AN:
Okay, this chapter will be shorter than the last couple, since it is mostly establishing stuff, but their will be fun for all you NaruHina fans!
Please Review and I hope you enjoy!
XOXOXOX
THE NINE TAILS INCARNATE
ARC 02: FU OF WATERFALL
CHAPTER 1: THE FOX AND THE RABBIT
XOXOXOX
LAST TIME ON THE NINE TAILS INCARNATE:
Yamato nodded in understanding. "Well Naruto, the Uzumaki Clan are distant relatives of the Senju Clan of the First Hokage. Plus, the First Hokage's wife was Mito Uzumaki. Your mother, Kushina, is the great-granddaughter of Mito and the First Hokage and the granddaughter of Tsunade-sama's Aunt. So, you are both Uzumaki and partly Senju from your mother's side. Perhaps your Tailed Beast Chakra has evolved your Human Chakra and made it more like your ancestor's?" the wood user theorised.
Naruto looked a bit amazed that he was now technically related to three of the four past Hokages and the unofficial Grandson of the other. "I think that if I tried, I might be able to make my chakra even more like yours. Let me try!" Yamato was about to stop Naruto, in case he hurt himself or someone else, but was stopped when he looked at what was now coming from Naruto's glowing hand.
It was a small, golden chain.
XOXOXOX
The first week of training had passed for the four new Genin Teams. Surprisingly, all four had passed their real tests from their Jonin, which lead to the first instance of all Graduated Students becoming Full Genin since the founding of the village.
Of course, that monumental achievement had been ignored by the Council, in favour of cheering and scrutinizing the return of a powerful bloodline, and the potential return of an even more powerful, ancestral Leaf Bloodline! No sooner had Naruto first produced that golden chakra chain, had Yamato dragged him to the Hokage, whom then had him sent to the hospital for full tests and blood works to see where this new power could lead. Naruto could still remember the subsequent Council Meeting…
After spending his morning in participating in the real Genin Test and his afternoon being poked and prodded at the Hospital, Naruto was less than happy about being forced to sit in the Council Chambers beside the Hokage, as the old man announced the findings to the rest of the Leaf Council.
"Men and Women of the Council. I have good news for you that will lead to the betterment of our village. The Chakra Chain Bloodline of Kushina Uzumaki has manifested itself in her son, Naruto." Hiruzen smiled.
The Council wasn't sure whether to be giddy with joy or shocked to the core. "How is this possible? We had Naruto tested for the possibility when he was two years old, and the report came back that there was a 0% chance of him inheriting or being able to pass on the Chakra Chain Bloodline." Hiashi said, remembering how much of a pain it had been to make the little fox boy stay still while the doctors took blood.
"Well, it seems that because his Human and Tailed Beast Chakra is constantly mixing, the latter is forcing his Human Chakra to evolve. This is likely his body's natural way to make itself more accustomed to his monstrous power, but it has led to this benefit. Not only that, but it has long been theorised that Kushina, being the great-granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, had manifested the Chakra Chains due to her potent Uzumaki Chakra blending with her diluted Senju Chakra. Meaning the Chakra Chain Bloodline may in fact be a weakened and mutated version of the Wood Style Bloodline." the Hokage explained.
"Now wait a moment, how does Wood Style devolve and change into the Chakra Chains?" one of the Elite Jonin asked.
Danzo was the one to answer that. "Well, the official name of the chains is the Adamantine Sealing Chains. They are a chakra construct that can seal others chakra, drain it and even use it to erect barriers or attack. Hashirama-sama had similar abilities via the Wood Style. Before his defection, Orochimaru had been studying it, and I read his reports when they were confiscated. The Snake theorised that the "instincts" of the Chakra in Hashirama's DNA were passed onto Kushina, but since she lacked the Elemental Chakra necessary to form Wood Style, since she was a Fire and Water Nature, her Chakra was left to try and fulfil those instincts without the elemental component. This created the Chakra Chains, using the natural power of the Uzumaki to fill in the blanks left by the absence of the correct Elemental Chakra."
