Team Anko

Chapter 3.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Demonic / summon'

It had been five years since Naruto had begun living and training with Anko within the forest of death and her training methods had been brutal almost to the point of child abuse as she had essentially thrown the boy in at the deep end and forced him to swim or drown both figuratively and at one point literally. She never pulled punches or hid the harsh realities of shinobi life when it came to the boys' training, saying that an enemy would give him no such mercy then he should train with the expectation of receiving none. She had worked on his body first, from sunset to sundown and quite often well into the night at least six days of the week, every week. She had no qualms using force to drive the lessons home if needed. That's not to say Anko would treat him like that when they weren't training, in fact one could describe Anko's treatment of Naruto as a whole as a protective "mother bear" as the Anbu Bear had joked once. She was a harsh teacher but equally fiercely protective of him.

In one particular situation, they had been doing a D-rank mission, clearing an apartment building out when the landlord had learned exactly who had been assigned his request and had tried to chase Naruto away by throwing a brick at him, only to have it intercepted and thrown straight back at him, knocking him and several teeth out and breaking his nose curtesy of Anko who in brutal retribution had set the apartment building on fire "by accident" when she had released a fire Jutsu upon it in her rage. The Hokage had chewed her out big time for that but hadn't really punished her any further considering she was defending her pupil. When the Landlord had come to, he had been arrested for assault of a minor and impeding shinobi in the line of duty and thus was unable to press charges anyway.

She had drilled him in the use of Kunai and shuriken Jutsu, hand to hand combat, tactics and her own specialty, Interrogation and torture. As for his academic education, the Hokage had seen fit to appoint a Chunin academy instructor by the name of Umino Iruka to oversee Naruto's teaching at least three times a week in the evenings. Iruka and Anko had butted heads often in regard to Naruto's education under Iruka at first due to his cold indifference with which he treated the boy, but as time had passed and Iruka had gotten to know the boy, he developed a bond with the boy and had come to see Naruto as a younger brother. Anko and Iruka still bickered now and then but any real hostility between them had ceased to exist, and she now deliberately riled up the academy instructor only for her own amusement.

Naruto's academic scores at the start of his tutoring were abysmal but Iruka, despite his personal feelings before his change of heart had at least taken his role seriously and Naruto had slowly begun to flourish. He wasn't a straight A student, but he did maintain high passing grades throughout the five years.

Alongside Anko, the Anbu members, Dog, Cat and Bear had each taken the time to teach the boy, mostly when Anko was called away to work at the T&I division or the rare occurrence she had been assigned a mission requiring her particular skill set.

Under Dog, Naruto had learned several Ninjutsu techniques and had been the one to suggest teaching the boy the Kage Bunshin technique after Naruto had consistently failed to produce normal clones due to his monstrous chakra reserves. Dog had also imparted to Naruto the importance of teamwork and had overseen Naruto's training in Fuinjutsu which had become one area the boy had excelled faster than he had expected, blazing through the basics and into intermediate level sealing formulae and theory.

Cat had been overjoyed to teach the boy the art of the sword, another area the boy excelled in, even going as far as to start creating his own style that proved to be as unpredictable and lethal, especially when used in conjunction with his Kage Bunshin to overwhelm his opponent. Cat had become like a big sister to Naruto, often bringing him small gifts and treats when they trained together.

Bear had taken to teaching the boy survival skills, how to set up a camp, build a fire in any weather condition, foraging, hunting, fishing and trapping and how these skills could be used in conjunction with his other shinobi skills. He had also taught him stealth skills and how to evade capture if and when the situation called for it. Bear and Naruto had close competitive streak and would often resort to roasting one another during their training time, constantly trying to one up each other with playful insults and practical jokes, which only served to bring out Naruto's inner prankster.

Anko had, once she felt he had a good grasp of the basics, started taking Naruto out into the village to do D-rank missions and had even brought him along to a few low C-ranked missions outside the village to try and get him experience in the world outside Konoha and its forests. Most of these missions had been simple delivery or pick up missions, however she had taken him out on three C-ranks with the objective of clearing out bandits within Fire country territory and he had made his first kill at the age of ten, when a bandit had managed to slip past Anko during her onslaught and had peppered the man with shuriken before he could escape.

Anko had been so proud of him that after the mission and with the Hokage's blessing, presented him with his Hiati-ate, officially welcoming him into the Shinobi ranks as a Genin.

