Naruto: Tornado of Souls V2

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Here is chapter 7. Enjoy!

Last time:

The Dango Shop

Sakura and Ino came racing into the Dango Shop looking like they'd run a marathon across the village. "Sorry we're late!" wheezed Ino as she struggled to regain her breath.

"We got caught up in things and went to get Pyrrha only to find out she already headed here." said Sakura panting. "We truly apologize for being tardy."

Kurenai gave them a flat look and said, "Have a seat ladies."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei." said Sakura as she plopped down beside the red eyed jonin. Ino sat at the end of the table between Sakura and Pyrrha.

Anko propped her chin in her hand and said, "I was beginning to wonder if you two brats had died on us or something."

Blake had a flat look on her face and sighed. 'Fangirls are the bane of real kunoichi everywhere.' "Well, I guess better late than never. We already ate while we waited for you."

"Well, I guess it's good for my diet." said Ino. "I don't want to get fat. A girl has to watch her figure you know." Sakura nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean, diet? You are kunoichi!" said Anko indignantly.

Kurenai added, "Dieting is bad for your health girls. You are both already too skinny."

"If nothing else think about your bust size." said Hinata with amusement in her eyes. "Dieting impairs breast development. All the dieting you have done may keep you from ever reaching your potential."

"W-w-what?" asked Ino. "Don't you gals all diet?"

Sakura and Ino both looked around the table at Kurenai, Hinata, Blake, Anko and Pyrrha. "Haven't any of you ever gone on a diet to lose weight?" asked Sakura in a tiny voice.

All of the other kunoichi shook their heads and Pyrrha said, "If you want to trim off weight then burn off the calories through exercise. Dieting is a bad idea."

After comparing their smaller busts to the particularly noticeable ones sported by Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake, Sakura and Ino both burst into tears wailing, "NOOOOOOO!"

The others just had a collective sweat drop as the entire restaurant stared at the two weeping genin kunoichi…

…

Chapter 7

Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment

Naruto was exhausted after summoning Fukasaku and he and Jiraiya agreed he should get some rest. After getting home Naruto was too tired to fix much for dinner and just had some cereal and milk. After that he took a quick shower; put on his Built for Speed tee shirt and some orange sweatpants and went to bed early.

…

After dark Naruto awoke to an odd sound he didn't recognize. Noticing it was coming from his front entryway room the blonde ninja strapped on his kunai pouch, grabbed his shuriken and silently slipped out in the hallway. He cried out in pain when something hit his shoulder and nearly severed his right arm off in the low light. He was flung backwards by the impact of the object as it tore through flesh and muscle alike.

The blonde ninja crashed through the door to his hamper and then fell face first onto the floor as his body hemorrhaged out his life's essence in silence…in the wall of the hamper was a golden arrow that seemed as if it was hardened from some sort of liquid.

"Hmmph…sending me after someone of such low level. This wasn't even fun." said a black-haired young man with a bow that emerged from the shadows. He was tanned and wore an Oto forehead protector. The most interesting thing about him was he had six arms. His name was Kidōmaru and he was a member of the Sound Four which were among the elites of Orochimaru's forces. His task: Eliminate Konoha's jinchūriki 'just in case.'

Kidōmaru shook his head as he put his bow away. "What a waste of time for someone of my skill level. I didn't even get to toy with him. He was dead before he hit the floor. I guess I should report in that my mission is a success." He looked back at Naruto and said, "Too bad loser." and turned to leave.

Then the spider like ninja then felt something heavy in the air. Something that was making it difficult to breathe. He turned back around to the fallen blonde and felt it. There was a repeating sound that reverberated in the air…Like a pulse. Kidōmaru suddenly felt an overwhelming presence rush forth as a torrent of red chakra poured from Naruto's massive wound and began to swirl around him like a miniature whirlwind. The red miasma continued to pulse louder and louder and Kidōmaru's eyes got wider as the thundering of the pulse shook his body and caused his ears to hurt.

