Chapter Twenty-Six – Training And New Faces

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Naruto slumped, gasping for breath as he released the jutsu. His form seemed to waver, then returned from his near-cat mode back to human.

"That was quite impressive." Said a familiar voice from the entrance and Naruto looked up with a smile.

"Jiji! What are you doing here?"

"I came to introduce you to a student of mine." Sarutobi said. "He's waiting upstairs and…"

Sarutobi stopped as a resounding slap echoed and Naruto winced.

"Oh dear. Sounds like someone tried something perverted with Honoka. She's happy to swap innuendoes, but if anyone actually tries anything physical…"

The sound of a fading scream echoed and Naruto sighed.

"Please tell me that the person you wanted to introduce me to isn't a pervert."

"Well, he can act a bit perverted at times." Sarutobi admitted. "He's an excellent shinobi and he's written many excellent books."

"Such as?" Naruto queried and Sarutobi coughed in embarrasment.

"Well, he's most famous for the Icha Icha series…"

"Jiraiya." Naruto stated. "I read his book The Tale Of The Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. In fact, that's the book Kakashi-sensei used to teach me to read properly. He said that I was named after the main character."

Sarutobi looked impressed. "Jiraiya is one of the best sealing masters in Konoha."

"I bet Honoka's better." Naruto said. "I taught her the Kage Bunshin and she turned one of the storage rooms into her personal workshop. She makes storage seals and various tags there, and sells them to Tenten's dad. As family, I get them for slightly more than they cost to make but less than the retail price. She's also training Haku, Hinata and myself in basic Fuuinjitsu, storage seals and so on. Plus, she's placed security seals all round the bunker."

"I'd heard some of my shinobi saying that the new tags were the best ones they had come across, despite the cost." Sarutobi said with a smile. "I had wondered where they were coming from. But how does Kage Bunshin help?"

"It lets her do loads of tags at once." Naruto grinned. "Also let her fill out all the regristation forms very quickly. She says that Kage Bunshin is great for paperwork, as long as you concentrate on wanting to do it as you make the clones."

Sarutobi stared at him for a moment, then removed his hat, turned and started beating his head gently against the wall.

"Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka, baka…"

"Jiji… what's wrong…"

"All those years and I never thought of doing that." Sarutobi groaned.

"Doing what?" Honoka asked, appearing in the doorway. "Oh, by the way, there was a white-haired pervert up there. I chased him away, who was he?"

Sarutobi slumped against the wall as Naruto started to laugh.

"No, seriously. Who was he?"

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"Hinata, are you ready for… what's Jiraiya doing on the floor?"

"Oh, do you know him?" Hinata asked, blushing furiously. "Sorry, he made a comment and I… didaneighttrigramssixtyfourp almsonhim."

Naruto blinked. "No wonder he's out cold. Hang on. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

A single clone popped into view and Naruto pointed to the white-haired man lying on the floor. "Take him to the hospital, then dispell once he's receiving treatment."

"Gotcha, boss." The clone said, picking up Jiraiya and slinging him over his shoulders. Naruto and Hinata watched him depart, then Naruto realised what he had originally been about to ask.

"So, you ready for the meal out?"

Hinata nodded as she adjusted her new top. "Yep, it's been a few days since I last saw Kiba and Shino. Where's Honoka?"

"Kakashi came back with Sasuke for supplies and Jiji commanded him to test her to see what level she is." Naruto said. "She said she'd join us there, she'll probably need to wash up first."

"I wonder what rank she'll get?" Hinata mused. "From when we sparred, I can tell she's really good."

"Chunin for sure." Naruto grinned as Hinata let him scoop her up in his arms. Walking outside, he looked round, then concentrated.

"Naruto, what are you… oooooh!"

Naruto smiled as he finished the third Shunshin, placing him just opposite the barbeque restaurant. Hinata clutched him tightly as she recovered from the dizziness.

"Warn a girl next time!"

"Sorry." Naruto chuckled as he carried her into the restaurant, looking round to see Kiba waving to him from a large table. Hinata looked round and her eyes widened.

"Put me down!" she hissed and Naruto lowered her feet to the floor, taking advantage of her proximity to kiss her cheek. Hinata shook her head.

"No, Naruto, you do it like this!"

All eleven of the assembled genin stared as Hinata grabbed Naruto's head and pulled him into a deep kiss, then Kiba started cheering while Sasuke and Shikamaru started to laugh. Hinata released him and blushed.

