Opening 7 - Scarlet Knight by Nana Mizuki
"Come on, Kiba! Keep up with me!" a fifteen-year-old Ino called.
"I don't know this place like the back of my hand the way you do!" Kiba shouted back. "Jeez, and I thought I was a badass. What the hell possesses you to do anything out here?"
He slipped on a particularly thick buildup of snow atop a tree limb, and scowled before righting himself and activating his Hellhound Flame Armor. The fully-grown white ninken behind him woofed and followed suit. "Ino, where the hell are we going?"
Ino led him through the Forest of Death with a light giggle. It was snowing over Konoha, and the weather didn't look like it was set to improve, so she was wearing a dark purple coat and blue pants instead of her preferred outfit. "It's not much further," she called back over her shoulder.
"Why's it so deep in this forest, anyway?"
"You'll see; we're here!" Ino replied cheerfully, then deliberately missed her jump to the next branch, instead plummeting down toward the ground. She intended to tuck and roll to absorb the impact, but instead she landed in a snowdrift that buried her up to her neck even before she fell backward. "Gah! Cold!" she shrieked, and stormed upward out of the snow, frantically trying to pull some clumps of snow out of her collar.
Kiba arrived shortly after her, landing atop a three-foot snowdrift that his fire aura promptly vaporized. She pulled herself free of the snow before he could offer any help, and she crossed her arms with a scowl and a faint blush. "That never happened."
"Okay, fine by me. So what was it you wanted me to... see..." Kiba happened to turn around as he spoke, and he fell silent when he noticed that one of the hills of earth and snow nearby didn't look quite natural. He noticed this because that hill had a door built into it.
Ino smirked. "Yamanaka shinobi usually end up becoming spies or scouts, to be sent into enemy territory without being seen. That, combined with the Earth Release that runs in the family, means we've been honing another skill for centuries that most people don't know about."
"Camping," Kiba realized, and she punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"Don't generalize it like that. It's not just 'camping.' A well-trained Yamanaka can build a cave like this, camouflage it perfectly into the landscape, and with the right jutsu we can even hide the chakra signatures of the shinobi hiding inside. Then we can add layers of genjutsu over it that subtly make an enemy shinobi want to walk away from the area, without knowing why, and if all that fails, if we still get spotted, it's a simple matter to mind-control any witnesses into walking far away, and then we can wipe their memories."
"That's... genius," Kiba breathed.
"Well, it was the Nara Clan's idea," Ino admitted. "Now come on inside. You're gonna like this." she walked over to the door, still brushing bits of snow out of her collar and sleeves until she opened the door and led him inside. The space within was pitch-black, at least until Kiba stepped inside. His fire aura immediately lit the room to reveal a smooth stone floor and walls, as well as an unlit campfire in the center of the room.
"Normally a Yamanaka camp wouldn't look quite this cozy," Ino admitted, "at least not when it's first built." She made a few hand seals to raise a wall of earth to cover the entrance. "If a shinobi team is staying in one place, though, it's worth putting some extra work into the camp. It'd probably take a Yamanaka Jounin about two days to make a camp this nice, but it took me a whole week."
Kiba wandered around the cave with a growing smile. "I gotta admit, Ino, this is pretty cool."
"This is just the main room," Ino smirked. "Look around, Kiba. Haven't you noticed that the cave looks a lot bigger from outside? There's a reason for that."
Kiba looked around. "...Huh, I just thought the place had thick walls. So you're saying there's something hidden here?"
Ino nodded with a growing grin. "All of the other rooms are usually kept hidden, so if someone wanders in here against all odds, all they see is a dead campfire and an empty cave. They'll be able to tell that it was made with the Earth Release from how perfect the walls are, but the central room is meant to look abandoned. Watch this."
She turned to an unmarked spot on one of the walls, made a hand seal, and silently activated the jutsu. A section of the stone wall slid downward into the floor with a quiet but noticeable grating sound, revealing a hidden room with shelves, a desk, and a chair all shaped out of the stone. "That's a Yamanaka hidenjutsu, the Hidden Earth Distortion," Ino smirked. "Someone with an Earth Release casts it, then anyone can open and close the existing door with their chakra if they know how."
