Author's notes: Wow... Okay, thanks everyone. This story got way more attention than I expected it to, way faster than I ever could have predicted. So thank you, glad to know people like it, or at least see the potential. I'll do my best to live up to that potential. Anyway, enough sappy stuff.

Onto some news! I'm actively writing two stories right now. This one, Obviously, and a RWBY/Yu-Gi-Oh crossover. That's not really news, though, the news part is, that from now on I'll try to have a chapter of each out at least once a month, but that's more a goal than an expectation.

and that's about it. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted.

"That's an incredibly lofty Dream." Kurenai noted. There had been quite a long pause after Naruko had declared she would be the greatest Kage that ever lived. "I think it's wonderful that you believe you can accomplish that, but I still think you need to approach your goal realistically. A goal like that will take decades, if not your entire life. So don't be discouraged if you feel you aren't making progress."

"Don't get me wrong," Naruko said, her tone taking a more serious turn. "I know it's not very realistic, but that's why it's called a dream right? I will be Hokage one day. I have zero doubt about that. Though I also know I may not actually meet my goal of mastering all 3 schools of combat, but I'm still gonna try, and try, and never give up!!"

"Excellent." Kurenai said with a bright smile. "You all have excellent goals, and I will do everything in my power to ensure you accomplish them. Starting with your training today." Kurenai reaches into her pouch pulling out a pad of what appeared to be sticky notes "And your Training will start with this."

"... Sticky notes?" Ino asked, clearly very confused.

"Chakra paper." Kurenai corrected gently, as she took four sheets from the pad, and handed one to each of her new students. "Every person has an affinity for at least 1 chakra nature. This paper will help us determine what yours' are."

"Chakra nature?" Naruko repeated, evidently it was her turn to be confused. "Also, why are you giving one to Hikari, isn't she a shinigami?"

"Oh right!" Kurenai exclaimed in remembrance, internally kicking herself for forgetting. "Hikari is a shinigami, on loan to us from the Seireitei. Specifically, she's an Officer of the second Division, or as it's more commonly known..."

"The stealth corps." Hikari finished. "Captain Commander Yamamoto just instituted a new program, wherein volunteer members of the stealth corps could request to go train under Shinobi instructors in one of the Shinobi villages. The Captain Commander, and Captain Shihouin of the stealth corps both believe this program will improve the effectiveness of the stealth corps."

"Lord Fourth Believes the same of our Shinobi forces." Kurenai continued. "That our forces overall will be improved by learning from the shinigami just as much as we are teaching them. For now the program is small scale. Only 3 relatively new officers of the stealth corps."

"In the three rookie teams." Ino realized.

"Yes." Kurenai nodded "Anyway, Naruko, you asked about chakra Natures?" The genin in question nodded. "Well, when Shinobi use ninjutsu, they force two changes on their chakra. the first is change in chakra form. this simply means directing the chakra's shape and movement. For example, breathing out a steady stream of chakra in a cone shape."

"However." Kurenai continued, after making sure her team was listening. "Though that shape may be ideal for a fireball Jutsu, the chakra won't automatically become fire. In order to do that, then Shinobi must transmute their chakra into a Fire nature. That is a change in chakra nature. Almost all Ninjutsu are a combination of both practices. Though some ninjutsu, like The Fourth Hokage's rasengan, can be just one. In the case of the rasengan, it is only changed in shape, not nature."

"Cooool~!" Naruto exclaimed "So this paper will tell us what natures we can use?"

"It will tell you what natures you can use best." Kurenai corrected. "theoretically, any Shinobi could learn to use all of the basic chakra Natures."

"The basic natures?" Hikari asked. "You mean there are more advanced natures not everyone can use?"

"Yes." Kurenai affirmed "We call them kekkei genkai, or bloodline limits. though unlike the name would imply, further study in nature release kekkei genkai would indicate they can be taught to people not related to the teacher. it just requires a strong affinity for each base nature and a lot of training."

"So the basic natures are the building blocks of the more advanced natures." Hikari deduced "What are the basic natures?"

"Right, you wouldn't have been taught that and the shinigami academy." Kurenai said, making a mental note to put together a course of fundamental knowledge she would need. "The basic natures are the five elemental natures, and the two Spiritual natures. For the elemental natures, we have Wind, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Water. for the spiritual natures, we have Yin and Yang. these seven natures are the 7 basic chakra Natures."

"And combining them makes advanced natures." Hikari mused, mostly to herself. Kurenai could tell the young shinigami absolutely intended to experiment with combining natures. Something she would have to guide carefully.

