Let's start this from the beginning

Grand Assembly

- Part 3 -

"The Summit"

I

"This is a reconnaissance mission only. Unless you are detected, stay out of sight at all costs. Avoid combat if at all possible. It is of utmost importance that the perpetrators do not know we are on their trail. Is that understood?"

Three shouts of "Yes, Hokage-sama!" convinced him that, yes, they had indeed understood him just fine.

"Good," Hiruzen said. "Then be on your way."

The ANBU team vanished in a blur of motion, with one of them being so fast that even he had to focus to follow the movement. I suppose he hasn't earned his nickname for nothing.

Under different circumstances, he would have felt worried about sending only three of his subordinates on such an important reconnaissance mission, but with Shisui on the team, things ought to go alright. At the very least, he could confidently say that if things went south despite Shisui being present, another team or two being there wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway.

Besides, this mission shouldn't be that dangerous in the first place. Important, yes, but not outright dangerous unless he had severely misjudged the situation or something went wrong. Sending someone of Shisui's calibre should be, by all accounts, total overkill. It was only because of the things he had heard about Itachi's original timeline that he took this situation so seriously.

The matter his ANBU were supposed to investigate was some kind of incident that had taken place at a major bounty hunter station close to their northern border with the Land of Rivers that left both its employees and the ANBU team observing the station dead in its wake. While it was certainly worrying that someone–or, perhaps, a group of someones–could take care of not only capable Konoha shinobi but the no less capable bounty collectors at the station, incidents like that were hardly unheard of. A simple disagreement or one party trying to exploit the other was all it took for a fight to break out. The ANBU team meant to observe these stations getting involved was rarer, of course, but that happened from time to time, too. Therefore, sending one of his village's greatest assets would naturally seem somewhat excessive.

However, if one considered what Hiruzen knew from an alternative timeline, things might appear in a different light.

In Itachi's original timeline, Sunagakure had joined hands with Orochimaru to attack Konoha. Sneaking a force large enough for such an undertaking all the way to the village walls was no easy feat, and Hiruzen could admit that a part of him was actually impressed that they had managed to do so in the first place. They might have been allies, but their security would have caught wind of such a large operation in their country if there hadn't been a lot of excellent organisation and micromanaging involved.

He would never be able to know the details of how exactly they had done it, unfortunately, but he could guess at least some of the things that must have played a role in that embarrassing oversight of his counterpart:

For one thing, Konoha would have been occupied with hosting the finals of the Chūnin Exams. That was one of the busiest times a village could experience, and the security necessary to protect all the foreign guests meant that there weren't quite as many of his men stationed across the country as usual.

Furthermore, with them being allied with Suna, he would probably have paid a lot more attention to their more openly hostile neighbours, stationing those of his shinobi that weren't in the village proper for the duration of the exams at the borders they shared with them instead and leaving subsequently much less protection for Suna to overcome.

Then, all they had to do was to move fast and ruthlessly. Send small groups with sensors ahead to take care of who was left guarding the area, perhaps even using their identities as supposed allies to get closer to Konoha-nin without arousing suspicion before the rest of the troops followed; as long as they moved quickly enough, they would reach Konoha before the lack of reports from the killed patrols could tip Konoha off.

Hiruzen wouldn't be surprised if Orochimaru had shared some inside knowledge to help them out as well.

All this was relevant to the current situation because killing bounty hunter stations, nuke-nin nests, and similar institutions was historically a very common method to hide an approaching army. After all, there was no telling if their residents were willing to be hired to join the fighting or at least remain silent. There had been more than one case of a nation buying some rouges' silence, only for them to backstab them and sell the information of their advance to the enemy they had been trying to take by surprise.

It was simply easier to take them out before they got the chance.

There were many more guards patrolling the northern part of the country this time around, with much stricter rules regarding reporting in and remaining alert even towards supposed allies, so Suna would find it much harder to catch them off-guard this time around if they decided to try their luck. None of his spies had reported anything indicating they were planning something along these lines so far, but he preferred to be safe rather than sorry.

Well, Hiruzen mused, that isn't quite right either, is it?

