AN - Anyone else see Sasuke's re-heel turn coming since like two years ago? Because I sure as hell did. Sasuke does not simply stop being a douche, it just doesn't happen. Just as predictably, Sakura is as useless as ever. I'm just glad that Kishimoto realizes how badly he fucked up all those years ago when he made her the lead female instead of Hinata. Hopefully 'The Last' will make NaruHina cannon as it should be.
Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto, this is proven by the existence of Sakura Haruno.
Codename - Shadowfox: XXV
Deep inside the Uchiha compound a young man had locked himself away after the events of the invasion. The windows were boarded up and draped an only a faint flickering candle lit the room.
It looked like a tornado had hit the place as there were things scattered everywhere, papers, books, tomato skins and hundreds of boxes of unopened pocky. "Damn you..." Sasuke growled madly, his sharingan blazing in the dark as he pulled on his hair.
He fell to his knees in front of the wall he had been looking at fist clenched and coiled back to strike at the wall "DAMN. YOU. TO. HELL!" He punctuated each strike my hammering his fist into the wall.
Written all along the walls in tomato juice was the word pocky, over and over again in varying sizes. He knew who it was, oh he knew damn well who it was as only one person was this obsessed with pocky, the very man that plagued his dreams every night.
Though the wall that Sasuke was kneeling in front of was slightly different. It was a tomato pinned to the wall with a stick of pocky over the picture of his parents, the juices from the tomato over the picture of his parents reminded him of that night when he Itachi standing over their bleeding corpses.
"Pocky." Sasuke gasped and turned around in shock, he was beginning to hyperventilation when there was nothing but darkness. That was Itachi's voice, only Itachi every said pocky in that reverent tone. Suddenly his sharingan caught a shadow in the corner.
Sasuke's eyes widened in fear. He's still here! He's still in the house! "No... no, nononononononoooooo!" He broke out into a sprint and jumped through his kitchen window, stumbling as his ninja grace was overridden by his fear.
His eyes widened even further as a dark shadow watched him from inside of the home through the broken window. It did nothing but start at him until something flew through the window and hit him in the chest. He glanced down at it and screamed in fear before fainting.
If one were to find Sasuke and look at what hit him it would have been a small rectangular box with the words 'Tomato Pretz' written on it in bright colors.
XXX
An hour later two robed figures were leaving the Hidden Leaf after their search for the Kyuubi turned up nothing. One of the two was chewing on a small stick with a box in the other hand while the second just shook his head.
"You're a fucked up person - on so many different levels."
"I have no idea what you mean Kisame, I was simply saying hello to my precious little brother after not having seen him for so long."
"You have issues Itachi-san, deep emotional issues."
The Uchiha just ignored him and went back to his treat.
XXX
Two days later
Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune had arrived at the Leaf completely missing the two Akatsuki. Jiraiya was peaking in on the hot springs while Tsunade was getting her office ready. Naruto however had just finished explaining Jiraiya's idea to Hinata.
"I see..." Hinata spoke softly, she looked up at him and asked "What do you want to do Naruto-kun?"
"Honestly I want to stay here with you... and the guys, but mostly you." Hinata blushed from his smiling face and words but smiled back as she held his hand. "The fact of the matter however is that Jiraiya does have a point in that he probably has ten more years in him before he croaks - pun intended - so someone needs to be able to take over as Konoha's spy master when he does."
Hinata nodded as well knowing that in the ninja world, accurate and up-to-date information could mean the difference between life and death just as the failed invasion of Konoha had proved. "When does Jiraiya-sama want an answer?"
Naruto shrugged "Didn't say. He said that it doesn't have to be anytime soon but I told him I would give it some thought."
"What do you think about the jinchuuriki idea?" Hinata asked calmly, after becoming comfortable her stutter all but disappears.
"It has its pros and cons. Mainly convincing the jinchuuriki themselves as the ones that went rogue all likely did it for the same reason - the hatred of ignorant masses." Naruto answered, he counted himself lucky that the status of Konoha's three jinchuuriki were never released so he and his mother lived in peace. "That will likely be the largest obstacle, convincing them to join another hidden village that is. The second is the danger of a jinchuuriki themselves, like any missing-nin we can never be entirely sure where their loyalties lie and when it concerns someone with the power of a bijuu behind them, that's a rather large security risk."
