NARUTO: KARYŪDEN (ナルト - 渦流伝, NARUTO: WHIRLPOOL CHRONICLES)
The concept of this fic started during the very early stages of the Fourth War arc and so some things are different from the canon which is the nature of all fanfics, anyway.
1) Naruto doesn't take 2 additional years to realize Hinata may or may not like him. For the purposes of this fic, imagine that 'The Last: Naruto the Movie' happened right after the war, not two years later.
2) There is no Sixth Hokage (yet). Tsunade remains Fifth Hokage during the peaceful period.
3) Orochimaru is actually dead, and Team Taka are imprisoned.
While the story does follow Naruto and Hinata, there will be a good deal of focus on their students and the relationships that they make, and sometimes the focus will be entirely on them. So OCs will be aplenty.
A NEW BEGINNING
A crowd has gathered outside of Yakiniku Q, one of the Hidden Leaf's most famous barbecue restaurants, although they were not there for the reason staff would've liked. No, they gathered because they'd heard a certain someone is currently inside. Shouting his name, demanding to enter just to get autographs. They've been getting really pushy and disturbing the customers inside.
One staff member was picked as a 'sacrifice' to go to a private room and speak to the particular group that had drawn to the establishment. Usually valued customers were not to be disturbed, especially ones of their status and reputation, as they tend to have larger than life attitudes and service staff are always the ones who have to deal with it, but extenuating circumstances call for it this time.
The man excuses himself and slides the door open. He takes a look at the VIPs inside. A group of 11 shinobi, 7 men and 4 women who distinguished themselves in the Fourth Great Ninja War and are on their way to high ranking positions in their fields, despite their relatively young ages at 17 years old.
The woman steadily on her way to heading the medical teams, following in the footsteps of the Fifth Hokage. The man who's already sitting by the Hokage's side as an advisor. Many would-be leaders of their respective clans with longstanding histories and traditions. But most of all, the Hero of the War. The man who quite literally saved the world.
"Uh, pardon the intrusion, Lord Uzumaki." He addresses the man sitting in the middle next to a rather beautiful woman with lavender hair. "The people outside are becoming more difficult to keep at bay. It's… bothering the other customers." The member of staff embarrassed to have to ask this avoids eye contact.
Tenten gives a light chuckle leaning on the table. "Ah, the pain of being famous."
Naruto scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry 'bout this. I'll… try and do something about them." He stands up, letting go of Hinata's hand that he'd been holding, and makes his way outside followed by the waiter. The young woman blushes and focuses intently on her plate.
Shikamaru sighs. "We can't even have a simple meal together. It's already a drag to get our schedules to match without all of this getting in the way."
Kiba laughs. "Hey, it's not our fault we're heroes! Well, maybe it kinda is. But it's natural people would crowd around, hahah!" He tries to snatch up some meat from the table but is sniped by Choji's ever-watchful eye (when it comes to food, at least). "Hey!"
Shino takes some food from his side of the table. "Kiba, the people outside are not here for us but for Naruto. Why, you ask? Because Naruto is the one who saved everyo-" He looks around to see his companions chatting to each other. He lowers his head dejected. "No one is listening."
Ino smirks and leans over the table closer to Hinata. "Naruto's only been gone for a few seconds. You don't have to look so lonely already. If you two are gonna be a couple, you'll need to get used to it, you know. There's nothing uglier than jealousy."
Sakura mutters behind her cup. "Like you're one to talk."
Hinata's blush deepens. "No, that's not it, at all! I would never…"
Sakura intervenes in aid of her friend. "Come on, Ino, knock it off. We can just be happy for them. But, man, I never thought the blockheaded Naruto and the shy Hinata would be the first of us in a relationship." She sighs. "Makes me feel I'm wasting my time…"
"Oh, don't feel that way, Sakura. You're strong, capable, and beautiful. I'm sure you have many admirers." Hinata reassures her friend.
"Thanks, Hinata." The pinkette smiles.
Ino teases her. "Maybe your brutish strength is scaring them off." The two stare each other down following the comment.
At this point Naruto returns to the room with the waiter.
Sai speaks up, being mostly quiet during the party. "Oh, they've already dispersed?"
"Uhh kinda? I left like 10 Shadow Clones outside and told them to take the crowd somewhere quiet. They're dealing with it now."
