Shadow and Wind: New legends

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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine. There's not a lot left, now is there? -_-'
This chapter has been Beta'ed by Zanros. Thanks a lot!

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36. The Fifth: Exposure

Team Seven went through some changes; let's hope it's for the best.

Shikamaru was lying in his bed, doing the second thing he did best: thinking. The past few days were not so troublesome compared to the events around their return to Konoha; there was the pursuit, the painful dialogue with Yugao, Naruto laying down the cold hard truth… Now, the matter had shifted to the villagers' hostility to the Nine Tails' Container. He had spent some time with Choji on the problem and so far the only thing they could do affected the merchants; a small part of the population. Still since that was the only target they could hope to hit, they had made plans to do so, and with Ino on board things could get… interesting.

He was still trying to find ways to turn around Konoha's irrational hatred of Naruto when he heard a knock. Moments later the door opened, and a man with an identical hairstyle to his own appeared through the opening.

"Hey Shikamaru," the man said jovially. Shikamaru returned the greeting apprehensively. Shikaku Nara rarely went to his son's room. It never was for a good reason. "It's been a while since we played shogi together," mused the man aloud.

Shikamaru sighed in frustration. "I'm not playing against you," declared the Chunin.

Playing his father was one of the most aggravating experiences he could think of. It wasn't that he always lost to the current head of the Nara clan; no losing was a given, not anyone could go head to head with the Jonin leader and master strategist of Konoha. The problem lied in the fact that Shikaku gloated over every win, taunting and mocking his son from the first move to his inevitable checkmate. Sometimes he would even go so far as to handicap himself or pretend to be in trouble just to get a rise out of him.

In other words, his father was a bastard.

"Now, don't be like that, son; I'm sure you'll beat me this time," the man said, almost succeeding in keeping a straight face – almost.

Shikamaru snorted; if he had to spend the evening do something, might as well be something fun like thinking, or sleeping, or hanging with Naruto. Speaking of which… The younger Nara slapped his forehead. "Fine," he sighed, "One game." His father beamed. "But while we're at it," continued the boy, "Do you have any pictures of the Fourth I could look at?"

Shikaku's expression became guarded all of a sudden. Shikamaru concluded his theory was right; seems a bit of research on the honorable Fourth would explain Danzo's mysterious epithet for Naruto. "It's just that I found it odd that I haven't even seen one photograph of him – at all; you'd think that a hero like Minato Namikaze would have his pictures everywhere."

The Nara head scrutinized his son a bit before smirking. "Took you long enough to realize that," he said. He hummed for a few moments. "Well I don't see why not," he finally answered, "You'd probably figure it out eventually, and it's not like his picture is banned or anything. I'll be back in a sec."

When his father came back with the photograph, Shikamaru nearly fell out of his bed. Blond hair, blue eyes, and that serene smile… He was looking at Naruto – or at least what Naruto would look like in ten years. How could I have not seen this before? The resemblance was downright unreal – 'Fourth's legacy' indeed, and in more ways than one. "I'm an idiot," concluded the Chunin.

"Damn," his father snapped his fingers disappointedly. "I should have recorded you saying that!"

Shikamaru ignored the jibe and focused on the meaning of such a revelation instead. He could understand the political reasons behind the decision to hide Naruto's heritage. On the other hand, he couldn't grasp why his friend grew up the way he did. He'd be expecting people fighting to get custody of Namikaze's child, or at least get in his good graces. Why was Naruto living in such a shabby apartment? His father must have left him something. He found the answer he was looking for, but didn't expect for it to produce even more questions.

Shikaku Nara shook Shikamaru out of his morose musings, "Hey, you've seen the picture; how about we play now?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

Shikamaru snorted. "Sure, whatever," said, the Chunin as he got out of bed. "Man, I almost wish I hadn't asked for that picture – how troublesome."

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A few days went by since Team Seven's reboot. So far, time had been spent between training and one C-Rank mission. From what Naruto gathered of his interactions with his teammates up to the rescue mission they were just coming back from, only Sakura had apparently changed – Sasuke and Kakashi remained more or less the same.

Apparently, Sakura also made a hell of a difference when it came to the Team Seven dynamics.

Sakura was more competent than before – that is to say, she actually was competent now. What little she studied in genjutsu was useful – to the point Naruto wondered why he had never thought of studying this branch of ninja arts; whether to slow down or stop an opponent, to distract, or for plain old fun, the Kunoichi's illusions became a necessity in the team's way of working.

But that wasn't the biggest change in the blonde's opinion. The real surprise was seeing his teammate focus on the mission instead of Sasuke. Sure, He could see by the way she blushed that she was still obsessed with the Uchiha. But she had now an 'off switch' for her inner fan girl. In other words, she had become more dependable. Naruto couldn't have asked for more – as far as the missions were concerned.

