Chapter 10: The Man Of The Hour

"Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives."

― Nadia Scrieva, Fathoms of Forgiveness

Naruto

'Someone's coming.'

Footsteps approach the stalls, Naruto slowly unfurling his hands.

And Neji uses the chance to instantly slip himself backwards, gasps in breaths of warm air. Blood and bile churn at the back of his throat, pain running down his body despite no longer being in Naruto's hold.

Kakashi pokes his head in a second later, peers between the two boys. His eye falls upon indigo to sanguine colored bruises blooming across Neji's neck, the crisscross of scratch marks along Naruto's arms...

'I made it just in time.' He realizes.

"Ah, I got a bit worried you got lost in finding the restrooms Naruto when you didn't return as fast as expected. Hurry and get cleaned up some so you can listen to Lord Third's instructions regarding the final phase of these exams."

Naruto barely looks at him, vermilion eyes still focused on Neji.

"...If you choose to forget what I've said here and now, then I promise I'll remind you of it."

Kakashi blows out a breath, steps further into the bathroom putting himself between the duo. "Come on Naruto, I know you don't want to be disqualified after making it this far. Right?"

"...Right." Naruto mutters.

Crimson slowly melts away, Naruto allowing him to drag him away.

Neji watches them go, spits out a goblet of blood into the sink. In the mirror he sees Naruto's gaze turn back to him, hates how his body stiffens in alarm that he'll break loose from Kakashi's hold to finish him off.

'Get a hold of yourself.'

He tightens his fists at his sides, waits a minute before following them out.

The grand finale is a tournament like Kakashi-sensei mentioned weeks ago, Lord Third regarding all the remaining genin. At least 18 via count from the proctors, too many to pass. Onyx eyes skim over Naruto and Hinata, lips flattening at faded splotches of blood to Naruto's attire.

Based on the reports he received from Ibiki and Anko, Naruto is highly likely to become a chunin.

'Is it a good or bad thing Naruto's made it this far? If I restrict him somehow from going up in rank, it will ignite his wrath and risk damage to Konoha and all surrounding areas.' He takes a drag from his pipe.

"You will now all be randomly selected to do one-on-one matches against each other. Only the victor will get to continue on to the Finals where we'll officially decide who will go up in rank to chunin." Hiruzen announces.

Hayate steps forward to be referee, gestures for everyone to turn their attention to the monitors overhead.

The first match will be Sasuke vs. Yoroi.

"Are you sure you can do this Sasuke? That strange tattoo is still causing you pain. I can-" Sakura begins from his right only for Sasuke to vehemently shake his head.

"No, I already cleared it with Kakashi-sensei. I can still participate in my matches as long as I don't use my sharingan." He voices, lowering his voice for their now opponents to avoid hearing.

Naruto arches a brow, as skeptical as Sakura. "And you're sure you can fight without activating it?"

Dark eyes fix to blue, scoffing. "Just watch and see. You're not the only one who's been putting in extra hours outside of team training to learn new skills Naruto."

'That Yoroi guy was on the team with that guy with glasses. He dropped out though, why didn't he as well?' Naruto observes as the two make their way down to the arena's center.

Kakashi-sensei and the other jonin must be aware of Team Shiore's behavior back in the forests, the man with a melted face he clearly stole from someone else.

But nobody is doing anything to stop Sasuke's match from proceeding.

He yawns, mind drifting from truly focusing on Sasuke's round or any of the others that come after it. Old Man Third is probably unsure what to do about his current progress in these exams from his earlier staring, it's the first time in a long while he can't stop him from doing what he wants.

Though will those equally old hags Homura and Koharu veto him becoming a chunin or will he give him some silly excuse out of his ass that jinchurikis and sacrifices have to go up in rank at the same time?

'No. I can't think about all that right now.'

Sakura pokes his side, nods in the direction of the main screen.

Naruto vs Kiba.

"Hey, you're up! Get going before they think you're forfeiting." She hisses.

A grin spreads across his face, nodding. "Don't have to tell me twice y'know!"

Kiba cracks his knuckles in utter delight as Naruto heads down the stairs. "About time I get payback for you slamming me back into those stairs all those weeks ago! I ain't about to let you get the best of me again!"

