Chapter II - The Engima of the Neglected
[Hokage's Office]
Obito, Kakashi, and Kushina arrived inside the crowded office, surrounded by seventeen other jounin-level ninjas with the secretary standing with a stack of folders with all the information on the various genin hopefuls.
Minato was at his desk, his signature cloak draped over his chair, "Ah, Kushina, Obito, Kakashi, you arrived. Get in line. You will get the files in order of your team's number."
They nodded and made their way in line, each jounin got their three folders before bowing before giving Minato a gesture of respect before leaving, this continued until Kakashi got his files, bowed, and took a seat on the couch, Kushina took her own files, gave a slightly nervous smile, bowed and moved off to the side and Obito gathered his own files, bowed and took a seat next to Kakashi as he started to read his as he waited to talk to the Hokage.
Minato noticed the nervous behavior of his wife and both of his remaining students, one with a bored, lazy stance, but it had more tension than it usually did. The other was shaking his leg, as he was trying to burn away his anxiety, he kept ever since he met him and his wife who was trying not to pace as she dug her heels into his floor.
'Did something happen with their introduction? Or rather, with Naruko?'
He hid a wince at the thought of Naruko, when she ripped her arm out of his grip, that gesture hurt him more than he would have liked to admit. His other children, informing him that she never walked with them, made him think more and more about the girl that was once considered his favorite. She was so small when she was born and the whisker marks she had made her give that beautiful mixture of a baby's gurgling laugh and a purr which made his heart melt. He could listen to it all day and he would never get bored.
Soon enough, the last jounin paid their respects to and left, bringing him back to the reality of his office, where Kakashi, Obito, and Kushina were waiting.
"Lord Hokage? If you are not busy may I speak with you?" Obito softly asked
He looked up at him, as Obito stood up, still holding the files.
He gestured him forward, "Come forward, Obito. What do you wish to speak to me about?"
"I want to speak to you about Naruko."
'Speak of the devil and he shall appear...well more like think of the devil, but it still counts.'
He leaned back in his seat to make himself comfortable, "Go ahead. What do you want to talk about?"
Kakashi made himself comfortable on the couch as Kushina made her way to stand beside her husband.
"It's rather concerning, sir, her behavior along with her disdain towards Konoha and its' populace. Her introduction was as follows, 'My name is Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze, my likes are various things, I hate almost everything, mainly bandits, the people in the general vicinity, fucking idiots, and the general populace of Konoha, I have no hobbies and what I'd like to do for my dreams is my own damn business.' Her behavior towards her siblings, her teammates, and peers is unnerving, along with her putting distance between herself and the rest of her peers. She can also use the body flicker jutsu and it was an elemental variant. Did you or Kushina teach her?"
They shook their heads, the regret about it more apparent on Minato's face than Kushina's.
She rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "We thought of waiting until she started the Academy to train her as we needed to focus on Mito and Memna due to them holding the Kyuubi, but then she started to get in trouble, pranking, and getting into fights so we pushed it back until she could behave herself, but she just wouldn't stop getting in trouble, to the point that imprisoning her wouldn't stop her."
Kakashi interjected, "She's right, Obito, even when releasing her from her cell, she refused to apologize, no matter how much they tried to get it through her head she wouldn't apologize, when I tried to talk to her, she just looked at me with loathing and refused to speak when I escorted her back home. Some people are just born rotten."
Obito was silent as he recalled her behavior and the look in her eye, that frozen look, the way she sat in the corner, looking at everything and everyone in her line of vision, there's no trust, no positive feelings...
His frown grew deeper the more he thought about it.
Minato got his attention, "Obito?"
He shook his head, "I-I, sensei, I don't want to disregard your experiences with her, considering the fact that she is your daughter and you three are closer to her than most, but things don't add up."
"Care to explain your reasoning?"
"The way she acts, there's no trust or positive feelings in anyone, she sat in the corner of the rooftop with her field of vision covered most of the roof, when we came on the roof with her teammates and her possible comrades-in-arms her eyes darkened like she was seeing enemies, her words towards them were cold and venomous, when Memna tried to get one of her plates of food she laid out before her, he got shocked by a barrier, if it wasn't for a barrier she probably would have stabbed him with the fork she had in her hand. Another concern is the amount of food she was eating, despite being rather small, the amount of food was a bit more than an Akimichi-sized feast that she ate all by herself before she made the plates disappear. I just think something else at play here, I mean, a child being a prankster and getting in trouble is common, but to the point of constant overlapping punishments?"
Kushina felt something click as the cold feeling of shame came back at full force from the morning as she continued to listen.
"A child getting into mischief was one thing, but picking fights with civilians is another. The complete disdain towards her peers, if not towards the populace of Konoha, especially the fights between her and the civilians which always ends with the civilians being hospitalized to the point of being nearly crippled. I can understand one or the other, but both?"
Minato folded his hands together, "Do your think someone or some people are pinning Naruko for crimes she didn't commit?"
"Possibly, sir, I mean, looking at Naruko with her behavior of isolating herself, wanting absolutely nothing to do with any of her peers, and from what it looked like she would rather jump off the mountain than spend any time with her peers willingly if that possibly includes the entirely of Konoha. It could be nothing, but it just doesn't sit well with me."
"No, thank you, I'll make sure to think about this matter."
He bowed, "Thank you, sir."
He made to leave as he opened Naruko's file only to freeze.
After a moment, Kushina made her way over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder, "Obito?"
"...Kushina. It's normal for freshly graduated Academy students to have no missions, correct?"
"Correct."
He turned to face her, with Naruko's open file and handed it to her.
Name - Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze
Affiliation - Konohagakure
Ninja ID # - 012607
Status - Graduated Academy Student
Mother - Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze
Father - Minato Namikaze
Clan - Uzumaki-Namikaze clan
Completed Missions
1263 D-ranks
44 C-ranks
36 B-ranks
17 A-ranks
0 S-rank
1 SS-rank
She froze too, "I-I..."
Kushina felt light-headed and felt her knees give way underneath her as she faded from consciousness.
"Kushina!" Minato called, catching her just as she closed her eyes.
Obito and Kakashi looked at them in shock before he carried her princess-style in his arms and took her to the hospital, taking the file of his daughter with him.
Obito felt the beginning of a headache pierce his temples, "Oh boy."
Kakashi and Obito quickly left to check on Kushina, meanwhile, invisible to everyone a ROOT ninja slipped out of the office and reported to his master.
In a dark room, outfitted with a desk was an old man wrapped with bandages with an 'X'-shaped scar on his chin, wrapped his usual outfit and arm brace. With no sound, the ROOT ninja kneeled and waited for his Lord and master to acknowledge him.
"Speak."
"My Lord, apparently, the eldest child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze is not what she appears due to her mission record not only being blank as it should be but having multiple missions under her belt including an SS-rank mission."
