Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 11: The art of persuasion
In the early morning hours just a short time after dawn, Mizuki was pacing in a clearing in one of the countless wooded areas in Konoha. He was filled with doubts and indecision about his future course of action. It had been a long process, but he felt barely any loyalty to Konoha anymore. It had all started years ago when people began treating Iruka better than him for some inexplicable reason. That had been a heavy if secret strain on their relationship until he wasn't sure anymore if he considered Iruka a friend at all. Recently he even caught himself thinking of ways to make the man miserable.
Another source of his dissatisfaction was his rank. He was more or less stuck at chunin for the rest of his life; the head of the promotion board had told him point blank that he could forget about ever receiving a promotion. All because one of his teammates had died on a mission and suddenly rumors about Mizuki killing him deliberately had sprung up all over the place. In reality it had been that idiot Takeshi's own fault. The man had been completely incompetent as a shinobi, but everyone seemed to think of him as a genius. He was even writing books about his adventures! Now to be fair, the man had possessed two talents, and that was taking the credit for the achievements of others and caring for his appearance.
Mizuki had disliked the fop right from the start after they were assigned to a team, but had grit his teeth and soldiered on. That lasted until mister my-ego-is-bigger-than-my-head picked a fight with a group of missing nin from Kiri they encountered accidentally. Takeshi's skill had been barely genin-level, but he fancied himself already a jonin. How he had managed to obtain the promotion to chunin Mizuki would never know. Their other teammates had been out of sight when Takeshi and him stumbled upon the three missing nin. They weren't especially hostile as one of them was wounded and obviously only wanted to pass through without making trouble. Mizuki had memorized the bingo book, and as none of them were wanted for any serious crimes in the Land of Fire or allied countries he had been inclined to let them go, not the least because they all appeared more skilled than him and he didn't fancy the odds. Unfortunately Takeshi had other ideas and attacked them. While Mizuki was busy fighting his own opponent and the wounded one stayed out of the fight, Takeshi managed to get himself killed.
His opponent had been befuddled by Takeshi's utter lack of skill at first, but when the idiot turned his back to his enemy while doing some bullshit combat move the veteran simply plucked a kunai that Mizuki had thrown earlier from a tree and stuck it in Takeshi's skull from behind. Mizuki was already preparing himself to die because he now faced three-to-one odds when the noise of his approaching other teammates startled the enemy. In the blink of an eye they were gone, and Mizuki was left standing with the body of his teammate killed by Mizuki's own kunai and some inconclusive signs of struggle. That had gone over really well with his teammates, one of which had been besotted with Takeshi. Mizuki had never kept his dislike of Takeshi a secret, and it came back to bite him in the ass. Upon their return to Konoha rumors about him killing his comrade had immediately spread, not the last because Takeshi had apparently managed to gain the favor of several important people. The following investigation had cleared him, but doubts and rumors remained.
His career had been basically shot to hell at that point, and it had taken years of supreme effort to gain even the position of assistant instructor at the academy. None of the divisions of the shinobi forces wanted to really employ him anymore for other than the shittiest jobs. He had lacked the connections to counteract the discrimination, but at least Iruka and his lover Tsubaki had been helpful. As the years went by the rumors faded, but still kept him from advancing and stuck in his teaching job. How he hated teaching these snot-nosed brats basic stuff. The higher regions of ninjutsu and chakra theory were his passion, not the beginner skills he was required to teach. To top it off he was forced to teach the damned Kyuubi brat of all things. He had tried to take some of his own frustrations out on the boy by teaching him faulty maneuvers while trying to befriend him, but he had been unsuccessful so far.
The only really bright spots were his relationship with his dear Tsubaki and the modicum of respect he garnered as academy instructor. He desperately wanted respect and recognition for his skills as shinobi, he could still feel the disappointed looks his father gave him for his slow advancement in the ranks. Time was slowly running out for him; he was already approaching his mid-twenties. If he didn't made jonin or at least special jonin until he reached thirty, it was unlikely that he ever would be promoted. After all, at some point in his thirties he would begin to slowly physically decline if he didn't get access to the advanced treatments. These treatments were exclusive and costly, and he needed the rank as well as the money to access them.
It had been a string of bad luck that had left him stuck as genin for a long time even if he was a member of the elite program. His first sensei had been competent, but died because of an illness not even half a year after they graduated. They had been in limbo for several months as no one had wanted to take the spot. Their next sensei had been barely competent as a teacher. The man was mainly biding his time before he reached retirement age, and after that they had been deemed to have enough of an education and had been split up to be assigned to various teams led by chunin. He had to learn almost all his skills in self-study. Four times Mizuki had participated in chunin exams, but the two times he and his various teammates had made it past the first two stages he had been pitted against far superior opponents and didn't get to show his skill.
After years of struggle he had received a regular promotion to chunin and things had finally looked up. On one of the few opportunities that presented themselves he had shown a knack for more complicated techniques, and people began to take notice. Then the disaster with Takeshi happened, and his career was in the crapper again. Doors for learning and employment opportunities had closed, and he was struggling to get enough missions to pay the debts his father racked up with his gambling habits until he finally acquired the position of assistant instructor at the academy. Unfortunately the task of teaching untalented dunderheads who fancied themselves the next super-shinobi without investing the necessary effort left him hardly any time to train himself, further hampering his efforts to eventually rise in the ranks. The injustice was galling and poisoned him against Konoha's leadership who let it happen. Two months ago his father had died, and with him one of the few ties that kept him bound to Konoha. His lover and his position were simply not enough. He wanted more. More respect. More power. More glory.
In his left hand was the cause for his current struggle. It was an anonymous note he had found yesterday in his house, inviting him to a meeting in the woods. It contained promises of power and wealth in exchange for certain unspecified services, and he was sure the invitation originated from someone working for Orochimaru himself. Mizuki should have immediately reported the recruitment attempt to the authorities, but he had hesitated. The Sannin could certainly back up his promises, but Mizuki was still undecided. If he went to the meeting at the other end of the forest and made a deposit with his answer, he would irrevocably take the step from disaffection to outright treason. He would also have to give up on Tsubaki, but receive all the power he wanted in return. Was it really worth it in the end? Mizuki was about to give in to the temptation when a voice disturbed his thoughts.
"You know, talking to yourself is a bad habit for a shinobi, sensei."
Whirling around, Mizuki spotted a familiar blond boy leaning lazily against a tree, eyeing him with a cold stare that was a stark contrast to his usual expression.
"YOU!"
"Yes, me. I was here the entire time and heard your ramblings." Naruto answered.
That was bad; he had to silence the boy at all costs. With a fluid motion he pulled a kunai from his side and threw it at the blond boy. It hit him squarely in the chest… only to pass through him without doing any damage.
