Author's note: If you could tell by the last chapter, something big's a-comin.

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda don't own it.

Chapter Thirteen: Trials and Tribulations

"Hawkeyes, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Foxboy."

"Excellent. How about you, Pink Slug?"

"I really hate this codename."

"Pink Slug…"

"Fine! Copy that, whatever!"

"Great. Puppy Man?"

"You know, I came out of retirement for you guys. The least you could do is call me by my actual codename."

"Eheheh… sorry about that, K-9."

"Much better. I'm reading you just fine, Foxboy."

It was a year and a half since Orochimaru had overtaken Sasuke's body. Team Kakashi had all achieved the rank of ANBU except for the former member who'd been so proud of his students that he thought he might give it another shot after all. Besides, the reason he'd left initially was not that he disliked the job or wanted a quieter life. Instead, it had been his heartbreak due to the love of his life's sudden disappearance. After that, every mission he went on, every order he received just seemed to remind him of the pain of loss he'd gone through.

But recently, he and Rin had renewed their romantic relationship. The time they spent together replenished the feelings Kakashi had felt were buried for years. With that in his heart, he was able, emotionally, to return to his old post as an ANBU captain. Their current mission was to interrogate a rich member of a nearby village. He had hired Kirigakure black ops members to be his protection.

"Hey, do you hear that?" asked one.

"Yeah… what is it?"

"I dunno. It sounds like a lot of birds chirping… maybe a hundred?"

"Actually," said Kakashi, appearing behind them, "It's more like one thousand." He pierced their bodies, killing them instantly. "K-9 to group, the target's defenses are neutralized. Be careful, this guy has trained to resist torture."

"Understood. Hawkeyes, I'm leaving this to you," said Naruto.

"Copy that." Sasuke slowly entered the room where the rich man sat, alone and shaking. "Kanegawa-san. Nice to meet you." He had suddenly dropped from the ceiling, scaring the man intensely. "I need some information that you have."

"O-Oh sure," said Kanegawa, "Let me just… reach back here and get the documents for you… you punk!" Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a throwing knife and launched it at Sasuke.

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke caught the blade easily and discarded it. "Alright," he said, his tone growing more serious. "Now we have to do this the hard way." He reached for Kanegawa's shaking hand and grasped it firmly.

"Do what you can, I won't talk! I won't let you ruin me!" he cried, gnashing his teeth at Sasuke.

"I'll ask you again, and for every wrong answer you give me," he held up the man's hand, "I will break one of your fingers. Now, where are the documents?"

"I'll never tell you!" Already scared by Sasuke's pure killing intent, the man shivered even more from the contrast from the serene look on his face. "Wh… what are you doing with your eyes?"

Ignoring the question, Sasuke crunched the man's thumb, snapping it like a twig. Kanegawa shrieked in pain and trembled even more. "Where are the documents?" Sasuke asked, demeanor still calm.

"No… you won't get them!"

Crack, and another anguished cry.

"If you don't tell me this time, I will break your entire hand. Where are the documents?"

"I will never tell scum like you!"

Sasuke did as he promised, utterly shattering the man's hand. He released it as Kanegawa shrieked in pain and then activated his Chidori. "After this… I will cut off an arm."

"Okay, okay!" said Kanegawa. He scrambled to get the documents and handed them over to Sasuke. "Take them, please, just no more!'

Sasuke grinned and disengaged his Mangekyou Sharingan, leavingKanegawa heavily confused. There was an extreme pain in his right hand, but… he could move it about easily. "Luckily for you, you won't have to wear a cast," said Sasuke, and left the room. "Hawkeyes to group, mission accomplished."

"Copy that, Hawkeyes," said Naruto. "Let's head home." The team regrouped after that and began bounding toward their village. "That was a pretty quick interrogation, Sasuke. I take it you used Tsukiyomi?"

"Yeah," said Sasuke, "But I figured this guy wasn't strong enough that I'd have to use a lot of force. Woah." He stumbled a little on a branch.

"You okay?"

"Yeah… Mangekyou takes a bit outta me. Anyway, he broke pretty easily after I destroyed his hand."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you got placed into the information-extracting section of ANBU, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura. "As for me, I hope that Tsunade-sama will eventually hand me the Chief of Medicine position at the hospital."

"Oh, come on, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, "You're Tsunade-baachan's star pupil. There's no one else more qualified. But you guys know what I wanna become?"

A unison "Yes!" came from the other three. "Naruto, you've only told us every day for the last five years," said Kakashi. "I don't think there's any doubt in anyone's mind whether you want to become Hokage or not."

"Hmph!" Naruto said indignantly. "I just thought, since we were talking about ambitions and all, you know, you guys might want to hear it again."

