I loved writing this and I am loving this story. Naruto is not going to bond with Haku when he already has Naomi... she was never intended to be Naruto's friend but I realized it just fit. So I kept it in.

I hope you like it.

The only regret I have with this is not showing more bonding between the girls, but I was following how the Main story did it.. .which is stupid since I hated the lack of growth in relationship between the MCs... if you read the end of this story you'll see the in story excuse for that. Enjoy as I will be adding more filler bonding etc.

Love you all.

"YAWWWN!"

Yura smirked just a little at Sakura's massive yawn, the girl seemed beat both due to the early hour and their late training. She wanted to giggle a little but refrained herself, it wasn't proper Hyuuga behavior, but Sakura looked so cute it was almost impossible.

"You always this lazy?" Tazuna, carrying a beam of some metal, walked by looking at them as they moved through their academy Katas. " What's with those strange movements and where are the rest of you guys?"

Sakura, ever eager to brag, was the first to respond. "Training climbing trees and we are moving through our Katas. They are the movements of our taijutsu or hand to hand combat to you. We go through them to make actual combat smoother and easier, knowing how to move through our combos and sets properly."

"Why aren't you training, is it too hard for you?"

"No, in fact I'm the best so I was sent to guard you."

Tazuna's expression didn't change much but there was clear doubt in his eyes. "Your joking."

Yura sighed, sensing Sakura's rage. "Sakura, you are the best in that no doubt but you still should be using it to bolster your reserves and stamina. You are never done training." She turned to Tazuna, as she moved through her own stances. "Don't underestimate Sakura. She is the weakest of us all but she could easily beat half of this bridge of men up without a sweat. She has perfect stances, active chakra and decent strategy. I fought her in the academy, she is not someone you should undervalue. No ninja is to be frank."

"Do you really mean that?" Both Tazuna and Sakura asked, though their tones were entirely different.

"Yes, I do. Sakura is a valuable asset to this team up and you should respect her for it Tazuna." She turned, seeing a man approaching. "Did you want something?"

The man flinched under Yura's gaze, a hint of cowardness in his eyes. "I wanted to speak to Tazuna... thing is, I have been thinking a lot about the bridge. And I decided, I pushed my luck far enough as it is. I want out."

"Now your going to quite on me, just like that. Your kidding me?"

Yura's eyes hardened, focusing on the man with her Byakugan which activated without handsigns to her shock. She saw his pulsing veins in his neck, his raging chakra. He was utterly terrified and that... that saddened her greatly. "He's afraid, utterly terrified." Both men turned to her, as did Sakura. "I can see it in his chakra. He is putting on a brave face but he is close to shitting himself with fear. Go ahead, leave, but when we finish the bridge, and we will, know that you had minimal part in it. In history."

The man, filled with shame, turned and walked away. A cloud of deep despair over his head.

Tazuna let out a sigh. "Pity...that... that is going to push us back, a lot."

"Maybe not." He turned to her again, and she smiled at him. " Naruto can make hundreds of clones from what I gather, a rare enough skill. He is not skilled enough to replace one worker but maybe he can help with menial tasks like picking up scraps, moving equipment and supplies, transporting whatever you need... enough to compensate for the losses."

A look of genuine pleasure and happiness, the first she had seen on the old man, appeared. "Do you think he would do it?"

"He's a helpful kid, I am sure he would be happy. Besides we do similar things for D ranks, the lowest missions. He should be competent enough to complete those basic tasks and it would speed up the mission. I will ask tonight, during dinner,"

"Your a life saver, girl. Yura, right?" She nodded. "I like you, your smart. Better then most of your friends." And with that he moved on, continuing his job with a pep in his step.

"Why did you do that, volunteer Naruto?" Sakura asked, having been ignored for a bit. "It seems so... I'm not sure how to describe it..."

"In charge?"

"Kind of yeah."

"We all have skills and gifts to offer, Naruto has raw power. Why not take advantage of it... now, since we are here, let's spar. Nothing drastic, nothing extreme. No contact sparring, I want to evaluate your skills. My team specializes in taijutsu, I am sure I can help you somewhere."

Sakura gulped. " Are you sure?"

"I won't hurt you Sakura, I just want to see your skills. Kakashi is neglecting your team, you all deserve better even you. So, let's see what you can do."

