: try :

: attempt to do something


The camp finally fell silent, Naruto sat on his sleeping bag and leaned against a tree, watching as Shikamaru got ready to tuck in and Hinata make her scopes of the area.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto stood up and said "Alright. Change of plans. Shikamaru takes the first watch. I need to talk to you, please, Hinata"

"O-Oh... Okay" Hinata agreed despite being confused, receiving a small nod from Shikamaru as she followed Naruto only a couple of trees away.


They stopped rather early, only a couple of feet from the camp. Hinata noticed Naruto contemplating whether or not stray further away, so she decided to speak up first, gathering all her courage into one sentence, "I-I'm sorry if I upset you..."

"What?! No, no! Don't be-ttebayo!" Naruto quickly replied, sharply turning with his eyebrows knit together, "It's just- Ughhh, it's me, okay? It's me who's sorry... I lost my temper, dattebayo"

She didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell him that it was her fault, but he would say it was his... Back and forth, back and forth. They both knew that they don't blame the other, and they both knew the other won't let them blame themselves.

"... Y-You... You, um..." Hinata hesitated to say, shifting her weight constantly, avoiding eye contact as she clasped her hands together behind her back.

Naruto looked at her and waited for her to continue.

Taking a deep breath, she asked "Naruto-kun, y-you've been acting a little strange eversince we started the mission... Do... Do you not want me here?"

"Eh?! That's not it at all!" "N-No, I understand" Hinata assured as she waved her hands, "I mean, I'm not at all useful to this mission and you and Shikamaru-kun can handle you're own, I'm just a bother and-"

"No, Hinata" Naruto said as he grabbed her shoulders and gave it a light squeeze, leaning down a little so that he could be on the same level as her, meeting his eyes with her, "You're not useless and you're never a bother, dattebayo! If anything, everything is a thousand times better when you're around! The fight with that puppet guy? It couldn't have gone any smoother if it wasn't for you! I'm really happy that you're with me, alright?"

"B-But you seemed uneasy..." She pointed out, biting her lip, "There has to be something bothering you... Y-You can tell me anything, I-I'll listen"

His grip on her shoulders slightly tighten as he pouted, quickly looking to the side to avoid contact, "I can't tell you"

"E-Eh?" She gasped, "I-If it's because of me-"

"No! I mean- Yes- No no! It's- Gahh!" Naruto jumped back and furiously scratched his head, "It's just- You might hate me if I tell you..."

"I can never hate you!" Hinata said, a little too fastly, then quickly blushing, but not taking back her statement, and it seemed to have worked since the blonde decided to tell her.

Scratching his cheek as he looked down, he said "Well... I don't like the bastard..."

"Who?" She asked, confused, he then gestured back at the camp and yelled "Kakushin!"

"Oh"

Naruto nervously looked up at her and asked "A-Are you mad?"

"No..?" Hinata answered with a slight shake of her head, a little confused, "I mean... Why would I be?"

"'Cause I hate the guy!" The blonde pointed out, making the bluenette smile at him with an amused stare, "Naruto-kun, it's normal not to like people, I don't judge"

"Well, you don't seem to hate anyone!" He commented, making her jump back a little, not sure if she should be offended or not, "I-I do so!"

"Oh yeah?" Naruto taunted, "Name a person you don't like"

"Um..." Hinata nearly stumbled, looking around as she tried to think, making the Uzumaki yell, "Aha! I got'cha! You don't hate anyone!"

"W-Well you don't seem to hate anyone, too" The Hyūga said with a light pout in defeat.

"Hell yeah I do" He said, sounding a little bit too proud, "Tadashi fuckin' Kakushin, that's who, dattebayo!"

"I-It's 'Sadashi', and Naruto-kun," She said as she put her hands to her waist, "He doesn't count, I'm pretty sure you'll forget your light irritation of him a little while after we finish the mission"

"No, I won't!" Naruto defied, making Hinata tilt her head and ask "But why?"

