Chapter 49: Tending and Time.
Later that evening after Naruko came home accompanied by both Kuro and Hinata—Additions that I was more than happy to accommodate.
I gave a hug to each of them, a ninshu bond snapping up between all of us as soon as I was within range of the cloud of ninshu Naruko walked around in almost all the time these days.
Shortly after they arrived Hinata and Naruko wandered off to the backyard to hang out together and while I would have liked to join them I had a promise to keep
Relationships were strange things, the bonds that bound our hearts to one another existed both within us and between us. It was at once the subject of active participation and in a way a living separate entity that had to be tended to regularly otherwise it would die.
I haven't had to do a lot of tending when it comes to my relationships. The adults in my life were adults so maintaining our connections in a mature manner fell to them. While the relationships I had with those around my age coasted on the intensity of the feelings they engendered in me or that I inspired in them. Romantic in the case of my girls and brotherhood and loyalty in regards to Lee.
Ninshu only made that easier, but I couldn't coast on these things forever. Real relationships required sacrifice and hard work; I had committed to operation: Raising Queens with the understanding that it would be the labour of a decade if not more to essentially raise the girls of my dreams, but all that mental preparation and hyping myself up amounted to nothing when multiple phenomenally amazing girls basically fell into my lap.
But let it never be said I couldn't adapt, now that I had them it was about keeping them.
That was why I was sitting at the table that evening with Kuro, both of us going over the unbelievable tedious paperwork that went into starting a business as bureaucracy heavy as a printing press.
Licensing was the stuff of nightmares. It would make sense that in a world where shinobi were the main military force that they would have created the concept of intellectual property much earlier as well.
'Mu, you don't have to do it if you don't want to ku-kun.' Kuro's voice flowed over the ninshu bond, her tone petulant but her emotions undeniably warmed at my insistence on doing something I disliked for her continued happiness.
I simply smiled in reply, she meant what she said of course but how many times could I turn away from an activity with her just because I would rather be doing something else? How many times can I do that before she begins feeling neglected?
'Never.' Kuro's mental voice took on a slightly demonic distortion at the vehemence of her refusal. Dark, cold fury seeping from her spirit at the mere insinuation that anything could come between us and instead of a cold sweat and terror my stupid body flushed in arousal and flattery.
Too much time with this girl had really messed up my brain chemistry when it came to attraction, hadn't it?
Eh, could be worse. I could be like the Hyuga who probably got turned on by their reflections given how prevalent incest was among them. Something I found out while going through the public record of the Hyuga family tree. A little research into my potential family.
It's a miracle that Hinata had a complete set of chromosomes, or wasn't born with a baby arm. Probably more sorcerer nonsense, something I intended to delve into when my education in medical ninjutsu progressed far enough.
Maybe I could even ask Tsunade-sama for pointers.
And as though summoned by that thought I felt the chakra signature I had experienced yesterday approaching with the familiar light of Jiraiya, and because I noticed it all the girls noticed it too and very quickly an orange blur was flying in from the back door and heading out toward the front yard.
"Oba!" Naruko yelled, barging through the door and diving into Tsunade's arms for a hug.
I felt how the slug Sannin's emotions roiled at the physical contact and form of address.
"Did you tell her to call me that?" Tsunade said, narrowing her eyes at the toad sage as she awkwardly patted her little cousin on the back.
Under her facade, she bubbled with apprehension, guilt and a cavalcade of other emotions, anger being one of them but it was almost a non-factor and grew smaller the longer she held Naruko.
"Hey, I may be stupid but I'm not suicidal." Jiraiya said with arms raised, making sure to stay out of smacking distance.
"Oba?" Naruko asked, her tone hesitant and her arms twitching like she was about to pull away.
"You're fine kid." Tsunade sighed, pulling her back in and properly reciprocating the hug.
Naruko giggled into Tsunade-sama's boobs-I mean fun bag- I mean chests-chest! Singular chest! She has one chest!
Jesus Christ, was puberty kicking into high gear? I hoped not.
"I have so many questions! Dattebayo!" Naruko exclaimed into that singular chest.
Tsunade's mouth twitched into a smile at the verbal tick.
"Sure kid," Tsunade said with a put upon sigh, though her smile did not diminish.
