There was another meeting at the Hyuuga residence and it was composed of the main branch elders along with Hiashi, Hinata and Hitomi. "So Hinata, would you be so kind to tell us how your interaction with Naruto went?" an elder asked. "It did not go as planned. Naruto didn't even want to be in my presence. This idea is just plain stupid. Let's just leave him alone."
"Nonsense child, you must understand that this is for the benefit of the clan" a main branch member spoke.
"Exactly, you're next in line to be clan head and with the chakra that Naruto possesses and the eyes that you both have, we will have another great Hyuuga in the making" spoke another member.
"Father, will you not tell these fools that this is pointless?!" Hinata yelled furiously. "Silence!" Hiashi said. "This is no longer your choice, you will bring Naruto back to the clan or else you and Hanabi will be branded with the caged bird seal" he said.
The elders smirked at this. She'd have no choice but to go through with it now. Hinata's eyes opened wide as she clenched her fist. Tears came to the corners of her eyes as she glared at her father and mother. "I hate the both of you!"
She then stormed out of the room. Hiashi sighed as he turned to the others in the room. "I hope you all are satisfied, I would like to speak with my wife alone" he said. They all nodded and left the room. He turned back to his wife only to receive a stinging slap to the face. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but unbridled rage.
"You selfish bastard! How could you do this to your own daughter? You are the clan head for crying out loud!" she said. His face reminded stoic as he spoke. "There comes a time when one has to decide the fate of his clan. We have survived generations by making tough decisions. People may have disagreed with them but we are still here."
She shook her head. "That same decision making is why our family is slowly falling apart. You're treating your daughter as a tool for the 'betterment of the clan'. This is your fault she is forced to do this. You banished Naruto from the Hyuuga before he was born and I warned you that it would come back to bite you in the ass. Do not speak to me until I say otherwise, you will also sleep on the couch. Goodbye Hiashi" she spat.
Naruto was effortlessly dodging the fan strikes courtesy of Temari. "Take me seriously!" she said a little angry. "Make me" he replied. She then opened her fan and a lone moon became visible. She swung the weapon with speed and Naruto substituted with a nearby log. He then reappeared being Temari making her jump in surprise.
She took a swing at him and he caught her wrist. "I told you to not waste my time. I haven't even used my sword yet, I hope that's not all you got" he said mockingly. She just grinned and began to light up. "Not at all" she said as she exploded. The real Temari looked on in anticipation as she saw the explosion rang. 'Did he fall for it?' she mused aloud. "Almost but not quite" a voice from behind her said.
She turned around just in time to block a sword strike aiming for her throat. She was quickly losing the test of strength though. "She ducked underneath the second strike and went through hand signs. "Fire Style Fireball Jutsu" she said. A fireball shot towards Naruto who's sword lit up with white chakra. He slashed through the oncoming jutsu with ease.
He was getting bored. He needed to end this. He activated his byakugan and dashed toward the female. He ducked under her fan swipe and hit her in the back of her arm with the hilt of the sword causing it to go limp. She tried to use her other arm to hit him but he caught her fist and struck her in the leg, causing it to go limp as well. She fell to the other knee panting. "What did you do to me?"
Naruto shook his head in amusement. I disabled the chakra flow in your limbs. It'll take you about 30 minutes to be fully functional once again unless I help you of course" he said. "Don't just stand there, help me!" she said. "And why would I do that? You have yet to answer my question." "You never asked you idiot" she replied. "Manners Temari, manners" he pretended to reprimand her.
"Fine, why did your father send an unstable jinchuriki to a different village?" He saw her tense up immediately as her eyes widened. He held up his sword to her throat. "We had a deal, now you must answer truthfully" he said. She bit down on her lip and thought about the possible outcomes of her actions. She had been reckless and let her curiosity get the best of her.
She could try to attack him but that would be pointless. He effortlessly defeated her just with a sword.
Mustering up the courage, she spoke. "The Kazekage is planning an invasion along with The Hidden Sound and Orochimaru. Gaara is supposed to be used as our ace to destroy the village after the exams."
She waited for a response or even a reaction. She figured she'd be turned into the authorities for questioning and the entire plan would be ruined. But yet he said nothing and only shook his head. "The fact that two of the weakest hidden villages would even think of attacking the strongest hidden village is a little embarrassing."
She glared at him. "I am still a loyal kunoichi of the Sand and I will not allow you to disrespect it." Naruto chuckled. "I don't think you really have a choice in this matter right now. Konoha is home to Jiraiya of the Sannin, Kakashi Hatake, the Hyuuga clan, Uchiha clan and did you forget who our Kage is?" he asked incredulously.
