Kakashi intercepted Team 7 just as the three genin could see the stadium. As soon as they all registered it was their sensei, they all sagged with relief. Naruto, having been on the brink of collapse since he ended his fight with Gaara, passed out and his weight caused his teammates to drop to the ground. Sasuke and Hinata stayed down, panting heavily.
"You all did it," Kakashi said, getting down on his knee, closer to their level. "I couldn't ask for a better team."
Hinata smiled up at him tiredly. "Is everyone okay? The village?" She asked.
The Jonin put a hand on her head. "We're taking care of everything. Just get some rest," he assured her.
Sasuke and Hinata glanced at each other before succumbing to their exhaustion and passing out. Kakashi summoned his largest dogs and set the two boys on their backs before picking Hinata up and silently walking back to the village.
He knew his team was strong enough to take on this mission, but part of him had been concerned that one of them would have been brought to the brink of death once again, just as it had happened in the Land of Waves. However, he had never been so relieved to be wrong. All of their noticeable injuries seemed minor and other than needing rest due to chakra exhaustion, they were going to be just fine.
What concerned him more at the moment was their reaction to Minato's current state and the demise of Lord Third. They worked hard to protect the village from Gaara's tailed beast, and the last thing they needed was to know that Orochimaru had succeeded in killing one of their own—especially so soon after Sasuke was marked by the Sannin.
Naruto awoke first due to the short recovery time his tailed beast produced. Looking to the side, he was instantly relieved to see his mother at his bedside.
"Mama?" He croaked, throat dry. Kushina rushed to his side to help him sit up when he began lifting his body from the bed.
"I'm here, honey. I got you," she assured him.
"How long have I been out? Where are Sasuke and Hinata? Are they okay? What about Dad?" He shot off.
"It's been about twenty-four hours. Your friends are still recovering, but they're going to be okay."
"What about Hinata's legs?" He asked worriedly. If what happened to Rock Lee had also happened to Hinata, and she couldn't be a shinobi anymore, Naruto didn't know what he would do. Sasuke either.
"She has some slight damage, but nothing long-lasting. She used her chakra wisely and skillfully," Kushina explained. "I'm sure you can go see her later. Due to their status and the fact that our village was just attacked, their families have them on lockdown with special and well-trusted doctors. They aren't allowed any visitors for the time being, but I'm sure they'd let you through once you're more healed."
After a brief moment of hesitation, Naruto looked up at his mother seriously. "And Dad?"
The redhead sighed softly. "Your dad was poisoned during his fight by an unknown substance," she admitted. "He's stable but considerably weaker. The doctors aren't sure what kind of poison was used and not even the Nara Clan has been able to figure it out."
Naruto shot up and tried to get out of bed. "Is he gonna be okay? I wanna see him!"
Kushina gently eased him back into bed. "He's resting and under the best care available. You also need more rest. I heard about your battle with another jinchuuriki when I returned. You all wonderfully and successfully thwarted the most important part of their invasion. Just rest up, and I'll take care of your dad."
Though uneasy, the blonde settled down and stared at the ceiling. "Is the village destroyed?"
"No, but there are some minor damages. They're already being worked on."
"Casualties?"
"There were a few, unfortunately." Though hesitant, she continued, "I'm afraid Lord Third was one of them."
Naruto's head snapped toward her. "What?!" He yelled. "...Was it him? Was it that son of a bitch?!"
Kushin shut her eyes in sadness. "Yes," she replied. "It was Orochimaru. Before he passed, he was able to alert other shinobi that he had greatly injured Orochimaru by taking away the use of his arms, so he didn't fully get what he wanted."
"What's that guy's damn problem?! Why does he hate this village so much?"
"I don't have an answer to that, honey. He used to be a student of Lord Third and, as you know, an old teammate of Jiraiya's, but his descent into madness was gradual and many people had high hopes for him. So much so that they didn't want to see how lost he truly was," she explained. "His hate for this village, that's something I don't know."
