Woah, what's this? A new chapter, and after so long? Can't be.

Jokes aside, technically I DO have an excuse this time. I'm working overtime over the summer so I have had less time to dedicate to writing. That being said, I definitely could have had the chapter out earlier if I wasn't as lazy, so like, sorry? It's kind of funny, actually. I was going to get some writing in (it is the 26th of July as of writing the chapter notes here), and I offhandedly checked the AO3 page to discover that I had last uploaded in April. Sorry about the 3 month wait…

You might've realized that in the last chapter I broke a little "rule" that was set at the start, where something in bold letters is in English. I thought it felt fitting to give Zetsu bold letters to emphasize his horror. Probably won't happen again.

I started 'remastering' older chapters, and I've finished up til chapter 6 at the moment. They aren't quite rewritten, but I've essentially made everything that was overly awkward a bit less awkward, and made the wording more natural than before. If you are interested in checking the old chapters, there will always be three stars like this *** before every note that is made after the edit. The changes to the chapter are summarized in the end notes, and the date is usually written in the pre-chapter notes. Looking back: It's all quite a bit cringe, which I'm sure you're all used to as fic readers, but it bothers me to see some of the horrifyingly bad writing at times.

I'm creating a little discord server. Why? The main purpose would be for easier access to criticism for me and for when I want to announce an update to the story/ for announcing an edited chapter. I don't really know how big my pool of readers actually is, so it may end up being a bit of a flop, but if you've got a discord, go ahead and join. I feel it's a good idea for accountability, feedback or ideas.

/uDyCFFxB2X

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter! This will be a more chill chapter, but I hope to set up a lot of important plot points. There are some major 'turning points' for the plot's direction planned somewhere in this arc, and I hope you guys enjoy my image for the story. There is a specific concept I wanted to add to the story since before day one, and it's coming soon. Not this chapter, though. Byebye and enjoy!

—-

11:17 a.m., 16th of June, 1bNb

"Oh." was the only response my brain could conjure up in that moment.

The silence was palpable, and suddenly, the lighthearted atmosphere that had come from our improved mood turned tense and stifling. In my head, I knew the mission was going to take place soon, but I had forgotten about its existence for a moment because of my turmoil. Kannabi Bridge was a crucial event, and I wasn't even here to say something to their team as they left. No awkward, out of place advice I could give to the team whose lives were about to forever change as a result of the mission they were forced to complete.

There was nothing I could do anymore, ultimately. It wouldn't make any sense for me to have been there with Team Minato; in fact, it would be awfully suspicious of me to have pushed to come along with them, even if I had that opportunity. Regardless of those facts, my head hung with faint disappointment. I didn't even have the chance to wish them good luck. Whatever happened in that mission, I hoped Obito would be prepared to change it for the better. The plan in making Obito stronger was that maybe, he would have the extra speed to get out of the way of the boulder, or prevent Rin's kidnapping all together, but the problem with the plan was that there were too many variables to accurately predict what would happen. A changed outcome at one point of the mission would surely affect the rest of it.

Ultimately, the reason I decided on such a hands-off plan was because I trusted in Obito's judgment, and in his resolve to protect his team. He was the closest thing the world had to Naruto right now, and I would bet on Naruto any day.

Gai stood in front of me. I had imparted him with much of the knowledge I had, along with my planned courses of action. Despite the boy's usual energy, it seems he couldn't quite muster an enthusiastic response, "I have never once doubted either of our abilities, but considering the situation at hand, I cannot help but wonder whether we have prepared Obito-kun enough to face his fate head on." he said with a certain melancholy. It was a tone that didn't suit him.

I mustered a small smile, "It's hard to say, Gai, but if nothing else, I trust Obito. He's made an incredible amount of progress in a short time. At the very least, we can rest assured that he is fighting as hard as he can." I said, attempting to reassure not only Gai, but also myself. There was no point in acting stressed or doubting anybody, especially since we had no way of knowing how their mission was going. He shook his head before breaking out into his familiar energetic grin, "That is true. Knowing that boy and his boundless Youth, it is foolish to worry!" he agreed easily.

I will need to keep my ears open in the coming days. The news of their mission is sure to come quickly, and when that happens, I will hear every detail of that mission. Hopefully it will be Obito telling me about those, because if not, the world might just tremble under Tobi's vengeful mission, and that would be the worst case scenario.

I was glad the tension was semi-broken, as it made my departure that much less awkward. "Right then. You'd better get to sprinting, Gai," I joked, reminding him of his failed planking, eliciting a 'you're right' expression from him. "I'm going home to do some thinking. That nap will have to wait." I sighed disappointedly, before waving at my friend. "Let's talk later," I promised, walking off. "Please take it easy, my friend, for tomorrow I will not allow you to rest!" he said back, waving me off. "Remember: triple the intensity, Daisuke-kun!" I scowled at him good naturedly.

Give a break.

—-

I made it back home at a relaxed pace. I wasn't really in the mood for roof-hopping, and the idea of a casual morning stroll had put me at great ease. I opened the door and shouted the obligatory 'I'm home!' as I stepped inside. As I slipped on my indoor slippers, I walked through to the living room area. Kaa-san frowned at me pensively, "Did you have fun with Gai-kun?" she asked, worried by my expression. I smiled, "Yeah. Talking to him really helped me out, I just…" I paused for a moment, deciding on a choice of words, "have a lot to think about." I finished with a shrug. "...Okay sweetheart. Let us know if you need anything," she accepted my answer. "Right. I'll be in my room."

As I walked through the hallway to my room, I caught a peak of Tou-san and Izumi in our parents' room. He was going over Taijutsu katas. Oh yeah, that was a thing. Izumi was going to be a ninja, just like in canon. I shoved my discomfort away as I got to my room. Immediately I took out my old notebook where I jotted down all of the information I could recall. It was a decision I had made early on to avoid forgetting something important.

I need to be more proactive, and for that, I needed a plan. Even if Obito wasn't kidnapped (which was a possibility I dreaded), there was no telling what could happen. Sure, the Kyuubi incident played a big role in speeding up the Uchiha clan's ostracization from the rest of the village, but the key word there was 'speed up'. As things stood, the Uchiha were still seen with a fair amount of scorn, and if it's in Danzo's agenda to remove the Uchiha as a threat, who knows what kind of fabricated events could lead up to this timeline's Massacre...

The family I loved so dearly wasn't out of danger quite yet.

