AN: Opa-sensei here. Got something I have to say. If you don't like my story, then please don't read it. I'm begging ya, please just go to something else. Don't come in the reviews telling me why you don't like or want to read it anymore. There are millions of fanfics on this platform, you can pick the one you like. Nobody forced you to click on mine, nor to go on reading it.
I appreciate good criticism (Like the one about my long paragraphs). Not hateful comments. My fic isn't good because it has a lengthy backstory?. Bruh. This fic is called BiG Konoha. If you didn't notice, the 'big' in the name indicates that scope of the fic itself would be HUGE. There's literally clans/families that are supposed to be dead or irrelevant in cannon existing in it. There are also OCs. Of course there would be a lot more going on with all these added characters, and with the focus on the clans the details will only be magnified.
I blame myself for not doing well in the summary. Honesty I'm terrible at summaries. But if you're going to give this story a chance I promise it'll pay off. But if not, then that's fine too. Just move on to the next.
I also would like to address the statement I made about having more than one MCs. Perhaps I should have added that Naruto will remain the only protagonist and the story will revolve around him alone. Naruto drives the plot, and is the most vital part of the story. The other MC is just and added means in which you can view the story from. He won't be contesting for the spotlight with Naruto. He won't be leading the plot, he will simply standout as an non-ordinary character that isn't as dependent on Naruto's progression as the rest of the characters.
If you can bare with that then thank you.
I'm happy I'm taking that break.
Chapter 7
Chaos Only A Jinchuriki Can Cause
Konoha Shinobi Section - Hokage Manor - Council Room
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down across the shinobi clan heads, doing his best to not sob in frustration. He thought he would never have to face see this terrible sight again in his lifetime, but here he was, in another tenure as the Sandaime hokage, partaking in another clan meeting.
The aged hokage wished he had retired immediately after Minato took the hat. That way he would've been ineligible for selection as the hokage after the kyuubi attack. Jiraiya would then be forced to take the seat or find Tsunade by all means and convince her to succeed the Yondaime. But no, he had to be his usual diligent self, deciding to aid the inexperienced hokage as an advisor and support during council meetings and functions.
Now the Sarutobi regretted his actions greatly. The responsibilities of hokage was dumped on him, yet again, and Jiraiya made sure to never stay in the village long enough to be pressured to take the burden. As for Tsunade, she was still missing. If the woman wasn't an S-rank shinobi with the legendary rank of sannin, the hokage would be left a bit worried about his former student. He didn't have to trouble himself about Tsunade's well-being, she was a grown woman and powerful enough to protect herself no matter where she went. He, however, was a bit troubled over the knowledge that even Jiraiya's spy network couldn't find her.
The Sandaime could count with a single finger the amount of times Jiraiya had told him he couldn't find something or someone with his connections, and that one time had to with Tsunade. Hiruzen was beginning to suspect the Gama Sennin was lying to him to cover up for his unfilial student. It wouldn't be the first time the white haired sannin had done it. Hiruzen didn't understand why Jiraiya always went so far for a woman who didn't want anything to do with him nor the village.
Hiruzen knew at the back of his mind that it was likely because the toad sannin still had feelings for his ex-teammate, not that he could blame Jiraiya for having lingering feelings. Tsunade was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Regardless of that, Jiraiya was a grown man and he should understand by now that some feelings could never be returned. Sacrificing his conscience for Tsunade time and time again was merely a waste of time on his part, because the woman probably didn't know about what he was doing in her benefit.
Even if she did, Hiruzen doubted she would appreciate it. Being the spoilt granddaughter of the Shodai she was, Tsunade hardly ever appreciated the efforts of others. It didn't help that she was a perfectionist and meticulous worker. Most times, the effort of others were far too mediocre to even get her attention, not to talk of garnering her appreciation. She was a self-sufficient woman, she didn't need anybody's help to do anything, so Tsunade rarely had cause to give her gratitude.
Jiraiya was still seeking her hard-won gratitude and acknowledgement till this day. The relationship between the two sannin was an odd one. Hiruzen regarded the the clan heads with a calm sage-like expression. Everybody was here on time today, fortunately. Maybe they could be done with this on time, then he'd be finally left with some free time to spend on his extracurricular activities.
"Let the council meeting commence!." Koharu said.
Hiruzen appreciated the woman for doing that. He was in no mood to yell commands and instructions at anybody today. "Today, I don't have to tell you why we have all gathered." Hiruzen said, regarding the serious and calm expressions of the shinobi clan heads. "Today, I've come to tell you all of my decision on the case of–"
"HOKAGE-SAMA!."
Hiruzen squeezed the pen in his hand in frustration until it snapped in two. Of course not. Of course they wouldn't be able to conclude this meeting on time. Trust something to go awry on a council meeting day, then they would be forced to postpone it to another date.
Hiruzen just wanted to be rid of this, all of it!. The hokage closed his eyes and took a breath to calm himself. The room was already in chaos, but the hokage didn't care. He had to first prepare himself to face whatever problem that had just spontaneously spawned out of thin air.
After a moment, the aged kage opened his eyes and turned to the speaker. He was surprised to find it was Kurenai Yuhi, who was now being supported by her clan members and questioned by her clan head, Yuhi Kaname. The woman looked a tad disorientated, as she did her best to maintain a stable voice as she explained the situation to her clan head. The most surprising thing of note was the left side of her dress. It was dyed in blood, that was likely her own. The woman's still rosy color indicated that she had gotten treatment, however, her clansmen checked her for injuries as she spoke.
Hiruzen found his hateful curiosity was peeked once again. He had learnt over the years that hid curiosity was a start of a catastrophe, but he never learned. He still asked. "Kurenai, what's going on?." The Sandaime spoke with a tone of authority.
The panicky woman did her best to calm herself, wiping her forehead clean of perspiration with the handkerchief her clan head had given her. The hokage's expression was the most serious she had seen before. The aged kage mostly adopted a grandfatherly tone when regarding her, as he did with many others she knew, but not today.
Today, he was not trying to encourage her after a failed mission or congratulate her on a successful one. He was directly questioning her as her hokage. Still, despite her nervousness, Kurenai was still a jonin and a part of a powerful shinobi clan in Konoha. She wouldn't be put into a daze by a mere stare. Kurenai calmed herself and swallowed before speaking.
"Uzumaki Naruto is rebelling hokage-sama!. He is trying to leave the village!." Kurenai yelled.
The hokage's and the rest of the occupants of the room's expressions turned to one of shock. The shock didn't last for many, namely Kotohime and her companions. The three women immediately dashed out of the room, leaving the details for later.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Hiruzen wanted to personally confirm this statement for himself, he was still the hokage. He had to first have a grasp on the situation before making a decision for himself and the village. "Explain." Hiruzen maintained his calm as he spoke to the Yuhi woman again.
Kurenai wasted no time and begun speaking. "I was on my out of the Hyūga compound after finishing my training session with the Hyūga heiress, Hinata, when I saw the Uzumaki and Uzuki heir step in. I assumed he was there to visit his friend, so I went by about my business. But the sound of a fight drew my attention so I quickly returned, and much to my disbelief I found that Naruto-san had suppressed a few Hyūga chunnin and was... was..." Kurenai's stumbled on her words, her face turned slightly as though she was embarrassed about something.
"Speak already girl!. You're keeping the council waiting." Mina snapped at the Yuhi woman impatiently.
Her rival had already taken off, and though she wanted nothing more than to run out there as well it would be disrespectful to do without the hokage's instructions first. Kotohime's case was different, she had a personal connection with the preparator of the chaos.
"I believe that's what Kurenai is doing, Mina-dono." Kaname said, turning to the greying blonde haired woman's direction. He wouldn't stand back and let the impulsive woman bully one of his kin.
"Are you mad are yelled at the little twerp?. If you are, then do something." Mina dared the dark purple haired man, stepping forward challengingly.
"Enough." Hiruzen said, glaring at the hotblooded Namikaze woman. She was always looking for a fight, and with Kotohime not her to give one to her she decided to pick on Kaname. "Kurenai, please go on." Hiruzen said, adopting soothing tone.
Kurenai felt a little embarrassed at her stuttering and angry at the impatient Namikaze clan head's words. She heard the woman was incomparably rude to everyone but the hokage and was liable to resort to blows to settle disputes. She had a short fuse and was heavy handed. It was hard to believe such a woman raised the gentle Namikaze Minato.
"Naruto-san had suppressed a few Hyūga chunnin and was kissing Hinata, hokage-sama!." Kurenai said.
The room fell into silence, so silent that you could hear a pin drop. The spell of silent was soon broken by Hyūga Hiashi and his companions as they charged out of the council room in haste. Kurenai watched the men live with a bitter expression. If they were hoping on catching Naruto in the Hyūga compound then they were wasting their time. The Uzumaki was already long gone by now.
"Kurenai, forgive me, but I'm still completely in the dark as to what happened. Can you please explain everything in detail, right from the point Naruto-kun stepped into the scene?." Hiruzen requested.
He was greatly confused right now. Kurenai ran in here in panic, reporting that Naruto was trying to leave the village, and now she was talking about the blonde and the Hyūga heiress kissing?. Weren't they a little too young to be doing things like that?, Sarutobi wondered. Granted, he got married when he was fourteen but still...
"I had just finished instructing Hinata and was on my way leaving the Hyūga compound when I saw Naruto-san..." Kurenai started.
Shinobi Section - Nidiame District - Hyūga Compound.
Several minutes earlier.
Hinata cleaned her forehead off perspiration as she leaned into a wall in a corridor, staring at nothing in particular.
The walls in their house were plain white, just like the walls of literally every other building in the compound. They dressed in mostly white, and their eye color was commonly white. Hinata was different though. According to her father, she had inherited most of her late mother's genes, giving her a similar eye color to that of the woman.
Hinata could still remember her mother well, her best memories were associated with either the gentle and caring woman or her blonde friend. Hinata frowned slightly. She still couldn't stop thinking about him no matter what she tried. Ever since Uzumaki Naruto stepped into her life, getting him out seemed an impossible task. Not that Hinata wanted him out. She was just not so sure now.
After that faithful day and the conversation with Naruto, Hinata thought she knew what to do. Naruto had simplified it for her. She was too weak to be a trust worthy friend, and while she didn't know what Naruto was doing that required him to be so secretive, she knew she would be unable to keep the secret if he told her. She was still under the metaphorical thumb of her strict father. If the man asked to know about Naruto, she wouldn't be able to offer up much of a resistance.
Her father hardly spoke of the blonde, and preferred to ignore his existence and constant presence and influence in her life, but Hinata knew he didn't like Naruto. She didn't understand why, Naruto was a wonderful person, but for some reason her father disliked him. Hinata feared Naruto didn't care much for her father either. The rift between her father and friend would be an inevitable complication in her future relationships, but Hinata did her best to ignore it. What else could she do?.
It wasn't serious to the point where she'd have to chose between the two, was it?. Surely her esteemed father would not lower himself to compete with a boy for her attention. Hinata knew that would never happen, no matter how much it would warm her heart to see such a sight. Speaking of sight, all she saw was the color white everywhere she went in this compound.
Hinata wasn't picky or grouchy, but these days the color had begun getting on her nerves. Many things annoyed her today, as well as people. The most annoying of this week award went to none other than the hateful Namikaze girl, Kimiko. The loved queen of the academy. If one were to have asked Hinata of her opinion on Namikaze Kimiko in the beginning of last week, she probably wouldn't have given much of an answer. She didn't think much of the girl. She wasn't like the other first and second year girls in the academy that worshipped the ground that she stepped on. She didn't take the grey haired girl as a mentor.
The only person Hinata viewed as a mentor was Naruto, the same Naruto not just Bonnie but now the senior Kimiko was contesting against her for. That naturally made Hinata's current opinion of Namikaze Kimiko a poor one. She didn't understand it. Naruto had gone unnoticed for an entire month in the academy, and most girls only made a passing comment about the Uzumaki, preferring to contest for the attention of the Uchiha boy and in the next class, her nii-sama. Next thing Hinata knew, Bonnie had enrolled into the academy and developed a huge crush on Naruto from day one.
Hinata was able to condone that much, she wasn't a condescending person but she would be lying to say she felt threatened by the presence of Bonnie as she would any other girl. Hinata had no clue what Naruto's type was, but she had a firm belief it wasn't Bonnie. The Hyūga had a fair amount of confidence contesting for Naruto's affection with the blonde freckled girl, and most times Naruto indicated that he preferred her and Hinata was content with that. Unfortunately for her, Kimiko had decided to slot herself into the equation. No offense to Bonnie, but a competition with Kimiko over Naruto terrified Hinata.
Hinata had heard Ino and other girls talk about how boys preferred curvy developed and developed girls to plain nine year olds like her. Hinata had hoped Naruto would be different, but to her woe the blonde was so captivated by Kimiko's womanly charms that he already fed her. Romantically fed her, like they were a couple!.
Hinata's anger spiked at the thought, and unfortunately a maid called to her at the same time. The Hyūga heiress sent a rare annoyed glare at the Hyūga maid.
The woman was caught off-guard by the sudden and hateful glare of the normally meek Hyūga and was forced to step back a little. "Hi-Hinata-sama's bath is ready." The maid informed, ironically finding herself playing the stammerer in this story.
Seriously?. Her thoughts were interrupted for thst?. "Get out." Hinata said coldly.
The maid had to do a double take on the Hyūga heiress, doubting her ears. Did she really just get told off by the heiress?. The clumsy, timid and spineless little heiress?. Surely not. However, her thoughts were proven incorrect as Hinata spoke out again, this time the annoyance plain to see on her face.
"I said leave!." Hinata demanded. This time the maid smartly scurried away, confused as well as scared by the alien sight of an angry Hinata. Hinata suddenly felt out of breath and huffed. She already felt bad for yelling at the innocent woman, but wasn't in the mood to apologize to anyone.
"Hinata-sama, are you okay?." A voice permeated the corridor.
Hinata turned to the direction of the sound and found the personal bodyguard her father appointed to her since she could remember, standing between a half slid open door.
The woman wasn't all that tall, but she was a head taller than most Hyūga women. She stood a 5'10, with long dark brown haired plaited into two large braids. Her bangs were short and scarce, always lying down on her forehead and the sides of her hair as though it was wet. She adorned her hair with extremely light blue accessories, most notably two large beads at the end of the braids. She had beautiful fair skin and a face that could only be described as cute, despite being in her late twenties. Her eyes were white like most Hyūga, and her eyebrows were oddly short. She had pouty pink lips, adding to her already cute appearance, and causing people to think she was pouting at all times.
She was dressed in a white kimono top with wide sleeves that had a light golden rings design at the hems, the kimono was held by a grey sash but was long enough to cover most of her plum rear. Her shinobi pants were the same light grey color as her sash and she wore a white colored pair of martial arts shoes as opposed to shinobi sandals. Finally, thought it was not visible due to the long sleeves of her kimono top, she carried six golden bracelets on each hand and four similar looking golden bands around her neck.
This woman was not just Hinata's bodyguard but one of the most powerful ninjas of the Hyūga clan, Hyūga Rōha.
Hinata felt her anger dissipate as she stared at her protector's stunning face. For a woman with such an adorable appearance, Rōha was very strict and stern. She behaved nothing like what she appeared. She wasn't a warm or sweet person, rather a professional and secretive one.
Hinata still hadn't the slightest idea what the woman truly thought of her. Sometimes, she reprimanded her as harshly as her father. Other times she gave her what could be taken as motherly advice, often accompanied by harsh rebukes, but at least she tried sometimes.
"I'm fine." Hinata lied.
Rōha stared at the Hyūga heiress blankly, choosing to ignore the badly told lie. "Fix your appearance Hinata-sama. You have a visitor." Rōha said, moving aside for the young Hyūga to pass.
A visitor?. Hinata features turned confused and curious. "Who is it?." Hinata whispered out, as though she was worried the visitor would overhear them.
"You're boyfriend. You mustn't keep him waiting, he is a future clan leader much like yourself." Rōha answered. There was no shift in her expression, so it was clear she didn't say those words as a joke or to tease. Rōha called it as she saw it. Hinata and the Uzumaki heir were inseparable. They walked to the academy together all the time, spent most of the time in each others company and Hinata clearly fancied the blonde haired boy.
Hinata blushed at the woman's words and sneakily peeked through the half opened door. As the woman had informed, Naruto was standing there. He was dressed in a short-sleeved white version of his usual fiery Uzumaki shirt and not shorts for a change. The blonde wore black pants, wrapped with black tape, followed by a pair of black and grey camouflage shinobi sandals. Hinata could make out a row of intricate tattoos on his surprisingly muscular arms. No, those weren't tattoos. They were seals. Naruto didn't bother masking them, and left them visible. With the tattooed seals and his famous hairstyle, Naruto had a tad barbaric appearance, and those blue eyes that pulsed in the moonlight didn't help either. Hinata decided that she liked the look, though he should try to mask the seals next time. They made him stand out too much. "Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered out. The Uzumaki wasn't looking in her direction, and was instead looking around her clan compound with a curious expression.
"If Hinata-sama will not see him, then I will send Uzumaki-dono away." Rōha said, not waiting for an answer as she stepped forward.
"No!." Hinata yelled out in panic. Just as quickly as the outburst, Hinata realized what she had done and quickly covered her mouth. Unfortunately or fortunately for her, it was too late.
"Hey Hinata-chan!."
Hinata blushed at the sound of the familiar voice. A voice she had grown addicted to hearing everyday, that she miraculously starved herself for –for a almost a whole week. Hinata cursed Rōha in her heart and hesitantly turned to the blonde. She didn't want to and wanted to at the same time. She knew what she would see even before turning, and she knew the effect it would have on her. When Hinata looked at him she found what she expected. His big smile. That infectious smile that she never got used to seeing despite seeing it constantly for the past six months. A smile he wore every morning when he greeted her. Her favorite smile. Hinata awkwardly walked through the door, Rōha following her in silence. Hinata did her best to stop herself from mirroring the blonde's smile, but couldn't bring herself to to look him in the eyes while doing so. Momentarily, the lavender haired girl was reduced to her former finger poking and fidgeting self in front of the blonde.
"What are you waiting for?."
Hinata perked up at the sound of her blonde friend speaking again. Again, the Hyūga heiress hesitated, having a sense of foreboding, warning her not to look up if she wanted to continue staying mad at the Uzumaki. However, that sense was far inferior to her curiosity and will to see what Naruto was doing. Hinata looked up. She looked up and found Naruto standing in the same spot, with the same smile on his face but now with both his hands spread out. Hinata trembled and her lips quivered, she quickly bit them to stop whatever pathetic sound she was going to make from coming out. The Hyūga girl struggled to will her trembling body to stay put, but she could feel her resolve quickly weakening as she stared into his blue eyes.
"Come here dummy." Naruto said, never dropping the genuine smile.
With those words, even if Hinata had a hundred equivalents of her original will, she wouldn't be able to resist them. Hinata bolted forward at her fastest speed, barrelling into Naruto and yet unable to knock him down. He was like a sturdy mountain, absorbing all the force, wrapping his arms around her and absorbing all her tears, all her pain and all her sadness. "Narwuho-khun..." Hinata sobbed out in a whisper, clutching the blonde as firmly as she could. He didn't say anything, she only felt him stroke her back soothingly. He didn't have to say anything. Hinata didn't know how long she and Naruto hugged for, but to her it felt like hours, yet too short. She felt Naruto unwrap his arms from around her and almost yelled out to ask him what he was doing. The Hyūga reluctantly released the blonde as well, but still left her head to lean into his shoulder.
"Are we friends again?." Naruto asked.
"We never stopped being friends, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered in response.
"Good." Naruto said. Silence followed.
"I'm sorry for avoiding you. I made you have to avoid Bonnie-san in turn. That was selfish of me. Bonnie-san likes you too." Hinata said, breaking the silence.
"Are you saying you like me Hinata-chan?." Naruto asked, a small smile on his face. He had to move back a little as the Hyūga girl raised her head. She stared at him intensely, with nervous yet determined expression.
"Yes." Hinata said, surprisingly boldly.
Naruto was slightly taken aback by the admittance. He knew Hinata liked him, but for the meek girl to admit it was a different story altogether. It must've have taken her a lot of courage and days of mental preparation to say those words. Naruto didn't have to read her emotions to tell if she meant it or not. He always knew Hinata liked him. Just as he always knew he liked her too. "That makes two of us then." Naruto said with a smile.
Hinata blushed and looked away, not wanting Naruto to see the stupid smile on her face. The smile didn't last though and soon turned bitter. "I'm not the only one who likes Naruto-kun though." Hinata lamented. She couldn't help her jealously, especially when it came to Naruto. She tried to look away many times but she just couldn't help but return to that uncertain feeling.
"True." Naruto admitted. There was still Bonnie. He and the other blonde maintained a good friendship, but he knew the girl also had deeper feelings for him. Naruto wasn't too sure what he felt for Bonnie, however. He knew he was fond of her and looked forward to going on missions with her and seeing what greatness they could achieve together, but Naruto couldn't say he had the same feelings as he had for Hinata for the blonde genius. Still, he was unwilling to ignore Bonnie and her feelings and had decided to leave the decision to an older and more suitable version of himself. He was still eight, well almost nine now. "I can't really sort out stuff like that, cuz frankly I got no clue how. So let's just leave it at this for now, okay?." Naruto said. As expected, Hinata didn't look too happy with the answer. Naruto knew he had to bring out the big guns now. "Hinata-chan is the one to like me first, so naturally she's entitled to a first right." Naruto said.
Hinata turned to the blonde, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "First right for what?." She queried.
"First right, for example... This." Naruto said, placing his hands on Hinata's shoulder and then leaning forward with his lips pursed.
Hinata's eyes went widen and she dared not move. This was happening!. Naruto was going to kiss her!. 'Naruto-kun and I... K-k-kissing?!.' Hinata yelled in her mind, barely able to keep up with the mental shock.
"That's quite enough for today, Uzumaki."
Hinata barely repressed her scowl at the sound of the voice. A tall figure stood behind her, a hand firmly grasping her shoulder as she was forcefully pulled out of Naruto's hands. The Hyūga didn't have to look up. She recognized that voice. It was a newly promoted Hyūga chunnin from the main branch. The prized jewel and grandson of one of the clan's elders. Hyūga Kai.
Hinata wasn't familiar with many members of her clan personally, most because she was not permitted to hang around with others too long, but she knew who Kai was. He was a snooty Hyūga genius who managed to make chunnin at the tender age of fifteen. He always walked around with his nose stuck in the air like he was a prince, and even ostracized Hinata like the rest of the clan. That was until his grandfather made double layered joke about how the boy's mother and her late mother used to talk about their children getting married. The stout boy's imagination had ran wild to a point of obsession since then.
It was clear to the blind to see that Kai hoped to use her to springboard himself to the position of clan head, and make his lineage the noblest of them all. He made attempts to befriend Hinata, despite the age gap. Hinata didn't mind that he was older. The boy was inexcusably rude, inappropriate and forceful. He stalked her and had his lackeys follow her around when he was on missions. If there was one person the kind hearted clan heiress disliked, it was this person.
"Kai, please get your hands off me." Hinata said, trying her best to be polite. Why was this oaf here?. He'd ruined her moment with Naruto.
