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…

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

"Ah, young Sasuke, please have a seat," said Sarutobi as he gestured towards the lone chair in front of his desk. "I am sure that you are eager to cut to the chase, so let's do away with the small talk, shall we?"

"Fine by me," Sasuke shrugged somewhat indifferently before he took the seat presented to him.

"Why don't we start by you telling me what's on your mind?" asked Sarutobi as he raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the Uchiha to be so… docile, but the boy's body language indicated otherwise.

"Itachi," stated Sasuke, knowing that it was completely obvious, but he could not shake the truth. "I want to know why exactly he was in Konoha."

"As do I," said Sarutobi with a nod. "It is most disturbing that a missing-nin - even one of Itachi's calibre - was able to slip into the village so easily. And furthermore start a fight with two of our strongest ninja, and then escape without so much as alerting a single ANBU member."

"It's to be expected," said Sasuke, his voice somber but dejected. "Itachi is in another league. I learned that yesterday."

"Then perhaps you should be grateful," nodded Sarutobi wisely. "Many a ninja have fallen too soon for not heeding the lessons they should have learned along the way."

"Was Kakashi-sensei one of them?"

"I see that your brother is not the only thing that is weighing on your mind," said the Hokage with a knowing smile.

"Why did Kakashi-sensei sacrifice himself, his ninja career, yesterday?" asked Sasuke as he frowned. "He didn't need to throw himself at Kisame like that."

"Much like you yourself did not need to when you duplicated his actions a few seconds later," speculated Sarutobi before clearing his throat and attempting to offer up a few words of wisdom to the young shinobi before him. "Why did you do so?"

"There was an opening… I had to take it," said Sasuke as he attempted to think back to the moment. While it felt like his encounter with his brother and his late friend had taken forever in the heat of the moment, it felt like a hazy memory now. "With my Sharingan, I could already see the path of Kisame's blade… I-I just reacted and went through the hand seals I saw Kakashi-sensei go through moments prior."

"And in doing so, you undoubtedly saved your sensei's life, and potentially Jiraiya from a similar - although admittedly, not as drastic - fate," said Sarutobi with a warm smile. "I feel your sensei was attempting something similar. Though Kakashi is far too experienced for me to believe that he acted solely on his instinct. I think he was looking for a way to finish the battle early, much like any sensible ninja would. Unfortunately, thinking and acting like a ninja will always have unexpected consequences."

"It's in the job description," nodded Sasuke.

"You don't have to pretend that all is well when it is most certainly not, Sasuke," said the Sandaime. "What else do you want to know?"

"How come no one intervened? There's no way no one in the entire village failed to notice," said Sasuke as his lip curled. That failure of the village's shinobi had cost his sensei an arm.

"A string of unfortunate circumstances combined with your brother's tactical genius." Sarutobi shook his head in shame. "Every member of the ANBU force was subdued under Genjutsu, presumably by Shadow Clones, as he attended to whatever business he had. Numerous Jounin, and even a few of the experienced Chunin too."

"Shadow Clones?" repeated Sasuke in shock. "I know Itachi is strong, really strong, but to do something like that you would need a chakra supply that's on par with Naruto. At least in the time it took him."

"I am afraid that your brother received help. Perhaps unintentionally or perhaps as part of a more sinister plot," admitted Sarutobi, knowing that he had kept too many secrets from the boy to keep one more. "I take it that you have not had the opportunity to regroup with your teammates?"

"No, I was going to go with Naruto and Sakura to meet Kakashi-sensei this morning, but I received your summons instead," said Sasuke as he attempted to think hard. Did Itachi really have other allies? Kisame was one thing, but who else would voluntarily cooperate with such a monster?

"My apologies. Please do go visit your sensei afterwards. I'm sure he'd appreciate it a lot. There was a man named Danzo, who was implicated in an intricate plot to kidnap and possibly brainwash three clan heirs at the same time as Itachi's assault," said Sarutobi as he kept a poker face. Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to lie to the boy, but he could live with a half-truth. "I suspect that Danzo did not want any… interruptions while this was occurring."

"Danzo?" repeated Sasuke in confusion. "That's the name of the man who asked for Naruto's presence in the middle of our little spar yesterday. Jiraiya and Kakashi-sensei didn't seem very trusting of him, but they let Naruto meet him anyway."

