The Illuminators: Last Trinity (A Naruto AU)

Okay so it's not Tuesday yet but I'm gonna go ahead and do a merge of the two events for Sunday night in story. If there's any objection to that I can roll 1d2 like the last time we had a draw and pick one option.

I think that's awesome of you @FortePlus! I'm good either with a hot springs or not.
@veekie howzabout we just invite Hannah,Ritsu & our ANBU minders? Fun times with our not!harem, hehehe
 
Was thinking everyone who's comfortable with going, but its been long enough that I'm not entirely sure of my intent anymore.
That's fair. I can work things out so it's not a problem at all. (I might run up on Thursday after all, depends on my mood).

I think that's awesome of you @FortePlus! I'm good either with a hot springs or not.
No worries, it's nothing too heavy either way. I'll get both scenes in.

I'll get to work on the next part soon enough then since we have a consensus. Thanks all.
 
Episode 5.9: New Age of Heroes - A Cozy Sunday (First Intermission 5)
After heading home, you take a shower and then go over reports for the rest of the afternoon. Nothing stands out, so things are stable as you've predicted for this time period. The tournament would be over at the end of this week, and after that all bets were off. You would probably have to meet up with a few of the Leaf's clan heads at the least...

Eh. You could worry about that when the time came. No need to stress out. There's also the meeting with Tsunade coming up before anything else; you were worried about her possibly being in a bad mood with Sakura's eventual loss coming up, but that doesn't seem to be a factor anymore. Plus she's taken a liking to you, which is nice.

You'd have to see about getting her some time with Grams.

After a few more minutes of reading, you realize there's something you can do in a low power state. It wouldn't hurt to meet with some of the Leaf jounin and see what they thought of the tournament. It's the weekend, so a few of them are probably getting together for a drink or two.

You close your book and set down your pen, leaving your room. The living area is occupied by Hikari, who notices you and salutes crisply from her position on the sofa. You nod to acknowledge her and head past the kitchen towards the girls' room, knocking on the door twice.

"Come in," Hannah calls back.

"Yo," you say as you open the door. Hannah and Ritsu are lying side by side on their bed. Ritsu has a book in her hands and peers over it as you enter. "I had an idea for a few outings. We're taking it easy for the night, but I thought we should see the town and get to know people a bit better."

"What did you have in mind, love?"

"I was gonna ask our guardians to guide us to the most popular watering hole. And after that, we could head over to a hot spring I was looking at earlier. Aside from Hot Water, Fire Country has the best hot spring spots on the continent."

"They are known for that, yes. Along with the lovely year round weather," Hannah says. "Just the two of us for the first, and then everyone together for the next?"

"Yeah. If everyone wants to come, of course."

"I think it could be fun, sir," Ritsu says as she sets down her book. "We should all go to a spring together. Although...what kind of place did you have in mind?"

"I earmarked it in the magazine on the kitchen table. It's a nice and cozy place, affordable for our tastes, and has private facilities."

"Mixed bathing, yes?" Hannah asks with a smile.

You grunt playfully. "Nothing less for our princess, obviously. I know you couldn't handle being away from me."

"Thank you for thinking of me, sir."

You give Ritsu a nod. "I know you're still a bit self-conscious when it comes to your body, so I didn't want to do too much. I'm sure Haru and Hikari already know, so..."

"By the by," Hannah says with a smile, "those are reasons two and three that I'd like to go with everyone. I'm very curious as to the faces beneath those masks...and everything else, of course. Hmhm."

"You'll get your chance, if they agree anyways. I'll ask while you get ready. An hour?"

"Plenty of time. I'll try not to make myself too alluring, though it's a heavy task," she says with a wink.

"The little black dress is out. Both of them."

"Aw. Fine, fine. An hour, then."

"Thanks. See you in a bit."

You leave the room and see that Haru has joined Hikari in the living area. She nods politely to you as Hikari salutes again.

"Afternoon, ladies. Hannah and I are heading out to get the pulse of the town."

"Did you want to stop by one of the drinking establishments, sir?" Haru asks.

"Yeah, exactly that. Was gonna ask you what place is good."

"There's a place that was launched about a decade ago and became popular very quickly. It's the go to establishment today for shinobi for many reasons, including the quality and variety of drinks on their menu. There's also delicious food cooked in small batches, which is a treat if you're hungry but don't want to eat an entire meal. The place is called Radiant House, and shinobi of all kinds gather there nightly."

"Neat. Oh, anything we need to know about? Etiquette and stuff like that?"