"'Cause!" He yelled, not taking time to think of his answer, "You like him better than me!"

"It's impossible for me to like anyone more than you, Naruto-kun!" She quickly answered back, taking just as much, which is none, time that he did into thinking about it.

Hinata was about to apologize, burning red in embarassment, but he asked first, "R-... Really?"

Hinata looked at Naruto. He looked really hopeful, as if he was fearing a 'no'. Her cheeks got warm as she silently answered him a 'yes' with a shy nod.

"But... You were talking to him every second since you two met and all..." He said, sounding fragile.

She didn't understand why he seemed so insecure about it.

"It's part of the job, isn't it?" She asked, smiling at him to reassure him, "He's a client, Naruto-kun. It's part of the job to entertain him"

"But you seemed so into it, though..." Naruto muttered, not sure if he wanted her to hear it or not, but she heard anyway, her eyes started to shine in excitement, "Oh! Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun! You don't know yet! You haven't heard!"

"Eh? The what?" The blonde asked, confused of her sudden enthusiasm, the bluenette then started to ramble, "Oh, Naruto-kun, it's amazing! Sadashi-san is working on this new technology, actually! It's an interactive video, where the people who uses it can control characters in the video with remotes! It sounded really fun, and the stories for the interactive videos that he's coming up with are so interesting! Like controlling the fate of a character in a book! He even promised to send me a set of few interactive videos once they're out, maybe we can try them out together!"

He was amazed, and in joy. No, not because of the upcoming system. He was always so enthusiastic about innovation and new technology, especially since Kakashi's been investing in it quite a lot, too. No... It was because she looked so excited and happy, openly expressing it to him.

He felt a little pride bloom in his chest, she wasn't this enthusiastic when she was talking with Kakushin, no, he wasn't close to her to see this side of her.

But then again, he felt this same pang of this strange feeling in his chest for the exact same reason he was happy. She was so enthusiastically talking about Kakushin's work... Does she talk about him the same way she does with the inventor?

But he wasn't smart like him...

"Naruto-kun, you should try talking to him" Hinata suggested with an excited smile, "You're always filled with ideas, maybe you could help him!"

Suddenly, Naruto's ego inflated as he laughed, "Aww shucks, Hinata, they're not all great ideas, dattebayo"

"There's a good percentage of wonderful ideas" She confidently said, "I'm sure you can help!"

"Yeah! You're right!" He cheered, "Alright, I'll do it! But only 'cause you said so, dattebayo!"

"Y-Yeah!"


Kakushin glared back at the man on the other side of the dead campfire, "What do you want? You're ruining my perfectly good morning with your stupid face"

"My face ain't stupid! Yours is!" Naruto barked back.

"O-Oh, um, Sadashi-san, eto..." Hinata quickly intervened as she zipped up her bag, "Naruto-kun can help you with your invention, he's really creative and witty"

The Sadashi smiled at her, only to glare again at the smirking Uzumaki.

Shikamaru face palmed, the two aren't making it easy.

"Oh, Shikamaru! You're done!" Naruto cheered as he stood up, patting his pants clean, "Alright, let's get moving, dattebayo!"

"Um, here, Hinata-san, let me carry that for you" Kakushin offered as he quickly stood up and grabbed her bag from her lap, Naruto then grabbed the bag and said, "No, you can't, sir. You've got your own big ass bag to carry"

"Well, I'm a strong and manly gentleman" The Sadashi said as he tugged the bag over to him while his eye twitched, forcing the smile on his face to remain, "I'll carry it for the fair lady"

"Hinata's a very strong kunoichi" The Uzumaki argued back as he tugged the bag over to him, "Carrying a bag is nothing. Besides, you might kill yourself from trying to carry a ninja's bag, dattebayo"

"I'm an inventor, but I'm not a wimp" The brunette claimed before shoving the bag to his opposer's chest, "But if me getting killed is the reason why I shouldn't carry it, then you carry it instead"

"Hell no! I can't take this with me, she might need it!" The blonde pointed out, "You suddenly chickening out, eh?"

