Hello everyone.

Hope you're having a wonderful Covid-free day! ^^

Maybe in the far future, someone will read this and think to themselves: "What the heck is a covid?"

That is, of course, assuming that is still a thing, and people are still reading Naruto fics.

One can only hope...


The hair-rising scream of a woman in agonizing pain rang in the chamber, white pillars supporting the pentagonal room. The woman banged her head on the glass, her eyes slowly turning red as her limbs contorted from pain. As her motions intensified, so did her screams.

"Vitals are failing," Kabuto said, reading off of a screen next to the room. His eyes caught a glance of Orochimaru's frustrated face as her heartbeat flatlined.

Her contortions and screams faded, as her muscles twitched and post mortem movements slowed.

Orochimaru slammed his papers onto the desk with rage with a frustrated grimace etched onto his pale, white face. Gripping the side of his desk tightly, a sense of hopelessness took over.

A human trial had been successful. Project #9… What was so special about it? The fox had escaped; its tracker was found in the middle of the woods with cold, dried blood covering it. Orochimaru had assigned a few of his best technicians to look for the human who had come into contact with the animal, and Orochimaru was now certain that the rising Youtube star was the person he was looking for.

It had to be the human who was special. After hundreds of trials, none had survived the full, undiluted venom of any of his animals. The closest he had anyone surviving were the five. One of them was genetically altered beforehand, and didn't even have a long lifespan.

The four others were a mix of criminals, volunteers, and a desperate student looking for money.

If only he had a way to gain samples of the human…

He looked back towards the young, pale boy with sky blue hair on the hospital bed next to him.

"You'll be alright soon, Mitsuki," Orochimaru said, running a slender hand across his cold cheek. Multiple IV needles were plugged into him, and an oxygen mask covered his face.

He was running out of time.

He dialled up a number on his phone.


Halfway across Konoha, a crime was taking place in a dark, dirty alley, filth and grime painting the old brick walls.

"Hands up, old man," The man said, pointing a serrated blade towards him. "Hand over the suitcase."

"P-please, my daughter's sick, and she's in the hospital! I-I just took out a loan from the Mizu crew-"

"None of my business!" He said, slamming the butt of the knife on his balding head.

Falling over in pain, the man dropped the suitcase full of money.

"Thanks for the tip, old man," the mugger said, with a gleeful tone in his voice. Readying himself to grab the money, he bent over to examine the suitcase.

Before he could open it, however, he was grabbed by the back of his throat and thrown against the wall in the alley.

"What the fuck-"

His complaints were drowned out as a powerful hand with fingerless gloves covered his mouth and nose, the pressure pinning him to the wall. In front of him, was a figure of black with a mask completely covering his head.

"Shh…" the figure said, putting a finger against his mouth.

"W-wait! You're that Hokage from Youtube!"

With speeds the man's eye could not follow, the Hokage poked the man's left eye, shooting pain into his skull and half-blinding him.

"Ahhh!"

The Hokage then grabbed the top of his head with one hand, and the chin with the other. Spinning the body with this leverage, he slammed the man onto the ground with enough force to crack the concrete beneath.

He then showed him a picture of a good-looking boy with lavender eyes, and long brown hair.

"Have you seen this guy anywhere? Or heard of someone called 'Neji Hyuga'?"

"N-no! I-I've never heard of him… P-please let me go!"

"Tch," the Hokage said, stomping his foot into the man's face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. Frustrated, he punched the brick wall, shattering the five bricks closest to his fist completely, and leaving considerable amounts of cracks to the ones nearest, the damage decreasing as the bricks went further away from the area of impact.

"Th-thank you… you're the vigilante from Youtube, aren't you? The Hokage?" The balding man asked.

The Hokage turned around to face him, bright violet eyes shining. "That name's not going to go away anytime soon, is it?" He asked himself, offering a hand for the man to get up with.

He took it, and with a few labored breaths, grabbed the suitcase full of money. "Thank you so much… this money, it's all that my daughter's got left," he explained.

"No problem, old man. Good luck to your girl, hope she heals soon," the Hokage said, turning to leave the alley.

