Chapter 25 - Inaho

"You're getting better, but you're not there yet brat!" Nii Yugito shouted as she landed a kick into Neji's stomach, sending him flying. Their training had increased in intensity ever since she had noticed the relationship between Neji and Karui improving, much to her surprise.

For the longest time it had seemed like the boy wasn't going to take to Karui no matter what, but recently they've been almost inseparable. She didn't completely approve of the methods A chose to use, but she knew what gaining the byakugan meant for Kumogakure, so she kept her mouth shut and followed orders.

"Train him." A had ordered her. "But not enough for him to be a threat."

The kid was a genius, no doubt about that. He was incredibly talented when it came to learning new things. His specialty was in taijutsu, like most Hyūgas, but she had also noted him picking up an interest in fūinjutsu. Kumogakure didn't have a fūinjutsu master currently, much to A's disappointment, so she let him do as he pleased. As long as he wasn't causing trouble, she didn't much care what he did.

"We'll end here for today." Yugito said, looking at the kid picking himself off the ground. "Here, take these as well. It was a pain to get them, I hope you're thankful." She snorted and tossed a scroll over to Neji.

Neji caught it and checked the contents. Seeing the books inside he looked up at Yugito. "Thanks for this." He said simply, before turning to walk over to his house, where Karui was waiting by the door.

Yugito watched him walk into the house, Karui closing the door behind them. She didn't know what had gotten his interest in fūinjutsu started, but she was happy he at least had a hobby. And if Kumogakure got a fūinjutsu out of it, all the better. Thinking that, she jumped from the cliff onto the bridge below and headed back towards the village.

Inside the house, Karui looked with interest at the scroll Neji was holding. "That's it?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Mhm. Books on fūinjutsu." Neji released them from the scroll and set them at his desk to read later.

"You ever going to tell me what it is you're working on?" Karui looked at the stack of ever growing seals and pouted a bit.

Neji just looked back at her and shrugged. "It's a surprise. How's your end coming along?"

"Oh you mean that damned morbid project you assigned me?" Karui made a face and walked into the side room, dragging behind her a large, half-finished, wooden coffin. "It's coming along fine, but why the hell am I making this?"

"It's part of the surprise." Neji said, glancing at the coffin before looking back at one of his books.

"Fuck you and your surprises." Karui said, sitting on the corner of his desk.

"Relax, our preparations are almost complete. I'll let you know what it's for in due time, you just have to know it's used for a seal." Neji narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the book in front of him. 'Almost a decade of preparation. It will work. It has to work.'

Karui just watched the boy as he read. They had gotten closer ever since the fight they had a couple years ago. She still remembered his promise to her. A promise of a fresh start, where she didn't have to be anyone's tool.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Hahhh.." Hinata stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "How many is that now?"

"34." Shino said, opening the envelope of Ryō and dividing it between the three of them.

It had been a month since they became genin and Hinata was getting tired of the tedious D-rank missions they had been doing day-in and day-out. If it wasn't finding someone's lost pet, it was finding someone's wallet or jewelry. They even had to fix a few roofs one time. It was getting old.

"Shishou~ Let us take a C-rank mission this time!" Hinata looked over at Hayate with puppy dog eyes. "Team seven went on one, like, their first week or something."

"And look how that turned out. It ended up as an A-rank mission and they all nearly died." Hayate pointed out.

That being said, it was very unusual for something like that to happen on C-rank missions. The team was getting better at working together as well. Shino's taijutsu had come a long way, as had the stamina of both him and Kiba. They had both learned the basics of chakra control, allowing them to walk on walls and water, but that was to be expected. It had only taken them a few days to get it down.

Hayate sighed. "Fine, let me see if there is one suitable for you." He finally relented. Hinata had been bugging him about it for the past two weeks.

"Yes!" Hinata and Kiba shouted in excitement, high-fiving each other. Even Shino looked happier. None of them had become shinobi to do mundane work after all.

