A/N: And here's an early update for all you guys out there! I actually managed to finish this about a day early but I was too tired to post it. It might also not be on par with my other chapters because I was so tired when I was typing this out. Well, as promised, this will be the final chapter in the children arc and starting next one, they'll all be genins. There's definitely some characters that I'll be introducing back into the story like our favorite mist missing-nin duo but how I'll be introducing them will be a bit more different. I'll let you guys think on it as I take a breather.

Well I won't take your times any further so here's the new chapter!

owo

War,

Though there were no outright declaration of it, the sudden shift in the air and the changes in the shinobi Academy's curriculum pretty much hinted it. Something was going to happen and Konoha was preparing itself for a war.

And if anything, it scared Hinako the most.

She had already lived through one war. In the past, in the Third Shinobi War, she had firsthand seen what the toll on lives would be and she had seen the mental scars that the survivors would have. Her husband, Hyuuga Hiashi, bore traces of those scars himself. Those that came back from those battles would always be changed, and a hole in their heart would always be there, mending in time but never completely covered.

And now, her fear is for the next generation.

Naruto and Hinata, two children that she loved will be sucked in to this upcoming battle.

She knew that she could not do anything more than what she was already doing now to prepare them for the upcoming battles. No matter how well a person is prepped through books and lectures, nothing can truly prepare them for that one instant when blood seeps through wounds, splattering onto their clothes as the enemy lay dying.

Nothing can prepare them for that.

And so, the only thing she could do now is to pray for their safety and make sure they are trained as well as possible.

Part of that reason is why she is now making her way up the steps to the great Fire Temple, a literal fortress in the shinobi world and also one of the most sacred areas in Fire Country.

The gates were already open and from inside, monks bowed before her.

It was strange to be bowed to by these monks, gifted shinobi in their own rights. But she accepted their hospitality.

She was then led to a shrine, where a large gold statue of Buddha sat, flanked by tengu statues.

Hinako kneeled in front of the large statue and bowed her head in a prayer. She sent her mental pleas into the shrine, hoping that both Naruto and her daughter, along with her husband and all those that she love, to come out alive in this battle's end. She prayed that by the time this is all over, no one she cared for will have to be sealed away in a wooden casket.

The candles that laid in front of the statues flickered and for a breath moment, it was almost as if the flames grew. Hinako gave out a small smile. Though she wasn't sure, if it was a sign that her pleas were heard, then she was grateful to the deities.

"Hyuuga-sama, I trust you did not come here simply to pray?"

Hinako's smile widened at the sound of that voice. It had been a year already since she's heard from him but of course, his skills were still legendary. The Hyuuga matriarch stood up from her kneeling position and turned to bow before the monk that stood at the doorway.

"Chiriku-sama, it's been a long time."

"Yes I suppose it has." The monk known as Chiriku clasped his hands together and bowed as well. "I trust you are in good health?"

"As good health as any worried mother can have." Hinako nodded towards the great statue behind her. "Part of that worry is why I came here to pray. I wish for my daughter to make it out of these coming events."

"…" Chiriku remained silent though she knew he was already thinking. The only times she had ever ventured into this temple had been to pray for peace. The one other time she did had been when Konoha had sacrificed Hyuuga Hizashi to Kumo.

So what was the reason now?

"Chiriku-sama, I'll be honest with you. Praying for my loved ones' health was not the only reason why I came to the Fire Temple. The other reason was to ask you for a favor."

"Me?"

"Yes… I'm sure that in your time as one of the Shugonin Junishi, you had been diligent in your duties in protecting the Fire Lord. You protected him from quite a few assassination attempts and in the end, you saved him and Konoha from the coup de'tat." Hinako sighed and shook her head sadly. "But that was but a skirmish compared to what is to come."

"…War."

"Yes. I do not know everything to this but the very air in Konoha has changed. Hokage-sama has reverted our Academy curriculum back into its wartime teachings and recently, he had placed the entire village into martial law. I can only imagine what forces are at work to prompt out village's entire readiness back into war but it is most likely powerful. At worst, it can be two or more shinobi villages against us."

"I see…" Chiriku closed his eyes in thought. After a few moments of silence, he opened them again. "But what reason do I have to go to Konoha? My duty, first and foremost, is to defend this temple. If war is definitely coming, then it is imperative that I stay and help prepare the temple for a potential battle."

