I am so, so sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I had a lot of stuff that has happened, and Crysis 3, Dead Space 3 and some other things all conspired to delay the typing and release of this chapter, But a good news is that I have now found a beta, and currently he's betaing the earlier chapters, and hopefully some of you could finally read this without having to face the prospect of having eyecancer at the crappiness of my grammar. Thanks to Alexnder for betaing this chapter for me! Now, without further ado, here's the next chapter for A Loving Heart, A Body of Steel!

CHAPTER 10: THE SNAKE, DUEL AND MISSION! Uploaded 20/03/2013

-CHAPTER START-

The venerable Sandaime was in his office doing his own paperwork for once after he finally discovered the secrets of Shadow Clone for paperwork, thinking that he'll need to do his own paperwork sometimes. As the sound of his pen scratching the surface of the paper filled the room, his mind wandered towards the situation of his beloved village. Even though just two days have passed since Naruto's major reveal to the people of Konoha, the sheer level of their uproar is massive. The people are even more afraid of the entire family now. Even though some of them met Kurumi herself and talked nicely, even had some drinks from her, the majority of the village couldn't get past their blind hate. The people who took the time to talk to Kurumi are the main supporters of family, and were doing their best to calm down the suspicions and accusations of the people. Even when she was attacked in her own home, she didn't kill them, she just knocked them out. She even forgave them, since such a slight against a clan head carries some extremely heavy punishments.

"You got your work cut out for you here, Naruto. And your family too." Sarutobi said, sighing.

It's not enough that the people themselves are trying to go up against them, there was also the matter of spies from other villages or countries. The major shock caused by the revelation uprooted a lot of the spies when they hurriedly tried to report the breaking news to their masters.

"No matter how he went against Konoha's teachings, Danzo's men are very good. They helped a lot during the information control among others." Sarutobi ex-ROOT members are extremely efficient, but also very deadly. They uncovered more spies the day of unveiling as members of ANBU then ANBU had the whole year before.

"Guess we'll need a better screening method to catch spies. There were almost a hundred of them!" Even with the impressive counter-intelligence, Sarutobi knew that there were at least a few messages that managed to get passed the ANBU screens. "Onoki's going to shit bricks when he heard this news."

Jiraiya, who was stuck in Konoha during this to handle the counterintelligence effort, was right beside the Sandaime, watching as he finished denying the last request made by the villagers before placing the paper into his 'Done' pile, and taking out his age-old pipe. As he was lighting the scented tobacco with a minor Katon jutsu, Jiraiya spoke. "Hey, sensei. Are we really going to let some of the minor leaks go? I mean, I can intercept them if you like. My toads are already tracking the flow of information, and let's just say that each of the major villages will know about Naruto and his family by the end of the week at best, by the end of the day at worst."

Sarutobi sighed. Times like these made him felt the weight that is the title of Hokage on him. "Hiding it seems like a good idea, but revealing it will cause everyone to think twice before trying anything against us, in that we do not have a jinchuuriki, but instead 3 bijuus. This will cause the rest of the Elemental Nations to fear us even more, and the fact that we can basically breed bijuus. On the other hand, hiding them would mean that we'll have a secret weapon in our midst." He loathed calling them that, but ultimately it is the undeniable truth. In a wartime situation, even one of Naruto's children's presence, both already here and the ones that will be coming will help turn the tide of war immensely. The capability to fight in almost any situation unimpeded for as long as needed to eliminate the enemy, with bijuu powers added on top of that, makes them an extremely formidable enemy on the battlefield. He knew this, having first-hand experience on fighting them.

He then made a decision. "Jiraiya, intercept all of them. We can't have them be discovered. No matter how much I hate to call them that, exposing our secret weapons too early can be ineffective."

At this, Jiraiya just nodded, before leaving to give the orders to his spy toads to eliminate the messages. But before he could leave, Sarutobi stopped him for a bit. "Jiraiya, do you plan on having him sign the toad Contract? It's pretty much his birthright after all."

Jiraiya nodded. "I am, but he's too busy with his missions. Maybe when he's back. I'll also have Kushina and Kurumi sign it as well. Never knew when it'll be helpful in the future."

Sarutobi nodded as Jiraiya left, before a peculiar thought struck his mind while he's smoking his pipe, finally having completed all his paperwork. "Gamabunta's going to throw fits when his new summoner is the Kyuubi herself, whom he once fought. And lost too." Sarutobi had a small laugh escaping his lips at the thought of Gamabunta's reaction.

-BREAK-

Unknown to anyone, the information managed to leak out to a certain someone. Thanks to the effort of his best spy, and probably the best spy in the entire Elemental Nations, excluding Naruto's special bug clones, somewhere in a new village called Otogakure, a figure wearing a white robe with a purple rope tying it received the news about Naruto.

The figure read the piece of news that he received with interest. A bloodline with bijuu powers, near infinite chakra, extreme resilience coupled with rapid regeneration , poison and disease immunity, and the best part of all: immortality? This interests Orochimaru, someone whose main objective in life is to learn all jutsus in the world. And for that, he needs two things: one, an eye that can copy ninjutsu perfectly, and two, an immortal body. Unfortunately for him, since he created his Body Transfer jutsu, he can only be in one body at a time, forcing him to choose one of the two. After considering the bloodlines that both his potential hosts have, he finally made his choice.

Summoning a small black coloured snake, he gave the snake a scroll, before saying. "Give that to my agent in Konoha. Also, tell him to retrieve the blood samples of either of the two, and get the samples back to me." The snake hissed before slithering away, ready to look for one it was assigned to find. Thinking back, Orochimaru's plans were disrupted upon Danzo's death. The dead "cripple" was certainly one of his best customers, never failing in delivering him the requested samples and test subjects. He even did a transplant of Hashirama's cells on him once. Sadly, he died fighting the Sandaime. 'That old coot' He thought. His ex teacher was another pain. Even in his old age, Sarutobi alone was still powerful enough to go up against other Kages, and although at a severely diminished level compared to the times when he was younger, still can kick serious ass and take names. Even with all his experiments and failed test subjects that he can brought to bear against Konoha, he knew that Konoha wasn't called the strongest Hidden Village for nothing. He needs to have a better plan for the upcoming invasion.

The presence of these hanyous really destroyed his original plan. With their capabilities, an attack by an army, no matter how large, can be stopped with a single bijuudama. And they have three! And the Kyuubi herself was with them! His invasion plan was crushed before they even took off the ground. Nevertheless, he'll hatch another plan to destroy Konoha and kill his teacher. He's not called one of Konoha's most brilliant minds before his betrayal for nothing. Involving his previous 'acquaintances' would probably be more trouble than it's worth, but it is no secret that Akatsuki's the only one capable of having many S-ranked missing nin at least within their lineup, each team more than capable of taking an entire army alone. But they'll probably target him first. The ring was what they are after, anyway.

He then continued to ponder about his potential hosts, planning on how to take them in during the invasion right after giving them his mark. They will follow him, to their deaths and beyond if so need be, and all by their own accord. Chuckling, his small laugh echoed within the dark tunnels of Oto, giving chills to even his followers who listened to the chuckle.

-BREAK-

Meanwhile, at Kurumi's house, she was just about to continue her training in her black shirt and tracks when she was alerted about an unexpected visitor by their sensor array seals, making her pout cutely, though no one was there to watch. "And here I was, just about to train myself, when another visitor came by for some reason! You better have a very good reason, or I'll make YOU my sparring partner! And you won't like being my sparring partner."

Still mumbling lowly, she then realised something from the seals. The person that came here, his or her chakra signature wasn't one that was registered within them, which means he or she was not a person that came here before, not once. She then slowly walked towards the gate, preparing herself in case she was ambushed or attacked. She then went towards the seal based peephole, and was mildly shocked at the person that she saw in front of her gate. She immediately buried her shock under a happy facade before going to the gate to open it, completely revealing the emotionless figure of Uchiha Itachi, the current clan head of the Uchihas and the ANBU Commander of Konoha.