"Alright! You know what?" Shikamaru groaned as he snatched the bag and put it on his front, "I'll take this with me, and Hinata, you stay close to me. So troublesome..."

"Y-Yeah, that's a good idea" Hinata agreed as she shuffled to his side, "I-I'll be with Shikamaru, we'll cover the back and Naruto-kun the front?"

"Yeah, great ideas as usual, Hinata! Shikamaru!" Naruto cheered, before going back to his glaring contest.

Shikamaru and Hinata wanted to face palm so bad.


They both watched as Naruto and Kakushin throw back and forth insults at each other as they walked ahead of them.

"-big mouthed idiot. All you've done is yap all day..." "Just let me do my job and stop bratting about everything that happens, dattebayo!"

With a heavy sigh, Hinata muttered "They're still not getting along..."

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru grumbled as he massaged his temples.

"They don't want to lose to the other" He thought with a shake of his head, "They won't stop fighting until someone wusses out... Or while Hinata's around"

He looked at the woman beside him, seeming to be thinking of ways to make the two men ahead of them get along, "Of course she doesn't know that they just don't wanna lose in front of her... Great..."

Looking back at the two men, he squinted his eyes, "If I get them alone, maybe they'll stop being competitive for a while"

"Oi, Hinata" Shikamaru said, loud enough for Naruto and Kakushin to here, "I think I saw a flower that Ino's been obsessing about lately, mind to confirm it to me?"

"O-Oh, um... Sure" Hinata agreed, not exactly aware of the situation, he nodded and said, "Naruto, you guys go on ahead, we'll catch up"

"Ah, Hinata-san, I don't mind waiting" Kakushin said, pulling off one of his best smiles, "For you, anything"

"No way I'm leaving you guys behind, dattebayo!" Naruto proudly claimed.


"I'm pretty sure that's just a dandelion, Shikamaru-kun" Hinata said as she knelt down beside him, Shikamaru nodded and said "My bad"

He huffed and glared back at the two watching them closely. He failed to leave them alone.


"I saw an herb to make this taste great just a few feet away" Hinata said as she closed the pot of boiling soup, "I'll go get it real quick"

"I'll come with, Hinata" Naruto said as he closed the scroll he was reading.

Shikamaru's ear twitched, realizing that this was another chance, "No, I will. You're the strongest, you need to stay behind to protect the client"

"Oh, right" The blonde grumbled as he glared at Kakushin, "I forgot we have a wimp with us, dattebayo"

"How dare you" The brunette growled as he jumped up, "I'm more than capable of accompanying Hinata-san myself. Come on, let me join you, Hinata-san!"

"O-Okay...?" "Oi! Stop dragging her!" "I'm not dragging her" "Yes, you are!"

Shikamaru plopped down to the ground with a loud groan, being left in the camp.

Another fail.


"Hey, Naruto" Shikamaru said, one last attempt for the day, "Take care of Kakushin. Hinata and I are going to scout the area for-"

"Alright, you know what?!" Naruto suddenly growled as he sharply turned to Shikamaru and pulled Hinata behind him, "You've been acting really strange, Shikamaru, dattebayo!"

"Wha- Me?" The Nara gasped, completely taken aback as he slightly sweated in realization, "Dammit... My plan completely backfired, didn't it?"

"Yeah! And you know what?!" The blonde said as he pointed both his pointer fingers at both Shikamaru and Kakushin, "You two have'ta stop being so obsessive and crazy for Hinata's attention, dattebayo!"

"Me obsessive for- W-What?!" Shikamaru said in a ridiculed voice before gesturing back at Naruto, "You're the one who's always hogging Hinata's attention!"

"No! It was him!" Naruto redirected his glare to Kakushin, "You've been drooling all over her eversince this whole mission started!"