Hayate searched through the available missions at the mission assignment desk. He didn't want a long escort mission, as it would detract from their time to train if it took too long. He eventually stopped at a mission to eliminate a group of bandits that was harassing a nearby village.

There were no known shinobi in the group of bandits, so it wouldn't be too dangerous. He stared at the word 'eliminate' however. 'Are they ready to take a life? Is Hinata ready?' He bit his lip in thought, as he looked at the mission. 'When is someone ever truly ready to take a life..? They'll have to experience it at some point.'

Hayate sighed and accepted the mission for his team. 'Worse case scenario is that I have to step in, if they are unable to complete the mission.'

"Alright you three. I accepted a C-rank mission to eliminate some bandits near Inaho village. It's about a day's travel away from us if we travel the whole day. Since we're going to spend some time training as well, consider it two days to get there, and prepare bags for camping out." Hayate told the group.

"Roger that, shishou!" Hinata said happily. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning, first thing. We'll meet by the gate, make sure you pack everything you need before then. Four days worth of supplies should be good, though I'd do five just to be sure." Hayate told them.

"Alright! Come on Akamaru, let's go get packed!" Kiba said goodbye to the others and raced off.

"See you tomorrow." Shino said before departing as well.

After the two of them had departed, Hayate and Hinata left as well, walking side by side. Hayate kept glancing down at Hinata, unsure if he should say anything or not. On one hand, she was a genin kunoichi and by law, is considered ready to take lives if called upon. On the other hand, she was his cute apprentice who he'd known since she was five-years-old.

Hinata noticed his apprehension, and knew him long enough to figure what it was about. She looked up at him as they were walking.

"Are you worried about me?" She asked, leaning into him.

"Should I be?" Hayate asked, putting an arm around her. "Do you think you're ready?"

Hinata shrugged. "I don't know… But I knew what life I was choosing when I decided to be a kunoichi. This won't be the first time I've seen death, either." Hinata shivered, remembering the Uchiha clan.

Hayate grimaced. He had told her a long time ago to find someone to talk to about what had happened over the course of that week. Apparently she and Izumi talked together for a long time, confiding in each other.

"If you're not ready to take a life, I'll be there as well. You can still afford to wait." Hayate reassured her. He knew he shouldn't; giving a genin a crutch wasn't something he should be doing, lest they become reliant on their team leader to fix their mistakes. They would never grow that way.

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know how I'll feel at the time, how can anybody know? But I know it's going to happen eventually."

Hayate just walked along with her in silence. He could remember the first time he took a life. The look in the man's eyes has Hayate cut into him with his sword. Hayate just sighed.

"Alright, kid. Go on now. Get ready for tomorrow. If you're unsure about what to bring you can ask your father or Kō, they can help." Hayate patted her on the back before stepping away.

"Mm. I'll see you tomorrow then." Hinata turned and left to head back home.

Hinata eventually got back to her house. She wasn't in a rush; she had the rest of the night off in order to prepare for the mission tomorrow. She walked inside, leaving her shoes at the door and called out to Hanabi. "Hanabi! I'm back!"

"Oneesan!" Hanabi came running towards the door. "You have to hunt down more lost puppies today?" Hanabi laughed, finding it hilarious that Hinata spent so long training just to have to do odd-jobs around the village.

"Yes, and so will you when you become a genin!" Hinata said, as she tweaked Hanabi's ear.

"Owww!" Hanabi grabbed her ear and stepped away. "What was that for?"

"Because you were being a brat. Who said you could tease your oneesan all the time?" Hinata asked, smiling as she walked past an indignant Hanabi. "Besides, I have an actual mission tomorrow!"

"Oh?" Hanabi looked interested. "What is it?"

"We have to elim- take care of some bandits around a nearby village." Hinata corrected herself, as she spoke.

Hanabi looked a bit concerned. She wasn't stupid, she knew what her sister meant, even if she tried to (poorly) hide it. "You'll be ok, right?" Hanabi asked.

"Of course! Who do you think you're talking about? Besides, we're not going to be fighting shinobi, and shishou will be with us. Don't worry, I'll only be gone for about four days. I'll be back home, safe and sound, before you know it!" Hinata gave her a reassuring smile.

