Article 37 - Chapter 33 - Smooth Operator

-Volume 2: Subarticle 2-

Warnings: I do not own Naruto, it's intellectual property is owned by none other than Masashi Kishimoto. I own the OC's that I've added to the story and nothing more.

-Also, still accepting Beta readers/ Editors! Hit me up with a PM-

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(Last Chapter: Excerpt)

(Mina POV)

I watched dumbfounded as Izuna pulled himself out of his rampage.

I could have killed him… I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CONTROL SOONER!

He would have just fled sooner. Your being emotional. At least we got information out of him since he thought we were already dead.

INEXCUSABLE! YOUR FUCKING TRASH AND YOU KNOW IT. YOU ALMOST GOT US KILLED. POWER IS THE ULTIMATE EQUALIZER AND YOU HAVE NONE.

Like you did much better asshole, besides, knowledge is power, and my analytical mind obviously surpasses yours, or at minimum when your like 'this' it does.

I was arguing with myself.

Down the spiraling rabbit hole of madness I have succumb.

"Hello darkness my old friend..."

┬┴┬┴┤ Chapter 33 ├┬┴┬┴

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(Hiruzen POV)

The wooden pipe held between my fingers slipped. The object clunked off the floor spitting the freshly packed tobacco out like fragments of an exploding grenade. A faint ringing filled the room serving to distance me from the here and now.

"Repeat yourself." I commanded switching my focus between the young Hyuga and the mess I created.

"Konohamaru baited me into visiting him through Ebisu-sensei, and when he managed to get me alone while I was instructing him, he turned on me and attacked me. His power far surpassed what I expected, but was able to fight him off. The leader of my summoning clan did exceptional work versus him, and caused him to retreat. I have my suspicions that the person in question was either not actually Konohamaru, or he was being controlled by a third party whose strength is exceptional, either way, I think their objective was either to capture me or kill me."

Leaning forward folding my hands together, I stared down the girl before me. I scanned for the standard tells that would indicate they were with-holding or fabricating information, but nothing conclusive could be drawn with such simplistic means.

These old ears aren't failing me… The story is exactly the same as before, just retold. No misunderstandings confirmed thus far, but that would mean...

"You believe Konohamaru was a replacement?" I asked needing confirmation.

"Yes my lord."

Glancing back to his private tutor, to a person entrusted to school the next generation's gifted, I had a question that needed answering.

"Had my grandson been acting differently or strangely prior to this? Any changes in usual behavior or anything which could lead you to believe that he was replaced or manipulated?"

"He acted exactly how I came to expect since I've known him. His thirst for knowledge lead him to childish excitement when meeting Mina for the first time, which was understandable considering how much I had built her up on a pedestal and all the questions he wanted to ask her. Nothing seemed out of place before I left." The special Jonin recalled, his voice breaking his uniform tone several times telegraphing his out spilling emotions.

A thirst for knowledge… potential kidnapping... No, It couldn't have been… could it? Konohamaru was like that for as long as I can remember, and he couldn't have been replaced by Orochimaru, masquerading as my grandson all this time… There is something significant missing here. A thread that connects all of this together I'm not seeing… Hmmm, but what is it?

I tried to piece together the puzzle to see the complete picture. For unexplainable reasons, the more I dwelled on the matter, the more I found myself staring at the Hyuga. While our eyes were locked together, my skin crawled.

Can I come up with a good enough of an excuse to have the Yamanaka's investigate her memories now that her brain has matured enough to not sustain permanent damage from it?

I leaned over sideways, bending down fetching the wooden pipe from the floor, I turned it over in my hands several times lost in thought.

Hmmmm…. Hiashi-san would not take another investigation laying down unless I appealed to him asking as a personal request, but even that is pushing the envelope a bit. Decisions, decisions…

My temples burned with pain. Thoughts spun endlessly inside the old noggin, but I was unable to untangle the many converging problems. Resolving them separately seemed impossible. They would need to be tackled together. It was that realization that resulted in thinking myself into a headache.

"Mina-kun, thank you for your report of the incident. I extend my deepest thanks to you in these troubling times. You may have yourself checked out at the hospital now or simply relax. I'll be pulling your team off missions for the next few days."

