Naruto: Tornado of Souls Final

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This chapter was rearranged several times before I got it to my liking. Here is chapter 11. Enjoy!

Last time:

Konoha, Mission Hall

Kurenai led her team plus Neji and Tenten into the Mission Hall and reported on Mizuki's violent removal from the playing field. Needless to say, written reports were required and the group of five genin and one jonin were soon at it…

'How can this be?!' thought Neji. 'Hinata-sama's destiny was to be a weakling and a loser. Fate cannot be changed! What is going on?' The Hyūga prodigy had no idea how he could accept this… After seeing Hinata destroy the mutated Mizuki; Neji was in shock. He'd heard gossip around the compound that the Hyūga Heiress had revealed that she was much stronger than she ever let on, but Neji knew her fate to always be weak was unchangeable.

Now the Hyūga prodigy could only stare in shock at his cousin from across the mission hall where Team 8 and Team 9 were filling out their after-action reports regarding the recapture of Mizuki. Neji was dumbfounded by Hinata's appearance as well. The Byakugan Princess cremating Mizuki alive was hard enough to swallow without her turning into some stunning vixen of a kunoichi overnight. The last Neji heard (not that he cared) was Hinata hadn't fully recovered from the Chunin Exams. Now he was worried at what she might do to him…

Tenten had seen Hinata since her injuries and knew the Hyūga Heiress changed her look a great deal but the Fire Juken had Tenten dazzled and a tad frightened. 'Hinata must have held back at the Chunin Exams because she would have killed Neji with that kind of power.' The weapons loving girl wondered, 'Just how long has Hinata been hiding this away?'

…

Chapter 11

Fire Country, Tanzaku Gai

A busty blonde woman came walking out of the bank in Tanzaku Gai with a pale, shocked look on her face and walked over to the hotel across the street. A dark-haired young woman holding a pet pig met her in the lounge of the hotel. "What is wrong Tsunade-sama?" asked the dark-haired woman. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Tsunade sat down at a table and said, "It's worse than that Shizune-chan, all the Senju bank accounts have been frozen. I can't withdraw any more money to gamble with!"

Shizune sweat dropped. "More importantly, what about food?!" Tsunade handed a bank statement printout to Shizune who sat the pig down and started reading it over. "According to this, Konoha froze your assets by the orders of Sarutobi-sama. The only way to get it unfrozen is to see Hokage-sama personally."

Tsunade got the mental image of her old sensei cackling evilly as he signed the orders to take her money. 'Take that Tsunade-chan!' laughed the Sarutobi in her mind's eye. (Coincidentally he had glowing eyes, fangs and horns that protruded through his Hokage's hat).

"Curse you Sarutobi-sensei!" yelled Tsunade. 'Now I have to go home!'

…

Konoha, Anko and Blake's Apartment

Anko had already departed early and Blake was getting her gear on for her first morning team training. The cat eared beauty looked in the mirror. She had everything on but her bow. She moved her ears a bit. "I wonder if these will freak Naruto-kun out? Of course, then again he smells like a fox…" she thought aloud. After she put on her bow, Blake grabbed her katana and her kusarigama. Focusing her amber eyes, she said to the mirror, "Ready."

The faunus girl was soon roof hopping across the village at high speed towards the training grounds when she saw somebody she knew. It was Tenten whose Father was crafting the new Gambol Shroud for her. Blake liked Tenten. The bun haired girl took being a kunoichi seriously. "Good morning Tenten. Are you headed out to train?" asked Blake as she landed on the same roof as Tenten.

Tenten turned and said, "Blake, it's good to see you. Got any more cool weapons to craft? My Dad and I were working on your Gambol Shroud last night. It's so awesome to work on new and challenging weapon designs!"

Blake smiled softly at Tenten's enthusiasm. "I'm sure it will turn out great. Are you waiting for someone here on the rooftops? I was headed out to meet my sensei."

"You have a full-time sensei now?" asked Tenten. Seeing Blake nod, the bun haired girl said. "Good for you. Who is it?"

"I'm under Mitarashi Anko on the new Team 7…She rand the Second Stage at the Forest of Death if you haven't heard of her…" Blake added with a sweat drop.

"Yeah, I remember her well…Well, anyway I'm waiting on me teammate Neji." explained Tenten. "He should be here shortly. My sensei always works out a couple of hours before Neji and I meet up with him."

