Chapter 8: Everything We Shouldn't Know- Age 13
"Tired, tired with nothing, tired with everything, tired with the world's weight he had never chosen to bear."
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned
Naruto & Kakashi
Naruto has taken him not being his personal instructor for the chunin exams well.
Too well.
In fact, he'd nearly believed he wasn't going to show up to their meeting and would've forced him stop by his apartment to impart some final advice that he needs to spend these last moments he has to take his training seriously before his match.
He arches a brow, unable to hide his confusion as Naruto's gaze turns back towards the hospital's entrance. Ocean blue of his eyes have clouded over he notes, hands buried in his jacket's pockets and he starts to sense an air of impatience around him that he needs to get going.
Like just being here is a waste of his time.
"I actually don't need any further training. Not from Ebisu or Pervy-Sage." Naruto remarks calmly.
Kakashi blinks, not sure if Naruto is joking or this is an elaborate plan of his to try and make him feel bad for not being his personal trainer.
"You've been lacking in the fundamentals." Kakashi begins, but then again, he really is starting to note something off about Naruto now compared to the last time he saw him. A few weeks ago at the start of the month he'd been loudly complaining he didn't have a proper teacher to train for the finals, had put off most of Ebisu's attempts to get him to focus on getting the basics down (like learning to walk on water and better conserve his chakra) before they could move on to harder lessons and skills.
And then Jiraiya had personally taking over his training from Ebisu and he hadn't heard much else since then.
A sense of Déjà vu hits him when Naruto's gaze turns hard.
He's seen this expression before, not from his Father Minato, but from him.
When they first formed as Team 7, how he avoided him then too wanting to skip introductions. He'd already known what they were going to say anyways, from himself to Sasuke, and Sakura without them even saying it first...
'I'm not the Naruto you normally know.'
Kakashi shakes away the memory, that had been months ago and Naruto had been back to his regular childish, boisterous self the next day.
"In that case, you won't mind having Ebisu test your skills similar to say a final exam before your big match?" He suggests and Naruto shrugs.
"If it will get him and Pervy-Sage off my case, then fine. I need to meet with Hinata next and decide how we should go about this day y'know." He grumbles.
Ebisu steps forth out of the shadows, pushes up his glasses at Naruto's bored look.
"Well, I admire that confidence of yours Naruto! Young Konohamaru truly emulates that gung-ho attitude you have towards life now too! Though you're going to have to back up those words with action by seeing if you can out-speed me around the village."
Naruto half-smiles. This he can get done quickly enough.
"Alright, sure."
And as soon as words leave his lips Naruto poofs away startling them both.
Ebisu glances to Kakashi, smile slipping into a frown. "He does need this final test; right?"
Kakashi nods, though a niggle of uncertainty rises up that perhaps Naruto's earlier words were true.
Ebisu nods, moving to quickly follow Naruto, catches sight of the blond both near the market district and near Ichiraku's.
'Using clones to throw me off?'
Unexpected, but he appreciates a challenge!
But half an hour later Naruto has, or at least various clones of himself have thrown him for a loop, each one fast enough to not even have his fingers brush at him. He knows he has bigger chakra reserves than him and even the best jonin, but to be this quick in knowing how to avoid him without any prior training in these areas as far as he knows is startling.
"Alright, try and see if you can escape this! Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
Naruto half-turns to look back at him, smirking.
"Water Release: Tearing Torrent!"
The stream of flames get sputtered out as a jet of water spirals through it instantly in a mini twister, Ebisu gazing at the display in shock.
That and Naruto perfectly walks along the nearby Naka River just to get farther away from him before he could so much as use another fire jutsu to try and impede his path.
"Maybe we should end this now Ebisu-sensei, I have other things I need to do, y'know! You can go back to being a closet perv or go do whatever chores and tasks you've delayed by being around me." Naruto teases.
Ebisu scoffs, too out of breath to reprimand him on his taunt and him being anything but professional while on the clock!
His gaze turns skyward trying to find an answer to why his usual tricks and tactics have failed him. The morning air is scented with rain from the mountains and forests, gray clouds in the distance moving away from the village. Good, everyone from the spectators, daimyo, and advisors coming in from each nation would hate for rain to delay the start of the tournament.
'Naruto doesn't really need my help; why did Kakashi come to me in the first place when his skills are beyond that of even a high-classed chunin or even jonin?'
He'll be fine for his upcoming match this afternoon, hell could maybe win it all based on what he's seen from this exercise.
If anything, Naruto has been holding back on him, not wanting to wear him out too quickly or injure him beyond necessary to prove he was being honest with him and Kakashi earlier.
