I don't own anything related to the Naruto franchise
Chapter 11 - A Celebration, An Interrogation
After unlocking and opening the door to his apartment, Naruto was immediately jostled forward when both Ino and Choji pushed past him and ran into the room.
"Party," Ino enthused, while throwing her arms towards the ceiling. "Let's turn on the tunes!" After running into Naruto's bedroom and returning with his music system, the blonde girl made quick work of plugging in the various speakers even while wearing clothing that was a little hard to move around in. She hadn't missed the opportunity to get out of her training clothing now that she was a graduated Genin, donning a bright blue sundress that was just a little bit tighter than modesty would normally call for. She'd also managed to get Hinata out of her normal slightly baggy sweater and into a modest but adorable pale purple dress.
Although it was nice to get Hinata out of her training clothing, it was still a mystery whether or not the bluenette would manage to calm down enough to enjoy herself while wearing it.
"Food," Choji called out, as he swiftly moved towards the balcony door. "I'll start heating up the barbecue."
Naruto smiled in amusement as he hung his keys on the hook near the door to the kitchen. "Well I still need a shower and some clean clothes before I get started. I'm covered in mud and... Naruto abruptly stopped speaking at that point. He'd decided not to mention the bandages or the blood still staining his arms and legs. It wasn't wise to get the girls all wound up again for no good reason (especially Hinata).
"Y..you are... completely healed already, s..so you can... remove the bandages now," Hinata quietly offered from just behind Naruto's shoulder. "I... I have checked your wounds several... times this a..afternoon."
"Thank you Hinata. I should've known you weren't taking chances with my wellbeing." Naruto smiled at the bluenette as she edged past him into the apartment. He also very carefully didn't point out the fact that she'd been looking under both his clothing and bandages, and was therefore looking at his naked body…
"I wish I could check Narukun's 'wounds' like that," Ino called out, while wagging her eyebrows at both Hinata and Naruto.
Naruto immediately gave Ino a look of long suffering as he began rubbing Hinata's lower back. It was too late... Hinata was blushing so furiously it looked like she might pass out, so Naruto very quickly moved her towards the couch.
Ino, in turn, quickly sat down next to Hinata, where she began whispering what was almost certainly an apology into her ear. She was usually very considerate of Hinata's embarrassment threshold, but it appeared that she'd forgotten herself in her excitement.
Shikamaru slinked into the room next, and then kept walking out onto the rooftop patio. If they were going to hang out and relax then his favorite place to start was with a view of the sky. He also had a lot of things on his mind that he was trying to put aside for the moment. Even though it was a huge game changer, it really wasn't the fact that Naruto was Konoha's Jinchuriki that bothered him. Naruto wouldn't have an easy life and that much was obvious... fine. Naruto wasn't some spoiled brat, so he could handle that. He was mentally strong and he was more determined to be of use to their village than any three ninja put together.
The aspect of this situation that bothered Shikamaru the most was the fact that Naruto didn't know the truth. He had a strong suspicion that the Third's foolish non-information plan was destined to backfire in a massive way. Naruto had many enemies both foreign and domestic, and because of who and what he was, he always, always would. It was an inevitable outcome and there was nothing he could do about it. With that much in mind, leaving Naruto in ignorance was like leaving a hangman's noose dangling around his neck.
Hell... What if one of Naruto's enemies just straight up revealed the fact that he's the Kyuubi while they were having a fight to the death or something? If that were to happen, then Naruto was definitely smart enough to put all of the pieces together and immediately come to the most damaging of conclusions. Naruto wouldn't have the benefit of finding out the whole truth, but instead he'd only be hearing the most harmful, hurtful parts of it. It was painfully obvious to Shikamaru that Naruto would inevitably end up becoming completely defenseless, as his whole world comes crashing down around him.
Shikamaru just couldn't allow that to happen... In fact, Shikamaru thought that he might just challenge his friend to a bit of a bet... Very abruptly, (especially for him) Shikamaru rose back up to his feet, walked into Naruto's storage closet and grabbed the gear that he'd need for his little production.
During the time that Shikamaru spent thinking out on the balcony, Naruto showered and shaved himself, and then donned a white t-shirt with the Konohagakure (Uzumaki) swirl on the back, before rejoining his friends. He currently had a small cup of sake in one hand and he was gingerly looking at it as he, Ino, Hinata and Choji sat around his living room table. As a curiously animated Shikamaru finally joined them all at the table, the four brand new Genin began staring at Naruto as if he was about to do something daring. Finally, Naruto just grinned and shrugged helplessly at his waiting friends. "Look... We all know that this isn't rat poison, so I suggest we all just get it over with and take a drink at the same time."
Ino immediately nodded and poured herself a drink.
Hinata looked a little nervous but she followed Ino's lead just a second later.
As Shikamaru further settled into his place under the table, he shrugged his shoulders in a lazy fashion and poured himself a drink.
Choji followed suit, looking completely relaxed. His clan owned a chain of upscale restaurants, and he'd tried both sake and beer several times under the supervision of his parents.
"Three, two, one, go!" Naruto downed his saucer of sake in one large gulp, and then a moment later he breathed a sigh of relief when it wasn't completely revolting. The drink was a little bittersweet and it was warm going down, but overall it wasn't half bad. Most of his friends had done the same as him and had similar looks of relief on their faces. The exception of course was Choji, who looked extremely laid back about the whole thing.
For several seconds in a row, everyone just looked at each other as if they would all immediately become plastered, but soon enough the bubble burst and they all started giggling.
"I wish Tenten could've been here with us tonight," Naruto offered, while waving his empty saucer cup at a photo of their entire group on the wall.
"She's on a mission on the border with the rest of team Eleven," Ino mused, as if she were mulling the idea over. "That's going to be us soon enough..."
A silence descended on the group as the reality of the situation became suddenly more... real than it had ever been before. In the moments that followed, Naruto leaned forward and filled everyone's saucers with more sake. "Listen guys... I'm not worried about any of you, and do you know why?"
"Because we're the best," Ino offered with a grin.
"It's because you're the best our generation has to offer," Naruto agreed with a satisfied smile on his face. "Team InoShikaCho is a working formula that perfectly complements your individual skills and has endured for generations for exactly that reason."
"Here here," called out Shikamaru, Choji and Ino.
Naruto cheered right along with the fourth generation team and then turned towards his quietest, most timid friend with a smile. "Our Hinata on the other hand, is a Hyuga style badass of the highest caliber..."
