Konohagakure No Sato :
Uzumaki Estate :
10 Days Later :
"Your mind is distracted, and your breathing is completely off rhythm along with it. Pull yourself together Yugao-nee"
"...Yes."
Naruto instructed Yugao, resetting her stance and breathing . But as he looked at the kunoichi, his mind drifted. He couldn't help but notice her bloodshot eyes, the faint trembling of her hands, the way she was biting down hard on her lower lip, and finally, the volatile aura of rage that was barely covering up a massive well of deep, suffocating sadness.
(.......It's been six days since Gekko Hayate died.)
Yes, it had been six days since her boyfriend died. And Uzuki Yugao was currently experiencing nuclear-level emotional damage to her psyche. For the past week, Naruto had watched firsthand how extreme grief could completely shatter a person. It was especially obvious whenever he taught her and actively ran his sensory skills.
(.......To think this is the kind of side-effect you get from stacking Holmes Gaze, Smart Mind, Hound Senses, and the others..... especially when paired with the Kagura's Mind Eye.)
Naruto had actually come close to suspending her training altogether because this matter was already started to affect him .
After all No matter what , Naruto is not some emotion-less Machine or something .
Thanks to his skills, he was probably the closest person in the world to truly understand her grief, her sadness, and her violent inner turmoil.
(...She hasn't told me that Hayate is dead....... just keeping completely silent and going through the motions...... despite clearly grieving and Mentally struggling )
Yugao hadn't said a single word about it. Naruto only came to the conclusion on his own by closely observing her and referencing his knowledge of the original plot.
(...Should I have saved him?)
Despite the intrusive thought, Naruto's outward expression remained perfectly calm as he continued walking her through the basics.
As for why he didn't intervene and save Hayate?
First: It was the village's responsibility to look after its shinobi, not his. As a Leaf ninja, he had already done everything 'reasonably' within his power anyway.
( it's not just Hayate , plenty more will Die or are still dying )
Second: From the very beginning, his primary goal had been to develop himself while keeping the original plot—and his meta-knowledge of it—as intact as possible. There were already plenty of butterfly effects happening; he didn't want to risk any more right now.
Third and the most Important one
Gekko Hayate had to die.
Why? So that Yugao's ultimate loyalty would always belong to him and absolutely no one else. Technically speaking, Uzumaki Naruto needed to rank at the absolute top of her priority list.
(.....As long as her loyalty gets close to Itachi's level, I'll be satisfied.)
Naruto spoke calmly and patiently to Yugao. Honestly, his lectures had already drifted away from just the Breathing Technique and started incorporating general ninjutsu, taijutsu, and even a bit of medical ninjutsu.
After all, this was the best time to make her focus entirely on him during these "difficult times." and make sure she lean on him as her sole pillar in this world .
Seeing their session coming to an end, Naruto finally decided to broach the topic of Hayate after playing dumb for days.
"Yugao-nee."
"...Hm?"
Seeing the total blankness in her eyes, Naruto furrowed his brows, weighing the pros and cons of her current mental state.
(At least she hasn't ditched her sword like she did in the original anime... but now she's totally fixated on getting stronger just to get revenge.)
Revenge.
Something Naruto knew was basically going to be impossible. If the plot held up, Baki was the one who killed Hayate. Baki, who would soon become a high-ranking elder of the Sand Village—a village led by Gaara, in a formal alliance with the Leaf.
(...Because of the alliance, revenge will be almost impossible...) Naruto thought Silently as he found another way to ensure and manipulate the grieving Kunoichi (..... Unless I actively help her do it.)
Gathering his thoughts, Naruto softened his voice. He stepped closer to Yugao and pulled a move that only a supposedly innocent twelve-year-old could easily get away with , on a revenge-obsessed kunoichi.
"...Huh? Naruto-kun?"
Naruto stepped into her space and just hugged her. It wasn't distant, but it was intimate without being weird. Just a solid, grounding hug.
