Disclaimers:

I don't hate Boruto, nor do I like it. I didn't write this because I think I can write a better story than Boruto. I'm writing this for fun until I start my next major writing project.

I don't necessarily ship NarutoXSasuke, nor am I anti-NarutoXHinata or anti-NarutoXSakura. I am not a shipper in most cases, nor am I anti-shipping. This fanfic was just an idea I had for a story.

000

Years ago, the world was thrown into chaos by an organization known as the Akatsuki. This group of powerful ninjas, unbound by affiliation to any nation, seeked to ensnare all of humanity in a neverending dream called the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

The five great ninja villages, the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and the Hidden Mist Village, united as the Allied Shinobi Forces to thwart the Akatsuki's plans. This was the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Many evils of the past arose. Madara Uchiha, the legend of the Uchiha Clan, returned from the grave and took hold of the power of a beast called the Ten-Tails. He was defeated, but an even greater threat arose in his place; Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Mother of Chakra.

In the end, one of the great warriors trying to stop these threats ended up betraying everyone. Sasuke Uchiha, the Second Coming of Madara Uchiha, attempted to kill the Five Kage to throw the world into an eternal conflict.

The planet and all that dwelled on it were facing a danger so great that it was unprecedented in its scale. The Allied Shinobi Forces nearly lost the war, but humanity was not to be underestimated when it banded together. Many heroes took a stand, and among them was one young man who faced the greatest foes the enemy had to offer and bested them all. He was a boy who was raised in a world that hated him, and yet he ultimately loved the world and fought with all his being to save it. Inside him dwelled a fox with nine tails, and behind him stood an army of all those who believed in him because of his kindness and passion.

He was Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage.

Fifteen years later…

There was no commotion in the Hidden Leaf Village. There was no rambunctious child jumping across rooftops as they ran from pursuers. Not a single drop of paint defiled the seven faces of Hokage Rock. There was no youth who bore the misdirected hatred of an entire society.

Instead, a young girl walked quietly to school with her father who held her hand. They traveled through a city that was full of skyscrapers standing tall, trains rushing through tunnels, and screens showing television programs and advertisements. Airships crossed the air while thousands of people traveled the streets. This village was a testament to the efforts of many, a metropolis that could not have been created by any lone individual. It was formed from the work of many people today, and the sacrifices of the people of the past are what earned its peace.

The parent and child walked through back alleys hidden from the Sun's light. They didn't want to attract attention every day, so they took the back roads to school.

Even in the shadows, the man stood out. His hair was a long golden mane and on his cheeks were what looked like whiskers. He resembled a lion. The blue of his eyes pierced through the blackness. He wore a short black kimono over a mesh armor shirt along with orange pants. While his one arm, that which held the little girl's hand, was normal, the other was pure white due to being made of the cells of another being. A small smile was the position the man's mouth rested in. He looked relaxed, casual, and yet he was also ready to fight at a moment's notice. This man was a living legend known across the world, and yet he was only thinking about taking his daughter to class.

The girl blended into the darkness much better than the man. Her eyes were the same blue as her father's, and yet her gaze could not break through the curtain of shadow that filled the alleys. The hair on her head was black and boyishly short; it was a mess of spikes that resembled her father's haircut from when he was young. On her face were whisker-like marks and her outfit consisted of an orange hoodie that was one size too big with cobalt blue shorts. She had no presence, unlike the man like a lion who had a gravity to him. All traits she had that could attract attention were things she had inherited from her fathers, echoes of famous men. All this squirming child could think about was how she wanted to go home.

The father and daughter stopped right at the edge of the last alley. They stood before the bright street where the Academy stood on the other side. There were numerous children walking and running through the entrance gates. Some were with their parents, but most that were the same age as the girl in the alley were on their own. They were considered old enough to be independent, they had to be if they were going to be ninja one day.

"Alright, have a good day at the Academy." The father said. Both parent and child hesitantly let go of each other's hands.

The little girl's hands came together, her fingers twisting and wriggling. Her eyes were trained only on her fidgeting digits. She didn't take a single step forward.

The man got onto his knee and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Surimi, you can do this."

The girl looked at her father's smiling face.

"You've done this so many times. You have nothing to worry about."

"But I'm bad." Surimi's voice was so quiet that her father could barely hear her. "I'm not good at anything."

"You're great. Just because you aren't the best in class doesn't mean you're bad. Just do the best you can. As long as you do that, I'm proud of you."

"But you and dad are the strongest. I'm not strong."

"I wasn't strong when I was your age. You should've seen how many times I messed up the Clone Jutsu. Don't even get started on how many attempts it took for me to actually graduate. Not everyone is great at the beginning, you have to be patient. You're a little impatient right now, I was too when I was young. I still kinda am honestly. My point is just, like, don't worry. Try to have fun. I want you to be happy. Okay?" The man's smile became a bit shakier, but no less genuine.

"Okay. Can we go to Ichiraku after school?"

"Sure."

Surimi hugged her father as tightly as she could, the man hugging his child back.

They released each other and Surimi pulled up her hood. After one last look at her father, the girl ran out of the alley and across the road. She pulled on her hood to block herself from looking at the people around her. All she could see was straight ahead as she crossed the Academy gates and joined the pack of her peers who were going through the front door. When she bumped into a few kids, Surimi yelped out sorries that were too quiet to be heard.

Naruto was proud of his daughter. Despite her insecurities, she could still build up the courage to keep on moving forward. She was the brightest light in Naruto's life, one he'd never let get hurt.

That was part of why he struggled to leave her alone.

Naruto sighed and formed three hand signs. Dog, boar, ram. A puff of smoke appeared and wiped away Naruto's normal form, replacing it with that of a fly.

The transformed man flew over to the school and into his daughter's classroom. His clones could handle his duties as Hokage as well as several dozen missions, all while his main self watched over his child.

