Hello and welcome back to another chapter! I hope you all are staying safe as always!

This chapter took a bit since you'd think with the momentum of the teams being set up it would be easy to move forward but apparently not lol. This chapter has had like six revisions before I finally had something I felt more comfortable with so I do hope it's enjoyable, if it's not I might cry (not really but I will work to do better). I do ask as always that you read the whole chapter and the AN at the bottom (it's a long one but for good reason) to get a better picture of what's going on. With that said I won't keep you any longer so enjoy! (Note that this will be the last chapter for this fic until I update another story finally, so I apologize in advance if that ends up taking longer than expected)

...

Being on a team was an… interesting experience to say the least.

A little over a month had passed since the official formation of their squad and true to her word Kurenai had wasted little time in getting them adjusted to both one another and their new duties as a genin. While she had crafted a vague idea of what to expect from Orochimaru's notes, it had done little to prepare her for the tedium that was D-rank missions. Glorified chores or fetch quests that more often than not kept them confined within the village walls and even when they did get to leave it was never more than a mile out at best.

To say she was disappointed would have been an understatement but she wasn't all that surprised either. It was unreasonable to expect the village to allow its newest soldiers out into the field without giving them time to settle into their new roles and their new team dynamic. That was another change she was on the fence about…

It was safe to say that she had conflicting feeling about the whole thing

It wasn't that she disliked them per se… she was just unused to relying on others and this newfound dependency on a team was less than comforting to her. Kurenai seemed to be leaning hard into their search and detain methodology and many of her team exercises forced her to rely upon Kiba and Hinata if she wished to have any chance of success. That was not to say she didn't contribute her own skills but the reality was she was not a tracker and no amount of studying was going to give her better senses than an Inuzuka or the x-ray vision of a Hyuga.

She suspected this was intentional on Kurenai's part to force her to work with them but there was little she could do to argue against it. They were a team and it was simply expected that they would be able to harmonize to an extent… that did not mean she had to like it but for the sake of her advancement she had to adapt and so adapt she did.

Solidifying her place on the team had been easy enough, Hinata had put up no argument in her rather direct installation as the de facto leader and strategist under Kurenai but Kiba had been far less keen on giving up the potential position of leader so easily. This was something she had expected given the Inuzuka clan followed pack mentality, which could be as much of a curse as it was a boon. His loyalty was unquestionable but like any member of a pack the desire to lead was strong, he may not have been able to dethrone Kurenai but he sure could try and take the spot under her.

The needless conflict had created some measure of tension between them until at last, she decided that the best way to handle it was in a manner that would prove without a shadow of a doubt that she was in charge in a way that even his basest instincts would recognize…

"You want to fight me?"

"Yes." She nodded and stepped forward, ignoring the look of worry shot their way by their third teammate who was acting as the witness to this on her request. She had intentionally waited until Kurenai had left before making her move in case the woman tried to intervene in favor of a more peaceful solution but this was far more direct and far more likely to end on her terms. "But do you understand why I wish to fight you?"

Kiba scratched his head. "Not a clue but I don't really need a reason to get into a scrap so I accept!" He grinned ear to ear as if just the thought of battle got his blood pumping and she had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes lest she dilute the seriousness of her request. He probably had an instinctual understanding of the meaning behind her challenge but not a conscious one, such was the nature of instincts.

"You accept but you don't even understand what's on the line." She leveled him with a dull look as he blinked in confusion. "I will keep this simple, you want to be our leader do you not?" She questioned and without hesitation, he nodded. In his mind this was a tracking team and by that logic, a tracker should be in charge, Hinata wasn't suited for the position so naturally, it should fall to him, a pack was led by the strongest and given that he was always the muscle in their plans it made sense he would shoulder that burden.

"Good, then you should have no issues with this." She gave a disarming smile, one that if anyone who was familiar with her saw would likely say just didn't fit quite right on her face. "I propose a wager to this fight then. If you win, I'll stand down and follow you without question… no more back and forth, no more arguments, no more complaints." She laid out her terms and she could see his eyes light up at the prospect of not having to butt heads with her at every turn and that free reign of their team was being offered on a silver platter.

