BP: I'm surprised at the reception of this, and thank you all for the favourites and follows. I would do my best to improve on other chapters.

To answer a question, no, Ash is not married. This is because I am still indecisive on who to pair him with. So technically he is a single dad, but it didn't really affect him because he had his team.

One year has passed since Naruto was adopted by Ash and training couldn't be going better, with the help of Ash and his team members. Naruto was now 5 years old and alas, as Ash's son he soon found that in addition to his combat and Pokémon training and theories relating to it, he would have to learn about deportment.

Unfortunately, Naruto found that he was the worst in this department. Even worse, Pakura was his teacher for this because she was the best at this. However, she worked him to the bone about even the most minute things such as his walking, sitting, and posture.

She even had him practice his lying skills and made sure he did not show any signs that he was lying. She also made him learn how to hide his emotions to the point only powerful psychics or spirit mediums can tell something is wrong.

This was necessary mainly because when Ash adopted him, he was technically his oldest kid and unless he met another woman, marry her and have kids, Naruto was the sole heir to the throne of Rota.

Well, technically Ash is still Crown Prince, but still…Pakura pulled no punches and made him learn the hard way that being royal wasn't all about being driven around in limos and or taking private jets or buying the latest shirt or jeans or always being in style like he read about princes in fairy tales that Ash would read him before bed every night.

It was all about being the bigger person and being kind to others. Or try to, anyway since Ash had admitted that being a Crown Prince of Rota and being PAL's Prince are two completely different things.

The PAL Ruler's responsibilities were more similar to a Kage, with the exception that they need to protect the Pokémon and the environment as well. It was also on a much bigger scale, as PAL Region was the biggest region, around the size of Russia. Unlike the Kages, it's the people and Hunter's Association that select the rulers, not the predecessor.

He knew this because when he had to study politics as part of his duties as Ash's heir, he was asked to do a fact sheet on the political structure of each region, and he thought Kage was similar to someone like the Champion, and PAL Rulers are like the Daimyō, he supposed. If Daimyōs can even fight, that is. Really, due to the larger scale of the region, he suspected not even them could ever hope to match up to the PAL Rulers in terms of political power.

At another point as homework, he found out that PAL is really right up there in terms of technology, resources, manpower and even natural environment. Due to the amount of resources they have, it was also described as "a great place to develop a person's talents".

This was true, as Naruto read up on a lot of people such as the Dragon Duo starting their careers at the age as young as twelve. It also proved that PAL is a very progressive region, making it possible for people to start their careers at a very young age. Of course, it's also the top spot for vacations and wild Pokémon dwellings, as it was also beautiful.

Of course, due to the progressive nature, the region adopted a mentality that trainers would have to protect their Pokémon too, making it a must to have an understanding of martial arts in order to survive in the region.

It also adopted the 'kill-or-be-killed' mentality through a rigorous exam, where if you pass, you're declared elite members of humanity and granted a Hunter's License.

With the passing of the Hunter Exam, an applicant is rewarded with a license to go almost anywhere in the world and do almost anything, thus declaring them Hunters. Typically, Hunters devoted themselves to tracking down priceless items, mystical places, and the unseen wonders of the world.

True Hunters dedicate themselves to the protection of knowledge, people, Pokémon and nature. They must preserve culturally precious items or species of animals and plants they are able to discover. Furthermore, they must also arrest criminals and in rare cases even fellow Hunters who have committed heinous crimes.

Naruto was surprised to learn just how many types of Hunters there are and how if you wish to work in a department of your choosing, you'd have to pass the tests set by the Head of that Department. He was also astonished to learn how PAL had aggressive and have higher requirements to be a Battle Leader (equivalent of Gym Leader in other regions) and Elite Four members.

For instance, to even be considered as an Elite, you would not just have to win a Trainer's Tournament which was already more heinous than the normal regional Conferences due to the higher requirements to defeat a Battle Leader, you would have to be a Hunter at the time of application, be the best in your type specialty, be famous at a field that has nothing to do with Pokémon or being a Hunter and defeat at least one member of the PAL Elite.

'What a long list of specific requirements.' Naruto had thought when he was doing his homework about that topic. It was no wonder that each of the PAL Elites was extremely influential in their own way. Even worse, they would have to have an ability to use Aura or psychic powers in order to be considered. But as his dad pointed out, how else would they defend their region from invaders?

Speaking of Aura, Naruto learnt that Aura is almost similar to chakra in many ways, such as being essential to even the most basic techniques, being able to be controlled to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, ordinarily not visible to the human eye, and basically being the a form of life energy that all individuals produce to some degree. However, there are a few key differences as well.

According to what he researched and observed, unlike chakra users which made up most shinobi, Aura users are mainly made, not born. To open the ability to use Aura, someone with Aura had to unlock it. However, if not done correctly, they could risk ending up crippled or dead.

But if you can unlock your Aura, it would prove an advantage due to its incredible versatility to those who develop their skill at using it. For example, those with chakra would require you to have the corresponding elemental affiliation such as Wind and Water affiliation, to perform certain techniques such as Ice Release. However, Aura users can develop this without the prior need of having Wind or Water-based components.

Hence, what people perceive as Kekkei Genkai among shinobi can actually be replicated by Aura users if they wish to make that as their personal expression of Aura.

Aura users also have basic abilities such as the ability to read minds and actions of another being, "sense" other Auras and view surroundings even with a blindfold, and allows users to view through some objects and even projection of one's Aura; such as to create barriers or attacks.

Due to the more versatile applications of Aura, in order to actually master the concept of Aura, Aura would actually require more prior exercises before learning to express it in forms of abilities.

For instance, Aura users would have to learn how to keep their Aura from leaking away from their body, stop the flow of Aura from their body altogether, outputting a larger amount of Aura, projecting it outwards explosively and the personal expression of Aura.

Naruto had also learnt that after Aura acquire a working command of the basics, they would need to be introduced to a series of advanced techniques that often combine and/or derive from the four basic exercises above.

This included concentrating a larger than normal portion of their aura into one specific body part, increasing the strength of that one body part, but left the rest of the body vulnerable. It could even be used in the eyes to see Aura or Aura-based constructs that are concealed or traces of Aura so faint that might to unnoticed otherwise.

Another one was to render one's Aura imperceptible, effectively concealing it. It doesn't not stop the user's Aura flow, but rather hides it, making it impossible to perceive with any of the five senses or extra sensorial perception. It can not only conceal the user's presence, but also Aura constructs generated by the user, effective for sneak attacks.

