Chapter 2: Brand New Day

X-X-X

"I told you I don't know nuffin' about no damn spider dude! I was just relieving that store owner of some of his extra cash, man. Can't even help the elderly in this town anymore," said the young man currently handcuffed to the interrogation table.

Across from him sat the infamous Morino Ibiki, currently rubbing the bridge of his scarred nose in annoyance. As head of Interrogation, he was supposed to to only have to extract information from those who could potentially compromise the safety of the village or its interests. Now or in the future. Or just anybody that wasn't an amateur pickpocket or low grade thug of a dropout genin. All of them thought they were the toughest thing to hit the streets since the Yondaime Hokage, and each and every one of them cracked in under an hour of just being in his gaze.

Still, as much of a bore as his new daily targets seemed to be, the things they claimed they had witnessed were just too troubling to ignore or leave to the regular Military Police. First they'd talk about the scaling of walls or the guy's reflexes, which weren't too much out of the norm for shinobi. But then they'd get to the flexibility and strength, which is where it got weird. People don't just pop up out of nowhere with bodies tough enough for someone to break their hand punching them, while also being as flexible as a woman of the Hyuuga clan. And that's not even mentioning the strange substance he'd trap the criminals in, with the tensile strength of steel but the consistency of spider webs.

For someone like that to just come out of nowhere, and only spend their time taking down small time criminals or saving cats out of trees could only be some really elaborate infiltrator attempting to throw higher ups off their trail, or…

Or it would have to be some kid who recently discovered some tremendous power and doesn't know any better.

Once more, Ibiki rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "Okay, how about we start from the beginning. State your name, please."

OoOoO

"Thank you, have a nice day!"

Ichiraku Ayame let out a deep sigh, happy that the lunch rush was finally coming to an end. While the lunch special was still going on for another 40 minutes or so, this was usually the time the constant stream of customers, and their increasingly complex orders, would finally slow to the normal rate and some regulars would come to hang around for early dinners. The ramen stand never really got heavy traffic for dinner, especially since Naruto had taken a liking to it unfortunately, but it began to gain some notoriety for lunch after a few of the rookie genin had begun choosing it as a their preferred weekly midday meal. Of course, that was due to Ayame's constant promoting during the weekends at the Ninjutsu Research Center.

Ayame's mother, a longtime military secretary for Konoha, had recently been reassigned to the recently upgraded Scientific Ninja Weapons Division and thanks to a few string pulls, Ayame herself was able to volunteer on the weekends to assist with technical matters that weren't too sensitive. This mostly meant grunt work, but Ayame knew that soon she would be able to prove herself more than capable.

Her train of thought was broken as her father and her favorite customer sauntered up to the counter, clearly dejected about something. The last time his mood had been this somber, it was because he had just learned he'd been forced to repeat another year at the academy.

"Naruto-kun, is everything alright?" asked Ayame, foregoing the usual order taking.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Ayame-chan, I'm just a little tired is all," said Naruto, attempting to smile a bit to hide his true feelings.

Ayame's stare showed him that he had failed.

"Okay, okay. It's just...I haven't done a prank in months, I don't cause any trouble, and the villagers still...look at me like that," said Naruto.

Ayame's eyes lowered, not knowing what to say. She knew that Naruto was considered some sort of special village asset, due to his conspicuously close relationship with the Hokage before even graduating to genin, but no idea what the nature of it was. She had surmised that this relationship was at least tangential to the reason he was feared and sometimes outright despised by the villagers. But without concrete info, all she could offer were speculative guesses and carbon copy advice.

Luckily, her father chimed in and said, "Don't worry about them then! If those old fuckers can't appreciate ya and your dedication, focus on those who do! They say you can't make everybody happy, but I say you just can't make everybody happy at once!"

Naruto gave a hearty laugh while Ayame cheerfully admonished her father for cursing so openly around a child. But their collective moods had been raised significantly by the act, which is all that truly mattered. The loud order for several large bowls of ramen as an 'appetizer' showed the teen girl that things were finally back to some level of normalcy.