She stepped into the room and beckoned for Kiba and Akamaru to follow her. They watched as she pulled out a thick red scroll from her pouch, unrolling it and unsealing a bed with a thin, light metal frame. She slid it into place in the corner of the room, then sat on it. "So what do you think?"
"I think it's awesome," Kiba replied honestly. "How many bedrooms does this place have?"
"Eight, plus a room at the back of the cave for storing our gear."
"...Our gear?" Kiba questioned.
"I was getting to that bit," Ino sighed. "It's traditional for the Ino-Shika-Chou team of each generation to spend a week in one of these. Now, Shikamaru and Chouji have been a team with you for two years now, but we still want to do it anyway, just for fun. Shikamaru's bringing Temari along, and Chouji mentioned that bringing Haku might be a good idea. I was hoping you could be my 'plus one,' since I know both of them deliberately avoided asking you so I'd have the chance."
"I guess I'm up for it," Kiba answered, but hesitantly rubbed the back of his head. "But when are we gonna do this? 'Cause Naruto's getting promoted to Hokage in a couple days, after all."
"We'll be doing this after Naruto's big day, duh," Ino grinned. "It's not like we'd miss it."
"Oh, then no worries, I'm up for-"
Kiba blinked. "Did... is it just me, or was that an earthquake?"
"It happens," Ino replied offhandedly, then flinched as the earth shook much more violently. Both of them could faintly hear the sound of a distant tree snapping and being further obliterated into tiny pieces.
"Ino, what the hell's going on!? Should we get out of this cave?" Kiba asked with a hint of worry.
"Don't panic, this place isn't gonna collapse on top of us. I specifically designed it to withstand these quakes," she smirked with a hint of pride, then glanced over her shoulder as the earth shook a third time. "But jeez, they're really going at it today."
"Who?"
"Naruto and Hinata."
Kiba blushed faintly. "Okay... but when you say 'going at it,' you don't mean..."
She smacked him, giggling. "You're such a perv, Kiba. They're sparring."
"Huh..." Kiba smirked slightly. "Ah, I get it; they spar out here because they don't want to cause earthquakes in the village." he paused as the earth shook again. "You know what? Once Naruto becomes Hokage, they're gonna assign him a squad of bodyguards. That is the dumbest thing this village will ever do. Imagine Naruto actually needing a bodyguard. There's no one in the village that can handle an opponent that would defeat him."
"Well, there's Hinata and Tsunade-sama," Ino pointed out reasonably.
"...True," Kiba admitted, then stood up after the earth vibrated again. "I have to see this. What the hell kind of sparring could they be doing!?"
"...You know, I've only seen them doing it once, and that was months ago. The quakes are worse these days, which means they've stepped it up a notch," Ino mused. "To be honest, I'm starting to wonder what it's really like over there. You wanna go check it out?"
"Hell yeah," Kiba immediately decided. "But it'll be dangerous, so I'll stay in front of you in Cerberus Mode. Unlike you, if I get hit in the face with a stray jutsu I can heal just by seperating from Akamaru."
"Good point; I'll follow you." Kiba nodded and made his way to the entrance of the cave, frowning slightly when he remembered Ino covering it with a wall of earth. After a few moments, he heard her seal away the bed and catch up to him. She made the same hand seal as before to lower the wall of earth, and the two of them stepped outside.
Akamaru's ears twitched, and he whined worriedly to Kiba. "...Yeah, I know. The hell is that?"
"What?" Ino questioned.
"That sound. You don't hear it? Kami, it's like... screaming, but not a living thing's scream. Its like someone took all the sound of a hurricane's wind and squished it together into a little ball, just to see how it would sound."
"No, I don't hear it at all," she admitted. "Maybe it's just 'cause your hearing's sharper than mine."
"Which means one of two things," Kiba mused, "either its pitch is too high for your ears to pick up, or it's too far away for you to hear. Either way, it's coming from that direction," he pointed to his right, "and that seems to be where Naruto and Hinata are, so it's probably a jutsu. Let's go check it out!" Kiba formed his Hellhound Flame Armor, and Akamaru fused with him to create a twenty-foot-tall Cerberus which promptly began trotting toward the sound.
Ino followed, and noted that Kiba was limiting his pace so she could keep up with him even though his canine form gave him a vast speed advantage. After they had been moving at that pace for about a minute, Ino heard the sound Kiba had been speaking of, and her heart leapt into her throat. It was terrifying, and exactly like Kiba had described. It wasn't the scream of a gust of wind, it was Wind itself screaming at her.
