59. The True Graduation Test - Naruto Style!

"Hey; do you have room here for three people?"

An inn clerk looked up and noticed three people had walked into her building. The first was a man with shaggy red hair that almost covered and concealed his blue eyes. The second was a little girl with red, curly hair that reached her lower back with matching blue eyes. The two were wearing similar clothing; a black, worn-down shirt and brown pants and skirt, respectively. They both also had backpacks over their shoulders filled with clothes.

The third person was a woman with long, untamed red hair, with a black hat over it to keep it in place and out of her face, and brown eyes. She wore a black shirt with a dark red jacket over it and black skin-tight shorts. She also wore chainmail that went to her hands and just below her knees.

"I can get you a room, yes." The inn clerk commented, bowing her head as she went to go get a key and paperwork. "Do you want one room or two for your party?"

"One is fine. No worries." The woman with long red hair commented as she pulled out money from her pockets. "And go ahead and put it under the name Tayuya. We'll only be here one night."

The clerk nodded her head in understanding as she filled out the name. She then handed the key and took it in exchange for the money.

"Out of curiosity, where are you heading? I usually like to ask anyone that comes by." The clerk asked.

"Hi no Kuni." The red-haired woman stated.

With those words, the three red-haired people started to walk away. They then walked to their room that corresponded to the key.

"You didn't have to pay for the room, Tayuya-san. I had the money and you've already done so much for us." The red-haired man informed her, frowning slightly.

"I'll repeat what I already told you earlier, Susumu; I don't mind. Just doing my family a favor." Tayuya replied with a small smile.

"You're the best Tayuya-nee!" The little girl exclaimed as she hugged Tayuya's knees. "Do you know when we'll be in Konoha?"

"Well, Setsuko-chan," Tayuya turned around and got on her knees so she could return the girl's hug, "I think we should be back in Konoha maybe in ten days? Remember, we are in Mizu no Kuni. It's going to be a bit of a way. But if we keep up at this good pace, we'll be there soon! And once we are there, we can introduce you to the other Uzumaki and maybe even get you enrolled in the Ninja Academy!"

"That'll be so cool!" Setsuko cheered. She broke the hug with Tayuya and looked at the man by their side. "Can you believe it Daddy? I'm going to be training to be a ninja!"

"I know, Setsuko-chan." The man, Susumu, chuckled in response. "Although, I do remember starting to teach you about a year ago."

"But that's you teaching me, Daddy, and you're my dad! You can't teach me all of the cool things! I wanna learn things even you can't do!" The little girl declared. "I wanna breathe fire and fly into the sky and be able to bring down lightning with a single hand sign!"

"Well, maybe you'll learn how to do all of that. You just got to try when you get into the academy." Tayuya told her with a smile. "Train hard, kid, and maybe you'll become a super cool, awesome shinobi!"

Tayuya proceeded to unlock the door to the room. Setsuko rushed in, jumping to her bed. Susumu walked slowly into the room and smiled at Tayuya.

"Again, I can't thank you enough." He told her, smiling heavily. "This'll be good for her, being around kids her age and even with more 'family' instead of roaming Mizu no Kuni like we have been." He told her. "Honestly, this is a start of a new life for us, but more importantly, my little girl. Thank you so much, Tayuya-san."

"We're Uzumaki. We're family. I'd do this for any family. Don't apologize." Tayuya informed him with a chuckle. "I'm just glad I found you!"

Susumu nodded his head. He then walked into the room, but quickly noticed that Tayuya did not follow. He gave her a confused look.

"Are you not coming in?" He questioned.

"Not just yet. I was here in Mizu no Kuni for a reason, you know? I obviously went to find you guys when I caught word of other Uzumaki, but I did have business here." Tayuya commented. "I won't be gone horribly long. I'll knock when I come back."

"Okay." Susumu nodded in understanding.

Tayuya walked away just as the man closed the door. She proceeded to walk away from the inn.

The 'Spymaster of Konoha' wandered the small village she was in. Her eyes focused on the buildings she passed, looking for one in particular. Eventually, she found a small café that was still open despite the hour in the night. She went inside and looked around. The café, for the most part, was empty. She mumbled something under her breath before walking up to the front, placing an order for onigiri, and sitting down at a table in the corner of the room.

Twenty minutes and after receiving her order, another person entered the café. He wore a black cloak with red clouds printed on the outfit. He also wore a straw hat in a way that it covered his face. The man proceeded to walk forward to Tayuya's table and sat down next to her. He seemed to notice the food on the table and he briefly looked at the red-haired woman in surprise.

"You ordered onigiri? Based on previous conversations, I had assumed you hated it." He commented.

"I do, yeah, but you actually like that shit, so I thought you'd appreciate it." Tayuya offered, gesturing with right hand. "Go ahead."

"I appreciate it." The man said as he reached for an onigiri. "I'll make sure to reimburse you."

"No. Seriously, Itachi; please don't pay me back." The Uzumaki crossed her arms over her chest. "Just consider a reward for actually agreeing to meet up with me in person instead of jumping out in front of me and using that fucking annoying Tsukuyomi genjutsu bullshit you tend to do."

"I do apologize about that." Itachi replied with a sigh. "I need to be careful at times in case of Zetsu. That creature is always lurking around and I need to make sure that it has no reason to report me to the leader for suspicious behavior."

"No, I understand why you have to." Tayuya shook her head. "It just pisses me off. Every time you use that genjutsu to talk to me in private, I leave the conversation with a bitch of a headache."

"Again, I apologize." The Akatsuki member replied. He then gave a curious look at the woman across from him. "I saw you bring people with you to that inn. Are they Uzumaki?"

"… You stalking me or some shit?" Her eyes narrowed.

"I've been in this village for roughly a day waiting for you to come by." Itachi replied bluntly. "Forgive me, but yes, I have been watching you since I noticed your presence so we can meet up as quickly as possible."

"… Fair point." Tayuya conceded shrugging. "Anyway, yeah, they're Uzumaki. I got wind of a man that was suspected to be an Uzumaki so I followed the rumor-mill until I found them." A small smile developed on her face. "Very sweet little girl and the father is incredibly protective and caring. I think they'll find a good home in Konoha."

"You're doing a good thing for your clan, Tayuya-san." The man commented, smiling slightly.

"I like to think I am." Tayuya smiled back. A sadder tint to her smile proceeded to develop. "Sasuke's doing fine, by the way, from what I last heard. He made jōnin."

"Did he?" Itachi chuckled at her comment. "I'm very happy to hear that. He's certainly becoming a stronger and stronger shinobi."

"Yeah, but he is a bit lonely. He could use a brother by his side." Tayuya said bluntly. "Or perhaps just know that he has a brother that's not some family-murdering psychopath.

"… Tayuya-san, we've already discussed this." The Uchiha stated softly, yet seriously. "Sasuke knowing about my intentions require him to learn the truth about the massacre of our clan and why it was necessary. I don't want him knowing what our clan was doing. I want him to think that they were all loyal, proud shinobi that weren't attempting a coup."

"I understand your reasoning. I'm just looking in as an outsider." The Uzumaki commented, frowning slightly. "And I know, from my own experiences once my parents died, I wanted a family and I wanted it bad. Sasuke probably feels the same way, deep down. What he doesn't know, though, is that he still has a family and that family still is a good person."

Itachi gave no comment. He looked briefly down to the onigiri in his hands. He brought it up to his lips and started eating it. Tayuya sighed in response.

"Look, we'll drop the topic. Sorry for bringing it up." She commented. She then gave the man a curious look. "Let's get onto your report, I suppose. Which, by the way, are you sure that this 'Zetsu' thing isn't listening on us?"

"I know precisely where Zetsu is. That thing is currently in Kumo, observing the habits and capabilities of both the Nibi and Hachibi jinchūriki and preparing to give a report back to our leader." Itachi answered. "He is also giving a detailed report of the village's entrances, along with any and every shinobi that could be a threat."

"… So, are you all planning on going on the attack soon?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. "And Kumo is going to be the big target?

"In roughly one month, yes." He answered with a nod of his head. "Akatsuki is planning on returning from the shadows and its return will be devastating."

The Uchiha continued with his report, telling Tayuya everything he knew about the current plans of Akatsuki.

"Hey Mom, Dad; I'm gonna be heading out."

A man with long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes and a woman with long, wavy black hair and brown eyes turned their attention away from their conversation. They locked eyes with Kanji. The academy graduate had a small smile on his face as he walked into the kitchen of the home and reached for an apple on the counter.

"Have you eaten yet today?" The man questioned, frowning slightly. "Are you going to be fine with just an apple? You do have your true graduation exam, after all."

"I'll be fine. Not really hungry." Kanji shrugged his head in response. He then tossed the apple up in the air before catching it with his left hand. "Besides, isn't there some expression that goes 'An apple a day keeps the medic ninja away'? Technically speaking, this is probably the best thing I could eat that'll keep me safe for this exam."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what the expression means." Kanji's father commented, frowning slightly. He then turned his attention to the woman next to him. "What do you think, Shio?

"Oh, let him do what he wants, Osamu." She replied. "He's a genin now. He can do whatever he wants, even if it is not fully eat for an important test."

"I mean I can't really call myself a genin until my team passes the exam today." Kanji pointed out. He then gave his parents a curious look. "By the way, I'm not going to judge you guys or anything, but is there any reason that nobody at all told me about this true exam thing?"

"Consider it an unspoken rule. You aren't supposed to find out until you take the exam." Osamu answered.

