Naruto: Tornado of Souls V2
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So far I haven't changed a lot other than the ages of the characters and fine tuning here and there. Here is chapter 4. Enjoy!
[ ] Signifies handsigns
Last time:
Anko's apartment
"Well, I guess this is a welcome home Blake." said Anko as she opened the door to her to the apartment. "Remind me to get you a key of your own tomorrow."
Blake peered in and saw that Anko's apartment was neat and clean but the walls were decorated with every kind of weapon known to man. "You sure have a lot of weapons gathered here." said the cat eared girl.
"Well, you never know when you'll have to kill someone." replied Anko. "Your room is going to need to be emptied out since I use it for storage. If you don't mind we'll start in the morning on that. Just use the couch tonight. Let's see what I've got around to eat."
Blake's eyes zoomed in on a small shelf of books. "Oh, is this your library Anko?"
Anko nodded. "Pretty much. You like reading Blake?"
"It's sort of my hobby." admitted the faunus girl.
"Well feel free to read; maybe we can hit the bookstore tomorrow." said Anko as she headed towards the kitchen.
That was when Blake's amber eyes focused on a couple of particular books with orange covers. "Icha-Icha Paradise…what's this?"
Oh dear…It seems Jiraiya just got a new fan…
…
Chapter 4
Fire Country, Konoha, Naruto's apartment
It was early morning and under ordinary circumstances Uzumaki Naruto would have griped and complained to high heaven about having to get up before the sun rose. However, having a dedicated sensei in Jiraiya that actually paid attention and cared about his progress; Naruto was burning with the desire to succeed. He came out of his apartment after a big breakfast and the lowlifes in the area gave Naruto wide berth as he walked along. It was as if his Will of Fire was a palpable thing and everyone in the Red Light district he lived in could feel the heat from it. Taking off in a jog Naruto spent the next hour running laps around Konoha before going to Training Ground 53 to meet up with Jiraiya…
…
Training Ground 53
"You're right on time Naruto." said Jiraiya. "How many laps around Konoha did you get in this morning?"
Naruto held up one hand with his fingers spread. "Five laps Jiraiya-sensei. That's one more than yesterday."
Jiraiya nodded in approval. "Good; stay with five laps the next four days and then go for six laps. Today our focus is going to be taijutsu." Jiraiya summoned a large orange and blue toad. Naruto was familiar with this toad because he was the keeper of the Toad Scroll which Naruto had signed.
"Hi Gama!" said Naruto happily. "I guess you're going to be helping me train in taijutsu this morning. Let me summon another toad to help." Naruto focused hard on his chakra and roared, "Summoning jutsu!"
A small orange toad appeared and said "Yo! Was I summoned?!" the small toad sweat dropped at the scene of the orange clad Naruto dancing around happily claiming he'd summoned a real toad instead of a tadpole this time. The toad turned to the much larger Gama and said, "Was this guy dropped on his head too many times?"
The always taciturn Gama simply shrugged and croaked in reply. Naruto stopped dancing and ran over in front of the small toad. "This is so cool! You're the first real toad I've ever summoned! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo. What is yours?"
The small toad smiled and said, "Yo! I'm Gamakichi, son of the Toad Boss Gumbunta. I've never been summoned before."
"Awesome!" yelled both youngsters. Jiraiya and Gama both smiled at the kid's enthusiasm…
…
The Hyūga Compound
Hinata was in her room going over her list of things to do:
Date Naruto-kun
Keep Hanabi-chan safe from the Elders
Free the Branch Family from the Caged Bird seal
Date Naruto-kun
Unseat the Hyūga Elder Council
Train with Naruto-kun so he'll crush Neji into paste
Date Naruto-kun
Meet up with Nikos Pyrrha and try to form an alliance
Shock the hell out of Hiashi with my new clothes…because I can
…And date Naruto-kun
"That's a good start for the list." thought Hinata aloud with a smile.
