After feeling Naruto using the Nine-Tails' chakra, Sasuke and Karin looked to the shore where Naruto and Lee left for their swimming contest. In a few minutes, they saw Naruto running on the water back to shore, his entire body glowing a bright yellow, creating big waves on either side of him as a result of his dash. When he got close to the shore, he deactivated Chakra Mode and let his legs sink into the water, hoping not to disturb the people at Shimeri Suna Estate. He looked back to the party's meeting spot to find Sasuke and Karin looking his way, his goggles and Lee's weights still present. In another minute or so, he made it back to base, meeting Sasuke's and Karin's confused faces.

"So what possessed you to go into Chakra Mode, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Well I was swimming alongside Lee for a while," Naruto started to explain, "but over time my strokes got into a comfortable rhythm and I started thinking about what I'd say to Hinata when I got back… Then my strokes started slowing down to focus on that more… and eventually I messed up and I started sinking!"

"… then you used Chakra Mode on instinct to save yourself and came back here?"

"That's about it, yeah…" Naruto concluded, his expression turning sour. "… But that also means I lost to Lee…"

"You idiot…" Sasuke tossed Naruto's goggles back to him. "You should have confessed to Hinata right away. Then you wouldn't have got distracted!"

Naruto picked up his towel and laid it out straight on the sand on the outskirts of the meeting spot, lying down on it. "Oh well…" he sighed. "Now all I can do is wait for everyone else to come back…"

"I don't think you'll have to wait that long." Karin interjected, pointing to a group of six walking closer to their position from the direction of the Volleyball courts. Naruto sat up to take a look at them. They were still ways away, but in the centre of the group Naruto could spot a woman wearing an orange one-piece swimsuit, and knew immediately who that group was. When they finally arrived, Team No Karasu all looked upset, most of all Hinata, who had a bruise on her right shoulder.

"What happened, guys?!" Naruto shouted.

"We lost in the quarter-finals is what happened!" Suigetsu pointed at Hinata. "And it's all this bitch's fault!"

At the insult, Naruto got up and punched Suigetsu in the face, but Suigetsu turned his head into water, nullifying the blow.

"Don't talk about Hinata like that!" Naruto screamed as he was punching, furious. However, Naruto's anger was calmed when he felt someone's arms wrap around him from behind… and a pair of large breasts make contact with his back.

"He's right, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said during her hug.

"Hinata?" Naruto turned his head, seeing Hinata's sad face from the corner of his eye.

"We were only two points behind… It was the opponent's serve… I felt that you were in danger, and despite our agreement not to use any jutsu, I used my Byakugan to see if you were okay… and while I was focused on you, the opposing team served in my direction and hit my arm… That cost us the match… So it is my fault that we lost…"

Naruto looked down at himself, reflecting. So we were both distracted by each other…

"That's not entirely true, Hinata." Naruto objected, surprising everyone but Sasuke and Karin. "If I didn't panic in the water and put myself in danger in the first place, you wouldn't have gotten distracted. So your loss is as much my fault as it is yours."

Suigetsu's eye twitched. "Is that so, huh? Then I should be the one punching you in the face!"

The Hozuki wound up for a punch, but Karin ran up to him and grabbed his arm before he could:

"Cut it out, Suigetsu! This is supposed to be a party!"

"Karin?" Suigetsu relaxed his fist.

"First Sasuke burdens himself with Lee's weights, and now you and Naruto are fighting?! This was supposed to be a break from our mission, a way for us to relax and enjoy ourselves! You have a right to be frustrated that you lost, but don't take it out on the other guests! Especially not Naruto! You and Naruto are both Sasuke's friends; do you have any idea how Sasuke must be feeling seeing you two go at each other's throats over something as petty as a lost volleyball game?!"

Karin's rant made Suigetsu go quiet for a few seconds, but after some thought he let down his fist and made a response:

"Yeah… you're right, Karin… I lost sight of why we're here. I'm sorry… but damn, I still can't stand that Naruto cost us the match! He's got to pay for what he's done, even if I'm not the one that does it!"