"Well clearly, we don't, idiot," said Sasuke. "But in all seriousness, I think I might want to try and take charge of the military police."

Everyone went silent. The police force had largely consisted of the Uchiha clan members until Itachi had murdered them all, so it was understandable to the group that Sasuke wanted to restore some of his clan's legacy.

"Hey, Naruto…" said Sakura, a worried tone in her voice. "Your breathing is kind of irregular and you're sweating… is something wrong?"

Naruto put on his cheeky grin and responded, "Come on, Sakura-chan! Who are you talking to, this is me, remember? I don't get tired or sick or-" He was cut short by suddenly smashing into a tree, causing everyone to halt.

"Naruto," said Kakashi, "It's true that a ninja must look underneath the underneath, but you must also watch out for the really obvious things, like big trees."

"Well done, dumbass," said Sasuke, helping his best friend up.

Sakura was the only one not enjoying the moment. Fortunately for her, as a medic, she had the ability to instantly see signs of any physical ailments. "I'll have to talk to Tsunade-sama when we get back..." "Naruto, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, totally! See? Doesn't even hurt anymore. Let's head home."

They reached the village gate, greeted by Izumo and Kotetsu. "Alright," said Kakashi, stepping ahead of the group. "I'm supposed to meet Rin later, and she hates it when I'm really late…"

"So you're only going to be two hours late?" said Naruto, chuckling at his sensei.

"Hilarious, really," Kakashi responded dryly. "Well, I'd better get going." With that, he was off to see his beloved.

"Hmm…" uttered Naruto, "I'll go see Granny Tsunade and report about the mission. See you guys later." Without even waiting for a farewell, Naruto leapt towards the Hokage building.

"Wait!" said Sakura, despite knowing it was too late.

"Sakura… what's the matter?" asked Sasuke.

"I'm worried about him, Sasuke-kun. Naruto never gets tired or sick or anything because of the Kyuubi… so for him to be feeling like this, something must be up."

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"So the mission was an absolute success?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Excellent. You'll receive your payment shortly. You're dismissed."

"Actually, I wanted to request a solo mission."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Another one? Before this mission, you'd done twelve in the past week and nine in the week before, not including team missions."

"I know," he said, panting slightly. "Another one, please. Come on."

"Naruto… look at you. You're a mess. You obviously haven't slept in a long, long time, and you're exhausted."

"So what? I'll be fine. Just gimme another mission."

Tsunade leaned forward, an exasperated look on her face. "Okay, let me rephrase that. You are exhausted. Naruto, the Kyuubi gives you incredible stamina, so much so that you can create a thousand kagebunshin without even breaking a sweat. So now look at yourself and tell me honestly there isn't anything wrong with you."

Naruto was silent for a moment. "I'll be fine, eventually," he uttered quietly. "I just need to do more missions."

"Why?" asked Tsunade, "Why are you so bent on doing these missions? I know you like to be active, but this is ridiculous, even for you!"

"Well, I need a lot of money."

"Again, why?"

Naruto paused. "If I tell you… will you promise not to laugh?"

Tsunade smiled. "Of course."

After a deep breath, Naruto muttered softly, "I want to ask Hinata-chan to marry me." There was a painful silence after he said these words as a blush crept across his already flushed face. "Great… here it comes, the laughing, the telling me I'm immature, the insults…" he braced himself for the verbal onslaught.

Instead, however, Tsunade merely asked, "Do you love her, Naruto?"

Puzzled yet relieved, Naruto replied, "More than anything in this world. I'd give my life for her over and over."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely… I've seen her mad, sad, happy… I practically know her better than I know myself."

"And you know she loves you?"

"When she looks at me with those beautiful but pale Hyuuga eyes, I can feel her love like a warm breeze, I can feel a gigantic love that I should have picked up on earlier."

Nodding, Tsunade said, "Well, that was a beautiful way of putting things. Alright, I'll strike you a deal. Since you've been so very helpful in keeping the village safe, I will give you all the missions you want with an increased bonus on three conditions. First, you must take a two full rest days every week."

"Got it. And the other two?"

"Try and get Hiashi's permission, otherwise you'll have both branches after your head. And please, try not to use force, unless… you have to," she said, a sly grin on her face. After Naruto nodded, she continued, "And when you do marry dear Hinata, have a beautiful married life."

Grinning, Naruto answered, "That goes without saying."

"Good," said Tsunade. "Then we have a deal."

A bright smile on his face, Naruto leapt out of the Hokage building, calling, "Thank you so much, Tsunade-baachan! Whoo-hoo!"

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh at his joyful antics. "Is this how our lives would have been?" she thought, sighing. "Is this how we would have been together… Dan?" She smiled nostalgically once before returning to the never-ending paperwork.

