Chapter 7

Unwelcome Aftermath

Hyūga Compound (Hinata's bedroom) – January 23, 996 A.C. – 0720 hours

Hinata awakened to a strong feeling of confusion. She had been hurting badly all of yesterday, but now she was feeling oddly refreshed. In fact, she didn't feel even a single ounce of pain. She looked down, and the bruises on her arms had vanished. The dull throb in her head was gone. And her ribs didn't ache anymore when she took a breath.

Even more puzzling, she had dreamed that Naruto visited her bedroom again last night but if that was true, why wasn't he still there? The last time she'd thought it was a dream she'd woken up, still cuddling with him. It had been the best sleep she ever had, and last night had been eerily similar, but...

Then she noticed a scroll lying on her nightstand that hadn't been there when she went to sleep. It was sealed with the Uzumaki crest, which meant it was from Naruto. Hinata touched the seal, which extracted a tiny portion of her chakra to allow the scroll to open. When she glanced over the first words, she smiled. It was so like Naruto to just say whatever he was thinking, without any regard for etiquette. She could almost hear his voice calling out to her as she read his message.

Hinata,

Hey there. Sorry about sneaking into your bedroom again last night. I heard about your spar at the compound and I wanted to be there for you sooner. If I'd known the elders were going to make you spar, I would've been there to support you no matter what they tried to do to stop me.

Anyway, I'm sure you must have a lot of questions for me. I'm sure you're pretty suspicious of me, even if you won't say it while I'm around. And you have every right to be suspicious. I mean, I'd be suspicious of you too, if you'd been the one to come up to me and give me so much attention. But...how do I go about saying this? Well...

I guess there's no beating around the bush here. I'm the biggest idiot ever, Hinata. I couldn't see the signals you were giving me and when I did, I didn't know what they meant. Whenever you turned red and ran away from me, I thought you either hated me, or you were always sick or were having some sort of allergic reaction to me. And my stupidity hurt you a lot, didn't it? You don't have to hold back when you see me again. You can say or do whatever you want to hurt me back. I deserve it, after all.

But before we see each other again, I just need you to know a couple of things. Even when you lose all of your confidence in yourself, I will never lose my confidence in you. I believe in you, Hinata. And I will do everything in my power to help you when you need me. Don't forget that, okay?

- Naruto

P.S. - If you want to keep this scroll, I had a seal placed on it that will stop anyone besides you from reading it. Just channel some of your chakra into the seal each time you want to open the scroll. If anyone else tries to read it, it'll self-destruct.

Hinata hesitantly sealed the scroll and sat it down on her nightstand, unaware that she was shaking until the scroll left her hands. She was shaking because, for the first time in her life, she was angry with Naruto-kun, but not for his sneaking into her bedroom at night. She was merely suspicious of him for that—grateful that he cared enough to go that far to help her, but suspicious because she didn't know why he started caring about her that much. No, she was angry with Naruto-kun because he belittled himself and told her to hurt him, to lash out at him for the times he claimed he hurt her. Hinata refused to accept that Naruto-kun could undermine his own self-image when he would not allow her to do the same to hers.

She did not get time to determine what else she felt before she heard a heated argument coming from the first floor. Before she could start changing into her regular clothes, she heard her bedroom door slide open behind her, and a moment later, turned around to find her bodyguard, Kō, standing there.

"I-Isn't it early for you to be retrieving me, Kō-san?" Hinata asked.

Kō shook his head and replied, "Hiashi-sama insists on getting you out of the compound early, Hinata-sama. Please get dressed while I wait for you at the stairwell. We'll pick up breakfast on our way to the Academy." Then he slid the door shut, leaving Hinata confused and concerned about what was going on downstairs that made it so urgent for her to leave for the Academy right now. She tried to shake it off as she changed out of her pajamas and into her regular clothes, but couldn't help the bad feeling she had as she joined her bodyguard and left, expecting a confrontation of her own this morning.

Kawa no Kuni border/southern coast of Hi no Kuni – 1005 hours

Unlike Hinata, Naruto's sleep had been filled with the usual nightmares after he collapsed from the fatigue accumulated by his Kage Bunshin in the middle of the night. He struggled to force himself awake, still feeling groggy from the lack of rest, and didn't recognize his surroundings at first. The complete absence of light was unfamiliar to him. And yet, it didn't feel unfamiliar at all.

Naruto flared a tiny portion of Kurama's chakra. With the small amount of light emitted from his chakra shroud, he was able to make out his surroundings, though it took him a few seconds to recognize the logs he'd used to construct the walls in this room and the makeshift ladder to his upper left and gather that he was inside his safe house. Now aware of where he was, Naruto rubbed his temples, then his eyes, trying to fight off a headache while he delved through his recent memories.

The good news: nearly all of the Kage Bunshin he'd left in Konoha had completed their tasks to the best of their ability, and the memories of their attempts at designing the Kansatsu Fūin were successfully transferred, giving him quite a bit of information to sort out this evening. Additionally, the safe house was mostly constructed—he wasn't going for anything that even remotely resembled a home, just a simple, temporary hideout that only needed to last about a year in case of emergency—and all of the necessary protections seemed to be applied. And the clone he'd left in his bed was still intact, though at this point it had to be running low on chakra.

The bad news: he was still at the safe house. Naruto climbed up the ladder his clones had constructed, pushed open the trapdoor and looked up at the sky to see it had been daylight for about three hours.

"Fuck me sideways..." Naruto groaned while squinting and rubbing his sore neck.

"I do believe that right is reserved solely for a certain indigo-haired Hyūga," Kurama cut in over their link.

"Shut up, Kurama. There's no way in hell Hiashi-sama will let that happen until she turns twenty and marries me." Apparently the "old enough to kill" rule ninja lived by did not apply to sex, at least as far as the Hyūga were concerned.

"You do realize that making that promise to your mate's father was the stupidest thing you've ever done, yes?" Kurama, of course, thought those particular human behaviors and the moral guidelines and standards attached to them were utterly absurd.

"Could you let me and my hormones wait a few months to start regretting it?" Not that Naruto would know from experience that it would be his hormones which would make him regret the promise—after all, his physical development had been fucked up quite thoroughly in the original timeline. It just seemed like the most reasonable thing to say to his partner.

"Very well. There are more pressing concerns at this moment." Kurama's penchant for stating the obvious was truly remarkable, Naruto thought as he shut off their psychic link for the rest of the day. But the kitsune had just cause to state the obvious. Naruto was over a hundred kilometers away from Konoha, and the only way he'd make it back in time for team assignments was to use the Hiraishin and tear his muscles apart all over again.

Well, there goes my back again. Naruto grimaced as he activated the Tōton Jutsu and focused on the disposable tag he left with his clone back in Konoha. One orange flash later, he rematerialized, but not where he was supposed to. Too late, Naruto realized there was no floor beneath his feet as he fell right through a tree right outside his apartment complex, yelping with each impact he made with a branch, before his newly injured back connected with the ground.

Then a few seconds later, he shivered in dread when he heard an all-too-familiar screech underneath him.

Naruto had landed on Tora.

Oh, fuck my life...

Konoha Ninja Academy (Iruka's classroom) – 1040 hours

If most of Naruto's classmates were asked what the blond knucklehead looked like when he walked into class, their answer would be "like crap."

The minute Naruto botched his landing on the return trip to Konoha was bar none the most physically painful minute of his life. In that minute, his dormant hatred of the Daimyō's wife and her demonic pet was fully reawakened. Tora, more commonly known among the shinobi population of Konoha as the Genin's Bane, had nearly torn a hole through Naruto's abdominal region as the cat clawed his way out from under his back. By the time the cat freed himself, Naruto's back was bleeding profusely and his tracksuit was done for. Limping and yelping the entire way, Naruto struggled to get back inside his apartment despite the healing chakra leaking out from the Hakke no Fūin Shiki, which he strongly doubted would be able to flush out the cat scratch fever he was sure he was infected with due to how deeply Tora's claws dug into him. The only reason Naruto didn't swear vengeance on Shijime-dono and Tora right then was because he knew Ino would turn it into a race to see who could kill them first.

Luckily, Naruto had several replacement jackets in his closet, although he knew he'd have to do something about his twelve-year-old tastes in clothing sooner this time around. Unfortunately, he didn't have any first-aid supplies whatsoever in his apartment. Naruto kicked up a storm of profanities as he grabbed a towel from the bathroom closet, wrapped it around his back as tight as he could to keep as much pressure on his wounds as possible, then put on a clean t-shirt and fresh jumpsuit and rushed out the door, limping the entire distance from his apartment to the Academy.

About halfway between his apartment and the Academy, Naruto received the memories from the Kage Bunshin he'd left behind at the apartment. The clone had left just before Naruto's mishap with the jikūkan ninjutsu and led his Anbu tail on a wild goose chase, managing to get away from them before dispelling. This at least ensured the Sandaime wouldn't learn anything Naruto wanted to stay hidden, at least for now. However, the clone had been an idiot and used his bedroom window to leave, and the disposable Hiraishin tag Naruto had left with that clone somehow managed to get blown out the window by a small gust of wind. Naruto muttered several more swear words under his breath. One of the worst things about Kage Bunshin: if they screwed up, you didn't get a chance to kick their asses for it, and even if you did, it was pointless.

Naruto moaned in pain as he walked into class and took his usual seat on the right side of the center row. Sasuke was on the opposite end of the bench, while the center seat, which was usually occupied by Sakura-nēchan whenever she beat Ino during their races to see who could sit next to Sasuke, was empty. Iruka-sensei's classroom was built to house twenty-seven students, separating them into groups of three—just like how newly formed ninja cells always had three Genin. This time, Naruto's class only had twenty-four students. Sakura-nēchan had passed the make-up exam and was sitting where Itō Kazuhiro used to, behind the Ino-Shika-Chō trio to his right. Hibachi and Kasumi's seats were also empty; they, along with Kazuhiro had not been able to recover from their spars and take the ninjutsu portion of the exams, and all three had been dropped from the ninja training program altogether.