"Are you okay, Yugao-nee?"
"......"
Met with total silence, Naruto used Kagura's Mind Eye to read her fluctuating chakra and it's intent . Deciding to take it slow, he continued.
"I don't know exactly what happened, and I definitely don't know what you've been going through lately."
"....It's nothing, Naruto-kun. Don't worry about it."
".No matter what it is, I just want to say something, Yugao-nee."
"...."
"I am here."
"......"
With those words, Naruto tightened the hug, wrapping his arms securely around her waist and resting his head gently against her shoulder.
"No matter what you're dealing with."
"...."
"You aren't alone, Yugao-nee."
"...."
"You can depend on me. Even if it's just a little bit."
Naruto didn't push it any further. Officially, nobody had told him Hayate was dead. But as the village "Genius" who possessed high-level sensory skills, it was perfectly natural for him to draw these kinds of conclusions.
That was exactly why he felt safe "acting" this way. He didn't even have to scheme that hard; the world itself handed him this golden opportunity on a silver platter. All he had to do was play his part perfectly for these five minutes.
Soon enough, he felt a pair of trembling arms wrap around him. Yugao buried her face into his shoulder.
" *Sniff*Sniff* "
Silently, the hardened kunoichi—no, the eighteen-year-old girl—finally broke down. She let all of her buried sadness and bitter frustration pour out into the embrace of a child she had watched grow up. Someone she genuinely considered her second most important person in the world.
Feeling the kid's small frame holding her together, Yugao couldn't stop the tears from falling.
(How pathetic..... I wanted to be the one to support Naruto-kun, but here I am, letting him support me.,... Hayate, Naruto-kun... I am so sorry for being such a disappointment.)
Naruto sighed internally as he felt her emotional dam burst. He just closed his eyes, stood perfectly still, and let the kunoichi cry out all her grief.
(...Is this what bottling absolutely everything up does to a person?)
Watching her completely fall apart in the span of just six days, Naruto's brows furrowed. A genuine spike of worry hit him as he realized just how precious a person can be to other , and then he thought of his own people or lovers , and the devastating consequences of losing them.
Naruto's eyes cleared a little from his dark shadows as he felt a shudder in his own heart .
(It's a good thing Uncle Teuchi and Ayame left the village..... but what will happen to my own psyche if I end up losing Hinata or the others someday?)
Naruto's grip tightened slightly, his own emotional state wavering at the dark thought. But a second later, his eyes hardened, and his inner resolve solidified like iron.
(I'd better make some preparations...... because nothing goes smoothly in this cursed world.)
Eventually, Naruto felt Yugao's sobbing start to taper off. Her chakra was stabilizing, and she was slowly pulling herself back together. Sensing the shift, he spoke up softly.
"..Can you tell me what happened, Yugao-nee?"
"......It's okay, Naruto-kun. You really shouldn't worry about this."
"...But I do worry about you."
"..."
"At least share a little bit of it with me."
Looking down into Naruto's bright, worried blue eyes, the denial died right on Yugao's lips. She stared at him for a long moment, organizing her fractured thoughts, before finally speaking.
"It—"
-----------------------------------------
Yamanaka Flowers :
"Finally some rest...!!!"
Ino let out a dramatic, Tired wail as she collapsed face-first onto the wooden shop counter. Because she was competing in the final stage of the Chunin Exams, she had to be perfectly prepared for her upcoming match against Shino.
And because her father, Inoichi, was completely swamped with organizing security for the exams, her rigorous training had been entirely dumped onto her mother and the rest of the Yamanaka Clan Elders. That was the brutal reason why she hadn't had a single second of free time to meet up with Naruto for the entire month.
(...Urghh, the finals are literally tomorrow.)
Yeah, it had been 29 days since the preliminary exams wrapped up. Except for a brief hangout with Naruto 28 days ago, Ino hadn't seen him once.
(Well... I also really want to show him how cool I've gotten.)
