A month into training under Itachi with Sasuke and Naruto and under her father with Neji, her strength, stamina, and strategic abilities increased steadily. She had a lot of fun training with Sasuke and Naruto in the Hyuuga training grounds, especially when they deemed each other rivals and worked twice as hard to one-up each other.

Naruto walked with Hinata, Sasuke, and Ko—after introductions—to the training grounds. Sasuke and Hinata walked, having an easy conversation about what to work on that day, and Naruto listened in. He was more surprised that Sasuke was actually willingly talking with a girl and smiling.

"Naruto-san, yesterday Sasuke and I did twenty minutes of target practice and then an hour and a half of sparring. We wanted to know if…you were okay with that?" Hinata asked.

"You wanted to know, you mean…"Sasuke mumbled. Hinata ignored him and kept kind eyes and a gentle smile on her face as she waited for Naruto to answer.

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Yeah! I kinda need work on my target practice, you know," he laughed sheepishly. "I want to see you two spar each other before I spar you both though!"

"Afraid you'll lose without seeing our skills first?" Sasuke teased.

Naruto glared. "Hey! It's called gathering intelligence!" Naruto retorted.

"Gathering intelligence doesn't require you to tell your targets that you're gathering the intelligence, that's just called being stupid."

"Sasuke!" Hinata scolded. Sasuke huffed. "Naruto-san, while I wouldn't have said it that harshly, Sasuke is right. Gathering intelligence is meant to be done secretly and cleverly," she explained.

Naruto kept his glare on Sasuke as he listened. "Thanks for being nice, Hinata-chan," he said. Sasuke rolled his eyes but held a smirk on his face.

Naruto, to Hinata's delight, was more of a brawler. His style of fighting was brash. She'd never faced anyone like that so she was pushed to her limits. Naruto knocked her down numerous times, but she always managed to slow him down by hitting his chakra points; as a result, it made her a faster fighter and Naruto a smarter one.

She enjoyed sparring with her friends every day, and she enjoyed training with Neji and her father as well. Neji was always getting better and she hadn't been able to beat him in a spar yet, but she loved that she had a goal to achieve. One day, she vowed to beat Neji and become his equal, and she had a feeling it would be soon as she'd been working on a strategy.

No one commented when they saw her smiling during spars.

She rarely hesitated anymore when attacking or defending and this made Sasuke and Naruto wary of her attacks and where they landed a hit on her.

At school, she was becoming more confident through the friends she'd made when Sasuke introduced her. Hinata enjoyed sitting in comfortable silence with Shino during breaks; she and Shikamaru watched the clouds during lunch sometimes; she played with Akamaru while Kiba and Naruto fought; Choji brought her different snacks to try when he heard she was on a super strict diet, but she enjoyed spending most of her time with Sasuke and Naruto.

The girls in her class—though more often, they came from different classes—seemed to grow more and more resentful towards her, often tripping and pushing her. Hinata brushed it off and never said a word to her friends as she didn't want to bother them and knew they were only doing it for Sasuke's attention.

One afternoon, after getting shoved especially hard into the wall while walking back to class from lunch outside, Shikamaru had caught sight of it. Despite mumbling how troublesome it was, he helped her up and even promised to not tell anyone, especially Sasuke. Since then, even though he sounded reluctant, he asked Hinata if she was okay every so often. She always replied with a smile, truly grateful he cared enough to ask despite how much he claimed it wasn't his business.

Hinata knew she should tell someone about the bullying, but their attacks hardly meant anything when she was constantly training. It didn't seem like a big deal in comparison, so she let it pass. Sakura and Ino, who constantly came up to Sasuke the most, didn't treat her as badly as the others and she was thankful as they were always nearby.

Today, especially, she spaced out more than usual as her father had informed her of a meeting the Hokage had with the Raikage concerning the Kumogakure ninja who tried to kidnap her. She didn't feel afraid, not anymore. After having a talk with Itachi who told her to embrace that fear and then let it go, she was able to live her life easier and finally get a good night's rest once again.

She hoped the meeting went in their favor.


"A-san, I appreciate you coming here to finish up our negotiations," The Third said, officially starting the meeting. Every Clan Head—aside from Hiashi Hyuuga—as well as Konoha's Elders, Koharu, Homura, and Danzo Shimura, sat around the long oblong table with the Raikage and his guards.

"I only agreed to come to take back my rogue ninja, Hiruzen-san," A clarified. "He acted on his own and we denounce him, but he will be punished by our hands."