I wonder how that's gonna affect the timeline this time around, Naruto thought. Hopefully it won't screw up the team assignments. Outwardly, he remained calm—well, as calm as he could, given how much pain he was in. But a single ripple in the time stream, especially one created this early, was all that was needed to alter the future beyond recognition. Naruto didn't like to appreciate that fact, but not appreciating it was impossible. If the Sandaime decided to break tradition this year with the reduced number of graduates, it could cause a severe complication in The Plan.

Filing away all thoughts of The Plan for later, Naruto craned his head to the left to observe the members of Team Eight. Kiba and Shino, there was nothing to worry about there; those two were having one of their usual debates. Shino also didn't appear to harbor any further anger towards him or if he did, he wasn't showing any signs. Naruto felt a small wave of relief before he turned his head further to gaze at Hinata, only for her to meet his gaze and return it with a cold, Hyūga-like stare that had no business coming from the gentle ex-heiress. If there weren't any witnesses, Naruto would have stumbled backward and tripped over himself; the anger Hinata held towards him was that unanticipated, that unnerving. Instead, he looked away, towards the other side of the classroom, and locked eyes with Ino, worry written on his face.

Ino returned Naruto's glance and saw his worried expression, and instantly knew both reasons for his anxiety. She noticed Hinata's glare and was even more shocked by it than Naruto had to be. Throughout the entire original timeline, Ino had never once seen or heard of Hinata being angry with Naruto. The very idea that Hinata could get angry at her soul mate was almost unthinkable. Yet it happened almost right away in this timeline. Ino wondered what Naruto had done between last Saturday and now to get Hinata mad at him, but she had no safe way of finding out at this time. With so many potential witnesses around, she couldn't risk using Shindenshin to speak with Naruto telepathically like she had two days ago, or use any of her other mental techniques to read Hinata's mind. And because of that, she also couldn't reassure Naruto that his other concern was baseless.

Nor could she warn him of the third concern he should have had as she observed Sasuke walking atop the desks towards him.

"We need to talk," Sasuke said, kneeling down only so he could get in Naruto's face better.

"No we don't," Naruto replied with no small amount of venom. "You need to get off my desk before something bad happens."

"Like what, dobe?" Sasuke sneered. A few seconds later, he received his answer when Tobio leaned backwards and bumped him off Naruto's desk, pushing him directly towards the blond. Sasuke gasped, while Naruto's eyes widened in horror at this particular mishap repeating itself.

Oh hell no!/Fuck the hell no! Sasuke and Naruto raged inside their heads. Faster than he thought himself capable, Sasuke flashed through the five hand seals needed for the Kawarimi no Jutsu; there was no way in hell he was going to let himself kiss Naruto, and he also wanted to get back at a certain fangirl for what happened last Saturday before the graduation exams started. At the same time, Naruto focused his chakra to perform his own Kawarimi without using hand seals; he was adamant about not letting anyone other than Hinata kiss him in this timeline. Well, maybe the kiss to his cheek from Koyuki-hime wasn't so bad, and neither was the one to his forehead from Tsunade-bāchan. But the accidental kisses with Sasuke and the attempts from Fūka to suck out his life force through his lips? A snowball had a better chance in hell than those incidents did of reoccurring.

A few seconds later, 'Naruto' and 'Sasuke' were replaced in Naruto's seat by Tobio and Ami, who looked utterly horrified to be engaged in lip lock with each other. Both were frozen in place, unable to comprehend their situation, and so thoroughly shocked that neither could move even a single muscle. Most of the other kids just stared blankly at the scene, almost as dumbfounded as the victims.

"I wasn't aware that you were so easy, Ami," Iruka commented as he walked into the classroom. Instantly almost all of the students' attention was focused on him. "I think you need to see a therapist."

"I-Iruka-sensei!" Ami stammered, completely mortified as she pushed herself off Tobio. "It's not what it looks like!"

"She's right!" Fuki said, rushing to defend her fellow bully. "Sasuke-kun and Naruto-baka forced her to kiss Tobio!"

"And whose fault was it that Sasuke-san and Naruto-san were forced to perform the Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape from the situation?" Shino interjected, his kikaichū buzzing loudly in response to their host's irritation. "If my recent memory is functioning correctly, it was Tobio-san who bumped Sasuke-san into Naruto-san less than a minute before Iruka-sensei arrived. Which would you have preferred, Ami-san: losing your first kiss to Tobio-san, or watching Sasuke-san lose his to Naruto-san?" The sudden flare of KI emitted by Naruto in response to Shino's question, directed at Sasuke, Shino, and all five of Sasuke's fangirls silenced all objections before they could enter anyone's head. It was obvious to most of the guys that they—that is, the fangirls—probably would have squealed over a yaoi show for all of approximately ten seconds before proceeding to attack Naruto. But if they'd tried it in this timeline, the class would be down another six students, and the Uzumaki couldn't bring himself to give a Flying Thunder God Fuck about the consequences of such a beatdown at this time.

"Sleep well, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, diffusing the situation as though he hadn't contributed to it a few seconds ago by blasting a third of the class with KI.

"About as well as one can sleep when one is accustomed to getting a prank pulled on them from out of nowhere," Iruka retorted.

"Hey! I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore!"

"And why not, Naruto?"

"Uh, ninja? Legally adult? Something about having to be held accountable for my actions now?"

Iruka sighed and pinched his nose. "We all know that won't stop you from breaking the rules, Naruto. Now get back to your seat."

"Hey, half of those rules are still stupid, ya know!" Naruto mock whined, dragging out the argument for the sake of staying in character.

"You haven't officially graduated until I've named the team assignments! I can still hold you back another year!"

Naruto gasped, faking a look of shock. "You wouldn't!"

"Don't test me, Naruto." But Iruka and Naruto both knew Naruto was the one person Iruka wouldn't hold back now that Naruto was wearing the hitai-ite. Iruka really was fond of Naruto, even if he'd never admit it outside of a private setting, and was glad he'd passed. And he was certain his hair would turn gray from having Naruto in class for another term; in fact, just last night, he'd plucked out a few strands from his head. Iruka, of course, had no idea of Naruto's plans, or how much he would screw them up if he did keep Naruto confined to the classroom any longer.

The two shared a knowing look as Naruto faked reluctance in obeying Iruka and sitting down, now that Ami and Tobio were back in their seats.

"Good morning, students!" Iruka announced, and was met with a less-than-enthusiastic reply. He shrugged. "Well, aren't you a happy bunch this morning. I guess I'll skip the congratulatory speech and get straight to business.

"I'm sure some of you are wondering what happened to Mizuki-jukeisha two days ago." Most of his students gave him a questioning look at the particular suffix he attached to his former assistant's given name, a suffix that was only used for convicted criminals, despite having witnessed the Anbu carry him out of the building two days ago. "I cannot divulge any major details of the incident as they are classified. I can only say that Mizuki broke a major law. Plus, I'm sure Naruto did more than his fair share of bragging after the role he played in bringing Mizuki to justice."

"You can say that again!" Kiba shouted, getting a yip from Akamaru, hearty laughs from some of the other boys, and disapproving groans from a few of the girls.

"Indeed. Now if all of you would continue to remain silent and pay attention, it is time to start announcing this year's team roster. Team One..."

The only thing that made any of this relevant to Naruto was the ripples in the time stream, but even then, he had problems listening to Iruka's droning. The one curious thing he noted was that Iruka skipped Team Four. Naruto knew that the reason there was no Team Four was a strong cultural stigma—the number four was associated with death. He thought the superstition was silly, but there was one instance in the past where a Team Four had existed, and the careers of that team's members had been very short-lived, so he just shook off the thought and continued to tune out Iruka's announcement and fangirl complaints for the next minute or so it would take for the next two teams to be named off.

"Will you just shut up already!?" Iruka snapped at Fuki after he finished naming off Team Six. "You're being more annoying right now than Naruto is on his worst days!" While it made Fuki pale, it also got several of the boys to laugh.

"Hey, I resent that remark!" Naruto shouted.

"And you'll be resenting a lot more than that if you don't quiet down too, Naruto!" The Uzumaki forced a gulp and shut up, along with the other boys, who'd paled when they saw Iruka was about to throw a textbook at them. "Thank you. Now that everyone's nice and quiet, I can continue. The next team is Team Seven, and this team will be Uzumaki Naruto..."

Well, that wasn't going to change, Naruto noted. There's no way Sandaime would entrust his precious weapon to anyone without a Sharingan to keep it under control.

"...Hyūga Hinata..."

Wait, what? Naruto thought, eyes widening at the announcement of her name. Then he turned to glance at Hinata, whose head promptly collided with her desk from the announcement, and sighed. He really needed to get her to stop fainting, and fast. The gamble paid off?

"...and Uchiha Sasuke. Your commanding officer will be Hatake Kakashi-san," Iruka finished, and as soon as he did, all five of Sasuke's fangirls in the class protested his decision. "Silence!" he roared. "For the last time, these team assignments are final, and there will be NO complaining about them!"

Naruto definitely wasn't complaining. He wouldn't call this his ideal team (his wouldn't have Sasuke in it), but given the situation, it was the best team setup possible. Again, it meant he'd be able to keep Sasuke in check—well, hopefully—and have a perfectly valid excuse to get closer to Hinata—again, hopefully.

