With the passing years, Naruto's personality changed as well. She was barely twelve, and her attitude was that of a sixteen-year-old. There was no doubt that the Hokage's only daughter would have difficulties as she grew up and started puberty.
But as his blue eyes stared, he couldn't believe what he saw in his office—Emiko, his wife, dragging their daughter in with her blonde hair stained with purple, her heart-shaped cheeks red with embarrassment as she fought against the hands holding her.
His eyes are wide at the sight of his 13-year-old daughter with vibrant purple highlights; he stands up from his desk in a hurry, his voice filling the room with alarming rage. That Naruto by now was already used to.
"Naruto! What have you done to your hair?!" Naruto, his precious baby girl, rolls her eyes and pulls her arm away from Emiko, who huffs out a breath of air. Naruto stands with her and crosses her arms.
Naruto defiantly glares at her father with her same blue eyes before she forces her voice out loud for the whole building to hear. "I made it Purple Dattebayo! Get over it, Dad. And there's nothing you can do about it!" Minato sits down, his face growing red with anger. He tries to maintain his composure.
"Naruto, I cannot believe you would do this without my permission. You are grounded! No going out!, no friends, and you won't be visiting the Uchiha compound anymore, and definitely no ramen!" Naruto rolled her eyes, finding it all ridiculous as she played with the ends of her purple hair.
Naruto laughs sarcastically as she mocks her dad using air quotes, "Grounded?" Seriously, Dad? You are so old; what kind of punishment is that? I hope you realize how lame you are!" Minato grits his teeth, struggling to keep his temper under control.
"You may think I'm old, but I will not tolerate such disregard for rules and respect. You need to understand the consequences of your actions."
Naruto crosses her arms, her defiance unwavering. She says in a dismissive tone, "Whatever, Dad. You just don't get it. Times are changing, and you're stuck in the past; get over it already!."
Minato grits his teeth and takes a deep breath, trying to find the right words to get through to his daughter.
"Listen, Naruto, I understand that times are changing and that you're getting older, but that doesn't mean we abandon all sense of responsibility and respect. We have rules for a reason, and you will listen to those rules, or so help me, you will be grounded until you're married."
Naruto's mouth goes agape as she presses her tiny hand against her chest as she looks at her father. "Oh! Until I'm married?, like that's going to stop me; you don't let me do anything anyway!" Naruto shouts sarcastically, and Minato's eye twitches.
Naruto's lips lift in a tiny smirk as she finally wins one over her father; it's not until Minato sees this that he finally loses his nerve and yells at her to go straight home, and Naruto leaves with the slam of the door.
Minato closes his eyes and rubs his temple; Emiko's eyes soften as he walks over towards her husband as she rubs his shoulders while placing kisses against his neck.
"She's just going through a phase. She started acting out when Hiroshi started going to the academy. You know Naru always wanted to be a ninja, but she can't. That's why she's acting out. But she'll get over it like she has done before with our two other kids."
Minato exhales and takes one of her hands to kiss her wrist. "I know, but she doesn't get to act this way; we're going to have to set more rules and boundaries for her." Emiko nods, and they share a tender kiss.
Naruto walks the streets of Kohona all alone, grumbling to herself as her blonde hair glows with her new purple highlights. She has her hands stuffed into her jacket, and Naruto's blue eyes are narrowed.
It had felt as though if she were to close them, she would fall asleep and stay asleep for a long time. But she does so anyway as she remembers the breathing exercise she was taught. Closing her eyes, she exhales softly, smiling to herself; she could feel all the tension she had released.
"Naruto? Is that you? Naruto raised her head as she flinched, and she opened her blue eyes as they met Rin's dark brown ones. Her hair was longer as Naruto took in the women who practically raised her. She couldn't help but feel guilt; Naruto looked away as Rin gave her a soft smile, her arms wrapped in a cloth that held her child. She walked with two older ladies who Naruto assumed were the aunties from the Uchiha clan.
