Naruto:
Edge of Tomorrow
Chapter 2
-Konoaguke no
Seto:
Reestablishing Ties-
By Geor-sama
It was the silence that woke him up; he still wasn't used to that. Opening his blue eyes to slits, the blond who was stretched out on his sleeping bag in the training area, groaned, seeing the barely blue sky. He had spent a good portion of his night trying to repair his new home, and it wasn't until around one in the morning that he had finally decided to get some sleep.
Of course, he had gone hunting for his furniture, and, when it turned up missing, he had panicked. Which meant his house had been filled with two dozen clones who had hunted high and low, only to discover that all he had left to his name were three boxes. After his anger had burned long enough to invent a few interesting phrases, he had grabbed his sleeping bag and gone to sleep.
Or, at least, he had meant to, but something else Naruto hadn't counted on was the fact that within a village, insects did not make much noise. After two and half years of training, he had grown so used to the noise that the lack of it disturbed his sleep. The only reason he had never noticed that before was because he had spent very little time actually sleeping in Konoha since his return.
Grunting, Naruto sat up, knocking his sleeping hat off his head and stifling a yawn. Sitting there, waking up slowly, he found himself staring at the single tree in the training yard. Then, slowly, his mind turned toward a few questions that he had only barely considered yesterday before storming off to confront Hiashi. What did Hiashi really want? How could he be politically important?
There was no reason that Naruto saw, other than trying to bribe the boy into stop seeing his daughter.
But Hiashi had said he didn't mind that. So, why? Was it merely all of his pent-up good karma finally coming into play? Had Naruto overly impressed Hiashi during his first and only Chūnin exam?
He didn't get it.
"Screw it," Naruto finally muttered, shaking his head in frustration before he fell backwards. The real question was why in the bloody hell did Kakashi want to see him? It couldn't be for training, the closest the man had come to doing that was on the way back when he had explained nature manipulation and handed him a piece of paper and had him cut it with his chakra.
After that, the man had explained about the Kage Bunshin and then...nothing.
So if it wasn't training then the other possibility had to be a mission, but that was impossible it was too soon. Sighing in frustrated the blond closed his eyes, his temples throbbing, what possible reason could he have for wasting more of Naruto's time?
Hell, Naruto hadn't even gotten around to seeing Sakura yesterday because he had been so wrapped up in trying to fix up his new house.
He brightened a little, however, remembering that he would at least get to see Sakura when he saw Kakashi. He brightened even more, though, when he remembered he was meeting with Hinata for some ramen before he had to do anything else including spending the rest of his time at the academy.
He was disturbed from his musings when a sandaled foot, belonging to a thick leg that was encased in a pair of green pants, landed inches from his face. Lifting his blue eyes, Naruto looked up, past the green over shirt and red robe into the almost youthful face of his white haired, infamous sensei who always wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for oil.
"Brat! I thought I taught you to be more aware of your surroundings!" Naruto silently cursed and, grumbling, he once more sat up, turning toward his sensei and scowling. "What if I was using an assassination technique on you!?"
"Then I would be dead," Naruto muttered, staring at the man darkly. "Then again, you would have died painfully when the Kyubi brought me back."
Jiraiya snorted and plopped down, crossing his arms. "So, how'd you manage to get yourself set up like some sorta Clan chief?"
"Ahahaha..." Naruto laughed nervously, scratching at the back of his head. "I don't really understand it... but...I sorta...am a Clan chief."
"What does that mean?" the Sannin asked, and he listened intently to every word that Naruto said as he explained the situation. When Naruto finished, the man nodded sagely, rubbing his chin, before sighing. "As much as I hate to admit it, Tsuande's right. This has to be political, though why anyone would want to let an annoying brat like you keep dating their daughter is beyond me."
"Ye-Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, realizing that the man had just insulted him.
"Oh, that reminds me..." Jiraiya said without even noticing his student's reaction, a lecherous smile on his face as he leaned forward, fingers moving in an odd pattern. "She's that really quiet and shy girl, right? Hehehe...you know what they say right? It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for!"
"Oi!" Naruto shook his fist at the old man. "Don't talk about Hinata-chan like that!"
"Punk! Don't you remember who I am?!" Jiraiya shouted.
"An old perverted man!" Naruto shouted back.
"What was that runt?!" Jiraiya shouted, hitting the boy on top of his head.
"BASTARD!" Naruto shouted, and things quickly escalated into an all-out brawl between sensei and student.
Naruto
Sunshine poured from the crystal-clear blue sky, bathing the ninja that roamed the street in a comfortable warmth. The street itself was one of the few that ran the whole length of Konoha, intersecting with various other streets. It also happened to lead directly to a series of stores that could break the bank accounts of almost every ninja and villager without trying.
Weaving through this street, smiling brightly and waving at everyone, was the pink-haired ninja known as Haruno Sakura. She was familiar, of course, because Tsunade bought high-end sake from one of the stores and often used Sakura to perform said errand. Still, she was known, and that was the important thing. Well, that and the fact that she had her own expense account with the Hokage's office.
It had been meant for use in buying special medical items or the occasional new outfit. Once Sakura had even used it to buy Shizune a birthday present. Now that she was on her lunch break hunting for a congratulation present to give Naruto, that expense account was going to come in very handy.
Sakura, for all of her faults, was actually very proud of Naruto. As she had told one of the few acquaintances she had at the hospital, only one other person had gotten the same type of promotion. So, of course, she would have to buy him something; he would have done that for her.
Which brought her back to the real problem of what to get the blond. First, there was the problem of what Hinata was getting him: there would be nothing worse than giving the same present. Sadly, however, that particular girl had been closed-mouthed about what she had in mind. So, Sakura would have to use the process of logical rejection.
Clothes would definitely be out; Naruto had more than his fair share of orange and black outfits. From what she understood about the Kyubi and Naruto himself, those high class soldier pills a lot of Jōnin were fond of were out as well. He didn't like sake or have a taste for anything remotely pornographic -thank the gods!- so there really wasn't a whole lot left to buy him.
Actually, the list of things she could buy him were limited to three types: weapons, books and, of course, ramen. Needless to say, in Sakura's opinion, shopping for Uzumaki Naruto was a very frustrating process. Still, the girl wouldn't give up on this. Checking her watch, Sakura winced, realizing just how much of her break had been wasted.
