Hey guys!
Sai is definitely making an appearance in the war soon, don't worry! I just wanted to put that out there because I'm pretty sure some of you guys have picked up on it by now LOL.
Also WARNING: there's some mature sexual content coming up! No smut or anything like that, but just letting ya know :)
I really, really love NaruHina, I wish the anime did them more justice but to be fair, their relationship were pretty rushed in the manga too. Anyways, I just really liked the idea of them getting together after Pain, it just seems more realistic compared to what's canon.
Also, make sure to check out Epics What If on youtube! They're reading this fanfic on their channel, and I am beyond thankful to know that they liked it enough to share it with their subscribers :) If possible, go and give their video a like!
This chapter is going to be a little bit different, hope you guys like it! Enjoy!
Flashback
Tsunade Senju was not exactly the most patient woman in Konoha. In fact, many could attest to her anger management issues...not that they could ever tell her that to her face.
As the only Sannin in Konoha, she couldn't help but miss Jiraiya. It had been almost five months since he died, and the Godaime Hokage couldn't confide in anyone about how broken she felt.
Except Naruto Uzumaki.
As she sat in her office, the blonde couldn't help but smile as she thought about the brat who was practically her kid. He was brash, loud, and reckless, but his heart was bigger and warmer when compared to anybody elses.
Speaking of the devil, Tsunade's eye twitched as her door was slammed open by none other than the orange menace himself, who waltzed into the room with Shizune freaking out behind him.
"Tsunade obaa-chan!" Naruto yelled, "Give me a mission - not one of those pansy D ranks, give me an important one!"
Shizune sighed in defeat, noting that this was probably the millionth time that the energetic jinchuriki demanded for a mission. A part of the young medic was worried for the boy she considered to be her little brother - Pain's attack had shown her how ruthless the Akatsuki were, and the brunette's fear of the organization was definitely justifiable.
Not to Naruto though.
"How many times do I have to tell you this gaki," the Hokage grit out irately, "we are preparing for war! You can't go on any crazy missions right now because in case you forgot, the Akatsuki is still trying to get you and the jinchuriki of the Hachibi. You two are the only ones stopping them from achieving their goals, we can't risk your safety right now!"
The blonde rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know that and all, but come on! I mean, a B rank would be perfect, pleaseee!"
Tsunade snorted, and just as she was about to say something, a timid voice could be heard from the doorway. "Hokage-sama? May I come in?"
Naruto's eyes lit up, and he rushed over to his girlfriend and kissed her cheek, which made the poor girl turn redder than a tomato. Hinata was embarrassed, but she held her lover's hand gently before scolding him.
"Naruto-kun, you can't just barge in here. Hokage-sama and Shizune-san are very busy...plus, completing a B rank mission is not as important compared to your life. If the Akatsuki gets you, then the future of the Elemental Nations is at stake, and we can't risk that." The Hyuuga heiress lectured her boyfriend, who was too focused on her face to concentrate on what she was saying.
The Godaime Hokage watched the young couple with a smile, and Naruto's lovestruck expression was something she could use as blackmail material. Hinata had him wrapped around her little finger without even knowing it, and considering how the jinchuriki acted in her presence, it was obvious that he loved her.
Unfortunately for Naruto, the lavender eyed beauty noticed his inattentiveness and she flicked his nose lightly, startling him. "Hinataaa," he begged, "you know I would be careful, I swear-"
A loud cough stopped him from finishing, and he turned to see Shizune glaring at him half heartedly. "Naruto-kun, this is a very serious issue. The best Tsunade-sama can do is give you a simple escort mission, but it would be to smaller villages that are not far from Konoha. Besides, where is your team?"
Naruto groaned loudly as he subtly slipped his arm around Hinata's waist, smirking when she squeaked in surprise. "Sakura-chan is doing something in the hospital, Sai is doing..err, whatever he does, Kakashi sensei is off on some top secret mission, and Yamato-teicho is probably learning more Mokuton stuff. I started doing some training by myself, and I can't really do it with them because...it's stuff my parents left for me - you get the picture."