;;;

"Serious progress Naruto!" Naomi beamed at Naruto, unable to mask her pride as Naruto and Sasuke both reached the top of the tree. "I told you the laying down method works! You too, Sasuke, be proud." She saw Naruto beaming at her, his face almost aching with happiness where as Sasuke was only faintly blushing at her words. She thought it cute and could kind of see why the other girls fawned over Sasuke even if only slightly.

Naruto threw himself down, landing gently only to barrel into her with a warm hug that left her gasping for breath as he lifted her into the air. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Put me down, you fool." She laughed at him as he placed her down, her smile not fading in the slightest. "Seriously Naruto, with your chakra levels to master this technique to quickly. That says a lot about you, Your control is a lot better then anyone realized, I can guarantee that."

"Really?"

"Yes, it has to be. Naruto your chakra levels are higher by far then even the Hokage's. That says a lot, your control has to be equally high to even notice it. Your epic. Hmmph... it's still daylight and I smell water nearby. Sasuke, Naruto, time to learn the Waterwalking Technique. I think you'll get it even faster but you'll have to drop to your skivies.

"Skivies?"

"Underwear, come on." Ignoring Naruto's blush, she grabbed his arm and hurried away, with Aoba and Sasuke and Kakashi following them. They quickly reached a small creek about two hundred or so feet from the clearing they had been in. "Alright, this is actually pretty easy. Instead of just one stream of chakra at the same rate you need to adjust based on how the water is. Salty water is easier to balance on, so is cold water as it is denser. You need to monitor your stream and make it balanced." She walked onto the water without effort, grateful to have had a great teacher like Yura teach her this trick. "The easier method to this one, that I want you both to try, is to sit on the edge and try to not let your feet sink in. It's pretty simple."

They, Sasuke and Naruto, both obeyed her to her shock, and sat at the edge after stripping to their boxers. While they tried her method, she took the moment to get a sneak peek at them, she wasn't blind after all. Naruto and Sasuke were both extremely fit for their ages, with Naruto have slightly more muscle then Sasuke. She had a feeling he was stronger where as Sasuke was faster. They both were oddly consistent in their coloring, with Naruto being golden all over and Sasuke being see through. And like most Ninja they were hairless outside of their head hair, a weird affect of chakra...

"Sasuke your putting too much chakra into it." She said, watching water bubble around his feet. "Naruto, your using too little that's why your feet are sinking in. Try to balance ou... wow, already?" Both boys, listening other, corrected themselves perfectly leaving her almost gasping. "Stand up, both of you." They did so, easily standing on the water that moved slowly on by. "Wow, you've both got talent. serious talent."

She felt a little embarrassed, and annoyed. It had taken her much longer to master this technique and she was far smarter then most, shame filled her and she wanted to turn away. She knew, logically, that not everyone was magically good at everything so it was silly to get upset over this but she couldn't entirely help herself. She liked to be the best, she worked so hard at everything that she...

'No, I won't let my annoyance and shame ruin their success. They deserve praise, especially as Kakashi seems incapable of giving it out.'

Putting on a full smile, she hugged both boys together, even if she felt Sasuke's annoyed huff. " Seriously, both of you are amazing. Great work."

Naruto squeezed her tighter, laughing happily in her ear. That sound lifted her up considerably, and made it easier to bare her shame...

''''

"Um, where are we going?" Sakura asked, ignoring the soreness in her limbs from sparring for two hours with a very critical but constantly praising Yura.

Tazuna, who seemed still happy, turned to her. "You want to eat tonight, don't you? I've got to pick up some things for dinner, even if your friend is catching food for us."

"Thief, Thief." Sakura heard, and she finally took a look around, her heart breaking at the sight of the broken people. A man held a sign up, begging for food, a women was limping and looking skeletal, even the kids seemed ready to break. She wasn't sure if she could stand the sight any longer.

'What's wrong with these people?'

Yura's cool hand grabbed hers and she saw tears in the girl's eyes, a familiar pain that came with seeing utter horror especially from the privileges' of living in such a vibrant and healthy place like the Village Hidden in the Leaves. They shared a look, one that made Sakura realize not only her respect for the girl before her but her rage at realizing what Gato had done to this place.

"Here we are." Tazuna said as they made their way into a store.

The store in question was pitiful, pathetic... with only a handful of veggies of any kind, and most were small and undergrown. 'There's nothing here... is that a hand on my...' Without questioning it, she swung her leg out and knocked a man over, blood and teeth spewing from his lips. "YOU PERVERT!"

