Chapter 11

Hinata, just realising where her hand was, blushed and stepped back. The shock had calmed her but the situation was still uncertain. Would she walk out of this friendless and alone once again? Would she…would she have to once more endure an existence filled with loneliness?

Naruto must have seen the doubt creep back in her eyes because he continued. "We're okay…and you're okay. You have nothing to even feel sorry for. You don't have to be nervous about losing a friend, Hinata. It's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me, dattebayo."

Hinata still has her eyes locked on his own, never once leaving them all this time. They were so…mesmerising and she searched within them to see if he truly meant what he said.

Despite being such a strange sight, with the purple tint and the multiple dark rings filled with tomoe, it was incredible how much emotion they showed.

"A–are you sure?" She asked, almost surprised that she still had the ability to speak.

Naruto stared at her and his gaze was so intense that Hinata had never felt so…exposed to anyone in her entire life. It was almost as if he was staring into her soul. He gave her a kind smile.

"What, to stay as your friend?" He said, shaking his head as if in disbelief that she'd asked such a ridiculous question. "I've never been so sure of anything in my entire life."

Hinata blushed.

"I mean, you're kind, smart and one of the most beautiful people i've ever met…"

His thoughts went on a tangent for a moment when he said that. In terms of beauty, Hinata was S-class…as was Sakura…Ino…Tenten…Tsunade-baachan…Kurenai-sensei…Mei Terumi…Sabaku no Temari…and probably a lot of other people…but he was a bit biassed currently and has yet to set this list in stone from an objective standpoint...he'll probably need to revise it at some point. Kunoichi's were naturally beautiful for some odd reason…However, his mother still reigned above all. If there existed a rank above S, then she'd be there…he was definitely unbiased on that part.

Ero-sennin had a theory that, appearance wise, being able to utilise chakra to its fullest extent enhances your body to a point where it wasn't comparable to a civilian's. It was common for many kunoichi's to have flawless skin, perfect hair and teeth, a healthy, seductive body, and generally be the best looking their genetics can allow them to be…Though, a very lucky few like the ones he'd just mentioned were in a league above all others.

Why did he just zone out for a bit to focus on the topic of beauty, you ask?

It was because it made him realise just how pretty Hinata was up close. The feeling started rising within him again…

Her innocent lavender eyes, large and expressive, her unblemished pale skin, her bodacious figure, her giant melons…

'Stopstopstopstopstopstop!'

He snapped back to the conversation with all his might, controlling the blood that rushed south before he would have to excuse himself and shunshin out of there.

Once again, his unfathomable willpower immediately put a clamp down on those thoughts.

He was blushing furiously now, but easily managed to get a hold of himself.

"...Beyond anything though," Naruto continued, coughing and picking up where he left off, "I think you're far stronger than you realise. You just need the courage to acknowledge it."

It was one of those seemingly simple quotes that if anyone else had said it to her, she wouldn't have…cherished it the way she did when it came from him.

Her blushed continued burning furiously. "R-really?"

"Really," Naruto assured, and after checking for sure that she was alright, he gave an exhale of relief. "Now, did you come here early because you wanted to train?"

That snapped Hinata out of her fugue. "Y–yes."

Naruto smiled. "Well, since you've already seen me like this…I don't have to hold back as much now, do I?"

Hinata felt a chill running down her spine.

Oh the smirk he gave her was dangerous.

…in more ways than one.

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"Ready?" Naruto –or rather his shadow clone– said.

She, to her reluctance, was asked to go all out. Since she was fighting a clone, that meant she could literally go at him with the intent to kill without harming his real self. That being said, it only took one effective blow to pop the clone, but Naruto just smiled at her when she pointed that out.

Hinata gulped and gave a nod.

With his encouragement, she activated her doujutsu.

And she almost went blind.

He had so much chakra! From just his clone, no less!

Realising what had happened, Naruto put a damper on the amount of chakra that he gave out, effectively bringing it down to regular shinobi levels.

"Whoops!" the clone said, "Sorry, I forgot to do that beforehand. You alright?"

It only took a second for her vision to come back but then she broke out in cold sweat over the…chakra monster that laid in front of her.

"Just…who are you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said.

"A person who's about to be very disappointed if you hold back!" He responded. Then he rushed her.

'His speed! It's faster than–'

Hinata was airborne.

…why was she airborne?

She landed on her haunches. "Ow!"