While his spies hadn't reported anything, Yuwaku, the nuke-nin from Suna that Hinata Hyūga had managed to capture months earlier, had shared everything she knew about her former home with him, and while that didn't include invasion plans, there had been some oddities in her report. For example, according to her, there was a steady stream of missions leading deep into the desert that were seemingly without discernible purpose. Yuwaku herself had taken part in one such mission that had simply dropped off some supplies in the middle of the desert far away from any supply point she knew of before she had deserted the village.

His spies hadn't reported anything about that, either, but if the missions appeared like regular supply runs and the likes with seemingly no care for secrecy, it made sense they wouldn't pick up on them.

Seeing as that must have been going on for a number of years by this point, there would certainly be enough resources ready to support a small invasion. Hiruzen thought it unlikely that they would have planned to attack Konoha specifically for so long, but if the Kazekage had just decided to prepare for war in general, it would be all too easy to direct these resources against the Land of Fire if he so desired.

And all that wasn't even going into what he had found out about Suna's other suspicious activities from his other prisoner.

Long story short, there was nothing outright pointing at an imminent invasion, but enough hints that something was going on, and because Hiruzen knew what had happened in an alternate timeline, he had decided to play it safe and send Shisui to check the situation.

With everything else going on, they really couldn't afford to be careless right now.

I suppose we will see soon enough whether we're prepared enough to weather the storm or not…

Kiba stopped pretending to feel better than he actually did the moment the medics on site brought him to the hospital. Frankly, he didn't think he would have been able to keep the act up much longer, even if he had wanted to. Stubbornness could carry him for only so long before it had to give in to exhaustion.

And he was exhausted. Despite having done less than nothing the last few days in the forest, having spent his time either sleeping or resting, he still felt no better than when he first woke up after his fight.

A fight which, most notably, he could barely even remember anything of.

The first thing he had done after the initial check-up at the hospital had been cleaning himself some, deciding that much had to be done regardless of how tired he felt, but he was already sweaty again mere minutes after coming out of the bath, and at that point, there really was no denying anymore that he had a fever. Consequently, the best thing he could do would be to get some more sleep to recover, and while there was very little he would love more at the moment, Kiba forced himself to stay awake when he lay down.

He was expecting visitors soon, and it would do to be asleep when they arrived.

It was hard to keep track of time in his state. Kiba was sure he even dozed off a few times despite his best efforts to the contrary, too, so when the door finally opened with a tad more force than technically necessary, it felt like an eternity had passed when it was more likely that it hadn't even been an hour.

The first one to enter was his sister, followed by his mother. Both their ninken partners were suspiciously absent, a strange thing since the hospital usually allowed Inuzuka to bring them with them when visiting clansman unless there was a pressing medical reason that made it impossible, and there was neither any hurry in their steps nor extensive worry on their faces.

If anything, that told him just how stressed they were. The face of a shinobi was only ever this blank when they were trying very hard to keep things bottled up but kept failing.

"How's Akamaru?" Kiba asked, doing his best to keep his voice even despite his scratchy throat. He wanted to get at least this much out of the way before things escalated like he expected them to.

"He's alright," Hana told him with a reassuring smile that momentarily softened her face before it returned to the forcefully–and on her face, very much out of place–neutral expression from before. "He suffered no severe injuries, certainly nothing that will seriously bother him long. Give it a week or so and he will be good as new again."

The knot in his chest eased at that. He had been relatively sure that his friend hadn't been injured too badly, certainly nothing like himself, but he hadn't been in any condition to thoroughly check Akamaru himself in the aftermath of the fight. Hinata had checked him in his stead, of course, and he trusted her judgment unconditionally, but having someone else confirm it was still a relief.

"That's good, then."

"And what about you, Kiba?" Hana asked as she sat down on one of the chairs next to his bed, with his mother noticeably avoiding doing the same and instead remained standing at its foot with her arms crossed. "How are you feeling?"

There was no way he could ever fool his family and pretend to be alright. They could definitely see how exhausted and sweaty he was, literally smell his weakness, and easily look right through any act he might try to pull off. That didn't mean he couldn't slightly stretch the truth, though. "Tiered, I guess. Exhausted. Really could take a nap, too. I thought I was used to camping, but sleeping in the forest while knowing the exam was still goin' on and there being enemies all around really makes a–"

"Cut the crap, Kiba."