"I'm afraid I still have to disagree. He did wrong in our village and since you have just essentially disowned him, I believe he should not only be punished, but it should be by the Hyuuga clan specifically," Lord Third argued.

"By the Hyuuga?! That's unacceptable! I consider that too harsh!"

"What is unacceptable and harsh is a grown man sneaking into a little girl's room while she's sleeping and attempting to steal her for her eyes and probably worse."

A grunted and cleared his throat. "Still, he is a ninja from my village and it is our right to take him back," A shot back.

"A-san, I feel I should inform you that we have broken down your nin and know you are the one who ordered the attack. It is in your best interest to agree to our terms," The Third revealed.

"You and I both know that I will restart this war," A said after a moment's pause.

The Hokage hummed. "I see. That is most unfortunate. Are you positive that I cannot change your mind?" He asked. A nodded. "Very well. Then I shall hand this matter over to our next elected Hokage," The Third said, effectively shocking everyone in the room aside from Homura and Koharu.

At that moment, the door behind the Hokage and his council opened and a tall man with bright yellow hair dressed in a standard jonin uniform entered the room.

"Although I'm sure you need no introduction, A-san, let me go ahead and introduce you to Minato Namikaze, the next Hokage."

A sat there, shocked. "The Yellow Flash…"

Minato smiled and bowed politely before taking a seat at the table. "Hello again, Raikage-sama."

"He's next in line?!" A, having fought Minato alongside his brother Killer B, held great respect for this man…and some fear. He and his brother could've been killed by Minato's hand but he spared their lives. This man, The Yellow Flash, was faster than even him.

"Yes, he is. And from here, he will be taking over this meeting in my place," the Third explained.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Minato said, He turned back to A. "Now, please explain to me why it is you want to take back a ninja you denounced? I believe it is our village's right to punish this man for attempting to kidnap the Hyuuga Heiress, a mere child."

"Leaving him here to be put to death by the Hyuuga Clan is too cruel," A explained.

"Do you not think it too cruel to order the kidnapping of a five-year-old?" He retaliated. "This reminds me of when the Third Raikage, your father, sent ninja to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki from this village as well."

"That is an entirely different matter and has nothing to do with this," A retorted, but he said nothing about having made the order.

"Rather than restarting the war between our two villages and losing countless more lives, I suggest you and I settle it ourselves," Minato suggested. "We shall fight for the life of your ninja."

"A fight between us?"

"Yes. Instead of sending our men to do the dirty work, we handle it ourselves." A remained quiet, in thought and beginning to sweat. "But should you agree to our terms, we won't have to needlessly fight. War will not be declared, your village's secrets will remain safe, and our treaty is maintained."

A narrowed his eyes at Minato. "Our secrets? Explain yourself."

"Yes. As we speak, our ninja are digging deeper into the mind of your nin; they will not stop until this meeting is concluded," Minato replied, his polite smile still settled on his face.

"And if I agree to the fight?" A asked.

"He will continue to be interrogated until a victor has been announced."

A scoffed. "You've put me in a corner, Minato-san."

"It was you who made the order, Raikage-sama."

A and Minato held each other's gazes for a few moments before A nodded. "Very well. I accept your terms to maintain the treaty and to hand over my head ninja to the Hyuuga Clan for punishment," he said.

Minato smiled wider and handed a written agreement to the Hokage's assistant. He watched as A signed and stamped it with his blood.

"Thank you, Raikage-sama. I hope Killer Bee is doing well," Minato vocalized.

"He's well. Has this meeting been concluded?" Minato nodded. "Then my men and I will be taking our leave. Congratulations, Minato-san, on your promotion." And he knew no matter how harsh the Raikage was as a person, he truly meant it.

"Thank you."

After the room consisted of only the Konoha members, a chorus of murmurs erupted. The Hokage raised his hand after a few moments, effectively silencing the room.

"Yes," he began. "Minato is to be my successor. I estimate another couple of years before he is ready to take the hat, possibly less."

Danzo was the first to speak. "Hokage-sama, are you sure Minato is the right choice? His line of thinking may be too progressive."

"Danzo-san, I believe that it will do the village well to have a young Hokage. I have been in this seat for much too long," The Hokage explained.

Danzo turned to Minato. "Then what kind of plans do you have for the village?" He asked, his voice tight but steady.

"I have plans to slowly abolish the Anbu Black Ops in favor of the Uchiha Police Force. I believe that will bring about lessening the rising tensions between the village and the Uchiha Clan," Minato said. Fugaku Uchiha schooled his expression but felt an immoderate amount of gratefulness to Minato for speaking of something that he wasn't sure would ever get talked about. "If we can do this, it will help to rid some of the bigotry."