She had twenty minutes to finish her shopping, make it back to the hospital to finish her morning shift and then meet up with Naruto for a team meeting. If only she had been clever enough to weasel the information out of Hinata about what she was buying him, then she would have a clue for her own present. Shaking her head, she decided to play it moderately safe and settled on weapons, which led her into the nearest high-end weapons shop.
Prominently on display, thus intended to draw the most attention, were oddly designed makibishi, kama, juute, kunai, sai, kusarigama, katana and even armored gloves. Sakura studied each one, trying to determine which one would best suit the boy she knew. She picked up each item, weighing it in her hands. True, weight had very little meaning for her now, but she could still tell the difference between them. For one moment, her green eyes came to a rest on a large axe that she would have loved to heft, but moved on, remembering she was shopping for Naruto.
Selecting a pair of armored gloves, she weighed them, then, noticing a notch on the end of the armor plate, tried it on. Clenching her fist in suspicion, she smiled warily as a blade hissed into existence from the notch just above her knuckles. Well, it would be a good backup present if she couldn't find anything else.
Actually, as she placed the glove back on the counter, she wondered why she was bothering with all of this. A short walk to that ramen stand he loved so much and she could buy him some free ramen coupons, which would send Naruto over the moon. Yet, she couldn't do that. For some reason, it was important to her that she gave as much thought to his present as he would give to hers. That decided, she set the bladed gloves down and considered the other weapons.
She was distracted, however, as the chimes over the doorway jangled together in an odd melody. Turning, Sakura found herself looking at a startled-looking Hinata. "Hinata?" The other girl blinked owlishly and then nodded, moving toward her.
"Sakura-san."
Walking quickly, she joined the confused girl, smiling slightly. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you in here."
"Anou...my family has an account," Hinata mumbled before offering her own faint smile. "Naruto-kun, he uhm, used all of my weapons on the mission...so..."
"Oh!" Sakura said giggling slightly. "I understand."
Hinata nodded, then blinked again, looking at her intently. "Anou...uhm, Sakura-san are you here, uh...buying something?"
"Wha? No," Sakura said feeling oddly flustered for a moment, then shook it off. "Well, not really. I'm trying to figure out what to buy Naruto. I mean, since he's a Chūnin now and all."
"Oh," Hinata said, then looked away, her eyes fixing on something over Sakura's shoulder. Hinata was silent for several moments, then turned her attention to her once more. "A-anou, I'd better...go..."
Sakura blinked, then nodded, feeling oddly uneasy. "Yeah, I've got to get back to the hospital, too... Team meeting, too..." Smiling reservedly, Sakura started past the other girl, only to stop and look back. "Hey Hinata?"
"Y-yes?"
Sakura moved back to the pale-eyed girl and lowered her voice, deciding that it was best to forewarn the girl about any possible mischief on Ino's end. "Ino-pig said something about going after Naruto last night. I think she was joking around-"
Sakura, however, fell silent, taken aback by the gaze on the other girl's face. It gave Sakura the impression that Hinata would be sending Ino to the hospital in a small, sealable bag. "Well, I better go now." Sakura suddenly said, her voice edged slightly.
Seeing the curiosity on Hinata's face, Sakura waved, turned and hurried out of the store, for some reason grinding her teeth.
Sakura
"Thousand and ten, thousand and eleven, thousand and twelve..." Lee paused, crouching down as he stared at his surroundings. Assured that he was moving in the right direction once more, he took off, returning to his effort of developing a unique punch. A punch that only a few select taijutsu records ever spoke up, a one-inch punch.
It was almost mythical really, but Lee was determined to develop it, and he was close, he could feel it.
"Thousand and fifteen. Yosh! Only nine hundred and eighty-five more to go!" For some reason, knowing that he was almost done and would soon be working on the other side, he sped up. Actually, he just couldn't wait to meet up with Gai, his mentor and adoptive father. The man had said that this meeting was very important, and Lee, above all else, didn't want to mess things up.
On the other hand, Lee also needed to talk with Naruto about something. The youthful pride of Konoha had seen the blond ninja this afternoon in passing and was very surprised to see the lack of a forehead protector. It was disheartening, and Lee was determined to find out why the blond had forgone his forehead protector. Though he did wonder if, maybe, he was the only one that noticed, since nobody else seemed to glance at the blond.
"Maybe he lost it on the mission to protect Hinata," Lee mused once more, unable to believe that Naruto had truly given up on being a ninja, like Tenten had suggested after he told her. After all, Uzumaki Naruto was just like Lee. They each had too many promises and dreams to ever give up.
Shaking his head, he turned his thoughts away from the boy and toward Tenten and his other teammate, Neji, wondering if those two would ever work things out. Of course they would! They were brilliant flames of youth, so there was really no reason to worry. Though, in the back of his mind, Lee felt something was most definitely wrong between those two especially after the silent treatment she had given Neji yesterday.
Switching arms, he started to get back to punching before he suddenly realized he was where he was supposed to be and came to a halt. Well, it looked as if the other two thousand punches would have to wait until after this meeting. Shifting his attention to the clearing that Gai had selected, he froze, taken back by the sight that greeted him.
There was Sakura, sitting quietly on the ground, staring off into space. He blushed just staring at her and started to swell up in his desire to leap down there and speak with her, but he restrained that desire. He had learned from Naruto's straightforward, over- enthusiastic approaches that Sakura would never go out with him if he approached her that way.
Of course, he could see no other way to let the girl know he was interested. It was one area that he had never been able to ask Gai-sensei about. Feeling slightly guilty about spying on the girl, he turned to leave and come back later, only to freeze when she spoke.
"It was horrible..."
Lee turned back, wondering for a moment if she had been talking to him. But no, her gaze was fixed on something else in the clearing that he couldn't see just yet.
"S-sasuke was so...cold. H-he didn't care..." her voice broke and, without meaning to, Lee moved into a better position to see the girl. What he found broke his heart: she was on the verge of crying, her voice thick with so many emotions that it hurt even him to hear them. "H-he said that as long...as long as he could kill his brother, then nothing else...n-nothing else mattered..."
Unconsciously, Lee prepared to go down there and offer the obviously needed comfort when he heard another familiar voice speak, one filled with anger.
"Damn it! That bastard...I wish I could have went, I'd have beaten his ass-" Naruto's voice fell silent and then he walked over to sit beside the distraught Sakura. "Hey, we'll get him next time...I'll be ther-"
"I-it won't matter..." Sakura said softly, looking at him. "He...S-sasuke could...channel the Chidori with his entire body. He killed Sai without even trying...He's-"
Suddenly Naruto exploded to his feet, voice loud and angrier than Lee had ever heard. "What the hell does that mean!? Do you think I'm weaker than that bastard?"