"True." Hinako countered. "But recently, you were once a part of the Shugonin Junishi. Does that not mean that your loyalty still lies in Fire country and its lord? Know that if war is to come to Konoha, Fire country will be dragged in whether it likes it or not. The only sure way to halt this is to train the people until they are strong enough completely dominate the war."

"…"

"At the very least, help a young boy who suffered enough without having to go through this war unprepared as well."

The monk's head snapped up in surprise, his eyes widened. Hinako gave him a sad smile and nodded, confirming his suspicion. Uzumaki Naruto, the jailor for the Kyuubi no Yoko.

"…Very well." Chiriku gave a soft sigh as a sign of defeat. "If helping the new generation will mean preparing them for what is to come, then I will go and be as much aid as I possibly can."

The matriarch bowed low in response to his consent.

"Thank you." She murmured. "Thank you."

"…" Chiriku nodded and walked out, preparing to get his belongings ready for what may be a long trip.

'…I wonder how Asuma is doing?'

owo

"Everyone, as of today, the Academy is turning over to more combat orientated teachings and less of theory."

The general reaction to the class was expected for Iruka. Nearly all the boys (and some girls) cheered at leaving the 'boring' lectures behind while nearly all the girls bemoaned now having to actually work and dirty themselves. The chuunin teacher sighed and shook his head. Honestly, kids like them cheer at lessons like this. If only the knew what these lessons were actually preparing them for.

Iruka winced and shook his head.

No, now wouldn't be the time to think about it. He had a job to prepare these students for what the Hokage suspects to be an upcoming war. He can't afford to have his mind wander off.

"Alright everyone quiet down! Now everyone come over here for your next lesson."

Now that most of the class became thoroughly interested in this new lesson, the class quickly made their way out of their seats and to the front to catch a better view of what Iruka might do.

The only exceptions were:

Nara Shikamaru, because he's his usual lazy self.

Akimichi Chouji, because he likes to stay with his friend.

Uzumaki Naruto, because for the most part, he could see from where he was.

Hyuuga Hinata, because she was nervous around all those people and if she wanted to see, she could always use her Byakugan.

Uchiha Sasuke, because rushing to the group like that is demeaning and he's too prideful of that.

"Now, you all have learned to focus chakra into one point from before with the leaf head demonstration. Now, we are going to apply that concept into more practical means." Iruka then formed a ram seal. "By concentrating chakra into the your feet and using it to create a sticky coating, a shinobi can effectively walk on walls and ceilings."

Then, before the startled class, he did just that. Iruka placed one foot onto the wall, then another, then another until he was walking up the wall and hanging down from the ceiling.

Almost immediately, the class 'wowed' at his amazing feat and some were already eager to put this to work. Iruka released his breath in a soft sigh and with it, the chakra on his feet disappeared. He fell from the ceiling and landed gently onto the ground below.

"Now, applying this concept isn't as easy as it sounds. The feet are the hardest places to concentrate chakra in. So, it'll probably take a while for people to get it but once you've gotten it, learning other techniques will come by faster. Now, we can't have all of you running up the walls here so everyone please go outside and choose a tree. You'll be running up those instead." He then pointed at a box near the door. "As you leave, please take a kunai with you. It is to mark your position. As you run up the tree and feel yourself about to fall, slash the area that you were at and use it as a goal to past."

Nearly two minutes into the exercise had produced some interesting results.

As Iruka expected, most of the girls, with a lower chakra capacity and better control, reached the top much faster though surprisingly, when he had berated Shikamaru to actually try, the boy did so at the first time, shocking everyone.

And again as expected, practically all the guys besides Shikamaru were taking a much longer time to reach the top. By looking at the slash marks on the trees, he could tell who was progressing better than the others.

Some of the boys had enormous gaps between their slashes, marking extremely well made progress in their exercise. It surprised him that some of them even made it that well.

The other boys had much smaller gaps, with slashes not but a few inches from each other. Though it was a much slower progress, they were still moving up the mountain.

After the first group of students completed their way all to top, he instructed them to now simply run up and down the trees. Of course, many complained at the monotony of it but when they began tiring out quickly, he explained to them as they rested.

"The point of running up and down a tree is to increase your chakra reserves. I won't lie to you now, the reason you kids made it up first is because your chakra reserves are much lower than those that are still trying right now. It is usually because of such low reserves that people instinctively develop a good way to control it."

That certainly busted many of their bubbles.

Iruka grinned as the group groaned and returned to running up and down the tree. He watched them for a bit before returning his gaze towards the other students.