Ebisu watches him carefully, adjusts his glasses again to make sure this is truly Naruto he's dealing with and not a spy or imposter. His chakra pattern is the same, he doesn't detect any malicious intent either.
"Okay, you're right. I know when to call it quits! I'll update Kakashi so that he's aware of your progress, though might I ask this at least, where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Naruto smiles, points in the direction of the Hyuga compound.
"Didn't I say it earlier? I'm going to go see Hinata y'know!"
Ebisu's brows furrow. "Hinata Hyuga?"
Naruto nods, leaping to the trees not wanting to waste time any longer with his coming questions. "Yes, but she goes by Hinata Uzumaki now since we got married!"
A chuckle behind Ebisu jolts him, spiky white hair appearing forth from the shadows as Naruto jumps away.
Jiraiya.
"Huh, so he skipped out on our last morning training for a lady? Didn't think I was rubbing off on him so quickly!" He snickers.
Still, he thought Naruto was taking this more seriously. Or at least he had been up until today. He only has a few hours left to get in some last-minute training and advice from him before his match with Neji this afternoon.
'It's not something to be proud of!' Ebisu wants to remark, but he has no right to talk when he's happily read his Make Out Paradise series in the comfort of his home after a tutoring session with Konohamaru or finishing up a long mission.
Ebisu straightens, clearing his throat.
"I understand you've taken over his training Master Jiraiya, though from what I saw just now Naruto's far and away surpassed where he was the last time I interacted with him. He used abilities and tactics reminisce of dealing with someone with jonin level skills or higher considering he wasn't using his full power on me." He describes.
Jiraiya arches a curious brow as he moves to follow after him. He'd been watching them for a bit after he hadn't heard from Naruto or seen him at his apartment. He'd considered going to do some research at the hot springs district or watch a group of ladies engaging in a morning workout around Risuke Park until he saw Naruto rooftop hopping.
And the rasengan he had formed when it had looked like he was supposedly cornered before dissipating it just as fast.
'I haven't even taught him yet via using the balloons and he's just barely getting down summoning.'
Who taught him that? And when?
He mulls over Naruto's words before he left, he just called Hinata his wife too for some reason. Maybe he said that as a joke, but sounded serious enough that he really is married to Hiashi's eldest daughter.
'Interesting. Only way I'll get some answers is if I track that kid down!'
Hinata
Feeling sore all over is better than being pregnant Hinata instantly decides.
She slipped out of bed teeth clenched, bruises the color of tiny plums line her arms like constellations.
Neji's work.
But when she finds him in the dining room he has his own fading bruises across both his legs and arms, gaze on her less frosty than their past interactions in her and Naruto's younger time loops.
Her mind flits with images of their preliminary match, both Neji and herself hunched over, the splatter of their blood a deep scarlet red on cement...
'We nearly had a draw.' Hinata realizes, mind spinning at the change.
"I'm surprised you're out of bed so soon; Natsu and Ko both told Uncle that you needed to be on bedrest for at least a week longer." He regards, taking her expression for one of pain.
Hinata shakes her head, tacks on a small grin. "I wouldn't miss seeing your match."
Hanabi giggles, breezing into the kitchen under her arms. "You mean you wouldn't miss seeing Naruto's match, right Big Sis? I want to see Neji fall on his ass just as much as you!"
"Language Hanabi!" Hinata gently scolds her, shaking her head. She can already see shades of her older self forming, she's truly living up to the meaning of her name in how much of a firecracker she can be.
Hanabi laughs louder, cheeks a ruddy pink plopping down into the empty chair beside her. "Father and The Elders didn't hear me, so it's fine!"
Neji scoffs, shaking his head as well returning back to his tea and soba noodles.
His gaze catches Hinata's as she scoops out two bowls of miso soup for herself and Hanabi, pursing her lips sensing he has something new to say.
"I assume you're going to watch my match more for Naruto's sake than mine?"
Hinata nods, sets down the bowls of rice and broth. She not only is going to support Naruto, but she needs to stop what she can of the planned invasion by informing as many of their jonin-sensei as she can without any Suna or Oto shinobi finding out.
"Of course, but I also want to see Shino's match as well."
'Though now that I think about it, Kankuro forfeited his match against Shino most likely to prevent any Konoha shinobi of learning his battle techniques and puppetry skills.'
Neji sighs, sets down his chopsticks. "Alright, but just don't be too disappointed when he loses. Naruto is still considered a failure and is the dead last of your class, such things don't change overnight."
Hinata matches his frown with one of her own. "I thought your outlook on 'destiny' and 'fate' changed once Father discussed with you Uncle Hizashi's final letter for you? That we actually reached a near stalemate in our match."
Neji stiffens much to her and Hanabi's amusement, Hinata grinning he has no snappy remark to that.