He couldn't comment on the training portion, for the simple reason that he wasn't there. After that eventful meeting with… pretty much Sakura now that he thought about it, he sought out Asuma for some pointers on wind chakra manipulation and advice in order to complete or improve his new jutsu. Since Ino and Shikamaru were busy studying some clan techniques, he accepted. In fact, Sakura had asked for the same thing, only to further her genjutsu repertoire under Kurenai, which left Sasuke to hone his skills one on one with Kakashi: the ultimate win-win situation.

Not to say all those good things came without side effects. Sakura remained true to her words – overbearingly so. To the kunoichi, 'restart' simply meant forgive and forget. Problem was Naruto hadn't forgotten anything. Heck, Sakura's eagerness had him wondering if he wasn't holding a grudge after all. The change in his teammates should have been his dream come true… instead he kept longing for the time where his pink haired teammate ignored him all together.

Another thing that came with Sakura being more interested in him was that she finally started noticing things… like the cold stares or the prejudice Naruto faced every day. Naruto couldn't help comparing her reactions with that of his best friends. Shikamaru and Choji's anger had been turned at both him and the villagers – the people of Konoha for obvious reasons, and Naruto for not doing anything, or at least not telling them. Since then they had started sending glares of their own. The boys also became adamant about correcting every wrong done to Naruto since he came back from the Wheat village. As for Sakura…

Naruto turned to his teammate. "Uh, Sakura…? Could you stop looking at me like I'm going to die? It's a little unnerving."

The girl looked guilt stricken and quickly averted her gaze. "Sorry about that Naruto."

The boy shrugged, but it really irked him. The pity looks Sakura now gave him did not help him. Naruto didn't need pity. If training or advice – or anything else really – were offered he'd gladly take it. If his teammate truly disliked his current situation she would at least bring it up; she hadn't even done that.

"By the way, you've become loads stronger since the last time we saw each other!" Naruto mused out loud, hoping to alter the present mood.

Sakura beamed. From the looks of things she was waiting for someone to comment on her progress. "Thanks. I can't drag you guys down forever," she claimed confidently.

Remembering the first experience he had with her new skills, Naruto asked, "So what was that genjutsu you used on me last time?"

Her smile broadened. "Well, that was the first genjutsu Kurenai taught me – it's called Dream Walk Technique." She paused, trying to cut out the technicalities out of her explanation. "Basically I tricked you into thinking you were still walking. What really happened was you stopped walking the moment I used the jutsu on you."

Naruto grinned. "Cool!"

He was glad that Sakura had powered up. He had always known the kunoichi with the best grades and the best control out of all the Rookie Nine could amount to something if she put her heart into it. Seeing the arguably weakest member of Team Seven getting stronger, Naruto's eyes fell on the Uchiha. "Hey! What about you, Bastard? Got stronger?"

Sasuke snorted but let out a smug grin, letting Naruto that yes, the genius of the group had indeed powered up – considerably so, judging by his superior air.

Naruto's grin turned into a smile. "Good, wouldn't want you to trail behind me, Bastard."

"Not even in your dreams, Dobe," retorted Sasuke in good humor.

Things were inching towards a semblance of normalcy within Team Seven, which was probably why Sakura decided to boldly try to shorten the gap between Naruto and her. "You know Naruto, you never did finish your story," she mused. Naruto mentally snorted. Actually he did – she never paid attention – but he let it slide. Sakura continued, "I'm curious about what happened next. How about you we hear the rest about a nice, warm meal."

Naruto turned to face his teammate to make sure he had heard correctly and almost winced when he saw the hopeful look she was giving him, but settled for a blank stare. He really hated those situations. On one hand, he wasn't at all eager to rekindle a relationship with Sakura, because of the way she had treated him before had left wary. Still, her emerald puppy dog eyes were a genjutsu on their own – probably because he still had a crush on her. Besides, he really felt uncomfortable around Sakura once he declined her invitations. She looked so sad and hurt, he felt like the bad guy – talk about infuriating. And anyway what did she mean by a warm—

Naruto hammered his hand in realization. "Oh, you mean ramen? Sure! I'm starving anyway," said the blond as his stomach roared with approval.

Sakura didn't quite know how to react at that. "You know Naruto, there are other places we could eat at," she proposed placidly, "We could always go to that exotic place near Ino's…" Naruto's blank stare indicated that he had no idea what she was talking about. "…Or the restaurant near here… or even that dango near Ichiraku's…" Still Naruto looked lost – that coupled with nervousness were enough to make Sakura snap.