Naruto was almost hopelessly lost, as were the Civilians and some of the newer Jonin on the Council, but the more senior ninja all understood. "So, if Naruto is able to make these chains, then he has the same Chakra "instincts" as the First Hokage? Then if he can manifest Water and Earth Chakra to make Wood, then he'll be able to use Wood Style?" Inoichi asked.
"Is such a thing even possible?" Homura the Elder asked.
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes it is. The Scroll left to us by Hagoromo-sama states that since Naruto possesses some Six Paths Chakra, being a Tailed Beast, he could potentially tap into all five of the core elements, giving him the necessary ability to mould Wood Chakra. Not only that, but the evolution in Naruto's chakra has also increased the potency of those genes."
"What does that mean for the village?" One Civilian asked, cottoning on that this was a more serious matter than he'd originally thought.
"Well, Wood Style, and by extension the Chakra Chains, are connected to an extremely recessive gene. This is why Hashirama was the only Senju who could use it, as it not only required the right Chakra Elements, which was a rare combination for a Senju, but also the gene. The chances of getting both the Gene and the Elemental Natures are astronomically low. That's also why only one of Hashirama's descendent manifested even the weakened version. But Naruto's evolving chakra has strengthened it, meaning that should Naruto breed, there is a 99% chance of them receiving the Chakra Chains, which means any child of his with the right natures would also be able to manifest Wood style." Danzo said, inwardly jumping with glee.
"So what should we do with the boy? If he possesses such a vital bloodline, we need to keep him in the village and under guard!" Jonin Haruno stated. He was immediately shot down.
"Do not forget, Naruto is also immortal, so we are in no rush to make him into a breeding machine. He can do that on his own. However, I will listen to any other alternatives you may come with at a later date. For now, this meeting his adjourned. Hiashi, would you please escort young Naruto home? He seems to have been exhausted by the day's events."
Everyone turned to see the blonde boy gently snoozing against the Hokage's desk. He had reverted to his fox form, as he often did while sleeping. Hiashi shook his head with a smile. At least his adoptive nephew had chosen to slip into his smallest Fox Form; that of a Fox Pup!
The next day was a Wednesday (the Team Assignment was on Monday and the Bell Test was on Tuesday), so Naruto spent the whole day training with his team before doing a random D-Rank Mission in the afternoon. Then on Thursday, he went to his assigned speciality department; the Seal Master's Office. Seals were a declining art in the Leaf Village, so he was the only student there, but the three old men that acted as the Leaf's Seal Masters were all eager to work with an Uzumaki, and lavished the boy with praise and telling him about the exploits of his two Seal-loving parents. Friday was much a repeat of Wednesday, and Saturday was only a half-day, with him spending the morning in classes with the Seal Masters.
Team 7 as a whole learned a lot, both in terms of Ninja Skills, as well as each other. Kakashi had gotten them started on Tree Walking and Water Walking, but they had all mastered that before, so Kakashi and Yamato decided to work on improving their weaker areas. For Sai, this was communication, for Sasuke it was his Analysis ability, for Sakura it was Ninjutsu and for Naruto, it was Genjutsu. By the end of the week, Sai was able to at least pretend to express some new emotions, Sasuke was able to analyse targets and situations without Naruto, Sakura was able to cast a few new Ninjutsu, and Naruto was able to cast a few Genjutsu.
Ironically, while Naruto had superb Chakra Control (he was MADE of chakra after all), he couldn't pump it out at a low enough level for most Genjutsu, so he could only adapt existing ones into his Fox Genjutsu, which were effective, but bordered on Ninjutsu in how they were used and what they did. The Seal training had been much easier, and Naruto had come away with the ability to perform contact seals; placing intricate seals with just a press of his finger and some chakra.
But now it was Sunday, and Naruto had his first, SS-Rank Mission; Asking Hinata Hyuga out on a date.
Naruto wasn't dumb; he knew Hinata had loved him since the Hyuga Affair, but he had always thought he loved her back, but only as a Sister. When Hanabi was born, that thought changed. He suddenly knew what he felt for little Hanabi was definitely sibling love, but what he felt for Hinata was deeper, and seemed to fill him with warmth whenever his thoughts drifted to the girl; her violet eyes like the moon and her cute features and innocent expression like that of a rabbit. Naruto had sworn to himself that once he was a Genin, he would ask the girl out, and now he would finally get the chance.