His mouth snapped shut with an audible 'clack' before he fully registered his mother's words.

Her voice was calm– no, that wasn't quite right. Devoid of emotions probably described it better. If Kiba weren't seeing the way her fingers clenched into the fabric of her sleeves–and wow, the fact that she spotted such an obvious tell was not a good sign–he could almost think she truly wasn't feeling anything.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Hana's face briefly distort into a grimace before she evened it out again and opened her mouth, "Kaa-san–"

However, their mother didn't let her finish.

"No, Hana. He may look like death warmed over, but the doctors said he will be alright, and he clearly is well enough to talk, so I won't mince my words. If he is brave enough to act like an absolute idiot, he can be brave enough to hear what I have to say."

Kiba had never truly appreciated how much Hana's support meant to him during arguments with their mother as he did when he sorely felt its loss at the way Hana immediately yielded with a lowered head.

Then, their mother's eyes focused on him, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, she looked at him with genuine anger.

Anger and fear.

That was a first, too.

"What were you thinking, Kiba?" she asked, her voice rising an octave towards the end before she quickly corrected herself with a sharp shake of her head. "No, forget that. Stupid question. The problem is that you were obviously not thinking at all."

He grimaced. "Kaa-san–"

"I'm not finished yet," she interrupted him as brusquely as she had done with Hana, and whatever confidence Kiba had managed to scrape together promptly went down the drain. "You had plenty of opportunities to train with me or the other members of the clan to master whatever technique you want or refine what you already have to your heart's content. Yet, you and your sister decided to play with something you barely understand, like children playing with fire, not knowing they will only get burned.

"You have a whole pantheon of friends with a wide range of different techniques and skills whom you could have asked for help, but instead, you rather studied a failed experiment from dusty scrolls that I should have burned years ago whose only other practitioner died using it.

"Your teacher quite literally belongs to the clan with quite possibly the largest arsenal of jutsu on the continent thanks to those cheat eyes of theirs, and beyond that, he is also the kind of person who religiously weights pros and cons against each other before making any kind of decision. But did you ask him for help? Did you ask him to teach you some special trump card"–scorn dripped from her lips at that term–"or apply any of the lessons about decision-making I know he has tried to teach you? No, you didn't, because you preferred to be an idiot and risk your life for something without any guaranteed gain!"

Kiba swallowed, but after some quick consideration, kept his mouth shut a little bit longer. He knew his mother, and from the looks of it, she wasn't quite finished yet.

"What the fuck, Kiba?"

Ah, there it is, he thought with something that was almost relief. That's much more like her.

Naming reason after reason, listing his mistakes in a manner that was clearly marked by anger and yet felt oddly removed from the entire situation, and generally just keeping a comparatively close lid on her emotions... none of these things really fitted her. That last exclamation, on the other hand? That was Tsume Inuzuka as she lived and breathed.

Ironically, he probably got a much better read on her emotions and thoughts from these few words than from the long-winded speech preceding it.

"I was being careful," Kiba ultimately settled for after being unable to think of something good to say, knowing the words wouldn't be received well but also well aware that saying nothing would be even worse.

He was certainly right about the 'it not being received well' part.

"Careful? Careful? It doesn't matter how careful you think you were! Playing with techniques you neither know nor understand is all but a death sentence! The fact you got off this lightly is a damn miracle! You should know that!"

"I do! And I really was careful!" Seeing as she opened her mouth to immediately shut him down again, he raised his voice and continued over her, "It's not like I just used it willy-nilly! I was sure it would be okay, and the White Wolf God Technique isn't actually that dangerous at all–"

"Not dangerous? It killed your father!"

Involuntarily, images of first a middle-aged man with short brown hair and red face markings not unlike his own and then of a small shrine standing in the foyer of their home flooded Kiba's mind before he could push them back.