"You should use the proper honorifics even while addressing a close friend, Hinata-san." Kai said.
He the perfect image of your run-of-the-mill Hyūga. Long black hair, big white eyes and too much forehead to know what to do with. He dressed in expressive white and black robes and carried himself like he was the king of all Hi no Kuni. Despite Ha's chiding words, he released the Hyūga heiress as requested. Her guard, the 'peace-loving' Rōha was standing not too far away.
Hinata ignored the black haired creep and moved towards Naruto with an apologetic look. Once again, Kai interrupted. Blocking her path this time. "Kai, what's the meaning of this?." Hinata demanded.
Kai noticed that the Hyūga heiress had gotten more outspoken, especially this week with her rumour bad mood. He was still left a little surprised seeing her speak to him without a single stutter. It wasn't an unwelcome development, however, he preferred a Hinata he could hold a proper conversation with.
Putting his thoughts aside, Kai made a stern face. "This is for Hinata-san's own good. This ruffian seeks to take advantage of of you. You're still young and naïve, so there's a lot you don't yet understand."
"I'm the same age as her you buffoon. Actually, I'm younger than her, baka." Naruto said, speaking up for the first time since this horse faced clown showed up.
Kai turned to the Uzumaki with a piercing glare. Much to his chagrin, the boy didn't show any of the desired reactions to having a chunnin glaring at him. "People grow at a different pace, I'm sure you know this, Uzumaki-san." Kai said.
"Are you indirectly saying Hinata-chan is slow?." Naruto questioned, faking surprise as he insidiously incriminated the fifteen year old Hyūga.
"No, of course not. That's preposterous." Kai quickly denied, though it was clear on his face that he didn't disagree too much with the notion. Kai turned to Hinata, who was now glaring at him. "Truly that wasn't my intention." Kai said nervously. When did Hinata start practicing her glares to have such a fierce look?.
"I think you'll find nobody cares what your intentions are." Naruto said, a mocking smirk making its way to his face. He ignored the weak glare from the older boy. "Now, if you don't mind, I and your clan's heiress have some unfinished business. So, scurry away." Naruto said, dismissively waving off Kai as though he was a pest. He walked around the Hyūga boy and took Hinata by her hand. "Where were we Hinata-chan?." Naruto asked with a grin, causing the Hyūga girl to blush.
Kai hadn't been more insulted in his life than he was today. And to think the one speaking down on him was a mere eight year old Uzumaki clan heir. A finished clan, that barely kept its place in the village by riding on past glory.
Not one person in Konoha truly revered the Uzumaki nor Uzuki clan. Many saw them as unfit and overrated, more so since they were unfairly given rights to reside in the Shodai district, alongside the two founding clans. In Kai's opinion, if any non-founding clan deserved a perch in the Shodai district it was his Hyūga clan. After the Senju and Uchiha they were the strongest clan, and it wasn't even close. What was a fallen Uzumaki clan and a shrub Uzuki clan compared to the mighty Hyūga with and their dōjutsu?.
So how could Kai stand for such a disgraceful thing as a mere inferior clan heir speaking wantonly to him?. His father was an influential figure in the main house and hid grandfather was an elder. This bumpkin would do well to know his place, and for that to happen, Kai would have to teach him a valuable lesson.
"So the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan have grown so pompous to think they can act so wantonly in the premises of the Hyūga clan?." Kai said, raising his palm dangerously as he turned to the unsuspecting Naruto. "Allow me to teach you some manners!." Kai yelled, crouching low and thrusting a palm firmly towards the Uzumaki's stomach.
He planned on delivering a single jab to the gut, nothing too over the top. Naruto was still a clan heir so seriously injuring him was out of the question. Kai smirked upon seeing the terrified expression of the Hyūga heiress as he launched his attack.
"Naruto-kun!." Hinata yelled in distress. However, it was too late.
Pah!
Kai's palm successfully met Naruto's stomach and easily sent the blonde flying. Naruto coughed out and skidded across the floor, dirty his clothes and acquiring some light bruises on the way. The Uzumaki finally came to a halt when he met with a tree.
"Naruto-kun!." Hinata screamed and hurriedly ran towards the unresponsive blonde. The Hyūga was once again forced to stop as Kai, yet again, blocked her way. "Get out of my way!." Hinata yelled.
What nerve this oaf had. First he interrupted them, then he attacked Naruto and he still had the effrontery to block her way again. Hinata would've already told Rōha to deal with him if he wasn't an elder's grandson and now she was tempted to take matters into her own hands.
Still, Hinata retained her rationality. Kai was a chunnin, there was no way she could win against him. Secondly, he attacked Naruto, and knowing the blonde he would feel insulted if she fought for him. Looking at the proud face of the worthless Hyūga male made Hinata reconsider decision. Even if she couldn't defeat him, he wouldn't dare hurt her so she had an advantage. And if he was foolish enough to actually do so, then that would be even better. She would have an excuse to order Rōha to kill this miserable piece of human garbage that dared to touch her friend. Her Naruto.
"I'm sorry Hinata-san, but I must stop you. I assure you I didn't rough him up too bad. He'll be fine after a day's rest, so please don't be worried." Kai said, eyeing the unmoving Uzumaki a tad nervously.
He didn't mistakenly hit a vital organ, did he?. It was just a light palm strike. Was the Uzumaki heir really so weak to take heavy injuries from such a strike?. Even the heiress had gotten up from worse hits. 'What a wastrel. And you dare parade yourself in the Hyūga clan?.' Kai thought in disgust.
He despised the weak and talentless and people who defended them. The world was governed by strength. The strongest party made the rules and others were forced to follow. Other illusions such as equality and strength in numbers were merely that. Illusions. In the face of absolute power what good were numbers or the sham that was equality.
Hinata glared at the taller Hyūga in disgust. How a scoundrel like this could still pretend to be noble after sneak attacking an academy student was a bigger mystery than the Shodai's death. Hinata tried to move around the chunnin, but he blocked her on every attempt. The Hyūga heiress was beginning to get frustrated, and turned to Rōha who remained rooted to her original spot, with the usual calm but pouty expression.
Hinata decided to throw caution to the wind and order the woman to restrain Kai. It didn't matter what her father nor the elders would say later, Naruto's well-being took priority. However, before Hinata got the chance to speak, a voice resounded. It came from the fallen Uzumaki's direction.
"Hinata-chan's bodyguard saw that right?." Naruto said, appearing to be casually leaning against the tree as opposed to unconsciously leaning on it like everyone thought. Naruto's words drew the attention of Hinata, Kai and Rōha. The Hyūga heiress appeared overjoyed to find that he was alright. Kai frowned but didn't give away much of his emotions.
Naruto didn't bother looking, the chunnin wasn't worth a second glance. As for Rōha, she calmly turned to the Uzumaki. Naruto hadn't really focused much on the Hyūga woman's appearance, but now that he did he couldn't help but gasp at how cute she was. Was it even possible for an adult woman to be so adorable?.
Naruto put aside his thoughts and spoke again. "You saw him attack me first, right?. You were a witness to his unprovoked assault, weren't you?." Naruto asked again.
Rōha calmly stared at the relaxed looking blonde. The heiress taste in males turned out to be neither good nor bath. Rōha would best described it as strange. To think the first thing he'd do after taking a palm strike to the gut was ask if she had seen it happen. It was strange, because that was absolutely the smartest course of action to take.
He didn't ask Hinata, the Hyūga's statement would be assumed to be biased even though it still carried some weight. However, for her, a neutral party that cared not for Naruto nor Kai, she had no reason to lie or cover-up for any of the two. Her statement would be taken as the truth, as the law. Fortunately for the blonde, Rōha wasn't corrupt. She would say it as she saw it.
"I saw everything." Rōha answered.
Naruto was baffled once more by the woman. Even her voice was incomparably cute. Was she using some type of jutsu to alter her features and voice?.
While thinking of that, Naruto still couldn't help but let out a menacing chuckle. The Uzumaki easily pushed himself back to his feet and settled his gaze on the confused and surprised looking Kai.
An animalistic grin adorned Naruto's face, his pronounced canines looking even larger and his blue eyes shining like a pair of flashlights. "She saw everything." Naruto said to Kai.
Kai narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Naruto then Rōha. 'What are this wastrel and side branch member talking about?. So what if she saw everything, they can't possibly be thinking of taking this up with the clan head, could they?.' Kai wondered.
Even if Hiashi was Hinata's father, Kai had no doubt he would take his side. It was no secret the clan head nor the elders were not in support of the company Hinata kept. All Kai had to do was report the truth. The Uzumaki ruffian tried to kiss the heiress, he stopped him, the boy was brazen enough to disrespect him out of anger so he taught him a lesson. That was what happened, even that Rōha couldn't deny the facts, Kai mused.
He had nothing to worry about. Well except for the Uzumaki who had somehow appeared directly in front of him, that disturbing grin still on his face.
Kai's eyes went wide from shock. 'When did he mo–'
Kai wasn't permitted the luxury of a complete thought as he felt Naruto repay him with a palm strike of his own. Kai blinked. There was oddly no pain.
The Hyūga's face twisted into one of mockery. 'To think I was actually a little nervous there. He's a mere academy student, of course he can't hurt m–khaack?!.' Kai groaned as he felt a sudden rush of pain coursing all across his body.
The Hyūga knees trembled and his eyes widened, feeling the pain only get more severe by the second. Soon, the Hyūga was forced to his knees. After a few seconds,the pain finally stopped, but the boy was left with a heavy and stiff feeling all over his body. It was as though he'd gained weight, was several times as heavy as before.
"Restriction seal." Naruto said.
Kai looked down and found a white slip of paper stuck to his chest. Of course!. The tricky little rascal had managed to put a restriction seal on him. That was why it felt as though the earth's gravity had increased. Fuinjutsu users were really a shameless bunch. They had to rely on borrowed power to even the playing field against a true genuis. Once he got this seal off, he'd teach the dastardly Uzumaki the error of his ways.
The problem, however, was that Kai absolutely could not move a muscle. The only thing he could move were his eyes and his mouth. The Hyūga was left stalk still in a kneeling down position, glaring hatefully at the still grinning blonde. "Release me no–"
Slap!
"Oh, what was that?. Didn't hear ya." Naruto said, lightly rubbing the bloodied back of his hand. He regarded the wide eyed Kai, who was forced to look sideways with blood oozing out of his mouth and busted lip.
He was slapped.
The Uzumaki boy actually dared to slap him!. Kai's fury quickly replaced his disbelief, the Hyūga's eyes burned with a fiery hateful light as he manage to turn his stiff neck so he could directly look at hid offender. "How dare you, you wastrel from a–"
Slap!
"Oh sorry... were you about to say something?." Naruto said pretending to be apologetic after slapping the Hyūga again. The Uzumaki flicked the blood off his hands and calm regarded the bleeding Kai, who was glaring at him. This time Kai was smart enough not to say a word. "Are you angry?." Naruto asked.
Kai was seething right now. Not only was he disgraced by this eight year old academy student, the boy had the nerve to ask such a thing. That was an obvious taunt. How wouldn't he be angry?, how wouldn't he be livid?. A lowlife like this reduced him to such a state, and he was supposed to be happy about it. Naruto was damn right, Kai was absolutely furious right now.
'When I get my hands on you, Uzumaki...' Kai thought.
"You're probably already thinking about revenge." Naruto said, easily guessing the older boy's thoughts from his expression. "Revenge is nice and all, but you should have realized by now that it's a foolish endeavor. I am in my rights to discipline you, you did attack me first." Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"In your rights?!. Your scu–"
Slap!
"Damn. I thought the first two times would serve as a proper indication, but who knew you'd need a third." Naruto said, cleaning his soiled hand of blood with a handkerchief.
Kai's eyes went wide. That was his handkerchief!. When did Naruto even take it?.
"Don't tell me I have to knock a teeth out first, before you understand what you get by speaking." Naruto said. He watched Kai glare at him, but was wise enough not to speak back. "Good, we understand each other." Naruto said with a smile.
He held his hands behind his back, his smile dropping as quickly as it rose. "Since we understand each other now, let me tell you, you're lucky to be alive. I know what you're thinking right now, you must think there are going to be serious repercussions for my actions today. Let me tell you, there will be none. It won't matter that I slapped you silly three times, nor would it matter how many times I slap you from now. Your clan will not support you. I have a witness, two witnesses, so lawfully I am in the right." Naruto said, gesturing to the surprised Hinata and calm Rōha.
Naruto leaned in to whisper into the scowling Kai's ears. "However, even if I didn't it wouldn't matter. Your Hyūga clan is nothing to the Uzumaki." Naruto whispered. He leaned back, enjoying the disbelief on Kai's face and the fury that followed. Whether it was due to fear or the pain in his sore lip, Kai didn't speak despite the taunting words.
"It's astonishing the level of your delusion, random Hyūga-san. It astonishes me how deluded you must be to believe a plebeian like you is actually worthy of Hinata-chan. What a sight it is. A fellow, bloated my his out self-importance he believes he is fit to become the Hyūga clan head." Naruto mocked. Kai's eyes went wide from the Uzumaki's words.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you think you hid it well?. Anybody can smell greed so potent from a mile away. It doesn't take much to guess what a fool like you is playing at." Naruto said, turning away from the shocked and defeated looking Kai. A prideful Hyūga who'd lost his spine, calm and composure, what a disgusting sight. "In any case, it didn't matter if I exposed your intentions or not. Hinata-chan is on a far different level than the likes of you. All you can do is dream." Naruto said, and with that he walked towards Hinata, ignoring the defeated Kai like he was trash.
Kai felt shame like he never had before. His true intentions towards Hinata, his true goal had been exposed. Though Kai was sure most Hyūga could tell what his hidden agenda was when he tried to get close to the Hyūga heiress, but having them brought out to the light so ruthlessly left him with a different feeling altogether.
Shame. A shame like nothing he knew. Kai lowered his head, not daring to look the heiress in the eye. Kai knew if he did he would be faced it would be tantamount to the final nail in the coffin for him. The girl must think he was scum now. Not only was he reduced to a helpless condition by a boy just over half his age, he had been exposed as the scheming opportunist he was. A shameless chancer, who aimed to use her to achieve his lofty dreams of heading the Hyūga clan.
Looking back, it was truly a foolish dream. Would Hiashi so willing let the Hyūga clan be handed down to a mere grandson of an elder. The intentions of the current patriarch were clear from the day Hinata was born. A woman would lead the Hyūga clan in the future. Hiashi had no desire to marry off his daughter to any talented young master of the Hyūga clan, as long as she didn't will it. The man stance didn't change after his wife died and he was gifted with another daughter, he didn't for once consider the option of an arranged marriage or letting the right to rule leave his lineage.
The idea was to coach Hinata into a good future clan head, and though that wasn't going so well, Hiashi still had another daughter to depend on if Hinata failed the clan. Kai had no confidence of wooing the younger Hyūga girl if her elder sister was truly discarded to the branch house. There were rumours that the bearing of the girl was nothing like her sister and that she was more like her father than her late mother. For a meek and timid heiress, Kai had a fair amount of belief that he could make the Hyūga girl fall in love with him.
As for a Hyūga heiress with Hiashi's demeanor?, Kai had no chance whatsoever. Along with his shame, Kai felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness overcome him. Was his life destined to be a mediocre one?. Always second behind another?. He was a genius who made chunnin this year. He had turned fifteen a couple months ago, even by clan standards that was impressive.
Yet, Kai had heard so many people in the clan whisper about how the son of Hyūga Hizashi's talent far surpassed his. Him, a high standing main branch Hyūga was deemed to have inferior talent to that of a branch member nobody. Kai was left greatly offended by the notion, thus sought out the branch house genius to see what was so great about him.
Kai was humbled that day. He didn't fight him, and he didn't know whether he could defeat him at that time, but he felt humbled. He was hesitant to fight an academy student, how wouldn't he be humbled?. The boy's Jyūken was on a different level than his, far more graceful, far more sophisticated, far superior to his. That was a true genius, even the prideful Kai could not deny it. That kid was an anomaly.
Kai also found that even in his gennin team, he couldn't be associated as the most outstanding. He took second place as well in his family, behind his beautiful elder sister who had various suitors far stronger than he was. She as well was already far stronger than he was, far stronger than he could ever be. And now, he couldn't even be the first in the heart of the feeble Hyūga heiress. Second to Uzumaki Naruto, a non-Hyūga, another academy student.
'What nonsense is this...' Kai thought, raising his head to glare at Naruto's back. 'I can condone being second to my sister and another Hyūga genius, but not this simpleton. I absolutely can not stand for it!.' Kai declared and roared out loudly at the blonde. "Ruffian!. Don't think you can just walk away from me like that today!." Kai yelled. His hair was disheveled, his face was bloody and his irises shrunk to a small size, making him appear like a madman.
Kai gritted his teeth in rage upon seeing Naruto not only didn't turn but continued walking like nobody had spoken in the first place. "What are you waiting for, get him now!." Kai commanded.
A small group of figures who had been hiding in the shadows soon emerged from their hiding places, heading in a single direction. The position of Uzumaki Naruto.
Hinata's heart rate quickened in worry when she saw Kai have a semi psychotic breakdown, then fear overcame her at the sight of the newly emerged figures dashing towards Naruto. She quickly activated her byakugan and felt her heart sink. The group were Hyūga she recognized as chunnin. They weren't newly promoted chunnin like Kai, they were seasoned chunnin. Though they were nowhere strong enough to be even considered as jonin material, they were still decently powerful as far as chunnin went.
Hinata was about to yell for Rōha to take action –if it was the woman then this number of chunnin would be no problem at all–, but she froze when she saw Naruto's expression. He didn't appear afraid, or nervous as she expected him to be. Hinata was sure he wasn't even putting up a tough front either, that possibility was impossible, not with this sort of expression. He was grinning ear to ear. It was similar to the degenerate grin he made prior or after he said something perverted, but this one was somehow different. Bloodthirsty.
Hinata wouldn't attribute Naruto to a violent or bloodthirsty person, not with how sweet and caring he was to her. However, looking at his face now Hinata didn't know if she could make such an assertion again. She had no confidence in saying, 'Naruto-kun didn't look like he was going to enjoy what happened next.' and strangely enough, the thought didn't bother her. Nor did the smile or the menacing glow in his blue eyes. All of it, much to her surprise, excited her on the contrary.
Hinata watched in awe and a strange sense of excitement as Naruto turned to face his attackers, two long swords appearing his hands with a puff of smoke.
Then.
All hell broke loose.
(With Kurenai)
Few minutes earlier.
Kurenai casually walked down the marble floored path leading from the main house area to the gates in the Hyūga compound. Kurenai didn't like to make comparisons, but everytime she came here she was left bedazzled by the beautiful sight of the Hyūga compound.
The wide expanse of space, the intricately placed uniformly colored buildings, beautiful colored catfish pond, the scarcely planted sakura trees and varying ranges of exotic plants and flowers held in stylishly designed pots and vases.
The Hyūga compound was, on the surface, a very beautiful compound with a more regal and traditional atmosphere than most modernized clan compounds. The buildings were well maintained, but the style was old, as was the layout and structure of the entire compound, yet this only served to add richness to the already exquisite sight.
Kurenai at times, inadvertently compared the Hyūga compound to her much smaller clan compound. On the surface, the Yuhi clan compound could not hold a candle to the Hyūga's, be it in terms of vastness or appearance. However, to Kurenai the Yuhi clan compound would always be better. Though they were an aristocratic clan that prized a great deal on etiquette and decorum, the Yuhi still maintained a solidarity in their everyday clan life, contrary to the Hyūga who only came together in the face of an enemy or competition.
Kurenai preferred her clan's compound due to the liveliness. They weren't nosy, but they still cared a great deal about their neighbors and their affairs. During mornings, you would find them politely exchanging greetings with a smile and sometimes a hug. Her clan was like one big happy family, and Kurenai was thankful for it.
As opposed to the Yuhi, the Hyūga clan while superior on different levels lacked the familiar closeness of a smaller clan, its members hardly ever exchanging greetings outside obligation or etiquette. It was obvious unity would be an alien concept to a clan that segregated members from birth, damning them to an inferior status and a life of servitude and suffering.
Kurenai had no clue why the Hyūga clan was run the way it did. The few Hyūga she was on friendly terms with treated the subject like a taboo and never spoke of it for obvious reasons. Everything had a shadow, it was just like her clan head had told her.
Kurenai was knocked out of her thoughts by the sight of a blonde haired boy approaching her direction from the opposite side of the path. Kurenai was a little surprised to see the boy here, without an escort at that. She knew the Uzumaki heir and her student were really close friends. Little Hinata even had a crush of the boy, but Kurenai had never seen him come over nor heard of such a thing. Kurenai suspected it was because the blonde's guardians knew Hinata's father didn't favor him, nor approve of his friendship with Hinata.
Kurenai didn't understand why the Hyūga patriarch had such a poor opinion of his daughter's own saviour, and decided it might have nothing to do with Naruto himself and rather the people behind said blonde. Today, though, Naruto seemed to care little for what his guardians nor what Hiashi thought and swaggered into the Hyūga clan, dead set on Hinata's location.
"Good evening Kurenai-san!." Naruto greeted the red eyed beauty cheerfully.
He always comforted Yūgao when she went into depression due to her self-consciousness about her appearance, telling her she wasn't any less pretty than any of her friends. Looking at one of said friends now, Naruto was still under the same opinion but damn... Kurenai was absolutely stunning. Completely deserving of her status as an ice queen of Konoha.
Naruto felt blessed knowing that he had at the very least a friendly relationship with all three ice queen of Konoha, that was something he was sure no one else could say. He was certain of this because Anko was an ice queen, and Anko didn't like people much.
Kurenai couldn't help but smile back at the blonde. Yūgao was right, he did have an infectious smile. "Good evening Naruto-san, how are you today?." Kurenai asked in a polite tone.
She didn't let the boy's friendly approach distract her from the the fact that he was a clan heir of the Uzumaki. A supporting founding clan of Konoha, even though they had fallen from their once glorious perch they still maintained a considerable amount of clout globally. She also reminded herself of the stories Anko told her, the ones Yūgao liked to pretend didn't happen. Stories like the one he saved Hinata in, a story confirmed by Rōha and eventually Yūgao.
Anko told those stories to her because she had a great deal of faith in her, and when she told them she did so with pride. It was safe to say there were a multitude of things Anko would approve of that normal society wouldn't dub as morally or even legally okay. Many of the things Anko boasted about Naruto were as such. Malodorous, inappropriate, morally frowned upon or just plain wrong.
His mind games were a prime example, and while Yūgao pretended like they were nonexistent, Anko warned her of it. Absolutely don't let Naruto get into your head. If you do, you'll regret it. Kurenai was a tad skeptical about the authenticity of an eight year old managing to manipulate grownups, but she knew Anko wouldn't lie, so Kurenai reminded herself to be on her toes upon facing the enigmatic Uzumaki.
"Fine, are you done training Hinata-chan?." Naruto asked with a smile. He noticed the slight stiffening of her shoulders. She was on guard, but for what?. Was it for him?. 'Oh, somebody has been telling you stories about me haven't they, Kurenai-san?.' Naruto thought to himself in amusement. He would so love to pick her brain for the answer, but not today. Today he was here for Hinata, nobody else could take priority over her.
