Chapter 19 - Reunions


March 1st, 67 AFL

It had been nearly three years since Sakura had heard that voice, the voice that could only belong to one person. Her baka, she knew now that he was back. The pinkette followed the sound, closely followed by Konohamaru and his teammates trying desperately to locate the source. She was then shocked when the person she was seeking dropped down right in front of her,

"Baka!" Sakura shouted and gave him a small tap to the head before wrapping her arms around him, "Naruto-kun I can't believe how much you've grown, it looks like you're finally taller than me," she giggled while nuzzling her neck into his chest. The blonde smiled fondly at her before letting out an inward sigh of relief, he had been worried that Sakura's affection for him might've lessened with their time apart but clearly that wasn't the case. She released him and he finally got a good look at his first crush,

"Sakura-hime you look as beautiful as ever, believe it," he chuckled at the use of the old vocal tic that had slowly started to go away as he had grown. Sakura blushed and looked away for a moment while her inner self thought, 'How did Hinata control herself, those big strong arms, those abs I could feel, even through that baggy jumpsuit of his, damn.' Naruto picked up on her zoned out state and quickly snuck in a quick kiss to her forehead making her blink in surprise and as a result made her latch on to him while forcing him into a deep kiss. "I missed you," he said and then embraced her tightly again. She held him tightly herself and simply replied, "I missed you too, baka, believe it." The two parted once again and Sakura spotted her counterpart over Naruto's shoulder.

"Hinata!" Sakura yelled out and in her excitement pushed Naruto to the side, much harder than she had intended, she figured that in the end that this was a combination of all of their faults, she finalized while sprinting towards the Hyuga princess. She embraced Hinata tightly and then whispered a few words into ear, the first piece of news had the byakugan wielder jumping with joy but the second caused her to go red in the face before she quickly sighed and whispered in the pinkette's ear,

"He's completely oblivious when it comes to that Sakura. Actually turned out to be a good thing because if he knew what he was doing I doubt I could resist," Hinata admitted as straight faced as she could. It was around this time the blonde awoke and saw his soulmates both red in the face. Before he had the chance to ask what was wrong however his sweet moonlight addressed him, "I would love to catch up with you Sakura but I have few things that need to be done as soon as possible so I'll have to meet up with you two later." She explained causing the pinkette to look deep in her eyes as she asked hesitantly,

"So does that mean you two, you know figured it out?" Hinata could only sigh in disappointment, "No but we're close, really close but for now we'll just have to improvise." Hinata gave Sakura a small smile and Naruto looked at the girl he had been with for almost three years in concern. "Hinata-chan, are you absolutely sure you don't want me and Sakura there too?" He asked sternly. Hinata simply shook her head,

"No it's better if I show how strong I am on my own and once those bastards here the truth about your heritage, I'm sure they'll be forced to reconsider the next heiress, especially with the fact that if they chose me we'll technically have three seats on the council, your dads, the Uzumaki and the Hyuga clans." She explained calmly and then with one last goodbye disappeared in a dark blue flash. Sakura gasped and then turned to Naruto but before she could inquire, the blonde hastily picked her up into his arms and before Sakura could blink they were standing in front of the Hokage tower,

"Yeah we figured that one out at least," he said smugly while still holding her close. She flushed and let herself down, while crossing her arms she made her way into the building, "Well don't think you're the only one with new tricks, I've been training too, you know." Naruto grinned and sprinted to catch up to pinkette and held the door open. Surprised by his gesture she let herself in and waited for the blonde. She took his hand and said, "I want to learn that too," Sakura almost whispered but this caused the blonde to burst out laughing.

