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.

 

[okashihime]

"Three."

The next punch came, and Ino threw her arms up in front of her face. It was worse than when fighting with Hinata. She used to think she understood strength. How wrong she was.

Ino was flung back again, but this time, before crashing into the ground, she swapped places with one of the wooden dummies.

Asuma's voice sounded before she could regain her bearings. "You've improved."

Ino said nothing. She grabbed for any weapon she could use. The only one, unfortunately, being the black kunai. She hadn't been prepared for a fight, and left her tool pouches at the hospital.

"But it still isn't enough."

Ino spread her legs, hands flashing with seals. Another two of her appeared, both also holding the black kunai.

Asuma took another stance, trench knives still crossed in front of his face. His eyes were emotionless. His voice was flat.

"Shikamaru tells me you're trying to get yourself killed."

"I'm not," Ino shot back.

"You tricked your team, then engaged in battle with three unknown enemy shinobi. Alone."

Ino scowled.

"If dying is what you want, I'll put you out of your misery," he said again, voice still cold.

"I'm not!"

"Then what the hell are you doing?"

"Being a kunoichi," she snapped. "And maybe if you stopped treating me like some pampered genin—"

Asuma blinked. Then nodded.

"I'll treat you like you want, then," her sensei said. "You'll die if you don't take this seriously."

Ino gripped the kunai harder, waiting for the next attack. Only, it wasn't anything she'd been expecting.

Asuma's stare turned even colder, and then something smashed into her mind. It wasn't a genjutsu; it wasn't even chakra, but she felt the world darken and the air turned thick, wrong. Her spine stiffened, her legs almost buckled. She couldn't breathe.

Asuma didn't wait.

He disappeared, then landed in front of her, arms extended in a slash. The attack came nowhere near hitting her clones, but both dispersed. In the same movement, he kicked her chest. It wasn't anywhere as gentle as the punches had been.

She had thought he was going all out before; he wasn't. She felt bones crack in her chest, her vision going white and mind blanking for a moment. She recovered just enough to see the knife coming for her again.

Ino weaved, evading the attack, or so she thought. Even moving away from the knives wasn't enough to prevent injuries. A cut spread across her chest, pain and blood gushing out from the wound.

She landed hard on her back, screaming, almost incoherent. But she didn't stop. That same pressure bore down on her again and she flickered away a few moments before Asuma smashed where she had been, trench knives digging furrows into the earth.

"That's all?" Asuma got up, still looking at her with cold eyes.

Ino gasped. She didn't know what to do.

"If that's all you amount to," he shrugged, eyes even colder.

Ino understood. If she didn't fight back, Asuma was going to kill her. She didn't know why or how, but he was going to kill her. She gripped the kunai tighter, then screamed. Raw, unfiltered. All the frustration and anger. She flickered forward, trying to appear behind him and stab.

Asuma turned, knives ready to cut again.

Ino aborted the attack, fingers flashing faster than she ever managed before. An earth wall rose between both. Not enough to stop the knives from cutting into it, but enough to give Ino time to move again.

She created a clone, then switched places with another wooden dummy, just in time to see Asuma blasting her earth wall with an explosion of ash and fire, destroying her newly created barrier and clone.

Ino's hands flashed with more seals. She hadn't mastered this jutsu yet, but there wasn't any other she knew. She finished the hand seals, the thumb of each hand touching the index of the opposite, forming a square between her fingers pointing at where Asuma was.

Only, her teacher wasn't there anymore.

Ino hadn't seen the man moving, but he was by her side, knives descending toward her neck. Ino couldn't move fast enough to dodge. Chill spread from her chest. She was going to die.

That strange chakra near her heart reacted, bubbling and frothing, trying to do something, but not fast enough.

In excruciating slowness, she saw the knife approach. She even saw the chakra distortion around the weapon, and finally understood what gave it extra reach.

Ino had only regrets left. Not fast enough, not smart enough, not strong enough.

Not good enough to protect her.

She wondered if Hinata would ever forgive her.

Then the world fractured. The kunai in her hand shook, and before the trench knife hit, Hinata was between Ino and Asuma, with one leg extended in a perfect arc. Asuma shifted just in time, arms coming up to guard.

And only then did Ino understand: Even now, even at his coldest, Asuma had never gone all out.

The impact cracked through the air. He flew backward, skidding across the ground, leaving a furrow dug into the earth.

Hinata vanished again, reappearing at his side, palms aiming to drive him into the earth.

Asuma reacted fast, slashing upward with a trench knife, but Hinata didn't try to block or parry. She flickered away, already vanishing before the blade even came close to her.

Then roots tore from the ground, binding Asuma's legs and preventing the man from moving. Above him, Hinata hovered with a glowing ball of spinning chakra in her hands.

Asuma braced for impact.

Ino yelled. "Hinata, stop!"

Still in the air, Hinata's face wrenched from Asuma and toward Ino. Hinata's eyes were wide. One eye was all black and the other all white. The ball of chakra dissipated like it had never been there before. The roots receded, and Hinata disappeared, only to appear again in front of Ino.

"Ino-chan," Hinata's voice had that same scratchy quality. She smiled, caught Ino in a hug, head resting on Ino's shoulder. Hinata yawned, and just like that, she fell asleep again in Ino's arms.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Asuma approached. Ino cast a wary glance at him, but he just scratched the back of his head.

"Well, that wasn't how I expected this to end," he said.

Ino was angry at him, but she understood he hadn't been really trying to kill her. He had, in his own misguided way, given Ino exactly what she asked for: to be treated like a real kunoichi.

"Thank you," she forced the words out, still feeling mad about the whole thing.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Asuma asked, looking at the blood in Ino's clothes. "Your father will kill me if I hurt you too badly."