"It wouldn't help much knowing about it, anyway." Shio noted as she shook her head and chuckled slightly. "The criterion is based on whatever your jōnin-sensei wants to test you and how they want to test you on it. They actually have the authority to give you an impossible test that you all will fail if they want to."

"I'd like to assume that's not going to happen. Naruto-sensei did seem legitimately interested in teaching us. At the very least, he didn't come across like a huge douche that'd sabotage us because he didn't want students." Kanji commented with a chuckle of his own.

"Ah, right; you have Uzumaki Naruto as your jōnin-sensei." Osamu noted, closing his eyes.

"Ayup." His son nodded his head. "I looked into him a bit before coming back home last night. Seems like a good shinobi and dude. Apparently he did a lot of pranks when he was younger and earned a big reputation."

"You are talking as if that was a long time ago; that was, at most, three to four years ago. You two should have been at the academy together for a brief period of time at least, even if he was in a few grades above yours!" Shio commented as she looked at her son in amazement. "How did you not notice his pranks? His reputation was pretty infamous throughout Konoha, to say the very least!"

"I dunno. He never pranked me or anybody I knew." Kanji answered. A small grin then developed on his face. "He just decided to leaf me alone, I suppose."

"Was that a pun on Konoha? My god, Kanji…" Osamu shook his head before giving his wife a pointed look. "I blame you for his stupid jokes."

"Stupid? Hey, that's rude and uncalled for." The curly-haired blonde replied, frowning. "Leaf me alone, Dad!"

His father twitched slightly and resisted the urge to smirk: "Repeating the pun doesn't make it any better!"

"Well fine. Since I guess my sense of humor isn't appreciated here, I'll just leaf and head on my way then!"

"Kanji!" Osamu only managed to shout his son's name before he started to laugh loudly.

Shio quickly joined her husband and started to laugh as well. Kanji's frown quickly turned back into a small smirk as he took a bite of his apple.

'Three times the charm. Rule of three proves victorious again!' He told himself.

Once his parents stopped laughing, Kanji gave each of them a hug and told them goodbye. He then took a step outside of his house on the Yamanaka Clan compound. He walked a few steps out before he heard someone call his name.

He turned his head around in time and came face-to-face with a tall man with blonde-hair tied up in a ponytail and blue-green eyes. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and black pants. He also wore a red haori over the outfit.

"Inoichi-sama!" Kanji bowed his head in respect at the Yamanaka Clan Head.

"Inoichi is fine, Kanji. No need for the honorific. Although, I've told you that before, so I assume you'll just ignore that." The man, Inoichi, chuckled in response. "I'm glad I managed to run into you today. I heard that you were just assigned to a genin team and I just wanted to say congratulations."

"Thanks!" Kanji replied with a smirk. "My 'true exam' is today, though, so fingers crossed that I'll pass!"

"No need to worry about it. You're a bright kid. I'm sure you'll do fine." Inoichi informed him with a small chuckle. "I also heard your jōnin-sensei was Uzumaki Naruto. He's an interesting shinobi, but one of the best ones we've had in years. He was in my daughter's graduating class, but he's grown a lot since then!"

For the briefest of moments, Kanji's smirk faltered. His expression developed a small, fake smile. Within seconds, however, the smile was replaced with a more sincere one and the boy nodded his head.

"Everything I've looked up on Naruto-sensei seems to suggest he's going to be awesome. Can't wait to start actually training under him!" He stated.

Inoichi's eyes narrowed slightly on the boy in front of him. He stared at him intently, trying to process something in his head, before shaking his head.

"I'm sure you will have a good time." The Yamanaka Clan head informed him. "I don't mean to keep you busy. Go on off to your exam, if you need to."

"I probably should. Naruto-sensei said something about getting there late…" Kanji's voice began to trail off before he shook his head. He smiled back at the man and waved. "It was nice to see you, Inoichi-sama! Hope you have a good day!"

With those words, the two Yamanaka walked in separate ways. Kanji left the compound. When he was finally off property, he allowed a small scowl develop on his face.

'It's funny you brought up Naruto-sensei being a classmate of your daughter, Inoichi-sama. You know what's the difference between the two? He's a jōnin! Your spoiled, precious princess is still just a chūnin when she should be able to be a jōnin by now as well! Meanwhile someone like me will be lucky to make jōnin, if I don't end up dying before than just like-' Kanji stopped his train of thought for a brief moment. The boy proceeded to shake his head. 'Dammit Kanji! I told myself I wouldn't let myself think about that shit again. It's not healthy to let negative shit like that consume me. Just bottle that back up again! Push those thoughts away. Focus on today! Yesterday already happened and tomorrow hasn't happened yet. Today's all that matters.'

The Yamanaka stopped in the middle of the road and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in before he opened his eyes again and let a goofy smile develop on his face.

"Wonder what Naruto-sensei's pranks are like? They actually might be kinda funny." Kanji mumbled to himself, chuckling slightly as he imagined what his sensei would do to him and his teammates.

He proceeded to continue on his way to the Uzumaki Clan compound, whistling cheerfully to himself as he tried to imagine what Naruto could do to him or his teammates as a prank.

'Alright, I should be ready!'

Katsumi grinned at a reflection of herself in the mirror. Her eyes narrowed on it, examining her physical appearance.

"I got everything. Kunai and shuriken: check. Sword: check." Her hands went to the wooden sword on her back. They then moved to her waist. Two plain red scrolls were now tied around her waist. "Crossbow and arrows: check and check. Yup, I should be good and ready for anything you got planned for me, Naruto-sensei!"

The grin on her face proceeded to grow wider as she walked away from the mirror. She headed to the door to her room and walked out. She then walked through the hallway and into the den of her house.

A man with short brown hair, green eyes and a brown, well-groomed beard was currently holding a child in his hands. The child, who looked no older than a year, was giggling as the man proceeded to lift them up into the air over-and-over again. A smile developed on Katsumi's face as she walked into the room, making her presence known. The man turned to face her and smiled.

"So, Mom has you at home today with the little one?" Katsumi questioned, chuckling slightly.

"Yup. She was very insistent today that I stay over. 'It's always you at the store, Hideki! You should spend more time with your son, Hideki!'" The man stated, making his voice sound higher in imitation of his wife. A smile then developed in his face as he nuzzled the child in his arms. "I spend more time with our son than she does! Don't you think so, Masao-chan?"

The little child, Masao, giggled in response. Katsumi walked forward a little more and smiled at him.

"What's up, little bro?" She questioned.

The kunoichi proceeded to stick her tongue out, making a 'raspberry' noise. Masao's giggling turned into louder laughter as he clapped his hands. Hideki shook his head, resisting the urge to chuckle as well.

"You know, it's kinda funny you and Mom decided to wait so long to have him." Katsumi noted, chuckling slightly. "By the time he's my age, I should be a jōnin and in my twenties!"

"… Yeah, I suppose. Anyway, you're welcome to help me today with him, unless you'd rather go to the store and help your mother. I know she'd really appreciate a helping hand!" Her father commented.

Katsumi shook her head: "Sorry, but I got things I need to get done today."

Her father looked over to and really noticed her appearance, seeing the wooden sword on her back and the scrolls at her side. A deep frown developed on his face.

"Oh, right. You have that test." Hideki commented. "Katsumi-chan… Do you think that maybe this extra test is a sign?"

"Of what?" Katsumi's eyes narrowed.

"That maybe you aren't supposed to be a shinobi?" He asked, looking at his daughter in expectation. "I mean, this isn't something you were prepared for at all-"

"Dad, this is protocol. It's literally just another test. It's whatever." Katsumi rolled her eyes in response. "Don't make a big deal about it."

"I'm not! I'm just, you know, thinking maybe that something's trying to tell us-"

"Everything is a sign to you and Mom. Everything is trying to tell you that I shouldn't be a shinobi!" Katsumi shouted. "I'm my own person, Dad; let me live my life the way I want to!"

Immediately, Masao began to start sobbing. Hideki turned his attention to the child in his hands and he began to rock the child slightly.

"You made Masao-chan cry." He noted, frowning.

"Made him cry?" The kunoichi looked at him in bemusement. "Are you kidding me? I didn't-"

"Not intentionally, but you were yelling. He's still sensitive, you know." Her father commented, interrupting his daughter. He began to rock the child a little bit more, getting him to calm down, before continuing. "It's just you've been more hostile when you talk. I think that's just something about shinobi; they teach you to be hostile so you can be ready to kill. And that's all fine and good on missions, I guess, but you shouldn't-"

"Are you kidding me?" Katsumi shook her head in frustration. She proceeded to take a deep breath before speaking again: "Dad, please, don't make judgments like that. Please."

"I'm not judging anything." Hideki replied, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry if I sound hostile right now, but please; don't blame it on me being a shinobi." She requested. "It's my job now. It's who I am. Please, just be supportive of it."

Her father didn't say anything for a few seconds. His attention went back to Masao, who was now officially done with crying. Once he guaranteed that, he started to walk to another room.

"I'm going to go feed Masao. I hope your test will be done early enough that you'll be here for dinner." He said.

Katsumi simply nodded her head, not giving him a response. Hideki accepted the nod and walked into the kitchen in the house to feed the small child. With him out of the room, Katsumi walked out of the house, not bothering to say goodbye. The kunoichi proceeded to walk down the streets of Konoha, heading towards the Uzumaki Clan compound.

