Author's Note: Just to let you know, I'm spoiling you with updates at the moment because there is no school right now! My update schedule will drop to (hopefully) a chapter a week once the semester starts up, but until then, I hope you enjoy the rapid updates!

Chapter Three: Desperation

Sasuke didn't appear for his meeting the next day… or the day after… Naruto tried to forget about it so he could be happy for his child. Today was graduation, and he knew he should be more pleased than he was. Himawari was graduating early and the top of her class. I should be happy… Naruto thought as he stared at the courtyard. He turned to an old tree that had survived the attacks. The swing was gone, but the memories were still there.

"You're too young to be that lost in thought…" Iruka grumbled as he walked towards the man. Naruto smiled and hugged Iruka gently. "I heard Himawari is graduating today… You must be so proud."

"I am…" Naruto said with a tired smile.

Iruka patted him on the back. "Then show it!" he scolded. Naruto laughed and nodded.

"Come on, then! Let's go!" The two started for the group of parents gathered to watch their children receive their headbands. Iruka walked up to the small stage where the table holding the headbands waited.

"Welcome!" The man called. Naruto looked around, trying to spot Hinata in the crowd of people. Boruto was with Sarada and Haku. Despite acting forever "cooler" than his sister, the blonde child had the widest smile of anyone in the crowd. "We are fortunate to have the Hokage in the crowd today!" Iruka announced. Naruto jumped. He had hoped to stay unnoticed for the ceremony, which was why he was in the outskirts of the crowd, but now he was the center of attention…

Naruto sighed. He had wanted this to be about the children… He stepped through the crowd to the podium. "I'm going to kill you," he hissed playfully at Iruka.

"Wait until after the ceremony," Iruka retorted.

Naruto sighed and faced his people. He hadn't prepared for a speech… He smiled widely. "It warms my heart to see that our village continues to produce the finest Shinobi!" he announced. "I'm proud of each and every graduate today and the parents and teachers who have brought them up to graduate today! Good luck, graduates! And Good luck to all the teachers who will be receiving their cells today!"

Naruto heard the crack before he felt heat explode beneath him and the splinters rip into his arms and legs. Before he knew what had happened, he was lying on the ground. He was only dazed for a moment. The explosion had been small, just enough to destroy the small platform. It obviously hadn't been an assassination attempt, or it had been a poorly executed one. Through the chaos, Naruto spotted a hooded figure fleeing the scene.

Naruto jumped up in pursuit, and quickly caught up to the fleeing figure, but the second he grabbed the person's arm, they vanished in a cloud of black smoke. "A shadow clone?" he growled. Spinning around, he tried to locate the person who had created it, but whoever it had been was gone. Naruto shook his head and jogged back to the academy courtyard.

"Daddy! You're okay!" Naruto turned and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Boruto was holding onto his sister's hand tightly. Neither were hurt.

"Is anyone hurt…?" Naruto called. There had only been one explosion and it seemed to have been contained to the stage and nowhere else. No one seemed injured except for scratches from flying shrapnel. "Iruka!" Naruto gasped suddenly. He darted back to the wood pile that had been the platform. Before he hurt himself digging into the splintered wood, he spotted the man sitting a few feet away. His head was bleeding, but Sarada was kneeling beside him and applying a field bandage. "You okay…?"

"I'm fine… Is everyone else okay…?"

Naruto nodded. "I think so." He turned to Sarada. "Thank you for taking good care of him…"

"She has delicate hands… Just like her mother…"

Naruto smiled, but it was tainted with worry. Who would do this…? It seemed too much for the Hyuuga… they wouldn't risk such an attack in a public place. Naruto patted Sarada on the head before walking back to his family. Now Hinata was standing with the kids. She ran and embraced him. Naruto noticed she was shaking, and he wanted to tell her that they couldn't hurt him…

She's not worried about me… Naruto realized suddenly. They couldn't hurt him physically… but no one else in their family were as lucky. Naruto returned her hug tightly. "Take the children to the mansion and lock the doors," he told her. "Have the ANBU there search every inch of that house. We don't know what else they'll attack…"

"Where are you going…?"