"So, Naruto, I heard that those thugs on the far side of town mugging travelers had been apprehended. The Military Police say they got an anonymous tip, but I heard that they found all ten of them tied up in a spider web," said Ayame in a slightly sly tone.

"Oh yeah! I heard the leader tried to catch the Spider-Shinobi off guard, and broke his wrists punching him 'cus his skin is too hard! Honestly, he's probably the coolest ninja since the 4th Hokage! I wish I could see his new web shooters in action, though," said Naruto in a similar tone.

Their code was imperfect, but it worked just well enough to keep any suspicion off the two of them. Naruto had spilled the beans to Ayame the third day after his bite happened, since that was when he'd found out that he was several times stronger than he'd previously been without training and his increased senses sometimes gave him a headache. They had originally come up with the Spider-Shinobi costume as both a way to conceal that Naruto had these new abilities, to keep his trump card in his sleeve, and to dull some of the sensory input. The goggles and facepaint helped dull the sensory input to his most sensitive areas, as well as the material used being strong enough to block even a Byakugan user from seeing his eyes or whisker marks beneath them. A blue and orange 'onesie' may not be the most high tech gear, but coupled with Naruto's new ability to stick to objects without using chakra and natural stealth talents it was enough to keep his new hobby and training method separated from his regular life.

"Well, it's a miracle he was able to design such a weapon. Everybody in the weapons division talks about them since that rumor came out," said Ayame.

"They are truly interesting weapons," said a voice to the side of the two code talking adolescents.

Ayame nearly jumped at seeing three of the four members of Team 8 at her stand, and Shino of all people being the first to speak. She had worked alongside the boy at least three times since the two of them, along with Sakura and Ino, had begun working with the ninja weapons division. She had also met most of their collective teammates and sensei, due to team meetings sometimes being held at their shop due to the newfound affinity for ramen among the many genin.

"So I've heard, it sounds similar to a certain kind of ninjutsu I've heard used by a clan near the Land of Rice Fields, now being called the Land of Sound. But the functionality seems to be a lot different, since this 'Spider-Shinobi' seems to favor using his webs to disorient and maneuver before capturing. Also, they aren't made out of bodily fluids," said Kurenai, ending with a small chuckle at the cringes of the three children present.

"Hey! A guy's trying to eat here! Besides, no one that cool would use something as lame as spit to make his webs," said Naruto before stuffing his mouth with ramen.

"Hmm, 'cool', you say? Sounds like an admirer...or maybe you're the Spider-Shinobi, Naruto?" said Kurenai, playfully.

Naruto partially suppressed a nervous response, but the sudden gulp and silence gave him away still. Kurenai let out an innocent laugh, assuring Naruto she had been joking and that someone would have found out if he was the Spider-Shinobi.

"Speaking of admirers, where's Hinata gone? She was with us when we finished training..." said Kiba.

"She said she had something she had to get something from home, and that she'd see us tomorrow," said Kurenai.

"Huh, she probably whispered it. I hope she's alright, her dad's a real jackass I heard," said Kiba, before getting a slap upside the head from his sensei.

The red eyed jonin didn't disagree with her student, but appearances had to be kept. Even if the appearances weren't for anyone currently sitting at the ramen shop.

OoOoO

In the halls of the main Hyuuga compound, Hyuuga Hiashi walked side by side with one of the elders on his clan's council. They had been silent much of their small journey, but both sides knew what needed to be discussed and were just trying to come up with the words to express their concerns.

"I know it seems as if I'm beating a dead horse here, but please consider my plans. The armor just sits, useless otherwise and prepping Hanabi now will allow her to take on the mantle as soon as she graduates and becomes a genin," said Hiashi.

