A strange new life. [Naruto]

[GAMB42]

First time seeing Shisui as Hokage. This is either going to go very well or a complete disaster...

 

[Megatherium]

oh well damn. So either tsunade was a bust and never came back or she did but just took up residency in the hospital. hmmm.. is danzo still alive?

 

[Vasstago]

F*cking lol this was unexpected but not unwelcome. Just hope to see that Karin got something good out of all it.

 

[Petrox]

It would be poetic if Shisui kills Danzo or brainwash him

 

[okashihime]

"Go on a mission." Naruto held Gama-chan, shook his deflated wallet, hoping a coin had gotten stuck inside and survived the Ero-sennin. None did. "It will be fun."

The Ero-sennin walked up ahead, without a care in the world. Not a thought spared to Naruto's murdered wallet.

Naruto stomped the ground. Yelled. "Where the hell is this granny?"

"Ehh, I heard from that nice lady back in town that Tsunade is in the next city over."

Naruto eyed the perverted frog guy with distrust. It wasn't the first or second time the Ero-sennin had said that.

"Wasn't you going to teach me a jutsu stronger than Chidori?"

If Naruto's voice had a bit of whining, he couldn't be blamed for that. That had been the whole reason he agreed to travel with the old sannin in the first place.

"Alright," Jiraiya said.

Naruto squinted his eyes. "Really?"

The frog sannin nodded.

"Then hurry up and teach me something!"

Jiraiya smiled. "Now, don't be impatient. It would be pointless to just train without collecting intelligence on Tsunade at the same time."

Naruto narrowed his eyes again. Wasn't this the same line the Ero-sennin used in the past three towns as an excuse to spend all night drinking?

---

"Focus, focus."

Naruto repeated the mantra, imagining the chakra moving toward the drawing in his palm. He wasn't alone; there were a few others him trying the same. He hadn't forgotten Hinata's advice. Her face popped on his head; a smile appeared on Naruto's face.

Would Hinata try to learn this jutsu from him as well?

"Focus, focus." One of the nearby clones said.

Naruto focused harder, thoughts of the semi-mute girl and her cupcakes reluctantly pushed aside. The chakra moved like a whirlwind, gathering on the palm of his hand at the leaf's symbol he had drawn there.

"Now!"

With one last push, the chakra moved, and the rubber ball exploded. It created a small crater on the ground. Naruto flew away at the impact, fell a dozen meters away.

"I did it!" He muttered, looking at his burned palm.

"Looks like you've mastered the second stage," Ero-sennin said.

When had the old lecher arrived?

"…Of course I did. Let's do the third stage now." Naruto said, then he closed his eyes. Just for a bit. He was exhausted.

---

"…" Naruto looked at the balloon the Ero-sennin had tossed his way, not believing his eyes. "Isn't this just a normal balloon?"

"First stage was rotation," Ero-sennin said, raising one finger. "Second was power." He took another empty balloon from his pocket, filled it, then held it in his hand. "And this is the third step."

Naruto looked at the balloon. It was just a regular balloon. Nothing was happening.

"You're messing with me? Nothing is happening!"

Jiraiya laughed. "It might seem like that to you, but let me show you."

He raised his other hand, and a tight coiled ball of swirling chakra appeared there.

"Like a mini cyclone. Isn't it beautiful?" Ero-sennin asked.

Naruto looked at the unmoving balloon. His voice wavered. "…The one in your right hand, is the same thing happening there?"

"Yes," Ero-sennin said. "You have to take everything you learned and contain it."

---

"Not interested," The young-looking Obaa-san said.

They had finally found the old lady, but she looked like a young woman. Had the Ero-sennin mistaken this pretty young lady for the granny they've been looking for? It was a sort of open bar or restaurant, where half walls separated the tables between the customers.

Together with the young Obaa-san, there was another woman and a piglet. A spread of skewers and drinks on the table between them.

"The title of Hokage is a joke. Only an idiot would want it."

Naruto acted before his brain could process things. He was on top of the table, trying to punch her drunk face off, but a hand held him by the scruff of his neck.

"Lemme go!"

"Calm down, Naruto, this is a bar."

"I won't let her just stand there and insult the Old Man or the Fourth Hokage!"

Naruto clenched his fists. Glared.

"I don't care if you are an old lady or not; I'm gonna hit you!"

Tsunade got up, leaned in, her face closer to Naruto. "Outside, brat." She taunted.

---

Naruto tried to disentangle himself from the crater on the ground. He had tried to hit her with a Rasengan. It hadn't worked the way he wanted. He shivered. That young lady created this huge crater with a single finger. She was scarier than Ino and Sakura when angry!

"You taught him that?" Tsunade said, looking at the Ero-sennin.

Jiraiya nodded.

"Why?" Tsunade asked. "There's no way he'd master that jutsu. Isn't it cruel teaching him a jutsu he has no hope of mastering?" The young Obaa-san looked at Naruto.

"That's how dreamy-eyed brats get duped into the whole "I'll be the Hokage" farce."

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled. "It's not a farce!" There was a moment of silence. "Three days, and I'll have that jutsu mastered."

Tsunade smirked. "You're all bark, brat. But a man doesn't break his words."

Naruto glared back. "I never go back on my word. That's my shinobi way."

"I'll give you a week then," Tsunade said.

"A week?"

"If you master the jutsu, I'll give you this necklace," Oba-san said, showing the pretty green necklace tied to her neck. "If you don't, this is mine." She threw Gama-chan up, caught it.

The pleasant jingling of coins was a stab in Naruto's heart. When had the granny taken his wallet?

---

It was the fourth day since the bet, and Naruto wasn't sure if he could do it. It didn't seem enough even with Hinata-chan's secret training method. He couldn't compress the chakra enough until it stayed inside the balloon. Was there a secret to this no one told him? Was that why the Obaa-san waged the bad luck necklace?

Naruto thought back on the thing. It looked silly, a green piece of stone, but he thought Hinata-chan might like it as a gift. He felt his face burning, remembering his first and best friend. He had never forgotten that first academy day when she sat with him and offered him food, while all the other kids did their best to avoid him.

"Yosha!" Naruto yelled. He wouldn't go back on his word. He would win this stupid bet, win the silly necklace and gift it to Hinata.

Maybe she'd pinch his cheeks again? A silly smile crept on his face. That one time Hinata's clones crowd-piled him just after they returned from Wave came to mind. It's a shame she never did it again.

"Are you Naruto?"