Ino shrugged. The cut had healed already. "I'm fine," she said, not sure what was going to happen, but happy Hinata had awakened.

More people showed up. The first to arrive was Shisui.

One moment he wasn't there, the other, he was by their side, red eyes staring at them. Not long after, the air shimmered and a whole ANBU squad was by Shisui's side.

"Is everything alright?" the Hokage asked, looking at Ino and Asuma.

Ino smiled. A genuine smile, maybe the first one since she'd returned from the Land of Rivers.

"Hinata woke up!" she exclaimed.

"And promptly fell asleep again," Asuma pointed out.

---

AN: Thank you for reading.
Next one we go back to Hinata's pov. This arc is mostly focused on Hinata and Ino's relationship, and now they are adapting after all that happened, while... stuff happens in the background leading to a pivot point at the end. I hope you guys enjoy it.

 

[517.shocker]

Lol, love Hinata waking up and immediately throwing hands. Wonder what's up with her eyes now though.

 

[okashihime]

The moments after killing Haido and everything that followed were a colossal mess inside my head. It was strange remembering the things I did. I know I dragged Ino's soul back from the pure lands; I know I somehow made Tsunade younger; I know I invited Dan and Nawaki to have their last farewells with the slug princess. But I had only vague feelings on how to replicate those feats, and without the massive source of energy the Gelel vein was, I had no clue how to actually do it. Burning the vein was what gave me the impetus and energy necessary to do all those things.

Yes, I did (possibly) know how to bring someone back, but if I tried it now, the most likely result was that I'd just copy Nagato's sacrificial action and die soon after, just like he did. Making someone younger could be feasible, with a lot of time, preparation, and effort. Not to the same extent as I did to Tsunade, a few months, maybe a year max, before I had to stop and recharge.

Only searching for a soul in the pure lands and manifesting it wasn't that problematic; it was just chakra-consuming. I don't think I had enough chakra to keep that connection alive for more than a few minutes.

It didn't escape my notice that I didn't just kill Haido. I destroyed his soul. I even burned all the life chakra that was the Gelel vein, and the budding sentience inside it.

Did I regret it?

I did not. Not one bit.

It had been my hesitation and unwillingness to act decisively that let Ino get hurt. And Haido deserved it.

But there was so much I still had to do.

My awareness was stuck inside my head while I dealt with all the urgent things I pushed back while murdering Haido, killing the baby Gelel, and resurrecting Ino.

The first thing was the seals behind my eyes.

When the eye awakened, it broke Orochimaru's hold over my mind, and it had become clear the purpose of that seal: it kept part of Orochimaru's soul hidden inside the eye unnoticeable. Which let that fucker mess with my mind without me knowing it.

Back then, I hacked at that seal, shredding it in a surprise attack before I plucked the eye out and fed it to Kumoko. Now I had to deal with the consequences.

With Tsunade there to take care of Ino, I could konk out for a few hours to deal with the seals. I had no need for that seal in my head, so it had to go away. Carefully, I chipped at it with my threads, removing, mending, then scouring any part left of that seal. It wasn't the easiest of things, and it was good I had taken my time, because there were more than a few traps left behind by the snake.

I could finally understand everything. I just needed to be careful.

After removing the seal behind my eyes, I went over the bones. My first task was to remove the traps and control mechanism left behind. There was no way I'd leave a backdoor into my psyche and body to let Orochimaru disable me anytime he wanted, even if I still wanted the benefits the seal provided.

Sigil, after careful sigil, I chipped, changed, erased, wrote, rewrote. More than once, I felt chakra scanning my body. A sensation I had felt a few times before, some kind of medical jutsu. I pushed that out of my mind. I wasn't sure why Tsunade thought she had to scan me so damn much, but well, I could learn about that later.

Ino carrying around my beacon was nice, though. It gave me the fuzzies knowing Best Girl Ino kept one. I always kept a small part of my mind paying attention to that, maybe luxuriating in the feeling of having Ino close all the time. Creep, yes, but sue me.

But I could gush about that later; right now, dealing with the seals was more critical.

My work on the seals was slow going, but I made progress. I realized it might take me more than the few hours I wanted, but it hadn't been that long yet, so I kept to my work. There were ways I could have tried to improve the seals. Several sigils I could have removed entirely or replaced with what I thought were better, improved versions, but I held back. Right now, I just need to be free of the bad parts.

When I was done with the bones, there was no trap or detrimental effect in sight. I was sure of it. I went through everything more than a few times, maybe more than a hundred times, if I was being honest. The improvements I'd leave for later.

Next, I looked at the seal around my heart.

This one had been a black-box since the beginning, but now I could see it, and I understood it. Like I had guessed before, it worked as some sort of regulator seal to control my chakra. The primary function was the one that allowed Orochimaru to disable me with a glance. By activating that command, the seal would strangle my chakra flow, rendering me useless.

I took my threads to that effect with prejudice.

Once I removed that, I looked over the rest. There was a small beneficial effect that let me change my chakra to any elemental chakra more easily, mokuton included. The settings for that seal, however, were in a way that made the complex chakra harder to use.

I reset the settings. That way, mokuton wouldn't burn my whole chakra pool to create a single sapling. There was still much to improve there, but like with the other seals, it was something I could deal with later.

Last, I took a gander at the seal on my throat.

This one wasn't anything special. It wasn't part of the circuit like the other three had been, it was just a way to prevent me from making noise. Petty and cruel. I could see the modifications the frog sannin had stamped above it to prevent it from hurting me and let me speak. Carefully, I looked over things to see how I'd go about removing it permanently.

Something slammed into my mind.

Right now, through the beacon, I know that Ino was in danger. I don't know who or where. Were the Sunagakure shinobi attacking us? I knew I should have waited until returning to Konoha to deal with the rest of the seals besides the one in my head, but it had been an urgent situation.