One such reason why it would have been a better idea to teach students chakra control early on is simply because as students, their charkas are much lower than a normal genin's. Because of that, their control over it is usually much better.

And the reason why it would take a normal genin probably a few days or even a week to learn it is because by then, they'd still have an peacetime academy knowledge on chakra control but a reserve that is usually twice as large as the students now.

And right now, Iruka can say he's impressed with their results.

Even the slower ones were reaching the top now and those before them began to do the exercise like the other kids. In fact, by the time he even got to the other side of the training area, only two boys were still running up and trying to reach the top.

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

He can't say that he's surprised either. Uchiha Sasuke is from the Uchiha clan, where they already had unusually larger reserves than other shinobis, most likely because they need the larger ones to maintain their bloodline.

Uzumaki Naruto's predicament shouldn't be that difficult either. Having a demon sealed inside might always do something to his control and if anything, having a demon's chakra inside, which is toxic, can cause his own coils to thicken and with it, a much larger reserve.

Nevertheless, both glanced at each other, noting that they were the last ones, and immediately began picking up the pace.

Iruka grinned to himself. Though they were training to be shinobi, they were still children.

And above all else, children hate to be left behind.

owo

"Man… that was weird. Yesterday we were learning about Nidaime-sama and his exploits and today we suddenly shift to chakra control. Is it just me or are the teachings a little screwed up?"

The two of them were now out of class and making their way to Konoha's hospital, passing through many vendors and allowing the air's cool breeze wash over them in a moment of contentment.

Hinata gave a small giggle at Naruto, who looked like he was pouting. She couldn't help it, he just looked so cute when he puffed his cheeks like that.

"Well… it was kind of fun wasn't it?"

"Hmph yeah… I guess it was a little fun."

Naruto shook his head and opened the door for the two of them. When they got in, they immediately walked up to the receptionist, who looked up and nodded to the stairs. They made their way up the stairs, to the second floor, and stopped at the door right next to it.

They both peered inside, to see if anyone was there, before slowly opening the door and walking in.

Inside the room, a single person laid on the bed, stuck within a coma and placed onto life supporting machinery and seals.

The sight was saddening for both the two children for different reasons.

For Hinata, she had remembered this person's cheerfulness and willingness to help. For the most part, her demeanor reminded Hinata of Naruto… or at least, the mask that he once wore.

For Naruto himself, she was someone who knew the extent of the pain that he suffered as she had been there when the snake had performed his experiments. She was also one of the few people from before who never looked at him with eyes that screamed for blood.

"Ne… do you think Ume-neesan is going to wake up?"

Naruto shook his head helplessly.

"I don't know." He replied. "It's already been two months. I hope she does though. It'd make everyone feel better to have her around."

"Yeah…"

Naruto walked up to the bedside and slowly took out the flowers from the nearby vase. He then proceeded to dump it into the trash bin as Hinata produced a new batch and placed it in. After they were finished, the two of them watched the peaceful looking Ume sleep in her coma state before leaving.

"Wait."

Hinata stopped at the doorway and looked back in confusion. Naruto merely gave her a small smile as he stood in front of a Buddha statue before clasping his hands together in a small prayer.

When he was done, Naruto nodded to Hinata, the two of them now preparing to leave the room.

"Sleep well Ume-neesan." Hinata murmured. "I hope that at least you're dreaming nice dreams."

owo

"Okaa-san, Otou-san, we're home." Hinata called out softly as she and Naruto took off their scandals. As Naruto placed them evenly to the side, he noted that there was also a strange pair of straw like scandals as well.

Odd, did they have a visitor?

"Mmmm… Hinata, do you know anyone who wears straw scandals?"

"Eh?" The young heiress glanced to where Naruto was pointing and after a brief moment to think about it, shook her head. "Not that I know of. Whoever this person is, they must be from out of the village."

"Hmmm…" However, before Naruto could ask a little more, Hinako walked out of the living room and beckoned them over with a smile. Now confused, both Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other before making their way in.

When the door slid open to allow them entry, they immediately noticed the person sitting politely next to Hiashi. This man, a monk by the looks of it, raised his head once to meet their gaze before bowing it as a sign of respect. Seeing this, Hinata quickly bowed before the stranger and Naruto, after a brief moment of hesitation, did the same.

"Naruto, Hinata, I would like to introduce to you a very well known person within Fire country." The monk stood up, clasped his hands together, and bowed.