"However!" She narrowed her eyes suddenly. "If I win then you will follow me. No questions, no arguments, no complaints." She held out a hand. "Do we have a deal?"

She watched a slight flutter of hesitation dance in those dark eyes of his, perhaps a blip of common sense that might have tried to warn him of the impending doom, but it was one that would go unheeded as the temptation to prove himself superseded the logical outcome of such a bet. She felt his hand grip hers tightly in a show of strength and she refrained from meeting that challenge, allowing a false wince to show on her face, an illusion of weakness that he would no doubt take as a reaffirmation that it was his strength that would carry him.

"Deal!"

"Wonderful, Hinata-san would you kindly be our witness? We wouldn't want the losing party to back out of their agreement now, would we? There should be some honor among teammates after all." She chimed, turning to face the mousey Hyuga who was looking between the two with slight hesitation.

"I… O-Okay, but p-please don't go too far…" Hinata pleaded and she nodded.

"Of course, this is not a fight to death by any means." She waved off the concern. "This match will end when one party either surrenders or is incapacitated." She explained, making it clear this wasn't a bout that would leave anyone maimed. Bruised and battered maybe but she would heal anything too serious.

"I hope you're ready to lose, Iruka-sensei isn't here to hold us back now!" Kiba barked, reminding her that the Academy had babied them quite a bit but still she graced him with a knowing smirk in return and said nothing, merely making her way to the other side of the field in preparation. One she had situated herself she turned to face him, arms crossed above her chest and amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Believe me…" She let out a short breath and in a single moment flexed her chakra, the air around her suddenly being lit aflame in a bright azure hue that left both of her teammates taken aback as they were buffeted by the rolling billow of dust that kicked up around her, her lithe form bathed in a growing illumination of her own massive reserves. The atmosphere around them growing heavy with the pressure that came with allowing her control to slip for just a moment. She rarely enjoyed such needless displays of power, shinobi were supposed to be unseen and stealthy… but sometimes a show of force was required, and judging by the look on her opponent's face it had done its job. She needed to show the difference between them.

"I'm looking forward to testing my limits~"

Kiba suddenly didn't seem as confident as he had at the outset, a sentiment Akamaru echoed with a small whimper from his place hidden within the boy's hoodie as he could practically taste the energy swirling in the air.

A mistake had been made but it was too late to back down…

As expected everything had gone accordingly and she had dismantled him with minimal effort, knocking him around with a few elemental jutsu before finishing the fight with a few quick cuts to the tendons in his legs rendering him essentially helpless. Of course, Akamaru had tried to help his master but one look from her had silenced the pup and granted her the win. She took no real pleasure in beating them to be clear, He wasn't an enemy and he had done her no personal wrongs but his instincts were problematic and so they'd needed to be dealt with.

Thankfully, Kiba for all his faults was a man of his word and while it wasn't overnight their teamwork in the following weeks had improved vastly without the friction over leadership weighing them down. While she was still reluctant to depend on others, she could at least trust him to do as she asked without having to keep an eye on him at all times.

With the matters between her and Kiba settled, at least for the moment… her attention had shifted to the less pressing but no less intrusive issue of her second teammate, specifically Hinata's utter lack of self-confidence.

She knew the girl was reserved but she was not aware of just how deep that timidness ran. She was like a baby deer, terrified of the world and just one snapped twig away from bolting into the forest never to be seen again. If she was a civilian this wouldn't be much of a problem but she was a kunoichi and such weak resolve only made her a flight risk and that was something she would not stand for. She could not afford to have a teammate break down in the middle of a mission or worse yet in the middle of combat.

The question was, how did she correct that behavior? She wasn't a fool, nobody withdrew into themselves that much without valid reason and it lent credence to her idea that Hinata likely was cracking under the pressure of outside expectations. It was the one thing she herself did not have to deal with, no one expected anything from her and so there was no one she could disappoint… but Hinata had a whole clan of people likely scrutinizing her every move. That was a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a child and it wasn't as if the Hyuga clan was known for its kindness… she very much doubted Hinata had a particularly loving or supportive family, at least not in the traditional sense.

