"Talking"

"SHOUTING/SCREAMING/YELLING"

'Thoughts'

"Jutsu"

"Tailed Beast Talking"

'Tailed Beast Thinking'

Sound Effects

Date & Time

Location

[Flashback]

]

Chapter 10

]

Dining Room, Yakumo's Manison

Done with lunch, Yakumo was about to resume her tale when Naruto suddenly flinched in place alarming the two girls who were with him.

"You okay?"

"Was there an issue with the meal?"

"No no," Naruto calmed them down, "I just gained memories from the Shadow clones I left back at the academy." He explained.

"Shadow Clones?" The Heiress bore a surprised look, "You can perform that jutsu?" The redhead made the hand seals and from a fume of white smoke appeared a clone of himself, "Whoa!"

Misa chuckled at the sight, "I had the same reaction."

"Can you-"

"After your body has recovered," Naruto answered the unfinished question, "Now Misa." He faced the purple haired.

"Yes?"

"It appears a good number of the girls in our class now hate you."

"Wait What!" Yakumo looked at her friend, "How did that happen? It's just your second day!"

Said friend sighed, "Let me guess it's because of the Tournament?"

"Actually it's Sasuke."

"… Huh?" Misa uttered in bewilderment, "How is he connected to them suddenly hating my guts?"

The Jinchuriki leaned back on his chair, "You do know most of the girls have a thing for him right?"

"Yes, and that's why I stayed clear of him."

"Apparently it wasn't enough as they spotted him paying close attention to your fight and since Sasuke has never paid that much attention to any female in the class before…"

"They probably think he's interested in me." The 15 year old female realized with a frown, "I seriously didn't enroll for this drama that's brewing."

Yakumo glanced between the two, "I'm lost," She stated, "Can you please like… start from the beginning?"

"Ah right, I forget to tell you about how my day went," The Mitarashi straightened her back then clasped her hands together before starting, "You see, today happened to be the academy's monthly battle tournament, an event where students can earn some marks as part of their continuous assessment. Naturally I was excited at the prospect of fighting, but once the matches started… I was to put it mildly disappointed."

A brown brow was raised, "Were your classmates that bad?"

"The males were okay, but I couldn't fight any of them, especially Naruto here, since the matchups were based on gender which I find stupid because out in the field, your opponents won't be restricted to those who are the same sex as you!"

"Most of the females," Naruto continued as the Mitarashi went on to sulk, "were already wary of Misa after she spooked a fellow classmate on her first day, so whoever she got paired against forfeited on spot and the cycle repeated all the way to the Semis where she finally had her first fight."

"At that point said opponent was on her last legs!" The Mitarashi added, "The fight didn't last 3 seconds!"

"That's because you blitzed her." The redhead pointed out.

"She was about to pass out on her feet!"

The Heiress found the whole situation strange, "Were the girls not confident in their chances?" She inquired.

The Uzumaki shrugged, "I don't know, they hadn't even seen Misa fight yet they all made up their minds to forfeit."

"A part of me is actually glad they forfeited," Misa confessed earning a look of disbelief from the brunette, "Don't take this the wrong way Yakumo, but the current you can easily wipe the floor with half of them and that's without resorting to Genjutsu."

Said brunette gave a nervous smile, she knows that taijutsu isn't her strong point due to her ailment, but for Misa to say still that, "They're that bad huh."

"Except for the Hyuga Heiress," The purple haired added as an afterthought, "I fought her in the Finals and she pulled out all the stops including her Byakugan."

"Hyuga? Byakugan?" Yakumo leaned forward, "You fought Hinata, the Hyuga Heiress?"

The resident Jinchuriki gave the brunette a curious look, "You know Hinata?" He inquired.

"I haven't met her," The brunette clarified, "But while I was still undergoing training as the next clan head, I was instructed to memorize the names of all possible heirs of each clan in Konoha."

"Well that makes sense." Curiosity satisfied, Naruto gestured to Misa to continue and as she did that, the Jinchuriki subtly glanced back at Yakumo who was hanging onto every word coming out of the Mitarashi's mouth, 'Kurama what do you think?'

"The same as you."

'So you agree that Misa is what has kept her mostly sane?'