"What's so funny BAKA!" Naruto managed to calm himself and then winced at the pain coursing through his firmly gripped hand, "It's just not that easy Sakura-chan, each individual user has to have their seal specifically coated to match their chakra. Then you have to make multiple seals and spread them all over where you want to be able to go. I sent in a hoard of shadow clones to cover the entire village before we even met up. It's actually a wonder you ran into the real me first and besides a pink flash seriously." Naruto chuckled again and Sakura's temper reached new limits,

"Naruto Uzumaki-baka I'll have you know I've learned my fair share of Fuinjutsu and how dare you make fun of my hair you damn baka!" She shouted and then immediately began chasing him down while the blonde could only grin as he thought, "Same old Sakura-chan,' he chuckled while doing his best to avoid his soulmate's volatile temper. It wasn't five minutes later when Naruto burst through Lady Tsunade's door and bumped into a couple of old friends,

"Hey Shika, what's up?" The blonde spotted the sand kunoichi next to him and then chuckled slyly while bumping his comrade in the chest, "I see you've been making progress, huh Shikamaru." Shikamaru internally chuckled but chose to scoff instead, "That jutsus defective, she's way too troublesome for me to take most of the time." Naruto grinned but then an ominous presence filled the room, "What was that Nara!?" Temari shouted and then the son of the Fourth heard an all too familiar voice shout, "Uzumaki!" Naruto and Shikamaru started sweating but before they could do a thing they heard both of their partners shout.

"Baka!" The next thing the two friends knew they we're on the ground rubbing their heads while Temari and Sakura looked at them angrily. Tsunade sighed and that's when the young blonde chunin heard a cry. He looked around the room and spotted his godfather playing with two small children, over by the couch that was stationed near the side of the room. Naruto jumped to his feet and walked over to his Ero-sensei, "Wow Pervy Sage, I can't believe you two actually pulled that off being as ancient as you are," he said before picking up the younger twin Anzu. Tsunade had a vein on her forehead and actually yelled at this point,

"Naruto you're trying my patience, now did you get stronger on your trip with this pervert or did he spend the whole time doing the one thing he's not allowed to do anymore?" The slug princess inquired while turning her glare toward Jiraiya. The blonde grinned that classic Uzumaki grin and gave a poise, "Believe it Ba-chan, the old pervert behaved himself well enough and I learned a bunch of new jutsu." Tsunade's expression shifted into a small smile, "Ok then, you two should have no problem taking on an old friend then. Get in here Kakashi!" The man with over a thousand jutsu appeared in the window sill and announced his presence with a simple,

"Yo." "Kakashi-sensei, so you're my opponent," Naruto said happily. The jounin chuckled before walking over toward his blonde student, "Yeah you and… you Sakura," he said while pointing at the pinkette. Sakura and Naruto looked at each other in surprise for a moment before sharing a foxy grin and then faced their sensei with determined expressions, "You're screwed sensei," Naruto stated confidently. "Naruto-kun always keeps his word sensei so I'm inclined to believe him, cha!" Sakura added while cracking her knuckles. Kakashi chuckled before telling them where to meet him and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto picked Sakura back up into his arms but before he could vanish Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder gaining his attention,

"When the time comes we'll save them together, ok Naruto," The Nara said solemnly. Naruto and Sakura smiled and nodded and with that they were gone, disappearing in an orange flash of light. Naruto and Sakura managed to arrive a few minutes before their old sensei and spent the time talking about what had happened since the blonde baka's departure. Sakura told the blonde how new teams had been constructed shortly after, considering that at least one member from the rookie teams was now mia as well as their old friend Gaara's promotion to Kazekage. Naruto was happy for Gaara but couldn't stop himself from wishing that he was becoming a Kage as well. When she told him that after Kakashi-sensei and Shizune started getting serious Gai had even found himself a girlfriend it made Naruto wonder who was crazy enough to handle his flames of youth and bushy eyebrows.

Just when the conversation was dying down and Naruto and Sakura started a few rounds of light kissing, their old jonin appeared right in front of them resulting in them both screaming in fright. Sakura got to her feet flustered and embarrassed, deciding to attempt to pound the gray haired shinobi into next week. Naruto chuckled and got up as well but before their spar could actually start the blonde couldn't help but think in worry, 'I hope everything goes according to plan Hinata-hime, all that I want is for you and Sakura-chan to be safe.' "Come on Naruto let's get started," Kakashi said with a now well defined bump on his head. Naruto grinned that foxy grin of his and shouted, "Alright Sakura-chan let's do this!" Sakura smiled and replied, "Right." The three remaining members of Team 7 got ready for combat, in just a few moments the second bell test would finally begin.