Kushina ran her fingers through his hair, hoping to soothe him to an extent. "What's the plan now?" He asked. "That curse mark on Sasuke, Lord Third dead, and Dad poisoned… What's gonna happen with the village?"
The Jonin didn't have an answer to those questions either and opted to stay silent. The only thing she was sure of was that high officials were going into a meeting soon to discuss the future leadership of Konoha if a cure wasn't found for Minato.
Fugaku was sitting by Sasuke's bedside when the Heir woke up to the sun shining on his face. "Father?"
Fugaku managed to smile, something Sasuke wasn't very familiar with. "You and your team did very well, Sasuke. You've brought much honor to the Uchiha name," he said. Sasuke didn't know how to reply and opted to stay quiet. "Are you in any pain? Your sensei informed me that the mark was causing you great pain."
Sasuke shook his head. "I'm fine right now." He then finally looked around and noticed that he was in his own room, and his teammates were nowhere to be seen. "Where's Hinata? And Naruto?" He asked, sitting up with some difficulty.
"Naruto woke up a few hours ago, but Hinata is still unconscious. Right now, she's being heavily guarded," he replied. "Only her immediate family is allowed in."
Sasuke pushed the thin hospital sheet off of him and went to stand. "They're not keeping me from seeing her. I have a right," he argued. "Where is she?"
"Sasuke, you're acting rashly. They will never approve of a husband who doesn't know how to listen. You may care about her genuinely, but the marriage doesn't involve that. It's meant to unite our clans and nothing more."
Sasuke glared at the floor but still moved toward the door on unsteady feet. "It doesn't hurt to ask, father. After all, she's also my teammate," he said. With a silent sigh, Fugaku got to his feet and went with his son. "How is Mother?"
"She's well. I decided not to tell her of your condition. She believes you're on a mission right now," he admitted.
Sasuke clenched his fists as he let his father lead the way. He loved his mother and didn't mind taking care of her, but he sometimes wished he could be honest with her about everything instead of constantly having to walk on eggshells around her. He wanted her to be by his side right now. He wanted to go out in public with her. He wanted the mother he used to have, and even when he brought his brother home, he wasn't sure he'd ever forgive him for what he did to their mother.
"I understand," he eventually said quietly.
"I wanted to talk to you about joining the Uchiha Police Force," Fugaku said after a beat of silence. "I think it's time for you to start shadowing me in order to efficiently take my position in the future."
Sasuke hesitated a moment. "Is this an order?" He asked.
"No. I understand you have your own ambitions, and I will give you time to complete your goals. In the future, it will not be a choice for you, however. You must remember that your clan will always come first when you're the leader."
"...I understand, Father."
They were stopped by two Hyuuga when they turned down another hall that only held two rooms.
"Uchiha-sama, I'm afraid no one is allowed in this area," one of them said.
Fugaku put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I understand. However, my son is worried about his teammate and would like to see her, even if it is only briefly. I ask that you relay that to Hiashi," he said.
The two guards bowed and one of them left into the right room after knocking.
Hiashi sat before the Hyuuga Elders in the room across the hall from Hinata's room and did his best to reign in how annoyed he was to be taken from his daughter's bedside when she was still recovering.
"Hiashi, what of Hinata's condition?" Hideyoshi asked him immediately. "Can she continue her career as a shinobi?" Hiashi could see exactly where the conversation was going, and he was not looking forward to navigating his way out of it as respectfully as possible.
Hiashi looked over at his father. "Her condition is stable. She experienced chakra exhaustion while helping to fight a tailed beast," he said. "The doctor assures me that she will make a full recovery."
"We have heard of her injured leg," Haruka added. "How can we know that it will not hinder her abilities? Perhaps we should begin training Hanabi in leadership."
The Clan Head, though beginning to get angry, held his emotions back as he had been taught to since he was a child. "I'd like to remind everyone here that Hinata will be waking up very soon and can resume her training once discharged," he said calmly. "There is no need to jump directly to stripping her of her birthright just yet."
The Elders seemed to reel at this but stayed quiet.
"I'm afraid I will have to cut this meeting short as the village council has requested an emergency meeting to discuss the state of the village. Please excuse me," he said before standing and bowing politely.