Danzo was silent before he said, "Keep an eye on her. If the chance presents itself, capture her and bring her to me. Dismissed."
"Yes, my Lord." The ninja then vanished, leaving Danzo alone with his thoughts
'The neglected troublemaker of that Namikaze brat has an SS-rank mission under her belt. If I can have her under my control, the title that has been denied to me for far too long will finally be mine and Konoha will be on the only superpower among the Elemental Nations under my banner.'
Meanwhile, in the Hospital, Minato was watching Kushina being tended to by Shizune as he had a shadow clone find out more information on Naruko's missions. He wanted to rub his temples but refrained from doing so as he waited for Kushina to wake up from her shock. Kakashi and Obito were ordered to help his shadow clone with discovering what could be found about Naruko's missions and about Naruko herself.
They saluted and left, leaving Minato alone to think and allow his guilt to slowly boil over in his mind. His eldest was strong, strong enough that she was able to have an SS-rank mission on her record before she was even a genin. Not even Fugaku's eldest son Itachi had an SS-rank mission, his shame completely crushed the tiny sliver of pride he felt for her...Not that he deserved to feel any pride for her hard work that he did not help her harness. He knew he did his eldest wrong, but he could only hope she gave him a chance to fix it.
[Rooftop]
Just moments after the teachers left to report to the Hokage.
Sasuke blinked twice, rubbing his eyes, "Did Naruko just leave in a body flicker?"
Satsuki repeated his actions, wondering if she had something in her eyes, "So, I'm not the only one who saw that? Thank God."
"Yeah..." Mito spat, gritting her teeth at Naruko knowing something they didn't.
Memna scowled as he crossed his arms, his mind spinning with various thoughts about his supposedly inferior sibling.
Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and made to leave with his sister trailing behind him only for Sakura to stop him, "Sasuke, do you want to go on a date? We can go to your favorite restaurant to celebrate?"
He gave her a cold look, "No," then he made his way around her.
Satsuki glared at her, "When you will take the damn hint, he doesn't like you. Leave him alone already. He doesn't like fangirls."
She gave her one more glare before following after Sasuke as Sai simply left with a strange smile on his face while Sakura dragged herself home.
As Sasuke made his way through the halls, he bumped into Iruka.
"Oh, Sasuke, is something a matter?"
It took a moment before he decided to ask instead of allowing his thoughts to haunt him during the night, "Is it true that Naruko can perform the body flicker?"
"You guys must have finished introductions on the rooftops, yeah, although I just found out when she finished her own exam with me. She left in a body flicker made out of colorful petals right?"
His words only made him grit his teeth as Satsuki called out from behind him, "Actually Iruka, she left in a flame-laced body flicker."
"An elemental body flicker? First flower petals, now fire. I wonder what else she can do. Is there anything else you need help with?"
"Nope. Thank you, sensei."
She dragged Sasuke away, "Have a good day."
He waved them goodbye and left, passing Mito and Memna who were listening in from the shadows.
Mito gave a low Kyuubi-enhanced growl, "We don't even know the body flicker jutsu yet. All she does is lounge in her room all day!"
"But her killing intent, Mito. What she showed off in class, all of this means, she must have either trained herself or got someone else to train her."
She spat, "Who would train the blight of our family?"
"Someone who isn't from here or doesn't care that she's a blight on our family in the first place. Come on, I'm hungry."
She nodded and followed after him, removing the thought of Naruko from their minds for the moment.
[With Naruko]
She appeared a bit away from the village in a flash of flames and started to walk, taking the time to enjoy the tranquility of the nature surrounding her. As she took in breath after breath, letting the irritation from before leech from her body as her steps met the grass instead of well-worn earth, she looked around her, brushing her hands against the flower bushes leading up to the area she kept a secret from everyone.
A well-maintained gravestone outfitted with various flowers and polished stones. Engraved in the gravestone was the following,
Here lies, Lady Flowers
Beloved Baba
Stolen from the World Far Too Soon
She knelt down and was silent for a moment before her lips curled into a soft smile, only reserved for the person who restored that ability when it was about to be lost forever.
"Hey, Baba. It's been a while...I wish you were still here. But, since we are here, I have to tell you I got my headband and I'm using the cloth you gave me for that purpose."
She brushed a finger across the metal plate that had the symbol of Konoha engraved in it that was held around her bicep with an ivy motif printed cloth.
"Knowing you, you probably would have walked all the way to the Academy to wait for me, even though it would be hell on your knees. But it was just like you, to care. You cared more for me than many others had in a long time. If anything, I feel that you are probably wondering why I haven't left yet?"
The gravestone offered no words.
"To be brutally honest, I have no idea either. It would be so easy to leave, I guess, I just...no, I have no excuse. I just don't know. Regardless, I still have the cookbook you gave me and I've read all your stories so many times I could recite them backward. All your recipes are amazing, although it is nothing compared to your cooking. The old man you introduced me to who resides outside of Konoha is still kicking. He misses you and he drinks to your honor every month, he wanted to do every week, but I told him to mind his health. I'd rather he not join you just yet. I'd miss his cooking too much. I miss you, Baba. I miss you so much."
She felt her eyes burn before she quickly rubbed them, not wanting to cry today. She pulled out a scroll and got a bunch of cleaning supplies and made to perform a simple routine of cleaning polishing her gravestone in silence, replacing the old flowers with new ones that were in season, and bowed then she turned to leave after packing everything she had pulled out of her scroll.
Looking up at the sky, she thought, 'I hope you are happy in heaven cuddling with your husband now, Baba.'
She then made her way into a nearby town which was outside the council's reach and jurisdiction and found the restaurant she was looking for.
[Pig's Buffet]
The warm scent of food welcomed her as she entered the building to find the old man with his signature tiger bandana wrapped around his neck wearing an olive-green t-shirt under his white apron and dark brown pants and shoes. He was tan and wrinkled from years of forging vegetables and fruits and dealing with animals to make his massive culinary creations. He had warm gray eyes full of experiences, both the good and bad, with a short nose, and thin lips.
She raised a hand towards him, "Hey old man."
"Ah, Naruko. Welcome! Ready for a feast or are you going to wait until dinner time?"
"Dinner time, old man. I ate before I got here and I got my headband."
He set down his pan and made his way over with a smile, seeing the signature headband, and patted her on the head, making her slightly pout.
"What did I say about the patting?"
"Well, you don't like hugs. So head pats are the next best thing!" He grinned
She sighed, "Very well, only for today."
He then hugged her, making her stiffen before she slowly returned the gesture.
"I'll be making all your favorites, especially the giant roasted pig."
She grinned at the thought of that massive pig.
"All for little old me?"
He snorted as he made his way around the counter, "Little you, cleared out my entire buffet some time ago after a harsh training session and bandit hunt."