Meanwhile Hinata was making her way into her clan's main chamber where she would contest the decision of the next heiress. She finally entered the room to see several of the elders as well as a few branch members standing guard. She recognized Neji but knew she couldn't greet him at the moment and simply took a seat on the ground next to her younger sister. "Hinata Uzumaki, we have decided to have your younger sister take over as heiress to the clan based on the simple fact that the girl is stronger than you. Not to mention the fact that you've been fated to be a whore for a clan less demon while your sister has been paired with the grandson of the Third Hokage. Based on these simple facts we revoke your first born right as the next..."

The elder stopped when he felt the killer intent radiating from the girl he was insulting and even heard a deep chuckle. He turned his head to Hiashi but eerily enough he was laughing as well, "Funny elders because I can dispute both of those claims." "What are you blabbering about Hinata!" An elder yelled, causing Hinata to smirk and raise her left hand, "Naruto-kun's full name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the only son of the Fourth Hokage. You know it's actually really funny that the clan that supposedly has the best vision couldn't even figure out that simple truth." The elders were stunned and then looked to Hiashi again who simply nodded confirming his daughter's words, although it wasn't like they could deny the symbol that was embedded in her hand.

"It still doesn't matter Hanabi is still stronger than you," another elder tried to protest but Hinata just grinned. "Then I challenge Hanabi for the right to remain heiress, you know I don't really know why you're still trying to fight against this when you know I've been with Master Jiraiya for the last few years." Hinata got to her feet as did her sister and got ready for a spar that would decide which one would be cast out of the main house and branded with the Bird Cage Seal. Hanabi was overconfident, she had always defeated her sister before and although she felt bad for Hinata that wasn't going to hold her or her clan back,

"Sorry Hinata but I'm going to win, like I always have." Hinata only sighed, "I'm sorry too Hanabi but I promise…" Hanabi blinked and lost sight of her sister, "That I'm going…" The younger Hyuga turned around ready to strike but when she did Hinata disappeared in a puff of smoke, 'Where is she, how can I not find her?' Hanabi thought, "That I will save our clan and save you, Eight Trigrams - Sixteen Palms, Thirty-two Palms, Sixty-four Palms!" Hanabi fell to the ground in pain and looked up at her elder sister in shock,

"How? How did you master it?" Hinata smiled, "Well it's honestly thanks to Neji and Naruto-kun, Sakura too since she discovered the shadow clone justu's secret. It gave me plenty of experience and time to practice," she finished calmly. Hanabi snarled, "Well don't think I'm done just because you blocked my chakra!" Hinata sighed again as Hanabi came charging in and she threw a kunai that the younger Hyuga was barely able to dodge. Suddenly Hinata managed to escape Hanabi's sight once again and the last thing she remembered was looking up at her sister who had caught her in her arms. Hinata sighed before laying the unconscious Hanabi on the ground and then scowled at the Hyuga elders,

"Since Hanabi isn't even a shinobi yet and Konohamaru is just genin, I see no reason why you should place the seal on her." "And why is that?!" An elder barked out but Hinata maintained her composure, "Because if you're lucky enough, I'll die out in the field and you can still have the heir you want," she replied coldly. "Until then you can all go screw yourselves for all I care," where Hinata's last word before she vanished in a blur leaving the Hyuga council stunned. Hinata landed on the roof of the compound and sighed, this was a dangerous game she was playing but it looked like the elders wouldn't be a problem for now at least. Hinata let out another breath before thinking, 'Even if we figure out how to break that damn seal, how are we going to get it passed the elders thick heads, damn it! Oh well I can't worry about that now, let's see if I can find Naruto-kun and Sakura,' "Byakugan!" Hinata managed to spot her comrades with her incredible vision and then suddenly vanished in another dark blue flash.


