Chapter Thirty-Three: A Month's Worth
A/N: I'm sorry for such a long delay. I had major technical and programming problems with both my laptop and iPad 3 and I wasn't able to do much updating because of software malfunctions on both devices. Shoot, even my iPhone 4s is messed up and I couldn't even use that to write and update my fanfics. I had to get a new laptop as a result and I'm working on getting a new iPad and iPhone also. This two-in-one chapter is to make for the lost time. So here's the next chapter.
(One Hour Earlier; At The Uzumaki House)
Karin was in her room with a towel wrapped around her body with the five Naruto clones standing in front of her.
"Thank you, all of you," Karin said, "You guys made me feel like a true princess."
"We live only to serve, Karin-hime," the five clones said with a low bow.
Karin giggled and said, "That's wonderful. But for my final request, I'll need only one of you."
"Just one?" the second one asked.
Karin nodded her head, "That's right. But still, I appreciate all of you."
The clones nodded and then four of them burst into clouds of smoke, leaving the fifth clone alone with Karin.
"So, what would you like me to do?" the clone asked.
Karin smiled gingerly and walked over to the clone. Looking at him she replied, "What I want from you is this...a coconut popsicle."
The clone blinked for a moment and asked just to clarify, "A coconut popsicle?"
"That's right," Karin said, "A nice sized one. That's my request."
"O...K," the clone said with a shrug. He expected her to ask him to try to do something outrageous or questionable, knowing her character, but he didn't expect such a mundane request, so after making sure he heard right, he didn't question it further.
"A coconut popsicle it is, then," the clone agreed before leaving the house to do as requested of him.
"A popsicle?" the clone asked himself, "That's the last thing I thought Karin would ask for. But whatever. If that's all there is to it, then it's nothing too big to worry about."
The clone hurried on his way to the ice cream parlor and ordered a frozen coconut popsicle. With the popsicle in hand, the clone made his way back to the house where Karin was waiting. Entering the house and closing the door behind him, the clone returned to Karin's room. However what he saw next wasn't anything he was expecting. Instead of Karin, the clone found 'Hinata' on the futon with the white towel loosely wrapped around her naked body.
"Naruto-kun," 'Hinata' chimed shyly but happily at the same time, "You're back! I was getting worried that something happened to you."
The clone knew that was Karin in the form and appearance of Hinata, but still, the sight of 'Hinata' was enough to make the clone blush and smile, though he still kept himself in check.
"What are you doing Hina-...I mean Karin?"
"Naruto-kun," 'Hinata' replied in a sultry tone, "Karin said that I could spend time with you before you go. I understand that you're a clone, but I still want to make the most out of it."
'Hinata' looked at the popsicle in Naruto's hand and asked, "Is that for me?"
Naruto watched as 'Hinata' got on all fours and made her way over to him with the towel partly sliding off her body. When she reached Naruto, she got on her knees in front of him. She gave him a lustful look that caused the clone to blush and stutter as her towel hung off her left shoulder, exposing her breast and nude lower body.
"Hinat-Kari...What are you-"
"Shh..." 'Hinata' hushed him politely before she took hold of his hand with the popsicle and placed it in front of his crotch.
"Naruto-kun," 'Hinata' said with a mixed tone of surprise and timidness. She proceed to free the popsicle as if she was unzipping his pants. Naruto could only watch as very explicit images started forming in his head. After she was done, 'Hinata' marveled at the popsicle and said with admiration, "It...It's so big Naruto-kun...I-I'm not sure if I can deep throat this..."
The clone bit down on his tongue and groaned as so many ideas started forming in his mind. 'Hinata' then started kissing around the popsicle before she opened her mouth and slowly took it into her mouth. In a rhythmic motion, she moaned and slowly bobbed her head back and forth as she was blowing the popsicle that was being held at Naruto's crotch. The kage bunshin could only watch 'Hinata's' performance as perverted ideas flew through his mind.
Acting like the popsicle was going to rupture in her mouth, she sucked harder and moaned with added pleasure. When she pulled her mouth away from the popsicle, a line of saliva between her lips and the popsicle gave the kage bunshin different ideas of what was in her mouth.
'Hinata' licked her lips and said with sultry and sexual lust, "That tasted so good, Naruto-kun. I was able to take it all in and caress my tongue all around it. This is my kind of thank you for such a wonderful time, Naruto-kun.'
The clone burst into smoke, unable to handle it any further. 'Hinata' caught the popsicle before it could hit the floor. She sucked on it once and grinned before changing back to Karin.
(Present Time)
Suddenly Naruto's mind was bombarded with the memories of the fifth clone that dispelled itself after seeing to it that Karin's last request was taken care of. The result was instantaneous. When Naruto saw and experienced what Karin had his last clone do with her, which was far more than what Naruto counted on, he slapped his right hand over his mouth with the color of his face changing to a dark shade of red that would have been envied by Hinata. While holding his mouth, he felt a small trickle of blood seep down his nose.
Jiraiya looked at Naruto with a curious expression and asked, "Did...something just happen?"
"Far more than I counted on," Naruto replied quietly, but loud enough for Jiraiya to hear.
"Would you like to talk about it, Naruto? I'm willing to listen and hear you out if you want to tell me what happened," Jiraiya offered, but when Naruto looked at Jiraiya, he saw that the Sannin had his pen and notepad in hand, ready to take inspirational notes at Naruto's expense.
"Fūjin Bakuhatsuteki!" Naruto yelled as he thrust his right hand out and released a powerful wind explosion that blasted his godfather off the ground and away from him before seeing the screaming Toad Sage plunge hard into the river and down to the riverbed.
"Itami o shire (Know pain)!" Naruto replied before he wiped away the blood from his nose. He then sealed his Kiba Blades away and walked away into the woods to clear his head and deal with what his mind and body were presently experiencing.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya emerged from the river completely soaked and sore from taking a direct hit from Naruto's fūton jutsu.
"What the hell got into that gaki?" Jiariya asked no one in particular as he went to look for Naruto.
Elsewhere, Naruto was walking through the woods working on getting his head and body back in gear. The memories and experiences his clone gave him were more than he had counted on. He had to fight his body because at that moment he so badly wanted to find Hinata and seduce her into allowing him to have his sexually explicit way with her.
'It's not like Hinata-chan would actually mind anyway. She'd shyly but happily allowed me to become one with-'
Naruto was fighting himself again, trying to not to allow his hormones to get the better of his judgment. But he so badly wanted to find Hinata and do her hard in multiple positions thanks to Karin's prank. When he visualized Hinata doing what his clone saw 'Hinata' doing with the popsicle but with his member, blood burst out of his nose again. He wiped the blood away and calmed himself down after taking several deep breaths. After a good amount of walking, Naruto managed to relax and calm himself from the sensations he was experiencing.
"I never thought Karin would go so far as to-"
Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence when a kunai suddenly came his way. He narrowly dodged the kunai that now stuck to the tree it hit. The lone Uzumaki turned to his left where the kunai came from, only to find an unexpected ninja holding two katana, looking for a fight...
"Fight me Naruto!" the ninja ordered.
"I don't have time for this, short stuff!" Naruto groaned under his breath.
"I'm not short!" the ninja retorted, "And you'd be smart not to-"
The young masked boy didn't get to finish before he felt a katana to his throat with the wielder of the katana standing right behind him.
'He's fast!' the young ninja thought, 'I didn't see him move!'
"You picked quite a time to be playing 'Ninja' with me, Konohamaru," Naruto remarked, before the revealed youth pulled his mask off his face.
"But you got to admit, my aim with my kunai got better," Konohamaru grinned. "It almost caught you by surprise."
"But it didn't, and I was still able to reverse the situation and ambush you instead," Naruto stated with his katana still held at the boy's throat.
"I see that," Konohamaru admitted, "But can you please move that katana away from my neck? I-"
"What do you think you're doing to the Honorable Grandson you hooligan!" a voice yelled.
"Not that useless Jounin again," Naruto groaned before sheathing his weapon as Ebisu made his appearance.
"Who are you calling useless?" Ebisu asked arrogantly, "and what were you doing to Konohamaru?"
"I did nothing to jeopardize Konohamaru's safety. He just came looking to play 'Ninja' with me," Naruto clarified, "He just caught me at a very awkward time, that was all. When it comes to playing 'Ninja' with Konohamaru and his two friends, I play with real weapons and real situations, not toys."
"You'd be wise not to underestimate me, Naruto," Ebisu warned, "Trust me, I've had my fair shares of dangerous battles."
"By the way, Ebisu, you did a nice job hiding from Hana and Honoka at the book store the other day," Naruto replied, "You looked rather worried that Hana and Kuromaru would sniff you out with that lame disguise you wore at the bookstore."
"What are you talking about, Boss?" Konohamaru asked in confusion, "Why would Ebisu-sensei need to wear a disguise in a bookstore?"
"Just ignore him, Honorable Grandson," Ebisu said nervously, "It's nothing important."
"But it's such a funny story to share," Naruto continued, "After all, someone with your fair share of dangerous battles could teach Konohamaru the dangers of dealing with angry kunoichi."
"Ebisu-sensei, did something happen?" Konohamaru asked, "You look kinda nervous."
Ebisu straightened himself out and was about to talk when...
"Naruto!"
Naruto, Konohamaru, and Ebisu turned to see Jiraiya making his way over to them.
"Jiraiya-sama!" Ebisu greeted respectfully with a bit of surprise, "I wasn't aware that you returned to Konoha. You've been away for a very long time."
"I only returned recently," Jiraiya said, "But during my return, Naruto and I have been getting to know each other. After all, I did train his father."
"You trained the Yellow Flash?" Konohamaru asked, surprised.
"Honorable Grandson," Ebisu spoke up, "Jiraiya-sama is one of Konoha's most respected ninja and he's one of the legendary Sannin. He's a very strong and formidable ninja."
"While I appreciate the praise," Jiraiya replied, "you caught Naruto and me at a most inconvenient time."
"I understand," Ebisu said, "In that case, the Honorable Grandson and I will take our leave."
"Konohamaru," Naruto said, "The Chuunin Exam Finals will be in about a month's time. Do you and your friends think you can be there to watch the finals?"
"I'll have to asked Jiji and see if he'll let me and the others go," Konohamaru said.
"Okay," Naruto replied.
"Looking for moral support from the Honorable Grandson and his friends?" Ebisu asked.
"Actually," Naruto corrected, "I'm looking to expose Konohamaru and his friends to the realities of the ninja world before any of them start developing misleading fantasies of what being a ninja entails. I've seen far too many before me leave the ninja academy without truly understanding the harsh realities of the ninja life. Some of them learned the hard way with their lives. I feel that showing them the truth of the ninja world will better prepare them for their future roles as Konoha ninja."
Ebisu and Jiraiya thought about what Naruto was telling them.
"You bring up a good point, Naruto," Jiraiya spoke, "Perhaps I can convince Sensei to allow Konohamaru and his class to watch the event just this once. It could inspire even those looked at as dead last to strive to reach goals others would have said were impossible."
"I'll leave it to you then, Jiraiya," Naruto said, "But I have to take my leave now. I have something personal to handle."
Naruto shunshin'd in a whirl of wind and took off, leaving the the scene. Turning to Konohamaru and Ebisu, Jiraiya suggested, "C'mon, let's go see the Hokage now. I'm sure he'll be interested in this new idea Naruto suggested for you and your class, boy."
"Are you sure it's wise to actually to do this, Jiraya-sama?" Ebisu asked.
"There will be those Konohamaru's age or younger there to watch the Finals regardless," Jiraiya reminded, "I don't see why the old man would argue with that being the case."
"I see your point," Ebisu relented.
(Meanwhile; On The Hokage Monument)
Naruto was laying on the grass on his back while looking up at the darkened evening skies. After getting his hormones to calm down, he decided to think about what happened in the forest and how his perverted nature could have badly compromised his judgment a while ago.
