A strange new life. [Naruto]

[Petrox]

Gotta make a lie of how she was deaged as everyone would be looking for her to do that to them, even damyos.
Naruto has talk no jutsu, Hinata has talk to dead jutsu

 

[Kuriboh1233]

I don't really think Hinata should of been able to deage her that much, but I'm not complaining. Poor Jiraya, he's two most favorite things in the world are gone!

 

[Mesterio]

Jiraya is going to be conflicted as all hell. Probably tease her about puberty though.

 

[sandro3000117]

Hinata cursed tsunade with puberty, Also very ironic that orochimaru ended up giving the power over life and death. something he wanted to someone else, and tsunade ended up de aged instead of orochimaru like he desired

 

[517.shocker]

Just binged and caught up with the story. Loving this story a lot so far, keep up the good work!

 

[okashihime]

The whole situation had started when a new enemy launched attacks from a massive steel vessel from the sea. Gaara, along with his ninjas, had fought off the enemy commanders before: the woman who wielded lightning and the other who specialized in genjutsu.

Suna's forces had fended off the attack, destroying one of the ships, but the commanders had escaped.

Inside the destroyed vessel, countless civilians were strapped to strange machinery, which drained their life force to power the ship. None had survived its destruction.

Then more reports arrived. Entire settlements taken overnight; armies of the same undying creatures ravaging the land.

That had been only the start.

Temari led a team sent to investigate rumors spread among people and one of their destinations was Takumi Village.

It was a strategic asset for Sunagakure. The village housed several skilled craftsmen who still supplied Suna with weapons. Only, when they arrived there, the village was empty, no one left behind to tell what had happened, even a few graves had been dug out.

With Temari's report came more information and acting on that, a specialist team tracked enemy overland movements while most of Suna's forces reinforced the coastal villages to fend off the attack from sea.

Gaara led this team. They found and assaulted the mobile fortress. Not something that Suna could leave be.

Gaara kept one of the enemy commanders busy, protecting his troops from the woman's lightning, but he couldn't deal with her while the genjutsu user was still around. That other woman could fly and was always out of reach of his sand.

The battle had been a forced stalemate, with his forces contending with the constructs, while Kankuro and Temari tried to kill the genjutsu user.

All the while, Shukaku had been quiet. Not a peep, yell, or demand for blood.

The one tail had quieted after his battle with Naruto. Or maybe it was because Gaara had been honest with the one-tail for once. Even if he at one point hated the thing sealed inside him, Gaara was also grateful to Shukaku. If it wasn't for the tailed beast, he'd never have met Naruto, and would probably still live in that same darkness.

Perhaps Shukaku had mellowed because Gaara had stopped usurping his chakra.

The battle raged on and amid that, the Slug Princess arrived.

Gaara had seen the woman's bingo book entry. S-class, age unknown, monstrous physical strength, near-mythical healing techniques, capable of shifting an entire battlefield on her own.

He had the privilege of witnessing that last one. He'd always thought the entry about shifting a battlefield alone was because of her healing abilities: it was literal.

Between devastating punches and kicks, the woman upturned earth, flattened overlooks, and destroyed barricades.

He'd received more reports. The sannin wasn't alone. A duo of Konoha shinobi had braved the genjutsu trap and captured the genjutsu user. After that, things moved fast.

Using sand to create lightning rods and make his enemy vulnerable, he crushed her with Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral. Sand Coffin hadn't been enough to stop her.

The captured commander, who looked like a mix of woman and bat, ended up being killed by one of Kankuro's dolls.

Tsunade left to regroup with Konoha's shinobi, while Gaara oversaw the end of the battle.

He received more reports. About the enemy fortress, the strange machinery used to power the vehicle. Most of the civilians inside were dead. Their life force sucked dry to power the fortress shields. Rescuers removed those who survived and gave them proper support.

Would Naruto have done better?