"To talk to the Hyuuga…"

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started, but the man shook his head. "This isn't a good idea… You need to address your people…"

Naruto looked around and realized that the gathered crowd was watching them… him… He closed his eyes, then smiled. "This is an isolated incident!" he assured them. "And we will work hard to catch the people responsible!"

The same words were used later that day as he addressed the entire village about the bombings. He turned away from the camera after the speech was over. The Chuunin Exams were still on, even though he had wanted to hold off, but between Kakashi, Shikamaru, via a video conference, Yamato and Sai, they decided the best course of action was to not show weaknesses to the other villages. Luckily, no one from the other villages had arrived yet. The first few teams were late and now scheduled to enter the village that night.

Naruto stepped out of the white room and sighed. "What happened to the days when the Hokage addressed the village in person?" he mumbled. "The world is changing…" Airisu had said. "I guess it is…"

Naruto headed down the dark hallway, keeping his eyes on the blood red carpet below. It had been a stupid choice to use that color… but it made sense, he guessed. The Hokage were always tainted with blood. Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He stopped when he reached the door to the living quarters of the mansion. "What am I going to do…?" he asked.

"Daddy…?"

Naruto blinked and turned around to see his daughter standing behind him. They had all sorts of ways to traverse the mansion without being seen. Naruto smiled and knelt before his child. How many times in his life had he wished someone would do the same for him…? "What's up, sweetie?" Naruto asked quietly.

"What happened today…? Is the village under attack?"

Naruto ruffled the young girl's hair and shook his head. "Of course not!" he assured her.

"Are you in danger?" She grabbed his arm with one hand and held out her headband with the other. "I'm a ninja now! I can protect you!"

Naruto smiled widely and took the headband from her hand. He secured it to her forehead and nodded. "Yep! I'll be safe as long as I have you around!" he said with a nod. The girl giggled and then squeaked when she was lifted into her father's arms. Ninja or not, she was still young. Naruto held the child in his arms as he stepped into the living space. The problems of the world weren't going away overnight… but that also meant they would be there tomorrow.

Naruto opened his eyes with a start. It was dark out, but the sky was slowly turning grey with the morning. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes, wishing sleep would take him back, but it eluded him. Hinata slept peacefully beside him and Himawari was settled between her two parents. Naruto hated to wake them, so he silently slipped out of the bed and left the room without reaching for a shirt. The morning, despite season, was surprisingly warm.

Naruto wandered the dark house until he made his way to the roof of the mansion. He was surprised, however, by the fact that he was not up here alone. "Boruto…?" he asked. "What are you doing…?"

The young Uzumaki was sitting on the railing, facing the sunrise. "Hey, dad…" the boy grumbled. Naruto made his way over to the railing and leaned on it, facing the opposite way.

"What's got you up this early…?"

"Couldn't sleep…" Boruto answered.

"Why's that? Are you worried?"

"You and mom have been acting strange lately…" Boruto said. "So, yeah… I guess I am worried… And what if that explosion had hurt Himawari-chan…? Or mom…? Or…. "He cut off and looked away.

"Or me…?" Naruto finished. "Boruto…" The boy looked at his father. "I don't want you to worry about any of this. They weren't going to hurt me, whoever they are… so don't you worry, child!"

Boruto bowed his head and clenched his fists. "I want to protect them… You told me that the village is your family too… which makes it my family as well! Whatever's going on, you don't have to fight it alone!"

Naruto smiled sadly. The boy before him was so familiar… "You just focus on your training, okay?"

"Will you practice with me?" Boruto asked.

Naruto smiled. It had been quite some time since he had shared a sparring session with his son. "Sure! But not too rough, because you and your team have a special mission today!"

"Really?"

"Yep!" Naruto pushed off the railing and stood on the center of the flat roof. "Show me what you've learned!" Before he had a chance to finish the sentence, his son was rushing at him. The attack wasn't sloppy, but it wasn't perfect. Naruto easily sidestepping it and slammed an open palm on the boy's back.