"Now, now, Mizuki-sensei, I came here to talk and you start immediately trying to kill me. What does that say about all the times you tried to make nice with me at the academy?"
"You're a bunshin." Mizuki said in realization.
"Bunshin combined with voice projection actually, and I suggest you refrain from attacking me again. I would hate to have to report you."
Mizuki was thinking furiously, he had to do something to get out of this situation. Perhaps if he managed to unsettle the boy he would have a chance to find the hiding place of the original.
"Naruto, didn't you find it odd that all the villagers hate you? I'll tell you the truth. Ten years ago… you know about the demon fox being defeated, right? Since that incident a new law was created for this village. This law was never meant to be told to you. The law is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the demon fox. You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and you have been lied to by everybody. Nobody will ever accept you! Come with me and we can leave this trash heap of a village together."
For a moment Naruto stared blankly at him and Mizuki hoped his trick was successful. That hope evaporated when the bunshin began to shake with laughter.
"Seriously? You thought that telling me about the old fuzzball would get me to follow you or give away my position? For your information, I've known about the Kyuubi for years, and so do my closest friends. Do you seriously believe that I'm the Kyuubi or was that only a lie? Never heard about jinchuuriki? You're old enough that during your time at the academy the information was still easily available."
"You know about the Kyuubi?" Mizuki blurted.
"Yep. No thanks to the Old Man, but I've seen the cage of the oversized furball for years in my dreams. Didn't take much figuring out when I saw the thing had nine tails. Oh, by the way, I can easily draw on the fox's chakra, so I suggest you behave unless you want me to kill you or have a horde of ANBU descend on this little clearing."
Now sweat was beginning to drip from Mizuki's face. Killing a third year academy student was easy, but if said student could use the Kyuubi's power his survival chances were dropping to effectively zero. He had heard what some of the enemy jinchuuriki had done in the last war.
"If you kill me you will be punished."
Naruto scoffed. "Oh please, do you take me for an idiot? My friend Hinata is watching us even now, and I circulated a story that you wanted to meet me for special training. If she and I report you attacked me and the investigation finds the invitation to treason you hold in your hand, whom do you think will the Hokage believe? Oh, and we have forged a duplicate, so destroying the note won't help you."
Mizuki cursed silently. The boy had him trapped. With the Hyuuga heiress watching from afar and the other evidence Naruto could indeed get away with killing him. His rational mind reengaged and he considered the situation, apparently the boy wasn't out to immediately kill him. It couldn't hurt to hear him out. He relaxed his battle stance somewhat.
Naruto smiled his familiar smile. "I knew an intelligent man would see reason. Now, the reason I'm being here is to prevent you from making a mistake with dire consequences."
"Mistake?"
The boy pointed at the note in Mizuki's hand. "You are considering turning traitor and becoming Orochimaru's spy. Don't. The snake will milk you for all you're worth and then discard you when you're no longer useful. If you're especially unlucky he uses you as test subject for some of his crazy ideas. Should you survive that intact, he always has the option to place a control seal on you, but even that is no guarantee that he keeps you around. Look at what happened with his apprentice Anko Mitarashi. The man is an expert in betrayal, not that this village is much better."
"What would you know about that?" Mizuki asked.
"Quite a lot, actually. For example, did you know that Yondaime didn't just use any random infant to seal the Kyuubi into? No, the beloved hero of the village stuck the most dangerous demon in all the Elemental Nations in the gut of his own newborn son despite knowing how jinchuuriki are treated."
Mizuki was reeling from this revelation. The boy the majority of the village hated as a demon was the son of the Yondaime? He still remembered and admired the man. It was impossible; there was simply no way that a war hero like Minato Namikaze would sacrifice his own son to such a horrible fate. After all, jinchuuriki were universally despised and went quite often insane. He had assumed the Hokage had simply grabbed one random orphan.
"You're lying!" he finally managed to get out.
At that Naruto let out a bitter laugh. "I wish I was. Dear old daddy spouted some bullshit about me being seen as a hero by the village and how he did all that for my benefit before he bought it. Now, that might even have worked if the Sandaime hadn't had the bright idea to announce my status to the world but to keep my heritage a secret. Sure, I might have to face some assassination attempts from my old man's enemies, but at least I wouldn't have to worry as much about internal threats. Like for instance people deliberately sabotaging my education." During the last bit he sent a glare in Mizuki's direction.
The chunin winced at that accusation. He had been sure Naruto hadn't realized what he had been doing. Then a particular fact grabbed his attention. "How do you know what the Yondaime said before he died? You were far too young to understand anything from what was happening."
"Simple, I have access to the Kyuubi's memories. There were all sorts of interesting tidbits."
Mizuki gulped at that. "What do you want from me?"
"You want power and respect. I want my independence and later my own clan. Work for me, and in time I'll give you what you want. In the foreseeable future you don't have to do anything special, just stop with the biased teaching. Later I want to be informed of matters of interest that you discover and I will probably need your help in influencing the team assignments. I recommend that you report the recruitment attempt to the authorities, but that is up to you."
"What happens if I decline?"
Naruto's face distorted in a truly disturbing grin. "I that case I play with you for a while until I kill you or ANBU arrives, whichever comes first."
The situation didn't look good for him. Mizuki didn't believe he could kill Naruto if the brat used the Kyuubi's chakra. Even if he did, he would be forced to flee. He doubted that Orochimaru would take him in if he didn't deliver something useful and the life of an unaffiliated nuke-nin was not appealing. That led him to consider Naruto's offer. After all, he could always renege on his word if the situation was more favorable to him.
"Very well, I agree to your terms Naruto-kun. I will act as your agent." Mizuki said with a smile.
"I'm glad on your behalf Mizuki-sensei. That leaves only one thing." The figure before him began to make unfamiliar hand signs. A complex seal made of fire appeared in the air before him from somewhere out of the woods and hovered for a moment. "Demon Art: Seal of the Oathkeeper" he heard Naruto say.
Before he could even blink the fiery seal shot towards him and hit him in the head. Other than a light stinging sensation nothing seemed to happen.
"What did you just do?" Mizuki asked in a panic-filled voice.
"Just a little precaution on my part. Should you go back on our deal that seal will melt your brain. Oh, and it's completely invisible to normal humans. Have a nice day, Mizuki-sensei."
With these words the figure disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Mizuki only thought 'Well, shit'.
"… and then I made my bunshin do some made-up hand signs, used my magic to create a small illusion of a seal which I shot at his head and told him that it was a demonic technique that would melt his brain if he betrayed me." Naruto related the tale of him tricking the academy instructor before breaking down and joining his parents and Hinata in their laughter.
"The expression on his face was truly priceless. Mizuki-sensei stood there for almost a minute with his mouth opening and closing while not making a sound." Hinata added while trying and failing to suppress her own giggles. That comment served to start the general laughter once again.
Finally the amusement subsided somewhat.