Gaara looked over the devastation and shook his head. Probably yes, but this was a step in the right direction.

"Gaara of the Desert," a woman's voice called out.

He turned, watching the slug princess approach. She had an unconscious old man on her back. By her side, there were two other shinobi. He recognized them both.

The blonde girl from the Yamanaka clan, carrying another unconscious girl. A dark-haired one: the estranged Hyuga offspring.

More information flitted through his mind. Suggestions from the council and actions that would benefit Suna. One of those called for trying to poach the Hyuga offspring. If they could entice her to join Suna, there was a chance to spread the bloodlimit to their own forces. He discarded those thoughts.

He nodded politely. "Thank you for your help, Tsunade-sama."

No need to cause problems here. The woman in front of him wasn't someone he could offend lightly.

Tsunade looked around the devastated area.

"Is this matter settled?"

Gaara looked over the battlefield again, and at his shinobi still carrying civilians from inside the machine.

"Yes."

Gently, Tsunade placed the old man on the ground. The old man didn't look injured, but Gaara couldn't say more than that.

"His name is Kahiko," she said. "We rescued him from inside the palace."

"What happened there?" he asked, looking at the Yamanaka girl and the Hyuga offspring. Their clothing wasn't in the best shape, with blood and tears and marks of combat.

"There was a mine inside," Tsunade said. "We destroyed it ourselves."

Gaara nodded. Suna's intelligence department would give him a better report later.

A commotion nearby caught his attention.

Approaching the fortress were six shinobis, four of them decked in strange weapons. The other two bore Konoha's protectors: two other girls. One which he recognized. A student of Maito Gai, a friend of Rock Lee.

The strange shinobies stopped some distance away using the two girls as hostages.

The two girls from Konoha had a few scuff marks, a few bruises, but nothing immediately life-threatening.

Yamanaka girl called out. "Karin, Tenten!" She took a step forward, but Tsunade stopped her.

"Who are you?" Gaara asked. All four wore headbands with a symbol he'd never seen before. Each held a strange weapon. Not normal shinobi gear.

A man stepped forward. "We're the Four Celestial Symbols."

That name didn't ring any bells. Still, Gaara needed more information.

"And what do you want?"

It was a woman at the back of the group who answered. "You'll pay for what the big villages did to us!"

The leader looked back, but soon faced Gaara again. "We have your student."

Inside Gaara's head, Shukaku laughed: "Crush them," he demanded.

For once, Gaara agreed. He couldn't understand what these people wanted by barging in with this many Suna Shinobi around. Why did they even take Konoha's people hostage when the slug princess was just by his side?

He cast a glance at the princess. Her face was hard.

"Where's Matsuri?" he asked, but that was just a distraction.

Maybe these people thought the battle had weakened him, or maybe they misjudged his strength. Sand erupted around the four, pulling them into a coffin while leaving the Konoha shinobi unhurt.

Then, he crushed.

Gaara turned to Kankuro, who'd been ready for a fight. "Find Matsuri."

Kankuro saluted and disappeared.

"I apologize for the display, Tsunade-sama."

The two girls, now splattered with blood and gore, approached. Their eyes were wide with more fear of him than their captors.

"It's no problem at all." Tsunade said.

Gaara nodded, thinking about how best to improve his relationships with Konoha.

"I'll accompany you back to Konoha," he said after deciding things. "It's the least I can do to repay the help."

Gaara would trust Kankuro to find Matsuri. He'd make up to her later for not being the one to rescue her. It was the least he could do as her teacher.

 

[VividSkies]

Thank you for the new chapter!
Can't wait for more as usual!

 

[Petrox]

They are small villages because their people have small brains

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Ohhhhh if Suna intelligence manages to pick up those weapons then Suna will have gained quite a bit of special weapons. Konoha gets a young Slug Princess and Suna gets 4 powerful ninja tools, i guess even if nobody got the gelel stones both villages got something out of it.