"Indeed," The Biju answered, "and I'm sure you can guess how the rest of her story goes."

'Yeah,' The Uzumaki nodded, 'Kurenai reported the incident to the Hokage and the latter ordered that Yakumo's power be sealed which was probably done by the former. Without access to her unique genjutsu, the rest of her clan begun to see her as a frail girl unfit to rule.'

"Then there's that mysterious fire," Kurama pointed out, "What's your take on it?"

'It's either an assassination attempt made to look like an accident or Yakumo somehow losing control of her power again.'

"The latter is unlikely as you just said that it was sealed."

'Yet she regained it not even 3 years after, which can only be possible if it wasn't sealed properly or that the seal itself got tampered with later down the line.'

"Hmm," The Fox mused, "then if it was assassination attempt, who do you think the culprit is?"

'The Hokage is innocent for the simple reason that it isn't his style.'

"ROOT then?"

'Possible, but Yakumo would have been taken captive if they were behind it so no.'

"So that only leaves…"

'Her clan,' The Uzumaki finished, 'Someone within the clan wanted her parents out of the way, but didn't particularly care whether Yakumo herself survived or not. It's has to be someone really close to them.'

"A relative."

'My thoughts exactly.'

The Nine Tails shook his head, "This is what I dislike most of you ningen. Family and friends are easily casted aside in pursuit of one's selfish aims."

'Not everyone is like that.'

"Most are."

'Well…'

"Your mate and her friend are nearly done," Kurama interrupted, "you wouldn't want them thinking that you're ignoring them now would you?"

'No, and Misa isn't my mate!'

"Keep telling yourself that."

'… We will talk later.'

"Hmm."

Closing the connection from his side, Naruto paid attention to the two girls and smiled when Misa got to the part of the Tournament where he knocked out his opponent with a Suplex, 'That was so satisfying.'

]

The Golden Leaf, Konoha

An Hour after the Meeting was adjourned

Seated within a private booth in ones of, if not the best, exquisite restaurants in Konoha were Koharu and Homura, two of the three elders on the village Council.

"It appears Danzo was right." Homura started.

"Yes," Koharu nodded, "Hiruzen definitely has plans for the girl, and they involve the boy too if the rumors are to be believed."

"They aren't just rumors. I have gotten confirmation from different sources that they are pretty close to the other even though they just meet a few days ago."

"They're kindred spirits," The Old lady pointed out, "the boy was ostracized and the girl discriminated," She grabbed a glass of water and sipped a bit before continuing, "Danzo did say that the former had no ties to the village apart from those ramen sellers."

"Hiruzen probably noticed it too, that's why he promoted the elder Mitarashi to Jonin and placed her ward in the Academy," Homura rubbed his chin, "He's planning on tying all three to the village, Genius!"

"Of course it is, the boy is becoming a formidable asset! We just have to make sure that the civilians on the council don't repeat what they tried today!"

"They have been making bold moves lately," Homura agreed with her, "We should probably start from the Academy then. They may attempt to bribe some of the teachers into ruining his chances of graduating by interfering with his grades."

"I will have my niece look into that, she is the Headmistress after all."

"Yes, and since we are on the topic of the academy, how's our plans for the Uchiha going along? He just turned 15 two months ago."

Koharu frowned, "Not too well, Hiruzen had insisted that the CRA (Clan Restoration Act) won't be enforced until he's 16 and then there's the report that the Uchiha isn't interested in any of his female classmates."

"Not even the two Clan heiresses?"

"The Hyuga hasn't interacted with him which I find extremely odd, and the Yamanaka is seen as a nuisance at best."

A similar frown appeared on Homura's face, "This is bad. I had at least expected him to show interest in one of the girls but to hear this." A hand rose to scratch the aging hair, "Is it that they aren't to his liking?"

"The boy is blinded by revenge," The elder woman spat, "we have gone far and wide for him, even convincing Hiruzen to assign Kakashi as his private tutor and he still proves uncooperative."

"I'm half tempted to bring Danzo in, at least we will have some Uchiha babies a year or two from now."

"If Danzo comes in, Itachi will spill the beans like he threatened to and we don't want Iwa or Kumo getting their claws on them."

*Sign* "So our hands are tied?"

