!IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

*SIGH* I'm just gonna give it to you straight, you guy. I'm giving up on this story. I'm so sorry. I really didn't want to abandon this story after just three chapters, especially after the positive feedback I got from the first chapter alone, which was the most I had ever gotten from one chapter. But...honestly I have lost all motivation to continue writing this story.

Truth is... I'm just not into the Naruto series as much as I used to. I mean, I still read Naruto Fanfiction but I just don't read the manga or watch the anime anymore due to losing interest. I haven't even read/watched any of the Boruto related stuff. And because of that, and after read so many other Naruto fanfics, I'm just losing confidence in my ability to write a Naruto fanfiction, and don't think I could possibly do the series justice.

And besides that, I just find myself more invested in writing my Kingdom Heart fanfics, which by the way, I have three different KH stories that are currently ongoing, including one that's set in a different author's universe, and I have a fourth one that I'm planning to start sometime next year after Kingdom Hearts III comes out. So yeah, I have A LOT on my plate as it is, and I don't think I can handle all that and a non-KH story that I've lost interest in.

That being said. This chapter has been on the back burner for far to long, having constantly been putting off finishing it in favor of my KH stories, and I had already managed to get a lot of it done, and I'd hate to see the document go to waste. So I decided to at least force myself to finish this chapter and post it just for you guys. And although it's left open for more to come, please remember that as of now I'm officially discontinuing this story.

Outcasts

"Bloodline purges?" asked Hiruzen.

"Yes." answered Cat. "It seems many in the Land of Water have a great fear of people who possess Bloodlines. Some believe they are some kind of monsters. Not to mention the cause of the wars. Those found with a bloodline are usually persecuted on the spot."

"I see," the Hokage said. He didn't like the sound of that. How could people be so closed minded and fearful of someone just because they're different?

"Even some ninja in Kiri have the those same beliefs, including the Fourth Mizukage, which seems odd, not to mention hypocritical, considering our sources say he's the Jinchūriki of the Sanbi, the Three Tailed Turtle."

Indeed that is strange, Hiruzen thought. Surely as a jinchūriki, he would understand what it's like to be ostracized for being different.

Cat continued, "It's one of the major causes of the civil war. According to our intelligence, Bloodline clans that are officially reported to have been wiped out include the Yuki of the Ice Style, the Terumī of the Vapor Style, and the Kaguya of the Dead Bone Pulse."

The Hokage then looked at the child in the room, who was still staring blankly at the floor. "And the girl?"

"We found her on our way out of the country," Cat explained. "She was wandering alone through the woods, injured and looking like she hadn't eaten in days. She was also carrying this when we found her." She place on the Hokage's desk what looked like a white knife, blade stained with blood.

Hiruzen picked up the knife to examine it closely. "This knife is... made entirely out of bone. And very strong dense bone at that.

Cat then looked to the lion masked Anbu. "Lion?"

Lion nodded before saying, "With my Byakugan, I saw that her skeletal structure was somewhat different from a normal human being's. We suspect it's connected to a Bloodline she might have. Possibly the Dead Bone Pulse. She could be a survivor the Kaguya clan."

Cat looked down. "It didn't feel right to just leave such a young child there to die, whether from starvation or persecution, so I decided to take her back to the village with us. We treated her wounds, and gave her some food and water on the way here."

"I see," said Hiruzen. "Has she spoken at all?"

Cat shook her head. "Not except to answer what her name is." She turn to the pig masked Anbu. "Warthog?"

Warthog nodded. "I transferred my mind into hers, hoping to look into her memories and find out what happened to her. But all of the doorways into them are locked so tightly that I can't access them. It seems whatever happened to her was so traumatic for her that in her subconscious mind she doesn't want to remember. And so she inadvertently locked every single one of them away. This is quite likely to happen to a child her age under this kind of traumatic stress. She doesn't remember anything of her life before we found her. Nothing except her own name, Himemaro."

"Himemaro, huh?" said the Sarutobi. "And there's nothing you can do to unlock these memories."

"Not me personally. Inoichi-sama may be able to do it. But, such a procedure may carry great risk to her mind, especially in the state she's in. You'll have ask him for more details."

The Hokage nodded before looking at the girl, Himemaro, again, wondering if she was even listening to the conversation. Her expression made it difficult to tell. "So tell me, you three, what do you suggest we do with her?"

