Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This is fanfiction, after all.
Training Grounds, Konoha – March 20, AK 22
Konohamaru wanted to slap himself on the head. He was going to have to deal with this… torture for the next five weeks while Naruto prepares for his wedding and goes on his honeymoon.
Naruto had promised Konohamaru to help him finalize his elemental variant of the Rasengan, but Konohamaru was wondering if that was worth it. Seeing the three hyperactive kids in front of him made him regret his decision somewhat.
"Settle down, you guys!" he scolded, "Are you this crazy when Big Brother Naruto is here, too?"
Hikari giggled, "Well Daisuke usually is, until Naruto-sensei shuts him down. The easiest way to get Daisuke to shut up is to tell him that whatever he's doing isn't going to impress me."
Konohamaru threw a look at the brown-haired boy who was now blushing brightly. "Oh? Sounds kind of like Big Brother Naruto. He used to get rejected all the time when he was a kid."
Takeru looked at him eagerly. "Really? He really was a loser like that? It would be awesome to have something to get back at him with."
"Get back at him?" Konohamaru asked. "Naruto pranks you?"
All three students shuddered.
"Fox pheromones," Hikari groaned lightly.
Konohamaru laughed. He had heard about that incident in the village square. Clearly, Naruto did not give his own students special treatment.
"In any case, is it true that he kept getting rejected when he was younger?" Takeru asked again, "Right now, I would think he'd get any girl he wants because he's the village hero."
"Psh. Village hero means nothing but zero," Daisuke sniffed. "Naruto-sensei doesn't have manners and he's too cruel for any chick to fall for him."
"Says, the person who keeps striking out," Konohamaru snickered. "At least your teacher changed his fortunes around. It seems like little Hikari here likes Takeru more than you, Daisuke."
Konohamaru laughed as Hikari and Takeru both flushed and Daisuke raved in anger.
Kids were too fun to tease. Konohamaru didn't have his own students just yet, but he'd give his future students hell.
"Anyway, tell us stories about Naruto-sensei!" Hikaru pleaded. Her cat meowed in agreement.
Konohamaru nodded as he fended off the three eager children. Konohamaru smiled as he thought of the past. It really had been a long time since those days. It was almost ten years now since he first met his brother and both of them had changed quite a bit in that time.
"Big Brother Naruto…" Konohamaru started, "well, he used to be really loud and brash like Daisuke here."
"Hey! I'm not brash and loud!"
"You just were," Takeru said dryly.
"Oh shut up!"
"You're just upset because I said the truth!"
"Am not!"
"I guess you would rather argue than hear about Naruto," Konohamaru said in an annoyed tone. It was fun to tease them but it was irritating dealing with immature kids. Kids should just blush and complain. That's how they were the best.
Hikari glared at both of them. "Knock it off, both of you."
The boys instantly shut up.
Konohamaru smirked at the boys. They were already whipped. Both by the same girl.
"Anyway, continuing with the story. Naruto was in love with one of his teammates. Her name was Sakura Haruno."
"Ooh! I know her! I heard so many stories about how strong and beautiful she is," Hikari shouted excitedly.
"Haha. Well, honestly to me, she seemed more like a demon than a pretty woman," Konohamaru shivered at the memory of the pink-haired super-powered fiend, "but Naruto loved her from the moment he saw her. Some older kids were teasing her and hitting her for having a large forehead and pink hair. Naruto intervened and saved her from bullies—and got beat up in the process," Konohamaru added under his breath, "Naruto just never forgot the smile she gave him." He paused at the sounds of 'awww' that came from the students.
"Then what happened?" Hikari asked curiously.
Konohamaru gave her a sad look. "Sakura's parents didn't really like him so they kept telling Sakura to hit him, insult him, and chase him away."
"That's not nice at all!" Daisuke yelled indignantly. "How can they do something like that to someone as kind as Naruto-sensei? He was the only regular visitor to the orphanage. There's no one with a better heart!"
"His pranks are annoying, but Naruto-sensei's a great person at heart!" Takeru argued as well. "His pranks are no reason to mistreat him like that!"
"It wasn't because of his pranks," Konohamaru said somberly. "In fact, his pranks were a way for him to get attention and he just kept it up, even to this day."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Takeru inquired.
"Well, it's a complicated story, but a lot of the older people, including Sakura's parents, didn't like your teacher for a really dumb reason."
"Which is?" Takeru pressed.
Konohamaru mentally shrugged as he kicked his conscience that was telling him not to tell. It was Naruto's secret, but it wasn't like Naruto hid it from anyone now, especially after the Kyuubi's spirit disappeared.
"The stories of the Fourth defeating the Kyuubi?" Konohamaru mentioned in a casual tone. "Wrong. The Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto."
"EH?!" Hikari gaped. "No way!"
"Nope, it's true," Konohamaru stated firmly. "You can't killed the bijuu so the best you can do is to seal it inside of a person. Naruto just ended up being the sacrifice."
"So," Takeru asked slowly, "then why did people hate him? Naruto saved the village, right?"
Konohamaru gave the boy a small smile, "Because people saw Naruto as the Kyuubi, not the container of it. While no one wanted to kill Naruto because of the village law protecting Naruto, a lot of the children were told to mistreat him as much as possible. But Naruto kept trying his best to get the attention of everyone, including Sakura. So he kept pranking people so they would acknowledge him in some way. They yelled at him, but Naruto preferred that to being ignored by everyone."
"And because of that hate, her parents kept telling Sakura to mistreat him," Hikari concluded as she winced.
"But Naruto kept trying to win Sakura's love and did everything he could to make her fall in love with him. It might have worked, but Sakura fell in love with another boy named Sasuke," Konohamaru explained. "The funny thing is…the three of them became genin teammates."
Konohamaru was impressed when he saw comprehension dawn on their faces. The deeper meaning was not lost of any of them.
"So basically, you're saying I'm like Naruto-sensei, Takeru is like Sasuke, Hikari is like Sakura," Daisuke said. "I don't want to be like Naruto-sensei! He's a great person, but he's marrying that Hanabi girl! I don't want to find a different girl! I want to marry Hikari! Hikari is an angel! She never hits me at all!"
Konohamaru chuckled. "Well, I don't think Naruto minded getting hit too much. And in the end, he did get Sakura after about ten years of chasing her. So there's hope for you yet."
"Nope," Hikari said with her arms folded. "Not even in ten years. I won't hit him, but that doesn't mean I'm going to date him either."
Hikari's cat mewed in approval.
Daisuke got depressed at that as the rest of them laughed. "Keep chopping away, Daisuke," Konohamaru said with a smile, "remember that the axe-man did not fell the tree with only one strike. Just be careful not to annoy her too much when you do it."
There was another round of laughter at that, again at Daisuke's expense.
"So why is Naruto marrying Lady Hanabi when she's a princess? If the older generations hate him, why is Lady Hanabi's father letting her marry him?" Takeru asked.