Tsunade held her head up in her hands, muttering curses about how she wasn't cut out to deal with this nonsense - she had no idea how Sarutobi sensei had handled the brat. "You should listen to your girlfriend more, but anyways...the answer is still no. However...there is a smaller C rank mission for a nearby village like Shizune said. You can all come here for the briefing at 5, then Team 7 can head out tomorrow morning."
The busty blonde saw the Hyuuga heiress' concerned look, and she smiled at the girl warmly. "Don't worry Hinata, I made sure this was pretty much a borderline D rank outside the village. Brat, don't give me that look, you know why we're doing this."
The jinchuriki scowled, but his eyes brightened when his girlfriend whispered something in his ear, and he grinned. "That's fine, any mission is good to me. Bye baa-chan, onee-chan!" Shizune and Tsunade's jaws dropped as they watched Naruto walked off with the dark haired girl, both in disbelief after seeing him willingly agree with their logic.
Naruto grabbed his lover's hand, kissing the back of it gently as the two walked back to his apartment. Frankly, after what the lavender eyed beauty said to him, all thoughts about going on a shitty mission exited his head.
It was honestly so endearing when Hinata was timid and nervous when talking to him, but after a month of countless reassurances, Naruto had broken her out of her shell. They were practically inseparable, and with such a lonely childhood, he was very affectionate toward his girlfriend.
The blonde treasured simple moments like this, where he could walk with Hinata and just enjoy her presence - however, for once, he wanted to get back to his apartment as fast as possible.
As they walked through the door, Naruto lost his patience as he snaked his hands around Hinata's waist, holding her back to the front of his chest. "N-Naruto-kun...agh!"
He started kissing and sucking her neck, his warm breath brushing against her ear and making the Hyuuga heiress shiver. Without warning, Naruto turned her around abruptly, holding her to the wall as he attacked her mouth. Hinata grabbed his hair, tugging and twisting on the blonde locks as she moaned unabashedly from the pleasure she felt.
"Bedroom?" he whispered huskily, making his lover shiver in anticipation. She nodded, yelping as Naruto lifted her up so that her legs could wrap around his waist. Hinata giggled happily, and the blonde jinchuriki couldn't help but smile at her before pulling his girlfriend in for a tender kiss.
Of course, that gentleness only lasted for couple seconds before the two were furiously making out, and Naruto smirked thinking of all the things he was about to do to his girl.
"Are you hungry or anything? I can cook for you if you want."
Hinata snuggled into Naruto's bare chest while wearing his shirt, her arms looping around his neck as she got comfortable. "It's ok Naruto-kun, let's just stay in bed. Please?"
"Of course, anything for my hime." She blushed bright red, burying her face into her boyfriend's neck as he laughed at how cute she was. Their sex life had just started a couple weeks ago, when the blonde had brought up being intimate, and well...one thing led to another, which was how they both became sex crazed maniacs.
She was still worried about Naruto even though he was strong - she knew the mission was not a big deal, but it worried her. Hinata unconsciously tightened her hold on her lover, and he gave her a concerned look.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked worriedly, and the Hyuuga heiress pulled back from him to place her hands on his cheeks. He leaned into her touch, relishing the contact as he sighed contently.
"I know that you can handle the mission, and I know it isn't that big of a deal, but I always worry about you. Promise me Naruto-kun...promise that you'll come back to me safe and unhurt." Hinata whispered softly, pressing a kiss to his cheeks as if to comfort herself.
Naruto's hands went around her waist, and he pulled her closer so they were centimeters apart from each other. "I'll always come back to you hime, you know I will. Nothing will happen to me, especially since Tsunade obaa-chan is being really strict about the missions we take because of the attack. The Akatsuki aren't going to get what they want...but hey, I love that you worry about me y'know...it's sexy."
"N-Naruto-kun!" she squeaked in embarrassment, and her blush only grew as her lover's hands began making their way up her thighs.