"It is interesting how things come full circle," said Sarutobi as he sighed slightly. If Itachi and Kisame had intercepted the group while Naruto was still present… things might not have gone so well for the blond Jinchuuriki. "But yes, he wanted Naruto too for some reason. Probably because of his tenant, but I am afraid we'll never know the truth."

"Why not? Surely Danzo is being interrogated at the moment," Sasuke all but exclaimed. Any friend of Itachi was an enemy of his.

"No, I'm afraid that would not work on someone as experienced as Danzo. He has been banished," the Hokage spoke calmly. "However, there is something else you should probably know."

"What?" asked Sasuke as he attempted to keep his calm.

"Seven years ago when your clan was massacred by Itachi… This is mere speculation, but I have reason to believe that he did not act on just his own accord," said the aged, ex-retired Hokage. "Personally, I believe he acted in association with Danzo."

"For someone who seems to be so important, it sure seems strange that yesterday was the first time I heard of this Danzo person," Sasuke said suspiciously.

"Then let that be a testament to just how dangerous Danzo, a master of the shadows, is," warned Sarutobi. "I have not merely told you this because I think you are ready to handle it. Should you, or any other of your friends, come across Danzo in the future, I advise you to stay away."

"Thank you."

Sarutobi blinked, having somewhat expected the young Uchiha's gratitude but also his anger. "It is quite alright, Sasuke. As Hokage, this is my job: to look after all you youngsters. However, we are not done here. I will not ask you for a report about yesterday's proceedings so soon after your last one, but there is some business to be taken care of."

"Alright?" said Sasuke unsurely.

"You dealt the last blow to a missing-nin yesterday. As such, the bounty and all his possessions are yours," said Sarutobi as he recalled a brief stint he'd had as a bounty hunter in his youth. "Normally, you would keep the body, but it seems Itachi got to that before us."

"Wait, what possessions did he have on him?" asked Sasuke.

"Aside from some high-quality ninja equipment - kunai, shuriken, explosive tags and the like - his sword," answered Sarutobi.

"But I thought you said that Itachi already got to his body."

Sarutobi had to physically bite his cheek to prevent a smirk from overtaking his face. "It seems he forgot the sword."

"Well, what do I do with it?" asked Sasuke, not for the first time that morning, shocked.

"It's yours to keep, although Samehada is a special blade and would have to accept you as its owner first," recited Sarutobi as he recalled a text about the mythical sword he had read many years ago.

"Keep it," said Sasuke bluntly. "If it's a gift from Itachi… I don't want it. Even if he actually forgot about it, it was still used by one of Itachi's partners. I won't sully my clan's name by wielding the same weapon as a traitor's ally."

Sarutobi raised his hand and scratched at his chin. "While it would certainly help smooth out tensions between ourselves and the Hidden Mist - who I'm sure you know just finished fighting a bloody civil war - I don't think you understand the value of such a weapon. You've earnt it, kee-"

"Actually I've got a better idea." For the first time that morning, Sasuke smirked. "I'll give Konoha the sword to do with as you wish, on one condition."

"And what would that be?"

"That you personally train me to become strong enough to take down Itachi once and for all."

...

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," said Kakashi as he looked towards the open door to see two of his students standing there. Undoubtedly, the Third had sent word to them, telling them of the ordeals that had occurred the previous night, but even so, he was somewhat ashamed to be seen in such a state by his students. Jiraiya had mentioned the previous night that he wouldn't allow Itachi or Kisame to get to Naruto, which in turn had meant that the blond in front of him was one of their goals.

Had they come after him when Team Seven was on a mission, the chances were that none of them would have survived.

Yet what could he do to protect them now. His right arm had literally been ripped from his body, and not even Senju Tsunade - the greatest medic-nin to have ever lived - would be able to help him now. The legacy of the man who had copied a thousand Jutsu would fade into the man unable to perform a single technique.

"Yo sensei, you there?" asked Naruto trying to snap Kakashi back into attention.

"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind," apologized Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura softly as she placed the single flower she had brought with her into a vase that sat upon the bedside table. "If there's anything we can do to help…"

"It's okay," said Kakashi trying to put on a brave face despite the immense amount of pain, both physical and mental, he was in. "Getting injured in the line of duty is a possibility in any scenario for a shinobi. I should be grateful that all fate managed to take away from me was my right arm."

