"What do I seek? Knowledge is power, my dear old Jiraiya; and my thirst for it is ever-growing."
Orochimaru, of the Sanin
"Don't eat so fast, brat, or you'll choke before you're finished!" The old teacher admonishes his godson student in the usual boisterous fashion that was Jiraiya to all who thought they knew the man but could not be further from the truth.
Naruto cannot reply right away, his mouth filled to the brim with his current bowl of ramen, the seventh of the meal. Still, he spares the time to send a reproachful glare towards his sensei before swallowing loudly. Right on cue, his face turns red, prompting his teacher to clasp him vigorously on the back several times, sending Naruto doubling down on the table. "See?"
"Stop being so smug about it, Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto is loud as ever, his irritation clear in the youngish teenage brat's voice just as clearly as his angrily reddened face. "I'm gonna need lots of ramen to recuperate after that dreadful fight!"
"Just make sure you don't find your end in a cup of noodles, will ya?"
They spend most of the meal in companionable silence. Jiraiya's plate is long empty and Naruto keeps eating. The old man is casually eyeing a group of women eating a couple tables from them. Naruto, for his part, remains completely oblivious.
"Say, Naruto. What do you think of Tsunade?"
"Obaa-chan? She's crazy strong!" Naruto misses the way Jiraiya's face scrunches up at his words, focused on his meal.
"Do you think she'll be a good leader for the village?"
Naruto mulls it over. "Well, she's strong and she said she wanted to protect the village now. So she'll definitely be a great Hokage."
Jiraiya pinches the bridge of his nose, contemplates his youthful godson with a frown for a few long moments before he goes on. "And that's all? Strong and nothing else?"
"Well… Yeah!"
Jiraiya does not make any attempt to contain his long-suffering sigh. "All right little godson. Finish eating your ramen. We have a ton of work ahead of us, and not just the kind you like. We'll make a proper shinobi out of you yet."
"What does 'work I won't like' mean?" Naruto asks dubiously.
"It means fillin' that empty head of yours and get ya better at thinking. Your father was an airhead before he met your ma as well, but sadly dear old rambunctious Kushina isn't here to sort you out. Your old godfather'll have to do."
oOo
The great old kitsune huffed in annoyance. In all the countless centuries of their existence, humans had always managed to constantly remain beyond their understanding. Puny little incomprehensible two-legged creatures they'd always been and would remain so until the end of time, it seemed. Their own father had been somewhat like that, imparting them all with knowledge that to this day made little sense to Kurama and their brothers and sisters. Yet, in spite of that, the Kyubi had loved their father with every fibre of their being; just as today they felt for their little blonde Jinchuuriki.
The blonde in question was currently speeding through the deep, thick forests of his home country. His father's at least, since the boy's mother, who'd hosted Kurama in her time, had come from Wave. The nine-tails could still remember the turmoil that had been Naruto's inner space during their last visit, and even if their partner would find it in himself to forgive, Kurama would not. They would crush every single last one of them. Make them know a fraction of the pain they'd caused.
But these thoughts were for another time. A quieter one, certainly, and not when his fool of a host had decided to make a stupid gamble and be forced to flee his own home to revisit a painful moment of his past. For Kami's sake, Kurama thought. If the brat wanted to visit the valley that much, he didn't have to go and get the blessing of old grandma.
And certainly not with a deadly team of Konoha's best and brightest at their back, always just shy of catching up and prompting a foolish and unnecessary confrontation. Even fast as they were moving Kurama knew it was only a matter of time. Already the Kitsune could feel the presence of their host's old teacher, what with his borrowed Uchiha eye. And there was a Hyuuga woman in their midst as well, along with a presence that ominously reeked of the old Ichidaime of Konoha. How in hell that was possible, Kurama did not know. But the humans were devious and dangerous creatures, and in these regards not much was surprising anymore.
Most devious of all had always been the Uchiha lot, of course. These cursed little hairless monkeys who'd always thought that their prized dojutsu put them above the whole of their species, and whatever else happened to share the land with them, be they crawling or swimming or flying. The Uhciha valued little but themselves. And their pride, of course; Kurama couldn't ever forget the Uchiha pride. They only needed to find one of the little pests bearing that name to be swiftly reminded of it in one way or another.