A third way to use Aura would be to extend it to the point and contain it to give shape, and by using that, someone can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by their Aura, with the degree of awareness and finesse depending on their level of skill. Aura users can be told apart from normal people or even chakra users due to differing wavelengths of their life force. Better users of this technique can even tell more detailed things such as the chakra nature of a user for instance.

Fourth way would be the ability to enshroud an object with their Aura, allowing them to use that object as an extension of their own body, such as covering the weapon they use with their Aura, strengthening and protecting it. This is the reason why Aura users can use improbable weapons such as a ruler to even fight back.

Fifth way would be to concentrate all of the user's Aura into one particular body part, via focusing Aura on a part of the body, while completely stopping the flow of Aura in all other parts of the body, increasing the output in the desired area. This makes that one body part extremely powerful, but at the cost of leaving the rest of the user's body completely unprotected. Due to this, it's regarded as purely offensive.

Sixth way would be the a primarily defensive technique, where an Aura user maintained an amount of aura surrounding the user's body to guard against attacks from any direction. Some may even use it to sense incoming attacks they are unable to see.

The last technique would be to perform real-time offensive and defensive value adjustments. For example, during combat, you might have to focus around seventy percent of the Aura in one fist about to strike, or eighty percent in one's leg to block an incoming kick. While it did not leave the user unprotected, the power of the strike would still be lower. It's difficult to master as it requires not only to control one's aura flow with great precision, but also to be able to estimate the amount of Aura utilized by the opponent at a single glance. Even if it's performed correctly, the movements of the Aura flow risk giving away the user's next move if they are too slow.

When Naruto first learnt of these concepts, he was in disbelief of how many ways you can use Aura in raw form without even moulding it into actual techniques. However, Ash pointed out the downsides to Aura abilities.

When it comes to coming up with abilities and mastering them, it may be much easier than jutsus due to abilities being imagination-based and being the goals, strengths, and desires of individual users but a Limitation has to be put down when coming up with it.

If someone states a self-imposed restriction and managed to abide by that rule, that particular skill will become stronger. The stricter the Limitation, the stronger the user's resolve, and thus the more their ability is strengthened.

Limitations that contain some sort of punishment will strengthen the ability even further. The larger the stake the user put in a situation where he or she violated the rule, the stronger the ability would turn out.

"You know the famous painter, Tyler Clearwater?" His dad asked during one of their lessons.

"You mean the guy who won all first prize awards for all his art? Yeah, I read about him in Art Around the World magazine. Why?" Naruto replied.

"Well, he actually unconsciously uses Aura when he is making his art, being what you might call a genius. His ability enabled him to uncannily improve and make his works of art more attractive with every piece made. I'm pretty sure his restriction was, if he were to ever not win an award in just one of his pieces, he would lose his life." Ash told him.

"Who does that?" Naruto was astonished.

"Some people who consider it their life would." His dad replied.

Furthermore, the scariest part of Aura was that Aura abilities do not necessarily dissipate in death. On the contrary, it may cause pre-existing abilities to become even more powerful. This was because of Aura being run by the user's emotions; hence any powerful enough emotion such as hatred or strong loyalty to someone can result in this phenomenon.

For some reason, Aura also makes someone stop or at least slow down drastically the ageing of a person. As an example, Ash had shown him a picture of a beautiful woman named Pakura Goldstein, the First Princess of PAL and said that she was 56 years old at the time of her death.

However, when Naruto took a good look at the picture, she looked closer to twenty-five rather than a real middle-aged woman. He inwardly thought that it would have been unnerving for men to find out about her age when they hit on her in bars or something. Another thing he noticed was that she bore a very strong resemblance to Pakura, Ash's right-hand woman and current PAL Princess.

When he asked about this, Ash got this funny look on his face and started to say something, before saying, "It's her secret to tell. You'll have to ask her." Naruto let it drop, since he figured it was fair and he didn't really want to incur her wrath. After all, he witnessed first-hand that the rumors that she can kill with a glare was actually true.

At first, Naruto thought learning about the concepts of Aura was one of the most tedious homework as of yet. He was pretty sure that the homework on the concepts of chakra were way shorter than that.

However, he met the match in the form of…Aura exercises. During a combat training with Jude, Jude accidentally hit Naruto with an Aura-enhanced punch that was too much for Naruto to handle, sending Naruto flying.

He was fine though, thanks to the Kyuubi, whose name was Kurama. It didn't stop his dad from fretting over him or Jude continuously apologizing. Nevertheless, from that day, something went wrong with his chakra due to the Aura interfering with it, changing it forever.

He was still discovering aspects of his Chakura, since he was the first person to have both Chakra and Aura fused together without any apparent side effects.

Phillip had theorized that Naruto now has some sort of weird energy that was a hybrid between chakra and Aura, dubbed Chakura as a joke by Jude, which wasn't taken very well by the others in Ash's team (though Naruto liked the name).

While Naruto could still cast elemental-based jutsus that his chakra has an affinity towards, he realized that the Aura aspects of his Chakura meant he only needed a few hand seals to cast more complexed jutsus as long as they exist in the records or are being used by other shinobi.

Although he still needed to set conditions for abilities that he invented on his own, it still opened up possibilities for him to use elements not affiliated with his original chakra and even mimic advanced nature transformations that only those with kekkei genkai can achieve.

It wasn't going to be easy to master the new mechanics of his Chakura, but he wasn't about to give up because he really wanted to be the best him that he could be. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to be Hokage anymore, since he realized he didn't really have much attachment to the people in the village thanks to their treatment towards him.

Naruto very much preferred where he was right now, where people didn't care much about the fox inside him since they've seen weirder. Ash even told him they could visit Jiji in Konoha for a week and he looked forward to telling him how much he had improved from his training, Naruto knew to keep the change of his chakra a secret.

It didn't matter though. Naruto was looking forward for a week of ramen meal. Over here, Pakura only cooked ramen once in a blue moon which was better than none at all. While the reason she didn't cook ramen often was because she preferred cooking different dishes, Naruto still missed his favourite dish at times. Although he would admit that Pakura's meals were always delicious due to her being an amazing chef.

'Stupid fox, telling Aunt Pakura to keep it up.' Naruto thought, as he was currently doing a computer simulation testing his knowledge of Berries, sorting them according to their functions.