"Damn it, Naruto!" She yelled before pounding Naruto to the ground – and missing the blond by a hair. All of the members of team seven froze. Sakura fully realized what she had done when she laid eyes on her fist still hanging, ready to testify against her old habits. The pink haired girl took a step back, unable to face her teammate. "Naruto," she almost whispered, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean that."

Naruto waved it off. "S'OK," he assured her, "I didn't expect you to change everything in only two days, you know. Just, don't do it again." He was serious about that last part. He had never seen Shikamaru angry with someone before; now was not the time to see if he'd come through with his… definitive threat.

Sakura nodded and tried again. "What I meant was… is there's no other place you'd rather eat at?"

Naruto pondered on that. "Well, there's Choji's but I don't think it'd be nice to drop unannounced, besides there's only instant ramen back at my apartment."

Sakura gave him a strange look. "Whatever, let's just go for ramen then." Naruto shrugged and Team Seven headed for Ichiraku's. As they sat down and ordered Sakura pointed another food stand about ten meters away. "See Naruto the dango stand isn't far from Ichiraku's. And I'm sure you'd like the food there."

Naruto felt uncomfortable. He'd really rather eat his ramen in peace than take on all those cold stares he'd get anywhere else – if they even let him eat in the first place. "Maybe…" he let out noncommittally.

He heard a sigh and turned towards Ayame. The ramen stand girl gave him a sympathetic smile. "You should tell her Naruto."

Naruto actually glared at Teuchi's daughter. She mouthed an apology, but the deed was done. With Ayame making it more mysterious than the matter really was, Sakura had grown curious, and so did Sasuke. Kakashi gave Naruto a telling look – apparently the Jonin thought he should have been informed of the situation. It's not like Naruto had kept anything secret really, it just that the subject never really came up; he had no qualms living off ramen after all.

Oh well …might as well tell them. "Sakura, I can't eat there." Naruto started.

The kunoichi's eyes narrowed. "Why? Were you banned? Was this because of a prank you pulled?" her tone changed when she noticed how accusatory she sounded. "We could talk to them – I'm sure this just a big misunderstanding."

Naruto sighed. "It's not that simple, Sakura. I didn't do anything."

Sakura tried to understand what she just heard. "Naruto..." And there was that annoying pity look again… she was probably starting to put the pieces together now. "…That's only for the dango stand, right?"

"Let's just say there's more than one reason I go to Ichiraku's," Naruto said evenly.

"Ever since the announcement…?"

The blond shook his head. "Actually, pretty much all of the adults knew since the day it happened."

And that was all it took for Sakura to start tearing up. "Naruto…"

Naruto looked away before he said something he'd regret. "It's fine Sakura. You can't force people to change," he said knowingly. "Let's just eat the food OK? I have to go ask Asuma something after this."

And so they did for a while. Sasuke chose this time to update Naruto on his training, which consisted of accompanying Kakashi on B-ranked missions to gain experience. He then asked about the Jinchuriki's latest trip with Shikamaru. Naruto welcomed the change of subject, and decided to finish his accounting of what he dubbed 'The Kohaku Mission'. As he finished the politically correct version of his story, Naruto noticed Sakura had a faraway look in her eyes. "…Something on your mind, Sakura?"

Sakura seemed a bit reluctant to share her thoughts, but after a bit of prodding she asked, "Naruto? How come you're so close to Shikamaru?"

Naruto blinked. He hadn't expected this question. "Oh well let's see… Shikamaru and I were always comrades of sorts – we were part of the infamous 'drop out four'." Sakura rolled her eyes while Naruto went on "So yeah we knew each other, but we weren't that friendly, you know? Well at least until You-know-what happened." He took a breath. "No offense, but what you guys did…" Naruto shook his head, still not knowing how to finish that sentence. It had hurt – a lot. Even more so after everything they had been through. The way they had been so openly hostile to Naruto was more effective than the combined cold hatred of the entire hidden village.

"So for a moment I thought maybe Konoha just wasn't my home, you know? But Shikamaru went after me and he helped me – and we weren't even that close." Naruto knew looking back that he had been more than unreasonable, but Shikamaru had still done his best to help and support him. More importantly, he put his own neck on the line in spite of the Kyuubi. Seeing how his so-called friends had reacted… how could he not consider him one of his important people?

"He's a good friend," Naruto summarized, "the kind that sticks to you no matter what happens. I needed that. That's pretty much it."

The stand was silent for a moment, sporadically broken by the sound of Naruto slurping his noodles. He looked around and was surprised when everyone was looking at him sadly – even Ayame and Teuchi. And that's another thing for Shikamaru, realized the Jinchuriki, he doesn't pity me. Naruto really didn't need people to remind him his life sucked. He could understand for the Ichiraku staff, but that even Kakashi was looking at him like that… Fortunately Sasuke had the decency to look unaffected.