During the next few moments, Naruto's pep talk lost its momentum as he saw a very complicated mixture of emotions crossing Hinata's face, and he had to hold in a wince. He'd known that Hinata had been hoping to be on his team and despite the fact that he'd wanted the same thing it was important that she understand something. She didn't need him to make or break her as a ninja or champion her like a damsel. Naruto edged closer to the bluenette, put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an extremely serious look... "Listen Hinata... If you don't end up on Sasuke's team as the highest ranked female ninja in our year, then that just means that the civilian council has no damned idea what it takes to be a ninja. You're the fastest, strongest and most prepared ninja in our class and I'm not just talking about the women."
"Naruto's clearly removed himself from what he just said, but other than that he's exactly right. You're wicked strong Hime and we all know it!" Ino was cheering her friend with a happy and self-assured smile on her face and none of it was feigned in the slightest. Ino wasn't the type to let jealousy get in the way of her friendships anymore, and she was in fact extremely relieved that her bestie Hime could take good care of herself.
"You're unbelievably troublesome," Shikamaru pointed out with a lazy grin.
"Scary," Choji sheepishly admitted.
Naruto simply nodded his head with a smile, because his opinion of Hinata was extremely obvious at this point.
By now Hinata had a vibrant red blush on her cheeks and her hands were sliding up over her mouth. On the other hand, you could also see that she had a small smile on her face and she wasn't looking down at her feet. "I... I know that... I've become... strong."
"Damn right you are," Naruto called out happily.
Before Naruto could continue, Hinata stopped him with an upraised hand, and then she cupped her hands around her drink as she drew in a very deep breath. "I'm not... upset ov..er being... on an unfamiliar team... I just wanted... more than any..thing to use... my strength... to w..watch Naruto kun's back..."
Despite herself Hinata's eyes started sliding down towards the floor, as she explained her disappointment in a sad and frustrated little voice. "I... know very... well that Naruto kun is strong but... Why does it always have to be him against the whole damned world!"
As Hinata's words suddenly grew impassioned, her stuttering immediately disappeared as it tends to do in these situations. "I... hate what's about to happen, and yet I know that there's nothing I can do about it! While the rest of us are still completing D-ranked cat catching or lawn mowing missions in Konoha, Naruto Kun's going to be Kami knows where, doing Log knows what! While we're still undergoing training and going on C-ranks, he might even be fighting on the front lines in foreign villages! While we're becoming closer with our teams, Naruto Kun will be surrounded by strangers who are ambivalent to him at best and straight up hostile at worst!"
Very abruptly, Hinata realized just how big a temper tantrum she was currently having, and she threw her hands up over her mouth as if to forcefully stop herself. "I'm.. I'm so sorry. I've been... losing my c..cool a... lot today." With as much grace as possible and without another word spoken, Hinata scooped up a second saucer of sake, rose to her feet and then walked out of the room to the balcony.
Without having to think about it at all, Naruto was rising to his feet while looking to Ino for her thoughts on the matter. As Ino shook both her head and her outstretched hands in a rapid negative, he nodded his understanding and started moving towards the balcony. Some situations were supposed to be a team effort, but this clearly wasn't one of those times. First of all, Naruto owed Hinata both a thank you and an apology... As it turns out, Naruto hadn't really understood Hinata's motives at all. Entering the cool evening air Naruto saw Hinata hunched over the railing of his balcony and staring at the ninjas milling around on the streets below.
"Naruto Kun... I did it again..."
Naruto nodded as he leaned himself on the railing next to Hinata and slowly dropped his shoulder to brush up against hers. "Yeah. Twice in one day you've lost your temper because you care about me. Thank you Hime, and... look I'm... I'm sorry for misunderstanding your motives. I really do know you're strong... I'm just not used to having..." Naruto floundered at that point, but he could see that Hinata understood his meaning anyway.
Hinata spun the rest of her body towards Naruto's, closed her eyes tight and pressed her forehead into his shoulder. Naruto kun... I only just realized a minute ago that I can't continue losing it like this... You're a ninja… I'm a ninja… Both of us could be d..dead by this time next year... and such an outcome wouldn't even be considered all that unusual..."
At first, Naruto just nodded seriously. What Hinata was describing was an outcome they were specifically conditioned to accept from a young age. Then he shook his head and a soft smile appeared upon his face. "I'm under the impression it's not the expected danger that you hate, but the fact that I can't trust my allies to have my back..."
After a few moments spent staring off at the village, Hinata slowly nodded her agreement into his shoulder. Then she took a deep breath and spoke directly into the fabric of his t-shirt. "There's more than just that though. Naruto kun... The fact that you're so extraordinary is actually part of the problem. I think where you're concerned, our leaders are going to push for far too much, far too quickly. I don't think that they're going to think rationally where you're concerned, because you're... different... you're special."
Despite the embarrassing praise, Naruto nodded his understanding again. Over the next few seconds he turned away from the view of the village and leaned against the railing facing towards his own apartment. "Okay Hime. I was planning to be all cool and mysterious, but... if you ask me very, very nicely, I just might explain why I think I'll be okay." Over the next few seconds, Naruto adopted a mischievous grin upon his face, followed by a noticeably fake arrogant expression. "Mind you... You'll have to make it good, because what I have to say is a pretty juicy secret."
Hinata knew for a fact that Naruto was only teasing her to distract her away from her frustration. She could even see in Naruto's grin that he knew, that she knew, that he was manipulating her. Despite knowing all of that however, Naruto's ploy was still working and she was hooked. On the other hand, Hinata wasn't the only person here who could be manipulated and Naruto was completely underestimating her.
Instead of pleading for answers, Hinata carefully lay her sake saucer on a nearby ledge, took a slow step in between Naruto's feet and leaned her entire body flush against his chest. Next, and from extremely close range, she looked up into his eyes and gave him a truly pitiful pouty expression directly through her bangs. It wasn't long before she could visibly see Naruto's heart taking damage, and she felt a desire to squee in happiness as a result. Naruto Kun was just sooo damned adorable sometimes!
Ugh... These days both Hinata and Ino were pulling out the heavy weaponry, without any hesitation whatsoever. Naruto really couldn't deny Hime anything when she was hitting him with that puppy dog-like expression on her face, and what's more, she knew it.