And the Kyubi had found one not so long ago, too. Although if Kurama thought they'd gotten to see all of what the accursed clan had to offer, they'd been surprised at the sight of something entirely new. An almost prideless Uchiha. Although Kurama had known better of course, and if anyone looking at Uchiha Itatchi would end up thinking they'd found an Uchiha filled with little else other than guilt, the old Nine Tails could recognize the Uchiha pride even when it was as trampled and quieted as that of the elusive and tired looking boy.
Encountering an Uchiha with an almost decent amount of pride had not been the strangest thing to have happened on that day, of course. It had been one of those terrible, terrible days after all. Filled with loss and pain and the first tentative outbursts of a grief that would last a lifetime. Kurama had always been dubious about the old perverted toad sage, but at least the old geezer had been somewhat of a decent godfather towards the end. Finally someone had actually committed their time and energy to take care of his abandoned host and brought out the potential that Kurama had been able to see from the very beginning. What a waste those first few years had been, with no one to properly guide the blonde fool they had the misfortune of sharing a body with. At least that scarred teacher had started acting at last. Although, Kurama thought, not for the first time, Naruto could have used his help much sooner. The things one blonde brat needed to do to finally get the attention he deserved; it made the old fox exhale in exasperation.
That fateful day could have turned out much worse, Kurama mused, had it not been for the unexpected intervention of one Itachi Uchiha. Or, to be crucially more accurate, his lack of intervention. There had been a terrible cave, filled with monsters worse than what the tailed beasts could ever dread to become, and among them had stood that kin-slayer of an Uchiha. And Kurama had seen it all happen through his host's eyes. How blue and grey had crossed for an everlasting second; more than enough for a powerful genjutsu to hold.
But nothing had come of that silent and short-lived battle. The Uchiha had remained still, stood atop one of the cave's inner outcroppings, close to the natural ceiling. And the next thing Kurama knew, they were out of that accursed place, rushing out of there with a speed only achieved through their combined power. Unbeknownst to them all on that day, Itachi Uchiha had gone against the will of his fellow Akatsuki members. And somehow, if what they knew was true, he'd fooled the whole lot of them as well.
Kurama should have known things were going much too well for them. Of course the idiot brat could not remain a wise and prudent agent for long. No, the blonde fool they'd stuck him with had to be yet another Uzumaki, rushing headlong into danger and promising things he could not possibly hope to achieve. This was the true curse here, the Kyubi thought bitterly. Not to be shackled to a human (those fools were easily manipulated after all) but to an Uzumaki, the most stubborn of their kind by far. Kurama had trodden the earth long enough to know.
So here they were now, back to the accursed leaf village. Only not exactly. What were the grandma's words again? Assigned on a long term mission away from home. Here the Kyubi was, thinking they were returning to much needed safety and stability, only for the brat to throw it all away, and for what? The humans had always openly hated him. What was the worth of a few in the face of thousands? What were a couple friends and family going to do against entire armies full of rage and murderous intent? Kurama sighed again. Some things about these puny humans, they would never understand. It wasn't for lack of time; the Nine-tails simply refused to entertain such foolish notions.
oOo
Naruto was running away from home again. He was speeding along well-known paths and trees for the first time in what felt like several lifetimes. He would love nothing more than to slow down and appreciate the beauty of his home country; of everything that was his father's legacy. Sadly, it would have to wait. For now, he had a bet to win, and a painful part of his past to revisit. The old valley was still leagues ahead. It would be close to an hour until he reached it, although that estimate didn't account for possible firefights. Which were more than likely to happen.
Already Naruto could feel them all, the people in the group tailing him. They were moving impressively fast through the village, prompting him to infuse his legs with more chakra and boost his own speed in turn. There were four of them if he wasn't mistaken. Good old Kakashi with his ever-graceful movements. A man with a strange aura moving by his side, almost shadowing his grey haired teacher. Two women moving in tandem as well. An ANBU or someone on their level at the very least, and a Hyuga. Hinata Hyuga, if he wasn't wrong. That would almost certainly complicate things. Naruto was fairly certain he could have gotten the group to follow a red-herring if not for the Hyuga in their midst. He hoped she hadn't turned out like her cousin Neji at least. Having to deal with a Hyuga's temper and attitude on top of their physical prowess was sure to be a dreadful sore.