Naruto was surprisingly full after his first bowl. He got up, ready to leave. As he headed out, Sakura called out to him. "He's not your only friend, Naruto."

Naruto stopped, but didn't turn around. You're right, he admitted to himself, but you're not one of them, right now. "Choji, Hinata, Shino…" he thought about it for a second, "I guess Ino…– um, you're right; I do have some friends," he answered her.

He left without even bothering to look back.

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Naruto was in a bit of a foul mood when he left Ichiraku's so he was a bit underwhelmed when Jiraiya made his exuberant appearance near him. He passed an arm around his shoulders and said, "Hey kid, I was looking for you!"

"Pervert Sage," Naruto acknowledged curtly.

The man staggered before snapping, "Damn it Kid! Stop calling me that!"

The blond shrugged "What? It's true."

"That's not the point you idiotic brat!" whined Jiraiya. He shook his head. "Look, just stop ruining my mood. Anyway, pack your things – we're going on a trip"

That somewhat shook Naruto out of his mood. "Eh…? Why?"

Jiraiya puffed his chest. "I, the supreme master of the sage and toad arts, decided to impart some of my awesomeness upon you – so be grateful." Naruto gave him a clueless look, and the sage smacked his head before saying in exasperation, "I'm going to train you, damn it!

Naruto thought about the proposition for about two seconds before he said, "No thanks."

"W-what? You'd refuse one of the Sannin as mentor?" spluttered said Sannin.

Naruto gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. "You suck at teaching, you old pervert!" the blond snapped angrily, "You don't teach any cool jutsu for a while and then you make me sing a contract with some Yakuza toads – and I'm not sure who's doing who's bidding here. Oh, and let's not forget, you threw me over a freaking cliff!"

The sage scratched his chin. "Well… the toads are strong… and well… you learned to draw out the Nine Tails chakra at will, didn't you?"

Yeah, that foul thing that almost killed Shikamaru. Naruto let out an irritated growl. "Forget it," he told Jiraiya, stomping away.

Seeing Naruto was refusing his proposal, Jiraiya revealed his trump card. "Oh well, I was going to teach a jutsu stronger than the Chidori… I guess I should teach it to Sasuke then."

"I already have one," murmured the blond.

The Toad Sage mentally started a countdown. Three, two, one… he then realized what Naruto said and seemingly warped in front of the boy. "You do?" he asked, startled, "Show me!" Naruto sighed, but complied, always ready show off a bit. Still, for the sake of not blowing himself up, he toned the jutsu down. Jiraiya looked a bit surprised Naruto had come up with such a jutsu on his own. He recovered quickly though.

"It's not even that strong," He argued.

"Wind beats Lightning. Besides, this is the toned down version." Naruto explained.

"Well my technique is loads better that!" The sage said petulantly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sure whatever. Let's say I come with you, who else is coming?"

Jiraiya looked perplexed. "No one; it's a one-on-one training."

"You really think I'm going to go with and old pervert who nearly tried to kill me? You'd probably want me to train while under the Sexy Jutsu." Jiraiya's drool was all Naruto needed to leave – he had better things to do.

The sannin tried to hold him back, but Naruto simply lost himself in the crowd. The blond knew he shouldn't have refused, that training with someone on equal footing with Orochimaru was a once in a lifetime opportunity. However he didn't agree with Jiraiya's idea of taming the Kyuubi. The concept of making use of the source of the village's pain and hatred repulsed him. Besides, he was getting stronger by the day training here.

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After meeting with Asuma, Naruto felt loads better. He had gotten a breakthrough with the Corkscrew Hurricane and couldn't wait to test it out. This called for a celebration at Ichiraku's – hopefully without further annoyance. He came in view of the stand and a familiar face there.

"Oi, Hinata! How's it going?" yelled the blond, "I've never seen you eat on your own here before!" He was totally oblivious to either Hinata's flushing cheeks or Ayame's hidden giggles.

"H-hello Naruto," she answered shyly. She looked at the blond again. "Nice clothes."

Naruto beamed. "So what's up?" he asked. His eyes lit up as he remembered their last conversation. "Oh! Is… that finished?" he whispered loudly "Can I see it?"

Hinata blinked. She grinned once she understood what that was. "Yes, Naruto, that is finished. In fact I have a lot more things to show you next time we spar."

"That's great," he said honestly. He made some small talk with the Hyuuga heiress while he ordered a bowl, but they ate in silence – an exploit for someone like Naruto. The two girls found it worrying.