"K-Kami... I hear it now," Ino breathed. After a moment, however, she heard another sound. This one was very, very different. It made her think vaguely of water, and she closed her eyes for a moment to listen carefully. This sound was deep where the Wind sound was a high screech, and she pictured an ocean boiling. She pictured bubbles the size of houses rising for miles, from the bottom of an ocean to its surface.
What the hell is happening? Ino wondered, just before both sounds exploded.
Ino couldn't help herself; she clasped her hands over her head, ducked, and screamed back as the world apparently got tired of staying still and developed a sudden urge to do jumping jacks. Or at least, that was how it felt. The earth shook beneath her feet so violently that she was thrown into the air, and blasts of gale-force wind tore through the treetops along with forcefully flying mist that actually struck trees and branches hard enough to crack or break them.
Then it was over. Ino was curled up on the ground, gasping, but once the shaking stopped she crawled to her feet. She noted Kiba was clearly as terrified as she was; he was laying down on the ground and resting his three heads on his forepaws, silent and wide-eyed. "Kiba, we have to get out of here," she breathed.
"...Yeah, that might be a good-"
A twenty-foot tall figure of shaped, hollow water, clearly in Hinata's likeness, came flying headfirst theough the trees and crashed not far from Kiba and Ino. Within the Water Deity's chest, Hinata spotted Kiba and Ino with her Byakugan and paled.
"Naruto, stop!" she screamed.
Meanwhile, a similarly sized aura of transparent black chakra in the shape of a fox with a single tail stopped in its pursuit of Hinata, and withered away like smoke in the wind. Naruto appeared next to the Water Deity, with fragments of something hard and white crumbling away from his clothes. "Hinata, what's wrong!?" he asked, panicked. She dissolved the Water Deity into mist and pointed to Kiba and Ino. "...Oh."
Kiba seperated from Akamaru and shakily began, "Naruto... what the fuck was that!?"
"S-Sorry!" Naruto replied, then blurred toward them with an Empty Wind. "Are you guys both okay? Was anyone else with you!?"
"Naruto, what was that?" Ino paraphrased Kiba's demand. "That screaming..."
"I'm so sorry," Hinata replied, and made her way toward the three. "Naruto-kun and I train so deep into this forest specifically so this would never happen. We thought this was a safe place... that screaming sound you heard was probably Naruto's strongest wind jutsu."
"And... that bubbling sound?" Ino asked. "What was that?"
"My strongest water jutsu," Hinata admitted. "Are either of you hurt?"
"We're fine," Ino decided, "just scared as all hell."
"Sorry," Naruto mumbled weakly again, then turned to Hinata. "Hina-chan, we should probably find a new place to train.
Hinata played with a lock of her hair nervously. Over the past two years, she had grown it out several inches longer than it had been. The longest locks were the ones framing the sides of her face, and they gently brushed her shoulders if she held her head upright. She had also suppressed her finger-twiddling urges, but as a consequence she had developed a new nervous habit of playing with her hair instead. On the other hand, there wasn't much that could make her nervous at this point in her life.
Her outfit hadn't changed much in the past two years. She was still wearing a suit of barrier ninjutsu armor similar to the one she'd worn then, but obviously this one had been upsized to fit her taller, more developed figure. She now also wore combat boots of a similar brown tone to the leather accents of the suit, and the sealed fingerless gloves she wore were now of brown leather as well, and they reached halfway up her forearms.
Naruto's hair had also grown, but not as much as Hinata's. The spikes hanging down over his forehead protector were now long enough to dangle over his eyebrows, and they mostly concealed the headband itself. The white spike of hair from his use of Rinne Tensei was still there, now positioned squarely over the Konoha symbol on his headband. The whisker marks on his cheeks had grown thicker, but not much so.
He also still wore the long trenchcoat Hinata had given him, but under it he wore a tight, long-sleeved shirt of black fabric lined with thick, silvery mesh armor like chainmail, along with a pair of simple black pants that hung down to his ankles. There was a notable absence of a kunai holster on his thigh.
Over the trenchcoat, he wore a loose, bright orange silk sash from his right shoulder to his left hip, and on the end of that sash he carried a new sword, one that he and Tenten had worked together to design.