My eyes snapped open, and sterile white walls and ceiling greeted me. I didn't have time to parse why I wasn't in the Land of Rivers, but a white room. Without using hand movements, I invoked the confrontation seal, teleporting near the beacon Ino always carried with her.

I had less than a moment to assess the situation: Asuma was about to kill Ino. They were in some familiar grassy field. I could see the chakra coating his trench knives, moving towards Ino's neck. Ino wouldn't be able to dodge it.

I kicked the man as hard as I could. No one was going to hurt my Ino. Never again.

He aborted his attack, raising his hands to block my kick. There was a clunk when my feet hit his arms. He slid away, leaving furrows on the ground. I flickered toward him, trying to punch Asuma into the ground.

Asuma reacted fast. His knives slashed toward me, the edge extended by his chakra.

I didn't try to block; that was assisted suicide. Instead, I flickered up and out of Asuma's range. At the same time, I burned my chakra to grow roots beneath him and entangle his legs, keeping him from moving. On the palm of my hand, I created the biggest Rasengan I could.

Air billowed around me, spurned by the concentrated chakra. The ball of chakra was massive, almost as big as a basketball.

Asuma didn't lose sight of me. He crossed his arms in front of him, ready to endure my attack.

"Hinata, stop!"

Ino's voice cut through the haze. I tore my eyes away from Asuma and looked at Best Girl Ino.

Her hair was longer, and she looked taller, too. She had ditched the bandage wrapped around her legs and abdomen, wearing something very similar to her clothes post time skip.

I dispersed the Rasengan, putting Asuma out of my mind. If Ino was asking me to stop, I was probably misunderstanding something. Where were we, really? Shouldn't we be in the Land of Rivers? What happened to the mission? And Nerugui? What about the people trapped inside the fortress?

My next flicker took me closer to Ino. Yes, she was taller and looked even prettier now, despite the bags under her eyes and the lack of makeup.

I hugged her. "Ino-chan."

Ino wrapped her arms around me, and everything was right with the world again. I yawned, placing my head on her shoulders. The adrenaline fled fast. I couldn't keep my eyes open. I was so tired. How long had it been since I started working on the seals?

My eyes closed against my will, and I fell asleep.

It was all good, though. I was in Ino's arms, the best place to be.

I dreamt of nice-smelling flowers.

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Ahhhh the seals are now gone. The hyuuga are not going to like that, i bet.
With the seals gone the rest of the village would probably be willing to trust her more too.

 

[Petrox]

First time I see someone very productive being in a coma. Good work in fixing herself. Did Tsunade do anything at all?

 

[VividSkies]

Hazzah! Finally some progress!
Thank you for writing, and thank you for the new chapter!

 

[okashihime]

I opened my eyes again to the white ceiling and the sterile smells of a hospital. There was some pressure over my chest, like something heavy and warm was there. Waking up in the hospital again was a strange experience. I didn't need to be a genius to know something was, maybe not wrong, but different.

Looking down, the pressure was a mop of blonde, disheveled hair.

Ino sat by the bed, head resting on me. Her face had a lot of cloth marks, and she was drooling a little. Cute.

My hand found its way to her head, gently threading fingers through the sleeping kunoichi's hair.

So, there were some strange things happening. Yup.

It hadn't been my imagination when I was trying to rescue Ino from Asuma. She was taller and looked older. Not enough to say years had passed, but maybe a few months? Not something I'd usually notice, but it was like that from one nap to another; she'd grown a few inches. More of a teenager than a pre-teen now.

The room was also strange. With a few more minutes to look about, there were… a lot of small things around. It wasn't like the first few times I woke up here, and the room was bare. Now, I could even see a few other pieces of furniture, a couple of chairs, and a small table. Even a few folded clothes in one corner.

The comfy pajamas I wore almost made me laugh when I looked closer. It was pastel pink, decorated with… badgers: cute little menaces slurping honey by the bucketful. Whose idea was that?

Instead of lying on the bed, I pushed up to a sitting position.

That woke up Ino. She blinked, looking around, then her head snapped to me. She smiled, then cried, then grabbed me in a hug that bruised my ribs.

"Hinata-chan!" Ino said amid sobs.

I tried to wrap my arms around her, but Ino had trapped me in her vice-like hug. I couldn't even breathe properly. I held on as long as I could, but when Ino showed no signs of letting go, I squeaked out.

"Ino-chan, I can't breathe."

Ino relaxed her grip, but didn't release me.

That gave me the chance to take a much-needed breath and sneak my arms from inside her hug, then wrap them around the blonde. She nestled against me, still sniffling.

I don't know how much time passed. I didn't want to interrupt the moment. I enjoyed hugging Ino, even if seeing her crying sent a spike of pain through my heart. However, my stomach didn't really care for any of that; it let out an enraged growl.

Huh, I was starving.

Ino pulled away a smidge, but never really let go of me. She looked at my face, searching my eyes for something. Then she pulled her face closer to mine. Slowly, giving me more than enough time to pull away if that's what I wanted.

I didn't pull away, no chance of that. One of my arms moved to her waist, pressing her toward me, while the other sneaked behind her head. Ino gasped. I pulled her closer until our lips met.

---

Some indeterminate amount of time later, I sat on the bed, while Ino lay by my side with her head on my lap. I didn't really know how much time had passed. It felt like a few seconds, or maybe an eternity.

I was biting down on an apple, trying to appease the enraged beast that was in my stomach. After gulping down a mouthful and drinking more water, I spoke.

"What happened?"

Ino had her eyes closed, enjoying as I trailed my fingers through her hair.

"You wouldn't wake up."

I mulled over that. It didn't feel like I was asleep. It also didn't feel like I had taken that long to work on the seals. If anyone asked me to put a timeframe, it felt like a day or two, maybe three. Certainly no more than four.