The voice was young, a boy. Naruto turned and looked at the newcomer.

It was a teen dressed in a strange black cloak with red clouds on it. He had white hair and two red dots on the forehead near the eyes. But what caught Naruto's attention was the eyes. One was a vivid green, the other pure white.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Kimimaro," the boy said.

There was a moment of silence before he raised a hand to his shoulder, parting his cloak to reveal bare skin beneath. He pulled a sword-like bone from inside his body.

"You'll come with me."

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Wednesday.


Proofreader: CakeEight

 

[Redna]

"I'm Kimimaro," the boy said.

Click to shrink...

Oh shit

 

[okashihime]

Naruto flooded the clearing with clones and swarmed the enemy.

Kimimaro spun faster than Naruto expected. Bones protruded from the joints of his elbows and knees, from his chest and back. Attacks were deflected, dodged, or simply ignored. More often than not, Kimimaro moved in a way that made Naruto's clones impale themselves in the bones.

Naruto moved around until he was at the enemy's back. He threw shuriken when an opportunity arose.

Without turning, Kimimaro deflected the thrown weapons.

How? Did that guy have eyes in the back of his head or something?

"You're weak," Kimimaro said.

He killed a dozen of the clones in a sweeping, fast strike. More swarmed, but it wasn't enough. The guy was faster than Hinata-chan even when she went all out, better at taijutsu than Bushy Brows and Sasuke combined. The clones couldn't touch him, and in the rare moments they did, they ended up impaling themselves in the bones.

In the distance, a quake hit the whole city. Naruto's attention tore away from the bone-guy and toward the commotion: Giant waves crashed through the houses, sweeping the place in destruction.

Pain exploded on Naruto's side.

"You shouldn't take your eyes off the enemy," Kimimaro said.

Naruto looked at the white-haired boy who didn't look that older than some other chunin in the village. Kimimaro held the bone sword, the pointy end piercing Naruto's side.

Rage bubbled inside Naruto's gut. In the back of his mind, he heard the damned fox chuckling. Chakra spilled forward. Naruto pushed the sword away. The puncture wound regenerated in but a moment.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked, teeth gritted.

"Telling you is a waste of time," Kimimaro said.

Naruto's hand flashed with a seal. He flooded the jutsu with the Kyuubi's chakra. He covered the whole clearing with even more clones.

"I'm gonna beat you up!" Naruto hollered.

His clones swarmed the enemy again, trying for the same strategy that worked against Gaara while he was half-transformed into the one tail. Meanwhile, Naruto concentrated on his hand, trying to form a complete Rasengan.

Naruto just realized that… he had no other jutsu to help him in this situation.

Hinata-chan had her explosions and doton jutsu, as well as her body flicker and barriers. Sasuke had his family fire and Chidori; he could copy the enemy's movements with his Sharingan and use shinobi tools better than anyone Naruto had seen.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no other jutsu other than shadow clones.

"Naruto! We got your message." A woman's voice called out.

He followed the voice. It wasn't just one woman. It was the young-looking Obaa-san and her companion. The one who called out was Shizune, the pretty black-haired one. The words registered in Naruto's mind. What message?

Shizune was fast. She pointed her arm toward Kimimaro and did something Naruto couldn't see.

Kimimaro reacted even faster than before. His bone sword spun, and Naruto heard clinking sounds—like metal hitting metal. Then Kimimaro pointed his hand toward Shizune. No, not his hands, his fingers.

With a wet popping sound, a small white something flew from his fingertips. Shizune threw herself out of the way. The projectiles hit the earth behind her, creating a small hole.

Out in the distance, the other battle still raged on. The sounds and impacts doing a good job of telling Naruto he had no business whatsoever with whoever was causing that much ruckus.

Tsunade, who had been mostly quiet, dashed in, waving between Naruto's clones. She punched down. The ground broke into a vast crater. Most of the copies got caught up in the ensuing devastation and dispersed.

"You punk, you're too young to be this cocky," She said.

"You are Tsunade," Kimimaro said from where he had fled. "Orochimaru told me how to deal with you."

Orochimaru? Who was that? Naruto had heard that name before.

"You're working with that snake?" Shizune demanded.

Tsunade moved in again, ready to attack once more. This time, Kimimaro didn't evade; he punctured his hands with a bone and splashed blood all over Tsunade.

The young Obaa-san stopped, staring at her bloody hands. She started to shiver like she was lost in her mind.

Kimimaro advanced on the now frozen young-old lady.

"Tsunade!" Shizune yelled, but she was too far away to help.

Naruto wasn't, or his clones weren't. In that one moment of clarity, he knew what he had to do. His problem was that he couldn't control his chakra. One of him wasn't enough to contain it. But hadn't Hinata-chan taught him better? His copies were more than just copies.

Clones rushed Kimimaro, getting in his way and preventing him from approaching the obaa-chan.

Meanwhile, Naruto built the power and rotation while a second clone contained it. Once it was done, a third clone grabbed Naruto's other hand, spun, and threw the original at Kimimaro, who was still fending off clone waves.

Kimimaro spun toward Naruto. His arm morphed into a large bone structure-like shield. The Rasengan hit the bone, bone cracked, but that gave Kimimaro time to move and throw Naruto away from him.

Naruto fell, hand first. His complete Rasengan hit the ground, created another huge crater.

"Time's up, Kimimaro." Another voice said. Naruto cast a glance. It was a guy that looked a lot like a shark. He even had gills and a tail, like a shark. The guy was also banged up pretty badly. Blood poured out of his mouth; pieces of flesh were missing from his arms and chest.

"The Frog Sannin will be here any second."

"Annoying," Kimimaro said.

Dark lines spread from his neck until it covered most of his face and shoulder. He placed his hands on the ground, and a forest of bones sprouted around Naruto. The bones looked wicked sharp and dangerous.

Naruto heard an agonized yell. Shizune or Obaa-chan, he couldn't tell.

Kimimaro walked from between the bones. "You're coming with—"

Between one moment and another, Ero-sennin was in front of Naruto. He looked different, with two tiny frogs on his shoulders.

"No, he's not," He said.

Kimimaro looked around, then, as if he had heard someone say something, nodded and retreated back inside the bones.

Jiraiya turned toward Naruto. The man didn't look like he had just fought a battle that wreaked the whole city.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, Naruto."

Naruto looked in stunned silence for a while, then he yelled. "The obaa-chan!"

"Shit!" Jiraiya whirled, dashed inside the forest of deadly bones.

