Hinata Hyuga
Time: The Day of Team Assignments
Location: Konoha Academy
A week had passed since the duel, and Hinata's patience with the branch family was already fraying at the edges. On one hand, there were people like Neji, who bitterly resented their lot in life and thought taking it out on a twelve-year-old girl was a totally normal solution. Those people were pretty rare, and honestly? She could tolerate them. It was hard to blame them when she secretly agreed with their anger.
The ones who really broke her heart, though, were the people who had simply given up. Their eyes were totally vacant. Whenever they walked past anyone from the main family, they shrunk into themselves, taking timid, hesitant steps. They would beg for forgiveness over the tiniest mistakes and try to make themselves invisible. What kind of treatment had forced them to act like that? She didn't want to think about it, but it wasn't hard to guess.
To cope, she started spending as much time outside the clan compound as physically possible. Looking at those branch members only served as a constant, sickening reminder of the injustices her own family committed every single day. Instead, she wandered the village, spending her allowance on flash bombs, smoke pellets, and storage seals.
In the week leading up to team assignments, she threw herself into practicing her ability to sense emotions through chakra. A seasoned ninja would probably call it a massive waste of time. After all, she would be heading into the deadly Wave mission in just a month or two. Spending her days on a neat parlor trick could get her killed.
But she needed an alibi. When the time inevitably came for her to reveal things she shouldn't know, having a "sensory" excuse would make her look way less suspicious.
Without her cheat-like vision, figuring out people's feelings would have been nearly impossible. The flickers in a person's chakra were incredibly subtle. While the Dynamic Vision was designed to track physical movement, it tracked chakra flow just as well. Chakra was just a type of energy that moved around the body, right?
By the end of the week, she could accurately guess a person's emotional state after staring at them with her Byakugan for about a minute. It wasn't perfect, but it was a solid start.
Which brought her to her current problem. The blazing ball of energy sitting directly next to her made it nearly impossible to focus on anyone else in the classroom, mostly because it kept flashing brightly in her face. She knew she couldn't naturally sense the Kyuubi's chakra, and she definitely couldn't see the seal holding the mythical beast. Yet Naruto's normal chakra absolutely dwarfed the capacity of every Jonin she had scanned so far.
It was, honestly, beautiful. Golden threads wrapped around his coils in thick, vibrant bands. Where her own chakra flowed like a quiet little stream, his felt like a geyser just waiting to explode.
Looking at him now, she could totally understand how the original Hinata had fallen for him. Naruto didn't do complex. His feelings weren't muddled in some cloudy miasma of doubt. When he felt something, he felt it with his entire being. Right now, she could feel blinding excitement radiating off him one second, fierce pride the next, and finally a tiny, buried flicker of doubt.
Maybe this is what people mean when they talk about living in the moment?
"Hinata! Are you okay?!" Naruto practically shouted, shaking her by the shoulders.
"Huh?" She blinked hard, shaking her head to clear the afterimages. "I'm fine, Naruto. I just got a bit distracted looking at your chakra. It's... very distracting."
"Really? Heh, what can I say, Hinata? I pride myself on my ability to distract people! Have I shown you my Sexy Jutsu yet? I managed to completely destroy the old man Hokage with it. Believe it!" Naruto boasted, rubbing his nose with a massive grin.
"Uh, yeah, I think you showed me that one. Actually, I'm pretty sure I fainted."
"Will you two shut up? The Jonin sensei is going to be here any minute," Sasuke muttered from his spot by the window, looking exceptionally bored.
"Ugh! I'm talking with Hinata. Can't you see I'm busy, jerk?" Naruto shot back. "See, I'll show you! Let the new sensei come in here. He'll totally fall for my Sexy Jutsu, you know."
"Your 'Sexy Jutsu' just proves how stupid you really are, idiot. No serious shinobi would ever fall for a cheap trick like that," Sasuke said, effortlessly balancing a kunai on his fingertip.
"What did you just say, bastard? I'll show you!"
Naruto lunged out of his seat, but Hinata quickly grabbed his jacket and yanked him back.
"Naruto! He's just trying to rile you up. Don't be an idiot!" Hinata scolded.
"Hinata, are you calling me an idiot too?" Naruto gasped, looking genuinely betrayed.
"Yes! Sasuke is literally just doing it to annoy you. If you lose your temper that easily, any enemy shinobi could take advantage of it and get you killed."
"Oh. Hmph." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. "Why is our sensei so late, anyways? Everyone else already left to go on adventures or whatever, and Iruka-sensei is gone too!"
"Ah, well, from what I know, our sensei is just very... eccentric."
"What exactly does that mean, Hinata?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his dark eyes at her.
"I think you'll understand better when you meet him. And speak of the devil, I think he's finally here."
Through the walls, her Byakugan picked up his approach down the hallway. He had his hands tucked securely in his pockets, a slight slouch to his shoulders, and a notoriously lazy walk.
Yup. That's Kakashi alright.
As he slid the door open, the chalk duster Naruto had wedged in the frame dropped right onto his silver hair with a pathetic thwack. It honestly made her wonder if he had let it hit him on purpose or if he actually just hadn't cared enough to dodge.
"Ha! He fell for my duster! Look, Hinata, I will now use my ultimate technique, the one that defeated a Jonin! Harem no Jutsu!"
A massive cloud of smoke erupted in the room, revealing hundreds of gorgeous, scantily clad Narukos. Kakashi stood dead in the center of the chaos, his expression not shifting a single millimeter. He simply bent down and picked the chalk duster off the floor.
"Tch. I told you he wouldn't fall for that," Sasuke scoffed.
Kakashi turned his solitary visible eye to look at each of them.
"Hmm. How do I put this lightly? My first impression of your group is that you are a bunch of idiots."
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.
Hinata just smiled brightly and gave him a cheerful thumbs-up.