"The Divine Lion is not just an armor and a title. It's a sacred mantle given to a Main Branch warrior, one that has proven themselves capable above all others to be the holy protector of the Hyuuga clan and Konohagakure as a whole. I do not doubt our heiress's ability or talent, but merely the reactions of the village. Ninja with such great titles stopped being in fashion since the Second War, and it could be seen as an act of aggression by the council. You saw how the Uchiha Clan was treated," said the elder.

"It is precisely because of the Uchiha that I have pushed for Hanabi to take this mantle. It shames me to admit that we may be seen as...vulnerable without the Uchiha Clan as part of the many powers of Konohagakure. A show of strength from one of the other great clans will make our enemies think twice before making a move, as well as entice more clients to hire us," said Hiashi.

The elder chuckled and said, "Such strong words from you. Your belief in your youngest daughter is admirable, I will give you that. But the Uchiha were sacrificed to make us stronger, not weaker, Hiashi. And power must always be balanced. An overextension from us could cause a ripple somewhere to awaken a foe we are not collectively ready to face."

"Is there something you're afraid of, Honored Elder? You're so hesitant to take such an obvious step into the future," said Hiashi.

"My hesitancy or lack thereof is my experience counseling caution. I merely wish to get all the facts before enlisting a child to fight the worst of the worst of our enemies," said the elder. "In any case, I am sure that your...exuberance has already won over enough council members by now to get the motion passed, you're merely showing off now with an attempt to make it unanimous."

Hiashi's eyes sharpened slightly, but he said nothing and maintained pace.

"Precisely as I thought. Sometimes I wonder, Hiashi-sama," said the elder as they reached his chambers and the end of their journey. He opened the door and walked in before continuing, "what would have happened if you had that same enthusiasm for your eldest daughter and not just your youngest.."

The door didn't slam, but it may as well have. Hiashi steamed on his walk back, but relished in the knowledge that this particular elder was one of a minority that favored Hinata as the future of the clan. Probably in part because Hinata was so similar to her mother, this particular elder's daughter. In-laws will always be in-laws, he supposed.

And throughout these musings, Hiashi never even noticed a floor panel sliding back into place…

OoOoO

Years of being the quiet girl finally paid off as Hinata now stood in front of a large metal cylinder in a chamber that seemed to be carved into a large formation of teal crystals that almost seemed to hum. While she wasn't banned from the compound, it still would have been noted if anyone had seen her. The guards hadn't been using their Byakugan on patrols yet, as was their custom to do until midnight each night. So she was able to just walk back into her old home, and from there sneak into the Sage Crystal Chamber.

For a moment, she thought back to the day she had been disinherited. It had happened on the same day she'd become a genin, which made it more devastating since she had hoped that the success would grant her the acceptance from her father that she had wished for so long. The world seemed so cold, until she spoke with Naruto of course.

The boy was still highly oblivious of her crush the size of the moon on him, but his most recent failing of the genin exam had seemed to...change him somehow. She had seen him studying intensely, even as his attention naturally tried to find something more interesting. When that found her, he struck up a conversation, mostly one-sided. In a rare moment of perception, he had made her promise to take the responsibility of being a ninja more seriously, and to do her best.

With that same feeling, now over a month later, burning in her chest, Hyuuga Hinata input the password to the cylinder and watched as it slowly turned and revealed the magnificent black and white body suit. Cat like ears adorned the all-white helmet, along with mesh eyes in the shape of a feline's. The black and white split in the same way the yin-yang symbol does, the suit in the same mesh style as the eyes. In the seams were almost impossibly small sage crystals woven right into the fabric, along with an elaborate white fur around the neck area and harder, solid crystals over the finger tips of the hands. Hinata grabbed the suit, along with some of the loose crystals held on the sides just in case she would need them and made her way out of the chamber before anyone noticed.

She also swore that one day, when she could reveal herself, that she would make her father use a password that wasn't just his name and her sister's name as all one word.