"I thought you said you were ready!" Naruto exclaimed, worried.

"I was. I just didn't expect it," She said, rubbing her backside. She blushed when she realised she was doing so.

'How unladylike!'

Naruto just coughed again before looking away, ears going red.

"Well, they don't call me the most unpredictable ninja in the world for nothing, dattebayo!" He said. "Now do what you practised yesterday and come and get me!"

For some reason, Hinata found the entire thing rather…amusing.

It was a very very long time that she had considered training as something fun.

Yet here she was…

"Fine!" She said, "Don't tell me I didn't warn you!"

…..

In the distance, Naruto watched in surprise at the confidence Hinata had just shown. Her attack was becoming smoother, like she'd experimented, her strikes not as rigid as the traditional gentle fist and she displayed more flexibility. She was able to chain her misses into another strike, almost like one never ending chain of attacks.

Naruto had felt like a big burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

He'd shown Hinata who he truly was…well who he truly was now with the new eyes and all, and she reacted…fine. She was alright about it, it seemed. He knew he had some further explaining to do but for now she seemed to have been satisfied in just…looking at the real him.

He caught the smile that was etched on her face and she tried again and again to pop his elusive clone.

"Hah, what'd ya know. In a few months time, I bet she can beat up Neji in her sleep!"

He needed to prepare for his fight tomorrow. He was sure he had enough to deal with the tricky old man, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I guess it's time to chuck rasenshuriken at myself again…say, I wonder if Hinata knows any elemental jutsu?"

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His mother had arrived at lunchtime, saying that she'll take him to Ichiraku. Of course, Naruto invited Hinata along, to her secret joy.

Kushina had been surprised that Naruto didn't have his henge on in front of the girl, and figured that something must've happened between them. Of course, this elicited a pang of motherly protectiveness and caused her to bring Hinata to the side before they left to have a…personal chat with her.

They came back with Kushina beaming and Hinata looking like she'd just gone through war…

-x-x-x-

At the stall, it seemed as if mother and son were starved beasts ravaging their first meals in days. Whilst initially, Hinata had been shy about having table manners when eating ramen, she soon found herself amusingly joining the Uzumakis in devouring her meals.

Teuchi and Ayame felt like they'd just won the jackpot with how many bowls the three were going through.

It took a combined 28 bowls between the three of them and surprisingly, it was Hinata who led in that department.

Both Uzumakis stared at her, as if questioning where it all went.

…they both knew.

Hinata, of course, blushed but seemed…more relaxed and unapologetic about it all. "I–I was hungry after what Narut–Naru–kun put me through, okay?"

The other two just snickered.

With Naruto back in public, he'd fallen back to his persona of Naru Yuki.

Just as all three got up to leave, however, they encountered a rather strange sight…

Two guys in skin-tight green spandex ran past them…on their hands.

"Osu! Coming through!" The smaller one said.

"LET THE FIRE OF YOUTH IGNITE US, LEE-KUN!" the bigger one said.

Naruto sweatdropped.

There were some things that couldn't afford to be different, he supposed.

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Both Naruto and Kushina were in the Hokage's residence again, with Naruto choosing to have the mind-walking appointment as soon as possible.

Ino's father, Inoichi, was also present.

"Worry not about your disguise, Naruto–kun, Inochi here has been sworn to S-rank secrecy the moment he accepted the project," Hiruzen said.

Inoichi nodded, "It is as Hokage-sama said, and I take my orders very seriously."

Naruto smiled at them. "I already know that type of person you are, Inoichi, at least the version of you where I came from."

And with that, Naruto released henge.

Inoichi gasped. Perhaps it was because of the eyes, or perhaps it was because he looked somewhat like his father.

It took only a few seconds for the seasoned shinobi to compose himself. "I…I see why you wanted this to be a secret, Hokage-sama. There are too many questions I have already."

Hiruzen nodded. "Questions that will be answered soon, I suppose."

Inoichi gestured for Naruto to sit. "Do you know how this procedure works, son?"

Naruto shook his head. "I was a former container of Kuram–the kyuubi. It was too dangerous for anyone to enter my mind."

The Yamanaka patriarch shakily nodded. He'd been privately briefed but the tale he'd heard was so ridiculous that it didn't fully process in his mind until now. "The–the kyuubi, the one that had been taken by the shinigami from the fourth and his son's sacrifice."