Hinata Hyuga
Time: The Day of Team Assignments
Location: Training Ground 7
"Alright, since this is our first-time meeting, why don't you guys introduce yourselves?" Kakashi asked, leaning casually against the wooden railing.
"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first, teacher?" Hinata pointed out.
"Ah, the Hyuga princess, aren't you? Sure, sure." He rested his chin on his hand. "Hmm. My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have a lot of hobbies. Alright, now from the left, introduce yourselves one by one."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I love instant ramen, but I really love the properly cooked ramen from Ichiraku's ramen shop! I hate how long it takes to cook instant ramen, but what I hate even more is the time it takes to cook Ichiraku's ramen! My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my dream, my dream is to be the greatest Hokage who ever was! And then everyone will finally have to acknowledge me!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.
Man, Naruto really has a one-track mind, doesn't he? Also, why does his speech sound exactly like pokemon catchphrase? Great, now I'm going to have the Pokémon theme stuck in my head all day.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have isn't a dream, because I am going to make it a reality. I am going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone," Sasuke declared, his voice dropping to a cold, dead octave.
Okay, wow. I totally forgot how genuinely messed up the pretty-boy was after Itachi broke his brain.
Kakashi's lone eye drifted over to her.
I really want to do a Sailor Moon transformation right now. There aren't any magical girl outfits in the ninja world, are there? Would they think I'm insane? You know what? Screw it. If they think I'm weird, I might as well commit.
She casually checked her surroundings with her Byakugan, just to make absolutely sure no one else was watching them. The coast was clear for at least a mile.
She popped her flash bombs and the purple smoke pellets at the exact same time, enveloping herself in a thick, blinding cloud. While completely hidden, she rapidly flashed through the hand signs for the Transformation Jutsu. Hands to the side, chest pushed out.
"Moon Prism Power!" she yelled.
As the smoke cleared, she stood dressed in the iconic sailor outfit. She crossed her wrists as pristine white gloves appeared, lifting up on her tiptoes as dark pink, knee-high boots materialized. She jumped and twirled, a V-shaped golden crown resting perfectly on her head, her twin ponytails cascading all the way down her back. Finally, she finished with a dramatic flourish, striking the signature Sailor Moon pose and holding the seal of Lightning Release near her forehead.
"My name is Hinata Hyuga! I like my little sister, Hanabi, and the cute noises she makes when I tickle her! I hate the injustices and hypocrisies in our world! And my goal is to rid the world of all evil!" she announced proudly.
"Yeah! Go, Hinata!" Naruto cheered loudly, entirely supportive of the theatrics.
The corner of Sasuke's eye twitched violently. "Mother was right. It's always the quiet ones," he muttered under his breath.
"Good. You are all unique and have your own ideas, however eccentric they might be. But I haven't actually decided to take you on as genin yet," Kakashi drawled, completely unfazed by her glowing magical girl routine.
"What?! Hey! We passed our academy exams, fair and square! What do you mean you won't take us?!" Naruto demanded.
"Hmm? Did your teachers not explain this part?" Kakashi tilted his head lazily. "It's entirely up to the Jonin sensei whether he takes on students or not. Our time is extremely precious. If you don't display qualities befitting a real shinobi, why would we waste it on you?"
He stood up straight. "Anyways, be here tomorrow, sharp at 5 a.m. I will give you a mission, and if you can complete it, I will take you on as my students. Oh, and make sure not to eat breakfast. You might puke it all out, and I will definitely make you clean that up too. Goodbye."
With a swirl of dry leaves, Kakashi body-flickered away.
"Ugh, that bastard! That was totally not cool!" Naruto yelled at the empty space.
"I don't know, it made some sense, I guess. Get ready to be cut from the team tomorrow, Naruto," Sasuke remarked dryly.
"What do you mean by that, loser?! My future as the Hokage is in peril, and you are making fun of me! Hmph, whatever. Qualities of a ninja, he says. Nobody has those qualities more than me! Believe it!"
"Let's not fight right now, guys. Let's just go home, get a good night's sleep, and we'll talk strategy in the morning," Hinata yawned, dispelling her transformation with a puff of smoke.
"Okay."
"Yeah, sure."
Hinata Hyuga
Time: The Day of Team Assignments
Location: Kitchen, The Hyuga Compound
In her old life, Aashi's family dinners had always been comfortably chaotic. There was always laughter, and dinner was considered a sacred time to actually connect with each other. Food was passed around the table, stories from the day were told, unsolicited advice was given, and terrible jokes were shared freely.
The original Hinata had loved dinner too. It was a rare, quiet moment in her day where she wasn't being actively judged or forced to train. It was the exact moment the crushing expectations of the clan faded into the background, replaced by warm cinnamon rolls, sweet red bean paste, and hearty miso ramen.
But ever since Aashi had woken up in this body, she couldn't stomach the thought of eating in the grand dining hall. The suffocating silences, the painfully stiff etiquette, the utter lack of human warmth. It all grated on her nerves until she wanted to scream.
"Young Lady Hinata, why are we in the kitchen?" Harui, one of the braver kids from the gaggle following her around, asked.
"I told you, please don't call me Young Lady. Call me Big Sister! 'Young Lady' makes me sound like a grumpy old woman, okay? Anyways, today I am going to cook pizza!"
She would have brought Hanabi along too, but the toddler had already tried pizza once and stubbornly refused to come down again.
"Pizza? What ish dat?" Haruki, Harui's little sister, asked softly.
Oh my god, she is so smol and cute. I just want to wrap her up in blankets and hide her away from this terrible world forever.
"Hmm, it's my own special invention! It's cheap and quick to make, but super filling! You can customize it just like a bowl of ramen!"
She had spent days hunting for the right type of cheese, but it was totally worth the hassle. It didn't taste exactly like the pizza from back home, but getting this far in a world without modern grocery stores felt like a genuine miracle. The Elemental Nations were incredibly weird about technology and food. You could easily buy packaged milk from a convenience store, but decent cheese was somehow crossing a line?