Opening her gate a little and deactivating several of the security systems to let Itachi pass through, she said. "Yes, Itachi-san? How can I help you?"

As Itachi walked past the gate, the gate automatically closes and the seals reactivated, ready to repel any attackers who dared to attack their home. As Itachi walked towards Kurumi, he then bowed a little before saying. "Greetings Kurumi-san. How are you today?"

Kurumi just sighed at this extremely lame attempt to start a conversation from the Uchiha. She then said. "I'm just peachy. Look, I already know that you're here to ask about something, I can feel it from you. One of my specialities was detecting intent anyway, and curiosity was pouring out of you, no matter how hard you tried to conceal it."

Itachi kept his face impassive, but inwardly, he was shocked. Such an amazing skill! She could tell if someone was lying or whatever they're feeling just from how they feel! But before he could continue either his thoughts or ask his question, Kurumi said. "And now you're shocked. But you got one hell of a poker face, you know that? If I'm a regular human, I'd say that you're thinking nothing. But you're going up against the wrong person here. Anyway, let's go to my house, and then we can talk about your question. How's that?"

Saying nothing, Itachi just nodded, his face still impassive, causing Kurumi to say. "You know, I bet you'll get more girls at you if you show your expression a bit more. A smile might probably be very effective at attracting them to you. And besides, I can read your emotions. No methods are safe from me."

Slowly, Itachi's head turned towards Kurumi, making Kurumi felt like she's looking at an owl in a human body. Speaking as slowly as he had turned his head turn, he said. "This is how I am trained to act by my father. By the time he died, it is too late already for me to change." He then looked forward again, making Kurumi sigh at his actions.

A while later they reached the main house, where Itachi was ushered by Kurumi towards the sofa at the middle of the living room. He sat down with Kurumi telling him to wait a bit while she gets some refreshments. Kurumi went to the kitchen to get some drinks for both of them. While she was doing that, Itachi looked around as he had never entered the Yondaime's house before. Sadly for him, there isn't much to show, making them feel like a frugal family despite their riches. Kurumi then came back, carrying a tray with some orange juice and two glasses for them. Looking at Itachi, she said, "Naruto, much like his father before him, isn't one to spend money unnecessarily. Even now, most of his earnings go to charities across the Elemental Nations. He didn't want others to suffer as he did, not if he can help them."

At this, Itachi was touched. For being such a pariah, he really liked to help the same people who shunned him. Definitely someone with a strong and kind heart. He snapped out of his stupor when Kurumi placed the tray on the coffee table in front of them and sitting down directly opposite Itachi. She then stared straight into Itachi's eyes for a couple of seconds while pouring the juice into their respective glasses without looking before breaking eye contact. She then shifted slightly before saying. "Alright. I understand the reason why you came, and I'll answer your questions. But promise me, on your immortal soul that you'll never reveal this secret to anyone, even if the fate of Konoha rests on it. Especially since it probably will."

Itachi was utterly shocked at this, so much so that even his unbreakable facial expression showed it, though for others it might look like just a rise of an eyebrow. Kurumi said, "Okay, you know that I can detect what you're feeling, but really, that isn't too much of a facial expression you got there. I have totally no idea what your face will look like once you're married and you're going on a honeymoon with your new wife, and she shows her hot, naked body to you."

Itachi had a very, very tiny blush on his face at this point, so tiny that some might consider that it's due to the air around him instead of him feeling ashamed at the directness of Kurumi's words. Immediately, he quashed those thoughts underneath years upon years of training, before going to the heart of the reason why he came here. "Kurumi-san, I hope that you can go straight towards answering my question instead of just playing around and mocking my stony face." Watching Kurumi holding her laughter at that sentence, Itachi continued. "Yes, a lot of the members of both my clan and the ANBU have been mocking my face, though I don't think that they're doing it with nothing but a bit of fun in their jobs. Now about my question." Kurumi, who was laughing her ass out by this point, immediately stopped laughing and sat straight again, her body posture rigid, her tone of voice serious.

"You came to ask about how Madara came to me and controlled me, right?" Itachi nodded. It is actually a very interesting topic among the Uchihas after the grand reveal, that a Sharingan can control a bijuu and is more than capable of having the bijuu attack anyone or anywhere they wanted. Also, some of the people didn't believe that Madara caused the Kyuubi to attack Konoha both times, and that made the support that the Uchiha clan had from the civilian remain as they are. However, there were reports about this capability of the Sharingan within age old scrolls, and that intrigued the entire Uchiha clan. Kurumi then continued. "But before I tell you this story, you must swear that you will not reveal this information to anyone No matter where you are and the no matter what the circumstances are. If you fail to agree to this, I must ask that you leave now and never bring up this subject again"

Now this is something that Itachi would have to think about. Would the knowledge of the Sharingan's latent abilities to control a bijuu be worth the possible sacrifice of safety of his own beloved village? The village that, in his endless love towards it, he sacrificed nearly everyone in his clan just to keep up the peace? After a while, he knew that this knowledge, if properly hidden, could be used by him and only him, though he'll never be able to expose it to anyone. After some minutes of internal debate, Itachi then said, "Kurumi-san, I accept this deal."

Kurumi nodded, saying "Good. Here, then." She then produces a scroll that she unravels, revealing just the terms that he was offered, with two empty spaces beneath it for some reason. Kurumi then said, "We'll place our bloods here on the spaces. This is so that you will not break the promise that you just made. An attempt to break the deal will immediately teleport you here and your chakra be bound and your movements sealed, and we are to punish you in any form we wished. This scroll will then be the proof that you attempted an oath breaking and that you agreed to be punished. Is that okay?"

Itachi's eyes visibly widen at this. He was to sign this crazy oath, and he'll be forced to keep it in any method possible! It is truly an extremely one sided deal. However, he realised that such a power required an extreme sacrifice, and it is fairly simple too. Just don't tell it to anyone in any way, and the punishment will be extremely severe if he breaks it. Mentally noting his own capability to keep powerful secrets, Itachi just gave a small affirmative nod before signing it with his blood, and Kurumi who did the same, before closing the scroll with a snap. She then sat back down on the sofa before she started to speak.

"Well, as you already know, Madara controlled me and used me to attack Konoha twice. However, the way that he did that was something else. He used a Mangekyo Sharingan, though still in its regular form. Just having the Mangekyo can double the potency of the regular Sharingan. With it, he planted a genjutsu on me, making me lose control of myself and following his orders completely. Though unknown to him, I am still well within his genjutsu, and that it takes me being sealed for it to break."

Itachi then questioned. "But being a chakra based being at that time, how can such a relatively small amount of foreign chakra be enough to control you?"

Kurumi crossed her arms before nodding. "A good question. You see, Madara and Hashirama are both extremely powerful shinobis. In fact, if I were to estimate, both of them had chakra equal to the Yonbi and Sanbi respectively, though during that battle, Hashirama won since most of the Mangekyo Sharingan's higher tier skills are extremely chakra intensive when compared to Hashirama's Mokuton. Also, both of them actually had the capability to subdue a bijuu, though the method varies. The Sharingan uses powerful genjutsus while the Mokuton uses chakra absorption and some strange calming effect it has to do the same. His genjutsu uses chakra like what a bijuu had."

Itachi nodded, though one thing still bugged his mind. "I understand. A powerful genjutsu using that much chakra will almost be impossible to break, considering that you'll have more of the enemy's chakra than yours, completely taking over movement and control." Being a prodigy in the arts of genjutsu with the only one equal to him being Yuhi Kurenai, he understood that such a genjutsu must be extremely powerful and potent. But still... "But you still didn't explain why the Sharingan and consequently, the Mokuton, can subdue or control a bijuu."

Kurumi nodded. "A perceptive one aren't you? Well, to answer that question, you need to answer one of mine. How much do you know about the Sage of Six Paths?"