"No," Sakura said after a moment, her voice soft, staring at him. "You...Naruto, I know you are stronger than him...but he's using forbidden medical experiments...he could...he c-could..."
Lee watched as Naruto's shoulders hunched as if he wanted to shout and then the young man sighed, walking over to sit back down next to Sakura. "I promise, Sakura-chan, I'll bring him back. I'm going to be Hokage, right, and I've already promised I won't die until I am, so see? That bastard can't kill me."
"...You actually think it's that easy?" Sakura muttered turning her head to look at him.
"Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! If I say he won't kill me he won't," Naruto thumbed his chest, then put an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "What I really want to know is why the hell Kakashi-sensei wanted to see us."
Lee turned away from the scene for a moment, giving the two friends some privacy. Then he realized what Naruto had said about their sensei wanting to see them here, which, of course, was what Gai had wanted of him as well. Then he was promptly brought back to reality when Kakashi suddenly appeared upside-down directly in front of him. "Yo, Lee."
"Ack!" Lee jerked back at the unexpected greeting, only to fall completely out of the tree with a thud.
"Lee?!" Naruto shouted a second later before tumbling end over end as the Jōnin leapt down to stand in front of them. "Geez, what's wrong with you!?"
"Huh? Isn't Gai here yet?" Kakashi said, looking around, completely ignoring the three ninja.
Lee decided that was a good thing, especially since it gave Sakura a chance to check him over with her gentle medical scan. When she smiled at him, Lee found his cheeks heating up and quickly climbed to his feet to escape the awkwardness.
"Hah! My eternal rival, I see that you have arrived first!" Gai's voice suddenly shouted from the trees before he, too, joined the group. "At last you are beginning to understand that the youthful flames must not be kept waiting."
"Huh? Oh, you're here..." Kakashi said, then, obviously taking delight in the other man's frustration, turned back to the three Chūnin. "So, I bet you three are wondering why we got you all here together."
Lee nodded, fingers twitching to take out a notepad just in case something important was said. Obviously, if these two powerful ninja wanted their students to meet up, there had to be something important going on. What that was, though, Lee had no clue.
"Yes, of course they do, my eternal rival," Gai said boisterously before flashing them a bright smile. "We, Kakashi and myself, have decided that you three are ready for the next step in your youthful journey to the being the brightest flames of youth possible!"
"Huh?"
"..."
"Gai-sensei!" Lee couldn't help but exclaim happily, realizing immediately that this was what he had been asking Gai for since discovering Neji's promotion to Jōnin. Gai beamed back and gave a thumbs up in his classic 'good guy' pose.
"Ahem," Kakashi interrupted, sounding almost disturbed. "Sakura, Naruto, what this means is that you will no longer be members of Team Seven..."
"WHAT?!" Naruto and Sakura shouted together in twin shock.
"Yes, and Lee, you shall no longer be part of Team Gai."
"WHAT?!" Lee shouted, unable to believe such a thing could occur now. After all, Neji still worked with them, and he was a Jōnin, so why was he any different?
"Wow, they're almost a team already," Kakashi remarked, chuckling, before pressing onward. "Sakura, you are well above the Chūnin level in terms of skill and only the Hokage can out perform you in medical jutsu. Lee you're faster than almost anyone else in the world and Naruto...well, you're above most Jōnin."
"But why can't-" Naruto started to protest when Kakashi cut him off.
"Because you have to make Jōnin, now. The Hokage and the council have decided that, after this last failed attempt at retrieving Sasuke, only Jōnin will be allowed to have any role in a final future attempt at forcibly taking him back."
"Exactly," Gai agreed, arms crossed. "Lee, you are a bright flame of youth; you must join them for this exam because you three are the only ones ready."
"So, from this point on you are all members of..." Kakashi paused, then shared a look with Gai who nodded determinedly.
"Oi, we're all members of what?" Naruto injected, sounding disgruntled.
Lee, too, wanted to know what team he was now a part of. Well, that and he was anxious to start training with his team. They would have to do a lot of that if they were to do as Lee suspected and lead the assualt on the Sound nation and the final attempt at recapturing Sasuke.
"Team Naruto!!!" Gai said and then gave another classic 'good guy' pose.
Lee, startled, turned to stare at his blond friend. The orange and black-clad ninja in question looked stunned at the sheer idea and then Sakura laughed and pushed his shoulder.
"So, what first, Captain?"
"I..." Naruto froze and then grinned before thrusting a finger into the air. "Ramen!"
Lee
Listening to the silence of the room, Hiashi retrieved his cup of tea, sipping at it as he read what he had inked not ten minutes ago. He was pleased with what he found and, setting his drink aside, began the final paragraph, careful as always to keep his hand steady and the kanji flawless. Finished, he laid his calligraphy pen aside and glanced at his official seal, preparing to set these orders into stone.
He was interrupted, however, by a polite knocking, forcing him to set his seal aside and look up. Taking a moment to glance through the door to see who it was, he allowed a slight smile to flicker across his face. "Enter." Seconds later, a Branch member entered the room, bowing with a forced humbleness.
"I am sorry to disturb you, Hyūga-sama, but Elder Hinoiri is insisting that be allowed to speak with you." The Branch Member stood upright, face neutral. "He claims it involves a very serious matter of Hyūga Family business."
Hiashi nodded, maintaining his stoic seriousness as he stared at the man. "Very well." The man bowed once more and retreated, giving Hiashi the chance to cover his carefully written orders with a bland financial report. To a casual glance it would be trivial, and, if the elder was so crass as to blatantly use his bloodline, then, of course, accidents did happen.
Seconds later, his door was opened and an elderly man with wisps of black hair and milky white eyes entered the room with a careful ease.
"Hiashi-kun," the man said by way of greeting, which, of course, was only the opening challenge. As an elder, the man had the right to refer to him in such a casual manner. Hiashi, in response, turned his attention to the financial report in silence, being intentionally rude. "Excuse me, but I did come here to discuss matters of..." the man started to say, only to stop at Hiashi's continued effort at ignoring him. "Hiashi-kun, it is quite rude of you-"
"Hiashi-sama," Hiashi corrected blandly, without looking up. "Rudeness is a reflection of our own courtesy. I thought you, above all, would remember that, Hinoiri-kōhai."
"Of course. Excuse me, Hiashi-sama," Hinoiri said, his tone almost dripping with venom.