OoOoO

"Are we sure this is secure? It's a risk for me even being in this village, let alone your office. Any word of this leaks, and it's the asses of everybody I know on the line, not yours," said a young woman in formal clothing.

"I assure you, Princess, my office is the most secure place in the village right now. We've sealed off the area and now have an S-class barrier ninjutsu on the building to prevent any sound getting out or anyone getting in. I would not risk your safety so loosely," said Hiruzen, before taking a long drag of his pipe.

In his office stood Morino Ibiki, Jiraiya, Nara Shikaku, and Kazahana Koyuki. None of them looked to be too pleased to be there, but it was preferred since this was a matter of business.

"As for the reason I have you all gathered here, there are things we must discuss. All of us. Firstly, Jiraiya has some information for all of us," said Hiruzen.

"Straight to the point as always, huh, Old Man?" said Jiraiya with his signature sly smile. "Well, since I'm letting the cat out the bag first, I'll tell all of you some of my juiciest details. First, Orochimaru seems to have defected from his friends up on cloud nine and started his own country and ninja village. Seems as though he's sending three genin here for the exam, so that's something to keep an eye on. Second, in his departure, word's gotten out that the Iron Monger Doto might be allying himself with those same cloudy bastards soon."

Koyuki's eyes narrowed, but she held her tongue at the moniker her uncle had been given by some in the ninja community.

"Any news on what that alliance would entail?" asked Shikaku.

"No word, since Doto seems to want to keep his best toys to himself and that's all these guys seem to want. But some even more scant rumors suggest that he might be building something for them instead. Something that might be twice as dangerous as the suits," said Jiraiya.

"Has anyone said if he's managed to replicate my father's technology?" said Koyuki, attempting to hide her fear and anger.

Jiraiya shook his head, causing an instant relief for the princess. He said, "Whatever he's building, he's using what he's already got to do it. The secret of Chakra Repulsion Tech is still with you, fortunately for us all."

"I concur. Although, speaking of this, Koyuki-hime, I wanted to ask your permission to use the Cradle for one of our injured shinobi. Hatake Kakashi's hands were damaged extensively during his last mission, and he's mostly recovered but it seems he needs a little assistance none of our medics on hand seem to be able to provide," said Hiruzen.

"No dice there," said Koyuki while shaking her head. "Not out of a lack of desire, but mostly because the Cradle was damaged during a raid some time ago and it's out of my area of expertise to fix it. I'm close, but I don't exactly have a background in biology and medical ninjutsu to make sure it's functioning the same way."

"Well, I hope we can make your trip at least somewhat worthwhile. Ibiki can fill you all in on a...separate problem we seem to have," said Hiruzen.

"Well, here's the deal. Exactly three weeks prior to today, a mysterious figure known as the 'Spider-Shinobi' started making regular appearances around the Market District. The initial reports were dismissed as some sort of illusion or merely some genin pranks. When the figure turned into a full-blown vigilante, the Military Police launched a full on investigation that has now made its way to my office. The reports are strange, to say the least. The vigilante only targets small time criminals such as petty thugs or vandal, which is where the normalcy ends. Attempts to fight back by his targets have all been met with spectacular failure, with several offenders reporting broken bones from punching him and speak of reflexes consistent with that of a jonin. It got even stranger when the vigilante went from leaving the criminals haphazardly at the scene to tying them in up spider-like web threads that are stronger than steel and naturally dissolve in hours," said Ibiki.

"Whoa, sounds like a regular combat specialist. Why haven't any Hyuuga been called to..." said Shikaku.

"They have. Multiple times. One even managed to get close to the perpetrator. His face is concealed by special ink paint that even a Byakugan has trouble seeing through. If it happened in daylight, maybe they could get any distinguishable features besides his blond hair," said Ibiki.

"Blond...you don't think it's Naruto, do you? Only so many people with that kind of hair in the village, and this does sound right up his alley," said Jiraiya.

Both Hiruzen and Ibiki shook their heads.