"You said you were looking for Neji Hyuga, correct?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face the man again. His eyes shone brighter than it did a few moments ago.

"Do you know where he is?" Naruto asked, a hint of desperation in his voice as he leaned forward ever so slightly to listen to the old man.

"No, but the name sounds familiar… I just can't seem to place it," the man said, wiping off some sweat from his brow. "Ah, yes. I think I heard them mention it today when I picked up the money."

"Who's them?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, my apologies. I'd probably get into much trouble for telling you this, but because you very well may have saved my daughter's life, I feel obligated to tell you. The Mizu gang, surely you know about them?" he said.

Naruto tilted his head to the side for one second as he recalled information from his brain. "The gang residing in Western Konoha, right? Built on tradition and leadership?"

"Correct. I… borrowed some money from them, I had nowhere else to go. On the way out, I heard a few of them discussing, and his name was mentioned on the list of entities to watch out for," the old man said.

"The Mizu gang… where would I find them? Do they have a hideout or something?"

"The Mizu gang have always resided on Mizu street, Western Konoha. It's where they get their name, and the street gets its name for being near the lake. If you want to speak with their leader, however…" the old man leaned forward as well, and whispered into Naruto's ear. "Go to Konoha prison and ask if you can speak to Mei Terumi. When they ask you the reason for your visit, reply 'Lava and Boil release'. They'll let you talk to her if you do. Keep this a secret, and you didn't hear this from me."

As the old man excused himself, Naruro stayed back a few moments to process this information.

"One step closer, eh, Naruto?" Kurama asked.

Better than nothing. I'll have to go check out this… Mizu gang sometime soon.

Naruto was broken out of his thoughts as a crashing noise came from the main street.

"Hey! Someone get that guy, he stole my bike!"

An old lady was knocked over as the bike thief crashed into her.

"Help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!"

Oh boy…

With one smooth motion, Naruto dropkicked the bike thief, his head smashing into the concrete as he lost consciousness. Helping the woman up, she offered him a donut before walking away on her stick.

"Yoo, you're that dude from Youtube, aren't you! Thanks for getting my bike and helping that lady out," said the bike owner, catching up with Naruto.

"Yeah man, I gotchu. Here's your bike," Naruto said, picking it up from the ground and putting it on two wheels for him.

"Keep it up man! I knew you were the good guy!"


"WHAT?! Cutting my funds?! My research is already low on budget as it is; how will I finish my experiments if I'm not financially supported by the people who are supposed to be financially supporting me?!" Orochimaru screamed, veins appearing on his hands as he clenched his phone.

"We need results, Orochimaru! Results! Not the empty promises you've given us over the past few months. You promised results if I approved your human trials, and I've gotten nothing back!"

"We have a subject who survived, we just… don't have access to them! I just need more time, don't do this!" Orochimaru said, practically pleading into his phone.

"I'm cancelling the next shipment of test subjects. You have one week to prove to me that the human trials are successful, or we're done!"

Before Orochimaru could respond, the call ended.

Standing in disbelief, Orochimaru's breaths slowed as his dominant hand slowly fell to his side.

Kabuto carefully and cautiously approached him, his lab coat dirty from chemicals, his glasses fogged up from experiments. "O-Orochimaru-sama, we… we don't have any more human test subjects, she was the last one of this batch."

"I am aware, Kabuto," Orochimaru said, his voice closer to a hiss of a snake than the sounds of a human.

Cringing slightly, Kabuto bent back to retreat.

Orochimaru stared at the white, genetically engineered snake inside the glass container, the animal whose poisons he had been exposing himself to for the past few months.

"Kabuto, call the five. I need them to oversee our next experiment."

"B-but Orochimaru-sama-"

"And extract 10ml of Kimimaro's spinal fluid. I'll be needing it," Orochimaru said.

"W-we don't"

"Get it done!" Orochimaru screamed, silencing Kabuto as he took off his lab coat, and rolled up his sleeves.

Sitting down in front of the computer, he started typing.

He had come too far, and there was nothing he couldn't do to save his son, adopted or not.

There was no better candidate.