"Yes." Kurenai affirmed out loud. "Now, if there are no more questions, I want you all to put some chakra into the paper, the resulting reaction will tell me what your natures are. Naruko, since you seem like you're about to explode, you go first."

"yes~!" Naruto exclaimed, her anticipation burning bright inside her. She focused on moving some chakra into the paper... and it literally exploded. "... my chakra nature is explosive!?"

"No..." Kurenai sighed out, causing Naruko to deflate "You just put too much chakra in." She took another paper from the pad, and handed it to her excitable student. "This time, just put in the tiniest amount of chakra you can. Remember, you have way more chakra than most people, what seems like nothing for you, may be outrageous to most."

"Right!" Naruko tried again, this time doing as Kurenai suggested and putting in only the smallest amount she could. This time the paper tore in half, and then became damp, then crumpled slightly.

"Wow, you have three chakra affinities." Kurenai informed her student "It's not surprising given your clan heritage. you have a Strong affinity for wind and water, and very minor affinity for lightning."

"Hell yeah~!" Naruko grinned ear to ear "so when do I start learning some kick ass elemental Ninjutsu!?"

"Patience." Kurenai said with a chuckle "I'll actually be taking today to gauge your skills, and overnight, I'll be coming up with personalized training regimens for all of you. Continuing on, Ino, please put your chakra in the paper."

"Yes sensei!" Ino said, putting her chakra into her paper. The paper Seemed to glow, then tore about halfway.

"Very interesting." Kurenai said, eyeing the paper to ensure she didn't misread it. "It seems you have a strong yang affinity, and an average wind affinity."

"Uh... what kinda stuff does yang release do?" Ino asked curiously. "That wasn't really on the curriculum back at the academy."

"Yang release is most often associated with medical ninjutsu." Kurenai Informed her. "Though that's not all it can do. Yang release is all about using the inherent spiritual nature of chakra to enhance physical characteristics. For example, allowing your muscles to temporarily exceed their normal limits." she looked to Hikari as Ino digested this information. "You're up next Hikari."

Hikari simply nodded, pushing her chakra into her piece of paper. The paper Was suddenly stained pitch-black, as if ink was spilling out from beneath Hikari's fingers onto the paper. The paper then crumpled and caught fire, though the fire only burned a bit of one half of the paper.

"Well your primary isn't exactly surprising." Kurenai said. "You have a very strong Yin affinity, which isn't surprising given your skills as a shinigami. What is somewhat surprising is that you also have a strong lightning affinity, and a moderate fire affinity."

"I'm guessing yin is all about spirituality?" Hikari inquired.

"Yes." Kurenai confirmed. "It's most commonly associated with Genjutsu, or the ninja art of illusions. However yin release also boasts a roster of ninjutsu that can do more than create illusions. For example, the Clan Jutsu of the Nara, their shadow possession Jutsu, is a Yin release Jutsu."

Hikari seemed to quietly ponder this information. Kurenai was happy to have another primary Yin natured Shinobi on her team, it would be nice to have someone to pass on her Jutsu to. Though of course, she fully intended to have a child to pass them on to someday as well.

"Alright, last but never least," Kurenai continued. "Hinata, please put your Chakra into the paper."

"Y-yes sensei!" Hinata squeaked, startled by the sudden attention. she held up the paper and put in her chakra. To Her horror, it instantly became Soggy wet, then a corner lit on fire.

"Very strong water primary affinity." Kurenai announced. "With a weak secondary affinity for fire." She noticed the horrified expression Hinata wore. "Are you alright?"

"No..." Hinata breathed out. "My family's signature taijutsu... the Jūken, or gentle fist... it's an Earth based discipline. Now it all makes sense! Why It all felt so awkward..."

"... what's the big deal?" hikari asked seeing the grim expressions on the shinobi's faces "Just change the forms, make them more Suited to your affinity."

"It's not that simple!!" Hinata shouted, surprising everyone "The Gentle fist isn't just easier for those with an earth affinity, it has earth baked into it's very fundamentals! you have to be rigid, follow every movement down to the last detail, and be as unbending as stone! It's an entirely Earth based discipline! Water is about as opposite of earth as you can get! If I'm a primary water affinity... the elders will caged bird seal me for sure."

"So you can't change it?" Hikari asked, sounding oddly calm given her teammates clear distress. "or you just don't think your clans elders will let you?"