Finally Hinata asked, "…Is something wrong Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from his third bowl of ramen. "Nah… just getting used to my team again."

Hinata had become curious. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, pretty much everyone changed – especially Sakura." Had Naruto noticed the slight frown on Hinata's face, he might have been perceptive enough to change the flow of the conversation, but instead, he kept on ranting about everything the pink haired kunoichi put him through the last few days. To Naruto it felt like a weight of his shoulders – he hadn't seen Shikamaru since they had bought his new sword and Choji had been busy with his own training as well, so he had no one to share his frustrations with.

He was about to tell his sparring partner about Sakura's pitying looks when Hinata cut him off. "How about a spar, Naruto?"

The blond was startled by the sudden proposal but took it at face value. "Right now?" he asked. After receiving a nod he stood up straight away. "Great idea! I'll get to see those new moves of yours."

"Naruto!" The blond looked back to see a worried Ayame. "Um… I don't think—" she suddenly froze and turned deathly pale. Naruto turned around and saw no one but Hinata, still her usual weird but friendly self. He shrugged; the Ichiraku employee must have remembered something awful. "Ah, never mind," she told him hesitantly, "just be careful."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. He waved the young woman goodbye and followed Hinata to their usual sparring spot. He was looking forward to the spar… so what was with that feeling of foreboding in his gut?

"Something wrong Naruto?" Hinata asked sweetly.

"No, not at all," answered the blond.

For some reason, Naruto gulped.

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Shikamaru walked into an interesting scene. Looking for Kakashi to tell him about Itachi, he stumbled upon the Sharingan user patiently listening to the legendary Jiraiya. "I'm telling you Kakashi," complained the Sannin "that brat has no respect. He's nothing like him."

Shikamaru's mood darkened. Here were the pupil and the teacher of Naruto's dad – you'd think with powerful people like that Naruto would have had a better childhood, or at least better ninja training. Whatever – this wasn't the reason he had come in the first place. At least he knew they'd have Naruto's well being in mind and would be able to protect him from those two S-class monsters.

"Kakashi," the Chunin let out, announcing his presence.

The Jonin's eye betrayed his smile. "Hello Shikamaru, how have you been?"

The young Nara rubbed his shoulder. "'Been better. Congratulations on keeping your team in one piece."

"I know right? I'm so proud; I've taught them so well."

Shikamaru snorted at that comment, knowing full well that the lazy Jonin had probably done nothing to help his pupils sort out their differences… not that he would have done things any differently. There was a more critical problem though, someone else had grunted in disapproval: Sasuke was here as well. That made matters… delicate to say the least.

The Chunin yawned. "…Right. Something happened during the mission that you might want to be aware of." This got the attention of everyone in the vicinity. "We were attacked during our return here. I was able somehow to listen to the conversation of our pursuers and from what I've gathered they're a group looking for what they called, 'the Fourth's Legacy'."

Sasuke came out of hiding when he saw the ashen looks of Jiraiya and Kakashi, but since he came from Shikamaru's back, he missed the glare he had sent them at the same time. "What's that?" he demanded.

"No idea," replied Shikamaru, "My guess it's some kind of weapon. It's in Konoha, cause apparently they were here recently looking for it. And it seems Konoha isn't the only hidden village with that kind of weapon."

The information he had told them confirmed to the adults that the Chunin knew exactly what – or rather who the Fourth's Legacy was, and so the glare he had sent them took on a whole new meaning. The Copy Ninja winced, but Jiraiya had made more connections and now looked worried.

"Akatsuki," the older man confirmed.

Kakashi became serious all of a sudden. "You think it's them?"

Jiraiya turned to Shikamaru. "Were they wearing a black cloak with red clouds?" the boy nodded "That's them; and now we got a pretty good idea of what they're looking for."

Kakashi nodded. "Anything else?" he asked Shikamaru.

And now's the tricky part, he thought. "I know one of them is called Kisame." Both men looked grim. "The other one… You should meet with that crazy ANBU, Kakashi."

Shikamaru profited of Sasuke's focus on Kakashi and Jiraiya to send two signals to the Jonin. First he looked pointedly in Sasuke's direction, then, he focused his gaze on Hatake's hidden eye. He even rubbed his left eye for extra emphasis. Whether Kakashi understood was up for grabs, still he subtly nodded. Well if he still didn't get it, the ANBU woman would tell him.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of Mist is bad news enough. Thanks for the heads up."

"And why would you tell him that in the first place?" inquired Sasuke.

Shikamaru already had his answer planned. "Ask him," he said, bobbing his head towards the Jonin. "For some reason he wants me to report about Naruto's mission to him."

The older Sharingan user shrugged. "Well, he is still under my jurisdiction, isn't he?"

