13 The Hyuga Affair.

"Today when can simply work on studying and understanding the scroll. No laborious exercise for us for a while," Kibo said with a smile on his face. He then turned to Naruto and informed him, "Don't forget tomorrow's Hinata's birthday, and we don't want to tire ourselves out. So think of today as a sort of break."

Naruto placed his hand on Kibo's forehead while Karin checked his pulse.

"He doesn't seem sick," Naruto said with a phony expression.

"I don't sense anything wrong with him either," Karin followed up.

Kibo's eyebrow was twitching as the two children made fun of him. Then, with an annoyed tone, Kibo smiled and said, "Oh; so you got jokes?"

The two laughed at him while Kibo's irritation grew.

"Alright, that's enough. If you really wanna train that badly, I suppose I could come up with a few life-threatening routines," Kibo declared with an evil smile on his face.

The two now seemed scared as they tried to laugh off their earlier remarks.

Kibo then laughed himself, "As they headed inside to the Hoshi Estate's library and started to study. It was another round of ardent and crazy conversations between the three that lasted hours.

Kibo also started teaching Naruto about the Uzumaki Seal Techniques.

Karin seemed interested in the topic and decided to learn it as well; it seemed she had an impeccable talent for Sealing Jutsu. Figuring this stuff would come naturally to an Uzumaki.

However, Kibo didn't tell Kairn she was part of the Uzumaki Clan yet because it hadn't come up in conversation.

"I suppose I should tell her about her lineage. I know when to do it too." Kibo thought about a convenient up-coming mission.

Kibo made sure to answer every question the two kids asked.

Whenever they were stuck on a difficult section of the Ninshu Scroll, Kibo switched over to teaching them the Uzumaki's clan seals.

During these lessons, whenever Naruto would come across a problem he couldn't comprehend, Karin and Kibo would offer up as many examples as it took to make him understand. They used dozens of comparisons and had to settle on using Ramen as a reference more than a few times,

They had been debating for almost 7-hours before\ they were brought lunch and ate. Although, they still continuing their research while stuffing their face.

Another 7-hours had past helping them to further their studies greatly over the span of a single day.

Kibo notably made great progress. He felt like he was only a few steps away from completely understanding the basics of Ninshu.

However, no matter how many times he tried to learn the latter half of the scroll, it still seemed like jumbled nonsense to him. That would only change in time. After all three heads are better than one.

During their conversations, it was Naruto and Karin's conjectures that led him to his most influential breakthroughs concerning the material.

When he felt he was on the verge of another discovery, his parents interrupted because it was time for dinner.

Karin stayed over for dinner. She seemed to be buttering up to Kibo's mother as she had complimented Niwa several times throughout the night.

"I hope I didn't make a mistake with that kiss earlier," Kibo thought to himself. But then he started to think of Future Karin, "Well, I could do a lot worse."

Kibo probably wouldn't admit it, but he had to choose anyone in the Narutoverse, Karin would have been his first choice. She was funny, strong, a capable Fuin Master, and a healer. Not to mention, Kibo had a thing for red-heads.

As a bonus, it seemed that Niwa really liked Karin.

She thought she was a sweet and caring young girl, and the flattery seemed to have worked because his mother was seriously thinking of arranging a wedding between the two.

"Hmm, should I arrange something with your mother," Niwa said while pointing her finger to her chin.

"Ptttsh. Mom! We're kids! We're too young for that stuff!" Kibo spewed out his glass of water before shouting flustered and red-faced.

However, his mother countered with, "Oh!!! So, you wouldn't be opposed to doing so in the future?"

Kibo was stuck, he couldn't think of an appropriate response as he slammed his forehead onto the table and said, "Stick a fork in me, I'm done! No, I'm overcooked!"

Kibo his face as his mother continued to thoroughly embarrass him. Niwa was still sore about that 'How is she a Ninja' comment.

He turned his head to peak at Karin, and for the first time, he saw Karin acting sheepishly.

She looked happy and shy all at the same time as she hid behind Niwa's back.

"This...is...different. . ." Kibo thought to himself with an estranged expression.

After dinner, Kibo and Naruto walked Karin home. When they arrived at her apartment building Kibo walked her up to her front door.

Before he left, Karin looked around and when she saw that no one was looking, she gave Kibo a quick kiss on the lips.

Karin's face lit up like a tomato while Kibo turned around, scratched the back of his head, and said, "Um...thanks?"