"How long since the Land of Rivers?"

"Ten months."

So, I was fourteen now? Birthday went and gone while I was asleep? Well, it wasn't really a problem. No one really cared much for a birthday here. I was about to ask more questions when a chakra blaze appeared just outside the room.

Ino raised her head, looking at the door at the same time I did.

There was a knock.

I exchanged glances with Ino. She didn't look like she was going to move.

"Come in," I called out.

The door opened, and Shisui entered. He wore the Uchiha's colors, with the Hokage coat over everything. He even had the funny Hokage hat, too. There were more hidden chakra blazes just outside the door. They didn't enter the room.

Shisui closed the door after he entered. He had a small basket in his hand, with fresh fruits. He looked at me, at Ino, at the mess of the room, then offered me the basket.

I wasn't in any condition to take it, really. If I did, I'd have to dislodge Ino, which I didn't want to.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," I said. "Can you place the basket by the table?"

Shisui didn't seem phased, placing the basket there, and picked up three apples. He sent two to me and Ino, then bit down on the third. He looked around, found a chair, pulled it toward the bed, and sat down. When he was comfortable, he spoke.

"Welcome back, Hinata-san."

I looked at Shisui, the chakra blazes outside. This was super sus.

"Am I in trouble?"

Shisui chuckled. Big expressive eyes that smiled more than his lips. "Yes." He said. Then, before I could panic, he added. "Ino-san promised to keep you under lock and key and never out of her sight again if you ever woke up."

Ino squeaked, hiding her face on my shirt.

I blinked, confused.

"And Lady Shijimi is heartbroken, since there are no more cupcakes."

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say.

"And Uzumaki Karin might have threatened to 'carve up those old codgers' when the council wanted to visit you."

---

It turns out a lot of things had happened while I was in a coma. The political situation had changed a lot in the last few months. Kumo and Iwa had officially joined in an alliance to fight Konoha.

On our side of the war, Suna and Kiri had thrown their lot with us. Which, in the end, wasn't that much. Each of those villages had its own problems to deal with.

Sunagakure was trying to recover from years of mismanagement and being stymied by their daimyo. They had lost a lot of shinobi because of Orochimaru's treachery and the Gelel people's attack.

Kirigakure was still a mess. Terumi Mei was the new kage, but they were still dealing with the consequences of the civil war, as well as some still unknown enemy kidnapping bloodline shinobis.

Unknown, yeah. Fucking Danzo.

And speaking of Danzo, he dared to get in contact with the village.

From what the Hokage told me, what the old traitor wanted boiled down to was: Shisui kicked out of the Hokage position, the Uchiha clan imprisoned for their "crimes", and he to be nominated as Hokage instead. If we did that, he promised to join us against our enemies, or if the village refused, he'd get his ROOT organization to join the enemy alliance instead, then he'd rebuild a better Konoha after the old, weak one was destroyed.

He hadn't said it in those exact words, but that was what he implied, in the end.

Fucking traitor.

Why wasn't Shisui doing something about the old rat? Why leave the traitor free and alive? There was probably some complicated reason I wasn't aware of, but it was frustrating, more so because of my personal history with him.

The other terrible news was that Sasuke had gone missing. The timing, if what Shisui told me was correct, was the same day I plucked the snake eye out. No one knew where he had gone or what had happened. Izumi's squad had been on a recon mission in the land between Iwa and Konoha, then he simply vanished, with no sight of where he went.

But that wasn't all. I was, truthfully, in trouble.

"And you're grounded," Shisui said, after he finished updating me with the most essential details of the past months.

"Come again?"

"Grounded," Shisui repeated, deadly serious. "The village is at war, and you are in no shape to fight, so naturally, you get a vacation." He stared into my soul. "Don't waste it."

I scowled. That wasn't fair. All of my friends were out there, fighting in this damn, pointless war, and he wanted me to stay in Konoha again?

"Tsunade's orders," Shisui added. "You need time to recover from whatever you did to yourself."

"But-"

He didn't let me finish. "You and Ino. Grounded." He said, eyes drifting to Ino, who was still hiding her face in my shirt.

 

[Kraise]

Shisui is so nice. Great Hokage energy I love it.

 

[SavageC00KIE]

Spoiler: Grammar Edits

Hyuga Hiashi byakugan stare pierced my soul. I felt naked and unclean.

Click to shrink...

'...Hiashi's* byakugan stare...'

At some point, I stopped paying attention to the letter songs, stopped participating. I already knew the basics. I used that time to study the language primer the Hokage gave me. The Academy sensei's didn't mind when they saw what I was actually doing. Daikoku-Sensei even tousled my hair again. Ignored my glares.

Click to shrink...

'...Ignoring* my glares.'

Three weeks in I already knew the scroll contents by heart. It was a simple seal designed to store a small object, like a kunai or a bunch of shuriken. I couldn't recreate the seal with chakra. The scroll didn't teach me how. Had to draw it by hand, and push chakra in the symbols. It took two more weeks before I could re-create the symbols without error.

Click to shrink...

'...the scroll's* contents by...'

That night, I prepared everything I needed. Made a copy of the seals. Stored a pebble, a coin. Others I left empty, ready to use if the old man asked me to. I also packed my writing supplies and more ink to draw seals. I wasn't a fast drawer, It took me a few minutes to finish the thing, but it worked. Speed would come with practice.

Click to shrink...

'...a pebble and* a coin. Others I...'

Old man Hokage nodded, got up from his chair. He moved to one of the many shelfs, picked up a new set of scrolls. My eyes landed on a big, very recognizable scroll roll. Wasn't that the so-called sealed scroll Naruto steals in a few years? Damn, these people were hardcore, leaving such dangerous things in view of anyone. Now I know how Naruto managed to steal the damn thing. It was just there, unprotected, god knows for how many years.

