*Bang*
Early in the morning, Naruto heard the sound of something breaking outside his window. His eyelids trembled, slowly lifting as he sat up groggily.
"Urgh" He pulled himself to the window, and peaked out, only to see ice all over his backyard as two figures engaged in combat.
"Haku's fighting?" His vision was still a bit blurry, so he squinted his eyes to see who it was that was fighting Haku.
*Fwee*
'A flute? Who uses that?' He squinted his eyes and saw a red figure dash by as the sound of the flute continued to play.
'Tayuya?' That was the only person he could think of with that hair colour
His eyes slowly adjust, and he saw the clear situation. Haku was trying to land a hit of Tayuya, who avoided it as she moved around. Even with his kekkei genkai, he was unable to properly get close to Tayuya.
'Why are they fighting?' He wasn't surprised by Tayuya's strength, after all, she is one of Orochimaru's elites.
Each elite were picked through death battles, so only the most vicious and sharp ones remained by his side. As young as Tayuya was, she has seen more blood than most adults.
He could see that Haku was throwing out everything, but nothing could actually come close to hitting Tayuya who just continued to play on her flute. Each sound wave attack would crack the ice, and although it wasn't strong, with how consistent it happened, the ice around her started to crumble with time.
"Haku seems more determined than usual, guess he never had a proper sparring partner since I'm always training with his old man" Naruto muttered
He got out of bed and dressed in a dark green uniform, similar to the one Shikamaru usually wears. Lately, he began paying more attention to his own appearance, so the first thing he decided to change was the bright orange jumpsuit.
After dressing up, he went downstairs and greeted Kimimaro and Zabuza who were watching the two of them battle.
"How long have they been doing this for?" He asked
"Just started today, but if you include yesterday, they've been at it for around seven hours now" Kimimaro replied
"Good to know that Haku now has a partner to spar with, I'm usually busy, and Haku usually stays at home" Naruto sighed
"Mn, but where did these two come from? The smell of blood on them isn't light" Zabuza asked
"They belong to Orochimaru, I just borrowed them for some experiments" Naruto shrugged
"I see" Zabuza wondered just how close the two of them are, to actually allow him to borrow his subordinates so easily.
Naruto then turned to Kimimaro
"How's your injuries" He asked
"Much better, only physical injuries though" He replied
"That's fine, the nine tail's chakra absorbed into your body will slowly clear the blocked chakra points in your body" Naruto said
"Truly?" Kimimaro gasped, when he sustained these injuries, he had expected to be as good as crippled in terms of ninjutsu, but Naruto said he can recover from that as well?
Naruto nodded, the healing factors of the nine tail isn't a joke after all. As little as the amount absorbed is, it still contains immense energy.
He then took out a mask that was obtained from the Uzumaki clan's mask storage. It was one of the few masks that wasn't linked to a shinigami, so it was safe to wear.
"Wear this, I need to head out today" Naruto replied
"Mn" Kimimaro received the mask and tucked it away for when they are heading out.
Naruto then sat down and watched Tayuya and Haku battle.
*Fwee*
The tune of the flute shifted, and Naruto felt his mind being drawn out from his body, but Kurama quickly dispelled the effects and allowed clarity to return to his mind.
"Tsk" Haku fell to the ground, unable to resist the genjutsu
"I've already limited the range of the genjutsu to two metres around me, yet you still got caught" Tayuya chuckled as she tucked her flute away.
Only after the battle did they realise Naruto joined in on the fun and was watching on the sidelines. In fact, he had cut up a watermelon, and the three were enjoying it as the two battled!
"Yo Haku-nii, mind if you freeze this melon before we cut it up?" Naruto pulled out a second melon as he held it in front of the fallen Haku
"..."
Haku pointed a finger at it and froze the melon...along with Naruto's hand...
"Really? Nii-san, I was just eating a melon, is there a need to be this angry?" Naruto's lips twitched as he walked to the side and started to bash his hand against a rock to break it out.
Zabuza rolled his eyes, Naruto is simply asking for it at this point.
"I'm not the only one eating, why only me" Naruto pouted as he finally broke the ice and retrieve the still frozen melon.