"Hm. A surprisingly smart way of dealing with it. Well done."
"... I feel like that was more of an insult than a compliment." Naruto brushes it off and turns to the staff. "Could you hand everyone else a bottle of something for home? As a way of saying sorry. Uhh nothing too extravagant."
The man looks surprised. "Um, yes, of course! I'll pick something adequate." He bows and takes his leave.
Naruto once more takes his seat next to Hinata, who smiles at his return.
Sakura reaches over and lightly taps him on the shoulder. "Look at you, spending your hard earned money. But you better not go overboard. Leave some to buy gifts for Hinata. She deserves a lot for being willing to put up with you."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He looks down to his new girlfriend and smiles. "A lotta people keep telling me that. I'm not a kid anymore, y'know."
Shikamaru interrupts by standing up, holding his cup. "Alright, before something else happens to interrupt us. Let's toast. We probably won't be able to all see each other for a long time. Tomorrow, Naruto and Hinata leave for a long mission and won't be back for a long time, so we gotta make the best of it."
The proposition came in some weeks ago for a cultural exchange of sorts. People from each Hidden Village would travel to other villages to keep the good relations created during the war. And Naruto being the hero respected by all villages was heavily requested and he eagerly agreed to do it. It would be a long endeavor and need several months-long stay in each of the foreign lands.
It was then that Hinata was pushed by friends and family to not let him slip away again and she confessed her feelings which were readily returned. So the Hyuga decided to join her childhood love in his journey.
Shikamaru takes a look around the private room, at all the people he's known for practically his entire life. "We've all been through a lot and we'll go through a lot more in the future. The world's changing and we're all gonna be on the forefront of it whether we like it or not. So… uhh, I guess I wanted to say thanks for everything so far and… I look forward to working with you all."
Ino sighs and stands up as well "Seriously, you sound kind of formal and depressing. We're still going to see each other, silly. This isn't going to be our last party."
"That is right, Shikamaru!" Lee jumps to his feet. "We're all in our springtime of youth and nothing can take it away! We must treasure every single moment we have and do our best to create even more moments to treasure!"
"Right… Well, I just wanted to say it, is all."
Everyone stands up and toast to their friendship.
The group of friends would continue the festivities, unaware that this would be their last time with all 11 for the next 2 years, longer than any anticipated. They continued well into the evening, chatting about any random thing that crossed their mind, catching up on their newfound responsibilities.
This would all come to a close when Lee accidentally drank from Tenten's sake cup and ended up destroying a wall. Tenten agreed to help Lee pay for the damages. If her wallet could cry, it would.
The sun already set long ago and the party over, Naruto and Hinata are walking along the streets of the Hidden Leaf on their way to the Hyuga estate. The two and only slightly rosey-cheeked from the drinks. Some overdid it, but they did have a mission tomorrow so had to measure their drinks.
"Um, Naruto?" The blonde looks to Hinata by his side as they're walking. "Why did you agree to the mission tomorrow?"
"Hmm. Well, I figured I gotta, y'know? It's like Shikamaru said, we have a lot of responsibilities. If we wanna keep the peace, we have to work for it. If I'm gonna become Hokage, then I have to work at it 100 times more than everyone else. And I thought getting to know the other villages better and be friends with 'em would help me to that goal. And I'm kinda dragging you into it, too." He gives an embarrassed smile. "Sorry."
"No! Don't apologize. I want to help, too!" She looks down to her feet as she walks "The Hyuga have spent a lot of time secluding ourselves. And even though we've had our reasons, I feel I have to take on the responsibility of making sure we're more open to others."
"Even if it means being away from your family for like a year?"
She nods. "A year away, but potentially generations to friendships. It's a small price. And besides, you're doing it, too. For the second time, even. Going away from the village and friends you care about to make sure you can protect it and everyone in it."
Hinata braces herself, knowing she's about to say something her younger self would have fainted just thinking about. But the sake and her actually being in a relationship with the one she's always loved gave her courage. "I… spent a lot of time following you, watching your back as you fought and moved forward. But now I want to stand by your side and look to the future with you. I was ready to gIve up when father announced Hanabi as the heir, but you motivated me not to. As you did everyone during the war. That's... exactly why I love you." She's looking down, her cheeks now red both from alcohol and shyness.