"Ugh...that's not the right thing to say..." Kibo thought before saying, "I'll pay you back someday," and with that, he left a happily stunned Karin standing at her doorway.

It took her a while to notice the copy of his Pink Muscle Transformation Technique he left in her hands.

When Kibo exited the apartment complex and to the street, he met up with his adoptive brother.

Naruto took one look at him, and with a perplexed gesture, he asked, Hey Nii Chan, why is your face so red!?"

Kibo covered his face and told Naruto, "It's nothing. It's just a little cold out here that's all!"

After tossing him a copy of the pink muscle transformation technique, Kibo then said, "Practice this technique during your Tai-Jutsu training. It will be beneficial to you in the long run."

Naruto looked over the technique and went wide-eyed, "This is an S-Rank technique! How did you get this? We don't even have our Shinobi license yet!"

Kibo laughed and patted Naruto on the back before saying, "You shared your family's inheritance, now I'm sharing mine!"

Naruto felt a warm surge in his heart as he smiled and put the scroll away.

The two returned home and Naruto went to his room to finish working on Hinata's present. He kept Kibo from looking and closed his door before shouting, "It's a secret! You'll see what it is when I give it over."

Kibo stopped bugging him and went to his room to prepare for tomorrow's mission.

When he laid on his bed, Kibo opened up his shop for the first time in a long time and saw something that surprised him. The Gravity Suit was up for sale.

Navi explained that other than Relics, the items earned from rewards can be purchased from his shop.

The price was a little steep though. It cost 2,500 for one suit.

Thinking of how effective the training was, Kibo decided to purchase two of them; he would give one to Naruto, and one for Karin.

As an additional option was that he could choose the colors, he gave Naruto his traditional orange base with blue markings, and Karin a black with red markings.

He continued to scroll through his shop and was rewarded when he saw a new technique available.

It was a D rank Jutsu, but it was one he was interested in. The Body Flicker Technique.

It was only worth 500 System Points. It appeared after seeing Shisui use the Flicker Jutsu around a few dozen times in his presence. It allowed the System to copy the technique.

After Purchasing it, unlike having to read the technique and practice, the information was directly transferred into his brain.

The move was simple enough to perform with his current level of Chakra, and thanks to his Chakra Control Mastery he was very proficient in using it.

His speed wasn't too far behind Shisui's Flicker technique, but in the future, he would only improve upon this skill at a monstrous rate.

Kibo also bought a new pair of carbon steel katanas for 150 points. His old ones had started to chip so he purchased the same swords as before.

After checking everything over twice he began to prepare a special Chakra Molding to prepare for the Kumo Nin.

After a few hours, he finally felt confident enough to take on his next mission, so he laid back and fell asleep.

Three hours or so later, he was woken up by Naruto in the middle of the night. Naruto looked a bit scared, almost like he had seen a ghost.

Apparently, Naruto wanted him to stand by the bathroom while he did his business.

Once again, Kibo was reminded that Naruto currently was only 4 years old.

Kibo indulged his little brother and after he left the bathroom, Kibo asked him what scared him, "I had a dream that Kurama was talking to two will-o-wisp! They were ghosts, I tell ya."

Hearing this, Kibo thought of Naruto's parents Chakra, and asked, "Navi will anything happen to them?"

"No, the Star Chamber will support their Chakra. So, they aren't at any risk of dissipating. As for them talking to Kurama, your guess is as good as mine!" Navi replied.

After Kibo sent Naruto back to bed he went to sleep himself. It wasn't until breakfast the next day that Kibo gave Naruto the Gravity suit.

"Awesome! It's even in my colors," Naruto said before he put the suit on. The blond Shinobi was surprised at how comfortable it felt. He tried to put the gravity to the same level as Kibo when he fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"Ow!" Naruto winced in pain as he tried to pick himself up.

Kibo walked over and patted his shoulder before telling Naruto, "It will get easier once you complete your muscle training. In fact, the Pink Muscle Transformation can help you adjust to the enhanced gravity even quicker."

Naruto shut off the Gravity Suit and sighed, "I'm gonna catch up to you, just wait and see, Nii Chan!"

Kibo laughed and replied, "I look forward to seeing such a day. But your Nii Chan isn't going to make it easy for you."

The two then continued to study the Ninshu Scroll until it came time to leave.