Sakura had been expecting Naruto to shout out something in regards to Kakashi needing to be more positive, but the blond remained silent as if deep in thought. Months ago this would have seemed incredibly out of character for the bottom of their class, but over recent weeks, she had learned that there was much more to the blonde than what originally was to be seen. She knew the secret that he carried was an immense burden, and lately it seemed to be weighing down on him more so than it had before. She herself couldn't even comprehend having to hide something so big, especially from everybody that they cared about.

Snapping back to reality, her eyes sharpened as she looked towards their sensei. "How long will it be until you'll be able to teach us again?" she asked.

"At the moment, I don't think that there is anything that I can do to teach you other than theory, and I know how much you guys love that," said Kakashi as he gazed out the window. "I don't even know whether or not I'll be allowed onto the field again. They may demote me to a teacher in the school or something. I guess that'd be better than desk work, though."

"Why not one-handed seals?" asked Naruto, causing both his teammate and sensei to look at him curiously. "Well, you know, when we were on that mission in Wave, Haku was able to perform Jutsu with just one hand."

"Just because one person could do them, doesn't mean that I'm just going to be able to pull something like that out of the blue," said Kakashi, shooting down Naruto's idea.

"Well, when have you ever tried?" said Naruto, trying to remain positive. "I mean, we use two hands for seals because we were always taught to use two hands. What if you were able to teach yourself how to do techniques with only a single hand for seals?"

Kakashi blinked twice as he took in Naruto's words. To anybody else who had never seen such a thing occur, they would have thought it impossible from the getgo. The fact that Kakashi had already seen such theory in action allowed a little drive inside of him to know that such a thing was possible. To even put such an idea into action, however, would take months, if not years, to get the basics down pat, let alone being able to use such techniques in the middle of a battle. That being said, he knew that considering his other alternative was to teach a bunch of seven-year-old brats the history of how Konoha was formed, teaching himself how to form one-handed seals did not seem like such a bad idea.

"What do you think, sensei? Not ready to hand in your headband just yet?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, and couldn't help but be reminded of the fourth, with the upbeat attitude to tackle any scenario thrown in his way. Turning his attention to Sakura, he was able to see a glimmer of hope in her eyes that made him believe that his time wasn't quite over just yet. He then turned towards Gai, the green beast of Konoha standing in the doorway, and he felt...

"GAI!" exclaimed Kakashi before he found himself embraced in a vicious hug from the man who'd decreed him his rival.

"Kakashi, I came as soon as I heard!" shouted Gai as tears streamed down his face. "To have heard that my rival had suffered such a serious life threatening wound had made my blood turn cold at the mere thought of such a travesty. At first, I believed these words to be nothing more than lies and rumors, but to find you here missing an arm, it turns my heart into ice knowing that such a handicap now befalls you. To think, now you will be reduced to a life of paperwork, the legendary son of the White Fang, reduced to a mere paper pusher. Our enemies will cry out in joy at the thought that you will no longer take place upon the battlefield, and that..."

"We should leave," Sakura whispered to Naruto who nodded in agreement, as the two of them began tiptoeing their way out of the room, choosing not to reach out for their sensei's pleading hand, lest they become victim of Gai's bone-crunching hug as well.

…

"What's an old man like you doing all the way out here?" asked the owner of the shop.

"I wanted to roam the world," lied Danzo as he raised a few coins. "I'll have some green tea, please."

"Right away, sir," said the young man as he took the warhawk's money. "Please, take a seat."

Danzo nodded wordlessly as he retreated to a table by the window side. He sat down, admiring the view outside. He was in a small backpacker's town almost halfway between Suna and Konoha, so while there wasn't much to see in terms of urbanised land, there were many great sand dunes off in the distance.

He shook his head slightly, still having trouble coming to grips with the events of the day before. It had been foolish to get greedy. His mistake had been making that stupid wager with the Aburame and Inuzuka. Itachi had been just the unfortunate catalyst who screwed up an unfortunate situation even further, and given Sarutobi and Jiraiya an excuse to cast him out of the village.

Going after Hinata had been no mistake. Perhaps it had been a test set by Sarutobi and Jiraiya, but had that worked out successfully, he would've had Konoha's most powerful clan under his thumb in the future. He had never planned to instill Hinata into his ROOT program - that would have been foolish - but turning her into a sleeper agent while no one even batted an eye? In hindsight, it sounded almost too good to be true. He could have even secured the girl's position as clan heir by helping her improve her skills as a shinobi while using the cursed seal as an excuse.

He'd never thought the old man would have the gall to kick him out.