"Abolish the Anbu? Hokage-sama, you have to know that will be a mistake," Danzo called out.

"I don't see how it can be a mistake to incorporate the Uchiha Clan back into the village, Danzo-san. They are a part of Konoha," Minato said curtly. Danzo glared with his one visible eye.

Minato and Fugaku made eye contact briefly and Fugaku was able to express his thankfulness to his friend. An emergency Uchiha meeting would have to be held tonight where he would make an announcement.

They were putting their trust in Minato Namikaze, a friend of the Uchiha Clan.


After school, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were sparring, without Itachi as he was on a mission. Sometimes, like today, they opted to fight in a free-for-all. They had the most fun when doing this.

"Hinata, you have to be faster if you want to land a hit on me!" Sasuke called out. Hinata dug her feet into the ground to get more traction and dashed for him, he dipped to the side but felt his side stinging. She'd gotten a chakra point. He hissed in pain and he came to a stop.

"I could tell you the same thing if you wish to dodge my attacks," Hinata replied. Sensing Naruto behind her, she turned just in time to catch Naruto's leg.

"Damn it! I thought I had you," Naruto groaned. She'd gotten his leg. While Hinata was distracted, Sasuke went for her legs, sweeping them out from under her. She did a few backflips to build some distance between her and the boys.

They all stood there glaring at one another, all panting and dripping with sweat. In unison, they charged and met in the middle, throwing a flurry of punches, palms, and kicks. Their speed was faster than it had been a month ago—Itachi had requested they wear weights on their legs and arms—but nowhere near as fast as Itachi.

Next, they pulled out weapons. The sound of their blades scraping and clinking against one another was the only sound in the training grounds aside from their panting and grunts.

"Naruto! This is where you've been?" Someone suddenly said from a few feet away from them. Instantly, two kunai and a senbon were flying toward the intruder. The man with long, yellow hair caught the kunai by their rings with his fingers and the senbon with his other hand. Ko was by Hinata's side in the blink of an eye.

"Dad?" Naruto said. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was wondering where you were going every day after school. So this is who you've been training with, a Hyuuga and an Uchiha?" He asked, looking over at Sasuke and Hinata with a warm smile.

"Minato-san, this is a private training ground," Ko explained.

Minato smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry about intruding," he chuckled sheepishly. "I sensed Naruto here and just followed."

Ko put his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Minato-san is no danger to you, Hinata-sama," he assured her.

"They seemed more dangerous to me," he laughed. "Your reflexes are very refined. I was watching your training for a few minutes and I was very impressed. You three have great potential."

Sasuke felt his back straighten with pride, a smirk appearing on his face.

Hinata's face went a bit red.

Naruto lit up and cheered at his father's approval of his secret training.

"You practice here on your own?" Minato asked.

"My brother teaches us when he can, but he's on missions most of the time," Sasuke answered. "He gives us advice when he can."

Minato thought for a moment. "I see. Since Itachi-san is away so much, how about I take you three under my wing?" He offered. "Along with Naruto's mother, Kushina."

Sasuke didn't know anything about this man but the fact that Ko hadn't sensed him at all told him that he was at least very strong.

"I'd like that very much!" Hinata replied, surprising Ko, Sasuke, and Naruto. "Thank you!" She bowed deeply, very excited to be learning from two more people.

"Yes, that sounds good," Sasuke said eventually. Mostly, he enjoyed training with Hinata and wanted to continue doing it.

Naruto cheered again. "Awesome! My dad's real strong, guys! We're in good hands," he said excitedly.

"I'll leave you three to continue what you were doing. I'll bring Kushina here tomorrow and we'll get to know one another better," Minato said. Before they could even respond or blink, he was gone with a yellow blur.

"Well, he's definitely fast," Sasuke admitted.

Ko looked down at the three of them with a grin on his face. "You three are very lucky to be training under Minato Namikaze," he said. "He played an important role in the war. He's very strong."

Naruto felt his chest puff out with pride. "Yeah, my dad's awesome!"

"I look forward to learning from your parents, Naruto," Hinata said, a huge smile on her face. Naruto blushed a little and waved it off.

"No big deal!"

Sasuke, seeing Naruto's blush, glared. "Let's get back to training. We only have another hour before Hinata needs to leave."

Just like that, they were serious and back to sparring with each other. They all had smirks on their faces as they fought one another.


When Hinata arrived at her father's dojo to begin her training, she informed him that she would begin training under Minato Namikaze.

"Really?" Hiashi asked.