Konohamaru frowned. " Naruto eventually changed the opinions of the people in the village. So he's respected now. And…Naruto might not have told you this, but he's a noble too. He's the clan head of the Uzumaki clan."
"WHAT?" All three of them stood up.
"Naruto-sensei's a noble?" Takeru asked breathlessly as the flying guinea pig fell on his head, shocked as well.
"I thought he was an orphan," Daisuke said in a stunned voice.
"I knew it. That's why he was strong and so amazing," Hikari told her cat, which just purred in response. She gave a mischievous look at Daisuke. "Hey Daisuke, I might date you if you were as amazing as Naruto-sensei AND if you were a noble." She got a dreamy look on her face. "I wonder what it would be like to marry a prince."
Konohamaru rolled his eyes at the swooning girl. "Well, he was an orphan. He didn't know who his parents were until he became much older. Also, even if they didn't like him in the past, most of the people in Konoha like Naruto now. Naruto saved this village more than anyone else in the history of the village. You three are really lucky to be the students of someone like him." Konohamaru gestured at Daisuke. "You should really pay attention. Big Brother Naruto's going to be the Seventh Hokage."
"Really?!" Daisuke asked. "No way! I'm being taught by the next Hokage?"
"Yup. So pay attention to what he teaches you, okay?" Konohamaru lectured. "He's even stronger than the Hokage. The only reason he's not the Hokage right now is because he's too strong and the village needs him out in the field chasing away the bad people."
"Wait, what?!" Takeru asked. "He's stronger than the Hokage?"
"Yup," Konohamaru nodded. "Easily stronger than the Hokage. He was stronger than Lord Hokage five or six years ago. I'm pretty sure that Naruto's the strongest person in the world."
"Wow, I didn't know that Naruto-sensei was a legend like that. We heard stories about him being the Golden Sun, but no one ever told us that he was the strongest ninja in our village," Takeru said in an awed tone.
"It makes sense though," Hikari whispered in a reverent tone. "I can't possibly imagine how anyone could be stronger than Naruto-sensei. He throws around incredibly destructive techniques as if they're candy. And we've never seen him get winded at all."
"Tch," Daisuke scowled. "I don't care. He's still an asshole at times. And besides, he ditched his girlfriend to marry a princess. I can't approve of that!"
"Idiot. Don't talk about things you know nothing about. Sakura died," Konohamaru said in a flat tone. "And Naruto was forced to marry Hanabi."
There was a long silence and Daisuke looked about ready to choke.
"Died?" Hikari gasped. "How?"
Konohamaru cringed at her tone. Given how Daisuke had compared his team with Naruto's own team, Hikari was projecting herself onto Sakura. Hearing that Sakura died must have been a psychological blow to the girl.
"She was assassinated," Konohamaru said somberly. "I don't think Naruto ever recovered from that. Even though he still pulls these pranks, he got much more serious after that incident. I've never seen him give anyone a genuine smile after that day." Konohamaru gave them a stern look. "Daisuke, you may think you love Hikari and I'm sure you do, but your love for Hikari is nothing compared to how much Naruto loved Sakura. Naruto took a deathblow for Sakura at least five times and it's only a miracle that he's still alive. One time, Naruto came back to the village with a huge hole in his right lung because of her."
Konohamaru reflected on that. It was true. Naruto was always trying to protect her and make her happy. He pushed his own selfishness aside to try to return Sasuke to her. Konohamaru was willing to bet that Naruto had broken every bone in his body at least once because of Sakura.
Konohamaru mentally frowned. This whole marriage just didn't seem characteristic of Naruto. Since when did Naruto bow to the wishes of the council? Did Sakura's death affect him that much?
No, that couldn't have been it.
An S-ranked mission, perhaps, for both Naruto and Hanabi?
Maybe…Konohamaru would have to keep an eye on his big brother and his training partner and help out in whatever way possible.
"A hole in his right lung?" Daisuke asked disbelievingly, shaking Konohamaru out of his thoughts.
"Wow," Hikari whispered. "That would be enough for me to fall in love with someone." Hikari must have realized what she said, because she added, "That doesn't mean you should try to die for me, you idiot! Don't you dare think about doing something like that!"
The boy was in no state to even process what Hikari had said. Daisuke kept shaking his head in shock. "He was willing to die? All because he loved this Sakura girl?"
Konohamaru nodded. "Not just once, but multiple times."
"Makes you wonder how much Naruto-sensei is hiding," Takeru said in a low tone. "We all knew that he was using his jokes as a way of hiding from the world, but there's no way that's his real personality if he's gone through so much."
Daisuke gave a sad look towards Hikari. They boy was no doubt considering whether he could sacrifice his own life for the girl. Hikari looked visibly uncomfortable with the idea.
Pretending not to notice, Konohamaru nodded again and continued. "Why do you think Sakura eventually fell in love with him? That didn't just happen because he kept asking her out. He would have and could have died for her. Did Naruto not even tell you his nindo?"
The three shook their heads.
"Nope. He just told us that we had to look 'underneath the underneath' as ninjas and that teamwork will help us become stronger," Takeru replied softly. "Something about the total being greater than the sum of its parts."
Konohamaru nodded again. "Those are all wise words. But Naruto lives by a few other rules. The first one is 'those who abandon the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash.' The second one is 'you will truly become strong when protecting those precious to your heart.' The third one is to 'never give up.' Those three creeds make him the person he is now. He was hated by the village and hated by the girl he loved, but he never gave up and fought to the death for those he cared about. That's why he's respected now and that's why he's going to become the Hokage. Don't you ever forget that, okay?"
"Wow…" Daisuke said sadly, "I feel bad for everything I said about him and to him. I didn't know he was that deep and that caring of a person. I always was happy that he visited me in the orphanage but to think he was carrying such a burden in his heart."
Konohamaru put his hand on Daisuke's head. "Well, Big Brother doesn't really like talking about himself too much. You're hardly the first who disrespected him and I don't think he thinks any less of you because of it."
"Konohamaru-sensei," Hikari asked tentatively, "why do you call Naruto-sensei your brother? Are you two related?"
"No," he laughed. "We're not related."
"Then?" Daisuke asked. "Are you just close to him?"
Konohmaru nodded in assent. "Yes, Naruto's always been there for me as an older brother. You said that he visited you all the time while you were in the orphanage, right? Well, Naruto made sure to take care of me as well when I was younger, especially after my grandfather passed away."
"The Third Hokage?"
"Yup. He was my grandfather. One of the greatest people who ever lived." Konohamaru got a bit misty-eyed at that. I still miss you, Grandpa. I hope you're proud of the man I've become. And I'm sure you'd be proud of the person Big Brother Naruto has become. He looked down at the kids again. "Well, that's enough for story-time. Now, I know Naruto taught you about tree-climbing and water-walking. What else did he teach you?"
"Teamwork exercises, setting up traps, and using different weapons," Daisuke said immediately. "We kept pestering him for ninjutsu, but he just waved us off."