Haku didn't respond, he just sat down and kept his gaze on Tayuya, who was shooting playful smirks at him.
"Heh, loser~" She said with a smug grin
Haku's gaze sharpened as he waved his hand
A wave of ice shot from his palm, freezing the floor as ice spikes shot out from the ground towards Tayuya. However, she simply dodged and shattered the ice with a bombardment of sound waves.
"Bleh" Tayuya stuck out her tongue and ran elsewhere to avoid Haku's anger.
After Tayuya ran off, Haku let out a faint sigh
"Sensei, not going to cheer up nii-san?" Naruto walked over with his hands behind his head as he asked casually
"He needs to learn that his kekkei genkai shouldn't be relied on, and he's not so weak to need my encouragement" Zabuza scoffed
He had faith in Haku to develop himself, and felt that there wasn't a need to intervene.
Naruto shrugged
"Tayuya, get back here, we'll be leaving soon" Naruto yelled
After he called out, Tayuya returned with an annoyed expression
"What?"
"Do I need to remind you? You two need to stay close to me" Naruto said as he handed her a fox mask over to her.
"And why do I need to wear a mask?" She asked begrudgingly
"Wear a mask or heavy makeup, your choice" Naruto replied
"Mask it is" Tayuya said quickly and placed the mask over her face
The reason Naruto never suggested using the transformation jutsu is because it can be seen through by people easily, especially Kakashi when he has his sharingan activated.
Kimimaro also wore the mask given by Naruto earlier, and got up.
"Where are we going?" Tayuya asked
"Dunno, wherever Kakashi sensei is" Naruto shrugged
"Urgh, can't I just stay here until you return?"
"Nope~" Naruto replied
Tayuya wished she could rip his smug face off, but knowing his relationship with Orochimaru, she held herself back.
'I swear, I need to teach this brat a lesson when I can, I don't care if he's working with Orochimaru-sama, he will get what's coming to him' She cursed in her heart
Haku was a little disheartened when he realised that Tayuya was going, as now, he would no longer have a sparring partner again. Seeing him like this, Zabuza stood up.
"It's about time you start working on your taijutsu" He said, he has held it off lately as Haku was working so hard on his chakra control, but now that he needs proper experience, he decided to start working on something else for Haku.
Very quickly, Haku regained light in his eyes
"Alright" He nodded
"...Haku-nii, you do realise that I'm just going to meet with Kakashi sensei, right? We're not leaving for long" Naruto said, knowing that Haku wanted Tayuya to stay, and spar with her.
"..." Haku's expression immediately became cold as he glared at Naruto
"Yeah, on that note, we're leaving" Naruto waved his hand and led the other two out
Naruto went to where Kakashi would usually meet the team, well, meet Sakura, now that Sasuke is gone and Naruto is often doing something else.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up" Sakura sized Naruto up and said with scrutinising eyes.
Naruto shrugged
"I'm busy, what can I say?"
"You're thirteen, how busy can you be?" Sakura rolled her eyes and replied
"I'm also a Jonin, not fully, but Tokubetsu Jonins are still Jonins" Naruto responded nonchalantly
To that, Sakura really didn't have anything to retort...
"So, where's Kakashi sensei?" Naruto looked around and asked
"He's late like usual, but my question is, who are those two?" Sakura asked as she stared at the two behind Naruto.
They wore a mask, and are quite conspicuous.
"My bodyguards" Naruto replied
"Really?"
"Yep, totally" Naruto nodded
Sakura stared at his suspiciously
"You're...not cheating on Ino, are you?" Sakura asked as she gazed upon Tayuya, who seems to be around their age, and from the figure, she was obviously a girl.
Naruto was stunned
"Why are people assuming I'd cheat on Ino!? I may be shameless and an absolute prick, but I'm not so messed up as to cheat, okay?" Naruto felt offended, is his character that questionable?
[If you ask me, your character is more than just questionable, the first time we communicated, you sounded as if you were lusting after me]
'Bah, that's different, that's lust towards power'
[So you were lusting after me!!!!]
'F**k, lust for power means a desire to get stronger, not what you're thinking! Ew, f** no!'