"Not this one," Naruto responded.

"...I see" Inoichi didn't have anything else to say, so he went on to explain the procedure. "I will perform a full mind scan to check if your memories have been altered, then upon confirmation, I will enter to view your memories. I can allow two witnesses to accompany me. One of them will be Hiruzen, and from request, the other will be Uzumaki Kushina. Afterwards I will remove the memories from my mind, and undergo a confirmation procedure with the Hokage. The only thing I will know afterwards was that I had an S-ranked mission that required me to do so."

Naruto nodded. "Hai."

Naruto felt nervous about letting someone into his mind for the first time. He knew it was necessary, and the Hokage must be eager for confirmation of his identity to take such measures.

Naruto felt Inoichi place his hands gently on the back of his skull. He glanced backwards to see Hiruzen and Kushina holding on to Inoichi's shoulders. Hiruzen was trying to remain stoic in front of Kushina's irritated glare. She must've been angry that this was all happening in the first place but Naruto wanted to put the doubts to rest once and for all. At least for the two people who he needed to believe in him, that was enough.

Kushina met his eyes and gave him the kind, warm smile that she'd always given him since he arrived here and got to know her.

Naruto smiled back. "I'm ready."

Naruto felt a tingle in his mind, and then the next thing he knew, they were in his mindscape.

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"...a sewer?" Inoichi muttered, finding it fascinating that the mindscape of a seventeen year old boy would be something so…dreary.

Kushina looked around, worried, "This is my son's mindscape? What does this mean, Inoichi?"

Inoichi considered his answer even as Hiruzen looked towards him curious. "I believe it is a reflection of the memories developed from his experiences. Many shinobi mindscapes are one of the battlefields or a place of significance that occurred in their lives, whether it was of negative or positive impact to them. Here…"

Inoichi glanced around at the large, looming bars that must've been used to cage bijuus. "Here I believe this mindscape was also one of necessity, if what the boy says is true, to hold such creatures in place."

Hiruzen peered at the endless tunnels. "So? Do you detect any tampering?"

Inoichi observed around him, then placed his hands on one of the pillars. "Solid, shows signs of ageing, it's certainly been here for a while…I'll have to get a closer look."

It took what seemed to be an hour in mindscape time but only a few minutes in the real world for Inoichi to thoroughly explore Naruto's mind for memory tampering or even false replacements.

Inoichi shook his head. "It's all clear."

Kushina, in the meantime, was getting more and more nervous. She did not need to see her son's memories for her to know that he was who he said he was…but she cannot deny the curiosity she has over what he's seen. "So…the memories, then? Where is my son, anyway?"

"He has been put to sleep," Inoichi said, "he didn't resist in the mind walking process, so I was able to make him unconscious for a time. Though, I'm afraid he will at the very least see the memories we will explore along with us, though it will be like a dream to him."

"Are you sure it's safe?" She asked.

"Hai, completely," Inoichi assured, "if anything goes wrong, we will be ejected and he will simply wake up. No memories will be changed if we're just observing."

Both Hiruzen and Kushina gave a curt nod.

"Now let's see if what the boys speak of is true…" Hiruzen said.

And so the three went into the boy's memories…

…and they saw glimpses of everything, of every significant event that happened in this young boy's life, up until Naruto entered the Inn a few days ago. For some reason, the memories after that point were blocked and inaccessible. It was like looking into a void, nothing could be discerned. Regardless…they'd all seen enough to have no doubt.

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Kushina gasped as she finally came out of her son's memories. A well of emotions engulfed her. Rage, heartbreak, pride.

'Oh my poor son…'

Naruto's eyes blinked away his drowsiness as he came back to the waking world.

"Hm? Oh…must've been a bad dream…" he muttered, still not fully awake. When he felt his mother launch at him to squeeze the air out of his lungs in her embrace, he finally snapped back to attention. "Eh? Wha–oh oh. Right, the memory walk!"

"Oh Naruto!" She said into his jacket.

Hiruzen, meanwhile, was astonished, dazed, and…disappointed at the realities of this alternate world. He didn't expect the village to react the way it did to the boy–no…the hero– in front of him during his childhood, yet he was still glad that they cherished him for who he was once their prejudice turned to appreciation from his deeds. Still, the tales that he had been told, although he thought were accurate in his mind, to see it for himself…through the eyes of the very boy that had the world on his shoulders…

…It was incredible.