"Elder Hinoiri, I am very sorry," Hiashi said as he looked up, though his tone of voice made it clear that he was anything but. "Yes, I was just going over the financial reports for the last few months, and am I afraid I was very irritated. My rudeness was inexcusable, so I apologize."
"Of course, perfectly understandable," the old man allowed, obviously forcing himself to be polite.
"Still, to be rude to one of your stature is improper. I must apologize," Hiashi said, baiting the man while still denying him the right to sit.
"It is perfectly alright," Hinoiri almost snapped. "There is much pressure on you; I understand how one could become irritated."
"Of course, excuse me," Hiashi said, returning his gaze to the paper before him. "Please sit. Would you like tea, or sake perhaps? I am afraid that Hanabi is not here at the moment, so you would have to pour for yourself."
"No, I am fine thank you," Hinoiri said as he eased himself into a sitting position with a sigh. "You know, of course, the business I wish to address?"
Hiashi looked up and nodded, scowling slightly. "Yes, I am pleased to learn that I am not the only one to find it deplorable that we are running low this year on funds. I think we may have to send a few more Branch Family members into active ninja service."
"Yes, that is unfortunate," Hinoiri answered, eyes almost narrowing in annoyance. "...I, however, was referring to the rumor that your daughter, Hinata-sama, has started dating that boy."
"Ah, so that is what brought you to see me?"
"Yes," Hinoiri responded. "I, along with my fellow Elders, are understandably curious about the validity of this rumor."
Hiashi laced his fingers together, setting them on the desk, deciding not to toy with the issue any longer. "Uzumaki-dono is, indeed, dating my daughter. He is a proper suitor by our Clan laws."
"How can you can speak so calmly about this," Hinoiri continued evenly, though he was clearly shouting on the inside. "That boy should not be dating Hinata-sama! He should never be allowed near any our young women!"
"Hinoiri-san, I hope that this is not about the fear of the Kyubi breaking free. It should be obvious by now, after nearly sixteen years, that the seal holding that beast will not break," Hiashi said calmly, cutting short one argument that the elder would attempt to use. "Since the Kyubi is not a threat, I see no reason that she cannot pursue Uzumaki-dono."
"Be that as it may, the seal is not the only reason. He is not Hyūga, and you know that only Hyūga may-"
"Hinata is my eldest child, and she found a suitor who matches all the requirements to date and, eventually, marry," Hiashi said, cutting the old man off. "There is precious little I can do other than to concentrate on this crumbling Clan."
"How dare you!" Hinoiri raged. "Have you forgotten that the Hyūga are the most noble? That our blood is most pure of any?"
Hiashi frowned. "We are, indeed, the most noble, but our blood is not pure. Acts of survival become custom, custom becomes tradition, tradition becomes law and law becomes death."
"That is not-"
"Tell me, Hinoiri-san, wasn't it only last week that your grand-niece gave birth to a deformed child?" Hiashi asked, as if he already knew the answer.
"That was a tragic act of the kam-"
"It was an act of stupidity," Hiashi said darkly. "Our Clan is tainted and unclean. We have increasing cases of stunted growth, of hemophilia, severe mental deficiencies and, most importantly, weakening Byakugan."
"You are ignorant as ever," Hinoiri snapped, narrowing his eyes. "We explained this to your grandfather and to your father: there is no increase in such events, it is merely the Clan Head's overreacting."
"It is you who are ignorant, Elder," Hiashi said calmly. "I have explained to you and the others what must be done to correct these problems. However, let me say it again, we must allow-"
"Hyūga Hiashi!" Hinoiri shouted, laboriously climbing to his feet. "The Juni Jutsu is not an item for negotiation! It has been explained to you why it must, and will, continue to be used! As for this...this atrocity involving your daughter-"
"If you insist on discussing a matter of such non-importance that it borders on the ludicrous, then so be it. Elder Hinoiri, let me say now that whatever my daughter does concerning Uzumaki Naruto has my approval. When she asks that I allow her to marry into his Clan, I will give her my blessing and, as a Main Branch member, she shall not receive the Juni Jutsu."
Hinoiri's red faced blotched as the blood rushed from it, and he stared at Hiashi.
The Hyūga leader found that a very pleasing face, and he decided to make his final jab before sending the man off. "While we are on the subject of my daughters, you should also know that Hanabi is pursuing Saturobi Konohamaru and, when she is ready to ask me to allow her to marry into his clan, I will grant my permission there as well."
"Y-you can't..."
"Yes, I can. I am both their father and the Head of this Clan; therefore, I have final say in who they marry." Hiashi gave the elder a cold smile. "I believe we have nothing else to discuss. Good day." The Elder stood there, sputtering and then, his rage building, turned, storming out of the room.
Hiashi continued to stare at the door for several long minutes and then, finally, looked down at the paper in front of him. Was he risking too much now? No, it was no great risk. Using Hanabi in such a way merely advanced him one more move toward checkmate in this game. So, he would wait now, wait and see what his opponents would attempt in countering him. Satisfied, he moved the financial report and pressed his official seal against the orders, setting his next move in the game in motion.
Hiashi
"See you next week!" Ino called out to her friends, primarily failed kunoichi, and then started off on her own. Her friends had, of course, been pleased to have her back on the weekly lunches, but Ino herself found it utterly boring. It wasn't the girls' fault, really; it was the topics of choice. Even that wasn't really the problem. It was the fact that suddenly Ino found herself without a boyfriend.
Ever since Neji had told her he had made a decision concerning their relationship, Ino had become bored, and Ino was a girl that did not like being bored. This meant she kept herself busy, which usually meant setting her sights on a guy and dating them; however, after Neji, there were just no interesting guys left.
Shikamaru had made it clear that he was 'not-dating' Temari and Kiba was just too wild. In Ino's opinion, after those two, the other males of her age group just weren't interesting enough to date. Somehow, this triggered a memory she had forgotten, which almost shocked her.
Hadn't she, just yesterday, claimed that Naruto was becoming interesting? Details concerning the boy were sketchy, but what Ino did know made her interest pique. The blond was strong, he was trained by a Sannin, he seemed to have been promoted in an unusual way and she couldn't forget about the S-ranked criminals after him.
Of course, she remembered that the boy had Hinata trying to get into his pants and that was one kunoichi that had a package, if unleashed, that Ino would be hard pressed to beat. Then she remembered Sakura, her pink-haired best friend, and the sake-induced confession that, just maybe, she cared about Naruto more than she should.