His father had died when he was still very young. He barely remembered him, with what scant few memories he had amounting to little more than blurry pictures of his face and a vague impression of a melancholic smile, and most of what he knew came from second-hand stories his sister and mother told at times.

The strongest memory associated with his father belonged to his funeral, but even that was more due to his confusion at the time at seeing his mother cry.

Never before and never again afterwards did he see her tears.

"Hana checked it over," Kiba tried again, resolutely ignoring the queasy feeling in his guts. "She's an ANBU medic, remember? She knows her stuff and sorted out most of the quirks that made it so dangerous to begin with!"

While he had never shared the sheer dislike his mother felt for medic-nins ever since they couldn't save his father, Kiba had never thought too highly of them, either. Sure, he understood why they were valuable and appreciated it when Itachi-sensei healed their injuries after a rough sparring session instead of letting them tough them out, but that didn't change the fact he found their chosen profession unimaginably boring.

During his academy days, he had even regularly fallen asleep during their mandatory healing classes.

However, none of that took away from the simple fact that being a medic in the ANBU meant one was at the top of their game. So, if anyone could solve the problems with the technique that had ultimately killed their father, it was Hana.

"Hana?" their mother let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Konoha's medics are supposed to be the best in the world, but what good were they when your father's little trick backfired? Shit, that's what they're worth! What could Hana possibly do they couldn't?"

"That's–"

"Enough! I'm tired of hearing your excuses, stupid as they are. Maybe your time in the hospital dealing with the consequences of your idiotic actions will get through that thick head of yours where I cannot."

With that, she spun around and walked out of the room with large steps, ignoring any and all attempts to stop her as both he and Hana called after her.

Once she was gone, Hana fell back into her chair, her shoulders hanging low and a tired expression on her face, whereas Kiba looked with wide eyes at the open door for several more seconds.

She might have said some nasty words towards the end, but to him, it was obvious that his mother's sudden disappearance was nothing less than an escape.

His mother never ran away from a confrontation. It just didn't happen.

Then, something else clicked in his head that made him turn towards his sister. "Hana," he asked, hating that some of his unease had slipped into his voice. "What did she mean with consequences?"

She grimaced before giving him a small, tired smile that barely reached her eyes. "Don't worry. The way she phrased it makes it sound much more dramatic than it actually is. You will still make a full recovery and probably will even be allowed to go home within a day or two."

That was a relief, but still didn't fully answer his question. "So…"

"The medics are currently preparing medicine based on both the results from Tou-san's accident and my notes that we are confident is going to speed up your recovery. It should be finished soon, and once you take it, your chakra will slowly start to recover."

"That's good," Kiba sighed, some of his anxiety easing, but Hana wasn't finished yet.

"However, when I say 'slowly', I mean it. It should recover to the point where you can go through the day normally enough within a couple of days, but you better forget about training for the foreseeable future. Not even just Taijutsu, seeing as any excessive strain on your body could hinder the healing process. Maybe you can start to ease back into it in around a month, but even then you won't be allowed to train as intensely as before, so better don't even think about immediately going back to training until you collapse. This recovery is going to take a while, and I will be damned if I let you ruin your health even further just because you got impatient."

Kiba's immediate response was an outright denial, but considering the circumstances that led him here, the serious look in Hana's eyes, and his mother's behaviour earlier, even he knew when to better give up. So, in the end, all he said was a soft, "Yeah, okay. I get it."

Hana looked at him for several long seconds before nodding to herself. "Good."

The silence that followed was uncomfortable and even a bit awkward, but Kiba didn't dare break it. He was afraid that if he did, something would go wrong–more than it already had, that was.

It was Hana who ultimately spoke up again first:

"Why did you use it?"

It was a simple question, but there was a lot to unload in it.

For one, there were the circumstances surrounding how he had come to learn it in the first place.

Back when his team had returned from their first C-Rank mission and the subsequent mess where they joined forces with Team 7, Kiba had thought about getting a trump card of his own, and at the time, his father's failed experiment had seemed like the obvious choice. If he could master that, he would not only finish what his father had started and have some actual connection to the man he barely remembered for the first time in his life, but he would also have an entirely new and powerful technique at his disposal that no enemy could possibly know about. It was perfect!