I needed to be influential, or have access to an influential figure. I brainstormed for various routes to that outcome as I flipped through my notebook, scanning titles, names and ability summaries idly. The most obvious path would be getting along with the Hokage somehow, but it wasn't an easy feat. I wasn't a Jinkuuriki like Naruto, his grandson like Konohamaru, or the last Uchiha like Sasuke. When it came to strength, I was marginally above a Genin's level. It would've been nice if I had gotten a Sarutobi as a sensei, but that shortcut hadn't been afforded to me. Tsume-sensei wasn't quite the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, so using that connection was out.

I could try to rank up as fast as possible and add to my training, but that was too slow. Besides, I was already going to do that, considering the results of Utahime's infiltration. Was there an option to apply for apprenticeship in other departments of Konoha's shinobi force? The most direct path was to be intertwined with village administration: so the Hokage or perhaps figures like clan heads, or to be close with the… Uchiha.

A flip was switched in my head as I rampantly flipped pages of my notebook towards the Police Force. Right, the Uchiha. The Uchiha clan isn't so big, it isn't so complicated, and moreover, I am an Uchiha. There was nothing suspicious about a young Uchiha's interest in the Police Force, was there? If I rose through those ranks and landed a position where I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with Fugaku, I could actually have some leeway to change things for the better.

According to my younger self's memory, the Police Force was an organization founded by Senju Tobirama to give the Uchiha responsibility and to display Konoha's trust in the clan. Entry was restricted to those in the Uchiha clan. I wasn't sure of the requirements apparently, but I theorized that it was age-related or rank-related, judging by the fact that every member of the Police Force wore a vest. Should I go and ask about it? At my age, perhaps they wouldn't take me seriously.

Perhaps Kaa-san knows. She may seemingly have little remaining connection to the clan, but she must hold some kind of information. Apart from that, I couldn't really think about what to do next. To receive any sort of great recognition from the village, I would probably need to achieve a meaningful feat, or contribute to Konoha in a significant way. It was something that would likely come with time. Becoming closer to the Uchiha wasn't the only step I needed to take, as well. Itachi was the literal son of Fugaku, the rising star of the Uchiha, and the youngest Anbu captain ever, and yet he couldn't do anything to stop the Massacre. Whether his inability to stop the tragedy came from his own inadequacy or not was unclear to me, but it was definitely safer to have as many connections to the top as possible.

The whole process will surely be stressful, but it was the only way to make was a real shame that I didn't have nepotism on my side. Sasuke and Naruto had contact with Sannin purely based on the circumstances of their births. Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade were still in the village at this time, and they had a great deal of influence.

"...,how… Magnificent."

A shiver went down my spine at that mental reminder. That's right, Orochimaru had said that. Maybe it was nothing, but receiving unwanted attention from the snake summoner was a chilling prospect. I remembered the unsettling tone he spoke with, and the way his eyes narrowed at me, and god did the idea of his interest make me uncomfortable. The bastard was going to act soon, I was pretty sure, and before he left the village in canon, Anko was his target.

Despite our recent disagreement, she had still been my friend through the duration of our academy days. She was one of the people I cared for. If Anko wasn't going to believe me, then I simply won't afford Orochimaru the chance to impart that Mark on her. His interest in me, as unsettling as it was, might be what I need to take his attention away from Anko.

That being said, I have some more time. Orochimaru was considered as a candidate for the Fourth Hokage position, and he was also able to watch Itachi's training as a kid, meaning he wouldn't desert Konoha for a few years. There wasn't a great amount of a rush quite yet, that being said, being complacent never helped anybody. I waited for the last minute to interfere with Obito in any significant way, and look at all the worry it has caused me. It was time to finally act. I grabbed my notebook and started writing.

Nothing ever came from inaction, after all.

—-

I found myself at the usual training ground a day later, as requested by Tsume-sensei. Yesterday was quite the rollercoaster, and after a good night's sleep, I was feeling a lot better. A bit tired, maybe, but I was definitely on a level where I was ready to function. After spending some time in my room yesterday and reading through my notebook, I went to the Hokage tower to give my report as our Sensei requested. I assumed the report I gave was consistent with the information that had been handed in already, as I was sent away without incident. There was much to be said about the outcome of that mission. I assumed that Sensei would tell us about it when she arrived.

Looking to my right, my two teammates were visibly better looking than when I had seen them two days prior. The fact gave me relief. A small victory, sure, but my mental state at that time meant that I hadn't checked to see whether they were even okay. The three of us understood from her words after the mission that we were to return to training as normal, which meant we met up at the usual time: six o'clock in the morning.

It seems, though, that all three of us were here early. Not exactly a rare occurrence, but given the context of the last three days and the mission, I figured that my teammates had come early for the same reason I had,

Nervousness. Tension. Anticipation. Inadequacy.

That was the reason I couldn't stay in bed, at least. I had begun to wake up periodically after three o'clock, drifting in and out of sleep. My attempts to get a few more hours in were ultimately fruitless, and I eventually gave up on that and got up a little after 4 o'clock. I didn't have another nightmare that night, thankfully, but my brain was doing its best to keep me awake. Anyway, the lack of sleep wouldn't kill me.

I approached Iruka with a small smile, "Iruka-san, how are you doing after the missiona? I forgot to ask about what happened on your end," I asked with some guilt. His mouth made an 'o' shape, "I should be asking you that question," he shook his head disappointedly, "We were attacked by an Iwa-nin, but we held out until Hyuuga-san appeared. With the three of us, we managed to defeat the enemy without much problem," he explained before looking at me pointedly.

I tilted my head in confusion before I realized what he meant, "... Oh. Yeah. To be honest, I was lying about being alright after the mission," I admitted sheepishly. He mumbled something along the lines of 'thought so…', "Thankfully, I was able to spend some time with my family and best friend, so I feel much better today." I reassured him. "Is your best friend the green senpai who kept kidnapping you?" he asked innocently. My face instantly reddened. To think it was that memorable to a bystander like Iruka… "For the first few times, I thought you might've actually been in trouble, but after a while,-" he continued, smirking at me before I shut him down. "Okay Iruka-san, you can shut up already!" I huffed, embarrassed.

Next time I sparred with Gai, he would surely regret those days.

Iruka's smile shrunk slowly, "I know it doesn't mean much, but if you ever need someone to talk to, you can come to me," he said warmly, before flexing his bicep, "And next time, we're both going to be strong enough to deal with anyone who'll try to get the better of us!" he said, holding his fist out for a fist bump. I chuckled, returning the fist bump, "You know it," I agreed easily.