"Now I can't help but think about what Susanoo told me back then about my deeply-ingrained perverseness. I can't believe I was so caught off guard by Karin's stunt to the point that I wanted to use Hinata-chan to satisfy myself. And if I'm not careful and let my guard down like that again, I might do something I'd regret, which would lead to me to hurting Hinata-chan. Ironic how I'm always on Sasuke's case about his attempts at getting into Hinata-chan's pants, and now here I am worrying about doing the same damn thing," Naruto said to himself. He sighed as he continued meditating on his past perverted actions and the stunts he pulled.
"I'm amazed how patient Hinata has been towards me," Naruto said, "Most girls would have dumped me long ago because of how I act. The fact that Hinata-chan was willing to deal with it is a clear sign that I don't deserve her. I'm going to have to find a way to keep my perverted nature in check, otherwise someone will find a way to use it against me."
Naruto sat up and looked over at the village and the lights that were lit up at night. A moment later, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He didn't need to guess who was behind him at that moment as she rested her head on his right shoulder.
"Hinata-chan, I'm surprised to see you out here at this hour," Naruto said with a smile.
"I knew you'd be here, so I decided to take an evening stroll up here," Hinata said, "And from the look on your face, I'm guessing you're deep in thought about something. Does it concern the Chuunin Exam Finals?"
"No," Naruto said, "Something else entirely...about myself, really."
"Wanna talk about it?" Hinata offered as she held him tighter and closer to her, "that is, if it's not too personal to share with me?"
"Earlier today, after you and Hanabi-chan left, I was made me see how much I don't deserve you for a girlfriend," Naruto said.
"What are you talking about?" a perplexed and worried Hinata asked, "Yo-you're not thinking of breaking up with me...are you? N-n...not after everything we've been through!"
"I'm not breaking up with you, Hinata-chan. Please, don't even mention that. But what I've been giving a lot of thought to is how I put you through a lot with how perverted I am. It was only today, a few hours after you left when I came to acknowledge what could happen if I were to lose control of myself. I know you've been very patient with me, my Moon's Eye Rabbit, but I know deep down that in some ways you felt some measures of frustration and hurt because of of my perverted actions, and for that, I'm sorry."
There was a brief moment of silence between the two. Hinata said nothing as she allowed Naruto's words to sink into her mind. When they did, she rested her head and face into her boyfriend's right shoulder and neck.
"That's what I love about you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said affectionately, "Despite your strengths, you're willing to admit and own up to your faults and imperfections instead of excusing or justifying them. You're willing to apologize when you think you've done me wrong, no matter what. And listening to what you said assures me that my trust in you is not in misplaced, and that I don't have to worry about you betraying me. And you don't need to worry about me betraying you either, Naruto-kun.
"And just so you know, Temari-san and I talked things out and came to an understanding about each other's feelings. Though she admitted to having feelings for you, she assured me that she wouldn't be a rival for your time and attention. Honestly, though, I always thought that the perverted side of your personality would be a lead factor in dissuading other potential rivals for you away."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Beside using your perverted nature as an instrument against unsuspecting targets for ambushes, for a time I tolerated your perverted character because for the most part, lots of girls of our age group were turned off by it," Hinata explained, "I didn't have to worry about would-be rivals wanting your interest and affections. But to my shock, Temari really likes you in spite of the fact that she knows about your infamous perverted nature. That was when I realized that there will be females other than myself who'll see beyond your flaws, imperfections, and illusions, and look for the person I see deep inside you."
"I see," Naruto acknowledged, "And clearly I'm going to have to work on keeping my perverted nature in check, seeing as it could backfire and be used against me." Naruto looked to Hinata and teased, "But that doesn't mean I'll completely stop being a pervert towards you!"
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata playfully chided and giggled while still holding Naruto from behind in her embrace, "...Well, it's getting late. But I can stay like this for a while longer."
Hinata moved herself in a sitting position on Naruto's lap before she rested her head on his left shoulder. As Naruto held her, his mind drifted off to thoughts concerning his future with Hinata and the possible outcomes. His mind then drifted off to that stunt Karin pulled on him when she henge'd into Hinata. He literally shook his head and dismissed the thought before his hormones could start getting the better of him again. For now, he wanted to enjoy his peaceful moment alone with Hinata.
(The Following Day; Early Afternoon)
Hinata was in the forest with her clone standing in front of her. But it wasn't her standard kage bunshin. It was her first ikite'ru bunshin. After several grueling hours, she finally got the hang of blood manipulation and successfully created her first ikite'ru bunshin.
"I finally did it!" Hinata said, feeling proud of her accomplishment, "I'm happy it didn't take me longer than I thought it was going to."
"I can imagine so," the Hinata clone replied and suggested, "Now how about we practice what Naruto-kun instructed us to do after reaching this stage?"
Hinata nodded in agreement, "Let's start with the far sight technique, and see how far I can see through your eyes."
The clone did as instructed and ran through the woods. As it did so, Hinata was able to see where the clone was going as through she was actually there and on the move.
"Wow!" Hinata said excitedly, "Naruto-kun was right! This jutsu will come in handy! Let's see how far my clone can travel with my sight tagging along."
As the clone was moving, she got a pretty far distance from the original Hinata. So far, the clone traveled almost three hundred yards, and Hinata was still able to see through the clone's eyes. Soon though, her eyes caught sight of something that caught her attention as the clone slowed down and stealthily moved in closer to what caught their attention.
"That's Hanabi," Hinata realized from her original spot, "Looks like she's still waiting for Naruto-kun to show up. I guess he still had a few more things to see to before he meets up with her. Well, it's understandable, considering what happened earlier."
Hinata thought back to what took place earlier that morning when Hiruzen announced Naruto's clan heritage, familial lineage, and status as the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune to the entire village. The crowd had mixed reactions. Many believed it to be outrageous. The younger villagers were speechless after learning the truth of what really happened thirteen years ago.
The younger villagers of Naruto's age group had feelings of guilt for being amongst those that made his life difficult and shame for allowing their older folks' bitterness toward him to influence their thinking about a boy they never knew. Hinata had seen some in the crowd yelling and arguing with their parents and older relatives who futilely tried to justify their actions, but that only made them look worse in front of their children as the younger generation lost a lot of respect and trust in them.
The Hokage, after that announcement, made it clear to everyone that all information and history regarding the Uzumaki clan and its ties with Konoha was going to be taught by a member of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Honoka herself.
Soon though, Hinata snapped out of her thoughts to see Naruto arriving and heading over to Hanabi. Besides looking forward to her new training, it was clear to Hinata that Hanabi was more than happy to be alone with Naruto, again. The older Hyuuga sighed and shook her head while wondering when Hanabi was going to finally let go of her romantic affections for her boyfriend. Speaking of new training, Hinata saw this as her best opportunity to find out what exactly was Naruto teaching Hanabi.
The ikite'ru bunshin quietly moved closer to see and hear what they were talking about. Just when she was about to put her herself in a good hiding spot, Naruto took hold of Hanabi and shunshin'd to an entirely different location.
"Drats!" Hinata pouted in disappointment after seeing through her clone's eyes what happened, "I was so close! I thought I had them that time!"
"Who did you think you had?" a feminine voice asked from behind her. Hinata jumped and turned quickly to see Kurenai standing and grinning behind her.
"Spying on someone, are we?" Kurenai teased with a knowing smile.
"Actually...you see...I-I...," Hinata stuttered, feeling embarrassed that she got caught red-handed by her sensei.
"So who were to trying to get intel on, Hinata?" Kurenai asked.
Hinata, seeing that she was caught, replied, "I was trying to gather information on Hanabi and Naruto. But they got away."
"Really," Kurenai asked with interest, "Tell me more if you will."
Sighing, Hinata canceled out her ikite'ru bunshin and started explaining herself to Kurenai.
(Meanwhile)
Hanabi now found herself alone with Naruto inside his new house. Presently, they were standing behind the main entrance.
"Make yourself at home, Hanabi-chan," Naruto invited, "Karin and Honoka-nee won't be home for hours, so we pretty much have the place to ourselves for now."
Hanabi quickly removed her sandals and placed them to the side. Naruto followed and removed his sandals also before making his way deeper into the house with Hanabi following close by. As they walked around, Hanabi took in everything she was seeing.
"Hinata-neesan hasn't seen this house yet, has she?" Hanabi inquired. Naruto stopped for a moment to think about the question. A few moments later...
"Wow," Naruto suddenly realized, "Come to think of it, I've never gotten time to actually show her this place."
"But you sure made time to show me first, Naruto-kun," Hanabi teased gingerly.
Naruto looked back at her and thought, 'How cute. This girl is actually trying to flirt with me.'
"Whatever," Naruto remarked before they continued walking into the house and into the living room, "While this room is no actual training room, we'll be using it for the very purpose I spoke to you about. You're going have to put aside all distractions and take this seriously. Understand?"
Hanabi nodded her head. Even though she liked that she was alone with Naruto, she had to remind herself, as hard as it was, that Naruto was Hinata's boyfriend.
'I wish you were a boy my age, Naruto-kun,' Hanabi wishfully thought with a sigh escaping her mouth. Shaking the thought away, Hanabi refocused her mind to more important matters. She saw Naruto sit down on the sofa and gesture for her to come over and sit with him. Doing as instructed, Hanabi went and sat next to Naruto on the sofa before he started up the first drunken master movie.
(Meanwhile Back In The Forest)
"That's an interesting story Hinata," Kurenai said, "So Naruto has taken an interest in training your little sister and now you want to find out what it is he's training her in since he refuses to tell you."
"That's pretty much it," Hinata confirmed, "I even thought about trying to bribe Hanabi into telling me what Naruto-kun is training her in, but I decided against it knowing she would use that to blackmail me in return, something Naruto-kun has been training her in as well."
"Do I detect a hint of jealousy from you Hinata?" Kurenai inquired.
"W-What a-re you talking about, Kurenai-se-sensei?" Hinata stuttered both in surprise and denial.
"I know from what you've told me a few days ago that Naruto has invested a great amount of his time and energy teaching, training and helping you become the kunoichi you are today," Kurenai said, "Now that he has turned some of that same attention to your little sister, you feel some measure of jealousy since it's not you that Naruto is training. Am I correct?"
Hinata didn't reply at that moment as she thought about what Kurenai said.
"There's more to this than that Kurenai-sensei," Hinata replied.
"What more is there?" Kurenai asked attentively.
"Hanabi admitted that she does carry feelings for Naruto-kun as more than a dear friend," Hinata revealed, "I talked to Hanabi about it, and she said that she wouldn't try to rival me for Naruto-kun's affections. But honestly, part of me doesn't completely believe her."
"Why is that?" Kurenai asked, "What reasons do you have to doubt her?"
"Well...for starters," Hinata answered, "Temari-san also has eyes on my boyfriend and even she admitted that she carries the desire to fight me for his affections, though she promised that she wouldn't resort to doing that. We talked about it and came to an understanding about each other's feelings. Temari-san made no advances towards Naruto-kun afterwards, and so far she has given me no reason to doubt her."
"Yet the one that concerns you the most is your own little sister despite the fact that she said pretty much the same thing," Kurenai said, "Why do you feel such concern?"
"Because it's the same kind of affections I started developing for Naruto-kun when I was her age, and it's not just a passing crush," Hinata replied, "She looks at him the same way I did regardless of the age difference, and I feel that the more time she spends with Naruto-kun, the stronger her affections for him will become, and the harder it will be for her to cope with the fact that he's in a relationship with me. But Naruto-kun gave his word to Hanabi that he would teach her, and I can't selfishly ask him to undo his promise to her. I just don't want to see Hanabi hurt."
Kurenai saw where Hinata was coming from. It was natural that Hinata would feel such worry and concern for her family, especially for Hanabi since they both became very close over the course of time, ironically thanks to Naruto's involvement in their lives.
