Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Inuyasha belong to their respective owners.

Dialogue Legend:

"Unforgivable" – Normal dialogue

'Unforgivable' – character's thoughts/speaking to Inner Demon

"Unforgivable" – Jutsu name

'Unforgivable' – Inner Demon/Inner Spirit/Supernatural Being speaking

Review Corner:

To the Guest who asked if Loki is still alive: NOPE! He's deader than fried chicken! You don't unleash a potentially endless onslaught of outerversal horrors on Sesshomaru's territory and live to brag about it, especially not when Thor/the surviving Aesir are helping Sesshomaru out. Illusions don't work on Sesshomaru and both Bakusaiga and Tenseiga (given that Loki comes from another realm) are more than capable of killing Loki.

Chapter 14 – Acclimation

Konoha – Hokage's Office

"Hokage-sama, per your urgent request, I have returned. As you ordered twelve years ago, I have elevated Konoha's spy network to a level unrivaled by any other village." Jiraiya, Toad Sage of the Sannin, all but spat the words as he withdrew the storage scroll containing several hundred reports and threw it onto Hiruzen's desk. In any other circumstance, the concealed Anbu guarding the Sandaime would have done their best to restrain even Jiraiya for such a blatant act of disrespect towards their lord, but Hiruzen had given them strict orders not to intervene until the current meeting was concluded.

"Jiraiya, I have failed you, completely and utterly." Hiruzen bowed his head in shame.

"DAMN RIGHT, YOU HAVE!" Jiraiya roared. "Does the number 288 mean anything to you? That's the amount of requests I submitted to have even a single day off to be with Naruto, my godson! Every, last one, was denied by you. Why, sensei?! As a Jinchuriki, he needs guidance and training that none in Konoha other than the two of us can provide. More than that, he needs to know about his parents! While the safety of Konoha will always be of paramount importance, you had NO RIGHT to keep me from Naruto all these years!"

"Your requests were not denied by me, Jiraiya. In fact, they never even crossed my desk." Hiruzen said gravely before producing his own storage scroll and applying enough Chakra to it to withdraw only one of Jiraiya's numerous time-off requests. He also pulled a recently filled-out form related to Hiashi's emergency recruitment efforts and presented both sheets of paper to the Sannin. "Compare the signatures at the bottom of each paper." Hiruzen ordered in the sternest tone he could muster.

Despite his rage, Jiraiya knew better than to ignore his sensei's wishes when he adopted that tone of voice, and he begrudgingly heeded Hiruzen's request. The two signatures were identical in nearly every aspect, and even Jiraiya needed several minutes to notice the minor flaw in the signature at the bottom of his time-off request.

"This was Danzo's work; only he had both the knowledge and the skill to make a near-perfect forgery of my signature." Hiruzen gazed directly into the eyes of his student. "All of your time-off requests were intercepted by his Root agents, likely with the assistance of Koharu and Homura. Fortunately, Konoha law requires that any time-off request submitted by an active Shinobi be filed in triplicate; one by the applicant, another by the Hokage, and the last by Konoha's Council. Koharu and Homura have almost certainly destroyed the Council's copies, but Danzo must have preserved his copies as a means to manipulate Naruto into serving him willingly.

We discovered them while raiding Root's facilities nearly two months ago. Once I realized what Danzo had done, I immediately reached out to you. I should have contacted you much sooner, but, given your lack of communication, I assumed you were overwhelmed by grief from the loss of Minato and Kushina and had thrown yourself into your work. We have Naruto to thank for Root's exposure; his connection to the Namikaze legacy is far greater than Minato's ever was. As such, he is now considered Acting Lord of the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans and resides in the Namikaze estate.

The Root agent assigned to monitor Naruto's movements learned the hard way that the Namikaze manor does not tolerate harmful intentions toward its master. The resulting investigation, along with a concurrent inquiry into Naruto's time at the Academy, revealed atrocities that should never have been possible under my watch. I have prepared full reports on both subjects for you to read." The Sandaime handed two massive leaflets to Jiraiya before sitting at his desk.