Her heart did a little flutter at the thought of how Naruto would look at her once she won her match. Sure, she won her preliminary round, but in her mind, that absolutely did not count—especially since she basically just spent the entire match bullying a Mental kid.
Throwing those thoughts out the window, Ino's mind drifted back to Naruto, taking a slightly different angle.
(Hehe, honestly? I kind of want to fight him too. Just to see his face and how he'd react if he actually had to fight me.)
Would he hesitate?
Or would he go all out against her?
Or maybe...
Ino forcefully calmed herself down. After all, just like her, Hinata was also competing in the finals. Knowing how the proctors loved setting up dramatic fights, there was a high chance they would force the two girls/Kunoichi to fight each other in the Second round in finals to grab the attention of the audience .
(.......But for that to even happen, Hinata has to somehow defeat Neji first )
Ino's eyes immediately clouded with deep worry at that thought. Now that they were actually good friends, she fully understood Hinata's capabilities. She knew about her power, her crippling kindness, and her massive hesitation—and also how fatal those traits could be when stacked against the undisputed strongest genius of the Hyuga Clan.
Especially the one who hates her or always has problems with Hinata .
(.......I just really hope she's ready for this.)
Ino never once entertained the thought that Hinata should lose. Deep down, she genuinely wanted both of them to win their brackets so they could eventually face off against each other—or better yet, against Naruto. The idea of Hinata failing just so Ino could look better never even crossed her mind.
( .....Don't know how Hinata is preparing )
Just like her, Hinata had been completely swept up by the Hyuga Clan the second the preliminaries ended. She was being personally trained by her father and the Hyuga Elders. But Hinata's situation was vastly different from Ino's. At the very least, Ino got some free time in the evenings to run the flower shop. Hinata, on the other hand, hadn't been seen by anyone in nearly four weeks.
(...I really, really hope she's okay.)
Honestly, if Naruto hadn't personally assured her that Hinata would be fine, Ino would have definitely tried to sneak into the heavily guarded Hyuga compound by herself just to check on her, strict clan rules be damned.
(At least we've got Sadako and the others secretly running letters back and forth between us.)
Because it was the final stretch of the Chunin Exams, and all three of them were directly participating, they hadn't interacted much in person, choosing instead to focus entirely on their individual brutal training regimes.
(....Hm?)
Suddenly, through half-lidded, exhausted eyes, Ino noticed a very familiar pink-haired girl wandering into the shop.
(...Sakura?)
Ino watched quietly as Sakura gave a small, nervous nod to herself before slowly walking down the aisles. Seeing this, Ino just observed her calmly.
(.....Has she finally cooled off?)
Ever since their intense, emotionally charged 'duel' in the preliminaries, Ino had actually reached out to Sakura a few times to talk things over or at least clear the air. Things were slowly getting a bit better—at least over the last two weeks, Sakura had stopped slamming doors in Ino's face and was actually willing to listen for a minute.
Ino had offered a basic apology for the sheer roughness of the duel, but as a proud kunoichi of the Yamanaka clan, she refused to say anything more. She didn't maliciously point out Sakura's obvious combat shortcomings or rub salt in the wound. In the end, it was just a plain, standard apology for a 'rough spar' between fellow Leaf villagers.
After all, despite how harsh it got, Ino genuinely believed she hadn't done anything wrong.
Regardless, seeing Sakura aimlessly picking through flowers, Ino didn't feel much of anything.
(.....Is this really as far as our friendship goes now?)
Despite the depressing thought, Ino didn't feel bitter or hurt anymore. Maybe it was because she had formed real bonds with Hinata, Karin, and the others, but she found herself completely detached from Sakura's icy or mental attitude and their permanently fractured friendship.
Suddenly, Ino noticed Sakura specifically pulling together a "Get Well Soon" bouquet.
(......That's definitely for Sasuke-kun.)