It was mid-morning and there was a terrified shriek heard in the Hyūga Compound. Hinata was getting ready to go out in her new battle dress. Hanabi was doing her morning taijutsu exercises in the dojo. Neji was dwelling on his fate in his bedroom….and Hiashi just discovered the bill for Hinata's new; racy wardrobe and was having a meltdown. Hinata heard what sounded like a stampeding herd of wild Akimichis coming up to her door when Hiashi burst in holding the incriminating receipt from Hinata's shopping spree. The Hyūga patriarch was about to yell something when he saw Hinata's new red and gold battle dress that showed off all her feminine curves quite nicely. Hinata raised an eyebrow at Hiashi's wild eyed look and said coolly, "Hiashi-sama, you are supposed to knock before entering a lady's room."
Hiashi was torn between having a heart attack over Hinata's new attire and having an aneurism over the bill for Hinata's new attire. In a raspy, choking voice he said, "Hyūga Hinata, where are your clothes?!"
Hinata smirked. "I'm wearing them Hiashi-sama. These allow much more freedom of movement in combat. If you'll excuse me now I need grab a picnic basket for lunch before I go out to spar."
Hiashi's eyes bugged out as he blocked the door and said, "You aren't going ANYWHERE dressed like that!"
Having heard the commotion, the Main Branch House maid Hyūga Natsu peered from behind the wild eyed Hiashi and said, "Oh my! Those clothes are quite daring Hinata-sama."
The clan head charged towards Hinata's closet and grabbed the biggest, heaviest article of clothing he could find -a parka. "This will cover you up!" he said wildly as he lunged towards his eldest daughter and wrapped the fur lined parka around her. Twenty minutes of kicking and screaming later Hiashi had a grim smile of victory adorning his battered face. He had a black eye and a split lip with bruises and scratches all over his body. It had been a vicious battle but Hiashi stood triumphant over his foe. On the floor his daughter was bundled up tightly and looked about as sexy as an Emperor penguin in an overcoat. "Let that be a lesson to you Hinata." he said in a superior tone.
The penguin/kunoichi rolled over on the floor to face up at him and growled, "HIASHI-SAMA…." That's when the Hyūga patriarch realized he was staring down at his Maid Hyūga Natsu and his daughter Hinata was nowhere to be found…
…
Outside…
Hinata was stepping out of the front gates of the Hyūga Compound with a picnic basket in hand chuckling to herself when she heard Natsu go off like an atom bomb inside the Main Branch House. 'Ah, the replacement technique is a wonderful thing. On a totally unconnected note, I had no idea the prim and proper Natsu even knew such words. She's screaming enough obscenities to make a sailor blush…'
…
Training Ground 52
Belladonna Blake was practicing with Anko a bit to polish up her skills. Anko already knew Blake was superb at evasion but there were a lot of odd kinks in Blake's style thanks to the rather violent merger between Kin and Blake's souls. Though Blake was the predominant one she still had some of Kin's idiosyncrasies such as using senbon needles as her primary weapons instead of kunai. It wasn't a huge issue but as things stood the new Blake's fluidity wasn't up to par and that could be fatal in combat. Anko went for a foot sweep that Blake avoided acrobatically with a back flip and retaliated by taking a long-range slash at Anko with her kusarigama. They Snake Mistress avoided the shot deftly with a duck and was about to charge when the two kunoichis saw something diving at them out of the sun. They both instinctively leapt back as it plummeted to the earth…
"YEEEAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" screamed the object as it cratered the ground throwing dirt high into the air.
Blake said "…" as she stared at the smoking crater.
"…" agreed Anko as the dust settled.
"Ouch." said a blonde-haired young man as he crawled out of the crater in the ground. He was filthy. "Did anyone get the name of that battle toad that hit me?" he asked blearily as his double vision settled on Anko and Blake. "Two pretty kunoichis with bows in their hair and two crazy snake ladies. Whoa, this is really cosmic man." The dirt covered blonde fell over on his face and said, "I think I'll take a short break…" Then he started snoring loudly.