"Congratulations on obtaining your first retainer, you two. This is exactly what I meant by grasping opportunities when they present themselves and showing initiative. You had no time to confer with us, but acted independently. A great step on your way to adulthood." Daiki said while Youko nodded.
Hinata and Naruto blushed at the praise, deeply satisfied that Youko and Daiki approved their course of action.
"A teacher of the academy you can control is certainly useful. But I have a question, why did you recruit this particular man?" Youko asked.
"You mean why him, and not Iruka?" Seeing his mother nod, Naruto continued. "Several reasons, actually. Iruka is completely loyal to the village as well as the Hokage and generally happy with his position in life. That gives me no real starting point to work on him. While he is sort of friendly to me, he would never betray the village should it become necessary for my goals. Mizuki is different. He is discontent with his position, dissatisfied with the village and willing to do what it takes to improve his situation. Take my bluff with the seal for example. Iruka would risk everything to warn the Hokage if he believed me to be dangerous while Mizuki values his own hide far too much to do anything like this."
"Be cautious, kit. This lack of loyalty works in your favor at the moment, but the man might just try and get back at you some day." Youko counseled.
"I know, mom. Currently only my threats and promises of power keep Mizuki in check, but I plan to change that gradually. We were really lucky that Hinata spied the note in his pocket; it was the perfect opportunity to recruit him. The man was at a turning point in his life with his loyalty to the village practically already severed, but before he could form a new allegiance. He wants recognition of his skills above all, with a healthy longing for power thrown in. If he sees that I can deliver on my promises he will stick with me. Over time that may even transform into genuine loyalty."
Hinata added her thoughts. "Mizuki thinks he has been treated unfairly in life, which is probably true to an extent, and that has been steadily eating away at him for years. I think deep down he is not really a bad man, at least not yet. If we hadn't intercepted him and he had come to an agreement with the likes of Orochimaru that would have changed in a short time. That man really has the gift to bring out the worst in his subordinates and allies. I've seen some of the files after he left the village. By recruiting him ourselves we gain a potentially valuable ally, and deny his skills to our enemies. "
"His long-term potential was another reason for us to choose him over Iruka. Iruka is pretty much at the peak of his ability and unlikely to ever grow significantly more powerful even if he had the drive to try. He has found his calling in teaching children. Mizuki on the other hand wants more than spending his life as a teacher, and I think he can pull it off if given the opportunity. A few years from now he might even become a jonin, if not in rank than in skill." Naruto commented.
"You certainly seem to have thought this through. Any idea what you will give him first?"
Naruto tilted his head contemplatively. "Not really. It has to be something that is both valuable and hard to acquire for Mizuki, but it should neither be too powerful nor should it throw suspicion on us if it is discovered."
Daiki hummed thoughtfully. "How about an early version of our special chakra meditation exercise? I'm thinking about the one where you learn to feel and control the flow during the molding. He should see improvement in his internal control in one or two weeks, showing him you have valuable knowledge you are willing to share."
After considering the implications for a minute Naruto agreed. "That's right. If he uses it regularly his efficiency in molding chakra will increase by a respectable amount. The following, more powerful stages can't be deduced from it, and it won't do us a lot of harm in case of discovery or treachery."
"I will write a scroll for the technique." Hinata suggested. "I'm better than you at faking a foreign handwriting. That way nobody should be able to trace the scroll back to us."
"Thanks Hinata-chan, you're the best."
After the events of that fateful morning Mizuki had returned to his home in a daze. Whatever he had thought to accomplish, ending up as a secret slave to the demon brat was certainly not among the outcomes he had envisioned beforehand. Swearing allegiance to Orochimaru, yes, or perhaps another enemy of the Leaf wanting to recruit him. He had even considered the possibility that the note and the meeting was a set-up by Konoha's internal security.
At the time he had arrived home he had cleared his head enough to think. Collaboration with enemies of the Leaf was now out, and reporting the demon brat's behavior would get him killed thanks to the seal. Which indeed seemed to be invisible when he looked into the mirror. He would have to play along for now.
His attention was drawn to the note he still had clenched in his fist. The best bet would probably be to report the recruitment attempt. He was otherwise clear, and it might even dispel some of the rumors that were still in circulation about his conduct. Furthermore, it would deter anyone else from approaching him in that manner. He really didn't want to be presented with an offer that might cause him enough temptation to set the damn seal off. It was depressingly unspectacular to deliver the scrap of paper to the responsible office. Apparently he wasn't the first one, and after being asked a few questions he was sent away.
For the first few days after the incident there were no changes at the academy. The brat behaved as usual, meaning slightly dim and overenthusiastic. Mizuki even began to entertain the possibility that it had all been bad dream. Until one day the brat cornered him alone in a corridor connecting the training yard with the main building after all the other students had already left. He had just finished picking up all the kunai and shuriken that the idiot children had scattered across the yard and failed to pick up when the lesson was finished. As a mere assistant instructor he was saddled with many such denigrating tasks and his mood was not the best. He was just about to enter one of the storerooms when an unexpected voice spoke up.
"Hello Mizuki-sensei, it's time for a little chat."
Mizuki whirled around to see Naruto standing behind him. In contrast to his usual behavior the brat had dropped his mask and looked at Mizuki with a serious expression. He forced a smile onto his lips. "Hello Naruto-kun. What may I do for you? Do you want me to give you better grades?"
"Don't be ridiculous, if I wanted better grades I would stop holding back. I'm just here to give you this." With these words he pulled a small scroll from a pocket and handed it to Mizuki. "Just a small token of good faith. See you soon, Mizuki-sensei."
Opening the scroll, he saw a lot of complicated instructions in an unfamiliar handwriting. It was too much to read now, so he stuffed it into his vest. He would read it after he got home.
On the evening he was lying in his bed and thinking hard. According to the scroll's description, it was an exercise to increase the efficiency and control of the internal chakra molding, before the chakra was used for whatever jutsu the user wanted. At first Mizuki didn't believe it, after all, where would the brat get hold of something like this?
The instructions on the scroll were easy enough to understand for him, one had to meditate while molding chakra in some specific ways. As far as he was able to determine there was no danger of him harming himself by following the directions, and so he would use the exercise for twenty minutes each day before going to sleep. To determine his progress, if there was any, he would use the chakra needed for ten bunshin as a measuring stick.
Twelve days later Mizuki created the clones to measure his progress. Even upon seeing the results Mizuki could hardly believe it, the training technique the brat had supplied him with worked beautifully. He had used it for the last one and a half weeks and was currently staring at the results. Eleven basic clones were standing before him, but he had molded only the chakra amount necessary for ten. A ten percent increase in chakra molding efficiency in only twelve days was nothing short of phenomenal, especially as his control was already quite good. He dispelled the clones and sat down to think.