"What makes you think I want to do this? I'm just following orders given to me by my village!" she yelled. "So spying on me was apart of the mission?" he asked. "I wasn't-" he held his hand up forcing her to go silent. "I want you to realize that I have 360 degree vision so I know if someone is watching me or not."
"I was just curious that's all. Aren't you going to turn me in?" she asked. Naruto rubbed his chin in a thinking manner. If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, she would've found it amusing that an anbu could look so silly. "Nah, turning you in would be pointless. You told me everything I needed to know. It's obvious that you don't agree with the plan and it would be in your best interest to leave immediately after the invasion begins. I will not be held responsible if you get killed."
"What do you want from me?" she asked surprised. "I want nothing from you. I have your cooperation. This shinobi system is fickle. I can't blame you for following orders."
He dropped his sword from her neck and started to walk past her without another word. Once he was gone, she placed her hand to wear his sword was aiming at. She looked at the place the anbu once stood and began to think.
Naruto made his way to the private burial grounds and removed his mask. "I think I finally get it. No matter what, everyone is resided to a fate and then reduced to a lifeless corpse. Father you died a meaningless death, killing yourself because you let others dictate how you felt about your decisions. Mother, you could've ran away with me and started a new life but you accepted your fate.
You let others control your narrative and that led to your downfall." He looked up at the sky and watched several birds fly around him in a circle. "I will not make the same mistakes as you. Nobody will control how I live or how I die." He then paused for a moment and frowned. "I'm an anbu. There is no reason for me to be constantly spied on in my own village."
"Well you are an important person to the village" a new voice said. Jumping out in the clearing, Naruto came face to face with a man he hated with every fiber in his body. "Jiraiya by important, you mean I have a nuke sealed into my stomach and the village would rather have me on their side than not."
"Call it what you want but you are important to the village. Sarutobi Sensei told me about your mission and I just wanted to see if you have any leads" he said.
"I did not request any assistance. My squad and I are more than capable."
"Naruto did you forget that your dear sensei was a spy master?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. "For one, you are not my sensei. And neither is that snake you call a teammate. Secondly, as you said you are a spy master, you don't need my help."
Jiraiya sighed. "Still holding grudges over past grievances." He shook his head. "We were trying to help you control the fox's chakra."
"Past grievances!?" Naruto yelled losing his cool. "You idiots almost killed me forcing me to draw that vile chakra. Orochimaru, i never liked and I never will but I think I have a right to hold a grudge against you. You are the sensei of the man who sealed the beast inside of me." "He had no choice Naruto."
"He could've taken the thing down with him. I barely knew the man and he decided to turn me into a weapon. I could care less if it was a last second decision" Naruto said. "Fine if you don't want to talk with me that's okay but we still have to cooperate in order to figure out what Suna is planning" Jiraiya said.
"Whatever" was all Naruto said as he vanished.
Timeskip
The preliminary rounds in the 2nd faze of the chunin exams came to a close and the remaining participants had to pick numbers to determine the matches for the finals. A woman with purple hair held a box in her hand that contained the numbered cards.
Hiruzen stood next to her and was flanked by Team Ro. Naruto saw Temari sneaking glances at him but he payed her no mind. He noticed Hinata looking at him intently which was a bit odd. Sasuke had a determined look on his face. Neji still looked as cold as ever while his jumpsuit wearing teammate just looked weird. Gaara looked downright murderous. The pineapple haired boy looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. He was so busy observing the contestants that he almost missed Itachi calling him.
He left with his team and went to the Hokage's office. "Kabuto Yakushi is more than a mere genin" Itachi said. "I was thinking the same thing. His cards that contained information on genin from separate villages is something to take into account as well" Yugao said. "It appears we have a spy on our hands. I will keep tabs on Suna's jonin sensei. He seems to like taking night walks in the village" Tenzo said.
They all turned to the only member that didn't say anything. "What have you found Naruto?" Yagao asked. "Nothing so far. Although, the genin kunoichi from the sand challenged me to a spar" he said. Yugao snorted. "Either she is stupid or overly confident in her abilities."
"I'm assuming you turned the spar down" Tenzo said. Naruto gave the man a deadpan look. "Very well, I'll leave a written report for the Hokage. Report back to your stations at midnight" Tenzo said. They nodded and Tenzo and Yugao vanished.
About 2 hours later, Itachi and Naruto were eating at a Dango shop. The stoic Uchiha decided to speak.