"Nothing serious, sir. The place is neutral territory and fighting is almost non-existent. The few employees working behind the scenes are retired shinobi of varying ages, and the owner is tough in her own right. Her name is Leona Yamasaki, and she worked with her mother and father from the time of the bar's opening. They're still part owners, but Leona runs everything by herself now, as she has for the past four years."

"That's pretty cool. Radiant House, then. Do you mind coming with us?"

"It's not a problem, sir. You won't be drinking, will you?"

"No, no. Probably could get away with it with effort, but don't want to risk anything. Kushina would kill all of us once she found out," you say with a grimace. "If you wanna knock back a few, we'll take care of you, though."

"Thank you, sir. I might take you up on that offer, as fair warning."

You smile. "Heh. Got it. And the next item...we're going to a closed-off little spring later tonight. The other girls are in, and we'd all like you two to come along."

"Us?" Haru asks. Hikari makes a contemplative noise and tilts her head.

"Yeah. I mean, if it's okay with you. Seriously, no pressure."

"Hm. Lady Kuiper surely has some...no, many ulterior motives when it comes to things like this. But that's not terribly troublesome..." She turns to Hikari. "What do you think?"

"Ma'am."

"Permission to speak freely, Hikari."

"Yes. I...think it would be nice to do. They're going to be treating us, and it's a good way to bond as well."

"You really do like everyone, don't you?"

"Very much, Sister Haru."

"Hm. Well, that's fair. I feel the same way." Haru turns back to you and nods. "Alright, then. We'd be happy to join you. Of course, that means revealing our identities in part to you, but...that's no cause for concern. Not only do we trust you, but we look forward to some amusing expressions on your parts."

Haru was a spicy one, wasn't she...and to think, you'd probably be dealing with that full time in a matter of weeks.

Not a bad prospect.

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll be back in a few hours and then we can head out together."

"Of course. Thank you for thinking of us," Haru says as she bows her head.

"Sir. Thank you very much, sir." Hikari follows suit.

"No problem. You two have been really good to us, so I thought it was the right thing to do. Anyways, I'm gonna go and get freshened up. Hold down the fort for us, Hikari. See you in a few, Haru."

---

Since it was going to be a relatively warm night, you felt that you could go with something lighter while not standing out too much. Your favourite hat as always went on your head. A crisp set of black pants went with a t-shirt in a red and black checker pattern. You think it makes you look a little sophisticated.

"Should be good." You leave your room and see that Hannah and Haru are near the door waiting. True to her word, Hannah didn't go overboard and wears something relatively simple. Her long hair is loosely braided and sits on her left shoulder. There's the pink, short sleeved shirt with light floral patterns running through it, a small gold necklace, and an ankle length red skirt that is supported by two white belts.

"Oh, there you are. Looking as handsome as ever," she says with a smile. "You don't mind a bit of gold on me, do you?"

"Not at all. You look great."

"Thank you. Compliments from you are, as always, the absolute best. Since we're both prepared, shall we go?"

"Yeah. We'll hang out for a while and then get back here. The resort I checked out is open whenever, which is interesting."

"It certainly is, but I imagine that the prices keep things orderly by themselves. Fortunate that money is little problem for us," Hannah says as she flips open her compact mirror.

"Small mercies, yeah. Let's hit the town. Haru, if you'd lead the way?"

"Of course. Hikari, take care of things until we return. At that time, you'll know if you have to take point for a while afterwards."

Hikari moves towards the three of you and salutes. "Ma'am, understood, ma'am. Please be safe, everyone. Sir, ma'ams."

You take turns petting her head before leaving the hotel room, then the hotel altogether. Sunday evening in the Leaf is calm, but with a lot more people around than you were used to. Plenty of families out and about, with children begging their parents to buy them treats and the periodic wail of a hungry or cranky infant. There were couples all over too, who were no doubt looking around and thinking about starting their own families.

"Peace is a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Haru asks.

"Sure is. The Leaf's pretty big, I never took it all in till today. I bet the population has been booming lately."

"It has been. More and more of us have been having children, from civilians to shinobi alike. Even Sharingan Kakashi has a child."

"No kidding?" you ask.

"His wife is one of Sakura's mentors, very much like a sister to her. And probably the most talented of Lady Tsunade's apprentices. She was born Rin Nohara, but by now she's taken on the Hatake name. Their child is five by now, I believe."

"Hm." The same age as Aria, then. Maybe in a more peaceful age, they'd cross paths. You wonder how likely that would be.

"You can talk to him about it on your own, since he should be down at Radiant House with his wife, sir. There's pretty much a queue to babysit her at this point."

"Heh. Popular kid. And from what I know, Kakashi's a hero of the village, so that helps."

"Well, sir...there's also that saying from long ago. 'It takes a village to raise a child'...we've taken that very much to heart. The Honoured Third used to babysit children alongside his work, and he would always take time out of his daily schedule to visit children at the Academy and give them tours. He's really great like that."

