Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me
"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Writing' or 'Emphasis'
"Evil Talking"
a/n:
No updates till I have at least 5 reviews. Sorry to be cruel. But if it's not worth reviewing it's not worth uploading till I've got the whole story done. Or at least a good five chapters.
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previously….
"She's becoming more mechanic … less human. It's a subtle change … but it's there."
"She was always a bitch anyway!" Taisan lied, caught up in his own rage. He grabbed a few tissues from a knocked over medical tray and dabbed at his nose, "… she's a first-class teacher, but a rotten friend."
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Promise of Change
Chapter 9: Be my Understudy? Impatience.
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.1.5km South-East of Konoha Borders. 2 years 6 months prior to incident.
It was beautiful on the lake, very quiet and very calm. It wasn't a lake exactly, the water didn't move or connect anywhere to a greater source, more of a giant pond really. Complete with lily pads, reeds, and that weird green stuff that looks like stable dirt until you stand on it and sink. Taisan could see why the girl would choose to train here, it was isolated, but also within safe distance of Konoha should the worst occur. She'd been standing on the water for a few hours now, using her palms to summon the water around her in a sphere. He couldn't say he'd ever seen that type of chakra control exercise before, but it seemed to be working, it was definitely benefiting her control, but her stamina….
He'd been following her around a fair bit since he'd returned from his missions. After the death of the Third Hokage and the Election of the Fifth, his team had been sent on every S class mission that came up. The downside of finally graduating to Jounin he'd assumed. Something in part he owed to her.
Either way, he hadn't a chance to speak with his new found talent, in quite some time. To be blunt, he hadn't spoken to her at all. Kurenai had made every effort to force their paths apart, often recommending him for missions to the village's elder council, usually before he'd returned from the one before. Without a Kage every mission was being accepted, and there wasn't time for breaks just to speak with a little girl. However, this time he had found her completely unprotected, and was fully prepared.
Taisan still hadn't come to terms with the 'forced' contact between the two of them, anyway, it had given him a little time to think and he was thankful for that. Enough time to get it out of his system and acknowledge that Sujin had a point. It also gave him time to fuel his desire to better her.
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Hinata let out a heavy gasp as she felt the last of her strength escape through her fingers. She fell backward into the water and floated calmly on the placid, rocking of the current. Too tired to care how waterlogged her thick coat might become. Muscles aching, she gazed up at the star speckled night sky, enjoying the chance to rest. With worn muscles and her chakra completely molded, there was no way she could run back to the village in time for sleep. Meaning she wouldn't make it back till morning.
'P-perhaps I could sleep out here?' she thought to herself, knowing full well her father would scold her for leaving the village at night, not to mention trying to practice a technique other than Juuken.
She lay there a few more moments, watching as steam seeped through her exhausted limbs and ascended into the night sky. She drifted gently towards the water's edge, using her fingertips to guide her a little, until her head hit something … something hard.
' … a-ano?' with some effort she turned her eyes upward to see what she was sure would be some risen mud pile, or floating trash.
She quickly realized however that it was a man's boot. And as luck would have it, a man was connected. Silently she allowed her body to sink, trying to evaluate the situation. The man made no move to stop her as she descended under the surface.
'…A-an e-enemy ninja … h-here?' she thought miserably, as a Hyuuga her fate would no doubt be to have her eyes forcibly removed from their sockets, 'Wh-what should I do….?'
She'd been in a similar situation once before when she was little. Two men had died because of it, and all she could do was cry. As her body hit the lake's bottom softly, she saw small tear bubbles float to the surface.
'…I … I cant be this weak….'
She could barely see the man's faint outline against the reflected moonlight on the water, with no chakra to activate the Byakugan, this was the best she could do.
He wasn't doing anything …. just standing there. She prayed silently that he'd not seen her.
'How couldn't he have? I was a floating sphere of water a moment ago!' she scolded herself, while accidentally breathing in the remaining oxygen in her mouth.
'Wh-What can I do….? I'll have to … s-surrender. … ohhh! how could I not have seen him!!'