Meanwhile, the other conscious member of Team Seven didn't know what to think of his team assignment. Normally Sasuke would have just shrugged it off, viewing any and all possible teammates as a waste of his time, but the taijutsu spars from two days ago both raised his ire and piqued his curiosity. Naruto managed to defeat him with just one attack, a complete reversal of their earlier days in the Academy when it was he who delivered the humiliating one-hit knockouts each time Iruka or Mizuki had them spar. Sasuke also knew that the move Naruto used would have killed him if the blond idiot hadn't held back.

It made absolutely no sense how the dobe managed to perform that attack when, up until two days ago, there was absolutely no indication that he was more skilled than he'd let on. His timely Kawarimi just before Iruka entered the classroom, showing the willpower and reserves necessary to replace himself with another human being and without needing to form hand seals, only furthered Sasuke's suspicions. The Last Loyal Uchiha needed to get a more accurate gauge of Naruto, and needed to learn how he got so strong on such short notice and whether he could benefit from replicating Naruto's training for his own use, but he noted there was an increasing probability he'd find that having the Uzumaki as a teammate would be somewhat tolerable.

And then there was the meek Hyūga girl, who somehow managed to become Top Kunoichi at the eleventh hour. From what little attention he'd paid, Sasuke knew Hinata's gentle nature and timidity crippled her in a fight and she preferred to fight defensively, which helped make her a target of her clan's scorn. But her showing two days ago had been far too out of the ordinary not to notice. In her match against Kasumi, Hinata fought aggressively and not merely defeated, but destroyed her opponent. Sasuke didn't know what caused such a drastic change in Hinata, but he reasoned that if she could maintain that aggressive poise, and get over her fainting spells around the dobe, her presence would probably be tolerable. More tolerable than any of his fangirls at least, since her fixation on Naruto meant she'd know how to leave him alone.

Maybe these two won't be such a hindrance to me after all, Sasuke thought.

"Now that that's settled, Team Eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Aburame Shino, and will be under the command of Yūhi Kurenai-san," Iruka continued, who noted that both Naruto and Sakura were unusually silent and accepting of his team placement. In Iruka's mind, Naruto should have complained that Sasuke was on his team and Sakura wasn't, while Sakura should have reacted more vehemently than the other fangirls. But instead Naruto looked like he was contemplating something, and Sakura still looked ill. It was another thing he'd need to ask Naruto about when the time to have their talk came around.

"I feel I must point out a problem with this team assignment, Sensei," Shino spoke up. "Why, you ask? Because traditionally this team is supposed to specialize in reconnaissance and pursuit, and Sakura-san has not displayed any notable skills that would facilitate the assignment of this role for her."

"Hokage-sama decided that the tradition of forming a pure strike unit and a pure tracking unit would have resulted in two unbalanced teams, Shino," Iruka replied. He had not been informed as to the real reason why Hiruzen made the switch. "Kurenai-san is also a genjutsu specialist, and he must have felt Sakura's chakra control skills would be best placed under Kurenai-san's tutelage. And placing Hinata on Team Eight would have left Team Seven without any trackers aside from Kakashi-san, which would make their missions much more difficult once they begin to receive missions without their Jōnin leader to aid them.

"Now, moving on. Team Nine is still in commission so the last team, Team Ten will be Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chōji, and Nara Shikamaru, and will be under the command of Sarutobi Asuma-san."

Just as expected, Ino thought. Sticking Asuma-sensei with the "easy mode" team. Well, he'll be in for a big surprise once he meets us.

"Not complaining about being stuck with us instead of Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked Ino during the few seconds he allocated away from his late morning nap.

"Nope! You guys are my buuuuddies," Ino said, dragging out the last word in her reply and making a few of the other students snicker. Then she hooked her arms around her teammates' shoulders and pulled them closer to show her apparent enthusiasm for her team assignment, ignoring the protest of "troublesome woman" coming from Shikamaru, and half the class burst into laughter.

"I'm sure they're glad to know that, Ino," Iruka commented with slight sarcasm, getting even more laughs. He waited for the laughing to subside before finishing his speech. "Everyone is dismissed for lunch and will be expected to return here by 1300 hours to meet their team leaders. Use this time well to get to know your teammates. One last time, I wish you all the best of luck."

Iruka's suspicions were once again raised when he saw Naruto look like he was continuing to mull over the announcement, or something else. He'd expected Naruto to make another attempt at asking Sakura on a date, or head out the door like most of the other male students. But now he didn't know what to expect anymore. As Iruka took his leave, he gave Naruto an expectant look and wished the blond didn't have to be so unpredictable.

"What a relief!" Naruto shouted the moment Iruka disappeared from sight, and then winced from the pain he triggered with his outburst. He continued to fight off the pain as he looked around at the other rookies. Kiba was just making idle talk with Akamaru, Sasuke was still brooding, Sakura looked like she would throw up if she stayed in the room any longer, the Ino-Shika-Chō team seemed to be discussing where they would go for lunch, Hinata had temporarily forgotten her anger and looked like she was deeply worried about him, and Shino...had just walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"Shino? What's up?"

"You, me and Ino-san need to talk," Shino said. "Meet me on the roof."

Being fully aware of the Anbu detail watching Naruto, Ino had instructed him and Shino via Shindenshin to walk upstairs to the roof separately. She was the first to arrive and took a seat on the western ledge, pretending to gaze at the sky. A few minutes later, Shino appeared and sat on the southern ledge, multi-tasking between their mental conversation and examining some of the bugs that made their home on the Academy rooftop. A few minutes after that Naruto finally emerged, clutching his back and wincing as he made his way to the northern ledge.

All three were also fully aware they had additional company.

"Naruto-sama, you know the Anbu aren't the only ones watching us, right?" Ino asked.

"Yep," Naruto answered. "I'm actually flattered that Hinata's still stalking me. Makes me feel...not as lonely, knowing she's watching out for me."

"That only makes it a wiser decision to have the three of us sit apart from one another, pretending to view the scenery," Shino added. "But since Hinata-san is watching us now, whatever we do here will only reinforce her suspicions. And it would be too inconvenient to relocate."

"I know," Naruto grumbled. "Still, I'm pretty impressed with her stealth. We probably wouldn't know she was here if Ino and I weren't sensor types and you didn't have your cool bugs to watch out for these things."

"The Naruto I used to know would have been too... distressed by my kikaichū to call them 'cool'. I must thank you for the compliment."

"No problem, man. We're all comrades, right?"

"As much as I'd love to listen in on your bromance, we have a serious issue to address," Ino cut in. "Shino-kun, Naruto-sama and I understand that you were upset with us in the future for including you in The Plan. Are you calm enough now to tell us why you got so angry with us in the present?"

Shino sighed. He wasn't sure if he had calmed down enough yet. "I...overreacted," he confessed.

Ino briefly glanced at him and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"Please do not take a sarcastic tone with me, Ino-san. You anticipated that I would react poorly to the influx of memories from your timeline," the Aburame pointed out. "I am still wary of you and of Naruto-san. You are enigmas, and dangerous ones. You mean to alter the course of history and though your reasons might be the right ones now, they were not so when you arrived."

"That still doesn't excuse your behavior from two days ago," Naruto, in Hokage Mode, interjected. "You were out of line and you know it."

"Stop it, Naruto," Ino snapped at him, dropping the suffix in her annoyance. "What's done is done. Now, Shino-kun, your explanation?"

Shino sighed again. "During my future self's final memory, Ino-san," and there was something in the tone of his speech which raised red flags in Ino's mind, "it was mentioned that my clan would be quicker to notice suspicious behavior. He—I mean, I—was not given adequate time to explain our clan's situation any further." That time, Naruto also caught the red flag, but pretended Shino hadn't made the verbal slip. "While you have heard this before, Naruto-san, you will hear it again: you have potentially made a costly mistake by not taking a little more time to hear out your comrades before using the Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu. However, while I do not appreciate being ignored on such a critical subject as this, I will at least try to understand why you felt the need to travel out of that point in the time stream as soon as possible. However," here he paused, not so much for dramatic effect as it was to attempt to push aside his misgivings, "I also suspect that if you had allowed my words to be heard then, one of you would have already taken out at least one of my clansmen, and I would be even more angry with you. So my feelings on the matter are mixed.

"Two days ago, my reaction to receiving the memories of my future self demonstrated that members of the Aburame Clan tend to have extraordinary anger management issues. We are able to carry grudges against those who upset us for great lengths of time that others would consider impressive. We must undergo rigorous mental training to learn how to keep our anger, as well as all of our other emotions, in check.

"And that training is the actual problem with the Aburame Clan." And what he said next would be a major game changer. "Why, you ask? Because I am now convinced that the clan supports the methods of ROOT and has incorporated several of them into our training program, even for those who are not destined to take that fatal step in the service of Konoha—or rather, the service of Danzō."

Well, shit. That massively complicated the issue. As one of the founding clans of Konoha, the loyalty the Aburame Clan had shown throughout its history, including the post-war future, had kept them off the suspect list and made the Hyūga the primary "problem clan" to be dealt with. They knew every major clan would have been approached in the past by Danzō, requesting them to give up select members to his program, but the Aburame had remained steadfast in their dedication to Konoha even when Danzō's treachery was exposed in the original timeline. And because of that, Naruto and Ino had made the error of assuming the Aburame were above reproach and that Shino's objection was entirely a personal matter. Now that they knew better, they were starting to have serious questions about just how much of Konoha still deserved to be saved. And—and this was the more pressing issue at this time—Ino was starting to suspect that there was a very real risk Shino could turn against The Plan, either willingly or through coercion.

"If I were in your position, Naruto-san, I would be doing what you're doing right now by questioning whether I made an error in my research," Shino continued. It seemed that Naruto was inadvertently broadcasting his thoughts over the psychic transmission. "I assure you that there is nothing in my future self's memories which indicates this information was withheld prior to your departure from that point in the time stream. I only learned of this last night when I ventured underground into the clan's tunnel network and stumbled on one of my female kinsmen talking with a pair of ROOT shinobi. I...admit I did suspect something was wrong with my clan before then, but this goes beyond what I anticipated to find."