The blonde leaned closer to her ears, nibbling on them as Hinata groaned into his neck. "Hey, what can I say, everything you do is sexy. Plus, you look so good in my shirt...maybe I should throw away your clothes so that you could only wear mine. Sound good?"
The Hyuuga heiress laughed, and she ran her fingers through his hair. "If you did that then I would be half naked, which means I would have to go outside like- eep!"
"I take it back," Naruto growled possessively, flipping them over so that he was on top of her. "nobody gets to see you this way except me."
He kissed her roughly, and Hinata gave in without a second thought. The blonde was like a drug, one that she couldn't get enough of, and she was so glad that he was hers.
"Hmm...Naruto-kun...what about...your mission...gah!" The dark haired girl moaned as her lover fondled her breasts, and instead of pushing him away, she pulled him closer.
Naruto left a trail of red marks on her neck before he stopped, looking at his handiwork with a satisfied smirk. "Honestly, maybe I should tell Tsunade obaa-chan that I don't want to go on this mission, I'd rather be with you right now."
Hinata blushed again, but she pushed his chest lightly before sitting up. Naruto wasn't satisfied with that, and he pulled his girlfriend onto his lap to that she faced him. "Hime...be careful while I'm gone, ok? I worry about you too y'know, even though you're a total badass...if that hag gives you a B rank while I'm gone, I'm going to be so pissed."
She sighed and shook her head fondly, loving how he was so worried about her wellbeing even though his life was at stake. "I promise as long as you keep your promise."
"Of course." the blonde said cheekily, peppering kisses on her face that made her giggle, "I love you too much to not listen to what you say, but to be fair, you're almost always right anyways."
Hinata kissed his lips lightly. "Of course I am. I love you Naruto-kun, don't do anything brash, ok?"
Naruto grinned, his infectious smile making her heart warmer. "I will be as careful as possible...and yes, I really mean it." He grabbed her thighs as he stood up, and she wrapped her legs around him as he walked to the kitchen.
"Y'know," Naruto said innocently as he put her on the counter, "a lot of your stuff is already in my apartment, it's almost like we're living together. Hmm...what do you think hime?"
Hinata swung her legs playfully, sticking her tongue out at the blonde as he started making cup ramen. "Naruto-kun, I told you that oto-sama won't let me live with you just yet. He thinks that we're too young for that, and Neji nii-san agrees, but don't worry. In a couple months he might be more open to the idea, then we can make it official."
He groaned, and it took a lot of convincing for him to leave for his briefing. Hinata telling him that she was going to stay the night motivated Naruto, who rushed out of his apartment to get the mission details before running back into her arms.
She didn't know if she could be any happier, that's for sure.
"Do you have everything you need before you go?"
It was 7 in the morning, and Hinata was currently fussing over her boyfriend. He said that the mission should've been over in a day or two considering how close the village was to Konoha, which eased her worries just a bit.
"Hinataaaa," the blonde said assuredly, "I have everything, I promise. I don't know why I should be taking this many weapons, but hey, I can't say no to my hime, can I?"
The Hyuuga heiress blushed as she sat on Naruto's bed, watching as he plopped himself down next to her. He could sense the tension rolling off of her shoulders in waves, and the jinchuriki pulled his girlfriend into his arms to comfort her.
"Hime," Naruto whispered, "I know what Tsunade obaa-chan said yesterday was scary, but the Akatsuki didn't get the Hachibi. If they even try to come after me, it won't work because I was able to take down Pain - and now that my team is there, it'll be even harder for them to get me."
At the briefing, the Godaime Hokage had told Team 7 about the Akatsuki making a move on the jinchuriki of the eight-tails, but it turned out to be a bust. When Naruto came back to his apartment, he was very hesitant to tell Hinata about the news, but in the end, he had to let her know. As expected, she was very jittery and nervous, unable to think straight due to the possibility of her precious boyfriend being attacked in the same way.