Said child was sitting in a lecture hall, her seat being in the highest row at the far back of the class. Her hood was still up while her head was buried in her crossed arms. She was resting on the table before her, as well as hiding from everyone else in the class. The footfalls made by the other students got closer and farther. Children were running about the room and chatting, their voices becoming a collective noise that made Surimi's heartbeat accelerate. She was dreading the thought that one of the other students would try to talk to her. Surimi hoped she could go through the rest of class without having to interact with anyone; she even dreamed that her current moment of solitude would never end.

"Hey, Honorable Daughter!" A voice said while putting an exaggerated lilt on the words 'Honorable Daughter.'

Surimi jumped in her seat, her head shooting upward to look at the boy who had demanded her attention. He was tall for his age, and muscular too. His fists and the top of his head were bandaged up while his chin had a bit of blonde stubble on it. He had a green tank top and black pants on, his idolization of the famous Rock Lee and Might Guy being clear to see in his wardrobe. He was Ryūnosuke Ōgami, one of the best students in the class.

"Why don't you talk to any of us? Why do you avoid us?" The boy was sneering.

"Ah." Surimi was about to provide a messy attempt at an answer on instinct, but a different instinct silenced her. What was left was a silence that Surimi was terrified of breaking, and yet she also dreaded letting the lack of a response persist as everyone else went quiet. All the students were listening, for Ryūnosuke had asked the question all of them had long wanted to know the answer to.

"Why can't you answer? Hm? Hm? Mayhaps it's because you look down on all of us normal people?" That accusation from Ryūnosuke made Surimi open her mouth so she could tell him he was wrong, but her nerves sewed her jaw shut again. She felt that anything she said would be the wrong response, that she could only make things worse. "What's wrong, did I get it in one?"

"N-" Surimi couldn't get the word out, though she did manage to shake her head in the negative.

"Oh, really? Then why don't you talk to us? Why do you do everything you can not to even be near any of us?" Ryūnosuke slammed his palm onto the table so hard the entire thing visibly quivered. "Come on, speak up! If it isn't what I said, then you should have no trouble correcting me."

"I don't know." Surimi regretted letting those words go free from her lips.

"What did you say? You're whispering."

"I don't know." Surimi barely raised her volume. She was trying her best to look at anything but a person, but her eyes kept landing on people who were watching her.

"You don't know? How do you not know? That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard! We all know you think you're better than the rest of us!" Ryūnosuke pointed at Surimi. "You think you're better than the rest of us because you're the daughter of the Hokage and Sasuke Uchiha!"

"N-" Surimi couldn't get the word out again.

"Sorry we aren't all the kids of special super ninjas! Not all of us are so blessed! Y'know, you really piss me off!" The boy was barking right in Surimi's face. "The rest of us have to work hard to succeed, unlike you! You get to coast on your talent! You just sit back and relax! You don't talk to anyone! You don't participate in class! You could get the best grades out of all of us if you actually tried, but even though you don't, you're so naturally skilled that you still do good! It pisses me off! People like you don't appreciate what you've got!"

Naruto was watching everything from outside the window, and he was less than pleased. He was frustrated with the boy who thought he knew anything about Surimi. The Hokage also questioned why a teacher hadn't heard the commotion and come in yet. He didn't know if they were somehow all preoccupied or unaware, but Naruto was definitely going to have some words with the faculty later. What upset Naruto the most was that Surimi wasn't doing anything, she was just taking Ryūnosuke's words without attempting to defend herself at all.

Surimi was originally so shocked she was close to crying, but then she decided to just let her consciousness retreat to the depths of her mind. She planned to just let Ryūnosuke keep yelling until a teacher came in or he tuckered himself out. It wasn't that she could tune out what the boy was saying, she was just accepting it and letting the insults and accusations wash over her. There was nothing she could say to object anyway, at least not in her own opinion. Everything he said was accurate to how she saw herself. She was born to the two strongest shinobi in the world, and as far as Surimi was concerned, she was failing to uphold their legacy due to her own laziness and incompetence.

"Are you ignoring me!" Ryūnosuke's interpretation of Surimi's absence of full attention only fed the flames within him. "You really do just look down on everyone! You privileged little brat!"

Ryūnosuke grabbed Surimi's hood which caused her to fully pay attention again. She gripped her hood, pointlessly attempting to pull it out of Ryūnosuke's grasp, the strength of which far outstripped what Surimi was capable of.

Naruto was about to return to his true form and intervene, but he stopped when he noticed an object flying through the air.

A shoe was heading straight for Ryūnosuke's face. The boy released Surimi and caught the footwear. His teeth grit as he looked at the sender of the improvised projectile.

Near the front of the room was a girl whose arm was still extended from throwing her shoe. Her skin was deeply tanned and her pink hair was so long it reached the back of her knees. She wore a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black compression shorts. Around her neck dangled a loose tie that was diagonally striped with red and white. The gyaru's black eyes looked up at Ryūnosuke.

"Quit acting like a jackass and leave Surimi alone." The gyaru said. Despite never having spoken to this girl before, Surimi thought she seemed cool.

"Diamond Lee." Ryūnosuke mouthed the name of the girl opposing him. "Mind your own business!"

"It is my business when you keep whining so loudly I can't ignore you. Plus, you're harassing one of our classmates, who you don't really know by the way, all because she doesn't talk to anybody. I'd have to be a real jerk to sit back and let you bully Surimi."

"Bully? This brat is the most prevledged kid in the whole village!"

"She is, and you're still bullying her. What are you even trying to accomplish right now?" The gyaru crossed her arms and the bandaged boy didn't immediately answer this time.

"I'm trying to get her to appreciate what she has." Ryūnosuke didn't speak with the same force he had previously.

"How do you know she doesn't? I get that there are a lot of selfish rich kids in this village who suck, but you don't know if Surimi is actually one of them."

"Then why doesn't she talk to anyone? What reason would the daughter of the Hokage and Sasuke Uchiha have to avoid everyone?"