"Shino-kun's right," Ino finally said. "This is a completely new discovery that, if verified, could change the fate of the Aburame Clan."

"Unfortunately, I was not able to overhear any of what they said. I could not risk being detected. All I was able to uncover is the probability that my clan is in league with Danzō. However, there is no evidence of any contact between my clan and the Foundation in the years since Danzō's demise in the original timeline."

"Of course there wouldn't be," Naruto said, while he shot a spitball into a nearby tree. "The traitors knew they'd be hunted after Sasuke killed Danzō, so most of them went into hiding. Danzō claimed his emotionless soldiers were loyal to Konoha, but we know better than to accept his lie. They're only loyal to Danzō's vision for Konoha, and they only still exist because the Sandaime allows it." The surroundings grew very quiet afterward. The implications of this discovery were enormous and challenged everything they thought they knew about the situation.

"Names," Ino said after almost thirty seconds of silence. "If you have names of Aburame ROOT-nin, Shino-kun, or of anyone in your clan who supports ROOT, we need to hear them."

"As of this moment, I can only identify the two who I detected in the catacombs, and cannot identify their entertainer," Shino replied. "However, I am certain you already recognize the two names, Ino-san. They are Tatsuma and Torune."

Ino sighed. "I'm surprised that Tatsuma is still alive," she said before Naruto could ask for her to elaborate. "He's served the Foundation for at least fifteen years. He was with Danzō when the former head of the Konoha Orphanage, Yakushi Nonō was blackmailed into handing over an orphan in exchange for continued funding almost fifteen years ago. Kabuto overheard and chose to volunteer."

"As for Torune," Shino added, "he was like a brother to me before he, like Kabuto volunteered for the Foundation when Danzō approached the clan, desiring to recruit me."

Naruto laid back, wincing in pain as he closed his eyes, making it look like he was about to doze off so no one would see his eyes turn red. "Danzō wanted to put you in ROOT?" he asked, holding back the immense anger unique to jinchūriki that would have made Shino's breathtaking anger management issues look trivial in comparison.

"That is correct, Naruto-san. If Torune-niisan had not volunteered, the two of you would never have known that I even existed." The thought that Shino could have been an enemy from the very start deeply disturbed Naruto. He could already envision the divergence in his mind, and he already knew he didn't want to, either. He didn't want to imagine a timeline where he only knew his friend as an enemy. And it was only by another's sacrifice that the divergence didn't occur. The thought compelled Naruto to make a decision he had been sitting on for the past two days.

"Shino...do you think Torune can be saved?" The question from The Once and Future Hokage took the normally stoic Aburame aback. Did Naruto really just ask what he thought was asked?

"I do not understand your question, Naruto-san. Would you care to elaborate?"

"You said that you and Torune used to be close friends," Ino answered for Naruto. "After the exams two days ago, when Chōji demolished Kazuhiro and effectively destroyed his chances of joining ROOT, Naruto-sama and I have been asking ourselves if it's possible to save any others besides my husband. Do you think there's a chance we can break Torune free from his conditioning?"

"I honestly don't know." Ino noted that Shino's thoughts were shaky. "We of the Aburame Clan are better suited to the ROOT conditioning than most others because we've already been adapted to it on a lesser level from a young age. What you're asking Naruto-san, Ino-san...it is not only a difficult question to answer, but the question itself also provides me with a view that conflicts with what I know about you so far. Would you really try to give me back my childhood friend and adoptive brother?"

"Believe it, Shino," Naruto said. "If it can be done, we'll do it. We know we can't save everyone in ROOT or even most of them, but we'll try to save whoever we can, if we get that chance." And right then, he knew that he had possibly made a grave mistake. Ino currently estimated that out of everyone under Danzō's control, less than ten percent could be broken of their conditioning—and that was a generous guess. A completely wild guess that lacked a solid foundation, but she still thought it was a generous one. But Naruto didn't believe in killing unless it was absolutely necessary—even if he was a little looser with his personal definition of necessary than he used to be—and he also never went back on his word unless it was completely unavoidable. Also, he saw Shino as a friend, and if there was any chance he could give his friends back someone they once thought lost and could do so through reasonable means, he felt compelled to at least try.

Shino froze. He could not recall anything from his memories—both sets of them—that gave him such a strong feeling of hope like the one Naruto's offer brought out from deep inside him. He had assumed that Torune was lost forever, and had not been allowed to dwell on his friend's departure into the shadows. Could Naruto actually pull this off? Could he really save Torune? And if so, could he also make the rest of the Aburame Clan change?

"Naruto..." Shino found the words hesitant to come forth, "this feeling is unfamiliar to me. Your words make me want to believe you are capable of completely defeating Danzō and his ideology by not only destroying him, but also destroying the loyalty of those who ally with or serve him. If you can truly pull this off, then there will be no reason why I, or anyone else shouldn't pledge their loyalty to you."

"We'll do everything in our power, Shino. I promise." Shino managed to recompose himself after hearing those words—and Naruto wasn't sure that was a good thing.

"Pray that nothing makes you betray your word. Konoha will be in great peril if you cannot prove yourself worthy of faith." Shino stood up and performed a few light stretches. "And pray that your actions do not create a future worse than the one you aim to change." He then exited Ino's psychic hub and turned to leave. A few seconds later, Ino did her own stretches but reminded Naruto via the telepathic conversation that Shino wasn't being completely honest with them and that they needed to keep a closer eye on him.

As the Aburame left, he spotted Hinata spying on Naruto from the stairwell and approached her. "Go to him," he told Hinata, "but be careful of your words and actions. Naruto-san is being watched by Anbu." Hinata, turning red from embarrassment at being discovered, nodded as Shino and Ino walked past her, but she was also left wondering why the Hokage would have Naruto placed under surveillance.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, poking her index fingers together. Naruto pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at her, which didn't help her nervous habit. "Um...can we...um..."

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Hinata, please don't do that. If you're gonna say something, just say it."

"Can we go somewhere else to talk?" she blurted out, afterward covering her mouth with both hands, as though it was a sin to speak her mind.

"Sure, just give me a sec." Naruto jumped off the edge of the rooftop and a second later, regretted his decision when he remembered his muscles were still knotted up and strained from last night. "Ow!" he shouted as he stumbled and almost fell down.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, running up to support him. "What's wrong?"

"I think I overdid it while I was training last night," he griped. "I'll be fine."

"Let me take a look." Naruto could not believe Hinata, shy and timid as she was, had actually just said that. His blush nearly matched hers as she too, realized what she just told him.

"Uh...okay, but only if you're sure you're comfortable with it." Hinata wasn't sure, but nodded anyway. Naruto slowly unzipped his jacket and took it off, then lifted up his shirt, which was soaked in blood that seeped through the towel that fell off. Hinata gasped, not because she was seeing this much of Naruto's skin, but because of how bad his back looked. There were dozens of deep cuts that looked like they had been much deeper less than two hours ago, and she could see, even without her Byakugan where some of his muscles had been torn, pulled back together, and then strained once again.

"Could you p-please l-lie down?" she asked, cursing herself for her stutter. Naruto gave her a skeptical look so she elaborated. "Um...y-your back is hurt r-really bad. It n-needs to be treated right away, or it'll get a lot worse."

Naruto cursed himself; he should have known better than to try to sugarcoat his words in front of Hinata. "Well, okay, but I think we should go inside first." Hinata just nodded, but stayed close to Naruto as he picked up his towel, put his jacket back on and walked back inside, so he wouldn't fall and hurt himself even worse.

The two managed to make it all the way to the nurse's office at Naruto's insistence, which to their surprise was left both empty and unlocked. Naruto created a Kage Bunshin that Henged into the form of one of the Academy's nurses far enough away so that it looked like she just returned from her prior engagements. Hinata was about to ask both how Naruto could use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and why Naruto made the clone, but his eyes were pleading with her, begging her to trust him, so she let it be. The clone walked up to them and led them inside, then closed the door behind them while Naruto took off his jacket and t-shirt and sat them on a nearby chair. Naruto then laid himself down carefully on one of the beds, lying on his stomach and folding his arms under his head while the clone activated a privacy seal. Once the seal was activated, the clone dispelled, making Hinata feel slightly more comfortable. She strongly doubted she could force herself to treat Naruto's back while there was more than one of him in the same room as her.

"W-Why are there Anbu watching you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, giving voice to the first of many questions she had for her hero and crush.

"Did Shino tell you about my tail?" Naruto asked in reply as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Hinata, not trusting her voice completely yet, nodded, and Naruto sighed. It already sounded like Ino was right to be suspicious of Shino. "The Sandaime used to have some of the Anbu watch over me when I was younger. At the time, there were still some villagers who hated me enough to try to kill me. None of them actually hurt me, though. My Anbu tail always caught them before they could get close enough to attack."

"H-How do you know all of that?" And why are you referring to Hokage-sama so formally? she didn't add.

"One of them told me about it a while back. I'm really glad they were there in the past, but now it's really annoying that they've started spying on me again, ya know?" Hinata nodded again in complete agreement with Naruto as she sat down on his thighs, straddling him and blushing deeply from the intimate contact. But her embarrassment paled in comparison to her frustration with the situation. If she couldn't do something as simple as treating his injuries without the risk of being forcibly separated from him, how was she supposed to be there for him when things got worse?

"T-This might s-sting a bit..." Hinata took out a jar of the Hyūga Clan's secret ointment from her jacket and opened it. She dabbed two fingers in the medicinal cream and slowly applied it to the deepest set of cuts on Naruto's back. He hissed, gripping the bed sheets tightly, but held in his verbal complaints.

"A-Are you o-okay?"