"I can see that you're worried about your sister's first possible heartbreak," Kurenai said, "But sadly that's part of life and growing up. I know you want to spare your sister from experiencing that kind of pain, Hinata, but life and growing to maturity don't work that way. It's understandable that you want to look out for your sister, but you can't shield her from everything. I can't say when Hanabi will move on from Naruto, but as her big sister, you can be there for her when she needs you most, seeing as you know her best."
Hinata sighed and lowered her head slightly as she took in everything Kurenai told her. A moment later she looked up at the older woman and said, "Thank you Kurenai-sensei. I will be there for Hanabi."
"I know you will," Kurenai said, "Now, how about we continue to strengthen your prowess in genjutsu? I remember you telling me you have an affinity for water manipulation."
"That's right," Hinata confirmed, "Naruto-kun helped me develop and strengthen my abilities in water manipulation after we learned what my elemental affinity was."
"Well then," Kurenai said, "I'm not about to let Naruto be the only one to teach you something in regards to water manipulation. I went through some scrolls and found a genjutsu I'm sure you'll make good use of."
Kurenai took out a scroll from her blouse and handed it over to Hinata. Hinata opened the scroll to examine the contents.
"Kirigakure no Shinkirou (Mirage of the Hidden Mist)," Hinata said as she read the name of the genjutsu.
"It's a water style genjutsu," Kurenai said, "I thought you may be able to utilize that genjutsu against Gaara during the Chuunin Exam Finals. As we all saw from the preliminaries, Gaara will be a dangerous opponent to fight and it's very likely he'll do the same thing to you as he did to Lee. I have to wonder, though, what miracle doctor completely healed him?"
"Perhaps that doctor will do the same to me should I lose my match against Gaara," Hinata remarked.
"Hopefully it'll never have to come to that," Kurenai stated, "So I'll spend the rest of my remaining time helping you study and practice that water style genjutsu, and while I'm at it, I'll teach you another genjutsu in my arsenal."
"Thank you Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said, "I won't let you down."
Kurenai nodded before they got down to business.
(Back At Naruto's House)
For the next number of hours, Naruto and Hanabi watched several drunken master movies together. As they watched them, Naruto would occasionally pause the movie and question Hanabi about what she observed about the body movements and timing and agility of the drunken fighters. She explained how drunken fist pays very close attention to the lack of structural integrity of stances in stillness and motion, and the method of using the human body to act with gravity or the force from an opponent. She stated how that resulted in an ability to always get back on your feet.
Later, when asked again what she observed, Hanabi explained how as soon as the drunken fighters stumbled into a drunken ready stance, their opponents froze in their tracks. She described how they were mesmerized by wobbly footwork and unstable advances and retreats to the point that all the drunken fighters had to do was stumble over to them and pick when and where they wanted to strike. She said how from what she saw, Drunken Fist emphasized the importance of being relaxed and being able to "go with the flow" of battle, instead of trying to go against it; and that as a result the drunken fighters were in a better position to turn the tide in their favor.
In one of the movies they watched together, Hanabi saw how some of the drunken fighters learned how to actually fight at high speed with the classical weapons of the style as well as actively training in transference of those weapons to common everyday items. When asked about it, she explained how the sash and gourd for example were easily adapted to beer bottles, belts, ropes, extension cords and other objects like those; while a broadsword was adapted to anything of the same length, such as sticks, clubs, and other similar items.
It was late in the evening by the time they were done watching all of the movies and going over everything they saw. Hanabi, once again, came out feeling that she learned far more from Naruto than she does from Iruka. Naruto took out a piece of paper and handed it over to Hanabi.
"I want you to focus chakra into this paper Hanabi-chan," Naruto instructed.
"What for?" Hanabi asked.
"This is to reveal what elemental affinity you have and it'll help me better assess where I can take your training in Drunk Gentle Fist," Naruto explained, "If the paper burns, your affinity is fire; if it gets wet you have water as your affinity; if it turns to dust, you're earth type; if it crumbles, you have lightning; and if it splits into two pieces, you have wind like me.
"Are you ready?"
Hanabi nodded her head and focused her chakra into the special piece of paper. A few moments later, the paper withered as it broke down and turned to dust on Naruto's house floor. Hanabi didn't look all that happy about her affinity.
"You're an earth type, Hanabi," Naruto acknowledged, "But you don't look so thrilled about it."
"I was hoping that I was a wind-type like you, Naruto-kun," Hanabi replied.
'Hinata-chan said the same thing too,' Naruto recalled and then stated, "Well, wind-type ninja are rare in Hi no Kuni (The Land of Fire), to tell you the truth. But the fact that you have earth as your affinity puts you in a better position to fuse Juuken with Drunken Fist, and take it to an even higher level than originally planned."
"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked with a look that showed she wanted to know more.
"Well with my wind affinity, I can use it to sense my targets and enemies around me through the vibrations of air molecules," Naruto explained, "With earth, you can do that through seismic waves."
"Seismic waves?" Hanabi asked, "What are those?"
"They're vibrations that travels through the ground, regardless of whether it's caused by an earthquake or one's footstep," Naruto clarified, "I'll be teaching you that later on down that line, as I don't want to overwhelm you with everything all at once."
"I understand," Hanabi said, "I'll wait until you think I'm ready that for that training. Still, I learned a whole lot today Naruto-kun. And I have a good way for us to celebrate how much I learned and will put into practice to create and perfect Drunken Gentle Fist."
Hanabi pulled out a scroll from within her shirt and opened it on the table. Naruto quietly watched.
"Kai!" Hanabi said as she released the contents that were sealed into the scroll. The smoke cleared to reveal a most familiar bottle and two glass flutes.
"The Imperial Blue Dragon Of The East," Naruto realized, "I remember giving you that as a present some time ago."
"Would you like a drink with me?" Hanabi offered.
"I'm up for it," Naruto said before Hanabi went and poured the flutes with the imported wine. Setting the bottle down, Hanabi picked up her glass and gave the other one to Naruto. Both sipped their wine while savoring the taste of their drinks.
"When did you learn to seal items away?" Naruto asked.
"I told you some time ago that I'd think of new hiding places for my wine Naruto-kun," Hanabi answered as she winked at him, "I had Kō teach me a sealing jutsu of this sort. Thankfully he didn't ask why, since it was only a jutsu to seal items."
"Clever," Naruto complimented as he sipped more of his wine. When they were done, Hanabi cleaned the two wine glasses and sealed both them and the wine itself away in another scroll. As soon as she slipped it back inside her shirt...
"Hey Naruto-kun! Are you home!?" Karin yelled out rudely with Honoka following from behind as they entered the house and closed the door behind them, "I have a new hot orange two-piece bikini swimsuit I'd like to model for yo-"
"Knock it off!" an annoyed Honoka retorted as she smacked Karin across the shoulders, "And get your head out of the gutter!"
"Oh shut up Granny!" Karin shot back, "And let me have my fun with Naruto-kun!"
Both females growled and stared hard at each other as though they were waiting for the other to try something. Meanwhile, Hanabi looked at Naruto curiously after hearing the commotion in the hallway.
"The pervy girl you heard offering to model for me is a brethren Uzumaki named Karin. I found and rescued her a few days ago, and now she lives with both me and Honoka-nee," Naruto explained, "Just so you know, she's an even bigger pervert than I am."
"That's surprising," Hanabi remarked before it registered what Naruto said, "You found another member of your clan!?"
"Didn't I just say that?" Naruto replied seconds before Honoka and Karin walked into the living to find Naruto and Hanabi sitting together by the table.
"Hanabi, how nice to meet you again," Honoka greeted politely.
"You're from the Hyuuga clan," Karin deduced after recognizing the girl's eyes. Hanabi simply nodded and asked, "And who are you?"
"Uzumaki Karin," Karin answered.
"What brings you here?" Honoka asked.
"I was invited over by Naruto-kun," Hanabi replied, "My time spent with him was more enlightening and charismatic than any class I have with Iruka-sensei."
"Damn! Your sensei at the academy is that boring?" Karin asked.
"I pride myself in being a studious learner, but to my surprise Naruto-kun was right in how boring Iruka-sensei is," Hanabi commented, "Sometimes even I want to sleep in his class and that's saying something."
Naruto was about to comment on that when he suddenly stopped and paused in his tracks. He was receiving information from one of his spy clones and he didn't like what he was finding out. Hanabi, Honoka, and Karin saw the change in Naruto's facial expression.
"Hanabi," Naruto said seriously, "I'll continue with your lessons tomorrow. Something just came up and I've gotta see to it now."
Hanabi nodded just as Naruto summoned a kage bunshin. Naruto instructed his clone, "Take her home and don't look suspicious."
The clone went and did as instructed as he led Hanabi to where her sandals were. After she placed her sandals on, the clone held onto Hanabi and with a swirl of wind, he shunshin'd both of them from the house. Turning to Karin and Honoka, Naruto said, "I'm going to need you both to come along with me."
"Did something happen?" Honoka asked with concern.
"It'll only get worse if we don't leave now!" Naruto warned as he took hold of both of them and shunshin'd to their next location.
A moment later, the three Uzumaki found themselves at the previous spot Naruto's spy clone was last standing before dispelling himself.
"Over there!" Naruto said as he pointed to where on the roof Genko Hayate's body was lying. They ran quickly to the motionless and unconscious Special Jounin and checked for a pulse. Honoka checked his condition and looked at her brethren grimly.
"His wounds are severe. He's bleeding to death," Honoka said, "He'll be dead in less than two minutes if we don't act fast, and the hospital is too far from here."
"We don't have a minute," Naruto said as he turned to Karin.
"I understand," Karin said as she went over and held her left arm over Hayate's mouth. Grabbing his jaw with her right hand, she opened his mouth and lowered her left arm into his mouth before she forced his mouth shut over her left arm. A second later, chakra started traveling out of her body and into Hayate's. Soon, his critical injuries started to show signs of healing with the blood loss beginning to decrease. Eventually all of his fatal injuries and wounds were healed up, though the unconscious Hayate was still covered in his own old blood.
"And that should do it," Karin said with a bit of fatigue, "His condition isn't critical anymore but he won't be awake for a few hours. I wonder what happened that led him to be in the condition we found him in."
"He saw and heard too much and Baki tried to kill him," Naruto said gravely.
"Baki?" Karin asked, "You mean the Jounin for those three Suna Genin?"
"That's the same one," Naruto confirmed, "And that was after Gaara killed the Oto Genin, Dosu, when an altercation of some sort occurred between them. My spy clone didn't get all of the intel behind the incident between Dosu and Gaara, but what he did manage to uncover is that Suna is secretly working with Orochimaru and Otogakure. Kabuto is serving under Orochimaru as Baki's secret contact. They're planning something against Konoha, something big and from what my clone was able to gather, what they're planning to do will most likely occur during the Chuunin Exam Finals."
"So Suna is plotting to betray Konoha for Orochimaru and Otogakure," Honoka acknowledged, "We're going have to report this to the Hokage immediately."
"We will, but we have do so discreetly," Naruto said before he summoned three kage bunshin. Two of them went and picked up the unconscious Hayate while the third one went and lied in the same spot and in the exact position Hayate was in. A second later, the clone henge'd into the unconscious, bloody, and dying form of Hayate.
"So as to not raise suspicions from Suna and Oto," Naruto explained, "I don't want to alert them that we're on to their plan."
The two female Uzumaki nodded in understanding as they and the clones holding up Hayate shunshin'd back to their house.
(At The Uchiha District)
Sasuke was returning home after spending the earlier part of the afternoon training with Kakashi and Hayate after the Hokage's announcement regarding Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki and his heritage. It was only later that day when Kakashi introduced him to lightning manipulation and its elemental principles. The Uchiha could only wonder how he would find a way to rival Naruto's skills.