Yelling out over the infernal pulsing noise Kidōmaru bellowed, "What the hell is this?!"

Naruto's eyes opened in the darkness. Instead of the mischievous blue that normally sparked they were slitted and glowing blood red with pure malice. Kidōmaru watched in macabre fascination as Naruto's shoulder reformed. Bones set, muscles and tendons repaired themselves and blood vessels formed seemingly out of nothing. The Oto ninja was so transfixed on all the gore coming back together that he wasn't prepared when the red eyed blonde rushed towards him at incredible speed with red, corrosive chakra claws that sliced through his flesh like a hot knife through butter…

Kidōmaru's scream rang throughout the apartment complex Naruto lived in. The spider like ninja had instinctively blocked with his three left arms and lost a left hand, a left forearm and another left arm down to the elbow. Naruto didn't stop there either. Even the layers of sticky web that Kidōmaru shot out in defense were corroded away in an instant. 'I have to escape this monster!' was the only coherent thought besides the agony of having his limbs severed in the Oto ninja's mind.

The pulsing noise in the air was deafening as Kidōmaru ran out into the night to escape the out-of-control beast…

…Unfortunately for Kidōmaru; Naruto was not an out-of-control beast. He was very much focused and in control….and he was angry. 'That six-armed freak's head is mine!' thought the blonde as he shot off into the night in pursuit of the Oto predator turned prey…

…

Naruto's Apartment Complex

The ANBU were on the move. The noises of someone screaming in Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment had been heard and reported. When ANBU Cat and her Team arrived, the air was thick with the stench of blood. The front door was left hanging wide open and trails of blood lead back into the apartment. Entering in a textbook sweep the ANBU quickly secured the room. The hallway was a gore fest. There was a strange golden arrow in the hamper wall and a pool of blood where someone had been lying. Judging by the heavy chakra saturation Cat deduced it had been Naruto though for the life of her she couldn't imagine why the blonde-haired boy would still be alive.

They also found three left arms severed in various places that were more or less identical. "They look like they were all cut in one slice and fell to the floor Cat." said ANBU Dove. "They also look as if they all came from the same person."

"How is that possible?" asked ANBU Wolf.

ANBU Dove shrugged. "I haven't a clue unless a set of triplets wedged their way into the hall and held their hands out as a group to be sliced off. It doesn't make any sense."

ANBU Bear called from the front room, "The slash marks out here are laced with Kyubi's chakra. Judging by the blood trail; the boy was badly injured, got up using the bijuu's power and attacked. He must have chased his assailant out into the village. He may be berserk."

"He may be dead from the amount of blood involved." said Wolf grimly. "Hokage-sama isn't going to be happy."

"Regardless our job is to find Uzumaki and get him medical help." said Cat authoritatively. "Give me a minute here. I'll try to sense where he is." Stepping outside and away from Kyubi's overwhelming chakra in the apartment; Cat reached out using her sensory ninjutsu. After a couple of minutes she said, "What the hell? There are over a dozen sources of Kyubi's chakra on the move! They are headed towards the red-light district. Wolf, follow the blood trail. It may be more reliable. Bear, secure the apartment and follow us when you are done. Dove, you are with me. I'm going to lock in on the nearest chakra source. Hopefully that will be our boy. Move out team!"

…

Red Light District

Kidōmaru was breathing heavily as he wrapped up the bleeding stumps of his three left arms. The jinchūriki had grazed his chest as well and those spots were also burning and bleeding as the corrosive chakra ate away at him like an acid. The Sound nin no longer thought of his target as a teenage boy. This wasn't even a hunt anymore. He felt he was dealing with something far worse. Naruto had been silently stalking the injured spider ninja for nearly forty-five minutes. Every time Kidōmaru thought he'd found a secure place to hide the demonic blonde would appear out of nowhere to take another piece of flesh off. 'What am I going to do?! I'm hiding in the oldest and dirtiest part of town I can find. The smells and the debris here make good camouflage. Why can't I shake him?!'