Hinata opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. Thinking about it, while yes, the Forms and stances were all Earth based, technically speaking, there was no reason she shouldn't be able to modify them to be more fluid. The Basic building block of the gentle fist was actually the Byakugan, not the earth nature. "I guess... it's just that the elders would never allow a "perversion" of the great art of the gentle fist."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Hikari deadpanned, causing the Shinobi to gawk at her. What Hinata had said was pretty normal in Shinobi culture, especially among older clans. "The entire point of a martial art is to develop more effective combat techniques. If your martial art remains stagnant and unchanged for generations, eventually someone is going to figure out and exploit it's weaknesses. You and your clan should be ecstatic to hear of your differing affinity, as it allow you to modify and improve the gentle fist. Anyone who doesn't want their martial art to change is an arrogant idiot, destined to fade away into obsolescence."

The Shinobi gathered in the clearing were stunned. On the one hand, it was clear that Hikari understood very little of Shinobi, and even less of Shinobi clan politics. On the other... none could really refute her points.

"How about this," Naruko began gently. "you should try to make your own version of the Gentle fist in private, and when you feel it's ready, show it off to your clan. No matter how set in their ways they are, They won't be able to deny that it's an improvement. They'll probably even praise your ingenuity!"

"... N-No, they won't.." Hinata muttered sadly. "b-but... I'll do it anyway."

"Really!?!" Kurenai exclaimed, shocked by Hinata's willingness to defy her clan's traditions.

"It's something I learned from Naruko." Hinata said quietly, a deep blush spread across her face "No matter how impossible something seems, if it's something that would make you happy you have to run towards it with all you have...!"

Naruko broke out into a wide grin and hugged Hinata tightly. Hinata let out a squeak, and blushed furiously as her crush held her. After a few seconds, she shyly returned the hug. After a bit Naruto pulled away "Proud of ya Hinata~! It takes a lotta courage to stand up to your family."

"yeah." Ino agreed. "My clan is nowhere near as scary as yours, and I can't even say I'd have it in me to do something like that."

"You wouldn't have to." Hinata tried to reassure her friend. "Your family is much more open than mine."

"Well... yeah, but you get what I mean..!" Ino said, clearly embarrassed.

"I get what you mean." Hinata agreed, with a small smile. She was truly grateful to have such good friends. Most people just saw her as the spoiled heiress of a rich and powerful Shinobi clan. She was glad to be on a team with people who knew what her life was really like, and what she was risking by defying them.

Hikari watched the moment between the friends with an ache in her heart. She pushed it back down. She'd make friends eventually, she just had to keep trying. 'least that's what Captain Shihouin always says...'

"Well, I hate to break the moment," Kurenai said, getting the attention of her team "But we should get to the Shinobi dispatch center. I already had a mission lined up for us, and if we're not quick someone else is gonna take it."

"A mission?" Hikari asked "Didn't you say you wanted to see what we could do and make a training regimen from there?"

"I did." Kurenai agreed. "And I have the perfect mission in mind to assess your skills."

"One last thing." Hikari said. "The traitors. They said that Naruko was the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Is that true?"

"... Yes." Kurenai immediately felt awful for confirming the traitor's claims. Her team was staring at her wide-eyed, even Naruko. Evidently the Fourth hadn't even told Naruko about it. She would have to speak with lady Kushina about that. She shuddered to think of what Lady Kushina would do to her husband after that conversation. "But the relationship between Naruko and the fox is nothing like the traitors may have led you to believe."

"You see," Kurenai continued. "The Fourth wasn't being cruel, nor did he have any intention of allowing the Kyuubi to harm his daughter. The seal he used to seal the demon inside Naruko is what's known as a jinchuriki seal. It does allow certain chakra interaction between Naruko and the fox, but not nearly to the extent that the traitors would have you believe. To allow the fox to even attempt to take over Naruko's mind and body, the seal would have to be drastically weakened. If you don't trust my word on that, you can ask the Fourth Hokage himself."

"From what he told me," Kurenai continued, nearing the conclusion of her explanation. "He wanted to use a different seal, one that would completely seal off the Kyuubi from Naruko, what's known as the container seal. The reason he didn't remains a secret, but I believe it would have had to be a pretty damn good one. The Fourth is many things but a-"

"Bad parent, is not one of them." Naruko finished. "Dad put the fox in me for a reason. I may not know what it is yet... but I trust my dad." She looked at her fellow genin "But.. if you guys don't trust me anymore, I understand.. the Kyuubi hurt and killed a lot of people that night. Even some of your family members."