Not slowing for a second, Naruto began carefully considering his options. Under the present circumstances, confrontation had no chance of being avoided. They would reach him before the valley. Fighting among tightly knit trees like the ones of this forest was not suited to his preferred fighting style. That would be Kakashi-sensei's thing. It wouldn't do to give his genius former teacher such an advantage over him. That would make his loss in the chase and the bet much more likely. Naruto snorted at that. Fat chance of me letting that happen.
His hands formed the tiger sign in a blur, and the clones didn't need a single instruction before spreading out around him to look for suitable clearings. Naruto spread his senses outward again before creating two other clones. These ones would not go on reconnaissance duty. Instead, they would make use of what the toads had painstakingly taught him back on Mount Myoboku. It was time to use a few of the tricks he'd kept up his sleeve. And it wouldn't hurt for ba-chan to get a better grasp of how good he'd gotten. Jiraiya had been nothing if a dutiful teacher.
A sudden rush of information flooded him, most of his clones done with their mission. One of them had gone and confirmed his assessment of the shinobi on his tail was accurate, all the while making sure that there wasn't a good enough location behind to justify turning back and beating his assailants to the battlefield. Of the four of them, he only recognized Kakashi, who hadn't changed much, and Hinata Hyuga, who…
He caught himself at the last moment, almost tumbling down to the forest floor in his momentary lapse in attention. He tried to quickly shake himself of the feelings he suddenly felt himself contending with, but the shame at having made a genin mistake was hard to scrape off. It wasn't the only thing that lingered, though.
It was stupid. He was being stupid, with his stupid teenager body, and his stupid hormones, and stupid, stupid Hinata Hyuga, who had to be the Hyuga sent after him. For the first time in his life, Naruto found himself regretting pompous, arrogant Neji's face.
Another rush of information came to his brain, and with it the ability to focus again. A couple hundred kilometers to his North-East, one of his clones had found the perfect spot to engage in a skirmish. A clear, open area where he could easily take several opponents at once while keeping a clear understanding of how the situation would devolve.
While the current situation afforded Naruto some leeway in choosing their battlefield, it afforded little to no room in terms of timing. The Hyuga would likely be first; she was leading the hunting party, being their eyes and beacon across the forest. The others would all follow within a minute. Of them, two were entirely unknown quantities. There was a strange aura about the second man, and the woman was most likely a deadly ANBU in baa-chan's service. Kakashi would be a tough opponent, but he knew some of his tricks. As for Hinata Hyuga… Well, Naruto remembered little about her and her fighting style from when they were kids, but she would be a distraction in other, troublesome ways.
Now's not the time to think about mates, kid, the fox in him piped up from within him. Although I'm tempted to say it's about time you started actually considering mates and ma…
Alright! Shut up, you wheezing old demon. I'm trying to come up with a plan here!
I know you are, you stupid brat. That human with a strange aura, he reeks of your first Hokage. That probably means grandma Hokage sent him to deal with me, got it? Or is that too much for your little lust-addled monkey brain?
What's the first got to deal with – Alright, alright. Be cautious around the guy with a borderline creepy aura, got it. Any other wisdom to share, oh venerable old being?
Yes.
There was a beat of silence between them as Naruto was rapidly making his way towards the clearing he'd spotted through his clone. When still after a solid ten seconds, the Kyubi remained silent, he finally decided to give up their confrontation and take up the bait.
And? What is it?
Don't get me in trouble because of childish whims and gambling problems, you stupid infant human.
oOo
The clearing was ideal. Or it would do, at the very least. It had been a Kami-sent gift in any case, an advantageous place to slow down his opponents and throw them off enough to give him the time to reach the Valley unimpeded. That was the plan indeed. But Naruto knew better than to rely on plans – or on the only one plan.
The one plan would hopefully be good enough for his designs. It would be expected, of course. There were at least three serving or former ANBU tailing him, and Konoha had always prized itself for having the best operatives in all the elemental nations. Kakashi-senpai would see through all of his old tricks and routines. The other three would have been briefed on him if baa-chan had any intention of winning this (which, of the few things to be expected of Tsunade-sama, bets were among the highest items) so he would have to rely only on what he'd learned since leaving. Hopefully Jiraiya-sensei had been as good a teacher as an erotica writer. There wouldn't be anyone able to stand against him then.
He watched his clones do the last of the preparations. He'd figured he might as well lure them in with the expected, get them into a false sense of comfort. Naruto didn't believe for a second the tactic would be decisive, but he had to do what he could. The Valley was his primary objective.