Getting a real pizza oven constructed hadn't been too hard. She just paid two Earth Jutsu specialists a small fee to build one out back. Now, she finally had the recipe perfected enough to share with the other branch kids.
Wrestling with the oversized wooden spatulas, she finally managed to pull the steaming pizzas out of the roaring oven and slid them onto the large wooden table.
"This is the most basic version. It's a layer of tomato paste and sauce on top of a bread base, with cheese melted all over the top. I call it the Margherita Pizza! Now, try a slice and tell me what you think!"
Haruki looked curiously at the bubbling, red-and-white dish. "Maga-ita?"
"Here, let me cut a small piece for you, sweetie." Hinata sliced a manageable portion and handed it to the little girl on a napkin.
Haruki devoured it in seconds, then looked up at Hinata with impossibly wide, pleading puppy-dog eyes. Hinata laughed, quickly cutting more slices to pass around. Within minutes, all the kids were begging for seconds.
The dinner turned out beautiful. There were real, unforced smiles on their faces. She told them stories from her past life, cleverly disguising modern conveniences as fantastical inventions from the distant future. She told them about a girl born into a struggling family. She told them about times when there wasn't much food on the table, and how hard her parents worked just to send her to a good college. She even told them, quietly, about the tragic accident that took the girl's parents away.
But mostly, she talked about her fondest memories. The things she held closest to her heart. The way her parents had held her when she was scared, promising her a better future. The way they swore they would sacrifice anything to make sure she lived a happy life.
And they did give up their lives for me, didn't they?
By the end of the story, her voice was shaking, and she found herself fighting back a wave of tears. Suddenly, she was surrounded by children much smaller than her, all of them earnestly trying to comfort her.
Harui reached up on his tiptoes and patted her head clumsily. "There, there, Big Sish. Evewything will be fine. You can always make mowe pizza."
"Sure, sure." She let out a wet, genuine chuckle, scrubbing her eyes clean with her sleeve. "I will definitely make more tomorrow, guys. We used up all the bread batter tonight."
"Awww," they chorused in disappointment.
"Alright, it's past your bedtime, and your moms are probably wondering why I've kept you hostage for so long. So get going, shoo!"
"Okay, Big Sis!"
After they scurried off, the kitchen felt entirely too empty. She wandered outside into the sprawling estate gardens to clear her head. With absolutely zero light pollution, the night sky held a breathtaking, glittering beauty she had never seen back on Earth. She collapsed onto the dewy grass, not caring at all about the mud ruining her expensive kimono.
As the cold silver light of the full moon washed over the garden, she finally let the tears fall.
I miss you guys. Mom. Dad. I really don't know what to do anymore. I thought I wanted to grow up and pursue the career you worked so hard to give me. But now I'm stuck here, in this stupid, bloody world. I just wanted to make you proud. The universe couldn't even let me have that one thing.
This place... it's just full of hypocrites and liars. They literally breed child soldiers, send them off to slaughter other kids, and pretend it's for the greater good. Hashirama founded this village so children wouldn't have to die young, but the whole system just profits from their blood anyway. What am I supposed to do to fix it?
I'm just a normal girl. I don't have degrees in economics or history or government. Even when Naruto grows up and becomes Hokage, nothing fundamentally changes. The villages still use kids as tools, and Naruto just upholds the status quo. Can a system this broken even be changed from the inside?
Her fingers dug into the damp soil, ripping up fistfuls of grass. She pounded her fists against the unforgiving earth until her knuckles stung, scraping raw and bleeding.
"Argh!"
What do I do?! Please, somebody tell me! What am I supposed to do?! Are you up there, God? Is this fun for you? Watching me suffer? What did I do to deserve this? I hate it here. I just want my old life back. I want my family back!
"Do you honestly think throwing a childish tantrum in the dirt is going to get you the attention you want?" a cold voice asked from the shadows.
She let out a dark, hollow chuckle, not even bothering to wipe her face.
"You would know all about tantrums, wouldn't you? Brother Neji," she seethed.
Neji stepped out into the moonlight, his expression unreadable. "A crude attempt to strike at my vulnerabilities? My, my. I suppose the rumors are true. You really have changed."
"Yeah, well, what if I have? What does it matter to you? You clearly haven't changed a bit in the last week." She slowly pushed herself up from the mud, brushing the dirt off her bruised knees.
"Not all of us suffer from massive delusions of grandeur, Hinata. You land a lucky hit on a child five years younger than you, and suddenly you think you're fit to lead this clan. Have my years of harsh lessons taught you absolutely nothing?"
Seriously? Did he really have to pick a fight right now? I do not have the mental energy for his fatalistic garbage tonight.
"Actually, they've taught me plenty." The veins bulged fiercely around her temples as she activated her Byakugan.
"Oh? And what profound wisdom did you glean?"
"Nothing complicated. Just that... talking shit isn't a free action!"
Hinata burst into motion, driving a palm strike straight toward the tenketsu over his heart.
Neji's own Byakugan flared to life. Without missing a beat, his hands moved in a fluid, fiercely economical parry, perfectly intercepting her strike. She hadn't even seen the counter coming, not even with her active dojutsu. In a flash, her wrist was trapped in Neji's iron, claw-like grip.
Wait, what? How did he move that fast?
"Just as I said. Delusions of grandeur," Neji sneered. "Do you honestly believe I've been using my full strength against you all these years? It is laughable! Every time we spar, I have to hold myself back. Ever since our very first bout, I saw your destiny clearly. You lack the will, the raw talent, and the killer instinct required to survive. You treat our reality like a game. Your fragile morality matters more to you than our survival. You would sooner let the clan burn than..."