The brat… no, Naruto had indeed kept his side of the bargain. Ten percent didn't sound like much, but on the battlefield it was priceless. Chakra was one of the most precious resources a shinobi had. A single additional technique you could use because you had more chakra left might tip a battle in your favor or allow you to escape. Add the fact that he had made that much progress in only a little less than two weeks with a miniscule time investment, and the training technique became truly valuable. The normal exercises like tree climbing or water walking were rather time-intensive if one wanted the full effects and didn't do much good if one was already at chunin level control and reserves. There existed more advanced methods, but their time requirements were even more prohibitive for someone with a full-time job like him.
In the last days he had observed Naruto; truly observed, and not just what he wanted to see. It had given him a lot to think about. With the Kyuubi's power at his disposal and apparently far more intelligence than he normally chose to show Naruto would develop into a powerful shinobi. He was close friends with the heirs of four great clans and on amiable terms with the brother of the Inuzaka heiress, which said good things about his future political connections. In fact, the boy had seemingly managed what almost every family with children of the appropriate age tried to do, namely befriend the important people of tomorrow.
All in all, Mizuki felt a lot better about his situation than before. Naruto had access to esoteric knowledge and was willing to share. In a few years he would be able to pull the necessary strings to get Mizuki promoted, all he had to do was keep his trust. Working for him would be far less dangerous than joining Orochimaru, and he could continue his relationship with Tsubaki. The seal still chafed him somewhat, but he understood the necessity. Should knowledge about Naruto's abilities become known to the Sandaime or the general populace there would be no telling what could happen. If what Naruto had said about his own father sealing the Kyuubi in him was true, he too got shafted colossally in life. Heck, the children of the different Kages were generally treated as royalty. To deny him that by keeping his parentage secret and simply dropping him into an orphanage reeked of a hidden agenda. Sure, the Yondaime had made his share of enemies in life, and some of them would try to take out their revenge on Naruto, but that would be no different to numerous other children of influential people. Hell, the last Uchiha was in far more danger, for he possessed a valuable bloodline that other villages would pay handsomely to get their hands on.
To his considerable surprise, Mizuki found himself sympathizing with the boy. Like him he had been shafted by the people who should have been looking out for him, ensuring fairness and correct treatment. While in Mizuki's case it had been his senseis and the mid-level hierarchy, Naruto's quarrel was with the Sandaime himself.
Now that he truly thought about it, it was the height of insanity to simply let a jinchuuriki grow up without special guidance. Even if they kept the parentage a secret, the status as demon container alone should have been enough to provide tutors and a foster home for the boy. Mizuki knew the Sandaime favored the boy and visited him regularly. Shouldn't he have been able to do something, even if he had to face political resistance? If he discarded the possibility that the Sandaime was simply incompetent, that only left the option that the treatment was deliberate. Social isolation combined with a friendly grandfather figure would normally foster quite a bit of psychological dependency. A few hints dropped here and there, and the boy would do literally anything for the Hokage and the village to earn attention and respect.
Mizuki could understand that line of thought. If he had been in power, he would perhaps have done something like it, even if he didn't like the risks of that particular approach. What could have happened if the boy had decided to hate the village? A jinchuuriki that wasn't schooled in the use of his power was dangerous, even more so than usual. It was only too easy to imagine what could happen if he tapped unconsciously into the Kyuubi's power in a fit of rage and hate. What he didn't understand was why nobody seemed to pay attention to the boy's performance in the earlier years of the academy. Naruto had been denied advancement two times already. An incompetent jinchuuriki wasn't in anyone's interest, so why wasn't anything done about it? For instance, private coaching was always a possibility, and there were enough shinobi who would be willing to do it for free if the revered Sandaime asked.
Then it hit him. It all made sense. The general treatment of the boy, the Sandaime's nonexistent attempts to do something about it, the concealment of the boy's parentage, they all served a higher purpose: To forge a tool that had virtually no noteworthy skills besides the power of the Kyuubi and would do anything Sarutobi asked. A good education would only cause the boy to develop enough critical thinking ability to question his life, and they couldn't have that, could they? Mizuki wondered if the plan had been developed with the consent of the Yondaime. It had to be; after all, what man would use his own son as sacrifice without a compelling reason. A child from another family brought relatives with him that might interfere, and you couldn't be certain that a random orphan would have the capabilities necessary to become a shinobi. On the other hand, perhaps he hadn't expected to die in the sealing and planned to teach Naruto himself. If successful it would have certainly been a big power boost for his family. Maybe the Sandaime only took over with his own plan after the Yondaime's death. In that case Mizuki had to admire the audacity of the plan and the sheer cold-bloodedness of the Sandaime.
Only that wonderful plan had come off the tracks at some point, and nobody had noticed. Naruto knew who his father was, and obviously was only playing to the expectations of his watchers. The refusal of his offer to give him top grades was very telling. It wasn't that the boy was incapable of achieving good grades, he deliberately kept them down. Low enough to avoid suspicion, but high enough to keep the options open. There was no telling what skills and knowledge Naruto might possess in reality.
The good thing was that apparently revenge wasn't at the top of his list. That would only have ended messily. No, the boy was smart enough to make the best of his situation and aimed for a gradual rise in prominence. And he was now along for the ride, willing or not.
Mizuki decided then and there that he would keep faith with Naruto for now, especially as direct treason wasn't an option. The advantage from the training technique was already priceless for a man in his position, and he had already been promised more. If he was forced to help the kid he might as well profit from it. He had originally hoped for money from Orochimaru, but knowledge was perhaps even more precious, although he wouldn't be able to spread it and take credit for it. If he managed to become valuable enough to Naruto he wouldn't even have to fear to ever be discarded. It was clear that Naruto would gather more allies and retainers later, but Mizuki was in a prime position to occupy the top spot if he acted the right way.
He had been out of options before, but now the future looked considerably brighter.
"Get out of my way, Ino-pig!"
"You're the one who blocks the door, Forehead!"
After some wrangling both girls managed to leave the door behind, thereby heralding the next part of their daily routine: racing towards Sasuke to determine who would get the honor of sitting at his side for the day. The first indication that this day would be very different came when Ino felt herself tripping on something, followed by a very painful collision with the hard floor which made her see stars for a moment. When she regained her senses Sakura was already sitting besides Sasuke, smirking victoriously. The rest of the class paid her no attention; they were used to the daily race and minded their own business.
Getting to her feet, she quickly inspected herself. Everything seemed to be in order. The object that had caused her to trip was a now completely crushed piece of chalk that had probably fallen to the floor when one of the janitors delivered a new package this morning. After sending a last venomous glare towards Sakura, Ino searched for a free seat. At first she didn't see any, at least if she didn't want to sit besides Kiba. He wasn't a bad guy, just annoying, and she wasn't in the mood for his clumsy attempts at flirting. Ino was already resigning herself to her fate, but suddenly she saw Yakumo waving her over to the last row of seats. Seeing no alternative she approached her and plopped down on the free seat to Yakumo's right she had overlooked in her initial survey.