"GO NARUTO, GO KIBA!" Hinata calls out from above.

Naruto blinks in surprise at the loud cheer along with so many others who step back from her to give her a wide berth. He can't recall if it's from Konoha folklore or not, but a common saying amongst all the nations is never cheer on or praise a jinchuriki in anything lest you want them to spread their chaos to you and your loved ones.

Still, he glances back to the stands taking in her pinkened cheeks, a light, but nervous smile playing at her lips.

"Thanks." He mouths in return and her grin widens just faintly, enough for the knots of anticipation in his chest to loosen some as well.

Kiba snorts, flicks out his nails as he gets into position. "Heh, did you actually force Hinata to cheer for you in order to not be so embarrassed when you lose?"

Naruto's grin vanishes, moving into an offensive stance.

"No, she's only cheering for you out of courtesy being her teammate and all y'know; we both know you're going to lose this match."

Hinata

"Why's she cheering on the Dead Last?" Choji openly asks aloud between bites of chips.

Is that part of the rules of her being a sacrifice? He'd barely listened during those lectures from Iruka-sensei as they always seemed to come right before lunch, focused more on his stomach growling than a tradition Konoha does that would never affect him or his clan.

Ino sends him a glare strong enough to nearly make him choke mid-chew. Shikamaru wisely stays quiet centering his thoughts, troublesome enough he might have to deal with one of those sound shinobi as his opponent with who's left on the roster.

"Obviously Choji it's because she has to, who knows what Naruto would do to her if she didn't direct some encouragement to him as well?!" She huffs.

'That isn't the reason why.' Hinata muses, though she doesn't bother correcting her or anyone else possibly thinking the same thing. Far down the row the Sand siblings watch the match with a renewed interest. If Shino was able to gather via his bugs that Gaara is Suna's jinchuriki, then it's easily possible they already know Naruto is Konoha's.

The eldest of the trio, Temari, mutters something to the puppeteer who nods his agreement.

'Ah if I could be a fly on the wall next to them.'

"They're saying Naruto doesn't look that strong for being Konoha's jinchuriki. His expressions and behaviors so far don't match what they're used to seeing in Gaara." Shino supplies quietly to her left.

Hinata smiles thankfully at his eavesdropping, that too is so far from the truth of things.

"I don't think they've even been here in the village a full 2 weeks to make such an assumption." She murmurs.

Shino hums. "When you're used to seeing a jinchuriki always thinking and acting violently, it will be strange to not see Naruto acting in such a similar way. I'm afraid though before these matches are over, we're all going to see said side of Naruto come out."

She follows his line of sight to tell-tale bruises upon Neji's neck, bruises that weren't there until Naruto went into the restroom after him...

There was no time to ask Naruto what exactly he did to her cousin in those few minutes they were alone, though she's going to get an answer out of him once all these matches are said and done.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

At least two dozen Naruto spread out all across the arena, send out bullets of air Kiba easily evades.

Kiba snickers, nods to Akamaru who turns into his human-beast clone beside him.

"Don't think you can escape me via a clone trick! Akamaru and I have got the scent of your true self locked down!"

"Fang over Fang!"

The duo slash and tear apart the field, popping clones in their wake, dust and dirt coating the area in a layer of smog.

"Great, I can hardly see anything now!"

"Who's winning? Kiba or Naruto?"

"Maybe it's a double knockout?"

Hinata tunes out her peers, activates her byakugan once more.

Amid the haze she sees Kiba slowly falling into Naruto's trap. The moment Naruto transforms Akamaru into himself reversing their positions, pushes him into a direct slam to the chest from his unassuming master just as they finish another rotation on his apparent final two clones.

All before disappearing back into the smog.

'No way he can handle that many fang over fang!' Kiba grins triumphantly at the damage to the arena as he lands on the opposite side of where he first launched into attack.

Only one Naruto remains now, half slumped looking down at something.

"Come on Akamaru, let's finish this!" He declares, pausing when he doesn't hear his footsteps follow.

'Wait, where is he?'

The dust clears enough for him to step forward carefully, see Naruto peering down at an unconscious Akamaru. He glances back up at him with a grin, Kiba stiffening taking in his fallen partner.

"Guess your sense of smell wasn't good enough to realize when I took your loyal companion's place and had you attack him yourself."