Meanwhile in the deserts village of Sunagakure, the current Kazekage was currently looking out at his village, "You should really come inside, you have a meeting with the council soon." Garra turned around to a girl he had trained personally and had turned out to be his soulmate, "Matsuri do you know why I became Kazekage?" The girl simply shook her head causing the Kazekage to sigh,

"When I was young I convinced myself what the villagers always told me. That I was a monster unworthy of loving or being loved by someone and for a long time I blindly followed that path." Matsuri shuddered remembering the horror stories that she was told but cupped Gaara's face and looked at him closely, "What changed, if I may ask." The sand jinchuuriki's eyes looked deep into hers as he replied, "I meant a young shinobi that taught me that we are who we choose to be. I've never told you this but you have no idea how happy I was that you chose me that day to be your sensei and even if I didn't know it at first I'm glad you felt the same thing for me that I feel for you." Matsuri leaned into Gaara as she replied,

"You still had to go through that stupid jutsu just to figure out what you actually felt for me Lord Kazekage," she started smugly. Before Gaara could reply she continued, "But I'm happy that you did because Kami knows I wouldn't have had the confidence to approach you myself." The leader of the sand showed a rare smile but unfortunately for the pair they were interrupted, "Um Lord Kazekage, sorry to interrupt but seriously the council wants you now," Kin said and Kankuro added,

"Yeah lil bro it's time and the old geezers are getting angry." Gaara sighed but released Matsuri and proceeded to follow his brother and his soulmate. Before he got too far though Matsuri spun him around and pulled his lips down for a chaste kiss. After she released him she looked at him while red in the face, "You're Gaara, my Gaara, my soulmate, my Kazekage, and my love, nothing more and definitely nothing less." The red haired jinchuuriki shared that rare smile with her again but before leaving her on the balcony he said, "And you're my Matsuri, my student, my love, and my Lady Kaze."


Back in the Hidden Leaf, Naruto and Sakura were getting ready to retake the same bell test that they had completed when they first formed Team 7. Unbeknownst to them Hinata had appeared next to Tsunade and Jiraiya who were hiding nearby, "Do you want to join them, you can if you want?" Tsunade said but Hinata simply shook her head, "This is for them and I think Kakashi wouldn't stand much of a chance against all three of us. This is fair," she replied, content on watching the show with sannin. "Alright Sakura-chan, what do you think?" Naruto asked, causing Sakura to smirk and whisper something into Naruto's ear. The blonde eagerly nodded like the damn fool he was,

"Yeah Sakura-chan that might work but let me set the field first." Sakura looked at him confused but shrugged her shoulders and with that Naruto leapt into the air, "I'll have to thank Tenten for this idea." He said while whipping out a scroll and suddenly shouted, "Unsealing Jutsu!" Dozens of kunai rained down on the jonin but just as he was about to dodge the earth underneath him gave way from the forceful punch Sakura had delivered to it. Suddenly he saw Naruto diving for him at full speed but when he went to slice the blonde while dodging the oncoming kunai he disappeared in a puff of smoke, "Shit, Shadow Clone!"

Suddenly he felt a disturbance beneath him and to his side, barely managing to dodge the pinkette who emerged from the earth beneath him and the blonde chunin who had suddenly appeared to his right in a bright orange flash. Kakashi managed to back away just in time and chuckled, "So Sakura you've learned some new jutsu and you Naruto, you actually managed to figure out your father's Flying Thunder God technique." Naruto chuckled while Sakura smiled smugly, "Yeah but Hinata was the one who managed to figure out all the kinks but man it's a cool jutsu, believe it sensei." Kakashi looked on proudly before reading himself and uncovering his sharingan,