"Are you okay? That fall looked painful."
Ino waved her concerns away. "I'm fine."
Before they could exchange anymore words Iruka entered the classroom and the lecture began. On every other day she would have followed the lessons attentively, but today it seemed simply impossible. Iruka droned on and on about the way of the ninja, and her thoughts drifted towards the one thing that loomed larger in her mind than any other issue.
'Is something wrong with me? '
Normally she was quite self-confident, but the last week had put that conviction to the test. Not only had she lost the race with her erstwhile friend and now rival Sakura for several days in a row but the object of her affections paid her no mind at all. Even after she bought a new, quite flattering outfit Sasuke ignored her. Ino wasn't accustomed to being ignored. She had lived through similar slightly depressive phases before, but then she had some other members of the fan club giving her moral support. Unfortunately the two girls closest to her (she hesitated to call them friends) were down with a severe case of flu and weren't expected to return to the academy before next week. Meaning she was on her own for a while.
'What can I do to make him notice me?' she wondered.
Sasuke was everything she wanted. He was cool, cunning, talented, good looking, popular and had a tragic past to boot. His heart was just waiting to be conquered by a girl who would help him to get over the pain. In other words, he was every girl's dream.
'Not every girl's dream.' she corrected herself with a sidelong glance at Yakumo and the girl sitting on the other side of her, Hinata Hyuuga. Yakumo had joined their class more than half a year ago and had shown not the slightest interest in Sasuke. Hinata's lack of interest she had been able to discount as shyness, but coming from Yakumo she absolutely didn't understand it. The girl was outgoing, self-confident, good looking and friendly, albeit a bit on the cynical side. Apparently she was a friend of Naruto from their earlier academy time and had known Choji, Shino and Hinata by extension. Immediately after joining their class she had begun a tight-knit friendship with Hinata, and the girl had become far less nervous and shy because of it. Ino envied that friendship quite a bit; it reminded her of her relationship with Sakura before their bitter rivalry over Sasuke destroyed it. Sure, she was very popular with the other girls, but none of them was what she honestly could call a true friend. Yakumo and Hinata to a lesser degree had sometimes talked with her since the beginning of third year, but somehow they never really connected. Sooner or later Sasuke would become the topic of the conversation, and that would cause them to withdraw. Ino simply couldn't understand it; every other girl she knew was happy to discuss him. In contrast, they seemed to dislike Sasuke for some unfathomable reason.
Suddenly Ino became aware that Iruka was looking expectantly at her. Apparently he had posed a question to her, and she didn't have the slightest clue what it was about.
"Rule 4." Yakumo whispered.
"A shinobi must always put the mission first, sensei." Ino said out loud.
"Very good, Ino. Now, we must consider the implications of that rule in the following situations…"
After Iruka's attention had left her she whispered back "Thanks for the save." and received a nod in return. The rest of the morning slowly went by without any further incidents, but from time to time Yakumo sent worried glances in her direction. Was her depression that obvious?
About ten minutes before lunch break a knock on the door interrupted Iruka's lecture. Some chunin instructor entered and whispered a message to Iruka before leaving again. "Attention class, the kunoichi lesson for today is cancelled; Suzume-san is otherwise occupied. The girls are free to leave the academy after my lesson." Some girls began cheering, but Ino was too depressed to join in. Normally she would have been quite happy to have more free time, but not in her current mental state.
"Hey Ino, you look depressed. Is really everything alright?" Yakumo asked. This time she simply sighed instead of answering. "Okay, obviously something is wrong. Would you like to accompany Hinata and me? We want to go shopping later, after we get some training in and have something to eat."
Ino hesitated a moment. Yakumo had invited her a few times before, but she had always something else planned on those occasions. 'What the heck, why not? It isn't as if I have something better to do.' "Sure, I'll come along."
Twenty minutes later, Ino sat on the grass on the edge of one of the more secluded training fields and tried desperately to recover her breath while she watched Yakumo and Hinata happily continue with their training routine. They didn't even seem winded. Was she really that far behind? She knew she got better grades in their taijutsu class last semester than the two of them, but this was simply murderous. Under her disbelieving gaze the two other girls finished their exercises and sat down beside her before unpacking their lunch boxes.
'I'm having a bad day, that's all. Perhaps my depression is affecting my fitness. Yeah, that's it; no reason to worry.'
When she opened her lunch package and began to eat she noticed Yakumo and Hinata looking at her askance. "Is that all you plan to eat?"
"Well, I'm on a diet." Ino replied.
"You diet? Really?" Yakumo asked in a disbelieving voice.
Ino looked at her strangely. "Yes, really. Why is that so hard to believe? How else am I supposed to keep my weight down?"
Hinata entered the conversation. "Um, s-sorry, but dieting is v-very bad for k-kunoichi-in-training, especially at our a-age."
Yakumo nodded. "Hinata is right. Now is the time for our bodies to grow and be conditioned. Lack of nutrition and training at this point in your life will come back and bite you in the ass later." The girl sighed at her disbelieving stare. "You don't believe us. Just compare how much food we have with us. We eat that every day, and I don't think any of us can be considered overweight."
She looked at the lunch boxes of both girls in surprise. There was more food than she ate on a single day, and this was only one meal. Hinata was a bit difficult to judge because of her baggy clothing, but Yakumo was as slim as a reed. "How do you manage to keep your weight while eating that?"
"We t-train." Hinata simply said.
Yakumo chose to elaborate her point further. "We train for around two hours each day after the academy closes, more when we can find the time. You know we often hang out with Choji, Naruto and Shino; they do the same. You would be amazed how much energy that burns; we can pretty much eat what and how much we want."
Ino didn't know what to make of this. All the girls talked about keeping their figure and dieting all the time. Even her mother did it. Then something occurred to her. "If you train so much, why are your grades are worse than mine?"
Yakumo and Hinata shrugged simultaneously. "Because we hold back. We hold back in class because we don't want to deal with all the bitching if the others see how much better we are."
Ino was skeptical. "I don't believe you."
"How about a wager? We fight now, and if you manage to defeat me a single time I admit that you are better than me."
"Ha, you're on. If you lose you have to say that before the entire class."
The brunette held her hand up. "No, no bragging. This is strictly between us. You can't tell anyone about this, am I clear? If you blab about this I will be very, very angry with you. You don't want me to be angry."
Ino gulped. That was the same expression her mother wore when she had forbidden her from entering one of the special greenhouses when she was five. She didn't understand at the time, but now she knew that some quite poisonous plants were kept there. Yakumo was deadly serious, even if Ino didn't understand her reasons.
"I promise."