The Hokage had kept a close watch on Naruto's training throughout the years and had, upon Naruto's promotion to Genin, presented him with a scroll containing a little over Two and a half million Ryo, explaining that it was a restitution fund for his treatment at the hands of the villagers. He had also told Naruto about the Kyuubi Sealed within him and explained any questions the boy had about it, the conversation hadn't been pleasant, but he had been surprised when Naruto seemed to accept the truth quite easily. He hadn't been happy about being lied to, but he understood the reasoning behind it all. Sarutobi was further surprised when Naruto, instead of falling into despair at the revelation, had simply become more determined to reach his goal of becoming Hokage. Naruto had also asked about his parents and while the Hokage had wished to tell him everything he could about them, he refrained from doing so and told Naruto that he was not ready to learn yet. Sarutobi understood Naruto's anger at the denial of information that was by all rights, his to learn, but he had also assured the boy that his parents had loved him dearly and to be patient and promised to tell Naruto everything when he reached the rank of Chunin or could at least prove he was capable of defending himself fully.

Naruto himself had grown over the past five years and now stood at just over five foot tall with a lean muscular build and all traces of baby fat had left his face due to Anko's high intensity training. His hair had been left to grow out a little and he now wore a blackened Anbu style flack vest over a black shirt with sleeves that reached down just passed his elbows, Mesh amour peeked out under the collar of his shirt and sleeves all the way down to his wrists, Black Shinobi pants and dark grey Anbu styled leg greaves Like his sensei and black zori finished his outfit. He also had a dark brown leather shuriken strapped to his right thigh over dark grey wrappings and his equipment pouch, the same dark brown leather, hung at his lower back on the right side of his body, and just above it, in the middle of his lower back, a Storage scroll sat horizontally. He had switched the standard blue cloth of his Hitai-ate to black, twin tails of black cloth hung from the knot tying the headband in place. His Katana, the Chishio, as he had named it was securely tied to his right hip.

Right now, Naruto was traveling over the village rooftops to meet with Anko and the Hokage at his office at a leisurely pace for a meeting. He wasn't certain what the meeting was about, but he guessed it had something to do with the Academy class that had graduated yesterday. He reached the tower and landed just outside the main entrance and wasted no time in entering the building and headed straight for the Hokage office only to be met with the Secretary outside his office, who open seeing him, narrowed her eyes in his direction and spoke before he could take another step.

"The Hokage is busy! Go away!" she hissed.

Naruto stared at her and maintained eye contact with her, keeping his facial expression neutral as he walked past her desk and straight to the door to the Hokage's office.

"I said he's busy!" she hissed once more.

Naruto deliberately raised his hand and placed it on the doorknob and entered the room, still keeping eye contact with her until he moved through the doorway and closed it behind himself, effectively cutting off any further protests. He turned to find the Hokage looking up at him from his paperwork with a look of mild annoyance before he spoke in a faked tone of annoyance to the blonde.

"You're supposed to knock first"

"And secretaries are supposed to be polite" Naruto grinned back cheekily as he moved to sit in one of the chairs before Sarutobi's desk.

"Right? That Bitch definitely has a tree up her ass!" Anko quipped just as she entered the office through the open window.

Sarutobi sighed and shook his head at their antics. Anko had done a marvellous job with Naruto, but he could have done without the boy picking up some of the woman's bad habits. He leaned back in his chair, glad for the distraction from the paperwork as he watched Anko take a seat next to Naruto and slouch in her seat lazily.

"So … the time has come for Naruto to join a team" Sarutobi said as he retrieved a stack of folders from a draw and placed them on the desk.

"Considering you'll be the only Genin with experience being placed in a team this year I have decided to let you both choose who you would like to be teamed up with" Sarutobi said as he pushed the eight folders forward toward Naruto and Anko.

Anko turned to Naruto "You pick, you're the one who has to work with them" she said lazily as she retrieved a Kunai from her pouch and began cleaning her nails with the tip.

Naruto reached over and picked up the files and started to scan through them and quickly removed two files from the stack before placing the rest to one side and handing them back to the Hokage.

Sarutobi looked at the two files and raised an eyebrow in Naruto's direction "You do like a challenge, don't you?" he said with a hint of amusement in his voice as he added their Names to the roster next to Naruto's.