"Alright then time for round two." Naruto immediately shouted, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!. Alright boys charge!" The near two thousand clones charged the jonin but Kakashi struck them down one by one until there were only a few hundred left, barely missing a hard right by Sakura, he kicked her into the air only to have the original catch her in mid flight. The blonde whispered something into her ear which made her face burn red but she nodded nonetheless. The rest of Naruto's clones formed three man squads and they all began forming chakra. Before Kakashi realized they were several Naruto's coming his way shouting,

"Giant Rasengan Barrage!" Kakashi just barely managed to escape serious injury but he did take a few hits to his back and arms. With that Kakashi decided it best to use stealth but the blonde had a counter, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He created another wave of clones and had them transform into birds and flying insects. They found him in no time and he once again was hit by a Rasengan Barrage. After landing from the attack he was kicked in the face by Sakura and was sent flying on his back. He got to his feet and met an indescribable horror. Sakura was standing over him smugly and then pointed behind her.

The jonin looked on and almost burst out in tears. There was his prized collection of smut, currently being shoveled onto a decent sized fire with the blonde jinchuuriki laughing cynically the whole way. "No! Stop Naruto, Shizune-chan said I could keep it as long as I never touched it again, please stop!" Naruto knocked him away with the shovel and simply replied, "Sorry, but by order of Lady Ba-chan, all the smut in the village must be destroyed effective immediately sensei." Naruto replied calmly and went back to work while Kakashi fell to his knees in despair, "Kami no, please no, Kai, Kami Kai Release!"

The next time the pervert woke up the fire was gone and his two students stood their smugly the bells securely in their hands. "How does it feel to be under a horrible genjutsu sensei," Sakura said in victory, remembering how Kakashi had tricked her the first time around. "Wow, sensei congrats on you and Shizune by the way, next you'll be telling me all of the jonin senseis hooked up too while we were gone," he chuckled, causing Sakura and Kakashi to sweat drop, the foolish blonde not knowing how right he was considering Asuma and Kurenai's current relationship as well as Gai and his girlfriend. Kakashi got to his feet and congratulated his students, "It looks like Team 7 is back in action and until we get Sasuke back we'll need a fourth member." He started and then looked to the woods,

"Hinata I assume you want to join us?" Kakashi asked the Hyuga princess who nodded and said, "Yeah, as much as I'd love to join back up with Kiba and Shino, apparently Fu took my spot while we were gone and until we get everyone back it wouldn't feel right to have Team 8 back together when Teams 7 and 10 are still missing members." Naruto and Sakura looked down in sadness at the mention of their friends but it jogged Sakura's memory and she made a mental note to tell them about her trip to Uzugakure once they got home. Kakashi took this moment to disappear while Hinata comforted her two closest people,

"Come on you two, it's been far to long since we've had dinner at Ichirakus," she explained causing the two Uzumakis to stubbornly nod and with that the Hyuga princess took their hands and lead them to their favorite restaurant. It wasn't ten minutes later that the trio's spirits were lifted by the delicious noodles and unexpectedly they were greeted by an old friend, "Iruka-sensei!" The blonde wailed out and then dove into the man's chest. The trio had a long conversation with their old academy teacher before the blonde threw down a wad of ryo and announced quite loudly,

"Alright my feisty cherry blossom and my sweet moonlight it's time to see how my old apartment is doing!" He shouted in excitement but before he got too far he felt two different hands on his shoulders. He turned around to meet Hinata and Sakura's smiling faces and couldn't help but blush, "Sorry Naruto-kun but you don't exactly live there anymore." Sakura explained with a smile which made the blonde's jaw drop, "What are you talking about Sakura-chan? What the hell do you mean?" The girls leaned into his chest and Hinata simply said, "Meet us on top of the monument, ok." The Hyuga princess grabbed Sakura and the pair vanished in a blur leaving the blonde confused but he complied nonetheless quickly following after Hinata using his father's old jutsu.


Meanwhile back in Suna, the village was currently enjoying a peaceful night, that was until several explosions devastated several nearby buildings. The Kazekage awoke and rushed out to do battle but just before he left on his sand he was stopped by Matsuri pulling him down for another liplock, "Please come back Lord Kazekage." Gaara nodded solemnly as he said, "I promise Lady Kaze." With that he took to the sky to meet Deidara who was standing comfortably on his bird made of clay.