Well, perhaps he hadn't been entirely banished in that his "banishment" was merely a guise for his true "mission", but Danzo was no fool. Sarutobi was killing two birds with one stone, and the bird he was aiming for was not the Akatsuki… it was him.

"Here you go, sir," said the waiter as he placed the ordered beverage in front of Danzo. The war veteran didn't mutter any thanks as he took the drink in his hand and lifted it to his lips, mildly grateful that the tea had some manner of taste to it.

As the waiter moved along his way, Danzo's mind returned to the fact that he had been asked to join the Akatsuki of all people, an organisation that he himself had tried to run into the ground from the shadows long ago. He doubted whether or not they were aware of his actions back then, but he knew that he would have to be cautious if summoned before the person who had so easily massacred his men long ago.

"We'll stop here, sir," announced someone as they entered the building with several other people.

"I should hope it is only momentarily. I wish not to spend more time than necessary as we make our way to Tanigakure," said a man in a pompous tone as if trying to point out his importance by his voice alone.

"I assure you, we are only stopping briefly to gather some supplies before we are on our way," assured the original man as they walked past Danzo to the counter. Lifting his head slightly, Danzo was quickly able to see that the person in front of him wore the shinobi attire of someone from Ishigakure. This in itself was suspicious, in that Tanigakure and Ishigakure had never really been on friendly terms, but given their geometrical location, if they were to form an alliance, they would be able to co-ordinate a pincer attack against Sunagakure. This was all theoretically speaking, though.

"What is taking so long?" stated the pompous man once again as he marched past Danzo, bumping the table as he did so and knocking over Danzo's drink.

"I'm sorry, my lord," apologized the shinobi.

"Pray, do tell what matter of urgency has you so rushed that you would knock over a poor man's drink?" asked Danzo from his seated position, causing the man to turn around and look at him.

"Look, old timer, my father is the ruler of Ishigakure, and he has personally assigned me the task of delivering a letter of alliance to Tanigakure, so excuse me for knocking over your drink, but my matters are much more urgent than your tea!" stated the man.

"I see," said Danzo as he got to his feet, a kunai slipping out of his sleeve and into his waiting hand.

After all, what better way was there to solidify one's status of becoming an S-ranked missing nin than by killing off the prince of a country?

…

"Yo, Hinata, how are you doing?" asked Naruto with a grin from within a nearby tree . "Hopefully, you'll be the last person on my check-up-on list today."

"Hey, Naruto," said Hinata as she watched Naruto drop safely from the branches of the tree and onto his feet. "I heard about what happened to your sensei, and let it be known that he has the well wishes of the Hyuga family."

"The way you say it makes it sound like a great honor," said Naruto sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, after I told my father of how you rescued me last night, it seems as if everything to do with you and your team is rated highly now," said Hinata as she closed the gap in between her and Naruto, causing him to shuffle backwards slightly.

"Uh, is everything okay, Hinata?" asked Naruto as he found himself backed into a wall.

"After last nights...'events'... I had a lot of time to think to myself about everything that I had suffered through," said Hinata, her voice lowering the smallest of margins. "After what I had gone through, I can no longer see myself as the person I was before."

"But I kinda liked the way you were before," said Naruto nervously.

"I thank you for that," said Hinata, Naruto noticing that she had stopped her advances forwards and seemingly subconsciously started twirling her fingers around one another, showing that even with this bold statement there were still tendencies of her previous self. "What Danzo was trying to do to me was horrible in a sense, and it is possible that I will have nightmares about it for the rest of my life. What he did manage to succeed in, though, was ridding me of some of my more nervous traits."

Again, Naruto noticed that her twirling fingers hadn't stopped in their rotations, completely ruining her brave face. Naruto wasn't going to be the one that pointed that out, though. "Naruto, thank you so much for everything that you've done for me, and will do for me in the future. My father also sends his gratitude and wishes for you to dine with us this evening."

"Wait, you're inviting me for dinner at your place?" asked Naruto. He doubted that Hinata had ever actually asked someone back to her home before, and wondered whether this was just a really absurd way of going about it.

"Yes," stated Hinata. "If you don't want to come, I-I can inform father."

"No, no, no, I'll come, by all means I'll come," said Naruto, the tiniest hint of a falter in her voice not lost on him as he shook his hands back and forth before being struck with an embracing hug.

"Thank you," said Hinata as she held on to him tightly, Naruto confusingly patting her back as she did so.