"You are not telling the whole truth Naruto" Itachi said. "Oh? What gave it away?" he asked in a sarcastic manner. "You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for but on top of that, you're loyal to the village. What really happened?" Itachi asked.
"I will tell you when we get to HQ, there is someone I need to speak to" he replied. Itachi merely nodded and vanished in a flock of crows. Naruto followed suit and vanished in feathers. He reappeared at his parents graves and saw Hinata sitting.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Am I not allowed to come and visit my aunt?" she asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes behind the mask. "You shouldn't be here. Don't you have some training to do for the next round?" "There is something I need to tell you but you have to listen to me before you speak" she said. He tilted his head to the side as she continued. "My father and the council demanded that I seduce you to bring you back to the clan.
I told them the idea was foolish and would never work. They then wanted us to conceive a child to force you to remain allied with the clan. And my mother sat there and said nothing! My father then said that if I did not succeed then I would be branded with the seal along with Hanabi" she finished with tears. Seeing as Naruto didn't reply, she slowly got up and began walking away. "Sorry for invading your privacy" she whispered.
Her arm was grabbed and she looked back and saw for the first time in forever, a face without the mask. "I told you a long time ago that nothing would come good out of sucking up to your father and it looks like I have been proven right. Now do you see why I don't associate myself with people within that hell hole outside of you and Neji?" he asked.
She put her head down in shame as she remembered what he warned her about when she was younger. "I knew about the plan to gain my allegiance to the Hyuuga and I didn't care. I could care less about the Kyubi either considering nobody else in the village can control the chakra. But there is one thing that I will not stand for and I wholeheartedly despise. It's that damn seal."
"But there is nothing that can be done. I will not force myself upon you. I would rather die than to do that" she said. Naruto heard those words and for some reason, found them to be comforting. He looked at the emotional girl and spoke. "I will not join the Hyuuga Hinata" he said. She was about to speak but he hushed her. "I will handle this. They obviously want my power and power only. You just play your part. You and Hanabi will not be enslaved" he said.
She nodded thankfully and left the grounds. Naruto leaned back against a tree nearby and pulled out his chakra sword.
When midnight came, Team Ro had split up individually to survey the village. Naruto had yet to inform Itachi of his findings but the Uchiha didn't pester him about it. Kakashi hadn't found anything out of the ordinary lately either. It seems like Suna and Orochimaru were taking extra precautions.
He then noticed a mop of sandy blonde hair and gazed at the woman curiously. Without much of a thought, he vanished leaving behind a few feathers. Silently reappearing beside a building not too far from her, he slowly followed her.
Temari gingerly made her way to the meeting place in which she had to meet someone. She slipped in between an ally way and waited. Minutes later a boy with silver hair and glasses came into view.
"I assume you weren't followed?" he asked. "Of course I wasn't" she said. "How are things holding up on your end? I trust Gaara will be coherent enough to follow orders?" he asked. She clenched her fists at the comment but nodded. "He and Kankuro know the plan and will follow it thoroughly, my sensei made sure of it."
"That is good. I will contact you again in 2 weeks. In the meantime, continue to gather information and find weak points in the villages security" he said. She nodded and he left the in the same direction he arrived in. She watched him leave with a snarl on her face. She turned around only to jump in surprise at the newcomer.
She drew her fan on reflex and aimed it at the anbu before her. "What the hell are you doing here?" she said in a whisper. Naruto simply moved the fan from his throat and eyed the woman in front of him. "You didn't tell on me."
"Of course I didn't. Getting myself into more of a deep hole isn't exactly ideal" she said sarcastically. "I'm guessing that guy is Orochimaru's right hand man?" he more or less asked. She nodded, "he relays all of the information from Orochimaru and the Kazekage" she said.
" I noticed that you don't address the Kazekage as your father, why is that?" "That man is no father of mine, nor my brothers" she replied. "Ah so you don't even like your father? Have you spoken to him since your arrival in Konoha?"
She shook her head. "I haven't spoken to him in weeks. We aren't even allowed in his office anymore" she said. "That sounds fishy to me. Why would you not be allowed to have contact with the leader of your village when you play an important role in the invasion they have planned?" he asked.
"What are you trying to say?" she asked. He held his hands up in surrender. "Nothing much, I just know first hand how cunning and manipulative Orochimaru can be. The man was my sensei after all." She was surprised at that. "Are you saying that there's a chance that Orochimaru has something to do with that?"
"Maybe, maybe not. I can only assume. But watch out for that silver haired kid, he is probably just like the snake."
