We are literally within 10 follows of hitting 1k, so please follow the story if you haven't! This arc is where the paths actually start to diverge from canon a bit, hopefully you like where the story leads!
"The Kazekage has been captured."
Tsunade's words echoed through the room, but to Naruto, they sounded as if they were miles away.
"The Sand has sent for help. You're the first to arrive of the team I've assembled."
Naruto was numb. He and Gaara had become good friends somewhere near the end of his second year away from the village.
"You will leave as soon as you can get fully briefed and prepped." That struck a chord with Naruto.
He made two shadow clones, hands coming up as slowly as he could manage so that the Anbu wouldn't take it as an aggressive act.
There was no more time for Naruto to waste. He strode to the window, opening it and leaping out in the same motion. Calling upon his chakra, it seemed to shift from thick to impossibly dense chakra, and he ran off at near full speed. He was out of the village in seconds.
Tsunade glared at the clones, shocked and furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing," she ground out.
The clones stood their ground. There was a seriousness to them that wasn't often associated with the blond. When he spoke, he kept his voice level with respect, but firm with power.
"I'm the fastest of the group—"
"Even if you are," Tsunade intervened. "Which I doubt after seeing your fight with Jiraiya, you can't go alone. You're not nearly strong enough."
"Permission to speak the truth, Hokage-sama?" Naruto said.
"I am not strong enough to go alone, you're right." The words sounded just bitter enough that Tsunade was sure that she wasn't hearing things. "But I am the fastest." The clone not speaking stepped forward, holding out his wrist. He focused, channeling chakra to it.
Black lines swirled around his wrist, leading in lines up his arm. Tsunade noticed where the lines intersected, recognizing the tenketsu points as easily as one might read a book.
Tsunade looked up at the clone that had been speaking.
"You're kidding." She wasn't a fuinjutsu expert, but she was extremely intelligent and knowledgeable of the body. She could put two and two together.
"You know how much chakra I have, as well as the nature of it. It's safer to keep it sealed away, at least a portion of it."
"How long have you been wearing those? Has there been any deterioration of your coils? What about your control?"
Tsunade seemed to understand the plan, knowing they had some time. She also couldn't resist the medical implications of, well, anything.
"In order, I put them on about 6 months after I left. It hurt for a while, but frankly I heal well enough that there doesn't seem to be any long term damage. It kinda messes up my control but that makes for good training, but mostly it just stops me from using very much of it."
"So when you fought Jiraiya you didn't have full use of your chakra?"
"Well, er, no. I guess. I have all my chakra I just can't use very much at once compared to normal."
"So that's why you were so slow compared to our expectations?"
"Mhmm," the clone nodded his head, the only movement in the otherwise tense room. "Slows me down enough that it makes my body work really hard not only to keep up but to be efficient. It's a light enough suppression that I can still practice channeling my chakra in every way I normally would except extreme amounts. It actually makes some jutsu easier."
"Like that genjutsu?"
"Yes, certain genjutsu are much easier with less chakra accessed, although I still have to waste a ton of it to do them," Naruto's clone answered.
"Hmm," Tsunade said, thinking on Naruto's words. "Okay, we can discuss this and your insubordination later, and there will be consequences. For now, let's focus on the mission."
They both lost their curiosity and excitement that came with chakra breakthroughs. The reminder that a friend and ally had been kidnapped would do that. "How soon can you make it to Sand?"
"I don't have any marks there. I only accomplished the technique for the first time a few months ago, and we went from west to south and then came back here so there's nothing between here and Sand," the clone said. Tsunade rolled her hand, gesturing for Naruto to answer her original question.
"By sunrise if I push to exhaustion," Naruto said. Tsunade's face was surprised. "When I left I was planning on staying combat capable, so sunset I would think. Of course if I get some chakra assistance it can be much, much faster."
"And be a beacon for anybody… interested in that? No chance. In fact, I want one of you to make another clone and then dispel right now so the original knows the fox is off limits. You shouldn't even be out there alone and frankly you wouldn't be if I had anybody in the village that could keep that pace safely."
The clone that hadn't spoken yet followed orders, making the strongest clone possible, then blinked from existence. The new clone stood there quietly, just as the first had.
"Who's the team," the talking clone, who seemed to be in charge, asked.
"Oh you're very familiar with them."