Ino chuckled to herself, deciding that, if the chance to get to know more about the boy arose, she would take it. There was no rush on snapping the boy up; Sakura would never go for the blond, and Hinata was too hesitant. Shortly after this decision was made, she was greeted with the surprise of Naruto stumbling out of a store amid shouts of 'evil and foul' and crashed into her, knocking them both to the ground.
"Damn store!" Naruto shouted, climbing to his feet, then noticing who he had landed on he helped her up.
"...Thanks Naruto," Ino said, slyly dusting her butt off and arranging her hair, giving him the best views she could without getting too obvious. Her outfit was very well-suited for such tactics, after all.
Naruto froze for a second, his eyes darting everywhere she wanted him to and then suddenly he was staring at her face with a cheerful grin. "Ahaha, you're welcome, Ino!"
"So, what was all that about?" Ino asked, her voice smooth as silk.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, glanced at the store and then back at her, his face darkening. "Oh, them. I pulled a prank on them once and they haven't forgiven me."
Ino hesitated, doubting that was the whole truth, but accepted it at face value. Brightening, she gave her patented pout, which had bent even Neji to her will. "Sooo...you want some Ramen? My treat."
Naruto's eyes seemed to glaze over, and Ino couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Naruto was such a push–over; she would reel him in easily, now.
Then he shook his head and frowned. "Can't, I gotta go to the academy."
"Huh?" Ino blinked, surprised at such a lame excuse. At least for Naruto it was lame. After all, he was the last person the academy would let back inside.
"Baa-chan is making me work at the academy. Just cause she's Hokage now, she thinks she can just boss me 'round!" Naruto complained, crossing his arms. "Wait till I'm Hokage, then she'll see what its like!"
"Baa-chan?" Ino blinked staring at the boy. "You call Hokage-sama Baa-chan?"
"Yea...why not?" Naruto blinked staring at her.
Ino shook her head, letting it pass. He really was getting interesting if he could call the most powerful ninja in the village that.
Naruto, however, was already moving on, smiling brightly. "Oi, that Tsuki-thingie is tonight!"
Ino brightened nodding slightly, fishing to see where this was leading. "Yea, the Tsukimi."
"Right that thingie!" Naruto enthused. "I knew I forgot to ask Hinata-chan something."
"You're...gonna ask her?" Ino asked, blinking as he nodded.
"Ye-" Naruto blinked suddenly, glancing at his watch, panic filling his face. "Crap! I gotta go! Later, Ino!" That said, he darted off down the street, leaving Ino standing there, feeling a great deal of annoyance.
All of that, discovering that he was more interesting than she had originally thought and yet...he as asking someone else out. Obviously, he had some sort of relationship with Hinata now and part of her really wanted to keep at it until she got a date with that boy. The other part, the part she would listen to for the moment, told her to leave him be.
At least she would for the time being.
Ino
Iruka sighed, resting his forehead in his hands, gathering strength. He was only twenty-five years old -should have been the prime of his life- but he was tired. Actually, more than tired; he was bordering on exhaustion. First Naruto, who had strained his mind to the breaking point on several occasions, then Iruka had to deal with the boy's successor, Konohamaru.
The end result had been a 'mental vacation', and now here he was back teaching. He could already feel his nerves fraying, and he was not entirely sure how long he would last. Oh, thank the kami that the Hokage had promised him that she was going to send him some help. It was the only safety net he held onto.
Mizuki had been a jerk, but at least he had been there to help ease the burden.
Glancing up at the rambunctious class, he winced, watching several would-be pranksters whisper about something. Undoubtedly trying to out-do the mythos that was quickly building around Naruto and Konohamaru. Well, at least Iruka could count that as a plus: after having taught both boys, there had yet to be a prankster that he couldn't counter.
Glancing at the clock over the door, he winced, wondering where his assistant was. It wouldn't be long until class started, and he was not looking forward to dealing with these hooligans without backup. Sadly, as each second ticked by, and that minute hand moved closer to the start of class, he was resigning himself to his fate.
Damn, that woman had lied to him.
Groaning, he climbed to his feet, placing his hands against the desk and looking around at the class. "Okay, let's settle down and get started..." Seeing this had no effect, he resorted to an old tatic he had perfected with Naruto. Grabbing a book, he slammed it on the desk loudly, glaring at them. "SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"
Each child, of course, did just that, almost like they were terrified of him. Which was not surprising, since such a reaction was natural even from Naruto. Seeing that they were behaving, he gathered himself together and started talking, eyes sweeping the room.
"Today's lesson will be covering -Moroboshi Ataru don't even think about throwing that- the Shodai Hokage." Iruka paused and stared at another boy. "Miyake Shimazu, don't you even think about snapping her bra. Now then, who can tell me what technique the Shodai Hokage was known best for?"
There was a brief hesitation and then a few hands went up, earning a sigh from Iruka as he spotted the familiar face of a girl that seemed to idolize Sakura. "Shigeru Chiba?"
The girl in question almost beamed as she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "The Shodai Hokage was best known for his Mokuton techniques and the unification of Konoha village."
"Correct." Iruka beamed, shifting his gaze to the door as one of his students started to edge toward it. "Kinryu Arimoto, get back to your seat."
The boy was brought up short anyway, when the door snapped open to reveal one Uzumaki Naruto.
Iruka couldn't help but stare for a moment, wondering why the number one prankster, of all people, would be there. "Naruto?"
Naruto blinked, then grinned nervously, scratching at the back of his head. "Ahahheheeh."
Iruka forced the shiver of fear that raced up his spine away, staring at the blond in mounting fear. "Naruto, are you here for a reason?"
"Yup! Baa-chan told me I was suppose to be helping out here, and Baldy started bawling when he saw me," Naruto said brightly, giving a thumbs up. "I guess I'm supposed to help you! Ain't that great?!"
Iruka stared for several long minutes, wishing to do just as the Academy principal had apparently done. Instead, Iruka collapsed back into his chair, staring at the blond in shock. How could the Hokage do this to him? It was one thing to teach the boy, but to share teaching duties with Naruto...
...that was just cruel and unusual torture.
Iruka
"Oi, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto shouted as he walked out of the house and into the training area, the shadows lengthening around him as night fell. The white-haired man in question was currently propped up against a tree, snoring soundly, much to the annoyance of the blond ninja.
