Chapter 8: Doorway to the Future! Part 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters
Reviews:
D. Mentor- Thank you for the kind words!
Reasonable Man- Yes, Temari will participate in the Sasuke retrieval, although I still haven't quite figured out how it's all going to work.
Freedomringer- Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
Tsunade stood in front of the shinobi from Suna, observing every detail she could. She had read the reports on the invasion from Suna and asked several of her subordinates for their opinions. So she knew most everything about the foreign guests that were before her. Still, she watched them herself and drew her own observations, if by nothing else than habit.
First was the jounin stationed in front of the team. She knew who he was as soon as she saw his facial markings and the cloth covering half his face. 'Baki, Suna's top jounin and most likely one of the choices for the next Kazekage despite having no clan status. He's known for his high wind affinity and the ability to use it to cut an opponent on command.' Tsunade mentally grimaced as she remembered something else from the reports. 'He's also the leading suspect for the one who killed Hayate and left Konoha unaware of the invasion. Even though we're making an alliance, I'll have to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn't try anything. After all, if he was given command of the Kazekage's three children then he isn't someone to take lightly.
Shifting her eyes over to the next person, she struggled to stifle a laugh. 'What in the world is he wearing! Is that a catsuit?' Keeping her composure, she continued with her observations 'Kankuro Subaku, middle child of the late Fourth Kazekage. He's the one we currently know the least about. We know he's a puppeteer and must be fairly decent based on the little bit that he showed off in the chunnin exams. The only other thing to be reported was his use of poisons and how one of his puppets worked that were included in the report Shino Aburame filed on their fight. Not a whole lot to work with but most likely seems to be high genin to low chunnin level. We can keep an eye on him but he shouldn't cause too many problems.'
Tsunade then focused on the shortest and, in her opinion, most dangerous one. She noted the red hair, facial tattoo, and large gourd strapped to his back that everyone talked about. However, the one glance of his eyes she got, didn't have the barely restrained murder in them she kept hearing about. While she was slightly confused, she still looked at him closely. 'Gaara Subaku, youngest of the three and the container for the Ichibi. Reported to have control over sand and carries a large gourd that serves as a personal supply of sand. However, he's supposed to be highly volatile and has an apparent craving for blood. Apparently, part of the reason the sand's invasion failed was because the Ichibi didn't get to make it to the village after he transformed. Instead, Naruto was able to stop him by summoning Gamabunta, insane as it is that he was able to do that. I hope he doesn't hold a grudge against Naruto or that could turn this alliance bad fast.'
Finally she looked at the last person in their group and arguably the most important one. She had read about her but was still surprised when she saw Temari. 'She really is tall. She's not breaking any records but she's definitely going to be one of tallest girls in her generation. Plus, she's clearly got to be built well since I doubt that fan she's carrying around is very light. I can just tell this girl is going to be a jaw dropper in a few years.'
She shook her head to try to refocus on what was important. 'Temari Subaku, oldest child and only daughter of the Fourth Kazekage. Known to have the highest wind affinity seen in over a decade and viewed as almost a prodigy in wind techniques. From what is in the reports, she uses her war fan as her main way to generate her techniques. Although, I'm sure that she could probably do most of them just fine without the fan. In her match against Shikamaru Nara she also showed high strategic skills and the ability to adjust plans on the fly. She's most likely already mid to high chunnin rank and was only held back to be on her siblings team and support them in the invasion.'
Compiling what she read with what she observed she came to her own conclusions. 'The council seemed to be right on this occasion, for once. She definitely will be a boon to our ranks. I'll have to have her observed under someone to get a feel for her full skills but I'm sure that she'll only continue to impress me.' Remembering something else that had been reported, she suppressed a snicker. 'Apparently she's also got a bit of a temper. Not bad enough where she would be insubordinate or fight with teammates but she still has a bite to her.' Barely resisting the urge to smirk she thought 'Oh Naruto, you've definitely got a girl right here who will keep you on the straight and narrow.'
Deciding she had kept her guests waiting long enough, even though her observations only took a few seconds in her head, she spoke up "If you would, follow me to the Hokage tower so we can discuss your stay in the village." With that she began walking towards the center of the village, Jiraiya at her side and the village elders following behind.
The Subaku siblings and Baki all exchanged glances before they started following everyone else. As they walked they noticed shadows in trees and rooftops following them. That was to be expected however. They assumed that they wouldn't be trusted right away and the anbu were probably letting themselves be seen on purpose to remind them of that fact.
What they didn't account for was the stares they got from all the civilians and off duty shinobi they saw as they walked through the village. Even though they understood that they were the ones to invade, it still didn't prepare them for any looks of fear or anger they saw. Temari especially was put off by it. 'I never really thought how the rest of the population would see us after we attacked' she thought glumly. 'I hope I don't have to live with everyone looking at me like this forever.'
After what seemed like the longest walk of their life, they finally arrived at the tower. Tsunade led them inside and up the stairs towards her office. Before walking in, she turned towards the two elders and addressed them "Alright, you've seen that they've arrived. Me and Jiraiya can handle the rest of the discussion."
The elders looked miffed at being shooed away but bowed anyway. "As you wish, Lady Tsunade" Koharu replied before the two of them left. When they were gone, Tsunade opened the door and led them inside with her taking up the hokage seat.
