Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.


Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I'm back again! I know it's been quite some time since the last update and I apologize. But the next chapter is here now and it is quite the chapter indeed. A lot is revealed and huge bombs are dropped into the laps of our favorite protagonists at the many questionable and surprising actions those around them including themselves make which have unforeseen wide reaching and long lasting consequences that will impact them for the future to come. Naruto and Squad 8 have a very harrowing encounter with Balalaika who decides to make her presence known to Naruto and Hinata after all this time with a request and favor for the both of them in exchange for the rare Bikōchū Beetle in her possession.

What could possibly be the outcome of the encounter and the consequences and actions taken during and after it? Additionally what will the Hokage and the others think when they themselves hear this wild and unbelievable story? Stay tuned to find out.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy!


Chapter 92

Royal Heritage

"So… let me get this straight… you not only engaged a foreign squad of older more experienced Chūnin and actually somehow won, but also uncovered two insurgent Sound Ninja as well? Am I getting this so far?" Tsunade sighed in morbid curiosity and exasperation as sitting across from her was Naruto and Hinata who wore sheepish and skittish facial expressions respectably in the face of their Hokage who couldn't believe the sheer amount of misfortune and cursed luck that Naruto and by extension Hinata could get into. Tsunade had the privilege of reading through Naruto's extensive service records as well as his sealed files from before he became a registered shinobi. All of his exploits with the Mafia and even before that from the private records that Hiruzen had written down over the years.

All of these private and documented files were Tsunade's to view at her leisure as the Hokage and if she were honest with herself what she's discovered about Naruto has left her deeply disturbed. The boy has had blood and trauma on his hands since the night of his fourth birthday. The death of the first peer his age that he had any positive human contact with at the age of four. The obscure incident in a warehouse that resulted in a few deaths when Naruto was trying to steal supplies to live. Then to his many missions with the mafia under Shoko's command where the delicately balanced dance of violence in the field and the more calmer tension filled serenity of the casino became his new normal on top of becoming a recent father to Iris and Chaos and all of the enormous amounts of stress that such a responsibility could cause.

It was very concerning for Tsunade to view all of these things both as an Hokage and as a medical expert. Trauma and PTSD must be coursing through his veins at this point in his life as he's killed many bandits and shinobi alike since his tenure as a ninja began. Not to mention the mental and physical high stress situations that have cropped up both in his personal and professional life since then. It deeply concerned Tsunade to know that the young boy in front of her who through his own perseverance, stubbornness, and resolve managed to open up her heart to the gift of hope once more was silently suffering under a mountain of stress and trauma that he may or may not be aware of yet.

To have one of her best young up and coming shinobi already dealing with troubles that someone who is Kakashi's age or older has been through cut deep within Tsunade's psyche. 'He told me in private that he broke down during his mission in the Land of Snow. I knew this mission might have been too much for him, but I had no one else on such short notice.' Tsunade fretted within her mind as she looked across at the young man in question. She wasn't the only one present though as Jiraiya, Shoko, and Shizune were also seated in close quarters next to the two speaking parties who were surprisingly enough in a large royal carriage headed for the capital of the Land of Fire.

Tsunade was dressed in the full ceremonial clothing of the Hokage including the famous and signature hat that was resting on her head. Jiraiya was next to her in his normal attire but with an amused expression on his face that hid the inner calculating and shrewd intelligence of a master spy. Jiraiya was going over everything that was being revealed to them with laser sharp focus. He was deeply concerned for his godsons perpetual cursed luck with getting into all kinds of trouble. This latest mission was much the same. He was sitting on the left-hand side of Tsunade while on her right was her trusted apprentice and assistant Shizune who was also in her normal attire with Tonton planted firmly in her lap.

These three occupants took up space on the rear facing front bench in the long coach style carriage that was spacious enough on the inside that it allowed for six people to be seated together, three on each bench row that was turned to be facing each other. On the opposite side of the bench closer to the front of the carriage sat the last three occupants who took up the rear of the cabin. Situated directly opposite of Jiraiya was Shoko herself who was in a purple colored battle kimono with sunflower patterned designs blending together across the entire surface of her clothing in a mosaic like painted theme.

Around her waist was a dark mahogany satin colored obi that tied her kimono together securely. Sewed onto the obi was the Leaf headband metal plate showing off her allegiance proudly. She used to have a regular headband that she wore around her forehead, but she exchanged it out a few months ago once she returned to active duty. Underneath her kimono she had on a tight pair of short tights and a fishnet armored bodysuit above that covered her torso and chest. On the palm of her hand in invisible ink was a storage seal that housed her famous sword. On the inside of the kimono around her legs she had dual kunai holsters as an elite shinobi. Her long dark purple hair was tied towards the very end of her locks with a light violet colored scrunchy that was designed like flower petals.

The living legend looked absolutely stunning in her clothes which was her official shinobi clothing with her return to active duty as she didn't feel like wearing the village's official military uniform anymore like she did in her younger years. The normal uniform was unfortunately far too constricting for a woman of Shoko's height, size, and stature. Naruto could attest to this himself who was sitting to the left of his mother figure with his normal uniform on. The young Shī-ō had a bashful and embarrassed blush on his face as he not so discreetly took glances at the massive bust size Shoko was sporting which was conforming to the kimono like a second skin. The powerful woman's chest size was just a cup size smaller than Tsunade's which meant that it was huge. Sitting on the end of the bench to Naruto's left was Hinata and the young Hyūga heiress wore a small jealous yet cute pout on her face as she traded glances at Naruto's line of sight which only continued to embarrass and annoy her even further.

She knew what Naruto's preferred body type was thanks to his many years growing up with busty woman as his role models and caretakers. Between Shoko taking a primary role and Anko joining in it was obvious where his body image preference and biases was developed from. This knowledge only served to make Hinata reflect inwards at herself as the young girl blushed as she thought of her own body and how day by day it continued to grow at a rapid rate. She was developing far faster than the rest of the girls in her class which only served to embarrass her further. She also knew that Naruto was becoming more and more attracted to her as the days went by considering where his eyes were wondering when he met up with them for their last mission a few days back.

Jiraiya on the other hand was blatantly staring at his former protégé's chest with a blush on his face and his hands itching to write in his trusty notebook as the younger woman blushed and gave her surrogate father an annoyed yet embarrassed blush. She loved Jiraiya dearly as he was and has always been the closest thing that she's ever had to a father figure but sometimes she hated when he peeped on her. He never did so when she was young, but the second she turned 18 the titan became one of Jiraiya's most frequent sources of 'inspiration' for all of his research. However, Shoko would never admit that being raised by Jiraiya imprinted on her a sense of perversion as well. She liked whenever he gave her attention even if she would pummel him to death every time he'd do so. It was just their twisted way of showing affection to each other.

Being raised by an orphan when you're one yourself often brings about strange relationships.

Sitting in Naruto's and Hinata's laps was Iris and Chaos respectively who were snuggled up into their respective parent's chests with content expressions on their faces. Finally, with things calmed down now after all of the fighting and traveling they could spend time with their family and parents. Iris was wearing a new dress that was similar in color and aesthetics to her twin who was looking out the small window of the carriage at the trees passing them by with her typical childish expression of wonder on her face.

As of now this group was traveling in a royal carriage to the capital of the country along with a second carriage behind them. Up in the front compartment of the royal coach like vehicle were four individuals. The first and most important of the four was Puma the ANBU Commander who was decked out in his full gear and chrome silver painted mask that gave him a very intimidating presence. His tall stature and relatively slim bulk also enhanced this perception as the fearless man had powerful muscles and a relatively wide frame like his younger brother Asuma. The first platoon of the Hokage Guard Company of the ANBU Black Ops was present as well while the captain of the company Monkey who was Puma's wife and Konohamaru's mother was back in the village leading the other three platoons and guarding the Hokage Administration Building and surrounding government buildings.

Next to Puma was the three members of the Hokage Guard Platoon which was a special squad created by Minato the Fourth Hokage for his convenience. These three members Genma Shiranui, Raidō Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami were hand-picked by Minato to serve as his public body guards on missions as he took the time to teach them a team-based version of his prized Flying Thunder God technique. Iwashi was pulling the coach along by the team of horses hooked up to them at the front while the second cart was being guarded by another team.

Inside of the second cart was Hiashi himself along with his mother and father Hayate Hyūga and Hirata Hyūga who were sitting on either side of him and on the opposite bench were three people he wasn't particularly fond of. Danzō Shimura was staring him down while flanked on each side of him were the two elders Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane who were catching up with the former power couple of the Hyūga Clan who were also their former classmates from the first generation to graduate from the brand new ninja academy back in their youth.

In the front of the coach acting as the body guards were Kō Hyūga who was and still is Hinata's primary guard and caretaker alongside Riichi Sachi an accomplished Jōnin along with two powerful and accomplished combat medical ninja veterans of the last war Special Jōnin's Yokaze Ninsei and Iō Shirai. Danzō initially petitioned to Tsunade to allow him to bring along his own two guards for the protection detail but Tsunade immediately vetoed him down on such a proposition as she did not trust the old war hawk one bit. Unlike the uneasy yet cordial truce and working relationship Danzō and Hiruzen shared between each other as the old guard the slug princess did not have the same warm feelings of the man who she knew to be involved in several shady dealings in the past. Instead she pulled in the two medical combat ninja to serve on this mission.

These two carts held these important figures of the hidden leaf as they were offered up by the Fire Daimyō to assist in the travel. Even though everyone present were shinobi and could move extremely fast it was seen as a privilege to use these vehicles of transportation.

The Fire Daimyō had called them in for an important meeting among other things but this yet again also had to deal with Naruto and Saitou's obsessive interest in his career. The distance between the Hidden Leaf Village and the capital which was named Asakusa wasn't very far. It was just under twenty miles away and at the current pace the small caravan was going they would reach the capital in less than an hour.

"I would say you're on the right track. Just a typical mission for me I guess." Naruto sheepishly chuckled while avoiding the stern glares of disapproval from Tsunade, Shoko, and Shizune. Hinata had the decency to place her face in the palms of her hand as she was thoroughly embarrassed by the whole situation. It was unfortunate that anytime she was together with her boyfriend any normal routine mission or event escalates into out of control situations that no one could possibly conceive. The intelligent girl blamed Sōkyoku for this as she was convinced that Iris's inner persona has something to do with manipulating Naruto's fate.

"Is that so? Then let's talk about your encounter with Balalaika and what she wanted. Anything to do with that woman is dangerous and unpredictable." Tsunade frowned as she directed the two young Chūnin to recount their encounter with the powerful criminal underworld tycoon. To know that Balalaika approached Naruto once again came as a surprise to Jiraiya as it showed that the woman had more plans for his godson and as far as Shoko was concerned she was trying to reel in her killing intent and somewhat failing in this endeavor as she didn't want the psychotic and manipulative woman anywhere near her surrogate son. While the two Titan's had an uneasy truce from the rescue mission to Hōrai Island months ago, Shoko still did not fully trust the woman or want her anywhere near Naruto.

Sensing the unease from his mother figure in his life Naruto sighed as he placed his hand on top of Shoko's before interlacing their fingers to help calm the older more tempered woman down. Subconsciously reaching out with his opposite hand it found its way into Hinata's open palm who almost squeaked at the contact before she registered the familiar warmth of the touch Naruto usually provided. This was a typical action that Naruto has done for many months now and it always managed to flatter the very shy girl. Turning to make eye contact with his girlfriend Naruto sighed as he and Hinata thought back to the meeting between them and Balalaika the day before yesterday.


Flashback Begin

A Bikōchū Beetle… a freshly hatched rare and extremely fragile bug was inside a sealed jar in Balalaika's hand who smirked upon seeing the stunned faces of the four young Leaf Shinobi standing before her. "HEY! We've been looking for that!" Kiba barked as he took a step forward momentarily forgetting the crippling amount of fear he was just feeling only to get stopped abruptly by both Naruto and Hinata at the same time. "KIBA! Do not take a single step forward!"

Both young Chūnin yelled out aggressively as they closed in on each other to form a wall between their teammates and the deadly woman across from them. They did not need anyone making any sudden aggressive movements towards this particular woman. The two Chūnin knew that they were lucky considering the fact that Karasuba wasn't with Balalaika right now or else the silver haired killer would already be threatening Kiba's life.

A dainty chuckle escaped the extremely tall woman's lips as she surged a minuscule amount of chakra from her body into the ground causing the children in front of her to tense up in fear which only served to amuse the powerful woman even more. Up out of the ground arose a small stone chair that conformed and molded itself as it churned itself out of the ground. In seconds a fully formed chair was behind the earth style master who took a seat in the admittedly soft earth made furniture as the surfaces were made from softer dirt and textures that was smoothed over with her chakra.

"How did you get your hands on that bug Balalaika!?" Naruto calmly asked as best he could with every muscle in his body tense from the new fresh wave of anxiety that was washing over him. He knew the persistent woman was not going to leave either him or Hinata alone after making all of the trouble of tracking him down for this meeting. The fact that she somehow managed to capture the Bikōchū bug without them knowing and from what he's assuming done so while keeping it in a state in which it was still viable and hadn't smelled anything yet was deeply troubling. Naruto knew he had to play his cards right in this scenario.

"Oh, my dear… would you really waste your time on making me answer that trivial question or can we get down to business?" The sly older woman chuckled with a small patronizing shake of her head as she watched the young pair lighten up their stance as they knew they had to switch up their angle of approach. It was extremely interesting to Balalaika to see the gears turning in the heads of her prey as she watched the children maturing before her very eyes. She wanted to nurture them for the future when she'd face them in combat and judge them to determine if they were worthy of the legacy their parents left behind.

"If I may ask what was the business that you needed to discuss Lady Balalaika?" Hinata decided to take over the conversation as a sweet smile formed on the aforementioned woman's face at the polite tone the heiress uses when approaching others. It was clear that her very shy nature and upbringing as the heiress of Hyūga Clan has instilled within her a deep-rooted sense of respect and decorum. "I'm glad you ask… the nature of this business has to do primarily with you Hinata." Balalaika purred as she watched Naruto not so subtly place himself more closely to his girlfriend who gasped in surprise at this admission.

"Your work in the Land of Wind has reached my ears little one. You got into quite a few skirmishes with both Hidden Rock shinobi from the northern border and opposition from the Land of Rivers. The Hidden Sand Village is falling apart and splintering into factions because the foolish Wind Daimyō refuses to allow their village to elect a new Kazekage." Balalaika explained in a concise but proud manner as she watched the expressions of shock that worked its way onto the others faces.

"I specifically told you to watch out for those shinobi on the northern border and you still somehow get into trouble with them?" Naruto deadpanned to his girlfriend who had the decency to look sheepish with an embarrassed blush smeared on her face. She remembered the fussing and worrying Naruto did on the very last meeting between each other before they each set out on their own missions. He had warned her about the unstable region and the hostilities that could arise… and somehow his girlfriend caught his cursed bug about getting into trouble because she somehow ends up fighting with them? Naruto didn't know whether to be proud of his girl or to lightly admonish the usually more careful and cautious kunoichi.

"Oops…" That was the only response he was granted from the cute girl as his previous stare only increased tenfold. He was definitely going to have a talk with his girlfriend about this incident when all was said and done but he was also feeling intense surges of pride for the shy girl who continues to impress him day after day. However, what concerned him more was the friction with the Land of Rivers… that was news to him since their country was the protectorate state towards the Land of Wind. So, to know that the Hidden Valley Village which is the shinobi village of the Land of Rivers were having issues and conflicts with the Hidden Sand was deeply concerning. It might even impact the Leaf Village and their relationship towards the Sand Village. The leaf has to travel through the Land of Rivers to reach the Land of Wind. This could become a bigger problem if not handled quickly.

"You've become quite powerful and accomplished in your time over there. You've kept their borders as secured as possible with the aid of the Hidden Sand's Jinchūriki and their squads, but your efforts aren't enough." Balalaika intoned as she watched Kiba and Shino passing glances between each other. The two boys had confused and cautious looks on their faces as they weren't privy to the knowledge of Hinata's last mission since she didn't share it with them yet.

"Then what's the real issue?" Naruto probed as he watched the thoughts dance around in Balalaika's much colder blue eyes than his. "It has to deal with our counterpart in the Hidden Sand. They are starting to expand their territory and are encroaching upon the Land of Earth and my organization. They are threatening to take over both land and important investments that I have in the region. Furthermore, the issue of selecting a new Kazekage must be taken care of soon. If the village doesn't get a new Kage it will fully collapse before the year is out and we will have a civil war on our hands that is just as large as the one in the Hidden Mist." The situation was quite dire as it was being presented by the queen of the underworld as the young couple contemplated the news they've received.