"Yes, father. He said we had great potential and offered to train us, along with his wife."

"Hinata," Hiashi said, "this is very good news. I found out earlier today that he is to be named the next Hokage; he is a very powerful man. Learn as much as you can from him until he takes the Hokage title."

Hinata's eyes went wide. The next Hokage believed she had potential and wanted to train her personally. A huge smile broke out on her face.

Hiashi saw her emotions change before him and didn't have it in him to scold her for it. He allowed his eyes to soften. He felt much pride in his daughter. She was steadily improving with her byakugan as well as all her other skills, and now the next Hokage had taken an interest in her as a pupil.

"You've done well, my daughter," he said. The meeting earlier was stressful.

As custom, every Clan Head and the Hokage's advisors attended a meeting of such caliber. Unfortunately, with the meeting about the Kumogakurae ninja, he was unable to be in the same room so as to keep tensions from rising. The Third had him waiting in the next room under the guard of two different Anbu wearing a weasel and a dog mask respectively should anyone try anything.

After the meeting, he was greeted by the Hokage and Minato Namikaze where they informed him of the decision as well as Minato's future promotion. He was grateful to the young man for securing such a thing for his clan and bowed a bit deeper than he would've, showing his gratitude.

When he watched Hinata and Neji sparring, the seriousness and even joy in their eyes, he felt a burst of hope from within his chest. With Minato as Hokage, things in the village were sure to change.

When the Hyuuga and Uchiha officially merged once Hinata reached marrying age, their clans would hold more power together and more influence. With Minato as Hokage, the prejudice against the Uchiha would lessen around the village and even around the Hyuuga.

Hiashi watched as Hinata climbed to her feet after a powerful kick by Neji. He was surprised when Hinata charged Neji and flipped over him to deliver a chakra-powered kick to his shoulder, blocking his nephew's chakra point and rendering his right arm useless. Hinata dropped down and sweep his legs from under him and proceeded to unleash a multitude of palm strikes at him.

Hinata, under the influence of Naruto and Sasuke, had begun adapting a brawler style of fighting to catch her opponents off guard. They informed her that her eyes made her enemies aware that she was a Hyuuga and would be expecting her to use the Gentle Fist style. Together, the three of them came up with a strategy: Hinata would use her family's fighting style to gather information on her opponent before striking their weak points with a harsher tactic. She'd been waiting to try it on Neji, and after having her confidence soar with Minato taking her as a pupil, she decided it was time.

Catching Neji off guard was her best bet. He was just a bit faster than her, but if she caught him just right then she could knock him down.

Today, she won against her cousin.

Neji beamed up at her as she worked to unblock his chakra point. "Hinata-sama, that was amazing! Where did you learn that?"

Hinata blushed. "...Naruto-san and Sasuke-san helped me with it," she said, grinning proudly.

Hiashi stepped forward. "You both have progressed very well. Now, I'd like to teach you both a technique that is only known to the main house," he said. "I will demonstrate it and explain how it works, so listen carefully."

Hinata and Neji sat to the side and focused on a move that Hiashi called the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and spent the rest of their training learning the proper form and chakra control to use it.


"Hinata-sama, Itachi-sama is waiting for you in the tearoom," Mitsuki announced when she was finished bathing. Hinata thanked her and rushed to dress in her pajamas with a haori tied to cover up her clothes. She wanted to desperately climb into bed and sleep after all the training, but she was excited to see Itachi and didn't want to send him away.

"Itachi-san?" She said as she entered the room. Itachi stood up and greeted her with a smile.

"Hinata-san, hello. I'm sorry for coming unannounced, but Sasuke informed me that Minato Namikaze will be taking over your training," he said. Hinata sat across from him.

"It's okay. And yes, that's right. He asked earlier today. Are you comfortable with this decision?" She asked.

Itachi smiled and she could see that it was full of relief. "Actually, I'm glad that it's him. I'm sure you've heard that he's going to be the next Hokage. And while I enjoyed being there when I could, I know I wasn't a very present teacher. You'll all benefit more from him."

Hinata frowned just a bit and reached over to put her hand on his. "Itachi-san, you were a terrific teacher, but the village comes first. We all understand why you cannot be with us as much as we'd like," she assured him. "Thank you for teaching us what you could." She squeezed his hand.

Itachi seemed caught off guard but smiled warmly at her. "Thank you," he said.

She returned his smile. "I hope we can continue to have tea together every so often," she spoke. "And, if you'd allow me, I'd like to keep having lunches made for you when you return from a mission."

"You wish to remain close?"