"Yes well, this is a different scenario." He mutters.
Hanabi rolls her eyes. "In other words, you don't have a comeback for Big Sis."
Neji fixes with her a glare and Hanabi only beams in return sticking out her tongue before biting into her egg and rice.
Hinata smiles, stirs at her bowl taking in her reflection. It gets tiring to see herself as a different age everyday, her hair jumping between long to short and back again. Kabuto said he'd been experimenting with different clans in order to collect DNA and she wonders just how far back his research goes...
"Naruto will just have to prove you wrong when he beats you then I suppose." She determines.
She finishes eating her breakfast quickly with a glance to the clock.
Speaking of which, she needs to meet with him before they open up the stadium for seating.
'He's probably heading for our usual meeting spot right now.'
"Where you off to Big Sis?" Hanabi pouts, attempting to match her speed-eating as Hinata moves to head for the sink.
Hinata shakes her head for her not to copy her, rubbing at her back to prevent her from choking or giving herself a stomachache later, meeting Neji's perplexed stare at her behavior.
"Sorry, I'm actually in a hurry and need to meet with Naruto." She relates, grabs a cinnamon roll for the road.
Neji's eyes narrow, Uncle would be curious to hear that, however he's not scheduled to be back from Tonika village until this afternoon.
"To discuss what exactly?" He pressures before Hinata can fully slip away.
Hinata tacks on a smile, the truth would be too confusing, wouldn't be believed at all.
"Ah, a final pep talk you could say!"
Naruto & Hinata
"Should I start with the good news or bad news first?"
Hinata giggles at the question, already had a hunch with the way his fingers trace circles along her stomach.
He drops a kiss to her forehead then lips, grins at sweet taste of cinnamon lingering on her mouth.
"Well, if I had to guess it's nice to be in your arms like this without Himawari being in the way! Plus I can see my toes!"
Naruto's grin widens, nodding as his hugs her closer.
Pregnant or not, he'll never get tired of holding Hinata close this, scent of lavender and freesia on her cream skin.
"True, you're close y'know!"
His expression turns serious as they both gaze towards Konoha's main stadium.
They have a vantage point view of most of Konoha this deep into the forests, far enough away from the training grounds and parks for them to not be overheard. Greenery comes alive in mid-morning light, patterns of ambers and gold shining against bark and leaves.
"Good news is we don't have to hunt for Kabuto or Orochimaru's whereabouts in this loop. I have to go through with the finals. The first bad news is though we can't do any type of direct attack or much research on the time device. I also can't do anything directly physical without it possibly being seen as losing control of Kurama." Naruto regards.
Hinata worries her bottom lip.
"Suna and Oto are collaborating to crush Konoha at this time though! We can at least try to prevent or majorly mess up their plans!"
Naruto nods, setting a trap could help with that.
Hinata activates her byakugan hearing a rustle in the trees behind them, back stiffening in alert.
The wind has changed directions, greenery seeming to distort and shift all around.
"Is there more bad news that Master Jiraiya is heading this way?" Hinata questions.
Naruto groans, muttering a soft yes.
He'd screwed up making a perfect rasengan not fully considering Jiraiya could've been watching.
'I thought he'd go off and do his perverted 'work' peeping at woman!'
He'd done it so often at the start of their month long training (even having to use the sexy jutsu just to get him to agree to take him on as a student) and of course the day he decides not to, this happens!
A move he shouldn't know yet.
"I think he may be forming barriers and traps of his own to keep us here until he gets answers." Hinata murmurs.
Naruto follows her gaze, clone he had situated by a patch of wildflowers and exotic flora confirming he's about 10 minutes away.
Great.
He claps his hands, forms a quick decision.
"Alright, Pervy-Sage is going to be here in just a few minutes! We should be honest with him, but only to a certain degree, y'know! I mean, I can't even use that 'frog in the well' idiom considering he hasn't even taught it to me yet. I don't want him to think of me as some random rogue shinobi."
Hinata readily agrees, though her stomach uncomfortably churns having to deal with someone being suspicious of them so early in the day. It doesn't help that it's a Sannin they're dealing with. No matter how goofy Jiraiya acts on a normal day to day basis, he's going to be approaching them seriously with the intent to harm.
A moment later Jiraiya leaps down in front of them in a gale of wind, lopsided smile upon his face.
"Aha! There you are Kid! It's too early in the day to be engaging in the vice of women! What happened to being completely focused on training?"
Naruto snorts, only holds Hinata closer protectively from Jiraiya's stare.
"It's fine considering Hinata's my wife and I'm free to spend time with her when I want to. In regards to my training, I'm fully prepared already for my match today."
Jiraiya blinks, well at least he and Ebisu hadn't heard him wrong earlier.