As a result of the spider like ninja losing his three left hands; he couldn't use his full arsenal of jutsus because he could no longer make the left half of his hand signs. 'I'd normally have summoned Kyodaigumo to cover my escape and my sticky gold armor is useless against that red chakra. I had to shed it to increase my speed. If I can't lose him I'll have to fight him. I hope my cursed seal will be enough to level me up.'

While the frightened member of the Sound Four hid in an alley below, Naruto was on the rooftops above looking down at his prey. 'That fool. He thinks he can lose me on my home turf. I know this village like the back of my hand and I know every place to hide on the rotten side of town. Time to go again.'

Kidōmaru barely had time to dodge when Naruto came down on top of him like a bat out of hell. The spider like nin had already concluded that his time was running out and decided to take the offensive. He activated his level two cursed seal and took on a truly monstrous form that had sharpened teeth and even horns. Kidōmaru unleashed a roar and fired a volley of arrows into Naruto at point blank range. The blonde took a hit to the heart, one in the head and others riddled his body at point blank range. There was no doubt in Kidōmaru's brain that he'd slain the monster. Panting heavily the spider like nin soon broke out into hysterical laughter at his victory. "Hahahaha! He wasn't at my level after all! I am victori-"

Kidōmaru didn't have time to blink when the Naruto in front of him burst into smoke. The Oto ninja soon felt a twinge in his neck and an odd feeling of weightlessness as his vision spun. Kidōmaru realized he was tumbling end over end and he finally rolled to a stop. 'What the hell happened? Why can't I move?!' thought Kidōmaru as he struggled to get some motion in his body. 'Am I paralyzed?' He looked up and saw Naruto towering over him without the red chakra glowing about him. Naruto just looked like an exhausted kid covered in blood.

The spider like ninja tried to say something but no sound came out. He tried to yell but Naruto cut him off. The blonde said in a haggard voice, "You've been playing cat and mouse with my shadow clones for almost an hour. I don't know what the hell you are or were but it doesn't matter. Without a head your body's no threat to anyone. Once I got you psyched out and tired all it took was a basic wind slash to decapitate you. I've been watching and waiting for the right time to strike all this time."

Kidōmaru's eyelids blinked and his eyes filled with terror as he realized he was just a decapitated head lying on the ground. He grasped he'd died in a simple ambush. No glory, no brilliant strategies. The Sound Four member was killed in an almost amateur way. Amidst it all the Oto nin wanted to cry out "Why?!" as the life left his eyes. Kidōmaru of the elite Sound Four was dead and gone. His empty eyes stared into nothingness…

After Naruto saw his foe was dead he flared his chakra in the pattern Jiraiya had taught him to summon ANBU. The orange loving ninja was exhausted and the realization he'd just killed someone caught up with him. Nearly tripping over Kidōmaru's headless, still twitching body Naruto ran over to the nearest garbage can in the alley and violently threw up for what seemed like hours to him. Coughing and sweating he saw several ANBU arrive. ANBU Dove came over and said to him sympathetically, "First kill Uzumaki?" Naruto nodded before he finally passed out from fatigue.

Naruto's last thoughts before he passed out were, 'What an awful night…'

…

Training Ground 52

Hinata awoke early and packed a picnic lunch for everybody. She had especially made Naruto shaped onigiri for the object of her affections. The kunoichi were all supposed to meet at 8 AM at training ground 52. Hinata was hoping to stop by Training Ground 53 as well before she joined the others but Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama weren't there. 'I was hoping to see Naruto-kun this morning but it looks like he is training elsewhere today. Maybe he'll show up around lunch time.' She soon saw Kurenai, Anko and Blake arrive and waved to them. "Good morning everybody!" said the Hyūga Heiress.

Kurenai greeted her student warmly. "Good morning Hinata-chan; what's in the basket?"

"I brought lunch for everybody." explained Hinata. "Training is hungry work. We may have to force Ino and Sakura off of their diets though."

Anko chuckled. "Well those girls will learn fast or keel over; whichever come first. A body needs fuel. Did you bring dango?" she asked with a slight drool.