The three thought for a moment before Lion answered. "Well, if word got out that we're holding a potential Kaguya, it could cause an issue with Kiri. But then again with civil war still going on, we probably won't need to worry about them for some time. On the other hand, if she really does have the Bloodline, she could prove to be a valuable asset. We could train her to be a ninja."

"The problem with that," Warthog interjected, "is that no one in this village actually knows how the Bloodline works, so we can't effectively teach her how to use it. She'd have to learn it on her own, which won't be easy. Even then, I heard the Kaguya's Dead Bone Pulse is about as rare as the Senju's Wood Style, so Kaguya or not, there's really no guarantee she actually has it. For all we know she could've just picked this bone knife up from a Kaguya who did. We also have to take her mental state into account. Considering how unresponsive she's been since we found her, whether or not she even has the focus to become a ninja is questionable."

"Well, it wouldn't do her much good to enroll her right at this moment anyways," Hiruzen pointed out, "considering how close to the end of the semester it is. So let's not worry about that now."

"I think we should give her a place to stay and observe her before deciding whether or not to enroll her into the ninja academy next semester," said Cat. "Should we send her to the orphanage?"

The Hokage shook his head. "After they kicked Naruto out, I don't trust them enough to take good care of an outsider. I wouldn't be surprised if she were treated like an outcast simply for being from a different nation, especially one housing a village as infamous as the Bloody Mist Village." He thought for a moment before saying. "No, I am going to let her stay in the apartment building I bought out due to the vacancy that resulted from no one wanting to live in the same building as the so called 'demon brat'." He said those last two words with venom towards the people who call him that. "I'm sure Naruto would leap at the chance to make another friend, not to mention the fact that he knows what it's like to be an outcast. And who knows? Maybe he and the Hyūga heiress, Hinata, will be able to help Himemaro recover from the state she's in." He then looks out the window. "Sometimes, all it takes is one or two friends reaching out in order to help someone find their purpose in life." He turned back to his ANBU. "Cat, similar to the task I gave to Dog with Naruto, I leave the task of watching over Himemaro to you. Observe and protect her, and report any changes to her behavior."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." answered Cat.

"We will keep a lid on the possibility of her being a Kaguya until further notice, an S-rank secret. I don't want the wrong people to get any ideas." Especially Danzo. Knowing him, he would leap at the chance of adding a user of the Dead Bone Pulse to his Root unit. "Now then, if that's all you have to report, then you're dismissed. But before you go, Lion, Warthog, I have a quick task for you. I need you two gather the staff of the Ninja Academy to the conference room immediately, all teachers and managers alike. I need to have a word with them about the academy's curriculum."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The two Anbu said as they left, leaving Cat and the Hokage with the girl.

"Take Himemaro to Training Ground 50; Naruto should be there right now starting his new training regimen with Hinata. I want him to know as soon as possible about his new neighbor."

Cat nodded and turned to the girl. "Come along, Himemaro." She grabs her hand and walks out of the office with her.

Naruto and Hinata were at the training ground Dog showed them. Since this is there first training session, taking Iruka's advice. they decided to take it easier for a while just to get into the swing of their new training regimen. They sat down with todays notes and going over them. This was mostly for Naruto's sake due to his tendency for not paying attention.

Hinata was currently giving the boy questions to answer. The topic being genin students. "Okay. Next question: Who are the Second Hokage's genin students."

Naruto smiled and boasted, "Well the one of them is easy, Jiji of course."

"Naruto-kun at least say his name," Hinata lightly scolded. "The academy would never accept Jiji as an answer."

Naruto deflated. "Oh fine. What was it... Hiruzen? Yeah, Hiruzen! Sa... Sa...ru... um..."

"Sarutobi." Hinata decided to chime in.

"Oh right! Sarutobi! I knew that! So, Hiruzen Sarutobi." The went back to thinking mode. "I think there was... Koharu... Utane?"

"Utatane," the girl corrected.

"R-right. Koharu Utatane. And last there was... um... Homura... Mi... Mito... Mitokado!"

"That right!" Hinata cheered. "Now how about the Third's?"

"Um, I think one is... Tsunade Senju,... Jiraiya Menma... and um... Oro... Oroch... um...

"Orochimaru"

"Y-yeah Orochimaru... um... Kuro!"