"What?! When!" Kiba snaps. They targeted him perfectly in sync, neither of them had slowed down for Naruto to even get a hit in.

Naruto shrugs. "I made enough backup clones for neither of you to fully notice the switch, used the destruction you guys created as a perfect cover. The speed of fang over fang means you have to be precisely on point to ensure your target doesn't move; always."

A new clone appears behind Kiba then, locks his arms in place before he can do a passing fang alone to turn this around.

"Not bad for a jinchuriki, huh?" The clone taunts, Kiba squirming in his grip to no avail. He snarls his teeth attempting to go for a bite to his hands, fangs only sinking into air as he spins him about.

"Damn it, get off me!" He growls, effect of the ration pills waning.

The clone just holds on tighter as his strength fades, mocks his efforts with a bemused smirk.

Naruto draws up the surrounding haze and debris, a tornado the color of grime spiraling up all around them.

The match is his win, just as he told him from the beginning...

"Wind Release: Dust Whirlwind!"

Jiraiya- Ichiraku's / Konoha Intelligence Division Office

'Finally, I'm back.'

The forests at this time of year around Konoha smell of evergreen and maple, are slowly turning into shades of amber yellow and vibrant reds. A thick moss intertwines with the roots of trees so tall now they block out the sun compared to the last time he was in this part of the world.

First note of business: Get some lunch and hopefully catch up with a lady or two also in need of a meal!

Ichiraku's is about the only place open that doesn't have a line out the door, taking the stool that gives him a full view of the kitchen.

He breathes in the mix of pork and beef broth, peppers and seaweed finely chopped up to be stirred in.

"Ayame, is that you? You've shot up like a weed since I've last seen you!" Jiraiya chortles, marvels taking in the woman who will one day take over this establishment.

She clearly got her looks from her mother.

Teuchi walks up next to her to take over the pots, blocks his view of her with a package of noodles, spices, and herbs he gestures for her to take to the back.

"It's been years Jiraiya." Teuchi notes by way of greeting, frosty lilt in his voice that makes him peer up at him from the menu.

'Hmm, well that's new.'

He's sure he's not hearing things even with Teuchi's ever cheerful grin, a man who appreciates his craft.

And his secrets.

"Too long to still just be this little eatery! What, it's been decades since you opened this shop, right? I can't believe it hasn't grown beyond just as a small hole in the wall compared to the other restaurants in this district of the village!" Jiraiya mentions in return, most of the booths filled up with patrons.

Teuchi shrugs, follows his gaze around at the mix of customers from groups of salarymen to couples all in need of a quick bite. "I'm not looking to grow at the moment, lunch rush is busy as usual."

Jiraiya puts his menu aside. "Well, I haven't eaten a proper meal in days, so I'll take a large tonkotsu ramen with extra eggs, onions, and naruto."

Teuchi stiffens for a second, smile cracking before plastering it back on.

"Huh, been awhile since anyone has ordered naruto as an ingredient." He remarks.

Jiraiya arches a brow. "You don't have it?"

Teuchi chuckles. "Now I never said that! I always stay stocked up in any ingredients needed to make my varieties of ramen."

Jiraiya plays with a few salt and pepper shakers as he gets to work on his order, onyx eyes shifting between him and the condiments.

"Speaking of Naruto, you serve him too, right? I mean the boy this time. Some people avoid this place for that very reason, like it's bad luck to be where the jinchuriki and the latest sacrifice dine regularly."

Teuchi says nothing for a moment. "...Is it a problem that I do? I'm one of the only establishments that serves them both at a fair price or occasionally for free."

Jiraiya beams, laughs to ease the tension Teuchi doesn't return.

"Nah, of course not! After all, I suppose all those rumors about the jinchuriki being bad for business hasn't changed anything knowing how many repeat customers you got here."

Teuchi blows out a breath. "That isn't to say Naruto doesn't have his...moods. However, he's been more polite since that girl was given away to him."

Jiraiya considers this quietly. He's referring to whoever was sacrificed to him. Tradition goes he'll soon need another offering, a gift seen within the same range as the girl tossed to him.

Supposedly, the reason there isn't any notable damage around the village.

Yet.

"How is the Kid anyways? Know anything about the person meant to stop any future rampages?" He lightly probes.