Hinata nodded along seeing all of his points "You're right of course but... maybe they just need a chance?"
"Hmm?"
"From what you've told me of most jinchuuriki besides those from Kumo, they're always hated by their home village. They are never given the chance to show its people that they can be good and loyal shinobi, maybe they just want a chance to prove themselves?" She ran her thumb over his knuckles as she smiled at him "And maybe they want someone like them to lead them."
Naruto shook his head "The problem is that I'm not like them. I can't relate to their pain, their feelings of hatred and being hated. To them I would likely seem like some spoiled kid who got all the power but none of the consequences, they would never follow me knowing that."
Hinata sighed sadly as she acknowledge another good point "I suppose so, but that doesn't mean that you and the other jinchuuriki don't share a common enemy in Akatsuki." When Naruto had told her that a group of S-Ranked missing-min might one day come looking for him she had been scared to death for him but he assured her that within the Leaf he was protected and at night he was untouchable.
"Anyway I just wanted to let you know what Jiraiya told me and what it might mean for us if I decide to go along with his plan." Naruto said as he squeezed her hand gently.
Hinata stood up and did he and she quickly climbed into his embrace hugging him tightly as well "These last three months with you have been some of the happiest of my life Naruto-kun and I don't want to let you go but I knew from the beginning that our relationship would be a difficult one that would require much sacrifice from both of us. I knew that if we had all become chunin that you would likely be reassigned so I was prepared to be separated from you for long periods of time already."
Naruto rested his head on hers, breathing in her lavender smell "Me too but... three years is a long time Hinata. While I've cherished the time we've spent together, I couldn't ask you to wait for me for so long. It wouldn't be fair to you."
Hinata shook her head into his chest "It wouldn't be unfair Naruto-kun... because you're the one I want to be with. If you asked me to I would wait for you but - I would have to be selfish too and ask you the same."
Naruto grinned as she looked into his eyes with a deep blush "Then you can be as selfish as you want, because I only have eyes for you Hina." Leaning down he pressed his lips to hers which she happily accepted and slowly the kiss grew more heated as their tongues began to dance to a rhythm only they could hear.
However their intimate moment was interrupted by a perverted giggle which made Naruto throw the kunai hidden in his sleeve at its direction. "For every giggle you utter I will kill you once, Jiraiya." Naruto growled as he turned away from Hinata and glared at the man outside of his window.
Hinata snapped out of her daze and turned as well only to blush turn away in embarrassment seeing the Sannin outside of Naruto's window "J-Jiraiya-sama, what are you doing here!?"
Jiraiya giggled once more as he stepped through the open window "Oh don't stop on my account, I was just wrapping up my research when I realised I had forgotten my scroll here at Naruto's and I just came back to pick it up." The man said as he pointed at the large red scroll sitting on Naruto's couch.
"Whatever, just get your scroll and get out you old perv, I don't need you creeping out my girlfriend by standing there and watching us." Naruto said as he protectively hid Hinata away from his gaze.
"Actually I was done researching because Tsunade has an urgent mission for us." Naruto's eyes narrowed at the man's now very serious demeanor.
"What is it?"
"Two figures wearing Akatsuki's colors were seen leaving our borders by a patrol and heading into the Land of Rivers. We are to catch up to these two and either capture or eliminate them. Tsunade said that with your eagles, we'll be able to get there in no time." Naruto felt Hinata's hold on him tighten at the details of his mission.
"I see." Naruto himself subconsciously held on tighter to Hinata "I'll meet you in her office in five."
Jiraiya didn't argue as he looked at the young couple and nodded his consent. "I'll keep Tsunade busy." He left with a shunshin after saying his peace.
"Naruto-" Hinata said softly into his chest.
"I know Hina, I don't want to go either but I have to." Naruto whispered into her ear.
"Why? I can understand fighting back if they come for you but she's making you go to them." Naruto could hear the emotions she was holding back as her voice almost cracked a few times.