"Yes. I take it you're here to see Hinata?." Kurenai queried.
"Mmhmm." Naruto nodded. "There's a council meeting, so perfect chance!." Naruto said with a laugh.
Kurenai smiled at the boy's childishness. He seemed pretty normal. Was Anko exaggerating and was Yūgao actually the one with the right idea about Naruto?. "It is. Well, I don't want to keep you waiting then Romeo." Kurenai teased. The boy blushed slightly before turning hurriedly to leave. Kurenai chuckled, watching the half-running blonde.
She went through the same as a kid, having adults tease her all the time. Now she was a grownup it was her turn, and boy did it feel good. Kurenai was about to turn back and continue on her path, but then Naruto's voice permeated the area. This time it didn't have the childish and energetic tune he normally adopted.
"Kurenai-san." Naruto said, turning to the woman with an amused smile, his eyes lighting up like two blue balls of flame. "Everything she told you was true. Have a goodnight." Naruto said, and with he left.
Kurenai stared at the spot the blonde had been standing on with wide eyes. 'What... what was that?.' Kurenai thought, her heart suddenly racing and her palms moistening with perspiration. 'What just happened?.' Kurenai asked herself again.
She couldn't describe it, not to talk of deciphering what had just transpired. One second Naruto was acting like a normal child and she was at ease, the next he was...
'Was that chakra?.' Kurenai pondered.
No. That was definitely not chakra. She wasn't a sensor like Yūgao, but she knew how chakra with or without killing intent felt. There were no signs that Naruto was releasing chakra when he was staring at her, yet she was greatly affected by it. Was it his aura?. Kurenai quickly discarded the thought. What eight year old would be able to put a jonin in such a state of disorientation merely with his aura?. That was impossible. If it was his chakra, it would be more feasible since he was an Uzumaki. Unlikely, but feasible still.
But for this, Kurenai had no idea what that was, nor why she was so deeply affected by it. All she knew was at that moment, Naruto looked nothing like a child of eight years old. Anko was right. How could such an individual be attributed to the word normal?. He was grossly abnormal to say the least.
"MONSTER!. HE'S A MONSTER!."
Kurenai was knocked out of her daze by the sounds of screaming and chaos. From the sounds of it, it was coming from the main house, the direction she was just coming from.
'Hinata!.' Kurenai thought in worry and quickly sprinted back down the path. With her speed it didn't take her long to reach the Hyūga main estate.
Kurenai came to an abrupt halt at the unbelievable scene playing out before her very eyes. Uzumaki Naruto, the boy she just spoke to, though she was not sure since she was in a daze after the run-in. That same boy was in battle with seven other, by the looks of it, Hyūga chunnin.
No. Naruto couldn't be said to be in battle with those Hyūga. Better put, he was mauling through them. It was a completely one-sided fight, Naruto suppressed the Hyūga men in a brutal and effective fashion. Blood splashed out with every slash, though he did his best to avoid vitals it wasn't any less a painful experience for the Hyūga men. Soon five of them had either been maimed or knocked unconscious.
"Monster!." The voice from earlier came again.
Kurenai turned and found that it was Hyūga Kai. He was an annoying and pompous boy that made a habit of interrupting her sessions with Hinata. Kurenai had a poor opinion of the boy and a distaste for his kind. Now, however, looking at the boy Kurenai couldn't help but feel pity.
Kai as well appeared to have been suppressed, though it was mostly due to the psychological impact of seeing an academy student tear through seven chunnin that were stronger than him. The boy had an appearance of a madman, tears streaming down his face as he struggled to come to terms with the reality of the situation, of his life. Kai once again was left unable to dispute his inferiority, unable to be the first, and this time he wasn't merely the second. He had seen seven of his betters get crushed by a single assailant in a blitz. Kai loathed to know what number he was.
"Ahhh!."
Kurenai returned her gaze back to the battle and found that Naruto had defeated the remaining two chunnin. 'Unbelievable... An academy student beat seven chunnin?.' Kurenai stared at the blood stained Uzumaki in awe and light trepidation.
The way he grin all through the onslaught reminded her of a certain purple haired friend of her with a dango addiction, also the foul mouthed goth clan member of Yūgao's clan. Kurenai guessed she shouldn't be so surprised to see such an expression on the blonde's face, considering that both women were two really big parts of his life. It was still more disturbing seeing an eight year old making such a face, however. As though Naruto heard her thoughts, he dropped the smile before turning to face Hinata.
Kurenai's heart rate quickened. She had a somewhat good grasp on what went down here, and seeing Rōha so calmly standing by the side, she was sure Naruto hadn't just gone batshit crazy and attacked Kai and his lackeys. It was likely that he was provoked into action, and seeing as he didn't make a move to claim any lives, Rōha stood back and let it happen.
Still, despite having an assurance of the Uzumaki's legal innocence, Kurenai didn't feel at ease watching him approach Hinata. He was covered with droplets of blood and stains, the swords in his hands dripped with blood and the bangs of his wild blonde hair were soaked in the mixed blood of his attackers. Those terrifying blue eyes glowed in an unholy light, and Kurenai almost bolted forward when he got close but froze when she felt a particularly piercing gaze settle on her.
Kurenai turned and saw that it was Rōha. The message was clear. Don't interfere. Kurenai was merely a rookie jonin, so she dared not question the Hyūga woman even though she wanted to. She knew Rōha well, and considered her a mentor and friend. Rōha wasn't the kind of person who would stand back and let things happen without a reason, though her methods were often harsh or even cruel, her intentions were always pure. Since she hadn't moved to stop Uzumaki Naruto, it was clear she didn't see him as a threat to her charge. And even if he was, Rōha could restrain him long before he could even try to harm Hinata. Kurenai calmed herself down.
Hyūga Rōha was standing right there, watching Hinata as well. The girl was perfectly safe. Kurenai turned back to the two academy students, content with observing the proceedings for now.
"You're not scared." Naruto said, staring at Hinata with a small smile. The Hyūga's face was slightly red from all the excitement, and she was shaking a bit, but Naruto could tell from her eyes that she was not scared. Hinata shook her head, confirming his words. Naruto's smile broadened. "I was right about you. You're perfect for me." Naruto said, blushing a bit at the sound of his own words.
He didn't mean for them to come out like that. As for Hinata, the girl turned into a human red light bulb, her eyes widening and her mouth agape from shock. "I-I mean..." Naruto stammered, resealing his swords so he could safely wave his hands panic. Naruto found he didn't know what to say and resorted to scratching the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "It isn't a lie though. I really you like Hinata-chan, and I'm glad this side of me doesn't scare her." Naruto said with a light smile. "It gives me hope for the future." His eyes lit up as he spoke. "I know I said some pretty unfair stuff to you last week, but seeing you now I'm sure as ever that you're gonna be really strong in the future, and you better believe it!." Naruto said with determination.
Hinata couldn't help but smile at the blonde's encouraging words. Naruto always cheered her up, cheered for her and believed in her in a way no one else did.
"That's why it makes me happy, cuz I really want Hinata-chan by my side in the future." Naruto said, his expression turned serious. "Hinata-chan, I'm gonna be doing some really crazy stuff from now on. Stuff like the one I told you I couldn't tell you about cuz I didn't think you were ready. But now Hinata-chan, I know you are and I trust you completely so here goes..." Naruto said, taking a deep breath. The blonde spent over a minute considering how he should say this, a spell that Hinata mistook as hesitation.
"It's okay Naruto-kun. Y-y-you shouldn't tell me anyway. My dad he–"
"Hinata-chan, I'm leaving Konoha today." Naruto declared, stunning the Hyūga and the other onlookers. Naruto smirked. "Not for too long, at most a month. So wait for me til then." Naruto said.
Hinata was taken aback by the revelation. He was leaving for a whole month?. Where was he going?, why was he telling her on such short notice?. Why did he even trust her with such information in the first place?. Multiple questions ran through Hinata's mind but they were all secondary to her inner sadness. Sadness knowing that Naruto would be gone for so long. And she was stupidly ignoring him the few days he had left to spend in the village before leaving. Hinata cursed herself in a mixture of annoyance and sadness, tears threatening to escape her watery eyes.
"Hey there." Naruto said, placing a hand gently under Hinata's chin. The lavender haired girl's eyes shook in surprise, but this time Naruto didn't waste any time. He leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. He saw Hinata's eyes further widen in shock but made no move to lean back, eventually her eyes returned to normal and a bit glossy before she shut them altogether.
Naruto had a slight blush on his face, while Hinata's cheeks burned bright red as they kissed. After what felt like an eternity for the two, Naruto leaned back. Hinata's eyes cracked open, a dazed look still on her face as she stared at the lightly smiling Uzumaki. "Don't look so pale. I'm only gonna be gone a month, I promise." Naruto said.
Hinata didn't say anything and instead leaned forward to rest her chin on the taller boy's shoulder. She felt Naruto place a hand around her and smiled in the small moment of happiness. Still, there was something Hinata had to ask. "Bonnie-san is going with you isn't she?." Hinata asked in a whisper.
"Yes." Naruto whispered back. "I wish you could come along as well."
"I would just be a burden." Hinata smiled, it was a bitter smile.
"That's not true." Naruto said firmly.
"Doesn't matter now... Protect Bonnie-san, will you?." Hinata requested. She already knew Naruto would do so without her saying so. Like the time he saved, and even when he 'disciplined' Kai for her benefit. Naruto was someone who couldn't help but protect and help others. That was who he was. He was like a superhero, her superhero.
But now, she was forced to watch him leave, with another. With Bonnie. Somehow, Hinata didn't feel bothered about it as she normally would. Bonnie suffered in silence for her when she was in that foolish mood of hers. The blonde made no effort to get close to Naruto despite clearly wanting to, and Hinata knew she did it for her. Hinata couldn't describe what that meant for her. To sacrifice her feelings just to make sure Hinata's wasn't hurt. The Hyūga didn't like Bonnie much before, but now she felt the blonde was an even better person than she was. Naruto deserved such a person as a friend. Bonnie deserved a person like Naruto as a friend as well.
Hinata decided that she would be like Bonnie and sacrifice her feelings as well. She wouldn't selfishly put herself between them again. She would be like Bonnie, the girl that had a crush as big as she did on Naruto, and despite it still never tried to possess him for herself because she didn't want to hurt a weak little Hyūga girl. Hinata decided that she would leave the choice of who he liked more to Naruto, in the end it was always going to be his. Hinata, however, had a suspicion that the blonde would never choose between them.
"You got it." Naruto said, flashing a small smile. He knew how difficult it was for Hinata to say those words. His eyes turned a little sad as he spoke again. "I have to be going now." Naruto said, separating from the lavender haired girl.
Hinata smiled sadly. "Go." She watched the blonde nod and turn to go. However, going wouldn't be so simple while he was in the Hyūga clan. The Uzumaki's path was blocked by Rōha. The woman wore her usual expression, eyeing the boy calmly.
"Wazzup beautiful?." Naruto said with a grin, earning a sigh and a roll of the eyes from Hinata.
Rōha didn't have a reaction, nor could Naruto read anything from her serene brown eyes. He didn't know much about the personnel of the Hyūga clan but he knew who this woman was, so he knew despite her cute and harmless appearance she was nothing but. He felt a little nervous from being stared down by the dangerous Hyūga.
"On behalf of the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan I have to restrain Uzumaki Naruto on the grounds that he threatened to leave the village without permit or prior notice to his guardian." Rōha said, her adorable sounding voice devoid of emotions.
'Fuck.' Naruto thought. This was a highly unwelcome development. He had improved a lot over the past six months with the training Saya and Yūgao–when she had free time–had been giving him.
Now he believed he was solidly chunnin level, adding his fuinjutsu accomplishments and jinchuriki perks, Naruto was sure he could give most chunnin a run for their money. It helped that most shinobi tended to underestimate kids, and it heavily attributed to many of his battles up til date.
It was different this time. He'd heard the stories about this woman from Hinata, so it was safe to say those hands did not age discriminate. Also, merely having chunnin level skills in the face of such an opponent was tantamount to having none at all. What was a chunnin to an elite jonin?. Naruto had absolutely no hope of victory or escape, not with this woman as his opponent.
Yet...
Naruto unsealed his blades with a battle thirsty grin. He was excited, overwhelmed with the excitement of taking the Hyūga woman on. "You gonna stop me Rō-Rō?." Naruto said, his chakra flaring up like a ranging bonfire. There was a translucent fiery orange hue mixed in with the chakra, the area suddenly went up several degrees.
Rōha didn't rise to the Uzumaki's taunt and instead observed the Uzumaki male's chakra, easily picking out his almost animatedly high affinity for fire. A hothead's affinity, yet he acted like anything but one several occasions. He truly was a complicated young man. However, today, after his brazen declaration Rōha was obligated to take the role of his opponent. He absolutely could not be allowed to leave the village.
"You won't be leaving." Rōha said, waiting for the Uzumaki to make the first move. However, before any of them could make a move, Hinata spoke up.
"Yes he will." Hinata said, drawing Naruto and Rōha's attention. Hinata blushed a little, feeling nervous with how they both intensely stared at her.
The Hyūga took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to act her usual self. With Rōha blocking the way, even if it was Naruto, there was no way he could escape. But with her presence, there was a chance and for that to be have any hope of success, Hinata couldn't let her timidness show.
The lavender haired girl's expression turned serious and haughty, similar to the expression she'd seen her father make. The expression her nii-sama wore everyday. The stereotypical Hyūga expression, the base expression of Hyūga from the main house. "Rōha you will not obstruct the exit of Naruto-kun out of the Hyūga compound. You will not pursue or report him, and you will not give the order for any Hyūga to pursue or report him. Is that clear?." Hinata demanded. Her low squeaky voice didn't carry the same authority that her father did, nor did her bearing and grace match his, still... That was a direct order using her status as the Hyūga heiress.
Hinata would have loved to command Rōha to escort Naruto out of the village to prevent any unforeseen incidents, but that was probably a bad idea. Who knew what orders her father had given the woman?. If she let Rōha out of the clan, regardless of what she said if she saw a loophole she could exploit she would exploit it. It was common sense that her father's word took priority over her own.
What Hinata was asking her of now, though, was related to something so unforeseen her father likely had no precautionary orders for it. Who could've predicted that Naruto would show up to the Hyūga clan compound to tell Hinata he was leaving the village without his clan's permission?.
Rōha stared at the Hyūga heiress blankly. So she finally decided to grow a backbone and the first thing she did was rebel?. 'Hiashi-sama may or may not like news of this.' Rōha thought. She pondered over the instructions her clan head had given her upon appointment as the Hyūga heiress' personal guard suppressed a sigh. There was nothing she could use as long as she was here. "Understood." Rōha said, moving out of the way of the baffled blonde.
What a lucky brat he was. Lucky as well as dangerous. A boy who had managed to get the Hyūga heiress to side against the rest of the village for him in merely six months. It was just as the clan head feared. Uzumaki Naruto was a bad influence on Hyūga Hinata.
Rōha realised the possibility even those months ago, and even now she could decide to disobey Hinata's words knowing she would face no punishment at all for her actions. However, she didn't. Just like the time she went against the clan head and told the Uzumaki Hinata's schedule, she did it for her charge's benefit. As she was instructed to by the clan head himself. Put the heiress and her well-being first.
In Rōha's opinion, nothing was more important to Hinata's well-being than her slowly increasing self-esteem. If she went against Hinata now and restrained her blonde boyfriend she would likely fall into depression, then all the hard-won self-esteem she worked up over the months would be lost. Rōha couldn't see that happen.
On the flip side, letting Naruto leave and possibly leaving Konoha, running into his likely demise would be a even bigger blow on Hinata's psyche but that was a probable. She couldn't make a decision on a probable. There was a chance, a slim chance Naruto might succeed in escaping but then there was a hundred percent assurance that Hinata wouldn't take the Uzumaki being captured here well.
Rōha decided to place her trust in the non-Hyūga shinobi of the village to keep their jinchuriki from escaping. Her responsibility was the heiress, not him. Fortunately, one of said non-Hyūga shinobi was present.
"Don't get too happy yet, Hinata." Kurenai's permeated as she emerged from her hiding place, shocking the Hyūga heiress. Naruto's expression was one of slight surprise before he settled into a calm one. Truly ahead of his age. "Unfortunately for Naruto-san, I'm not a Hyūga, thus I'm not loyal to Hinata. As her sensei, I don't have to listen to her." Kurenai said, regarding the calm looking blonde.
Hinata panicked. Why was Kurenai-sensei here?. Didn't the woman leave several minutes ago?. How was she magically back here, and why at such a time. She surprised even herself as she managed to convince Rōha to step out of the way, but now another jonin had made an appearance. It might be a jonin that referred to Rōha as her senpai, but she was still a jonin. Naruto couldn't fight a jonin.
Hinata glanced at the Uzumaki, who was wearing a blank expression but Hinata knew he was nervous. The Hyūga heiress wasted no time. If a fight broke out then it would be over for Naruto. "Rōha-san, restrain Kurenai-sensei!." Hinata said. Her heart stung a little when the red eyed woman turned with a surprised expression. 'I'm sorry sensei, but this is the only way.'
"Apologies Hinata-sama, but I can't do that." Rōha said, crushing Hinata's hopes even before they had properly spawned.
"Wh-what?. Why?!." Hinata asked in distress, her face turning slightly red as she angrily glared at Rōha. It was a very cute sight.
"Hiashi-sama instructed me to always treat Ms Yuhi with respect. Forgive me, but I don't think forcefully restraining her would be respectful." Rōha answered. It was a flimsy excuse but it wasn't a lie. Rōha was always one to follow instructions to the T, so no matter what the heiress thought there was no act of foul play taking place here.
Hinata opened her mouth to say something but words didn't come out. What could she say?. That was a direct order from her father, even if most would treat it like a passing comment, but not Rōha. She took words, especially the words of her superiors very seriously. Though Hinata didn't know about it, it was a passing instruction of her father that had made her friendship with Naruto today possible. That was why Hiashi didn't stop it or punish Rōha. In the end it was his words that had lead to everything. Rōha was just following instructions.
"The-the-then d-don't be too f-forceful..." Hinata said to Rōha. The Hyūga woman stared at her with a blank expression. Hinata judged that a sarcastic reply was customary after such a ridiculous statement, luckily for her Rōha wasn't much of a talker.
"It's okay Hinata-chan." Naruto said. He gave the Hyūga girl a comforting smile. "You've done enough already, I'll take it from here." Naruto said, test swinging his swords as he eyed Kurenai. An excited smile adorned his face.
Hinata's eyes widened in astonishment. Rōha turned to face the blonde. Did he truly plan on fighting her?. Was he insane?. "Naruto-kun you might not know, but Kurenai-sensei is a jonin too." Hinata informed. She wished she could be like him, fearless and believing in himself to the very end.
"Oh, I know. She's friends with two of my onee-chans you see?. I know enough about her to know I'm absolutely the worst kind of enemy she can hope to face." Naruto said, grinning confidently.
Hinata was taken aback by the words, Rōha didn't react but looked a the blonde in interest.
Kurenai narrowed her eyes in slight annoyance. Really?. An academy student looked at her and had the gall to say he was the worst kind of opponent for her?. He considered himself an opponent for her?. It appeared the boy had let the all his accomplishments and the praises go to his head. He really thought he could fight a jonin, he must be crazy. In hindsight, the Uzumaki boy didn't back either when Rōha stood in his way so should she really be surprised?.
"You're in a desperate need of a reality check." Kurenai said.
"Trust me madame long legs, I am your bane." Naruto said with a chuckle.
Kurenai frowned. Madame long legs?. He could still make jokes in a situation like this?. Kurenai was wrong. This kid wasn't going to get a simple reality. He was going to get a lesson. Too proud to lower herself to banter words with a child, Kurenai decided on action as the best course of... action.
Kurenai went through a flurry of handseals, activating one of her favorite genjutsu. Demonic illusions: World of screams. It was a genjutsu that put the target under a state of hypnosis that amplified and echoed the sound of everything to an unbearable level. It was mostly used to stun and disorient targets, leaving them wide open for an easy finish. It wasn't a high rank genjutsu, merely D-rank, but it was effective. More than enough to deal with a overconfident little brat.
"It's over." Kurenai said, and as expected her voice was amplified and the boy clutched his ears in pain, falling to his knees with pained screams. Looking at him now Kurenai felt a little bad. His big mouth had gotten him this, and he would only be left with a headache at most so he should count himself lucky. Kurenai sent a nod to Rōha and an apologetic look to the distressed looking Hinata. She didn't want to hurt the blonde in front of her student, but she had no choice.
Kurenai walked towards the fallen Uzumaki who was now moaning in pain. She wanted to say something like a warning for next time, but that probably wouldn't help. The pained moaning stopped just before Kurenai reached the boy. Naruto had fallen unconscious. That wasn't much of a surprise, he was a freakishly talented kid, but still a kid. He had no experience with fighting a genjutsu expert of her sort, so how could he resist or dispel an insidious technique like Demonic Illusions: World of screams.
Kurenai lowered herself to a knee to pick up the Uzumaki. He actually didn't fall over despite losing consciousness. 'That's actually really impressive, especially for an ei–'
"Kurenai that child is not unconscious!."
Kurenai heard Rōha scream at her in alarm. The red eyed Yuhi woman didn't question the words and immediately begun to retreat. But It was too late.
Naruto's eyes snapped open, those horrifying blue eyes radiated an icy blue light. Kurenai the unforgettable feeling of life-threatening danger, a feeling she only experienced on B-rank or higher missions that went wrong. A sensation she was assaulted with when fighting a superior shinobi. The feeling of the claws of death reaching out for her. Moonlight glinted on the silver blade of the Uzumaki's right sword as he made a mercilessness swing at the retreating Kurenai.
Slash!
Kurenai gritted her teeth and staved off the raw pain of a sharp sword slicing through her flesh. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she continued her retreat, seeing her own blood fly into the air along with the ripped bloodstained pieces of her dress.
Naruto's cold and dangerous eyes stared at her in contempt. Contempt that his plan was ruined at the last by the cognizant Rōha. Contempt that he had not gotten enough of her. What a ruthless brat. His look of contemptuous disappointment didn't last long, however. Soon, a wicked beastly grin replaced it. Kurenai felt slightly groggy as she landed and clutched her ruined hand, never taking her eyes off Naruto who was chuckling at her like the deranged little monster he was.
"Gotcha~" Naruto said in a sing-song voice.
Kurenai frowned. She quickly steadied her breathing and beating heart. This wasn't the time to lose her temper. Losing her temper would only work to this little freak's advantage. "The genjutsu... you broke through it."
"Yep." Naruto said, rising to his feet. He raised the sword with Kurenai's blood on it and grinned. He suppressed the urge to lick it and further creep out the already disturbed Kurenai. Hinata was still here. While she didn't mind watching him maim a few randoms, licking her sensei's blood probably wouldn't settle right with her.
The more Kurenai looked at this boy the more she understood Hyūga Hiashi's feelings and the more plausible Anko's stories seemed. No matter how she looked at it, this boy was not right in the head.