The anger Jiraiya held towards his sensei had already been redirected towards Root and the Civilian faction of the Council, and his rage repeatedly skyrocketed as read he the documents Hiruzen had given him. He had to stop reading several times to suppress his fury, and, when he had finished reading the reports, he walked around Hiruzen's desk and punched him with enough force to make Tsunade proud. The Professor flew from his seat and made a sizable crater in the nearest wall. In the next second, several Anbu surrounded Jiraiya, but he dropped out of his combat stance and stood still, clearly conveying that he had no intention of attacking Hiruzen again.

For his part, Hiruzen accepted the blow without resistance or complaint and returned to his desk as soon as he extricated himself from the wall. "Take the scenic route on your way to the Namikaze manor; twelve years is a long time, far too long, but what you hear on the way to the mansion will do much to dispel your fears."

"We'll see, old man." Jiraiya grunted before leaving the office.

Konoha Forest – Namikaze Territory

"Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki: do each of you vow to uphold the honor and duties of the Namikaze Clan until your dying breath?" Naruto stood before his two new clan members in a temple deep within Konoha's forest. The structure was a one-story building that contained only a shrine to Sesshomaru and a well. Naruto was positioned just in front of the shrine and a small basin currently filled with water from the well was placed on a small stone table between Naruto and the two ex-Kiri Shinobi.

"We do!" Zabuza and Haku replied.

"Do you each swear to acknowledge me as your Lord, to your dying breath and beyond?" Naruto inquired further.

"Yes!" Zabuza answered.

"I also agree. However, I intend to honor Kuraokami-sama as the last member of the Yuki Clan. So long as the Namikaze's laws and customs do not conflict with the worship of my god, I shall gladly accept you as my Lord." Since her induction into Naruto's clan was a divine mandate, there was almost no possibility that such a conflict would ever arise, but Haku needed to stress that Naruto would not be her only Lord.

"In deference to your circumstances, I find this compromise acceptable." Naruto was still wrapping his head around the bargain Haku had made with her progenitor. The last Yuki's description of her god had made it abundantly clear that, despite being a Daiyoukai, Naruto was currently a small fish in the vast ocean.

"Finally, do each of you vow to heed my commands, so long as they do not violate the laws and customs of both Konoha and the Namikaze?"

"We do!" Zabuza and Haku answered in unison.

"Then, by the powers vested in me as Acting Lord of the Namikaze, I – Naruto Namikaze – welcome Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki into the Namikaze Clan. The names 'Zabuza Momochi-Namikaze' and 'Haku Yuki-Namikaze' shall be added to the Clan Registry. Only one step remains: our shared blood must be consumed by all currently present!" Naruto stepped into the shrine and withdrew a kunai forged not of Chakra-metal, but from one of Sesshomaru's bones.

He slit his right forefinger and allowed several drops of blood to spill into the basin before giving the kunai to Zabuza and applying pressure to the wound. Zabuza and Haku mimicked Naruto's action; once all three had ensured that their cuts had stopped bleeding, Naruto returned the kunai – which bore no trace of the blood it had spilled – to the shrine and brought three small cups back to the basin. After handing two of them to his new clan members, he filled the last cup to the brim and drank the blood-infused water slowly to ensure not a single drop escaped his lips. Zabuza and Haku did the same, emptying the basin in the process.

"Now, you are both Namikaze in blood as well as in word." Naruto decreed. "Additionally, some measure of our Chakra affinities was transferred along with our blood. I have an absurdly high affinity for Yang Release as my primary affinity and a high affinity for Fuuton as my secondary affinity. Haku-san, your Hyouton combines Suiton and Fuuton, so you already have an affinity for both, but you should now be able to use Fuuton more effectively on its own. Zabuza-san, you'll now have either Yang Release or Fuuton as a secondary affinity, and I now have Suiton as a tertiary affinity."

"That's one hell of a ritual your distant ancestors cooked up!" Zabuza marveled at the possibilities. Gaining new Chakra affinities by accepting new clan members meant that the Namikaze Lord could circumvent the astronomically high learning curve needed to master Nature Transformations he or she wasn't born with.

"Zabuza-sama, keep in mind that a rite such as this would only be invoked at times when the Namikaze are in dire need of new clan members." Haku chided.

"You should drop the '-sama', Haku. Naruto-sama is your Lord now." Zabuza rebuked.

"I don't mind," Naruto countered, "you saved Haku's life and gave her a purpose; you also showed far more compassion towards her than many other Shinobi would have in your position. If Haku-san wishes to treat you with the same level of respect she must now show me, that is her right."

