a normal name, and the words that Hiashi said the man spoke, nothing even remotely sounded similar to any language he knew.
Given that Naruto was extremely quiet about what happened, Hiruzen hadn't said anything about it. It wasn't like he would know about a fake language just because he and Rin had their own.
Hiruzen felt Kakashi's presence outside the office. Calling for him to enter, Kakashi entered the room, a look of curiosity on his face.
"You asked for me, sir?"
"Yes, Kakashi." Hiruzen said, his tone a tired one. "Please sit down, this will take some time to explain."
Kakashi nodded and sat down, beckoning his superior to continue.
Hiruzen explained what occurred at the Hyuga compound, Naruto being tied up and interrogated, to which Kakashi clenched his fists. When Hiruzen finished, Kakashi just asked.
"Is Naruto ok?"
Hiruzen chuckled, even if he wasn't sure of it, at what Naruto had said to him.
"Naruto is fine." Hiruzen assured him. "He's angry that someone got the jump on him and used his seal tags to infiltrate the compound. He said it took him weeks to design the armor that the infiltrator used. 'Reactive armour' he called it. He had it designed to prevent chakra strikes, mainly from wind or lightning blades."
It reminded Hiruzen of something, but that didn't matter right now.
Kakashi just nodded at Hiruzen's answer. Naruto had said he was trying to get a armour type that could take hits from things that would otherwise pierce conventional armor. He obviously did, but it ended up being used against them.
"Why was he testing seals outside of the compound?" Kakashi asked.
Hiruzen sighed at this. "He is close friends with Hiashi's eldest. She was staying with him and Rin because she was told she would have to fight her sister over which one would be marked."
Kakashi groaned at that.
Of course they did that. Making siblings fight would piss off someone like Naruto.
"You surehewasn't the one that did it?" Kakashi asked, not looking convinced by his own question.
Hiruzen shook his head. "Naruto was tied to a tree. He had multiple stab wounds that looked to have healed and were stabbed again. Hiashi spoke of how he landed a small strike on the infiltrator. It would have dispelled it if it were a clone." Hiruzen finished.
It couldn't have been Naruto. Hiruzen kept out some of the things the infiltrator had said to Hiashi.
Naruto doesn't know about the massacre or "Well kept Hyuga clan secrets", as Hiashi put it, concerning certain things that the infiltrator knew.
Kakashi nodded at Hiruzen's answer, also thinking it would be crazy to think it was Naruto that did it. But crazier things had happened.
"Why did you want me here?" Kakashi asked, still not knowing why he was here.
"This letter was handed to Hiashi from the infiltrator." Hiruzen said, holding it up. "It is addressed to you and me."
Kakashi was confused. Why would such a letter be addressed to the Hokage andhim?
Kakashi stepped forward to look at the letter. The letter appeared to have been opened. Kakashi shot the man a look of curiosity at that.
"My chakra was what was needed to open it." he said simply.
Kakashi didn't even want to think how on Earth the infiltrator could have gotten ahold of a sample of the Hokage's chakra or a drop of blood. Opening the letter, he saw that there was no writing on it.
"What?" Kakashi whispered to himself.
"I think it requires your chakra to activate the words."
The seal work was immaculate, the kind that Kakashi would see Minato or Kushina doing.
Kakashi sent a small amount of chakra to the paper, a few words appearing at the top.
To Uchiha Obito's left eye: What is the fastest way to a girl's heart?
Kakashi clenched the paper tightly, his breathing coming in harsh inhales and exhales.
HowDAREhe?!
Kakashi forced his breathing to calm, before sending a small amount ofLightningchakra through the paper. The entire letter appeared. Kakashi read the entire thing before handing it to Hiruzen with a shaky hand.
What did it say that caused Kakashi to react that way?
Snatching the letter from Kakashi, Hiruzen began to read it.
Do not read this out loud.
To the Monkey and the Mutt: I apologise for what question I had for Hatake. I had to be certain that he would be the one to open it. He is one of the only Konoha Shinobi I trust in the village currently. He is by most accounts a decent man like his father.
Sarutobi: A certain serpent has fled from a cloud of red, to seek a friend in the sand. Be wary of the snake in the sand. The Tanuki will play an important part, tread lightly in their presence. Tell the Uzumaki boy to not be angry with himself for not spotting me. I've been able to conceal myself from far better sensors than he. He's strong, undoubtedly so. Few have been able to fight against me with such ferocity. He and his sister will need that in the years to come. The red cloud plans to consume all of the Nine. They will put entire villages to the sword to get what they desire. Prepare accordingly. Burn this letter when you are finished. You are being watched.
P.S. Don't have your perverted spy master try to find me. Not even aperfectsage can locate me unless I want them to.
Signed, Hurin
The same name that was on the order for the mask. Hiruzen set the letter down, massaging his temples.
This man knows things that no other should know. Jiraiya has been giving me as much information as he can about Orochimaru. Itachi has given me what information he can leak about the Akatsuki. This man knows it all. He likely knows the details of what Itachi did. How the hell does he know about Jiraiya not being a perfect sage?
Hiruzen didn't think even Orochimaru or Tsunade knew that he hadn't fully masteredSenjutsu. Yetthisman did. Hiruzen would need to talk to Jiraiya about this unforseen incident. He would also need to ponder what the man had said.
Will Suna betray us?
The Ichibi took the form of a Tanuki. Could Suna be preparing to work with Orochimaru? It was something that would need to be prepared for. The chunin exams would be occurring in Konoha. This would be the ideal time for Orochimaru to strike.
Hiruzen gave Kakashi a look. "This incident did not occur. You were simply coming here out of concern for your student. You came here for more information."
Kakashi nodded. "Thank you for the information about my student, Hokage-sama. It took a weight off my shoulders."
Hiruzen then dismissed Kakashi, leaving himself alone in his office.
This man had the means to cripple Konoha. He could have killed a clan. And he could release secrets that if painted in a certain fashion, could portray Konoha as clan killers, potentially causing Konoha's clans to either leave, or stage a civil war to protect themselves.Buthe didn't. He's just given information about the organization that Itachi has infiltrated and one that Jiraiya is monitoring.
Hiruzen didn't know if this mysterious Shinobi was a friend of Konoha, or if he had a vendetta that he saw Konoha as strong enough to help him with. These were the thoughts that dominated his time over the next week as he put plans into play. Plans that would hopefully strengthen the graduating Academy class that many of the clan Heirs and Konoha's two jinchuriki were a part of.
End Chapter.
Part of this chapter was inspired by the story "This time, as a Namikaze." Amazing story by the way.
Thanks for reading. Comments are welcomed. Later, and good luck.
Raging..
Chapter 14: Infiltration
Chapter Text
Chapter 14
For the fourth time in the last eight years, Jiraiya singlehandedly destroyed a bandit encampment. Each time, he usedonlytaijutsu and this time was any different. There was something oddly therapeutic about smashing things with your fists and it helped him to finally understand why Tsunade seemed to like to punch him every time she caught him peeping.
Covered in blood, none of it his own, and breathing heavily, he stood amongst the ruins of the bandit camp he laid to waste, pondering the different kinds of news he had heard over the years that required him to vent..
(Flashback, 8 years ago)
"Fucking Kumo." he snarled, kicking his chair into the wall, shattering it in the process. Jiraiya had planned to come back to Konoha to visit the twins. Hiruzen told him how some of the civilians were rude and sometimes emotionally cruel to his godchildren. He had everything planned. His spy network would be set to work without his overview for a couple of months. He'd give the time to show that Sensei wasn't the only one that cared for them. But then he received an encoded letter from Hiruzen.
Kumo had nearly succeeded in abducting the Hyuga clan heiress whilst under the guise of signing a peace treaty. Hiashi evidently killed the man who tried to take his daughter. The manner and way he was killed gave a varied possibility of what occurred from the perspective of a third party. Kumo demanded Hiashi's life and body as compensation. Jiraiya had sent a letter back to Hiruzen. Jiraiya had expanded his spy network to cover sections of the land of lightning just a few short years ago. He could paint the targets where ROOT Shinobi could ambush and kill Kumo nin without it being traced back to Konoha.
He was within travel distance of the region. If war broke out, he would be able to launch a First Strike on Kumo, a great deal of time would be needed for any of their forces that could threaten him to reach him before he, an S rank Shinobi, caused severe destruction. But no war happened. Hizashi volunteered to die for his brother. War was prevented. Jiraiya still received a request for the troop movements of Kumo's forces that were within a certain range of the border.
Jiraiya had gotten drunk and got kicked out of a bar after starting a fight. It took several of the women to calm him down and make him think more clearly. He'd solo'd nearly a dozen men who tried to kick his ass.Didn't even need chakra, I'm just that good.
Kumo found out what happens when you fuck around and try to kidnap a kid. ROOT killed around 15% of Kumo's Jonin deployed near Hi no Kuni in the course of two years. That, as well as Hizashi putting explosives on his body before dying as a present to the Kumo Iryo-nin who would dissect his corpse, told Kumo a clear message.
Fuck with us, we'll fuck you.
Jiraiya had to delay meeting his godchildren. Sensei had told him that things will calm down in a year or so, so he could come then. Jiraiya grudgingly accepted it, but he was still angry at the situation.
One year later
:
His rage was tearing him apart. The betrayal. The lies. The deception.
Orochimaru.
The person who he saw as an uptight bastard when they were kids. Someone who he eventually started to see as a comrade, and later a friendly acquaintance, and finally, his best friend. He had betrayed them. He could see from the handwritten letter from his Sensei that he was hurt by itdeeply. The shakiness in the writing looked far too similar to his own in the following months after Minatos' death.
Jiraiya knew about his friend's experiments. The wars gave a great deal of prisoners to work on for an intellectual like the other male member of their team was. Orochimaru had promised that the more invasive experiments would only be done on the ones that were caught doing things that would warrant execution anyway. Executing surrendering forces. Raiding farms and small civilian villages and/or raping prisoners and civilians.
"Monsters worthy of neither pity nor mercy."Orochimaru had told him. Jiraiya had still been hesitant on saying that he was fine with his friend doing this... Until Orochimaru had looked him in the eye and told him something he would never forget.
"I've lost far too much. The knowledge I learn will stop you or Tsunade from dying. I don't want to lose what precious things I have left."This was something he had been told when they were in the Second War.
After Hanzo.
Hanzo had shaken his friend to his core. Never before had the three of them come that close to dying. They didn't get their name "Sannin" fromfightingHanzo the Salamander, they got it fromsurvivinghim. Thatmonsterof a Shinobi was capable of killing S ranks like it was a game. Only their teamwork had made him fight seriously. Their teamwork made them something greater than a "simple" three man squad ofS RankShinobi, it made them capable of engaging one of the most dangerous men in history and survive.
Orochimaru was never the same. Jiraiya had felt guilt when he heard of Dan's death. He wasn't there for Tsunade and Orochimaru was ill equipped to console someone going through an emotional breakdown. He had decided to ignore any warning signs.Orochimaru was just doing these things because he didn't want to see us hurt again.He had deluded himself. He'd received the news of what happened. The innocent experimented on. Civilians. Kekkai Genkai wielders. He had tracked his friend to outside the village, near Hi no Kuni's borders. Even after he had heard of what his friend did, he couldn't bring himself to try and kill him.
He let him go. To his eternal shame, he let him go.
He'd gotten blackout drunk and goaded Gamabunta into a fight after destroying a bandit hideout several miles out from the small village he was staying in. Ma and Pa called the two of them idiots after the two staggered away from their fight, bruised and in Jiraiya's case, bloodied and with a couple broken bones.
Another round of tracking anyone who thought they smelled blood in the water ensued. Konoha lost one of it's best Shinobi, just about 5 years after the Kyuubi attack and a year after the Hyuga incident. Konoha would need to know if any of the hostile nations were itching for another war.
6 years after the Kyuubi attack.
Jiraiya smiled at the letter he had received. Naruto and Rinlovedthe gifts he had given them for their birthday. The copy of the book he gave them was his personal one and was the first one printed. His Sensei had also put the report of Naruto's yin chakra issues that were in every letter he received. His godson was doing much better according to every report. Aside from a couple issues that would arise, lasting no more than a day, he was getting better.
Jiraiya was planning to arrive in the village at the beginning of spring to loosen some of the tightenings he had placed on Naruto's seal. Hiruzen had told him of Inoichi's plan, and it was a sound one. Setting down the letter, Jiraiya prepared for sleep, thinking of how soon he'd finally get to meet them.
That's odd.Why did I get another letter from Sensei?Jiraiya thought himself. He'd received a letter just a couple days after the twin's birthday. Opening the letter, he read the contents with curiosity. People on the same floor as him were wondering fearfully why they felt a wave of dread overwhelm them, followed by shouting, profanity, and the sound of things breaking.
Jiraiya read the letter, his hands shaking, his breathing audible. His chakra ended up igniting the letter right as he finished re-reading it.
Naruto had been attacked. Not only attacked, but nearly killed. His yin chakra looked fully stabilized, but Inoichi discovered somethingterriblewhen he mind walked.
He remembers that night.
A night that no child should ever remember. He saw and felt his mother and father die. Hiruzen had also put that Naruto wanted to be trained, something not necessarily bad. Jiraiya would have promptly droppedallhis duties to get to Konoha, but the last part of the letter had changed his mind.
Find who did this. The attack happened October 11.A drawn image of the man's face, which Inoichi had drawn based upon what he had seen in Naruto's memory, was enclosed in the letter.
After trashing his room and finding something bigger to destroy, Jiraiya went out to track down the Shinobi that tried to kill his godson. He'd found him venturing away from a drop off point with his employer based on what he had done before the end of the month. Jiraiya wasn't able to get to the employer, but he did manage to get a name out of the man after several hours with him.
Orochimaru.
After Jiraiya was finished with the man who tried to kill his godson, not even Tsunade would have been able to have identified what was left as human.
He would find out everything he could about his traitorous teammate. He'd track him to the ends of the Earth if he had to. He'd tried to kill innocent people by breaking Naruto near a hospital.
He. Would. Pay.
8 years after the Kyuubi attack.
Itnever ends.
Everytime he was ready to get back to the village. Everytime he would have a chance to see the children he had vowed to protect,somethingalwayshappened.
One of the worst days Konoha experienced since the Kyuubi attack, and there was a great deal to choose from, happened. Uchiha Itachi had slaughtered his entire clan, except for his brother. Hiruzen had not saidclearlywhat happened, but Jiraiya could fill in the blanks. Itachi had acted under orders, orders that weren't from the Hokage.
Probably Danzo.Hiruzen had said in the letter to expect info coming in about the Akatsuki. Meaning Itachi is likely acting as a double agent for Konoha.
He would need to maintain the network for longer now.No rest for the wicked.
Now
.
The newest letter from his Sensei filled Jiraiya with no small level of concern. Evidently, an unknown individual succeeded in infiltrating the Hyuga clan's compound, after subduing and taking the seals Naruto had been making off of him, and threatened to kill the entire clan. The man had skill, as well as information thatnobodyshould have. No one had been told that he hadn't fully masteredSenjutsu. The man knew certain things about the Akatsuki that few had information of that magnitude.
Hiruzen had ordered him to find what he could to verify what the mysterious man had said, and to prepare his network for his temporary departure. Jiraiya would be returning to Konoha in less than a year.
After so many years, I'll get to see them.
The day of graduation had arrived. After six years in the Academy, we were graduating. The Rookie 9 were a little bit better prepared for things, but I still had my concerns. They were still naive to the workings of the world, even though most were from Shinobi clans. Kakashi and Anko both demanded that if I were to continue to help train Hinata and Rin with my own little strategies and techniques, I would need to educate them on the nature of a Shinobi's life. They could tell I already knew. Death and killing was the way of the world.
Despite Man professing to be sophisticated, we're not as far separated from the beasts as we'd like to think. Predator animals don't generally target other predators for food. There's too much risk to do so unless you're desperate for sustenance. The same goes for Hidden Villages. Don't piss off the strong ones or you'll get claws and teeth to the throat. Said teeth and claws would be the Shinobi of the Village. Strong Shinobi equal a strong Village. A strong Village equals a stable home. A stable home is a good home.
This was something that Kakashi thought he would have to try and explain to me in terms that he thought I would need to hear it in. He was suprised when I gave him as much of an in-depth answer as I did. He told me that a strong body and technique meansnothingunless you have the mental fortitude to carry through with it. A six year old with a knife and the will to kill is more dangerous than the Shodai if he were completely unwilling to harm someone.
So, I had to make a choice, continue to help Hinata and Rin in my spare time, requiring me to do what Kakashi instructed, or let their future team Senseis do it.
He's wanting to see if I'll pass the buck off to someone else.
It would be better for a close friend or a sibling to help them through it, than a jonin instructor that they may not know as well. So I did it. I had Rin and Hinata take care of a rabbit. Care for them for a week. Let them start to like the rabbits. Then, at the end of the week, have them kill the rabbit.
Rin was hit hard by it, but she knew the details of what I did at times when I ventured out on my own. I'd often place snares and traps in the forested area surrounding the village to get ahold of animals for food. The market's bullshit price hikes made sure that our monthly stipend would make it difficult to put enough food on the table, plus adding rent. Much of what I caught was rabbits. I'd shown her how to trap animals and skin them. This was the first time she'd done the killing herself.
Hinata's reaction was something I still thought about.
Months prior
Hinata had been dedicating herself to her training. Ever since the infiltration of her clan's compound, she saw how vulnerable her family really was. Her father had been far kinder and more affectionate to her and Hanabi. Something had to have effected him severely. Naruto had told her how a man had interrogated him on where she was. Her affection for him grew when she found out that he refused to help the man get past the security seals, even after a great deal of torture.
In a way, it made her somewhat envious of him.
Naruto was always protective of Rin. The strength of will Hinata saw in him was something she desperately wanted to have herself to protect Hanabi. So she worked harder. With the help of Naruto and Rin, she'd been able to improve her taijutsu, her Ninjutsu, and overall physical fitness. Every week, Naruto would comment on her progress, saying how proud he was. But this week was different. She saw Hatake Kakashi and Naruto speaking from a distance at the usual training ground they used. Naruto looked displeased at something Kakashi had said and their conversation lasted several minutes before Naruto gave him a nod, returning to their training. He'd been giving her a basic rundown ofFuinjutsu, specifically storage seals and how to make them.
He broached the subject of how ready she was for the Shinobi life a few days later. He'd told her to bring the rabbit she had been caring for the last week that she had narrowed down what she was going to name it later today.
"How much do you know about the details of what will be done when we graduate?" he asked her, his voice unnervingly flat.
"I know that we will be doing D-rank missions for several months before our training begins to help and we can go on more dangerous missions." she said quietly, making continuous eye contact with him.
It had been difficult initially. He and Rin had helped her to not stutter when she spoke, as well as maintaining eye contact when she spoke. She was still a very reserved person, but she now wouldn't be a mess when she was the center of attention.
Naruto just looked at her, face set in stone. "You know that's not what I asked." he responded, voice neutral.
Hinata dreaded this conversation. She knew what being a strong kunoichi entailed. Shinobi that were considered strong were the ones best at killing.
"I'll need to kill people." she whispered.
Naruto just nodded, putting his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
"I know." he said, "It will be hard, but the three of us will get through it."
Hinata nodded, before asking something that she was curious about.
"Why did you ask me to bring the rabbit?"
Naruto's face tightened, before answering.
"Please take him out of his cage."
Hinata was confused, but did as he requested. Holding the rabbit, she gave him a look of continued confusion.
Naruto exhaled audibly, before pulling a kunai from his holster strapped to his leg.
"I want you to use this and cut its throat." he said firmly.
Hinata's eyes widened, shocked at what he had just said.
Kill it?
"Why?" she asked, horrorstruck at the thought. "Why would I need to kill it?"
"If you can't kill a rabbit, how can you hope to kill a person?"
"B-but," she started, her stutter coming out as her hands started to fidget, "The rabbit d-didn't do anything t-to me."
"Hinata," Naruto said calmly, lookingdirectlyinto her eyes. " I've killed many rabbits. I've had to. Rin and I wouldn't have been able to afford to replace the equipment that is damaged when we train, pay rent, and put food on our table without me trapping and killing animals for food. I make explosive tags with my clones and sell them to the Village at a low price. Those tags are used to kill people. By my hand, there will be people who die that I will never see."
Hinata just stared at him, a look of sadness on her face.
I think I know what he is trying to tell me.
"I need to not hesitate when it matters." she said quietly, a tear going down her face. "I'm weak." she finished softly.
She felt Naruto's hand grip her shoulder tightly. "Don't you say that about yourself again." he scolded her, very little heat behind his words. "You arenotweak. Neither Rin nor I would be friends with someone weak, or a coward."
"But I can't even kill a rabbit." she cried almost hysterically, "I'm weak just like the elders sa-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Naruto pulled her close, looking straight into her eyes, a fire dancing in his own.
"Those elders," he spat, "are fucking liars that fear a kind heiress being clan head. They fear that either you will be clan head, or they fear that Hanabi will take after you in being kind, since she looks up to you as her older sister."
Hinata was shocked at the venom in his voice aimed at the Hyuga elders.
"B-but-" she started.
"No buts," he interrupted, "Your kindness is not a weakness. It's something that few people have in the world. The elders don't want a clan head that could bring both branches of your clan back together."
Hinata had told Naruto and Rin about how terrible things were in the Branch house of her clan. They either hated the Main house, or they demeaned the haters for "shirking their honourable burden" to protect the Byakugan. Hinata saw all this hatred from the Branch house, and arrogance from the Main, coming from the use of the Seal.
She just wanted her clan and family to be whole.
Before she could say something, Naruto continued.
"Did Rin ever tell you about my yin imbalance when I was younger?" he asked quietly.
Hinata shook her head. She knew that he had had issues when he was younger, but no details on what the issues were.
"My yin chakra was unstable." he explained, "It caused me to lose focus, have difficulty thinking, temporary amnesia to the point where I couldn't even recognize my own sister's face."
Hinata almost felt ill at the thought.
Forgetting Hanabi's face.
"Did she tell you how I almost died?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Her eyes widened at hearing that. She never knew he almost died.
"Rin said something to me and I misunderstood. I screamed at her and ran. Somebody attacked me an alley and I was stabbed in the chest and couldn't breathe."
Hinata started to tear up, horrified at what she was hearing.
"It hurt so much." he said quietly, "I almost wanted to die. But one thing kept going through my mind." he trailed off for a second.
"I couldn't leave my baby sister alone."
Hinata wasn't surprised at all that what made him refuse to give up was leaving his sister.
"Do you think I'm weak?" Naruto asked her.
"No." Hinata replied, shocked that he would even ask that.
Naruto got in her personal space, their faces just inches away, his eyes staring into hers. "I see the same fire in your eyes when I look in the mirror."
She couldn't believe what she had just heard.
I remind Naruto of himself?
"I saw how much more dedicated to training you were after you heard about somebody hurting me and breaking into your clan's compound. You want to be strong to protect what's precious to you. You'd never let your sister be hurt if you had anything to say about it. You're just like me."
"But you've always been strong." she said, trying not to think of what he had just told her. "I've only gotten better because yo-"
"You haven't seen me at my worst." he whispered. "You didn't know me after I was almost killed. I was terrified of being weak. Too weak to save Rin. I trained till my bones broke. I trained till I passed out from exhaustion I broke my body only to be healed and re-broken again, just so I wouldn't feel the fear of failure."
Hinata never thought that almost dying would do that to Naruto. He'd always seemed so strong, someone who could shoulder any burden.
"It took several people to knock some sense into me. Kakashi, Anko, the Hokage, and Rin. I stopped training to be better as a motivation and did it to not think about how weak I felt. I wasn't living, I was just going from one broken bone and bruise to the next. I'm not strong, I'm a mess," His voice started shaking, his hands holding up his face, "A mess of fears, worries, and terror that I can't save anyone precious to me."
Hinata could see his eyes glistening. He'd likely bared his soul to very few people in this manner. He must truely believe thatshewasn't weak.
"I killed animals so Rin and I could eat. I made tags used to kill people to pay for equipment for training. Shinobi of Konoha kill so they have a home to come back to.I'mfighting so I can have a home to come back to. I don't want you or Rin to get killed because you hesitated." He finished, his voice hoarse.
Hinata now understood completely why he explained this to her. She was capable of being just as strong as him, she only had to believe in herself.
She picked up the kunai, her grip slightly shaking. "Does it get easier?" she asked in a trembling voice.
He took a deep breath, before exhaling. "It's not as bad when you remember why you are doing it." he said, his tone a kind one. "I don't enjoy killing animals. I'll do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen." he finished firmly.
Hinata looked down at the rabbit, its eyes meeting her own.
"I'll be right here." he said quietly. "You won't be alone."
She gripped the kunai tightly. She slashed across its throat and it thrashed for a moment. It struggling slightly for a few seconds and then, silence, the light from its eyes fading as it went still.
Dropping the kunai into the ground, she started sobbing before being engulfed into a hug by Naruto, his hand going to her hair soothingly.
"You're ok." he whispered, her sobs wracking her entire frame. " You're not alone. I'm right here."
They sat there on the training ground for several minutes, the boy she cared for deeply being there for her when she needed him. After some time had passed, she wiped her eyes and gave him a watery smile.
"Thank you, Naruto." She said. "Thank you for being here."
"That's what friends are for, Hinata." he said, pulling her into another hug.
Yes.she thought sadly.Friends.
It was painful. I thought to myself.
I couldn't tell her that I'd been killing animals since before she had been born, technically speaking. I also couldn't tell her that I'd killed a person. I knew my aim had been true. The man fell like a puppet with its strings cut. People don't fall like that unless the light had been switched off in their heads.
Gutting and skinning an animal is child's play compared to mustering the will to force the muscles in my hand to respond to my mind's command to squeeze a trigger to end another human being's life.
Rin was familiar with what I did. She only took a few minutes to talk with.
Hinatahadto understand that she wasn't weak. I knew what she was capable of if she believed in herself. I was still irritated with myself that I couldn't find another way to make the elders back off aside from what I did. At least it made Hiashi aware of what he stood to lose. It made him become a better father.
The notes I'd copied from the Hyuga library was better than what I had initially thought. The scroll that concerned theFuinjutsuknowledge that the clan had contained a partial explanation on the Caged Bird Seal. It also said who made it.
The Uzumaki clan had been contracted out to design it decades before Madara and Hashirama were even born.
If I could find out how the seal worked, I might be able to design one that is far less noticeable and doesn't have the debilitating part of it. A fitting present to a close friend.
I was initially worried about telling Hinata the details of certain fears of mine. It's a type of emotional intimacy that I'm uncomfortable with. But I saw how close she was to regressing into thinking she was a failure because she was hesitant about killing the rabbit.
Fucking Kakashi.
I knew Kakashi was right. I knew that me telling Rin and Hinata that everything was alright, that I understood how they felt, would mean more coming from me than it would Kurenai, him, or Anko.
Kakashistressedhow important it was for kunoichi to be prepared for Shinobi life. He never went into detail, but I knew what he wanted to say, but did not wish to give details, and likely didn't realize that I understood him 100%.
There was an interest in captured kunoichi to be used as "merchandise". I knew this world was capable of the same morally rancid behavior as the one I was first born in. But it was different to look at accounts of what happened at Nanking, to look at pictures, to read what people said happened, than it is to be confronted with the very real possibility that your female friends andsisterhave a greater chance of being kept alive for something that is nearly incomparably evil.
The day I realized that, was the day I made a vow to everything I held sacred. Whether it was my own life, my sister's, or the name of God himself, I vowed that not one. Single. Person. who did that would be shown any sympathy. I would give them the same mercy that they showed their victims.
It was why I was so fanatically "cruel and vicious" to the fangirls. Traffickers don't care that you want to be a skinny little bed warmer for an emotionally damaged 12 year old. They don't care that you have hopes, dreams, and a desire for a good future. They'll chew you up and spit you out to line their own pockets. I still gave a silentThank youyears after goading Sasuke into saying he liked strong girls.
Thisworld wasn't a manga or anime. Neither of those gave details aboutFuinjutsu. Neither detailed how the mortality rate of blond Konoha Shinobi near the Land of Earth rose exponentially after the death of Namikaze Minato. The amount of Yamanaka kunoichi that were found in pieces, having the misfortune of having a slightly more golden hue to their hair. The men that were found nailed to trees with tri-pronged kunai through their hands reminding me of some sick comparison to crucifixion when I first read about it.
I snuck into the chunin section of the library, the jonin library was one that I wasn't willing to risk, and found some accounts of what areas to have ahengeon you, depending upon your features.
If Iwa eventhinksabout targeting Rin the way they have with other blondes, their wretched Village will end up far worse after I'm done than what Konoha looked like after Pein.
My chakra started to froth a little bit and my Killing Intent started to leak out due to my emotional state. I reined it in when I started getting looks from the other students. Calming myself down, I growled irritability.
When the hell are Iruka and Mizuki supposed to get here?
Iruka didn't have as close of a relationship with me and Rin as he had with "Canon" Naruto. He was still kind and polite, after his initial spell of dislike, but it wasn't the close one that would have occurred. Whatwassurprising, was that Mizuki was actuallykindto me and Rin. Unless he wasn't a traitor in the service of Orochimaru, which I highly doubt it, there'd be no reason why it'd be different from his "Canon" self.
Sparing a glance at Rin, who was sat right beside Sasuke to irritate the fangirls, me, and Sasuke himself, she gave me a nervous smile, unsure of what the future entailed. I assured her and Hinata that everything would be fine. The graduation test wasn'tthatdifficult. I could probably down a keg or two and still pull it off.
Pushing out my sensing ability, I felt Iruka and Mizuki not far away.
Finally.I thought.I've got an idea to screw with some people.
I'd decided to test out how perverted people reacted to a jutsu that I reverse engineered from the series. Theoiroke no jutsuworked almost as well as it was portrayed. Perverts didn't fly back from a blast of blood shooting from their noses, but theydidget nosebleeds and I swore I saw a couple swaying afterwards. Say what you will about violating "guy code" for getting a guys girlfriend or wife pissed at him for ogling a pretty girl in public. Bite me. It's fucking hilarious.
Iruka finally arrived in the room to begin the exam.
Things mostly went the way I expected. Sasuke scored the highest of all students in everythingbuttaijutsu. Me and Rin were at the top, with Hinata just one point behind Sasuke. The taijutsu scores for Ino and Sakura was higher than I expected, thankfully, but was still lower than they should be. Things moved on to the written test. I answered the questions without issue, not interested at all.
Things finally got to where the Ninjutsu test was up next.
This should be fun.I thought.
Everybody who I knew who passed it did fine. Sasukehengedas Iruka as an example. Rinhengedas the Hokage and demonstrated a perfectsubstitutionand used a kage bunshin instead of a regular bunshin. My turn came up next. Rin saw the smirk on my face, knowing I was going to pull something.
Isubstitutedwith Sasuke, getting a shout of suprise from him. I thenhengedas something that I had been working on for months in honour of the "Canon" Uzumaki Naruto. A buxom female nearly naked, save for a few wispy clouds, with the basis being Anko's frame, stood before Sasuke, giving a look of unmatched desire.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun." I squealed, managing to keep the revulsion out of my expression and voice. "Do you like how I look. I made it just for you." I said, approaching him even closer.
The looks from the guys in the class is what I expected. The fangirls had unmatched hatred when they saw that Sasuke reacted to theHengemore so than how he reacted to them. Hinata looked slightly embarrassed, while Rin looked irritated that I pulled the "Stupid pervert trick".
Sasuke's face turned pink, his eyes widening at the sight in front of him.
I broke him out of his thoughts when I switched back to my normal voice, still maintaining theHenge.
"This doesn't help your case, Uke-kun."
Sasuke's face drained of all colour when his mind connected the dots at who he was ogling.
"Wait," he sputtered, "I wasn't sta-"
"You have blood coming from your nose, Sasuke." I said flatly.
He checked, only to feel nothing.
"Ha, made you check." I snickered.
His face turned red and was ready to hit me before I said something else.
"Hit me and I'll give you another round in public." I threatened, no joking in my voice.
Sasuke's fist froze mid air. Growling to himself, he went back to his seat.
"Idiot." he muttered.
"Perv." I muttered back.
Sasuke didn't respond.
"Well," I said, Cheshire grin on my face, "Now you girls know he likes blondes that are stacked. Sorry to break it to you Ino, Sakura."
The two girls glared at me, pissed that I got a reaction from Sasuke, as well as what I was insinuating.
"As amusing as this is," Iruka cut in, his look an annoyed one, but his face slightly red, "You've still not done the bunshin. Please continue, Naruto."
This'll be fun.
Making a couple handsigns, even though I didn't strictly need to, I made two Kage bunshin. Before the smoke even cleared, Ihengedthe two to look like Sakura and Ino.
Rin snickered when she guessed what I was going to do.
"Egh," 'Ino' exclaimed, "Now there's two of you. Too much forehead."
"It smells like a pig pen now, Ino-pig." 'Sakura' growled, turning up her nose.
The two 'girls' started arguing and wrestled each other to the ground, pulling each other's hair. Most of the boys were laughing at how accurate the depiction was. The two girls were horrified thatthisis what their arguments looked like to everyone else.
The cherry on top came when Ihengedas Sasuke. I pulled the two "girls" apart.
"Girls, girls there's no need to fight over little old me." I said with grin. "There's plenty of me to go around."
I then made a Kage bunshin alsohengedas Sasuke. The two "girls" squealed and one ran to the clone, the other to me.
Sasuke looked like he was going to have an aneurysm from being the object of a joke. I saw Shikamaru mouth the word "troublesome", Rin was shaking trying to hold in her laughter at the spectacle, Ino and Sakura looked like they were ready to kill me.
I dropped thehengeon me and the clonehengedas Sasuke. The two "girls" squealed louder.
"Naruto-kun." They shouted, stars in their eyes, "Oh, your so smart and handsome. Your hair doesn't look like a duck's butt. Please marry us, Naruto-kun."
Rin lost the battle with herself and started cackling and nearly fell out of her chair. Sasuke put a hand in his hair, muttering something about "No it's not". Everyone else was laughing at Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura's expense. I dropped thehenge, dispelled the clones, and gave a grandiose bow.
"I aim to please." I said, a face splitting grin on my face, before going back to my seat next to Hinata.
"You're terrible." she giggled.
"I know." I said simply.
After the laughing and clapping had been calmed down by Iruka, he spoke.
"Yes, yes, very funny, Naruto. Now collect your Hitai-ate." he said.
I passed.
Picking one up, I wrapped it around my forehead, relishing in the sensation.
Everyone I expected to pass did so. Hinata slightly edged out Sakura as kunoichi of the year, which I was only slightly surprised at. Hinata had dedicated herself to being the best she could be.
I'd been in the middle of the pack, as was Rin. Getting the highest score would bring attention, as would being the deadlast. I didn't need comparisons to Jiraiya, at least not those kinds of comparisons.
After Iruka dismissed everyone, saying team placements will be announced in two weeks, Mizuki stopped me before leaving. Telling Rin and Hinata I'd meet them at Ichiraku's later, I turned towards Mizuki.
"Yes, Mizuki-sensei?" I asked, fairly certain what he was going to ask me about.
"Congratulations on passing, Naruto." he said warmly. "You must be very proud."
"I am." I said simply. "Soooo, what do you want to talk to me about."
"I noticed how good you were with stealth compared to the other students." he started.
Even with me holding back to the best of my ability, I still couldn't suppress the instincts browbeaten into me by Kakashi and Anko. It's difficult to unflip a switch like that.
I just shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah, I noticed that to."
"Do you know that there is asecond testfor skilled infiltrators?" he asked.
I gave a look of mock suprise.
So that's where he's going with this."No." I said, surprise in my tone. "I didn't know that."
"You can get extra credit if you can pull off an infiltration mission in the village." Mizuki said. "You could rub it in Sasuke's face that you did something he couldn't."
"I thought teachers weren't supposed to play favorites." I responded, a cheeky grin on my face.
"Well," he said, chuckling. "I think we can keep it a secret between the two of us."
I nodded to him, my thoughts starting to race.
Why the hell was he nice the whole time? He was a bastard at times in the show, why the change? If I didn't know the stunt he's wanting to pull, I'd almost trust him."What's the mission, Mizuki-sensei?" I asked excitedly.
Mizuki just grinned.
"You need to sneak into the Hokage Residence , grab the Scroll if Seals and bring it to me."
"Sounds hard... but I'll do it." I said firmly.
"Good." Mizuki smiled, "Bring it out passed training ground 26, I'll be there at 8:00. Don't be late."
I nodded before leaving the Academy.
I need to tell the Hokage.
Hiruzen was busy at work behind his desk, when he felt Naruto's presence closing in.
A surprise, but a welcome one.He thought.
Hiruzen fluctuated his chakra with a practiced ease as a signal to let the boy in, welcoming the opportunity for a bit of small talk.
Naruto entered the room, a look of seriousness on his face.
"Yes, Naruto?" he asked, concern in his voice at the boy's face.
"Yes or no, Jiji," he started, " Is there a second extra credit test for infiltration for Academy students?"
Hiruzen was surprised at what Naruto asked.
Second what?
"No, of course not." he said, his dark eyes narrowed towards the young genin, "Why would you think that?"
"Mizuki told me otherwise and said I'd get extra credit if I infiltrated the Hokage Residence and got ahold of the Scroll of Seals and brought it to him." he said simply.
What?
Mizuki wanted the Scroll of Seals. The scroll containing information on some of the most dangerous jutsu known to the Hokages. And he planned to have Naruto try and get it.
"You understand what he's trying to do, don't you?" he asked, knowing that Naruto wouldn't have come to him if he didn't think there was anything fishy going on.
"That's why I came here." Naruto said. "Something didn't seem right."
Hiruzen was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
"We will apprehend Mizuki." he finally said. "Thank you for bringing this to me, Naruto."
"If I may," Naruto started, "Why don't you let me try it?"
That wasn't exactly a request that Hiruzen expected to come from Naruto.
"What?" Hiruzen asked, surprised by what he'd heard from the boy.
"Let me explain," Naruto clarified, "You'd only have my word, the "demon brat", compared to a school teacher. I don't want any of the civilians thinking your playing favorites. They already pull dumb stuff anyways."
Hiruzen understood what Naruto was saying. The Shinobi council was one that was established with the founding of Konoha. The Nidaime made a law where civilians had the opportunity to form a secondary council for their own concerns, so long as it was approved by the Shinobi council. Several merchants and other financially affluent civilians offered low interest loans with no strings attached to help rebuild the village following the Kyuubi attack. The only request from them was to have a secondary council made.
The civilian council had been raising a fuss about Naruto and Rin getting training from two Jonin. They stopped complaining only after it was pointed out that Anko and Kakashi were doing this off the clock and weren't being paid for it. At least, Kakashi wasn't. Anko got dango as her payment from the twins.
Hiruzen just growled irritably at the thought of having to go through paperwork involving idiotic merchants complaining again.
"I sense this isn't the only reasoning." he said simply.
Naruto nodded his affirmative. "It'll also show me where my infiltration skills are at."
Hiruzen just raised a brow. "You do realize that you would have to get passed me to get scroll?"
"Then you shouldn't be worried." he grinned.
Hiruzen thought about it for a minute. Itwouldsolve any issues involving the civilian council trying to overreach out of their jurisdiction, like they often did when it concerned the village jinchuriki.
Sighing, he gave Naruto his answer.
"Fine," he said, " You will attempt to take the scroll. A fake one will be supplied. If you can get the scroll and prevent a fight with me, I'll let you learnonejutsu, so long as I approve."
Naruto's eyes widened at what he had said. Most things in the scroll were kinjutsu.
"Okay," Naruto said, regaining his composure. "Mizuki said for me to meet him at 8:00, near training ground 26."
Hiruzen nodded. "Kakashi will be their to intervene. You were wise to tell me this Naruto, I'm very proud."
Naruto gave him a smile, one full of admiration and respect.
"I've learned from a good role model."
Hiruzen dismissed Naruto, telling him to get to the Hokage's Residence at the time he needed to. After Naruto had left, Hiruzen looked towards the portraits of the Hokage's.
You'd be proud of your children, Minato.
"I was chosen by heaven. Say my name when you pray, to the sky, see Carolus rise."I sang to myself quietly, relishing in the memories that kind of music brought to the forefront of my mind. No music in this world could compare to the soul igniting capabilities ofMetal.
It was almost time for me to try and infiltrate the Hokage's Residence. I already knew how I was going to get in, I'd scoped it out withHengedclones after what I did at the Hyuga compound. I knew there was a chance that the currently unfolding event could occur just as it had in "Canon". I'd been hoping that I would be able to look in the scroll to learn more than a couple techniques. Edo Tensei was something that repulsed me. I have no damned clue how Senju Tobirama justified doing something as debased as pulling someone from their eternal rest. Perhaps he made it so he himself could be called upon to protect the village he helped create alongside his brother and Madara. Or maybe it was used as a scare tactic.I'm gonna rip your guts out and have you kill your friends before I release you back to the Shinigami.
Nobody wants to fight an enemy that can do that. Hashirama had Wood release. Madara had his eyes. Tobirama had the Hiraishin and Edo Tensei.
The fact that Hiruzen offered me a jutsu from the scroll was good. I didn't want to go behind his back and try to learn some of the ones that would help me in the future. I understood his concerns. I'd be worried if a perceived child was as driven as I was. I'd been curious how much I reminded him of Orochimaru when I'd grasp a concept fast, or when I put my whole focus and energy into something. He'd sometimes get a wistful look when that would happen and it made me think.
Focusing on the matter at hand, I made my way to the building after a couple of my clones synchronized a sensory ping before dispelling so I could get a full 360 layout of anyone in the house. I was very disturbed that I only felt a faint residual chakra outline.
Hiruzen had the strongest chakra level behind me or Rin. Fire affinities stood out the most for my own sensing. Hiruzen was suppressing his signature to the point that nearly a dozen pings caughtnothing.
Being able to sense his residual signature, but not him, was akin to a dog being able to smell your scent on a shirt that you threw in the corner but is unable to smell you yourself when you're 10 feet in front of him.
If I get hit by a jumpscare Genjutsu, I'm gonna be pissed.
Getting into the building, I snuck towards where the scroll was located. I had dozens ofhengedclones outside and in the building in the form of mice. I didn't need to worry about their chakra burn rate, I'd only need them for a distraction.
I'd reached the scroll, not being guarded. It was fare too easy to not be a trap.
I grabbed the scroll anyway and made my way to leave. I wasn't even surprised that I heard something behind me before I fully turned.
"Better than I expected, but not good enough."
Turning, I saw Hiruzen standing in the doorway, a fake look of disappointment on his face.
"How could you do this, Naruto? You have betrayed the village in your quest for power."
Oh, so we're playing the alibi game.
"You can not stop me. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master." I said, a barely perceptive grin on my face.
"I will do what I must." Hiruzen said solemnly, pulling a kunai out, it pointing out to his right.
No. Freaking. Way. This man didnotjust stumble across that coincidentally. Fate... Thank you for giving me this.Taking all my will power to keep a straight face, I dropped the scroll and prepared myself.
"You will try."
Before Hiruzen could approach, I used the jutsu I'd planned on since the very inception of my plan.
Oiroke no jutsu.
Sometimes, oversights can be forgiven. They oftentimes are detrimental to what you were trying to do. But in this case, the oversight is what led to my triumph.
I'd forgotten to make the clouds.
Hiruzen's eyes bugged out and fully dilated, a steady trickle of blood coming from his nose. I heard the kunai fall from his hand with a clatter, and his unconscious body crumbled to the ground.
Oh shit, did I kill him?
Dropping thehenge, I went to check on him. I heard him giggle slightly.
"Don't scare me like that, you old bastard."I said, slipping into English.
I was never going to let him live down the fact that he was defeated by a jutsu as asinine as what I just used.
Anko will fuck me up if she found out I used her frame as inspiration, and not in the good way.
Pulling out myFuinjutsupen and ink, I got to work. I put the word "pervert" right in the center of his forehead. His hat would hide it. But chakra conductive ink tends to itch for a few hours after application.
Turning back to pick up the scroll, I exited the building, the tension I'd felt lessening greatly.
Hiruzen planned to have a general announcement sent out to the Shinobi about me taking the scroll. I'll need to hurry.
Racing towards the training grounds, I set the scroll down. Wanting to sell that it was the real one, I opened it up to read. It had things written on it, just not what you'd expect.
What the hell is this? If this is Hashirama's I'll never think of the man in the same light.
The scroll had descriptive details on how certain jutsu could be used to spice things up in the bedroom.
I don't need to think of this when I think of the Kages.I scowled, closing the scroll.
I only needed to wait around 15 minutes before Mizuki arrived.
"Well done, Naruto." he said, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "You did it sooner than I thought."
"Cut the shit." I said flatly, ready to fight him if need be, "I know there is no test. You wanted the scroll."
Mizuki's face shifted to shock, before shifting to one of confusion. "How did you get the scroll?"
"Snuck in, avoided the Hokage." I said simply.
Avoiding the Hokage was no small feat for a recently graduated 12 year old, and Mizuki looked impressed
"Join me." Mizuki said. "The one I work for values talent. He could make you great."
"Your employer?" I asked, playing along.
"Orochimaru of the Sannin." Mizuki answered, smiling reassuringly, "He'll give you everything you could ever desire if you give him the scroll."
I made a show of running the statement through my mind, eventually frowning.
"What can he give me that the Hokage won't?" I asked, "He was the student of the Shodai and Nidaime, what can a traitor Sannin offer in comparison?"
"He could tell you why you and your sister are hated."
So that's where he's going.
"Please," I asked, letting some false desperation leak into my voice "Tell me. What is it that makes them like that? What did we do wrong?"
Mizuki evidently took the bait from how his chakra shifted excitedly.
"They fear the two of you." he started. "You two were born the day of the Kyuubi attack, as you know. But unlike what the history books say, the Kyuubi can't be killed, only sealed away. Bijuu are pure chakra and can't be destroyed. The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi away and it was sealed into a prison that would hold it... a human."
I still kept up the act.
"Please," I begged, "What are you saying?"
"The Yondaime sealed it into you and Rin."
I adopted a look of horror at what I heard.
"W-what?" I stuttered, taking a step back.
"Yes," Mizuki said sadly, "The village thinks you and your sister are demons. They won't hesitate to kill you."
"The Hokage won't let that happen." I said simply, injecting some worry in my voice.
"Do you really think he'd let the containers of the Kyuubi hate him?" Mizuki asked, "He has lied to you so you won't leave the village and be free."
I started wringing my hands and took a shuddering breath.
"No," I shook my head, "He's not like that. He'll protect us."
"He's an old man." Mizuki said matter-of-factly, "He won't be able to protect you forever. Come with me, and Lord Orochimaru will make you one of the most powerful Shinobi in the world. Powerful enough to protect your sister."
I actually flinched at the last part.
How the fuck would he know to approach it from that angle?
"I see the worry when you see her fighting Sasuke." Mizuki said, giving a sad smile. "You love her and want to protect her. Lord Orochimaru can help you with that."
I stood there, slightly shaken by what was happening.
If this NPC worthy prick can see how much I care for Rin, and is willing to use that to manipulate me, what happens when the heavy hitters come around? His master? Akatsuki?
Mizuki probably misunderstood my silence for serious thought on accepting. I saw a ghost of a smile appear on his face.
My head sharply turned to my left, a familiar presence in sight.
Why the hell would Kakashi let his suppression slip? Probably to let me know he's arrived. Not many people are as good of a sensor as I am.Mizuki noticed my abrupt shift towards something in the trees.
"Please, Naruto." He implored, "I won't be able to offer this again."
I just stood there silently.
"I'm sorry." Mizuki said, before charging towards the scroll.
I pulsed chakra into the storage seal stitched into the inside of my sleeve, depositing a kunai into my hand. I coated it in some lightning chakra before flinging it at Mizuki.
Whether I'd gotten good at throwing from training with two Jonin, one who was quick and flexible and the other being one of Konoha's best current Shinobi, or Mizuki wasn't prepared for it, or if it was a mixture of both, I don't know.
But it all seemed to go in slow motion. The kunai was on target. He didn't get his hand up in time to block it, nor did he have time to dodge. The chakra enhanced blade tore straight through his throat, severing his spinal column from the front. He dropped to the ground in a nearly identical way that the man I shot had.
The difference being that I spoke just moments ago with the person I just killed.
Kakashi had dropped from his cover to intervene, but had stopped mid sprint when he saw me fling the kunai. I turned to him with a flat expression on my face, his eye wide in shock.
"Are you ok?" he asked as he got close to me, his eye focused on me.
I looked to Mizuki's corpse, then back to Kakashi.
"No." I said quietly, trying to control the tremor in my hand, "No I'm not."
Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder.
"You didn't mean to, did you?" his voice laced with concern.
I slowly shook my head.
"I didn't think his reflexes would be so much less than yours." I said hollowly, "I didn't mean to kill him."
Kakashi just nodded, keeping his hand on my shoulder.
"The first is always the worst," he said with a voice that spoke of experience, "I wouldn't have been surprised if you had vomited."
"I still might." I said shortly, the memory of my own death being forcibly dragged to the front of my mind.
Kakashi made a clone to "inform the Hokage that the scroll and thief were located".
We remained there for several minutes, me lost in my own thoughts with Kakashi's presence keeping me from falling apart.
"You're the best one to talk to me." I said, breaking the silence. "I trust you over anyone else. You understand this. Rin and Hinata needed me, and you're here for me."
Kakashi nodded.
"Never forget that you aren't alone, Naruto." he said quietly. "You don't need to have the whole world on your shoulders. Others are there for you."
Weight of the world. You have no idea, Kakashi.
"Rin has you," Kakashi continued, "And you have me."
I just smiled softly at the thought.
"I'm her big brother that protects her, loves her, and helps her when she's hurting." I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "And you're like an older brother for me."
Kakashi slightly stiffened at the last part, before relaxing.
"Yeah." He said, a slight phantom sadness in his tone. "Just like that."
End Chapter:
Chapter 15: Setting the foundation
Chapter Text
Chapter 15: Setting the Foundation:
Hiruzen was overseeing a meeting with the four Jonin instructors, concerning the route that would be taken in their genin's training.
"Kakashi," He said, "You will be taking Uzumaki Rin, Hyuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke as your team. You are familiar with the first two, and you are the only one who would be able to train Sasuke in using his eyes when he awakens them."
Kakashi nodded at this, already predicting who his team would be.
"I thought Hinata would be assigned to me, Hokage-sama." Kurenai stated, a look of confusion on her face.
Hiruzen looked at the three other Jonin aside from Kakashi.
"Do you think they should be told?" he asked Kakashi.
Kakashi shrugged. "It would probably be helpful."
Hiruzen agreed. He'd give some information, but leave some of the more sensitive out.
"Tell us what?" Gai asked, his voice echoing Asuma and Kurenai's thoughts.
Hiruzen sighed. "This does not leave this room." he said firmly. "Only the clan heads are aware of this."
The three nodded at their Kage's demand.
"We received credible Intel that Orochimaru plans to attack the village within a year. Likely during the Chunin exams held here."
Three deep intakes of breath were heard.
"That's," Asuma started, his face showing complete shock, "That's bad. Very bad."
Taking a deep breathe, he continued. "Do we know who the source is? Are they trustworthy?"
"He hasn't been wrong with the information he has given us." Hiruzen said simply.
He was leaving out that this was the same person that infiltrated the Hyuga compound and threatened to kill them to make a point. This information had to be truthful.
"So," Kurenai began, "What does that have to do with Kakashi training Hinata?"
"You are a Genjutsu specialist." Hiruzen said, " Hyuga aren't exactly the most adept with that Shinobi art."
A byproduct of the Byakugan is that even if their eyes aren't active, their vision is still better than almost everybody elses. Visual Genjutsu are useless when you don't know how 99% of people see things. This is also why Hyuga are notoriously hard to trap in Genjutsu, even with their eyes deactivated.
"Hyuga are taijutsu specialists," he continued, "Gai would have been the best, but he already has a genin team."
Gai nodded at this, remaining surprisingly quiet. It was very out of character for him to be this silent.
"What will our teams be?" Asuma asked his father, gesturing towards himself and Kurenai.
"Kurenai will have Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Aburame Shino." He replied, looking towards her. "And you, Asuma, will have Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akamichi Choji."
They nodded at this, but something was still being left out.
"There's more." Kakashi said.
The other three Jonin looked at Kakashi, wanting him to elaborate.
"There will be bi-weekly team training between teams, to build up camaraderie between the teams. The four of us will also be training each other's teams in our own specialities. Kurenai will be training the ones with good control how to use Genjutsu, Asuma with taijutsu and weapons, Gai with overall fitness and taijutsu, I'll be using watered down ANBU training and Ninjutsu."
The three were astounded at the second thing mentioned at the end.
ANBU training?
"Has it really come to this point, Hokage-sama?" Gai asked, a subdued tone making its presence known.
None of them wanted to see conflict unfold. Gai saw what the war did to Kakashi. He didn't want to see the fire in his own students be extinguished like what almost happened to his best friend and rival. He knew how Kakashi was a few years back. He sought death. The thought of Neji, Tenten, or Lee being brought so low filled him with fear for their sake.
"Better to have them over prepared, than to have been unprepared." Hiruzen said softly, "We do not have the luxury of the newest generation learning at their own pace like I previously hoped. We must do everything we can to ensure that this generation is ready for the coming storm."
The three nodded sadly, before Gai realized something.
"What of Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked, "His name was not mentioned."
Hiruzen hid the grimace he wanted to make.
"Naruto is a special case." Hiruzen replied, "He could very likely become a chunin already on skill alone."
Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai were suprised to varying degrees. Asuma had heard about Uzumaki's skill from Kakashi in a passing comment. Kurenai was suprised that his skills aside from avoiding Kakashi were that good. Gai was the closest to understanding the depth of skill that Naruto had. He was very well aware how a Shinobi confident in their skill acted. Naruto walked in a way not dissimilar to him and Kakashi when he saw the two returning from taijutsu training.
"His tracking and stealth skills would put him near ANBU nomination levels." Kakashi stepped in, "His overall skills set him at a mid B-Rank, maybe higher, and this is without him having field experience. He's extremely skilled in taijutsu and Ninjutsu, his tracking is very competent, he can fill in most slots where any of our squads are lacking. He can be a tracker or act as a close and medium range battering ram with his Ninjutsu. He'll be free roaming between our squads." He finished.
To be at such a level with no field experience was very uncommon. You could be a hand to hand specialist that could make even Gai sweat, but end up getting destroyed if you're unprepared for "ungentlemanly" tactics that are part and parcel for Shinobi combat.
Him being a free roaming squadmate was also atypical. The most common decision made was to have a prodigious student training under a specific Jonin. Jiraiya had a genin team, but he eventually exclusively trained Minato when the blond's potential was truly realized.
The only way that could work now without delaying any kind of training for the other genin was if Anko took Naruto on as an apprentice, but that had complications in and of itself.
Naruto and Anko's skill set didn't match up, but it did more so with Kakashi. The middle ground route was to have Naruto bouncing amongst the teams for missions until the chunin exams where he'd undoubtedly earn a promotion, followed by Jiraiya taking him as his apprentice.
I don't like it, but it's the best solution as of now.
"His skills and potential will motivate our students to reach even greater heights." Gai said, some degree of happiness finally making itself known in his voice.
Kakashi nodded and smiled at his friend, thankful that he found something to get out of his funk.
"So," Asuma said, before pausing, " We'll need a schedule set up."
"Yes." Hiruzen said, focusing on that instead of the bits of doubt he had on his decision, "You will need to work it out between yourselves. Now, Kakashi," he turned towards the silver haired Jonin. "I need to speak with you alone."
Turning to the other three Jonin, Hiruzen dismissed them. Once they had left, Hiruzen looked to Kakashi.
"How is he?" Hiruzen asked sadly.
"Bad, but better than I thought." Kakashi answered, his own tone slightly depressed. " He didn't fall apart or vomit, but it was close."
Hiruzen shook his head. "Of all things to happen." he sighed, "Here I thought it would be a good thing, give him some infiltration experience with high stakes. How that seemed to backfire."