Kurenai normally wouldn't judge him too much for it, being a friend of the even more deranged Mitarashi Anko she understood that some people were just different and actually enjoyed the messy side of being a shinobi. They could still be sweet and kind at heart.
However, right now Kurenai's better judgement was blurred by the knowledge that Naruto had cut her and looked damn happy about it. She knew a younger less friendly Anko would've probably done the same, but this just felt different damn it!. Not counting her injuries, there was the fact that Naruto would've completely had her if not for Rōha's warning. Such a disgracefully thing happened right in front of her mentor. Kurenai had never felt so humiliated in her entire life. That was why she had to make it right. She must make it right. "You won't be able to beat the next one."
"I bet I will." Naruto quipped. He saw Kurenai make single handed handseals. 'Wow, she's efficient.' Naruto mused. The Uzumaki felt his senses distort momentarily before returning back to normal. "Oh, madame long legs you never learn." Naruto said walking towards the woman with a predatory grin.
Kurenai's eyes went wide in disbelief. How was he moving?!. 'That was a high C-rank genjutsu!. How the hell is he not affected by it?!.' Kurenai yelled in her mind, finding the sight of the Uzumaki shrugging off a C-rank genjutsu unbelievable as well as unacceptable.
The worst of it was he didn't even seem to even try to beat it. He was momentarily stunned before breaking into a walk like nothing happened.
A D-rank genjutsu maybe, but a C-rank genjutsu wasn't something a shinobi could just casually break without so much as a handseal or inflicting pain. Naruto made no handseals, nor did he hurt himself in anyway. Kurenai knew no other way to put it because that was exactly what happened. He shrugged it off. He shrugged off a C-rank genjutsu like it was nothing.
"...What the hell is happening here?." Kurenai asked out loud. Was she going to have to resort to her top genjutsu?.
"I told ya, didn't I. I'm your bane. Genjutsu doesn't work on me." Naruto declared, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Think I'm lying?. Go on, give it your best shot and see what happens." Naruto said, taunting the Yuhi to use another genjutsu on him, knowing it would be completely useless.
Unless she somehow defied logic and cast an S-rank genjutsu he was in absolutely no danger to her techniques. He could break them even before they settled in. "But fair warning." Naruto's smile turned cold, his canines glinting in the moonlight. "I ain't gonna miss the second time." Naruto said.
For the first time in a long time, Kurenai's confidence waned.
Ever since leaving the academy and making gennin, the twenty-one year old had seen a meteoric rise in her shinobi career. She made chunnin at fifteen, just two years after becoming a gennin. She was lauded with praises from her family, her clan and even the clan head She was dubbed as the next genius of the Yuhi clan, and many hoped she could succeed the clan head one day.
After five long years of nothing but hard work. Five years of constant missions ranging from assassinations, to shipment protection, to evac ops, to investigation and even infiltration through impersonation and espionage.
Those five years were the highlight of Kurenai's life. It was everything, the scariest, darkest, happiest, funnest and most difficult point of her shinobi career and life altogether. Kurenai became the shinobi she was today because of blood, sweat and tears of those years. And thanks to those five long years, Kurenai finally became a jonin.
Kurenai could still vividly remember that day, the day her promotion was made official. The ecstatic looks on her parents face, the jubilation of her clan, the partying all night with her friends, her clan heads words of congratulations and the looks of adoration and idolization the youngsters of her clan gave her. It was the happiest day of Kurenai's life to say the least. They day she achieved the dream many shinobi hoped to yet failed.
Kurenai had successfully gotten to the peak of a shinobi's career and she could only go up from here. She had shut so many mouths and proven so many wrong. She wasn't the strongest, nor the fastest, nor the most skillful yet she made it ahead of her pairs. Kurenai didn't standout in ninjutsu, nor taijutsu, nor kenjutsu, nor bukijutsu. All she had was her talent for genjutsu, a talent that was not but hardly ever took a shinobi the whole way.
Kurenai had lost count of the number of times people told her a genjutsu expert could never reach the peak. It was either her combat style or her gender, people always found a reason to doubt her. In the end, she proved them all wrong. A woman had gotten to the peak of a shinobi career depending on just genjutsu.
Genjutsu was not just her preferred shinobi art, it was her identity. Kurenai the genjutsu expert. Genjutsu saved her life. So, to see her life saver, the techniques that she relied on during those hellish five years hopelessly fail against a mere academy student had a greater impact on Kurenai than she expected. Her always reliable shinobi art, that served her so well for over the years was absolutely useless today.
Kurenai hesitated when Naruto dared her to use her strongest genjutsu. B-rank genjutsu were different, even if the target knew a genjutsu was being cast on them they could hardly do anything to prevent it. On the contrary, it would use their awareness of the genjutsu to further immerse them into it's manipulative control. Breaking them was even harder.
Most genjutsu experts adept in casting B-rank genjutsu made sure to layer it at least twice. This meant the even if the target had a high resistance to illusions and managed to extricate themselves from the genjutsu, there was always at least one hidden layer that would automatically activate to reactivate the broken genjutsu. Knowing B-rank genjutsu as well meant the user was at a level of proficiency in which they could reverse and hijack genjutsu.
This took a lot of skill and was more chakra than creating a B-rank genjutsu, but that was normal for such a high level skill. To be able to turn a shinobi's own genjutsu on them was tantamount to exploiting a hidden weakness.
When genjutsu experts created genjutsu they often did it based on their own point of view. What they thought would be most effective against other ninjas. What they believed would be difficult to extricate oneself from. In the end, they often picked out an answer attributed to their own weaknesses, because what they knew best were their own weaknesses. And the thought of a genjutsu that they could easily overcome or extricate themselves from was never an appealing one.
So, to turn such a technique against the user would be equivalent to turning the devil they had created against them. A devil that played on their own weaknesses. More often than not, they would be left completely helpless in the face of their own technique. It was similar for experts of the other shinobi arts. Who created a jutsu and thought; 'Now to create a means to block or counter my own technique'?. Nobody.
The idea of creating a jutsu was to create an ultimate technique that couldn't be evaded or blocked. If one were to, in his or her opinion, succeed in the endeavor why would they then seek to make the technique evadable and blockable?. That was just not the way humans thought, Kurenai often mused.
Humanity often limited themselves to a flawed line of thinking, a mindset that that only sought to create something that exceeded everything before it, that could easily brush aside the other creations of the past. Man never thought to create something to put a wrench to that. Man called the former progress and the latter stagnation.
Kurenai felt the urge to chuckle. To laugh at her foolish and pathetic self. Human thought was truly a dangerous thing, especially to the thinker. Her she was falling into a state of depression because her prized genjutsu didn't work, while a boy that wasn't even double digits in age taunted her. Kurenai kept thinking about the same thing, just like those genjutsu experts she had defeated by reversing their own techniques on them.
What genjutsu can I create to surpass all others. In her case, it was 'what genjutsu can I use to stop Naruto?'. Immersed in the narrow minded thoughts of advancement and progress, Kurenai ignored other factors much like the average man. She got so sucked up into her thoughts of genjutsu, it felt like she had trapped herself in one. The main goal was forgotten in the quest to surpass old limits, and Kurenai knew all too well that calamity begun from obsession over a process rather the goal. The goal was to restrain and capture the clan heir Uzumaki Naruto not to prove genjutsu's superiority to other shinobi arts, not to prove herself to her mentor and not to this cocky brat.
'Stick to the mission.' Kurenai said, calling herself to other.
Naruto saw the Yuhi woman's expression turn calm after switching through multitudes of others. The Uzumaki eyed the woman carefully and made no moves to advance. A calm mind was far more dangerous than any sword or kunai could be.
"You got into my head." Kurenai said, staring at the serious faced Uzumaki calmly. "You knew from the onset that genjutsu wouldn't work, and to incite me into using it, you highlighted that your knew me and what kind of shinobi I am. You knew the only way to assure that a jonin would resort to using jutsu to capture an academy was if they were worked up. You made me mad by taking a poke at my strengths, and I just as you wanted, I used genjutsu on you." Kurenai said.
Naruto's expression didn't change, but on second glance Kurenai could make out a slight arch of the corner of the boy's lips.
"Next you pretended that Demon illusions: World of screams worked on you, and faked unconsciousness. The rest was easy for there and if not for Rōha-senpai checking the state of your chakra with her byakugan I probably would've already lost." Kurenai admitted. She was still ashamed, would forehead feel ashamed of run-in with Uzumaki Naruto, but she couldn't let her petty emotions get in the way of what was truly important. Making sure the blonde doesn't escape. "Finally, knowing my illusions wouldn't have any effect, you taunted me hoping I would use my most powerful technique and upon it failing, you would be given a clear opportunity to end the battle. Quite an insidious tactic, but a good one nonetheless. You have my respects." Kurenai said truthfully.
Not just her respect, a bit of her envy as well. To be this powerful and crafty at the age of eight. It was almost terrifying thinking about the sort of ninja Naruto would grow up to be in the future. The Hyūga genius better watch his back, there was a new prodigy in town.
"However, Naruto-san you underestimated me too much. I may love genjutsu and all its done for me, but do you really think I would be paralyzed from shock and depression from seeing my techniques fail?." Kurenai said.
The words left a bad taste in her mouth because she knew she wasn't too far from that state. Knowledge of this made her extremely angry at herself and lack of composure. Kurenai repressed her anger, her newly invigorated composure suppressing all of her chaotic emotions.
"Give me some credit. I didn't become a jonin only because of genjutsu. There's other things I can do." Kurenai said, unsealing a kunai from a well hidden seal. Being friends with an Uzuki had its benefits, Kurenai wasn't a complete illiterate like most of the world when it came to fuinjutsu. "Even one-handed I can still easily take you down. Prepare yourself." Kurenai said, readying herself to dash forward.
"Pass." Naruto said, surprising Kurenai and the others as he resealed his blades. The Uzumaki had an annoyed expression as he shoved his hands into his pockets, mumbling something under his breath.
"...You're giving up?." Kurenai said in surprise. Technically speaking, it was the most logical course of action but compared to Naruto's recent decision in prior to facing off against a jonin this seemed like absolute madness. He didn't give up before, why was he giving up now?.
'No. I can't assume he's giving up. This mind be another one of his mind games. I should never believe anything that comes out of that little brat's mouth.' Kurenai reminded herself.
Naruto looked at Kurenai the same way he would stare at an ANBU if one were to dress like a clown on duty. "Are you stupid?. Who gives up when they've already won?." Naruto asked the woman.
Kurenai was now even more confused. He'd won?. He could say he'd won on the first exchange but the battle was far from over. All she had to do was attack him now, relying on her jonin level speeds he wouldn't even be able to see her not to talk of stopping her.
This was definitely another mind game, Kurenai decided. There was no sense in debating further with him, he was just going to either stall for time or manipulate her into giving him an opening. "Enough of this." Kurenai said, and immediately moved towards the blonde at a decent speed. She was greatly unnerved by his calm expression even while she was on the move. He didn't even draw his swords. Kurenai decided to ignore it.
Thinking about it was pointless, she couldn't figure it out unless he told her. All she could do was capture him, and then she could find out later. All of a sudden, Kurenai felt her body stiffening at an alarming rate and before she knew it she was tripping on her own feet and falling face first into the ground. Kurenai kissed dirt, her expression visibly one of complete confusion.
What just happened?. Kurenai's brain worked at a blistering speed, sorting through a vast number of possibilities before settling on the most likely one. Kurenai's eyes went wide.
"Échec et mat." Naruto said, walking towards the collapsed jonin. "I'm a little dissapointed though. First this bum Hyūga dude messed up my planned first kiss with Hinata-chan." Naruto said, pointing at the still kneeling Kai. Naruto sweatdropped when he saw that the Hyūga had already passed out, probably a long time ago. "Then Rō-Rō interrupted my plan. Don't worry, you're cute so I forgive you." Naruto said, turning to the expressionless Hyūga woman.
He made out Hinata glaring at him from the corner of his eyes but ignored it. Denying Rōha's cuteness was the equivalent to blasphemy. "I don't forgive you though." Naruto said turning back to Kai, who he now realized was frothing. 'Yeah, he definitely lost consciousness a while ago.' Naruto thought.
He turned to fallen Kurenai with a slightly annoyed expression. "I'm also disappointed you think so little of me. Do you really think I would bank all my hopes on getting a clean hit on you?. You're a jonin for God's sake, how could I be so sure I could dismantle you in one strike?. Of coarse I poisoned you, like duh!." Naruto said, smacking his head lightly like it was the most obvious thing. "Your analysis was good, but you ignored a vital detail. Probably in a bid to keep your mind focused on the objective and off the depressing thoughts of your initial failure, you forgot to ask. How the heck was I so sure I could break your genjutsu?." Naruto said.
Kurenai's eyes shook. She had truly acted incomparably foolish today. Looking back at her thoughts about how Naruto hadn't experienced fighting a genjutsu expert like her, Kurenai had the urge to slap herself across the cheek. Unfortunately or fortunately, she was paralyzed so could not do so. Kurenai managed to turn her face to the side, facing Naruto's direction, ignoring the feeling of dirt smearing across her face.
"Saya." Kurenai said. And now that she said it –it should've been pretty obvious. Saya was the only genjutsu expert she knew that was close to Naruto. While she was close friends with Yūgao, she had no relationship of note with the blonde haired Uzuki. Kurenai, however, knew she was well versed in illusionary arts. Perhaps not as depend or skillful as herself, but Saya was still a well known genjutsu expert in the village. Kurenai wondered how she had forgotten about the blonde gothic jonin. Kurenai also wondered how she forgot that Saya as well as Anko were poison specialists as well. Obviously, Naruto picked up a thing or two from either one of or both of the women.
"Yes, her. Saya-chan always said despite all the piercings and everything she was always so forgettable for some reason. I've confirmed that today." Naruto said.
"You don't look all that happy about your victory." Kurenai said, putting aside her self-deprecating thoughts. Thinking about the last few minutes just made her head hurt and her blood boil. After today she would up her training and focus on other areas aside from genjutsu this time. She had proved people wrong by succeeding with mainly genjutsu, now continuing to do so would be the same as holding herself back.
"I'm not." Naruto admitted. "I wanted a cleaner victory, but you just had to go and ruin it by not completely falling into depression. You suck madame long legs." Naruto said, lightly glaring at the woman in genuine annoyance.
This kid. He still wasn't satisfied after managing to defeat a jonin?. Kurenai felt a little insulted as well as awed. 'I guess that's how he stays ahead of his peers. He's never satisfied unless it's perfect.' Kurenai mused. It was a good trait for a student but a terrible strain on the mind. Being a perfectionist had its bad sides. "Sorry to disappoint." Kurenai managed to joke. The small laugh made her feel a lot better.
Naruto smiled. "You have a huge crush on me now, don't you?." The Uzumaki said, looking completely assured.
Kurenai gave the boy a blank stare. "You're eight." Kurenai deadpanned.
"Almost nine." Naruto corrected "And say you want, but I know I made an impression on you and RōRō today. That impression will blossom into something else in the future, believe it." Naruto said, smiling like a foolish rogue as he teased the collapsed woman.
Not many could claim to tease Yuhi Kurenai and live to tell the tale. Naruto was sure he was the only one who had successfully made the woman kiss sand and then teased her. He was truly the chaddest of the chads.
"Ja." Naruto said and with that turned to leave. He blew a kiss at the slightly upset and awed Hinata, causing the girl to blush. The three women watched the eight year old Uzumaki casually leave the scene, headed for the clan compound gates.
"Rōha-san, I want to go for a walk." Hinata suddenly spoke out. She turned to her collapsed sensei with an apologetic look. 'Sorry Kurenai-sensei, I can't trust Rōha-san not to help you expel the paralysis toxin.' Hinata said.
"Understood." Rōha said, sparing the Yuhi woman a brief glance before escorting the Hyūga heiress away as instructed.
Kurenai watched the two leave with a mixture of bitterness and pride. Bitterness due to her current sorry state and pride in seeing Hinata make such a smart move, though it was to aid the rebelling Naruto. This was proof there was a lot more hidden Hyūga in Hinata than the rest of her clan thought.
However, it wasn't enough. In the end she was still a child, as was Naruto for all his intelligence and talent. They had both forgotten to rid out her weapons and other possessions. Kurenai channeled chakra to a hidden seal on bandage wrapped around her thigh. In a puff of smoke, a small toolkit appeared. She wasn't versed in poisons, but like the next competent ninja she carried a first-aid kit with different vials of antitoxins.
Kurenai hoped she had an antitoxin for the paralysis poison, and that her iryojutsu training was still in decent enough to patch up a wound. Naruto hadn't cut deeply enough to cause her to bleed out, nor roughly enough to leave a scar if she got proper treatment. Even if the blonde was rebelling, he never planned on killing or damaging her too badly, be it physically or psychologically.
Kurenai didn't want to admit it, but she had a feeling Naruto targeted her genjutsu not only because he had a high resistance to it but also to show her that over-specialization wasn't a good thing. She would never admit to an eight year old teaching her a valuable lesson like that. Kurenai also suspected that Naruto didn't forget to check her for weapons and others, because he didn't want to disgrace her further by patting her down and scanning for seals.
Kurenai smirked. That was sweet as well as naïve. Now she would make him regret it. Kurenai formed a chakra thread with one of her fingers and attached it to the kit. 'Extensive chakra control training for the win.'
After exiting the Hyūga clan Naruto headed towards the nearest exit point from the village in haste. So far everything was going according to plan. From the very start of the day Naruto had begun enacting plans on his escape from Konoha.
First he had to start with the Uzuki clan. With the more attentive Uzuki gone, Naruto was left under the care of Tate alone. The large sensor wasn't easy to deceive, however, the Uzumaki didn't have to deceive Tate. He had already informed his obassan ahead of time that he was going to be leaving the clan today. It was easy get out of the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan compound since he was permitted to. Naruto didn't know if it was intentional or by chance, but he guards turned out to be the same Uzuki jonin he escaped from last week. If it was by chance, then he considered himself lucky since ditching those two was relatively easy for him to accomplish.
On the other hand, if it was intentional then Naruto had cause to feel unease. The elders had decided to continue placing their trust in the two jonin, but that was only when his obassan was not around. Naruto suspected as soon the woman returned she was informed about his rebellious stunt, thus he expected the two jonin to be relieved of their duties as his backup protectors effective immediately. Finding that the two men were still his bodyguards highly unnerved the cautious blonde.
In the end Naruto managed to ditch them with a chakra signature duplicating trick that wouldn't have worked if he wasn't behind the Hyūga clan's sensory offsetting walls.
What Naruto had done was create a clone in the Uzumaki compound ahead of time. A clone that masked its chakra signature with a simple camouflaging seal. Normally such a low level seal would not work on such high level sensors, but this time it was different. Why would the Uzuki jonin scrutinize every single passerby to the point of analyzing their chakra flow for abnormalities?. Most of their attention was on the original blonde, after their blunder last week, Naruto knew those two were determined not to see him slip away again. Unbeknownst to them at the time being, Naruto was already in the process of slipping by them again.
Naruto's disguised clone took a different path to the Hyūga compound, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances. Naruto already estimated he would get to the Hyūga clan in thirty minutes with his pace, while the clone took a longer route but ran so it took it a similar frame of time to arrive as well. The key moment came when he stepped through the Hyūga walls, effectively cutting off his chakra signature from the Uzuki jonin. His bodyguards weren't permitted to step into the Hyūga clan compound, even Naruto had only stepped into the place once and that was on the day he was scheduled to to take Hinata out on a date. This time was no different, he informed his obassan so the woman would in turn inform Hyūga Hiashi of his plans.
The time of his scheduled arrival would be convenient left out, leaving the upright Hyūga clan head to assume one for himself, before sending Naruto a gate permit. How could the proper man ever suspect a high standing heir of only eight years old dared to come to his daughter during his absence?. Surely Uzumaki-dono is not as shameless as that, Naruto imagined the man would say something like that to himself when the truth was revealed.
After stepping through the gates, while he was still in their sights, being escorted by a Hyūga chunnin, Naruto activated shunshin and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hiding from a Hyūga chunnin and two Uzuki jonin with their senses restricted was a piece of cake. Still, Naruto wasn't willing to risk finding out whether the two Uzuki jonin were crazy enough to barge into the Hyūga compound to locate him, so at that moment his close immediately deactivated it's chakra masking seal and went on the run. Jonin weren't easy to fool, but human beings tended to be heavily reliant on a particular sense to the point it blinded them from others. For regular people it was sight.
Sight was heavily depended on for interpreting whatever a person was faced with, and many a time the most obvious details could be missed simply because they weren't visible. For Uzuki clan members, it was their sense of chakra that sometimes led them astray. They had come to trust and believe no other sense could match up to chakra sensitivity, and by the facts it was true. Yet, that didn't mean chakra sensors couldn't be tricked or get it wrong sometimes. It was extensively more difficult to fool a chakra sensor, but if one was successful they would have said sensor dancing in their palm of their hands much longer than an normal shinobi would. The reason was obvious.
Chakra sensors, be it through sight, smell or a sixth sense for it thought their perception hundred percent trustworthy. Sensors never had thoughts like 'Maybe I sensed that wrong?'. How could they?. The chances of sensing something wrong was next to zero and would drop to absolute zero if cases of chakra masking and duplicating were taken out. The level of assurance was similar to that of sense of taste.
Nobody doubted their taste buds. When the tongue judged something as bitter or sweet then it was exactly that to the person, no questions asked. The Uzuki, and the concerned Hyūga chunnin–more concerned that Naruto had escaped after stepping into the Hyūga compound than quickly gave chase. They didn't have to run for long though.
Naruto already had a destination in mind. One of Konoha's many hot springs. A women only hot spring, within the Hyūga territory so it was safe to assume even the byakugan couldn't see through such walls. The three men were forced to nervously wait outside the building, hatefully as well as bitterly staring at it, unable to do anything but stare. What else was there to do?. Return to the Uzumaki or Hyūga clan and request a female clan member to check out the building for them?. That meant they would have to admit that the Uzumaki heir escaped on their watch, neither men looked forward to doing such a thing.
They arrived at a silent unanimous decision to hide in the shadows and keep a watchful eye on the building for the Uzumaki to be found, disgraced and kicked out. They secretly hoped he would be more than disgraced, as well as secretly despised the shameless blonde for using the naked bodies of Hyūga women and others to shield himself. What a scoundrel. They weren't bitter due to jealousy, they were men of honor, professionals. They wouldn't stand for such a perverted and shameless act, they were better than that. The three men wiped a trickle of blood from their noses in unison.
Naruto masked his chakra and appearance before he casually walked out of the Hyūga compound.
The three perverts weren't too far, so he had to remain cautious. Naruto took the opposite path of the one the three shinobi took. He wondered what their reactions would be when they realized they had been waiting for a clone that had dispelled upon entering the female only bathhouse for so long.
Naruto didn't push his luck further by peeping on the bathing women, no matter how tempting it was, he didn't have a death wish. Naked Hyūga women would come eventually, starting from their heiress Naruto convinced himself.
Those three were probably cursing his luck right now, assuming he had somehow remained undetected and was getting an eyeful of naked women. The Uzumaki thought it would be amusing, but he hoped to Kami the men wouldn't storm the building out of jealousy. That would put the heat on far too early.