It really wasn't fair…
"Alright Hime... You win... As you know, I have access to a small army of shadow clones right? Well here's what I plan to do with them in training from this day forward..." Over the next few minutes, Naruto gave Hinata a rough outline of a training regimen that was only possible with over a hundred clones sharing their experiences with each other instantaneously and in real time.
By the time Naruto was finished delivering his explanation, Hinata had slumped against his body in boneless relief, and was enjoying how he was idly running his hands up and down the length of her back. While what he'd described would straight up kill a normal man, Hinata knew for a fact that A) Naruto was completely serious, and B) it was going to work. What Naruto was planning to put himself through... just... woah.
After a far too short period of time spent just enjoying Naruto's hands, Hinata slowly picked up the almost forgotten saucer of sake on the nearby ledge and downed it in one fast movement. Then with a gentle bump of her forehead against Naruto's chest she withdrew from his arms and looked up at his face. "Let me make one thing very c..clear, Naruto kun... I am not going to let you get so far ahead of me that I can't walk beside you..."
With that perfectly clear and yet cryptic statement delivered, Hinata tenderly cupped both of Naruto's cheeks as she beamed a smile up at him. When Naruto's cheeks started warming up and it became obvious that he was paralyzed in place just staring back at her, Hinata winked, slowly turned in place and then waltzed back into his living room to rejoin their friends. Despite the fact that she was waaay outside of her comfort zone, Hinata made sure to add just the slightest bit of hip sway in her walk, just like Ino kept telling her to…
Despite his utter lack of sophistication, Naruto wasn't so dense that he didn't understand the gist of Hinata's words. He also didn't miss the way her body moved, as she flowed back into his apartment. In the minute that followed, he just stood there on the balcony taking deep breaths in the cool night air to calm his mind and body again... Puberty was hitting Naruto with all the subtlety of a volcano eruption after all... Soon enough Shikamaru came outside, handed Naruto a beer and then took a seat in his favorite lawn chair.
"Do me a favor and join me for a second Naruto." Shikamaru grinned as he patted the chair to his right. "I have a bet I want to make with you, and it'll give you a chance to get control of your boner before we go back in."
At Shikamaru's words, Naruto looked down at his waist in a panic, but then he saw that he was under control and he completed a deep sigh of relief. Shikamaru's knowing grin was more than enough to make Naruto blush again, but he still grinned back at the boy as he sat down at his side. He also took a moment to sip his beer, because he was pretty sure that everyone was outpacing him by a pretty wide margin. Next, he turned towards his pineapple haired friend, with a smile and an arched eyebrow. "What's this bet?"
"I bet you Naruto, that I can make this kunai... both exist and not exist, at exactly the same time." Shikamaru waved around a standard issue metal kunai, as if it were a magic talisman of some kind concealing all the wisdom of the ages.
"Uhhh okay, I'll bite." Naruto shrugged because of course Shikamaru could make things disappear... they were ninja for Log's sake. "I bet you two, fifty point chips from our next poker game that I'll figure out why the kunai is either one or the other.
Shikamaru steadfastly grinned at his blond friend despite the fact that he was about to potentially lose some cash. The whole damned point of what he was about to do was to be discovered, so if he wasn't able to get his point across he was going to pay for the failure with his future betting money. Shikamaru manned up and didn't sigh as he waved one of Naruto's kunais around his body in increasingly complex and fast paced movements. All of the sudden, as Shikamaru drew the kunai behind his forearm cradled in the palm of his hand, Shikamaru made the kunai 'disappear,' and he almost smiled when Naruto immediately rolled his eyes.
"Oh come onnnn, Shikamaru..." Naruto was completely incredulous at this point. "A storage scroll hidden in your sleeve? Really?"
Shikamaru adopted a shit eating grin even as he pulled out the storage scroll and slapped it down upon the small table in between them. "You're right Naruto. I did use a storage scroll, so we both know what I've done to the Kunai... but! Does that make what I've done any less valid? The kunai both exists… and doesn't…"
At first, Naruto looked down at the storage scroll as if he were going to argue that the scroll was the kunai, but then he stopped and adopted a look of long suffering on his face instead. "That's not fair Shikamaru... I think your mother gave you this trick.. She's been telling me that I don't know the difference between a Kunai and a containment scroll for years now and now I finally understand the saying. Just because a sealing scroll contains an item, doesn't make the scroll and the item one and the same thing... I've always known the mechanics of that, but I've never really thought about it philosophically."
Shikamaru grinned as he released the kunai from its containment scroll and put them together on the table. "My mom did tell me that this would win me the bet, but she didn't explain to me exactly why. Care to enlighten me?"
In the seconds that followed Shikamaru's bold faced lie, Naruto shook his head at Alsea for railroading him with that bet. When he returned to the here and now, he picked up the containment scroll and he waved it at his friend. "Okay here it is quick and dirty. All containment scrolls really are, are gateways and power sources to maintain pocket dimensions within themselves. Case and point, if a containment scroll contains a kunai, ninja wire and a shuriken that doesn't mean that it's become all of those different things at exactly the same time... Instead, the items present in these tags cease to exist in this plane of existence. Damn..."
After shrugging in defeat, Naruto took a sip of his beer and smiled. Despite losing some of his gambling capital, it had still been an amusing trick to pull on a Fuinjutsu user such as himself.
Shikamaru had several reasons to smile at the moment and he did so without any hesitation. Naruto had it all figured out and Shikamaru had made some pocket money in the process. Shikamaru was a huge fan of plans that offer several advantages, so he was currently riding high on his own cleverness. "Well... Let's get back in there with everyone else, and let Choji know that the barbecue's become hot enough to cook on."
As Shikamaru and Naruto crossed the threshold of his apartment, they found the girls bopping back and forth on the couch to some very upbeat music. Then, as Choji left the room to go cook the meat, Hinata became aware that their dancing was garnering an audience and she stopped. Ino on the other hand, looked completely undeterred and she continued to bounce around excitedly as Naruto took a seat on her right. "Oh! Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Naruto! What did that guy Mizuki want from you at the tail end of the exams?"
In response to the very loaded question being thrown at him seemingly at random, Naruto winced. It was a very slight wince and it wasn't really all that noticeable, but you wouldn't have known that judging from his friends' reactions. Shikamaru, Hinata and Ino's eyes all sharpened at the same time, and they straightened in their seats. Hinata was the one who stood up and dialed down the volume on Naruto's boombox radio. When she walked back, she didn't return to her original seat on Ino's left, but instead she hemmed Naruto in by sitting on his right.