Hiruzen had no idea that Mizuki would get killed by Naruto. Kakashi was there for that very reason. Kakashi wouldn't likely need to use lethal force to kill Mizuki. Naruto was only used to fighting against Jonin, of course he wouldn't think anything of flinging a kunai at a lethal area. Kakashi and Anko could catch it no problem at all.
"Did he die quickly?" Hiruzen asked.
"It was instant." Kakashi said simply. "Severed his spine from being coated by lightning."
"Good." Hiruzen sighed. "The first time shouldn't be any more terrible than it should."
Based upon his maturity, Hiruzen knew Naruto would bounce back from it. But maturity didn't exempt one from being effected by their first kill.
"That was not all." Kakashi said sadly.
"What else?" Hiruzen was curious. If it was left out of the official report, it meant something terrible.
"Mizuki told him about the Kyuubi." Kakashi said quietly. "He played the part convincingly, acting like he was shocked by it. But Mizuki said something else that effected Naruto."
Hiruzen beckoned him to continue.
"He offered Naruto a chance to be trained by Orochimaru." he said, eye looking straight at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's own eyes widened and he took in a sharp intake of air. "You don't think he actually considered it?"
"He wasn't." Kakashi replied. "But Mizuki mentioned how he could tell how fearful of Rin's safety Naruto is. He said you wouldn't be able to protect them forever, that Orochimaru could make him one of the strongest Shinobi in history."
Hiruzen was quiet for a few minutes, thinking to himself.
"How did he take it?" he asked, barely above a whisper.
"He froze." Kakashi stated simply. "Mizuki charged and Naruto instinctively reacted. Mizuki was killed, and Naruto just stared at his body. He didn't cry or vomit. But he got The Look."
The Look. The vacant stare veteran Shinobi tend to get after remembering very bad events in their careers. The Uchiha had that look very often. Going from stalwart cynics, to a fidgeting mess behind closed doors. Their eyes burned terrible things into their heads.
"What did he say?" Hiruzen asked sadly.
Kakashi was silent for a moment.
"He said he understood how Rin and Hinata felt." he started. "He thanked me for helping him not fall apart... and he said I was like an older brother." Kakashi finished, a small smile on his face.
Hiruzen was happy that Naruto trusted in somebody to confide to.
"You are a decent man, Kakashi, never forget that. I took you out of the ANBU because there was so much good you could do for the two of them. It would have been a terrible shame if that man died a violent death in the field."
They saved him from himself.
Kakashi just smiled.
"Yes, it would have."
Hiruzen got up from his seat to stretch his back.
"You are dismissed, Kakashi." he said. "You have a busy schedule. Setting up a training regimen for your students is no easy task."
Kakashi chuckled at the reminder.
"Yes, I do." The silver haired Jonin then left the room.
Now that he was alone, aside from the couple of ANBU dutifully guarding the room, Hiruzen let out a shuddering breathe, his thoughts of a fearful kind.
He would never accept. I'm sure of it.
Jiraiya had informed him years ago of who had hired the man who nearly killed Naruto. Orochimaru was the one who hired him, and now another one of his servants tried to steal the scroll, as well as offered Naruto nearly peerless training from one of the best Shinobi in the world.
Hiruzen knew Narutohatedtraitors. He'd always have a look of irritation on his face when he heard the name Itachi or Orochimaru when they were brought up.
He'd hear Naruto mutter something in his and Rin's language. "Cain" and "Necrom-"something were the most common things he heard. He normally only spoke like that in front of people when he was angry about something and was trying to talk himself through it.
Another point against Hiruzen's concern was that Naruto already had a strong sense of right and wrong. Months prior, his ANBU had spotted the boy terrorizing some teens attacking a stray cat for amusement. He blasted them with Killing Intent and threatened to do to them what they planned on doing to the cat.
They'd planned on lighting the cat on fire.
Naruto had pulled out a kunai he called his "people opener" and spooked them, likely getting inspiration from Anko of all people.
Threats of that nature would normally worry Hiruzen, but his ANBU commented on how Naruto would slump his posture after he was done. He'd almost looked disgusted with what he did, and it wasn't because he loved cats. Cats would either run from him, or they'd hiss at him, likely from him "Smelling like a fox" as the Inuzuka had mentioned.
Naruto's weakness seemed to be that he took too much to heart. Wanting to solveallthe problems because no one his age was as brilliant as he was. It was something common in prodigious youths.
But Naruto happened to have the power to back it up.
He saw how competent Naruto was at taking the lead. He was a good teacher to Rin and the Hyuga heiress. He looked to be in touch with the mindset of his classmates. He even managed to draw Sasuke out of his shell, albeit with incessant taunting and pranks.
Rin seemed to be the only other one able to draw people towards her as easily as her brother. Hiruzen smiled thinking of that.
They keep each other grounded. Either one would be an amazing leader, with the other backing them up.
Hiruzen saw Kakashi's transformation into what he could have been had Minato not died. Kakashi was well on his way to being S-rank within a year. And it was all thanks to two children.
You'd be proud.He thought, thinking of a quiet, intelligent blond, and the excitable woman who was his soulmate.You'd be proud.
Rin was still ticked by what her brother did earlier in the week. He didn't tell her or Hinata what Mizuki wanted him to do. They could have helped him, but he waved them off, telling them nothing was going on, that he just needed to see the Hokage about something.
And now she had found out that Naruto had killed Mizuki unintentionally. It wasn't Kakashi or the Hokage that had to live with Naruto and make sure he wouldn't brood all day.Shehad to do it.Shewas the one that slapped him, called him an idiot for trying to do everything on his own, then hugged him and said she loved him.
So me and Hinata will be on the same team with Sasuke then.
She was aggravated that she, Hinata, and Naruto weren't on the same team. Sasuke was too much of a jerk for her to like. She understood that what happened to him was terrible. She didn't even want to imagine Naruto doing something like that to her. But Sasuke took it out on other people, being rude, condescending, and arrogant. She'd tried to be friendly to him, only to be rebuffed. It would be difficult to get him to work well with her and Hinata.
She only knew about her team composition because Naruto had been informed on what his role would be with the rookie genin. An odd number meant he could have been slotted into a team as a replacement for one who was down a man. But that's not what the Hokage decided.
Something was going to happen. Something bad. Rin hadn't heard of Jonin instructors pooling their time together to train each other's genin to the degree that Naruto said they would. Hopefully everything would work itself out.
Pulling himself to his feet unsteadily, Sasuke inspected his handiwork. His fireball had improved to almost half again larger than it was just a year prior. He smirked to himself as he visualized the progress he had made. His training was paying off. He got rookie of year in his class. Things were looking better. He was closing the gap.
But certain things still bothered him. The most common formation of Genin teams, especially the one with the Rookie of the year, had the deadlast and top kunoichi. Sasuke could tolerate Shikamaru or Kiba, one of the two having the lowest grades in their class because of either booksmarts issues for Kiba or a lack of care from Shikamaru.
But for kunoichi, of all his graduating classmates, the only two kunoichi he could tolerate at all were Rin and Hinata.
He'd rather have a competent, but shy teammate over the shrieking fangirls that would fall over themselves to get his attention. Sasuke remembered hearing from some of the teachers speaking to each other that every prodigy seemed to be plagued by fangirls, evenHewas not exempt whenHespent one year in the Academy before graduating.
Sasuke didn't know how to feel thatItachiand he had something more than blood as a common trait.
He pondered what would happen if Naruto, or worse yetRinwere placed on his team. Naruto seemed to thrive on people thinking he was a lunatic, but he was no idiot. Idiots don't know how to sneak into the staff rooms undetected to cause chaos and destruction.
The eldest Uzumaki seemed hell-bent on trying to drive Sasuke insane for whatever reason it justification that ran through the redhead's mind. He still remembered when Naruto was quiet, kind, and polite to him early on, back before that night. Sasuke turned him away, being reminded of the first day of the Academy and wondering whyHewas interested in the redhead.
For all of Naruto's incessant taunting of him, hedidprovide a reprieve from the fangirls. They'd seldom look in his direction after Naruto did a full dressing down of their incompetence. Naruto's disdain was much more than simple irritation at them being loud.
If Sasuke had to guess, Naruto and Rin might have had an Inuzuka for a mother or father, or perhaps a lesser Kekkei Genkai that gave them better hearing and smell. He began to think that after he noticed that Naruto would avoid him when he ate curry or other spicy food, he'd seem to sniffle a couple times. Rin was the same way, being extremely antsy when he would occasionally talk with her right after he ate. But Kiba didn't relentlessly insult the fangirls to get them to shut up, although Kiba also didn't exactly want to be near him when he had spicy food.
So it likely isn'tonlytheir screeching. He thought, grimacing from how most of the civilian born girls were like. The ones from clans, especially Ino, at least were somewhat competent, even if he didn't like the attention.
But any shortcomings they had in competence didn't bother him as much as it seemed to bother Naruto.
This was something he'd thought about over the last year or two. Naruto seemed to take their weakness as a personal insult. He'd sometimes hear Naruto mutter something unintelligible under his breath, making no sense at all. They were words he'd sometimes hear him and Rin speak to each other.
Speaking of Rin, he was nearlyterrifiedof her being on his team, even if he'd never admit it. She was pretty much the female version of Naruto inallthe worst ways. Hell-bent on messing with his head, intentionally loud when he'd tell her to shut up when he had headaches from lack of sleep from nightmares or training.Shewas the one that broke his nose the first time during a taijutsu fight in class.
One of the fangirls had muttered the wordbitchabout Rin, and Sasuke had chuckled quietly. Rin had shot him a death glare and proceeded to put him on the groundhardduring their taijutsu spar. He couldn't even complain because he did deserve it, even if he originally tried to excuse it because if his lack of sleep But the insufferable doting of the fangirls was more awful thanRinsetting his nose back in place.
Bitch. Hehad thought, eventually regretting the thoughts about the blonde.
She did almost the same things that her brother did to him to rile him up. But there was one thing she did that her brother didn't... She'dflirtwith him.
And she was good at it to.
He could barely tell when she was joking because of how she'd have a vicious little grin on her face that showed nothing but teeth, the fact that her canines were a little longer added to how unnerving it was. Only when she'd shoot a malicious grin at the other girls did he know she didn'treallylike him that way, at least he hoped. It disturbed him that she could go from being a seemingly nice and bubbly person around him, to being an absolute nightmare, wishing nothing more for him than to run in terror.
She worried him because he thought she was genuinely a nice person. So is her brother. The two obviously loved each other very deeply, astwinsshould. He'd sometimes look at them, imagining what his own life would have been like had what happened four years ago not occurred.
Naruto would glare at Sasuke when he'd catch him looking at Rin, probably mistaking it for infatuation.
Was this how Itach- NO.Don't think of him.Sasuke didn't need this right now.
He'd still wake up in a cold sweat, the scent of blood clinging to his mind. The person he cared for most standing over the bodies of their mother and father, blade to the side, dripping blood. Just the day before, his brother's eyes held nothing but unconditional love when he looked at him. That night, there was nothing but emptiness. The only shift in his eyes that he saw was when the pattern changed, only for him to be dragged into his own personal hellscape, unable to look away as he heard the gasps and reak of blood as his clan and family died. How he heard his mother beg her eldest to stop. He didn't need to do this. Come back.
Hisbrotherwas supposed to protect him. Brother's protect their siblings. He envied Rin and Naruto because they had each other, the thing he secretly desired. The villagers hated them for some stupid reason that he couldn't understand and Naruto responded in kind. Sasuke wasn't sure if Naruto suspected or not, but he had been discreetly monitoring Naruto's reactions to the villagers looks when they'd leave the academy. He learned the different expressions of irritation and anger that Naruto showed. Sasuke had never been the recipient of the hate filled looks sent to the villagers or parents that picked up their children from the Academy.
The closest he'd received from Naruto was when he'd playfully snarked back how he likedstronggirls, before looking towards Rin to irritate the eldest Uzumaki.
He'd seen a flash of something on Naruto's face, something unfamiliar. It was hatred, but also something else.
It almost looked like fear.
Naruto hadstaredat his eyes. Not atSasuke,but almost as if he were looking at his eyes specifically. Sasuke had thought about it later that night as he tossed and turned in his bed.
Did he know about the Mang-, he couldn't. That was an Uchiha secret.
Naruto had always seemed antsy about Rin taunting him with over the top flirting that was designed to mock how Ino, Sakura, and the rest of the fangirls acted. She wasn't eventryingto have him, yet she still was more liked by the object of their affections.
'Thank Kami they didn't try even harder. I don't think I could have dealt with it.'
But Rin scared him once or twice. She almost seemed to be genuinely trying to reach out to him as a friend. But he couldn't tell if it was a ploy.
He'd been burned by the person he trusted most in the world already. He didn't think he could mentally survive a second time in the form of a friend, no matter how much he wanted to have a peer.
Deciding to deal with something now instead of tomorrow, Sasuke gingerly walked from the training grounds of his clan compound, emerging from the abandoned complex to head to the market.
Wiping sweat from his face, Sasuke ignored the looks he received from the villagers, particularly the girls and mothers.
He could tell which women were mothers or not based on the pitying looks or lack of.
The girls were annoying.
Constant simpering or squealing, followed by them saying his name like they even knew him.
At least the vegetable place he got ingredients from wasn't like that. He kept out of Sasuke's business.
Sasuke reached said part of the market and spotted an irate Naruto at the same stand.
"You sold me old stock when I payed for fresh." His voice sounded vicious, his hands clenching the counter.
Sasuke twitched at the anger radiating from Naruto, his skin itching a bit.
"It was an oversight," The merchant sighed, "I accidentally gave older produce to multiple people. Take a few as an apology. Not everyone is out to get you."
Sasuke heard Naruto mutter something exceptionally foul under his breath, sticking 5 different tomatoes to his fingers with chakra.
"Pleasure doing business,boy." The merchant said in farewell.
Naruto turned over his shoulder and said something Sasuke didn't understand, but it sounded bad.
The red haired classmate of his nodded in his direction, but didn't say anything else.
The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at Naruto's back, wondering what pissed him off so much.
Glancing at the man, Sasuke cleared his throat.
"My usual." He said simply, not bothering to say anything else as he pulled out some Ryo from his pocket.
The merchant accepted the money, grabbing a cloth bag to set an assortment of fresh vegetables in.
"Your business is appreciated, Uchiha-san." The middle-aged man remarked, handing him the bag, "If only the bra-, uh,boybehaved like you did."
Sasuke tilted his head, wondering what he meant by that.
"Naruto?"
"Aye," The man snorted derisively, "Kid jumps at shadows and thinks everyone is out to get him. He actually accused me once of putting razor blades in some fruit. Me! Try and kill someone? Maybe my hired help, but that brat needs to stop scaring people when he acts like what everyone thinks."
The man's eyes then widened for a moment.
"I'd appreciate it if you don't say anything."
The intense worry in his eyes had Sasuke deciding.
"You've stayed out of my business, so I didn't hear anything." Sasuke turned and left, hearing a thanks from the man.
About halfway back to his home, Sasuke's legs felt like they were cramping, courtesy of his intense training.
Groaning under his breath, he pushed through it and got home, tossing the bag near his fridge.
Naruto needs to chill out. I don't fancy putting him on the ground if he hurts theonevegetable stall I tolerate.
Sasuke ignored the hypocrisy of his own anger problems and went to lie down.
Walking carefully to his bed, he tried to not overthink things.
Thinking made him remember.
Hinata stretched her arms over her head, trying to work out the soreness in her tenketsu. She had just finished a regular juken spar with her father that had been customary for the last few weeks.
Ever since the incident involving the intruder, Hinata being one of the few that had been told by her father what actually happened, the elders had completely stepped away from trying to oversee her training. Her father had taken it up himself, helping her to adapt to the slightly modified version that she'd already progressed in with the help of Naruto and Rin.
Her body frame was not well adapted to the traditional juken stance, unlike Neji and her sister. Her modified version took advantage of her more lithe and flexible build to be more fluid in her movements, contrary to the fixed stance of the traditional juken. Her father was testing how effective her personal style was going up against standard Hyuga fighting tactics. He also used non- juken fighting forms that he knew as a test as well.
So far, there seemed to be no detrimental effects to using a slightly more mobile stance in the juken, thankfully. She had noticed her father had been giving her a compliment here and there on how she'd been able to adapt the juken to her own needs. He'd been contemplative when she'd told him Naruto and Rin had helped her to do it.
At first, she'd been worried that he'd be disappointed that outsiders to the clan could possibly know intimate details of the juken, but he simply shrugged and said she had good and loyal friends.
What about the intruder frightened you so much, father?
Any time she was on her own, the elders would give her a look of fear when she walked past them. The intruder had obviously said something to set her father specifically on edge.
Now, he was what she'd thought a father should be. He encouraged her to spend time with Hanabi when she had free time, would listen to her on things she found interesting but didn't offer him any enjoyment aside from seeing her happy, and would take time out of his day to tell her about her mother, something he hadn't done since her death.
She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard her father speak.
"I'm sorry, Tousan." she said apologetically, "I didn't hear what you said."
Hiashi just looked at her with a slight smile, before repeating himself. "You've gotten much better over the last few months, Hinata. I'm proud of you."
Hinata's face heated up slightly, pleased at the feeling.
"Are you aware of who your squad members will be?" he continued.
"No, I don't." she replied, curious on why he was asking.
"Your friend, Rin and the Uchiha will be your teammates." he explained, "Hatake will be your primary Jonin instructor."
Hinata nodded, happy that Rin was on her team, even though she knew she'd likely be the one playing mediator between Rin and Sasuke.
Wait. He said "primary".
"Primary?" She asked confusedly.
"You'll understand shortly." he said simply. "Now, why don't you see Kaoru. He'll help with your bruising." he added kindly, noticing her favoring her left side.
Hinata smiled at her father before turning to leave the sparring room, a slight spring in her step.
Hiashi watched as his daughter left the room, a genuine smiling gracing his face.
You'd be proud of our daughter, Hitomi. She gets her strength from you.
Hiashi's thoughts drifted to the council meeting that had occurred just the other day.
(Flashback)
The Hokage had called in the clan heads to discuss team placements, given that most of the graduates were the clan heirs of the main clans in Konoha.
Hiashi had been pleased with Hinata being kunoichi of the year. She showed that she was both a kind and capable person.
She only needed it took me too long to realize that.
It still bothered Hiashi how it took being threatened with having his daughters taken from him to see how he was being a lacking father. So many things could have been better if he'd stopped to pay attention how his daughter differed from him and Hizashi.
Better late than never though.
He looked around the room to the other clan heads. All of them awaited the Hokage to enter the meeting room. They'd been told that training regimens would differ in comparison to previous years. They all were fairly certain that it was a response to the news they had received from the Hokage about information from one of Konohas' agents.
Orochimaru was planning to attack the village.
Their children would need to be prepared for this threat to Konoha. Orochimaru was known for many things, pity not being one. After a few minutes of waiting, the Hokage arrived.
"My apologies," he said, "I was delayed by a mission complication."
The clan heads nodded, understanding how hectic things could get with mission issues.
Sarutobi settled himself into his seat, before addressing the room. "Now," he started, "Let us begin. Are there any questions?"
"Nothing aside from what was mentioned in the last meeting." Shikaku responded.
The last meeting was where it was revealed that information on Orochimaru was brought up. It was one that Hiashi preferred to not think of right now.
"Very well," Sarutobi said simply, "We will start with how the team placements will be." he took a deep breath before continuing. "Team 7 will consist of Uzumaki Rin, Hyuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke. Their main instructor will be Hatake Kakashi."
No surprise there. Kakashi was the only one left in Konoha who could train the last loyal Uchiha in how to use his eyes when they activated.
"Team 8," Sarutobi continued further, "will be consisting will be Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Haruno Sakura. Yuuhi Kurenai will be their main Jonin instructor."
An Aburame and Inuzuka on one team probably meant a tracking oriented squad.
"Team 10 will be Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. My son, Sarutobi Asuma will be their Jonin instructor." The Hokage finished.
The clan heads were quiet for a moment, thinking through the team placements.
7 will probably be a heavy hitters assault an Uchiha and a Jinchuriki, things can't exactly be more Ninjutsu heavy than that. Hinata was probably put on there because she would be able to get Uzumaki and the Uchiha to cooperate.
"And what of the subject of the last meeting?" Hiashi asked, wishing to know the details.
"With the very real threat of invasion," Sarutobi started, his tone tightening, "Each genin cannot be afforded the time to learn things outside of their instructors expertise at their own pace."
This was most of the clan heads assumed. It was something done normally in preparation of full scale warfare.
"There will be bi-weekly training sessions between the teams to ensure that they can operate side by side without impeding one another in combat." Sarutobi said, before taking a breath to continue," The different Jonin instructors will also help to train each others students. Kurenai will be training those with good control how to cast Genjutsu, Gai will be training them in specialized taijutsu, etc."
"You didn't mention where the Uzumaki boy would be placed, sir." Shikaku stated.
The Hokage was quiet for a moment, Hiashi's well trained eyes noticing the slight twitch of his face. It was likely something the old man didn't like.
I think I know where this isgoing. Hiashi thought.
"Naruto will be operating as a fourth teammate between the four different genin teams. His skills outclassed all of his classmates."
"But wasn't he in the middle of his class?" Inuzuka Tsume asked.
Hiashi was aware of Naruto and Rin concealing their true skill based on Ko standing vigil over Hinata while the definitelynotaverage Uzumaki trained alongside her. By the unsurprised looks on Shikaku and Inoichi's faces, he could tell they knew as well.
"Naruto was aware of the dangerous attention prodigies get," Sarutobi said, "He decided to keep his degree of abilities less conspicuous. Anyone who would learn of him from a cursory look would assume that Uchiha Sasuke would be a more dangerous opponent."
That made sense. Optics meant everything when you start your Shinobi career. The Hyuga stood out do to their eyes. Anyone with a half functioning brain would avoid them in hand to hand combat. Shinobi were to never establish eye contact with an Uchiha. Genjutsu was a death sentence in combat when cast through a Sharingan. Each clan and their jutsus needed to be strategized against. Nara and Yamanaka had to be blitzed with taijutsu, Hyuga fired at by medium and long range jutsu, and Aburame were vulnerable to fire and lightning jutsu.
Prodigies were to be killed promptly. Orochimaru, Hatake Kakashi, Namikaze Minato, and Uchiha Itachi were some of the most dangerous Shinobi Konoha produced.
Every. Single. One was hailed as a prodigy.
It's far easier to kill a wet behind the ears genin, with Chunin level skill, than it is to kill them 5 or 10 years down the road.
It's impressive that Naruto found that out. I can count on one hand and still have fingers to spare how many "prodigies" understand the value of being covert in their skill before they got deployed in the field.
The clan heads that were not aware were surprised to say the least. An intelligent graduate, who also was a Jinchuriki? That would mean good things for Konoha in the future.
"That is all for the Jonin training side of things." Sarutobi said, wanting to move to the next order of business. "How difficult would it be for you to accelerate your children's training in your clan jutsus?" he asked.
Hiashi expected this. Thankfully, he had the forethought to help train Hinata in her personalized form of the juken. He couldn't say anything about whether the other clans were doing a similar thing with their children.
"I can personally help Shikamaru if I'm given some time to." Shikaku spoke up first.
"Very well." Sarutobi said, "Inoichi? Choza?"
"Choji won't be a problem," Choza said simply, "He'll be motivated to protect his friends."
Inoichi was the last of the three, a look of disappointment on his face. "Ino hasn't been applying herself to training until recently." he said, not wanting to dig into it, "She'll need to be brought up to standard first."
Hiashi had a solid theory on why. Most of the girls in his daughter's year had varying degrees of infatuation with the Uchiha heir. The Yamanaka girl was likely one, and it caused a disruption to her overall training.
Sarutobi nodded, before turning to Hiashi. "Hiashi, what about your daughter?" he asked.
"I've been helping Hinata personally," he replied smoothly, "She is showing much promise. She does her clan proud." he finished with a smile.
One of the great suprises was that the initially shy, stuttering, and nervous Hyuga girl emerged as kunoichi of the year. Whatever Hiashi had done evidently paid off, at least that's what most people thought.
Sarutobi gave him a knowing smirk, before turning to Shibi and Tsume.
"Shibi?" Sarutobi asked.
"Shino will be capable of a greater workload." Shibi said, his voice a steady pitch.
Tsume, realizing she was the only remaining one who hadn't spoke, answered the Hokage.
"Kiba acts too much on his anger," she said irritatedly, "He needs to have some sense knocked into him before I can teach him the more complex jutsu. I'd prefer he not hurt himself or his ninken from being an impulsive idiot." she added, a slight growl in her voice.
With that, the part concerning training was over. The next part of the meeting was far less entertaining.
Taxes.
(End Flashback)
Hiashi chuckled wistfully at the memory, before he walked from the training room, looking forward to what seemed to be a brighter tomorrow.
"Hello, Hinata." The Hyuga heiress heard Ino say, the blonde looking rather subdued behind the counter of the flower shop.
Hinata looked at the girl, pondering whether to ask.
She needed to hurry and get the needed ingredients for her salve. Naruto was going to head by her home and she needed to get back.
"Can I help you with anything, Hinata?" The blonde asked again, her turquoise eyes fixed on hers.
"I need a type of plant that acts like a painkiller for a specific spot," Hinata cleared her throat, coughing a bit at the different scents, "One that doesn't react with other ingredients."
Ino seemed to perk up at that.
"I might have an idea, but I need to know what ingredients you're talking about and what it's for. Come on." The girl gestured towards the back, turning and walking from the counter.
Hinata hurried towards Ino, the usually quiet girl hiding her excitement at improving her medical salve.
She wanted a way to ease the pain of an injury, not just speed up healing.
"Hurry up!" Ino called from around the corner, putting on some rubber gloves. Her waist length hair was already pulled back into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way.
Hinata blinked repeatedly at the massive variety of flowers and plants, many of them unfamiliar.
"So," Ino tapped her shoulder to get her attention, "What do you need them for?"
Hinata tore her gaze from all the beautiful flowers and looked at Ino, furrowing her brow.
"I need a medical salve that numbs the area applied."
"Oh," Ino grimaced, shifting her balance from one leg to the next, "You can't use the kind I was thinking of. Here," She tossed a pair of gloves to Hinata, the pale eyed girl frantically grabbing to not drop them, "You don't want to handle the wrong thing."
Hinata didn't like the sound of that. She put the gloves on and focused on Ino.
"What were the ingredients you were trying out before?" Ino asked, having turned her back and looking down a row of different types of flowers.
Hinata recited the blend of herbs and certain flowers to make her salve, hoping there wasn't anything wrong.
Ino listened intently, sighing as Hinata finished.
"You need to add this flower to it," Ino grabbed a notecard next to a collection of purple flowers, "This," She handed it to Hinata, "Is the only one that will mix properly without causing cardiac arrest."
Hinata's eyes widened in horror at that. "That'spossible?"
"Yep," Ino nodded, rubbing her arm against her nose to scratch an itch, "A certain chemical in the petals of other flowers and the crushed herb you use mixes into a toxin when together. This one's the only mild paralytic that isn't lethalortoxic when mixed with anything. It's pretty stable, actually."
Hinata was hanging on to every word, intrigued by it.
"I didn't know that you knew so much about this, Ino." She admitted, only knowing that the Yamanaka was well-versed in the flowers the Hyuga girl would purchase to press.
Ino laughed lightly, flicking her hair some by tilting her head.
"I'm not like Sakura. I've got brainsandlooks."
Hinata shook her head, sighing at Ino's comment.
Ino didn't like Sakura, fair enough, but Hinata didn't like that the two had been friends and destroyed it over a boy. Hinata wouldneverbreak her friendship with Rin over a boy.
Not like that would happen anyway. Hinata only had a liking for the one boy that Rin obviously wouldn't be interested in.
"How many flowers are you wanting?" Ino switched back to the previous subject, pointing at the price tag, "They're not cheap."
Looking at the tag closely, Hinata fought the urge to cringe.
"Why are they expensive?" She asked incredulously.
"These arereallyrare," Ino explained, smiling softly at the rather striking flowers, "You generally find them along mountain streams in the north of Hi no Kuni, but nowhere else."
But still, 100 Ryo per petal.Hinata started fidgeting a bit, tapping her fingers together as she debated on making the purchase.
"Tell you what," Ino sighed, grabbing three flowers and picking them, "You buy flowers here all the time and my Tousan told me I can make deals sometimes. The salve you make needs about one and a half of these per container, so I'll cut a portion off on the price. 25 percent?" The blonde cocked her hip and set her hand on her waist.
Hinata couldn't believe it. Ino was willing to discount that much?
"Thank you, Ino," She said gratefully, "But can we do it now? I need to get going."
"Yeah yeah, sure," Ino went towards one of the tables to her right and tossed the flowers in a bowl, grabbing a grinder and crushing the flowers.
After a minute or two, Ino poured the crushed flowers into a see through bag, sealing it shut and exiting the backroom, prompting Hinata to follow.
"So, that'll be 225." Ino rang Hinata up at the counter, glancing at the dark haired girl.
Hinata reached into one of her pockets to grab the needed Ryo, her fingers peeling the bills apart to count them.
"Here," Hinata handed Ino the money, smiling at the purchase, "Good luck with your team tests."
Before Hinata could turn to leave, Ino spoke up.
"I'm curious about something." The blonde Yamanaka commented, tapping her nails against the counter.
Hinata tilted her head in question, appraising the other girl.
"How didyouget kunoichi of the year?"
Hinata couldn't help but frown. Did Inodoubther ability?
"What do you mean?" The normally shy Hyuga's voice was laced with a bit of annoyance, not liking the wording.
"You're the best in taijutsu, that's a given," Ino's eyes focused on her pale ones, "But I don't get how you were able to match Sakuraandme on book stuff. You suddenly got better in the last year."
The last year was when Naruto started helping her out on the book related subjects. She could tell he was bored by it, but he still made sure to study it himself. The fact that he helped her and Rin spoke volumes of how much he cared about the two of them and their progress.
Deciding to be honest, Hinata answered. "Naruto helped me."
"Naruto?" Ino asked incredulously, not believing it, "He's a jerk and is rude."
Hinata's eyes narrowed dangerously, her hand darting out and grabbing the bag of crushed flowers.
"Do not," Hinata channeled the cold fury her father displayed when angered by something, "Presume to knowanythingabout Naruto."
How dare she say that? She knowsnothingabout Naruto. She doesn't know what he's been through.
Ino recoiled away from her, looking worried.
"Jeez, Hinata, I didn't know you liked him. Sorry."
Hinata felt her face colour at the sensitive subject, but clenched her hand and tried to keep her voice steady.
"Naruto doesn't like how you bother Sasuke. He doesn't hate you, he just wants you to stop acting the way you have. He's really sweet and k-kind to me." Hinata cursed herself for stuttering at the end.
Hinata didn't knowwhy,but Ino paled, blinking at the description of Naruto.
"I..." The blonde swallowed, wringing her hands, "I'm sorry for saying anything. He's your friend, right?"
"Yes." Hinata replied clearly, beginning to get a little impatient.
"Then I guess he acts differently around friends compared to others," She mumbled, looking uncomfortable, "I've had a rough couple days and I just took it out on Naruto."
Even if she was still a little miffed about it, Hinata simply couldn't remain irritated. It went against her nature.
"Naruto can be really rude at times when he doesn't realize it, so I can understand. But he's nice and good at heart."
Hinata still didn't know why, but Ino kept looking uncomfortable.
"Okay," Ino glanced at the clock of the wall, then to Hinata, "And don't you have somewhere to be?"
Hinata's eyes widened and she nodded her head once, taking off running.
She needed to get ready.
Two weeks. No training until teams were announced.
Mt thoughts were a little, and that was an understatement, vindictive as I walked towards the Hyuga compound, not wanting to think of what transpired the last time I was there.
'For your own good. You'd killed someone accidentally, take a week or two off. It'll help,' they said.
I understood where Kakashi and Hiruzen were coming from. To them, I'd just killed someone for the first time. They didn't realize I'd done it before. That much of my shock came from how Mizuki died, not that he did die.
What kept me up at night was what he said.
Orochimaru will make you great.
Unless he'd been told to say that, it's unlikely that he would have said it. That opened up a great deal of shit that I wasn't prepared for. My chosen shatterpoint eventwasgoing to be Orochimaru getting killed at the exams. No Orochimaru to slink off to means Sasuke won't defect. If he did, all bets were off. It'd be hard and I would hate myself for it, but I would kill Sasuke before I let him defect.
His defection is what almost doomed the world. He tried to destroy Konoha after finding out the truth about Itachi. He tried to kill his Sensei and teammate. But more importantly, he tried to kill "Naruto", out of his desire to be strong enough to kill his brother. Without the Kyuubi, "Naruto" would have died from a Chidori to the chest. But there was a small detail that messed with me when I thought of how I could beat Sasuke without issue.
I didn't have blond hair. It was more red than blond.Rinhad blonde hair. The orange jacket was for a girl. My heart may have gone out to Sasuke from the nightmare he had to live, but I would not let my empathy get my sister killed.
"Orochimaru could make you great".
Bite me, you bastard. Traitors and child killers will be given no mercy from me.
I cursed myself as I kept on walking, eventually reaching the gate. I don't know why, but remembering the night I infiltrated the compound filled me with dread. It was a miracle I wasn't caught. Judging by how my clones moved around and the memories I got from them, I should've been caught.
The idea that it was down to some next level luck that I wasn't getting my brain melted by a Yamanaka for information was enough for me to refuse to ever do something like that again.
The letter was a good idea, but I wasn't like Itachi in storming a clan compound and escaping.
But I was curious why the guards had been more lax than I would normally expect. There seemed to be a few openings where guards should've been, but that was probably because they wereHyugaand could cover blind spots no problem.
They might need to check for a rat infestation if the clones I Henged as rats were seen as normal. I actually managed to make myself laugh a bit at the thought, wondering why the Hyuga would tolerate rats.
I got to the gate and saw the two guards for the late afternoon shift.
"Uzumaki." The most common one stated.
"Hyuga-san." I said politely, not wanting to be an irritant this time.
"Here to speak with Hinata-sama?"
"Pretty much." I nodded.
Without any fanfare, the two focused their eyes on my seal to make sure it actually was me.
"Out of curiosity," I started, grabbing their attention, "What does my seal look like with your eyes?"
The one guard seemed a little uncomfortable at talking about it, given that it could technically run afoul of the law, but the other didn't seem to care about walking on eggshells.
"Think of a sink tap," The one guard said simply, "That slowly drips into the sink. Now imagine the water is the most disgusting thing you could ever see."
"You won't hear me arguing how foul it is," I scoffed, "I'm a sensor and I'm rather in tune with my tenketsu."
I could tell a distinct difference between my chakra and Kurama's, the latter's feeling thick and heavy when small amounts of it were fed into my tenketsu from the seal. The chakra helped to act as a growth stimulant for my chakra reserves since the day I was born, putting them on a different level of ungodly amounts, but it didn't make the toxic feel to it any better.
I walked forward and heard the gate close behind me, my eyes set on Hinata's house.
A brief flash in my peripheral vision had me looking up at the sky, a raven flying across the setting sun.
"Odin is with us." I snickered to myself, finding it very unlikely for that to be the case. But I still enjoyed making jokes about the prospect of the shaggy cloak wearer and Host blinder looking out for theonlyAnglo-Saxon in this manga universe with his one remaining eye.
There aren't any one eyed good guys, only dicks.
I got to the door and I spotted Hinata waiting patiently for me, a wholesome smile on her face.
"Is Hinata-sama ready for her lesson?" I asked cheekily, mindful of the storage scrolls I had in my back pockets.
"Naruto," She tried to sound like she was trying to scold me, but it obviously wasn't working, "You know I don't like it when you call me that."
"Which is precisely why Ido." I smiled, tilting my head for a moment, "Shall you escort me to the kitchen?" I asked kindly, holding out my arm.
Hinata's arm reached out towards mine and she grabbed my hand, pulling me along. A few turns and we arrived in the kitchen, two branch members currently cleaning up some.
Hinata cleared her throat and got the attention of the two women.
"Hinata-sama," The older of the two, looking around 30, seemed to be surprised that the heiress was in the kitchen with me in tow,"Why are you in the kitchens?"
"I want to fix cinnamon rolls with Naruto-kun." Hinata replied brightly, her eyes shining in excitement.
"Oh, you don't need to do that," The branch member shook her head, smiling and addressing Hinata like she was a small child, "If you want some, Hikari and I can make some for you and your friend."
I doubt Hinata could tell, but I could notice the slight tightening of the lady's voice when she addressed me, likely from me being the ginger prison of Mr Fox.
"No," Hinata shook her head, "I want to learn how to fix them myself, and Naruto knows how to."
I wasn't as well versed in fixing cinnamon rolls, but myfirstmom, it felt wrong to call her myactualmom because of how insulting it felt to Kushina, had taught me how to and I could do it fairly well. Butcookieswere what I was good at.
The cook hummed lightly and eventually nodded, wiping her hands on the apron she had on and took it off, preparing to leave.
"Hikari," The lady said, "Time to go."
The younger woman nodded and the two left, leaving me and Hinata alone in the kitchen.
"Right," I clapped my hands together, rubbing them in excitement, "Let's get all the stuff ready."
I pulled out the multiple storage scrolls I had and pulsed some chakra in them one at a time.
A carton of milk, butter, eggs, brown sugar, flour, and an assortment of other ingredients were systematically taken out and were ordered properly.
"Could you repeat how much experience you have cooking?" I asked Hinata kindly, wanting to know whether I'd need to start from scratch.
"My, uh," Hinata seemed to have been distracted for a moment and blinked as she looked up at me, being a couple inches shorter, "My kaasan taught me how to cook some and a few of the branch members continued after..." Hinata's eyes looked downward at the reminder.
I decided to switch to a better topic, specifically the set up for the cinnamon rolls.
"Hinata," I reached for a few of the crockery hanging from the overhead hooks and pulled them down, turning on the stove, "The list of what to do is to my right. Could you hand it to me?"
"Yes." Hinata tucked her hair back and had a serious look that wouldn't be out of place for when we were training, "Here." She grabbed the paper and handed it to me as I cracked some eggs.
I took it and set it between us and out of the way, but still readable.
"I'll help set everything thing up," I selected the proper pots and other thing to prepare it all, pouring milk into another part to be heated up, "But you actually do the different parts. I'll be right next to you if you have any questions."
With a furrowing of her brow, Hinata gave a soft 'Okay' and got to work, taking off her jacket and making sure her hair remained out of her face.
For someone who hadn't exactly done this on a constant basis like me, Hinata was actually really good at preparing food. But I guess it wasn't fair to compare our situations. The Hyuga were the wealthiest clan in Konoha and Hinata was the heiress of said clan. Contrast that with me having to cook food for twoextremelycalorie reliant Uzumaki because Rin made the stellar accomplishment of burning water when I tried to teach her to cook anything that wasn't instant ramen.
Slowly but surely, the concoction that would create cinnamon rolls began to take shape, the way Hinata was singularly focused on the task was endearing.
"Can you sing?" Hinata requested, some flour smudged on her face as most of the ingredients were prepared, only needing to touched up on and put in the oven.
I sat back and smiled, remembering how Rin would pester me to sing. The difference was, Hinata couldn't understand the words.
"You realize that you won't be able to understand? It's mine and Rin's language."
"I don't care," Hinata said, adding cinnamon into the mix, her forearms having some batter on them along with her shirt, "Sing."
I snorted at her attempt to sound assertive and the way her chakra seemed to shift hinted at her amusement.
"Yes, Hinata-sama." I smiled as I cleared my throat.
"Land of bear and land of eagle. Land that gave us birth and blessing."
Again, a song that reached out to my wistfulness of the world and home I'd never see again. But I had a new home now, a new family.
I slowly approached Hinata and looked over her shoulder, still singing softly as she kept on doing her task.
The mix finally was completed by Hinata and she put on some mitts when I pointed out that the oven may be hot, before she put the container in the oven and closed it.
"You've made such a mess," I gestured towards all the flour on the counter top, along with a bit of batter and some milk.
Hinata didn't exactly find it all that amusing, even more so from my grin.
"This would have been easier if you actually mixed some ingredients instead of the icing and sitting back and telling me what to do." Hinata stared at me, her pale eyes gazing straight into my soul.
"Think of it like a training exercise," I leaned forward and started to move the things around to have more room, "I tell you what to do, and I sit back and be a slave driver."
Out of all things I would have thought Hinata would do in response, I did not expect her to grab a handful of flour and slap the top of my head with it when my back was turned.
A startled gasp escaped me as I coughed a bit, my eyes squinted from the flour.
Hinata covered her mouth and was giggling at what she did, not looking regretful at all.
I sniffled and ended up sneezing, the flour getting kicked up some more.
You shouldn't have done that.I thought to myself.
I ended up shaking my head side to side to get rid of the flour and I stared at the unrepentant Hyuga.
"That made you look like a fox." She kept giggling, miming what I did by shaking her head, "With your hair and whiskers."
"Oh really?" I asked, my mouth widening in a smile, "Foxes are cunning and sneaky too." I lunged forward towards Hinata, the girl turning to try and get out of reach.
She squeaked like a mouse when I grabbed ahold of her shirt sleeve, pulling her towards me.
"No!" She called out, trying to wriggle free as I pulled her tight, "Let me go."
I was laughing openly as I managed to lock both her arms in place with my right arm as I reached for the container of unused flour, lifting it up above her head.
"It's only fair, 'Nata." I laughed dropping the flour on her.
Hinata let out a cry as she was engulfed in a cloud of white and I let her go of her to avoid it.
"Naruto!" She glared at me, her Byakugan flaring for a moment.
I didn't care that I was laughing so hard I was almost cackling. The pout and angry look she had was one of the most adorable things I'd ever seen.
The Hyuga girl that was my closest friend grabbed at her hair to get ahold of some of the flour and threw it at me, the effort futile.
I still kept laughing and Hinata finally joined in, the two of us just standing in the kitchen acting like the children we should've been if not for the Shinobi in training we were.
Deciding to rectify the issue, I reached out and brushed the flour out of Hinata's hair, running my fingers along her scalp.
"Careful," Hinata winced when my hand brushed against a certain spot, "I sparred with my Tousan today and my head is sore."
I grimaced and muttered an apology, not realizing that.
"My bad," I pulled my hand away, having got most of it anyway, "I can do mine myself." I made a hand seal and spawned a clone, the construct patting me down to remove the flour.
After it finished, Hinata sat down in a chair and gazed at the oven, then to the clock.
"How long will it take?" She asked, her hair fanned out as she adjusted it to remove the few bits.
"About 30 minutes on the temperature set," I replied, sitting down in my own seat, "Anything you want to talk about?"
Hinata seemed to debate for a moment, settling on a relatively mild subject.
"My team assignment."
"I guess your dad told you?" I raised a brow, expecting the clan heads to know.
Hinata hummed a yes, glancing towards the oven again.
"Do you know who is on my team?" Hinata asked.
It didn't require any thought from me.
"You're kunoichi of the year, so you'll likely be on the same team with Sasuke," I paused for a moment, "Kakashi will definitely be your Jonin Sensei because he's the only one that can train Sasuke's Sharingan. And Rin will be the third one because she's a ninjutsu user similar to me and Kakashi is the best Konoha has for that."
I didn't include the part on how Kakashi could force a Genjutsu on a problematic jinchuriki.
Hinata moved her legs back and forth lightly like she was peddling and sighed.
"I hope Sasuke can open up. I don't want to be forced between him and Rin." Hinata was quiet, but she wasn't blind. She looked at things and quietly listened and took things in. It wasn't a stretch to think she'd be playing peacekeeper between Sasuke and my sister.
"I hope so too." I eventually said, feeling a little cold at the reminder.
We sat there quietly until the oven dinged, finishing with the rolls.
Before Hinata could get up and open the door, I cleared my throat audibly.
"Mitts." I reminded her, her face colouring slightly.
"Sorry." She said, pink faced, grabbing the oven mitts. She then opened up the oven and heat wafted out, her hands going out to grab the bowl.
Oh my God, the smell is divine.I thought to myself, jumping up from my seat.
Hinata set it down gingerly and I reached for the small bowl where I had made the icing, shooting Hinata a grin.
"Almost done." I then tipped the bowl over and lathered the steaming rolls with icing, my mouth already watering.
Hinata reached to grab one but I lightly slapped her hand, causing her to look up at me in annoyance.
"Ask Hanabi if she would like one first." I said, smirking when I felt the little spy's chakra flare in shock from behind the door.
"Go ahead and come on in, Hanabi." I called louder, snickering at the muffled curse from the female mini-me of Hiashi.
Hinata's little sister opened the door and came in, shooting me a glare.
"Dog's brother." She muttered, trying to get one up on me. "You threw flour at oneesan.
"Firecracker." I smiled, not bothered by her childish insult for Rin.
Her cheeks puffed out a bit, but she kept quiet.
"Hanabi-chan," Hinata addressed her younger sister, "Would you like a cinnamon roll?"
Hanabi stared at the fresh dessert made by me and her sister, her eyes a little wide and resembling pearls.
"Yes." She said quickly, her hand out, "Gimme."
And there's the little kid that doesn't feel pressured to be a mini adult.I laughed internally, glancing towards Hinata as she removed two of the rolls.
"Here," Hinata gave both to her sister, "Give one to Tousan, please."
Hanabi nodded happily and stretched her arms out, hugging Hinata as she had her hands out of the way as she hugged the taller of the two.
"Thank you, Oneesan," Hanabi then looked at me, "Naruto-san."
"I'm around you enough and I'm friends with your sister." I rolled my eyes, "Act your age and call me Naruto."
Hanabi levelled a look at me just like her father would, but the smile ruined it.
"Naruto."
She then turned and rushed out of the room, already taking a bite of her roll.
"She sometimes reminds me of myself when I try to be contradictory." I mused, hearing Hinata groan slightly.
"I hope she doesn't try to emulate you." Hinata took out a cinnamon roll, biting into it.
The girlswayedas she savoured the taste, closing her eyes as her entire body relaxed.
"Just like kaasan's." She practically shuddered at the memories.
She set the roll down slowly and turned towards me, her eyes watery.
The next thing I knew, I was engulfed in a hug that had my ribs creaking as Hinata hugged me with all her might.
"Thank you for helping me, Naruto-kun." She sniffled, holding me tight.
I didn't bother trying to pry her arms away from me, I just returned the hug.
She let me go and grabbed another cinnamon roll, setting it in my hand.
At the unspoken request, I took a bite. It practically melted in my mouth as I chewed lightly, a moan of contentment exiting my mouth.
It was delicious, Hinata's reaction realistic.
She wasn't going to know what I did. I had spoken with Hiashi about Hinata wanting me to teach her a bit about baking. The man had given me the ingredients list and another sheet of paper that I memorized on what Hinata's mother did when making cinnamon rolls for her daughter.
Thank you, Hiashi.I thought as I basked in the warmth of Hinata's chakra from how happy she was that her cinnamon rolls were just like her mom's.
"Tousan," Hiashi heard his youngest approach his study, "Oneesan finished her cinnamon rolls."
Hiashi turned around and stared at his youngest, his eyes on her face.
Judging by the icing marks on her cheeks and the absence of the cinnamon roll, Hanabi tore into it without much propriety.
"Were they satisfactory?" He asked, letting a smirk appear on his face to clue his daughter in on his good mood.
Hanabi walked closer and handed the one remaining roll to him, her eyes staring hungrily at it.
I best take it now before she eats it.He almost snatched it from the little girl's hand and took a dignified bite from it.
Hiashi thanked Uzumaki Naruto a thousand times over in his head as the familiar texture and taste of the dessert Hitomi would make filled his senses.
Had the boy not approached him about it, he would never have thought to teach Hinata how to make them. The memories of Hitomi demanding cinnamon rolls at all times of the night when she was pregnant with Hinata were too painful for him. Hitomi should've lived to teach Hinata, but the least he could do was give Uzumaki the ingredients and steps Hitomi took.
"-san. Tousan." He heard Hanabi's voice break through his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Hanabi," Hiashi blinked and looked down at his daughter, "I was thinking of something. Why don't you clean your face? I will not have my daughter resembling an ill disciplined toddler."
His daughter predictably huffed lightly, but followed his request and left the room to clean the icing off.
Activating his Byakugan for a moment to make sure she really was gone, Hiashi closed the door and made a hand seal, activating the different seals built into the walls of his office.
The Byakugan could see through practically anything, being able to see the differentcoloursof chakra as well. The only "Weakness", if it could even be called that, outside of the slight blindspot from where the optic nerve was attached to their eyes was the way chakra created a slightshimmerin the air akin to what extreme heat does to the air.
The seals had tracks connecting them that bounced chakra around to replicate it so his lips could not be read or a clear picture shown.
Now that he had the closest thing to privacy he could get, Hiashi slumped down in his chair and reached into a drawer, pulling out a picture.
It was a photo taken a few weeks before the Kyuubi attack and he gazed at his younger counterpart, the lack of stress lines making him envious of that timeframe. Hitomi was visibly pregnant and had a near blinding smile on her face.
I will always love you.Hiashi took another small bite of the roll, closing his eyes as he tried to visualize her right next to him.
Our daughter is far better than I've ever deserved, my love. I wish you could see how she has grown.
Hyuga Hiashi let himself fall into deep thought, the soft crackle of the fireplace a relaxing background noise.
I was now leaving Hinata's house after saying goodbye and getting another heartfelt hug, with a couple of cinnamon rolls sealed in a storage scroll, an additional bit in the seal to keep it insulated so they were still hot.
It was around evening time at this point and Rin had probably eaten supper, and I had dessert for her.
Getting within visual range of our apartment, I felt her chakra like a blazing beacon roughly where our specific apartment was.
Without much thought, I scaled the wall pushed the window open, hopping in the living room. A mop of blonde hair could be seen first as my sister was on the couch, a book in her hand about seals.
"Rin." I called her name, causing her to turn towards me.
"Use the door, please." She said simply, straightening up. "And why did you take so long? It's been a few hours."
"Hinata and I talked for awhile." I explained, pulling out the scroll and wiggling it in front of me.
"Ooh." Rin's eyes widened and I could see her pupils dilate like a cat's, "Gimme."
I popped open the scroll and grabbed one cinnamon roll, grinning as Rin's eyes tracked it.
"Sit," I gestured at the ground, my shoulders shaking from trying not to laugh, "And roll over."
"I'm not a dog," Rin huffed, turning up her nose, "I'm more dignified than that."
The roll in my hand was tossed to her and she let out a small yelp as she almost dropped it.
"Good girl." I cooed, hopping on the couch.
Rin ignored my comment and tore into the roll ravenously, licking her fingers clean as she finished.
The gleaming violet eyes of my sister bored into mine, a soft whisper demanding one thing.
"More."
I kicked my legs up and cradled the scroll, shaking my head.
"You'll get fat if you eat them all."
My self preservation skills were abandoned for the sole purpose of irritating my sister.
"Naruto!" She jumped on top of me, clawing at the scroll, "Give it to me! Mine!"
The two if us ended up tumbling to the ground and I wrestled Rin onto her stomach, her back arched to try and get unpinned.
To rub it in thatIam the superior sibling and that the cinnamon rolls weremine, I channeled lightning chakra through my fingers and dragged the ends up her neck and into her hair, causing her to shriek.
"Narutoooo!" Her hair stood on end and she shivered from the electric shock.
I kept holding her and leaned next to her, whispering in her ear.
"My cinnamon rolls." I then pressed my lips on her neck and blew a zerber, causing her to scream and laugh.
"Let me go. Stop." She kept laughing and trying to push me off. I eventually stopped tormenting her and stood up, grabbing ahold of her and hoisting her up.
I ruffled her hair even more and handed her the scroll, sticking my tongue out as she slapped my arm.
"I hate you." She mumbled, sitting down on the couch and removing another cinnamon roll to eat.
"But you're such a fun sister to torment," I defended my actions, fishing out a roll for myself, "Your reactions are so cute. Like a puppy."
Rin growled something unintelligible under her breath, taking another bite.
The two of sat on the couch for a little bit, not caring about the silence. After the cinnamon rolls I took home were eaten, I reached for the remote to our cheap TV that I got from a cheap junk sale and flipped it on.
The funny thing about Fuinjutsu was that you could tailor seals to seal specific types of objects or energy anddraw ittowards the seal. I could seal fire, lightning, wind, etc. I could even seal certain types of particles into a permeable fabric that let regular air through in case a poison mist was released.
But the reason that was important was that I had managed to create a seal, with a lot of help from Rin, to attract electrical signals such as the signals of television or radio stations.
In short, I used Fuinjutsu to steal TV channels.
Rin and I sat on the couch, her head leaning against my shoulder, as we watched an old rerun of a show older than us.
I don't know exactly when, but Rin dozed off and was snoring lightly as the upteenth rerun finished. I looked down at my sleeping sister, running my hand lightly through her hair.
With a an outstretched hand and a shaping of my fingers, I made a bunshin as quietly as I could. I then concentrated and used a Substitution, blinking at the slight change of vision.
Rin was still sleeping undisturbed and I nodded at my clone, picking up my sister as gently as I could.
It was still a little strange how easy it was I could lift her up, even after having this body for twelve years. She wasn't exactly light, only being an inch or two shorter than me, but I chalked it up to chakra fortifying muscles to an extreme.
I carried her to her room and set her down, covering her up. I then looked at how soft her features were as she slept, her eyes moving under her lids. I gently kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear.
"I love you, Rin." I then straightened up and tiptoed out of the room, wanting to continue what I'd been working on for some time.
"How the hell did Tobirama even make this?"I said to myself, out loud in English, still astounded by the complexity of the Hiraishin
The Hiraishin was a work of genius. If I was correct in my theory, most of Tobirama's jutsu he made were to combat Uchiha. The Hiraishin couldn't be tracked, Kage bunshin were indistinguishable from the original, and Edo Tensei meant that you'd have to fight your own kin. Even with my knowledge of this world, it would take me years to make my own sealing formula.
Maybe there's similarities via blood.
It may be useful for me to get ahold of a copy of my father's formula. Itcouldgo a long way to cutting down on how long it would take. But there was no harm in studying the original. I still remember the look of relief on Hiruzen's face when I explained my reasoning for choosing the Hiraishin.
(Flashback)
I was at Hiruzen's home, his study more specifically, the Scroll in his hand. It had been a week since the incident with Mizuki. Hiruzen had requested that I came over to discuss some things. After telling Rin where I was going, I made my way to the Hokage's house. Which put me right where I am now.
Hiruzen looked at me, a slight amount of sympathy in his posture.
"Everything alright, Naruto?" he asked kindly.
"I'll get through it." I said sincerely.
I had my suspicions that Hiruzen was wanting to distract me with the jutsu he promised. I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth though.
"Why the scroll?" I asked, fairly certain why he had it.
"You can pick a jutsu to learn." he said quietly, "I'll help you with picking one that would suit your combat style."
Nodding to him, I prepared to look at the scroll. Hiruzen opened it up, set it on his desk, and beckoned me to look at it. I saw the jutsus. Tajuu Kage bunshin, Hiraishin, Rasengan, a few high caliber water jutsu, and a Genjutsu that looked to be able to overwhelm most Sharingan users. Looking through them, I frowned when I noticed that two had their instructions blocked out.
Edo Tensei and the Eight Trigrams seal.
I gave Hiruzen a look, questioning why some were blocked out.
"They involve controlling the dead and sealing Bijuu." Hiruzen said softly, his tone a melancholic one.
I shivered at the thought. I don't know how I ended up here, but one of the things I feared was not being myself. Tobirama and Hashirama were forced from their deaths to fight their student, unable to break free from the control. I'd already felt what it was like to be incomplete. It was a terrible feeling to not be Eight Trigrams reminded me of the sensation of the Shinigami's presence.
Emptiness was what it was. Even the background environment had a faint buzz of chakra. But the Shinigami was nothing. No buzz to it. Like the void I had been in for I don't know how long. I couldn't fathom ever being driven to sealing myself into this world's version of Purgatory.
Hiruzen probably noticed me shiver when he mentioned the word "dead" or "Bijuu".
"Are you alright, my boy?" he asked softly.