Along the way, she passed by a store called 'Inoue Fabrics'. Her eyes wandered into the room and noticed a woman with black hair and green eyes, with glasses over them, talking to a customer inside. Katsumi looked at the door to the store for roughly thirty seconds before shaking her head.

'She'll just say the same shit as Dad. Don't need the same lecture twice about how I am ruining the family by being a shinobi instead of living the safe life of being a merchant.' She thought to herself bitterly. 'Bah! Forgive me for wanting to actually do something for the village.'

The kunoichi pushed those thoughts out of her head as she continued to walk towards the Uzumaki Clan compound, preparing for whatever 'test' her sensei had planned for her.

"You are still here?" Hinata questioned her little sister in surprise.

Hanabi nodded her head in affirmation. She walked in the Hyūga Clan compound's kitchen and reached for a bottle of water. Hinata followed behind her, frowning slightly at the girl. The younger sister seemed to notice her concern. She chuckled in response and made a gesture with her hand.

"I'll be heading out in maybe five minutes. Do not worry." Hanabi informed her.

"Naruto-kun told me that the test is going to be about the Uzumaki Clan compound at noon. If you leave then, you're going to be cutting it kinda close." Hinata noted, still frowning.

"Yeah, I know. But I'll get there in time before noon. And I'll surely get there after my other teammates arrive." The younger Hyūga commented.

"Hmm?" The elder sister gave her a confused look.

"Naruto-sensei probably told you about his plans to prank the person who gets there last. He hasn't done much to me since I've known him, but I know him enough that he wouldn't do anything too bad to me. I figure I'd be able to take it better than my teammates, who don't know him as well and may not be used to him and how he might prank them." Hanabi explained.

"While I do agree with you entirely, if Naruto-sensei's pranking is too extreme, then I'm returning to Ryūchi Cave for the rest of the month." Hebihiro commented nonchalantly.

"Hey! If it really is that bad, you can't leave me to face it alone!" She exclaimed, frowning at the snake around her neck.

"Ehhhh…" The snake's voice trailed off.

His lack of a true response caused Hanabi to scowl. Hinata giggled as she watched their interaction.

"It might not be a bad idea to still start walking there, though. If you get there too early, you can just wait outside the compound." Hinata suggested.

"… Eh, I suppose." Hanabi shrugged in response. "That's not a bad idea, yeah. I'll head out now then!"

Hanabi then rushed forward to give her elder sister a hug. Hinata quickly returned it, tightening the embrace. A few seconds passed by before they broke the hug. Hanabi had a wide grin on her face.

"Bye Hinata-neesan! I'll make sure to tell your boyfriend you said hi!" She exclaimed.

"Thank you." Hinata chuckled in response. "Bye Hinata! And bye Hebihiro! Best of luck!"

"Thank you Hinata-sama!" Hebihiro shouted, bowing his head in respect to his summoner.

With that statement, Hanabi rushed off, heading towards the Uzumaki Clan compound. Hinata shook her head, still chuckling to herself. She began to walk away towards the exit to her clan compound as well as she began to recall what Naruto had informed her of his plans.

'I have no doubt you will succeed today, Hanabi… but I'm not sure you are going to have fun during this exam.' Hinata noted to herself. 'I'll make it worth it, though. Father and I will prepare a good celebratory dinner!'

With that thought, Hinata walked out into the streets of Konoha herself.

"Katsumi? Kanji? What are you two doing still out here?" Hanabi blinked in confusion.

As the Hyūga arrived at the Uzumaki Clan compound, she was greeted by her two teammates. Katsumi and Kanji were both standing outside, sitting by the gate to the compound and both not talking to each other. When the younger girl arrived, they stood up from their spots and walked towards her.

"Was wondering when you'd get here. You were cutting it close." Katsumi noted with a smirk.

"I was trying to get here a bit later, actually." Hanabi admitted with a chuckle. She then gave her teammates a confused look. "Did Naruto-sensei want you two to wait for me?"

"We actually haven't gone in yet." Katsumi answered.

"Why?" The Hyūga questioned.

"Well, I got here first and I decided to wait for you two to get here." Kanji replied with a shrug. "Honestly, I'm really curious what pranks Naruto-sensei has planned and kinda want to experience them and I know you two might not like them, so I just decided to wait until you guys went in and I'll be the last one. I want to see what he can do to me!"

"Except I decided I'd rather have the pranks." Katsumi noted. "So, now that you are here, you can grab Kanji and take him in with you."

"Still don't get why you want to have the pranks done to you." The Yamanaka mumbled in response.

"Does it matter?" The civilian-born shinobi rolled her eyes. "I said I'd take them in your place. So you two should just go in. I'll take whatever 'punishment' Sensei has planned for us; no big deal."

"Well… I was showing up so late that I'd be the last one to arrive and I'd take the pranks instead of you two." Hanabi said again. A small smile developed on her face. "So, why don't we all come in together? He either has to prank all of us or prank none of us!"

"Why?" Katsumi looked at the Hyūga in confusion. "I just offered to take the pranks instead."

"And I'm making the same offer and I guess Kanji-san is too. To some degree, we all are doing this so the others don't have to. So, why don't we just take it all together like a team?" The Hyūga suggested, her smile growing. "We are Team Nine, aren't we?"

"… I suppose we are. There's no 'I' in team, so guess we all have to do this together." Kanji replied with a chuckle. His eyes then widened as he looked at the Hyūga in confusion. "Wait, there's no 'eye' in team. That means you won't be able to use the Byakugan when we work together for Naruto-sensei's test! Oh shoot, we are a detriment to you Hanabi! I'm so sorry-"

Katsumi immediately shoved Kanji to the side slightly, knocking him over. She shook her head before pointing at the blonde-haired boy with her thumb.

"Before you got here, we weren't talking. Can you see why that might be the case?" She grumbled.

"You know, you don't have to shove me. You could've just asked and I would have stopped." Kanji mumbled in response.

Katsumi actually gave him a surprised, hopeful look: "Seriously? If I just ask, you'd stop?"

"Of course I won't, but it works just as effectively as you shoving me and it doesn't involve physically hurting me, so that's a bonus." The Yamanaka stated as he grinned cheekily at the kunoichi.

Hanabi giggled in response as Katsumi shook her head, the hopeful look on her face replaced with one of irritation. The Hyūga then walked forward and urged her teammates to join her.

"Come on; let's face this test together!" She stated.

Both Kanji and Katsumi nodded their heads in agreement. They then walked side-by-side with the Hyūga, heading into the Uzumaki Clan compound, mentally preparing for whatever their sensei had planned for them.

The genin members of Team Nine walked for a few minutes before running into their jōnin-sensei. Naruto was sitting on the steps to the main compound building, talking to Masakado. Hanabi, Katsumi, and Kanji quickly walked up to the two Uzumaki.

"I'm making progress with them. It's just a little annoying-" Naruto stopped speaking as he turned his attention to his students. "Ah! You guys are here. I was wondering when you guys would get here!"

"What's that supposed to mean? You told us noon and it just turned noon!" Katsumi informed him, giving him a confused look.

"… Fair point, I guess." Naruto admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He then turned to Masakado and pointed at the genin in front of him. "Masakado-jī-san, these are my students. Hinata-chan's sister, Hanabi, Inoue Katsumi, and Yamanaka Kanji!" He then turned back to his students and gestured at the old man to his side. "This is Uzumaki Masakado, the grumpiest grandfather you will ever meet!"

"Don't make up crap about me, Naruto. I'm not your grandfather." Masakado corrected, chuckling slightly.

"I stand by my statement!" Naruto affirmed, smirking slightly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Masakado-sama." Hanabi greeted cheerfully, bowing her head. "I've heard great things about you."

Katsumi and Kanji gave no verbal greeting; they simply bowed, following Hanabi's example. Masakado chuckled at their reactions and shook his head.

"Heh. Nice to meet you kids too. No need to bow to me." He informed them. He then gave Kanji a curious look. "Your name's Kanji, right? Are you aware that you are named after the Nidaime Uzukage?"

"Yup!" Kanji nodded his head. "Fun fact; if I was born a girl, my parents would have named me 'Rei' after the Shodai Uzukage."

"Really?" Naruto looked at the Yamanaka in surprise. "That's actually super cool!"

"Yeah huh!" He nodded again. "My parents actually are pretty big history buffs and they felt bad that a lot of people seemed to forget about Uzushiogakure, so they gave me that name to honor someone who wasn't getting as much honor as they should."

"I'll be damned… You got good parents, kid.' Masakado said with a smile. "Out of curiosity, do you have an interest in fūinjutsu?"

"Not really. Stuff like that isn't really suited for someone like me." Kanji answered.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, you have the perfect sensei to work under." The former Uzukage noted. He then turned his attention to Katsumi and Hanabi. "Same for you two. Naruto's a good kid and can definitely introduce any of you to fūinjutsu if you ever wish to learn about it." The man then turned to Naruto and shook his head. "Anyway, I know you got a test to administer. Sorry for eating up time. Send either a clone or a toad to Ichiraku's when your test is over."

With those words, Masakado walked off, heading towards the exit of the compound. Naruto waved goodbye to the elder Uzumaki before turning his full attention back to his students.

"So, does anyone care to tell me who got here last, or am I just going to have to pull the information out of you?" He questioned with a mischievous grin.

"Technically, we all did." Hanabi answered. Hebihiro wordlessly nodded his head in agreement with the Hyūga. "We all came in at the same time?"

"Really?" Naruto gave her a curious look. "You all sure about that? You know what I said I'd do to the last person to arrive, right? I'll do it to everyone if I don't have a single name."