Yakumo smiled, and they both took up a position on the training field. Ino began with a standard attack. In the next moment she was on her back, looking into the sky and feeling Yakumo's foot on her windpipe. She blinked in surprise. The counterattack was so quick she hadn't even realized it was happening. Never before had she been defeated this quickly. It was surely a fluke. It had to be. The next time she lasted a few seconds longer until Yakumo broke through her guard and had her in a chokehold. After the fifth loss Ino gave up. "Okay, I have enough. You're really good at this."
Yakumo laughed lightly. "That's nothing. I'm the weakest in our group if you consider taijutsu. Choji is the strongest, Naruto the one with the most endurance, Shino the most balanced and Hinata the most dexterous."
Once again Ino could only stare disbelievingly at the two other girls.
Suddenly Hinata smiled. "It l-looks like Ino doesn't believe us. Are y-you up for a l-little exhibition fight?"
Yakumo grimaced. "You're just looking for another opportunity to hand me my ass, aren't you?" When Hinata only looked at her innocently she sighed. "Okay, but please check our surroundings beforehand, will you?"
After making a hand seal the veins around Hinata's eyes bulged for a moment before receding again. "All c-clear."
What followed was the most impressive fight between girls her age Ino had ever seen in her life. Now that it wasn't her on the receiving end she could clearly see how good Yakumo really was. Her movements were quicker, her strikes more forceful and her forms more fluid than anything Ino could do even on her best day. She didn't even hold a candle to Hinata. The small, pale girl was simply flowing around Yakumo's strikes and sneaking a lot of blows right past Yakumo's defenses. Hinata definitely held back on the force behind the blows to make a point, otherwise Yakumo would have been already disabled. It wasn't completely one-sided, but the difference in skill was clear. And it wasn't even the Gentle Fist style which was considered superior, no; Hinata was simply using the academy style to its fullest. The end came when Hinata bend under an incoming attack and punched Yakumo hard into her side, sending the girl sprawling.
"Ouch. Did you have to make that last strike so painful?" Yakumo asked plaintively, massaging her side.
Hinata helped Yakumo up before answering. "Y-You have to learn to keep your guard up; you o-open the same spot every time."
Ino stared slack-jawed at them. That went beyond everything she had expected. Hell, they were better than Sasuke was. When the two had dusted themselves off and sat back down besides her she asked the questions foremost on her mind. "Why do you hide your skills? How did you become this good?"
Hinata seemed uncomfortable. "I h-have problems with learning the G-Gentle Fist style. If m-my father learns of my p-prowess in normal taijutsu it would create additional problems."
"I don't like being in the limelight. If my skills become public knowledge I would probably be surrounded by people who would try to get in my good graces and feign friendship." Yakumo paused for a moment. "You should be familiar with this. Or are you telling me you regard all the girls around you as friends? Many of them only pretend to like you because you're the Yamanaka heiress and because you're good in class. I had to deal with that in my first two years at the academy; only Naruto genuinely liked me for who I was." She smiled a somewhat sad smile. "Thankfully Sasuke and you draw them like moths to a light in this class. I'm still in the upper third grade-wise, and as long as I don't stick out I can continue my education in peace. As to how we became this good; it took us years of hard training to reach this point. I've been training since almost the beginning of the academy, but taijutsu doesn't come easy for me. Hinata is more of a natural, but she is equally working hard." Yakumo looked earnestly at her. "We trust you to keep this to yourself."
Ino was floored by these revelations, and they continued their lunch in silence. Their arguments certainly made sense. Just this morning she had quietly acknowledged to herself that the girls closest to her weren't really her friends. She herself liked being the center of attention, but she knew other people didn't share that preference. Ino liked to gossip, but she had the distinct impression that Yakumo could become extraordinarily nasty if she wanted to. It would probably better to keep the events of this day to herself. Though it called several of her beliefs into question, she shelved these thoughts for later in favor of making small talk. As one would expect the topic soon became boys.
When she started talking about Sasuke, Yakumo stopped her. "Ino, we know you like Sasuke. Please understand that we don't share this sentiment because of various reasons. If we talk about him it will surely lead to bickering, so please don't. Every other boy is free game."
For a moment Ino was taken aback, but after mentally shrugging she abided by their wishes. There were always enough boys to talk about. After they finished eating they went out on the promised shopping trip. Yakumo did most of the talking, but from time to time Hinata offered surprisingly accurate comments. She had a great deal of fun, even if she didn't manage to part Hinata from her baggy jacket. Seriously, what was the girl hiding?
After they finished their shopping expedition with buying a few small items they went into the hot springs to relax a bit. When they took off their clothes Ino finally got a good look at Hinata.
'Wow, why does she hide herself? I would kill for such a figure.'
To Ino's surprise they didn't enter the pools in the public section but approached the private area reserved for kunoichi. She was about to say something when the receptionist at the entrance greeted Hinata warmly. After the girl activated her byakugan for a moment she exchanged a few whispered words with the receptionist who promptly waved them through.
"What was that about? I thought only active or retired kunoichi were allowed in here?" Ino wondered.
"I h-have an agreement with the m-management. I use m-my eyes to search for p-peeping toms in exchange for free entry. As m-my friends you can enter, t-too." Hinata replied.
They were watched curiously by a few of the bathing kunoichi, but nobody objected to their presence. A short time later they were sitting in one of the warm pools, relaxing. Suddenly Yakumo whispered "Remember our earlier conversation about dieting? I will show you something. Please stay calm and listen carefully." In a louder voice she said "Can you believe her? The only thing she was talking about was boys, and she was dieting of all things."
That provoked an immediate reaction from all the bathing kunoichi around them, even if they couldn't see another clearly through all the steam.
"Ha! How stupid can you be? That is the worst thing you can do at that age."
"Dieting will only get you small breasts, just look at Ami."
"Love you too, Chiyoko. Seriously, I was a stupid girl and it took me years to catch up. My fitness is still not where it would be if had eaten and trained regularly when I was young. You weren't any better with your fixation on boys."
"Yeah, yeah, I was stupid too. Shouldn't have worried so much, most boys at that age aren't really interested in girls. Now the guys are lining up for dates with me. The lack of training really bit me in the ass later, though. I thought I was doing well in the academy, but the taijutsu exercises in class aren't really enough. Hey Tetsuya, your department got a new female genin after the exams last month. How does she hold up?"
"Don't remind me, the girl is a catastrophe. Top of her class my ass. I had to work the last weeks solely on getting all the romantic crap out of her pretty little head. Perhaps in three months after some intensive training I can take her out on missions, she wouldn't even hold up against a group of drunken bandits as she is now. My superior lodged a complaint about the academy training, but as usual the thing disappeared somewhere."
"I swear it gets worse with time. When I graduated during the war they cut the training short because we were needed in the field, but I thought they brought it up again."