My eyes trailed over to Shimada, who was not-so-subtly facing another direction. I shot a glance at Iruka, gave me a look that said 'you should probably talk to her, too', before I paced closer towards my other teammate. Distinctly recalling her unconscious form around the time I joined Anko, I grimaced to myself. No one could shrug away a brush with death, especially not on their first mission. I was close to falling apart myself after that day, and I never got to hear how the two had fared before I arrived. Anko told me something about a paralytic. "Good morning, Shimada-san," I greeted, eliciting a sigh from the girl, "Are you… alright?" I asked carefully, concerned. I wasn't very close to Shimada at all, but she was still a teammate. What she said to me not so long ago was hurtful, but it obviously hadn't come out of a place of genuine hate or malice.

She turned her head and glared at me. Her eyes were red and swollen, eyelids puffy. Had she been crying? "You asshole, you're really gonna rub it in?" I narrowed my eyes, "What do you mean?". She stood up suddenly, stomping towards me to make eye contact. "Yes. I am fine. Thank you for saving me." she ground out, "Is that enough for you? If it is, then screw off!" she demanded, a fiery anger burning in her voice. "I'm being serious! I mean, that Iwa-nin was too strong, so of course I'm worried! That fight… it was too close." I shot back, frustrated with her defensiveness. I was frankly sick of that stance she took with me.

"He was stronger than us, and yet you managed to kill him, didn't you?" she smirked self-deprecatingly, her gaze averted from me. My eyes widened as I recalled that fight once more. The coppery scent of blood that filled my nostrils, the thick crimson that covered my hands. That man's face, twisting with hate and fear. My hands clenched at my sides as my chest tightened. "I was in the way, wasn't I?! Just say it! You don't need to lie to me!" she shouted, grabbing my shirt as I stared at her. The air thickened as we stared at each other, silence blaring loudly in our ears.

Are you kidding me?

"Do you even hear yourself?!" I yelled back, as my whole body tensed with an undeniable anger, "Is this really the time to be spewing that shit!? What does it matter if you were 'in the way' or not?! I don't care if you were the one who jabbed a fucking kunai through his throat, Shimada, I'm just trying to be a decent person!" I exclaimed, glaring at her, watching as her facial features scrunched back defensively.

As the argument heated, my vision suddenly sharpened, colors intensifying, and details becoming clearer than ever. Shimada's face came into startling focus, every tiny movement, every bead of sweat, even the slightest glints from the tears secreting from her eyes. The world had suddenly gained a new level of detail.

I didn't care to notice.

"Get over yourself and that stupid complex of yours! We could've died, you know?! All of us could've been murdered, and you think I'm trying to belittle you?! That I saved your life so I could 'rub it in'?!" I was breathing harshly, my heart racing faster as my head spun.

"In that case, why did you protect me!? We aren't even friends! I made a mistake in the heat of battle, and paid for it, so why?!" she asked just as fiercely, baring her teeth angrily. At that time, my mind was plagued with uncertainty, and despite that, I fought on to protect Shimada, Anko and myself, and as for the reason? Shimada may be annoying, rude and downright insulting, but at the end of the day, I still haven't even gotten to meet her.

"I didn't protect you to prove a point or to earn your approval! We may not be friends, but we're a part of the same team, and believe it or not, I don't want my teammates to die!"

I hated it, that know-it-all attitude she had about me. Shimada thought she knew my character because she felt I was lying a few times in the academy. The need to protect my loved ones and my concern for them: that was the entire reason I became a shinobi in the first place. I couldn't push myself so far if I was getting stronger just to protect myself. If I were reincarnated as an orphan with no one to call family, I already knew I would have simply run away to the next safest place, be it as a civilian or a missing nin. Training is fun. Sparring is a blast. But fighting? Now that I've had to face death, I hate it. It's terrifying, painful, and uncertain. If it weren't for Anko's poison at the last moment, all of us would be dead.

And yet, despite being faced with the prospect of death once, I'm holding on to my motivation and determination to continue, because I have a reason to keep going. Her beliefs are not only getting in the way of the team, but are also frankly insulting.

After a moment of stunned silence, she hastily shoved me away, "Get outta my face!" she bit out, voice cracking. "Don't misunderstand me, Shimada! If nothing else, I want to be there for the people around me," I said slowly, beginning to calm down, "including you." I continued. Iruka grabbed my shoulder, "Daisuke-san, please calm down. Your eyes, they're…" he pleaded with worry. I brought my hand up to my face with surprise, blinking in surprise before smiling self-deprecatingly. I'm really going to have to work on controlling these eyes. With a deliberate sigh, the flow of chakra to my eyes slowed down, the red hue from my Sharingan fading back into their usual blue. "Maybe I'm not as put-together as I thought…" I mumbled, looking down before I looked back up at Shimada.

"I shouldn't have given out to you like that, but what you said was very hurtful," I apologized softly with a frown. I had definitely overreacted, and as someone who's supposed to be an adult (at least mentally), that was definitely not the greatest way to deal with that. Shimada probably had a lot on her mind. She wasn't the only one who almost died, and in that state, it would only take a small spark to ignite an outburst.

Despite her hurtful words, guilt found its way to my expression.

Her narrowed eyes slowly fell back into a neutral gaze as she regarded me closely. "I really hate you," she added with a scowl. As if I didn't know that. "Good for you," I shot back with a small smile. She narrowed her eyes at me before turning away.

Iruka stared back and forth between the two of us with a held breath, before finally releasing it after a few seconds, "That was intense…" he sighed, as his shoulders sagged in relief. "Right?" agreed an awfully familiar voice. The three of us turned towards the voice instantly. "Tsume-sensei!?" we shouted at once, bewildered at her sudden appearance. Shimada pointed accusingly at the Inuzuka, "How long have you been here!?" she demanded, her face red as a beet. "Just got here," nodded with an honest surety, watching me and Shimada visibly relax. "I'm kiddin'. Been 'ere th'whole time!" she laughed heartily, relishing in the twofold return of our humiliated faces. "Can ya blame me? Y'all's shoutin' match was A-grade drama! A real spectacle!" she howled with laughter, slapping the back of our heads.

I had to try very hard to push down the blush growing on my face. She saw my face and chuckled, "And look at you, whippin' out those fancy red peepers!" she continued laughing at my expense, slapping her knee and letting out a laugh-sigh. God, what an asshole. I glared at her through the embarrassment all the same. She shook her head to stop herself, "Right. Gotta remember y'all're still brats. Sorry 'bout that." she apologized, a lingering smile disappearing as her face turned professional. "Fer now, I've got some shit 'ta say,"

My blush died down. She must be talking about the mission at Utahime. We stared at our Sensei with bated breaths, waiting for her words. The result of that mission was on all of our minds.