 

[okashihime]

Hidden in the tree's canopy, squirrel-Ino cracked the nut between her teeth and glared down at the camp.

Three tents, a fresh fire, and many traps set around the perimeter. Shinobi traps, not bandits. She'd been stalking them for hours, watching how they moved, how they didn't talk, unless they had to. She recognized many of her own training in their actions.

The accent gave them away: Iwagakure. A three-man shinobi cell dressed like common raiders, attacking caravans, travelers, and any convoy on the road. Good enough to fool civilians or the careless ninja.

This definitely wasn't a C-Rank mission.

Ino looked at the camp again. Or maybe that was the enemy plan all along: pretend to be bandits and kill any shinobi squad sent to investigate.

The last of the nut broke between her tiny jaws, and she released the jutsu. Ino blinked awake in her body, still sitting cross-legged by the fire.

Choji looked up from the half-eaten rice ball in his hand. Shikamaru didn't even pause his move on the go board.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked, lazily placing a stone.

"I found the bandits," Ino said, her voice flat. "Three of them. Small camp. North ridge." She didn't blink.

Choji frowned. "That fast?"

"They were loud and lazy. Barely tried to hide the fire."

She stood, brushing dust off her pants, hand instinctively finding the black kunai strapped at her waist: sleek, matte, almost weightless. It pulsed under her fingers, warm to her touch.

"We can take them."

"You sure?" Choji asked. "Our mission is just to investigate."

Ino shrugged. "Just bandits," she said, checking the pouches and her supplies. She didn't have many of the 'good' exploding kunai left, only about half a dozen. She'd need to grab a few more with Karin, even if Karin's seals weren't as good as Hinata's.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," but he got up, packed his go board. "Same strategy as usual. I'll tie them up. Choji, you go big if needed."

The chunin looked at Ino for a long while, like trying to decide what to say. "You," he scratched his head.

Ino didn't let him finish. Her hands flashed with seals, and out popped two other Inos.

"No," she said, looking at the shadow clones. "I'll send in the clones to subdue them."

"Ino, I don't think–" Choji started, but clamped up when three Inos glared his way.

"What? I can't use clones for what they're meant for? Is that it?"

Shikamaru raised both hands in surrender. "Calm down, Ino."

Ino just turned around and dashed away. Her clones followed.

---

It didn't take long before Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino waited some distance from the camp, while Ino's shadow clones dealt with the situation. In theory, it was a good use of the jutsu. What Ino hadn't told them was that her clone was the one that she left behind.

They were treating her like she might break. Boring missions. Constant supervision. Always kept from anything dangerous, like she'd forgotten how to bleed. Ino had trained for years to kill people, and now she wasn't fit to be a ninja anymore, Shisui even grouped her back with Shikamaru, for some inexplicable reason.

Ino missed training with the girls. She missed Hinata. That made her even angrier.

Strength was the one thing Ino lacked, and everyone wanted to keep her from getting stronger. What uses were having a stronger body, unnaturally fast regeneration, and an almost inexhaustible fount of chakra when she couldn't use it?

Ino shook her head, then looked at the clone. The clone nodded back.

She passed out a few of the remaining explosives, the last set of barriers, and then it was time to put her training to use.

Bypassing the ninja traps wasn't difficult, since she'd seen them doing it. That was just the first step, of course. As soon as she was inside the camp perimeter, there was some sort of alarm, and the bandits scampered up, already ready for a fight.

Ino grinned, full of teeth and malice.

---

Outside the camp, 'Ino', Shikamaru, and Choji waited until the clones captured the bandits. It didn't go as planned, of course. First were the explosions, then the sounds of a battle.

Shikamaru's head snapped to the clone, who was grinning.

"Shit!" he cursed. "Let's go, Choji!"

Both dashed toward the battle to help, and the clone followed. She wouldn't need it, of course.