"Thank you, Naruto-sama." Hake genuflected and held the pose for several seconds before standing back up.

"Don't thank me yet; I have plenty of more gifts in store for you both today! Aside from the formal robes you're both wearing now and your weapons back at the castle, you have nothing to your names." Naruto exclaimed. "Now that the induction ceremony's over, we're going shopping. You need Konoha military uniforms, standard weapon and supply kits, spare clothes, toiletries, the works! And I need to show you both around Konoha; it's a win-win!" A short time later, the three were in front of a shop that had a sign bearing an anvil and a pair of tongs.

"Tanzou-san, are you in?" Naruto asked as he entered the shop.

"Otou-san is off today," a young woman answered, "but I can help you with anything you – Naruto, is that you?" The weapon specialist had never seen Naruto wearing such a beautiful kimono; unlike his loud orange jumpsuit, the kimono was a tasteful pale orange.

"Tenten-san, yup it's me! After graduating from the Academy I learned my parents left me a few things." The Namikaze lord answered modestly; while Konoha knew of his engagement to Hinata, his status as an Acting Lord was still a secret. "Zabuza-san and Haku-san are newly recruited Konoha Shinobi and need – "

"Zabuza, as in, Zabuza Momochi – the Devil of the Hidden Mist? The owner of Kubikiribocho?" Tenten squealed. "But he's a Kiri Missing-Nin, how'd he end up swearing allegiance to Konoha?"

"Had a run-in with Naruto-kun's team. My companion and I lost badly, but Naruto didn't feel like killing us, so here we are." Zabuza answered.

Tenten scowled "I get that the mission details are classified, but can't you give me anything else?"

"I'm afraid not; Hokage-sama insisted that the facts pertaining to our recruitment are to be disclosed only on a need-to-know basis. All I can disclose is that Inoichi-san and Shikaku-dono will vouch for our loyalty to Konoha." Haku's eyes narrowed.

"Fine, fine, forget I said anything! So, you'll both need the standard uniforms for your rank. Zabuza-san, would I be correct in presuming that you retained the Jonin rank Kiri gave you?"

"Yup, and Haku-chan was granted the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin after rigorous examination." Zabuza emitted a very small amount of killing intent to dissuade Tenten from debating that issue. The kunoichi of Team Gai was unimpressed.

"I know you're not dumb enough to lie about a Shinobi's rank just to get better starting gear." Tenten scoffed. "Just for that, we're doing this the old-fashioned way!" A shit-eating grin dominated the kunoichi's face.

"Tenten-san, what do you mean?" Naruto began to panic; his conversations with Hinata and Anko had taught him that only disaster awaits whenever a woman smiled like that.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about, Naruto-san." Tenten answered in a sick-sweet voice. "As for your two friends, I need precise measurements for their new uniforms; Konoha tradition states that Shinobi recruited from other villages must have their uniforms freshly sown to demonstrate that Konoha will treat any fresh blood with the highest respect. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my measuring tools, so I'll need to perform the measurements by hand. To ensure that my measurements are perfectly accurate, I'm afraid that everything will have to come off until I'm done."

"Now, wait just a – "

"Haku-san, drop it; I know it's embarrassing, but we don't have time to argue with Tenten-san." Naruto ordered. "Tenten-san, Haku-san will be going first."

Roughly forty minutes later, Zabuza emerged from the fitting room, trailed closely by Tenten, and joined Haku in staring daggers at the deputy shop owner.

"Your uniforms will be ready in about a week. I'll forge the kunai, shuriken, and ninja wire for your new supply kits personally; come back in three days for those. For any scrolls or seals you use in combat, no shop in Konoha beats the Nara store in quality."

"Tenten-san, I would prefer to use senbon as projectile weapons in place of kunai or shuriken." Haku stated.

"Senbon, huh? Can't remember the last time we forged those." Tenten sighed. "I can do it, but you need to give me a sample so that I can match your preferred length and density." Haku handed Tenten a non-poisoned senbon.

"Tenten-san, once their orders are complete, put the invoice in my name." Naruto requested. "I've come into some money, and, since I'm responsible for their recruitment, Hokage-sama wants me to support them until they start taking missions."

"In that case, it would be best if you tagged along when they come back for their uniforms and gear. No point in handing them the bill just to have you run here to pay it." Tenten replied.