She simply stated, "It needed to be done."
"Well, I'm glad I can fill that massive stomach of yours. Now go rest up or burn some energy. I don't want all my food to go to waste."
"Will do!"
She then vanished as he shook his head as he continued on cooking throughout the day as some people came to sit down and eat before paying and leaving.
As the sun disappeared over the horizon, she arrived, hungry and ready to demolish his hard work, he laid out everything on the big table, starting with the giant roasted pig and various servings of dumplings, sausages, fried chicken, white rice, steak, Asian-style rice cakes, and sushi and for her drink, he gave her a green tea.
She grinned, thanking him for the meal before digging in, as she made to savor everything and then go to bed and sleep as much as she could. Soon enough, she finished everything, leaving nothing but bones and scrapped clean plates as Naruko patted her stomach and belched, "Pardon me."
"You're excused. I'm glad you still enjoy my cooking even after all these years."
"I'll always enjoy it old man. Let me walk you home," She had several shadow clones deal with the dishes and set up everything before he locked up and she walked him back home.
After that, he waved her good night and entered his home as she made her way back to the Uzumaki-Namikaze Household to sleep.
[Uzumaki-Namikaze Household]
Kushina was resting her head against her husband's shoulder as he held her hand, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles, Shizune was making her a cup of tea, placing it before her as the red-head gave her a grateful look before she took a seat beside Tsunade who was watching her over. Jiraiya was sitting next to Kakashi on the couch as they silently took in the new information they discovered over the enigma that was Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze.
"How..." She croaked out, tears welling up in her eyes, "How can she have so many missions without any of us noticing?"
Tsunade shook her head, "It must have been a misprint. The brat couldn't have done so much without any of us noticing. D-ranks maybe, but C-ranks through A-ranks?! Including an SS-rank mission! There is no way that is possible, it's bullshit!"
Minato sighed with a shake of his head, "Well, she did, Tsunade. I checked five times, it isn't a misprint or forgery. Her mission records are all true, all the D-ranks have mission stubs that the secretary kept, and they go back years. Before you ask, Academy students can take D-ranks, it was one of the rules that weren't removed by the civilian council when they raked over the Academy to make it easier to allow their children into the ninja forces. The only thing I don't get is the other missions, they are redacted, especially the SS-rank mission and when she did it. I tried to find any information on it, but every single piece of information about it was blacked out."
Kakashi couldn't believe it, even when he saw the records himself and Jiraiya comforted him, "It's alright, Minato. We can always get information straight from the source. It's not like Naruko would-"
The front door slammed open.
"Mom, Dad! Granny, Big Sis! Pervy Sage, Big Brother Kakashi!"
Kushina hugged them, "What are you two doing back home, I thought you were going to hang out with your friends after your introductions?"
"We are going to go later, but we wanted to ask you guys..." Mito trailed off, trying to find the correct words.
"Ask us what?" Minato stated
"When did Naruko learn the body flicker jutsu?"
"She knows that jutsu?" Shizune softly asked
"Yeah, she disappeared with a flame-laced one and Iruka said she performed another one made out of flower petals. We were wondering if you guys taught her anything?"
They all shook their heads, "We didn't teach her kids," Jiraiya stated
Memna scoffed, "Well someone must have taught her, or she learned on her own time."
"But who would teach her? Unless they are an outsider and don't know about Naruko. Killing intent like that doesn't pop out of nowhere."
Kushina said, "We will ask her later. Why don't you go relax and then meet back here for dinner."
"Okay."
"Alright."
Mito kissed Kushina's cheek and Memna hugged her before doing the same with Minato before waving everyone else goodbye.
The rest of the day went by too quickly for her liking as Tsunade and Shizune made to go back to the hospital, Kakashi returned home and Jiraiya went back to the hot springs for his research. When the time for dinner drew nearer, Kushina made to prepare an extra-large serving for dinner as she hoped Naruko would join them, but she never did, even when they waited a bit longer than usual, Kushina kept her gaze at the door only for it to remain closed.
When dinner came and went with Naruko still not appearing made her seep with disappointment as she felt her eyes burn with tears as Minato hugged her, dismissing Mito and Memna who swore to make her explain herself and make her pay for making Kushina cry.
Minato told her, "She'll come home soon, maybe she just wanted to spend some time by herself."
"It's not healthy to be alone, Minato. Maybe, maybe there was something else we could have done. We could have included her, have her stick with us and she wouldn't have gotten in so much trouble."
"We can only try and mend the gap between separating her from the rest of us."
Before Kushina could reply, the door opened and Naruko came inside, kicking off her shoes before carrying them as she made a beeline for her bedroom.
"Naruko, wait!" Minato stated, standing up with Kushina.
She froze before she slowly turned to look at them.
"What is it?"
It took Kushina a moment to get out the words she wanted to say, "Where were you? You missed dinner."
"I ate outside and what do you mean I missed dinner? I haven't had dinner with you guys for years."
"That's not true!"
"It isn't? I'm pretty sure I remember, after all, weren't your exact words were that disappointments don't deserve to eat with family? The shame on your family doesn't deserve to eat and you can eat with us when you learn how to behave? Didn't you say that?"
She started to tremble as Minato held her, she felt weak, Naruko's eyes were like Minato's but in a different way, instead of a source of comfort and strength, it stripped her of her will to stand, she could feel her knees buckling underneath her dress as she started to sweat.
Kushina swallowed her nervousness and said, firmly, "Then starting from tomorrow you will be eating with your family."
An irritated sigh escaped her, "Listen, this farce has gone on long enough. I don't know nor do I care why you decided now to include me in your little family. You cut me off years ago and just now want me back to play happy families with you? You burned that bridge years ago and I have no desire to pander to your whims. You only have two children, Mito and Memna, you and Konoha had made that statement abundantly clear. Soon enough, I will be out of your hair and your sights so please go back to pretending I was just a fleeting thought from the back of your minds. It will be easier on everyone."
Minato said, "Naruko-"
Naruko quickly directed her head away from Minato and quickly made her way up the stairs, away from both of them as Minato's calls went unanswered until nothing but the firm slam of her bedroom door filled the air with a crushing sense of finality.
Kushina sniffled before she just started to cry, as Minato could only sigh, carrying his wife into their shared bedroom and made to cuddle with her until she fell into a fitful sleep. Minato allowed himself to shed a tear over the cold words his daughter said. The words weren't just cold, they were laced with resignation, her icy tone couldn't hide as if even the thought of her being a part of their family was some unattainable dream she realized was the truth years ago.
'Naruko, I'm so sorry. We will make it up to you.'
With Naruko, she slammed the door shut and locked it and sighed as she slumped down to the floor, 'Privacy. Fucking finally. I do not need that bullshit before bed.'
