Shifting Sands Chapter 5

Hina passed the grade exams three times consecutively each day. The first day it was just her sensei grading her, and she breezed through the exams without any issue. When she requested to do the rest, they had asked her if she would like to take the final exam and simply pass. Hina said no. Not because she wasn't more than capable of passing the final exam. It was a written test involving basic maths, literacy, problem solving questions, and then a physical exam and the Academy three. She could easily pass the written test, and the Nara taijutsu style she had learnt would put her in the above average category there too. The issue was that there would inevitably be discrepancies in her education. Just because she had a full education in another life didn't mean it covered every single topic here.

She had no real grasp of the geopolitical landscapes in the Land of Fire, let alone the entire Elemental Nations. She knew the basic locations, and the basic events that would cause a whole snowball effect of events in the future, but she didn't know any specifics. And as far as her education in that regard went, Hina was unsatisfied with her knowledge. There were also several cultural and Shinobi related knowledge she was sure she was missing from her skillset. She was especially interested in the Kunoichi specific classes which she knew nothing about. So Hina decided a year or two without outright graduating would be enough. She could request to graduate early once she was properly ready for what that entailed.

"You pass. Do you wish to take the next exam?" one of the teachers there asked.

Hina shook her head. This was perfect. She could get an idea of what Kakashi's cohort was like. She wasn't sure how involved she wanted to be. She considered the implications of her actions when it came to figures like Obito. Every logical bone in her body told her to keep an eye on him. If she could figure out a way to track him, then in the future when he was taken in by Madara she could dispatch of the threat before it became serious. Of course, getting involved in the whole future Akatsuki and Zetsu/Kaguya fiasco sounded just as bad as it did. She wasn't even sure if she had an aptitude for battle. She supposed her competence would determine the level of involvement she allowed herself.

"Why stop here? I've heard you were friends with the Hatake boy. You're trying to follow in his footsteps, are you not?" Tsuyuya asked her.

Hina grimaced. "Not particularly. He had something to prove. I don't."

"Are you sure you don't?"

She considered it for a moment. She had nothing to prove. Gloating did no one any good, and she supposed in this field being underestimated had its benefits. She also considered the benefits of being titled a prodigy like Kakashi. It would bring more respect within the Shinobi ranks, establish her name, but it would also put her in the line of envious or dangerous people. There were pros and cons to every decision. This one was simply done out of pragmatism, not for a need to prove herself. Her actions would very much speak for itself.

She looked her sensei dead in the eye. "I don't."

"We will release the reports to your home tomorrow. Congratulations on your successful exams Hina-chan," she said, smiling for the first time.

"Thank you, sensei," Hina replied, finding she had none of the excitement she thought she would have.

In hindsight, not having informed her parents she was taking exams to pass grades was a bad idea. In retrospect, she had been avoiding the conversation entirely because she was aware the kind of backlash it would bring. Her father stared at the sheet of paper marking her leap in grades, and her mother looked like she'd gone a pale white from the horror of it all. Hina was intent on focusing on her cereal as much as she could.

"You skipped three grades… how?" Nori asked.

Hina shrugged. "The first-year class was too easy, I knew all the content so I decided to skip a few grades."

"Hina, school is much more than just studying. It's also about making friends. Do you think you'll be able to make friends with older kids?" her father asked.

"I'm friends with Taichi, aren't I?" she asked.

"She is," Taichi agreed.

"No, that's not what I meant. Hina… you know what I mean," Nori said, looking at his wife for support.

Hina stopped eating to glance up at her mother, whose reaction she was the most worried about. She had expected a lot more yelling, maybe even tears, but when Yua's initial shock wore down, she simply looked… resigned. Her mother continued eating her food.

"She has made her decision, Nori. Taichi, eat your greens," she said, chidingly.

The change of subject was abrupt, and a bit forced. Somehow that felt a little worse than being yelled at. Hina shared a glance with her father who seemed like he was sucking a sour lemon himself. The lack of any reaction from his wife made him sit back down and continue eating his food. The silence was thick and uncomfortable. Hina ate as quickly as possible to leave as soon as she could.

She changed quickly as she fled her house, making her way to the Academy grounds and into her new class. Hina took a seat somewhere at the back, hoping to be ignored as she took a nap. For a few blissful moments she was allowed to sleep. Her nap was unceremoniously interrupted.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but are you lost?"