Boruto stumbled, but didn't lose his footing, which impressed his father. The boy jumped into the air and aimed a round kick at his father's face. Naruto dodged and grabbed Boruto's foot before tossing him gently away. Unfortunately for his son, his sparring partner was not only the Hokage, but one of the most powerful ninja in their history.

But that didn't seem to bother Boruto. The boy came again and before he knew it, Naruto was dodging kicks and punches that were as smooth as his own moves. The boy, despite only having Hinata as a Hyuuga trainer, had the fluidity of any Hyuuga. As he moved around Boruto's taijutsu attacks, he was reminded of fighting Neji in the Chuunin exams. Naruto hadn't been able to dodge and move like he could now.

He looked down at his child. The boy was as focused as if this was a real battle. His steps were almost flawless for his level, and while there were mistakes and missteps here and there, pride filled Naruto. Boruto sidestepped an attack from his father and quickly moved back behind him, issuing a stinging open-handed stroke to the small of Naruto's back. He knew he could have avoided it, but he decided to let the boy hit flesh.

Naruto backed away and nodded. "Good!" he said with a smile. Boruto turned to his father with a smile and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Thanks dad!" he said. By that point, the sun had risen. Naruto sighed. As expected, his problems were still there, but at least now he had been able to spend some time with his son.

"You're welcome!" He ruffled the child's hair. "Now go get ready! Your team will be here soon to get your special mission!" He watched Boruto run off. He had sent Konohamaru a message the night before saying that the mission they were scheduled for that day was canceled. Naruto nodded and then followed his son inside.

About an hour later, Naruto was sitting at his desk with Sarada, Boruto, Haku and Konohamaru standing inside. Naruto kept his eyes on the silent child in the center. While Naruto liked most people, he always found Haku to be unsettling. The boy's strange, pale eyes were always looking, as if searching for something.

"Okay…!" Naruto said. "You mission today will not be to escort the arriving teams around the village! I have a better mission for you today! You guys are being tasked with a wall patrol!"

"A wall patrol…?" Konohamaru asked. "Are you sure…?" Naruto nodded. "Okay… If you say so, Naruto-sama… But…" He trailed off. Naruto knew his concerns. Wall patrols were usually only for the ANBU, and especially with people coming in and out of the village in massive numbers, it didn't make sense to bring in a genin team to cover it… but Naruto didn't trust the ANBU at the moment… Sasuke's outburst had been unsettling to say the least. Either he was protecting someone or himself, or he was scared… And that bothered Naruto… Boruto also had the Byakugan and was one of the few Hyuuga he could trust.

"Don't worry about it!" Naruto assured them with a smile. Konohamaru still looked troubled as he ushered his team outside to teach them about border patrols. Hinata and her team appeared next. Naruto nodded at them, happy to see them. "The first few teams of the day should be arriving shortly," he said. "You are assigned to the teams from the Sound Village. You will escort them to the inn they are assigned to and then you will act as their tour guide. Show them where they may train, eat, shop and generally hang out."

Obito nodded with a sly smile and his twin sister nodded, bowing her head. Like her father, she hid a part of her face from the world. Her collar came up to just below her nose and when she was nervous or scared, she lowered her face into her shirt. Shiba was the complete opposite of her shy teammate. She was outgoing, like her father and grandmother. Her wild, black hair fell in a seemingly tangled mess down her back. Beside her was a massive, fluffy black and reddish-brown dog.

She had not bonded with the pup of Akamaru. Instead, she had bonded with an unruly puppy that had been sired by what could only be described as a monster dog. The lion-like beast was already large enough to ride and stood nearly as tall as the girl herself. Naruto felt sorry for whoever would be facing that creature and her master in battle…

Hinata nodded and told her students to wait for her outside the mansion before turning to Naruto. "What are you up to today, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Nothing…" Naruto muttered. "I'm probably just going to be filling out paperwork dealing with the bombing…"

Hinata nodded. "Okay… Be safe…"

Naruto laughed. "I should be telling you to be safe… My lovely cousin is scheduled to appear today."