The silent clone suddenly smiled, despite the circumstances. He knew she had only just arrived back in the village between the late afternoon and this morning. He picked up her chakra during his morning meditation, but she was sleeping, and he decided not to interrupt that. He knew he'd see her soon enough, he just hadn't expected it to be in the Hokage's office.
There was a knock on the door.
Tsunade called for them to enter.
The door swung open, and three ninja in typical Anbu garb strode in. Hound. Tiger. Mole?
Both Naruto's burst out laughing, despite the circumstances. "You gave her mole? Her? Mole? Ahahahaha."
Tsunade signaled for her guards to leave, feeling safe enough with three Anbu and the village jinchuuriki to guard her.
"You three can remove the masks. He clearly already knows who you are," Tsunade said, breaching protocol but not really caring.
They lifted and sealed away their masks, revealing themselves to be Kakashi, Yamato, and Hinata. Breaking protocol in his own right, Naruto's clone zipped across the room pulling the teenage Hyuga into a hug. He held her for a few seconds, before pushing her away to arms distance, and getting a good look at her.
"Hinata! When did you join? Your dad was okay with that? Have you learned any cool jutsu? How far can you see? You let them give you mole?" Naruto rattled the questions off in successive order, not pausing to take a breath or give her a chance to respond.
When she was sure he was done, Hinata smiled.
"It's so good to see you too, Naruto. You've grown so much."
She seemed calmer than Naruto had ever remembered. Calmer and more confident. Almost like she'd found an inner piece of sorts. Naruto's cheeks got ever so slightly warmer at her response.
"But," she continued. "We can catch up on our last three years in a little bit. I believe we have a mission to be briefed for?"
"Oh, right hehe," Naruto said, embarrassed.
"If you're done," Tsunade said. "I'll just get right to it. The Kazekage has been kidnapped. We don't have a lot of information but we expect Akatsuki."
"Hold on," Naruto's clone said. "You expect Akatsuki and you let the original me just run off?"
"You let Naruto run off? Is he with an Anbu team?" Kakashi said.
"The brat ran off before I could even finish the brief. Stuck his Hokage with two clones."
That would have been enough to get even the three Anbu members to laugh, under normal circumstances. A Kage being kidnapped wasn't normal though, and it certainly wasn't funny. In fact, only two Kage had ever gone missing in the history of the five great hidden villages. The last had been the Sand's third Kazekage.
"Naruto is speeding towards Sunagakure as we speak," Tsunade continued. "He expects to make it there before nightfall tomorrow, at which point he will teleport back here."
'Teleport?' The look on Hinata's face seemed to ask him.
A small smirk crept onto the clone's face. He shot her a quick wink. 'Tell ya later.'
"The four of you will then enter the village together as if you traveled the whole way. You will be going in standard uniform. You will then get all the information possible from Sand, and cooperate with them to mount a rescue effort."
"I don't think I need to emphasize that diplomacy is at the forefront of this mission, but Naruto is here, so I'm going to anyway. You cannot just storm in there and start arguments with them, no matter what they say. Am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Naruto said. There was no quip, not even an eye roll.
Tsunade was impressed. Maybe Hiruzen had taught him a few things after all. She leveled her eyes at him anyway, putting the full force of her leadership on him.
"I don't want you putting yourself in a position to be captured. I have no doubt you will take care of your team, but you are the priority here. We don't yet know why they want the bijuu, but we sure as hell aren't going to let them have yours. Extracting a bijuu, as you all know, results in the death of the host."
"I won't just let them have Gaara," Naruto said. There was no room in his tone for argument.
"And I won't just let them have you either, Naruto." Tsunade, similarly, didn't leave room for argument.
"Well then," Kakashi said, lazily diffusing the tension. "I guess we'll just have to keep both of them safe."
Tsunade looked upon her shinobi. There was resolution in all their eyes.
"Good," She finally budged. "Kakashi has the lead on this one. If he gives you the signal, you teleport out of there, Naruto. I mean it."
Naruto didn't strictly agree to what she said, but he wasn't outright denying it either.
"The original shouldn't be back for a while, so plan on reconvening here tomorrow afternoon. You're all on call though. We don't know if he'll run into trouble or get there faster so be ready to leave in thirty minutes or less from here on out."
They all nodded.
"I'm sure you all could use some time to catch up, and Hinata, I'm sure you could use the rest. I'm sorry Naruto's clone will most likely keep you from that. Will one of you make another to update him? Dismissed."