She looked up to see a soft smile, chocolate brown hair framing purple plasters on each cheek. Nohara Rin. It took her a moment to respond, caught off guard by the girl's sudden appearance.

"No, this is my class," she said.

"This is the third-year classes," a boy next to her said, frowning.

"I skipped a few grades," Hina replied shrugging.

Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin popping up to talk to her in the span of five minutes was really messing her up on the inside. Far more than even Sakumo or Kakashi did when she first met them. It was hard to imagine the smiling father killing himself. Kakashi, at least she knew would be alive. But Rin was a dead girl walking, and Obito was going to massacre millions in the future. It was almost like meeting baby Hitler and wondering whether it was moral to kill them or not. Looking at the pouty little Uchiha boy in front of her, she could scarcely imagine harming him on purpose.

"Oh goodie, another Kakashi wannabe," Obito grumbled, getting a warning whack from Rin, and looking properly chastised.

"You're friends with Kakashi too?" Hina asked, hoping to start some kind of rapport with the two.

Rin brightened up at the question whereas Obito's scowl deepened.

"No way, we're not Bakashi's friends," he spat.

"Yes, we are, although Kakashi-kun graduated last month. Youngest to ever do so," she said, swooning a little.

Hina had to give it to Kakashi for being able to enamour girls three years above his age. That took a serious cool factor. Most kids found even a single year a massive leap in maturity, hence why most of them only had their little puppy loves within their own year group. If Kakashi was getting a bunch of fan girls despite being three years younger, Hina wondered how much worse it would become in the future. She shuddered in pity for her friend.

"Nice to meet you then. I'm Suzuki Hina. I'm five years old, but I took a few exams the last few days to skip some classes," she explained.

"Wow that's so cool, you must be so strong. But you aren't a Nara?" Rin asked.

Hina hummed in surprise that she noticed. She was wearing a shirt with the Nara Clan symbol at the back, the one that Shikaku had gifted her. She did legally belong to the Clan, despite not having taken their name.

"It's complicated. I'm a Nara ward, they took care of me for a long time," she said.

Before they could talk more, their sensei walked into the room and began scolding the class for not having already taken their seats. Hina watched as both Rin and Obito scrambled to sit down together. For all their bickering they seemed close. When their sensei began breaking down the class schedule, he introduced her briefly, as she received the attention of the entire class for a moment. Hina wondered how it would go. Would she be praised or bullied? She'd prefer to be ignored, but she doubted that would happen.

At least Rin was nice.

War had broken out not a week into her new classes. Skirmishes had been happening all over the place, but it seemed Iwa had decided to make it official and declare war by surprise attacking a Land of Fire settlement bordering the Land of Rain. Not only had it been a massive farming settlement, but it was a strategic point of access that Iwa could have to the Land of Fire. They had also attacked Waterfall, a small settlement to the top of Fire that would give them access to Rice and subsequently Lightning Country. All in all, Iwa was making a statement that they would take back the small, allied nations that both Fire and Lightning had established to protect their borders.

The papers painted it as a barbaric attack against civilians, which it was, but Hina knew it was more than that. It was a play to secure key locations before either Konoha or Kumo could react. Iwa was going for an aggressive, strike first strategy.

"You act like a 50-year-old sometimes," Obito grumbled.

Hina ignored that comment and continued reading her newspaper. She recalled being 35 when she died in her past life, which would put her at 40 if she were speaking chronologically. So she was in fact close to the age Obito described her to be, which admittedly caught her off guard when she put it like that. She didn't consider herself old. Hina accepted she'd never be a real child, but her body still had volatile emotions, and quite a lot of growing up to do. It affected her yin and yang chakras so it must have in some way affected her maturity. Not enough to get riled up by an 8-year-old though.

"War was officially declared just yesterday. Aren't you even just a little curious?" Hina asked.

Obito squinted and scowled. "Not really. Everyone fights each other, people die, and Konoha wins."

"I envy your simplicity."

"I'm not simple, take it back!" Obito shouted.

"Come on Obito-kun, let Hina-chan read in peace."

"All she does is read and sleep at lunch. Don't we have better things to do than to hang out with her," he asked, pouting.

Hina resented that. She slept at lunch because she had a habit of napping right after food. The Nara clan had pretty much programmed that habit into her. Outside of lunch she was quite active. She kept a strict training and fitness regime, and compared to most kids, she had impeccable chakra control.

