14. Prank Wars : Epilogue : Future In-Laws

(Bonus chapter for 50 powerstones, Thank you for this much stones, I never have seen this many in one of my works, Let's keep the momentum rolling)

Chapter 10: Orange You Glad It's Over?

The sun rose over Konoha, painting the sky in hues of pink and gold. It would have been a beautiful sight, if not for one small problem: the entire village was still covered in a vibrant shade of orange.

Naruto Uzumaki, the architect of this colourful catastrophe, stood atop the Hokage Monument, surveying his handiwork with a mix of pride and growing apprehension. Beside him, looking significantly less pleased, stood Sora, his red hair now tinged with streaks of orange.

"You know," Sora said, breaking the silence, "when I said we should brighten up the village, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Naruto grinned, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "Aw, come on! You gotta admit, it's pretty impressive. I mean, look at it! It's like the whole village got a makeover!"

Sora pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back a smile. As much as he wanted to be annoyed, he couldn't help but admire the sheer scale of Naruto's prank. "Impressive? Sure. But you do realize we're going to have to clean all this up, right?"

The grin slipped from Naruto's face faster than Kakashi disappearing when the bill arrives at Ichiraku Ramen. "Wait, what? We?"

"Oh yes, 'we'," came a stern voice from behind them. Both boys turned to see the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing there, his normally pristine robes now a fetching shade of tangerine. "You two are responsible for this... redecorating, so you two will be leading the cleanup efforts."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "But Jiji! That could take weeks!"

Hiruzen's eyes twinkled with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Then I suggest you get started, Naruto. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to explain to Teuchi why Ichiraku Ramen has to remain closed until the paint is gone?"

The colour drained from Naruto's face faster than the Hiraishin. "No ramen? But... but that's cruel and unusual punishment!"

Sora, ever the voice of reason (or at least, the slightly less chaotic one), stepped in. "Naruto, why don't you use your Shadow Clones? That should speed things up, right?"

Naruto's eyes lit up like he'd just been told ramen was now considered a vegetable. "That's right! I can use my clones! Ha! This'll be easy!"

Hiruzen chuckled, shaking his head. "Very well. But remember, Naruto, you're responsible for any... mishaps your clones might cause during the cleanup."

As if on cue, a distant shout echoed across the village, followed by the sound of something heavy falling and a chorus of alarmed squawks. The three of them turned to see a flock of very orange pigeons taking flight, leaving behind what appeared to be a collapsed scaffolding and several paint-covered civilians.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh... oops?"

Sora facepalmed. This was going to be a long day.

---

The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity as Naruto's army of clones spread out across the village, armed with buckets, mops, and an enthusiasm that was inversely proportional to their cleaning skills.

Sora found himself coordinating the cleanup efforts, which was a bit like trying to herd cats. Very orange, very loud cats.

"No, you can't just paint everything else orange to match!" he shouted at one group of clones who had somehow gotten their hands on more paint. "And you! Stop trying to clean the Inuzuka dogs! They're supposed to be brown!"

Meanwhile, Naruto (the original) was dealing with the... unique reactions of the villagers.

"Naruto!" came the booming voice of Might Guy, jogging up with his signature gleaming smile. "Your youthful prank has set the village ablaze with the fires of... cleaning! It's most inspirational!"

Before Naruto could respond, Guy struck his Nice Guy pose, nearly blinding several nearby clones with the glare off his teeth. "In fact, I propose we turn this into a challenge! Lee and I shall race to see who can clean the most buildings before sundown!"

From somewhere in the distance came an enthusiastic, "YOSH! I accept your challenge, Guy-sensei!"

And with that, Guy was off in a cloud of dust and sparkles, leaving behind a very confused Naruto and several clones who were now questioning their life choices.

As the day wore on, more and more villagers joined in the cleanup efforts, some more willingly than others.

Shikamaru Nara, looking as though he'd rather be watching paint dry (which, ironically, was now a viable activity in Konoha), trudged up to Naruto. "You know," he drawled, "when I said your pranks were troublesome, this isn't exactly what I meant."

Naruto grinned. "Aw, come on, Shikamaru! Think of it as... cloud-watching practice! Except, you know, with less clouds and more scrubbing."

Shikamaru muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "troublesome blonde menace" before picking up a mop with all the enthusiasm of someone preparing for root canal surgery.

Elsewhere, Sora was dealing with his own set of challenges. He'd been tasked with overseeing the cleanup of the Hyuga compound, which was... interesting, to say the least.