Blake looked at Anko and asked, "Why is he not dead? He left a crater in the ground with his face."
"Well…Uzumaki Naruto is our number one most unpredictable knucklehead ninja…" said Anko with a shrug. "I guess we should check him over." she added. Anko rolled him over and saw Naruto looked like he'd lost a war. He had several marks on him that bore a remarkable resemblance to a toad's footprints…only huge.
Blake brushed the dirt off Naruto face and saw his whisker marks. Her amber eyes widened and she sniffed delicately. 'Is he a faunus?! He smells like a fox!' The cat eared girl saw a large shadow fall over her and looked up.
"I see you two lovely ladies found my wayward apprentice." said a large man with white hair.
Anko looked up from the apparent corpse of Naruto. "Jiraiya-sama; I didn't know you were in the village."
"Well, well. If it isn't Anko-chan.," said Jiraiya. "Naruto seems to have crashed in on your sparring session. Sorry about that."
Blake blinked. "Jiraiya-sama as in the amazing; incredible author?!"
"That would be me my dear. Are you a fan of my work?" asked the super pervert.
Blake jumped up and stood in front of Jiraiya before she said eagerly, "Last night I read Icha-Icha Paradise for the first time! I'm completely hooked! I must get your autograph!"
Jiraiya chuckled at the earnest girl. "Well, anything for my fans!" He pulled out a copy of Icha-Icha Violence and said, "This is the second book in my best-selling series! Who shall I sign this to my dear?"
"I'm Belladonna Blake, Jiraiya-sama." said the faunus girl with barely contained excitement.
The super pervert signed with flourish, "To the amber eyed beauty, Blake. Signed the great Jiraiya-sama." Handing the book over to Blake she held onto it as if it was made of gold.
A weak voice said, "…Ero-sennin, leave that poor girl alone…"
Blake looked down and realized she inadvertently was standing on the downed Naruto. 'I was so excited to meet Jiraiya-sama I didn't look where I was standing!' "I'm terribly sorry! I wasn't looking where I was I when I stood up!" she said apologetically as she hopped off of Naruto's chest.
"Don't worry about my apprentice." said Jiraiya with a smile. "He should feel honored to be walked all over by such a beautiful young lady as yourself Blake." The Toad Sanin turned to Naruto. "You've rested long enough Naruto. Let's get back to work."
Naruto coughed up some dirt as he sat up and said, "Right; I need more training in if I'm going to win in the Chunin Exam Finals." Rolling over on all fours he stood up and small cloud of dust came off of him.
Blake asked with concern in her amber eyes, "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you just fell out of the sky!" 'I can't ask him if he's a faunus in front of others. He may be keeping a low profile like I am.'
"Eh? I'm okay." said Naruto as he stretched with an unnatural popping noise that made Blake and Anko both wince. "See? No problem!" added the blonde with a toothy smile.
"Sorry again that I was standing on you." said the cat eared girl in embarrassment. "Ummm…I'm Blake; Belladonna Blake." she said holding out her hand to shake.
Naruto wiped the dirt off his hands and shook her hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo! It's nice to meet you Blake." Looking at the crater he said, "Sorry I interrupted your spar."
…
Nearby…
It was upon the sight of Naruto shaking hands with the cat eared girl that Hinata spotted him from Training Ground 53. Her byakugan eyes narrowed and she wondered 'Who is this girl?' Getting closer Hinata could make out the faunus cat ears on Blake with her byakugan and noticed the all too familiar style of her black and white clothing. Hinata gasped. 'Belladonna Blake?! It can't be!' Hinata focused intently on Blake as she walked towards Naruto's location. 'Amber eyes…There's no doubt about it. This girl even carries the same types of weapons as Blake. I'll have to be cautious with her.'
Hinata came walking up to the group and waved as she called, "Naruto-kun; there you are. I thought you were going to be at Training Ground 53."