'Since you didn't search that red eyed babe then it's best to assume every capable shinobi will be on your ass in the matter of minutes.' Kyuubi said. It had made a habit of staying silent when the boy was in the middle of something it was sure he could handle by himself. His plans so far succeeded without a hitch, well, aside from Rōha's intervention. In any case, Kurenai possible realization of his ploy was already considered.
'Then everything would be going according to my plan.' Naruto said, hoping from rooftop to rooftop. He had to get to the designated area before Kurenai took his plans of escape to the hokage and his obassan. The Uzumaki estimated that she would do so within fifteen minutes. Enough time for him to get to where he was headed.
'How did you know the red eyed woman would stick around long enough to play a role in your plan?.' Kyuubi asked.
Ever since the conversation with Anko, Naruto appeared to have gotten smarter. Better put, his two genius sides were working in closer unison than they had ever in the past. Kyuubi was willing to accept the calculative side was a genius now, how wouldn't it when it thought up such an elaborate plan to not only escape Konoha but to bring it to a state of chaos as well. This was the best version of the Uzumaki. A Naruto with a mission in mind as well as a point to make.
'I didn't. Madame long legs' appearance was a welcome development. I was planning on getting Hinata-chan to order some Hyūga guy to take news of my escape some minutes after I leave. Why settle for a Hyūga random while you can traumatize a Konoha ice queen?. I got my damn priorities straight.' Naruto said with pride.
'Damn straight.' Kyuubi said in agreement. It was proud of the direction the kit was taking his life to. Already chasing premium class honies at the tender age of almost nine. It made this old fox almost shed a tear.
'I'm glad everything worked out before it was time.' Naruto said. His destination was already in sight.
'Yeah, it's less than ten days to your birthday already. You got like a little over eleven days to get to that place.' Kyuubi's said, it was feeling excited by the prospects of this mission. A mission to a familiar land. At least it hoped it was still familiar.
'I'll make it in time.' Naruto said without so much as a smidgen of doubt. The Uzumaki landed in front of a large compound with a large gate and not too high fences.
It was as though the architect was teasing people into jumping over the low thing. Pity whatever fool that thought that a good idea. This was a gate he had grown familiar with since he always took this path to the Hyūga compound to see Hinata. For two clans with a distaste for each other, they sure put their compounds a little too close to each other. They bordered territory, and as expected that spelt constant competition and dispute.
Perhaps the clan heads at that time did this to make sure their descendants always had reason to be on their toes. Keep your enemies close and all that. Naruto, however, couldn't be more happier than the two unfriendly clans chose to be neighbors. It made things far easier. He could make out the sound of barking dogs and boisterous laughter from the ever noisy compound. The clan compound of Konoha's resident dog loving shinobi clan. The Inuzuka clan.
Suddenly the sound of sirens blared across the entire shinobi section. The noisy Inuzuka grew even more frenzied. Naruto grinned at the sound. "Okay, it's about time." Naruto said, gathering an large amount of chakra and making a cross-like handseal. "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!." Naruto yelled.
An enormous puff of smoke covered the entire front yard of the Inuzuka compound, and an army of blonde haired Uzumaki ranging in the hundreds were formed. "Go." The original Naruto gave the order and on cue the army of blondes stormed the the compound like mad men.
Naruto knew an army of clones with just a fraction of his power wouldn't be much of a threat to the entire Inuzuka clan in terms of combat. They were likely going to be torn to shreds in the matter of minutes. He wasn't here to fight, though, so it didn't matter if the clones could do battle with a shinobi clan. The plan was to agitate and incite, in a way only he could. There was no way he, a jinchuriki, could escape Konoha at such a tender age. He was far too weak to do it by himself, so these Inuzuka and their ninken would have to assist him.
They were merely the first requirement for his plan however. Naruto turned away from the Inuzuka compound that was already in chaos and soon they would take all that chaos to the entirety of Konohagakure, or at least the shinobi section. Naruto wore a beast like grin as he disappeared into the darkness.
Hokage Manor
Current Time
Kurenai's explanation was a comprehensive and detailed one. She left nothing out, and made sure the hokage and other listeners had a vivid idea of what transpired in the Hyūga compound minutes ago.
Kurenai didn't have to check the expression of the occupants of the room to know they were shocked right now. Who wouldn't be after hearing such a story?. If somebody had told her such a thing would happen ahead of time she would've burst out laughing. But today, reality had twisted into such an alien form, and the Yuhi woman was unfortunately caught in the middle of it. She saw the impossible happen, was a victim of the impossible and now she was forced to face the scrutinizing gazes of the clan heads.
Kurenai knew as soon as she admitted defeat to Naruto the time when she had to face the world with the shameful lose would come. She knew from this day forth it was likely that she would have to bare the ridicule of her fellow shinobi. Her doubters would surface to sneer at her and mock her, saying their claims about genjutsu were right all along. Kurenai knew it was going to be an immensely difficult period for her, yet she wasn't going to back down. She was going to face it all with her shoulders raised, because Kurenai knew this was going to be her last shameful day.
She swore it. She proved herself and dozens others wrong before, and she would do it again. The prospect of proving her doubters wrong once more excited her. Kurenai felt oddly rejuvenated, like her spirit had been ignited and the world seemed a lot clearer now. She had a purpose to work tirelessly towards again.
Still, despite her determination and motivation for the future, having to face the Konoha council first after the disgrace was not easy. Kurenai comforted herself with the thought that if she managed to survive today, then the rest of it would be a lot easier.
However, was it going to be really easy to survive?. "You lost to an academy student?." Mina said, incredulously staring at the kneeling Yuhi woman. Her face twisted in disgust. "So this is the extent of a jonin of the Yuhi clan?, pathetic." Mina spat.
Kurenai trembled. It had begun. She was used to getting praises, cheers and congratulations her whole life, but today she had to weather a hateful and mocking storm. Today she was nobody's hero.
"From Kurenai's explanation, I believe it is logical to assert that Uzumaki-dono is not an ordinary academy student." Kaname spoke up.
Kurenai smiled slightly. Her clan head was coming to her defense, as expected. The man couldn't stand by and let others pick faults at one of his clansmen. As benevolent as he was, Kurenai however couldn't say for sure where the blind man stood. Was he truly understanding of her plight, or did he just come to her defense because she was his responsibility?. Kurenai's silent question was soon answered.
"Though it doesn't excuse her... incompetence, it is important to note that Uzumaki-dono only won because he used poison." Kaname added.
Kurenai's expression turned sad. It was a fair assertion but it still hurt coming from him. Kurenai stared at the man in silence, but his neck remained stiff, only facing the hokage. Never turning to her or anyone else.
"Says the other Yuhi jonin." Mina said, waving off Kaname's words dismissively. Mina expected the man to come to his clan member's aid, and as well knew that there wasn't really anything he could say to make up for the woman's–as he said–incompetence.
He only spoke to indicate his stance. He was trying to convey that he wouldn't stand for any of them bullying his clanswoman. It was a warning. Unfortunately for him though, Mina cared little for what he stood for, condoned or wanted. A lowly mushroom clan head like him should know his place.
"If it were you Kaname then it would make more sense. I'm sure we would all believe you couldn't see through the boy's act, seeing as you're blind and everything." Mina said, cruelly taking a poke at the man's disability.
The room hushed into tranquility and all the clan heads turned to Kaname, expecting a rebuttal. They were left dissapointed as the tan skinned man remained silent, paying no mind to Mina's words.
Many of the clan heads revered the man's calm state of mind, while some were unimpressed by his spineless reaction. Kurenai was livid. She knew she had brought a great shame not to herself but the Yuhi clan, and perhaps she hadn't realised how great of a shame it was, but was that necessary?. To blatantly insult the head of the Yuhi clan because one of his subordinates did something disgraceful, wasn't that taking it too far?.
This Mina woman's reputation did her no justice. She was truly a spiteful and hateful woman. Yuhi glared at the woman, barely able to contain her rage. She wanted nothing more than to give the woman a piece of her mind but repressed the urge. If the clan head didn't say anything, then he preferred for nothing to be said.
Kurenai's hateful glare didn't go unnoticed by Mina. The woman narrowed her blue eyes at the genjutsu expert. "What are you looking at me like that for?." Mina asked. "You should know it's customary of the good-for-nothing to turn shame into anger. Is that what you're doing now, good-for-nothing?." Mina said, her eyes twinkling in amusement as she mocked the Yuhi woman.
"Mina-dono, you're being a little too harsh on the girl–" Tsume started to say.
She was very disappointed in the Yuhi girl, who she often used as a reference for the young Inuzuka girls in her clan. Still, Mina was being excessively cruel and heartless and seemed to have a different agenda from simply reprimanding the Yuhi woman.
Mina didn't let the Inuzuka woman finish and turned to face her with a glare.
"I've told you before Tsume. If you don't like anything I say or do then fight me." Mina said, her chakra dangerously rising, amplifying the seriousness of her statement. "Are you scared?." Mina mocked.
Tsume frowned. 'This bullheaded old bitch.' Tsume thought in annoyance.
Mina always got like this with the clan heads. Anybody that called her out or tried to call her to order was directly challenged to combat, she didn't care which one of them it was. Unless it was the hokage, she would demand they fought her or shut up.
Most of the clan heads decided on the latter. Some because they knew they stood no chance, others because they didn't want to lower themselves to her level. Til date only two people decided to settle disputes with Mina with their fists. Uzumaki Kotohime and Uzumaki Kushina. And it was always refreshing for the other clan heads when that happened.
For all her fearlessness and impulsiveness, Mina was not able to defeat either Uzumaki women. With the other Uzumaki women absent, Tsume was left with a feeling of bitterness knowing that if a fight broke out she would be unable to defeat the Namikaze clan head. However, that didn't mean the woman was going to take the blatant taunts lying down.
"If you wanna go, let's go right now. I'll make sure you buy a new set of teeth after this." Tsume said stepping forward. She was the Inuzuka alpha dog, of course she wasn't afraid to fight.
"Then allow me to put you in your pla–" Mina started speaking. A green array of seals had already formed, dangerously glowing behind her. But before she could attack or even finish the sentence she was interrupted.
"Mina." The stern voice of the hokage permeated the area. Though he didn't amplify it with chakra nor released KI, his hard stare was enough to call both parties to order. "This isn't the time for this. Stand down." The hokage ordered.
Mina appeared a little reluctant, but still did as she was told in the end. The greying blonde haired woman turned regarded Tsume, who was still baring her fangs at her, with a light glare. "Consider yourself lucky." Mina said before deactivating her technique and stepping back. Tsume grumphed in annoyance but stepped back as well.
"I understand that many of you feel frustrated and disappointed with jonin Yuhi Kurenai, and I can agree those feelings are not misplaced." Hiruzen started addressing the room. Kurenai's expression turned gloomy once again, watching yet another one of her idols speak about her in disappointment. Today was going to be even more difficult to get by than she thought. "While it is not wrong of any of you to have these feelings, I believe what we should be focusing on is Naruto-kun. He mustn't be allowed to leave the village." Hiruzen said, bringing the clan heads focus back to the topic at hand.
"I concur, hokage-sama. The boy's talent is far from what I initially thought, but he's still too green to venture out of the gates on his own." Danzo gave his own two cents. The bandaged former teammate of the Sandaime didn't stop himself from praising the Uzumaki heir. Even if it would make others suspicious of him, he didn't care. They were all perhaps even more impressed by the jinchuriki than him, so it didn't make much of a different if he said it or not, they would still assume he was.
Hiruzen suppressed the urge to narrow his eyes at Danzo. The bandaged old war veteran giving Naruto his approval could never be seen as a good thing. While some might believe that the man giving his approval implied that he was happy with how Kotohime raised the boy, thus would have little intent of bringing him to his side, that was not the case.
Even if Danzo was impressed by Kotohime's efforts, Hiruzen knew the man would never give up on the idea of influencing the resident jinchuriki of Konohagakure until he was sure it was completely impossible. That was the sort of person Danzo was. A man that believed he knew better than others, no matter who they were or how clear the contrary was reality. He knew better what was best for Konoha. He knew better what the Nidiame envisioned for a greater Konoha. He knew better how to train a shinobi. If Danzo believed he knew better about all those things why would he not think he knew better how to raise a jinchuriki than Kotohime?.
Initially Hiruzen was against letting the Uzumaki woman raise Naruto, since he knew the kind of person Kotohime was in her core. He believed that Naruto would be led astray by the woman, manipulated into believing in flawed ideologies and sharing a opinion of Konoha that was dangerously close to Danzo's. In the end, Kotohime as well as her rival Mina were the most like Danzo out of all clan heads.
Unfortunately, at the time Hiruzen wasn't left not with much of a choice. Not only did Kotohime possess an equivalent to the deed to Minato and Kushina's house, which would naturally hold all of the little Naruto's future inheritance, she was blood related to him, perhaps not as close as Mina but she was still his relative in the end. Her while not as loyal to Konoha as the Namikaze was a far safer residence for Naruto. Hiruzen knew Danzo as a patient and calm individual, but assuming the man had a psychotic moment and was crazy enough to try to kidnap Naruto, Hiruzen would rather have him in the Uzumaki and Uzuki compound than the Namikaze compound. Not even a madman would dare infiltrate or storm the Uzumaki compound.
Adding all the factors, and also knowing Kotohime was the lesser evil compared to the recently childless Mina, Hiruzen was forced to side with Kotohime taking the child into her custody. There was minimal push-back considering the half-truth they told about Naruto's origins. The whole of Konoha believed that Naruto was an orphan Uzumaki Uzuki Ha saved while on a mission.
As the story went, Uzuki Ha who had conveniently gone on a mission to hunt down a group of nuke-nin that massacred a village. According to the story, at the time ran into an Uzumaki male and his civilian wife, and after finding out the man was an Uzumaki, Ha was obligated to convince him to return to Konoha with him. The man agreed, but made a request to Ha, asking him to help him deal with some rogue ninjas that were systematically attacking the village he was residing in. It was the same village Ha was avenging, but the hokage altered the nature of his mission to a rescue type rather than a manhunt.
Ha successfully tracked down the nuke-nin camp and eliminated them, unbeknownst to the man the group had split up to hunt some game. Ha didn't know that while he was in the process of massacring the group, one of the nuke-nin radioed in their companions. The other group immediately made a beeline to the small village seeking vengeance for their fallen brethren. The small village was burnt down to the ground and all the residents, including the Uzumaki and his wife were killed. The only survivor was the child of the Uzumaki who was hidden away, and Ha was lucky to find the boy.
Ha had a close chase down the nuke-nin and wiped them out, returning to the village with the little Uzumaki boy who was kept in the clan in secret. It was something only the late Yondaime, Sandaime, Kotohime and Ha knew about and was only brought to light after the Yondaime made Naruto a jinchuriki. Obviously others like Jiraiya, Dr Matsuda, Konoha's head doctor, Yūgao, Saya, Anko, Tate, the Uzuki clan elders, Mikoto, Fugaku, Kaname and possibly Shikaku knew that was story was completely a lie, but all decided to go along with it.
Hiruzen suspected Danzo knew as well, but still supported Kotohime, because he as well knew that between the woman, Mina and the hokage, the Uzumaki woman was the lesser evil. Danzo had long since told Hiruzen he lost all trust and faith in him, and while Mina was something like, the woman had the look of a vengeful lunatic after the death of her son. It was likely the blonde would turn her grandson into an evil version of Konoha, and that was something neither Danzo nor Hiruzen wanted to see.
Hiruzen often asked himself if he did the right thing. What would it be like if he had told Mina that Naruto was her biological grandson?. Would the woman's thirst for revenge transcend her love for her own grandson?. Would she truly turn Naruto into a perfect avenger for the Namikaze clan, or would the love she would undoubtedly have for the child heal her broken heart?. Now, seeing how Naruto was turning out, had turned out, Hiruzen was left with no small amount regret. Naruto couldn't be considered an evil version of a young Minato, but he was a lot less warm, patriotic and idealistic than the Namikaze, and lot more pragmatic.
As for Mina, the woman proved him wrong and wasn't consumed by revenge. She was a lot more grumpy and hostile, but that was it. She was still Mina. Hiruzen now knew for certain that telling the woman would've been for the best rather than the worst, and that was why he excused her consistent lack of conduct during council meetings. Guilt. It was too late to regret, but Hiruzen could not help but feel guilty. Maybe Naruto would've been more like his father under the Namikaze woman's care. Hiruzen wondered what his former teammate thought now. He was probably relieved he stayed silent.
"His talent is okay I guess, but I really don't see what the problem is. That old tramp is already on looking for the boy, she'll find him." Mina said, surprising the other clan heads with the high level of faith she had in her rival. Mina hated Kotohime, but she still considered the Uzumaki a rival. She wouldn't be her rival if she couldn't find a restrain a single child. "Also, it's not like he can escape the village even if we do nothing." Mina pointed out.
"True." Inoichi said with a nod.
"Mina-dono is right." Koharu gave her support.
"I agree as well." The Kurama clan head said. He didn't much about the jinchuriki, only that he was one. But escaping Konoha wasn't so easy. He found out just how well fortified the village was upon joining it.
"It would highly illogical to assume Naruto-san can escape Konoha by his lonesome." Shibi said.
"Normally I am in agreement with Shibi-san's analysis and conclusions, but this time I believe you are too ignorant of Uzumaki-dono to make a proper assessment." Kaname spoke up, directly disagreeing with Mina's words. It wasn't out of spite, he never took Mina's words to heart in the first place. Regardless of his intent he expected that Mina wouldn't be too happy about his words. He felt the woman's gaze on him but said nothing.
"Then please enlighten me, Kaname-san." Shibi said, not appearing the least bit offended by Kaname's words.
"Uzumaki-dono is more extraordinary than many of you imagine." Kaname started, addressing the room rather than just Shibi. "He is a child that was able to outwit the raikage into giving him a month limited access to Kumogakure. It might not sound like much, but when he revealed the hidden loophole to the agreement, I realized Uzumaki-dono is a highly intelligent individual." Kaname said, the sound of Naruto's voice when he dropped the metaphorical bombshell on all of them still fresh in his memory. It was then Kaname decided the child was to be respected, and made sure to address him with a suitable honorific despite his age.
"What was the loophole?." The Kurama clan head asked in curiosity. He knew Kaname well and considered the man a friend, and this was the first time he had seen the purple haired man speak about somebody with so much obvious reverence. To think that person was a child that was barely nine years.
"He didn't specify when he would cash in that favor, did he?." Mina said expectantly. She hid it, but she was impressed. To fool the raikage at such an age was no small feat.
'He's definitely one of your own Kotohime, insidious and cunning.' Mina thought.
It appeared her rival was not holding back in grooming her successor into a future legendary shinobi. It wasn't much of a surprise, the woman raised Kushina into the powerful kunoichi she was. Mina hated the two with a passion, but she was willing to admit they were both outstanding. 'You can put in as much effort as you want, but when it comes to raising outstanding shinobi I'm second to no one. My Minato surpassed your Kushina in the past, and in the future my disciple will do the same to yours.' Mina said to herself.
There was no conviction in her eyes, there was no sense in being determined. It wasn't a competition, Kotohime would never be her match when it came to that. Neither would the jinchuriki be a match for her disciple. It was an irrefutable fact.
"Astute as ever, Mina-dono. That is exactly what Uzumaki-dono did." Kaname said. The rest of the clan heads who didn't know what transpired in that room six months ago were left stunned. It was a minor yet deadly detail he left out. Now he could go to Kumogakure whenever he wished, now as an academy student or in the future as a jonin.
"Wow, that's pretty smart." Tsume admitted.
"Kotohime-dono is raising quite the heir." Chōza said.
Kaname heard many of the clan heads praise the Uzumaki heir. They now understood Naruto couldn't be judged as a mere academy student. He was quite clearly advanced for his age. "As I said, Uzumaki-dono is a high intelligent individual, so I doubt he didn't consider the difficulties of escaping the village before making his plan." Kaname stated.
The clan heads couldn't help but nod in agreement with the purple haired man's words. Now what was on everybody's mind was how exactly was Uzumaki Naruto going to try to escape the village.
"For now, we have no idea what Naruto-kun is planning, so it's best we take all the precautionary measures necessary. ANBU!." With the hokage's words a group of six white masked men appeared in front of the hokage. "I want the village to be put on lockdown effective immediately, I want every available shinobi of the chunnin rank and above looking for Uzumaki Naruto." Hiruzen declared, shocking the occupants of the room with his high demands.
"Hokage-sama, he's still just a boy so isn't that a little too–" Hamura started.
"Didn't you hear Yuhi-dono?. Naruto-kun is not simply just a boy." Hiruzen said, his expression hardened as he continued. "He already has all the qualifications for a chunnin. He is no child." Hiruzen said. He cared deeply for the boy, and wanted the best for him but he wasn't going to pretend the handiwork of Kotohime could ever turn out to be a normal shinobi. The only reason Kushina behaved like a regular child was because she wasn't with Kotohime at a tender age enough to be properly influenced by the woman.
Kushina came to Konoha at the age of five and was already quite capable as a shinobi. She wasn't as abnormally talented like her son, but she was already powerful as most gennin and had the ideals of her birth mother already drilled into her. Kushina was very stubborn as an adult, so Hiruzen had no doubt that as a child it would be next to impossible to convince to do things a different way from what she was used to. Naruto, however, was with the Uzumaki woman since birth. From what Hiruzen knew, the boy was already showing disturbing similarities to Kotohime, so it was safe to say Naruto was even more dangerous because of it.
Naruto was young, but Kotohime had already turned him into a powerful ninja before he graduated.
"ANBU leave, and be sure to advise everyone... Uzumaki Naruto is not to be underestimated. Chunnin are to approach him in at least in threes and jonin mustn't take him lightly." Hiruzen said.
"Hai hokage-sama!." The ANBU yelled in unison before leaving in a blur of speed.
Kurenai watched the proceedings with a feeling of relief. Relief that the grilling was finally over, at least for today. Also, relief that the hokage wasn't taking the little blonde haired monster lightly.
There was also the small selfish reason –a reason spurred by the knowledge that Naruto would be announced to be a danger to even jonin who underestimated him. Kurenai secretly hoped that the blonde took down another jonin or two, though the chances of that happening was highly unlikely. The chunnin on the other hand would be in for a long traumatic night. Kurenai thought so but truly she had no idea.
"Hokage-sama, it's Kotohime-dono!. She wants to speak to you and Tsume-dono. She says it's urgent." Inoichi suddenly spoke, putting the occupants of the room on alarm.
The Yamanaka man wouldn't have made such an outburst, but Kotohime took him off-guard. He didn't remember making a mental connection with the woman, yet somehow she was able to jump-start his own ability.
The blonde haired man subtly checked himself for seals, that was probably how Kotohime did it. It didn't take long for the man to find a small seal tag pasted on his waist. Inoichi trembled slightly. This seal most definitely wasn't him before he stepped into this building. 'She put it on me when she was leaving... I didn't even notice.' Inoichi though. It was now clear to him that Kotohime's appearance wasn't a ruse, the woman hadn't dulled by age, not even a little.