Konohamaru smiled. "Well, ninjutsu usually doesn't come until much later."
Hikari shook her head. "It's not that, Konohamaru-sensei. Daisuke's not telling you the entire truth."
Konohamaru raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
Hikari took out several scrolls. "He gave us instructions on how to create our own techniques."
Konohamaru took the scrolls and opened them to see the contents.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Naruto was teaching them expert-level chakra theory. Even most jounin didn't even bother trying to understand chakra from an academic point of view.
"Naruto is crazy if he expects you to get anything practical out of this," Konohamaru muttered before turning to the kids. "Do you understand what's in these scrolls?"
All three of them shook their heads.
"Naruto-sensei goes over the material with us from time to time. We've all finished reading the scrolls individually, but we've only gotten through a tenth of the material in those scrolls with him," Takeru explained.
Daisuke crossed his arms. "Naruto-sensei told us that we don't have to understand everything at this moment, but he wants us to be familiar with the material for when he does teach us advanced techniques. But I want to learn now."
So it's not just Naruto being crazy then, Konohamaru mused. He's probably trying to get them to completely understand every technique they do even from an academic point of view instead of understanding them only on an instinctive level like most people. Since when did he start valuing bookwork?
Again, there was something strange going on. Naruto occasionally seemed to revert back to his old personality—almost as if he was forcing himself to act like that—but Konohamaru could sense that Naruto definitely changed in the last few years. The way he was teaching his students only confirmed it.
Konohamaru felt somewhat uneasy at that. A smarter Naruto did not seem pleasant. A smarter Naruto might ruminate too much on the village's past treatment of him. A smarter Naruto would be dangerous.
No.
He shook his head. That was his stupid paranoia speaking up again. Konohamaru trusted Naruto.
Naruto wasn't an enemy. That was impossible.
Konohamaru turned to his temporary students with a smile. "I happen to be a ninjutsu specialist. So tell me," he said, "what do you three know about something called nature manipulation?"
Hyuuga Clan Compound, Konoha – March 20, AK 22
Hanabi wanted to get some morning practice in until the formal meeting between the clan heads and the Hokage. It would be then when her body would be sealed so that the Byakugan would not be passed on to her offspring. It stung that her children wouldn't have something that defined so much of her own life, but she figured it was a small price to pay to be completely free of the clan. Fortunately, the chances were still high that another bloodline may manifest in her children. Although once disputed by the Uchiha, it was said that the Sharingan was born this way, and it was also the reason why political marriages between clans were still popular. The clan sending away a member still got to keep their bloodlines exclusive while the family receiving the member developed a distinct and powerful bloodline ability.
(AN: As noted before, this is not the Caged Bird seal.)
She was running through some motions of her modified Gentle Fist when she saw Hinata step onto the training area.
Hanabi gave no indication that she saw her sister even though Hinata would see through it right away. Hanabi continued practicing, hoping that her sister would just leave.
No such luck.
After a few minutes, her sister came up to her.
Hanabi turned to look at Hinata. "Yes?"
Slap!
Hanabi saw it coming from a mile away, but she figured it was best just to get hit. Perhaps if Hinata got some hits in, she would calm down and just go away.
At least that's what Hanabi hoped.
"How dare you steal Naruto from me?!" Hinata hissed. "I should have known you loved him when you started asking specific questions about him a few weeks ago."
"I didn't love him then," Hanabi said simply. "And he didn't and doesn't love me now."
"Don't lie," Hinata snapped. "I know you were sneaking out of the compound at night. I kept silent on it because you were my little sister but I could never have imagined that you were going out to see him!" Hinata glared, "And you just admitted that you love him now!"
"Naruto is my fiancé now. I think I'm supposed to love him," Hanabi replied sardonically. "Or at least be falling in love with him."
Slap!
"Don't be so smug because you get to marry Naruto!" Hinata cried. "He was supposed to love me!"
Hanabi sighed.
Normally her sister was gentle, kind, and reasonable, but her sister had a bad habit of completely losing it when it came to Naruto.
"But he doesn't," Hanabi said bluntly. "You've had fifteen years to change his mind. He chose Lady Haruno over you. He chose me over you. I would say that his choices should give you a hint about how he feels about you."
Hanabi dodged the next swing. This time Hinata had lunged with chakra flaring on her palms. Hanabi was willing to let Hinata vent, but Hanabi wasn't just going to get severely injured because of her older sister's jealousy.
"You did it!" Hinata cried with tears in her eyes.
"I did what?!" Hanabi yelled back.
"Don't deny it!" Hinata screamed. "I know it! You seduced him somehow so he wouldn't love me! First, it was father's favor. Then it was Naruto's heart! Why is it that you're the one who gets to have everything?! Why can't you just let me have something in this life?!"
Hanabi rapidly slapped away at the wild swings. This hadn't been what she expected when she came out to practice. Still, it was probably better that Hinata get this out of her system now instead of letting the feelings of anger fester into hatred. In spite of it all, Hinata was her sister and Hanabi wanted to remain on relatively good terms.
" Listen to what you're saying! " Hanabi said, trying to calm her sister down. "I didn't do any of this to spite you. I have no reason to hurt you, Big Sister."
"Don't call me that!" Hinata shrieked. "You're no longer a Hyuuga now anyway! We're not family anymore!"
Hanabi's eyes widened in surprise, not from the statement, but from Hinata jumping forward at a much faster speed than she had shown before. Hinata had started twisting in the characteristic motions for the Kaiten.
There's a tremendous amount of killing intent. She's out for blood!
Hanabi hadn't been taking the impromptu match very seriously and was completely off balance by that point. If the Kaiten hit from point blank range, she would be seriously hurt. Hanabi just grit her teeth and started expelling as much chakra as she could from her body to form as best of a shield as she could. Against the Kaiten, which involved incredibly rapid rotation of chakra, her using linearly released chakra would be like using butter to protect against a chainsaw. She only hoped that she would be recovered from the injuries she would receive by the time her wedding came around. It would be rather embarrassing to have a wedding with her completely torn up.
"Kaiten!"
Hanabi had expected to be knocked back into the wall, but instead found herself carried bridle style in the arms of a man. She saw black robes and a white cape.
"Naruto!"
"Safe!" she heard Naruto exclaim.
She sighed in relief but still rolled her eyes at his flippant tone.
"I'm not even going to ask how you managed to do that without me or Hinata seeing you with our Byakugan."
Naruto laughed before setting her down on the ground and tapped her on the forehead. She got the hidden message.
Ah. It must be some fuinjutsu. He did put multiple seals on my forehead. She furrowed her brows in thoughts. That sounds remarkably like the Fourth's Hiraishin.
"I don't know what kind of training session you had, but you were legitimately afraid for your life."
Hanabi was unsure how he knew exactly how she felt, but chose not to comment on it. Instead, she just pointed to Hinata, who was looking at them with an irate expression.