At this change in topic, Itachi was extremely intrigued, and decided to answer her to his absolute knowledge. "He was called the God of Shinobi, and is the father of chakra usage and ninjutsu, and is also said to be the most powerful man that had ever lived on earth. But as far as everyone knew, he's but myths and legends."

Kurumi nodded again, impressed at the length of knowledge that Itachi had on her father. However, one part of the knowledge was wrong. And it is her task that it was corrected, though he'll never be able to spread it to others. Better to keep father's existence just a legend, she thought. "You are right except for one part. He is no myth, Itachi, just like how Madara controlled me is not."

Itachi was shocked! The Sage of Six Paths was real?! Such a man, with such a godlike power existed once?! But scepticism crept into his mind. "Then prove it. Prove that he was real."

Kurumi then grinned, a grin that made Itachi nervous upon seeing it, having had reports by his ANBU about the evilness of said grin. She then said, "I'm glad you asked. Now, I'll tell you a story. Be prepared, for this will be a long story."

And so, Kurumi told Itachi about father, about his fight against the Juubi, the powers that he wielded, the sheer power of his doujutsu and his potent chakra, the splitting of the Juubi into the nine bijuus, the spread of the bijuus, how they're captured, among others. By the end of her tale, Itachi's head was spinning from the sheer influx of knowledge that he received, but still, his scepticism held firm. "But Kurumi-san, you still haven't shown me visible proof about his existence. Prove it, and I'll buy your story."

Kurumi sighed again. The Uchiha can be absolutely stubborn when they wanted to be. "Alright. Then I'll need to draw a seal on you. Do you mind?"

Itachi nodded, giving his accord, trusting the ex-bijuu to not harm him. While Kurumi was painting a seal on his forehead, he asked. "Kurumi-san, what is the seal you're painting on me is for?"

Kurumi answered without pausing. "It's a seal to enable us to connect our minds together, letting you have my memories. It is somewhat like the Yamanaka's mental jutsu, but this requires the cooperation of the target as well, not just the creator's. Though the target's will can be overridden by this seal with enough chakra, it will also destroy the target's consciousness, giving a 70% chance of unrecoverable memory destruction."

Itachi nodded, knowing for a fact that the mind was a dangerous thing to toy with. After a while, Kurumi wrote the last line of the seal before saying "Complete!" and ran through several handsigns before placing her palms, one behind the other on the seal on his forehead. She then said, "Fuuinjutsu: Mental Linker!" before Itachi's sight turned dark.

Upon waking up, he realised that he's in a strange place, where the entire space was composed of a kaleidoscopic array of frequently shifting colours; the changing of colours causing him to become partly dizzy, causing him to enter a defensive stance to counter any attacks coming his way, all his senses pushed to the max to fend off any attacks but his concentration was broken by the voice of Kurumi laughing. Turning around, he saw that Kurumi was laughing hard, so hard that tears came from her eyes. A while later, she cleared up, wiping the tears from her eyes before saying. "You know, if I were to attack you, I would've done so earlier. Anyway, this is one of my fuuinjutsu, the Mental Linker. Metaphorically speaking, it 'touches' the edges of our mind together, allowing me to show you my memories and vice versa. As you already know, I am hundreds of years old, and I never forget anything. So, I don't want to lengthen this anymore. Here, the early memories of my creation. This will prove to you that he is real."

And just like that, Itachi was suddenly bombarded with images from Kurumi's memories; her early times, the bijuus, the Sage's teachings, the travels they had, and finally, his death. The sheer amount of info was staggering! No wonder people thought him as a god! He defeated a near godlike being that tried to destroy everything! After assimilating all that, Itachi finally believed that the Sage was real, and not a legend. But... "It still didn't show why the Sharingan and the Mokuton is capable of subduing a bijuu."

Kurumi nodded. "True. To answer that, answer another question of mine. Do you know of the origins of the Uchiha and the Senju clan?"

Itachi's eyebrows rose at this question. His clan's history was not well known, except for the fact that both of them are rivals since time immemorial. He then voiced this to Kurumi, who once again nodded.

"You are absolutely right. However, this is a fact that was unknown to many. Both the Uchiha and the Senju are descendants of the Sage, the Uchihas from the elder son and the Senjus from the younger. Both of them wanted peace, though their methods differ. The first son believed that power was the key to peace, while the other believed that love was the key to peace. The first inherited father's eyes, and the second inherited father's chakra. The eyes mutated, if it can be said as such, into the Sharingan and the second became the Mokuton. Even if they lost their power through the years, there was no way that we bijuus can win against the power our father used to subdue the source of the bijuus."

Itachi nodded, agreeing with the assessment. "But how did the Uchihas gain their Sharingan if so?"

Kurumi just shrugged. "I have no idea. It might be said that it was actually a mutated version of the Rinnegan, somehow? I have no idea. Nevertheless, it is still a very powerful dojutsu, and not something to be left alone."

Itachi thought for a bit, before questioning her again. "How did you gain a human body then?"

Kurumi replied. "Good question. But I'm afraid I cannot answer that. It's a secret after all. Hehe."

After that, they both left the seal's dimension, and ended up just a couple seconds after she placed her hands on the seal on his head since time moves faster mentally than reality. She then proceeds to wipe the seals off, their usage finished. She then sat again in front of Itachi and poured the juice into both their cups, before taking hers and sipping it.

Itachi's head was spinning at this point. They're the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths himself?! No wonder both the Uchihas and the Senjus are one of the most powerful clans on the surface of the Elemental Nations! Itachi's thirst for knowledge was quenched by this point and was about to leave, but suddenly, Kurumi said. "Itachi-san, I know that you are unable to tell the story to anyone, but you coming here have given me a great opportunity to judge the strength of the so-called prodigy of the Uchihas, said to be the best since Madara. How about a sparring bout with me? I'm sure your subordinates in ANBU can handle themselves if you're gone for a while, and your clan still has your mother to handle everything. Not that we'll take long, though. Maybe until the evening? Besides, you coming here had disturbed my training, and training with someone else is much more fun than training alone. How about it?"

Itachi thought about it for a while. What she said was true. His ANBUs are competent enough, and he could delay his paperwork for a while. Besides, he also wanted to know the strength of the Uzumaki clan head, said to be at Kage level, though no one could actually tell. Assured of his decision, Itachi nodded, and said. "I agree. A friendly spar, right?"

Kurumi, with her back turned towards Itachi was having an evil grin on her face as she thought 'Finally! Someone else to spar with! Hehehe... Hope I don't terrify him too hard after this.' Turning back towards Itachi with a smile on her face, she said. "Good! Follow me. Let's go to the training ground." Itachi just nodded and stood from his chair, completely oblivious on what he's about to go through...

-BREAK-

That evening, a 14 year old Uchiha Sasuke was sitting at his family's dining table, waiting for his mother to finish cooking dinner. Wearing a t-shirt with the Uchiha symbol at the back and a pair of shorts, his life had been much calmer now after his father's death. He understood why, his brother explained everything to him and everyone else. Nowadays, without the crushing weight of expectation that his father placed on him and the encouragements and training by both his brother and mother, he is an extremely skilled ninja, though just barely reaching chuunin level, though it might change later on. He also talked a lot more, and currently had a pretty good relationship with both his teammates, Sai and Haruno Sakura. Though he still hated the first due to his constant comment about his dick size. The second still acts as a fangirl, but thanks to some tips from his brother (who had to deal with his share of them), he managed to turn her from a bookworm with a bit of physical skill to a genin worthy for Konoha. Might even be a good girlfriend material if she didn't annoy him too much.

Coming from the kitchen, the figure of his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, who is in her 30s with an oval face and chin length straight hair wearing a black, long sleeved shirt with a long skirt and an apron was carrying their dinner, which consisted of fried fish, miso soup and tofu with a side of fresh tomatoes (Sasuke loved the things!, she thought) and rice. All in all, a simple, modest dinner. After helping his mother with the placing of the food, both of them sat on the table, before Sasuke voiced his confusion. "Mother, did nii-san had a mission today? He's not back yet."