The unknown nin identified himself as Deidara of the Akatsuki and told him of his objective to capture him. Gaara refused and the two engaged in a brutal battle but when Deidara decided to attack the village directly and the Kazekage had no choice but to protect his people. He used all of his chakra, as much sand as he could control and shielded the city from the Akatsuki's merciless assault but at the cost of victory. He started to fall from the sky but Deidara managed to catch him and then sped off in the night, leaving Suna wounded and Kageless.

Meanwhile Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze appeared on his father's head overseeing the village, he looked at it fondly for a moment before hearing, "Naruto-kun." He turned around to see Sakura and Hinata and smiled at them before saying, "You know I always forget how beautiful it is up here." They flushed but Sakura spoke as well, "Naruto-kun, well the reason we stopped sending payments to your landlord was simple, you see Hinata planned something for you. It just took literally years to get the ryo and work needed done. Luckily Kakashi-sensei knew a guy who somehow knew wood release, really lucky for us actually." Sakura explained calmly.

"You see Naru-kun unfortunately most of your parents' belongings including their home were destroyed when the nine-tails attacked so I decided that eventually we would need, well…" Hinata added. "Umm where are you two going with this?" the blonde shinobi questioned, somewhat irritated that his life long home had been so easily forgotten. "Well this," Sakura replied and then shoved a small piece of paper laced with a seal onto his chest. Naruto looked down in confusion and then up to Sakura to inquire and that's when he spotted the gigantic structure standing behind the two kunoichi.

Sakura and Hinata giggled at his perplexed face and each took one of his hands and led him toward the short trail that eventually led to the entrance. Once inside the girls managed to haul the comatose blonde over to the dining room and sat him on a chair. It was when he finally got a good bonk by Sakura that he eventually regained consciousness and managed to mouth out, "What is this?" Sakura smiled and pointed to Hinata who was red in the face,

"I knew you didn't have your own compound Naruto-kun so I decided to build the three of us a home but I never thought it'd actually get done before we became jonin," she managed to sputter out. Naruto's jaw was still open in shock so Sakura stepped in, "Like I said earlier Naruto-kun it took a long time but now you finally have the home you always deserved, it has two master bedrooms, seven spair rooms for any kids we may have. Five bathrooms as well as a huge kitchen, dining room and two living rooms. Plus a lot of other stuff so since you have so many rooms we were both wondering?"

"If we could start living with you?" Hinata blurted out red in the face. Naruto was still in shock but managed to respond, "Of course Hinata-hime, Sakura-hime I don't mind I'm just in shock. You guys really planned all this for me?" Sakura smiled again, "This was Hinata's idea but like with all of our gifts to you we both had a hand in putting it together, ok Naru-kun." She teased. Naruto grinned, "Seriously thank you Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan you have no idea what this means to me but then he frowned remembering something,

"Hinata-chan did everything go ok at the meeting?" Hinata nodded and told the pair how it went which made the trio feel relieved at the fact they had bought themselves some time and prevented Hinata from being branded. They sat in silence for a few moments before Sakura took in a breath and said, "Now listen very carefully you two I have something important I need to tell you too." Naruto and Hinata looked at the pinkette with curiosity and she explained what had happened during her visit to the old Whirlpool Village. After hearing the tale the Namikazes were even more worried about their friends but Hinata couldn't help but notice the similarities between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Sakura, what exactly was the date when that happened?" "February 19th, last year if I remember correctly which made Hinata gasp and Naruto sigh. "What the hell happened Naruto-kun, I know when you're lying and I know you remember what happened that day, so talk!" The Hyuga princess actually demanded. "Wait, what are you talking about?" Sakura asked but Hinata looked at her and said, "It happened to Naruto too, when Jiraiya-sensei tried to loosen the fox's seal, the same thing happened to Naruto-kun and my hand was in pain too just like yours and this all happened on the same day!" Hinata turned back to Naruto,