"How dare you" Kakushin growled as he crossed his arms, "You- I haven't been drooling or doing anything wrong. Right, Hinata-san?"

Suddenly, three pairs of questioning eyes landed upon Hinata, making her stiffen.

She instinctively huddled in closer behind Naruto and gripped the back of his jacket to seak comfort, but as she looked up, she saw that he, too, was staring with his head turned.

She put up a nervous smile as she took a couple of steps back, "I-I, um... I'm gonna go hunting for lunch"

And without another word, she quickly scurried away like a rabbit caught in the open.

"Look what you di-" "This is too troublesome" Shikamaru groaned as he put up his hands in defeat, he started walking the opposite direction Hinata went and said "I'm hunting or something this direction"

"We're not done with this yet, Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled out to the retreating man, "We're having a serious talk as soon as this mission ends, dattebayo!"

The shinobi and the client were finally left alone, tension accompanying them.

Naruto huffed and sat back against a tree, crossing his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

He heard a soft groan, followed by shuffling of what sounded like metal and wood after a zipper opening.

Out of curiosity, Naruto opened his eyes and saw Kakushin pulling out what seemed like a small television from his bag, along with a laptop and multiple smaller equipments.

"Naruto-kun, you should try talking to him" Hinata's words echoed in his head, "Maybe you could help him!"

With a heavy sigh, Naruto stood up and made his way to the young inventor.

Kakushin groaned as the blonde squatted down beside him, without making eye contact, he booted up the laptop and loaded up a software, he asked "What do you want?"

"Hinata told me to talk to you" Naruto said with an annoyed look, "She told me that maybe I could help, so here I am-ttebayo"

"You? Hah! What could you possibly do?" Kakushin mocked, "Throw a kunai at the screen?"

"Hey! I know my way around computers!" The blonde yelled, clearly offended, "I sort documents, analyze reports, and do some tech-y stuff for the Hokage-ttebayo!"

"Well, those are useless here" The brunette tisked, typing away, "I'm coding, not being a little secretary"

"Eh?" Naruto asked, "Are you making a website or an app or somethin'?"

"No..." Kakushin said, seeming passionate, "I'm making a change... I'm making entertainment"

He pressed down enter and uploaded data to a little disk, he showed it to the ninja with a proud look, "This is one of my multiple projects. This can change the future. Boost morale. Counter loneliness!"

Kakushin put the disk into a little box-tech hooked up to the battery powered television and turned both on, showing a series of colors on the screen before settling down into one picture with a blinking 'Start'.

"A video?" Naruto asked, Kakushin handed him a scroll shaped device that was also connected to the television, the brunette then said "I'll show you"

He instructed Naruto to push on button. The blonde then could see a tiny man in the forest, completely masked and covered with black clothing.

"Nothing's happening" Naruto said, Kakushin nodded and said "You can control him, with that controller"

Instructing the blonde to do a series of button pushing, the brunette's eyes seemed to glow a certain shine of pride as he watched his invention being used by someone else.

"You call that a ninja?! That isn't how a ninja looks like!" Naruto yelled, furiously pushing on buttons as he made the tiny little character jump around and battle enemy ninjas, "And why can't my dude use Ninjutsu? And how come he drowned?! He's completely useless with chakra! Even Lee can walk on walls!"

"Well this is my version of a ninja!" Kakushin huffed as he crossed his arms, "They wear masks to hide their identities from their enemies! You need to level up before using fancy techniques!"

"Who put him on the field, anyway?" Naruto groaned as he dropped the controller, the game paused, "And besides that, what is the point of this? Why is he fighting in the first place?"

"What do you mean?" Kakushin asked, Naruto shrugged his shoulders and said "I dunno... What's his goal? Where is he heading? Why is he fighting these guys? What's the ending?"

"To level up!" The Sadashi proudly claimed, "Every enemy he beats, the more experience! He has to be stronger and stronger! All the way to the final boss!"