Fugaku let Sasuke go into the room by himself as he needed to get ready for the upcoming meeting, though he couldn't help the way his eyes went soft as he watched his son rush into the room.
Sasuke froze momentarily when he saw Hinata lying peacefully on the bed. Her long hair had been taken down from her ponytail and fanned around her before spilling off the sides of the bed. He knew she was beautiful, but it was somehow different. He approached the bed and reached out, gently touching the back of his index finger to her cheek and stroking it.
"Hinata," he mumbled. Slowly, her eyes opened, and gazed up at him with those gorgeous pearlescent eyes that held more kindness than he had ever known a single person could hold.
"Sasuke," she said, smiling up at him. Then she looked past him. "Brother."
Sasuke startled before turning around and glaring daggers at Nejji. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?!" He complained.
"You didn't give me enough time before you started touching her," Neji retorted.
"Yeah, well, you're the creep who was just silently watching."
"It's my job!" Neji huffed. "You should be more aware of your surroundings." Then the older boy crossed his arms over his chest and looked away, giving them as much privacy as his title allowed.
Sasuke shot one more glare at him before looking back at Hinata. "How are you feeling?" He took the seat next to her bed and held her hand.
One of her shoulders went up. "I'm feeling much better, although I am upset that I get injured on every serious mission we go on."
"We were all hurt this time, and we were facing something much stronger. We're just…lucky to be alive," he said, leaning closer and speaking softly, hoping Neji couldn't hear him. "I don't…I don't want to lose you."
Hinata squeezed his hand and nodded. "I know. We just have to keep getting stronger," she assured him. She blushed when Sasuke's other hand went to her head and softly ran his fingers through her hair. "Sasuke?"
He hummed, slowly leaning closer and putting his forehead against hers. He immediately shot back up when Neji cleared his throat somewhere behind him. "Can't you just turn around or something?!" Sasuke shot at him when he turned to face the other Hyuuga.
"I literally have all-seeing eyes, Uchiha!"
Sasuke was going to continue arguing but stopped when Hinata's laugh cut the awkward tension in the room. After that, he couldn't help but smile at the sound and drop the subject. He leaned forward again and this time planted a kiss on her forehead, uncaring about the extra person in the room because he could've lost the girl he loved and that was the only thing that mattered.
Homura and Koharu sat in a meeting with other Clan Heads and officials. They were currently discussing Minato's current condition.
"With Lord Fourth in this state, he cannot be depended on to protect the village should anyone take an opportunity to attack us," Koharu said. "We must begin looking for a replacement right away!"
"I'm afraid I have to disagree. For now, at least, no one seems to know that Lord Minato is sick," Shikaku argued. "That is something we can consider an S-rank secret, strictly need-to-know. However, I do think it would be wise to bring someone in to learn the ropes in case his situation gets too severe. Our people love, respect, and trust Minato. If we replace him so easily, it could cause an uproar."
Homura hummed. "I see your point, Nara-san, but what if he expires before we find another person to take his place? Selecting a new Hokage is not something we can easily do."
Shikaku noticed that Danzo seemed ready to throw his hat in the ring and quickly spoke up. "If I may, I suggest one of Lord Third's students. Jiraiya. His…interests and work may seem a bit unappealing, but he earned his title and I believe that stands for something."
Danzo subtly glared at the tactician from the corner of his eye but refrained from causing a scene.
"If we are to choose one of Hiruzen's students, then I would rather we pick Lady Tsunade," Koharu admitted. "Unfortunately, with Jiraiya being a known…deviant—what with those books of his—I don't have high hopes of the village completely accepting someone like him to lead. Despite his reputation as a shinobi."
"I think Tsunade is an excellent choice, but no one knows of her current whereabouts," Homura added.
Shikaku hummed. "We should send Jiraiya in search of her. With his travel experiences and ability to gather intel, he should have no issue finding her," he replied.
"Then, it's been decided. Jiraiya will set off to bring Lady Tsunade back to begin prepping her for the Hokage position! It helps that Suna has surrendered to us unconditionally, so they will not be attacking us in the future."