[Thank goodness, you...f**k do you mean by that, am I not good enough for you?] Kurama growled
'....Kurama, I'll give you five seconds to think back on what you just said...' Naruto replied with a blank and empty tone
[What? I said....]
'Kurama?'
[...]
He no longer spoke, knowing what he just said in a fit of annoyance, he felt ashamed...how could he even say such a thing!
"Naruto, you still in there?" When he snapped out of his conversation with Kurama, he realised that Sakura was standing in front of him, waving her hands in front of his face to see if he even reacted.
"Yeah, what'd I miss?" Naruto asked
"Seriously? Kakashi sensei just arrived, but you just stood there" Sakura replied
"Oh, sorry, I was thinking of something"
"Wow, first time I heard you apologise" Sakura crossed her arms and grinned
"Sorry that you're usually so annoying I'd rather not apologise to you" Naruto added
"...Naruto, you're dead to me!" Sakura yelled as she threw a punch at him
Naruto quickly side stepped, avoiding the punch
Sakura sneered as she spun her body as she jumped up, slamming her fist downwards. Naruto jumped back to avoid the blow, so Sakura's punch struck the floor.
*Bang*
Her fist shot through the ground, creating a hole as she pulled it out.
'As expected of sis's student, her strength is growing rapidly, I wonder who'd be stronger by the end, her of Lee' Naruto thought to himself
Naruto snapped his fingers, and a seal appeared beneath her feet. Chains shot out, binding Sakura up tightly, immobilising her instantly.
"Gah, Naruto, release this right now" Sakura said as she tried to break the chains to no avail.
"Beg me" Naruto smirked
"Hah?"
"Did I stutter?" Naruto replied
"...Naruto, Sakura, you two can stop now" Kakashi interjected and said
He watched the two to see how they have grown, and to his surprise, Naruto's proficiency in seals seems to have gotten even higher than he last remembers.
"Kay~" Naruto made a gesture with his hands, and the seal was undone, releasing Sakura
Sakura grumbled, but also stopped trying to attack Naruto
"So, sensei, what are we here for?" Naruto asked
Kakashi pointed at Tayuya and Kimimaro
"Before that, who're they?" He asked
"My bodyguards" Naruto replied
"...you need protection? From what I've heard from Asuma, you're more than capable to protect yourself" Kakashi replied
"Yeah, but you know, in case"
Kakashi sighed
"If we take on a mission, they won't be allowed to interfere unless something unexpected comes up" Kakshi warned
"That's only natural" Narto nodded
"So, who are they really?" Kakashi asked, from what he can observe, one of them is around the same age as Naruto, at most a year or two older, while the other one has a rather weak presence, seemingly injured.
Naruto scratched the back of his head
"As expected of Kakashi sensei, not easy to fool, this one here is actually an Uzumaki survivor who was brought away as a baby" Naruto said as he pointed at Tayuya
His words made Kakashi pause, an Uzumaki survivor!? But the age didn't add up, the Uzumaki clan was destroyed before Naruto was born, so how can a survivor be around his age? Seeing Kakashi's doubts, Naruto knew he needed a plausible excuse.
"When I say survivor, I meant her mother" Naruto explained calmly
Kakashi still didn't buy it, he could see the distrust in his eyes
"Urgh, fine, you win, they're rogue shinobis I brought back during an outing, in exchange for an identity in Konoha, they agreed to help me with my experiments, the identity they got were Uzumaki clan survivors so the elders won't kick up a fuss with Hokage-sama" Naruto pinched between his brows as he spoke, mixing in bits of truth with the lie
Hearing this, Kakashi eased up a little, one was very young, and the other wasn't in good shape, he had no worries about them being a threat. Rather, he's more curious as to why they're with him right now.
"So, why did you bring them along?" he asked
Naruto suddenly took out a handkerchief as a drop of tear rolled down his eyes
"These two were so impoverished that they had to steal to get through the day, causing them to garner hatred, now, I simply wish to teach them what I know and help them improve so-"
"Cut to the chase" Kakashi rolled his eyes and cut him off
Naruto tossed the handkerchief aside
"Sensei, you're no fun, I bring them along because I'm working on a seal, and these two have the seal engraved on them, so I need to observe them through an extended period of time" Naruto responded lazily
"..." Sakura was a little speechless, it seems that over the course of the few months of not meeting one another, he's become harder to read.