He crosses his arms, Naruto isn't acting like his usual bratty self.
That and the power he saw earlier is beyond the skill he should know.
His eyes roam to Hinata, watching them both carefully for any next moves. He'd heard she was more of the shy type, always turning a beet red around Naruto and yet she too is acting the complete opposite with Naruto holding her in such an intimate fashion.
'This isn't Naruto and Hinata.' Jiraiya concludes.
"Who are you two really?" Tell me now and make this easy for you both." Jiraiya holds up a hand, cracking his fingers.
Naruto deflates, looks actually hurt by his remark, glancing to Hinata who nods.
"I am Naruto Pervy-Sage, just stuck currently in my 13 year old body."
Jiraiya reacts by spewing out a trail of Toad Oil, Naruto and Hinata instantly breaking apart before it can land. Sapphire flames gather in Hinata's hands while Naruto forms the beginnings of a rasengan.
Jiraiya chuckles, guess these two are going with the hard way.
"Prove it Kid."
Naruto, Hinata, & Jiraiya
"Time-Travel, well that's a new one for me." Jiraiya regards.
Hinata bandages up his torn up arms and legs, pausing at his wince as alcohol burns his skin.
"Ouch! Damn it, do you know how many weeks or maybe months back this is going to set me?! How will I keep up with the demand for my Make Out Paradise series without functioning use of my hands?!" He bemoans.
Woman will look at him in horror seeing his body all wrapped up like this!
Naruto immediately senses where his mind has gone. "The woman who frequent the hot springs will be happy the resident Toad Pervert is away for a bit."
Jiraiya scoffs. "Hey now, nothing's wrong with my eyes! Anyways, not having full use of my arms or hands isn't going to turn me into a prude, that would be boring!"
Hinata merely smiles at their banter, used to his complaining as she rubs the salve into open pink flesh making him jolt. "This can't be anymore painful than the injuries you used to get from Lady Tsunade. You're still conscious after all."
"If you'd just listened to us instead of attacking first, you wouldn't be this injured either y'know!" Naruto gripes from his opposite side.
Jiraiya rolls his eyes, glare turning to him. "Kid, I'd be dead a long time ago if I listened to every last shinobi's sob story or reason for sneaking up on me if I didn't attack first and get answers later!"
Naruto ignores his whining, cobalt orbs softening.
"Beats being dead though, doesn't it?"
Jiraiya looks at him in earnest then, he's met with various versions of himself that were out traveling the world with Tsunade, his Make Out Paradise series having become fully fledged movies, and came from a timeline where he originally died.
'Geez, they they really hurt me for supposedly trying to hold back.' He huffs, recalling their combination attack. He'd admittedly underestimated the duo, believed already from the start he could pin them down.
"Twin Lion Fists!"
Jiraiya leaps back before Hinata's lions can fully brush his skin, shoulder nicked in the process feeling a jolt of pain rush through him. His chakra starts becomes drained even from that slight brush, gritting his teeth.
She's faster than he expected, but close enough now that he can combine his Toad Oil with the surrounding wind, strike her down before she can attempt to land another hit.
"Wind Release: Toad Oil Bullet!"
The stream of sticky oil turns into the force of a geyser, Jiraiya pausing when he sees her figure disperse into a haze of clouds once stricken.
'Substitution?'
He half turns to see Naruto and Hinata behind him, a rasengan spiraling within violet lion flames.
"Listen, you're going to have to explain this too me like I'm a genin. Start from the beginning and everything you've learned since then." Jiraiya relates.
Naruto rewinds them back to the night before Boruto's birthday, the time device created by Kabuto and a team of others leading to his and Hinata's current predicament of constant looping, 24 hours in one body.
"What about the actual 13 year old Naruto and Hinata? Where are they?" Jiraiya questions in awe at all he's learned.
'Naruto grows up to look so much like you Minato.' He notes at Naruto and Hinata's brief transformation into their actual correct ages.
Hinata pipes up at that. "The theory we've come up with is that they're 'asleep' while we're in their bodies for the day. Once tomorrow comes, whatever age we were that day will be 'awake' again as if nothing happened. I don't think they even remember us taking over. We really need to get to Kabuto or his notes from when he first started working on making this time device to see how to stop or reverse its effect."
Jiraiya hums, trying to piece it all together considering what they know and don't know. "So there's no rhyme or reason to this looping? Well, I suppose the pattern is everyday is a significant event of some kind. Kabuto and whoever else he's working with probably haven't realized that connection yet fortunately."
Naruto brushes a hand through his locks. "Hinata and I have seen and done so much Pervy-Sage. We've altered time and changed so much now that we have a mix of old memories from when we first started looping now blended with new memories. We've stopped people from dying, but maybe caused another person to die in their place; we've spoken of the Akatsuki's plans before they even happened for better or worse."