"Does it look like we care?" Katsumi questioned, looking at him smugly. "Prank all of us or none of us! We got here all at the same time like a team, dammit!"

Naruto didn't say anything for a few seconds. A small smile developed on his face as he shook his head at their response.

"Well, we'll come back to that later. For now, let's get on with your test." He declared.

The Uzumaki jumped, landing directly on top of the room of the main building in the Uzumaki Clan compound. His students looked at him intently, waiting to hear what the test would be. Naruto then proceeded to gesture to the compound around him.

"Your task is simple; I'll be hiding somewhere in the Uzumaki Clan compound. It's your job to find me. If you all can find me, then you pass." He informed them.

"Wait, that's it?" Katsumi blinked in response. "We're just playing a game of hide-and-seek with you?"

"Sorta. I mean, if you call you infiltration and tracking missions hide-and-seek, then sure." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I have two extra rules to give. Number one; I'm going to put a time limit on the test. If you all find me in less than three hours, then you all pass. If you all take longer than that… well… don't take longer than three hours." His voice trailed off slightly. His eyes then narrowed on his students. "And number two, and most importantly; I have a cousin in the compound by the name of Masamune. He's a civilian and won't fight or try and hinder the test. If you find him, do not, in any way, hurt or threaten him. Believe me; I will find out and I will fail all of you without a second thought if you do!"

The blonde Uzumaki released a wave of killing intent at his students, emphasizing his words. Hanabi's breathing became slow and she looked downward, Katsumi looked as if she was about to throw up, and Kanji closed his eyes and squirmed in place. Within seconds, however, Naruto stopped releasing the killing intent and Team Nine proceeded to relax. A cheerful smile developed on their sensei's face.

"So, are you all ready to begin?" The jōnin questioned. He received nods of confirmation from all three students, which caused him to smirk. "Then let's begin the test!"

With those words, Naruto, using the shunshin, vanished. His students' eyes widened in response.

"He's gone already. Damn!" Katsumi shook her head. "We need to-"

"Byakugan!"

Katsumi and Kanji quickly turned their attention to their third teammate. Hanabi's Byakugan was activated. The kunoichi was now starting to focus around the area around her. She then pointed to a small, one-room building to their right.

"I see Naruto-sensei! He's in there!" She shouted as she rushed off in the direction.

"Oh yeah. Byakugan." Katsumi realized. A wide grin proceeded to develop on her face. "Hanabi, you're awesome. You just broke Naruto-sensei's test!"

She and Kanji rushed behind the Hyūga. A few seconds passed by before she opened the door to the building. They entered what appeared to be a shed with various gardening equipment and bags of fertilizer. Standing in the center of the room was Naruto, who was looking at his students in surprise.

"Hmm?" He mumbled at the sight of his students.

"Naruto-sensei, did you really design a test like this when you know I have the Byakugan?" Hanabi questioned in surprise, pointing to her eyes.

"Err…" Naruto blushed in response and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's… actually pretty bad when I think of it that way." Katsumi commented, frowning slightly. "Come on; you're a jōnin! I knew we'd pass, but this is almost too easy!"

"Yeah… this was actually my bad." Naruto mumbled in response. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, green scroll. "Can we try this again?"

Before any of his students could say anything, Naruto slammed the scroll on the ground and made a single hand sign with his right hand. The scroll disappeared in a poof of smoke and, in its place, multiple shadow clones of Naruto rushed out. Hanabi's, Katsumi's, and Kanji's eyes widened in response.

"Yahoo!"

"It's test time!"

"Come on guys!"

"Who's the real Naruto?"

The clones ran past the trio into the Uzumaki Clan compound. Roughly two minutes passed by before all clones ran out. Roughly one thousand clones had been released into the land. The trio stared blankly at the sight before turning their attention back to the Naruto in the center of the room, who was smiling smugly.

"Come on; did you all actually think I'd make it that easy on you? You were even saying it was fishy, Katsumi!" He informed them. "Feel free to attack the clones by the way to dispel them. That'll surely help you distinguish what is and what isn't a clone! By the way… your test is still going on. Time is ticking. So I'd go out and try to find the original me, if I were you!"

With those words, the remaining Naruto in the room dispelled, turning into a poof of smoke.

"That was a clone the entire time?" Hanabi questioned, her eyes wide in disbelief. "B-But that's impossible! It looked just like the real him! My Byakugan can distinguish between a real person and a clone."

"Those were shadow clones, though, weren't they? They're different. Perhaps they can't be distinguished?" Kanji offered with a shrug. "I figured this was all just one bad joke. Looks like I was right. Naruto-sensei is a jōnin, after all. There's no way he'd make this test that easy for us."

"Well, we need to just move on then." Katsumi suggested.

The civilian-born kunoichi ran out of the garden shed and into the grounds of the Uzumaki Clan compound. Hanabi and Kanji followed right behind. Their eyes then scattered the area, looking for a place to look.

"So, Hanabi, your eyes can see where the clones are right?" Kanji questioned. She nodded her head in response. "This may sound odd, but I think the best idea would be to split up and go through more areas at once. It'll help us go through the compound at a faster pace."

"Alright." Katsumi nodded her head in agreement. "How will we communicate with each other?"

"Let's just agree to meet up here after we clear one building. Once all three of us have finished, we'll move on to the next buildings." The Yamanaka suggested. "That good for you two?"

"That's fine, Kanji-san." Hanabi noted, nodding her head.

"Alright." The blonde turned his attention to her. "So, Hanabi, tell us what are the three most likely buildings you think Naruto-sensei could be in. You'll take one, I'll take one, and Katsumi will take the third one."

Hanabi nodded in understanding. She then pointed to three separate buildings on the Uzumaki Clan compound. Immediately, the three genin-hopefuls hurried in the direction of the buildings.

'Where is he?' Katsumi thought to herself. 'Could he actually be in here?'

The civilian-born kunoichi rushed through a building on the compound that resembled a shrine. The wood on the outside of the building was painted a bright red color. There were various pictures of religious deities and spirits along the walls of the building and statues scattered in the room.

"Where would he be here?" She grumbled to herself.

The civilian-born shinobi opened a door in the building and entered a large room with no windows. A large, golden bell was in the room and was hanging from the ceiling. Many smaller, silver-colored bells were dangling in front of it. There was nothing else, however, in the room.

'Yeah, this was a waste. There's no way he could be hiding here. Nothing to hide behind.' Katsumi rationalized. She prepared to open up the door and return to the hallway, but she stopped herself as a thought entered her mind. She then turned her back to the room. 'Unless…'

Her eyes narrowed in on the silver bells that dangled from the room. She wasn't quite certain why, but they seemed out of place in the room. Instinctively, her hands went to the scroll at her side.

'I might be wrong and those are just random directions… meaning I'll probably have to pay Naruto-sensei back for breaking them… but I just have this gut feeling!' She told herself.

Immediately, she took off the scroll and activated it, releasing a crossbow and a quiver loaded with arrows. She then quickly loaded her crossbow and fired at the bells.

Upon impact, the bells changed shape, briefly resembling Naruto, before disappearing in a poof of smoke. Within seconds, all bells were gone, the clones that were hiding as them completely gone.

"Ha! I was right! I found clones of Naruto-sensei!" Katsumi exclaimed, jumping-up slightly in pride. Her eyes then widened and she shook her head. "Wait, dammit! Those were just clones. I still need to keep looking-"

She ended her sentence abruptly as a loud, piercing noise sounded from the bell throughout the room. The kunoichi shouted in pain as she brought her hands to her ears, trying to drown out the sound of the bell.

Doing her best to ignore the pain, Katsumi walked forward towards the golden bell. She peaked underneath to see another Naruto with his chest tied at the top, using his feet to kick the inside of the bell to create the noise. He seemed to grin wider as he noticed the kunoichi and kicked the bell even harder, making the noise even louder.

"S-Stop!" Katsumi shouted.

"Why? This can't be too easy for you. We have to make it difficult for you to find the original." The clone informed her with a chuckle. "This bell is actually really cool. Its ringing actually affects anybody this close to it. Based on what Dosu said, it affects their brain, so you're going to have a difficult time-"

The clone was unable to finish his explanation, as Katsumi fired an arrow directly at it, dispelling it from existence. She then began to walk towards the door, moving in an awkward fashion.

'I can barely walk straight. Goddammit, Naruto-sensei, I'm going to get you back for this…' She told herself as she walked out of the room and into the rest of the shrine to keep looking.

The building Kanji had went into the search was some type of guest building, filled with bedrooms, bathrooms, and a spare kitchen for visitors to the Uzumaki Clan. The Yamanaka walked into one bedroom. Upon entering, he triggered a trip wire on the ground.

"What the-"

Before he could finish his declaration, a series of kunai knives and shuriken were released from the wall on the other side towards the door and towards Kanji. The Yamanaka tried to get away in time, but two kunai managed to cut into his right shoulder and right arm. He hissed in pain.

'Naruto-sensei did say this was going to be like an infiltration mission. Makes sense he'd booby trap some rooms.' He realized as he pulled out the weapons from his body. 'This sucks. I'm actually gonna have to be careful now-'

His thoughts came to a half as he heard an approaching noise. The Yamanaka quickly hid behind the nearest wall he could find and looked carefully, trying to see what was approaching. From the distance, he could see a Naruto clone walking around.