"Yeah? Fond of him, then?"

"Very much so. Especially after he personally encouraged me on my way to ANBU, sir. He still does and checks on me, along with his wife, Lady Biwako. It's like my grandparents are right here in the village with me each day. The village is family. That's the Will of Fire at its core."

"I see. Something like that..." You nod. "Yeah. It's a good thing to have."

"I'm glad you agree, sir. Well, it looks like we've arrived."

The outside doesn't look like anything terribly special, but there's a neatness to it that looks appealing. A large chalkboard is outside the front door, with the specials listed for the day and the featured beer on tap. The word 'radiant' is written on the front door in western script. Haru pushes the door inward and ushers you and Hannah inside.

Inside, it looks comfortable. Plenty of tables, and some areas with leather-lined benches. There are two or three tables lined with green felt, and a billiards table in the back near them. The bar stands out with its polished black wood and shining gold rails going around the sides. People stand between the fixed stools and make their orders or chat with each other. It's lively and you can only faintly hear music coming from radios in the back of the building. Working the bar is who you assume to be the owner Haru was talking about earlier. She's sharply dressed in black with a white vest, and her chin-length hair flows downwards in a gradient of blue.

Her head tilts upwards as she notices Haru with her pale blue eyes, and she nods to your left while filling up a glass of beer from the tap. The head comes up to the lip of the glass pefectly as she shuts the tap off and pushes the order to a waiting shinobi customer.

Haru takes you over to the furthest open seat, and you dust it off for Hannah before seating her. You stand on her left and Haru on her right as Leona brings a square bottle and a small glass.

"On the clock?" she asks.

"No," Haru replies. "Today is a social day."

"'Kay. One second." Leona spins around and starts mixing drinks in two bigger glasses, creating cascading colours and a steady fizz you can see as she hands them to you and Hannah. "Pop back over when you want more. I'll send over some extra goodies in a bit. Welcome to Radiant House, kids."

"Thank you," you say with a nod.

"Your hospitality is much appreciated," Hannah says.

"Neat. My name's Leona, and my parents are getting up there in age so I took over the place a few years ago. This is slightly above the usual pace, with the tournament in town. Can't say I hate it, though I won't mind when things shift back to normal. Locals are always easier to deal with." She looks over at Haru. "Junior Ranger not with you today?"

"Busy with security detail. An important guest," Haru says.

"Ah, got it. Well, enjoy your drinks. Mama Uzumaki might pop in any time and I don't want her to catch the kids sipping booze. The lovebirds are in for their Sunday evening drinks as usual. Both sets, I mean."

"So all of the first-year teachers are here, then."

"Might Guy's somewhere in the back being hot-blooded, too. Same as ever. You guys have fun, I'll poke you in a bit if it slows down any."

"Thank you, Leona."

She waves with one hand while mixing more drinks, and your small group leaves for a regular table further back.

"Oh, hey! Haru! Did you guys want to sit with us?" a voice calls to the three of you. You see a brown-haired woman giving you a friendly wave. "Don't be shy, now!"

"Ah, just the ones we were looking for," Haru says. "Let's move some tables and chairs over to get a good fit." The leather seats are facing forward here, so you can easily push another table closer and merge it with the one already present. Hannah takes a seat beside the friendly lady from earlier while you pull up a chair and sit across from her with Haru. This seems to be the smoking section, which they've chosen to accommodate the bearded gentleman with the cigarette in his mouth, who is beside Haru. There's a woman with wild black hair and red eyes next to him. The last member is a relaxed-looking fellow with white hair and his headband tilted over his left eye.

"I won't be drinking too much tonight, despite appearances," Haru announces, moving her bottle to the middle of the table. She's already poured herself a glass. "So feel free to indulge tonight."

"Hoh, pretty generous of you."

"You've tried this before, Asuma?" his companion asks.

"Nah, but anything's good at least once."

"You have a way of sounding adventurous, at least."

"Ouch," he says with a smile. "I'll apologize for whatever it is I did later."

"Well, ignoring the rampant flirting going on next to you...it's very nice to meet you guys. We've been hearing a few things here and there. My name's Rin Hatake, and the always weary-looking guy next to me, believe it or not, is my husband Kakashi." Rin gives you a sunny smile. She has bright brown eyes and rectangular purple markings that go diagonally across her cheeks. Her brown hair runs past her shoulders and frames her face in front.

"Yo." Sharingan Kakashi is laid back, as his wife mentioned. His white hair is shaggy-looking and swept to his left side. The drink in front of him is half-empty, and you wonder briefly how that works with his mask on.