They all broke from their places, moving towards the doors. The clones weren't the real Naruto, so they didn't feel obligated to leave via window. The silent clone ran off ahead, probably going to prep equipment that the original didn't carry on him. The remaining clone fell in stride with Hinata. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Yes, Naruto," Hinata said, smiling pleasantly. "I would love to have some ramen with you. Just give me a chance to change out of my uniform. I'll meet you at Ichiraku's in 15 minutes, okay?"
Naruto nodded vigorously. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed this… comradery. Being able to communicate without speaking wasn't just something born of time spent together. There was something deeper to it, and he'd been without it for the last three years.
—-
True to her word, Hinata showed up at Ichiraku's exactly 15 minutes later. She looked… amazing. She had on a turtleneck lavender vest, cinched tight around her waist with a cummerbund. Navy shorts, made out of thicker tactical material, came down to her upper thigh.
There was a short gap before the fishnet stockings she wore reached her lower thigh. A kunai holster was wrapped around her right leg. She wore nearly knee high shinobi boots, black per her usual choice, to round out the look. It was simplistic, but it fit her well. It didn't distract from her beauty, nor would it get in the way of her fighting style, offering ample range of motion.
Her hair had grown out long, cascading down her back to her hips. It parted slightly around a short sword that was strapped to her back, Naruto noticed. An odd choice for a Hyuga, but one he heartily endorsed. She certainly wasn't hiding behind a baggy or even loose jacket anymore. Her clothing hugged her body well, accentuating her curves.
"Naruto?" Hinata asked. He realized he may have been staring, er, observing her, a little too closely.
"Hey Hinata," he smiled when he recovered. "I was just taking it all in. I haven't seen you in so long. You've grown a ton yourself."
She blushed ever so slightly, but remained composed.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I've been training really hard since you left. I did not want to get left behind." She returned his smile.
"Psh, you've lost it if you think I'd ever leave you behind," he said. "Besides, I bet you're crazy strong now. Neji mentioned that you could probably make jonin if you tried. That's awesome!"
She nodded politely, inwardly feeling that rush of warmth she had forgotten she often felt when he was around.
"Kakashi-sensei says that I am not quite ready, but that I am very close," she said. The pride in her voice was unmistakable to Naruto.
"Naruto!" A pleasantly gruff voice called out to him. "Welcome back, I was starting to think you wouldn't come by today." Teuchi wore a smile on his face, as he always did when Naruto saw him.
"Ah, I'm just a clone Teuchi-jiji. Hinata is gonna have some ramen though so get her whatever she wants, it's on me today!"
"Ooooh, like a date?" Ayame said, making her presence known. Both teens blushed heavily. Only Ayame intervening saved them from total embarrassment.
"Oh I'm just teasing you two sheesh. It's good to have our two favorite customers back together again though!"
"Thanks Ayame," Naruto grinned at her.
Hinata ordered her ramen, and they sat in comfortable conversation for a while. They caught up on the big points of what they could talk about in public. Quite frankly, that wasn't much, but it was good just to be teammates again. When she finished, Naruto was eager to get out of there.
"C'mon, I wanna show you the house!" He said. Of course, she had already seen it, both helping with the designs and building, and with her Byakugan from far away. Still, she hadn't had the opportunity since he'd made it back, and if there was one thing Hinata knew about Naruto, it was that the house would be totally different by now.
They rushed off to the outskirts of the village, taking to the rooftops to avoid winding through the streets. Hinata activated her Byakugan, more out of habit than necessity. Her visual prowess found Naruto and his chakra.
It was breathtaking.
It pulsed, almost as if it had a heartbeat of its own. It was like the sun, blindingly bright and warm, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. It stretched out with each pulse, expanding ten, fifteen, twenty feet away. In the span of that single pulse, it was pulled entirely back to his body, surrounding him like a cloak. It was spectacular.
They lept to the ground, running the last 50 feet on the street, rushing through the gates without pause. That is, until they reached the Uchiha memorial. In the bright afternoon light, the flowers seemed to be alight like flames. The two of them walked around it, silently taking it in. They paused on the other side of the circle. There were moments of silence, while they both thought of the same thing. Neither wished to speak it aloud.
"Come on," Naruto finally said. "Let's go see the house." His voice was solemn, his otherwise bright personality suppressed. He seemed to be a million miles away.