Anybody who knew Itachi knew that he's a family man, in that he loved his family very much and will do his utmost best to eat together. But right now, he's not back yet, something that confused Sasuke. Mikoto then said. "Don't worry. I don't think he had a mission. He'd inform us of it if he did."

"Then where is he?" And like a scripted event, the door to the house opened, and the sight of Itachi greeted both of them. But he looked like he just went through a war of sorts! His clothes are torn, there are dried blood marks on them with some bruises visible on his face, part of his clothes look singed and he was drenched with sweat.

Expecting the worst, Mikoto's inner ninja arose, and she immediately dashed towards Itachi. "Itachi! What happened to you?! Who did this?!" While checking Itachi's condition, her entire being was radiating a massive amount of KI filled with righteous rage. 'No one harms her sons like this! No one!' She thought as she said "They will pay! Tell me, who did this to you?!"

Even as Itachi collapsed at the living room's sofa, her mother was busy fussing over him, removing his armoured shirt and examining his wounds, of which, miraculously, all of them are superficial somehow. Placing a hand on his mother's shoulder in hopes of calming her down, Itachi said. "Mom, relax. I just sparred with someone."

Mikoto looked at him incredulously. "Impossible! No way could 'just a spar' ended up looking like you just went through a war!" she didn't believe a shred of what Itachi just said. 'What kind of spar caused such injuries and damage?!' She thought to herself.

Itachi sighed internally. His mother is extremely overprotective, really. "It's true. I just sparred with Kurumi-san. I wanted to test her skills. And let's just say that I won't be doing it again anytime in the future." Before Mikoto could say anything, Itachi cut her off. "I'm fine, mom. No worries. Sorry for being late, though." He then wobbled his way to the dining table, his mother making an exasperated look at the stubbornness of her son.

-BREAK-

Meanwhile, the rest of the Uzumaki-Namikazes are currently en route to a village not far from Suna in order to escort their client back to his village. But unlike a regular escort mission, they used a specially constructed seal scroll and sealed their client within it for a much faster travel and much easier carrying and guarding. With a combination of mass storage seal and life support seal, they managed to turn an oversized storage seal into one that was able to not just carry an entire group of people, but making sure that they are alive and well by the time they reached their destination. Thanks to some great sealwork, the dimension inside the seal was changed to resemble a nice looking hotel, making sure the client's travels become shorter and safer. A lot of failsafes are placed in the carriage scrolls, as they were called, in that the people inside could call their carrier by just using a specially modified chakraless communication seal, a self release seal, an automatic release seal in case the bearer died, and a hidden stasis seal for those rowdy customers who demanded a lot. Combined with another mass storage seal to help them carry the products or whatever baggage their client had. The only problem with this seal based transportation was the fact that to contain a living being within a storage seal like how they did it, it requires a huge amount of chakra, amounts that only by being a half demon it is possible to use the seal without a heavy chance of death.

Jumping through the trees as quick as they possibly could while still remaining stealthy, the entire team was on guard for any potential attacks or ambushes that bandits or robbers had set up. So far, they and all their clones reported that their respective missions are completed successfully, and that they encountered none or minimal opposition.

Inwardly, Anko was having an evil grin. She knew that being with these gakis, though she wouldnt say that out loud for fear of Kurumi, was like betting on the fact that Tsunade will lose a gamble! 'I need to try and persuade the old man to give us higher ranked missions after this! I mean, we finished over a hundred C-ranks in a day! A freaking day! Though Naruto's idea that we only picked missions that involved travels and guards was brilliant. We didn't even need to spend all those days that other mission, like building missions or whatnot could take. Faster mission completion, faster money intake, the faster I can get back to my beloved dango and get sloshed! While bragging with the other jounin senseis (not that I taught them a lot anyway...) that my team has completed around a couple thousand D-ranks and over a hundred C-ranks in only a couple of days! Hahahahaha!'

Hinata, meanwhile, was staring at Naruto's ass from behind. Their current formation, Naruto in front, Kushina and Anko to the left and right respectively with Hinata at Naruto's back to act as a scout with her Byakugan allows Hinata to stare at her husband's body and remembering just what they did last night, making a massive blush appear on her face. Unknown to her, both Kushina and Naruto, thanks to their innate kitsune sensing ability already knew her feelings. Kushina was mentally smirking while Naruto was grinning on the inside. Outwardly they still had on a mask of professionalism and were completely aware of their surroundings. Hinata, with her tight black shirt with the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan logo on the left shoulder showing off her fit, well shaped body and her long combat pants and black combat boots was a really beautiful sight. Her staring at Naruto's back was just a given, considering that she was his wife. Her mind drifted as her body went on autopilot following the group and keeping alert 'he's hot! No girls will take Naru-koi from me! And I know that Kurumi's going to support me with that! Anyone who wanted to do so will pay!'

The sudden feeling of repressed rage and anger from Hinata was strange, but not really rare, Naruto thought. Ever since she was together with them, she was much, much stronger and more confident than she ever was. At the same time, she was also more than capable of hiding her true feelings, though she knew that Naruto and his children could feel them anyway. Naruto was extremely happy at this, that his wife, the previously shy, reserved and kind Hinata became a fierce lioness that was more than capable of protecting her entire family, no matter who the opposition will be while still retaining the kind heart that made her so shunned within her original clan. 'The stupid Hyuugas didn't know what they missed by letting her go like that. Oh well. They'll learn. Oh will they learn' He finished the thought with an evil laugh that made Kushina look at him strangely.

'Dad's cooking up another weird plan again.' She inwardly complained. Knowing her dad, it's going to involve something crazy, and sometimes things that are even crazier. Though she's guilty of it as well sometimes. The fact that she must've inherited her mother's mind with her dad's temper made her the kind of person whose anger was more dangerous the more subdued it was. Even so, she was still prone to some of her dad's bouts of obliviousness, though it doesn't seem to stay for long.

Thanks to the carriage scroll they made good time on carrying their clients towards their destination, the borders of Land of Wind, where they will be able to travel back to their homes, a small village located a little past the border. Regularly, the same trip would take about 3 days thanks to a civilian's travel speed, but with their client secure within the scroll, they only need about 5 hours, and even that was a bit slow but to make sure Hinata could keep pace they travelled like that. Trained and tough she may be, but the fact remains that she was no superhuman being like her husband and stepdaughter nor does she had any 'secret reserves' of energy. The only thing that she had was hours upon gruelling hours of training to increase her physical stats, giving her near superhuman endurance. But ultimately, she's but a regular ninja, and as they reached their destination, she started to pant a bit heavier than normal.

Unsealing their clients from their scroll, the requester, a lanky guy with an oval shaped face with short black hair regrouped with his family member, his wife and two kids together with their original transport, a cart with two horses that neighed and thrashed around a bit after being unsealed, though Naruto and family managed to calm the raging beasts down. Anko then approached the clients and asked, "So how's your experience being stored within a scroll like that? Is it good?"

He nodded. "Very. I never expected that the insides of the scroll looked like a well-furnished house, and we managed to come here faster than ever before. Very safe too. Didn't feel a thing in there, no vibrations, no shakes. I have no complaints. In fact, I think I'll pay extra for being able to carry us as fast as you just did while keeping the ride comfortable. Here's the pay." Receiving the payment, where he gave an extra 25% of the original payment, Anko handed him the mission scroll for him to sign the mission's completion, and after that, tucked it inside her skirt's pocket before bowing to their ex-client, and wishing them well on their way.

Turning towards her so-called students, she said. "Alright! Let's get back to the village! Naruto!" Naruto, knowing of his role already, held everyone before immediately Hiraishining towards Konoha.

Total time that they took to complete the mission: 6 hours, making it the fastest time ever recorded during a C-rank escort mission.