"Not really." By that, Naruto did not refer to his back. It would have healed on its own, though perhaps not in time for the secondary test. It was his mind and soul that sustained the more severe injuries.

"Y-You need to be more careful," Hinata scolded him. Naruto sensed her facial expression change along with the tone of her voice and knew he was still in trouble with her. In his mind, he visualized her glaring at his back, just like she'd glared at his face when she saw him in class before Iruka-sensei assigned them to their teams.

"Are you still angry with me?" Naruto asked.

"Hai," Hinata answered, softly, but not too soft for Naruto's ears to catch it. "B-But not for sneaking into my b-b-bedroom last night..."

Naruto tried to sigh again, but hissed instead when Hinata applied ointment to another cut. "Hinata—"

"Listen to me, Naruto-kun." Naruto almost flinched at the steel in Hinata's voice, but did as he was told. "I'm grateful to you for healing me and leaving me the scroll. But, what you said...do you know how hypocritical it was of you to say those things? To tell me that I should hurt you, and that you deserve to be hurt? Why, Naruto-kun? Why would you tell me not to belittle myself, and then go and say that? It...it doesn't make sense. And it's not like you." Naruto said nothing as he listened to her rant. The past version of himself would have tried interrupting, but that would have only got him in bigger trouble. Also, she was wrong. He couldn't handle being hurt by her, but he did deserve to be hurt.

"You have experienced so much pain in your life already, Naruto-kun. Why would you ask me to give you more? To make the burdens you bear even larger? To make the hurt even worse? And you didn't even think twice about asking me to do it! You just...assume that no matter how much is heaped on you, that you're strong enough to handle it, and you're wrong. Everybody has their limits, Naruto-kun. Even you.

"Not everything is your fault, Naruto-kun. You need to stop blaming yourself for things you have no control over, and I...I won't forgive you if you keep doing that to yourself!"

Naruto just laid there, momentarily stunned. This, right here was the kind of strength he knew lay dormant inside Hinata. This was the strength that had kept him from falling too far during some of his worst moments. This was the Hinata he needed to free from the shell that kept her trapped. But after hearing Tokuma's report on her spar, this was the absolute last thing he expected from her today.

Maybe I should get her angry more often, he mused, thinking only of breaking her out of her shell and completely oblivious to how that thought could turn around and bite him in the ass later. Grimacing from his aching muscles and cuts, he wormed himself out from underneath Hinata and turned to face her. She was still too mad at him to blush at the sight of his exposed chest, at least for now.

"You just made me very proud of you, Hinata," he said, staring deep into her eyes.

"Ehhhhh?" And her blush came back. But Naruto was not about to let her get embarrassed over telling him off.

"Breathe. Just breathe." She barely managed to comply and get her blush to recede. "You showed a lot of confidence in yourself when you told me all of that. And you also proved to me that you're strong...Hey, hold it!" he objected when he saw she was about to shrink back into her shell. Naruto placed her hands on her shoulders and forced her to keep looking at him. "If you were weak Hinata, would you have stood up to me like that? Would you have told me off for saying what I did in that scroll?" Hinata suppressed a gasp, then shook her head negatively. "Exactly. So don't you dare tell me you're not strong. If I'm not allowed to be a hypocrite and put myself down, then neither are you. Got it?"

Hinata's thoughts were suddenly filled with moments over the last two days—of how her world had turned around. Naruto's sudden encouragement, not only of her but also her strength and abilities had given her the courage to stop being so timid and stand up for herself by agreeing to the spar with Masaru. But then she tensed up for just a moment, remembering the pain from that spar. Naruto felt her tense up under his hands and softly rubbed her shoulders. Amazingly, she allowed herself to relax.

"You were thinking about the spar just now, weren't you?" Naruto asked. Hinata hesitantly nodded. "But you didn't back down from it, did you? You didn't give in, you kept fighting until you couldn't stand, right?" Again, she nodded. "You showed a lot of strength then, too. Even though you lost, you refused to back down. You refused to give up. You endured as long as you could. And that means you did really well. I was worried about you, and I still am but you're still here, so I know everything's gonna be okay." No, he didn't. It was the opposite: he knew things would not be okay, not for a long time. But he needed Hinata to believe that they would be okay. And, maybe, if she could believe it, then maybe he could too.

"You're...you're right, Naruto-kun," Hinata conceded, giving him a small nod. "I'm sorry. I'll try not to c-call myself weak ever again."

"Good." Naruto gave her another soft smile. He'd wanted to do more, to give Hinata more physical affection, but even hugging her or caressing her cheek would have sent her all the signals she wasn't ready to receive and sent her straight to dreamland (though he wouldn't have minded getting the chance for a snuggle session), so he just laid back down, letting her continue her ministrations to his back. Hinata was infinitely grateful for that; she wasn't sure how much more of a shirtless Naruto's affections she could handle. But at least her self-confidence was mostly restored after the disaster into which she'd been thrown.

Hinata finished treating his cuts and, seeing they were healing quick enough that he didn't need any bandages or stitches, worked on the rest of his back. As Hinata continued to press her ointment-covered fingers into Naruto's back, coaxing his muscles out of their knots and drawing a few sighs of contentment, she grew more and more uneasy, and not because she was doing something that even two days ago, she would not have been able to do. It was simply because Naruto was just so different from what she knew.

She could live with Naruto-kun owning up to his denseness and wanting to make amends; that was actually the easiest change for her to accept. She wasn't sure what to make of some of the changes in his speech, or that he seemed to be more knowledgeable than he'd let on, but if this was the cost of having his attention, it was possibly smaller than she'd feared. As for his training, and why he'd been with Ino-san and Shino-san on the rooftop...she set those questions aside for now. She sensed it wasn't the right time to ask about those things.

His animosity towards Sasuke, though...it was far worse than she remembered seeing from him. She could easily tell it had transformed from a simple rivalry into a deep-seeded grudge. Between his blasts of killing intent and the hate in his eyes this morning when he glared at Sasuke...it bothered Hinata enough that she had to ask him about it. Seeing that look in his eyes scared her, and she didn't want to be scared of Naruto. And she felt she had to broach the subject now, while she still felt the surge of confidence Naruto had, against all odds, given her.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked, letting her hands fall to her sides.

"Yes, Hinata?"

"Anō...w-why do you hate Sasuke-san so much?"

Great. She's already starting to ask the hard questions. Now it was Naruto who tensed up. Obviously he couldn't tell Hinata the biggest reason he hated Sasuke was because the Uchiha murdered her and hundreds of others in the future, not for a long time. At least Hinata wasn't asking about his training, or something else that would force him to make an effort to completely hide his true feelings. That would have made things get very complicated, very fast. But how to go about explaining it in a way she'd believe?

Naruto once again wormed his way out from under Hinata, but this time he reached over for his shirt and put it back on before sitting back down. "It's...complicated, Hinata. There's a lot of reasons why I hate Sasuke, some of which I can't tell you yet."

"O-oh..."

"Part of it is his fangirls. I just can't stand seeing the attention he gets sometimes. Why do most of the girls keep fawning over him like that? Why do they confirm his existence but deny mine?" His complaints were more shallow and spoke less of his own deep-seeded issues than in the first timeline. He didn't need the acknowledgment anymore, aside from Hinata's and the people he'd brought back in time with him, and knew he would have it again anyway. The words still affected Hinata greatly, and rather than press her suspicions, she scrambled to comfort Naruto as best she could, so he could start to let go of the hate he kept bottled up inside.

"They're blind," Hinata said softly, with a touch of anger in her voice.

"Could you say that a little louder for me, Hinata?"

Hinata paused to take a few deep breaths. "I said they're blind, Naruto-kun. They d-don't want to see the t-two of you for who you are. It's easier for them to keep l-living with the lies they've been told than it is to see the truth of their actions. They don't want to see what they're doing to hurt b-both you and Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun. They smother you with their fear and hate, but... but they're also smothering him with false affection, and th-they... they d-don't see what their choices are doing to you. They're looking at you two through tinted lenses, refusing to take them off and let themselves see you in a clear light. It hurts you because they're doing this, and it hurts me as well, because they don't want to stop and truly see."

Naruto took Hinata's hands into his, making her gasp. Every time he looked at her, every time she spoke her thoughts, he found himself falling for her all over again. "Hinata...has anyone ever told you how awesome you are?" he asked. Her blush flared up as she shook her head negatively. "You really know how to see people, Hinata. You don't let anything like fear, pain or prejudice cloud your sight. The world would be a much better place if more people were like you."

"Naruto-kun..." How was she supposed to voice her concerns when Naruto was like this? Any praise Hinata received was intoxicating, and to receive so much from Naruto made her hopelessly addicted to him, no matter how much he'd changed these past few days.

"And you're right about how much it hurts. But that's the other reason why I hate all the attention Sasuke gets, Hinata. He just keeps rejecting everyone. Maybe not all of those people are as blind as you say; maybe some of them really do want to help him, but he won't let anyone help. He thinks they can't help. He's walking down a terrible road and it...it terrifies me, Hinata. And not just because I see him turning into a monster if he doesn't change, but also...because sometimes I can see myself doing the same damn thing." Naruto stopped and took a few moments to reinforce his faltering composure. Even now, he had to struggle sometimes with dismissing the occasional temptation to just take everyone he held close to safety, abandon the Elemental Nations (or wipe them off the map), and start over in a distant land.

Hinata, for her part, felt just as conflicted inside as Naruto was simply by watching him talk. Each time she looked into his eyes, she uncovered another tiny piece of the story Naruto didn't want to tell to the rest of the world, and she saw that a major driving force of that story was his internal conflicts, fueled by the intensity of the emotions he kept bottled up. Naruto was truly struggling to keep himself together.

Naruto-kun's feelings...they're tearing him apart...