'… Why … why me? Why does this have to happen? … I'm always … so … so useless…'
As her blood began to slow without oxygen, for a brief moment she was sure she heard 'his' voice in the water. It was garbled and distorted but it was…encouraging her, she couldn't hear the words, but the feeling from it was indescribable. Like … confidence, faith, reassurance all molded into one. Just like at the Chuunin exam. Deep within her bowels she felt chakra begin to mold with the feeling, urged on by that faith.
'I … I mustn't run away ……..…na-naruto-kun…!'
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Taisan stood on the water serenely a few moments. He'd purposefully stopped the girl from floating right into shallower waters. Although a rude awakening, it would be better than letting her drift into the pit viper which had been sloppily ducking above and beneath the pond's surface. As an ambush predator that usually comes out at night he wouldn't be surprised if the bastard had been waiting for her.
He continued to watch the snake, hypnotized, as it slithered in the waters to his left. Momentarily forgetting the 'drowning' girl he had specially come out to see.
"Go on you pest, get out of here! Stupid snake! I should use you as a …!!! … Killing Intent?!"
Taisan turned abruptly just in time to see the splash after the girl had burst from the waters depths and witness two blue aura'd palms collide with his chest, aimed perfectly to slip beneath his ribcage.
Time stood still for a moment as the two watched each other. The Jounin kept his arms at his side, not yet entirely aware of what had just happened. Dumbly, gazing at the veins which etched menacingly across the girls face. Hinata waited, hands still pressed against his boy's blue jacket, refusing to look up as she hoped his legs would buckle and fall. The aching in her legs was already beginning to return.
Taisan couldn't say he'd ever fought someone who'd used Juuken, the impact was numbing at first, but quickly replaced with a strong burn under the skin. Definitely similar to Auron's attacks, but it struck deeper.
Aware he wasn't going to fall after one attack, she recoiled and prepared to let out a following strike with her right arm. To her horror, her left was leg no longer able to maintain balance and submerged under the water, making her fall toward her enemy rather than attack. She mentally envisioned his next move …
'H-He's g-going to knee me in the f-face!!'
Instead, he gripped her attacking wrist firmly, as she began to fall forward, both keeping her afloat and restraining her. A little surprised, but still confident, she swung out with her left arm, only to have her wrist once again firmly restrained.
Not interested in waiting for the girl to resort to groin aimed kicks, Taisan twisted her left arm up and over her head, bringing it down until her palm touched the back of her neck. The right arm he simply twisted down and behind her back without much fanfare, calmly standing behind her as he waited for her to calm down.
She didn't scream or yell like he had expected, … Hyuuga pride he presumed, … but instead twisted in his grip, desperate for freedom. This continued for several minutes until she fell silent, her heart beating rapidly and her earlier exhaustion re-established.
"…Do you have any clue…?" he asked calmly, "…. what you just did?"
She didn't respond, but let out a short 'eep' in surprise as she felt his grip loosen until she was placed calmly on top of the water, facing away from him. It wasn't long before she began to sink, straight downward. Taisan restrained a laugh poorly within his teeth, not surprised that the energy she'd drawn upon had left her so suddenly. He grabbed the hood of her coat and pulled her up out of the water just before her shoulders breached the surface and strode calmly over to the bank. Not forgetting to note how much he felt like a lioness holding it's cub. A metaphor he was sure he could use later on, should she agree to his preposition.
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'Th-This is so hu-humiliating ……'
She desperately wanted to move, … move anything! Her toes if she could. But it was useless. After hours of exerting chakra through her palms, as well as balancing on the water, not forgetting cloaking her presence enough to sneak up and attack her mysterious opponent, … she was truly spent.
"Well? I asked you a question didn't I?"
"…"
Ceremoniously she felt herself be placed in a seating position against a large mossy rock. As he crouched down in front of her she finally got a decent view of his face.
"Y-YOU!!!"
He smiled, glad she at least recognized him. It would make what he had to ask so much simpler. "Hi! Good to see you too."
"Fr-from the chuu-…!"
"Yep, that's me, Nawaki Ta …..Taisan"
If Kurenai had mentioned him, Taoru would definitely be the name she chose he decided. They could cross that bridge later.