The weapon seemed to be based on the design of a katana, but the length of the hilt had been cut in half for use with a single hand. It had a glistening brass rectangular guard, that resembled the traditional tsuba of a katana until one noted the bar of metal that extended from it and connected to the pommel like the guard of a cutlass. The handle was wrapped in the same orange silk that made up the sash, and the scabbard was made of wood that was stained a deep blue color. The blade hidden within was made up of a very dense, black metal, and was much heavier than a normal sword should have been, although Naruto could easily cope with the extra weight.
Stop that, Hinata scolded herself, and stopped toying with her hair. "...Y-Yes, I think maybe we should start doing this further away from the village," she suggested. "Even the Forest of Death is still technically a training ground, even though most people don't use it. We need to go somewhere no one ever has any reason to go. But... where, then?"
"I don't know. We might just need to wait until I finish making a seal strong enough for us to train inside."
"Strong enough?" Kiba questioned incredulously. "Just how strong are you two!?"
"Well..." Naruto scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, "that question sorta has two answers. Technically, Hinata and I together can put as much strain on a seal as a Bijuu could, but not much more. In an actual fight though, it's harder to say. We'd be classified as Kage-level, and I'm pretty sure the two of us together could hold our own against Kurama or even beat him, but the scale of our attacks compared to Kurama's Bijuu Dama isn't very good. He's got way more destructive power."
"More... than that?" Kiba pointed to the direction they'd come from. Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other, mutually deciding not to mention what Kurama was actually capable of, since Kiba and Ino had clearly been terrified enough for one day.
X
A few hours later, Naruto found himself standing by the main gate of Konoha with a bento box full of Ichiraku's ramen in his left hand, and chopsticks in his right. He would've liked to eat it fresh from a bowl at the restaurant itself, but he was here on a mission.
Merely two days ago, his ANBU term had come to an end which meant he was officially ranked as a Chuunin and nothing more. On the other hand, it also meant he would be the Sixth Hokage by the end of the week, and he couldn't bring himself to stop grinning about that.
He slurped more steaming noodles out of the box, and silently noted the approach of a young Genin and Chuunin.
"Yo, Naruto!" eleven-year-old Konohamaru shouted excitedly. Shortly following behind him was a fourteen-year-old Nawaki Senju, who seemed even more gleeful than his younger friend. Naruto noted how unusual this was; normally none of Konohamaru's friends could quite match his enthusiasm. "You're never gonna believe this! Go on, show him, Nawaki!"
"R-Right!" the older boy replied shakily; whether it was from nerves or excitement Naruto couldn't tell. He clasped his hands together in the Snake seal, and grinned. "Watch this!"
Naruto watched closely, but he also made the mistake of continuing to slurp his ramen.
"Wood Release: Thorn Armor Jutsu!" Nawaki called, and his hands were promptly wrapped up in a growing mesh of thin, woven vines that were armed with a myriad of tiny pink thorns that looked rather sharp.
Naruto instinctively gasped, but since he had food in his mouth, he also coughed and spat out the mouthful of ramen he had immediately choked on. "Wh-What the crap!?"
Nawaki beamed, then tried to pull his hands out of the Snake seal. He then discovered that they were bound together by the vines. He hadn't anticipated this, since the jutsu was meant to wrap each of his hands in a seperate glove of vines. However, in his haste and excitement he forgot to add the Dog seal after the Snake, leaving him with an incomplete performance of the jutsu. He frowned and stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, growing frustrated as he tried to pull one of his hands free. "Normally it works better than this, I swear!"
Konohamaru nodded vigorously. "It's true; I've seen it!" he reached toward the vines, trying to help Nawaki pull free, but Naruto caught his wrists before the boy could begin picking at the sharp vines. "Wha!?"
"Let me." Naruto laid his hands on the vines, ignoring the sensation of his palm being nicked. "Preta Path," he called, and the vines withered away, crumbling into dead and dry pieces to allow Nawaki to pull away. Naruto's now entirely purple chakra then healed his wounded hand in an instant.
"Whoa," Nawaki breathed.
"You have the Wood Release," Naruto mumbled in disbelief, although it wasn't a question. "Kami... how long have you known?"