"I'd also like to bring up another thing," Shikaku said. "We know Lord Fourth's opponents were Kakazu and Sasori of the Akatsuki, a notorious group of rogue nin. Orochimaru was formally associated with them, and Konoha's own Itachi Uchiha is currently with them. I believe it is possible that he told Orochimaru and Kabuto how to bypass any security we had."
Danzo managed to hold back his smirk. Itachi, once again, was the perfect scapegoat.
"I believe you may be right," Homura hummed. "Our security measures have changed, but Itachi is one of the smartest to come out of our village and I have no doubts that he would know exactly how to bypass anything we have set up. This makes him much more dangerous than we originally thought."
"We should enforce better security measures!"
"Shikaku, you will get together with Inoichi and come up with the perfect solution. You will have three days and no more," Koharu declared. The two clan heads accepted with ease.
"Onto another matter, despite the Chuunin exams being interrupted, we still have a few names that Lord Fourth expressed he wanted to see promoted. Among them, was Kakashi Hatake's Team 7 and Shikamaru Nara," Homura announced. "However, I feel promoting his former pupils would cause some uproar within the shinobi ranks."
"Normally, I would agree, but Team 7 has proven themselves capable of taking on Chuunin-level missions with a clear head. Not only did Naruto and the Hyuuga Heiress win their matches through considerable strategy and new abilities, but all three of them pursued the most destructive enemy, fought him, and brought him down," Shikaku explained. He hated talking at these meetings, but Minato's condition made his position a little more difficult.
"Sasuke may be my son, but I agree with Nara-san," Fugaku spoke. "They worked hard and all suffered chakra exhaustion to protect our village from the Sand Demon's jinchuuriki, while Shikamaru Nara stalled the enemy chasing after them, also risking his life. I believe that more than qualifies them for a promotion to Chuunin."
Koharu hummed. "Yes, we see your points. In that case, the same argument could be made for Neji Hyuuga and Shino Aurame. They also risked their lives to help their comrades and the village. The promotions will be set in motion," she said. "Before we conclude our meeting, I will warn everyone that our mission intake will not decrease during this time, even if we are stretched thin enough as it is. We cannot let any neighboring villages see any cracks in our foundation."
"Understood," everyone answered in unison.
"That concludes our meeting," Homura dismissed.
When Hiashi entered Hinata's room, he was surprised to see her sitting up and talking to Sasuke with a smile on her face. He turned to Neji who was still standing in the corner of her room and raised a brow. Neji bowed to his Clan Head and gave a nod of his head, which Hiashi accepted. If anything, he was impressed by Neji's ability to lead and make important decisions. Had anyone else given Sasuke permission to be in here, he would not have accepted it.
"Daughter, it's a pleasure to see you awake and feeling better. Sasuke, how are your injuries?" He asked.
Sasuke stood up and bowed politely. "I'm doing well, thank you, Hyuuga-sama. I apologize for intruding, but I had to see how Hinata-san was doing after everything we went through."
"I understand. There's no need for apologies," Hiashi assured him. "Though I will warn you that the Elders will not be so lenient in the future. Now, I have to speak to my daughter, but you'll be let back into the room when we're finished."
"Thank you, Hyuuga-sama," Sasuke said before being escorted out of the room by Neji. He turned to the older Hyuuga. "Thanks for letting me in."
Neji was going to respond sarcastically but decided against it when he saw the sincerity in his eyes. "I know how much you care for Hinata-sama. I'd be a fool to keep you away," he acknowledged. "I'll come back for you when it's time." Then he disappeared back into the room.
Inside, Hiashi was bringing Hinata up to date on what had occurred during the invasion and while she was out.
"Orochimaru would go that far?" She asked, distraught of the news of the Third.
"He's done much more horrific things," Hiashi reminded her. "And there's also what he's done to Sasuke, a mere twelve-year-old boy. He's capable of atrocities."