Naruto had no answer for her so he simply placed his lips on hers in a chaste kiss unlike the one before and slowly stepped out of her grasp "I promise I'll be safe Hinata, Jiraiya will be there also to back me up. I'll be fine... so don't worry alright?" He left in a flow of wind much like Jiraiya did a few minutes ago.
Hinata held her hands over her heart as she gazed out the window towards the Hokage's office "How can I not, when you're running off to fight enemies that entire villages fear..."
XXX
7 Hours Later
"We're nearing the Land of Rivers now." Jiraiya shouted over the air currents. He was sat behind Naruto on the large eagle they were both flying on. "Reports say that one of the figures had a large wrapped up item on his back with blue skin, matching the description of Kisame Hoshigake which means that the other one must be Itachi Uchiha."
Naruto thought about this new information and nodded, turning his head back slightly to address Jiraiya "If that's the case, I'll take Itachi."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow "Any particular reason?"
Naruto laughed "I'm immune to genjutsu remember!" Having now remembered that fact Jiraiya laughed as well since they now had a slight advantage.
"We should probably land soon, don't want them to see us flying over them even if your eagle is solid black!" Jiraiya reasoned and Naruto nodded as well.
"Alright Yokaze, bring us down smooth!" The bird squawked and spotted a small clearing where it could touch down, letting the two humans off before returning to the summoning plane.
"While I love the toads, there's something to be said about the eagle clan's utility." Jiraiya admitted as he straightened out his outfit that had gotten ruffled during the flight.
"Yep, Yokaze is the fastest stealth flyer and seeing as it would start to get dark half-way through the Land of Fire, I safely assumed we would be flying most of the way here at night." Naruto told his godfather who grinned.
"Well then, let's start our hunt shall we?"
XXX
The following morning Team 8 was called in to the Hokage's office for a mission. Hinata stepped up and bowed to the busty blonde, addressing her first "You called for us Hokage-sama?" Though she tried to sound cheerful, the Hyuuga heiress was extremely tired having gotten no sleep last night while worrying over Naruto's safety.
Tsunade nodded at the young woman and tossed her a mission scroll "I received a request from an old friend of mine. The client is a man named Jirocho who wishes to hire a group of ninja to protect his runner in a race. He seems to believe that his opponent did the same. You will be heading out tomorrow morning."
Hinata opened the mission scroll and quickly read though the important parts before nodding "Who will be in charge of the mission Tsunade-sama?" She asked after handing it to Shino so he and Kiba can read it.
"You as the team's only chuunin will be in charge of the mission." Tsunade stated.
"Huh Chuunin?" Kiba questioned while Hinata also had a confused look.
"It seems as though you're mistaken Tsunade-sama but I am a genin." Hinata corrected.
Tsunade smirked as she tossed the girl another scroll "It seemed I forgot to give you that during havoc of cleaning up the village. Congratulations Hinata Hyuuga."
Hinata opened the scroll, revealing it to be a sealing scroll that contained a chuunin vest and a certificate of authenticity. "Th-Thank you Tsunade-sama!"
Tsunade smiled at the kind girl who she grew to like over the past few days ever since she first heard about her from Naruto. "You earned it Hinata. While the rest of the genin did admirably during the exams and the invasion from all the reports I received you were the only one who showed true leadership when you rallied the forces protecting the hospital and helped lead the defence."
Hinata smiled brightly as all her hard work over the past few months paid off. "Thank you again Tsunade-sama, I'll make you proud!"
Kiba grinned as he walked up to his teammate and patted her on the back "Hey congrats Hinata! Kinda sucks that I didn't get promoted but you certainly deserved it, especially after watching you kick your stuck up cousin's ass! Haha!"
Shino appeared next to her and nodded "Congratulations Hinata, the Kikaichu I left on your during the invasion gave me the same report so I must agree with Hokage-sama that you deserve your promotion."
Hinata smiled at her teammates "Thank you guys. I just wish Naruto-sensei was here too."
Tsunade gave her a sly smile since she knew exactly why she girl probably wanted Naruto there, if not just to kiss him and publicly claim him as her boyfriend. "Yeah where is sensei anyway?" Kiba asked.
"Top secret mission." Tsunade answered in a tone that left no room for argument. "Now you three go get ready for your mission, dismissed."