'From what I've learned so far while over there the Land of Wind primarily trades in gold and some valuable ores that can only be found in their region. In fact, the Fourth Kazekage was famous as a ninja because of his Magnet Style Kekkei Genkai that he used in his own unique way to control gold dust particulates in the same way Gaara controls his sand. Lord Rasa used his ability to control gold to help stimulate the economy of his village when it came under hard times. The Land of Earth also trades valuable ores and metals as well so I can see where a competition in the economic market could come about… but it must be even worse in the criminal underworld and black-market realms. So, if the mafia of the Hidden Sand is involved and rapidly growing out of control then this could be really bad.' Hinata mused in her mind as she began to piece the puzzle together on what Balalaika was hinting at.

While Hinata herself wasn't a member of the mafia, her boyfriend is and since she's spent three months over in the Hidden Sand Village then she would have hands on experience with the situation brewing there. If the black market was attempting to take over their gold producing capabilities and were clashing with the Land of Earth's interests and its protectorate state, the Land of Stone then Hinata could easily see where the conflict was originating from. It was a serious situation since it would only serve to further hurt the countries already struggling economy.

"That's nice and all lady but what does that have to do with us? What are you even talking about?" Kiba growled as he was becoming fed up with being put on the sidelines and not knowing what was going on. His very instincts were telling him to keep far away from this dangerous woman. She scared him… but at the same time he was very frustrated with both this mission and this very situation. He was still sore about the kills he had to make recently and the general stress of the mission. It was all new to him and he still didn't know how to process his own feelings on the matter.

"Kiba!"

Hinata gave a warning shout to her close friend and teammate as she could understand his frustration regarding this situation, but she could not condone his usual brash and rambunctious nature in dealing with stressful situations that tried his patience. His temper was a problem on a normal day… but today and right now was not the time for it to become a problem. Not in a setting like this.

Looking into the eyes of the cold woman Hinata could see a peculiar look of interest shining through the mob bosses' eyes and she instinctively knew that was never a good thing if you brought attention to yourself while in Balalaika's presence. She was instantly on the woman's radar because she chose to come along on the rescue mission to Hōrai Island and she displayed her unique Light-based powers. The crafty woman was able to discern her true heritage from the brief time together and that instantly gained the woman's keen interest in her. The feeling of being under a microscope when in this woman's presence was never a good feeling. The young kunoichi was doing everything she could to keep her teammates out of Balalaika's crosshairs as nothing good could come with associating with her, much less pissing her off.

"I see you are a rowdy bunch… that's good. We'll have to expend that energy soon. Now I've come to inform you that the Sand Village is breaking apart into different factions as tensions continue to mount. There are a few candidates with enough power and skill to take the mantle of Kazekage, but only a few. Many of the strongest Jōnin level ninja that they had were either killed or critically injured in their failed invasion of the leaf months back. The remaining shinobi that fit this bill are all being consolidated by the dissenting factions brewing in the village. As things stand now the village is splitting into three factions led by various members of the village." Balalaika explained in an explicit and concise manner as the situation brewing in the desert country was causing her unneeded complications with her own organization and businesses.

Balalaika went on to explain that three different factions were arising within the village over the last few months since the end of the failed invasion of the leaf. Without a newly elected Kazekage to take power over the now crippled and struggling village the Hidden Sand Village's leading council began to fight over positions of power and resources to help stabilize the village in their own image. The council is made up of 12 members at a time with 10 of the members being called seniors while the 11th member is the chairman of the council and holds the number one position on the council. The final 12th seat is held by the incumbent Kazekage who presides over every council session.

Like with the other four major hidden villages the Kazekage position is a military dictatorship but the council dose pose a lot of influence on the Kazekage's decisions making the hierarchy of power in the village not as strong as the others. In addition to this fact every member on the council is an Elite Jōnin level ninja with years of experience under their belt although it is not known exactly how you become a council member as there are a few members who are still in their 20's currently serving on the council. Another thing to note is that unlike the Hidden Leaf Village where the council is made up of the leaders of their many clans the Sand's council doesn't have much representation from its various clans.

As it stands now the council was divided on their allegiances and priorities on how to keep the village afloat. One faction led by senior council member Tōjūrō was aligning themselves with the mafia of the Hidden Sand Village named the Desert Triad. Tōjūrō had deep ties to the mafia of the village and much like Danzō he has a war hawk hardline mentality when it comes to policies in their village. The old man had an obsessive need to be viewed as needed and useful by his village and joining him in his faction were fellow council members Jōseki and Gōza. Tōjūrō wanted to expand the black market with the Desert Triad's influence to not only fill his pockets but to bring in extra money to the village.

On the other hand, five other members of the council were petitioning the Wind Daimyō to send them aid and to also allow them to elect a new Kazekage. However, with the stubbornness of their feudal lord it also caused them to take measures into their own hands. The chairmen of the council was an elder from the times of the First and Second Kazekage's era and his name was Ebizō. He and his elder sister were referred to as the Honored Siblings of the Sand Village. He was leading this pro faction of council members which consists of Baki, Ryūsa, Sajō, and Ikanago. These members were doing their best to keep the village together while leading the normal forces but there was only so much that they could do.

The last members of the council were undecided and neutral in the current tumultuous situation of their village. The only member of note in this group was Yūra who was the powerful sand shinobi who faced off against Shoko and Yūago in the Sand invasion months prior. The powerful shinobi was playing his cards close to his vest and no one knew where his allegiances fell which concerned his old teammate Baki who was trying to recruit him to his side.

The last faction of any note was a collection of some of the most powerful clans of the village. Some of them had representation on the high council with a few of their members but for the most part the majority of clans didn't. In total some of the most prominent and powerful clans were throwing their weight around trying to spread their influence into the rest of the village. The Koge Clan which consists of ninja who are born with the Scorch Style Kekkei Genkai; the Chikamatsu Clan are a shinobi clan who specialize in using Puppets and poisons; the Hōki Clan are a clan of shinobi who specialize in medical ninjutsu and they were also known to produce high level infiltration specialists and spymasters. The Shirogane Clan are a clan who are holders of the rarer Steel Style Kekkei Genkai which is a very rare and exclusive bloodline in the world. The final clan in question being the Nankyoku Clan who are users of the Magnet Style Kekkei Genkai.

It was true chaos brewing within the desert village, and it was slowly tearing the hidden village apart as they tried to maintain their status quo with taking on missions and protecting the country's national interests. The leaf village in the last few months have been sending aid to the hidden sand to help them stay afloat.

"I never imagined you were thrown into such a lion's den Hinata… I'm almost jealous of the fact I couldn't go with you." Naruto commented idly with a small hint of a smile as he bumped shoulders with his girlfriend in a teasing manner. He wanted to lighten the mood of the admittedly very tense situation, but he was also quite serious in his statement. It would seem that the Land of Wind was down spiraling into a chaotic landscape.

"I can't say that I didn't have fun at least…" Hinata sheepishly trailed off as she heard a chuckle come from Balalaika's mouth causing the young couple to give back their attention to the older woman. "The Sand needs a new Kazekage as soon as possible. One that will stir up the pot and restore order to the village in an efficient manner. They must be infallible and unbiased. A few of the possible candidates such as Baki and Yūra aren't Kage level yet which would leave the village weakened under their leadership as of now… however that's not to say that they wouldn't make good choices as they are experienced shinobi."

The intentions of Balalaika were clear to Naruto and Hinata now as they once more shared a look between themselves. The King Pin desired stability to return back to the Land of Wind and she wanted them to be responsible for the candidate that she would back and provide political support in. She wanted it to be based upon their decision so that in the future they would be considered complicit and partners of hers in any endeavors she makes. It was a dangerous game she was forcing them into and while it made Hinata extremely nervous it only served to pull Naruto further down into a well of caution and pressure.

Not giving the woman an answer was out of the question; that was something Naruto already instinctively knew right from the start. He would have to answer the powerful woman one way or another which immediately got him thinking. With Hinata's experience taking a tour in the Hidden Sand Village and his extensive knowledge of the mafia and how these deals are conducted Naruto understood completely what Balalaika was going for by confronting them. This was her way of testing the two young Chūnin who she was grooming.

"If I may… why are you bringing this business to my teammates? What input can they possibly have that you would want?" Shino interrupted as his eyes were firmly planted on the jar resting within Balalaika's hand. He wanted to get his hand on the Bikōchū Beetle inside so bad that it was causing his colony to buzz audibly for everyone to hear but the bug infested boy was trying his best to keep his cool. As an Aburame he rarely lost his temper or composure, but this was one of the rare few times any member of his clan would begin to become agitated.

A bemused smirk was plainly settled on Balalaika's face as she eyed the young boy before her for a moment while she watched the cautious and warning looks Naruto and Hinata were sending both their ways. "An astute question to asked as an Aburame. These lovely children here that are your teammates are old friends of mine and I've had a long relationship with Naruto here… you can say we have a lot of family history together." Balalaika purred with her dark soul sucking blue eyes boring a hole into Naruto's skull once she referenced him. A smug and knowing look was hidden within her eyes that she knew he caught if the tightening of his fists were any indication.

'Family…? But I thought Naruto is an orphan?' Kiba questioned to himself as he could clearly see the tell-tale signs of Naruto's silent anger and agitation at the woman before them. With his heightened sense of smell, he could also detect a myriad of other emotions wafting off of his teammate including pain, caution, and sadness mixed in. It was honestly confusing to the Inuzuka and he could tell that Shino shared his sentiment in wondering what the intimidating woman in front of them was hinting at.

"Hinata… is there anyone from the council you'd recommend?" Naruto said in a tight tone of voice as he clearly was trying to steer the conversation away from where it was headed. He did not want to bring up his family who he never even got to know. He was aware now of his legacy as the Fourth's son due to the attack on him by the fake Hidden Stone shinobi months back. He's just never found the time to sit down and digest that information, much less talk to Jiraiya and Tsunade about it. But this knowledge as well as the fact that this information was kept from him was painful enough as it is. He did not want to get into it in such a setting as they were in right now.

It took a minute but Hinata was able to briefly go over the information she knew about the council members with him as Naruto crossed off many of them right of the bat as he could tell none of them would be fit for the role of Kazekage. When it came to the names such as Yūra and Baki the blond haired Uzumaki mulled over the choices in his head for a minute longer. Yūra was the name of the shinobi who fought Shoko during the invasion, she had told him of some of their previous history together fighting as allies during the Third Shinobi World War. The tall purpled haired swordsmen didn't really have a very high opinion of the admittedly very talented ninja. She spoke of his personality being very abrasive back in the day and his morals were questionable at best.

Knowing this information was enough to disqualify him from Naruto's mind as he also analyzed Baki and found a little more promising results. He was Gaara's Jōnin sensei and a highly respected and accomplished shinobi of his village, he even managed to fight to an even standstill with Genma back during the invasion in the middle of the arena. The only issue was the fact he was not a Kage level ninja yet, much less even an average S – Rank one. He was clearly around Kakashi's level of strength and technical abilities, but he didn't possess the overwhelming power needed of a Kage… especially a Kage to a harsher more rugged hidden village like the Sand.

Naruto didn't know enough about some of the clan leaders to their major clans and families to make an informed decision regarding those individuals from the third faction popping up. He had no way of knowing how strong or how good some of these leaders are to know if they were right for the job of assuming the mantle of Kazekage which was a monumental task. Apparently neither did Hinata who couldn't provide him with any additional relevant information to those particular individuals as she never got the opportunity to meet any of them while in the village. She had spent most of her time patrolling the Land of Wind's side of the border and guard duty to some of their base's and backwater towns in remote regions. She didn't spend that much time in the Hidden Sand Village itself.

All of this thinking brought Naruto full circle to a final candidate that would really shake the village to its core and bring about an abrupt change. One that was a polarizing character to begin with who is already inalienable and unbiased to a fault. A particular gleam came to Naruto's eyes that caused Balalaika to pause in her breath. She's seen that look dozens of times in the past. It was a mischievous yet unassailable intelligent glint of ingenuity and intelligence that was a perfect blend and mirror image to his parents Minato and Kushina. Minato was very shrewd and calculating with an unmatched intelligence while his mother and her arch rival Kushina was very imaginative and unorthodox in her thought processes which has allowed her to topple any enemy she's faced regardless of if they had a plan against her.

One final shared look between Naruto and Hinata was all it took for the blond haired Chūnin to come up with an out of the box answer to Balalaika's complicated request. A small bemused smile cracked the surface of Hinata's mouth as the look on her boyfriend's face was a look that has always managed to make her heart beat twice as fast. If there was one attribute about the blond haired Uzumaki that Hinata could honestly say that she loved above all others was the peculiar way his heart and determination influenced his unorthodox and creative mind. He always had a different approach to living his life and she respected and loved that about him the most. She's lived most of her life around him so she understood how his mind worked more than almost anyone else… so it came as no surprised to her that she already figured out who Naruto had in mind for what he would consider a perfect candidate.

"Gaara."

That one word caused a dangerous grin to work its way onto Balalaika's face as she could see this possibly working. He was a pariah and scourge in his very own home just like most Jinchūriki, but if he could somehow endear himself to the general populous and bring about the end of the downwards spiral their village was sinking into then he would have the voice of the common citizens on his side not just in the Hidden Sand Village but in many places across the Land of Wind as well. Gaara would make an excellent candidate and as a Jinchūriki he has the potential to grow more powerful faster in comparison to the regular shinobi. It also works to his benefit that with the death or permanent injuries to many of the village's strongest shinobi who participated in the invasion it automatically made him one of the most powerful ninja left in the Sand Village.

The game board was primed for a polarizing individual like Gaara to enter the stage and shake things up. Ever since the invasion Gaara has undergone quite the rapid change as Hinata could attest to. First and foremost, he could now sleep without being disturbed by Shukaku thanks to the charm that Iris gave to him. This new experience along with the talk Naruto gave to him has changed his whole experience on how he views his life and interacts with others. He was now far more polite and compliant with others than he ever was in the past. He was making a concrete effort to grow closer to his siblings who could attest to these new changes in their youngest brother.

While many shinobi and citizens alike were still generally afraid of him there was definitely a precedent that could be made that slowly but surely people were starting to notice the change in his personality and behavior. He was no longer the homicidal and volatile human being that the villager's and more importantly the government helped create, instead he was a repentant broken soul who was trying to mend his heart, mind, and soul back together after the tragic and destructive lifestyle he's lived. Gaara had the potential locked inside of him to reach new heights in life and go places no one would think him capable of going. The mantle of Kazekage wasn't something that was outside of his reach… if he strived for it hard enough and with enough subtle prodding and meddling from Balalaika's end who would be pushing back against the dissident parties in the village including the Desert Triad then it was possible for Gaara to assume the mantle in as little as three years.

This time table was uncomfortably long but it was attainable and manageable. With some heavy lifting and support from the Hidden Leaf Village then the Hidden Sand Village could recover and begin to rise to power again. This was a plan that she was comfortable getting behind and it was the kind of answer that she was expecting from Naruto.

"Very good… very good indeed. I approve of this candidate. Just as I would expect from you my boy." Balalaika purred in approval as she played around with the jar containing the Bikōchū beetle in her lap. "Now that we have conducted our business, I suppose I should give this gift too you." The temperamental woman mused to herself with a challenging gleam in her eyes as she watched the indignation and general disapproval erupt within the group. "Don't play games Balalaika! Hinata and I fulfilled your request and gave you an answer. Please hand over the jar."

Everyone could feel the tension building in the air as Balalaika balanced the jar on the tip of her finger. A loud buzzing could be heard from Shino as he clenched his fist in anger over the course this conversation was now taking. He was fine with holding his tongue and allowing Hinata and Naruto to handle this woman since it was clear they knew her and knew how to handle her but at this point his nerves were beginning to be tested with the fate of the beetle hanging in the balance literally.

"Oh, you'll get the bug back if you can take it from my hand." The Titan grinned in a teasing manner which infuriated her opposition, but that teasing smirk was briefly daunted by a massive discharge of chakra from Naruto who was suddenly closing the gap between the two opposing parties in literal seconds. "Acceleration!" His hand was outstretched and inches away from the precious container when Balalaika snatched it away at the last possible second. Sailing past the very tall woman Naruto landed on the ground behind her with gritted teeth. Of course, she would be fast enough to react to his enhanced speed technique. It didn't come as much of a surprise to him, but it was very frustrating given the circumstances.

"Eager, aren't we?" The grin was back in place as she glanced back at Naruto who now had a glare marring his face as his eyes were permanently glued to the delicate jar balancing on the woman's finger. "You can have the jar if you take it from me and it will be balanced on my finger by a small tether of chakra to keep it in place and nothing more. I also won't attack you offensively with any Ninjutsu either. However, not only will you have just a simple time limit of five minutes but, you'll also have to get through my team in order to do so." Balalaika smirked as three presences not felt up until this moment made themselves known catching Team 8 off guard as Naruto retreated back to his team upon sensing three ninja jump down near their leader.