"Well, I'd best get going." said Blake to the weapons loving girl. "See you later!" said the cat eared girl with a wave as she darted off.

Neji showed up a few minutes later and said to Tenten, "Good morning Tenten; who was that kunoichi you were talking to?"

The weapons loving girl said, "That was Belladonna Blake. She's a new genin that just joined Konoha recently."

The Hyūga prodigy said, "Hmmm…she looks exceptionally fit. I wonder if she could replace Lee."

Tenten raised an eyebrow at Neji's choice of words. "She's a replacement member on Team 7."

"Isn't that Uzumaki's team that recently self-destructed?" asked Neji. At Tenten's nod he said, "Seems like she's wasting her talent there. Hopefully fate will get her off that team with the loser."

The bun haired girl sighed and shook her head. "Let's just go meet sensei." she said before she took off leaving Neji behind still looking in the direction Blake left in.

…

Yamanaka Residence

Pyrrha was up early and fixed herself some breakfast before doing some warmups in the back yard. Donning her gear, she checked on both Ino and Ayano before she left to meet her team. 'They seem to be sleeping peacefully.' Picking up her sword and shield she paused as she thought of Jaune Arc. 'My chances with Jaune were lost when I died. I wonder if he's alive and well? Maybe he finally won Weiss Schnee's affections. He deserves someone that really cares for him like I did.' The redhead sighed. 'Someday I'll leave my past behind. I'm amazed at how much Naruto reminds me of him.'

Leaving through the front of the Flower Shop, Pyrrha was soon on her way when she saw an orange blur ahead of her on the village wall. Moving to intercept she saw Naruto screech to a halt in front of her. He said with a smile, "Good morning Pyrrha-chan; ready for a day of training hard?"

The redhead smiled. "You seem very eager this morning Naruto-kun. Why are you running? We're not late."

Naruto explained, "I was getting in my morning laps around Konoha and just decided to head straight to the training grounds when I saw you here and stopped to see how you were doing."

The two headed off towards Training Ground 52 at a moderate pace. "Once we get a routine going with Anko-sensei the two of us should arrange to spend some time together." She raised her eyebrows at Naruto's declaration before he added, "We're going to be the best seal master's ever!"

Pyrrha laughed at Naruto's antics and said, "Let's race!" as she took off in a blur. 'Naruto-kun is something else. I thought he meant a date or something.' she thought with a chuckle as Naruto pursued her towards the training grounds. The pair shot through the trees at high speeds and Pyrrha managed to keep a lead most of the way. The redhead came to a stop and saw Blake sitting under the tree they usually met at. "Victory is mine!" cheered Pyrrha as Naruto caught up.

"Blake-chan; Pyrrha-chan cheated and left me in the dirt before she even announced it was a race!" lamented Naruto.

Blake simply said, "Well, we are ninjas. Aren't we supposed to cheat?" Naruto promptly face faulted as Pyrrha laughed.

"I see everyone is here a bit early." said Anko as she arrived in a body flicker. Good morning kiddies; let's start with a good warm up."

…

Rice Country Border

The Konoha forces had invaded Oto territory at first light. They'd already been fighting the Oto forces for nearly three hours. Jiraiya was on the front lines and had just stopped an attempted charge by the Oto forces in the area with his Swamp of the underworld jutsu. A giant snake summon was spearheading the charge but the giant toad Gamaken's sasumata came crashing down upon the head of the snake and killed it in an instant. Then the stiffest opposition in the Oto lines began to implode and collapse.

The Oto army quickly withdrew back into a valley to escape. The Konoha forces were going to give chase but Jiraiya called for a halt. "Hold your positions! They are leading us into that valley to ambush us. He motioned to one of his Hyūga scouts. "Look at the mountains overlooking that valley for enemy troops."

The Hyūga focused his byakugan and said, "Midway up the valley the walls are lined with entrenched fortifications. That place is a death trap."

Jiraiya nodded and turned to Shikaku. "Help me here Shikaku. How can we wipe out that valley in one fell swoop? No survivors."

The Nara Clan head looked over the terrain. "That valley was created by overflow from the nearby river. If we blow the dam holding the water back that whole valley will be flooded beyond use."