"I hope you've learned your lesson." She said mock-sternly. "Now come on, let's not keep our friends waiting."

Naruto grinned as he followed Hinata to the table and held out the chair for her to be seated before sitting down next to her.

"No need to ask if you're still in love." Kiba joked. "I think you proved that you still are."

Hinata's blush intensified at Kiba's comment, but before she could say anything, Ino reached over and swatted him.

"Stop that." She said. "I think it's sweet. Where's Honoka? Ive been wanting to meet her. I need to get gossip about her, I'm in danger of losing my position as the gossip-queen of Konoha!"

A round of laughter met Ino's statement and Naruto looked round at the other rookies.

"Only a week to go." He said. "I hope that you are training hard, especially you, Neji. I don't want an easy win, I want you to make me really work for my victory, like Tenten did."

Tenten smiled at the compliment even as Neji chuckled slightly.

"I shall do my utmost you challenge you, Naruto-san." He replied. "You will have to use both sword and cat against me if you wish to win."

"My training is going well also!" Lee proclaimed. "And whichever of you wins, I shall be there to give you a true challenge!"

"Boys, calm down." Tenten said, making calming motions with her hands. "You can swap boasts and challenges after the meal."

"She's right." Chouji said, looking longingly at where the food was being prepared. "Food comes first."

"Never argue with an Akamichi about food." Shikamaru said. "It's just too troublesome."

"Hello, sorry to keep you waiting." Honoka said from behind them.

"I saved a seat for you." Shino said and Honoka slid into it with a smile.

"Thanks, Shino. What did I miss?"

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"He's really that big?" Ino gasped, staring at the size Sakura had just described with her hands.

"That's the size that Sai said he was, yes." Sakura said. "Hinata, did he get it right?"

Hinata shook her head slightly, then blushed.

"So is he smaller or bigger? Bigger? You have to be kidding! How big is he?" Ino gasped, leaning forwards. Hinata's blush deepened and she sank deeper into the water, only for Honoka to grab her and pull her back to the surface.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting you drown yourself out of embarrasment, it would upset Naruto."

Tenten laughed. "You are one lucky girl, getting him for yourself. When I lost to him, I was so turned on by his skill and strength. If you ever decide you don't want him, I'll be happy to take him off your hands."

Hinata's blush deepened and she quickly changed the subject. "Honoka-san, how did your test go?"

"It went very well." Honoka smiled. "I am now a full chunin of Konoha, and on the list for promotion to Special Jonin once I've gained some experience. The Hokage also put me on the Special Skills list for my Fuuinjitsu and Fox-sama of ANBU has already asked me if I can provide some special tags since mine are better than most of what were available in Konoha before I arrived."

"We're selling her tags at my dad's shop." Tenten explained. "I swear, he almost proposed to her after testing the first explosive tag that she provided, and when she showed she could make shock tags, chakra-suppression tags, tracking tags and loads of other things… I haven't seen him so happy in years."

"I'm earning quite a bit from it." Honoka smirked. "I'm saving up and when I have enough, I'm going to buy some land and build my own house. I was thinking of buying up the old Namikaze mansion since the foundation is still intact. I'm also earning money checking and repairing the seals along the walls and in the gates, some of them had almost faded to nothing. The new arrays I included should help."

Sakura nodded. "I heard that the Council are moving to have you declared the clan-head of the resurrected Uzumaki clan as soon as you come of age, giving you a seat on the council."

"Until then, I've asked Zabuza to be my regent, since he's already there and Naruto-kun trusts him." Honoka said. "I heard you've been taking lessons from him, Tenten."

"I have, and so has Sasuke." Tenten confirmed. "He's got really good with that Chokuto of his, and it's made from chakra metal. He can push fire or lightning through it, he was really inspired by Naruto being able to use wind."

"Naruto's really good." Sakura admitted. "Of course, since he was trained as a kid by both Kakashi-sensei and Maito Gai, that's only to be expected. And when Anko added her assassination training… Kakashi had already trained him in stealth and with what Anko taught him… I've seen Naruto scare the hell out of Kakashi by popping up out of nowhere beside him, without Kakashi noticing he was there for a full minute!"

Ino and Tenten both whistled in awe. Hinata simply nodded.

"He's managed to get past my Byakugan in the past." She admitted. "I've asked and asked and begged… but he won't tell me how he did it. Even going catgirl and being cute didn't help."