"I've spent the last few days observing the graduating class and I have a fairly decent grasp of their personalities after grilling Iruka-sensei about his other students" Naruto started with a smirk before he added "It will be a lot of work to get them up to snuff and they have very different personalities and … problems, but I think they will make a good fit"

"Okay, however, out of curiosity, why didn't you pick Uchiha Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked, his tone Neutral as he eyed the blonde curiously.

"Simply put, despite his test scores and his rookie of the year status, he's a liability" Naruto responded curtly, resting his chin in the palm of his hand and leaning on the chair's arm for support.

"Explain" Sarutobi asked, his curious gaze turning into a slight frown.

"He's arrogant, entitled and doesn't work well with others, seeing his peers as a hindrance in his goal to Kill his brother … he's a ticking time bomb as far as I'm concerned and eventually, he's going to go off and get himself or his team killed" Naruto explained his reasoning.

"Hmmm … I think you're right" Sarutobi replied with a sigh before he continued "Hopefully his sensei can curb this behaviour before it becomes a bigger problem later on, but enough about that, you should go and pick up your new teammates after lunch"

"No can-do old man, I've got a mission in an hour, remember" Anko said as she stood up from the chair and looked to Naruto "You can handle this, I'll see you later on tonight"

"Okay, I'll do what we discussed ready for tomorrow" Naruto replied before watching Anko leave out the window and stood up "I'm going to get some Ramen before I pick up my team" Naruto said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sarutobi gathered up the remaining files and put them away before making some last-minute changes to this year's team rosters before he met with the Jounin sensei to hand them their team assignments in an hour's time.

He looked over the two files Naruto had set aside, he allowed himself a sigh at one of the names and quickly went back to his paperwork "I'll deal with that issue when it arises" he mumbled to himself as he stamped the word "Denied" in thick red letters over the requisition form for a proposal for Anbu bodyguards to be kept on retainer for civilian council members.

Naruto.

Naruto lifted the flap as he entered Ichiraku ramen stand with a smile "Hey Old man! Ayame-chan" He greeted as he saw the father and daughter turn to see him enter the stand.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun! It's been a while!" Ayame greeted him with a smile as she walked up to the counter to take his order.

"A bowl of Miso Char-sui please, and keep 'em coming!" He requested with a grin as he took a seat in his usual spot at the ramen bar.

"Coming right up my boy!" Came Teuchi's voice from the back of the stand.

As Naruto waited for his ramen, he began chatting with Ayame about his recent training and missions until a few minutes later, the fresh bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. Naruto readied his chopsticks and dug in after a quiet "itadakimasu"

It wasn't often Naruto could come to Ichiraku's with how much time he had spent training over the years once he started living with Anko, she had practically forced him to eat a balanced and healthy diet. So, when he did have the opportunity to eat there, he always made sure he ate his fill and caught up with the father and daughter who ran the stand. They had always treated him kindly despite the way most of the village treated him and he would be forever grateful to them from the day Teuchi invited him in out the rain and fed him when he was still a scrawny brat of six years old.

Perhaps he would eat here with his new team later today, Anko wasn't going to be around to curb his appetite for the food of the gods, so why not indulge while he could?

After his seventh bowl, Naruto looked at the clock on the wall and decided it was time, he quickly finished the bowl he was on and looked up to Ayame "I've got to go pick up my team, I'll see you both later, thanks for the meal!" he said as he left his money on the counter with a very generous tip and headed off towards the academy.

Academy classroom.

"Okay class! Listen up for your team assignments!" Iruka called over the idle chatter of the room, gaining the full attention of every student before he started listing off teams.

"And team six will be Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata and …" The Chunin spoke but paused as he read the paper once more to double check, he had this right.

"And who? Iruka–sensei?" Sakura asked desperately, stealing a desperate glance at her crush, Uchiha Sasuke.

"It doesn't say, but given that your sensei is Mitirashi Anko … It's probably going to be-" Iruka was suddenly interrupted as the classroom door slid open and Naruto walked into the room and surveyed the room with a critical eye and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What are you doing here brat" spat a voice all too familiar to Naruto.

Naruto turned slightly to see Mizuki, Iruka's teaching assistant, glaring at him with a large stack of papers in his arms as he moved towards him "Here, let me help you with those!" Naruto said in a sickly-sweet tone as he approached Mizuki and instead of helping, he swatted the papers out of Mizuki's arms and all over the floor.

