A/N: I have returned with quite a large update. I do hope everyone enjoys this chapter and that I can get back to writing. This summer has made it difficult to find the inspiration to write a new chapter so I need all my faithful readers help. Please review so I can pop out another wonderful piece for you to enjoy.
Naruto felt like his head was a few sizes too small. His body ached all over and didn't benefit from the stinging of his eyes when he opened them. It felt like some fever dream since he figured yesterday didn't happen, because he couldn't remember much of it.
"What happened? All I remember is that we saved a woman from a spider nest and she bit me," he recalled and went though the images of the past day, which appeared hazy at best.
Naruto tried to use his other senses to see if they hurt as well. He strained his chest to inhale and smelled the distinct scent of melon, which was the same as when he was at the Daimyo's. His tired eyes rolled downward and viewed a familiar dark haired female who was sound asleep with her upper body on top of him. Her head rested against his chest while both her hands grasped onto his jacket on each side for security.
He didn't even have the strength to feel shocked as he lay there and made a series of blinks. The pain returned to his body as a throbbing headache, which did little to assist his mental faculties. He tried to speak, but only dust came out his throat was so parched. Naruto took in his location and noticed that they were inside a tree by his best guess. The entrance was cloaked with foliage and to his great joy there was a canteen to his left that he hoped was full of water.
He reached with desperation, but the object mocked him as it rested just out of range. He felt trapped. He didn't want to move and wake up Hinata, who looked worse for wear from the ordeal she had tackled alone.
An idea suddenly came to him as he inched his right hand carefully down his leg. He tried to get to his weapon pouch, but it was squished shut by their combined weight. He frowned at another failure, but saw the kunai pouch on her right leg was just within reach. He stretched with his clumsy left hand, yet with multiple attempts finally freed the cover button and got a finger through the loop of a kunai. He smiled when the kunai provided the extra few inches he needed to hook the canteen by the carry strap and reel it in.
Hinata stirred as he got the item, but to his relief she cuddled further into his chest for more comfort. He didn't want to cause a scene, so the best idea he could come up with was to allow her to rest and get back to 100% as well. He opened the canteen and, with want, poured a large amount of water down in a single gulp.
"Stupid," he thought as the muscle movement it took to swallow vibrated his chest and only further agitated the pale eyed female.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata groaned as she held on tighter and turned her head to the side so Naruto could fully see her face.
"How often does she dream about me," he wondered and noticed something on her face.
Hinata's pale skin was covered with a layer of dirt and soot. Her face also wore the distinct signs of tears. There were clean lines that lead down her skin from the corners of her eyes to her chin. The next thing he noticed was the dried blood on her hands, and cuts located on her forehead. Naruto normally wouldn't notice such details, but with her sound asleep he had plenty of time to examine her.
"How bad was it for you when I got poisoned," Naruto wondered and found it ironic how their roles had taken a turn.
He had managed to save her several times on their last mission, yet here he wascrippled and had to rely on her strength. He was impressed with all she had done. She had managed to remove the poison from his body and set up protection for their shelter.
"Incredible," he whispered as she rubbed her face against his chest again.
Naruto felt his cheeks turn rosy. He never got this close to a female without a fist implanted into his cranium. As the fluid content of his brain increased he realized that the warm soft flesh that pressed into his left side were her breasts. He did his best to control himself, since they were on the ground asleep together.
Too many thoughts raced through his mind, which included the thought of whether or not this made them something more than friends. He felt a nose bleed start up, but with trained instinct squeezed his nostrils shut with his free right hand. The movement caused Hinata to groan and reposition herself, which only further pushed her boobs into his body.
Naruto felt the situation begin to alter for the worse as a certain part of his anatomy stiffened at the contact, yet it only seemed to grow firmer as it was technically the morning for him.
He felt his inner self scream at the fact he couldn't wake her now in their current predicament. Then again, Hinata wouldn't kill him if she woke up, but a bloody nose and intimate contact would definitely give her motivation to do him harm. He took a few deep breaths and tried to sidetrack his brain in hopes that his lower appendage would shrink down.
"What day is it anyways," he questioned and could just make out the darkness outside.
"Guess we're stuck here for awhile," he thought and tried to preoccupy his mind with anything that wasn't the female cuddling into his chest.
*Midnight: Konoha, the day prior*
It was a simple mission for someone of his skills, which ate at him while he waited outside of the house. Torune wasn't sure why he was the one assigned to this operation, but it had come directly from Danzo and he wouldn't disobey. His insects had left his body and scouted the home that was clustered with dozens of traps set on all the windows. It was impossible to enter through any of them, yet to a great irony the front door was unguarded.
It would seem odd to leave such a blatant weak spot, but most ninja overcomplicated things for themselves and rarely just tried to open the front door. His bugs undid the deadbolt and chain lock with ease. The task was simple from this point forward as he walked through the house to the bathroom. He didn't have to worry about Taro's return, since Danzo had explained he would distract the doctor.
He found the bathroom on the second floor and located the bottles of body wash and shampoo. He took a moment for his bugs to note the specific location of the items on the shelves. It was common that ninja would place certain objects in a home or camp a set distance from another. The length was customized by each person so they could detect any form of espionage.
For centuries the Aburame clan studied insects, and were experts on their forms of communication and courtship. In addition, the use of chemicals to stimulate arousal or attraction in insects was true even for humans. He removed a small vial, which was filled with a clear liquid, from one of the scroll pockets of his Chunin vest.
The normal dose of the chemical was a single micro liter, yet there was a quarter liter in the vial. Not to mention, the batch he had made was extremely potent and would excite any female who smelled it. It was an entirely artificial response to the person who wore it, but the elder council was concerned with the bloodlines of the village and not a stable relationship.
He administered half of the vial into the body soap bottle and the rest into the shampoo to ensure an entire saturation with Taro's next wash. He set the bottles back in place and even had the decency to lock back up as he exited.
"That was simple enough. Now to do the same for Hatake," he thought and walked toward his next location.
*Present day*
The man rolled over in his bed as the many sounds of birds outside his window called at him to rise. He opened his right eye and rotated away from the sun. He rubbed his hand through his silver hair and decided that noon was pushing the limits of his laziness. However, he wouldn't know if it was his limit unless he tried to go further.
Kakashi made an overzealous stretch of his muscles and heard a few pops and creaks from his bones. He was certain he wasn't old, but he sometimes wondered if all the years of practice would catch up with him. However, if Gai hadn't fallen apart with how he trained he probably had nothing to worry about.
His attention turned to the picture frame on his dresser that he had put face down so he could rest. It wasn't often that he had trouble sleeping, but the guilt over his recently captured student troubled him.
"Couldn't hurt to visit the memorial," he thought and raised himself out of bed.
With the warmth of the season he had decided to sleep in a pair of boxers and his mask. This was fine as his windows faced a nearby alley so no one had a chance to spot him through a window. He took a few steps and noticed that his shirt from the night before was near the bathroom. Kakashi had several items on the floor and he knew each where each of them belonged.
He performed a summoning technique and Pakkun appeared with a "Yo,"
Kakashi sniffed the air and didn't sense anything strange with his senses. Pakkun began on the floor and slowly caught the scent of a foreign material. He continued until he pinpointed the soap bottles as the containers with the doctored chemicals.
"I don't know what it is, but it makes my nose itch," he said. Kakashi didn't want to take any chances, so he immediately took the bottles and dropped them into the trash.
"Probably a prank," he thought, but there was still something about it that put him on edge.
The primary thing was that someone snuck into his home, which meant there was the possibility of dangerous foul play. However, there was nothing of the sort. That and he wondered what exactly the foreign compound did. Would it make his hair fall out? Change the color of his skin?