Realizing her life was 'probably' no longer in danger, the girl relaxed as much as she could with a completely numb body. However, she soon found a new anxiety …
"M-my f-father sent y-you…?"
"N-nope fr-fr-freelance." he joked with her, copying the stutter. "I'll have to do something about that stutter of yours."
"…. ano…?"
"I don't know if you realize this, but it turns out I owe you a big favor."
"… m-me?"
"Apparently the 'Third Principle' of the Jounin test involves the ability to show human concern for those of lower rank. Thus, ensuring an active Jounin would protect subordinates." Taisan recited from what he remembered of the Sandaime's private conversation with him.
Hinata's mind flashed briefly to the person who'd held her as she vomited blood onto his shoulder.
"…y-you…"
"Anyway," he interrupted, "… Seeing as I'm now a Jounin, it seems I'm supposed to live up to that principle and train a team of three Genin. 'But' …. since it's your fault I've been given this annoying chore, I think 'you' should take the blame and stand in for those three Genin."
Hinata sat dumbstruck for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he was saying. She wasn't entirely sure if she was being rewarded or punished.
'… I asked you earlier, if you knew what you had just done. Right?"
Hinata could only nod.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure either, for someone with so little experience to pull of a Kage level technique. Well, it kills me really as I've been trying for years to pull it off."
Hinata opened and closed her mouth a few times, each time forgetting what word she was going to start with. Needless to say, this was a lot to take in in thirty seconds.
"I'm not surprised you haven't realized it, but you're using level one of a jutsu called 'Chakra Recycling,'" he had an almost unquenchable desire to go into the details but held himself in case he frightened her.
"…Ch-chakra … recycling?"
"Uh-huh! It's a theorized technique where the user reverses the Chakra flow through the body, un-molding used chakra and reusing it. Although the number of times you could pull it off is probably limited. …So what do you say?"
"…ano … to what?"
"To being my understudy of course!"
"… u-understudy …?"
"I'll become your new sensei, and I'll train you how to use that new technique of yours, maybe a few others too if you ask politely," Taisan mentally took a moment to imagine the young girl speaking in an impolite tone.
"… b-but Kurenai-sensei …?"
"We'll keep it our secret, kay?"
Hinata sat quietly for a moment, frowning softly. The teen guessed she needed more convincing.
"Hinata? That's your name right?"
She nodded slowly.
"Do … do you have a dream, Hinata?"
She took a good long while to think through the question, blushing slightly as a certain blonde Genin flashed through her mind. Resolute she answered.
"I-I w-want … I dr-dream to be … a strong ninja … wh-who will bring pr-pride to my family, … and m-my friends … and one day … my Hokage."
Taisan smiled warmly at this, using his left arm to brush some stray hair from her forehead, "Here's the deal then, I promise … to make that dream a reality. … Okay? A little known fact about me is that when I make a promise, I keep it, even if it costs my life. A bad habit my sensei taught me."
Hinata tilted her head leaning into his fingertips which were still brushing her hair, an unconscious action from which he recoiled and stood up.
"So…" he grunted as he stood, "…. since I just made a promise, I'm afraid it's out of your hands now. You can either be my student, and I'll train you directly. Or I'll find another way to make you the pride of your family. Your choice."
There was another long awkward wait, during which two vipers wrestled loudly in the water behind them.
"Wh-why would you d-do this … for m-me?"
Taisan turned away, pretending the two wrestling snakes had suddenly decided the fate of the universe, "…. I told you, I owe you a favor."
Realizing she wouldn't be satisfied with this he continued.
"Plus you're an infectious runt who I haven't been able to stop thinking about since the Chuunin exams …."
"…a-arigatou…"
"I meant that in the nicest possible way! … Look, you have obvious talent that would be wasted if I don't help you." He begged her mentally to understand.
"… ta-talented? … m-me?" she tipped her head forward bashfully, staring at her limp legs.
"Anyway, this is a fair bit to take in I guess. You should probably sleep, right? I'll take you home tomorrow morning."
Hinata jumped at this, "Y-You'll be seen!"
"heheh, not with my jutsu." he stopped to mutter to himself, "I suppose I'll have to teach her that too. She'll have to know how to beat them? Not to mention Neji-chan."