Putting those thought aside, Sasuke stepped into his house and closed the door behind him. After removing his sandals, he walked into the kitchen and found Tayuya, in her usual 'house clothes,' reading a scroll of some sort and from the look on her face, she wasn't all that happy about what she was reading. He also noticed two pots on the stove that had some cooked food in them. She looked up at Sasuke and greeted, "So Numb Nuts, how did your time with your favorite cock-eyed cyclops go?"
Already used to the nickname Tayuya gave him, Sasuke answered, "Enlightening to say the least. He introduced me to lightning manipulation and I was wondering how I could incorporate that into my training with you."
Tayuya gave Sasuke a thoughtful expression but didn't give a reply. After thinking about it, Tayuya admitted, "I never trained in elemental manipulation of any sort, but Orochimaru-sama would more than likely know a lot about it. The best I can possibly do is tell you to implement what you suggested and see where that take us."
Sasuke nodded his head asked, "What's with the scroll?"
"A written message from Orochimaru-sama," Tayuya said with an emotionless tone, "He stated that while I'm teaching and living with you, I'll be temporarily replaced with another colleague of mine as he fills in my role as a member of the Sound Four. While this is upsetting and unexpected, Orochimaru-sama stated that this would help me to better focus on developing your skills, and that I would later be allowed to rejoin the Sound Four after your training with me is over."
"I see," Sasuke replied, "Orochimaru evidently doesn't want you being distracted by your role as a Sound Four ninja."
"That also means that he doesn't want me involved with anything else outside of teaching and training you," Tayuya informed as she set the scroll down on the counter.
"You gave me your word that you would help me become stronger and learn how to use the Cursed Seal," Sasuke reminded, "Look at it as Orochimaru helping you to live up to that."
Tayuya looked at Sasuke and remarked, "You really know how to be a smart ass Numb Nuts; but then again, I'd hate and hurt you if you were still a Hinata-obsessed dumbass dick."
"I told you, my days pursuing the Hyuuga heiress are over," Sasuke stated firmly, "And that's final."
Tayuya was about to say something when...
"By the way," Sasuke said as he reached into his pocket and retrieved her hat, "You dropped this at the dojo yesterday."
"You had it with you all this time!?" Tayuya asked in disbelief, "I looked all around the damn place wondering what I did with it!"
"I forgot I had it with me in my pocket so I'm returning it now," Sasuke said as he went and gave it back. Tayuya took the hat and set it down on the counter by the scroll. Turning to the stove, Tayuya said, "I made us some food. Feel free to help yourself Numb Nuts."
"You cook?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. Tayuya frowned and replied, "Does that surprise you ass-wipe? Being a kunoichi also means I have to know how to take care of myself and not rely on other shitty people to feed my ass. As I'm helping you to improve in your strengths and speed, I'm also making sure your duck ass is eating the right stuff and not some fast food shit you're probably used to eating."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted before going over and checking out what Tayuya made for the both of them. Though Sasuke didn't mention it earlier, his time with both Kakashi and Hayate left him both drained and hungry. Seeing that the food actually looked and smelled good, Sasuke said, "I'm going to clean myself up first."
Tayuya gave no reply as she watched him leave to do as he said. It was another fifteen minutes when Sasuke returned wearing a pair of sleeping shorts and a T-shirt. He went and took a plate and got some food to eat. He then went over to the table where Tayuya was sitting at with some warm tea and a plate of food of her own and sat at the opposite side of the table on the sitting mat. As they both ate, there was an awkward silence between them; in fact this was the first time they were actually eating together and both were wondering who would break the silence between them.
"Who's this ninja who's to be your temporary substitute?" Sasuke asked.
Seeing that the silence was finally broken, Tayuya answered, "His name is Kimimaro. He's a sickly guy, but regardless of the circumstances with his health, he's still a very strong fighter. I've seen seasoned Jounin killed brutally by him on missions we've went on and like me, he was trained by Orochimaru-sama."
"Does he possess the Cursed Seal like us?" Sasuke asked.
"He does," Tayuya said, "And that makes him even more dangerous. He was dangerous enough without it, but through Orochimaru-sama's genius, Kimimaro became twice as deadly. However, he's still a humorless prick who's more obsessed with pleasing Orochimaru-sama than anyone else I know."
"Funny how someone like him utilizes his time and energy," Sasuke remarked.
"And speaking of time," Tayuya interjected, "How long will you be training with your cyclops sensei tomorrow?"
"For half of the day. Kakashi will go further into lightning manipulation with me," Sasuke said, "I'm also having him strengthen my abilities with my Sharingan."
"You're hoping to use that against Naruto during the Chuunin Exam Finals," Tayuya deduced.
"I'm willing to use everything and anything if it'll help give me that increase in skill against a stronger opponent," Sasuke replied, "Kakashi made it painfully clear that I'm no match for Naruto. I'm seeking to develop some kind of handicap against him and combine that with my developing kenjutsu and lightning manipulation."
"Well I can't promise you that you'll accomplish all that in less than a month," Tayuya stated.
"Itachi accomplished and overcame many feats at a very young age," Sasuke replied, "I don't intend to let his accomplishments continue to overshadow mine, especially since I still intend to kill him."
"...And you will," Tayuya said, "but I'm sure Itachi didn't become an S-class ninja without working hard, regardless of whatever age he accomplished whatever feats he did."
"He was thirteen when he became an ANBU Captain," Sasuke explained, "the same age I am now. That's a huge feat at that age."
"It doesn't change the fact that everything comes with time, effort, and patience," Tayuya retorted, "and that was something Orochimaru-sama had me understand while I was training under him. If I had gone after my parents' murderers before Orochimaru-sama deemed me ready, not only would I have lost, I'd have died. Itachi isn't an S-class felon for nothing, and if you go after him at the level you're currently at, not only will you lose, he'll have no mercy for your ass."
Sasuke's anger was boiling. He knew that Tayuya was telling the truth, but part of him wanted to argue against her words. However, when he recalled how she herself beat him twice in a one-on-one fight even with his Sharingan, he held his tongue and calmed his anger down.
"...I understand," Sasuke admitted with a bit of reluctance, "Though it's hard to swallow."
"I understand how you want vengeance for your clansmen but you'll be doing them no justice if you die prematurely by Itachi's hands," Tayuya said, "Got it Numb Nuts?"
"...Yeah...Crystal," Sasuke said dryly.
The pair continued eating together. All the while, Sasuke thought about what was happening, and the fact that he and Tayuya were eating together as though they always did. It started to remind him of how he, Itachi, and their parents used to eat together like this. He remembered how they would talk and share how their day went and what happened on one of their missions. For Sasuke, he remembered how he used to relate what he learned at the academy, while his mother Mikoto would get on his case if he was taking up too much of Itachi's time and attention.
"What the hell are you thinking about, Numb Nuts?" Tayuya asked after seeing Sasuke momentarily spaced out.
Sasuke snapped out of it and said, "Just how I'm going to intensify my training with Kakashi tomorrow."
"You're a dickless liar," Tayuya grinned, "Even I was able to see right through that lie. But you don't have to share your thoughts with me if you don't want to," Tayuya then gave a serious look and said, "Still, on a more serious note, we're living together and if we're to truly trust each other and work together, don't ever lie to me. I sure as hell won't lie to you."
Sasuke smelled the scent coming off Tayuya's body again, and unconsciously he inhaled her scent quietly in loads.
"Right," Sasuke replied. Soon both Tayuya and Sasuke finished their meals and cleaned up the dishes and utensils they used before deciding to turn themselves in for the night.
"I'm heading to bed now," Tayuya said, "You're free to do whatever you want."
"What do you mean? This is my house," Sasuke replied with a frown.
"Like I said Numb Nuts, you're free to do whatever you want," Tayuya shot back as she retreated back into her room. As she was making her way there...
"Feel free to make me a bento tomorrow before I leave in the morning," Sasuke remarked before Tayuya turned and raised her right hand to give him the finger. She then went into her room and closed the door behind her. Sasuke, left with his thoughts, stood there briefly, thinking about how things have changed for him since Tayuya moved into with him. And now she was even cooking and making meals for him.
True, the kinds of meals she was making for him were for the benefit of his training, but it still was hard to believe how things have changed so much in such a short time. When he thought about either Ino or Sakura living with him like this, he shuddered and concluded that he'd have ended up twice as weak as before. In fact, thoughts of Hinata didn't cross his mind once. So far, everything about Tayuya proved that she was not only a seasoned and capable Jounin kunoichi, but also a smart and competent female.
But seeing what Tayuya was capable of made Sasuke see how much he to do in order to catch up. He refused to be left in the dust considering that she had already fulfilled her goals in avenging her murdered family. He told himself that he would succeed like she did and get to the level he was meant to be at. With those thoughts in mind, Sasuke retreated back into his room and retired for the night.
(Meanwhile; At The Hokage Tower)
Hiruzen was sitting at his desk with both Naruto and Jiraiya standing in front of him. Naruto had one of his spy clones seek out and summon Jiraiya to be present for meeting with Hiruzen. Currently, the Sandaime had a calm but serious expression on his face after listening to what Naruto explained to him.
"This is most unsettling, and that's putting it very lightly," Hiruzen said gravely, "I can't believe that the Kazekage is planning on betraying and invading our village while using the Chuunin Exam Finals as cover for his joint operation with Orochimaru. But at the very least we now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kabuto is both a spy and traitor."
"What could the Kazekage gain from attacking Konoha?" Naruto inquired, "There has to be some kind of motive to move the Kazekage to betray Konoha."
Hiruzen thought about the question, but he couldn't come up with a plausible explanation.
"Perhaps the Kazekage hopes the attack on Konoha will move the Wind Daimyo to re-establish Sunagakure's military force," Jiraiya figured. Hiruzen and Naruto turned and looked at Jiraiya with expressions of interest.
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen asked, "Is there something you're aware of concerning Suna's military force?"
"While I haven't personally visited Suna for a couple of years," Jiraiya explained, "My contacts there have kept me posted on what's been happening in Suna, though hearing about the invasion now from Naruto has caught me by surprise."
"So what can you tell us?" Naruto inquired.
"From what my contact explained to me, for the past number of years, the Wind Daimyo has been commissioning our village with requests he should have been making to Suna. On top of that, the daimyo made cut backs on Sunagakure's military budget. The Kazekage was outraged and tried to devise other methods to strengthening Suna's military force. Their daiymo even started offering jobs to other hidden villages instead of his own. Suna is weakening and in desperate need of financial support.
"In others words, the Kazekage is hoping that a major attack on Konoha will leave us spending more time and resources on rebuilding our village and ninja force instead of doing missions, and that Suna would be taking jobs that Konoha would normally have been given by the Wind Daimyo. I speculate that this invasion was a last resort."
"Desperation for financial support does not excuse betrayal," Hiruzen stated.
'Neither does sentimentalism for Orochimaru, Jiisan,' Naruto thought as he recalled how Hiruzen spared Orochimaru instead of killing him when he had the chance to all those years ago, "So now that we know of Suna's plot to attack us, what do you suggest we do Jiisan?"
"For now," Hiruzen said, "we'll continue to act as though we know nothing about their plot and put up a pretense that we're looking into the murder of Hayate. And speaking of that man-"
"Honoka-nee and Karin are tending to his medical needs," Naruto assured, "He'll live, but with the exception of us, the ANBU, and my Uzumaki cousins, to everyone else, Hayate is dead, just like you said."
"We know now that Orochimaru is the leader of Otogakure, however I was unsuccessful in locating exactly where Otogakure is, even through my spy network," Jiraiya confessed, "It's been difficult keeping tabs on Orochimaru's activities.
"I'm certain that during the attack, Orochimaru will try to kill you Sarutobi-sensei, and if he can, you too Naruto. He sees you as a threat."
"It won't be the first time he tried to kill me," Naruto remarked, "But I won't underestimate him or what he's capable of. He is a Sannin for a reason."