Walking over, he paused just out of reach, frowning as he tried to decide how best to wake the bastard. He had learned a long time ago that Ero-Sennin could wake up at a moment's notice with very painful results. This knowledge had come especially after he had gotten far too curious about the books the old man wrote and tried to pry the latest edition out of his sleeping hands.
Deciding to go for the simple approach, Naruto quietly pulled a kunai and pricked the man's large toe.
Nothing.
Frowning, Naruto put the kunai up and grabbed a rock, tossing it at the man, but Jiraiya's head fell forward so it bounced off that oddly-shaped forehead protector. Crossing his arms, Naruto snorted, knowing his sensei was just play–sleeping, as well as knowing what he would have to do to get the man to stop acting.
"Oiroke no Jutsu!" Naruto called out before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear as a Tsunade proportioned version of his female self.
Jiraiya jumped to his feet, drooling and holding his thumbs up. "Genius!"
Disgruntled, Naruto released the Henge, reappearing as himself glaring at the now disappointed man. "You really are a pervert!"
"I am a super-pervert!" Jiraiya said defensively, and Naruto sighed.
"Not this again..."
"Feh, whatever. You are unappreciative of facts, as always." Jiraiya said dismissively, waving a hand. "Why do you think your issue of Icha Icha failed?"
"Hey!" Naruto said defensively. "That wasn't my fault! I couldn't help it that I chose the publisher's daughter as-" Naruto paused, then scowled. "Actually, now that I think about it, you're the ass that told me who to research!"
"Oh...hehehe..." the older man said, then brushed his sleeve off. "So, did you want something or were you just teasing an old man?"
Letting the earlier argument slide, Naruto plopped down across the man, taking on the listening position he was so familiar with when discussing seals. "Oi, so, did you take a look at the seal?"
"Yea," the Sannin said, eyes intent. "It's interesting...and complicated."
"How complicated?"
"Complicated enough that I can see why things would fall apart when it was activated improperly,." Jiraiya said and then produced a scroll, spreading it out between them. "See, there are eleven main seals. Four for the various charka types at the cardinal directions; then, another four for various bloodline combinations; two for genjutsu and ninjtusu; and the final one to declare who to allow the usage of their chakra and various jutsu."
Naruto darted his eyes to the seals, which were fairly obvious, but it was the lines that interconnected the seals that caught his attention. It looked like sheer madness; no, it looked like they were intentionally trying to confuse anyone attempting to copy the seal or break it. "Geez. So, how does it work?"
"Well, it took me most of the day..." Jiraiya said, reaching out to point at each seal as he spoke. "Basically, the seal is powered by tying the Void seal to a source of long-lasting chakra, like a tree. The over all seal completely denies or negates the use of chakra. As such, it is a GM-dan level Fūin jutsu that grants the user total security from all types of attack, including bloodlines, save taijutsu."
"Could you get it to work?" Naruto suddenly asked, studying the seal intently.
"Maybe," Jiraiya said rolling the scroll shut. "I'd have to remove the original and then retranscribe it to function for you. Plus, I'd have to find a new energy source for the Void seal since the tree it's tied to is already dead."
Naruto was silent for several long minutes, his mind processing everything he had been told and seen about that seal. The most impressive use he saw, was one he would not share at the moment; but how would such a seal react when placed on a living person. A person such as Orochimaru or those cloaked freaks that were after him.
Deciding that was something to consider later, Naruto turned back to something else he needed from the pervert as a bonus for his new jutsu Kakashi had started him on developing.
"Oi, I need you to teach me something."
"Ask Kakashi."
"He can't teach me what I need to know," Naruto said evenly, his tone showing an alarmingly quick shift from annoying to serious.
"Ok, let's hear it. What can I teach you that he can't?"
"I'm no good at long-range attacks," Naruto said, struggling with how to get the man to teach him a technique that he had already said was off-limits to him.
"That's because you're a close ranger fighter," Jiraiya answered exasperatedly. "We've been through this already!"
"Yea yea...but I need to know how to close distances fast because not all my enemies are gonna want to fight close range," Naruto reasoned, noting the way Jiraiya's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"...What do you want me to teach you?" Jiraiya asked evenly. "If you just need that, you can get Kakashi to teach you Shunshin no Jutsu. It'll do the job."
It looked like he was going to have to have this argument all over again. "I need to be as fast as the Yondaime."
"No," Jiraiya deadpanned. "I told you no once, and I'm telling you no now. It's not a technique that you need, or should even dream about trying."
Naruto crossed his arms, scowling. "I need to learn this!"
"I'm not teaching it to you!" Jiraiya bellowed, looking angry. "Go learn the Shunshin no Jutsu! That should be enough!"
"IDIOT!" Naruto shouted back, looking just as angry. "The Akatsuki are faster than that! Itachi's faster than that! You're the one that kept yelling at me that I can't rely on the same tricks over and over! Now when I ask you to teach me something that could save my life or a precious person's life, you say no."
"Idiot!" Jiraiya shouted back, slashing his hand through the air. "Learn the Shunshin no Jutsu!"
Naruto was silent for a moment, then glared at the other man. "I have to learn it. Now. While I have the chance."
"Give me one good, legitimate reason," Jiraiya demanded harshly.
"Sasuke..." Naruto almost growled. "Sakura-chan told me about what happened...she cried...she shouldn't be crying."
Jiraiya was silent for several long moments, as if sizing him up, much to Naruto's unease. This was the longest the old man had ever been silent over any technique they had argued over. Finally the Sannin snorted. "Kami help me...Fine."
"Huh?" Naruto managed, surprised. That damn pervert finally gave in? Why?
"Just be quiet and listen. I'm not explaining any of this again, and you piss me off just once and I'm not teaching you this. Understand?"
Naruto nodded, eyes glinting as he concentrated.
"Good. The Shunshin no Jutsu allows you to appear and disappear in an instant; it's D-ranked and used in conjunction with a nearby element like mist, sand or leaves."
"Fine, fine," Naruto muttered, not caring, and his teacher gritted his teeth before continuing.
"I only explained it so you can understand that the Hiraishin no Jutsu is completely different," Pulling an oddly shaped kunai, he held it up, wrapping a note around it. "The Shunshin uses Chakra to displace your mass and move it; the Hiraishin is a wordless summoning that operates at ultra-high speed."
Naruto couldn't help but scowl as he studied the man, everything churning in his mind. "So, you need the right chakra level and a contract, right?"
Jiraiya paused, then nodded, holding up the kunai. "It's called a Jutsu-shiki, which marks the destination. After you've met both requirements, you can transport yourself instantaneously."