They arrived to find one Ino standing above two unconscious shinobi trapped inside one of Hinata's weight barriers. The trapped shinobi had trouble moving and seemed to be barely breathing. The Ino there looked a bit ruffled out, but unhurt.

Another 'Ino' was still in a fierce fight with the remaining Shinobi.

The man blasted lightning at her face. Ino raised her hands to defend, which gave the man a chance to flicker closer and stab her stomach. Ino grunted, but instead of retreating, she grabbed the man's head, whirled, and slammed him into the dirt.

She didn't give him time to recover. She was on top of him faster than anyone could react, slamming his face, all the while screaming through her teeth.

Shikamaru took in the situation, then dashed closer to Ino.

"Ino," he called out, but she didn't answer. "Ino!" He called again.

When it was clear she wouldn't stop, Shikamaru's hands flashed, and his shadow laced with hers. Shikamaru buckled, the jutsu nearly slipping from his grip. Ino wasn't just resisting, she was fighting it.

"Ino, stop!" Shikamaru croaked out.

Even trapped by his shadow, Ino turned around and glared at him.

"If you hit him more, you're going to kill him."

It took a while, but Ino finally nodded.

"I'll release you."

Ino nodded again.

When he did, Ino got up, kicked the downed shinobi, then pulled the kunai out of her stomach. Blood seeped out of the wound. With a quick flash of hands, Ino placed a glowing palm on the injury. Whatever Hinata had done in the mines had given her supernatural healing, but she was still trying to keep that a secret.

Ino dispersed the clones, then walked away, back toward Konoha. Shikamaru and Choji could deal with tying up the enemies and signaling a patrol to ferry them back to be interrogated.

---

When the team crossed the gates, it was almost evening. Ino immediately veered off.

Shikamaru called out. "Ino, wait!"

Ino stopped, turned toward him. They hadn't spoken since the battle a few hours ago. Choji looked on from afar, his face troubled.

"What is it?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "Where are you going?"

Ino just looked on, saying nothing.

"We need to report the mission at the tower," he said, then added. "And after, meet at Yakiniku Q to celebrate. Asuma-sensei will be there too."

Ino turned around and dashed away. Shikamaru's invitation hadn't worked the first time, or the second. It was annoying that he hadn't stopped trying yet. And now he had even involved Asuma-sensei.

That only made Ino angrier.

She moved along the rooftops, the same path she always took. The one she'd named in her head 'Hinata highway'. Rooftops took her toward Konoha's hospital. She entered, moving through the now familiar corridors. A few nurses gave her a small nod. Others just smiled sadly at her passing.

Footsteps echoed the path until she stepped through a door on one of the upper floors.

Inside, Hinata slept peacefully on the bed. Ino walked around, made sure Hinata was comfortable, that the water was clean, and the fruits were fresh. Then she adjusted the bed sheets and Hinata's body, so she wouldn't have a crick in her neck when she woke up.

She sat in her chair, the one she'd smuggled in months ago.

"Today I got to fight a few Iwagakure shinobi, Hinata-chan," Ino said, then recounted the entire mission. The fight, lying to her team, almost losing control, and killing the enemy. She liked to think Hinata would also understand and not judge her for it.

When the tale was done, Ino slumped forward, face pressing against Hinata's sleeping form.

"Why won't you wake up, Hinata-chan?"

---

And we're back, sort of?
I apologize for going radio silent. Was dealing with bit of a breakdown and getting obsessed with stuff. I'll promise at least a chapter a week, more if I can. Sorry about the delay. <3

 

[EdenOzs]

Thanks for the chapter. I was waiting for this.

 

[517.shocker]

Thanks for the chapter, wonder how long this skip was. Sounds like at least a few months.

 

[VividSkies]

Thank you for another chapter so soon!
They are too short!

Thank you for writing!

 

[okashihime]

Ino woke up to the warmth of an arm pressed over her shoulders. For a moment, she hoped, but then she opened her eyes.