"Maybe she's just shy. I dunno, and neither do you. Even if she is looking down on all of us or whatever, what do you think yelling at her will do? You aren't teaching her a lesson, the only thing you're doing is scaring her given that she's currently shaking like there's an earthquake going on. Just leave the girl alone, this is pathetic." Diamond Lee moved some of her hair behind her ear.

"You're calling me pathetic?" The boy's muscles flexed and he whipped an arm through the air. "You're the most pathetic person in this room, even worse than the Honorable Daughter over here! Rock Lee is your father! He's the Second Green Beast who became a great ninja without ninjutsu or genjutsu! You should be honored to be his kid, and yet you make fun of him!"

"There's a lot to make fun of. He looks stupid, he's annoying, and his philosophy is wrong." Diamond Lee spoke matter of factly.

"He's cool and philosophy isn't wrong! He proved anyone can become a great ninja with just taijutsu as long as they train hard enough!" There was a high pitched glee in Ryūnosuke's voice.

"That's not true. I trained myself nearly to death and I still didn't become strong. It didn't stop my dad from constantly telling me, 'Keep working, the only thing that can stop you is you.'"

"He said that because it's true!"

"It wasn't true for me. I can't use genjutsu or ninjutsu so my dad tried to train me to master taijutsu, but it didn't work."

"You just didn't train hard enough! You probably gave up as soon as it started getting difficult!"

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did! It's the only explanation!"

"You sure love assuming things about people."

"If your father's philosophy doesn't work, then why did it work for him?"

"Because my dad is talented." Diamond Lee's words were like a smack to Ryūnosuke's face. Every student in the room who knew anything of the famous Rock Lee was baffled. The one individual who did understand was the shinobi flying by the open windowsill in the form of a fly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ryūnosuke's blood boiled so hot it might evaporate. "He couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu! How could you ever call him talented?"

"He's not talented at everything, but what my dad is better at than anyone is training his body. He can push himself to the limit and he just gets stronger. When most people work that hard, they break. It doesn't have anything to do with effort, most people's bodies just can't endure training that hard. I sure can't." Diamond Lee spoke more softly. "I can't use ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu."

"That's not true." Ryūnosuke tightly gripped the shoe he caught with both hands. "Anyone can become strong if they work hard enough. Don't lie just because you're lazy. Both you and the Honorable Daughter are slackers. That's all, so quit spouting crap about Rock Lee!"

The shoe was torn in two. Ryūnosuke's foot slid forward as he got ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Naruto could feel that things might get violent, so he was preparing to return to his true form so he could intervene.

"Everyone, stop!" The heat inside Ryūnosuke petered out as he heard his teacher's voice. With gentle steps, Hinata Hyuga walked into the classroom. She wore a bold purple blouse and dark purple tights, while her hair was styled as a pixie cut. The veins around her eyes bulged against her skin. She had a solid idea of what had been happening in the classroom thanks to her Byankugan. "Ryūnosuke Ōgami, come with me so we can talk. Diamond Lee, Surimi Uzumaki, both of you wait in your seats, that goes for everyone else as well. I'll talk to each of you in time. Meanwhile, take out your chakra textbooks and start reading from the beginning of chapter 15 on page 221. It's about methods of practicing chakra control, the new topic we were supposed to begin learning about today. I want all of you to come up with one question you have about what you read and we'll discuss those questions next class."

Ryūnosuke's body became stiff as he followed Hinata out of the classroom. All the other students quietly went to their seats and took out their textbooks. Normally kids in this kind of situation would begin quietly talking to each other about what just happened, but they knew their sensei was still watching them so they just did as they were told.

Not only did the students fear Hinata's wrath, but so did Naruto who was a mere viewer. Hinata had become far more assertive as she grew up, especially after she and Naruto worked together to destroy the Tenseigan and stop Toneri Ōtsutsuki.

Surimi was attempting to do as her teacher commanded, but she just kept rereading the same line without absorbing its meaning. That little incident with Ryūnosuke was the longest bit of human interaction Surimi had been forced to have in a long time, if you didn't count her papa. It left her enervated to the point that she wanted to go to sleep. The whole fiasco had been especially draining given Surimi had been assailed with denigration she often said to herself. Ryūnosuke confirmed in Surimi's mind what she already believed, that she was a disgrace to her fathers, one who didn't deserve all she had. Surimi wanted to know why she was alive and why her fathers hadn't had another child yet to replace her. She wanted to know why her fathers kept acting like she was good enough.

"Diamond Lee." Hinata stood at the door while Ryūnosuke went to his seat. The gyaru got up and left with Hinata for her interrogation.

The gloom overtaking Surimi made way for thoughts about Diamond Lee. Surimi had never spoken a single word to the gyaru, and yet she defended the Honorable Daughter and referred to her by name. It was more shocking than anything Ryūnosuke had done. The gyaru didn't know anything about Surimi, nor did Surimi know anything about the gyaru. There was no reason for Diamond Lee to stop Ryūnosuke's harassment other than for purely altruistic purposes. On the one hand, it was only natural to want to defend one's fellows, so Surimi wondered if some of the other students would have stepped in to protect her if Diamond Lee hadn't acted first. On the other hand, at least as Surimi saw things, the other students had every reason to hate her and agree with Ryūnosuke, because she was a privileged, ungrateful child who was incompetent and yet she was treated with excess respect by everyone for being the child of the Hokage.

Despite feeling deserving of the derision she received, Surimi still appreciated that Diamond Lee defended her, it was really nice of the gyaru.

In the end, Hinata managed to interview everyone, get an accurate understanding of what had happened, and dole out reprimands accordingly. Ryūnosuke was given two weeks of lunch detention for harassing and grabbing Surimi. Diamond Lee was given three days of early morning detention for saying things that only served to provoke Ryūnosuke's anger and for immediately using violence to try and resolve the situation. Everyone else was given a lecture on why they shouldn't be bystanders and the importance of finding a teacher when serious conflicts happened in class.