Blake said in a flat tone, "A kunoichi cannot live on dango alone Anko nee-chan."

"I am living proof otherwise Blake-chan." answered Anko haughtily.

"Ummm…Sorry I don't know any really good dango recipes." said Hinata apologetically.

Anko's eyes got huge and she cried "OH, THE HUMANITY!"

…

About a half hour later Pyrrha arrived practically dragging Ino and Sakura. "Hello everybody! I had to take a little extra time to motivate Sakura and Ino. They wanted to sleep in."

Blake put her hand on her forehead as if she was warding off the worst migraine in history and muttered "…Fangirls…" under her breath. Anko snickered.

Kurenai (being the more responsible one) said, "Alright ladies, now that we are all here we'll warm up with fifty laps around the training grounds. If you slow down behind your teammates too much then Anko will motivate you to speed up."

Blake and Hinata moved from their positions near the center to the outer edge with Pyrrha, Ino and Sakura. After everyone got in the ready position, Anko pulled a handful of kunai knives and said "Ready, set, show me what you've got!" as she darted the kunai at the five genins and forced them to run to avoid impalement.

…

Konoha Hospital

Naruto woke up in the mid morning feeling worn out and tired. His body felt a bit strained but overall there was no longer any pain in his shoulder. The blonde felt he was heavily bandaged though. "I see you are awake Naruto." said Jiraiya's voice from his left. "I wasn't expecting you to come around so quickly."

The blonde tiredly turned his head to face his sensei. "How long was I out Jiraiya-sensei?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "You passed out from fatigue around 1 AM last night and it's 11 AM now. Ten hours is a pretty amazing recovery time considering you should be dead and all."

"Do you know who it was that attacked me?" asked Naruto wearily.

Jiraiya shrugged. "We're trying to figure that out. He was wearing and Oto uniform and had some spider like features. Chakra webbing; multiple arms….it could be a bloodline we've never heard of or one of Orochimaru's experiments. The people doing the autopsy are still trying to figure out the mess. I need to ask you something Naruto and I need you to be completely honest with both yourself and I. You used a massive amount of Kyubi's chakra to stay alive. Do you feel like you lost control of yourself in rage?"

Naruto pondered for a couple of minutes. "I was angry but all I was focused on was killing that Oto ninja before he could kill me. Once my body felt healed I channeled Kyubi's chakra into twenty shadow clones and sent them out to hunt. When the chakra left my body I felt tired and quietly followed my clones until I could ambush him. They wore him out and got him panicked so I could finish him off."

"It seems all that training in team tactics was a real plus." said Jiraiya. "Do you have any idea how many tails of power you were using?"

"It was two sensei." said Naruto with a yawn. "Each of my clones had two." Naruto got choked up. "I…I had to kill someone Jiraiya-sensei…"

Jiraiya put a reassuring hand on Naruto's good shoulder. "Killing is never easy Naruto. Don't bottle it up. Just let all the pain out of your system."

Naruto cried quietly while Jiraiya talked him through it. It was hard but in the end Naruto felt better before he dozed back off. He was worn out both emotionally and physically and the best answer was rest…

…

Training Ground 52

"Oh god this is living hell…" croaked Ino as she collapsed onto the ground. She'd just finished her fiftieth lap.

"Way to go blondie!" said Anko with false enthusiasm. "It was a tough fight but you managed to win the battle for last place with pinkie!"

Sakura was laying face first on the ground about twenty feet ahead of Ino. "I…can't…go…on…" muttered the rosette pitifully.

Hinata was sitting in a meditative position and said, "What have Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei been teaching you two? Don't they have you do regular exercise?"

"I'm rather curious myself." said Kurenai in a disappointed tone. "You two are exhausted and that was just a warm up. The other three have been done for forty-five minutes and they were pacing themselves; not racing flat out."

"Kakashi-sensei had us do team building exercises between Sasuke-kun, Naruto-baka and I." said Sakura weakly.