"We just have to hope that he eventually shows some interest in a girl, because forcing wives on him won't end well for anybody."

]

Dining Room, Yakumo's Mansion

Once Misa was done retelling the events of the Tournament, Yakumo continued her tale and it went exactly how Naruto assumed it will.

Kurenai reported the incident to the Hokage and the latter ordered that Yakumo's power be sealed since it was too dangerous for her to control. Her parents naturally kicked against it, but they were powerless in face of the ANBU Squad who accompanied Kurenai for the sealing.

After the deal was done and the news was broken to the clan, pressure was applied on both Murakumo and Uroko to sire another heir since the first was deemed a failure in their eyes. Unfortunately a second heir couldn't be made as Uroko's womb was damaged in the aftermath of Yakumo's birth and Murakumo loved his wife too much to marry another woman. This offended the elders and from that point on the two sides never saw eye to eye again.

A year later, their home was burnt down with Yakumo as the sole survivor. With the lost of her parents, the Heiress was forced into the outskirts where she remained under watch by an ANBU agent and two medical-nins.

Once the tale was done, the three teenagers remained silent for a while until Naruto clapped his hands gaining the two girls' attention, "So Yakumo," He faced the brunette, "how about a demonstration of your power?"

Said brunette blinked in surprise, "Okay, but why?"

"The pill I'm going to give to you may have result in some unexpected… changes, yeah changes."

"That pause doesn't fill me with confidence." The Heiress looked worried.

"It's probably nothing serious, right Naruto?" Misa asked the redhead.

"Right, the change should be a positive one… at least in my case it was positive." He mumbled the last part.

"Your case?" Misa still heard him.

"It drew out my latent abilities," Naruto explained while hiding his surprise at being overheard, "It basically made me a pure blooded Uzumaki."

Nodding at his explanation, the Mitarashi faced her friend, "See Yakumo, Naruto here is proof that it's safe."

"… Fine," Yakumo reluctantly agreed, "But for the demonstration, I need you to head up to the art room and grab a few things for me."

"Sure," The purple haired rose to her feet before asking, "What do you need?"

"Hmm, that portrait of you I painted some months back will do," The brunette answered, "Then my paint brush and color palette."

"Alrighty," The two watched her head towards the door, "I will be back in a couple minutes so keep on chatting." Exiting the room, she shut the door and climbed the stairs, her footsteps echoing across the now silent room.

'Umm-'

"You're on your own." Kurama abandoned him near instantly.

Letting out an internal sigh, the Uzumaki turned to his attention to the girl with him and found her squirming in place, "You okay?" He asked.

"Ah yes," Yakumo replied quickly, "It's just…"

"Just?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly, "This is the first time I've been alone with a boy my age."

"Oh," Naruto felt his own cheeks heat up a bit, "well, it's your first time experiencing this situation so your reaction is a normal one. I actually had a same reaction with Misa yesterday."

"Really?" The brunette perked up, "Please go into details!" She asked excitedly.

"We-" The Jinchuriki coughed a bit as he felt his cheeks go atomic red, "After school yesterday, Misa and I went out for lunch-"

"A DATE!" The Heiress interrupted with a yell, "No wonder she seemed so happy talking about you when she dropped by yesterday."

"She was?"

"Of course," A nod came his way, "Misa usually doesn't talk about boys, but since she met you it's been different."

"I see," The redhead gulped while thinking, 'I already have that much impact on her?'

"Why are surprised?" Kurama questioned, "Any female who sees you for who you are will surely be drawn in, like what is going on right now."

'Going on now? You're saying that Yakumo-' Deciding to verify, the redhead called the attention of the excited Heiress, "Hey Yakumo?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think of me?" He inquired.

"… Huh?" The brunette blinked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"I mean what's your opinion of me, how do you see me?"

"How I see you…" Yakumo muttered before giving the Uzumaki a look over, "You're a nice guy," She began, "strong, smart and pleasant to look at," 'Especially with those whiskers.' The last part was said to herself.

"See." Kurama stated smugly.

'Yeah.'

"Although…" The Heiress added.

"Although?" The redhead gulped.

A grin appeared, "I do find you a bit perverted."

"Perverted? But I-"

"I caught the glances you were giving both Misa and I."