"Ungrateful brat. If you eat only ramen you will stay a midget. You need a proper diet and she had been doing well to help you." Kurama muttered in his head.

In the last year Naruto and Kurama have grown closer thanks to the fact that in the Pokémon world, living creatures were beloved and worshipped by humans. Seeing this, Kurama thought the humans here weren't so bad as they saw Pokémon as partners and friends and not as weapons to gain more power.

This was especially true in PAL, as in PAL, the humans would protect the Pokémon with their own skill. In fact, it was expected of them. This contrasted with other regions, whose trainer would use some other Pokémon of theirs to protect another Pokémon. PAL Hunters in general would also show no mercy to those who abuse or poach Pokémon.

Although they would still have to work on the fox's hatred towards the shinobi, but they were as close as a Human and a Fox could be. When you ignore the constant bickering and death threats, it was clear they both liked and respected each other.

'I'm not a midget!' Naruto protested. It was true. Thanks to training and the diet, he was pretty tall for a five-year-old. True, he didn't have muscles yet but hey, he's only five. Ash said if he kept it up, he'll grow up to one fine young man.

When time was up, Akeno came in to mark his online test. She smiled and nodded as she stepped aside to let Naruto take a look. Naruto looked over his own test, focusing on the things he got wrong. Even when he got a 98, the blond hoped to find out how he could improve.

"You sure come a long way since you started." Akeno smiled.

Naruto frowned as the only one he missed was the Coba Berry, who was supposed to lower the damage taken from a super-effective Flying-type move, not an Ice-type move. He must have mixed it up with the Yache Berry.

His Gabite came waddling over, trying to get up to the computer desk. Naruto smiled and lifted his new Gabite up. Gabite was given as a present by Ash as a Gible to help him ease his anxiety at being at a new home and was the catalyst to his goal of becoming a legendary Dragon Specialist in his own right.

"How are you doing?" Naruto hugged his Gabite.

"Great, Naruto!" Gabite chirped, wagging his tail happily. "Although your father and your Aunt Pakura are bickering."

"Over what?" Naruto was curious, as Gabite shrugged.

Akeno giggled with a sweet smile. "Oh, you don't have to worry. Ash and Pakura are having a disagreement over whether she should come to the trip or not. Ash thinks this trip would be good for her and Pakura disagreed."

"Sure, she should come." Naruto agreed with his father. After all, he had seen Pakura had been working harder than any of the others teaching him and juggling her schedule that she no sooner remembers to take a break than she remembers to eat breakfast. Naruto suspected that she considered her meal time as a vacation of some sorts.

"Tell her that." Akeno nodded with approval. Naruto grinned and bounced over to where he heard voices from his father and Pakura. Both of them were in the library,

"Come on, Paku. It'll be good for you to go on a trip to relax for a change." Ash was trying to persuade her. "You don't have to be princess and you can get away from the press or fans for a while."

"It's a family-only trip. I'll decline." Pakura replied, sceptical. There was no way she was leaving the region to the other three as they aren't that competent as she felt the other three were not as well-versed at being an actual leader than the two of them.

"If you can't do it for me, then…" Ash trailed off when he saw Naruto. "Oh, hey Naruto. How did Akeno's test go?"

"I got a 99. I missed one question." Naruto replied, as Ash smiled proudly.

"Congratulations!" Ash slapped Naruto on the back heartily. "So, do you want a little something for your performance?"

That was another reason why he liked his adopted father and his team. While they were generally strict and demanding teachers, they loved to spoil him with all the little things to reward him for excellent performance and were encouraging to him.

Naruto grinned slyly like a fox and said, "I want her to come along on our trip!" while pointing to Pakura.

Pakura had an expression on her face that clearly said, "Eu tu, Naruto?"

Ash leaned forward and placed a hand soothingly on Pakura's shoulder, using telepathy. 'It would be such a kindness. After all, it'd what Naruto wants and he's still a kid, so do it for him at least.'

Pakura shot Ash a look that said, "Laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" which Ash ignored. It wasn't helped that Naruto decided to give the worst weapon a kid had—the puppy eyes.

Ironically, this was one of the lessons Pakura taught Naruto over the one year— how to tip things to your favour with facial expressions and body language. As a kid, Pakura had told him that the puppy eyes would be the best weapon. After all, who could say no to something so cute?

"Ugh, fine." Pakura groaned, as the two of them shared a high-five.

Naruto had an innocent smile on his face as Ash whispered, "Nice one." To Pakura, he said, "We're leaving tomorrow and I have booked an inn for the three of us."

Pakura inwardly sighed as she stalked off, presumably to pack.

Gabite was on the floor laughing at the interaction.

Ash grinned to Naruto. "Well, Naruto, I'm going to get the other three and speak to them about holding the fort for one week. You do whatever you want, alright?"

Naruto nodded, and gleefully ran back to his room, and grabbed a handheld game. He spent the time playing Pokémon: Heartsong Symphony. Naruto put on headphones to listen to the music better.

Say what you will of playing a game set in the region is his living in, but he learnt quite a fair bit about Pokémon with this game and even practice what he was taught on this game through via making use of type effectiveness to win battles. Although obviously real-life isn't the same as a game, it's a good way to refresh what he learnt while having fun.

"Ah, she loves you in her own way." Gabite snickered.

"Why, of course. I'm just this lovable." Naruto joked, and both laughed.

"Lovable? You're just a short little brat to me." Kurama snorted.

"Love you too, Kurama." Naruto blew a mock kiss. Kurama groaned in his head, as Gabite and Naruto both chuckled. Naruto sensed Ash coming, and removed his headphones. Just in time too, as Ash knocked and entered the room.

"Enjoying yourself?" Ash was smiling, as he handed a nightly snack (usually made by Pakura) for Naruto—tonight was a plain bagel loaded with cream cheese and smoked salmon, along with some sugar cookies and a cup of hot cocoa.

"That was fast." Naruto took the bagel with thanks. "How did you persuade them so quickly?" He took a sugar cookie and fed his Gabite, who happily munched on it.

"Let's just say they have a debt to repay to Paku." Ash replied.

Naruto nodded and sank his teeth into the bagel. As usual, it tasted amazing since Pakura was the one who made the snack.

"Must have been a big debt." Naruto remarked after swallowing.

Ash tittered. "You can say that. Even I feel I owe her a debt. She may not be the nicest person, but she did take me in after my mother died, acting as my mentor and leading me here."