Still, that didn't matter and it wasn't her true concern. Her concern was what could she do to mitigate if not outright remove the issue. She decided to begin looking for answers in a subject she had touched on many years ago but had ignored in recent months in favor of other studies, and that was psychology. There was no magic cord she could cut in the girl's pretty little head so she would have to try something a bit more subtle but something that couldn't be undone with a few harsh words from an outside party.

Hinata suffered a lack of confidence both in herself and in her own abilities, however, she also seemed overly eager to please given how she would throw herself into whatever task she was assigned. More than likely that was her way of trying to prove her usefulness and maintain an image of competence in their eyes but while that may prove useful within the safety of the village such behavior had its risks out in the field. Still, it gave her a better idea of what kind of person she was working with. With all the data she had compiled she was fairly confident that Hinata possessed what is known as a neurotic personality type to some extent given the traits she displayed.

Low tolerance for stress, a constant sense of self-consciousness, extreme vulnerability for the heiress of one of the most powerful and influential clans within the village, and while she did not have access to the girls deepest thoughts it was highly likely that she was a pessimist at heart at least in regards to her own worth and ability. Without more data, she couldn't fully ascertain if she expressed any other tells such as depression and anxiety but she wouldn't hold her breath if either or both were present within her.

With that understanding, she had gained a better idea of how she should approach the problem… The issue was that to do so would push her out of her own comfort zone. What Hinata needed was a support system but one that involved more than just a few kind words every couple of days… no, she needed someone she could talk to regularly, someone that she could feel safe around and at the same time someone who wouldn't allow her to retreat back into bad habits or baby her.

She debated bringing the matter to Kurenai's attention since the woman seemed to figure some of this out instinctually and had taken a shining to the Hyuga girl but it wasn't exactly what she needed, she wasn't firm enough with her and so Hinata's poor habits continued to mount. Kiba wasn't much of a better option either, not only in that he often didn't think before he spoke which could do far more harm than good but also because she doubted he had the patience to deal with such a delicate matter for an extended period of time.

That meant the duty fell to her and she had to come to terms with the fact she had little to no experience with the act of bonding. However, she couldn't afford to leave the matter be and so if it meant a more reliable teammate and possibly a strong future ally then perhaps the attempt may be worth the trouble.

At least that's what she was hoping for.

...

"Y-You want to h-have lunch… with m-me?" Hinata blinked at the sudden and unexpected request, a part of her immediately wanting to check and see if their sensei had trapped her in another genjutsu as part of their training since Natsumi never asked anyone to accompany her anywhere, it just wasn't a thing. Even in the Academy the girl had remained isolated by her own choice rather than a lack of popularity but here she was standing in front of her and asking to have lunch. Have lunch with her of all people!

"If you have time, yes." Natsumi nodded and stretched herself out, they'd had physical conditioning today so she was a bit more sore than usual. Kurenai had shown them some stretches that were better suited for kunoichi that she'd never heard of and so even with her training she was feeling the burn so to speak. "I believe it would be beneficial but if you would rather not I understand-"

"N-No!" Hinata shouted before squeaking and covering her mouth in embarrassment, her eyes immediately falling to her feet. "I-I mean I would e-enjoy that very much…" She corrected trying hard to bury her face within her jacket to hide the flush that had risen to her cheeks. Kami, she was an embarrassment to her family... but she couldn't help it. She idolized Natsumi even if she would never say it, mainly because she was sure she'd faint before she could, but still she admired her strength, her confidence, her demeanor, her ability… she was everything Hinata knew she herself wasn't. Natsumi never hesitated, she didn't doubt herself, and she never let anything or anyone get to her.

She wanted to be like that… she'd be content to be even half the person Natsumi was if she was honest. Instead, she was weak… something that had only become more apparent the more time she spent with her team and she was trapped between Kiba's larger than life personality and Natsumi self-assured attitude. She was the odd one out, a mouse walking at the feet of lions and she hated it… but what could she do?