"What seal is it that requires your constant supervision?" Kakashi frowned upon hearing this
"Secret"
"Well, if it's a secret, then these two are not allowed to follow us" He replied
"..." Naruto looked around, he suddenly shuffled over to Kakashi and leaned closer
"Jiraiya is currently working on the third book for Icha Icha, he told me the first copy will go to me if I help him with some matters" He whispered
Kakashi suddenly paused as he glanced over at Naruto
"Are you serious?" He asked
"Dead serious" Naruto nodded
*Ahem*
Kakashi let out a cough
"Well, as long as these two don't interfere, and are only tagging along, I see no problem" He said with a dignified expression
"Thanks a bunch, sensei" Naruto grinned
"..." The other three however, stared at the two with a look of disgust
"I knew it, Konoha is corrupted to the core" Tayuya muttered under her breathe, although the two whispered, the hearing of a shinobi cannot be compared to a normal person's.
In fact, they wondered if they even tried to hide it, such a blatant show of bribery!
"Anyway, sensei, why did you call for me?" Naruto asked
Kakashi quickly remembered why he called for Naruto
"Right, now that the village is stabilised, I was accepted another mission for you two" He replied
"Wait, you accepted one already? I thought you'd have called me here to discuss what mission we'd accept" Naruto gasped
"Have I ever done that?" Kakashi smiled
"...f**k, he's got a point" Naruto uttered in stupor
Kakashi chuckled as he explained the mission
"This time, it is a bandit extermination mission, normally, it would be considered a C rank mission at most, however, there has been reports of rogue Shinobis being part of the bandit camp, which raised it to a B rank mission" He said
"Oh, cool, are there any problems about environmental damages when exterminating them?" Naruto asked
"Uh..." Kakashi didn't know why he asked such a thing, but he got a bad feeling from his question
A thought suddenly occurred to him, during the attack from Orochimaru, Naruto was said to have fired a black ball of condensed chakra at the Ichibi, and that description matches one thing...a bijuudama...
"You can't use the beast bomb during this" He said
"F**k"
Kakashi rolled his eyes
"This mission is to hone your combat experience, if you bomb the whole place, what is there to gain?" He replied
"Sounds like a bother, fine, I won't use the beast bomb" Naruto scoffed
Kakashi couldn't help but feel speechless, it made one wonder, how is this a conversation between a thirteen year old and a Jonin? Sometimes he would forget, but Naruto is only thirteen, and he has enough power to wipe out small villages on his own.
It has never been the case where the instructor had to ask the student to hold back during the missions...
"So, when do we leave for the bandit extermination?" Naruto asked, he thought back to his words with Haku before leaving, that he was only going to talk with Kakashi, and won't be leaving the village.
"Now" Kakashi smiled
"..." Well sh*t, he couldn't help but curse under his breathe
He made a hand sign and created a clone, who immediately left to inform Haku of the mission he just received. He knew that Haku wanted to spar with Tayuya to gain more battle experience, so he felt a little bad that he went back on his words.
'And I can't just wipe them out with the beast bomb either...urgh, hope the place isn't far' Naruto sighed to himself
"What was the clone for?" Sakura asked curiously
"To inform Ino I'm leaving the village" He replied
'So quick to lie' Tayuya's lips twitched as she knew the actual reason why the clone was created
"Aw, how nice" Sakura grinned, finding Naruto to be rather adorable, to inform Ino when he's about to leave.
But as she thought this, another thought occurred to her. A question surfaced her mind, one that she was never able to ask until now...
As the group departed, Sakura turned to Naruto
"Um, Naruto, serious question...do you bend that way?" She asked with an uncertain look
Immediately, Tayuya and Kimimaro's ears perked up as they heard something interesting, or rather, found it funny that she brought up the same topic Ino earlier. Even Kakashi stopped reading his book, but feigned indifference.