Yura moved then, her hand wrapping around the man's throat, making him choke in terror. " Did you seriously grab her ass, are you kidding me?" Yura, with strength, that Sakura did not see or comprehend, lifted the man up. Yura was the tallest of the genin but even so the man was nearly six feet tall and so was still standing well as she choked him. "Do you want to die, is that it? We could arrange that easily."

"No, I ... I was trying to steal her purse."

"As if that is any better, we are children you fool. Do you want us to go hungry too... " Kneeing him in the gut, hard enough to knock him out, Yura dropped the man like scum. "What trash, Tazuna is he worth killing?"

Tazuna laughed. " Not at all, I know him. He isn't a perv just a thief."

"Lucky then... pitiful creature that he is, I'll let him live."

They exited the store then, with Tazuna laughing. " You both really surprised me, girls around here don't fight like that."

Yura growled, and Sakura was surprised by how much she admired the sound. "They should. No girl should suffer at a man's hand."

"Somethings seriously wrong here-AGAIN!" Sakura whipped around, ready to clock the next perv when she saw a tiny boy, looking at her with fear and hope.

Holding out his hands, he asked. " Please?"

Sakura's heart broke into a million pieces. "Uh, here..." She handed him some candies she had taken for a snack."

"Oh thank you." The boy looked at her like she had given him pure gold.

Yura actually sobbed for a moment, before pulling the kid into a warm hug that made the kid smile happily. "You sweet thing... here, these will fill you right up." She handed him five of her protein bars. The ones she had given Kakashi earlier. " They taste like honey, but you only need one for a meal so these can last you a few days. Okay handsome."

The boy nodded. "Your really nice, both of you." The kid ran off then, and Sakura prayed to Kami that no one stole it from him.

"This is how it's been since Gato came here. The children suffer and the adults are afraid to stand up to him. They've lost all hope, they've lost all hope. That's why we have to finish the bridge. It will bring commerce and trade but much more importantly that bridge is a symbol of courage. We must restore the spirit of our people. When the bridge is finished, the people will start to believe in again. They will believe they can live with dignity. We can't let Gato stop us."

Sakura's heart swayed at Tazuna's words, his powerful speech moving something inside of her. 'We have to help them.'

'

Yura's hands shook hard as she took in the people of Wave, she knew what it felt like to live under tyrants. Her parents were like this, they had withheld food as punishment in the past. They had beaten her for results, terrorized her for power. She understood what it was like to have no courage...

'But Tazuna is standing up for himself... and so should I. When I go back, I am leaving my parents. I cannot stand for these people then crumple under my own pain... no more.' Turning she faced Tazuna. "Tazuna, how do you want us to kill Gato, what you make you happy?"

The man blinked, thrown by her words and cold tone. Then a wicked smile crossed his face. "Break his limbs then throw him to the crowd and watch us take care of him. That will make everything all the better."

"Done. "

And she swore, in that moment, to make that future come true... by any means necessary.

"""

Ami smiled at her friends, hearing the tales of their day while enjoying the food Naruto caught for them. She wasn't a huge fan of fish but Tsunami could cook like an Akamichi. "Good job, all of you. I can't believe you two mastered Tree climbing and Waterwalking in one day. Sakura, I almost know for a fact you'll master it in seconds if you could get the tree climbing so quick."

The pretty pink haired girl nodded, a smile on her face. "That's sweet of you... but today was productive for me as well. I learned a lot sparring with Yura. She says I have perfect form but I need to work on my speed. So she is going to help me get weights when we go home."

"I can see that, she is all about speed. Naruto, when you work with Naomi tomorrow she'll probably say the same. Taijutsu needs speed and strength and agility to be useful. Don't feel bad if she is critical, that is how you learn."

Naruto gave her a smile and Ami returned it well, having gained a fondness for the loud boy. "She's a good teacher, I'm not worried."

"Good!" She naturally ignored Kakashi's winces every time some praise was given to his team, she lost any respect she had for the man when she learned how poorly trained his team was. "I can't wait to spar with you once your up to snuff."

"Yatta, same Ami! Naomi told me your really strong. Actually, earlier on the road she said you and Yura were close to chunin is that true?"