After a day of doing favors for the general public and stopping a few petty crimes, Naruto sat on top of Konoha tower, staring down at the beautiful city before him. The sun had set about thirty minutes ago, and the yellow streetlights of the city illuminated the sky with an urban mood. A melancholy feeling took over as Naruto briefly took off his mask, allowing his hair to flow in the nightly breeze.

Enjoying the feeling of cool air on his face once more, a smile crept up on his face.

He didn't get much from civilians and criminals as he asked about Neji Hyuga besides the balding man he had come across in the alley earlier in the day. Either they told him they had no idea, or they heard he was going around, beating up gangs with vicious fury for whatever reason.

Naruto looked down at his watch, which read 6:14 in the evening. The prime time for crime would come soon, and Naruto had to be ready for it.

Feeling a little hungry though…

"Your body doesn't have enough protein to heal properly right now, Naruto. It's probably best if you take an hour off to eat something before continuing. You don't want to burn yourself out too early in the search as well," Kurama said.

Right.

Looking down from the tower, he realized just how immobile he was on the ground.

I need a better way to move around the city… maybe a grappling hook? That should make me a little bit faster.

While thinking about ways to improve his city strolling, Naruto got a call.

Picking up the ringing phone from his pocket, Naruto answered quickly. "Hello?"

"Hey Naruto! Could you pick up Hanabi from Cram School? Work's dragging up a little bit, so I won't be able to pick her up."

Smiling at hearing the familiar but tired voice of Hana Hyuga, Naruto replied: "Yeah, sure I gotcha. When do you think you'll be back by?"

"Around… 8, probably, I'll try to finish as soon as possible," Hana said.

"Alright, I'll keep her company until then," Naruto replied, jumping down the side of the building, and using his strengthened nails to slow down his fall as he descended.

"Thanks Naruto, you're a Godsend,"

Getting to the floor, Naruto took off his mask and threw it in his backpack he had stashed in an alley near the tower before heading off to pick up Hanabi. There were a few homeless people lounging on the streets, as well as some religious people preaching about doomsday that was soon to come. Ignoring them by plugging his earbuds into his ears, Naruto allowed the relaxing music of Lofi to fill his brain while travelling.

He quickly texted his parents that he'd be picking up Hanabi before putting the phone back into his pockets.

Arriving at the 3rd floor of his destination, Naruto opened the door to the Cram School that Hanabi Hyuga went to everyday after class.

Cram School for Special Needs, read the sign just above the door.

"Hello, Naruto. Here to pick up Hanabi-chan, I presume?" asked the lady at the front desk.

The reception room was very clean, a few benches on the side with a TV attached to the wall for parents to entertain themselves while waiting for their children. There were a few patiently waiting, while some were sleeping as Naruto approached the front desk.

"Hi, Akemi-san! Yeah, I'm here to pick her up. How long will it be until she's done?"

Akemi looked at the time on her computer, and frowned a little. "Well, it's 6:27 right now, and her class ends at 6:45. You'll have to wait a little bit."

"Mmm, okay. You're wearing an awful lot of pink today," Naruto said, giving her a smile.

"And you're wearing an awful lot of black, are you going emo, Naruto?" Akemi asked, a good natured smile on her face. "Also, what's with the cut on your arm?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wearing black obviously means I'm losing social skills. This cut? It's just from some… physics class today, my skin's completely fine though. I'll just have to throw this sweater out" Naruto said, walking over to a bench and sitting down.

He was still quite surprised at how effective his new healing was. He looked at the open cut on his clothes again, and ran a finger on his now smooth skin. He didn't have any bruises or fractures, as they had all been healed almost instantly.

He had almost been stabbed today, but he was able to dodge it at the last second. The cut had formed on his arm, but that too disappeared before his eyes.

As the clock struck 6:30, a stream of kids came from the hallway towards the classroom, and the parents stood up to greet their kids. A few had wheelchairs, some erratically moving left and right with short attention spans, while others used sign to communicate with their parents. Most seemed to be extremely attached to them, giving them big hugs as they were given hugs back, or put into piggy back rides. There were smiles all around as the doorbell jingled while the kids and parents exited the classroom. A few students whose parents had not arrived yet now occupied the benches, an instructor sitting down near Naruto to make sure that the kids wouldn't cause any trouble.