"But..." Naruto continued, and Hinata saw the pages of the story in his eyes turn, "we can change that and help him, right? We're his teammates now, Hinata. We can't give him back his old family, but maybe if he'll let us in, we can give him a new family and help him move on and find a better road to travel. And maybe, if we do manage to help him let go of his hate, then maybe I can let go of my hate too. So will you help us, Hinata? Will you help us let go?"

Hinata, still slightly blushing, nodded. She was overjoyed, but couldn't bring herself to show it in the way she wanted. "Yes, Naruto-kun, I will," she said with a smile. She was rewarded for her encouragement with a big hug, making her squeak in surprise.

"Let's go get something to eat and then head back to class, okay?" Naruto asked, recreating the henged Kage Bunshin to release the privacy seal. Hinata, fighting off every impulse she had to faint in his arms, simply nodded again.

Memorial Stone

Ino's eyes stayed closed for a few seconds after her arrival at Konoha's memorial for its fallen shinobi. Her mind flashed back to the memorial service one week after the survivors of the Fourth Shinobi World War returned home. The memories of that day were still as vivid in her mind as they were the day it happened, and they still haunted her on some nights. The old stone didn't have enough room left to have the names of everyone who died in the war etched into it, so architects had needed to bring in a new stone, four times larger than the old one. She'd watched as the new stone was installed and the names of every Konoha citizen who perished, both civilian and shinobi, were permanently seared into her skull when they were carved into the surface.

On those rare days in the future when she had a break from all of her duties as an Anbu, a therapist and a clan head, Ino had done the same thing Kakashi was doing right now. She had lost track of time for hours upon end, immersing herself in her memories of everyone they lost. It wasn't a chronic habit like Kakashi had, but the need was still there.

But even though she understood what Kakashi felt, she did not sympathize with him. The Rokudaime Hokage had denied the Nanadaime Hokage—her Hokage—a chance to properly grieve along with the rest of the survivors. He'd sent Naruto away from support when he needed it most, forcing him into solitude when he wasn't consumed by duty, and then piled even greater burdens on his shoulders when he returned. Kakashi had made more than his fair share of contributions to Naruto's emotional turmoil and arguably done more than most to drive him to the breaking point. There were times when Ino wanted to exact some measure of revenge against Kakashi for his mistakes in handling Naruto, but there was never an opportunity in the original timeline. Kakashi was superior to her in every way that mattered then.

Now? Kakashi might still have the physical advantage, but in the domain of the mind, Ino reigned supreme.

A very large part of her was going to enjoy the next few minutes as she returned fifteen years of pain to Kakashi.

"It's easy to lose track of time here, huh?" Ino asked, slowly approaching the lazy Jōnin while she made hand signs behind her back.

"Aren't you wandering off a little too far?" Kakashi replied, not budging even a single millimeter. "This is no place for a fresh genin who's seen nothing of the world."

"You'd be eating your words right now if you took the time to read my story, Kakashi-sensei."

"Not interested."

"Well, I know at least one story you will be interested in."

Kakashi closed his copy of Icha Icha Violence and craned his head to look at Ino, who now stood on his right side. "Should I be proud or disturbed that a twelve-year-old girl who's the daughter of one of the more influential clan heads in Konoha has taken a liking to Icha Icha?"

"I don't know. But what if I told you that my dad not only is a secret fan of Jiraiya-sama's books, but also has insider information about an upcoming release in the series?" None of what Ino just said was a lie. Inoichi did happen to know about an Icha Icha that has yet to be published. It just wasn't one Jiraiya wrote in the original timeline.

"Then I'd have to see if I could talk Inoichi-san into sharing his information—after I take you back to him to receive disciplinary action." Kakashi gripped Ino's left shoulder with his right hand.

And Ino had him right where she needed him. "Kioku Tensō no Jutsu," she whispered, brushing her left hand against Kakashi's right leg ever so slightly, and the elite Jōnin passed out before he could use a Shunshin to take them to the Torture and Interrogation Department. Ino couldn't stop herself from giggling as Kakashi dropped to the ground.

Confident that Kakashi was going to be out of it for at least half an hour, Ino decided to entertain herself with his copy of Icha Icha Violence while she waited until she had to get back to the Academy. According to her dad, there was more conflict than usual among the jōnin-sensei for this year's graduating class, which had translated into a more generous lunch break for their final day of class. While it did give her more time to make sure Kakashi was brought back into the fold, Ino considered the development somewhat of a mixed blessing.

But back to Icha Icha. Ino had gotten herself into it during the downtime periods between crises in the future, when Sai had surprised her one night by acting out one of the scenes in Icha Icha Tactics with her. Since then, Ino considered herself something of a smut connoisseur. But as she went through the pages, she remembered a very important detail about Jiraiya: his writing ability did not meet her standards. Tactics stood out from the rest because it had been written during the two years Jiraiya took Naruto away from Konoha, and Ino had later learned when Naruto wrote Icha Icha Tragedy two years before they went back in time (and in doing so, confirmed that Naruto wrote it without doing any "research" whatsoever) that the Uzumaki had actually been the one to write most of Tactics. Naruto, a twenty-seven-turned-twelve-again virgin relying only on his imagination, had better writing skills than his mentor/godfather, who was thoroughly experienced in sexual activities. Ino would have laughed at how sad the thought was if she was capable of forgetting why Naruto lacked experience. She instead settled on a loud groan as she continued to reacquaint herself with the most current release, already questioning why she was still reading. Violence was just...bad.

"Ugh...I can't believe I forgot how bad Ero-sennin is at storytelling. Is it not possible for him to get his dick out of his hand long enough to pull a semi-decent plot out of his ass?"

"Normally, I'd chastise you for criticizing Jiraiya-sama's writing skills," Kakashi rasped as he pushed himself off the ground. "But..." he added before taking Icha Icha Violence out of Ino's hands, "if these memories you just gave me are real, Naruto did create better stories in the future when he had to ghost write for Jiraiya-sama, and then later when Jiraiya-sama's publishers forced those contractual obligations into his lap, so I guess you have at least some reason to complain."

Ino shook her head. "I wish they weren't real, Kakashi-sensei," she said, honestly. "The future redefined the word nightmare for every ninja who survived its horrors."

"So it would seem." Kakashi sat back down and propped himself up against the stone, rubbing his temples in vain to fight off the colossal headache Ino's mental ninjutsu gave him. "I'll need time to adjust to this. My mind's going to need the entire day to process most of these memories and come to grips with what hasn't happened yet. Hopefully Naruto won't blame me too much if I'm still three hours late."

"I don't know about that, Kakashi-sensei. There was a certain rift between you and Naruto-sama in the future. You'd better not do anything that will make it impossible to cross that rift." Her mission completed, Ino smirked and used a brief Shunshin to leave the area and get back to her teammates/surrogate brothers, then consumed a soldier pill to replenish her tragically small chakra reserves. She already knew before coming back in time with Naruto that she couldn't afford to maintain the strict diet she'd kept herself on the first time around, and that she'd have to take her physical training seriously. If that meant screwing up her good looks...well, that would be a major sacrifice. But for Naruto's sake, for The Plan's sake, she would become far stronger than she'd ever been.

Back at the Academy – 1545 hours

The past few hours had been almost pure bliss for Hinata. She expected Naruto to drag her off to Ichiraku's and have her try some of their ramen, but instead he asked her what she wanted to eat and after hearing her answer, he accompanied her to her favorite bakery and ordered a dozen cinnamon rolls. The baker had scowled at Naruto, but recognized the hitai-ite and didn't attempt to deny him service. A good thing, because Naruto looked like he'd been ready to attack the baker if he tried something. After they left, Naruto been perfectly content to just sit next to her on a nearby bench, watching her embarrass herself with the way she devoured the pastries, and encouraging her to make small talk.

...If Hinata didn't know better, if she hadn't reminded herself of how dangerous Naruto said it was for them to try to be more than friends right now, she would have thought she was on a date. An actual date, with Naruto-kun. As it was, the joy she felt in Naruto's company was slightly marred by the pain of seeing how much he had to restrain himself in front of unwanted eyes.

When they got back to the Academy, Naruto didn't let her enter the classroom right away. He took a peek inside, and after seeing that Kakashi was going to be late again, made a few Tōton Kage Bunshin to set up a trap for their sensei, then took Hinata into the Academy training grounds and talked her into sparring with him. It took him a few tries to get her into the mood, as she was not enthusiastic about doing anything that could hurt Naruto, but he reminded her that they would have to spar a lot once Kakashi started training them, so she reluctantly gave in to his request.

Hinata couldn't believe it, but the spars had been even more enjoyable than eating lunch with her crush. Naruto kept encouraging her the entire time, praising her each time she won a round, and comforting her each time she lost. He also pointed out things she could have done better after each loss, and helped her correct the problems in her Jūken stances. He didn't criticize her for her excessive use of footwork; instead he encouraged it, suggesting she should modify the standard forms in a way that felt more natural. And after each round, they both saw and felt the improvements she made.

But she still had so many questions about Naruto's new taijutsu. It was similar to, yet so different from his previous style (or lack thereof). It lacked flow at times and was a bit flashy, but packed a hard wallop. Naruto didn't seem to be aware of how strong some of his hits were. Several of the times Hinata lost a round in their training session, it had been because Naruto accidentally put too much force into one of his grapples, throws or palm thrusts. Although, she found it cute every time he fretted over her after one of those attacks.

For now, she reminded herself that she was going to hold off on asking any further questions. Hinata couldn't admit it, but she wanted to be selfish, if only for a little while. She wanted to revel in Naruto's affections, even if it meant ignoring every reason she had to mistrust him. And she didn't want to push Naruto away because she asked him a question about the changes in him before he was ready to give her more answers.