She stripped herself of her clothing, placing her headband on the dresser, and made to take a shower before changing into a set of boxer shorts and an oversized t-shirt and went to bed.
'Good night, Baba.'
[Morning]
Naruko slowly woke up, shaking off the grip of sleep as she sat up, scratched her head before jumping out of bed with a yawn. She made her way towards her closet and pulled out several articles of clothing to wear for her test today. A fishnet jumpsuit to be placed underneath a scarlet long-sleeved kunoichi battle dress with a pair of dark biker shorts to be hidden underneath with a pair of fitted kunoichi boots.
After she placed them on her bed, she entered her bathroom to take a shower, washed her hair before reapplying her vermillion pink hair dye, letting it quickly dry, and set through her chakra before tying it into her usual braid. Then she got dressed after she brushed her teeth and began to wrap her arms in bandages before putting on a pair of fingerless gloves.
Then she gave herself one last look over to make sure everything was in place before she left her bedroom and house entirely, avoiding the pranks Mito set outside her bedroom with a body flicker.
[Training Ground #25]
She quickly made her way towards the wide-open area, finding the signature three training logs, walked up a sturdy tree, and made herself comfortable. Then she took out a scroll, after unraveling it, what appeared was a large bento box filled with food and made to savor her meal in peace.
'Whether I pass or fail this test, I'm moving out. They have a lot of nerve, thinking they can just invite me to join them after years of shooing me away. Now, that I got my headband and they have taken their first real glimpse at me, they feel bad. Bunch of fucks. Maybe, I should have taken the Daiymo up for his offer. If anything, I could handle purging Konoha of its miserable root problem.'
She continued to eat, dropping the empty bento boxes on the ground underneath her, as she ate with vigor as she waited for her...team to arrive. Soon enough, she felt a presence off to her right, about twenty meters to the side, hidden by the shadows of the area and shadows was Obito.
'He probably knows that I'm already here.'
Soon enough, he appeared on the branch she was resting on.
He gave her a smile, "Good morning, Naruko."
She swallowed before returning the gesture, "Good morning, Obito-sensei."
"Didn't Lady Kushina order you and everyone else on the rooftop not to eat? Why did you disobey a direct order?"
"It was not an order and even if it was, it was a stupid order."
He crossed his arms, "And why is that?"
"Because she phrased it as a recommendation that we do not eat, they were not explicit orders. Even if she did order it, I wouldn't follow it. People are not robots who follow whatever order was given to them to the letter outside of certain circumstances. If anything it was a test to see if any genin hopefuls are willing to disobey what appeared to be a direct order under a harsh threat of a jounin, even if it was a half-baked attempt at a threat. Basically, don't take everything you see and hear at face value, sort of lesson, am I right?"
He stared at her for a moment before he smiled, 'Look underneath the underneath. Well done. It seems Iruka was right about her being sharp as a whip. Let's see if her physical prowess matches what he says.'
"Well, done Naruko. It seems the rumors about you being a dead last are dead wrong."
She huffed, turning her attention to her meal, and continued to eat.
After a while, he noticed that she was still eating, "Um, Naruko?"
"Hm?"
"How many bento boxes have you eaten?"
She pointed a finger to the ground, finding at least twelve.
He steeled himself as he felt a cold sweat begin to form, 'She's as much as a glutton as her family. Oh, my poor wallet.'
He got down and hid, waiting for Satsuki and Yakumo to show up as they still had thirty minutes left.
After ten minutes Satsuki showed up, her stomach growling and the irritation clearly visible on her face.
Obito shook his head, 'Just like Mikoto, she always loathed being hungry as it made her irritatingly angry. Especially during her cravings. Her sons are no different with Sasuke and his love of tomatoes and Itachi and his love for pocky sticks.'
Yakumo came three minutes later, her stomach growling as she flushed, hoping nobody heard.
She took a seat next to Satsuki, who said, "You didn't eat either?"
She shook her head, "I hope we can get the test over and one with. I'm starving," she then looked around, finding no one but themselves, "Where's Naruko?"
Satsuki snorted as she leaned against the pillar she was propped up against, "She's probably gonna be late or skip out just like in our classes, but if she ruins this for me, I'll never forgive her."
Naruko rolled her eyes but didn't bother to do anything more as she ate her meals with a bit more vindictive relish than before.
Obito sighed at the scene before him, 'I have a lot of work to do, hopefully, I can fix this. They need to work as a team and I need to find out where this disdain for Naruko blossomed, it didn't just crop up out of nowhere. After I figure that out, I can break her loner streak and bridge the gap between her and the rest of her age group.'
When it was time, he appeared in front of them as he cheerfully shouted, "Good morning, everyone!"
Yakumo gave a bitter half-smile with a half-hearted, "Good morning."
Satsuki didn't bother with a smile, "Hn."
"Obito-sensei, Naruko isn't here yet."
"Actually, she beat you both by forty-five minutes, she's been resting in the tree across from you."
Then the sound of a bento box hitting another bento box rang out as Naruko jumped down from the tree as she sealed up her empty bento boxes and made her way forward.
"You idiot, don't you remember that you are not supposed to eat?!" Satsuki snapped
"The only idiots are you two for falling for a pitful threat that wasn't a threat at all. What Kushina said was not an order but a recommendation."
Satsuki growled, "And if it was an actual order?"
"I still wouldn't follow it. Stupid orders should not be followed. You already proved my point when you followed said 'order'. You are tired, irritated, and hungry, which only strengthens the disadvantage between us and him. And here I thought you were smart," Naruko snarked.
Satsuki gritted her teeth as she spat, "You fucking-"
"Alright, enough. Naruko, Satsuki, cool it. And, what Naruko said, was the truth. What you need to remember is the phrase, 'Look underneath the underneath' as Naruko did. After all, going on the battlefield with an empty stomach is practically suicide. You need all the energy you can get."
Yakumo and Satsuki looked at Naruko who didn't bother to return the gesture as she kept her gaze on Obito.
He pulled out two silver bells on red strings, showing them to the trio, "Now, today we are going to do the classic bell test. I have two, only two of you can pass, the other will either be sent back to the Academy or dropped from the ninja program entirely."
Satsuki and Yakumo stiffened before Satsuki stared at Naruko who remained unbothered as if she knew something they didn't.
'What the hell is she hiding? Is this another test?'
"Now, you get to hide. From the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
All three of them hid among the greenery, Obito tied the bells to the side of his jounin vest and made to search for his first target. As he walked into the forest, he soon found Yakumo not that far away from him, her entire body hidden by the brush.
'Not bad, but you still need more practice, my dear genin.'
He pulled out a length of rope and set up a rabbit trap and made to spook Yakumo, forcing her to leave her hiding place only to get caught in the snare, showing her flushed face staring at a smiling Obito who waved at her.