Taking a small gulp of air, I nodded shakily, "I remember how it felt," I said softly, "The Shinigami felt like a void. The Kyuubi felt like hell itself. It brought back memories." I finished weakly.
Hiruzen put a hand on my shoulder, grimacing slightly. "I didn't realize," he started, "I could have simply copied some to show you."
I waved off his apology. "It doesn't matter," I said, "You meant nothing by it."
Hiruzen smiled softly to me. "Have you decided on one?" he asked.
I nodded, pointing towards one that could tip the scales if I could master it within a few years.
"The Hiraishin." I heard Hiruzen whisper.
"What better way to honour the man who gave up his life to save me and Rin." I said quietly. "What better way to honour your Sensei too. They gave so much so I could have a home, so I could live."
I saw Hiruzen's eyes glisten. "You really mean that, don't you?" he said.
I nodded. "Even if many of the villagers hate Rin and me, they're not any less worthy of saving. I know I'll be stronger than most, one day. This village is your home, it's Rin's, it's Kakashi's, it's mine." I said firmly, "And I'll protect it just like my parents did, and you have."
I stepped towards Hiruzen and gave him a hug. "Keep that hat warm for me, Jiji," I whispered, "I'll need it when you're done."
I felt Hiruzen's body seem to sag as if I'd just taken the greatest weight in the world off his shoulders. Maybe I did. I'd never said I'd want to become Hokage to him. Until now.
"I will, Naruto," he said, a lone tear coming from his eye, "I will."
(End Flashback)
Closing up the scroll with my Fuinjutsu notes on it, I sat there for a moment, index and thumb pressing on the bridge of my nose, trying to stave off the ache in my eyes. I'd been reading and writing notes for the better part of a few hours, I was bound to strain my eyes, even with accelerated healing.
I wonder how the Hyuga feel when they irritate their eyes. Might need to ask Hinata.
Putting up the notes by sealing them into my sealed scroll, I headed to bed.
Will Fuinjutsu work in English?was my last thought before going to sleep.
End Chapter.
Chapter 16: Team assignments
Chapter Text
Team assignment was today. The two week wait was finally over. Kakashi told me I'd be part of Team 7's test, but he didn't give any details. I'd get acquainted with the other teams within the first week, and by the look in Kakashi's eyes, he planned on having some fun.
He knows how irritated Rin and me get when he'd intentionally show up late a couple of times.
The insufferably lazy Jonin would make us go out to find him to drag him to training.
Helping us with tracking, He said. Although thatwastrue that it did help, I'm pretty certain he just liked to screw with us.
You'll get your comeuppance if you're late this time.
Rin and I walked to the Academy, a spring in her step being noticeable. She'd been elated since she realized Hinata would be on her team. Even Sasuke couldn't put a dampener on her mood.
Keeping ahold of her hand, we arrived at the Academy, most of the other Rookie 9 already there. Nodding towards Shikamaru and Choji in acknowledgement, I sat right next to Hinata, Rin sitting next to Sasuke to irritate him once again.
She pisses him off more than I do.I chuckled to myself.
I'd never think of breaking someone's nose, then proceed to "apologize" by setting it back in place. His shout of pain and the fangirls shrieking and wailing about their "Sasuke-kun" getting manhandled by another girl never failed to bring me amusement.
Sasuke should have known better than to snicker at Rin being called a bitch.
Calling her "crazy" ticked her off, but "bitch" was a sure fire way to set her off. I'd never call my sister that word, but it was funny to see her get worked up and take it out on the fangirls in taijutsu sparring.
Waiting several minutes for Iruka, I wondered what was taking so long. This was the second time he was late, what's going on?
Bored, and wishing to pass the time, I started singing softly.
Rin shot me a glare when she could hear me because I was singing in a language she couldn't understand. Joke's on her though, it technicallyisa language she knows, just not the version she would understand.
"Lociende ymbe rum, nile tellan th'e his raed."
What the hell is he singing?Sasuke thought with a narrowing of his eyes. He wasn't going to try understanding a single word of the language Naruto was yammering on in.
Rin was almost vibrating next to him from how irate she was. He could hear her muttering something about "Always doing this." Sasuke just assumed that Naruto did this to irritate her specifically.
Siblings tormenting each other.
Praying that neither of them would be on his team, his thoughts settled towards wondering who his Jonin instructor would be. He'd heard about there being a taijutsu specialist and a Genjutsu mistress, but nothing concrete on who they were, or who their colleagues were.
"For thenung is on cycenan bathod on ise Ic beo waeht for lange hwile."
Will heSHUT UPfor two minutes!
Sasuke was ready to yell at the only redhead in their class to shut up. He'd not had the best of sleep and was already on a short fuse from the nightmares that plagued him for the last four years.
Naruto's pitch then shifted to a higher one.
"And secge thin haer is on fyre thu most hafian losod thin witt, gea."
"Shut up." Sasuke finally growled, his fuse finally burned out.
Naruto just stared at him, bright blue eyes full of sadness.
"That was rude." he fake sniffled. "Not even my beloved loves my singing voice."
Sasuke clenched his fists, tired of all the jokes about himlovingNaruto.
"I'd prefer the fangirls over you, idiot." he said coldly.
Sasuke twitched when he heard Rin huff right next to him.
"Don't call my brother an idiot." Rin said, her eyes narrowed, "Only I get to call him that."
Sasuke turned to Rin. "You," he pointed at her, "Are crazy," he then pointed at Naruto, "and he is an idiotandas crazy as you."
Rin hopped on to the desk and stared straight into his eyes, just inches from his face.
"Your'brides-to-be'are stupid fangirls." she growled, "and you," she leaned closer, "have a duck's butt for a head. Don't you, Uke-kun?" she grinned sweetly, displaying her teeth.
Sasuke's glare intensified as he refused to break eye contact with the blonde.
Thatdamnnickname.He seethed, his hands clenched on his desk.
Sasuke never did discover who threw the book. Whether it was Ino, Sakura, or some other fangirl, he didn't know. What he did know was that a book went sailing through the air and struck Rin in the back of the head. The impact drove her face forward several inches...directly into his own.
Oh Kami, no!He internally screamed, not believing the hell he was thrown in.
Her lips were pressed against his, his horror growing by every nanosecond as his thoughts turned to how soft her lips were. She pulled away, a look of shock and horror on her face matching his own. Her face then changed to one of fury.
I'm dead.
The next thing he knew, she'd grabbed ahold of his hair and smashed his face into the desk, hard enough that he heard a crack and felt agony burn through his nose.
Shouting in pain and trying and failing to get his hair out of her grip, he heard her growl towards everybody behind her.
"Who threw that?!" She snarled, her eyes burning with fury at the unknown thrower.
Sasuke shivered at the rage in her voice, temporarily losing the psychological fight mentality.
Nobody answered.
"Nobody?" she said, her tone slightly manic. "Ok," she continued, "I'm going to have fun." she said, eyeing Sasuke like he was prey to be pounced upon.
Trying to pull away from her, he felt a couple of his hairs pull loose as her grip tightened and he fell to the ground, trying to crawl from her.
"I'm not done yet." she growled at him, reaching for his face.
"Stay away." He stammered fearfully, not liking the look in her eyes.
"You need your nose fixed, Sasuke-kun." She said sweetly, wiggling her fingers slightly. "I'm just trying to help."
Sasuke shook his head, trying to avoid making eye contact with the scary girl standing over him.
"No." He whimpered, trying to drag himself away from the crazy blonde, "I can do it myself."
"You need awoman'stouch." She said, her tone dripping fake kindness, before she jumped on him.
Sasuke kept his hands over his face to stop her from grabbing his nose, the jostling causing the pain to flare up even more so. He heard Ino and Sakura try to pull Rin off of him, only to see several bunshin appear and tackle the girls to the ground.
They're solid?He thought, before two more bunshin grabbed ahold of his arms and pulled them away from his face.
"Don't be a baby and take it like a man, Sasuke." She said, before reaching for his face.
This was the scene Iruka walked into. A twelve year old blonde straddling the waist of a boy she hated, grabbing ahold of his face to reset his broken nose, all the while as the aforementioned boy was screaming bloody murder at being restrained by the girl's clones.
He also saw her clones holding down Ino and Sakura from helping Sasuke. Shikamaru was pale and looking between the two blondes, muttering something about "Troublesome blondes". Choji was snickering at his friend's fear at the thought of Ino being on their team. Kiba was laughing like a loon and kept shouting "Cat fight". Shino was appearing to try and ignore what was happening, but one could see he was shaking slightly from laughter if one looked close enough.
Hinata had her head buried in her hands, horrified at the thought of having to deal with the two of them now. Naruto's face was shifting between multiple expressions at an almost indecipherable rate. One moment, it was of anger. Another moment, it was revulsion. He sent a few death glares at Kiba everytime he said "Cat fight". But the two most prevalent expressions were amusement, and strangely, worry.
Ino, Sakura, and the fangirls were shouting at Rin, demanding that she get off of Sasuke, to stop hurting him. Iruka had enough after only looking for a few seconds.
"What is going on?!" he shouted, using hisBig HeadJutsu.
Everything got quiet, aside from Rin's heavy breathing and Sasuke's whimpers of pain.
Rin looked straight at Iruka, before answering. "Sasuke slipped and fell. He broke his nose from falling and his 'girlfriends'", she stared at the other girls, "Didn't like me putting his nose back in place."
"That's a lie," Sakura shouted, "Yo-".
"Quiet," Iruka demanded, not in the mood for quarreling girls. "Continue, Rin." he said, knowing that she probably wasn't being completely truthful.
"He fell," Rin said, "On his desk and I helped him... Didn't I, Sasuke-kun?" she finished sweetly, eyeing the boy she still had pinned to the ground.
Sasuke just gave a slight grunt of pain.
"Close enough." Rin said happily, before standing and going back to her seat, all her clones dispelling.
Iruka just shook his head.Thankfully this is their last day. It'll be someone else's problem to deal with them.He chuckled to himself.
After the room was paying attention to him, he addressed the graduating students.
"I will be announcing team placements." he said to the class. "Team 10 will be Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. With Sarutobi Asuma as your Jonin Sensei."
Shikamaru and Choji showed no surprise, though Shikamaru looked depressed at the thought of dealing with Ino today, given whatjustoccurred.
"Team 8," Iruka continued, "Will be Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Haruno Sakura. Your Jonin Sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai."
Hinata adopted a contemplative look at the mentioning of the kind ruby-eyed woman who had helped her when she was younger, until Naruto and Rin came along.
"Team 7 will consist of Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke perked up at his name being mentioned, avoiding making eye contact with Rin, "Hyuga Hinata,"
Good. Not a fangirl.Sasuke thought with relief.
"And Uzumaki Rin."
A tingle went up Sasuke's spine like some spectral creature just cut his life short.
I didn't hear him correctly.Sasuke thought, horror showing on his face.Nother.I'll take all the fangirls before her. She'll probably kill me on a mission after what just happened. She'll make it look like an accident.
"It's destiny, Sasuke-kun." She whispered to him, a sinister grin on her face that promised pain, "You can't fight Fate."
Sasuke flinched at her tone.Her brother would have been better.
"Hatake Kakashi will be your Jonin Sensei." Iruka finished, before sitting down behind his desk.
Over the next half hour, Jonin's Yuuhi and Sarutobi arrived to collect their students. Hatake had failed to show up.
Why is everybody late today?Sasuke thought, this day being an atrocious one in his opinion.
Of coursethathappened.I thought cynically.
I never thought I would cause a "canon" event to happen from boredom. I'd been prepared to put the fear of God in Sasuke and whichever shrew chucked the book at Rin's head. Rin managed to do it far better than I'd been thinking of doing. I would have just punched Sasuke. She had humiliated himandthe fangirls.
I knew Rin would be mortified at the thought of accidentally kissing the guy she considered to be an "emo duck ass".
I taught her well.It gave me ample blackmail material on the two of them. Butanotherevent that happened to "canon" Naruto happened to Rin. I knew that I was being paranoid to a ridiculous level, but knowing I was being irrational didn't stop me from still thinking about it though.
Over the course of an hour, everyone but Me, Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke had cleared out of the room.
"He's doing it again."Rin muttered to herself irritatedly.
"Hinata," I asked kindly, "Could you try and find where he's at?" I gestured to my temple to signify her eyes.
Hinata looked slightly ticked at Kakashi taking so long. She nodded before activating her Byakugan. After a moment, her face shifted to one of resignment.
"He seems to be lost on the road of Life." she said, almost as annoyed as Rin.
The day I found out there was a road in Konoha called "Life" was the day that I nearly wept at the BS that Iknewwould happen. Kakashi could get himselfloston that specific road and truthfully say he was lost on the road of life.
"Is there a cat or old lady?" I asked in a deadpanned voice.
Hinata reactivated her eyes, trying to investigate. "I see a few ninken," she started, "And they're chasing a black cat."
Muttering"Screw it."under my breath in English, I got up to leave.
"I'll drag him here. No guarantee on him being alive." I informed them in an aggravated tone, before walking out the door.
Sasuke looked at the doorway where Naruto had just vanished, then to Rin, then Hinata.
"What is even happening?" He asked, not understanding what was even going on.
"What's happening," Rin growled, "Is that our stupid Sensei is finding an excuse to be late as usual when he wants to pissmeoff."
"Wait," Sasuke stepped in, "Youknowhim?"
"Yeah," Rin replied, "He's helped me and Naruto from time to time." The girl didn't elaborate further.
Is that why they're so good?Sasuke thought darkly.Favortism?
"So he's being late intentionally... to mess with us?" he asked.
"Yes," Rin said with a frown, "and he knows how to make a good excuse."
Sasuke thought on what Naruto had asked Hinata, then what Hinata's reply had been.
It then dawned on Sasuke what their Sensei was doing.
"You're telling me," he started, his voice tight, "That our Sensei intentionally got lost on a road called 'Life' so he can say he was lost on the Road of Life and not be lying?"
Rin just nodded. "And he's scared black cats to run in front of him."
Most veteran Shinobi had at the very least some degree of superstition. It tends to happen when your trade is one involving killing and running the risk of being killed. Kakashi could truely say he felt a sense of danger from seeing a black cat cross his path.
Sasuke groaned at the realization of who he'd be training under.
He's sounds like Shikamaru.
After about 10 minutes, Kakashi showed up. He was above average height with a mask, his Hitai-ate covering his left eye, and silver hair that seemed to stand up on its own accord. His posture was a bored one.
"Hello." he said, his tone relaxed.
"You're late." Rin said, her tone clipped.
"Sorry about that." he said, rubbing the back of his head, "I got lost on the Road of Life."
"We know." Hinata frowned at him.
Kakashi just looked at her. "I also saw a black cat walk across, so I needed to take the long way."
"We know." Rin growled.
Sasuke just remained quiet, looking at the nightmare that was unfolding before his very eyes.
Just end me.
"First expression," Kakashi said, looking at the three, "You have a temper," pointing at Rin, "You're quiet," he pointed at Hinata, "And you take things too seriously." he finished, looking at Sasuke."
A slight grunt was all that Sasuke responded with.
"I don't speak emo." Kakashi said simply, "Meet me on the roof. By the way, you might want to do something about your nose." he added, before he Shunshinedto the roof.
He's like a cursed mixture between Shikamaru and Naruto.Sasuke thought, desperately trying to clean the blood off his still throbbing nose.Is this day going to get any worse?
I'd decided to mess with Kakashi and Sasuke. After about 10 minutes of standing outside the Academy, I Henged as Kakashi and walked into the Academy to act like I'd gotten Kakashi to get his ass over here.
After messing with the three, I Shunshined to the roof, waiting for the three to reach me. Pulling out a copy of Icha Icha I had bought for such an event, I peered over the top of the book to see the three of them walking towards me, Rin having a look of irritation on her face at what I was reading.
"Where's Naruto?" she asked, her tone betraying her continued irritation.
Still looking at the book, I answered. "He wasn't looking forward to 'dealing with me'", I said, turning a page, "He said he'd be at home and let you deal with me."
Rin's face twisted into an aggravated one and I heard her mutter 'Idiot brother' under her breath.
"Now," I said, closing the book and smiling, "Would we like to do introductions?"
I decided to start as an example. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I like my dogs and reading books. My dislikes are traitors and those who don't appreciate good literature," I glanced at Rin, who discreetly flipped me the bird, " My dreams... Hmmn. Not sure about future dreams. I know I'dloveto be in an Icha Icha film, even it were just a bit part." I finished, relishing in the looks I was receiving from Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke.
Rin glared at me for a moment, before following suite. "My name is Uzumaki Rin. I like my brother, Hinata, ramen, and training. I dislike liarsandpeople who annoy me." she gritted out, glaring at Sasuke and me, Sasuke twitching at the glare. "My dreams are to be a strong kunoichi and protect the village... and have a family one day." she added quietly.
Rin had always told me how she wanted to have a large family one day. It was a dream I had in both my lives. Family meant a great deal to me in my last life. It wasn't any different in this one.
I then looked to Hinata, gesturing her to go next.
"My name is Hyuga Hinata." she started quietly, "I like my friends Rin and Naruto, my sister Hanabi, my Father, and cinnamon rolls. I dislike rude and cruel people. My dream is to be a strong clan head and bring my clan together again."
I nodded, before turning to Sasuke. He glared at me slightly before answering.
"Uchiha Sasuke." he said, his tone neutral. "There are few things I like, but there are plenty of things I hate." His voice then changed to an have an icy tone. "I don't have a dream, I have a promise. To kill a certain man and restore my clan."
I just gave him a look at hisgrandproclamation. "You didn't give anything about you." I said simply, "I'll just fill in the blanks with my own ideas." I then adopted a look of deep thought. "I think youlikeNaruto."
Sasuke sent me a look promising death at that. "I don't li-"
"You hate that he doesn't like you back." I interrupted, hearing Rin snicker to the left. "You see how this game is played?" I asked, "I'll keep it up until you show that you're willing to share like the rest of us."
Sasuke looked at me with hatred, before seeming to deflate at my gaze. Taking a deep breath, he looked directly into my eyes. "I like training, tomatoes, and curry." he said tightly, "I hate betrayal." he whispered.
I gave him a sympathetic look. "Thank you." I said.
"There will be a test to determine whether I accept you as students tomorrow."
At that, Sasuke looked back at me with a surprised look on his face. "What do you mean a 'second test'?" he demanded, "We already graduated."
"Nothing forces me to accept you." I shrugged. "If what I see tomorrow impresses me, I'll accept you."
Hinata and Rin were aware of what would happen tomorrow, so they kept quiet.
"Be at training ground 7 at 6:30." I said, "I'd recommend not eating breakfast, you'll likely vomit." I then prepped to leave. But before I did, I gave one more bit of information. "The test begins when we're all there. Try not to be late."
I then disappeared into a Shunshin, making my way to no location in particular.
Kakashi finally got to the Academy after walking around and messing with his prospective students. He'd visited the memorial earlier, but had a great deal of time to drag out before he was supposed to greet them.
He used his tried and tested route across the Road of Life andgot loston it, getting a sense of Deja Vu with every couple steps, only toforgetwhere he was. Pakkun and the rest of his dogs helped with the black cat.
Naruto looked like he was going to have a stroke the first time he saw the road sign.He snickered to himself.
Anytime he'd have a mission that was lower than A-rank, he'd show up hours late. ANBU missions, when he was still part of the group, were ones where he wasalwayspunctual. Testing Academy students, and normally failing them, was a much loved pastime of his. The only students that age who understood the true strength of teamwork were Rin, Naruto, and Hinata.
Teamwork was what made Konoha the dominant military power in the Elemental Nations. Mid-tier Shinobi working together had a much greater chance of surviving conflict. Konoha nin may have had a slightly duller edge in self sufficiency when separated from their team, but 3 Konoha A-ranks working together as a team werefarmore dangerous than 3 A-ranks from Kumo, Suna, Iwa, or Kiri.
Teamwork makes us great.
Kumo and Iwa may have quantity, but Konoha had quality. Konoha had a similar number of S-ranks as the other major villages, but their B and A ranks could work together much better, and there wereveryfew individuals capable of turning the tide of a war on their own.
Sensei was one, though.
Arriving at the Academy nearly 2 hours late, he made his way to where he could vaguely sense four people's signatures.
Opening the door, he witnessed a horrific sight.
He saw Gai in a green speedo, stretched horizontally on a turtle, the only article of clothing on hisoiledframe was the speedo.
"Are you going to draw me like one of youryouthfulgirls, Kakashi?" he gave a dazzling smile.
Kakashi felt bile rise in his throat, his eye twitching.
I'm going to kill you, Naruto.
Stalking towards him, he saw 'Gai's' smile grew even more. "Yes!" he shouted, "Show me youryouth,Kakashi! Fill me with your flames of YOUTH!"
Kakashi blasted him with a concentrated application of lightning chakra. 'Gai' shouted in pain, before the Henge dispelled on him and the clone Henged as the turtle took the brunt of the shock, dispelling it in the process.
"The hell, Kakashi." Naruto growled out, "You didn't have to hit me that hard. You almost popped me."
I don't even get the benefit of killing the real one.Kakashi growled to himself.
"Where's the original?" He demanded, "Where is Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke?"
"Rooftop to both answers." The clone said, a sly grin on his face. "Like the show, myyouthfulrival?"
Kakashi simply responded with chucking a kunai that the clone didn't bother trying to avoid.
Tomorrow's test will be a living hell for him.He thought angrily.I'm going to useThetaijutsu technique.
Arriving on the rooftop, he saw the three he came for. Taking only one step forward, he felt a wire break.
Shit.
He noticed a tag hidden under a rock that was pulled off by his foot catching on the wire. The seal explodedgreenpaint all over him, and he smelled something that made him want to strip naked and scrub the foul scent off of him.
Catnip.
He heard Rin laughing hysterically, Hinata was smiling, and Sasuke's lips twitched upwards.
The little red haired irritant was cackling like a damn fox at his predicament.
"Don't be late." Naruto managed to breathe out after trying to wheeze out a sentence.
Kakashi stalked towards him, paint dripping from his clothes. "You," he growled.
"Yes," Naruto grinned at him, "Me."
"I'm going to kill you." he said, his tone as cold as ice.
Naruto snorted and looked unrepentant.
"You know you love me." Naruto responded cheekily.
Kakashi looked at the other three, then to Naruto. "Keep out of the way." he bit out towards Naruto.
Kakashi then went through the same likes, dislikes, and goals talk he'd give all the time. He got what he expected. Rin liked her brother and wanted to be strong. Hinata loved her friends and family, and wanted to bring her clan together. Sasuke was emo as he expected in his reply, wanting to kill his brother.
Not that I can fault him.
Kakashi was about to gesture for Naruto to add in his 2 cents, but Naruto shot him a grin.
A grin he didnotlike.
"You are dismissed, my servants." he said gruffly, looking towards the three.
What?
The three then dispelled.
I should never have taught him Kage bunshin.Kakashi growled to himself.
"You wasted my time talking to them." he said irritatedly.
"You wasted my time too." Naruto replied simply.
Kakashi just groaned at what had happened. "Where are they?" he asked.
"IHengedas you and did the whole 'Likes and Dislikes' talk. I actually played you very well," he said, "Even Rin and Hinata were convinced I was you."
Kakashi just looked at him with barely disguised irritation, with a small amount of pride as well.
He actually managed to copy the Copy Nin.
"I also set up the time for the test." Naruto added.
Oh great.he thought sarcastically.
Kakashi sighed. "What time?" he asked.
"Noon." Was Naruto's reply.
"Noon?" Kakashi asked, shocked at the time, "That's a bit late, don't you think?"
"And you weren't?" Naruto asked rhetorically.
Sensei, your son's going to send me to an early grave.He thought.
"Why the Gai joke again?" he asked, revulsion making it's way into his voice.
"I'd be repulsed at the thought ofmehaving sweaty, naked fun time withmybest friend." he said simply.
"Your two closest friends are female." Kakashi pointed out.
"And one is my sister." Naruto choked out, his face turning a shade of green. "Don't joke about that."
Checkmate.
"I like how you didn't dispute Hinata." Kakashi grinned.
I got him.
Naruto's face still showed disgust. "It's not like that." he said.
"You sure?" Kakashi asked, noting Naruto's discomfort, "I know first-hand that girls like geniuses." he waggled his eyebrows to embarrass the kid.
"This conversation is over." Naruto said flatly.
"No, let me finish." Kakashi wasn't going to relent, he needed to know something that he still second guessed "You traced a penis on my face. Hyuga can see through clothes. I bet Hinata saw something she liked."
Naruto's face turned red. "T-that's not," he sputtered, "I didn'tactuallytrace it."
Kakashi was relieved at that. Healmostthought Naruto would actually have done it.
"What did you trace then?"
"Notmyjunk," he shouted, "I'm not a barbarian. Besides, I'm not a damn horse from the waist down. And don't make me think of what the Hyuga use their eyes for. It's creepy." he shuddered.
"Most boys your age would love to think a pretty girl finds them good looking enough to catch a peak."
"I'm not most." he deadpanned.
Kakashi normally didn't make jokes this in depth around students of his. Naruto happened to be an exception. Naruto understoodeveryjoke Anko and Kakashi made when they passed the time when Naruto and Rin were working on Jutsu. These were jokes that a twelve year old normally wouldn't understand the reference to.
He acts almost like Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was a pervert before he even seemed to hit puberty. Minato had told stories of how Jiraiya would regale his genin team with grand tales about thewondersof the fairer sex.
Probably why he seemed so kind and polite. He saw how much a lecher was disliked by the women.
Jiraiya was a true ladies man when he wanted to be, but normally didn't act like a gentleman because he probably found it so damn funny to play the part of aSUPERPervert.
Kakashi read Icha Icha in public often because he'd be able to read his favorite choice of literatureandget a rise out of people.
Him showing Naruto how to shit-talk and throw people off with crude jokes was a form of training in itself. People underestimated Jiraiya when they think he's just a pervert who writes smut to make money. A sarcastic kid and prankster would also be seen as less dangerous.
But Kakashi knew better. He'd seen Jiraiya and Minato do full speed spars. Even with the Hiraishin, Minato was still left short of breath, limping, and bruised from fighting his Sensei. Even though he did lose to his student almost every time, Jiraiya had made him work for every last advantage.
If I can get Naruto to seamlessy make joke, he'll have a second camouflage to his personality.
He couldn't do this with Rin and Hinata. The thought made him uncomfortable at making crude jokes to twelve year oldgirls. Anko was better at teaching girls how to taunt and throw people off their composure. He could do it with a mature twelve year old boy, but girls needed a different approach.
Maybe it's because I'm better at joking like guys do.
Naruto stared at Kakashi with annoyance. "Can we drop this?" He requested.
"Yeah." Kakashi answered, "But don't think I won't get you back for this." he gestured towards the paint all over him.
"You like the catnip?" Naruto grinned, "I thought I'd help you out. It'll do you good to attract all the pussy, given no woman wants to be around a pervert." he quipped.
Kakashi's eye twitched.
"Naruto," he said quietly, "Run."
Naruto prepped to dive off the roof, but before he did, he left a final parting shot. "I used Gai as the tracer." before theClonedispelled.
"IhateShadow clones."he growled.He's lying about tracingit.
The visuals still didn't help.
Still nearly overwhelmed by the reek of catnip, he summoned Pakkun and the rest of his ninken.
"Hey, Kakashi." Pakkun greeted him, before cringing at the smell, "Why do you smell like a cat shelter?"
"Naruto." Kakashi gritted out.
"Oh." was the reply, "Well, what do you need us for?" he asked.
"Keep the cats away from me, please." he requested.
"No prob, boss."
Pakkun saw Kakashi turn his back to head down to get to his house, only to spot something peculiar.
"Kakashi," he asked, "What's that on your back?"
Kakashi grabbed at his back and felt a piece of loose fabric. He balled it up and flung it off the roof when he saw what it was.
It was a green speedo.
"Ugh," Rin scowled as she tried to focus wind chakra into a kunai, flinging it at a tree.
The steel buried itself into the wood, but didn't pierce completely through it.
Rin resented, more than once, Naruto having two affinities that didn't mesh with hers. They were twins! Why couldn't they have the same so he could help her out?
Naruto was progressing faster than her, but at least she wasn't stagnating.
Looking around at the forest, she replayed the events of today.
Tomorrow was the test, Kakashi was a pervert, and Sasuke-.
Rin gritted her teeth and wiped her mouth again for the hundredth time.
Absolutely disgusting. The horror ofUchiha Sasukebeing her first kiss still haunted her. The only it could'vepossiblitybeen worse was if it was Naruto.
She shivered at the thought, banishing it to the confines of hell.
Focusing as much as she could, the blonde Uzumaki went through the needed hand seals and shaped wind chakra around her hands.
Futon:Juha Sho.(Beast Tearing Palm).
It was a jutsu she'd been working hard on for weeks to pull off. Naruto had several ranged water jutsu and she was trying to manage an area effect wind one that could cut.
Slashing her hand across her body downward, Rin felt herself get launched back a few feet and landed roughly on her back.
She caught a glimpse of blue and a howling sound, followed by a loud impact noise and a groan.
She pushed herself up right as a tree fell down, sliced clean in half.
"I did it." She said to herself, genuinely surprised.
I did it. She realized, seeing how the tree was torn in half.
"I did it!" She whooped, jumping in the air and throwing up a fist in triumph.
"Beat that, Naruto." She laughed, ecstatic that she finally pulled it off.
Sure, she got knocked to the ground and the wind wasn't stable enough to tear through several trees like it was described, but it actually worked.
Smiling brightly, Rin called today's training a success. She practically skipped back home, ready for tomorrow's test.
Sasuke drove a kunai into the wooden dummy, ducking an imaginary punch and flipping over the wood target, flinging another kunai at a target he nailed to a tree.
Before his feet even hit the ground, his hands were already in motion, forming hand seals.
Kaiton: Gokakyu no Jutsu.
The fireball struck the disposable dummy, burning it to a crisp.
Without hesitation, Sasuke bolted towards a separate target, sliding under it and using the momentum to twist and fling ninja wire to ensnare it.
With a jerk, the wood board was pulled to the ground and he was back to his feet, flicking three shuriken into his hand, the weapons flying from his fingers to hit three other targets.
All three hit the center.
The alarm he set then dinged, bringing an end to the exercise.
Sucking in deep breaths, Sasuke pushed his damp hair back, putting his hands behind his head to breath easier.
He was two seconds faster this time around. It took three minutes and thirty eight seconds last time, but he could do even better.
Sasuke finished catching his breath and decided to go again.
He needed to get his mind off of his Jonin Sensei being a nightmare for him. He needed a serious and competent teacher, not a lazy pervert like Hatake Kakashi.
And theotherthing plaguing him didn't help.
Stupid book.He growled to himself, flinging a shuriken at the bell to trip it again.
Uzumaki Rin was the most insufferable female he ever had the displeasure of knowing. Loud, opinionated, and extremely violent were the main traits of her.
Stupid blonde.He growled internally, running through the proper motions of his training drill.
Within seconds, Sasuke knew he wasn't going to break the time, but he still kept running through the katas and target practice.
Once he finished and was wobbling from fatigue, he saw he had lost thirty seconds.
Sasuke's flung a shuriken at a target angrily, not even hitting it.
"Damnit." He pulled his shirt off, walking back to his house that was a short distance from where he was training.
He got inside and tossed the damp article of clothing to the corner and hopped into the shower, turning it on to clean up.
After finishing washing the sweat and wear of the day, Sasuke stepped out and put on fresh clothes, going to his kitchen to fix supper.
The silence of the next couple hours was normal for Sasuke. He fixed the food in silence, ate it in silence, being totally alone, and washed the plate in silence.
Just like any other day, Sasuke went to sleep, not finding proper rest since the night four years ago.
End Chapter.
This chapter didnotwant to get written. Constant rewrites and spacing out on what to write and how to do it. Next chapter will be the bell test.
This arc will have a great deal of Naruto being a smartass to the Rookie 9. His comments and quips towards the fangirls helped to motivate them into being better. I'll be relentless to Sasuke for much of this arc. If I give him an out, it will require a lot of soul searching on his part and Naruto, Rin, and Hinata knocking some sense into him.
This chapter doesnotmean Rin and Sasuke will get together in the future. I know a lot of stories with a "FemNaruto" have the two together, but I had two choices to screw with Sasuke... Either have it happen to Naruto, in which case Naruto would make a bunch of stupid jokes about 'soulmates' and 'destiny' to screw with him... Or it would happen to Rin and involve her beating the crap out of Sasuke. I thought the latter would be funnier. I'm undecided on whether Rin and Sasuke will get together. It'll take Sasuke getting his head out of his ass to evenpossiblymake it work. I'm still undecided, based upon a couple ideas I have for the plot.
I'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading. Comments help to know how I'm doing and they are greatly appreciated.
Later.
Raging.
Chapter 17: Team 7
Chapter Text
The alarm I had set to cause a seal next to my hairline to vibrate on time hit 5:30. Groaning at the the buzzing, I crawled out of bed before stretching.
It's been lonely waking up.
It had been a little over a year since Rin and I started sleeping in separate beds. Weshouldhave stopped earlier, but Rin had nightmares of me disappearing in the night, never to come back. I'd shiver constantly if I wasn't near her when I slept.
Probably from us being Jinchuriki to the same entity.
It was something I talked to Hiruzen about. Even if I was averygood sensor, and a slight empathic one at that, I shouldn't be having the same sensation as Rin when we were separated during REM sleep. I'd had fears that Kurama's two halves might have been more connected than originally thought. The tightenings were still on my seal, while Rin didn't have them. It took a great deal of time for the both of us to get accustomed to sleeping separately. Having to explain to herwhywas somehow even worse.
In my over 3 combined decades of life, I'd never stopped to think that I'd have to be given "The Talk" twice. Rin had it with Anko last year, and judging by the look of near trauma on her face when she returned from her and Anko having a little "girl talk", it was probably a mixed bag on what the hell Anko explained to her.
Kakashi was the one saddled with me. It was one of the few times I decided not to screw with him because I'd never seen the man more uncomfortable. I explained that I understood the basics, but he stillinsistedon making sure I knew things that were accurate.
(Undesired Flashback)
"So," Kakashi started uncomfortably, "You know why we're here?"
The two of was were at a park, sitting on the bench with nobody near us.
I just nodded slightly at his question, the day being one of the worst I'd had in years.
My sense of smell may have been a godsend for when I'd be out in the field, or when training under Kakashi, but it brought me one of the most awful experiences I've had, right up there with being squeezed out at birth.
Rin had woken me up with her shouting. Shouting that she was bleeding. I'd thought she'd somehow been attacked or hurt herself. I'd smelled the blood. My mind had gone into combat mode, until I realized where the bloodstain was.
I had rushed to the bathroom to vomit when I realized what I hadsmelt. I'd smelt blood on women before. I'dalwaysassumed that it was from missions, given that most of the Village carried a faint scent of blood do to the traffic of Shinobi coming in from missions. My whole world seemed to flip when I realized that may not have been the case on every single occasion when I smelled blood on some of the female ANBU that had guarded us when we were younger.
Calming her down had been a nightmare, but I managed. I'd ended up forcing Kakashi to help, and he promptly dropped it in Anko's lap since she'd be able to explain it better than he could.
Which left us in the current situation. Hiruzen, after giving me a look of sympathy when he found out how I made the discovery, ordered Kakashi to explain things to me. Between me and Kakashi, I don't know which one was more horrified.
Kakashi looked at me. "What all do you know?" He asked.
I just looked at him. "Are you really going to make me say it out loud?" I asked, my tone pitiful. "I joke about it enough that you'd think I'd know this stuff." I added sarcastically.
"I need to know that what knowledge you think you have is accurate." he said, slightly flinching at the thought of where this conversation was going to go.
"Kunai goes in holster." I said, my voice monotone, "It then comes out, then goes back in."
Before Kakashi could say anything, I continued.
"Kunai goes in until the exploding tag goes off... You don't want to do that in the holster unless you want babies to be made."
Kakashi couldn't help but huff slightly with relief.
"If you can joke about it," he said, his body relaxing, "and still be right, you understand it."
I just glanced at him before looking away. I wasn't enjoying making eye contact about this subject.
"Where did you learn this?" he questioned, realizing he hadn't asked that.
"Books." was my short reply.
Kakashi's lone visible eye widened, reaching for a pouch in his Flak jacket.
"Not Icha Icha," I grumbled, "Healthbooks. I learned it in health and biology books."
Kakashi relaxed at that. He probably didn't want to have his ass on the chopping block with Hiruzen if I found out about this from Kakashi's laziness in keeping his book to himself.
"Why were you reading those books?" He questioned again, trying to figure out what peaked my interest.
I simply tapped the side of my head, while channeling a slight amount of lightning chakra into my off hand, causing some static to dance around my fingertips.
I'd been trying to pull off the Raikage'sLightning Cloakfor the last couple years, yet I still couldn't even pull off a bootleg version of it safely for more than a few seconds. Neither my Lightning channeling level, nor my chakra control, was good enough to pull it off safely yet. Hopefully that would be different in a year or two.
The lightning enhancement sped up your bodyandthought processing. No use in going at a really fast pace if your thoughts are going too slow and you end up splattering yourself against something solid. It almost worked like the chainShunshinthat Uchiha Shisui did and was known for, but on a far more effective level.
Kakashi could hardly help me with it. He'd pulled off averyrudimentary version of the mind enhancement part, but that was mostly done so he could stave off headaches from processing too many images with his Sharingan.
His wasn't combat effective. It was meant to augment his brain when his mind wasn't wired like an Uchiha's in how they processed and retained images better. His advice on it was only able to point me in the general direction.
I'd come to the acceptance that there was a possibility that I wouldn't be able to make my personal Hiraishin anchorandbecome combat proficient like my father was with it within the few year window I had. The next best boon was to be as fast asliterallightning.
Just imagine if someone was as fast as the Raikage, with Killer B's chakra levels... Wrath of the Thunder God indeed.
Kakashi pulled me from my thoughts with a serious tone. "I told younotto keep trying that."
I'd tried to channel lightning chakra into my brain, combined with pushing out my sensing similar to how a bat uses sonar. The first part was without a doubt the stupidest thing I ever did. Kakashi got a front row seat to me trying to full speed Shunshin at him in a spar, with lightning coursing through my brain, only for me to keel over with my eyes rolled back into my head and no small amount of blood leaking from my ears.
Brain cells weresignificantlymore sensitive to electrical stimuli than the nerves in your muscles. I ended up frying part of my brain, pissed myself, and forgot who I was for half an hour. My healing made me right as rain, but Kakashi let his fists do the talking in our spar on howpissedhe was that I made such a boneheaded oversight.
Kakashi was still glaring at me, demanding I respond.
"Oh lay off me," I said irritatedly, "I haven't done that since theincident. I was studying different parts of the brain so I wouldn't fry myself again."
Kakashi stared at me for a moment, probably trying to gauge my truthfulness, before he nodded.
"Good," he said, the worry in his body language obvious, "You worried me when you couldn't even remember your own name."
I grimaced at the reminder. It wasn't a pleasant half hour.
"I've been careful," I assured him, "But I'm going to need to enhance my perception if I'm wanting to fight like that."
Kakashi knew my desire to be Kage level. But we both knew I had to start somewhere, andthiswas one of my two major paths to it.
Kakashi nodded knowingly, before his expression shifted slightly.
"Back to the previous subject." he said, his tone back to uncomfortable.
I groaned and readied myself for another question.
"You know how the physical changes are?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, "Boys... and girls." I added, my face showing my revulsion.
"Care to clarify?" he asked.
I just glared at him. "Why do you think I puked when I smelled blood?"
Kakashi's whole body screamed shock. "Yousmelledit!?"
Kakashi wasn't there when I told Hiruzen how I knew what was going on.
"Yes." I whispered quietly.
Kakashi looked like he himself was ready to be sick at the thought. Composing himself, he looked at me again.
"I guess you understand everything weweregoing to talk about." he said.
"Yeah." I replied.
The two of us sat on the bench at the park we had commandeered for several minutes, before Kakashi broached another subject.
"You want something to eat?" he asked, neither of us having lunch yet.
I just shrugged my shoulders and nodded, wanting to move on from a terrible start to the day.
(End Undesired Flashback)
I made my way out of my bedroom, the memory of theincidentstill with me. It was a harsh reminder that time was passing by. Rin wasn't a little girl. It frightened me that there were certain things that I couldn't exactly help her with.
Over the last 6 years, I had to play the part of older brotherandparent for the both of us. I was the one who cooked. I was the one who made sure Rin kept to her studies and training when she first got started on it.
This was terrain that I was out of my depth in. I didn't have children in my past life, and I didn't have kid siblings either. I'd been paranoid that I'd messed up in some way when I was basically forced to raise her. After I felt like I did a decent job, a curve ball gets served up to me with me being none the wiser.
If this is how fathers, and brothers 10 years older feel, I pity and empathize with them.
Getting to the kitchen, I got started on breakfast. I set my alarm earlier so I could fix a larger meal so Rin wouldn't have to wait on food.
Singing to myself softly, I grabbed the skillet from the back pantry, the sausage and eggs from the fridge came next, and I made sure to fix extra, along with a helping of tomatoes for Sasuke.
I was pretty sure Hinata would still eat breakfast even with 'Kakashi' advising not to. She'd done intense training before. Vomiting from exertion wasn't something she was frightened of. I also knew it would be hours before Kakashi showed up.
I'm a jerk.I snickered to myself.But at least I'll choose to suffer alongside mycomrades.
By the time I was nearly finished with the sausage and eggs, Rin stumbled into the kitchen, her hair a mess and her eyes drowsy looking.
"Breakfast?" she asked, eyeing me standing at the stove.
"Hmmnn," I nodded, "Just in time for it to be done."
Rin smiled before sitting down at our small table, waiting for the food to be finished.
A short couple minutes later, it was done, judging by the pleasant sizzle. Grabbing two plates and filling them, I handed one to Rin before digging into my own.
I'd always been at ease when I made food from my first life. Whether it be something like pizza, which Rinloved, or something as simple as scrambled eggs and sausage, it was the kind I could make in my sleep, and also helped me to remember memories that were precious to me. Cooking for my parents and siblings instead of the other way around. The Circle of Life and so on.
After we finished eating, Rin eyed the untouched helping still simmering on the stove.
"Who's that for?" she asked.
"Sasuke." I said simply.
Rin's face scrunched slightly at the name. "Why?" she asked simply.
"Well," I started, "You told me how Kakashi said not to eat, and well, he'll probably show up late and I don't want to have to deal with Sasuke broodingandbeing irritable cuz he was stupid enough to not eat." I finished.
Rin nodded in understanding, "They're stillmyeggs and sausage." she grumbled.
Rin wasveryterritorial on the food cooked by me. She loved my cooking and was unwilling to share unconditionally with anyone except Hinata.
"Yes," I replied, "But I also bought tomatoes yesterday when you told me how Sasuke likes them."
"I wouldn't have needed to ifyouhadn't decided to ditch us." Rin said, her tone accusatorial.
She had me there. She still didn't know IHengedas Kakashi to mess with them, mainly Sasuke.
"Alright Alright," I said, my hands slightly raised, "It'll be a one time thing... probably."
She just glared at me for a moment, before she shrugged and put up her plate and headed to her room to change out of her pajamas and into her normal attire.
Dropping my own plate into the sink, I headed to my own room to "suit up" as well. Black pants similar to Kakashi's, check. Red shirt, check. Lightweight ANBU style chestplate concealed under my jacket, check. Dark jacket that covered up the slight bulge from the armourandhad plenty of seals stitched into the interior, check. I finished up dressing myself by strapping on my forearm guards that had multiple storage seals etched into the metal, and tying up my sandals that had a reinforced cover for my toes applied by me personally.
I still remember the pain of Anko stomping on my toes in a spar a couple weeks back.
"All's fair in a fight, brat."Her voice seemed to echo in my mind.
She only feltslightlybad when she realized her stomp tore a nail off my foot.
I stopped leaving my toes out in the open after that.
I grabbed a couple of my books and sealed them into one of the seals of my left bracer. I then left my room and went over to the stove to double check that I shut it off. Putting the food into a bento box that I drew a seal on the outside to prevent the heat from radiating out as much so it would stay warm, I grabbed it with my left hand and waited for Rin.
My twin sister came out of her room in her own normal clothes. Her clothes were similar to mine, except she still wore regular sandals and she didn't wear a jacket. Instead, she wore a long sleeve shirt over anoranget-shirt. She didn't exactly enjoy wearing concealed armour, but she still did when I requested.
I'd wondered in the serieswhyKonoha Shinobi wore what looked to be flak jackets when it was shown that ANBU wore solid armour, not fabric, and the Sannin were shown to have solid armour. The answer was so simple that I nearly overlooked it.
Cost.
The flak jackets were designed to absorb strikes tosomedegree. The fabric was similar to how Kakashi's shirt could make gripping it with chakra slick. The layers of fabric in the jacket insulated your internal organs enough where an unguided chakra strike with lightning wouldn't stop your heart if you were unprepared, or a rudimentary wind blade or chakra scalpel wouldn't sever arteries. There were also pouches in the jacket where it could be reinforced with metal plates if need be.
The armour worn by the ANBU, and Sannin in the Second Shinobi War, by contrast was some of the highest quality armour Shinobi had access to.
Several veterans had armour similar to it, but didn't wear it, instead going with soft armour or none at all. The reason why, was that we were currently in a state of peace. Higher tiered Shinobi normally do escort missions or assassinations. Covert assassinations get problematic when you have unconcealable armour strapped to you.
This was something that genuinely perplexed me about this universe when I thought it was simply a show or manga. Knights, cavalry, and infantry stopped wearing full plate and mailonlywhen guns got strong enough to pierce even the best steel plates. There'd be no reason to have armour if it was useless at stopping anything.
I'd wondered if there was agenuinereason why Shinobi didn't seem to wear plates. Kakashi gave me an ANBU manual and under Hiruzen's approval, gave me access to the Jonin section of the library. That was where I found out the cost issue and the hit to being covert.
My interest in armour ideas existed ever since I had thought up of a way to possibly stop Juken strikes from Hinata, because those hitshurt.
The reactive armour idea wasn't timeorcost effective. Hiruzen had asked me how long it took me to make the prototype, and the stupid thing took me the better part of a week to make it after I'd worked out the worst issues... and that was with clones.
The plate itself could almost be pierced by a kunai strike from a high genin or low Chunin Shinobi. It only outperformed againstchakrastrikes and even then, the stupid thing bruised my ribs from the guided explosion.It was a wonder the clone didn't pop when the elder jabbed it.
Putting my thoughts on armour aside, I smiled at Rin.
"Ready?" I asked.
Rin smiled back and nodded. We linked arms and walked out the door, heading to training ground 7.
Sasuke hadn't gotten the best of sleep last night. HispossibleSensei had poked at a sore spot when he made him share a couple things. He'd only gotten a few hours of sleep before the nightmares drove him to staying awake. He dragged himself out of bed and tended to the small little garden of tomatoes that he had been growing for the last couple years.
Histomatoes that he made and tended to himself seemed to tastemuchbetter than the ones he got at the market. It also had the added bonus that he wouldn't have to deal with the civilians, especially the women, looking at him in pity or like he was somehow broken.
Hehatedbeing pitied. It reminded him ofthat night.
"You are weak."
Sasuke tensed and accidentally crushed a tomato, a spike of anger going through his mind. Cursing at ruining a perfectly good tomato, he wiped off the remnants before moving to the next plant, trying to keep his thoughts clear.
The villagers didn'tseehim.They saw something broken that needed to be fixed. The girls saw him as some tragic hero that wassohandsome and quiet and brooding, and onlytheirlove could crack his cold, stalwart exterior.
"Only by hating me will you be strong enough to kill me."
He crushed another tomato without thinking. Growling at his loss of control, he left his garden, not wanting to destroy another.
The gardening hobby of his was something that he picked up because it reminded him of his mother when she had her own little garden. He saw each plant as a lifeline to something he'd never get back. Inspecting his hand, he saw the sticky juice of the tomato coat his fingers, the liquid looking reddish.
Like blood.
The stink of blood. A shadowy figure, blade dripping the red life giving fluid, standing in front of his parent's bodies. Him screaming for his brother. The figure turning around. Seeing his brother alive and well. The relief turning into realization and terror. The eyes that once were filled with love, now almost glassy with an inhuman gaze.
Almost as if he didn't recognize his little brother.
Him staggering back. Him falling into a puddle of blood. The liquid sticky, foul, and red.
Almost like the tomato's juice.
Sasuke's breath quickened as he started seeing something not there. Rushing to his bathroom, he tried to wash it off, but it never seemed to be completely gone, no matter how hard he scruubed. He tried to look away from his hand as he gritted his teeth, catching a glimpse of black, likehiseyes.
Shaking, he fell backwards on his bathroom's floor. Only after a moment did he realize that what he saw was his own eyes, NotItachi's.
"The eyes are the windows into the soul, Sasuke."His mother had told him,hereyes brimming with light and love. Sasuke looked into the mirror, black eyes staring back. The same colour ashis. The face that looked back was similar, far too similar. The hair was the same colour. But the worst was when he truelylookedat his eyes.
The same emptiness he sawthat nightwas staring straight back at him.
"I'm not you." Sasuke whispered to himself, his hands clenched around the sink. "I'm not you." he growled.
You are weak.
"I am not weak," He snarled, his hatred coming to the surface, "You took everything from me and I will smile as I rip youremptyeyes from your head!" he spat, his voice rising to a shout with the last words.
He needed to get out of the house. He needed something to distract him. He nearly ran to his backyard where he had some of his training gear at from yesterday.
Not even padding his fingers, he began to punch the wooden post that was his taijutsu target on most days.
"To kill me, you must acquire the Mangekyo Sharingan. You must kill your best friend if you want to avenge our clan."
"I'm not you!" he snarled, landing a hard strike on the wooden post, hearing a crack from the wood.
He'd heard whispers of how Shisui died. He wasHisbest friend. He turned up dead just a month beforethat night.
Did you kill him? Your best friend?
"You must kill your best friend if you want to avenge our clan."
"I'm not you!" He growled, his voice shaking as another punch cracked the post.
"Run. Run and cower."
"I am not you!" he howled, his last punch snapping the pole in half.
Breathing heavily, he fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. Sasuke felt a deep pain at the thought of killing somebody close to him.
"I'm not you," he whispered, his breath faint, "You felt nothing when you took everything from me. I'm not you.Ihurt. You didn't scream and cry when you tookmymother and father from me. You didn't feel weak." he croaked, "You didn't feel like afailure." he whispered to himself.
Sasuke had longed for death for the first several weeks following the massacre. But it would have been too easy. If he didn't hurt and rage against the injustice done to his family, who would? If his pain died, his family would die for a second time. The best way for him to remember was tohurt. He couldn't let go of his hatred. It burned him like a fire, but he feared the darkness more than he feared the pain.
"You didn't long for death like me," Sasuke whispered, "But when we meet again,you will."
Pulling himself to his feet, he went back inside to put some ointment on his knuckles and bandage them. He had a test to pass.
Hinata groaned as her alarm went off, wanting to sleep a little longer. She tried to reach to shut it off, only succeeding in knocking it over.
Muttering something that she'd usually hearRinsay at knocking her clock over, she got up and picked up the clock, shutting off the alarm. She heard a servant walking towards her room, probably hearing the sound.
"Hinata-sama?" the servant Aimi asked, "Is everything ok?"
"Yes." Hinata replied softly, "I just dropped the clock."
The servant nodded, before she continued on. "Are you ready for breakfast, Hinata-sama?" she asked.
Hinata nodded, knowing that Kakashi would probably be later than he said he'd be. It'd do no good to be starving while her Sensei took his time.
She followed the servant to the kitchen, a certain thought in her mind.
How difficult will it be to get Rin and Sasuke to cooperate?
We reached training ground 7 after about 15 minutes, neither Hinata or Sasuke having arrived. I made a dozen bunshin to look around the area and to dispell when they spotted the two. Situating myself on the ground, I popped open a storage scroll I had in one of my pouches and pulled out a couch from it.
"I still can't believe you actually kept that." She grumbled.
A furniture store employee decided to be as rude as possible to me. The little turd called me a demon and told me to basically, in polite terms of course, get fucked, and that my twin sister was a whore.
Suffice to say, I did not take it lying down. I Henged as the guy, pissed on the doorstep of the store in broad daylight, and then took the couch I'd planned to buy to replace the one that got blown up when I botched one of my armour prototypes.
Rin was irritated that I went through the effort of fixing the nearly shredded old couch and put it in a scroll to carry around.
"Waste not want not, my dear sister," I grinned, "Besides, I'm rather attached to this one."
"Only because you bled on it when you pissed off Anko." Rin grumbled, bringing upthatsubject.
Anko and I had a very spirited fight and I didn't realize, nor she, that I fell on a kunai and was bleeding all over my pants. Because of that, I got my blood all over the couch when I crashed.
"There's so much Uzumaki blood in it, I'd say it's legally a family relative, Rin." I said cheekily, "you don't turn your back on family." I fake sniffled.
Rin just looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world. "You're an idiot." she deadpanned.
"And what does that make you, my little sunflower?" I snickered.
Rinhatedthat nickname. Too girlish, and I pitched my voice to almost sound like Ino when she wasloudlyproclaiming howlovelyflowers can be to her Sasuke-kun, especiallySunflowers.
Rin's face tightened slightly, "You said you wouldn't call me that." She said irritably.
"I lied," I proclaimed, my voice deepening for a moment, "as I have from the very beginning."
Rin just groaned at hearing another one of my "Stupid quotes of yours that I don't get".
"Do you have one of thosestupidquips for everything?" She asked rhetorically.
"Possibly." I replied, my lips twitching slightly.
She saw my look. She looked like she wanted to say something, but decided not to for fear of me continuing to do it.
I pulled out a couple of the books I sealed and cracked one open for myself, pulling out a pen as well. I'd decided to start writing about two years ago. I neededsomethingaside from training and studying to prevent me from turning into a complete lunatic.
There's Anko's insanity, then there's Kakashi, then there's Gai. Gai's craziness, I can tolerate.
I'd not really interacted with Gai outside of running into him when Kakashi and I came back from training, but I took the time to speak with him when I did. The anime and manga did absolutely no justice to the man's presence. He seemed to positivelyglowwith life and energy. His talks ofThe Springtime of Youthwas something that didn't seem nearly as crazy when he wasn't a character on screen or on paper. I understood why Kakashi would be around him even if his exuberance could be overwhelming at times.
You couldfeelthat he lived fiercely. He would have been the one to pull Kakashi out of his death stunts in the ANBU had Rin and I not been here. Gai would always have my respect. It took a good friend to think of joining the ANBU just so your friend wouldn't come back as a body.
Returning back to what I was doing, I started writing out more of "my" story. All I had to do was change a few character names and twist the plot and dialogue slightly, and I got a novel series that Rin absolutely loved.
It was Star Wars, plain and simple. Except that I edited the background to be similar to the Elemental Nations instead of a galaxy. Rinlovedthe princess character, no surprise. I'd talked with a couple publishers under a Henge on potentially getting the book published, but I hadn't gotten word back yet.
But I still wrote it out to help me remember the things of my previous life. After about another 10 minutes, I got the memories of one of my clones back.
Sasuke had showed up.
A minute later, I could see him. Even if I wasn't a perceptive person, I still would have noticed something was off. His hands looked like they were bandaged from him punching something repeatedly.
Why would he be training when we're going to be tested by a Jonin?
I also noticed there was a very slight sway in his steps, something that normally occurs when you've gotten little food or sleep.
Of course he didn't eat.I thought.
"Sasuke." I greeted him, not getting off my couch.
Sasuke just blinked at me, realizing that I was sitting on acouchin the center of a training ground.
"Like the couch?" Rin grinned towards him, "I think he's crazy too." She added with a false whisper.
Sasuke just grunted irritably at having to deal with more craziness. "You hungry?" Rin gestured towards the bento box that was next the couch.
Sasuke just looked at it without much emotion. "Kakashi-sensei said not to eat."
"Incorrect," I stepped in, "Herecommendedthat you not eat. He didn'torderus."
I could see Sasuke's eyes narrowing as he glared at me.
"You weren't there." Sasuke ground out, his face twitching slightly.
I just looked to Rin, an unvoiced question asked.