Outside of the Intelligence Division and the Hokage, Teuchi and his daughter are probably the only people who know the most about Naruto's day to day activities. All the mundane hobbies and things of interest to him that won't be in some classified file.

Teuchi doesn't answer this time, too focused on simmering his pork and boiling his noodles to perfection before sliding the bowl his way.

"We both already know the answer to that. I won't tell you Naruto's personal business, not when you're only just returning back to the village Jiraiya." He eventually says before moving to greet a family of four settling into a recently vacated booth.

Jiraiya observes him from the corner of his eye between slurps of noodles.

'Guess I gotta do this the more direct way.'

"Huh, it's like a tornado blew through here."

Jiraiya's gaze circles the room, papers and folders tossed about in a confetti of white.

"One did." Tonbo states flatly between stacking and paper clipping files, Ibiki sending him a look before greeting Jiraiya with a crooked grin.

"Master Jiraiya, it's a pleasure to have you back in the village! Apologies on this...mess. Would you like some tea or coffee?" Ibiki offers, Jiraiya shaking his head with a pat to his stomach.

"No thanks! Stopped by Ichiraku's on my way here."

Mozuku wrinkles his nose. "Heh, no matter how good the food is, I wouldn't go there knowing that-"

Ibiki holds up a hand to interrupt him, dark eyes turning stormy not to start with any further negativity. "We'll be in my office, finish up in here with Tonbo. Lord Third wants those files on the true deceased members of Team Shiore asap."

Jiraiya takes in the band-aids to his fingers, bemused grin etching up. "You get in a fight with a paper shredder and lose or something?"

Ibiki's annoyance switches to puzzlement until Jiraiya gestures with his head to his fingers, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"Oh this? This was a...warning I guess you could say. From the Nine Tails boy."

'Naruto did all this?' Jiraiya frowns.

He plops down into the chair across from.

"Can I ask why he chose to?"

Ibiki shrugs though he can tell the boy is a sour topic for everyone in the office.

"I pushed on the boundaries of his patience admittedly. The sacrifice given to him is Hinata formerly Hyūga. I had a few of my men tracking her about the village just to see if she was up to something, plotting a way to escape her duties or if she was corresponding with her former clan. Naruto eventually found out and this destruction, these little cuts on my hands are his way of telling me to stop."

Jiraiya takes in this news with a low hum.

"The Hyūga actually gave up one of their own to be sacrificed? What about concerns with their kekkai genkai? Or was she sealed?"

Ibiki fiddles with a nearby pen. "As far as what I've gathered, Hiashi chose not to brand her as a parting gift. The past sacrifice's family I recall got something similar in the sense that his parents were given enough ryo to live out the rest of their lives comfortably."

Jiraiya nods, gestures for him to continue.

"Ah, anyways, it seems he and the other Hyūga Elders believed Naruto would kill her or she would die on a mission. The only people who seem to care about her absence from the clan is her younger sister Hanabi and her former caretaker Natsu."

Jiraiya skims her and Naruto's files as Ibiki slides them his way.

"Where are the two now?" He asks.

Ibiki glances to his overhead clock.

"Going by today's date and time, they should be in the preliminary matches of the chunin exams."

Jiraiya nods, reviews over Hinata's folder once more before snapping it shut.

"Placing any bets?!" He jokes, Ibiki coughing with a shake of his head.

While it's common to gamble on the best rookies each year, it isn't encouraged for proctors to play a role in such activities.

"To be honest...Naruto can win. The Sand Siblings from Suna and maybe his own teammate Sasuke are the only ones I think could give him so trouble." Ibiki mentions.

Jiraiya beams at his openness, maybe he'll find a way to peek or sneak his way in to watch a match or two.

"Huh, well, guess it's a shame the Hyūga clan gave up on Hinata so quickly! Granted, that probably means Naruto taught her a thing or two on how to counter them."

Hinata & Neji

'The next match is mine.'

Her name beside Neji's, the pit of dread in her stomach that's haunted her of this moment coming has now become reality, stirs awake at her rising heartbeat.

Dozens of knots curl around her chest and throat, tightening her fists to stop her trembling.

'It's fine, you're fine.' She breathes, centers her thoughts.