"... it's like putting a kunai in a scroll." Ino reasoned, after a few tense moments. "Would you hate a scroll cause the kunai inside was used to kill someone?"

"E-Exactly!" Hinata agreed. "You're our friend, and comrade. The demon fox isn't gonna take that from us too."

"Well said." Hikari said, nodding her head in agreement. "it seems none of us are going anywhere, Naruko. Hate to say it, but you're stuck with us." She said jokingly, but even so, Naruko's face broke out into a bright smile, as she pulled all three of them into a group hug.

'This is new...' Hikari thought to herself.

After their group hug, team seven set off to accept their first Mission. As team 7 arrived at the Shinobi dispatch center, they saw a brown cat with a red ribbon on one ear, run out the front door. Odd. The Dispatch center wasn't known for being a pet-friendly work space. They made their way inside.

When they arrived at the mission assignment room, they saw team 8 heading back out. Sasuke sneered smugly at Naruko, who stuck her tongue out at him. Both jonin reprimanded their genin for their behavior.

Naruko also made note of the fourth trainee of team 8. They were a relatively short girl, with long Olive green hair and glasses over her grey eyes. She wore what looked like a standard Gotei uniform. she was clutching a leather bound book to her chest with one arm and seemed to be staring at Hikari.

Hikari waved at her fellow shinigami. The Shinigami quickly looked away and hurried after her team. "Weird." Hikari muttered as her team got in line to receive their mission. "Don't remember getting on her bad side."

"Maybe she actually has a crush on you." Ino suggested jokingly.

"Not likely." Hikari Replied dismissively. Though thinking about it, Hikari could definitely see similarities in what just happened, with how Hinata was acting with her painfully obvious crush on Naruko. Seriously, either Naruko was Denser than a black hole, or she was straight. Either way, someone needed to address it before Hinata was hurt. Though at this point, Hikari knew better than to get involved with that sorta thing.

Team 7 got to the front of the line, where they stood across a desk, covered in scrolls, from a bored looking Shinobi in the standard clothes of a leaf village Jonin. he wore a bandana and had a toothpick in his mouth. "Hey Kurenai, I got a few D-ranks for your team, take your pick." he said in a bored tone.

Hikari thought his voice sounded familiar, but dismissed the thought. They had definitely never met before.

"Genma? who'd you piss off to get stuck behind the desk?" Kurenai asked, grinning teasingly at her old friend. "And I'll have the Tora Retrieval mission."

"The rite of passage eh?" Genma asked lazily, ignoring Kurenai's question about his current posting. Instead, he simply handed her a scroll "Ya know team 8 just set a new record on that one. Only 15 minutes."

"What!?!" Kurenai demanded incredulously. "How!?!"

"Go ask 'em." Genma said with a shrug "Didn't give me any details."

"Figures..." Kurenai mutters. "Alright, team 7, your first D-rank mission is simple. That cat we saw on the way in, that's Tora. Your job is to capture him and return him here."

"He said "the rite of passage." how often does this cat get out!?" Naruko asked, she had a bad feeling about this.

"Anytime he sees an opening. Now get going, he's getting further away and your clock is ticking." Kurenai ordered.

"yes sensei!" Team 7 said in unison, all immediately sprinting out of the building.

"How long do you think it'll take 'em?" genma asks nonchalantly, while filling out a form

"I'd say thirty minutes." Kurenai admitted bitterly "I think they'll have some catching up to do before they can match team 8."

genma just shrugged.

18 minutes later, Team 7 arrived back at the Dispatch center with a multitude of cat scratches all over them. well, 3 of the four genin did. Hinata didn't have a scratch on her, and in her arms she cradles Tora, calmer than anyone had ever seen him.

Genma was staring in awe, his toothpick falling out of his open mouth, as she even managed to easily coax Tora into the carry crate they would use to deliver him back to his owner. "Damn. Points for style, definitely." genma said with a whistle, as he replaced the toothpick in his mouth. "if you had done that earlier this morning, you'd have a record in the Tora Retrieval hall of Fame."

"but we still missed it huh..." Naruko muttered. "damnit... I swear, I am not gonna keep losing to Sasuke."

Hikari and Ino were both just happy that their interaction with the cat from hell was over. Hinata was giving him scritches behind the ears as he laid down in his carry crate, before reluctantly shutting the door.

"Mister Genma, please," Hinata stood up straight and looked at genma "Make sure he gets home safe?"

"I will." Genma nodded. "part of my job. Can't make any promises he'll be happy after he gets there though..."