Naruto simply Ignored the silver haired Chunin as he glared at Naruto again, cursing the boy under his breath as he bent down to start picking up the fallen papers.

Naruto gave Iruka a smile as he spoke, kicking a few of the papers further away from Mizuki.

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" He greeted the Chunin Instructor who gave him a polite nod in return. Naruto turned to look at the class and spoke loudly "I'm here to pick up Haruno Sakura and Hyuga Hinata, Anko-sensei couldn't pick you up herself today, so if you would follow me, please" He called loudly.

Both girls spared a glance at one another before slowly getting up and heading down to the front of class.

"Who are you?" Came a voice from Naruto's right.

Naruto turned toward the voice only to find a boy with dark hair and onyx eyes, wearing a dark blue short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and his Hitai-ate around his forehead, staring down his nose at him. Naruto knew exactly who this was but he felt no need to explain himself.

"That's not really your concern now, is it" Naruto said rhetorically as he motioned for the girls to follow him out the room.

Iruka sighed and glanced at Mizuki "You asked for that! You're just lucky Anko wasn't here to hear you"

Naruto.

After leaving the classroom with the two girls he led them to the roof of the academy and motioned for them to take a seat as he leaned back on a railing and crossed his arms and took in their appearance up close for the first time. He first glanced at Sakura...

Sakura has vibrant long pink hair, emerald, green eyes and wore a red qipao styled dress with dark form sitting shorts, blue zori and wore her Hitai-ate atop her head like a hairband. He knew she was intelligent but lacked any real practical skill, a fangirl through and through. She sat there in silence as she stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to start talking.

Hinata had dark almost black, violet hair, cropped short in the back, the famous white eyes of the Hyuga clan and wore a light cream hooded jacket with dark blue pants ending just above her ankles and blue zori and wore her Hitai-ate around her neck. She sat hunched over; her eyes locked to the floor under his scrutinizing gaze as she nervously fidgeted with her hands. Naruto could feel the anxiety rolling off of her in waves.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and placing his hands in his pockets before he decided to get things started.

"May name is Uzumaki Naruto … and I'll be your teammate … I will also be helping Anko-sensei train you properly over the next few weeks, we want you ready for shinobi life so expect to work harder than you've ever worked in your life from this moment going forward" Naruto said as he gave them a small nod and a smile.

"But we've had four years at the academy! We're ready for missions!" Sakura protested but she quickly felt confused at the amused look Naruto gave her.

"You've had four years in the academy, mostly sitting on your ass through lectures, that's not training" Naruto explained as if it was a matter of fact.

"But we have had training! We had sparing matches and-" Sakura started only for Naruto to cut her off.

"So, you think you're ready for this life? Have you ever had someone genuinely try to kill you? Have you killed another person?" Naruto asked her seriously.

"Have you?" Sakura snapped back in annoyance.

"Yes … Listen, I've been doing missions with Anko-sensei for three years now" Naruto started, taking a deep breath before he continued "I was ten years old when I made my first kill, but I've been on the receiving end of murderous intent for far longer"

Both girls stared at him, their eyes widening in shock of the revelation that their new teammate had been killing people when they were still in the academy. They shifted uncomfortably under his neutral gaze.

"When you're out in the field and you face someone who genuinely wants to kill you, it's nothing like a spar, so trust me when I tell you that, no, you're not ready" Naruto spoke firmly as he looked between both girls for a moment before he decided to move things along.

"So that's why for the first few weeks we will be focusing on getting you two up to snuff, so you don't freeze up and die in your first real fight, Training starts at eight in the morning until lunch, then we do D-rank missions until six in the evening from Monday to Saturday, Sunday will be the team's day off unless on a mission of course" Naruto explained and was about to say something else when Sakura spoke up.

"All that time? You can't be serious!"

"As a kunai to the jugular! If you're late to training, you'll do extra training on top of what's expected each day, if you slack off in your training, you're liable to end up in hospital, Anko-sensei is not going to hold your hand through missions, she expects a certain level of competence and her training methods, while brutal, will ensure have at least a chance to defend yourself until another team member can help you if you get in over your head" Naruto explained, sounding a bit harsher than he planned.

Looking at the two girls, he could see Sakura was clearly unhappy with the arrangement while Hinata was looking at Sakura with a slight worried looking frown.

'Looks like Hinata at least has some understanding of the dangers of shinobi life' Naruto thought as he plastered a smile onto his face and decided to move to a more light-hearted subject.