"Where'd that come from? Of course not" Naruto replied
Sakura coughed
"Y-You know, back then during the mission, y-you said that after Ino was out of the picture...you'd be my next love rival?" She said
"..." Naruto suddenly remembered that, which he spoke due to the mission prompt back then...
He stared back at her
Pfft
Tayuya didn't even try to hide it as she snickered
Naruto thought for a bit before replying
"Just wanted to see how you'd react" He replied
"Huh? That's it?" Sakura asked
"Why else?" Naruto replied calmly
"..." She couldn't help but feel that he was lying, but with him insisting it was just that, she really couldn't do much about it...
Naruto scoffed in his head
'Want me to admit I was doing it for a mission? Not in a million years'
[I do remember you saying that, fufufu]
'Kurama dear, would thou be kind enough to shuteth the f**k up'
[Oh? Don't want me to leak it? Im quite a chatty person you see, if I meet my little brothers, I might get overly excited and start chatting up a storm] Kurama chuckled
'...what do you want' Naruto grumbled in his heart
[Oh~, it's nothing much, just a tiny favour, in fact, you might even like this idea] Kurama carried a hint of playfulness as he spoke
Naruto narrowed his eyes
'Go on...'
The others around gave him a strange gaze, as his expression was constantly changing. He seemed spiteful at first, then became a frown, and now, he seemed intrigued...
Their first thought was...'he definitely hit his head at one point'
Meanwhile, Kurama was explaining his little 'favour' to Naruto
[You see, I haven't had much action lately, you've always been on your experiment, and I'm feeling a little left out] Kurama spoke
'Hm, that is indeed the case, what, do you want to kill the bandits then?'
[No, no, no, that is beneath me to fight some weaklings, don't you have connections with Orochimaru?] Kurama said, and from his tone, he seems to be hinting at something.
Naruto however, was still a little lost as to what he wanted
[And Orochimaru, just so happens to have a little Uchiha under him] Kurama added
Suddenly, it clicked at the mention of an Uchiha...
'You want to fight a kid?'
[Not a kid, an Uchiha] Kurama smirked
'...I thought you said it's beneath you to fight weaklings?' Naruto asked
[He's not just some weakling, he's an Uchiha weakling] Kurama said with a proud smile
Naruto could already picture that smile he's wearing at this moment, and he couldn't help but feel speechless. So it's beneath him to kill some bandits, but it's not beneath him to fight a thirteen year old child, just because he has a bone to pick with the bloodline...
[So, what do you say? Beating up a kid in exchange for my permanent silence on this matter]
Naruto thought about it, it was a good offer, very good one in fact.
'I don't mind accepting, but one question'
[What?]
'Don't you feel that your actions right now resemble...a petty human?' Naruto smirked, which made his group members shudder
[...]
'Kurama?'
No response....
"...." He actually went silent and pretended he heard nothing??? So even he knew he's starting to resemble a human!
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that
"Oi Naruto, why the f**k are you acting so creepy" Tayuya snapped at him suddenly, seeing him change expressions every second weirded her out completely.
Her question quickly brought Naruto back to reality
"Uh, would you believe me if I said I was talking to the nine tails?" Naruto replied
Tayuya furrowed her brows
"What in the world are you two talking about to have your face change so much?"
"Making a deal to beat up Sasuke if I ever find him" Naruto replied with half truth, and half lies.
Sakura's lips twitched
"Why would you want to beat up Sasuke-kun with the nine tail's help?" She asked
"Hold that thought, it's not that I want his help to beat up Sasuke, he wants to do it himself" Naruto replied with an honest expression, as if he was being wronged.
Sakura rolled her eyes, how would anyone believe that the ancient disaster wants to beat up a thirteen year old child? It was laughable, she didn't believe the nine tails would be such a being to pick on weaker foes like that.
However, the nine tails is indeed such a being, so long as the weakling has the Uchiha or Senju bloodline. He'd ask Naruto to fight Tsunade, but they both knew that as he is now, he stands zero chance against her...
She can probably even take a beast bomb head on, and heal all her injuries instantly, she isn't the greatest medical-nin for no reason after all.