Naruto stops and turns to face her. "Hinata…" he places his hands on her arms and stands closer to her. "I... love you, too. And I'm so happy to be with you on this." Words he'd not really said to another person before. He'd proclaimed it many times to Sakura but it was never truly what he felt. He'd never had anyone close enough to say these words to and mean, until recently.
She looks up to meet his eyes. At some point they'd stopped walking and were facing each other. The moonlight beaming behind them, the quiet atmosphere of their surroundings, the rush from the alcohol… All the elements were there to lead them to lean closer to each other. Naruto leans down slightly, having grown quite taller over the years. In the romantic moment, they embrace and their lips meet. A moment both of them probably envisioned differently, but one they welcomed. Hinata grasps Naruto's sleeves as if to make sure this isn't some sort of hallucination.
Reality kicks in, however, with a throat being cleared. They break away immediately and look to a wall next to them. Atop it is a teenage girl. Her brown hair frames her face, reaching just above her shoulders, with a strand going between her eyes; eyes a very distinct pale colour.
"H-Hanabi? W-What are you doing here?" Hinata asks in a slightly more squeaky way than she probably intended.
Hanabi points behind her with her thumb. "I live here."
Finally noticing their surroundings, Naruto and Hinata see they were already at Hyuga estate without even realizing it. Hinata looks to Naruto, to Hanabi, to the estate, in a panic. "Excuse me!" and rushes off inside, leaving Naruto bewildered.
Hanabi grins and gives Naruto a thumbs up "Good job." and she Flickers inside after her sister.
Naruto returns the thumbs up belated only after both sisters have left. He blinks and begins walking. After a moment he realizes he should be walking in the opposite direction.
Iruka has work at the Academy early in the morning. Because of that, he tried going to bed a couple hours ago but it just wasn't taking. He has this nagging feeling that he should be doing something else but he has no idea what.
Maybe that knocking on the door holds the answer. Wait, what? "It's the middle of the night, who'd be visiting at this time…" he muses to himself as he quickly gets dressed in something better suited for greeting people, even if they're knocking on your door in the dead of night.
He opens the door to unexpectedly be met by locks of blonde hair.
"Naruto?" Iruka raises a brow at the sight of his student.
"Heya, Iruka-sensei! You awake?"
"Well, obviously. Why are you- Wait, are you drunk?" Iruka notices his reddened cheeks and his need to lean on the doorframe.
"I mean, a little. We had some barbecue and had some drinks. Not a lot, a little."
"Yes, you mentioned. Well, don't just stand there, come in." Iruka sighs and opens the door wider for Naruto to walk in, pardoning himself for the intrusion. Iruka leads him to the kitchen where Naruto sits down while Iruka goes to the sink to fill a glass with water. "So how does the barbecue lead you to being here?"
"It's just been a while since we talked, y'know? And I leave for a long mission tomorrow and I didn't wanna leave without saying bye or thank you."
Iruka places the glass of water on the table in front of Naruto and sits down himself. "Thank you? What for, I haven't done anything."
"Not true. You've done more than I can say." He grabs the glass with both hands but doesn't drink it, instead just staring it down. "If you didn't believe in me way back when, I don't know what I would've become. You really saved me."
Iruka scratches the back of his head. "I'm not sure I'd go that far. Believing in your student is a teacher's job. Maybe it took me a while to realize it."
"But at that time no one believed in me, only you did. You saved me. And because of that I got to where I am now. I got strong, I have a lot of friends, ... I have Hinata. So… thanks."
"Naruto…" Iruka inches his chair closer and places a hand on his student's back. "That… means a lot. Thank you. But make no mistake, you were strong even back then. Not many could've gone through what you did and turned out as well as you did."
Naruto drinks the water he was given. "Because they don't have a teacher like you." He smiles at his teacher and if he was more sober he might see him fight back tears. "Anyway, I should get going. I'm keeping you awake." He stands up and makes his way out the door. "Good night, Iruka-sensei."
"Good night, Naruto." Iruka closes the door and wipes his eyes with his sleeve. He goes to bed with a newfound motivation to do even better at the Academy.
The sun has barely broken through the horizon, peeking over the Hokage Monument. For many people this would be too early for anything. Naruto was usually one of these people, but not today. He's stood in front of a mirror, wearing clothes that he's never worn before.