"The raw strength level the Spider-Shinobi possesses would disqualify him alone, not to mention the sticking to buildings and objects that would require chakra control someone who isn't even a genin could not possess. The flexibility, as well as the tech he seems to possess are out of Naruto's scope as well. We could shadow the boy anyway..." said Ibiki.

"No, no no, that's not where I was going. Just that maybe it was a side effect of having the fox locked inside of him. Anyway, anything else out of the ordinary?" said Jiraiya.

"Yes, this is the reason why we wished to call upon your talents, Your Highness. Shortly after the investigation reached my office, it became nearly impossible to lock on to the Spider-Shinobi's chakra signature for longer than a few seconds. Even the Hokage's scrying cannot follow him for more than a minute without scrambling. We were wondering..." said Ibiki.

"Wondering if I had something that can either beef up the power of your surveillance or at least something that will help stop him from screwing up what you already got. I can see, but it will take some time. It might be a few weeks before I'm able to help you track him down, but why the hurry?" said Koyuki.

"The Spider-Shinobi may be something of a beloved figure in the village, but he is believed to be either a foreign or domestic agent with goals that are as of yet unknown to us. He may very well be as benevolent as he seems, but the level of power he possesses is not something we can allow to act freely within our borders in complete anonymity. Especially since we have not been able to identify the source of his physical strength and flexibility. That's too dangerous to ignore," said Shikaku.

"Well said. In any case, with the Chuunin Exams coming up soon, we need to make sure we have the village secured in case anything happens to go wrong. Wouldn't want clients to think we just let some rogue ninja beat up whoever he wants every night for fun, now would we?" said Hiruzen.

"Now that you mention the exam," said Jiraiya in a more serious tone, "there's something else everybody here needs to know..."

OoOoO

It was their biggest score in an entire year. Tien and his gang had been planning this for months, an entire shipment of the special metal used in Chakra Blades that they managed to rob blind before anyone knew what happened. They didn't even need to steal a bunch, just what they could carry in their backpacks and each one of them would be set for a long enough time to get off anyone's radar. Especially if the news about Gatou Shipping Corps going belly up and nobody stepping into the void.

Tien knew about the rumors of that weirdo using spider webs to catch thieves, but all of those suckers had been caught because there were witnesses to call for help. He and his boys hadn't been seen, and would make a clean getaway because of that.

At least, until he heard Kenshin behind him try to scream before a 'whoosh' sound took his place. When Tien and his two remaining comrades turned their heads, they were greeted by the sight of Kenshin being wrapped up by webs on a light pole, and a really short guy in what looked like loose blue and orange onesie and some googles crawling like a spider up the pole.

"You know, you should probably look both ways before you cross the street. And also check for silent alarms that aren't as silent as they think they are at this time of night," said the Spider-Shinobi in what sounded like a preteen pretending to be gruff.

"So, the rumors are true. You are short," said Tien with a smug look on his face.

Having been a genin before defecting from service, Tien had fought this type of vigilante before. Some punk kid or teenager with their new ninjutsu or after learning how to throw a punch wanted to test their abilities by 'stumbling' upon a crime in process to cover up their arrogance. More than one genin was spending their free time in a grave trying him like this.

"I can't help being short! Just like you none of you can help being ugly," said the Spider-Shinobi before shooting a web and beginning to swing towards his three remaining opponents.

Tien motioned for his two cronies to get into a formation, and made hand seals. The Spider-Shinobi hesitated for a half second, having never faced an opponent with ninjutsu before, and it was enough to get him caught in the ninja wire thrown by the first two cronies.

"Earth Release: Giant Finger Trap!" said Tien, with earthen columns shooting out from beneath the Spider-Shinobi.

His hands now caught in earth and the rest of his body immobilized in wire, the Spider-Shinobi struggled to get free to no avail. Tien walked slowly to his new prey, contemplating the number of ways that he should dispose of the nuisance.