Hinata growled at the 'baka' part and Blake said, "Naruto seems like he's doing a lot better than you are Sakura. He doesn't seem like a baka at all."

Pyrrha nodded, "What do you have against Naruto-san? He seems very friendly and has an admirable work ethic that is commendable."

"You don't know him like we do." said Ino defensively. "He causes trouble for Sasuke-kun."

"We're getting off track here." said Kurenai. "What is it that Asuma has your team do Ino?"

Ino slowly sat up. "Well, we practice our family jutsus a lot and he plays shogi with Shikamaru."

Pyrrha couldn't hide the shock on her face and said, "But what about you Ino-chan?"

"I'm not a big fan of shogi so I don't play." said Ino matter-of-factly.

Everyone but Sakura face faulted at Ino's statement. Anko said, "You #$%^&! little $%^&*(+s! You call yourselves kunoichi?!"

"I don't even know what those words mean…" whispered Pyrrha to Blake and Hinata.

Hinata said, "Those are new to me as well. I have this feeling they shouldn't be repeated in mixed company."

Blake sweat dropped and whispered, "Trust me, you don't want to know…" as Anko read the riot act to the quivering Ino and Sakura.

…

Konoha Hospital

A doctor was reading off Naruto's diagnosis. "Well Uzumaki-san, due to your unique status your body drew off all the fat reserves and anywhere else to regenerate your damaged tissues and your body slimmed a bit as a result. You are going to need to eat a lot before your body is fully back to normal. On the positive side your musculature inadvertently grew due to those same factors and you are a perfect example of lean muscle. The uniqueness of your metabolism saved your life. There isn't even a scar from what should have been a fatal wound. You are a very fortunate young man."

Naruto wanted to say something sarcastic about how 'fortunate' he was but Jiraiya intervened. "So do you have a diet plan for my apprentice? I don't want him to go straight back into training and injure himself."

The doctor looked perplexed for a few moments. "You are in the Chunin Exam Finals aren't you Uzumaki-san?"

"Yes; and I still want to compete, -ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Well, getting you on a diet and putting you on the appropriate supplements to give your body the building blocks it needs isn't an issue." said the doctor. "Strenuous exercise it out of the question though. You shinobi always push yourselves too far too fast and end up injuring yourselves worse than you were to begin with. Eat right and do only light exercise this next week. After that I going to turn your case over to an experienced medic nin that can gauge exactly what your body can take. On a personal note I think the idea of you fully recovering and competing in the Chunin Exams in a mere three weeks is ludicrous but doctor's opinions rarely sway you ninjas from trying to kill yourselves. I'll get you on an appropriate diet and get you on your way Uzumaki-san."

After the doctor excused himself Naruto turned to Jiraiya. "What are we going to do Ero-sennin? A week of light exercise is a week wasted…Hell, my jumpsuit looks like a tent on me I'm so skinny. I wonder if Choji could lend me a few pounds…"

Jira scratched his chin and then smiled. "Naruto, the doctor was referring to physical exercise, not mental exercise. Do you know anything about fuinjutsu…?"

"Fuinjutsu? What's that sensei?" asked the confused blonde.

…

Training Ground 52

Hinata was smiling as Blake shot at her in a spar. The faunus girl wasn't holding back at all and between her multi elemental clone types and genjutsus Hinata was on the defensive. Hinata could see though the genjutsus but that didn't help when an earth or water clone was trying to wreck her. The Hyūga Heiress barely deflected the blade from Blake's kusarigama and she shot several bolts of fire using her new style of juken back at her cat eared foe. Blake quickly deflected the shots with her katana and her armored sheath -only to find Hinata on top of her raining juken strikes down like lightning. The two girls hit the ground still exchanging a furious flurry of blows. Both realizing they were at an impasse the two genin kunoichi jumped back to renew their assault on one another…

"FREEZE!" yelled Kurenai. "This spar is a draw. Bow to your opponent and make the sign of reconciliation." Both Blake and Hinata were drenched in sweat and bowed.