Neji crosses his arms as she makes her way downstairs, pearl eyes hardening.

"Forfeit." He states so simply that Hinata nearly asks him to repeat himself.

His eyes narrow at her puzzled look. "You heard me, forfeit. Don't embarrass yourself or the clan's abilities against me."

Hinata draws out a slow breath. "Former clan. The Hyūga name became no longer mine once Father left me at Naruto's door."

Neji scoffs at her explanation. "None of that changes the fact you'll still be using Hyūga clan techniques. We both know you're too slow and lack the strength to win against me. You'll save yourself the trouble and a lot less pain if you just forfeit this match now."

Hinata doesn't answer him this time, eyes instead moving to Naruto in the stands watching them intently.

A smile lifts to her face at his simple nod, Neji watching their quiet exchange.

"Your little lapdog can't protect you if you don't back down." He warns.

Hinata's grin vanishes at his comment, straightens her body into position as her gaze turns to steel.

"If I'm to lose as you say I will, then I'm bringing you down with me."

Goosebumps rise across his skin in alert, venom in her voice. This is a harshness Uncle tried for years to bring out of her that now of all times she's showing when he isn't even here to witness it.

'She almost sounded like Uncle just now or one of the Elders...' Neji clenches his teeth.

No, not like them. Like Naruto.

Hayate looks between them before nodding.

"Begin!"

Byakugans activate in unison, racing forward, fingers poised for each other's chest and arms.

A flowery scent hits his nose as he strikes at a pressure point near her elbow, stunned when it doesn't seem to faze her. A burning sensation prickles at his fingers from where he originally touched her, skin seeming to peel back revealing flesh and bone.

'What? No, this has to be some genjutsu! Since when can Hinata-' He shakes off the thought, pushes through the image to move for her right side.

She dodges his first palm, strikes at his chest and left arm as he pierces the same sections on her right.

'She's faster.' Neji notes, gentle fist blocked or countered with each palm strike he tries to land to finish this match. He picks up his speed, Hinata moving to match him before he can fully seal the pressure points in her arms, abruptly sweeps low.

"Lightning Release: Flash Palm!"

Lightning crackles into her fingertips, jabs straight into his knee shaking his balance.

Neji leaps back before she can go for his other leg, shakes out the shocks racing through him. He keeps a distance, assesses the damage to himself and her. They both have only a few remaining chakra points left; few other ways left to attack...

'How? How is she able to keep up with me when she always lost to me in all our past sparring sessions?'

It hasn't been that long since she was sacrificed, Naruto couldn't have taught her all of this alone.

A metallic taste hits the back of his tongue, spitting up blood before he can hold it back.

It drops down to the cement in a growing puddle, peering up to Hinata to see her stance is equally as shaky. Her body looks ready to fold in on itself, cracking her hands to get into position once more at Neji attempting to slink closer.

Hayate studies the two, clears his throat. "Both of you seem to be unable to continue the match, so I determine that it's a double-"

Neji holds up a hand to stop him, ignores a painful throb sinking into his chest.

"No, I'm not done yet; I can and will still fight if need be. Hinata, give up this match; now."

His vision defies him starting to blur, Hinata's features morphing into concern as she looks him up and down.

She gathers her breath to speak, cough up specks of blood a deep velvet red, too similar to the color of his own.

"Neji...you're about to pass out. Why do you hate me so much still when I've already been sacrificed, lost my Hyūga name? Does it bother you that much that my prior title as heiress still affects your standing in the clan as a Branch member? After this, you should go to my Father for the truth regarding Uncle Hizashi. You'll learn that I'm not the first person in the clan to be sacrificed."

Outrage crosses his face, twisting his body to rush for a final pierce to her chest...

Widening pearl eyes get blocked by crimson, his arm suddenly locked in place, his wrist pulled backwards until a sickening crack rings out.

Naruto.

Wind blows up debris into mini tornadoes about the arena, keeps their jonin sensei from closing in.

Neji winces, body sinking to the ground as Naruto hovers over him.

"Naruto, don't-!" Hinata's calls out before her voice gets swallowed by the whistle of wind.

"I warned you."

He balls up his free hand, fist slamming into his chest.

Blood instantly fills his mouth, coppery taste slamming all his senses at once as Naruto's second punch strikes his jaw.