Hiruzen and Jiraiya were happy that Naruto didn't allow the fact that he beat Orochimaru twice to go to his head while acknowledging how crafty and dangerous Orochimaru could be.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Hiruzen said, "You played a key role in uncovering what you discovered, and both you and your cousins saved the life a fellow Konoha shinobi. You've done Konoha a great service and I promise that this will not go unrewarded."
"With that said, I do have one request," Naruto said, "My cousins and I recently found the Uzumaki Mask Temple, which currently lies in ruins. As my reward, I'd like you to authorize both the reconstruction of that temple and the reconstruction of the cottage that once belonged to my Uzumaki ancestors who were the caretakers of that temple. I request that Tazuna of Nami no Kuni be employed as the architect in this reconstruction project, along with his workers."
Hiruzen remained silent for a moment after hearing Naruto's request. Though he hid it, Hiruzen was shocked that Naruto found that temple after all this time.
'I'm very sure he learned about that temple from Honoka's picture album,' Hiruzen figured, "Naruto, that temple-"
"Belongs to my clan," Naruto calmly reminded, "And as the Uzumaki heir, that temple and cottage and everything inside of them are mine by birthright.
"You promised to reward my service in uncovering a dangerous plot against the village, and I'm holding you to that promise Jiisan."
"I understand," Hiruzen relented, "But why don't you request workers and architects from our village for this reconstruction project?"
"Because I personally know Tazuna and what his capabilities are," Naruto explained, "While in Nami no Kuni, I worked alongside him and his workers in the construction of The Great Naruto Bridge that links Nami no Kuni with the mainland."
"The Great Naruto Bridge?" Hiruzen repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"That's the bridge's actual name," Naruto stated, "You're more than welcome to ask Tazuna and his people yourself if you don't believe me. I was informed by a few foreign Genin a couple of days ago that the people of Nami no Kuni named that bridge after me in my honor and for that reason, along with others, I seek to have Tazuna and his workers hired for this reconstruction job."
Hiruzen thought about what Naruto said. At first, he expected Naruto's reasons for not using workers from Konoha to be out of spite and resentment. But after hearing the Genin's words, he found no reasons to deny Naruto his request. And when Hiruzen considered how Naruto singlehandedly wiped out Gatō and his army, he could see why the people would name their new bridge after Naruto.
"Very well," Hiruzen granted, "Your request is granted and reconstruction of the temple and cottage will begin as soon as possible."
"Thank you," Naruto said.
Hiruzen closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair and took a breath to calm himself. It wasn't the thought of the Uzumaki Mask Temple that troubled him, but knowing that Suna and Orochimaru were secretly planning to attack Konoha. Jiraiya and Naruto looked at the man and waited for his next words.
After what felt like an eternity, Hiruzen opened his eyes and said, "We're going have to be discreet in how we're going to deal with the Suna-Oto invasion. But at the same time we can't leave our ninja forces and the shinobi council in the dark about what we now know, and this invasion will lead to many casualties if we don't do anything about it. This will have to be carefully planned."
Both Naruto and Jiraiya nodded their heads in agreement.
(The Following Day; At The Hokage Tower)
Hiruzen held a meeting with the Shinobi Council. The Civilian Council were excluded from being part of the meeting though they protested at first; at least until Hiruzen poured out a good amount of bloodlust that silenced the Civilian Council members and reminded them of their place. They quickly left without giving the Hokage any problems.
Naruto and Jiraiya were also present along with the healed up Hayate and Honoka. Naruto wasn't promoted to Chuunin yet, so he required Honoka's presence with him at the meeting. Hiruzen explained in detail everything he learned from Naruto about the upcoming joint Suna-Oto invasion. Hayate added his share of what he discovered before he was ambushed and nearly killed by Baki.
After listening to everything, they started discussing their options. The suggestion of a full ninja military strike against Sunagakure before they could initiate the invasion was brought up, but that suggestion was dismissed. Hiruzen argued that such a course of action as that would only result in the needless deaths of innocent Suna civilians who had nothing to do with the invasion. He also pointed out that taking such an action would alert Orochimaru to the fact that his plot was compromised and that he would seek a more aggressive and deadlier method to attack Konoha.
The Sandaime suggested that it would be best to deal with just the Oto and Suna ninja army and not to senselessly slaughter defenseless civilians who were innocent of the invasion.
The Hokage and Shinobi Council discussed the civilian evacuation procedures they were going to plan with the Chuunin and Jounin, and the counterattack against the Suna and Oto forces. Hayate was told that he would have to stay out of sight until after the invasion so that the enemy wouldn't catch on. He brought up that he was presently working with another Jounin training a particular Genin without mentioning names. Hiruzen made it clear that his training of the Genin would unfortunately have to be put on hold temporarily until after the invasion was dealt with.
(Later That Day; At The Uchiha District)
Sasuke was returning home after his day training with Kakashi. Though he learned much about lightning manipulation, he was far from happy to learn about the death of his kenjutsu teacher Hayate. That was a setback he really didn't want to have to put up with before the Chuunin Exam Finals.
The Uchiha was soon snapped out of his line of thought when a kunai was sent in his direction. He narrowly dodged the weapon before it could do any harm to him.
"Well played Numb Nuts," Tayuya greeted with a smirk on her face, "I almost thought I had your ass penetrated with my kunai."
"Part of your idea of training, I assume," Sasuke cynically remarked.
"It's possible Naruto trained like that himself," Tayuya replied, which to her surprise got the Uchiha thinking.
'Perhaps something like that could help strengthen my awareness skills,' Sasuke thought seriously, "You bring up a good point, as crazy as it sounds."
"Good, because I don't have time to listen to any possible bitching today," Tayuya replied, "Plus I received word of what happened to Hayate."
Tayuya started walking towards the dojo and gestured for Sasuke to follow her to the facility. Sasuke quietly did so while wondering what she wanted to show him. They both entered the dojo to find a masked Oto Jounin waiting inside.
Sasuke turned to Tayuya and asked, "Why is he here?"
"You don't want to start lagging behind in your sword training, do you Numb Nuts?" Tayuya answered, "This man is here to fill in for that carcass Hayate. He's one of Otogakure's most skilled swordsmen, and he'll be your new kenjutsu teacher. But unlike me, he won't be living with you or anywhere in your clan's estate."
"Orochimaru-sama instructed me to allow you to use your Sharingan during the course of your training with me, though personally I'd rather you learn the art of the sword the same way I did," the masked Jounin commented, "Regardless, I won't be an easy teacher."
"As if my time training under Tayuya is easy," Sasuke remarked.
"Quit your bitching Numb Nuts, and appreciate the extra mile I went for your ass so you don't fall behind!" Tayuya replied. Sasuke grunted but he gave her no retort.
He looked back at the Jounin swordsman and asked, "When do we start your style of training?"
"Whenever you're ready," came the man's reply, "By the way, call me Kinjiro."
Sasuke nodded before he went and retrieved one of the clan's katana that was kept in a case in the far northwest end of the dojo. He joined the man in the center of the dojo as Tayuya went and closed the door of the dojo. She turned and watched as Sasuke took a sword fighting stance Hayate taught him.
"Let me get a feel of what you were taught so far. That way I can see at which point to begin my type of training," Kinjiro instructed. Sasuke nodded and began his match with Kinjiro. Tayuya watched quietly to observe Sasuke's moves carefully and see how far he came since the start of his new training with her, Kakashi and Hayate.
After twenty minutes, Kinjiro won the match with a disarmed Sasuke standing in front of him.
"Impressive Sasuke," Kinjiro said, "You picked up a lot from your previous trainer in a short amount of time. You've shown resourcefulness and cunning by using your Sharingan to mirror and counter my movements. These are traits that will serve you well later. However, you also must be more flexible and less rigid, and be willing to adapt to a new situation. Always remaining open minded is the key to being a master of the sword. You also must learn to be calmer and not let your emotions control you, otherwise you'll allow your opponent to control the battle."
Sasuke quietly nodded as he took in everything he was being told.
"Now," Kinjiro continued, "I was informed by Tayuya that you also have an affinity for lightning and wish to combine that with your kenjutsu. Elemental kenjutsu is challenging, but it can be done."
"If Naruto can pull it off with wind manipulation," Sasuke replied, "then I'm certain I can do likewise with lightning."
"In that case," Kinjiro suggested, "Let's head outside and look for some boulders for you to start practicing lightning style kenjutsu on."
Sasuke and Tayuya followed Kinjiro outside as they made their way to another sector of the Uchiha District.
(Hours Later; Elsewhere)
Kurenai was running through the forest covered in a mist that obscured her vision. She quicked ducked down and barely dodged a shuriken that nearly embedded into the back of her skull. She reached for her kunai, but her attacker appeared faintly through the mist.
"Shall we continue this game of cat and mouse Kurenai-sensei?" a blurred vision of Hinata asked through the mist before a second figure appeared at Kurenai's left and attempted to deliver a deadly Juuken strike to her guts. Kurenai blocked the attack and before she could counterattack the figure disappeared back into the mist. Kurenai moved and ran through the shadier section of the forest with Hinata quickly following after her.
Seeing that Hinata was catching up to her, Kurenai raced through a set of hand seals and vanished from sight. Hinata stopped after seeing that she lost sight of the genjutsu mistress.
"Byakugan!" Hinata said as she activated her bloodline limit. She carefully scanned her surroundings to search for Kurenai. The older woman was hiding in one of the trees while preparing to ambush her student. The unsuspecting Jounin failed to notice the kage bunshin that was hiding in the mist and stealthily making her way up the tree she was on after catching sight of her. The clone snuck up on the unsuspecting genjutsu mistress and delivered sharp kick to the side of her face, sending her flying from the tree branch and down to the ground. Kurenai landed backwards on her feet and rolled back, catching Hinata's attention while the clone faded into the mist again.
Kurenai picked herself up off the ground and shook off the dizziness she felt while rubbing the spot on her face she got kicked at. Knowing she couldn't take the chance of Hinata sneaking up on her again, Kurenai made her way out of the mist covered forest and into the open grass. As soon as both Kurenai and Hinata were outside the forest, the two females stood facing each other. A moment later, Hinata's kage bunshin appeared next to her via smoke shunshin.
"Let's stop right here Hinata," Kurenai suggested, "I think you've shown me more than enough."
Hinata nodded and dismissed her clone, absorbing all of the experience and knowledge the clone gathered for her. During the past couple of hours, Hinata was practicing Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique) and Kirigakure no Shinkirou (Mirage of the Hidden Mist) with Kurenai. The genjutsu mistress was pleased with Hinata's progress and she was rather surprised when she saw how fast Hinata learned the jutsu. Hinata had told her that she had affinity for water but the older woman didn't expect such progress with the jutsu already. During their sparring sessions earlier, Hinata used water manipulation in her defense and attacks against Kurenai, however she didn't demonstrate her water-type Juuken to Kurenai, as tempting as it was. So far, only Naruto was aware of her elemental Juuken.
"Hinata," Kurenai started off, "you've shown impressive skill in a short amount of time. You have become more focused and precise in your ability to adapt to a situation and you've shown yourself to be able to use your speed, agility, and flexibility to your advantage. Also, you used your clone to mind your surroundings, and through that, you kept yourself from being lured into an unfavorable situation. You truly learned to plan ahead more and not take too many risks, which would have led to your downfall. Also, your expertise in water manipulation was rather impressive; unlike anything I've ever seen from a Genin."
Hinata blushed and smiled from the praise and compliments. "Thank you Kurenai-sensei."
Hinata fell to her hands and knees before taking in deep breaths. Kurenai hurried over to her and checked up on her.
"I'm fine Kurenai-sensei," Hinata assured, "I'm just completely drained. I need some rest and food to replenish myself."
The older woman was relieved that it was nothing serious. What Hinata didn't tell her was that the gravity and chakra restraint seals she was using took a toll on her body and chakra coils as of result of the strenuous training regiment she was putting herself through. Naruto still didn't give Hinata permission to fully drop her seals and she was to increase it a little more in week's time.