"It's you guys!" Naruto gasped as he along with his teammates knew who were now standing before them. It was Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and Takei the Hidden Stone Genin team who participated in the last Chūnin Exams with them. They never got a chance to face any of them in battle since the invasion happened.

It was also clear to Team 8 that all three of their counterparts were promoted to Chūnin based on the flak jackets they were wearing. Kurotsuchi was wearing a light maroon colored uniform shirt with its right sleeve completely missing while the left sleeve goes down to the wrist. For bottoms she hand on a pair of visible fishnet armored tight leggings that was worn underneath a short light maroon colored mini skirt that matched the color of her shirt and attached to this was a dark maroon almost burgundy colored lapel dress like accessory covering the right side of her body and leg attached at her hip. On her hands she had on tight black leather gloves with metal plates on the top. The military flak jacket of the Hidden Stone Village was light brown in color and fashioned similarly to the ones worn by the Hidden Leaf with a few key differences. There were no neck guards and padding like the Leaf vest and the chest mounted utility capsule pockets were removed in favor of a large square shaped front satchel fanny pack that was strapped down to the vest by a thick belt like band that wrapped around to the back of the vest were an identical fanny pack could be seen.

Akatsuchi and Takei were wearing identical uniforms except for the fact they wore fitted pants instead of a skirt. They carried themselves with an air of confidence… the same confidence that they held during the exams and like before Naruto and Hinata could sense the well spring of power rolling off of Kurotsuchi. She was just like them… a sublime ninja with abilities far exceeding her current rank and age. A talent that shines beyond her pairs in her generation. She's had intense training coupled with natural talent that places her a cut above the rest of her age group. Out of the three of them Naruto and Hinata knew that even as far back as the Chūnin exams Kurotsuchi was not only on their level but especially as of now they were the only ones who could handle her. If Kiba or Shino were to fight her they would flat out lose.

'I didn't even sense them until they arrived. Balalaika was shielding their presence from us the entire time with not just her mild killing intent but with her chakra alone. This is bad.' Naruto noticed as the three young Chūnin lined up in front of Balalaika in a defensive wall formation in preparation for her orders. "This is bullshit! Give us the jar now lady!" Kiba roared as chakra began to leak out from his skin. He was undergoing his man-beast transformation that all Inuzuka's go through to use their families hidden Jutsu. By this point he had swallowed his fear of the intimidating woman in response to this new development considering the fact she was holding leverage over his team now.

"Shino, Kiba, don't engage Kurotsuchi in battle. Leave her to either me or Hinata to handle. She's way more powerful than you realize. She's easily on our level." Naruto warned as he began to charge up another discharge of his chakra in preparation as he could see the indignation rising to the surface of Kiba's face in an instant but now wasn't the time for him to be sugar coating the threat level they were facing. Now that she was in front of him and her presence wasn't being shrouded Naruto could sense the confident kunoichi's chakra levels and they were far larger than even the most experienced of Genin and much more than the average Chūnin in total capacity. He could tell that one on one the prodigy of the Hidden Stone would be a handful to deal with for either him or Hinata.

Hearing this statement from her enemy was enough to cause an arrogant smirk to cross the tomboyish girl's face but as a fellow female Hinata in comparison to the other boys around could see the tiniest twinges of an affectionate blush staining the girl's cheeks. An irritated twitch of Hinata's eyebrow as well as her nostrils flaring ever so slightly in agitation was the only physical indicators that the heiress allowed to break the façade placed on her face. 'Really…? Please don't tell me she's infatuated with Naruto? Could it have been back during the Chūnin Exams? Naruto did tell me some interesting rumors about her true purpose for being there as well as her side affiliations.' Hinata deduced that Kurotsuchi must have been keeping an eye on her boyfriend since they first met back during the exams which she would be correct in assuming but that did nothing to keep the ugly splotches of jealousy and possessiveness from crawling up from the bottom of her heart.

The same embers of jealousy that she felt for Shion months back were rearing their ugly head once more and in conjunction with this she could feel the natural store of Yōki she keeps locked up in her body responding to these negative emotions while the very delicate and powerful streams of divine grace floating through her body began to become tainted in response to her rise in emotions. 'This is just starting to get ridiculous! I know Naruto can be quite the catch once a person sheds the ignorance of prejudice against him to see the real him behind the gossip, but this has got to be some kind of sick cosmic joke. There can't possibly be that many girls out there that find him this attractive that he literally attracts them like this, can there? He's already my boyfriend!' Hinata steamed in her mind as even she had a limit to the amount of nonsense she could be exposed to at a time.

She loved Naruto dearly and was only willing to share him with Eva, Henrietta, and possibly Aria if the witch ever decided that she wanted to fully pursue her feelings for her master. Three extra girls was the limit and that was stretching it as it stands now since they are still very young and in the early months of just their relationship alone. There were multiple other girls that have already expressed some form of interest in Naruto over the past year and now it was just getting ridiculous? Naruto couldn't possibly be this attractive could he…? Hinata had always thought that she was the only one who was that infatuated and into him in such a way.

"I think it was a real bummer that we never got to have a match in the finals considering the invasion and all. I was really looking forward to fighting you back then... but no time like the present right?" Kurotsuchi grinned as she settled into her broad Taijutsu stance in preparation for her opponent to attack her as while she wasn't as attuned to sensing chakra as Hinata was she along with the Hyūga princess could both detect that Naruto had recharged his power at this exact moment.

"Sorry that you've waited so long for such a match, but it looks like you'll be waiting even longer. I'll let my girlfriend handle you!" Naruto retorted as his eyes glowed with the amount of chakra he was building up before he rocketed off from his positions so fast that the ground shook and splintered beneath where his feet were with Hinata keeping up with his radical launch with impressive speed of her own as she trailed in behind her partner in the blink of an eye.

"Double Acceleration!"

Naruto was upon Kurotsuchi in seconds before she could fully register his previous sentence as her instincts immediately took over and she launched a devastating left hook at Naruto's face that he deftly dodged with a fluid and smooth transition around the powerhouse kunoichi that almost caused her to stumble. "Tempest Turn!" Using the secondary charge of his technique the young Chūnin launched kinetic clones off at Akatsuchi and Takei that forced them to jump away from their held position leaving Balalaika exposed much to her amusement and the frustration of the two boys.

Trying to turn around to address her speeding opponent Kurotsuchi had to then abandon that directive as Hinata appeared in her focal point with a quickly timed Body Flicker blocking off her chances at getting to Naruto who was now busy engaging Balalaika in the most dangerous game of cat and mouse any man would find themselves in.

"So, you're the girlfriend? I've got to say whiskers sure does have some good tastes in girls. You put up one heck of a fight against your cousin. Color me impressed." Kurotsuchi complimented as she had respect for any kunoichi who was willing to put in the hard work for their careers. There was an imbalanced number of males to females in the shinobi world and quite a few young kunoichi their age were still immature from any of the many villages you go to. Not all of them took their professions seriously from an early age which often gave female ninja bad reputations. The tough as nails girl had respect for any girl her age who showed a backbone and willpower like what Hinata displayed against Neji.

"I've got to say the story Naruto told me about your battle had me impressed as well. But our reputations don't matter here. We will get that jar from Lady Balalaika no matter what. It's important to my teammate and you're interfering with our mission!" Hinata retorted aggressively as this mission as usual turned out to be much more than what any of them bargained for and the last thing that she wanted to deal with was an independent faction intruding themselves upon their business for their own agenda. At this point the young squad leader was just tired and wanted to go home… not get stuck playing Balalaika's mind games.

"Oh, am I now!? Well then do something about it then!" Kurotsuchi sneered in competitive aggression as she launched dozens of lightning fast punches at Hinata who had no problems batting away the offending appendages with subtle and minimalistic sways and parries by the palm of her hands. Unfortunately, she was unable to simultaneously strike out at her opponent's chakra points as the black-haired tomboy was discharging a shroud of chakra around her fists to augment her strength. "Water Style: Tearing Torrent Jutsu!" Seeing an opening Hinata dove in with a palm strike to Kurotsuchi's rib cage that connected through her vest as Hinata unleashed a spiraling burst of shredding water that tore into the combat armor due to the very close range of the technique.

The stone kunoichi could feel the water pressure slamming into her side with surprising amounts of force which only served to send a tingle of excitement up her spine as she molded chakra throughout her body at an astonishing rate which Hinata could see with her Byakugan. Only using one hand sign as she had internalized and completed the sequence of the chakra conversion inside of her body in seconds the prodigy channeled chakra down through her foot and out into the ground causing the grassy null to turn into a surging river of mud. "Earth Style: Earth Flowing Mud River Jutsu!" The concept behind the tactic was creative as Hinata was immediately pushed backwards away from Kurotsuchi minimizing the amount of forward penetrating momentum Hinata had with her attack ultimately creating distance between the two girls and saving the aggressive girl from having her combat vest destroyed or her body damaged.

'Naruto told me this girl was good… but now I'm starting to see it for myself.' Hinata mused to herself before she instinctively jumped back once she sensed another surge of chakra coming from the tenacious girl who was still maintaining her original technique. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears Jutsu!" Thick spears made out of solidified mud and gravel sprouted from the ground with immense speed almost skewering Hinata on the spot as she was still being caught in the pushing force of the mudslide.

As far as Kiba and Shino were concerned they were facing difficulties with their own opponents as Takei was unleashing an onslaught of devastating Taijutsu strikes against Shino who was having an exceptionally hard time gaining distance from his speedy opponent who was making sure to stick close to the bug master who was not really good at close hand to hand combat. It was clear to see were Takei was taking his battle strategy as he deliberately targeted Shino from the start with the intention of overwhelming the Aburame clan member to take him out of the competition from the jump. Kiba on the other hand was not making headway against Akatsuchi who was stonewalling the dog loving boy's ferocious assault with his bulwark like defensive Jutsu. His ability to use the Earth Style: Golem Jutsu was even more formidable than Kurotsuchi's version. This bigger golem was giving Kiba and Akamaru trouble with breaching the big boned boy's defenses.

'It's like sparring against Chōji. My regular attacks are bouncing right off of him and even my Fang over Fang only managed to shove him back. I'm going to need to hit him harder!' Kiba growled as he charged his opponent again with much more strength in his swings as he could feel the desperation of the situation weighing down on his shoulders. He wanted his team to recover the jar containing the Bikochu beetle at all costs for Shino's benefit. He hated the fact that this priceless creature to the culture of the Aburame Clan was being paraded around by their enemies as if it was a joke. It really rubbed his animalistic instincts the wrong way. He was loyal beyond a simple fault to his friends and allies as was common with Inuzuka members and this whole situation infuriated him.

The battlefield was chaotic to say the least as Naruto tried several times to reach for the jar only to come up empty each time as the mob boss stayed one step ahead of him by adjusting her hand ever so slightly to keep it just out of Naruto's reach who was becoming increasingly frustrated at this damning game of cat and mouse. "Tempest Turn!" Multiple kinetic clones of Naruto spawned off his body at the snap of a finger as they circled his adversary causing the perpetual smirk on Balalaika's face to increase at each new display demonstrated to her by Naruto.

The clones were incredibly fast, much faster and more responsive in battle than they used to be but even then it wasn't enough as the woman who admittedly to herself was very impressed with the technique was still able to outmaneuver the agile specters as they zipped past her by centimeters. The most frustrating and demoralizing facet of this engagement was the fact the rugged woman was still sitting in her chair. She was leaning her body from side to side and moving her arm at just the right intervals to prevent any of the clones from touching the jar. 'I need to get her out of that damn chair. I won't lose to her like this.' Naruto growled in his mind as he landed behind the chair while his clones continued their desperate grabs at their prize.

'Ice Style: Ice-Make Jutsu!' This technique was so instinctual to Naruto at this point that he didn't even need any hand signs as his body automatically knew how to mold his chakra in the correct pattern and sequences much in the same vein that Kurotsuchi was extremely adept at calling upon her Jutsu with minimalistic hand seals.

A thick sheet of ice formed directly beneath Balalaika who was sitting down comfortably in her chair causing the infallible woman a brief moment of minimal surprise as the thin sheet turned into a thick pillar of ice that launched her out of her chair and almost ten feet into the air with Naruto right on her heels who was upon her in seconds. "Wind Style: Hurricane Fist Jutsu!" Naruto blitzed the woman onto her new ice spire in seconds with a heavy haymaker of a punch that thundered into her right-hand open palm causing the shredding winds circulating his wrists to explode outwards ruffling their clothes. Undeterred despite his attack being stopped Naruto who could see Balalaika gearing up to taunt him with negative dialogue already had a second chakra flow ready within his body again much like Kurotsuchi as he aimed at the mountain of a woman's legs.

"Wind Style: Gust Jutsu!" A concentrated blast of air knocked out Balalaika's left knee who grinned at the tenacity of her favorite blonde-haired boy as she was knocked off balance and with no way to properly correct or brace herself. Having one hand already occupied with Balalaika to begin with Naruto decided to add extra insurance to his gamble as he froze over his fist connected to her palm while simultaneously doing the same to her feet while lashing out with his free hand to grab a hold of her wrist holding the jar since going directly for the delicate prize would be more difficult as he anticipated since the woman yanked her hand up putting it directly into the path of Naruto's grip. Locked into place with his enemy Naruto prepared another flow of chakra into his body which this time the king pin picked up on.

"Marvelous job so far my boy. Such tenacity!" Balalaika grinned in excitement as she made no move to attack him with any offensive Ninjutsu just as she had promised as she didn't even attempt any direct Taijutsu against him either. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!" The blast of wind that was generated from Naruto at point blank range was more than even Balalaika was initially expecting as she had to close her eyes from the intense and sudden pressure of air that blasted into her face and body with the force of a jet stream.

The small jar attached to her finger was blown straight off of her appendage and into the air behind her back much to her shock and that of everyone else as the jar was suddenly up for grabs by everyone present. Time slowed down for the other young shinobi fighting on the ground as they saw the jar fly up into the air. Akatsuchi was the first to react as he slammed his fist into the ground at blinding speeds as he knew from experience playing the supportive role on his team that he had to place his teammates in an advantageous position. "Earth Style: Magnitude Jutsu!" A highly advanced ninjutsu and a staple of the Hidden Stone Shinobi. Two seismic shockwaves from beneath the ground rippled out across the open grove accompanied by Akatsuchi's follow up shout of Magnitude Two. These two pulses corresponded with the attack as it slammed into everyone on the field shaking Naruto's spire of ice causing it to crack and become unstable.

Right before the shockwave hit Kurotsuchi had hopped up into the air by just a few feet as she angled her head to the sky with her cheeks bulging. "Water Style: Stream Jutsu!" A weak pressurized blast of water left the talented girl's mouth as Naruto had a contingency plan in place for his strategy. A clone was already in the air that he had summoned in the blink of an eye that was seconds away from grabbing the jar into its possession when it sensed an incoming attack from below. The blast of water missed the clone by inches but then again it was never meant for him as it hit its mark in the jar forcing it up higher into the air away from its grasps where Balalaika was waiting after she took the distraction of the pillar of ice she was standing on starting to crack apart to push the real Naruto away while breaking the ice trapping her in.

The queen of the criminal underworld reclaimed the jar into her hands with a triumphant smirk on her face as Kurotsuchi took her spray of water and turning her head slammed it into the awaiting shadow clone of Naruto preventing it from retaliating which it was about to in the form of a blast of shuriken.

Landing on the ground in perfect condition Balalaika balanced the jar back on her finger with an air of excitement and indifference mixing into her atmosphere. She was extremely amused by the tactics and strategies the young leaf shinobi were employing as well as their general combat ability which was impressive in its own right for their age. She was especially amused by what she saw next as she turned to Hinata to see her already on the move.

The heiress was heavily annoyed at this point and as squad leader she took it upon herself to resolve the situation as soon as she could. She didn't even give any forewarning as Kurotsuchi brought her head back down and blinked only to find that Hinata had covered the entire distance between them literally in the blink of an eye. Kurotsuchi's prestigious skills and instincts were the only things that saved her as she would willingly admit as she threw her fist forward just in time to intercept what she quickly discovered was no ordinary attack. "Earth Style: Stone Fist Jutsu!"

The proud girl's fist was covered in a layer of dirt and stones much like Sakura's who had master the technique from a learning scroll but the technique itself originates from the Hidden Stone Village. Hinata was already meeting this attack head on with her preferred choice as energy bands of cerulean colored water blasted to life around the palms of her hands. "Eight Trigrams Gentle Step: Aqua Palms!" Ordinarily in the Elemental Nature Wheel, Earth Nature Chakra is stronger than Water Nature Chakra and in most cases this would be correct, but in this instance Hinata's chakra was supercharged by her Yōki that she had released from her storage seal on her neck allowing her to use her full power.