Within a second, an idea entered Kanji's head. Before the opportunity could leave him, he jumped out with his hands extended forward: "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

The jutsu connected before the clone had time to react; Kanji's body fell limp to the ground while the clone began to stammer back slightly. Within seconds, though, the clone shook his head and a new sense of determination in their eyes.

'Mind transfer complete! Now, maybe as a clone, I can walk freely and talk to one of the other clones and get info on the original's location.' Kanji declared as he adjusted to his new body; the body of Naruto's clone. A confused look developed on his face. 'Is this what it's like to be inside the mind of a shadow clone? There's actually a lot of free space here! Huh. Interesting. I'd actually like to-'

"Hey! What are you doing out in the open like that?"

Kanji quickly turned around and noticed another Naruto clone approaching him, a small scowl on his face.

"We're supposed to be hiding dammit! What if one of the students are in here looking for us?" The clone questioned.

"M-My bad." Kanji responded. "I was just, well, trying to find a new place to hide."

"Dude. This is the guest area. There's lots of places to hide." The Naruto clone sighed. "Here, I'll show you a good hiding spot."

"Thanks!" The Yamanaka grinned in response.

With that, the Naruto clone led Kanji through the hallway. The two moved quickly, trying to avoid being seen by anybody. After roughly a minute, they reached the bedroom they were looking for. The clone opened the door.

"Alright, go in there." He informed him.

"Thanks!" Kanji nodded his head in response. He then let a curious look develop on his face. "By the way, do you know where the original Naruto is? I can't really remember."

"Dude, none of us know." The clone responded, eyeing the other 'clone' in front of him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well, I was kinda wondering to know if I managed to find the three kids and wanted to let them know where they were. Just in case he wanted to know how they were doing on the test." Kanji answered.

Naruto's clone nodded in understanding. This caused Kanji to mentally sigh in relief.

'Good save.' He told himself.

"Well, just to let you know, you can always dispel information and it goes straight back to the original." The clone commented. "All of us know that, but I guess I understand why you wouldn't."

Immediately, the clone shoved Kanji against the wall. The Yamanaka nearly yelped at the impact.

"If I were you, Kanji, I'd dispel the jutsu. Believe me; you wouldn't want any of us clones doing anything to your body while you're in the mind of a clone, would you?" The clone said cheerfully as it walked away.

Kanji's eyes widened and he immediately made a hand sign: "Release!"

Within seconds, Kanji's mind returned back to his original body. The curly-haired blonde proceeded to wake-up, moving his original body.

'Okay, I'm fine. They didn't tie me up or anything. Damn, that was actually really, really stupid of me to just leave my body out in the open like that. I need to be more careful.' He scolded himself. 'Well, whatever. Guess I gotta start looking. Trying to get any info from the clones is pointless it seems. They don't seem to know where the original is. Guess I gotta just keep moving forward and look!'

With that thought, Kanji rushed through the guest halls, looking through each room carefully. As he searched, however, he began to notice something.

'Is it just me, or do I smell ink?' He thought to himself.

"There're so many clones!" Hanabi exclaimed.

The Hyūga had been rushing through the main building of the compound, searching for Naruto. She rushed into each room that she saw clones inside, attacking them and hoping to find the original amongst them. Each time, however, proved unsuccessful.

"Don't stress out Hanabi. We'll find him eventually!" Hebihiro told her reassuringly.

"I know; it's just bothering me." She admitted with a sigh. "I thought that the Byakugan would be able to help me, but I can't seem to tell the difference between a clone and the original Naruto. Everything is really starting to look the same."

"That's what's cool about shadow clones!"

Hanabi did not need to turn around, nor did she need to hear the voice; she knew a clone was approaching her with a kunai. Before she could react, however, Hebihiro quickly turned around and spat out a small bullet of venom from his mouth. The venom made contact with the approaching clone, destroying it.

"Looks like you decided to join me in attacking the clones." Hanabi noted with a look at the snake around her neck.

"I told you not to stress out, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm not irritated either." Hebihiro answered, shaking his head. "I'm getting tired of seeing his face all over here!"

"Same!" Hanabi giggled in response. "It's even worse for me, cause I see so many of them at once with my eyes."

She opened her mouth to say something else to the snake, but she stopped as she saw something in the corner of her vision. In a room at the other end of the building, she saw a 'Naruto' standing in the center, staring to make a hand sign. Immediately, a series of clones appeared in the room and started to run out.

'Wait, I see it! I see the original making more clones! I found him!' She grinned as she processed the thought. 'I did it!'

With that in mind, Hanabi quickly ran in the direction of the room. A minute passed by before she reached the room. The Hyūga reached for the doorknob and opened the door, entering the room to confront the original Naruto and the few clones that were still in the room.

Instead, she was greeted by the sight of a Naruto clone making the hand sign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu with a scroll directly under his feet. A smug grin was on the clone's face.

"What's up Hanabi? Did you think I was the original summoning clones instead of another clone unsealing more clones from a scroll?" He noted with a chuckle.

'I was tricked!' Hanabi realized.

Immediately, the other clones in the room started making hand signs. The clone in the center also began making hand signs as well. Hanabi's eyes widened as she immediately rushed out of the room to avoid the attack.

"Water Style: Gunshot!" The clones finished the jutsu in unison.

Katsumi was the first of Team Nine to finish looking through her building. As such, she was the first to arrive at their meeting point. She waited roughly two minutes before she was joined by Hanabi. The civilian-born kunoichi waved to greet her, but her eyes quickly widened as she took in the sight of her teammate.

"What happened to you Hanabi?" She questioned.

Hanabi was completely soaked. Water was dripping from her hair and the ends of her clothes. Even Hebihiro was completely drenched; water was dripping from the snake's body onto Hanabi's clothes. A puddle was beginning to form underneath her. Both the Hyūga and the snake looked visibly annoyed.

"I don't want to talk about it." She answered.

"Naruto-sensei got you, didn't he?" Katsumi guessed with a chuckle. "I understand. He got me a little bit early and my ear still hurts like a bitch."

"'Hurts a bunch.'" Hanabi corrected.

"… You're still going to do that?" The civilian-born shinobi sighed.

"Yup." She replied simply.

"You two not have any luck either?"

Both Katsumi and Hanabi turned their heads to face the sound of Kanji's voice. Both kunoichi's eyes widened at the sight of the blonde.

A large, elaborate mustache and beard was drawn on Kanji's face with black ink.

"Wh-What the…" Katsumi couldn't finish her sentence; she burst into laughter and nearly fell to the ground in her amusement.

"Heh. Hehehehe." Hanabi couldn't help herself either and started to giggle.

"… Are you two laughing at my marvelous facial hair, courtesy of Naruto-sensei himself?" Kanji questioned, looking distraught at their laughter. "Indeed, it is a curse. It was the penalty for not being sneaky enough!"

"Kanji, go ahead and say as many puns as you want right now; you're not going to ruin my mood." Katsumi commented, still laughing.

"Really? As many as I want?" A smug look developed on Kanji's face. "I have an inkling that you'll regret that in a little bit, because honestly, I have a lot of pent up frustration right now from having my face marked like this, so I have tons of-"

The Yamanaka's words stopped as Hebihiro opened his mouth and released a gush of water from it directly at his face. Kanji yelped in surprise, but he did nothing and allowed the water to his face. He eventually used his hands with the water to clean off all of the ink. After a few seconds, the pen-drawn facial hair was gone.

"I know you were probably trying to just get me to shut up, but I appreciate you doing that for me." Kanji said cheekily, smiling at the snake.

"No need to thank me." The snake replied simply, shaking his head.

Another second passed by before the mood around the three sobered up: Hanabi and Katsumi stopped laughing and the smile on Kanji's face vanished.

"Alright, so we tried those three buildings and all failed, I guess. Where should we look next?" He questioned.

Hanabi immediately began to concentrate, looking for the areas she would assume Naruto would most likely be hiding.

"Really? That's his test?" Anko questioned, her face morphing into a grin after she finished a sip of tea.

"Yup." Shikamaru nodded with a small smirk on his face.

The Nara had decided to make a brief stop by Anko's apartment to chat with her. After unintentionally stumbling upon her eating lunch and joining her for a cup of tea she quickly prepared, he brought up Naruto's exam for his students.

Anko was quickly very glad that Shikamaru had come by.

"Oh that's brilliant! And it suits him!" She exclaimed. "Those kids are going to have a horrible time finding him."

"Yeah, they are." Shikamaru chuckled. "Naruto already told me about all of the extra booby traps he set. Everything from shuriken and kunai to 'harmless' things like buckets of water and paint. Those students of his are probably gonna hate him after all of this."

"That's perfect!" Anko's grin seemed to grow even wider.

"I would've thought you'd know about it, though. Naruto told me about it as soon as he thought of the idea." The Nara commented with a shrug.

"Well, to be fair, I've been a little busy recently. I got a chance to talk to Naruto about his team when he found out about them, but we never got the chance to meet up after." She said, shrugging as well. "It's whatever, though. I'm sure I'll hear more about this when he finishes his test. I can't wait to see how bad his students got fucked up!"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too." Shikamaru admitted with a chuckle. He then proceeded to stand-up. "Anyway, I didn't mean to bother you while you were eating. I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about it."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Thanks for letting me know, actually." The snake summoner replied with a smile. "You're welcome to come by anytime, Shikamaru. You already know that dammit!"

Shikamaru proceeded to chuckle in response. The two jōnin said their goodbyes before Shikamaru proceeded to walk out of the room. Anko was now alone in the room. A smile developed on her face as she finished her cup of tea.