"Was the debt they owe as big as yours?" Naruto never really heard of the Elites' pasts before.

"Most likely." Ash answered. "Would you like me to tell you about it during bedtime or something?"

Naruto nodded, as Ash laughed. "Alright. But for now, how about some Scrabble?"

"You're on, dad." Naruto smirked. As Ash passed out the tiles, Naruto mused that when the Elites were playing with him, Naruto always tried to use words like "Dattebayo" and "Hokage" and "Konoha" and they'd get into good-natured arguments about whether or not those words counted mainly because they aren't actually found on the dictionary.

They'd always eventually give in to him, however, since they loved to see him happy.

When they were playing, however, Naruto started to accuse Ash of cheating- he's using foreign words. Ash claimed that he'd forgotten they were foreign, and used them regularly when interacting with foreign members of the Hunter's Association, but Naruto's sharp eyes were able to perceive a tell—a little smirk at the corner of Ash's mouth.

Regardless of the leeway he was given, Ash won again. However, he complimented Naruto of putting up a good fight.

They're talking about the game's outcome, and the possibility of a rematch, when Ash wondered if they should get some others to play Pictionary with them.

"Three versus three?" Naruto said, excited as they never played Pictionary together. Ash nodded, and called the others to play Pictionary. Akeno, Jude and Phillip on one team, himself, Ash and Pakura on the other.

As Naruto expected, Phillip's quick sketches are far beyond his own ability, but they had a different advantage. Ash and Pakura knew each other for seven years and had a good idea of how each other's minds work. Once one figured out the other's sloppy sketch, they can find the association quickly enough.

On the other hand, Phillip's complex mind as a genius meant that sometimes, his drawing wasn't exactly the words they needed to say. Naruto laughed as he held up his hand for a sly high-five with Ash as they won. Phillip was sheepish and looked apologetic for costing his team the one point.

Although Naruto had learnt that there is one thing Pakura is bad at after all—her drawing was horrible. Gabite and even Kurama was gobsmacked when they saw her drawing. If they didn't see her draw it, they wouldn't have guessed she was the one who drew it.

It was something you might see from a three-year-old, not a full-grown, elegant Princess.

Naruto inwardly sweat-dropped at this. He figured that was probably the real reason why the Elites never played Pictionary very often.

When everyone had retired back to their rooms, Naruto settled back in his covers and looked at Ash expectantly for his bedtime story. Ash smiled sadly, and petted Naruto's knee as he said, "You know I used to travel around the regions with a different group of friends for each, right?"

"I do." Naruto nodded.

"You see, after I finished Kalos with yet another loss, those friends decided that I shouldn't pursue my dream anymore." Ash told him. "Their reasoning was because I would fail again and well, I bring danger to them it seems."

For a moment he was silent as he remembered how his friend did that heinous crime to his only family member. The one person who believed in his dreams until the very end and even defended them against his friends. However, it came at a great cost. Ash still felt sad thinking about her, but he knew he had to move on. It had been years after all.

"They tried to rope my mother into it, you know." Ash continued to Naruto. "I mean, I overheard it at the door and everything. She defended me, telling them to stuff it and that she believed I could succeed one day. I was touched, but knew that I couldn't stay, so I went into the regional Professor's lab to get what I needed. I wanted to take my mother out as well, but when I exited…my town was on fire. I ran into the house and found my mother dead, and the traitors just teleported away."

Naruto was stunned at that story. He definitely did not know this about his father. "What happened next?" He asked.

"I went to my mother and took out the knife, but that was when the traitors came back with the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia. They were telling Cynthia that I killed my own mother and they saw it. Perhaps Cynthia believed it too since I was the one with the knife. I was so frightened that I accidentally teleported to another region that I didn't know about—this region."

"Was that when she found you?" Naruto wondered.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yes. Pakura found me and took me under her wing, making sure I was never found for six years. After all, an arrest warrant was out for me for the murder of my mother." He explained.

"That's horrible!" Naruto gasped.

Ash gave a bitter smile. "She even let me used her Badges to participate in Pokémon Conferences for each region, since I already registered mine while travelling with those friends. She taught me a lot of things, and finally, it led me to PAL. She even paid an amazing lawyer to get me acquitted for my mother's death last year."

"You're shivering, dad." Naruto told him.

The aircon and the story had blown all the warmth from his body. After all, he kept wondering if he just barged into the house, would he have saved his mother?

"You don't have to go on if you don't want to." Naruto had sensed his sadness via his Aura.

"I'm alright. You asked, so I would tell." Ash assured him. "What I didn't know until two years ago was that Paku actually had suffered a huge loss during that time. She had been through worse, but yet she still decided to risk her reputation and titles to make sure I was hidden, all while training me up and thanks to her, I was able to become the very first Champion."

"So, she was here the longest?" Naruto enquired.

"Well, I wouldn't say longest, but she's definitely our most experienced member." Ash nodded. "I know the others also had tragic events happen to them too, and how they found their way here had something to do with her."

"She sounds like a true princess." Naruto commented. Gabite and Kurama had to agree.

Ash decided to let Naruto keep his viewpoint for a while. After all, there are reasons why the other members had to keep a close eye on her and insisted she took breaks once in a while like earlier tonight for instance. The reasons took the form of a dark, sinister nature.

'Considering the nature of the village, maybe I'll tell him once he gets into the Academy.' Ash thought.

"I'm telling you this is so that you would know that there are people who might lose faith in you and backstab you at a moment's notice. They may claim that they still believe in you and will be on your side, even if they didn't." Ash petted his shoulder. "I don't want you to go through the same thing I did."

"How do I tell, then?" Naruto wondered.

"They will always be clues. If you're smart, you'll pick up on them eventually." Ash replied. "But you're my son, so I'm sure you would be able to tell right away. I believe in you."

"Thanks, dad." Naruto snuggled under his covers.

"Goodnight." Ash hugged him and kissed him on the forehead, and left.

However, Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, even if it was way past his bedtime. He was just too excited/nervous to do so. After all. they would be back in Konoha to visit Jiji tomorrow, and he wondered what they would do for this one-week vacation.

True, the villagers may treat him like they did years ago, but as long as he had his dad and Gabite, he was sure he could get through the vacation without any incidents. He could really do without the storekeepers kicking him out or being beaten and insulted by a mob constantly.