Hinata's attack shattered the stone on Kurotsuchi's fist causing the tough tomboy to be blasted back almost ten whole yards with a bruised wrist and knuckles that were bleeding from the very rocks on her hand that got blasted off scraping the skin along with it even though she was wearing protective gloves. A hissing wince of blistering pain accompanied this assault from Kurotsuchi's lips as she looked up to see Hinata gearing up for a follow up attack.

"Damn girl! You pack a punch and you're feisty! I'm really starting to like you a lot. I can see why your boyfriend chose you as his partner. Only someone with our kind of strength deserves to be by the side of someone so strong like him." The granddaughter to the Tsuchikage mused to herself with a satisfied and excited grin splitting her face. She was happy about facing such a serious and dedicated kunoichi like Hinata. She admired the shy girl's battle prowess and skills more than she let on. There were only three girls Kurotsuchi had any desire in fighting back during the Chūnin Exams. Hinata was one of them after she become a fan of her because of her performance against Neji, but with her injuries and being knocked out of the competition it made it impossible to fight her. The last two were Temari and Samui. Both were proud, confident, and powerful kunoichi that would have been worthy challengers and between the two the tomboy was hoping to face Samui in the finals due to the girl's Lightning Style being strong against her Earth Style techniques. She was hoping to find out if she could overcome the stoic girls talented skill despite the handicap.

To see kunoichi her age with this kind of talent and taking their profession seriously got the powerful Chūnin's blood pumping. While Hinata allowed the compliment Kurotsuchi bestowed upon her to graciously settle in another twitch of her eyebrow accompanied the back half of the girl's statement. The jealous embers from before were being stroked and now a fire was lit inside of the meek girl. It was a loaded statement to be deciphered and interpreted in many different ways but Hinata heard the hidden context just well.

"What does that mean?" Hinata growled out with narrowed eyes as Kurotsuchi's grin expanded upon this retort. "Aww… jealous type, are we?" The tomboy cooed as she circulated chakra within her body. "It means that while currently I have no real interest in boys, I can freely admit that if I did, I would prefer them to be outstanding and skilled like Naruto is. It also helps that he's a hunk whose pretty handsome. I've been studying up on a lot of his earlier work with the criminal underworld. He's made quite the name for himself. I may just try my luck with him… perhaps steal him away from you if you don't have the guts to keep him." Kurotsuchi boldly and arrogantly declared to her female counterpart whose whole demeanor changed at this admission as chakra exploded from Hinata's body in waves which silently even startled the Hidden Stone kunoichi as Hinata's reserves were starting to get dangerously close to her own in terms of level and capacity.

"Sorry to disappoint you then Kurotsuchi but you're not the first person to be infatuated with my Naruto. You're not even the third, so you'll have to wait in line because I'm not giving him up to anyone!" Hinata declared with a base of conviction in her voice that galvanized her opponent into action as she and Kurotsuchi charged at each other with deadly intent.

Everyone could sense a shift in the atmosphere of the battle as their self-imposed time limit was starting to run out. Shino felt this pressure in a unique way as he became increasingly aggressive as he quickly dodged out of the way of one of Takei's highly proficient jabs with his fists before creating an Insect Clone of himself who circled around to the boy's exposed flank. "Hard Shell: Lunging Tackle!" Both versions of Shino executed a perfect full body tackle into the midsection of Takei causing the boy to cough up spit as he was bent almost in half while Shino then placed his hands squarely on his enemy's chest. "Hidden Jutsu: Infestation!"

It's a brutal technique of the Aburame clan that allows them to inject a mass of insects into their target through physical contact. Takei found this out the hard way as hundreds of bugs crawled across his skin leaving painful bites causing the Taijutsu specialist to start screaming. The bug specialist gave no quarter as he slammed his flailing opponent into a nearby tree pinning the young boy to its hard surface and preventing him from moving.

Kiba on the other hand had activated his Hone Claws ability once more and was duking it out with Akatsuchi who was using his Earth Style: Golem Jutsu to defend himself against Kiba's rabid attacks. As any good Inuzuka is known for they never relent or give up on their target as Akatsuchi was quickly coming to find out as his golem while sturdy was far too slow to defend itself and its creator against Kiba's fast attacks. Despite being Chūnin the two stone shinobi were still young and relatively on the same level as a high Genin. They may have their rank, but their power was still growing.

The stress of the battle was quickly getting to everyone including Naruto who by his own internal clock could tell that three and a half minutes had already passed, and they were quickly running out of time to get the jar that was now back in Balalaika's possession. This knowledge did nothing to calm his nerves as he slammed his fist into the ground generating a massive glacial sheet of ice that temporarily disrupted the other battles around him while trapping his intended target's feet in the freezing sheets.

"Izō! Go!" Naruto called out to his new familiar as the arctic fox appeared in a blur from Balalaika's flank who was now giving the mysterious creature her full attention. She first saw it hanging by Naruto's feet once she made her entrance into the field but didn't pay it much mind in the beginning. She figured she could learn everything she wanted about it later after she had taken care of her business. Now it looked like she would be learning about this never before seen creature first hand as its tail turned a metallic purple hue that radiated tainted grace. 'What a curious little creature. My instincts are telling me to block or dodge this attack.' The powerhouse kunoichi mused to herself as she held out her opposite forearm just in time as Izō slammed his tail down onto her outstretched appendage which caused an immediate reaction.

For one the sound of metal clanging against metal rung out in the air before the ground shook and cracked open as Izō's powerful tail pushed down on Balalaika's arm cracking the ground beneath her feet and shattering the ice built up around her ankles. The skin on Balalaika's forearm was matte black in color as this was the result of her instinctively using her Steel Style: Iron Body Jutsu to turn her skin to near indestructible metal. "Impressive… most impressive little creature! You continue to surprise me Naruto." The queen of the underworld grinned as she tossed Izō away just as Naruto got into her range with a burst of his accelerated speed. He was surprised to see her being forced to use a Ninjutsu but also kept the notion in the back of his mind that she wasn't using any offensive ninjutsu or tactics against him. A mafioso honors the deals, bets, and stipulations they make or agree to. Balalaika would never be caught breaking her word.

"Tempest Turn!" Four clones popped into existence as they all vied for the jar in Balalaika's hand who had to use more subtle and overt maneuvers to keep the jar in her possession. "I will get that jar Balalaika!" Naruto declared as he blitzed the woman with another dizzying burst of speed with his hand inches away from the jar. It was the closest he's gotten to it as his fingers touched the jar just as Balalaika retaliated in the most subtle way possible. Taking one step forward with such speed that it appeared as if she hadn't moved at all the mountain of a woman stepped right onto Naruto's foot causing the discharge of chakra and kinetic energy leaving Naruto's feet to implode right in their faces as Naruto's Acceleration technique was prematurely intercepted while he was discharging the energy out through his feet.

The explosion shook the clearing bringing the other fighters attention to the main event as the small dust cloud cleared to reveal Naruto on the ground a few feet away from Balalaika clutching at his damaged foot as the unintentional discharge of his kinetic energy was stomped on at the wrong moment causing a bottled up exposing. His foot was nearly blown off as his ninja sandals were shredded to pieces while the skin on his foot was much the same showing the inner layers of his skin and muscle fibers. The pain was excruciating and the scream to follow equally so as time seemed to stop for the leaf shinobi.

An unknown feeling bubbled up within Hinata in that exact moment as she could see the pain wash over her boyfriend's face at the normally debilitating injury and the culmination of the high stress of the mission finally broke something within the heiress. Her enhanced Byakugan was on in an instant with its golden hue catching Kurotsuchi's attention the most who sped through hand seals at a rapid rate. "Hey princess keep your eyes on me! Lava Style: Magma Bombs Jutsu!" The granddaughter to the legendary Third Tsuchikage was not one to ever be ignored on a battlefield especially once she's found a worthy opponent to face as she spat out six large glowing balls of superheated magma covered rocks that flew through the air flinging superheated magma globs and cinders scattering into the wind.

Any shinobi would flinch at the sight of being attacked by a ninjutsu from a Kekkei Genkai but not Hinata in this instance as she wasn't even focused on her powerful opponent anymore. Her eyes were solely locked on to Naruto's prone form as she synched her chakra up with his to a perfect degree using her Byakugan to aid her in this process. Naruto who was still writhing in pain from effectively having his foot explode on him felt this instant connection forming between him and his girlfriend as her chakra washed over him in microseconds.

A loud distinctive whistle left Hinata's mouth that was a secret signal meant only for her boyfriend's ears right before she did something that stunned those present and reminded them of an incident, they'd all put to the back of their minds. "Substitution Jutsu." It was said in a whisper, but its effects were instantaneous as Naruto and Hinata switched places on the battlefield in the blink of an eye. The members of Team 8 were god smacked as they remembered from where they've seen this tactic before. Sasuke had accidentally done this to Naruto back on the battle on the bridge in the Land of Waves. They were fighting Haku at the time and Sasuke was desperately trying to escape his crystal mirrors when he tried to switch out with one of Naruto's clones but instead got the real one instead. It was a disaster of monumental proportions and one they've never seen since then until now.

As for the Hidden Stone Chūnin team not a single one of them has ever thought to sub out with one another using the most basic technique in the world. They didn't even know such a tactic was possible until seeing it for themselves here of all places and even Balalaika was momentarily caught off guard by this unexpected maneuver but none of them would have time to voice their reactions and opinions to this new development as Naruto appeared in the path of the speeding lava balls and without even a conscious thought instantly let his instincts take over as he slammed his palm onto the ground despite the pain in his broken foot.

"Ice Style: Ice Wall Jutsu!"

Six impacts were felt by the 8 foot wall of ice as the lava melted into its surface immediately, but unlike months prior when Naruto fought Tsuchimikado and her formidable usage of the Lava Style Kekkei Genkai his ice managed to hold up to the melting heat of this attack unlike with that older Jōnin who's techniques were so powerful that they smashed through his ice in seconds. Steam and heated water vapor exploded into the clearing from the clashing of two opposing temperatures while Hinata who had just touched down from switching places with Naruto unleashed a powerful palm thrust at Balalaika that shook the ground a bit as water sprayed everywhere while the woman held up her same forearm as earlier to block this attack too.

"Impressive… most impressive. I see the two of you have a fire in your eyes. The bond you share is quite formidable for ones your age." A savage grin was upon Balalaika's face at the display her prey was demonstrating to her as Hinata made a quick swipe at the jar only to come up shorter than Naruto did since she didn't have his heightened speed. The mafia queen would have said more about this development, but it was at that exact moment that she could sense a change in the atmosphere around Hinata. Her whole demeanor felt off all of a sudden and looking down into the girl's eyes told an immediate story as they were an ethereal gold that was illuminating her face with its light, but the problem was there was no longer any depth to her eyes. Hinata was in a trance.

"Balalaika… I have foreseen the outcome of this battle. You are fated to lose." Hinata droned out in a monotone voice devoid of any of her usual cheer and soft nature. A pressure was settling down on the shoulders of everyone present but none so more than Balalaika who subtly frowned now at this new development as she felt the Yōki dissolve within Hinata's body only to be replaced by a fountain of overflowing Holy Grace. "Is that so… then show me exactly how this fate will come to pass." The now intrigued kunoichi challenged while internally she was more concerned and curious about Hinata's abrupt change.

'I've seen this personality before… could it be?' The powerhouse woman had her suspicions about this new development but before she could contemplate them further Hinata made her move. 'It's happening again… she was in this same trance back in Firebend Town. What is this… it's almost like Hinata's like me with a power inside. Kind of like a Jinchūriki.' Naruto was understandably more shocked at this than the others as he watched his girlfriend slam a golden hued palm strike into Balalaika's arm once more who staggered back a step at the stinging sensation of the attack while becoming overall more guarded about her approach to this bout.

Any more attention he wanted to give to this new development was taken away by Kurotsuchi who seized this opportunity to appear above him with kunai in hand. She was dropping over his wall to get him and with literal seconds to react he spawned in a clone that grabbed him and threw him out of his opponents' path. The clone and the feisty kunoichi exchanged a rapid bout of blows that left the girl with several gashes from the clone's ice swords that it immediately called forth the second the real Naruto was out of its arms.

'Nine Tails… for just a quick moment I need you.' Naruto called out into his subconscious as he had specifically kept Sōkyoku and Chaos from interfering with this battle out of general concern for his children so he knew he couldn't rely on the deity to heal his recent injury, the Nine Tailed Fox on the other hand gave him a natural healing ability that was slow in kicking in this time due to the unique properties of the injury.

In seconds Naruto could feel the warm yet fiery sensation of his Tailed Beast's chakra surging down to his foot to heal the completely shattered limb. He was beyond shocked to have his most prized technique exploited in such a simple way. It exposed a fatal flaw about the functions and mechanics behind the entire technique period. One that he couldn't allow another enemy to exploit in the future.

"Time is running out… it's time we settled this little challenge!" Naruto declared as he jumped to his feet while going through a chain of hand seals at blinding speeds. "Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!" This preamble was just a set up as Kurotsuchi was just finished dealing with his clone when she turned to block the hail of steel coming at her. "This isn't your best! What are you up to?" The kunoichi taunted as she braced herself as Naruto slammed into her with his ice staff for a change. His masterful display of Bōjutsu wasn't something that even with her prestigious skills Kurotsuchi couldn't properly defend herself against as Naruto battered her withering guard with the superior reach and flexibility of his staff that even his opponents stone fists couldn't shatter.

"Back off! Earth Style: Earth Flowing Mud River Jutsu!" They both knew that she was being overwhelmed and desperately needed a breather in that moment as she spat out a large river of mud from her mouth in an effort to force Naruto back away from her. Under normal circumstances this tactic would be a viable one except for the fact that Naruto was no longer playing around as Kurotsuchi was quickly coming to find out by the ice-cold glare of determination that was drilling a hole into her forehead coming from Naruto. Being this close to him she could sense the tremendous reserves of chakra boiling beneath the surface of his skin that was just itching to get out. At almost the exact same time that she activated her Jutsu Naruto had already completed his as if he had a Sharingan. The speed at which he was on the upswing both scared and excited Kurotsuchi more than anything she's ever felt before.

"Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu!" It was the elemental complimentary Jutsu of comparable strength between the two elements and would certainly do the trick in this situation as a raging wave of rushing water left Naruto's mouth to impact the mudslide coming his way. The already muddy ground was turned into an unwalkable sludge that could swallow up a human being if it was deep enough. The pressure of the water was another matter entirely as the muddy water was flung back in Kurotsuchi's face drenching her under pounds of marshy water that she immediately wanted to get away from.

"Ice Style: Ice Prison Jutsu!" A snap later and with Kurotsuchi gasping in actual shock from being on the receiving end of such an onslaught saw a large wall of glacial slabs coming her way turning the mud inside into crystalize ice. It was a humbling experience in her mind as this was her textbook fighting style. She's a Ninjutsu specialist first and foremost and she boasted a ninjutsu library that most children her age would gawk at much less Chūnin like them. Even the average Jōnin doesn't have the total number of ninjutsu under their belts like Kurotsuchi does thanks to her royal lineage and background but it's in her very nature to simply overwhelm her opponents with battering forces of ninjutsu barrages that they couldn't hope to defend themselves against.

… and now that same tactic was being used against her… very humbling indeed.

Flexing her chakra and taking a leap back at the very last second Kurotsuchi just managed to escape the entrapment of mud and ice that would have surely done her in. The only problem with this move was the fact she had no reprieve. Her back was literally against the wall in this instance as Naruto had purposely lured his opponent back over to the wall of ice that he had made earlier.

This notion was noticed too late by Kurotsuchi who heard the popping sounds of clones and turned to see the shuriken that Naruto launched earlier from his technique turning back into standard Shadow Clones.

"NO!"

An involuntary scream left the stone kunoichi's mouth as she instantly realized what tactic this was. 'This is the tactic he used to beat his Inuzuka teammate back in the Chūnin Exams! He's been playing me this entire time!' This revelation wouldn't completely save her as she felt the clones grab her and drag her against the way freezing parts of her body along the way. 'I'm not done! I refuse to lose just yet! We have 20 more seconds left on the challenge!' Kurotsuchi felt the tingle of excitement turning into a full body eruption of joy at facing off against such a worthy opponent as she used the pinnacle of her ninjutsu and chakra training skills to completely mold the chakra sequence and pattern for her next Jutsu internally without any hand seals whatsoever as a grin of enormous proportions split her face in half.

"You're amazing! But I'm not done yet blondie! Corrosion Style: Quicklime Congealing Jutsu!" Using her signature technique of the subset ability to her Lava Style Kekkei Genkai was always a last resort or anchor to Kurotsuchi's fighting combos when she wanted to draw a battle to a close. The white cement like tar was a projectile that flew fast through the air when spat out by the user and Kurotsuchi's was no exception, like with everything else she's known for she's also extremely proficient in this technique and its overall travel speed.