"Well, I think you all performed excellently today." Kurenai said, appearing behind the genin, causing them all to jump in surprise. "I was shadowing you, watching how you handled the mission. You handled it about how I expected you to, but definitely faster than I thought you would. As a reward for exceeding my expectations, I'm giving you all the rest of the day off."

"oh thank gods..." Ino groaned in relief. "I need a hot bath after today..."

"t-thank you Kurenai sensei." Hinata said with an small smile.

"Finally! it feels like I haven't down in days." Naruko whined.

"it's only 2:30." Hikari noted. "You especially shouldn't be this worn out Naruko."

"I did a lot today." Naruko said with a shrug. "I made a ton of shadow clones, Ran around a bunch.. I mean, this jumpsuit is basically an oven."

"Then wear something else to work." Hikari said with a shrug, starting to leave "You're Kinoichi now. Try something more... subtle."

Although her words were sharp and to the point, Naruko could tell her tone held no malice. Naruko also noticed the lack of any of personal opinions. Hikari was definitely a mystery, and she wasn't really doing much to fix that. Not that Naruko would stop trying to figure her out. She was her newest friend, and friends should get to know each other.

Naruko started to leave the building as well, saying a quick goodbye to her teammates. She had someone she wanted to see. Naruko wasn't expected back home till 4:00, and she was gonna make the most of it. She dashed off up onto the roof tops and Jumped along.

She arrived at the west residential district not long after, and once she reached her destination, she jumped down to street level. She was standing in front of an old edo styled two story house. She carefully stepped through the front yard, a large rock garden, making sure to step only on the stepping stones, and not disturb so much as pebble of the garden.

Sitting on the front porch, drinking tea was a Middle aged man in a dark green kimono. He had long, messy black hair and green eyes that seemed to brighten as he saw Naruko. "Heeey! What brings you back to this dump." he asked jokingly.

"Look Gōza-sensei!! I passed my exam!" Naruko pointed proudly at the hidden leaf hai-ate displayed prominently on her forehead.

"That's Fantastic news!" Gōza declares with a broad grin. he brings the genin into a bone-crushing bear hug and ruffles her hair "I'm proud of ya, brat! Bet your parents are too."

"Haven't... told them..!" Naruko choked out.

"What!?" Gōza demands, as she releases Naruko from the hug, allowing Naruko to take in deep breaths of precious air. "Why the hell not!?"

"Cause I wanna surprise them when I get home." Naruko says, trying to fix her hair. "They aren't Expecting me back till 4, so I decided to drop in and tell one of my favorite teachers!"

"Ah, I see." Gōza said, his smile returning. "In that case, I have something else you can surprise your parents with." he stands and heads inside.

Naruko knew to follow. He led her through the first floor of his home, toward the back. Where Naruko knew the dojo to be. Stepping into the large mostly empty room, Gōza walked over to a cabinet, and opened it, pulling out a long, thin wooden box.

"Ya would have passed a lot sooner," Gōza began, as he turned to Naruko undid the latches. "If ya hadn't been comin' to me to learn to be a samurai. Ya shoulda focused on your Shinobi studies first, but oh well, what's done is done. Now that you've become a genin, I feel you've earned this."

Gōza opened the box, revealing that within was a katana, currently sheathed in a black scabbard, with etchings along the length resembling wind currents. The Tsuba was the leaf village emblem with the spiral painted red, while the tail and point of the leaf were dark yellow. The Grip was wrapped in dark orange cloth, and dangling from the hilt were two tassels, one red, the other yellow. Naruko's mouth was agape as she gingerly took the weapon in her hands.

"Remember the etiquette I taught ya." Gōza said.

Naruko nodded, drawing the sword from it's scabbard, threading the scabbard through one of her belt loops for now. The blade Was etched with the same wind patterns as the scabbard. Naruko moved it slowly into a traditional kendo stance, then turned away from her sensei to give it a few experimental swings.

"The balance is perfect." Naruko breathed, in awe of the blade. It wasn't the most beautiful weapon ever created, but to Naruko, it may as well have been made of gold. She sheathed the blade, using practiced movements, representing the ceremonial acceptance of a blade. Then turned to face her Samurai Sensei with tears in her eyes "I.. I don't know what to say...!"

"Ya don't need to say anythin'." Gōza said, grinning at his pupil. "That sword is your graduation present, But it's also your next assignment. You're gonna use it to start blendin' together yer Ninja training, and the samurai training I've been givin' ya."