"How's it hanging, Yakumo?"
She froze at being caught so quickly.
"Not a bad attempt at hiding, but you forgot about hiding your chakra, it practically led me straight to you. I'll make sure to work on that if you make it past today."
He released her, making her fall on her butt, to which he helped her up only to whisper, "This is a lesson in your element, genjutsu."
She wrenched herself out of his grip, making him smile as she braced herself, only to already be caught, "Try to escape the flames, Yakumo. Genjutsu technique: Shiranui."
Everything in Yakumo's world became dark, then she was surrounded by a wall of flames that shifted from various colors.
He watched as she collapsed before him, then he left her and made to find Satsuki only for her to confront and attack him with the fireball jutsu.
After letting the flames disappear, he waved away the smoke and heat from his face.
"Not bad, Satsuki. Still, a long way to go through."
She rolled her eyes, "Don't remind me."
"Weren't you supposed to work with your teammates?"
"I don't need my teammates to beat you, even if I did, Yakumo is more than enough. The dead last will just hold me back."
He tutted, "That arrogance will get you in deep shit, Satsuki."
"Confidence is not arrogance, Obito-sensei."
"Prove me wrong, then."
She grinned and charged with the intent to attack, flipping through handsigns, shouting, "Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire jutsu!"
Obito kept his defenses up as he avoided the flames as Satsuki kept up a barrage of attacks to keep him on the defensive in a flurry of flips, kicks, and several punches mixed in.
He avoided each strike with a smile as he could only watch her get more exhausted, which soon happened when her hunger got the best of her as she made an attempt for his bells only for him to jump back as her fingers lightly brushed against them to which she collapsed on the ground with a curse, "Dammit!"
She quickly got up and looked around, not seeing Obito anywhere only to feel something screaming in the back of her mind to jump but she was three seconds too late.
"Shit!"
Then she was buried up to her neck with Obito smiling at her.
"Ah, the Headhunter jutsu, always a classical favorite."
She flushed an ugly red in mortification as Obito patted her head, "Try to get out, Satsuki. Let's see if your other teammate can do what you and Yakumo failed to do."
He then left, leaving her lowly cursing as she made to escape the trap she was in.
[With Obito]
He searched the area, trying to find her chakra signature, but it was like she erased it, either that or she had such a tight grip on it he couldn't feel it. He had to give her props for that, especially with the amount of chakra she had inherited from her bloodline. That was until he found her leaning against a tree, dead asleep.
If he could faceplant into the Earth he would, but he didn't want to wake her up. He made his way towards her only stop to see her looking at him, no longer asleep.
"Did you have a good nap?"
"Not really, too much noise."
"You know you are supposed to help your teammates."
A deep snort spilled out of her, "They would never accept my help even if I did offer it. Too many times I have tried only to be ignored at best or spat on and jeered at the worst, I have no need to relive that."
He gave her a sad look as she pushed herself away from the tree, "Enough chat. Time is running low and if I don't even try, Satsuki would try to make my life miserable and I don't want to have to explain why the Uchiha clan is one member short."
She then disappeared, placing him on his guard only for him to lift his arm to block a kick, to which she made to attack him viciously, not allowing him to attack as he winced at her hits struck his arms and body.
He gritted his teeth, 'Her hits are heavy, no wonder no genin lasted against her.'
Whenever he tried to grab her, she avoided them by either twisting out of the way or using his body as a springboard to create distance between them. However, during one attack where she aimed a kick at his head, he managed to tank the blow and grab her leg, before he could bring her down, she twisted her body, snapping muscles, tendons, and breaking her bones to kick Obito away from her as he looked at her disfigured leg in horror.
"Naruko!"
She didn't speak as she glanced at her mangled leg below before snapping it into place with healing chakra and her Uzumaki healing factor inherited from Kushina.
Naruko rolled her ankle twice before looking at him, "Don't be so distracted, sensei. I could have taken your head off twice now."
He snapped out of it and decided to go on the offensive as she either blocked or avoided his strikes before she retaliated in turn to which he blocked by thrusting his elbow into her arm, breaking it, forcing her back to fix it.
"Not bad, sensei."
She reset her arm, quickening the healing process with not even a grimace.
He could only stare, 'She wasn't trained by any of them, but she knows healing chakra to such an extent and is not even winded? What the hell has she been doing on her own?'
She rolled her shoulders, "It's time to wrap this up, it's almost time."
He shook himself out of his thoughts and made to rush at her, to knock her out or to at least pin her, only for her to toss a kunai in the air, which was his last mistake, he was too focused on the kunai only to hear something that resembled a clap, before he felt like he got blitzed. He felt as if he lost all control of his body as he hit the ground like that of a puppet with its' strings cut.
The last thing he could think before the shock took him away was, 'What the hell did she do to me?'
[Thirty minutes later]
A dull buzzing barely pulled him away from the unconsciousness that greeted him so wholesomely.
Obito groaned and coughed, he couldn't tell where the fuck he was, he was still in the dark.
'Am I dead?'
Then he felt it, the feeling of healing chakra, and all his senses were slowly coming back as his sight faded into view as he found himself staring up at the trees before he saw blonde hair. He rolled his eyes as far as he could and he found himself staring at Naruko who was speaking, her face was cold and blank, if anything, it reminded him of one of the few times he saw Minato annoyed after dealing with Danzo. Basically, the 'I want to gut you with a spoon and watch you suffer and die' type of look.
He coughed, getting her attention as she Naruko flared her chakra and placed her hands on the sides of his neck, then over his heart allowing him to feel more of his body.
Naruko looked at him, "Sensei, can you hear me?"
He croaked out in a rough voice, which surprised himself, "Yes."
She looked down at him, hiding her face from the other two, and gave him a sad apologetic look, "My apologies, I went a bit too far and used that on you. That move was for enemies and I got a bit carried away. You'll be fine soon enough."
He gave her a confused look before she helped him up, keeping her hands on him, still flowing with healing chakra.
"Hello! Why the fuck are you ignoring me?!" Satsuki snapped
Yakumo softly asked, "Naruko, what did you do to Obito-sensei?"
She gave them a blank look, tossed the bells towards them, and said, "I got the bells, what happens now depends on whether Obito decided if we pass or not?"
"And how did you get them?"
"Through my own ability and you don't need to know anything more."
Satsuki was fuming before she calmed herself as so many things didn't add up, she wanted to pull out her hair from frustration.
"So you got the bells and gave them to your teammates?"
"Sure, whether you accept them as your students or not, doesn't matter to me. Let them pass, I don't mind waiting another year or if not, I can do something else. After all, aren't I the dead-last that should be blessed to be even be considered a ninja?" She quipped
Obito wanted to scream but had no energy, 'Like hell you are! If I put you up against all your classmates at once, you'd probably crush them all. And all she showed so far was taijutsu and healing chakra. I need to talk to Minato-sensei and his wife.'