Naruto watched as Rin got closer. "I almost didn't recognize you. I feel like I can never catch you at the right moment." She says with a giggle; her laughter makes the baby in her arms laugh and reach up to her with small hands.
Naruto watches and grimaces; Rin must have seen her face because she leans forward to touch her cheek. It catches Naruto off guard that her cheeks warm up with embarrassment. "Are you alright?Did you and Minato-sensei have a fight again? We can talk about it at the compound if you want?."
So many questions make Naruto feel overwhelmed. She shakes her head, ready to make any excuse to get away from Rin. She feels a warm hand hold hers just as she is pulled back by said person.
"Naruto! There you are!" Emris, a boy from her class she didn't think she needed until they met last year, his vibrant dark pink eyes pulled you in as if it were a tornado, unlike his calming brown hair with pink lowlights. He was big on setting trends and following the new ones. Now that Naruto can remember she and he were just together in the school's restroom dyeing her hair purple with his mother's equipment.
They met and quickly became friends, and just like that, it was history. Emris' pink eyes stared into her own as he spoke coughlessly. "Did you forget we had a project together? It's due in a day! We need to get it started now!"
"Oh right! Sorry, Rin-san, maybe next time!" She says, not sparing Rin a look, she could already feel the guilt fill her as she and Emris ran. Their hands tightly woven together, Rin watches with a sad expression before leaving.
Naruto and Emris come to a stop, and suddenly they are in front of his mother's shop. Naruto and Emris enter the shop, greeted by the familiar scent of lavender and the sound of clinking tools. Emris' mother, a kind woman with a warm smile, looks up from her work. "Ah, Naruto! Your hair! Now I was wondering where my new purple mix had gone to." She emphasizes by giving her son a look, who chuckles and lifts his hands up.
"Must have slipped my mind," he says with a chuckle as he tries to not look too guilty. His mother hums with her hands on her hips before disappearing into the back to grab them snacks. Naruto looks at Emris with a smile on her lips.
"Thank you for saving me back there; I wouldn't know what to do without you." Emris smiled back at Naruto, their hands still intertwined. "You just noticed?" Naruto laughs, pushing him away; Emris never fails to make her smile. Emris's mother returned with snacks, and they both thanked her.
"So how did your dad take the news?" He questioned as he reached out and twirled a piece of her purple hair. Naruto sighs, and her eyebrows furrow. "Grounded for a week, like I care. I'm not going to sit at home all day!"
She says with a huff in her chest, and Emris gives her a dry look as he takes a sip of his drink. He looks at her, his finger fiddling with the straw. "Are you getting into more trouble because of your brother joining the academy?"
Naruto averts her gaze; she can't help but bite into her lower lip as she lets out a small sigh before laying her head against the table. "It's just not fair that they get to do something that I've always wanted to do; it doesn't help that Tadashi is graduating soon and starting to go off on missions, and soon Zale and my youngest brother Hiroshi will too."
Naruto says softly as she whines, Emris laughs and gently pats her head to give her some comfort, and Naruto lifts her head, running her fingers through her bangs. "It's not fair that they have the right to choose what they get to do and I don't; it makes me jealous."
"But you never showed them that." His eyes brighten as a smile blooms on his lips. "You never once blamed them for that. If anything, I only ever see you support your brothers. It's a good thing."
"Well, of course, dattebayo! I don't want to take that choice away from them; they're still my brothers, dattebayo." Naruto smiles, feeling her weight lift off her shoulders. She liked being around Emris because he always brought a sense of calm to her.
She watched as the light of the day got dimmer by the second. Naruto pushed right out of her chair, "I better get going before I get more grounded." Emris nods as he offers to walk her out as the swinging door opens. Naruto is met with the sight of Ino Yamanaka alongside Sakura and the rest of the group, including Tadashi and her two younger brothers.