Click to shrink...

'...the many shelves*, picked up...' and '...so-called *Scroll of Seals* Naruto steals...'

The path back to my apartment wasn't long. I still couldn't lose concentration, I had four coins — ended up going with the coins anyway — stuck beneath my clothes and I didn't want to lose money. I got home, took a shower. Too tired to eat, I laid on my bed. I pushed my chakra to circulate in my body, strengthening my aching muscles. Reinforce my bones. No idea if it worked, but as they say, it was the intention that counted, And I was very intent focused.

Click to shrink...

'...Reinforcing* my bones. No idea if...' and '...was very intently* focused.'

My heart pounded. It was a miracle the intruder didn't heard it. A finger touched my forehead. Chakra flooded my brain. The world turned hazy. I was so tired, sleepy. What was I thinking just now? Something inside me stirred. My own chakra surged. It slurped on the intruding energy, like a fat kid slurping spaghetti. Messy, icky, oh so tasty. I gasped. I punched, kicked, flailed wildly.

Click to shrink...

'...didn't hear* it. A finger...'

By the end of the year, most of the class could read. Slow, stuttering, syllable by syllable. That made my days less lonely. Not that I really bonded with the other kids. Even if they didn't fully behave like fives or sixes years old, they were still toddlers in my eyes. Cute, killer in training toddlers, but toddlers nonetheless.

Click to shrink...

'...like five* or six* year* olds*, they were...' and '...killers* in training toddlers, but...'

My taijutsu still was a mess. I was weaker and slower. I know, my fault that. My way of fighting changed to something like reaction based combat. Combining what I remembered of the gentle fist, Konoha's style, I created my own set of movements designed to deflect and evade. Redirect others' attacks. Trim down necessary movements. That was the only way I could compete. Where others were faster and stronger, I moved less, redirected instead of fighting it.

Click to shrink...

'...gentle fist and* Konoha's style, I created...'

Second year of the academy also introduced the kunoichi classes: Make-up, flower arrangement, tea making, music, the usual girl stuff. Between the many instruments available, I was drawn to the Koto, the thirteen string cumbersome zither instrument that spoke to my soul. I couldn't carry one with me, they were too big for that, but I was already making plans. If I created a big enough seal, I could store that baby and have it with me all the time. I could see it. Imagine Shino and Kiba's face when I played Taylor's Shake it off for them. I grinned. It was an evil grin. I couldn't help it!

Click to shrink...

'...Taylor's Shake It* Off* for...'

Not to say nothing happened this year. I heard rumors and gossip. Whenever I could, on my academy off days I went to a restaurant to eat, listen. Konoha's relationship with the Kumogakure worsened. Some talked about war between the villages. I heard rumors things never calmed down after their head ninja was killed, with escalating hostilities.

Click to shrink...

'...relationship with *Kumogakure...'

The gaggle of forming fan-girls however, started to give me stinky eyes. I mean, really? Aren't these girls too precocious? I didn't think it was anything romantic yet, but they must have grown up listening to stories about the legendary Uchiha's heir. My guess is their parents kept pestering them about Emosuke, since Uchiha Itachi was too old to be interested in these kids. Save me from impressionable children, please.

Click to shrink...

'...give me stink* eyes. I mean...' and '...legenday Uchiha* heir. My...'

I was seven. Third year of Academy, when things changed.

Click to shrink...

'...of the* Academy, when...'

The first months of semester went about the same. The Academy curriculum changed again. Less playing, more focused training. We sparred every day. Throwing classes. Hand-seal classes. Spycraft, infiltration, survival. Shinobi rules. At a very high level, one would still take it like a game. Naruto always did. Others wised up. The gaggle of Emosuke fan-girls grew by the month.

Click to shrink...

'...months of the* semester went...' and '...take it as* a game. Naruto...'

It was another normal night in the last weeks of the first semester when I woke up to distant explosions. The floor shook, like a distant earthquake. I ran outside, climbed the building, reached the roof. Light-shows, fire, lightning. It was chaos. It was far away. I looked at the Hokage tower, compared the explosion's location. I had the inkling that the battle, far as it was, waged on the Uchiha compound.

Click to shrink...

'...the building, reaching* the roof. Light-shows...' and '...as it was, was* waged in* the Uchiha compound.'

Emosuke skipped the rest of the semester, much to the gaggle of fan-girls consternation. I enjoyed the break. No more emo trying to beat me at everything.

Click to shrink...

'...of fan-girls'* consternation. I...'

Emosuke started to have a negative effect even in the ball of sunshine that was Naruto. I was getting worried.

Click to shrink...

'...even on* the ball of...'

I got to confirm some things. About a dozen of Uchiha had died in the attack, but most of the clan was still alive. Itachi was the new clan head. Shisui was still alive. One of the attackers had been freaking Danzo. The other I guessed was Obito playing his part as Tobi, pretending to be Madara. What a mess. Sasuke was still depressed, and it didn't seem it was going to change anytime soon. From the few outbursts during class, the kid was obsessed with being stronger than his brother.

Click to shrink...

'...a dozen *Uchiha had...'

I had surpassed this year a hundred kilos in each seal. It was nuts. Maybe those cultivation geeks had a point after all. It took a while to really see the improvements, but no one could deny it. I could compete with the top boys, wearing my weights and not using chakra. My taijutsu was still a mess, but I was improving. I recovered faster, I could perform for longer.

Click to shrink...

'...surpassed *a hundred kilos* this year in each seal. It...'