It was like a bullet and at such a close range it would certainly hit Naruto who seemed unfazed by the powerful attack coming at him. It just so happened that at the exact moment Kurotsuchi was launching her attack Hinata was making her final move against Balalaika who was maintaining her self-imposed defense. "Is this all you've got child. You'll never get the jar with this level of ability." Balalaika taunted to goad her prey into upping her attack and doing just as expected Hinata disappeared in a untraceable Body Flicker that scattered gold and purple light particles in her way stunning Balalaika just ever so slightly that the mighty woman lowered her guard by a fraction of an inch and in doing so Hinata took a mile as she got inside Balalaika's guard and slammed a vicious palm thrust straight into the center of the woman's large chest.

"Overdrive!"

A massive ripple of golden energy pummeled Balalaika's body causing the seasoned kunoichi to seize up as a shockwave shook the entire clearing throwing off Kurotsuchi's aim ever so slightly and giving Kiba an unintentional opening that he exploited against Akatsuchi to tear through his powerful golem with his new technique he displayed the day before against the bandits. That final strike was enough to edge him the victory with the same being said for Shino who was restraining Takei with layers of spider silk to prevent him from escaping.

The shockwave put Balalaika on her back foot while a secondary gentle fist strike from Hinata disabled the chakra nodes in the woman's wrist holding the jar in place by her chakra. Time slowed down for the two females as Balalaika's instincts kicked in and flexing her finger tipped the jar back towards her chest for her to capture as Hinata lunged for the container. The younger girl's fingers just missed their mark and a tingle of excitement for winning and a twinge of disappointment at her prey losing traveled up the underworld queen's spine. It was a mixed bag of emotions that never got to be fully processed by her mind as she watched in muted shock as Hinata flexed her index finger and a fully formed thread of pure chakra string that the Puppeteer Corps of the Hidden Sand Village uses in their techniques manifested on Hinata's finger.

The tendril of pure chakra latched onto the jar containing the Bikōchū Beetle allowing Hinata to pull back on her finger yanking the container clear out of Balalaika's grasps for good as her dull emotionless eyes stared into the genuinely shocked eyes of her much more powerful opponent.

This entire sequence of events panned out just as a vortex of destructive chakra swirled to life within Naruto's hands with the assistance of the shuriken turned clones who now stood next to him forming a Rasengan in his hands for his use. It was all over in a second as Naruto slammed his birthright technique straight into the oncoming mass of quicklime on a low power setting causing the gunky white paste to swirl around the vortex of his technique. "Rasengan!"

The cry of his technique was heard by all especially Kurotsuchi who's heart skipped a painful beat in her chest as every child of the current era who was born into the Hidden Stone Village was taught history lessons of Minato Namikaze's legendary technique and how it brought with it the deaths of hundreds of their shinobi. Her heart was pounding out of its chest as Naruto's arm came within feet of her body as she watched in stunned awe as he then prematurely released his attack by twisting his wrist counterclockwise causing the Rasengan to fly out of his hand with the mass of quicklime being expanded like bakery dough to four times its original size due to the centripetal force of the chakra sphere.

A loud boom was heard as Kurotsuchi was swallowed up by her very own technique then plowed straight through the wall of ice she was trapped against and then finally clear across the field to the tree line where she slammed into the closest tree trapped within her own cement.

The next microsecond later Naruto already had his attention focused back on his girlfriend who was facing down Balalaika who was moving her body forward in a lunging motion to recapture the container before the final seconds timed out on their five-minute challenge. Too bad for the king pin but Naruto was now playing for keeps as he had the perfect finisher to this entire charade. One moment Balalaika's hands was inches away from Hinata's upper chest and neck where she was grasping the jar and the next second a clone of Naruto was switched in her place by the Substitution Jutsu going off without a hitch. Hinata on the other hand was summarily scooped up into Naruto's arms while clones of himself grabbed onto his teammates in the blink of an eye before either of them could realize what was going on.

With one mighty leap Naruto had jumped backwards across the entire clearing with his clones doing the same with Izō already falling back ahead of them due to his connection with his master. The clone that now had Balalaika's hand wrapped around its neck choking it looked up into the once more surprised eyes of his greatest predator and with one final thought smirked at her. This clone wasn't a normal Shadow Clone as many of Naruto's enemies might originally think, but an Exploding Shadow Clone as many of them were starting to learn more and more as the days go by.

"Boom." The final words of the clone rung in Balalaika's ears before a massive explosion rocked the clearing.

Flashback End


The carriage was silent as everyone present wore stunned expressions of their faces as Naruto and Hinata who were of course holding hands wore equally identical sheepish facial expressions as they waited for the adults to process the tale they were just told.

"You've got to be kidding me… that sounds like a passage out of my original novel. Tales of a Gutsy Ninja." Jiraiya mumbled as he leaned back in his seat while blinking his eyes with large pools of pride swelling up deep within them. "You managed to one up Balalaika… sweetheart do you two know what you've accomplished… what you've done?" Shoko whispered in awe and dread as she crushed the two teenagers into her large bosom with fear gripping her heart. Iris and Chaos who were sitting in the teenager's laps became crushed between the overly affectionate mother and their parental figures causing Iris to squeal and squirm in discomfort while Chaos just giggled in her typical way.

"Shoko you're crushing us…" Naruto wheezed as he tried to get his surrogate mother to loosen her death grip on them. As much as he secretly loved being smothered by her massive motherly chest it currently wasn't good for his health or that of his girlfriend either who had a permanent blush staining her cheeks as her face was pushed down deep into Shoko's breast who had dragged her across the seat and into her lap. Hinata had no comment that she would readily like to make about that experience… but in the back of her mind she could not so reluctantly see where Naruto's strong female preference was coming from.

"Shoko's right… you've bested that girl at one of her challenges. That is a rare occurrence I assure you and now all that's going to do is make her more interested in you. You've excelled a little too well for my tastes as she gets off on the thrill of the hunt. The two of you are exceptional talents for your age and that only increases her interest in you." Tsunade spoke up with a frown marring her face as she sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose in stress at the convoluted mess her two promising up and coming shinobi got themselves into. It honestly reminded her of a few months prior when they traveled on their short journey to track her down to become the Hokage and all of the perils they faced.

"I don't think it can be helped grandma… she's had her sights set on me for a long time now. It's inevitable that she would show up to check on my progress… I just never imagined it would be so abrupt and in an obscure place like that." Naruto mused as Jiraiya nodded his own head absentmindedly at his own experiences over his long career. He's had dealings such as those become highlights in his career. "Don't leave us hanging kid… how did this exchange end?" The author in him had to know the final page of the metaphorical story. Naruto was more than happy to explain in return as he saw the adults lean forward.

He explained that by the time his feet touched the upper branches of the tree he landed in once jumping out of the clearing he and one other shadow clone immediately went about sealing up the jar containing the Bikōchū Beetle into a security scroll that was then sealed onto one of Naruto's arm storage tattoos. Simultaneously after that he had charged up a large dosage of chakra and used his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu to summon upwards of near 500 clones to form a barrier between them and the squad of stone shinobi below them.

Balalaika was relatively unharmed by the admittedly powerful explosion as her clothes were singed while her favored overcoat was blown clear off her shoulders. Her skin was unblemished as the observing children could see that her entire body was turned to a matte black metallic color indicating that she was using a full coverage of her Iron Body technique to defend herself. "So, I assume you'll let us leave in peace since we've won the bet?" Naruto questioned.

A savage grin unlike anything he's ever seen on the woman's face before burned itself into his memory as the king pin unleashed a massive discharge of her killing intent and chakra causing the entire clearing to be saturated in her overwhelming chakra. Half of Naruto's clones went up in smoke right then and there while the others just barely managed to hold themselves down to the tree's they were attached too. It wasn't the answer Naruto was expecting and not the one he really wanted as he was about to place Hinata down out of his arms whose eyes were receding back from their dull trance like state.

"Marvelous… simply marvelous. You've exceeded my every expectation between the two of you and your teammates weren't half bad either. Impressive… most impressive." Balalaika praised with the dangerous grin plastered on her face as she looked at the state of her three subordinates. They were all incapacitated and unable to continue the battle even if they wanted to. She would have to release them first before they could try again. As for the army of clones in front of her she could dismiss them all with a pulse of her potent chakra but in the end, she decided the effort wouldn't' be worth it. The children were running dangerously low on stamina and any genuine fight that she could be wishing for would be lost.

She knew when she was beaten and to top it all off, she had her pride and honor as a king pin on the line. She would never dare go back on her word after they beat her fair and square.

"I submit. You win."


Capital of the Land of Fire: Great City of Asakusa

By the time Naruto had finished the last of his story the carriages were just outside the main gates of the capital of the country. The great city of Asakusa was even more impressive than Naruto could have even possibly imagined as he and Hinata stared out at the city with childish awe along with Iris and Chaos who had their faces glued to the window.

The streets were wide and covered by a well-maintained layer of brick and cobblestone that provided a relatively smooth ride throughout the city. The horse drawn carriages got excellent traction on the surfaces as it parted the heavy pedestrian traffic on the crowded roads once people began to take notice of the royal flags and insignias on the carriages passing them by. The curiosity of the public was matched by the equally insatiable feelings of the kids inside the carriage as Iris and Chaos in particular were staring at all of the food stalls and buildings passing them by on the main road.

The city was incredibly massive, easily seven times the actual size of the Hidden Leaf Village but without the Great Hokage Monument or any of the other key landmarks. Instead the city was surrounded by an equally as high security wall as the one in the Leaf Village with large gates around the city exits. Guard towers dotted the top of the massive 50-meter walls that towered over the nearby trees in the area. The entire city was arranged into three sectioned off rings that were partitioned by inner walls with their own passageways and gated security terminals.

The lowest ring was by far the largest section of the city with cramped high density residential and international commercial districts being crammed into the zone with parks and other amenities accompanying it as well. Hundreds of thousands of civilians lived in this section of city alone and the entire population of just this zone alone eclipsed the total population of the Hidden Leaf Village as a whole. Thousands of food stalls, shops, and restaurants were arrayed row after row in this area of the city and the smells that were wafting into the carriage was enough to make Iris and particularly Chaos's mouth water.

The second ring in the city housed wealthy and rich royal families of different hierarchies that weren't related to the royal family. Every rich and influential individual with any amount of status and rank in the entire country had an estate in the section of the city the wealth of this area could be felt permeating into the carriage. The citizens were overly dressed and carried an air of superiority and arrogance with them for some as they walked, and an increase of personal carriages was notices as most people wanted to be carried around by personal coach drivers. It was all unnecessary in Naruto's eyes, but he just chalked it up to the hubris and entitlement of the rich.

The third and final innermost ring housed the enormous royal palace and capitol building of the entire country of the Land of Fire. The entire estate itself was almost the same size as the entirety of the entire Leaf Village on its own, the land was unnecessarily massive with the palace being ornate and having gold plated shingles on its roofs with the highest quality materials used in its construction. Large open courtyards and other barrack buildings on the perimeter of the estate could be seen. Large gardens the size of parks and huge pools the size of small lakes were also on the property.

The main palace was about 30 stories tall being three times as tall as the 10-story tall Hokage Administration Building in the village. The surrounding government admin buildings surrounding it were also quite tall while any other building on the estate didn't creep any taller than 8 to 10 stories tall.

Passing by all of the food stalls was becoming too much for Chaos to handle in particular as the tiny terror disappeared from Hinata's lap within the blink of an eye startling the other occupants of the carriage as this abrupt action came without warning. "What the… where did she just go?" Tsunade blurted out in alarm as by the time the words could finish leaving her mouth the chaotic force known as Chaos returned with both her arms full of baked pastries from a passing bakery.

A piece of sweet sugar bread that was glazed was already stuffed into her mouth along with a euphoric expression of bliss accompanying the returned rambunctious girl who was squealing along with Iris once she saw the haul her twin sister returned with. "Chaos! Where did you get all of this stuff? Did you steal it!" Hinata demanded in a stern tone to the girl reclining in her lap with a mountain of food dumped onto the floor of the carriage. A sheepish grin of wonder came to the unhinged girl as she declined stealing the food.

"I didn't steal the food… I paid for it all." A giggle followed this admission as Shoko shook her head at the audacity of her young adopted relative while a tick mark twitched above Tsunade's eyebrow in annoyance. "I highly doubt that brat and while I have a lot of questions on how you just did that, I want to know with what money did you pay for this junk. You're seven." The Hokage probed with an inquisitive glare to the young child who matched her gaze with her typically unhinged and unnerving stare that Tsunade still hasn't gotten used to.

"I took Master Jiraiya's wallet to pay for the food." Chaos answered in between sessions of chewing on the sweet glazed bread. She was naturally a messy eater, so her lips were already shiny and sticky from the treat. "YOU WHAT?!" The Toad Sage was offended if his tone was any indication as Naruto broke out into a peel of laughter with Hinata not far behind as she could no longer see a reason to be angry at her lovable surrogate daughter while Iris let out a snicker at the plight of the sage. While the little girl was the epitome of purity and innocence she just loved whenever they could one up the perverted old man. "On second thought… everything is ok sweetie." Hinata mused while patting the messy child on her head earning her a content squeak of contentment from the girl and an indignant squawk from the old Sannin.

Taking out his wallet the sage was outraged to find out that he was indeed missing a chunk of cash much to his horror as any delusion that he had of the little girl simply lying was thrown out the carriage window. "What the hell little tyke? I thought you were on my side?" The man pouted as he took notice of a new addition to his wallet. "Wait is this an address and picture of a girl?" Instantly the pervert in the sage was back in full swing as Jiraiya found himself staring at a beautiful brunette girl in her early twenties with a dazzling smile and emerald eyes. Her figure was slim yet very attractive in the uniform of the bakery Chaos got the food from. "She's the baker and I probed her mind for her address." Chaos said in a sweet tone that disturbed Tsunade and Shizune since they weren't yet used to the girl's very unique personalities, particularly Chaos's who had no boundaries.

"Oh, you little tyke… I love you so much! You can take my money anytime if you're going to be a little wingman to me!" Jiraiya raved as he focused more on the pretty face of the girl rather than the address of her house which ultimately proved to be his downfall as Tsunade snatched the photo out of her teammate's hand much to his horror as he watched her rip the parchment to shreds right before his very eyes before he could memorize the info written at the bottom of the paper.

The laughter of the kids followed Jiraiya's agony the rest of the trip to the royal palace.


Great City of Asakusa: Royal Palace

The palace was as grandiose as Naruto imagined it to be but all of the architecture and decadence in the world couldn't possibly drag his attention away from how tense the atmosphere was in the meeting room. Sitting at the head of the table was Saitou who wore a pleasant smile on his face that guarded his intentions from those around him. Next to him was his wife of course who was sending Jiraiya coy smiles to grab his attention as she had her eyes set on any new private information on the next Icha book in the series. Next to her were her children who wore the same attire as the last time Naruto saw them.

Ikkyū was giving him a small pleasant smile that was less troubling than his father's while little Naho had all of her attention on Naruto who while flattered and happy to see the princess was still unnerved by the history her father is trying to impose upon them. Naruto had decided before leaving the carriage to return Iris and Chaos to their hidden transformed states. The last thing Naruto wanted was a million questions coming from the Fire Daimyō and his family about the origins of his two daughters. That would have been the most awkward moment of his life.

"It's good to see you again Lady Hokage… I trust you and your entourage made it here safely?" Saitou began while fanning himself in his typical dramatic flair with the Hokage ignoring the act all together. She engaged the Daimyō for a few moments of pleasantries before the man's eyes shifted to Naruto and Hinata in particular which got both young Chūnin internally on guard. They were never told the reason why they were being brought to the capital or why the Daimyō wanted to speak to them. Neither were they told why Hiashi and the elders had to be present either. Hinata of course was concerned about why her father had a hidden well of anxiety and nerves building up inside of him that she could detect.

Her skittish mind was thinking up all kinds of negative scenarios that she didn't quite like. The number one on the list being that the Daimyō was going to formally engage Naruto to Naho for his own schemes and machinations. Hinata's heart would break if that were to be the case and that could explain why her father and elders needed to be present. He supported their relationship and her own relationship with her father was steadily improving day by day. A nervous chill ran up the girl's spine as she sought comfort from entangling her hand with Naruto's under the table much to his surprise and the ire of her grandfather and other elders at the perceived image of weakness from her.

"It's good to see you again my boy… I've heard a great deal about your more recent exploits as of late and I must say you continue to impress me and do me proud." Saitou preened with a twinkle in his eyes that once more Naruto couldn't decipher even with all of his effort. He could never quite tell what the Daimyō's motivations or intentions are. It was honestly unnerving for the young veteran shinobi whose lived his entire life and career on being able to read people.

"Thank you, sir, I'm honored." Naruto intoned automatically as he watched for the rulers' next move. "The same can be said about you Lady Hinata. You've impressed me with your service in the Land of Wind. You are single handedly responsible for the confirmed death of a high-ranking member of the Land of Stone's terrorist organization that has been attacking the Land of Wind's northern border. You caught him in an attempt on the Wind Daimyō's life along with his associates who you along with Gaara and his squads killed and arrested." Saitou praised with a genuine smile of pride in his eyes as his fellow Daimyō called him to lavish praise on Hinata for discovering the plot on his life with her enhanced Byakugan.