"Tsunade-neechan got me one of those chakra paper things yesterday, and it grew into a whole freakin' tree," Nawaki gushed. "I mean, it was a little one, but it was still a freakin' tree. So then I started experimenting, and I had this jutsu down before lunch! Or at least, I thought I did..." Nawaki frowned at his hands. "Stupid vines. I'll get the hang of this yet! And then I'll be the Seventh Hokage after you, Naruto-niisan!"
"Eeeh!?" Konohamaru spluttered. "Not a chance in hell! I'm gonna be the Seventh! But if you get good enough with those vines, maybe you can be the Eighth..." he finished thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah!?" Nawaki fired back with a growing anger that Naruto couldn't help but find funny. He hid his smirk with the bento box in his hand, watching the exchange. "Fine! If you wanna see who's closer to becoming Hokage, then let's test our strength against each other! Pick a training ground, any one you want, and I'll kick your ass there!"
"Fine, we'll use number Forty-Two!" Konohamaru paused, and glanced at the box of ramen in Naruto's hand. "But after that, whichever one of us loses pays for the other's lunch!"
"You're on; let's go!"
And like that, they were gone, leaving Naruto to enjoy his meal in peace, at least for a short while.
"Yo, if it ain't the next Hokage Naruto! I'm Killer Bee, as I'm sure you already know! Jinchuuriki of the Eight-Tails, all the way from Kumo, bro! So... where am I supposed to go? 'Cause I don't really know."
Naruto sighed. "Welcome to Konoha, Octopops. To be honest, I really hoped you were kidding about the rapping thing, when we met in the Tailed Beast Dimension, ya know?"
"Aw man, that's weak," Bee grumbled. "You're not even gonna try and rap back?"
"Alright, since you asked..." Naruto paused for a second to think, then cleared his throat. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I usually don't flow, ya feel me? I'm more of a talker, not a rapper, bro, but I can respect my buddy's hobby. When it comes to rhyme, yo, I always defer to the great Killer Bee. And so, I'm askin' ya just to let me be."
Bee nodded along silently, then waited for a moment after Naruto stopped rapping before he replied, "Not bad, kid. You were keepin' up two rhymes at once, that's kinda cool. If you wanna talk without rhymin' that's fine by me; at least you tried. Yeeaah..."
Naruto blinked. "So you actually can talk normally. I kinda had my doubts, ya know?"
"Meh." Bee shrugged. "It's not my thing, but I can do it. Seems too boring for me though. For me, talkin' without bustin' rhymes is like... I dunno, pizzza without cheese." he shrugged again. "It's kinda hard to describe it."
Naruto nodded solemnly. "I get it, Octopops. Anyway, it's great to have you here in Konoha. How long are you staying for, anyway?"
"I'd say about a week," Bee began, "it's just too bad Nii couldn't come. Ya see, she's still back in Kumo, and she's really busy," he lamented. "Shame; she's always nice company. Anyway, I uh... I was kinda sent here for two reasons, honestly." Bee's tone lost its cheeriness, and he began to seem almost nervous.
"Oh?" Naruto asked, concerned. "What is it? And how come you seem so upset?"
"Well, uh..." Bee sighed, and gave up trying to rhyme. "I'm supposed to deliver a formal apology to the Hyuuga Clan, specifically a girl named Hinata Hyuuga, on behalf of Kumo as a whole. Years back, when she was just a kid, the Head Ninja of Kumo came here on a black op to kidnap her for her Byakugan. Obviously things are different now, but there's nothing we can really do to take it back. All we can do is say how sorry we are, and it's bad enough that it took us this long, but..." he trailed off with a helpless shrug.
"But what?" Naruto prodded.
"I'm a really crappy choice to deliver this apology, Naruto," Bee admitted. "Look at me. What part of me says 'formal' in any way? How can they take me seriously? How can I really put into words just how sorry Kumo is? I can't. I'm gonna mess this up, and this Hinata chick is only gonna hate us even more for it."
"Bee, relax," Naruto reached up to thump the much taller man's back reassuringly. "Hinata doesn't have a hateful bone in her body. She's the sweetest, nicest person you'll ever meet, and she's not exactly one for formality either. She'll understand."
"You know her!?" Bee exclaimed, turning to face Naruto with renewed hope. "What's she like, anyway? Tell me a bit about her."
"Well, uh, she's getting married in a few days," Naruto smirked.
"Really? To who?"