"Ah, well. My sister accidentally put too much power into her Kaiten," she said lamely, trying to save Hinata the pain of getting scolded by the man she loved. "I got caught off-guard."
"Uh huh, so that's why it look like someone painted red hands on your cheeks," he said sarcastically, before gently placing his hands on her red cheeks. "Stay still."
Hanabi moaned lightly as the pain from her face faded away. "You know medical ninjutsu?"
"Yes, I know medical ninjutsu. I'll never be anywhere close to being like Shizune," Hanabi noticed the deliberate leaving out of Haruno's name, "but I can hold my own as a medic. I got tired of just killing and wanted to learn something to help other people directly. I never got a chance to use it much since most of my missions are now solo, but you never know when you have the chance to help others."
"I see," Hanabi said as she touched her cheeks lightly. There wasn't even a twinge of pain. Naruto really was competent as a medic. Hanabi figured she shouldn't be surprised by anything from Naruto anymore.
Her fiancé then stood up to fix Hinata with a cold look. "I'm disappointed in you, Hinata."
Her sister's look flashed from angry to regret to despair to misery. Hinata fell onto her knees and broke down into tears. "Naruto?" she cried softly. "Why? Why?"
"Because you're a person who acts in this manner," Naruto said coldly.
Hinata recoiled back as if struck across the face. Even Hanabi had to wince at the biting tone. Naruto really did not mince his words.
"But Naruto, this is all for you!"
Naruto ignored Hinata and turned towards the direction of her home to see someone arrive.
Hanabi saw her father marching towards them, no doubt having heard about the fight from one of the Branch House members who were tending to the grounds.
Naruto glared at her father and swept her in his arms as a show of support. "What is the meaning of this, Lord Hyuuga?" Hanabi shivered at the disdain in the tone. Naruto could be scary when he chose to be. "Your very own flesh and blood tried to assassinate my fiancé. Hanabi may be your daughter by blood, but the moment that contract was signed, she was legally of my clan. You may very well end up starting a feud with my clan."
"My apologies, Lord Uzumaki," her father said in a barely controlled voice. Hanabi knew that her father was about to burst with rage. Hanabi looked at Hinata who was still shaking in despair on the ground. "I will control my daughter in the future so as to not antagonize the future matriarch of the Uzumaki clan."
Hanabi stood there stunned. That was the first time she ever saw her father give a direct apology. Normally, her father would use the wealth and power of the Hyuuga to suppress the other party, either with subtle hints of bribes or threats. He never apologized. Her father had told her in the past that apologies were for the weak.
Naruto nodded in satisfaction and said in a softer tone. "Since my fiancé was not hurt, I will not press any charges. However," Naruto's tone became dark.
Hanabi felt a tremendous killing intent saturating the air. Her mind flashed back to the time she was held by the cloaked man.
It's just like then…no…it's even stronger…It's just not affecting me as much because it's just not directed at me.
Her father gasped and fell on his knees. Hanabi activated her Byakugan again and noticed that all the other clan members around the manor were on their knees as well.
"Your point is understood," her father gasped out. "I already gave you my apologies."
"I know, but this is just insurance," Naruto growled out. "The next time something like this happens, I will personally raze your clan to the ground. Even the Hokage and the entirety of Konoha's forces won't be able to stop me. Believe it."
With that, the killing intent disappeared.
Hanabi just gaped at her fiancé in shock, and then smiled lightly. This was the reason why she agreed to marry him. With him at her side, no one would dare touch her.
As Naruto carried her away, she threw an apologetic look towards at her bawling sister who was now being berated by their father.
I'm sorry, sister. I really am. I know I don't deserve someone like him. But he's mine now and I'm not going to give him up.
Hyuuga Clan Sealing Room, Konoha – March 20, AK 22
Hiashi never felt more humiliated in his life. In a minute's span, he was forced to apologize, then was driven to his knees, and then had his entire clan threatened. And there was nothing he could do about it.
The killing intent that the Toad Sage had released was immense and reminded him of the last war when the Juubi unleashed its full power.
As a clan head, Hiashi was angry because he had been humiliated for something his eldest did in a fit of foolish jealousy. He didn't even know whether to be pleased that the now Crown Princess had managed to come within a split second of besting the stronger Hanabi in battle because he knew that Uzumaki would have carried out his threat to destroy the Hyuuga clan had the Kaiten hit. Uzumaki was known for weathering any kind of attack to protect his loved ones. Hiashi knew that Uzumaki could kill them all and get away with it.
As a father, he was somewhat happy that his daughter would be married to such a man who had such power and the heart to protect her despite not even loving her but also sad that his two daughters had such enmity between them now.
The clashing feelings just ended up leaving him confused as to how to act. He, the clan elders, the Hokage, his late nephew's teammate Tenten, his daughter, and Uzumaki were in a dark room getting ready for the sealing process.
He noticed with some irritation that the clan elders were looking slightly ill from having been exposed to the killing intent.
"My, my," the Hokage commented as he looked around the room as the girl, Tenten, began drawing a sealing array on the floor. "The tension in the room is quite thick. People might think that we're about to kill someone."
The Hokage chuckled lightly, but no one else seemed to find it amusing. Hiashi glared at the Sixth, daring him to ask what had happened. Hiashi needed something to vent his anger on. He wouldn't yell of course, but perhaps a few threats here and there about certain proposals in the village might send a message to the Hokage that his lame jokes were not appreciated.
"Tenten, here, let me help out," Uzumaki said in an eager tone. Given his expression, no one would have guessed that anything had happened just an hour earlier.
"Naruto," the Sixth admonished lightly. "You can't get involved. This is something that Konoha has to do as a third party witness to your marriage. If you were involved in the sealing, the Hyuuga clan could claim that you were trying to steal the Byakugan."
"Well, then tell Tenten to hurry it up," he grumbled. "It's boring just sitting around and waiting. We've just been watching for like thirty minutes."
"Damn it, Naruto!" the girl scolded. "You have nothing on your schedule today except to eat ramen. Your damn ramen can wait a few minutes."
"Don't insult the ramen, Tenten," Uzumaki yelled while shaking his fist. Hiashi started to twitch in annoyance. The boy could be insufferably annoying at times. "They'll never let you eat them again."
"That would be such a tragedy," came the sarcastic response.
It took everything Hiashi had to remain in control while hearing the inane conversation. Uzumaki was now comparing different ramen flavors to elemental chakra and how not knowing the glory of ramen was like intentionally not using a certain elemental type against another elemental type. How the hell did an idiot become such a force of nature?
And then he saw it. It lasted for less than a second, but his soon-to-be son-in-law had smirked.
The nerve of that…! Hiashi fumed in his mind. Uzumaki was being annoying on purpose! His eyes wandered to his daughter who standing next her fiancé and widened. It was almost imperceptible but his daughter was giggling lightly.
"Naruto, do you ever not antagonize the people around you?"
"Nope, then I wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki."