Messy red hair spilled over her shoulder and arms. Karin had dragged another chair and fallen asleep leaning against Ino. The movement woke Karin up.

The redhead yawned, stretched.

"Morning, Ino-chan."

The sleepy contagion spread to Ino and she couldn't hold a yawn.

Karin started to lean against Ino again, then pulled back.

"You oughta go home."

Ino scowled, but before she could say anything, Karin continued.

"You reek," Karin added, wrinkling her nose. "And there's blood crusted on your shirt."

The budding retort stopped before it started. Ino looked down.

Her clothes were the same from the mission. She had dried blood all over her stomach from the stab wound. She sniffed, then gagged.

"You can come to the apartment if you don't wanna go home," Karin said, hand gently patting Ino's back. "Hinata's clothes should still fit you, or you can get some of mine. There's no bath, though, only a shower."

Ino considered the offer, sorely tempted to accept. "I'll go home," she said instead.

"Want company?"

Ino shook her head. "No, but thank you."

Karin grinned, then hugged Ino again. "You're my friend."

They stayed there for a moment more until Ino couldn't any longer. Now aware of her own unkempt state, she couldn't ignore it. She got up, stretched, looked around the hospital room.

"I'll clean this week," Karin said, also getting up.

Ino nodded. With one last quick jaunt to the bed, she kissed sleeping Hinata's forehead, then left.

It was early in the morning, and the nurses staffing the hospital kept shooting her glances. Maybe it was the blood, or her messy hair. She didn't much care, anyway. Ino took to the highways and went straight home. She landed in front of the shop, strode inside, ignoring the person manning the desk.

Inside her house, she looked at the familiar pictures and furniture and memories of happy days.

Before she could disappear into her bedroom, her mom showed up. Ino tensed, preparing for the confrontation.

"Welcome back, Ino."

"Thank you." There was a beat of silence before Ino spoke again. "I'll take a bath."

Her mother nodded. "Will you stay for breakfast?"

Ino considered, then nodded. She turned and ran to her room, gathering necessities, and then to the bathroom.

---

A very long time and a crying session later, Ino left and went toward the living room, dressed in familiar purple clothes. She'd ditched the bandages, wearing protectors under shorts, with the purple skirt over it all.

Downstairs, her father was already at the table, drinking tea. He looked up, tired eyes smiling when he saw her.

"Come here, baby." He opened his arms, offering a hug.

Ino didn't resist. She fell into his arms and had to hold back the tears again, feeling his hands on her hair, and the safety of his presence. Thankfully, he said nothing, just held her until she composed herself.

They sat, and her mom served food. It was a terse breakfast, but Ino hoped it wouldn't be a bad one.

"How's Hinata?" Her mother asked.

Ino froze, between picking some of the fish and rice and placing it on her plate. She shrugged. There wasn't much to say. Hinata hadn't woken up yet.

Her mom nodded, and for a moment Ino hoped that was going to be all.

"There's a festival this weekend," her mother said. "It might be nice to see some familiar faces."

Inoichi sighed.

Ino got up, pushed the food away.

"Ino," her mother started.

"Thank you, dad, but I'm not hungry," Ino said, then turned around.

"Will you show up in the afternoon for training?" her father asked.

Ino stopped. "If there's no mission," she said finally.

"Ok, I'll see you later, pumpkin."

"Ino, finish your food, please," her mother said.

Ino ignored it, striding out of the house. It hadn't been the first time her mother tried something along these lines. This was her latest strategy. She knew exactly what her mother meant: boys, distractions. Her mother thought that pushing Ino toward boys would somehow make her forget Hinata.

It grated. Reason Ino barely returned home.

Instead of going back to the hospital, Ino stopped by a street vendor, grabbed a few dumplings, and, still eating, went toward the mission hall. Shikamaru and Choji were already there. Shikamaru had a mission parchment in hand. She landed closer, peeking in and reading the details: D-Rank.