While he lectured, Hinata smoothly drew a kunai from her pocket with her free hand and slashed viciously at his arm. He twisted backward to avoid the steel, and that momentary shift in balance was all she needed to aggressively jerk her wrist free. She backflipped a safe distance away, dropping into a low defensive crouch.
"Yeah? So what if I actually have a moral compass I want to stick to? You think morality makes me weak? You're wrong, Neji. The strongest people in this world are the ones who hold onto their principles even when everything goes to hell."
What went wrong back there? I couldn't track his hand at all. Am I using my eyes wrong? What am I missing?
Neji began walking toward her, his steps perfectly measured, his hands tucked elegantly inside the wide sleeves of his robes.
"No, Hinata. You have it completely backward. Kindness does not create strength. It is only the overwhelmingly powerful who can actually afford the luxury of kindness. I would know. My father died because this clan and this village could not afford to be kind."
Think, Aashi, think. It's a dojutsu. It needs an active power source. I push chakra to my eyes, and they turn on.
She turned her sight inward. She could see countless tiny rivers of chakra flowing up toward her optic nerves, but the actual chakra channels inside her eyes... they weren't entirely full. Does that mean I have to manually force more chakra into them to increase the output?
"What you're talking about isn't real strength, Neji! Sure, the strong can afford to be kind, but if that kindness doesn't come from the heart, it's nothing but arrogant self-gratification!"
A kind heart forged from iron. That was the core of the original Hinata. She had taken years of brutal emotional abuse from her family and never once let it turn her cruel.
Hinata gathered her chakra and practically flooded her optic nerves. The backlash was instantaneous. The world snapped into a terrifyingly sharp, high-definition focus. Suddenly, she could see individual leaves falling from trees nearly two miles away.
Neji darted forward to attack, but this time, it was entirely different. She could see everything. It was a textbook feint. He projected a brutal right jab to her stomach, perfectly hiding the low sweep of his right leg meant to drop her into the mud.
Instead of retreating, she glided forward. She shifted her stance a fraction of an inch to the left, letting the jab and the sweep miss her by a hair. With surgical precision, she slammed two fingers into the major tenketsu on his left bicep, injecting a sharp burst of chakra.
He snarled in pain, countering wildly with his right hand, but she had already pivoted out of range.
The spar escalated into a chaotic blur of motion. Neji pressed the attack. She slipped past his guard. The strikes she couldn't dodge, she rigidly deflected.
She let herself sink completely into the rhythm of the fight. All the stress of the day faded away until nothing existed but his blazing chakra network and the lethal, rushing wind of his palms missing her face. It felt amazing. Seconds bled into minutes, and she felt utterly untouchable. Like she was a butterfly dancing effortlessly through a storm.
But adrenaline never lasts forever. Her chakra reserves were tanking fast, and she still hadn't landed a decisive blow. Neji, infuriatingly, wasn't slowing down at all. She was starting to heave for breath, while his attacks remained relentless and precise. Worst of all, her enhanced vision showed him actively forcing open the tenketsu she had just managed to seal.
Am I really not going to win this? Am I so fundamentally weak that I can't outlast a thirteen-year-old?
Neji suddenly stepped back, lowering his stance and shaking his head in disgust.
"I have seen enough. You may have improved your footwork, but you are exactly the same. You are still a child unwilling to fight with lethal intent. When you struck my bicep, you could have easily ruptured the muscle tissue. Yet you chose only to temporarily seal the tenketsu." He casually flexed his left arm, restoring the chakra flow completely. "And now it is recovered."
"So what? Are you going to give me another speech to convince me to quit?" she panted, swiping sweat from her forehead.
"Why would I waste my breath? You will either go out into the real world and come running back in tears, or you will take your first C-rank mission and die in a ditch. You are simply not fated to be a ninja."
"Neji." Her eyes softened, and the bulging veins receded as she cut the power to her Byakugan. "Fate is just a convenient excuse for people afraid to make a choice. You know that, right?"
"Stop spouting this childish drivel. You sound exactly like a little girl who has no idea how the real world operates," Neji snapped, his frown deepening into a scowl.
She clenched her fists, grinding her teeth together.
"I'm going to prove you wrong. You think my destiny is to stay weak forever. And maybe you're right, maybe it was my fate. But it isn't anymore. Fate might be a real, tangible force in this world, pushing us down certain paths. But even fate has to bow when someone with enough willpower decides to break it. And believe me, Neji, I am going to break it."
"Words are cheap, Hinata, and the truth is much harder to swallow." Neji tilted his head, a dark, mocking chuckle escaping his throat. "If you come even remotely close to accomplishing these grand dreams, I will gladly eat my own words."
Hinata broke into a wide, genuine smile, looking him straight in his guarded, angry eyes.
"You can laugh all you want right now, but I know for a fact that one day, you're going to be my absolute biggest supporter!"
"Hmph. I highly doubt that."
"I am literally going to make you eat your words. Just wait and see," she grinned.
Neji just stared at her with a perfectly blank expression. "I would love to see you try."
"Anyways, I have to wake up ridiculously early tomorrow! Big day, becoming a ninja and all. So, toodles!"
"What the hell is 'toodles'?" he muttered quietly to the empty garden.
Hinata practically skipped back to the manor, trying to put distance between them. A small part of her felt bad for intentionally picking a fight, but she really needed to know exactly how wide the skill gap was. The chances of her avoiding a fight with him during the Chunin Exams were incredibly low, and she needed data.
More importantly, she had made a massive discovery: her Byakugan didn't naturally run at maximum capacity. She tracked down her father in his study a little while later, and his explanation actually cleared things up.
"The Byakugan is one of the Three Great Dōjutsu of the shinobi world," Hiashi had explained softly, setting his paperwork aside. "But unlike the Uchiha's Sharingan, which requires immense emotional trauma to evolve, our eyes mature naturally as we grow. The visual prowess depends entirely on the physical age of the user and the grueling training they endure. Simply put, your Byakugan gets stronger with time and sweat.