Surimi was the only one not to be reprimanded. Instead, Hinata took her aside in the hallway and told her to not be afraid to defend herself when people mistreat her. The whole time, Surimi just nodded in response to everything her sensei said without internalizing anything.

After that, the day continued like normal. It was the same classes as usual, and as usual, Surimi did okay. Not great, but not bad. She knew seventy-five percent of the answers to the questions the teacher asked and comprehended the material enough to not be completely lost. When they practiced throwing shuriken, Surimi was able to hit the targets relatively close to the center, but she could never actually hit a bullseye. In everything, Surimi did just good enough, not for lack of trying. Her brain racked to try and do better, as did her body, but pushing herself so hard was the only thing that allowed her to do as well as she had been. Without this extra effort, she would have been underperforming enough to be near the bottom of the class in terms of grades.

To try so hard and only barely manage to get by was frustrating for Surimi, and that frustration was directed at herself. She had convinced herself that she must have not been trying hard enough. Even when she trained for hours on end, it wasn't enough. No matter what she did, she still thought she was being lazy, negligent. If you could prove to her that was truly doing her best, then Surimi would just say that she must have been incompetent then. As far as Surimi was concerned, her failures were all born from weaknesses in her own character.

Naruto watched his daughter struggle through every lesson, just as he did every day. Most couldn't recognize how much difficulty Surimi was having, she was good at hiding it, but the likes of Naruto and Hinata could easily tell. They noticed the ragged quality to her breath, the spasms of her muscles, and the moistening of her eyes.

"Alright, we're going to have some freeform sparring now. You aren't restricted to any specific jutsu, so you can use your personal specialties." Hinata said as the class stood in the combat training area of the Academy. It was a room large enough to fit multiple arenas that each represented a different kind of terrain. A rocky area, a wooded area, a water area, a cave area, a sandy area, and a plain area that was just a flat battlefield. "You can spar with anyone you'd like. If you can't find a partner, then I'll assign you someone. You can start pairing up."

Students began to find people they wanted to spar with, most of the trainees choosing their friends.

As for Surimi, she just stood in place and watched everyone else pair up and approach their teacher.

One duo in particular drew Surimi's attention. Diamond Lee and Ryūnosuke.

The side of Hinata's mouth squeezed closed.

"We'd like to spar together." Diamond Lee said.

"Why?" Hinata's eyes narrowed. Diamond Lee and Ryūnosuke obviously just wanted to continue their fight from before.

"We still feel some aggression towards each other from before. This'll be a good way to let our anger out and move on." The gyaru managed to spin the idea into something productive.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Please, Hinata-sensei, we just want a chance to reconcile our differences with our fists." Ryūnosuke pumped his fists. "You understand, right sensei? You know how trading blows can help you understand a person!"

"Not really." The explanation she was given didn't convince Hinata, but she also knew there was a decent chance that Ryūnosuke and Diamond Lee would just fight each other outside of school if they weren't permitted to fight here and now. At least here she could intervene if necessary. Hinata crossed her arms. "You two can spar, but try not to let things get out of hand. Your goal isn't to hurt each other, it's to hone your skills."

"Thank you, Hinata-sensei."

Soon everyone had a sparring partner, with Surimi having been paired up with a student she didn't know anything about, which applied to nearly everyone in her class. Students began to spar, with six pairs fighting at a time, each on a different battlefield. Everyone else stood near one wall with Hinata who kept track of everything happening in each area thanks to her Byakugan.

Surimi sat on the ground, her head sitting on her knees, and watched any fights that caught her eye.

In the sandy area, which consisted of a stretch of uneven sand, one aspiring shinobi was dominating. His sandy blonde hair was tied back into a spiky ponytail, and he was wearing a pure white trench coat with red pants. His arms stayed crossed as he danced around the punches and kicks of his opponent, a boy in a sleeveless black bodysuit with purple hair in cornrows.

The purple haired boy jumped back and tossed multiple shuriken at his opponent. There were strings attached to the projectiles so they could be manipulated and redirected if the blonde dodged again, the boy with cornrows believing he could catch his foe off guard.

The boy in the trench coat smirked and separated his arms to perform the ram hand sign.

"Magnet Style: Repel."

An invisible pulse of electromagnetism hit all the shuriken, causing them all to stop midair and reverse their flight. They all headed for the boy who had initially thrown them, the lad trying to use the wires to regain control of his weapons. The wires failed to move the shuriken as they continued to return to their sender. The purple haired boy tried to dodge, but he slipped in the sand and began to fall. He closed his eyes and raised his arms in anticipation of getting pierced.

The purple haired boy hit the ground, but he didn't feel any shuriken stab into him. What he did feel was something tickling his cheek. He opened his eyes to find that the thing touching his face was a wire dangling from one of his shuriken. The projectiles he had thrown were floating all around him, suspended in place by magnetic force. If he moved, the ninja stars would stab him. He was trapped.

"Kōki Koshimizu vs Shikataro Nara. The winner is Shikataro Nara." Hinata's voice carried across the room.

"And that is the power of Shikataro Nara!" The blonde boy struck a pose with his legs apart, one arm pointing towards the ceiling and the other towards the floor. "In both Heaven and Earth, there is one man destined to become a legend among legends, a master among masters! He shall rise to an echelon above even the Kage! He will ascend beyond human limitation to become a god! That man, that handsome man, is I, Shikataro Nara!"

Silence.

Nobody was taken aback by Shikataro doing what he did every time he won a fight. It was just annoying at this point.

"A battlefield is open. Ryūnosuke Ōgami, Diamond Lee, it's your turn."

Shikataro skipped back to the group of spectators, Kōki following behind with slow steps. Ryūnosuke and Diamond Lee walked onto the sandy stretch and stood six feet apart.