Jiraiya, who up until now had remained in deep thought, raise his head. "Well that settles it," decided the Sannin. "I'm taking Naruto with me whether he wants it or not. Besides I have a boring mission and I don't want to do it alone."

As expected, Sasuke was quick to voice his disapproval. "He's going to take Naruto as an apprentice? What about me?"

Jiraiya waved him off. "You wouldn't be fun; there's no challenge in teaching a genius" That said, the Toad Sage used a Body Flicker and left the place.

Kakashi tried to placate his charge by patting his shoulder. "Don't worry Sasuke," he told him, "you still have me after all."

Shikamaru left, thinking he didn't know who would end up learning the least between the two boys. As for him, he was scheduled to train with his father.

Actual training with his old man… he still wasn't used to the concept.

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Sakura wasn't the only one who had changed during Naruto's absence; Hinata's new style had changed a few things within the Hyuuga heiress – the first one being her confidence. Creating and improving her own style had seriously boosted Hinata's belief in her own abilities. She was starting to understand better how could Naruto feel so fulfilled sometimes; when you worked yourself to the ground, and then really see the fruits of your hard work… it was a sensation she was yet able to describe.

When her father discovered her new project, things got even better. The praise she received when he acknowledged her new way of using the Gentle Style erased all the hurtful words Hiashi had been forced to say to keep up appearances. In fact, because of her new air of self-reliance, the head of the Hyuuga was now able to openly praise his daughter, and even if they weren't ready to show her forms to the rest of the Hyuuga, their behavior clearly showed to the rest of the clan that the so-called shame of the Hyuuga had something substantial up her sleeve.

Hinata could have fared better without the constant spars with Neji though. Her cousin had discovered that he rather liked pushing her buttons, to a point Hinata was forced to be on the offensive sometimes. She couldn't deny training with a strong peer was better in the long run, but Neji was making fun of her stal—interest of Naruto. The only thing that made the annoying jerk relent was if she beat him in a spar… that only happened twice so far. Needless to say this only turned into motivation to get much stronger.

Still to Hinata, the final test to see if she had changed, if she was closer to her goal, was to actually face him, hence her eating at Ichiraku's. The results were better than expected; she only blushed when he complimented her and had barely stuttered at all. It was going great… until Naruto had mentioned Sakura.

At first Hinata had been patient about Naruto's complaints – he wasn't praising his teammate after all. But Sakura Haruno was all he was talking about. The Hyuuga kunoichi knew Naruto had something for Sakura. She wasn't sure how strong, but was certain it was there. And so to her, Sakura became more a serious issue; first taking away time she spent with Kurenai, now Naruto too?

It wasn't right, but the quasi monologue prompted Hinata to curse the blond in her mind until she decided that she'd simply have him spar with her and show her beloved how much she had improved. Maybe that would stop him from thinking about Haruno.

A spar proposal later and here they were, ready to face off.

To Naruto's credit, he quickly noticed her new stance. "So you came up with your own Gentle Fist after all?" he wondered, taking his usual fighting position. Hinata nodded once. "This is gonna be great!"

Naruto always the one to start things with a bang, moved at top speed and aimed for a punch to the jaw. Hinata waited calmly and when he was in the right range, deflected his right with her left, put her right foot in front of his leg and turned, resulting in Naruto's face hitting the ground.

The blond quickly pushed himself up and tried a jumping roundhouse. Hinata seemingly danced around the blow, aiming her counter leg sweep for just the moment when Naruto's foot made contact with the floor. The Jinchuriki fell flat on his back. From his position, Naruto flipped back and distanced himself. "Whoa! What was that?" exclaimed the blond, "First Sakura with her genjutsu and now this; everyone is getting so strong!"

This was arguably the worst praise the young boy could have made – Hinata had subconsciously decided to move from simply showing her new moves on her crush to unleashing them on the poor boy. Her moves were now faster, harsher, and all around more painful.

Naruto was completely outclassed by Hinata's new style. Though he had incorporated feints and what not into his taijutsu, it remained the same basic style he had learned at the academy, easily predictable and countered; which is exactly what Hinata's Gentle Fist relied on. Maybe that was the reason the Hyuuga overestimated Naruto's struggle, mistaking it for restraint. Maybe that was why she said words she thought would make him snap out of it.

"Is that all? Surely you can do better than that Naruto," she stated coldly.

Her own frustrations clouded her judgment, to the point she did not see the flash of hurt in Naruto's eyes when she made her comment, or his new frown getting more pronounced each time she toppled him, or the growls that steadily replaced his grunts. All she noticed was his speed increase and his moves getting harder to predict; Yes, he's finally getting serious, thought the poor kunoichi, I'm getting closer to being his equal.