"Going what-now?" Ino asked and Honoka giggled.

"You need to show them now, Hinata-chan."

Hinata sighed and flashed through several hand-seals, moving fast enough that the others couldn't make out the sequence. A brief cloud of smoke engulfed her and when it cleared, it revealed a lightly-furred Hinata with cat ears looking at everyone.

"KAAAWAAAIIII!"

Honoka almost collapsed with laughter as Ino, Sakura and Tenten simultaneously glomped the poor girl, nearly drowning her in the process.

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"What are they doing on that side?" Kiba asked as the cry of "KAAAWAAAIIII!" echoed over the wall between the two outdoor pools. Neji blinked and restrained himself from using his Byakugan with great difficulty.

"Probably swapping stories about us." Shikamaru said from where he was leaning against the edge of the pool. "Girls can be so troublesome."

"How do you do it?" Kiba asked. "You're going to marry one of the hottest babes in the village, your cousin is just as hot and you have Neji's team-mate lusting after you. I ciould smell her pheromones after your fight, she was really turned on."

"How do you know so much about things like that?" Naruto asked and Kiba shrugged.

"Hey, we Inuzuka live by our instincts. We learn about these things young. Besides, when you have senses as sharp as mine, you can't help noticing these things. I can usually tell what someone's feeling by their scent, and Tenten was reeking of lust after you beat her."

"I understand that Honoka is staying with you at this time." Neji said. "Yet I had thought that all the main bedrooms were taken. Is she in one of the barracks rooms?"

Naruto opened his mouth, then froze for a moment. "I'm not sure I want to answer this. You'll just get angry at me again."

Neji blinked, then lunged at Naruto. Lee and Chouji managed to grab him before he could reach the rapidly-retreating boy. "You're sleeping with my cousin again?!"

"It was her decision!" Naruto protested. "I got back from Wave and found she'd moved all my things into her apartment, and I had a guest with me. What was I supposed to do?"

Sasuke smirked. "Calm down, Neji. I think that your cousin just wanted her snuggly. After all, he'd been gone for just over two weeks."

"I don't think that's helping, Sasuke." Naruto said nervously as Neji doubled his attempts to break free. "In fact, I think it's time to leave. Lee, can you run my clothes back to the bunker afterwards, I'll pick them up later but right now I need to hide! Demon Technique, Reverse Dagger Summoning!"

Naruto vanished in a flash of red chakra and Neji froze, then his flat gaze moved to Sasuke.

"Hey, don't look at me, I wasn't involved at all with.. with whatever's happening between Naruto and Hinata."

Neji lunched forwards, then stopped dead in his tracks as Sasuke flinched away.

"I'd advise fleeing." Shikamaru said. "I'm not sure how long I can hold him for."

Sasuke glanced down, spotting the shadow connecting to Neji, then pausing only to give Shikamaru a look of gratitude, he scrambled out of the pool and sprinted into the changing room.

"Let. Me. Go."

"Not yet." Shikamaru said. "Lee, Chouji, Kiba, if you three could restrain him please?"

Kiba gulped as Neji glared at him.

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"What do you think all that shouting is about?" Honoka asked as she dried her hair.

"Not a clue." Ino said. "Any ideas?"

"I heard Neji-nii-san shouting… oh dear."

"What?" all the other girls asked and Hinata sighed.

"I think Neji's just found out what sleeping arrangements Naruto and I have. He's… become rather protective of me since I stopped being the Hyuuga Heir."

"Sleeping arrangements?" Sakura asked, but it wasn't Hinata who answered.

"Hinata-chan decided that she was missing her snuggly, and moved all his stuff from his old room into her apartment." Honoka explained as Hinata quickly donned her jacket and made use of the collar in hiding her blush. "That freed up a room for me to use until I get my own place."

The other girls nodded in understanding and Ino grinned.

"Making a move like that, wow Hinata. Do you share a bathroom with him? Do you bathe together?"

Hinata's blush deepened, then she took a deep breath and composed herself.

"We do share a bathroom, and we have showered together." She said quietly. "And every time I see him, I realise just how lucky I am to have him. I don't think anyone else in the country is as kind and thoughtful as he is, and his cooking is superb."

"That last part I agree with completely." Honoka noted. "The only thing I can't vouch for are the cinnamon rolls, because they're always gone before I get there."

Hinata blushed again.