Naruto smiled and waved back as Hinata drew closer. "Hi Hinata-chan! I kind of got knocked over here when Gama kicked me."
"Who are your new friends?" asked Hinata in a kindly tone as she strolled up.
Naruto said, "This is Belladonna Blake. We just met." Then he motioned to Anko. "…And you remember the Crazy Snake Lady from the Forest of Death."
Blake covered her smile with her hand as Anko fumed. "My name is Mitarashi Anko you orange wearing brat; not Crazy Snake Lady!"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in amusement and Hinata said, "I remember you Mitarashi-san. You attacked Naruto-kun and licked the blood off his cheek during the exams." The heiress spoke to Blake as she held out her hand to shake, "I'm pleased to meet you Blake-san. I am Hyūga Hinata. You must be new here in Konoha."
Blake's mind was reeling. 'This girl…her style of dress and the way she carries herself…' "It's nice to meet you Hinata-san; please call me Blake. I just arrived here in Konoha and I'm a probationary genin under Anko."
The underlying tension in the air was thick and Jiraiya and Anko picked up on it easily as the two young kunoichis sized each other up. They were still shaking hands.
'She's definitely Cinder Fall. There's no mistaking that aura.' thought Blake. "I can't help but feel like we've met somewhere before Hinata." said Blake as she let loose a tiny bit of killing intent.
Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly but she didn't lose her composure. "Perhaps we met in another life Blake. You never know about these things." 'I shouldn't be surprised that she recognizes me I suppose. She always had good instincts. It does clear any doubts in my mind that she is the same Belladonna Blake though -or at least part of her is. I need to avoid conflict with her if she is a Konoha kunoichi regardless.' "We'll have to get to know each other better later."
"Yes, I'd like that very much." replied the cat eared girl. 'Is she merged with someone else like I am? She's obviously a Hyūga so she has to be.' "Perhaps we could train together." 'I need to find Pyrrha and fast.'
"We should all train together!" said Naruto. He'd completely missed the friction between the two girls.
Anko decided to diffuse the situation. "Maybe we can train some other time Uzumaki. I'm afraid that Blake-chan and I have a busy schedule to keep."
…
After Naruto and the others bid Blake and Anko farewell they headed back over to Training Ground 53. "So how did you end up at Training Ground 52 Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.
"I was practicing my taijutsu with Gama while Gamakichi watched and the little fiend distracted me." explained Naruto. "Gama nailed me with a drop kick and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air and crash landed on Training Ground 52."
"Sounds like this Gamakichi needs to be punished." said Hinata menacingly.
Naruto shrugged. "Eh, Gamakichi is alright. He was just pranking me. I kind of like the little guy."
'They sound like two peas in a pod.' thought Hinata. "Well, if you say so Naruto-kun."
…
Anko and Blake's apartment
After leaving the training grounds and heading back to their shared apartment Anko decided to ask what was on her mind as they ate a light lunch together.
"Just what happened back there at the training grounds Blake?" asked Anko with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
Blake said slowly, "That girl Hyūga Hinata…she's from the original Blake and Pyrrha's world; at least in part. She's a mortal enemy of theirs named Cinder Fall. Belladonna Blake died trying to pursue her. Cinder murdered Nikos Pyrrha. I need to go see Pyrrha and warn her. Her life could be in danger."
Anko didn't show it outwardly but she was very alarmed inside. "Hyūga Hinata is the heiress to a very high-ranking clan here in Konoha. This could be very bad news. We need to inform the Hokage."
"What about Pyrrha?" She needs to know." said Blake.
"I'm breaking protocols since you are under probation but let's head over to the Yamanaka Flower Shop first." said Anko.
Blake nodded and said, "Thank you Anko. I really mean it."
…
Training Ground 53
Naruto, Hinata and Jiraiya had the lunch that Hinata brought with her. Naruto was amazed that Hinata could cook so well and praised her highly which made Hinata blush. Naruto soon got back at work warming up for his afternoon training session. After debating with herself for several minutes; Hinata decided to talk to Jiraiya about her situation. 'There is no helping it I suppose.' "I need to see the Hokage Jiraiya-sama." said the Hyūga heiress somberly.