Kakashi merely sighed and figured that he shouldn't worry himself too much about it. Besides, it wasn't like any ninja would overlook the condition of their bathing supplies.
Taro had decided to take a late morning, which meant he was allowed to sleep in till ten then drag himself out of bed for a shower. However, it was impossible for him to do so when his cast needed to remain dry. Therefore, he had to settle for a soak of in the bathtub. He poured body soap into the tub and overflowed it with bubbles as he added hot water. He slid in and stewed in the soapy water for about half an hour and decided he was clean enough to leave.
It took him the same amount of time to dry as wash, but it all worked out, and he did leave prior to noon, so he was still on time for the 1 pm procedure. He had managed to squeeze himself into black pants and a collared white shirt, because he needed to be comfortable to use crutches to navigate the village.
"I should just hire someone to carry me around," Taro thought as he stopped by one of his favorite lunch locations.
" The Gilded Lily" was a small business that served several traditional meals; mostly just sushi, and it had recently branched out into fish sandwiches. But he questioned that it involved several types of fish slices between a pair of soy wraps and rice. Nevertheless, it was his favorite place, since the couple that ran the place didn't annoy him.
He ordered and was given a "sample" sandwich to try along with his crimson curry, butterfish roll, and wasabi fire paste. He moved in line to pay and wasn't surprised to see it was entirely of women, since fish was a good diet meal. He only had three females in front of him, but things from there appeared a bit strange.
A woman with a long brown pony tail and in a white kimono stood in front of him. She appeared to have a series of shakes and covered her mouth with her free hand. Taro raised an eyebrow and noticed that there wasn't any condition she had so it was probably just a nervous reaction. She turned and gave him a surprised expression and suddenly took off, which wasn't any consequence to him.
The female in the front of the line finished and the last one was an Anbu in full combat gear complete with a katana blade on her back. She had short black hair with a single streak of red that ran down the right side of her head. She suddenly noticed something and turned to look at him. She paid for her meal and when she left pulled her animal mask up enough for her to wink at him with a deep green eye.
Taro ignored the situation as he approached the male at the counter so he could pay. The old man shook his head as Taro struggled to reach for his wallet.
"She paid for your meal," he said a bit surprised by the act of charity.
Taro decided to just progress toward the hospital as his lunch dangled from his right hand in a bag. However, he was behind schedule and needed to take his short cut. The path cut through a park nearby the Inuzuka and old Uchiha compound. He kept at a steady pace, despite the container of food that threatened to throw him off balance. Taro wasn't too shocked to see several Inuzuka out in the park with their canine companions as they practiced what appeared to be training drills.
"Hope I don't get any dog hair on me," he whispered out of caution, since he knew how well those darn dog people could hear. Taro decided not to worry and made his way across the park.
He struggled to get through the thick grass and occasionally soaked patches of earth, yet it was still quicker than the normal route into the entertainment district of town. Taro didn't want to admit it, but the short route was good because it kept him out of Anko's path. This was because her favorite dango stand was near the hospital, which meant she always tried to get him to buy her lunch when she saw him.
She had done that to him on numerous occasions since the academy, which left him with negative memories correlated with dango. Once she stuck him with a massive bill and he had to work the debt off.
Taro shook his head with a smirk so small even the most trained ninja would've missed it. That was until he noticed a female Inuzuka blocking his path. He felt at a loss for words as she appeared to be intrigued by him. She had a pair of red triangles on her cheeks and black hair that was spiked up a bit.
"You smell like an Aburame at mating time," she said and held her nose as it seemed to offend her.
Taro's eyes expanded as he tried to comprehend what she meant, but he needed to get to the hospital. He had already thought up about a dozen offensive comments he could say, but he had thought about it and wouldn't be able to operate if he got torn to shreds. However, his business had taught him how to deal with females.
"Wow, are those real," he asked.
Tsume Inuzuka was taken off guard by his sudden question, but took it as offensive since he seemed to look down at her breasts, or so she thought.
"Excuse me," she growled and showed her canines.
"Your teeth, they're so white," he responded and put on his pretend nice demeanor he used when he could go on missions.
Tsume was taken a bit off guard by the compliment, since a few stories had circulated about Taro Masahiro. It was a surprise to receive such a nice compliment when she put a lot of effort to maintain her teeth.
"Yes, they're real," she answered and gave him a smile that let him see her entire smile.
"That is impressive, how do you keep them so white?"
Tsume felt pretty good about her smile and figured it wouldn't hurt to mention one of her secrets to him.
"You know those dental dog treats don't just work on canines," she said with a smirk
Taro smiled, but secretly he wanted to throw up at the thought. However, the Inuzuka had done far worse with their companions. He recalled previous complaints from villagers that were marked by dog urine, but that was refuted to be dog when examined at the hospital. He shrugged the thought off and continued his conversation.
"I will have to try that. Where do you buy them?"
"We make them at our kennel, but if you asked nicely you could probably get some," she said and appeared to open up a little.
"Thank you, but I need to go," he explained and hobbled away the best he could.
Taro felt disgusted that he smiled and "acted" nice. However, if he smelled like an Aburame he needed to meet with Shibi to understand how that was possible.
Naruto couldn't stand it, since he'd been awake for two hours and stuck in the same place with little chance of escape. Hinata had remained stuck to him and he needed to take care of "nature's" call, since he had drunk the canteen dry. He wished for a way to move Hinata, but if he managed it the same as their last mission, he would be in a worse situation.
"How can I move her," he thought and considered his options.
Naruto had several ideas, but each ended with her awake and him having to deal with a grouchy Hyuuga. Hinata stirred a bit as he began to fidget due to the high pressure in his bladder.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata sighed with affection.
He just needed to find a way to replace himself to successfully escape, but it wasn't exactly like he could manage that.
"Wait, I can do that," he thought and struggled to place his hands together so he could form a proper seal.
His hands were just able to touch and he hoped that the formation of the shadow clone wouldn't be loud enough to wake her.
"Kage-bushin," he whispered and a clone popped into existence.
The clone positioned itself on the opposite side of Hinata and delicately pulled and rubbed her shoulders, which suddenly caused her to roll into a more comfortable position on the clone's chest. Naruto got up instantly and dashed through the exit.
He didn't dare venture too far, since he had no idea if that weird female ninja was still about. Also, the conditions outside were miserable, the rain had already soaked the entire forest. Then again, the sound of water did help him go. Naruto felt yesterday's events start to return and actually recalled how they escaped from Hensa.
In addition, he had no idea what kind of poison could do so much damage to his body. The Kyubbi was immune to most poisons, but even it appeared to have trouble with that specific toxin. He wondered if the fox demon actually had a weakness.
He finished and upon his return saw that Hinata had rolled off the clone and it had spooned her and even had put its arm out so she had a pillow. Naruto rubbed his head and felt flustered by the sight. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but the image of them together appeared nice, from the outside anyways.
"What am I thinking? It isn't like Hinata's interested," he reassured himself and took a seat.
Naruto didn't enjoy the fact that he was alone with his thoughts, especially when it concerned his personal relationships. He didn't mind as much now that he had so many friends that cared for him, but there were things that his friends couldn't give him. He observed his clone there with Hinata in its arms and couldn't help the sadness that crept out of his heart. His thoughts returned to his time at the academy as he sat on that solitary swing and watched several children run out and greet their parents.
"What was that like," he thought again as he imagined the warmth of an embrace that was enhanced with affection.
Iruka had embraced him before; and he did look at the male as his father figure, but there was just something that he still needed. He wondered if only a female could provide it to him, which made sense as the hugs he got from Sakura were different. He knew there wasn't any love behind it, but it still was drastically different from Iruka's.