"Hai Hokage-sama." The three chorused and the trio left to go prepare while Hinata had slipped on her vest proudly and would wear it the whole way home, even if it was a bit bulky and heavy.
XXX
"It seems as though we've been found Kisame."
"What gave it away, the big ass frog or the fact that we can't move?"
Jiraiya appeared on top of Gama in a flurry of leaves with a cocky grin "Well well well, looks like we pulled in a shark and a weasel, not a bad haul."
"Jiraiya-sama." Itachi intoned, he now knew who it was that was able to track them but still had no idea which Nara was strong enough to bind both he and Kisame without losing any strength in his shadow.
"Hey Itachi-san, shouldn't it be... I don't know, impossible for the Shadow Binding to hold someone like me for this long?" Kisame asked his partner who nodded slowly.
"The more chakra someone has, the harder it is to hold them using the Nara techniques. To be able to hold not only you but me as well... I didn't know that any Nara had become so powerful." Itachi answered.
Kisame grinned as he tried to move his pinkie but it wouldn't budge "Haha yeah, I can't move for shit! Damn this shadow's strong, but luckily for me my sword doesn't need me to move." Suddenly Samehada ripped through its bindings and fell on the shadow, devouring the chakra feeding the technique before doing the same to Itachi's. "Good girl, Same-chan." Kisame said to his sentient blade which made growling noises back.
"Hmm, I wondered why you weren't afraid of being trapped. I had forgotten about that sword's special ability." Kisame and Itachi turned to look at a man about Itachi's height in full ANBU armor.
"So you are the one who captured us." Itachi questioned, activating his sharingan while doing so.
"That's right, and you're my target Uchiha!" Naruto kneeled and did the rat handseal "Inton: Endless Shadow Stiching!" Hundreds of thin shadows shot out from within his shadow and headed straight for Itachi who jumped out-of-the-way in time to not get impaled.
Kisame had also jumped away to avoid the surprise attack from Jiraiya grinning while doing so "Then I guess my opponent it the famed Toad Sage, eh?" He drew his sword and charged at the man "Then let's have some fun!"
XXX
Hinata was kneeled in front of her father, still wearing her vest while he read over her certificate. Once finished he set it down and walked over to where his daughter was kneeling and motioned for her to stand up.
The Hyuuga heiress looked up at her father with a small amount of fear as he had yet to say anything since she informed him of his promotion, only to stare in shock as she caught a glance at something she hadn't seen in years.
He was smiling. Her father was smiling... at her! "T-Tousama?"
"Congratulation on your promotion Hinata, I'm proud of you." Those few words meant more to her than he could ever imagine and fresh tears of joy started leaking from her pale eyes. He opened his arms and she instantly hugged her father for the first time in years, sobbing happily into his robes.
"Thank you father." She said with a large tear-filled smile after she stepped back and having recomposed herself. "I-I'm sorry about your robes father, I've gotten them dirty."
Hiashi glanced down and shrugged "Sometimes a father must let his daughter cry on him. When Naruto returns from his mission with Jiraiya-sama I want you to invite him to the compound, I wish to meet my daughter's boyfriend."
"B-But you already know Naruto-kun father."
"As a student yes, but not as the one courting my daughter. He must come and meet with me officially as your boyfriend so that I may instill the fear of the Hyuuga Family Sword into him." Hiashi said with another smile though this one seemed decidedly less inviting.
Hinata giggled as she wiped her eyes and nodded "I'm sure Naruto-kun will be thrilled to meet my father."
"Good because I've been sharpening my sword this past month just for this meeting."
XXX
A sudden chill went up Naruto's spine as the fear of death rushed through him, yet oddly enough it wasn't due to Itachi. "What the hell was that just now?"
Itachi also having seen the man shiver simply raised an eyebrow then made a tiger sign and shot a fireball at him. "Shit!" Naruto cursed as he dived out-of-the-way into a handstand which he used to push himself away even further.
After Naruto landed he narrowed his eyes at the man, unfearful of his sharingan having already resisted the one he tried right at the start of the fight "So you're that Uchiha brat's older brother, the crazier one?"