"However, in moments of mortal peril, when your life is genuinely on the line, you can forcefully overcharge the chakra pathways in your eyes. It drastically improves your kinetic vision and lets you see far beyond your current limits. But like any shortcut, the blowback is severe. If you push your eyes like that, the strain will prevent you from activating your Byakugan again for at least ten hours. And, naturally, burning chakra that fast puts you at massive risk of sudden exhaustion."
So, using it casually on a week-long tracking mission was out of the question. But for a short, desperate brawl? It was a massive trump card. Her meta-knowledge of the timeline meant she could probably anticipate the big fights and time her "overcharges" perfectly, at least for the early arcs.
Sasuke Uchiha
Time: The Day of the Bell Test
Location: Training Ground 7
Sasuke stood perfectly still in the middle of the sun-baked, empty field of Training Ground 7. His dark eyes scanned the dense treeline for any sign of his new teammates or his supposedly elite Jonin instructor. In the distance, he finally spotted a flash of bright orange sprinting toward him from the rocky outcroppings.
"Hey! Sasuke, where's Sensei? I just searched the whole perimeter, but he's totally missing!" Naruto yelled as he skidded to a halt.
"I don't know. He appears to be running late again," Sasuke replied, keeping his voice deadpan.
"Hinata isn't here either. Do you think they got lost together?"
Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. "We were literally just here yesterday, Naruto. No. I don't think they got lost." He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. "Whatever. I am going to rest against that rock. Do not bother me."
"What?! Are you just planning to ignore me for the rest of the morning?!"
Sasuke already knew this day was going to be a complete nightmare. He spent the next three excruciating hours actively ignoring the loudmouthed idiot pacing circles around him.
"Hey! Sasuke, wake up! I see Hinata coming!"
Sasuke glared at the morning sky. It was almost eight o'clock. Down the dirt path, Hinata was jogging toward them, awkwardly balancing a large stack of wrapped bento boxes in her arms.
"Hey guys! I brought some food for both of you. Is Sensei still not here?" Hinata asked, completely out of breath.
"Nah, he hasn't shown up at all. I spent all morning searching the woods. I figured it might be some kind of secret tracking test?" Naruto scratched his head, looking hopelessly confused.
"Hmm, then it's exactly what I thought," Hinata huffed, dropping her heavy load onto a wooden stump. "The guy is just a lazy bastard. I bet he hasn't even rolled out of bed yet."
"Huh?! You really think so? Then why would he tell us to get here so early? Is it a prank?" Naruto asked, his voice pitching up in outrage.
"No, I just think he actively wants us to suffer." Hinata sagged against the post, looking thoroughly defeated. "We are going to have to literally beat the stupid out of this man. If he doesn't train us properly and just strings us along, I am going to lose my mind."
"Yeah! Don't worry, Hinata. I'll make him listen! Even the Hokage has to listen to me, and this guy works for the Hokage, right?"
Sasuke tuned them out, staring hard at the trees. This entire morning was a massive waste of his time. Getting shackled to these two clowns might just be the worst thing to happen to him this year. He needed to get stronger. He had to become the best. One of his teammates was a blunt, noisy instrument, and the other was a physically fragile heir to a clan of snobs. Neither of them had what it took to help him kill Itachi.
"Sasuke! Come eat. I made enough for all of us."
Sasuke frowned deeply, not looking away from the woods. "Kakashi explicitly told us not to eat breakfast. He might fail us on the spot if we disobey a direct order."
"Oh, come on. Are you really going to fall for such a basic, manipulative trick? The guy is obviously trying to psych us out. He'll just laugh at us later when we're too starved and weak to actually fight back."
"No, thank you." Sasuke stubbornly turned his face away.
But out of the corner of his eye, he watched her unseal a large metal thermos. When she popped the lid, the smell hit him.
"Hmm? Are you absolutely sure?" Hinata tilted her head, a knowing smirk on her face. "I brought hot tomato soup, you know. It's buttery smooth, and it feels amazing when it's cold out. Mm... what I wouldn't do for a second bowl."
His stomach did a violent flip, and his eye twitched again. Would having just a little bit really ruin my chances? No. I cannot let my weak desires cloud my judgment. But God, that smell... it's incredible.
He swallowed hard. "Alright. Just give me a small portion. If the test actually makes me throw up, I do not want to clean up a massive mess." He scrunched his nose in disgust just thinking about it.
"Okay!" She clapped her hands together brightly, pulling out some ceramic bowls. "Oh, we also need to figure out a game plan. Let's talk strategy while we eat."
"Man, I would have loved this way more if you brought ramen instead, Hinata!" Naruto complained, eyeing the red soup suspiciously.
"Yeah?" The veins near Hinata's eyes threatened to bulge. "Then make it yourself next time instead of whining to the person feeding you for free! Cooking this took a lot of effort, you know."
"Oh, right, sorry!" Naruto laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kind of just assumed you had your rich clan chefs make it for you."
"No, I actively need to practice my cooking. When we finally start taking missions outside the village, we're going to have to cook our own field rations. I am not suffering through burnt squirrel meat just because I was too lazy to learn." Hinata shook her head, handing out the bowls. "Anyways, strategy!"
"What is there to even talk about? We do our individual best, show off our skills, and hope he decides we're worth his time. It's that simple," Sasuke replied coldly, taking a slow, reluctant sip of the soup. It was, infuriatingly, delicious.
"I think you're totally misunderstanding the situation, Sasuke. Remember, he is testing the three of us together. I highly doubt this test is just about individual combat strength. It's a test of our ability to function as a unit. A ninja team that can't cooperate won't survive outside these walls. He's an elite Jonin, and he's probably going to force us to fight him directly."