---

As it turned out, the forest of bones wasn't something that affected only the area where Naruto was. Half of the already destroyed city had been caught in the attack. Many had died.

Shizune and Tsunade hadn't come out unscathed as well.

Somehow, the Obaa-san had managed to stay alive even with a bone piercing her stomach and out her back. Right now, she was healing Shizune. The woman looked dead on her feet, and now, old; really old, like an old wrinkly hag.

Jiraiya approached, carrying Tonton, Shizune's pink pet pig.

"I'm sorry Tsunade," He said, placed the dead piglet by the Obaa-chan side.

"Shizune is going to live," Tsunade said, her wrinkling voice sounding weak. She got up with difficulty and walked to the dead piglet. With gentle movements, she picked it up and hugged it.

"Take her back to Konoha," Obaa-chan said. She turned away and started walking.

"Where are you going?" Jiraiya asked.

"Don't try to find me again," Tsunade answered without looking back.

Naruto looked at the scene, feeling conflicted. He didn't have a good impression of the old lady, but this felt bad on a whole new level. He didn't even have the courage to demand the necklace, even if he had won the bet.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading.

Next chapter is divided into three parts. Three different POVs.



Proofreader: CakeEight

 

[GAMB42]

This is one hell of a divergence. Tsunade is probably going to be no show for the rest of the fic, which fair. Though now I am extra curious what Hinata's fate is going to end up with a Hokage so completely different from the last one.

 

[Petrox]

The Damyo wouldn't be happy either. Killing half a city is an act of war, that's like 5 to 6 stars going to Akatsuki.

 

[okashihime]

Danzo traversed the corridors of his headquarters. The disruption of his activities in the Land of Waves was unfortunate, but any recruit from there probably wouldn't be ready in time. He would need to reinforce and ensure the other fronts of his operations weren't exposed now that more scrutiny was directed his way.

He crossed a door and, from the railing, looked at the training soldiers.

Some still needed work, but they'd fall in line sooner or later. Danzo had been in the business of making the perfect soldiers for years. By now, his process was the closest someone could come to perfection.

A shinobi covered in a dark cloak and deformed animal mask flickered behind Danzo. His operative knelt with one knee on the ground.

"Hinata's location was found. She arrived in Konoha."

Danzo didn't take his eyes off the new batch of recruits. Among those, he was particularly interested in the mist generator. The suppressive abilities of her bloodlimit had interesting applications if others could replicate it.

"Your orders?" His operator asked.

"What about the information from the Laboratory?"

"Our team is still unable to break the seal."

"Why?" Danzo asked.

"Uncertain. The seals are linked to a chakra signature we can't replicate."

"What is the status of the Iwagakure cell?" Danzo asked.

The operator's answer was immediate.

"We are ready. The decoy squad has been assembled and outfitted. We're waiting only for your orders."

"And Kumogakure?"

"Preparations are slower than expected. One of your cells was wiped out by the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, and effort had to be redirected to cover the fallout."

"They suspect our involvement?" Danzo asked.

"No, the cell in question was posing as a Konoha infiltration team; it cannot be traced back to us."

Danzo nodded. He'd have to move other resources to shore up the front on that side. Losing that cell also served to add even more pressure on Konohagakure.

"Your orders for the girl?" The operator asked.

Capturing the clone had its benefits, but now that she had returned to Konoha, Danzo had other means of keeping her from escaping. He made a mental note to send new orders to his agent in Konoha.

"Leave her be for now."

Danzo turned from the conditioning arena, walked deeper into the complex. The operator followed. Among his recruits were some that were worth cultivating the bloodlimit. Settling down his agents as Konoha's citizens would be a good solution. New blood to fertilize the soil the tree grew upon.

"As you command."

Danzo had to admit he underestimated the girl's capabilities. Nowhere in the information he possessed were there details about her learning a version of Thunder Flying God or creating explosions without seal paper. The countermeasures designed to contain her were wholly inadequate. But now that she returned to Konoha, her fate was set.

It was only a matter of time now.

"What about the Nine-tails jinchuriki?" Danzo asked.

"A squad from Akatsuki is moving to intercept him."

That would need his intervention, but he didn't say anything for now. Danzo couldn't allow the nine-tails to fall in someone else's hand, not after all the preparation he'd done to control it. However, those orders would need to wait until the interloper had left.

"Initiate the next phase of the operation," Danzo ordered.

"As you command," the operator said, then disappeared.

Danzo walked alone, but not for long.

"You failed," the newcomer said.

Danzo looked at the intruder. Dressed in their particular black robes, flytrap protruding from beneath, the black and white face. The same as the clone had described when she was five years old. How?

"She's where I want her to be." He said.

"You failed," the voice repeated, tone mocking.

Danzo didn't answer. There would come a time when he'd rid the world of the abomination. That little band of criminals had their use, but they were fast approaching the end of their usefulness.

"It's only a matter of time before I have her," Danzo said.

"How did a mere child thwart your plans?" The creature taunted.

Danzo didn't deign to answer that. His weren't the only plans thwarted.

"Your master must be so proud," Danzo said, putting as much scorn he could in his voice. "I'll have her in due time."

"And here I thought you were Konoha's greatest spymaster… tricked by a child?" The interloper said before it disappeared inside the earth again.

Danzo had long pondered how the girl had learned of his plans regarding Shisui. It shouldn't have been possible, but it happened. While the pretense that he was obsessed with the clone was helpful in distracting his "allies," his concerns were other.

But now, years later, he needed to thank her for her intervention. It left him free to achieve his true goal. Danzo had failed to acquire Kotoamatsukami before, but soon, it would be his.

Shisui and the Uchiha clan had their fates sealed when the boy accepted the Hokage position. The optimal result would have been that wastrel of a woman taking the position herself, but this was a minor setback at most.

Danzo had years to prepare the field for his victory. Leaked information, spread rumors that built paranoia and mistrust. Shisui's allies would never feel safe, not when the new Hokage had their mind at his beck and call.

It didn't matter that Shisui wasn't one to abuse his eyes. If he did, it would only validate the rumors Danzo's agents spread: The new Hokage couldn't be trusted. If Shisui tried to fight back without evidence, it would look like attacking the respected council of elders without reason. If he didn't, Danzo's influence would only grow until he was ready to make his move.

Best of all, if Shisui gave up on the position, Danzo could move in, muster the village's support, and deal with the Uchiha once and for all.

For now, all that remained was to stoke the flames of war, to let Konoha burn just enough to realize they needed him.

