Chapter Fifty-Two: Unsettling Offers

It was the week before the final round of the chuunin exams, and everyone involved was picking up the pace on being ready for it. Akane was being trained by Hanabi this week, Noburo was finally out of the hospital and recuperating from his surgery, and Ichi was being taught more taijutsu. Other genin were practicing for the finals or for when they finally got team missions again.

Naruto was busy doing work on a special project of his that didn't require office work so Hinata was given some free time today. She chose to spend it with her son, taking him to a park along with Kurenai and her own son. Sorata was on some playground with his two best friends, a boy named Yasu and a girl named Karame.

Hinata smirked watching them play while Jiraiya was in the sandbox along with a girl close to his age. "Whenever I see those three together, it's like I'm looking at Konohamaru's group all over again."

Kurenai nodded. "I get that a lot. Especially considering how much all three seem to admire Naruto's daughter. I know history repeats itself, but this is strange. If your son gets his own fanclub when he's older then something's going on."

Hinata shrugged. "Stranger things have happened." 'Like Akane's birth, that sure was strange.'

"Like you having a child in the chuunin exams before me." Kurenai mentioned. "I must say I didn't expect that to happen when we were younger."

"Me neither."

"How you handling not seeing your daughter for three weeks when she's still in Konoha?" Kurenai calmly asked.

Hinata closed her eyes. "It's hard. Every day I'm tempted to go see her, and the only thing keeping me from doing it is the knowledge that not doing it will help her in the long run. I just hope Hanabi can handle her this week."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I made sure my sister was assigned to watch over my daughter this week. Akane-chan's going thru something this week according to Tsunade-sama."

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked.

"Well, Akane-chan's like most young girls her age, but apparently there's one key difference between her and others." Hinata started, quickly adding 'Aside from the obvious' in her mind before continuing. "According to Tsunade-sama when she gave Akane a physcial some time ago, what normally happens once a month instead only happens for her once every three months. And this week is when it's supposed to hit."

Kurenai blinked several times. "Is she sure about this?"

Hinata nodded. "It's only happened twice since Akane-chan started puberty, and both times were at the start of each season. The winter solstice and the vernal equinox, and with this week having the summer solstice, it's likely going to happen again."

"This doesn't sound normal. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with your daughter's development?"

"Kurenai-sensei, I can see without pupils. I've seen bodies turn into water then back into flesh. I've seen a girl who can drink ammonia like it was lemonade. Is this really the weirdest thing the human body can do?"

Kurenai nodded in understanding. "In that context I suppose you're right. And speaking of that subject, lately I'm been thinking... I might be pregnant again."

"What?" Hinata asked, not expecting that in the least. Her former sensei hadn't been on any dates as far as she knew, and so far didn't seem to really want a man to take Asuma's place, even for Sorata's sake. And Kurenai didn't seem like the kind of girl to have one night stands.

The sound of crying made both women look to the playground, and there they saw the girl in the sandbox with some sand on her head and clothes crying and Jiraiya holding a bucket.

"Rai-chan!" Hinata said loudly, upset that her son had clearly just dumped sand on the girl next to him for no reason. She got up to go deal with him, and another woman was coming up to the sandbox was well. She was about Kurenai's age and had long blank hair too, but her bangs were off to the side rather than covering her forehead. Her eyes were orange and she was dressed in a grey tank top and black pants with her stomach exposed. On her forearms were bandages not unlike what Ino wore on her legs.

This woman grabbed the young girl, held her closely, and brushed off the sand. "It's okay Kaya, it's just sand, it can't hurt you."

Hinata held up Jiraiya and frowned. "Jiraiya Uzumaki what do you have to say for yourself?"

"What the heck is wrong with your kid?"

Hinata quickly turned to the orange-eyed woman with wide eyes of her own. "Excuse me?"

"Your boy just attacked my daughter for no reason. What kind of hooligan are you raising?" She added.

Now Hinata frowned. "Now look here, while I don't approve of what my son just did, he's just a kid and doesn't know everything he's doing. How dare you call my baby a hooligan when he's just doing what boys his age do?"