At this revelation Naruto shared a look with Hinata who mouthed to him "my eyes". Naruto immediately understood this message as he thought back to two days ago in the clearing with Balalaika where Hinata had entered this strange trance. The couple didn't have a chance to speak about this or her mission at great length as they quickly retreated back to Outpost 11 following the skirmish with Balalaika where they then made a mad dash back to the village with no stops along the way. They were immediately put off duty following their debrief and sent home for how the mission turned out. Naruto and Hinata didn't have much time to discuss anything of importance that they had originally planned on.

'A failed assassination plot against the Wind Daimyō. I could see that citizens of the country would be quite angry with him regarding the declining stability in the Hidden Sand Village. I could see certain elements hiring outside criminals from another country to get rid of their leader. That's what I would do if I couldn't do it on my own. Having the outside pressure from assassins would turn the country to uniting against a common foe and if the Daimyō were to fall in the chaos a new leader would assume the mantle that would either be a puppet ruler or someone who was far stronger and more effective.' Naruto strategized to himself at the possibilities that could arise from the commotion happening in their neighboring country.

It was all intriguing but concerning for Naruto who while proud of Hinata didn't particularly feel comfortable with his beloved girlfriend getting herself caught up in such a volatile situation that he would have probably thrived in. Danzō could see the gleam of intelligence illuminated within Naruto's eyes and it caused the old man to subtly grip his cane in aggravation. 'Damn you Hiruzen… you were far too soft on the boy. For all his faults his mind is still that of a true shinobi. His intelligence and willingness to see a bigger picture and cross lines are what a shinobi should be. I could have brought this out of him sooner.' Danzō growled in his mind as he could tell what was crossing Naruto's mind and the taint and darkness in his heart drew Danzō in like a moth to a flame.

As far as Hinata was concerned she felt like sinking into her old baggy jacket if she could and was cursing the fact, she was no longer wearing it. The amount of attention that was on her was something she was clearly not used too as she squeaked ever so silently while ducking her eyes down. "I was just doing my duty my lord. But I'm honored by your praise." She just managed to get this out with barely any stutters as she squeezed Naruto's hand underneath the table so hard to the point Naruto's skin started to turn red.

Despite Saitou's flamboyance he could tell just how nervous Hinata and by extension Naruto was so decided to move along with his announcement. "Well now I'll like to discuss more about each of your exploits at a later point but for the time being I think we should quickly get to the real reason why I brought you two here. I'm here to grant you your inheritances from your parents."

Complete silence engulfed the room as Naruto and Hinata felt their hearts stop for a brief painful moment as the daunting words of the Fire Daimyō registered in their young minds. 'Our inheritances…?' The young Chūnin looked around the room to the other occupants to see Shoko, Jiraiya, and Hiashi in particular giving the young Chūnin looks of sadness and remorse.

"Inheritance…?" Naruto whispered out in shock as he watched Jiraiya pull out a scroll from his pocket on the signal from Saitou. On appearance alone Naruto could tell it was well taken care of and that Jiraiya has held onto it for years on end. The way he handled the scroll suggested reverence, regret, remorse, pride, hope, and most importantly of all love.

"This scroll contains the personal affects and ninjutsu scrolls of both your parents Naruto. Your father Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage, and your mother Kushina Uzumaki the last Shī-ō of the old Land of Whirlpools." Jiraiya spoke in the softest tone Naruto's ever heard from the sage. Pain could be seen in the old man's eyes as he passed the scroll over to Naruto who was almost afraid to touch it, let alone hold it in his hand. A dull pain squeezed at Naruto's unused hand and seeing Hinata giving him a loving smile brought one to his face as well. It spoke a thousand words to Naruto in that moment who felt a wellspring of emotions threatening to erupt in that one moment that he was afraid he'd lose control over and feeling what was about to happen he violently stomped down on the volcano bubbling up within him.

The heiress could sense the eruption of emotions being buried beneath the surface of her boyfriend who was attempting to maintain control over himself. This was a monumental moment for the both of them and even she could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. This was a moment the both of them never thought they would ever see, or ever expected to see. A million and one thoughts were going through Naruto's mind at this moment one of which was the fact that his parents had heirlooms to be left over for him. He remembered stumbling across one of his father's hidden workshops a year ago with Eva where they discovered quite a bit of valuable information and priceless gems to take back with them from their trip.

Till this day Naruto still has everything he took from that shack sealed away on his skin inside of the personal security storage seals that he tattooed onto himself a long time ago. He's been constantly upgrading the security aspect of the storage seal over the years as he's learned new advanced techniques from his studies. Without a shadow of a doubt the most valuable artifact that he took with him from the shack when he striped it bare besides coping the large sealing array on the floor was the Fourth Hokage's Tri Pronged Kunai used in the execution of his Flying Thunder God technique.

Even now Naruto currently has it on him right now in a separate storage seal near his wrist. He hasn't made a lot of headway into deciphering the complex and intricate formulas and codes hidden within the sealing array on the kunai itself and it would appear that this would be the case for quite some time as he was running into the issue of not being able to research and learn from high level Fūinjutsu books in the shinobi library. It was the least known subject in the shinobi world and each village only had a handful of sealing experts and even fewer had seal masters like the Hidden Leaf was blessed to have.

Naruto suspected that the master level instruction books were reserved in the Hokage Administration Building or the Hokage residence itself as not many individuals besides the Hokage, a select few elite Jōnin, and ANBU use Fūinjutsu in any kind of capacity. Naruto's only option at this point would be to ask Jiraiya or Shoko to help him in advancing with his Fūinjutsu training as he wanted to eventually decipher the Fourth's Flying Thunder God Kunai and the Jutsu itself.

Taking the scroll into his hands Naruto examined the object with masterful scrutiny as he bit his bottom lip to keep from spilling the oceans worth of emotions bubbling up to the surface. The scroll was a navy blue with gold accents and leaf symbol patterns adorning the parchment. On each end of the scroll was the insignia of the Uzumaki Clan colored in red while a stamp like seal that keeps the scroll closed had the symbol and kanji for Hokage printed on it letting Naruto know that extra master level security seals were placed on the scroll to keep it supremely secure from prying eyes.

"This is it…?" Naruto asked in a choked-up voice as he looked to his master who nodded his head solemnly. "Inside you'll fine two separate scrolls. From your father you'll receive the secret formula to the Flying Thunder God Jutsu that made your father a force of nature on the battlefield as well as scrolls containing all of its different variants. The technique scroll for the Rasengan and all of its notes is also inside. You'll also find an entire scroll on basic Time/Space Fūinjutsu and the entire complete master class edition series on the Mastery of Fūinjutsu books. Volumes 1 to 10. He also had other books, notes, and scrolls on other branches of shinobi combat stuffed in their as well." Jiraiya explained as Naruto and Hinata tried to wrap their head around the monumental bomb that was just dropped into their lap.

To have all of the secret techniques of the Fourth Hokage sitting in your lap was mind bending. The wealth of knowledge contained by just his scroll alone could turn Naruto into a powerhouse on the battlefield. A little of just over two decades worth of material from a once in a generation genius was now at his fingertips and that man was his father. It was going to take him a long time to even come to terms with this notion alone. 'My head feels likes its swelling up just trying to process this all. My father… the Fourth Hokage; and now I have all of his heirlooms in my possession.' Naruto was bottling up everything that was trying to escape at this moment as he could spy Danzō and the other elders on the other side of the table itching to see him open up the scroll.

"You don't seemed fazed by this information at all young one, I was under the impression that you weren't aware of your heritage?" Saitou questioned in a curious tone as he could see the range of emotions playing out across Naruto's face before he composed himself within an instant. He was curious as to the young shinobi's mental and emotional state in that moment.

"Oh… I'm well aware of who my father is Lord Saitou… I have been for quite some time now. It's kind of hard not to find out when you have 40 enemy ninja ambushing you trying to take your head. They cursed my very existence while mentioning the things the Fourth did back during the last war. It's not hard to put two and two together." The tone of Naruto's voice was now noticeably different compared to earlier and it caused Saitou to frown ever so slightly at remembering that incident.

"Wait! You've known all this time? How come you never came to any of us?" Jiraiya exclaimed while Shoko, and Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. They weren't aware that Naruto's been holding on to this information for months now. At no point in time did he ever approach them about this revelation. A frown that almost morphed into a sneer crossed Naruto's face causing Hinata and Naho to flinch back while Saitou frowned ever so subtlety. Iris and Chaos who were hidden on Naruto's body were now paying more attention to their father at this point as they could feel the emotions boiling within him at this point.

"Yeah well at this point I just feel numb. I've been lied to and kept in the dark my entire life up till this point so why should I just come running the moment I discover something on my own. Two of the biggest secrets in my life were told to me by complete strangers who were hell bent on murdering me instead of those closest to me so I'm not really keen on opening up about something like this. I've had my own suspicions for almost a year now from my own speculations and independent investigations." Naruto revealed as he gave a harsh glare to the adults in his life who flinched back in shame to his words. There was a lot of pain and anger reflected in his eyes and as for them a lot of pain and regret flowed from theirs.

"Naruto… if I may. They were under strict orders not to mention your heritage until either you attained the rank of Chūnin or reached the age of 16. This was a stipulation passed by the Third Hokage who had made these preparation following the chaos of the night you were born." Saitou interjected as he could see Tsunade and the others gearing up for rebuttals which would have inevitably led to a nasty argument. A low almost inaudible growl left Naruto's lips at this admission as a pang of real pain and betrayal reverberated throughout Naruto's heart at his surrogate grandfather. They've had several discussions on this very topic over the years when he was alive about his parents and while they had eventually reached an agreement that he would eventually tell him about his parentage the fact that he died and had never passed that information along stung deeply at Naruto's heart.

"At this point I just don't care. It's meaningless to speak on it further." Naruto retorted in a clipped tone as he harshly stomped down on his ever-present raging emotions that were threatening to come loose. He had to be especially careful in this scenario as he could feel Chaos feeding off of his negativity right now and the Daimyō's royal conference room was not the place to have his daughter explode into one of her rampages. That would be a disaster his mind couldn't even comprehend.

"What's in the scroll my mother left me?" Naruto quietly asked as he could see a cloud of depression hanging over the heads of Tsunade, Shoko, and Jiraiya. They looked like they wanted to explain themselves but a look from the Daimyō stopped them in their tracks. Upon his signal Shoko decided to speak up this time. "Kushina left behind her personal sword named Benihime. It was a royal sword forged on Hōrai Island by your mother and it functions the same way my sword does since she helped me forge mine on the island way back then as well. The next major item is the Forbidden Master Scroll of Seals that is passed down to each Shī-ō of the clan. She took it with her during the destruction of the island. It contains an archive of all of their unique Uzumaki Style Fūinjutsu with records dating back almost a thousand years ago. Lastly she left behind the sealing key to the Uzumaki Mask Temple that resides in the village." Shoko described as she could see the pain welling up within her surrogate son at the betrayal he must feel.

She berated herself deeply for taking so long to reveal his heritage to him. It crushed her soul to know that she was responsible for making him feel this pain. A cold silence enveloped the room as Naruto gently placed the scroll on the table in front of him before rolling up his sleeve where channeling a miniscule amount of chakra through his skin revealed a highly advanced Surface Storage Seal on his forearm. This confused some of the occupants present in the room while Danzō scowled in animosity once he realized what Naruto was about to do.

"Are you not going to open up the scroll to finally see your heirlooms young Naruto?" Saitou questioned the Chūnin in puzzlement as he wasn't sure how to process the boy's more muted response to this whole affair. He didn't want to upset the boy greatly with these revelations as the Fire Daimyō had a lot invested into his future as a potential partner and family member. As the current Shī-ō of the newly rediscovered Uzumaki Clan and Land of Whirlpools Naruto was extremely valuable to Saitou.

He wanted the Land of Fire to have its oldest ancestral ally back since it was under his reign in which the country fell, and he wanted to have Naruto's personal investments and loyalty to him through the use of marrying him off to his daughter Naho. In just one years' time of being a shinobi the boy has single handedly granted his country two exclusive alliances with prominent resource rich countries in the form of the Land of Waves and the Land of Snow. He also played a crucial part in saving the alliance between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand village by befriending their Jinchūriki and stopping it from causing the destruction of the village.

The value that Naruto had as an individual and as a shinobi far outstripped almost the entire ninja force as a whole. The boy was a cash cow and treasure trove of making valuable and lasting human connections with powerful and influential people and countries. Saitou wasn't necessarily power-hungry per say but he wasn't above consolidating his power base which was already substantially larger than the other four major Daimyō's combined. The Land of Fire was always a target for the other countries to exploit because of his family's wealth and power. He was a benevolent and kind ruler with a bit of a whimsical fancy to lavish and expensive things but what separated him from his colleagues was his tactical mind and level headed approach to never letting his fortunes and wealth control or corrupt him to an unhealthy degree.

He knew a gem when he saw one and because he's still managed to keep his head throughout the numerous assassination attempts on his long life he knew when to strike when the iron was hot as everyday could be your last, especially when you are the richest man on the face of the planet; and now thanks to Naruto's girlfriend who managed to help thwart an attempt on the Wind Daimyō's life he now had the spineless coward indebted to him and his country twice over now since it was well within Saitou's right to declare war on the Land of Wind for their invasion of the Leaf. It would have been a war that everyone knew the leaf would absolutely win hands down but the Fire Daimyō wasn't a war monger nor power hungry in that manner. Finishing off the Hidden Sand and Land of Wind as a whole no matter how fast and swift would have left the Land of Fire severely weakened and vulnerable to a counter invasion by their enemies in the Land of Earth and Lightning. Saitou wouldn't risk another world war just to satisfy some petty revenge… his other fellow Daimyō on the other hand…

"This scroll has remained closed for 13 years sir. It can remain closed for a little while longer. I'll open it up on my own time and in my privacy." Naruto said quietly before sealing away the scroll quickly as he didn't trust a certain number of individuals in the room. Danzō and the other elderly generation of shinobi in the room were not his allies of that he was sure about.

"I see… well then just for clarification young Naruto when speaking with Hiruzen about this years ago and now recently with Tsunade after she took office that I'd like to see how you perform out in the field as a Chūnin first before revealing your heritage. Just because you receive the rank doesn't mean that you automatically are ready for the responsibilities of learning your heritage. I wanted to see how your character would hold up upon receiving this promotion and I was right in my decision. You've performed admirably in your new post and have done many great deeds in such a short amount of time. I hope you take that into consideration when thinking of Lady Hokage and the others." Saitou smoothly interjected with a soft tone of voice as he watched the hidden anger welling up within the boy begin to disperse ever so slightly.

"I see… I will take that into consideration when I talk to my family later. But there will be a talk and a lot of pent up feelings to finally let go of." Naruto said in a finalized tone as he sent a very peculiar look to Tsunade, Shoko, and Jiraiya that indicated to them that this talk would be done more with their fists than their words. It would be explosive.

The three Kage level shinobi knew that they would have to shoulder the weight of Naruto's silent anguish that he was bravely putting up for them right now. They would do this task without complaint as it was the least that they could do for the boy who was their surrogate family.

"Moving on… Lord Hiashi I believe you have something for your daughter to inherit?" Saitou quietly mused as he kept a close eye on Naruto who was silently watching the proceedings with a carefully constructed neutral façade on his face. Naho had a very concerned look on her face for the first boy she's made a genuine friendship with. She wanted to speak up to comfort him or ask what was really wrong but couldn't due to her upbringing and etiquette. This wasn't her place to act or speak out in a room full of her superiors. She had to keep her emotions in check for the time being… but as a nine-year-old girl despite her upbringing it was incredibly tough for her to keep her composure.

Taking the Fire Daimyō's cue as his signal to begin the lord of the Hyūga Clan took in a shallow breath before producing a lavender colored scroll with the seal of the Hyūga Clan pinning the document closed. Like with Jiraiya earlier, Hiashi had a nervous energy about him as he sat before his daughter who equally shared in this emotion as she squeezed Naruto's hand even further who throughout his own emotional experiences remained steadfast in holding onto her hand.

"Like with my twin brother Hizashi and the suffering Neji had to suffer through, I have also kept an inheritance from your mother Hinata. As you know she died in childbirth bringing Hanabi into this world. What you don't know… what no one knew including me was the fact that… that… she knew of her impending passing since the time of your own birth my daughter." The thick emotion in the Hyūga Clan leader didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room and Hiashi's own father Hayate frowned at the emotional destabilization of his heir as he placed the scroll down in front of his granddaughter.