(Two Weeks Later)
During the past fourteen days, Honoka got her class started in educating the students at the Ninja Academy about the history of the Uzumaki clan and the huge role they played in Konoha's history. Many of the staff and faculty found it odd that Honoka would go around barefoot and refuse to wear sandals. Some of her younger students did get out of line with her and didn't take her seriously since she was a foreigner. However, as she promised Hiruzen, Honoka made her point clear to those wayward students that her patience wasn't to be tested and she emphasized that with her chains and a good measure of the infamous Uzumaki temper and bloodlust. But all in all, Honoka was a good and lively teacher who kept everyone awake.
Also Tazuna and his crew, which was a considerable size, came quickly to Konoha within days after receiving the request to be employed to reconstruct the Uzumaki Mask Temple and cottage. They brought with them the best quality lumber, steel, concrete, and marble for the job. From builders and carpenters to plumbers and electricians, they all came happily to work on the project in honor of their country's hero. Upon meeting the Hokage, Tazuna apologized for not explaining the whole truth behind the request for a ninja escort. Hiruzen assured him that his misjudgment was pardoned so long he and his crew carried out their roles as employed laborers in the reconstruction project. Without question, they all agreed.
Thankfully the construction site was far outside of Konoha's walls, therefore it didn't draw unwanted attention. Tazuna and his crew studied the foundations and structural integrity of the temple and cottage and found that they were still stable with no need of demolishing and rebuilding from scratch. After three days of assessing the buildings and laying out what they had to do, Tazuna and his crew got to work and started rebuilding the Uzumaki Mask Temple and cottage. But to play it safe, Naruto made and stationed over fifty disguised kage bunshin to stand guard to protect Tazuna and his men in the event of a sudden attack from either Suna or Oto ninja.
All the while, Naruto himself spent much of his time multitasking through his clones, from training under Jiraiya, training both Hinata and Hanabi, and searching for his father's secret safe house far outside Konoha's walls. Naruto saw a vision of this safe house from a dream he had and spent several days looking for the house through his clones. He thought about asking Jiraiya and Hiruzen about it, but then decided against it, seeing as neither of them ever brought it up.
It wasn't until the end of the first week that one of Naruto's clones finally found it. After Naruto received the information from the clone, he decided to investigate the safe house personally. Arriving at the location, he stationed twenty clones to stand guard around the perimeter of the house. Going into the house, Naruto started to investigate. To his surprise, the place was completely intact. It was just dusty and in need of a good clean up job. As Naruto looked around, he saw something hanging by a tied cord from the ceiling: it was one of Minato's tri-pronged kunai.
Seeing that rare item, Naruto searched around to see if his father had a stash of those kunai sealed away somewhere. Opening one of the cabinets, he found a large rectangular wooden crate and opened it to find a box full of tri-pronged kunai. He estimated that the box had between 50 to 70 of those kunai. Closing the crate, Naruto searched the house for more valuables that his father left behind. He walked over to a drawer and opened it to find a journal of some sort. He picked it up and opened it before skimming through it to find that it was his father's private diary.
He knew it was private, but he felt that reading it would give him a better understanding of who his father was. Naruto wanted to understand his father better. Although nothing beats the real thing, his father's private journal was the closest he could get. Naruto skimmed through all of the boring stuff, but remembering them at the same time. Finally after going through many pages, he landed on a page with something that captured his attention. Naruto began reading:
"I finally did it! It took me a long time but I finally made a breakthrough in honing Nidaime-sama's Hiraishin Jutsu and taking it to a whole new level! During the past six months of the ceasefire between Konoha and Kumo, I honed my skills and I finally mastered Hiraishin after a great amount of practice and training. I wish I could have brought Kushina-chan with me during my training. But, then again, I would have hardly gotten any work or training done were I to have brought her with me.
"I tell you, I can't wait to get back home and show Kushina-chan what I've accomplished. I think I'll surprise her by secretly placing a Jutsu Formula on her and suddenly appearing behind her before I take and ravage her-"
Naruto threw the book down unable to read further.
"Damn, Dad, I didn't need to know that!" Naruto remarked feeling an unwholesome feeling he never experienced in his life, "I may be a pervert but even I have my limits and boundaries. I can't believe he wrote that in his diary...But then again, it was his private journal and not something he made public."
Naruto went and picked up the book and dusted it off. He placed it in his jacket to read later while making a mental note to skip over whatever parts concerned what his parents did together that he didn't want to know. He went back to the cabinet to see if there was a scroll of some kind that revealed the secret behind the use of those tri-pronged kunai. But there was no such scroll. He search high and low but found nothing. Sighing in defeat, he left the safe house and instructed his clones to clean the house and seal it off so no one but him could have access to it.
Naruto returned to the village and decided that he would search for the scroll possessing the secrets of his father's Hiraishin another time.
(The Next Day)
Hinata and Naruto were eating together at Ichiraku, conversing with Ayame and Teuchi. They decided to take a day off from all of their training and spend the day together as a couple. During their lively conversation, a figure approached them and greeted, "Dobe."
Everyone turned to see Sasuke smirking at them with Naruto snorting at him in return.
"While you're much stronger than you like to reveal," Sasuke said, "I look forward to testing how far I've come since I've started training more. I'll use you to help gauge where I stand."
"I'm flattered that you're using me as a ideal criteria for what an Elite Genin is supposed to be," Naruto remarked, causing Sasuke's smirk to vanish and be replaced with a frown. He looked to Hinata and said, "It amazes me how this clown hasn't driven you crazy yet. Your patience with him is quite remarkable Hinata."
"Naruto-kun and I aren't without faults, Sasuke, and we've long since learned to forgive each other for our mistakes and make up," Hinata replied.
"Well," Sasuke commented, "I have nothing more to say but this:...Make sure he treats you right and doesn't take you for granted."
Hinata and Naruto both blinked at what they heard come out of Sasuke's mouth. They expected a lot of arrogance, but not that! After a brief silence Naruto formed a hand seal and yelled, "Kai!"
Nothing happened as he expected a genjutsu in the form of Sasuke to dispel.
"Kai, Damn It!" Naruto shouted again after forming the hand seal in another attempt to dispel what he thought to be a genjutsu of Sasuke.
"I'm not a genjutsu you idiot!" Sasuke stated, "I'm the real thing and I'm saying that you'd better treat Hinata right! But considering your pervy reputation, it'll probably be a long while before that happens!"
"You got a lot of nerve presumptuously giving me advice about how I should treat Hinata-chan, considering how often you put your own desires above hers," Naruto retorted with a calm but firm tone.
"Whatever dobe," Sasuke said, "Just know that I don't want her anymore. I regrettably wasted far too much time trying to woo her when I should have focused more on becoming stronger and surpassing my limits. But those foolish days are over. I will prove my power as an Uchiha and become the true elite I was always meant to be. But keep this in mind Uzumaki Naruto: You're one of the people I want to challenge and beat."
With that, Sasuke turned and left the ramen stand, leaving a dumbfounded Hinata and Naruto where they were. It took a brief moment for both Genin to register what it was that Sasuke said just moments ago. And when it did...
"Did Sasuke-teme just say that he has no interest in you anymore?" Naruto asked, questioning if he heard right.
"Unless I heard wrong too, that's exactly what Sasuke said," Hinata confirmed, "But I'm honestly relieved to hear that he'll no longer try to come between you and me. I guess that's his way of saying "I'm sorry"."
"Though I believe his words much to my own surprise," Naruto remarked, "His pride won't allow him to say those two simple words, in spite of the fact that he meant what he said. So he resorted to using a lesser form of Talk no Jutsu."
"Talk no Jutsu?" Hinata asked while looking at Naruto quizzically.
"It's a long-winded sentimental jutsu that requires no chakra but a lot of well chosen words," Naruto explained as though it was an official jutsu, "When properly executed, the user will talk his opponent into either surrendering, changing sides, sparing him or her from their wrath, or even into performing an act of self-sacrifice. And depending on the persuasiveness of the user, it can be extremely effective against powerful adversaries."
"You make it sound like you've used it before," Hinata giggled.
"I have actually," Naruto confirmed, "On that hot crazy snake lady, Anko. But that's a story for another time."
"What am I going to do with you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
"I play "Ninja" with Konohamaru and his friends," Naruto said and then suggested, "But we can go to my place and play "House". Come to think of it, I never showed you my new house yet, though Hanabi-chan has been there already."
"You showed Hanabi your new place before me Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked incredulously.
"It wasn't intentional, it just happened. I was honestly kinda startled when Hanabi pointed that out to me," Naruto explained, leaving out the part of Hanabi trying to flirt with him.
"OK, I'll forgive you so long you show me your new home," Hinata said. Naruto nodded before paying for the food he treated both himself and Hinata to. After saying their goodbyes to Teuchi and Ayame, the two teen Genin went about their way to Naruto's place. But the truth of the matter was that Hinata wanted to be alone with Naruto and have him all to herself.
"Naruto!" a female voice called out. Naruto and Hinata turned to see Tenten approaching him with a sword in hand. She raised and aimed her sword at Naruto and challenged, "Fight me!"
'Not now,' Hinata mentally grieved.
Naruto grinned and replied, "On any other day, I'd happily go at it with you, Tenten. But today, I'm taking a break from everything to spend time with Hinata."
Tenten smirked and said, "That's disappointing! I set aside this day to come look for you and challenge you."
Hinata sighed as she recalled weeks ago how Tenten said she hoped to face off against Naruto during the Chuunin Exams. The Hyuuga heiress never anticipated that it would escalate to Tenten wanting challenge Naruto with every opportunity she could get.
"I'll let you off the hook this time Naruto!" Tenten said as she lowered her sword, "But I won't let you get away so easily next time! We're eternal rivals now; don't forget that!"
"I doubt forgetting that is even possible," Naruto remarked.
"Until next time Naruto!" Tenten turned and went off to a different location, leaving Hinata and Naruto alone.
"So, shall we continue back to my place to play "House"?" Naruto asked suggestively.
"You're bad!" Hinata giggled as she wrapped her left arm around him, followed by him wrapping his right arm around her as they continued on their way to his place to make out without being looked at.
(Another Two Weeks Later)
Konoha's ninja force of all ranks were aware of the plotted invasion and precautions were taken to ensure that their knowing of the invasion didn't leak out to either the public, the Suna ninja or Orochimaru's followers. As a result, everyone in Konoha went about their lives without fear of a future attack.
Over the past four weeks Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke trained vigorously, and all three of them were showing signs of hard-earned progress. Naruto was able to use Sage Mode more efficiently and effectively than before, and his ability to utilize his lightning affinity and the Kiba Blades was strengthened to a much higher degree. His other lightning-based attacks were also enhanced and refined with much diligent effort. It helped that he used kage bunshin to speed up the process. Nine days earlier, though, Naruto overexerted his body and chakra coils while practicing Sage Mode. The traumatic stress he endured as a result triggered the gift his ancestor Uzumaki Susanoo left behind for him. To say that Naruto was speechless by what he was given would have been an understatement. He was overjoyed though he had trouble controlling his new ability at first. He spent four days practicing his new ability in secret until he was able to utilize his inheritance more effectively and safely.
During the two weeks, Tenten challenged and fought Naruto in sword and weapons fights three times. She would go at it hard against him much to his surprise when all he expected from her were regular sparring sessions. But with each defeat, Tenten would become more determined to improve and find newer methods to challenge Naruto with. It youthfully moved both Gai and Lee to tears.
Hinata came a long way in her training in with Kurenai. Her skill in genjutsu was more effective than before, and though she still wasn't on par with Kurenai, it was close enough for her current level. Hinata, through Naruto's tutelage, heightened her prowess in blood manipulation and utilizing Ikite'ru Bunshin no Jutsu. The issue she had to deal with was getting around Gaara's sand defense and attacks, considering the fact that water was weak against earth type attacks and defenses. But after some time spent contemplating how water was weak against earth, an idea formulated in her head. She thought about bringing the idea to Naruto's attention, but decided against it. She wanted to find a way to do this on her own without relying too much on Naruto. She knew that was risky since she was aware that Gaara is a Jinchuuriki, and she realized that if she miscalculated, she was as good as dead.