Another rush of information told him that there was barely a minute of calm left before the storm would hit the clearing. Naruto steeled his nerves and readied himself. He'd studied his opponents as best he could, although his best hadn't amounted to much given that a Hyuga was with them, preventing anyone from getting to close without revealing themselves to their weaponized eyesight. Still, the other woman would likely prove dangerous with the blade she carried, and the Hyuga much less so. One was a deadly weapon and the other something just above a training grade one. Kakashi-senpai would fight like the Konoha devil he was, and the last one of them – well, he'd fight like any trained ANBU, at least. An ANBU with the Shodaime's abilities.
Already he could hear them coming. The curtains were about to be drawn on them all. With any luck, it would be a good enough show. I'd be fine with a poor one as long as I get to scrap from it, he thought with a wry smile.
If you want to make some meat out of them, you just need to call.
Thanks, Kurama, but I think I'll be fine for that one.
Kakashi came at him first, surprisingly, the Hyuga nowhere in sight. The man was ever so composed as he landed his first blows, not perturbed at all by having them thwarted and parried with a quickness matching his own. "Welcome back, Naruto," the older man told him with a smiling eye. "I think it's been so long, you just slightly missed the village. But I'm here to help guide you back so it's all fine."
"She must have really wanted to win this, sending you all off without speaking once about our little chat," he replied with a deadly smile of his own.
The diversion had almost been enough, but as he landed a lethal blow with a kunai lifted from his side pouch, Naruto found himself stabbing at a piece of wood instead. Of course. A fraction of a moment later, he heard the whistling sound of a weapon being thrown his way. He clicked his tongue at that and moved out of the way. What did Kakashi think, coming here and using genin tactics against him?
The man was standing on top of a branch above him, so Naruto looked up at him and groaned out loud at the sight.
"Really? Is that how highly you think of me, wanting to purposefully anger me by toying with me like we're back when I was your student?"
"Naruto, please. I've always been above such things," the shinobi told him seriously, his tone so deadpan and exasperating that Naruto almost missed the other man coming at him.
"Thank You!" Naruto exclaimed as he deflected the first few blows of the newcomer. "At least that's some decent strategy and not something you'd use on a twelve year old!"
The mystery ninja, for his part, only looked at Kakashi, still stood atop his branch. "Is he always that loud?"
"Yes. Yes, he is."
"If you wanna talk amongst yourselves like I'm not here, by all means be my guests."
Of course he barely made ten meters towards the end of the clearing before a sword was thrust at him to bar the way and cut him open in one smooth motion. The woman was not smiling. Her face seemed like it was not made for easy smiles. Once it was clear the first blow had been foiled she switched her blade and came at him from a new angle, this time aiming for his right side. The first subtle hint of smile came across her face when she twisted the blade suddenly after he'd raised his kunai to it, wrenching the small weapon out of his hand. She had him, she mist have thought. But Naruto would be desecrating Jiraiya's memory if he'd let himself get caught after such a brief skirmish. He stepped out of the way and threw an open palm at her ribs, fingers forward. In the millisecond of surprise the strange move afforded him, Naruto channelled his chakra lightning fast, and the woman could only avoid being cut in half by jumping out of the close-quarters confrontation.
Naruto clicked his tongue. "You're all ganging up on me, I see. That won't do."
That was signal enough for his clones to show up, one for each of his opponents. Of course Naruto knew that one of them was still missing, but he'd decided long ago that he'd face the Hyuga in person. He still had one trick left after all, and a good magician would always tell you to wait for the right time before you revealed your big trick. This was very much a show. A magic show, even if his opponents didn't know that just yet.
Kakashi immediately gave him a look like he was a student who disappointed his teacher. "Come on, Naruto. I know you can do a lot of them, but clones, really?"
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Just you wait, he thought with a smile that never made it to his face.
His white-haired opponent immediately threw a dozen shuriken towards the one rushing at him, and his clone deflected and avoided all of them only to see the man rushing in turn with lightning at his fingertips. The next few moments rolled out in stretched seconds to see Kakashi deflect a rasengan with his own jutsu, managing to plant a kunai in the clone's leg. The clone smiled at the man wryly and took the weapon out to throw it right back, before pressing the wound lightly with a green-glowing hand.
