Author's note – Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto while Guyver is written by Yoshiki Takaya.
I make no claim to either, I am merely playing in their sandboxes.

And yep, I tidied this chapter faster then I thought I would. Enjoy!

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Chapter Eighteen

Repercussions

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Naruto ignored the light rain as he stared at the memorial stone and the newest name engraved upon it.

Yagura, Chunin.

Finally turning away but still lost in thought, Naruto completely failed to spot the tall, one-eyed jonin staring at him in shock. As he walked back to his house, his drenched Hoari swirling around his legs, Naruto thought back to the previous fortnight and his realization that even the Hokage was limited in what he could do.

Rokushu Aoi had been declared a nuke-nin within an hour of his treason becoming known, but two days later, a message was delivered from Amegakure, declaring that Aoi had been officially accepted as a Jonin in their forces, thus meaning that according to the long-obeyed code of conduct, Konoha could not declare him to be the primary subject of an assassination mission (although any Konoha ninja who encountered him on an unrelated mission was heavily urged to kill him).

Morino Idate had been officially reassigned as being on a long-term infiltration mission after Hiruzen agreed that given what he knew at the time of his flight, Idate was unlikely to believe that anyone from Konoha knew he was innocent.

Yagura had been given a full, formal burial with the Hokage standing beside Naruto .

Toji Mizuki's body had been burned to ashes which were scattered in the Forest of Death while his worldly goods had been seized by Konoha and passed to Naruto as mission spoils. Naruto had found several shurikenjutsu scrolls and had set several dozen clones to training with the large shuriken.

Of course, he had to replace his clones almost constantly at first while they discovered ways to not use the weapons. Storing the shuriken was a problem until, inspired by the seals the Hyuuga used to store their arrows, Naruto had managed to create a similar set of seals for his shuriken (both sizes), kunai, senbon and other supplies. However, after discovering that the seals didn't work for his clones, he also carried a pouch of kunai and had fitted a harness into his Haori to let him carry two of the large shuriken on his back.

His new uniform was made in the same colors as his formal outfit, his way of honoring his old team. Dark blue trousers secured by black wraps covered his legs while he wore a dark blue long-sleeved shirt under his chunin vest. His knee-length collarless Haori was worn over the top of his vest, lightly secured to his vest at the collar by studs and allowed to hang loose, held closed by an orange cord from which dangled his clan-symbol pendant that he had previously worn on the shoulder of his old orange jackets.

It was only when he saw himself in the mirror that he had realized that he looked almost like a younger version of his father.

Reaching his house, Naruto stepped inside, pausing to undo his sandals and leave them by the door, when a delicious smell impinged on his awareness. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw Hinata smiling at him from the dining room.

"Hinata…?"

"Hello, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled as she walked over and hugged him. Naruto hugged her back, breathing in her scent.

"I'm sorry that…" Naruto began, only for Hinata to put her finger over his lips.

"I know." She whispered as she led him to the table and guided him into a chair. "Father explained it to me and gave me permission."

Naruto blinked, then his breath caught as he saw something new.

"You graduated? Ah hell, I wasn't there! I'm sorry…"

Hinata smiled at him as she placed a bowl of ramen in front of him, then handed him a pair of chopsticks.

"You needed time to grieve, Naruto-kun." She explained quietly. "But now, you need a friend. And you need to eat up."

Naruto slowly dipped his chopsticks into the broth and lifted up a bundle of noodles. As Hinata watched, he took a bite, then slurped the noodles up and scooped up another mouthful, then another. As he put the bowl down after drinking the broth, Hinata took the bowl from him and placed it in the sink.

"Feeling better?" She asked and Naruto nodded. "Good. Now, about that onsen outside…"

Naruto blinked. "Ons… oh yeah. Yagura and I… we…"

"I think that you should get changed into your swimming trunks." Hinata commanded . "I laid them out on your bed for you."

Naruto rose from his chair and trudged up the stairs, glancing into Yagura's room as he passed, then backpedaling for a second look.

"What the…?"

"Father talked with the Hokage and they agreed you needed someone to support you." Hinata said from behind him. "I hope you don't mind having a new lodger."

For a long minute, Naruto's mind failed to make the connection, then he spun round to stare at her incredulously.