The Fox boy waited until after breakfast, when everyone had left the dining hall so that he'd have some privacy. Sure enough, Hiashi and Hikari excused themselves, and Hanabi ran off a little while later, followed by a few of the Branch House members. Eventually, only Naruto and Hinata remained in the hall. This wasn't rare for Hinata, who tended to eat slowly when she wasn't busy (something about properly savouring the food), but it was for Naruto, so Hinata took notice.
"Naruto-kun, why are you still here? You don't need to wait for me. You should enjoy your day off." Hinata smiled warmly.
Naruto blushed. "Uh, actually, Hinata-chan, I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" Hinata asked, tilting her head quizzically, which made her look cuter and made Naruto blush harder.
"Um, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go and get some dinner later?"
Hinata giggled. "We just had breakfast and you're thinking about Dinner already?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, I mean like… did you want to go to Dinner with me? As a d-date?"
Now it was Hinata's turn to blush. She turned as red as a tomato as she tried to stutter out a reply. One of her two biggest dreams were coming true right before her and she was too flustered to properly answer. Luckily, Naruto smiled understandingly. "Shall I take that as a yes?"
Hinata nodded. She tried to speak, but it just came out as an adorable squeak, which only furthered the idea in Naruto's head that she was like a Rabbit. 'Heh, a Rabbit in romance and a Fox in combat! Hinata-chan's the best!' he thought.
"Okay, I'm going to be out today, making sure its all set up perfectly for tonight! I'll come back here to pick you up at 6 PM! I'm looking forward to it!" Naruto grinned, his own nervousness being eased as he saw Hinata's. At least he wasn't alone in his feelings!
With that, Naruto ran off to prepare the date. Hours later, many shops would be a few Ryo richer and all of Naruto's friends knew what was going on. Naruto had bought flowers at the Yamanaka Flower Shop and Ino had squeezed the truth from him, which led to every girl in the village knowing about it. And then, Naruto had stopped by Sasuke's to tell him what was happening, hoping his teammate would stop the girls of the village from swamping him and Hinata on their date, since the fox boy knew it would be a circus now that they all knew.
Sasuke decided to take one for the team and reluctantly announced that he felt like going out for a picnic outside the village and wanted a pretty girl to accompany him. That had made every girl in the village, save those too young, too old or Hinata, go crazy and forget all about the date between the Fox Boy and the Hyuga Heiress. Naruto swore he'd pay his friend back somehow…
Regardless, as the time for the Date neared, Hinata got ready with some help from her mother and sister. "I can't believe my little girl is already going out on her first date!" Hikari grinned, carefully brushing Hinata's hair.
"Mother, its not that big of a deal. I'm just going to dinner with Naruto; I've done it a hundred times." Hinata said, blushing profusely and not really believing her own words.
"But those were never dates Nee-chan!" Hanabi grinned. "Naru-nii-san never had the guts to ask before. Everyone knows you're in love with him, and its clear he loves you too! Besides, when you get married, he'll be my Real Brother!" the girl added.
Hinata just blushed more, unable to answer. Hikari just playfully scolded Hanabi for teasing her sister and Hanabi giggled and continued to play. In the end, Hinata was dressed in a knee-length white dress and white flat heeled shoes. Her Hair was left mostly in her natural style, though her two bangs were braided and had white beads tying the braids in place. Hinata had also refused to wear Make-up, which secretly pleased Hiashi, who didn't want his young daughter to try and look older than she was.
By the time Naruto arrived home to pick Hinata up, she and her parents were waiting at the gates to see them off. Naruto arrived wearing a white dress shirt and a black tie, along with black pants and shoes.
"Wow Naruto-kun, you clean up very nicely." Hinata complimented, a permanent blush on her cheeks.
Naruto just stared at the angel before him. "N-no way! Hinata-chan!? I knew you were really pretty, but man, this is a whole new level! I feel like I'm stepping out of my league here." he said, rapidly scanning his eyes over the angelic girl before him, as if it would vanish and he'd never get the chance to see such beauty again.