She bowed in respect, her hands still tucked away behind her. "Yes, thanks for your concern Sandaime-sama."

She turned, her hands transitioning from behind her to infront of her masking them from view.

During the brief moments where her hands were visible, I noticed them gittering as if they were cold.

Guilt rose within me realizing that her sturdy appearance was in all likelihood a fabrication. That despite my instincts whispering to me that she was a monster who could not be fully trusted, the reminder that she was still very-much-so human tugged at my heartstrings holding my curiosity in check.

The girl left the office space through the door, closing it softly behind her.

I can leave these matters for another time, what I must focus on is the recovery of Konohamaru and the discovery of the truth.

"Hound, I need you to lead an investigative and tracking unit."

A tile from the roof shook as it fell back into place, An anbu dressed in traditional garbs with a dog mask landing before the desk on one knee.

"Split resources evenly between investigating the initial site, and finding Konohamaru's trail to recover him."

"If that is your request, consider it done Third-sama." Kakashi's voice quipped from behind the mask.

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(Mina POV)

I had thought I could tell the agents of Being-X apart by the solid black eyes signaling the manipulation, but it seems that was only wishful thinking.

My hands trembled uncontrollably. Medically, I knew this condition as neurogenic tremors. They normally would go away after the stimuli vanished, however they didn't start shaking until after the battle, and they were still going strong.

Visiting the hospital to have myself checked out would jeopardize my teams reinstatement and perhaps call my competency into question. A shinobi's effectiveness on missions was how they would demonstrate their value. Being pulled from missions would tarnish my reputation which was unacceptable not to mention a blatant display of weakness.

Flashes of my blurring vision, of the chilling of my body, and of my purpling fingers kept creeping back into my head. It was a close call, I had almost been killed without any warning.

I had long since defeated my fear, cutting it out entirely. Emotions that worked against my goals were discarded cold turkey like how a smoker quit by ending all consumption without external assistance. The cravings for nicotine would sometimes niggle and torment much like how fear would attempt to worm its way back, but pushing it aside and ignoring it caused the fears attempts to return to come more and more rarely.

Even now I don't feel fear, only an empty intrinsic cold sensation reminding me of what I left behind.

Why won't they stop shaking, Damnit!

Gripping my wrists tightly, the shaking calmed marginally.

I can overcome this. It's just a phase. A psychological reaction to stress that will soon pass.

The reflection from my bedroom mirror showed a girl who had lost some of her composure.

Weak… You are still so weak…

I ignored Izuna's taunts. Once upon a time I had handled everything alone. Although that wasn't necessary anymore, I still knew deep inside that I was capable and competent. That these trials and tribulations would mold me into something stronger. They were like exercise, you break down the body and let it recover so that it comes back stronger. Everything that didn't kill me, I would turn into my strength. Overcoming each of my external and internal conflicts brought me another step closer towards my many goals.

I had lost one of my precious EMS eyes'. The eye embedded in Leon's forehead was shot and unresponsive. It's pupil had lost all pigmentation. The once luscious onyx black color was now a a more pure white than any byakugan I had ever seen. Whiter than my mothers, and even Hanabi's who is rumored to have the purest Byakugan in my generation.

I gnashed my teeth together over and over. I lost a valuable resource as the price to cheat death. It wasn't ideal, but then again neither was dying.

I let go of my wrists, and the shaking ferocity returned tanking my mood more.

Reaching for my bedside table, I retrieved a comb and meticulously fiddled with my hair. Running the teeth through the tangles until none were left, and then combing it of compulsion again and again and again.

The repetitive strokes were calming, and the sensation of the plastic scraping at my scalp was my therapy.

Little by little while hours passed, the tremors faded.

I hated things done half assed. Stopping part way was inconceivable.

I can persevere until the very end. Setbacks, after all, are only temporary.

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Some days later, I stood on the edge of the roof of the building I nicknamed 'the Parthenon' despite the Highfliers calling it Jagannath. My relationship with the former elder, master Willzyakk, had grown over the time I reigned as their summoner.

Wind swept red dust into the air, the grainy texture whipping into my skin carried by the forceful gusts of the summit.