So for the last seven days she secretly experimented with the idea and practiced it until she started seeing the desired results. By the end of the seventh day, she finally mastered the new technique and couldn't wait to show it off to Naruto in her match with Gaara during the Chuunn Exam Finals.
Sasuke's time training under Kakashi, Tayuya, and Kinjiro improved his skills tremendously. He found that he was much faster and stronger than before. His prowess with kenjutsu was better than before and his skill in lightning manipulation was B rank. The strength of his Sharingan also improved, and now he had two tomoe in his eyes. His training with the Cursed Seal added to his strength, speed, and agility, as both Tayuya and Kinjiro worked him hard into the ground.
Kakashi was no different, though he was surprised to see how fast Sasuke was improving and also pleased with how focused he became. The Jounin was even more pleased to learn that Sasuke gave up his pursuit in trying to win Hinata over from Naruto. When Kakashi asked Sasuke what finally got him to stop, Sasuke told him that he realized how incompatible he and Hinata were and that she wouldn't be able to understand his life and experience. Kakashi sensed there was more to it than Sasuke was telling him, but he chose not to press Sasuke further on the topic. All mattered to Kakashi was that Sasuke finally relinquished his pursuit of Naruto's girlfriend and would no longer create a wedge in the team's overall dynamics.
When Sakura, Ino, and other girls of their age group learned that Sasuke had given up on pursuing Hinata, they became excitedly ecstatic and believed that they now had a better chance at winning Sasuke's heart. But Sasuke didn't make himself available for any of them, as he would retreat to his home where Tayuya would be waiting for him after his day out.
During the passing days, the awkwardness Sasuke and Tayuya felt from living and eating together at the beginning died out. They were now accustomed to working and living together. In time, they started having longer conversations and less disputes as they got to know each other better. Whenever he believed she wouldn't notice, Sasuke would take glances at her body whenever she was wearing her 'house clothes.' Tayuya of course was aware of that, but acted like she didn't notice, secretly liking the attention she was getting. Sasuke wanted to question Tayuya about Orochimaru's plan to invade Konoha, but decided against it since that would alert Orochimaru that his plans were discovered. Plus he recalled weeks earlier how Tayuya explained that Orochimaru removed and replaced her as one of his active ninja so she could focus more on training him. Therefore she wouldn't have any valuable information concerning the invasion. Added to this, Tayuya had been holding true to her word, getting him to improve immensely.
And speaking of Tayuya, she got used to cooking for the two of them, and secretly took feminine pride in the fact that Sasuke enjoyed her cooking. She even went as far as to start making bento for him before he'd go out to practice and train with Kakashi. Occasionally she would move around the village in civilian form whenever she needed to get out of the confines of the Uchiha District, and since no one knew she was a ninja, it made moving around through village easier. But she had to be discreet whenever she returned back to the Uchiha District in order to avoid detection and being followed.
Shino trained with his clan in enhancing his abilities in working together with his bugs in combat, defense, and reconnaissance. Shikamaru, despite his lazy nature, trained as hard as he could, though he spent a measure of his time cloud watching and playing shogi with Asuma and Shikaku.
During the passing days, Naruto, through his clones, also spent time training Hanabi in Drunken Fist. It was rather difficult for her in the beginning with the strict training regimen Naruto put in place, but Hanabi's pride wouldn't allow her to complain despite the difficulty. She wanted to prove to both herself and Naruto that she was just as capable of learning and adapting to new ideas and methods like her older sister. The issue was that Juuken was designed to be polished and coordinated in body movements, precise in timing and balanced in chakra use. Drunken Fist seemingly negated all that and looked contradictory to the rules of Juuken, and that was what Naruto had to help Hanabi get over.
It wasn't until the third week that Naruto started seeing some improvements in Hanabi's training in Drunken Fist, and by the end of the fourth week, her improvements gradually started increasing and before the day was out, Naruto gave Hanabi a scroll that discussed earth manipulation. The young girl was ecstatic and promised to start studying it as soon as possible. Regardless of the difficulty of the fighting style, Hanabi, under Naruto's tutelage, was determined to become the first Hyuuga of the Main House of her clan to master Drunken Juuken and earth manipulation, and combine the two to create an earth-elemental Drunken Juuken. And secretly, Hanabi wanted to impress Naruto and prove something to Hinata.
By the end of the week, Tazuna and his crew were done reconstructing the Uzumaki Mask Temple and the cottage. When Naruto, Honoka and Karin saw the revived temple and cottage, they found that both buildings were just as beautiful as the original. Honoka was moved to tears when she and her brethren Uzumaki saw that two of the legacies of their clan were completely restored to their former glory.
(The Following Night; At The Uchiha District)
Sasuke was coming out of the bathroom wearing only his gray boxers while drying his hair after took a well needed hot shower. He closed the lights in the bathroom and stepped out from it as he made his way to the kitchen to get a drink of cold water before going to bed. Entering the kitchen, he found Tayuya in her 'house clothes' eating some grapes from his refrigerator. She stopped and turned to see Sasuke entering the kitchen.
"What do you want Numb Nuts?" Tayuya asked.
"Water," Sasuke answered plainly as he went about getting what he came for. Taking a tall glass cup from the cabinet, he went to the refrigerator to retrieve a jug of cold water and poured some of the water into the glass cup. After doing that, he placed the jug back inside the refrigerator and drank some of the water which helped refresh him. When he stopped to catch his breath, Tayuya took the cup from his hand and drank the rest of it. She licked her lips and said, "Thanks for the drink, Numb Nuts."
Again Tayuya's scent started coming off her, but this time, her scent was more potent than before. Tayuya walked passed Sasuke with her hips swaying sideways. Despite the dimmed lights, it was enough for Sasuke to see. She made her way back towards her room, but before she could open her door, she felt something, a hand take hold of her left shoulder and turn her around. The next thing she felt was a pair of lips smashed into hers as Sasuke embraced her tightly into his arms while feeling her body pressing against his.
At that moment, Sasuke didn't care if Tayuya got angry and retaliated by hitting him in one way or another as his hormones completely took over his judgment. But something within Tayuya ruptured from being kissed by Sasuke as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately in return. She felt heat building up within herself as her scent grew stronger, which started driving Sasuke's mind and senses wild as he began caressing her body from under her shirt before grabbing and caressing her twin cheeks. Several moans escaped her mouth and into Sasuke's while they were still kissing each other hungrily. Tayuya couldn't understand what was happening herself as her body went on autopilot and responded to Sasuke's touch and caress.
She soon felt his hands grab her rear as he started pressing and grinding his arousal against her crotch which drove her mind wild as a few more moans escaped her mouth between their kiss. Giving into their lust, Tayuya hurriedly opened the door and pulled him into her room with her before closing the door shut behind them.
(Meanwhile; At The Borders of Hi No Kuni)
A large army of Oto ninja were occupying the area with their tents and camping equipment set up. Meanwhile in a much later tent, Orochimaru was having a private conversation with one of his most trusted spies and medics. All the while the Sound Four were standing around the four corners of Orochimaru's tent being on guard as security. Other Oto ninja were patrolling around and keep surveillance of any intruders and possible ambushes.
"You sound so confident that Tayuya will succeed in her mission Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied to his master, "I know Tayuya all too well. I'm aware that she's capable and strong for her age. But beyond being a well trained ninja and genjutsu fighter, I don't see her as being one who can persuade anyone into doing anything."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly at Kabuto's skepticism of Tayuya.
"I carefully studied and planned things out from the beginning," Orochimaru smirked while sitting on his thrown-like chair, "You see, I had my eye on Sasuke-kun for a while and kept tabs on him. I was also aware of Sasuke-kun's obsession and desires for that Hyuuga girl which was a problem I had to strategically deal with, thus Tayuya."
"What makes that kunoichi so essential to your plan in getting the Uchiha to eventually defect from Konoha to our side?" Kabuto inquired.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru answered, "There's still so much you have yet to understand. You must never underestimate how humans always seek to meet and satisfy their basic needs, wants and desires, and instinctive characteristics are always present inside humans. Though we as humans are above animals and are superior to them, however, humans still give in to their basic needs. But unlike animals, humans seek companionship and understanding.
"Tayuya's past will help persuade Sasuke-kun into accepting that he isn't alone in the world and that there's someone else, a strong female ninja, that knows and understands his pain. Knowing her, she told him about her tragic past in order to gain some trust and establish mutual understanding. The fact that she got Sasuke-kun into accepting training from her and later getting Kinjiro into training Sasuke-nun is proof that I made the right choice in selecting Tayuya for this mission. Also that vial I instructed you to inject into Tayuya before she left to live with Sasuke-kun will also help to insure that things will go my way."
"I have been wondering what it was you had me administer into her, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto confessed as he hadn't seen the compound before, therefore it was one of Orochimaru's new experiments.
Orochimaru chuckled and explained, "You see, people, like all animals, respond to certain stimuli. There are factors like the scent of pheromones that get registered by the brain which in effect triggers other factors to occur. The vial you injected into her is to help her increase her output of pheromones, making her more desirable and longed for."
"So in other words," Kabuto remarked knowing he was about to say something rather childish, "you created a love potion?"
"Don't make such foolish jokes Kabuto," Orochimaru replied with a tone that clearly expressed his annoyance, "I'm talking about medical science and psychology, not some ridiculous fairy tale. You see, Tayuya's pheromones will only open a one way door. I instructed her to focus more on Sasuke-kun's training and development and not worry about her role as one of my Sound Four ninja as I temporarily replaced her with Kimimaro. I want her to get close Sasuke-kun and keep close to him. In the process, Tayuya will be slowly overloading his senses without realizing it as Sasuke-kun inhales more of her pheromones. This will drive both his mind and hormones to focus more on Tayuya while gradually forgetting about the Hyuuga heiress until she's no longer of interest to him."
"In time, Sasuke-kun will eventually caved in and surrender to his primal urges and lust. But the best thing about that is he could actually form a strong attachment to the girl because of it. Manipulation and control are very important for a leader to have over those that follow him and because that girl is loyal to me, this will give me some leverage over the boy."
"The second chemical solution that I carefully blended into that compound you injected into Tayuya will slowly increase her sexual desires and hormonal awareness. Again, an emotional attachment and bond could be formed between Sasuke-kun and Tayuya as a result, and through her loyalty, she will in time move Sasuke-kun into leaving Konoha for Otogakure."
"You cleverly play on people's desires and weaknesses Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto commented with a level of respect, "You look to find a person's weakness and use that to your advantage with no morals or principles to get in your way. Crafty, sinister and effective."
Orochimaru chuckled darkly and replied, "It's what I do and live for, Kabuto. I'll burn Konoha to the ground and bring Sasuke-kun over to my side."
(Three Days Later)
It was the day of the Chuunin Exam Finals and the stadium was completely filled with people of various sorts: Konoha civilians, ninja, clan members, tourists, daimyo from foreign lands, and many other people who came to watch the great fights that would occur later on. There was not a single empty seat in the stadium. Everyone wanted to watch the matches that would take place, but some of them only came to watch the fight between son of the late Yondaime and the last surviving Uchiha. After the announcement of Naruto's legacy both as the Uzumaki clan heir and son of the late Yondaime, word spread fast to the other elemental nations. Many were shocked to find that the Uzumaki clan wasn't entirely wiped out as they were once led to believe and that they were now dwelling in Konoha. Kumo and Iwa were especially shocked to learn that the Uzuamki clan still existed and that the late Yellow Flash had a son with an Uzumaki who was now Konoha's Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.