"Please look after me." Hinata giggled as she kissed his cheek, then vanished into her room.

"Hinata…?" Naruto whispered in shock. "Hinata's moving in…? Hiashi's going to kill me!"

"Who do you think helped me move in?" Hinata's voice came through the door.

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Naruto eased himself down into the hot pool, relaxing as the heat forced his muscles out of their tense state. A slight splashing beside him announced Hinata's entry and he turned his head just in time to see her swim-suited form step into the pool through the wisps of steam. The water rippled as she waded/swam to him, then she perched herself on the submerged bench next to Naruto, close enough that she could catch his hand in hers.

"I didn't know that there was a hot spring here." She said after several moments.

"There isn't, at least not one I found." Naruto replied, nodding to where water was cascading into the pool from a small rocky waterfall. "I redirected a stream through a stone channel in which I placed special metal tags with heat seals. They're like light seals, but instead of turning ambient chakra into light…"

"…they turn it into heat." Hinata finished. "Brilliant."

"I also use them in the hot water tank." Naruto added. "I only added them after I realized how useful they are, although those ones are more complicated since I didn't want to cause them to boil all the water in the tank away."

"This is nice." Hinata sighed as she closed her eyes and Naruto smiled at her blissed-out expression.

"So, what are the teams?"

"Team seven is going to be me, Uchiha Sasuke and Inuzuka Kiba as I had suspected." Hinata replied. "Team eight is Sakura Haruno… I don't know if you know her but she is almost scarily intelligent, Aburame Shino and Sai. Team ten is the newest Ino-Shika-Cho generation. We don't know who our senseis are going to be yet, we'll find out next week. Oh, this is heavenly, it's the perfect temperature."

"If you want to bring your team over once you pass your sensei's test, then feel free." Naruto offered.

"You don't mind?" Hinata asked, cracking open one eye so that she could look at him. "I mean, I did just move in without asking permission…"

"Hinata, I told you that you could come here any time." Naruto countered. "Having you move in is fine. Admittedly, I didn't expect it to happen for several years, but…"

Naruto broke off as Hinata glomped him, briefly driving them both underwater.

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"Hiashi, Fugaku." Hiruzen said in greeting to his two advisers. "I am glad that you could come."

"As your advisers, it is our duty to come whenever you need us." Hiashi said with a slight but graceful bow while Fugaku smirked slightly.

"Please, be seated."

Hiruzen waited until his advisers were sat down, then he leaned forwards and pushed two sets of folders across the table. Hiashi and Fugaku obeyed the unspoken instruction and opened them, leafing through the contents.

"One point in it." Hiashi commented. "Congratulations, Fugaku. Your son is a credit to your clan."

Fugaku nodded in thanks as he finished skimming the folder, then his eyes turned from red to black as he pushed the folder back. Closing his eyes, he considered what the file had said.

"You have yet to choose a jonin for team seven."

"There are only a few viable choices, especially with recent events." Hiruzen admitted. "Team seven will be a heavy assault team. All three excel in close-range combat while Hinata can also provide long-range attacks. Sasuke has great potential as a ninjutsu specialist while Kiba's use of the Inuzuka jutsu can break up enemy formations for the other two to pick off."

"But they will need a teacher who knows how to capitalize on their skills and push them to greater heights." Fugaku noted. "Isn't your son back from his time as one of the Twelve Guardians?"

"He has already been assigned to team ten at his request." Hiruzen admitted.

"There aren't that many heavy-assault-capable Jonin around." Hiashi mused. "My brother could serve if needed, but I remain uncertain as to who could fill his place as leader of the Branch House."

"None of the Uchiha Jonin are in a position to be viable candidates at this time." Fugaku admitted. "And although I respect Hatake Kakashi's skills, he has already failed almost half a dozen teams. I feel that he does not wish to become a Jonin-sensei."

"I have heard enough about his habit of failing teams that I agree." Hiashi said. "I wish my daughter to prove herself, not to be sent back because her would-be-teacher is throwing a strop."

Fugaku choked down the chortle that threatened to spill from his lips before he turned to Hiruzen.