The Toad sanin nodded grimly. "Let's make it happen then."

Thirty minutes later what only could be call a tidal wave from the river swept through the valley as Konoha forces followed the deluge in on either side of the flooded valley to wipe out any surviving Oto troops that escaped being drowned or crushed by the wayward river. When the water settled down hours later the whole valley floodplain was a watery grave for hundreds of Oto ninjas and the Konoha ninjas stood victorious.

Jiraiya and Shikaku started checking the maps for other areas that Blake had mapped out from Kin's memories of the area. Pointing out a particular stronghold Shikaku said, "This is the main supply center in this region. If we capture it and close it down the enemy will starve if they don't withdraw."

Choza looked over his old friend's shoulder. "Keeping this area supplied is bad enough given the area is flooded now. If we capture that hub then it will become impossible for Oto to support sustained operations in the area."

"This can't be all Orochimaru has in the region." thought Jiraiya aloud. "The Snake is hardly putting up a fight."

…

Konoha Training Ground 52

Mitarashi Anko was standing looking over the two poor slobs that tried to jump Team 7 while dressed in prisoner outfits. It hadn't been pretty…

Flashback….

Anko was supervising his team as they sparred. They were all working hard but it was obvious they were having fun too. Naruto, Pyrrha and Blake excelled and encouraged each other to grow stronger and genuinely helped each other. The purple haired jonin couldn't have been more pleased.

That was when two ronin samurai wannabes showed up with rusty sparring swords in prison clothes and made some outrageous demands…

"All three of you brats are our hostages." said the taller one. "We'll be taking you three kids with us as a little insurance policy against any Konoha ninjas."

Team 7 looked around for Anko and saw he was sitting in the tree on a branch eating dango without a care in the world. Neither crook even noticed. They sweat dropped at Anko's antics and Pyrrha said politely, "Judging by your clothing you must have escaped the prison yesterday and are lost. We can escort you back to the prison. Why don't you just surrender those swords and we can end this in a non-violent manner?"

Seeing the two prisoners looking shocked Naruto added, "Those swords have seen better days. They are awfully rusty. Let us help you out."

The shorter one said, "What the fuck?! Don't you brats know who we are? We're-"

"Don't tell them who we are!" said the taller one. "Keep our identities as secret!" He turned to the bored looking genin and said, "If you knew who we are you'd wet yourselves in fear!"

"Really?" asked Blake. "You two are running around in prison outfits with beat up practice swords you probably found in a dumpster behind a kenjutsu dojo….and you think we're going to be afraid of you? I'd be laughing if you two guys weren't so pathetic."

"How did you know where we got the swords?" asked the shorter one.

The genins disappeared in a blur. Blake appeared in front of the shorter one and effortlessly knocked the sword out of the man's hand before she scissor kicked him into the air and flipped backwards and out of the way.

Pyrrha appeared to the right of the taller one and shattered his rusty blade with a cross slash. Seeing he was too dumbfounded to react; Pyrrha followed up by smashing her shield into the prisoner exposed face and sent him flying into his already airborne buddy. Pyrrha then leapt clear.

The two prisoners seemed to be suspended midair for a split second before Naruto finished going through his hand signs and said "Gale palm!" The two hapless losers were sent sailing into the largest tree in the area and they hit it with and awful cracking noise before they fell to the ground broken and unconscious.

Flashback end….

Anko shook her head as she dragged the two prisoners over into the training field and said, "Well, since this … golden opportunity just fell into our laps I'll show the three of you how to secure a ninja prisoner even though these two are definitely not ninja material.

…

By the time another genin tracking team (Team 10 actually) caught up with the two runners a half hour later the prisoners were tied up like a pair presents minus the bows. Asuma looked them over and the taller one said, "Just take us back to jail please ninja-san. Those three kids are just heartless."

…

Rice Country, The Village of Oto

Orochimaru was staring at the map of the Southern Valley region of Oto. 'I knew the forces I sent down there were doomed to be sacrifices but these attacks are like the Third Shinobi War. Jiraiya is being utterly ruthless no doubt at the orders of Sarutobi-sensei. It was a mistake thinking they could delay Konoha at that Valley.'

"Most of our hired mercenary forces have been wiped out or routed Orochimaru-sama." said Kabuto. "Should we send in our regular shinobi forces?"