"If you want to play ninja-tag, just do it without me," she said.

Rin gave her a hurt look and Hina regretted speaking her mind. That was until an enthusiastic voice caught her off guard.

"I want to play ninja-tag! I challenge you Suzuki-Hina, to a youthful match right now!"

Hina blinked in surprise as she dropped her newspaper just enough to see a bowl cut boy in all his green clad glory. She was mesmerized by the thickness of his brows, and the sheer whiteness of his teeth. They literally sparkled so brightly she had to squint when he smiled. She knew this face from anywhere. Of course she was initially surprised to not have seen him her entire time here.

"I take my naps at lunch," Hina dismissed.

"But I had just heard my youthful rival might have another of his own! A green beauty similar to myself! I must challenge you!" Guy said, giving her the most expressive thumbs up she'd ever seen.

A green beauty? Hina would have spat out her drink if she had any. She stared gobsmacked at Guy, while Rin and Obito chuckled at her expression. She looked at her two friends for help, but they betrayed her by their silent giggles. She sighed and put away her newspaper.

"Fine, but not ninja tag. Let's do a race," Hina said, hoping to end this quickly.

"YOSH!"

"First one to finish a lap around the playground wins," she said.

"I won't lose! If I do, I will do another 10 laps around the entire Academy."

"That isn't really necessary—"

"LET US BEGIN!"

Hina sighed as she nodded. She figured she could just lose against Guy and get him off her back, but when she saw the determined expression on his face, she almost saw Kakashi. That was incredibly weird, because the two boys couldn't have been any more different than each other. But Guy had that look, the kind that said he had something to prove, the same look Kakashi wore everywhere. She couldn't not take that seriously, so as they began their match, she didn't hold back. Guy was pretty fast for his age, but not faster than her. She probably did have years of physical conditioning over him, so it wasn't exactly fair, but it was what it was.

When he ran, he ran. Hina who thought she would be taking it easy, felt a spark of irrational competitiveness. She picked up her pace, struggling to keep up with him, and even having to resort to using her chakra to enhance her speed. When she passed the finish line, Hina doubled onto her knees, wheezing for her breath alongside Guy. He had really put his heart and soul into that run. He huffed, red faced, but still smiling regardless. It was hard to not like a kid who took losing so well. Hina was instantly endeared. It didn't help that he was her favourite character from the manga, although she tried not to think of any of them in those terms. Here they were just people.

"You have beaten me fair and square! I will do 10 laps around the entire Academy now so I can win tomorrow for our next race!"

"Wait a moment, I didn't agree to—"

Before she could get another word out of him, he was gone. Hina let out an exasperated huff before walking back to Obito and Rin's childish giggling. She slumped to the ground and put the newspaper over her face.

"I love that guy," Obito said cackling.

"Guy-kun loved challenging Kakashi-kun. It looked like he was getting a little sad when Kakashi-kun left. It seems like you're making up for it now Hina-chan," Rin chuckled softly.

"Don't bother waking me up. I can't believe I'm actually going to say this… but that was troublesome," she grumbled, flushing at how much she sounded like Shikaku.

Weeks turned into months and Hina had come to get used to the Academy schedule. She was becoming a well-known name within the Academy, the second coming of Minato, some would say. They drew their parallels, which Hina thought was a little unwarranted since the only thing that her and Minato had in common was that they weren't from established Shinobi Clans. Minato had been far more disadvantaged than she had been, an orphan and an outsider. If he hadn't been the student of a Sannin, he wouldn't have had an interesting history.

Hina had the backing of the Nara Clan, even if they wouldn't part their Jutsu. Either way, she didn't get the level of attention she had been expecting. It turned out being the second best at something had a considerably different reaction to being the first. When people talked about a once in a lifetime prodigy, they spoke of the Hatake name. Kakashi had in some way achieved his goal of redeeming his Clan name.

She used this lack of real attention to continue her studies, often visiting the library and grabbing as many books as possible. She then got started on the skeleton of a 10-year plan. A plan that mostly involved her asking around for Shinobi pathways like a college grad student, then the 5-year-old she was. Thankfully a lot of her teachers were more than happy to discuss career options, and the information she didn't have she squeezed from Hanami and Shikaku.

So it was with that intention that she found herself in the Nara Clan compound for an early 'checkup'. It was less a checkup and more just a regular visit. She waved a hello to the residents of the Clan, eager to see them all again, before moving to Hanami's house.