-BREAK-

After surprising the shit out of the Eternal Chuunin gate guards duo who was utterly shocked at the number of clones of Anko and her team that left the gates, and the fact that they managed to finish so many C-ranks in such a short time and the fact that Anko and her team appeared in front of them using the Hiraishin, they immediately went straight to the missions office, where they were surprisingly met by Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was giving away missions at the missions office. True that he didn't have to do so, but sometimes he do it anyway, just to take a look at the face of his men who went to execute his orders.

Naruto, as always, went straight towards the missions counter that Sarutobi was sitting behind and said, "Hey old man. How's it hanging? And you're here! Pretty weird if you ask me. Got no paperwork to do? Our clones all finished their missions right? I still think it's weird seeing you behind that counter instead of at your office. Though I don't mind."

Sarutobi just chuckled. Naruto's lack of tact in most cases really made for a funny conversation starter. At least he had the decency to gain some when he's in a diplomatically challenged spot. Their debates before ensured that. Naruto understood that being a Kage isn't just about kicking the most ass, but it's also the one with the best words. Sarutobi trained with him in a lot of things. He better off being said as his unofficial apprentice. Even his son isn't as lucky. He then replied Naruto's question. "No, Naruto. Thanks to 'that' jutsu you taught me, I finally got all my paperwork done today, and I decided to take over the Chuunin's job here. Makes for some fun times when people submitted their mission reports. Though I think you're the last team, your clones are all done. Now, what's your mission status?"

Immediately, the entire team went straight into business mode with Anko stepping up front, handing the aged Hokage the mission scroll signed by the client. Immediately going into her 'mission mode', she said out. "Sir! The mission to deliver the client's family towards the borders of the Land of Wind was successful with a record time of 6 hours! They are delivered safely without any harm, and no attacks were reported, though maybe it's because we're too fast to stop. Also, the client thanks us for their safe and speedy delivery, and decided to give us an extra 25% payment. The extra will be handed directly to Konoha, while the original payment will be divided as usual among the team and Konoha."

Smoking his pipe, Sarutobi took a deep breath before exhaling the scented tobacco that he just breathed before saying. "Good job, team 11. But one thing confuses me after all the missions that you took that I handled. How actually did you finish the missions in such a short time? Civilian escort missions are one of the most annoying missions because they are slow and most complain a lot. Can you tell me how?"

Something like that could help the village immensely and could be used to help the ninjas waste less time during escort missions. Anko replied. "For that, Hokage-sama, I'll let our resident seal master explain his technique. Naruto, go ahead."

Naruto then stepped forward in his official tone instead of the jovial one that he used previously. "Hokage-sama, the technique I used is a combination of storage and life support seal plus a dimensional seal that we could seal our clients into. The seal is safe, I tested it myself. Well, my Shadow Clones did, but I think even he knew that. It allows us to carry both the civilian and their luggage or caravan inside a seal array, enabling us to move them faster than usual, and is much safer considering that they are no longer a huge, visible target, and can prevent assassination attempts and allows easier protection during an attack attempt on them"

"But what if the scroll itself was pierced? Doesn't that kill them?" Sarutobi Questioned.

"The seal was specially designed to release its contents upon a lethal hit, if they can. The scroll itself was reinforced by multitudes of strengthening seals, and that it is able to take a direct C-rank jutsu, while also being able to be used as a rough bludgeon in case the situation needs it, like when we have no weapons at all or demanding situations."

Sarutobi nodded at Naruto's explanation. Such a seal would be extremely helpful, not to mention that it would be very safe and can speed up mission completion. And it might also be true for other types of escort missions. Just seal the dude within a scroll, and voila! Instant mission completion! But before he could ask Naruto to mass produce the seal, the kicker arrives.

"Unfortunately, to seal something like a human being in a scroll requires a huge amount of chakra, in that even to seal a civilian requires chakra as large as a chuunin's considering that chakra from someone else tends to oppose, and thus it needs to be overridden. Sealing a jounin like that would require more chakra than what a Kage has, and a Kage like that? Do the math. Also, the reason how we could complete our missions so fast is that we took how long to go to our destination, before dropping the client and Hiraishining back here, making for an extremely fast mission completion."

Sarutobi nodded while making a mental note about using Anko's team into a search and retrieval specialty. As he was thinking on that he realized that actually, they have no specialty. They're all very good in everything, and they can perform almost any role that was expected of them. WIth Naruto and Kushina's specialty lying in seals of all kinds, they could counter any opposition that they met with the right seal combination. Combining that with Hinata's specialty in close range combat and a powerful repertoire of Futon and Suiton jutsu, she could go into battle up close, disengage and rip her enemy a new asshole with powerful Suiton/Futon combos. The less said about Kushina and Naruto the better. Those two are monsters of their own right, capable of dominating a battle in any condition with their bloodline and their hanyou characteristics.

Sarutobi took a deep breath from his pipe before saying. "Alright. Team 11, you have completed the largest amount of missions that any genin cell in history of the Hidden Villages has ever completed in just a couple of days, which was about almost a couple thousand D-ranks and near a hundred C-ranks. However, I'm forced to say that this will probably be your limit since we still need to give other teams chances to perform other missions. And as such, I am forced to say this. Other than giving you high-tier missions, I am forced to limit your team's mission numbers to only 10 D-ranks and/or 2 C-ranks a day, with 1 C-rank considered as 5 D-ranks. Though, I think I am definitely able to give you all higher tier missions later. Maybe in two or three months. All of you are strong, make no mistakes. But rushing forward to take higher ranking missions too early might be detrimental, not to mention that it will take out the chances for other teams to perform missions and earn money for themselves. Make no mistakes; I did not do this to limit you. I did this to prevent others from accusing me of unfairness. Is that clear?"

At first, the team was happy, before that mood got killed, before it plummeted further, and further. Sad as they are, they understood that they can't hog all the missions alone. Everyone else wanted a piece of the pie as well. With their payment slips for all the C-ranks in hands, they left the missions office, and ready to get back home.

-BREAK-

Upon reaching their home, Naruto was just about to open the door when it was flung open, nearly smashing him in the face if not his ability to dodge, and was greeted by the sight of an extremely chipper and happy Kurumi. She was so happy that she practically glowed and the smile on her face seemed like it was filled with happiness. "Welcome home!" She said, before she turned around and nearly skipped into the kitchen. "Dinner's being prepared!"

Everyone was understandably confused at this sight, and it was more than visible on their faces, especially Anko, though she knew better than to voice it out loud. Immediately, everyone went to the dining hall with Naruto going straight to the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Kurumi stir frying a home made fish fillet. The heavenly aroma that floated around the kitchen nearly made Naruto forgot the reason why he's there, but he immediately snapped out of it before going to Kurumi's back who was still humming some tuneless, cheerful song. Naruto immediately said, "Kurumi-koi, what happened? Why are you so happy?"

Still smiling brightly, she turned around and grabbed Naruto in a hug before kissing him on the lips, tiptoeing due to Naruto's immense height before saying. "Nothing, my love. Just that I got to beat some poor sod with pretty good skills to the ground today. And I haven't had the chance to do something like that for a long while! We usually sparred together, and this guy really helped me release some tension!" She finished her words with an extremely girly giggle, though somehow Naruto had a strange scary feeling from that giggle.

*At the Uchiha compound, the figure of Itachi with bandage wrappings around him was lying on his bed when a shiver erupted at his spine, causing him to turn around his bed in fear. "It feels like I just signed my own death warrant..." Itachi thought, still lamenting the choice of sparring with Kurumi just now.*

After a while, Naruto just shrugged, not caring as long as his wife was happy and decided to leave while Hinata entered the kitchen as well to help with dinner. Upon reaching Kurumi, she said "Kurumi-chan, you really looked happy."

Smiling, Kurumi gave the same answer to Hinata, who just nodded as she prepared the chopsticks and the bowls for all of them to eat with. Hinata then mused out loud, "Well, we haven't had a serious spar with anyone outside the clan for a long time. I just hoped that we'll be able to do so later." A while later, they both finished preparing and cooking dinner for the family and brought it out for everyone to eat.