"Uh yeah... I'm impressed. You're all very, very sharp." Naruto couldn't help it and a bead of sweat was forming on his forehead.
"Narukun... You wouldn't be keeping secrets from us again now would you?..." Despite the fact that Ino was grinning, she also had a very predatory gleam in her eyes. She leaned in close and began trailing her hand along Naruto's shoulder to his neck and then to the back of his head as if she was thinking of using her family's empathic bloodline limit on him. Her grin turned into a feral smile, when Naruto shivered under her touch.
"I uhhh no, I was only planning on..." Naruto's shoulders slumped as he realized that the jig was up. "I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you guys this story, because what I have to say might ruin your celebratory mood... Even though it's no big deal and shouldn't worry you guys at all," Naruto quickly amended when everyone started looking concerned.
"Naruto Kun... Spill..." Hinata looked like she was about to activate her Byakugan in her intensity.
"Uhhh yeah, yeah okay," Naruto stammered again, while checking his privacy wards with his chakra and drawing in a very deep breath. "Mizuki had this story to tell me earlier today and before you guys freak out I never believed him for even a second. He said that he'd been tasked by the Hokage to relay a message to me. According to Mizuki, the Hokage decided that instead of becoming a normal Genin, I'd become an infiltration specialist from now on. He said that there was an object that I need to steal from the Hokage's tower tomorrow night, in order to prove myself worthy. He said that this decision was made to solve a problem they were having regarding me. Apparently, finding me a three man cell as a Genin was proving to be impossible, because they couldn't find a group that would accept having me, the village pariah, on their team."
Ino and Hinata looked like they were about to explode by the time Naruto was done explaining, but Shikamaru just looked frustrated and thoughtful. "You spoke to the Hokage about this, I'm assuming?"
Naruto quickly nodded his head because Shikamaru was helping him defuse the two female time-release explosive tags that were sitting at his sides. They were getting closer to a meltdown with every second that passed, and although he appreciated their loyalty it really just wasn't necessary.
"Of course I spoke to him," Naruto immediately assured. "I told the Hokage everything at the barbecue earlier and let me tell you he was pissed. According to the old man, Mizuki is a village traitor, and if I couldn't use so many shadow clones I'd have ended up on a team just like everyone else. Gramps wants to nail this Mizuki guy hard, and he's only letting me be involved in the plan because he wants to catch the man in the act. I'm supposed to try to ferry out who Mizuki's reporting to and what his exact intentions are. I'm being told that tricking Mizuki and making good use of my shadow clones to do so safely, is my real Genin test. I'll find out the details from Dog sometime tomorrow morning."
"I see?" Shikamaru drawled out, in a newly relaxed voice. "I'm assuming Anbu is going to be all over this and helping Naruto, so I'm pretty sure that we don't have to worry." He looked at the girls with an arched eyebrow as he spoke, because they were visibly hovering and stressed the hell out.
"Ah... Yeah, you're probably right," Ino admitted, as she pulled away and settled back down on the couch.
Hinata nodded her head in agreement, settled back on the cushions and poured them all another saucer of sake.
By the time Choji returned to the room with all of the barbecued food they'd be eating, everyone was relaxing again and drinking far, far too much, considering it was their first time.
And a good time was had by all…
The rising sun crept through the blinds of Naruto's bedroom the next morning, joyfully beaming into the room, like a blessing made of pure white light. As the morning progressed, the happy little beam of sunlight ended up splashing cheerfully against Naruto's closed eyelids and relentlessly pouring illumination upon his resting eyes.
Very soon, Naruto was yanked out of the realm of the blissfully unconscious, at which point he started quietly cursing out the sun, for interrupting what had surely been the most comfy nights sleep he'd ever had. His bed was warm, his bed was soft and... wow yeah soft... Naruto was further roused from his semi doze by curiosity. What were these supremely soft and yet firm things so completely wrapped around his body?..
All of the sudden, Naruto heard a small sigh emanating from under the blankets near his chest and his eyes instantly widened in alarm. He tried to remember the events of the night before, but after a certain amount of drinking like there was no tomorrow it all became just a blur of laughter and movement.
Slowly drawing his arms up from his sides, Naruto slid his hands up what had to be a pair of toned and slim backs on the way. Then, when his hand rose up to the hem of his blanket, he slowly drew it down and what he saw was nearly enough to stop his heart. The heiresses of both the Yamanaka and Hyuga clans were wrapped around his body with both their arms and legs as if he were a body pillow. In their sleep they were happily snuggling into his body, and the unbelievable cuteness of it was almost as crippling as his mounting fear was becoming…
As a fully trained Genin, Naruto was now officially considered an adult in the eyes of the village.
Naruto had slept in the same bed with the heiresses of two of the village's largest and most influential clans.
Despite the fact that the girl's were still wearing their dresses from the night before and Naruto was wearing a t-shirt and boxers combo, he was still most likely going to die…
At the very least, Inoichi Yamanaka was going to psychically tear Naruto's mind apart, until he thought that he was a squirrel.
In the moments that followed, Naruto decided that if he had to go out, then he was at least going to go out like a ninja. He dropped his arms back down onto the girl's bodies, hugged them even closer to his chest and started idly running his hands along the soft fabric covering their lower backs. He'd decided that if he enjoyed every damned second of this unexpected holy land, then he'd be able to suffer the consequences that come later without any regrets.
"Nnaaaarrruuuukuuun...mmmmmmm..." Ino shifted against Naruto's chest, revealing a sleeping face that would definitely have been described as angelic, if only she hadn't looked so blissfully perverse. Ino was very obviously having one hell of a naughty dream, and judging by the slurred use of his name just now, he was present and participating in the events that her mind was creating for her…
Just a split second after Naruto finished registering this new information, a small but noticeable eep noise suddenly announced Hinata's entrance into the land of the living.
Naruto looked down at Hinata's startled face and she looked right back up at his. Naruto held his breath, waiting for his shyest friend to completely freak out…
And it never happened.
Despite her momentary shock reaction, during the next few seconds, Hinata visibly decided that she was only having a very nice dream. You could tell the exact second it happened too, because her nervous expression completely relaxed, she closed her eyes again and then tightened the hold that her limbs had around his body.