Danzo wouldn't deny that Shisui and the Uchiha clan were formidable, but there wasn't much they could do surrounded on all sides by years of his influence and blackmail.

When war finally erupted, and the Hokage failed to protect Konoha, Danzo would return to claim what was always his. And if everything else failed?

Sometimes, you must burn the old and rotten to grow a new, stronger forest.

As long as Danzo was alive, Konoha's roots would grow stronger, even if he had to start from the beginning again. And once he was there, his real goals could truly begin.

A world of peace and prosperity united under a single goal. United under his guidance.

---

Spoiler: AN

Sorry about the delay. Was busy with work and forgot to schedule the chapter in advance.

There are two more after this, very small, but two more. Check the chapter names? xD



Proofreader: CakeEight.

 

[okashihime]

"..."

"..."

"Orochimaru is dead."

"..."

"The Three-Tails was killed."

"That will delay some of our plans."

"..."

"We still need time. Pain must recover."

"Orochimaru's task?"

"..."

"Partially successful."

"Make preparations. We start when the Three-Tails reforms."

"Understood."

"..."

 

[okashihime]

"Kukukuku."

---

Spoiler: AN

That's it.
Next chapter monday. We back at Hinata's POV.
Thank you for reading.

 

[theaceoffire]

"Kukukuku."

Click to shrink...

All according to Kukukuku!

 

[jayofgrey]

Kukukuku means plan.

Expected and foreshadowed for a while, but awesome reveal nonetheless. Is it time to pull more "future sight" bullshit on Hinata's part?
Something tells me there will be a bit of gambit pileup in a bit.

 

[okashihime]

Where was Tsunade? How had Shisui become the Hokage? And why? Had he… used his Sharingan to manipulate his way into the position?

At some point, I had stepped in front of Karin. I didn't even remember when. Was I trying to shield her from him? Shisui blinked, and his eyes weren't red anymore, but the usual Uchiha's black.

"Hello, Hinata." He said. His voice was quiet but had a presence I couldn't place. "I apologize for the greeting. I had to make sure you were still you."

I tilted my head. Had he… used his Sharingan on me? It wouldn't have been, would it? I would have sensed if he had, maybe even resisted the attempt. But if I hadn't resisted, why hadn't he brainwashed me to make me forget the sharingan? I scowled. That was so fucked up. That went a long way in showing my current state of mind if the first thing I thought about the new Hokage was that he had used his dojutsu to manipulate people or if he had done the same to me.

"Here," Shisui said, pushing a board, a set of pencils, and an eraser toward me. Those weren't mine. Mine was lost in the Land of Waves, and I had no idea where they were.

I tried to step forward, but Karin still gripped my hand. She hadn't moved or glanced away. Her face was paler than Sai's cadaver pale.

"You're—" She didn't finish; she broke eye contact and looked away.

"I'm Uchiha Shisui," the new Hokage nodded. "Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure. I've also been called Shunshin no Shisui."

Karin flinched at the title, a low whimper escaping her lips.

"And you? What's your name?"

The redhead looked like she wanted nothing more than to run away. What had she heard about him to be this scared? I gave her hand a comforting squeeze. The Hokage wasn't Tsunade like I was hoping for, but I was willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to Shisui even if that trust had already taken a hit with that sharingan's greeting.

"Uzumaki Karin." She said.

Shisui tilted his head. "From Kusagakure? You participated in the last chunin exam."

Karin nodded.

"I'll arrange a messenger to commu— "

I knew where that was going. Karin had retreated into herself, shoulder slumping, face empty. "No," I said, cutting him off.

The new Hokage stopped. Looked between me and Karin. "Explain?"

I walked to the desk, took the offered board. Wrote my words. "They were abusing her for her ability. She was never a willing shinobi from Kusagakure."

Shisui nodded, waved, pointing to the chairs. "Please, sit," Shisui said. "There's no need to stand while we talk."

I pulled Karin closer. She was still lifeless, like she'd already given up and was just waiting for the axe to fall. I hadn't known her situation was so bad that the briefest mention of sending her back left her this way.

"Karin's situation is delicate," Shisui said. "Kusagakure is an ally of Konoha, and keeping her could cause problems."

Karin's head dropped even lower, and she grabbed her other arm with her free hand.

"But I won't send you back if you don't want to go." The Hokage said.

The redhead perked up, eyes wide.

"We'll discuss the details later." He smiled at Karin, turned to me.

"Hinata, I know you must have questions, but please let me start by saying this. I'm proud of you for escaping and returning. Not many shinobi would have been able to do the same as you did."

Shisui's face was serious, but not unkind.

"Unfortunately, some of your teammates weren't that fortunate."

What? Hayase hadn't returned?

"Yamato and Hayase managed to escape. Hayase suffered serious injury and might never be fit for field duty again." Shisui said.

I scowled. I would kill Sai very dead and very slow when I got my hands on him.

"Sai, unfortunately, we never learned of his whereabouts. Wasn't he taken to the same place as you?"

They… didn't know?

My scowl worsened. Teeth gritted.

Karin was looking at me, startled. Her hand, already in mine, squeezed again.

Shisui noticed my mood. He looked between us then said.

"Please tell me what happened. I read the reports from Team Ten, Yamato, and the delegation from Kirigakure. But your recounts of events would shed light on the mystery."

I tried to calm my thoughts and organize what I wanted to say. Shisui's request hadn't triggered Fangirl-sama for some reason. Was it the way he asked it? Or because I was just too tired and angry? I could ponder on that later. I didn't want to recount all the details about my time in the lab and my mental breakdown. I don't think those were the critical bits they needed to know.

"We found the lab, I gathered the research notes, burned the bodies." I wrote. I never told Karin what had happened before I met her; somehow, she had never asked. Was she trying to keep her distance because we were from different villages? I glanced at her.

The redhead seemed more relaxed. Still looking spooked, but not as afraid as she had been at the start.

I wrote more. "On our way to Orochimaru's prison, Sai betrayed us."

Shisui read my message, looked at me. "Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded.

"The kidnappers, I have reason to believe, are from an organization called ROOT." I wrote next.

"Why is that?" Shisui didn't seem surprised at my revelation. Did they know something I didn't? Or maybe he had reasonable control over his body.

I erased the text, wrote more. "I heard one of them using that word."

He nodded. "And how did you escape the chains?"

Huh, so they learned about that. Had they found the prison? I wasn't sure if Assassination-chan's attempt to cause a ruckus would attract our reinforcements attention. "New jutsu." I wrote.