Hinata said quietly to Blake as they bowed, "You are amazing. With your Gambol Shroud you could be even more lethal."

"What do you mean?" asked the amber eyed girl.

Hinata simply said, "I will talk to both you and Pyrrha later about weapons."

Both kunoichis rose from their bow and said, "Thank you for the spar."

Pyrrha was already sitting down from her spar with Anko earlier and said, "That was a really good spar you two. Full contact sparring is a much better way to gauge your true abilities!"

Sakura and Ino were staring dumbfounded at Pyrrha, Blake and Hinata. They expected Anko and Kurenai to be out of their reach but those two were jonins.

Ino whispered to Sakura, "Hinata was so meek and shy at the Academy and never did well in spars. She lost at the Chunin Exam Preliminaries; I always felt like she wasn't as strong as you or I forehead. What the hell happened?!"

"Don't ask me; I'm busy fearing for my life here Porker." replied Sakura in a low tone. "Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha are way beyond or level. We're really going to have to train our butts off to even get close to their strength or skills."

"I'm beginning to think I got shafted with Asuma-sensei." said Ino glumly

Sakura slowly nodded. "I get the same feeling with Kakashi-sensei."

Kurenai was talking to Hinata and Blake. "That was a superb display girls." said the red eyed jonin. "I'm embarrassed to say it but I completely underestimated both of you girls and Pyrrha as well. Your clone techniques are fascinating Blake. I've never seen anyone use different types of clones so effectively. Hinata; I know you explained your Fire Style Juken too me but seeing it in action is another thing entirely. I'm very impressed with both of you."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei; it means a lot to me." said Hinata. She activated her byakugan and saw Training ground 53 was still empty. 'I'll have to go by Naruto-kun's apartment and see how he is doing. I've missed him today.'

Pyrrha said, "Is Naruto-san at his training ground? We should ask him and Jiraiya-sama to join us for lunch."

Hinata shook her head and said, "They haven't been there all morning. I brought enough food for them as well."

Anko said, "Well, now that we've cooled down a bit let's have some lunch in the shade of a tree." Everyone was getting hungry and readily agreed...

…

Hokage's Office

Sarutobi Hiruzen was less than thrilled reading the coroner's autopsy report on the six armed Oto ninja. 'It's obvious he was sent specifically to eliminate Naruto but the question is why? One possibility is to eliminate contestants in the Chunin Exams. Another would be to eliminate the threat of Kyubi. There is also the possibility that this was revenge for Naruto busting up Kinuta Dosu in self-defense. I'm putting an ANBU detail on watching our Chunin Exam contestants. Someone could have specifically wanted Naruto and that will be the end of it but better safe than sorry.' The Hokage lit his pipe. 'Damn it all Orochimaru. Not killing you when I had the chance was my biggest failure. Now you're planning to invade while our doors are wide open for the Chunin Exams. You're going to find we are far better prepared than you'd ever expect us to be.'

Hiruzen went back to his reports and read up on Naruto's condition. He'd checked on his surrogate grandson this morning while Naruto slept but from the reports and the debriefings Naruto had checked out of the Hospital and turned in his after action report. From Jiraiya's information Naruto tentatively could control two tails of Kyubi's power without detrimental effects except for exhaustion. Truthfully the Third Hokage never wanted Naruto to have to use Kyubi's power but given the boy's life so far it seemed that it was inevitable. 'Minato-kun, Kushina-chan; Naruto is growing stronger every day. He truly is your son…'

…

Training ground 52

Everyone was sitting down eating the major lunch that Hinata packed. Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle. "These onigiri are so cute. They look just like Naruto-san! I kind of hate to eat something so decorative."

"Well they certainly taste good!" said Anko. "Hinata, where did you get this stuff made? Everything is delicious!" said the snake mistress between mouthfuls.

"Well I…I made it all myself." answered Hinata shyly. "I like to cook for my friends." 'I was hoping Naruto-kun would be here…'

"You fixed all this Hinata?" asked Sakura, "That's amazing!"