"Wh-who? Sensei?"
"Nobody!" Taisan jerked, "…Forget I said anything, … hey you called me sensei?"
"…a-ano … should I call you 'sir'?" she didn't mean to be offensive, in fact she was trying to be nice, but the look on his face immediately came to annoyance.
"………………. Just go to sleep! …runt..."
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Down one of many identical hospital hallways, Naruto banged his head harshly, loudly and repeatedly against a solid brick wall.
"HOW! … 'thud' … LONG! … 'thud' … IS! … 'thud' … THIS! … 'thud' … GOING! … 'thud' … TO! … 'thud' … TAKE!"
"Can't tell," Tsunade yawned from a nearby chair, cross-legged and leaning backward onto a pile of old magazines, "… I knew he wouldn't be ready to talk yet, even being awake was a surprise. I guess he'll be sleep asleep for a few hours yet."
"Then why did you bring us here!" Naruto moaned, head still leaning against the wall.
"Because YOU pissed me off!" Tsunade barked pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"... well how come he was awake when we went in?" the fifteen-year-old whined.
Jiraiya decided to field that one, "He was probably concerned and his will wouldn't let him sleep, so he got up and made a nuisance of himself. Till he found out she was alright and then, …poof! … out like a light."
"…she? Ohhhh! Hinata right?" Shizune butted in, "When he saw us come in with her … yes … that makes sense. I was surprised he was conscious myself."
"Or …." Tsunade smiled sneakily, "It could have been whatever you two were doing before we came in …"
"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!" Shizune practically screamed before reprimanding herself, "… ano … I was bringing him something to eat…"
Shizune's blush deepened as both Sannin's continued to stare at her until she sat down and turned to Naruto.
"So where were the two of you anyway? We couldn't find you for a while back there." her fake curiosity was obvious but the teen didn't pick up on it, instead responding a little halfheartedly.
"Meh! Some hotel down south." he shrugged before making what was probably his hundredth monotonous walk to circular window of the sword bearer's room. Checking on the two supposedly 'missing-nin', "What's Hinata doing anyway?"
"I don't know, you tell me?" Tsunade responded, still giving Shizune a sly look. To which she asked why she wasn't picking on Naruto for being alone in a hotel room with a girl.
"I think she's fallen asleep in the chair," he muttered, before going into a teary whine, "… will we have to wait for her to wake up too?"
"Tsunade?" Jiraiya interrupted, "… I'd like you to repeat the details … of 'the mission' … if you don't mind."
The blonde woman's eyes opened wide, "With 'him' here as well?!" she almost choked on the absurdity.
"I'll just tell him later anyway," this earned him a fiery stare from the two Kunoichi, "… b'sides it's partially to do with him anyway."
"What's to do with me?" Naruto asked over his shoulder, still watching the back of Hinata's head rise and fall on the older man's chest, her long dark hair draping over her coat on the chair..
"Fine!" Tsunade shot air through her nose, crossing her arms and switching her legs. "… If your gonna be like that, it's best he hear it from me."
Annoyed that the teen wasn't even paying attention, she threw a magazine at the back of his head and used her finger to bring him onto the floor.
"About two years ago, not long after you yourself left with this pervert!" she twitched her head in the man's direction, "A small congregation of missing ninja was established in the deserts of the wind country."
Naruto's eyelids automatically begun to droop at what sounded like a very boring history lesson.
"The Rock Village presented us with an ultra high class mission, one which was above the class systems. If we complied with the mission the relationship between our two countries would be maintained. Since Konoha was still recovering from Orochimaru's assault at the time, more allies were exactly what our country needed."
"… the rock village?" Naruto asked, resulting in another magazine, a 'Cleo,' hitting his face.
"It's the ninja village for the Land of Earth you numskull!" she scowled, "… anyway, the point is at the time the Missing-Nin were just a small congregation of about twenty or so people, and weren't a real threat. … Kind of like the missing-nin you encountered in the Wave country a few years back."
Naruto nodded, muttering something about a senile old granny under his breath, but remembering Zabuza and Haku as well as Gato's many other associates.