Jiraiya pats at shoulders, can see the stress and weight of experiences in his eyes that go beyond his current appearance.
"Alright, well we can't risk causing anymore suspicion on you two! Most of the advisors and daimyo coming in including those for Hiruzen are too focused on the upcoming matches for today, making sure all goes smoothly and whatnot! You said Suna is cooperating with Otogakure for a planned invasion, huh? I suppose I knew this day was coming when Orochimaru would come back to kill our old sensei and attempt to destroy the village in the process too." He sighs.
Hinata straightens curiously. "Do you have a plan in mind?"
Jiraiya nods, rubbing his hands eagerly.
"I'll be going to watch the matches now and play lookout! Stop Kabuto and those that helped him from escaping! Gonna bet a huge chunk of ryo on you as well Naruto now that I see how powerful you are! Everyone has their bets on Neji to win, but little do they know how wrong they are!"
Naruto and Hinata share a look at his giddiness as Jiraiya snickers to himself, wondering if he's going to take this seriously.
Hinata-Konoha Stadium
'Where did Jiraiya go?' Hinata gazes around.
A buzz of excitement is in the air, murmurs of who bet on who and who will be the ultimate winner of the tournament.
"Hey, did ya hear about those deaths? The original proctor Hayate Gekko was apparently found dead by Konoha's ANBU with no clue on who his murderer is. Also one of the participants, Dosu was possibly killed by Suna's jinchuriki a few nights ago." A man mutters from the row in front of her.
"Ehh, I didn't expect him to go far anyways. I'm looking forward to that Gaara vs. Sasuke match, just have to wait for the blond kid to lose to the Hyuga clan's resident genius." The second man answers in return.
The first man chuckles. "Heh, that will be over with quickly! Some tall old guy with long white hair bet like a million ryo on the blond kid like an idiot; Yuusei nearly fell on the floor with laughter when he saw it!"
Hinata tunes the rest of their conversation out, continues to scour the crowds until her eyes finally fall upon the Sannin across the way casually observing everything from the upper level.
His gaze catches hers and he beams, sending her a two-finger salute.
The gist of his plan involves waiting until Naruto's match is done and then directly confronting Kabuto before he can cast his genjutsu along with the disguised Orochimaru hopefully before he traps Lord Third in his barrier. Her part involved notifying as many Konoha jonin as she could of the planned invasion, forces assembling at every wall of Konoha in preparation now for any of Orochimaru's snake summons and co-conspirators.
A few Oto ninja have already been captured, however the Sound Four remain at large.
"How do you know for sure the attack is going to be during the Finals? The latest rumors we heard was that it would occur at the end of the Finals, not the middle." Kurenai asks.
"I overheard it from a pair of Oto Ninja disguised as civilians. Defensive measures need to be in place before Gaara's match with Sasuke is set to begin." Hinata lies.
Kurenai she can tell is still a bit skeptical, but nods to Asuma.
"Let's inform the others, we can't let this Sound Four and Orochimaru get to Lord Third first!"
Her heartbeat drums in her ears, hoping none of this goes wrong...
"Oi Big Sis, you're not nervous at all for who will win?" Hanabi questions, tugging at her sleeve to get her attention. Hiashi glances to her curiously as well to get her opinion. He at least hasn't found her behavior too out of the ordinary today, most likely because she hasn't gotten into any skirmishes with Neji like in previous loops.
Hinata turns to look at Hanabi, shaking her head.
"Naruto is going to finish this match quickly."
Kiba snorts to her left while crossing his arms. Naruto might've won against him in the preliminaries, but Neji is on a whole other level.
"I know you like him and all Hinata, though you have to think realistically that the odds are stacked against Naruto here. I don't see how he'll win unless he has some new tricks up his sleeve he got in this one month of training."
'I suppose Kiba has a point. If Naruto wins too easily it will look like Neji threw the match or that Naruto cheated somehow.'
"At least Naruto gets to have his match; I highly doubt I'll be promoted with Kankuro having forfeited." Shino mutters, voice nearly drown out by the surrounding commotion.
Hinata follows his gaze to Kabuto observing down below, Hinata narrowing her eyes.
"Can I borrow a few of your insects?" She asks. Shino, arches a brow questioningly before nodding slipping a group of blister beetles to her.
"What do you need his bugs for?" Kiba inquires, Hinata shifting her expression to weariness.
"Safety. I'm going to the restroom in a moment and I want to feel adequately protected when I do." She half-lies. Kiba immediately nods in understanding and part of Hinata wishes she wasn't playing off his emotions regarding her wellbeing.