"Which Jonin are available, capable of and interested in leading a team?" He asked and Hiruzen pulled out a short list, putting it on the table in front of him so that both men could see it.

"Mimura Hamaki…" Hiashi mused. "He was one of the survivors of the Iwa assault that was countered by Namikaze Minato. A definite possibility."

"Mokume Konuge." Fugaku read. "I vaguely remember him, he once worked alongside Senju Tsunade…"

"Shirakumo Hayama, an excellent choice." Hiashi said. "I have served alongside him and he has a keen analytical mind coupled with a dislike of needlessly endangering his subordinates."

"Ita…" Fugaku halted. Hiashi gave him a curious look, then turned back to the list.

"Ah."

The silence almost seemed to take on a presence of its own, then Fugaku sighed.

"Itachi. Perhaps I have held my grudge too long and for all the wrong reasons. I cannot forgive him, but… I will no longer try to stand in his way. My son would never forgive me."

Hiashi blinked several times at Fugaku's admission, then he nodded. "The other option I would recommend is Hayama, but Itachi would, in my opinion, serve just as well. Fugaku, I leave the choice to you."

Fugaku sighed. "Itachi. His skill and loyalty to Konoha is unquestioned and having been led astray once, he will not allow himself to be tricked again. He is my choice, but I ask that you not tell him that. The scars between us are still unhealed."

"I understand." Hiruzen said softly.

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Hinata sat down beside her two team-mates and nodded in greeting. "Sasuke-san, Kiba-san."

"Hinata-san." Sasuke nodded back and Kiba opened his mouth, then shut it as the door opened and Iruka entered, followed by three jonin, one of whom Sasuke recognized instantly.

"Brother…"

"Good morning." Iruka said to the nine in the room. "Today, you take your first step into the wider world. These three will be your guides and teachers as you discover what being a ninja is truly about. For myself, I would like to say that it has been a pleasure and honor teaching you…"

Iruka trailed off as Hinata rose and began clapping, quickly joined by Sasuke and the rest of the class. For a long moment, Iruka simply stared at them, then he smiled and waved for them to quieten down.

"Thank you. Now, if you would?"

The first Jonin, a bearded man, stepped forwards. "I am Sarutobi Asuma and I am to lead team ten."

"My name is Yuhi Kurenai," The dark-haired lady said, "And I am to lead team eight."

"I am Itachi." The last Jonin said and Sasuke grinned widely. "Team seven, you are with me."

"We got my brother as our sensei!" Sasuke gloated quietly.

"Good luck." Iruka said with a smile. "Make me proud."

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"So." Itachi said as he stopped in the middle of a training ground and turned to face his new team. "I am Itachi, as my brother probably told you. The Hokage and his advisers agreed that I was probably the best choice to lead you. I have read your files, but I must ask you to introduce yourselves and tell us something about yourself."

"Sasuke…" Sasuke began before stopping at Itachi's hand-motion.

"Full name." Itachi said in an almost-gentle voice. "Like I did."

Sasuke swallowed, then nodded. "Uchiha Sasuke, Rookie of the year, although it could easily have gone the other way. I hope to become strong enough to one day fight alongside Hiro, the one who countered Madara's attempt to turn the clan against Konoha."

"Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my ninken Akamaru!" Kiba almost shouted. "I like tracking, hunting and fighting and I'm going to learn all of my clan's special jutsu as I become a truly awesome ninja!"

Hinata blushed slightly as everyone looked at her. "Hyuuga Hinata. I like pressing flowers and being with my fiancee. I hope to prove myself worthy of being with him."

"Fiancee?" Kiba asked. "Do I know him?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Hinata mumbled and Sasuke blinked.

"I remember my dad talking about him, didn't he make chunin a fortnight ago after he… oh."

"After he lost his team to a traitor." Itachi confirmed and Kiba slumped.

"Man, that must really suck."

For a long moment, no-one spoke, then Itachi coughed to get their attention.

"It is time for me to test you, to see if you are worthy to become my genin. Are you ready?"

"Hell, yeah!" Kiba crowed. "Bring it on, we'll flatten the test!"

Sasuke gulped as Itachi's smile took on a slightly sadistic twist.

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Author's Afternote – Naruto's chunin outfit can be found on my DeviantArt page.