"Oh? Karin is coming…?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded. "There's only three teams coming from the Sound Village this year… Kabuto's leading one of them."

"Is Karin?" Hinata asked.

"No, not as far as I know. She's coming to be the ambassador of the Sound Village."

"I… see…" Hinata smiled and waved at Naruto. "Have fun with paperwork, then! Tonight we should take Himawari and Boruto out for ramen! Today is her first training session with her team!"

"Sounds good." Naruto agreed. He watched his wife leave and then closed his eyes. "The world is indeed changing…" he muttered

Hinata walked behind her team. She smiled as Obito and Shiba spoke excitedly while they walked. Both were similar in personality, but also very different. While Shiba was a reckless spirit, Obito had a calmness to him. Like his father, his sense of humor was twisted and he had picked up more than just children's books at his house. Rin was the polar opposite of her brother. Hinata could only see herself in the young girl. She was quiet and soft-spoken… but her talent was beyond anything that Hinata had seen. She had the strength and raw abilities to carry on the name Hatake proudly. She also was in love with Shiba's companion, Akita. For all her shyness, Rin had shown no fear or hesitation when she first laid eyes on the massive animal. Despite the animal's terrifying appearance, she was actually a gentle giant with the people she liked. Luckily, Akita liked everyone on that team.

Hinata hadn't been happy when Naruto told her the reasons behind giving Boruto's team a patrol mission. She wasn't sure she could agree with her husband's reasoning… Just because Sasuke was acting weird, it didn't mean to whole ANBU were traitors… Hinata sighed when they made it to the gates. Rin sat down on the ground and the dog rested his massive head in her lap.

"What are Sound Villagers like?" Obito asked.

Hinata shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Everyone has their own personality. How would you answer if I were to ask you what Leaf Villagers are like?"

Obito blinked, confused for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah… I could see how that would be a hard question to answer…"

"Isn't a relative of Hokage-sama a member of the Sound?" Shiba asked. Hinata nodded. "Then why doesn't she live here? You'd think Hokage-sama would want his relatives in the village. Is she not welcomed here?"

Hinata sighed. "That's… a long story…" she answered. "But Karin was allowed into the village, but she refused… Instead she went to live with her team back in the Sound Village."

"But why?"

"It's… complicated," Hinata tried to answer.

"Oh…"

Hinata leaned against the wall and waited for the teams to show up. The dog was the first to notice the advancing teams. She stood and let out a low, warning growl. Shiba walked over to her and rested a hand on her head to calm her. Hinata clenched her fists when she spotted Kabuto. There had been too much bad blood between him and the village for her not to feel uneasy, but when they approached, she smiled and bowed. As Naruto had said, there were nine students, three teachers and Karin, along with a small child about Himawari's age.

"Hello, Karin… It's nice to see you again," Hinata said with a smile. She observed Karin for a moment. Her hair was short and straight. Beside her, the boy had the same dark red hair as his mother. He pushed up his glasses and held onto her arm. Hinata didn't know she was bringing along her son. He wasn't old enough for the Chuunin exams, and since he had no headband, she assumed that he had not graduated their academy yet.

She smiled and knelt in front of the boy. "Hello!" she greeting. The last time she had seen the boy, he was no more than a few days old.

"H-hi…" the boy whimpered and hid behind his mother. Hinata sighed and stood up. She greeted Kabuto and his team, then addressed the other teachers and their teams, welcoming them to Konoha.

"Thank you…" Kabuto answered.

"You must be tired from your journey! Come!" Hinata said with a smile. She started leading the groups into the village. Most of the hatred towards the Sound Village had died off over the years, but some of the older villagers stared warily at the newcomers. Hinata noticed that the looks did not go unnoticed by the children. She wanted to snap at all of them. These kids had nothing to do with what Orochimaru did all those years ago.

Luckily, Obito, Rin and Shiba were more than happy to act as tour guides to the teams. They pointed out every shop and restaurant that they passed, saying what it was. Hinata turned when Kabuto came to walk beside her. "They're not happy that we're here."