-BREAK-

Nine days later, the day of the duel between Kurumi and the Hyuuga clan's best Rotation user arrived. During those days, they all fell into a set routine; waking up to eat breakfast before going to the missions office to perform their daily 2 C-ranks missions. They won't take any lower though. D-ranks are boring chores. Their mission success rate was 100% so far, with the fact that their clients are all extremely happy with their service and not to mention that they are safe from any enemy. After that, if they still had enough time, they would eat lunch and then they train to exhaustion, as was their usual, before going back to their home. Once there they would either eat dinner and then get ready for sleep or Kushina would go to sleep and Naruto and his wives would screw each other senseless into the morning. Whichever's fine. They aren't too picky.

The time of the duel arrived, and Kurumi stood her ground at TG 21, an open area training ground with nothing, just a large clearing with small trees surrounding it and the ground well worn due to the other ninjas training there. Right now, she was standing there, waiting for the Hyuugas to arrive with a black jacket over a dark blue short sleeved shirt with the Uzumaki-Namikaze logo at both shoulders of the jacket and black long heavy duty combat trousers and black steel toed combat boots. Naruto and the rest were not there; they're performing another C-rank mission outside the walls. Not that she needs him there to kick some ass though. It's just plain unnecessary.

A while later, the Hyuuga council arrived with Hiashi leading them all All of them were wearing their customary white kimono and shoes. Hiashi's face seemed to be stuck in a look of anger at the sight of Kurumi. This made her inwardly giggled , and she put a smile on her face; a small, mocking smile at the sight of Hiashi and his entourage, causing Hiashi's cheeks to redden further in anger. The rest of the Hyuuga council then stayed behind, with Hiashi going ahead to meet Kurumi in their duel.

A little while later, the figure of the Sandaime appeared with the other clan heads, who were there to act as both judges and witnesses to the duel. With the two duelists standing 20 steps from each other, Sarutobi stood in the middle of the two before announcing the duel. "Today we are here to watch the duel between a member of the Hyuuga Clan with the most powerful Rotation against Kurumi. Both of whom wrote the terms of their duel within this scroll," He said as he took out the scroll where they both made their deal and opening it to show it to everyone present there as to its authenticity. After it was cleared, the scroll was passed back towards the Sandaime, who continued. "And as stated, the Hyuuga chosen will only use the Rotation, and if Kurumi could break through it and threaten the life of the Rotation user with just one jutsu, the Hyuugas will not bother Kurumi anymore about the use of her own Rotation which she reverse-engineered. If the Hyuuga won, then she will teach them the Rasengan and another version of the Rotation that she will demonstrate first. Kurumi-san, if you will?" Naruto was not in the council members present there since his view would be biased as it involves his wife, not to mention that he was on a mission anyway.

While Hiruzen was busy talking to the audience, Kurumi was staring straight into the eyes of Hiashi with a mocking smile on her face and a playful glint in her eyes, causing Hiashi to get even angrier at the sight of this filthy half-demon playing around with him. He immediately steeled his facial expression, completely covering the fact that he wants to utterly destroy this demon bitch and tear her to pieces.

Kurumi, realising this, immediately made a cute pout on her face before placing her hands together and said, "Pooh. You Hyuugas really have no idea what fun is. I wonder how could you gain any children or marry with that face. Looks like either you bought them as slaves, married one or forced someone to marry with you before raping them, all with that stone cold face. Really, learn some expressions. A rock had more expression than you guys."

Hiashi was above boiling point by this time and was ready to charge ahead to kill this stupid bitch at her words when they both heard the announcement from the Sandaime about the technique, and so, he held back, just to watch one of the two techniques that the Hyuuga clan will gain when he beat the crap out of this demon bitch.

At this Kurumi complained inwardly about the Sandaime blocking off her fun at messing with the Hyuuga's mental state, and prepares herself to use the Spinning Wall. Standing straight, she clapped her hands together before a powerful wall of chakra appeared around her. The wall of chakra seemed to spin so fast that it appeared to carve into the ground a circular shape while also covering her figure due to the sheer density of chakra that she emitted. The sight of this caused the council members and the Hyuuga's eyes to widen. The Sandaime took out a kunai before chucking it to Kurumi's direction, where the kunai was immediately deflected, hitting a far away tree. If the effect already presented were not impressive enough, the wall of chakra then moved forward before zipping around the field, demonstrating its capability to defend while still being on the move unlike the Rotation with Sarutobi tossing kunais non-stop towards the spinning blue wall of chakra to demonstrate its capabilities.

After some time, Kurumi went back to her starting point and cancelled the jutsu, leaving multiple circular marks around the field. Hiashi was shocked, though he hid it well. A jutsu that gave all the protection and attack of the Rotation, but without the weakness of being forced to stay at the same position! An ultimate protection for a Hyuuga, in that it allows them to get closer to an enemy without fearing any offensive he or she could do! It's amazing! He strengthens his confidence and will. Not just getting that skill, but also, showing the demon bitch that the Hyuugas are called the strongest in Konoha for a reason.

With Kurumi back at her starting location and all of the councilmember finished rehinging their jaws, Sarutobi continued. "All of us are here to act as judge and witness to this duel, in that the result will not be disputed after it's done. We are also here to make sure that no lethal moves are employed, just an attempt by each side at proving their points. Is this understood?" Everyone present nodded.

Hiashi and Kurumi was staring at each other, Hiashi with utter absolute hatred in his eyes. Kurumi was just having that playful leer of her own, and seemed to Hiashi that her eyes were saying "Do your worst, punk!" a thought that burns in his mind. Kurumi was laughing inwardly at this. She was enjoying screwing with this bastard's head so much it's really funny!

While Hiashi and the rest of the Hyuuga council was seething at the apparent mocking that Kurumi did towards them, the shinobi council was having mixed thoughts about the outcome of the duel, except for Itachi. In his mind, he already saw that Hiashi had absolutely no chance, even if she could only use one jutsu. "There is no way in hell Hiashi could win against her. She'll beat him easily."

Looking at everyone present there while sighing internally due to Kurumi's mental games against Hiashi, Sarutobi lifted his hand up at his point, straight in the middle of the two duellists before quickly bringing it down, shouting "Begin!"

As soon as the hand went down, Hiashi stood at his place and began spinning, emitting chakra all over his body in a circular motion, shouting "Eight Trigrams Rotation!" as the strongest Gentle Fist user in the village, his Rotation was a force to be reckoned with. 2 meter in diameter with a wall of chakra so strong it created a crater on the ground due to the sheer intensity. He used everything he had for this one, single Rotation, wanting to show just how futile all her efforts will be in penetrating the Hyuuga's ultimate defence, a skill that was inherited for years among the Main Family members.

And just like Hiashi, Kurumi dashed ahead when the hand went down, though to attack she did her technique. A technique created by Namikaze Minato, perfected by his son and further improved by his son as well. Lifting her hand above her head as she dashed towards the rapidly spinning wall of chakra surrounding Hiashi, her chakra poured out of her palm before it starts spinning on top of her head. In less than a blink of an eye after that, a huge, 1 meter wide blue chakra-made sphere of absolute destruction, inspired by a bijuu and was said to be able to carve through a mountain appeared above her, her palm controlling the gigantic sphere of death towards her target.

The eyes of the councilman and woman widened and gasps was heard at the sight of this except for Sarutobi and Itachi, the former having been at the receiving point of the attack for multiple times while the other had seen it only once in their spar. Both of them flinched in imaginary pain at this.

As the Great Ball Rasengan was carried towards the target, a still spinning Hiashi, Kurumi screamed, "Great Ball Rasengan!" as she slammed the sphere of chakra onto Hiashi's defence, creating a loud, grinding sound as both their chakra clashes against each other. All this time, Kurumi had a smirk on her face, her victory was assured.