He saw his other self's interactions with young Naruto. Without parents, Hiruzen had taken the role of a grandparent, treating him almost as Konohamaru's troubled older sibling…and the bond between those two, he couldn't have felt more appreciative from the way Naruto had returned his gesture and looked over his grandson in return.

The young man was unbelievable.

Iniochi had nothing to say. He'd never once even considered the possibility of alternate worlds, or alternate universes for that matter. "I will go to the study room in your residence to erase this portion of my memory. Will that be all, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen nodded. "You are dismissed, Inoichi. Thank you for your help and I appreciate your understanding. You can see why Naruto's secrets can not be leaked no matter the cost. I will meet you in an hour, if that's fine?"

"Of course," Inoichi responded. "I will…"

He glanced towards the mother and son, with Kushina whispering sweet nothings in the boy's ear and Naruto trying to console her by understating his personal sufferings and downplaying his heroic feats.

Inoichi didn't finish the sentence, having a feeling that Hiruzen knew what he meant. It was like they were looking at a 17 year old who achieved more in his short lifetime than that of their late founders. They boy had saved not only Konaha but the world, unifying them into one shinobi coalition, and then fighting for the peace that was never given to him.

"I will take my leave now." Inoichi shunshin'ed towards the study room.

Hiruzen turned towards Naruto.

"My boy," he said, catching the young man's attention. His mother was still glued to him, and Hiruzen could not fault her. With as many great deeds Naruto had done, there were just as many terrible deeds done to him. In a way, the world had taken much from the boy. It had taken his grandfather, his godfather, his best friend, and he had all the excuse to be bitter and resentful. Instead, he had nothing to give but love.

"Hai, what is it old man?" Naruto said.

The nickname that Naruto used hit him differently after viewing all the memories of which the boy had fondly called him to address the Hiruzen of his world. In a way, the Hokage could not help but feel a sense of kinship to the whisker marked boy, after all that he has seen.

"It is now without a doubt that you are who you say you are," he said smiling, "and although it wasn't the konoha of my world, I am nothing but grateful for the lengths you've gone to protect us. To protect the world even. I can see why you chose to not be a weapon for the village but a shield for everyone. You feel that you have a responsibility to the world, to bring the vision of unification and peace to life once more. For that, I thank you."

To Naruto's astonished embarrassment, Hiruzen bowed to him. Hat and all. "Jiji! There's no need to–"

Hiruzen chucked, interrupting him as he retook his original posture. "It is tradition to pay respects to our great heroes, boy. Though just because I've seen who you are now, doesn't mean you can get away with that duel you owe me tomorrow. You might have fought Madara or even a goddess, but you haven't faced me. Besides, I need absolute confidence that you will be fine as a jonin, even if you enlist on special terms."

Naruto grinned. "I wouldn't miss it, old ma–wait, jonin?!"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes. "You're a bit young, but I'm sure you can keep up with…well anyone I can think of after what I've seen. You just need to prove that you're responsible."

"I'm responsible!"

Hiruzen raised his eyebrow.

"I'm responsible!" Naruto remained stubborn. "...most of the time."

The old man chuckled, "I don't doubt that. Still, it would put my worries to ease in ensuring that you can handle yourself. Though, I think I know most of your tricks now after viewing your memories."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Th–that's cheating!"

"No it's not," the old man shrugged. "You agreed to this."

"But that was for–" Naruto's eyes twitched in irritation, "-whatever. It doesn't matter if you know what I have under my sleeves, I'm the number 1 most unpredictable ninja in the world, dattebayo!"

Hiruzen only chuckled more. "Speaking of which, we should speak of what you plan to do now."

At this Kushina perked up from Naruto's side, leaving wet tear stains on his jacket.

"You better treat him right, Hiruzen," She said sternly.

Hiruzen smiled. "I know, he's done enough in his life to catch a long break. If he passes the physical jonin examination tomorrow, all I will ask of him is to defend his homeland should there be an immediate threat to it. That is all."

Kushina eyed Hiruzen, to his discomfort.

"It's fine, dattebayo!" Naruto said joyfully, "I'm just glad I get to be a regular working ninja again! Now gamma chan won't have to go hungry sooner or later."

"Hmph, this isn't finished Hiruzen," Kushina said, then she stood up. "But for now, let's go home, Naruto."

And with that, the Uzumaki's left.

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