Naruto couldn't figure out why he had thought about that. It had been years since the academy, yet it still made things clear that while he did have friendship he lacked companionship. He had attempted to obtain it, but the fist of Haruno Sakura had left a bit of a negative impression in the physical area of his life.
He sighed and noticed a few drops of water had fallen from his face. His hand moved on its own to comb his fingers through his blonde spikes to remove the raindrops. But, he noticed that the water had come from his eyes when his vision blurred. It was usually easy for him to hide all the sorrow he was burdened with from his younger years, but he did have his moments when he broke down.
Naruto wiped his face with his arm and began to wonder what it was like to have parents. What had his parents been like? Did they enjoy Ramen as much as he did? Did they plan to have him? The blonde's head started to steam, he was in such deep thought. He looked over at his clone, and wasn't sure why; but he felt he still needed something in his life.
Taro wondered if maybe Kami knew what he was about to do and made the day dreary to show her displeasure. He was certain it would work, although he also knew that Sakura was still a factor he couldn't fully account for. He hated the fact that things intertwined so much, yet he had no control and no reason to complain.
He rotated in his office chair as Izumo and Kotetsu arrived and seemed to know what they were there for.
"Has the operation area been prepared," Izumo asked as he pushed some of the hair out of his face, since he hadn't had the free time to get it cut.
"Yes, go and fetch Haruno and make certain that no one else knows about this."
"Hai," both men responded in unison and vanished.
Taro felt the room was secure after he waited a moment and pushed with all his strength to get his heavy desk to move a few inches to the right. He felt like his heart was about to explode from the sudden effort, since the pain he felt fatigued him. He leaned the best he could to the side and found the right piece of tile on the floor that gave way.
The small white tile was a decoy, underneath there was a small hand sized container that looked like a miniature white bento box. Taro removed the item and replaced the cover. There were no signs that anyone had touched it and the cooling feature of the container was still functioning. It was a challenge for him to get on his crutches and carry a container on each side of his body.
"Masahiro," questioned a rather angry nurse that he happened to tranquilize prior.
"Can't talk, off to lunch," he explained and took off the best he could until he reached the elevator.
He was thankful when the doors opened and he had the steel box to himself. He wobbled as he reached the button for the fourth floor and held it down. The elevator didn't ascend, but descended until it reached the fourth basement floor that none of the normal staff knew about.
The doors opened and he felt relief to see that the guards hadn't arrived with Haruno, since no one was at the double doors.
Taro kept the containers secure in his hands as he approached the blue steel double door and had to lean to his left side to push the door open. Inside there were three female nurses who all gave him a similar stare, which hinted at the fact he was the cause of all the weirdness.
Taro groaned at his misfortune since he knew he would affect all of them.
"Get out," he shouted loud enough to make all of them jump.
*Ten minutes prior*
Sakura was in an examination room and had been left with a hospital gown to change into, but she couldn't bring herself to be naked since she knew what was about to happen. She stood like a statue for several moments as the thoughts of the past few days continued to plague her. She had thought to abandon the village, but she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing. She knew where her loyalty lied.
Her most desperate thoughts had been to either take her own life, or find some technique that would make her barren. However, if such a technique did exist then all of Konoha's Kunoichi would've been taught it in case of capture. She dug her nails into her palms and in desperation looked around at the room to see if she could scavenge something sharp to slit her wrists.
But, she noticed that anything that was sharp or even remotely dangerous had been removed prior to her arrival.
"Figures Taro would take my desperation into account," she thought and still wondered if she could overpower Izumo and Kotetsu to make an escape.
She looked at the window and noticed that she could just jump to her death, but as she tried to work up the nerve she was smacked down by her inner self. Naruto's face came to mind and she realized she couldn't bring herself to do it. It would be bad enough for Naruto to find out that he lost his "brother," she didn't want to think how it would destroy him to lose her as well.
She admitted defeat and removed her clothes, changing into the medical gown in record time. She made sure to place it on backwards to prevent someone from seeing her ass. It didn't feel real, what was about to happen to her; yet she knew this wasn't a nightmare she could just wake from.
A couple of knocks on the door signaled that her two escorts were concerned with the time it had taken her.
"I'm ready," she called back and climbed onto one of the prepared beds on wheels.
"I don't want to be a mother," she thought as a few tears escaped her eyes, but she hid them as she placed the blankets over her face.
Taro felt like he were about to lose his mind with the problems he was up against at the moment. The female nurses had gotten all weird around him, which meant he had to remove them and complete preparation on his own.
"Stupid fu…," he grumbled as he finished a scrub down to ensure he wouldn't contaminate the sample he was about to place.
From a medical standpoint he was fine, but from his logical one he knew Sakura could still make another attempt on his life. Although, he was certain her tune would change if he could complete his mission.
He had already lowered the operation table so he could manage the procedure from his chair. The only difficult part had been to sterilize a wheelchair so he could move about the clean environment. It took some time for him to remove the frozen sample from the bento container and thaw it out for proper use.
He had decided to cleanse the sample the day before and now prepared to inject it directly into the uterus to ensure fertilization.
A series of knocks alerted him to Sakura Haruno's arrival and a second later she was wheeled in by Izumo and Kotetsu who abruptly took their leave. However, they decided to wait outside the double doors, just in case Taro was the one who needed an emergency medical procedure.
Taro made sure to note that the sheet had been pulled over Sakura's head and the only thing that confirmed it was her was the pink locks that peaked out of the top of the bed.
"Haruno?"
"Go to hell," she responded with a heavy dose of hatred.
"It's you. I need you to sign the release form."
The sheets started to move and Sakura sprouted out from them, a disgruntled look plastered onto her face.
"If I refuse, will you stop the operation?"
"No, but it is standard procedure."
Taro showed Sakura a clipboard that had the standard medical release attached. He raised the front page so that she could only see the signature line on the one behind it. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the fact there were two separate pages as the form was normally double sided. She groaned and accepted her fate, so she signed it without any care to read it as she had done so hundreds of times prior.
Taro reached to the side of the bed and produced the two leg supports that had been implemented to ensure the process could be done in any room of the hospital.
"Alright, get into position," he said with no care in his voice as he commonly did when he practiced medicine.
Sakura grit her teeth and refused to move as she really wished that the doctor was anyone besides Taro. It was just so awkward to show her most intimate area to someone she had no feelings for. Not to mention, she was about to carry his child even when she hated his guts.
Taro waited patiently and started to warm the speculum in a hot sterile cloth. Sakura propped up her feet, but kept her knees together to prolong the inevitable. He sighed and moved himself between her legs so he could see clearly.
"Haruno," he said and noted that she closed her eyes tightly and brought her legs apart and revealed herself.
Taro was unusually gentle as he applied a lubricant to the speculum and with merciful movements inserted the device into her core. He noted the extra resistance, but some firm pressure managed to get it entirely into her. He turned the screw at the base so that he had a clear view to her cervix.
Sakura was so confused. She felt like she was being molested against her will. However, at the same time some smell in the air started to make her ache in her loins for physical attention. She began to breathe in a steady rhythm to control the heat that began to pulsate through her.
"What the hell are you putting on me," she demanded certain that Taro had drugged her with an aphrodisiac to encourage ovulation.
Taro gave her a confused stare as he moved the tray of tools over for her to see properly.
"There is the lubricant, a syringe, a catheter tube, and semen," Taro said and showed Sakura the transparent milky fluid, which caused a blush to rise over her face.