Natsumi smiled softly and nodded. "That's good, I know a nice little place we can eat at not too far from the village square. I hope it's to your taste though I don't know how it might compare to what you're used to." She frowned and Hinata quickly shook her head waving the concern off.

"A-Anything is fine… ano, I'm not p-picky and I'm sure it'll b-be fine." She reassured not daring to offer any protest and risk losing this chance to better connect with her teammate. While there was little in the way of hostility between them, especially after Natsumi's bout for leadership with Kiba, there was not much in the way of genuine comradery between them either, something that had been rather disappointing for her if she was honest.

"Wonderful, follow me then I know a few shortcuts that'll help us avoid the midday rush." Natsumi said, making her out of the training yard with Hinata hot on her heels.

At a respectable distance of course.

…

Of all the places she could have guessed that Natsumi would take her, a quaint little ramen stand was not exactly at the top of her list. It was a discrete establishment, a trait that fit well with Natsumi's own rather reserved personality, the atmosphere was pleasant enough and the smell of noodles and spices hung lazily in the air no doubt working empty bellies into a frenzy. All in all it was a cozy little spot and she would be lying if she didn't admit it had a welcoming vibe to it.

"Come on." Natsumi led her over to a pair of open stools by the counter and the two quickly made themselves comfortable as they looked over the menus available. There were far more options than she was expecting, just how many ways were there to prepare ramen?

"I hope you find something that appeals to you, they do serve other dishes outside of just ramen but I think it's fairly obvious where their specialties lie." She noted idly, pretending to read through the menu but her gaze would shift over to her lunch partner from time to time taking a mental note of certain physical ques. A light flush upon pale cheeks, the slitter jitter of her right leg, and even the idle trembling of her fingers… nothing escaped her notice, nothing could.

"E-Everything seems very g-good… ano, do you have a-any recommendations?"

"Recommendations…" She rubbed her chin for a moment in thought. "While I am partial to the miso bowl, I think you might enjoy the vegetable bowl a bit more. You don't strike me as a big eater." She assessed and Hinata blushed and nodded.

"H-Hai, I don't e-eat very much at home." She confirmed and Natsumi nodded a low hum escaping her lips.

"I thought not, though now that we are genin I do expect you to eat more often." She leveled Hinata with a friendly but stern look. "A healthy diet is important if you want to perform at your peak and I would be rather concerned if you were to collapse on us." She noted casually, happily ignoring the slight widening of the quiet girl's eyes at the admission in favor of looking back down at her menu.

"I-I will try…" She finally spoke after a moment. "I-If you b-believe it will help."

"It is just a suggestion, you don't need to take me so seriously." She gave a bemused wave of her hand and laid out her menu in front of her. "Your performance has been more than satisfactory so please don't take my words out of turn." She chuckled and Hinata seemed to relax a bit at the gesture, her shoulders growing a bit less squared and tense as she began to grow more comfortable. One of the reasons she had chosen this specific establishment for the task at hand.

The other reason should be arriving shortly…

"Well now, look who it is!" A jovial voice interrupted the silent pair and both turned to see a kind, older-looking man dressed in a white chef's uniform approaching their section of the counter. "Little Sumi-chan has come to visit… and we have a newcomer?" He seemed surprised for a moment but quickly returned to his prior joviality.

It took Hinata a moment to realize that he was addressing them but when it clicked her eyes swiftly darted towards her blond teammate with worry. Natsumi was not one for nicknames and she half expected her teammate to rebuke the man with annoyance but to her surprise, Natsumi seemed mostly content to allow such a causal address though she did catch the slight rolling of her eyes.

"Teuchi-san," She greeted politely, a twinge that could have been mistaken for a genuine smile poking up from the corner of her lips. "I see your daughter has worn you down into using that ridiculous pet name." She noted disapprovingly though by her tone it was clear that she wasn't all that surprised.

"It's cute!" A feminine voice shouted from the backroom startling Hinata and prompting Natsumi to sigh.