"Huh, and they told me you were graceful and strong. Looks like you got caught by our simplest maneuver, like the chump you are," said Tien as he got close to the Spider-Shinobi.

"How about you let me go and we just redo this whole thing? You know, then I can show you what I can really do!" said the Spider-Shinobi, seemingly growing more nervous.

"And why would I do something like that? I've got you right where I want you," said Tien while grabbing the Spider-Shinobi's mask. He tugged once, and it didn't budge. He tugged twice, to the same result. The third time, he fueled his muscles with as much chakra as he could, but it only slid slightly.

"Between a rock and a hard place, amirite?" said the Spider-Shinobi.

The entire area fell silent. Not even the crickets chirped at the joke.

"Tough crowd, kid," said Tien.

"Seems like it," said the Spider-Shinobi, while also breaking his right hand free using his strength alone and punching Tien clear across the area.

The other two goons stared at their flying leader in shock, before noticing that the other hand had broken out and a string of web had latched on to them from the web shooters on the boy's wrists.

"You know, I bet your leader takes both of you for granite," said the Spider-Shinobi as he pulled the two together with enough force to disorient them upon impact, while jumping to avoid them. "If you want him to appreciate you, you should be a little boulder."

He twisted in the air to get the ninja wire off of him, and then the Spider-Shinobi landed behind the two goons before jumping in front of them and using the momentum to launch them into their leader, who had begun to recover. All three slammed into the wall, but not with enough force to break the wall down. More webs shot on them, preventing them from moving as well as sticking them to each other in slightly awkward looking poses.

"Alright guys, gneiss work tonight but unfortunately, your plans came up a little short. Don't quarry, though, I'm sure the police will give you all a clean slate once you explain how badly I kicked all your asses," said the Spider Shinobi as he shot a web out into the distance, and his web shooter began to retract the web as soon as it hit something solid. "Although that's just metamorphically speaking, of quartz you're all going to jaaaaail!"

Each of the four criminals groaned as they had to live with this embarrassment forever.

X-X-X

A/N: If you're wondering whether or not you've seen Chapter 2 before, you probably have. But I deleted it a looooong time ago. And rewrote chapter 1 (it's not some epic length, it's probably just as short as before, just retooled to be canon with what I have now). The reasoning is because I sort of retooled the ENTIRE story in my years away (I never forget my fanfictions unless I specifically say I gave them up), and only recently got myself in the mindstate to really begin writing again. So, everything is getting a nice clean once over. Every story on my page. Even Turtle Destruction Wave, which I wanted to give up but then thought it'd be much too cool with Super having an entire new run.

So, expect more. I want to hear what you all think, because I have many ideas and the best way to get any writer (especially amateurs) to write is to tell them that you enjoy what they wrote and any honest critique of any scene, story element, etc. that you have. Trust me, if it weren't for someone telling me on a social network the other day "Where are your stories? I wanna read them!", you guys would not have gotten this.

I'll save the sad stories about how my life has been, all I'll say is that I'm alive and beginning to thrive again. So, again, expect more. I'm currently rewriting Supernal Epic and R&D (which will take some time to sift so just check those regularly and I'll be sure to put an update date since doesn't send you notifications when chapters are replaced).

If you're new to my stories, I want to say, welcome! Love you guys. If you're an older reader who saw my name in an email and are shocked that I'm alive, also welcome. Love you guys too.

Codex Entry: Sage Crystal

The material that makes up the First Hokage's famous necklace. Unknown to most of the village and the rest of the world, a huge sage crystal deposit is hidden beneath the Hyuuga Main House, who have sworn to protect the resource since the founding of the village. Hashirama only knew some of the secrets of the crystal, namely its ability to increase the potency of his Bijuu controlling abilities but it only scratches the surface of the true nature of sage crystal. For that, the Hyuuga Main Family's Divine Lion was born, a secret operative that is gifted with the true powers of the crystal and sworn to guard both those and the Byakugan...