Hinata Hyūga was confused. It was 2 years since she started the Shinobi Academy, and while she was decent all around, she still held the title of failure within the Hyuga clan. Which is why when she was told that the Hokage wanted to talk to her and her father, she was understandably nervous and wondering if there was something new she didn't know about.

Her confusion only increased when she saw that Shikamaru Nara and her crush (though she did admit internally that she was also somewhat of a fangirl), Naruto Uzumaki. The other shinobi she saw were not very well known, but she did meet and like Kurenai Yūhi, having met her earlier.

Shikamaru Nara was thinking that the drag never ends right now. He didn't need the drag that he was forced into attending. He was doing his best to conserve energy (read: sleep) when his father dragged him into this meeting with the Hokage. He really thought that the entire thing was a pain in the ass{1}.

That said, he noted that Hinata and Naruto were there. He knew that Naruto and Hinata were the students with the most potential, even if they didn't realize it themselves… Well, Naruto was being sabotaged, so maybe not completely his fault. He did note that Mikoto Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga were called as well. He was sure that Hiashi was called because of Hinata, but Mikoto was different. She could only be called for Itachi, but even then, he was already in ANBU.

Once they entered the Hokage's office, the lineup was uncanny. In order were-

Naruto Uzumaki; Hinata Hyūga and her father Hiashi; Shikamaru Nara and his father Shikaku; Kurenai Yūhi; Yūgao Uzuki; Anko Mitarashi; Hana Inuzuka; and Mikoto Uchiha, along with the ANBU members Itachi and Shisui. Hiruzen didn't think this group was much, but then there was Naruto in that group. THAT made this group deadly, especially with the Kyūbi's rampage. Shaking his head free of such thoughts, he addressed them.

"Well, you might all be wondering what I have called you for- rightfully so. Well, there is danger looming over Konoha, and I have found an ally who is willing to help. However, there is an issue- he has stated that those who will be accompanying him on a training trip WILL be learning many secrets that are classified as SS-Rank only. Of them only one person is non-negotiable. As such, I have called you all here to ask if you're willing to keep such secrets and speak of them to no one." The message was clear. Once you agree, you can't back out. The choice had to be made now.

Shikaku asked the pertinent and prudent question. "Who is this ally, and how can we trust him? Also, who are to go with him and who is the non-negotiable one?" While he didn't doubt the wisdom of the Hokage, he was wary since his son may be involved. Parental worry took precedence.

"You can all call me Ji-Ō." A garbled voice said. From the side, a man bedecked in pink and silver appeared. The newcomer was masked but the garbled voice made it hard to identify him. It was only possible to figure his gender out. "To answer your questions, Shikaku-san, you can't trust me and I get it. Consider, however, that your leader was the one who I had to convince and get the trust of. I wouldn't question it for now. Your latter question however, is easy. All three kids, Kurenai, Anko, Yūgao, Hana, Itachi, Shisui, and Mikoto are the ones who are to come with me. The non-negotiable one? That's easily our biggest war asset- which is to say it's Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze" The ones mentioned were mostly okay with going, however Mikoto was concerned. Mostly because Itachi was going to be part of it. They did balk at the name given to Naruto though- except for Naruto, who looked dispassionate.

"Now, Itachi will not be training, but he will be receiving an important mission from me. Unfortunately, for the sake of convincing the enemy in this war- and make no mistake, that is what we're fighting here- I have to ask that he become a nuke-nin after massacring most of the Uchiha who were planning on the coup. This is a war in the shadows,and none of us here can afford to wage an open war- THAT is going to take the entirety of the world to fight. I can only guarantee Sasuke's life, however, he will not be trained due to his own journey needing to be unassisted for the same reason as before." Clamour. That is all. That was the only reaction that could've been appropriate.

Hinata was willing to go, since she wanted to grow stronger and help Naruto anyway. Shikamaru was thinking about consequences, but the moment it was called a war in the shadows, he knew he was going to accept the offer. The adults were of the same mind, only they were raring to end the war before it even began. Who even welcomes war in the first place?!

Ji-Ō just called for silence, then he continued. "Look, if YOU wanna take on Madara Uchiha OR his apprentice- who incidentally caused the Kyūbi Attack- then you're completely welcome to do so. You'll die, of course, but that's what you wanted, yes?" That shut all thought of retaliation down- HARD. NO one wanted to fight Madara Uchiha- not until they were strong enough to do so.

"Now that you're all quiet, I can detail enough of my plan to all of you… One way I've managed to gain the Uchiha ANBUs' trust is because I'm capable of looking through, and thus allowing people to experience their memories through time- be it the past, present or the future. Itachi's future involved him actually doing what I said, but that was under the recently departed Danzō Shimura's threat on Sasuke's life. While I don't like it much, it MUST repeat in order to bring the optimal future to fruition. Besides, the additional teachers I have organized are not inclined to teach stuck-up people, thus eliminating him naturally." And he wasn't lying. Minato and Kushina especially insisted that Sasuke not be brought in, not that he had suggested that- Hashirama could be blind at times. In addition, Sasuke's actions weren't liked much by anyone, even though they had been judged necessary.