"The mission … we were presented with … was to send one of our best ninja into the encampment as a spy, for an extended period of time."
"Why would they want that?" Shizune pondered aloud.
"… how extended?" Jiraiya's voice was gruff, not letting the woman miss any details.
"… Three years," she sighed. Jiraiya grunted in approval.
"So who'd you send?" Naruto asked genuinely.
Silence. …….
The two older women stared at the teen in disbelief, while Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, suppressing memories of Naruto's legendary stupidity.
"T-Taoru …. we sent Taoru …."
"OH! … Yeah, of course …. That makes sense," Naruto nodded in a way that would have suggested deep thought, had he just not proved himself incapable a moment before.
Tsunade accidentally broke the arm of her chair as her fingers twitched in aggravation, a deep vein appearing on her forehead.
"Anyway …" she went on "… Not long after … Taoru, joined their ranks. They were forced out of the Wind country and between the borders of the Earth and Fire countries."
"At the time," Jiraiya interrupted, "… it was recorded as a coincidence … finding an unused castle between our two countries … however, it seems the castle was prepared by the Earth Country to begin with."
Naruto didn't ask any questions, even though this was all new to him. He'd never been good with politics, not when gut reactions were usually so much easier to understand.
"Skipping a few years, the Missing-nin had grown to a population of about two hundred ninja, plus several more hundreds of farmers and miners."
"Miners?" Naruto mumbled halfheartedly.
Again Jiraiya went into more detail, "The base of the mountain the castle is built on turned out to be full of gold. As well as some other expensive minerals."
"Although the Rock Village is now denying it, 'if' it was planned for the missing-nin to expand and create their own village, giving them a castle with a gold mine beside it … well, people are greedy …" Shizune said the last part very quietly, nervously glancing at Tsunade.
"That's not the half of it," Tsunade continued, oblivious to the dark haired woman's comment, "… if there were Rock Shinobi posing as Missing-Nin, as we have assumed, they purposefully voted Taoru-san into being their leader."
"…When a kid as strong as that is announced a Kage, people tend to pay attention." Jiraiya muttered, leafing through a Women's Underwear magazine he'd found on the table separating himself and Tsunade.
This gave Naruto an opening for a question he had been hoping to bring up. Since seeing the man at the borders he was undeniably different. He was coated in chakra then, thick purple stuff which came off his body like steam. He'd only ever seen anything like that … in himself. But the Taoru in the other room …
"What IS Taoru-san anyway?!" Naruto queried sheepishly.
The three adults didn't answer. Jiraiya buried his nose in the magazine. Shizune stared at her toes, while Tsunade hid her mouth behind her fingertips, staring intently at him.
Finally she answered, "He is … the first child … to be exposed to the Nine Tailed Fox."
"Huh?!"
"I don't know the details, … well no one does. But … the Yondaime tried to seal the Kyuubi into Taoru-san before he sealed it into you. It was a weaker seal and it failed, instead only sealing a shadow of the Nine Tails into the child's left lung."
"…. eh?"
"It probably failed because the seal wasn't powerful enough, as it didn't take the Yondaime's life directly afterward," Tsunade tried to explain, "Or perhaps because Taoru was three years old at the time and couldn't contain it."
"Either way," Jiraiya continued, "… some form of the Kyuubi still resides inside that boy, and although it has only about an eighth of the power as the true Nine Tails, … it's still held as a ferocious beast."
"You knew!" he was furious, Tsunade and Shizune he could understand, but he'd been with Jiraiya for years now, how could it not come up, "… You knew there was another guy like me out there! And you never told me?!"
Jiraiya huffed, "I only found out he was alive yesterday, the kid was 'supposed' to die."
"What?"
Tsunade answered this, "The child was terminally ill 'before' the sealing. I treated him myself. Odds were he wouldn't have lived more than a few months after the Nine Tail's attack. It was a disease from birth where his bones weren't strong enough to survive growth. If there 'was' a reason the Yondaime chose him, it was because the kid was as good as dead anyway."
"… Wow … that's amazing! How come I've never heard about any of this stuff?" Naruto eyes were wide and interested, holding himself up just inches from Tsunade's legs.