Naruto and Hinata's breaths hitched in their throats at this startling revelation as the implications took their rounds around the room for the many not in the know of this information. Hinata's mother knew of her own impending demise but didn't tell anyone? This revelation was almost impossible for the two children to fully comprehend as Naruto sensed the despair and confusion emanating from his beloved girlfriend as tears were building up on the corners of her eyes. "How… why?"

These two words cracked Hiashi's heart, but he wouldn't let the majority of it show as he sighed in a depressed manner. "As I'm sure by now you don't remember much about your mother am I correct Hinata?" Hiashi asked as he saw his child nod to his question as she fiddled with the scroll in her hand. "You knew her as a very kind, quiet, reserved, and odd woman did you not?" Hiashi added as Naruto began to frown at where this conversation was going. There was more to Hinata's mother than they knew? What kind of person was she to have this more complex side that her own daughter didn't know?

Responding yes once more Hinata watched as Hiashi leaned against the table while casting a glance towards Jiraiya of all people which confused the children as the old Sannin also had a sadden look on his face. Remorse and regret was permanently etched onto the Toad Sage's face today it would seem as Hiashi spoke up once more.

"Your mother's name was Yume Hyūga as you know her, but her maiden name was Yume Maruno of the Maruno Clan." From here the conversation spiraled down into a back and forth as Hiashi explained to the children that the Maruno Clan were a peaceful clan of priests and religious monks who through unknown means came to be imbued with Light Magic blessed with Holy Magic laced in conjunction with their chakra network to a stable degree that allows them to harm dark beings such as demons and to bless and heal objects and allies. They didn't use traditional ninjutsu like most ninja in the world but instead used pure chakra shape manipulation to mold their energy into constructs and pure blasts of chakra for offensive attacks on the rare chance that they engage in violence.

Along with their diving blessings many members of the clan had slight prophetic abilities of divination. Meaning that they could see slight glimpses into the future. The Maruno Clan's main family held the powerful Dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai of true future sightseeing called Holy Divination or Future Sight. Using that ability these few members can actually see entire visions of the future in such detail that they can sometimes mistake them for reality. The power is so great that certain members of the clan can develop paranoia and other similar mental illnesses in their lifetimes.

The Maruno Clan's main family were not native to the elemental continent known as Anima, but the smaller continent known as Solitas across the vast sea in the eastern hemisphere on the opposite side of the planet. They are natives of the Land of Demons and is the country's ruling family. The power of their Dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai only passes itself down through the branches of the main family and only to female members of the clan. The main family is usually split into three direct bloodlines that all rotate and maintain control over the country peacefully without usual friction while the branch families usually fulfil other tasks in the government and country itself.

Yume was the cousin to Miroku the previous High Arch Priestess of the Land of Demons and none other than Shion's mother. Shion and Hinata were distantly related as second cousins. It was at this point that everything came crashing down for the two children once Hiashi mentioned the Land of Demons and Shion.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Naruto groaned in despair and exasperation alongside Hinata who covered her face with her hands in mortification as the full implications of her father's words sunk into her brain. Shion is not only her distant cousin who is the ruler of an entire country, but she's also deeply infatuated with her boyfriend and not to mention they got into a fight the first time they met. Never mind the fact that they were able to resolve those issues mostly, Hinata knew that Shion would be back in the future. There was still much about her vision that needed to be resolved and so they would have further business to deal with pertaining to her.

At this point Hiashi stopped his explanation as he raised an eyebrow at both teen's reaction to his revelation as Shoko who was adorning a very depressed and reserved expression on her face perked up at this information and allowed a ray of levity into her heart as she smirked in humorous glee at the universal irony of the children's plight. This cosmic joke was definitely spot on as some of the others around the room pondered this new development in curiosity. "Did I say something that offends you children?" Hiashi inquired as he noticed out of the corner of his eye his father frowning at the lack of decorum and etiquette of his granddaughter.

"The only thing that offends me father is the fact that I now know I'm related to Shion." Hinata crassly mumbled in a groan as she shook her head in despair. A snicker escaped Shoko's lips as Jiraiya and Tsunade looked to the woman for answers who was all the more happy to give them as Hinata was doing for her father. "I was not aware of this Hinata. Have you met Shion before?" Hiashi probed as the heiress nodded back in the positive.

"I met her a few months ago on a mission with Naruto and Shikamaru soon after our promotions. She specifically requested a mission for our village and wanted Naruto hired onto the team in particular due to a vision she had experienced with him as the focal point of it." Hinata explained as several gasps were heard around the room from its occupants as Danzō's head perked up along with Hiashi's and the Daimyō's family. "A vision of Naruto in it? How does she even know him? More importantly you never told me of this mission Hinata." The clan head of the Hyūga clan wasn't aware his daughter had met her distant relative or that judging based upon her reaction had a sour interaction with them.

"This girl had a specific vision about our Jinchūriki? What information was found in this vision?" Danzō probed out gaining an instant sharp look from Tsunade as Hokage with Jiraiya and Shoko not a second behind. A minute tremor went up Hiashi's spine as he knew of how deviant Danzō and his machinations were. He didn't trust the man one bit, and it didn't help matters that his own father held similar tastes and agreements with the elder. Hinata on the other hand felt a spark flicker in her soul that she quickly found very familiar as a brief haze fell over her mind for the quickest of seconds.

"Shion had a particular vision about Naruto in it yes… but anything related to that topic was brought directly to the Hokage and is for her ears only, Elder Danzō." A pregnant pause filled the room at the more cold and clipped tone Hinata's voice took on as Hiashi with his impeccable eyesight actually managed to glimpse a short but very noticeable changing of his daughter's eyes as they reflected a golden hue for the briefest of moments before returning to normal. 'It can't be… is her mother's power trying to awaken. Has it taken on a personality and will of its own?' Hiashi speculated in surprise as he noticed his daughter return to normal who blinked in surprise at her own outburst.

A blank expression that chilled Hinata to the core appeared on Danzō's face while her grandfather growled from his own seat. "How dare you child speak to your elder that way. You have forgotten your station and all manner of etiquette and decorum associating yourself with that boy." Hayate sneered as he tapped his own cane against the floor loudly causing Hinata to flinch in her chair. Feeling the subtle fear in Hinata and the veiled threat looming over her Naruto glared harshly at the Hyūga elder while his chakra began to hum beneath the surface of his skin. "Father that is enough!" Hiashi snapped back as he's had to listen for many months about his father's displeasure at Hinata dating Naruto and just generally being associated with him. It was honestly grating on the clan head's last nerves, especially since Hiashi's come to see just how much of a positive impact Naruto has had on both his daughters.

"No! You are a fool Hiashi, your heir would have better served us and the clan by being married off to the heir of the Taketori Clan. Instead she involves herself with this boy who has stripped away all of her manners!" It was obvious that this would easily become a shouting match, but the words spoken were what caused the two young Chūnin to be offended in this manner. "How dare you! That is your granddaughter you are talking about! She's not an heir and not some pawn you can control for your benefit. I've done nothing but give her the push she's needed to be the great person she is now, and if that ideal version of her doesn't match up with what you want then tough luck. Hinata is with me because she wants to be, she was the one who took the final step and confessed to me." Naruto roared as he stood up from his chair and slammed his hands down on the table with such force that the ornate furniture shook from his rage.

Naho squeaked in fright before holding onto her brother Ikkyū who while perturbed by the built-up rage and anger on Naruto's face was ultimately impressed and pleased with the fire he could see in the younger boy's eyes. Hiashi felt an enormous swell of pride threatening to overwhelm him as he watched his daughter's boyfriend vehemently defend her honor. He could forgive the outburst of anger as he could tell that Naruto was still bottling up his earlier feelings and if the meeting had went on as planned than none of it would have shown, of course his father would have to open his mouth and ruin everything. "Naruto, its ok. Don't." Hinata pleaded as she stood up from her chair and held onto Naruto's arm trying to gain his attention. She knew that this could easily spiral far out of their control if she didn't calm her boyfriend down.

Tsunade, Shoko, and Jiraiya were unhappy to see that Naruto's anger was boiling over, especially since they were the ones to put it their in the first place but each one of them felt the same amount of pride in their young family member for defending his love's honor in such a way. They wouldn't expect anything less from him. It was who he is as a person after all.

Hayate on the other hand along with the elders looked as if they had swallowed a sour lemon as the former patriarch of the Hyūga Clan seethed in his seat with a look of pure disgust and hatred on his face. While the rest of his family were digesting this unfolding scene before them with caution and confusion Saitou's brilliant mind was working a mile a minute absorbing the drama before him. The Taketori Clan were the wealthiest clan in his country outside of his own royal family. They are a massive conglomerate family who deal in farming and forestry. With the large number of trees that their company cuts down per year they are responsible for a lot of the log and wood industry as well as producing parchment and paper for almost everyone across the country with major exports to other countries across the continent as well.

The Taketori Clan are a very diverse clan of individuals who are primarily businessmen and labor workers. Very few of them have the capacity to become shinobi so their ninja population was practically only five percent of their family. With their forestry business they also have expanded their trade into textile production allowing them to produce clothing, particularly in their case they produce shinobi grade combat clothing making them a massive asset to the Hidden Leaf Village and its shinobi core.

All of this diversity combined has turned the business-oriented clan into an economic juggernaut on a global scale. They are worth billions of ryō and are the wealthiest clan in the entire country outside of the royal family. Of course, the Madoka Clan of the royal family has riches beyond the scope and comprehension of any other family on the planet.

'This is just to good.' Saitou squealed to himself within his mind as an entire solution constructed itself within seconds to solve the problem brewing. Before anymore heated conversation could be had across his conference room Saitou purposefully made the noticeable action of snapping his personal paper fan close with an audible snap causing the entire room to instantly grow as quiet as a graveyard. Not a sound was made from anyone else after this point as Hinata hastily yanked Naruto back into his seat who scrambled to not make any overtly noticeable noises with his chair.

"It would seem that we have a conflict of interest brewing amongst you… luckily I have my own solution to this problem." Saitou grinned as his son Ikkyū looked towards his father in suspicion as he recognized the look the Fire Daimyō had on his face. His father was scheming once more for his own entertainment and profit. "Lord Hayate I see you have rather strong feelings and opinions on what role young lady Hinata is to play in your clan's future. You also seem to have rather strong negative feelings towards young Naruto as well. Am I correct?" Saitou probed as the elder panned his pale eyes towards the Daimyō of their country with caution and curiosity in his gaze.

"Yes milord… my family is being led astray by the influence of that boy." Hayate graveled as Naruto sneered at the elder with a cold look in his eyes as he felt Hinata squeezing his arm tighter in support, but deep inside he could also sense seeds of anger boiling up in his usually docile girlfriend. Even she was becoming fed up by this slander against her relationship with her boyfriend.

"Well I have a perfect solution to this problem. Young Naruto there is quite a lot of opposition growing towards you in regard to your relationship with Lady Hinata. The Taketori Clan are an important asset to my country and their wealth is quite vast. There is also the rapport you have started to build with my family…" The Daimyō led in which caused a pit of dread to dredge up within both Naruto's and Hinata's hearts. The cadence in the ruler's voice was beginning to change as he began to navigate his way into his main persuasive proposition.

"… Your task is quite simple my boy. I'm not ordering you to break up with your girlfriend or anything of the sort. I can see the bond you two share is quite extraordinary and powerful. You two bring out the best in one another which is why I see no issue in proposing this. As of this moment my boy I'm encouraging you or rather ordering you to bring in more wealth and economic stability than the Taketori Clan by the time of your 16th Birthday and my own personal evaluation or else you will have to break up with Hinata as she will be engaged to the heir of the Taketori Clan. More over as of this moment you are now formally engaged to my daughter Naho who you'll marry if you fail to complete this task."

The room was so silent that a pin drop would sound like an explosion… the muted expressions of shock on everyone's faces was etched into the mind of Saitou who took in the atmosphere he had created. Hayate looked like he had just won the lottery in his old age as he was quite pleased by this royal decree while Danzō had an unreadable expression on his face. He had several motives and interests in these turns of events, but he was keeping those feelings buried close to his chest.

Tsunade, Shoko, and Jiraiya were god smacked by the audacity of the Fire Daimyō to throw his weight around in the affairs of a young teenage relationship between two children. Under normal circumstances someone could accuse this kind of behavior as a gross abuse of power but the Daimyō's answered to no one. They had unchecked and unlimited power to do anything they wished. Shoko had a look of pure sadness and shock on her face as she watched the emotions play out across her surrogate son's face. Hiashi was much the same as he felt a piece of his heart crack at the look of pure heartache and devastation on his daughter's face. He felt like he was betraying and failing his late wife by failing to prevent this disaster that was befalling his daughter.

Ikkyū and Naho had shocked looks on their faces as they were used to their father making quite strange requests and decrees but none ever so abrasive and intrusive as this. This was completely uncalled for Ikkyū thought as he frowned even more at the glint he could see shining in his father's eyes. He could tell that the man was holding one final card close to his chest in this latest stunt and he wanted to know what it was. He felt his arm being squeezed tightly by his beloved little sister who he could see had small tears welling up in her eyes. She could see the pain this was causing Naruto and Hinata and wanted no part in this. The little girl wasn't truly interested in romance to begin with because of her young age and the fact that her position was being used to hurt her first real friend in Naruto who she admittedly was crushing on only made things worse. She didn't want to hurt him in any way and now her father was causing her too?

Naruto and Hinata on the other hand might as well appeared dead to the world as not a sound escaped them as they were frozen in their chairs. Their entire world came crashing down in their minds as they couldn't even begin to process the apocalyptic sized bomb dropped onto their lives by this man who they barely knew. Nothing felt alive or real for them anymore as they looked into the eyes of the Fire Daimyō who looked back at them with a twinkle in his eyes that beheld his amusement at the drama unfolding before him. In his eyes was not only amusement, but intelligence and smugness as if he knew of something that would upset the balance of the rules and stipulations, he had just created…

… and he did, a caveat was indeed there, a spark of irony for Naruto's new plight that he highly doubted the boy would figure out for a long time to come… and that notion alone was worth the trouble he had just caused… worth it indeed.


To be continued...


Jutsu Library

1.) Acceleration - Accelerating Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then releasing that kinetic energy through an opening in the shielding their internal energy is creating at the bottom of their feet allowing the user to reach and utilize explosive high-speed movements.

2.) Double Acceleration - The first variant of Accelerating Turn that works the same way as the original. The user stores up kinetic energy in their body but the difference is at this point. The user separates the built-up energy into two separate pockets surrounded by a shell of the user's internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), the two bubbles of kinetic energy is pressed up against each other and concentrated at the user's feet creating which in turn creates tremendous amounts of pressure on the body. Once released the added pressure results in a massive shockwave of kinetic energy that propels the user forwards at incredible speeds. The user then releases the second and final bubble of kinetic energy after the first gets depleted allowing them to speed back up again. Because of this there is a brief amount of lag in between each jump but the lag spike is so short that only experienced fighters would be able to notice or counter it.

3.) Tempest Turn - Tempest Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then giving form to that energy using their internal energy and shooting it out of their body. With this technique that is unique to only Naruto he can create multiple afterimages of himself that function similarly to Shadow Clones. However, they cannot interact with their environment like normal Shadow Clones. They are literally made up of the energy cloak Naruto creates whenever he activates his Accel Turn. The after images energy wise are indistinguishable from their creator but visually they have a light blue glow to them. The copies have a sizable speed advantage, but they are not moving at the same speed as when Naruto uses Acceleration. Also, the copies take up so much energy that Naruto can only create up to four copies with this move. Also, while using this move to its fullest Naruto is unable to use Acceleration because all of it is being used to maintain Tempest Turn.

4.) Body Flicker Jutsu - A high speed ninja technique that allows the user to travel at high speeds in short micro-bursts. Usually the technique is accompanied by a special effect that masks the movement of the user.

5.) Water Style: Tearing Torrent Jutsu - This technique creates water that spirals in the user's hand and fires it at a high speeds towards the enemy. The overall amount of water formed is large enough to help extinguish even large-scale fire style techniques. The technique however is relatively weak and as such will do little to no damage to an enemy if connected. Only at very close ranges can the attack shred through clothes and body armor to damage a person's skin.

6.) Earth Style: Earth Flowing Mud River Jutsu - This Jutsu after the respective hand seals are formed, can transform the ground upon which the enemy stands into a river of mud to throw them off balance.

7.) Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears Jutsu - This technique lets the user condense mud or stone from the ground and shape it into spikes that protrude from the ground in order to skewer the target. The spikes cannot penetrate targets of greater density.

8.) Earth Style: Golem Jutsu - This technique allows the user to create a large, humanoid creature composed of rock that can either be expelled from the user's mouth, or formed from a pre-existing source of earth. Depending on the user, the golem can be formed instantly.

9.) Fang over Fang - The user and their ninken partner spin at a ferocious speed and deliver many powerful beast-like attacks when contact is made with the target. The force of this attack is strong enough to drill through stone. When this attack is done alone, it is called Tunneling Fang.