Sasuke had been dragged off by Kakashi for intensive training the literal day after they survived the Forest of Death. Since then, there had been a Total silence on his condition. But considering the finals were kicking off tomorrow morning, Ino logically concluded that Sasuke had to be coming back to the village soon.
(It looks like Sakura also figured out he's returning today.)
Soon enough, Sakura walked up to the counter to pay. Seeing her approach, Ino professionally took the cash and handled the transaction. Still, she couldn't help herself from asking.
".....For Sasuke-kun?"
Hearing Ino's voice, Sakura's head snapped up, and her cheeks immediately flushed a deep shade of embarrassed pink. Seeing the reaction, Ino simply rolled her eyes, expertly wrapping the bouquet and sliding the change across the counter.
"Well, good luck with that."
Ino just lazily waved her hand, her brain totally fried from fatigue. Sakura took her change and the flowers, glancing at Ino's clearly exhausted, sweat-stained face. Deciding that starting any kind of deep conversation right now was a bad idea, Sakura turned to leave.
But just as Sakura's hand touched the shop's door handle, Ino's voice drifted over.
"I'm glad you're staying focused on your goals and checking in on your 'Teammate 'Sasuke' Kun "
"...Huh?"
"But besides Sasuke.... don't you have another 'teammate'?"
"......naruto." Sakura whispered but in confusion
"Did you visit him at all this month?"
"...no."
"....Are you seriously kidding me right now?!" Ino's exhaustion vanished, replaced by a flash of anger.
"..."
"Naruto literally go injured while he was protecting you and 'YOUR' precious Sasuke-kun in the forest! He almost lost his damn hand, and you.... forget buying him flowers, you didn't even bother to visit him?!"
".......Naruto wasn't in the hospital," Sakura finally replied, though her voice was thick with heavy guilt.
Hearing the pathetic excuse, Ino let out a harsh, sarcastic laugh. "Do you want me to write down his home address for you?"
"......."
Sakura's head dropped lower, her eyes locked onto her sandals. Between her obsessive worry over Sasuke's curse mark and her subconscious belief that Naruto was utterly invincible and dependable, it genuinely never even crossed her mind to visit him—not even as a basic formality to say 'thank you' for saving her life in the Forest of Death.
Seeing Sakura staring at the floor and biting her lip in shame, Ino finally, truly understood exactly what Naruto had meant when he talked about Team 7. This time, Ino didn't even bother arguing. She just leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes.
(.......Forget it , let's Just focus on tomorrow )
----------------------------------------------------
Konoha Outskirts :
"Not bad at all. You've finally managed to lock down the Chidori."
" *Whistle*........ That Sharingan really is a total cheat code."
Huff... huff... huff...
Sasuke was completely doubled over on his hands and knees, violently gasping for air. He clenched his right hand, which was heavily bruised and trembling from the month-long, hellish training under Kakashi and Anko.
Yeah, in addition to Kakashi, Sasuke had also been "trained" by Anko. Kakashi handled the precision ninjutsu and advanced taijutsu mechanics, while Anko took charge of his "Survival Drills."
Which technically just translated to Anko beating him half to death every single day or him running away from her usuing any means necessary .
Because of Tsunade's direct orders regarding the Curse Mark, Anko had been assigned to stick by Sasuke's side 24/7. After spending a few days watching Kakashi teach him and getting incredibly bored, Anko decided to step in and help 'train' the Uchiha kid for her own personal amusement.
"Even though you've successfully learned the Chidori, you need to understand your limits," Kakashi warned seriously. "With your current physical body and chakra reserves, you can only safely use it twice a day. Make sure you use it well."
".....Yes."
"YES.....?! WHAT yes , YOU LITTLE SHIT?! Is that seriously all you have to say after mastering an A-Rank assassination jutsu?! HAAAAAA?!"
Hearing Anko's psychotic screaming and the terrifying sound of her cracking her knuckles, Sasuke's survival instincts kicked in, and he replied reflexively.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
*SMACK!*
Regardless of his quick answer, a brutal "fist of love" still connected directly with the top of his skull, dropping him face-first into the dirt. Sasuke looked up at Anko in total, bewildered confusion.