How could she forget that Emris's mother's shop was in front of Ino's family shop? And how Emris was distantly related to the Yamanakas, but his mother married out of the family, so he wasn't part of the clan.
Naruto brushes her hair back, and she sees how they're taken aback by Naruto's unexpected appearance. Naruto and Emris greet everyone. There were all friendly hellos except from Sasuke, who was brooding more than usual.
It was always this awkward feeling when Naruto and her friends met up with Tadashi's friends because they were all opposite; like Naruto, all of her friends attended regular classes that were on the other side of the village, but unlike them, Tadashi's friends were all ninjas. They all acted like they were on a higher level, hence making it awkward.
"Hey Cousin! You're already getting Naruto mixed up with your nonsense?" Emris rolled his eyes as he and Ino got into a spirited conversation about her now purple hair.
Tadashi starts bursting out into laughter as he comes to touch her hair but she watches him away, "Naru, what the... you've got purple hair now?, when we get home dad is going to kill you"
She pouts, but both Zale and Hiroshi run to their older sister, mesmerized, as they both excitedly talk about the color. Zale was older than Hiroshi; he was the Uchiha they had adopted. He was three years younger than Naruto and Tadashi, but he was just as bright as them. With his spiked black hair and onyx eyes, you would think he looked more like Sasuke's younger brother, but Naruto never treated him any differently.
And Hiroshi, who just started at the academy, had all of his mother's looks to the bone; it was nearly impossible for them to look apart.
"Imōto, you look very pretty!" Naruto smiles and giggles as she picks up Hiroshi as she kisses his cheek, earning a giggle from the small boy.
"Glad to think someone likes my hair." Hiroshi smiles just as big as he lavishes in the attention of his older sister, how could he not? When Naruto practically raised both him and Zale…
Sasuke and Tadashi exchange bewildered glances. Sasuke looks at Naruto annoyed. "Naruto, Are you sure this is a good idea? Won't you get in more trouble?" Naruto shrugs her shoulders, seemingly unfazed.
"Well, he already knows. Dad's got me grounded, but I couldn't just stay home and wallow and be stuck with—never mind, let's go home before I get more grounded."
Naruto smirks mischievously at the Uchiha; she continues to smile as she puts her younger brother down. "Plus, if I'm going to be grounded, I might as well make it worthwhile."
Tadashi and Sasuke nod reluctantly, intrigued by Naruto's constant defiance. Getting a better look at everyone, she notices the bandages. "Wait, what happened to you guys?"
Sasuke looks away, and Naruto looks at Shikamaru for answers. The tired boy sighs like it's the last place he wants to be, but he rubs the back of his neck, ready to confess, but Tadashi beats him to it.
"Nothing! We just got into too much sparring." Naruto puts her hand on his hips, but she doesn't question anymore; she goes through her pockets and gives each boy a special cream that will help with the bruising and pain.
"You should be more careful; you guys know the ceremony is in a couple of days." Ino and Sakura are the first ones to thank you as the rest do so as well. It was getting darker, and it made Naruto worry more as onlookers gave her looks.
It seems like she wasn't the only one to notice Emris pinching her cheek, distracting her, "It's getting late; you should probably head home. I can walk you." As soon as he said this, Zale held onto her hand as Hiroshi placed his head on her side.
They were both slightly glaring at the boy touching their older sister, "No, that's alright; I don't want Dad to see your hair and forbid me from being friends with you." Naruto says with a laugh, but they all knew it was true.
Despite her rebellion, everyone knew how strict the Hokage was with the Uzumaki princess…
Emris nodded and wished her a good night. She was about to, but was interrupted as Sasuke wrapped his arm around the blonde. "Let's go, dobe." Naruto pouts but shouts over her shoulder, "Goodnight, Em!"
They were walking, and Naruto couldn't help but notice how Hinata was missing her heartfelt tight as she asked, "Where's Hinata? Did he not go to the academy today?" Both Tadashi and Sasuke scoffed at her.
"Who cares?"