It became glaring obvious, during ninjutsu practice I was way behind the clan kids. By now, all the others of rookie 9, except maybe for Sakura-chan and Naruto, were training on their clan jutsu. I was pretty sure Emosuke burned my hair on purpose, the bastard. But he wasn't the only: shadow binding, beast transformation, giant hand punch, bugs. Whenever those came into play, I had no answer. I knew only the basic three and fuinjutsu. After one particularly nasty beat-down, and another burn attempt I walked to Iruka-sensei.

Click to shrink...

'...glaringly* obvious *during ninjutsu...' and '...of the* rookie 9, except...' and '...training in* their clan jutsu. I was...' and '...I talked* to Iruka sensei.'

If I took team 7 as an example, they performed around ten D-rank missions, before earning a C-rank. That would be what, one new jutsu? I would need to slave my days completing D-rank missions just to learn basic weak jutsu. I didn't even want to know how much for an A-rank one. Shame was, I couldn't even beg the old man Hokage for some cool jutsu. I hadn't seen him for years, only meeting Secretary-chan to get new chakra control exercises, which reminded me, I need to pay another visit. The last scroll had only one exercise, and I had mastered that one already.

Click to shrink...

'...even beg *old man Hokage for...' and '...seen him in* years, only meeting...'

I blinked. What? I mean, yeah, I guess. Using multiple chakra treads to manipulate objects far away from me, while glued to the ceiling, and keeping multiple things stuck to my body, and still preventing my hair and clothes from being affected was a pain. But it was just that. The sheer amount of things to keep track of was what made the exercise complicated, not the control itself.

Click to shrink...

'...chakra threads* to manipulate...'

We sat on pink cushions with a low table between us in her room. Sakura could be cute when she wanted – even if I couldn't point that out, it would be asking for trouble. On the table, a spread of pudding and cake. Ever since 'the fight', Sakura wasn't keen on cupcakes anymore. I had my suspicions on why, or better yet, who was the reason. It was blonde, loved my cupcakes, name started with I and ended with O.

Click to shrink...

'...who *the reason* was. It was...'

Board ready, I wrote my response. "I invited the whole class, the whole class families, the sensei, the Hokage's secretary, the old man himself." I took a few more invitation cards and slipped toward Sakura-chan. Flipped my board, wrote on the other side. "For your mom and dad."

Click to shrink...

'...and slipped them* toward...' and '...board and* wrote on...'

Tenma Sayuri-sensei wasn't old. She looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. Jet black hair, steel-grey eyes. Lean and wiry, usually dressed in the typical shinobi uniform, with a dark grey high-collared duster on top of the flak jacket. "What music is this? I never heard it before." Her eyes bore into me. They were intense, kinda scary. Was she angry?

Click to shrink...

"...this? I've* never heard..."

At some point, I stopped paying attention to numbers. I had obsessed about them a bit too much. Even so — surprise surprise — I wasn't the worst in my physical classes. In terms of physical strength, I was top of class. Top of year even. I was stronger even than adults. My hodgepodge taijutsu landed me firmly in the upper middle of the pack. I had more endurance than all the kids, Naruto excluded, he had his own cheat. All without using chakra. Still wearing the weight bracelets. Damn, talk about a cheat.

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'...of the* year even. I was stronger *than even adults. My...'

I wasn't top of the class with hand-seals. Some were better than me. But I was still in the top 5 of the whole year. I had unmatched chakra control. The other students were babies when compared to me, but the academy didn't measure that. There were a few basic exercises here and there to promote control, but I think the consensus was that any Genin would train that by themselves. For the last year, aside from all the habitual multitasking, I had started training one hand jutsu and using jutsu without hand seals. I mean, I had mastered the three jutsu I knew with one hand, and without seal. It wasn't even difficult.

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'...one handed* jutsu and...' and '...without seals*. It...'

I was stuck. Worse because each seal seemed to use a different logic altogether. Like different languages entirely. My dreams of flying god seemed even more distant. I had the time space logic there on storage seals, but no matter what I tried, it just didn't work. Same with using chakra to create seals. I was stuck to ink and cumbersome logic. It was frustrating.

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'...of flying thunder* god seemed even...'

That and explosions. I mean, what was a girl without explosions? We trained with explosive tags in the academy. I managed to take a few home with me. After deciphering it, creating my own explosive tags was par for the course. I had a lot, really, a lot of explosive tags. Not just the basic ones. No, I improved on them. Let's just say the Konoha police weren't happy with me. But I was training on a training ground. Those Uchiha police should have been thanking me for being alive. Not that they knew it.

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'...After deciphering them*, creating my...'

Dressed and prepared, I went to the academy. I got in, sat on my corner. Observed the other kids. The mood was cheerful. Kids talked, waved, laughed. It got strange when Naruto sauntered in wearing a forehead protector.

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'...sat in* my corner.'

Like every other story in existence, team seven sensei hadn't shown up to meet in the scheduled time. Iruka-sensei had left. Naruto booby trapped the door with the eraser.

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'...team seven's* sensei hadn't...'

"That's what you get for being late." Naruto hollered after creating the trap.

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"...begin late!*"

Kunais, shuriken, exploding tags, my own custom sealwork, traps, food, gear. I prepared it all. If possible I wanted to get the bells. Offer them to the boys. There was a good chance Sasuke would help if I promised him the bell.

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'Kunai*, shuriken, exploding...'

Naruto scratched his head. Shrugged. Took a sandwich, a cup of tea. "Itadakimasu!" He yelled. Dug in.

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'...sandwich and* a cup of tea.'

Kakashi-sensei chuckled. Eye turning into a crescent again. "We better get to work then!" He said, standing up and dusting his trousers. "Let's start with Shushin no Jutsu." He flickered two steps back. "Did you know? Yondaime was hailed as the fastest ninja alive."