Many others also heard about the upcoming match between Gaara and the Hyuuga heiress. Two days ago, Kiba talked to her about it and asked if she was serious about facing Gaara, knowing he would try to kill her like he did with Lee. Hinata assured him that she was sure and that she wouldn't allow herself to become another casualty of Gaara's ruthless methods. Kiba could only hope that she held true to her words.
Up in the Kage box, Hiruzen and the 'Kazakage' were in their seats while waiting for the exam to commence. Next to the 'Kazekage' were two of his guards.
By the time nearly everyone was seated, nearly all of the competitors for the Chuunin Exam Finals had arrived at the stadium, with the only exceptions being Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata, Temari, Shino, Shikamaru, Kankuro, and Gaara were all on the arena floor of the stadium waiting for their arrival. They were all dressed in their usual attire, with the exception of Hinata who, for this event, decided on a change of clothes. She was now wearing dark blue ninja pants and black sandals with bandages tied around her ankles. She was also wearing a custom-made orange mesh shirt that hugged her figure which did well to show her B-cup and still developing bosom. On the back of the shirt was the official Uzumaki insignia with the Hyuuga clan insignia in the middle of the Uzumaki symbol. Her forehead protector was also tied around her head with some strands of her hair draping around it. Currently, she was tossing a small rock in her right hand up and down. This was the complete opposite of the shy and timid Hyuuga Hinata many were so used to.
Up in the audience Honoka and Karin were sitting together with Hiashi and Hanabi sitting a row above them. Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon and the rest of their class were also present alongside Iruka. Four weeks ago, Jiraiya spoke with Hiruzen about allowing Iruka's class to attend the Chuunin Exam Finals. Jiraiya explained that watching such an event would expose them to the real life and meaning behind being a ninja and he added that it would be best if Konohamaru and his peers knew the truth about that kind of life early on before they ended up developing misguided ideas and fantasies of the ninja life which would lead them to an untimely demise. Surprisingly enough, Hiruzen granted the request, though Hiruzen later explained to the Academy Headmaster that he and his subordinate ninja at the academy were to be extra cautious in protecting the children when the counterattack against the invasion started.
The proctor for this part of the exam was Shiranui Genma, another Special Jounin who had volunteered in substituting for Hayate. Jiraiya was making last minute preparations with the ANBU and taking care of business with the other Konoha ninja. Kakashi wasn't present either, most likely making last minute preparations with Sasuke.
Genma, with a senbon needle sticking from his mouth, looked at Hiruzen for assistance as to what he should do. Hiruzen sighed, wondering what was keeping Naruto and Sasuke from arriving. Gaara was slightly irritated by Naruto's lateness while Temari was wondering when Naruto was going to show up. Kankuro sighed while contemplating his plan to forfeit. Shino was as calm and motionless as ever; Shikamaru was lazily contemplating saving himself the trouble and forfeiting his match so he could later help out against the invasion. Many others though were wondering what could have happened to delay Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura and Ino were sitting together while Neji was sitting with his teammates and sensei. Kurenai and Asuma were also sitting together with Chouji sitting two rows down from them. By this time, Neji was mostly healed up and able to walk again, though he still felt some sores here and there on occasions. He was still going through some therapy to help deal with the issue of those pains.
"Where are they?" Genma asked himself a low tone, "What's taking them so long?"
Moments later, Kakashi appeared with Sasuke with their backs facing each other. Sasuke was now dressed in black T-shirt and shorts with ankle bandages and black sandals. His black T-shirt had the Uchiha clan insignia on the back of it. What was also noticeable was that strapped around Sasuke's back diagonally was a black katana that once belonged to his father.
Kakashi looked at Genma and asked with an eye smile, "Are we late?"
"Wanting to make a grand entrance I see," Genma smirked.
"Sasuke-kun made it!" Sakura cheered.
"Well of course!" Ino replied confidently, "he wouldn't miss the chance to participate in this event for anything!"
"But why isn't Naruto here yet?" Sakura asked, "He'll be disqualified if he doesn't show up."
Meanwhile...
"Where's Naruto-kun?" Honoka asked, "The event is about to start and he still isn't here yet."
"I know," Karin agreed, "As tardy as Kakashi is from what I heard from Naruto-kun, I'm surprised both Kakashi and Sasuke arrived here on time."
Back on the arena floor...
"Your other student has yet to arrive Kakashi," Genma said, "But I see you made sure to bring the Uchiha here in style."
"Not that I'm not concerned for my other student," Kakashi said, "But I don't know where he is."
Hinata then tossed the small rock she was holding over to where Sasuke was standing. The rock landed three feet in front of him before it burst into smoke. When the smoke cleared, it revealed itself to be Naruto.
"Actually," Naruto said with a grin, "I was here with Hinata-chan the entire time."
"Nice," Genma remarked. Naruto now was wearing black ninja pants and sandals with bandages tied around his ankles. He was also wearing a gray mesh shirt with an open orange Gi vest over the shirt. The back of the Gi vest had his clan's symbol on it, and strapped around his waist was his custom-made katana Hinata had given to him.
"It's good that everyone is now here and accounted for," Genma said. He then announced in a loud voice, "The Chuunin Exam Finals will now commence! All candidates are here and ready to fight! The first match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto!"
Turning to the other Genin, Genma said, "Will the rest of you six please proceed to head to the waiting balcony until your matches are announced."
They quietly nodded and proceeded on their way to the designated waiting area. Sasuke and Naruto followed Genma to the middle of the arena floor while Kakashi went and sat with Gai and his team. Many in the audience had placed huge bets on the combatants; a number of them placed them on Sasuke while only a few placed them on Naruto. Regardless of the rumors they heard about Naruto, some still believed that Sasuke could beat the pants off of Naruto and win the match against the blond Genin. Honoka, through some convincing from Karin, was betting on Naruto winning the match. Though Honoka wasn't really a fan of gambling, Karin looked at it as a huge financial investment for both them and Naruto with a large income awaiting them after the match.
Hinata and the other Genin were soon assembled on the balcony awaiting for the match to start.
"I always thought that it would be me out there facing off against one of the Genin in the Chuunin Exam Finals," Neji commented, "I never once thought I'd be among the Genin in the audience watching Hinata-sama compete instead."
"I'm sure this is youthfully humbling for you Neji," Gai remarked, "You should never presume a position that wasn't originally yours to have if it's not properly earned."
"I'll be sure to remember that," Neji replied.
"I'm surprised that Sasuke has a katana now," Tenten said, "He didn't have one during the preliminaries."
"A lot can change in a month's time Tenten," Lee commented, "So let's see where Sasuke-san's burning youth stands now."
Everyone in the audience turned their attention to the arena floor where the two Genin and Genma were. Naruto and Sasuke were facing each other while standing fifteen yards apart from each other.
"Alright now," Genma said, "The match will only end if one of you is knocked out, killed, forfeits, or I declare one or both of you unable to continue to fight. Give your all and don't disappoint. Now BEGIN!"
Genma leaped out of the way from the two Genin. For the first few moments, neither Naruto nor Sasuke made a move, as though they were waiting for the other to start the match.
"So teme, how do you want to start this match?" Naruto asked.
"You wish for me to decide how I'll engineer your defeat by my hands?" Sasuke replied with a cold and cocky tone as he took hold of his katana and unsheathed it from its sheath.
"Kenjutsu, is it?" Naruto asked.
"You'll find that a lot about me has changed in the past month Naruto," Sasuke stated as he started gathering chakra into his eyes. Soon his eyes changed into the Sharingan and gradually grew three tomoe in them. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he felt more chakra building up in Sasuke.
'He's definitely stronger than before,' Naruto noted, 'I could have kept tabs on his training, but that would have taken the fun out of this match. I'll see what surprises he has in store for me, though it's clear that he hasn't found a way to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan yet.'
Soon, Naruto and everyone else saw bolts of electricity forming around Sasuke until it grew larger in size and strength. Sasuke then focused his lightning around the blade of his katana, turning it into a lightning steel blade. He took one swipe across the floor with his katana as the lightning-charged blade tore clean through the gravel in front of him.
"Sasuke-kun learned lightning manipulation and combined it with kenjutsu?" Ino inquired.
"Looks like Naruto isn't the only one who can do elemental kenjutsu anymore," Sakura remarked.
"But do you see his eyes?" Ino pointed out.
"It's his Sharingan!" Sakura stated, "But it looks stronger than how I saw it last time!"
Many in the audience were whispering to each other about what they were seeing from Sasuke so far, while wondering what Naruto was going to do now.
"Look like Sasuke isn't taking chances with Naruto," Shino commented while standing next to Hinata, "And already he's taking his teammate seriously. But after everything Sasuke has seen of Naruto, I can't honestly blame him."
"As troublesome as this match will probably turn out to be," Shikamaru remarked, "I doubt Naruto isn't without a plan, and I know he'll give Sasuke anything but an easy time."
"I must admit that Naruto-kun has never been up against the Sharingan before," Hinata said, "I can't say for sure what Naruto-kun will do to handle that. However, I'm confident that Naruto-kun will overcome this and win the match."
In another part of the stands…
"That's quite an advanced display of chakra control and lightning manipulation, Kakashi," Gai complimented, "You really put a great amount of rigorous training to push the limits of Sasuke's youth this far. He even has his awakened Sharingan upgraded to three tomoe."
"I did help him develop his affinity in lightning manipulation," Kakashi said, "But I wasn't aware he was able to take it to this level. He must have been doing some secret training of his own to truly hone his skills. I must say that I'm rather pleased with how far Sasuke was willing to push himself, and I'm anxious to see how his new skills compare to Naruto's."
"I think we all are Kakashi-sensei," Tenten said with a tone of excitement while knowing firsthand what Naruto was capable of with the use of his katana. Among the large audience, Tayuya, disguised in civilian clothes, was sitting among the spectators. She quietly watched and waited to see how far Sasuke came since his time with her and Kinjiro.
Back on the arena floor…
"Impressive," Naruto commented before he pulled out his katana and held it upright in front of him. He then focused chakra into his katana to reveal seal writings around the chakra metal blade. In the center of the seals were the kanji for "White Tiger." Naruto then added his wind element into the katana which was then absorbed into the chakra infused blade. Moments later, the chakra metal blade started glowing until it turned completely white while taking on the form of a blade made from solid light. He then channeled a little of Kyuubi's chakra into his eyes until his eyes turned red with his pupils turning into slits.
Naruto lowered his katana and steadily ran the top tip of the glowing blade across the floor in front of him, allowing Sasuke and everyone else to see the ground smoking with melted gravel taking on the form of a carved slit.
"That sword must be generating tremendous heat if it can melt the ground like that," Kakashi noted, "This ought to be an interesting match."
Naruto took out a kunai with a seal tag tied to it and threw it to the center of where both he and Sasuke were standing. Both boys then fell into their respective fighting stances with their elementally charged katana in hand. They looked at each other while waiting for the first move from the other. After what felt like an eternity, the kunai with the tag exploded in a large cloud of dust and flying debirs.
In the moment of the commotion, Sasuke vanished and suddenly reappeared behind Naruto before he attempted a vertical swipe to Naruto's head with his katana. Naruto however quickly turned and blocked the attack with his katana as both boys pushed against each other in a battle of wills. A moment later, they jumped away from each other and then rushed at each other, thus commencing their fierce sword battle...
The Chuunin Finals have finally begun and Sasuke is seeking to prove his caliber against Naruto's. How will their match end? Before long Hinata and Gaara will face off with a number of people being aware of Gaara's bloodthirsty and merciless methods. What plan has Hinata devised to use against Gaara that she didn't reveal to Naruto? With the Suna-Oto invasion soon to take place, how will Naruto and everyone else handle that attack when the time comes? And will Orochimaru's plot to successfully destroy Konoha and obtain Sasuke succeed? Find out that and more next time.
A/N: How many of you feel trolled for believing Naruto cheated on Hinata with Karin through a kage bunshin based on what happened in the previous chapter?
And to Agent-G, thanks for the inspiration.