No I don't own Naruto. However, I do know enough to give the people what they want!
Chapter Four: A Different Shade of Blonde
Feeling her consciousness slowly returning, Ino suppressed an instinctive groan of pain. One moment she had been listening to Kiba making a comment about the enemy, and the next the air was filled with dust and blood. Still, keeping in mind just what her environment was, the blonde kunoichi kept as still as possible for several minutes before releasing a sigh of relief. Even with her limited senses, she was fairly sure that no one was in the immediate vicinity. Opening her eyes, the blonde then had to bite back a scream of horror. It appeared that the reason she had survived the explosion in such good shape was that Shino had managed to push her out of the direct line of fire. As a result, nearly half his torso had been splattered over the clearing across the lifeless forms of her remaining team. Swallowing her bile, the blonde staggered to the edge of the clearing before collapsing. No matter how rough things had been recently, nothing could have ever prepared her for seeing her comrades destroyed so casually. At that point, Ino knew she was not ready for this war. In fact, none of them were.
Ever since the Pain Invasion she had been running on auto pilot. Ino had gone without sleep helping at the medical camps, recovering materials from the Torture and Interrogation Department and coordinating with her teammates to clear rubble for construction. Honestly, a part of her had begun to resent the constant and unrelenting tide of chores that threatened to overwhelm everybody, including her. But when word had come from above about Sasuke and his full classification as a traitor, she welcomed the struggle. The constant effort distracted her from the fears doubts that filled her head at night. The exhaustion plugged the tears, and left her just enough energy to comfort Sakura between shifts at the medical tent. Ino knew it was not healthy and would probably burn her out, but the blonde could not find it in her heart to care. The first boy she had ever loved had helped engineer an international incident that put her friends in great danger. She could not face that reality without driving herself crazy.
She was not sure which had shocked her more, Shikamaru's demand that they kill Sasuke first, or Naruto's demand that he be allowed to handle it alone. While she would follow the lazy slacker to the ends of the earth, the cold and final way he dictated that their lost friend had to die sent shivers up her spine. Somehow, the blonde had to wonder if in fact he simply saw everything as a consequence of his first failed mission as a squad leader, and this was his way of making up for his mistake. But Naruto's determination had been even more unnerving. Instead of launching in a complex and spirited description about how he would make everything alright, the blonde had simply stated his intentions of dealing with Sasuke on his own terms. Normally she would be relieved, but something in Sakura's eyes when the promise came up made the Kunoichi wary. Ino just knew that the loveable idiot had a crazy scheme in play that would break the sanity of any other ninja into pieces. It was almost a relief to hear the Kage council had decided to hide Naruto and the Kumo Jinchuuriki away together. At least that way her friend would have someone to hold her when things got too painful.
But now, in the middle of a battle with an enemy that outnumbered and out powered their own forces by over twenty percent, Ino almost wished the blonde idiot would show up. Despite his flaws, Naruto always had this way of making people feel better just with a few simple words. Plus, after his battle with Pain there was no way she would believe that he was anything other than a powerful ninja. Her team sure could have used that sort of back up. She, Shino, Kiba, Hana and Akamaru had been dispatched behind enemy lines in order to flank the main column. Word had reached them from Kankuro in the Ambush Company that Anko-sempai and team had been nearly wiped out facing against Kabuto at the Akatsuki's base. In response, General Mifune had sent them to infiltrate the area in an attempt to use the chaos to confirm Anko's capture or kill, and unleash some retaliation. Either they were to attempt to track Kabuto to paint him as a target, or try to determine if either Anko-sempai or Yamato-sensei could be rescued. Unfortunately, due to one heck of a left over trap, it appeared their chances of success had just gone down to zero.
Forcing herself to remain calm, Ino pointedly looked away from her companions, unwilling to face that reality for now. Instead, she began to climb the nearest tree for some perspective. Her mission was a failure for now, but this far behind enemy lines, surely there had to be something she could do. The blonde's preferred method of information gathering involved taking over the local wildlife while hiding in plain sight. But without someone to watch over her human form, that practice was dangerous at best, suicidal at worst. She owed her comrades and herself more than that. Of course, any further attempts at self recrimination were halted by the sight that greeted her at the top.
Apparently she had been out a little longer than expected, because the battle was going full throttle. A wave of white forms lashed against the main column, with a cloud of sand dividing the two with the occasional flash of an elemental ninjutsu. Here and there were little circles of space that filled with even larger and more damaging attacks, some of which she could even feel from miles away. Frowning, she removed a spyglass and sent some additional chakra to her eyes. It was not the vision of a hawk, but the Yamanaka would take anything she could get. Seeing unfamiliar forms attacking, only to be blasted to pieces before attacking again, the Kunoichi shuddered. It appeared that their intelligence about the Edo Tensei, Impure Resurrection jutsu was accurate. She almost dropped the glass at a familiar head of hair, before smothering a curse. If even Asuma-sensei could be a victim of that technique, who could possibly avoid it? This was a war against monsters, and that involved monstrous attacks.
The only thing keeping her from launching herself at the battle ground was the fact things seemed to be stable. Despite the insane numbers of attackers, she was comforted that the line was being held by the Shinobi army's power, Gaara's defensive technique, and sheer stubbornness. Ino's studies of the mind had taught her a thing or two about morale and how it affected people. For some reason, those ninja were fighting with everything they had in order to smash the enemy to pieces. Either there had been some recent developments, or she had underestimated how other people had enjoyed Gaara's opening speech. After dealing with Naruto for so long, inspirational speeches tended to lose some of their bang, no matter who made them. Confident that the situation was well in hand, she decided that continuing her mission and sealing her teammates away from the battle field was all she had left to do. She might not get Kabuto, but both her father and Shikamaru had taught her the value of information. Every little bit gathered could help tip the balance in their favor.
Of course, that was when things had to go wrong. Out of the field of white came a massive figure encased in shadow and flame. Startled, Ino focused her spy glass as carefully as she could before her breath caught in her throat. It had been years since she had seen the boy within the spectral armor, but there was no doubt in her mind at all. Before the armies of the world stood Uchiha Sasuke encased in the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan's greatest known offensive and defensive attack, Susanoo. Launching himself at Gaara, her first crush declared vengeance upon the allied forces of the Elemental Nations. Swallowing back a sob, Ino forced herself to watch the display. No matter what Naruto thought or Sakura dreamed, it was clear that the choice was beyond their ability to change. The Uchiha was now and forever a traitor to the end.
The battle between the Kazekage and the Uchiha was amazing. Flashes of fire and lightning danced with sparkling sand. Even from her distance, Ino could feel the chakra being released and it made her shudder. For the first time since Sasuke's defection, she prayed that he would die. If Gaara could defeat the bastard, the army could break the line and spearhead an attack against the main base. Untold lives could be spared and that horrible jutsu could be released at last if only the Konoha traitor would just fall. But much to her horror and shock, Sasuke finished the fight with a brutality that was simply inhuman. A wave of black fire suddenly flowed from the demonic form of Susanoo to consume the front wave of attackers. Despite Gaara's defense she could hear the cries as nearly a hundred of the strongest ninja in the world were wiped out in mere minutes. The Akatsuki had broken their line.
With the loss of Gaara and the Alliance vanguard, the wave of white clones and undead ninja began to progress once more. Ino knew she should be launching her own attack, or making her way back to base to report her failures, but found she could not move. It was like all the hope and faith in her body had been ripped out, only to be replaced with horror and despair. Even with the other Kage's attacking, the young Kunoichi could see no path of victory. The enemy had stronger troops, greater jutsu's and a leader who was as efficient as he was merciless. Even if she launched her attack, what good would it do? The clones had probably been designed to reject her technique, and her father had warned against trying it against the reanimated ninja. Even hitting Sasuke would be useless while that technique was in place. Her mental projection radiated chakra, even if the amounts were miniscule, and Susanoo would just reject it like Gaara's sand. She was simply a weak useless girl that Shino should have let die to continue the mission alone.
But before the blonde could make up her mind, a warm wind seemed to pass across the battle field, freezing things in place. Watching everyone turn to this new aura, Ino directed her sight back within the mob only to feel her mouth go dry. Walking calmly along the path was Naruto, but he was so different. She had seen him during the Pain fight, and that still did not compare to his current look. The hyperactive, knuckle headed most surprising ninja of Konoha was encased in a shroud of chakra that glowed like the sun. While she had dealt with the Kyuubi Chakra before, not to mention gathered some data from Sakura when the girl was feeling worried, but that was nothing compared to what was before her. This chakra filled her with a sense of peace and hope that was just so Naruto she almost laughed. Kumo's Jinchuuriki must have taught him something, because this was a much more powerful figure than the little brat that used to paint graffiti across the village.
Then the spell was broken and the white wave fell once more. Only this time, instead of a wall of sand defending the masses, a creature of golden fire was everywhere at once. Even with her spyglass and a lot of chakra in her eyes, Ino could barely track the path of her fellow blonde before he was gone again, tearing a chunk out of the opposition. Watching the blonde joke of the Academy rip apart enemies with glowing golden arms of power was more eye-opening than any other Uzumaki event she had ever heard of. A grown up Naruto was a little cute, but still hopeless. A determined Naruto was dangerous and beyond human. A Naruto with Sage abilities was a force of nature. But all of that paled to the reality of today. This was a Naruto who mastered the Kyuubi powers and used them to protect the world. It was a sight that was awe inspiring and humbling at the same time. But then Sasuke's flame covered figure came forward once again, and Ino felt her stomach clench in fear. Clearly fate, destiny or someone with a twisted sense of humor had decided the two old teammates would be fighting once again. Hopefully things would go better this time than before.