While Naruko attempted to talk the slug Sannin's ear off I sidled up to Jiraiya who watched the interaction with a distant gaze, his chakra roiling with surprise and longing. A longing for what exactly, I wasn't sure, all I saw was lady Tsunade having a very enthusiastic conversation with a young blonde that shares some of her features…..
Hmmmn.
Oh. Well, best of luck to Jiraiya I guess.
"Jiraiya-sama." I said to the toad sage.
The toad Sannin jumped at my voice.
"Holy! Jeez kid, someone should put a bell on you." I placidly watched his theatrics—and they were theatrics, given there wasn't an ounce of surprise in his chakra—before speaking.
"It's good to see you as well Jiraiya-sama. Would you like to come inside? Have some tea maybe?" I questioned while gesturing to the inside of my house.
"... sure kid. Why not?" he said after casting one last look at where Tsunade was being hounded by Naruko. Coincidentally it was just at the right moment to lock eyes with a frazzled Tsunade who was screaming one message at the toad sage with her eyes.
Help me.
Jiraya had the audacity to smile.
"Come on kid. Show me what tea you've got lying around." Jiraiya said, throwing an arm around my shoulder and guiding me through the front door.
We entered my house leaving behind a slug Sannin whose chakra boiled with the promise of vengeance.
XXXXXXXXX
Jiraiya let off a loud whistle as he finished reading the paper that I had written detailing the four Disciplines and my attempts to replicate them in hopes of achieving my own form of senjutsu which I referred to as Ki.
"Damn kid, as if sage training wasn't hard enough. If I trained this way I would be lucky to have made it to sagehood before I got put in a geriatric home." the Toad Sannin said with raised brows.
"I am aware of its increased difficulty, Jiraiya-sama, I just want your opinion on its feasibility." I asked.
"Alright, well I have to admit, all this is pretty well thought out. I'm not much for all the mystic stuff involved with senjutsu but there is a certain artistry to becoming one with nature that I can appreciate. All the stuff you've written down here could only help with that." he said, his eyes roving over the sheet of paper I had given him again.
"Maybe you'll have better luck with this stuff than me." he said with a wry smile.
"Aren't you a sage?" I asked, at that odd statement.
"There's levels to everything, kid—even sages. And yeah I can use sage mode but it comes with caveats. Konoha has only ever had two real sages and I'm not one of 'em." he said with a distant melancholy, sipping from his tea cup like it was sake.
"..... you could try to be." I said offering my little bit of encouragement.
Jiraiya paused his sip and raised a quizzical eyebrow at me.
"You try to downplay it but I know you're trying really hard, I can see it—and on behalf of Naruko I appreciate that immensely—and if you're gonna try at everything else why not try with this." I said to the toad sage who despite his eccentricities and personal lapses had been very helpful.
"...yeah, why not." Jiraiaya said with a sigh, the toad sage got up and headed toward the stairs probably to get some shut eye in a guestroom.
He paused just as he was about to leave though. Then he turned his gaze to Kuro who he had been judiciously avoiding having to look at throughout this conversation.
She ignored him as well, not intentionally though, she was just completely wrapped up in the documents scattered across the table. A nudge from me got her attention and I gestured toward the toad sage who watched her carefully.
"What?" she asked with a head tilt, inspecting the toad sage like he was an interesting insect. Which was a bit of an act, Kuro was well aware of how large the gap between us and this man truly was.
It still sent a shiver down the Sannin's spine though.
Credit where credit is due, he steeled himself and looked at her—though in a manner that I could tell judiciously avoided eye contact.
"Thank you." he said to her, in a strained voice.
I blinked. Was he thanking her for torturing him?
Kuro watched him for a moment before one of her patented smiles split her face.
"Anytime." She replied with a light blush on her face that left the promise of a repeat performance—if ever provoked—unspoken.
His piece said, Jiraiya left the room.
And if his ascent up the stairs was more of a run than a walk. Well there was no one there to see it but us.
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Speaking of maintaining relationships there was one that needed some tending. It was later that night and the moon lit Konoha in its silver rays. I was in my backyard. Specifically, the patch of earth that Naruko had begun converting into a garden and sitting there illuminated by that same moonlight was who I had been searching for.
Hinata.