Tsume-sensei opened her mouth for a moment, before closing it again, seemingly pondering choice of words. Finally, she spoke, "As a Tokubetsu Jounin of Konohagakure, and on my pride as an Inuzuka, I formally apologize for endangering yer lives during the battle at Utahime." she bowed, speaking with an unfamiliar formality. Woah, am I dreaming? She was bowing? I pinched myself, which my Sensei dutifully ignored, though I caught a suppressed snort from Iruka. "Thanks to the combined efforts of Inuzuka Tsume and Orochimaru of the Sannin, Iwagakure's infiltration and invasion of Utahime has ended in failure." she said mockingly, "That's tha spiel I hadta sit through, anyway." she shook herself before making eye contact with each one of us.

"Now, runts, fer the news ye actually care for:'' she grinned before coughing and straightening her expression. "To compensate Team 2 and Team 4's efforts: their missions shall be henceforth registered as A-ranked. The increased payment and records are to be adjusted accordingly." she announced to the three of us, obviously parroting the speech from a higherup. I understood that as a ninja, and especially as a Tokujo, Sensei had to be able to keep mannerisms out of speech, but the professionalism in her speech at the moment was fairly uncanny.

That aside, our mouths gaped open at once. A-rank?! Before any of us could say a word in protest, Sensei stomped the ground, "And before ye morons try'ta argue; yes, y'all deserve this recognition. Utahime was a 'real important base, and ya gave yer lives 'ta protect it. So if ya still wanna argue, prepare 'ta get a beatin' from yours truly." She warned with a clenched fist. Damn. Message received.

Still though, A-ranked pay was seriously high from what I heard. Not only would it be an absolutely gigantic payday (to be spent on Dango), but I would also have the completion of an A-ranked mission in my files forever. Logically, it was a huge step forward in my career, but practically, it meant that I was more likely to be trusted with more important missions in the future. The prospect frightened me to some degree, but I knew not to complain. Scary as it is, it was a crucial stepping stone for me as a shinobi.

"Now that tha formalities're outta the way… I hope y'all rested well, cos yer gonna need it." she said menacingly, "The morons at Utahime grew complacent, 'an there's no way my Genin'll ever be caught with their hands in their pants. Clear yer schedules and rejoice, brats, cos it's time to train." she said, cracking her knuckles. I smiled nervously, sensing the imminent danger. The training was going to be pretty hard, that's for sure, but there was no way it could be worse than anything Gai had put me through. Surely.

—-

I was wrong. Very wrong. My naivety and foolishness knew no bounds.

In all seriousness, Tsume-sensei was not kidding. Clearly, the events at Utahime had affected her as much as it had affected us. Her intent with the training was obvious, to me, at least, and that was to vastly progress our physical capabilities. Utahime had shown her and us that not only were we inexperienced, but also we were far too weak for our ranks. If we wanted to fight on a Chuunin level, before we learned any new jutsu, we needed to hone every skill we already had.

At first, it seemed simple. Intense physical conditioning. I was used to conditioning at a high level with Gai, obviously, but she knew the limits of each of our physical abilities fairly well, so she thought of different exercises for each of us. For Shimada and Iruka, she bought beginner training weights for them to keep on at all times. It could be seen as a generous gesture on her part, but the two were under no illusions that she was anything close to generous with that decision. Weeks ago, Sensei had offhandedly mentioned that training with weights could come later for the two, and while I had already been using mine for a while, she saw no reason to brute force through our growth.

Well, now there were certainly goals in her mind concerning our growth. Obito still had my chakra weights with him somewhere, so for a moment I rejoiced as smirked at my teammates (who were in disbelief in how hard it was to move in their new weights), but as Sensei dug into her bag, I paled as she emptied a suspicious looking set of leg warmers, vest and wrist bands. She was well aware of the fact that I was using weights before, and to ensure that I didn't 'fall behind' my teammates in time, she demanded I wear them, stating that as it was a gift from her, and that it would be disrespectful not to do so. Now the chakra weights that Gai had gifted me allowed me to freely control the weight on them using chakra, but these were standard, fixed weights. The normal load I would carry as I trained was about 20 extra kilograms in all, which meant that my body practically weighed 53 kg while training before. Now, however, the combined weights were fixed at an extra 60 kilograms.

Nearly double my body's actual weight.

I blinked at Tsume-sensei, looking up and down from the extremely heavy vest in my arms and back to her repeatedly. "Sensei, you don't really expect me to wear this, do you?" I asked with disbelief, fearing her answer. She shrugged, a lazy smirk resting on her face, "T's not that heavy," she said casually, "but 'fer now, put on the wristbands 'n leg warmers. Should raise ya weight by 'bout 40 kilos. The vest'll come later." she allowed begrudgingly with a sigh, watching my eyes widen. That meant that the pieces were equal in weight. Thank god she knew something about progressive overload, but I would really rather go up by ten kilogram intervals…

Oh, well.

I slipped the weights on and similarly to the first time I added weight to Gai's birthday gift, the effort I needed to put in to simply move was intense. The difference this time, however, was that the jump I had made was simply much bigger than before. Getting used to this weight, it would be a tough endeavor. After feeling it out, my sight panned over to my teammates. They seemed equally unused to their weights, and while I was unsure of how much Sensei had forced them to put on, I knew she wasn't stupid. She may have a few screws loose, but I trusted that she likely hadn't overdone it with their own weights.

In essence, this new branding of training was not far-removed from what we had done before. With a focus on physical conditioning, it was much of the same. Except no, it wasn't. The type of exercises, sparring and jogging we were subjected to were quite similar, but with a great twist. Of course, the aforementioned weights that we had posed an immense problem, but contrary to what you might expect, Tsume-sensei expected a higher range of repetitions, longer sprints, and more spars. It was our only first day, and getting used to the increased weight in a single day is impossible.

What that meant for us, was pain. Our muscles grew fatigued at a greater rate than before, and as they faced failure again and again, we were instructed to continue despite that. I had trained till failure plenty with Gai and even back on Earth, but the weakness I felt in every muscle in my body was different that I had ever felt before. There was no energy to take from them. No effort to squeeze out. And when the point came where the three of us could hardly stand, we were given thirty minutes to eat and rest, before going back and doing the same thing. The food and rest served to give us the smallest amount of stamina back, but it muscle soreness didn't heal over a half over; it healed as a person slept, so despite any energy we had gained back, it was spent just as fast as we continued on.

Pushups. Squats. Sprints. Punch, Kick, Block. Sprint. Pullup. The order became lost to us as we obeyed. When we couldn't move by physical strength alone, we were instructed to feed our muscles with chakra, a crude and last ditch effort to keep one moving. I was reminded of when I had done the same while fighting that Iwa-nin, except this time, I was in a far worse condition than back then. Despite that, we kept going at it. The threat of Tsume-sensei's wrath spurred us on. The three of us could tell: considering Tsume-sensei's perceived bad mood and her earlier words, the price of disobeying here was going to be worse than what we were doing now.