He pulled himself together and said, "Now, Naruko, you shouldn't speak like that and you actually got the bells and put up a better fight than both of your teammates, you should be proud."
"Hmph."
Yakumo decided to ask, "So, sensei, do we pass?"
He closed his eyes, "Yes, you all pass."
Yakumo cheered while Satsuki accepted the pass with a semi-resentful smile that she didn't manage to pass under her skills and only through the help of Naruko.
"Remember this phrase and engrain it into your minds, Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. Remember that phrase, you three. I don't care what beef you three have with each other, but you three are now teammates, you don't have to like each other, but you have to protect each other on the field. If you can't swallow your disdain for each other, Satsuki, Naruko, you may turn in your headbands now. The same goes for you too, Yakumo."
All three were silent as the words sunk in.
"No problems? Good. Now let's get out of here, for the teams who have passed their exams, they are having a meet-up at Yakiniku Q's but I need to go to the hospital so go and enjoy."
He led them out of the forest before he had enough strength to make it to the hospital on his own.
He gave a grateful smile to Naruko before leaving, as all that remained were just her and her other two teammates.
She then cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders as she made to leave before Yakumo stopped her, "Naurko, wait! Don't you want to celebrate with us?"
"No thanks."
Satsuki said, making her way towards her, "Come on, we are teammates now, and Obito-sensei wants us to be at the restaurant. I'm not going to have you jeopardize my chances of being a ninja."
Naruko gave her a sharp glare, stopping her in her tracks, "I won't, but your lack of skill speaks for itself. Besides, I don't want too and I have something that takes priority over making meaningless small talk. Go without me," She then body-flickered out, leaving just the two of them.
Satsuki scoffed, "Come on."
Yakumo nodded and trailed after her, although her gaze was on the spot Naruko disappeared from as they left the area for the restaurant to celebrate.
[Yakiniku Q]
The pair walked in to find the newly minted Team 7, 8, 10, and 12 waiting for more people as Kushina stood up to greet them, "Team 13 made it! Congrats!" Then she didn't see Obito nor Naruko which made her said and asked, "Where's Obito and Naruko?"
Satsuki dropped herself in a seat, not really willing to talk as Yakumo took a seat next to her, "Um, Kushina-sensei, Obito-sensei had to go to the hospital for his injuries and Naruko said she had something important to do."
"What important thing?"
Satsuki wanted to spit, "She didn't tell us. I swear, I'm gonna find out what makes her tick, I still don't know how she did it."
Kushina took a seat as Memna asked, "What did she do?"
Yakumo said, "She knocked Obito out of commission. He was unconscious for at least thirty minutes."
"What?!" Kurenai exclaimed, "There's no way that's possible."
Satsuki growled, "Well it did happen. I had to dig myself out of that damned headhunter jutsu he put on me with Yakumo's help after she had to break his multi-layered genjutsu he placed her in. We found him laying down on Naruko's lap like that of a corpse. When I demanded answers, she refused to speak as she was doing something to sensei until he woke up. She talked to him for a bit before he said we all passed and to come here."
"And you didn't force her to come?" Mito snorted
Yakumo sighed, "She body-flickered out."
"Regardless, we will talk to her later on."
"What was the jutsu she used on him?"
Satsuki spat, "She refused to say anything. But it must have been a nasty one, he looked like he went ten rounds with a pissed-off Itachi. I don't know if he has any bruises but he looked like he could barely hold himself up."
Kushina was completely interested but only sigh over the distance between her and her own child.
'What kind of jutsu did she perform? Hmph, no matter. When I return home, we will work on getting closer.'
Kurenai pushed the thought of blonde Uzumaki-Namikaze away from the forefront of her mind and focused on her meal.
Kiba was focused on his food along with Chouji and Shino.
Shikamaru found the matter troublesome and poked around his food, but Naruko popped up in his thoughts every now and again with the thought of her came guilt. The guilt of doing nothing, he bit his tongue to force the thought away, 'It's too troublesome to think about so stop thinking about it, dammit!'
"Shika?"
Chouji gave him a worried look before he gave him a reassuring smile and waved off his worry as he made to chew on a piece of a barbeque.
Ino and Sakura were gossiping about Sasuke while he was poking fun at his sister and asking her for more details about how her test went. Yakumo made to eat silently with Sai as she made soft conversation with Hinata. Mito and Memna were eating and comforting Kushina who was in a bad mood from the lost opportunity.
Kakashi was eating and using a fake book cover over his Icha Icha book to read as he ate, Asuma was comforting Kurenai's ruffled feathers.
The rest of the meetup continued as usual before all the genin were dismissed as the jounin made to report to the Hokage about the genin who have succeeded.
[Hokage's Office]
The office was filled with various jounin as Minato was waiting for everyone to gather and when no more arrived, he smiled, "Is everyone here?"
"Everyone except Obito, Lord Hokage."
"Hm, that's weird. He's usually not helping the elderly today. Maybe one of them had a bad fall. Regardless, he will come soon enough. Team 1, start."
A jounin with a jeweled hairpin in her hair, bowed, "Team 1 failed, they should never be ninja, Lord Hokage."
"Any particular reason why?"
"They spent more time complaining about the objective and the fact that they could get dirty."
He grimaced as he pulled out the files and marked them, 'Not allowed to be ninjas unless they show extreme improvement in the mentality of what it takes to be a ninja.'
A jounin with a bandana wrapped around his neck, bowed, "Team 2 failed, they should not be ninja, Lord Hokage. They spent more time arguing with each other than trying to find me."
He nodded and noted down the same as the rest of the teams went as follows,
"Team 3 failed, they really need to revamp the Academy as they had no idea what to do, it's like they spent all that time in the Academy doing fuck-all."
"Team 4 failed, they are not all bad, but I'd recommend another year in the Academy, they are way too rough as they are and it would lead to their deaths."
"Team 5 failed, they should be immediately dropped from the ninja program."
"Team 6 failed, they need another year in the Academy, but I'd recommended that they can try again once they complete their genin test."
Kakashi stepped forward, "Team 7 passed, although I have to say barely," much to the shock of everyone.
Minato folded his hands together, "May have more details, please?"
He nodded and continued, "Out of the three, Sakura is the weakest, she fell for the easiest genjutsu chunin could break in their sleep, she starves herself skinny to keep her apparent figure to impress Sasuke and she is a rabid fangirl, despite her smarts. Sai has shown to be holding himself so he must have been trained elsewhere so I will be keeping an eye on him. Sasuke is a bit weaker than what Sai has shown so far and managed to touch the bells along with Sai who managed to snag one. Sakura was tied up and I ordered them not to feed them, and Sai fed her after convincing Sasuke and so they pass. It will be rough, but they have a chance.