"Yes, I know. I'll never forget what I saw." She clutched the blankets tightly in her fists and took a deep breath to keep the anger she was feeling at bay. "When will the services be held?"
"It will be this Friday. The maids have already washed and laid out your mourning clothing. The doctor assures me that you will be released after another day of rest."
"I'm thankful." Her mind went to her old sensei and she looked up at her father. "Where is Lord Hokage being held? I'd love to visit him."
"Unfortunately, he is being treated at an undisclosed location as a safety precaution," he replied. "Only a select few are allowed to see him."
Hinata, though frustrated, nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Father. If it's all right, I'd like to rest some more."
Hiashi stood. "Of course. I'll keep Neji here for the night. He's recovered quite well from his battle with the puppet user." Neji, standing in the back corner once again, straightened up at the mention of his name.
"I was told by his opponent that help had come just as he left. I feel guilty for not going back to help," she admitted. The older Hyuuga genin wanted to speak out and protest but he had not been permitted to speak.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing. Protecting the village and those in it is the duty of a shinobi. Neji understands this and has never thought ill of you, I assure you." He walked toward the door. "Get some sleep. Sasuke can come back in, but he will leave before the sun sets."
"Thank you, Father." Then he left. She turned to Neji. "Is he correct, brother? Am I forgiven?"
Neji shook his head with a smile. "There is nothing to be forgiven, Hinata-sama…er, Hinata," he corrected when she gave him a look. "Forgive me. It is difficult to turn it off."
"Um, your battle with Kankuro, was it bad?" She asked.
"I'm ashamed to say that I lost and let him get the best of me. His being a long-range fighter made it difficult to fight him close-range, as we're used to. The battle made me see that I need to work on long-range attacks," he explained.
"Brother, you were also still recovering from your match with Naruto," she reminded him.
"But that also helped me see that I was too arrogant and that I need to improve overall."
She gave him a sympathetic smile. "There is nothing wrong with constantly improving yourself. That's what we're all striving to do. I'm proud of you." She held her hand out to him and waited until he grasped it tightly with his own. She pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his middle as he stood next to the bed, her smile growing bigger when he returned the hug.
"Thank you, Hinata." They stayed like that for a moment before Neji pulled away. "I'll bring Sasuke back in before it gets too late. I imagine he'd cause a scene if that happened."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," she laughed.
As soon as Neji gave the word, Sasuke all but pushed past him and back to Hinata's bedside. "How are you feeling now? Tired? Hungry?" The Uchiha turned to Neji. "Neji, go get her some food or something."
Neji's brow twitched. "I am not to leave her side. You go get her food. You sound like an overbearing mother; it's quite disturbing."
Sasuke glared but did not retort. "He's right," he mumbled to Hinata. "If you're hungry or anything, I can go get you some food."
"Actually, I'd like to see if we can find Naruto and maybe all eat together. I'm very worried since he took the worst of everything," she admitted. She looked at her brother. "Can you escort me?"
Neji seemed troubled for a second before nodding. "Of course, Hinata-sama. I will alert the guards outside." He didn't say, but he was also going to request that the guards not alert her father to her leaving the room. With a lot more of their clan on her side politically, he knew they wouldn't argue.
As they slowly made their way to Naruto's room—Neji having gotten his location yesterday, Sasuke held her hand tightly and without worries as it was just the three of them in this part of the hospital. Because all three of them held their own titles, they were guarded in their own area.
Just as they were getting to his room, they saw Kushina coming out. She had just closed the door when she saw them and gave them a big smile. Sasuke released Hinata's hand and they both bowed.
"I'm so happy to see you two up and around," she all but exclaimed. "Please, you know there's no need to be so formal with me."
Hinata smiled but didn't comment on the last bit. "Thank you, sensei. Is Naruto awake?" She asked.
"He is." She sighed sadly. "I'm afraid he's quite angry. I bet you two will be able to cheer him up though! I was just leaving to go see Minato."
Sasuke hummed. "We heard about his condition. Please give him our regards when you're able to," he said. "Do the medics have any idea what it is?"
Kushina shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. They're still working around the clock. I'm sure he'll bounce back in no time."