"Don't worry about that, Suigetsu." Sasuke spoke up as he walked in between both couples, smirking. "Naruto's getting his comeuppance sooner or later."

"And why is that, Boss?" Suigetsu asked.

"Because he just lost a competition with Lee…" Tenten interjected.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "It's just how Rock Lee operates. He always challenges himself by giving himself a punishment if he fails to meet his goal… and he holds his rivals to the same standard if he competes with them. I didn't actually hear what the punishment was for losing this contest, but when Lee comes back and finds that Naruto lost, he's going to make sure Naruto owns up to his failure and fulfills the punishment they agreed on at the start."

Naruto's face went blue with shock remembering what he had to do. To delay the inevitable, Naruto remained silent, at least until Lee returned the victor.

"So what do I do until that happens?" Suigetsu asked.

"You're going to take Karin for a walk on the shore." Sasuke answered, serious. "Go on a date; that's an order!"

"You heard the boss!" Karin caressed Suigetsu, resting her head on his chest, and turned her feet in the direction of the water.

"Good! I was thinking of doing that anyway!" Suigetsu put one arm around Karin's waist and they walked to the shore together.

"As for you, Naruto…" Sasuke shifted his attention to the blond Uzumaki, whom Hinata released from her hug to hold her injured shoulder, "I have no authority over you, but I suggest you help Hinata treat her injury; you can talk things over while you're doing it."

"I have some ointment that I left in the changing room…" Hinata said. "Maybe you can put some on me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned around and gave Hinata a big grin. "That's a great idea, Hinata! I'll even walk to the changing room with you and we can put the ointment on right outside!"

Hinata nodded at the suggestion and they both walked toward the changing rooms together.

"What about us single people?!" Kurotsuchi protested, trying to put the focus back on her where it rightfully belonged.

"Temari and I aren't single." Sasuke refuted. Kurotsuchi's eyes widened at the implication.

"Our partners aren't here!" Temari quickly added, dismantling Kurotsuchi's imagination.

"How about we build a sand castle?" Kankuro suggested. "It'd be interesting to see what we can create with sand, right, Temari?"

"It could be… You three have any objections?"

Kurotsuchi and Tenten shook their heads, but Sasuke spoke up with an objection of his own:

"Someone needs to guard Lee's weights." Sasuke walked back to his towel. "I'll stay put."

"No you won't!" Tenten objected. "You've been on guard duty the whole time! Share the shift and have fun, already! I'll take Lee's weights off your hands!"

Tenten proceeded to shove Sasuke off his towel and into the sand.

"Have it your way then…" Sasuke sighed, got up, and approached Kurotsuchi, Kankuro, and Temari. "I don't know how much help I'll be with only one arm, but I'll assist in the sand castle's construction."

The four of them promptly sat down and started their sand castle.

[X-X-X]

Naruto and Hinata had walked up several stairs to the resort complex of Shimeri Suna Estate. Naruto didn't want to part ways with Hinata so soon after meeting her again, but he stopped at the last step, sat down, and let Hinata make her way to the ladies' changing room on her own. When Hinata came back out, she was holding her carton of ointment, but Naruto also noticed that Hinata undid her ponytail, letting her hair fall to her waist like it usually did. She sat down next to Naruto and handed him the ointment.

"Here you are, Naruto-kun." Hinata happily greeted him. Naruto shook off his confusion regarding Hinata's hair and opened the ointment container immediately, scooped some ointment up with his left index and middle fingers, and rubbed the ointment all over the bruise on Hinata's right shoulder. After a few seconds of the ointment sinking in, Naruto could still see the injury:

"Did the ointment not work?! The bruise is still there! When I used this ointment after fighting Kiba, my wounds disappeared!"