Jiraiya hurled the prepared weapon at a post, where it stuck, then, faster than the blink of the eye, he disappeared and appeared at the post, continuing his lecture. "It's best to apply the Jutsu-shiki in advance to the weapon or place you wish to travel."
"Right," Naruto said, looking serious. Jiraiya sighed and suddenly performed his disappearing/reappearing trick so that he was back at the original tree, as if he had never moved.
"It is possible both to leave a Jutsu-shiki in an area you touch and to travel to someone else's Jutsu-shiki if you can distinguish the chakra patterns. Most importantly, it can't be seen through by either Byakugan or Sharingan...though I don't know about the Mangekyo." Seeing Naruto nod again, he sighed, rubbing his temples. "All right...this is probably going to take us all night, so we better get started."
"Right!" Naruto beamed, and Jiraiya slapped his forehead, groaning.
"So, first, let's start on the body flicker technique. Now, with this you-"
"Oi! Wait a minute! You really think this is going to take all night?" Naruto suddenly interrupted, remembering that he had asked Hinata out, and he didn't want to have to break their first official date. After all, it had taken him almost sixteen years to get around to asking her out; he wasn't about to miss it if he could help it.
"Probably not. Even you should get the Shunshin quickly enough." Jiraiya sighed before giving him a calculating look. "Why are you so worried about it?"
"No reason," Naruto bluffed before thrusting his hands into the air. "Oi, hurry up and teach me the Shunshin."
Jiraiya shook his head and groaned.
Jiraiya
Walking beside Naruto, aware of the gazes she was receiving, Hinata felt woefully unprepared. The other girls all had nice clothes on, while Hinata had her mission clothes. Where the other girls had made sure to perform tasks to highlight their femininity, she had merely prepared for bed. Hinata was very self-conscious about this fact, and, despite her feelings of pride at being out in public with him, she was growing very uncomfortable.
Hinata tried to take her mind off feeling that way by leaning against him, enjoying the way his arm stayed draped around her shoulders as they walked down the street, talking. Unlike other girls who were so much more confident in their relationships, she had thought that Naruto was going to try and keep his dating her under wraps. Even with his shout upon returning to the village yesterday, she had feared that he would want to keep quiet, so his willingness to make it obvious that she was out with him was enough to keep her from feeling too uncomfortable.
However, the longer they were out and talking, the more chances there were that Naruto might notice the difference between her and the other girls. Hinata's mind worried over such pointless fears, but she couldn't help herself, and, as a consequence, her stammering conversation trickled off to nothing. Naruto didn't seem to notice, even when Hinata failed to react when they had run into Kurenai and Asuma.
Hinata wondered what was wrong with her, why she was so worried over Naruto noticing the other girls. This was Naruto: he was not going to abandon her just because she wasn't as pretty as the other girls. They had been on 'non-dates' all the way back on the pilgrimage; there should be no doubt in her mind that he liked her. Yet, there was, and she couldn't help it, and she felt awful. How could she be so worried over losing his affection?
Was she really that insecure?
"Oi, Hinata-chan, is something wrong?"
Blinking, Hinata glanced at Naruto, then looked around, realizing that he had led them into the doorway of an empty store, giving them a bit of privacy.
"N-no..." Hinata managed, unable to meet his gaze. How could she tell him what she was worrying about?
"Oh." Naruto was silent for a minute and then he removed his arm while shifting his weight. "Er...you know, you didn't have to go out with me if you didn't…ya know...want to."
"W-what?" Hinata snapped her head around to stare at him with wide eyes, wondering how he had come to that conclusion.
"Well, I mean, you're all quiet, and you seemed ashamed when we saw Kurenai..." Naruto sighed, trying to keep his tone nonchalant, but it was obvious to Hinata that he was not as unconcerned as he appeared.
"I, anou...Naruto-kun..." Hinata mumbled, looking down at his feet and then spoke softly, her voice hesitant. "I-I can't tell you why, uhmm...especially not here..."
"Can you do the Shunshin?" He suddenly asked, his voice earnest.
"N-no...it's not allowed," Hinata answered, staring up at him curiously. Naruto, however, gave her a reassuring grin and grabbed her hand, darting out into the street. "N-Naruto?"
"Try to keep up, okay?" Naruto said brightly, and then he was off, racing ahead, and Hinata struggled to keep up, since he had yet to release her hand. They weaved through the pedestrians and then over the shops, houses and groupings of other ninja. Hinata blinked, confused about their location as they suddenly darted into the trees and then moved from branch to branch in a meandering course.
Naruto, however, made it clear when they came shooting out from the trees in front of stairway leading to the observation deck of the Hokage Mountain. Hinata was utterly unsurprised when he led them up the stairs, not slowing down as the bypassed the sentries, heading for the nearly-hidden path that would lead to the top of the mountain. It was a section that the Godaime had declared off-limits to everyone.
That worried Hinata, but not until it was too late, since they were already on the path and heading for the top of the Yondaime's head, the sentries oblivious to their actions. Then, suddenly, they came to a halt, so high over the village that they literally had a bird's-eye view.
Hinata stumbled slightly, jolted when he released her hand and walked over to sit on the crest of the Hokage's head. Hinata caught her breath quickly enough, but took several minutes to look at the village in silence, then to marvel at the stars and moon. Then, her gaze settled on the highlighted figure of Naruto, who was staring out at the village in silence, as if he was not even aware that she was there with him.
Then he spoke. "Hinata, I hope...er... This is a special place for me, and, well, I figured it would, uhm...make you more comfortable to say whatever you wanted." Hinata stared at him for several long minutes, wondering what was going through his head. As long as she had known him, Naruto had never acted like this. It was disconcerting. "I mean, yeah... I know, out there on the pilgrimage, we got really...close, and when we came back we... But, if you don't want to-"
"Naruto-kun," Hinata mumbled softly, but it was enough to cut him off. Sensing his attention, she took a breath and then spoke, careful not to say the wrong thing. "I...nothing has, uhm, changed. It was just... I...was scared." She winced at that, wondering what he would say in response.
"Why?" Naruto turned, staring at her, his hair almost glowing in the moonlight.
"T-the other...uhmm... It's just that... N-naruto... I'm not the p-prettiest..." Hinata stammered, unnerved by the way he was staring at her. It was like she was seeing a side of him she had never dreamed existed. She blushed and looked down, unable to help rubbing her fingers together nervously.