Unlike the clash against Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke's fight was a battle of ninja gods. The flashes of chakra, both molded and raw was blinding, and Ino wondered how the people closer to the battle were managing so well. Then she realized that the opposing armies had regrouped, giving the two ninja plenty of room. In fact, her distance and position probably gave Ino the best overall perspective of the fight, and she was almost shocked by what she saw. Naruto was not holding back, but was actually striking to kill. Rasengans, both elemental and kyuubi powered were launched with abandon, even as spectral arrows filled the sky. Naruto tried to get close, but Sasuke did his best to maintain both distance and reach advantage. In response, Naruto launched limbs of gold at the traitor which actually grasped the spectral energies of Susanoo into place. Sasuke responded by unleashing some sort of shield that rejected the strikes. It was a battle of equals yet opposites, and Ino saw no easy path to victory.
However, that did not mean there was not a difficult path. Biting her lip, Ino realized that a distraction at this point in the fight could be fatal, under the correct circumstances. While she was sure her Mind Body Change Technique would fail if used against either opponent, it would probably distract one of them. However, given the raw amount of chakra in the air, her soul would barely be able to make the distance, with no chance of return. If she attempted this, it would be a one way trip, with no guarantee of success. The smart thing to do would be returning to General Mifune with an update of the battle and further instructions. Remembering the fallen bodies of her comrades in the clearing, Ino carefully made the hand sign, whispering. "Since when do blondes do the smart thing? Mind Body Transfer!"
Feeling the familiar weightlessness that came from detaching her soul, Ino forced her miniscule aura forward. The astral field of the battleground was awash with absurd amounts of chakra, and it was almost like wading through a muddy soup. But after what felt like an eternity, Ino was there before the monstrous bodies of chakra. Feeling her technique slow even further in the proximity of the Susanoo, Ino willed herself just a little closer, making contact with the spectral armor. Almost at once her soul was bathed by the darkness within Uchiha Sasuke's aura, and if she retained her body Ino would have puked for a week. Only the warm and comforting sensation of Naruto's chakra kept her sane. Luckily, even as her energy dissipated, Ino had a front row seat for the results of her interference.
For Sasuke had felt her attack, if only enough to flinch out of position. Taking advantage of this, Naruto launched a Rasenshuriken at his unprotected feet. Realizing that his mirror would no longer defend against the attack, Sasuke began to cry blood as a new technique formed in the air above the participants. Unfortunately for the Uchiha, it was too slow to deflect the most powerful technique in Konoha. Even as the small hole began to grow, a sphere of shredding wind chakra consumed the unstable base of Susanoo, taking most of Sasuke's legs and torso with it. Leaking blood and in shock, the ninja lost control of the technique, falling to his relatively quick death.
Ino allowed herself a moment of self satisfaction before something began to tug on her soul. Thinking that, against all odds her technique had properly canceled, the blonde was surprised to discover that the pull was straight up. Apparently, whatever technique the Uchiha had launched with his dying breath had absorbed enough energy from the Susanoo to continue, dragging her and most of the raw chakra into its depths. Saddened by the loss, but thankful for her contribution to victory, Ino allowed herself to look down upon the battle field once more before freezing in shock. While Naruto appeared unharmed, he had collapsed from exhaustion at the conclusion of the battle. Unfortunately, the leader of Akatsuki had taken that opportunity to capture their prize. Before her mind's eye, the freak in the mask faded away, a limp Jinchuuriki over his shoulder. Ino had a moment to scream in frustration and fear before her world became filled with pain.
The Kunoichi had no idea what technique Sasuke had unleashed upon his head, but all she knew was a moment of absolute agony. The only sensation that came close to describing the feeling was a blender combined with a black hole going to town on her very soul. Yet, after either an eternity or five minutes, the blonde found herself tangled in some sort of overheated prison. Regaining some control, Ino fought against her bonds, only to lose control of her balance and fall into the abyss. Of course finding herself on a familiar wooden floor, alarm clock blaring in the background was the last thing that the blonde expected. Why the heck did hell look like her old room in her parents' house?
Realizing that her overheated prison was, in fact, a pile of tangled bedding, the blonde blushed as she got to her feet. Of course, the notable differences almost caused the girl to fall over once again. As a kunoichi of Konoha, Ino was extremely aware of any number of things, including personal chakra levels, physical strength and reach. Such information could mean the difference between life and death on a mission, especially for Chunin level ninja. Yet the values that were coming back from her little self examination were so low, an Academy student would have better conditioning! To the experienced kunoichi, it was like having an arm lopped off at the elbow with the blood still gushing out. Just what had that bastard Uchiha done to her?
Glancing around the room, she then began to wonder just how Sasuke had known enough about her to build such an impressive mental representation of her old room. Being a fashion conscious little girl, Ino had remodeled her room at least once every three years, usually changing a couple of posters or painting the walls to make it seem cooler. It had been a lot of work, but having hosted the best slumber parties over the years, the blonde had felt the need to ensure that she remain ahead of the curve. Besides, it had taken her years to determine her favorite color scheme, and she had not gotten things down perfectly until she was ten. Of course the whole thing became moot with Pain's attack, but that was beside the point. Ino had not used this particular configuration since her second year at the Academy, when one of the other girls made fun of her pony wall paper.
Checking around toys and books that had mostly found their way to the attic years ago, Ino was further shocked by her reflection in the closet mirror. She looked like a kid again! Her hair was short and neat, with a chubby face and such big eyes! Feeling a wave of nostalgia, the blonde touched the features in wonder. She had forgotten just how cute she was as a kid! But this was impossible, right? The whole thing was probably some sort of dream or genjutsu from the Uchiha. Feeling her heart freeze at the thought, Ino almost began to mold the chakra to break the technique before stopping herself. Even if the whole thing was a genjutsu, she lacked the chakra needed to break an E rank technique right now, let alone one from a Sharingan. Besides, what would the point be of trapping her in an illusion of the past? As galling as it was to admit it, Sasuke had no reason to use something this complex on someone so insignificant. The leader of Akatsuki made even less sense.
Her musings were broken by a sudden shout. "Ino! Did your alarm go off? Get out of bed dear, or you're going to be late for your first day!" Eyes widening, the girl dug around her dresser to find the little kunoichi calendar her father had gotten her as a fifth birthday present. There, in a big red circle was the notation, "Start the Academy Today!" Unless she missed her guess, this was the first day of the Ninja Academy right after her sixth birthday! Since when do Sharingan attacks launch people through time?
Mindful of her mother barging in, the blonde began to dress, planning furiously. While she had heard stories about the Sharingan genjutsu abilities, Ino doubted that this was an intentional attack of some sort. There was nothing for the enemy to learn from her Academy training, so going back then would accomplish nothing. However, if this was some sort of trick, the best thing to do was go with the flow so that nothing major changed. That way, it would all be redundant data that Sasuke could produce himself if need be.
However, if this was a misfired temporal attack like she was beginning to suspect, Ino needed to be ready. It had been nearly ten years since most of this stuff had happened, so even she could not remember every detail perfectly. Her best bet was to determine a strategy from what information she could gather today, and try to stay flexible. It was clear that she could not tell her parents though. Best case scenario they sent her to the hospital to be treated for mental contamination. Worst case they sent her to Torture and Interrogation to be vetted as a possible enemy infiltrator. Shivering at the thought, the young girl went down the stairs for breakfast.
Shrugging off the constant wave of nostalgia was the first problem. Konoha had not weathered a direct attack upon its walls since the Kyuubi attack, and six years had removed any of the physical damage. Ino honestly had not seen the village so peaceful since before the invasion of the Chunin Exam, and it brought back a lot of memories. Her favorite park was still in one peace, equipment untouched by sonic attacks and explosions. The tree she used to climb to show off was standing tall and proud, unconsumed by a misaimed fire technique. The buildings looked old and sturdy, like they would last forever. While she knew it could all be a trick, seeing Konoha like this was a welcome change of pace from frantic reconstruction and constant fear of attack. This was the time that the Will of Fire burned without rival.
The second issue was the sheer headache involved in acting like she was six. While a little stuck up and arrogant when younger, Ino had mostly been an average girl from a ninja clan. Suppressing ten years of hard eared instincts and responses, just because they would have looked out of place, was not easy. Certain attitudes like her obsession with appearance where expected here, and it galled the woman a bit each time she was forced to act the part. But she was expected to be energetic, forward speaking and without a lot of shame. After all, that was just what kids did, ninja village or no. She should not have to know any better just yet.
The third was dealing with her old friends. Before entering the Academy, she had formed a small group of close friends that followed her like a bunch of lost puppies. She was the only one from a ninja family, simply because most of those had sons her age not daughters. Most were civilians, while others were sponsored orphans who could not live with family for one reason or another. All of them looked up to her because she was smart, cool and strong. The blonde had to fight back an urge to blush whenever she saw the raw adoration in some of their eyes. As a child, Ino had lapped up the attention with gusto. As a girl with ten additional years of life and memories, three of those working as a kunoichi, she only felt embarrassment.