"They'll get over it…" Hinata answered.

"I just hope the kids don't have to deal with anything…"

"Naruto wouldn't allow anyone to be harmed as a guest in this village," Hinata snapped. Kabuto merely laughed as if what she had said was funny.

"How are you doing? Did you ever settle down?"

"No… Being an assistant to the leader of a village is a fulltime job…"

"Try being married to a leader," Hinata teased with a smile.

"I might as well be…" Kabuto grumbled with a dry laugh. "How are you children?"

"Fine," Hinata said, a little too quickly.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kabuto asked. "Should we be expecting the Chuunin exams to be cancelled…?"

"Don't even think about it," Hinata said. "They will go on without a problem…"

It was then that she noticed a small crowd gathering around a shop front. Hinata blinked and hurried forward. In the center of a crowd was a young Hyuuga. He was passing out fliers to people. Most of the people were taking them and tearing them up. The crowd did not seemed pleased with the Hyuuga and what he was saying.

Hinata pushed her way through the people and snatched a flier from him. The paper had Naruto's face on it and words of slander underneath it. "How dare you?" a villager snapped, throwing the paper at the Hyuuga. The young boy shrugged and continued to pass out the papers. Most were ending up back in his face, or in the trash.

"Alright, alright! Break it up!" Hinata said. She looked down at the Hyuuga child. "Go home…" she ordered. The boy nodded and darted away without looking up. Hinata crumbled the piece of paper.

"Is something wrong, sensei…?" Rin asked quietly. Hinata shook her head and pocketed the flier.

"Let's go!"

"See ya, sensei!" Boruto called. He stretched and yawned as he walked away from his teacher and his team. Sarada headed towards the Uchiha compound and Haku disappeared to where ever he lived… Boruto wasn't sure… He sighed and rubbed his shoulder. After training with his dad and then doing patrols all day, including answering questions from some of the visitors, he was exhausted. He could almost hear his bed calling for him.

Boruto rubbed his face and sighed. Hopefully tomorrow Konohamaru-sensei would let them train… The Exams were starting soon and he wanted to be prepared for them with all he had. The day was quickly turning to night as he headed down the streets, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Maybe I can get dad to train with me again," he said with a nod. He also couldn't wait to hear about Himawari's first day with her team.

He smiled at the thought of her with her two older teammates. He wanted to see their faces when they realized that she wasn't the fragile child that everyone thought she was. He wished she were going into the Chuunin Exams too… but he also knew how dangerous they were, so he was glad that his sister would be spared for now… She was too young anyway.

"Boruto! Hey!"

Boruto turned around. "Oh… Hey, Uncle Airisu…" he greeting, trying to stifle another yawn. His parents had wanted to keep the possibility of Boruto and Himawari actually being with their clan, so they had only had good things to say about the Hyuuga Clan, so he wasn't' concerned to see his uncle there. "What's up?"

"Not much… Just out for a walk… I heard you are going into the Chuunin Exams this year…" Airisu said. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah!" Boruto said with a smile.

"Good!" He walked up to the child. "I was actually looking for you… I wanted you to come back to the compound with me to teach Danchi-kun some of your moves! He'll be starting mission soon, just like Himawari!"

Boruto brightened up and nodded. He never got to see his cousins, let alone train them. "I should go tell my parents first, though…"

"There's no need," Airisu said. "I already talked to your mother about the training session. She said it was okay."

Boruto narrowed his eyes for a moment. He had no reason not to trust his uncle… other than the fact that his mother's side of the family never really had any interest in him… Maybe they're trying to mend the bond! Daddy's always saying how important family is! "Okay!" Boruto said with a smile. He took his uncle's hand and let himself be led away.

Author's note: Cliffhanger! Anyway… I was a little nervous about how mush technology to give them, since it's not really specified exactly how much they actually have… but I figured since they already have TV and movies in Part One, having Live TV now isn't a stretch! Now… Do they have something like the internet…? That is what I'm really struggling with! Thank for reading!