"I wish for us to become good friends. We are to be married when I'm of age, but I would love to be friends before we get to that point," Hinata explained.

Itachi patted her head. "I'd like that."

Hinata tilted her head just a bit, sensing something off. "Are you okay, Itachi-san? You seem…sad," she pointed out. "I don't mean to pry, but I'm here if you'd like to talk."

Itachi stared at her momentarily before pulling his hand back and staring out at the garden, watching as the snow finally began melting. Hinata placed her hands back in her lap and waited patiently for him to speak, whether that was today, another day, or even years from now.

"I recently lost a close friend of mine," he finally stated. "They didn't die, but they removed themselves from my life. I understand why it was done, but I guess it just shocked me when I saw what my friendship was worth to her."

She listened, nodding along with sympathy. "I see. May I ask what caused such a rift?" He looked back at her for a few moments before looking away, and she realized what he wanted to say. "Oh. She loved you?"

Itachi nodded. "I wished to remain friends but she declined and said some hurtful things about… well, both of us."

"I haven't dealt with the loss of a friend as I only recently started having them, but I think your friend made a hard and brave decision, even if you don't agree. I don't necessarily think it means that it didn't matter to her. I believe that's how much it mattered to her," she explained, hoping she was making sense. "Maybe she will come around, and you can be friends again in the future."

Itachi hummed. "You're not worried about me possibly falling in love with her?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. You're one of the most loyal people I know," she replied with a smile.

He chuckled. "Thank you. I believe I just needed to talk about it and I can't really count on Shisui to be serious about it," he explained.

"I'm happy to be able to do this for you."

Before he left that evening, he told her he had a mission starting tomorrow that would last for a week. She wished him good luck and safe returns before retiring to her room and quickly falling asleep with a smile on her face.


An emergency Uchiha meeting was called where Fugaku Uchiha informed his members of the 4th Hokage being Minato Namikaze.

"This is terrific news, Fugaku-sama!" One exclaimed. The other's hummed their agreement.

"He informed the Hokage and his council that he wishes to slowly abolish the Anbu in favor of our police force," he added. "The future of the Uchiha Clan looks bright with Minato leading our village. I trust him to do what is best and to make smart decisions for the village."

Itachi and Shisui made brief eye contact. They were definitely going to have a talk after.

"I agree. Minato is a good ninja and person. I think we should wait to see if he plans to keep his promises," another said.

"That is what we will do. For now, we will hold off on any actions against the village," Fugaku announced. "Although, we must be cautious about one of the Hokage's Elders, Danzo Shimura. He expressed much disdain for Minato's proposal. He is someone to watch out for."

"I've heard of him, but he rarely goes out in the open."

"Itachi, Shisui… Can you two keep track of his movements?" Fugaku asked.

"Itachi is being sent out on many missions as he is still booked on Anbu missions, so I shall keep track of Danzo myself," Shisui spoke up. "I will inform you of what he does, Fugaku-sama."

"Thank you, Shisui. That is all for this meeting. Dismissed."

After the meeting, Itachi and Shisui went to the training grounds. "I'm…relieved." It was Shisui who broke the silence.

"Me too."

"Our family came really close to making a mistake," Shisui mumbled.

"They did. We don't have to worry for the time being," Itachi replied. "This Danzo person…"

Shisui nodded. "I've seen him around and I've already gathered some information. Apparently, the Anbu is how he recruits people for his own secret operatives. It makes sense that he would kick up a fuss if Minato-san suddenly reveals that he plans to get rid of the Anbu," he explained.

"He could be dangerous. If he has his own operatives, then that means he has people working underneath him who are loyal to him more than the village leader." Itachi sighed. "Shisui, watch yourself. You know that—"

"He'll have his operatives shadowing him when he goes out, yeah," he finished. "I'll be all right."

"I trust you. Did you hear that Sasuke is going to be trained by Minato-san?" Shisui nodded. "I think he was smart to do that."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Word is going to get out that he's to be the next Hokage and that he's taken more pupils. When it's discovered that he's training an Uchiha, it could help end the stigma surrounding our family. I believe this is part of what he had in mind when he offered to teach them," he explained.

"That certainly would help. Let's hope it does exactly that." Itachi agreed.

Itachi went to bed that night feeling unsure of what the future held for the village, but he promised himself that he would do anything for the good of his home and the people in it.


I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Writing the political and strategic aspects of this story is probably where I have the most trouble. After that, it's fighting/sparring scenes. I hope it gets better as I continue writing this story! Please review and let me know what you think! Getting reviews/favorites really brightens up our day 3

-hina

NEXT UPDATE: 04/01/23