"I'll give you that," Kakashi conceded. "You've improved them a bit. But still, I expect better from my former student."
"Tch... I'd stay here arguing with you, but I think the Hyuga y'all brought with you is just being unreasonably shy at this point."
He rushed out towards the edges of the clearing then, eager to see just what the princess was made of. Around him all his clones had found their respective opponents and were fighting tooth and nail to preserve ground, not finding much advance. The one facing the ANBU woman already had his blade drawn, but it was clear even from a quick glance that she was the superior sword fighter, clearly a master of the art.
The other clones weren't faring much better. Once the surprise had all gone from his former sensei, Kakashi-senpai had redoubled his efforts and his tactics were even more formidable than they'd been back in the day, the man moving and aiming with a springiness and precision that belied his years entirely, making him seem like a much younger man. And at a quick glance Naruto could tell that he'd far from seen all the jutsu of the Hatake's repertoire, even as he flashed through them quicker than lightning.
The mystery shinobi had proven the truth of his intelligence on him. He used the Shodaïme's innate abilities like they were his own. He must have been another of Ororchimaru's little experiments, Naruto thought bitterly. There was little time for dwelling on the snake's sins, however. The man hadn't stolen his ANBU title. He could stand his own without need for much support, even if he'd still be the easiest adversary to be dealt with here. Unless, of course, Hinata-san proved herself to have been sent here only as the team's eyes, and little more beyond that.
Still, the Hyuga girl had not shown herself. It was now to the point where all the strategies in which a delay could have been decisive were gone and done for; Naruto was now very much aware of her absence from the battlefield, and any advantage gained through surprise against him was more or less lost. But he was then left wondering; why on earth would she delay their confrontation this much? None of the answers he was able to come up with made the littlest bit of sense, it was –
One lone whistle as the metal cut through the air. That was all the warning he was given before the Hyuga princess came at him as if from utterly nowhere. Naruto berated himself even as he deflected the blow where it would do the least damage. Surprise gone my ass. He deftly brought his own short sword out and in the path of the girl's blade. She was as silent as ever, and he was left wondering if she even took any breaths. But she didn't need a mouth to speak at all. Her intense eyes were stubbornly fixated on his blue ones, and through them she seemed screaming a thousand different things at him, scraps of sentences that rarely went from beginning to end.
Where have you been was the easiest to make out, even through the cacophony she put him through, the countless insults that ran clear as day on the white of the Hyuga's pupils. But how was he ever to answer that when with every second dozens of blows were exchanged, the blades crossing and clinking as if imbued with the will to make all the sounds their owners stubbornly refused to stoop to. He tried, of course. But Naruto had to admit that he was shit at speaking through looks if he had any ability at all. And all the while the Hyuga kept demonstrating her absolutely perfect ability in the practice, throwing a hundred signals with every single blow, screaming even as she was trying to hack him down to the ground. It was… Well, it was certainly having an effect on him. This girl, she was so intense, Naruto could feel the heat from where he stood. And, to top it all, she managed to be a raging fire while remaining outwardly as the prefect little heiress, an authentic princess of one of the major clans of their village.
Naruto groaned in pain as she cut him again, this time cleanly through the arm, leaving a mark that would have lasted him for weeks. He didn't curse though. He'd be damned if he was the first to break their silent agreement to leave the conversation out of this. He tried to give as good as got, too, but damn, the girl knew her way with a sword. Clearly she was trained, and her style seemed to somewhat resemble that of the ANBU fighting across from the clearing. His clone would be done for within the next five minutes if he didn't switch tactics, and so would he, in spite of this Hyuga swords girl lacking the ANBU's experience. He exchanged a few more clashes with her, letting the fight go her way more and more, and then, when he felt she was deep enough in his trap, he let it all go to hell.
One sure thing Naruto had picked up about her during their little skirmish, beyond the Hyuga being leagues ahead of him in sword fighting, was that she hesitated to land decisive blows. Their clashing should have been ended by her on more than one occasion, and each time the Hyuga let him recover, just enough to get out of the way. So he figured, the safest place for him to be was where her blade would reach his heart. And his foolish plan worked, almost too well. At the last moment, he put his chest right in the her blade's way. She audibly gasped, and tried to cancel her movement, but it was too little too late. In the blink of an eye the steel had cut all the way through him, and he spat blood right at her face. "You're… surprisingly good… with a sword." He told her with a strained smile, glancing down where her blade was going through his chest. The blood kept pouring out of him.
