The next day held many surprises for Konohagakure no Sato. First the shinobi were on red alert due to the fact that no prank had been pulled the day after naruto was cooped up. Most were thinking along the lines of: a failed assassination will almost definitely cause the Fox to do some sort of evil to us. What will the prank be? Would naruto go so far as to blow up a building? The prank this time was the work of the Kyuubi though.

And it was a long term prank. A seven month long stint of no pranks whatsoever, this was the most diabolical prank yet, with each passing day the Shinobi would be more and more tense expecting Naruto to do something all the more evil due to the lapse in time. Only a few breathed easy. Three people in fact: Iruka, Sarutobi, and Kakashi. The first because he was Naruto's confidant and knew of his planned prank, the second because he always knew of any prank naruto pulled almost immediately because of his scrying orb. And Kakashi because he was too lazy to ever get worked up over anything that wasn't Icha-Icha.

In school that day, most were shocked when the blond loudmouth didn't talk much at all. No outbursts of how the lesson was stupid. In fact he was Reading his book along with everyone else. He also got a new fan-girl. It was his second to date. The first though was all the more worried about him though…

Hinata gazed upon her Crush in slight dismay. She always liked the brash abrasive Naruto However he didn't seem to care too much over Sakura so it wasn't a lost hope of being with her "Naruto-kun."

Sakura had a different reaction, when she entered the classroom; she immediately took the seat next to Sasuke. She expected to hear the blond ask her out again. But this was the Kyuubi's second prank. This one was personal. Sakura had rejected Naruto time and time again. Now he would be too exhausted to pay any attention to her. Kyuubi knew that naruto and Sakura weren't meant to be. She was too abrasive and not supporting of anyone besides Sasuke. So the Kyuubi decided to prevent naruto any more pain than necessary. And Kyuubi knew Naruto's crush on the Pinky would only bring him pain and suffering.

Naruto knew deep down that Sakura would never love him, so he knew deep down to look elsewhere for a more supportive girl than Pinky. Kyuubi had had a long talk to Naruto about the Pinkette and his behavior in school in general.

XIX

Flashback

What the hell do you see in that pink banshee anyway?

Well Sakura is… Sakura is… I guess I never really thought about it before.

Don't you think you should think about what you want in a mate before chasing her skirt?

ERO -KITSUNE. Shut up your just mad because you haven't gotten any in twelve years.

What do you look for in a girl?

Err- well I guess I would like a girl who doesn't always complain too much, she should be okay to look at but personality is more important than looks to me. She should know how to cook Ramen…

At this Kyuubi sweat dropped. Only a complete idiot couldn't make Ramen. Add hot water, stir, and eat.

So naruto asked of Sakura if she could make Ramen. She blushed and said No before Punching Naruto and saying don't ask me stupid questions. Her ex-friend Ino then told naruto that in fact Sakura had once burned the ramen she once tried to make and that she had burned the water. Sakura had added pure sodium to the water instead of salt. Laughing she said only the Billboard brow could burn water. 1

Shikamaru hearing the conversation just said "Troublesome women." before going back to sleep.

Naruto had taken Sakura off of his possible dating people list. Naruto was mentally kicking himself for liking a girl who could burn water. In ninja training it was good; in his kitchen, not so much. The Kyuubi was doing a Lucky dance in Naruto's Mindscape (Fans of Bleach here's your Shout-out).

So without Sakura he looked at Ino. She was about to say no thank you, when Sakura said. "You did it too Ino-pig.

Sighing again, Naruto scratched off Ino as well. That only left one other good looking girl in his class, Hinata Hyuga.

The said girl, noticing Naruto's gaze, immediately turned Brick red when Naruto saw her he smiled and turned around, if he hadn't he would have seen the girl faint from her blush.

Kyuubi however sensed it and laughed. The girl was perfect for the kit, beautiful, smart, and powerful, given the right training. Kyuubi then said to Naruto. I think you should ask Hinata to go to lunch with you. She seems to want you.

SHUT UP ERO-SENSEI. Unfortunately for naruto he shouted this out loud. Iruka had just walked in and had said hello, Told naruto to stay after class that day for a personal talk with his almost Father about Shouting in class and name calling.

"Gomen, sensei."

Hinata had woken up by now and smiled as her crush seemed to be acting normal again.

After class Naruto told Iruka about Kyuubi and his Ero behavior.

Naruto also that Kyuubi wanted him to work on chakra control before getting to the other lessons. He asked Iruka for tips and training exercises. Telling him about tree walking and water walking.

Iruka then was surprised when Naruto said he was talking to Kyuubi when he said to shut up. He was sorry but Kyuubi had suggested that Hinata wanted to do things he wasn't ready for with him. This made Iruka laugh and also tell Naruto while that eventually may be true, mostly she just wants to be his friend. And to give her a chance.

Naruto telling himself that he may make a friend after so long, he rushed off to try to find Hinata and just ask her to hang out sometime.

He realized he didn't know where she lived, he knew she was friends with Shino and Naruto lived close to the Aburame estate. So he sped off to see the boy. The Aburame Clan was the firmest supporter of Naruto They had tried and failed to adopt Naruto. The Hokage was one of the few who knew they regarded naruto as a sort of brother as he also had a separate entity in him. They were blocked by the Civilian Council however and so he was denied a family.

The Aburame estate was large, but they all lived in one building like a Hive and as he arrived he saw Shino training with his Kikaichu.

"Hey Shino, can I talk to you for a minute."

Glancing towards his mother for approval Shino then said, "Certainly Naruto-san, what is it?"

"You're friends with Hinata Hyuga, right?"

Shino nodded once.

"Do you know where she lives? I wanted to ask her if we could hang out sometime."