"I'll probably see about stopping by tonight and asking Naruto about how his brats did." She mumbled to herself. "They'll probably pass, but I'm willing to bet he has some good stories to say about everything went."

After finishing her tea, Anko took the cup and an empty plate to her sink and began to wash her dishes. Just as she started, however, there was a knock on her door. She immediately grumbled and set the dishes in the sink before walking to the door.

Anko proceeded to open the door and prepared some form of witty greeting. The words died on her lips, however, as she locked eyes with two shinobi.

The first was a woman that she had not met before. She was a woman with long, curly black hair and icy blue eyes. She wore a skin-tight black shirt with chainmail underneath it and dark blue pants. Tied around her waist, separating her shirt and her pants, was a black ribbon. She wore a Kirigakure forehead protector around her forehead and had a katana attached to her back. Anko did not recognize the woman, but she recognized the person standing next to her.

"Zabuza?" Anko's eyes widened at the sight of the man. Her face then twisted into a grin. "It's been a while! How's it going, boss?"

Although he still wore bandages over his mouth, Anko could tell that he was smirking behind them.

"It's good to see you, Anko. Everything is going fine, especially now that we are here. I'd ask if we could come in, but it would probably be better if you come with us." Zabuza informed her. "Although, you should pack first."

"Pack? For what?" Anko gave him a curious look. Realization then dawned on her face. "Ah! Do you have a mission for me?"

"I do." Zabuza nodded his head as he pulled out a scroll. "A mission from the Godaime Mizukage herself. And, as a member of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, you are obligated to accept."

He tossed the scroll over to Anko. She caught in her hands. She then proceeded to shake her head, chuckling slightly.

"You know, I thought the deal was that you all would send a bird or something to notify us that you had a mission for me so I could get ready ahead of time." Anko reminded him.

"That is true." Zabuza acknowledged. Behind the bandages on his lips, his smirk seemed to grow. "However, I decided to be 'that bird' and just simply leave early. I thought it would be more fun to drop in on you unannounced."

"Oh, aren't you a fun bastard?" The snake summoner shook her head, still chuckling. "Alright. I'll get ready. Can you quickly summarize the mission, though, so I can tell how well I should pack?" She then turned her attention to the woman next to Zabuza and bowed her head slightly. "And I am sorry, but I haven't introduced myself. I'm Mitarashi Anko."

"I am aware. Zabuza-san speaks well of you." The woman commented. She bowed as well and a gentle smile developed on her lips. "My name is Kahyō. Yuki Kahyō. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Kahyō is who we have decided to make the sixth member of the new Seven Swordsmen of the Kirigakure. As a result, she will be accompanying us on our mission to retrieve the swords that she will use." Zabuza stated. His face then twisted into a scowl. "The mission is an A-Rank mission and it is long overdue, but it's about time we retrieve the Kiba blades. We have tracked down Kurosuki Raiga's location to a village near the Hi no Kuni – Kusa no Kuni border. We are going to assassinate that bastard and take his swords back for Kirigakure."

Anko nodded in understanding. She quickly excused herself as she went to retrieve the necessities she would need for her mission.

The first thing she reached for was the scroll that contained her own sword – Shibuki. A grin developed on her face as she ran her hand down the scroll.

'Guess it's about time I really got a chance to use this thing in legit combat. Raiga… your ass is mine.' Anko told herself as she attached the scroll to her back.

"Dammit, this is going nowhere…" Katsumi grumbled.

The three genin-hopefuls of Team Nine were breathing heavily after another round of searching around the Uzumaki Clan compound. They had failed, once again, to find the real Naruto – only a series of clones. They also had been greeted by various 'traps' that stalled them.

Katsumi had water dripping from her hair and blotches of green and orange paint scattered across her clothes and her skin. Kanji had mud all over his clothes and had scratch marks across his visible skin. Hanabi had pen markings that the clones had managed to somehow draw on her face and her hands. She now had the Uzumaki clan symbol on both of her palms and a crudely drawn depiction of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, drawn on her left cheek. Even Hebihiro had marked with ink; the snake had a small depiction of a toad on his head!

"I can't believe this is so difficult. I honestly thought we'd have found him by now." Hanabi admitted. "And we're running out of time too. Do you know how long we've been looking for him?"

"Two hours I think? I don't know. This whole test has just simply drained me." Kanji said with a long, drawn-out sigh. "I think my mind is beginning to play tricks on me too, because I always think I'm seeing Naruto-sensei everywhere. I see him in one room, then he's in another room, then another, then another, then-"

"We get it; he's using his clones! Shut up Kanji!" Katsumi hissed, shaking her head. "Honestly, I'm getting really tired of seeing him as well, though. It's almost enough to make me want to try and find his cousin. At least that dude would be a different sight than another fucking clone!"

Hanabi frowned. She opened her mouth to correct Katsumi's word choice but then her eyes widened in realization.

"Wait, Naruto-sense's cousin?" She repeated the phrase.

"Yeah?" Katsumi gave her a confused look. "What about it-"

"Of course!" Hanabi exclaimed, slapping her hand against his head. "How'd I not think of that earlier?"

"Think of what-" As Kanji began to ask his question, realization hit him as well. "Oh wait, I get it! Damn, I feel stupid. Really stupid!"

"What? What do you two get?" Katsumi questioned, blinking in confusion.

"Naruto-sensei made a point to mention his cousin, Masamune, was here and informed us to not threaten or hurt him. He didn't say, however, that we couldn't get information from him!" Hanabi declared, grinning.

"Oh. Oh!" Katsumi's eyes widened in understanding. A confused look then developed on her face. "Wait, but do you think he'd actually tell us anything? Like would he help us pass his cousin's test?"

"That's the thing though; he doesn't have to actually tell us. We can still get the information from him." Kanji said with a chuckle. "I can get a look inside his head and see what he has to tell us!"

"Ah!" Katsumi's eyes lit up again. A wide grin developed on her face. "Hell yeah!"

"Alright, let's hurry! We don't have much time to find him." Hanabi stated as she began to rush off. "I can see where Masamune-san is. He stands out amongst all of the clones in the area. Come on; let's go meet with him!"

With those words, Kanji and Katsumi followed behind the Hyūga.

It took the trio five minutes before they reached another small-sized building on the compound. The building was painted black and had cut marks on the side, as if the building had been struck with swords. Hanabi, Katsumi, and Kanji entered the building. They quickly found themselves in what appeared to be a blacksmith's workshop.

Standing in the middle of the room was Uzumaki Masamune. The young man was currently swinging a sword around in the air. A few seconds passed before he swung the blade at an apple. The attack pierced it, cutting the fruit in half. He quickly sheathed the sword before turning his attention to the genin-hopefuls.

"Are you three Naruto's students?" He questioned.

"We are." Hanabi bowed in respect. "We are-"

"Wait, aren't you that Hinata girl's sister or something? You look a little like her." Masamune noted, eyeing her curiously.

"Ah! Um, yes, Hinata is my sister." Hanabi admitted.

"Well, next time you see her, tell her I said hey. I haven't really been over much whenever she's here, but she's always been a cool girl to me." The blacksmith said with a chuckle. His eyes then narrowed. "So, what you are all doing here? You all should be able to tell that Naruto isn't in here."

"No, but you know where he is, don't you?" Katsumi questioned.

Masamune shrugged in response: "I'm not a shinobi. A lot of things he tells me about stuff like that go in one ear and out the other. I don't really know much about what his test today is even about. Sorry."

"For some reason, I don't really believe that." Kanji admitted with a chuckle. "Can I ask you something? It's a yes-or-no question."

"Er, what?" Masamune questioned, looking at the Yamanaka in confusion.

"Just say yes or no." Kanji pressed.

"… Yes?" The blacksmith turned his head slightly in confusion.

"You give me permission to peek into your mind for a moment? Awesome, thanks!" Kanji grinned as he extended his hands forward: "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Within seconds, Kanji's body went limp and fell to the ground. Masamune's body staggered slightly for a moment. Within seconds, he shook his head and looked at Hanabi and Katsumi, frowning.

"Come on guys; you couldn't have caught my body as it was falling?" Kanji questioned from Masamune's body.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Kanji-san!" Hanabi frowned, shaking her head. "I wasn't thinking!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Now, what can you tell us?" Katsumi questioned.

Kanji proceeded to close his eyes, as if trying to concentrate. Roughly a minute passed by before he seemed to come to the conclusion he was looking. Satisfied, he opened his eyes and made a hand sign.

"Release!"

Masamune's body, once again, staggered. The blacksmith started to look around in confusion. Kanji, on the other, proceeded to pull himself off the ground.

"I got it! Naruto told him he was going to be in the garden he's growing way in the back of the compound!" Kanji declared. "Come on; let's go find him!"

With those words, Kanji ran out of the shed, followed by Hanabi and Katsumi. Masamune wa left alone. The man blinked in response before shaking his head.

'That was such a weird feeling… you owe me for agreeing to stay here, Cuz.' The blacksmith thought to himself.

It took the genin-hopefuls three minutes to arrive at the large garden in the back. Trees covered the area and a variety of flowers of different colors and shapes were on the ground. The variety ranged, featuring some plants native to different parts of the Elemental Nations. There were a few benches scattered in the garden by piles of flowers and a small spring in the very center.

Lying down by the spring were ten Naruto clones. The members of Team Nine narrowed their eyes on them as they approached.

"One of them is the original Naruto. Take the rest down!" Kanji exclaimed.