When everyone was settled in, she called out "Cat! Wolf!" From the shadows, two anbu agents jumped out and were at her side in an instant. "Find Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga and tell them to come here pronto."
Wolf nodded and disappeared to do the task he had been assigned. Cat, however, lingered and stared at the Suna ninja for a moment. Baki was unnerved by the stare he felt emanating from the two blank holes in the mask she was wearing and the sense of anger that seemed directed at him.
"Cat! Go, now" Tsunade shouted out once again. Shaking out of it, Cat shallowly bowed and responded "Yes, my lady." With one last glance at Baki, she disappeared as well.
Tsunade sighed before looking towards the Suna ninja once again. Folding her hands together she said "While we are waiting for the two of them to arrive, let's set some ground rules."
She watched as they all straightened up and warily waited until she said more. "Even though you are guests here, Temari becoming a full time one, we are still going to have to take some precautions. I doubt you have any ill intentions, but the rest of my village might not have the same perceptions. Most people will likely be wary of you, especially with the attack so fresh in their minds."
Tsunade knew it was a low blow pilling the guilt on like that, but she wanted this treaty to work. After all, Naruto had to give up the option to choose who he loved and she was unable to stop it. So she would make sure it wasn't in vain and use it to bring peace between their villages. And she would do what she needed to make sure that they got along.
The four ninja from Suna looked at each other, silently communicating, until they all faced her again and reluctantly nodded. Seeing they were listening, she continued "You will be free to explore the village, however we will have anbu guards following you while you are out and about. You will also be restricted from certain areas like the Anbu Headquarters and the academy. If you need to see me then you will be allowed into the Hokage tower, but only after one of my shinobi clears you at the entrance."
She waited until she could tell they understood. After seeing they did, she spoke again "You will also be prohibited from molding chakra while in public. If you want to do so then you will have to use one of our training grounds while a Konoha shinobi is present to observe you. Normally I would prohibit you altogether, but I'm sure Naruto will want to train with you while you're here so that's why I'm allowing this much."
Surprised that they would even be allowed to do that, Baki and the siblings nodded. Tsunade then looked towards Temari and her Temari stood straighter once she saw the attention was on her. Tsunade's gaze softened slightly before she addressed Temari "Now Temari, we will be discussing how you'll be allowed to live here in a little bit and what you can and can't do. However, for now, you'll have to follow the rules I just laid out while your team is still here. When they're gone it will be more lenient for you, but there will still be conditions for you."
Temari understood that while she would be staying in Konoha, she didn't have the trust of people there. So she would have to work towards gaining that trust and deal with it for now. Bowing her head, Temari replied "Of course, Lady Hokage."
Satisfied with Temari's response, Tsunade then turned her gaze towards Gaara. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she said "Now as for you, we'll be watching you very closely. If we sense even a hint of demonic chakra from you, we won't hesitate to cut you down where you stand."
Opening her mouth to protest, Temari was caught off guard when Gaara instead replied "I understand." Everyone's gaze went to Gaara who bowed in front of Tsunade.
Taking advantage of their stunned silence, Gaara continued to speak "I know that I was nothing but a monster when I came her for the chunnin exams. I've hurt several of your people and I was originally here to aid in destroying your village."
Bowing even lower, Gaara had more emotion in his voice than anyone had heard from him before when he shouted "But I've changed! I've learned the error of my ways and know what I must do now! Because Naruto Uzumaki taught me how to live my life! He taught me that what's most important are your precious people and the bonds you treasure! So I will follow his example and give my all to protect everyone who is important to me!"
Gaara's bold declaration had shocked everyone in the room. Temari and Kankuro were staring at him wide-eyed while Baki had a proud look on his face. Tsunade and Jiraiya were still showing blank faces on the outside, but on the inside they had similar thoughts.
'Naruto, you really do have a way of changing people' Tsunade thought happily. 'To turn someone who didn't care one bit about who he hurt into a person who would protect their loved ones with all his heart. Not to mention the way you helped change me. You've got a real gift there Naruto and I hope to continue seeing how you use it.'
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had memories flying through his mind. More specifically, ones of his previous apprentice and the book he had wrote long ago. 'Minato' he thought with a sense of hope he hadn't felt in a long time. 'Your son is turning out exactly how you hoped he would. Maybe he can finally be the one that can bring true peace to this world.'
Unknowing of their inner thoughts, Gaara stood back up from his bow and looked Tsunade in the eye. With as much conviction as possible, he told her "That's why I fully support this alliance. If anyone can help bring our villages together, it's Naruto Uzumaki. I would trust him not only with my life but come here with the utmost faith that he will protect my sister's life as well."
When Gaara had finished saying those words, Temari was unable to hold her own emotions in anymore. Launching forward, she grabbed Gaara and pulled him into a tight hug. She pressed her face down into his shoulder to try and muffle the few sniffles that escaped her and hide any tears escaping.
Unsure of what to do, Gaara slowly circled his arms around to Temari's back to hold her. Gaara then felt a hand clasp his other shoulder and turned his gaze to see Kankuro holding it, looking at him with a wide smile on his face. Gaara gave a small smile in return and the three of them stood like that for a few moments longer.