Sakura closed her eyes and turned her face to the side to avoid any further eye contact with Taro. She didn't know why he constantly had to mess with her, but wondered what his angle was.
Taro didn't seem to notice as he inserted a swap and noticed the viscosity of her lubrication, which implied she was at her most fertile.
He reached over to the table and obtained a modified syringe that he had attached a catheter tube to it so that it could fit through the cervix. Before he inserted the item he noted the heavy breathing of Sakura and had to give her a questioning eye.
"Everything alright?"
"Fine," she shouted, which in itself freaked Taro out. However, it probably had something to do with whatever was on him.
He held the end of the tube in two of his fingers and did his best to reach the cervix. He accidentally bumped the upper wall, which caused a moan from the female.
They both locked eye contact with each other and shared a slight blush at the awkward situation they were in. Taro was the first to recover as he got the end of the tube through the cervix and began the injection directly into the uterus. Sakura gasped at the feel of warm liquid that started to radiate throughout her entire body.
Taro removed the tube gently and placed a cervical cap in place to ensure none of the genetic material poured out. He moved back and clamped Sakura's legs into place and reclined the bed to allow her to lie back.
"Hey!"
"Relax, you need to stay on your back to increase the chances of conception. But, it will take about an hour."
"What the hell am I supposed to do? I haven't even eaten!"
"There's some homemade curry in that bag," Taro said as he left the room.
Sakura sighed deeply and reached over to the bag. She wondered partly if it was poisoned, but opened up the small plastic bowl and dipped her finger to sample the food. Her eyes widened as she started to rapidly consume the spicy mixture.
Tsunade tapped her fingers against her desk and awaited the arrival of the elders. It was one of the worst things, since she hated to just wait and do nothing. She slowly chewed on her lip and debated if she had the time to drink some sake to ease her nerves.
However, she looked over her shoulder to see Shizune, so she couldn't do such a thing while she worked.
Tsunade wasn't a lush by any means, but she got bored out of her mind and alcohol tended to make things seem more fun. But, no sooner did she reach for that drawer did the doors open and in walked Homura, Danzo, and Koharu.
"Hokage-sama," they all greeted and despite their age decided to remain on their feet.
"Danzo, Homura, Koharu," Tsunade responded and awaited the list they had prepared.
Danzo removed a scroll from his robe and unrolled the small item since it only had ten separate women on it that had been determined by the elders to be the best breeding candidates.
"Hokage-sama, we've decided that these females are the best feasible kunoichi and villagers that could produce a viable Uchiha heir."
"I have the agreement of all the elders that this is the only list you will provide?"
"These females were selected based on previous ninja experience, age, and the ability to mold chakra. We assure you, Hokage, there are no better choices in the village," Homura added.
"I will send word to all of them at," Tsunade was cut off as the doors open and in came a panicked Taro who was pushed in by two anbu with masks that were mirror images of spirals.
"We have a situation. The village needs to be locked down at once," Taro shouted as he was brought in, but the raised volume lost its thunder as he had to be wheeled in.
"Masahiro, I believe you should be on bed rest if you plan to recover in time for your ninja evaluation," Danzo stabbed as Taro didn't even appear able to be offended.
"Clan materials have been destroyed and you take it as a joke," Taro asked as he was brought to a stop before Tsunade.
"What clan materials?"
"The Uchiha sample has been destroyed, not to mention the eyes of Itachi Uchiha were taken as well."
"That is impossible. The security section of the hospital can only be accessed by specific individuals of this village," Koharu explained as a sudden realization dawned on all of them.
"Exactly, all of the people in this room have access so one of us is guilty of treason."
"This is preposterous," Homura shouted.
"Choose your words carefully, Masahiro-san," Danzo said and was unsure what this was about.
The Uchiha eyes were not of much use to him, but with Sasuke's genetic sample gone he had no future supply of eyes or root ninja.
"It isn't possible for the vault to be breached, is it," Tsunade said and knew full well why.
Beneath the Konoha hospital there was a single door guarded by two Anbu who took twelve hour shifts and only ever traded places with the other. The door they guarded used a special key that required the blood of a council elder, or the Hokage to open. Behind that was a three hundred foot corridor that was clustered with traps that activated, should the door be breached.
The traps were designed to kill; and to make matters worse, the designer set them up from the inside out so there was no safe route. If someone were stupid enough to get past all that they could reach a room that required the chakra of a Masahiro clan member to enter.
"Improbable, not impossible. Fortunately I took additional security measures when the clan materials were deposited and was witnessed by these gentlemen," Taro said as he removed two spray bottles one with a red cap and the other with a black from his chair's carry pouch.
Everyone in the room gave him a concerned look as he came to Shizune who backed up behind Tsunade.
"I need to demonstrate," he explained and held out his hand and waited.
Shizune didn't trust Taro; but, at the same time, the village needed to know who was guilty. She sighed and offered her left hand.
Taro sprayed her with the red bottle first and nothing occurred. However, he then sprayed her with the black bottle and followed with the red, which caused her entire palm to turn blue.
Shizune jumped at the reaction and worried that she was poisoned, but to her relief there was no immunity response so she was safe. Besides, Taro was a doctor, so he'd do no harm intentionally to someone.
"Alright, I sprayed a dose of this on the dish that contained the Uchiha genetic materials. Everyone hold out your hands," Taro said and noticed how all the elders retracted their hands behind their backs.
"How will this help? The culprit would've washed their hands or worn gloves," Koharu shot out, which only made Taro roll his eyes.
"Not likely. These chemicals won't wash out of the skin and it can permeate gloves that aren't designed to stop the transfer," Taro reassured and wasn't surprised to see them keep their hands hidden.
Tsunade sighed and knew that it was only typical all of the council wouldn't subject themselves to such a test. But, she figured she could put a halt to this by being the first to submit.
Tsunade revealed both her palms and Taro went to work as he sprayed a chemical onto her palms and no reaction took place.
"Danzo, Homura, Koharu," Tsunade stated as all of them with sour looks held out their hands
Taro went from one to the other, Koharu and Homura were both clean. He approached Danzo who with a smirk offered both his palms.
Taro sprayed his left hand and was shocked to see the entire palm turn blue and the other do the same.
"How did he get some much on his hands? I put the chemical on the decoy Petri dish and there was some on my picture frame, but he only touched that with the tips of his fingers," Taro thought as Danzo appeared to become ready to fight only to have the two Anbu restrain his arms.
"This isn't how it appears," Danzo reassured as Tsunade and even the other elder members appeared disgusted by the man.
Koharu and Homura had known Danzo for years and known he had many ambitions, but they didn't expect him to destroy one of the strongest ninja clans in the world. Tsunade whistled as a squad of ten Anbu appeared and were confused to see Danzo being held.
"Danzo you will be held in custody until such a time that you are found guilty or innocent of the crime placed against you."
"Spray Masahiro's hands, he could be the one behind all of this."
Taro appeared unhindered as he offered the bottle to Koharu who sprayed both his hands and found not a single drop of blue. Danzo grit his teeth and knew he was caught, but now wasn't the time to resist. That could wait until he reached Anbu headquarters. The guards took Danzo and vanished.
Koharu and Homura appeared shocked, but deep down they knew a coup d'état had been on the horizon. However, with Danzo now contained there was the possibility that if Hibiki got a hold of him, they could be implicated.
"Hokage-sama, we will take all the steps necessary to find the truth in this matter," Homura stated and wanted to figure out a plan to solve the current problem.
"I am sure, however if there is a more sinister plot then we expect I can't have the council elders unprotected. I will have you each assigned a squad of Anbu for you protection," Tsunade added
Koharu and Homura both pretended to be grateful, but they knew it wasn't for their protection so much as for the Hokage to keep an eye on them.