Of course, knowing what had happened to his father, he needed to correct whatever was wrong with the technique first, and for that, asking Hana for help did seem obvious, too. For one thing, her skills as an ANBU medic meant she would have exactly what it took to find and solve its problems, and for another, she would be eager to help, too. After all, she had many more memories of their father than he did and would thus logically be much more eager than he was to connect to him post-mortem.

Kiba also knew that him approaching her first instead of trying to keep his research a secret and then promising her to not experiment with it on his own would be enough to make her keep him in the loop regarding her research. The former helped because it made him look responsible, and the latter because, well…

Because the two of them never lied to each other. How could she possibly expect this to be the first time?

Kiba tried and failed to ignore the guilt surging through him at that, just like he always failed to when he remembered what he had done.

Thus, when she asked why he used the jutsu, part of what she actually wanted to know was why he had lied to her.

Second, she wanted to know why he had thought it necessary to use it during the exam when he had, in theory, other tools available to him at the time; what had made him think he had no other choice than this one.

"You know what the second exam was about, right? Good. So, we already had the two scrolls and…"

Hana's eyes never left Kiba's as he explained what had happened that had ultimately resulted in him using the White Wolf God Technique, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tell what she was thinking or whether she reluctantly accepted his reasoning or not.

"…and there were just so many of them, Iwa and Taki-nins both, and we couldn't break out, so…"

"So you decided to create an opening by force," she finished for him when his voice trailed off, and Kiba took heart in the fact that at least she didn't sound judgmental.

"Yeah…"

Even in hindsight, Kiba didn't think he had necessarily made the wrong decision. Everyone knew that Iwa-nins were more savage than any of their peers, and the rivalry between their two villages went back many years now. With that in mind, what were the odds of them not deciding to take out three prominent members of Konoha's clans when the opportunity presented itself to them? Especially when deaths during the exams weren't even punished?

No, he would rather risk crippling himself than allow his team to be killed on his watch.

"I suppose I can see why you would come to this conclusion," Hana said at last, looking unhappy at the admission. "But can you honestly say none of your team's combos would have achieved the same results? Better ones, even? And what about their aces? Surely they had something up their sleeves as well. Something that, perhaps, is a little bit less risky and with less repercussions?"

"We, er, didn't exactly talk about those beforehand," Kiba reluctantly confessed, wincing at the resulting look on her face.

"You should have done so, then."

He almost wished she could reprimand him more. But then again, if she wanted him to feel bad, he guessed it made sense she wouldn't, knowing how much more painful unsaid words could be sometimes.

Then, her face thankfully softened. "Please don't get me wrong, Kiba. I'm glad you're alright, I really am, and so is Kaa-san. She might be angry, but you haven't seen her when the doctors told her what you have done. I have honestly never seen her more afraid than right there and then. I can also somewhat understand your reasoning, and despite disagreeing with it, I'm proud you were willing to go so far to protect your teammates."

Rather than reassuring him, her words only made him feel all the more nervous, waiting for the inevitable 'but'.

"However," Hana predictably continued, "the fact that you went about it the most risky way possible after having intentionally tricked me into helping you learn that technique in the first place… that hurts, Kiba. It really did. Can you imagine how I would have felt if you actually died because of this?" She shook her head. "Please don't scare us like this again, okay?"

What could he do in that situation but nod and agree?

But despite Hana changing topics to something more light-hearted–more safe, his traitorous mind whispered from the back of his head–afterwards and even looking at him with something resembling her usual expression, Kiba felt that not all was right between them yet.

Not at all, and the less said about his mother, the better.

And somehow, he didn't think things would go back to normal anytime soon, either.

Hinata gently–not hesitantly, she told herself; merely careful not to disturb the room's inhabitants should they be asleep, that's all–knocked three times, and the time until a voice invited her in felt like an eternity despite it surely only having been a few seconds.

It was a two-bed bedroom she entered, and while she could see only one of its inhabitants due to the other being hidden behind a curtain, she could sense the all too familiar pulse of chakra behind it.