She actually makes a valid point, Sasuke thought, staring into his soup. But wouldn't it be far better for me if I was the only one who passed? Wouldn't an elite Jonin pay way more attention to my training if I were his sole apprentice? Should I sabotage them right now just to guarantee my spot?
"Yes. Betray them. To reach your absolute limits, you have to tear away these pathetic sentiments. You will never come close to killing me unless you learn this lesson," a dark, bleeding voice whispered from the back of his mind. The cursed red pinwheel of the Mangekyo Sharingan spun mockingly in his memories.
Sasuke's grip on the ceramic bowl tightened until his knuckles turned stark white. No. He wouldn't do it. He refused to become anything like Itachi. He would rather die than become a traitor of that magnitude. It made him feel physically sick that his brain had even suggested it.
He set the bowl down and dabbed his mouth cleanly with a cloth.
"I agree with your assessment," he said smoothly, burying the ghosts as deep as they would go. "I think you should let me take the lead in engaging Kakashi head-on, while the two of you focus entirely on creating openings and distracting him. It's our best statistical chance at securing a win."
"Hey, hold on, poser! You think I can't fight a Jonin?! I learned a totally badass jutsu, you know! My Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu will definitely let me kick his butt," Naruto argued loudly.
"As if. You couldn't even perform the basic academy clone technique. Didn't you fail the graduation exam because of it? Three times in a row, if I remember correctly," Sasuke shot back.
"What did you just call me, loser?! I'll have you know my new jutsu is perfect! You literally saw me use the Harem Jutsu yesterday!"
"Guys, please, let's not do this right now. I think I actually have a plan that might work," Hinata interrupted, stepping firmly between them.
"Here's how we're going to play this." She activated her Byakugan, doing a quick 360-degree sweep of the treeline to make sure Kakashi wasn't spying on them, and started drawing lines in the dirt.
Kakashi Hatake
Time: The Day of the Bell Test
Location: Training Ground 7
Kakashi kept his hands buried deep in his pockets, taking his sweet time strolling down the dirt path toward the training ground. He would never admit it out loud, but he had already taken a strong liking to these kids. The chances of him actually failing them today were sitting at roughly zero. Their dynamic just reminded him a bit too much of his old team.
Plus, he really didn't need the Hyuga clan furious with him. Those perpetual peepers would find some way to personally annoy him and he didn't want that on his back.
Naruto was his beloved sensei's son. Refusing to teach him would feel like spitting on Minato's grave. Kakashi owed it to his sensei to pass on the lessons he had been taught.
The only wildcard in the group was Sasuke Uchiha. Mentally unstable, deeply traumatized, and nursing an obsessive thirst for bloody vengeance did not usually translate to a reliable teammate. But honestly, the kid just reminded Kakashi uncomfortably of himself. An orphan who had lost everyone he cared about, left entirely alone in a village that didn't know what to do with him.
Man, it almost feels like the universe hand-picked this team just to taunt me with my own baggage.
Well, he would find out soon enough if the kid's inner darkness would keep him from cooperating.
Stepping into the clearing, he saw the three of them standing shoulder-to-shoulder near the memorial stone. They looked tense enough to snap. He chuckled internally. They really do look terrified of getting sent back to the academy.
"Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the path of life," he said, offering them a cheerful, crinkled eye-smile.
"What does that even mean?!" Naruto shrieked, throwing his hands in the air.
"Hmm? I suppose it's a deep philosophical conundrum, isn't it?" Kakashi waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, here is how the test is going to work. As you can clearly see, I have two silver bells tied to my belt. Your objective is simply to take them from me. The two who manage to grab a bell become official genin. The one left empty-handed goes straight back to the academy to repeat the year."
"Wait, huh?! Isn't that completely unfair? Why can only two of us pass?!" Naruto demanded, pointing an accusing finger.
"Life isn't fair, kid. Sometimes you get dealt a bad hand and you just have to deal with it," Kakashi replied, his tone dropping its playful edge. "You have until 2:00 p.m. to steal these bells. If you fail, I will tie you to those wooden posts over there and eat my delicious lunch right in front of your starving faces."
Kakashi pulled out his battered copy of Icha Icha Paradise from his vest pocket and cracked it open. "Your time... starts now!"
The children immediately scattered into the surrounding woods, using the Body Replacement Jutsu to mask their escape routes.
Kakashi had placed several strict mental handicaps on himself to give them a fighting chance. He capped his speed to match an average chunin, and he decided to hold off on heavy ninjutsu. Trying to trap these specific kids in standard genjutsu was totally pointless anyway. One had the Byakugan, one had a budding Sharingan, and the blonde one was carrying around a giant, disruptive fox demon.
He easily picked up Naruto's scent. The kid was perched clumsily in an oak tree to his left. Hinata was crouched silently behind a thick row of bushes to his right. But before he could even begin to track Sasuke, Hinata exploded out of the brush, charging straight at him with everything she had.
It was genuinely surprising that she chose a direct, frontal assault. Shinobi usually hated giving up the element of surprise. But then again, he knew she didn't have any viable long-range attacks, and her academy file clearly stated her kunai throwing was dead average.
He lazily engaged her in a close-quarters taijutsu bout. Her Gentle Fist forms weren't terrible, and she actually threw in some surprisingly dirty tricks. She substituted behind his blind spots, tried to kick gravel into his eye, and aggressively chained flash bombs to break his line of sight. They were clever, street-brawl tactics that would have destroyed a fresh genin, but they weren't enough to catch a veteran.
Still, her relentless pressure forced him to reluctantly put his book back into his pocket.
He was just settling into the rhythm of dodging her strikes when he noticed something weird. None of his counter-attacks were actually connecting. Sure, he could casually bat her palms away, but whenever he threw a strike back, she seemed to fluidly slide right past it. The only hits she took were glancing blows, mostly due to him intentionally slowing his punches down.
Kakashi raised a curious eyebrow beneath his headband.
