Blood Pact

Naruto held out his palm and bit his thumb. The blood that poured from it began to form into at least twenty pill-shaped orbs. The wound was easily closed. He dumped nineteen of the pills into a pill bottle and held the last one over Hana's mouth. The smell must have been strong because her eyes opened in alarm.

"Easy, don't go moving too much. You won't be staying awake long anyway. How do you feel?" Naruto asked.

"I'll feel happy if you tell me we're not still in Konoha," Hana said, albeit slowly.

"We're not in Konoha," the redhead replied to her. That was the one thing that currently put a smile on the former Inuzuka's face. She then looked up at the pill over her head.

"That's...gonna hurt isn't it?" she asked.

"Be happy you can't move. Moving makes it worse, Inuzuka-chan," Naruto said. The wall beside the bed cracked.

Hana closed her eyes and exhaled. "Don't call me that. I am no Inuzuka. I'll make them pay for this!" she replied angrily.

Naruto held the pill over her for some time before he gently laughed. "Just Hana then? Sounds rather lame," he figured to say. He noticed her eyes linger in him for a time.

"Then I'll take your name," she instantly responded much to his surprise. She then opened her mouth ready to accept the gift being given to her. Before Naruto dropped the blood pill down her throat, he kissed the top of her forehead.

"Uzumaki Hana?" the blood user asked curiously.

"It fits," she claimed.

"Careful, Hana-chan. I might be physically underage, but I won't be for long. That's an enticing answer you gave," he warned her. Hana mulled over his response for a moment before she closed her eyes.

"At least, it's...another decision I've given myself. Besides, you're lucky I can't move. Physically underage or not, I would have jumped you. At least my blood tells me I've got an alpha male," she replied.

Naruto laughed at this notion, but he did not dismiss it. "Well, I figure I'd better age a few years faster. It's rude to keep a lady waiting. Sleep for now. We travel further through the Land of Kusa. Akari and I already have an explanation for your appearance. As for your boys, they will be taken care of," he said. He then dropped the pill into her mouth. Its touch was hot on her tongue, but soon it was swallowed.

"Thank you, Sir,"

This was all Hana managed to get out before her conscience left her body once again. She did not have the strength to even yell. The pain was so great that it knocked her out before she could even prepare for it. Then, while she slept, Naruto pushed a piece of hair from the side of her cheek.

In the meantime, Naruto fell asleep as well. In his dreams, he enjoyed the movie replaying itself of Hana's rampage. Popcorn was a bit too salty at that time.

The extra day that Akari had granted Naruto and Ryuzetsu for Hana's recovery had not lasted as long as anyone would have liked. While the former Inuzuka rested, Akari and Naruto spent time informing Ryuzetsu of their sudden fourth teammates. Thankfully, genin are still a bit naive and the white-haired girl was no exception. It was either that, or she didn't care. Regardless, Naruto spent most of his time next to Hana while studying, cultivating, and writing notes in his journal as he observed his powers. Perhaps it would be better if, after business in Kusa, he ought to set another facility. Just experimenting on himself wasn't yielding enough results and the forces he currently gathered were too precious to allow for any fuck ups.

"Hmph, I probably could have used those nobles and other grunts in those cells if I didn't already decide to give them to that bastard Sannin. Additionally, I can already tell he's been trying to stage a meeting with me. I doubt I'm strong enough to take on a Sannin, especially after what I saw Hana have to contend with. That chakra was unlike any I had ever seen. Where did it come from? It couldn't have come from those two walking restaurant appetizers on his shoulders, could it?"

From the battle that Naruto had seen last night, he decided to write down what he had seen, and the theories behind what had been observed. If nothing else, the village deserved its title of a Great Nation. It was still a piece of shit though.

By the time Hana woke up, the next day had been upon the group. When Naruto checked on her, he was rather surprised to find that his dog princess had gone through some even greater changes. For one, she was moving which he figured wouldn't be happening for another two to five days. Yes, he was planning to carry her during those days.

Second, it seemed that her body had slimmed considerably. It's not like she was fat before, but the qualities of his blood pill must have strengthened her bone marrow. Her physique seemed much more fleshed out.

Lastly, as she had nearly drained her entire reserves of chakra two days ago, her chakra coils had grown considerably, doubled even. Of course, Naruto based this around the fact that her chakra was creating a grander pressure than previously. What he wouldn't give to get his hands on some Hyuga blood now that he thought of it.

"How do you feel now?" Naruto asked.

"Like I swam in oil and someone threw a match into it," she replied. The sound of her cracking bones from her stretching worried Naruto for a moment, but Hana displayed no further discomfort.

Then, came the breakfast. Oh Kami, the breakfast did not last long. Akari, Ryuzetsu, and Naruto watched Hana nearly clean the hotel of its food supplies as she began raking up the plates until they reminded the redhead of the Hokage's documents back at the tower. Of course, he didn't really blame her. For all the fighting that she had done, she had basically thrown up her dinner...twice. She couldn't have been running on a lot of fuel.

"Do all of your contacts eat this much?" Ryuzetsu asked as Hana charged the all-you-can-eat buffet with another plate. Akari wanted to ask the same question. For the first time in a long while, Naruto did not resist the laugh that expelled from his throat.

Once the breakfast was over, much to the joy of the hotel staff, the group walked out of the town that they had resided in for two days. "You already know where we're headed right?" Akari asked.

"I am aware. We can proceed whenever," Hana replied.

"Good. Then, let's not waste any more time. We're already behind schedule. By the end of the day, we will be reaching the sea. A ferryman will be taking us to the Hozuki Castle. Remember, we're sneaking in. If anyone makes a sound then we're more than likely dead," Akari replied.

"Understood,"

"Good, let's move out!" Akari commanded. The four left without another word, though when Naruto looked back, he could see the foot-shaped imprint Hana left on the ground when she jumped. What an interesting little chess piece he had picked up.

....

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