After they separated, they all glanced over to see Baki nodding his head in approval to Gaara's words with a smirk on his lips. Temari then looked at Tsunade and Jiraiya who were still just watching them with a blank look on their faces.
Flushing red slightly, Temari wiped her face quickly before bowing shortly and saying "I-I apologize for that."
Tsunade waved her off however, saying "It's fine. It pleases me to know that Gaara holds Naruto in such high esteem." A small smile found it's way onto Tsunade's face before she continued "We still won't lighten our security, but this conversation does give me hope that we can move forward from our past sooner rather than later."
Over in training ground 8, Kurenai was currently in a tree, pressed up against it to minimize her space. She had a cloaking genjutsu put on around her so she wouldn't be visible to the naked eye. It wouldn't be able to hold against someone proficient in undoing genjutsus, but for the purpose of hiding from the unaware it would suffice.
The reason she was in hiding at the moment? Well she was having tracking practice with her team. Since team 8 was put together with the ultimate purpose as a tracking unit, she would always have at least one day a week where they practiced their skills as a tracking team.
Sometimes it was just finding an item or target in a certain amount of time. Other times, she had one of them be the target and everyone else would hunt them down. This helped give her an idea of how their skills held up separately and also what each person added to the team. Plus, it helped to give her students a look into what their targets could do to hide or what they might be thinking while being chased.
Today she was the target that her team was chasing down, but she decided to add in some genjutsu detection practice as well. Since it was her specialty, she had of course taught all three of them the basic signs of detecting and dispelling genjutsus. Sadly, to her great dismay, none of her students showed promise in actually performing any genjutsu.
Kurenai had figured Kiba wouldn't be able to, seeing as he lacked the finesse and subtlety that genjutsu often required. While Shino had the temperament for it, unfortunately his insects would be a problem. Even if he could perform the genjutsu himself, the individual chakras of all his insects would throw it off. He would never be able to perform a cloaking genjutsu unless either all his insects can harmonize their chakra or Shino himself is able to hide their chakra signatures with his own. Both of which would be exceedingly difficult.
If she really wanted him to, Kurenai figured she could probably have Shino learn a genjutsu that affects the enemies perception. However, it would most likely only be a basic one since Shino had decent chakra reserves and would probably never have the chakra control needed for high level genjutsu. So Kurenai put it on the the back burner for now as Shino could use the time he would spend learning it on other things that would benefit his skill set more. Besides, she could always bring it up in the future if he ever had the time to learn it.
Of course, the one she was really hoping to pass her knowledge on to was Hinata, her student she viewed like a little sister. Kurenai would have loved to have Hinata study genjutsu under her. Alas, it was not meant to be. While Hinata was very skilled at undoing genjutsu thanks to both her Byakugan and her chakra control, she didn't seem to have the aptitude for performing it.
Even though Hinata had great chakra control she actually had fairly high chakra reserves. While it was nothing outstanding like the reserves of Naruto or even Sasuke, she had some of the highest in her age group. While having high reserves didn't make it impossible to perform genjutsu, smaller reserves just made it easier. As they grow and their reserves get bigger, it would take more and more practice to get the fine control needed for genjutsu.
Medical ninjutsu actually had a similar problem, although it was for a different reason. Medical jutsu needed fine chakra control as well, but it was concentrated on the chakra you were putting out. You had to accurately judge how much chakra you put into your techniques. Too much and you overload the patient. Too little and you don't heal them.
That's why smaller chakra reserves were preferred for both as it made it easier to know how much chakra you were using. Although medical jutsu would probably be slightly easier than genjutsu for people who had higher chakra reserves, since it focused more on the chakra you were putting out. Unlike genjutsu which needed you to know how much chakra was currently in your body and be able to mold all of it correctly.
For that reason, Hinata's higher chakra reserves made it more difficult to teach her genjutsu. Of course, if Kurenai asked her, she was sure Hinata would try her hardest to learn. But there was another reason Kurenai was reluctant to teach her. Hinata's clan would most likely take offense to it.
The Hyuga clan were some of the most traditional people in Konoha. Anyone who was seen as going against tradition was looked down upon. And since the Byakugan allowed the user to detect genjutus easier, genjutsu was seen as inferior to the Hyuga. So no one in the clan ever learned it, and if they did they would be seen as inferior too. So Kurenai restrained from teaching Hinata genjutsu, not wanting to cause her any more problems with the Hyuga.
It was after realizing all these facts that Kurenai began to focus more on her squad as a team than trying to pass on her genjutsu knowledge. She wanted to build up more team synergy and elevate their skills as trackers, so she devised the practices like she had now. Her students also continued to have training with their clans to work on their individual skills and she gave advice whenever needed on what they could improve on.
Although she lamented the fact that she didn't have a student to teach genjutsu, that didn't mean her skills had to go to waste. She still taught her team what genjutsu was and how it worked, including how to dispel basic ones. She was of the opinion that even if you couldn't use genjutsu, just having the knowledge could help save your life. Which brings us to the training that she was conducting today.
Kurenai watched as her students came into view several trees away. Kiba was leading the group, stance low to the ground almost as if he was ready to pounce at a moments notice. Akamura was situated on his head like always, sniffing for any trace of Kurenai's scent. Shino and Hinata flanked Kiba, Shino with his calm demeanor and hands in his pockets while Hinata was tense and had her Byakugan active.