Both of them nodded and left without another word. They had plenty to worry about and both of them had to consider ways to save themselves should the axe start to fall.
Taro sighed in worry, but it was more a controlled happiness that he had managed to catch Danzo in a trap. He turned his chair to leave, yet he recalled the second reason he had come to the Hokage's office.
"Tsunade-sama, I have an important document you need to look at," he said and brought out a document that appeared to be a normal medical release form.
She gave Taro a critical stare and was more surprised when he noticed his mistake and removed the front page. Her mouth got a sour taste in it as she noticed the type of document it was.
"Didn't you give me this document when you got Sasuke's signature?"
"No, the one you got was the secondary copy, this one is the original."
Tsunade couldn't believe he had managed to get all the signatures he needed to make it official.
"Will this hold with the council," she asked to ensure they were out of the woods fully before celebrating.
"Yes, but it isn't legitimate without the Hokage's seal," Taro stated and rotated his chair around.
Tsunade saw what Taro was hinting at, which was that he never even saw the item to prevent accusations of foul play. She felt obligated to stop it. However, if she did make her mark it was certain to be more beneficial than negative.
She removed the seal from her desk drawer and placed the mark in the right corner to make it completely official.
"You were never here," she said and gave a disgusted look at the document.
"I wish that every day," Taro said as he rolled himself out.
She felt so comfortable, yet she wasn't quite sure why. Hinata felt like she had a nice warm pillow beside her, but it had more resistance than one.
"Why is there something soft in this forest," she wondered and opened her tired eyes.
Hinata felt a blush wash over her face when she saw a fully awake Naruto next to her. She realized she had slept on him, but the thing that confused her most was why he hadn't moved away from her. Did he by chance enjoy the feel of her against him?
She couldn't find words to speak and wasn't anymore relieved when Naruto turned his head and gave her a toothy smile.
Hinata couldn't help herself when she started to panic and pushed him as hard as she could. The impact was rough enough that Naruto exploded into a cloud of smoke. Her head slipped from its resting place and crashed into the ground.
"Where is the real Naruto-kun?" she thought and despite the soreness of her muscles raised her head.
She had to blink a few times to clear her eyes of sleep and spotted the real Naruto against one of the walls with his head tilted back to relax. She sighed in relief and was glad Naruto wasn't aware of what occurred.
Naruto had his eyes closed, since he still felt some effects of the poison in the form of light sensitivity. He came back to reality when the memories of his clone came to him. The sensation of Hinata's body against his made him sweat, since he hadn't anticipated the comfort contact with her would bring. A rush of red filled his cheeks as he looked toward the entrance to gather himself.
Neither of them dared to break the silence; but Hinata was the first to try, even though she hadn't eaten and risked fainting.
"Do you feel better, Naruto-kun," she asked and checked to see if she could get one of her food pellets out.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better now," he smiled in good spirits, despite the previous day's events.
"I was worried you wouldn't recover when you passed out."
"Sorry about that, I should've known that something was odd about that female."
"Yes, it made little sense that someone in such high quality clothes would be traveling with traders," Hinata added certain that he noted that peculiarity.
"Yeah, of course," he laughed as a drop of sweat rolled down the back of his head.
Naruto was a bit embarrassed that he hadn't noticed that, but he did still have trouble with seeing beneath the obvious. However, he did find it odd that the female had gotten free of the silk with her mouth when he had trouble with a sharpened kunai.
Hinata meanwhile had gotten out the container of food pills and was happy to see it hadn't been damaged, since she had such misfortune with her other equipment. Naruto felt his stomach grumble and figured he couldn't get a cooked meal with all the rainfall outside.
Hinata's head turned to him when she heard the sound and figured it wouldn't hurt to offer Naruto one.
"Naruto-kun, do you want one," she asked as she walked over with one of the pills in hand.
He laughed at the fact she could hear his stomach growl.
"Thanks," he replied and readily took the food pill.
He ate the item and was glad that even Hinata's food pills tasted great. It was such a relief to enjoy tasty food when on a mission. It alleviated both of their hungers, but it also ensured that Hinata wouldn't faint from their close proximity.
"What should we do from here," Hinata asked with a bit of a yawn since she was still tired.
"I don't know. Shouldn't we complete the mission?"
"It doesn't seem like we can go anywhere though."
"Guess we've got no choice but to wait it out," she added and noted the sudden crash of thunder.
Naruto made a small circle on the floor as he thought of what he could do for the next few hours until the downpour cleared up. Hinata sat down across from him a bit more silent than usual as she started to rummage through her sling bag with vigor. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he noticed a scroll.
Hinata had decided that if she was unable to hold a conversation with Naruto the least she could do would be to look at the jutsu scroll she was given. She unrolled the item and was surprised that the instructions didn't appear to be written by Taro. She could tell they were too polite even in written form.
Water jutsus are the most versatile and tactical techniques that a ninja can possess. It can be used for defense, offense, and even diversions. However, there are drawbacks. Water is required to use all of these techniques and while water from the body can be used and generated by chakra this can lead to dehydration and death.
Hinata got quiet and continued to go further into her studies, but became more oblivious to her companion as she read more. She was quite surprised that a glossary had been put at the start and listed the jutsus from easiest to hardest.
To begin with, a technique similar to the "leaf charm" can be performed to grasp the proper movement of chakra around a fluid, since it differs from a solid compressible object such as air and earth.
Hinata recalled the Leaf charm technique from the academy since it was the first test to determine if a ninja could mold chakra properly. She went further and noticed that diagrams were included to assist her.
The first diagrams showed a person pour a palm full of water into their hand and, with adequate flow of chakra, formed it into a sphere and was able to transfer it from one hand to another.
The flow of chakra is best done in a circular motion to create stability. Make sure to spin your chakra in the opposite direction of your cowlick.
Hinata took a second since she wasn't too sure what a cowlick was exactly. She was certain it was a medical term and unfortunately medic-nin training focused more on the internal organs and less of the exterior of the body that wasn't vital to survival.
"That's just like the rasengan," Naruto said and pointed to the picture on the scroll.
Hinata jumped as she suddenly noticed the immediacy of Naruto to her. She hadn't even heard him move and sit down next to her, but that was the least of her worries as she recalled the red chakra when she was near him. Naruto smiled when she jumped and laughed a bit to ease his own embarrassment. He had just been interested in what she was up to and it wasn't his intention to freak her out.
"Sorry about that," he said and looked right back at the scroll to determine more from the images.
"Its…fine," she replied a bit taken aback still.
"What if that chakra comes out again? No, Naruto-Kun isn't what I saw then. Besides if he trains with me maybe we can learn more about each other," she reasoned and decided to focus again on the water jutsus.
"How is it similar?"
"It requires you to rotate chakra in the opposite direction of the spiral on your head."
"Spiral on my head?"
Hinata wasn't sure what to be more confused about; the fact there was a spiral on her head, or that it was referred to as a cowlick. She wasn't about to argue why it was named that way, but she wished to further her progress.
Naruto tilted his head to the side and showed the back of his head to her and even parted his blonde hair so she could view his scalp. She blinked when she noticed the distinct pattern on the back of his head made by his hair.
"Alright you've seen mine so let me see yours," Naruto said and waited for her to turn her head.
Hinata blushed at his poor choice of words, yet she kept herself focused and did the same. She did her best to part her hair, but there was a lot that she wasn't able to hold it all with her hands. Naruto smirked and pulled her hair apart so he could see the spiral.
"Alright, the opposite spin direction will be clockwise for you," he said and took his hands out of her hair
Hinata blushed when he started to touch her head, but figured Naruto was probably focused more on the training aspect than her.