"It must have something to do with Naruto-kun. Please project her voice to everyone Inoichi." Hiruzen said.
The blonde man nodded. 'You're connected to the entire council Kotohime-dono.' Inoichi said, just in case any of what the woman was going to say was sensitive. This way she can hold back what others shouldn't hear.
'Thank you Inoichi-shounen.' Kotohime's voice resounded. Inoichi blushed. She still called him that?. 'Hokage-sama, Tsume-shounen, I bring shocking news on my Uzumaki and Uzuki clan's troublesome wakate.' Kotohime said, putting the listeners in suspense.
Strangely enough, to many of the clan heads, Kotohime sounded amused as though what she was about to say was funny.
'I was just passing by the Inuzuka clan, on my way to the place he was last seen, when I was graced with the sight of half a dozen of Tsume-shounen's clansmen indulging in a fierce looking orgy.' Kotohime said, it was obvious that the woman was struggling to hold back her laughter. Perhaps she was laughing right now, the Yamanaka technique projected thoughts not speech, and only a few would make the effort to thought laugh.
The hokage, elders and clan heads and their associates all turned red, even the emotionless Shibi and Kaname faces had a pink hue to it. Everybody's eyes turned to Tsume, the only person who wasn't blushing in the room. Whispers permeated the room, and the Inuzuka woman wasn't sure what to say back to the sick joke Kotohime had just told.
'...Forgive me Kotohime-dono, the connection might be a little faulty. You said the Inuzuka clan members were indulging in what?.' Koharu asked. It was a question everyone wanted to ask, to make sure they heard the woman right. They all knew it was impossible for the connection to be faulty, still there had to confirm those words.
'Ah, it's Koharu-kōhai. Old gal, it's like I said. I'm currently feasting on the sight of six Inuzuka clan members having an orgy. I'm telling you, as an Uzumaki woman I've had my fair share of wild rides but I have honestly never seen humans do it this fiercely before. They're like animals, which in hindsight explains the fierceness. I'm feeling hot just watching them. Tsume-shounen, I have to hand it to you, of all the clan bonding exercises I've seen in my time this has to be the single most exciting. And for once all parties seem to be enjoying it, even the dogs–'
'WHAT?!.' Many of the clan heads and their companions couldn't hold themselves back and screamed in unison. The dogs were joining in as well.
'The term beast in the sac is not misplaced, that much I'll admit. I wouldn't let an animal go to town on me, but for those who are considering the idea, you might want to look up the stud nin-ken of the Inuzuka clan.' Kotohime said, this time she made the effort giggle in her mind.
'You're disgusting.' Mina rebuked. Her face was bright red from embarrassment. How wouldn't it be when Kotohime was saying things like that?.
'And horny.' Kotohime said, not bothering to deny the universal truth.
'Arhem.' Shikaku made an exaggerated throat clearing sound in his mind. 'Kotohime-dono, you said this has something to do with Naruto?.' Shikaku said, bringing back the room's attention to the main point.
He glanced at Tsume who was still in a state of confusion. Inuzuka had periods of heat, but it was never at this time of the month nor was it this intense. Clearly the woman was trying to understand what was happening before running off to the Inuzuka compound.
'Ah yes. I believe my little heir is responsible for all this madness.' Kotohime said as though it was the most natural thing. If something unexpected and crazy happens, first blame Uzumaki Naruto. Later you would either have to punish him for being guilty or in association.
'Elaborate.' Danzo said. His curiosity was peaked now. Taking down an incompetent and foolish jonin and a couple chunnin was impressive but not that outstanding. Uchiha Itachi had done far more outrageous things at this age. However, targeting the Inuzuka clan and inciting chaos?. That was impressive, impressive beyond the standards of any nine year old prodigy he knew of.
The boy most certainly had the talent, now all he was missing was proper education of the truth of what it meant to be a shinobi and a little fine tuning. Of course a little fine tuning.
'Normally I would keep such sensitive information farther away from you as possible, but seeing as Naruto has already decided to come out with his ability, I am obligated to put my faith in him.' Kotohime said, her voice finally turning serious.
'Ability?.' Denkirama repeated questioningly.
'Yes, ability. Naruto has a sub ability to incite certain emotions and desires you see. It is an ability similar to Mito-sama's sensory ability. Mito-sama could not only sense chakra on a ridiculous range, she could sense the hidden emotions of others. It's quite a powerful ability, and if trained to high proficiency, precognition superior to even the sharingan is possible.' Kotohime said. No matter how many years passed she was always filled with a passionate reverence when speaking of the late Uzumaki legend.
'That's a bit of an exaggeration, wouldn't you say Kotohime-dono?. Our sharingan can see various possible paths of the future, surely merely sensing emotions can't compare to that. Yamanaka-dono has a similar ability, yet it is not suitable in a combat situation since hardly any competent shinobi consciously thinks what he's going to do on the fly.' Fugaku said. Kotohime was taking an unnecessary jab at the Uchiha clan. He couldn't ignore it.
'I knew you wouldn't be able to keep your mouth shut Fugaku. Like I said, the technique made Mito-sama highly sensitive to emotions not thoughts. After several years of training her proficiency, she was able to not simply sense emotions but connect with them. Now think about this. Mito-sama was not only able to sense your emotions, but connect with them. In this way she could anticipate their innermost thoughts and even instinctive actions. That way she could predict the precise actions of her opponents even before they made them. Not possible futures, but the precise course of action the target is going to take.' Kotohime said, effectively shutting the Uchiha clan head up.
Uchiha pride at its finest, they thought they were the best at doing something as far as they had a talent for it. 'I suspect Naruto has generated a strain of Mito-sama's ability, that not only gave him the emotion sensing and connecting perks, but an added ability to incite emotions in others. At the moment, Naruto has a limited control over the ability as well as a distaste for using it. Still, he can manage to amplify simple basic emotions of living organisms, such as joy, anger, sadness, fear and lust. The level he can amplify the others to is severely limited. But not for lust. I don't know whether it's because of his uniqueness–' Kotohime said, using a substitute for Naruto's status to subtly send a clear message to those who knew about it.
'–but Naruto is able to exude a chakra amplified version of pheromones that can cause an exaggerated spike of arousal. This ability is even more effective against chakra sensitive shinobi, animals and Naruto animal-like shinobi. But still, to affect the entire Inuzuka clan should be impossible for one Naruto... that damn brat has been lying about how many kage bunshin he can make.' Kotohime said.
'He can use kage bunshin?.' Kurenai said in surprise.
Kage bunshin was a cloning technique but it was ranked as a B-rank ninjutsu and a kinjutsu for any shinobi beneath the jonin rank. The kid was not only adept at kenjutsu and fuinjutsu but ninjutsu as well. Adding his abnormal resistance to genjutsu and his cleverness, Kurenai was a little more hopeful that another jonin aside from her would be disgraced today.
'Wait, did you say the entire of my clan?!. So it's not only those six fucking like there's no tomorrow?!.' Tsume yelled in freight and annoyance.
What had she and her clan done to Uzumaki Naruto to warrant such unfair treatment?. Now they would be forever known as the clan that had wild sex like animals publicly. Tsume didn't want to even think about how the few of her clansmen she suspected were being mounted by their ninken would continue in the shinobi program.
The stigma would be unbearable, and seeing as Senju Denkirama knew and heard it all he was likely already thinking up a phrase for the debacle. A phrase to remind every passing Inuzuka that their clansmen had sex with dogs.
'Thank God Hana isn't home. That pup hasn't had have a boyfriend yet, and knowing how aggressively the triplets breed with their bitches I don't even want to imagine what they would do to– Oh my God Kiba!.' Tsume thought in distress. She forgot all about him.
The boy was home alone with his nanny. An old yet still agile Inuzuka woman, there was no way Kiba could fight her off or outrun her. Tsume turned to leave, she was under so much pressure she forgot that everybody could hear her thoughts at the moment. The clan heads stared at with looks of pity. The Inuzuka boy would likely never get over the trauma.
'Calm down Tsume-shounen. I saved your little boy before anything was done to him. The nanny has a great deal of respect for you and managed to restrain herself before she was pushed into committing the act. Little Kiba was asleep the whole time. You have nothing to worry about.' Kotohime said.
Tsume sighed in relief. Thankfully Kotohime had stormed out of the council room when she did. 'I know you did it so the Inuzuka clan would be in your debt, but still thank you.' Tsume said.
'Oh don't thank me yet.' Kotohime said. 'I haven't answered your initial question. It's not only those six that are under our wakate's influence, I fear almost the entirety of the Inuzuka clan is. Right now your clans men, grown tired of mating with their own, decided to seek out a more exotic taste.' Kotohime said.
Tsume's eyes went wide. 'You can't mean...'
'The Inuzuka clan is rebelling.' Kotohime confirmed the woman's fears, which was also the fear of the hokage, his advisors and other clan heads.
The heir of the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan had managed to turn an entire shinobi clan upside-down in merely minutes. Now said clan was rampaging through the entire shinobi section of Konoha. At this moment all doubters believed, and all the ignorant understood the words of Kaname and the seriousness of the hokage. Uzumaki Naruto couldn't be taken lightly, he was dangerous. He was extremely dangerous.
'Hear my orders!.' Hiruzen's powerful voice permeated the area, getting the attention of all the occupants of the room. His expression was stony and serious. It had been so since Kurenai brought the news on Naruto. 'I want every single clan head present to return to their clans immediately and mobilize them to restrain the Inuzuka clan members. Remember, they are not in their right state of mind so be careful not to hurt them too badly. I want the Uzumaki/Uzuki, Kurama, Yuhi as well as the Namikaze clans taking point on this.' The Sandaime instructed.
His intentions were clear. The Inuzuka were to be restrained not harmed, giving point to genjutsu and fuinjutsu experts would minimise any possible incidents. 'Shikaku, I want the entire village on lock down, effective immediately.'
'Hai hokage-sama.' Shikaku said with a nod.
'We'll let the ANBU, jonin and chunnin handle Naruto. Also, make sure not to over-commit and leave a good number of shinobi to guard your clans. That goes double for you Shikaku, make sure the sensitive areas in the village are protected.' Hiruzen said.
"Why are being so mindful, surely the boy isn't foolish enough to try to hit another clan while we are taking care of Inuzuka." Denkirama said out loud.
"That's exactly what he'll do." Fugaku said, causing Denkirama to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Fugaku had the urge to sigh at this simpleton's naivety. "Let's not forget Naruto's main goal. He wants to leave the village, and he knows he can't do so by his lonesome so he manipulated the Inuzuka clan into helping him." Fugaku said, ignoring the glare from the Inuzuka matriarch. "It's best to assume Naruto incited the Inuzuka to rampage to distract us from whatever his true goal is. Whatever it is, it will be likely be important enough to force us to let him out of the village." Fugaku explained.
It was a little strange having to be this serious when regarding a nine year old boy. Fugaku had a son the boy's age and while he was talented, he couldn't compare little Sasuke to this blonde Uzumaki. Naruto was already a fearsome ninja, a threat right from the cradle. Aside from his wariness of the young jinchuriki, Fugaku also had a lingering suspicion in his heart towards the boy's guardian. He however kept it to himself.
"It's as Fugaku-dono said. I implore you all to be on your guard. I fear Naruto-kun has set his eyes on yet another clan." The hokage said. "Disperse!."
With the command, all the shinobi present exited the room at a blistering pace, leaving behind the aged hokage and Inoichi. The Yamanaka had to remain with the hokage so he could relay his orders at the fastest speed possible. "Let's go to my office Inoichi." Hiruzen said, leading the taller man out of the room. The Sandaime wondered what his late sucessor's play was. He reckoned he was aiming at something really important, if he hoped to negotiate his way out of Konoha. Hiruzen didn't bother guessing what it was. With the way Naruto thought, likely only he would exactly what he was playing at. The boy was unpredictable, and had a knack for doing the exact opposite of what you thought he was going to do.
Hiruzen thought Naruto was going to ask the raikage to officially pardon him of his 'crime', in other words make sure no Kumo shinobi went after him seeking revenge. Contrary to that, Naruto asked to be let into village that likely hated him the most in the world. The home of the chunnin he killed. It looked a reckless decision on the surface, but with the hidden condition Naruto maintained, it was equivalent to a robbery. He robbed Kumo in broad daylight, fooling the raikage into letting him waltz into Kumo as an adult with minimal surveillance.
Whenever Naruto decided to cash in on that promise, Hiruzen knew it would a spell the denizens of Kumo would never forget. Hiruzen put aside his thoughts for a later date. Right now it wasn't Kumo that was in chaos due to the presence of Uzumaki Naruto. That day was still a long way to come. Today it was Konoha.
Naruto strolled about the west side of the shinobi section. The Nidiame district was the largest district of them all, though it wasn't home to the highest number of clans. The clan's residing in this district could be considered huge clans anywhere in the Elemental Nations, and the Nidiame district was home to five of these clans; The Hyūga, Inuzuka, Namikaze, Sarutobi and Aburame.
These were all massive clans with a deep roots in the history of shinobi, as well as fame in modern day. Though their strengths couldn't be said to be equal, with the Sarutobi currently standing head and shoulders above them all, the others were still very powerful in their own rights. Each of these clans possessed at the very least three A-rank shinobi, with the Sarutobi having an S-rank nin in their ranks, though it was the hokage.
Naruto knew that currently his Uzumaki and Uzuki clan lacked qualification to reside in the Shodai district. The Namikaze had the single only double S-rank shinobi amongst them almost a decade ago, yet it wasn't enough to push their way into the Shodai district. Naruto had asked his obassan why that was a few years ago. The woman looked amused as she explained to him that even with somebody like Minato Namikaze, the Namikaze were still unqualified to be considered of the same status as founding clans. Not only were the Namikaze a more recent addition to Konoha, with far less historical ties with the village than the other clans, their collective strength was far from sufficient to be considered on that level.
Naruto was confused as of then. From what his obassan said, then it should be implied that if a clan was powerful enough they could ignore tradition and set their foundation in the Shodai district. However, the elderly Uzumaki was claiming even with an SS-rank shinobi it wasn't enough. So what would be enough then?. The woman went on to say, that the Namikaze have a good number of A-ranks now, yet it still wouldn't matter if the Yondaime was still alive. They would still be forced to remain in the Nidiame district. For a clan to get into the Shodai district, they have to either have contributed to the formation of Konohagakure no Sato or have a collective strength comparable to the original founding clans. That was the same as saying, birth another Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara or you can forget about ever entering the Shodai district.
It was hard to believe that even the Yondaime wasn't considered to be the level of the two Kami no Shinobi, especially for youngster who knew nothing about what they were like. Naruto's obassan assured him that it wasn't an exaggeration to say Minato Namikaze wasn't worthy to polish their boots.
(AN: Hold your horses before you start bashing me. Think about it. Even in the 4th Great Shinobi War Minato was portrayed to be far interior to Hashirama and Madara, who weren't even at their best since they were edos. And before you argue that Minato was an edo tensei too, don't forget he had the kyuubi, something he never utilized until after his death. If jinchuriki Minato still couldn't match up to them, then what would regular Minato even count for?.)
(PS: Madara had and used the rinnegan before his death.)
Words couldn't describe the sheer power of those men. Only experience could give one an understanding of how monstrous they were. To be upheld in such a light was beyond enviable. Even Naruto who didn't care much for what others thought was envious of the status of those men. He dreamt of reaching such a summit, where he would be referred to as not just a mere man but a force of nature.
A person who could start and end wars with a single word, whose name would be uttered with universal reverence. A status of transcendence, from past sins and devilish acts. Not to be judged by those actions simply because of the strength you possess. Absolute strength ignored everything else, and everything else was ignored due to absolute strength. That was what Naruto craved. To be seen in the same light as those men of legends. To be alive even after death.
Kyuubi read the thoughts of its host and spoke. 'That's why you absolutely must leave Konoha. Those men lived in an era of violence and chaos. They hardly ever experienced a day of peace, and it made them strong beyond puny human understanding. You have to temper your mind and your body. Sheltering yourself in Konoha will only make you weak, kit.'
Naruto smiled lightly. 'I know.' he answered simply. 'I was a little skeptical about your words, but today I've confirmed the truth. Konoha is weak. Cooping myself up here will only make me weak as well.' Naruto said.
Thought he said so, he wasn't too regretful that he had spent so much time in Konoha. Luckily, his clan was different and his matriarch pushed him a lot harder than other clan heir's could even imagine. He was forced to endure burdens that his peers would barely understand from birth. He was educated on resilience, work ethics, the true meaning of strength and darkness of the world at a very tender age.
Naruto was thankful he was here, with the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan. They gave him so much, and he planned to repay by giving them exactly what they wanted. A powerful clan head. To do that he had to become strong, and to do that he had to leave Konoha.
'Everything is in place. Konoha reacted as I anticipated. The village has been sealed off, and they made sure to safeguard all the other clans. The Inuzuka are already close to complete suppression and eighty-five percent of my clones have been dispelled by jonin and chunnin looking for me.' Naruto relayed to the fox, though he knew it already knew that. Sometimes they told each other what they knew they already know. It was customary for jinchuriki.
'When are you going to reveal yourself?.' Kyuubi asked.
'Soon. Right now, actually. But first, I need to invite the negotiators.' Naruto said, channelling chakra to a seal.
In a puff of smoke a small scroll appeared in Naruto's hands. It was a projected calligraphy scroll. Scrolls of this fashion cost a fortune, not only because they were created only with chakra paper and nothing else, but also because to create a projected calligraphy scroll, a high level auxiliary seal had to be inscribed.
Seals like these, as well as the scroll itself were things far beyond the current Naruto's level of fuinjutsu mastery. This scroll was meant for fuinjutsu experts seeking to challenge the bar and elevate to the status of Seal Master. For all Naruto's talent, fuinjutsu wasn't something that could be rushed, so even though his aptitude was high he was still a fuinjutsu rookie. He was a long ways from expertise not to talk of mastery.
Still, Naruto made sure to procure this seal. He went to a Namikaze shop instead of ordering one from the Uzumaki and Uzuki, to avoid suspicion. It also helped that these particular seals were quite beautifully made. Even the shop owner spoke highly of them, heaping praises on the creator of the seal. Naruto didn't care much for the Namikaze, but had to commend the creator of the seal, whoever it was.
The single only function of a projected calligraphy seal was to, as the name implied, project the kanji written on it. This was used as a walk-around to aid hopeful fuinjutsu experts to practice high level seals, and should they master said seals, they would be automatically established as a Seal Master. It was a simple seal to use, yet a complex one to make. Nothing short of a fuinjutsu expert could fashion a seal of this magnitude.
Naruto took out a brush and a bottle of ink and swiftly wrote down a few words on the blank scroll. He channelled chakra into it, and in a bright flash of cyan the kanji shot out of the scroll, expanding into the size of an adult human each. The words glowed a piercing cyan, drawing the attention of nearby shinobi and–Naruto hoped–the people he was expecting.
Naruto jumped to the top of a building, admiring his and whoever made this seal's handiwork. The seal didn't require much chakra, yet the font of the kanji was bold, sizeable and shone like a bonfire. His words also made scene a more beautiful one. The words glowing in the skies of the Nidiame district were short but powerful ones.
'You jackasses I'm here.'
It was art. Naruto sniffled and cleaned away an imaginary tear. "It's beautiful." Naruto whispered to himself.
"That it is."
Naruto perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. It was a low pitched and slightly masculine voice, but Naruto knew it belonged to a woman. An elderly woman. Naruto had only heard this voice once in his life, yet it was a voice he couldn't forget.
This voice was one of a woman who had stormed into the Uzumaki and Uzuki like a person possessed, seeking a battle with his obassan. Naruto was prevented from leaving his quarters by Tate, so he wasn't able to see the speaker nor the–as his fellow clansmen would say–epic battle between the intruder and his obassan.
In the end his obassan won, but from the look of the Uzumaki and Uzuki compound after the clash Naruto knew it wasn't an easy victory for the Uzumaki woman. He was left with a deep impression by the fearlessness of the woman.
She was the only one he knew who dared to talk to his aunt so disrespectfully and as well was not scared to fight the irate Uzumaki matriarch. A woman who referred to Ha as a weak little brat, claiming she needed only a single hand to beat him. How could he not be left with an impression of such a person?.
Naruto had to know who she was, and to his surprise, it was his obassan that revealed her identity. It turned out that this woman was the most frequently spoken of non-Uzumaki or Uzuki person in the clan. She was a woman his obassan despised, an individual Saya dubbed as the woman's one and only rival. The matriarch of the Namikaze clan. Namikaze Mina.
The aged woman eyed Naruto calmly. Her expression was one of amusement, similar to the one his obassan wore when he did something commendable at the expense of an unfortunate clan member. "The Namikaze clan is the closest here, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here baa-san." Naruto said with a light smile. He didn't know why he was smiling, he just had an urge to smile back after seeing the greying blonde haired woman's smile.
Mina wanted to frown at the disrespectful brat, but her amusement right now outweighed her annoyance. Instead she chuckled at the words of the adorable looking Uzumaki boy. "I'm younger than your stinking clan head, believe it or not." Mina said.
"Why would it be hard to believe?." Naruto asked with a smirk.
Truthfully speaking, Kotohime appeared younger than Mina despite being five years older. Still, for a woman in her early sixties, Mina looked great. In fact, she could pass as a barely forty year old woman. What was hard to believe was that the hokage was only a year older than this woman. Naruto wondered whether she was secretly an Uzumaki woman or if Seal Masters had a secret way to preserve their appearances.
Or was it that the hokage was aging faster than a regular shinobi should?.
Naruto hadn't seen many old shinobi, except the clan elders, and those fogies were older than his obassan so he wasn't sure whether that was the case.
"Quite the silver tongue on you, young man. One would mistake you for a well-spoken fine gentleman... that is if you didn't project that." Mina said, pointing at the cyan kanji in the air. The Uzumaki boy grinned at her but didn't say anything back. "Nice touch. Using a Namikaze seal to send such a crude message. Witty." Mina said, and just like that her amusement was gone.
"I try." Naruto said, not bothering to deny the unspoken accusation. A part of him knew that using a Namikaze seal for this could bring him some trouble along the line. Be it from his aunt or the Namikaze clan.
Either way, Naruto didn't care. The plan depended on this, and the irony of it all was far too hilarious to pass up on. Who cared if someone took offense?. Was this anywhere as bad as what he did to the Inuzuka?. If Namikaze Mina was pissed with him then she could get in line.
"The creator of this seal won't be too happy to see his work being used in such a fashion." Mina said. She had to admit, this child intrigued her.
Though he reeked of Kotohime, he had a certain swagger that set him apart from the hateful woman. He clearly had no fear of her, possibly because of whatever lies his guardian had told him. It was still impressive to stand up to her without fear, regardless of what he had been told. Right now, it was just the two of them here. He had guts.
"Then he's a fool." Naruto said without hesitation.
Mina raised an eyebrow in curiosity. A little curious as well as to why the blatant disrespectful words of the blonde whiskered blonde didn't anger her. Was it because he was so young?, Mina wondered. "Oh pray tell, why is that?." Mina asked.