Hiashi sighed. He had never seen his daughter giggle before. She had always been the perfect child, willing to do whatever it was to become strong. He had initially wondered why the girl didn't want to be a clan head and why the girl so eagerly agreed to marry the Toad Sage.
The answer was right in front of him. His daughter didn't care about the clan. She didn't care about political ambition. She had just used the situation to get out of the Hyuuga clan. She hated the clan so much that she even managed to convince herself that she loved someone she barely knew.
That thought was like a stab to the heart for Hiashi.
"All done! Hanabi, if you can be so kind as to come to the center." Hiashi stared stoically as his daughter lowered the top of her robes to reveal her back.
It didn't show on his face, but it made him feel regret and shame seeing his daughter open up more to a stranger than to her own family.
He had done what he had thought best for his two daughters. He wanted to push them to become strong so that nothing in this world could touch them.
Yet the results were disastrous. His first daughter was emotionally, if not physically, frail and weak. His second daughter wanted nothing to do with her own family.
"Now then, as the Sixth Hokage, I am here to witness a formal marriage alliance between the Hyuuga clan and the Uzumaki clan. This bloodline limiter seal will prevent the passing of the Byakugan into the Uzumaki clan and can never be removed. With this, the last legal requirement of the contract will have been fulfilled. Objections?"
"None," Hiashi spoke succinctly.
"Nope, none from me. Now hurry it up. The ramen is calling to me."
The room was silent after that. After a few moments, the Hokage nodded to the sealing girl.
"Activate!"
Hiashi's thought back to this first daughter who was now crying in her room. He let out a sigh that no one heard over the loud activation of the seal. He had made too many mistakes as a father. Now it was time he started fixing them.
Karin's Quarters, Land of the Moon – March 20, AK 22
"Karin," a voice said out of nowhere.
Karin jumped as she rushed to cover herself before realizing that it was her husband. Karin wanted to grumble about Sasuke's abuse of the space-time ninjutsu. Knowing her husband, he probably did it to flaunt his power over her.
She considered putting on her clothes and then mentally grinned. "Sasuke, little Itachi just fell asleep."
She hoped that her husband would understand what she meant by that.
Sasuke smiled lightly, showing that he understood, but then shook his head. "Not now. I need a status report first."
Karin frowned. It was always business with her husband. She just wished that he would quit this little crusade of his and settle down. It was just unnecessary danger for all of them—for him, for her, and for little Itachi.
"Well, King Michiru tried to betray us. He tried to send his wife to Getsuga and his son to the main continent. We suspect the destination was Konoha. Luckily, we intercepted both of them. Getsuga doesn't know of our plans here and I doubt that Konoha does either. Currently we're keeping the two as hostages to ensure Michiru's obedience."
"I see."
"What about you? What have you been up to for the last few weeks?"
"Naruto is getting married."
"What?!" Karin said in shock. "To your old pink-haired teammate?"
Karin secretly hoped that the girl would marry Naruto. It would get her out of the picture once and for all. While Karin had the first victory by marrying Sasuke, she was still deathly afraid that he would abandon her one day. She still carried those horrible memories of when he had stabbed her with his Chidori Spear. Granted, he had been under the influence of the Uchiha Curse of Hatred, but it was still a traumatizing experience for her.
Sasuke frowned. Karin could see that he was carefully choosing his words. "It appears that Konoha has declared her dead," he finally said.
"She's dead?" Karin would have smiled and danced had she not realized that it would have been rather ridiculous. Especially since she was still naked. "Did you kill her?" Karin asked hopefully.
"In any case, that's irrelevant," Sasuke replied curtly. "Naruto is getting married to the second-born princess of the Hyuuga clan."
"Interesting," Karin muttered, not forgetting the fact that Saskue didn't answer her question. "That's quite a powerful bloodline couple right there. Their child will be the same as Itachi."
"Yes," Sasuke frowned, "Like Itachi, any children they have will have the blood of both sons of Sage Rikudo."
"We're both closer relatives to the Sage than either of them," Karin reassured Sasuke. "Naruto doesn't even have the characteristic red hair of the Uzumaki clan. That already shows that his Uzumaki blood has thinned out considerably."
Sasuke shook his head. "That is of little consequence. If the child becomes powerful enough, the surge in chakra can force the dormant genes of the Sage to become activated. That is how the Sharingan works after all. For the members of the Uchiha clan, the surge in chakra from a dangerous situation activates the genes to turn on the Sharingan for the first time. People were also able to activate the Sharingan once they became strong enough from normal training as well."
"So what are you saying? Are you saying that their child will be just as strong as Itachi?"
"Perhaps," Sasuke admitted, "Naruto is proving to be more of a threat than I thought. He's annoyed me for far too long. Every step of the way, he's right there behind me."
"Are you going to go after him?" she asked carefully. While she was confident that her husband would emerge victorious, a battle between the two was something she did not want to witness.
Sasuke shook his head. "No, not yet. There is no need to kill him unless he interferes with my plans. I need to train more with the Gelel flux before I make a decisive move."
Karin groaned and decided to vent her building frustrations.
Her damn husband was always killing the mood with his talks about training, training, and more training. "It's always training with you. When are you going to pay attention to your own son? What about me? Do you not care for us at all?"
Karin saw the fierce glare from her husband as he raised his hand to strike her before calming down. Karin looked at him fearfully. Ever since they had gotten married, Sasuke had never struck her. He must be more on edge than she thought.
"Karin, you know as well as I that I love my son as much as any father would. There is a reason I named him after the person who loved me more than the entire world."
"But you're always traveling around! You never make time for Itachi and me! I need something more than a statement like 'you are useful to me, Karin.' I need your presence and your love!"
The look remained cold. "I already warned you about this. I do not love you. Nor will I ever love you. My companionship for you is all I can offer. You yourself were fine with this agreement as long as I let you become my wife. What changed?"
"But, Sasuke!" she protested, but couldn't say anything else. What he had said was true. He had made it perfectly clear from day one that he had no intention of loving her. He would care for her and take care of her, but he would not love her. "Sorry, you're right."
His eyes softened. "Is it not enough that you are the mother of my child?" he asked. "This isn't about you. Romantic love is just not something for me. I live for a purpose greater than love, Karin. Until that purpose is fulfilled, I will not allow myself to be distracted by anything else. I am sorry that it is painful for you, but it is something you accepted for yourself."
"I…" she stammered before letting her head down, "I understand. Sorry I overreacted. I know how much this crusade means to you. It's just that I have my own needs and it sometimes goes against what you're doing."
"I understand that and accept that you might be demanding at times," Sasuke allowed. "But nothing will get in my way."
Karin nodded sadly. "Yeah. I know. I'll do my best to support you. I love you."
"I…thanks, Karin." She looked up when she felt his arms around her. "Just wait for me. Once I am finished, I promised that you will be my only purpose in life. Just wait…"
"I will. I can wait forever." Karin smiled lightly as she hugged him back. She would make him love her. She would heal his heart. It would be her purpose in life.