"My name is Chiriku, a monk of the Fire Temple." He introduced himself. "Because of recent developments that have come to my attention, I have decided to stay here in Konoha for an undetermined amount of time. Hinata-san, Naruto-san, it's a pleasure to meet the two of you."

Naruto stood in shock. He wasn't the only one. Beside him, Hinata's eyes widened in absolute bewilderment. Within Konoha, names of Fire Country's greatest protectors had been well knowned. This man, Chiriku, was a member of the Shugonin Junishi, the Fire Lord's elite guards!

What would a man like him being doing here in Konoha?

Seeing their shocked and confused expressions, Hiashi cleared his throat before explaining.

"Chiriku-sama came here at our behest. Because Konoha has entered a state of caution regarding a possibility of war, I have decided to increase training for Hinata in the Jyuuken style and in tapping the full strength of her Byakugan. Unfortunately, because Naruto himself does not possess our doujutsu, the Jyuuken form of fighting is useless to him. That is one of the reasons why I have asked Chiriku-sama to come."

"As you already know, Chiriku-sama was a member of Fire country's Shugonin Junishi." Hinako added. "And within its group, he was the best in forms of taijutsu. Therefore, we had asked him to help teach Naruto-kun his form of combat. I'm sure that with given time, he can teach you well to fend for yourself."

To be trained by one of the Twelve Guardians… Naruto could scarcely believe it. Granted, he was a bit disappointed in not being able to learn the Jyuuken style of fighting but still… to be allowed a chance to learn from a member of such a well known group was a great honor in itself.

"Well Naruto-san." Chiriku stood up and a smile appeared in his stoic expression. "If you accept, then it would be my pleasure to help train the new generation."

Speechless, Naruto slowly turned his gaze over towards Hinata. Though it was definitely a great honor to be trained by him, a part of him was guilty that Hinata herself wasn't going to partake in it as well.

But to his surprise, she merely smiled encouragingly at him.

"…Hinata?"

"No… it's alright. Okaa-san and otou-san are going to teach me Jyuuken so it'll be okay."

"…You sure?"

Hinata nodded, though it only made him feel better by a little bit. Still, he wasn't going to pass this chance. Naruto turned to Chiriku and nodded.

"Er… just to be curious, does the taijutsu form have a style?" Naruto scratched his head a little in embarrassment. "Well… because I've heard of Konoha's standard style called 'Goken' and the Hyuugas practice 'Jyuuken' so…"

"Yes the style does indeed have a name." Chiriku gave Naruto a smile as he responded. "It is known as 'Kikokuken', a rare style to have nowadays because of its difficulty in mastering. Many people take decades to learn and even I took a total of twelve before I was fully able to complete my training."

"That being said, we'll start your training tomorrow. For now, rest." Chiriku bowed before the Hyuugas before turning to the door. "Now… please excuse me but I must inform Hokage-dono of my arrival."

"Of course." Hiashi replied.

As Chiriku left, Naruto stared at the closed door in wonder. This style of fighting supposedly takes decades to learn… then why is he learning it now? Didn't they say that he was going to learn how to defend himself now? How would learning a style that takes years to learn be 'defending himself' now?

"Naruto-kun?" The blond glanced back to see Hinata tilting her head in curiosity. He merely shook his head and began to walk out the door as well.

"Er… I just feel like thinking for a bit. It's… you know… kind of surprising that Chiriku-sama came just to teach me, even if he was asked by the Hyuuga clan."

Hinako nodded. "I understand. Please come back soon. Even if it's Konoha, being out at night can still have its risks."

Naruto nodded his thanks as he made his way out. The door slid shut behind him, leaving behind three Hyuugas who stared at where he had been with a degree of worry in them.

'If only Chiriku-sama was here only for training.' Hiashi thought grimly. 'Then that would still speak of relatively peaceful times. But he's here to make sure that a seal of great strength is performed in order to protect Konoha and much of Fire Country.

Such a seal will take years to finish.

I can only hope we have that much time to prepare it.'

owo

By the time Naruto had made it to the shores of Konoha's main river, the sun had already began to set, illuminating the sky in a strange reddish orange hue.

He turned his gaze downwards, towards the river that reflected the sky, feeling a sense of impatience taking over him.

Why in the world is he learning this?