She placed the scroll down and decided that she needed some water if she was going to practice. Naruto seemed to read her mind as he held out his canteen to her. Hinata took it with a small grin as she cupped her right hand and filled it to the brim with water. She took a deep breath to center her mind and molded chakra in her hand as she normally would with a gentle fist strike, but instead of a sphere the water suddenly jumped out of her palm.
She looked confused and tried again, but this time the fluid splashed up onto her face. Hinata tired to think of a way to grasp the new type of movement, but it wasn't like any of the techniques they taught them at the academy.
Naruto observed how she struggled to control her chakra flow and maintain shape. He empathized with her as he recalled how much it hurt his hands to get the Rasengan down. However, he figured it would be easier since she only had to maintain control of an actual fluid, which was step one of the Rasengan training.
"Maybe you should use both hands," he said and did a small demonstration as he brought a miniature rasengan into shape.
Hinata observed in quiet amazement and activated her Byakugan to precisely see how the flow of chakra originated in his hands. She noticed how one hand spun the chakra and the other merely provided a framework to keep the object in a specific shape. She mimicked the position of his hands exactly and carefully tried to mold the water into a sphere.
The fluid warped and bulged in several different directions and exploded. Hinata refused to stop at each failure and continued to try several times. It felt completely different for her since the Hyuuga clan had, for numerous generations, focused on just the use of their gentle fist style; which made it even more difficult to diversify with ninjutsus. Hinata started to feel the coils in her hands begin to burn before she finally got the water to maintain the circular shape she had planned for.
"I did it," she said with a joy as she removed her left hand and the fluid exploded once again.
Naruto could only smile back at the fact that she had gotten down the first step that took him about two days to figure out. But, it took more training to maintain the shape with a single hand. He figured it would be easier for her, since she had someone to demonstrate, unlike Jiraiya who made him have to find his own way.
"You'll need to form it more before you can get it to hold shape with a single hand," he explained and was happy to see Hinata continue even as he clarified why it hadn't worked.
It took nearly another hour for her to continue with the formation, but eventually it took shape and she was able to delicately pass the sphere from one hand to another. Hinata smiled as she felt thirsty and drank the orb, which instantly lost shape as it entered her mouth.
"What's the next step," he asked and felt invigorated to see her succeed.
Hinata felt grateful to have help, since Naruto did seem to know how to teach properly. She figured that was probably due to the fact that he had to struggle so much that he knew all the pitfalls everyone could fall into.
When the proper formation has been mastered the next step is to remember the hand seals and use enough chakra to hopefully complete the task. However, all these techniques will not work until the exact amount of chakra is mastered.
She continued further in and noticed the first technique was one that would come in handy.
"Water Release: Water clone jutsu," she said and unrolled further to see a side note along with the proper hand seals.
Water clones are similar to shadow clones in that they can be used for reconnaissance and to assist in the speed of training. However, these clones don't separate the user's chakra in half with each additional clone, since water clones use fluid for mass and shape. Unlike shadow, which use pure chakra to give them mass and form.
Hinata read further and noticed a specific side note that she recognized from the one in her bag, which made it Taro's handiwork.
If someone knows how to make shadow clones it would be beneficial to observe and ask for assistance. Try to perform this jutsu sparingly to prevent death. Make sure to recall that this jutsu requires fluid so any will suffice, yet keep in mind different liquids will require their own specific chakra manipulation.
Hinata felt her face blush at the implications, yet she just let her blush set on her face as she decided to ask for more help. She rubbed her fingers together as she gathered what courage she had and asked for Naruto's help.
"Um, could you help me train, Naruto-kun," she asked with a small stutter in her voice
Naruto gave her a bright smile as he got to focus on one of his favorite activities; training with a friend.
*Anbu Headquarters*
The arrest had gone as it normally would, but that was until they arrived at Anbu headquarters. Danzo had decided to go quietly as he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but it worked out as a majority of his root ninja were stationed at the center of operations. The second they had moved him into the elevator the Anbu squad on the roof and his escorts were incapacitated as a swarm of bugs enveloped them and shut down their bodies.
"Fo, Torune," he said as the pair entered through the roof
Danzo wasn't surprised to see they remained loyal to him, despite the charges that were already surely known by the entire Anbu.
"No alarm has been raised, therefore we can use an underground passage tunnel to escape outside of Konoha," Torune stated as he moved to open the bottom of the steel box.
"No, take me to Sasuke Uchiha. I have another set of eyes I need to obtain," he said and noticed how neither of them defied him and followed without question.
Danzo had previously broken into the secure vault underneath the hospital to obtain Itachi's eyes and the sample of Sasuke Uchiha, which he had already taken and given to a root medic to impregnate a female who was loyal to him. It was a risky move as it didn't guarantee him control over the Uchiha clan, but it would provide him with more Sharingan eyes to use for his Izanagi technique.
The elevator came to a stop outside of the interrogation rooms, which opened and revealed a single Anbu on guard with a scorpion mask on.
"Shimura, Fo, Torune, none of you are permitted to be down here without," he was cut off as the two root nin released a barrage of kunai.
A wall of dirt rose from the floor to protect him and moved like a wave that pushed the trio back into the elevator. . The Anbu kicked the table Sasuke was on to the far side of the room as he would need the space to properly battle, since his primary mission was the protect the Uchiha even at the cost of his life. Torune's bugs made quick work as they ate the chakra infused wall.
The wall dissipated and the elevator was filled with dust from the tear down of the rock. Torune was the first to appear and took off his gloves for close quarter combat, which was his strength as he could inject his bugs then. The scorpion masked anbu unsheathed his katana and fended off the bug user with trained ease. His attention diverted to the auburn haired male who had a mind transfer seal in place and aimed at him.
He formed a quick series of one handed seals, which caused another wall between him and the Yamanaka. Fo swore and tried to reposition himself as he needed a clear line of sight to activate his technique. Torune kept pressure on the Anbu who was on the defensive against two separate opponents. The Anbu lifted his mask to expel a giant fireball that destroyed the wall he created and formed a powder cloud to shroud him. Fo and Torune couldn't tell where the male was, but stalagmites erupted from the floor and skewered Fo in place by his feet and wrists.
"Impressive for an Anbu," Torune's voice called out still on guard as to where his opponent was.
The scorpion masked anbu resurfaced across the room near Sasuke and figured he could now escape with the Uchiha.
"Wind release, Pressure bullet," Danzo stated and with a gust of wind flattened the male against far wall along with the Uchiha on the bed.
The impact alone made him dizzy, and he was certain that he had a concussion. Before he could rebalance himself Torune struck, but he blocked the blow with his left hand and countered with a kick.
The masked Anbu began to shake as the exposed skin on his arm began to turn black with miniature bugs that spread and devoured his muscle and flesh as they went. He felt himself weaken and dropped his sword as he fell on his rear and put his back against the wall both figuratively and literally.
"My bugs will finish this one Danzo," Torune explained as he stepped back from their enemy.
Danzo noticed how the man continued to struggle in a vain attempt to complete his mission.
"Some good advice would be to know when to walk away and when to run away," Danzo said as he removed the mask to see the face of the person they had fought.
Behind the mask was a male face with long silver and white hair and eyes that were completely black. He even had a secondary mask over his mouth and nose that hissed as it filtered the air for him.
"I know when to run, you treasonous fuck," he spat as his body turned into a cloud of smoldering ash and it rushed by Danzo.
The embers flew by Danzo and he raised his left arm to defend himself. It hadn't been the smartest thing to do as the heat on the inside of the dust haze immediately turned his skin black and even started to cause his bones to weaken as the phosphate crystals inside broke down.