Hinata nodded, and the two restarted their run. It took them merely a minute or two to reach it. Unsurprisingly, there were multiple clones outside. Some were doing yard work, some were on the roof, and a few were training.
Inside of the house, it was no different. Clones painted walls, read scrolls, and moved around furniture. By the time Hinata had been led to the living room, she had counted nearly thirty clones.
They sat down in the same two seats that Jiraiya and Naruto had used, just days before.
"Do you always have that many clones going at once?" Hinata asked. She was more than used to him using them for training, but not to this extent.
"Usually more, actually," Naruto said. "I dispelled about fifty when I left for the Hokage's office. They'd been training but there was quite a bit of chakra left in them, so I recalled it."
"You mean you can get your chakra back from the clones?" Hinata said.
"Well yeah," Naruto said. "Some of it has to return to transfer the memories, right? Well I just have them send all of it."
"That's… impressive. I don't think I've ever heard of anybody being able to do that before."
"Thanks. Not many people have the opportunity to make hundreds of clones in their lifetime, let alone thousands in a week. Practice makes perfect."
Hinata sat quietly for a second. A few clones shuffled by, discussing seals and barriers, cross-referencing scrolls as they did so.
"What about the drawbacks though?" Hinata said. "Is more chakra harder to handle? What about having so many… around all the time?"
"For a while it hurt. Drawing the chakra in isn't easy. Headaches constantly. It took me a long time to adjust to it, and even longer to get back to feeling normal."
"Why do you push yourself that hard?"
"You know why," Naruto whispered.
"It's not worth it. Protecting us means nothing if you die in the process," Hinata begged.
"Then I won't die."
"You can't just say that."
"Then I'll do it too," Naruto said. "I mean it, Hinata. I won't leave any stone unturned. The guilt of losing someone I love will kill me long before a kunai or jutsu will."
She could tell she wasn't going to get through to him, so she dropped it. They sat in a decreasingly tense silence, finally getting comfortable enough for them to tour the rest of the house. Naruto's clone showed her all the rooms and the stuff he had added to them in the last couple of days. He explained to her some of the seals and barriers he'd added or was planning to add. Overall, they were back to being themselves, despite the underlying tension in their relationship.
The clone walked her home after a few hours of catching up, speaking about the more secret parts of their lives. Naruto's jinchuuriki training. Hinata apprenticing under Kakashi and joining Anbu. Jutsu the two of them had learned or even invented. Typical catching up for teenagers.
Hiashi greeted them at the entrance, no doubt having searched the village for Hinata when she hadn't returned from her summons.
"Hyuga-dono," Naruto bowed. It felt weird addressing him from the perspective of a fellow clan leader, but it was technically correct. Hiruzen would skin him alive if he found out he hadn't followed strict social rules in public with someone so important. "Have you made any progress in considering my offer?"
"I believe I told you just Hiashi is fine, Naruto," the clan head said. "At least when it's just the three of us. I'm still considering taking it to the council. They will not be happy if I bypass them in granting permission. At the same time I am positive they will say no. You have put me in a tough place."
"I apologize for that. I've given you all my strongest points. All I ask is that you consider them, as well as the unlikely scenarios where I would need it. That and the fact that your barriers definitely need updating and there's only one clan alliance that could secure that for you." Naruto winked at him. "Oh, by the way, how are those training dummies treating you? I dropped a few off, right?"
Hiashi lost a little bit of his strict posture. Naruto was an unnaturally natural politician, if only because he tended to offer way more in exchange for whatever he wanted.
"They are excellent, Naruto. We will be ordering more. Our clan accountant says they will save us a great deal of money, and I am inclined to believe that they will improve our training of the younger generations."
"Pshh, those are free of charge," Naruto said. "A little bribe slash payment for putting up with me throughout our six months as genin." He chuckled. "Man I was really a nuisance, I can't believe you survived that."
"Yes," Hiashi said, an invisible smile on his face. "Was a nuisance. I'm so glad you grew out of that."
Being both a good sport, and an expert in interacting with Hyuga, Naruto let out a sincere laugh.
"Well," he said. "I better get going. Jutsu to invent, ramen to eat, people to prank. Good to see you Hiashi! See you tomorrow Hinata!" The clone seemed to blink from existence, finally having fulfilled its purpose.
The sun set on Konoha that evening. It would be the last one before everything changed.