"Hey, so long as you put the effort in then there's no reason you shouldn't get strong, I've been training under Anko-sensei for five years, she's tough but she's good" Naruto finished, and they settled into an awkward silence until Naruto broke it.

"So … tell me about yourselves? Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future? That sort of stuff"

"You go first" Sakura spat, levelling a glare at the blonde, who only smirked slightly at the response before he gave a curt nod.

"As you wish … my name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, training and my precious people … I dislike bullies and people who hurt women and children, my goal is the become the greatest Hokage the leaf has ever known and well … I'm not sure the other dream is achievable, so I'll just leave it there" Naruto finished as his face turned skyward for a moment before he looked at Hinata and motioned towards her.

"Hinata, why don't you go next"

Hinata fidgeted nervously with her fingers but gave a small shaky nod and began to speak.

"My n-name is H-Hyuga Hinata … I am t-the Heiress of t-the Hyuga clan. I-I like Cinnamon b-buns and gar-gardening … I d-dislike the d-division in my c-clan and … and m-my dream …" Hinata started but paused as she began to shrink in on herself more.

Naruto looked at her, she reminded him of himself before Anko came into his life. He looked over her critically and his brows furrowed slightly before he decided to push her a little bit. He gave her a smile of encouragement and asked.

"What is your dream Hinata?" he asked gently.

The Hyuga girl looked up to his smiling face as she fought over her internal turmoil and replied to her new teammate.

"M-my dream … Is t-to unite m-my clan and p-prove m-myself worthy in the e-eyes of my f-f-father" she finished her stuttered statement.

Naruto caught the almost imperceptible fear hidden just under the tone of Hinata's stuttering when she mentioned her father and filed it away for later before moving on to look at Sakura who, Like Naruto had picked up on the almost hidden contradiction of her tone.

"You next, Sakura" Naruto said as he gave her a small smile.

Sakura let out a huff of air and crossed her arms over her chest "My name is Haruno Sakura, I like my family and I suppose I like Ino-pig a little, but what I really Like is Uchiha Sasuke! My dream for the future is to become a strong kunoichi and get Sasuke to notice me" she started blushing as she tried to hold back her girlish squeals, it made Naruto feel positively sick.

"And your dislikes?" he asked, trying to break her out of her daydreaming and move on.

"I dislike perverts, Obnoxious people and I think I dislike you!" She quipped, pointing a finger at Naruto.

Naruto laughed at her and simply waved her off before he replied to her statement about disliking him.

"If you dislike me now, you're going to hate me by this time tomorrow" He grinned as he stood up straight and looked at the position of the sun.

"Right! Now that we have introduced ourselves, let me be the first to welcome you both to team six! Now Empty your equipment pouches for an inspection" Naruto ordered

"Why?" Sakura asked with a look of annoyance at the blonde.

"Because it will save you time and possibly a beating tomorrow when Anko-sensei joins us for our first training session" Naruto stated as he gave Sakura a hard stare.

Both girls emptied the equipment onto the floor in front of them and Naruto moved to inspect Hinata's equipment first, noting how neatly she had arranged it on the floor in front of her he knelt down and started.

"You have well maintained equipment … kunai and shuriken are a little blunt but useable, but you only have six kunai and twelve shuriken? I see you have a small first aid kit and a neatly kept reel of ninja wire … but why so few Kunai and shuriken?" Naruto asked with a small frown as he looked up to the girl who seemed to shrink at his gaze.

"M-my clan only a-allows us t-to carry t-this much b-because w-we are expected t-to rely on Juken" she stammered out quietly as she started to put her equipment back as neatly as she removed it.

Naruto nodded in understanding despite thinking it was absolutely ridiculous that this was a rule the Hyuga clan seemed to enforce so strictly. He then moved over to Sakura's … pile of equipment and he sighed at the sight.

"Sakura, your kunai are blunt and this one... is bent beyond any form of reasonable use" he started, picking up the offending weapon and staring at the misshapen tool before dropping it back on her pile and rummaging through it some more.

"Shuriken are sharp but there's rust on a few of them, your wire is tangled and knotted, no first aid kit and why is there so much make-up in here!?" Naruto demanded as his face took on an expression of bewildered disappointment as his eyes roamed from her pile to the girl's face.

"Bin it! All of it!" Naruto said before standing up and staring at both girls. He was honestly shocked that a straight A student would allow her equipment to fall into such a sorry state, he expected better.