Shino then said, "She lives in the Hyuga Compound over in the richest district of Konoha. "There" he said as he took out a map of Konoha and pointed to where the Hyuga Compound was.

"Thanks Shino. But why do you have a map of Konoha on you?"

"I was once asked to help a person find somewhere and couldn't help them." Shino said "Ever since I have kept a map with me at all times."

"Well, Thanks Shino."

Naruto then sped off to ask Hinata to hang out.

Shino was smiling as he watched the blond run off. He was beginning to form a plan to get Hinata to get Naruto's affection. He would need Kiba and Akamaru to help him but she was too shy for her own good. He would help her get what she desired most. Then he would get what he wanted most: Happy friends.

After securing Hinata's location, Naruto went and asked the guard if he could please speak to Hinata Hyuga. The Branch Member Knew who Naruto was. The Branch house was also a supporter of Naruto. So he went directly to Hinata, telling her she had a visitor who wished to see her and would she like to see him. She had an instant where she thought it was Naruto, but then chastised herself. She knew Naruto would be training or something. Resigning herself to her disappointing life she said the Visitor could see her.

Five minutes later she heard a knock on her door. Getting up she went to the door, Opened it, and upon seeing who it was, promptly fainted. Luckily Naruto caught her and set her on her bed. Not knowing what to do he sat down and waited for Hinata to wake up

Waking up she thought it must have been a dream, until Naruto noticed she was awake.

"Hello, Hinata…-chan? I hope I didn't startle you too bad, but I just wanted to get to know you a little better. I hope you don't mind…" He said it as though he was unsure of himself.

"NO!!!" Hinata shouted startling not only herself and Naruto but also the Branch Member who had decided to eavesdrop and watch through the wall. He then heard her say softer, N-n-n-no N-N-N-Naru-Naruto-k-ku-kun, I-I-I d-d-do-don't m-m-mind at a-a-all.

Okay, she definitely has a crush on this boy, I should tell Hiashi-sama about this at once. Knowing him he will twist this to either make Hinata a branch member, or to get stronger.

"Hiashi-Sama." The branch member said to his superior. "I have something to report that could be very beneficial to you and the clan as a whole.

Immediately at attention he motioned for the man to continue.

Hinata-sama has a visitor who I believe she has a crush on. I believe we could mold this into a way to make Hinata-Sama stronger. He knew one of her ambitions was to unite the houses and so he wished for her to become the main branch head.

Really well then, thank you for notifying me of this. Oh god does this mean I have to have the talk with her. Why me Kami-sama. He was in his mindscape kneeling in front of a picture of his deceased wife. Oh my beloved wife what do I tell our daughter, must I have the dread talk with our eldest daughter alone. (Another Bleach shout-out! :)

The man was stoic as always on the outside, even if he was in turmoil on the inside. Did he really want to use such an underhanded tactic as to use his daughters crush as a way to make her stronger? In a word, yes. He had little choice. The elders of the clan would walk all over his eldest daughter if she kept her current mindset.

So Hiashi activated his Byakugan and looked at his daughters Crush. He wore a set of black shinobi sandals; also he wore a black muscle shirt, and black fatigues. So it is the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Hm. Well, we never pick who we love. So if she is interested in the child but now that I look at him, he reminds me so much of the Yondaime he just needs the Bloodline limit and he is my old teammate to the T. I should use this to unlock her true potential. He also knew the Jinchuriki desired to be Hokage and protect a village that treated him like garbage. This boy would boost Hinata's confidence no question.

Suddenly he was certain that Naruto was connected to the Yondaime by more than just a seal. Getting up and taking a break from the enemy of all leaders, Paperwork, he decided to inquire of the Hokage personally.

He told his assistant he was going to talk to the Hokage about a personal matter; He went to the command center of The Leaf Village. When he was granted an audience he asked the Hokage for all the information on a young ninja to be that was showing interest in his eldest daughter.

Hiruzen Knew Naruto liked the Pink Banshee so he wasn't as worried as he should have been.

I would like to have the paperwork on one, Naruto Namikaze. The leader of the Hyuga asked. Sarutobi was shocked he immediately activate the privacy seals. And cursed profusely while he did so.

Some warning would have been nice Hiashi.

Sorry but I needed a laugh I was neck deep in paperwork until a branch Member came to me about a boy wanting to talk to Hinata. But why haven't we let the boys heritage be known, everyone in the Village hates the boy thinking he killed the Yondaime, if they knew who he really was they would kiss the ground he walked on.

Yes but Iwa would declare war immediately. Because our Jinchuriki is the son of their greatest enemy and the man who they tell ghost stories about to frighten their Genin. Then think of how a man who was just a man was able to decimate their forces. Then ethnic of a jinchuriki with that power and more. I have heard how we should make Naruto a weapon to kill all enemies with more times than the Civilian council has asked to kill him.

Hiashi thought of this and realized he had messed up by so brazenly mentioning the boy's lineage without warning the Hokage first.

Oh well, its not like it will be that long before the idiots start trying to give him a harem instead of a knife in the heart. He had another assassination attempt just yesterday. One of Minato's knives shoved into his heart.

I sometimes wish to quit this job and just leave the idiots to kill themselves. If it wasn't for Naruto I would have by now. He always amuses me with those pranks he pulls.

Speaking of which why hasn't he pulled a prank? I would think that he would at least blow up a toilet for an assassination attempt.

Don't give him ideas, I can jus t see my nightmare tonight. Sasuke killed by an exploding toilet and the civilians out for his blood more than normal. But he is pulling a prank right now. It's one of his more ingenious ones too. He isn't pulling any pranks at all. The People will get so nervous that they will run away at the sight of him.

Hiashi laughed at the boy's inherent knack for pranking. He even had a smile as he walked back to the Hyuga compound. This just scared people all the more.