Ryūnosuke put one arm behind his back while he held the other arm out, palm open. It was Rock Lee's signature fighting stance which Ryūnosuke copied.

Diamond Lee pulled out a kunai and got into a low stance, both of her arms in front of her body. Her upper body was leaning forward.

Both fighters locked eyes. Ryūnosuke was glaring while Diamond Lee's brow pinched down.

Surimi ignored all the other fights to give this newest match her full attention.

"Ryūnosuke Ōgami vs Diamond Lee. Begin!"

The first to move was Ōgami. He charged forward, waiting for Diamond to attempt to grapple, as that was the method of attack that the gyaru's current posture was best for. Ryūnosuke was thinking exactly what Diamond wanted him to think.

Diamond Lee thrust off the ground and leaned back, performing a backflip kick that knocked up a wave of sand that headed for Ryūnosuke. The boy performed a kick of his own that blew away the sand wall before it could get in his eyes.

The gyaru was gone from Ryūnosuke's vision. She had disappeared behind the sand she kicked up and had moved while staying in her opponent's blind spot. Now she was behind Ōgami, about to stab him with her kunai.

The back of Ryūnosuke's fist slammed into Diamond's nose. While the gyaru had taken Ryūnosuke by surprise, he was fast enough to attack behind himself before Diamond could do anything. As Lee stumbled back from the blow to the face that left her with a bloody nose, Ryūnosuke spun around and kicked the gyaru's side, the force of the impact blowing Diamond away. She flew through the air and hit the sand, her body rolling on the ground. Ōgami ran at Diamond and kicked at her again while she was still down, the gyaru curling up and blocking the hit with her arms and legs. The girl winced as the hit pushed her across the sand.

Quickly returning to her feet, Diamond threw several shuriken at Ryūnosuke who weaved around them. The boy closed the distance between himself and Diamond as the latter kept tossing ninja stars. Ryūnosuke continued to get closer while evading the projectiles, managing to build up a rhythm to his movements due to Diamond throwing her shuriken in a consistent pattern. This was intentional on Lee's part. One time as Ōgami dodged, he avoided not a shuriken, but a small ball that Diamond had mixed in. It was a smoke bomb burst into a dark cloud right next to an unsuspecting Ryūnosuke's face, his rhythm causing him to act more on instinct than on conscious reactions to his environment.

A smokescreen covered the area and filled Ryūnosuke's lungs, causing him to have a coughing fit. More shuriken shot through the curtain of black, the boy still managing to evade most of the stars, though a few of them cut across his skin. Ryūnosuke jumped up and out of the smokescreen, but this was yet another part of Diamond Lee's trap, as she had already jumped above. With her leg raised high, Diamond kicked downward and slammed her heel into Ryūnosuke's head. The boy was sent careening back to the floor as the smokescreen dispersed, hitting the sand head first. Diamond fell towards Ōgami with her kunai ready to stab him, or at least hold it close to his face so Hinata would end the match and declare the gyaru the victor.

Ōgami's fist drove into Diamond's gut. Despite just taking a kick to the head, Ryūnosuke had already recovered and counterattacked. Diamond dropped to her feet, only to get punched in the face and have her kunai knocked out of her hand. Ryūnosuke unleashed a flurry of fists to pummel the gyaru. Lee was taking hit after hit to the face and torso. The boy's limbs were only blurs to most of the spectating students thanks to how fast Ōgami was punching. Diamond tried to block the blows, but she couldn't keep up with all the hits and they were full of syncopations to avoid forming a predictable pattern of movements. After his previous mistakes, Ōgami was determined not to repeat them. The continuous hits caused Diamond's body to jerk around and fling her blood around, the sand getting dotted with red. When the gyaru tried to run, Ryūnosuke grabbed her by the hair and began rapidly jabbing her in the face.

Surimi felt a stinging, twisting feeling in her gut. She was watching pure brutality that made her sick. This beating was only happening because Diamond Lee decided to defend Surimi. If Surimi had tried to defend herself before, then this wouldn't have been happening.

The scene of Ryūnosuke and Diamond's fight was so savage that some of the other sparring students stopped their duels as they became transfixed by the scene on the sandy arena. The fight was getting out of hand. Hinata decided to step in. She crossed from the distant wall to the right outside the sand area in less than a second.

"Ryūnosuke! That's enou-" Hinata didn't finish that statement, nor did she finish moving in to break up the fight. She stopped because of the surprise reversal that happened right in front of her.

A needle shot out of Diamond mouth. She had been keeping a senbon in her mouth that she was waiting for the right moment to spit out. Ryūnosuke jerked his head out of the way of the needle. He knew the needle was a distraction, so he immediately counterattacked with a punch.

Wires wrapped around Ryūnosuke's fist. Lee knew based on how her opponent had been fighting up to this point that he always responded to an attack with a swift counter, which made it easy for Diamond to prepare for that counter by pulling out some wires to use as a net between her hands to stop and entangle Ōgami's fist.

Ryūnosuke's hands were now both preoccupied, but he was still able to front kick with one of his legs, his toes digging into Lee's belly. This was a poor decision as, even though Diamond had the wind knocked out of her, she was able to sweep Ryūnosuke's lone leg keeping him standing using a kick of her own. The boy hit the sand, Diamond now sitting on top of him. As they dropped, Diamond put all the wires she was holding into one hand so her other one would be left free.

The gyaru's fist smashed into Ryūnosuke's face. Even though he had taken two hits to the head at this point, Ōgami was still barely hurt. He let go of Lee's hair and grabbed her arm as she was pulling it back from punching.

Grunts left Diamond's throat as she tried to wrench her arm free to no avail. Ryūnosuke's physical strength was beyond the gyaru's level. The only reason she was able to restrain the boy's fist was due to the tough wires she was using.