Jiraiya said, "So your encounter with that girl Blake made you decide to come clean about what happened during your coma did it?"
Hinata looked sideways up at Jiraiya. "You're very perceptive."
"I am a spymaster Hinata-chan." said the Toad Sanin. "Why didn't you tell Hokage-sama to begin with?"
She looked down sadly. "I didn't want to lose my chances with Naruto-kun was the main reason…"
Jiraiya nodded and made a shadow clone to keep an eye on Naruto's training. "You may find things aren't as bad as you think Hinata. Have a little faith. Let's go see my old sensei."
…
Yamanaka Flower Shop
Pyrrha set down the last pot of flowers that needed to be moved and wiped the sweat off her brow. Smiling, she looked over at the completely wiped out Ino. "That was a good workout. Now that's all done and we can devote our energy to other things instead of stretching it out all week."
Sakura was there sitting by the counter watching Ino and Pyrrha work as she sipped on her drink. "Wow Pyrrha, you are a human dynamo! You look pretty pathetic there in comparison Ino."
"Says the girl who has done nothing but sit and watch while we sweated blood for my Mom!" complained Ino.
"Sakura did offer to help." commented Pyrrha.
Ino got a gleam in her eye. "And that's how Forehead got out of it!" the blonde exclaimed. "She always offers to help when my Mom is around because she knows that Mom will always insist that Sakura doesn't get dirty helping out. If it was up to me I'd be working Forehead to the bone!"
"Gee, I love you too Ino-pig!" snarked Sakura. "I never ask you to do MY chores when you are over at my place."
"That's because you're OCD and always have to do everything yourself!" roared the blonde.
The rosette retorted, "No, it's because you are a total slob!"
Pyrrha sweat dropped as the two best friends/worst rivals bickered back and forth until the bell on the door jingled signaling someone was coming into the shop. Ino immediately had a drastic personality change and magically appeared behind the counter with a friendly smile. "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop! I'm Yamanaka Ino; how may I help you today?" asked the blonde kunoichi.
Mitarashi Anko came marching in and said, "I remember you from the Forest of Death girl." Then she added with an evil smile, "Have you gotten any braver since then?"
Ino visibly cringed at the Snake Mistress. "Jonin M-Mitarashi Anko…Ummm…C-can I help you?"
"Yeah, actually you can." replied Anko with a nod. "I'm looking for your guest Nikos Pyrrha."
Pyrrha came forward. "I'm Nikos Pyrrha. May I help you?"
Anko nodded at the redhead. "Are you friends with a girl named Belladonna Blake?"
Pyrrha's green eyes got huge. "Blake? She's here?! She's my friend and classmate. How do you know her?"
Blake poked her head in the shop hearing Pyrrha's excited voice. "Is it really you Pyrrha?" asked the faunus girl hopefully.
Pyrrha turned and saw Blake's amber eyes full of hope. "Blake…"
The two girls embraced each other with tears in their eyes. "Ruby told me you were dead…I thought I'd never see you again." said Blake quietly.
When the two separated and Pyrrha asked quietly, "What happened? How did you get here…? Did you die too?"
"I was going to hunt down where you and Cinder Fall vanished and I was killed by the energy that brought me here." said the faunus girl. "I found her and I had to warn you."
"Cinder Fall is here?" whispered Pyrrha fearfully.
Blake nodded as serious as death. "She's someone else now just like I am and I suspect you are. She even looks different from who she was but it's her. I-"
"Pyrrha-chan; who is your friend?" asked Ino out of nowhere startling Pyrrha and Blake out of their discussion. Pyrrha saw Ino staring curiously with Sakura also looking intently at them.
"Ah, Blake is a friend of mine I remember from before." said Pyrrha embarrassed. "Blake, these are my friends Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. Ino, Sakura; this is my good friend Belladonna Blake that I knew before I came to Konoha."