"Same reason none of your classmates know about you …"
Naruto waited patiently for someone to continue.
"A lot of people in the village are scared of him because of that 'thing'," Shizune contemplated her own cowardice in entering the room, before she thought of someone else "…. Like Kurenai-san for example."
Hearing the familiar name brought Hinata back to Naruto's thoughts, and he jumped with the new line of thought "Why did you send Hinata with him then?"
"I DIDN'T!!" Tsunade protested, "We didn't even know she was with him, she just went missing as far as we knew!"
Shizune pulled out two folded pieces of paper from her pockets, handing them to Naruto.
'Excerpts from the bingo book …?'
One read Nawaki Taoru's the other, Hyuuga Hinata. The pictures were old, Taoru looked away from the camera a little, a faint smile on his lips. He couldn't have been much over fourteen. Hinata's photo looked like it had been taken when she had just gotten through the academy, perhaps earlier. He compared the photos silently. Although Hinata had her fingers together in her custom made habit, they were practically identical. Both nervously smiling and looking away from the camera. The text beneath each photo listed their stats. Including the dates they fled the village.
"How could you not have noticed that they left at the same time?" Naruto questioned suspiciously.
"Oh shut up! We had more important things to worry about. The Hyuuga family was taking care of that matter on their own," the Kage huffed while Shizune tried to motion for her to calm down.
"Man, I have a more recent picture of Hinata than this …" Naruto muttered fingering his trouser pocket for his wallet, "………. nani!? DATTEBAYO!!!"
"What is it?" Jiraiya leaned forward slightly in his chair. He accepted Naruto's 'Dattebayo' was an unconscious reaction he used in almost every situation, the meaning of which he probably didn't understand anymore. Nothing for too much concern.
"GAMA-CHAN'S GONE!!!"
Jiraiya's earlier surprise was quickly replaced with tedium as he slinked back into his chair to watch the boy erratically search his pockets and pack.
"IT WAS RIGHT HERE-TEBAYO!" he moaned angrily throwing a chocolate bar from his back pocket down the hallway.
The bar bounced off the wall and ricocheted into the early morning darkness. From the same direction a thin woman walked into the light, loosely holding the chocolate in her left hand.
"…Naruto-kun I presume? It is most illogical to throw away rations."
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.1.5km South-East of Konoha Borders. 2 years 6 months prior to incident.
For the sixth time Taisan caught himself just before he'd fallen asleep. Watching the moonlight dance along the lake's surface mindlessly, he sat with knees against his chest beside the sleeping girl. She'd drifted off a while ago now. It was nice, he'd thought, for someone to trust him enough to sleep beside him. Not many people did that, even when Anko had kidnapped him on a daily basis, she never stayed the night.
The fire he'd started continued to burn, crackling quietly as it warmed the girls frozen body. His navy jacket lay over her for extra warmth, leaving him in his thin black shirt in the night air. Taisan could see the few fresh, red stains along the jacket's front, where blood had dribbled between his teeth.
'For her attack to cause me to bleed, at her age… this might not be as difficult as I thought.'
He lay back to look up at the sky, subconsciously prodding at his heart with his left hand
'… but. … if she'd hit me just a little more to the left …' he thought apprehensively.
He could feel his eyelids closing again, cursing himself for his lack of self control. Knowing how fast he'd have to run in the morning to get the girl back to her unsullied manor.
'… it's gonna be fun … trying to beat you. …' he yawned loudly breaking his train of thought
'…… Su.'
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End Chapter 9
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a/n
Rest assured this is the last one in a while to be taken from solely the Team Sujin perspective. From now on it should be mostly Naruto Universe characters. HURRAH! I personally can't wait.
The bit where Taisan is telling Hinata that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since he saw her at the Chuunin exams is literally my own feelings on when her character was first introduced in the manga. I can safely say I was/am a big Hinata fan in general, but I hated how obsessed I was with her. In many respects I'm still reading the manga because I'm waiting and praying for when she appears again.
The bit where Naruto is banging his head and asking 'How long is this going to take' is what I'm betting anyone reading this is thinking about the Team Sujin based chapter's I've been doing recently.