Teuchi nodded in amusement. I never could say no to her and she has a point." He laughed.

"Tsk, I do not wish to be cute." She scoffed but there was no real heat to her protest and despite herself, Hinata couldn't bite back a small giggle at the childishness of the statement. It painted such a different image from the more intense and frigid persona that the Uzumaki girl maintained in public but it seemed that within the confines of these walls she allowed herself a measure of comfort. She doubted that Natsumi would have been nearly as lenient towards anyone in their class if they had addressed her in such a way.

"Hehe, as you say Sumi-chan." The elderly chef chuckled before turning his attention over to the girl sitting by her side. "I see you've brought a little friend with you, that's definitely a first but a welcome one nonetheless, we were starting to get worried you know? A girl your age needs friends." He lectured the blond as if he were speaking to his own child.

"You should count yourselves lucky that your ramen is as good as it is or I would remind you that I am a kunoichi now and not some little girl." She grumbled, releasing a resigned sigh and gesturing towards the girl by her side. "This is my teammate, Hinata Hyuga. She was kind enough to join me for lunch today so I would appreciate you not filling her head with misinformation." She explained introducing the girl who bowed her low head in greeting.

"I-It is n-nice to meet you Teuchi-san." Hinata greeted and the older man smiled and bowed back in return.

"It is nice to meet you as well Hinata-san, I don't know what you did to get little Sumi's attention but keep it up, she needs a good friend." He joked and Natsumi scowled at the color commentary, she wasn't a shut-in or anything like that there was no need to exaggerate. Perhaps she should have gone somewhere a bit less familiar… Then again Hinata did appear far more relaxed now and that was the whole point of this.

Exceptions would have to be made… for now.

"Ano… I-I don't think I've done a-anything of note." She tried to gently dismiss the idea, not wanting to appear rude but unwilling to pretend she had done anything to earn what appeared to be a prestigious honor as far as the Uzumaki was concerned.

"She is competent, follows orders, and her skills are valuable." Natsumi interjected with a cough, turning attention away from their poking fun at her. "I see nothing out of the ordinary with inviting such a person to share a meal." She said eying the cook with a half glare.

"Of course, nothing unusual for you at all." Teuchi met her glare with a knowing look then shook his head and pulled out a piece of paper and pencil. "Anyway, I do hope we see more of you in the future Hinata-san but for now let's get you two set up with some food! Do you know what you'll have?"

"My usual is fine." Natsumi said and he nodded.

"I-I'll have the vegetable bowl please." Hinata said.

"Alright, we'll get right to work!" He grinned and left the pair alone to their own devices once more. The two falling into a somewhat awkward but comfortable silence, however, Natsumi noticed that Hinata appeared to be conflicted about something, her eyes shifting back and forth between her hands and up towards her before returning back to her fidgeting fingers.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Hinata-san?" She asked and Hinata flinched within her seat likely having not thought she'd be caught.

"I-I'm sorry… it's j-just…" She paused for a moment seemingly unsure of if she wished to pursue whatever thoughts plagued her further before continuing. "Why did y-you invite me here?" She finally asked, turning her attention away from her hands and towards the blond. "W-We never speak o-outside of training and I-I'm not exactly good at c-conversation…" She admitted finally acknowledging the strangeness of the sudden invitation and the questions it brought forth.

Natsumi merely hummed in response, falling silent for a few moments before speaking.

"I simply want to get to know you." She answered bluntly and predictably Hinata's face contorted into one of confusion and underlying disbelief at the rather out of character answer but before she could speak such thoughts Natsumi continued. "While I understand that may seem hard to believe given our history, or lack of it, that is the truth. Though, I have observed you long enough to know that you are likely thinking that there must be some ulterior motive, or perhaps that you don't deserve such a thing." She guessed but kept her tone light to indicate she did not mean to accuse her.

Hinata didn't say a word and instead averted her gaze, something she took as a clear sign that she had hit the nail on the head.