Standing perfectly still, Kurenai saw as Akumaru yipped suddenly, causing Kiba to tense up. He then quietly said something to Hinata and Shino who both nodded their understanding. Hinata poured more chakra into her eyes and looked around trying to find something. After a moment, she stopped and opened her mouth to speak to her teammates.
From Kurenai's viewpoint she could see Shino nod in response to Hinata's words and then take his hands out of his pockets to allow bugs out of his jacket. The bugs flew in Kurenai's direction and she knew then that she had been found. Instead of leading them on another chase, Kurenai decided to end it and undid her genjutsu, leaping back towards her team.
When they saw her approach, Shino called off his bugs attack and Kurenai watched as they returned to his jacket. Resisting the urge to shiver, Kurenai thought 'I'll never get over how much those bugs creep me out.' Instead, she clapped her hands together and said "Well done! You found me in record time today and you even managed to do it with me hidden in my genjutsu."
Kiba let out a loud howl and then boastingly replied "Of course we did! What did you expect? Team 8 is the best team out there!" Calming down slightly he added "Although, Hinata did a good bit of the heavy lifting today. She saw the signs of where you were headed before we did and even managed find you in your genjutsu with her Byakugan!" Akamaru barked when Kiba finished, to show that he believed Kiba was right.
Shino didn't say anything, but nodded his head slightly to show he agreed with Kiba's assessment. Kurenai looked over to Hinata to see that her face had turned red and she was tapping her fingers together from the embarrassment of the praise towards her.
Smiling in Hinata's direction, Kurenai happily said "Oh, is that so? Well, I'm glad you're keeping up with your training Hinata. It makes me proud to see you grow and flourish."
"I-I-It was nothing, Kurenai-sensei" Hinata answered trying to wave off her praise. Still Kurenai could tell how much her words meant to Hinata as she was unable to hide the soft smile that was threatening to break across her face and the unshed tears she saw gathering in her eyes.
Wanting to spare Hinata of any more embarrassment, Kurenai called out "Alright! Well how about we take a break for lunch before we get back into it!"
As if he was waiting just for those words, Kiba pumped his fist into the air and yelled out "Alright! Time to chow down!" Glancing upwards he asked Akamaru "You hungry boy?"
Wagging his tail and panting, Akamaru yipped once and Kiba smirked at his response. Shino didn't make any kind of response but his insects started to buzz louder, conveying some sort of emotion in Shino's place.
Meanwhile, Hinata was shook out of her embarrassment by Kiba's yelling. Remembering that she had brought them food, she rushed towards her pack to retrieve the lunches. Returning after a moment, she opened it up and wordlessly handed meals to her teammates and teacher. She then got out a bowl and filled it with food for Akamaru who barked and wagged his tail happily in response.
Kiba grinned seeing that Hinata had made them food again today. Turning towards Hinata he told her "Thanks Hinata! I don't know why you started making food for us these past few days, but they've been amazing!" Tilting his head slightly, Kiba then asked her curiously "Although, why have they looked like it's food that seemed to be messed up in some ways?"
Panicking at almost being found out, Hinata stuttered "N-N-No reason! I-I've just been practicing my c-cooking and made a few m-mistakes!"
Amused, Kurenai spoke up to save Hinata "You shouldn't say stuff like that Kiba. Hinata was extremely nice to bring us these lunches so don't complain about how they look when she didn't have to do anything for us." However, in her mind Kurenai thought 'Although, I'm sure I know why we're getting the rejects. I think I know who's getting all the food that she deems to be perfect in her opinion.'
Pouting at being called out, Kiba muttered out an apology to Hinata who merely sighed in relief at not having to explain further. However, before they could relax further, the sound of leaves rustling caught their attention and they all tensed up. Looking up, they were surprised to see an anbu member in a wolf mask looking at them.
"Hinata Hyuga, you have been summoned by the Hokage. Make your way to the Hokage tower immediately to see her" Wolf stated. With the message delivered, Wolf disappeared to return to his duties.
Shaking off the surprise, Hinata quickly gathered her pack and started to run in the direction of the tower after saying a quick goodbye and bowing to her team.
Blinking at the rapid pace Hinata left, Kiba spoke up questioningly "Huh? What would the Hokage want with Hinata?"
Shino saw the opportunity to provide his all knowing wisdom and answered Kiba "Perhaps she is being punished for serving food that is, as you said, messed up?"
Knowing that he was being made fun of for his careless speech, Kiba grew a tick mark and yelled back to Shino "HEY! Shut up!"
Ignoring the squabbling from her other two students, Kurenai was lost in thought. 'I'm sure that Hinata was called away because of the arrangement she's in. I wonder exactly what's happened with it though? Maybe that girl from Suna has arrived. If so I'll have to talk to Hinata later and see how she's handling all of it.'
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and tiredly took a look at his surroundings. He became confused when he noticed that he seemed to be in someone's house and fell asleep sitting at their counter somehow. As he saw how big the house seemed to be, he began to panic slightly.