My hands flashed in and out of signs until I stopped, static caking my fingertips while the electric snapping sounded.

A bolt of yellow current shot out from my index finger reaching across the air in a jagged pattern until reaching a wooden dummy target, splintering and igniting it into flames.

My index finger pointed to a new target, my thumb held in the air pointing up while the rest of my fingers curled into my palm resembling something of a 'hand' gun.

Zzzzzt - another bolt shot out striking the dummy in the center of the bullseye this time.

Willzyakk's wings folded together, his talons flying in and out of signs himself, an enormous amount of static building from the surroundings.

The energy condensed between the tips of his wings into a sphere of crackling yellow energy. The current bolted forwards and split forking into three attacks all striking the training dummies on his side at once obliterating them into ashes.

"It seems you still have a ways to go before reperfecting this nature transformation Izuna-sama."

"Yes, it's unfortunate being reincarnated in this body has caused me to lose the mastery over jutsu I once held. The sharingan will be enough to keep the raven's at bay in the meantime. Their numbers certainly pose a threat with their mobbing tactics, but ever since my recovery and their run in with my susanoo it seems their will to wage war has vanished for now."

"The Highfliers have held their superior quality over the Raven clan indefinitely, responding with numbers is all they could manage. We would have repelled their attacks, but with your assistance we also crushed their morale."

The familiar sensation of a clones consciousness merging with my own alerted me to the knowledge that the Sandaime finally summoned my team, so I would need to return to Konoha.

"Thanks for coming out here with me." I said with a deep bow. The bird loved to be shown respect, and in a sense it was my way of managing him and keeping him happy. "It seems I'm needed back at the village, so can you please return me?"

The gray sagely bird nodded its head, its beak setting into place weaving signs in a blur.

The tingling sensation of transport mixed with the visual informational overflow of the bending light of every color jarred me until returning back to my bedroom.

It's time for a new mission.

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"We are being entrusted with a C-rank already? Is this because of my devotion to training Gai-sensei?" Lee asked with big puppy dog eyes.

"No Lee, you see, its something even more important. All of your abilities to cooperate together as a team to get the job done is how you've managed to score a C-rank mission before the rest of your peers. Fostering teamwork usually takes longer in new squads, but you all have made me proud to call myself your Sensei."

Our team dynamics weren't so cut and dry. Sasuke didn't value Lee's contributions and roles in the team, and his desire to boss him around conflicted with how I envisioned we would cooperate.

Sasuke's personality wasn't one to play second fiddle to his peers, especially those he judged as beneath him, but because I was the undisputed ace rookie, he grudgingly accepted when I insisted on taking more responsibilities than the rest of the team, one of those being able to command the team when Gai-sensei was unable.

I was the glue holding the team together, allowing each unique cog to do what needed to be done to complete jobs quickly and efficiently.

"So what did we get? Something challenging?" Lee asked.

Sasuke perked up at attention. Seemed he was also interested in hearing what we would be doing.

"The mission is for hired protection detail escorting a caravan of loggers transporting their goods to a buyer in the land of waves."

"Really? I have difficulty believing thieves would target logs to try to steal. Their big, heavy, and not all that profitable. Surely they could just find easier, more rewarding targets." I said losing a degree of interest.

"A nice and easy beginner C rank to build your experience, but don't go underestimating it now. A simple mission can hold unexpected and unforeseen challenges." Gai-sensei said in his energetic mentor voice trying to sound wise. "He who climbs the ladder must start at the bottom."

I drew closer to the Uchiha, bumping him with my hip.

"You excited loser?"

"Hm? For this joke of a mission?"

"-Remember, this mission will probably last 1-2 weeks, so pack accordingly." I heard in the background.

"Did you forget what Sensei said? Don't go underestimating it now." I finished the last part mimicking Gai.

Sasuke let out a snort of laughter before reining himself in, pretending like nothing happened.

I bumped into him again with my hips, flashing him a grin.

"What?" He asked. His brows pulled together while his eyes partially closed, half lidded in disinterest.

I ushered him in closer, then leaned in to his ear. "I asked both elders if I could bring you to Mount Karamja like you asked."