Torune released his insects to try and devour the chakra from the male, but they were instantly incinerated as the cinders burned hotter and exited out the elevator shaft.
Torune assisted Danzo the best he could, but it wasn't simple as he noticed his left shoulder started to lower and actually broke off due to the loss of structural integrity by the heat.
The ember cloud reached the main hall and recollected into the male, but absent his clothes that were incinerated the second he changed forms. His arm was no longer black, but the void created by the bugs started to fill with blood. The entirety of his body ached and it wasn't any easier as his filter was gone and he had little to clean the air as his lungs were damaged from the first time he turned to ash. He forced himself to reach the nearby master alarm seal, which sent out a blast of chakra through the ground that alerted every Anbu within a thirty mile radius to the emergency.
The male felt his hands shake more as he figured the Aburame member probably poisoned him. It was a sad end to his life, to die at the hand of a fellow Konoha nin; but he did his job and it wouldn't be in vain. He took a deep raspy breath and collapsed on the floor among his other fallen brothers.
*interrogation room*
Danzo had felt the shock from the emergency signal and cursed his luck. He had managed to lose an arm in combat, but it didn't matter. He could take the cells from his right arm and make a new one to hold more Sharingan eyes. Though, none of it would come to pass if he got caught. He was glad that the fight hadn't caused Sasuke to be killed, since he wanted to collect another pair of eyes.
Torune grabbed Sasuke by the head and pulled one of his eyes open as he planned to remove it. He noticed how the eyes were active, but the user didn't appear awake as he ripped the right eye from his head. It was a bit reckless to remove them this way as it could permanently damage the optic nerve, but he had no time to be precise as he put the eyeball into a glass container. He reached for the second eye, but halted when he noticed the left eye's Sharingan pattern began to change shape.
The eye seemed to shed tears of black tar as Torune erupted in the black flames of Amaterasu. The man shouted in horror as his entire body began to burn even as his bugs tried to protect him, which was impossible as they weren't able to survive such high heat. He panicked and ran about to escape the flames of hell. Danzo saw the black fire and knew that he had to cut his losses and escape, which was easy for him as both his companions knew they would die serving him.
He already noticed the temperature of the room start to swelter and the combined screams of both his companions start to drown his thoughts. He entered into the elevator, but noticed that the power had been cut. It was a simple thing for him to overcome as he focused chakra into his lungs and blasted a hole into the floor of the lift. Danzo saw his escape route, but the small chance he had slammed shut as he forgot about a back draft.
The Amaterasu burned for seven days and was unable to be extinguished by normal means, but the fire acted like a normal flame in that it grew with increased air flow. The open shaft pulled the flame into the elevator, which effectively ignited all of Danzo's clothes and spread swiftly to his entire body. He had thought to activate Izanagi, but he would lose the Sharingan that allowed him to use that technique and he couldn't remove the seal on his right arm without another hand.
In a vain attempt to escape he stripped out of his clothes, but even that wasn't enough as a single bit of black flame touched his skin. Danzo couldn't understand how this happened. It made no sense that an unconscious Uchiha could activate his blood limit, but in the end it was ironic that the very clan he exploited would bring about his end.
It wasn't supposed to end this way. He was meant to take the position of Hokage and place the needs of the village over that of the short minded individual population. His body had already started to become numb as the heat burned his nerve endings shut so all he felt was cold. Danzo felt a smirk cross his face as he was about to reach his end. He blamed Taro for this, but it was fine as he wouldn't have to wait long to see him again.
The loud rumble of explosions was the last he heard as the elevator shaft was destroyed in an attempt to restrict the escape of the traitors. However, it served the dual purpose of preventing Amaterasu from devouring the entire building and a large portion of the village.
She had been stuck in the hospital for the entire day, which wasn't such a difficulty when she slept for about five hours after she ate the curry. She did wonder if Taro had drugged her to ensure she would remain relaxed. However, she also knew that could injure the developmental process of the child within her.
"I'm pregnant," she thought with despair.
Shizune had arrived to perform a diagnostic jutsu on her, which showed that her estrogen level had spiked. This confirmed that the procedure had been a complete success. Sakura had given her thanks to her friend, but now she merely wanted to be alone.
She had wanted to cry about the fact she now was bound to be a mother of a child she never wanted. It wasn't the way she even figured it would happen, since she always imagined she would one day settle down with a kind man. However, that dream had been smashed the day Sasuke had abandoned the village and his friends for power.
She had redressed in her standard red clothes and was on her way return home.
"Well, I guess I have no choice left," she thought and knew exactly what she had to do the minute she got away from seeing eyes.
"Haruno," said the voice of Taro Masahiro as he hobbled around on his crutches.
"Of all the people, Kami, why him," she wondered and had to repress the murderous rage she felt.
"Are you expecting," he asked and kept pace with her the best he could as she attempted to walk faster than him.
"Yes, now leave me alone," she spat and started to power walk away from him.
"Fine, but just know I'm your personal doctor until the Hoka…," Taro felt his mouth snap shut when Sakura sprinted back and ran straight into him.
He was taken off guard and knocked sideways off his supports, which caused him to smash his back into the nearby window. He had to take a moment to recover, but wasn't too surprised as she put her hand on his chest and applied a fair amount of pressure on him. Taro was worried about the situation, since she could easily turn him into a red stain on the wall if she punched him.
Sakura wouldn't hold back her anger any longer, but she still was uncertain about the fact she was aroused whenever Taro was around. Her rage was enough to drown her physical reaction and she lost control and began to shout.
"I hate you! You selfish, heartless, orphan bastard! Why would you do this to me? You couldn't find a way to make my life miserable, but you made me carry this abomination inside of me," she finished and had to take a moment to inhale to ease the rage she felt.
Taro took a second to let her anger set in as he felt the pain behind her words. It struck a chord inside him, which made him recall the way he treated his father after his mother passed. It was situational rage, which would hopefully not be further agitated by pregnancy hormones. He checked down the hallway and noticed no one around due to the late hour. It was a gamble to say anymore, but he needed to help even if she wasn't his favorite person.
"I never thought you would feel that way about your ex-teammate."
"What?"
"It isn't my child inside of you. The bloodline of the child within you belongs to Sasuke Uchiha."
Sakura had to take a moment to hold her breath. She couldn't wrap her head around what had happened, since the dream of Sasuke and her having a child had long been shattered. But, somehow Taro had managed to give her a single shard of that broken wish. Her mind collected and she retracted her hand from the male's chest.
"This changes nothing between us," she said with venom in her words.
"Oh, well I still hate you too," Taro answered and remained where he was, since he had dropped his crutches.
Sakura took a second to hold her abdomen and felt her sorrow start to melt in light of the new information. It was sad the way this had to occur, but she figured it was better than to carry around Taro's spawn.
"Thank you," she whispered and bent down to give Taro his crutches back.
*Late Evening*
Hinata had to turn her face away when she had the same issue happen again with the water release technique. It was supposed to be a simple technique that allowed the user to generate water by the conversion of chakra. Normally after the hand seals a person would allow the new water to flow out of their mouth.
However, one of the common issues was the fluid would escape out of the nose as well. This was either because, the person put too much chakra into the technique or they didn't hold their breath, and when they inhaled opened the airway to their nose.
The Hyuuga felt her face go all red as Naruto offered her his compress to wipe her nose and mouth with. She took it with little argument and felt ashamed that she failed again, but they had been at it for several hours now. So far, Hinata had figured out the basics of shape manipulation and water generation, but she still needed to practice each technique several more times. The first set of water clones she created were obvious copies as they bulged in awkward areas.