"Mm. You better." Hanabi said, hugging her.

Hinata left her sister to cook dinner while she went to her room to pack. Despite the circumstances, Hinata couldn't help but be a bit excited. It was her first time leaving the village after all.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Tsunade was staying at an inn in Yugakure, when the runner arrived. When he found her, he looked almost as surprised as Tsunade did.

"Tsunade-sama! I have a missive here for you from Nara Shikaku!" He bowed, holding out a scroll for Tsunade to take.

"Shikaku? Fine, I'll take it. Your services won't be required any longer, go report you found me." Tsunade grabbed the scroll from him and waved the man off.

She opened the scroll and read the contents, frowning.

"What does it say, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, walking over.

"Shikaku believes there's a chance Orochimaru is going to attack the village. He wants me to come back just in case." Tsunade snorted before throwing the scroll to Shizune, who began to read it.

"If that's true, what should we do?" Shizune looked up her shishou.

"We still have time to decide. The chūnin exams aren't for another two months." Tsunade said, clutching her hands into fists.

"Tsunade-sama… If it's Orochimaru…" Shizune said, trailing off. She was worried; her shishou still had a soft spot for her old teammate even after all these years. But if he truly tried to act against the village…

"If Orochimaru has the balls to challenge the old man, then I say good riddance, let them fight it out. But if he attacks the village…" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Shizune!" Tsunade suddenly shouted.

"Y-yes!?" Shizune snapped to attention. Her shishou looked uncharacteristically serious at the moment.

"Grab my bag, we're leaving. I want a word with Nara Shikaku." Tsunade said, standing up and walking out of their room.

"Yes!" Shizune looked relieved. It seemed like her shishou was finally ready to act.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Hinata and the rest of team eight met up at the gates of Konohagakure at first light. They were ready to set off and were currently waiting for the guards at the gate to clear them to leave.

"First time out?" A shinobi guard at the gate asked Hinata.

"Mhm. Is it that obvious?" Hinata asked him, gripping the straps of her backpack a little tighter.

"We can always tell. You're green as fresh grass after all." The guard laughed. "Don't worry too much though. Just listen to Hayate-san, he'll see you through it."

"Alright, everything's checked out. You're good to go." The guard that was looking over their passes spoke, handing them back to Hayate.

"Thanks." Hayate nodded to the guard. "Alright guys, let's head off. Standard V formation. Kiba, take point, set a pace."

Kiba nodded and began to run at an easy lope while the others fell in behind. Hinata was to his right and Shino to the left, with Hayate running in the middle of the formation keeping an eye on them in case anything happened.

As soon as they broke away from the gate, they entered into the forest that Konohagakure was situated in. They took to the trees, choosing to jump from branch to branch as they ran. Konoha shinobi were renowned for the ease at which they traveled through the forests surround their village, and they were no exception.

They traveled quietly, alert for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. There was almost an air of paranoia among the fresh genins that made Hayate smirk as they traveled. 'If traveling outside of our village was so dangerous, we'd have bigger issues to worry about than bandits.'

They had run for almost an hour before Kiba finally broke the silence, easing the atmosphere.

"It's surprisingly… exactly like the training grounds in the village." Kiba sounded rather unenthused at the entire situation. "I was kind of expecting… more? I don't know."

"You're right, but I guess it makes sense doesn't it? It wouldn't be much of a training ground if it didn't actually prepare you for outside the village." Hinata just shrugged. The forest was exactly as she imagined - a forest.

"I agree." Shino said in response to Hinata's statement.

"Yeah but… Isn't it a little disappointing?" Kiba asked, downcast. Akamaru just whined a bit, running alongside Kiba.

"It's a good thing it's disappointing." Hayate said flatly. "If it was exciting, that means something has gone wrong. Disappointing is good."

"So what was your first mission out of the village like?" Hinata asked her shishou, turning her head to look at him.