Naruko hugged her Samurai teacher tightly. Gōza patted her back. He'd trained many young students over the years, but Naruko was definitely his favorite. She was bright and talented with a blade, but humble and determined to improve. Gōza could count on one hand, the number of people who genuinely believed without any doubt that Naruko would achieve her dream. He was proud to count himself.

"Alright, enough sappy crap." Gōza said, gently pushing Naruko away "You gotta get back out there, make yer dream come true. When ya become a chunin, come on back and I'll train ya some more."

"What!?" Naruko asked, shocked. "no more lessons till I become a chunin!?"

"Exactly." Gōza said, walking past naruko to leave the dojo. "You need to focus on your Shinobi training. Plus I don't wanna piss off Kurenai, so I can't be poachin' her students."

"Oh, so you're afraid of Kurenai-sensei~" Naruko accused teasingly, as she followed him back out towards the front porch.

"Damn straight I am!" Gōza admitted with exactly zero shame. "No man in his right mind wouldn't be. If ya wanna know why, go ask about the open air bath incident, from when Kurenai was a genin."

"Oh I can guess what happened." Naruko said with a chuckle.

"yeah, now scamper off 'fore she finds out Yer here." Gōza shewed her off, then sat back down on his porch, picking his tea cup up once more.

Naruko nodded, giving her Sensei one final radiant smile, then heading off.

As Naruko made her way through the streets, she was practically humming with excitement. She felt like she had just graduated twice. First from the academy, then from Gōza's samurai training.

She was so caught up in her excitement, she ended up barreling right into another person, knocking them both back on their butts. "ow.. sorry about that!" Naruko quickly apologized, then realized who the person she had ran into was. "Wait, you're the shinigami on loan to Team 8!"

"o-oh, y-yeah..." The girl said shyly, starting to stand and dust off her shuhakusho. "I'm sorry for running into you, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Neither was I." Naruko admitted sheepishly as she stood up, also dusting off her clothes. "oh! where are my manners? I'm Naruko Uzumaki~! nice to meet you properly this time." she said, holding out a hand to shake.

"Shino." The shinigami replied, shaking Naruko's hand shyly.

"No last name?" Naruko asked, and after Shino shook her head Naruko smiled "That's fine. Not everyone needs two names. Just makes ya more unique!"

"I don't like being unique." Shino confessed. "It's easier when people just pass me by, a face in the crowd..."

"Sounds lonely." Naruko said sadly. "Is that why you hid your face after Hikari waved at you?"

"... partly." Shino confessed hesitantly. "It was also because," she paused, hesitating on whether or not to tell. She has just met Naruko, this wasn't her problem. "I felt inadequate." She continued, surprising even herself. Naruko was just so easy to talk to!

"Why?" Naruko probed.

"Because of how she was dressed." Shino admitted. Then seeing Naruko's confused look, she continued. "She was dressed like a Shinobi, not like a Shinigami. We're supposed to be learning to be Shinobi, so we can take those skills and lessons back with us whenever we return to the Seireitei. Hikari clearly thought Part of that was dressing like a Shinobi. She definitely didn't dress like that before."

"Oh. So you want to dress like a Shinobi?" Naruko asked, and upon seeing Shino nod, she got an idea. "Well how about I take ya clothes shopping!? I need to get some new threads myself. This way I can give ya pointers, and I can get some of my own shopping done. Whaddya say?"

"You would be willing to do that for me?" Shino asked, hopeful excitement building within her. At seeing Naruko's nod of affirmation, she broke out into a bright smile "Thank you so much!! Please, lead the way!

from there, Naruko lead her to favorite clothing store. She had been there earlier today, but hadn't bought anything, not yet knowing what she wanted. Now, she was pretty sure she knew what to get.

Kushina Uzumaki hummed quietly to herself as she cooked dinner for her family. Today was the day the test results would have been announced at the academy. She was relatively certain that her Daughter had passed (she had taught her an S-rank Jutsu after all), so she was making her favorite, Pork ramen. If Naruko hadn't passed... well hopefully the ramen would make her feel at least a little better.

Naruko could take the test once every 3 months. If she had failed again yesterday, Kushina was dropping the gentle caring approach and going full boot-camp to make sure her daughter passed! or...at least that's what she told herself. In all likelihood Kushina would have dropped that in just a matter of hours if Naruko hadn't responded well to it.

"it smells delicious." Minato put his hands up in surrender as his Wife spun around to face him brandishing a ladle. "Sorry, sorry, I know, use the front door, not Flying Raijin."