'Oh crap! I've wandered into some strangers house and from the looks of it they must be pretty rich! I better get out of here before they catch me' Naruto thought worriedly. Trying to be as silent as possible, he slowly started to get off his seat when a voice called out to him and he jumped in surprise.
"Here you go Naruto-kun! One piping hot bowl of your favorite ramen!"
Head swiveling to the other side of the counter, he was stunned when he saw a woman putting a bowl of ramen on the countertop. The woman seemed to be somewhere in her late teens or early twenties. She had long dark blue hair that was put into a ponytail that cascaded down her back. She was wearing a simple yellow dress but currently had an apron over it from where she had obviously been cooking. However, what really drew Naruto's attention was her face.
The woman had a rounded face with soft looking cheeks that had a slightly red blush to them. Her lips were pulled into a shy smile that tugged at Naruto's sense of familiarity. The woman's eyes were the biggest shocker though. She had two pale eyes, both with a hint of lavender in them, that were looking at him like he was the greatest treasure ever.
Naruto knew those eyes and was unable to stop himself from exclaiming "H-H-Hinata-chan!" Unable to comprehend how an older Hinata was in front of him, he frantically thought 'This gorgeous woman is Hinata-chan! How did this happen?"
Desperate to get answers, Naruto asked Hinata "W-What are you doing? How did we get here? And since when did you get so…" Naruto took a second to glance down from Hinata's face to the two large mounds standing beneath her apron "big?"
Hinata saw his eyes moving down but didn't comment on it. Instead she merely smirked and straightened up to thrust her chest out more making Naruto's eyes widen. "What do you mean Naruto-kun? I'm making you lunch and why wouldn't I do that in our own home?"
Hearing Hinata say that this house was their home sent a shock through Naruto's spine. Gasping, he stuttered "O-Our h-home?" Hands shaking, he looked down and blinked at seeing how large his own hands seemed. He quickly brought his hands up to his hair and felt how his hair seemed to be slightly longer as well.
'Am I older too! Just what is going on here?' He was knocked out of his thoughts when he saw Hinata move out from around the table to come beside him. Now that he was aware he was older he noticed that, while Hinata was older, she was still on the shorter side compared to most other women. Meanwhile, it seemed that he had finally hit a growth spurt and towered over her with the top of her head only coming up to his chest.
Unaware of his inner turmoil, Hinata pressed herself against his side, almost hugging him. Standing on the tips of her toes she leaned up towards Naruto's ear to whisper to him "Besides, I don't think I'm any bigger than normal. You certainly saw and felt them enough last night and this morning to tell if there was any difference."
Backing away slightly, Hinata watched with amusement as a blush overtook Naruto's entire face. Burning with more embarrassment than he ever had before, Naruto's thoughts were on overdrive. 'Is this Hinata-chan? No way! Hinata-chan is super sweet and kind. She could never have thoughts like…whatever this is!'
Naruto opened his mouth to question her again when a sultry voice called out.
"I hope you two aren't starting something without me." Whipping his head in the direction of the stairs, Naruto was shocked to see another woman leaning against the guardrail watching them. Unlike Hinata however, Naruto recognized this one right away.
"T-T-Temari!" Naruto shouted out in surprise. Just as with Hinata, here was an older version of Temari, apparently living in the same house as them. Her hair was still in the same four ponytail style she normally had, and she seemed slightly taller, but her clothing was definitely not something Naruto thought he would ever see her in.
Wearing what he could only guess was one of his black T-shirts that was definitely too big on her, Naruto saw some creamy skin from where the collar had fallen slightly on her smaller frame. She wasn't wearing any pants either, leaving Naruto to trail his eyes over the exposed flesh of her long legs that ended about mid thigh where his shirt covered up.
Temari noticed his wandering eyes and leaned forward more with a grin to show off a little more of her own chest that didn't seem too far behind Hinata's. Naruto gulped at the action and began sweating slightly. He stared as Temari finished walking down the stairs, eyes watching her figure as she slowly descended. Every so often he would get a flash of purple at the top of of her thighs, and he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not that she was at least wearing underwear.
When Temari finally reached the bottom, she made her way over towards Naruto and Hinata, her wide hips swinging side to side as she tried to keep Naruto's attention on her. 'I knew Temari was pretty, but was she always this…womanly' Naruto thought trying to keep his mind from wandering to places it shouldn't go. Although from the all the curves and flesh that he's seen Temari and Hinata apparently have (or will have, a tiny voice in his mind that sounded suspiciously like Jiraiya added), Naruto would have a hard time looking at either without these images popping up for a long time.
As Temari approached, Naruto thought that Hinata might be upset or get jealous from all his attention on Temari. However, when Naruto glanced at Hinata who was still clinging to his side, he saw that she was watching Temari with unblinking eyes. She even had a grin that was slowly growing, while her hand started to roam over Naruto's chest and her breathing became shallower.
Naruto watched as Temari pressed her own body against his other side, and put her head into the crook of his neck. Distantly, he noted that although she was taller than when he saw her last, he still seemed to be a few inches taller than her. Although they both towered over Hinata by a good bit.
Tensing as Temari's breath hit his neck, he was unprepared when she asked him with a pout "So I'm just Temari today? Not your Mari-chan or even good old Temari-chan?"