"That was so embarrassing," she thought and recalled that of the pair she created ones breasts were excessively large and the other had a stomach that appeared almost pregnant.
Naruto had given her his honest feedback that it was a good start, but she also noticed the small drip of blood that came from his nostrils when he noticed the large breasted one. She did make sure to note that Naruto liked large breasts, which made her feel like her chances to have a relationship with him were better.
It was wonderful for her to have Naruto to train with, since he did have plenty of experience with the shadow clones and he was just great to have around. He was very supportive of her, even when she felt like she had totally failed; but he never saw it that way.
Naruto had enjoyed their time together thus far, since he took joy in anything that could possibly make him stronger. However, he had felt a bit jealous when he found out she had gotten a scroll full of water jutsus. He wished so badly to know what elemental affinity he had so he could learn some cool skills too. Nonetheless, it was fun for him to help her.
"What did it say again to help," he asked and looked at the little notes written on the top and bottom border of the scroll.
Water release can be hazardous if done improperly. The best way to perform this is to perform the seals and take a deep breath before the expulsion of fluid.
Hinata took a second to focus her chakra again and perform the seals.
"Water release," she said and after a deep breath she began to expel water from her mouth at controlled rate into the canteen.
They had figured it would be the best solution to put the water back into a container as it would ensure the ground they slept on wouldn't get too wet. It also helped her learn to control the amount of chakra she used, since the flow was restricted by her mouth and the container size.
She shut off the flow of chakra before the canteen overflowed and breathed an exuberant sigh as she got the technique down. She smiled and felt a small burp come up that she was, thankfully, able to stifle. Naruto got up from his seat and stretched as he had been up and down a bit to help her and he needed to rest. His body was still a little stiff from the poison, but he wasn't about to tell her that since he could muscle through it.
"Alright, one more time with the water sphere and we'll call it quits," he told her and stood beside her with a rasengan in hand to give her a model to follow.
She poured some of the canteen water into her right hand and did her best to cause the sphere formation despite the pain that throbbed in her chakra coils. Hinata had to admit that she had pushed herself before with the gentle fist style, yet the pain she was in from jutsu training hurt exceedingly more. It made her look at her crush with new found appreciation as he formed the Rasengan with trained ease while she took about a minute to get the water to form and struggled to keep it that way.
Naruto looked over and smiled at her, since with each attempt at the water orb the time it took her to form it decreased. It was great for him, since all jutsus even the Rasengan were all about tiny steps toward perfection. It was difficult to combine all the steps together, yet he saw she didn't have much a problem with that since her control was better than his. She had even managed to get the formation to hold with a single hand.
She gave an audible gasp when the sphere melted in her hand and her fingers began to shake in pain. Naruto negated his Rasengan and was at her side the next second. He wasn't sure exactly had happened, since her hand looked perfectly normal. However, he figured she over strained her coils and wasn't sure if it was possible to get a cramp in one's chakra system.
Hinata felt like her muscles had locked up, but she could move her hand. She felt herself relax as Naruto took her limb and started to slowly massage the palm of her hand. It made her smile at the care and attention that she received from him. She had to grimace her face at times as he pushed into a fragile spot, but he responded quickly and eased the pressure.
"Thank you," she hissed as he struck another sore spot.
"It's the least I can do," he said.
"I'm at my limit then," she explained and was surprised she couldn't last longer, but she had never just performed jutsus for about eight hours.
"Yeah, but you did great."
"That does help with the soreness," she laughed as she suddenly realized he was still massaging her hand.
Naruto had just started to rub Hinata's hand and for some reason the feel of her skin on his felt nice. He immediately noticed her blush and figured he had overstepped his bounds and released his hold.
"Sorry."
"Oh, no I didn't mind it."
"You didn't mind," he asked and wasn't sure if she really meant that or if it was just an attempt to not hurt his feelings.
Hinata didn't want to come on too strong, but she needed to let him know that it was okay.
Her face seemed to glow a bright red as she put her hand back out toward him.
"Please, that did help," she whispered and did her best to control her heart that was already racing.
Naruto carefully took her hand and did what he could as he rubbed and squeezed her tender appendage. She did feel better with his touch. She had wished for so many years to have physical contact with him. The situation had started as miserable, but the time they had together made it feel worth it; so long as they survived.
Hinata felt like things couldn't get any better that was until both of their stomachs gurgled in unison. The pair stared at each other and smiled shyly as neither of them really knew what to say.
"Dinner," Hinata partly asked as she reached for her food pill container in her pack and offered him another.
"I can't wait until we get to eat a hot meal tomorrow."
"Hopefully we can find our way out of the forest, but I couldn't find where we are on the map."
"There weren't any landmarks?"
"No, all I was able to find were more trees," Hinata explained and tried to think of what they could do.
"What should we do," Naruto asked as he watched Hinata pull out their map and place it down on the floor.
Hinata scratched her head with her left hand and didn't seem to notice that Naruto still kept a firm grip on her right as they figured out what to do.
"Maybe if we head south we can come to the coast line and follow it to the Great Naruto Bridge...," Naruto stopped when he felt his feet get soaked.
He turned and saw that some of the rain runoff had rushed into their shelter, which caused them both to move their equipment to the only dry spot that remained. The sudden move wasn't too bad, but the dry area was only large enough for them to both sleep scrunched up together.
"Do you want to sleep first," Naruto offered as they both knew it was late and they needed to be well rested.
Hinata had to think about it for a little bit, since she did feel like she needed to recover from her intensive day of training.
"I should take the chance to rest, but if I do Naruto will be miserable and I don't want him to think I'm selfish," she thought and tried to think up a suitable alternative.
Naruto gave her a concerned stare as she seemed freak out at the chance to rest.
"We can share it if you want," Naruto said and to his relief the worry on her face melted away and raised her temperature.
"Shouldn't one of us keep watch," she stuttered out and felt her body find some relief in the chance she could get away and prevent further embarrassment.
"No, we haven't been spotted yet and the rain will keep us from being tracked," he explained and felt confused by her tomato red face, but had to admit the fact she hadn't fainted lately definitely made their situation easier.
The pair started to get comfortable as they lied down. They both had to curl into a fetal position at first and to Hinata's surprise they had to face to each other. She felt her body cover with goose bumps as she felt the warmth of Naruto's breath on her skin. In addition, her heart rate spiked and she knew that there was no way she could sleep in this position.
She rolled over and faced the tree and felt like she could begin to relax, which was until Naruto moved a bit closer and she felt his body heat. Hinata felt like she were about to hyperventilate due to their proximity, but what made it worse was when he had to move closer for comfort.
"We're spooning," she thought and did her best to just act natural, which only made her freak out more.
Naruto just felt plain uncomfortable as he came into contact with her soft body. He was new to the whole physical contact thing, which was obvious as he wasn't even sure where to move his arms. But, he soon found a comfortable spot as he put them both to his side and quickly fell asleep the second he put his head down.
Hinata could only lie on the ground for several minutes before she turned her head to check on her companion. Naruto was sound asleep, which was obvious as he seemed to breathe at a steady rate. She couldn't help it, but she smiled happy at being close to him. The last day had been an emotional challenge for her, yet here they were safe and sound together.
She turned back away and finally felt like she could calm down, since the prior day still weighed heavy on her heart. That female Hensa was still out there and that alone made her feel on edge, but the rain had thankfully given them both a respite. Her thought process suddenly crashed as a tired Naruto wrapped his right arm around her stomach.
Hinata closed her eyes and relished the intimacy, even if it wasn't by conscious choice. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the contact and longed to make it a permanent occurrence.