"Now then, I believe you were rather excited for something earlier."
Hokage Monument, Konoha – March 20, AK 22
It was a cool dark evening with a clear sky. Naruto found himself sitting on top of the Fourth Hokage's head quite a lot this past week to take a trip down memory lane. As a young child, he had been up here often, shouting to the winds that he'd become Hokage and gain the villagers' acknowledgement.
How foolish I was when I was a young child, Naruto thought. Fights, battles, wars are all fought because someone felt that they weren't acknowledged.
It was true. A daimyo or a kage would consider something a slight and then rage over it before attacking in "retaliation." Or a daimyo or kage would want to prove a point and try to bully another country, setting off a war.
"It's sad that this world revolves purely around gaining at the expense of others," Naruto murmured to himself. People tried to make themselves feel slightly better about themselves by mistreating the Kyuubi boy. Then after Naruto proved himself, people tried to rely on him as a rock that would never collapse to feel secure in their own safety.
He snorted before realizing that someone had arrived. It wasn't Hanabi. He could feel the shadow step seal on her forehead a few kilometers away.
Naruto closed his eyes for about half a minute before feeling himself enter into Sage Mode. Ah so that's who it is…
"Hinata," he said, "why don't you join me? The view is nice."
He heard footsteps. "Why her?"
Naruto didn't bother turning back. The girl was obviously in tears and he just didn't want to deal with it. He was too emotionally tired from his own problems to attend to those of another person. "Is that what you want to ask?" he inquired, "or are you trying to ask why I didn't pick you? Those are two very different questions."
He noted that the girl just stood back a meter or so away, not feeling comfortable enough to join him. "I loved you. I risked my life for you. I would have done anything to make you happy. Why couldn't you have picked me?"
"Hinata," Naruto said slowly, "if I chose you, do you think that it would have changed a thing?" Naruto shook his head. "Sure, you might have shared my bed. But, I don't think I would have ever returned your love. Could you have lived with that? Wouldn't it be torture seeing me day and night but knowing that I didn't love you?"
"But that could have changed!" Hinata protested. "I would have made you fall in love with me. I would have—"
"Just how would you have done that?" Naruto interrupted, as he looked down at the village in slight distaste. "Admiration? There are a lot of girls that admire me now. The fact that you admired me for so long doesn't make you special."
"But you gave me my nindo. You inspired me to become stronger. You're someone special to me."
"And I'm glad I was able to touch your life in that manner. But let me ask you this, Hinata," Naruto replied in a sad tone, "what does that have to do with me? I affected you, great. But how did you change my life?"
Naruto winced when he heard the gasp. His words just now were probably like a slap to the face. But he had to make his point. He did not love her.
"I…I…I risked my life for you! That's something no one else can claim," Hinata argued. "Even Sakura! Even someone like Sakura ended up being protected by you. But Naruto, I would have protected you!"
"Sorry, Hinata," Naruto sighed. The girl just wasn't getting the message. "I don't need protection. I don't need admiration."
"Is it strength?" she asked softly. "Was I simply too weak for an amazing person like you? Is that why you chose my sister, an incredibly strong girl? You couldn't have Sakura, so you went for the next strongest, the next best—"
"Hinata," Naruto lightly admonished, "you shouldn't talk about your sister like she's my second choice. I know that you're disappointed and hurt, but Hanabi didn't have a choice in this so don't blame her."
"But she wanted it! I saw it in her eyes! She loves you! Even knowing that I loved you, she fell in love with you!"
Naruto was a bit taken aback by that. Was Hanabi really in love with him or was this Hinata just being unreasonable? He knew the girl was beginning to have feelings for him, but love? Naruto shook his head. Their time together had been too short for something like love. It was probably infatuation at best.
"You're wrong, Hinata," Naruto flatly responded. "She doesn't love me. She loves what I can offer to her. You know your sister better than I do. By marrying me, she can escape being sealed and escape the rigid Hyuuga clan. She never wanted to be clan head like you do so it was her way to passing off the baton to you without a fight."
"Clan head?" Hinata repeated.
Naruto sighed again. It was time to pull out the big guns. "Hinata, if we had gotten married, you might have convinced yourself that you were happy with me. But you would have lost your purpose in life. Was it not your goal to keep your promise to Neji and unite the two branches of your clan? I knew you loved me but even without the other reasons I gave you, I still couldn't have picked you because I would have been the reason you lost something dear to your heart."
"But Naruto, you're dearer to my heart! I would have gladly—"
"No," Naruto said firmly. "And that's exactly why I couldn't. I am an obstacle to you. I ran more high rank missions than I care to count in the last few years. There were many days where I wanted to rest. But I couldn't rest no matter how much I wanted to because it would distract me from my ultimate goal of wanting to protect those I love in Konoha. I am like that to you. I am the distraction on the road that you have to ignore in order to fulfill your goal."
"B…b…but!"
"I know it hurts, but you have to get over me. You have to become a good clan head and bring a new era to the Hyuuga clan. Hinata," Naruto said seriously as he stood and faced the crying girl, "love is fleeting, but purpose is forever. You said your nindo is fashioned after mine. Well, then don't give up your dream of being clan head."
"We could have figured something out…I know it! I could have remained the clan head and still married you—"
"…and doomed Hanabi a life with the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead," Naruto finished for her. "You know as well as I do that the Caged Bird Seal cannot be removed by any known means once it is placed. Even if you had changed the clan, your sister still would have been trapped forever. I know you aren't so selfish to seek good only for yourself. Be happy that your sister achieved her own dream of leaving the Hyuuga clan."
"But it's just not fair!"
"Life isn't really fair," Naruto shook his head, annoyed with himself that he used such a cliché saying, "I never asked to be hated as a child. But people hated me anyway. I just dealt with it. So must you."
"But Naruto, I'm not you. I'm not as strong as you are. The only good thing about me is my love for you."
"Didn't you say you love me?"
Hinata nodded. "I do."
"And you said that you're willing to do anything to make me happy, right?"
Another nod. "A…anything!"
"Then get over me," Naruto said in a flat tone.
Hinata gasped. "But I can't!"
"Then you're not willing to make me happy?" Naruto asked. The girl gave no response. "See Hinata, you desire my love more than you desire my happiness. You love me too much. Your love for me isn't as pure and good as you think."
"Then what would you have me do?"
"Whatever you want," Naruto suggested. "But I'm not going to suddenly fall in love with you. So I think you should at least try to figure out how to function even if you still have feelings for me. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"I…I…Naruto…it still hurts so much," the girl sobbed, "but I will do my best to move on with life. For you. But I don't think I can ever stop loving you."
Naruto gave a sad smile. "Then how do you expect me to start loving you? Matters of the heart are not so easily controlled. I wish I could love you, but the world just doesn't work that way. There were many days that I wish I didn't love Sakura whenever she would scream at me and hit me. But I still did and I suffered for it. The heart is something harder to move than the largest mountains."