Hiashi, meanwhile, was gritting his teeth hard, so hard that they almost felt like cracking. The sheer power of the humongous Rasengan crashed against his Rotation, the spinning motion of both techniques neutralising each other. But the sheer nature of the Rasengan's spinning and containment turns it into a miniature contained tornado, a force so powerful that Hiashi's Rotation, even despite his best efforts, was being ground away into nothingness. Hiashi's eyes widened at this. "Impossible! The Rotation is the ultimate defence! It cannot be breached! I will not fail! I will not!" And with a final push of his chakra, for Hyuugas don't scream, he threw everything he had into his Rotation.

Then, to the spectator's eyes, everything exploded at the point where the gigantic Rasengan met the Rotation before the figure of Hiashi was seen rocketing backwards before he was stopped by a tree that he collided with, breaking it, though not his back. He then laid there, unconscious.

Everyone's eyes then moved from Hiashi to the figure of Kurumi who was standing still, her hand still outstretched after smashing the Giant Ball Rasengan on his Rotation with her face still set in a victorious smirk. The Hyuuga council stood up almost immediately but they are beaten by a Sarutobi who was hiding a very satisfied smile at seeing one of, if not the, most arrogant clans in Konoha be taken down a few notches. He immediately looked towards the members of the shinobi council before saying. "Alright. Esteemed members of the council, as it could visibly be seen, after this massive collision, the Hyuuga was thrown backwards, leaving him open and on a battlefield, dead against the enemy. And since she only used one jutsu and the Hyuuga used only the Rotation as well, and that she didn't continue with any lethal action, nor did she in any way break the terms of the duel, I proclaim Uzumaki-Namikaze Kurumi, head of the Uzumaki Clan, to be victorious. Any members of the council who agrees to my judgement, please raise your hand."

The councilmembers present there all lifted their hand, with no one opposing the obvious result of the duel. Just as Sarutobi was about to call the deal, a member of the Hyuuga council stood, his anger obvious, breaking through the mask of indifference usually present on their face. "Preposterous! There is no way she won without cheating! She would've lost otherwise! She must've used her demonic powers! A human will never be able to go up against such power and win!"

Kurumi, who was still in an euphoric state due to her victory against Hiashi, heard this and she slowly, deliberately turned her face towards the Hyuuga council member before placing a smile on her face and saying, "Is that so? Then I ask you, oh esteemed council member," the last part spoken with a mocking tone, "Have you ever seen me use my demonic powers before?"

He immediately replied. "Yes! I was there when you attacked the village! I can still remember your chakra!"

Kurumi immediately smiled at this. "Then, the rest of the people here would agree that they'll know if I were to use my youki, right?" Kurumi said while looking at the rest of the council members. All of them nodded, remembering just how potent her youki was. "And so, has anyone here felt the use of youki? Since it is so unmistakable, anyone should be able to feel it right?" All of them nodded again, knowing just how it felt.

"Then, did you feel that feeling just now?" at the end of her words, her chakra spiked massively, making the present people felt like genins compared to a kage from the sheer amount of chakra radiating from Kurumi. The chakra continued to rise, and rise, so much so that the Hyuugas present are unable to activate their Byakugan in fear of being blinded by the sheer amount of chakra coming from her.

All of a sudden, the chakra from her exploded in an invisible wave of force, causing all of the people there to cover their eyes due to the sheer strength of the wave of force. So powerful the explosion of chakra was that platoons of ANBUs immediately arrived to that location, though they are also shocked at what they saw afterwards. As the wave calmed down, everyone looked back towards where Kurumi stood, though with one major difference to them: they felt calm. Much, much calmer. It's like a weird serene feeling was around everyone there, who stood in awe at this weird feeling. The only one who felt the danger was Sarutobi, who knew this feeling immediately, having battled against it a multitude of times.

Everyone's eyes then turned towards Kurumi and are shocked at what they see. Kurumi, instead of her jacket, shirt and trousers outfit, she looked like a being made of golden flames, the flames acting as both her clothing and her person, with a long trench coat made of the flames with nine black lines at her back with the usual spiral emitting from her navel to the thick black lines that appeared from the centre spiral towards her four limbs and neck, not to mention that even her back length blood red hair was now a series of fiery golden threads attached to her head.

The sheer amount of power radiating from her was divine and it attracted the sight of everyone there, her golden flames flickering but never out. Suddenly, nine ethereal tails made with the same golden flame with lines in the middle of them appeared from her tailbone as thick, square shaped lines appeared on her face, signifying her whiskers. Looking at the awestruck faces of the people present, she looked each and every one of them in their eyes, slowly challenging them to say anything, which no one took up, before saying. "This is my bijuu powers now. I lost my old powers when I became a part-human, and I gained this new form, a power more suited with my... condition as an ex-bijuu. Now, I ask all of you. Did you felt this power before when I struck Hyuuga-san with the Great Ball Rasengan?" everyone just shook their heads rapidly. "Now, does that mean I used my bijuu powers?" once again, still shocked beyond words, everyone there just shook their heads. "And so, that means I used my own powers and won fair and square, right?" everyone nodded. "Good."

And with that, she turned off her purified youki cloak, making the councilmembers breathe out sighs of relief at the feeling of such an awe-inspiring yet calming power. She then turned towards Sarutobi again before nodding, signalling that he should continue.

Sarutobi, understanding the sign, immediately continued his interrupted declaration from before. "Now here, as witnessed by the council of both Konoha and the Hyuugas, I declare Uzumaki-Namikaze Kurumi the winner of this duel!" No fanfare, nor any form of celebration came from the direction of the council members, though at least no one opposed the result, for various reasons, the main reason being the fact that they are still awestruck at the power that she radiated just now. Though they still heard him continue. "And as such, as contracted within the scroll and the deal between the Hyuuga and the Uzumaki-Namikaze, Lady Kurumi will not be bothered by the Hyuugas any more relating to the skill that she reverse-engineered herself, as stated within the scroll and witnessed by the members of both the shinobi council of Konoha and the Hyuuga's own council. ANBU!" Two ANBU appeared right beside him.

"Please take Hiashi-san to the hospital immediately. He might need treatments for that hit." The ANBU then went towards Hiashi's unconscious lying form before lifting him up to take him to the hospital. Looking back towards the councilmembers, Sarutobi said, "I thank all of you for your cooperation in this matter. Now as this matter is finished, you all are dismissed, unless anyone wanted to meet with me."

Immediately, Kurumi disappeared back to her home, not wanting to stay any longer at the training ground. She had better things to do. Meanwhile, Sarutobi who was about to leave as well was met by the older Ino-Shika-Cho trio who walked beside him. They walked in silence at first for a while, before Inoichi said, "Hokage-sama." And attracted the attention of Sarutobi, who looked at him. "Yes?" He replied.

"Hokage-sama, I need to ask. That power she used, I saw that you are not surprised at it, just that you had a small fear appearing on your face at that time. If I may ask, why?"

Sarutobi was happy at the competence of his men. Being the best interrogator in Konoha, nothing missed his sights, even minute changes of expression. Smiling, Sarutobi replied. "Not a problem at all, Inoichi. You see, Naruto and Kurumi had demonstrated to me their powers, and that form was one of them. I even sparred with her sometimes, and as such, I know that she would win the duel, beyond all doubt."

At first, Inoichi was nodding at what he said until he heard that the Sandaime sparred with her, causing all their jaws to fall. Picking it back up, he said, "Hokage-sama, she sparred with you?!"

Already expecting the result, Sarutobi just chuckled. "Yes she did, and I'd have to say that if it were anyone else, she would've wiped the floor with them, no doubt. Let me tell you three this." Sarutobi said, looking at the three. "She is powerful. Absolutely powerful, without a doubt. The entire family is. In battle, both her and her family will be one of the most powerful allies that you can have, but mess with them, and there will be no force available on the Elemental Nations that could stop them. Be friendly to them, for they'll support you no matter what, helping you in any way possible. Cross them, and sometimes paying with your life would not be enough. This is something we would all do well to remember." And with that, he left the three of them to think about his statement, their minds spinning due to his words.