He spun around, eyes pulled open wide like a bug nearly bulging now.

"Really? What did they say?"

"...They said it was up to me."

"Yes!" He said quietly pumping a fist.

"Hold on there. What makes you think I'll let you in just like that?"

His slight grin evened out into a deadpan expression, evidently not amused.

"Maybe if you carry my bag all the way to wave country I'll consider it."

"Tch. Why are you always such a brat?"

My hand brushed over his arm, a weak giggle escaping my lips. "Don't pretend you don't like it."

"Hn..."

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The gates two doors were wide open. The worn green paint chipping here or there leaving small brown splotches up its length. A huge red kanji was drawn onto each of the interior of the doors which was used to seal the entrance when the doors closed. The information was given to me by Tokuma when I asked the first time I was allowed to walk through these gates back immediately before the Uchiha massacre.

The morning dew still clung to the tips of each blade of grass, the sun hung low in the sky to the east whose heat and intensity was gentle in comparison to mid-day.

"This is where we set out Team-Nine! This is our first mission outside the village, so remember… to enjoy it while you can. You won't be young like this forever, so take advantage and cherish what you have now! Heh-heh." He finished with a cheery smile, a wink, and his stereotypical thumbs up.

"Gai-Sensei is so wise!" Lee gushed.

"You'd better believe it!"

Sasuke who was leaned against the wall immediately before the gate, pulled himself straight and approached.

With no verbal or bodily communication, he snaked his arm beneath one of the straps of my travelers bag, jerking it off and swinging it onto his free shoulder.

Wow, I was kinda joking yesterday, but I guess I'm not going to tell him that now!

Lee arrived in a vibrant green jumpsuit, the first time I had ever seen it in person. His hair was also cut from his shaggy doo into the bowl cut which in my past life had known him for.

He must have gotten it yesterday or something. Was Gai-sensei already taking him under his wing? I need to get him to take me too so I can learn the inner gates technique.

"Are we taking turns carrying each other's things? I volunteer to carry everyone's things next!" He said chucking his bag towards Sasuke.

He stepped to the side, letting the beige pack fall to the dusty road.

"Don't assume things Dead-last. I'm not carrying your stuff, and you won't be carrying mine either."

"Hey! You didn't have to let my stuff fall to the dirt like that!"

"Hn, not my problem loser."

"If you are carrying Mina-kun's stuff, how come you won't carry mine?"

He turned his head back to Lee over his shoulder, a chillingly cold detached glance met Lee. "It's none of your business."

Gai-sensei vanished into a cloud of dust, reappearing beside Sasuke softly nudging him in the side with a vibrant knowing smile.

"Heh, your a smooth operator aren't ya kid?"

Sasuke didn't bother to respond to Gai, instead favoring to roll his eyes. Afterward, he took a couple steps forward.

"So are we leaving or what?" He asked.

Seeing that we were itching for an adventure, Maito waved at the gatekeeper chunin on duty as he walked past, not following protocol flashing the verification to leave the village, but I suppose in peacetime elite Jonin were excluded or hardly expected to dot every I and dash their T's.

Within moments, we stepped out from the village limits boldly into the world. Following close behind, we made our way to the logging encampment through side roads in the forest.

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The earthy scent of freshly split lumber was mixed with burning coal. Sawdust caked the ground at the mill like it was dirt. Brawly men hauled pallets of split wood, long timbers, and tools here and there in a rush.

Buzzsaws, chopping, laughter, and grovely voices filled my ears even before we had stepped through the makeshift gate into the operational zone.

Gai waved over to a shift manager who kindly pointed us over to the storage warehouse in the distance where we were supposed to be.

Arriving at the building, a lanky man in a hardhat with loose pants held up by a work belt greeted us. He lifted the hardhat showing off his dark blue spikey hair with white and yellow flecks riddled throughout it. I could only assume it was either sawdust or dandruff.

His eyes were sharp despite the man's posture slumped and his clothing disheveled.

"You the Ninja team escourt to land of wind?"

"Land of waves." Gai-sensei corrected with a grin.