I wasn't against telling Shisui about my imitation of Thunder God. It might even earn me a few pointers if he felt generous. I just wasn't in the mood now. I would write a complete report later, submit it. He also knew because he didn't press me for more details.

I wrote more words. "Karin saved my life more than once."

There was a hint of a smile on Karin's face. "She saved mine as well, several times over."

I shrugged. I hadn't, really. But I wasn't going to keep a score. It was a bit hypocritical when I was using that as a reason why I wanted to help her.

"After we escaped the prison, we were surrounded. I had reason to believe I wouldn't fare well in an open confrontation. I used Kuchiyose no Jutsu to reverse summon me and Karin to the lands of the Iron Hide Badger clan."

Shisui nodded.

"Made a contract with them, and finally got back home."

Shisui looked from my board to me. "The badgers have an… interesting reputation."

I half scowled, half grinned. Yeah, tell me about it.

"I appreciate your recounting of events. I would also like the extended version, but that can be later. I know you must be tired, but there are important things we must discuss."

He turned to Karin.

"As for you," he said. "I'll arrange a place for you to stay while we find a solution for your situation."

"I want to stay with Hinata," Karin said. Her voice was strong, contrasting to her withdrawn demeanor.

Shisui looked at me, and I shrugged.

"Hinata's apartment is small. We can settle you in a comfortable place if you prefer."

I caught the quick glance Karin sent my way and the tiny upturn of her lips. I had a bad feeling about this.

"She must take responsibility!" Karin said.

I blinked. Take responsibility for what? Shisui seemed as confused as I felt.

"Responsibility… for?" He asked.

Karin leaned toward my way, resting her head on my shoulder. Her hand had never left mine, and she now sneaked her other arm around my waist. I could see the red creeping her neck.

"She ravaged me again and again. Even when I begged for mercy, she was relentless! She left marks on my body, paraded naked around me, and made me sleep with her." With her head still on my shoulder, she cast an innocent glance my way. A picture of a maiden in love: "How can I stay alone? After all she's done to me, she can't abandon me now."

The silence inside the room was absolute. I could even hear the hawk flying outside. Shisui cleared his throat. The man looked like a fish out of water.

It took a moment longer until my brain rebooted.

I what now?

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter wed.
Proofreader: CakeEight.



This part turned out to have a lot more of emotional confrontations than I was expecting, really. A lot more meeting people and talking as well. Overall, I liked it. I hope you enjoy as well!



Discord link was broken, I think for a while. If you tried to join, use the new link on the bio or this one: discord

 

[Megatherium]

hahahahaha, knowing what hinata's clones are like, not too far off

 

[Petrox]

Interesting... very biased with Tsunade but very untrustworthy with Shisui, even when canon already derailed and crashed a long time ago.

 

[jayofgrey]

Lol. Hinata got outplayed @ her own game!
Ignore that Karin did that out of desperation to not get separated and disappeared)

 

[Edifier]

I was expecting Itachi as hokage. But I guess he is too busy with being clan head. Tho I think Shisui was a dreamer, so a fitting hokage.

It seems like they are unaware that Danzo is alive, tho once he looks into what ROOT is he'll probably piece things together. As ROOT was meant to be disbanded during the fourth hokage. If ROOT exists and operates as well as it does, that also clues in Danzo is well and alive and still messing with the village.

For the badgers, man what traitorous fucks. I am not at all surprised that they got double-crossed by humans before considering how things went with Hinata. I'd say they were asking for it. And they'd be asking for it again if the elders were not asking for something she'd be willing to do even without extortion.

I Expected the badgers to make the treck back on foot instead of teleportation. Considering the Snake Frog and Snail have physical location in the elemental nations.

Interesting that Hinata finally figured out that the snake eye has special powers. From Karin's words it seems like they form a cursed seal. And I'd also guess removing any one of these seals will break the whole seal machine and kill her outright. So she might never really be able to complete the badger contract. Tho she'll eventually figure out how to dismantle the traps and recreate these things.

She should be safe from Orochimaru for a while, they can revive Orochimaru, but with most of his soul in the reapers belly all his current resurrection attempts are doomed to fail. I imagine a small bit of the snakes soul is in the sealwork, as he can resurect from death via that. Cursed marks are like enough soul to spark a revival interestingly enough. After all with basically his whole chakra coils being defunct due to the reaper he'll probably die instantly.
However it'll be very weak for however long it takes the Akatsuki to bother gathering up the uzumaki masks and form a way to get his soul and other stuff out of the belly of the reaper.

Tho interesting change, I always thought Orochimaru joined Akatsuki because Itachi was in it, to get close to him and get his eyes and stuff. In this timeline he was in it before Itachi even did the betrayal thing by the sounds of it. I guess that also makes sense why the bone guy joined the Akatsuki. Or got on their radar for recruitment. Maybe even Pain has some ways to help him and his disease.

I wonder if Kabuto is now a different kind of double agent. Originally he was Orochimaru and Danzo. Maybe now he is Akatsuki and Danzo.

 

[Edifier]

I got to wondering, will she replace her snake seals with honey badger seals down the line. Like a mongoose eating snake. And get honey badger variants to the seals. Tho she has to improve a lot to get to such a level and this kind of thing may be asking the impossible, lol.

Also thinking about Akatsuki and Orochimaru. I may be taking it a tad bit for granted that Orochimaru isn't back already and isn't going to be back for years yet. For all we know they may have already found the masks and taken what is inside the reaper's belly.

"Kukukuku."

Click to shrink...

Cause this sounds like Orochimaru. Which could also mean he was never sealed inside the reaper, or he already knew how to get out and had a contingency set up. So he faked his death to Akatsuki. Which is strange and fascinating.

 

[okashihime]

"I… see." That was all the new Hokage said.

I scowled. Pushed Karin away or tried to. She had a death grip on my waist and hand.

Those were some ludicrous claims. I did bite her arm and kept biting even when she asked me to stop that one time when I first met her. Yes, that left marks on her arm, both arms. I also, yes, paraded naked in front of her. I had no clothes then; what was I supposed to do? Kill all the prisoners because they'd seen me naked? Execute them for the crime of having eyes? And we did sleep together. At first, because it was cold, then because the badgers only provided a single fur pile, and then while traveling to stave off the chill in the night.

My scowl deepened. Karin hadn't lied. But did she need to phrase it that way?

The weeks of peaceful cohabitation and talk had lulled me with a false sense of normalcy.