In all honesty, she had not thought about most of these girls for quite some time. About half of them had dropped from the program within the second month of training, unable to maintain the physical demands of the position. About a third of the remainders became rivals for Sasuke's affections, cutting ties with potential competition. The rest had failed their qualification exam for a Genin team before giving up. While there had been some half hearted attempts at maintaining contact, everyone involved had found it too painful. She could not manage to deal with their increasingly civilian lifestyles anymore, unable to talk about her own training for security concerns. They could no longer look at her and bear with what they had failed to accomplish, just because she was that much better. It was one of the reasons that she valued Sakura's friendship so much. The cherry blossom was the one person who could really get her both on and off the clock.
Of course, the comrades she remembered were there as well, although they were nothing to write home about at the moment. Kiba was yawning over in a corner, scratching at his facial tattoos. Shikamaru and Chouji were near the middle of the classroom, chatting over a bag of potato chips. Shino was in the far back, quiet and unresponsive while Hinata was only a few seats away, keeping her eyes down. Ino was jarred by just how weak and pathetic they all looked at this age. The gossip around her was easy enough to manipulate with a word or phrase, so that she was able to find out the local take on the future ninja. The response was a little shocking when the future was taken into account.
The girls saw Kiba as a loud mouth idiot who was too stupid to last long. Chouji and Shikamaru were totally lame, unable to really show any skills worth admiring and firmly stuck in the girls are icky stage of their development. Shino was a freak who liked bugs of all things. What girl would possibly want to deal with a creep that liked to play with flies, worms and all sorts of gross stuff? Hinata might be the Hyuga Heiress, but no one wanted to get close to her. She was weird, with those freaky eyes and that stupid coat. No real girl would wear something like that. Her family might be powerful, but she was too strange and stuck up to bother with. Remembering the numerous times each of those people had saved her life, trusting her to do the same, the blonde felt her blood boil. It took all her personal control not to rip these jerks into shreds for talking about true ninja of Konoha like that.
But the three biggest eye openers were Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto himself. It had been so long since she had seen the pink haired girl as anything but a rival or ally that the return to the wallflower look was like a bucket of ice water. Haruno Sakura was often alone, thought to be too boring and brainy for a decent friend. She was shy, meek, and only outdid Hinata in the energetic department because she would meet the eyes of the instructors when answering a question. Seeing the shy little thing sitting away from her, rather than the bold Chunin that mastered medical training from Tsunade of the Sannin, Ino knew she would have her work cut out for her. No matter what this situation was, Sakura needed the chance to bloom!
Instead of being the center of attention, Uchiha Sasuke was just the younger brother of the clan heir. Nearly jolting in her seat, Ino realized that the Uchiha Massacre did not happen for at least another year! Until then, Sasuke was simply a cute Uchiha from the head household with the cooler older brother. To her experienced eyes, the boy was no longer cold and aloof, but shy and determined. Thinking back, Ino realized that his popularity would skyrocket about a month after the Massacre, transforming into the cool and tragic genius practically overnight. This was the monster that had wiped out untold innocents? This was the creature that would one day betray his village and the rest of the Shinobi world? Somehow, the blonde could not quite accept that. She would have to consider him closely.
Finally, there was Uzumaki Naruto, the class pariah. Knowing what she did now, Ino could actually see the subtle hate filled glares directed at the boy. Most of the class appeared content to limit it to a few dirty looks, but one or two in the back made a point of exchanging dark grins. Wincing at that, the blonde girl knew the punks would probably plan to beat the kid up after school. The anger from the adults in the class was more intense, and she was honestly shocked to see that from the Eyes of Iruka-sensei. Knowing how close the two had become, she was morbidly curious to discover how that sort of bond came to be. Still, the boy did not allow the hatred to visibly affect him, acting like everything was beneath his notice. Hearing the cruel words whispered about his dream to become Hokage, Ino nearly drew blood from biting her lip so hard. Had it always been this bad for the guy?
Sure, once she had made Chunin and been briefed on the Akatsuki threat, Ino had put the entire thing into perspective. Naruto had been persecuted, but people had improved their opinions to the point he was mostly accepted by the death of Asuma. Observing the massive fight with Pain only tore down the last, remaining feelings of hatred, and normal ninja were now seen asking for his autograph. Truly, Naruto would go a very far way in the future. But here in the past or an illusion of the past, Naruto was an eyesore, constantly belittled for a burden that the ninja in her knew was not his fault. Remembering her own contributions to the nasty rumors that surrounded her fellow blonde, Ino felt even more ashamed.
Still, despite these complications, Ino managed to make it through the day without major incident. Returning home, she answered her parents' questions in the energetic manner she was supposed to have as a six year old, mind racing all the while. While she was no Genjutsu expert, the amount of detail today contained was enough to derail that as a realistic possibility for her situation. If there was one thing she knew by now, it was her own mind. There was no way that any genjutsu, no matter how powerful, could reproduce scenes that far back. So she was a Chunin in her six year old body, with memories of a future filled with war and hatred. Now, how could she best protect her village in a situation like this? Reviewing her knowledge, the little blonde let out a small but deadly grin. If things continued like she expected, then the next few years could be rather interesting.
Observing the young blonde finally going to sleep, the specter of Uchiha Itachi allowed himself a small, unseen smile. While this course of action was not his first choice, the genius had been forced to work with what he had available. It was only sheer luck that the young Yamanaka had launched such an attack at that particular time. As a mere chakra construct, left over from a particularly powerful genjutsu, the spirit's options were always going to be limited. But just as the original Itachi had intended, he would do his best to protect the future of his village and his brother. Breaking the laws of physics was a little much, but as any true ninja knew, there were no rules for victory.
He had been nothing more than an echo in Naruto's chakra, left to defend him if things spiraled completely out of control. But when the final confrontation between the blonde and his brother had occurred, the spirit had found itself powerless, bound in the combined essences of both the Kyuubi and Sage techniques that the boy had mastered. Helpless, he had watched his beloved brother become one of the greatest monsters in ninja history, twisted beyond all hope of redemption. Yet, some part of his remaining soul did not want Naruto to complete his plan either, feeling like it would be a waste. The blonde boy was the future of the ninja world, and dying for a mistake he had made rubbed Itachi the wrong way. The combination of a free floating Yamanaka soul and Sasuke's unexpected usage of Kamui provided a viable third option.
Kamui worked primarily by moving things into another dimension, manipulating both space and time to the will of the user. Hatake Kakashi was a novice of this technique, unable to master its nuances properly with his stolen eye. Uchiha Madara, on the other hand, had the ability to completely control the technique with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan so well he could match the legendary Yellow Flash in a direct confrontation. Sasuke's first usage of the technique was approximately between the two in terms of power and skill, but that did not matter overmuch. What did matter was that he used Itachi's own eyes to help craft the technique, so upon his demise there was still enough chakra to work with.
Taking control of the failing Kamui, the spirit had freed itself from the exhausted form of Naruto, headless of Madara's sudden appearance. Increasing its concentration while altering its time manipulation, the construct had watched in amusement as the Yamanaka Soul was drawn into the technique, before following in the form of free floating chakra. The experience had been hellish, but in the end it had been worth it. He had, through careful observation, confirmed that the blonde girl had managed to retain some, if not all her former memories. Now there might be a chance.
His chakra was too unstable to rejoin the Uchiha Itachi of this time, so Yamanaka Ino was his best chance. She was not important enough to garner major attention, but well placed enough to enact actual changes to the timeline. While he knew that the death of his clan was vital for the future of the village, Itachi cold only hope she could stop his mad plan of building Sasuke's hatred. It was his pride that had created much of this mess, and once again he had to rely upon others to clean up his problems. Naruto had paid the ultimate price for his efforts, so hopefully the little kunoichi would do better with clear perspective.
Still, he wished he could stick around to help. Unfortunately, it appeared that he was out of time. Looking at his own disintegrating hands, the chakra construct allowed himself a single sigh of regret. Things would have to be better this time. Otherwise, so many would die for nothing in the end. With that thought, the remnants of the future Uchiha genius and patriot dispersed ready to face its judgment. The night of Konoha seemed to pause, as if in mourning, before continuing on. If that night was just a little cooler or darker, the plant life and on duty ANBU saw no reason to comment.
Ino waited a week before deciding to treat her current surroundings as the actual past. While mostly convinced after a day, she needed the extra time to decide upon her course of action. Despite what some people thought, you did not become a Chunin without learning to think through a battle plan and properly evaluate your options. If she was going to change things, the very nature of human choice would make most of her information useless with the first major alteration. But before she could even contemplate that possibility, the girl had to examine what her resources were. In the end, they were depressingly few.
In all reality, what she could do as a six year old Academy Student was nearly nothing. None of the adults would take her seriously, thinking that she was just acting like a spoiled child. Proving any of her story would probably mark her as an enemy spy or crazy, which that would accomplish nothing except locking her up. Even bringing what she knew directly to her father would accomplish even less, since he continued to view her as his little girl for years after graduating. Besides, what did she have to offer except general hearsay and rumors that would not come to fruition for years? She had not gained the same security clearance as Miss Sakura-the-Apprentice-of-Tsunade, thank you very much! All she had was enough general information to be endangered, but nothing that she could directly act upon.
For example, she knew when the Uchiha Massacre was supposed to occur. After deciding that Sasuke was her eternal destiny, Ino had studied all the details she could about the brooding heart throb, committing them to memory. So, she could probably go to the Hokage right now and give the approximate date down to the hour of when most of Sasuke's family was wiped out. But at this point Uchiha Itachi was the darling genius of his clan, honored by allies and enemies alike. If she started accusing the prodigy of planning to wipe out his clan, not only would the Hokage never believe her, but the Uchiha Clan might move to censure her own family. Then, just to be careful, Itachi would show up in the middle of the night, and make her jump off a roof with genjutsu. So directly sharing what little she knew was definitely out.