A young boy tapped Naruto's shoulders, making him open his eyes and turn off his music.

"Hello Naruto-san," he signed, beaming at him with a smile.

"Hi!" Naruto signed back.

"Are you waiting for Hanabi-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah, are you waiting for your parents?" Naruto replied.

The instructor glanced at Naruto with an endearing look as Naruto continued in a casual conversation with the deaf boy.

"Want to see a magic trick?" Naruto asked, putting up his left hand next to his face.

The boy nodded enthusiastically, sitting down next to Naruto and staring at his left hand. With his index finger's sharpened nail, Naruto made a cut on his hand in a straight line. Blood started seeping through the cut as the instructor frowned at Naruto's "magic trick".

The boy put a hand to his mouth, a shocked expression on his face.

Naruto then proceeded to cover his left hand with his right hand, which was covered with the sleeve of his hoodie. Making a wiping motion, Naruto revealed his slightly red left hand, the cut completely gone from sight. He extended his left hand for a handshake, which was accepted by the boy.

The instructor's eyes widened slightly as she stared at Naruto's unscathed left hand.

"How did you do that?" the boy asked.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a magic trick," Naruto said.

"Meanie."

Naruto continued to entertain the boy until his parents came in to pick him up.

A few minutes later, the next stream of kids waddled down the halls, followed by a new set of instructors. A variety of kids with different disabilities entered the room, a few of which Naruto recognized.

"Damn, does that boy not have any limbs?" Kurama asked.

Naruto ignored him, and scanned the room for who he was looking for.

A pretty brown-haired girl with almost completely white eyes entered the hall, walking slowly with a cane in her left hand. She was more or less facing the ceiling while her ears perked, guided by the sounds echoing around her. Her eyes were unfocused, and staring at nothing in particular. She reacted more easily to the noises around her as she made her way towards a familiar scent.

*Sniff* "I smell… (sniff), a certain blond delinquent! Wassuh, Naruto! (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)" Hanabi said, facing a little to the left of Naruto, raising her palm to high-five him.

"Wassup, fireworks? Study hard today?" Naruto asked, giving her a high five.

"Nope! :D," Hanabi said, not a trace of shame in her voice.

"How the hell is she speaking emojis?"

I don't even know, man.

"Naruto-kun, is Hana-san unavailable today?" asked Hanabi's instructor.

"Yeah, work is running late for her. I'll take her home," Naruto said, giving Hanabi a piggy back ride. She giggled while putting her arms around his neck, her cane now attached to her backpack for comfort.

"Always a pleasure to have you around. Good evening! And do stay safe, apparently there's a new… vigilante going around beating up people for no reason," she said.

"Mhm," Naruto replied, opening the door and heading towards the elevator.

*Snifffff*

Naruto clicked on the downwards button of the elevator, and watched as the lift started making its way towards his floor.

*Sniiiiiiiifffffffff*

"Me too, fireworks. Me too," Naruto said.

*Snnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff*

"Yup, that really happened," Naruto said, a little bit more sarcasm in his voice.

*SNORF*

Hanabi burst into laughter, giggling into Naruto's back as she buried her face in it.

"You smell a little different today, you know that? ," Hanabi said, "You kinda smell… like… I dunno! More sciency. Did you learn a new fact or something?"

Naruto made a face. "What the hell does 'sciency' even smell like?"

"Like science. You wouldn't know, it's a blind person thing xD," Hanabi said, giggling a little more as Naruto entered the elevator. "Where's mom? Is she busy ###?"

"Hana-san said she'll be back around 8, so I'm stuck with you until then," Naruto said.

"More like I'm stuck with you, who'd want to spend their evenings stuck talking to a blondie? *_*" Hanabi said.

"You know I could just drop you in the middle of the street and run, right?: Naruto said, a cheeky smile on his face that Hanabi couldn't see.