While Ryūnosuke was holding Diamond's arm, it wasn't by the fist so the gyaru could open it to release some sand she had scooped up at the beginning of the fight. The sand dropped right onto Ōgami's face, forcing him to close his eyes and mouth, his focus wavering enough for Diamond to pull her arm free from his grasp.

Diamond Lee took out her last shuriken and thrust her arm down to hold its points up to Ōgami's neck. Ryūnosuke was trying to open his eyes, but the sand on his face got into them and forced them back closed.

Surimi watched without breathing. If that shuriken reached Ryūnosuke's neck, then Diamond would be the winner. The gyaru had been brutalized and yet she kept on fighting. It made Surimi feel light.

Ryūnosuke's arm randomly punched upward.

Blood arced in the air. Diamond Lee's upper body was flung backwards, her shuriken dropping from her hand.

Through sheer luck, Ryūnosuke's punch of desperation had managed to hit Diamond's face.

Diamond crumpled backward, consciousness lost.

The boy who had just won the match was still preoccupied with the stinging of his eyes. He got to his feet, Diamond Lee's body flopping off of him and lying chest first on the sand. Ōgami was barely able to open his eyes, as fury filled him from his perceived disgrace at having nearly lost to Diamond Lee. A swathe of excuses for how the fight could have taken so much effort flitted through his mind, the most convincing one being the only true one. Ryūnosuke had underestimated Diamond Lee and thus didn't use his full strength. If he hadn't been pulling his punches, Diamond Lee would have been defeated in a single strike.

No matter the reasoning, Ryūnosuke was livid at what had transpired. He reeled back his leg to kick at Diamond Lee.

When Ryūnosuke tried to swing his leg forward, he found it unmoving. It was being held in position by someone's hand.

"Hinata-sensei!"

"This fight is over! Both you and Diamond Lee took this fight way too far, especially you! There is no need to brutalize your opponent in a sparring match!"

"But-" Ryūnosuke had no reason he could give for his actions other than that he was angry.

"No buts!" Hinata turned to the students watching by the wall. "Shikataro, Chiyome, Dōsetsu, take Diamond Lee to the infirmary! Be quick and be gentle!"

"Yes, Sensei!" A trio of students ran over to Diamond Lee and carefully picked her up with a stretcher before heading out of the room with her.

Hinata moved on to chastising Ryūnosuke. Normally she would save such words for when she and Ryūnosuke were alone, but she was so exasperated by having to lecture him for the second time in one day that she had forgotten some of her tact. While the boy listened to his sensei's admonishments, he was having one of his fellow students use Water Style to wash the sand out of his eyes.

Surimi's breathing became uneven. She thought about Diamond Lee's swollen face covered in blood. The gyaru has been brutalized, and it was because of Surimi. In the Honorable Daughter's mind, she should have openly expressed to Ōgami that he was right to deride her, especially considering she actually did think he was correct in everything he said. Instead, she stayed quiet, which made her look like a victim in need of protecting. It was Surimi's inaction that was the key component in creating the disappointing series of events that followed. With that in mind, Surimi wanted to cry. Her sense of guilt was suffocating. When she looked at the walls, they seemed to be closing in on her, the room shrinking to crush her. Her senses were distorted. Everything was a blur. It was then that she wondered what all the other students were thinking, what Hinata was thinking. The only answer that came to her was that they were judging her for what she had caused, that they despised her for her cowardice and selfishness. Upon imagining what her parents would do when they found out about the day's events, all Surimi could suppose was that they would also judge her, even hate her.

Surimi didn't want to be a ninja. She didn't want to bear her parents' legacy. She didn't want to be anything.

Soon enough the class continued and it was Surimi's turn to fight. She was standing in the darkness of the cave area. Surimi couldn't see her opponent, nor did she want to. It was much more comfortable for her if she could just pretend she was alone.

"Surimi Uzumaki vs Retsu Sakahone. Begin!"

Surimi didn't move. Her arms hung at her sides.

Something hidden by the absence of light hit Surimi's face. She was knocked off her feet. Upon impact with the ground, Surimi just stayed there, unmoving despite being conscious.

Silence. Retsu didn't know what to do. They couldn't tell if Surimi was unconscious, had given up, or if something else entirely was going on. Hinata could tell by sensing Surimi's chakra that the girl was still conscious, but she wasn't sure why the girl wasn't getting back up. That said, she had a decent idea, as did the hidden Naruto.

"Surimi Uzumaki vs Retsu Sakahone. The winner is Retsu Sakahone." Hinata spoke quickly and harshly.

The downed girl got back to her feet and walked out of the cave. Numerous sorts of stares were directed at her. There were stares of bewilderment, annoyance, pity, anger, disgust, disappointment, and more. Surimi's actions had practically validated everything Ryūnosuke had said about her; that she only did the bare minimum and looked down on everyone so much she refused to interact with them. Ryūnosuke's actions had been contentious among the class before, but now a majority of the students were all on his side, even if they didn't condone his brutality.

The class reached its end and the day moved on to new subjects, Surimi's head being stuck in a haze the whole time.

Soon enough, it came time for lunch. Students began meeting up with friends to eat their bentos with, or they went to the cafeteria to buy food. Surimi was planning to eat her lunch as well, but as she remembered the events of the day while she walked through the halls of the building, she turned around and headed for the infirmary. Diamond Lee was still there, and Surimi wanted to know how she was doing.

Considering that Surimi would probably be safe in the infirmary, Naruto left his daughter alone for the first time all day, his fly form zipping off and into the faculty room. It was spacious, with numerous teachers at cubicles working on lesson plans and grading papers.

Udon Ise, a tall man with glasses and a two block haircut, was writing up a math test. Students of the Academy needed to learn traditional subjects alongside the unique skills of a shinobi.

Conversing with some of her colleagues was Kurenai Yūhi, a woman who had retired from being a ninja to raise her child. She had recently become a teacher now that her daughter had grown up.