So, direct changes were probably out in a big way. That left working on her immediate surroundings, which had its own set of problems. As an Academy Student, Ino would be spending nearly eight hours a day, six days a week under observation while being trained. Skipping classes would be noticed, and undermine her position within the class. Most of it had bored her to tears so far, but she just chalked that up to knowing how useless a lot of it ended up being in the field. So any changes she made would have to be to her classmates, and herself, in what little spare time would be available. After all, she would still be expected to help out around the store in her spare time on top of everything else.
A part of her thought that focusing on the kids she knew would graduate would be the place to start, but the blonde was hesitant to spread herself too thin. Most of the graduates had families and friends to help them out, so trying to influence people she already knew in a sense was only a waste of resources. Besides, at their peak most of the class would never reach a level of ability needed to affect the upcoming war without training she was honestly under qualified to provide. In fact, there was only one person in the class she knew could alter things for the better, but doing so would be extremely difficult. After all, trying to influence Uzumaki Naruto would catch everybody's attention really freaking quickly.
Out of all the students from their graduating class, Naruto had probably gotten the rawest deal. He missed dozens of vital lectures because of punishments removing him from the classroom. Instead of properly understanding his problems with chakra control, the teachers would yell and humiliate him in front of everybody. But she knew that with the amount of chakra Naruto had in his thumb, half the school could be destroyed. If he had gained the chance to learn control earlier, how much better would Konoha had weathered the upcoming storm? She knew that there was no one more loyal to the village than her fellow blonde, so she was practically obligated to help him reach his true potential. That, and if he got stronger, Naruto would probably end up saving her life someday.
However, the mechanics involved in helping out the blonde Jinchuuriki were daunting. If she openly associated with the village pariah, then most of the other girls would not want to be anywhere near her. Call it selfish, but Ino wanted her friendship with Sakura back, and that would not happen if the pink haired girl was told to avoid her. In all honesty, Ino knew she could do more from a position of respect in the classroom than all alone with Naruto. Besides, from a little careful observation she just knew her father was also an anti-Kyuubi ninja, and openly associating with Naruto would either earn her or the poor boy a mental probe strong enough to leave her seeing stars.
So that meant that she had to use subtle methods to teach the densest, if nicest, kid she knew. Feeling the impending headache coming on, Ino rubbed her temples in irritation. It might be easier to make Chouji go on a diet than train Naruto without showing her hand. However, she too had been given a chance to improve herself, so there was no way she would waste it. Besides, Yamanaka Ino never gave up and never surrendered either in Ninjutsu or love! Allowing her thoughts to drift, the girl slowly cracked a wicked smile. While the odds were not in her favor, the Kunoichi to be knew one, undisputable fact. If she could pull this off, than a new blonde would have the title of most surprising ninja of Konoha.
Watching the blonde struggle with his solitary training, Ino bit back a wince. The Chunin in her wanted to cry at all the holes in Naruto's taijutsu, intentionally sabotaged by a lack of oversight and who knew what else. However, even at the tender age of six the boy had stamina to burn. From her observations, Naruto had been training here for nearly two hours, working off steam from all that taunting the others had launched in his direction. In all honesty, after overhearing some of the phrases coming from the bullies, it was all Ino could do not to start screaming at them. No one should taunt an orphan about their family or lack thereof. Even she knew that!
Still, if there was one thing that Naruto had never really gotten, it was subtlety. So, moving to a clearing nearby, Ino took out a kunai. While the amount of chakra in her body was pitiful, the young girl knew that she had to push herself. It had taken the death of her mentor and countless friends in order to motivate her last time. Now she had years to develop her skills, and if the other blonde happened to overhear a few training tips along the way, then all the better right? Focusing chakra to her feet, Ino began running up the tree, kunai flashing in the light
It took only an hour to wear herself down, but the results were worth it. A line of cuts traveled up the innocent bark, and Naruto's noisy taijutsu studies had faded in the distance. Sensing his massive reserves off to the side, Ino decided one more pass before calling it a night. She could only hope that the young boy got the message. Slapping her cheeks, Ino began a normal, bossy rant, apparently ignoring her guest. "Alright Ino, let's try this again! You will be the best, so only the best techniques will do! Just concentrate the chakra to your feet, and carefully track the amount. Too much launches you off the tree and too little prevents you from climbing at all. Now move it!" Acting like her own worse cheerleader, Ino climbed the bark once again, managing to gain another foot.
Making a big production of cooling down, checking her work, and heading away, Ino gave Naruto about ten minutes before backtracking. She was thrilled to see the boy had slipped into her training area, and was carefully examining the tree bark. But it was all she could do to not jump up and down in excitement when the other blonde took his own kunai to copy the technique. She watched for nearly fifteen minutes before leaving, knowing that the boy had the basics down. With his stamina and determination, Naruto would probably master the technique within the month.
Honestly, chakra control had always supposedly been Naruto's biggest flaw. Sakura had sometimes spent hours moaning about all the power that he would waste in his attacks, ending up injured or incapacitated far too soon. However, Ino could sort of see how controlling that sort of power might be problematic, when you were dealing with Jonin level reserves as an Academy student. She was honestly shocked that Naruto could master any of the basic techniques at all with that level of control. But now he was a six year old kid with Chunin level reserves and exceptional stamina. Using the Tree Climbing exercise would make his life so much easier if he stuck with it.
That did not even take into account the results of her own efforts. The Tree Climbing technique was useful because, not only did it allow you to master the chakra you had, continuous use built up your reserves. Ino had no intention of retaining her Academy level chakra reserves for too long. All she had to do was let Naruto catch her practicing a bit, pretend to have an odd mental quirk where she had to outline the training to help understand it, and the boy should improve quite a bit. She wished she could do something about his taijutsu, but it was better to take things one step at a time. If she made herself too obvious, then the blonde might start getting suspicious.
Feeling her body getting heavy, Ino reminded herself to take it easy until she managed to befriend someone to train with. She would have a chance to recreate her friendship with Sakura shortly, but there was one other pet project she had in mind. While they had mostly been acquaintances in the future, Ino thought that there was one more blossom waiting to bloom in her class. Hyuga Hinata had launched herself at the closest thing to god Ino had ever seen on the battlefield before Naruto and Sasuke's fight, out of affection for the blonde knucklehead. The kunoichi in her could respect the strength that demonstrated, while the romantic in her heart was rubbing her hands together. After dealing with all the angst of the Team Seven love triangle, Ino was more than willing to get Naruto and Hinata hooked up. In a few years, they would make the cutest couple! That is, if she could ever stop the shy girl from fainting every five minutes around the boy. Oh, she so did love a challenge!
Holding up a picture, Sakura pointed to a Chinese-style dress. "I don't know Ino-chan, are you sure about this? I don't really have what it takes to pull off a look like this. Maybe I should just try that nice summer dress we saw the other day?" The dress in question had been modest, pastel and perfect for a little girl. Nothing like the daring black and red image in front of them, that was practically painted on the models body. However, as far as the blonde was concerned, it was perfect.
Looking over the selection of magazines, Ino smirked. "Hey, I think that you'd look great in black and red, Sakura-chan! It would be perfect for bringing out your inner passion. We just have to find a shade that won't clash with your hair and something appropriate for kunoichi wear. Want to hit the stores on Saturday after training?" Seeing the formerly shy girl nod, a smile on her lips gave the blonde a real sense of satisfaction. While she was not quite up to rival standards yet, Sakura was slowly becoming the happy and energetic girl that the blonde knew she could.
The fateful meeting during their flower arrangement assignment had been about two weeks ago, and Ino was thrilled to have a true friend back. While the other girls were nice enough, none of them really tried to get Ino as a person versus Ino the powerful kunoichi to be. Sakura's awe was giving way to gratitude, and the blonde discovered that she had missed that feeling. It seemed like just yesterday that the other girl had surpassed her as both a woman and a kunoichi, despite her struggles to keep up. Now, instead of molding Sakura into a perfect follower or rival, Ino contented herself with guiding the other girl into her own. After all, it was not like they would be fighting over the same boy any time soon.
Seeing Iruka-sensei returning, Ino put away her research into the fashions of the day. After all, it had been quite some time since these looks were popular, and she wanted to track upcoming trends as closely as possible. It was simply one of the ways she maintained dominance over the female population after all. Clearing his throat, the scarred Chunin waited for their silence before speaking. "The results of the latest run of tests are now available for review. I would recommend that everyone check their position in the rankings, before reflecting upon their future in our class. The ninja of Konoha are the vital protectors of our village, and there is no shame in being unable to maintain the high standards required. Otherwise, I will see you all after break." Knowing that the grades were not going anywhere, Ino chatted with Sakura while gathering her class materials. By the time they made it to the board, the crowd was rather extensive.
The test in question was an overall evaluation that the Academy ran on all its students every term. They would review both academic and physical skills before determining things about class rank in one of several categories. The overall ranks were private information given on a student by student basis, but these numbers pointed out the levels of proficiency in the general fields, including the best boy or girl at any particular skill. It was a simple bit of mental math to determine your ranking after that. Checking the numbers of her special candidates, Ino smiled widely. It appeared that she had nothing to worry about right now.