Orochimaru rubbed his forehead as if he was staving off the worst migraine in history. "I was hoping to keep them intact but our mercenaries bought nothing but a few hours with their lives instead of a few days. Konoha isn't leaving Rice Country's infrastructure intact as I foresaw." The Snake Sanin continued to ponder until he turned to Kabuto. "Send the remaining members of the Sound Four south to link up with Sakon and Ukon along with our Village Defense Units to erect a barrier."

Kabuto looked worried but then said, "Orochimaru-sama, Kidōmaru is confirmed to be dead in Konoha and Sakon and Ukon died defending the valley in the south. Jirōbō and Tayuya cannot erect even a weaker three-point barrier without a third member. Our only other option is Kimimaro and he is being transported north. He is in no condition to fight."

"SAKON AND UKON GOT THEMSELVES KILLED?! GOD DAMN IT!" roared the White Snake. "All the time and resources I spent on the Sound Four and all that is left is Tayuya and Jirōbō!" Orochimaru got himself under control and hissed, "Leave me Kabuto while I try to figure out a way to salvage this disaster!"

Kabuto didn't need to be told twice…

…

Training Ground 9

Maito Gai was observing his students as they finished their cool down exercises from their morning workout. "Excellent Neji-kun; Tenten-chan. Let us grab a Youthful lunch before we go pick up our patrol orders. We will be patrolling at least one four-hour patrol route daily; sometimes two. During those patrols we must be vigilant and dutiful. Village security is very important my students."

As they started walking back towards the village proper, Neji said, "Gai-sensei, I believe that I have spotted someone (cringe) youthful to join our team until Lee is out of the hospital."

Tenten was looking rather suspiciously at her teammate but Gai was all ears. "And who might this Youthful individual be Neji-kun?"

"Her name is Belladonna Blake." said Neji in a nonchalant tone. "Apparently she is a fill in on Team 7 since they lost three members. I believe she could be an asset to our team."

Gai beamed and gave a thumbs up to his student. "Yes, I remember her now. She is on Mitarashi Anko's new Team 7 as a permanent member, not a fill in. Anko spoke very highly of her exceptional skill. You have an excellent eye Neji-kun but I'm afraid she is already committed to a team. On the other hand we can look forward to competing with Anko's team. She seems quite excited with them. Seeing such exuberance from her is very uplifting."

'Damn.' thought Neji. 'Perhaps if we run into Team 7 I can speak with her personally. I could tell by just the way she held herself that she is special.'

Tenten was watching Neji rather carefully. 'Just what are you up to Neji?'

…

Rice Country, Southern Regions

The Konoha First Division had officially come to a full halt. Ahead of them the large supply garrison they intended to capture was a pillar of flames as well as the areas around it. "Jiraiya-sama, our scouts have confirmed that there is next to nothing left intact. What Oto troops remained in the area are rapidly retreating north." said Inuzuka Tsume.

"So Orochimaru has resorted to scorched earth tactics to slow us down." said Jiraiya somberly. "Has there been any contact with the enemy since then Tsume?"

Tsume shook her head. "Aside of the guerilla raids they've been making no. Their hit and run tactics have been ineffective so far."

Jiraiya shook his head and turned to Shikaku. "Unless you have some strategy in mind it would be best to set up camp here and wait for the fires to die down. On the positive side the prevailing wind is blowing northward into Oto territory. We may not be able to track them clearly as they withdraw but we should be able to spot them easily enough if the send units out of the smoke to attack us."

Shikaku looked at the map of the area. "Capturing supplies from the enemy is unlikely with the scorched earth strategy Orochimaru is employing. The loss of material to Oto must be staggering but they did manage to buy time to fortify Oto itself. Spreading out our forces to get around this wall of fire they've set up would stretch our supply lines out and leave them vulnerable to attacks. I hate to say it, but our best option is to hunker down here and wait."

"Then for what it's worth the snake bought himself about a day's reprieve and probably is setting up every trap known to man under the cover of the smoke." said Jiraiya. "Shit. Send the order out to set up a defensive perimeter and to expect hit and run attacks. We'll just have to hurry up and wait."

"On the positive side our ROOT forces are already in the Oto Village area." said Shikaku "No doubt we should receive some intel from them as the day progresses."