"Eh? Right - yeah I guess distribution was double booked today." He said scratching the back of his head staring at a clipboard. He glanced over to us at Gai's side, taking a step closer as if to inspect us before saying: "Listen up squirts and you might learn something. Believe it or not, Konoha's number one export is lumber. Where there's demand, there's money. No different than yall getting paid 'cuz of the demand for ninja missions, ya hear?"

A new man stepped out from the warehouse door, he was wearing some sort of heavy duty jumpsuit making him look something like an engineer.

"Boss, which ATL are we hitching to load number 412?" He said before noticing us and stopping in his tracks.

"Ah, Ishiji. Whichever one ya want, I don't give a damn. Come over and let me introduce you to your protective detail. This here is Konoha's Team-9." He said turning back to us. "-And this is my most trusted Logistics expert Ishiji Okabe. He'll be your boss on this mission in my stead, so take care of him will ya?"

The newly introduced man had medium length red hair, a broad chest and a protruding belly. He must have been more than 2 meters tall and obviously had done his fair share of physical labor in his lifetime from his physique and hardened banged up hands.

Pulling a package from his pocket, the slender 'big' boss retrieved a cigarette,lit it, and started puffing away. Grey clouds spurt out from his retreating figure as he audibly choked up a bit, his slender back growing thinner with distance.

"Sorry about him, he's been on the job for 30 years and stopped giving-a...err, caring about formalities a long time ago. But like he said, the name's Ishiji. Glad to be working with you guys…" His face pulled my direction and he quickly added "-and gals of course."

I caught Sasuke sneaking glances my way, and after he was caught he pretended to be looking elsewhere.

"Glad to meet you Ishiji-san!" Lee said grabbing the man's hand and roughly shaking it.

"Nice firm handshake ya got yourself there kid. Ever thought of doing some Blue-collar work on the side? Good money in it for ya."

"Now don't you go trying to poach my precious pupils." Gai-sensei said before bursting into laughter to which the large Logistics expert shortly followed suit.

"Alright, Alright. Hahahahah, You guys are alright." He said resting his hand on Lee and Gai-sensei's shoulders. "Come on and follow me then. I'll show you what's up before we head on out."

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"HEH?" I shrieked.

Before me stood a humongus iron and steel chariot the likes of which I had never seen before.

"Yup, there she is. This is probably the first time you've ever seen something like this huh? It's called a ATL which stands for All Terrain Locomotive. The names a bit misleading, as she can't just go over any terrain, but she doesn't require rails to operate giving freedom of direction. This here is a revolutionary form a travel to us non-ninja folks, and it can pull some heavy duty loads.

Several Large 10 meter long tracks, like a tank or bobcat in my last world, were all combined together underneath the grey oily monstrosity. Moreover, there were 5 of these ridiculous machines side-by-side.

"This is how we can haul hundreds of tons of lumber at once, we just attach on the trailer carts to one of these gal's and that's all she wrote. Max speed is only 5 miles per hour, but she gets the job done."

Seeing this creation made me doubt what kind of technology was really available in this world. I had never seen anything resembling an automobile here before, but then they went and made this thing. I guess there wasn't a necessity for the automobile to be created since most travelers can utilize chakra and can move at similar speeds to automobiles.

"Yup, just got to hitch 'er up and we should be good to hit the road."

We were able to relax on the side for a little less than an hour before all the preparations were complete. We leapt up past the ladder onto the landing platform to the cockpit where Ishiji was, and several of his crew. The 2nd in command was Reiner. A short dirty-blonde man with a head of curls. He was the 'rig' operator - rig being a slang term for ATL.

"Need to fire up a boiler if were plannin' on leavin' anytime soon." Reiner said.

"Well what-are-ya doin' just standin' around. Go fire her up?" He said shaking his head. "It's hard to find good help these days." He said.

"I heard that!" The blonde shouted from the distance having left the cockpit.

"You were meant to!" Ishiji shouted back, holding his belly as he chuckled. "I'm just bustin' his balls a little bit."

I couldn't help to break into uncontrollable laughter. I laughed and laughed until it finally died down and I wiped some tears out of my eyes.

I hadn't been exposed to people like this in a long time. it was wondrous and nostalgic, throwing me back to some good times from my past.

"I like how the girl is the one who loved that one. What's your name girlie?"