"Keep an eye on Sai, Kakashi."
"Yes, sir."
Kurenai stepped forward, "Team 8 passed, Kiba has his alpha mentality, trying to take charge which nearly failed the team, Hinata, is shy to the point that it may cripple her career but it can be broken when pushed enough and Shino is just as stotic as his family, however, they all managed to work together to pass my exam before the time ended."
He nodded, "Make sure you have them branch out of their family styles, Kurenai. If you need help breaking them out of their mentalities do not be afraid to ask. Especially since this is a specialized tracking team, they need to be able to handle themselves in a fight."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
"Team 9 is still active. Team 10?"
"Team 10 passed, just like their parents, although Ino is the weakest among the group due to her dieting which leads to be being easily exhausted, Chouji and Shikamaru have lazy streaks that will be hard to break, but they can be motivated to live up to their legacies."
"Make sure they have enough tricks to make their own legacies, Asuma."
"It will be done, Lord Hokage."
"Team 11 is still in rotation, so Team 12?"
Kushina grinned, "Team 12 passed! They have a good work ethic although they still have a lot to learn they'll become massive powerhouses in the near future. I still wish I got Naruko on my team though."
"Well done, Kushina. And check with Obito to see if he will allow co-team training."
Her smile grew bigger at the thought of spending a lot more time with her daughter and teach her like she taught Mito and Memna.
"Obito is still not here, so let's skip past him for now."
"Team 14?"
A brown-haired man with a piercing in his ear shook his head in dismay, "Team 14 failed, Lord Hokage. My apologies. They do not have the correct mental state to be ninjas."
"I see."
"Team 15?"
A black-haired buzzcut older male tried not to sneer, "Team 15 failed, Lord Hokage. They were so pathetic, thinking that because their parents were on the civilian council I would immediately pass them. I immediately failed them and they threw up a massive fit that would make a toddler jealous before I left them to go back home. I would recommend they never become ninjas."
"Team 16?"
A blonde-haired woman with pink eyes shook her head in dismay, "Team 16 failed, Lord Hokage. They spent more time screaming at each other than trying to do the test I laid out for them."
"Team 17?"
A helmet-wearing jounin had his arms crossed above his chest as he fought not to spit, "Team 17 failed, completely, Lord Hokage. They should be forever forbidden from becoming ninjas. Absolutely worthless."
"Team 18?"
A man with long hair tied in a ponytail sighed, "Team 18 failed, Lord Hokage, but they need more training but I think they have the capability of passing after another year of training and refinement."
"Team 19?"
A brown-haired woman tried not to lose her temper, "Team 19 failed, Lord Hokage. Absolutely useless and they would die their first day out on the field."
"Team 20?"
An older man with salt and pepper hair sighed, "Team 20 failed, Lord Hokage. All three should be forbidden from being ninjas unless they show massive improvement both physically and mentally."
Minato sighed, "Dammit. Only a handful of genin passed and most of them are from ninja bloodlines. The Academy has been lackluster for too long, changes need to be made."
He made a note for himself and made to the Headmaster of the Academy to work on improvements as they cannot have such lackluster results.
Then the door opened to show Obito who looked like he was rung out like that of a well-worn dish towel, he croaked out, "Team 13 passed."
Kushina and Minato rushed over to him to lead him to the couch, "What the hell happened to you?"
Shizune arrived soon after, carrying a bag of supplies, "You should have stayed in the hospital, Obito! You are still injured, if anything you should have been in a healing coma for the rest of the week. I still don't know how you are still able to move insight of what you are experiencing."
Minato cut Obito off before he could apologize, "Shizune, what is the status of Obito's injuries."
She sighed, "Goodness, yes, Lord Hokage. If anything I am not aware as to how he got into this state, if anything he shouldn't be conscious although there are traces of healing chakra in his system that is fixing the damage done to his body so I can't tell what damaged him to such an extent. If anything, it was like his body went into shock, his muscles and nerves were completely tense and under stress, almost to the point, it looked like they were about to snap. I didn't get anything from him before he left my care to come here."
He gave her a nervous grin, "I'm sorry, but I had to report it first."
"Fine, but after you report it, you are coming straight back to the hospital and you are not able to leave until you are 100% healthy, do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now, to start things off, how did you end up this way?"
"Naruko."
"What?! Naruko did this to you?" Kushina trailed off in a whisper
"Bullshit!"
"Obito are you sure you didn't hit your head on something?"
"It seems you are not strong enough to be a jounin if you got knockabout by the dead last of the year, huh?"
"Enough! Everyone be silent."
The room was now silent as Minato ordered his secretary to summon Inoichi to appear in his office. In under three minutes, Inoichi knocked on the door as Minato said, "Come in."
He did and bowed, "Lord Hokage, you requested I come?"
"Yes. I need you to enter Obito's mind and share the memory of the test he performed on his genin team and share it with the rest of us."
He nodded, "Of course, Lord Hokage."
He placed a hand on Obito's head and whispered his technique before closing his eyes, Obito made it easier on him by not resisting and being relaxed. Soon enough he found what he was looking for and after he removed his hand from Obito's head, he transferred the memory to everyone else, leaving them speechless. That the supposed dead last and rebellious troublemaker brat of their beloved Hokage was able to put up such a fight with only taijutsu and healing chakra and she wasn't even winded by the end of it.
After a long stretch of silence, Minato said, "You are dismissed, Inoichi."
He bowed once more, "Yes, Lord Hokage," before he took his leave.
Minato turned to Obito and said, "I expect you to rest up and heal until you have Shizune's full approval to leave."
"Yes, sir."
"Good, now, do you being out of commission for a short while, your team will be under the care of Kushina and Kakashi and train under them. And Kushina wanted to have co-team training with your students."
"I have no problem with it."
Kushina grinned, "Thank you! Thank you!"
He gave a tired smile as he felt eyelids grow heavier as Minato gestured for Shizune to take him to which she nodded in turn as she placed his arm over her shoulder, lifted him to his feet, and body-flickered them both back to the hospital.
He then dismissed everyone else as the jounins left with their minds in a whirlwind, the supposed dead last and delinquent daughter of the Hokage who managed to knock out a jounin before she was even a genin. If she could manage to do that with just taijutsu, what could she do skill-wise? The news about Naruko's abilities would be spread across Konoha before the night was out, but as Kushina was busy planning on what was the first thing she would teach Naruko to bridge the large fissure in their relationship. She would be disappointed to know that Naruko would do everything in her power to keep them distant, and at the moment, she would gladly let the sun die out than forgive any of them.
Naruko accounted for everything she sealed in her scrolls, her bedroom was cleaned top to bottom and white-washed, making it look as if it was another unused room in the massive house of a family of four, instead of five. She then left, leaving in a swirl of multi-colored flower petals, leaving the house of the Uzumaki-Namikaze family behind.