And after five hours of grueling training had passed, we well and truly couldn't move anymore. Tsume-sensei, don't ask me how, could somehow tell when we had drained ourselves of everything we could give, both physically and mentally. Call it a teacher's wisdom.

She stood in front of us, sprawled on the floor, the only movement we were capable of was breathing, as our chests moved up and down, desperately taking in as much oxygen as we could. I could feel my muscles twitching from overuse, and the sweat covering my body certainly wasn't comfortable. "Color me impressed," she said with amusement, "I didn't expectcha 'ta seriously give it your all. Great survival instinct." she praised us, though I could hardly take it as positive reinforcement.

"...Sensei," I breathed out in between painful gasps, "Are we… done… for today…?" I asked with a great deal of hope. I was exhausted, well and truly. Even if she ordered it, I severely doubted my chances of getting myself on my feet. She hummed at me mockingly. "There's no way we can move on," pleaded Shimada, barely tilting her head to meet Sensei's gaze. Iruka didn't even bother addressing anything to our feral teacher, simply staring at her with an emotionless stare. She had turned Iruka into a would-be asylum escapee. May God bless his soul.

"Well," she finally said, "it is yer first day with those new toys, so maybe I'll cutcha sum slack," she finally decided, instantaneously eliciting sighs of relief from the three of us. "Shut up, you morons!" she groaned, "Makin' me look like a damn villain," she ground out under her breath. "Maybe you are one…" I commented lightly. Tsume-sensei leveled me with an unimpressed glance, as she turned away casually, "Go home 'n think'bout how you'll cover yer weaknesses, and rest well fer tomorrow." she explained, a bit more seriously this time. After the quick debrief, her body disappeared in a flash, leaving behind only falling leaves.

Iruka was seemingly revived by the news and strolled off without a word as soon as she disappeared. It'll probably be good to follow his lead.

Guess it's time for bed.

—-

Unfortunately, it was much too early to sleep. In fact, mere hours had passed since I had woken up, and the sun wasn't going to set for another nine hours. Today's training, which had felt to me like it took up a whole day, had only just carried us a little past 11. I brought myself home slowly, my aching muscles betraying my desire to get home quickly. Considering that I was still supposed to train with Gai later today, I needed to sit down with some food and just rest for a moment. Despite how tired I felt, I knew that as long as my body got enough energy, I would have something to work with.

If there was any consolation, it was that we basically always had something to eat at home. Even if Kaa-san wasn't quite cooking yet, our family was in the habit of leaving snacks around to munch on. After the seemingly long walk home, I eventually arrived. Entering, I made a B-line to the kitchen and grabbed a plate of berries. Mmm, sugar. As I sat down at the couch with a satisfied sigh, Izumi ran into the room excitedly, taking a place next to me on the couch. I blinked at her.

"Hi!" she greeted, clearly more energetic than me. "Yo. You're in a good mood," I commented amusedly, shoving a handful of berries into my mouth. I frowned lightly. Mixed wild berries are all well and good, but I sure do miss blueberries. They were sadly absent from my day-to-day diet here in Konoha. Izumi nodded brightly, "Dad's teaching me a lot," she kicked off of the couch, "see?" she asked, falling into the stance I saw her practicing with Tou-san yesterday. I narrowed my eyes as I scrutinized the posture. Well, for someone so young who's only just started, it was pretty good. "Your left hand is too far from your body, try to bring it closer to your chest. Bend your knees and tighten your stance, but keep your shoulders a bit more loose." I advised carefully. She tilted her head briefly, correcting the stance part by part. Konoha's basic taijutsu style was about a balance in offense and defense, which demanded a fairly compact form, with the arms to act as sturdy and protective 'branches', ready to protect the 'tree'. The arms were positioned in a way where they could accommodate for changes in the circumstances of battle, and while certain offensive forms were taught a bit later than the stance itself, it was good to encourage good habits.

"How 'bout now?" she asked after changing her stance accordingly. I hummed, as I looked at the areas that I had her change. "Well, it's better than before. Your arms are still a bit too tense, but it's a good start. Get used to that." I concluded with a thumbs up. Really, it wasn't bad considering she had barely started yesterday. She might be in the academy by the time she's five or six. I silently grimaced at that reminder. We're sending my only sister to be a ninja. If I have anything to say about it, she's going to surpass her canon self and stay safe. Her birthday was coming up in two months, which meant she was about to be five years old, which was the unofficial minimum age for an academy student. It was something of a meaningful milestone.

To be honest, I was proud to see her motivation, even if I was very worried about her future. Thinking more clearly, in the off-chance the Massacre would happen in some shape or form, Izumi wouldn't be spared, even if she were a civilian, so the logical answer was to encourage her and support her shinobi training. The logic behind that thought process didn't make me any less nervous, not really, but what's done is done.

Izumi held the stance for a few seconds, taking my advice to heart, and then put her arms down with a calm breath. For someone as bubbly as she was, her genuine effort and seriousness impressed me. "Hehe, I'm awesome!" she giggled, literally patting herself on the back. I take it back. She sat back down, pleased. "So, has mom taught you anything yet?" I wondered casually. My sister perked up, "Mmm, only dad. Mom says she's gonna teach me to use, uhm," she brought her hand up to her chin in a thinking pose, "catra." she explained, settling on that word. No way. "Izumi, it's called-" I was interrupted by chuckling, "I know, Chakra! Dad was right, that was funny!" she admitted, her laughter slowly dying down as I stared at her, speechless. Holy shit, she's definitely my sister. I smacked her over the head, "Ow!" she cried, exaggerating, considering how much force I had actually used. "That was for stealing my joke, even second handedly," I shook my head good-naturedly. I stole that joke first. I have dibs.

"Pssh. Meanie." she complained, rubbing her head for good measure. I gave her a look that said 'really?', prompting her to make her face more pained. "By the way, are mom and dad out?" I asked idly, ignoring her completely. Izumi scowled lightly before falling back into her resting face. "Mom's talking to some lady from across the street, and I dunno 'bout dad." she answered. It's a little weird to leave the girl home alone, though I suppose she's hardly gonna hurt herself. She's got a good head on her shoulders. "Huh…" I hummed idly for a few seconds, before turning my head to her. "So what now? Wanna play a game or something?" I asked, knowing she was bound to get bored at this rate. She thought for a moment before breaking into a wide grin."Daisuke, I know! Tell me what happened to Spider-Man next!" she exclaimed with a renewed enthusiasm, jumping into the cushions of the couch. Fair play. Spider-Man it is.