While Kakahshi was chill Sensei or Guy That even if you say his name without respect will take it coolely , The same is not true for Anko , somehow The snake mistress has decided to teach Sasuke morals and manners of a student towards their sensei .
( I think she just wants to hit me for any reason possible ) Sasuke thought while clutching his head and looking at Anko in bewilderment , since he didn't understand why she hit him now .
"SO ONLY KAKASHI GETS THE CREDIT, EHH?! No 'thank you' for anyone else?!"
".....Thank you, Anko-sensei."
"Not bad! At least you can still be taught some basic manners! And it's all thanks to me! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Anko nodded proudly to herself, bursting into maniacal laughter. Both Sasuke and Kakashi sweatdropped at the sight.
Sasuke sweatdropped because he had genuinely lost count of how many times Anko had brutally beaten him into the ground under the guise of "training."
Kakashi sweatdropped because, due to Anko's constant, overbearing presence, he hadn't had a single moment of peace to read his precious Icha Icha book. He had tried once in the beginning .and then The woman had flown into a blind rage, violently snatched the book from his hands, and literally set it on fire while laughing directly in his face.
Ever since that traumatic incident, Kakashi made sure to never pull the orange book out while she was around—especially after Anko threatened to personally drag him in front of Tsunade and report him for trying to teach "smutty literature" to a genin.
(.....Finally. Once this is over, I can go back to reading in ............. PEACE.)
Kakashi subtly clutched his chest, right over the hidden pocket where his backup copy was stashed.
Seeing Anko finally calm down, and Kakashi just standing there silently clutching his vest, Sasuke forced himself to stand up. "Tomorrow is the exam. Should we head back now?"
"Well, we can always just camp out and depart first thing in the morning without sp—"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Anko screamed at the top of her lungs, instantly grabbing both of their attention.
"We are packing up and departing right now! We need to reach the village before nightfall! Tsunade-sama and the others are definitely waiting for a full report!"
"But Sasuke's physical condition—"
"The brat is a Leaf shinobi! Stop looking down on him! If his legs give out and he can't walk, then we'll just throw him over our shoulders and carry him!"
"But—"
"Kakashi, listen to me. We have absolutely no idea what the current political or security situation is inside the village right now. It is infinitely better for us to arrive early so we can assess things before the finals kick off."
Hearing Anko's dead-serious tone, Kakashi stopped arguing. He realized she actually made a lot of sense. He turned his head and looked at his exhausted student.
"Sasuke."
"It's fine. I'm ready to go."
Seeing Sasuke's determination, Kakashi glanced up at the angle of the sun and checked his watch. It was nearing 4:00 PM. He nodded.
"...Alright then. We pack up and depart in one hour."
"Yosh!"
"Hn."
The three of them quickly dispersed, moving to break down the campsite and gather the gear they had been using for the past month. Seeing Anko walk a little further away to pack her weapons and tent , Sasuke's eyes flickered. He quickly closed the distance between himself and Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei."
"Hm? What is it, Sasuke?"
".....After learning the Chidori... can you tell me honestly... can I win now?"
"...Against Gaara?"
(...It's preety unusual for Sasuke to be showing this kind of doubt or lack of confidence,) Kakashi thought, looking at the boy with concern.
( It seems meeting with zabuza, Haku and Orochimaru had affected him )
Seeing Kakashi's reaction, Sasuke shoved his hands deep into his pockets and clarified.
"Not Gaara."
"?? Then who??"
".....Naruto."
Hearing that specific name drop from Sasuke's mouth, Kakashi's eyes flickered. His mind instantly flashed back to Naruto's outburst on the hospital roof, and his own subsequent, highly detailed re-evaluation of Sasuke's actual psychology.