"He didn't say youcouldn'teat," she said, "He's going to be late, so you may as well eat something." She finished, before handing him the box.
Sasuke took it reluctantly, confused that we offered him food. Opening it up, I saw his hands shake for a moment, before he seemed to clench his hands slightly.
Was it the tomatoes?
"You said you liked tomatoes," Rin said simply, "So we got some."
Sasuke was quiet for a moment, his eyes not leaving the contents of the box. "Thank you." he whispered, before he began eating.
Hinata ended up arriving around ten minutes later, one of my clones spotting her and popped to let me know.
"The princess deems us worthy of her presence." I said cheekily.
She just turned a slight shade of red and giggled at my antics.
"How did you get a couch here?" she asked confusedly.
"Storage scroll." I shrugged.
Hinata understood completely then. "Oh." she said quietly.
"Did you eat?" I asked her.
"Yes," she replied, "I know Kakashi-sensei probably won't be here on time, so I had some breakfast."
We were like that for the next hour, just standing, or in my case laying down, waiting for Kakashi. I felt one of my clones pop, alerting me that Kakashi wasn't far away.
He's early for once?I thought.Unless he saw through my flat out lie.
"I see through the lies of the Jedi."I snickered under my breath.
Rin just shot me a glare at me saying that.
Kakashi walkedstraighttowards me, his look showed his displeasure.
"You're late, again." Rin growled.
Kakashi turned to look at her. "Would you believe me if I said your brother Henged as me and told you to come here at 6:30, and told me he told you it was at noon?" he asked.
Rin's face clenched and turned red. "That's so stupid." she shouted, "I can't believe you came up withthatas an excuse."
Hinata glanced at me quickly, noticing a slight smirk on my face. She just smiled and shook her head, realizing that Kakashi wasn't lying.
I Henged as Kakashi when Rin wasn't looking at me.
"Oh ye of little faith," I said disappointedly, "How could you possibly doubt the word of your beloved Sensei?" I finished dramatically.
Rin's head sharply turned to me, a look of shock, then fury showing.
"I had to get up before 6:00 because ofyou?"she demanded.
"Guilty as charged." I replied flippantly.
Sasuke was giving me a death glare, Hinata gave me a look of slight aggravation, and Rin looked like she was ready to punch me.
"I don't see why you'd be upset." I said confusedly, "I fixed you breakfast."
"I'd rather have extra sleep." Rin growled.
"Sasuke isn't complaining." I said as a rebuttal, conveniently ignoring his glaring, "See," I pointed, "He's stuffing his face full of my sausage... wait," I said, "I didn't mean it like that."
Rin just growled,knowingI meant to say it that way to piss off Sasuke, ignoring her irritation at me. Sasuke's face turned green and he stopped eating entirely, not looking at the food. Hinata's face turned red in embarrassment. I didn't want to knowwhythough.
Kakashi was giving me a "You said it that way on purpose"look.
"Well,' I asked Kakashi, "We ready?"
"Yeah." Kakashi said, before tossing me two bells.
Catching the two without issue, I tilted my head at Kakashi.
"Uh, what am I supposed to do with these?" I asked.
"You were the one who told them to be here at 6:30. You can be their Sensei today." He said flatly. "I'll just sit back and watch."
Rin got a look of glee on her face. She'd have another opportunity to try and beat me into the ground. Sasuke smirked slightly, wanting to fight, probably from the joke I made. Hinata just shook her head, knowing that it would either go bad for me, orverybad for them.
Sighing and sitting up from my couch, which I then resealed into its scroll, followed by my book, I looked towards Kakashi, flipping him the bird, before Henging as him.
"Alright, my little ducklings," I grinned, looking straight at Sasuke, "Here is how the test goes. There are two bells right here." I lifted up the bells to show them.
"The goal is to take the bells off of me. If you fail to do so, you fail the test. There are only two bells. You must have a bell ifyouare wanting to pass. Otherwise, you will be sent back to the Academy."
Sasukeglaredstraight at me. "You don't have the power to do that, Uzumaki." He sneered.
"I don't," I acknowledged, "But my ugly twin does." Rin thought I was talking about her and nearly growled a response, before she realized I was looking straight at Kakashi and was currently Henged as him.
Kakashi just shrugged at the insult, having been called far worse and said far worse himself. "This was the test I was going to give... and mygenerouslittle brother volunteered."
"Har har har," I laughed sarcastically, "See, my little duckling," I looked to Sasuke, his glare aimed back at me, " If you can't get a bell, you get sent back to the Academy as a failure."
At the word "failure", Sasuke flinched nearly imperceptibly, before his glare turned to ahatefulone.
Great, he's all worked up now and probably won't want to work with Rin and Hinata.I'm already off to a bad start.
Kakashi stepped back several yards, before giving me the signal that I can begin whenever I wished.
"So," I started, eyeing the three potential genin standing about 20 yards away from me, "Sasuke," I looked towards him, "Attack Hinata and I'll give you a bell."
Rin's and Hinata's eyes widened at that. Sasuke looked at Hinata, then to me, a flash of indecision on his face as he paled visibly.
Hemustbe made to know what betrayal entails.
"Yes," I said, a predatory grin on my face, "Be a good little Uchiha and betray a comrade. Be just likehim."
Sasuke flinched and nearly staggered like he'd been punched, his eyes fogging over for a moment.
I took the slight distraction to Shunshin away, setting up a plan on the fly to combat the three.
Kakashi would have to take any fight very seriously against them.
Hinata on her own would be a nightmare. She caused severe damage with just a brush of her fingers,andshe was fast, almost faster than Rin. I was still faster, but I couldn't just go barreling full speed at them or I'd possibly hurt them.
I was already pretty damn fast and it was enhanced by my extremely high degree of chakra sensory. In the same way that gamblers sometimes had a tell when they were bluffing, I could sometimesfeelwhen the air was shifting if I pumped the area with water chakra in the form of mist and would move before a strike would come.
TheKirigakure no Jutsuwas something that was even more dangerous when I used it compared to any other Shinobi. I maintained a connection to the mist, likely due to a combination of my extra dense yin chakraandmy high level of chakra sensitivity. I could manipulate it to a degree where I could make aMizu bunshinwith the mist.
I'd nearly landed a critical strike on Kakashi more than once using that strategy. No one expects a half seal to make a bunshin behind you, especially from a twelve year old.
What can I say? Kage bunshin are great for lowering the needed hand seals.
Rin could nullify it with any wind jutsu that blasted the mist away, but Hinata had nothing that could beat me in Ninjutsu. Her alignment was fire, myvastchakra levels and near prodigious grasp on the strategies behind water manipulation left her vulnerable to medium to long range.
Rin couldn't match me in taijutsu though. Her strength was much greater than any other girl her age, partly because of her being an Uzumaki, the other being a Jinchuriki. But she couldn't beat me with brute force. Her punches would hurt mebadly, but my greater speed would still carry me through. Her Ninjutsu would level part of the forest if I responded in kind, so I'd need to refrain from the more potent Suiton jutsu.
Overall, it would take too much effort to beat the two at the same time without either destroying the forest or hurting them, which was the point. I could do it without all my advantages, but Sasukecouldtip the balance. But that only happens if they work together.
Kakashi knew what he was doing when he made me be their opponent.
SasukehatedUzumaki Naruto more than anyone at that moment, aside fromhim. Uzumaki was the one, not Kakashi, that forced him to open up the day before.Hewas the reason that his nightmares were worse. And now, Uzumaki compared him toItachi.
"Be a good little Uchiha and betray a comrade. Be just likehim."
Eyes once full of love now were empty.
"You are weak."
"You must kill your best friend."
Sasuke couldn't breathe. He couldn't see what was in front of him. And then, just as quick as it had come, the feeling left. Rin and Hinata gave him a look of distrust, before they disappeared into the forest, trying to search for Naruto. Sasuke felt shame bubble up in him at his thoughts to Naruto's offer.
I actuallyconsideredit.
Sasuke clenched his fists before charging into the forest, trying to find the current object of his hatred.
I'm nothim.
I'd made close to a hundred clones and popped open the storage scrolls I had on my person. There were dozens of logs with flashbang tags put on thempreciselyfor the purpose of combating Hyuga in hand to hand. I had my clones lace the woods with the logs and had another detachment of clones try to bait Hinata and Rin to spring the trap.
3 of my clones were setting off the more intense flashbangs periodically to make sure Hinata couldn't use her eyes to scope out where I or my traps were put. Hyuga were a pain to ambush.
My thoughts were interrupted by an influx of memories and I stopped my running.
A clone popped.
I'd caught a glimpse of black, before the memory abruptly stopped.
Sasuke.He was perhaps 100 yards away.
How the hell did he find me before Rin and Hinata?
Shrugging at the thought, I made another dozen clones and had themHengeas some field mice before strapping some low grade exploding tags to them. I still hadn't learned the explodingKage bunshinvariant... Something about"being too explosion happy. Wait till you graduate."
At least the exploding variant didn't give you the feedback of what getting blown up feels like.
I hope I don't have to use them.
Approaching where I could sense Sasuke's chakra, I advanced through the trees, keeping an eye out for my prey. Spotting a head of raven hair that resembled poultry posterior, I made a silent bunshin and promptly dispelled it to relay a message to one of my clones on the groundHengedas a mouse.
It dropped thehenge, and charged Sasuke. The Uchiha reacted promptly and engaged in taijutsu with the clone, my eyes fixed on the exchange. I needed to gauge Sasuke's ability outside of an Academy sanctioned fight.
He's good.
None of my disdain for his personality traits or overall demeanor blinded me to the fact that Sasuke was averygood fighter. His strikes were quick and had force behind them. Very little, if any, wasted movement was seen and Sasuke aimed to cripple and maim.
But I'd trained with one of the best ANBU that Konoha produced. I trained with a Tokubetsu-Jonin who trained under Orochimaru and didn't shy away from making me hurt, and I'd fought against Hyuga and a Jinchuriki.
In comparison, a twelve year old Uchiha, even averyskilled one, without his Sharingan was perfectly manageable.
Eventually, Sasuke was able to land a punch to the clone's ribs, popping the clone. I saw the slight surprise in Sasuke's posture at realizing that he wasn't fighting the real me. He didn't have time to think on it before two more of my clones dropped theirHengesand engaged him.
I leaped to another tree to get into a better position for when I'd jump in. Sasuke pulled a kunai and was able to land a small cut on one of the clone's to dispell it. The second clone decided to try and blow itself up as a response.
Why the hell would I do this to me?
The explosion pushed Sasuke back a couple yards and winded him, his clothes and hair slightly smoking.
As Sasuke shook his head, I heard him mutter to himself, "What just happened?"
Same thoughts in my head.I cursed the clone for being annoying.
Sasuke pulled himself to his feet, rotating his jaw slightly, probably to pop his ears. I decided this was the time to join in myself. Jumping to the ground almost soundlessly behind him, I made my presence known in the mostcivilizedmanner possible.
"Hello there." I proclaimed.
Sasuke sharply turned behind to face me, kunai in hand.
"Are you a clone, or the real one?" he demanded.
I looked perfectly relaxed, but my eyes were roving over Sasuke's posture, taking in how tense he was.
"I'm the real one." I answered, "Not that it wasn't amusing to see you flounder against my clones."
"I killed three." He said coldly, flicking his kunai into a backhand grip.
"You killed two." I replied with a raised brow, "The other blew itself up and incapacitated you. For all intents and purposes, you're dead."
Before Sasuke could say anything, I continued. "That blast put you on the ground long enough where an enemy Shinobi would have buried a kunai in your head." I said simply, "You did something that no Konoha Shinobi that wants to come back alive does... You split from your teammates."
Sasuke glared at me saying that, "They'll only slow me dow-"
"I killed you already, Uke." I snapped, "Slowing you down would have meant you might have smelled a trap, but you didn't."
Sasuke still glared at me, his look getting angrier with each point I made.
"Hinata could have seen me in the trees with her eyes and Rin could have used clones to scope out the area and helped you fight me. You were dead the moment you separated from them. You can't beat me on your own."
"I'm an Uchiha." Sasuke growled, "You're a clanless orphan, whileminehelped found Konoha. I don't need help from those two."
I replied with something that I knew would piss him off. I'd be poking a festering wound like bringing up Obito to Kakashi, or Rin to me.
"Your clan was gutted by a 13 year old." I stated matter of factly, "Not much of a clan if they were that weak."
I saw Sasuke freeze, the temperature seeming to drop.
The mind stuff I was doing to him was not something I likedat all, but I needed to know beyond all doubt whether he could be a friend and not a danger.
It was one thing to interact with him in the Academy, but it was another to gauge what kind of teammate he'll be to Rin and Hinata.
"Did I strike a nerve?" I asked, as if I were addressing a child, "You gonna try and hurt me?"
Sasuke's fists were clenched and his body was shaking.
"Don't try to jab at my lack of parents, Uchiha." I growled, "I know full well what happened to you."
"You know nothing." he spat, his eyes blazing, "I was Rookie of the year. I don't need help fromthem.You're just an idiot and your bitch sister is just as crazy as you!"
Looking back, I'm certain Sasuke wasn't speaking what hereallybelieved. He was likely remembering the massacre and was trying to stay above water and not fall apart in front of me.
But I didn't think that at that moment. I wanted the little bastard to know that you donotcall my sister a bitch to my face when I'm trying to give advice on how to not get killed.
"You jealous?" I sneered, my chakra make my skin itch slightly as it responded to my desire to fight, "Jealous that she has an older brother that doesn't find her to be totally useless and a pining dog that wants training every waking moment?"
Sasuke's face twisted into a feral snarl at that, but I wasn't done.
"I think I know why he didn't kill you," I said, grinning darkly, "You weren't even worth the effort of killing. You're too weak."
"SHUT UP!" Sasuke roared, before charging me, kunai raised.
When he maintained his composure, Sasuke was good enough to make me fight seriously in taijutsu. To end any fight with him quickly would require liberal use of Ninjutsu.
But Sasuke was the furthest from composed you could be. His movements were feral and sloppy. His attacks almost telegraphed. I dodged most of them, deflecting a couple swings from his kunai with a kunai I drew from one of the seals on my bracer. Me shrugging off his attacks seemed to enrage him further.
"Fight back!" he snarled, before his kunai got knocked loose from me flourishing my wrist when I blocked a strike to pull his kunai from his grip.
"I don't hit the weak."
Sasuke seemed to finally think clearly enough to substitute with a fallen tree branch, before he started making handsigns.
Fire.I thought, feeling the slight warm feeling with my sensing. He fired the fire jutsu that was iconic in the Uchiha clan.
Kaiton: Gokakyu no Jutsu.
I made my own handsigns and pooled water into my gut, blasting a jet of water out.
Suiton: Suidon no Jutsu.
The size of his fireball was fairly impressive, roughly the same level as Anko's, but I nullified it with the larger jet of water striking it.
The two jutsu clashed in a loud crash and sizzle, a few kunai whistling towards me.
I pulsed chakra into one of my storage seals and flung 4 shuriken at the 4 kunai, knocking them aside without issue.
Sasuke ran around the steam and rushed towards me, slashing at me with a kunai. I ducked under the slash and aimed a kick at his head, his forearm coming up to stop it. My other leg kicked straight forward and staggered him as he crossed his arms, unaware of how hard I could actually hit.
I started my own offensive, making sure to not go too hard. Sasuke wasn't able to keep up with my flurry of punches aimed at his face, one striking him hard enough to make him blink. Our arms locked and I tripped his legs out from under him, his fist blindly swinging at me as he fell.
I caught his punch, twitching from it actually having some strength behind it, and flung him away as hard as I could, wincing at the sound he made as he struck a tree.
He flipped his legs up to get back on his feet and went through handsigns again, a wrathful expression on his face.
Kaiton: Gokakyu no Jutsu.
Call me petty, but I wanted to send a message, the kind to let someone know they're outclassed.
I popped one of the seals on my left bracer to release the water I had stored in the seal. I then made multiple hands signs to use one of the higher end water jutsu I knew.
Suiton: Suijinheki.(Water Encampment Wall).
A wall of water shot up to protect me from the fire ball. I'd pumped more chakra into the jutsu than intended, causing the fire ball to be nearly swallowed up by the water.
Before Sasuke could shake off the shock from me responding with a bigger jutsu, I Shunshined a short distance to get around the wall I made. I risked it and chained another one together to close the gap.
Sasuke didn't have time to respond before I pressedhardon his defenses. My punches caused his arms to nearly give from the power behind them and his eyes were desperately trying to keep up with my movements.
A punch eventually slipped between his hands and found it's way to his right eye, his head jerking back. A kick to the ribs followed that had him gasping from being winded. More blows slipped through his defenses until finally, I was able to grapple his left arm, yanked him towards me, and drove my forehead into his nose, almost re-breaking it.
He howled in pain, before I drove a roundhouse kick into his sternum, knocking him to the ground.
Stalking towards his downed form, I pulled the kunai I'd resealed back out of the seal. Reaching him and grabbing the front of his shirt, my kunai inches from his face, I whispered to him.
"Dead."
Even with bruised ribs, a black eye, and blood flowing freely from his nose, he still showed a lot of fight when he tried to bite me. I just smacked him in the forehead with the blunt end of my kunai.
"Not only areyoudead," I told him, my voice lowering. "Your teammates are dead."
I began to let some of my Killing Intent out. By the slight shaking I could feel from holding on to Sasuke, it was having the desired effect.
"I'm a comrade, Sasuke." I said harshly, "If you can't keep your head straight when I talk about your clan, how can you hope to keep your composure if an enemy Shinobi brings it up?"
Sasuke still had unresolved issues. He feared being weak and was willing to throw himself into danger because he was terrified of Itachi being right about him. And these issues aren't things that get solved overnight.
"Your teammates would be my sister and my closest friend." I growled, my KI raising even higher, "You would endanger them simply because you can't keep your mind straight."
"I," Sasuke started, his breathing erratic, but he was interrupted by me.
"You had everything taken from you, I get that." I said, looking straight into his eyes, "But if this were a mission and I an enemy Shinobi, you'd be dead with your eyes ripped out, and mysisterandclosestfriend would either be dead or taken prisoner and raped by their captors." my voice started to deepen and I felt my canines slightly elongate.
Sasuke was shaking like a leaf, realizing why my hatred ran so deep.
"I will kill you before you take what's precious to me." I said quietly, "You'd take them from me like your brother took everything from you." I felt a tear spring from my eye, "I won't let you be likehim. I'll do you the favour of killing you before that."
Sasuke looked at me in horror.
"You can't ju-"
I spiked my Killing Intent higher and caused him to let put a strangled gasp.
"The fuck I can't," I snarled, my anger starting to mess with me a bit, "No one is here to save you. You are at my mercy. Teamwork is what saved the Sannin from Hanzo. Their teamwork got them home. I could easily make it look like you got killed by a trap. Your quest to kill your brother will be left unfulfilled."
Sasuke just stared at me with fear as I reined in my anger.
"Please," Sasukebegged,"Don't take that from me."
"You're vengeance is what's precious to you." I sneered, "You'd take everything fromme."
Sasukehadto understand what the path of vengeance would do to him. I refused to let him become thethinghe thought his brother was.
"You're just likehim." I stated.
Sasuke's shifted back to anger. "I AM NO-"
Smack*
I slapped him in the face.
"Do not lie to me." I snarled, "I saw the look you gave when I offered you the bell. You thought about it. You considered attacking a comrade to get one step closer to killinghim."
Sasuke's emotions were clearly visible on his face in his current state. Shame was the one present.
"Would you kill an innocent if it meant you'd be closer to killing your brother?"
A look of disgust appeared on the youngest Uchiha's face.
"No." Sasuke gritted out, his eyes fixed on mine.
"Hinata's innocent." I responded.
Sasuke stared back at me with anger.
What I said next took all the fire from his eyes.
"Would you kill your best friend?"
Sasuke's face paled, his eyes widening at theprecisewords I'd used.
"Until you can look me in the eye and truthfully say you'd fight tooth and nail to protect your comrades, until you can look at me and tell me you'd never kill your best friend or the love of your life to get a chance at killinghim, don't youdaredelude yourself into thinking that you're any different thanhim."
I then restrained his hands completely, slapped a chakra suppressant tag on him, and put a weight seal to keep him still, at least until Hinata and Rin found him.
"Think on what I said." Was my parting shot before moving to try and locate the two girls. I didn't need enhanced hearing to understand what Sasuke was frantically saying under his breath, sounding like he was hyperventilating.
"I'm not him. I'm not him. I'm not him."
"Don't keep trying, Hinata, you'll only hurt yourself." Rin told her friend.
Naruto's clones had been repeatedly triggering flashbangs to prevent Hinata from stretching out her sight to locate him or Sasuke. Let the record show that it's a nightmare to try and outsmart a tactical mastermind like Naruto.
Hinata only had about 50 yards of range before issues started to occur. Any more and the chakra flashes would cause her vision to temporarily blur. The limited rangedidhelp them to realize that Naruto had seeded half the area with logs with lower tier flashbangs strapped to them. By all accounts, Naruto came prepared to fight a Hyuga.
Rin wasn't confident that the two could get a bell off of Naruto without him letting them. Any Ninjutsu fight between her and her brotheralwaysresulted in total chaos. She couldn't keep up with his ability to ping-pong across the terrain with a Shunshin becausehewas able to sense wherever an obstacle was. His clones could also do the same thing. Rin simply couldn't outpace his maneuvering around her attacks.
Naruto seemed to be a hard counter to Hinata's juken and fire jutsu, while Rin was the lesser in their controlled chaos brawls.
Sasuke would guarantee that we would at least get one bell.
She waspissedat Sasuke. Narutoofferedhim a bell if he attacked Hinata. He didn't tell Naruto where to shove that offer, nor did he pretend to consider it before attacking Naruto. Heactuallythought for a second.
Sasuke said he hated "betrayal", yet he was willing to betray teammates.
Eventually, Hinata stopped for a moment, her eyes active.
"There's a pattern in how the logs are placed." She said.
Rin tried to think on what that would mean.
"What pattern?" Rin asked.
"Certain parts look intentionally empty. Then there's ones where there's several logs."
Traps.Rin thought. Naruto wouldn't run the risk of getting caught in his own traps. So, avoid the empty areas.
"Any idea where Sasuke is?" Rin asked.
Hinata shook her head, before the two heard what sounded like an explosion.
"That wasn't a tag." Rin said simply, being able to tell the difference between an exploding tag and a fire and water jutsu smashing into each other.
"Jutsu?" Hinata asked, being less well-versed in the sound of jutsu being launched at each other than her two friends.
Rin nodded, before gesturing for Hinata to follow her. "I hope he didn't kill Sasuketoobadly."
Before the two get near the location of the explosion, multiple clones sprang out of cover and began attacking the two girls. Rin responded with making clones of her own, who drew kunai and engaged the opposing clones. Hinata fired off a C-rank fire jutsu then closed the gap under the cover of it and began striking down clones with juken strikes.
After just around 30 seconds, the dozen or so of Naruto's clones were destroyed from the greater number of clones made by Rin, and Hinata's juken. Hinata activated her eyes quickly to try and spot any traps, only spotting more logs with tags on them.
"No traps." Hinata said, before deactivating her eyes right before another flashbang went off.
The two girls then continued to advance towards their original location, the explosion.
Sasuke felt more lost than he had in a long time. He'd let his anger get the better of him earlier in the morning, causing him to damage his tomatoes and hurt his knuckles from punching wood without padding his hands. He'd now let his anger control him and got thoroughly trashed like a fresh Academy student.
What Naruto saidhurt. It hurt bad. He'd have night terrors of standing over the bodies of his mother and father, only to see a reflection in the mirror.Hisface, not his own, stared back at him.
I'm not him.
"Would you kill your best friend?"
Sasuke feltshamethat he couldn't answer that immediately with a no. He'd come to the belief that he would not be able to have a family or close friends so long ashestill lived.Hekilled his own family.Hewould have no sympathy or connection to people so close to Sasuke. He couldn't let anyone close. He wouldn't survive losing everything a second time. It took a mind healer to stop him from jumping into the Naka River like he'd planned to the first week afterthat night.
Uzumaki frightened him. The Killing Intent he felt causedthat nightto dance in his mind. He heard Uzumaki nearlygrowlout his words, the feral look in his eyes, how his eyes seemed to flash to a shade of violet similar to his sister's. In that moment, he didn't see the reddish-blond haired, insufferably irritating prankster.
He sawItachi.
He'd not felt Killing Intent like that since it was aimed at him onthat night. But Sasuke saw the look in Uzumaki's eyes. He'd seen it once or twice before.
HefearedSasuke.
Uzumaki saw the look Sasuke made when he'd been offered a bell, the consideration. Uzumaki sawhimin the same way Sasuke sawItachi. Sasuke feared he'd have everything taken away from him. Naruto feared the same.
Naruto isn't likehim...Sasuke realized.He's likeme.
Naruto was an orphan. His two best friends were his sister and the Hyuga heiress.
And Sasuke looked to consider attacking one for a moment.
"You must kill your best friend if you want to avenge your clan."
"I won't be you." He whispered to himself, "I'll find another way. I won't kill what I care about. I won't let you take everything away from me again."
Maybehetold me that on purpose, so I'd have no one to come back to.
That thought filled him with dread more than anything.
His thoughts ground to a halt when he heard movement to his left.
"Well well well," He heard a familiar voice, "What have we here?"
Sasuke wasn't in the mood to snark back. What Naruto had said took all the fire out of him. He couldn't even muster up the motivation to respond toRinof all people.
Rin's head tilted slightly in confusion. "No comment?" she asked.
Sasuke just slightly shook his head, not making eye contact.
He saw that Hinata was glaring at him, probably from what happened earlier.
"Could you help?" he asked quietly.
Rin adopted a look of false thought, "You gonna attack one of us to get a bell?" She asked sarcastically.
Sasuke flinched at the tone, feeling he deserved that jab. "No." he replied quietly.
Rin probably noticed something was off about him. He seldom let her set the pace of a conversation in the Academy if he could help it.
Rin looked to Hinata, "Check for traps, please." she said, before making a dozen clones to scope out the area. She then made another to remain next to Hinata, whileshewalked towards Sasuke.
Sasuke laid on the ground, not moving so Rin could get him out of his restraints faster.
"Why'd you try to fight him yourself?" Rin asked simply. "You know how good he is in taijutsu." she added.
Sasuke refused to look at her, his eyes still looking at the ground. He didn't want to see the accusatorial look in her eyes. Her brother was bad enough, buthereyes reminded him too much of Naruto's when he threatened him. Her eyes were violet while her brother's were blue.
Naruto's eyes turned a disgusting shade of violet when he threatened him. He didn't want to be reminded of that by looking at her eyes, even when her's didn't promise torture and a terrible death like her brother.
"Sasuke." She repeated, "Look at me." she said, almost like she were talking to a child.
Sasuke tensed, but forced himself to look up towards her.
"Why?" she asked.
"I thought I was strong enough," he said slowly, "If this was a real mission, I'd be dead." He finished quietly, not wanting to add on what Naruto had told him would happen to Rin and Hinata if they were captured in a real mission scenario.
The restraints came off and Sasuke stood up, trying to be careful with his bruised ribs from the multiple hits from Naruto. Rin just looked at him like she was trying to figure something out.
"He said something, didn't he?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
Sasuke just nodded slightly, not wanting to talk about it.
"Naruto's always had this gift of understanding," She continued, "He sees things in people that others don't."
No one sees me for who I am.Sasuke thought.
Only Rin and Naruto, and perhaps Hinata, in his class saw him as something more than the Last Uchiha, something more than the broken child the civilians saw.
Naruto sees everything about me, even the things I hate.
There was much of what Sasuke hated about himself, but the things he hated the most were what he shared withItachi. The two of them were driven to be the best. Both were the best in their year.
Sasuke looked at Rin, his expression showing his guilt.
"I'm sorry." he said quietly.
Rin's eyes widened at that. She probably never expected him to ever apologize for something he'd said or did.
"You'll need to apologize to Hinata too." She said, no opportunity for discussion in her tone.
Sasuke just nodded, before the two walked to Hinata.
"Find anything?" Rin asked Hinata.
"No," She replied, "He doesn't seem to be trying to press an advantage. His clones are pulling back and he's not triggering as many flashes." she finished.
"Flashes?" Sasuke asked, confused by what she meant.
Hinata just gave him a dismissive look. "Flashbangs that make it difficult for me to use my Byakugan." she said simply.
Sasuke couldn't say he was suprised by Hinata's irritation with him. He didn't outright say no to attacking her.
"I shouldn't have thought about it." He said, looking straight into her eyes, "I'm sorry."
Hinata just looked at him critically for a moment, Sasuke only now understanding where the saying "The Hyuga Death Stare" came from. You could hardly tell what they were thinking from looking at their eyes. They looked like the Moon.
"Apology accepted." Hinata smiled softly, before switching back to her tone when theorising where Naruto was. "I'll try to search a little further," she then looked to Rin, "Do you think your clones will find him?"
"If they do, they'll pop." Rin said.
Sasuke just watched the two silently. They seemed to act differently out here than when they interacted at the Academy.
They're true kunoichi.He thought.
Sasuke started to shift his stance slightly and flinched when his ribs protested against the movement.
Rin noticed his discomfort.
"You're hurt." She said.
" I'm fine." He replied stiffly.
She poked him in the side of the chest, his groan of pain betrayed how he felt.
"Lay down for a moment." She instructed.
Sasuke wasn't wanting to, but Rin decided to grab his shoulder and push down on him.
"Lay down, Sasuke." She ordered.
Sasuke glared at her for a moment, before sighing and sitting down on the ground.
"Where do you hurt?" She asked kindly.
Sasuke looked up at her for a moment, before answering. "My face," he said, gesturing towards his swelled up eye and bloody nose, "And my ribs." he finished, pointing to his left side.
Rin just nodded at his reply, thinking of something. "Hinata," she asked kindly, "Do you have some of your ointment?"
"Yes, I do." Hinata replied, "Do you think he needs it."
Rin just looked at Sasuke.
"Take off your shirt."
What?
Sasuke's eyes widened atwhatshe said andhowshe said it.
"I'm not taking my shirt off." he protested.
"Don't be such a fangirl, Uke-kun." she said irritably, "You're hurt and you won't be able to fight well when you're hurting. Ineedto see if there's a break."
Sasuke wasn't comfortable with the thought. Not only would it hurt for him to pull his shirt over his head, but he didn't want girls to see him without a shirt on. He'd gotten ambushed at a bathhouse by some of the civilian fangirls who wanted to catch a peak and he didn't exactly enjoy running back to his house in only a towel.
Seeing that Rin wasn't going to relent, Sasuke sighed before he gently pulled up his shirt.
He heard a slight intake of breath from Rin, before his shirt came completely off. His chest lookedterrible. The left side, which had taken the brunt of Naruto's punishment, was a mass of purple and blue from bruising.
He punches like a freight train.
Rin, the ointment Hinata handed her when he'd pulled up his shirt in hand, approached him. She gingerly pressed her hand on his ribs to check for a fracture. Sasuke shivered at the contact, his chest sensitive from the bruising. After a moment of her feeling, she shrugged her shoulders.
"Nothing's fractured." She said, "Just some bad bruising."
"How do you know that?" Sasuke asked.
"I know what it feels like when Naruto's ribs are fractured from training." she shrugged, beginning to put ointment on her hand.
Sasuke was shocked at what Rin had said and how nonchalant she was about it.
Naruto has broken his ribs before? Enough where Rin knows what it feels like?
"How could youpossiblyknow from that?" he asked.
"He always trains till he drops." she said simply, "We spar for hours at times."
If I'm right in how hard the two punch, they'd be worse than me right now after aboutonehour. How do they do it?
"This'll be cold," Rin warned as she pressed the ointment on the bruising. Sasuke jumped visibly and let out a hiss.
That'sfrigid.
"I said it'll be cold," she grumbled, startled by how much he jumped.
"Pardon me that your hands are cold as ice." He said irritably.
Rin just poked him in the forehead. "Idiot." she muttered, a slight grin on her face showing she meant nothing by it.
Sasuke tried to stay still as Rin applied the ointment to him. "Couldn't Hinata have done this?" he asked.
He didn't like Rin being this close to him. Every time they were physically close, it involved sparring, bruises, and a broken nose. The most recent event was a straight up embarrassment. He didn't even want to think how his fangirls would react if they saw that Rin, the girl who he'd accidentally kissed, was touching him without his shirt on.
They wouldn't even think for a moment that that'snotwhat's going on.
Sasuke may have been dismissive of girls and romance, but he still was embarrassed by things, and the most embarrassing event he'd experienced involved the girlwho was touching him.
"No," Rin said simply, "She needs to stay on the lookout for Naruto."
Sasuke just waited for Rin to be finished, which after a couple minutes, she was.
"Done." She said, "I can't use this on your eye because it will drip from sweat, you donotwant this to run in your eye." she flinched like she remembered a bad memory.
Sasuke nodded before putting his shirt back on.
"Why'd you do this?" he asked simply.
He couldn't understandwhythe two would still help him after he ventured off without them. How hethoughtof taking up Naruto on his offer.
Rin looked contemplative for a moment, before she answered. "You're our teammate." she said simply, "Even ifyoudidn't realize it at the time. Even when you didn't want to work together, you were still our teammate. We were put on the same team for a reason, the three of us had a better chance of being a good team than if we had someone else." she finished firmly.
She still thinks we can work together to beat her be a team.
Sasuke nodded at what she said, thankful that he had a chance to show he knew he was wrong.
"Hinata," Rin called, looking towards the other girl, "Anything?"
"I can't seem to find him," Hinata replied, her eyes active, "It's almost as if h-... I found him." she said suddenly.
Sasuke and Rin both approached Hinata on each side of her. "Where?" Rin asked.
"He's," Hinata started, her tone that of confusion. "He's just standing out in the open. He's holding up a sign I-" she trailed off, her face turning red slightly in embarrassment.
"What's it say?" Rin asked.
"It says 'Hello, princess', with a heart drawn on it, " she said quietly.
Rin just growled irritably at that. "Idiot." she ground out, tired of the flirtatious jokes Naruto madeallthe time to girls, even if it was towards their friend.
"He probably has a trap set and wants you mad so we overlook it." Hinata said, her tone still quieter than normal.
Sasuke noticed the difference in how Rin and Hinata were out here. Rin was more restrained on things, even though she wasstilla little hotheaded on things, and Hinata was more outspoken on things, noticable so.
"What do you do when youknowthere's a trap you're going to walk into?" Sasuke asked.
Rin grinned at him. He didn't like that grin. It reminded him of when Naruto had an idea to screw with him.
"Spring the trap."
Kakashi had been keeping to the peripheral of the area where Naruto, Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke ventured off to. He'd spotted a couple of Naruto's clones dropping logs in certain areas of the woods, likely for when he'd be fighting Rin and Hinata.
Sasukewas someone he was disappointed in. Kakashisawthe flash of indecision to attack a teammate or not. Itdisgustedhim to think that Sasuke would potentially think of that. Sasuke was the last remaining Uchiha loyal to Konoha and it was a concern if he had unresolved issues. Kakashi failed to save Obito, and he failed to see the madness in Itachi when he worked with him in the ANBU.
Kakashi hadhelpedItachi. He saw a prodigious kid that was swimming in the deep end before he even hit puberty and needed help. Kakashi knewverywell the burden of being seen as the best of your peers. He took it upon himself to help steer Itachi to be the best he could be in the ANBU without ending up like himself. Itachi had a family, a clan, a little brother that Kakashi could see he adored just by looking Itachi in the eye when Sasuke was brought up. And Itachi wiped them out.
Kakashi still wondered if some of the tips or advice and the life lessons he tried to impart on Itachi might have caused him to lash out. He failed Obito, and then he failed to see Itachi for what he was. He hoped Sasuke wasn't like his brother.
Kakashi felt a chakra ping from about 200 yards in front if him.
It's ANBU code.He thought. ANBU members had a code system to give basic messages by pinging their chakra in a certain pattern.
It's Naruto.
Ping..ping...ping. ping. Meet. Me. Come. To.
It was a good thing that he had taught a great deal of the little tricks and tactics to Naruto. ANBU seldom had the Ninjutsu monsters that were notorious in the world. Even the best frontline fighter in the world could get killed by a skilled assassin who was barely skilled in Ninjutsu or taijutsu. The ANBU were good at what they did, playing the game of cloak and dagger.
Training a Jinchuriki on how to fight like that would cover up the weaknesses in his specialization.
To outsmart an assassin, you need to think like one.
Kakashi followed the chakra ping. After a moment, he spotted Naruto. The two walked towards each other. Kakashi broke the silence when he was within earshot.
"Yes, Naruto?" He asked.
"I'm a clone," was the reply, "boss told me relay a message to you."
I message?
"What's the message?" Kakashi asked.
"Sasuke feels guilty. I fought him, kicked his ass after comparing him to his brother. I think he got the message that betraying teammates and comrades makes him like his brother."
Ouch, Naruto. That'd get a reaction.
"I assume he didn't take it well at first?"
The clone nodded. "He needs to learn how to keep his composure. He was worse than when you said something about Rin several years back. He just blindly started attacking like an animal, no rhythm or thinking."
That made Kakashi think. He'd need to work on their teamwork if Sasuke did manage to learn something from what Naruto said.
If he didn't take what Naruto said to heart, I'll refuse to have Sasuke on my genin team until he is more stable. I won't train someone who'll inadvertently kill himself and his comradesfrom being reckless like that.
Kakashi would petition to have Sasuke either sent back to the Academy or completely discharged from the Shinobi forces. He'd be listened to. If he said Sasuke was acting erratic, the clan heads wouldimmediatelyrefuse to have a danger like that again, regardless of what any members of the civilian council tried to say.
Hyuga Hiashi would use his own influence to prevent the younger sibling of a clan killer from being on his daughter's team, especially with what had transpired a few short months prior with the infiltration of the Hyuga compound.
I pray that it isn't the case. Hopefully he was having a truly terrible dayand Naruto was simply being extra cruel.
Kakashi looked towards the clone with another question on his mind. "How did Rin and Hinata do?"
"Very well." the clone grinned, "They adapted to my flashbangs, noticed how I laced the forest with traps, and fought off an ambush I set up.Theirteamwork is not an issue at all."
Good.Kakashi was fairly certain that Hinata and Rin would work together perfectly fine. The two were close friends and trained together often. Naruto as the third member would have been thebestsituation for him, but Kakashi understood the reason why the Hokage opted to have Naruto float between the 4 genin teams trained by Jonin.
He'll motivate them all to be better and he's as capable, if not a little more, as most of the unblooded Jonin in the Shinobi forces.That and Jiraiya-sama will probably take over his training after the chunin exams.
Naruto had been able to, simply bytalking, convince the Nara heir to work harder in physical fitness, the Inuzuka heir to try and approach things with a clearer head, the fangirls into trying to train harder, and the greatest of all... He turned a shy, stuttering, emotionally vulnerable girl into someone confident enough in themselves to become kunoichi of the year in the recent graduating class.
He knows how to bring out the best in people.
The Hokage had made an off hand comment/joke to Kakashi about how Naruto seemed to almost want to outdo the old man himself by making his entire class what Sarutobi made the Sannin into.
Only after he saw what Naruto managed with Hinata did Kakashi start to think the Hokage's joke might turn out more accurate than he first thought.
Kakashi decided to ask one final question. "Have they come close to getting a bell?"
"Nope." The clone grinned, "They haven't found boss yet. They kept running into clones while boss was putting the hurt on Sasuke."
Kakashi nodded his understanding. "Anything elseyouwant to add?" he asked the clone.
"They'll no doubt get both bells if Sasuke works with them," the clone started, "Also, boss will be baiting them here to do an open fight. To show you how well they work together."
"Good." Kakashi said, "I didn't realize the payback I thought of would actually work better than what I planned out."
"Tell them not to eat, show up hours late, kick their butts, don't let one of them eat while the others have to determine whether they'll disobey your orders to help?" the clone asked cheekily, a knowing grin on his face.
Kakashi's eye twitched at that. "I'm genuinely wondering how you could havepossiblyknown that." he said.
"I know how you think," the clone said simply, "You stress the importance of teamwork. If you're only teammates because you're ordered to, and not because you have genuine camaraderie with them, you're screwed the moment things go sideways. It's something IwishI was able to do half as good as you."
Kakashi hadn't thought many people would realizewhyhe failed several genin teams in the past. The Hokage did. He'd suspected Naruto did, but what the clone said confirmed that Naruto understood. It felt nice to know that Naruto looked up to his belief in that.
Kakashi smiled at that. "Ok. I'm looking forward to see the fight. Hop to it."
The clone nodded and dispelled to send the content of the conversation back to Naruto.
Naruto arrived shortly after, removing what looked to be a sign from on of the storage seals in his jacket.
"Hello, princess."Kakashi snickered at what the sign said, specifically the heart on it.
It's going to be hilarious when he interacts with Gai's genin team.
Kakashi looked forward to it. The stuck up Hyuga that he knew Narutodid notlike and Gai's mini-me willlovewhat he'll get up to.
Gai will say I 'corrupted' such a splendid Shinobi with my 'hip attitude'.
Kakashi just laughed at what he had to look forward to.
They're here.
I thought, sensing three signatures. Sasuke evidently decided to work with Rin and Hinata to fight me.
Good.They'd need to work together to get the bells before the time expired. Rin and Hinata might have been able to force a win, if they had time to. But that was a luxury they didn't have.
Seeing them visually, I sealed the sign back into the storage seal I pulled it out of.
"High guys." I waved, seeing the look of irritation on Rin's face at the sign.
Judging by the posture of the three, they'd planned out a strategy to face me. Hinata would likely be the one hitting from close range, Rin would be working extra hard to nullify my clones, and Sasuke would probably be floating between the two, with Rin having a natural wind affinity strong enough to enhance Sasuke's fire jutsu into a solid B-rank no problem, and Sasuke's taijutsu skills would force me to focus on him and Hinata more so.
I dropped a couple of scrolls that were filled with water that I haddrenchedwith my own chakra so I could shape it better, not opening them yet.
"Come to surrender?" I asked.
"Not a chance." Rin quipped.
"Wewillget those bells off of you, Naruto." Hinata said.
Sasuke was silent, but gave a look of determination.
"Sure I can't bribe you with a bell?" I asked the three.
"No."
My eyes turned to who said it. It wasSasuke,and his voice had a frostiness to it that matched his glare.
Good. He listened.
"Well then," I said, pulling a kunai from a seal on my bracer, "Let us dance."
Kakashi had seen Rin and Naruto fight with their clones before. To the untrained eye, it looked like complete chaos. Clones flinging jutsu, retreating only to rejoin the fray, the tossing of kunai and explosives to the point that you'd almost think an entire invasion was commencing.
But it wasn't chaos. It was organized. It was a grand symphony of destruction and several moving parts. The last couple years helped to hone Naruto and Rin's ability to coordinate the actions of their clones. Rin would combine Wind and low level fire jutsu to incinerate the chosen battlefield, and Naruto's combination of prodigious use of water and adding some lightning Jutsu left him averydifficult target to hit.
Kakashi had to uncover his Sharingan to catch everything that was unfolding. Too many moving parts to pick up cleanly without a Sharingan.
The moment the last words left Naruto's lips, the forest seemed to come alive with his clones. He'd obviouslyHengedthem to be concealed in the forest when he'd been setting off flashbangs to keep them from being spotted by Hinata.
Rin responded with making several dozen clones that proceeded to begin firing off a mix of wind and fire jutsu to drive off the clones.
He saw Hinata, with her eyes deactivated, rush for Naruto, but her speed wasn't what it normally was. Kakashi realized why when Sasuke made a few hand seals and launched a fireball at Naruto.
The seals Naruto left on the ground exploded in a geyser of water, which promptly formed into a wall of water when he weaved his hands into the proper pattern. Naruto's vision was obscured for a moment, giving Hinata the chance to increase her speed and close the distance to engage Naruto in taijutsu and prevent him from trying to Shunshin away.
What followed next was Naruto attempting to back pedal and block or deflect Hinata's juken strikes from hitting him. The flashbang idea wasgeniusbecause it prevented Hinata from keeping her eyes activated, ensuring that her strikes were less likely to hit Naruto's tenketsu points.
Sasuke entered the fray when multiple clones of Naruto veered away from Rin and her clones, and moved on an intercept course to take out Hinata.
Kakashi could see the look on Naruto's face. The brightness in his eyes. The half-grin on his face. He found thisexhilarating. All three working together to bring him down. The challenge. The fight. The fire being stoked.
It's almost like how Gaitalks of "The Flames of Youth".
Kakashi knew Gai would love Naruto's drive.
Rin had been fighting a near losing battle with Naruto's clones. They stuck to the edge of the forest where the logs were located. Even though the real Naruto was out of range to use them against Hinata, there were still flashbangs strapped to them, and flashbangshurtanyone with eyes and ears, especially ears that are able to pick up sounds better like Rin and Naruto.
Naruto's clones kept pelting her with water jutsu after water jutsu, flashbangs, and a few would Shunshin straight into her to try and knock her to the ground. Kakashi lost count of how many clones Rin killed, but it was a lot.
A thought went through his head when he noticed that most of the jutsu used by Naruto were less dangerous than he knew the boy was capable of.
It was probably because he didn't want to risk hurting anyone. Sensible enough.
Kakashi heard Naruto let out a shout and a curse. He looked to see Naruto clutching his left forearm, with Hinata having a triumphant grin on her face.
The way Naruto's left arm at the elbow hung limply clued him into what happened.
She hit his main tenketsu in his arm. A lucky hit.
He'd be forced to make one handed seals temporarily, nullifying most of his area effect Jutsu.
Naruto made a one handed sign and Shunshined away from Hinata and Sasuke, and promptly made a second one towards the woods. He ended up staggering and fallinghardto the ground from the sharp turn he made. His Sensei's son pulled himself up as fast as he could, but had both Sasuke and Hinata right back on him.
A half seal from Naruto had a ball of water shooting at the two of them, and the respective heir and heiress of two of Konoha's clans both responded with a Kaiton jutsu that struck Naruto's with a loud clap and hiss sound.
The two shot forward through the mist and Kakashi squinted Obito's eye to try and see clearly through the chakra heavy mist.
Naruto had a better advantage now that he was within range of the logs and clones he had near the forest. Naruto warded off Sasuke's attacks with his kunai and was constantly avoiding the two.
His clones are diminishing.
With two capable taijutsu fighters forcing him to focus, and one of his arms mostly paralyzed, he didn't have the time to make more clones to replace the ones getting shredded or torched by Rin and her clones.
Kakashi saw Rin notice a slight opening where she could break off from killing her brother's clones and jumped in to help Sasuke and Hinata.
Naruto probably sensed Rin barreling towards him because he flared his chakra violently, causing a temporary flash of chakra that staggered Hinata from her Byakagun picking it up and he slashed at Sasuke with his kunai that he channelled lightning chakra through for a moment as they were just a few feet away.
Naruto had told Kakashi how much it hurt to force his chakra out of his tenketsu that intensely. His chakra control meant some of the tenketsu points that weren't as well used by him would get flooded with too much chakra when it blasted out.
But it seemed to work and Naruto managed to shock Sasuke and make him seize up for a moment, his hair standing on end. Naruto was able to slip a punch straight to Sasuke's face, followed by a kick to his ribs, bringing Sasuke to his knees, gasping for air.
NarutograbbedSasuke's left hand with his own and madehandsignswith their hands and launched a jet of waterbehindRin and tore its way through several of her clones.
Naruto wasn't able to press his advantage further because Rinstillcharged forward. Naruto may have been able to keep Rin at bay if his arm still worked at full capacity, but it wasn't. Rin's punches and kicks came fast and hard. Hinata shook off her vision from the chakra flash and re-entered her fight with Naruto moments later.
Damnit .
I'd missed my water bullet fired against Rin. I wasn't used to aiming it when I did it withsomeoneelses hand while feeling like I had pins and needles going through my whole body from flaring my chakra.
I knew this final exchange was the end. If I'd hit Rin, or forced her to dodge by switching with a log with tags on it, I could have subdued Sasuke and used him as a hostage to stop Hinata and Rin, there was no way Sasuke could fight me off when I kicked his already bruised ribs.
Rin's hits were too fast for me to block when my forearm had no feeling in it. One of her kicks was aimed straight at my temple that I knew was going to make contact. I was forced to fling my gimp arm up to blunt the strike, the kick still ended up driving through my arm and smashing into the side of my head.
I staggered back and could sense Hinata just a few feet from me. I saw her aiming a juken strike straight for my chest as I turned slightly. I pivoted on my leg to try and block her game ending attack by swinging my leg up and around blindly to hopefully ward off a hit to my blind spot from Rin.
I managed to block Hinata's juken strike, but it ended up still making partial contact with my foot. I ended up nearly falling backwards from the unexpected pain, and the pivot combined with me flinging my leg up changed where my ribs were located relative to where Rin's next kick went.
She aimed for my ribs, at least where my ribs used to be at before I shifted. The leg I still had weight on was bent, which I'd tried to straighten as she kicked out at me. Herfootended up smashing full force into an unprotected area that was left open by my one leg rising up to stop Hinata's juken strike.
My balls.
I gasped and my lungs seemed to stop working as I felt her foot make contact and I dropped to the ground in a boneless heap, desperately trying to not vomit from the pain as I clutched my genitals.
Rin looked horrified at what she did. Hinata looked ill at seeing me on the ground as I was dry heaving. I ended up losing the battle of trying to fight off the nausea and vomited up my breakfast onto the ground.
"Naruto," Rin asked desperately, "Are you ok?"
I could barely gasp out a "no" before I started heaving again from the pain. Rin tried to reach for me, but a waved her off. Itfuckinghurt and I didn't want to be touched right now by my sister as I clutched my balls.
After several minutes of me trying to get through the pain, I managed to stand on my own. I still had my hands on my knees, but I was standing.
I reached for the bells on my waist, but I didn't feel them.
"The hell are the bells?" I moaned, my voice weaker than usual.
Rin, Hinata, and me looked around for the bells, but there was no way I was in any shape get the bells back before they got them. I looked towards Sasuke, who was still on the ground from when I winded him from hitting his ribs, smiling with both bells in his hand.
Rin and Hinata saw where I was looking. They couldn't believe how Sasuke could have gotten the bells.
"How'd you get them?" Rin asked, shock in her voice.
"When you were busy putting your brother's balls in his throat." Sasuke said simply, wincing as he clutched the bruised side of his chest.
Rin winced while I cringed and felt bile rise up in my throat from remembering it.
"Congrats." I muttered, "You got the bells. What are you going to do?" I asked.
Sasuke looked at the bells, looking in deep thought. He then tossed a bell to Rin, who caught it.
He then tossed the other to Hinata.
I looked at him with slight surprise.
"You know what you just did, right?" I asked.
Sasuke just nodded. "I'm nothim." he muttered.
I just looked at him for a moment, before my face shifted into a broad smile.
"You pass." I said simply.
Sasuke's head shot up towards me, his eyes wide in shock.
"What?"
"You pass." I repeated, "You put aside any issues and gave them the bells, even when you thought you needed one to pass."
I signaled to Kakashi that the test was over. He came over to confirm what I said.
"The test was about teamwork." Kakashi said when he got over here. "You managed to work together to get the bells and you gave them to your teammates. You did good." he finished proudly.
The three grinned at them passing the test. "Now," Kakashi said, "You three are dismissed. Team training starts in two days at this training field. 7:30."
The three nodded before leaving. It was just me and Kakashi now.
"You ok?" He asked, noticing my discomfort.
"Aside from me feeling my balls in my throat, yeah." I said, still being sensitive to the impact.
Kakashi's visible part of his face showed his discomfort from thinking how much it hurt me.
"How did you think they did?" Kakashi asked, wanting my input.
"Rin did phenomenal tying up my clones." I started, "She can organize them to cooperateverywell. Hinata and Sasuke did amazing fighting me with taijutsu. Using Sasuke's fireball as a smokescreen was a good strategy, but it wasn't completely seamless. Hinata may have landed more than a couple hits if Sasuke and she had properly fought me in sync. That could probably be fixed with time and experience."
Kakashi nodded at my breakdown of their performance, noting what I'd said.
"How do you think you could have been better?" He asked.
I sighed. "I could have set the pace instead of them. I wanted to see if Sasuke would work with them. I would have hard targeted Sasuke if I wanted to end the fight. I tried to make him a 'hostage' when Rin broke off to help."
Kakashi seemed to realize something that I'd said. "You intentionally left openings to gauge their teamwork," he realized, "The gaps I saw were intentional ones, weren't they?"
I just nodded.
"You did good, Naruto." He said, "You're a natural leader and a fine Shinobi."
I felt good at the praise. All the hard work I put in was paying off. I was fast becoming a strong Shinobi, Rin was nipping at my heels in several of our skills, Hinata truely blossomed into someone confident in herself, and Sasuke looked like he may not be lost like I'd worried.
"Go on home." Kakashi said, "Get some rest, you earned it."
I nodded and turned to leave, but heard Kakashi say something else. "Group team training starts next week." he called out.
I nodded an affirmative before home, I smile making it's way to my face.
End Chapter:
This is undoubtedly the longest chapter I've written. It was going to bemuchshorter, but I couldn't seem to find a good spot to end it.
Writing Sasuke was difficult. I've come to the decision that I'll be fair about judging him. I may think Itachi was in a catch 22 situation, but it disgusts me what he chose to do. Itachi's intelligence, love for Konoha, and his desire for a good world drove him to be an extremely gifted Shinobi. He either didn't have faith that Sasuke could be motivated by something good like he was, or he decided to make Sasuke want to kill him because hewantedto die more than he was willing to let Sasuke keep his brother's love in his mind. That's kind of bad when an otherwise selfless individual tortures his brother because hewantsto be punished for his own self percieved inability to save his best friend, family, and clan.
I put a thing on armour because it's a common mistake in many films, books, and other forms of media where plate and mail is penetrated byslashing. There's alot of crimes against realism concerning armour. The only time where armour seems to be somewhat accurately portrayed is ballistic vests and the plates used by the military. So I wanted to put that in the story on why I think the Sannin had different armour in the War. I'll probably put something in about the armour Madara, Hashirama, and Tobirama used later in the story, don't know yet.
Don't read into the part about Rin and Sasuke as me stating they'll get together. Any boy would be uncomfortable being touched by the girl he accidentally kissed. I still haven't come to the decision on how I'll address pairings/romance. For all I know, I could probably pull off pairing Rin with Shikamaru or Neji. I just don't know. It's not something that will be important to the plot at this point.
I hope I did a decent job on writing action. When I first started this story, I had absolutelynofaith in writing non-stilted dialogue, but that hasn't seemed to be an issue. I still don't know how well I did writing action.Anyfeedback would begreatlyappreciated if I need to add a couple things to make it flow better..
Anyway, I'll stop right here. Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated immensely. Stay safe out there, and Good Luck.
Raging..
Chapter 18: Wake-up call
Chapter Text
Chapter 18: Wake up call.
It was late afternoon and Hiruzen was expecting a report from Kakashi about how team 7 did. He'd already spoken with Kurenai and Asuma about their teams. The two teams had passed, unsurprisingly, but Kakashi's could have ended up anything. Hiruzen heard a knock and felt Kakashi's presence. Raising his voice, Hiruzen called for him to enter.
Kakashi entered the room, his posture relaxed and his expression one of immense pleasure.
"I take it things are good?" Hiruzen asked.
"Verygood." Kakashi grinned, his voice betrayinghow goodhe felt.
Hiruzen gestured for Kakashi to continue, wishing to hear the news.
"Team 7 passed," Kakashi said, "And Naruto helped play a part."
Hiruzen was surprised at that.
What did you do?Hiruzen thought.
"How so?" Hiruzen asked.
"Naruto thought it would be funny to prank me," Kakashi started, "HeHengedas me, convinced Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke that he was me, told them to meet at training ground 7 at 6:30, and thenHengedhis clones as the three when I showed up at the Academy. He then told me he told them to meet at noon." He finished.
Hiruzen chuckled at that. "I doubt that waseverythinghe did."
Kakashi twitched at that, obviously remembering what transpired.