A dark shirt where the only orange is a streak going from his shoulders to his arms. Metal arm guards cover his … well, arms, with a metal plate providing protection to the back of his hand. His artificial right arm is bandaged as usual. His pants are the same dark colour as his shirt and have the standard kunai pouch strapped to them and they're tucked into ninja boots that go up to his calves.
He ties a forehead protector around his… well, forehead. Many of these items seem to have self-explanatory names. The cloth matches the rest of his outfit and while the metal plate itself has the Hidden Leaf symbol as one would expect, it has the distinct feature of 2 small horns protruding from its corners. A custom job but one that was readily provided for him and a gesture that put Tsunade in an overly happy mood.
He takes a good final look of his attire, making sure everything is in place. He then takes the final piece to wear. A plain dark green flack jacket, a brand new model that's now worn by the Hidden Villages of the Five Great Nations, varying only in colour. A set of pouches are attached to a belt around the waist for a shinobi's scroll-needing purposes.
"Well, whaddya think?" He gives his usual grin, which eventually fades when he hears no response. "... Hello? … Oi!"
"You truly don't know how to give someone privacy, do you, Naruto?" A booming voice echoes in his mind. "Your appearance is of no consequence."
"Well I won't let my mood be ruined! My first official day as a Chuunin, finally."
"Hrm"
He looks at himself in the mirror for a few more minutes. With the support of practically everyone in the Hidden Leaf and even other villages, he was promoted to Chuunin after the war and he already had a mission waiting for in a couple of hours. He could probably go to the Hyuga estate to check up on HInata. But what if he runs into her sister and she brings up last night? What if her father saw? They all have the Byakugan, they can see anything from anywhere! Maybe skip the Hyuga estate for now.
Thinking back on everything, he can't help but be embarrassed at how he missed the hints made obvious in hindsight. But things are different now. Oh, he's still oblivious to plenty of things but he has someone closeby to help him with that. And to top it off, the two of them are to be together on this mission for quite a while. Alright, that's all set. He heads out of his apartment ready to meet the day. He can eat some Ichiraku Ramen before they head out for their mission.
A more reasonable time of day now, Naruto lands in front of the Gates where Hinata is already waiting. Punctual as always.
She's different from mere months ago. Instead of the baggy clothes she wore initially, she's also wearing the Hidden Leaf flack jacket but her clothes beneath are more dark purple than black and baggier than his. Probably to allow more freedom with her taijutsu, he gathers.
They approach each other, both blushing.
"Naruto, you… look good. It suits you."
"Y-yeah, you, too!"
At the station by the gate, Izumo coughs very much on purpose. "You two here to flirt or do you have a mission to get to?"
Seriously, it's not enough they get to go out on actual missions but do they have to rub it in that they're an item?
"Oh! My apologies" Hinata turns to Kotetsu and Izumo, the usual suspects when it comes to guard duty.
Naruto gives a mock salute while Hinata gives a proper bow. "Kotetsu, Izumo, thank you for your hard work." and presents their mission scroll as proof they're going out for business.
Kotetsu takes it and quickly scans over its contents. "Heading out, huh? Must be nice not being bound to one place."
Izumo writes down some details in a scroll and stamps the couple's mission scroll. "Here you go. Have a safe trip, you two."
Just as they're about to turn to leave, a voice calls out to them. "Naruto! Hinata!" They turn around to see its source is none other than Tsunade, followed closely by Shizune holding Tonton.
"Lady Fifth? Why are you all the way out here?" Hinata asks.
"Hey, I'm glad I caught you just in time. Something new came up. A side-mission, if you will." She hands them a mission scroll. "There've been reports of shinobi going missing around the border with the Land of Steam. Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, Hidden Hot Waters, and even whatever shinobi the Hidden Sound has left since Orochimaru's death. Since you're going in that direction, anyway, I'm assigning you to investigate the disappearances and hopefully apprehend those responsible."
"Won't that slow us down? The Hidden Cloud is expecting us, y'know?" Naruto interjects.
"It's fine. The Hidden Cloud knows about this. In fact, they're sending a team of their own, as is the Hidden Hot Water. You're to cooperate on this and once done, you'll go with the Cloud shinobi."