"Sounds good; also, I'd like to buy each of them two spare uniforms. Will this be enough to cover it?" Naruto placed a 20,000 Ryou bill on the counter.

Tenten's eyes widened. "You really did come into some money; that's 5,000 Ryou too many, Naruto-san. I'll establish a line of credit for Zabuza-san and Haku-zan" The trio thanked Tenten and left the shop. Their next destination was a civilian clothes store whose owner had always been civil to Naruto, if not generous at times. Haku was immediately drawn to the kimono section and picked out several variations of the garment and matching obi. Zabuza selected numerous pairs of sweatpants and long-sleeved shirts to compensate slightly for his frigid arm.

When Naruto went to pay for the clothes he was shocked by the store owner's response. "Ken-san, have you lost your mind?! We're buying a small fortune's worth of clothes here; you can't possibly give it all to us for free!"

"I just did, my boy, and I'll not hear any debate on the subject! This is MY shop, and you won't pay a single bloody copper here for as long as I draw breath!" Ken yelled. "While you and your Team were away from Konoha on your mission, we had a horrendous rainstorm here. If not for the roof repairs done by you and your clones, the houses of hundreds of families would have been ruined. We owe you big time, and not just for the roofs." Ken grimaced as he recalled the atrocities Naruto was subjected to. "Naruto-kun, you deserve to know that many of my comrades in the Merchant Guild had little choice but to treat you like scum.

The Civilian faction of the Council had their balls and tits in a vice. I don't even want to begin thinking of how the Council got their claws on the records needed to blackmail them into shunning you, but my associates were good people, down to the last man and woman!" Ken slammed his fist on the counter. "Some of my closest friends committed suicide because they couldn't bear the stress of being forced to choose between their families' well-being and yours. If giving you free clothes for the rest of your life allows them to rest easy, then that's what I'll do!"

"Young man, you should heed the shopkeeper's words." A male voice interrupted. "I've been away from Konoha a long time and his tale is the fifth such story I've heard regarding you since I've come back. As the saying goes: once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a certainty; if that's true, then what does the five times mean?"

As Naruto turned to address the newcomer, any answer he might have responded with died on his lips. Though he'd never met the man standing before him, he'd heard and read hundreds of tales regarding his exploits. Several such stories included the man's physical description and his relation to Naruto's father.

"Jiraiya-san." Naruto choked, barely holding back tears.

"Naruto." Jiraiya whispered, not bothering to restrain his tears.

Yamanaka Flower Shop

"Welcome in! How may I help – Sauske-kun?!" Ino was shocked to see the last Uchiha in her family's flower shop.

'Thank Kami he came one the few days off I begged Asuma-sensei for, but why is he here? It can't be for me, right? RIGHT?!'

"I'm surprised to see you here, Ino-chan. Doesn't your team need to train or do missions?" Sasuke's tone sounded accusatory, but the relieved smile dominating his face told a different story.

"Ever since we passed the true Graduation Exam, Asuma-sensei has done his best to beat the laziness out of Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun. As a result, Shikamaru-kun has decided to master our sensei's lessons as quickly as possible to protect his precious cloud-gazing time. Chouji-kun was even easier; all Asuma-sensei had to do was offer to treat him to a free meal and his motivation skyrockets." Ino sighed. "Too bad he doesn't have anything to tempt me with; I'm doing my best to keep up, but I can't compete with their zeal when they're riled up. This is the first day off I've had in over a month! How about you; Sasuke-kun? You just had you're first C-Rank mission."

"C-Rank, ha!" Sasuke scoffed. "Try A-Rank; the client lied about how much danger he was in. Lucky for him, he had a good reason to deceive us; otherwise, Kakashi-sensei would have left him out to dry."

"A-Rank?!" Ino gasped. "W-well at least your team came back in one piece, not that I'd expect anything less between you, Kakashi-san, and Hinata-san."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his smile dropped from his face. "My team has four members, Ino-chan, not three. Without Naruto, none of us would have made it out of there alive. He may have put the fear of Kami into all of us right after our false graduation, but that's no reason to pretend that he doesn't exist!"