If I were a betting man, I'd say it had something to do with another 'Gai' joke that Naruto seems so fond of.
"I'd rather not get intothatright now, sir, " Kakashi replied.
Hiruzen just smiled slightly, "Alright, I'll drop it. Continue, please."
Kakashi nodded, "I hadNarutoplay the role I was going to. Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke needed to work together to get the bells from him."
Hiruzen just smiled fondly at the bell test. It was one thathehad done with the Sannin. Jiraiya did the same with his students, and Minato did so with his genin team. It was something of a tradition to use that test with team 7.
"How well did Naruto do?" Hiruzen asked, assuming it was at the very leastgood,given how pleased Kakashi looked.
Kakashi was quiet for a moment, "He was phenomenal." He said quietly.
"He started off with something I never would have thought of doing," Kakashi continued, "He offered a bell to Sasuke if he'd attack Hinata."
Hiruzen's eyes widened at that.He actually offeredthat?
"Based on your mood, Sasuke didn't accept, yes?"
"He thought about it for a moment." Kakashi said, before continuing, "Naruto then said something along the lines of 'Be a good little Uchiha and kill your comrades. Be just likehim.' "
If anything would dissuade Sasuke from turning on a friend or comrade, it would be a comparison to Itachi.
Hiruzenstilldidn't know why Itachi usedthatGenjutsu on Sasuke. He'd read the psych report from Inoichi. Sasuke had suicidal thoughts after what he saw, what he hadfelt. It took a great deal of counseling on Inoichi's part to keep Sasuke even remotely "stable". Inoichi had initially been resistant to letting Sasukecontinueto be enrolled in the Academy, but the following months after the massacre showed Sasuke to have recovered enough to still be "fine", so to speak.
Naruto and Rin, although nottechnicallybeing friends of his, gave Sasuke a sense of stability. The constant demands and blackmail in the form of pranks forced Sasuke to not be as insular, causing his thoughts to not fester in silence.
"I take it that Sasuke did not react well." Hiruzen said simply.
"He froze when Naruto said it. He probably hadn't thought of that and it shocked him." Kakashi answered.
Hiruzen nodded, wanting to move on the Rin, Hinata, and Naruto's performance.
"Could you continue with Naruto?" he questioned.
Kakashi nodded, wanting to move back to Naruto, "He managed to set up multiple traps and logs to slow down Rin and Hinata. The two managed to evade or fight through all the traps effectively. Naruto ambushed and restrained Sasuke before he baited the three into an open battle so I could personally gauge their teamwork by looking at it myself. His strategic mind is as good as can be with the lack of field experience he currently has. His taijutsu is impeccable for his age. He can fight off both RinandHinata if he needed to. Sasuke was the reason why they were able to beat him, his clones' coordination and his jutsu were able to hold them off for a time." Kakashi finished.
Hiruzen was pleased. Everything pointed to Naruto being an amazing teacher and role model. His idea of having Naruto bounce between the different teams looked to be a better idea than he previously dared to hope.
"Howdidthey manage to defeat Naruto exactly?" He asked, genuinely curious.
Kakashi grinned slightly. "Hinata got a lucky hit," he started, " She didn't use her Byakugan because of Naruto using flashbangs, but she still managed to connect with a Juken strike to the main tenketsu in his arm."
That'll do it.Hiruzen thought. Losing the ability to move chakra in an arm severely hampered ones ability to use most jutsu.
"But that didn't end the fight," Kakashi started again, prompting Hiruzen to focus again, " Naruto forced chakra out of his tenketsu to flash Sasuke and Hinata when they pressed him. Rin had been trying to contain Naruto's clones, she'd managed to break through an opening and charged at Naruto..." Kakashi then paused for a moment, "This is where I was surprised," he said, "Naruto disoriented Hinata and Sasuke,grabbedSasuke's hand and used it to make several handsigns to send a water bullet at Rin."
Hiruzen was surprised at that as well.
He actually thought to usesomeone else'shand for a jutsu? Unheard of.
For a twelve year old to think of using another's hand to make handsigns wasveryuncommon. That was somethingveteransknew about from either doing so themselves, or witnessing it in combat. Naruto managed to figure it out himself.
It requires someone to slightly overload the "foreign" chakra with their own, similar to how a Genjutsu works on its target. Naruto overloading Sasuke's chakra with his own wouldn't be surprising, his chakra reserves are largeanddense.
"What happened next?" Hiruzenneededto know what else happened.
"Hebarelygot the Water Bullet to work." Kakashi clarified, "It was weaker than what it should have been, it missed Rin and smashed into her clones."
Naruto would have never let them live it down if he managed to defeat them. I can almost hear him. 'I beat you with one hand tied behind my back'.Hiruzen chuckled to himself.
Hiruzen lowered his head in a nod for Kakashi to continue.
"Rin broke through Naruto's guard after a few hits and Hinata recovered before Sasuke did. She stepped in to finish Naruto. He likely sensed her because he spun around and tried to blindly kick at where Hinata's strike was coming from. He ended up spinning as Rin tried to kick his ribs and ended up getting kicked in the balls." Kakashi finished with a wince.
Hiruzen also winced at the image. Jinchuriki, especially Uzumaki ones, were much stronger physically than most Shinobi. Getting hitthereby one was not something Hiruzen wanted to imagine.
"How bad was it?" He asked sympathetically.
"He puked up his breakfast and couldn't stand for several minutes." Kakashi said simply.
Hiruzen felt almost ill at what Naruto had felt. He himself had been hit there before, butneverby someone with the strength of an Uzumaki jinchuriki.
"So that's how he lost the bells," Hiruzen mused to himself.
"No." Kakashi clarified.
Hiruzen just gave him a questioning look.
"When Naruto was trying to not pass out, Sasuke was still on the ground from getting his ribs kicked, and he grabbed the bells." Kakashi then grinned at the next part, "Sasuke tossed one bell to Rin... and the other to Hinata."
Hiruzen was quiet for a moment, trying to digest what he'd just heard.
Sasuke went from hesitating on whether to attack a teammate to get a bell, to giving up the prospect of passing the test and having to "wait a year" until he could get training from a Jonin.
"What on Earth did Naruto say to him to getthat muchof a change?"
"He fought Sasuke on his own and taunted him, told him the only reason he survived the massacre was because he wasn't worth killing, told him that at least Rin had an older brother that didn't see his younger sibling as 'Totally useless.' Kakashi used air quotes at the last part.
"Naruto told you he said this?" Hiruzen asked, some unsettling thoughts about Naruto's restraint on things being potentially called into question.
Kakashi shook his head. "I had a clone watch him, he didn't sense the clone."
Kakashi had played ignorant to see how much Naruto was willing to share on how badly Sasuke reacted to his comparison to Itachi. Naruto didn't mention the near panic attack Sasuke had, he didn't mention what Sasuke called Rin, and he didn't specifypreciselywhat he had said.
He probably didn't think Sasuke really meant it. Emotions can run high when you're remembering a terrible memory.
Hiruzen was thinking on what he'd heard.
Naruto seems to be able to get into people's heads very effectively and tell where their weak point is.
Hiruzen still remembered how badly it hurt Kakashi when Naruto had jabbed at his worst fear. Kakashi still held lingering guilt over Obito and Rin's deaths, even though he stopped being near suicidal in the missions he accepted. Skilled Shinobi he may be, but Kakashi had very little business taking S-rank missions on his own. Kakashi had lied repeatedly and said he'd gotten Gai or another Jonin or two to go with him.
The only reason Hiruzen didn't punish him for lying to his superior was because it was a time before Kakashi had pulled himself back together. Killing and being in near death situations prevented Kakashi from giving up.
A part of Hiruzen, a more cynical part, thought it was ironic that the event that started Kakashi's healing was when Naruto was nearly killed anddemandedto be trained. It gave Kakashi a swift wake up call that he wasneeded, needed by a prodigious boy who ran the risk of ending up broken like Kakashi had been when he lost everyone he saw as family.
Naruto had needed guidance from a kindred spirit, Kakashi being that spirit. It may have hurt him at first to be around the two people that resembled the closest thing Kakashi had to a second mother and father, but it forced him to confront his demons and pulled him towards the path of recovery.
Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, another question on his mind. "Will their teamwork be an issue?"
Kakashi adopted a contemplative look, thinking deeply on the question.
"There might be a couple of issues due to Sasuke have trouble opening up, but I don't see any issues in the long run." he answered.
"Good," Hiruzen said firmly, "Out of all the current graduating genin, Team 7 has the greatest potential of them all." Hiruzen then got quiet.
"Almost as much as my students." he added quietly.
Kakashi stiffened at his superior saying that. Hiruzen didn't sharethatparticular observation with anyone, until now.
"That is why I chose you to be their Jonin Sensei," Hiruzen revealed, "Naruto may have given Rin and Hinata the foundation and drive to be great simply by doing his own training, but you will be the one that gets the two of them and Sasuke to that point."
Kakashi looked shocked at what he was insinuating.
"You think I can make them whatyoumade the Sannin into?" He asked weakly.
Hiruzen nodded resolutely, "Even ifyoudon't think you have it in you, Kakashi," he told him kindly, " It doesn't mean that others don't see you for the good man and teacher you are. Naruto wouldn't be half the Shinobi he is if not for you."
The silver haired jonin looked unconvinced.
"But I've only passedoneteam," Kakashi said, trying to dissuade Hiruzen from havingthatmuch faith in him. "Naruto is a once in a generation Shinobi. It's no surprise that he would do well from me training him. Anybody could train him and he would progress."
"You ensured that he learned the greatest thing of all," Hiruzen countered, "We both saw the path he could have taken in his training. He'd have been consumed by the need to grow stronger if he hadn't been guided by you. He was already taking risks before you began training the two of them on a regular basis, Kakashi. Rin came to me because she was worried about him."
Hiruzen still hadn't forgotten when Rin came to him about how worried she had been about Naruto coming home smelling of blood with a noticeable limp. He hadn't been spending time with her or talking with her. He'd been nearly consumed with training and studying. And this only happenedafterhe had nearly been killed and remembered the night of his birth. The training given was as much of a babysitting task as it was educating the boy so he didn't hurt himself from unsupervised self training.
Hiruzen looked at Kakashi again. "You taught him the importance of not doing things alone. My students would have died if they hadn't been such close friends and had unmatched teamwork."
Tsunade had shown Hiruzen what happened in their fight with Hanzo not long after it had occurred, using a Genjutsu to give him a first person perspective. As he was now, at nearly 70 years of age, he would have very likely been killed on his own. Back nearly 25 years ago, when his studentsdidfight Hanzo, it would have likely been the fight of his life. He could have won, but it would have left him spent and vulnerable to enemy nin. He saw the force of nature that Hanzo was. He knew how capable his students were, yet they still left that fight wounded and on fumes, Hanzo only letting them live because he knew he wouldn't have the strength to kill the threeandescape from the Konoha Shinobi arriving as reinforcements.
"Teamwork is what brought my students home," Hiruzen continued, "It's what Jiraiya taught to Minato, and Minato taught that to you," Hiruzen's voice got quiet once more, " That now lives on in Naruto, and he helped nurture that in Rin and Hinata."
Hiruzen didn't want to voice out loud what his other thoughts were. They were private ones.
Naruto reminds me of what Orochimaru was like.
Orochimaru had been nearly broken when his parents died. Hiruzen was able to make sure that he didn't give up on life completely when it initially happened. He was the closest thing his student had to a parental figure that was still alive. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade toned down on their arguing and bickering for Orochimaru's sake.
Jiraiya was an orphan. The death of Orochimaru's parents helped to show Jiraiya that his teammate wasn't just simply a genius that would humiliate him in training and have their teacher's constant praise. He was a child, a child that had lost something precious to him long before it should have been. Jiraiya saw part of himself in Orochimaru, he'd said as much decades ago.
Both no longer had parents, neither had any siblings to speak of, and the closest thing they had to family alive was each other, Tsunade, and Hiruzen. Orochimaru nearly had all of that taken from him when his team fought Hanzo. Instead of seeing how their friendship, teamwork, and refusal to abandon one another made the three of them greater than something that had already never been seen before in the Shinobi world, a team consistingentirelyof S-rank/near Kage level Shinobi at the time, he let them nearly being killed be used as a fuel to drive him to find a way to conquer the unconquerable.
Death itself.
He'd brushed aside Jiraiya's concern. He thought it was just him being overly concerned for his best friend following the battle. But it didn't go away with time. Orochimaru was the one, not Jiraiya, that had to try and console Tsunade after Dan's death. Jiraiya was thebestout of the three at helping someone grieving. He was kind and was able to talk people through the most terrible moments in their lives. He'd saved multiple Shinobi out in the field when a Yamanaka wasn't on hand to help those falling apart. Several Uchiha had sworn a debt to Jiraiya when many Uchiha had been stopped by him from suicide charging the enemy after a close friend, or more often a lover, had been killed in front of them.
The Uchiha considered suicide shameful, but dying whilst covered in your enemies blood was acceptable, it helped to give the perception of the Uchiha being peerless fighters in the minds of other villages."If you're going to throw your life away, at least do your clan the favor of dying in combat."was along the lines of what most of the Uchiha elders told their younger clansmen. They weren't the best people to talk with when you were falling apart. Most of the old guard still paid heed to the Warring clans era of thinking, "You're only aloud to die after you've taken 3 others to the Shinigami with you." Jiraiya was good at keeping someone from destroying themselves when they were at their most vulnerable.
Orochimaru wasn't a people person like Jiraiya. The civilians were borderline terrified of himbeforethings had gotten bad. Those who didn't know him well found his intellectual tone and gaze to be off-putting, even inhumane sounding at times. The Shinobi veterans knew better and found him very likeable. He was a nearly peerless fighter in the field and saved many lives from doing tasks and taking point in battles that would have required the combined work of dozens of skilled Shinobi.
And he was terribly equipped to help Tsunade when her entire life came crashing down. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were there for her when her clan, considered to have been one of the most powerful in history, withered away until it was only her and her brother that remained. Then... She was all alone. Jiraiya left the village for a time. Orochimaru, who already had difficulty showing empathy and kindnessbeforehis parents death, was thrust into a position that Jiraiya was his superior in every way. Tsunade left the village despite his and Orochimaru's best efforts.
Hiruzen could see the way Naruto's eyes would seem to come to life when he read an interesting new theory from one of Tobirama-sensei's journals. Anytime he was confronted with a problem that needed solved, Naruto seemed to glow with enjoyment. Hiruzen remembered when he'd asked Tobirama, over 50 years ago, what he thought on the power his brother and Madara wielded, whether power was a bad thing. After he'd heard when he was but a small boy of how Madara had tried to kill Hashirama and take over the village using the Kyuubi, it was a question he'd wondered.
He will never forget the answer. It was an answer that shaped his entire world view.
"Power is an extension of a person's will. The same power that could save a woman from being brutalized is the same power that could kill innocents. My brother used his power to help create this village. I am a smart man. It is not a boast, it is simply fact. Knowledge is its own form of power. I have helped this village become something better than what my brother envisioned it could become in such a short time. Madara used the great power he wielded to try and destroy what had been built. Had he been able to let go and move on from the deaths of his brothers, as I have had to do, he would be remembered as a man as great as my elder brother."
"Do you understand, Saru? Power is not good or bad, it is neutral, much like how water is. Water gives life when it is drunk, but I can use it to end life, which I have done. I've put out fires, I've parched the thirst of those in need, but I have ended the lives of hundreds as well. I have killed others so my clan would survive, and now I do so because there are thousands that depend upon me being powerful enough to protect their futures. You will one day be strong enough to do the same, you have the Will of Fire in you just like my brother did. We saw how great you could be. Your teammates will help you be great just as I helped my brother achieve his dream."
Hiruzen knew that Tobirama was wary of the Uchiha. But he didn't think the civilians or most of the Shinobi were dangerous. One of those he trained was an Uchiha.
Madara could have been great like Hashirama if he had let go of his hate, Danzo may have been his closest friend, his confidant, had he not fell to his own paranoia and hatred, Orochimaru could have been likehimif he hadn't let his fear of death destroy the brilliant and loyal friend he had been.
If Naruto fell prey to his hatred, the intellectual brilliance and raw power he had could make him eclipse the greatest threat Konoha had ever faced.
Uchiha Madara.
Naruto had a Bijuu sealed in him. The same Bijuu that Madara sent after Hashirama. Naruto didn't need any power to control it, will power was what was needed for a Jinchuriki to use the power they had.
And Naruto had more Will than he had brains.
Hiruzen had tormented himself for years about whether he would fail again. He had failed to save his Sensei from the Kinkaku squad, he failed to save his student from himself, he failed to protect Konoha like Minato had done, he had failed to stop the Uchiha from being wiped out, and he had failed at something that every man swore to do.
Protect his wife.
When he married Biwako, he swore to love and cherish her, to protect her from any who would harm her, to make her burdens his own, to lay his own life down for her and the children and home that they built together.
If he couldn't protect his mentor, his student, his village, or his soulmate and mother of his children, how could he hope to protect a young boy that hadfartoo much intelligence and disregard for personal safety to not look before he leaped?
The Uchiha massacre had brought him to one of his lowest points in life. He had decided that Itachi would be his successor. He'd hold onto the mantle of Hokage for several more years, personally tutoring Itachi until he would be ready. But hatred and fear had robbed him of one of the best Shinobi, in both terms of skill and humanity, Konoha had ever produced. He was left with the choice he feared more than anything.
He feared that if he pushed or requested, that Naruto would not want the title of Hokage. He feared that Naruto could turn out like Orochimaru, the world crashing down him until his resolve cracked and the beast within all of Man lashing out at the hardships he faced. Naruto saw his mother, and unknowingly his father, die in front of him, he nearly died, he found out that the creature that took his parents from him was sealed inside him and his sister, and he found out that he would never be free from the beast for the rest of his life.
The villagers hated him, and Hiruzen had seen thehatredNaruto had for the villagers a couple years prior. A Hokage couldn't hate the village he was sworn to protect. But the death of Mizuki changedeverything.
He remembered the conversation he had with Naruto. He remembered what Naruto had said.
"Even if many of the villagers hate Rin and me, they're not any less worthy of saving."
"Keep that hat warm for me, Jiji, I'll need it when you're done."
That day brought an end to the greatest fear that Hiruzen had. That Naruto would let the village burn because of the hatred shown by some. But he understood and realized that not everyone was like that. He saw how there were good people. People that were in need of protecting.
"-age-Sama? Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen was pulled from his very deep thinking by Kakashi's voice.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi," he said, blinking for a moment, "I was thinking of something."
Kakashi just nodded, understanding that Hiruzen would be in deep thought at times.
"Are there any more questions you have, Hokage-sama?" he asked.
"No," Hiruzen said simply, "I just wanted to know your thoughts on how Naruto and your team performed. You are dismissed."
"Sir." Kakashi nodded, before turning to exit the Hokage's office.
"And Kakashi," Hiruzen added before Kakashi left, "Don't think that you're the only one who thinks they've failed at things. You're not alone."
Kakashi was silent at what Hiruzen said. He then looked up and nodded, before exiting the room.
Hiruzen leaned back into his chair for a moment, taking a puff from his pipe. Exhaling the smoke, he set the pipe aside to look at a paper he had been pondering about sending for quite some time. The chunin exams would have involved Konoha and Suna as the only 2 of the major villages participating. Iwa and Kiri were out completely. Iwa wasn't in the mindset to even humour sending a single genin to Konoha, and Kiri was still a nightmare to navigate currently, with the civil war and bloodline purges still happening.
The last one, Kumo, was one that was also not likely to send anyone if he offered. The Hyuga incident soured the relationship of the two nations both ways. Konoha saw it as treachery and the unforgivable act of abducting a girl from her home forbreedingpurposes, and Kumo, or at least its civilians and most of its Shinobi, saw it as slander and a lie to justify Konoha killing an ambassador.
The Lightning Daimyo wouldn't have been pleased if he discovered that there was truth to the rumours of the abducting kekkai genkai holders from other villages. Hiruzen only evenhumouredthe idea of Kumo possibly accepting because the current Raikage was displeased that the ambassador went ahead with the attempted abduction.
Jiraiya had managed to find out, with a couple of his best agents in Kumo, that the Raikage had trashed part of his office and flung his deskthrougha wall after hearing what happened. The Raikage had evidently disbanded and reassigned all the Shinobi that were apart of the kekkai genkai acquisition group that had been formed by his father once he took over as Raikage. The kidnap attempt was unsanctioned.
Hiruzen had replied with a command for Jiraiya to have his agents lay low for awhile. It would serve Konoha no good to have a spy found out in the heart of a rival village at such a fragile timeframe.
Hiruzen decided to hold off on sending the invitation, for now. He'd wait for a little while to think on whether it would be better to have a neutral village be present when Suna and Orochimaru attacked.
Grabbing his pipe and taking a long drag from it, he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, enjoying the peace he had.
"Sooooo, I heard that you got your balls touched by a pretty girl." Anko grinned at me.
Kakashi, I hate you.
I decided to visit the dango shop to relax after Team 7's test. Rin, Hinata, and Sasuke had gone to Ichiraku's, before parting ways to go home. I decided to spend my time lounging at the dango shop, eating the delicious meal and reading leisurely.
I should have known better than to think I could have any relaxing time to myself in the place that wasAnko'sfavorite place in the village, aside from maybe the forest of death.
"Where did you hear that from?" I ground out.
"Kakashi." Anko said simply, a relaxed grin on her face.
"Could you have been any louder?" I growled.
There were several people staring at us, the women looking at me with annoyance, the word "pervert" barely audible, even for me.
"Ah, but my little gaki is all grown up," she fake sniffled, "He's already got a girl grabbing his junk even before your first kiss."
"Will you shut up?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice low.
At the look the other customers were giving me, I got pissed.
"Mind your own damned business," I glared at them, "I've had enough crap today. I don't need any more."
They just glared back at me before turning back to their own food.
Anko sat down at my table, grin still not leaving her face.
"I still want to know what girl you let do that." She said, "She's got to be special."
I'd already vomited from getting my balls almost crushed, the visuals that the stuff Anko was saying wasn't helping mattersat all.My stomach couldn't handle another round of nausea, but for an entirely different reason. I'd probably prefer visualizing Kakashi and Gai going at it over the filth that's decided to try and burn itself in my mind.
"Was it Hinata?" Anko asked, her expression lighting up when I shot a look of disgust at her. "Itwasher. She always did try to catch a peak. So she finally got the courage to take ahands onapproach to inspecting the merchandise, hmmn?"
"Shut up," I growled irritably, "It wasn't Hinata and Kakashi left out someimportantdetails."
"Not Hinata?" Anko asked herself, before realizing what I'd also said, "What details?"
"It was a spar and it wasn't a hand that touched me... It was a kick." I visibly shuddered at the last part.
I could see Anko try to digest what I said. It took all of two seconds before I could nearlyseethe bulb in her head light up.
"Bahaha," She started cackling hysterically, "You got kicked in the balls? Oh, that's just great!" She started laughing again.
"Shhh, Shut up." I tried to get her to stop, but there was no possibility that I'd get her to stop laughing at something she found to probably be the funniest thing she'd heard all week.
"I thought I had you when I stomped your foot, but someone one-upped me," She snickered, having calmed down slightly from her laughing, "Soooo, I'll ask again, who's the lucky girl?"
"Rin."I growled, my patience running thin.
Anko just stared at me with surprise. "Why. The hell. Wouldshe, out of all people, aim for your balls?"
"She didn't mean to," I sighed, "I was fighting her and Hinata both. I tried to block a Juken strike from Hinata and ended up pivoting to block her attack. Rin didn't realize that."
"Thathadto have hurt." Anko said simply, "You twobothpunch and kickhard." she added.
"No shit," I muttered, detesting the subject, "I ended up puking up breakfast. I've had spiral fractures that hurt less."
Anko got silent at that last part.Shewas the one that fractured my leg. She still felt pretty bad at that, even if it happened quite some time ago. She hadn't meant for her summon to keep squeezing til a wet crunch was heard when we sparred a few months back.
That was up there with one of the worst things I'd ever heard in my life. It healed after several days, but it wasn't a good week for anyone.
"Well," Anko started awkwardly, "How did Rin react?"
"She felt awful, predictably," I replied, "It was an accident, but she still felt bad afterwards. It's not like shemeantto."
Anko looked like she was trying to lighten the mood with what she was going to say next.
"You sure you didn't need Hinata to have a look and make sure everything works?" She asked with a grin.
I just stared at her again. "Why are you and Kakashi on the Hinata thing? I'm pretty damned confused."
Anko just looked at me incredulously, "Hellooo, She's your closest friendandshe's a girl. The only other person your age that you're close to is Rin, and I'm pretty doubtful that you'd want to fool around with your sister."
I was getting irritated at this point, and it wasn't because of the part about Rin. That wasn't something I thought ofat all. But I was 12 almost 13 physically and my body decided that now was anamazingtime to notice how women were starting to lookveryinteresting.
I never thought it would be difficult to not stare. I'd managed to play it off around Anko by making it seem like I stared at her intentionally to "pretend" to be a pervert. But it was screwing with my head when a great deal of my thoughts were revolving around females. I didn't remember it being even remotely as bad the first time I went through it.
But I also didn't have the knowledge and experiences I had as an adult. Being in your early twenties at the point of rebirth left you with enough life experience to fill in the blanks ona lotof things. Things that an almost teenage body was all to eager to exploit.
I decided to answer with a question of my own. "You're friends with Kakashi, right?"
Anko just blinked for a moment, "What?" she asked.
"You're friends with him, right?" I asked again.
"Yeah," Anko said, "What's your point?"
"Would you sleep with him?" I asked simply.
Anko thought for maybe half a second before she answered.
"Hell yeah, I would."
I nearly choked on my dango at that.
"Huh?" I sputtered.
"Yeah, I'd sleep with him," Anko said again, "He's handsome, smart, and we get along fine. He'd be a perfect bed buddy."
I was a bit repulsed by the thought of the two people training me being friends with benefits. "I didn't think you'd answer that seriously."
Anko just scoffed at me. "You're not the typical 12 year old. You understand that stufffarmore than most your age,andyou don't turn into a stuttering mess when I flash some skin in a spar. If it wasn't for meknowingyou think I'm hot, I'd have almost thought you didn't like girls."
Anko had been pleasantly surprised when she first pulled a trick that had killed many male ninja that weren't prepared for it since time immemorial. Anko had let her coat fall loose when I was beginning to overpower her in brute force during a taijutsu session. I ended up beating her because she was caught completely by surprise when I didn't react how sheknewI would. I'd only been surprised for a second before I jumped back into the spar like nothing happened.
"You still haven't answered me," Anko said simply, "Why are you so antsy about answering? Iknowyou aren't flustered to the point of not answering. You'd tell me you like her, or you'd tell me to leave if it was something youhatedto think about." She said, being more accurate than I give her credit for.
"If you thought I was cute," I started quietly, "Would you try to be with me?"
Anko looked positively disgusted at what I'd said. "Don't tell me that you like me," she whispered furiously, looking to make sure no one could hear, "I don't need that shit right now. I don't care if you think I'm hot, you're 12. I'm not doing that with you. Ever." she finished.
"Even if it was several years from now?" I asked, wanting to steer her answer to what I wanted.
"Itrainedyou. I'll never be able to put that aside. It'll feel like I'm taking advantage of you as your Sensei... And I'llneverdo that." she spat.
I didn't think she'd make the connection to Orochimaru. She'dneverdo anything that even slightly reminded her of what her bastard of a Sensei would do.
"That's almost how I feel about Hinata." I said softly.
Anko just stared at me. "The hell you do you mean 'how you feel about Hinata'?"
I took breath "You'd feel like you were taking advantage of meifyou did like me that way. A student wants to please their Sensei, sometimes it becomes corrupted into something it shouldn't."
"Kid," Anko deadpanned, "I know you helped her with some things, but that isn't the same. You're only a month or two older than her and you obviously think she's pretty, otherwise you would have led with the 'I'm not attracted to her excuse'."
I wasn't going to say that and risk crushing Hinata's self esteem. I'd rather deal with being harassed instead of hurting her.
"I was the one that did the rabbit exercise with her." I said quietly, not voicing my real reason.
Anko just eyed me critically. "I thought the Jonin Senseis were supposed to do that. It's been like that for the last 6 or 7 years."
"It is," I replied simply, "But I was the one she trusts the most and I worked too hard on her confidence to let her fall apart."
Anko gestured for me to continue. She probably saw how important it was for me to say this.
"Let's do this somewhere else, please?" I requested, not wanting this to be heard.
Anko sighed and stood up, dropping some Ryo to pay for the dango.
"Training ground 44. Meet me at the outskirts." she said simply, before walked outside and disappeared in aShunshin, a trail of leaves left in her wake.
I sighed before I rose from my seat not looking forward to the conversation.
I arrived at the location Anko requested/demanded. I saw her waiting for me, her face showing nothing.
"You wanted privacy?" She asked rhetorically, "You've got it. Now, talk."
I prepped myself before answering, taking a deep breath to ready myself.
"I was there for Hinata when she killed the rabbit." I said quietly, "I was the one she went to when she thought she and her sister's relationship was going to be destroyed by her clan's elders. I chose to train her even when Kakashi didn't think I should have. I took time out of my day, delayed my own progress because I didn't want to see someone else hurting."
"And?" Anko asked, "this sounds like a start to one of those 'and they lived happily ever after' sappy romance novels that girly girls read when they want some Prince charming moron to sweep them off their feet. You get the girl and she loves you. I've seen the way Hinata looks at you," Anko continued, "The girladoresyou because you're a good friend. She'd do anything for you."
"Iknow," I gritted out, "And that ispreciselythe issue I have."
"Really?" Anko asked sarcastically, "Oh yes, woe to you that you've got a pretty girl that sees you as a good person and likes you because of it."
"Will you shut the up and let me finish?!" I shouted.
"Go ahead, idiot," She shot back, "answer me."
"She'll doanythingfor me," I said, "Anything."I stressed that word.
"She'd strip naked for me if I wanted her to. Even if she wasn't ready for that level of intimacy, even if it frightened her, she'd still do it for me." I said, barely more than a whisper, "And itterrifiesme."
Anko eyes widened, realizing what my fear was.
"You're afraid that she'd only be with you because she feels like she owes you."
I nodded, not wanting to try and explain the other half.
Hinata was 12 years old. Both physicallyandmentally. I flat outrefusedto be that kind of creature, the kind thatpreyson others. Even if I was capable of getting through the disgust at the thought of physical intimacy of that nature, I would still feel terrible at the perceived sense of exploitation. It was bad of an employer decades older to have an affair with an assistant. The power dynamic was too exploitative. The same went for a teacher/student relationship at a university. It wasn't a partnership of equals. And any relationship of that nature was a haunting one to me.
Playful joking and "flirting" wasn't an issue in my mind, butactualdating was. A few years down the road wouldn't be an issue. But at my current ageandthe nature of Hinata'spossibleemotional reliance upon me, it frightened me far too much.
"I don't want to be the kind of person that takes advantage of the vulnerable." I said quietly, "I don't want to take advantage of a friend."
Anko was silent for a moment, before she did something that I never expected.
She punched me.
I felt my nose break, before I fell to the ground.
"Tha fuck?" I demanded, trying stop the flow of blood and see through the tears that started coming out from the nerves in my eyes deciding to play around with the ones in my nose.
"Do you have so little faith in Hinata, Rin, Kakashi, The Hokage, and my own judgment?" she demanded, standing over me while throwing what felt like nearly all of her Killing Intent at me.
"What are you on about?" I demanded, raising my own Killing Intent after a yanked my nose back into place.
"I wouldn't be training a little prick who'd take advantage of a girl, I'd kill you if I thought you were like that. Rin would tear your arm off and beat you to death with it, and Kakashi would cut you half with aRaikiriand call it a day before he'd let you take advantage of Hinata like that. Are we wrong?" She demanded, "Did we screw up when we thought you were a nice guy? Are you like Orochimaru?"
I felt my anger spike at that last part. "Don't fucking compare me to thatcunt." I growled, the pain of my broken nose ignored at what the comparison to thatthing.
"I thought Orochimaru was a good Sensei," She sneered, "Until he branded me. Was I wrong again? Are you like him? Would you take advantage of a young girl likehedid?"
"NO!"I shouted, "I'm not like him."
Anko then seemed to do a 180 and completely calmed down as if nothing happened. "Then why are you so worked up over it? What's it matter if Hinatadoeslike you? You'd never exploit that. You're a good person. None of us would care for you if youwerethe kind of asshole that youthinkyou could be."
I forced myself to calm down to try and think clearly.
Anko was right. I'd been so caught up in my own paranoia at whether Hinata liked me for who I was or if it was because she felt emotionally reliant upon me, that I never stopped and asked myself one question.
Would I exploit it?
The answer was an immediate no. I'd ask Hinata if she was comfortable with something before I'd evenjokeabout something, let alone be serious. I'd been so worried about whether the closeness I'd created with Hinata had made me her entire purpose in the world that I stopped looking at things objectively.
"My" Hinata wasn't "Canon". Canon died a fiery death the moment I got shat out into this world. Even after saying "Fuck Canon" and making moves to prepare for a Shatterpoint event, Istillsaw some things as whatwouldhave been, like total damned idiot.
Hinata had gotten her strength from Naruto in "Canon". Hinata would have been much worse off if I hadn't taken the leap and helped her. She wasn't the stuttering, shy, mess of a person that she would have been. My actions already helped the other genin teams. Sasuke wasn't as likely to fuck run to Orochimaru, Kakashi wasn't the sarcastic, perverted, lazy, and broken shell of potential that he was. He was still most of those things, but he wasn't broken any longer. Mine and Rin's presence helped heal what was broken in him. Hiruzen didn't have a hyperactive, nearly idiotic, blonde chibi for a potential replacement for him as Hokage, he hadme,a "genius" of a Shinobi whowantedthe position because I wanted to make the world a better place and saw the power a Kage wielded as a means to do that.
Rin, who I still had fears of her being the 'Child of Prophecy', was far better prepared for what lay ahead than what 'Naruto' was. She wasn't like him. She was smart and prepared for things becauseIwas there for her.
So many things that were different about people, and Istillfell for the thing that I'd been desperate to avoid.
What was will be, what will be was.
Canon's dead. I killed it. And I still angst over something that was stupid in the grand scheme of things.
I just looked at Anko. "God, I'm an idiot." I said simply, realizing how stupid I was being.
Anko just grinned, "You needed someone to talk you through it," She replied, "Kakashi would have been the only other one. For some reason, you two can get each other to stop being morons better than anyone else."
I just nodded at Anko. "I needed the talk," I said, "Thank you."
Anko just waved me off, "Don't mention it. You needed help to talk through it. Just, do me a favor will ya? If Hinata brings it up, don't freak out about it. Just say you're not ready for it. I can see you're worried about it. Just take your time and don't flip the hell out. You don't want Hinata blaming herself."
I just nodded to her. "Will do."
"Ok." Anko said, "Now go on home, I need to warm up and kill some shit here." She gestured towards the forest.
"I'll get you to take me in there." I said seriously.
"Truly beat Kakashi in a spar and I will."
With my thoughts finally relaxed from the rather harsh love from Anko, I waved slightly in farewell.
"Later, Anko, and thanks for talking with me ."
"Later, gaki. Don't be a dumbass."
I smiled before I Shunshined away, looking forward to a nice relaxing week before group training.
Once Naruto had left, Anko just sat down on the ground.
He needs to stop over thinkingstuff.
Kakashi had nearly gotten himself killed multiple times from overthinking things. It always seemed to bother Shinobi who were prodigies as kids.
That was probably why Naruto and Kakashi were able to talk each other out of the circle jerk thoughts they had in their minds. It took a certain breed of lunatic to help another of its kind.
Birds of the feather flock together, or some other idiotic bs like that.
Naruto was over thinking his thoughts on Hinata. She still had no idea what prompted it, but she was in the position to stop Naruto from doing somethingreallystupid like saying he wasn't interested. He'd probably think she understood what he was implying, only to realize too late that she thinks he meant he didn't care enough for her to eventry.
Naruto was correct in his observation of Hinata. Shedidrely on him a little too much, but Kakashi had spoken with her about it.
Anko hadn't done any training with Hinata like she had with Rin or Naruto. She wasn't going to waste her time on a girl that would fold like a house of cards when she was exposed to what arealkunoichi was like. Anko's best friend Kurenai was the other type of kunoichi that a girl could emulate. But Anko was the warrior kind. Not just in body, but in spirit. She was a fighter, plain and simple.
And she hadnotime for fangirls and those scared of their own shadow. She adopted a wait and see approach to Hinata when Kakashi spoke of her. The silver haired Jonin had warned her about how Hinata was. The girl was a genuinely nice person. She had amazing potential as a kunoichi, but required a certain touch.
Anko had no idea what the hell he even meant by that until she found out the quiet Hyuga girl ended up kunoichi of the year.
A girl who looked like she could barely muster up the courage to look someone in the eye just a few years prior, became a kunoichi that gave credit to herself and the profession.
And Naruto was the one that pulled it off. Naruto was the one that saw potential when others saw weakness. He saw Hinata for what shecouldbe, instead of what she had been.
I think I'm understanding more why he's worried.
Naruto was alreadyextremelyintelligent. The way he spoke, acted around people, and simply carried himself was more like that of an adult Shinobi instead of a prodigious, though still wet behind the ears, genin. Even those his age probably felt more than a couple years younger than him when he'd talkseriouslyto them.
He'd made Hinata strong. Judging by the little that she'd heard from Naruto, Rin, and Kakashi, the clan issues amongst the Hyuga was an absolute nightmare. No girl should be forced to fight the little sister that she loves dearly over who gets branded.
Anko's hand moved over the Curse Mark at the back of her neck, still remembering the despair she felt when she found out her former mentor had betrayed the village... betrayedher.
I trusted him more than anyone else, and he did this. Hinata, from what I've heard about her from Rin and Naruto, would rather be marked than hurt her sister. Her Dad would probably do it himself.
Anko knew how she felt when she still had the hope that Jiraiya knew how to remove the Curse Seal. She'd have given himeverythingshe had do give from gratitude. And she was pretty sure Jiraiya would accept. The man was a pervert who liked pretty women, and a woman who'd feel gratitude was anamazingthing.
But Anko knew that wouldn't be her. She may like to have a fun time, but it was only fun when 2 were playing, not one feeling the need to owe the other.
Damnit . I know why Naruto was freaking out completely.
Naruto over thought things, as he usually did, accurately noticed how much Hinata cared for him, assumed the worst in how she'd want to'thank him',and was overly paranoid that he'd need to second guess anytime the two would do something that made him feel like he was exploiting her.
"I got him to pull his own head out of his ass," She muttered to herself, "But Kakashistillwould have been better."
"Better at what?" She heard a familiar voice.
Turning around sharply, she saw Kakashi standing not far from her, his posture relaxed.
"When the hell did you get hear?" She asked.
"When I started feeling Killing Intent from about a mile away." he deadpanned.
"Oh," she said a little sheepishly, "Yeah, I was just having a little heart to heart with a certain redhead gaki."
Kakashi just stared at her with an'Are you kidding me?'look. "Your 'heart to heart' talks involve blood and broken bones."
"Funny you should say that." Anko said, snickering slightly.
"What happened?" Kakashi asked, a hint of exasperation in his tone.
"He was over thinking likeyoudo," She started, "He got himself worked up over Hinata and I had to get him to chill out before he did something stupid."
Kakashi just looked at her with multiple questions dancing at the forefront of his mind. "What exactly was he freaking out over her for?", he asked, "It's not like him to panic over girls." he added quietly.
"He freaked out because he's worried that Hinata relies on him too much," she started, "I asked him about what happened today whichyoudecided to leave out a key little detail when you said 'A girl touched his balls'." She finished with irritation.
Kakashi grinned at that. "Liked that, didn't you?"
"It was funny," she relented, "Until said freakout started happening. He thinks she'd willingly do things with him that she wasn't ready for."
Kakashi eyes widened at the realization. "Does he really think so little of her? She's not some fragile doll that'll break if he does anything. She has more self worth than to be quiet about something that she didn't agree with."
Anko gestured for him to elaborate, wanting to hear more.
"Hinatadoescare very deeply for Naruto, and part of that comes from what he has done for her. He helped train her even when I advised not to. He befriended her after he beat up multiple kids that were bullying her. It's no wonder she would like him. She offerednothingwhen he first helped her, and yet hestillhelped her. She likes him because he's a genuinely decent person that went out of his way to help her be the best she can be."
Anko looked at Kakashi with relief. She was glad that she was on point with her observation.
"Whatdidyou say that pissed him off?" Kakashi asked her.
"Oh nothing," She said in a sing song voice, "I just asked if he was like my bastard Sensei and liked to exploit a young girl's trust."
Kakashi sounded like he almost choked on air when he heard her reply.
"What?" he asked, shocked.
"He kept saying stupid crap like how he didn't want to take advantage of someone vulnerable and that heknewHinata would doanythingfor him."
Kakashi just scoffed. "He should know better.We," he gestured to the both of them, "And Rin wouldn't care about him if was the kind of person that would do that. And he thinks too little of Hinata. Her entire world doesn't revolve around him, this isn't some romance novel, it's real life."
"That's whatIsaid," Anko agreed, "He wasn't getting the damn message til I compared him to Orochimaru to piss him off."
The two of them still remembered when Naruto found out about the seal on Anko's neck. He said something about finding a way to remove it and "Help kill the snake that put it there." That was the day Anko stopped seeing Naruto as a child. She started to see him as a friend, one much younger, but still a friend.
"So," Kakashi started, "Whatdidhe respond with?"
Anko grinned. "He got pissed and demanded I not compare to 'thatcunt.' She air quoted.
Kakashi nodded. "Sounds like something he'd say."
Kakashi face then shifted. "You pulled the same thing he did today." He said, as if he were realizing something important.
"Eh?" Anko asked, confused by what he meant.
"I passed my genin team today," He clarified, "I made Naruto do the test to punish him for something he pulled earlier. He offered to let Uchiha Sasuke pass if he attacked a teammate, Hinata specifically."
Anko's eyes shot wide open. "He'd only do that if he thought it was possible or was worried that could happen."
Even if he was nearly blind to his own hypocrisy at times or the blind spot he had with his own behavior, Naruto wasdisturbinglygood at seeing things in people that others didn't see, things that people didn't want others to know.
If Naruto had any doubts about the Uchiha, they likely weren't baseless.
"What happened?" She requested.
"Sasuke hesitated and Naruto told him to 'Be like Itachi and kill a comrade', or something along that line."
"Thatwould mess with most people."
"Sasuke froze up and Naruto retreated into the woods. Later, he went even further and goaded Sasuke into losing it and attacked him. Naruto said he'd do Sasuke the favour of killing him before he'd let him turn out like Itachi and take what was precious to him."
Anko was curious how that effected the last Uchiha.
"How did that go?"she asked.
"Evidently, Sasuke took it to heart. He, Rin, and Hinata worked together to beat Naruto. I used the bell test," he added, the bell test being a well known tradition for Team 7, "Sasuke got both bells and tossed them to Rin and Hinata." he finished.
Anko relaxed at that. She didn't want to think of how Rin would be on a team with an emotionally fragile person like what she was thinking Sasuke was from what she'd heard a minute prior. She saw Rin like a little sister and protege. She worried for her almost how her own brother did.
"Naruto's talk knocked some sense into him." She stated simply.
Kakashi nodded an affirmative. "Just like you did with Naruto."
"I still think you would have been better if you'd talked with him." she said.
"Why do you think that?" he asked.
"You dealt with girls crushing on you in the Academy," Anko elaborated, "You were head and shoulders above everyone else your age and most felt like little kids to you skill wise. You know how Naruto thinks, it would have taken less effort for you to do it."
She knew she wasn't wrong. Geniuses tended to be bored with most conversation. Kakashi, Naruto, and even Orochimaru were the more restrained kind of genius. The ones that didn't go out of their way to talk with others for the sake of company.
Kakashi was like that as a young teenager, before the terrible things went down in the war. Now, he was much more layed back and relaxed about things. He was actuallyfunto be around. The less said about Orochimaru, the better. Naruto was much like how Kakashi had acted beforethe thingthat happened at a certain bridge. He worked himself up over something that he wasn't at fault for, or something that he'dneverdo.
Anko asked another question. "If it's not too personal, howdidyou get your teammate to stop crushing on you?"
Kakashi stiffened slightly at the question.
Damnit. I shouldn't have asked.Before she could apologize for overstepping, Kakashi relaxed his posture.
"I didn't," he answered simply, "She only cut back on it after Obito died." the last part much quieter, "I wouldn't exactly be an expert on talking to Naruto on how to deal with a girl that likes him, especially when it's someone he sees as one of his closest friends."
Anko exhaled at his answer.
Crisis averted.
"So... we just advise him to be careful and to not be hasty and accidentally break her heart cuzheisn't ready, and because he's certainsheisn't ready?" She asked.
"That's the best we can do." he nodded, " I can understand how his mind gets him caught in a constant loop. He'll think of something that worries him, rationalize his way through it, and then he thinks of it all over again, requiring him to start over again."
"That sounds hellish," Anko said, not liking the idea of constantly fighting your own intellect.
Kakashi gestured towards where his left eye was covered. "This makes it infinitely worse."
Anko knew what the Sharingan did. Perfect recall of everything you saw when the eyes were activated was good when you needed to see a pattern in an opponents style or if you needed to know how a jutsu worked. But it was a curse if you held what was precious to you in your arms, the light leaving their eyes. It wouldneverbe something that Anko envied. She was content without a fancy dojutsu.
Anko stayed silent at that, not knowing what to say.
"Thanks for talking with him," Kakashi said, breaking the silence, "I didn't realize he was ate up over it. He needs people there for him. He might be the strongest of his age, but he's still human."
"Yeah," Anko agreed, "He is."
"I'll let get back to what you were doing." Kakashi said, before turning to leave.
"Don't be a stranger." She called.
Kakashi just nodded before heShunshinedaway.
Anko took a deep breath before she turned to the Forest of Death.
"Now," she cracked her knuckles, "Shall we begin?"
Suiton: Water Severing Wave.
I blasted a sharpened blade of water out of my mouth directly towards a tree, striking it dead on.
The Jutsu tore through the tree and it toppled over with a groan of snapping wood, a few birds flying away from the neighboring trees from the disturbance.
After weeks of dedicated training with shadow clones, I was able to tear through solid objects with water instead of just smashing them apart consistently instead of it being hit and miss like it had been for almost a year.
Given that my water affinity was stronger than my lightning, I needed some Suiton ninjutsu that could tear through or penetrate things.
My clones were patrolling the impromptu training ground I had in the woods to make sure a certain crippled bastard and and his merry band of stiffs didn't try and spy on me.
That left me with less clones to train with, but I wasn't risking discovery.
I trained with Rin and helped her out, but I needed training time to myself. I was much better than she was, far more than she realized. I was wanting to keep it a secret for a little while longer, but I knew it would end badly when Rin learned I'd been secretive.
The Ninjutsu I was practicing was extremely dangerous. I'd already been working on the Water Dragon jutsu, managing to lower the number of seals some, and the current one I was working on wasn't something I could safely use in a spar against my little sister.
I took a break from Ninjutsu training and pulled out the localized gravity seals Rin made, these needing the deft touch she had in Fuinjutsu that I struggled to match.
Don't get me wrong, I'mverygood with seals, but Rin was a natural prodigy with them.
I stripped almost naked and whistled for a clone to come to me, one of my storage scrolls that had my ink and brush sealed in it opened up.
The clone knew what to do and started painting seal patterns all over my body.
"Drawers."The clone said simply, looking at my boxers.
"It's weird standing naked in front of yourself." I muttered to myself, dropping them for a moment so the clone could connect the seals on my upper body to my legs.
After the clone finished, I put the actual tags on me and made a hand seal, the chakra burning the ink away as the symbols 'sunk' into my skin.
The markings were only temporary. They'd last a few hours before they'd need to be reapplied for another training session.
I shivered as the weight settled on my limbs in the same way that Rin and I had grown familiar with since last year.
I then tested my movements and felt the strain as usual, jumping up and down. I made several more clones and sent them out to replace the others, whistling for the older ones to return.
They did so and I resumed my usual taijutsu training, taking on several opponents and running to avoid jutsu and kunai that I left out for my clones to throw.
They came at me one at a time, initially, the strain in my limbs being felt more and more progressively as I blocked and evaded attacks, refraining from attacking.
After a couple hours, I was finished, my chakra running at about half from fighting the clones and I was drenched in sweat, my limbs aching from the strain of the exercise.
I staggered towards one of the trees and made a hand seal, spawning another clone.
I stripped down completely and popped open a storage scroll with water in it, nodding towards the clone.
The clone went through hand seals and held its hand out, water rising around me.
Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu.
A sphere of water formed around me and I held my breath, letting the sweat and smell wash away.
Was it stupid? Yes. But I didn't want to walk all the way back home to shower in sweaty clothes or dirty a clean set if I didn't want the old ones sticking to me.
After about sixty seconds, I gave the clone the thumbs up to stop. It did so and the water fell away.
A brisk opening of a storage scroll later and I had a towel to dry myself off.
Storage scrolls are awesome.
I finished getting dry and threw on some clean clothes from a separate storage seal and I was ready to go.
"North side, pop!" I shouted towards my clones, not wanting the massive feedback of them all.
They popped and I repeated the process a minute or so later, ordering another portion to.
After they all popped, I grabbed my stuff and walked back towards the village, a few thoughts going through my head.
I'd started freaking out about noticing howfitand attractive Anko was, now that I'd reached a certain age, and had been terrified of the prospect of Hinata.
Mainly because my name is Uzumaki Naruto. Who did Naruto end up with in Canon? Being the paranoid idiot I am, I worked myself up into a near panic attack over nothing.
I was Naruto, but I wasn'tNaruto, if that makes any sense.
Thanks, Anko. I thought to myself as I made my way to the flower shop owned by Yamanaka Inoichi.
The looks from the villagers weren't as bad, but I still noticed a few looks. My luck that my hair resembled a fox's fur colour more so than Rin's. Thanks, Mom.
I walked through the walkway and I heard a bell trip as a signal that a new customer was here.
A faint scurrying sound came from out of my sight and I saw Ino come out from the corner, the greeting smile on her face melting away when she saw me.
"Oh, hi Naruto." She said flatly, eying me speculatively, "What are you here for?"
Unlike her usual 'Genin outfit', she was wearing a regular t-shirt and an old set of pants that had dirt on the knees, probably from some type of gardening earlier. It didn't take a genius to notice that she was rather neutral towards me.
In hindsight, I probably should've tempered my ridicule when she and Sakura argued over Sasuke, but it seriously did annoy me. So I didn't exactly show any sympathy when I was rather cold and dismissive towards them.
"Hey, Ino," I said simply, "I'm looking for flowers."
"And," She crossed her arms, "What kind?"
A bit short with me, aren't you?
"Red carnations." I replied, pulling out the frog wallet I got over six years ago.
Ino didn't respond, simply walking towards the back to get what I requested. She came back a minute later with a bundle of the flowers I requested and rang me up at the register.
"Who are these even for?" Ino asked, "You do realize who these are usually for, yes?"
"Yes," I deadpanned, offering the necessary Ryo to her, "I'm not an idiot about flowers."
"Could've fooled me." Ino hummed, taking the money and handing me the flowers. "I'm pretty sure you're an orphan, so why flowers usually meant for mothers?"
I clenched the flowers in my hand slightly to stop from responding harshly, my chakra seeming to tingle under my skin.
Calm down, Naruto. She didn't mean it like that. She's just curious.
"Cemetery." I said, trying to not sound cold.
Her eyes widened in realization at how she had sounded.
"I'm sorry, Naruto," She buried her face in her hands, "I-I didn't mean it like that."
Before anything else could be said, a lady with brown hair and resembled Ino a great deal walked into the store.
Just by her faint chakra signature, she was a civilian.
"Ino," The said the girl's name softly, "Your father wanted me to check up on you and make sure everything is okay." Her gaze then turned towards me, "Uzumaki Naruto?"
Her tone of voice lacked any malice or guardedness in it, thankfully.
"Yes," I nodded politely, "Are you Ino's sister? You two look alike."
The lady I was certain was Ino's mother blushed lightly and laughed.
"That's very sweet of you, but no, I'm Ino's mother. My name is Kauri." She gave me her name, looking at her daughter. "I trust you were a good help for your friend, Ino-chan?"
Ino had a deer in the headlights look for a moment, but I decided to not have her mother upset with her.
"She's great," I said cheerfully, "She helped me pick out some flowers and was really patient with me."
Kauri looked at her daughter with pride as the blonde stared at me with a blank expression, before seeming to snap out of it.
"Be sure to not break the stems, Naruto," She smiled, "I know how clumsy you can be."
"Riiggght," I played along, finally calming down from the misunderstanding, "And you didn't tell me how well you did against Asuma-san. Everything go well?"
I could tell Kauri was smiling at the two of us talking and that made me think of something.
I might need to be a little more patient with Ino.
"Shikamaru was his usual lazy self," Ino huffed, her hands still clenching and unclenching next to the register from her mother being right there, "And Choji wasn't doing anything. SoIhad to force them along."
"And I'm sure you're proud of yourself." I laughed, clutching the flowers a little closer to me.
"It was nice talking with you, Ino," I turned to leave, "Thank you for being understanding with me and I'll see you at the group training."
I then turned and left, clutching ahold of the flowers as I made my way through the village.
A couple glares from the villagers and whispers of 'Demon' had me Henging as my father and miming getting impaled, followed by me flipping them off to tweak them further.
Petty? Yes, to the nth degree. But I didn't care. I actually saw it happened and he bled on me, so it was alright formeto make cruel jokes about it.
After walking across a few blocks, mindful of the suppressed, but familiar, signatures of the ANBU watching out for me, I reached the cemetery and made a clone to signal them with ANBU code signs.
Hi. Neko. Privacy.Please.
A few seconds later, the signatures moved away and vanished.
Thanks.I thought to myself, walking towards two specific gravestones.
October 10. October 10. I kept passing gravestones that had that date as the day of death. The gravestone, with a familiar surname on it was in front of me.
It should be familiar, given that it's mine and Rin's surname.
Uzumaki Kushina.
"Hi, kaasan." I whispered, smiling as I replaced the old flowers with the new ones, "I just finished training and wanted to say hello on my own."
Sometimes, I needed to have some alone time for myself. Rin and I normally came here together, but I sometimes visited on my own.
"I'm not sure I like my affinity all that much compared to Rin's." I sat down in front of the stone, popping open a storage seal to grab a bottle of water. "Wind is tousan's and it's definitely pretty effective."
I took a swig of water and sighed as I leaned back, pressing my palms against the grass lightly.
"I feel bad for being cold towards some of my classmates," I admitted, thinking about Ino, "They might've been obsessed with Mikoto's youngest, but I still could have had more tact."
Me being on my own made me feel a little introspective, but I still thought what I did was worth it because it forced them to improve to avoid my belittling.
Who am I kidding? I wouldn't be thinking about it if I really believed it.
They're twelve. I was an idiot and had stupid priorities when I was twelve. I might have handled it better now that I thought about it.
Deciding to stay for a little longer, I made a clone and had it go to mine and Rin's apartment to tell her I'd be a bit and ask if she wanted me to pick up some takeout.
After the clone Shunshined away, I started singing some, a song even Rin didn't know. I was careful how many songs I 'created'. It made it a little less suspicious.
I was so lost in how much I truly enjoyed being able to freely say whatever I wished without Rin present that I almost didn't feel Kakashi's presence come towards me.
I stopped singing as he got within earshot and I waited for him to say something.
"I don't understand a word or how you two came up with that language," Kakashi eventually said, "But it does sound interesting. What were you singing about?"
I'll be vague.I thought.I'm about thirteen and haven't truly fought in a war. I can't really explain the line about snowflakes covering fallen brothers.
"Remembering what has been lost." I replied quietly, gazing at my mother's gravestone.
At the silent presence of Kakashi, I spoke again.
"Why are you here?"
"Anko told me about your outburst," Kakashi said sympathetically, "I didn't realize that you worried about that."
I sighed at the reminder, turning around and gazing up at the silver haired man.