"You wanted to know what a train was, right?" I asked, watching her nod eagerly. "Like I said before, it's like a huge metal carriage that moves people around. Or stuff for shops to sell. Like toys, or metal, or something." Izumi gasped at the explanation, "How many people do you need to move that?!" she demanded an explanation. Well, I wasn't about to explain electricity or combustion to her. "No one, really. It was powered by some kind of energy. It was like chakra, I guess..." I offered a half-hearted explanation. In a way, Chakra is just a different type of energy, so I'm not really wrong. Her expression was puzzled for a moment, before she brushed it off , "Woah. Say, say, did you ever ride in a train?" she curiously wondered, seemingly forgetting about Spider-Man. Scatterbrained today, aren't we? "Well, yeah. I didn't use trains very much when I was a kid, but I moved to a place that uses them a lot as I grew up. Traveling was pretty easy back there." I reminisced with a small smile, looking back at my old life. I moved across the Atlantic at a fairly early age, and Europe used trains much more than the US. At least for personal travel.

"Your old home's all fun 'n cool 'n stuff," she hummed idly, "so why'd you come here?" she asked genuinely, not realizing the weight of the question. I suppose I wasn't very clear when I said I was from somewhere else, and considering her age… it made sense if she hadn't connected those dots. I sighed, "I… don't really know. One day I fell asleep, and then I woke up as a baby with mom and dad," I answered semi-honestly. It was true that I don't know how I got here, and honestly, I don't even know if or how I actually died. It was an assumption I had held on to for my whole second life, but maybe I had never actually died. I had long since dismissed the notion that I was having a long dream, but the question made me wonder.

What even happened to me? Why am I even here?

"You woke up as a baby?!" Izumi shrieked, snapping me out of my fairly sorrowful thoughts. Woah. "I mean, yeah? I mentioned that I had grown up just a second ago, didn't I?" I said back incredulously. Now I'm confused. "You're older than me, so I thought-" she gasped dramatically, covering her mouth, "Nii-chan, how old are you?!" I leveled her with a glance that said 'Seriously?', but she continued staring at me for an answer, undeterred. She wasn't joking. "If we take my age from before and now, I should be a year or two younger than mom and dad," I admitted defeat, grumbling out the answer.

Izumi gasped once again, even more dramatically than before. She must be messing with me, at this point. I rolled my eyes at her, "That's… awesome! She exclaimed, making me blink. The hell? "You're like a wise old sensei, or something!" she said, losing herself in the stories I told her. "Sensei Wu!" What the? "Genkai!" …wasn't she a woman? Her eyes sparked with excitement, "Master Roshi!" she… praised, comparing me to them of all people. "Don't call me-" I shouted in outrage. Listen, I was eighteen when I died. How is that in any way old? I stopped myself before it got any worse. There was a better way to get her to not compare me to Master Roshi. "You know what, let's just talk about Spider-Man, okay? You forgot about that," I said slowly, my eyes twitching irritably.

"Oh, yeah!" she remembered suddenly, dropping the subject as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I shook my head for what felt like the millionth time today, "Anyways, after Spider-Man passed out, Doctor Octopus…"

"... The black suit brought out his inner aggression, that much was obvious, but Peter quickly realized that it made him stronger, and that it gave him the confidence he lacked. He decided to start wearing it everywhere, and-" I stopped, hearing the front door open with a click. "Well, I can continue another time," I said to placate Izumi, who was pouting at the fact that I had stopped. "But I wanna know what's next!" she whined, truly acting her age. Honestly, I had spent the last few hours walking through the plot of a legendary movie trilogy with her. She could be a little more grateful. I shook my finger at her, "All good things must come to an end, young one," I explained with a wistful tone. "Geezer,' she insulted me immaturely with a frown. I walked right into that one, to be honest. Maybe I shouldn't have used that tone."Oh come on-" I protested, before spotting Tou-san coming into the living room area. "Welcome home," I said, doing a 180 with my impression.

"Hello there, wonderful children of mine," Tou-san smiled at the two of us, clearly happier than usual. "Did something good happen?" I asked, an easy grin resting on my face. It was nice to see the usually weary man in a good mood. "You can say that," he responded cheekily, with an annoying smirk. "Oh lord, just spit it out, Tou-chan," I pressed with exaggerated annoyance.

"The war seems to be coming to an end."

—-

Tou-san had come home with quite the news. While it wasn't a done deal, the war was believed to be coming to an end. The reason why? It was Minato. Konoha's Yellow Flash has just come back from a mission, where he had forced the retreat of one thousand Iwa forces. He didn't actually kill a thousand shinobi, apparently, but his presence alone was enough to collapse the entire front, stopping the impending invasion. By successfully eliminating several of Iwa's best battalions stationed at the center of the front, Konoha forces have been able to rush through the opening and are on the verge of flanking vast swathes of encircled Iwa shinobi. It was a big victory.

From the perspective of an ordinary person, it was hard to say whether Minato's actions would end the war, but because of my knowledge of Naruto, I already knew that the battle marks the end of the conflict. With this, there will finally be some peace, and Namikaze Minato will become the Fourth Hokage.

The news was great, of course, but to me, the outcome was guaranteed. I knew for a fact that the war was going to end soon. What was more important to me at the moment, was how things turned out with Obito, Rin and Kakashi. The outcome of that mission, alongside the team's survival, would change everything. If Obito was kidnapped, I was back to square one. There was always the chance that the butterfly effect from my intervention would result in disaster, too, and it was a possibility that frightened me greatly. I almost stayed home and did nothing, but above every anxiety that filled my body, I needed to know what had happened to them.

Not just for the future. If one of them had gotten killed, it would be my responsibility. My fault.

I began to rush to the shinobi hospital moments after hearing Tou-san's words, the only explanation I offered was that I had to check on something. Maybe they weren't injured, but if they were in any danger, they would be there, right? As the familiar scenery of Konoha flew by me, the nervous pit in my stomach grew and grew. A sense of unease washed over me as I got closer and closer. What if something really happened? What if I have made a mistake with my intervention? Had I even done enough? Were they even in the hospital?

Before I realized it, the shinobi hospital shadow loomed over me. The building wasn't exactly far, but the trip had gone by in an instant. It took great effort to step into the hospital, but once I had gotten inside, the sterile smell helped me to calm down. I walked towards the reception, where a young woman sat. "Excuse me, are Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito or Nohara Rin admitted here?" I asked politely, managing to keep my voice from shaking. She looked at me curiously, "Your relation to them?" she asked professionally. "I'm their friend. Are any of them here?" I asked again, carefully controlling my tone. Her response… it likely meant they were actually here.