The Konoha forces soon spread out a bit on the high grounds and set up defensive barriers to keep Oto's harassment raids at bay…

…

Rice Country, The Village of Oto

Orochimaru looked over his maps with a bit of grim satisfaction. The cost had been terrible, but the scorched earth strategy did what he needed; it bought him the precious time he needed to get everything out of Oto Village of research value. Kabuto was moving the experiments north all the way to the unused facilities Orochimaru set up there a decade ago in case of a disaster. 'The defense of Oto Village is going to cost me fifty to seventy-five percent of my regular troops. After the village falls and Jiraiya discovers the underground prison complexes Konoha will be too bogged down to pursue me further.'

Looking at the map of Fire Country Orochimaru saw his scouts were monitoring a full second Konoha division heading north to reinforce the first under Jiraiya. 'There is no helping it. Even if Jiraiya stays put and waits for the second division the most time it will buy me is two days. Konoha is simply too strong and that damned Suna is staying out of it entirely. Oto has lost this war. That doesn't mean I can't make Jiraiya pay dearly for every square meter of ground in Oto Village though.'

Tayuya and Jirōbō arrived shortly thereafter and saluted. "The fortifications inside the village have been completed as you ordered Orochimaru-sama." said Tayuya.

"Good." said the Snake sanin. "I take it you have news for me as well Jirōbō?"

The largest member of the Sound Four nodded. "The lines a mile behind the wall of flame in the south are moving on schedule my Lord. Unfortunately, we lost a lot of laborers due to smoke inhalation."

"They are of no consequence." said Orochimaru. "That line has to hold Konoha back until we seed the area surrounding Oto Village with traps and reinforce our strong points." The Snake sanin pulled out a map of Oto Village. "Since your task is completed Tayuya; I'm putting you in charge of setting up the surrounding area. Jirōbō, head south and motivate those workers to hurry up. We have lots to do and little time to do it in."

Time was running out and the Snake sanin needed to move fast…

…

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower

Homura and Koharu were on a stage in front of the Hokage Tower and had the unenviable job dumped upon them of dealing with the fallout of a bunch of high-strung, wartime genin beating the holy hell out of a mob of convicts trying to break out of prison. It was bad enough that the Hyūga Heiress publicly roasting Mizuki like a barbeque contest was being held. The coup de grace was Team 7 pretty much used the two crooks they apprehended as training dummies the next day…

"Every war has some group of humanitarians spring up out of the woodwork, but this takes the cake Koharu." said Homura tiredly.

Koharu shook her head. "I think Hiruzen is still holding a grudge against us Homura. This new group calling themselves PANIC is just ludicrous! I mean…prisoner's rights?!" Below the stage they were on was a group of people waving banners that proudly said:

PANIC

People

Against

Ninjas

Immolating

Convicts

Homura sweat dropped and rubbed his forehead. "Yes, I do believe Hiruzen is quite irritated with us having to do public relations with these idiots. This is a ninja village damn it! Where are they coming from talking about human rights?!"

Hearing the angry crowd roar both Homura and Koharu realized that the microphones were already on and every insult they just rambled out was broadcast loud and clear…

Pity the Hokage's advisors for they know not what they do…

…

Up in his office Sarutobi Hiruzen heard the broadcast as well as the rather negative reactions of the crowd. "I am surrounded by idiots…" he thought aloud.

…

Konoha, Hyūga Compound

The Hyūga Elder Council was having a discussion about Mizuki's little misadventure that their Heiress Hinata so thoroughly brought to an end. The Head Hyūga Elder said, "It seems our assumption that Hinata was holding back a great deal was correct. My grandson Neji witnessed her incinerating her former Academy Sensei. To say she has revealed her abilities is an understatement. Neji was justifiably shocked as he defeated her previously. He said Hinata-sama burned the man alive and that it would have been far more merciful to kill him."

"For our Branch House Prodigy Neji-san to make such a statement is quite unprecedented; don't you think?" asked Elder Majo rhetorically. "It seems that burn scar you have decorating your chest was just a love tap Elder Hiraku. We are all indeed fortunate that she did not come after us with wrath." 'Especially me; I saw the report on Mizuki. It would be a mercy killing if he died.' Majo thought with a cringe.