"Ya know what? I think I'd like to see you take a guess first."
"Huh?" Bee gave Naruto a thoroughly blank look. "How the hell am I supposed to take a guess? I only know like two people here, and that's the Fifth Hokage... and... you... wait." Bee's mouth fell slightly open. "No."
"Yeah."
"The Uchiha guy!?" Bee shouted in disbelief. "But he's not even in the village!"
"What!? No, it's not Sasuke!" Naruto shouted back. "Are you freakin' insane!? Hina-chan would never go for a stuck-up emo bastard like him! How the hell'd you even come up with that, anyway!?"
"Well if it's not Sasuke, then who the hell is she marrying?"
"Me!" Naruto cried in frustration.
Behind his shades, Killer Bee blinked once, twice. "Oh. So that's why you called her 'Hina-chan.'" Naruto nodded. "...Is she cute?"
"Hina-chan is by far the most beautiful girl in the Land of Fire, and quite possibly the world. She's also one of the only two ninjas in Konoha that can keep up with me in a fight, the other being baa-chan. She's sweet, sexy, and strong all at the same time. Not to mention I recently found out about her singing voice... Kami," Naruto sighed. "My point is, she isn't cute, she's a goddess. Look." He fished into the weapons pouch under his coat, pulling out a Bingo Book which he flipped open to Hinata's entry. "See? They even call her the Water Goddess. Suimegami Hinata."
Hyuuga, Hinata
"Water Goddess Hinata"
"Light of the Sage"
Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan
Kage-level combatant, ninjutsu/taijutsu specialist. Chakra control exceeding average Kage-level. Known senjutsu wielder with an unidentified Sage Mode style. Can see chakra through walls. Immune to sight-based genjutsu. Capable of tracking an opponent for over 10km with the Byakugan, further with Sage Mode. Water Release mastery on par with or exceeding that of the Second Hokage. Known to be capable of dismantling enemy Water Release jutsu in an instant...
Bee stopped reading, and shut the book before handing it back to Naruto, who noted that the taller man's hand was shaking rather visibly. "Your girlfriend's scary, bro."
"You haven't met her yet," Naruto insisted. "I'm telling you, she's the nicest person you'll ever meet. Believe it!"
Bee shrugged, and decided to change the subject. "So... if they call her the Water Goddess, what do they call you?"
Naruto beamed proudly, and opened the book to his own entry. "See for yourself."
Uzumaki, Naruto
"Grinning Fox"
"Half-Demon"
"Sage of Six Paths"
Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan
Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki
Kage-level combatant, focused on ninjutsu and kenjutsu. Can see chakra through walls. Immune to sight-based genjutsu. Near-limitless chakra reserves. Wields exceptionally potent purple chakra as opposed to blue (human) or red (demon). Capable of manifesting a chakra cloak with a unique third stage not available to any other Jinchuuriki. Wields a wide variety of kekkei genkai techniques and an unidentified wind jutsu capable of cutting each individual cell in a target's body with a direct hit, killing them instantly. Capable of moving consistently at greater speed than a Body Flicker without using hand seals. Capable of wielding all five elements in addition to shape transformation. Known preference for non-elemental, wind, and earth jutsu in that order of priority. Capable of regenerating from otherwise lethal wounds in an instant.
"Dayum," Bee drew out the word slowly. "That's two more people I need to remember to never piss off," he decided. "On that note, help a brotha out, will ya? Just promise me you'll try to keep your girlfriend from killing me when I see her."
"It won't come to that," Naruto promised, "But hypothetically, yeah. I'd keep her from killing you."
"Um... why would I want to kill him?"
Killer Bee screamed like a little girl and cowered behind Naruto, or rather in front of him since Hinata was already standing behind Naruto with a confused look on her face. She was cradling a brown cardboard box with her left arm, and in her right hand she held a half-eaten cinnamon roll from that box. She blinked, and glanced over Naruto's shoulder to get a better look at the six-foot-two Jinchuuriki trying feebly to hide behind the five-foot-four future Hokage. "Naruto-kun... who is this?"
"Yo, Hina-chan," he turned and greeted her with a grin. "This is Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuuriki from Kumo."
"...Oh." Hinata nodded, beginning to understand what was going on. "You showed him my Bingo Book entry, didn't you?" Naruto nodded. "Hm... well then, it can't be helped." she stepped around Naruto, and held out the box. "Bee-san, please stand up, and have a cinnamon roll."