Something about Kankuro's confident smile frustrates her, maybe on Shino's behalf for not getting his proper match or simply because everyone here considers her and Naruto to be so, so weak that it has her stand up as he heads for a different vantage point.
Hanabi blinks in surprise, hold tightening onto her jacket.
"Wait, where are you going?! Naruto's match is about to start!"
'I've already seen it once.' Hinata pulls on a smile.
"Restroom. I'll be back before it's over." She promises.
She keeps a few meters between her and Kankuro, waits until his gaze finally half-turns to her.
His guarded look relaxes somewhat, not seeing her for a threat.
"Can I help you? Not sure what a Hyuga clan girl needs with me." He questions, recognizing her trademark eyes.
Hinata merely smiles, Kankuro raising up a hand in preparation only for it to be stiff at his side.
Shino's beetles have already bit into him, paralysis setting in. A purple blister arises on his broken skin, dark bugs slowly crawling up his arms in a black wave.
Hinata calmly walks up to him, sweat forming at his brow seeing the electricity crackle along her fingertips.
"I know about your puppets Kankuro, know exactly the way you attack and perform defensive moves. This is a message for both you and your siblings: the invasion is no longer happening."
Naruto
'What did Pervy-Sage go and do that has the crowd acting this way?'
A buzz has fallen over the crowds, various Konoha pulling out various spectators leading to an array of shouting matches.
"The crowd is truly riled up. I suppose they're ready for this match to be done and over with so they can see the main event of Sasuke vs. Gaara." Neji considers.
Naruto nods his agreement, Kurama entering his thoughts.
"How fast do you plan to end this Naruto? You can't forget that there are people watching that would be alarmed if you used too much of my power so soon." Kurama remarks.
"So I should let Neji rough me up some you think? I guess that's the best tactic to go with to avoid people thinking I cheated somehow." Naruto muses.
The whistle blows and Naruto unleashes his shadow clones.
"Heh, starting things off with your signature technique already?" Neji jests, activating his byakugan.
'It seems his clone's chakra are no different from the real Naruto's. No matter, I can still counter any taijutsu he attempts on me.' Neji notes.
He throws up his palms before Naruto can land another punch to his side, spinning forming a barrier between them.
"Give up, you're destined to lose to me, destined to always be a failure!" Neji remarks at Naruto's fallen figure.
He moves in with his Gentle Fist, stunned when Naruto instantly hops back up, counters him with a blast of wind.
"Wind Release: Tornado!"
The violent gale of wind lifts up grass and dirt, starts to push him back with Neji clenching his teeth to try and stay put.
It doesn't matter though, Naruto steps forward to him out of the vortex, new chakra pouring out of him that startles him backwards.
His stomach swishes, coils inward.
'That isn't normal chakra!' He frowns, the ferocity behind it is like nothing he's ever seen before. He does another Rotation Palm to keep Naruto back, blow temporary pushing them both back, smoke erupting out. He steps closer as the haze clears, stunned when he feels a punch slam into his back.
'Another clone? From when?!'
Blood erupts from his lips, pain running down him in shockwaves, collapsing to the ground. A half-dozen Naruto's close in on him each with a rasengan in hand, the real Naruto stepping forward.
"Want to give up? Just say you lost and I won't bury you into the ground!"
Neji grunts, spits out a glob of blood as he attempts to stand back up before Genma can rule this as his loss. Naruto turned this match on him so quickly, maybe purposefully dragged it out just to mess with him.
"No...I can still fight you. You're destined to lose when you've always been a failure."
Naruto shakes his head, cracks his knuckles.
"I beg to differ Neji, I'm not ruled by things like 'fate' and neither should you!"
He knees him straight in his gut when he rushes forward again, breath knocked out him just as the blow to his jaw sends him tumbling into darkness.
Jiraiya
"Is this why you came to the matches?" Kabuto asks between gasps of air.
Jiraiya shrugs.
"Are you ready to tell me what your beloved Master Orochimaru is planning?!" He coos.
Kabuto attempts to spit at him only making Jiraiya choke him harder with his hair.
"Shh, do you want your Suna buddies to hear us?! Oh wait, no one is coming to help you considering I knocked them all out!"
Kabuto attempts to slither out of his hold only to see Jiraiya has already morphed the ground below into a swamp, dark eyes widening seeing the bottomless black surrounding them.
"I can drop you into this now if you really don't feel like talking. I'm sure Orochimaru will find a new assistant after your death eventually because that's all you are to him at the end of the day; replaceable."
"Shut up, just shut up! You know nothing about Master Orochimaru!" Kabuto snaps out when Jiraiya slightly undoes his hold.