Naruto was now actively being snuggled by a wide awake and completely delusional bluenette…
During the moments that followed, Naruto had no recourse but to look back up at the ceiling and embrace the sensory overload that he was currently experiencing. He felt a simple minded smile slip onto his face as he ran a hand through Hinata's infinitely soft hair. In return, Hinata mewled quietly, squeezed him tighter and burrowed her face into his chest. It was far, far too cute for words to accurately describe, and Naruto's heart took some serious damage.
Over time, Naruto became aware of the fact that Ino was awake as well... Under normal circumstances he'd have assumed she'd make a lot of noise waking up to a situation such as the one they were currently experiencing. As it turns out however, Ino was definitely capable of subtlety when it really suited her goals, because that's exactly how she was responding. Instead of yelling out or making any grandiose movements whatsoever, Ino instead started moving very slowly and deliberately. By the time Naruto became aware of Ino's movements, one of her hands had already slipped up under his t-shirt and was rubbing up the length of his stomach towards his chest in a slow but extremely thorough sweep.
When he simply couldn't help it anymore, Naruto looked down at his fellow blonde's face, and he saw that although her eyes were still closed, her face was radiating both mischief and perverse contentment to an absolutely absurd degree.
Yeah... Naruto was a dead man walking, and he knew it…
"Pssst... Naruto!"
A familiar sounding male's voice sounded out in a stage whisper from just outside of Naruto's window, halting Naruto, Hinata and Ino, right in their tracks.
"Hide the girl's or die, I'm not joking!" Inoichi is walking up the stairs to your apartment, as we speak! He knows that his daughter never came home last night and he's here half an hour early!"
Naruto locked eyes with Ino, Ino locked eyes with Naruto, then they both locked eyes with a noticeably freaking out Hinata.
Thinking quickly, Naruto whispered the words "Henge yourselves, blend in by getting to work, and then keep your distance from Inoichi so that he doesn't sense your chakra." Then, sitting up, he made the appropriate hand signs and called out the words "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof X ten!
Naruto's apartment suddenly became a beehive of activity, as ten different Naruto clones ran around cleaning any evidence that there'd ever been a party in his home.
Hinata and Ino looked at each other, then they looked at Naruto, then they sprawled themselves across the length of his body, kissing the whisker marks on both of his cheeks at exactly the same time.
"Henge!"
"Henge!"
Poof X 2
When Ino and Hinata emerged from two small clouds of smoke, they were in picture perfect Naruto forms.
Naruto gaped as he was confronted by Ino and Hinata's unbelievably comprehensive familiarity with his body. On the one hand, their unexpected expertise might actually save his life. No one, including him, would have believed that the heiresses had mapped out his form to this extent. On the other hand, the implications their level of skill made were undeniable. If Inoichi Yamanaka did catch Ino, in that form, in his apartment... he was dead…
Pull up Naruto! The plan's going to work!
As Naruto sat there with his mouth bobbing open and shut like a fish out of water, both girls leapt out of bed. Without a word, they joined the rest of the blonde workforce, putting the apartment back to rights.
Knock, knock, knock! Knock knock knock!
Someone was pounding insistently on Naruto's front door, and the blond didn't require three guesses to figure out who it was. Launching himself out of bed, Naruto grabbed his leather headband and started walking through his apartment. He quickly worked to get control of his long, wild hair, as he resolutely approached his front door and the danger that lay beyond. Inoichi Yamanaka was both empathic and suspicious of him…
Naruto had nooo idea how he was going to survive the morning.
As Naruto passed his kitchen, a clone wiping at his counter approached him with a look of urgency on its face. "Naruto listen... My dad's... Inoichi's empathic bloodline limit helps him tell when you're lying, so keep to the truth wherever possible and..." Ino started to look a little frightened as she grabbed Naruto's hand tighter. "Look Narukun… to a certain extent, Inoichi can even read what you're thinking about, but the important part of what I just said is that you do need to actually think about something for him to read it in your mind. Without physical contact and a lot of power, he can't read what you don't think about. Do you understand?"
After a few moments spent just standing there, Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "I need to focus on how pissed off at Mizuki I am, rather than the fact that I slept curled up with a completely stunning blonde all night. Got it..."
"Ohhh Narukun... I will reward you for that," Ino in disguise whispered, as she returned to her work in the kitchen.
Knock knock knock knock knock! The knocking was becoming insistent enough now that it could potentially be doing damage to Naruto's door.
"I'm coming," Naruto called out to the door, even as he brought to mind Mizuki's face and the man's attempt to frame him. The reason his newest plan might actually work is because Naruto was literally furious at that gray haired twerp Mizuki. Even as he opened the door, Naruto was making several creative and unnecessarily sadistic plans to ruin the traitorous ninja's day. Then, he was confronted with Inoichi Yamanaka, and he felt a chill go down his spine as what could only be described as an intense pressure was immediately applied on his mind. Holy Hell! Inoichi wasn't even trying to be subtle. His jutsu felt super invasive and uncomfortable. "G..Good morning. I didn't expect the leader of Konoha's intel group to come here in person..."
Inoichi was capable of subtlety just like his daughter was, but often enough the extremely direct approach coupled with strong mind reading was all you really needed to ferry out people's secrets. That's why Inoichi skipped the polite chit chat route altogether, and got straight to the point. First he did a quick trip around the apartment, pushing around the Naruto clones that failed to avoid him so that he could check every room closely, and then he walked right up to Naruto Alpha with a scowl on his face. "Cut the crap Naruto. Where's my daughter?"
Naruto was carefully neck deep in a plan to cover Mizuki in paralysis tags and kick him around for a couple of hours, when Inoichi demanded to know where his daughter was. Since Naruto knew that Inoichi wasn't going to stop looking, he forced himself to think about Hinata's home on purpose, just to lay down a false trail. "Umm sir. The last time I saw Ino she was with Hinata." This was technically true, if you meant seeing Ino in Ino form. Naruto forced his mind to think of it that way, thus he wasn't lying.
Oddly enough, creating Fuinjutsu tags was great practice for the mental Olympics Naruto was currently taking part in. Writing tags forces you to focus your entire mind on a version of reality that you're attempting to make real by sheer force of will alone. Being good at doing that meant that Naruto could bend the truth more convincingly than most people... he hoped.
After several seconds where Inoichi continued to stare daggers at Naruto, he finally relented and turned away. "I... see. I'll have to track my daughter down later. I'm here to help you get the most out of Mizuki during the mission tonight and to find out exactly what you're capable of from an intelligence gathering standpoint."