"I was not lying when I praised you earlier." She rested her cheek upon her palm and looked at the heiress. "From the day of our team's inception you have always maintained confidence in my ability to lead and you have never once disappointed or failed me. If anything you always seem to put your all into your work which I find admirable and reassuring." She noted prompting the Hyuga to flush and poke her fingers together, she had not thought of how her actions might have appeared in the blond's eyes. She had simply wanted to meet Natsumi's expectations but she hadn't expected her to take notice… to know that she had was… nice, comforting in its own way.

"I suppose it would not be a stretch to say that I have come to depend on you over the last month, your assistance has been invaluable and it's worth noting." She admitted openly and she didn't even need to look this time to know that she had both Hinata's full attention and more importantly, her sense of self-confidence in her hands. "I am aware that I come off as… slightly unapproachable." She grimaced openly at the blatant understatement but carried on regardless. "However, we are teammates and I think it would be remiss of me to keep such unneeded distance between us."

"I've never been particularly gifted in the art of conversation myself so perhaps making my intentions clear will help." Natsumi sat up and extended a hand towards her, her bandages digits reaching halfway across the gap between them. "What I'm really asking is… if you are willing, I would like to extend our relationship beyond being simple acquaintances. Rather I think it would be far more beneficial to both of us if we could be… friends." She laid out her request with a faint ghost of a smile making its way onto her face.

Hinata could only stare at the bandaged hand being held her way before glancing back up towards the smiling face of her teammate… there were no words strong enough to describe the whirlwind of emotions running amok inside of her stomach and she wasn't sure there ever word be. It was so surreal, like a dream but the details were too precise, everything was just too clear to be fake.

If this was an illusion she might actually never recover…

She tentatively took the blond hand, the firmness of Natsumi's grasp sealing the deal as the two joined palms in the symbol of newfound friendship and a small smile of her own peeked past the height of her collar. Perhaps her team wouldn't be as cold as she initially thought and that small spark of hope was enough to cement this choice as the correct one.

"H-Hai… i-if you will have me I would like to be your f-friend."

Natsumi's smile grew wider.

"Excellent, I'd propose a toast to such an event but sadly they do not serve alcohol here so we'll have to settle for water." She sighed deeply into her palm and Hinata laughed openly, the first time Natsumi had ever seen her do so and she couldn't help but mentally pat herself on the back.

Everything was going according to plan.

…

"Mission accomplished Hokage-sama. Tora has been captured and returned as requested."

Kurenai bowed respectfully towards their leader as she and her team turned in yet another mission for the day, their fifth if she was keeping track correctly. They were efficient to a fault and that was one of the many things she enjoyed about her charges, no matter the task they always got the job done with minimal issues and she was proud to boast that Team Eight maintained a spotless mission record so far. Granted they had only taken D-rank missions but many would be surprised by the number of teams that somehow managed to fail even the simplest of tasks.

She attributed much of her team's success to strong leadership, but it was not her leadership that often rallied them but rather Natsumi's. From the Academy reports she had expected the girl to be something of a lone wolf, not keen to play well with others and perhaps even possessing a superiority complex given her status at the top of her year. It was not uncommon for supposed prodigies to be recluses as well, examples like Kakashi and Itachi Uchiha were proof enough of that. However, it quickly became clear that all of those predictions had proven to be unwarranted.

Natsumi took a surprising level of interest in her team's well being and had quickly established herself as the second in command of their squad. While it was still her job to give them orders, it was more often than not the blond that would decide how those orders would be interpreted and in turn executed. That wasn't to say the girl was perfect though, she could be a bit narrow in her thinking and so she'd made it a point to challenge her with more creative and difficult tasks to expand her reasoning ability and so far that was working rather well.

However, it wasn't just Natsumi's actions that had surprised her but it seemed almost as if overnight all her students had begun to make strides in bettering themselves or the team as a whole and she had more than a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the blond container.

Her first clue came when Kiba, the notoriously hard-headed member of their squad and rival for the position of team leader, suddenly backed off completely from his earlier behavior. No longer did he fight against Natsumi's orders as openly as he once did and arguments between the two had grown significantly less frequent towards the latter end of their first month together. Being somewhat familiar with the Inuzuka clan and their habits she knew such a change rarely occurred on its own and so she'd quickly concluded that something had to have occurred between the two that solved the dispute of leadership.