Naruto shivered at the words coming out of her mouth and the familiarity with how she spoke them. Hinata saved him from answering though when she giggled and said "Oh, cut him a little slack Mari-chan! He's had a long night and morning taking care of us. After all, it's not like we always get him to use his shadow clones! And I'm sure he was even more surprised when he saw that we had learned to make a shadow clone each! Even his famous Uzumaki stamina has to give out at some point."
Rubbing her own hand on Naruto's chest, Temari let out a "hmmm" like she was thinking it over. After a moment, she replied "Well I suppose it's alright. It was definitely a night to remember." Leaning back to look Naruto in the eye, she gave him a mock stern glare and told him "You'd better give me one of your foot massages later to make up for it though!"
Not knowing how to answer correctly, Naruto just rapidly nodded instead. Seeing that he agreed, Temari smiled and giggled, leaning back into Naruto. She glanced over towards Hinata and said "I'm surprised your up and cooking though Nata-chan. I figured after the night we had you would be resting like me. After all, didn't you beat your record of how many Naruto's you could take last night? And then you still got up early this morning to service Naruto."
Hinata blushed at Temari's questioning but didn't deny anything. Instead she merely had a pleased smile and replied "Mmmmm, I can never get enough of Naruto-kun though. Besides, it makes me happy to please the two of you, whether that's in bed, cooking, or anything else. If both of you are happy, then I'm happy."
Smile widening at Hinata's words, Temari said "Well I guess that's true. I always find myself wanting more of Naruto-kun as well." Growing a smirk, she shot a playful look towards Hinata and added "Maybe I'll try to beat your record sometime soon."
Hinata giggled at Temari's challenge, which made Temari break out into giggling too. Naruto stayed quiet throughout their whole exchange. Part of it was because he was shocked to the core to hear what they were talking about and apparently what they had all done. Another part of him was worried that if he spoke up, whatever haze seemed to be over them to cause this to happen would lift and they would accuse him of being a pervert and start punching him.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Temari's hand reach across his chest to grab Hinata's hand rubbing his chest. Looking over at Temari, he saw she had a soft look on her face and heard her tell Hinata "Make sure you take care of yourself too. Me and Naruto-kun both love you and we don't want you to work yourself to death taking care of us. You being happy makes us happy too, so let us take care of you sometimes too."
Naruto found himself nodding along to what Temari was saying even though he felt like a stranger here. Looking at Hinata, he saw that she had tears gathering in her eyes. Sniffling, she took her free hand to wipe her tears away and answered "I love both of you too! Don't worry, I won't overwork myself."
Temari smiled and squeezed Hinata's hand, pleased with her answer. After Hinata calmed down, she perked back up, remembering something. "Oh, Mari-chan! Let me get your food too!" With that, Hinata squeezed Temari's hand back and separated herself from Naruto's side. Not before she gave him a small peck on the cheek though.
As Hinata passed by the two of them to go back around the counter, Temari couldn't help herself and brought her hand down to give Hinata's rear a firm spank. Naruto gaped in shock at Temari's action, while Hinata squealed. Hinata blushed and asked "Must you do that every time?"
Grinning in response, Temari said "Well when you have such a large target how could I not? I'm sure if I didn't do it, Naruto-kun would be grabbing a handful when you pass by."
If Naruto had been paying attention to her words, he would have denied that he would do such a thing. However, he was distracted as his mind was replaying the moment Temari's hand hit struck Hinata's ass. 'I guess Hinata-chan's chest wasn't the only thing that grew.' Naruto tried not to have a nosebleed and the image of Hinata's large round cheeks jiggling when Temari made contact was burned into his head.
His task became more difficult when he heard the next words that were spoken. Large smirk on her face, Temari stated triumphantly "You can't complain Nata-chan. You can't keep your hands off my ass when we're in bed anyway!"
Face burning a crimson red, Hinata was unable to deny anything. Instead she merely continued walking towards the oven, muttering "Well, where else am I supposed to put my hands? It's the biggest one I've ever seen and Naruto-kun can't always hold it all himself."
They both heard her muttering and Naruto had an errant thought about it. 'Temari's rear is supposed to be even bigger than Hinata-chan's!' Thinking back he realized he had only seen Temari from the front and side when she was walking towards him and not the back. He was suddenly overcome by the urge to ask Temari if she could turn around so he could loo- 'NO! Bad thoughts! I can't be like Pervy Sage!'
Temari merely shrugged at Hinata's grumblings and said "What can I say? I've got a fat ass and everyone knows it. Only you and Naruto-kun get to see and touch it though so I don't see what the problem is. It's the same with your huge tits that you try to cover up but everyone still knows you have. More for me and Naruto-kun to enjoy though so you won't find me complaining! Plus, you always seem to get louder whenever one of us gets our hands on those beauties under your shirt."
Hinata sighed at Temari's crude words, although she rubbed her thighs together at the thought of the last time both Naruto and Temari got their hands on her chest. Shaking her head free of such thoughts, Hinata bent over to grab Temari's food out of the oven while she called out behind her "Let's wait until we've eaten before such things at least!"
Temari was watching Hinata bend over though and had other thoughts on their mind. Temari licked her lips and quietly said "I think me and Naruto-kun would rather eat something else right about now."