Hinata turned her head in Naruto's direction and smiled. "It is working. I feel a lot better now. I think the only reason it worked like that for you is because you heal fast to begin with… because of the Nine-Tai-"

Suddenly, Naruto grabbed Hinata's right hand with his own right hand and looked her in the eyes. "He has a name. The Nine-Tails… His name is Kurama! And you should call him that! You're close enough to the both of us that you should use it."

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Hinata frowned, still looking into Naruto's eyes, but intent on seeing someone else. "If you can hear me Mr. Kurama, I'm sorry I didn't know your name until now…"

"Hinata…" Naruto focused on Hinata's hair. "Why'd you change your hair?"

"It seemed like you were having trouble expressing yourself around me, so I changed my look to something you would be more comfortable with…"

"Huh… You're very thoughtful, Hinata!"

Naruto smiled at her and Hinata blushed. However, Naruto's demeanour became serious the next moment:

"… but I don't think it was necessary; I'd have gotten used to your appearance anyway."

Hinata broke eye-contact and looked down, putting her hands on her lap. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, her tone slightly darkening as well.

"When I first saw you in a swimsuit today… I had this feeling in my heart… I thought that it was just my hormones acting up, because you had this smoking hot body that I never saw before…"

Hinata's arms twitched. "But that's not what you felt, is it? …"

"No. Not on its own…"

At that moment, Naruto swiftly grabbed both of Hinata's hands with both of his and raised them up to his heart, looking into Hinata's eyes again.

"What I felt was something deeper than that. Actually, looking back, I had this same feeling about you three times before…"

"Three times?" Hinata gasped. "You don't mean…"

"I do." Naruto nodded. "The three times you saved me; before the Chunin Exam finals, when Nagato had me defeated, and… after Neji died. Every single time, for a few seconds I couldn't do anything but stare helplessly at you… It's as if, for those few seconds, you became the centre of the whole universe…"

"I'm not that important…"

"But you are that important, to me anyway!"

Hinata was stunned silent.

"Just look at how I reacted those times! When you helped me get my confidence back before my match with Neji, I invited you to watch me beat him. I wanted you to see for yourself how awesome your words made me feel!"

Hinata looked away, contemplating Naruto's words.

"And next, when I saw Nagato stab you," Naruto continued, "Kurama went berserk and almost took me over completely! The thought of losing you… it made me the angriest I ever felt in my whole life! And finally… when you helped me deal with Neji's death, I decided to thank you by holding your hand in front of Obito, Madara, and the Shinobi Alliance… I wanted to show the whole world that you and I were connected, that no despair could ever tear us apart! When you put all that together, it paints a pretty strong picture, doesn't it?"

Naruto's voice softened as he moved his and Hinata's joined hands down to finish.

"I suppose it does…" Hinata spoke up and met Naruto's eyes once more. "But how does all that relate… to today?"

"It relates because all four times I was paralysed by you… they all came down to one thing… you showed me a feeling that I didn't understand, and my mind was having difficulty comprehending it… That feeling of wanting to be at someone's side, believing in and watching and protecting someone all at once, as Sasuke put it... And how I reacted… I think it's because without knowing it, I felt the same way you did…"

Hinata's face turned red. "You felt… the same way I did?"

Naruto moved his face just a little closer to Hinata's. "Yes… You wanted to be with me in the past, when I thought I was all alone… I can't go back in time, so at least let me make up for it by being with you in the future… I want to protect you, and be protected by you, for the rest of our lives… I love you, Hinata!"

The moment Naruto finished, Hinata started smiling and crying at the same time:

"I wasn't sure… you'd ever say that to me…"

Naruto then removed his grip on Hinata's hands to hold her face, wiping away her tears:

"There's something else I need to atone for, Hinata… I never gave you a birthday present…"

"I think you've already made up for it…"

"No. Not yet… There's still something I need to give you. Close your eyes."