Naruto was dressed in formal attire. He wore a black and white Hamaka with the image of the Uzumaki clan symbol on his back.

Kibo and his parents wore something similar, but with their own clan symbol.

They left and headed for the Hyuga Estate a half an hour early. The snow was coming down lightly that night. Most of the snowfall blanketed the streets in a thin layer, and it looked like it wouldn't stop before the night's end.

The group walked up to a large gateway to be greeted by members of the Hyuga family, after revealing their invitation they were let in and shown to the main hall.

The Hyuga family was lined up and split with the branch family sitting rather than standing.

Many guests and visitors, including the Kumo Ninja that would later kidnap Hinata, sat across from the Hyuga Clan with presents in tow.

Kibo found it strange that the Kumo Ninja wasn't the same Jonin from the original timeline.

"Perhaps my forceful entrance into Konoha has altered the course of the timeline by more than a bit." Kibo brushed off the thought.

It didn't matter whether it was a Jonin or Chunin, the fact remained that he came here to kidnap Hinata.

Kibo stared intently at the enemy Nin's jawline, arms, and hands; as if he was memorizing their exact dimensions. The skill he prepared to finish the mission demanded it.

The party continued and many people came up to congratulate Hiashi on his daughter's birthday. Many people gave gifts to Hinata and talked to her like she was some prized doll instead of a living person.

Kibo shook his head at these shameless people trying to gain favor from the Hyuga clan, Kibo looked to Naruto and asked, "Why don't you give here your gift?"

Naruto didn't hear Kibo at all. His eyes were glued to the dressed-up Hinata.

"So pretty!" Naruto said under his breath.

Kibo grinned and nudged his elbow into Naruto's ribs before teasing, "When are you going to give Hinata her present?"

Naruto's face was flushed as he stuttered and replied, "T.t.t...There are too many people around her! Besides, I don't want them to associate me and the Hyuga clan. They might start calling them bad names."

Kibo shook his head and said "Yeah, sure!" in an ironic tone.

As he headed over and greeted Hiashi, Kibo pulled out an elegant Bento box full of Hinata's favorite sweets,

"The Hoshi clan greets the Hyuga head," Kibo said, holding out the gift. It was 6 glazed cinnamon rolls made by using the Chakra Cooking method.

Hiashi took one and bit into it to test for poison. Once he bit into it, the effects surprised him greatly. Hiashi knew the Hoshi clan brought something truly worthy of a gift when he felt a slight improvement in his Chakra.

After eating the rest of the cinnamon roll, Hiashi nodded his head before saying, "You are part of the new clan that has joined Konoha recently. I can see you are quite the genius. Know that the Hyuga clan welcomes your clan to the Village as our trusted allies."

Kibo and his family bowed before taking a step back. Hinata saw Naruto in the crowd and hid behind her mother's sleeve.

[1]Haruhanna, the mother of Hinata, saw her daughter's reaction and giggled, Hiashi followed their line of sight to see who they were looking at and saw Naruto rehearsing how he was going to present his gift.

"So that's Minato's Kid huh?" Hiashi thought to himself. Since the head of the Hyuga Clan was on good terms with Naruto's dad, he felt bad for the child in his heart and was glad someone who supposedly didn't know of the Kyuubi adopted him.

While the festivities started to grow more lively, Kibo kept an eye out on the Kumo Nin. Unfortunately, Naruto never worked up the nerve to give Hinata his present. He couldn't handle the pressure of everyone seeing it and decided to give it to her at a later date. When there weren't so many people around.

When it came time for the party to end everyone began leaving including Kibo's family. He knew he only had a few minutes to catch the Kumo Ninja escaping from the estate, so after the Hoshi Family gained some distance, Kibo grabbed Naruto's arm and told his parents "Naruto forgot to give Hinata his present! Go on ahead without us."

Naruto's face was bright red. He was about to protest when Kibo yanked him along without his consent.

Seeing this Niwa and Aka laughed before they continued on home.

Naruto and Kibo were almost to the Hyuga compound when a shadow could be seen leaping over their heads.

Kibo didn't wait to activate his Tengan. He saw the Kumo Ninja carrying Hinata in a bag on his back and across the shadows.

Kibo grabbed Naruto and used his Flicker Technique to get ahead of the Kumo Nin.

"What the hell, Nii Chan?!!" Naruto shouted before Kibo covered his mouth.

Kibo then quickly filled Naruto in on the situation while chasing after the target.