Seconds ticked on by, and Naruto couldn't help but begin to feel a little awkward. "Uh, Hinata… you can let go now?"

"Oh, sorry," said Hinata as she backed away with a slight tinge of pink upon her cheeks, once again contradicting her earlier statements. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, sure," said Naruto before Hinata leaped away quickly, leaving Naruto blinking at the space she had previously been. "I feel so confused right now."

Little did he know that on the other side of the wall, a white-haired pervert had been listening in on the entire conversation, writing down notes that he would keep hold of for a long time to come.

…

"Hey, kiddo don't look so glum," said Anko as she patted her student gently on the back. "I know it might suck that your team could be disbanded, but on the bright side, at least Kakashi's only hand will already be occupied when he tries to read Icha Icha."

"I thought you liked those books," said Sakura, although she wasn't too amused by the comment.

"Anko doesn't like them. I'd wager that they're her favourite thing in this world apart from dango and watching people suffer," said Ibiki with a smirk. "But anyway, since Anko has never been one to do things in the conventional manner, I take it she's already extended our invitation for you to join us in Konoha's Torture and Interrogation department as an apprentice?"

"Gee, you make it sound so formal," grinned Anko.

Sakura nodded firmly. For some reason the invitation felt like it held a lot more weight coming from the head of the department instead of the eccentric Anko. "I'd love to learn from you guys and be a part of this department, but at the same time, Team Seven will always come first for me."

"Heh, that's understandable," nodded Anko. "Besides, for the first couple of months, all you'll be doing is scrubbing the vomit and blood out of the interrogation cells."

Sakura almost pinched her nose in disgust. "You're kidding, right?"

"Actually, we like to let it build up for a while, but after a month or two, they do need to be cleaned or the stench will make it too difficult to do our jobs effectively," Ibiki answered before grinning a little sadistically. "That doesn't mean that we're above having you do a little menial labour."

"Great," sighed Sakura before looking up at her two instructors. "So what else do you reckon I'll be doing around this place?"

"Well, kid, quite frankly you don't look like you have the guts to do any heavy torturing," said Anko. "So ideally, we'd be looking at trying to train you to become a poison specialist with maybe a bit of interrogation work on the side."

"What use are poisons if you're trying to get information out of someone though?" asked Sakura. "I mean, if you're going for physical pain you could probably do a lot more yourself than most of the weaker poisons, while the stronger ones will either kill people outright or cause their vital systems to shut down."

"That's a good question," said Ibiki, a little surprised that a Genin who'd not yet had a stint in the Chunin exams that could be considered successful was asking such a question. Usually, they tended to just shut up, nod their heads, and smile until they realised what they were truly in for. "First of all, there are minor applications like always, things that'll make our prisoners sweat a little. Until you've acquired a suitable amount of expertise, crafting poisons of that tier is going to be your responsibility."

"So basically I'm in charge of making sure that the guy whose teeth you're ripping out will have an upset tummy before you start?" questioned Sakura, receiving amused looks from both senior ninja in addition to a nod from Anko.

"From there you advance to making poisons that'll harmlessly kill - our cleaner and more humane choice," continued the first proctor of the recent Chunin Exams. "Then comes the tricky bit, which is where it begins to cross over with the medical arts. You make potent and powerful potions, the type that will leave a person reeling in pain and dead after forty hours, but also create antidotes for them which we administer after a set amount of time. I'm doubtful that you'll ever get to this stage, but it's one of the most effective and hands-off means of torture that I've ever come across."

"So essentially you get all the pain and suffering of an almost dead person, but the prisoner isn't put at risk of death?"

"When you're playing with dangerous stuff like this, there's always the risk of death involved to some degree," advised Anko, leaving the playful tone in her voice behind. "Taijutsu can leave them with physical injuries that'll cause the person to die regardless of how good the medic-nin by your side is. Genjutsu will cause people to commit suicide or fall into a coma if you push a little too much, and if you slip up in the slightest with an antidote, or get the timing wrong when you're dealing with poisons, you can easily wind up with a carcass in your hands."

"Those all sound like pretty extreme scenarios," Sakura realised.

"They are, but the best of ninja won't give up their secrets until they're pushed to the extreme."

...