"Mmm, I wonder what your parents would say to that. All I'd need to do is pucker up my lips and start crying while looking far away from their face and say: 'N-naruto sniff, h-he left m-me on the s-street sniff a-and there was a scary guy who tried to t-take me into sniff a dark a-alleyway sniff and S-Sasuke had to sniff s-save me! Sniff i-it's not easy sniff being b-blind sniff' and Kushina-san would quite literally murder you, Na-ru-to-o-nii-san" Hanabi said, ennunciating her last few syllables.

"If you're trying to guilt trip me, you've done that way too many times for it to work," Naruto said, adjusting Hanabi a little bit.

"._." Hanabi said (?), "Psh… worth a try, I guess."

As Naruto walked, Hanabi stayed silent, trying to make out what the world would look like with her ears and nose. There was a slight scent of methane and cigarettes in the air, with no strong scent to distinguish her surroundings. The noise pollution of cars, footsteps, ambient conversation, and Naruto's breathing made it hard for her to make out anything for sure.

"Hey Naruto-nii :3 ," Hanabi asked, whispering in his ear.

"What is it?" Naruto replied.

"Describe the world for me. I wanna see," Hanabi said.

"Well… there's a group of emos in the corner over there smoking, a bunch of cars going home to the left of us. Most of the drivers look pretty tired, probably because overtime workers are heading home right now… Concrete's the same as you probably remember, just a little dustier. Streetlights are on since the sun's down, and there's a really overweight lady with a horrendous red dress entering the Thai restaurant about 50m from us. My goodness… why did her date even think to wear that? It's basically a wifebeater with… only one strap," Naruto described.

":00," Hanabi said (?), enjoying the visual description that Naruto was providing her.

Throughout the rest of their trip, Naruto continued to tell her what he was seeing, while Hanabi happily commented on a few things, while mostly listening to him talk.

"Aaaaaannnd we're home!" Naruto said, putting Hanabi down as he dialled in the combination to unlock the door to her apartment.

" Yaaaayyyy! Thanks, Nawooo-toe! It was nice borrowing your eyes for a bit ^^," Hanabi said.

Opening the door to the house, Naruto took off his shoes before helping Hanabi with hers.

"Finally, some familiar space," Hanabi said, giving Naruto her cane. "Dooonnn'tt need this anymore!"

Hanabi threw herself onto the couch, and turned on the TV while staring at the ceiling.

"You shouldn't do that, Hanabi. What if you throw yourself onto the floor?" Naruto asked, sitting down next to her.

Hanabi crawled forward, putting her head in his lap with her hands playing with her hair. "Oh I have a few times :DD, so I know exactly where to jump and where not to! (・3・)"

"You shouldn't say that so casually," Naruto said, switching the channel to MMA."

"¯\_(ツ)_/¯" Hanabi said(?) "Oi! Turn it back to Disney, I wanna see."

"Hanabi, you can't see what's going on in the TV," Naruto said.

"Yes I can! In… my mind! (ง •̀_•́)ง,"" Hanabi said, grabbing the remote controller from Naruto's hand and switching the channel.

For the next hour or so, Naruto and Hanabi watched TV while waiting for Hana Hyuga. Hanabi would fall asleep periodically, but when Naruto tried to change the channel to watch some UFC, Hanabi would wake up from his lap, give him a face, and grab the remote from his hands and change it back to Frozen 2.

"Hey Hanabi," Naruto said.

"MMm yeea?" Hanabi asked, half-asleep, half-awake.

"When you dream, can you see?"

"Mmm all the time… it's how I know it's a dream," Hanabi said, a huge yawn escaping from her mouth.

"I'll find a way to help you see again one day, Hanabi. I promise," Naruto said. "Granny Tsunade's teaching me a lot of med stuff… I think she really wants me to be a doctor."

"Pffff, that's cool and all Naruto-nii, but you really don't have to bother," Hanabi said, another yawn escaping her lips. "I'm Ahh… perfectly content living the way I do."

"You're a really strong girl, you know that?" Naruto said.

"I can barely lift uuwaaaAhh… my backpack with two textbooks, I dunno what you're talking about _" Hanabi said.

Naruto let a chuckle escape his lips. "Never change, fireworks… never change."