Interesting. Is she reading the spike in my chakra before I strike and preemptively dodging? Or is there something else going on?
Curious, he cut the chakra flow to his limbs entirely and launched a quick flurry of purely physical punches. A right hook aimed at her jaw nearly connected, but at the absolute last microsecond, she ducked cleanly under his arm.
Enhanced reflexes? Maybe high chunin level? Hard to say for sure until I push her with real speed.
He could clearly tell she was relying heavily on her Byakugan to track the minute shifts in his muscles, almost like a discount Sharingan. But a normal Byakugan didn't give someone the raw reaction speed to dodge attacks that had zero chakra telegraphing. Her reactions were slightly too delayed to be true precognition, but incredibly fast for a genin.
So, she isn't seeing the future, and she isn't just tracking chakra. Is her brain processing raw physical data from the Byakugan at an accelerated rate? Impressive.
Unfortunately for her, she was running out of gas. Her stamina was shockingly bad compared to her explosive speed. It was almost like someone had drilled her exclusively on reaction times and completely ignored endurance training. But the prestigious Hyuga clan couldn't possibly be that shortsighted, right?
As he analyzed her sloppy footwork, a massive, dense pulse of chakra erupted from the trees behind him. He pivoted to block the incoming threat, only for Hinata to suddenly press her advantage from the front. He tried to sweep her legs, but she agilely hopped over his foot, swiping her hand desperately toward the silver bells. He had to execute a sharp backflip just to maintain his distance.
When he landed gracefully on the grass, he saw the source of the chakra flare. It was Naruto. Or, rather, it was a literal army of Narutos.
Roughly a hundred identical clones stood shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a massive, tight circle that completely boxed Kakashi and Hinata in.
"Scared yet, Sensei?" Hinata panted, resting her hands on her knees as she sucked in greedy lungfuls of air. "We've got you totally surrounded. Honestly, I would surrender if I were you."
"Yeah, Sensei! We are going to beat you up senseless if you don't pass us!" the real Naruto yelled triumphantly from the crowd.
Kakashi gave them a remarkably unfazed eye-smile. "It certainly looks that way, doesn't it? Unfortunately, a hundred multiplied by zero... is still just zero."
He crouched, preparing to body-flicker straight out of the encirclement.
"Hey! That's totally cheating! You can't just move at speeds we can't even see, dammit!" Naruto yelled in frustration.
Right before Kakashi vanished, he caught Hinata flashing a rapid, subtle hand sign to the clones.
A visual code? Did they seriously plan this out? And if the two loudmouths are right here in front of me, where did the brooding Uchiha go?
The clone army roared, charging inward like a tidal wave of orange, with Hinata fiercely leading the charge. To any normal ninja, a hundred bodies swarming you at once would be a death sentence. To Kakashi Hatake, it was a light cardio warmup.
He casually carved his way through the sea of clones, popping them into smoke with precise, non-lethal strikes while occasionally swatting away a desperate jab from Hinata. By the time he had thinned the herd by half, he finally tracked down Sasuke's hiding spot. The kid was completely submerged in the nearby river, using a hollow reed to breathe.
Coincidentally, the relentless mob of children had been steadily pushing Kakashi backward, right to the edge of the riverbank.
Ah. So they really are working together.
Just as Kakashi was debating how to gracefully let them win, the real Naruto dumped a massive load of chakra into his coils and summoned another hundred shadow clones. They immediately dog-piled Kakashi from every conceivable angle. Clones latched onto his arms, wrapped around his legs, and clung to his flak jacket like angry monkeys.
In that exact second, Sasuke exploded out of the water in a spray of mist, sprinting furiously toward the exposed bells. Simultaneously, Hinata launched herself forward, but her hands weren't reaching for his waist. She was diving straight for his breast pocket.
One kid was aiming for his precious, limited-edition smut. The other was diving for the mission objective. And the third had completely locked down his limbs beneath a mountain of squirming bodies.
Unless Kakashi decided to drop his handicap and use jonin-level strength to shatter the clones into paste, he couldn't break the dog-pile entirely. He could only twist his torso just enough to save one thing.
His book, or the bells.
The choice was agonizingly simple. He twisted his body violently, shielding his pocket with his shoulder.
In the chaos, Sasuke's fingers cleanly snatched the jingling metal from his belt.
"Well done, Sasuke. You actually managed to steal the bells," Kakashi panted slightly, casually shaking the remaining, exhausted clones off his legs. "And looking at the clock, you pulled it off in just under an hour. Now, who are you going to give the second bell to? After all, only one other person can become a genin with you."
Sasuke stood silently, staring down at the two bells resting in his dripping wet palm. Kakashi could practically see the gears grinding in the boy's head as he weighed his options.
Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was grinning like an idiot, and then at Hinata, who gave him a tired but incredibly encouraging nod. Finally, Sasuke locked his dark eyes with Kakashi.
Without saying a single word, Sasuke tossed both bells high into the air.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke roared, exhaling a massive, scorching sphere of flame that swallowed the silver bells whole, melting them down into useless, blackened slag.
"There. They're gone now," Sasuke said, his shoulders slumping as he exhaled a thin plume of smoke. "As much as I would love to claim the credit for beating you, I didn't do it alone. Hinata's tactical plan worked perfectly, and Naruto's diversions were flawless. If you are going to send either of them back to the academy, then I am going back too."
"You!" Kakashi barked, his visible eye widening in mock fury. "You intentionally destroyed the mission objective! You broke the fundamental rules of the test! I hope you are ready to face the consequences! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?!"
Sasuke and Naruto froze, the color draining rapidly from their faces as sweat beaded on their foreheads.
"You pass!" Kakashi chirped happily, his demeanor flipping instantly.
"Huh?!" Naruto blinked, looking completely bewildered.
"I said, you pass. In the ninja world, it is absolutely true that those who break the rules are considered scum. But those who abandon their friends... are far worse than scum," Kakashi explained softly, his gaze filled with a quiet pride.