"You're doing really good," Naruto told her while they rested after their thirtieth, and probably last, round. "I bet you could easily take down any of those stuck-up elders in your clan if they ever try to hurt you again."

"M-Maybe," Hinata replied, wanting to believe Naruto's praise wasn't wasted on her. "But they're so much b-better than me..."

"Oh, please! I've seen what some of them look like and believe me when I say it doesn't look like they've done any kind of serious exercise in years! They'll be in for a really nasty surprise if they try to pull a fast one on ya."

"A-are you s-sure?"

"Hinata." Naruto gripped her shoulders, begging her to trust him. "I will never do anything on purpose that could get you hurt. I promise." Hinata gasped. She was starting to feel, rather than see, the feelings concealed behind Naruto's eyes, trying their hardest to be received. In spite of all of her misgivings, she wanted nothing more than to trust in him, and to believe in herself like he believed in her. But more than that, she just wanted to get lost in him, and in this moment which was, in every definition she had for the word, beautiful.

But like all beautiful moments, it wasn't allowed to last.

"When is Kakashi going to arrive here?" a voice that sounded twenty years too old for its owner asked, breaking Hinata out of her blissful trance. Hinata and Naruto turned to face Sasuke, who'd opened up the one window in Iruka's classroom and hopped out to observe the last round of Naruto and Hinata's sparring.

"Temae," Naruto growled, not giving any signals that could reveal he knew Sasuke had been spying on them. "What do you want?"

"I'm trying to be civil here for once, so can't you extend me the same courtesy?" Sasuke said, trying to hold in his annoyance with the dead last. "I was asking when Kakashi was going to arrive. He's wasting our time."

"He usually does." Naruto's subconscious refused to associate "Sasuke" with "civil", but he had to try anyway. "I heard a joke about him, once. Something about being late to his own funeral when he dies."

"Hn. Doesn't sound too hard to believe right now."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "h-how much do you know about Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto sighed. "Not as much as I'd like," he replied while leading his teammates back to Iruka's classroom, unaware of how close he was to slipping into Hokage Mode. "He's supposed to be former Anbu and is said to know over a thousand different ninjutsu. He also likes reading porn and making really lame excuses each time he's late to something."

"Isn't that just great," Sasuke groaned, rolling his eyes before climbing back through the open window. Hinata followed a few seconds later, then Naruto, who shut the window behind him. "At least you two used the extra time well."

"I guess so." Naruto fiddled with a kunai in his right hand as he and Sasuke took their usual seats, with Hinata sitting between them. It was insanely difficult for him to be amicable towards his former rival. "Why are you so chatty today, Sasuke? It's not like you."

"I'm not the only one here who's behaving out of character," the Uchiha said in a matter-of-fact tone, though internally he was struggling almost as much as Naruto was to not turn this into a fight—one Sasuke sensed he'd lose if it turned physical. "You're different, Naruto. You changed overnight. It's suspicious and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about it."

"As long as you don't betray us Sasuke, I don't care how you feel. Just so you know where we stand."

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms and turned away from Naruto, giving up the pretense of civility. Hinata, trapped between the two, wanted to wilt away from the unresolved tension between her teammates. She tried to shake it off for now, reasoning that it would be a regular thing for the foreseeable future. That didn't mean she had to appreciate Naruto and Sasuke's hostile attitude towards one another.

Hinata spent the uncomfortable silence gazing at Naruto. She was deeply worried about the changes in him. Naruto had admitted to hating Sasuke, but she knew what he kept bottled up inside was so much stronger than ordinary hate. She knew it would only be a matter of time before the bottle cracked and all of that hate spilled out, and when it did, the big fight between her teammates would end badly for both of them regardless of the outcome. How much damage would that fight do to Naruto's already poor reputation among the villagers? How would the Hokage respond once news of the fight reached his office?

She was so lost in her concerns that she didn't notice when Naruto turned his head to face the door, sensing the imminent arrival of their truant sensei.

"My first impression of you guys is..." Kakashi announced, dodging the first Mahi Fūin Naruto had his Tōton Kage Bunshin set up while he and his teammates were absent, but landing right on the second one. Being a seasoned Jōnin, Kakashi was able to overcome the effects of the seal quickly, but not quickly enough to escape the rest of the trap unscathed. Once Kakashi stepped on the paralysis seal, three more seals activated simultaneously, one on the ceiling, one on the door behind him, and one on the wall in front of him. The trap on the ceiling dumped several gallons of syrup on Kakashi, while the trap set behind him hurled a large punching bag into his back. And the trap in front of him launched a dozen sharpened, serrated kunai. Kakashi performed a Kawarimi to escape the trap with minimal damage to his hair and uniform, leaving only two things where he once stood: a log...and his copy of Icha Icha Violence which he'd somehow managed to lose to the frontal trap before substitution.

Kakashi walked back inside the classroom and to where the trap was sprung, picked up the tattered, syrup-stained remnants of his smut novel, and sighed.

"...I really fucking hate you. Go to Training Ground 3 and I'll meet you there after I make funeral arrangements for my precious." Kakashi slammed the door on his way out. As soon as he did, Naruto burst into laughter while Hinata tried to glare at him but failed miserably, succumbing to her hero's mirthfulness and giggling (while making a mental note to ask when he learned fūinjutsu), and Sasuke shook his head in total disbelief, as he realized he was stuck with these three now. He got up and left, leaving his new comrades behind, but couldn't get their laughing out of his head.

The broken pair's amusement with their teacher's misfortune would last through most of that hour as they let themselves continue to indulge in their selfishness.

Training Ground 3 – 1700 hours

Now that his annoyance with Uzumaki Naruto's latest stunt was purged from his system, Hatake Kakashi gave the scene before him a wistful look. The team that sat in front of him was a disaster in the making, a disaster he and Naruto had to somehow avert. A disaster that, had Yamanaka Ino not transferred to him the memories of his future self, he would have likely escalated.

Kakashi had designed his infamous "Bell Test" to exploit the flaws in any potential team, tricking them into working against each other. Considering the current curriculum at the Ninja Academy, it was all too easy to fail every team he'd received in the past. Every team except his original Team Seven that is—which was the only team he'd ever wanted to train—but even they fell apart. And now that he remembered the future, Kakashi wondered for a moment if failing that team like he had all the others would have produced a kinder result than what had transpired before. But it was pointless to wonder about what could have been—and he couldn't afford to find out if Neo Team Seven would be better off getting held back, because there was way too much at stake. Getting Hinata and Sasuke to look underneath the underneath could wait a few days…after all, he had his orders and he couldn't see a single positive outcome if he decided to disobey.

"It's just my luck that I got the three cute little genin who are completely mental," Kakashi muttered. "Well, I suppose it's time to get introductions out of the way. Likes, dislikes, that sort of thing." He paused to try to decide which of his students should start, only to be met with three looks of expectancy. "Oh, alright, I'll go first and set the example. My name is Hatake Kakashi and my likes and dislikes are, quite frankly none of your business. As for my hobbies...well, there's too many to mention. And dreams? Eh, they're not worth thinking about at this time. Okay blondie, your turn."

"Try again, Sensei," Naruto demanded.

Kakashi's one visible eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

"The only thing you told us was your name," an irate Uzumaki pointed out.

"And you're in no position to make me tell you more than that, especially since you destroyed my favorite book an hour ago with one of your more malicious pranks," the Copy Ninja shot back. "Your turn, Naruto."

"Alright, fine," Naruto grumbled, adding a short string of curses under his breath. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto. I like training, my comrades, and..." Naruto's speech trailed off as he winced at the memory of reading the Sandaime's black book the night he went back in time, stopping him from keeping his comfort food on his list of likes. "Dislike isn't a strong enough word for these next few things. I hate traitors, running into snags in my training, people who try to control others...but there's a few people I hate more than anything else." Kakashi and Hinata didn't miss him turning his head slightly towards Sasuke, who also noticed but didn't care. "My hobbies are pulling pranks and gardening. As for my dream..."

Naruto shook his head, forcing back certain memories of his nightmare future. "No, I won't tell you my dream. My ambition is to reform and unite the Elemental Nations and destroy the corruption which plagues them."

"And just how do you plan to do that, dead last?" Sasuke sneered at the knucklehead. Inwardly, he was shaken up by the tone of the Uzumaki's voice.

"By becoming Hokage, you bastard," Naruto shot back. The venom in his voice made the Uchiha flinch. "Then everyone will have to acknowledge I won't let anyone get away with the crimes they've been committing anymore!" he flared his anger before he could think to stop himself from revealing his true intentions. He then shrank back a lot when Kakashi gave him one of the nastiest looks he had ever seen from the Copy Ninja, only now realizing his screw-up.

What happened to the old Naruto? both Sasuke and Hinata wondered, not for the first or last time. There was almost no trace left of the Naruto they knew—a loud-mouthed, dense prankster and all-around knucklehead, who tried to keep his true pain and anger concealed by a mask of happiness. That mask didn't seem to exist anymore. He was more subdued now, colder and distant, but at the same time, far more passionate and still capable of blowing up easily. His words were no longer a cry for attention, but a cry against injustice. When he spoke, his words always seemed to have purpose, even if only Naruto knew the purpose. And there was always an underlying anger present in his voice, except in his softest moments.

"Naruto-kun...?" Hinata started to ask, but stopped when Naruto rested a hand on her shoulder. He already knew what she was about to ask.

"Sasuke needs to lose his arrogance, Hinata," Naruto told her, while Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked away, trying to ignore them. "I know we agreed to help him, but first he has to be humiliated so he'll learn to ask for help."

"Oh…o-okay, I guess."

"Ahem. I believe it's your turn now, Hinata," Kakashi interrupted.