"Hanami-sensei, are you there?" Hina asked.

"Yes, but I'll be out soon," she said.

Hina was surprised when the woman walked out wearing a white doctors coat. Everyone knew Hanami didn't work. From what she heard the woman had once been a workaholic, an on-field medic-nin who didn't quite have a team of her own. She was on roster with Shinobi teams who had a likelihood of getting into dangerous skirmishes. The story was that she had saved a dozen of her own teammates before, a seal was triggered and exploded on her. She had been in physical therapy since and had agreed to take Hina on because she was off duty.

"You're going back to work?" Hina asked.

Hanami nodded. "When War comes it is all citizens duty to put hands on deck. We pause our lives for the sake of the Village. I can rest later."

Hina nodded, unable to find any real issue with Hanami's sense of nationalistic duties. She lived in Konoha, and Hina wouldn't begrudge anyone their pride in their own homeland… even though sometimes she felt like she didn't 100% belong here. She had grown up once before, belonging to three cultural groups, moving about, never feeling entirely like she belonged there either. But she had pride in the places she lived in and Konoha wasn't an exception.

"About work, I wanted to get an idea about my future career options," Hina prompted.

Hanami raised a brow. "You mean the ranks, Genin, Chunin and Jounin?"

"No, aren't there departments and stuff?"

Hanami hummed and then nodded. She gestured for Hina to come in before grabbing a scroll from her bookshelf. Hina sat down expectantly as Hanami spread the scroll open over the table.

"I shouldn't be surprised to see you thinking about things in advance. Beyond the general Shinobi ranks, there are also specialised departments most Chunin can apply to. Intelligence works with decrypting code, geopolitical analysis, finding strategic bases, and sometimes even aiding in advising the Hokage on planned actions in war-time."

"Shikaku does that?" Hina asked.

"He was head of intelligence, but he's been asked to become Jounin Commander and Chief Strategist," Hanami explained.

Hina wasn't shocked by that. Shikaku was young, barely in his mid-twenties and already making a name for himself. His father had died in second war and left the Clan on his shoulders far too young. If it weren't for his incredibly lax nature, she was almost sure he could be a potential Hokage-candidate. She didn't believe he was the strongest, but it was ridiculous to put your strongest fighter in essentially a leadership position focused more on law-making and planning than out in the field where they belonged. Being a good Shinobi didn't always translate to being a good politician or elected head of state.

She pulled herself back on track. She could ponder the ridiculous succession rites in the Shinobi Nations later. She was here for herself right now.

"And the other departments?" Hina asked.

"I thought this would catch your fancy the most," Hanami said with a little smirk.

Hina huffed. "I'd like to know all my options."

"Well we have Search and Rescue, Infiltration and Seduction, Torture and Interrogation, our Logistical division, and finally our Medic corps."

Somehow none of those caught Hina's attention. They all seemed like something she could do, but wouldn't flourish in. She was a scientist, someone who enjoyed studying the human body, who once had a passion for helping the human condition. She couldn't recall exactly why, since she had some kind of fog over the exacts of her past life, but she knew she had been rather passionate about helping people with bad immune disorders and had worked with cancer patients for a time. She liked the idea of being a medic-nin, of knowing how to help people, but she didn't intend to just be that. The ability to strike was just as important as the ability to defend and heal.

"None of those sound appealing?" Hanami asked.

"Maybe the medic-corps," Hina admitted.

That was the closest thing she could think of that she had expertise in, but it wasn't exactly what she was looking for.

"Isn't there a department of science and research?" she pressed.

Hanami shook her head. "That's not really a Shinobi adjacent career. Of course, once you reach Jounin, you have access to a lot of information held by nobles, so you would have access to their university level research papers. Most of us medical nin have access to relevant publications, but other professions such as electricians, engineers, and ecologists are mostly achieved via education at the University in the Fire Capital."

That explained the slow and odd progression of technology throughout the Elemental Nations. Hina recalled reading about Lightning's skyscraper like buildings, which seemed far more technologically superior to Konoha's standard infrastructure. Things like Tv's had also been built, but they were currently only available to the rich, with most Konoha citizens only affording radios. And as far as she could tell trains were rare, but existed, and cars were yet to be invented. All of this indicated a weird industrial revolution only half-way completed. It didn't make much sense when she thought about it, but she supposed Chakra and Shinobi existing would hinder technological progression, especially since all the Shinobi Nations were exemplary at hoarding and controlling information. She shuddered to think what a Shinobi could do if they made a gun.