Then again…if they tried, he would probably have the chance to show them what he had learnt here. After all, staying here made sure that he also had Pokémon training skills and access to other mechanics, which he doubted most shinobi would have back in the village due to the regions and villages generally leaving one another alone.

It's great to think that he would not only be able to be a shinobi once he turns twelve, but also make use of Pokémon to help him in battles.

Naruto spent the rest of the night slipping in and out of a doze, wondering what the next one week would have in store for them. Jude had once joked that Ash and Naruto were two of the biggest trouble magnets he had ever seen. Both of them together would be a catastrophe.

The joke was once more brought up in the morning when Jude said, "Don't rope Paku into your troubles!" when the three were getting ready to leave.

Naruto laughed and Ash gave a playful glare.

"Do one last check on your outfits." Akeno reminded them. "Make sure you don't stand out."

Naruto looked down to himself. He was wearing a black high-collared shirt along with dark form-fitting grey pants and black open-toed sandals. However, inside the shirt was actually an armour that is knife-proof and bullet proof. To the right of his pants was his kunai pouch and to his left waist was his medical pouch. Strapped at his back was what looked like a katana, but Phillip had added other functions not seen by the naked eye.

"Don't worry, I checked the fashion myself. I'm pretty sure this was standard." Phillip answered.

"But Arceus knows they could use a dose of fashion sense." Jude looked the three up and down.

"They are shinobi, not models." Ash retorted. He was wearing a black, long-sleeved, and high-collared blazer that was open to reveal his plain dark teal shirt with armor beneath. He also wore dark blue stretchable pants along with open-toed sandals. He retained his fingerless gloves which had that Mega Stone embedded on it and concealed his CommuniDex. His weapon, a rapier was strapped to his left side while a pouch was at the right.

"I am sure even the Gym Leaders and Elite Fours and Champions dress better than that." Akeno giggled, looking the three up and down.

"They dress for practicality, not fashion." Ash reminded them, as Pakura rolled her eyes.

She herself was wearing a black high-collared figure-hugging shirt with a cleavage window that clearly showed off her well-formed physique along with navy blue stretchable pants. She wore sandals that went up to her knees, which concealed some weapons as Naruto had seen her stuff some knives in those sandals earlier. Her katana was strapped to her back in the cylinder containing special ammunition. To her left side was the medical pouch.

Naruto knew that both were inwardly grousing about having to get into what was deemed normal shinobi outfits as it was technically outside their type of everyday clothing. However, he was happy they would do it for him.

"Well regardless, you guys look striking in your shinobi outfits." Akeno smiled sweetly. "After all, maybe not all shinobi are born with camera ready faces."

"Yeah, yeah." Ash was waving her off, as Pikachu and Lucario snickered. "You have everything ready?" he turned to his son.

"Ever ready, dattebayo!" Naruto pumped a fist up in the air.

"Ready!" Gabite echoed.

Pakura confirmed that the Hokage is alone in his office, and slashed open a portal, gesturing for them to get in. They waved goodbye to their Elites as they stepped through their portal, ending up in the Hokage's office.

"Ah, Prince Ash. Princess Pakura. Nice to see you in appropriate outfits for a change." The Hokage joked, as Naruto tittered at the remark, along with their walking Pokémon. "I see Naruto-kun is doing well."

"Yep, Jiji! They treated me really well!" Naruto chirped. "I even get pets to take care of." He showed off his little Gabite, who waved. "But I was really bummed that I don't get to eat ramen every day because Aunt Pakura doesn't cook ramen often."

"It's unhealthy for a potential shinobi to be eating ramen all the time, Naruto." Ash facepalmed. Pakura glanced heavenward like she agreed and was exasperated at Naruto wanting ramen all the time.

"Your dad's right, you know." Sarutobi chuckled. "So, what do you need?" He knew if they came here directly, they must have wanted something.

"As long as we are here, I would like to formally request you do not out our royal status to anybody." Ash said, bowing. "When Naruto comes here for the Academy, I at least want him to have people that would like him for him in his life, and nothing else."

Naruto blinked up at him, knowing what Ash meant.

Sarutobi nodded. "Makes sense. Alright, I'll consider it. Also, I'm glad to see that the—" He trailed off when he realized that Naruto was still in the room.

"It's alright. You can say it. We told him everything." Ash replied.

"You what?" Sarutobi was shocked. "Explain yourselves!"

Ash was about to say something, but Pakura held out an arm to him, indicating she would handle this. She gave them a look that clearly said she would catch up later and to get to their accommodation first.

"Come on, let's get our stuff to the inn I booked." Ash whispered to Naruto. He realized that the Hokage office was not a particularly safe atmosphere for any one of them to be in at the moment, but someone had to handle it and Pakura had all but volunteered to do so.

"So…" Ash said to Naruto in as cheerful a voice as possible, as they made their way to the inn, reading the map to help in navigation. "I wonder if there is a lot of do in this village. I am hoping there would be some parks to go to or training grounds or maybe even shopping. I am sure the others would love a souvenir, since they might miss us—"

"I'm pretty sure they are too busy to even think about it." Naruto replied dryly. "Am I in trouble?"

"You?" Ash was taken aback. "Oh, Naruto, of course not! Why would you be in trouble?"

"Then why is Jiji so surprised at me knowing something, as if I wasn't supposed to know?" Naruto asked.

"Well, he was the one that made that law to not talk about it." Ash answered. "I think he was hoping we don't tell you of your true parentage too as the reason he didn't want to say it was…complicated."

It was only when Ash saw the anxiety in Naruto's eyes that he realized nothing he had said was the least bit comforting. 'What am I doing, telling him things were complicated? He knew already!'

Ash also knew that telling him not to worry was no use. Watching Naruto during this one year made him realize that children's fears were perfectly legitimate, and deserved to be validated, not dismissed, especially when, in this case, they were over something that directly involved him.

What kind of father was he being to him by not answering his questions? What kind of father would he be to his possible future children if, in an effort to shield them from everything that might hurt them? Shielding them from bullets, like one Alexis Goggins did for her own mother, was one thing.

But kids whose parents or other adults shield them from the truth—censoring their reading material, lying or being evasive about who their parents really are (or were), cushioning them from every single blow- are the ones who tend to get hurt the worst once they get out into the real world…not because the truth was so awful, but because they haven't been taught the skills they need to handle it.