"That was lesson one, Equipment check … now then … what in Kami's name are you wearing?" Naruto asked, trying his best to keep the annoyance he felt from leaking into his voice.

"Hey! What's wrong with our clothes!?" Sakura demanded. She had thoroughly had enough of the blonde boy's attitude and berating of their equipment and now he was going to complain about her sense of style?

"How are either of you supposed to remain hidden in bright clothes? I could easily pick either one of you out in the dark and Sakura, If I can smell your perfume then assume an enemy can as well! This isn't good enough! So were going to rectify these issues right now!" Naruto said as he motioned for them to follow him.

Sakura quickly scrambled to pick up her pile of equipment, if it could even be called that, and stuffed it back in her pouch and both she and Hinata began to follow Naruto.

10 Minutes Later, Konoha market district.

As the newly appointed team six walked through the marketplace, each member had their own thoughts running through their head. Naruto himself was wondering if he had chosen his team mates wisely or if he should have taken more time to consider his options with the information available to him, limited as it had been. He had only observed the potential Genin for a week and had what Iruka would tell him about each member of his class, he knew them from an academic standpoint, but he knew little about their personality aside from what he could garner from his watching them.

'A Civilian born fangirl with no real discernible skills and a mousy Hyuga with a powerful bloodline but riddled with serious interpersonal issues, not wholly ideal but I can work with this' he thought to himself as he stole a glance back at them to make sure they were still following him.

Hinata followed Naruto obediently, eyes cast down to the ground as they walked 'I wonder if he even remembers me from back then … probably not, and why should he, I was pathetic' Hinata despaired mentally as memories of a snowy day in the woods close to her clan's compound flashed unbidden through her head. She stole a glance at the blondes back and let out a silent sigh 'Just another person to disappoint'

Sakura just ranted mentally in her head as she glared at the blondes back 'Who does this guy think he is talking to me like that!? Why am I even on this team? I was supposed to be teamed up with Sasuke-kun!' she spared a glance towards Hinata and quirked an eyebrow as another thought ran through her head. 'And I got paired with class weirdo too … this is so unfair'

They walked a little further until Naruto stopped and turned to Sakura "Hey, hand me your equipment pouch for a sec" he said as he held his hand out towards her.

Sakura frowned but complied with his request, handing him her equipment pouch only for the Uzumaki to launch it straight into a bin on the other side of the street.

"WHAT THE HELL!? That has all my makeup in it!" she shouted as she glared at Naruto with hatred.

"I told you to bin it! But feel free to fish it out the trash and turn up to team training with any of that crap tomorrow, because Anko-sensei is not as forgiving as I am" Naruto snapped back at her before abruptly turning around and continuing on.

Sakura stood there with a look of rage and defeat as she stared at the bin for a moment before reluctantly following her new team 'I hate him so much!' she growled internally and was about to voice said opinion when Naruto abruptly stopped and moved the entrance of an old decrepit looking building.

"Okay girls we're here!" Naruto said as he led them through the doors of the Higurashi's shinobi emporium and lead them up to the counter in the back of the shop.

"Naruto-kun! It's wonderful to see you again!" Yumi greeted cheerily as she looked up from whatever magazine she was reading

"Hello Yumi-Obachan, I've come to get my new team properly outfitted and equipped" He responded with a short bow of respect.

Yumi looked past Naruto to get a good look at his new teammates and then looked back to the blonde and raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the boy despite the amusement that twinkled within her gaze. She made her way round the counter and walked around the two girls eyeing them up and down. She struck a thinking pose and then looked at Naruto impatiently.

"Aren't you going to introduce us properly?" she asked sharply as her eyes swept back over the two girls.

"Sorry" Naruto apologized sheepishly before he gestured to his two new teammates "Higurashi Yumi, meet Haruno Sakura and Hyuga Hinata" Naruto finished before he picked up a magazine and flipped it open.

Yumi snorted at Naruto's half-assed introduction and addressed the two girls "Pleasure to meet you both, sorry about Naruto-kuns complete lack of manners, would you both like to follow me, and I'll get you both sorted" she said as she led the girls off deeper into the store.

Hokage's office.

Sarutobi was taking a short break from his paperwork to enjoy a cup of tea and the smoke of his pipe when a knock at his office door broke the peace he was enjoying. He straightened himself up just as his secretary opened the door and popped her head inside.