Hinata reached forward and squeezed her sensei's hand. "Minato-sensei will be okay," she said. "Perhaps someone with a byakugan can see something a medic could not."
"It's possible, but you need to recover first, okay?" Kushina said gently. "You've only just recovered from chakra exhaustion and Minato would scold both of us if he saw you working on him so soon."
Hinata smiled sadly. "I doubt I will be able to actually fix anything, but I could possibly tell the medics something they haven't discovered." Kushina put a hand on her shoulder. She knew how much Hinata wanted to advance in medical ninjutsu, but hadn't been able to qualify for formal training in the hospital due to the pushback from her Elders. Had she been able to from the moment she graduated from the academy, she could've been performing surgeries by this point, especially with her natural talent for it.
"I understand. That would be more than enough, Hinata-chan. Just rest for now and then I'll take you to him soon." There were no other Hyuuga in her clan who had trained as a medic ninja to do it; however, she trusted her pupil wholeheartedly.
"Thank you," Hinata sighed in relief. She just wanted to be useful. She needed to be useful.
"Of course. Well, I'll leave you to it," the older woman said and left with a wave.
Sasuke and Hinata wasted no time in bursting through the door to see their best friend, while Neji allowed them their privacy and closed the door behind them, opting to stand guard outside the room. He knew she was safe in that room with her teammates, that she was also strong enough to protect herself.
Inside the room, Hinata was embracing Naruto tightly while Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed with a tiny smile. "I'm so happy you're okay," she told the blonde, pulling away to look at him.
Naruto lit up at her attention and let himself bask in it. "I'm real glad you're okay, too. And Sasuke," he added. The Uchiha rolled his eyes at being a throwaway but said nothing and didn't take it personally. It was just how their friendship worked, and no one else needed to understand it but them.
"Yes, we're fine." She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. "You…did so well against Gaara-san."
"Speaking of him, what happened after I passed out?"
"We spoke to him and I treated the wound on his forehead, then his siblings came for him and they left. He really seemed different. Calmer and…ready to let people in again," she explained. "You did it. You got through to him."
"We all did," Naruto corrected, squeezing her hand. "Everything each of us does represents all of us."
"You're such a sap," Sasuke sighed.
Naruto smacked the Uchiha on the arm, but it wasn't enough to actually hurt. "As if you're not, too, asshole," he pointed out with a grin.
He huffed. "Loser." But that smile was still on his face, and he couldn't deny what Naruto had said. "Anyways, you hungry? Let's get some food."
Hinata giggled. "You must be awfully hungry," she said to him since he had been mentioning food more than usual. "But," her stomach growled loudly, "it's to be expected since we nearly depleted all of our chakra reserves."
"I'll go get us some food," Sasuke said. "I'm not taking orders; I'm just going to grab whatever I find."
"I really hope they have something sweet," Hinata said.
"I'll go looking," then he glared at Naruto, "Shut it." He knew the Uzumaki was going to give him grief about getting something specific for Hinata and he didn't want to deal with it. He wanted to retrieve food before he got too irritable.
When he walked out, he asked Neji if he wanted anything and the Hyuuga told him that he'd already sent another branch member out for food at the Hyuuga Estate.
"We can't take any chance that someone will take advantage of the chaos and attempt to poison any of you, especially Hinata-sama," he said.
Sasuke raised a brow after a moment's thought. "When she was five, her previous protector also tasted her food before she consumed it. Is that part of your job description?" He questioned.
Neji nodded. "It is my duty, but also an honor to be able to do so."
"Don't let her hear you say that," Sasuke teased. "She cares about you."
"Hinata-sama is very kind-hearted and cares for everyone."
"I can't argue with that."
Atsuko had prepared their favorites with plenty of extras and Neji had tasted every dish before he allowed them to dig in, which they all wasted no time in doing once he had. Neji was invited to stay and eat with them, but he declined and returned to his position outside of the door.
"Neji takes his role real serious, doesn't he?" Naruto said before slurping up more noodles.