"I know that more than you could ever understand, Naruto," Hinata sniffed.
Naruto looked at her gently. "Like I said, I understand how you feel. So I won't demand anything of you in terms of your feelings for me. Just don't have resentment towards your sister, okay?"
The girl nodded sadly. "Alright. I'll be taking my leave then." With that the girl slowly walked away.
Naruto would have let out a huge sigh of relief had he not known that another person had watched and heard most of the conversation.
Sage Mode was rather useful for sensing.
"You handled that fairly well."
"Ino, don't you have better things to do than search for things to gossip about?"
"You're just like Shikamaru in that regard. Both of you are always insulting me and assuming I'm just out to gather tidbits to talk to my friends about."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Then tell me that's not true."
"It's not," returned the other girl with a straight face. "I can keep secrets quite well."
Naruto's mood instantly plummeted. Ino, Shizune, Shikamaru, and Kakashi may have believed that they were so clever, but he wasn't fooled by their tricks to manipulate him.
"Oh, I'm sure," he said in a low and dangerous tone that almost sounded like a hiss. "You mean like the secret that Sakura is still alive."
"How did you—" the girl responded with a shocked look before realizing that she was only confirming his allegation.
"Get the hell out of here, Ino."
"How did you know?!" The girl asked, not even caring that she was now revealing a village secret.
Naruto turned around to face the village again. The village that constantly lied to and hurt him every chance it got. He could feel every single chakra signal in the village and found that almost everyone else was with a relative or a friend. It just reminded him how truly alone he was.
"I am a Sage. That's enough for me to know."
He was an S-rank, now respected by the village, but he was still alone. Alone to fight the injustice of the world.
The villagers slept easy from his sacrifice and the blood of those outside the walls of Konoha. But their ill-gotten peace would not last for much longer. Naruto would personally see to that himself.
Konoha.
Konoha was rotten.
Konoha was filled with thieves.
Thieves who did not pay the price for their peace.
Hokage's Office, Konoha – March 20, AK 22
"Lord Hokage!"
Kakashi lifted his head from his work to see Ino Yamanaka charging into his office. "Yes?"
"N…N…Naruto," she gasped out before taking deep breaths. "Privacy seals!"
He raised his visible eyebrow as he activated the seals, preventing even the ANBU guarding his room from hearing the conversation. "What about him?"
"He knows!" she panted. "He knows that Sakura is alive!"
Kakashi felt as if someone punched him. "What? How does he know that?"
Ino shook her head, "He didn't explain. He just said that it had something to with him being a Sage."
Kakashi was panicking. Was there some way that Sage Mode sensed others? Even skilled sensors couldn't sense passed the seals on the hospital wall. So how did Naruto figure it out? There were fewer than ten people who know about Sakura's condition.
"Did he appear," Kakashi had to pause and gulp in fear, "angry?"
Kakashi knew that one of the things Naruto hated the most was important relevant information kept from him. Naruto still refused to acknowledge that the decisions to hide information about his parents and the Kyuubi were correct.
And once again, Naruto would be angry that they kept Sakura's condition a secret. First, Naruto would not understand that they had to fool Naruto to get any intel about the attacker. Second, the attacker might choose to attack Sakura again if he or she knew that Sakura was alive. Third, Naruto's "amazing" solution to that second problem would have been to stay next to Sakura all the time. He would never and would never want to understand that his missions out on the field were more valuable than emotional support to his girlfriend.
Ino nodded.
Kakashi sighed. As expected, Naruto was angry.
"What do we do, Lord Hokage?" Ino asked desperately. "He must have found out recently; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to marry Hanabi. He probably would have tried to wait until Sakura got better."
Kakashi didn't reply immediately. If Naruto was able to sense Sakura, then why didn't he break her out? Maybe Naruto just took a shot in the dark and confirmed it with Ino's reaction. He definitely could not see his student agree to another marriage while Sakura was alive. Naruto probably would have considered the marriage contract null the moment he found out that he was being deceived. So what was going on?
"I'm not so sure about that. He didn't bring up the issue with me so he must be playing along for now. Maybe Naruto saw the wisdom in keeping her condition a secret." I hope, he added mentally.
"That really doesn't sound like Naruto," Ino whispered worriedly. "He never thought too far ahead. He's insightful at times and can be really clever, but self-control was never one of his strong suits!"
Kakashi had to agree with the assessment. Despite his hopes that Naruto was maturing, Kakashi just couldn't see Naruto being too accepting.
Kakashi groaned. Naruto was becoming more and more of a headache. Naruto had always been easy to figure out, but his blond student was slowly becoming a mystery now.
Kakashi decided to merely watch for now and hope that things turned out for the best.
At the very least, Naruto would never betray the village. That was one thing he and Konoha could always count on. He was always willing to pay the necessary price for others.
AN: Clearly, the last chapter was a bad idea. I deeply apologize for the horrible content I made all of you read. Haha.
But as warned, you had to deal with at least one more chapter with filler content. But I limited to only one scene and instead inserted material from the next chapter.
So now I have to figure out a way to increase meaningful content in the next chapter. Ugh. I never should have messed with my outline.
lol - the moral of the story: fillers are horrible, even though those fillers are going to be somewhat relevant in the future.
But since I'm immature, I'm going to throw a temper tantrum. I'm not going to update until I reach three digits in reviews, favorites, and updates (Honestly, this is just more of an excuse not to have to finalize the next chapter for a while - this story somehow reaches three digits for all three categories within a day, I'm kind of screwed lol).
Oh, that reminds me...since this is the tenth chapter, as promised, here are the stats of the characters. None of the numbers are really important for the story, so feel free to skip them. It's just for those who really like power levels and stuff.
Remember, these are Konoha's listings and therefore are not true measurements of strength in certain cases. I could have given the real numbers, but part of the point of this story is that you don't know exactly how strong people are.