Although she tried to be quiet, Hinata still heard her and felt an electric shock run through her body. Biting her lip, Hinata flirted back "While I am not opposed to that, we shouldn't let the food get cold." Standing back up, Hinata slowly made her way back to them with Temari's meal in hand, aware of their eye's on her and the way her chest slightly jiggled with every step she took.
This time it was Temari who was biting her lip, blush spreading across her face from the alluring woman walking towards her. Meanwhile, Naruto was watching Hinata approach and was thinking that, just because of the last few minutes, he finally understood why Jiraiya chased after women so much.
Hinata put the meal down on the counter and pushed it towards Temari. With a smile that looked far too innocent for what she was surely thinking, Hinata spoke "Now, why don't the both of you clean your plates, and then…" Taking a moment to slowly stroke both of their cheeks with her hand, she finished "we can talk dessert."
Naruto gulped loudly at her words but Temari just grew the widest smile she had all day. Turning towards Naruto she exclaimed "You heard the woman! Don't just stand there gawking when there's so much at stake! It's time for you to WAKE UP!" Temari finished her sentence with a flick to Naruto's forehead.
Then, all Naruto saw was darkness.
Gasping, Naruto woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around quickly and noticed he was leaning against one of the trees in training ground seven. Realizing he must have fallen asleep at some point, Naruto brought his hand to his forehead and try to slow his breathing. However, when he glanced up, he shouted out in surprise at seeing a masked figure looking straight at him.
"AAAAHHH! What the heck! Who are you!"
The masked figure's shoulders started moving, almost like she was silently laughing. After a moment, she responded to his question. "I am one of the anbu in service to Lady Fifth. You may call me Cat."
Naruto was confused by her tone. He knew that anbu agents were supposed to seem almost emotionless, but this one had an almost fond tone of voice. Putting it into the back of his mind, he cautiously asked her "Umm okay, and what do you need from me?"
Cat straightened up and replied in a professional manner "Naruto Uzumaki, you are to report to Lady Fifth's office immediately. I have already informed your sensei of the arrangements."
Scratching his head in confusion, Naruto thought 'Why would Lady Baa-chan want to see me? It probably can't be a mission if Kakashi-sensei isn't going.'
"Um, can you tell me why she's summoned me" Naruto asked slowly. Cat shook her head though and said "My apologies, but I'm not at liberty to say."
Sighing, Naruto nodded his head in defeat and began to gather his things. When he was done, he was about to make his way towards the Hokage Tower when he saw that Cat was still staring at him. Raising an eyebrow, he spoke up "Is there something else you need to tell me?"
At his question, Cat shook out of whatever state she was in. Composing herself, she answered "No. Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Please, continue on." With those words, she disappeared into the trees, leaving Naruto by himself.
Naruto was confused at the interaction with her but decided that he wouldn't be able to worry about it right now. Instead, he started to make his way to see whatever it was Tsunade needed from him.
As he walked, Naruto was lost in thought on the dream he just had. Unlike most of his previous dreams where he barely remembered anything, every moment of this one was burned into his mind. He wasn't quite sure yet if that was a good or bad thing.
'What does it all mean' he thought, exasperated. 'Was all that just a figment of my imagination or was it a vision of the future?'
Naruto shook his head at that line of thinking. 'No, what am I talking about? How would I even have something like that happen to me? Besides, there's no way that Hinata-chan and Temari will be like that in the future! Only Pervy-Sage thinks of stuff like that. Temari and Hinata-chan are basically princesses. I'm sure they would be furious at even the thought of either of them acting like that. I've just been around Pervy-Sage and Kakashi-sensei too much and their dirty thoughts have infected my mind.'
Gaining a softer smile as he remembered something else in the dream, Naruto felt a little bit lighter. 'Although, even with how pervy they were both acting, I could tell how much they each cared for me and each other. They way they both looked at and touched me, made me feel like I was the most important person ever. They even got along great with each other! There was teasing but they clearly liked having the other one there.'
Naruto pictured their adoring eyes as they looked at him and each other and thought 'I hope we can get along like that in real life. Even if it was just a dream, it let me see happiness that might really be possible for us and I don't know if I could handle being told it wouldn't work.'
Feeling his heart skip a beat at having a life that he always hoped for, Naruto couldn't stop the wide grin that split his face. Noticing that he was only a few feet from the entrance of the Hokage Tower, Naruto let out a light chuckle. 'As excited as I am for that possibility, maybe it's for the best that I'm not seeing Hinata-chan today. She's amazing to hang out with but I don't know what I would do if I saw her with those images still fresh in my mind.'
Almost as if the universe was playing a cruel joke on him, as soon he reached to open the door, a voice sounded from behind him.
"N-Naruto-kun?"
Shivers went down Naruto's spine. He knew that voice anywhere and even though it was said with her usual innocent tone of voice, he couldn't stop his mind from imagining it in the much more sensual tone that her older self had in his dream.
Slowly turning around, Naruto was met with the shy gaze of Hinata. She was wearing her usual outfit, large coat and all, although she seemed to be slightly winded from something. In her eyes though, Naruto saw a similar sort of adoration that her older self had when she gazed at him, even if it didn't seem quite as strong yet.