Hinata giggled and stepped forward and took Naruto's Arm. "You're good at Flattery, Naruto-kun. So, where are we going?"
Naruto grinned. "Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves! Here, these are for you." Naruto formed a handseal and a bouquet of White Lilies appeared from a seal in his sleeve.
"Oh Naruto-kun, they are beautiful! Thank you! Wait here while I put them in some water." Hinata smiled, before running back into the compound with the flowers, leaving Naruto and her parents to smile.
Hiashi took this chance to do what all fathers did; casually threaten the lives of their daughters' boyfriends. "Naruto, you know how much my wife and I care about you, and you will always have a place in our hearts and home. But if you do anything to make my Daughter sad, I will personally hunt you down and castrate you." Hiashi said, all without losing the calm, Hyuga Facade. Naruto nodded with a serious face.
"If I ever did something like that, I'd have castrated myself before you even found me. But still, Hinata-chan is very important to me, and I swear to you, Hiashi-sama, Hikari-sama, so long as I am alive, I will protect Hinata-chan and preserve her happiness, no matter what it costs me. I give my word, and you know I never go back on my word." Naruto said, bowing respectfully to the Hyuga Patriarch.
Hiashi grinned. "Good. Now stop with the -sama. It feels strange not to be called Uncle." he said, with Hikari nodding happily beside him. "Just be sure you're both back by 10PM, and even though you're Officially Ninjas and thus considered Adults, please don't do anything...unsavoury."
Naruto blushed and nodded. "I won't! Neither Hinata-chan or I are bold enough for that."
Before the conversation could continue, Hinata got back, a happy smile on her face. Her mother whispered the same warning to her as Hiashi had to Naruto, making her go scarlet and the thought of doing something intimate with Naruto. In the end, both parents chuckled to themselves as Naruto and Hinata left, hand in hand.
Once they were a short distance from the compound, Hinata had recovered from her embarrassment enough to talk. "So, Naruto-kun, what do you have planned?"
"Well, I'm taking you to dinner at that Akimichi run place on Main Street. Then I have a little show planned for this evening." Naruto smiled, relishing the warmth of Hinata's soft hands. Despite all her hard Ninja training, Hinata's hands were still as soft as a newborn's.
Naruto led Hinata to the fancy restaurant in the rich part of the Main Street. The place was called the Butterfly Lounge and was the most expensive and highly sought after place in the Leaf Village. It was owned not only by the Akimichi Clan, but by their Clan Head; Choza Akimichi. "N-Naruto-kun, how did you get reservations at this place! And how could you afford it?" Hinata asked, dumbfounded as she and her Foxy Date were escorted to a private table by the fancily dressed host.
"Well, Choji owed me a favour, so he asked his dad. Choza was happy to let us use the Owner's Table in the VIP section. I thought it would be appropriate, since I'm escorting a Beautiful Princess." Naruto grinned, turning up the charm. "And as for money; let's just say that I still have a lot of funds from that S-Rank when we were three."
Hinata giggled as they were seated. The Host himself acted as their waiter and was highly attentive. Aside from Ichirakus, Naruto wasn't accepted in any Civilian run businesses, at least not without paying some extortionate "Demon Tax", but the Ninja owned businesses welcomed him, especially those that had known his parents, such as the Akimichi Clan. Once Naruto and Hinata's food came, the two relaxed into happy chatting, discussing their first week of training.
"Kurenai-sensei may be a new Jonin, but you'd never guess based on her skills. She taught me a few new Genjutsu and worked with my mother to further improve my Gentle Wing Style. Plus, my work with my Archery Sensei and at the Sensor Corps has really come along! If things keep going like this, I'll be able to keep up with you and Sasuke-kun!" Hinata said with a grin.
"Great, you know I don't feel right going into dangerous situations without you. Plus, I worry when I don't see you for too long. For a Hyuga Princess, you get into almost as much trouble as I do!" Naruto laughed.
Hinata gave a playful pout. "That's only because you've taught me not to be as passive. I'd be a stuttering wreck without you."