I had assumed that Karin's most prominent traits from the original story were learned behaviors resulting from her exposure to Orochimaru, but wasn't she saying some outrageous things here?

I didn't believe for a second she was interested in me in a romantic way. Like I said before, there was no spark, so why this? She'd done something similar in the original show, pretending to be mentally ill to keep something that let her escape later. Was this a setup for some other plan or something? No, that was silly. I don't think it was anything complicated. Maybe she was just afraid and didn't want to be alone. I could understand that.

Shisui cleared his throat. "Well, if that's the case."

I erased the words on my board. Scribbled others. "It wasn't like that." I defended myself, but even as I wrote it, I knew it would read bad.

Shisui shook his head. "It's fine, you don't need to explain yourself."

That only made things worse. I… wanted to punch him. Karin must have noticed. She snickered, still resting her head on my shoulder, looking every bit like a smug, satisfied fox. Was this payback for all those times I teased her? It wouldn't be, would it?

Any response on my part was cut short when the door to the Hokage's office opened without the visitors being announced. I had sensed the chakra bundle approaching, but I didn't think their destination was the Hokage's office. I looked back. Two old people walked inside. An old lady with squinting eyes and an old dude with a pointy goatee and glasses.

Under the newcomer's judgemental stare, Karin finally let go of me. She sat straight, with her hands resting on her lap. All prim and proper.

There was this moment of silence or a standoff between Shisui and the two old geezers. Shisui was the first to talk.

"Homura, Koharu." He didn't get up from his chair; he just dipped his head in greetings. "Our meeting isn't for a few hours yet."

The guy cast a glance at me before addressing Shisui again. "Circumstances changed," the old man said.

The old lady was the one who spoke next.

"We've explained why," her squinting gaze flickered to me before returning to Shisui. "Other shinobi agree with us."

Were they talking about me? Are these two old codgers part of the council? I never understood what the council had against me. Up until now, I always thought it was remnants of Danzo's influence that pushed people to mistrust me.

No one outright treated me badly, nor was I discriminated against like Naruto. It was more subtle than that. A few stares, some pitying, others suspicious. The lack of resources, training, and instruction.

It was never something I could point my finger at and blame one thing or another. For example, most other shinobi have their clans and families as a support network, and from them, they learn jutsu, techniques, and other clan-related knowledge. I hadn't, much like Naruto, I was on my own since I came here.

That shaped how I saw and did things. I knew I had a bad habit of trying to do everything alone. But that was how I learned. Aside from basic instructions at the academy, I had no one else to ask things from. Even the Third skimped on the knowledge about seals. I never got the chance to ask him why before I failed to save him and let him die. If Kakashi-sensei wasn't lying and the old man really was on my side, why hold back knowledge from me? Why not — selfish as it was to wish — give me a hand and some nice jutsu?

"I've read your reasoning," said Shisui. His eyes hadn't left the two old people.

If those two were part of the council, it would pay for me to learn more about them, wouldn't it? I focused my chakra perception on the two. More often than not, while inside Konoha, I pushed my perception to the background of my mind. Too many people with chakra walking about. It was easy to get distracted or even overwhelmed. Ever since entering Konoha again, I had done the same, even without noticing.

The two… weren't that different from other people. Their reserves were on the average size. Lower than an active jonin, bigger than a newly promoted chunin. I knew that wasn't an indication of their combat capabilities, but I had the impression that if push came to shove, I'd win. If it came down to pure brawling and reaction time, I was confident I could take them. I'd need to hit them hard before they could pull whatever bullshit jutsu they learned over their long life, but I was somewhat confident of my chances.

It was strange that, now that I was focusing more on their chakra, I did notice other things. Like a flavor or texture. The old woman's chakra was stale, like old, but not in a bad way, while the guy was acrid, like a bad smell. Was my perception being influenced by my dislike? Had my perception gotten more refined as well?

Their conversation hadn't ended. The two, somehow, never said it openly, but I had the impression they wanted me locked and isolated.

A new bundle of chakra popped into my perception. Then another.

I forgot about the two geezers and Shisui. I got up, the chair scrapped back with a loud screech, cutting off the conversation. For the second time that day, the door busted open again.

In rushed a ginormous blaze of chakra contained in a small-sized pack wrapped in orange jumpers.

"Hinata-chan!" Sunshine brat hollered, face already full of tears.

"Hi," I said back, eyes misting again.

Naruto grabbed me and hugged me like he was afraid I would disappear again. A few moments later, the second bundle of chakra entered the room, cool, calm, and placid. Kakashi-sensei leaned against the door and gave me one of his eye-crescent smiles.

I might have started to cry even harder. I wasn't sure. Maybe it was just Naruto crying, not me.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Wed.


Proofreader: CakeEight.

 

[okashihime]

Conversation was made impossible by much hollering and tears. Naruto wasn't even aware that there were other people inside the room. Shisui had a forlorn look on his face like he'd seen this scene many times.

Was he reminiscing about the number of times he saw the brat causing a ruckus while shadowing the third?

The nice welcome home moment ended with the old codger with glasses clearing his throat.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the man said. From his mouth, it sounded like the name was a bad thing.

Karin's head snapped toward the old man, then to Naruto.

Sunshine brat let go of me, cleared some snot with the back of his hand, turned.

"That's my name," he said. Then he turned to me, tilted his head. "Hinata-chan, who are these old people?"

I shrugged, croaked. "No idea who these old people are."

From the corner of my eye, I caught Kakashi-sensei stiffening, then turning around, shoulders shaking. Was he… laughing? Why? I mean, no one told me who these people are. I had suspicions, but nothing other than that.

"Naruto-kun, these are Councilman Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu." Shisui introduced.

I looked at the two again. Were they the ones responsible for making my life not the best ninja life it could have been? At least I knew their faces and names. Now I just need a black cover book and to write down their names on it.

Naruto scratched his head. "Council something, gotcha." Then he turned back to me. "Hinata-chan, you won't believe it! I learned this super powerful jutsu—the Fourth made it, and the Ero-sennin taught—"

Homura cleared his throat again.

Naruto stopped his recounting, looked at the old man with glasses. "Is your throat hurt? I think I have a few candies if you want."

Homura's face twitched. "We're busy with important things," he said.

"Ahh, okay." Naruto nodded like that made perfect sense. He grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the door.

"Come Hinata-chan, let's leave these old folks to their business."

"Our business is with her," Koharu said, stopping Naruto again.