Ino shivered as she recalled the events of that day; the questions asked by Anko and Ibiki were a brutal reminder that most of Naruto's classmates had passively endorsed his suffering by doing nothing. Hinata's not-so-secret supply drops, Sasuke's occasional requests for fairer treatment, and Shikamaru's infrequent chastisements of Naruto's teachers were the only exceptions.

"S-sorry, Sasuke-kun; you're right, he doesn't deserve that." Ino collected herself, hoping that she hadn't angered Sasuke enough to make him leave the store.

"Apology accepted, but I didn't come here to talk about Naruto; I came because I need some advice on flowers." Sasuke's smile returned.

Ino felt like a huge weight had fallen off her shoulders. "Yes, of course! How can I help?"

"Before the Uchiha Massacre, my mother kept a small garden in our house." Sasuke struggled to keep his voice even. "Itachi burned the house to the ground. I'd like to plant a second garden on the site where our home once stood, but I'm not sure which flowers would be appropriate."

Ino gulped; being the Yamanaka Clan heiress had its disadvantages. Sasuke's request seemed innocent enough on the surface, but planting a garden over the remains of his old home could be viewed as him trying to bury the past. From a psychological standpoint, this was healthy if Sasuke had either truly come to terms with the Uchiha Massacre or was nearly ready to do so and only needed a final push. Otherwise, he would only be suppressing his emotional trauma, not confronting it, and that would be devastating for him in the long run.

'I need to get a better picture of his emotions regarding the Uchiha Massacre.' Ino steeled herself to ask a loaded question. "Have you thought about what your new garden will represent? Flowers have many different meanings, and picking flowers that convey the intent behind your garden is essential."

"I figured as much; I've heard about the 'language of flowers', but don't know anything about it." Sasuke admitted. "I want flowers that represent the following things: hope, renewal, compassion, love, and the ability to overcome all obstacles."

Ino, while overjoyed at the implications behind Sasuke's choices, needed all her willpower to keep a straight face.

'The brooding Uchiha wants flowers representing the exact opposite of his persona? Looks like Naruto-kun isn't the only one wearing a mask.'

"Most of those are easy since several flowers are used to symbolize them." Ino beamed. "Daffodils, irises, tulips, sunflowers, bluebells, lilacs, and forget-me-nots all represent hope. Out of those seven, daffodils, irises, and sunflowers also represent renewal. Chrysanthemums embody compassion, while tulips and orchids represent love. For overcoming obstacles, I would recommend snapdragons. You'll also need soil enriched with Chakra to grow all of these flowers in the same garden since they typically require different soil compositions or climates. Do you have any experience planting or raising flowers?"

"No; I was hoping we could plant them together once you got off work." Sasuke's heart was in his eyes.

'By the Log and the Sage, there's no way he's asking me on a date right now! A date that involves creating a new garden, no less!' Ino tensed up in shock.

"You don't want to?" Sasuke looked like a kicked puppy. "I should have known it was too much to ask since we haven't spent any time together, maybe later." Sasuke sighed in defeat and turned to leave the store.

"SASUKE! GET BACK HERE!" Ino screamed. "Don't go making things up in your head before I answer you! I'd love to help you with your garden, and you're in luck! We have several seeds for multiple colors of all the flowers I mentioned in stock right now, but there's no way we can plant anything tonight. We need to inspect the garden site, figure out how big you want your garden to be, and come up with tasteful flower patterns within the garden. It's going to be a lot of work, and there will have to be several planning sessions before we can get to actually planting your flowers!" A predatory gleam entered Ino's eyes.

"I look forward to it!" Sasuke chose to ignore that Ino was looking at him the same way that a wolf would gaze upon an elk.

Namikaze Estate

Naruto had lost track of how much time he and Jiraiya had spent in each other's arms on the sofa in his dining room, the same sofa where he cried his eyes out after hearing Kushina's message. Once the Sannin approached him, Naruto quickly made a Kage Bushin and handed it his wallet before leaving with Jiraiya. While his clone continued shopping with Zabuza and Haku, Naruto told Jiraiya everything he could remember about his life up to that point. If Zabuza and Haku had returned, they had not intruded on the pair. The Namikaze Lord and the Toad Sage were weeping silently.

"Well, Jiraiya-san, looks like I need to clean my sofa again!" Naruto stood up and began to cleanse his sofa of tears and snot the same way he did when Hiashi entered his home over a month ago.