"And I'd be an attention seeking idiot without you." Naruto shot back. The two young Ninja laughed as they ate and continued to make each other laugh until they had finished their meals. Naruto paid and gave a generous tip to the attentive host before escorting Hinata to his surprise.
He took her to the top of the Hokage Monument, where a blanket had been laid on the top of the Fourth Hokage's head, and many candles had been lit all around it. "Naruto-kun, this is so romantic! How did you come up with this?" Hinata asked as she and Naruto sat down on the blanket.
"Hehe, I borrowed some Romance Novels from Aunt Mikoto, to get inspiration. Ah, now the real show will start." Naruto said, wrapping an arm around Hinata's shoulders.
The Hyuga Princess was about to question the fox boy, but before she could, fireworks began to light up the sky, coming from all over the village. Brilliant flashes of red, gold, green and dozens of other colours illuminated the night sky. Hinata gazed up at the display, awe in her eyes as she watched. Slowly, it came to an end and Naruto grinned at her.
"Never thought I could do something like that with Seals, did you? How'd you like that, Hinata-chan?" he asked.
Hinata-chan smiled broadly and pulled Naruto towards her, capturing the boy in a kiss. It was sweet and chaste, and both young Genin could feel the love that the other felt for them before they slowly separated, warm blushes on their cheeks. "D-Does that mean I did good?" Naruto asked with a goofy smile.
"Oh yes, definitely." Hinata giggled.
"G-Good enough to be considered your Boyfriend?"
The Hyuga girl paused for a moment. "Well, that depends."
Naruto looked deeper into the girl's violet eyes. "Depends on what?"
"If you would consider me your Girlfriend..."
Naruto and Hinata just stared at each other for a moment before erupting into a fit of giggles. They stared like that for a long time, just smiling in each other's arms and enjoying one another's warmth until the candles had burned down and been extinguished by the cool night air. Both of them wished to stay like that forever, but knew that it was nearing the time for them to go home. Hinata was almost completely asleep, so Naruto gently picked her up and held her bridal style as he ran home. When he arrived, he tiptoed to Hinata's room and tucked her under the covers after removing her shoes. Just as he was about to leave, Hinata piped up.
"Naruto-kun… I love you."
Naruto felt his heart skip. He knew he was loved by his friends, his adoptive family and by his still comatose parents, but this was the first time he'd ever heard someone say those words to him.
"Thank you, Hinata-chan. I love you too." he said, before heading off to his own room to sleep, all while wearing the biggest grin anyone had ever seen.
XOXOXOX
AN: And that's a wrap! We get to know a little about Naruto's powers and his relationship with Hinata becomes official! The Harem aspects won't come into the story until the CRA is introduced at the end of this Arc.
I hope you enjoyed the romance. It was the first time I'd ever written something like that, so here's hoping it turned out well. I also hope you like (or at least don't hate) the idea of Chakra Chains being a sort of pseudo Wood-Style. I did it partly because all the Indra incarnations have the same powers of the Mangekyo Sharingan, but none of the Asura incarnations share a common ability. Since Wood Style is Hashirama's iconic style, I decided to make that the Asura equivalent of the Mangekyo.
Current Pairings are:
Naruto/Hinata/?/?/?/?
Sasuke/Sakura/?/?/?/?
Current Harem Suggestions are:
Naruto: Karin (8 Vote), Temari (10 Vote), Ino (4 Votes), Hanabi (5 Vote), Tenten (3 Votes), Fem Haku (7 Vote), Yugito (1 Vote), Fu (14 Vote), Tayuya (1 Vote), Samui (1 Vote), Kaguya (2 Vote), Konan (5 Vote), Kurotsuchi (4 Votes), Shizune (2 Vote), Mikoto (1 Vote), Kurenai (1 Vote), Mabui (1 Vote), Koyuki (1 Vote) and Anko (4 Votes)
Sasuke: Ino (7 Votes), Fem Haku (11 Vote), Karin (6 Vote), Kin (1 Vote), Tayuya (1 Vote), Tenten (3 Vote), Samui (3 Vote), Karui (1 Vote), Kurotsuchi (1 Vote), Fu (1 Vote) and Anko (2 Vote)