"He just dumped sand on my daughter's head for no reason. How is that not horrible behavior?"

"He's three years old! He doesn't know any better!" Hinata was starting to yell and her byakugan flared. Most people would tell you that if there was only one thing in the world that pissed off Hinata, it was someone attacking her children. Sasuke's trial was proof enough of that. "I don't know what you think a three year old's maturity level is, but it's not mini-adult! Where do you get off criticizing my son like what he does now is all he'll ever do?"

"Let's calm down you two, you're scaring the other kids." Kurenai said, interjecting between the arguing mothers. "Now, you're both upset and that's understandable, there's no need to make this personal. It was just kids being kids and no one got hurt. Why drag it out?"

Both Hinata and the other woman sighed then looked at each other. "Right, kids will be kids. I'm sorry for overreacting." The woman told Hinata.

"I'll make sure my son knows not to do something like this again." Hinata replied. The other woman nodded and turned around, then Hinata saw something that caught her eye. "Wait, stop."

"What now?"

"That mark, where did you get it?"

"My mark? Oh, you mean this?" She got one of her hands free to point to something on the small of her back, a tattoo that looked like a thick S. "That's my family's crest. What about it?"

"I've seen that mark before."

The woman's eyes widened. "How? My family was killed off except for myself and my grandfather who died a couple of years ago of old age. There's no way you could have seen this mark on another person."

"Come, there's someone I'd like you to meet. Can you tell me your name first?"

"I'm Eri Yabumoto, but my maiden name is Shousei."


While Hinata was busy with her new thing of interest, Naruto was busy with his. He was standing before one of Konoha's standard training grounds with Sakura and Kakashi. Not only that, he was in front of eighteen genin, all the genin that had failed to advance from the preliminary round. They were Shukaku, Shinbou, Kyouko, Fuzei, Misao, Shiba, Tatsu, Satoshi, Naomi, Masa, Kioshi, Yoshimaru, Tanto, Riku, Hibuki, Isato, Ginta, and Safui. Most of them were still here in Konoha because they still had teammates waiting to be in the finals so the team couldn't go back home yet, but the Kiri team, who had no advancing members, was specifically requested to stick around longer. Though they had no idea why.

"I suppose you all are wondering why I asked you to show up here today." He said to the group of genin. "Today I'm going to try something a little new in the normal routine of the chuunin exams. There are nine in the finals right now, and today I'm going to give one of you the chance to advance so we can have an even number."

This sure surprised the genin. Satoshi raised a hand. "Can I ask you something first Hokage-sama?"

"Sure."

"First, even if ten is an even number, in the second round there'd be presumably five participants left. Which voids the whole point of your attempt here if you think about it. Second, how would you explain this to the other kage? Giving one of us a second chance to become chuunin might be considered a sign of favoritism towards one of the villages, or a sign of selfishness if the winning genin here is from Konoha."

"He's got a point you know." Shinbou commented.

"Are you saying you wish to turn down this offer?" Naruto asked.

The gathered genin didn't know what to say. On the one hand, it did seem like a good offer, but on the other hand, he was being very vague about it. And it seemed like there really were repercussions to this that the hokage was ignoring. Satoshi's question had rattled any immediate desire to partake in this new portion of the exams.

"It will be a simple exercise." Sakura stated. "You merely go into the training ground, find a certain item we tell you to bring back to us, and fight off anyone who tries to stop you. First one back here with the item in hand is the winner. Not unlike a retrieval mission. Of course, you can choose not to participate if you prefer."

"Those that want to participate, step forward. Those that wish to decline, step back." Kakashi added.

A couple of genin did step forward, and a couple stepped back, while some didn't step in any direction. It looked like as a whole no one knew what to do correctly here, and were just winging it.

"Is this your final decision?" Naruto asked, and no one changed their mind. "Alright then, now comes the surprise. There is no test."

"What?" A couple of genin asked, confused.