Naruto blinked, glancing around the room, at the new Hokage, at Kakashi-sensei, who was definitely laughing now, at the two grumpy council members, and at Karin, who still looked surprised and hadn't stopped looking at Naruto.

"Hinata-chan, do these old people also want your cupcakes?"

I shrugged. I don't think my cupcakes were their problem with me. Even so, I had to answer Naruto. I erased the words from my board, wrote others.

"I dunno, Naruto-kun."

Once he read the message, I erased it and wrote another. "Did you deliver the letters?"

"I did!" Naruto said, nodding. "The fat lady kept asking when you'd be back." Naruto stopped, face troubled. He pointed a finger at my nose.

"Hinata-chan, you shouldn't let people capture you, you made Ino cry."

…What? I think Naruto saw my confusion.

"Ino-chan's team went to help with your secret mission," he said. "She cried a lot when she got back." His expression darkened. I heard a bit of waver in his voice. "You shouldn't make her cry, Hinata-chan."

His eyes were misting again. Was he talking about Ino or himself?

"Listen—" Homura started, voice impatient.

Koharu stopped him by touching his shoulder. She shook her head. "Leave the young ones to their reunion."

Both councilmen exchanged looks, the kind that carried entire conversations without a single word, the way people who had worked together for decades often did.

Homura turned to Shisui. "We'll continue this discussion later."

Without waiting for a response, or even acknowledging anyone else in the room, they left.

As soon as the door closed and I felt their chakra moving down the stairs, I pulled Naruto into another hug.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," I whispered.

"Ehh, for what?" Naruto scratched the side of his head. His ears were pink.

"You're an Uzumaki?" Karin's voice cut in the moment.

I let go of Naruto, and he turned toward the voice, answered like it was a reflex. "That's my name,"

His eyes widened as if he'd seen her for the first time. I caught a slight blush on the brat's cheeks. Teenagers, who would have thunk?

He turned to me, "Hinata-chan, who is she?"

I rolled my eyes, wrote. "Why don't you ask her?"

The brat read the message, then turned back to Karin, a little bashful now. "Uh… what's your name?"

"Uzumaki Karin," the redhead said.

Naruto tilted his head. His eyes widened. "You're my sister!?"

I face-palmed.

Kakashi-sensei was the one who answered this time. "No, Naruto-kun, it means she's from the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto looked from Karin to Kakashi and then to me. "What Uzumaki clan?"

"Kakashi," Shisui cut through any response to Naruto's question. "Why don't you take Naruto and Karin outside and explain the situation to him while I finish talking with Hinata?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Come, Naruto-kun, you'll have time to tell Hinata about your mission later." He turned to Karin and gave her one of his signature eye-crescent smiles. Cool Kakashi-sensei was such a chad material that I caught a dusting of pink on Karin's cheeks before she looked away and nodded shyly.

It was my time to have a forlorn look on my face now while I watched the trio leave the office. I wasn't sure if I should be happy or sad.

Wait. Why would I be sad?

"Please, sit Hinata-san," Shisui said, taking me out of my musings.

I gave the door one last troubled look. Turned and sat. Shisui didn't seem keen on wasting time.

"I think you noticed there are issues we must deal with."

I nodded. Was he going to demand I spill all my secrets now? Or maybe ask me to swear an oath or something?

"The council has gathered enough influence with the shinobi families that I cannot just dismiss them out of hand."

I blinked. What was he talking about?

"Nominally, I'm the village leader, but they have considerable pull with other shinobi that I more often than not have to maneuver around them."

That was strange. Should a Hokage admit to weakness in front of a chunin? A possible traitor chunin? Wasn't this how people saw me?

"Ever since Lord Hiruzen passed away, they have been pushing for drastic measures regarding you."

Shisui stopped, looked back at the picture of the old man hung on the back wall.

"Shikaku did what he could and sent you on a mission that kept you out of reach. It seemed the best choice at the time." The Hokage got up from his chair and bowed. "I apologize that this caused you such hardships."

I was dreaming, wasn't I? There was no way people would start being honest with me. Was this a trick? Numbly, I just nodded. I didn't know what else to say or do.

"I'll give you the full details later, but right now, we need to prepare for two things."

That sounded ominous as heck.

"The Hyuga clan and the Council."

Wait, what? The Hyuga, why?

---

Spoiler: AN

Next chapter Friday! (*Checks the calendar* Yep, that's the right day.)
Proofreader: CakeEight.

 

[Petrox]

So you are going to make the Senju adopt her?

 

[Set]

I just read this entire story and got to say it's one of the better SI stories around. The perfect blend of competency and childishness of character makes you really root for little hinata. Love the changes to the plot makes things more interesting. Shame about tsunade she's a personal fav.

 

[Edifier]

Really love the changes as well. I am facinated.
I just realized the only snake summoner around now is Ankho and maybe Kabuto, so killing Manda may be harder and not as fated anymore.
Tho in regards of Manda's human sacrifice bit. When you usually would summon him would be at times of war, where the enemy combatants would become human sacrifices. So in that way I can see it making sense why it is one of Kohohas summons, when the enemies bear the cost.

 

[okashihime]

"…information about the laboratory leaked…"

Night had fallen and I was back in my apartment helping Karin settle. My abode was tiny: A single bedroom, a living room, a kitchen. Karin didn't seem to mind that we'd have to sleep in the same bed. I didn't either, even if I was getting conflicted about this.

Some blessed soul kept my apartment clean. We didn't have to worry about dust bunnies or drowning in dust while trying to clear it.

On the other side of the bedroom, Karin looked pensive. She looked over my almost identical outfits and everyday clothes. She'd have to wear my stuff until we bought more for her later. That would be for tomorrow.

It had taken a while to appease Naruto once we left the tower. The brat didn't seem willing to leave, and he only did after I promised I wouldn't go on any other mission without telling him first.

I might have pinched his cheeks until he fessed up about that crying business. It left me feeling all warm and guilty and happy and sad. Best Girl Ino went to my rescue? And she even cried? I didn't know how I felt about that, but that decided what I had to do. Ino's been haunting my thoughts with increasing frequency.

He'd also told me about his new awesome jutsu— Rasengan— that the perv sannin taught him. He let slip a few more details. His mission hadn't been a peaceful one. It took forever to find the granny, and in the end, she didn't even want to come back, not to mention the two freaks that attacked them. The shark dude and bone guy.

Naruto promised to tell me the story in detail later. I even made him pink swear it. Shark guy could only be Kisame, but what about this bone dude? Was he talking about Kimimaro?