"Okay…" Hinata nodded and closed her eyes, awaiting Naruto's gift. She assumed Naruto would let go of her and walk up to the men's changing room, but Naruto's hands did not leave Hinata's cheeks. Instead, Hinata felt Naruto's lips touching her own. It was then that Hinata understood Naruto's gift; he just gave her the first kiss he ever intended to have. She remembered seeing Naruto kiss Sasuke on graduation day at the Academy, but that one was clearly an accident on both sides. This kiss was definitely different; Hinata could feel Naruto's lips were filled with purpose and love, showing his dedication to and desire to be with her through his actions. His lips remained connected to hers for a few seconds, and during that time Hinata relaxed every muscle in her body in response to the contact. When Naruto finally stopped kissing her and let go of her head, Hinata slowly opened her eyes on instinct.

"Happy belated birthday, Hinata," Naruto smiled at her. "What did you think of my present?"

Hinata hugged Naruto, overflowing with happiness. "I think it's the best birthday present I've ever received." She then stood up to face the beach, letting Naruto go on her way up. "Let's head back to the party… Naruto."

"Naruto? Not Naruto-kun?"

Hinata leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder as they walked down the stairs. "You told me yourself that I'm close enough to call Mr. Kurama by his real name… I should be also close enough to call you by your name without any formalities…"

Naruto put his left arm around Hinata's waist, pulling her in closer as they walked. "It'll take some time to get used to it"

"We have all the time in the world though… Don't we, Naruto?" Hinata rebutted with the utmost confidence. "I believe the wording you used was… the rest of our lives."

"When you put it that way, Hinata… then there's no arguing with you!"

After a second or so, Naruto started giggling.

"What's so funny, Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"It's something Mom said. The day I was born, she told me to avoid the weird girls… and yet my ideal woman is someone I once thought was a weird girl!"

Hinata couldn't help but start laughing along with Naruto.

[X-X-X]

At the shoreline, Karin and Suigetsu were walking together like Sasuke ordered them to. They enjoyed it for the most part, but were annoyed by the odd looks some civilians gave them. They started out blaming each other for who was the cause of the unwanted attention, but that eventually stopped since their quarrelling only made things worse. But this lasted for only a few minutes, to be halted when Karin sensed a terribly intense chakra and she looked outward:

"This chakra… it's coming from the sea!"

The next moment, Karin and Suigetsu saw a man wearing green with burnt red skin running in midair straight for Tenten and the weights, going so fast they left a trail of fire in the sky behind them. But what looked like a flying man to Karin and Suigetsu looked like a small meteor to the civilians, between the fire and the source of it forming a crater in the sand upon impact, its force great enough to topple over the sand castle Sasuke, Kurotsuchi, Kankuro and Temari were making, along with the towels that composed the meeting spot, burying Tenten in sand and towels. The only things that did not budge were Lee's weights and Lee's towel underneath them. It was enough to issue an evacuation order on the populace, but Karin and Suigetsu rushed to the centre of the crater to check on it and its surroundings instead.

"Isn't that… Lee?!" Karin screamed, seeing a bushy-brows young man wearing the Might Suit reeling in pain with steam coming off him. She ran up to him and pulled up her right sleeve.

When Lee didn't respond to Karin's calls to wake up and bite her, Suigetsu rushed to their aid and grabbed Lee's head, enduring the heat emanating from his body. "Come on, Lee! A former Green Beast defeated all Seven Swordsmen of the Mist! You're stronger than this!" he shouted as he opened Lee's mouth and closed it on Karin's arm.

"OWW! IT'S SO HOOOTT!" Karin writhed in agony, her skin burning with a fever matching Lee's temperature. It only lasted for a few seconds however, for soon Lee's body heat returned to normal levels, and he regained consciousness only another second later.

"Umm… Thank you for saving me!" Lee said while he sat up.

"It's not over yet!" Karin warned. "Suigetsu, wash away the sand covering everyone!"

"I don't take orders from you!" Suigetsu bickered as he nonetheless did as he was told and turned himself into a wave of water and soaked everyone else, starting with Tenten and continuing with the other four, saving them all from premature burials. Sasuke was forced to remove his sunglasses as he recovered first and headed over to Lee now that the shades were drenched.