Naruto jumped intending to connect with an overhead haymaker. Hinata directed his blow to the ground with as much force she could muster, hearing a sickening crack for her efforts. That finally got Hinata to snap out of her ire. "Naruto!" she shouted, worried for her friend. She gasped when she truly looked at him; he was bleeding from various places, and clutching his right shoulder, which was probably dislocated.

The kind and compassionate Hinata was fully back now. "Naruto, are you OK? You're hurt; please, let's stop this." For sole answer, the blond growled and replaced his shoulder with an equally unnerving sound.

Looking at him closely now, the Hyuuga shivered. His irises had turned orange, and his pupils into vertical slits – she wasn't only facing Naruto anymore. Hinata dropped her stance, hoping Naruto would snap out of it. "I'm sorry," she said, "this has gone too far; please stop." Her words had the opposite effect. Naruto lunged, his hands no longer balled into fists, but ready to rip and tear their victim apart.

Hinata had no choice; she reassumed her stance and defended against Naruto. This Naruto however, was getting harder and harder to manage. Whether because she didn't put all her heart into it or because of the fox's instincts, the Jinchuriki managed to remain standing after being deflected now. His retaliation was quicker as a result, forcing Hinata to retreat – so much that he managed to push her against a tree. Her degree of freedom was now severely restrained, not to mention she couldn't use that anymore.

Naruto was getting too close to Hinata – she had to strike back. The kunoichi activated her Bloodline Limit, intent on finishing this in one blow. Thinking the same, Naruto attacked with a swipe from his left hand aiming for her neck, Hinata used her own left to put Naruto of balance, but before he could recover she pummeled the chakra opening points around his stomach. The force of the multiple blows sent Naruto rolling a few meters. Hinata lowered her stance, hoping that was the end of it. The places she had aimed at prevented Naruto to produce more chakra – it was also painful; this nightmarish spar should be over.

That is, until her Byakugan saw something that made her sick.

The orange chakra taking shape of the Nine Tails around Naruto as the blond struggled to get up was terrifying. The killing intent was so strong Hinata had difficulty to breathe. The Jinchuriki got up, fully intent on continuing this hellish bout. Unfortunately, the Hyuuga heiress reaction time a decreased due to fear, so when Naruto seemingly teleported in front of her with an outstretched fist, all the kunoichi could do was raise her hands defensively, praying Naruto snapped out of it before it was too late.

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When Naruto came to, the first thing he noticed was his fist making a dent into a tree. He turned left and saw Hinata with her hands protecting her face. There was a trickle of blood dripping from her cheek, no doubt because of the pieces of bark that were still flying from the tree.

The next moment, Naruto had backed away several meters. Hands on his knees looking at nothing, he tried and failed to catch his breath – let alone calm think straight. He was somewhat aware losing control just then. If he had been only a split second late to react… he didn't even want to think about it. How did this happen? This was supposed to be simple spar with Hinata! It was supposed to be challenging, but lighthearted; fun, enjoyable relaxing… When did it all go to hell?

Naruto remembered that it had been all that at first. Hinata's new moves were strange yet very effective. He couldn't tell exactly how she did it, but it turned out to be a challenge and the blond loved challenges… at least until she had said those words. Suddenly this wasn't so fun anymore. Suddenly, he was reminded how he hadn't been strong enough to protect Shikamaru. Suddenly, he looked back to the way Choji had easily overpowered him, even with all his training. At that moment the fun turned to desperation, then to anger at his weakness.

Next thing he knew Naruto had nearly done the unthinkable to a friend. He was so shocked he lost tracked of his surroundings. That's why he jumped when he heard Hinata's voice right in front of him asking, "Naruto, are you alright?" He stepped back, unable to meet her worried gaze.

"I'm alright," he answered quickly. He gulped dreading the answer to his question, "Did I…"

"You never touched me Naruto," she assured him.

Naruto was torn; he was positively relieved he hadn't harmed his friend, but something in his gut nagged him when he realized that he wasn't to match to Hinata even with the Nine Tails chakra.

"You're hurt," she told him, still concerned about him. She made a step forward while he instinctively moved back.

"I'm fine," he said hastily, "I heal pretty fast."

Now that he knew for sure that Hinata was safe, Naruto had no desire to stay near her. He felt so guilty he still couldn't look at her – unaware that the worry etched all over her face was for him. Noticing that she was getting closer even as he back away, Naruto jumped back, getting ready to use Body Flicker get away from here, but Hinata was quicker. Guessing his next move, she moved faster and tackled him to the ground.