Kushina immediately threw her ladle over her head (where it landed perfectly back in the pot) and threw her arms around her husband's neck, kissing him passionately. Minato returned the affection, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. After a minute Kushina pulled away. "You're home early."

"Let's just say, I have a good reason." Minato said with a broad smile.

"She did it!?!" Happiness welled up inside Kushina like a geyser, ready to erupt.

"I'm not going to spoil the surprise." Minato said, but the smile on his face told Kushina everything she needed to know.

Just then, they heard the front door open. "Mom, dad, I'm home!" Came Naruko's voice from the entryway. They heard her taking off her sandals.

"We're in the kitchen!" Minato called back, releasing his wife from his embrace, and leaning back against the kitchen island.

As Naruko walked in, she smelled the ramen cooking, and saw her parents in the kitchen. Her dad was still dressed in his full Hokage get-up, and her mom was dressed in one of her usual dresses, with an apron on and her hair up in a bun to keep it out of the food.

"Is that pork ramen!? It smells delicious!" Naruko said, smiling brightly, even as her parents just stared at her. She knew exactly why, and was just waiting for their reactions.

Naruko was no longer wearing her usual orange jumpsuit. Instead, she was wearing a dark blue coat unzipped over a dark orange sleeveless sport crop top with a thick black stripe running down the center. Her coat had short sleeves, but reached down to her knees, and covering her hands and forearms were a pair of Black Fingerless gloves that extended halfway back to her elbow, with a dark Orange stripe running along the outside of each glove. Her bottoms were black shorts, and skin-tight leggings, both had dark orange stripes running down each side. Her Shinobi sandals were black, with dark orange soles. Her spikey hair was still allowed to be spiky and wild in the front, but was done up in the back in a single ponytail that reached down to her shoulders, just above the red Uzumaki spiral emblazoned on the back of her coat, right between her shoulder blades. Last but certainly not least, she had her new katana slung over her back, and her Hidden leaf Hai-ate displayed proudly on her forehead.

"Wow." Kushina said after taking a moment to overcome her surprise "I had thought you'd never outgrow your Orange jumpsuit."

"Yeah, it was kinda way past time." Naruko admitted, blushing in embarrassment "But being a full-on genin now, I kinda had to move on from it. If for no other reason than it wouldn't have been very stealthy at all."

"True." Minato said. "But this... while blue and orange aren't exactly stealthy colors, you chose darker tones, and at night and in dimly lit rooms, it'll be harder to tell them apart from black."

"yeah!" Naruko smiled, happy that her dad had seen what she was going for. she liked orange, and didn't want to completely abandon it. "now if only I had Mom's red hair, then I could blend right into the night."

Both her parents laughed at that, then Kushina pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "congratulations on graduating sweety."

"I take it this is from Mister Sasakibe?" minto asked, gesturing to the sword slung on Naruko's back as he joined in the hug as well.

"Yup~!" Naruko affirmed proudly. "A graduation present from Mister grouchy-sensei himself~!"

A timer went off, and Kushina detached from the hug to tend the stove. "why don't you two sst the table and I'll finish your graduation dinner~!" Kushina said with the brightest smile either Minato or Naruko had even seen. They both happily did as asked.

The family spent the rest of the evening chatting away about Naruko's first day of being a genin.

Team 7 was assembled early the next day in training field 9. Kurenai had sent carrier birds to peck at their windows early in the morning to tell them to get up and eat breakfast before heading straight to training. Sure enough, when they got there, Kurenai was waiting.

She was standing behind a table with 4 neatly assembled rows of scrolls. Each had a name card with one of the Genin's names on it.

"Welcome to the next week of your lives." Kurenai said, a smile on her face as her genin approached. "These scrolls each contain Jutsu that I intend to teach you. I expect it'll take about a week for you to learn each one, but months to master them. during this time, we will also be completing at least 3 D-rank missions a day. Any complaints?"

None of the genin objected. Hinata noted that Kurenai was being more blunt and cold than usual, but she could tell there was no malice behind it. She just wanted to ensure her genin students were learning properly.

"alright, then come grab your scrolls." Kurenai instructed. "The one under your name, closest to your side of the table. Yes, these are in order. Each one was hand picked to allow you to work on a certain area that needs improvement."

the Genin did as instructed, and unrolled the appropriate scrolls to read through them.

"I got... the tree climbing exercise?" Naruko said, confused as to why she was climbing a tree. Didn't seem like a ninjutsu.