-BREAK-

Just as Kurumi reached her home, Anko and her team appeared at the front gate. Waving towards the figure of Kurumi who was about to enter the house, Anko said, "Kurumi-san! How's the Hyuuga's ass that you kicked just now? Is he in the hospital yet?"

The entire family knew about the duel between Kurumi and a Hyuuga, though her victory was never in doubt with them. Smiling, Kurumi looked towards the entire team and replied to Anko's boisterous greeting. "Anko-chan. It's fine. Hiashi's ass was kicked, and ANBU was taking him into the hospital when I left. They won't bother us anymore after this about the Rotation."

Naruto was smiling at the success of Kurumi when he saw Hinata's shoulders stiffen slightly at hearing her father's name being said and it became more obvious when Kurumi said that Hiashi's ass was kicked. Frowning lightly, he pulled Hinata away after they entered the house. He then held one of her shoulders from her back before saying, "Hina-hime, are you okay?"

Hinata, still not looking towards Naruto, replied. "Yes. Yes, I'm okay. Why?"

Frowning, Naruto said, "Hina-hime, I can sense a lie when I hear it. Hina-hime, I know that your father was a bastard towards you. I know, and I understand. In fact, I hated him for such a reason. But I also know that you still consider him your father, no matter what he did towards you. That is one of the reasons why I love you. Your kindness." Naruto then pulled Hinata back, placing her head on his chest and hugged her from her back, though thanks to their height difference, the best he could do was just crossing his hands beneath her neck right above her breasts. Hinata, feeling Naruto's support of her slowly lifted her hand and held onto Naruto's. Naruto then continued. "Hina-hime, remember this. Your kindness is not a sin, nor is it a weakness. It is a strength, one that can help during dark times and just as easily help in times of importance. Your father was wrong about it, but know that I will support you completely. Have no fear because the entire family's here to help you, just as much as you are here to support us. We will be with you every step of the way."

Feeling all the love and kindness in his words and touch, Hinata, who was still holding on Naruto's arm then turned around, giving him a hug. Feeling this, Naruto kneeled and hugged her back letting her silent tears fell on his shoulders. He then whispered. "Hina-hime, know that I will not leave you, and will be here with you. Just call me when you need me. I'll be there."

Wordlessly, Hinata cried on his shoulder while grabbing his coat. Naruto just rubbed her back and caressed her hair, whispering "Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm here. We are all here. Let it out." And with that, Hinataa's restraint broke, and she let all the tears of disappointment, held back due to years of happiness out. Watching from afar, Kurumi and Kushina watched the two, Anko already left for her home, not wanting to "look at the sight of the two lovebirds," or so she said.

Kushina then said, "Hina-mama's still a crybaby eh?"

Kurumi replied with "Yes she is, but crying is not wrong. Dad taught you better."

Kushina just shrugged. "I know, I know. Crying when happy is always good, and if you're sad, you should only cry in two places. In a private place like your room or the toilet, hidden from everyone, or in the arms of your loved ones. Crying is not a weakness, but a strength, the strength to know and acknowledge your own feelings."

Kurumi nodded. "That's right. Now let's leave the two. She'll calm down sooner or later, I'm sure." They then went inside the house, leaving the figure of Naruto and a still crying Hinata outside their house.

-BREAK-

A month passed, and within that month, nothing truly noteworthy happened. Everyone got into their normal routine with Naruto and his team going out on C-rank missions, Kurumi and/or Naruto went to council meetings, meeting the people around, and generally living as usual. The only thing that changed was the fact that more people were friendly with the family. The missions that Anko's team took were impressing the people causing friendlier attitudes towards them, though the majority of the populace are still wary of the family.

The only meaningful event that occurred during the time period was that Jiraiya gave the entire family, even Hinata, the toad contract that they signed instantly. And true to his predictions, Gamabunta was summoned and was pissed at having the Kyuubi as the new summoner, causing a titanic battle between Kurumi and Gamabunta, though one that lasts for only a while. The fact that Kurumi won made Bunta felt worse, though they all decided that they'll cut him a break and just let him think whatever. That grouchy toad sure hates losing. Even if it's the Kyuubi he's fighting.

This changed one day, when Naruto's team appeared in a Hiraishin straight towards the Hokage right after finishing another C-rank mission; escorting a client to Taki. Anko was just about to submit her mission scroll when she saw the look on the Hokage's face, a look of seriousness. She immediately stood straighter, knowing the reason for such a look.

Sarutobi, looking at Anko and her team, said. "Team 11. Just the team I was waiting for. You have been asking for a higher ranked mission right? Well, here's one for you. An A-ranked mission."

Naruto whooped in joy at his statement. "Woohoo! An A-ranker! Awesome! What's the mission?"

Sighing internally, knowing that time would be of the essence, he said. "About 2 days ago, team 7, led by Kakashi undertook a C-rank mission: protecting and escorting a bridge builder from Wave Country back to Wave and to guard him until the completion of his bridge that connects Wave to the mainland. Unfortunately the client lied about the parameters of the mission. At first, they were ambushed by the Demon Brothers, a pair of chuunin-ranked missing nin from Kiri. They managed to handle the situation well, and they caught the two of them before Kakashi called for ANBU to his position to help take the two into custody before going ahead with the mission."

Before Sarutobi continued, Naruto lifted his hand to stop him before saying. "Wait a minute, old man. A C-rank mission does not have any potential for a ninja attack. Yet, the team was ambushed by not one, but two chuunin ranked Kiri missing nins. That alone would've given the mission a B rank, thus making the mission parameters skewed, giving him the authority to cancel the mission. Why the hell did he continued the mission anyway?"

Sarutobi was quite impressed at Naruto's understanding of mission rank and its protocols, and replied. "It was due to the fact that Wave Country was a very poor country and that they are unable to have enough money for a B-rank, so they decided to make a gamble and took a C-rank mission instead. Hearing the situation, Kakashi pushed forward with the mission and triggered a clause where the mission payment could be delivered later, but at a higher rate. To put it simply, he delayed the mission payment but at a higher cost. He sent a request for another team to reinforce his in the same report while he went ahead with the mission to secure a foothold in the area.

Unfortunately, they were unable to reach the client's house when they were ambushed again. This time by another missing nin, a Momochi Zabuza, an A-ranked Kiri missing nin. In the battle that resulted, Kakashi managed to defeat Zabuza, but as he was about to deliver the killing blow, a hunter nin stepped in dealing what was at first thought to be a finishing blow. Afterwards Kakashi thought that the Nin was a fake and was merely Zabuza's accomplice placing Zabuza in a state of false death to rescue him. Due to the fight Kakashi was totally spent and is currently recovering from extreme chakra exhaustion. His report with his request for a better team came in just 10 minutes ago, written by his students. Even now, his chakra was completely spent just to summon Pakkun here," Sarutobi said while pointing to a small pug on his table, "to deliver the message. Since you just finished your mission, I decided that sending the four of you would be more than enough to handle this mission. Will you accept it?"

Before Anko could say anything, Naruto immediately said, "Hell yeah we're going to take this! No worries old man! The job's as good as done!"

Sarutobi chuckled, though it had much less humour in it than usual due to the dire situation. He cared a lot about all his men, no matter what rank they are. "Alright. Then Team 11, you are to take this mission scroll, and to perform the mission to your utmost skills. Is that clear?"

"YES SIR!" All four of them chorused at once. Grabbing the scroll, Anko immediately readied herself to have Naruto teleport them to the closest point where they could get to Wave. "Kakashi, here we come!" She said as Naruto grabbed everyone and teleported away in the Hiraishin's trademark yellow flash.

-CHAPTER END-

So how's that? The next chapter will start (and probably finish) the Wave arc! So, read and review!