"So I'll ask again, what happened?" Naruto could only sigh again in a look of utter defeat and informed his two soulmates of what had happened that fateful day. "So that's basically it, Sasuke and I are the reincarnations of some asshole brothers that are so pissed at each other that even when they die they are just reborn into the world over and over again. It seems to have all started back with old man Sage of Six Paths and his kids but who really knows what the truth is." He finished calmly and then looked at the two girls who possessed dumbfounded looks. Sakura eventually asked,

"You realize that in the end, that regardless of what we are, regardless of what happened in the past, that we love you, right Naruto-kun." Naruto managed to smile at the pinkette, "And I love you Sakura-hime." He turned to Hinata who was still red in the face in anger that he had kept this a secret but eventually she said, "Sakura's right Naruto-kun, you may be Asura's reincarnation but you are Naruto and Asura is only a part of what makes you you and in the end Sakura and I love every bit of you, and yes that includes the nine-tails if we have to." Naruto started to shed a few tears but he quickly wiped them away,

"Thank you Hinata-hime, Sakura-hime, you have no idea how much all of this means to me. I was so worried that you two may not want to be with me anymore but hearing you two say that… I can't even describe how I'm feeling right now." He said while grinning shedding tears of happiness. Hinata and Sakura moved their chairs right next to the blonde, shared a smile and embraced him tightly while letting their blonde soulmate express his emotions. It was long after this the trio grew weary and for the first time in years they spent their night together as a family.

Meanwhile Kankurro had single handedly tracked down his brother and the two Akatsuki members but unfortunately he was no match for Sasori of the Red Sands superior puppeteering skill and alone he was left defeated and severely poisoned. Back in the Sand, Kin had been tasked to guard Lady Kaze but had managed to get a team sent after her boyfriend in meantime. The team managed to find the young puppet master still alive but Kin and Matsuri quickly realized they would need help from their allies and sent an emergency message to the Leaf's Hokage. The very next morning Team 7 now with Hinata were told of the tragedy and were immediately dispatched with Naruto more determined than ever to save one of his closest friends.


AN - Yeah sorry I'm a day late and chapter is definitely not my longest my longest sorry but I'll try to get the next one on time, promise and cover the entire rescue the Kazekage saga hopefully

We won't see the Uchiha's again until Tenichi bridge and I have my reasons sorry but probably at least two chapters till that

I made everything with Hyuga rules and clan stuff up, No Hinata and Naruto will not be the leaders of the Hyuga clan but for now it's best for them if HInata is still heiress and she doesn't get the seal and yeah I partnered Kono and Hanabi know he's a little older but it works with the story

Yeah I had Gai find someone, will revel eventually and yes he now does have a son you can even slightly blame his rivalry with Kakashi for that lol

Asuma and Kurenai got together quicker in this timeline, my reasons to fit the story I want to tell, the fact that they both had students leave albeit for different reasons, they can bond and relate even more over that

Gaara/Matsuri is like Gaara's most popular girl like I said it was gonna be obvious

Yeah bell test was fun Kakashi was so distressed he couldn't even figure out it was genjutsu lol and yeah Hinata and Naruto together figured out the Flying Thunder God

Yeah new teams had to be made so yeah Fu joined up with Team 8 while Hinata was gone

Response to reviews: Gunner you're absolutely right I fucked up lol, shit that annoyed me but I do want Sasuke and Karin to kinda have that similar backstory where their families were wiped out and I already changed Karin's past so why not a little more. We'll say it was destroyed at the same time as in cannon but some survivors including Karin's mother later returned and they were in the process of trying to rebuild but were attacked again when Karin was a child and her and her mother were the only ones to escape and where the only survivors that shouldn't screw too much up hopefully lol.

Like always I hope you all enjoyed at least a little lol and hope you all had a Happy Easter so until next time I wish you all the best, goodbye