"He's... he's actually kind of cool," Naruto sniffled, scrubbing at the dramatic tears welling in his bright blue eyes.
"Everyone passes! Welcome to Team 7: Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto. We will begin our first official mission tomorrow morning!" Kakashi gave them an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"Yay!" All the remaining shadow clones cheered wildly, tackling the real Naruto and Sasuke into a massive celebratory hug.
"Anyways, I need to go find my path in life again. I'll see you brats tomorrow!"
With a swirl of autumn leaves, Kakashi vanished from the clearing.
Hinata Hyuga
Time: After Passing the Team 7 Test
Location: Her Bedroom, The Hyuga Compound
[ You have earned 1 Bronze Tier Ticket for successfully joining Team 7! ]
Alright system, roll it please.
Silent as a Mouse
Stealth is important for assassins, for obvious reasons. Whether you were trained, self-taught, or just experienced, you are a master at stealth, and on top of that, you can fit into areas you shouldn't be able to fit in, so long as it isn't ridiculously different in size.
Elemental Proficiency
In the wake of the cataclysmic clash between Athena and Mars thirteen years ago, a profound shift occurred in the powers bestowed upon the Saints. Henceforth, each Saint gained the ability to manipulate at least one element, tapping into the primordial forces of nature with newfound mastery. Among the elemental choices available, including fire, water, earth, lightning, wind, light, and darkness. Choose one.
Egalitarianism
The stain of your family's sins can mark you for life, no matter how unfair that fact might be. The crimes that those associated with you will no longer affect the way that people perceive you. Even if your entire family line has been known for treason, cowardice, and a lack of any good qualities, you will be judged entirely apart from them with not even an ounce of guilt assumed before you prove it to be so. Even if you look like someone, rather than just being associated with them through family or friend ties, you won't be wrongfully blamed.
Silent as a mouse felt like it would give her a certain amount of expertise in stealth related skills but nothing that she couldn't learn to do on her. Egalitarianism was very tempting but it also felt like running away from her problems. Deep down Hinata still felt guilty and this perk would make others judge her without the baggage of her family in the way. Temptations were high but the last option totally invalidated the others.
Elemental Proficiency sounded like it would give her access to a new chakra nature. And light and darkness almost sounded like kekkai genkai. Right now, she was heavily limited in any long-range options and Gentle fist will take months to get to the point where she could use the more esoteric abilities it provided. So, she chose Elemental Proficiency with light as the element of choice.
Error: Cosmo isn't a supported a source of power in this dimension. Adapting Light Element to the Naruto Universe.
Error Resolved!
Light Release (光遁, Kōton)
Light Release (光遁, Kōton) is an advanced nature Kekkei Tōta that is formed by the simultaneous use of Lightning, Fire and Yang chakra, allowing for the user to manipulate light in all of its forms, as well as form hard-light constructs for battle.
As it is Kekkai Tōta, it is extremely difficult to master and requires enormous energy reserves to utilize it to mastery, the User receives an elementary understanding of how to utilise Light natured chakra.
Here are some of the things Light natured chakra can accomplish if given enough time.
Control light in the entirety of its spectrum from Gamma rays to Long Radio Waves
Heal wounds through inherent properties of it's creation involving Yang Chakra
Create hard light constructs to defend against attacks.
Create rays of light as attacks and use Electromagnetic Radiation to cause Cancer. (Radiation needs light in huge concentrations and with enormous reserves of Chakra. Around three times that of Kakashi, The Copy Ninja for a single jutsu use.)
Ability to create a jutsu which allows for movement akin to Space-Time Ninjutsu.
It is important to note that as it is comprised of the complete opposite nature of Wood Release, it is extremely effective against it.
All of the above-mentioned use cases require thorough Knowledge of Jutsu Creation along with extreme chakra control and large reserves of Chakra due to it involving in three elements in its creation.
Hinata stared at the floating blue text, her breath catching in her throat as her heart hammered against her ribs.
I got a freaking Kekkei Tōta? What the hell?! Isn't that completely broken? Wait. It says I need to learn how to create original jutsu to even use it properly. How does someone even begin to do that? I mean, basic nature transformation doesn't require a specific jutsu formula, does it?
What if she just tried to do a simple, tiny nature transformation in her palm? Just to test the waters and see how it felt.
She closed her eyes, carefully drawing on her internal coils. She forcefully wove her Lightning and Fire affinities together in the core of her palm, then desperately tried to blanket the volatile, sparking mixture in heavy Yang chakra.
To her surprise, it merged seamlessly. But the immediate drain on her coils was staggering. It felt like a massive vacuum was sucking the life force straight out of her chest just to maintain the tiny, glowing sphere.
She opened her Byakugan to inspect the anomaly. The Fire and Lightning chakra swirled violently in a frantic, highly unstable orbit, barely contained by the sheer density of the Yang chakra shell.
Slowly, carefully, she tried to release the condensed chakra into the open air above her hand.
Instantly, her bedroom grew blisteringly, terrifyingly hot. The light intensified until it was completely blinding. Realizing she had made a catastrophic mistake, she scrambled backward, desperately trying to put distance between herself and the volatile sphere.
But it was way too late.
The chakra violently collapsed in on itself. A deafening crack ripped through the room. The resulting shockwave threw her backward like a ragdoll, slamming her body straight through the paper sliding doors and hard against the far hallway wall.
Through her blurry, ringing vision, she looked back toward the center of her room. The tatami mats were completely incinerated, heavy ash was raining down from the ceiling, and a massive chunk of the roof was simply gone, exposing the dark night sky.
Her head lolled to the side, and the world finally faded to black.
"My Lady! What happened here?! Oh my god. Someone get a medic!" a frantic maid shrieked, her footsteps echoing down the hallway as Hinata lost consciousness.