'Damn, that's some crazy Chakra control for a Genin.' Jiraiya marveled. 'Looks like I won't have to put Naruto through quite as much hell as I thought to get him ready to face Minato's enemies.'

"Hey, Naruto, from the looks of things, you've done an amazing job training yourself with the hand you were dealt by Danzo and the Council, but now we need to take things to the next level, and fast!"

"No, Jiraiya-san, not yet. I know I need more training, but there's something far more important to me that I need your help with first." Naruto rebutted.

"Just 'Jiraiya', please; we're family. And what's more important to you than training to ensure that you live long enough to reestablish your clans?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me everything about my parents." Naruto pleaded.

Chapter End

Out of all the possible explanations for Jiraiya not even attempting to visit Naruto until the Chuunin Exams (blaming him for Minato's death, wanting nothing to do with Konoha similar to Tsunade, having way too much work on his hands, not wanting to attract Minato/Kushina's enemies, etc.) the one that always made the most sense to me was Danzo/the Council doing everything they could to keep Jiraiya away from Naruto until Danzo had him under his control. The other explanations make Jiraiya come off as a terrible godfather at best and a complete dick at worst, both of which are OOC for him given how much he loved Minato.

As far as Chakra affinities go, Naruto is going to be like Avatar Aang by the time this story is done. He was born with affinities for Yang Release and Fuuton, he just got an affinity for Suiton, and he'll get a Raiton affinity from Hinata once she marries into the Namikaze clan. That just leaves Katon, Doton, and Yin Release, which will be covered by his other future wives. Of course, he'll still need to learn how to use all those Nature Transformations; the blood transfer only gives him an extra affinity for them so he's not starting that training from scratch.

Several factors determine which chakra affinities are transferred by the ritual. Kekkei Genkai Nature Transformations cannot be transferred, so Naruto will never be able to use Hyouton. If a person only has one Chakra affinity, like Zabuza, then their affinity will be transferred 100% percent of the time. Typically, if a person has multiple affinities, all of them have a chance of being transferred but only their primary affinity has a 100% chance. However, if each affinity is derived from a different bloodline, then all of them are considered "primary" and only one can be transferred. Naruto is a perfect example; his Yang Release affinity is derived from his Uzumaki bloodline while his Fuuton affinity is derived from his Namikaze bloodline. Consequently, Zabuza can only get one or the other, not both. Similarly, the Uzumaki Clan's affinity for Yang Release is powerful/versatile enough to be considered a pseudo-Kekkei Genkai. Since Haku has an actual Kekkei Genkai, she can only receive Naruto's Fuuton affinity.

In all cases, the potency of a transferred affinity is substantially weaker than the original; Naruto will need much more training to master Suiton than Fuuton or Yang Release. Haku got lucky; since Hyouton is already a combination of Suiton and Fuuton, and she can only receive Fuuton from Naruto, the Fuuton affinity she received will be absorbed into what she already has, making it even easier to master Fuuton Jutsu. Zabuza, on the other hand, is in the same position as Naruto regarding whichever affinity he receives.

Even though there are three months until the Chuunin Exams start, Jiraiya won't begin training Naruto until after the preliminaries of the third stage are done. This version of Naruto is much better at Chakra manipulation at this point in the series than his canon counterpart was and he already knows that Kage Bushin can be used to speed-run a training arc. I don't want Naruto going into the Chuunin Exams already knowing the Summoning Jutsu, Rasengan, and whatever else Jiraiya can cram into a three-month training arc.

However, Naruto will gain something even more valuable: peace of mind. He knows nothing about his parents aside from what he's managed to read in books and what they told him in their message boxes. A part of him still believes that his parents either didn't love him or saw him more as a means to an end than a person. Jiraiya will dispel every last trace of that notion, vastly contributing to Naruto's mental and emotional stability. Since your mental/emotional state can drastically affect the amount and/or potency of your Chakra, Naruto getting that sense of closure is practically a training arc in its own right.

Speaking of closure, Sasuke's current outlook regarding the Uchiha Massacre is entirely due to Naruto's influence over the years. He'll always hate Itachi, at least until he learns the truth behind the massacre, but at this point, he doesn't let it consume his every waking moment. He has friends, a brother-in-arms, and now a girlfriend!

The Chuunin Exams start next chapter, thank you for reading; see you all next year!