"So once I am Chunin I can apply for a department. Then once I reach Jounin I can study at the University in the Fire Capital?" Hina asked.

Hanami nodded. "Assuming there is no war, you may apply for a study leave. It doesn't happen often considering the studies attended there aren't often relevant to Shinobi work, but a few Shinobi have gone for studies before, and their knowledge has come in handy. What were you looking for?"

"I was wondering if I could apprentice under the medic corps during the war, and once I'm officially recognised, if I can apply for the University to study in a scientific field?"

"That's not what I expected from you. I don't think it will be easy, but it is doable, especially if our Clan sponsors you. A few of our members before have gone to University and worked outside of the Shinobi fields in Konoha civil engineering, business, and security systems."

Hina nodded. That was good. She didn't know how well she'd take to fighting to stay a full-time combatant. So far, she was succeeding in spars with other children, but sparring with kids was different to fighting in a war. She'd never faced war before, but she assumed one needed to be either incredibly brave or incredibly reckless to go into it and thrive. She had no context for how well she would do under that kind of stress. Until she knew, she needed to be realistic enough with a backup plan. If all else failed she could try and find her own path as a scholar, maybe study something other than biology, branch into the other sciences since she already had quite the bit of knowledge on the human body and its workings. Something like civil engineering would be revolutionary to the way Shinobi fought and built defence camps.

But not all biology is the same here, she reminded herself. Humans didn't have a tenketsu system in her old world. Hina wanted to know more, and it seemed studying medical ninjutsu was a start.

"Okay kid, if you want to become a medic-nin, you better be prepared to read a lot of books."

"What do I have to do to be a field medic?" Hina asked.

Hanami frowned. "You can learn Iryo-jutsu without being a field medic, you know?"

Hina shook her head. "But I need to be recognised for it. Proof of ability. Is there anything like that available?"

"You would need a field certification. It takes time to get to that level. No one needs an inexperienced kid performing complex surgeries on the field. Basic things like closing up a cut is taught without a need for a certificate, but you won't be a recognised field medic. Now scram, I'm going to be late for work."

Hina just grinned. If that wasn't exactly what she was good at. So she grabbed Hanami's scrolls and decided to leave before inconveniencing the woman more. As she exited, she was met with Shikaku tiredly dragging himself through the compound. The bags under his eyes were dangerously purple.

"Did they not let you nap?" Hina asked.

Shikaku scoffed. "Forget not letting me nap. I haven't slept for 48 hours."

Hina winced. For a Nara that was actual torture. It was the equivalent to a breach of the Geneva conventions. Hina was sure the man would have preferred to lose several toenails, instead of skipping out on sleep like this.

"What happened?" she asked.

Shikaku yawned. "Good try green bean, but I can't give up national secrets to a five-year-old."

"Pity," Hina said honestly, because she was incredibly curious as to why had the war council forced Shikaku to stay awake for so long. "Anyway, I had a question."

"Can it wait until after I've slept for two days?"

"Hmm, I suppose so," Hina acquiesced, feeling sorry for the man.

"Good ni't," he slurred, dragging his feet.

Hina giggled. She turned back to her scroll. She'd study her ass off for a field certification if she needed to. The hardest part would be getting it before she turned 9. Hanami was allowed on different teams because of said certification. Hina needed that flexibility. Maybe she could help Rin and Obito that way, somehow place herself in a situation where she could be on his team.

It was time to start writing up her 10-year plan. She was not going to let the people she loved die. And maybe that was what sparked the light in her eyes.

AN

So this is where Hina's skillsets kinda differ to the first write through. I was reluctant to make her a medic-nin because it seems it's a female stereotype in Naruto. All the women are healers, and all the men are fighters. Anyway, it honestly just suited her since medical ninjutsu is Yin-release and she's known for her Yin-release as well as her medical history. Honestly the closest thing to her profession Hina could get in this world would be Orochimaru's insanity, but at this stage of her life Hina is an ethical scientist.

I also didn't have her graduate at 6 in this version. Frankly she was 6 for far too long when I first wrote Snap Back. Shifting Sands will have more frequent time skips to keep the plot going.

I also want to thank everyone who reviewed! I greatly appreciate all your thoughts and would love to hear more! 😊