"Yes, it will help your chakra control." Kurenai said. She then saw Naruko's confusion. "well, if you had read past the title, you would see that this exercise requires you to climb a tree without the use of your hands." She walked over to a nearby try, made hand sign for gathering chakra "channel your chakra to your feet, and attach yourself to the tree with only your feet." Kurenai then began to walk vertically up the tree.

"In battle," Kurenai continued "Shinobi must be able to directly their chakra to any part of their body at any time with pin-point precision. This exercise is a great mix of learning a practical skill, while also forcing you to learn better chakra control."

"Ooooooh!" Naruko said in realization "I get it now!!"

"Good." Kurenai said. "Now make some shadow clones and get to it."

"shadow clones?" Naruko asked, confused once more.

"oh! To help you learn faster!" Ino realized. "Remember when we were fighting Mizuki? You remembered what one of your clones experienced."

"Oh yeah!" Naruko said, remembering the battle from the day before. "Actually.. I remember what all of them experienced."

"Exactly." Kurenai said, pride welling up in her students catching on so quickly. "It's part of what makes the shadow clone jutsu an S-rank Jutsu. it's an incredible tool for information gathering, and training. Though only someone with your insane chakra pool could use it in that way."

"Got it!" Naruko said, making the clone hand-sign "Multi Shadow clone jutsu!" About 50 clones of Naruko appeared in a cloud of smoke, then each started running into the tree line to start hee exercise.

Hikari opened her scroll next, reading it over. She then started silently familiarizing herself with the hand signs.

"Wind Release: Gale palm." Ino read aloud. Looking over the scroll, it seemed to be a C-rank Ninjutsu in which the user simply thrusts their palm out and fires a burst of wind at their target.

"It's more chakra intensive than you're used to." Kurenai noted. "But that's intentional. during my observation, you were the first to wear yourself out during the mission. Learning this jutsu will help you improve your stamina and increase your chakra pool. Also in the scroll, you'll find dietary instructions."

"... This is way too much..!" Ino gasped, reading that the calorie count was way higher than she normally ate. "I'm on a diet! if I eat this much, I'll get fat and Sasuke won't come near me."

"He doesn't seem interested in you either way." Hikari deadpanned, surprising everyone. "He didn't even look at you at the Mission dispatch center. The only person he seemed to acknowledge was Naruko, and even then, it seemed more hostile than friendly."

"You don't know Sasuke!" Ino insisted.

"I know that you're starving." Hikari retorted. "You're a Shinobi, with an incredibly active lifestyle. You won't get fat unless you suddenly decide to give civilian life a try. I mean, look at me, I'm pretty lean, and I eat upwards of 10k calories a day."

"Seriously!?!" Ino gasped in astonishment.

"Yeah." Hikari said nonchalantly. "It's simple, you exercise a lot, you need to eat a lot. Follow Kurenai's diet, you'll feel a lot better, and look a lot better. Trust me, boys don't like seeing ribs."

Ino fell silent at that. She decided to contemplate this while practicing the new jutsu Kurenai wanted her to learn.

While Hikari and Ino were discussing diets, Kurenai was checking on Hinata. She had assigned her a water release Jutsu. Water Release: Striking rapids. It was another chakra intensive C-rank Jutsu, assigned for much the same reason as Ino. Only Hinata's Jutsu took control of water around her, and forced it to move at high speeds towards a target, hopefully knocking them off their feet, and leaving them wet for follow up attacks from either Naruko or Hikari's Lightning release Jutsu.

"Are you doing okay?" Kurenai asked her god-daughter gently.

"y-yes." Hinata nodded "I'll be alright."

"We're not gonna let them seal you." Kurenai insisted. "No matter what happens."

"I-I know." Hinata said, looking up at her god-mother "But it means a lot to hear you say it."

Kurenai smiled and gave Hinata a quick hug. Then pulled away and went back into sensei mode, correcting Hinata's Jutsu. She had meant what she said, the Hyuga clan could cage this bird over her dead body.

End of chapter 2:

Author's notes: So, yeah... honestly I didn't expect this chapter to be done so soon, but I guess hyper fixation is a thing. I know there's been a lotta exposition and characters standing around talking in these first couple chapters, but I promise, things are gonna heat up in the next chapter. Last but not least, seriously, thank you guys, so many people have read, followed and favorited the story, it means the world knowing I wrote something people like.

Also, I will try to answer questions left in revives, but don't be surprised if the answers more often than not are kinda vague, or just me saying "Read to find out." it's not me teasing, or just giving the illusion of responding, it's more that I just want to reveal things naturally in the story. I'll still give hints though. To that end...

Bankai777: Probably not for a long while. sorry.