"My granddaughter Hinata is first and foremost a proud member of the Hyūga clan and this further exemplifies that fact." said Hiashi's Father proudly. "In spite of the fact she made…examples of Elder Hiraku and his grandson she did no permanent damage. It's painfully obvious that she could have done so effortlessly. The Clan has been exposed to her power in a very public manner. I don't know what made her decide to reveal her new abilities, but we should show our support of her actions. She is among our strongest."

Elder Hiraku growled and said, "I'm forced to agree but I still believe this could have all been avoided had she not hidden her abilities. She has many grievances with us and I have no idea how we can get back in her good graces." Then he added, "Hiashi-sama did say she was out for blood; specifically ours."

Minako nodded. "It would be in our best interests to start treating her as the proper Heiress. For a long time, she's been treated with disdain directly or indirectly by our actions. Hanabi-sama has shown favor and fully supports her older sister. I believe we should do the same."

Hiraku said in a sour tone, "So what do you suggest Elder Minako; do you want to bake her a cake?"

"Stop pouting like a child Hiraku." said Elder Majo. "Acting so petulant simply doesn't suit you. You are just embarrassed at how she defeated you so easily." Hiraku just glared.

The Head Elder sighed, "Regardless of our various misgivings, Elder Minako is correct. We need to show our support for our Heiress."

…

Rice Country, The Village of Oto

Tayuya came into the main base where Orochimaru had his headquarters. The redhead was steamed. 'Mother fucker! Kabuto's slipping off with the supplies that I need to set up a defense with. I need to talk to Orochimaru-sama before four eyes takes everything we've got left.'

As she rounded a corner down into the planning room she heard Orochimaru say, "Concentrate your efforts on curing Kimimaro, Kabuto. The rest of the Sound Four are going to be sacrifices in this war. I already have new cursed seal subjects to take their place. Kidōmaru, Sakon and Ukon failed me utterly and the idea of Jirōbō and Tayuya being anything more than glorified fodder in this conflict with Konoha is a pipe dream. They are failed experiments and like all failed experiments should be discarded."

The redhead's heart nearly stopped as she heard her master consign her to death without a second thought. Her brown eyes widened and she held her breath as she silently slipped back out of the underground headquarters. 'Orochimaru-sama is setting Jirōbō and I up to die! I need to tell that fat ass so we can –No, Jirōbō can fuck himself. He'll never believe me. I'm out of here.' Ten minutes later she arrived over at the command tent she had been working in to enhance Oto's defenses. Tayuya gave her underlings several tasks to do so that she was alone in the tent. The redhead carefully rolled up all the maps she had of Oto Village into a scroll. Every last trap was shown in them as were all the underground passages.

She strolled out of the command tent and told her second in command. "I'm going to go south and get some supplies and workers from Jirōbō. That fat-ass is where the supply problem is, not Kabuto. It will probably take a few hours so post four guards around the command tent. Nobody goes in there without my say so. Those documents are too valuable to risk anyone seeing them; got it?"

Getting a quick and frightened affirmative from her subordinates Tayuya set out towards the area Jirōbō was working in. 'With these maps I can pay for amnesty from that fucker Orochimaru. All I have to do is hand them over at the Konoha Command Post and I should have a ticket to safety. I hate traitors more than anything but Orochimaru-sama and four eyes betrayed me first.' she thought angrily. With a purpose in her step Tayuya walked out of sight and then took off at ninja speeds towards the Konoha army…and hopefully freedom.

…

Rice Country, Southern Regions

"The Second Division will be here to reinforce and resupply us by this time tomorrow Jiraiya-sama." reported a chunin.

Jiraiya was looking at the dying fires that Orochimaru's forces set up the day before. "We're going to have to make a move today." said the Toad Sage. "We've already given the snake too much time to mount a defense as it is." He motioned to his strategist Shikaku. "Let's take a look at this map now that the fires are starting to smolder."