Naruto glanced down at the top of Hinata's coat and his brain saw fit to overlap the image of his dream Hinata straining against her apron top with the real Hinata in front of him. He shut his eyes immediately and berated himself in his thoughts.
'NO! Bad Naruto! You shouldn't be thinking of Hinata-chan like that! It's shameful and she would surely be really upset with me if she knew about it!'
"N-Naruto-kun, a-are you f-feeling ok?"
Knowing that he had to give her an answer and couldn't just ignore her, Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then his eyes shot open and he gave her a large grin, putting his hands behind his head. "Of course, Hinata-chan! I was just surprised to see you is all!"
Hinata squinted her eyes to look at him. It didn't seem like he was lying to her but he wasn't telling her everything either. 'Well, it's not like he always has to tell me everything' Hinata thought with a sigh. 'Even if I would like him to.'
Instead she decided to ask him a question. "W-What are you d-doing here Naruto-kun? A-Are you meeting the Hokage?"
Relieved that she didn't inquire more about his behavior, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, Lady Baa-chan sent an anbu to tell me to meet her here." Tilting his head, he asked "What about you Hinata-chan? Why are you here?"
"Um, an a-anbu agent told me the s-same thing." Pressing the tips of her index fingers together, Hinata shyly asked "S-Since it seems we're b-both her to see her, w-would you like to go in t-together?"
Nodding his head rapidly, Naruto smiled widely and exclaimed "Yeah! Let's do that, Hinata-chan! Plus, if you're with me, maybe Lady Baa-chan will go easier on me if I'm in trouble."
Not giving her a chance to respond, Naruto grabbed her hand and started pulling her with him saying "Come on! Let's go!" Although he made sure to not pull her too roughly and take it slower since she had got onto him the last time he did it.
Hinata was blushing at the him holding her hand, but was content to be pulled through the doors and up the stairs by Naruto. She would always be happy with any affection from her crush and he was even being gentler this time. So with a smile on her face, she giggled as they made their way through the Hokage tower and eventually reached the door to her office.
Naruto, being as subtle as he always is, knocked on the door once and then threw it wide open with no prompting whatsoever yelling "Hey Lady Baa-chan! We're here!" With that he pulled Hinata through the now open door.
'Note to self. Teach Naruto-kun that he's supposed to wait for the person to tell him to enter after knocking' Hinata thought with a sweat drop as she followed Naruto inside. Both of them ground to a halt however when they saw that there were more people in the room than just Tsunade.
All the noise in the room quieted down with Naruto's intrusion and everyone turned their eyes to the two genin at the door. Naruto glanced at the person closest to the door when he entered and all his bravado went out the window when he saw the blond head of hair and the two beautiful green eyes staring at him.
"T-T-Temari!"
A.N. There we go! Now they're finally all together in one room. I was originally going to have all their reactions in this chapter but it was getting really long and I was already running a little late because I was on vacation and didn't have much time to write. Hence the cliffhanger here and the title saying part 1.
So little fun fact about this chapter, it was supposed to be chapter 3 in my original plans for this story. When I first started writing it, chapter 1 was the same, but I had planned for them to all find out about the marriage in chapter 2. That was obviously pushed back into what is now chapter 3. Then Temari was going to arrive in the leaf in the immediate next chapter and we would see everything that ensued with that.
I put a whole bunch of stuff in between that though and now what was originally chapter 3 is now chapter 8. Even then, it got split into another part (or parts?)! I've added things that I originally had no plan too, such as the part with Kurenai and the dream sequence in this chapter. Hopefully you've all enjoyed the detours we've taken though, even if it wasn't what I originally planned.
With Kurenai, I just kind of wanted to touch up with her role as both Hinata's mentor and leader of a tracking team. Because it has always baffled me why Kurenai was put in charge of a tracking team when she has nothing to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I like Kurenai a lot but her being in charge of team 8 didn't make much sense to me. So I tried to add a little bit here with the possibility of her teaching them about people possibly using genjutsu to help them hide. It's not much, and might be off in the accuracy, but I tried. Genjutsu's weird and I feel like I don't really understand it too well, so I probably won't be using it too often.
As for the dream sequence, it just kind of popped in my head as an idea. Then I just had too much fun writing it and it spiraled out of control! Hopefully it was fun to read though. It was nice to write about what Naruto, Temari and Hinata could be like in the future since it would be a long while before we get to any of that.
Anyway, this time I'm going to recommend a fic that's real important to me. When I started reading Naruto fanfiction a little over a year ago, this was one of the first two I remember getting sucked into. I'll recommend the other later but today is Legion of Naruto by DarkWolfy. It's a Naruto/harem story, but it's probably one of the best written harem stories I've seen. It follows canon up until around the Tsunade arc but it really goes off the rails after that! I don't want to give too much away but it has a lot of cool and unique ideas in it. Of course, Temari and Hinata are both in the harem, although sadly Temari doesn't really get too involved until near the end. Hinata's there from the beginning though and it is completed so that's always a plus!
As always, if you enjoyed leave a review saying what you like and hope to see! Feel free to tell me what you didn't like too, but please don't be too harsh about it. I'm going to try to have the rest of this part done by the end of the year but I can't make any promises. Hope everyone's looking forward to it though. Later!