"This crappy ass seal is going to aid me in breaking out of Konoha. I'm barely nine years old. If I was the creator, I'd be overjoyed that such an unbelievable feat was carried out with the aid of my seal, not unhappy. Only a fool who places useless pride upon how a seal should be used would get twisted up over this." Naruto said, pointing at the glowing kanji.
Mina stared at the blonde boy in silence for a long time before breaking into a clap and chuckled. "Well said. It's hard to believe I heard such words from the disciple of that old bitch." Mina said, not missing the opportunity to take a jab at Kotohime.
It was truly a surprise hearing such words from the mouth of an Uzumaki. A clan that placed, as Naruto said, useless pride on the creation and application of seals. They were a bunch of fools. As was the creator of this auxiliary seal. Mina was willing to overlook their foolishness due to their genius and talent for fuinjutsu, but such foolishness still had to be noted.
"You shouldn't stereotype baa-san." Naruto said with a smirk.
He knew he had inadvertently told the rival of his obassan that he didn't share all of her views, and that included one of the most notable beliefs of the red-haired woman. The integrity of fuinjutsu. If Naruto was being honest, he agreed with his obassan to an extent. If her stories of how certain Namikaze utilized fuinjutsu were to be believed, then even he would take a bit of offense from such a sight. However, he wasn't as strict as the Uzumaki matriarch, and believed there was artistry in improvisation. A seal shouldn't have a single use, and if loopholes could be found to it then credit unto whoever did so.
"I'm glad to see you're getting along with the enemy of my clan, Mina." A voice interrupted Mina before she could speak. The greying blonde haired woman turned to the direction of the speaker, and as expected it was Inuzuka Tsume along with two of her clansmen. The Inuzuka, especially the matriarch had deep expressions of anger and hatred as they stared at the blonde jinchuriki. It didn't help that Naruto's response to the air of hostility was a shameless grin. To say Tsume wanted to hurt this kid badly would be putting it mildly.
Mina sensed the badly hidden hostility, and almost on reflex stood protectively ahead of Naruto. "Are you going to turn shame into anger as well, Tsume?." Mina said, her voice calm but her eyes stared dangerously at the Inuzuka trio.
"You know as well as anyone that all those that this brat successfully got the drop on are in for months worth of hell." Tsume said, not backing down an inch despite the Namikaze head's actions. "That still doesn't make Uzumaki Naruto innocent. I'm gonna teach him a lesson, so next time he wants to leave the village, the Inuzuka clan will be the last people he'd think of as his puppets!." Tsume said.
She knew her words sounded petty and borderline ridiculous, but she said them without shame. Tsume and the Inuzuka were the most self-critical bunch of shinobi you could find. They would first blame themselves for a failed mission before the ones truly responsible.
An Inuzuka never shied away from responsibility, be such cowards was simply not in their blood. Still, even though Inuzuka clan often blamed themselves first for failures, that didn't mean they forgot who came second. And just as they fearlessly accepted the consequences of their failure, they expected all those responsible to do the same. Irregardless of age or sex. They weren't one to compromise.
"Of course he's guilty. He's lucky he's not an official Konoha shinobi yet, this can't be called insubordination to the village. Perhaps his clan, but that's on the wench." Mina said with a shrug. She doubted Kotohime would punish her disciple for being this effective and efficient. She would be a fool if she did.
"He's guilty of invading and bringing chaos to the Inuzuka clan, and in turn Konoha. The traumatic experiences of the innocents that the Inuzuka assaulted will forever weigh on his conscience. He's scum. Scum that let loose an army of energized potential sex offenders on the denizens of the Nidiame district. Uzumaki Naruto is a ruffian and deserves to be punished." Mina said, ignoring Naruto who sweatdropped behind her, murmuring; 'take it easy will ya'. Cheeky brat.
"Then we're at an agreement." One of the Inuzuka jonin with Tsume said.
The man's case was particularly loathsome. His fifteen year old daughter was mounted by his best friend who was like a godfather to her. When walked in on the scene, he almost killed his best friend, but the clan head stopped him. He understood that the his former friend wasn't completely fault. His lack of a strong will was the only thing that he could truly be reprimanded for.
Now he was face to face with the real culprit. The Inuzuka man couldn't hold himself back anymore and immediately charged at the boy. "This is for my daughter your little dev–aahhkk?!." The Inuzuka man vomited a mouth full of blood and his eyes widened in surprise. Namikaze Mina was standing in front of him, with her fist slammed firmly into his gut. "Y-you said he deserved to be punished!. " The Inuzuka man yelled in confusion.
"I did." Mina said then sent the man rocketing away with a blast of pink chakra. A smirk adorned Mina's face as she turned to the snarling Tsume. "Just not by you lot." Mina mocked.
"You're shielding an Uzumaki, really?!." The other Inuzuka jonin yelled at the aged woman in anger and frustration.
"Yup. This gaki has to answer to the hokage first and then to my Namikaze clan for that." Mina pointed at the shinning cyan kanji in the sky. "So until hokage-sama comes and metes out punishment, he is under my protection. Now enough talk. If you want a piece of this cheeky little brat then you'll have to go through me. Come on already, or are you hoping to stall enough til I die of old age?." Mina said, causing Naruto who was still behind her to laugh.
"You're funny baa-san!." Naruto cheered.
"Yeah yeah. Just hide behind me like a good boy, I'll put a muzzle on these pups in a minute." Mina said.
"Can you really?. I mean beat Inuzuka Tsume and two jonin in a minute?." Naruto asked, with innocent curiosity that Mina knew very well was faux. He was clearly trying to incite her into doing something.
Yet, Mina still braggingly replied. "Of course, who do you think I am?. These three are merely infants to me. I need only at most twenty seconds to defeat them."
"Twenty?. That's great, but can you do it in five?." Naruto asked.
"Five seconds?." Mina repeated. The Uzumaki boy nodded enthusiastically.
Mina stared at the boy and then the wary looking Tsume. The hidden nervousness in the proud woman's eyes ignited a desire in Mina. A desire to crush her in the most cruel and quickest means possible. Mina grinned. A pink aura shrouded Mina, a intricate web of seals spread across the entire area in the blink of an eye.
An astronomical level of chakra exuded from the high level seals as they hummed in dangerous pink glow. Naruto and the Inuzuka's breaths hitched. Their senses were assaulted by a fierce killing intent, causing their faces to pale and perspiration to instantly cover their entire body. "Five seconds?. Why the hell not... Kai: Almighty Seal: A–"
"You're much too overbearing for my taste, Mina-dono." The voice of an elderly man resounded. Mina, the Inuzuka and Naruto turned and found yet another clan head present. This time it was Shimura Danzo, head of the Shimura clan. The man's piercing hawk-eye gaze settled on Naruto briefly before before regarding Mina and Tsume. "Inuzuka-dono you would be not to go further with whatever action you plan on taking. Don't forget, the boy is a very important part of Konoha." Danzo said.
"You think I didn't consider that?." Tsume said. Even with the appearance of another clan head, she still had no intention of backing off.
"I'm happy you said that Tsume." Mina said with a low chuckle. Her smile dropped, blue eyes staring intensely at the bandaged war veteran. "She's still adamant, so I'm gonna have to take her down. And just so you know, if you interfere I will take you down as well." Mina warned. Danzo returned her stare but didn't say anything back. It was hard to tell if he was intimidated or not.
Naruto stared at the two elderly people glaring at each other. He didn't know much about the bandaged and scarred man, but his grandaunt and the hokage had warned him to be wary of the man. The two most precious elderly people in the Uzumaki's life didn't further explain their reasons, but made sure he understood that this man was bad news.
Naruto was naturally a curious person, so he had to know more about the mysterious dangerous man. Much to the Uzumaki's ire, nobody who knew was willing to tell him anything about Shimura Danzo. All he had on the man was basic information, and the multiple warnings. Looking at the man right now, he gave Naruto the sense of a truly formidable individual. Not only in a combat sense, but in technical and tactical warfare.
The Uzumaki had gone through series of emotional and psychological training with his grandaunt and had seen a fair share of poker faces but never one like this. This wasn't the first time he was seeing Shimura Danzo, but this was the first time he concentrated on the man's features. And for one with so many defining and unique features, he had an oddly blank face. There wasn't a hint of emotions, not even the time the man stared at him. Naruto guessed it was a stare of interest, but the man's expression didn't tell such details nor anything at all.
This man had truly had an unrivaled poker face. And it was common sense that a person who's intentions you could never read was bad news. Another thing Naruto observed was how much younger the man looked compared to the Sandaime. It was basic information that Shimura Danzo and the Sandaime were once teammates under the tutelage of the Nidiame.
Naruto assumed the two would be around the same age, but looking at Danzo now Naruto was left to wonder if they really were. Danzo looked advanced, but nowhere as old as the Sandaime. 'Is it the stress from being hokage?.' Naruto wondered. Why did Hiruzen Sarutobi look so ridiculously old compared to others from his generation?.
Naruto's thoughts aside, a standoff between three clan heads was still going on. Danzo made no move to interfere, but Mina was still vigilant of the old war-hawk. Naturally she would be, more so after what he had done.
The man had somehow managed to interrupt the formation of her ultimate seal. This was not an easy feat, and Danzo managed to do so seemingly without any preparations or help. Mina knew she would have to be on her guard against such a man. Mina was about to say something, but stopped and abruptly returned to a relaxed stance. Judging by Danzo's expression, he likely had sensed the same thing as she.
"Count yourself lucky." Mina said to Tsume and with that she moved out of the woman and her clansmen's way.
Naruto was left confused by the sudden actions of the Namikaze woman. He turned a little nervously to the Inuzuka and found frustrated and annoyed looks on their faces. 'What's going on?.' Naruto wondered.
The Uzumaki male didn't have to wonder for too long. In a blur of speed two figures appeared around him and another in front of him. Naruto broke into a smile, recognizing the three figures as his clansmen. Specifically his grandaunt and two favorite clanswomen; Yūgao and Saya. The latter glared at Naruto, whilst the formers kept a watchful eye on the Inuzuka shinobi and Danzo. Naruto grinned sheepishly at Saya. "Heya Saya-chan." The Uzumaki male said.
"I'll chew your ass out later brat. For now, shut up and let okami-sama handle this." Saya said, and with that she turned to the Inuzuka bunch. She was annoyed, more so after seeing Naruto appearing so laid-back in a situation such as this. He wasn't stupid, so she expected him to understand that there would be consequences for using the Inuzuka clan in the way that he had.
However, it appeared that Naruto had predicted the clan's involvement, so didn't appear even the least bit bothered about the repercussions of his actions because he knew the okami would bail him out. Saya was also a little confused by the scene she and her clan members walked into. Namikaze Mina was actually going out of her way to shield the wakate. Likely it was more so due to his status as a jinchuriki rather than his surname, but it was still a surprise to see Mina so assertively defend the nine year old.
There was also a measure of awkwardness in the situation, for those who were privy to the information that Mina was Naruto's biological grandmother. Saya hadn't thought much about this, since from the get-go Naruto had been considered an Uzumaki and nothing else. Even Saya was ignorant of the truth that Namikaze Minato was young Naruto's father until the okami revealed to her.
Yet, at that point, Saya didn't spare a single thought on the late Yondaime's mother or Naruto's paternal clan. The individual; Uzumaki Naruto had already been established as an Uzumaki in her mind, and she could literally see him as nothing else. Aside from the hair and eye color he was nothing like a Namikaze. While making the conclusion, somewhere in Saya's heart –she knew that that was a biased conclusion. And after being graced with the sight of Uzumaki Naruto being shielded by Namikaze Mina, Saya finally digested the information that Kotohime gave her all those years ago.
This woman was the most direct relation of Naruto, and yet she had no clue of his existence and went on living oblivious that the legacy of her precious son lived on. Saya felt guilty.
Kotohime's thoughts were similar to Saya's. Though she was far more conscious of Mina's blood ties with her grandnephew, there were times when she almost completely forgot that Naruto was part Namikaze.
Times she forgot Mina was his true grandmother and not her. However, unlike Saya, upon seeing Mina ironically protecting Naruto like a grandparent would Kotohime felt no measure of guilt. So what if she was his grandmother?. Many might mistake Mina for a simple impulsive and overbearing old crone, but she wasn't fooled. Mina was the only woman under the sun that she was truly wary of. Naturally she wouldn't be so simple.
She may have legal rights to be in the life of Naruto, but Kotohime felt no regret for her decision to take sole custody of Naruto. Kotohime wasn't a saint, not by any stretch of the word. Still, she would rather a child with as much potential as Naruto be groomed in the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan compound first, before the Namikaze compound. The single other place worse for Naruto's development was the Shimura compound, and now thanks to Naruto's reckless actions he had sparked the interest of both clans. The term went, better the devil you know than the angel you don't –but Kotohime would take any angel she doesn't over the two devils present.
"Your clan members have all been accounted for, and the damage they did to the village as well as your clan itself is frankly minimal. Tsume-shounen, I understand your anger towards our little wakate and it is not misplaced, but I urge you not further put your clan in a difficult with your actions today." Kotohime said.
She didn't adopt a haughty and arrogant tone like Mina, thought there were times that she would often do the same. This time she didn't have the luxury to act arrogantly. Naruto had for all intents and purposes launched an attack on the Inuzuka clan, and in doing so and earned the ire and hatred of Inuzuka clan members everywhere. Expecting the bullheaded lot to remain silent after such actions were taken against them was foolhardy, more so now that the hokage had unofficially declared that Uzumaki Naruto should no longer me treated as a mere child.
Tsume was well within her rights to seek retribution after what was done to her clan. That didn't mean Kotohime would just sit back and let it happen though.
"Are you threatening me?." Tsume narrowed her eyes at the aged Uzumaki woman.
"No." Kotohime said, though it was a blank faced lie. She didn't come here to fight, she had to make Tsume understand that as well as other facts. "But you seem to be forgetting something Tsume-shounen. Naruto isn't simply the wakate of my Uzumaki and Uzuki clan, so even if I don't react to you making a move on him, as you have witnessed–" Kotohime waved her hand at the direction of Danzo and Mina. "–others won't just sit by and watch."
"It's as Kotohime-dono says." A powerful voice permeated the area and a massive wave of chakra washed through the perimeter.
The Sandaime appeared, leading all the present clan heads in the village, some with their companions and others without. Tsume was forced to step back and turned to greet the hokage with a submissive bow. The aged man gave a light nod to the courtesy of the Inuzuka matriarch before regarding the reason they had all gathered here. His black irises stared at the face of the unafraid blonde clan heir. Even facing a vast majority of Konoha's strongest, Uzumaki Naruto was not intimidated.
'I can't say I'm surprised Naruto-kun.' Hiruzen said to himself. His expression, however, didn't mirror his amused thoughts.
He stared at Naruto sternly and intensely, and even at that the boy didn't flinch. On the contrary he smiled. It was an excited smile, the smile of a person who knew he had won a game even before it was played. Shikaku Nara often wore that smile all through the regional shogi master tournament. The Sarutobi didn't like that smile.
"Well, we're here now." Hiruzen said. He didn't adopt his usual grandfatherly tone, instead he spoke to Naruto the same way he would to any other offender. "What are your demands?." He asked, surprising the clan heads and even Danzo with his words.
"Demands?. You can't mean this brat actually succeeded in getting his hands on something importan?." Denkirama said in disbelief.
"It appears he did. The question now is, which clan did he hit?." Doctor Matsuda said, staring at the blonde mini version of the yondaime in interest. He wasn't really bothered. There was nothing valuable enough in his clan to threaten the hokage or village's security with. They were a small clan, and right now he was thankful of it.
"Straight to the point jiji, I like it." Naruto said, rising to his feet. The hokage might have a reservation to act like they were not familiar with each other but he didn't. Why bother pretending you weren't what everybody knew you were?. Pointless.
"Make way." Naruto commanded the still surprised and confused looking Saya and Yūgao. Almost on reflex Saya moved out of the way, causing the woman to blush when she realized how quickly she obeyed the blonde's orders. It was Yūgao who was hesitant to do as he instructed, but a brief stare was enough to compel her into obedience. Naruto didn't have to ask his grandaunt to move, the woman was already far too intrigued by the situation to impede his actions in anyway.
Kotohime moved to the side and watched the proceedings in interest. Naruto stepped ahead of his clan members, his appearance was ragged –there was dirt and bloodstains on his clothes, a good portion of his hair was dyed red in blood and perspiration covered his forehead like goosebumps. Yet it was apparent that Naruto wasn't nervous nor intimidated. Naruto had a calm expression as he regarded the high ranking shinobi gathered in front of him one after the other.
His eyes landed on a familiar red eyed woman and he couldn't help but grin. "Hey madame long-legs, how's the arm?." Naruto teased.
The woman was far too taken aback–likely by his fearlessness whilst facing the top brass of Konoha–to even attempt to scowl at him. Either way, Naruto concluded she was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. His amusement dissipated as he regarded the hokage. The time for jokes were past.
"My demands?. Unimpeded exit out of Konoha, and obviously I don't want any shinobi or hunter-nin following me either. I'll be back in a month, so you guys can rest easy I'm not going rogue or anything like that." Naruto said, sounding much to casual to assure anyone of his words.
It mattered little what tone he adopted really. No matter what he said, this was going to be viewed as insubordination, at least up until he returned with a good enough excuse for the hokage to pardon his crime. Naruto had the latter bit covered and didn't care much if he was tagged a nuke-nin temporarily. He wasn't even a nin yet, so could they even do that?. He had rights.
"Granted." Hiruzen said without delay. It didn't take long for the shouts of disapproval to follow.
"Hokage-sama!."
"Surely I've misheard!."
"You can't possibly let the boy go like this!."
The shouts came mostly from the associates of the clan heads rather than the heads themselves, Hiruzen stayed silent for a good minute, letting those who weren't patient enough to wait for his explanation to protest to their heart's content. Not that he was planning on giving an explanation. When the yells died down the hokage spoke up, but much to the protesters surprise, he directed his words at Naruto instead. "What exit would you prefer using?." Hiruzen asked.
"The eastern gate." Naruto replied.
"I should've known you didn't drop by in the Hyūga compound first to merely visit Hyūga Hinata." Hiruzen said, shaking his head a tad ruefully. There was a ghost of a smile on the blonde's face but he didn't verbally respond.
Whispers from the onlookers and clan heads permeated the area. They began searching amongst themselves and found that Hyūga Hiashi was not present. Realization of this made many of their eyes go wide as they wondered if Naruto had taken something from the Hyūga clan already.
So they were his true target from the onset. Many of them stared at the blonde in a mixture of awe and anger. Awe by the ingenuity of his plan and anger that he dared to target not one but two clans. He was already showing that he didn't think highly of their status and had as little fear for their clans. Was he under the impression that the Uzumaki and Uzuki were the strongest?. Was it because his guardian was Uzumaki Kotohime –was that why he went against other clans so wantonly?. If those were his reasons then sooner or later he would find out he grossly overestimated his clan and his guardian.
"Boy do you really think you can rob the Hyūga clan and get away with it?." One unaffiliated shinobi with a few Hyūga friends said.
Naruto turned to the plain faced man with a blank expression. He wondered how someone so plain looking managed to become something as remarkable as a jonin. Unfortunately, his surprising talent didn't extend to his brain. "Baka." Naruto said, and with that turned away from the man as though looking at him was a pain.
The man turned red from embarrassment and anger, looking like he was about to explode, but he knew better. This boy –brat was inexcusably rude, but he was still the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan heir. If he so much as made a move on him his protectors would respond by slaughtering him with extreme prejudice.
He had little in terms of backing so nobody would even be bothered to seek for 'justice' after he was turned into a corpse. He would die a fool's death. The plain faced jonin didn't live a life of untold hardship, dragging himself to the rank of jonin to die a fool's death, so he bit his tongue to stop the compromising words from coming out and stared at the blonde in anger. He wouldn't put it past that bloodthirsty Saya to try to take at least a hand for 'wounding the young master's honor'.
"He really is stupid isn't he." Kotohime said, eyeing the man briefly. The casual glance was enough to remind the man that eyeballing her heir in front of her wasn't a wise idea.
The jonin looked away, his face burning even more red from further embarrassment. This time he didn't dare to so much as blink at the speaker. He could only grit his teeth in shame, wondering what evil spirit possessed him and forced him to speak out when he did. Now he was paying for bootlicking the Hyūga clan.
Said clan wasn't present so he should've known speaking in their stead was ill advised. It was no secret that most clans didn't care much for the prideful Hyūga, thus would often badmouth them. Obviously, the Hyūga would not take such words lying down, but in the case of a non-Hyūga shinobi with no backing of note, speaking up would be tantamount to offering oneself up for ridicule. Unless one possessed the strength to take on multiple pissed clan members, silence was the only reasonable option available.
"How on earth did you make jonin?." Kotohime asked the red skinned jonin.
The man was now visibly squirming, Kotohime almost burst into giggles when he looked around for aid but was ignored by everybody around him. Of course they wouldn't defend him. Not only did he say something stupid, no one but himself was responsible for speaking out of turn. If he was hoping one of the clan heads would turn to a good Samaritan and he aid him, then he was daydreaming. Or dreaming since it was already evening.
"I mean, to assume a nine year old can rob a clan with the byakugan and only to be found out now?. Our wakate is an outstanding shinobi-in-training, but how in the world can he manage that?." Kotohime asked rhetorically.
She was grilling not only this foolish plain faced jonin, but others who had assumed that Naruto robbed the Hyūga clan. And they were many of them. Some remained silent, while others were shameless enough to glare at the plain jonin in disdain, as though they weren't just thinking the exact same thing as the words he said.
"It is clear that our wakate chose to drop by at the Hyūga for two things. First, to tongue down the Hyūga heiress–" Kotohime said, earning a blush from Naruto.
She found out about this detail from Hiashi who she had seen in a rage few minutes after leaving the council room. The Hyūga was very vocal about his grievances, claiming Naruto 'corrupted his sainted daughter with his filthy lips'. It was a shame Hiashi wasn't present.
"–Second, to access the tunnels that were sealed off months ago." Kotohime said, this time she turned to Hiruzen and couldn't help but smirk.
Those tunnels were in fact the reason the Hyūga clan was almost forced into a precarious position months ago by Kumo. Ironically, it was those tunnels that brought Hyūga Hinata and Naruto together. Now, yet again, those tunnels were becoming a headache for the Hyūga clan and in extension Konoha.
After the Kumo debacle had blown over, at least within Konoha, the hokage declared the tunnel–which existence had been brought to light during the crisis–be sealed off. However, that was just smokescreen for his true intentions. There was a reason why such a tunnel that led to such a compromising place in the Hyūga clan wasn't sealed off years ago. And Kumo finding out about it was still not enough reason to seal off the tunnels. In actuality, Hiruzen instructed his most trusted ANBU with earth affinities to reconstruct the tunnels. Since one of the exit points was directly inside the Hyūga compound, naturally they knew of it and were kept in on the secret.
Kotohime deduced that Naruto infiltrated this newly reconstructed tunnel, and with the aid of shadow clones, followed it to a 'compromising location'. It was apparent now from the hokage's expression that Naruto had seen something he shouldn't have seen. Something that Hiashi was forced to stay back and make sure no one else found out about.