Itachi's face gave no evidence that his comment annoyed him and simply nodded "Yes, I am Itachi Uchiha, who are you?"
"An ANBU. You know, nameless assassin and all that." Naruto responded. "Now, I'm sure I don't have to tell you this but I kinda have to kill you. Hopefully you don't die too fast or this would be no fun." He said in a cheerful tone.
"The feeling is mutual. Katon: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson." Itachi jumped high into the air and unleashed a wall of shuriken which he lit aflame.
Naruto meanwhile just sweatdropped "That's a pretty long name for just setting some shuriken on fire which I can easily sidestep." He said while batting a few away with a kunai and stepping past some others. "You really must be insane if you think that level of technique would work."
"Katon: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu." Itachi then sent a large dragon-shaped fireball at Naruto's position.
"Now that's more like it." Naruto said with a grin as the giant fireball flew towards him "But not good enough. Futon: Vorpal Blade." The thin almost invisible yet infinitely sharp blade cut straight through the fire and had Itachi not substituted in time, right through him as well from the looks of the perfectly halved log.
"That technique... for a wind jutsu to completely ignore its weakness. It's quite powerful isn't it?" Itachi spoke a few feet behind Naruto but he didn't bother turning.
"Hai, but as your sharingan likely already showed you, it does have one weakness." Naruto said as he turned his head back slightly to look at Itachi from the corner of his eye.
"It can only move in a straight line from where your arm swung." Itachi stated to which Naruto nodded.
"Yep, though thanks to you, most people don't have a sharingan to tell them that and usually die from the first swing."
"The attack was near invisible, were it not for my sharingan's ability to see chakra, I don't doubt that would also have been my fate."
"Enough chatting, I believe that day will break soon and I need to end this. Inton: Nightmare Spheres."
Itachi narrowed his eyes as he watched as nine small black balls rose out of the darkness and lazily float towards him. "They aren't very fast are they?" He noticed having taken his eye away from the ANBU for a split second.
"They don't need to be, they don't stop until they catch you and you'll get tired long before the jutsu ends. The orbs also have something that helps them catch their target." Naruto's voice echoed around the darkened forest.
When did he disappear? Itachi wondered as he tried to find his opponent but much to his annoyance he found that he couldn't sense anything but a few animals in the forest and the chakra from the slow-moving orbs.
A moan caught the Uchiha's attention and he quickly turned only to see a man with a bloody spot over where his head should be, though he looked badly decomposed and eyeless. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and tried to dispel the genjutsu only to find that he couldn't and the creature kept lumbering towards him. It's not a genjutsu?
Itachi swiftly threw a kunai at the corpse's skull only for it to fall over and moan, dragging its feel along. Soon the ground started moving and other bodies came out of the ground, slowly Itachi started getting surrounded by the undead creatures and nothing he did not even fire jutsu killed them. What are these things? Itachi thought in desperation and slight fear.
"IIIItaachiii..." The man's breath hitched as he turned around and came face to face with the eyeless forms of his parents.
"No..." Looking around the man began to recognize some of the zombies and slowly he came to the realization that this was his former clan, the Uchiha. "No... I killed you all... you, can't be alive."
"Itachi..." A much younger voice drew his attention and fear, the shorter zombie dragged its feet towards the man much to his fear so much so that he tripped when he tried to take a step back.
"No, Sasuke... I spared you, you're not dead!" In front of him was his eight-year-old brother Sasuke as he remembered him.
"You killed me... you killed everyone... the Sasuke that you know... doesn't exist." The boy spoke to Itachi.
"No, no I just saw Sasuke! I was at the house, I left pocky everywhere!" Itachi slowly crawled away from the boy as his worst nightmare came to pass.
"You didn't spare anyone Itachi, you killed your brother that night and in your grief you made yourself believe that Sasuke was still alive. There is no Sasuke, Itachi, he's dead." Images flashed through Itachi's mind.
The first was the body of his little brother, eyes wide and blood dripping from his cut throat.
A memorial showed the names of the Uchiha clan and at the end was the name Sasuke Uchiha.
The next was a memory of Itachi sneaking into a long abandoned home and throwing tomatoes everywhere and dropping pocky boxes on the floor before stabbing the picture of his parents with one of the sticks.