After hearing about the kidnapping, Naruto was taken by surprise and spoke with a hint of worry in his voice, "Why aren't we supposed to have a peace treaty with Kumo? How could they dare break their word and kidnap Hinata Chan? I won't let them get away with this Datebayo!"

Kibo smiled, curious as to how he even knew that. "Studying must be paying off.

After following his trail for a bit, Kibo found the path and direction the Kumo Ninja was moving in and cut him off by taking a short cut across a ravine.

Naruto and Kibo hid on the branches of a tree directly in the line of the Kumo Nin's path. With what little time they had, Kibo formulated and informed Naruto of his plan, "I'll use my Tengan to slow him down. When I charge the enemy, you grab Hinata and get her back to the Hyuga compound."

"I can hurt him, right?" Naruto questioned.

Kibo looked at Naruto with a sly smile before saying, "Oh and don't forget to give her your present."

Naruto blushed before asking "Can we start now?!"

Kibo shrugged his shoulders before replying, "I'll be right behind you."

Naruto jumped off the tree and ran off to get in position for the ambush.

Kibo followed after out and waited directly in the Kumo Ninja's path.

"This is great! I can't believe I managed to sneak out. Hahaha! I'm gonna make so much money off this Hyuga Bitch!" The Kumo was busy reveling in his own success that he almost missed two Shuriken flying towards his legs.

The Kumo Ninja jumped over them and landed before he saw a boy standing in front of him. "You got a lot of nerve kidnapping my brother's future wife."

Kibo said confusing the Kumo when he started laughing in relief, "Time to go back to bed little kid...Wait did you say kidnap...? How..."

Before the Ninja could finish speaking, the ring in Kibo's Tengan slowly moved counterclockwise.

When the Kumo Ninja looked at Kibo's eyes, his entire body, from his thinking process to his movements, started to slow down.

Even though he was only under the influence of Kibo's Tengan for a second, the Kumo Shinobi had perceived it, as if it were 10.

That single brain signal of surprise disrupted his train of thought, and without realizing it, the Kumo Nin's hand loosened, releasing Hinata by accident.

He wanted to tighten his grip, but his response was too sluggish.

Kibo made his move and flickered in before he quickly charged up his Chakra and let it explode.

With a loud 'BANG!' Kibo made his Chakra turn into bright starlight that blinded the Ninja's sight.

At the same time, Naruto had already jumped out from the bushes and grabbed the bag Hinata was in.

After jumping onto a tree branch, Naruto gently sat the bag down and quickly pulled her out of the sack. Seeing she wasn't harmed and was only unconscious, he let out a sigh of relief before slinging her on his back and carrying her towards the Hyuga compound as fast as he could.

While Naruto played Knight and Shining Armor, Kibo continued to face off against the enemy Ninja.

Although he was blinded the foe still managed to swing his sword down at him.

Kibo frowned because his Tengan could tell the Kumo Nin had the power of a peak Chunin. However, Kibo wasn't afraid. Due to training, Sage Physique, and Pink Muscle Jutsu mastery, Kibo was far tougher than your average Genin.

Once he added his Star Armor into the mix, Kibo's already insane physical parameters, doubled.

Using his speed he flickered behind the Kumo Nin. The ten seconds were up and the Chunin regained his speed before responding to Kibo's attack.

Twisting his torso in an attempt to hack Kibo in two, the Kumo Nin used all his strength to lash out at the 5-year-old kid.

Kibo flickered again, this time he did so twice one to make a feint. When the Kumo slashed through empty space, Kibo appeared near his feet before performing a spinning ground kick to the back of his foe's ankles.

The Kumo smiled and prepared to take the hit. He positioned himself, ready to counter Kibo by stabbing straight down at him the moment his attack made contact.

"It's just a kid, how strong can he be?" The Kumo Nin thought, full of hubris.

Unfortunately for the foolish Kumo Nin, he had vastly underestimated Kibo's raw strength.

If he had raised his Chakra levels to withstand the attack, he would have at least only suffered minor injuries. However, there's no medicine for regret in this world.

In a split second before Kibo's attack landed, the child Shinobi released his gravity suit's weight and struck at full force.

The sounds of bones cracking could be heard as the Kumo Ninja's ankles shattered like glass and his head fell heavily onto the ground.

While the Kumo let out a scream of agonizing pain, he knew that he had failed his mission. All that was left was to kill himself.