"I have this friend..." Kakushin stopped from his babbling as Naruto started, eyes filled with what seemed to be pain, "He, uh... That was his goal. All he wanted was to get stronger and stronger, just so he can kill one person. He went rogue because of it. He killed... So, so many... And when he got to his 'final boss', he suddenly regretted it... He went down the wrong path, because his goal was to take down one person... It took me so long to bring him back"

The Sadashi looked at the pause frame, suddenly realizing that his character... Sounded like a rogue ninja.

"What about you?" He asked, "Uzumaki-san... Why did you become a ninja? What's your goal?"

Naruto suddenly flinched and nervously laughed scratching the back of his head, "Me? Well, it's a little complicated, hehe... The villagers hated me because I had the nine tails sealed in me, so I wanted to earn their recognition! I wanted to prove them wrong, that I won't hurt them! So I trained so hard! And look at me! Strongest ninja alive, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"So that's your ultimate goal? Becoming Hokage?" Kakushin asked, Naruto hummed, thinking for a while, before grinning and shaking his head, "Nope! Maybe before, but now? My ultimate goal is maintaining peace throughout the shinobi world, dattebayo! It's a never-ending mission, dattebayo!"

"World peace, huh?" The brunette thought, "Is that even possible?"

Looking at the blonde beside him, he suddenly remembered all the stories about him, when his name first started to go around, defeating the Akatsuki after attacking Konohagakure, up to when word finally got out that one-armed Uzumaki Naruto successfully stopped the Sons of Madara.

"Maybe..."

"I'll keep that in mind" Kakushin said, gathering his equipment, "Maybe I'll make a storyline for this one"

"Yeah" Naruto nodded, watching the man pack up, "Hey, is that heavy?"

"Wha- I can't possibly let any of you carry it! It'll get in the way!" The Sadashi claimed as he closed the bag, "Hey!"

"Shut your trap, it won't" The Uzumaki groaned as he took the bag, then spreading out a scroll on the ground and sealing it in, he marked the scroll and put it inside his own bag, "See? Now it's in my bag, safe and sound. I'll keep it safe, dattebayo!"

"Woah... Scrolls are pretty useful, huh?" Kakushin asked, Naruto was about to say something, but suddenly turned, before waving it off, "Shikamaru and Hinata are gonna be back soon, I think they've got fresh meat or somethin'"

"Hey, uh... Uzumaki-san" Kakushin said, "Hinata-san's right... You are a big help"

Naruto's eyes widen in surprise, before he closed his eyes and smiled, "Of course I am, dattebayo!"

A tick mark appeared on Kakushin's forehead before he stomped, "You cocky bastard!!"

"Oi! That came out of nowhere!" "You're so full of yourself, that's why!"

Hinata and Shikamaru both sighed as they came closer and closer to the camp, Shikamaru groaned and said "Mendokusē... They still aren't getting along?"


Finally at the gates of Land of Lakes, Naruto handed Kakushin his bag.

"Finally, took long enough" Kakushin groaned, "You said a couple of days, it took us a week!"

"Oi! Be grateful we didn't leave your slow ass behind!" Naruto argued back, "If you told us you had poor eyesight, we would've been here two days ago, dattebayo!"

"It was nice meeting you, Kakushin-kun" Hinata said with a bow, "We hope to hear from you again"

"Y-Yes, I'll remember you, too, Hinata-san!" Kakushin said with a shy blush, then exchanging nods with Shikamaru.


The three ninjas happily took off, starting to walk through the forest.

"So, Shikamaru" Naruto said.

Shikamaru sighed and asked "What?"

"You were trying to get some alone time with Hinata for a while, dattebayo" The blonde brought up, "Wanna explain?"

"Naruto, you don't understand!" Shikamaru tried to explain, "It was just that the thing between you and Kakushin was becoming too troublesome so-"

"Quit making excuses-ttebayo!"

"Listen, I'm not imposing on Hinata and your relationship, okay?"

"W-W-What? Shikamaru-kun, we aren't-!"