The next was the image of Kisame watching Itachi throw a box of tomato flavored pocky through a broken window into an empty street.
"You have issues Itachi-san, deep emotional issues."
Itachi's eyes grew wide, having long since de-activated his sharingan so he wouldn't remember these events. "No... NO... NOOOOOOOOOOO!" The man passed out seconds later and the zombies faded away as the orbs latched on to him and joined together to form a cocoon around the Uchiha.
"So that was Itachi's greatest nightmare? That he had actually killed Sasuke four years ago? Never would have guessed." Naruto said to himself as he sunk the orb into the ground where he would keep the Uchiha in Nocturne until he was back in Konoha.
Naruto quickly ran back to where Jiraiya and Kisame were fighting in time to see the toad sage blast away the shark with a big-ball rasengan. Making a few handseals he readied his jutsu and swung his arm. "Vorpal Blade."
The attack hit the Samehada and even with its chakra absorbing qualities the attack left a deep gash in the sword causing the sword to squeal in pain and Kisame to turn in his direction giving Jiraiya a chance to hit him with another Rasengan from behind.
"Gah!" Kisame grunted in pain as he was flung into the tree that Naruto was in allowing him to use the Shadow Binding Jutsu on him. "Hn. Dammit."
Since Samehada was out of his reach and wounded he couldn't heal from the damage caused by the two Rasengan and now he was immobilized. Kisame could feel his end coming as Jiraiya reached him. "Any last words Hoshigaki?"
"Yeah... Water Prison." Kisame spat out one of Samehada's scales at the shadow binding him and it was enough to disrupt the technique so he could capture himself in a water prison.
Jiraiya having jumped back from what he assumed would have been an attack was curious as to why he placed himself in a water prison, at least until Kisame summoned three sharks. "SHIT! Naruto he's going to kill himself, we need his information!"
Naruto summoned a Rasenyami which was a pitch black sphere and dove at the prison, blasting it open and dispelling the three sharks but not before they had completed their mission. Kisame laid there on the floor a bloody mess as the sharks had ripped him apart on his orders. "Damn, eaten by his own sharks. Even though his information on Akatsuki would have been invaluable, I gotta admit that was a badass way to die."
Jiraiya sighed as he reached the body "Even though his info would have been useful at least we still completed the mission and eliminated a member of Akatsuki. What about Itachi?"
"I have him trapped in Nocturne inside of my Nightmare Sphere, we should probably get back to Konoha soon, I'd rather not keep him in there for too long, you know how Uchiha get if they get pushed over the edge. Crazy fuckers go even crazier and start unlocking more eye powers."
"How did you even trap Itachi in a genjutsu? Seems... I dunno, impossible?" Jiraiya said as they jumped on another eagle that Naruto summoned though this time it was just a normal one that was large enough to handle their weight.
"The Nightmare Sphere uses Kuragari's chakra since it's a pure Yin Release technique. Itachi would have had to been able to overpower her chakra to flush it out as not even physical pain would have freed him, coupled with Itachi's already unstable mental state he quickly fell to the illusion."
"That Kuragari... she's a bit of a sadist isn't she?"
"A bit would be an understatement. She held nothing back against Itachi as part of her is still Kyuubi and remembers being imprisoned by two Uchiha, she's also harbored a certain resentment for them."
The only good Uchiha is a dead one.
I agree with the kit on this one.
Naruto chuckled causing Jiraiya to look at him funny though he just waved it off "Even as separate being, they're still two-halves of the same demon."
"Right, well I'm going to take a nap, wake me up when we get there." Jiraiya said lazily as he laid down on the large bird's soft feathers.
"Lazy prick." Naruto grumbled only to wince as the first rays of the morning hit his face "Then again it is going to be a long trip back to Konoha and I haven't slept since Yesterday." Shrugging he laid down on the bird's feather after telling it to wake him up when they get there.