Suddenly, it hit Ash—with even more force than Jude's hits during a sparring session—that this was what Pakura's etiquette lessons, tedious as it seemed, had been about all along. Not having the correct posture or using the correct utensil to eat at functions, but preparing him for the real world.

The outwardly wonderful, amazing, but actually distasteful and even horrifying world where there were people who were incredibly decent and well-meaning, but occasionally they would meet someone who was going to try and use that person, or even abuse them for what they had, and when that happens, there wasn't always going to be a parent or an adult figure to save them.

Ash also realized those skills were crucial, whether you're a Pokémon Trainer or if you're a shinobi— after all, a Pokémon Trainer was out on his own, requiring survival skills to be able to get to the next town safely and battle skills to combat danger such as wild Pokémon or worse, humans. A shinobi was like a child soldier, ready for dangerous missions at a young age with only the Academy to prepare them.

Pakura never cushioned a single blow, and this was why: He needed to know the truth, just like Naruto, because a no matter he was a Prince, Hunter or Champion, he needed those skills to survive.

Well, he wasn't certainly going to be quite as brutal with Naruto as Pakura was with him all those years ago, but he wasn't going to sugarcoat it either.

"There was a reason why the Hokage wanted to keep the fact that you're the Jinchūriki and the fact that you're the son of the Fourth Hokage quiet from you." He explained to Naruto, pulling him down beside him on the closest wooden bench. Ash put a silencing barrier around them to make sure no one overheard.

"He was hoping to keep the fact that you're a Jinchūriki a secret because a Jinchūriki is so valuable an asset, it is not in the village's interest to let them be captured or turn into missing-nin. He was afraid if you did and you realize the treatment you were given was because of that, you might leave the village, leaving Konoha vulnerable."

When Naruto heard this, it made him want to throw up everything they had for breakfast back home.

In that moment something shifted and he felt as if he finally understood what Ash's team had been saying about perspective. The new information acted like a vanishing point and suddenly everything he thought he believed about the village lined up and he could see the truth about them. It wasn't a very nice truth. It was one he was trying hard not to let himself see.

They would only see him as the person who contained the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, and nothing else. It turned out Aunt Pakura was right all along. They would never change their perspectives, and would only take refuge in having their perceived revenge by venting it on him. Yet, they would expect Naruto to save them if they are in danger.

'What entitlement.' Naruto thought bitterly.

"Of course, to strengthen the jinchūriki's bond with the village, I think it is tradition for them to be related to their village's Kage. He didn't want to tell you of your parentage mainly because your father had many enemies in his lifetime and was afraid of them finding out you're his son, and subsequently coming after you." Ash went on.

"Oh." Naruto said. "I get it. He didn't want to tell me I wouldn't be able to keep a secret from any spies in this village? You say children generally speaks their mind freely."

"No," Ash said hastily. "We don't know that at all, since there are child shinobi here. I'm sure he was trying to protect you. In his own way, of course. Although I believe he was doing it all wrong."

Naruto gritted his teeth. The Third Hokage, trying to protect him? He may have tried to make it look that way on the outside—he checked up on him and gave him a monthly allowance and let him live with Ash.

But if he wanted to protect him, why did he tell everyone who had Kurama sealed in him and let him think he was beaten, ostracized and insulted without any reason at all? He already got more told to him in a year with Ash and his team than the four years he had lived in the village. Not to mention a family that didn't mind him at all.

He didn't bring this up, however. Instead, he asked, "So then, what was my adoption for? Wouldn't he try to make me stay in the village?"

"He realized it went too far after you were beaten badly that night, and we called him out on his decision. He decided that it wasn't safe for you anymore and put you with me." Ash explained. "You have to know, a Kage would have to put the safety of the village first. Majority over minority."

"But if I wasn't there, he doesn't have to worry about my well-being." Naruto realized.

Ash nodded. "You shouldn't think any less of your Hokage. He likely did what he had to do. Although maybe in his old age he gone senile."

Naruto barked a laugh at that, as Ash hugged him.

"Remember, you're not a weapon, you're a person. You're my son." Ash told him. "Never let the others tell you otherwise." Naruto knew that being put with Ash was the best decision the Hokage had ever made.

"Ready to get to the inn?" Ash questioned, as Naruto nodded.

As they walked, Naruto wondered if being Hokage was even worth it now. After all, he didn't really want to sacrifice one person just for the majority, as the minority is just as important. He felt that all lives matter equally, no matter the class of the person.

However, like Ash said, as a shinobi or Hunter, the motto was 'kill or be killed'. People fight for their own justice, so whose justice is right depended on power. For your own story, you may be doing the right thing. But you're the villain in another's story.

He smiled down at little Gabite, who put a fin on his arm in a silent gesture asking if he was alright. Pikachu even hoped on his shoulder and Lucario held his hand. Naruto gave a single nod of his head and put his free hand to his heart, vowing that from now on, he would become stronger for one thing: to protect his loved ones. Right now, that was Ash and his team.

Naruto also decided not to hold a grudge against Jiji for his mistakes. Regardless of him being leader, he was still human. He was still grateful that the Third Hokage made the decision to let Ash take him in. It must have been hard to do so, especially since apparently Jinchūriki are kind of the village's best "weapon".

With that in mind thinking, he went to walk by his father's side as he realized he had fallen behind.

Naruto, Ash and the Pokémon had arrived at the Itabane Inn, which was where Ash had booked the rooms. Furthermore, this accommodation was said to have a yard where they could train themselves or their Pokémon.

"Well, here we are," Ash said at the entrance.

"So, this is the place?" Naruto asked.

Ash nodded. "It's pretty convenient since it has a teahouse as well."

"It looks expensive," Naruto commented.

"Of course, but people pay up because they do like what we provide here," a middle-aged lady's voice said and the middle-aged lady appeared with a brown hair bun and wearing a dark grey kimono.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ash bowed to the lady. Naruto did the same.

The lady bowed back to them. "Hello. Guests here?"

"Ah, yes. Under the name Ketchum." Ash cringed a little inside.

"Oh, right. I remember. I wasn't aware that you would be coming by today." The lady said, smiling. "Not a lot of people have that surname."

Naruto hid a snicker.

"Well, I'm Sumire Itabane, the owner of the Itabane inn." Sumire introduced herself. "You're just in time, as there is someone with a child around your son's age. Perhaps he could play with them, as I wish for everyone to get along."

"Of course. I thank you for the information." Ash nodded.