Naruto was so startled the looked straight at Hinata, who blushed furiously and looked away. After a moment she let go of the blond – though he thought she was a bit reluctant to do so – and sat up.

Looking at him with a somewhat serious expression, she said, "Naruto… I'm sorry," Naruto, mentally preparing for the worst, was caught completely off guard and couldn't help but gawk at his sparring partner. As surprised as he was, the current impression Naruto had was that of déjà vu. "I shouldn't have pushed you that far. It wasn't until you dislocated your shoulder that I—"

Naruto cut her off. "Wait, my shoulder was dislocated?" He shivered – those kind of injury he really hated – then shook his head; that wasn't the important part. "Are you kidding me Hinata? Aren't I the one would should be saying sorry for attacking you?"

"You weren't yourself—" she tried, but he didn't let her finish.

"And that makes it acceptable?" She flinched, which only fed Naruto's guilt. The boy fell on his back and sighed. "Look, what happened was a mistake – it never should've seen me like… that." He paused. "I'm sorry."

Neither of them said anything for a while. The Jinchuriki simply stared at the darkening sky, while the Hyuuga heiress was starring at the boy that had already done so much for him, angry that she couldn't do more. Finally Naruto sat up, a resolute in his face.

"Hinata, I'm sorry." The kunoichi tried to cut him off, but he went on, "I looked down on you." She froze. "I… it's not only you," he added quickly, "I thought that because I made a bit of progress in taijutsu I could hold my own against you – a taijutsu specialist." It was the same for Choji too; of course everyone would better than him at their best if he was holding back.

"That was stupid of me," Naruto admitted. "Looking back I haven't even a single jutsu during that spar; no wonder I got my ass kicked," he joked. He looked more serious and said; "There was no reason for me to get angry, since I wasn't giving my all in the first place."

Hinata held his gaze for a moment. "You weren't the only one who held back." Naruto's eyes grew wide, and then smiled tiredly, fully conceding his defeat. "I guess that makes us even," she told him, returning his smile. "So what now?" she asked him.

Naruto scratch his chin. "Well, you totally kicked my ass this time, so I want a rematch."

For a moment, Naruto thought he had acted rashly. Too soon, he admonished himself. But Hinata, secretly thrilled that Naruto still wanted to spar with her, answered teasingly, "No holding back this time?"

Naruto gave her a thumbs-up. "You know it!" Feeling they had filled their quota of emotions for the day, the teens got up and said their farewells, but before she left, he called after her.

"Hinata!" the girl turned around, curious. "I know things didn't go quite as planned, but thanks for today."

She smiled, nodded, and both were once again on their way, each of them unaware of how the other truly felt.

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Naruto hadn't lied to Hinata; he had learned two important lessons today; first was that Hinata had accepted him even after that disaster, making her part of his important people. The second thing was direr; he needed to do something about the Kyuubi. And there was only one person he knew he could talk about the matter openly.

"Naruto!"

The boy turned around to meet the man he was looking for. "Pervert Sage," he greeted seriously.

"You're coming with me and I'm not taking no for an answer," he announced.

"OK."

Jiraiya blinked once. "We're leaving in two days at dawn."

"Good."

And that was all that was said.

Naruto's ready to head out. How will he take care of the Kyuubi?

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A/N: New arc (I get it, I get it, -_-'). I decided to keep the name of the arc simple, so there you go. Hope you liked this chapter. I made Post-arc Mentions and, Um, I thought of moving the Jutsupedia to the end my profile; Yay or Nay?

SShun: Well, up next is the R&R (at the usual place), but since it's the start of a new arc, I'd like to make a few mentions.
Naru: Oh! Can I help with that?
Shika: How about we don't help?
SShun: …OK then, all you have to do his read these cue cards.
Naru: I can do that.
Shika: Well, if it's just reading…

Blazing Demon
SShun: The first reviewer of this fic. I hope you're still reading and enjoying every chapter.

The Laughing Phoenix
Naru: For agreeing to be Shun's Beta reader and doing a great job at it for a while.

TenchiSaWaDa
Shika: For the insightful reviews – gets Shun thinking a lot about the plot and whatnot.

Steinbock:
SShun: For reviewing every chapter in the arc! And the fun and thought he puts in every one of them. Honorable mention goes to DarkRavie,

KeiGinya
Shika: For Beta-reading most of this arc.

alteris:
Naru: For the funny reviews… But that's only Shun – I don't like you! *blows a raspberry*

anon:
Shun: Those critical and in depth reviews made me think a lot, thanks.

LoveLifeForever:
Shika: For Breaking the review limit. *whispers* and traumatizing Naruto

star's dreams: For simply reviewing every chapter or so. Thanks. Honorable mention to RamenKnight & XxAlysxX