(Does Sasuke consider Naruto a genuine rival? A friend? ........Or just an obstacle he needs to surpass? at any cost )
Kakashi forced himself to stay calm and chose to speak very slowly. "...Sasuke. Naruto is not your enemy. He is your comrade. You need to understand the difference."
Sasuke's expression didn't change even a fraction of an inch. "So?"
Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. Looking at the unyielding seriousness carved into Sasuke's face, he realized this wasn't something he could brush off.
(...I really need to sit down and address this issue with him in detail later.)
Considering the Chunin Exams were literally tomorrow, Kakashi decided to table the deep psychological discussion for another time.
"Is it really that difficult of a question to answer?" Sasuke pressed, narrowing his eyes.
Hearing the aggressive urging, Kakashi ran a quick mental simulation of a serious fight between current Sasuke and current Naruto.
The conclusion was
(.......I smiply cannot see a single scenario where Sasuke wins. .......Even if we completely remove the Flying Thunder God from the equation, I still don't see Sasuke holding any kind of real advantage.)
Looking down at Sasuke's incredibly hopeful, desperate expression, Kakashi realized he had to choose his next words with extreme care so he didn't shatter the boy's fragile ego the day before the finals.
".....You can only truly know who wins a fight when you actually step into the ring and fight."
"Hmph."
"...Well, if we're analyzing it tactically, Naruto's absolute greatest advantage over you is his monstrous chakra reserve."
(And his Taijutsu. And Ninjutsu. And Kenjutsu. And Medical Ninjutsu. .....And lastly the mastery of the Shadow Clone Jutsu ) Kakashi thought silently, keeping the terrifying list to himself.
( and Naruto already learned Chidori Year ago , Rasengan too , and those Breathing and other stuff )
Kakashi sighed inwardly and continued
"If the fight turns into a drawn-out battle of attrition, Naruto will win one hundred percent of the time. ........Honestly, the only realistic way I see you winning is if you hit him with everything you have, end the fight as quickly as possible, and absolutely do not give him the breathing room to use his larger Chakra Reserves and Ninjutsus "
Kakashi carefully phrased his tactical advice to sound like a solid game plan, ensuring Sasuke didn't feel completely outclassed.
(...End the fight as quickly as possible.)
Sasuke thought deeply about those words, and suddenly, he felt a massive surge of motivation. He wasn't the same kid from months ago.
Now
Not only did he have the devastating power of the Chidori, but his Sharingan had fully matured into two tomoe. Under Kakashi's tutelage, he had used those eyes to copy Kakashi's & Lee's high-speed taijutsu and master advanced chakra reinforcement, making his base speed soar.
"WHAT'S THE HOLDUP, YOU BROODY FU*CKS?!"
Sasuke glanced back at Anko, remembering the hell of her survival drills. While they were a nightmare, they had forced him to master his new Sharingan under extreme duress and rapidly integrate his new jutsu—especially the advanced Fire Release techniques she had beaten into him between sessions—seamlessly into live combat.
Feeling a deep, swelling pride in his own hard work and rapid progress, Sasuke made his decision.
(.....Let's see who is actually the strongest in these Chunin Exams, ...Naruto.)
Sasuke tightly clenched his bruised fist, fully prepared to return to the village and prove his dominance.
Thinking about all his new, overwhelming advantages, Sasuke once again convinced himself of one thing:
He could totally do it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Author's note :
Hmm , Chunin Exams finals begin
For The people who think why Sakura has no hgrowth , I can tell you , even in anime , SAkura only changed after Sasuke left , and that was also becasue he deemed her useless to even carry with him .
So she decided to be useful fr sasuke kun and then slowly grew .
A little rushed as I wanted to insert Jiraiya and Hiruzen's tallk about Mc , but I decided to postpone it after Exams .
Nothing in regards to Hinata , well , I sriously dont know what to write , so maybe later .
nothing in the chapter for Gaara and others either , should I have ??
Nothing for SOund or ORochimaru either , Should Have i ??
Nothing for shino either .....I FORGOT