"No, Hinata-san, you don't need to apologize for the paint," he said for what felt like the hundredth time. "It's not your fault."

Hinata, her face nearly as red as the paint she was scrubbing, nodded timidly. "B-but still, for N-Naruto-kun to go to such lengths... it must have been because of something we did..."

Sora resisted the urge to bang his head against the nearest (orange) wall. How did one explain the concept of 'prank for the sake of pranking' to someone who apologized for other people's actions?

His musings were interrupted by a commotion from the main house. Curious, he made his way over, only to find a sight that would be seared into his memory for years to come.

There, in all his stern, Hyuga glory stood Hiashi Hyuga... covered head to toe in orange paint, his normally immaculate robes now a riot of colour. His left eye was twitching in a way that suggested he was seriously reconsidering his life choices.

Next to him stood Hanabi, her young face a picture of innocent curiosity as she poked at the drying paint on her father's sleeve. "Father," she said, her voice carrying in the stunned silence, "does this mean we're part of the Uzumaki clan now?"

Sora bit his lip so hard he tasted blood, desperately trying to hold in his laughter. One did not laugh at the head of the Hyuga clan if one wanted to keep all their chakra points unpoked.

Hiashi took a deep, calming breath. When he spoke, his voice was as level as ever, though there was a slight strain to it. "Hanabi, go help your sister. I need to have a... word with Hokage-sama about village security measures."

As Hiashi strode off, his orange robes swishing dramatically, Sora couldn't help but think that Naruto had either made a powerful enemy or a reluctant ally. Only time would tell which.

---

As the sun began to set, casting an orange glow over the (still very orange) village, Naruto and Sora found themselves back atop the Hokage Monument, surveying their progress.

"Well," Sora said, wiping a smear of paint from his cheek, "I'd say we got about... 30% of the village clean? Maybe?"

Naruto flopped onto his back with a groan. "Only 30%? But my clones have been working all day! Well, except for the ones that tried to start a paint-sliding competition down the main street. And the ones that got into an argument with Tora the cat and ended up repainting half of the Daimyo's wife's garden. And the ones that-"

"I get it, I get it," Sora cut him off, chuckling. "Your clones are as... enthusiastic as you are. But hey, look on the bright side!"

Naruto propped himself up on his elbows, raising an eyebrow. "There's a bright side to this?"

Sora grinned. "Sure! For one, you've single-handedly boosted Konoha's economy. Do you have any idea how much business the paint shops are going to get in the next few weeks?"

Naruto snorted. "Great. I'm a one-man economic stimulus package. Think they'll put that on my Hokage application?"

"Well, it's certainly a unique qualification," came an amused voice from behind them. They turned to see the Third Hokage approaching, his robes now mostly clean save for a few stubborn orange splatters.

"Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "We've been working all day! Can we stop now? My clones are starting to get weird ideas. I think one of them is trying to convince the others that if they paint themselves green, they'll blend in with the trees and can take a nap."

Hiruzen chuckled, shaking his head. "I suppose you have made a good effort today. You can resume the cleanup tomorrow. For now, why don't you dispel your clones and get some rest?"

Naruto's face lit up. "Really? Alright!" He formed the hand sign to release the jutsu, then paused, a look of horror dawning on his face. "Wait, if I dispel them all at once, won't I get all their memor-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence as hundreds of clones across the village suddenly poofed out of existence. Naruto's eyes went wide, his face cycling through a range of expressions faster than Kakashi could come up with excuses for being late.

"Naruto?" Sora asked, concerned. "You okay?"

Naruto blinked slowly, then turned to Sora with a dazed expression. "Did you know that if you mix orange paint with soy sauce, it makes a pretty convincing fake blood? Also, I think I owe Ichiraku Ramen about fifty bowls worth of apologies. And possibly a new counter. And maybe a new front door. And-"

Hiruzen held up a hand, cutting off what promised to be a very long and incriminating list. "I think, perhaps, it's best if we don't know all the details, Naruto. Why don't you two head home and get some rest? I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be another... colourful day."

As the boys trudged off, Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Minato, Kushina," he murmured to the sky, "your son certainly knows how to keep things interesting. Though I think he might have inherited a bit too much of both your mischievous streaks..."

With a final glance at the orange-tinted village, Hiruzen headed back to his office. He had a feeling the mission assignment desk was going to be very busy in the coming days. After all, "Village-wide Paint Removal" wasn't exactly a standard D-rank mission.