As expected, all the people she knew could pass were in the top third of the class. Mostly they hovered in the lower to middle rankings within that area, with a few minor exceptions. Sakura unsurprisingly had wrapped up the top academic score in the class. Sasuke had taken top scores in weapon control and chakra control. Ino herself had grabbed the top female taijutsu spot, barely pushing Hinata to the side. All of these rankings were well within the scope of her expectations. What was a welcome surprise was Naruto's jump in position. Seeing his face light up at the improvement, she could barely suppress her own grin.
Ino had carefully allowed the boy to observe nearly six more training sessions over the last month, and the results spoke for themselves. While he was nothing that impressive in terms of intellectual pursuits, Naruto's physical training and chakra control had taken a significant jump. From what she had observed in her own examinations of the training grounds and his personal lessons, Naruto had nearly mastered Tree Walking, and was about half way done with Water Walking. She had been careful to alternate the presentation a bit to keep things interesting and useful, such as timing herself in evasion drills in the trees and practicing the Academy taijutsu forms on the surface of the water. It was draining work, but her chakra and physical abilities were now growing by leaps and bounds.
However, with his energy and determination, Naruto could still run her into the ground. She had seen one practice where he had gotten the brilliant idea to launch kunai at leaves for target practice, all while running up a tree full tilt. Observing his aim, she had made a point of going over the basics of grips and throw mechanics in her next training session. The difference was astounding, especially considering that Naruto was firmly the bottom of the class. Now, if her math was correct, the boy was at least in the top fifteen.
Shaking off herself congratulations, Ino forced herself to think clearly. It was a small nudge that anything could change without proper tending. There were still a lot of weeds in her fellow blonde's mental garden, and she would be damned if she let them get the upper hand. Hearing a sniffle to her side, the girl sighed. It appeared that she had a few friends to comfort, especially after a loss to the class clown. It would suck losing some friends, but she would rather the girls live as civilians than die on a mission. Putting her most sympathetic face on, she led Sakura over to comfort the failed kunoichi students.
Hearing a door slam, the blonde girl grumbled before turning over. She had overdone it a bit the other day, and her entire body felt like it was made of stone. Just getting through the Academy had been a chore, and she was looking forward to a good, long nap before dinner. "Yamanaka Ino! Get your butt down here right now, young lady!" But hearing her father's furious shout somehow motivated her to find the energy to get up. Seven or seventeen years old, Yamanaka Inoichi was not someone she wanted to disappoint or piss off, even if he could turn into an overprotective old man at times.
Yawning into her hands, Ino stomped down the stairs like the little girl she was supposed to be. Acting like a child had taken some adjustments at first, but it was always easier dealing that way with her parents. After all, no matter what she had accomplished as a Chunin, they had never let her forget her place as their little princess. Of course, seeing how red her father's face appeared to be, Ino was actually happy about this turn of events. There was less chance that her beloved father would disembowel his dutiful daughter, right? Forcing back another yawn, Ino did her best to match his furious stare. "I'm sorry Daddy, but I was taking a nap. Did you need me for something?" Hopefully, the reminder that he had interrupted her precious nap time would calm the old man down.
However, Inoichi was apparently following a different script today. Not only did her little cute act not garner any sympathy, but his eyes were practically frigid. In all her years of life, Ino could not remember seeing the Jonin this mad before. Then he opened his mouth and all became clear. "I've been hearing some very interesting stories, young lady. Did you happen to suggest to a classmate that staying out in the training grounds was a good idea?" Remembering her actions the other day, the blonde girl suppressed a wince. Ah, it appeared her master plan had backfired.
As the date for the Uchiha Massacre had come closer, the time traveling blonde had contemplated her chances fixing things. Unfortunately, she was honest enough to know that taking on Uchiha Itachi at the peak of his power was just asking for death. Even if she convinced a few ANBU to help out, more likely than not they would all die in their attempt to stop the attack. No matter what her feelings as a person or kunoichi were, the Uchiha had no chance of survival. So since saving the entire clan was not realistic, that left her with the one person she could influence. Uchiha Sasuke had to remain safe and unharmed.
A part of her, covered with the spilled blood of allies and comrades thought the little ant deserved to die. His need for vengeance had led to so much death and destruction it was practically her job to kill the bastard at the first opportunity. However, after observing the boy for the last year, she knew that the Sasuke of today was not the crazy bastard of tomorrow. She had been given a second chance, so trying to do the same for the Uchiha survivor was probably her best option. Besides, she would ensure that if things went pear shaped again, she would be on that retrieval squad and kill him herself if necessary. That was the price of her failure and she was willing to pay it if need be.
So, that had led to her little brainstorm a few days ago. From what she understood of the situation, most of the passion of Sasuke's actions came from observing the Uchiha District after the Massacre. Plus, Sakura had spoken of some sort of super Uchiha Genjutsu that Itachi had used on both Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei which had not helped matters. So while she could not remove the sting, then maybe blunting it would work? Although, judging from her father's face, her idea had not gone over too well. "But Daddy, I didn't make Sasuke do anything! All I did was bet him he could not stay in the training fields until midnight. I figured his parents would come to get him and I would finally have enough for that cute, purple kunai pouch. It's not like anything could happen to a kid in the village right? There are too many ninja around to protect us!" Or ignore the situation if you happened to have a Kyuubi in your gut, but she would never dream of shaming her clan head in such a manner!
Seeing the unexpected defense had thrown the man off his game, Ino pushed ahead. "Did he complain to his mom or something? I mean, Sasuke is supposed to the strongest kid in class and younger brother to the Uchiha heir. I thought he would at least try to act like a boy before crying to his family." Seeing her father wince, the blonde knew she had struck gold. As a Jonin and apparently one of the investigators of the Massacre, the clan head knew that her words were rude and in horrible taste. Sasuke's entire family had been wiped out, and it seemed like the stupid bet she had forced onto the child was only reason he had survived.
But the important thing was that Ino did now seem to know just what she was saying. After all, she was just a little seven year old Academy Student who happened to poke another popular student. Therefore, the chances of her actually knowing something about the Massacre had just dropped from almost impossible to nearly nothing. Remembering how it took nearly a week for details to get out about the situation, Ino knew that her immediate punishment would have to be put on hold until Inoichi got security clearance to explain why it was needed. As expected, the older blonde temporized, "Sasuke ended up spending the entire night out there, picking up a small cold. Now why don't you go back to your room and continue your nap? We can talk more about this later." Shifting back another yawn, Ino trudged up the stairs. While it was too early to know if her gambit had done anything, at least she had done her best. Hopefully that would be enough to turn the tide.
"Ino-chan, are you there?" Hearing another call for attention, Ino cut chakra to her legs before flipping to the ground. After the third year back, she had gotten into the habit of training late into the evenings. Many of the distractions of her original time line had dried up with her more limited social life. No matter how much she tried, it was just plain hard to relate to other girls her own age in a meaningful way anymore. Between the numbers of drop outs from harsher training to her unrepentant title of tomboy, Ino was now considered a standard too cool to hang out with. It hurt a bit, but she was a big girl. Still, if she did not have someone like Sakura around, the blonde knew she might go completely crazy from boredom.
Waving her hand, she smiled at the pink head of hair coming towards her. "Hey Sakura-chan, I'm over here. Were we supposed to do something today? I'm sorry if I forgot again." While she admitted being so driven was probably unhealthy, Ino only had to think back to her own moments of uselessness to get motivated quickly. She had lost or been ineffective against every major opponent in the lost future, being little better than an advanced scout. So she sometimes found herself losing track of time trying to find new and interesting ways of pushing her limits. After all, she had almost re-mastered all the Chunin techniques she knew, and Daddy was being weird about sharing clan secrets at the moment. Probably would be until her graduation to Genin now that she thought about it.
Shaking her head, the other girl suddenly looked around carefully. "No, I just wanted your opinion on something. Is it safe to talk?" Nodding, Ino almost frowned at the memory. She and Sakura had been training in taijutsu when the pink haired girl had realized that Naruto was observing from behind a tree. Before she could come up with a reasonable way of spinning things, Sakura had screamed about him being a pervert and done her best to break the boy's skull. Ino really could not blame her friend, but ever since he stopped observing her training exercises, Naruto's grades had dropped a bit. She still thought he could pass, but would probably have to do something when the test came up. Still, that did not address what Sakura wanted to talk about.
Allowing herself to be led into the forest, Ino raised an eyebrow at the basic silence genjutsu Sakura used. It was nothing that a Genin could not deal with, but she was quite impressed with the skill level shown. Apparently, she was not the only one training hard these days. "Wow, Sakura-chan, you've got to show me that trick! But in the meantime, why don't you explain what's so important that you need to hide in the deepest part of my training area and throw up a genjutsu? Are we being invaded or something?" If so, they were screwed. She had barely managed to gain half her old chakra levels back, and that was pushing it in a nine year old body!
Biting her lip, her friend leaned closer. "I know but I'm just so embarrassed and I need to talk to someone I can trust." Closing her green eyes for a moment, Sakura pinned Ino with a look of such intensity that the blonde fought off the urge to jump back in shock. While rare, the times when Sakura's spirit shone with determination were truly a sight to behold. "Ino-chan, what do you do when you like someone?" Of course, having that spirit dedicated to a declaration of love was not exactly what the blonde expected.
Still, she was enough of a girl to realize just how important this was to her best friend. Smiling, Ino leaned forward, eyes shining in mischief. "Oh Sakura, I didn't know you cared! But I'm sorry to say that I'm only interested in men. I hope you'll stay my best friend though. Things just would not be the same without you." Seeing the other girl turn red in embarrassment, the blonde was quick to grab her into a hug. "Oh, I'm not trying to be mean or anything. I think it's great you might be interested in someone! Spill girl, and let little old Ino-chan be your guide!" Plus she wanted to make sure that Sakura did not have any tendencies she was not expecting. They said that there was a really small line between love and hate, and their relationship had changed quite a bit from what it was before. A little hero worship was nice and all, but she did not want to lead the poor girl on or anything.