"Lord third, Hyuga-sama is here requesting a meeting with you?"

"Send him in" Sarutobi replied, leaning back in his seat, he had been expecting this at some point but not quite this soon. He watched as the door to his office opened for the Hyuga clan head and after stepping over the threshold of his office, the Hyuga bowed before moving to take a seat opposite the Hokage, his face set in its usual statuesque mask of emotional indifference.

"What can I do for you today, Lord Hiashi?" Sarutobi asked as he raised his teacup to his lips and took a sip. "Forgive me, would you care for some tea?" Sarutobi asked politely as he placed his cup down.

"I did not come here to drink tea, Lord third, I have come to enquire as to my daughters' team assignment" Hiashi replied curtly, his tone may have been even and measured but Sarutobi caught the underlying meaning of the words instantly.

"So, this is about Uzumaki Naruto?" Sarutobi sighed as he took another sip of his tea. If Hiashi was surprised at the Hokage's bluntness, then he didn't show it. Sarutobi placed his teacup back down onto his desk gently and leaned forward in his chair, waiting for Hiashi to begin.

"I wish to inquire as to why Hinata was placed on the same team as that boy and under the command of Mitirashi Anko no less" Hiashi spoke evenly, his tone was measured and steady, but Sarutobi didn't fail to pick up on the subtle undertone when he referred to Naruto.

"I assure you, Lord Hyuga, I took great care in placing Hinata on her team, I am certain she will be quite safe" Sarutobi replied trying to deflect the real question being asked.

"Her safety Is not my concern, Hinata is superfluous to the Hyuga clan, however she is still a Hyuga, despite her shameful lack of ability and skill, her placement on such a team is unacceptable, I will not have her compounding her failures and shaming me further by associating with Uzumaki Naruto nor Mitirashi Anko" Hiashi explained, his brow furrowing imperfectively as he straightens his back in his seat.

Sarutobi to his credit didn't bat an eyelash with the way the man before him spoke of his own daughter. He locked eyes with the Hyuga for a moment and deliberately took his time, picking up his teacup to take another sip before setting it back down.

"I see … So, you wish me to remove her from team six?" Sarutobi asked, his own face betraying no emotion at all.

"I do, I have a duty to uphold the Image of my clan, I cannot allow her to bring further shame upon the Hyuga name" Hiashi replied curtly.

Sarutobi stared at the Hyuga patriarch "And being on a team with Uzumaki Naruto with Mitirashi Anko would do that how, exactly?"

"We of the Hyuga clan have a reputation to uphold, Uzumaki-san and Mitirashi-san are both vilified within the village populous, this is a simple fact, and I would rather neither of them be associated with the Hyuga name in any way to avoid further dishonor to my clan" Hiashi explained, holding the Hokage's gaze evenly and unflinching.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and looked to be weighing the options, if only to placate the Hyuga head with regards to his request at least being given some consideration. He then leaned forward, taking his teacup and finishing the remaining soothing warm liquid before placing it back down with a weary sigh and looking back up to Hiashi with a Neutral gaze hardened by the hidden steely resolve earned through years of warfare and political mastery in such delicate matters and with a shake of his head he gave his decision.

"No"

Hiashi blinked at the simple word spoken as Sarutobi held his gaze before his own face took a graver look and shifted in his seat ever so slightly.

"Hokage-sama, I urge you to please, reconsider" Hiashi asked as he placed both arms within the sleeves of his white robes.

Sarutobi straightened his posture and held Hiashi's gaze as he repeated himself calmly once more.

"No"

"I see … then I will take my leave, good day Hokage-sama" Hiashi spoke as he stood and turned towards the door.

"Hiashi" Sarutobi called after him, gaining the Hyuga heads attention once more. Hiashi turned his face to look at the Hokage's stern face as he leaned back in his chair.

"Hitomi would be utterly ashamed of you" he spat out lowly before standing and turning to look out his office window over the village.

Hiashi merely exited the room, closing the door a little bit harder than was necessary.

Chapter end.

And chapter three is done. A lot of character building is going on in this chapter, I had toyed with the concept of having Hiashi be a good father, however I think this direction has more potential for the story going forward. I have made significant changes to the original path this story was supposed to take, and I hope the changes will prove to be a more compelling read for you all. Thank you for reading and I do hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Please leave me a review, I enjoy reading your feedback.