"It's not that I really think that," I explained, pressing my fingers against my brow, "I hate the idea of people exploiting trust in others and leaving them burned."
It was a holdover from what happened with Rin six years ago. She'd tried to watch out for me, and I truthfully would have done the same thing.
But that was a nightmare for me, that Rin or somebody close would betray my trust with bad intentions. It terrified me further because I personally was capable of it.
I did nothing about possibly changing the fate of the Uchiha clan because I didn't trust that I could cover my tracks and give a plausible chance to stop Danzo or Obito.
I was a hypocrite about it, and I knew it.
Kakashi's voice cut through my thoughts and caused me to focus.
"But why would you think you would even think of being like that?" Kakashi asked confusedly, "I've known you for years now and nothing has ever indicated that."
"I was just being overdramatic and I worked myself up into thinking the impossible was possible." I answered while looking away. It was embarrassing that I had freaked out over something so trivial.
That was right about when my clone popped, giving me its memories.
Rin wanted some takeout.
"Clone?" Kakashi asked, noticing my expression shift.
"Rin wants takeout." I nodded, uncrossing my legs and standing up, "I'll visit again." I turned to the tombstone, walking away as I picked up the scroll and water bottle.
I walked passed Kakashi and tilted my head.
"I could use the company." I said, welcome to having Kakashi to walk next to me to annoy the civis.
Kakashi stuck right next to me and the two of us exited the cemetery, heading towards Ichiraku's.
"Why ramen?" Kakashi asked, "You know you can't eat that every day, right?"
"Have you seen our freezer?" I raised a brow, "That has probably 30 pounds of meat in it from me hunting, and half the money I spend is on vegetables and fruit so we aren't practically sick."
The village merchants definitely pulled crap like it was mentioned in fanon, but I knew how to get around that. Hunting for my own meat, having our own small garden for a few fruits, and Henging when going to the open air markets on certain days.
"How did you get that much meat in there and still as much as you two do?" Kakashi asked suspiciously, realizing I didn't specify.
"A deer." I replied simply, smirking as the villagers now steered clear of me because of Kakashi.
I felt Kakashi's hand dig into my shoulder lightly and he held me still, causing me to stumble.
"A deer?" He asked quietly, his tone flat, "You killed one of the Nara's deer and didn't think it important enough to tellanyone?"
"It stumbled near the Forest of Death," I looked up at Kakashi, eyes narrowed, "It was already missing a leg when I killed the tiger thing, orwhateverthe hell it was, with a water jutsu."
Kakashi let go of my shoulder and sighed. "Try leading with that next time. The Nara don't take kindly to people poaching deer."
"Noted." I replied, never even humouring the thought of going onto their property.
We reached Ichiraku's after a few minutes and I waved at Ayame when she spotted me.
"Hello, Naruto-kun," She smiled, glancing at Kakashi, "Hello, Kakashi-san." I didn't miss the light dusting of pink on her cheeks when she looked at the less handsome of the two of us.
"Hi, Ayame-chan," I returned the smile, "I need two orders of takeout."
"Your usual?" She raised a brow.
I dipped my head in a nod.
Ayame hummed to herself, walking towards the kitchen to fix the order. While she did that, Kakashi and I sat down underneath the awning to have some shade.
"Were you training?" Kakashi tilted his head towards me.
"What makes you ask that?" I looked up at him, his one visible eye fixed on mine.
"Slight scent of sweat, stiff posture, and your shirt looks recently put on."
Leave to him to notice all that.
"I sometimes forget under the mask of laziness and boredom lies an apex predator." I muttered, scratching at the top of my head, "Yeah, I was training. Mostly conditioning and a few Suiton jutsu to split trees."
"Your Raiton not coming along well?" He asked curiously, turning around to face the people walking through the street.
My eyes tracked a mother pushing a stroller, a five or six year old right next to her.
"Slower than Suiton, but still coming along pretty well. My bunshin tend to explode when lightning is unbalanced, so that kind of slows down clone delegation."
Until I improved my conversion of my chakra into lightning, I couldn't instinctively cast Raiton jutsu like I could water. The main hurdle was done, I just needed to improve it.
Kakashi adjusted his jacket and pulled out his copy of Icha Icha, opening it at a specific point. I waited for about 15 seconds before I spoke.
"That won't work on me, Inu." I scoffed, causing him to twitch.
"Kindly don't call me that," Kakashi gave me a side-eye glance, but still kept the book in his hand, "And I don't know what you're talking about."
"Your eye hasn't moved at all," I stared at the dark iris, "So you're only doing it to irritate me. I'm not Rin."
Letting out a sigh, Kakashi closed the book with an audible thunk and put it back in his jacket, uncovering his Sharingan by lifting up his hitai-ate.
"Uh." I voiced, not knowing why he did that.
"To be accustomed to the perfect recall and processing of images," Kakashi answered my unasked question, "A slight hesitation in reaction would kill me."
Fair enough.
I watched as Kakashi had both eyes open as he watched people pass by, occasionally closing his right one every now and then.
Ayame eventually came out with the takeout order and handed it to me.
I thanked her and paid her with the needed Ryo, making two clones to carry the containers.
"Feeding an army?" Kakashi couldn't seem to help himself.
I snorted at the comment about my appetite.
"You'll eat those words in training in a few days." I started walking towards home, waving at Kakashi as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
End Chapter:
This chapter was mostly to expand more on how other people see the MC and the concerns they have about some of his behavior. It was also to give Anko some more screen time. When Anko talked about 'Orochimaru exploiting a young girl', she meant how he had taken advantage of her complete trust in him and marked her without her realizing he was capable of something like that. It wasn't exploitation in theothersense.
Naruto is paranoid about how he's reaching the age where his body is basically telling him to notice women and he sees himself astheNaruto and he remembers what the 'Canon' pairing was. It's basically a perfect storm of him being an idiot and panicking about something that isn't an issue outside of his own freakout.
Anko and Kakashi have no idea why the MC is straight up refusing to humour certain comments. They just assume it's just a peculiarity on his part, not that he's lived about 20 more years than they realize.
This'll probably be the only chapter where he's angsting over girls this in depth. It serves an SI/OC insert story well for character development, but it can get stifling if it is overdone in a story every other chapter. I'll probably only put it in later for comedy purposes, one serious event is good enough to show where the MC's thoughts are.
To clarify, the MC won't be pursuing a relationship with any of the girls his physical age at this point. They are mentally younger than him to the point where he's not going to do anything until the time skip at the earliest.
Anyway, here's a new chapter and enjoy. Comments are welcomed, and good luck.
Raging..
Chapter 19: Bakakashi part deux
Chapter Text
Author's Note: I had an epiphany right after I posted the previous chapter. I could have hadso manyjokes planned out if I had Rin be the one with red hair. Kushina got called a tomato, which pissed her off. Sasukelovestomatoes. I could have been a relentless smartass with all the jokes I could have written out. Whether it was the MC or anyone else making jokes like that.
Imagine Anko screwing with Naruto by saying crap that no brother wants to hear. "Imagine Sasuke biting into aripe, juicy, tomato,his lips covered in sweet nectar."
I missed out on a peerless comedic gold mine because I wanted to subvert thepotentialpossibility of the MC being the 'prophecy child', as well as wanting to make things different from other twin fics. Any time 'Naruto' has a twin, the female twin has Kushina's hair. I should have gone with the comedy gold mine. Shit. I'll just need to think of other stuff to torture Sasuke and the MC with.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the songs, books, or films I reference. This is a work of fanfiction that I am not profiting from.
Anyway, onto this chapter.
Chapter 19: Team Training/Bakakashi Part Deux.
The 4 genin teams, plus me, were going to a group training exercise. The week leading up to the group training involved me being shown aspecificjutsu by Kakashi the day after we talked and relaxed at Ichiraku's.
TheRasengan.
I'd wondered when I watched the anime why Kakashi preferred to use hisChidoriorRaikiriin combat if he needed a one hit kill melee jutsu. The answer was a simple one that I never thought of because it wasn't a huge concept to Rin or me.
Chakra cost.
His chakra was more effective at being focused into a fine point to pierce things, having a strong lightning affinity stacked on the effect. His chakra preferred to act like a spear, theChidoribeing a jutsu that would tear through even the strongest defenses if you knew how to use it properly. TheRasenganacted almost like how a drill or chainsaw worked. A chainsaw with teeth made from copper or bronze would hardly do anything compared to steel teeth. My chakra, Rin's, and evidently our father and Jiraiya, had dense enough chakra where theRasenganswe made would work as intended.
Kakashi would have to overload any one he made with too much chakra. He explained that even hisRaikiri, and that was agloriousthing to behold when he first showed it to me, cost less chakra for him. I already knew which jutsu I would likely prefer in combat.
TheRasenganrequired no handsigns, was quiet, and could be added to with an elemental nature to it.
If theRasenshurikenwas what you get when you add wind, what do you get when you add water?
But showing my father's jutsu didn't translate to mastering it. Even after a week, and knowingexactlyhow to do it, I still hadn't been able to make one stable enough for use. No idea how the hell 'Naruto' pulled this off without liberal use of Kage bunshin. I'd probably need another two or three weekswithclones to get it to the point where I felt it was combat effective. Irefuseto have the training wheels of using a clone to stabilize it.
And Rin wasn't exactly doing better than I was. Any advice I could give was given to help out and she was surprisingly only slightly behind me on getting it to work. She had a leg up over anybody else thanks to having a sibling that had more than 2 brain cells to rub together.
These were the thoughts that were in my mind as Rin and I made our way to the training ground we were supposed to meet the other genin teams at.
"How do you think this is going to go?" Rin asked me, probably curious on whatmypersonal thoughts were.
"An absolute disaster at first." I deadpanned, flipping off a villager absent-mindedly when I heard a 'Demon' comment.
Rin frowned at what I did, "How will it be a disaster?"
"Ino and Sakura will take time to get their mindset fixed," I started, "They actually started taking their training more seriously, surprisingly enough. So it won't require an overhaul, just some TLC from Anko."
Rin snorted at the last part. "Yeah, Anko issucha sweetheart."
Anko had trained Rin in both the physical aspects of fighting, as well as the mental side of things. Even if Rin wasdisturbinglygood, like Anko was, at flirting with boys to throw them off, I still preferred that over having her be emotionally unprepared for the shit that lay outside the walls of Konoha. Anko knew how to put some steel in someone's spine, something that was anecessityfor any who wanted to be a functional Shinobi.
"Rin," I said, "Can you think of anybody else that could beat the fangirl attitude out of our classmates better than Anko?"
Rin's steps slowed for a moment. "No, I can't." She said softly.
"But that's only two girls," She added, "Ino and Sakura. How the isthata disaster?"
"Remember how Hinata reacted when you asked her about Neji?" I asked simply.
Rin flinched at the memory. The first time we met Neji was still a subject of contention between Hinata and us, mainly because she always tried to defend him like the kind and considerate girl she was.
Neji was someone that pissed me off any time I thought of him still. After the one time I talked with him during the dinner/meeting with Hiashi, I'd only watched from a distance when his Byakugan was deactivated when I was memorizing Gai's wording and body language to screw with Kakashi.
Hinata saw Neji genuinely like an older brother. Neji looked a hell of a lot like Hiashi. Given that Hizashi and Hiashi were twins, I'd say it was Hizashi that Neji actually looked like. Had I not known better, I would have seriously thought Neji was Hinata's older brother based on how she had spoken of him.
I pitied Neji for a lot of the shit he had to deal with early in life. Lost his mother before he could even remember her, getting a seal put on him, his father dying for the sake of the clan head. It would mess with the psyche of anyone, let alone a child.
But like Sasuke, Neji was someone I always was thinking about in a certain way. Neji tried to kill Hinata in the Chunin exams. Had I never been here, nothing would have changed, and hestillwould have tried it. Just because things were flying in a direction where 'Canon' was going to come crashing down in rapid succession, didn't mean I'd forget whatwouldhave happened.
Neji didn't just lash out at the world because he was angry at the terrible hand he'd been dealt, he wanted the object of his hatred, his own flesh and blood, to hurt more than he did. If a genius like him, one not seen in the Hyuga clan for generations, could be tossed aside and marked, simply because who his father was, what right did a 'weak, stuttering, coward' have being unmarkedandthe heiress?
Neji won't do it now. Hinata was stronger than she would have been. She could fight against opponents who were themostdangerous for a Hyuga with a fire affinity to face. But Neji didn't hurt her because she was weak. It was because the prick smelled blood in the water and capitalized on it.
A person with the desire to kill someone isn't virtuous simply because he refrains from doing it. Fearing reprisal from the law as a reason simply means you're a snake that fears getting stomped on. I'mfarcloser to being a good person because IknowI could get away with killing Neji or Sasuke, with no one being the wiser, and Istilldon't do it.
It would have beensoeasy to drive a kunai into Sasuke's head following his clan's massacre. So easy, but I decided to give him a chance, and it seems to have been the right choice. I'll give Neji the same out. I may not want to, but I owed it to those that have faith in me to not reward their trust with treachery and murder.
"Naruto," Rin cut in, "You're leaking Killing Intent." she warned.
Blinking, I reigned it back in, cursing myself for letting it slip.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "I was remembering what was said about Neji."
Rin just rolled her eyes. "I know you look down on anyone who is in the same position you are. If Hinata is like me, then Neji is whatyouare."
I flinched at that. She wascompletelyright. Even though I kneweverythingabout Itachi's reasons, I still hated the bastard for what he did to Sasuke. It reminded me of the night where I ran from Rin, the anguish I could almostfeelcoming from her as I held her and told her it wasn't her fault, that her pain wasmyfault.
I had to clean up Itachi's mess, especially since that mess would have gotten too many people almost killed. Peopleveryclose to me.
The same went for Neji. Whether you're an older cousin or a sibling, you protect your kin. That was something that was browbeaten into me in my first life.
Do not forsake your family.
"We're getting off track," Rin said, "Why else would it be a disaster at the start? Ino, Sakura, and Neji won't make itthatbad."
"You'll have to deal with both Ino and Sakura whining and complaining about Anko."
Rin's face twisted into a snarl, "Like hell I will." she spat.
"Anko and Kurenai will probably be focusing on the kunoichi. I know that you're stronger than most of the boys, but you're still agirl." I pitched my voice at the last word.
Rin just glared at me. "Shut up."
It never failed to rile Rin up when I evenjokedabout her being like Ino or Sakura. Rin took after me on my disdain for people I saw as "Willfully weak". Rin did love "girly" things, like dancing and cooking, but screw the idea of cooking only being a "girl" thing. I liked breaking and blowing stuff up, like any self-respecting guy does, but I loved building things more. Cooking was like building a masterpiece that was edible. I wasn't going to let Rin have all the fun cooking because it was "girlish". Same as how I wasn't going to say explosives and burning things down was exclusively mine because I'm a dude.
"I'm going to enjoy you being called every insult under the sun by them, only for them to be kicked 5 ways to Sunday by you and Anko." I grinned.
Rin stopped glaring at me intensely. "Yeah," she smiled softly, "It'll be fun."
"It's a disaster for me too," I said, "Kakashi will be using me as the training dummy as an example to the other genin. I'll probably end up fighting the Jonin formytraining."
Rin looked at me with a brow raised. "Really? You're complaining about getting more hands on training because you're that good?"
"You haven't seen Maito Gai." I deadpanned. "Or his mini-me." I added.
Rin scoffed. "It's notthatbad."
"You can't win against Gai," I countered sagely, "If you strike him down, he shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
"I hate you."
Yamanaka Ino wasn't looking forward to today. She and her team had passed their genin test with flying colors, but her fatherstillhad a look of disappointment on his face.
"I thought I taught you better than to diet and 'look pretty' for a boy."
Ino hated that memory. The disappointment in her mother and father's voices was something that she wished she could forget, but it wasn't exactly an easy thing for someone whose clan focused on the mind.
She didn't knowhowher mother found out, but she learned that she and Naruto didn't exactly get along well, and that the boy had been polite for the sake of not making her look bad.
That inevitably led to her father questioning her about her priorities as a kunoichi and a brief rundown on what she knew and could do. She had done fine on his questions, but the moment she faced her own father in a taijutsu spar, she almost started crying from how disappointed he looked when she collapsed after only a half hour.
Even if she knew better, shewantedto blame Naruto for it. And it hurt her to think she was that petty.
Whether it be the friendship she used to have with Sakura, her parents disappointment, or all the pranks and insults thatbakaNaruto did to her, she remembered themfarbetter than a non-Yamanaka.
She still remembered almost 6 years ago how her father asked her to try and be friends with the whisker faced boy with reddish-blond hair. "He needs a friend."he had told her, "He and his sister don't have a mother or father, but a friend will help them."
She really tried, or at least shehopedshe did. Naruto seemed to struggle with talking to others his age initially. He sounded more like her own father than he did his own age. He'd also looked at her with suspicion, almost as if he suspected she was up to something. She eventually gave up trying to be his friend when he made a dismissive comment about Sakura. She'd gotten very excited about something and raised her voice and Naruto promptly told her to shut up with her 'Screeching'.
Ino could never forget that memory. She had still been friends with Sakura at the time. Naruto already was somewhat cold to both her and Sakura evenbeforethey started fighting over Sasuke.
Sasuke had glared at Naruto when he'd snapped at Sakura. Ino still didn't know whether Naruto did it because he was having a bad day or if he saw something in Sakura that no one else did, and hated it.
But then the two started liking Sasuke. They started arguing over who was better for him. Naruto goaded them, taunting them how Sasuke didn't like either of them, how he could pull off being a prettier girl than the two of them,Actualgirls.
Ino didn't listen to her father. In a fit of vindictiveness, she stopped trying to be friendly with Naruto. Her father predictably didn't listen to her recently when he found out how far back in her training she was. He didn't believe her when she tried to explain why she stopped trying to befriend Naruto.
"You lied to me about you trying something as stupid as a 'diet'. How can I trust that you tried to help someone that I asked you to?"
When Yamanaka Inoichi asked you to do something, it's probably for the best that you do. But she still wondered why he stressed how important it had been for her to be nice to him.
Her father would get a strange look on his face whenever Naruto had been brought up. He'd get quiet and try to change the subject. Shikamaru had told her about how he had overheard their fathers talk about Naruto over a year ago.
Evidently, around the time her father had asked her to be a friend to Naruto, he had been attacked in an alley and almost murdered by someone. Ino had truly cried that night. She'd felt terrible that she may have possibly hurt and emotionally isolated someone who'd already went through something traumatic.
But one thing stopped her from trying to be nice to Naruto, to apologize for anything she may have done to hurt or anger him. Shealmostwas ready to let go of all the insults he made about her, the taunting, the belittling, things that made her question her own worth, and accept it as a defense mechanism for the boy her age to emotionally cope. The one thing that stopped her was when she looked at both Sasuke and Naruto and compared them.
Naruto may have been almost killed, but Sasuke hadeverythingtaken from him. She remembered the empty look in her father's eyes when he came back from the hospital. He didn't realize how perceptive she could be when she wanted. She saw that her father and the closest thing she had to Uncles weredeeplyeffected by the Uchiha massacre. She'd heard her parents fight when her father came home drunk, staggering to her parents bedroom.
ShikamaruandChoji had said how the weeks following the massacre had been terrible. Shikamaru's dad was either drunk, or was not at home at all, working until almost dawn. Choji's dad was far more subdued than she'd seen him, and her father had done something she never thought possible.
He cried.
He shouted at her mother about how he'd failed, how he didn't see what should have been clear as day, before she heard him through the door fall to the ground and start weeping.
Sasuke was strong, even when he saw his clan be destroyed by his brother. He wasn't cruel to her like Naruto had been. Sasuke ignored her, preferring to prioritize training, but it wasfarbetter than Naruto being an ass to her.
She considered Sasuke to be a better person than Naruto. She thought Naruto let him almost dying turn him into a bastard, while Sasuke just became more withdrawn and cold.
Naruto's insults made her friendship with Sakura deteriorate much faster than she would have thought possible. Sherefusedto accept all the blame. It was mostly Sakura and Naruto's fault. Iftheyhad been nicer, she would still have her friend and her father wouldn't have shown thatpainfullook of disappointment towards her.
And now her training would involve the boy she despised.
Shikamaru thought it was amusing when he found out that Naruto would be working with their genin team, along with the others."Someone else for you to get mad at."right as he was lazing around, looking at clouds.
Choji had been indifferent in his reaction, though he seemed to be more positive about the outcome of training with the other genin.
Shestilldidn't understand why Naruto was being moved around the other teams. Normally if there was an odd number, the odd one out got put in a team that was down a member, not a floating fourth.
It's not like he's a genius like Sasuke.
Naruto was one of the best in their year in taijutsu, but his scorestillwasn't that good overall. His other grades were still below average and Rin wasn't that much better.
Rin also irritated Ino in a way she didn't think possible.
Sasuke paid more attention toherthan he did to any other girl and Rin was the biggest bitch she ever had the misfortune of meeting. Naruto was terrible, but Rin was somehow worse. Naruto may be suffering from traumatic memories, but he never called her a "Stupid bitch that doesn't know the difference between a kunai and her flat ass." Rin calledeverygirl that liked Sasuke "Dumb bitch". She called Sasuke thatawfulnickname, and Sasukestillpreferred her company over the other girls.
And then, the kiss happened.
Ino was partially relieved that both Sasuke and Rin were horrified at what happened. She'd been worried that Rin liked Sasuke and was the reason why she'd lash out at the other girls. But you don't break the nose of the boy you like. She probably hated him because her brother did, but she couldn't tell why Naruto would hate Sasuke other than some misplaced sense of envy.
These were moments she wished she had suffered through the old stories from her clan elders about the psyche of people, even if it involved listening to dusty old war stories from the Warring states period.
The long chain of thoughts came to an end as the training ground came in sught.
She, Shikamaru, and Choji arrived at the training ground they were supposed to meet at, only one other team there at that point.
Of course they're the only other ones.
She was thankful that Hinata was the other member of Sasuke's team. At leastSakurawasn't on Team 7. She couldn't imagine what kind of cruel deity would curse her like that.
Naruto was sat next to Team 7, resting on what looked like a couch that had a suspicious level of rust coloured stains on it.
"Hi Shikamaru, Choji," Naruto greeted them, not even looking up from the book he was reading. "Miss Piggy." he added absentmindedly.
Ino's face twisted into an angry expression. "Really, fishcake?" she countered with a grin.
Naruto just lazily turned a page in his book. "I'll have you know I was named after 'Maelstrom'. Although I'd prefer to be called 'Fishcake' over something that rolls around in its own excrement." He flicked to another page, not even looking at her.
She felt a tick mark on her head when she heard a snort from Shikamaru and saw Rin covering her mouth.
"Why do you keep making thosestupidjokes? Don't you have better things to do?"
Naruto turned to Shikamaru, closing his book and sitting up. "Be a wonderful teammate and translate this to your woefully ill-equipped blonde teammate. I experience a euphoric rush from intellectually dominating my inferiors, even if they put up apitifullevel of resistance." He finished with a faux intellectual voice.
Does he think I'm some idiot?
Her father was smart. Not as smart as Shikamaru's dad, but still very smart. She wasn't some idiot that didn't understand a single word that thebakasaid.
Shikamaru turned to her with a bored expression on his face. "He said tha-."
"I know what he said." She growled, "And he's a baka."
"I'm not a baka," Naruto stated, "I'm a bastard, and a fairly good one at that. Sasuke's one too." he gestured towards the raven haired boy to his right.
Sasuke was trying to ignore the conversation, not being in a talkative mood.
"Going to say something, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke looked like he was going to respond with his usual "hn", before he seemed to rethink it.
"No, I'm not." He said simply.
"Acceptance is the next step of recovery, my friend." Naruto said, "You too will ascend to being a bastard like me, instead of a lowly Uchiha one."
"Please shut up." Sasuke responded irritably.
Naruto shrugged. "Only because you said please."
Ino had been around Naruto for all of 5 minutes and was already wanting to call it a day.
"Are you reallythis muchof an idiot, or was it something you had to work at?" She asked, hand on her hip.
Naruto peered over the edge of the book and fixed his blue eyes on her, looking dismissive.
"I'm a prodigy," he replied flatly, "Shikamaru is a brilliant planner, Sasuke is an amazing fighter, and I'm bothandan intolerable annoyance."
"How is that something to be proud of?" Ino asked incredulously, "What can thatpossiblydo for a Shinobi?"
The only thing Naruto was even comparable to Sasuke at was taijutsu. But even Rin was as good as Sasuke. Shikamaru was able to think several steps ahead of Naruto. What was "aggravation" good for?
"You're irritated with me enough to not notice the tag you stepped on." he deadpanned.
Shikamaru and Choji jumped away themomentNaruto said 'tag', having been pranked by him before with tags that exploded with glitter that stuck in their hair and clothes all day.
Ino looked down in fear, wondering whathorribleplan Naruto had in store.
"What's in the tag?" She asked weakly.
Naruto's face twisted into a smirk. "Would you believe me if I said it was full of pig manure I shoveled?"
Ino paled, not wanting to imagine what horror she might unleash if she moved.
"You're lying." she said desperately.
The blast would hit him, Rin, and Sasuke. Hinata was standing behind the couch Naruto was on. She'd be safe.
Naruto likely noticed her looking at them rapidly, because he spoke up again.
"Rin has a log she can switch with," He started, "I don't care about Sasuke getting hit," Sasuke glared at the sole redhead of their entire class, "Hinata's behind the couch, and I had to already shovel it. The only thing that would be bad is that my couch might get a new stain on it. I can deal with blood, but notthat." He pointed at her foot.
That'sblood?She thought with disgust. Naruto was a lunatic. He had to be. Who in their right mind would sit on a bloodstained couch?
He really did put that in the tag. Unless he's trying to mess with me... ohhhh, youBaka. Don't try and play mind games with a Yamanaka.
Pretending that the couch had a bloodstain to made him sound crazy, validating his proclamation of a tag under her.
"There is no tag." She grinned, "You made thisfarceto mess with me. You won't win against me with any mind games, Naruto. I'm a Yamanaka."
Naruto looked at her silently. "Good theory," he relented, "One problem though. Shika," he turned to Shikamaru, "Did you see the tag?"
"I thought I saw something," Ino turned sharply towards Shikamaru, her fear showing, "That's why I told Choji to stay back near me."
You traitor.Ino growled to herself.
"Hinata," Naruto turned around, "Is there a seal tag under Ino's left foot?" He asked kindly.
Hinata activated her eyes. "Yes." she said.
Ino was shaking now. She was going to be humiliated in front of Sasuke. She wouldn't have time to clean herself up by the timeSakuraarrived. ShehatedNaruto.
Breathe. Stay calm. He would have triggered it by now if he was trying something. Wait, the Jonin Senseis would be pissed if Naruto pulled something on our first session. I bet he put a pressure sensor on it. I just need to stand still until Asuma-sensei gets here.
"I'm not playing your game." she said smugly, "I'm just going to standright hereuntil our Sensei gets here."
Naruto just tilted his head at her, looking like he was thinking of something.
"Despite you being a fangirl at times," she twitched at what he called her, "You'remuchsmarter than I gave you credit for awhile back. A Yamanakaandthe daughter of Inoichi."
Got him.She grinned.
"But not smart enough."
What?
"Shika," Naruto turned to Shikamaru, "What do you want from me if I asked you to use your shadow binding to pull Ino's foot off the tag?"
What?
Ino turned to Shikamaru, the look on his face making her shake.
He was thinking about it.
"Hmnn," Shikamaru hummed to himself, "It would be averysteep price. I'd never hear the end of it from her Dad ormymom."
"Ah, yes," Naruto nodded, "We can't have your mother displeased with her son's behavior towards his teammate."
He's actually thinking about it!She screamed in her mind. She thought Shikamaru would just be lazy, but he's a straight up traitor as well.
"I know," Naruto said suddenly, his eyes widening, "You can say that it was a test by your Sensei. One that Ino failed, butyou," he pointed at Shikamaru, "Were able to see through the trap and were able to get yourself and Choji out of the way with yourbrilliantmind andhard work."
The way Naruto seemed to turn everyone againstherwas scaring her.
"There's too many people here as witnesses!" Ino shouted frantically, "And Asuma-sensei isn't here."
Naruto responded byHengingas Sarutobi Asuma.
"Guess again." he grinned, pulling out thesame brandof cigarettes that Ino's Sensei liked.
"B-but," Ino stuttered, "Witnesses." she finished weakly, looking towards Choji, Sasuke, Rin, and Hinata.
"Choji," Naruto looked to her 'big boned' friend, "I'll pay for lunch and dinner at the barbeque if you keep quiet."
Ino looked hopeful when Choji looked conflicted, before he looked towards Shikamaru.
Shikamaru looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "It's not enough," he said simply, "It's risky and I'll need much more."
"I'll offer to give you 'taijutsu training' in front of your mom," he offered, "You can spend the whole time looking at clouds while I fight one of my clonesHengedas you. You can plead that it made you tired so your mom won't bother you when you get back home."
Ino was horrified at how well Naruto knew her teammates wants and what he could leverage for their support.
Shikamaru sighed, before he nodded. "Sure." he said, "But no one else can talk." he said, gesturing towards everyone else.
Please don't.she pleaded, looking at Rin, Sasuke, and Hinata.
"Hinata," Naruto turned towards the quiet Hyuga, "Would you be a dear and help me?" he requested politely.
Hinata giggled before she rolled her eyes. "Yes, Naruto. I'll stay quiet."
For the first time ever, Ino felt anger bubble up directed at the Hyuga girl that was so sweet and kind when she'd come to the flower shop to pick some out on a regular basis.
Naruto only had tolookat Rin for Ino to knowheranswer.
"Do it." Rin grinned.
Sasuke?Ino thought desperately.
All eyes were on Sasuke.
"I don't think you haveanythingI want." Sasuke said gruffly.
"I'll stop calling you Uke-kun for a monthandI'll show you a couple taijutsu tricks."
Sasuke was quiet for a moment, until he answered.
"Agreed."
Ino was at a loss. Her own teammates betrayed her, and the boy she liked didn't even hesitate, he just wanted a better deal.
I hate you, Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto turned back towards Shikamaru with an expectant look.
"I need something more," Shikamaru said, "Ino will skin me afterwards, even if our Senseiwasfine with this."
"She'll cut your balls off." Naruto countered, "Castration is much less of a hassle than skinning."
Shikamaru visibly cringed at what Naruto had said.
"You know what," Naruto continued, "I'll save you all the hassle." He made one handsign.
Ino screamed and tried to jump away from the tag, even if it was futile. She closed her eyes and expected to be covered in somethingfoul, but nothing happened aside from a slight popping sound. She opened her eyes and looked down.
There was a stuffed pig plushie on the ground.
Naruto was laughing so hard he fell off his couch, Rin was bent over laughing, Hinata had the decency to cover her mouth while laughing, even Sasuke was smiling at what happened.
Herteammateswere also laughing, not expecting what happened.
"Naruto," she growled, infuriated at being humiliated, "I'm going to kill you."
"Good luck with your Sensei as a witness."
"What?" she asked, confused.
"You can come out now." Naruto called out, looking at the trees.
Out of the treeline came four people. The four Jonin instructors appeared in front of them in a blur.
"I thought you were embellishing when you said he was a good sensor, Kakashi." Yuuhi Kurenai said, looking at who was presumably Kakashi.
They were here all this time?
"Where's the other genin?" Naruto asked, looking at Kakashi.
"There's a flea infestation at the Inuzuka compound. The Aburame are assisting them." Kakashi answered, before turning towards a man wearing green spandex, "Didn't you say Neji was sick with something?"
"Yes," the man replied, "He could barely stand without almost falling over. His youth was diminished." he finished mournfully.
"Don't feel bad, Gai," Kakashi patted him on the shoulder, "You still have Naruto to train. His flames burn hot."
Gai seemed to come to life at what Kakashi said, "Yosh! I will help fan his flames of youth into a great fire. This I swear!" he proclaimed, striking a pose.
They'reall crazy.Ino thought. Her mind was able to start clicking again when she looked at her Sensei.
"You watched what happened this whole time?" she shouted, angry at everybody there.
Asuma just shrugged. "There wasn't any danger and Shikamaru knew what he was doing."
How dare he defend Shikamaru!
"He sold me out." She growled, shooting her teammate a death glare.
Asuma just sighed. "You mind telling Ino what you were doing?" he asked Shikamaru.
Shikamaru looked straight at Ino. "I was playing for time so Asuma-sensei would get here on time." He said simply.
"No you weren-" Ino paused in the middle of her response, trying to run what just happened in her mind.
He dragged out his demands on what he wanted. He told Naruto to convince the others, which took even more time. He then altered the deal at the end, wanting even more.
At the look on her face, Asuma continued. "See?" he asked, "Shikamaru was helping you, and Choji was following his lead."
Ino felt terrible at the awful thoughts she'd been thinking about concerning her teammates.
"What about them?" she spat, pointing at the other genin present.
"Oh that's easy," Naruto explained, no longer having the cold detachment or vindictive amusement in his voice. He actually sounded kind. "I wanted to prank you for amusement and it had the added benefit of making your teammates operate on the fly."
Ino was going to say something, but Naruto went on to speak again.
"Shika knew what to do," he looked at the dark haired boy, "I had your teammate at my mercy and you made me delay until I was forced to either let her go or trigger the tag. I don't like you," Naruto grumbled the last part out, "You almost ruined my fun."
Shikamaru just shrugged. "What is it you're fond saying," he asked, "I aim to please?" he grinned.
"Troublesome." was Naruto's reply.
"By the way," Naruto added, "You don't get anything from me."
"What?" Shikamaru demanded, scowling openly, "We had a deal."
"The deal was that you'd use your shadow to lift her leg," Naruto clarified, "You didn't hold up your end of the deal."
Silence reigned for a moment, until Ino saw Shikamaru make several handsigns.
"Don't you dar-aagghhhh!" she screamed, getting hoisted into the air by Shikamaru until he dropped her unceremoniously back onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.
The Jonin looked surprised by what Shikamaru just did, but none chastised him.
"Good enough?" Shikamaru asked.
Naruto shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"Ihateyou all!" Ino growled, before she pulled herself to her feet.
She saw the pig plushie on the ground and was ready to stomp on it, until she heard Naruto.
"No," he shouted, "Please, don't hurt Ino-chan." he begged. "She's innocent."
Of course, the redhead wouldn't let another name joke pass by.
Ino's face twitched, then she kicked the plushie at him.
Naruto dove off his couch to catch the plushie before it hit the ground. "Shh, it's okay," he whispered to the pig, "Daddy's here, Daddy's got you. I won't let kaasan hurt you again." he petted the plushie gently.
Ino's face turned red in anger, wanting tostrangletheinsufferableboy in front of her.
"Naruto," Kakashi cut in, "Please stop antagonizing the other genin. I know it's fun, but I don't want to have to explain to Inoichi why his daughter went insane."
Ino glared at Kakashi, before Naruto chuckled.
"I've always been curious if you could drive a Yamanaka truly insane though." he said, before sealing the plushie into a scroll.
"Whenwilleveryone else get here?" Naruto asked, wanting to hurry things along.
"It'll probably be another half hour." Kakashi said simply, obviously being the most acquainted with Naruto out of all the Jonin, "You can stop being a menace for that long, can't you?"
"But it'ssofun to torment them," Naruto complained, "I get to be annoyingandI teach them something. Aren't you proud that I'm emulating you, Sensei?" he asked, his eyes shining with emotion.
Kakashi sighed. "Yes," he relented, "I'm very proud of you."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted emotionally, before running to embrace Kakashi.
Kakashi flinched like he'd been burnt and ran from Naruto, hell-bent on not being touched.
"Embrace me, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, "Let us fan our flames while we are still in the Springtime of our Youth!"
"Shut up, Naruto!"
Kakashi was trying to avoid Naruto, Ino saw Asuma laughing openly at Kakashi, while Kurenai covered her mouth politely. Gai was crying tears of joy, rambling on about another "Youthful student", Rin was muttering, "idiot" whilealsolaughing at Kakashi, and Sasuke kept muttering to himself about it being a long day.
Ino couldn't help but agree with Sasuke's thoughts.
It was going to be averylong day.
Never accuse me of not pouncing upon an opportunity to screw with people. The moment I saw the pig plushie on clearance at a store, Iknewwhat my plan was. I had a little bit of fun and hopefully eased a little bit of the nerves anybody had about the rather novel fact that an entire graduating group of genin were being group trained duringpeacetime.
Shikamaru saw through it after about 30 seconds, given that he knew the pranks and other crap I did was mostly to teach a bloodless lesson to people I had issue with. We'd talked a decent amount of times about in-depth things that normally would have required his father's presence to occur if I wasn't there. Shikamaru got bored easily like I did. Probably for a similar reason too.
Choji wasn't as sharp as Shikamaru, or even Ino, now that I was certain she was capable of thinking things through if she actually put her mind to it, but he was no idiot. He knew that ifhedidn't see something, he could trust Shikamaru to have seen it for both their sakes. Their fathers did a good job encouraging them to be friends. It's always good to have friends to watch your back.
Kakashi won't take my little joke laying down. He made me promise to not do any stupid stuff involving "Youth",...like hugging him and screaming about the Springtime of Youth, but Gai wasn't having the best of days. Neji was evidently ill, and Gai looked like he needed cheering up. So I decided to emulate his passion and words for the day, much to Kakashi's displeasure.
The other genin arrived around 30 minutes later, just as Kakashi said. Kiba looked annoyed, his hair smelling of someverystrong shampoo, Akamaru looked absolutely miserable, his fur slightly clumped together from probably the same shampoo used on Kiba. Shino didn't look any different, probably not taking the flea infestation too seriously, it serves no good to get worked up over something you don't have control over.
Sakura was shifting between glaring at Ino and giving lovey dovey looks to Sasuke, the Uchiha ignoring said looks. Lee and Tenten showed up, Lee looking almost as upset as Gai was at Neji's absence.
I just spaced out while the two older genin were introduced to the current years graduating genin, already knowing who they were. Kakashi chucked something at my head to get my attention.
"What?" I asked irritably, "I was at a good part." I said, lifting up my book.
"Unless it's Icha Icha," Kakashi replied, "You don't get to ignore people."
"It is." I said, lying through my teeth.
Rin glared at me, which I ignored.
"Care to read to the class?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly.
I just smirked. Kakashi didn't like this smirk.
Clearing my throat, I'read'the book. " Their bodies glistened in the pale moonlight, the sweat clinging to them showing their exertion. The only sounds heard were their moans and passionate proclamations of their love."
Kakashi looked like he regretted trying to put me on the spot with the request to read, Kurenai was glaring at me, along with Ino and Sakura.
Rin just simply smacked the back of my head.
"You said you wouldn't read smut." She growled, grabbing the book.
She opened the book, only to see it was a book Hiruzen gave to me on sealing.
Rin shot me a look of confusion, before she realized what I did.
"You thought of that yourself?" She asked.
"Even my own genius frightens me at times." I said simply, looking straight at Kakashi. I shouldn't have turned my back to Rin.
"Grrr," She growled, before throwing the book at the back of my headhard.
"Agh," I flinched, grabbing at the back of my head, "What'd I do?"
"You're acting like Bakakashi." She glared at me, having picked up the nickname from overhearing me.
Kakashi looked horrified at where the conversation was going, it started with him trying to put me in my place and ended with him getting called a trademarked nickname in front of his colleagues.
"No matter how hard you throw that at my head," I told Rin, grin not leaving my face, "I'm not going to kiss Sasuke."
Both Rin's and Sasuke's faces coloured at that. I couldfeelSakura and Ino get pissed at the mentioning of that.
"Shut up." Rin growled, giving up trying to one up me.
I win.
I grinned and turned to Kakashi. "What are you waiting on?" I asked, "Don't we need to start training?"
Kakashi glared at me. "Yes, training starts now."
Gai is a machine.
This training session was all about endurance for the other genin and a basic review on their fitness. Anko, who decided to show up an hour late, and Kurenai were overseeing the running done by all the others, while me, Rin, Lee, and Tenten were already deemed 'Fine' by Kakashi and Gai for taijutsu training with Konohas' Green Beast.
Rin was taking a break from getting beaten into the ground by Lee, my sister forcing Lee to hit hard to put her down. Both me and Rin weren't taijutsu specialists in the same way that Gai or Lee were. We incorporated Ninjutsu into our hand to hand and used it to enhance our reach and speed. Taking that away was like telling Lee to fight one handed, it severely hampered us. But it didn't stop the two of us from lasting longer than everyone else.
Another kick came sailing towards my face giftwrapped in green spandex. I ducked under it because I doubted my arm could take another hit from it being jarred moments ago. I'd managed to keep from getting my face smashed in, but my forearms and ribs were screaming their hatred towards me.
Gai followed the kick with a flurry of punches and jabs to try and break my guard, my weight shifting around to dance around as many hits as I could to not be forced to block them. The jonin seemed to speed up and his foot lashed out at me in a blur, my head barely ducking under it.
The kick transitioned into a spin that had his other leg hitting my ribs, knocking me to the ground.
I kicked out my legs and spun back to my feet, warding off Gai for a moment. The next exchange had me on the defensive and I knew I was done for.
One punch slipped through and I felt my canines cut the inside of my lip from the hit.
Another punch found its way to my ribs, causing me to stagger from the impact. My hands ended up lowering for the barest moment, something that a taijutsu monster like Gai could spot blindfolded. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, my vision blurred and ears ringing, Gai standing over me with his foot still held up from where he hit me.
I just laid there, contemplating how my life ended up culminating into this very moment.
"Naruto," Gai said exuberantly, "I know you are fine. You have takenmuchstronger blows than that."
Pulling myself up, I looked at Gai, spitting out some blood that formed in my mouth.
"Wasn't expecting a foot to the face." I shrugged.
"Every splendid Shinobi has a plan," He said, "Until they get hit in the face."
I nodded at that. Wise words indeed.
Give me a couple months of torture sessions with Gai, and I'll be better than Lee in taijutsu alone,includinghim opening some Gates. Lee had the drive to improve, but I just happened to be fortunate enough to be anUzumaki. We are theGodsof stamina. Lee had already surpassed Chunin level in his taijutsu, being low Jonin without opening any gates, and so have I, no argument there.
But I knew I could do better.
I had a dream, a dream that surpassedallothers. Where others had a dream of being strong to protect their families, or to not feel weak, mine wasverydifferent.
I planned to do something that another twin had done. A twin that carried the title of "Heel grabber". A twin that earnedanothername after what he did.
I planned to wrestle with Gods.
Rin was trying and failing to breathe through her nose, the blood had decided to harden to the point where she could barely get air in through her nose.
I might need to stop breaking Sasuke's nose if this is how bad it is.She thought, as she tried to blow her nose with some bandages she had in one of her storage scrolls.
If Naruto was a seal freak, she was even worse. Naruto seemed toknowinstinctively what seals would work for certain tactical situations. He made a breastplate that could stop a hit from Hinata by usingexplosivetags to redirect the chakra strike. Hinata had been hesitant on aiming for Naruto's chest after that, she'd used a shadow clone to test the armour when one of Naruto's clones was wearing it.
Hinata could make one or two clones without getting dizzy from low chakra. Naruto had given her advice on certain chakra exercises that could expand her reservesandimprove her already good chakra control from being a Hyuga.
But in reference to Naruto, Rin never would have thought thatFuinjutsuof all things was what she was better than Naruto at. Any idea he came up with, she could make a slightly better design. Where his imagination couldn't get him over the edge, she justknewhow to do it.
She could tell it irritated him. He was still an amazing seal user and based on how Kakashi and the Hokage acted, he was capable of being one of the best seal masters Konoha ever had.
If he could be one of the best, what does that make me?
It both frightenedandthrilled her. She always wondered how Naruto felt when she'd take time to figure out how to do something that he pulled off in just a short time. Sasuke may have the Sharingan when he finally would activate it, Hinata may be able to see chakra and have her paralysed from Juken hits, and Naruto may have her beat in physical strength and overall intellect, butshewas the queen ofFuinjutsu.
When the Hokage had told her and Naruto more about their mother, about how she was such an accomplished seal mistress that she taught theYondaimeas much about sealing asJiraiya the Sannindid, she felt warm inside. Even if Naruto was the one that got their mother's hair, she got her face, her eyes, and her knowledge inFuinjutsu.
The other genin who were previously doing conditioning training were sprawled out beside her, trying to catch their breath.
Kiba was wheezing a few yards to her left, Akamaru looking perfectly fine on his head. Sakura looked like she was about to vomit from exhaustion, while Ino looked a little better.
"How," Shikamaru wheezed, "Can Naruto *pant, keep up with allthat?"he pointed at Naruto, who was fighting Asuma.
Naruto had already got beaten into the ground by Gai, literallyandrepeatedly. More than a couple craters were in the ground from when Naruto had been put downhardby Gai. Eventually, Kakashi told Naruto to move on to the next Jonin, Asuma.
Rin noticed how Kakashi had his Hitai-ate slightly lifted to watch Naruto's fighting pattern. She knew Kakashi had a Sharingan underneath. She had wanted to ask about it, but Naruto said it was a friend's eye, a friend who died right after he gifted his left eye to Kakashi. She had dropped the question after that, not wanting to think how painful it would be to have an eye ripped out, and doing it yourself at that.
Asuma fought differently compared to Gai and Kakashi. Gai was destruction incarnate if you got within arms reach. Kakashi was extremely unpredictable, having a plethora of jutsu to incorporate inanystrategy his mind could think of. He was like a more dangerous version of Naruto, with a Sharingan.
Asuma on the other hand fought with his blades and incorporated Futon in them in a way that had Rin feeling jealous. He had more range than Gai, but also used Ninjutsu as well. Naruto couldn't use the same tactics he used against Kakashi because Asuma could slash himalotworse than Kakashi could.
Another swing from Asuma caused Naruto to stagger, a slash striking his armour and leaving a rent in the metal. Her twin spun on his heel and kicked out at the much taller man, flinging a kunai he dropped from the seal in his sleeve.
The knife was deflected without issue and the two clashed again, her brother blinking and looking sluggish.
Rin was starting to suspect that something was wrong with Naruto the longer she looked. His blocks or dodges were off. He was getting hit and slashed by Asuma more than he'd been hit by Gai.
Is he actually getting tired for once?
Until she had started training intensely, she didn't even understand the meaning oftired.10 push ups hadn't been any different from 100. Running for an hour only left her slightly winded, only to be fine after a quick catching of her breath. That didn't apply when she expended a great deal of her chakra though. She got tired and healed more slowly when her chakra was low.
Is it my chakra? Orit?
The day she was told about the Kyuubi felt like a nightmare. She never noticed that a seal would appear on her stomach when she channeled an extremely high amount of chakra, even by her standards, until it was pointed out to her where the seal was. What the Hokage said nearly brought her to tears when she demanded it be taken out.
"You and your brother will die if the Kyuubi is removed."
Their mother had been the previous Jinchuriki. Someone had attacked her and removed the Kyuubi from her seal and she would have died from it had the Kyuubi not killed her and the Yondaime.
Naruto had explained to her what Inoichi and the Hokage thought caused his mind issues. He had the Yin half, and she the Yang. Yin chakra normally was the mental part, so it's not surprising that Naruto couldn't think straight.
Yang chakra on the other hand was the more physical side of chakra. She couldn't be sure, but she assumed she'd heal faster than Naruto because of her yang portion was more potent because of the Kyuubi. It also was the reason she was more outwardly energetic than him. He seemed to be able to keep it under control, but she couldn't.
The both had to eat more than three times a day, but she was sure she ate more than Naruto. She wasalwayshungry when they were at the orphanage. She didn't know if Naruto was, and she didn't want to know. He'd given her some of his food at times and she didn't want to think he subjected himself to hunger for her sake when at the orphanage.
Shehatedthe feeling of hunger. It's why she despised Ino, Sakura, and the other fangirls for 'dieting'.Theydid something to themselves that was a terrible sensation to her. She always thought of food when she'd have gnawing hunger claw at her. She couldn't think of anything else. She and Naruto didn't have a mother or father to take care of them, teach them to read, show them how to be Shinobi, or even something as simple asfixing food.
Ino and Sakura had parents that loved them and took care of them. Rin and Naruto hadno onebut each other when the 'caretakers' at the orphanage would punish them for something stupid like 'being loud' or 'demons don't need as much food as people'. Naruto didn't remember those days. They only did that when his mind wouldn't be working clearly. No matter what she said to the Hokage, he wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway if Naruto said nothing happened.
She found out Naruto didn't remember those days when he had muttered something about 'Some of the villagers being worse than the orphanage'. Aside from glares and the occasional comment or look of fear, she didn't see what Naruto was talking about. The villagers didn't try to separate them. They didn't throw Naruto into a closet and lock the door when he was so incoherent that he couldn't even remember his own name. They didn't ignore her screaming for him whenshewas thrown into another closet. But thankfully, they never did do anything like punching or slapping them. They only did mental games, and only when they knew Naruto wouldn't be able to fight back with his biting comments and insults. He'd actually made a caretaker break down into tears from his insults.
Rin blinked and looked at Shikamaru. "He's lasted longer than this," she said, "I don't know what's with him." she frowned.
"I *pant* noticed Kurenai-san was doing something." Shikamaru said.
Rin looked towards Kurenai when she heard Shikamaru say that. She knew Kurenai was a Genjutsu specialist, but the extent of her knowledge on the art was that a couple Genjutsu that Anko or Kakashi used on her and Naruto were almost useless. Those were the sound or scent ones. Neither Kakashi or Anko knew exactly how good their hearing and smell was, so trapping them in a discreet Genjutsu that they didn't know they were in wasverydifficult when they could tellsomethingwas off.
Visual ones were entirely different. Anko had used one on her just a few minutes ago. That's where she got a foot to her face. She saw the kick coming, so she shifted her head to the side, but Anko's foot ended up being a few inches to the right. She felt her nose break from the hit and Sasuke acted like atotal gentlemanand offered to set her nose back in place, grin on his face.
But Kurenai seemed to be doing the same thing to Naruto that Anko had done to her. She was obviously doing discreet Genjutsu, because she was able to disguise the handsign she'd make by scratching her chin or acting like she was stretching.
Shikamaru noticed it, and Rin wasn't completely sure she would have noticed unless he'd pointed it out.
She looked closer to the spar, feeling sympathy for Naruto. He was forbidden from using any Ninjutsu against the other Jonin. She didn't know if Kakashi did that because he wanted Naruto to learn how to face off against others that were better than him if he were ever in a disadvantageous position, or if he was being vengeful after Naruto was being a menace to the Jonin.
Probably both.
Asuma had one of his knives blocked by Naruto with a kunai, her brother straining to hold the taller man back. Asuma disengaged and swung his other knife, wind chakra emanating from it.
Naruto pushed lightning chakra into his own kunai, but it looked less stable than what even he normally could do.
Naruto raised his kunai to block Asuma's strike, but Naruto's posture was off. Asuma's blade made contact with Naruto's, twisted it to the side, and he drove a kick into Naruto's face when the opening appeared.
Rin saw a tooth fly out, and Naruto hit the ground.
"What the hell is happening?" She heard him spat, blood dripping from where his front tooth had been knocked out.
"You might need to check your eyes," Asuma quipped, "That's the fifth time I've hit your face."
Naruto growled under his breath, before he seemed to stiffened, lookedstraightat Kurenai, and stabbed himself in the hand, breaking the Genjutsu.
"Cheater." Naruto growled.
"If you ain't cheating, you ain't winning." Asuma shrugged.
Out of all the genin, only her, Hinata, Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru didn't look completely surprised that Naruto was still in fighting shape after fighting 3 different Jonin already, using only taijutsu. Naruto had been getting bodied by Gai, was stumbling around when Kurenai's Genjutsu had his equilibrium completely destabilized from his depth perception being tweaked, and Asuma had landing some hits on him.
Kakashi did say something about Naruto being an example to the others.
Kakashi probably wanted to show how capable Naruto was in facing Jonin without his best skill, Ninjutsu, being used. Pretty smart idea, now that she thought of it.
Naruto seemed to think of something when Asuma said that. Naruto pulled a kunai out, averyfamiliar tag strapped to it. Oddly, it looked like there wasbloodon it. Naruto coated it in lightning chakra, and flung it at Asuma. Asuma ducked, letting the kunai fly over his head, but Naruto was already moving. He did the quick stepShunshinthat he was so fond of, and made a one sealedKawarimiwiththe kunai as it sailed over Asuma's head.
Asuma avoided the kunai that was now back on a path to hit him by deflecting it with his blade while shifting to his right. Naruto, while still in the air, aimed a kick at Asuma's head. Asuma didn't avoid the hit on time and ended up taking a full contact hit to his temple.
He staggered and blindly swung at Naruto, somehow making contact with Naruto's shirt, making another tear in the already shredded shirt from him being thrown around by Gai and getting slashed by Asuma earlier.
Before he could recover from the kick to the head, Asuma was tackled by Naruto, the two ending up on the ground. The two tried to wrestle for Asuma's knives that he dropped, but Asuma had over half a foot and 15 years on Naruto. Naruto ended up getting thrown off after getting another punch to his face.
Asuma scrambled to his feet with his knives in hand, points aimed at Naruto's throat.
"Will you stop knocking out my teeth?" Naruto growled, holding asecondtooth in his hand, "It itches when they grow back."
Rin saw Asuma grimace at the bloodied face of her brother, but he narrowed his eyes a moment later.
"Start shielding your face better." Asuma deadpanned.
"My faceismy shield." Naruto muttered, forcing the tooth back into his mouth.
"You weren't supposed to use Ninjutsu." Asuma said simply.
"If you ain't cheating, you ain't winning." Naruto snarked back.
Asuma snorted. "Youstilldidn't win."
Naruto just muttered irritably under his breath about 'Stupid Ninjutsu rule'.
Asuma scoffed and turned to Kakashi, the man overseeing it while the other Jonin were assisting a couple other genin that weren't on the ground from endurance training.
"I think I'm nice and warmed up now," He stretched his arms and legs, "He's a good training dummy, Kakashi, thanks for sharing."
Rin snickered at the look on Naruto's face when he heard that.
"I know, I'm such a charitable guy." Kakashi said simply, his visible eye crinkled in a smile.
"Oh yeah?" Naruto demanded, jumping to his feet and glaring at Kakashi, "You wanna go, old man? I'll kick your ass."
Rin laughed to herself at how Kakashi and Asuma were riling up her brother. Tempt him with a fight, and he'll rise to the challenge.
She turned to look at the other genin, each of them having different expressions. Hinata was smiling softly and rolling her eyes good naturedly, unsurprised by Naruto and Kakashi's antics. Sasuke only looked slightly surprised by how Naruto was acting, having been more aware of how Naruto was.
Everyone else looked suprised by how much Naruto had been swearing at and snarking back at the Jonin. These were the elite of Konoha, and Naruto was trading barbs with them like it was completely natural.
And the best part, Naruto wasn't winning.
It was once in a blue moon when Naruto didn't have some little quip or line to get the best of someone. But he learned a lot of that from Kakashi, and the other Jonin were around Kakashi constantly.
"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Ready to take the kid gloves off, old man?"
Kakashi just looked at him with a brow raised. "I think I can help a little whipper snapper like you."
Naruto just flipped him the bird and got into a new ready position.
This'll probably be eye opening.Rin thought, realizing Naruto probably wasn't going to pull his punches.
"Everybody best move back," Kakashi warned the genin and Jonin both, "It'll probably get hectic."
At his warning, the Jonin moved back a decent amount, and the genin followed.
"How can it be that bad?" Ino whispered to herself, "He isn't that good at Ninjutsu."
Rin just grinned at hearing that.
You have no idea.
Finally, a worthy opponent. Our battle will be legendary.I thought to myself.
Kakashi saying 'No Ninjutsu' pissed me off. I had an image of him in a white outfit with a big ass spoon in hand, saying "No jutsu for you", but that comedic image didn't take away the irritation.
I thought Anko was bad, but Kurenai was even worse than she was. She just hid it behind a kind voice and pretty eyes. Genjutsustilldrove me up the wall and Kurenai used that all the time on me throughout the training sessions so far.
Anything that made me question my own sight or what I even thought was real made my hair stand on end. Stabbing myself was easier than flaring my chakra, I healed faster than the time it took for the itching in my tenketsu to go away.