On and on it went. Each new voice caused Ino to get redder and redder and sink deeper into the water until only her nose and eyes were above the surface while her worldview received some heavy hits. If any of her classmates had said such things she would have simply discounted them, but these were all experienced kunoichi. She couldn't help but sneak glances at Hinata and Yakumo. Ino herself was still as flat as a board, but on Hinata the bulge of her developing breasts was clearly visible. Even Yakumo had a noticeable swell in her chest area. Was that really because of her dieting habits?
Ino was a very confused girl when she returned to the house of her parents much later. On the positive side, the confusion had completely replaced her depressive mood. She went through dinner and the rest of the evening pretty much on auto-pilot, her complete attention focused inward. Hinata and Yakumo were fun to be around, but simultaneously they were nothing like the other girls she knew. Their shopping trip had proven that they still liked girly things and had no compunctions about talking about boys (with the exception of Sasuke), but it wasn't their main interest in life. The skill they had displayed was far beyond her own. Combined with what she had heard from the kunoichi in the baths it opened a nasty can of worms.
She had honestly believed that she was doing everything necessary to become a good kunoichi, but her new insights called that conviction into question. Yes, she excelled at the academy; in fact she was always in the competition for the top position in class. She had never considered that the standards of the academy might be flawed or inadequate in the first place. Her father and mother supported her, and especially her mother was very girly herself. She gossiped about marriages and love affairs to no end, talked about fashionable clothes and often dieted herself.
… but her mother wasn't a kunoichi. The realization hit her like a brick wall. While she was a Yamanaka by birth she had never trained to become a ninja, instead focusing on the flower shop of her parents. Ino hardly remembered her maternal grandparents; they had both died shortly one after another when she was about four. Her father's parents had both been ninja and perished early in the third shinobi war; Ino knew them only from some stories. While her mother undoubtedly wanted the best for her, she wasn't necessarily the ideal person whose advice she should follow.
'For Daddy I will be always his little princess. He indulges me more than he probably should. I have taken advantage of that often enough.' Ino thought self-critical. 'He would never tell me the truth if he thinks it would hurt my feelings.'
Whom could she ask and expect an honest reply? The teachers at the academy and her hangers-on were out because of obvious reasons, Sakura didn't even bear thinking about and Yakumo and Hinata had made their opinion sufficiently clear while an unknown kunoichi wouldn't know her well enough to give an accurate assessment. That left her Yamanaka relations, but many of them would probably flatter her to gain her favor and indirectly her father's. Mentally going through her large number of relations she ended up with Masuya Yamanaka. Aunt Masuya had been a special jonin, but she had retired after surviving the Kyuubi attack with heavy injuries. Ino didn't like her much; she had a very sharp tongue and was known to be painfully honest. Some story of a teammate of hers getting killed because of a small lie, if she remembered right. Still, if she wanted an honest answer the middle-aged woman would be her best bet. She would visit her as soon as she found time. Well, that and build up the necessary courage.
"…and I think we are finally making inroads with Ino. When Yakumo and I took our leave she was clearly deep in thought, though we aren't sure if it will lead to a genuine change." Hinata ended her account, earning her approving nods from the other three persons present.
Naruto continued recounting the last week to his parents. "Nothing much of interest happened that Hinata-chan didn't already cover. Mizuki is coming along nicely; it seems he came to the conclusion that working with me is in his own long-term interest. I'm not exactly sure when I'll trust him enough to enlist his help with the more complicated stuff or jutsu, though. For now I have him going through the old academy documents to investigate our suspicions about the quality of the education. The more recent documents I already know, but the ones older than five years are stored in a much more secure part of the shinobi library."
Mizuki sneezed. The damn dust was getting in his nose again. He wasn't sure why Naruto wanted him to research old academy records to find suspected irregularities about the academy education, but it wasn't as if he had a lot of choice other than obeying. For the past weeks he had sifted through hundreds of documents from the last twenty years, and he still hadn't found anything useful. Over the years there had been a lot of changes, but nothing that could explain the perceived lack of quality. The academy time had been radically shortened during the third war, but it was lengthened again to the normal four years after war's end. It had been expanded to five years around four years after the Kyuubi attack because of some unspecified concerns about the preparedness of the graduates. Additionally the early graduation had been abandoned due to worries about the mental maturity of the early graduates. Average grades, lessons, all checked out.
Tiredly Mizuki rubbed the bridge of his nose. Not really looking he picked new folders to look through and returned to his desk. About halfway through the stack he discovered his mistake, apparently he had grabbed a misfiled folder from around thirty-five years ago which contained attendance lists. Quickly skimming over it he was about to close it again when he spied a attendance list not for the normal classes but something called supplemental class and Mizuki's brain made a tentative connection. His outstretched hand stopped immediately.
'It can't be that easy.'
He quickly searched through some other attendance lists and began cross-referencing his findings. Soon he had to get additional materials, but this time he had a lead. And a lead was all he needed to unravel this entire mess.
"… not even able to do the basic forms without flaws. Never seen such a disappointment before…"
Hinata kept her head down and let her father rant. There was nothing she could do about it; she just wasn't able to perform the Gentle Fist to the expectations of her clan. That wasn't to say that she was inept, far from it. Despite the flawed forms her prowess could still be considered above average, but it was perfection that was expected from her. Perfection she would never reach so long as she was forced to use the standard forms. Unfortunately, the one time when she had adapted a form in training until it felt more natural her instructor had interrupted the lesson and berated her for almost ten minutes for violating the 'traditional forms'. She had never made that mistake again.
She had talked with Daiki and Youko about it, and they considered it likely that she could create a variant of the Gentle Fist that was more suited to her. Only it would take her about two years with the help of a competent taijutsu user of at least chunin level if she solely concentrated on creating the new style. Hinata didn't consider it worth the effort. Once upon a time she would have done it simply to please her father and clan, but not anymore. 'What is the affection of a parent worth if it has to be bought?' This simple question had led her to reconsider her goals in life, and she didn't want to rely solely on the Gentle Fist, variant or no.
The Hyuuga as a clan focused almost exclusively on the Gentle Fist style and their byakugan, meaning they didn't use any other taijutsu style, genjutsu or any ninjutsu besides those linked with the Gentle Fist and the academy three. Hinata had accepted that as the natural state of things, but through the contact with Naruto's parents she had developed much more curiosity. She simply didn't understand why her clan did it. Sure, their bloodline made them good sensors and the Gentle Fist was a powerful style, but the Hyuuga were needlessly limiting themselves. The more powerful abilities could only be used by a minority of the clan, with the truly powerful ones were only allowed to be used by the main house. There was so much more that could be done with their bloodline, and so much more that was independent from it. It was simply madness. She wanted to learn as much as possible of different areas of shinobi knowledge to avoid becoming a one-trick pony, but it did seem like she would have to keep that secret from her clan. Not that one more secret mattered. The only answers she had received to her questions had been it is the tradition which you will uphold; with no further reasons given.