"May I enquire as to where your third companion is?" Sumire asked, as she checked the reservation book and saw that it was a room for three.

"She's…dealing with more important matters." Ash answered sheepishly.

"I see. May I know what to look out for when she comes along?" The lady asked.

"Black hair, amethyst eyes. Dresses in dark clothes." Ash ticked off.

"And drop dead gorgeous!" Naruto cut in cheekily.

Ash shot Naruto a playfully nasty look.

Naruto said, "What? It's true. You won't miss her. Everyone would be staring at her, like they are staring at Ash now." He pointed to the other female workers of the inn who were staring at Ash, clearly taking a fancy towards his appearance.

Ash gulped at the stares and said, "Please ignore my son."

The lady laughed. "Well, he's not wrong. Ever had a woman confess her love to you?"

"Oh, no, never happened to me before." Ash replied awkwardly. At least, not from ones that really loved him for him and not for his status.

"You might be surprised someday." The lady winked at him,

"Uh…Buh…Wuh?" Ash sputtered in embarrassment at this comment, as Naruto put a hand over his mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.

'I wish.' Ash inwardly thought, as the lady said she would lead both of them to their rooms now.

Naruto was still trying to stifle his chuckles. The words he just said were Kurama's idea after all. Even Kurama can't help but laugh in his subconscious at Ash's reaction.

Naruto had to admit if that was said to him, he'd be flustered as well.

"You two are so much alike." Kurama noted. Naruto liked hearing that. Even though he was adopted, he was glad everyone thought he was like Ash. He wanted to be like his father, kind-hearted throughout all the hardships and never failing to smile, yet responsible and serious when it comes down to it.

Sumire opened the cherry-blossomed painted door of the vacant room and everyone went inside to look around. The layout of the room was spaciously designed, with bedroom featuring an open-air terrace with chairs and table that was facing the view of rivers and beautiful serene gardens.

There were also cushioned chairs and tables inside the room, with a separate closet offers space for clothing and luggage. The walls were decorated with contemporary works of art, mainly featuring types of flowers and women in geisha costumes.

There was a television on the side and on the other were two queen-sized beds. A third bed was revealed to be the pull-out sofa. There was also a mini fridge and a safe, along with a private bathroom.

"This will be your room." Sumire told them. "I hope you would enjoy your stay. Now, here you are." She handed them three yukatas.

"What's this?" Ash asked stupidly.

"It's a yukata, dad." Naruto replied, recognizing this from cultural lessons from Akeno. "Guests usually wear this during their stay at ryokans during meal times or at the hot springs, but they are usually not meant to be taken home."

"What a clever boy." The woman petted Naruto on the head. "You sure raised him well."

"Oh, I had help." Ash smiled modestly. "Thank you for your hospitality, Sumire-san."

"No problem." Sumire bowed. "Get settled in. We serve breakfast and dinner only, so until then, feel free to explore. Anything you need at all, just call us." With that, she left the room and closed the door.

Ash sighed and looked at Naruto, "All right Naruto, let's get settled in here."

Naruto nodded, as they unpacked their stuff and put them in closets and drawers.

As they did so, Ash spoke again. "Do you want to rest up and explore later?"

"Let's wait for Aunt Pakura, dad." Naruto reminded him. "I'm worried about her. What's taking her so long?"

As if on cue, Pakura opened the door and entered with her Sylveon.

"Hey, there she is." Pikachu said.

Ash looked relieved. "How did it go?"

Pakura's smirk was all they needed to realize she had won the argument.

"What did you do?" Naruto was curious.

"I threatened to burn his porn books." Pakura replied bluntly.

"How did you know that?" Ash pointed an accusing finger.

"He was staring a little too much at me." Pakura answered. She shrugged as if to tell them it wasn't difficult to deduce it from there.

"Of course." Ash facepalmed, forgetting how well-stacked Pakura was.

"Who knew the old Hokage was a perv." Gabite scrunched up his face. "Do you think his hobby was chatting with young girls?"

"Hmph, I wouldn't be surprised if it was." Kurama muttered.

"That might explain why Pakura won the argument." Pikachu suggested.

"Ew! Who would've thought that old men could still want sex, especially with women who are much younger than them?" Sylveon sounded disgusted.

"Don't worry, he still has to be professional." Lucario said calmly. "He could only do it in private."

Naruto was amused at the low opinions the Pokémon and Kurama now had of the old man. 'Then again, everyone has their guilty pleasures, I guess.'

"Now, now." Ash tried to pacify the Pokémon. "Everyone has their own hobbies. Just that some are…questionable. It's not our business what the Hokage likes, yeah?"

Naruto laughed even harder at that, which made Ash mutter, "You spend too much time with Akeno."

Pakura gave a single eye roll at the interaction as Pikachu said, "So, where are we going to go first?"

"I want to take a look around at the shops first." Naruto answered.

"Sounds fine to me." Ash smiled.

Pakura sighed, but said nothing as she locked up their luggage and room. Together, all of them set off for the streets.

Naruto was practically bouncing with excitement as he watched other villagers walk past them as they entered the streets, but no horrible remarks or glares came his way for a change, and nobody seemed to have noticed him. On the contrary, they seemed to be staring at his father (for females) and Aunt Pakura (for males).

"People keep looking at me now," said Ash grumpily, as they came out of a shop selling kimonos later, carrying some shopping bags. He felt very uncomfortable at the stares.

"Don't worry, they are staring at Aunt Pakura too." Naruto corrected, as he saw Pakura send an icy glare at another male staring gawking at her. "I'm hungry, can we get to lunch?"

"Sure." Ash nodded, inwardly regretting not using his ability to disguise himself before they left.

Pakura shook her head, as she knew Naruto would want to go to the ramen stand.

"We should take the playground route to the Ichiraku Ramen if you don't want those stares." Lucario suggested, reading the map of Konoha Ash had.

"Good idea." Ash quickly dragged Naruto, with Pakura following behind them. They continued walking to the ramen stand, and was so absorbed on getting away until Pakura heard an argument and stopped. Sensing Pakura had stopped, Naruto joined her.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked Pakura, but she simply pointed.

He found three kids around twice his age, most likely Academy Students. They were messing with a little girl that looked around his age. She had short dark-blue hair and featureless lavender, almost white eyes.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, deciding to help her.

"Should we help him?" Ash asked, as he watched Naruto run up to them.