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"What a good day," Naruto thought, walking so happily down the streets of Konoha one could almost see a skip in his step. "Soon, I'll have enough money to properly ask Hinata to marry me…" Sure, he was nervous, as all men are when they propose, but truthfully, he was so overjoyed to be able to express his love to her that he noticed too late that he was about to smack into someone. "Oh, sorry, mister!" he said, carefully lending a hand to the man on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, don't worry about it," he said, grasping Naruto's hand, "Naruto-kun."

Puzzled, Naruto asked, "Why did… How do you know my name?"

The old man smiled. "Well, Naruto-kun, you're a very famous person. Ever since your defeat of Orochimaru of the Sannin, you've become quite a celebrity."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and asked, "Eheheh, really? Well… thanks for acknowledging me, mister. It was nice meeting you."

"You too," said the man, and walked in the opposite direction of Naruto.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot to ask his name," Naruto thought, and turned back to face the man. "Hey, mister, what's your- eh?" Looking around, the man was nowhere to be found. "Huh… where'd he go? Oh well." With that thought, he began walking towards Ichiraku Ramen.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of an alleyway, the man chuckled to himself. "Soon enough, Naruto-kun," he said, revealing his strangely pink eyes. "Soon, you will be mine, along with the world."

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The weeks passed. Naruto grabbed every mission he could while maintaining he and Tsunade's deal. The Fox/Slug/Hawk/Dog cell progressed rapidly, doing more and more difficult missions. Eventually, Sasuke was promoted to captain in ANBU. The next day, Sakura was named senior attending physician at the hospital, the youngest ever to do so since Tsunade herself. The weeks turned to months and eventually, Naruto tried to do something he'd known he'd have to do all along.

"Announce yourself," said the branch family Hyuuga.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto here to see Hyuuga Hiashi-san," he said, trying to be as polite as possible. "I believe I called ahead of time."

With one glance at the clipboard he held and a quick look through Naruto's pockets to see if he had any weapons, the Hyuuga said, "Very well. Come in."

It was at this time Naruto realized just how gigantic the Hyuuga mansion was. Sure, he'd lived in his own large estate for quite some time, but even so, this was the home of the most prominent clan in Konoha. "Announcing Uzumaki Naruto to see Hiashi-sama," said the guard who'd escorted Naruto throughout the building.

"You could at least say Naruto-san, you stuck-up bastard," thought Naruto, entering the room. There, sitting in a large chair, almost a throne, with Neji at his right side was Hyuuga Hiashi, the main branch's head and one of the most powerful people in all of Konoha. Neji was clad in all ANBU armor save the mask and looked as stone-faced as ever.

"Naruto-san," said Hiashi, an air of high-class arrogance about him. "Please, sit down." After Naruto did as he instructed, Hiashi continued, "I believe you already know Neji."

"Hello, Naruto," said Neji.

"Let's get down to the reason you're here." Activating his Byakugan, he said, "I can tell by your heart and brainwave emissions that you're here to ask me something very personal." Naruto could tell he was just trying to intimidate him. "So go ahead and ask."

"Okay," said Naruto. "I'm here…" he gulped, "To ask your permission to marry Hyuuga Hinata."

Hiashi was silent for a moment then physically burst out laughing. After this subsided, he replied, "Please, a low-class rat like you marrying the heir to this great clan's main branch? You must be kidding."

"I'm not," said Naruto, his teeth grinding.

"It's ridiculous to think that the Kyuubi brat could ever come close to my daughter. That you've managed to have this relationship with her is amazing. It was fun for a while, I imagine, but now that's over. Gono, Nezu, please help Naruto-san find the exit."

Naruto stood up. "I don't think so," he said. "You don't seem to get it. I'm not leaving here until you give me your permission."

Raising an eyebrow, Hiashi said, "Alright. Gono, Nezu, please force our guest off of the premises."

The guards were on him in a second, but Naruto was ready. Summoning a bunshin, he and his clone drove a Rasengan into the chest of each guard. More guards took their place, but Naruto fought expertly, dodging each Juuken as it came and returning with breaking blows. After all the guards in the room were finished, Hiashi started a slow, fake clap. "Well done, Naruto-san. I never would've thought you could match the strength of some Hyuuga. Neji, take him down."

Both men's eyes widened. "Neji… you don't have to do this," said Nauto at almost a whisper, "I don't want to fight you again."

Neji assumed his eight trigrams stance. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Divination: Hakke Rokujuuyon shou (Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms)." Neji lunged at Naruto, planting each of the palms at each of the proper locations. Naruto was unable to avoid a single one. The dust settled, and Neji looked down at his reluctant foe. Or at least, he would have, had he not been standing with a smile on his face. "You're…" Neji began, almost too startled to make coherent thoughts. "You're unharmed?"