Hinata nodded. "And now how about Jiraiya's"

Naruto grinned. "That's an easy one. One is the Fourth, um... Minato Namikaze. Then there was, um, Shibi Aburame. And last, was Hiashi Hyūga. Man! Your clan is lucky to have one of their members on a team with the Fourth!"

"W-well actually," the girl stuttered, "he wasn't just any m-member, he's also the current head of the clan... and m-my tō-sama"

Naruto jumped in surprise. "Whoa! Your dad was on a team with the Fourth?!" He received a nod in response. "Man! Talk about lucky!"

"Well Shibi is also Shino's father."

"That bug boy in our class? Wow, I guess he's lucky too."

"Anyway. Last one, the Fourth's students."

Naruto went back to his thinking pose. "I think one of them was an Uchiha... um... Obito was it?" After receiving a nod he continued. "Um... I think there was a... Rin Nohara... and then... Kakashi... Ha... Hata... Hatake?"

"Correct!" Hinata cheered. "Your doing good Naruto-kun."

"But, man!" the boy sighed in exasperation. "Remembering this stuff really isn't easy." He then smiled. "I'm really glad your helping me, Hinata-chan. Thanks."

The girl blushed. "Y-you welcome. I-It's the least I can do... for a friend."

Naruto chuckled before standing up. "Alright then. Enough with the history nonsense. Let's do some real training. Let's fight!"

"U-um... o-okay." Hinata replied nervously as she to stood up.

The two of them put their notes up before standing across from each other. Hinata got into her Gentle Fist stance while Naruto got into his own stance. They then started their taijutsu spar. Naruto didn't really have a proper fighting style so he just kinda winged each and every attack. Hinata stayed on the defensive and blocked every one of his attacks. Naruto soon began getting frustrated that he wasn't landing a hit. Soon he decided to pull a fast one.

"Whoa! What's that!?" the boy shouted while point.

"What?" the girl turned her head to see what he was point. However she was then punched in the gut, and fell on her bum.

"Ha ha, gotcha!" Naruto laughed. His amusement however was cut short when he heard sobbing. He looked at Hinata and saw that she was crying. Ah shoot! Did I over do it? he thought. Concerned he knelt over to his new friend. "Um... Hey... Are you... okay?"

"I-I sorry!" Hinata choked. Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. Why was she the one apologizing. "I'm sorry I'm so weak!"

The boy jumped and shouted, "What? Don't you dare call yourself weak!" This outburst made Hinata look up in surprise. "I couldn't even land one hit on you. If I had to trick you in order to hit you, then clearly you're better than me at taijutsu." He than scratched the back of his head. "If anything, I'm the one who should be sorry. That was a cheap shot, I know. I was just so frustrated that I wasn't hitting you."

The girl sniffed as she wiped her tears. "Don't apologize. I hear that ninja are suppose to play dirty in a fight. I shouldn't have fallen for it."

"But still, this is a fight between friends not enemies. And come on, quite beating yourself up. So you got knock down, big deal!"

"But my clan would be furious at me for losing to a commoner."

"Who cares what your clan thinks!? You not gonna get stronger by listening to people who tell you you're weak. I never listen to jerks like that, and no friend of mine is going to either. Listen to someone who knows you can get stronger. You get knocked down, you get back up. Screw the people who don't think you can do it. You just gotta prove them wrong!" It was something the young Uzumaki had been telling himself for a while now, and he wanted his new friend to believe as well.

Hinata stared at him with admiration. It amazed her how simple and yet powerful those words affected her. She then smiled. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave her his foxy grin. "No problem, Hinata-chan."

Suddenly, a new voice entered the area. "Excuse me, Naruto-san."

The two looked to see a purple-haired ANBU in a cat mask walking up to them with a silver haired girl they had never seen before.

"Hey, uh, Cat-san," said Naruto. "What's up?"

Cat looked at the little girl she's escorting. "Hokage-sama wanted me the let you know that, this girl gonna be staying at the apartment next to you. She new in the village, and an orphan like you. And she'll need a friend."

"Really?" The boy walked over to the new girl and held out his hand with a smile. "Hi there! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this is my friend Hinata Hyūga! What's your name?"

The new girl stared blankly at Naruto's hand, before saying. "Hime...maro..."

Naruto looked at her, confused to why she . "Himemaro? Um... well welcome to the Konoha! So where did you come from? What brings you here? How do you like our village?"