Shuddering, Sakura fixed her with a death glare. "Please Ino I do not want to get caught up in those sorts of rumors. If you didn't show me some tricks for sticking up for myself, I would probably be seen as your little pet by now. That would be bad enough. No, I'm interested in the best boy in class, Uchiha Sasuke. He's so cute and cool, I just want to hold him and never let go!" Hearing this, Ino bit back a sigh. While she had almost hoped it would be something simple like this, the thought of Sasuke and Sakura sent chills down her spine. After what happened last time, she was hesitant to allow this to continue. Especially since, given her knowledge of the situation, she would be the reason the girl cried if Sasuke left the village a second time.
But the Sasuke of today was not the Sasuke of her memories. After his miraculous survival of the Uchiha Massacre, the boy had once again been the last loyal son of a once great clan. However, this time he had not experienced the event up close and personal, since the bodies had been cleaned up before his return to the compound. Without that moment of personal revelation, Sasuke was a lot less driven and quite a bit more depressed. Her father had even been called in to provide counseling and support a couple of times when the class genius allowed his grades to slip. For some reason he had become significantly more driven in the last few months, but the burning intensity and insanity that had made the Sasuke of her memories so cool was no longer present. Now, most of his admirers came from minor families that wanted ties to the Uchiha clan name.
Frowning, Ino bit her lip in concern. All her instincts were screaming that she should nip this in the bud before it turned into the mess from before. But Sakura had gained such confidence from her efforts to earn the Uchiha's love perhaps a compromise was in order? "Sakura-chan, I'm happy that you've found someone to like and would normally wish you well. But this is Uchiha Sasuke we're talking about. Do you know what you're getting yourself into? He's the last acknowledged heir of a powerful clan, and is going to be swamped with tons of fan girls within the next few years. He's a genius, rich, handsome and the top of the class to boot. That's a pretty tall order to deal with."
Frowning, Sakura looked away. "I know it's not going to be easy, but every time I see him my heart won't stop pounding. I might not be the prettiest or the best cook, but none of that matters. I know he's my one and only, Ino-chan, and I want to try and be his." Seeing the depths of devotion in those eyes, Ino blinked. Had Sakura always been this focused upon Sasuke or had she done something by accident? Either way, she had a good idea on how to handle this. Just telling the girl no would fuel her desire in secret and cause a rift between the two friends again. No matter what happened, there was no way Ino wanted a repeat of her previous rivalry. If the war had taught her anything, it was that the two worked better together than apart.
Putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder, Ino smiled. "So who says you aren't pretty? I just know you're going to bloom into something incredible one day, Sakura and don't you ever forget it. No, what you need to worry about it scaring the poor boy off." Seeing the question in her friend's green eyes, the blonde continued. "Try to put yourself in Sasuke's shoes for a minute here. His family was wiped out in a single night by a brother he worshiped as the ultimate ninja. Now, he has to not only live up to the expectations of the entire village, but those he puts on himself. So he will most likely need a wife and a family at some point to ensure the rebirth of his clan. But not just any woman will do. He'll need someone who s strong, smart, and cute in order to make his future generations of clan members worthy of his legacy. If you want to be that girl, expect a lot of blood sweat and tears because it will not be easy."
Seeing her words sink in, Ino decided to up the ante. "I'm willing to help you, Sakura-chan, if you want to be Mrs. Uchiha Sasuke. I will help you train, make you stronger, and do everything I can to allow you to win him. But remember that we're all of nine right now, and we don't even know if he likes girls yet. So let's take this slowly, alright?" Gulping, Sakura nodded her head, determination flickering but still burning in her eyes.
Of course, Sakura's follow up question was completely predictable, but still managed to blindside her. "Say, do you have someone you like, Ino? Maybe we could work to fix you up while I try and land Sasuke-kun!" Thinking about her classmates as romantic interests almost made the blonde try out an Anime face-plant. Just picturing the mechanics behind something like that made her slip nearly three mental gears.
Waving a hand in exasperation, Ino plastered a smile on her face. "Sorry, but none of the guys in class do it for me. They all need to grow up a lot before I get interested. I'm looking for someone a little more mature." Of course, there was also the tiny little fact that she was mentally about ten years older than any of her contemporaries. While she knew some of the boys would grow into loyal and great boyfriend material, right now it would be too much like kissing a little brother. Besides, if the facts behind her extra memories ever came out, there was no way she wanted to deal with a molestation charge on top of everything else. Seeing her friend nod in understanding, Ino let out a sigh of relief. One more crisis down, who knew how many more to go?
Waiting for her prey, Ino reflected that the last three years had gone better than expected. She was acknowledged as one of the strongest young Kunoichi, only losing the top title because of Sakura's academic record. Her friendship with the other girl had allowed both to grow stronger together, keeping any silly rivalry from wrecking things. Sasuke had gotten some counseling, and had even become friends with a few of her classmates. Even Naruto's abilities had improved dramatically, just from basic chakra control exercises. Plus, the second time around she could actually appreciate the artistry of his pranks! All in all, given her limited resources and abilities in the large scope of things, Ino was quite pleased with her overall progress changing the future.
In fact, there was only one little side project she had been putting off. Watching Hyuga Hinata slump in her chair at the latest test scores, the blonde decided that now was the perfect time to take action. She had observed the shy girl peaking on Naruto's training a couple of times and the resulting blush indicated that her crush was in full force. While a normal girl would have laughed at the thought of the Hyuga Heiress liking the unpopular boy, Ino knew that these feelings were stronger than that. Besides, the Hinata of the future had never been willing to share the details of her interest in Naruto before, and a part of her was dying with curiosity. Making a few excuses for Sakura and a couple of other friends, Ino began to track the girl as she followed Naruto through the village. It was difficult, seeing as Hinata did have a doujutsu that granted nearly perfect three hundred and sixty degree awareness of her environment, but not impossible. After all, most Hyuga she knew did not use the Byakugan in Konoha without a very important reason. The blonde did not think that shy little Hinata, no matter how big her crush, would bother doing something like that when she was just observing Naruto. The chances of fainting from a nose bleed were just too high.
Keeping watch from a nearby tree, Ino smirked as she observed both Naruto and Hinata. While it was a little rougher than she would like, it was clear that Naruto had been building off his experiences from those hints she had dropped. Although she had to admit that some of the ideas he used broke her brain a bit. Who would have thought of using the leaf balancing exercise while running up a tree like a corkscrew? Still, the results were what mattered, and seeing him perform a Replacement Technique before jumping off the tree was quite the sight to behold. If she did not know any better, she would say he was at least five years ahead of where he should be by now! The Akatsuki would have no idea what would hit them!
Still, just watching his practice was encouraging since she really did not have many chances to observe the other blonde. Ever since the little pervert incident, Naruto had been avoiding Sakura to hang around the class slackers more. While he still pulled off pranks and stuff, not hearing his constant declarations of love for the pink haired girl or angry shouts at Sasuke kind of left her feeling off balance. Although, given what happened last time she was not about to go complaining about making a difference. Observing another failed Clone Technique Ino reminded herself to drop him another hint about mastering the technique. Maybe he should work from too many clones and cut them down over time?
Luckily, even little boys with evil chakra creatures in their guts needed food. Naruto stopped training nearly three hours later, probably running off to Ichiraku's for a meal. Seeing that Hinata was getting ready to leave, Ino made her move. Jumping down with barely a sound, she approached the shy Hyuga. "Hi there Hinata, what are you doing out here? You would not happen to be watching a certain someone, would you?" Seeing the other girl's eyes go wide with fear, Ino almost took a step back. She had never had her very presence cause so much fear before, and did not like the experience.
Backing into the tree, Hinata visibly fought back her customary stutter. "Ino, why are you following me? Are you going to tell someone? Oh, please don't! I don't know what I can do for you, but I will try anything! Just, don't tell anyone that you saw me watching Naruto-kun." With that little inflection, the shy girl slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wider than before. It would have been cute if there was a little less raw terror involved.
Ino, who had no idea that her presence would cause this sort of reaction, held both hands up in a nonthreatening manner. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it. I just saw you there watching and got curious. I mean, sure Naruto's gotten a bit better the last few years, but I didn't know he had admirers. If he could grow up a bit, the idiot might just be an interesting little bad boy down the line. Some girls just love that sort of thing." Actually, now that she thought about it, making Naruto have fan girls might just piss off all the clan heads and civilian leaders. After dealing with the edge of the isolation and verbal abuse they liked to heap on someone important to her, Ino was more than ready to give those jerks an aneurism or two.
Still, even if her tone had been light, Hinata apparently felt the words had been uncalled for. "Naruto-kun isn't dumb. He tries so hard and works more than anyone! That's why, that's why I believe in him! So don't you dare talk about him like that in front of me!" Seeing the suddenly activated Byakugan, Ino suppressed a wince. This meeting was turning into a major FUBAR faster than Chouji emptied a barbecue place.