"Couldn't sleep?" I asked as I approached her. She sat in front of a patch of violets, gently prodding them. She didn't flinch at my voice, I wasn't silent in my approach and she was a kunoichi of decent ability that only improved every day.
"I had a dream." she whispered in that gentle voice of hers, so soft it was like it could be lost on a stiff breeze.
"Wanna talk about it?" I asked.
She shook her head and I didn't press, just sat beside her in the dark as the moon loomed over us. At some point as the night went by she laid her head on my shoulder.
I let my head loll onto hers and my arm slip around her shoulder simply enjoying the silence—the quiet. Not many of my relationships were quiet, not completely, every functioning relationship had quiet parts, the silent companionship that existed without words, but while my other relationships had that, they were also full of other things.
Kuro's dark obsessions, Naruko's burning passion and seething insecurities, Lee… Well Lee was Lee. But with Hinata, most of the relationship was silent, her support, her passion, her love. It was a passive thing like a light drizzle on a temperate day.
I needed that much more than I thought I ever would. My life was incredibly hectic and would only get more so and I wouldn't have it any other way but someone to just be peaceful with… I could not overstate how much I appreciated that.
Kuro and Naruko could do it too but it wouldn't be the same, they weren't peaceful people and that was fine. I loved that about them, and in a way that contrast only made my feelings for each of them even more intense.
Still those were thought for later, probably tomorrow morning's meditation session. I focused on the present and the warmth of Hinata against my side and embraced the peace and quiet.
A lot of the following months would be characterised by that peace.
After the hectic months following my enrollment at Tobirama prep and the ensuing events since then, it felt well earned to finally have some peace and quiet. My projects milled along as they should, the initial burst of progress I had when my years of preparatory training met competent instruction was beginning to peter out.
Not to say I wasn't still progressing at a rate that all my teachers felt satisfied with, I just didn't jump in power the way I did at the start of all this madness.
Despite all the crazy, I wouldn't change it for anything.
XXXXXXXXX
Six months.
He had been away from the village for six months.
Mastering the lightning armour and all the agonising pain it entailed had pushed him to his absolute limit, and when he was done with it, he decided to reward himself with a little treat.
A suicide mission.
It was a fun little trip into the Land of Rivers, made even more enjoyable by his cute little kohais tagging along. Having Itachi back in the village was a blast—no one was quite as fun to tease as the stoic Uchiha. Adding Mitarashi into the mix just made for a more lively atmosphere.
And sure, there was the whole clan massacre business, but nobody was perfect.
If Kakashi judged everybody for being an unhinged murderer, he wouldn't have any friends. Regardless, it was a fun time followed by several months of missions to really stretch his legs, and he was now back home just in time for the main event.
The start of a wonderful new journey.
Right now, he watched some of his fellow travellers on that journey gear up to beat the snot out of each other.
Gremlin-kun was a lot easier to look at now that Weasel was back in the fold. The sting of tragedy and the looming ghosts of his past still rattled behind his eyes anytime he looked at the little genius, but it wasn't as bad.
Part of it was probably the Third sneaking some therapy into his tutelage while he tortured him. The sneaky old monkey.
Clad in a very casual set of clothes—a white long-sleeve shirt over a pair of black trousers and a blue haori—the only thing that could point him out as a shinobi was the black sandals on his feet and the bo staff in his hands.
Despite appearances, the symbols peeking out of his sleeves showed that his attire was no simple civilian garb.
Creepy-chan was clad in her signature black-and-red kimono, looking just as adorably bloodthirsty as usual, complete with a set of cleavers more suited to a butcher's block than a battlefield. But he had seen shinobi fight with stranger weapons.
Naruko…
She looked more and more like her mother every day.
She wore her signature orange jacket, unzipped to display a set of all-black overalls underneath, the Uzumaki swirl proudly emblazoned on her chest in the same eye-searing orange as her jacket. The hilt of a wakizashi peeked out of said jacket on her lower back—Kushina's weapon of choice.
Last but not least was Hime-chan.
Her attire remained entirely the same: a baggy jacket that hid an overdeveloped physique—Kakashi noted with the detached perversion of a man who read smut at all hours of the day—blue trousers taped off at the ends and tucked into her sandals.