He tried to bite down on a false tooth full of poison, but couldn't. The Kumo Nin then found something obstructing his ability to move.

Kibo stood over the Kumo using his Star Chakra to mold a suicide-proof muzzle and restraints.

The Ninja tried to use his hand signs, but a thin wire suddenly formed rings around each of his fingers before they were pulled apart from each other.

Afterward, Kibo yanked the poison capsule out along with the Shinobi's tooth and tied the Kumo Ninja up like a farm animal.

The Ninja was staring daggers at him, but this just made him laugh and tease the weakened foe. "Hmm what would be a kid-like thing to do here?" Kibo questioned while smiling with a mischievous expression.

"Oh, I know! I should poke a piece of shit with a stick." Kibo declared as he pulled out a small twig and started to poke at the Kumo Nin.

"I don't see what's so fun about this," Kibo thought before using his wings to fly back with the Ninja as his prisoner while whistling a catchy tune.

While he flew across the rooftops of Konoha, a chime went off in his head that made him even happier.

[Mission Complete! Reward: 1,500 Sys Pts; 1 Random Jutsu Relic.]

Meanwhile, Naruto was making good progress and almost made it back to the Hyuga Estate before he heard Hinata starting to wake.

In response, Naruto stopped for a second and hid at the base of a tree.

When she woke up seeing Naruto, her face turned bright red before stuttering, "N . . . Na . . . Naruto?!"

Looking around, she was completely lost. She hadn't the faintest idea as to what was happening.

"That Kumogakure Ninja kidnapped you! But Nii Chan and I saved you!" Naruto declared with a proud expression.

Hinata did really react to the news of her kidnapping, she was still focused on the fact that Naruto was carrying her like a princess.

She felt faint when Naruto said, "I'm sorry I didn't give you my present earlier."

The blond-haired youth pulled out a carved wooden white lily flower and put it in her hands.

After several attempts, Naruto discovered he was extremely good at woodcarving, though one would have to be good with understanding three-dimensional structures to properly use a Transformation Jutsu.

Who knew that Naruto would pick up wood carving after reading a mental training book that could help improve his visualization skills?

The flower was very realistic. Naruto even had someone from the Yamanaka clan's flower shop coach him on how to paint it.

"I thought you'd like a flower that would never wilt," Naruto said while looking at Hinata's stunned and flushed face.

He was about to put it away while saying, "I'm sorry! I knew it, I'm an idiot! I should've bought something."

This forced Hinata to snap out of it as she grabbed his hand, "No! I love it! It's the best present I've received all night."

Naruto stared at her for a while before they both noticed her hand was still holding his.

Naruto laughed trying to shake off his nerves and butterflies in his stomach when he thought "What the hell am I feeling right now?"

His heart rate started to pick up as he quickly shook his head and thought, "There's no time for this, I have to get Nii Chan help."

"Hold on, I'll get you home in no time flat." with that said, Naruto held on tighter to Hinata and carried her all the way back to the Hyuga Estate.

When he arrived, Naruto saw a group of Hyuga members scurrying about in a hectic manner,

Hiashi was the first to spot Naruto walking up with Hinata in his arms. A look of relief could be seen on Hiashi's face when one of the Hyuga members spotted him,

Seeing the Nine-Tailed Fox boy with the heiress of the Hyuga family, the guard took a fighting stance and shouted, "You! Put the young lady down, this instant!" O

Hiashi lifted his hand, silencing the guard before saying, "Young man could you please explain?"

Naruto placed Hinata down and said, "You got help my brother, he's holding off that Kumo Ninja! He's all on his own out there!"

"Father, Naruto rescued me!" Hinata declared loudly as she ran into Hiashi's arms with tears in her eyes.

Hiashi looked to Naruto with a thankful expression and said, "You did well in bringing her back here. Men! Follow the boy!"

"Yes! Clan Leader!" Tho other Hyuga members shouted.

Naruto's eyes gleamed with a thankful expression and started to lead the way.

When they made it to the gate of the Hyuga Estate, they heard the sound of a body slamming into the snow piled grounds a few feet away.

"No need to worry Naruto, this guy underestimated me, and paid dearly for it!" Kibo appeared releasing his Star Wings while landing next to his prisoner.

All the momentum built up Naruto was shattered as the boy fell face first and slid across the snow.

"You okay there, Naruto?" Kibo asked with a confused expression.