"Hnnyaaa…" Hanabi fell asleep again.

Looking down at the sleeping girl, Naruto thought of the dangerous city she lived in.

It was unsafe already as it was, but a blind girl without a fatherly figure?

He'd tear the world down before he allowed any harm to come to her, but Konoha was way too rotten for absolutely nothing to happen to her before she'd be fine to live on her own. Even then, Naruto would probably still hover over her. Just in case.

The girl had already dealt with enough trauma in the past. She truly deserved nothing but sunshines and flowers going forward.

"You're too good for this city, Hanabi…"

"A best defense is a good offense, Naruto," Kurama stated, as Hanabi quietly snored away. "Would you be able to sleep easily every night from now on, knowing that you could tear out the roots of evil in this city if you really tried while kids like her, Kuchel, Sasuke, Sakura, and more live in it?"

I can't.

"Then embrace the Hokage. There are a lot of people who dream about becoming a superhero, Naruto. You're living a dream," Kurama pointed out, his tails flapping on Naruto's bed miles away.

Before Naruto could continue the conversation, the door opened as a tired woman walked in the house.

"MMnya… Mom? You home?" Hanabi said, rubbing her eyes as she got up.

"Yeah…" Hana said, fatigue riddled in her voice.

Hanabi got up, and gave her mother a huge hug. "Are you tired? ;(("

"Not anymore, Hanabi, not anymore," Hana said, giving her a smile and hugging her back. "Thanks for looking after her again Naruto, you can sit down with Hanabi, I'll make you two dinner really quickly."

She had dark circles even deeper than Naruto's were when he didn't have his powers, and her once beautiful face had a few marks of age and stress that had accumulated over time due to trauma and hardships of life.

"Not with you in this state, I'm not. Sit down, I'll make dinner for you two today," Naruto said.

"No no, it's okay, Naruto. You've done more than enough for me…" Hana said, putting away her coat and going to the toilet to wash her hands.

"Ah ah ah, you ain't gettin' rid of me that easily, Hana-san, I'm at least helping. Besides, I haven't eaten either," Naruto said, washing his own hands and entering the kitchen.

"What would I do without you, Naruto…" Hana said quietly.

Naruto helped Hana cook dinner for the three of them as Hanabi started working on her homework in front of the TV with an iPad and an interactive app, and a braille textbook open in front of her.

The apartment was extremely modest, the living room right next to the entrance, with a couch against the far wall, a TV on the other side. The entrance had a wall to the right side, which shortly led up to a door to a small room that used to be Hanabi's. It was now empty, with a computer that Hana used every once in a while. Following the door further to the kitchen was a small table next to a very modest kitchen, a sink and gas stove with a tiny oven. Across from it, leaving very little space, was a fridge and the entrance to the porch, where the laundry machine was. Next to the fridge was the entrance to Hanabi's room, which was decorated despite the fact that Hanabi couldn't see them. To the left of Hanabi's room from the entrance's perspective was the only bathroom in the house. Next to the bathroom was Hana's room, which was very bland with only a mirror, a few drawers, and a wardrobe. She didn't even have a bed, as she preferred to sleep in a futon.

While eating, Hana was the first to initiate the conversation.

"How was school, Hanabi?" she asked.

"Amogus," Hanabi replied.

"?"

"?"

"Uhh I mean, it was good! ƪ(ړײ) ƪ Our language teacher had us write descriptive paragraphs, and she emphasized on sight being important. I LOLed in class and she felt super bad, hehe," Hanabi said, making Naruto shake his head and face palm.

"Guilt tripping your teachers. Nice," Naruto said. "At least you're not a pink-haired smartass who considers herself a failure if she doesn't correct the teacher twice a day."

"Wait, Sakura actually does that? " Hanabi said.

"... slight exaggeration, but you get the point," Naruto said. 'How the hell does she have naturally pink hair, anyways?"

Hanabi shrugged, drinking some water before replying. "Dunno, but apparently, one of the instructors at Cram School has a really bizarre color of hair."

"What color?" Hana asked.

"Mint colored hair, mom! Mint!" Hanabi, her mouth full of food.