Katsumi immediately pulled out her crossbow and fired ten arrows at the clones. Nine of the Naruto clones vanished immediately. The tenth, however, managed to catch the arrow and look at the students with a knowing look on his eyes.

"Found him." Katsumi stated, grinning at the sight of the jōnin.

The three genin jumped directly in front of him. A triumphant smile appeared on each of their faces. Naruto looked at them for a few seconds before chuckling.

"You all took your sweet time finding me, y'know?" He said with a chuckle. "Honestly, you took too long."

The triumphant look immediately fell and was replaced with a mutual look of horror on all three faces. Even Hebihiro, on Hanabi's neck, was looking at the jōnin in fear.

"… Wait, really?" Hanabi blinked in response. "Th-This is a joke… right?"

"Please be a joke!" Hebihiro pleaded.

"No…" Katsumi looked as if she about ready to bawl.

"How long? Were we really past the three hour mark?" Kanji questioned, bringing his hands to his face. "How far off were we from the time limit?"

"Enough." Naruto said with a chuckle. "However, I'm willing to give the three of you one more chance."

Once again, the three genin-hopefuls changed expressions. They were now all looking at him with hope in their eyes.

"What do we have to do? Find you again?" Katsumi questioned.

"Nah." The Uzumaki shrugged in response. His eyes then narrowed on them. "All you need to do is impress me! Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto breathed out a massive gust of wind from his mouth directly at his three students. Their eyes widened in response before they winced in pain as the wind began to cut into them. Quickly, the members of Team Nine jumped out of the way, freeing themselves from the wind.

"If you three want me to change my mind, then make me. Fight and show me how strong you all really are!" Naruto shouted.

After his statement, the three shinobi nodded their heads in understanding. Katsumi then raised her crossbow up and fired a barrage of arrows at Naruto. The jōnin quickly maneuvered, dodging the attacks. He then rushed forward directly in front of the kunoichi, raising his fist to attack her. She moved her body in an attempt to block the attack, but Naruto's fist overpowered her guard and he landed a punch directly at her face, knocking her backwards.

Hanabi and Hebihiro quickly exchanged a look. Immediately the snake extended his head forward from Hanabi's shoulder and lobbed a bullet of water from his mouth directly at Naruto. The jinchūriki, however, jumped up into the air and avoided the attack.

While his sensei was in the air, Kanji reached into his pocket and pulled out a series of senbon. He tossed them at Naruto, who proceeded to move around the area, avoiding each and every attack. The Uzumaki then landed on the ground immediately in front of the Yamanaka. He raised his hand to punch him in the face. Instead of blocking, however, Kanji proceeded to spit out a series of senbon from his lips directly at Naruto.

The jinchūriki proceeded to duck, barely avoiding the weapons. He then made a sweeping kick, knocking Kanji off his feet. The curly-haired blonde hit the ground hard, grunting in pain.

Naruto raised his foot again to kick the boy. As he attempted to kick Kanji, Katsumi pulled herself off the ground and began making a series of hand signs.

"Earth Style: Rising Rock Jutsu!"

As Naruto's kick was about to connect with Kanji's body, a large boulder rose up from the ground between himself and Kanji. The boulder then shoved back at Naruto, knocking him backwards slightly and away from the Yamanaka. The jinchūriki's eyes widened as he looked at Katsumi.

'You know elemental ninjutsu? The academy's report said you had a difficult time learning the basic jutsu, but you can do elemental ninjutsu?' Naruto wondered as he looked at the civilian-born kunoichi. He saw her help Kanji back up to his feet, which caused him to smile. 'I knew there was more to you than meets the eye, Katsumi!'

The Uzumaki quickly caught his balance, preventing himself from getting knocked back too far. Before he could go after Kanji and Katsumi, however, Hanabi jumped at him, her palms extended. A small smirk developed on his face as he quickly stepped out of the way of her first strike.

"Hanabi, are you sure you wanna do this? Remember; I'm more than just Hinata's boyfriend. I'm her teammate and comrade. I've sparred with her before. I know a lot about the gentle fist." He reminded her, his smirk growing.

"I know, Naruto-sensei. But I have a different style than her!" She declared sharply.

Before Naruto could say anything, Hanabi charged forward again, trying to strike at him with her palm. Naruto side-stepped, avoiding the attack, and tried to land a punch at her. Hanabi, however, managed to block the attack. She attempted to deliver a palm strike with her remaining free hand, but Naruto managed to grab onto her wrist, stopping her.

'Yeah, she has a more aggressive, offensive style. I forgot Hinata-chan's style is a bit more evasive and mobile. I can see that Hanabi has a bit more 'force' in hers than I was expecting.' Naruto acknowledged. 'That's pretty cool-'

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts as he noticed Hebihiro extend his head forward at him in an attempt to bite him. The Uzumaki quickly jumped backwards to avoid the snake bite, which caused him to free his grip on Hanabi's hands. She then jumped forward, trying to strike at him again. He was forced to jump back more, placing more distance between himself and the Hyūga.

'So that's what she meant when she and Hebihiro fight together. He helps in conjunction with her gentle fist! That's actually really cool! I wonder if Hinata-chan has thought about that before?' Naruto wondered. 'Maybe-'

His thoughts were interrupted, once again, as Katsumi charged forward at him. She had put her crossbow to the side and, instead, was gripping the wooden sword tightly in her hands. Katsumi swung the sword at Naruto, but he proceeded to step to the side and avoid the attack. He then turned around and punched at her, but Katsumi managed to move away in time. She then swung her sword again at Naruto. This time, however, Naruto opted to stop it, reaching forward with his hand and 'catching' it before it could hit him. Katsumi tried to apply further force and overpower him, but Naruto was not budging.

"This is why you need a real sword. I couldn't do this with a metal blade, but with a wooden one?" Naruto shook his head and tightened his grip on her sword, causing it to crack slightly. "Yeah, I could definitely overpower it with just my hand!"

"Shut up! I know that!" Katsumi hissed.

Realizing that Naruto was not going to move, and also not let go over her sword, Katsumi jumped backwards, dropping her sword. She quickly ran through hand signs: "Earth Style: Rising Rock Jutsu!"

The ground underneath Naruto's feet raised upward, rocketing two boulders directly at him. The jōnin managed to jump away in time, still holding onto Katsumi's sword. A scowl developed on her face as she made a gesture with her hands. The two boulders launched into the air, directly at Naruto. The Uzumaki proceeded to dodge the attacks, jumping away just in time. He then made a series of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The blonde proceeded to breathe out a large fireball that flew through the air directly at Katsumi.

Before the fireball could hit her, however, Hanabi proceeded to jump in between the attack and her teammate. The snake on her neck extended his head slightly before breathing out a torrent of water from his mouth at the fireball. Hebihiro's water proved powerful enough to counter the fireball, causing it to disappear.

"Quick work Hanabi. Thanks a lot!" Katsumi gave the girl a thumbs up.

"Don't thank me; thank Hebihiro!" Hanabi informed her, gesturing to the snake around her neck.

"Well, thank you then, Hebi." The civilian-born kunoichi said to Hebihiro, smiling.

"Er, thanks…" Hebihiro mumbled in response, a small blue-colored blush on his face.

Naruto eyed the two kunoichi and the snake curiously for a moment. He turned away, just in time to notice Kanji throw two shuriken in his direction. The shuriken flew right by him, to the right and left of the wooden sword he was still holding, just barely failing to make contact with it. Just after the shuriken flew by, Naruto felt the sword get pulled from his grip.

'Ah!' The jinchūriki's eyes widened as he looked at the Yamanaka.

Kanji grinned at his sensei as he made a tugging gesture with his hands. Translucent string that was attached to his shuriken had managed to catch onto the sword. He proceeded to pull the sword out of Naruto's grips. The wooden sword, tied up in the string, flew towards him. He caught the sword and proceeded to catch it. He then tossed it back to its owner.

"Hope you appreciate the favor I just pulled for you, Katsumi!" Kanji called out to her.

"Kanji, I swear…" Katsumi shook her head to the side. Despite her comment, she had a smile on her face as she tightened her grip on the sword. "Thanks a lot."

"What are teammates for?" The Yamanaka shrugged.

'… Yeah, those three are definitely going to be a great team.' Naruto realized, resisting the urge to grin at his students. 'I'll let them know they passed in a little bit. Right now, though, I want to see if they can do anything else! They seem good at helping keep each other safe; can they work together to actually hurt me?'

"So you guys can work well together. Congratulations." He spoke aloud with a small chuckle. "Now, let's see if that means you can actually manage to do some real damage to me!"

The Uzumaki took in a deep breath before beginning to exhale at them: "Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets!"

Multiple bullets of air shot forward towards the three genin-hopefuls. They were unable to move away in time and were all sent flying backwards. Hanabi and Katsumi managed to catch themselves before getting knocked too far away, but Kanji ended up getting knocked back against a tree. He coughed up blood upon impact.

Naruto proceeded to rush forward at him. He raised his fist, ready to strike at him. Before his attack could connect, however, Kanji managed to jump up, avoiding Naruto's attack. He landed directly behind him and quickly tossed ten shuriken: five to Naruto's right and five to Naruto's left. The shuriken made contact with the ground. After throwing them, Kanji made a tugging gesture, causing translucent string to appear and tighten around Naruto's body. The string managed to tie him to the trunk of the tree.

"Huh-"

"Earth Style: Rising Rock Jutsu!"

Two rock formations rose up from the ground directly around Naruto's hands and arms. The earth surrounded them, preventing him from pulling away.