"The test I was presenting, that was all a lie. Or maybe a better way to say it is it was one more lesson for you guys to learn before the next time you take these exams." Naruto clarified.

"Hokage-sama, I'm afraid you've lost me. What were you going for here?" Shukaku requested.

"As you all are aware of, the chuunin exams teach as well as test. Sometimes you learn from your own mistakes, and sometimes from the mistakes of others. But most importantly, it's about learning the big picture of what it means to do your job correctly. And part of that means making your own decisions without basing them on strategy."

That made several genin raise an eyebrow, particularly Satoshi and Tatsu, who came from clans who specialize in strategy.

"Take this test for example. It sounded like a good offer but at the same time it seemed implausible. There were no strategic ways to come to any conclusion here. Strategy is important, but you can't treat a mission like you would a game of Shogi and plan for every move in advance. Sometimes you have to make it up on the spot, just make a decision and hope it's the right one. That's what this test was, to expose you to such a situation, so next time you take these exams you won't treat it like something you can go thru easily just because you now have experience."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Some of the genin said mostly to be polite.

"Alright, now feel free to return to your normal routines."


"Dansue, you have some visitors." A man in a white coat told the Root reject, who was currently having her lunch break.

"Really?" Who?" She asked, putting down her half-eaten sandwich.

"Not sure, but one of them is Hokage-sama's wife."

"Alright, I'm coming." Dansue said, putting away her lunch and getting up. She glanced at her bare wrists. 'Hmm... should I put my restrictor bracelets back on? Naw, it should be quick and I'm unlikely to get into a fight anyway.'

She walked out to the lobby of the Konoha power plant, where she worked when she wasn't on assignments since her incredible affinity for electricity made her perfect for handling the dangerous tech. There she saw Hinata with her son, and accompanying her was a dark-haired woman with what Dansue could only assume was her own child.

"Hello Uzumaki-sama, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Dansue greeted.

"Dansue-san, if it's not too much trouble, can you show me that brand of yours?" Hinata requested.

Dansue arched an eyebrow. "My brand? What for?"

"I want to verify something."

Dansue exhaled. "Alright, but not here. My outfit doesn't leave me with a lot of modesty when I remove it you know."

With that she went to one of the restrooms in the building and checked for privacy. Satisfied, Dansue removed her tiger-stripe dress, leaving her in her underwear, shoes, and the restrictors around her ankles and neck. She turned around to reveal a zigzag symbol on the small of her back, roughly half a foot above the rim of her panties.

The woman with Hinata gasped. "Where did you get that?"

"I don't know. I assume it was placed on me by that lowlife Danzou as a means to keep track of me. Or to make it easier to identify me since it looks vaguely like a lightning bolt symbol." Dansue answered. "Why?"

"This here is Eri Yabumoto, and she may be able to tell you about this brand." Hinata told the silver-haired woman.

"Oh that's no brand. This is the mark of the Shousei clan. Somehow, you're connected with my family." Eri said.

Dansue's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

"That's what we'd like to find out." Hinata told her.


"Oh I can't wait until I can go home and have a shower." Akane said after having spent some time at the hot spring. She was out in the street walking to her next destination, the training field she had been camping in for the better part of the past month.

"Good news is Noburo is out of the hospital. You should pay him a visit." Hanabi told her, guiding her student and niece.

"I was thinking I should shave that for when I see him again at the finals. I mean, that way I won't feel like I'm saying the same thing twice."

"You sure?" Hanabi asked.

Akane nodded. "Besides, I want to surprise him with my skills and be surprised by his. That way we have something to talk about other than his surgery."

Hanabi nodded in understanding. "Alright then. Well, I need to pay him a visit anyway, make sure my teammate is handling him alright. If you're not coming, just head back to the camp and try some taijutsu exercises until I get back."

"Sure thing Obasan." Akane said before the two parted.

After a bit Akane realized the shortest way back to the campsite took her right past Ichirakus, and she could already smell the ramen. 'So good... haven't had any... in weeks.' Her mouth was watering, then she shook her head. 'Go around, I must hold out a little bit longer.' With that, she took the long way.