Then there was Hinata who was typing at a computer so hard the keyboard was on the brink of breaking. Hinata's irritation from the earlier incidents with Surimi, Ryūnosuke, and Diamond Lee had not yet subsided. Naruto didn't want to disturb while she was still angry, but it was too late to turn around given she had already detected his presence despite his disguise. Even without her Byakugan, Hinata was extremely perceptive and could recognize people from the slightest hint of their chakra.

Hinata got up from her seat and left the room, stomping through the halls and out of the school through a back door. She stopped when she found a secluded grassy spot behind the Academy where nobody would hear or see anything.

A cloud of smoke appeared and dispersed. Naruto returned to his true form.

"Hey, Hinata." Naruto raised an arm in greeting and smiled.

"What did you want to talk about?" Hinata crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

"Ah, well, I, uh, I wanted to talk about a few things."

"And what would those things be?"

"Well, the first thing would be how it took you a while to get to the classroom when Surimi and the other kids were arguing." Naruto said every word with a moment of deliberation prior.

"There was another fight going on in a hall on the other side of the Academy. I had to deal with that fight first, unless you'd rather I had just let that fight happen and focus on protecting Surimi for you?"

"No! No. Of course not." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "But it seemed like there were no other teachers around when Surimi was getting bullied. Were all the teachers on the floor needed to stop that other fight?"

"It involved a lot of students and it was near the faculty room. A lot of teachers, including myself, were about to head to our classrooms when the fight broke out, so that was what grabbed our immediate attention." Hinata began tapping a finger against her arm. "You were there, so why didn't you step in?"

"That's because I don't want to attract attention if I don't need to. I only follow Surimi so I can protect her if I really need to. Plus it would reveal the arrangement we've had going on and that might cause problems. If everyone finds out I've been secretly watching over Surimi while she's at school, then people will think I'm babying her, and Surimi would probably be upset to know I don't trust her on her own yet."

"You say 'yet' like you ever will." Hinata grumbled.

"What do you mean by that?"

Hinata opened her eyes.

"I mean that you're never going to trust Surimi to be on her own, at least not at the rate you're going. You just said that if you interfered, then everyone would think you baby Surimi, but you do baby Surimi. That's why she's so timid, she's used to always relying on you. She doesn't know how to do anything herself."

"I just want to make sure she's okay!" Naruto clenched a fist. "I know what it's like to grow up without parents, I don't want Surimi to go through that. She already doesn't have Sasuke most of the time, I need to make up for that and be twice the parent anyone else is."

"But is that actually what's best for Surimi? The way you've raised her is the reason she couldn't stand up to Ryūnosuke. Your parenting is the reason Surimi doesn't know how to make friends or even talk to people."

"I just want to make sure she's safe and feels loved!" Naruto barked.

"Am I wrong?"

Naruto flinched and stared at the ground. Hinata sighed.

"I'm done. Our deal is done. From now on, if you ever show up at the Academy for anything other than some kind of special class or speech, I'm going to tell everyone. You might be able to sneak past everyone else, but not me. It's time you let Surimi live her life. Besides, you're the Hokage, you have duties you have to attend to. If there's ever a serious problem that requires your power, your Shadow Clones might not be enough. The village needs the real you sometimes."

"So does Surimi." Naruto's whole body was tense.

"Not all the time."

"I-" The Hokage rubbed his face. "Fine. Our deal is done."

"With that out of the way, what else did you want to talk about?" Hinata uncrossed her arms.

"Mostly just your thoughts on some ideas I had for reforming the Hyūga clan." Naruto had been working with Hinata to terminate the antiquated and cruel traditions of the Hyūga clan. The process had been slow but steady.

While Naruto and Hinata were discussing various matters, Surimi opened the door to the infirmary.

"Hello, do yo-Honorable Daughter! Hello, Honorable Daughter. Do you need anything?" The medical-nin staffing the infirmary, a man in white garb, bowed to Surimi before running up to her. "Are you hurt? Don't worry, I'll help you right now."

"I'm not hurt." Surimi's voice squeaked.

"Oh. Um, why are you here then?"

"D-" Surimi swallowed some spit. "Diamond Lee."

"Diamond Lee?"

Surimi nodded her head.

"Do you want to see her?"

Surimi nodded again.

"Well…" The medical-nin scratched his cheek with a finger. "I don't know if that would be a good idea. She needs to rest right now."

"She can come over." Diamond Lee's voice came from behind a curtain that curved around a bed.

"But you need to rest right now."

"I don't care. Surimi, come on over."

Surimi looked between the curtain and the medical-nin who's face gained several creases before he just shrugged.

"You can see her, I suppose." The medical-nin relented and returned to his desk.

Swallowing again, Surimi stepped over to the curtain. She grasped the cloth and took a deep breath before sliding it open just enough that she could see inside.

Diamond Lee was lying on a bed, her body covered in a medical gown and bandages. Her head was almost completely wrapped up except for her eyes and mouth. Lee's face was swollen and her breathing was labored. Despite her current state, Diamond managed to smile.

"Hey. How's it going?" The gyaru struggled to move her jaw.

"G-" Surimi swallowed again. Her throat was starting to feel raw. "Good. How do you feel?"

"Like I just got punched in the face a hundred times, cause, y'know, I was. It's not a big deal though."

"It's not?" Surimi clutched at the curtain. "But you got really hurt because of me."

"Don't go thinking this was your fault. I would have ended up fighting Ōgami eventually, whether he started messing with you or not. He's had a grudge against me for a long time. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't hit Ōgami hard enough to make him bleed." Diamond bit her lower lip. "Nothing I did really hurt him."

"Th-Thank you for protecting me. I'm sorry you got hurt." Surimi stopped herself from saying 'because of me' again.

"You're welcome and don't feel sorry. I'd protect you again in a heartbeat. You don't deserve to be harassed just because you're introverted or because you aren't at the top of the class when you have strong parents. That's just stupid, you're your own person."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that it doesn't matter who your parents are, it matters who you are."