Naruto tried to pull himself away from both the string tying him to the tree and the rocks holding his arms in place, but he was unable to do so. He began to move his legs, hoping to land a kick on the tree hard enough that he could overpower it and free his body. As he began to make the movements, however, Hebihiro jumped off Hanabi's neck and rushed over to the Uzumaki. The snake quickly coiled around Naruto's legs, preventing him moving them.

"Alright, he's caught!" Kanji exclaimed, grinning. "Good work you all!"

The three members of Team Nine exchanged a look of pride before they turned their full attention back to the jōnin-sensei. Katsumi tightened her grip on her wooden sword while Hanabi got into permission to charge, preparing to strike at Naruto with her gentle fist.

"Alright, no need. No need. I've seen enough." Naruto spoke-up with a light laughter.

In an instant, Naruto overpowered the string and the earth holding him in place, causing the string to break and the boulders holding his arms to crumble. He then reached downward and uncoiled the snake around his legs. He held up Hebihiro in his hands, who was looking bashful at being overpowered so easily. The Uzumaki then let the snake down on the ground. Hebihiro quickly slid his way back to Hanabi's side, returning to his original position around her neck.

"So that's enough? Did we pass?" Katsumi asked, crossing her fingers slightly.

"Technically speaking, you all already passed when you found me!" Naruto said cheerfully, causing his students' eyes to widen. "It took you all two hours and forty-nine minutes to find me."

"Wait, really?" Hanabi questioned. "Then why did you say we were too late?"

"I was going to say that regardless of what time you arrived. If you had gotten too early, I would have just accused you all of cheating or something." The Uzumaki admitted with a chuckle. "I just wanted to find an excuse to spar for a bit. Not do anything too in depth. I just wanted to get a vibe of some your general reflexes, how you all fought individually, and how you would all work together as a team. It wasn't going to be long, either. I just wanted to do enough for me to get an impression on what you all can do and give me an idea on what I can work on with you all." A smile then developed on his lips. "And, I have to say, you all did pretty good. You had good reaction times for genin and definitely know a few techniques that took me by surprise. And you all worked together very well for people who were just assigned together at random!"

As Naruto began sharing his praise, a wide smile developed on the faces of all of his students. Kanji proceeded to chuckle to himself, placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Hanabi brought her hands together and was blushing slightly at the praise. Hebihiro whispered congratulations in her ear, which caused her smile to widen. Katsumi was seemingly resisting the urge to jump up-and-down in place in excitement.

"That being said, I was going to see what I could notice that you all would need to work on and I definitely found areas that need to be improved." The Uzumaki admitted. His eyes then narrowed slightly on Katsumi. "And while I will discuss them more later with you all, I would like to say that your sword, Katsumi, needs to get replaced. It really is pretty easy to overpower a wooden sword. If you really want to swing that around and use it on me, we're going to need to get you a real sword and not something I can actually easily block with my hand."

"… Ah." The excitement seemed to fade from Katsumi's eyes and she frowned. "Well… it might be a while for that. Not gonna lie, this was really all I could afford…"

Naruto's eyebrow rose at her comment, but he quickly shook his head.

"Well, since I know you all found out where I was from Masamune, you just met my cousin who was a blacksmith and you just saw him swinging around a sword he just finished making. Come by his store in town someday. I'm sure he could get a really good, cheap sword for one of his cousin's students!"

Immediately, the excitement returned to Katsumi's eyes. The kunoichi was unable to resist her urges this time, however, and began to jump up-and-down. This caused Naruto, along with Hanabi, Hebihiro, and Kanji, to chuckle.

"Anyway, congratulations you all. Team Nine has officially passed!" The jōnin declared. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of a loud, rumbling noise from his stomach. "… Er, now may be a good time to go eat. Do you all wanna go to Ichiraku's Ramen for a celebratory lunch together? My treat!"

"That's the place you, Hinata-neesan, and Shikamaru-san go to a lot, right?" Hanabi questioned.

"The very one!" Naruto nodded his head in affirmation.

"Never heard of it." Katsumi commented, shrugging. "I actually don't think I've ever tried ramen before?"

"Never heard? Haven't tried ramen-" Naruto shook his head, interrupting himself. He then quickly rushed over to his student and grabbed her by the hand. "Well, we're fixing this life mistake right now then! Come on!"

With that declaration, Naruto charged towards the exit of the compound, dragging Katsumi behind him.

"Whoa, okay, okay; I'll go try ramen! Come on! Let go of me!" The civilian-born kunoichi requested.

Hanabi and Kanji stood still, watching their jōnin-sensei drag their teammate away. After staring for a few seconds, they looked at each other and shrugged.

"So that happened." Kanji commented.

"Should we follow?" Hanabi asked.

Before the Yamanaka could reply, two Naruto clones arrived in the garden and grabbed the two genin.

"Yeah, you guys should. Come on!" One of the clones exclaimed.

The two clones then hurried off behind the original Naruto and Katsumi, dragging both Hanabi and Kanji along with them.

"Good evening, Hiashi. Do you mind if I come in?"

Hiashi, who had been working on paperwork in his office, looked up to see a man enter the room. He was a short man with long grey hair that went down to his back and the same white eyes that all Hyūga clan members had. He wore a loose fitting white kimono with a sash holding it in place around his waist and wore a brown haori over the kimono.

For a brief second, Hiashi's eyes narrowed on the man as he entered. The moment passed, however, and the Hyūga Clan leader simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good evening, Yoshikane. I do not mind. Did you have something to discuss?" Hiashi questioned.

The grey-haired Hyūga, Yoshikane, nodded his head. He proceeded to take a seat in the chair in front of Hiashi's desk.

"I heard that Hanabi has passed her 'true' graduation test today. She is officially a genin." He commented.

"Yes she is." Hiashi said, a small smile developing on his lips.

He recalled Hanabi arriving back at the clan compound after having a celebratory meal with the rest of her team. It had been the most excited she had been in years. Hiashi felt a rush of pride for his youngest daughter, for graduating two years early and for being 'Rookie of the Year'.

'Hinata and I need to work on her celebratory 'feast' soon.' He realized.

"Hanabi has done quite well, Hiashi. You should be very proud of her. You raised your daughter well." Yoshikane spoke, interrupting the Clan Head's thoughts. "With that in mind, I think it is time that she finally be marked. She is now a shinobi and will be going on missions for the clan. We don't want anything to happen to her and her eyes, after all."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed instantly: "I'm afraid I cannot make that decision. I have not decided whether or not she or Hinata will be the clan head after-"

"Hiashi, do not lie to me." Yoshikane interrupted, his eyes narrowing as well. "I accepted that argument years ago when Hinata did not display any signs of skill fitting for the clan head. However, at this point, her reputation is amongst the highest jōnin in the village and she is regarded as one of the best shinobi of her generation. She has more than earned her spot as clan head and you know it. It is known that Hinata is this clan's heiress." A scowl then developed on the man's face. "You are simply stalling this because you wish to prevent Hanabi from getting marked with the seal."

"I stand by my statement." Hiashi declared, shaking his head in response. "While Hinata has indeed grown as a shinobi, Hanabi I believe is a more traditional Hyūga and could potentially be more of a leader fitting for the Hyūga Clan. I am still uncertain whether Hinata's personality would make her a fitting leader."

"Hiashi, I repeat myself; stop lying." Yoshikane said. "All you are doing is stalling one of your daughters from getting marked. I never had this much trouble when I had to mark either you or Hizashi. I didn't allow it to trouble me; I simply marked the younger and moved on from there."

"You also allowed and encouraged Hizashi to die in my place without a second thought or care." The Hyūga Clan head noted with a scowl of his own.

"Do not hold that against me. It was for the best of the clan. I knew it, as did Hizashi knew it." The grey-haired Hyūga stated sharply. "All of the elders know that and all of the Hyūga Clan Heads should know that. The clan comes before all else; even before children."

For a brief moment, Hiashi said nothing and closed his eyes. He opened his eyes after a minute and proceeded to shake his head.

"I need more time. As the Hyūga Clan head, I have the authority to choose my successor carefully. You will not fight this, Yoshikane." He stated bluntly.

Yoshikane proceeded to shake his head. He then stood up from his chair and walked towards the door.

"Very well. I'll wait. However, whether you have the authority or not, you cannot ignore our clan's traditions forever. One of those girls will have to be marked and placed in the branch family." Yoshikane stated. "If you can't make that decision and are willing to endanger our clan by placing more-and-more shinobi out in the world that could potentially have their Byakugan stolen, then you may not be fit to lead our clan after all."

Hiashi shook his head: "You may leave now, father."

With that statement, Yoshikane left the room. With the man no longer present, Hiashi brought his hands to his face and shook his head in frustration.

'Masakado-san, we need to start experimenting with those seals of yours.' The Hyūga Clan head realized. 'Neji, Hinata; it is time. We are going to have to show the clan what you two are capable of.'

Quick Notes:

1: The Uzumaki shinobi introduced in Tayuya's segment at the beginning, Susumu and Setsuko, were actually planned to be introduced in the Kirigakure Civil War Arc. I had created his character to be an Uzumaki that got roped into fighting with the rebels, with the intent of making Mizu no Kuni a safe place for his daughter to live in. This changed, however, once I was reminded about Honoka's existence and I opted to use her, so I could use a real character instead of an OC (even if the real character was just anime exclusive). However, I still had the character model for him and his daughter, so I'm introducing them as part of Tayuya's personal mission to find all Uzumaki. :)