"Believe it if you want, I'm telling the truth" Naruto replied with a huff
Funnily enough, though the other three found it to be a joke, Kakashi believed it wholeheartedly, as he has been informed by Hiruzen about the nine tail's little...quirk...
He detested anyone of the Senju and Uchiha bloodline, which was also the reason why Naruto ended up fighting Hashirama.
"Enough talking, we're almost at the bandit camp" Kakashi said
His gaze then shifted to Tayuya and Kimimaro
"I won't forbid you two to act in self defence if anything does happen, otherwise, try not to interfere with the mission" He said
"I wouldn't want to get involved anyway" Tayuya scoffed in response, she didn't even want to be here in the first place.
Kimimaro nodded in silence
"Sensei, be honest with me, what's the real reason why I was called here, we both know bandit extermination won't bring me any actual combat experience, even if there are other shinobi involvement" Naruto asked
Kakashi seemed to have expected this question from Naruto, as he replied without much thought
"Truth is, the bandit extermination is more so training for Sakura, as for you, it's to take care of a missing-nin who is hiding in the bandit den, he is at the Jonin level, but barely meets the threshold, so he will be a good sparring partner for you" He replied
Naruto lifted a brow, so he accepted another mission for him. He nodded, and felt that fighting a jonin level shinobi is indeed good practice. Against the jonin instructors in the village, they won't go all out against him, and the people he has met outside the village aren't exactly ideal either.
Orochimaru isn't someone who would even want to fight him, so he is ruled out. Urashiki was way out of his league when he appeared, leaving him on the defensive the entire time, and Orochimaru wouldn't let him spar against the sound fours either, as he needs them in their top condition at all times.
-Back in Konoha-
The clone Naruto made rushed back home, and saw Haku training diligently with Zabuza. His arrival made the two pause as they turned to him.
"Back already? Where's Tayuya?" Haku asked
"Nah, turns out Kakashi sensei already accepted a mission, so we already left, I'm just a clone" Naruto replied
Haku's gaze sharpened
"What happened to just going out to talk with him?" He asked
Naruto crossed his arms
"I'm just a clone" He insisted
"..."
Haku nodded faintly, then turned back to Zabuza
"Fine, I'll continue training with dad" He replied
Naruto breathed out a breathe of relief, seeing that Haku wasn't really angry, he felt a lot more relaxed. With that set aside, he decided to go meet Ino, after all, if Sakura ever asks Ino about this matter and it turns out he didn't send a clone to find her, he'd be in an awkward position.
When he went to the flower shop, he was surprised to be told that Ino wasn't actually there.
"She went to train with Shikamaru and Choji a while ago, fufufu, I haven't seen her be this diligent all my life" Kiku chuckled
Naruto nodded
"Thanks miss Yamanaka" He said
"Now now, what should you be calling me?" Kiku smiled at him with a playful grin
Naruto was a little confused at first, however, after giving it some thought, another way of addressing her came to mind. He was a little hesitant, but seeing the look of expectations from her, he couldn't help but give it a go.
"Uh...mom?" Naruto spoke with a hint of uncertainty
"Mn, that's better, you can go off to find Ino, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to know you want to talk to her" Kiku placed a hand on her cheek and smiled
Naruto heaved a sigh of relief, seems like he wasn't wrong.
"Alright, and since I'm here, take this as a gift" Naruto passed her a scroll before leaving
"Fufufu, thanks dear, and don't keep Ino waiting" She waved as she watched Naruto depart.
After he left, she turned her attention to the scroll he gave her and opened it up. Upon opening it, a scene played before her....
"I-Inoichi!? Th-This....I should ask Naruto if he has more of those talismans, my dear looks quite cute when he's flustered like that" Kiku revealed a strange smile as she rubbed her chin, the scene that played before her was none other than the one when Naruto first turned him into a woman as an act of vengeance....
Meanwhile, Naruto headed to the training ground, and caught sight of Ino sparring against not just Choji and Shikamaru, but Tenten as well. It was a one against three battle, and with Shikamaru in the commanding spot, Ino found herself in quite the bind as the other two overwhelmed her.
"Seems like Ino is pushing herself this time" Naruto muttered as he watched Tenten summon a rain of weapons down towards Ino, who was forced to roll on the ground to avoid the attacks.