Bee blinked behind his shades as he registered what Hinata was asking him to do. Hesitantly, he stood and reached toward the box. "...T-Thanks..."
Hinata beamed and nodded quickly. "So... what have you two been chatting about?"
"Mm!" Bee exclaimed as he bit into the pastry. "This'reallygood!" he mumbled quickly.
"He's supposed to formally apologize on behalf of Kumo for trying to kidnap you," Naruto murmured too lowly for Bee to notice, "but he thinks you're gonna try to kill him if he even brings it up. It probably doesn't help that I showed him your Bingo Book page..."
"Oh..." Hinata fell silent, deep in thought as she pulled another roll from the box. "Excuse me, Bee-san?"
"Huh?" he mumbled as he finished the cinnamon roll, licking his fingers clean.
"Did you have anything to do with the 'Hyuuga Incident' eleven years ago?"
Bee flinched. "Well uh, my adopted dad was the Third Raikage, and even in Kumo we think he gave the order to have you kidnapped, but that's still just a conspiracy theory..."
"And there you have it," Hinata smiled softly. "The Third Raikage and the ninja who actually tried to kidnap me are both dead. As far as anyone knows, they were the only two Kumo-nin behind the kidnapping; no one else was involved or even knew about the plan. And Kumo still feels that they were in the wrong, enough so that they've sent you to formally apologize... what I'm saying is that there isn't a single person in Kumo who I'd have any ill will against. Everyone responsible for the Affair is already dead, and even if they were alive, I don't want revenge at all."
She paused, then continued, "The rest of the Hyuuga Clan might have different feelings about this, but now really isn't the best time for Kumo to have any kind of formal meeting with the clan. I suggest that when you return to Kumo, tell the Raikage that Hinata Hyuuga personally advised you to postpone your apology until at least... four months from now."
"You mean... you're gonna let me off the hook?" Bee gave her a look of open disbelief. "Just like that?"
"You didn't do anything wrong," Hinata insisted. "You were never 'on the hook.'"
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!" The Eight-Tails Jinchuuriki roared with glee, startling both of the Konoha-nin. "And here I thought I was really gonna get my ass kicked, aw man!" he paused, and frowned. "Still, I just know I'm gonna end up getting the Iron Claw, damn..."
Iron Claw? Hinata blinked, then nudged Naruto's elbow with her own. "I thought you were kidding about him talking like this..."
"Nope," Naruto sighed, "but at least he doesn't do it constantly..."
X
When Naruto went home that evening, after a long and thoroughly enjoyed day with Hinata, he found the door of his house left slightly open.
He scowled and drew his sword, activating his Rinnegan to check for a chakra-based trap like an explosive tag. When he found nothing, he pushed open the door and glanced around his home in hopes of spotting the chakra silhouette of an intruder.
He found several.
He sighed and sheathed his sword, making his way to his bedroom. There he found Danzou Shimura and six masked ANBU. "I should've known to expect a visit from you before the big day," he grumbled. "So what do you want?"
"Among other things, I'm here to wish you luck." Danzou inclined his head in a vague gesture of respect, but Naruto didn't buy it. "You wouldn't be my first choice for the position of Hokage, but there are worse candidates. Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya come to mind."
Naruto scoffed. "Okay. Now why are you really here?"
"Simply to remind you that I am here," Danzou gave a subtle smirk. "With just this one eye, I'm watching all of Konoha, and that includes you." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What I'm saying is that if I ever truly feel you are an incompetent Hokage, I'll do something about it. You see, I'm a patient man, Naruto. I've waited my whole life for a chance to become Hokage, and I'll continue to wait even though I'll likely die before I achieve that goal. However... I'll only do that because I believe it would do more harm than good for me to force my way into the position. Konoha would be destabilized morally and economically."
"I see."
"Do you?" Danzou stepped forward. "If you turn out to be a soft, peacemongering fool like Hiruzen, I'll cast you down myself, Uzumaki."
"...Danzou." Naruto yawned. "I've had a good day, but it was also really long and I'm tired. So before you go, I'll only ask you one quick question."
"Hm?"
"Tell me, just how much do you know about the Oto ANBU program?"
Danzou's visible eye widened considerably.