She then appeared on a worn path leading into the forest as it led to the outskirts of the village, hidden by the greenery was the new home that she had privately built under another name, it was after she was rewarded for that SS-rank mission along with the sum of all the bandit camps missions she had taken. It was just finished a bit under a month ago as it was a slow and taxing process especially since it was out of the way and all the defenses she placed in the surrounding area.
As she stood in front of her house, she grinned, summoned twenty shadow clones, and had them refurnish her entire house as she overlooked everything. Within the hour, her entire house was perfect and decorated the way she wanted it. She then stretched and dispelled them all as she made to take a hot bath and read a new series about a female, cannibalistic serial killer that drinks blood and eats the soul and flesh of her victims to sustain herself, her violent crimes, her complicated past, and her attempts to live a normal life as a housewife despite the overwhelming bloodlust that her husband is ignorant of while her child is more observant.
Suddenly as she was reading, she felt someone walk over her grave which irritated her to the point that she wanted to rip off someone's face.
She shut her book with a snap, placing it to the side of her, and sunk her head below the bubbles of her tub.
'Why do I have the feeling the next few days are gonna be really annoying?'
Ending it! Aren't I stinker? Leaving the story here! I thank you all for your wonderful feedback and I'm working on something that will take up a lot of my time from now on so updates are going to be on pause for now. Take care, people.
Thank you for all your reviews!
zero fullbuster - I'm glad you enjoyed it, it makes me really happy!
Guest#1 - I'm happy you find it interesting.
ParadoxTheory374 - I'm glad you enjoyed it and well, we will see soon enough won't we? Various tortures, well, we will see in the future. Kurenai being in the hospital, I can imagine that later rather than sooner, depending on what I write. The muse has a mind of its' own. Iruka is viciously neutral and doesn't tolerate bullshit in his classroom, it's Mizuki who allows the children leeway in bullying Naruko. Mighty Guy is not one to believe in rumors and is a more, 'I will see for myself' type of guy. Believe me, that is locked into the stone, no Konoha ninja or civilian has a chance with her and she would make that viciously clear. Thank you for your kind words.
Skull Flame - I'm glad you find it interesting, the neglected trope has been beaten to death, but I decided to take my own strike at it, I mean, the trope is an interesting perspective especially when written in a unique way. I only wish they weren't incomplete though since there are some real gems in the overused trope. Believe me, when I say he'll try but life has a rather fickle way of going about things, He does blow the whistle on Naruko's strange behavior, not one of a rowdy troublemaker but one of an animal that has been kicked too many times and will lash out at everything to protect itself. In this story, the jounin looks at the records after meeting with their teams. Sasuke has an inkling that she had been holding back but not how much. If he knew she hunted bandits at 8 and got an SS-rank mission at 10 his head will explode. I can't wait to write that part. And she does have the Daimyo's appreciation and it stretches far and wide.
(guest) Lucas - Hey, Lucas, I'm glad you enjoy my stories and yes, I'm working on those two as of this moment, and I will don't worry.
naes151 - I'm glad you find it interesting!
bankai777 - Let's just say, I have more in store for Kurenai than a prank and pranks are more Mito's thing than Naruko's.
Perseus12 - Konoha really doesn't deserve her forgiveness, I always loathed the fact in neglected Naruto stories, Naruto forgives after some amount of time and they don't really deserve it. Maybe, it's because I'm petty, but Naruko isn't gonna forgive anyone unless they damn well mean it and work to build an actual relationship. If anyone is worthy of Naruko, they would have to be strong and no one from Konoha nor the rookies, as they bombed any chance in platonic or romantic advances towards her years ago.
Abbadon44 - I'm glad you enjoyed the story, it took like three tries to rewrite this into making it something that is suitable so I'm happy my hard work paid off. Believe me, the Daiymo is gonna appear soon enough. And he's firmly in Naruko's corner and I wish people used his character more often in stories too.
Guest#2 - Who knows, the muse does what it wants, let's say her old classmates will get a healthy dose of karma soon enough. I'm happy you like my writing and I hope you continue to do so.
917brat - Thank you!
Cevandri - Hope this can interest you in the meantime.
raw666 - Now, now, that would be far too easy, and too much like the other neglected tropes where Naruto got promoted to chunin/jounin at a young age. Naruko leaving at a young age would just have Konoha up her ass along with Danzo to get her to join his rotten, mindless ROOT ninja. Besides, if I did that, it wouldn't be my story, would it? It'd be too much like other neglected Naruto stories for my liking and I don't want her to be an official because again, too easy. I want her to be a ninja, but on her own terms.
Guest#2 - Will do!
ExEsmiley - I'm glad you enjoyed it!
thecloudgazingfreak - I'm happy you enjoyed the story!
Guest#3 - You never know, but kenjutsu and reverse-engineering Minato's techniques are a good idea.
volcasiron30 - Thank you and I'll get to it soon, I'll keep your PM in mind, and I'm working on other stories. I just haven't found the right way to respond.
Aclux - We shall see, won't we?
Natzo - It's my story, appearances, sure, I'll give you that, the tests were showing the various skill levels of each genin. If you don't like it, that's on you.
Crio Yaroi - Oh believe me, when I say I will enjoy writing that part when Naruko puts her siblings in their proper place, after all, they think they are the strongest, but they never faced Naruko under the illusion that she is weak, despite her physical prowess, even if it is against civilians. They never had to fight to death nor have reached a level of desperation to survive, that's where Naruko has the edge on them and a fair amount of the ninja forces in Konoha. They don't have the ability to be a stone-cold monster on the field that only wants your head and believe me if she wants your head she'll take it. If she gets a significant other, it won't be from Konoha.
Guest#4 - Mito and Memna will get their asses kicked soon enough and well, Naruko doesn't have Kurama, Kurama is split between Mito and Memna. Although he is rather salty that he was stuck in the bodies of two entitled brats instead of Naruko.
Onishin Tsukitenshi - Minato and Kushina were basically blind to Mito and Memna's words as the scoldings they did to Naruko when they thought she was a troublemaker kind of made them tune out their words until they actually took their good look at her after so long which basically but in their behavior against Naruko in the spotlight. Keep in mind that Naruko kept herself out of sight and hidden to protect herself and gather more money and do missions. They aren't under a genjutsu, but it's basically the fault of human nature, that blindness of things being so assured that you don't even recognize it anymore. Basically, Naruko's 'bad behavior' and the reaction of that 'bad behavior' fell under the quote, 'she deserved it' and the exasperation over her bad behavior not being corrected made them not take a closer look at her. And Naruko decided long ago that to not bother correcting them or getting close to them as it would only lead to more pain in either the physical or emotional sense. And she far too much of both already.
~Kourtney Uzu Yato!