The blushing jonin quickly realized his folly and silently cursed himself. He avoided the gazes of the other onlookers. It was more annoying since he knew many of these people were whispering what he just said amongst themselves, but now they had the gall to look down on him. Either way, he couldn't blame anybody but himself. He was the one who chose to be more vocal with his thoughts, so he had to silently endure the ridicule of the others.
Naruto cared little for the jonin and the thoughts of the onlookers. What was important was his agreement with the hokage. He didn't expect the man to let him go so easily, but it was only natural judging by what he found. To think such a thing was kept under wraps by the kage and the Hyūga clan.
Naruto didn't realize it now, but later in the future he would understand the price for his silence was a poor one. That was the reason Hiruzen readily agreed to let him leave the village unpursued and unmonitored –amongst other things.. That was a story for a much later date, however. "I'm off." Naruto said, turning to face Kotohime.
"You seem so sure I'll let you go. Don't forget, the hokage can't order me not to handle my own clan affairs, so whatever you have on bares no consequence to me." Kotohime said. She was just being difficult. She had long since decided to let Naruto go. When she saw how much chaos he had brought upon the Inuzuka clan, she just couldn't bring herself to impede whatever grand plan he had worked out. Kotohime knew that Naruto predicted such and outcome, thus doing so would be the same as letting him manipulate her.
Still, she went ahead with his desires. She understood as much as Naruto that she couldn't bring herself to disrupt or punish him whenever he did something outstanding. It was her weakness and she couldn't help it.
Both Saya and Yūgao understood this, so they knew their okami was merely speaking when she said those words. There was no intent to stop Naruto at all. Both had varying opinions on the weakness of the woman, and how Naruto exploited it time and time again.
In Saya's opinion, she couldn't judge Kotohime since she shared a similar yet worse weakness to Naruto. While Naruto had to first blow Kotohime's mind to get her to do his will, he just had to seriously order Saya and she would obey. Sometimes she did so unconsciously, only catching herself after she had obeyed his order.
For Yūgao she felt it was only natural for a grandmother to have a weakness in her own grandchild. Still, in her opinion, an inability to say no to the blonde when it mattered was a rather dangerous weakness. Yūgao found that out of all Naruto's closest friends/relatives she was wrapped around his finger the least. This was quite ironic since on the surface it appeared to be the opposite. Being the only one who could separate what Naruto wanted and needed at all times, Yūgao felt she should do a better job at reminding the others of this. Unfortunately, she wouldn't dare tell her okami what to do.
Naruto knew his obassan had no intention of stopping him, and was just speaking out for the benefit of the onlookers. He understood how the woman thought and knew her strengths as well as he knew her weaknesses.
He was sure without a doubt that she wouldn't interfere with his plan, so he took all these actions without worry of what she would do. However, hearing those words from her, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He was sure she would let him go, but nothing was ever 100%.
There was always a chance. What if? Maybe? What would happen when?. Naruto considered she only said those words to mess with him, and regardless of her intent he was already getting nervous. 'Damn her!.' Naruto cursed mentally.
Kotohime's words garnered the attention of the onlookers and now what Naruto had foreseen as a smooth exit was turned into something difficult. He was forced to say something –give a legitimate reason as to why Kotohime would let him go. He couldn't just walk out on her without saying a word. Even if she didn't take offense, the presence of others would force her to take action.
Thinking about it, Naruto guessed she was using the presence of the onlookers to force him into entertaining her further. Or it could be that she was putting him in this difficult spot as a punishment for being so unnecessarily flamboyant with his summons. Naruto didn't have to gather the attention of all shinobi in the Nidiame district to negotiate with the hokage. He could've simply sent a message to Sandaime and schedule a meet in private. However, he wanted to be flashy. Doing so he inadvertently soiled the reputation of the hokage, since he was publicly strong-arming the man into doing as he required.
Kotohime taught him the importance of respect. Even when you had an opponent in a disadvantageous position, it was unnecessary to take full advantage of them to the point of ridicule. In short: don't press too hard. You could still win either way so don't go too far. An opponent that suffered a simple defeat could be an ally for tomorrow, but one that was disgraced would resent you for life.
He had to admit, he messed up. Now he was forced to clean up that mess.
"Aren't you being a little too arrogant, obassan?." Naruto said.
"...Arrogant?." Kotohime said. She knew what he was planning but feigned ignorance and pretended to be confused. It was bad acting. Anybody who knew her a little would know she wouldn't so carelessly show her true emotions. In short, she was informing the important people here that she had no intention of stopping Naruto in the first place.
Naruto had the urge to roll his eyes when Kotohime responded. He managed to resist the urge and spoke back. "Yes. Do you really think the Sandaime would let you put others in village with such a selfish action?." Naruto asked rhetorically.
What everybody knew was that he had or knew something important enough to force the hokage to comply with his wishes. If his requests were not met, then it was natural to assume Naruto would use whatever he had in his possession against them. So how could Kotohime be allowed to act so selfishly when the interests of others were involved?.
"You make a fair point. But don't think this is over. As soon as I know it's okay to pursue, I will find you and mete out swift punishment!." Kotohime declared, effectively pretending to let Naruto go. She only wanted to delay the blonde a little with her theatrics. She was satisfied with his words so delayed him no longer. With his words, a good portion of Hiruzen's reputation had been restored. The lesson was learnt and the mistake was corrected. Everybody won.
Watching Naruto leave, Hiruzen didn't feel much like a winner. He didn't think much of Naruto's choice of location for the 'negotiations'. It felt more like blackmail to him.
To the Sandaime, the unnecessary act wasn't unexpected for a child. He had an advantage over the hokage, so Naruto he would be carried away by his emotions. It was only natural. If Hiruzen was to be honest, having his image damaged Naruto troubled him a lot less than watching the exchange between the boy and his grandaunt.
The hokage knew Kotohime put a lot of pressure on her prized student, but not to the extent that even a small mistake could not be overlooked. The quickness in which Naruto corrected himself disturbed him as well. To pick out the perfect words to say within so little time... He was much like the perfectionist Kotohime was and wanted him to be.
More than ever, Hiruzen was sure he made the right decision on allowing Naruto to leave the village. A month away from Kotohime would do him a load of good. However, though Naruto was leaving his guardian behind, he was still in need of one on his journey. Something would be arranged. Hiruzen promised to let the blonde go unfollowed, but they both knew that was hogwash. No way he would let Naruto go without pursuers. At best the blonde got himself a head start.
Hiruzen considered sending hunter nin, but that would be the same as unofficially announcing Naruto as a missing nin. Someone else would have to be tasked with following the blonde. Someone trustworthy.
Kotohime was a step ahead of Hiruzen. She knew who to put on the blonde's trail and had already done so. "Saya-chan, radio in Ha-kun. Tell him our wakate is coming his way." Kotohime said.
Saya nodded and did as instructed. Yūgao watched the blonde hop away with a feeling of helplessness. She so badly wanted to chase after him, but doing so was tantamount to treason. The hokage declared Naruto was not to be followed.
Thankfully, her okami had predicted that Naruto would be granted exit, so sent Ha on a 'private mission' long before the hokage gave his words. So whatever promise he made, had no effect on events that were already taking place. After all, could he ask a the okami to order a shinobi who had already departed to withdraw from a mission?. Technically, Kotohime could radio in Ha, but he didn't have to know that.
"It's fortunate okami-sama predicted this, if not we'd be forced to sit on our hands and watch Naruto-kun run into danger." Yūgao whispered.
"Naturally my student wouldn't enact a half-baked plan. It was expected that he would succeed without incident." Kotohime said with pride. She loved to boast about her dear grandnephew so much.
Saya watched the hokage order everyone to clear out and await his instructions. "I'm curious what the squirt found that had hokage-sama beat so easily." Saya said.
Kotohime heard Saya's words but didn't say anything. She turned and found that Saya and Yūgao were looking at her with expectant eyes. "Why are you looking at me?."
"...Is it too sensitive to tell us what it is?." Yūgao queried. She was curious to know what this mysterious thing Naruto found was, but if it was classified information then she would let it go. She was an ANBU agent. She knew better than most of the safety in ignorance.
"You misunderstand. It's not as if I don't want to tell you. I too have no idea what Naruto found." Kotohime said, shocking the two jonin. "That makes it even more interesting." Kotohime said with a thin smile.
Even the okami didn't know?.
What exactly did Naruto use to convince the hokage?.
Naruto exited from the eastern gate of the village. This gate was much smaller compared to the main gate (southern gate). Konoha had a total of three gates.
The main gate/entry and exit point was located in the south. There were two others smaller gates in the east and west. These two smaller gates were basically a secret to the average Konoha resident. They were located in the shinobi district, thus not many civilians knew of its existence. The eastern gate was not too far from the Hyūga compound, located within the Nidiame district. The western gate was located within the largest training ground in the village.
Training ground 44.
Naruto didn't use the main gate for obvious reasons. Not only was it much further away, doing so would attract the attention of the civilians. As for the western gate, he was not yet powerful enough to use it. The western gate was also known as the jonin gate. The nickname was given since most jonin disliked returning from missions and having to sign in or out at the main gate. They saw the act as a pointless waste of time, since every mission taken in the hokage manor was recorded by the village's security system.
When a shinobi left the village after officially taking a mission, the system would automatically record his departure giving the newly appointed mission as the reason. The same thing applied when the shinobi returned from a mission. The eastern and western gates were also used by shinobi leaving on clan business. Since the hokage adopted a hands-off approach towards clans, the smaller gates were created to allow clans to maintain a decent level of secrecy around their affairs and businesses.
There was the obvious disadvantage to this type of exit. Clan members even without the blessings of their leaders could leave Konoha without raising a single alarm. It was a price they had to pay for the exclusive entry and exit through the eastern and western gate.
This didn't mean just any individual belonging to a shinobi clan could exit Konoha. Between the eastern and western gates the former was much safer to use, and as a result it possessed a more sophisticated defense system than the rest.
The defense of this gate was handled in shifts by the clans within the Nidiame district, and due to the competitive nature of the clans the security in the eastern gate was always top notch. A shinobi leaving on clan duty would have to first hand in a written approval from three clan elders or the clan head.
The western gate, due to it's location didn't require many guards or watchmen. If a shinobi was powerful enough then he/she could exit or enter the village through the western gate. As expected, one would have to be a registered Konoha resident, else the alarm system would announce their intrusion.
This was the gate used mostly by clan shinobi out on covert missions that couldn't be by any means be exposed. Sensitive operations that prioritize utmost secrecy. Only the system would know which shinobi exited and when they did so. The gate was located in the depths of training ground 44, so only powerful shinobi would dare to use such a gate. Jonin level shinobi. By no means was Naruto jonin level.
The eastern gate led lands in Hi no Kuni with the largest water bodies. Naturally, going further (north/south)-east would lead him to either Nami (Wave) or Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Water). Naruto would be travelling northeast to Yu, and then to Hi no Suiden (Land of Rice Paddies) and finally to Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron), his destination. Normally, such a journey would take over a month for a young shinobi like him. Naruto, however, knew a way to cut the required month to a mere fraction of the time. To do so he had to stop by a particular town.
'Let's meet up with Bonnie then.' Naruto said to himself.
He had Bonnie travel ahead and wait for him in that small town. As he predicted, it didn't take much for an orphan who went unnoticed for the most part to sneak out of Konoha. Bonnie just had to sneak into the carriage of a merchant and she was home-free.
For Naruto it wasn't that easy. If he tried sneaking out of the village in such a manner, the invisible barrier that shrouded it would easily pick up on his chakra. Yes, there was a invisible and intangible barrier around Konoha. How else would they be able to keep track of who went in and out with so many entry points?. It was the aforementioned security system.
Every resident of Konoha had their chakra signatures in the system, thus intruders were easily spotted by the defense system even before they made it to the gate. Foreign visitors were required to have an temporal entry card. It was a small metallic object that sent a frequency that stopped the alarm system from triggering upon identifying an unregistered signature. Bonnie was in the system, but since she was basically unknown, the lazy security officers would just assume she was one of the merchants she snuck out with.
Obviously if she was spotted at the gate, and the merchants didn't identify her as one of their own she would be found out. So Bonnie had to hide amongst the cabbages. Naruto, unfortunately, was far more popular. So the second his picture popped up on the system, a squad of ANBU would be hot on his ass ready to bust him.
Naruto came to an abrupt halt and peered across his surroundings in suspicion. He couldn't be considered a sensor since the kyuubi's chakra was more or less jamming his senses, but he still had a keen sense for danger. Right now, he felt as though somebody was watching him.
His pupils contracted and his vision extended. Not only could he see further and wider, Naruto was also able to pick out on the smaller details the human eye would normally miss. He didn't say it to the fox's but his opinion on the perks he got from being its jinchuriki had sufficiently increased over the months. However, even with enhanced sight Naruto was unable to find whoever was watching him. He was left frustrated but still didn't make an move to continue his journey. He wouldn't let whoever this was tail him to his destination.
'Guess jiji's promise doesn't count for shit. I'm still being followed.' Naruto lamented.
After a few minutes, perhaps after realizing he wasn't going to go anywhere with a tail on him, his stalker or stalkers revealed themselves.
Four individuals, all wearing plain white masks. Naruto judged them to be jonin or as powerful as one. He couldn't sense their chakra levels, but he was still confident in his estimation of their strength. Why?. Because just from a glance Naruto knew he couldn't defeat a single one no matter what he did. They definitely didn't give him chunnin vibes.
'Now I think of it, they don't really give much of any vibes...' Naruto thought. Even for ANBU these guys were abnormal. ANBU spoke in monotone, hid their emotions and barely gave up anything with their body language. Still, Naruto was still able to tell them apart without the masks.
The way they ran, the way they fought, the speech pattern. The mannerism was always different. Unique. That at least stood out. For these guys, though they hadn't done much they appeared to be in an odd state of synchronization. No, that wasn't it. They weren't synchronized, they just moved in a very simple and organized fashion. There was no unique difference in their gait, nor their speech pattern (when they spoke).
If not for their physiques Naruto would think three of these guys were clones on a single person. He hadn't seen an ANBU with identical masks before either. These ones weren't animal themed and were just plain. 'A special division?.' Naruto wondered.
"I'm surprised you were able to detect our presence." The tallest of the four said.
'Forget monotone. That's the voice of the dead.' Naruto thought with a sweatdrop. For a guy that was saying he was surprised he sounded anything but.
"The Uzumaki sensory is formidable." The more bulky of the quarto said.
'Literally no difference in the voice, tone and speech pattern... What the hell is this?.' Naruto stared at the four disturbing shinobi. "What do you want?." He asked.
The men didn't beat about the bush. The tallest one, possibly the leader spoke. "Our benefactor wishes to see you. If you allow it, we shall lead you to him."
Once Naruto heard benefactor and lead to somewhere he decided these four were nothing but trouble. He just stepped out of the village and all of a sudden these four appear seeking to lure him somewhere. Who was to say they were actually ANBU?.
ANBU would never hide the identity of the hokage and had no other benefactor. These guys were making a conscious effort to shroud the identity of their boss. If this didn't scream out suspicious, Naruto didn't know what would. "If I don't allow it?." Naruto asked, quickly gathering chakra.
He knew he couldn't win a fight against one of them, not to talk of four. However, he wasn't going to just surrender and let himself be kidnapped. If they responded the way he feared they would, then he could only do one thing. Blow himself up and draw the attention of Konoha and the eastern gate security.
The Namikaze were on guard duty today, and there was a particular dual bladed woman who eyed him like a piece of candy. He judged her to be a jonin the same way he did these four. However, for some reason his instincts told him that these four would barely be enough to defeat her. Thankfully she wasn't alone and was in the company of six others. Another jonin and four chunnin. It was strange that he would have to put his trust in a couple of Namikaze, but the display Namikaze Mina put up did wonders for their image in his eyes.
"Then we'll have to insist." The four said in unison.
'This is so disturbingly weird...' Naruto said.
Whatever. Looks like he had to blow himself up. He just hoped he would get stronger quick. Because the way he saw it, this would be a regular occurrence in the future. Powerful characters would be after him, that much was a given. He was an Uzumaki and jinchuriki, basically a magnet for powerhouses. If by then he didn't have a means to combat such characters then he would have to keep up this religious extremist energy.
(AN: Sorry just couldn't resist.)
"No, I don't think you will."
Naruto had to urge to glomp the speaker upon hearing the words. Maybe it was because he had been listening to the voices of these weirdos, so it made her voice far more pleasing to the ears. Normally it was still easily the cutest voice he heard in his short life.
Naruto looked up and as expected, standing on the branch of a large tree was Hyūga Rōha. Her small lips were slightly pursed after she spoke –as usual, she looked like she was pouting!. "Rō-Rō!." Naruto yelled happily and waved at the twin braided Hyūga.
Rōha stared at Naruto briefly before turning her attention back to the four. It was a brief blank stare. Naruto smiled bitterly at the reaction. He still couldn't decide whether she was less haughty than your average Hyūga or more so. As for the four shinobi that Rōha deemed more important...
They were running away.
Rōha stared blankly at the four fleeing shinobi before disappearing in a burst of speed. Before the runner in the rear could react Rōha was already behind him. Her hand shot forward at a terrifying speed and the sound of bones breaking permeated the area. Surprisingly the man didn't so much as grunt from the pain, but still slumped over and fell roughly to the ground. The other three didn't spare their fallen comrade a glance and continued to run.
It was a futile effort.
Rōha had closed the distance they made in her distraction in a mere fraction of the time. Now she was barely two metres away from them there was no way any of them were escaping. In the blink of an eye all three were incapacitated. Rōha stood on a tree branch –over their fallen forms, staring down at them with her usual pouty blank expression.
Naruto was barely able to keep up with the woman's movements, and from his POV it appeared as though she just blurred passed the four shinobi.
Before Naruto knew it all four had been taken down, with either one limb or the other broken. Naruto stared at the figure of Rōha in awe. It was then Naruto saw the four masks held in one of the Hyūga's hands.
Amazingly, Rōha had not only defeated the men in a flash but took their masks off in the process. Naruto knew jonin were supposed to incomprehensibly fast but this was just ridiculous. The way Rōha dispatched the men made it apparent that she wasn't putting much effort. That meant she didn't go at her fastest speed either.
For the first time, Naruto was in the face of a strength he found completely unfathomable. The difference of power was almost absurd. Even if he were to compare her to that sword using Namikaze, the woman would still come up short. She was in a league of her own.
The way she regarded her opponents –or better put, victims left Naruto slightly out of breath. She was relaxed. As relaxed as an old-timer out on an evening walk. Clearly this was nothing to her. Taking down four jonin in a single breath wasn't anything noteworthy to this woman. Her victory was never in contest. It was just a matter of how she decided to achieve said victory.
As for the four men. They were just unlucky that Hyūga Rōha was in the area when they made a move. What else could you call it?. They did everything they could already. When they saw it was her they immediately fled. They weren't cowards. They just knew it would be pointless to struggle. Could they even struggle against her?.
Even if they worked together it wouldn't have made a difference. The only option was to run. So they ran. Yet, it wasn't enough to abate the inevitable. And now, here they were.
Defeated.
Their masks taken and their identities revealed. A complete loss.
"You should go."
Naruto was knocked out of his daze by Rōha's voice. He looked up to the Hyūga elite, who was now staring at him. Her expression was no different from the one she wore when she stared at the incapacitated four. Naruto was a little dissapointed. "You're letting me go?." The Uzumaki said in surprise.
"Hokage-sama promised you a unimpeded exit." Rōha said.
"...You're really okay with letting me go just like that?." Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. He was basically using the Hyūga clan as leverage to bust out of Konoha. Or perhaps she doesn't know yet?.
"..." Rōha stared at Naruto briefly before turning towards the four shinobi. She began rounding them up, likely to take them in for questioning.
Naruto sweatdropped. He was ignored again. He glanced at the woman with a small bitter smile before turning to leave. "Tell Hinata-chan I'll be back as soon as I can." Naruto said before dashing away.
If Rōha wasn't going to stop him then he had no reason to stay. He felt a little tense since the woman was a Hyūga who could easily keep tabs on him from a long distance away if she desired to follow him. Seeing how skilled Rōha was, Naruto had no doubt in his mind that should she decide to tail him he wouldn't be able to spot her or shake her off. Right now he was banking all his hopes on Rōha's integrity. Strangely, despite not knowing her well he had an odd feeling of confidence in the Hyūga woman.
Rōha briefly turned to the direction of the blonde. Though he was already relatively far away, if she wanted to she could keep tabs on him. She however, made no move to activate her byakugan and instead knocked out the defeated formerly masked men and dragged them away.
The sight was somewhat comical because Rōha was dragging the men across the ground by a rope attached to one of their limbs. Before she got the hokage manor these men would be left looking like a pile of dirt rather than humans. As the jonin commander predicted Danzo secretly made his move on the young jinchuriki. Rōha ran into Shikaku Nara by chance and was tasked with the protection of Uzumaki Naruto until he left the village.
The hokage gave a direct order, so she couldn't argue. She had to drop off the heiress with a nearby clan member before rushing to the eastern gate. The Namikaze woman at the gate appeared annoyed when she arrived. Rōha deduced that she was ordered not to stop the Uzumaki or any unidentified follower. The young lady was clearly rearing for a fight.
Unfortunately, today the matter was far too delicate to leave in her hands. Rōha ignored the girl's sass and proceeded with her mission.
Her mission was complete. Naruto had safely left the village. Now his protection was out of his hands and solely in that of the Uzumaki and Uzuki clan.
"I can't believe you let him call you Rō-Rō." An amused voice resounded.
Rōha didn't react to the voice. She knew all along that she wasn't alone. "I'll kill you if you call me that again." Rōha said. The way she said it made it sound like anything but a treat but those that knew her knew otherwise. When Rōha spoke she spoke in facts.
"Haa?!. Why does he get special treatment?!." The voice resounded again. The speaker sounded annoyed. Rōha didn't respond. "Damn, you're one hell of an ice queen aren't ya. But don't worry I'll melt you up nicely one day." the speaker said in confidence.
"He'll get away." Rōha said, completely disregarding the speaker's words.
"...Can't believe you actually care. Fucking brat has the devil's luck when it comes to women." The speaker complained. Rōha wouldn't spare him a glance even if he were to spontaneously combust. Yet she cared that Naruto could wander the Elemental Nations unsupervised. Life is not fair. "Anyways, I'm off!. See ya Rōha!." The speaker said and with that he disappeared.
"...Annoying." Rōha muttered. He was always so annoying, yet she couldn't beat him in a direct combat. Not even once. How such a careless and scattered brained putz could be such a genius in combat confused her. She never said it out loud though. Knowing him, he'd take it as a compliment and incentive to ask her out. That was just the kind of person Uzuki Ha was.
End.
AN: Yes. I know the doesn't have legitimate future sight per se, and actually predicts trajectory. I am aware. But this is a fanfiction, no?.
Who's your favorite OC so far?. Tell me in the reviews *smiles dastardly at his brilliant plan to get more reviews*
Next chapter will be due next week. Might be the weekend, or earlier. Idk. Naruto finally goes on his first mission. Look forward to it.
Meanwhile I will be dropping chapters on my Naruto x MHA crossover. Check it out if you're interested. Have a nice weekend.