While Karin debated what to wear, I got into the showers and took a relaxing bath. It took a while to clean all the spots of dirt from the weeks of travel underground. No one had pointed it out, but I was sure the reason the councilman fled without pushing things further was the lovely smell coming from me and Karin.

"…probably due to council meddling…"

Cleaned, refreshed, and finally ready. I picked up a set of everyday clothes. Shorts, a pink shirt, and ordinary everyday shoes. I wasn't really in the mood for ninja stuff right now.

I really wanted to go out and meet Ino, but it was already late. Begrudgingly, I postponed the meeting to the next morning. That would give me the whole day to talk with her. It was better that way, right?

Karin was already aware of my plans. She didn't seem to mind staying alone while I dealt with essential matters outside. It was a shame I didn't have any of my prepared supplies. My stock was nil before the mission, and I don't think I can replenish it, at least not before dealing with the fallout.

After Karin finished bathing, we settled down, and I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow. Karin's grabiness not even registering.

I woke up the next day with sunlight streaking inside my bedroom. I got up, disentangled myself from Karin, took another bath. Hot water, how had I missed thee!

When I left the apartment about one hour later, Karin was in the bath again. I guess that like me, she was compensating for the whole month without cleaning. I wrote her a note to ensure she knew I was out. It was time. I had delayed enough. I wasn't going to delay anymore.

I took the shinobi highways and sped toward my destination. It had been just over a month, but the village looked different. I could still see marks of the invasion, the new patch of wall still in construction, and buildings that looked new compared to others nearby.

My path led me again near the GGC, but this time, I swerved away. I didn't want to meet them yet. There was only so much I could deal with, and while I liked the grannies, I had more important things to do. My already exhausted emotional battery wouldn't be enough if I had to appease them.

Without fanfare, I dropped from the highway in front of my target. I scanned my surroundings, read the familiar sign: Yamanaka Flower Shop.

I took a deep breath, steeled my nerves, stepped inside.

---

I stepped outside with a mix of relief and disappointment on my face. None of the Yamanaka were present. Ino's mom was busy somewhere else, Inoichi wasn't home, Ino was training. I had a new destination now. My old haunt, training field three.

Was there any reason why Ino chose that particular place to train?

The path there wasn't long. I knew my way around this part, and even with some of my preferred roofs missing or destroyed, finding a new path to the training field didn't take long.

I looked over my clothing, pushed a rebel strand of hair out of my face, and ensured my shirt wasn't dirty or worse. With yet another deep breath, I walked inside the field.

Ino had her back toward the entrance. She wore her usual shinobi gear, a purple ensemble with bandages covering parts of her legs and midriff. Her hair was tied in a haphazard ponytail. From her movements, she was punching the wooden dummy. Each punch sounded like she meant business.

What had the poor dummy done to her?

An idea crossed my mind. I wanted to hug Ino a lot. Only one of me didn't seem enough. My hands moved without my consent. Seals flashed, and out popped another me. We exchanged glances. Hug-chan gave me a nod, her grin almost feral.

We approached. Stopped a few meters away from the training blonde.

Hug-chan cleared her throat.

Ino ignored us.

My clone cleared her throat again, louder this time. I winced in perceived sympathy. That probably hurt a lot.

"Go away," Ino said without looking back.

I exchanged glances with my clone. She shrugged, shook her head. Okay, fine, it was my turn.

I cleared my throat.

"Leave me alone," Ino hissed without looking back.

That… wasn't like Ino at all.

My clone looked worried like I felt. I cleared my throat again.

"Are you deaf?" Ino growled. She swirled, took one step toward us, teeth bared. She had bags under her eyes, wore no makeup, her hands were wrapped in bloodied bandages. She looked disheveled, for lack of a better word.

Then the blonde stopped. Her eyes were wide. A hand flew to her mouth.

"Hinata-chan," Ino whispered, looking at me and my clone.

It seemed such a dumb idea now. Why hadn't I just called out her name? Why did I have to create a clone? Dumb idea or not, I think my clone and I felt the same. We moved at the same time. No, not moved, we flickered forward and appeared by the blonde's side. We sandwiched her in the tightest hug we could manage without breaking her ribs.

In the back of my mind, Shisui's words still echoed.

"…they're claiming you're not Hinata, but a clone…"

Ino flopped on my arms, her face a mess of tears, snot, and babbling words. She fought between hugging and touching and making sure I was real. She was the prettiest ugly crier I had ever seen.

"Hinata-chan," she said, mid-crying.

Was I a clone? Maybe. There was always the possibility. Did it bother me? Yes, it did. But right now, hugging best girl Ino and hearing her sobbing in our arms, it didn't seem that important anymore.

What council hearing? What Hyuga problem?

None of that seemed urgent. It was Best Girl Ino time now. I could deal with everything else later.

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.
Proofreader: CakeEight.



Backlog update: I've finished yesterday 8.11.
Chapter 7 goes up to .21. It was getting too big and I had to cut it, for reasons.

Chapter 8 is named: Family Business, secrets and dates.

 

[okashihime]

I just read this entire story and got to say it's one of the better SI stories around. The perfect blend of competency and childishness of character makes you really root for little hinata. Love the changes to the plot makes things more interesting. Shame about tsunade she's a personal fav.

Click to shrink...

Thank you for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it. <3

Really love the changes as well. I am facinated.
I just realized the only snake summoner around now is Ankho and maybe Kabuto, so killing Manda may be harder and not as fated anymore.
Tho in regards of Manda's human sacrifice bit. When you usually would summon him would be at times of war, where the enemy combatants would become human sacrifices. So in that way I can see it making sense why it is one of Kohohas summons, when the enemies bear the cost.

Click to shrink...

Thank you. <3

 

[Syphi]

Why does her being a clone really matter when she was doing her job...for quite a while.

 

[Diametric]

So Yamato leaked the contents of the lab? He was the only other one there after all. If he only told the Hokage, that's fair enough, but that'd mean the Hokage leaked it instead. Either way, one of her supposed allies has let her enemies know this secret of hers

 

[Redna]

So Yamato leaked the contents of the lab? He was the only other one there after all. If he only told the Hokage, that's fair enough, but that'd mean the Hokage leaked it instead. Either way, one of her supposed allies has let her enemies know this secret of hers

Click to shrink...

Could also be that Orochimaru gave Danzo information about his experimentations on Hinata and now Danzo leaked that to the village. Maybe by the elders.