"You better not be, Shikamaru!"

"E-Eh?! Naruto-kun?!"

"I won't, I won't... Mendokusē..."


It was another lovely day in Konohagakure, a beautiful morning in the Hyūga compound.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama" Kō said from outside Hinata's room, "A delivery was made from the Land of Lakes, a package"

"Land of Lakes?" Hinata questioned to herself as she looked up from writing a school report for the Academy, standing up from her seat and walking to the door, "Coming..!"

Accepting the little package, Hinata walked back in and opened the strange box, knowing well that it is safe if it got through the Hyūga guard's inspections.

Inside were two different boxes, she picked up both and read the labels, "It's um... 'S.G.S.'? 'Scroll Gaming System'... And this? 'Ninja Tamago: Mission to Save Princess Nikkō'... Oh! This is from Kakushin-kun!"

Her eyes lit up, realizing that the young inventor kept his promise.

With a bright smile, she put the two boxes into a sling bag before she went to leave the compound, off to find Naruto to show the yet-to-be-released gaming system.


Hey hey!

And now, we're done with Kakushin, haha

We finally introduced video games!

So, here, I used Shikamaru's tendency to come off as doing something completely unrelated to what he is originally planning to do with zero experience. Much like when Shikamaru's trying to get a female perspective and Temari misinterprets everything. So, he learns here that he knows how to get Naruto to stand up in his own way, aka provoking him.

He slowly went out of that 'I should have been the leader' mindset to 'I must support and give advice' to Naruto. He unconsciously became an advisor.

Naruto, here, we showed that he actually knows how to use computers, since part of his Hokage training involves computers. He is efficiently using computers in Boruto, so here, I thought, hey! Since computers are still new here, Naruto could learn it early! And as per usual, he can turn around perspectives just with his words! And, we showed that he finally has new ideals, an ideal of a Hokage.

Hinata, here, filled the gaps that Naruto and Shikamaru couldn't. Shikamaru doesn't know what Naruto should do, so she's the one who steps up to give him a suggestion. Naruto can't get along with Kakushin, she's the one who took responsibility to make Kakushin feel welcome. And you know what that is~ A first lady.

Kakashi's plan to make the three of them work together worked, it started rough, but they all subconsciously fell perfectly into their roles.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru are quick to adjust to each other's fighting styles, and Naruto is quick to think of plans that incorporates the three of them since he knows both of their fighting styles well, though having no prior experience on working with just them both. As he was easy and fast to think of a sure way to stop the exploding humans as soon as Hinata arrived, incorporating only Shikamaru and Hinata in it.

Also, Naruto's S-Ranked mission is mentioned, which occurred in between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.

Anyway! Have you guys found little easter eggs in this two parter?

Not yet? Alright, I'll give you some time to find them!

But the little easter eggs are...!

•Sadashi Kakushin's name means "Ambitious One" and "Innovative", and, if written surname last, Kakushin Sadashi is a word play of "kaku shin-sadashi" which means "it's a secret", since he never told anyone his attraction to a certain someone.

•It was hinted that Kakushin's eyesight was already poor at the first part, when he first met Hinata, he had to come close to realize she was a girl.

•Bunraku's, the puppet master, name is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, also known as Ningyō jōruri.

•'Yūbō' from 'Yūbō Tech' literally means good prospects, full of hope, or promising.

•Kakushin's ninja appearance is of a 'real Japanese ninja'.

•The handheld gaming system was inspired by a scroll, as Kakushin's attention was caught when Naruto used one in front of him, calling it 'useful'.

•Kakushin's volume only rises when he talks to Hinata, but in the end, Kakushin's speeches can also end with "!" when talking to Naruto.

•'Tamago' are ramen eggs.

•'Nikkō' is 'sunlight', can also be read as 'Hinata' or 'Hyūga' in kanji.

Aaaand! That's it for today! Thanks for reading!

-OrenjiRabenda