As the boy bombarded her with question, Himemaro face started slowly wincing more and more. Soon she started holding her head as she cried out in pain.

Naruto was taken aback by this. "What the-? Hey wh-what's wrong?"

Hinata then ran up to the new girl and grabbed her hand. "Himemaro! Are you okay?!"

The moment Hinata touched her, Himemaro felt a sudden strange surge. The pain in her head was slowly subsiding, and a voice in her head said, Fear not. You are safe now. And with that, Himemaro calmed down, though still a little shaken up.

Cat then place her hand on the silver-haired girl's head. "I sorry, I should've warned you. She was badly hurt when we found her and she does not seem to remember anything except her name. We're not sure what exactly happened to her, but we think she's been through something really bad, and she hasn't recovered from the shock."

"Oh, man!" exclaimed Naruto. "I'm so sorry!"

The ANBU waved him off. "It's okay. You didn't know."

Himemaro soon looked at Hinata, who stared back. The two of them felt a strange connection to one another that they couldn't explain.

"Anyways," Cat said, "like I said. I just came to let you know about your knew neighbor. I gotta show her to her new quarters."

"Hey, can we come with?" asked Naruto. "You said it was the same building I live in."

"I don't see why not?"

"What do you say, Hinata-chan? I think we did enough for our first training session?"

Hinata giggled. "Of course!"

Naruto and Hinata grabbed their stuff before walking out of the training field with Cat and Himemaro. Himemaro continued to stare at Hinata. She wasn't sure why, but somehow being around the Hyūga made her feel like she was home.

"I know I approved of a 'safer' curriculum, but this was not what I had in mind." Hiruzen Sarutobi was meeting in the conference room with the teachers and managers of the academy, expressing his opinion on the teaching methods.

Everyone looked nervous, some even confused. The headmaster of the academy then spoke. "Um, pardon me, Hokage-sama, but were you not the one who approved these specific changes?"

"Not these specific changes! In fact the only change I was expecting was easing up on the exercise a little, which in my honest opinion, you did a little too much. This academy seems to be focusing too much on the theoretical side of ninja training and not enough on the practical side. What were you thinking?"

"W-well... As you know, the Nine Tails' attack severely reduced our forces, so we needed to get more shinobi in our ranks as fast as possible to make up to that loss."

The Hokage face palmed at this. "And you really think that lowering the standards just to make it much easier for civilian born students to graduate is helping to strengthen our forces?"

The headmaster rubbed the back of his head. "N-now that you mention it, I have noticed that it hasn't actually helped increase our numbers."

"Indeed, seeing how only about 33% of graduates have actually been passing their final test each year as of late, and the few that do more often than not leave a lot to be desired. I've had a lot of complaints from jōnin sensei about the students they're given, including lack of any particular specialties, fields they're interested in, sense of teamwork, discipline, dedication to training, and worst of all, a lack of insight to how the shinobi world truly works. I expect my genin teams to be able to competently defend themselves right out of the gate. And lately I've noticed the competency of fresh genin has been sorely lacking. Hell, some seemed to have passed purely on academics while in the physical department they barely got the basics down. Which leads me to the issue that this curriculum barely touches upon physical lessons. Did you seriously expect all students to do all their training at home? Only students from major clans have a policy and means to do so, while civilian born students or students from minor shinobi families normally don't. Had that thought ever crossed your minds when teaching them the basics?"

Silence.

"All we seem to get are spoiled brats who are coddled too much and seem to think that being a shinobi is all fun and games. I could be sending these kids to their potential deaths and they won't know how to respond to dangerous situations due to harsh reality hitting them hard at the worst possible moment. They need to realize what exactly what they signed up for before they graduate, not out on the field. And sugarcoating the wars does not help them understand how serious the ninja world is. Instead it gives them childish fantasies. And that leads to overconfidence, which is a dangerous trait to harbor, one that can get them killed."

One of the chūnin teachers then called out, "B-but, isn't that why we assign them jōnin-sensei? To make sure they don't get killed?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "You misunderstand their role. While it is true that jōnin-sensei are expected to handle situations that are out of their genin's league, it is not their job to hold their hands every step on a mission. They're not there to babysit them, but rather to guide them, supervise their training, and help them reach their full potential. And by giving them subpar students to work with, you are doing them a great dishonor."