Well, that was fair. They'd keep her doing boring D-ranks for about a week or two, if the last time was anything to go by.

---

After completing the mission, Ino returned to the hospital. To her surprise, Karin and Sakura were there. A smile found its way on Ino's face, seeing her friends.

"Ino pig," Sakura taunted.

"Forehead girl," Ino said back. "How's the forehead going?"

Sakura grinned. "Very good, thank you."

She pulled her fringe away, looked at Karin and pointed at her forehead.

Karin blushed a very bright red. She got up, then kissed Sakura's forehead.

"See?" Sakura taunted.

Ino giggled. She wasn't sure what was happening between Sakura, Karin and Rock Lee. Somehow, they were all boyfriends and girlfriends. It got confusing, especially when Karin and Sakura started talking about their boyfriend and then switched to talk about their girlfriend in the same sentence, but they were happy, which was the only thing Ino could hope for.

Rock Lee was on a mission with his team, which was another good news from the past months. Tsunade healed him, and now the boy was even more obsessed with training. Ino didn't understand what those two saw on him. The thoughts of those bushy brows were enough to make Ino shudder, but Rock Lee was a decent enough friend, if on the stranger side of the equation.

Karin and Sakura didn't stay for long. They left hand in hand a few minutes after Ino arrived. Ino looked on longingly at their familiarity, cursing herself for having waited for so long. She knew Hinata had been waiting for her to make the first move. And she'd wasted that time.

That same afternoon, there were many visitors.

The older girl, Hinata's friend, the pretty one with the glasses that worked at the tower, popped by, stayed for a few minutes, then left. Tsunade-sama also showed up again, but that was a normal occurrence. Tsunade visited every day to make sure Hinata was healthy.

It was still strange looking at the girl barely a few years older than her and associate that same girl with the legendary sannin. Ino wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

Tsunade had met Ino alone before they returned to Konoha.

They had agreed to keep the fact that Ino had died a secret, as well as Tsunade's new apparent age. As far as everyone was aware, Ino was just severely injured before Hinata healed her somehow. Tsunade hid her appearance again, walking about like a grown up woman, even if sometimes, she was seen walking about as a teenager.

Most people thought Tsunade had used some jutsu to disguise herself as a teen. It was an open secret: the sannin enjoyed looking younger. But Ino knew better. Hinata had done something to her too. Just like she'd done to Ino.

She thought the afternoon would be calm, but the second last person she wanted to see came to visit her in the hospital.

"Ino-chan," Asuma-sensei said from the door.

Ino scowled, cursing Shikamaru for involving their teacher.

"Follow," the man said, leaving the doorway.

Ino considered not obeying, but something in his voice made her reconsider. She got up, made sure Hinata was comfortable, then followed her sensei through corridors and stairs until they were on the roof.

That wasn't their destination, however.

Asuma took to the highways, leading Ino away from the hospital area and toward a training field.

They landed, Asuma looking about, then giving it an approving nod.

It wasn't anything different from the many training fields around Konoha. A grassy area, a few wooden dummies, a small patch of trees.

Ino wasn't sure what they were doing here.

Asuma put out his cigarette and pulled out his trench knives. There was no lazy smile to greet her. He looked at Ino, who still didn't know what was going on.

"Ready?" Sensei asked.

"What?" Ino blurted out.

Asuma spread his feet apart, hands in front of him. The trench knives crossed in front of his chest.

"I'll count three," Asuma said.

Ino still didn't know what he was going on about.

"Three," Asuma said, then he disappeared.

Ino's eyes widened. It hadn't been a flicker, or any other sort of jutsu. It was pure body strength. She didn't even see the punch. One second he was across the field, the next, her stomach exploded in pain and the world spun. She hit the ground, dirt and grass scrapping her skin.

"You're dead," Asuma said from the same place as before.

Ino groaned, tried to get up.

"Three," he said again.