"In taijutsu alone I am a chunin, but that makes sense since our clans specialize in taijutsu. Overall I am closer to Chunin then most but still have some room to grow with speed, tactics and mixing jutsu into my style. I actually thought about it while I was recovering in bed today, but I want to add some support jutsu to our collective so I was going to go to the library when I go back to the Leaf. If you want Naruto, you can join us girls and we can get you some new jutsu to learn. Sasuke, Sakura your invited as well."

Sakura beamed a smile at her. "I'd like that... but what would I learn?"

"With your control, genjutsu or healing I imagine... maybe some taijutsu enchantments? Or maybe something like the Hidden Mist justu Zabuza used with your control it would make you scary on your own."

"Really?"

"Yup and with Naruto's stealth and Sasuke's raw skills you would be a terrifying team to beat in a fight. You need a clincher anyway, since your team is not equals in skill yet. You need something to take advantage of, a gimmick so to speak to revolve your style around until you balance out as fighters. That would work well, especially with Narutp's clones now that I think about it."

Yura's eyes lit up. " Speaking of Naruto's clones, Naruto would you care to help on the bridge tomorrow? You could do some D rank stuff with Tazuna to make up for lost me."

"Sure, why not, as long as the real me gets to train with Naomi."

"Not a problem, Naruto"

'''

Aoba was proud of his team, how they had taken Team Seven under their wing to help them with their poor education. It spoke volumes of their loyalty and character. That it also filled Kakashi with palpable shame only filled Aoba with more pleasure, he could not wait for Kakashi to be punished. It was bad enough he set a bad example with his lateness and porn addiction, the last thing they needed was for him to be a piss poor teacher.

Dinner finished quickly and they moved onto tea, a lull filling the void of conversation. Eventually that lull was shattered by Sakura, who unknowingly set the room off when she asked.

"Hey this picture is torn. Is there some reason for that? Inari, you kept glancing at it through dinner, it looks like there was someone else in here but they were torn out."

"It's my husband." Tsunami said, her voice quiet and pained.

"He was once called a hero in this land." Tazuna said and with that Inari left the room, eyes shaded in shadows from his hat.

"Inari where are you going?" Tsunami followed him as he left the room, stopping at the door to turn to her father. "Father you can't talk about him like in front Inari you know that."

"Inari's so… what happened to him?" Sakura broke out, not reading just how much pain was in the room.

Aoba sighed, literally tasting the pain in the room with his mental abilities. He could see with every fiber of his being just how much pain lingered in the two adults.

"He wasn't his real father he came into our father and he brought so much happiness...he used to laugh and smile all the time and then... " Tazuna started to cry. "...All that ended. He never laughs or smiles anymore. Ever since that day, everything changed. The word courage was stolen from this island, we were left feeling powerless, hopeless and Inari suffered the most. Ever since that day, ever since it happened."

Kakashi's voice didn't change much but Naruto felt like it sort of did, like Kakashi felt warmer and quieter then normal. "Tell us, what happened to Inari."

"To understand, you need understand the man, his father. The man who taught us the word courage, his father."

And so they all listened to the tale of Kaizai, the pain and broken promise of death echoing in the room. Aoba's heart broke for the man, and from the look on his teams' collective faces they felt the same.

When it was finished, Naruto stood up. "I'm going to prove it, prove to Inari that heroes do exist."

Naomi put her hand in his, petting Mio with the other. " We will prove it together, Naruto. All of us."

And Aoba admired that, even if he didn't really buy into the whole hero thing any more himself... he knew his kids would do it. As would Naruto, for he was the kind of hero that the Fourth was. He was the kind of hero that died young but burned bright.

He just hoped his kids were never that type for those type of heroes were the least useful. The best heroes lived long and served their people for decades...

And his dead team would prove that they were those kind of heroes, one way or another. And they would prove it, for him, the Hokage, the Leaf and Inari...

;;

Naomi sighed as Naruto sat, her sister disciples moving closer to her at Yura's suggestion. "We will watch the house overnight." She said to Aoba who nodded, as the girls all moved outside, moving to the roof with ease. Even the wounded Ami made it up easily, her wounds having healed greatly due to her Akamichi potent physical chakra and the herbs they had given her. She was by no means battle worthy, but she was good enough to climb the house.

"Why did you want to us come up here?"

Yura sighed. " This place is a disaster... " She explained the horrors of what she had seen to her sisters, making both Ami and Naomi gasp in shock and horror. They felt the pain she was expressing, the agony of Wave clear to them. The story took only five or so minutes but it left a mark on the girls that would shake them to their core. " I promised to kill Gato, to break his limbs and deliver him to the people of Wave... I plan on keeping that promise."