"So what brings you back in such a… dramatic fashion, Lee?" Sasuke asked.

"It was very strange, Sasuke-kun! After Naruto-kun forfeited the contest, I kept going as far as I could! I noticed a small island in the distance and told myself, 'if I cannot reach that island, then I must swim back to shore rather than walk using chakra'. I managed to reach that island, but when I did I saw a man on it… a very strange man!"

"What was so strange about this man?"

"The man… he had cracks on his face!"

Lee's revelation shocked all the members of Taka.

"Just like the ones revived with the Impure World Resurrection technique!" Lee continued. "I was so shocked and scared that I opened all six gates that I could, smashed him with a Mad Dance of Infinity, and air-jumped my way back here!"

"Impure World Resurrection technique?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Karin and Suigetsu looked at him, eyes wide. "Taka, group huddle!"

Karin and Suigetsu got into a close hug with Sasuke, their heads lowered to prevent anyone else from overhearing.

"So do both of you think Lee happened to encounter Father of the Impure World?" Sasuke whispered to his teammates. They nodded in unison.

"What do we do?" Karin asked quietly.

"We meet him as soon as possible, of course." Suigetsu suggested.

"I concur." Sasuke said. "When they regenerate from Lee's attack, we'll ask him about Orochimaru to confirm if they're our target or not."

Sasuke suddenly raised his voice:

"Huddle over!"

Karin and Suigetsu broke away from their commander just in time for the others to recover, standing up along with them. Sasuke turned his head in Kurotsuchi's direction:

"We are very sorry, Kurotsuchi, but we caught a break in our mission and we must leave the party early."

"WHAT?!" Kurotsuchi screeched in bewilderment as Sasuke, Karin, and Suigetsu picked up their towels. Before they could walk to the changing rooms, however…

"Hold on!" Lee protested. "If you leave now, then Naruto-kun cannot be punished for losing our challenge!"

Everyone present was flabbergasted.

"What did… you two agree on?" Tenten voiced everyone's curiosity.

"Why, the loser must do 100 push-ups with Sasuke-kun on top of him while in the presence of all the ladies! Has Naruto-kun not done it yet?"

The beach went dead silent for a few seconds, the silence only being broken by a newly-committed couple walking down to them from the changing rooms.

"Hey, everybody! Hinata and I are soul mates! She's even dropped using honorifics with me! Isn't that incredible?!" Naruto excitedly declared.

All the eyes in the area shifted slowly on to him.

"What's with all the staring? I know Hinata's so pretty she's bound to succeed Granny Tsunade as the World's Most Beautiful Kunoichi some day, but this is getting ridiculous…"

"I appreciate the compliment, Naruto, but I'm fairly certain they're looking at you, not me…" Hinata said.

While Naruto remained confused, Sasuke blinked once with his Rinnegan, and in the next instant Hinata was next to Karin and Suigetsu, while Sasuke was being held in Naruto's arms.

"Uhh… Why did you just swap places with Hinata like that, Sasuke? …" Naruto's voice grew quiet with the atmosphere.

Without a word Sasuke swiftly and viciously raised his right knee into Naruto's groin. Naruto dropped face-first into the sand beneath him, and when he was lying completely on it Sasuke jumped into the air as high as he could, crossed his legs in mid-air, and landed butt-first squarely on Naruto's back.

Naruto could barely find the strength to utter words. "What's the… meaning of this? … Sasuke…"

"It's punishment time, loser." Sasuke said as he shoved Naruto's head into the sand with his only hand.

With no options for escape available, Naruto submitted to his loss and started doing push-ups. As Naruto proceeded, one single thought kept rising to the surface:

This is the most embarrassing moment of my life!

The only solace Naruto had was that he could hear a single dissident voice drowning out the laughter and scorn of the crowd, cheering him on… a voice he was longing to hear his whole life up to this point, and one he'll hear for many days to come. A voice full of love that ignited his soul with hope just hearing it… the voice of Hinata.