"Swallow first, then speak," Hana said.

"That's what she-" Hanabi said, before getting a glare from both her mother and Naruto.

"Whaa? You say that too, Naruto! o_o" Hanabi complained.

"Yeah, well I'm 16, and you're 7 years young than me," Naruto replied.

With a pout, Hanabi continued eating while her mother stared at the two interacting with fond eyes. "I'm sorry to have to ask you to pick up Hanabi so often, and thank you again, Naruto."

Naruto waved her off, feeling the need to correct her. She didn't need to apologize to him of all people. "Oh no worries, you're doing your best as a mom to provide everything for Hanabi, and I'm sure she understands. Dontcha, fireworks?" Naruto asked, nodding his head towards Hanabi's direction.

Hanabi giggled while nodding enthusiastically. "Yup! She's the best mom ever ^_^!"

"If Hinata were here, I'd ask her to do it, but…"

The mood in the room almost visibly darkened, Hanabi's giggle suddenly stopping as Hana's bangs covered her face. A few moments passed before Naruto put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.

"Hana-san, listen. It's really no trouble for me. I'm more than happy to be there for Hanabi, and I'm sure she doesn't mind my company. Don't feel sorry for it. In fact, I feel like I'm mooching off of your amazing cooking… don't tell my mom, but I prefer yours," Naruto joked, trying to brighten the mood just a little bit.

It seemed to have a positive effect, as edges of Hana's lips turned upwards by a small fraction, and Hanabi let out a small snort.

They continued eating, talking about miscellaneous subjects. Naruto and Hanabi continued to poke fun at each other, and soon, the discussion that darkened the mood of the room was forgotten.

Towards the end of their meal, however, the headline from the evening news caught their ears.

"Let's get riiiighhhhhhht into the news! The masked vigilante, now named the Hokage by the general public and internet, has once again stopped a catastrophe, leaving behind a blaze of fire. He's been seem roaming around the streets of Konoha, taking down crimes both petty and large!"

Naruto listened intently, as Hanabi's eyes wandered towards the TV.

The Hokage shit is actually catching on…

"However, the local police force has advised citizens to stay away from this unnamed hero! There are rumors that he is involved with a member of a gang, and searching for an outlaw by the name of Ne-

Before the announcer could finish, Naruto turned off the TV with the controller on the table.

"The Hokage, huh? What typa dude would wear a mask and beat up bad guys? :3," Hanabi asked.

Naruto nervously looked outside the porch. "You're not having trouble eating, are you Hanabi?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Nope! ;))))."


Six individuals gathered as Orochimaru injected the final dosage of Kimimaro's spinal fluid into his body.

Readying himself for the final experiment, his subordinates gathered nervously as the white snake slithered its way towards Orochimaru.

"Hey, you sure this is safe?" Tayuya asked, nervously staring through the glass at her boss.

"No," Sakon replied, his head forced to tilt to one side due to the deformity caused by multiple experimentations.

"The snake's going for his throat, I think," Kabuto commented.

"Let's hope this," Sakon commented, pointing at the jump on his neck that somewhat resembled a head, "Doesn't happen to him."

A bloodcurdling scream came from the inside of the chamber as gas was released into it, blocking out the view from the outside. The screams of Orochiarmu, mixed with bones crushing, skin tearing, and metal bending could be heard clearly.

"Is he… dead?" Jirobo asked. His large torso barely fit his lab coat, and he was constantly scratching his bald head.

"His heart rate is rising to a dangerous level, but he's still alive," Kidomaru said, typing into three keyboards at once with his multiple limbs.

Suddenly, blood splashed on the glass wall separating Orochimaru, making the people outside jump, all except for one. The unfazed one was sitting cross legged on the floor with a thousand-yard stare. His skin was as pale as snow, and excess bones were protruding from multiple locations in his body.

A hair rising hiss echoed across the room originating from the inside of the chamber as sounds of Orochimaru's suffering subsided.

"Find the Hokage, and bring him to me."


Thanks for reading, and as always, reviews are greatly appreciated! ^^.

Next chapter: The Four.