Neji watches Hinata's alarmed look as his body falls before it moves to Naruto's deadly expression, hands coming out of the dust pulling him back before everything goes dark.

When he awakens, he's surrounded by white on all sides. His body feels like it's weighed down by rocks, attempting to sit up only sends a surge of pain all across his body, room spinning.

His eyes land on a tube that connects to a pump, two bags of clear fluids hanging. 'Oh, I'm hooked up to an IV.'

"You're awake." Hiashi breathes out from across the room, scoots his chair closer.

"U-Uncle?" Neji rasps, peering around.

Hiashi nods, gestures for him to lay back. "There's no need to try and move just yet, you've barely just started your recovery. From what Dr. Hashijimi discussed with your team, you have 5 broken ribs and a fractured right wrist."

Neji settles back into his pillows reluctantly. "How many...How many days has it been since the preliminaries?"

Hiashi's lips flatten, and he knows then he isn't probably going to like what he has to say next.

"The preliminaries were a little over 5 days ago Neji. In the end, it was a considered a double knock-out by consensus of Hayate and the other jonin. What did you do to elicit the jinchuriki's wrath in such a way? Your first night here there had to be two assigned guards just to ensure he didn't come in to finish the job. All the trees closest to the training grounds have been sliced apart and talk has started our clan has purposefully incited the jinchuriki's rage to try and get additional perks. Explain yourself."

Neji stiffens at his harshness. "Hinata...she was stronger than I thought she would be. She mentioned that she isn't the first sacrifice the clan has done, something that involves my Father, Hizashi."

Anger melts out of him at Neji's reasoning, Hiashi crumpling.

And its then Neji notes a worn letter in his hands.

His stomach sinks, clicking his tongue.

'Hinata was telling the truth?'

Hiashi passes the letter to him, voice quieting to a whisper to avoid anyone overhearing. It's rare to hear Uncle speak of his eldest daughter nowadays, everything about Hinata practically wiped from the compound.

But now, at times like this, the cracks and reminders of her presence start to slip through.

"Hinata was honest with you Neji where I have not been. There's...much I haven't told you about the clan that I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Hiashi states before going quiet once again, gesturing to the letter.

The rest of the answers he wants he'll need to read from his Father's final message for him.

Naruto & Hinata

"You stole all of this; didn't you?" Hinata sighs, rolling over in her futon.

Just about the only things Naruto hasn't stolen for them since her discharge from the hospital are the medicines she was given during her stay and the medications she'll be on for the next two weeks to ensure her heart fully recovers.

Kurenai-sensei told her to not even worry about the bill, her concerns focused instead on the boy she's meant to be keeping calm.

Naruto scowls, burrows right in beside her knowing she's too tired to push him out.

It doesn't stop her from lightly poking at his chest as he turns her to face him, blue to lilac stubbornly watching each other.

Hinata blows out a breath, cheeks burning pink.

"...You didn't even ask."

Naruto's brows furrow. "Ask what?"

She wiggles her body as way of explanation, Naruto studying her blankly.

"If you could come into my futon. You just hopped in." Hinata grumbles.

Naruto blinks, rolls himself away to an arm's length.

"Oh, sorry. Can I come into your futon even though I'm already here?"

Hinata can't help the giggle that escapes. "Yes, I'd like that."

Naruto grins, right beside her again a moment later.

"Now, as I was saying, stealing is too harsh of a word when I'm just borrowing these scrolls and books temporarily! That old hag isn't going to talk with the blackmail we have on her y'know."

Hinata sits up slowly.

"Alright, tell me what you learned from these old school albums and records from the Academy."

Naruto pulls out the original photo he found from the Uzumaki scroll, points to a class picture from at least 40 years ago.

"Look at this guy with the spiky white hair and the one in this class picture. They're the same guy, don't cha think?! I mean, not often you see people with white hair when they're young and it's in the same style." Naruto grins excitedly.

Hinata studies the two pictures before nodding her agreement.

"It says his name is...Jiraiya? Ah, that name came up during our lessons on The Second Shinobi World War, he's one of the three Sannin. I think he's the Toad one."

'That's one mystery solved! Now I just gotta find him and see if he knows who this blond kid is!' Naruto beams, rubs his chin thoughtfully.