"F-forgive me, Hokage-sama," the headmaster begged. "It's just that the council member who gave us the list told us that you approved these specific changes."

"Tell me, which council member gave it to you?"

"Um... I forget their name, I think it was a civilian council member."

"And since when do I let civilians handle shinobi matters?!"

The headmaster stood silent, he could not give an answer.

The Third sighed in exasperation. Next meeting, he was definitely going to chew the civilian council out for interfering with shinobi affairs. "There is one more thing I must address. Something is missing from the academy's history books: our fallen allies of Uzushio."

"A-actually it was Danzō Shimura who insisted that I remove them."

Danzō. It had to be Danzō. What is he trying to pull this time? Hiruzen thought with anger. "And why, may I ask, would Danzō suggest such a thing?"

The headmaster scratched his head. "W-well first of all, like the civilian council member, he told me you approved this. As for his explanation, he told me that the clan and their village had long been destroyed, and there was no reason to acknowledge a clan that's quote-unquote 'insignificant to the mighty Konohagakure'. Plus, it was better to bury their name and secrets, especially since we don't want the demon brat to-" he was stopped in his tracks as Hiruzen let out a wave of killing intent, sending shivers down everyone's spine.

"Call him demon brat again and I will sever your head from your shoulder!" the Hokage growled. Seeing everyone frozen, he sighed and said, "Honestly, why does almost no one in this village respect the Fourth Hokage's wish to see Naruto as the hero who keeps the demon at bay, and not the demon itself? Have the citizens no honor? Have you no faith in the Fourth's sealing abilities? As a staff comprised of chūnin or retired shinobi, I would've expected better from you."

Many of the chūnin teachers had mixed thoughts. Some are sour that the Hokage continues to defend the Jinchūriki, believing he's the one who's blind to what the kid is, most notably Mizuki. Meanwhile others actually saw the old man's point, but are still too wary of the bijū. Iruka was the only one in the staff who actually cares about Naruto.

"R-right! A-as I was saying, we don't want the... boy to think he's an actual Uzumaki."

Hiruzen sighed once again. Why everyone seemed to assume Uzumaki was not Naruto's actual name was beyond him. Sure, he doesn't possess their trademark crimson hair, but still. "The Uzumaki clan has done more for this village than you will ever know. There's a reason why Konoha flack jackets have their emblem on the back. And I refuse to let them be forgotten. As for Naruto, if he questions whether or not he's part of that clan, send him to me, and I'll clear up his confusion personally." And by that he meant he'll tell him he is indeed by blood an Uzumaki, but they didn't need to know that yet. They'll see their errors in due time. "At any rate, there's going to be some serious changes around here. I want the academy's standards back up by next semester. I want the students to double their efforts if they want to pass."

"Pardon me for asking, Hokage-sama," Iruka decided to speak up. "But is such a drastic change really fair to the students already attending? What if they can't handle it?"

"Your concern is noted, Iruka. However, the students need to understand that life isn't fair, and especially where shinobi are concerned. There will come a time when they are put into a position they don't like, and it will be up to them to decide how to proceed. One of my students once told me something that I actually agree with: A shinobi's most important job above all else is to endure that which others cannot. So if they can't endure the new curriculum than quite frankly they're unfit to be shinobi."

Iruka looked down with worry. He personally didn't like the idea of pushing kids harder than necessary. But as much as he hated to admit, the Hokage was right. They needed to be more ready for the ninja world as soon as possible, or else their inexperience will get them killed.

Hiruzen then turned back to the headmaster. "I'll let this miscommunication slide, as it wasn't entirely your fault. This issue will be brought up in the next council meeting, I assure you. But from now on, you are to discuss changes to the academy with the Hokage directly. Do NOT take anyone else's word for it! Understand?"

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama!"

"Good. We will discuss the new curriculum at a later date. But for now, you're all dismissed."

With that everyone left, leaving the Hokage contemplating on how to fix the village system.

!IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

And there you have it. That was the chapter that had on the back burner for far too long, and the last chapter I'm going to write for this story.

Once again I want to apologize to everyone who liked this concept and believed it had potential. I mean, if by any chance there's someone who wants to adopt this concept, you're welcome to. I'm sure there's someone out there who could do it better justice than I ever could. Heck, I'd be more than happy to read it. But, I'm not holding my breath.

With that, Naruto fans. I'm afraid this is goodbye.

Sayonara T_T