She nodded and there was a brief moment of silence. "Why are you going so far to assure my safety?" she asked.
He chuckled. "Your boldness is quite admirable if I'm being honest. But in truth, I was doing it to gain information as it was my mission to find out if Suna was planning something. Now that I see that there's a chance you might be being manipulated by the snake, someone who i 100% want to kill, it just means that maybe you're not completely in the wrong" he finished.
She nodded at that and her stomach growled. Her eyes widened and she blushed in embarrassment. Naruto didn't even bother to hold his laugh in, much to her dismay. She then swung her fan and hit him in the stomach and he fell down like a sack of potatoes.
"I may or may not have deserved that" he said in pain. "Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" she asked with critical eye. He stood back up as if nothing happened and stretched. "I still am on duty. I'm technically with an enemy of the village and I am gathering information" he said nonchalantly.
"Whatever" she muttered. "How would you like to get something to eat?" he asked offhandedly. "Are you asking me out on a date?" she questioned in surprise. "Eh I wouldn't call it a date, you're hungry and I'm hungry. It would just be wise that we eat together so nothing happens" he said.
She thought over the logic of the statement and agreed to it. They made their way to a dango stand in a comfortable silence and ordered some food. Naruto took his mask off and Temari seen his face for the first time and almost choked on her drink.
Naruto who was obviously enjoying her reaction chose to speak first. "See something you like?" She blushed in embarrassment and playfully slapped him on the arm.
After their food came, they ate without much conversation. Just small talk here and there. After they finished, Temari chose to speak up. "Since your mask is off, I think it would only be right if you tell me your name" she said. He nodded at that. "Naruto Hatake" he said.
"Hatake? As in Sakumo Hatake and Kakashi Hatake?" she asked. He grunted. "Yeah, Sakumo is my dad and the lazy bastard is my brother" he finished. She let out a small laugh at that.
"You don't look much older than me. How did you become an anbu?" she asked. "Well I didn't have a normal upbringing. Not that it was bad or anything, I just didn't bother to go to the academy like other kids. I grew up in the anbu HQ because my brother was the captain and he didn't want to leave me alone. So after I graduated the academy at 10 and became a genin, I went straight into the anbu and never left" he said.
She nodded at that. "What about your upbringing. As you said, I'm not that much older than you so why are you still a genin?" he asked with a smirk. "When I graduated, I chose to wait on my brothers to graduate in order to be placed on the same team as them."
"Awe, how touching. If only my brother was as nice as you" Naruto said wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. She then got a good look at his eyes and asked another question. "You have the byakugan, I didn't question you when we sparred but how do you have them?"
He gave her a deadpan look and she blushed, feeling stupid at the question. "My mother was a Hyuuga" he stated. She accepted the statement and she got up from her seat. "I need to go. It's past midnight and I'm sure my sensei will be looking for me" she said. He put his mask back on and nodded.
"I hope that we won't have to fight, you seem alright" Naruto said. "You're not too bad yourself Ghost" Temari said with a smirk.
After she departed, Naruto walked into the street and a flock of crows appeared in front of him, followed by a purple blur. "I'm even being spied on by my own team now" he muttered. "Going on a date with the Kazekage's daughter who just so happens to be an enemy justifies the suspicion" Yugao said with a smirk.
He rolled his eyes and ignored her comment. "She gave me some valuable information about upcoming events" he said. Itachi merely raised an eyebrow and Yugao waited for him to speak. "Tenzo needs to know about this too" Naruto said reluctantly.
"When will you address him as Captain, Naruto?" Naruto scoffed. "The day that I die" he replied. Itachi just sighed and shook his head. "We need to get back to HQ to discuss" he said. The other two nodded and they all flashed away.
Temari had made it back to the hotel she and her team was staying at for the exams and was immediately approached by her sensei. "You took your time coming back" he said. She rolled her eyes. "I went to grab something to eat after meeting with Kabuto" she said.
"Kazekage-Sama would not be pleased if you were to foil his plans" he said. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "It means nothing, just do not get sidetracked. The plan will continue and Konoha will fall" he finished. He went into his room and she frowned and went into hers.
Minutes later a knock was heard at her door and she went to open up the door. "Kankuro, what are you doing up?" she asked.
The boy in question was almost unrecognizable without his face paint. "Can we talk?" he asked. She gave him a questioning look but nodded. He closed the door behind him as he entered. He sat on the edge of her bed and looked at his older sibling. "Do you find it funny that we aren't allowed to see the Kazekage but foreign shinobi are?" he asked.