Data Book on Konoha Ninjas
General Number Listings
0 to 1 = D-rank (average 4, range 0-8)
1 to 2 = C-rank (average 12, range 8-16)
2 to 3 = B-rank (average 20, range 16-24)
3 to 4 = A rank (average 28, range 24-32)
4 to 5 = S rank (average 36, range 32-40)
5+ = one of a kind, you can think of the + as one or even two points
Konoha Military Leaders (in order of rank)
Kakashi Hatake (Copy Ninja) – Rank S
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin, Kage
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4.5 | Strength = 3.75 | Speed = 4.75 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 3.25 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 5 | Genjutsu = 4.25 | Taijutsu = 4
Total: 34
Special Notes: Sharingan, Sixth Hokage, Dog Contract, Space-Time Ninjutsu
Dragon (Identity Redacted) – Rank A
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin, ANBU Commander
Battle stats: Intelligence = 5 | Strength = 2.5 | Speed = 3.25 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 3.25 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 4.5 | Genjutsu = 4 | Taijutsu = 3
Total: 30
Special Notes: Redacted
Shizune – Rank A
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin, Supply & Relief Head, Hokage's assistant
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 2.25 | Speed = 2.25 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 2.5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 3 | Genjutsu = 3.5 | Taijutsu = 2.5
Total: 24.5
Special Notes: Medical Ninjutsu, Poison
Ino Yamanaka – Rank A
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin, Communications Head
Battle stats: Intelligence = 3.5 | Strength = 2 | Speed = 2.5 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 2.5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 4 | Genjutsu = 4 | Taijutsu = 2
Total: 24.5
Special Notes: Medical Ninjutsu, Poison, Uses mental attacks
Senior Operatives – Elite Jounin
Naruto (Golden Sun) – Rank S
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin, Toad Sage
Battle stats: Intelligence = 2.5 | Strength = 5+ | Speed = 5+ | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 5+ | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 2.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 5+ | Genjutsu = 1.5 | Taijutsu = 4.5
Total: 31++++ (note: numerical total VASTLY underestimates fighting ability, see + values)
Special Notes: Chakra of the Kyuubi, Toad Sage, Fuinjutsu
Instructions: Apologize for whatever was done to escape – subject is highly idealistic and forgiving
Hanabi Hyuuga – Rank A
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 2.25 | Speed = 3.75 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 3 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 3 | Genjutsu = 2.5 | Taijutsu = 4.5
Total: 27.5
Special Notes: Byakugan
Konohamaru Sarutobi – Rank A
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Elite Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 2.5 | Strength = 4 | Speed = 4 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 4 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 3
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 4 | Genjutsu = 2 | Taijutsu = 4
Total: 27.5
Special Notes: Monkey Contract
Jounin – B-rank or higher in all categories
Shikamaru Nara – Rank B
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 5+ | Strength = 2.5 | Speed = 2.25 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 2.25 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 3.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 3 | Genjutsu = 3 | Taijutsu = 2
Total: 23.5
Special Notes: IQ of 212, Deer Contract, Uses shadow to fight
Hinata Hyuuga – Rank B
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 3.5 | Strength = 2 | Speed = 3 | Chakra/Stamina = 2 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 2 | Genjutsu = 2 | Taijutsu = 4
Total: 23
Special Notes: Byakugan
Shino Aburame – Rank B
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4.5 | Strength = 2 | Speed = 2.5 | Chakra/Stamina = 2 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 3.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 2.5 | Genjutsu = 2.5 | Taijutsu = 2.5
Total: 22
Special Notes: Kikaichu
Tenten – Rank B
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 3 | Strength = 2.5 | Speed = 2.75 | Chakra/Stamina = 2 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 2.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 2.5 | Genjutsu = 2.5 | Taijutsu = 3.25
Total: 21 (note: numerical total underestimates fighting ability, see special notes)
Special Notes: Fuinjutsu, Master at all forms of weaponry, Can fight at all ranges
Special Jounin – B-rank or higher in some categories
Rock Lee (Wild Green Beast) – Rank A
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Special Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 3 | Strength = 5+ | Speed = 5+ | Chakra/Stamina = 5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 0
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 0 | Genjutsu = 0 | Taijutsu = 5+
Total: 23+++ (note: numerical total vastly underestimates fighting ability, see + values)
Special Notes: Can open up to six of the Inner Gates, Inability to use chakra
Kiba Inuzuka – Rank B
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Special Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 2.5 | Strength = 3.5 | Speed = 4.5 | Chakra/Stamina = 3 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 1.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 3 | Genjutsu = 1.5 | Taijutsu = 3.5
Total: 23
Special Notes: Partnered with a ninja dog, incredible sense of smell
Chouji Akimichi – Rank B
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Special Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 3 | Strength = 5 | Speed = 2 | Chakra/Stamina = 3 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 2
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 3.5 | Genjutsu = 1.5 | Taijutsu = 3
Total: 23
Special Notes: Akimichi Food Pills may drastically improve fighting ability
Missing / Deceased
Sakura Haruno – Rank A
Status: Deceased
Official Rank: Jounin, former Supply & Relief Head
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 5+ | Speed = 3.25 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 2.5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 3.5 | Genjutsu = 4.25 | Taijutsu = 3.5
Total: 31+
Special Notes: Medical Ninjutsu, Incredible Strength, Poison
Taichi Io – Rank C
Status: Deceased
Official Rank: Chuunin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 1.5 | Strength = 1.0 | Speed = 1.0 | Chakra/Stamina = 1.5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 1.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 1.5 | Genjutsu = 1.0 | Taijutsu = 2
Total: 11
Special Notes: None
Foreigners
Ē – Rank S
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Jounin, Kage
Battle stats: Intelligence = 3.5 | Strength = 5 | Speed = 5+ | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 5+ | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 3.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 5 | Genjutsu = 2.5 | Taijutsu = 4.5
Total: 34++
Special Notes: Capable of Incredible Speeds, Nearly Impenetrable Lightning Armor, Fourth Raikage
Darui – Rank S
Status: Alive
Official Rank: Jounin
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 4.5 | Speed = 4 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 4.5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 5 | Genjutsu = 2.5 | Taijutsu = 4
Total: 32.5
Special Notes: Black Lightning, Storm Release
Threats
Kokuten – Rank S
Status: Unknown (suspected to be Sasuke Uchiha)
Official Rank: Unknown
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 5 | Speed = 5+ | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 5+ | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 5+ | Genjutsu = 5 | Taijutsu = 5
Total: An estimate value of 38+++
Special Notes: Fuinjutsu, Space-Time Ninjutsu
Instructions: Flee on Sight!
Sasuke Uchiha – Rank S (last seen 5 years ago)
Status: Unknown
Official Rank: Genin, Honorably Discharged from Konoha
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 3 | Speed = 4.5 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 3 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 4
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 5 | Genjutsu = 5+ | Taijutsu = 4
Total: 32.5+
Special Notes: Sharingan, Space-Time Ninjutsu, Hawk Contract, Skillset from FIVE years ago
Instructions: Do not Engage!
Juugo – Rank A (last seen 5 years ago)
Status: Unknown
Official Rank: None
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 5+ | Speed = 4 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 1.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 2.5 | Genjutsu = 1.5 | Taijutsu = 3.5
Total: 27+ (note: numerical total vastly underestimates fighting ability, see special notes)
Special Notes: Alternate Personality is a Berserker, Tremendous Durability and Strength, Skillset from FIVE years ago
Karin Uchiha – Rank B (last seen 5 years ago)
Status: Unknown
Official Rank: Chuunin, Former Oto ninja
Battle stats: Intelligence = 4 | Strength = 1.5 | Speed = 1.5 | Chakra Levels/Stamina = 3.5 | Chakra Control/Hand Signs = 3.5
Skill stats: Ninjutsu = 2.5 | Genjutsu = 2.5 | Taijutsu = 1.5
Total: 20.5
Special Notes: Sensor, Medic, Skillset from FIVE years ago