"Who are these additional teachers? And why would you bow to their whims? You yourself are powerful enough, as far as I can sense!" Hiashi, in his infinite arrogance, asked. Hiruzen was nodding along.

"You can tell me that when you decide that you can argue against the revived first 2 and the 4th Hokage… who will not be taking their position up again immediately, nor are they, or their wives willing to advise Konoha much, given what the village does to Naruto here…" Hiruzen was pale. He really didn't want to be receiving a lecture from his teachers or Minato! The Uzumaki women were going to be bad enough as it was!

"Now, have all of you made your decision? Note that you will be learning a new jutsu that is also a SS-Rank secret, and will be entered into the Forbidden Scroll once I intimate the Hokage here. This is an integral part of the plan- It's entering the Scroll because it requires blood and a rather large amount of chakra, though it's not so large that children can't use it. It would just result in really mild chakra exhaustion if you're low on chakra. In fact, even Shikamaru here can use it without repercussions. That said, its potential use cases render it dangerous to know, even if beneficial." The adults stiffened due to the chakra requirements, though they relaxed when it was stated that the costs weren't too large for kids, forget adults. The use cases part made them worried again, though the next words relieved it.

"To mitigate that, I'll only be teaching it to those who are joining the training. I'll also teach it to the Hokage on the kids' graduation day 4 years from now. I will also say that this technique is a clone technique that uses blood,is of my own invention, and that the concerned parties will use it to send decoys here immediately once I teach it to them. It's only after that that their training will begin." Hiruzen was wondering if he could learn it now, but exercised patience. Hiashi and Shikaku were the same, and were discussing the ramifications among the adults. The kids were excited; they got to get stronger- The Naruclone was different, but he acted the same.

Hiruzen interrupted the conversation "I know that some of you may not actually want to go, but judging by the scale of the talk I'm hearing, I'm ordering all the called out people to take the training. I would join, but I have no successor, and no replacement trustworthy enough."

And so, it was that all three kids, Kurenai, Anko, Yugao, Hana, along with her triplet dogs, Itachi, Shisui, and Mikoto were prepped to join Ji-Ō to go training. Ji-Ō promptly held his hand in the half-ram seal and muttered something, and a black-and-orange-and-blue vortex formed. He proceeded to toss everyone that was going inside. Literally.

Kunjou

It was a sunny grassfield that they were thrown out to. When they got up, they noticed that there was a large mattress below them, probably to make it a soft landing.

Ji-Ō came through carrying Naruto by the back of his neck. Naruto let out a snort seeing everyone. Once they were through, they proceeded to line up. No particular order. It was noted.

"Alright, listen up! I won't explain the mechanics of this jutsu, mostly because you won't get it unless you succeed. What you do is important though. First either bite or use a sharp and clean kunai to draw some blood from your arm- or anywhere really. Smear the blood on the opposing index and middle fingers using your thumbs-on the opposing hand respectively. Then form this seal" he shows the clone seal "and think of/call out the following jutsu name- Chishio Bunshin no Jutsu- and you're good to go."

What proceeded was a show of utter fun- everyone tried, to little avail. Itachi didn't do anything, except talk to Ji-Ō about the details of his mission, seeing as he wouldn't stay here. Shisui volunteered to join him, which was happily accepted. The rest progressively took 15-20 minutes to succeed. When that happened, however, Shikamaru decided that it was a good time to start panting, muttering about how things were a drag. He used half his reserves. As the one with the lowest reserves, he had to feel it… this told Ji-Ō a lot.

"OK, let's go, and don't tell ANYONE about the Chishio Bunshin!" Ji-O called, once the clones were ready. 10 seconds after they left, he came back and closed the portal.

"Alright, that went well. Now then, the rest of today, you'll all be resting. Are you clear?" Ji-O removed the mini-clock like thing from his belt's buckle. This triggered the detransformation, while Naruto who was there, stiffened.

Silence. And then another clamor. I mean, you would do so if you also saw an exact copy of Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze coming outta the armor of the one who intimidated the fucking LEADER OF YOUR VILLAGE, wouldn't you?

{1}- Mendokusei translates loosely to pain in the ass- I dunno how drag came up, when pain in the neck would've been better

Now, those who also read my Arifureta fic may be wondering what happens to my other works. I'm not abandoning the work I've done- unless I regret it. I certainly don't regret this, so I'll be doing this, Magical Discovery and Decades of Evolution justice.

Lemme tell you though, you can read all three standalone, or yu can read them as a series starting from Magical Discovery- they're a series starting with MD and endoing with DoE. Please read them...

Read and Review, I feed off of the flames and compliments (one fuels the drive, the other fuels my motivation)

Seiichi and his brand of Insanity are off to the Races!