"Hmm, let me think." Hayate thought about it a moment. It had been so long ago, but he could still remember the mission like it had happened just yesterday.

"I was on a team with a man named Tokara, and another named Morino Ibiki. You might have heard of Ibiki, he's the current head of T&I." Hayate explained to them. He was going to continue but Kiba spoke up.

"Head of T&I? He must be pretty strong then."

"Yeah, he's a great shinobi." Hayate confirmed with a small smile on his face. "He's always been a bit of a sadist though, it wasn't surprising to me when he joined T&I. It's like he was practically born for the job."

Hinata just shuddered a bit. She could handle death, and she figured she could handle killing as well, if she was required to do so. But she never wanted to have to torture another person if she could help it.

"Anyways, I believe you were asking about our first mission out of the village." Hayate continued. "It's really not that exciting. In fact, all things considered, this mission is already more exciting than ours was. We had to escort a civilian caravan to Sunagakure. It was a week-long journey on foot, traveling at civilian speed."

"Ugh." Kiba said in disgust.

Hayate just laughed at his very 'typical shinobi' reaction to having to travel at a non-shinobi pace. "That wasn't even the worse part. There was an elderly married couple that bickered the entire journey, and we just had to put up with it. I remember Tokara shoving cotton in his ears to try to tune them."

"Oh my god, that sounds awful." Hinata laughed, feeling much more at ease after they started talking.

"Oh it was. And that was before we actually got to the desert. The sun makes it baking hot and dry during the day and the wind blows sand everywhere. During the night it's freezing cold and you have to stay either next to a fire, or bundled up if you don't want to freeze." Despite the awful experience, Hayate found himself grinning as he recounted the story.

"The desert there is full of poisonous insects and other creatures as well. Even the plants can kill you if you're unlucky enough to get cut by one. It's truly an inhospitable place. Lucky for us, the trip went smoothly. We escorted the caravan there, and then we got switched to another caravan that was returning and we had to do the entire trip a second time." He laughed.

"Thank you for not choosing a mission like that for us." Shino said, grateful for the mission closer to home.

"Well, I didn't want to cut into our time too much." Hayate nodded. "There will be plenty of time in the future for you guys to make awful memories. For now, we need to focus on increasing your strength as much as possible before the exams."

"Speaking of which, who is it that actually decides if we're worthy of being chūnins?" Hinata asked, looking over to him again.

"Isn't it based on placement?" Kiba asked, looking back over his shoulder, before almost running into a tree and falling down to the forest floor.

Hayate laughed and caught him, setting him upright. "Placement helps, but that's not the sole determining factor, no." He said shaking his head with a smile. "The Daimyō will either watch the exam, or send a trusted aide to watch and report the results and his observations back to him. If at the end of the exams, enough of the spectating shinobi believe you have what it takes to be a chūnin, or if the Daimyō decides you should be a chūnin, you'll be promoted."

"I see." Shino said, nodding. "So the longer we stay in the competition, the longer we have to show off our skills."

"Exactly." Hayate confirmed. "Although, team leaders also have a lot of say in whether or not their teams are ready for promotion. Unless the Daimyō personally decides to promote you, I have the ability to forestall your promotion until I feel you're ready to advance."

"We'll definitely be ready! We're gonna crush those other shinobi!" Kiba said with a viscous grin.

"Don't look down on shinobi from other villages, Kiba. That's a recipe for disaster." Hayate warned.

"Overconfidence is a slow, and insidious killer…" Hinata said in a deep voice, trying not to giggle.

"True." Shino nodded in agreement, which caused Hinata to burst out into a fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Hayate asked, looking over at the girl that was having trouble breathing.

"No..nothing.." Hinata squeaked out through her laughter. 'They wouldn't get it.' She thought to herself, shaking her head with a small smile.

The group continued to travel until the afternoon, when Hayate decided to call for them to stop and set up camp.

"This is as decent a location as any. Shino, set up a perimeter with your insect. Kiba you're on firewood duty. Hinata, help me set up camp." Hayate issued orders and the others all nodded and set to work.