"Ooh, that's a touchy subject, isn't it? And what do you mean I know nothing about him? How are you a researcher and you don't know that he and I used to be on the same team, were both students of Lord Third?"
Kabuto simply chuckles, voice raspy and broken. "You were Lord Third's worst student. He always favored Master Orochimaru and hoped he would become Hokage one day. He even let him live despite knowing how unethical his experiments had become."
Jiraiya's brow furrow. 'Now I'm starting to get somewhere.'
"Is that the same for you? Are you going down that same road of experimenting?"
Kabuto scoffs. "I suppose you'll find out eventually."
Jiraiya sighs, tightening his hold again just as he sees the glint of his chakra scalpels in his hands.
Kabuto's a crafty one compared to Orochimaru's past subordinates, healing the damage to his throat rapidly each time he loosens his hold just slightly, watching and waiting for him to slip up so he can escape from this situation.
If he kills him now though, Naruto and Hinata won't be able to get back to their original bodies he imagines.
"Hey, do you think Orochimaru actually cares about you? He mistrusts you since he can't read you like he can everyone else. You're as disposable to him as those corpse scrolls you like to carry around." Jiraiya regards.
Kabuto bristles, rage flashing in his eyes as he tosses them into his swamp.
"All those bodies; wasted! The modifications I made to them were leading me to the perfect body!"
'Hmm, so he's been experimenting with time and bodies even from now.'
"You call others pathetic and look down on them, but look at how much you revere Orochimaru without getting anything in return. Is it because of your identity issues, the pain you suffered when you killed Nono Yakushi?" Jiraiya goes on.
Kabuto manages to launch a senbon needle that misses, sinking into the muck.
Jiraiya steps forward just as Kabuto's skin takes on a bluish hue, vision going in and out.
He'd figured he'd be done with this interrogation by now, evening sun burning on his back.
Footsteps echo in the distance, slowly getting closer that could be either friend or foe...
"Alright Kabuto, since you took something from my Godson and his wife, I'm going to take something from you. Something you can't replace so easily or modify once damaged permanently."
He catches his hand before he can jab his scalpel into his neck, twisting it back towards his eyes.
His fear reflects in the silver of the scalpel, bores into him. Horror and surprise mixed together.
Jiraiya muffles his mouth as his first screams erupt out, blade piercing; digging.
"You're going to be worthless to Orochimaru after this."
Jiraiya, Naruto, & Hinata
"Jiraiya, you're not giving me the facts I want." Hiruzen sighs.
"I explained it, didn't I? Orochimaru was working in cooperation with Suna to crush our village in the midst of the Finals!" Jiraiya responds smoothly.
Hiruzen rubs at his forehead, looks to Naruto and Hinata to see if they'll provide any further answers.
"How did you 3 come to find out so much of this planned invasion? Though we had our suspicions, we never were able to figure out the exact details of who exactly was involved and when they would strike. Jiraiya, you not only knew about Orochimaru's disguise as the Fourth Kazekage, but about his 2nd in command Kabuto's plan of signaling for the invasion to start?"
Jiraiya nods. "What? I'm Konoha's best spy! You're insulting my skill with your distrust!"
Hiruzen taps at his pipe, inhales a long drag of tobacco.
'Orochimaru got away though with all those bodyguards of his. I didn't even get a chance to properly confront him after letting him already escape once all those years ago.'
The only one truly injured from his associates it seems was his second in command, blood pouring from his face when found by the ANBU. He glances down to his robes, marred with now copper colored blood from himself and the shinobi that fought beside him.
Their deaths are on him, the burden of explaining to their loved ones they won't be coming home...
'I should've done more, these scratches and bruises are nothing compared to what most of the forces saw throughout the village.' He sighs.
Naruto raises his hand. "A lot of Oto Ninja just couldn't help but brag before the main event happened Old Man Third!"
Hiruzen gives him a pointed stare, not 100% certain his childish gestures aren't an act.
'All of them have been acting strangely today.' He rubs his chin.
Kakashi had said he found some of Naruto's earlier comments to be boastful, very confident in himself.
But his tone had a maturity to it, like he was talking to an adult.
Naruto and Hinata have acted that way sporadically he recalls, shown wisdom and skill beyond their age...
Hiruzen studies the pair again carefully as he tries to think back to when they last acted this way. It was sometime during their early days at the Academy he thinks. He'd make a note of it wanting to discuss it more with Kakashi when he pointed out the odd behavior Naruto exhibited the day he was assigned to his team, it sounded like it matched what he had seen once before himself.
Was that what was happening again now?
'Something involving time, wasn't it? Ugh, so much has happened since then I'd need to look at my writings to confirm it.'
Jiraiya clears his throat before he can say anything else on the matter.