XXX
Hinata had just left the Hyuuga compound since Kiba had said they should celebrate her promotion so he went out to the invite the others to a party. She looked towards the Konoha gate hoping to see Naruto was through it in his ANBU gear, his early developed muscles rippling throughout the tight- "NUU! Bad Hinata!" She chastised herself with her eyes closed as she tried to get rid of the thoughts of her blonde adonis, shirtless and sweaty after a hard morning's practice with a towel in his hand going to the nearby river to- "NOOO! BAD BAD BAD!"
"Hinata-sama... are you alright?" A significantly less cold than before voice asked from behind her.
"EEP!" Hinata shrieked as she visible jumped in fright before turning around to meet the questioning look of her cousin "N-Neji-niisan! D-Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Neji narrowed his eyes "Are you having daydreams about your boyfriend again?"
"Yes..." Hinata unknowingly answered only to blink "Wait what?"
Neji sighed as he walked past her heading towards Yakiniku Q where he received a message to meet the rest of the Konoha 12 to celebrate Hinata's promotion. "You should know that you talk in your sleep... rather loudly in fact. You may wish to learn how to censor your dreams as well, Hanabi-sama almost gave uncle a heart attack when she asked him who Naruto was and why you were moaning his name."
Hinata's face went so red it almost looked violet as her cousin told her about that he and her father both apparently knew about her less than innocent dreams about Naruto without his face showing even a single shred of emotion. Fo the first time in months, Hinata Hyuuga passed out from an explosive blush.
Neji simply raised an eyebrow, calmly picked up his cousin and resumed his trek towards the restaurant. "You're an odd one Hinata-sama." He only stopped for a brief moment when he caught the sight of a large eagle landing on top of the Hokage Tower when two figures jumped off. Using his Byakugan he was able to see that they were Hinata's sensei and Jiraiya-sama.
"I wonder if your sensei already knows of your promotion Hinata-sama... hmm most likely." Seeing no reason to bother the man after he likely returned from a mission, Neji resumed his trip towards the meeting place for Hinata's party.
XXX
"I see, excellent job you two. While we may have lost out on Kisame's information the loss of a member will still hit Akatsuki and we have captured Itachi so I should count this as mission well done. Your pay for an S-rank mission will be deposited into your accounts as well as bonus for Kisame's bounty." Tsunade said with a grin, while she was glad that they had captured Itachi she was more relieve to know that they were both fine.
"Tsunade-sama, what should we do with the Samehada?" Naruto asked as he placed a scroll on the table where the sentient blade was sealed.
"We'll sell it back to Kirigakure along with Kisame's body." Tsunade answered to which both Naruto and Jiraiya nodded.
"Will that be all Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked groggily having just woken up ten minutes ago on the roof so they could give their report on the mission.
"No," Tsunade said with a smirk as she looked at Naruto "You should know that one of your students made chuunin. I reviewed all the reports on the fights and battles during the exams and the invasion and saw fit to promote Hinata Hyuuga to the position of Chuunin."
Naruto's eyes went wide before a grin stretched across his mask covered face "You don't say? Well then I guess I should find my beautiful student and go congratulate her."
Jiraiya giggled lecherously "In the 'way' that only you can, right?"
"Rasenyami."
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Jiraiya screamed as he was blasted through one of the bay windows, a trail of darkness following behind him.
Tsunade sweat dropped as she looked at her broken window before turning towards Naruto "You're paying for that, you know?"
Naruto just shrugged "Worth it, just take it out of my bonus." He said with a smile that matched Tsunade's "By your leave, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade snorted and wave him off "Yeah, yeah, get out of here brat."
XXX
Naruto was quickly making his way towards Yakiniku Q where he heard the Konoha twelve were gather only to stop when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. "Naruto, I believe we need to talk." Frozen in fear he could only glance back at the stern gaze of the one man he didn't want to see right now.
Hiashi Hyuuga.
Looking down he noticed something that made him gulp "Hiashi-sensei... why are you carrying around a sword?"
The sudden smile that graced the clan head's face made Naruto wish he was sent out on another suicide mission against Akatsuki again. "Oh no reason... no reason at all."
Rasenyami - A rasengan created with the Yin release.
Nocturne - The Night Song, a place that connects all shadows on the earth. First discovered by the Nara clan and named for the the darkness that permeates that realm with an eerie song like tune softly playing deep within the endless expanse.