Gai's beatdown was a welcome one. Bruises healed within minutes, while Asuma and hisinfernalchakra blades took longer. The only reason why I didn't look like damn Thanksgiving turkey was because I was already worked up and angry at Kurenai.
Even with the tightenings still on my seal, more of Kurama's chakra still leaked out when I was angry. The extra chakra caused my already fast healing to jump to a higher gear, which was a welcome surprise when I found it out. Rin's Yang half would probably bemuchbetter, but I wasn't complaining. The Yin chakra had a second, evenmoreunforseen side effect.
My mind would work faster. It wasn't just adrenaline that helped me to process the fast pace that was set when fighting Jonin, especially ones that were as skilled in taijutsu as Maito Gai and Copycat Kakashi.
I'd get a slight headache afterwords, but it would clear up not long after. The headaches had been getting less and less noticeable over the last several months.
My mind can handle the Yin influx better.
Kakashi warned the others to back up, meaning this was going to be a Ninjutsu fight, the kind I liked.
"I've been looking forward to this." I drawled, shooting a quick glance towards Lee, before turning back to Kakashi.
"Say that with a straight face afterwords." Kakashi grinned, his posture tensed and ready to charge.
I just stared at Kakashi, letting my mind sink into a ready one. Ilookedat Kakashi's covered eye. I reached out with my sensing tofeelit, visualizing the crimson orb and the three tomoe, the eye of the person I hated most.
He took them from me. He sentenced us to Hell because he couldn't let go. I'll never be free until I have his head on a plate. I won't let him takemyRin from me.
I felt my canines slightly lengthen, keeping my mouth closed to hide it. Any aches, bruises, or cuts I had that were partially healed, closed up or faded with my controlled fury pulling more bijuu chakra into my system.
I made the first move andShunshinedstraight at Kakashi, the extra chakra and my sensing ability helping me to see when to stop.
Kakashi had a kunai in his hand before I even got there. The kunai I pulled as I charged was driven down towards his chest, only to be deflected by Kakashi's. I followed up the stab with several punches and kicks at Kakashi, only for them to either be blocked or dodged. He didn't try to counter, only backing up when needed.
He's letting me set the pace.I stepped back and pulled a second kunai, which Kakashi mirrored. Grinning, I charged forward again, slashing at Kakashi, intent on drawing crimson.
Kakashi blocked each slash and strike, sparks flying from steel clashing.
I chanelled lightning chakra into the two of them and smashed them into Kakashi's guard, a loud screech coming from the point of contact.
Kakashi shifted his stance and twisted, pushing my arm aside and he flipped over me, slashing at my head.
I ducked under the slash and flung one of the kunai at him, making a quick hand seal due to my freed hand.
Suiton: Teppodama.
I blasted a ball of water from my mouth directly at Kakashi, but he seemed to expect it. Before his feet hit the ground, he'd already blurred through hand seals and sank into the ground, avoiding my jutsu.
I pressed out my sensing to feel him and I caught a flash of chakra underneath me. A small explosion of Earth shot up as I dashed to the side, turning on a dime and sprinting back at a now visible Kakashi.
The two of us clashed once more, a new kunai in my hand from my storage seal allowing me to slash and step in a constant stream of steel death.
One of my stabs overextended as I managed to knick Kakashi's shoulder and he was able to catch my left wrist with his kunai. I dropped my kunai from the pain, but grabbed Kakashi's right hand in a vice grip when he tried to pull it back. My right hand still had a kunai in it and Kakashi stabbed at my right eye with the kunai in his left, requiring me to block with my kunai.
It deflected at a bad angle and I was rewarded with a kunai buried in my collar bone.
Growling in pain, I grabbed his arm to prevent him from letting go of the kunai as his eye widened in shock that he accidentally stabbed me. Kakashi and I grappled with each other for a moment, neither of us having an advantage. But 20 years of experience, a decade and half of age, and the increased strength and stamina he had from training seriously compared to his 'Canon' counterpart was something I couldn't match, even with an Uzumaki's strengthandhaving a giant furry son of a bitch sealed in me.
Kakashi started overpowering me and forced me on the back foot. I grunted from exertion, trying to keep his right arm in place.
He glanced at our joined hands, looked back at me, and I could see a shadow of an idea appear on his face.
"Let me borrow this."
I froze as I realized what he was going to try. Those were theexactwordsObitosaid to him when they tried to kill each other.
My shock gave Kakashi the chance to twist my fingers into a few handsigns, signs I recognized as afirejutsu that was the most common, but very effective, Katon jutsu.
I let his left arm go, the kunai still lodged in my collar. The kunai caused me to not be able to use my arm to block the kick Kakashi aimed at my face.
For thethird time,I felt I tooth come loose.
God-damnit.
Kakashi ended up leaping back and firing the fire jutsu at me.
Kaiton: Gokakyu no jutsu.
A compressed ball of fire was sent straight at me. Ignoring the feeling of the kunai grinding against bone, I made several handsigns to make a water wall that the Godaime Mizukage used against Madara, mine beingmuchless pretty looking.
Suiton:Water Formation Wall.
The wall was less effective than if I had the forethought to open the water storage seals I had, but I let my mind tunnel vision. I wasn't as adept at blasting water from my mouth as I was using already existing water, but it still worked.
The fireball was stopped in its tracks and I formed a new plan. I made a dozen clones that promptlyShunshineda short distance to avoid Kakashi. I couldn't make more as I felt Kakashi dash around the rapidly deteriorating wall of water at a quick pace, forcing me to pull Kakashi's kunai out of my collar and ready myself to reengage in taijutsu.
Kakashi came around the wall and swung a spinning quick at me, being easily avoided. He didn't even try and block my stab as he was less than a foot from me and off balance.
I realized my mistake a split second before I did it, the opening to obvious as I lunged forward and stabbed him.
His lightning clone exploded as I stabbed it... With ametalweapon.
Electricity snaked up my body and I shouted in pain as my whole vision went white from me seizing up from the shock. A wind jutsu from out of nowhere ended up blasting me 20 yards away, my shirt being torn the rest of the way off after being abused for hours.
My sensing was burning my mind. The lightning that shocked me made my brain extra sensitive to outside stimuli. I could tell Kakashi was too close for me to let my 'vision' clear and I ended up getting saved by one of my clones switching with me. AKawarimidone on you, even when your own clone does it, isneverpleasant.
My clone was promptly eviscerated by Kakashi'sRaikiri.
Is he trying to rub it in that Idon'thave a trump card melee jutsu?The couple seconds that bought me gave my other clones the chance to start firing off a couple of low level water jutsu and two higher tier ones.
Kakashi was forced to stop his charge at me and avoid the waves of water coming at him.
With the short window of opportunity, I pulled out a couple of scrolls that had pre-written seals on them.
Certain things to never do. Don't tell your girlfriend she's fat, don't tell her to 'calm down', anddon'tever give an Uzumaki 5 seconds to prep a seal.
Kakashi ended up shredding the rest of my clones, but it gave me 10 seconds to strap the pre-made seals to some kunai. I made another dozen clones with orders to trap Kakashi in a taijutsu fight. The clones followed orders and charged towards him, kunai drawn.
I used the continued distraction to enact my plan and I went through the proper hand seals for my jutsu.
Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu.
A fog covered the area around us, giving me cover from Kakashi in case he pulled out his Sharingan. I ran towards my right, tossing a kunai with a seal on it. I kept running in a circle around Kakashi and my clones, tossing kunai into the ground as I did so.
I got the memories of the final clone getting dispelled by Kakashi.
Showtime.
Kakashi blasted away the mist with a wind jutsu, and I got a good look at him. He was soaked in water and his Sharingan was no longer concealed.
"Give up." I shouted, standing about 30 yards from him, "I won't ask twice."
Kakashi just tilted his head at me in confusion.
"You sure you didn't mean yourself?" he asked simply.
"You're trapped." I said simply, before triggering the seals I placed around him.
The seals were gravity seals linked together. Anything within a certain radius of the linked seals tied to the kunai would experience gravity at 10 times the worlds gravity.
But Kakashi didn't keel over. The moment the seals activated, I felt myself be driven to my knees, feeling like a car had landed on me.
I could barely breathe. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest, that someone being a sumo wrestler.
"What?" I managed to gasp out.
"For someone who prides himself on thinking ahead, you didn't thinkI'ddo the same, did you?" Kakashi asked rhetorically.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to look up at him.
"H-how?"
"Simple," Kakashi said with a shrug, "There's a reason I like dogs."
With that sentence, I heard a voice behind me. "Hey kid, what's up?"
I couldn't turn my head from how much effort it took for me to keep myself from laying flat on the ground, but I recognized the voice. It didn't help that the scent of dog was coming from where the voice was at.
Pakkun.
Damnit Kiba and Akamaru.
I'd smelled dog and thought nothing of it when I first got here. I learned Kakashi's little tricks he enjoyed using against Suiton users, of course he'd adapt when he noticed I was doing better against him.
"While you were having fun with trying to blind me with the mist, Pakkun and my other summons grabbed your kunai and moved them towards you," Kakashi clarified, his tone and posture relaxed, as if he didn't have a care in the world.
He thinks it's over.
I could almost hear my bones creaking from the strain of raising my arms to form a handsign to deactivate the seals.
"Here, let me help," I heard Kakashi say, before he made a lightning clone and had it charge towards the seal. The clone set itself off and disrupted the seals, causing them to deactivate.
I ended up stumbling forward from the amount of effort I was trying to stand up. I didn't see until too late that Kakashi charged straight at me. If I'd expected him to know how to disrupt that kind of seal matrix, if I expected him to adapt to me figuring out his prefered way of engaging Suiton users, if I expected him to have used hissummons, I might have put up a spectacular fight. But Kakashi was called a genius for a reason. Even after knowing the man for nearly 6 years, even when I saw him as a close friend, mentor, and almost like an older brother, I still got surprised by whatever the hell he could pull out of his ass at the drop of a hat.
My tenketsu were sore from how long I had an elevated level of Bijuu chakra flowing in my system compared to what I normally had. The multiple concussions I got from Gai were catching up to me and the Yin induced headache made it all the worse.
I tried to put up my arms to protect myself, but Kakashi's kick drove right through my guard and smashed into my face, feeling another tooth break.
FUUCCKK.
The kick knocked me unconscious, my body refusing to respond to my commands. My chakra sensing was still active like usual for me and I could tell by Kakashi's chakra shifting that he didn't mean to hit me that hard.
Before my brain rebooted from the impact, I heard Kakashi speaking to me.
"Oh dear," He said with mock horror, "I think I've killed him."
What are you going to do to me?
I heard andfeltKakashi frantically moving around, breathing heavily.
"I can't hear him breathing," He gasped, "I don't think his heart's beating."
I felt Kakashi kneel next to me, lightning chakra building up in his hands.
What is he doi-... No no no! NO!
"Don't worry, Naruto," He whispered, "I'll wake you up."
I HATE YOU, Cyclops!
Kakashi put his lightning coated hands on my bare chest, shouting "Clear!" as he did it.
My body responded by spasming and I 'woke up' screaming bloody murder.
"FFUUUCCKKKK!" I shouted, myeyesfelt like they were vibrating in my skull.
"NARUTO!" Kakashi shouted, "Thank Kami you're alive. I thought I lost you." before he pulled me into a hug, still periodically zapping me with chakra.
I couldn't even speak, the lightning making it certain I'd probably bite part of my own tongue off if I spoke.
Kakashi eventually took pity on me and stopped his 'ministrations', pulling me to my feet. I ended up promptly falling back down from my legs twitching too much.
"Now don't be lazy," Kakashi scolded me, "I don't want you taking after me, after all."
"Asshole." I managed to grit out, the effort was collosal in being able to even speak.
I did not enjoy this at all. I'm pretty sure this was Kakashi getting back at me for harassing in aYouthfulway without actually hurting me.
"That's where you're wrong, my little genin," He grinned, keeping a grip on my arm, "I'm a hemorrhoid, I irritate assholes."
This day started outsowell. I made progress on theRasengan, I riled up Rin, and I put Ino in her place in a hilarious, but educational, manner. But now, I got my ass kicked by 4 Jonin, said Jonin either beating me down and building me up like Gai, or being on the receiving end of Asuma, and Kakashi deciding to taze me like a disobedient dog.
"I hate you." I muttered, as we walked, or in my case staggered, back to the Jonin and genin.
Kakashi just kept silent, the glee he felt showing.
We ended up reaching the group, and I saw the look on most of their faces.
Shock.
All the Jonin showed varying levels of surprise, Gai showing the least. Gai was probably aware that I was being trained in-depth by Kakashi. He'd know how good I was from how Kakashi fought.
Asuma, and especially Kurenai, were quite surprised that I made Kakashi resort to using aRaikiriand his summons for him to crush me.
The genin students were looking at me different than they had just a couple weeks prior. Shikamaru may have known I was concealing things, but his shocked face gave away how much he'd missed. Shino showed nothing aside from a widening of his eyes, Kiba was wide eyed and his mouth hung open, Sakura was looking between me and Sasuke with a blush on her face.
Lee and Tenten, who didn't know me before, still were surprised that a supposed recent graduate could fling so many jutsu and fight against 3 Joninbeforedoing so.
Sasuke didn't show as much surprise, but he still gave me a speculative look.
Rin had a massive grin on her face, miming her hands grabbing something while looking at my chest.
I glanced down and saw what she thought was hilarious.
I hadhand printsfrom where Kakashi 'defibrillated' me.
The final two people who stood out were Hinata and Ino.
Hinata was blushing, probably from me not having a shirt on. Years of training did wonders on my physique. But Ino was one that surprised me. She was blushing a bit, but something else was there as well with amuchgreater prevalence.
Worry.
She seemed to be almostscaredfor some reason. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why she'd bescaredof me.
"Anybody have a spare shirt?" I asked kindly.
Lee offered a spare green spandex outfit.
"Thank you for the offer, Lee," I said politely, "But I'd rather strip naked and dance in the middle of the street than wearthat." I shuddered.
Lee seemed to deflate at that, putting the spandex back wherever the hell he got it from.
"Kakashi, can you get me a shirt? I'm cold." I looked up at him.
"I don't have anything." He shrugged.
"You're the one who tore my damn shirt off and you weartwomasks. Don't tell me you don't have a back up shirt stored." I growled.
Kakashi just rolled his eye, before pulling out a storage scroll.
"Here," he pulled a shirt out, "That's all you get."
I pulled the shirt on, it obviously being too big for me. I got it on and I noticed something. The shirt was stained green and itreakedof a familiar scent.
Catnip.
He kept the damn shirt.
"I'm done with today."I growled in English, knowing that the training session was over now from it being evening.
Not wanting to evenhearKakashi's response, IShunshinedaway to get a new shirt.
"I honestly thought you might have embellished his attitude, Kakashi." Gai was the one to speak out of the four Jonin, looking contemplative.
The four were at one of the bars reserved for Shinobi, given that a drunken brawl between trained killers and civilians never went well.
They'd gotten together like this at the end of every training session with the genin to voice any thoughts about them.
And Naruto happened to be in every one.
"I know I'm the newest Jonin out of all of us," Kurenai admitted, sighing softly, "But I never thought I'd encounter a kid better than me at taijutsu."
"Not like the kid is the first." Asuma muttered, a weak beer in his hand, "I just hope he doesn't end up like the last one."
Kakashi's hand twitched against his own glass, his eye flicking towards Asuma in warning.
"You were in the capital during that time, Sarutobi," Kakashi used the man's last name to emphasize his displeasure, "I can tell you with certainty that Uzumaki Naruto is not like Itachi. I'm pretty sure he'll try to break something if you say that around him."
Even if Naruto was extremely good at keeping secrets, the silver haired Jonin knew some of them. You can't just simply hide how pale and ill you look after the Uchiha clan was wiped out. Naruto had looked at Sasuke at times and looked nauseous according to Iruka.
The conclusion Kakashi, the Hokage, and Inoichi when he was consulted was that Naruto had begun to relate to Itachi on the rare occasion they spoke when Sasuke would be picked up by his brother. Honestly, there couldn't have been a better Shinobi to emulate other than Itachi. Strong, intelligent, and a loving older brother... Just like Naruto.
The mental whiplash of Itachi being insane probably made Naruto's mind connect brilliance with madness or death.
Orochimaru and Itachi are monsters, and the Yondaime died.
"This doesn't leave this table," Kakashi warned, "I was told this by the Hokage. The only reason you're hearing this is because I've been given leave to."
The other three focused on him even more so.
"We think Naruto is aware of what tends to happen to prodigies and is drowning his fear in training." Kakashi sighed and turned his head, lowering his mask to take a drink. "It can be unhealthy, I'm pretty sure that doesn't need to be said."
Gai was the only one that didn't have any type of alcoholic drink, sticking to water.
"A shame young Naruto would think such things," Gai remarked sadly, "He has a fire in him like few. He can be great."
"That would make sense," Asuma mused, shaking his head, "But what does that mean for training him? Should our approach change?"
"Just follow my lead," Kakashi replied, "I understand him the most and he responds to sarcasm and reminders that he's not king of the world. He'll come around once you get his respect."
"You make it sound like he's an animal out in the wild." Kurenai mentioned, her crimson eyes on him.
"Eh," Kakashi thought for a moment, before shrugging, "Sure, let's go with that."
Not like he was wrong about that. Naruto could be an animal when he wanted to be in training. It took a special breed of person to not slow downat allduring the last month of group training with the genin that was supplemented by specific team training as well. Half the week was constant training for the four genin teams...
And Naruto did his own training who knows where on top of the group training.
Kakashi would eventually get Naruto to open up on why he was training that intensely while hiding what he was doing.
He just prayed it wasn't something nefarious.
I don't know who he is.Ino thought to herself as she was walking home from the group training that ended just a half hour ago.
The first few weeks involved her and a couple others improving their physical conditioning, including the use of a couple weights that she was hating with every fiber of her being. Out of the entire group, only Sakura was worse off than her in physical stamina. EvenShikamaruedged her out on being more physically fit, but the physical fitness was something she could swallow her pride on to beat Sakura and make her father proud.
The thing she couldn't get out of her head was Naruto. Naruto was the one that frightened her in how off she was.
Rin getting pummeled into the ground by Rock Lee during taijutsu sparring and different genin teams going at each other in team exercises was a surprise. She never thought a green spandex wearing guy with a bowl cut would be the one to beat Uzumaki Rin in taijutsu. And he didn't just slightly edge out, he seemed to be fasterandknew how to hit harder than he had any right to.
To be honest, she wasn'tthatsurprised that the miniature version of Maito Gai was a taijutsu monster that made could put the hurt on anyone.
His hits looked like they were as strong asNaruto's, and Naruto was something she honestly couldn't understand. Hehealedfrom being stabbed by her Sensei when they were going at speeds she could barely track with her eyes.The amount of pain Naruto had to feel from getting turned into a punching bag by Team 9's Jonin instructor, Maito Gai, was something she couldn't imagine someone would willingly subject themselves to. Gai was a green blur when he was fighting Naruto, the younger of the two charging in and constantly getting back and starting again. She swore she heard cracking sounds when Naruto would block some of Gai's kicks.
Out of all his fights, Naruto looked like he enjoyed the ones with Gai the most. His eyes had seemed toglowwith energy, the blood on his face and the slight tenseness from his ribs being hit didn't seem to take away from it.
But enough of Naruto for now. Ino wanted to think of the progressshehad made in the weeks of training.
Their chakra control exercises made her reserves grow and her chakra seemed to respond more readily to her, seeming to flow like water. And that led to the first step to her making her father proud and end the feelings of ineptitude.
Ino had discovered, with her father's help, a few months ago that she could sense chakra to a degree, but the increased chakra control and constant use of her clan jutsu when at home under her father's guidance forced her reserves to grow and slowly improved her sensing. She'd been curious on how different peoples chakra felt and she finally could. Sometimes, she was even able to tell what someones mood was from how their chakra felt, but only when they werestrongemotions.
According to what her father said, the Yamanaka sometimes had sensors who could feel emotions because of how their clan techniques imprinted on their chakra in a similar way the Inuzuka developed more doglike features after several generations.
She'd prefer empathic sensing over weird eyes and sharp teeth, thank you very much.
She'd tested it out of curiosity during some of sparring sessions between the different genin. Naruto's chakra felt almost similar to how the silver haired Jonin, Kakashi's felt. Kakashi's seemedunstable, almost like it was crackling constantly, trying to break free. She assumed that was howlightningfelt, mainly because Kakashi used multiple lightning jutsu when he fought Naruto.
She couldn't tell what any of the genin's chakra was like unless they were using jutsu and were practically breathing on her. Their chakra pool was too small for her to tell until she got more experience sensing. But Rin and Naruto were exceptions to that rule. She couldn't understandhowthe Uzumaki twins had more chakra than theJonininstructors.
Rin's chakra was sharp, similar to Asuma-sensei's. Naruto's was different from all the others. His seemed to flow, but it also seemed to crackle slightly like Kakashi's.
But that wasn't what had Ino worried. ShefeltNaruto's emotion bleed through his chakra. When Naruto was fighting Gai, she felt something similar when her father had got home and hugged her mother. It was elation. Joy. Passion. His chakra was bright like his eyes.
That feeling was completely absent when he'd fight Kakashi.
She couldn't put into words what it felt like. His chakra feltdensewhen he fought Gai and Asuma. His chakra felt moredisgustingwhen he fought Kurenai. But when he fought Kakashi, she almost had to pull back her sensing. The feeling was one of the most awful feelings she'd had. She actuallyshiveredwhen Naruto had charged the older man. Sheknewshe saw his eyes flash to a violet tone for a moment.
Naruto felt like a predator gazing at her, ready to pounce in the night, aiming for her throat. Thedesirefor blood was screaming in her mind when Naruto had charged Kakashi. The level of tactical thought Naruto used in fighting Kakashi had her questioning whether Naruto really was the prankster baka she thought he was.
It pained her to think it, but she didn't think evenSasukewould have lasted as long as Naruto had. He wasstabbedwith a kunai and didn't even scream. He simply growled like an animal and held onto the limb that forced the blade into him.
She brushed her tongue across her teeth, not wanting to imagine how it felt to have her teeth knocked out like Naruto did.
And right as she was trying to wrestle with her thoughts, Naruto ended up embarrassing her by noticing she was staring at him. He wasveryfit. Even the blood and hand prints on his chest didn't hide the fact that he was in very good shape.
She couldn't believe that she had been thinking of him the way she'd been thinking of Sasuke just the day before.
Is this punishment for me not trying to be his friend?
She was scared that she misjudged him. Even if she was just a novice in her clan's mind skills, along with their psychology lessons, she still knew what not having a friend could do to someone without parents. She feared that the bloodlust and desire tohurtthat Naruto had came from being almost completely alone as child, save for his sister.
Did I do this to him? Is he so full of hate because no one reached out to him? Is his joking and pranking just a mask to cover his pain?
Ino shivered at the thought. She'd always blamed Naruto for her and Sakura's friendship ending. She'd blamed him for her father's disappointment in her. A tear went down her face as she saw her home. A home that had nothing but warmness and love waiting for her, something that Naruto and Rin didn't have.
Please be wrong.She prayed.Please be wrong.
Rin started coughing as she finished using the latest Futon jutsu combination with fire, Sasuke right next to her.
I hate you, Kakashi. She growled irritably, hating the 'team building exercises' with Sasuke that they'd been ordered to do for a few days.
They functioned decently enough when the two of them and Hinata faced off against Teams 8, 9, and 10 during their spars, but the two of them were at each other's throats promptly afterwards.
Kakashi seemed to finally have enough and told them to figure it out themselves and to stop acting like a bunch of toddlers throwing a tantrum.
Enter Ninjutsu combinations.
The targets were scorched black and were burnt to just a stump, the mixing of wind and fire doing wonders.
"How," Sasuke wiped his mouth, his lips looking dry compared to the sweat on his face, "Can you possibly be less tired than me?"
"Because I'm better than you." Rin giggled, skipping towards her bag to grab some water.
Sasuke didn't seem to pay attention and was staring at the target the two of them destroyed, seeming to be lost in thought.
Rin grabbed a second bottle and snickered when she thought of one of the words she thought sounded funny when Naruto said it.
"Discombobulate." She chucked the bottle at Sasuke's head.
The bottle struck him and he flinched, whirling around and sending her a death glare.
"Bullseye." She laughed, popping the cap on her bottle and drinking some, slowly pulling off her hitai-ate.
She hated the stupid thing causing sweat to build up on her forehead, but itdidoffer some protection and kept her hair out of her eyes. She knew it would be easier to just cut her hair a bit because Hi no Kuni was almost always hot, but she liked the length being at just a bit longer than her shoulder blades.
Sasuke stooped down and picked up the bottle, eying it distastefully.
"Did you spit in this?" He asked flatly, sitting crossed legged a few feet in front of her
Rin rolled her eyes, giving a halfhearted glare at her raven haired teammate.
"No, Naruto did." She said petulantly, "We weren't raised in the forest, Sasuke."
Sasuke made a show of not believing her, but he eventually opened the bottle and started drinking large amounts of it.
Rin stifled a snicker at how aggravated Sasuke looked at needing rest more than she did, making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
After Sasuke polished off half the water, he wiped his mouth and stared at her with dark eyes.
"How do you and Naruto have so much chakra?" His voice was more of a demanding kind than a question.
"Clan." Rin said flatly, not elaborating about the Kyuubi enhancing their reserves even more so than an Uzumaki should have.
"You're from a clan?" Sasuke deadpanned, not seeming to believe it.
"Are you an Uchiha?" Rin asked in response, narrowing her eyes, "I don't see a Sharingan."
That seemed to be a sore spot for Sasuke because he looked away from her and gave a huff of dismissiveness.
"Any tips on Fire release?" Rin asked, "I'm trying to improve mine."
Anko had helped her put some, but it just didn't seem to help. After all that time working on sharpening her chakra, it felt weird to make it heat up.
Sasuke didn't respond.
Rin sighed and straightened her legs out, crawling towards Sasuke.
"Look, I know you don't like me and I don't like being around you," Rin was about a foot away from Sasuke's face, "But Kakashi-sensei told us to straighten out us arguing and you don't need Naruto breathing down your neck about bothering me, his adorable baby sister."
The Uchiha slowly backed his head away from her, visibly uncomfortable by her proximity. But she did it on purpose for him to talk.
"Please, back away," Sasuke muttered, "I'll talk."
"Yay." Rin smiled, sitting back down, "Now, story time."
Sasuke muttered something under his breath, something about blondes.
"I know you love me." Rin poked his head, causing him to shoot her an irritated look.
"I value my clan's pedigree too much." Sasuke managed to actually smirk as he thought of something, "I won't bring stupid into the clan."
Rin scowled at the insult.
"And I don't like ducks."
"Again, with the hair insults." Sasuke sighed, fighting the urge to touch his hair.
As Rin was about to say something, a kunai came flying towards them, impacting the ground next to them.
It had a paw mark on it.
"Bakakashi." Rin gritted out, flipping off the direction where the kunai came from, "Ever heard of privacy?!"
Rin groaned and ran her fingers through her hair, peering up at a resigned Uchiha.
"Kakashi-sensei is spying on us," Rin grumbled, "With his ninken."
"He," Sasuke looked at the kunai with distaste, then towards her, "Can't be allowed to do that."
"Who's gonna stop him?" Rin asked flatly, "The Hokage? He's probably the one who ordered him to."
Sasuke's face flattened as he thought at a quick pace, his eyes flicking to hers.
"Making us talk at kunai point," He grunted as he said that, "I'm starting to wish he wasn't my Sensei."
Rin went to speak, but she caught the scent of dog. She sniffed a bit more and turned to the right, spotting a small brown dog coming towards them.
"Pakkun!" She squealed, happy that the adorable little furball was here.
"Rin-chan." Pakkun got to her, a disappointed look on his face, "Why'd ya do such a terrible thing? I was just following orders."
Rin stilled for a moment, her eyes widening in horror at having sent such a foul gesture at Pakkun mistakenly.
"I didn't know it was you," She said desperately, "I'm so sorry, Pakkun." She wailed, giving the dog a hug.
Pakkun seemed to preen at the attention, but Rin didn't see it.
She eventually let go and started petting him gently, scratching his ears.
"You and the kid gonna talk it out?" Pakkun looked between the two of them, "You know why Kakashi wants you two to sort yourselves out, right?"
Rin shook her head, glancing at Sasuke.
Pakkun sighed and started talking once more.
"He and his teammate, Uchiha Obito, constantly argued and didn't get along. Their teamwork suffered and Kakashi lost an eye when they got separated from their Sensei during the war."
Rin heard Sasuke's breath hitch for a moment and she noticed him blinking, likely disturbed by the thought of losing something as precious as an eye.
"I won't say anymore. That's up to Kakashi to share. But understand that he's only doing this because he cares about your safety."
Pakkun then jumped out of her arms and took off, disappearing from sight.
Rin looked back at Sasuke and the boy dragged his hand through his sweaty hair and sighed.
"Aside from ramen, what do you like?"
Rin let a small smile appear on her face, her mouth opening as she started sharing.
End Chapter:
I enjoyed writing the shenanigans and counter shenanigans that Kakashi and Naruto were throwing at each other, I've enjoyed writing Kakashi so far, the dude's genuinely one of my favorite characters in Naruto, possiblythefavorite.
Ino got introduced here in-depth.
Rin's perspective added to things that Naruto isn't aware of. Certain characters, (including the MC), sometimes don't haveallthe information available to paint an unbiased picture of a series of events. Certain people worry about Naruto because they don't understand why some of his hatred runs so deeply for certain things. And Naruto doesn't see or know certain things about other people and is running on potentially incomplete or biased knowledge.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling on about my musings. Here's another chapter, and have a wonderful day.
Raging..
Chapter 20: Demons
Chapter Text
Author's Note:I've decided that I will try to writesomeaspects of romance in the story. The plot willnotrevolve around it though, and I don't knowwhenI will put those parts in. The MC likely won't reciprocate anythinguntilthe Shippuden timeskip occurs. Other characters may happen earlier, not sure.
I never thought, when I started this story, that I could pull off writing from multiple people's perspective and make it work. Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Inoichi's pov's have been surprisingly easy compared to some of the younger ones.
The idea for this story was one that could have fit formultiplepeople. The original twinfic idea I had for a NarutoInsert had the MC either be Itachi's twin or Hinata's. The Itachi one would have involved a lot of emotional turmoil from the very beginning, so I opted out of that since I was unsure I could pull it off. The Hinata having a twin brother one would have been the most likely second best one. I could have written how Hiashi saw parallels of he and his own brother and how the MC was an objectivelybetterbrother than he had been. (Hell, I humoured the idea of a NejiInsert at one point). I went with the Uzumaki twin route because it offered a route to writing Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Kakashi into the story in the easiest way possible. It also helps that I wanted a BAMF protag.
This won't be the only Insert story I'll write, and it won't be the only Naruto one either. This one is more of a trial run to see if I could pull off halfway decent writing, and it seems to have worked, so I'll finish the entire thing. Nothing short of dismemberment or an unforseen death will stop me from finishing this story. I'm in for the long haul. I hate stories that are good and end up abandoned.
Anyway, I'll hop off my soapbox.
One other thing: My autocorrect has repeatedly tried to change "Kakashi", to "Jackass". 10/10 quality right there.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any songs, books, or films referenced. This is a work of fanfiction that I make no profit from.
Alright, here's another chapter.
""Contain it," Kakashi instructed sharply, his eyes focused on the screeching chakra in my hand, "You almost have it."
I growled audibly as I imposed my will on the crackling lightning chakra that yearned to be free.
Finally succeeding, after so many years of training lightning release, and months of specific chakra control exercises in my hands, I managed to replicate one of the two most iconic Jutsu in existence.
The Chidori.
Rushing towards a large rock, I smashed my hand into it, drilling the jutsu through it with ease.
The lightning discharged and my fingers went numb, but I did it.
I ignored Kakashi, practically shaking in my shoes gleefully, as I inspected the damage.
It was a clean pierce, the rock having blown apart by the impact.
"Congrats," Kakashi clapped my shoulder, the visible portion of his face practically glowing in pride, "I'm proud of you, Naruto."
The progress I just accomplished made everything worth it. I was so freaking happy and the numb feeling in my fingers was already gone.
"I just need to contain it a bit better," I admitted, but I was still smiling happily, "Some of it numbed my fingers."
"Eh," Kakashi waved it off, "That's easy. The big issue is using it effectively. You don't have one ofthese." He gestured at his covered eye.
"Sensor." I shrugged, tapping at my head, "I won't tunnel vision when I can feel around me."
Kakashi relented, not knowing how good sensing was. Sure, a Sharingan would be preferable when using a Chidori, but sensory abilities meant I could use it without detriment.
"Now," I clapped my hands, looking up at my dad's student, "Rasengan. Now!"
Kakashi sighed like how an exasperated dad would on vacation.
"We can do it later. I have my own life, you know."
I gave a look of unimpressed bemusement. "You read porn, train, eat, and sleep. What life?"
"Mah, you really know how to cheer me up, Naruto." He opened up his Icha Icha, starting to read it as he ignored me.
Really?I thought amusedly, turning to look at the rock.
"You asked for it." I said simply, Henging as 'Naruko'.
I heard Kakashi inhale sharply, before going silent.
"How am I supposed to learn the Rasengan?" I asked myself, pressing my finger on my chin. "If only Kakashi-senpai would help poor little me."
"Stop it." Kakashi's voice broke through my act, sounding deeply uncomfortable. "Please drop the Henge."
"Do you not love me, senpai?" I asked, my lip quivering in mock anguish. "Why don't you love me?"
Kakashi charged lightning chakra into his index and jabbed my shoulder, dropping the Henge.
"You're the most annoying genin I've ever met," Kakashi stared at me, "And I've met quite a bit."
"And you're the most annoying Jonin," I countered happily, smiling at him, "We're the perfect pair of master and apprentice."
Kakashi didn't say anything, simply looking at me. I stared right back as we kept up the contest.
Eventually, Kakashi shook his head sighed, walking towards the shattered rock.
"You should work on improving your lightning release for now," He said, gesturing at the rock, "I could have turned the center into powder instead of exploding it. I'm surprised you managed this before the Rasengan."
"I need someone to oversee me training these jutsu," I muttered, relenting towards what he was saying, "And you're better at guiding me on making a Chidori."
I wasn't going to risk shredding my arm trying to work them out unless I was around Kakashi or Rin. I told Rin the same thing, she wasnotto work on it without me or Kakashi present.
"Just," Kakashi paused, his gaze aimed at my hand, "Practice channeling lightning into the individual digits and pullbacksome. That's how you shape it to just outward some without destabilizing."
"Will do." I nodded, ready to start again.
"You got over the most dangerous part. You can do it alone."
With that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving me alone.
I decided I was going to keep on going. Channeling lightning through my arm, I focused it in my hand, smiling as the chittering blue arcs stayed somewhat controlled.
"He's got the whole in his hands." I started singing, forcing some more chakra into the jutsu.
The chirping sound grew louder and I did what Kakashi advised, forcing the lightning along the tenketsu connected to my fingers and pulled back right as it reached my finger tips.
The numbness that hit me before was reduced now, causing me to grin.
Come on, again!
I made a half seal with my left hand to Shunshin while holding the Chidori in my right, smashing it into a tree.
My target exploded under my hand, spraying wood everywhere.
I deactivated the jutsu and pulled my arm back, brushing off the debris.
"Okay,"I muttered, hopping on the balls of my feet,"Let's keep doing this until I'm out of chakra."
"You can't just rely on constantly hitting me with Genjutsu, Sakura," I gritted my teeth, flaring my chakra to shatter the illusion, "It's gonna take more."
I was sparring against Kurenai's team and I was taking them on with ease, my eyes flicking towards the three.
Last week was when I finally got the Chidori to work, and I was already working on the Rasengan, but it kept fighting me in working.
The fact thatRinwas keeping pace with progress was just as much annoying as it was pleasing. It just seemed to click with her.
Sakura clenched her fists and looked at Kiba, the boy popping a pill in his mouth and Akamaru's, the dog hopping off his head and the two transformed into copies of one another.
Shino stalked around me, his insects buzzing audibly from my enhanced hearing.
With a blur of movement, Kiba and Akamaru shot forward, spinning like two drills at a decent speed.
I weaved my hands into the proper seals and gathered chakra in my stomach, building up the pressure.
Suiton: Suidan no jutsu.
The jet of water I sent at the two forced them to go in separate directionsaroundthe water, giving me an opening to run forward.
I dropped a couple explosive tags and Shunshined at Sakura, seeing her as the weakest link for taijutsu.
Right as I got to the pinkette, I pulsed chakra in my legs and flipped over her, flinging a kunai with a tag at her.
The girl dashed to the side right before I triggered it, avoiding the explosion.
My feet barely touched the ground and I was already rushing towards her again, the girl's eyes wide in worry.
I didn't give her the chance to use a Genjutsu and flung several shuriken from a storage seal etched in the metal of my bracer, letting me close the distance as she twisted to avoid them and swung her kunai to protect herself.
Shino was running towards the two of us and I threw a punch at Sakura, the girl barely avoiding it.
Shino's presence and Kiba's closed in and I slammed my hand into the ground, pulsing lightning chakra through it. The arcs of blue electricity sparked around me, forcing the two to stop closing the distance.
They jumped up and I made a cross seal, making multiple clones.
The clones immediately ran towards them and started pelting the two boys with water jutsu while I charged at Sakura once more, the girl casting a Genjutsu.
She was better at it than she was a couple weeks ago, but it still had a slight fuzziness to it in the images.
A simple half seal and my chakra shattered it, my other hand smashing into her forearms. Several punches and kicks struck out at her and she wasn't up to the task. A spinning kick was partially blocked by me as I diverted her body weight and lashed out with a punch from my other arm. My fist struck her face and she cried out, staggering forward.
I grabbed at her shoulder and pressed my chakra against hers, overwhelming it with a contemptuous ease and stuck my grip to her, yanking her towards me to be flush against my chest.
"Kiba! Shino!" I barked out, a kunai in my hand and aimed at Sakura's head, "Spar's over. I have a hostage."
The two boys were soaked and bruised, my clones doing their job before getting killed.
Sakura didn't give up and tried to knee me in the groin, but I shifted and drove my knee into her thigh, giving her a charlie horse.
Sakura gasped and fell, but I caught her.
"Good," I muttered in her ear, "Never give up and keep fighting. You'd have been free and won if I wasn't ready."
Shino conceded and I let Sakura go, holding her steady from her leg visibly shaking.
"Do you need help walking?" I asked kindly, keeping ahold of her arm.
"No," Sakura groaned, making a couple hand seals and making her hands glow, "I got it."
The girl pressed her hands against her leg and let out a sigh of relief, her leg straightening as she fixed the newly forming bruise with some Iryo-ninjutsu she'd been learning over the last several weeks.
I let go of her and Kurenai approached us with the other two.
"Well done to all of you." She smiled, tilting her head at me, "How is Sakura's Genjutsu?"
I was pretty much the test dummy for Sakura's Genjutsu because I needed to perfect my ability to break out of them because a jinchuriki sometimes struggled with it. That and I had the chakra to burn to break them constantly.
"Not bad," I shrugged, "Give her some more time and she'll be scary. She's much better than before." I turned the girl, her face flushed pink as her hair, "You're pretty good for a newbie. Genjutsu is hard."
The pinkette looked pleased with herself, walking towards her teammates.
"I think I'll grab some food right now," I told Kurenai, "It's my off day after all."
This was one of the days where it wasn't group training and Kurenai asked me to help her team run through a few drills, the last part being a free run spar.
"Thanks for the help, Naruto." Kurenai said gratefully, "Enjoy your food."
I smiled and made a hand seal, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
After I finished eating, I walked towards where the Yamanaka made their little home amongst Konoha, the area relaxing and safe feeling.
I caught a flash of chakra that dampened and I could tell it was a signal that a visitor was arriving, because two people appeared at the front of the entrance.
"Uzumaki Naruto." The one young woman with brown hair said, looking to be about 5 or 6 years older than me. The other was in his twenties and had dark blond hair, fairly tall as well.
"Hello," I nodded to the two of them, "I'm wondering where Ino is. It's about us training."
"You are aware she is the clan heiress, right?" The younger one asked. "We will need a guarantee that you are in fact Uzumaki Naruto."
Without a single care in the world, I pulled off my jacket and popped the straps on my armour, letting it fall to the ground.
"What are you doing?" The older of the two asked with a bit of alarm, his chakra sharpening.
"Taking off my shirt so I can show you my seal." I said flatly, "Not a whole lot of redhead jinchuriki are there?" I pulled my red t-shirt off and I pulsed chakra towards my stomach, revealing the seal that held half of Kurama.
The two gave it a once over and shrugged, looking relaxed.
"I can let foxy-kun say hi if you need more proof." I offered, letting some static dance across my fingers as I caressed the seal.
The younger one freaked out and let out areallyhigh pitched "No!" and reached for me, but the older one grabbed her hand.
"Very funny," He deadpanned, "Don't terrify the rookie. Inoichi-san mentioned your penchant for acting insane."
"No fun." I mock pouted, putting my shirt and chestplate back on, "And it's not like I can even break this thing if I wanted to. The Yondaime knew what he was doing."
The older guard nodded slightly, letting go of the teenage girl.
"Ino-sama," The man twitched at saying the name, "Is currently out and about. We can tell her you want to speak when she gets back."
I scowled lightly at her not being here, but I nodded and thanked the two, turning to leave.
Currently, I only needed to do one more thing. One was to give Kurenai a bit of help, which I finished. The second was to apologize to Ino and try to mend the bridge a bit since I'd tried to with Sakura. The last was to go to the clothes store to get some new clothes that fit me after I grew some more. My pants were riding up my ankles and I didn't like it.
I walked through the village, spotting Rin and Sasuke's signatures a distance away, the twofeelingfatigued.
It rankled me that Kakashi had the two of them doing their own thing at times away fromme. Call me a hovering brother, but I didn't like Sasuke being around my little sister for hours at a time for the last couple weeks. They clashed constantly and Kakashi's solution was to make them, on off days specifically, go through the motion of grocery shopping and doing mundane crap that roommates orcouplesdid.
Rin thankfully hated every bit of it and she made sure I knew it when she was home. But Kakashi seemed to know what he was doing because their teamwork was much better and they wouldn't bite each others' heads off at the slightest provocation.
I opted out of intruding because of Kakashi telling me to butt out ofhisgenin team and I walked the rest of the way to the clothes store.
Ino hummed to herself as she perused the racks of wonderful clothes, each one being complementary in their own way to different heights, hair colours, and posture.
The blonde was admittedly a little obsessed with fashion, but it was fascinating in the same way flowers were. Each one had a different meaning and would elicit a different responses from the mind based on colour and other things.
Take purple for example. She loved the colour and it went well with her hair and eyes, the colours different enough where people's eyes would be drawn to her own turquoise.
Purple was a difficult colour to make into fabric before artificial colouring and the most common occurrence of purple was in flowers, and a certain poisonous kind that she always liked.
It was a rare kind of flower that needed the soil to have a slightly larger saturation of chakra in it, and she thought the flower was pretty. The poisonous beauty of it always had her intrigued from the perspective of human personality.
Humans were hardwired to fear and avoid danger, but pursue beauty. But that doesn't seem to apply with such a pretty flower, being liked despite its poisonous nature.
The young girl kept humming and found an absolutelygorgeouslittle jacket that would go well with her shirt.
Her hopes died when she found the price tag.
"Why?" She whined to herself, sniffing slightly from the unfairness. Her dad had cut off her allowance until she reached a certain level of competence in her clan jutsu, but at least he was nice enough to tell her how close she was.
But I don't think this will be here in a couple weeks.She thought sadly, putting it up with a heavy heart.
Deciding to try a little more practice with her sensing, she sat down in one of the seats and closed her eyes, focusing on her chakra reaching out to feel her surroundings.
She didn't expect the brightness.
"Gak." She groaned, stifling a curse at the feeling of extreme irritation leaking through the insufferably bright signature that was Uzumaki Naruto.
Of course he's here.She thought to herself. He always seemed to be there when she didn't want him. She'd tried to talk with him and say something, to try and reach out to see whether he was as adjusted as she hoped, or as fragile as she feared. But she couldn't seem to during the training sessions they'd been doing for awhile. His chakra always blazed during any type of conflict and it scared her how sharp and on a knife's edge he felt sometimes.
Clenching her hand and setting her back straight, she stood up and walked towards where he was, hearing his voice.
"I have the Ryo, you biased shit," She heard him growl, "Just accept the money and let me buy some clothes." The anger in his voice was unsettling.
"I don't serve your kind," The older man that owned the store replied coldly, who'd always been so sweet to her when she'd go shopping with her mom, "Do you even need clothes?"
Ino watched behind a clothes rack in worry as Naruto leaned forward and grabbed at the man's shirt, jerking him forward and staring directly at him.
"I can't beat some sense in you because I'm a Shinobi right now and you're a civi," He spat the last word out, "So do me the favour of telling meexactlywhat you mean bymy kind,so I can legally kill you like I did the teacher at the academy."
That's what happened to Mizuki?Ino thought fearfully, no one knowing what happened to him. It was said by Iruka that he was caught doing something illegal and was sent to prison, but not thatNarutokilled him.
The man started shaking and his eyes flicked towards her as she was spotted, the man practically pleading that she save him with a look.
Naruto tracked his eyes and slowly turned around, his blue eyes seemed flicker for a moment and he looked at her with shock.
She knew he was a sensor, but was hethatangry that he overlooked her signature?
"Ino." He said her name quietly, letting go of the man. The redhead looked panicked at her seeing and hearing him and he promptly left, his stride quickening.
"Wait." Ino held up her hand, running towards him.
Naruto got out the door by the time she got to him and placed her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
"Stop." Naruto's voice shook and he tried to get away from her, but Ino could tell he was distressed and she just wanted to help.
"It's okay, Naruto, I'm not going to bite."
The red haired boy started muttering under his breath in words she didn't understand and he stared at her with a gaze that made her feel vulnerable.
"How much did you hear?" He asked simply, not looking away from her.
"Um," She was uncomfortable with how much he was focusing on her, "Every thing?" She said uncertainly, fidgeting under his gaze.
He'd just admitted to killing someone and had wanted an excuse to kill another person because he was slighted.
Did I do this?A traitorous thought struck her again.
Naruto seemed to make a decision about something and sighed audibly.
"I can feel how scared you are. You wanna talk about it?" He asked, his expression back to an uncomfortable one.
And now he was back to being the intelligent boy, instead of the dangerous predator that would go for the throat.
"I," She started, closing her mouth for a moment, "Why did you threaten to kill him?"
"I wasn'tactuallygoing to," Naruto scowled, looking insulted, "He's about as dangerous to me as a one legged roach. I was pissed at him and I'm not in the mood for hisbullshit."
She didn't understand the last word, but it sounded harsh how he said it.
Naruto took a deep breath and reined in his irritation, breathing as steadily as he could.
"Let's talk somewhere a little less out here," He gestured around the street, "I don't like feeling exposed."
Ino had her sensing active and she hid the flinch from Naruto's emotions leaking into his chakra.
He was scared. His body language looked like a cornered animal and it was directed at her, specifically her.
"Ichiraku's alright?" Naruto asked, turning to face towards the east.
Ino considered for a moment, but didn't see a problem.
"That sounds fine." She replied, the older Uzumaki beginning to walk away.
Ino huffed and followed him, the boy seeming to intentionally keep his stride long enough to inconvenience her.
They got to Ichiraku's and Naruto plopped down at the booth, setting his elbows on the table.
Ino sat down next to him and spotted a petite girl a few years older than them walk towards them from the back, an apron on.
"Naruto-kun," She smiled at the red haired one of the two, "I didn't think you'd be back so soon. Forgot to get Rin something?"
"No, Ayame-chan," Naruto said tiredly, "She's probably eating something with Sasuke."
The now named Ayame rolled her eyes and looked towards her.
"Are you a friend of Naruto's?" She asked politely.
Ino grimaced, not knowing what to say.
"Yep," Naruto nodded, saving her from an embarrassing lie, "Ino-chan is a friend. I helped teach her some stuff about sensing chakra and she's nice."
Ayame hummed happily and pulled out a notepad for taking orders.
"What would you like? Friends of Naruto and Rin get a free bowl."
Ino was floored by the difference in treatment Naruto was getting here from a girl she'd never met, compared to the supposedly nice man at the clothes store.
"The miso ramen is pretty good." Naruto mused.
The blonde Yamanaka chose to heed Naruto's judgement and ordered a bowl of miso ramen, the brown haired waitress going back to the kitchen.
Now that is was just the two of them, Ino gave Naruto a speculative look.
"So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room." Ino said simply. "I hope you weren't being serious about murdering our teacher in the Academy."
Naruto sighed and nodded.
"I'll be blunt as possible. Mizuki tried to trick me into stealing a scroll that was filled with Kinjutsu made by the Nidaime. I went to the Hokage about it and we set up a plan to trap Mizuki, with me pretending to believe him and give him a scroll after stealing it."
Ino's eyes widened in shock. Naruto was trusted with something as important as that?
"You remember that freakout in the village after we graduated?" He asked, "that's what it was about."
"And?" Ino was paying rapt attention, trying to gauge Naruto's thoughts about it.
"So I end up giving a decoy scroll and Mizuki attacked me." His demeanor darkened noticibly, "And I accidentally killed him."
That was when Ayame came with her bowl of ramen, which she thanked the waitress for and began eating some.
She tried to show some table manners and not wolf it down. Training constantly had increased her appetite and her mother had been secretly pleased that she was eating more. Ino could look back and see how silly it was to try a stupid diet when she was going to be a kunoichi.
"There's something else, Ino," Naruto muttered, shifting in his seat, "I wanted to say I'm sorry about some of the things I said before. I know it was rude of me."
Ino slurped up some of the noodles and glared at the boy.
"Why do it though?" She let her displeasure known in her voice, "Don't think a simple apology will make it alright."
"Was I wrong in what I said?" Naruto countered, his brow furrowing and his obscenely bright chakra shifted around in irritation, "I was truthful about you being a little fangirl that looked halfway anaemic anduglybecause you didn't eat. Me being a jerk caused you to be little more serious, didn't it?"
Ino flushed in anger at him describing her as ugly, but she couldn't refute it.
"You're a blonde kunoichi," Naruto clicked his tongue and grabbed one of the vegetables floating in her bowl, popping it in his mouth, "And that makes things problematic."
Ino felt a growl build in the back of her throat, but she exhaled through her nose and tried to see things objectively.
"How is mybeautiful blonde hair," She flicked her head for emphasis to mock him, "A problem?"
Naruto scoffed at the display, but his blue eyes still maintained a hardness beneath the surface.
"Iwa has a pretty decent hatred for the Yondaime for obvious reasons," Naruto explained, his eyes going to her hair, "Have you ever read the public, or at least for Shinobi, records about Kakashi-sensei's missions?"
"No," Ino said flatly, "I don't need to."
"You should read it," Naruto nonchalantly stated, "It's pretty interesting that there's a significant difference in mission ratios relative to Suna and Iwa."
Ino didn't follow.
"Hatake Sakumo is one of the most legendary Shinobi Konoha had," Naruto let out a dark chuckle, "And Suna hates him because he killed many Suna nin. Kakashi-sensei looksalotlike his father."
Ino remembered hearing about the White Fang, but she didn't realize Kakashi was his son.
"Since you know all the freaky mind stuff from being a Yamanaka," Naruto kept talking, "Have a guess how certain veteran Shinobi react when they see someone with silver hair and has a Konoha headband."
Ino knew what he was talking about. Certain features that resembled the catalyst of a traumatic event could cause flashbacks, violent ones at that.
"The same goes for Iwa and blonds after the Yondaime was killed," Naruto's teeth gritted and his chakra made her shiver involuntarily, "Ask your father about the mortality rates of blond Yamanaka genin five years after Namikaze Minato was killed when deployed on missions near the Land of Earth. Then you'll realize why I hated every moment you focused on Sasuke." Naruto got up from his seat and looked ready to leave.
"I'm sorry for being cruel. I just ask for understanding." The enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto walked away, jumping towards the rooftop of a building moments later.
Yamanaka Ino wouldn't think clearly that day, her thoughts on the boy she once thought cruel, but now started to appear to be fanaticallyscaredof the outside world.
Inoichi pov:
Today was the second meeting of the Village's clan heads concerning the group training of their children and their teammates. The first training session occurred months ago and they'd agreed to meet every two weeks to get updates from the Jonin instructors on their progress to keep ahead of the things their children were learning.
This was where Inoichi was at, situated around a table with Shikaku and Choza beside him, the other clan heads, aside from Hiashi, were already there.
Inoichi was pleased with his daughter's progress. Following the first training session, she had dedicated herself to learning the Yamanaka clan jutsus, something that surprised him in how adept she was when she put her mind to it.
Her sensing level was also being helped along by him helping her personally. He was a very accomplished sensor and he knew the risk to young Yamanaka sensors, enabling him to forewarn Ino about it.
Because of their abilities in projecting their consciousness, their could sometimes be a Yamanaka that wasn't simply a sensor, but an empathic one. Inoichi was capable of feeling people's emotional states to some degree, and he believed Ino was capable of it as well. Inoichi, and the older Yamanaka nin, were all taught how to insulate their minds from the feelings of elation or trauma, depending upon the memory of their target.
The Yamanakahadto keep separate the emotions of their targets and themselves. Inoichi had done field interrogations on enemy nin, and missing nin. Some of their memories weredisgusting. Even with the insulation, he could still feel a shadow of what they felt when they did things. Shikaku and Choza didn't fault him when he'd personally execute missing nin with bounties on their heads. He felt it was Karmic justice that the creatures that took pleasure in human trafficking, child murder, and rape were sent to the Shinigami by the one that laid out their crimes bare for the world to see.
Inoichi had killed multiple missing Nin from Iwa that had murdered his own clansmen, mistaking them for a 'Fucking Namikaze demon' because of their blond hair. You could only see the faces of your kin in another's memories, their screams for mercy, begging to be spared."I'm not a Namikaze, I'm not related to the Yellow Flash."for so long until it took its toll.
Iwa ninhatedthat name.
The malicious glee when they nailed the men and boys to trees, the pleasure they felt as the women and girls were brutalized and begged them to stop. The Yamanaka didn't look as similar to one another as the Hyuga did, but far too many of the young girls in the memories he tore through had blonde hair and turquoise eyes.
Hiseyes.Hishair. His daughter's.
Just as Inoichi and Choza were there for Shikaku following his face being shredded in the war by an ambush, and when his guilt was consuming him from coming up with the plan thatUchihaItachiturned against them to avoid Hyuga lookouts that could have intervened in the middle of the massacre, Inoichi had his wife. The night terrors he'd have of their little girl not coming back were vivid, the memories he viewed making their presence known. Those memories he pulled from the Iwa nin were the reason he was harsh to Ino when he discovered she had been'dieting'to look pretty for "Sasuke-kun".
Up until recently, he was guarded about Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke had shown a disturbing lack of empathy when he'd been attempting to counsel him after the massacre, but it could have just been the boy externalized his emotions.
That wasn't something that he wanted Ino to associate with.Period.He had seemed to improve and was thinking in a less cold and withdrawn form once Naruto started pranking and harassing him with his sister's help. He would have pressed further to check Sasuke's psychological state, but Kakashi had given a report to the Hokage, the contents shared withhimdue to him being the one most familiar with Sasuke's state of mind.
Evidently, Sasuke had a near panic attack when Naruto had beaten him severely, then compared him toItachi.Hyperventilating, rocking back and forth, and repeatedly whispering "I'm not him. I'm not him."wasn't something a budding sociopath would do, nor was giving up both bells in Team 7's test, preventing him, in his own mind, from passing.
Inoichi was aware of why Naruto was doing what was considered particularly harsh on the other genin on occasion. He, more than any other clan head, understood Naruto's thinking. Naruto was concerned for his classmates. Things that veterans knew were things Naruto desired to learn. Kakashi and Hiruzen had asked if there should be any concern on Naruto wanting to read, not history books, withgrand heroic accounts of how 'brave and powerful the Shodai and Nidaime were,but journals and manuals with accounts of what fighting in the "Trenches" was like.