It took a lot of fast talking on her part, but Ino managed to calm the Hyuga princess down to something she could handle. Luckily, instead of becoming a massive gossip this time around, Ino had developed the persona of a confidant. People knew that if they needed to talk, she would listen and keep their secrets. While Sakura was the most constant recipient of this skill, some of the other girls would not hesitate to seek her out in times of trouble. While the blonde got a little frustrated having juicy dirt and not spreading it around, the Chunin in her knew that this was much more useful. The more she knew the more she could nudge into a better future. This particular confrontation might just be one of the more important in recent memory.
"So wait, let me get this straight. You were trying to find a nice place to cry and a bunch of bullies attacked you? Then Naruto distracted them, letting your servant come and save you while leaving the beat up little kid on the ground? I didn't know the brat had it in him!" Seeing the light blush on the girls face, Ino fought the urge to bang her head against a wall. Sakura from the future had once commented on Naruto's desire to protect a princess. She just had not believed the pink haired claims that he usually succeeded. Any boy saving damsels in distress by nine was a future catch, no doubt about it.
Leaning back into a tree, Ino licked her lips. "Well, if that's who you want, more power to you. If you manage to catch his interest, let me know ok? I might need a few notes when my chosen prince comes along." Seeing the other girl blush like a tomato, the blonde smiled. Hinata was quiet, shy and a little weird, but if anyone deserved to have their man, it was her. "Why don't you hang out with me and Sakura sometimes? I could use the sparring partner and I doubt that you're a threat to Sakura's love interests, so we should all get along. All in all, you are a very interesting girl, Hinata-chan." Smiling, Ino felt justified as her expression was returned. It would not be an easy path, but from what she knew it would be worth it.
Tapping her fingers absently, Ino flashed Sakura a grin as the girl was called before the teachers. It had been a long and somewhat annoying road, but seven years had gone by. The day of the graduation test was upon them, and she was more than ready for that promotion. Sure the downtime had been nice at times, but after years of drills and pushing herself, the Yamanaka was dying for a change of pace. Although if she had to deal with that stupid cat after a week of missions, she was mind switching with the bloody thing and jumping off a roof. None of her fellow Genin would ever convict her and the Fire Lord's Wife might learn to be nicer to animals as a result.
Seeing Sakura waltz back in, a spring in her step and shiny headband on her forehead, the blonde shot her friend a thumbs up. The years of extra encouragement and training had done wonders for the girl. Now, instead of looking like a stick figure, Sakura was a lithe, collected beauty who would gladly take on all comers. Of course, Ino had done her best to keep direct interference to a minimum, not really wanting to change Sakura as a person, but a couple of comments had slipped out here and there. Now the pink haired girl was studying medical techniques in her spare time, sure that having such a useful skill would make her the ideal mate for Uchiha Sasuke. Although the blonde thought her genjutsu techniques were nothing to sneeze at either.
Hinata's return, complete with her head hand in a position as a necklace was also met with a smile and a wave. Despite some of her best efforts, both Sakura and Hinata did not seem to get along. Oh, they were not enemies or anything but neither girl seemed to have much in common with one another. Ino refused to choose between them, and explained that, as kunoichi of Konoha, they might find themselves working together in the future. But Sakura could not seem to get over Hinata's interest in Naruto, and Hinata could not get over Naruto's once time interest in Sakura. Still, after spending some additional time together the blonde was thrilled that both girls had somewhat come out of their shells. Maybe one day they would realize that friendship was a possibility.
Hearing Sasuke's name being called was almost enough to bring a frown to her face. While not quite as cold and aloof as before, the Uchiha was still rather quiet and mysterious. He had a few friends, most notably Kiba and Shino, but went out of his way to avoid crowds. As she predicted, once the new reality had set in, a number of girls had declared their love for the class genius. It felt odd looking in from the outside this time, but the girl could not be happier. Sakura mostly listened to her advice where the boy was concerned, but still ended up looking foolish half the time. She could only hope that everyone grew up a bit before any shit hit the fan. Otherwise she would kill the little brat herself this time. Naruto did not need the aggravation.
Speaking of which, said pariah had come back from his own test, headband proudly affixed and smile firmly in place. It had taken a few, overly dramatic conversations with Hinata when she knew the blonde was sneaking around, but she had managed to slip him a hint or two about the Clone Technique. The Hyuga had been confused, but too polite to say anything. Honestly, given the restrictions she had dealt with, Ino was rather proud about how it had turned out. Maybe things would really improve and Naruto would not be teamed up with Sasuke in the first place. That way, the bonds that had caused the other blonde so much pain might be lessened just a bit.
After class was let out, Ino invited both Hinata and Sakura to her house for the celebration. Hinata begged off, explaining about a previous clan function to deal with, but Sakura agreed. Secretly, Ino was thrilled since her father had done most of the preparations. Therefore, she would have to deal with Shikamaru and Chouji alone while the original Ino-Shika-Chou group got drunk off their asses. Reflecting that things worked much better with a close female friend rather than a rival, Ino prepared for a relatively pleasant evening.
The same party had happened before, of course, but it had been rather different. Sakura had spurned her friendship that day, returning the hair ribbon as a sign of their rivalry over Sasuke. A few other girls had shown up, but left as soon as possible after seeing Chouji start to eat. In fact, Ino had made a point of avoiding the other two, not wanting to give Shikamaru any mental material to work with. The boy was not called a genius for nothing, and if anyone was going to figure out her unique perspective, it would be him. But, knowing that the party was unavoidable, she prepared for a test of endurance.
Of course the reality was nowhere near as problematic as her imagination. She ended up chatting with Sakura for most of the event, only sparing some time for Chouji and Shikamaru to be polite. Most of the invites where members of the three clans, and they were turning rather lively by the third hour in. Feeling like she had earned a break after all that hard work, Ino cut lose a bit. After all, with her changes to history, things had to go better this time, right? That was when the ANBU decided to show up.
The conversation was quick, but the orders were clear. Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza headed directly to the Hokage Tower, telling their families to go home at once. Ino managed to offer Sakura a chaperone home, pointing that her taijutsu skills were higher than the pink haired girl's own. Her mom was not very happy, but such was life. After making sure her friend made it home, Ino was just about to return when overhearing a whispered conversation from a side street. "I'm telling you Iruka, Naruto stole the Forbidden Scroll of Seals! We have orders to bring him in at once!" Eyes widening, Ino hid out of sight as Mizuki-sensei discussed things with Iruka-sensei. Just what was going on here?
Forcing herself to remain calm, the kunoichi began to review the night of the first party. That time around, she had gotten bored hours earlier and was already home brushing her hair around the time the ANBU had shown up with marching orders. Was this actually something that had happened last time? Or had she inadvertently caused this by screwing something up. Either way, she knew that going home was the last thing she could do right now. Watching Iruka-sensei leave in a rush, Ino was quick to follow from a discrete distance. If anyone could find the prankster of Konoha, it would be good old Iruka-sensei!
Now Ino was not a stupid girl. While she had done some things as a Genin that still embarrassed her years later, the blonde had earned her promotion to Chunin fair and square. She had been training hard and learning a lot as a field medic, not to mention some part time work with the Torture and Interrogation department. She had done her best to fix things so that the Fourth Ninja war would not hit with such force, or ideally be avoided all together. Even at her peak the blonde was not capable of taking out an S-class ninja, so working to make Naruto stronger from the shadows seemed to be her best bet.
But the thing was, no matter how much she warmed up to the goof later, Ino did not know much about the village Jinchuuriki. His file was covered in so much security that only the Hokage could look at it, and they had not socialized much outside of a rookie dinner or two. So she had made a number of assumptions based upon her spotty memories of Sakura talking about Team Seven, and her own briefings about the threat of Akatsuki. Nothing major, of course just some things that made sense in the context she had. Given what she knew, the blonde assumed that the Sandaime had overridden the instructors to pass Naruto, seeing it as a waste of resources and suspecting that Academy Instructors were the reason he had not passed. The more significant one was that Kakashi-sensei had been the one to teach Naruto the Shadow Clone technique. After all, how else would a fresh Genin know a Jonin level technique?
So it should come as no surprise that the girl was caught completely flatfooted at the scene before her. Iruka-sensei had found the exhausted form of Naruto, holding onto the scroll for dear life. After berating the blonde, Naruto had replied about some sort of special test from Mizuki-sensei. Hearing that little bit of data left Ino feeling cold in the pit of her stomach. Mizuki-sensei had been identified as a prisoner during the prison break about six months after the Chunin Exam Invasion. She had never really cared about why her former Sensei was in jail, but looking at his smug smile, weapon in hand, the blonde had a feeling that she was about to find out.
Seeing Naruto's face after the Kyuubi was revealed to him nearly broke the girls heart. It was a look of utter shock and rejection, as if everything in his life was just a lie. In fact, her own shock at the silver haired bastard's audacity was the only reason she did not react in time at his launched giant shuriken. But seeing Iruka-sensei take the hit, stating that he believed in Naruto was almost enough to bring her to tears. Naruto and Iruka's close relationship made a lot more sense now. Trailing along, she was further shocked by the additional confrontation between the two Sensei's. Iruka's defense of the blonde outcast was rather touching, and pushed the serious man up a few notches in her book. But watching Naruto come to the rescue, not only demonstrating Shadow Clones but the Shadow Shuriken techniques, was something right out of an Anime. Seeing the twitching, bleeding form of the traitor, Ino had to suppress the urge to throw her own kunai. If anyone found out about her being there, all sorts of unpleasant questions might have been asked. That would move her into a pond way deeper than she was willing to deal with.