"Hinata-chan," Lee greeted her from where he was sitting in the bed closest to the door with a small smile and an unusually reserved voice. "I thought you would come to visit once you were done with the exam! Does that fact that's only now mean your team has successfully passed it?"

She tried very hard not to stare. The boy she knew could never sit still, his boundless energy making him literally bounce in his seat whenever he had nothing to do before promptly coming up with some new, strange training method, but the one sitting before her now looked tired and exhausted, with pale skin and bags under his eyes.

Barely sparing a moment to nod in confirmation to his question, she asked, "Lee, are you alright?"

Even his usual wide smile and thumb up looked more lacklustre than usual.

"Gosh, I must look terrible if even Hinata-chan seems so aghast! But worry not, for the power of youth shall prevail! Nothing can stop me from going straight back to work once my stay here has ended! I would be training even now if Guy-sensei hadn't reminded me that being careful during the sowing of the seed is just as important as enjoying its bloom!"

Hinata wasn't entirely sure what that was supposed to mean, but she thought it probably was something along the lines of taking the time to rest after an injury.

"And Neji-nii-san?"

Hinata could have checked on him long before she had actually entered the room, of course, but then and now both, something inside her resisted that idea. Every time she had considered doing so on her way through the long hospital corridors, her chest clenched and the thought of seeing her cousin in critical condition with her own eyes nearly immobilized her on the spot.

Itachi-sensei might have reassured her that his condition wasn't critical and that he would make a full recovery when he informed her about her cousin's condition, but when has fear ever been reasonable?

Thus, here she was, none the wiser and depended on Lee's words.

"He's sleeping right now," he said, making Hinata heave a sigh of relief while absently thinking that this was probably at least part of the reason why Lee spoke so comparatively calmly. "Neji got it a bit worse than me, but his spirit is strong! Don't worry, he will be back on his feet in no time!"

His words aside, the fact that Lee didn't appear too confident to be faking it nor very downtrodden made her ultimately believe him.

She still couldn't bring herself to actually check on Neji despite that, however. 'But when has fear ever been reasonable' indeed…

Forcefully focusing back on Lee, she asked, "What did happen to you, exactly? I thought for sure that if any team manages to proceed to the next round, it would be yours."

Only after the words had already left her mouth did she realize that he might not like having salt rubbed into his metaphorical wound, but she needn't have worried. Lee's expression remained friendly and open without the slightest hint of displeasure.

It was the truth, though. Having grown up and trained together their entire lives, Hinata knew better than anyone just how talented and hardworking her cousin was. Similarly, Lee had to be the most training-obsessed shinobi in all of Konoha, pushing far past what most others would consider safe or even just sane, whereas Tenten, lacking both Neji's inherent talent and Lee's insane work ethic, still somehow managed to come up with trick after technique after strategy to not become a burden for her team.

Hinata simply couldn't imagine them being forced out of the exams when she herself had somehow managed to persevere.

"In the end, our enemies were simply more fired up than us," Lee said wisely. "We first ran into a strong team from Suna and then another from Kumo a bit later. Both times, Neji decided we should retreat to spare the flames of our resolve for later when it was more suitable after just short bouts, but we were still a bit tired from those exchanges. Unfortunately, a large group of Iaw and Taki-nins cowardly used that to their advantage and attacked us when they thought our guards were down."

She gasped, memories of the ambush her own team had to endure flashing before her eyes. "They attacked you as well?"

He gave her a curious look, his head tilted like a dog's. "Oh? You faced them in battle as well, then?"

"Yes," she said, her mind going back to Kiba. She and Shino had visited him before she came here, but he had clearly been in a contemplative mood that didn't mash well with visitors, so Hinata had excused herself rather quickly to check up on her cousin and his team as well. "They nearly overwhelmed us, but Kiba managed to turn the table on them in the end."

That was quite the simplification, but seeing as she didn't feel up to retelling the entire story, it had to do. Fortunately, Lee seemed satisfied and even genuinely happy with just that.

"Wonderful! I will have to visit him later to offer my congratulations!"

Ignoring that statement, Hinata asked, "But were they really able to beat you?" Then, upon seeing his blinking at her in surprise, she quickly added, "I-I mean, there were many of them and they weren't weak, but surely the three of you could have handled them or at the very least escaped, right…?"