"Too true Forehead." said Ino. "If you ever decide not to be a kunoichi you could be a five star chef!"

Kurenai was happily munching on her meal. She smiled and said, "Hinata-chan keeps Team 8 good and spoiled with her cooking."

Blake was too busy stuffing her face with copious amounts of tuna nigirizushi to really comment but it was painfully obvious she was quite pleased from the happy sounds she was making…

…

Akimichi Barbeque Restaurant

Choji was sitting with Naruto as the blonde inhaled his own weight some specially prepared food. "I just can't help myself Choji; I'm absolutely starving!" said Naruto between bites.

"I know the feeling Naruto." said Choji kindly. "We Akimichi's always have to be careful with our weight because the body expansion jutsus burn so many calories."

Naruto nodded repeatedly. "Well if anybody calls you or any members of your clan the F word again; you let me know and I'll punch their lights out."

Jiraiya was over talking with Choji's Father, Akimichi Choza. "You don't know how much Naruto and I appreciate you helping with Naruto's special diet. I knew if anyone would know how to prepare this kind of food and make it good; it would be the Akimichi Clan."

"No worries Jiraiya-sama." said Choza jovially. "That poor kid looked like he'd used an Akimichi food pill he was so skinny. We couldn't leave him in that shape. Besides, he's a good friend of Choji and Shikamaru. Looks like he's finished off another plateful. Let's see how Naruto is doing."

Jiraiya looked at his wallet and then at Naruto. 'It's the least I can do for the kid. We're just going to hang the expense for now.' Jiraiya smiled as Naruto let out a colossal belch that drew polite applause from all of the Akimichis present…

…

Training Ground 52

Hyūga Tokuma was watching the Hyūga Heiress spar with her friends at the behest of the Hyūga Elders. He had the longest range of vision in the entire Hyūga Clan so he could observe Hinata-sama theoretically without being seen by her even with her byakugan activated. His job was fairly simple; the Elders wanted to know about the new Fire Juken Hinata-sama apparently invented out of the blue. Tokuma was then going to give an appraisal. Unfortunately, he had no idea what 'Fire Juken' encompassed so he decided just to do his best.

…

Flashback…

Tokuma watched as Ino and Sakura sparred before Yuuhi Kurenai separated them and instructed them on proper methods of punching and kicking. She soon set about watching them practice on training posts. In the meantime Anko was sparring with Blake and Tokuma could hardly believe Blake was a genin. Given Mitarashi's skill level; the fact Blake was keeping up with Anko alone was enough to shock the Hyūga Special Jonin. It was then he saw Hinata-sama and Pyrrha Nikos enter the field…

Pyrrha had a tsurugi and an odd disc shaped shield that she wielded with the practiced ease of a highly experienced kunoichi. Hinata took her Fire Juken stance and her hands and eyes ignited with flame chakra. The two young kunoichi shot at each other and started trading blows rapidly. Pyrrha ducked low and held her shield above her as Hinata acrobatically went airborne to land a strike from above. The Heiress bounced off the shield due Pyrrha's sheer physical strength. Hinata quickly flipped backwards only for Pyrrha to launch a volley of kunai knives at her. Hinata shielded her hands with flames and effortlessly deflected the projectiles.

Taking the offensive Hinata fired off several small bursts of fire chakra that Pyrrha likewise easily deflected with her shield. Hinata charged and slid under her opponent for a foot sweep. Pyrrha did and aerial cartwheel over Hinata and completely evaded the takedown strike. They both recovered from their moves facing each other and started circling one another. Hinata suddenly lashed out with a firestorm as Pyrrha created a magnetic shield that couldn't be breached. The two girls impacted each other and were both knocked off of their feet from the power of the collision. Tokuma was completely and utterly shocked as Kurenai called the spar…

Both girls were dizzied but managed to get up and bow to one another and make the hand sign of reconciliation.