She let out an even breath, "...Yes, all three are currently admitted here." she relented after carefully studying my expression. My eyes widened, "Is it possible to visit them?" I said, with an excess of eagerness. "The three were all admitted in rather worrisome states and are hardly in any condition for chit chat, especially Hatake." she started critically, before sighing once again, "Visiting Hatake is out of the question, however Nohara personally requested to allow any visitors inside her and Uchiha's room. She was very adamant. Considering the relatively stable conditions of the two, we allowed it under the condition that a nurse wait outside of the door in case of further complications." she stated blandly, before leveling me with a pointed gaze. "Do not do anything to exacerbate their injuries. We have strict policies regarding the protection of patients. The two of them are resting in room 29." she warned with a tone that spoke for itself. Her voice was stern and uncompromising, and while mildly scary, it was also reassuring to know that the hospital's reception was in good hands.

After looking at both hallways on either side, I found that the room was much closer than I had prepared for. It was on the ground floor, no more than forty steps to the right. As I walked towards the door, I once again began to feel squeamish. The room was practically a beacon, with the nurse standing next to the door patiently. It was seemingly the only room with that privilege. The nurse regarded me with a glance as I awkwardly smiled at him. I stood in front of the door for a couple of seconds, debating whether I should actually enter. Rin specifically wanted visitors, right? Surely I would be welcome. The nurse by the door cleared his throat as he stared at me with an annoyed expression.

Agh, fine.

Three badly paced knocks resounded throughout the hall.

A soft voice murmured from the other side of the door. "...Kakashi-kun?" Rin asked, exhaustion and weariness leaking into her tone. "No, err... it's Daisuke. Can I come in?" I said awkwardly, shaking my head self-deprecatingly. For a few seconds, silence reigned from behind the door, "You can come in," she finally said, eliciting a sigh of relief from me. Honestly, I thought she was going to send me away. I opened the door carefully, saying 'excuse the intrusion,' making sure to follow the directions given to me by the receptionist. Getting in trouble with the Iryo-nin at the hospital was probably something to avoid.

Entering the room, what entered my vision first were the sights of Obito and Rin. The boy, laying on the hospital bed without a sound, was evidently unconscious. Considering Rin was the one who had spoken, the fact wasn't a big shock. Apart from a few scratches on his face, Obito didn't look to be badly injured, though the rest of his body was hidden under the blanket, so it was hard to tell. Rin on the other hand was in a seemingly terrible condition. Her silent gaze was half-lidded, and something about her expression spoke volumes about the mission she had just been through. Having sat up, Rin's torso was in clear view, which forced me to push back a shocked gasp. Both of her shoulders were covered in bandages, and upon closer inspection, a sharp-looking brown-ish green… branch was sticking out of her left shoulder. I paced anxiously to her bedside, taking a seat on the hospital chair.

In my last life, I heard that if you were impaled by something, it was best to keep it in the wound to prevent bleeding. In the case where a major artery was nicked, the object that had cut the artery in the first place was the only thing preventing you from bleeding out.

Rin saw my expression and gave me a small smile. "It looks pretty bad, right? The one on my left grazed an artery, so they're keeping it in just in case." she explained, wincing as she raised a finger to point at it. Her hands were covered in bandages, too. "Nohara-san…" I found myself even more uneasy than before. Just what happened over there in Kusa? "Look… you don't have to worry about me," she sighed, looking down, "more importantly, how did you know we were back so quickly?" she asked with a slight tilt to her head.

"Gai told me you were out on an important mission, so when I heard of the Yellow Flash's return…" I started slowly, "Anyway, when I got here, the receptionist let me through. I was allowed to visit you guys, but not Hatake-san-" I explained halfheartedly, before being interrupted by Rin, "Did she tell you anything about him? Is he alright?!" she asked frantically, before hissing in pain and shrinking back with a self-loathing scowl. "I wasn't really given much to go off of," I supplied, "He's alive, but his injuries are more dangerous than yours. I wasn't given permission to visit him," I explained, trying to ease her anxiety.

The relief on Rin's face was palpable as she released a breath of relief. "Thank goodness," she sighed gratefully. I assumed she would know more than me about his condition. My gaze trailed towards Obito, lingering on him for longer than it should have. "You want to know what happened, don't you?" Rin spoke out somberly, a frown on her face. Guilt filled my chest with a familiar tightness, "You don't have to-" she shook her head, "It's alright. I know you're worried about Obito, too." she said with a fond smile, the expression souring a moment later.

"... To be honest, it was my fault." she admitted grimly, clenching her fists. "Obito, he was amazing. He had just defeated an Iwa-nin, and was fighting alongside Kakashi-kun, but then they got me." Rin had a self-loathing scowl on her face as she looked down. Did they capture her after all? "I wasn't paying attention, and before I knew it, Obito was floating on the pond with a huge slash on his stomach." she revealed with an expression that spoke volumes of the injury. I looked back at Obito, who hardly looked injured. Then, did she…?

"I decided to heal him. It was the least I could do to make up for my mistakes. I abandoned Kakashi-kun and the mission to save Obito." The smallest bit of pride shined through Rin's smile as she recalled what had happened. If that's the case, how did she get so badly injured? Her smile fell, "But then, that monster appeared," she spat out grimly. "Monster?" I repeated dumbly, eliciting a confident nod from the girl. "It was an actual monster," she confirmed, "Daisuke-kun, that thing was using Wood Release." the girl added with a shudder, seemingly remembering its appearance. The implications of her account were clear.

Zetsu. The 'monster' she had described was without a doubt Zetsu. Even without a proper description of his appearance, the only 'monster' that could use Wood Release at the moment could only be Zetsu. My eyes widened in realization. I hadn't considered it before, but of course Zetsu would be in the area. How else would an elderly Madara grab Obito and bring him to their hideout? In canon, Zetsu must have taken Obito from under that boulder. In this scenario, he was spying on them if he was around the area, patiently waiting for anything of use to happen. He appeared after Rin healed Obito, probably to take Obito as a pawn like in canon, but if that's the case, how is he safe?

"The last thing I remember after I was attacked by it, is Kakashi-kun saving me. Next thing I know, I'm in the hospital covered in bandages." she elaborated as she looked up and down at her bandaged arms. At the end of the day, the three had managed to survive. The outcome was undoubtedly better than in canon, but clearly all three fought hard for it. A pathetic "... I see." was the only thing I could say at the end. The two of us sat in silence for some time, unable to bring ourselves to say anything.