Deep underground in one of Orochimaru's hidden lairs scattered across the land, one would find the fabled Slug Princess doing something that hadn't been seen in what she considered to be a lifetime. It had been a long time since Tsunade had studied medicine, and had things remained on the same path that they had been over years gone by, she wouldn't have had her nose deep within text books. With the situation as it was, however, there was little that she could do to not read into the wise words of medicine to find a way to help her former teammate's apprentice. She wanted nothing more than to drive her fist into his face with the strength to topple mountains, and if the person standing outside of her room wasn't there, she would have done so in a heartbeat. It didn't matter how strong she was, she would never be able to tackle the seemingly supernatural being that was her grandfather.

Fuck, she needed a drink.

Outside in the hallway, however, the God of Shinobi stood with his back leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed as if in a meditative state. He had thought his time upon this realm had well and truly come to an end, yet here he was, brought back from the dead in order to babysit his granddaughter to ensure that she found a cure for a disease. In all honesty, he was proud to know that Tsunade had medical knowledge that had once been sought after all across the land; or so her apprentice had assured him.

He couldn't tell yet whether or not having been allowed to keep his will intact had been a blessing or a curse. Most likely he had been permitted to keep his emotions in order to ensure that Tsunade would stay in line and do as she had been ordered. The snake of a man had clearly done his research in discovering his brother's technique into resurrection. A lot of chakra had been used to summon him back, especially with a good deal of his power intact. There was one thing, though, that he doubted Orochimaru had looked into. That was the fact that the longer time passed, the more his strength returned to him, until eventually he was as strong as he was in the days where he and Madara collided a force strong enough to split the ground.

He didn't know how long it would take for his strength to be at its peak once more, but he knew that if Orochimaru tried to backstab his granddaughter in anyway there would be no mercy for him.

…

Naruto stood awkwardly outside of the Hyuga residence, fidgeting with the outfit that he had purchased for the occasion. Having never been invited to dinner anywhere outside of Ichiraku Ramen, he had had no idea how to dress for the event. He had quickly sought out Sakura to help him get some appropriate attire, and she had been quick to leap at the chance to get Naruto out of his traditional orange jumpsuit.

After hours spent jumping from store to store, he had thought that his mind was going to begin to melt from boredom, before Sakura finally decided on the perfect gettup for a dinner with such a prestigious family. While he had thought that the pants were a size too small and that the navy blue suit jacket was an awful choice in colour - mostly because it resembled Sasuke's outfit too much - he knew that Sakura had much more knowledge than he did in this department, and begrudgingly parted with his hard earned money for the outfit.

He then had had to open his mouth and ask Sakura if there was anything else he needed to do beforehand, to which Sakura had then marched him off towards the Yamanaka flower shop. This, of course, had come with its own set of hurdles, as it was just his luck to have his former classmate Ino behind the counter, who was quick in asking what the getup was for and needed to know all of the gossip immediately. Sakura was happy to oblige.

Thus Naruto had stood there awkwardly, watching as the sun made its steady descent down, almost counting the seconds as they ticked by. An hour roughly passed before Ino turned her attention to him with a flower in hand. He had asked what it was to learn that it was an Azalea, a light pink flower which apparently symbolised passion, fragility, and first love. Naruto had quickly stuttered, trying to say that he would take something else, but Ino had put her foot down in an almost frightening fashion, stating that she would not permit Naruto to put his hands on another flower.

So there he stood, in an outfit he thought looked like crap and with a flower that meant way more than he could get his head around, with the sun setting in the distance. He wondered how many of the people inside would be on good terms with him, considering many still thought of him as the mischievous Genin who had kidnapped Hinata the last time he had stepped foot on the premises. Looking over his shoulder he could see both Ino and Sakura peeking around a street corner, smiling encouragingly at him, but also instilling him with the realisation that if he were to flee, the consequences would be dire.

The opening of the front gate forced his eyes to go front and centre to find Hanabi walking towards him with a smile that didn't quite fit the average Hyuuga upon her face.

"Father sent me out here to get you," she said in a bubbly fashion, clearly over the moon with the fact that the person who had made her sister better was going to be at the dinner table with them. When she had discovered what Naruto had originally done, she had been mortified thinking she had put her trust into a vicious rogue, but when she found out that he had done it to help Hinata, the young Hyuga had almost burst out into laughter. "Are you ready?"

"No," said Naruto before Hanabi grabbed his hand.

"Doesn't matter, let's go," she said as she dragged Naruto forward, and the blond couldn't help but wonder if the sweet innocent girl was pulling him straight into the maw of hell.

...

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