For the first time since her arrival, Lee's expression turned into something a tad more sombre. "You're right. Their ambush was excellently executed and would have worked like a charm if they hadn't underestimated the range of Neji's Byakugan, but ultimately, our flames definitely burned brighter than theirs even after the battles we had already endured up to that point."

"But?" she urged on when he didn't immediately continue.

"But I got overconfident. We were successfully pushing them back, but we also all needed a break, so I thought I ought to finish the fight quickly to allow my comrades to rest! When one of my opponents didn't fall back despite being outclassed, I didn't become suspicious in time, so when he allowed himself to be knocked out to make sure I was close enough to be hit by a summoned cloud of poisonous smoke, I couldn't react in time to dodge." His smile dimmed even further. "Neji blasted the smoke cloud away quickly, of course, but that was enough distraction for one enemy to land a lucky hit on him–a poisoned one, too. We still managed to fight back long enough to make an escape, but the damage was done, our wings capped."

It was a bit frightening how that story sounded both outlandish and believable at the same time.

Despite them being so strong and experienced, and even though they had surely been even with, if not outright superior to their enemies despite their numerical disadvantage, they had still lost because of one small mistake.

A single mistake that cost them the chance to be promoted.

"But it is what it is!" Lee exclaimed in a tone that managed to sound powerful even though he had maintained an appropriately quiet voice. "We may have stumbled this time, but we have not been felled. The next time, I will dash forward with all the power of youth at my back and call, and then, nothing shall stop us from becoming Chūnin!"

There was something oddly reassuring about seeing that Lee had evidently not lost his drive and still acted the same as usual.

If he can still be this optimistic, things may not be as bad as I first thought.

"Of course I will help you train, too," he continued unaware of her thoughts, making her blink at him in surprise.

"Really?"

"Naturally! You have improved by leaps and bounds since you joined me during my warm-up, but I think it's time to fan your flames even further! Konoha has to make a good showing during the finals lest we want people to think we're all spent and used up!"

Hinata had no intention of turning him down when he already offered his help so readily.

Before the exams had begun, she had been tentatively confident about being ready. A bit unsure, yes, but ultimately more confident than not.

Things had only gone downward from there, unfortunately.

However, after Kiba had gone as far as he did for their sake, the thought of not giving it her best shot, of not living up to his braveness and determination, was absolutely unacceptable to her. No matter what else she might feel, whether it was fear or anxiety or insecurity, it didn't matter; she had to become a Chūnin.

It was the least she could do to repay him for his actions.

"Thank you, Lee," Hinata said, sincerely grateful. "I think I will take you up on that, then."

Together with the training she would do with Itachi-sensei and her family, which would hopefully include Neji as well once he got better, it might even be enough to actually help her win.

She could certainly use all the help she could get.

Man, it has been a while, hasn't it? Over a year, in fact.

Long story short, this hiatus began due to me being too busy with IRL stuff and then continued even after I got things under control because 1) not writing for a while did seriously mess up my flow, and 2) I simply couldn't muster any motivation for interacting with the Naruto fandom as a whole.

It's not as dramatic a reason as getting into a car accident, having to move countries, or whatever other explanation you occasionally hear when a fanfic author returns after having gone missing for a long time, but it is what it is.

I have been getting back into writing this story for a while now, though, and decided to upload this chapter now because I feel confident I'm back in the right mindset. And let me tell you, having written pages upon pages of notes about my plans for this story certainly helped me get back into the thick of things!

Fellow authors, take note: even if they're not detailed, writing down some bullet points for your stories can be a real lifesaver!

Anyway, I'm back for good now. If anyone is still reading this, feel free to write s short review and say hi–I would definitely love to know whether I'm writing this just for me or if there are others enjoying it as well lmao

One more thing: I have been trying to reply to all the reviews that have slipped through the crack over the last ~16 months, but FFN just keeps giving me error messages whenever I try to send my messages. If you're still waiting for a reply, sorry! And if anyone know's if there's anything I can do to fix this, I would really appreciate a short notice!