Given their personalities and the level of obedience Kiba was displaying she was inclined to believe the two had settled things with their fists instead of their words. A measure she didn't exactly approve of in most cases but one that seemed to have worked out for the moment. She did, however, keep a close eye on the two of them to ensure that nothing got out of hand.

The second far more obvious clue came in the sudden shift in the dynamic between Hinata and Natsumi. The two had always been amicable enough and it was easy for her to see that Hyuga girl held some measure of admiration for her skilled teammate but her timid nature combined with Natsumi's forceful presence had prevented any meaningful connection between the two. They worked together perfectly well but beyond that they were strangers.

Or at least, that had been the case up until recently.

Once again it seemed as if Natsumi had been busy behind the scenes because the two were suddenly far closer than they'd ever been, which granted wasn't saying much as they had barely even spoken to one another outside of meetings but it was still a noticeable change. Natsumi had slowly but surely begun to treat Hinata less and less like a stranger, striking up conversations and had recently begun inviting her to train together outside of their meetings, and of course, she had immediately noticed the impact this sudden attention had on Hinata.

The timid Hyuga was growing ever so slightly more confident in herself and her abilities, not drastically so by any means but the signs were there. She began to speak more openly and suggest courses of action during team exercises whereas before she'd been content to follow in the lead of her teammates. Her skills had benefited from this building perception shift as well and her taijutsu was slowly improving, she was hesitating less in her attacks and bringing out the full nature of the gentle fist. A few more months with progress like this and Hinata would almost certainly be a fierce opponent.

With their growth and excellent teamwork perhaps something a bit more challenging than chasing lost cats and pulling weeds would be appropriate?

She would speak with the Third about it soon.

AN. Chapter complete!

This took a bit longer than expected just because I kept rewriting this chapter unsure of exactly what I wanted from it. My main goal was to show how the team was functioning but I didn't want to leave Natsumi's perspective too much because that's a core part of how this fic has been written. This one has felt the most comfortable so far thought. Anywho, there are things I want to address and clear up so let's not waste any time.

Question: Does Natsumi know the shadow clone technique? If not, will she learn or use it soon?

I touched upon this in the Mizuki incident chapter but I suppose I should have made it it's own bullet point so I will explain it again here in detail. Does she know the shadow clone jutsu? No. There was no time for her to learn it with everything that was going on and if she had I promise you she would have used it during their genin test. She stopped Mizuki and then gave medical attention to Iruka and Hideo before Anbu arrived and collected the missing scroll.

Now, will she eventually learn it? She very well could there are a lot of avenues for her to pick it up, she could oversee someone perform it, someone else could teach it to her, she could steal the scroll for one reason or another, etc. Someone mentioned that she could find it in Orochimaru's notes but I'm not going down that route because at that point it's just too convenient, it also isn't going to cover much more given that someone like Orochimaru very likely picked up other notebooks instead of just writing in one he was given in the orphanage.

Lastly, if she learns it will it be any time soon? This is hard to say but I'm leaning towards a hard no to her picking this up anytime soon. The reason being is that Natsumi with shadow clones is nearly unbeatable, Naruto's pt.1 clones sucked because he as a fighter sucked. He had no taijutsu skills, no other techniques, he used almost no strategy and so many other problems that Natsumi doesn't have. Keep in mind that as of right now Natsumi can debilitate if not cripple a person by just touching them with her medic skills, now summon any army who can do that while also have access to good taijutsu, strategy, and elemental ninjutsu. It's not even a fair fight and that makes things incredible boring because the winning strategy will always be either flood the area with clones and nuke the opponent or dogpile the opponent and cut every single tendon in their body with chakra scalpels.

For the sake of actually forcing her to fight with her mind and other skills, she won't learn the jutsu for a good while. If you don't like it that's okay but I'd rather not have to make every villain or opponent godlike just to give her some kind of challenge.

Take care and stay safe!