"I know, but it doesn't make me feel any better. I know you're strong, but the Hachibi jinchuriki is supposedly older and has a lot of experience...Naruto-kun, he barely got away from the Akatsuki, and they caught him off guard. Please...you have to come back to me." Her watery eyes broke his heart, and he cradled her as she sniffled miserably.
The blonde sat up, pulling Hinata onto his lap as she clutched him tightly. "It'll be ok hime, they won't be able to find me since it's such a minor mission. I know you don't want me to go, but Konoha needs the shinobi to get money, we barely managed to scrape by after Pain. I'll be back in your arms within a day, just watch - after all, the great Naruto Uzumaki never breaks his promises!"
"Oh?" Hinata giggled, her tears vanishing for a moment, "You did break your promise when I asked you to get me a box of cinnamon rolls though...hmm, maybe I should withhold sex for-"
Naruto pushed her back on the bed, kissing her passionately as she eagerly accepted his affections. "I'll get it for you," the jinchuriki panted as he sucked her neck, "they just didn't have it in the bakery when I went yesterday. Besides...no sex? I don't think either of us could stand that even if we tried."
The pale eyed beauty moaned loudly, her face flushing as her boyfriend got more handsy. "N-Naruto-kun...your mission...it's almost...time-"
He cut her off abruptly, taking his time as he kissed her swollen mouth languidly before pulling back with a smirk on his face. "I really should've declined this mission, you look so good right now hime...but, you're right, it's almost time to leave."
Hinata nodded her head, and Naruto lifted her up effortlessly before the two made their way to his door. He triple checked if he had everything before wrapping his girlfriend in a hug.
"I love you so, so much Hinata. I'll be back soon, ok?" He said genuinely, making her heart beat faster as a tint of red appeared on her cheeks.
"Naruto-kun," she murmured, "I won't be able to bear it if you got hurt. I love you, please be careful for me, ok?"
"Anything for my hime." Naruto grinned cheekily, reluctantly moving out of their embrace before he pointed to his mouth. "You know, I heard its good luck if you get kissed three times before a mission."
The Hyuuga heiress rolled her eyes playfully before putting her hands on his cheeks, pulling him in for three gentle kisses. "Good luck Naruto-kun." He was grinning from ear to ear, and he stole another peck before leaving, waving back at his beautiful girlfriend as he made his way to the gates.
Little did she know, that was the last time she would see the love of her life alive.
"Baka! Pay attention to where you're going!"
Sakura was yelling at Naruto, who had been unfocused the whole time they were on their way to the village, his thoughts solely on the beautiful girl he got to call his girlfriend. More specifically...he was beating himself up for leaving her when he was so turned on, which effectively distracted him. Even Sai, the most socially stunted person on their team, had noticed his weird behavior, but his books didn't say anything about how his teammate was acting.
"Sakura-chan," the blonde whined, "I am paying attention, it's just that...there's no way I'm telling you guys this, it's too embarrassing to say out loud."
Yamato was amused, but he tried to hide it. "Naruto-kun, it's good for you to be honest with your team. What's making you so jumpy?"
"Yeah," Sai chimed in helpfully, "you should tell us what's wrong dickless, that way we can figure out how to fix it before we get to the village."
The trio were shocked to see Naruto flush bright red, which was not in his character at all. "No way!" the blonde huffed indignantly, blushing even harder as he saw their surprised expressions. "If I tell you guys, then Sakura-chan will hit me and Sai will make fun of me."
"Naruto, you might as well tell us to pass the time. Besides, how bad can it be?" The pink haired medic tried coaxing her friend, who had his head turned away while mumbling something under his breath.
"Sakura, it's ok. We're almost there anyways, let's just go over the mission. When we get there, we will protect Akito Sato during his instatement as the new village leader. If someone tries to get rowdy, try to calm them down first and if that doesn't work, just get them away from the ceremony. Got it?" Yamato informed, watching as his team nodded in agreement.
"Well...I didn't expect to see you this soon. Looks like we're in luck, right Tobi?"