…

Fire Country, Konoha, Hyūga Compound

It was evening and Hinata was sitting down to a quiet snack of cinnamon rolls with some tea. She was eating in the kitchen. 'Earlier today was an adventure with all the protesters and all. If I hadn't stopped Mizuki he could have torn a dozen civilians apart. Kurenai-sensei said these sorts of things blow over after a week or so…Or ANBU makes them go away. Seriously, this village is a military dictatorship! If I was in charge…I'd make them obey. Oh well. The Clan seems to be showing me a combination of fear or respect since I revealed my power publicly. I need to sort that out. On the positive side; at least the Elders are leaving me alone.' She heard a whisper of fabric and activated her byakugan. 'I guess I spoke too soon.' Hinata didn't turn her head as she sipped her tea. "What brings you down to the kitchen Head Elder? Don't you usually dine with you little clique in the Main Branch dining room after the branch house members have made your meals?"

Hiashi's Father barely hid his cringe at the acerbic greeting his granddaughter gave him. "Actually; I thought I'd see how my lovely grandchild and Heiress is. I rarely see you these days. May I join you Hinata-chan?"

The Heiress gave him a withering stare with a spark of flame in her pearl like byakugan eyes. "You may do as you wish Elder."

The Elder sat down and said, "I see you are having cinnamon rolls. Did you get them at a bakery? They look delicious. I wasn't aware that our cooks made them."

Hinata pulled her cinnamon rolls back possessively from her grandfather and said, "I got up and made them this morning myself. I see no need to have others cook for me."

"You and Hanabi-chan would always be welcome to dine with me in the absence of your Father." said the Head Elder kindly.

The Heiress suppressed a growl and thought to herself, 'I'm in no mood to fight with this old man right now. I really want to see what his game is by interrogating him but the clan is currently a bit uneasy about my actions. I can't risk further instability by beating the Elder's head like a drum no matter how much I want to. I wish Naruto-kun was here to talk to.'

Seeing his Granddaughter was deep in thought about his suggestion (or so he thought) the Head Elder said, "All of the Elder Council supports you and wishes to reconcile with you."

Hinata polished off her meal and said, "Do you seriously think I'd believe that? The Elder Council only wishes to protect their places of power within the Hyūga Clan heirarchy. I don't intend to spend any more time than necessary around you or them." Hinata washed her dishes and said, "I don't have time for this. I have duties to attend to. I'm sure you do as well Elder." She left with a soft sway in her hips and her Grandfather confounded.

'What am I going to do with that girl?' lamented the Head Elder.

…

Mission Hall

The next morning Team 7 came up to the mission hall having heard about the horrible way the escaped criminals were treated. Anko nonchalantly brushed through the noisy people and entered the building where Iruka was handing out patrol routes for the various genin teams. Naruto took the lead and came up to Iruka. "Hi Iruka-sensei! Team Seven is here for a village patrol mission."

Umino Iruka looked up and saw Naruto was beaming. He also saw that Naruto's two new teammates were very attractive girls. Anko nodded to go ahead and proceed. It was just a patrol mission after all. Iruka looked at three missions on the desk along with another marked as a priority. He asked, "Anko, would Team Seven be up for a short C-rank? The Village of Midori to the south sent a request for an animal control mission. They claim some kind of beast has been going after their livestock."

"Doesn't the war and village security take precedence?" asked the purple haired jonin puzzled.

"Whatever it is has the whole Village of Midori petrified." said Iruka. "It's possible this is Oto creating unrest and it needs to be investigated per Hokage-sama. Gai's Team 9 is still undermanned so I thought I'd see if your reorganized Team 7 was up to it. If you don't think they are ready for a field test then that's fine Anko… But you might risk being heckled by PANIC if you stay inside the village… Your little group did beat those two convicts senseless. It won't be long before you are celebrities you know."

"Bah, those idiotic protesters." said Anko. "I guess a short and easy mission down to Midori Village would get us away for a bit. It's only about 45 minutes from here. What do you say team?"

"Of course, we will gladly accept this mission Anko-sensei." said Pyrrha in her always polite tone.

"I'm in." said Blake quietly. "We need to get out and move anyway."

Naruto gave a thumbs up and said, "Let's do this. It's probably just a pack of wild dogs or something." He didn't notice Blake cringe a bit at the idea of wild dogs.

"We'll take it Iruka." said Anko. "Pack for two days just in case. We'll meet at the South Gates in an hour." Team 7 saluted and took off in a cloud of dust.

Iruka smiled to himself. "I'll have to visit with Naruto when he gets back. He looked awfully happy with his new teammates."

…

POSTSCRIPT:

See you next time. Blue out. 4/17/22