10.) Ice Style: Ice-Make Jutsu - A Jutsu created from the combination of both Naruto and Evangeline's teamwork. By molding chakra mixed in with Eva's Yōki into his hands Naruto can create any object he wants out of Ice. Depending on how much chakra he puts into the Jutsu will determine how durable the creation is.

11.) Wind Style: Hurricane Fist Jutsu - A low level Wind Style Jutsu that causes swirling winds to form around the user's fist. Although it is a Ninjutsu it is mostly used in Taijutsu combat to augment the users punching strength. The winds generated by the Jutsu are strong enough to launch opponents away and send them flying. The winds can also be concentrated in the user's hands to palm thrust opponents or to grip, catch, or push things away from the user.

12.) Wind Style: Gust Jutsu - A low C - Rank Jutsu that creates a gust of wind that blows an opponent off their feet. The unique functionality of this technique however allows for the gust of wind to come from a multitude of places. Ex: Hands (Palms or Fist), Feet, Mouth, or through a weapon (Fan or other weapon that can generated air based on movement).

13.) Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu - A technique that simply creates a ferocious gust of wind, whose scale and usage varies depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. The technique can also be used in the form of a devastation stream of wind expelled from the user's mouth.

14.) Earth Style: Magnitude Jutsu - A versatile and unique technique originating from the Land of Earth and the Hidden Stone Village. A staple technique of the Hidden Stone Village taught to many of its experienced Chūnin level ninja, the Jutsu functions when the user slams either their palm or heel into the ground generating a vibration that is then enhanced by the their chakra. This underground tremor shoots out across the area that can disrupt the balance, stability, and structural integrity of every object within the vicinity. Producing each seismic pulse is accompanied by a Magnitude level by the user which determines how many pulses and the intensity of the pulses are generated.

15.) Water Style: Stream Jutsu - The basics of water style. It is the exact same as it's other elemental counterparts such as the Wind Style: Stream. The user exhale's a spray of water from their mouth in a sufficient quantity that allows them to wash away targets and many other objects in their way. It is the gate way Jutsu for each element that leads into many advanced Jutsu's of the same form and makeup.

16.) Earth Style: Stone Fist Jutsu - By encasing their arm in rock, the user can deal a powerful hardened punch against an opponent while being protected from direct contact with their target. If necessary, the weight of the rock can be increased to further increase the punch's destructive power.

17.) Eight Trigrams Gentle Step: Aqua Palms - A technique that Hinata created that is based off the principles behind Naruto's Wind Style: Hurricane Fist Jutsu. With this technique Hinata can create jets of water on her palms and attack opponents using the Gentle Fist Fighting Style. Because the water has built up a lot of pressure Hinata can also forcefully push opponents back and stop Fire Style Ninjutsu by thrusting her palms forward into the attack. However, when Hinata releases her Chakra Storage Seal on her neck she can infuse the water around her hands in Yōki allowing her to dramatically increase the power of her attacks. When Hinata moves with her Gentle Step style it creates energy bands that trails behind that follows the movement of Hinata's hands.

18.) Insect Clone - An Aburame has thousands of their kikaichū gather together until they've taken on the size and appearance of the Aburame, to be used either as a decoy or a diversion. The insect clone can be created anywhere that the kikaichū are positioned or sent to, making it more useful for certain tasks than a shadow clone. When the insect clone is struck, it disperses back into a swarm of kikaichū. In the anime, the insect clones take a solid enough form to coordinate with the user for joint attacks.

19.) Hard Shell: Lunging Tackle - After creating an insect clone, Shino and the clone run towards the opponent and simply tackle them. The force of this attack is strong enough to send the target flying away from them.

20.) Hidden Jutsu: Infestation - A unique hidden technique amongst the Aburame Clan that allows the user to forcibly inject a swarm of their insects into their enemies body that can paralyze the victim and leave them defenseless. The bugs can crawl across the skin of the target leaving paralyzing bite injections and restrict their movements.

21.) Hone Claws - A secret technique of the Inuzuka Clan that Kiba created all by himself after gaining inspiration from Jura's attack on the Great Naruto Bridge. Kiba gathers a sizeable amount of chakra into the his hands and in particular his claw like nails which causes them to glow a faint red hue. Kiba achieved this by taking the same principals behind the All Fours Jutsu that grants a significant boost to all of a Shinobi's physical attributes but condensed it down to only his hands and fingernails causing any strike he makes to be far more potent. With the amount of chakra being surged through his body and in particular his hands Kiba's accuracy and dexterity is drastically increased and the potency and attack power as well receives the same drastic boost.

22.) Steel Style: Iron Body Jutsu - One of Balalaika's two signature Steel Style Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu. Balalaika changes her skin cells into steel. She can change every part of her skin into steel. Her defensive power increases exponentially more compared to her attack power but because of the fact her skin is now steel her physical strikes do hurt a lot more. Her speed which is not her greatest attribute suffers more due to the fact that since her skin is now steel she gains more weight which slows her down quite a bit. But that is only if she encases her entire body in steel. Just encasing an arm will not completely slow her down.

23.) Lava Style: Magma Bombs Jutsu - A powerful B - Rank technique of the Lava Style Kekkei Genkai that allows the user to shoot off 4 to 8 basketball ball sized projectiles of magma at their targets that travel quite far and with a lot of velocity. The fire rate and the speed of the technique is determined by the user of the technique and their skill level. The power of the attack is strong enough to leave craters in the ground and to melt through obstructions and barricades with ease.

24.) Substitution Jutsu - One of the three basic Jutsu's required by the academy for everyone (with exceptions of course) to master in order to pass or at the very least to adequately on. This Jutsu is simple in how it works. The user searches or senses out a target and with his chakra he will identify that target and latch onto that object or target with his chakra. Then using his chakra like a beacon and transmitter the user will jump to the location of the object causing the object to switch places with the user so that the user can reconnect with his chakra in a space not already being taken up by said object.

25.) Ice Style: Ice Wall Jutsu - An Ice Style Jutsu that Naruto uses. He slams his hands onto the ground and pumps a sizable amount of chakra into the ground beneath him. Out of the ground in front of him a large thick wall of ice will appear that is very thick and highly durable. Because of the fact that Naruto's chakra is in fact mixed in with his own Yōki that his body creates the Ice wall's durability is further enhanced. However, it can crack if hit with a high amount of pressure and velocity such as Eva's giant water wave. Also, it can be cut in two by Eva's thin beams of water from the attack that she just learned.

26.) Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu - The user creates a thousand shadow clones from one shuriken, striking down the enemy. This is a technique that combines ninja tools with Ninjutsu. Compared to normal shadow clones, clones of material objects are said to be on a far higher level. There is no need for preparations beforehand, like stocking up on shuriken, or kunai, yet since the shadow clones are real and not illusions, all the shadow blades that fly around are equally lethal. Because the clones form in just an instant, completely evading them is next to impossible. This technique can also be used on Fūma shuriken, increasing its lethality.

27.) Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu - A basic water style Ninjutsu the user molds water nature chakra into their mouth before spitting it out into a small-scale wave powerful enough to sweep grown men off their feet and knock down lightweight objects not tied down or secure to the ground.

28.) Ice Style: Ice Prison Jutsu - This technique allows the user to infuse their chakra with ice on the ground and bring it to the surface. The user can then trap their opponent within the ice by controlling its movements and completely surrounding them in the ice. It is strong enough to withstand basic Fire Release techniques, because the ice has already been infused with the user's chakra. The user can also surround themselves with the ice prison to act as a shield. Additionally, any piece of ice that Naruto is controlling can be used to immobilize a target. If he hits you with ice from any Ice Style Jutsu then he can freeze you in place.

29.) Shadow Clone Jutsu - A Jutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The technique was created to be used to spy on an enemy without fear of going in person. The Jutsu works by splitting the chakra of the user evenly in two which makes the clone have half of the user's chakra. By creating multiple clones, the fraction in which you have to split your chakra becomes larger. The clones can think independently of one another and can use any technique that the original can use as long as they have enough chakra to use it. A clone can feel pain and can even bleed, but it will be dispelled if it is hit hard enough. The unique ability of the Jutsu is that during the clones' entire life span it is recording everything that its five senses experiences and upon dispelling all of that information is transferred back to the caster of the Jutsu. Because of this training or learning something new that would take an extended amount of time can be cut down to a fraction of the time depending on the number of clones you use. Because you have multiple people learning the same thing at the same time and having all of that knowledge compiled into one person it can speed up the time it takes to learn something.

30.) Corrosion Style: Quicklime Congealing Jutsu - This technique makes use of the Lava Style Kekkei Genkai where the user expels a large quantity of quicklime from their mouth, capable of inflicting damage to an opponent. This ability can also be manipulated in order to restrict the intended target's movements, as after the initial blast the remnants of the substance can act in a similar manner to quick-drying cement. However, the technique requires the addition of water to set off the necessary reaction to make the substance harden. This can be easily achieved through the use of a Water Style technique, which can also serve to increase the area covered by the substance, thus further increasing the potential range of the technique.

31.) Overdrive - Hinata fuels her fist with her holy magic that is stored inside of her body causing the palms of her hand to glow a purifying and tranquil white color. To utilize the full capabilities of her Light-Based Powers Hinata has to come in physical contact with an object through which she can transfer her Holy Magic into the target in the form of a rippling wave like energy. Once she connects with a target Hinata releases a massive burst of light that shoots off in an omnidirectional rippling and pulsating wave. This wave can purify anything it touches with darks beings such as Demons, Yōkai, Devils, and even Fallen Angel's being the most susceptible to feeling the absolute brunt on this devastating attack. Unlike her normal Gentle Fist attacks an Overdrive pulse will diffuse itself across the entire surface of a person's body sending a rippling wave of energy throughout the person's chakra network that will temporarily block the body's ability to produce chakra from any point in their body. However, if Hinata were to infuse her Holy Grace with her Gentle Fist techniques then she could shut down an entire persons Chakra Network in one strike. Once she connects with her strike the person is launched away from Hinata in a disorienting spin much like how Naruto's Rasengan affects a target.

32.) Rasengan - The Rasengan is a spinning ball of chakra formed and held in the palm of the user's hand. Once it is formed, it also does not require any additional chakra to sustain it, which means that there is no definite limit to how long the Rasengan can be used. Though the Rasengan's shape is consistent from user to user, its size varies from only barely large enough to be noticeable to much larger than the user's hand. With greater experience with the Rasengan comes a larger size. On contact, the Rasengan grinds into its target, propels them along the Rasengan's trajectory - either away from the user or into the ground beneath them - and at some point, bursts causing severe damage at the point of contact.

33.) Exploding Shadow Clone - An advanced version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu that allows the user to create shadow clones that will explode either upon death or through voluntary detonation. It is caused by destabilizing the chakra core of the clone and then packing it full of excess chakra that the normal Shadow Clone Jutsu doesn't need.

34.) Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu - The Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu is the advanced version of the Jutsu and creates hundreds of clones instead of just the average number.

35.) Surface Storage Seal - A surface seal is a more versatile application of Fūinjutsu that allows the user to draw their sealing arrays on any compatible surface possible with the use of more expensive and specialized ink types. Most often the user will create these seals on the surface of their skins to have immediate access to their designed functions. The most basic seals include Skin Storage Seals, Weight Training Seals, and Security Seals.


Author's Note (A/N): Gaara as the next Kazekage?! Who would have ever seen that coming LOL?

The chapter starts off with Naruto, Hinata, and the others heading towards the capital of the Land of Fire the Great Royal City of Asakusa to meet with Saitou to discuss an as of yet unknown topic. During the travel Naruto and Hinata recount their tense encounter with Balalaika and the request she had made of them.

As we find out the Land of Wind and Hidden Sand Village are falling into economic collapse due to the death of Rasa the Fourth Kazekage, a large number of their invading forces including a handful of high ranking and powerful Jōnin in the attack while their Daimyō refuses to help them, nor allow them to elect a new Kazekage which is crucial to their survival. To make matters worse the village has been split into three factions all fighting for control over the village as the criminal underworld factions between the Land of Wind clash over economic resources with the criminal cells of the Land of Earth further complicating the situation for the country.

Balalaika wants Naruto and Hinata complicit in her candidate that she will support in having made Kazekage by handing the choice of the person over to them as a way to test their resolve and resourcefulness regarding world affairs. She is extremely pleased to see Naruto come up with the choice of Gaara as an out of the box decision that reminds her of how his parents would think.

She then proceeds to have a contest with the squad to determine who will keep the beetle as she balances it on her finger with a tether of chakra and dares the team to take it from her while she will not be handicapped and unable to offensively attack them, particularly with Ninjutsu of any kind. To make matters worse she employs the usage of her own personal squad of shinobi in the form of Kurotsuchi and her team to act as her bodyguards in this twisted game she's devised.

A fierce battle is waged against the opposing factions as with Naruto preoccupied most of the fight trying to steal the jar from balalaika who proved to be the powerful shinobi that she is by staying one step ahead of him despite Naruto's impressive speed. Hinata on the other hand starts and impromptu rivalry with Kurotsuchi who teasingly shows and interest in Naruto which exasperates and infuriates the young heiress who by this point is fed up both with the mission and of girls showing romantic interests in her boyfriend. A particularly fierce battle is fought by the two girls as Hinata proves to be the equal to the Tsuchikage's granddaughter in terms of combat which surprises and pleases the girl all the same.

Towards the end of the fight everyone attacking everyone Balalaika makes a subtle move that almost takes Naruto out of the fight and the five minute time limit by exploiting and exposing a weakness with his signature Acceleration Technique. Seeing her boyfriend in trouble something within Hinata snaps as she trades places with Naruto in an astonishing and familiar move to engage the king pin instead while under the influence of her mysterious powers. The tables are turned as Naruto and Hinata proceed to overpower and outmaneuver their opponents respectively to win the challenge in an explosive way.

The others in the carriage are understandably shocked and worried about the victory the kids managed to pull off against their adversaries. After some reasurances and a few pranks by Chaos the group arrives in the capital to have the meeting with Saitou.

Saitou greets everyone and soon proceeds into the main reason why he called the meeting. He wants to hand over the inheritances to Naruto and Hinata from both their parents. Both are extremely shocked by this admission as Saitou explains that the Third Hokage had stipulations placed upon the revelations of Naruto's inheritance such as him either being 16 or being promoted whichever came first. Saitou on the other hand wanted Naruto to first be promoted to see how he acts and holds himself up in his new capacity Chūnin. It is revealed that he has received a scroll from both his father and mother and inside of it are there personal possessions, heirlooms, and secret techniques passed down to him.

Naruto makes his displeasure known about having this information about his parents kept from him when the others find out he has already figured it out on his own. This admission creates a lot of tension in the room as Hiashi chooses to reveal Hinata's inheritance to her from her mother. As it turns out Yume Hyuga is a member of the Maruno Clan, a clan that is native to the Land of Demons across the ocean on the other continent to the far east. The entire clan are made up of monks and priestess who are blessed with divine power that has fused with their chakra networks allowing them to manipulate their chakra in unique ways not present in any other clan. However, they are a peaceful clan and are not trained in the traditional ways of the shinobi so they aren't killers by nature. Yume was a maverik by the standards of the clan as she decided to become a shinobi. It is also explained that the Maruno Clan are the ruling clan of the Land of Demons that have several branches which means that Hinata and Shion are distance cousins!

Along with alluding to the vision that Shion warned them about which brings tensions back into the room Naruto gets into an argument with Hayate about Hinata and their relationship which prompts the elder to bring up the Taketori Clan and the fact that their heir has been trying to court Hinata on the side which was a topic brought up chapters ago when they first started dating.

Saitou seeing emotions flaring decided to add in his own sadistic and on the surface seemingly selfish request of having Naruto bringing in more wealth than the Taketori Clan by the time he turns 16 or else he'll have to give up courting Hinata who will be engaged to the heir of the Taketori Clan, on the other hand Naruto before the entire room was then forcibly engaged to Naho who he would automatically marry by the time he is 16 if he fails to complete the stipulations of the demands Saitou has laid out before him.

Is all lost for Naruto's and Hinata's relationship or does the Fire Daimyō have a secret still hidden up his sleeve? There are a lot of questions swirling around the true natures of both Naruto's and Hinata's inheritances such as Yume's powers being so powerful that she predicted her own death and took measures into her own hands regarding both her daughter's futures.

There is a lot to uncover and explore! Stay tuned for the next incoming chapters!


Next Chapter: Chapter 93 (Turquoise Cove)


That's the end of Chapter 92 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.

Please rate, comment, and subscribe… Oops I forgot this is not YouTube.

Please leave a review explaining what you liked, didn't like, and any positive criticism that can help me in improve in the future. Every review helps me in the long run. Thank you and stay safe everyone.


Published: 3/11/2020