Flashback End…

…

"And that is what I saw Honored Elders." said Tokuma. "Given the power Hinata-sama displayed I'm not sure what level she is at. With the possible exception of endurance she seems like a solid jonin. The sheer offensive power she has with her flames could literally roast most opponents alive without heavy protection such as a kaitan or the like. I have never seen nor heard of flame manipulation on that level without some sort of bloodline involved. I am speechless at what I saw. It truly has to be seen to be believed."

The Head Elder nodded and said, "Thank you for your diligent work Tokuma. We will take this under advisement."

…

Jiraiya's Apartment

"This is my old place Naruto." said Jiraiya. "I only use it once in a while so as far as I'm concerned the place and everything in it is yours. Just take care of the utility bills; I own it so there is no rent."

Naruto's eyes got big and watery. "Ero-sennin, the front room alone is bigger than my entire old apartment! Are you sure you can afford this?"

"Sure I'm sure." chuckled Jiraiya. "The place is yours. Your old apartment is compromised and this is a ninja only apartment building so you'll be safe."

Jiraiya suddenly found himself enveloped in a hug from Naruto who was quietly sniffling as he repeatedly said, "Thank you."

Jiraiya ruffled the blonde's hair and let Naruto calm down before he said, "It's really no problem Naruto; I've got a more luxurious one I take the ladies home to." Naruto immediately face faulted. Laughing and seeing Naruto was back to normal (even if he was under weight); Jiraiya snapped his fingers and made a shadow clone. "Speaking of ladies, we need to inform you girlfriends you've moved."

…

Training Ground 52

It had been a long day of training and Ino and Sakura basically had to be carried by Kurenai and Anko back to their respective homes. The blonde and the rosette were so tired they hadn't even brought up Sasukeism…that is really tired.

Blake, Pyrrha and Hinata finished picking up all the scattered weapons and straightened up the training grounds as Kurenai had told them to. Hinata asked the other two girls to stay a minute before they parted ways. The three were sitting in the shade of the trees and Pyrrha asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Hinata answered, "Your weapons." Seeing both girls raised their eyebrow Hinata continued. "The Miló and Akoúo̱ Pyrrha used and Gambol Shroud Blake used are well within the technology we have right here in Konoha." said Hinata to Blake and Pyrrha. "You wouldn't have the gun forms but if they were made of chakra metal it would mean there is no longer a requirement for dust cartridges. I already have a pair of short swords being crafted for me that are equivalent to Midnight that Cinder Fall used on Infiltration missions. What do you say?"

"I say such custom made items would cost a fortune." said Blake. "As I understand it chakra metal is rare as hen's teeth."

Pyrrha said, "I'm curious as to why you would bring up the subject to begin with Hinata."

"Things that happened in the past…in our previous lives…I don't know if we will ever be friends but I'd like to make it up to both of you in a small way." explained Hinata. "I thought I would gift you with new weapons to protect yourselves. I have the resources and much more knowledge of Konoha than you do. It would be my gift to both of you as a way of apology. I'm not who I was but I'd like to make amends somehow. Maybe it is a naïve idea on my part."

Both the redhead and the faunus girl were a bit shocked. "You'd just…give us custom weapons for free?" asked Blake.

The Hyūga Heiress nodded. "I would really like to become friends someday. There are challenges in the future we may have to face together. I'd like to do that as friends and comrades instead of strangers."

Pyrrha looked slightly pleased but Blake looked hesitant.

"It doesn't have to be right away." said Hinata. "I-we have company."

The conversation would have continued but Jiraiya's shadow clone arrived. "Good evening ladies; I hope you had a productive day. Naruto and I had a situation to deal with and couldn't come."

"What kind of a situation Jiraiya-sama?" asked Hinata.

Blake asked, "Is anything wrong?"

"I'd be glad to help if you need." said Pyrrha.

"Funny you should ask." said Jiraiya's clone. "I bet Naruto would like to see you three at his new apartment."

…

POSTSCRIPT:

I finally learned that the name of Cinder Fall's bow/swords weapon was named Midnight so I added it in. See you next time. Blue out. 2/1/22