"… I thought I was subtle enough," Naruto sagged his shoulders before bowing his head, "Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." He apologized, 'Got to be careful next time.'

"Actually I'm flattered," The brunette corrected and it made the male's head jerk up in surprise, "You see I'm conscious of my body and it only became worse when Misa and I bathed together a while back. One look at her curvy figure was enough to make me feel less of woman than I already was."

'Ouch' Both Naruto and Kurama could tell how damaging that experience was for her.

"I never mentioned it to Misa," Yakumo continued, "but I have a feeling that she noticed it because these past months she became more aggressive in her search for a cure which ultimately led to you coming here."

The Uzumaki nodded, "I have only known her for a few day yet I could already tell that she is extremely good at reading people."

"Yeah," The Heiress agreed, "But I wish she wasn't going this far for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto, I was envious of her body!" The brunette emphasized, "She noticed and instead of disliking me like any other girl would, she bought you here to fix me up!"

"That's because she isn't like the other girls and you know it." Naruto countered, "Most of the girls out there are either selfish or vain, they only think themselves and are more than willing to tramp over their friends if it lands them the number #1 guy in the village."

"Now you're just making my gender look bad." Yakumo chuckled.

"You will understand when you find a pair of girls who have been friends since childhood break in a fight over a boy who isn't interested in any of them."

"Hmm," The brunette hummed, "That is unfortunately common among us females, though I didn't think Misa and I will have that issue."

Eyes closed, the Jinchuriki leaned back on his seat, "That's because the two you aren't interested in the same guy."

"…"

"… Yakumo?"

"Concerning the pill," The Heiress changed topics much to the redhead's bewilderment, "You sound confident that it will fix me up." She continued.

"Y-yes, it will." Naruto answered, still a bit shaken. 'She can't be… right?'

"So after it's done its work," The brunette gained some blush on her cheeks, "will I be on par with Misa?"

"On par?" The Uzumaki tilted his head a bit, "Do you mean strength wise?"

Yakumo's blush grew, "Appearance wise." She muttered.

"Appearance wise… Oh!" He now realized what she meant, "Well ehmn," He faux coughed, "We both know that Misa is attractive for a girl her age and she will be even more in the coming years."

Yakumo nodded agreeing with him, she and Misa were of the same age yet the latter was already 'D' while she's still 'A'. 'Even if my growth is being suppressed, the difference is too much!' She whined mentally.

"It won't be easy for you to catch up due to your condition, that's the honest truth," The Uzumaki continued, "But," His listener leaned forward at the word, "once the pill has done its part and you perform all the necessary procedures – balanced diet, exercise and etcetera, then there is a good chance of you catching up."

"If that demon of hers pitches in then she will." Kurama added, but only Naruto could hear him.

"You really think so?" The Heiress asked hopefully.

"Yes," He answered confidently, thanks to his tenant's words, "Ido will surely help so you have no worries."

Said demon told her host,

'Oh.' Yakumo would have cursed her ailment again if she didn't pick up the sounds of footsteps alerting her of Misa's imminent return.

"Don't-"

"Mention this to Misa? Gotcha." The Uzumaki finished her words.

"I'm back!" The door opened revealing said Mitarashi who walked in, "and I got the-" She trailed off and glanced between the two, "Okay, what were you two talking about?"

"Yakumo was just confirming legitimacy of the pill." Naruto answered smoothly.

"Again?" Misa gave the Heiress a flat look, "I didn't take you for the doubtful type, but you are part Ido so I guess it fine."

Said demon protested,

The brunette gave a nervous smile before suddenly remembering something, "By the way Naruto," She faced the only male in room, "You still haven't told us what the pill actually is, only that it will rid me of my ailment."

Misa nodded, "I'm also curious," She placed down the portrait along with painting instruments before staring at the redhead, "what is the pill?"

"Before I answer that," Naruto glanced between the two, "You promise me that you won't freak out?"

"Freak out?" Misa raised a brow, "Is the pill really that big of deal?"

"Let's just say that if it becomes known to the public that I am or was in possession of one then political figures, including the Daimyos' of the 5 great nations, will be after my neck."

"The 5 Daimyos'!" Both girls began to sweat as this was much bigger than they expected, 'What are we getting ourselves into?' They asked themselves.