Blake nodded at them and said, "Nice to meet you." She remembered both Sakura and Ino from the Forest of Death and wasn't too impressed from Kin's memories of the pair. She didn't say anything though.
Anko said, "We need to inform Hokage-sama of the situation. It would probably be a good to get Inoichi as well if he's home."
Ino said, "Daddy is home but I'm running the shop!"
"I'll get him; wait here guys." said Sakura. She quickly trotted back into the house to find Inoichi.
"So where are you two from originally Blake-san?" asked Ino inquisitively. "Pyrrha-chan has memory damage from what Daddy said."
"Well, I-" started Blake.
Anko cut Blake off. "That's classified for now Genin Yamanaka. No further questions. The Hokage has made both Blake and Pyrrha probationary genins so their origins are of no consequence as far as you are concerned."
Inoichi came out of the back with Sakura trailing him. "What's going on Anko? Sakura said you needed to take Pyrrha-chan to see Hokage-sama."
Anko quickly went through the ANBU hand signs [A third person outside these two has been found. It's the Hyūga Heiress].
The Yamanaka patriarch's eyes widened slightly. He signed, [That explains some things. Is the Heiress dangerous?]
[Possibly, it has not been determined yet]. was Anko's reply.
Inoichi said, "Let me get my gear and we'll head to the Hokage Tower." Turning to his daughter and Sakura he said, "Princess, Sakura-chan; you two stay here. Not a word of this leaves this room. Those are my orders to you as a superior officer."
…
Hokage's Office
Hyūga Hinata was sitting in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen. Jiraiya was there as well as ANBU Hawk. "So my suspicions where correct about you undergoing some mental changes. After the situation with Pyrrha Nikos I'm not all that surprised. You will have to submit to a mind walk by Yamanaka Inoichi you realize." said the Third Hokage in a reasonable tone.
"I understand Hokage-sama." said Hinata quietly. "I'll agree to a mind walk of course."
"Why did you hide it Hinata?" asked the Hokage. "You are a bright girl. You obviously knew you were being watched and would eventually be caught."
"There are several reasons Hokage-sama." said the Heiress with a sigh. "I needed to be discreet. With my newfound confidence I could right the wrongs in my clan and get closer to the person I admire the most."
"…And the other reasons?" asked Hiruzen.
"I knew my clan would remove me from my position and I would no longer be able to unite the houses and get rid of the Caged Bird seal. I couldn't allow that and I have to protect my little sister Hanabi-chan from the Elders." answered Hinata. "That and I hoped to make peace with Nikos Pyrrha as Cinder Fall actually was her enemy and executed her without mercy."
Hiruzen nodded. "So part of you is Cinder Fall and part of you is Hyūga Hinata. Which soul won the battle?"
Hinata looked puzzled. "I don't understand the question Hokage-sama; what battle?"
"You had two souls within you battling for dominance. Which one ended up in control?" asked the aged Hokage.
The Heiress answered, "Both Hyūga Hinata and Cinder Fall were dying and willingly fused by choice so they could live. There was no battle for dominance. They became a new and better person than either was. I have the strength and confidence that Hinata never had but I also possess the kindness and compassion Cinder never had. As I look like and have assumed the role of Hyūga Hinata I adopted that identity as my own. When Belladonna Blake discovered who I was earlier today I predicted her revealing my identity and decided to come to you willingly first."
"Three different results for three different soul mergers. It's quite fascinating." said ANBU Hawk. "Inoichi-sama will no doubt want to document all of this."
"I take it Belladonna Blake and Nikos Pyrrha had different circumstances then?" asked Hinata.
Hiruzen shrugged. "It won't hurt to tell you. Nikos Pyrrha's soul was dominant because the other soul simply had no will to continue. Belladonna Blake's souls viciously fought for dominance though Blake prevailed in the end. Fascinating or not it's most disturbing that this is happening. Dying souls are migrating from this place called Remnant and joining with dying souls here. We don't know when or where Remnant even is and we have no idea why either. Hinata; I want your full cooperation in this matter. There must be some explanation for all of this."