Setting up camp was efficient and was quickly finished. Hayate let them rest their legs for a bit before speaking up again.

"Alright, training time. I want all of you practicing tōton jutsu. Our goal is to have you learn it by the time of the chūnin exams." Hayate said.

"Not a problem." Shino said, nodding. When he first learned that Hayate was able to use this jutsu, he knew he wanted to learn it. It would be extremely effective with his fighting style. Being able to remain hidden while he sent his insects out to fight would be incredibly useful.

Kiba, on the other hand, didn't look confident. He had never been the best at ninjutsu, and the tōton jutsu was a relatively difficult one to master. He realized how useful it could be though, and worked hard at learning it.

"I think I've almost got it, but so far when I use it, I kind of just camouflage myself… I don't really become transparent." Hinata said, using the technique.

Sure enough, as she used it she just sort of faded into the background like a chameleon. If she remained very still, it could be said to be near invisible. But as soon as she moved, the colors shifted and she looked like a water smear on a painting. It was obvious where she was, even if you couldn't see her form.

"Just keep at it." Hayate said to her reassuringly. "You've almost got it. It takes time and skill to be able to hold it while moving, and even more so while in combat or using other ninjutsu. I want you all to at least be able to use it while moving. That will give you an escape in case a fight is going unfavorably for you."

The trio just nodded in response and got back to training their new technique.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The days passed and by the evening of their second day of travel, they had reached the small Inaho village that was near the northern border of Hi no Kuni. As they arrived, they slowed to a walk and traveled at a regular pace into the village. They didn't want to scare any of the local residents.

"Okay, we'll find an inn for the night and take care of the bandits tomorrow. Assuming nothing goes wrong, we'll be back home in two days." Hayate said, taking the lead and walking off towards a small inn.

"Sounds good to me." Hinata responded. Her legs were sore from the continuous running. It wasn't like she couldn't handle it, but non-stop running for hours at a time was still tedious.

The group booked two rooms for the night and set Kiba and Shino in one room, while Hayate and Hinata took the other. They were small rooms with two beds, a desk, and a bathroom with a shower in it. The village itself was 'small' when compared to Konoha, but it still had basic amenities, something that Hinata was very grateful for.

"Okay shishou. Do you want the first shower or can I take it?" Hinata asked, dropping her bag on the floor.

"Go for it." Hayate responded, sitting down at the desk and pulling out a book.

Hinata glanced at the book out of curiosity and gaped. 'Icha Icha Violence? Shishou! You're into these things too!?'

"Is that book any good?" Hinata asked out of curiosity.

"Mhm. Go get a shower, I want one too. Hurry up." Hayate responded, not looking up from the novel.

"What's it about..?" Hinata asked innocently, walking over with her hands behind her back to peek over his shoulder.

"Nothing. You're too young. Go get in the shower." Hayate said closing the book, and turning around to stare at Hinata. "If you don't want to take one, I'll go."

"Fine… You're no fun." Hinata turned around and walked towards the bathroom. "Enjoy your smut." She said, right before closing the door and turning on the shower.

Hayate just blanched and stared in shock at the closed door. 'How does she know about the book? Has she read them? No! She's much too young to be reading this! So then how did she recognize it? Was this your doing, Jiraiya!?"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Tsunade arrived in a village on the border of Hi no Kuni and Yu no Kuni, when she and Shizune finally stopped running. They had been traveling non-stop to get here. Finally back in Hi no Kuni, she decided they could take a rest.

"Let's head to the inn. We'll leave in the morning." Tsunade said, leading the way.

"Yes, shishou." Shizune followed along, carrying their bags on her back and her small pig in her arms.

The two of them entered the inn and rented out a single room. It wouldn't take long for them to get to Konohagakure from here. If they rushed, they could make it in a day.

Tsunade sighed. "I'm taking a shower, keep watch. I can sense other shinobi staying in the inn."

Shizune nodded and stood near the window, looking out at the Inaho village below. 'After so long, we're almost home!'