"No. No no no no no – You, why did you – Why the fuck did you do that?" She screamed, she full out screamed her words out, mere inches from his face. "How could you be so… so… so unbelievably stupid! I – I'll fix this. Don't move, don't you dare move, you hear me?"
He was beyond concerned now. "Hey, hey." he grasped her arms and forced her to look straight at him. "Look at me. It's alright. Everything's gonna be good. You've done nothing. You're good, you're good."
In the girl's distress and his attempts at reassuring her, they'd found themselves both lying on the ground, bodies firmly ensconced against each other. He was gently petting her hair, as the girl sobbed on his shoulder. She smelled good, the stray though caught him, before he crushed the entire wellspring of emotions that came with it.
"I'm not here! This was all a big trick to catch y'all and keep you here. I'm on my way to the Valley as we speak."
The Hyuga girl instantly whipped her head up, eyes staring intensely at his. "What?"
"Y-yeah," he responded, caught slightly aback by her sudden change of mood. "Remember what Kakashi-senpai said about clones?"
"You… Really?"
"Yep!" Naruto responded cheerfully, right as Hinata draw another kunai and sliced his throat open, looking nonplussed even as she was bathed with a literal spray of his blood. "It's a trap!" she yelled to the others. They're all fake."
"Are you absolutely certain?" Kakashi yelled back, his eye trained on his own opponent with a newfound suspicion.
"Yes!" She shouted in response, with a strain in her voice that went beyond having to shout her words across the clearing. "I'm certain."
As if on cue, the remaining clones withdrew from their opponents and formed a tight formation in the centre of clearing, eyeing their enemies with the same easy smile on their faces. "Well, it seems that our little –"
Their words were cut short before they could expand on them. In a blur of movement, the two kunoichi of the group had closed the distance and begun a new offensive on their target. Severed blonde heads flew across the tree line before a heartbeat had passed, and the third and last remaining clone barely had the time to curse before he had to go on the defensive, evading blows and parrying as well as he could. To any trained eye there was little reason to believe that clash would go beyond the minute. Naruto was decisively outclassed, so much so that the two men in the clearing contended themselves with scanning the area and covering their fellow soldiers with the occasional thrown kunai.
The fight was over before it had begun. Still, in spite of it all, the clone kept his smile turned at them even as he retreated his way back toward the edge of the clearing. He spat another glob of blood before lifting his head up at the four assailants. "It looks like I'm a bit outnumbered."
"Outmatched as well," Kakashi helpfully supplied. "I suggest you give us detailed informations on the original's position. It's only fair, don't you think?"
"You really think I'm still a child, don't you, Kakashi-sen –"
He wasn't given the leisure to go on. In a flash, the Hyuga was on him, having toppled the clone to the ground and brought a kunai to his throat. She was expressionless, but her voice was strained when she spoke. "Tell us."
"Hime!" the sowrdswoman yelled, but it was already too late. With one last smile, the clone joined his hands and activated the chakra-controlled scrolls on him. There was a fizzling sound that broke the sudden calm throughout the clearing, and the blast followed like the storm that strikes through the calm, obliterating the ground and what small vegetation stood in the clearing, obscuring everything with a thick cloud of smoke.
She was caught by her teacher just as she desperately evaded the blast, throwing herself out of harm's way. Yugao shielded her and took the brunt of the blast and the fire that followed. When she got her bearings back, Hinata was confronted to the harsh, unforgiving look of her superior.
"What did you think you were doing?"
"Yugao-sensei, I – I was just –"
"I don't care what you were, you didn't stop to think for a moment. Instead, you threw yourself into an obvious trap like a genin, like a child. If this had been aimed at killing instead of incapacitating us, we would both be dead."
Hinata lowered her head in contrition. Once more she felt the crushing shame of her youth; the same one her father had been so deceptively skilled at making her feel, with his hard stares and his ever-present dismissive looks. "I'm sorry, Yugao-sensei. It – it won't happen again."
"No it won't. Unless you want to cease being my student." The cold harshness had not left the woman's tone, and it did not leave even as she turned her head towards their two teammates. "This is over. You three are to return to the village at once. I have business to attend to nearby."
"Wai – wait, what?"