Hinata nodded somberly, "I will help in whatever way I can."
…
The Hokage's buzzer on his desk went off. His secretary Maki's voice rang through. "A thousand apologies Hokage-sama. I know you did not wish to be interrupted but Yamanaka Inoichi-sama is here and he explained that the situation is urgent."
Hiruzen answered, "It is alright Maki; I trust he has Belladonna Blake and Nikos Pyrrha with him?"
The secretary sounded baffled, "Yes sir; how did you know?"
"It's connected to what I'm doing now; send Inoichi and his group in." replied the Hokage. He motioned to his former student. "Let them in please Jiraiya."
…
Both Belladonna Blake and Nikos Pyrrha were a bit shocked to find Hinata was already there apparently waiting for them. Hinata said, "I anticipated you two would come to the Hokage so I simply came of my own accord with Jiraiya-sama. What took you so long?"
"So you really are Cinder Fall." said Pyrrha bitterly.
"Only half of me is. The other half is Hinata." said the Heiress. "I am not your enemy believe it or not."
"This is all pretty surreal." commented Anko.
Hiruzen said, "It looks like you have your work cut out for you Inoichi."
The Yamanaka patriarch just sighed…
…
Training Ground 53
"Are you sure Hinata-chan is alright Ero-sennin?" asked Naruto in a concerned tone. "I should have gone with her to see Hokage Jiji."
Jiraiya's clone said, "It has to do with the coma she was in. It will work out Naruto. She needs to do this and you need to be training. You've completed the leaf cutting exercise. In Suna they often learn to cut rocks before they move on to cutting a waterfall."
"It sure got stormy earlier Ero-sennin." said Naruto. "I felt like the clouds were pulling at me; that's pretty weird huh?"
'I wonder if he actually has the Typhoon release*①?' pondered Jiraiya's clone. 'Some Uzumakis back in Uzu could control the weather after all. I'll have to see if there are any scrolls on the subject. Kushina-chan didn't have it but she had chakra chains.' "I'll look into that this evening. In the meantime let's look at your progress on the rasengan. Show me the water balloon exercise."
Naruto quickly grabbed a balloon and popped it easily. "How's that sensei?" asked the orange loving ninja.
Jiraiya's clone grinned. "You have the concept of rotation down pretty well Naruto. The next step is power." He unsealed a box of rubber balls. "Now you need to pop these rubber balls like this." The clone demonstrated and the ball burst. "Make about twenty clones and let's get started."
…
Hokage Tower
Inoichi found himself quite immersed in his work. Hinata's mind was very different from Pyrrha's. Both Cinder and Hinata were very neat, organized and orderly unlike Pyrrha's psyche which seemed to be missing pieces and fragmented because Haruna Kato's psyche had more or less self-destructed; leaving Pyrrha's psyche to pick up the pieces. On the other hand; Hinata and Cinder's personalities seemed to mesh almost seamlessly in a combined effort for them both to survive. It was both fascinating and befuddling to Inoichi because the kind and sweet Hinata and the dark and vicious Cinder seemed to be opposites to the degree that a dichotomy existing should be inevitable…
It was quite the opposite. At their cores Cinder and Hinata were very much alike; driven, hardworking young women that wanted to succeed. They had clear cut goals and while Inoichi found some of Cinder's goals questionable that did not change the fact that she was a straightforward person. To Inoichi it was almost frightening how well the two blended. It was evident that the two sets of memories were merging to the degree that telling where one psyche ended and the other began was already being erased. In their place was a well-rounded kunoichi that was very loyal to Konoha and channeled her energies into changing things in the Hyūga Clan…and she wasn't afraid to play dirty to get it.