Right as she avoided the barrage, she found herself in line of Choji's human pinball as he rolled towards her. Ino gulped and formed a seal.
"Choji, Tenten, now!" Shikamaru yelled
Choji's body suddenly became normal size, and Tenten appeared behind him! It turns out he was covering her with his body, and once he shrunk down, Tenten unleashed another barrage of weapons towards Ino.
Ino's pupils shrunk as she cancelled her jutsu and chose to start avoiding it all once more.
"No more, you three are too frustrating!" Ino yelled, calling for a break
"It was a fantastic match, Ino" Lee approached from the side and complemented
He and Neji had finished sparring, and decided to watch these four go against each other. It came to them as quite a shock when they saw Ino go against three people at once, after all, the Yamanaka clan has never been known for their combat ability!
Yet Ino was there, facing against three people with nothing but her clan jutsu and simple taijutsu.
"I didn't know you were this proficient in combat, I see you in new light" Neji nodded
He initially wasn't very familiar with Ino, but knowing that she was with Naruto, he decided to open up and talk to her.
"Aw, thanks guys" Their complements made her mood rise a little, feeling much better about the loss.
"Yep, that was a great fight, except, Ino, why did you not try attacking Shiki at all? Hm~?" Suddenly, Naruto appeared behind her as he asked with a smile.
But that smile made Ino shiver slightly
"U-Uh...."
"Let me guess, you got caught up in your frustration that Tenten and Choji kept cutting you off, so you decided to give up attacking Shiki alltogether?" Naruto added
"..."
Seeing her awkward expression, Naruto laughed a little as he knocked on her head
"It's fine, Shiki was probably betting on you getting annoyed, which led to this, but don't get caught up in your emotions when you fight, or you'll get led on like this again, and with your skills, if you had kept aiming for Shiki, he'd soon be forced to go onto the defensive with the other two" Naruto said
Ino looked a little better after hearing that complement, and returned with a wide smile
"I didn't know you were the strategic type, Naruto" Shikamaru said
"Hehe" Naruto rubbed his nose with a proud look on his face
"So, what brings you here?" Ino asked with a grin
"Oh right, almost forgot, the one you're currently talking to is just a clone, the main body has left for a mission" Naruto said
Tenten gave Ino a nudge as a playful grin appeared on her face
"Look at that, he's just going on a mission and he even took the time to send a clone to tell you, you bagged him yet?" She asked Ino
Ino was now smiling from ear to ear as she placed her hands on her cheeks
"Hehehe" She giggled to herself, feeling very happy that Naruto took the time to do this
Naruto nodded
"Yeah, we're officially a thing now, she bagged me quite easily" He said
"Figured" Tenten chuckled
"Congrats, when's the ceremony" Neji placed a hand on his hips as he smiled at them
Naruto paused, and he stared at neji suspiciously
"I don't know why, but I get the feeling you're not talking about the ceremony I think you're taking about" He said
Ino tilted her head to the side
"Eh? Ceremony? What ceremony?" She asked cluelessly
"You see, I thought he meant marriage ceremony at first, but that look in his eyes is telling me it's something different" Naruto rubbed his chin and replied
"Eh? EH!?" Ino's eyes widened as her face became red
"Don't overthink it, it'll happen years from now, so don't mind it too much" Naruto added
!?!?!?!
He sounded so certain that Ino decided to act tough as she slapped his back.
"Y-You like me that much huh? Hahaha" She laughed, but her face was beat red
"See this? This is cuteness, anyway, Neji, what ceremony did you mean?" Naruto asked Neji, who was giving him a strange smile.
Neji glanced to the side
"Sorry, did I say ceremony? I meant funeral" He said
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Ino was perplexed
Neji coughed and pointed to where he was looking at earlier
When they turned to look, they saw Hinata. She had on hand on the tree beside her, and crushed the trunk with her bare hands as she stared at them. But she didn't do anything, simply staring at them before gesturing at Neji with a thumb across her neck....
"And what did that mean?" Naruto asked Neji
"That's her meaning of, 'I am in a bad mood, spar with me today'" He replied
"Scary..."