Hinata reads over the report. "Hidden Cloud? I understand the Hidden Hot Waters as this is happening on the border so they may have suffered losses, as well, but why the Cloud?"
"They've been chasing after some criminals that escaped in the war. They think some of theirs might be involved so they requested permission to investigate. You're to meet in Kusatsu Town."
"Yes, ma'am." Hinata bows.
"But did you really need to come all the way out here to tell us this? Could've sent someone with the scrolls instead of coming out yourself." Naruto asks.
Tsunade's eye twitches and lightly smacks Naruto over the head. "Whatever, brat, just get going."
Naruto rubs his head. "Yeah, yeah. See ya!" And the two walk out of the Hidden Leaf to venture on their journey, hand in hand.
Just outside the village, Naruto turns to face the Hokage Monument. The First and Second he had the honour of fighting alongside, the Third who he looked up as his own grandfather, the Fourth who he had the pleasure to call father, and Granny who was… well, Granny. He raises a hand to the monument and balls it into a fist. A promise and an oath he'd made before already. To come back better and stronger than ever and to not fail them. Hinata smiles at his gesture.
Shizune watches on for a bit before turning to the Hokage. "Is that fine? You didn't even say what you wanted to say."
Tsunade smiles and turns around to head back to her office. "No, this is fine. To begin with, our relationship was never like that, anyway." She turns around to get one last look at the two. It feels like so long ago that she scoffed at Naruto's every word and thought nothing of him. She was among the first to learn how powerful Naruto's determination is and that his words were never empty. He'll definitely make a worthy successor one day. "Take care of each other."
Somewhere in the Land of Fire, deep within a dark cave a dozen cloaked figures surround a stone altar, standing several meters away from it to form a circle. They're all forming the same hand seal, channeling their chakra into the altar and the unmoving body laying on top of it.
One man stands closer to the altar- black shirt and white stripes criss-crossing. Probably his most notable feature is his scarred face- one scar leading from his jawline to his nose and another from his forehead to his ear going through his eyebrow and chipping said ear a little bit
For the following minutes, the body becomes more and more disheveled as its lifeforce is drained by the mysterious ritual. The drained body opens numerous wounds, leaving the blood to drain into lines carved within the stone.
A symbol, a triangle within a circle, fills with blood.
"Hail Jashin."
Two new figures walk into the ritual chamber. A woman with long red hair tied in a ponytail and a man with an oni mask covering his face, only short brown hair visible over it. They're carrying another body, the flack jacket and headband of the Hidden Leaf. The body thuds on the ground, interrupting the ritual.
The man standing by himself turns around and walks over to them angrily, getting inches away from their faces.
"You incomptenet fucks. How many items do I have to tell you the ritual is for the faithful only?!" He spits as he speaks. Luckily the man has a mask for protection.
"Apologies, Lord Fudou."
"This is why I can't stand mercenaries. You haven't the slightest idea of our cause! Money-grubbing worms without a shred of ambition." He looks down at the corpse and kicks it "What's this one, then?"
"Yin Style. Medic and genjutsu user." The man speaks up while the woman simply looks stoic; internally screaming.
Fudou's mood brightens slightly. "Excellent. You're not as useless you make yourselves out to be. Be on the lookout for more of them. Medic ninja, Genjutsu users, Hiden users, Kekkei Genkai… anything. We need unique chakra for our purpose, ordinary ninja won't cut it.
The two nod and make their way out. Two the cloaked figures come to drag the body to the altar so the ritual may begin anew.
The woman walks forward, not seeming interested in whether her partner is with her or not. As she walks through the carved out rocks she ducks even though she was nowhere near hitting her head. The man lightly cocks his head at this but remains silent about it.
He speaks up. "I shall remain in Kusatsu to seek out any shinobi coming and going. You venture onto the paths for any travellers."
The woman snaps back and get in his face, not unlike Fudou did earlier. "You don't tell me what to do. Just because we're working for the same guys means jack."
"Very well. I shall remain in Kusatsu as you do as you please."
"You're damn right."
The two leave the dark caverns and are met by a mountainous landscape, a relatively small town visible in the far distance. The woman Flickers away to the roads leading in and out Kusatsu. Not because she was told, she just felt like it and it meant she'd be far from this guy. The man simply shakes his head and makes his way to town.
Trivia
This was originally a Naruto x Samui fic.