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"...with *the Shunshin* no Jutsu."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto looked devastated. I shrugged. More explosives for me. In the afternoon, I had more focused training. Not always supervised. Kakashi-sensei and I would spar. He pointed out the flaws in my own style. Left me to practice for myself. He taught me two jutsu, Shushin no Jutsu and Shikoku fuin.

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'...jutsu, Shunshin* no Jutsu and...'

I was young. Health. Fit. Teenager hormones messed with my head. That the tip of Secretary-chan's ears turned pink was just the icing on the cake. So to speak.

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'...young. Healthy*. Fit. Teenage* hormones...'

Hokage-sama took it. Chuckled. "Thank you Hinata-chan." He turned to the four of us. Took a paper from the desk. "Now, Kakashi's Team Seven. Your next duty is," he looked at us again. "Hmm, babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and helping with the potato digging."

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'...took it and* chuckled*.'

I cursed. Naruto had frozen up. I Prepared to create a clone, but abandoned the idea when I saw Sasuke moving. I rushed in front of Tazuna, special explosive kunai in hand. Sasuke leaped, threw a kunai disrupting the chains, tying it to one of the nearby trees. His jump landed him on the ninjas' claws. He was a whirlwind of movement, feet hitting each of the ninjas' faces.

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'...I prepared* to create...'

"You lied. This has become at least a B-rank mission. I'm sure you have your reasons, but it causes problems when you lie about the details of the mission. We are operating now outside our duties." He looked around, the splattered gore, Naruto's ever worsening face. Sweat beaded Naruto's brown. The poison perhaps?

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"...We are now* operating outside..."

I was caught between my wanting to fan-girl at the awesome Naruto moment, and face-palm at the brat gall. Kakashi-sensei beat me to any reaction.

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'...the brat's* gall. Kakashi-sensei...'

"What the hell is that eye?" The brat yelled.

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"...that eye?!*"

"Eight choices." Zabuza's creepy voice sounded inside the ever thickening mist. "Liver, lungs, spine, subclavian vein, neck vein, brain, kidney, heart." The moment stretched.

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"Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, kidneys, and heart."

I gnashed my teeth, cursed my muteness. I wanted to banter with the enemy. I wanted to taunt and say cool shit.

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'...cursing* my muteness. I...'

Tsunami somehow decided I needed to be mommy'ed over, with constant murmuring complaints that translated to 'children should be playing, not fighting for their life'. I kinda agreed with her, but didn't really. I chose this life. I was happy with this life, even if a bit lonely. I let her fuss over me. I even enjoyed it. If it meant the client was satisfied, why should I deny her the chance to do what she wanted?

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'...even if it's* a bit...'

I took my board. "I can feel chakra. Always could, ever since Daikoku-sensei helped me sense chakra at the start of academy. Everyone has chakra inside them, unless they are dead." I wrote, remembering the dead ninja who tried to kidnap me.

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"...sense my* chakra at the..."

One thing I had not considered training with clones was mental fatigue. When afternoon arrived, it felt like I had spent days without sleep. I wasn't physically tired, I was just spent out. It got even worse when koto Clone-chan unpopped after giving me back the musical instrument. I went to sleep without dinner. I barely managed to find my bed before I collapsed. How did Naruto do it?

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'...considered when* training with...'

We had seen that jutsu before. A variant of shushin no jutsu. Haku had used it when we first met. I grabbed Tazuna, Kakashi grabbed the still alive worker. We jumped back, clearing the area a moment before Sasuke and Haku engaged in their duel. I was all for it. The more time we wasted, the better. If Gato behaved the same as in the main story, he would try to kill us after the fight. At that point, Zabuza wouldn't have reason to fight us anymore. Or so I hoped.

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'...of *the shunshin* no jutsu. Haku...'

I might have strongly suggested Naruto go and have words with Zabuza about it. Naruto had a way of convincing others. Much hollering and man's tears might have been involved. I didn't regret it. Not one bit.

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'...and a* man's tears might...'

Fuinjutsu: Still stuck on that one, with no idea how to proceed. Who did I know was a seal master I could seek out to help me? The Uzumaki clan had dispersed, and even if there were still survivors, I didn't know anyone aside from Naruto. The only ones I could think of that I could potentially meet were the Third, mostly because he was railed as the man who mastered all jutsu, Jiraiya, who some also railed as a seal master, and… Orochimaru. Yeah, nope, that last one was out. No sir, thank you sir.

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'...he was hailed* as the...' and '...some also hailed* as a...'

Summoned creatures: Another avenue I hadn't considered. Another thing that was super clan secret related. Maybe I could corrupt Naruto to teach me the summoning jutsu as well? If nothing else, that is the prime space-time jutsu out there. It should help me with my dreams of Konoha's Black Flash.

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'...dreams of being* Konoha's...'

Chakra boosting: It always came back to my own younger self decisions. Lesson learned. Use chakra boost in battles!

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'...younger self's* decisions...'

Naruto shambled into the training field with a big yawl. I had set a small breakfast spread for us. There was a bit of talking involved before we started. I don't know when the Chunin exams would start, but I knew we were not ready for it yet, at least not like we were right now. I mean, it would probably be fine? But I didn't want fine, I wanted to kick ass and take names, so to speak. For that, I needed my team in top shape.

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'...a big yawn*. I had...'

I really wanted to face-palm again. Hadn't he done that in the battle with Zabuza? I had to hear an exaggerated account of that battle for days. "Didn't you do the same in the First battle with Zabuza?" I asked.

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"...the first* battle with Zabuza?"

"Naruto-kun, can you create a clone?" I asked. The boy nodded, and did so. "My own clone led Naruto clone away." We watched the two clones walk away. Hinata-clone wrote something on the ground. Naruto squirmed, looked away, then started yelling. "No!". Original Naruto looked at the scene with curiosity, Sasuke was still staring at us. Hinata-clone wrote something else, unpopped herself. Naruto's clone did the same.