By sheer chance, she still ran into something familiar. "Hey Akane!"

"Oh, hi Yugiko. Didn't expect to see you."

Yugiko sniffed the air. "Did you just take a bath? You smell a lot like water."

"Yeah I did. You should try it sometime, unless you're still scared of water."

"I'm not scared, I just don't like being wet."

"It's better than licking yourself clean." Akane jested.

"Bet Ichi-kun wouldn't mind it if I licked him clean." Yugiko teased, making Akane wince in disgust.

"I do not need to think about that Ero-neko."

"Oh, and you don't want to put your tongue on a certain blue-haired boy Baka-kitsune?"

Akane blushed at the implication. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh you don't huh?" Yugiko asked, hands on her hips. "I've seen you look at that boy like he was a piece of meat."

"I need to get back to training. See you later." She then rushed off, leaving a grinning Kumo kunoichi.

Akane got to her camp without any further delay, and paused for a moment to catch her breath since she ran the entire way there. "That girl is just too comfortable with her sexuality." Wanting to take her mind off the subject, she started with some stretches, then paused. 'Wait, that scent. Someone's been here.' Her eyes widened and narrowed. "I know that scent. Show yourself."

"I'm glad you're alone." A boy's voice said coming out of the bushes. It was a boy her age wearing a green shirt and blue pants, sporting brown hair with yellow streaks tied back like how Shikamaru wore his.

"You? The boy we saw on my mission to Hoshi? I thought you disappeared." Akane questioned.

"My name is Gomakashi, and I did."

The team from Konha had found an orphaned captive boy back when liberating the victims of a blood-stealing operation, and Akane had found out from his scent that he was actually a disguised fox demon like herself. She had warned Naruto about it, and from what she heard, the next day the boy had just disappeared from Konoha.

"Why are you back then?" Akane asked, getting defensive.

"I just wanted to chat with you about something. Fox to fox."

"Not interested. There's only one fox demon on my good side and you're not her."

"C'mon, there's got to be part of you that wants to connect with your own kind." Gomakashi insisted.

"My kind are the people of Konoha and my cousins." Akane proclaimed.

Gomakashi scoffed. "You mean those humans and other demons? You seriously think you belong with them?"

"There's more to bonds than merely what species you are boy. Besides you're one to talk, pretending to be human."

"I'm just disguising myself, not pretending to be one."

"Then why did you let yourself be a prisoner?" Akane asked. "You could have run off easily, and if you can escape Konoha than you could have escaped that cell. What were you really doing?"

"You want to know the truth? I was there waiting for you."

That sure surprised Akane. "Waiting for me?"

The streaked brunette nodded. "Yeah, I was told you were in the area and to put myself in a position where you'd be sure to find me. Unfortunately you never were away from those ninja and when it was clear I was going to be treated like a prisoner for real by that human you claim as a parent I got out of here."

Akane frowned. "Well of course. The last time your kind came for me I was kidnapped right in front of my grandfather and you guys tried to turn me back into the old Kyuubi."

"Would that really have been such a bad thing?" Gomakashi asked.

"Maybe I should try destroying your personality. Tell me how much you won't resist it." The redhead challenged.

"No need, we've conceded that you're here to stay. But that doesn't mean you should neglect the foxes entirely. At least give us a chance to show you we're worth being connected to." Gomakashi requested.

Akane narrowed her eyes. 'So that's what this is really about. He was some plant placed by the foxes to become my friend and make me warm up to their race, and maybe someday choose them over Konoha of my own free will. These guys...' She clenched her fist. "You picked a bad day to try and be my friend Streaky."

"I'll be back." He said before disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving no trace of himself.

Akane rolled her eyes. 'So the demon foxes are making their move to claim me again. Just what I need.' She began to perform some katas. 'Well, I haven't gotten any slower since I was eight, maybe I can rip even more tails off them now.'

Next chapter the finals officially start.