Hinata pats his arm. "I don't think he's going to be easy to find. All 3 Sannin no longer live in the village at this time."

She knows where his thoughts have gone, a teacher to train him for the Finals.

Kakashi-sensei has turned his attention to Sasuke and Naruto only spent one day with Ebisu-sensei before returning home early utterly bored and maybe disappointed his lessons were just the basics.

"Talk to Ebisu-sensei again Naruto. See if he can give you a harder lesson this time."

Naruto scoffs. "He's just a closest pervert, I'm not gonna learn anything else from him y'know."

Hinata sends him a look and he withers just slightly.

"...Fine."

On the way home he'll stop by Sugar Bliss Bakery to appeal to her sweet tooth.

He finds Ebisu at the Hot Springs District after finding a person willing to give him directions, frowns at his position near the woman's baths.

Trying to argue with some other pervert to stop what he's doing.

'Huh, a pervert trying to stop another pervert. Well, this a waste of my time.' Naruto observes, about to leap in the direction of the bakery when a toad crashes right in front of Ebisu's path.

"Shh, I told you to go away already! This is for my research!" The man bellows, turning to face him fully.

And give Naruto a clear look at his face and hair.

Jiraiya.

It's him. The man from the photos.

Naruto rubs his eyes, can't help but leap down to get a closer look.

'It is him. I'm not seeing things!'

A hundred thoughts rush through his mind, each battling to be asked about first. He knows things about the Uzumaki, who the boy in the photo is, perhaps even things about his parents Old Man Third refuses to tell him about.

Jiraiya gazes at him flatly, maybe unsure if he's going to scold him too.

"Who are you kid?" He grunts at his blatant staring.

Ebisu follows his line of sight, startled at his arrival before straightening his posture and glasses.

"Naruto! Ah, I didn't think you would be coming for today's lesson."

"I wasn't but..." He trails off, still gazing at Jiraiya curiously.

Doesn't he recognize him? Surely his similar features to the boy in the photo must be sparking up some memories.

Jiraiya scratches at his chin. "If you guys are done bothering me, I have some ladies I need to get back to observing!"

Naruto bristles. "Wait, you...you don't recognize me?"

Jiraiya shrugs. "Sure I do, you're our village's jinchuriki."

Naruto looks at him before back to the woman's baths, draws in a deep breath.

"Hey, an OLD pervert is watching you guys! Unless you want him to, I would leave!" He yells out.

The resulting screams and scampering of feet running away almost calms him.

Because a heat is still pooling in his stomach, fire he's ready to fuel and let fester. Destruction calls to him from the back from his mind, thoughts he can let spiral out of control.

But then he thinks of Hinata back at the apartment.

And he sputters out the fire before it can ignite, lets the remnants of these thoughts wash over the embers of hope this man would actually recognize him as anything more than Konoha's weapon, turning away to head to the bakery and then home.

"Hold on Kid, why'd you have to go and ruin my hiding spot?! Don't you know who I am?!" Jiraiya calls out after him.

Naruto looks back at him over his shoulder, scarlet in his eyes enough to dial back his annoyed expression.

He chuckles mockingly.

"Sure I do, Toad Sannin Jiraiya."

-x-

Naruto and Jiraiya finally meet! I don't know if I was a bit too hard/harsh on Jiraiya, but then again, in canon Jiraiya didn't start training Naruto until he did the Sexy Jutsu and this Naruto wasn't going to go with that method!

Hyūga family drama! Neji got served some humble pie.

It's a relief most of you guys seem like you don't care in this case about Sasuke or any other canon events not showing up lol. I just didn't want people to wonder where's Sasuke or Sakura when they don't show up for dozens of chapters. This story and my thoughts on it focus on Naruto and Hinata's romantic buildup with small moments focusing on secondary characters in between.

This story may be on a short break as I'll be on vacation at the beginning of March. Life has been a bit of a headache at the moment, and I don't want to rush myself if I can't get another chapter out before this month ends.

As always, pa-tre-ons get early access to chapters, I posted a NaruHina Valentines Day One-shot a few days ago! I go by TheLovelyMidnightWriter there! Check out my Insta by the same name for my anime drawing, travel pics, and book reviews as well!

Let me know your thoughts as always!