Observing the quiet bonding moment between the two below her, Ino allowed herself a small smile. While she had to admit that the situation was a little surprising, it seemed to fit into the current time line quite nicely. That moment of acknowledgement was probably one of the defining pillars of Naruto's loyalty to the village. Suddenly picturing a world where Iruka died a little faster, the blonde suppressed a shudder. If Naruto had started to view Konoha as an enemy, while holding onto the Forbidden Scroll, who knew what could have happened. She then vowed to get the Chunin a very nice going away present before leaving the Academy.
Turning away, Ino snuck out of sight. The ANBU where probably out in force by now, and she did not want to get caught in this mess. After having her world turned on its head once again, the blonde made a decision. She would never, ever be able to win the most unpredictable ninja title from Uzumaki Naruto. Sighing a little at lost opportunities, she headed for home and her waiting bed. She was faster, stronger, and more capable than before, so wiping Team Ten into shape should not be that big of a problem, right? Besides, Shikamaru would never forgive her if she did not force him to become strong enough to save Asuma-sensei this time around. Reaching the lighted path to her house, Ino whistled a little tune while mentally preparing herself for the reunion ahead.
Gazing over the assembled Jonin, the wizened figure of the Sandaime allowed himself a brief smile. Seeing these children, heirs to the will of fire always left him feeling just a little bit surer about his decisions. After all, they were the present and the future of Konoha, so he must have done something right. Nevertheless, it was time to shake things up a bit. His instincts and facts were screaming that this was the correct course of action, but knowing these children as he did, the old man anticipated some serious resistance. "Today we are here to establish the teams for potential Genin squads. After the last round of promotions at the Chunin Exam, there is room for nine different squads. While only about a third are expected to pass, we must do our best for all potential comrades."
Most of the initial teams were a mere footnote. Despite the skill shown by some members, Sarutobi did not like their chances in the betting pools. Either they had survived the tests through skill, connections or luck, showing a lack of the teamwork necessary for true Konoha ninja. However, the last three displayed a certain importance in his designs. Now he just had to deal with a few upset fathers. "For Team Seven, Genin candidates Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke will be assigned to Jonin Instructor Hatake Kakashi." Seeing the raised eyebrow from the silver haired Jonin, the Sandaime knew the next team would cause quite a bit of outrage. But he knew this was the best course of action.
"Kurenai, since this is your first team, a lot will be expected of you. I hope that you understand the level of trust that this indicates in both your leadership and skills." Seeing the firm nod, despite the rookie Jonin's blush, the old man gave a small smile. "As such, you have been assigned a special team of significant potential. Team Eight will contain Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto. I'm sure you will be up for the challenge." Ah the shocked silence of the young. Even now it made his day that much more enjoyable.
Stepping forward, Inoichi made his displeasure known. "Hokage-sama, I must protest! Ino has been specially trained to work with both Shikamaru and Chouji as another Ino-Shika-Chou team. No disrespect to Kurenai-sensei, but would she not be better served under Asuma? I mean, normally each team only has a single kunoichi assigned to it, does it not?" Any mention of Naruto's Jinchuuriki status was of course ignored. That did not mean that the inhabitants of the room were stupid enough to ignore another significant reason for Inoichi's anger.
Leaning back, the Hokage gave a small sigh. "Ah yes, Ino-chan's skill set. That is actually a major reason why I chose her for this team. You should be proud Inoichi, for I believe that we have a potential prodigy on our hands." Hearing this had a few of the Jonin shifting in curiosity. The Yamanaka were a well respected clan, but to name one of their members a prodigy was a significant event, especially if it was simply a twelve year old kunoichi.
Reaching for a prepared folder, the old man tapped the paper with just enough force to be notable. "According to the psyche profile that the Academy worked up from interviews and observation, your daughter is most unusual. Instead of competing with her classmates in terms of popularity and position, she makes a point of nurturing the talent around her. One Haruno Sakura went from class outcast to our top Kunoichi primarily from your daughter's influence, and the proctors are still unsure if she did not control her scores to some degree. The same happened when she began a friendship with Hyuga Hinata, although not to the same level. A nurturing instinct is unusual in one so young and untested. It really is quite remarkable."
Coughing, Shikaku moved forward to join his friend. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, why are these skills a reason to remove her from the preferred team alignment? If she is so good at encouraging her peers, then Shikamaru and Chouji could use the attention just as much as Hinata and Naruto." Again, no talk about the Kyuubi or pause in speech, but his meaning was clear. Unfortunately for them, the Ino-Shika-Chou group was not going to win this if he had anything to say about it.
Closing his eyes, Sarutobi sighed. "It is quite simple, Shikaku. Last night, Mizuki betrayed our village by using Naruto as a pawn to steal the Forbidden Scroll. Upon his return and explanation of the event, I questioned his reasons and methods, which included Tree Climbing. Naruto was kind enough to explain that he had learned the control exercise from observing Ino practicing when they were younger. He had no idea that it was training that you normally don't receive until Chunin consideration. Apparently, Mizuki promised Naruto his choice of teammates if he succeeded in his objective, and he wanted Ino so he could learn more cool things directly." Seeing Inoichi stiffen was satisfying. It appeared that the clan head had not gone beyond his authority in terms of training his heir. So either Ino stole the information from a fellow ninja, quite possible with the usage of the Yamanaka techniques, or had learned it from observation. Either way the girl was quite skilled to have hidden this for so long.
"Ino is not in any trouble per se, but I think that being put in this sort of situation will allow us to properly evaluate what sorts of skills she might have. Besides, given her perchance for taijutsu, a kunoichi instructor who is familiar with the normal sorts of limitations of that sort of field for a woman might be ideal to polish things along." That and it would allow the more astute Kurenai to notice if anything was wrong. As much as he loved his son, Asuma was sometimes much too thick for the subtle aspects of the ninja lifestyle.
Seeing that everyone appeared to have calmed down, the Sandaime continued. "Team Nine is still in circulation with Gai, so Team Ten will consist of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino. Given the change concerning the Ino-Shika-Chou arrangement, I thought that another little experiment might be in order. While it is traditional to pair up a Hyuga, Inuzuka and Aburame for tracking purposes, this time I divided them among the three teams most likely to pass. If each has a tracker, I propose that battlefield casualties might just drop a bit. Now you all have your assignments, so prepare to meet your teams tomorrow at one in the Academy building. Dismissed!"
Ino had known that changes were inevitable. It was one of the things that comforted her at night, in all honesty. The blonde would do anything she could to prevent that world from being a reality, and a little change kept the last few years from getting stale. But somehow, she just knew that this was some sort of divine punishment. "Team Seven will consist of Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team Eight will consist of Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, and Yamanaka Ino. Team Nine is still in circulation, so Team Ten will consist of Aburame Shino, Chouji Akimichi and Nara Shikamaru! Come back here after lunch to meet with your Jonin Sensei."
She was going to be on Naruto's team? That was just plain crazy! She might be strong for a Genin, but that crazy blonde had faced enemies that would chew her up and spit her out in seconds! She was so sure that she would be assigned to Shikamaru's and Chouji's team, giving her time to stay out of the line of fire. What the heck was the Hokage smoking? "Ino, would you like to eat together before our Sensei comes?"
Seeing Hinata standing next to Naruto, blush firmly in place, Ino forced herself to get a grip. Sure things would be difficult, but freaking out would accomplish nothing. Besides, if Sakura's stories were to believed, at least she would always have a true friend to look out for her. "Sure, let me just get my stuff." Seeing Naruto's uncertain look, she flashed her fellow blonde a winning smile, making the effect reach her eyes. Despite her misgivings, there was no way she would ever snub Naruto, especially after last night. Receiving a bright smile in return, Ino followed her teammates out the door to face her new and hopefully improved destiny.
Authors Notes
Ok, wow that took a lot longer than I expected. -_-;;;
Sorry about the wait. National Novel Writing Month was a blast, but by the end there, my head was about to explode. The challenge of writing so much, for so long was a little more than I counted on, but in the end victory was mine! In fact, there are only two reasons that this chapter is five days late.
First, I caught a nasty case of the stomach flu and was barely able to remember my own name for about three days.
Second, you guys picked a long shot for the win that caught me by surprise. I thought that the time travel story was just a whim that would get a few laughs. Imagine my surprise when I actually started to write the bloody thing, and it turned into the longest chapter I ve done for this project yet.
While it is a little raw, I did not want to drag tallymark into this one. She did a great job on the last chapter (which I apologize for not recognizing; it was a stressful week) but this was a little more daunting in scope. So I hope you enjoy, and review! That would just make my day.
Also, as promised, the poll results have been finalized. While I won't commit to quite the update schedule involved with Escape from the Hokage's Hat, this will be the chapter order for the future pieces of Different Techniques.
In order of planned production;
1. Puppy dog eyes no Jutsu (Naruto Joins Akatsuki crack fic)
2. The Wild Fox Cometh! (Genin Exam: Team Seven)
3. The Wild Fox Cometh! (Genin Exam: Team Eight)
4. The Rise of Naruto Lamperouge! (Naruto X Code Geass crossover)
5. Naruto, the Space Cowboy (Naruto X Cowboy Bebop crossover)
6. Naruto and the Wandering Doctor! (Naruto X Dr. Who crossover)
7. The Wild Fox Cometh! (Chunin Exam! Sakura versus Ino!)
8. The Wild Fox Cometh! (Genin Exam: Team Ten)
9. Naruto of the Laughing Immortals! (Naruto X Baccano crossover)
10. Naruto the Natural Type! (Naruto X Ouran High School Host Club fusion)
Keep your eyes open for these exciting future installments! Peace out!