A croaky voice could be heard from a tree nearby, and Team 7 froze as they saw a plant-like person stand next to a masked man - the Akatsuki had made their move.
Sai, Sakura, and Yamato instinctively got into defensive positions around Naruto, who was currently glaring at the half white and half black man. "So, I guess you're here to take me away, right?" the blonde spit out, his fists clenching so hard that he drew blood.
"Correct." Tobi crossed his arms, his Sharingan visible through the singular hole in his mask. "You will come with me Naruto Uzumaki, don't make this harder for yourself. Give up now or watch your team die before your eyes. What will you do?"
The jinchuriki's eyes turned red, his canines extending as his whisker marks became deeper. "How about none of the above? They won't die and I won't be captured - go to hell you bastard!"
Sakura gave him a concerned look, and she knew that using the Kyuubi's power before had gone pretty badly for the blonde. To her surprise, Naruto seemed to be relatively calm, which startled his teammates as well as the Akatsuki members...they hadn't perceived for him to be in control of his anger.
The ex-ANBU swore under his breath, but he gathered his thoughts before whispering commands to his team. "Sai, Sakura, Naruto...we need to stall them for as long as possible. More importantly, don't let that masked man touch you Naruto. Got it?"
"Hai!" They yelled simultaneously, looking at each other with determination as they got into their positions.
The pink haired medic moved first, and she narrowed her eyes while jumping into the air, smashing her fist into the ground beneath the tree that Zetsu and Tobi were on. "Chaaanaro!" As the ground shook violently, the tree was destroyed, but to her confusion, only Zetsu stood before her.
Yamato immediately formed a wood bunshin, sending it to Konoha so that they could get reinforcements. However, what he didn't foresee was Tobi rising up from the ground and destroying his clone.
Eyes wide with shock, the Mokuton user dodged another blow as he remained in front of Naruto, who was creating his own kage bunshins to distract the masked man.
Sai watched as Yamato-teicho's clone was obliterated, and he hastily scribbled out an SOS message before it turned into an ink bird. "Go, give this to the Hokage-sama directly - hurry!"
The bird flew for seconds before Tobi materialized out of nowhere and crushed it, dark ink splattering the ground and trees nearby as he shook his hand with disgust. "Damn, this isn't getting off any time soon, eh? Well, it doesn't matter...Zetsu, you know what to do."
Team 7 regrouped, and they stood back to back as they surveyed the situation they were in. It didn't look good, especially since the man they were facing was incredibly powerful. Tobi having the Sharingan didn't ease their worries, but Naruto decided that enough was enough.
"Bastard," he growled viciously, "I promised that I would get back home safe, and I don't intend on breaking it! Teicho...I'm sorry about this, but I'm going to fully use the kyuubi's chakra. Let's go!"
His teammates didn't even get to stop him as the blonde immediately went into a four-tailed state. However, something was different this time...it looked like he was in control. Within a flash, Naruto dashed forward with unbelievable speed, barely missing Zetsu, who had split up to avoid the attack.
"H-how?" Sakura was pale, the feeling of the kyuubi's chakra making her remember when her friend had lost control. "He's not acting like he did back then, what's going on?"
"Naruto has a lot of explaining to do, damn it...we need to take advantage of his power right now for our counterattack." Yamato didn't have time to reprimand the jinchuriki, but he knew that when this was done, they were going to be having a long discussion about using the bijuu's chakra.
Sai was running through a million different ideas in his mind, and most of them had to do with getting Naruto out of there while they stalled the Akatsuki members. But knowing his stubborn teammate, the blonde would refuse to leave them behind for his sake.
Speaking of him, Naruto zipped right back to their sides, his face steely and concentrated as he watched Tobi give him a death glare. "Teicho, what's the plan?"
Zetsu popped out of the ground in front of them, and they all threw themselves away from the white clones that were slowly multiplying. Yamato's mind was working quickly, but when he realized that him, Sakura, and Sai were separated from Naruto, it was too late.