Pakura shook her head. She narrowed her eyes, wanting to see how Naruto improved during this one year.

"Leave her alone." Naruto stepped in front of the girl protectively.

"Oh look, a hero wannabe. Get lost before you get hurt too." One boy said.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see you try." He adopted a Taekwondo kicking stance. "One hit is all I need."

"He's trying to scare us. Let's teach him a lesson." Another said, and pushed forward.

The first boy sent a left hook aiming for his jaw. Naruto grabbed his wrist, and flung him towards a tree. The first boy's back slammed against the tree trunk, and slid down.

Another boy tried to punch Naruto to which he ducked and kicked at one of the legs. As the boy yelped in pain, he took this opportunity to use the back of his wrist to deliver an Eagle Strike at the jaw, sending him flying to the ground in pain.

Naruto turned to the last boy who froze his attacks after seeing his friends effortlessly defeated. He tried to run, only to be held at the collar by Naruto.

"Apologize to her." Naruto said coldly, taking Pakura's usual talking tone.

"I…I…" The boy stuttered. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"What was that? I can't hear you." Naruto tightened his grip, forcing him on his hands and knees in a pose of supplication.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!" The boy apologized.

Naruto let him go, and he ran away, crying some word Naruto suspected was "mummy".

Naruto knelt down to the girl and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm f-fine t-thank y-you." The girl stuttered quietly.

Naruto noted she was extremely meek, which would pose a risk as it would be easy for others to take advantage of her. "It's no problem, my name's Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?" Or was it Naruto Uzumaki? How do people introduce themselves when it comes to this village?

"H-Hyūga H-Hinata." she replied looking at her savior. Even though she was still young she couldn't help but blush at his appearance. Although Naruto was only five, it was thanks to his upbringing, training and diet that he had a mature demeanour about him.

Naruto wordlessly offered a hand to Hinata, who took it and he pulled her up gently.

"Hey, we're going to lunch at Ichiraku's. Do you want to join us?" Naruto asked to which Hinata slowly nodded and followed Naruto back to where Ash and Pakura were waiting along with their Pokémon.

"Oh look, there's our little hero!" Ash gushed. "So, who is this?"

"Dad, this is Hyūga Hinata." Ash introduced. "Hinata, meet my dad and my Aunt Pakura."

"Nice to meet you." Ash gave her a warm smile.

"N-Nice to m-meet you t-too." Hinata said shyly, as Ash introduced their walking Pokémon to them.

Pakura, however, simply looked Hinata up and down, frowning. There was something about her that made her sure that she was scared of offending them. It was almost as if her parents were extremely hard on her without any care for her well-being.

"Is it alright if she joins us for ramen?" Naruto asked the two.

"Of course it is. The more the merrier!" Ash grinned. "Right Paku?"

Pakura settled for a curt nod, as they walked together to the stand.

Hinata saw the few villagers staring but was forced to look away when Pakura shot a glare at them. The walk was calm, they didn't talk much since Hinata was quite the shy one. Arriving to the stand the four of them started ordering their flavours of ramen—Tonkotsu Ramen for Ash, Miso Ramen for Naruto, Okinawa Soba Ramen for Hinata and Hiyashi Chuka for Pakura.

As they were waiting for their orders, the owner chatted with Naruto. He was happy to see that Naruto was doing well and complimented Ash on his upbringing of Naruto.

"So…Naruto, is this your girlfriend?" A teenaged girl with short brown hair and black eyes asked amusedly. She was wearing a white bandana with matching robes and had a dark blue apron.

"What- no!" Naruto sputtered like Ash did earlier. "We just met a couple of minutes ago."

Ash grinned savagely, knowing it was time for payback. "Oh, don't be like that, Naruto." Hinata blushed at his compliment. "Anyone can see she'll grow up to be attractive someday."

"There is nothing wrong of calling dibs early." Gabite snickered.

Pakura shrugged with one shoulder, as if telling him that they are not wrong.

Hinata didn't say anything as she blushed like a sunset and looked away so that no one could see her. She was saved when the orders came, and they all started eating.

When they were finishing the food (during which Naruto finished five whole bowls already), a Hyūga member appeared and looked at Hinata. He was Kō Hyūga, a member of the main house and Hinata's caretaker.

"Hinata-sama, there you are. Your father is waiting for you." Kō said.

"Y-Yes, I'll b-be there." Hinata replied. As she was about to slip out of the chair, Pakura slipped something to her. It looked like a harmless Omamori charm.

She looked up in surprise, as Pakura whispered, "It's in case your father tries to do something bad to you. It'll keep you safe."

Hinata nodded, as Kō took Hinata's hand and turned to leave.

"B-Bye e-everyone, i-it was n-nice to s-see y-you." Hinata waved with tears in her eyes.

"Somebody's got a girlfriend!" Kurama said in a sing-song voice.

'She's not my girlfriend!' Naruto thought, grumbling.

"You say that now, but let's see what the next few years bring, shall we?" Kurama grinned, knowing Naruto would want to see more of Hinata from now on.

Meanwhile, Ash was having a different kind of conversation with Pakura via telepathy.

'You slipped something to her.' Ash thought.

'I did.' Pakura confirmed, as Naruto ordered yet another bowl.

'Why?' Ash asked.

'Call it an intuition. If you didn't notice, there is something special about her eyes.'

'Really?' Ash was interested.

'Something about her tells me she has been through harsh training, but it had the opposite effect due to her nature.' Pakura replied inwardly.

'What does this mean?' Ash wondered.

'Eventually, they may give up on her.' Pakura answered, a dark glint on her eyes. 'They may deem her unworthy.'

'And they'll do something to make sure she doesn't use their special power again.' Ash was horrified.

'Exactly.' Pakura nodded grimly at his realization.

BP: From this chapter, I would not do Q & A. My friend suggested that to let my story do the talking and no spoilers. As he is the better writer, I'll take his advice. I apologize if you were looking forward to it.

Any questions, just PM or review.

I am so sorry if this chapter was bad. I wanted to let readers know what Naruto had been learning as well as the dynamics of Ash and Naruto as a family together.

This story would be eventual Naruto x Hinata, Ash x ?, ? x Pakura.

The reason why I put ? for Ash and Pakura is because I haven't decided the pairings for them yet.

If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Next chapter would be their week in Konoha. Would it go smoothly for them? Or would trouble get them once more?

Do review, favourite and follow!