She was the only one barehanded, and based on the fact that she stood alone on the other side of the field from her friends, it was clear she was their singular opponent.
Interesting.
Tension built around the training ground until it grew taut—like a bowstring stretched too thin—and then it snapped, and the trio facing the Hyūga princess snapped into action in turn.
Fastest across the clearing was Gremlin-kun with that chakra-zooming technique of his. Flying into Hime's space, his bo twirled and spun in a tornado of unpredictable force.
She dodged every swing.
Those she couldn't dodge, she calmly deflected with chakra-coated hands. Her pace was calm and methodical, lacking aggression, seemingly content to play the defensive—a strategy Kakashi doubted the viability of, given the other two combatants coming in hot.
Creepy-chan and Naruko arrived in very well-executed body flickers. Naruko went in with her fists and Creepy-chan unleashed a storm of blade strikes with her cleavers that could have carved Hime-chan to pieces.
Hime responded to the added pressure by gaining some aggression of her own, now actively striking them with her Jūken to disrupt their flow and deal damage even as she batted away fists, sticks, and blades with chakra-coated hands.
And what a flow it was. The three of them moved like one living entity, like they shared the same mind—which they most likely did, if Gremlin-kun's jutsu was in play. He raised his headband to get confirmation with his Sharingan and almost hissed when his vision was filled with the bright gold-and-blue of Naruko's chakra blanketing the field.
Was this some sort of tactic to battle the Byakugan? If so, bravo for the ingenuity. Kakashi was not surprised, though. He expected no less from Konoha's most unpredictable ninja.
Still, the fact that Hime could see through all that and battle three combatants of similar ability was very impressive. Weaving through blows and parrying strikes, she moved as though she could see their attacks before they made them. Maybe she could?
Kakashi knew Gremlin had helped Hime-chan develop her bloodline. The Byakugan gaining some sort of predictive ability was a terrifying yet plausible thought.
A hypothesis only reinforced by how unhurried and unruffled she remained as the battle marched on.
Then a dome of pure darkness appeared around the attacking trio—placed just right so that anyone outside that dome, specifically Hime, would only have moments before whatever attack was winding up behind it hit.
It kicked things up a notch, the princess' rhythm faltering as her reflexes were tested. But with a straining of the eyes, she saw through the stationary genjutsu and quickly readapted, redoubling her efforts to end the fight.
Kakashi surged his chakra to dispel the signal the genjutsu construct was sending out and see through it.
Stationary genjutsu were useful and powerful techniques—an external chakra construct placed in a fixed point in space that released a constant yet subtle chakra signature that fooled the senses. In a way, it was more effective than most direct genjutsu, because the method to dispel it was more convoluted. You had to match the signal the construct was outputting or constantly disrupt your chakra.
Most didn't use it over traditional genjutsu because of how long it took to cast, a disadvantage the Sharingan did away with, allowing Creepy-chan to cast them mid-combat.
Given how difficult it was for even seasoned jōnin to break such an illusion in the heat of battle, Kakashi guessed that the princess had simply chosen to see through the genjutsu.
Kakashi could guess how that would play out, and he was proven correct when Creepy-chan cast another dark dome—this one a centimetre greater in circumference than the last. But that difference was large enough that Hime had to readjust her vision to see through it, slowing her down and putting her on the back foot.
This continued, the black illusory dome randomly changing shape and being recast in an instant, putting her on the defensive. Despite that, she held her own.
Then Izuku tipped the scales.
He cast his armour jutsu. Even with Naruko's chakra cloud muddling things, Kakashi still caught the layer of chakra that flowed over the gremlin and covered every inch of him before hardening into the protective jutsu—no less impressive than the first time.
Then he planted his feet and stopped dodging, switching to all-out aggression, trading blows for blows. His armour flared where Hime's Jūken struck it. Despite the power of the protective jutsu, it couldn't completely protect him from the penetrative properties of the Jūken, causing his clothes to flutter under the armour as they received the blows.
Hime's defeat seemed inevitable when the other two girls switched up their combat style to match Izuku's role as damage sponge, the pair orbiting him as they slipped into any cracks in the princess' stance to inflict damage.
The game was set. The princess was cornered.
Though Kakashi's honed battle instincts didn't count h