"…failure if there ever was one..."
A few months ago her father's speech would have hurt her deeply, but not anymore. It still hurt her, but not as badly. Bit by bit her affection and respect for her family and clan died away after she had met Naruto's parents and pledged herself to them. They loved her. Her clan did not. Each bit of love she lost for them made the emotional pain easier to bear. If she no longer included them in her heart they could no longer hurt her so badly, and someday she wouldn't feel anything for them anymore. Hinata couldn't decide if she should laugh or cry over the fact that her colder behavior improved her standing in the clan. Not that her standing would ever be good, but it was better than before. Now that she no longer cared about the clan as a whole she gained more acceptance from them than ever before.
"…am I making myself clear?"
"Yes, f-father. I will strife to b-better myself."
Bowing deeply, she left her father's study. The usual cold glares didn't faze her anymore when she made her way to her quarters. Before she entered her room Hinata took a detour to her little sister's room to talk for a while with Hanabi. Ever after she had begun her emotional control exercises and especially after her first kill several months ago her relationship with Hanabi had slowly improved. The elders had largely ceased their attempts at pitting them against each other. Hinata had been surprised by this change and could only puzzle over the reason. That was until she accidentally overheard two elders talking about her. They had welcomed her steadily more distant behavior as the first signs of proper conduct for a Hyuuga and speculated about her future. Apparently they considered her still unworthy of being the clan heiress, but entertained the possibility of her marrying the heir of another main house family, thereby avoiding having to brand her with the caged bird seal.
Soon it was time for her to retire to her bedchamber. Today she would again visit Naruto's parents. Hinata wondered if this time they would discuss the strange errand Youko had given her, namely collecting hairs from as many fellow Hyuuga as she could. It had been pretty easy to gather shed hairs from the laundry, but she was curious about the reason for that. Daiki as well as Youko had seemed worried but had refused to discuss the issue with her until now. Yesterday she had delivered the collected materials to Naruto who would take them into the sanctuary. Hopefully answers would be forthcoming soon.
This time it was Daiki who pulled her into the world on the edge of dreams. Daiki's embrace was different from Youko's. Instead of light there was darkness, but it exuded the same protectiveness and warmth. After what seemed no time at all she woke up in the familiar cottage. The first day was as always spent in imitation of a halfway normal family, but on the second day they gathered at the edge of the meadows to discuss the last week. After both she and Naruto had given their account on the events of last week she asked about her errand.
The expression on Daiki's face became very grave. That meant he had discovered something bad.
"I discovered something very alarming, but I have two questions before I share my concerns with you. Hinata, who was the last non-Hyuuga who married into the clan?"
Eager to answer, the girl mentally searched through the lists and family trees she had been required to memorize early in her life. Hinata froze. There wasn't one. She had never really thought about it, but Daiki's question forced it into the open. Not a single non-Hyuuga had married into the clan in all the history known to her. Her vague dreams of marrying someone who wasn't as cold as her clansmen shattered when she faced the truth. She should have thought of that long ago, but through all the lessons about purity, the overheard discussion of the elders and simple observation she had kept her eyes closed to the truth.
Daiki interpreted her facial expression correctly. "I thought so. My second question relates to that. Who was your maternal grandfather, Hinata?"
That question she could answer without problems. "Masahiko Hyuuga, but I never knew him. Only my paternal grandfather is still alive."
"Thank you, Hinata. You might want to prepare yourself for some unpleasant revelations."
Considering this for a moment, Hinata left her seating place and went over to Youko who instantly enfolded her in her arms. "I'm ready."
"During her possessions of your body Youko detected some irregularities relating to your genetic makeup. We didn't want to worry you until we had more information, which is why we had you collect samples from as many of your clansmen as possible. I analyzed them before pulling you here, and the situation is worse than we thought." He paused for a moment. "All bloodline-carrying clans and even most shinobi clans without a bloodline practice inbreeding to a degree. It is a necessary policy to keep their powers from disappearing and many things that are important for shinobi are inheritable to some degree, like chakra capacity or general physical attributes like endurance. In fact, some clans created their bloodlines through controlled inbreeding in the past. They always have to walk a fine line between marrying too close a relation and thereby damaging their heritage and diluting the sought-after attributes too strongly. Generally the elders of a clan carefully control who has children with whom, with much effort invested in the planning of marriages. It is considered safe for a line to marry outsiders every three or four generations while marrying cousins from inside the clan the rest of the time."
Daiki took a deep breath of air. "The Hyuuga are far from this state. As you said, a Hyuuga is only allowed to marry another Hyuuga; and it seems this has been the rule for a long time, three centuries at least by my estimate. The amount of genetic damage that has accumulated is staggering. Frankly, only the fact that the Hyuuga are a very large clan and that the elders did a relatively good job with marriage planning has prevented it showing until now. This reprieve is running out, and I predict a population collapse in three generations at the latest."
Hinata was shaking by this point, but forced herself to listen to Daiki's explanations.
"There is more. The reason the Hyuuga don't use anything other than the Gentle Fist is very simple: They literally can't. Mounting genetic damage through the inbreeding has made it impossible for them to produce chakra other than the standard one. They can't generate elemental or medical chakra anymore. Even most genjutsu are beyond them because the chakra has to be adapted in a minor way, but even that they can't do anymore. In fact, a large percentage of the children born from the people I got samples from won't be able to use chakra at all. It might still be possible to avert this fate if all future marriages are with outsiders."
Even in her distraught state Hinata knew there was no chance of that happening. No chance at all. Her clan was ossified in traditions no one knew the reasons for any longer; that was if many of the traditions had a sensible reason in the first place. Neither the elders nor the normal clansmen were ready to change. So it was Hinata herself instead of Daiki who uttered the verdict.
"The Hyuuga are doomed."
Author's notes: My thanks to my reviewers. Extra credit goes to cmcwiki and Melkijad for making guesses at the identity of the adult.
Mizuki was a surprise, wasn't he? I hope I made it believable; I had planned on using him in this fashion from the beginning. In practically all other stories he is (rightfully) killed or imprisoned by Naruto, but my Naruto wants people loyal to him, not Konoha. Who better than someone who hates Konoha in the first place? Note that at this point in time Mizuki isn't as mentally deranged as when he uses Naruto to steal the forbidden scroll more than two years later in canon (the plan for that was idiotic in the first place). I guess the stress of keeping his treason secret and Orochimaru wanting results got to him in the end.
With the introduction of Ino Naruto's circle of friends will be complete, and I hope to wrap up Naruto's childhood before Christmas. Unfortunately I'm currently very busy, so the next chapters might be delayed.
So long!