"That's right," Naruto smirked. "Oto has no ANBU. And yet... two years ago when Orochimaru invaded Konoha, an unidentified shinobi in an ANBU mask made an attempt to kill Koharu and Homura, your fellow council members. It's also notable that each of them received several small wounds from this assassin, while you were unharmed. I remember, because I was there."
Danzou gave no reply.
"Now, when I cut down that shinobi, I noted that all of his equipment was dyed black. He wore an unmarked black cloak, a black uniform, and lacked a forehead protector and flak jacket. So theoretically, he might still have been an Oto-nin, but the mask was almost certainly from Konoha. Furthermore, you suggested that he'd taken a suicide pill once I incapacitated him. When I pulled open his mouth, I identified what looked like the remains of a lethal juinjutsu that had been set off to keep him from revealing any secrets of his employer."
"...Just what the hell are you implying, boy?" Danzou growled.
"Oh, I'm not implying anything. At least not yet, since I'm not done telling my story." Naruto cleared his throat, and went on, "No one has ever identified the juinjutsu on that man's tongue, and no one has ever used the burn pattern recorded in the autopsy to reconstruct what the seal might've looked like... in fact, there was no autopsy. That shinobi's body mysteriously vanished from the morgue before any autopsy could be performed. That's worrying, since a captured shinobi always has secrets to tell, even if he's just a corpse."
"However..." Naruto stepped forward here, and looked Danzou in the eye with his Rinnegan. "I know for a fact that Orochimaru has no record of any juinjutsu meant to be placed on a subject's tongue, and I know this because Sasuke Uchiha's team captured a full collection of every fuinjutsu and juinjutsu that Orochimaru has ever created. I may not be able to prove it, but I know exactly who sent that assassin to kill off the council. And Danzou... one last thing..."
Naruto glanced around, noting that each of the ROOT agents had now drawn their tanto and were apparently getting ready to defend Danzou, likely because Naruto was now standing very close to the war hawk.
"If you ever make a move against me, and against Konoha... I'll cut off your right arm," he finished, and Danzou froze, wide-eyed. "Now get out of my house, and don't do anything stupid once you're gone."
"How... can you possibly know about..."
Naruto pointed to his right eye. "I can see chakra with these, and the chakra in your right arm isn't your own. It belongs to a total of eleven different people. I don't know what that arm is, but I can guess. I can also guess what's hidden under those bandages on your face, as well as why you were once considering an attempt on my life. You thought that with that Sharingan, you could unseal the Nine-Tails within me and safely control it before sealing it into a ROOT shinobi. That was your plan for only a short while, though. After you started realizing I wouldn't serve you directly, and before I became too strong for you to take in a fight."
Danzou remained silent for several seconds, then finally allowed himself a subdued smirk. "Well played, Hokage-sama."
"Get out. And don't ever try to intimidate me again."
Danzou nodded and stepped past Naruto, shortly followed by his ROOT guards who sheathed their blades as they left the room. Naruto watched their chakra signatures leave the house with his active Rinnegan, and then he sat on the edge of his bed with a sigh.
Meanwhile, one of the younger members of ROOT approached his leader curiously. "Danzou-sama... am I permitted to know what Naruto-sama was referring to? He implied that a ROOT shinobi attempted to kill off the council..."
"Which is true," Danzou admitted. "When Hiruzen died, I was one of the first to know. I sought out the first ROOT agent I could find in the chaos of the invasion, a Chuunin-level fighter, and tasked him with an impromptu mission to kill Koharu and Homura, whilst also appearing to attack me as well. He might actually have succeeded, given that they were wounded and he was not. They might simply have passed out from blood loss, and he would've been able to kill them at that point, but instead Naruto arrived. Ironically, he was there to deliver news of Hiruzen's passing."
"I see," the young ROOT ninja breathed. "So if this agent had been successful..."
"I would be the highest remaining authority figure in the village. From there, it would've been a simple matter for me to convince the Daimyou to name me the Fifth Hokage. No one would question it; no one would dare question it. But that agent was killed, and now... now I'm beginning to wonder if that's such a terrible thing. Naruto has proven himself to be much fiercer than Hiruzen was. I can already see that he won't flinch away from confronting Konoha's enemies openly. For now, I'm satisfied with that much. Come along, Sai."
"Yes, Danzou-sama."
Please Review!