Yugao audibly sighed, and it caused Hinata to flinch, as if she was back to being a little girl, prone to be completely spooked. "Yugao-sensei, I – I'm sure we… I mean, if we just give chase without delay, we could –"
Hinata flinched again when Yugao grasped her by the shoulders. Still, she lifted her head in defiance and spoke up again. "Yugao-sensei, there must be something –"
"He's not leaving." She cut the young girl off before she could say anything. "This was never defection. Naruto has been given a special task by Godaime-sama, and she wanted him to prove himself before she agreed to anything."
They all let the silence suffuse itself into the clearing then, covering it up like a thick woollen blanket, leaving them all dazed and thrust into their own thoughts for the next few moments as time seemed to stretch infinitely between the four of them. In the midst of it all, the two kunoichi remain in each other's space, so invested in their staring they might as well have forgotten about the two witnesses looking on at their display. Hinata shook less and less, but Yugao, hard faced woman she was, doesn't let go. She still has the younger woman by the shoulders, and internally she rages that her mind does not let her forget about their audience. "Now, Hime. You must get back to Konoha. You will report on my behalf; then, you'll resume training while you wait for my return. Once these events are well and behind us, I believe Godaime-sama will want us to take the next step in your path as a kunoichi."
Yugao watched it all as her pupil unfolded before her. The gasp of surprise, first, and then the glint in her beautiful eyes, the firm resolve that slowly begins to settle itself across her whole, the clear vision of a path she's long since forged for herself. But then, hesitation, and Yugao can only guess at the wellspring of self-doubt that must be ravaging the young Hyuga girl. "I – Hai, Yugao-sensei. I will do as you say..."
She huffs in annoyance at the hime's antics. "Go on, girl. Ask what's on your mind."
Hinata has the decency to flush and lower her head in shame. But still, the words escape her lips well before she can think of stopping them. "Wha – What will Naruto… Do you know of Godaime-sama's plans?"
The ANBU turned jounin squad leader for the occasion shakes her head ruefully at that, but she cannot contain the smirk gracing her lips, no more than Hinata can contain herself when it comes to the boy she's perhaps foolishly attached herself to. Yugao is reminded, somewhat fondly, of the first steps of her relationship with the girl. Of how she'd tried to explain to the Hyuga princess how her crush would be detrimental for her path as an elite member of their village. And then, of course, of the girl's stubborn rebuttal of each and every sensible argument she'd throw her way. It had been then and there for Yugao; the moment where she'd realised how much that girl reminded of her younger self, how much she inspired everything good that remained in her bruised and broken heart. Yugao had made an oath then, and she'd kept it in the privacy of her mind until she'd had to share her plans with the Godaime. And bless their leader, for she had wholeheartedly agreed. But of course she'd then been reminded that their leader had had a life as a gambler before she'd come back for them.
"I believe that it would be a much more useful use of your time and ability, Yugao-san. You must realise something however."
"I do?"
"If you are to take on young Hinata's education, I would bet everything I have that at some point in the future, circumstances will lead you to double your work load."
Yugao let out another sigh. Bless their wise and shrewd leader. If she perhaps wasn't the strongest of them all, there wasn't a single doubt in her mind that Tsunade-sama outclassed them all in sheer cunning. A wise leader, with the heart in the right place. Konoha was well and truly on its way to another golden age full of prosperity. Students that outdid their masters, and all that.
"You will follow my orders as you always have. And then, perhaps in a week, perhaps in half a year, you will find that your years with the privilege of being my sole student will come to an end." she looked intensely at the girl, and as she'd expect, it took her all of a split second. Then, she turned to their audience. "Leave now. Make your report. Your part in this mission is over."
The two men silently acquiesce to her words, behaving themselves just as they've been trained to do. And a moment later, when she turns back her gaze, so does Hinata. The Hyuga hime murmurs Hai before she vanishes after the others. And just like that, in a flash of movement that has barely lifted any wind, Yugao finds herself alone. Only then does she allow herself a broad smile.
oOo
The sight is just as terrible as it had been the first time. Of course, not a moment later, the memories come flooding back. It is a wave of power and resentment that comes crashing against him, and Naruto weathers it as best he can. Filled with hurting memories of a friend he thought needed saving, Naruto slowly sits down, just so he doesn't crash to the ground and fall on his knees. Then, with his back at a sturdy tree trunk, he tries to breathe deeply, to mould his feelings within the movement of his lungs. And it comes so very close to working.