"Well okay then. Would you like to take a seat and have some tea while we wait for Dog to arrive?" Naruto didn't really want to continue the interrogation, and he could still feel the pressure being applied on his mind, but there was no simple way of avoiding the situation. Politeness demanded that he at least offer the man some tea.
"Yes... thank you." Inoichi took a seat on Naruto's couch, as the boy in question pulled up a chair to sit across from him. All around the apartment, a group of Naruto's busied themselves brewing tea, taking out garbage, scrubbing walls, dusting, etc, and Inoichi would have to admit that it was impressive in a very domestic kind of way. Nonetheless, Inoichi had something he needed to finally confront Naruto about, and there was no better time than the present. He turned towards the blond boy and drew in a very deep breath. Being the bad guy sucks, but a father has to do what a father has to do…
Inoichi Yamanaka would not allow his daughter to become romantically involved with something as inherently dangerous and unpredictable as a Jinchuuriki…
"Naruto Uzumaki," Inoichi began in a very stern tone of voice. "I want you to take what I'm about to say very, very seriously. I am grateful that you saved my daughter's life during that incident five years ago. My daughter is very fond of you for exactly the same reason... However... My daughter is the heiress of the Yamanaka clan, and as such she is far, far above your station in terms of romantic pairings. You're quite frankly nowhere near good enough for my daughter, so I will never, ever allow it. You will back off from her in the future and focus your attentions elsewhere. Do you understand me?"
Crash!
All around the room, the various Naruto clone's stopped to look at the Naruto in the kitchen. The flustered looking Naruto had dropped a purple mug on the floor where it had smashed, and he was scrambling to clean up the pieces. After a brief moment of visible hesitation, a second Naruto clone entered the kitchen and started helping with the mess. The two clones continued exchanging quiet words even as they worked to collect some smaller glass slivers.
During the commotion happening in the kitchen, Inoichi never took his mental focus away from his primary target, which was the blond boy sitting in front of him. He continued to probe at the real Naruto's mind while arching an eyebrow at him meaningfully. "Judging by that tea making clone's reaction just now, I'd say that you understand exactly what I'm saying but it... bothers you... Do you want to take up issue with anything that I've said thus far?" Inoichi didn't try to hide the blatant threat in his voice, as he stared down the boy across from him.
Naruto truly had no idea what to say or even think in this situation. He'd just had a hell of a time focusing on other things when Ino dropped her purple mug in the kitchen. On the one hand, he had Inoichi persistently applying pressure on his mind as if he had every right to do so. On the other hand, he had his friend Ino, Henged into a Naruto clone in the kitchen and in serious need of some moral support. The most frustrating part of the situation was that Naruto was forced to keep that prick Mizuki in the forefront of his mind the entire damned time. He needed to focus on his anger with the man in order to keep from broadcasting his thoughts, and doing that was keeping him from forming a response that was free of hostility.
Then, all of the sudden, Inoichi leaned towards Naruto from his spot on the couch, the pressure on his mind doubled again, and Naruto immediately felt his thoughts being forced into directions that would get him into trouble.
Ino had been wrong. Inoichi was more than strong enough to force you to reveal your hidden thoughts!
In the end and mostly because it didn't feel like he had a damned choice in the matter, Naruto used his rising anger at Inoichi to focus his thoughts away from his secrets. In his focused rage, Naruto began speaking slowly, in a clear, crisp voice, and he began staring right back at Inoichi, as if the man were merely an equal rather than an officer of vastly higher rank. "Yeah... You know what? I'll have to admit that yeah, I am bothered. Let's go ahead and disregard the fact that I'm only twelve years old so this so-called 'conversation' is actually several years too early. That's fine. I'm also used to being judged as unworthy for seemingly no damned reason, so the inexcusably rude way that you're treating me in my own home is nothing I can't handle. What really bothers me about the ridiculous demands that you're making, is how incredibly, mind numbingly, idiotic they are."
At this point, Inoichi looked like he would interrupt so Naruto adopted a cruel and feral grin and clearly broadcast in his mind the fact that he thought Inoichi was being an imbecile. "How about this Yamanaka San... I'm going to do you a favor and explain the reality of your current situation. Ino Yamanaka... will date, love and then marry whomever the hell she sets her sights on. If she wants a civilian of Konoha, a lifelong Genin, a respected Jonin, an Anbu, a Clan Head or no man at all, then that's what she'll damn well have. She's smart, she's capable and she's already beautiful enough that no sane man could possibly deny her. Now, I'll grant you that Ino's dutiful to the Yamanaka clan, so you're right that she'll make her decisions based on what she perceives is best for them... However... I want you to take what I'm about to say very, very seriously... You are completely delusional if you think you can just choose Ino's romances for her and get away with it. She's going to make you cry blood before this is all over, and I'm going to struggle not to find it amusing..."
As Naruto wrapped up his wildly impulsive and unwise tirade, he forced himself to maintain a consistent level of anger to keep Inoichi from plundering his thoughts. Despite his new ability to resist Inoichi's mind reading, it was still a massive effort just to stare back at the man's newly enraged face. It was obvious that Naruto had spoken with far more disrespect than the Yamanaka Clan Head was used to receiving, and as a result, he was losing his temper in a big way. Case and point, the pressure that Inoichi was applying on Naruto's mind felt like hundreds of scalpels at this point, and it was a huge burden just to keep the man from shredding through his thoughts like tissue paper.
Inoichi was unbelievably pissed off. He was irate. He couldn't even believe this boy's lack of respect or the fact that there appeared to be a wall of righteous anger blocking his mind probes. He decided he needed to cut away at the boy's anger by injecting some fear in there instead. "I'm a powerful man," Inoichi quietly explained, through gritted teeth. "If you don't respect my wishes, I can make your life... hard."
"No man truly worthy of either respect or authority has ever had to make that threat," Naruto responded, in an equally quiet voice.
"You don't fear the consequences of displeasing me? I'm going to be the man assigning your missions..." Inoichi's tone implied that Naruto was either stupid or he had a death wish.
"If killing me off was a simple matter or truly in this village's best interests, I'd be dead by now," Naruto pointed out with little to no emotions on his face. "How about this though... Let's move beyond the fact that as we speak you're flagrantly ignoring the laws of Konoha by attacking me with a mind-reading jutsu. I'm more interested in the fact that the Inoichi Yamanaka, leader of Konoha's intelligence department, is sitting in my living room at all. Why are you here Inoichi? Why are you getting involved with me at all, unless you have something to gain from working with me? Why are you here at all if I'm so inferior and easily replaced." Naruto's tone, in return, implied that Inoichi was being both unprofessional and childish to an extent that he could hardly believe.