The blonde saw the rapidly multiplying Zetsu's and he held his hands up. "Taju Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
A horde of clones burst into the area, but the white creature was one step ahead of him. He knew that his clones were superior to the jinchuriki's, and he created an even larger amount to separate the team.
Naruto's clones were slowly dispelled, and he turned around to see that Tobi was standing in front of him nonchalantly. "I have to say, you are truly an enigma Uzumaki. You harnessed your bijuu's power by yourself and kept it a secret...interesting indeed. I guess Pain was good for something after all - it makes seeing you struggle more amusing."
He rushed forward, throwing a hard punch at the masked man, but his hand went right through. In shock, Naruto didn't even realize what had happened, and he slowly began to focus on Kurama yelling at him mentally.
"Gaki!" the kitsune roared angrily, his entire body stiff with fury, "I told you not to use use my power, stop this right now! If he controls me, then it's over for us. Remember what we talked about - have faith in yourself, use your own strength to take him down!"
Naruto cursed under his breath, feeling a pang of regret for disregarding his friend's wishes as he cut off the chakra cloak around him. He was so angry at the Akatsuki that he used Kurama's chakra without thinking twice, and the guilt began gnawing at him until the kitsune mentally smacked him - that was the fox's weird way of saying it was ok.
Pushing his emotions to the side, the jinchuriki created more kage bunshins, each one attacking Tobi to give Naruto time to prepare. He needed a plan, and with Kurama's help, they could come out of this situation without anyone dying.
The masked man disappeared in a swirl, and he reappeared right next to his target, who looked at him in disbelief. "Your teammates will probably die from exhaustion anyways, it's pointless to try getting them away from Zetsu...his clones are extremely durable. Now then, shall we continue?"
Naruto stood frozen, and for the first time in a long time, he felt genuine fear. His body moved on auto-pilot as he jumped back, creating more bunshins to confuse Tobi while he rapidly began thinking of a strategy to take him down.
The blonde almost slapped himself for being so stupid: why the hell didn't he use sennin mode? He closed his eyes quickly, opening them up to see that his clones had all been defeated.
"Oh?" the masked man mused, "So you do know the sage arts. It's a shame that the toads will lose their last summoner, especially since they must've spent quite a while teaching you to use nature energy. I hear that it's incredibly difficult to master, it even took Jiraiya years to harness the energy properly. Looks like you have exceeded my expectations again...what more surprises are you hiding?"
At this point, Naruto was ignoring Tobi in favor of seeing what was going on around him. With his heightened senses, he felt his team's chakra, and relief surged through his body when he knew they were alive. Creating another mass of clones, he sent them to distract the Sharingan user. Kurama had told him not to lose his cool, and he was doing his best not to blow up at the man.
The jinchuriki bit his thumb, flashing through handsigns before summoning the Toad Elders he had become familiar with: Fukasaku and Shima. A small cloud of smoke signified their arrival, and the two looked around in confusion before seeing Naruto.
"Naruto-chan," asked a confused Fukasaku, "what's going on? Why'd you summon us instead of Bunta-chan?"
The blonde interrupted, knowing that time was running out. "Ji-chan sennin, there's no time to talk. The short version of the story is that this guy is in the Akatsuki, and he has the Sharingan. He can teleport, objects can pass through him and he seems untouchable...there has to be some way to end this! Can that genjutsu you used against Pain work?"
Shima was unusually subdued as she knew how serious the situation was. "It should work, but he can't be untouchable. Every jutsu has a weakness...there must be some way to figure it out."
"I'm not entirely sure if this is true," Naruto said hesitantly, "but the Kyuubi thinks that there's a limit to how long he's intangible. Maybe if we can figure that out, we can get a few hits on him."
The two toad elders exchanged looks, both of them extremely tense as they had a bad feeling about this.
And the worst part was that this situation was eerily similar to Jiraiya's fight against Pain...but in the end, it was the Sannin who had died.
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