"Mina. And don't make the mistake of categorizing me with typical girls, i'm a one of a kind breed."

"Heh! You're alright too." he said patting my shoulder.

I could see Sasuke's back straightened ever so slightly from the physical contact between our boss and I.

Hmmm… Jealousy maybe? I guess It could just be protective instincts as well… Hard to say.

I slid the thought to the back of my mind while Ishiji shouted through his list of last minute checks before departure.

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The noise of turbines spinning from the steam engine drowned out nearly everything else. To converse we had to shout at each other while remaining in the cockpit.

To make sure we could see threats coming, we split into two groups, Gai-sensei and Lee, and Sasuke and I. Lee and Sensei were stationed on the rig, while Sasuke and I moved back to about mid trailer of the chain being dragged by the rig.

The day came and past, and the machine squeaked to a stop. We set up camp for the night and took turns sleeping and conducting watchout duty in our pre-arranged groups.

Snuggled inside my sleeping bag, I wiggled around to get warmer. I ended up tossing and turning not able to get comfortable.

I purposely kept myself from packing a second pillow. Sleeping without a pillow to wrap my arms around kept me from falling asleep, but it was something I was going to have to get used to eventually. I'm sure even a sleeping bag was a luxury I wouldn't have from time to time.

Still…

I watched the swaddled Uchiha's body rise and fall in a calm rhythm beside me.

He fell asleep without any trouble.

While watching him sleep, my mind flashed back to when we accidentally slept with each other at his compound.

My cheeks grew hot and I buried my face into my pillow in shame.

It was not hard to admit the allure of cuddling up with a warm body, the hard part was fantasizing about it… with him. Surely there is something wrong with me!

Rolling my head over, I snuck a peak back at the sleeping Uchiha, his sleeping bag still rising and falling, his breaths released in a quiet but distinguished fashion.

Urrggghhhh I'm so dumb! I can't just go over and cuddle with him. I have to figure out a way to make him make the first move.

In a situation like this, making the first move is like waiving your right of power and telegraphing either your feelings or dependency depending on how you do it.

The one who makes the first move in this scenario effectively losses. I don't care how long it takes, I'll get him to want to cuddle with me… eventually…

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The following days melded together. The distance wasn't too far, but the speed of travel was grueling. Not a threat in sight since our departure.

Wooooot Wooooooooot!

The steam engine blew out signaling us to return to the cockpit… but our shift shouldn't have yet been over.

Perhaps they encountered another problem with the course and would need to take a detour…

Sasuke and I jumped from trailer to trailer up the chain's length until arriving at the rig.

"What's up captain?" I asked.

"Use your Byakugan."

The command left no room for discussion.

Byakugan.

My vision opened up revealing all surroundings within a 100 meter radius.

That's when I saw it.

"I see a group of what looks like hostile bandits 60 meters forward. I count 19, and at least 4 distinguished chakra signatures of potential shinobi."

"...I see," Gai-sensei said, his voice hardened. "Stop the rig here. My team will make contact with them and neutralize them if necessary.

It seems my first mission wouldn't go as smoothly as I thought. My lips contorting into a wicked grin.

To everyone else, this will be Mina Hyuga's premiere on the battlefield. Now It's my time to shine.

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A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter, and for each and every one of your continued readership through my spouts of inactivity. I had some free time and forced myself to push out this chapter in a day so that I could get some more content out for you all. Not sure how well it came out, but hope it still holds a semblance of the quality i've been trying to maintain in recent chapters. I've got some fun stuff planned for this arc, not quite sure how long It'll be yet since I suck at predicting how many words/chapters something will end up being. Please let me know how you think I'm doing, your predictions and suggestions for the story, and any other comments you guys would like to make. You are the readers is a MAJOR part in what makes writing enjoyable for me. Half of it is watching my brain child take shape and getting to read it, the other half is watching you guys consume it and seeing your thoughts and opinions. I hunger to improve as a writer, and with each of your guy's help I will improve faster!

Reviewer Question: - Do you guys find the dynamic forming between Sasuke and Mina as an endearing B plot, or is it something your tolerating as you read getting to the meat and potatoes that is the A plot?

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