"There is still time to pull out," Naruto added after witnessing their reactions, "If you do, I won't think less of either of you."

"I think-"

"I'm in!"

"Yakumo!" The purple haired rounded on her friend.

"It's okay Misa," The Heiress assured her with a smile, "If it helps me out then I won't mind."

"But-"

"Besides," She faced Naruto, "The chances of them finding out are low right?"

"Right," Naruto nodded, "But if they do find out, then I promised to keep you… both of you safe."

"Thank you." Yakumo said with visible relief before facing her friend, "See Misa, it's going to be okay."

'You sure about that?' The Mitarashi glanced between the two and upon seeing their confident expressions, sighed in defeat, "Hope this doesn't come to bite us in the ass later." She mumbled.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Taking a seat, Misa turned her attention to the only male in the room, "So what is this mysterious pill?"

Naruto braced himself for their reaction, "It's a Dragon Blood pill." He answered.

"…"

"…"

"…"

THUD!

"YAKUMO!"

With a tired sigh, the Uzumaki could only watch as the purple haired attended to her unconscious friend.

]

?

Pacing before a massive seal etched onto the ground was an elderly man in his sixties, dull red hair with sharp green eyes while dressed in a plain blue kimono with wooden sandals protecting his feet.

He arrived in the clearing a little over an hour ago and was wondering what was taking their prized warriors so long, 'They couldn't have run in trouble could they?'

No sooner had he made that thought was when the seal glowed with a bright light, bending time and space as seven individuals manifested from thin air.

'Finally!'

Making sure to hide his relief, the elder donned a look of indifference as they all lined up side by side before him.

"Elder," The Captain of the seven stepped forward and took a knee with the rest following, "We have returned."

"I see that," He replied stoically while giving each and every one a glance, "I also see that none of you is injured or missing which is good."

"Thank you elder." The Captain accepted the praise.

"Now down to business, firstly how is the young Prince?"

"He has accepted his heritage and has grown far stronger than we anticipated, most likely due to making contact with the Kyubi."

'Now that is a surprise, we didn't expect him encountering the beast until at least another year.' The elder would have smiled if it wouldn't ruin his image before his subordinates, "Any changes in behavior?"

"He has toned down his eccentrics and is more cautious of the villagers than before. I suspect that he has awakened the same ability that Lady Mito had."

'The ability to sense negative emotions huh,' the smile nearly forced its way onto his face but was quickly suppressed, "What about the second matter?" He asked.

"We have successfully retrieved more stolen artifacts from the vaults of several Daimyos' while planting cues which will point to their rivals easing up any suspicious that the original wielders dropped by to reclaim them."

"Good good," The elder nodded as the smile finally made its way onto his face, "Go rest up while I report the findings to the other elders."

"Hai!"

Receiving the scroll which contained the artifacts from the squad's captain, the elder guided them back to their expanding settlement.

]

AN: Had to go a break for exams.

Sasuke was born on July 23 while Naruto was born on October 10, that's why the latter is currently younger than the former. Based off Homura's words, they're currently in the month of September so Naruto won't be turning 15 until the next month.

Below are the ages of the relevant characters.

Students

Naruto Uzumaki – October 10 (14 – 15 years)

Shikamaru Nara – September 23 (14 – 15 years)

Sasuke Uchiha – July 23 (15 years)

Choji Akimichi – May 1 (15 years)

Kiba Inuzuka – July 7 (15 years)

Shino Aburame – January 23 (15 years)

Rock Lee – November 27 (15 – 16 years)

Neji Hyuga – July 8 (16 years)

Ino Yamanaka – September 23 (14 – 15 years)

Hinata Hyuga – December 27 (14 –15 years)

Sakura Haruno – March 28 (15 years)

Misa Mitarashi – November 17 (15 – 16 years)

Yakumo Kurama – December 8 (15 – 16 years)

Tenten Higurashi – March 9 (16 years)

Other noticeable mentions

Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuki – 26 years

Kakashi Hatake and Gai Maito – 28 years

Asuma Sarutobi – 29 years

Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade – 53 years

Hiruzen Sarutobi – 71 years

]

Next up

Chapter 11

Total Number of Words: 4084 Words

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