Ordinarily Inoichi would have considered upsetting the largest and most powerful clan in Konoha a bad thing but the new Hinata's overriding goal was to get rid of the Caged Bird seal and unite the main and branch families. It was a goal which Inoichi found admirable. Furthermore, since it was an internal clan issue even the Hokage had no right to intercede given the nature of clan laws in the Konoha Charter. Hinata had already studied the matter thoroughly and had an ironclad case that as the Heiress of the Hyūga she could fix the internal issues in the Hyūga Clan any damn way she pleased so long as the clan fulfilled its obligations to Konoha…
…The new Hyūga Hinata was an intelligent, clever and cunning young kunoichi.
Coming out of his two-hour mind walk Inoichi quickly started documenting the facts about the new Hyūga Hinata:
-She is a loyal kunoichi of Konoha that shows all the signs of being a superb leader someday.
-She wishes to change things within the Hyūga Clan's current situation without doing any harm to Konoha proper.
-She plans to make reparations with both Nikos Pyrrha and Belladonna Blake as she believes they would be good allies to have in the future.
-She exhibits no signs of instability or mental collapse that one might expect from a soul merger.
Conclusions:
-Hyūga Hinata shows all signs of being a mentally healthy young woman and a fine kunoichi. She is an asset to Konoha; not a threat in any way.
-Recommend regular psyche checks for her to monitor her progression.
-Recommend that her new status is NOT revealed to the Hyūga Clan.
-Recommend that she works with both Belladonna Blake and Nikos Pyrrha to ensure their future working relationships are successful.
…
"Whew; this is quite a little task here Seiko." said Inoichi to ANBU Hawk.
"I'm Hawk while on duty Inoichi-sama." said Hawk.
"Sorry Hawk; I let my discipline slip due to fatigue." said Inoichi. "I'm going to do Belladonna Blake's mind walk tomorrow. I need to discuss this matter with Hokage-sama. Please keep watch over young Hinata until she wakes up."
…
Twenty minutes later Inoichi was sitting with the Hokage. "…And that concludes my report Hokage-sama. I believe that the odds of two people merging this way so successfully are incredibly slim but for Hinata it was a complete success."
Hiruzen puffed his pipe. "It seems that both personalities working to survive together is a huge factor. While Hinata's attitude is slightly different it's nothing that couldn't be attributed to growing up a bit from the experiences of the chunin exams. We'll leave it at that. Once you've mind walked young Blake tomorrow we will see about getting the three together to work out their differences."
"You don't intend to punish Hinata for not revealing her circumstances then Hokage-sama?" asked Inoichi.
The aged Hokage shook his head. "To be honest anyone would be terrified of informing their superiors that an extra soul existed in their mind. Besides, the improvements she's shown with her Fire Juken alone are quite astounding. We'll be monitoring all three girls but punishing them or confining them would be detrimental…And just between you and I Inoichi; I hope Hinata brings that barbaric Caged Bird seal to an end. I can't interfere directly because I am the Hokage but I can indirectly help young Hinata along."
Inoichi smiled. "Yes, indirectly of course."
…
Training Ground 53
"Well, let's wrap it up for the evening Naruto." said Jiraiya. "You made some good progress today. Sarutobi-sensei let my clone know that your friend Hinata will be back tomorrow and that everything is fine."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "That's a load off of my mind Ero-sennin. I was really worried about Hinata-chan."
Jiraiya looked at Naruto and thought of Minato and Kushina. "Tell you what; for working so hard today I'll treat you to dinner. What do you want?"
The orange loving blonde predictably said "Ramen! Ichiraku's ramen!"
The Toad sanin shook his head and smiled. "Ramen it is then."
All in all it hadn't been a bad day as far as Jiraiya was concerned…
…
POSTSCRIPT:
*①: Typhoon Release: a stronger form of Wind Release is called Typhoon Release (颱遁, Taiton), which is a kekkei genkai. It is used to summon storms that mow down the surroundings and are strong enough to move entities like Susanoo.
See you next time. Blue out. 1/31/22