"Who said you weren't the prettiest?" Naruto suddenly asked, his voice showing his confusion. "So...uh...you just thought you weren't pretty?"
"Anou..." Hinata nodded, shifting her weight before stealing a glance up at him. She was surprised to see a bemused grin on his face.
"So, that was what was bothering you?" Naruto said suddenly fighting back his chuckles. "You really are weird."
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata blinked; she knew that tone. He was teasing her. Playfully, but he was still teasing her.
Naruto suddenly hopped to his feet and pointed at her, much like when he was making a serious statement. "Oi, the only one here that doesn't know you're beautiful is you." Naruto stopped and stared at her for a moment, then started grinning a little.
Hinata grinned shyly back, blushing at his comment. Even if they had kissed and hugged, him calling her beautiful was wonderful. Then she noticed the odd grin on his face and blinked, staring at him in curiosity. "Anou... Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?"
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, scratching the back of his head. "Nah, I just realized you looked sorta like a rabbit..."
Hinata blinked, staring at him oddly. "A...rabbit?"
"Yeah. A really cute one, but, yeah, a rabbit." Naruto laughed a little, staring at her again curiously, his arms crossed. "I never noticed that before..."
Hinata blinked, wondering what she should feel about being compared to such an animal. Well, at least she reminded him of a cute animal, and a rabbit did have a few positive things about it. They were fast, they could be very smart and they were cute. So, maybe reminding Naruto of a rabbit wasn't so bad.
Then Naruto pointed at her and raised his voice. "Ahah! Usagi-hime!"
"Anou..." Hinata stared at her boyfriend in confusion, wondering if he had just lost his mind.
Naruto chuckled, eyes closing in that odd habit of his. "I was just thinking about what to call you, ya know, cause, er, this is really stupid, but I've noticed some guys call their, you know, girlfriend's, nicknames. Anyway, since you looked like a rabbit...I, uhmmm...yeah!"
"I-I don't mind..." Hinata stammered, blushing, thinking it was a rather nice nickname. Then, she thought of one for him, but she didn't know if he would let her say it. "Uhmmm, Naruto-kun...i-it would only be fair if I got to..."
Naruto grinned and then nodded. "Go ahead; nothing you'll come up with is going to bother me."
"Anou..." Hinata gathered her courage and then pointed at him, trying to mimic him this once. "Roku-kun!" That said, she froze, waiting to see his reaction.
"Eer...so, can I ask why you're calling me six?"
Hinata nodded, rubbing her fingers together. "I...you, someday I believe you'll be Hokage, and...er...I just wanted a way to show you I-" Suddenly, however, she was cut off as she felt his arms wrap around her tightly. Blushing, Hinata returned the embrace and, on impulse, kissed his cheek.
Suddenly, Hinata didn't really care about being unprepared for the Tsukimi.
Authors Notes:
Well its here, finally. I blew past my estimated arrival date, I expected to start posting back in Febuaray. Still here it is, in all its glory! 'Naruto: Edge of Tomorrow', the sequel to 'Naruto: Hyuga Pilgrimage'. I hope you enjoy it, I've tried to keep my promises with this story, but iunno if I have or not.
Anyway, below you'll find a few important notes. Please read and take them to heart!
1)This IS a sequel to Hyuga Pilgrimage it IS a Naru/Hina pairing (though the plot doesn't depend on it). You'll notice as the story goes you have less and less screen time of Naru/Hina together. Why? Because there is a helluva lot going on and they CAN'T be together all the time.
2) Whatever feelings Sakura has toward Naruto are slightly ambigious, but even if she has designs on the boy that's fine. After all, the romantic female need (Hinata) needs some sort of challenge and...yeah, Sakura is more acceptable in my opinon for this story.
Now then, you'll notice certain things as this story progress, lets keep in mind that these are fifteen year olds that have been trained for this life. Their personalities are kept true to their canon version (or as close as they can since people GROW up and CHANGE with age). So no whining that anything that is said or done -that is within logical reason- would be totally out of their character, cause quiet frankly I will ignore it.
3) How this story relates to canon...obviously its Naruto Part Two (or the Hurrican Chronicles if you want the offical english title). However like Hyuga Pilgrimage, it devates shortly after the Gaara rescue arc...so Naruto never went to Grass and confronted Orochimaru or Sasuke and yea, hate to disappoint the Uchiha fans, but Sasuke didn't get to supress the Kyubi with his 'More evil' chakra while inside Naruto's mind.
However to clear things up; I will not shy away from stealing a good idea from Part 2. There were a few of them and I use all of them that I can. I also do this with the first movie (even if some people wonder about how it fits, I think its still the best one and WILL use things from it).
Also while most of the filler arcs were...shudder worthy...I will use their jutsu cause they're ready made and some of them are kinda interesting. However the stories and plot lines will not be intergrated into this story I (even though the ones invovling Hinata was sorta fun and good)
4) Naruto is too strong and the other characters are to -insert comment-...please remember that when Hyuga Pilgrimage was first written (and the sequel first concieived) we didn't have much on the way of charcterzation for the Part 2 versions of the characters. I will of course make an attempt to blend them together as possible, but this is not canon and therefore these are the characters as I pictured them developing at the time.
If it helps, consider this entire storyline an alternate universe, like DC's Elseworlds (or All-Stars) or Marvels' old 'what-if' series. I guess the offical title for this universe would be Geor-sama's NHuniverse...or something like that.
5) Jutsu, jutsu, jutsu(sealing is included)...there are a ton of jutsu being tossed around. A ton of stuff and minor details and etc...I'll address them as they come up. However, lets clear this up right now; me and my friend Tiledsoomoo created all the orignal jutsu together (well the majority of it, there's one jutsu that is ENTIRELY mine...created immedately after the hinting of the new version of the Rasnegan).
Anyway, so no complaining I'm copying from him or he's copying from me. Occaisonally I will mention things done without giving a name or a discription of a jutsu, for these check the bottom of each story where I will give the descriptions of the jutsu as they appear in my extensive jutsu note list.
6) This story will be updated on the 13th of every month, give or take a day. Asking for updates sooner will not make me post faster. For those that don't understand why I only update once a month...this gives me time to edit and polish chapters, and it takes the pressure off me of trying to write everything at once. I have to much going on to focus exclusively on anyone story and this also helps ensure that I will complete the story.
I believe that is everything, if not I will make it a point of explaining things at the end of a chapter. Please read the ENTIRE chapter before you leave a reveiw about something that doesn't make sense.