"So do I." Naomi gritted out, hate in her voice. She may not have been abused, like her friend, but she hated abusers in any form. "That fits our mission anyway, we are supposed to be making a union between our villages and that will never happen with Gato in charge."

Even Ami, sweet Ami, growled and nodded. "Sounds perfect, I volunteer to break his legs. Slowly."

"Good..." Yura sighed out. "I was worried I was fated to do it on my own. I am grateful I have you girls here... I am sorry for holding myself back so much, giving so little to you. You deserve more and I will try."

"We all held back." Ami sighed, putting her hand on Yura's. " We have been so determined to train that we gave little of our selves...We train, then go home and work... we never hung out or worked together beyond being a team. Your right though, seeing this place and the lack of bonds on Team Seven, it makes me want to connect with you two girls. So, I offer this... when this is over, you should both visit me for dinner. We can chat to our hearts desire. The walls are thick enough that no one will hear us."

Naomi smiled at Ami. "That sounds great... Yura, I didn't realize you believed in Fate?"

She snorted. " I don't, I'm not Neji. That's just an expression."

"Neji? Wasn't that that douchey Hyuuga that graduated last year?"

Yura laughed. "Yeah, he is the first branch member, the son of our Head's Twin. He is a genius they say, but he has a stick up his ass a mile wide."

"Is he a genius?" Ami asked.

"Yes, but he sticks to only the Clan jutsu. If we join the Chunin exams, I will beat him with swordplay... I hope. You girls are right, I love it and I want to excel in it..." She sighed. "Naomi,... I... I cannot live with my parents. I am old enough to leave my compound. Can I move in with you, for a little bit at least? I cannot bare to be with them any more, their as bad as Gato is. They used to starve me as punishment, they beat me for not activating my Byakugan and I can only shudder to think about what they would do with it on. I know we aren't as close as we pretend to be, given we get along so well, but I beg of you... please."

Naomi froze only for a moment, before a smile crossed her face. " Even if we weren't close or planning on bonding, I would have said yes. No one should go through that... but I offer this condition, open up to us. All of us... I realized it when Ami was hurt so badly. I know you so little, we are more like aquantices then friends right now. That isn't right. I want friends, my goals should not be so powerful they block me from being friends with you. So, let's start over a bit, shall we? My name is Naomi, no last name. I like cats and dumplings and reading and training. I want to make the world remember and prove that clans are not everything. This is Mio, My beloved familiar and partner who I will make powerful and smarter then any ninja dog."

Yura smiled. "My name is Yura Hyuuga, I am the last branch member and It is my goal to prove that my eyes and bloodline are not everything. I want to master swordplay and prove that a branch member can be worth something. I want to leave and never see my parents again. I love cats and I am honored to be your friends."

Ami chuckled a little. " My name is Ami. I like food and cooking and training. I want to prove myself worthy in general and make my clan more independent from the machinations of the Nara clan who may as well rule us, though I ask you keep that under your hats." She sighed, and looked nervous. "I want to be remembered for more them my clan. I want to prove that girls can be great Ninjas and remembered for more then their children... I want to challenge my Cousin Choji and take over as clan head, since he is not worthy. He is a weak coward."

Both other girls were silent... and then Naomi hugged both of her sisters disciples together with Mio in the middle. " And we will... together, make these dreams come true... together. I think we are making good progress in being friends...I can't wait for that dinner. I have so much I want to know about you girls."

"Same." They both said, only to break up laughing at Mio's desperate meow.

Namoi leaned back, looking at her friends... Kami it was weird to call them that, to mean that but here she was, realizing they were truly her friends in more then title. "Can Naruto join us? I know we are trying to be a great team and friends together but he has no one. He deserves better, in more ways then one."

Ami nodded. "Sure, he seems sweet. I regret not trying to be his friend in the Academy."

Yura nodded as well. "Same here, my parents would have freaked if I tried before... but screw them. I am done with their crap. He's ours now, besides I always wanted a little sibling and I can't help but want to adopt him. Do you feel that?"

They both nodded, laughing at Yura softly before a lull washed over them and they looked out, watching for threats and just enjoying each other's company...

It was the start of something beautiful and eventually...

Legendary.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was fun, powerful and interesting.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.