Nothing was held sacred when the stakes included getting killed, tortured, or abducted and raped,both men and women,if they had a kekkai genkai, out in the field. Anything that would increase your chances of getting home was considered a preferred option in war. Even if it meant booby trapping corpses with explosives, mutilating bodies,Hengingexploding clones to look like starving orphans, or scorching entire regions, leaving them bereft of all life.
The Yamanaka in the Warring states era were just like that, considered to be some of the most sadistic Shinobi known. Those who know how to fix a mind are also the ones that know how to break it. The boogymen that other Villages had seen them as, right when the Shinobi Village system came into existence, was something that even frightenedhim.
His grandfather had told him of the things their clan had done to protect themselves and their sworn comrades, the Akamichi and Nara during the "Dark times. Before the Village". It takes a truly diabolical mind, or averypragmatic one, to think of capturing someone, put a trigger switch in their psyche, and release them back with a false memory of them escaping. A certain word or phrase would be said, and the freed prisoner would murder his own family. The Yamanaka had been contracted out to kill entire families of Daimyos and other Shinobi clans because of their ability in the mind arts.
Naruto, a recently turned thirteen year old, was able to understand there's no honour to be found in war. Honour meant nothing when honour got you or your friends killed. The Jonin manuals that Naruto was permitted to read were different than the Chunin ones thatallgenin clan children were allowed to read.
The Jonin ones had tactics in them. Tactics such as the power a kunoichi wields in being able to seduce male ninja in combat. Tactics on how to mentally manipulate opponents with triggers and reminders of past trauma. Much of the mental games were writtenby Yamanaka Shinobi.
Narutousedtactics like thatonhis daughter and the other girls. Insulting them. Belittling their image as girls byHengingas an impossibly beautiful girl to tease Sasuke, the object of their affections. He expected Naruto to likely switch targets and begin doing that with the boys in the training group to prepare them for kunoichi that would try seduction to throw them off and kill them.
Maybe I'm overestimating him, but I feel that I'm not.
Inoichi's head turned sharply towards the door when he felt the presence of the Jonin and Hiashi.
Why is Hiashi late?
Hiashi entered first, his steps very precise and slow, more so than usual. Inoichi noticed his eyes were bloodshot, looking more red than their usual lavender tinted colour.
"My apologies for being late." Hiashi said, slightly bowing his head, "an infection had spread among my clansmen and I received my final treatment today."
Ah,yes.Inoichi thought. The Hyuga, due to their eyes, had a susceptibility to a certain bacterial infection that infected the eyes. It was completely harmless to almost everyone in Konoha, but for the Hyuga, it irritated their eyes and made it difficult for them to see.
No wonder he's squinting and his eyes are red.
Sarutobi nodded and gestured for Hiashi to take a seat, which he did.
"Now that everyone is here," Sarutobi started, "We can begin."
The first 15 or 20 minutes was a general overview on what the Jonin had planned for over the next two weeks. Better chakra control, rudimentaryIryo-ninjutsu, tracking and hunting different genin teams in the forest, and how to fully break out of Genjutsu.
After the initial overview, they moved onto a recap on what happened the previous training sessions.
Kakashi evidently was the one the Jonin selected to speak as he stepped forward.
Sarutobi gestured for him to speak, which he did.
"We've been able to bring their physical fitness up to an acceptable level across the board." He started, "Taijutsu training has helped a great deal. So far, the best ones are Lee, Naruto, Rin, Sasuke, Hinata, and Neji." Kakashi then looked at Choza, "Choji has made great strides in the power in his strikes, but his speed still needs improvement."
Choza nodded at that. The Akamichi aren't speed demons and they never will be. They weren't precise fighters like the Hyuga, they're juggernauts that smashed and crushed things in their path. They had the Yamanaka and Nara to support them from long range against speedsters.
"Of the girls, Hinata is the best at pure taijutsu." Kakashi continued.
No surprise there.Inoichi thought, glancing towards a smug looking Hiashi.
"Rin is the next best, followed by Tenten. Ino and Sakura have made excellent progress but are still trailing somewhat."
Inoichi nodded grimly at that, knowing that it will take time for her to catch up.
"What about the boys?" Shikaku asked.
Kakashi turned to look at Shikaku. "Your son is surprising. He is without a doubt the laziest kid I've trained but, he's motivated on being quick enough and strong enough to be able to be lazy any other time."
Shikaku nodded at that. Inoichi had talked with Shikaku and Choza about their children and how they would do together. Shikaku wanted Shikamaru to be more proactive thanhehad been starting out, but didn't want to be overbearing like Yoshino was capable of being. If Shikamaru could be motivated to push himself in training, even if that motivation was to be a layabout any other time, it boded well for him.
Kakashi continued on with the other boys. Sasuke was making marked improvement in his form and thinking a step or two further ahead than before, Kiba was learning to not look before he leaped when fighting againstNaruto, Shino was improving enough where his weakness in taijutsu wouldn't be a crippling one in a fight. When Kakashi got to Neji, he paused.
"What about Neji?" Hiashi asked.
Kakashi glanced at Gai before answering.
"Your nephew still hates Naruto." he said simply.
Hiashi steepled his fingers and leaned his head forward.
"What did he do?" Hiashi asked politely, his eyes narrowed.
"He opened his mouth and spoke." Was Kakashi's answer.
The previous two meetings always ended with what seemed to be a dissertation on the things Naruto said to rile up and aggravate the genin. Again, likely as a way for them to shrug off insults, but it might've also been for another reason.
Food for thought.
"Care to clarify?" Hiashi asked.
Inoichi heard Gai mutter something about 'Unyouthful comments.' Kakashi looked amused under his mask, Kurenai huffed slightly, and Asuma's frame was shaking slightly, like he was trying to hold in a laugh.
"He asked if the Hyuga had a secret jutsu that they were willing to share." Kakashi started, trying to keep his voice steady.
What?Inoichi thought. Asking for 'secret' jutsu from a clan was bad. Very bad. Why would Naruto ask that?
Wait. This is Naruto we're talking about. The punchline's coming up.
"And?" Hiashi asked irritably, wanting Kakashi to give detail, "What jutsu did he ask for?"
Kakashi's visible eye was shining with mirth. "The kind that would, and I quote, 'Have any girl writhing under me with just a touch of my fingers'." Kakashi finished, snickering at the end.
Hiashi stiffened and glared at Kakashi and everyone who looked ready to laugh.
"He described theJuken," He said slowly, his tone cold, "the pride of my clan, the best taijutsu form in the Elemental Nations, inthatmanner? An innuendo?" he growled.
"Yeah," Asuma said, having the decency to not smile, "But it got worse."
Oh Kami, this'll be good.
Hiashi took a shuddering breath. "Howcan itpossiblybe worse?" He asked with a hint of exasperation.
Kakashi and Asuma remained quiet, glancing at Kurenai.
"What else?!" Hiashi demanded.
Kurenai muttered 'perverts' while glaring at Kakashi and Asuma, before she stepped forward.
"He asked how the Hyuga could possibly be so uptight if they could please their women like that." she started, shooting another glare at Kakashi and Asuma, who were trying to keep their laughing to a minimum, "He said, and I'm quoting him directly, 'pussy does wonders in working a stick out of your ass.' "
Inoichi couldn't keep it in and let out a snicker, Hiashi sending death glares to the entire room which were cracking up to varying degrees, with Shibi the only remaining quiet.
Hiashi just set his forehead on the table, growling under his breath.
He heard Gai grumble something again, obviously not liking his student being seen as a laughing stock.
The Hokage cleared his throat and any humour vanished to be replaced by their normal professionalism.
"This is not the time for juvenile humour," he said steadily, "Let's move on from thateducationalsubject." The old man did let a slight smirk appear on his weathered face, "Let's move on to the training regimens for the next month."
After the statement, they began discussing it in detail.
After another half hour of ironing out the details, they were dismissed. Before he could leave, he heard his name called by Sarutobi.
"Inoichi," he called, "please stay here. You too, Kakashi. I wish to speak with you as well."
Inoichi stayed in the room and let the other clan heads clear out. After the room was clear, gye approached the Hokage.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" he asked.
Hiruzen pulled his pipe out and after stuffing it with tobacco, he ignited it with some fire chakra from his index finger. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled it out.
"I need your help with a psychological profile on someone." He said simply.
Inoichi raised a brow.
"Who?" He asked.
Hiruzen frowned. "I don't know their name or identity," he started, "But I have put down certain details I've gathered."
Hiruzen pulled out a list in his own handwriting, the page full of little jots and comments.
"We've received beneficial intelligence from this individual," he said quietly, "I need to know if he could be a possible threat to the village."
"He?" Inoichi asked, wondering how the Hokage would know from just a letter.
Hiruzen just looked at him. "A previous situation ensured I know." he said simply.
Inoichi just nodded. "May I have a list to work with?" he asked.
Hiruzen handed him the notes. Taking the paper, he looked at what was written.
Has respect for Hatake Sakumo.
Extremely competent in Fuinjutsu.
Is a possible sensor.
Knows of both Jinchuriki.
Knows how Kakashi got his Sharingan.
Knows of clan secrets in Konoha.
Possibly invented an entire language.
The last part of the letter looked like it was word for word transcribed from memory by the Hokage. The words "Burn this letter, now. We're evidently being watched." Was on the note. He promptly burnt the letter with some chakra, crushing the ashes.
"Well?" Hiruzen asked, "Any idea at first glance?"
"He apologized to Hatake," He said, giving a glance towards a quiet Kakashi, "He respects your father, Kakashi, and he knows you well enough to determine that you are like him." Inoichi paused for a moment. "What did he need to apologise for?" he asked.
Kakashi stiffened. "He asked 'Uchiha Obito's left eye' what the fastest way to a girl's heart was." he whispered.
Inoichi was silent.
Who the hell is this man?
Kakashi had gotten a mandatory mind session following a friendly casualty back when Nohara Rin was killed. Inoichi saw how much it tore up Kakashi to remember it and for a mysterious man to knowwhatto say andhowto say it was unsettling.
Inoichi ran the words through his mind again.
"He'sthe one that informed you about Orochimaru." he realized, "The Tanuki, the serpent in the sand, red clouds." he muttered the last part.
"Yes." Hiruzen confirmed.
"You based our children's training on the word of an anonymous source?" he asked angrily, baffled by the seeming lack of caution on the Hokage's part, "How do you know this wasn't Orochimaru himself?" he continued, "Nothing here confirms that this isn't some grand lie cooked up by him to make us act in way that will help him."
"I received that letter in a manner that confirms that it isn't Orochimaru." Hiruzen replied, "There were things in the letter that I left out. Things that Orochimaru never knew. I can count on one hand how many alive knew some of the things he said."
Inoichi took a breath to calm himself, cursing himself for thinking hastily.
"My apologies, sir," he said, "I forgot myself."
Hiruzen just waved him off. "It's not important." he said simply, "What's important is that I need to know if you can determine anything of his background, whether he is out to help Konoha, or is using us to further his own goals."
Inoichi nodded. "Yes sir," He said, "I'll need time to run through what was written. I'll have a report by the end of the month."
"Thank you." the Hokage nodded, "you're dismissed. Head on home."
Inoichi turned to leave, giving Kakashi a nod before exiting the room, his thoughts swirling with concern.
Hiruzen pov:
"What else is there, sir?" Kakashi asked, likely wondering why he was still in the room.
"I received another letter." Hiruzen said quietly, "And the contents frighten me more than the first."
Hiruzen didn't want to mention that his grandson had given him the letter, telling him that a kind old man gave it to him.
Kakashi's posture shifted to one of suprise, not expectingthat.
"What was in it?" Kakashi asked.
Hiruzen pulled the letter out from a storage scroll, rereading it before he handed it to Kakashi.
Sarutobi and Hatake:
The plan to train the genin at a faster rate is a sound one. Far greater trials and tribulations await Konoha after the serpent. The Red Cloud consists of some of the most dangerous Shinobi in the world. If you value the lives of your Shinobi, avoid the religious fanatic with a scythe. One scratch is all it takes to kill you. One drop of blood is all that is needed. He heals better than your two Uzumaki. Decapitation will not stop him. You will receive more information in future letters. It is too much of a risk to enclose everything at once.
Hatake, your eye stinks of pain and despair, far more than a three tomoed Sharingan ought to. Ask Sarutobi why that may be.
Tell Uzumaki that he is making good progress, but he must move faster. He can't afford to be weak when the time comes.
The little Uchiha is a target for the serpent. He couldn't pounce upon the elder, so he seeks to collect the younger.
Ask your spy master if he would do himself the favour of making sure his greatest ability didn't give him teeth from Kiri, a goatee more impressive than your's, and a schnoz surpassing the Tsuchikage's.
Also, his latest book was shit.
Enclosed in this envelope is another letter. You are to send it to Kumo in the most secure manner you have. If you don't have a secure enough means, destroy the letter. If I find out that you have opened it, you receive no more information. And it is not something you will like, for I know who killed your wifeandI know the true heritage of Uzumaki and his sister.
P.S. The serpent plans to give you a gift. He seeks to reunite you with wood and water. The present will be enclosed in Jutsu number 3 on the left hand side, above what you gifted to a fatherless boy.
Signed, Hurin.
Hiruzen handed Kakashi the letter, seeing the change in Kakashi's demeanor as he read the letter.
"He knows about us training them," he whispered to himself, "Not surprising."
Kakashi got quiet again, reading through more.
"What does he mean about my eye?" he asked.
Hiruzen shook his head. "We'll get to that at the end."
Kakashi frowned, but continued to read the letter.
"Orochimaru wants Sasuke." Kakashi said, his hands clenching slightly.
"I believe he may covet the Sharingan." Hiruzen said, "He always was intrigued by the Uchiha and Hyuga clan's dojutsu."
"Schnoz surpassing the Tsuchikage's?" Kakashi snorted. "And has Jiraiya-sama been informed of the situation in-depth?'
"He likely has met Onoki before," Hiruzen replied, " Or doesn't like him much. What's concerning is that he described how Jiraiya looks when he is usingSenjutsu. And yes, I've had Jiraiya investigate who this may be. Nothing as of yet."
Kakashi raised a brow at that, surprised that the letter would have that much detail.
"He doesn't like this year's Icha Icha." Kakashi added.
Hiruzen just chuckled slightly at the reminder of that.
"What about the letter to Kumo?" Kakashi asked.
"It is addressed to two names I don't recognize. It will be sent with the invitation for Kumo to be part of the Chunin exams."
Kakashi looked again at the letter, looking like he was at the end part. "What does he mean by the P.S.?"
Hiruzen stiffened. Out of all the things in there, that part frightened him the most.
"The jutsu he speaks of is the Edo Tensei," he started, his voice weak, "I think Orochimaru plans to bring back my predecessors to kill me."
Kakashi froze at what Hiruzen had told him. "How could he have possibly known-"
"At one point, he saw the scroll," Hiruzen interrupted, " I don't know when, but he also knows about Naruto and Rin's fatherandwhat jutsu Naruto picked to learn."
"Out of curiosity, which one was it?" Kakashi asked.
"The Hiraishin." Hiruzen whispered.
Kakashi was silent, not knowing what to say.
"Why did he choose that?" Kakashi asked, not making eye contact.
"He said he wanted to honour my Sensei and the man who saved him and Rin."
Kakashi was completely still for a minute, before his head sharply jerked back to the letter, reading it like a man possessed.
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.
Kakashi's eye was wide, a look of realization on his face.
"How would Naruto react if he found out about Minato?"
Hiruzen didn't hesitate to answer. "He'd be irritated that he wasn't told, but he probably wouldn't be angry with Minato himself for sealing the Kyuubi into them."
Kakashi nodded, like he expected that for an answer. "How would he react about his and Rin's relationship to Jiraiya?"
Hiruzen grimaced. Naruto still had anger control problems about memories of the orphanage. He never walked a route pass the orphanage to avoid seeing it. If he found out he had a godfather, he wouldn't react well at first. Even with an explanation, he'd still be angry.
"Not as well as he'd take the news of his father." Hiruzen replied sadly.
Kakashi nodded again, knowing the likely manner in which Naruto would react.
"How would he feel about Iwa?"
Hiruzen stiffened at that, grimacing at the memory of Naruto's version of venting when he learned a few things about the outside world.
Naruto ended up making close to one hundred clones and was firing water jutsu and lightning at them to vent following one of the Chunin manuals he read. The manual advised blond haired Shinobi to disguise their hair when they were near Tsuchi no Kuni. The manual stressed the importance of girls dyeing their hair, as aHengecould be disrupted, but didn't specifywhy.
Naruto had obviously understood what was left unsaid. Nothing drove him into a frenzy better than something concerning Rin. Rinisthe thing that Iwa nin would love more than anything. Naruto would simply be torn apart and killed for beinghisson. But Rin had blonde hair. She was an accomplishedFunijutsuuser, even at just thirteen years old. Killing the man you hate's son is one thing, but it didn't matter that Naruto had his father's face and eyes. It was the hair that was remembered the most.
Rin wouldn't be shown mercy if she were captured. They'd break her in the most inhumane fashion. 'The Namikaze demon's little girl' would die, but not before her captors would have their fun in getting revenge for what they saw as a crime and travesty against their nation.
She'd die like her mother would have; they'd rip the Kyuubi out of her and try to put it in someone else.
Hiruzen forced his mind away from the morbid thoughts that sprung up from his fears, looking back at Kakashi.
"He'd hate them as much as Hiashi hates Kumo. You know how he acts when Rin is threatened."
"The way this letter and the other is written makes it almost sound likeNarutowrote this," Kakashi said, "He knows that Naruto is a skilled sensor, understands seals, hated the idea of siblings fighting, threatened to destroy a clan and sell a child to make a point." Kakashi paused to take a breath, "he respects my father, dislikes Jiraiya and knows that jabbing at his writing would aggravate him."
Hiruzen knew without a doubt a good way to have Jiraiya dislike you was to question his writing skills. Hiruzen had shared stories of what his students were like when they were younger to Naruto, stories that weren't in the history books.
"He has little respect for the Tsuchikage," Kakashi continued, "A Kage generally has a responsibility to rein in their more vicious Shinobi. But how would he know where the Edo Tensei was? Why is he referring to Naruto and not Rin? He always adds on Rin like an afterthought."
The two remained silent for several minutes, trying to think of anything else.
The top of the Scroll of Seals has remained unchanged for decades. The Edo Tensei's description has been there since the scroll was first made. This wasn't necessarily recent knowledge the man acquired. And what about his supposed 'favoritism' of Naruto that Kakashi mentioned? Why would that be?
Hiruzen continued to think, utilizing all the intellect he had in his possession.
The man looked to be trying to disguise his handwriting, but one thing still stood out. He stresses certain symbols in the same way Mito, Tobirama-sensei, Jiraiya, Kushina, and Minato did. He knows seals very well.
Fuinjutsu required a deft touch. Some seals required more force to be placed on the brush to get a proper effect, while others needed a featherlight touch. Make enough seals, and you'll find your handwriting to be influenced by how you write a seal.
He doesn't seem to hate Konoha. He wants Naruto and Rin to be strong, as well as the clan children. He is extremely familiar with how to get a reaction from Kakashi when asked the security question in the previous letter. It's possible he knew Sakumo before his failed mission. He also has in-depth knowledge on how the Edo Tensei works and what Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are doing.
Hiruzen ran through the letter again in his mind, finding another detail.
He mentioned the 'religious fanatic' first. He didn't mention whether the fanatic was the leader or not. If he isn't the leader, why mention the fanatic?... the blood ability. I don't know of any kekkai genkai, in nearly 60 years that I've been a Shinobi, that could kill someone with just having some blood... or give them the ability to survive being beheaded.
Hiruzen shivered at the thought. The only person he knew that mightpossiblysurvive getting their head cut off was Naruto. He still remained conscious even after being struck in the head, causing a concussion. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch that he could survive long enough for a quick application ofIryo-ninjutsuto stitch his head back on.
I'mneverbringing this up,ever. He'd be too damn curious and would try something outlandishly stupid to see if it would work. Too many things to stress over already. I don't need him to try out something more stupid than forcing lightning chakra into his brain with the grace of a toddler trying to paint simply because he's bored.
Hiruzen still couldn't understand what the hell Naruto had been thinking when he pushed lightning chakra into his brain to speed up his thoughts. Naruto had been extremely cautious about learningFuinjutsu, but all the safety concerns he adhered to when working on his calligraphy was absent when he tried to emulate the ability that made the Raikages of Kumo some of the most dangerous Shinobi to engage in taijutsu.
Even Orochimaru was more careful about physical enhancements.
Don't get distracted.He thought, going back to the mysterious man.
He 'favours' Naruto. It wouldn't be something as shallow as gender. It probably isn't strength either. Rin is extremely capable in her own right, even if she's not as skilled as Naruto in most fields, save forFuinjutsuwhere she is better.
Hiruzen desperately tried to think ofwhyNaruto would be mentioned repeatedly.
What are the differences between Naruto and Rin? Both are actual Uzumaki. Both are Jinchuriki. Both are skilled inFuinjutsu. Both are very protective of one another.Differences: Affinities. Naruto has water and lightning, while Rin has wind. Rin has blonde hair and... Naruto... has red... Could it be-
Hiruzen gasped at what he just stumbled across. Kakashi was pulled out of his own thinking at Hiruzen's reaction.
"Sir?" he asked.
"I think I've thought of something." Hiruzen whispered.
Kakashi leaned forward slightly, wanting to know what thought had shocked the Hokage.
"What are the chances that a seal master survived the Fall of Uzu?" Hiruzen asked rhetorically.
Kakashi's eye widened comically, his breath hitching.
"H-how?" He gasped.
To the best of Konoha's knowledge, nearly every high level seal master in the Uzumaki clan stayed behind to fight off the coalition that sought to wipe them out. Most of the survivors of the attack were civilians, with only a few Shinobi sprinkled in as escorts. Kushina, as a young girl, was almost catatonic when she received word that her entire village and family had been destroyed.
Konoha was in a terrible position in the Second Shinobi War. The Sannin and Hatake Sakumo were the heroes of that conflict, but the war would have been lost if Uzu hadn't held like it had. Nearly 2/3s of the coalition force was wiped out in the course of a week of fighting. Two Jinchuriki and the Nidaime Raikage were slain in the battle personally by the Shodai Uzukage.
Uzumaki Ashina was without a doubt, the greatest seal master the Uzumaki clan ever produced. Mito was his eldest daughter, and his first grandchild was the mother of Kushina. He was in his sixties when Konoha was first founded, yet he was probably in better physical shape than what most Shinobi half his age were. Even when he was in his nineties, the last time Hiruzen saw him, just weeks before the outbreak of the war, he still looked and acted younger than what Hiruzen feltcurrently. And he wasn't even 70 yet.
It had takenyearsto piece together what happened after the destruction of Uzu. Most of the surviving forces were tight-lipped about what happened, many of them were killed in the war when Konoha reinforcements ambushed them when they withdrew back to their own villages.
Less than one hundred Kiri nin returned home. Iwa wasn't much better off, with only half their forces making it back home after the battle and ambushes that followed their withdrawal. Kumo was the one that maintained most if its forces. The Raikage had managed to shield his forces from Ashina's fury and freed them up to combat the lesser seal masters.
It wasn't until the closing stages of the Third Shinobi War, when a captured Kumo nin had been interrogated by a Yamanaka where it was discovered what Ashina did in his final hours of life.
A handful of captured Iwa nin and Kumo nin over the years had painted a picture of red haired stamina monsters wading ankle deep through blood, tearing apart droves of Shinobi without mercy, every block turned into a killzone, every inch of ground and debris laced with explosives, chakra draining seals sapping them of strength, gravity seals turning comrades into red paste. But the only thing they knew about the Uzukage was that an ungodly level of Killing Intent and chakra could be felt on the other side of the village where the civilians were being evacuated from.
Until the Kumo nin was interrogated.
The Kumo Shinobi was one of the only ones to survive even witnessing what unfolded. She only survived because she hid under a pile of corpses. Hiruzen was shown the memory, and it was the single bloodiest one he'd seen in his entire life.
Ashina was drenched in the blood of the hundreds he had personally slain, wearing a mask that practicallydemandedterror.His hair that was once white in old age, was an even greater shade of red than what it had been decades prior, before the fire and energy of his youthfulness faded.
The armour he had worn was similar to Tobirama-sensei's, but was red instead of blue. He also was wearing his white kage robes that were similar to the ones warn by Hokages.
They were stained completely crimson.
The two Jinchuriki that were fighting him had attempted to use the chakra of their tenants to overwhelm him and to reach the boats that the civilians were fleeing in. Ashina had been absorbing lightning Jutsus from the Raikage with seals forhours, flinging them back at the forces surrounding him.
The Jinchuriki had their seals destabilized when Ashina charged straight at them and pressed his hands on them, causing two explosions of Bijuu chakra that incinerated the two Jinchuriki seconds later.
The Raikage let the Kiri and Iwa nin present fight Ashina and the few other Uzumaki Shinobi that were still alive to protect the evacuating civilians.
Hundreds more fell, and Ashina was overwhelmed, trying to wade chest deep through corpses slowed him down, his age and the days of non-stop fighting taking its toll on him.
The evacuating civilians of Uzu saw their 'Papa Ashi', the one who founded their village, the wise and kind patriarch of their clan and village, be buried under the pile of enemies that sought to exterminate them.
Only then did the Raikage charge in to finish the job personally. Killing Uzumaki Ashina, a man who even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara would have been hesitant to fight in the environment he was most familiar in, his own Village, would bring much renown and glory to Kumo.
Hiruzen had seen through the Kumo nin's perspective, he'd felt part of her emotions carry over from the Yamanaka showing him the memory. It was joy, grim satisfaction, and above all else,reliefthat thedemonhad been brought down and was going to be slain byherKage.
That relief turned to horror when the Raikage dragged the old man out from the pile of dismembered corpses, tearing the man's sword from out of his grip and his tattered robes falling off his battered body. The elderly man had spat in the Raikage's face and shouted four words that would be burned in the Kumo nin's mind, and would still be there a decade later when she was captured. Words that rang out over the cacophony of steel clashing and the screams of the dying across the village.
"Day shall come again!"
She had thought the sun had rose in that moment, a halo surrounding the two men.
But it wasn't the sun.
Seals had appeared, glowing fiercely around the elder Uzumaki's body, and then a blast of purple chakra exploded from him. There was nothing left of the two men and the corpses surrounding them, only a 50 yard crater where there was nothing but blackened ash.
Within seconds of her vision coming back, the Kumo nin looked at the boats they had been trying to destroy, the ships that were out of reach now. On the horizon, she saw a red sunrise.
One of the crimson haireddemonsthey came to kill stood at the front of one of the ships, sword drawn and shouting at the top of his voice. Other voices followed and turned into a chorus of defiance and fury.
It wasn't until over a hundred voices rang out that she understood what was being proclaimed to the heavens.
"Day has come! Day has come! Day has come!"
An old man held the line. An old man killed two Jinchuriki. An old man killed a Kage. An old man died for his village. An old man died protecting the children of Uzu.
Ashina personally tutored the best students in his clan. He even tutored Tobirama-sensei for a few years when he was a teenager. Could one of his students have survived?
Hiruzen's near flashback came to an end as he focused on Kakashi, the younger man deeply unsettled.
"I thought they were all killed." Kakashi managed to force out, his voice shaking slightly.
Hiruzen looked straight at Kakashi. "The crystal ball," he opened up a drawer and pulled it out, "That grants me the ability to see anything in the village was a wedding gift from Uzumaki Ashina to the Shodai. He said it was 'A gift worthy of a Kage, the father of a village. And a good father watches out for his children'. He designed it and he had several students, including the Nidaime."
Kakashi stayed quiet, wanting to hear more about Uzu's founder.
"How much did Kushina tell you about her family?" Hiruzen asked.
"I know Uzumaki Mito was her great aunt," Kakashi replied quietly, "And that her great grandfather was the leader of the Uzumaki clan when it was destroyed. Not much else though." He finished.
"Her great grandfather," Hiruzen started, "Was the single greatest seal master I've ever known. The Nidaime considered him the greatest of all time."
Kakashi just stared at him in suprise, not realizing how great Ashina was seen as.
"A Yamanaka interrogated a Kumo veteran that witnessed what happened at Uzu. Ashina killed one of Kumo's Jinchuriki, one of Iwa's, and the Raikage himself, along with hundreds of Shinobi."
Kakashi paled at the thought of how dangerous of a Shinobi could manage that.
"Howoldwashe?" Kakashi choked out.
"He was old enough to be my grandfather." Hiruzen replied simply, "But that is not what I wish to discuss right now. I wish to discuss who I think this mysterious man may be."
Kakashi nodded an affirmative, waiting for Hiruzen to continue.
"The Uzumaki are known for having water affinities as often as the Uchiha have fire, as well as red hair. Sound familiar?"
Kakashi nodded, muttering "Naruto" under his breath.
"Their are only three of Ashina's descendants still alive. Tsunade, Rin, and Naruto. Only Naruto has both a water affinity and red in his hair. Ashina trained many UzumakiFuinjutsuprodigies, including the Nidaime because of kinship with the Senju. I wouldn't put it past a survivor to figure out Naruto and Rin's mother was the beloved great granddaughter of their Sensei."
Kakashi continued to stay silent.
"This man could be a survivor, perhaps even a close relative of Naruto's, and he sees Naruto as more of an Uzumaki than Rin. The knowledge he has could be from another form of tracking that the Uzumaki had. I wouldn't put it past Ashina to have a crystal ball of his own, or even something better that a student or relative had access to.
"This is amassiveif though." Kakashi interjected, "An Uzumaki, and one who has been around for decades could fit the mold, but we can't be certain and shouldn't operate under that assumption. This seems far-fetched."
"That is why I asked Inoichi to make a profile on him," Hiruzen replied, "He will be shownthisone," he gestured to the latest letter, "Soon."
Kakashi looked at the letter, then back to Hiruzen. "Is that all?"
Hiruzen nodded, unable to think of anything else. "That is all." he said.
"One final thing," Kakashi said, "He said something about my eye, and how it 'stinks', what did he mean by that?"
Hiruzen sighed, rubbing his temples. He knew this would be a long conversation.
"What do you know of the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
"I amnoteating curry, Sasuke!" Rin shouted, stomping around his house.
Sasuke hated the day Hatake Kakashi was made his Jonin Sensei. If not for the silver haired jonin that read porn in public, he would never of had to deal with his fortress of solitude, his home, getting terrorized by the blonde nightmare that was Uzumaki Rin.
Their arguments and the hit to team cohesion forced them to shop together for elderly people and to eat supper together, coupled withtalkingabout different things to make them interact on a friendly basis.
Say what one may about Hatake Kakashi, but he seemed to know what he was doing to encourage cooperation through coercion.
"I eat curry," Sasuke grunted, having already taken out the proper ingredients and began preparing it, "And I'm not going out for takeout. Today is Thursday and that's when I fix curry for supper."
"I don't like curry," Rin whined, her hair swishing back and forth as she tried to wear a hole in his floor, "And your schedule sucks."
Sasuke fought the urge to start tearing his hair out in frustration. There was no way she was this irritating for real. Shehadto be doing this to get him to throw in the towel and order takeout. The blonde wasn't evenremotelythis bad the previous days, so he refused to give in.
"My house. My rules," Sasuke said with finality, channelling his mother's tone of voice when he'd complain about the food she'd fix, "You can be the one to tell Kakashi-sensei that you couldn't handle a little bellyache." He mimicked the way Naruto cooed sometimes to annoy him.
Rin's face shot to his and her pacing stopped, her violet eyes practically glowing in righteous fury.
"Uke." She grumbled, plopping onto his couch petulantly.
Sasuke ignored the comment, turning on his stove.
"There's a reason Uchiha like curry," Sasuke lied through his teeth to get the overgrown toddler to cooperate, "It helps us to get in tune with our Kaiton jutsu. It sometimes helps like how drinking more water helps Suiton users." He completely made up the last part.
Rin, the adorable and trusting little blonde she was, perked up and her eyes were impossibly large, looking like shining amethysts.
"Really?" She asked excitedly, the prospect of speeding up her progress on Fire release without lighting herself on fire seemed enticing to her.
Sasukealmostfelt bad for lying so she'd eat the food without complaining.
"Yes," Sasuke nodded, continuing to prepare it, "But I'll just fix myself some. You don't like curry, remember?"
Rin frowned and growled low under her breath.
"Fix me the damn curry, Sasuke. I'm gonna be better than you at fire. So hit me with your best shot!" She challenged with her usual ferociousness.
Sasuke grinned as he ducked down to grab another accessory to prepare for the extra amount of curry he was going to fix.
I'll make you eat those words, Rin.
A fiery hour later.
Rin was whimpering as she chugged another cup of milk, gasping as she finished it.
The girl was sweating heavily and she'd taken her long sleeve shirt off, wearing her orange t-shirt currently.
"How," She sucked in air audibly as she tried to cool her mouth, "Can you eat this?"
Sasuke had been heading to his bathroom periodically over the course of the ordeal, stifling his laughter at the definition of a wild child becoming a mess as she tried to eatmildcurry, not even therealkind that he liked.
Sure, he lost almost an entire gallon of milk and a box of crackers to the desperate blonde, but the feeling of triumph he felt was worth the expense of buying new groceries.
"Practice." Sasuke shrugged, secretly wishing he had his Sharingan to burn the last hour into his mind. Rin being at his mercy for once was amazing and he wanted to remember it.
Rin groaned and panted, abandoning decorum and drinking from the milk carton, her face flushed from the spices.
Rin set it down and wiped some milk off her face, pushing the bowl in front of her.
"I can't," She moaned, threading her fingers through her hair as she set her forehead down on the table, "You Uchiha are crazy for liking this."
Sasuke shrugged again, still smiling internally at finding her weakness...Spice.
The spice must flow. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Rin was such a nice teammate for suffering for his sake.
"You'll get there," Sasuke assured her, patting her hand gently, "Eventually. This takes time to adapt to."
He'd catch a rash of fury from Rin if she found out he was lying, but it was funny after she broke his nose multiple times. Payback at its finest.
Rin grabbed the last few crackers left and wolfed them down, moaning slightly as she leaned back in the chair.
"Thanks," She mumbled, "Even if my tongue feels like I licked the sun."
Rin got quiet after that, slowly looking around at his home and silently taking it all in.
What is she thinking?
"It feels kind of empty," She muttered, "Too quiet. I couldn't stand living alone with Naruto living somewhere else."
Sasuke hid his reaction to that. He never thought he could live alone and withouthimas a part of his life.
But things change.
"How did you learn to fix curry?" Rin asked, eying the half empty bowl distastefully.
"I learned it on my own." Sasuke replied, debating on sharing a little more.
We're supposed to learn to cooperate, so yes.
"It's my mother's recipe though." Sasuke whispered quietly, noticing Rin focus on him.
"I wish I had that," Rin eventually said, "I have some of my mom's Fuinjutsu notes, but I never met her and I didn't know her name for years."
Sasuke's eyes darted towards Rin's and he saw how dim she seemed to look.
"You didn't know her name?" He asked incredulously, his previous attempt at stoicism abandoned for the unnerving detail.
He couldn't imagine not knowing his mother or father. At least he hadsomethingof them to hold onto that wasn't purely material.
"Yeah," Rin nodded sadly, "And Kushina is such a beautiful name."
Sasuke got a sense of Deja Vu and he blinked, trying to think of where he heard that name.
"Rin," He asked her hesitantly, "Do you know what she looked like?"
The blonde nodded and pointed at her face.
"I look like her," She slowly touched her forehead, then her cheeks, "She didn't have these marks like Naruto and me, but my eyes are just like hers." The violet orbs seemed to shine a bit, then her fingers started to go through her golden locks. "I don't have her hair colour though. Naruto has that."
Sasuke visualized Rin with red hair and no whisker marks, trying to think of how she'd look when older.
"I'll be back "Sasuke said abruptly, standing up and walking to his room.
He opened the door and went to his closet, searching for a box. The youngest living Uchiha found it and noticed the collection of dust on it. He fought the emotions welling up at the reason for it, the contents being rather painful for him to peruse alone.
Sasuke carried the box into the living room and set it next to the couch, gesturing for Rin to come over.
His teammate went to him and sat beside him while he opened the box and rummaged through it, grabbing a photo album.
Sasuke bit down slightly as the flowery scent of his mother's perfume still clung to her personal photo collection and he was reminded of how she'd sit next to him and point out the different people and friends of hers in the pictures.
Sasuke swallowed as he cracked it open, searching for where he thought he'd recognized the nameKushina.
After an extremely difficult time of him searching through the photos, he spotted a picture with a girl a little older than Rin that looked like her with straight red hair that went down to her waist.
"I think this is your mom," Sasuke said, gingerly removing the photo and flipping it around to look at the back, revealing his mother's precise handwriting.
Me and my best friend, Uzumaki Kushina.
Uchiha Mikoto.
"They were friends?" Rin's voice cracked, her hand shakily taking the photo and holding it as gently as Sasuke had. "I didn't know."
"Neither did I." Sasuke replied, pleasantly surprised that their parents knew each other and were friends.
"Do," Rin sniffed and looked at him with her eyes shining with emotion, "Do you have anymore photos?"
Sasuke nodded and took the one from Rin, putting it back up. He then systematically went through the album and looked for any sign of red hair to find Uzumaki Kushina.
He found one from when they were about 16 or 17 and he was struck by how pretty Kushina looked, her smile almost identical to Rin's as she held up her hand with a peace sign, a bowl of ramen in front of her.
"I guess it's hereditary." Sasuke murmured, hearing a scoff from Rin.
"Probably." He could hear the smile in her voice.
They got to the very end of the album, the last few pages a mix of different ones that he wasnotgoing to look at.
They hadItachiin them.
"There's nothing on the others." Sasuke's voice was colder than he meant to, but it wasn't something he wanted to talk about.
With Rin right beside him, it almost felt like he was back in his old home, his kaasan sitting him on her lap as she told him stories about the great warriors of the Uchiha clan and the friends she'd made as a young girl.
Rin glanced at one of the windows and he heard her curse under her breath.
"Naruto will be having a fit soon if I'm not back. I promised to be back before dark."
Sasuke nodded his understanding and went to close the album, packing it up.
Sasuke went to tell Rin to have a safe walk back as he went to his bedroom, but his blonde teammate surprised him.
She hugged him.
"Thank you for showing me the pictures, Sasuke." She then turned and ran towards the door, waving and smiling a genuine smile as she opened it and left.
Sasuke froze completely, barely being able to breath. He wasn't standing there with a box of pictures and the girl he constantly argued with having hugged him in thanks. He was home, not the house he resided in, but the home he'd shared with his parents and their firstborn.
"Your father talks about you when he's home, Sasuke. He's so proud of you." His mother's beautiful voice was ringing in his ears as he stood rooted to the spot.
Sasuke forced himself to breathe and to calm his racing heart, slowly turning to put up the pictures.
The day turned out to not betotallyawful. He'd gotten one over on Rin, getting a good laugh, but he'd also been able to find a common ground with her.
Their mothers were friends.
Would Naruto have been my best friend if their mother lived?Sasuke thought to himself as he laid in bed a couple hours later.Why didn't kaasan take them in when Kushina died?
He'll figure it out eventually. But for right now, he drifted off to sleep, thinking of two young girls without a care in the world except for their friendship.
He had no nightmares that night.
The Raikage had sent for her and B to meet himimmediately,concerning a letter he had received that had been tacked onto an invitation from Konoha to partake in the Chunin exams that would be hosted in Konoha several months from now. Yugito, Jinchuriki of the Nibi, but was known to her as Matatabi, entered her superior's office, B already being there.
B looked very quiet, his posture was more subdued than she'd ever seen him. But worse still, his chakra was twitching, almost out of its own volition. That, above all else, frightened her.
What could have possibly happened that has the two of them this quiet?
"Best to get on with it."Matatabi assured her.
The first few years of her being a Jinchuriki were rough. The village initially despised her, and she hated them in return. But through a combination of the Raikage's public support of her, and how well liked B was helped with Kumo's bias towards their second Jinchuriki.
Matatabi had been moody and rude at first. Yugito wasn't her first container, and a previous one had been very close to her.
"What is it you want, Raikage-sama?" She asked, her tone a respectful one.
Ay, the Yondaime Raikage, rose to his very impressive height, a note in his hand.
"I received a letter from Konoha," He started, his tone neutral, "Nothing that I was surprised by. A standard invitation to their Chunin exams that Ididplan on flat out rejecting...until I readthis." He held up the letter.
Yugito looked closer at it, not being able to see what it said.
"This was addressed to me," Ay said, "Andtwoothers. Gyuki and Matatabi."
"What?!"
Yugito flinched at the shout in her head, her chakra itching from the involuntary rush of bijuu chakra into her system.
Ay obviously noticed her change in demeanor. "B reacted the same way." he said simply.
"Who knows our names? Few people even think to ask whether we do have names."
"I don't know. I need to read it for myself."
"May I see the letter?" She asked.
Ay nodded and handed her the letter.
At the top of the letter, there was a question.
To Ay and B: What was the hair colour of the man who tagged Gyuki's tentacle?
Yugito saw the word 'Blond' in the Raikage's handwriting, written down in a specific section of the letter that had extremely fine kanji in a small matrix.
But there was a second question, addressed toher.
What is Matatabi's eye colour?
"I have two. Does this person not know that? Or is it a trick question?"
"What are your eye colours again?"
"Yellow and green."
"I need to write it down." Yugito said to the Raikage.
The Raikage nodded and handed her something to write with off of his desk, which had several cracks in the wood.
Yugito wrote the words 'yellow' and 'green' on the page. After a moment, there was a slight flash, and then words appeared. Yugito promptly handed the letter back to the Raikage, wanting him to read it first.
He took the letter, sat back down, and began reading it. His face was twitching repeatedly and she could feel the hair on her neck stand on end from static in the air.
"What could be in the letter that has him like this?"
The Raikage may be impulsive and quick to action, smashing desks and crushing things, but that was normal when something angered him. She had no idea what his current reaction could possibly mean.
Ay took a deep breath and handed the letter to B, who took it and started reading. B's chakra was shaking noticably after his eyes roamed the letter, the Hachibi's chakra becoming detectable.
B looked straight at her, his look sayingeverything.
This is bad.
B handed her the letter, which she began to read.
To the Yondaime Raikage.
I mean you and your village no harm . I am not associated with Konoha. This simply happened to be a convenient way to send a message to you. There is a group that is targeting those like your brother. I am uncertain whether Son Goku has already been taken or not. You will find an ally in Konoha. They value brotherhood just as much as you.
I pray that you are like your father. He understood the responsibilities of a Kage. He risked himself against a Bijuu just as Namikaze did.
To Gyuki and Matatabi: Death is preferable to what the Red Clouds have in store for you and your siblings. If you must, kill yourselves.
Matatabi: The Red Clouds hunt in twos. Be careful of the thread beast and his partner, the religious fanatic. One drop of blood will guarantee your capture.
Killer B: Don't let anyone tell you to give up your dream, even when you feel as if you're being pulled at the seams. They don't understand the art that is rap, for they are full of crap. Best of luck, my strapping young buck.
P.S.: Don't try to find me. Even the eyes your village covets won't be able to find me.
Signed,Hurin.
Yugito was silent, not knowing to say.
"Matatabi?"
"This person knows things that no other should. They know three of our names."she said quietly.
Yugito looked at Ay, not knowing what to say.
"Don't say anything to anyone," he ordered, "This stays between us three."
That was when Yugito realized none of the Raikage's guards were present. To think that C and Darui weren't brought into the fold about this pointed at how rattled Ay was.
She nodded an affirmative.
"Leave," he instructed, "I need time to think. That's also to you too, B."
" 'Kay bro." B said with a neutral tone, "I'll go."
Yugito turned to leave, B right behind her. As she left the room, she kept thinking of what this meant.
A group was out to capture her, and by the sound of what was being said, they planned to kill her and take Matatabi.
Ay was in deep thought as he sat at his desk, his thoughts focused on multiple things.
If this letter is to be trusted, there is a group of fuckers who plan to kill my brother.
Ay had been even more protective of B since the death of his father. He'd wage war by himself on anyone who tried to take B if he had to.
Whoever this is knows about the first fight I had with Namikaze.
There were multiple Shinobi there, both Konoha and Kumo ones. It wouldn't be a surprise if word leaked out on what occurred.
But the letter compared Namikaze to his father. He knew what his father was like. The anonymous sender 'prayed' he was like him.
Ay didn't know if a Bijuu could be killed. But if it could be, Namikaze would be the one son of a bitch on Earth that could pull it off.
He still remembered what Namikaze said the last time they met. How the next time they'd meet, they'd meet as Kages.
But that never happened.
An ally in Konoha, hmnn... don't know about that.
Konoha and Kumo were still on shitty terms, no point in mincing words. The attempted abduction of the Hyuga heiress set relations back by years. The corpse they sent being stuffed with explosives didn't help things, nor did the slew of 'coincidental' deaths of multiple Kumo Jonin in the following year.
Would it even be possible to 'ally' with Konoha after everything?
Ay doubted it, but if the sender of this letter was stating it was possible, and had access to knowledge that others shouldn't have, what was the harm in trying?
Whoever sent this knows the names of the Bijuu.
B had started freaking out when he saw the letter had been addressed to 'Gyuki' and 'Matatabi'. They were the names of the Hachibi and Nibi.
This warning is either a trap, or a genuine offer of help. Which one?
Either this was a trap designed to open up a vulnerability in Kumo's security on Konoha's part, or there genuinely was a clear threat to his village and his brother by choice.
I chose to be his brother. We have no blood shared, but he is my brother just as father was my father.
B had been chosen to be his partner by his father. He didn't have a brother and no one was strong enough to partner up with him. But B was the answer. He could have simply kept it as a relationship as friends, him being the elder of the two. But B became more than that. B was his best friend and a fuel that drove him to be faster and stronger to protect him.
B helped him to be a man his father could be proud to callson.
His father was the man that defied an army of ten thousand so his subordinates could get away. He died after fighting for 3 days. Ay could die with no regrets if he were half the man his father was.
Scrutinizing the letter further, his eyes narrowed at the seals on the letter that he could vaguely identify as containing fire and lightning. Undoubtedly a security measure to destroy the letter in the event that the other seals in the "Answer section" didn't match with what was conditioned.
It wasn't lost on him that Uzumaki were the most adept at that kind of Fuinjutsu. Andthatbrought his thoughts to specific thing.
After becoming Raikage, Ay was given access to certainrecordsthat only the Raikages had direct access to. What he'd found was something that changed his perspective on a certain clan that was a potential threat to Kumo in his childhood.
The destruction of Uzushiogakure was a tale steeped in legend in Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri. Many a veteran would be found frequenting bars in the years following the battle, speaking of the 'crimson demons'. Ay's father had trained under the Nidaime Raikage, being the man's greatest student. He remembered how badly his father reacted when he found out that he'd been thrust into the role of Kage of a village whose previous Kageanda Jinchuriki had been slain by a 90 year old man dragging his way through stacks of corpses.
Only one veteran in Kumo still lived that witnessed what happened to the Raikage. She'd been promptly ransomed out when they found out she'd been captured byKonohaShinobi. They didn't need the shitshow that would happen when Konoha held the edge in the war following Namikaze's decimation of Iwa's armies.
Their worse fears had been realized when gaps were noticed in her memory following her capture and return to Kumo's custody. Multiple doses of Genjutsu 'treatment' broke through the false memories implanted by a Yamanaka and laid bare the bloody painting that the cursed clan carved into the woman's head.
The Yamanaka clan was one that the land of lightning was well acquainted with even back during the Warring States era. More than one Lightning Daimyo had been killed by a lover or their heir, said loved one pleading innocence. Torture had revealed that someone had twisted their minds to respond to certain words or phrases, the triggers would cause a violent attack followed by amnesia.
The only treatment that Kumo had found to combat unwitting sleeper agents was mentally torturing them with Genjutsu showing their worst memories back to them to break any hidden conditioning.
The barbaric treatment was the reason POWs taken by Konoha had the highest suicide rate due to the paranoia Kumo's military, and the Lightning Daimyos, had whenever someone returned from the forces of a village that housed a clan capable of turning against you the one who you'd burn the world for, the one who you'd stay behind with and die alongside, just so they wouldn't spend their last moments alone.
It was far better to die with your brother by your side than to live on without him.
Losing B would be worse than losing a limb. I have 3 others to spare, but I'll never have another brother.
Shaking his head, he moved his thoughts back to the Yamanaka.
They used Genjutsu on their comrade, a fellow Kumo Shinobi, to find out what the Yamanaka got from her. Konoha gothoursof her memories from a decade prior thanks tooneword. One word that triggered long repressed memories.
Sunrise.
Ay didn't know what to think when he read the report she had left about what happened in Uzu. A man who would have been long dead if he wasn't an Uzumaki had not only fought, butkilledtwo Jinchurikianda Kage so the civilians of his village could escape.
He'dhatedthe Uzumaki clan as a teenager and even as an adult because of the aftermath he saw. He saw veterans at bars, men and women he looked up to as a boy, their eyes empty when they spoke of trauma they experienced fighting in the streets of Uzu. The friends whose remains couldn't even be identified as human after the seals the Uzumaki had used. How they seemed to shrug off fatal strikes to deliver a fatal one of their own. The air filled with the stench of blood and shit, the sounds of steel and screaming men and women being a fitting chorus of the damned.
He saw how a man who was his neighbor, and a kind man at that, had to be sedated after he was screaming aboutdemonswhen his newborn daughter was born with red hair. Hair that was the same colour that she shared with her maternal grandmother.
That was the day his idealistic perception of war died and was replaced with a cold fury at the pain and scars left onhispeople.
He never thought of the Uzumaki as human. He saw them as threats to everything and everyone that mattered to him. They were the long lived monsters that even after they were violently cast down into the pit, they still found a way to haunt and torture the heroes who slew them.
That was a hatred he carried until his father's death, and his own appointment as Raikage.
When he read the report of what Uzumaki Ashina had done, he couldn't help but see his own father, a single man facing certain death for those he swore to protect. The Uzukage should have been relaxing in retirement, a son or prized student taking up his burden, leaving him to spoil his grandchildren. He shouldn't have been facing off against Jinchuriki and enemy Kage. War was a young man's game. Children and elders shouldn't be burdened with it.
But hechoseto do it, as my father did.
Ay's father personally wrestled the Hachibi into submission on his own, he also personally hunted down the Nibi after its Jinchuriki had been vaporized by Ashina at Uzu's dock.
The Uzumaki were just like him. If Kumo was beset on all sides by her enemies, he'd also fight to the death for his village. He'd die as his fatherandAshina did.
All chakra spent and his enemies crushed around him.
The returning veterans at least had family, friends, and a village to come back to. The survivors of Uzu had nothing. But they still were as defiant and unconquered as their leader. Ay had personally spoken with the sole remaining Kumo survivor on what happened after he became Raikage. She was a shriveled waif of a person, empty of all life and motivation to continue on. She spoke of how thedemonsrobbed her of her fire, their roars of defiance when their Kage died like the screams of bloodthirsty devilspawn.
Ay still remembered those words. Words that would have been a sight to behold if he'd been there personally to hear them.
An old man buried under the bodies of the ones who would end his clan. The same old man that had killed two Jinchuriki with just his hands. An old man, his energy exhausted, pulled from under the pile of bodies to have his last moments brought to an end. But with him being the last living Uzumaki that hadn't been evacuated, other Kumo nin had reported that the last holdouts had been killed nearly an hour before, he spat in the face of his would be killer and proclaimed words thatshouldhave been out of place coming from an elder who outlived his entire family save for a daughter and her two surviving grandchildren at the time.
"Day shall come again." Ay whispered to himself.
Such hope Ashina had to have possessed to havethatas the last thing he'd say before blowing himself up, taking the Raikage with him.
And his surviving clansmen proved themselves his kin when they shouted out to the surviving forces that destroyed their home and their clan, a swift sunrise coming from the East, bathing them in a fierce light.
Day has come.
Ay would think about accepting Konoha's invitation. Any ally that could help Kumo would be accepted. He owed it to his village to swallow his pride if he must, no matter how painful it was if it prevented his Village's destruction.
End Chapter:For any of you who know where I got the idea with Ashina's last stand from, without looking up "Day shall come again", congrats, you're as much of a nerd as I am. I've found several fics that decide to have a telling of the destruction of Uzushiogakure in it, but only a few are okay. Too many make every Uzumaki look like a peerless badass in their own right, and no depth is given.
Last stands may sound heroic, but only to the friends and allies of the ones wiped out. Thermopylae is seen as heroic, but I doubt the mothers of the Persian soldiers killed would agree. For every hero, there is a tragedy. And people have, out of a need to mentally survive, tried to dehumanize the ones who hurt them. It's awful to think that a normal person, likeus,could hurt his fellow man. So we see them as monsters to survive. Seeing only the worst in peoplealwaysleads to damnation and ruin. Pein's philosophy and his 'Cycle of Hatred' is disturbingly accurate of the real world. The horrors of both World Wars, and the weapons we have at our disposal, means that wewilldestroy ourselves if too many people drop the ball and say 'fuck it'.
Moving to a slightly less heavy topic...The Yamanaka. Mind fuckery scares the shit out of me. In a world governed by who can kill better, mind fucking people would be an excellent assassination method. I wanted to expand on a certain way how other Villages view Konoha's clans. We all know about the funny shit you can do with mind switching people, it's shown to be more light-hearted fun. Think of the Defense Against the Dark Arts scene in Goblet of Fire, full domination of another person. The Yamanaka would be seen as some of the scariest people from an outsiders perspective.
Anko was right when she imagined prodigies and geniuses working themselves up into thinking or doing dumb shit by overthinking things. When you've got Kakashi andHiruzen, you'll probably end up off the mark more than you could imagine simply by overthinking something.
Anyway, here's a psychologically stimulating chapter that took a great deal of time for me to write. Reviews are welcome, and I wish you fantastic day.
Raging..
Chapter 21: Memory Lane
Chapter Text
For those that didn't know where I got the idea of Ashina's last stand from, it's from the Silmarillion. Hurin was of the race of Men and was considered the greatest warrior of Men in all of Middle Earth. (The First Age had elves and half-elves that could slay balrogs on their own). Hurin stayed behind to hold off the forces of Morgoth, Sauron's master, and killed 70 trolls while shouting 'Aure entuluva'. This is directly from the Silmarillion.
"Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew he cried: 'Aure entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them. Then Gothmog bound him and dragged him away to Angband with mockery."
One of my favorite parts of the Silmarillion.
And a HUGE disclaimer. I don't own Naruto. I sure as Hell don't own the Silmarillion or ANY books, films, or shows that I make references to. This is fanfiction that I make no money off of. I'm just playing in other people's sandbox.
Anyway, here's new chapter.
Edit: March, 2021. The training and progression portions are partly seen from Naruto's perspective. There will be points where he won't see himself as capable as he actually is. He's comparing himself to those he will face in the future, not to the standards he's holding the other genin to. Just as a fyi.
"Yoshino-san," I greeted Shikamaru's mother at the door, "I hope Shikamaru gave a head's up that I was coming?"
Nara Yoshino was a dark haired woman in her thirties with dark eyes, the lady looking at me skeptically.
"Uzumaki Naruto," She said neutrally, her eyes glinting with an emotion I couldn't make out, "I've heard of your escapades from my son and his teammates. I hope they embellished it."
"They probably downplayed it," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders, "Shikamaru doesn't like that I train like Gai-sensei and expect effort from him."
Please be overdramatic, Shika.I thought to myself. Shikamaru said his mom could see through lies and had struck his dad with a pan before...and I could see it behind her back.
"Hmm," She hummed, thinking to herself. She slowly smiled and laughed softly. "I'm thankful that my son has friends thatencouragehim to train." The way she said the word made me involuntarily shiver.
Shikamaru, I'm here to free you.
"I'll go tell him you're here." Her smile, which was unsettling to me, shifted into a scowl as she turned. "Shikamaru!" She shouted, "Your friend is here!"
I cring