Naruto's grin widened. "That's right, Neji. Don't bother asking how, 'cause I'm going to tell you anyway. Y'see, a while back, I thought of our battle in the Chuunin exams and how you utterly wailed on me with the Juuken. So I developed a strategy based on this theory. The Juuken works by powering chakra like a fist into the body of the opponent through the flesh. So, if a fist to attack can be made, why not one to block?" He didn't take time to let this sink in, instead forming a Rasengan in his palm. "Sorry to have to do this to you, Neji."

"Well…" thought Neji, bracing himself for the attack. "Isn't that just like Naruto…" The Rasengan plowed into him, throwing him backwards into the far wall.

Hiashi no longer had a smug or arrogant look about him. He seemed genuinely irritated, as though something he'd dismissed as a nuisance had been left unchecked and had grown into a severe problem. "So you can even defeat Neji, Kyuubi-boy. Very well." He rose from his grandiose chair and assumed he Juuken stance. "Now it's time for me to show you why the Hyuuga clan is the strongest in Konoha!" He thrust one gentle palm out at Naruto, but all he hit was thin air. Naruto was already behind him.

"Now, I know you Hyuuga have 360 degree vision," said Naruto, watching with a smile as Hiashi turned to face him. "But really, it's more like 359, isn't it? I know you have one blindspot… it's on your neck area; Sakura-chan told me it was called something special. Oh yeah! It's the area right above the thoracic vertebrae." Another movement, too quick for Hiashi to see, and Naruto was behind him again, wielding a kage bunshin turned into a staff. "So… it'd probably hurt if I did this," he said, jabbing at the blindspot with enough force to throw Hiashi onto his face.

Hiashi got up, amazed at his opponent's thorough analysis of their secret blindspot. "You brat…" he muttered as Naruto stepped closer. "You're good, but not nearly enough to fight me! I was caught off guard because I underestimated you, but enough is enough!" Just as Naruto approached attacking distance, Hiashi roared, "Kaiten (Rotation!)" throwing Naruto away with heavy force.

Naruto got up easily. He'd been prepared for the attack and rose to meet it again. "I want you to try that again," he said, very calmly, "and I swear to you, it will never work after this!" He leapt at Hiashi, palm raised.

Hiashi smirked. "Don't be so arrogant, boy. Kaiten!"

"Rasengan!"

This time, it was Hiashi who was thrown backwards, spinning into a wall near Neji. Getting up in a rage, he asked, "How did you do that? How could you possible counter the Kaiten of me, the Hyuuga leader?"

Still grinning, having never stopped this entire battle, Naruto replied. "I thought you might ask. Kaiten is a rotation of chakra, creating a forcefield. Rasengan is many random spirals inside a small dome. So again, thinking back on my battle with Neji, I thought one of the spirals must be in the opposite direction of the rotation. Since it's so chaotic and contained, the spiral is stronger than what it meets. The rest would drive through to the opponent; Namely, you. And so you know," he said, turning away from Hiashi, "You're not the strongest. I've fought two Uchiha clan members and they were much stronger than you."

"Why you-" he began, but was cut off by Neji, who stood in front of him.

"Hiashi-sama, it is extremely inadvisable that you continue this match."

"Neji! You're siding with him? How dare you!"

"No, sir. I am supposed to act as your bodyguard, and right now, that's what I'm doing. Look at this, you're exhausted and bruised from this battle…" Hiashi's eyes widened as he realized Neji's point. "But I don't think Naruto has even broken a sweat."

"Dear God…" whispered Hiashi.

"And surely a man of his strength is worthy of caring for Hinata-sama, don't you think?"

"So?" asked Naruto, his face completely serious now. "Are you going to give me permission, or do we have to continue this? I really don't want to hurt you further."

"I can't believe it," Hiashi thought, shaking his head, "I have been defeated as a man and a warrior by this boy." "Alright. I hereby grant you permission to marry my daughter, Hyuuga Hinata. Please take care of her, kyuu- er, Naruto-kun."

Giving one last smile, Naruto said, "Thank you, Hiashi-sama. I promise I will."

"Naruto…" thought Neji, "You defeated Hiashi-sama. How strong are you getting, exactly? Maybe your dream isn't so far off."

Naruto began walking out of the estate, but turned back to say, "Oh, by the way. I'm the Fourth Hokage's son." With that, he dropped a few choice documents as evidence of his claim and left, leaving an admiring Neji and dumbfounded Hiashi in his wake.

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I liked writing this chapter. It's not that often that we get to see Naruto utterly devastate an opponent. Well, you know the drill, people. Review, review, and review some more!