Inoichi's eyes widened to the size of saucers upon finding out that Naruto could actually feel his mind reading jutsu. Very, very few ninjas had ever been able to sense his intrusions, in the entire fifteen plus years he'd been working as a professional interrogator. A moment later, Inoichi's face became composed again, but when he spoke, his voice was a low and angry growl. "You know Uzumaki... I'm regretting my decision to assist you financially all these years."
"It wasn't really a decision at all; it was an obligation on your honor," Naruto immediately replied, in a similar tone of voice. "If you regret doing so, then that by itself is... telling."
Inoichi's teeth were grinding together with tooth cracking strength at this point. At least three times within the last two minutes, Naruto had stung him by pointing out that he was being both shameless and dishonorable. Deep down inside, Inoichi could even concede Naruto's point, but that didn't help him in his current state of explosive anger and indignation.
"I'm going to make you disappear, you little twerp," Inoichi growled out in a voice full of a profound and terrible rage. Truly, Inoichi didn't know what he was going to do because Naruto was right. With his absurd capacity for Henge'd Shadow clones the boy had the potential to be extraordinarily useful. Not only that, but Inoichi couldn't just make Konoha's Jinchuriki disappear for obvious reasons. That didn't change the fact that he was going to clean this kid's clock…
"That's enough!" All of the sudden, one of the Naruto's in the kitchen stormed into the room and in an enraged female voice called out the word "Kai" ending a Henge illusion around her body. When the small cloud of smoke wafted away, Ino Yamanaka was revealed looking angrier than both Naruto and Inoichi combined, and staring painful death at her father.
In the moments that followed, Ino splashed Inoichi in the face with the luke-warm and forgotten tea that she'd prepared and then spoke in a voice that literally oozed disdain. "If you think you have any control over my romantic life you're sorely, tragically mistaken Inoichi. You disgust me. Don't even talk to me until you grow the fuck up..." With that said, Ino turned on her heels and stormed out of the room, without ever looking back.
As his one and only, most precious daughter marched out of the apartment and slammed the door behind her, Inoichi's face immediately turned a ghostly pale color, and he looked towards Naruto with his mouth bobbing open like a goldfish. "But, but how? How did you conceal the fact that my daughter was in the room right next to us from my mind reading Jutsu!"
Naruto didn't know how to explain what really just happened without getting himself killed, so he decided it was time to try a bold faced lie instead. It was a gamble, but there was really no alternative. Naruto was going to have to rely on the fact that, at the moment, he didn't feel any psychic pressure on his head and that most likely meant that Inoichi was far too freaked out to use his mind reading Jutsu.
Turning his attention back towards the Clan head, Naruto shrugged his shoulders in a defeated fashion. "Ino wanted to watch the planning session this morning, because she was concerned about me. That's why she came over and Henge'd herself into a version of me to blend in. Just moments before you came in, she explained to me that you might try to read my thoughts. As it turns out you did, a lot, and I could feel it the entire damned time. Despite your attempts to force me to do otherwise, I've been carefully avoiding thinking of Ino, in the kitchen, making us tea..."
Inoichi knew that Naruto was making light of what he'd just accomplished to an absolutely absurd degree, but he was far, far too angry to spare that fact a second thought. Inoichi was too busy trying to decide between either snapping Naruto's neck, or immediately running after his daughter. Thankfully for Naruto, the decision was made for him, when Dog arrived for the planning session.
"Yo! sorry I'm late. I just got lost on the road of life." Dog's masked face somehow conveyed the fact that he wasn't really all that sorry.
"Enough excuses. I've wasted enough time with this simpleton!" With that said, Inoichi rose to his feet, stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door behind himself.
In the moments that followed Inoichi Yamanaka's extremely abrupt exit, Naruto and Dog just stood there in the living room looking at each other.
"Thanks for warning me that Inoichi was inbound," Naruto offered, in a sincerely grateful and yet exhausted voice.
Dog only nodded and then took a seat on the couch. "You know Naruto... You're a real man... but you're obviously not destined to live a long or... peaceful life. Inoichi Yamanaka can make your life a living hell if he decides to, and after what I just spied on..."
Naruto could only nod his head because he already knew everything that Dog was saying. "I... I just can't allow it to continue, Dog. I'm not going to be treated like I'm scum anymore. Not by anyone. Inoichi already knows that I'm going to be extremely useful to him as a ninja, but he still thought that it was okay to treat me like dirt. Well fuck him. Maybe I'll refuse to do intel missions from now on until he changes his tune."
Wham!
Almost all of the Narutos milling around the room turned in place, squared up for a fight and then just stared at the two people in the living room. Only one of the Narutos made a tiny eep noise and held his hands in front of his face.
The real Naruto groaned as Dog held a kunai to his neck and pushed his forehead firmly into the dented plaster of his living room wall.
"That's enough Naruto," Dog yelled in his most officious and commanding voice. "You've accepted the head protector now! You've become a Konoha ninja and you don't get to pick and choose what orders you follow! Grow the fuck up!"
"I'm, I'm sorry!... You're right and I knew that." Naruto stared back at the Dog masked man, and he didn't flinch as the man's kunai continued to draw blood from his neck to drip onto his t-shirt. "I was just having a moment, Dog. I was being foolish."
"You can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes anymore, Naruto." Dog slowly removed the bloody Kunai, lobbing it into the kitchen sink for cleaning. "You're hated by almost everyone in the village. Don't ever give anyone reason to doubt your loyalty." Dog collapsed back onto the couch, pulling out a small book which he started reading as if he'd never been upset. "Wash up and take five. We can make the plan when you're ready."
"Thanks Dog," Naruto groaned quietly, as he rose back to his feet and shakily walked into the kitchen. There were two things that needed his attention ASAP. He needed to clean himself up using the sink and there was someone who needed some of his attention. Naruto turned on the sink and started splashing cold water on his neck. He also looked over at a Naruto lookalike staring at him from nearby, and gestured for her to come closer. "It's okay, Hinata. You can end your Henge now."
Poof!
Hinata launched herself towards Naruto, took a firm hold of his shoulders and immediately began studying his cut neck from every conceivable angle. "N..Naruto ku..kun. Why is Dog getting thanked for slamming your head through a wall and slicing open your neck?"