Hinata nodded. "Yes. It's something he's trained in for years. However, I don't like him thinking that my life somehow means more than his," she sighed softly. "But I will also not stop him from doing something that he very much wants to."
"I think it's good to have someone so devoted by your side, though," Sasuke shrugged. Part of him wished for someone similar, but the Uchiha Clan didn't work the same way. The main family was respected and treated like royalty but they didn't assign any other family members to protect them at all costs. As far as Sasuke knew, anyone could steal a byakugan, but one could only steal the sharingan if it was activated at the time it was taken unless the one who stole it was also an Uchiha.
"Not like that," she replied gently. "He genuinely wants to do it which is why I don't protest, but… not everyone wanted to do that for my family." She didn't elaborate and the boys didn't ask her as they knew her clan system was a difficult subject for her.
They ate their food in silence for a few minutes before Naruto sighed heavily. "So," he began, "what are we gonna do about that snake?"
Sasuke finished chewing his bite thoughtfully before shrugging. "There's nothing we really can do until we get strong enough. He kicked our asses last time, and the only reason we got out of that alive is because of his interest in us."
"Sasuke's right. Right now, he's untouchable but that will change. After all, Lord Third severely injured him," Hinata added. "He took away the use of his arms, from what Father told me."
"That'll slow him down, but who knows for how long," Naruto huffed. "We're gonna have to train our asses off, guys. Even more than we do now."
"Agreed. I need to learn how to control this Curse Mark better, too. I failed you two out there during our fight against Gaara. I was basically useless," he said bitterly.
Hinata put her hand on his. "Don't say that," she gently scolded. "You weren't useless. Gaara is a jinchuuriki. Logically, Naruto was the only person who could've actually faced against him." She turned to look at Naruto. "But we'll get strong enough to fight by you no matter if we're facing another jinchuuriki or not."
Naruto could only smile at the declaration. He loved being able to protect his teammates, but he knew Hinata was right in that Naruto would always probably be stronger due to the tailed beast within him, and yet he still trusted them with his life. He still felt completely safe having his back turned to an enemy. They were still very strong compared to the average shinobi their age.
"But we're equal without the tailed beast," Sasuke pointed out petulantly. It was the only comfort he had.
Naruto rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Yes, Sasuke, that's right," he placated. Though annoyed, Sasuke didn't retort so Naruto turned back to Hinata. "Your legs are fine, right? The way you were pinned…it looked really painful."
"They're fine, I promise. Just a bit sore, but nothing that I can't handle."
"About your father," Sasuke suddenly began, "what's the plan there?"
Naruto shrugged, glaring down at the food on his lap. "I don't know. The medics don't recognize the poison so that apparently makes this person talented with them." His mother had only managed to tell him just a bit of information, but maybe it would be enough for them to go on for now.
Hinata thought for a moment. "I'll see what there is in the library. Kushina-sensei agreed to let me look him over with my byakugan later, so I'll know more then."
"Keep us updated," Sasuke said.
"Of course."
Hi! We hope this chapter was interesting. There's a lot of dialogue and not much action. There were also a lot more promotions to Chuunin than in canon (since it was only Shika). Promoted to Chuunin: Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino. Originally, I wasn't going to promote Neji or Shino, but they fought for their village, and deserve to be recognized. I'm sure there must be some who are disappointed I didn't write Minato's fight, but I struggled on it for weeks before I just had to move past it. In future chapters, you're going to see exactly how this fight affected him and how it can be fixed!
The results of the poll are in and I wanted to thank everyone who voted (which was much more than I originally thought). Sasuhina is the winner! Another story is already in the works and I will be posting an excerpt from it to our Tumblr soon so be on the lookout for that :)) Thank you again so much!
We are in the middle of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Once this entire story is posted, we'll be taking a month or so break to rest since I've been cranking out chapter after chapter. After that, we'll get to work on part two. We'll be releasing two different stories that will take place during the time skip. One is the meetings between Itachi and Hinata, while the other is going to be a multi-chaptered story filled with different one-shots centered around Hinata and different events :))
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 02/10/24