I didn't come here to have fun or to enjoy myself. I knew a heavy atmosphere would greet me, and that I would have to choose my words carefully. None of my expectations, however, could have prepared me for this occasion. It was unlikely that I could understand Rin's feelings, or relate to what she had just been through, but…

"Do you regret it?" I asked, breaking through the silence. "Do I regret what?" Rin asked back as her gaze shot up to me. "The choices you made. The injuries you suffered. The outcome of the mission. Would you take it all back?" I elaborated shortly, leveling her with a solemn gaze.

What Rin wanted now wasn't pity, it wasn't approval, and it wasn't even renown. I could tell from the look in her eyes. She was giving me answers despite her adversity. The way she flinched in preparation before speaking made that conclusion clear. She sought something far deeper, a sense of closure. Despite everything that had happened to her, she wanted to be acknowledged as an equal, not coddled or pitied, but respected for her choices she had made and strength she brought out. During the mission and even now, she yearned for the well-being of her comrades and fought to ensure it. With my question, I hoped to drain away some tension from her shoulders, because if nothing else, the kunoichi Nohara Rin needed to breathe.

A bright grin blossomed on the injured girl's face, despite everything she had been through. "No." she said resolutely, "Maybe I would take back my incompetence, but everyone's still alive. I wouldn't change any of the decisions I made on the mission." she confirmed with a determined glint in her eyes.

The grin was contagious, and I found myself imitating her. "Great to hear!" I responded with a thumbs up, unconsciously reminiscent of Gai's nice guy pose. Her eyes wandered towards Obito unconscious form once again. "You know, the hospital staff couldn't believe that I was the one who healed Obito," she chuckled conversationally, "maybe it's because I'm young or because my skills are self-learned, but the Iryo-nin who treated me, a Senju, ended up offering me an apprenticeship with a skilled user of Iryo-ninjutsu." she revealed, eyes locked onto the boy's abdomen.

Well, that's certainly not canon.

"That's amazing! Are you going to accept?" I asked excitedly, scooting forward with the chair. The girl smiled nervously, "After what just happened, it's clear that I need to become stronger. I can't afford to be a burden to those two again." she admitted easily, the smile falling into a self-deprecating frown, "In the end, I agreed." I nodded understandingly, "Did they tell you who'd mentor you?" Rin hummed in thought, "I wasn't given a name." she responded after a brief pause.

I wonder, who would they assign to Rin? If she didn't know yet, the teacher will probably come to meet her later on, probably after she has recovered. While it would be incredible if it were someone like Tsunade, something tells me this younger and (supposedly) less patient version of the Sannin wouldn't take kindly to the idea, especially considering the war and the workload it gave her. Despite that, the Senju Iryo-nin who had offered Rin the apprenticeship had to have some kind of influence if she could organize such a thing.

In this timeline where Senju Nawaki survived and Tsunade stayed in Konoha, many more Senju were around. Their numbers were dwindling just like in canon, and the decision made by Nawaki, the head of the clan, was to shelter the clan and turn it into a clan of healers. A transformative effort, it was, because that decision gave birth to the most skilled group of Iryo-nin in shinobi history who, with Tsunade as the head, kept Konoha's war-time shinobi mortality rate significantly lower than all other shinobi villages. The famed Senju vitality gave them the physical capability to keep healing for long periods of time before they ran out of chakra. Few of these medics were sent on missions outside of the village, but in return, more than 60% of fatally injured shinobi who managed to return to the village were saved, most of whom returned to active duty shortly after recovery. The Senju Medic Corps was so successful that Iwagakure, Sunagakure and Kumogakure had to imitate it (albeit to a lesser extent) to compete with Konohagakure.

An influential group of healers whose proficiency in healing was second to none, and a group that was respected throughout the entire Elemental Nations. It was that same organization that was offering Nohara Rin an apprenticeship. There were people who would literally kill for the opportunity. The only Senju in this era I know about are Tsunade and Nawaki, but there was no doubt that amongst their Corps, there were many whose talent in Iryo-ninjutsu was on par with Tsunade's. Whoever had the privilege to teach Rin was going to take her to incredible heights.

"Well, whoever they are, I think they're super lucky to get to teach you," I commented offhandedly. Her eyes widened before she chuckled sheepishly, "Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I can't help but feel under-prepared." I stood up from the chair, "Just do your best. A teacher is meant to teach you things, right? You'll do fine as long as you do as they say." I retorted, eliciting a less hesitant nod from the girl. "Are you leaving now?" she asked with a tilt to her head.

"Yeah. I'm running late for my training with Gai, so now that I know you guys are okay, I've gotta run." I said, turning my back. "Maito-kun, huh? Sometimes I'm surprised by your ability to keep up with him," she admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I'm surprised too, you know," I shot back, shaking my head good naturedly, "I'll come again once Obito wakes up. Don't push yourself, okay?" I said as I paced towards the door. "I'm glad for that. See you soon." she said, waving, as I waved back from the door. "No problem. See you!" I looked back to say bye.

The three all severely injured, but it looks like the outcome of their mission was… a success? I mean, no one has been captured or killed, and Rin's about to get mentored by a Senju Iryo-nin. Was it the right decision after all, to trust that Obito's actions would result in a better future? I guess so.

With that, I stepped into the hallway. The nurse, who had been standing by the door, was standing still after shifting his position. His eyes briefly flicked away from me as I exited the room. I offered a polite nod, to which he nodded back, albeit delayed, as if distracted. I ran off to go after Gai. The boy was extremely serious when it came to punctuality.

That same nurse who had scoffed at me with annoyance, his body language had become guarded and professional. It struck me as odd, considering his open expressiveness just before. Was I chatting with Rin for too long? I wouldn't want hospital staff to be upset with me for overstaying my welcome.

—-

Hi there guys, thanks for reading. It has indeed been a long time, so I'm sorry if anybody was disappointed by the wait.

Guys, once again, I am trying a lot of things at once here, especially when it comes to conflict and character development, and this is my first time writing a story, so I know some of it isn't amazing. It has to do with a poor foundation as I came into the story with less planning that i have now. That being said, if anybody has any complaints about how things were written, please let me know. I'd like to hear criticism, as it'll help me in future chapters.

As things are going now, I know the pacing is a little weird. I'm going to try to do my best to make sure the story isn't stuck, but I needed to get some scenes out of the way here, hence the slow moving plot. The next chapter will involve a tiny little timeskip, and some more important scenes that will lead us into the new arc. I know this chapter took a long time to finish, but I will try to write the next one quicker, but who knows how it will go, as I am still working full-time and I am going to college in September.

When it comes to editing old chapters, I will only do so until about chapter 9 to tie up any major plot holes or weirdness, but from then on, my writing is readable enough to focus fully on the new chapters.

Anyways, see you in 5 months!