"Because Dog just showed me exactly how the other ninja's that don't know me or like me will react if they ever hear me being that insubordinate, and he showed me in a way I'm not likely to forget." Naruto smiled softly at Hinata as he took a washcloth to the cut and then dried it with a disposable towel. Over the next half a minute the cut began to clot and Naruto saw Hinata breathe in a huge sigh of relief. "I'm sorry for always worrying you, Hime."
"I know... I...I understand that Ino was hu..hurting and you were angry at that, but... Why did you tell... Inoichi off so c..candidly? It's not... going to be helpful to either of you in the long term." Hinata was struggling to understand.
"I think I already know what happened, but I wouldn't mind hearing your side of the story," Dog announced, from his spot on the couch.
Naruto nodded and leaned against his kitchen counter with the paper towel still pressed against his cut neck. "Well... You two saw Inoichi and I interact, but what you didn't see was the battle of wills we were having the entire time. At first, Inoichi's mind reading just felt like I was having my mind pressed against by his. Just before I blew up on him however, the pressure more than doubled and I felt him manually directing my thoughts towards the things he wanted to know. In response, I directed my entire focus on how pissed off he was making me and his influence on my thoughts decreased. Unfortunately, I also lost my temper and told Inoichi off. You guys saw the rest..."
"I had no idea that Inoichi had become that strong in his mind manipulation Jutsus." Dog just looked thoughtful now, as opposed to the frustration he'd been aiming at Naruto before.
"Not even Ino knows that her father's that strong," Naruto responded, with a sigh. "She only warned me to avoid thinking about the things I want to keep a secret. I'd be impressed if I weren't so damned angry about all of this. Inoichi just went way beyond his authority."
"Naruto... While it goes without saying that Inoichi shouldn't have tried to invade your mind, you need to get off your damned high horse and recognize your contribution to this situation. The truth is you did have a drunken sleepover with both Inoichi's daughter and Hinata here last night, and this whole circus was caused by you trying to hide that fact." Dog was shaking his head in long suffering at this point. While Naruto was wise beyond his years in most things, in others he was still just a bonehead kid.
Immediately after Dog finished speaking, Hinata started blushing red like a strawberry and Naruto started rubbing the back of his neck in chagrin.
"Ahhh... yeah." Naruto looked at his feet as he thought about what Dog had just said. "Log... I've blown it big time and I really need to pull up. I've got a lot to think about and not a lot of time to do it. Hinata... Will you go and offer Ino some support for me? I'd come if I could, but I can't. I need to stay and hear what Dog has in mind for tonight. There's also the fact that my presence might make Ino feel worse instead of better.
"Y..yes. I can do that." Hinata looked torn. She clearly wanted to know what was going to be done about Mizuki, but Ino was her best female friend, and she most likely needed someone to talk to.
Dog turned towards the young Hyuga and arched an eyebrow at her. "How is it the Hyugas aren't bursting down Naruto's door this morning, looking for you?"
"I uhh..." Hinata looked at her feet and poked her fingers together displaying her version of chagrin. "I... t..told my fam..ily that I w..was going to... be staying with the Yamanakas for the night. I didn't... know that th..this was going to happen, but I don't take... chances."
"Finally, a Genin with some real intelligence," Dog cheered, with some real admiration in his voice. "Okay, well as Naruto said we have plans to make and then a trap to spring, so it's time for you to go and act oblivious."
Hinata nodded again and Naruto walked her down the stairs leading to street level. When they were about to re-emerge outside again, Naruto felt a small hand on his back. Then, as he turned around, he felt a pair of soft, slim arms wrap around his waist. Hinata appeared determined to offer him some comfort and it was so sweet it hurt. In return, Naruto pulled Hinata into a tight hug and softly rested his chin on top of her head.
"Be careful t..tonight Naruto... kun. I'll be… waiting to h..hear all the details tomorrow."
Naruto smiled as he ran a hand softly along Hinata's back. "It'll all be okay. I'll be safe with Dog's help, and I'll meet you guys at Shikamaru's tomorrow for breakfast. Please tell Ino I'm sorry for blowing up on her dad like I did..."
"Naruto kun... You defended Ino b..by describing... her as s..smart, capable and... beautiful enough t..to... have any man she... desires." Hinata shook her head into Naruto's chest, because he's clearly just as dense as he is smooth. "I promise you that Ino's not... angry at you."
"Oh... good then." Naruto really hadn't thought of the fact he'd said all of that in Ino's presence, but since it was true, he wasn't going to stress out about it.
"Do you... remember wh..what you ad..admitted to Ino and I... last night?" Hinata stared up into Naruto's eyes through her bangs, and she felt the moment she did him some damage because his hands tightened around her lower back.
"Uhhh gosh, I'm sorry Hinata I... I can't recall much with any clarity." Naruto started panicking because he might have said something inappropriate. It was a huge relief when Hinata smiled a wide and happy smile, and stepped away from him with a small but animated bounce.
"Sokay Naruto kun. Don't you w..worry about a... thing."
Despite her words... or maybe because of them, Naruto started worrying just a little bit. Hinata looked just a little bit too mischievous and self-satisfied for him not to be. He stared at Hinata as she walked down the street and he realized something now more than ever. His shyest and most introverted friend was adding that mesmerizing hip sway on purpose. Any day now, Hinata was going to become a confident and assertive woman…
Log help him.
It was official. Naruto's female friends were going to be the death of him…
To Be Continued
Author's Note:
When I posted this chapter on another publication site, several people wanted Inoichi dead as a result of his actions, or at least end up in prison for treason because Naruto's a military asset. I've written this author's note to get ahead of that idea.
Yes, Inoichi is being a dick… but no, I don't intend to have the Intelligence Leader of Konoha get arrested for his treatment of Naruto. Life isn't fair, Inoichi has both power and authority in Konoha, and Naruto doesn't have any actual proof that the man has done anything wrong.
And no, none of the threats that Dog overheard would actually be considered death threats in a court of law, let alone one set in a feudal meritocracy like Konoha. There's a huge difference between saying, "I can make your life hard" and "I will have you killed…"
Please rest assured, the saga of Naruto and Inoichi is far from over…
Author's Note:
If you like my writing, want to check on my release schedule + want to help support me, consider visiting my P-a-t-r-e-o-n page
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