The waterfall is a beautiful sight to behold, although in his opinion, the two giant statues built more out of hubris than stone on either side dim the view, turning the beauty of nature into something more sinister, all for the sake of recollection. A necessary one nonetheless, to remind them all of what foundations their little shared community was built upon. What tragic past they shared.
Two brothers who'd tore themselves apart. What was it with history and its tendency to always repeat itself? Was there no way out of their shared curse, no way into the vision that Jiraiya had passed on to him after his father's wishes? Naruto huffs in annoyance. You really had to go on and die, didn't you? Just pass it all on to the next generation. What a fucking mess. What a shameful, horrid little –
"Well done out there, Naruto-san. You outsmarted an S-class team all on your own."
In a flash, he's on his feet, ready to face off once more against the purple haired deadly kunoichi. But she doesn't seem to want a fight. Instead, she calmly stands before him, with a lazy posture that lacks deadly intent and her hands nowhere near her weapons.
"I thought I'd felt you before. What is Obaa-chan's personal guard doing so far from her duties?"
Yugao gives a rueful smile. "It's been ages since I've been on guard duty, Naruto-san. I'm sent by Tsunade-sama herself. You've won that little bet of yours. You get to have your team. But every team needs a leader, even an informal one. Hence my presence here."
He takes a step back. But then he's laughing out loud. "Did I have any chance? Of course she'd have her way in the end. I guess it's always been the same with Jiraiya too. I get what he was saying now. She doesn't even need to beat you up in a fight."
Yugao huffs with a shake of her head. "No. No, she really doesn't."
What happens next, Naruto does not have time to react to. The deadly woman is inches from his face, and then he fist comes up and doesn't bother stopping until it connects, sending him crashing away and into the lake by their side, several meters below.
For a moment there, going down into the lake's depths, Naruto is sent back into the past, facing Sasuke off again and trying to get him back home. But no. His senses quickly came back, and with them the pain etched all across his face. From the blood seeping into the water, his nose was definitely broken.
He isn't afforded much time to reel and appreciate the quickness of his unexpected opponent. The next thing Naruto knows there's someone behind hims, while he was still plunging deep into the lake. And then the sandal connects with his back and he's sent flying upwards, bearing a new layer of pain settling quickly on top of the one he'd still been recovering from. A second later he emerges from the surface, but unfortunately for Naruto, his journey doesn't stop there. Instead his body goes on and he crashes against the very tree he'd had his back to less than a minute before.
He doesn't get up even after the kunoichi flashes by his side, eyeing him from above while Naruto still groans. "It would seem I get to be captain of your yet to be formed group for the time being, Naruto-san."
"I – It's… It's a bit unfair," he replies, while still pushing through the pain and trying to get back up. Naruto struggles all the way through; it would seem the kunoichi's strikes were designed to be disabling as much as they'd been brutal.
"Is it? I wonder, do you think Akatsuki is going to fight us like rules-abiding samurai? You'd best think carefully about your answer; I don't take students unless I think I can make something out of them."
Naruto closes his eyes and sighs deeply, admitting his defeat then and there. "I take it this is all part of obaa-chan's plan?"
"More or less; I only agreed after I'd seen the beautiful sword at your back, and how shit at the sword arts you've proven to be back there. But we need to make one thing absolutely crystal clear before we go any further."
Before he can ask, before he can even say anything, Naruto feels her grab and hold him by the collar. But she doesn't let go. Instead, the woman pins him against the tree and brings his eyes to her. Only then does he realize she's a good head taller than him. Probably stronger too, by the looks of it.
"What you did back there; It's not happening again. I don't care if you have to die for real to avoid it. You hurt the hime again in any way, you'll find yourself having to deal with me. And there won't be a soul in the land to stand between you and my blade. Got it?"
She'd said it all with a deadly calm. Her voice had not raised at any point, and only faint wisps of emotion had filtered through. But she could have shouted, for all the difference it would have made. Naruto had looked her in the eye just as she'd intended to, and through the paralysing fear she'd instilled in him, he still heard the fox's words.
This one. You'd better do as she says Naruto. It'll be a few years before you can measure up to her in any way.
So Naruto does as he knows he must. He nods sheepishly. "Hai, sensei."