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"My own clone,* lead* Naruto's* clone away."

With this new version, instead of always working, I could deactivate using chakra. What I hadn't yet been able to figure out was how to make it so I could raise or lower the weight at any time. Until now, every time I wanted it to be more heavy, I had to re-create the whole thing. I wanted a "one version solves all" solution. The on/off switch was easy, the variable output wasn't.

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'...deactivate it* using...' and '...to be heavier*, I had...'

I managed to beg two new jutsu from the mission control center. It turns out that the S-rank mission Kakashi gave me when I was a toddler wasn't bogus talk to keep me silent. My current mission record was ten D-rank, one A-rank, one S-rank. Wild. More than wild: I was rich! I mean, not really rich, but S-rank missions paid super well, I didn't need to worry about money for a long time.

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'...to bag* two new...'

The missions we got were the boring type. Help with farm work, babysit, deliver letters. We got one more C-rank mission to escort a merchant to the Land of River, and not even a bandit attacked us. Weeks and weeks of boring walk. Naruto and Sasuke drama vanished somehow when I wasn't looking. They still hadn't returned to the same level of camaraderie from the Land of Waves mission, but they were cooperating, training together, and most important of all, not bickering all the time.

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'...Land of Rivers*, and not...'

We walked down the streets of Konoha, Naruto with his hands behind his head. Today's mission wasn't bad. A wild boar was terrorizing a small village. Hunting the animal had been fun, in a 'I never hunted wild animals before' way. Better than babysitting. Or taking care of Tora. Madam Shifmi had requested us to care for her pet Tora four times already. Always our team. I was starting to think it was because of the post mission client pastries. Her eyes gleamed every time the mission ended.

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'...Madam Shijimi* had requested...'

Konohamaru turned a corner. "Yipe." Cried out.

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"Yipe!*"

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara dead-paned.

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'Gaara deadpanned*.'

"Hey, what's what with him?" Ino grabbed my arm, demanding. I just flashed her a smile. Might have passed a new seal with more pastries.

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"...what's up* with him?"

"This is the arena for the second exam: training ground 44, also known as Forest of Death."

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"...as the* Forest of Death."

Unfortunately, I thought too soon. Cursed myself, cursed our team. The huge blaze of chakra, dwarfed only by Naruto's own, entered my perception. I didn't stop. I had a feeling I knew who that was. My body agreed with me.

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'...Cursing* myself, cursing* out team. The...'

Sasuke called out. "Be careful Naruto, they are way above our league."

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"...way *out of* our league." (This isn't necessarily needed but it just looks off to me.)

With Dreams of Black Flash in my mind, I pumped my body full of chakra. I had already disabled all my seals before even moving down to the arena. I moved. What does the ability to see all around him matter if Neji couldn't react in time? What did it matter that he could see meridians, block my chakra, if he couldn't match me in speed?

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'...of the* Black Flash...' and '...see tenketsu*, block my...'

Besides my control, I trained using jutsu. For now, I was focused on Shushin no jutsu. I couldn't properly space-time yet, flickering around would have to do meanwhile. It massively increases the speed of movement in short bursts, and while I could already use the jutsu without seals, I could improve the efficiency and activation speed. That was my sole focus for the month.

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'...on Shunshin* no jutsu...'

The same day Yamato-sensei came to recruit Jutsu-chan to his hip nature retreat, Kiba wandered in the training field looking for a place to train. I decided that a spar would help my training. Kiba returned the next day, and from there, the info leaked out. Sometimes Kiba came alone, other times he dragged more shinobi to spar. Ino and Sakura took to visiting, although they didn't join the training.

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'...wandered into* the training...'

Thankfully, the flak jacket wasn't mandatory. Konoha wasn't as strict as other villages with its dress code. Shinobis could usually dress in their clan clothes or anything that took their fancy in their day to day lives, or even during missions. At least outside official events. I knew some shinobis used the jacket even outside normal "working hours". Take Kakashi-sensei for example: Never seen him wear casual attire. I'm guessing if there was any war out there, everyone would be required to wear the full shinobi regalia. The jacket, pants, shoes, belt pouches. The important thing was: My ninja statement outfit was safe! No need to add the jacket that would clash so much with my carefully prepared looks.

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'...Shinobi* could usually...'

Naruto squinted at one particular envelope. This one was pink, fancy and bigger than the others. "Shijmi? Who is that?"

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"Shijimi*? Who..."

Sai's report came soon after. "No one inside the village"

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"...the village.*"

"Apologizes, sir." Yamato finally intervened. "My daughter hasn't been able to speak since her mother passed away." I nodded. Looked at the portly man, then at the sleeping girl.

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"Apologies*, sir."

Her body resembled one of an adult, but she had no breasts, nor any genitalia I could see. Her shoulders were winder, hands larger, but her waist was still thin and curvy. The sense of wrongness was so strong I had to look away. My stomach churned, and the world swayed a little. I doubled over, hands on my knees, taking deep breaths. I refused to have another breakdown.

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'...were wider*, hands...'

I just finished binging the entire fic and I love it! I can't wait for more and hope to see new art of Hinata with her new byakugan.

 

[Petrox]

Chimera chan need to be on top shape. 1 "Senju" medic for each Frontline.
Also finally a fic when we can see Shisui showing up why he was famous and not just for his eyes.

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Hmmmm that Sasuke missing bit is weird af. What exactly happened there?
Also, for all the Danzou is formidable, I hope the author makes his ninja very straightforward. I don't mean simple, just that cutting off emotions means they are very prone to "tried and tested" methods.
I remember that the first time Sai made breakthrough in his ninjutsu was through a very emotional moment. It's something I've wanted to see in more Naruto fics, Danzou being dangerous but stagnant in his training methods