"Huh? O-oh! I'm sorry. My n-name is H-Hyūga Hinata. I like...um..." Hinata was about to stop when she felt Naruto gently rub her hand before taking it into his, just as he had two days ago. She still didn't know how, but the gesture soothed her when she thought it should have rendered her unconscious. "I like my family, my f-friends, training and cinnamon rolls. I..." She paused again, looking at Naruto for the support he promised. When he nodded, she continued: "I hate the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu, and the way the B-Branch House is treated by the Main House. My h-hobbies are knitting," she said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen slightly—he hadn't known she liked to knit and yet, he'd imagined her doing just that in some of his dreams, "and p-pressing flowers. And my dream...um...I-I want to be strong like my father, and kind like my mother. I want to help my father change my clan and u-unite the Main House and Branch House." Kakashi noted after she finished her speech that the last time around, it had been Naruto who first vocalized his intent to change the Hyūga. But the last time around, Naruto had failed. This time, however, the Uzumaki would not be alone in his effort.

"You used some strong words there, Hinata. I think Naruto's already rubbing off on you." Kakashi gave Hinata one of his patented eye smiles, causing the timid girl's cheeks to become tinted pink. "Now, that leaves one person," he added, repressing the urge to give Sasuke one of Yamato's trademark glares.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "This is a waste of time, but fine. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things aside from training, and there's a lot I dislike. And I don't have a dream, I have an ambition. But unlike the dobe, my ambition will be realized. I will restore the honor of the Uchiha Clan by killing a certain someone."

No, you won't, Naruto didn't say. I will end you if you try. "And just how do you plan to do that, Sasuke?" was what he did say, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The Uchiha did not dignify it with a response.

"Alright then!" Kakashi exclaimed, breaking the uncomfortable silence which lasted for almost fifteen long seconds. "I don't personally approve of your ambition or your reasons for being so secretive, Sasuke, and may be obligated to make sure said ambition is not realized depending on the choices you make in the future, but at least you showed better form than Naruto and Hinata. Anyway, now that we're all somewhat familiar with each other, I need to break the bad news. You see, the three of you have one more test you must pass before you can be recognized as full-fledged ninja of Konoha."

"Another test?" Sasuke asked, scowling but otherwise not showing his anger towards Kakashi for mentioning a willingness to oppose his ambition. "Aren't we already ninja?"

"Not yet. The Academy's tests were just to determine potential candidates to become ninja, Sasuke. The second test will decide whether or not you're truly ready to be sent out into the field. Think of it as a survival test, if you will. But this particular survival test is special. It's a historical fact that this test has a sixty-six percent rate of failure. So out of the eight teams that were formed from your class, it is unlikely that more than two or three teams will pass. If you think you're one of those teams that has what it takes, return to this training ground tomorrow by 0900."

"And what happens if we fail, Kakashi?"

"Before I answer that, I'm going to say this once and once only. You will show me the respect I deserve and address me as sensei, or I will fail you right now—but not before I show you how far ahead of you I am in skill," Kakashi said in a firm tone of voice. The underlying threat was there—piss me off and I'll kick your ass. Personally. "Repeat your question, Sasuke, properly this time."

"Tch." Sasuke glanced at the ground and clenched his fists. He was beside himself with anger after Kakashi threatened a second time to end his ambition. "Fine," he grumbled. "What happens if we fail, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Much better. Now, should you fail, one of three things could happen. You could be sent back to the Academy for a minimum of four months to take remedial courses. You could be stuck with a non-combat duty, such as working as a secretary for Hokage-sama. Or, and this is the most likely possibility for the three of you given your personal histories, you could be permanently banned from serving in Konoha's military forces and remain civilians forever, or meet an even worse fate." The silence following that statement was even more uncomfortable than when Sasuke declared his ambition to kill a certain someone.

"Anō...Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked after another fifteen seconds of total silence, shaking a little as she spoke. "C-Could you give us any advice for this test be-before we leave?"

"Eat a light breakfast," Kakashi answered, his voice turning soft. "You don't want to come here on an empty stomach, but you also don't want to throw up because you pushed yourself too hard."

Well, that was new. Naruto was surprised that Kakashi-sensei didn't try to mislead them by telling them not to eat, expecting them to disregard the suggestion, but underneath his suggestion was a secret message, which Naruto received loud and clear. That message told Naruto three things. One, Kakashi was ordered to pass Team Seven. Two, Kakashi wasn't going to be late tomorrow. And three, Kakashi probably wasn't going to hold back as much as he had against the original Team Seven.

"Are there any further questions?" Kakashi asked. The three potential genin shook their heads. "Dismissed." As they parted ways until tomorrow, the Copy Ninja could only hope that this incarnation of Team Seven would pull itself together and actually stay together this time.

If they failed again...the results would be catastrophic.

Technique List for Chapters 6 and 7:

Doton: Chidōkaku: Earth Release: Moving Earth Core

Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu: Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique

Gentōshin no Jutsu: Magic Lantern Body Technique

Kanchi Suikyū: Sensing Water Sphere

Kansatsu Fūin: Surveillance Seal. Each seal, invisible to both normal eyesight and dōjutsu once applied, records both video and audio data with moderate to high clarity up to fifty meters away, depending on where the seal is applied and how many seals are grouped together. The primary issues with this seal are the extreme size of the receiver array which is needed to collect the data, and the amount of data collected, greatly restricting the number of locations Naruto can place said array.

Mahi Fūin: Paralysis Seal. As the name says, this seal will paralyze any enemy that triggers it. The seal can be programmed to activate by either physical or visual contact. However, the paralysis only lasts for a short amount of time and can be overcome easily by higher-level ninja.

Tōmegane no Jutsu: Telescope Technique

Okay, so this took a week longer than I said it would. I cite transportation issues as my excuse since the nearest Internet computers are five miles away from my current residence, and apologize.

Anyway, this be Part 7 of the Reintroduction Arc. Originally intended to be part of Chapter 6, but since it's so long, I think you can see why I had to split the chapter, yes? Now, for those of you who are concerned that the Naruto/Hinata interactions are taking up too much of the focus, an advance warning: since Chapter 8 will include the bell test it will be impossible to not include at least some additional interactions in that chapter.

Ino has been amazing to work with. I was not a fan of her in canon aside from the Fourth Shinobi War arcs (where she was arguably the Most Valuable Kunoichi of the war), but writing her in AUS has proven to be a lot more fun than I first thought. Especially when she's trolling. Troll!Ino should be used more often.

A note on the date system being used in this story: I'm going off the Naruto Wikia user Seelentau's page for timeline related issues. At the latest, the graduation exams in Chapter 1 of the manga happened on January 21; this is the only way Shino could register as a ninja before he turned 13. As for why I mentioned in this chapter that January 21 in this timeline was a Saturday, many Japanese schools run from Monday to Saturday. While there are some that do run from Monday to Friday, the posted interpretation of the canon timeline leads me to believe the exams took place on a Saturday. Said timeline is still an S-rank mess, however. I also still need to figure out the lunar cycle.

Review responses:

- Elim Garak: While it doesn't actually say so on the Wikia, it is apparent that the Kage Bunshin duplicates the items kept on the person's body when it's used, with limited exceptions. If it didn't, it would be way too easy to tell the original apart from the clones, and you're not supposed to be able to do that in most situations even with a dōjutsu. The scary thing is we never see Naruto truly abuse that particular aspect of Kage Bunshin in canon or filler. Kage Bunshin is overpowered. However, your accusation that Naruto can "do anything" with the technique is false. He is still affected by the accumulated fatigue from his clones, and the cloned soldier pills will exacerbate his mental strain. Also, he is physically twelve again and his body cannot handle as much strain as it could in his teens/twenties. As for the issue of receiving "cloned chakra," Naruto doesn't dare to allow any chakra from a cloned soldier pill to enter his system. The clones would have to expend all the chakra gained from the duplicate pills before they dispel, or Naruto's chakra network will get screwed up or worse. His clones consuming cloned pills comes at a major risk, a risk he does not dare take during combat.

- I will try to get to everyone else's reviews later.

Fanfic recommendations:

1) (Rated M – In Progress) "Shadows on the Horizon" by Solvdrage. We don't have enough decent Overlord crossovers, and while this one is just starting, it will hopefully rectify the issue somewhat as it progresses. It's dark, but he's a fan of 40k-style GRIMDARK and it certainly shows here. Also, I do believe the third chapter contains his first ever attempt at writing sexual content, so try to be kind. Don't read if you're not a fan of Subordinates with Benefits (yes, that's what they're calling it these days).

2) (Rated M – In Progress) "The Valley of the End" by SouthSideStory. A rarity among my recommendations because Naruto and Hinata are not the main pairing (though they are in there). It's Team Seven-centric, so the primary romance is between Sasuke and Sakura, who I believe are the worst couple in canon and do not understand why they are such a popular pairing. But I digress. Anyway, this is an intriguing AU that asks "What if Madara had won at Valley of the End?" and explores one possible outcome for this major divergence. Don't read if you're a fan of the Uchiha Clan, because this fic will make you hate them.

3) (Rated M – In Progress) "I Met You at the Sex Shop" by jojo07. A cute little modern AU going off a Tumblr prompt, where Hinata is working at a sex shop and Naruto endears himself to her by making fun of the adult toys when he visits. It's surprisingly good and needs to have more readers.

4) (Rated M – Complete) "Breaking Point" by CherryXButterfly. This post-war AU story deserved a lot more favorites and reviews than it got. It's rare to find a good Naruto fic that deals with PTSD, but this is one of those precious gems.

Oh, and if anyone here is into the occasional H-doujin, there's an extremely adorkable one from Nanashi 774 titled "Attaka Uzumaki" that was released recently. It is seriously the most adorkable smut you'll ever read.

Next chapter: A Major Examination and a Minor Retribution. Bell test, along with Kakashi and Hiashi discussing how to avoid/reduce the fallout from an impending major strike against the Sandaime's regime.