"We're all done here, right? I think Naruto and Hinata showed exceptional talent today! Might want to take a second look at their files to maybe promote them!" Jiraiya winks.
Hiruzen grunts, dismissing them all with a flick of his wrist. He'll review this more another time when the village isn't in such high alert, buildings in shambles that need his attention a couple Oto and Suna nin managed to destroy before being captured.
He keeps his eyes on Naruto and Hinata as they leave, frown rising up again.
'Whatever you two are hiding won't stay a secret forever.'
Once out of earshot and Hiruzen's guards, Jiraiya eagerly pats the two on the back.
"Good thing you had me there! Looks like you guys avoided being locked up all thanks to me!" Jiraiya nods to himself proudly.
Naruto rolls his eyes, stomping on his foot making him yelp. "You just made him even more suspicious of us y'know! And tomorrow these versions of ourselves aren't going to know why the Hokage is studying us like we're spies from another village!"
Jiraiya waves away his concerns, observes as dusk sets in upon the village. Stars slowly become visible in bundles of yellows and whites, moon rising up matching their glow.
"You'll be fine, I'll cover for you both even if you don't fully understand what's going on. I'll remember and that's all that matters!" Jiraiya relates.
He ruffles up Naruto's hair before he can voice anymore complaints, grin turning affectionate. "Hey, let me start being of bigger help to you as a proper Godfather. I owe you and your parents that much really, okay?"
The tension slowly leaves Naruto's shoulders, sighing.
"Okay." He confirms.
Hinata smiles, grabbing his hand. She isn't sure how either are going to sleep really with all the changes they made, perhaps she should send a clone home back to the manor and just stay with Naruto in his apartment like previous times. "Congrats on your win by the way."
Naruto reddens, chuckling. "Thanks for always believing I could beat that cousin of yours."
Jiraiya holds up his bag of victory ryo. "Thanks for this extra ryo! I'm going to celebrate my winnings at The Velvet Room!"
At Naruto's frustrated look his smile widens.
"What? This is a night to celebrate!"
Celebrating would be back in their 25 year old bodies.
Their night ends in Naruto's apartment, Naruto lighting candles around his room when his lights buzz then fizzle out when he tries his main light switch. Hinata lays back into his pillows, face half caught in an orange glow.
"Did...Did Jiraiya say what he actually did to Kabuto? All I could get out of him was that it's an injury that could end a shinobi's career."
Naruto shakes his head, plopping down beside him.
"Nope, you know how secretive Pervy-Sage can be sometimes. Guess we'll see for ourselves maybe tomorrow."
Hinata curls into his side, trying to calm her circling thoughts.
Naruto rubs slow circles along her back, mutters what she herself is thinking.
"I hope we can see the kids tomorrow."
Naruto & Hinata- Age 32
"Aren't you going to be late Old Man?" Boruto questions flatly.
"Yeah, what happened to your alarm Papa? Didn't Mama set one for you?" Himawari adds in. It's strange for them both to be in bed so late, Boruto had to end up making them breakfast before deciding they needed to check on their parents to figure out what's going on with them.
Naruto gazes back at him dazedly.
"Huh?" He asks.
Boruto groans at his confusion, points to his bedside clock that shows it's almost 8:30 am.
"The Hokage office? Don't you have a morning meeting or something with Shikadai's Dad that you're now...30 minutes late for?" He clarifies.
'He's not sick, is he?' Boruto considers, his Father looks absolutely stunned, maybe horrified at the idea of having to go to Hokage tower right this moment. He's normally gone before he even gets up, maybe both Mom and Dad are ill...
Naruto stares at his clock then back to his son, he repeats that motion two more times before gazing to Hinata who drowsily opens her eyes at all the commotion.
"Hinata, am I Hokage?" He questions with a poke to her cheeks.
Himawari chimes in before she can answer, nodding while holding up 7 fingers.
"Yup, you're the 7th Hokage Papa!"
Boruto shakes his head, grabbing Himawari's hand to allow their parents to get ready in privacy. He hopes Dad is just messing around and not being serious, though a niggling ache in his chest makes him look back over to see his parents both have a tinge of panic in their expressions.
"Dad's just still half-asleep Hima, stop playing around with him." He forces out as he tugs her along.
That has to be it.
-x-
A very long chapter (maybe too long), I feel like so much happened in it! Hopefully all the changes done to the fights and the events leading up to before and after the Konoha Crush moments make sense. If not, please correct or advise me on any changes I should make!
Pretty much, I wanted Jiraiya to play a more active role especially with his new knowledge of the future (and it was fun to write the scenes of him getting excited about gambling with the confirmation that Naruto was going to win his match lol). Kabuto may or may not be down for the count, he did have help with creating the time device after all.
Let me know your thoughts as always!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!