Surimi's face contorted into various unnamed expressions.

"You still don't get it?"

"Sorry." Surimi's face turned red.

"I'm saying that people shouldn't judge you because of who your parents are. You don't have to be anything like your parents if you don't want to be." Diamond could empathize with Surimi's situation.

Surimi never considered the possibility that she could be considered fine even if she doesn't match up to her parents. It was such an otherworldly concept to her that she was still struggling to fully comprehend the logic behind it. She also wasn't sure whether she could agree with Diamond. Surimi's fathers were the strongest shinobi in the world, heroes who saved humanity. With such a legacy to live up to, Surimi couldn't accept that she was fine the way she currently was.

That said, Surimi did feel a warm feeling in her chest from having Diamond Lee imply she was okay. To know there was someone that didn't hate her was nice, even if Surimi did question if Diamond was just being polite and wasn't speaking genuinely. Even if this kindness was pretend, it was still kindness.

"Anyway, I don't want to keep you here. You can go if you want to. I know you don't like talking to people." The gyaru adjusted a bit in her bed, wincing as she did.

"I wanna stay." Surimi blurted out without thinking. "Can I stay?"

The gyaru was surprised for a second, but then she shrugged.

"Sure. Now I don't gotta lie here bored. Come in and sit down."

Surimi stepped through the gap in the curtain and closed it behind her before sitting in a chair next to the foot side of the bed.

"You don't have to sit all the way over there. Get closer." The gyaru's command was followed, Surimi moving herself and her seat closer to Diamond. "So what do you wanna talk about?"

"Uh." Surimi just sat in silence, looking above Diamond's head.

"How about we talk about our hobbies? You okay with that?"

"Sure." Surimi immediately regretted saying that. Sharing things about herself made Surimi uncomfortable.

"Cool, I'll start. My main hobby is…I guess it's just hanging out with my friends. I also like shopping, playing video games, cooking, watching movies, and training."

"Training?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Ah, I'm sorry." Surimi winced and stared at the floor.

"Don't be sorry. I'm just curious, why are you surprised that I like to train?"

"It's just that you said before to Ōgami that you trained as hard as you could and you didn't get stronger."

"I said I couldn't get better at ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, I never said I couldn't get stronger. All I need to do is follow a different path to become strong."

"What path is that? Did you follow that path during your fight earlier?"

"I didn't because I'm not allowed to. I fight by usi-" Diamond, who had been looking right at Surimi this whole time, shifted her gaze to the ceiling. The gyaru remembered who Surimi was the daughter of. "Actually, my path is secret."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Don't say sorry, it's not a big deal." Diamond looked Surimi in the eye again and smiled. "What are your hobbies?"

"My hobbies are…training…and taking care of plants, reading, and…watching television."

"What plants do you take care of?"

"I have a bonsai tree, and there's a garden in our backyard where there's lilies, daffodils, hydrangeas, anemone, and peonies. We also have a cherry blossom tree and a lot of cactuses."

"That's cool. Can I come over to your house sometime? I'd love to see all the plants you've got."

Surimi recoiled and shivered.

"I, uh, I don't know. Our plants are all ugly because I don't take care of them well enough."

"I'm sure they're great, but if you don't want me to come over, I understand."

"I'm sor-" Surimi bit her tongue. Not apologizing for every perceived slight was a challenge for the mousy girl.

"What's your favorite plant?" Diamond had a certain smile on her face that made Surimi experience an emotion she couldn't name, for it was the first time she had ever felt it.

"Lilies, white ones especially. They're so simple and pleasant to look at. When you put them all into a bouquet, they give off this elegant feeling like, I dunno, like you're looking at a princess from a fairy tale. There's also this romantic air to them. I'd love to be given a bouquet of white lilies someday." Surimi was blushing, and she blushed even harder when she realized how long she was talking. Diamond was still smiling. Grabbing her cheeks in embarrassment, Surimi closed her eyes and wished she could suck her head into her body like a turtle. She didn't know why she spoke so much, for some reason she felt comfortable enough to talk more than normal, more than often did even with her papa.

"You really like lilies. It's cool that you're so passionate."

"Really?" Surimi peeled an eye open.

"Yeah. Being passionate about what you like is, y'know, cool. Plants make you happy, and it's nice seeing other people be happy about stuff."

The timid girl grabbed her knees.

"Me too. I like seeing people be happy too." Little did Surimi know, she had a tiny smile on her face. Diamond didn't point it out.

Surimi gradually opened up more as the conversation continued, both her and Diamond Lee getting lost in their discussion of their interests and other topics that naturally came up.

Neither girl saw it coming when lunch ended and Surimi had to return to class. Her stomach grumbled. She forgot to eat lunch.

"Looks like we gotta call it here for now." Diamond sighed.

"Yeah." Surimi felt like she had barely talked to Diamond for all that long. She got out of her chair and opened the curtain to leave. "It was nice talking to you."

"Wait just a sec." Diamond said. Surimi turned to face her. The tanned girl had a serious expression. "I gotta say one thing real quick. Don't take Ōgami's crap anymore. If he messes with you, stand up for yourself. That goes for if anyone messes with you. You don't deserve to be bullied because you're quiet or because you're the daughter of the Hokage. You're you and only you, remember that."

"O-Okay." Surimi was overcome with the intensity of Diamond's words. The might of Lee's statement was great enough that Surimi genuinely considered what she was trying to say; she actually tried to believe them rather than refuse them outright. For the first time, Surimi actually contemplated if she was truly as reprehensible as she had previously assumed herself to be. The timid girl didn't arrive at any conclusion, but she had let Diamond's words stay nestled in the back of her mind.

"Cool." Diamond returned to a casual tone and smiled once again. "See ya. Have fun in class."

"Goodbye. Good luck with your recovery." Surimi closed the curtain behind her as she left Diamond and exited the infirmary.