Granted, it's an honor to be trained by a renowned guardian but still, a fighting style that takes possibly decades to learn is not something that he wants to know at all. If he had started training back then, back when he didn't have Hyuuga protection, he'd still be useless and nothing would have changed at all!

He wanted to protect himself but above all, he wanted to protect those that he came to care about. More than anything, he wanted to ensure that something like Hinata's loneliness or Hikari-neesan's death would never be repeated again.

But how is he to do that if he didn't have power now?

"…Kuso…" Right then, he felt nothing but uselessness and impatience. He hated those feelings, especially when someone like Chiriku-sama decided to teach him taijutsu but how… how was he to be stronger if he was going to waste years just to learn taijutsu?

Naruto glanced back up at the sky again, silently hoping that an answer would suddenly pop up.

Of course, nothing like that would happen but still hoped anyways.

Images of Hinata returned, of the one time he had seen her looked so downcast with loneliness that even now, it still gripped him.

Other images of Hikari-neesan appeared as well, with the one time he had met her when she had grinned and offered him a dango… and then, the other time he saw her, dead and her eyes gouged out.

He was the one to receive her eyes, even if they've mutated so much that they can't be considered 'hers' anymore.

He hated it back then and he still hated it now. He wouldn't be so heroic to say that no one should have suffered because of him because truthfully, he had wished some would suffer but above all, he had wished those that treated him nicely, those few precious people, would have never been hurt.

But some were and in the case of Hikari-neesan, one died.

If he is to protect those that remain, then he needs power, now.

Suddenly feeling selfish, Naruto looked away from the sky, silently ashamed of his greediness. Of course he wanted power but even he knew that he was being urgent about it. It wasn't right. The desperation that he felt definitely did not feel right. He was thinking too rashly.

He needed to calm down.

'Calm down… if Chiriku-sama is going to teach me a technique that took him twelve years…

Then…

Then I'll just have to surpass him!'

Naruto grinned, feeling a spark of determination ignite within him. It was a stretch, outclassing someone like Chiriku-sama but if there would even be a single percentage chance of him doing so, then he'll take it and work it to the best of his abilities.

A sudden sight caught his attention.

Sitting there at one of the docks was kid, probably around the same age as him. Naruto squinted as he walked closer and closer, making out black shorts and a shirt, reminding him of someone that just came from a funeral.

But that black hair that flared and spiked at the end bore a distinctive style that he recognized right away.

The kid was Uchiha Sasuke.

"…" He was staring at the river, apparently lost in thought. Now if there was one thing that he and Sasuke shared, it was that they were orphans. But now, he began to see the Hyuugas as his family while Sasuke's was apparently slaughtered by his brother.

He didn't really know. He wasn't in the village when it happened.

Suddenly, the Uchiha looked up from the river and their eyes met.

"…" Neither of them really said anything but there was a brief moment of communication between them. Naruto was the first to look away as he continued his aimless walking around the village. It wasn't like he had anything to do but he'd rather walk around than stay on that spot competing in some staring contest with the Uchiha.

"…Wait!"

But apparently, the Uchiha still wanted to say something. Naruto halted in his tracks as Sasuke made his way up the grassy hill. When they were face to face again, Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"Er… yeah?"

Sasuke looked away, either from embarrassment or shame or whatever he didn't know. "…I'm Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke." He held out his hand, still looking away.

"…" Feeling a little weird, Naruto took the hand and gave it a shook. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Well… if there's nothing else… later Uchiha-san."

Naruto proceeded to walk away again but Sasuke stopped him.

"Wait."

He waited, now feeling impatient. What the hell was he waiting to say anyways? If he wanted to ask him something he, should have hurried up with it already.

"…I know about it."

"Huh?" Know about it? Know about what? Did Sasuke figure out that Naruto was a ward of the Hyuugas? Well… for the past few weeks he hadn't exactly continued with that charade so people were bound to figure out sooner or later.

"…the Fox."

"…" Suddenly, a silence fell between them. The wind blew gently but still strong enough to scatter leaves into the air. One landed on Naruto's shoulder though he completely ignored it. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth parted open in surprise.

Sasuke finally turned his head and met Naruto's gaze determinedly.

"…I know about the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

owo

A/N: And that's a wrap! This marks the end of the 'children' arc and next chapter will begin with the genin graduations. What do you guys think of this chapter? Did some things piss you off or some things made you jump for joy? Well I dunno about that but whatever you guys think, leave you reviews here! I read them all and they sustain me xD

Till next time people.

-Phoenix

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