"Kakashi, that's not much of a greeting."

"I'm sure they know who I am. Nice to meet you both, either way. Blue Arrow and Gold Reaper, I presume. Itachi and I talk from time to time, so..."

"Kakashi can be too casual sometimes, which makes it a miracle that his kids got this far in the tourney," the wild-haired woman says.

"Well, it's true that I didn't have to do too much work...but you're the one with a fancy clan heiress on your side, Kurenai."

"That's not even...ugh, whatever." She waves him off and he sighs. "Anyways, my name's Kurenai Yuuhi. It's nice meeting you two." She wears the standard Leaf uniform, but has red and white bandages wrapped around her arms up to her wrists. Her hair is thick and has a lot of curls in it.

"Same here. Asuma Sarutobi," the smoking gentleman says. "As you could guess, Old Man Third is my dad. Don't expect me to become some sort of living god like he is, though. Just someone who's damn good at what he does." You could see the resemblance already, and they share that smoking habit. He has a strong face, especially the jawline. Talk about him has reached you from time to time, since he's one of the Fire Country Guard after all.

"Nice meeting you all. Thanks for having us over," you say.

"We appreciate it very much," Hannah follows. "Coming out tonight, we wanted to socialize and maybe get some thoughts about recent events."

"Neat. So, what's the deal with you two?" Rin asks. "You know, relationship and all."

"Highly compatible life partners," Hannah says proudly.

"Eh...sounds vague."

"Exactly. We can't exactly give the entire game away, my dear."

Rin gives you a look and you shrug. "She's got a flair for the dramatic. But...she's also not wrong. It's not a relationship you can easily sum up, you know?"

"Hm...well, I get it. Did you meet at work?"

"We did, actually. She sought me out and we hit it off on our first job together. The rest is history. What about you two?" you ask before sipping on your drink.

"Kakashi and I knew each other since we were kids. In the Academy and then on a team together. Our sensei and team leader was none other than the Fourth Hokage himself," Rin says.

"She likes to mention that point a lot," Kakashi quips after her.

"And why not? It's not like I have just that, anyways."

"True. Lord Hokage is pretty cool, anyways...so it makes sense to rub it in at times."

"Going there right away, huh."

"You know me."

"And what of our other pair of love birds? When did you two decide to go steady?" Hannah asks.

"What makes you think we're together like that?" Kurenai asks.

Hannah raises a brow and looks at her.

"It's interesting that you're still trying to deny it," Haru says.

"Shut up, fox girl."

"Seriously, the cat's all the way out of the bag and on the roof," Rin jokes. "You're obviously a little more than friends and with obviously more than a few benefits."

"You didn't have to say that much!"

"Well, I know Asuma doesn't buy women's perfume for himself...so when he's got it all over him you can just assume-"

"Shut up, Kakashi. Seriously."

He raises his hands in surrender.

"We started actually-for-real dating close to a year ago," Asuma says as he snuffs out his cigarette and lights another. "It's gotten a bit more serious and complicated because of work. Shinobi stuff. Not in a bad way, though. The lady friend is in her first year of teaching after being a responsibility-free elite for a while."

"Hoh. Responsibility-free...remind me how you found the time to become a guardsman while being a village elite yourself?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was a vagabond for a while, trying to find myself and all. Journeys of self-discovery. You know the drill. I kept in touch with you, didn't I?"

"I never took you for the sentimental type before then. You sent two letters a day."

"That sounds like a complaint."

"What? It's not, stop being a dummy."

"They really are in love, aren't they?" Hannah comments.

"Outings with them always end up like this," Rin says with a smile. "They keep getting lost in their own world. It's really cute. So...we heard you were at the tournament yesterday."

"Yeah, in the good ninja seats even," you say.

"Sakura was so cool, wasn't she?! Kakashi gave her a good start, obviously, but all the work Lady Tsunade and I put in paid off! I'm just happy she got past the first round with that kind of draw. Sasuke...well, he's gonna be a mountain to climb. But I know she'll do her best, and that's all I could ever ask for."

"How did you get your start with Lady Tsunade?"

Rin thinks for a moment before looking to Kakashi. He nods and she nods back.

"It was a while ago. Times were changing, and a friend was on my mind. Do you know about Kannabi Bridge?"

"Heard about it a little. You guys were responsible for that, right?"

"Yes. During the third great war. Kakashi and I were on a team with a guy named Obito. Obito Uchiha. He..." She laughs softly. "We had been friends for a really long time, since we were kids. He ended up having the biggest crush on me, but of course I was infatuated with the wonder child next to me. Even if he was cold on the outside."

Kakashi nods in the background. His mug is now empty and a waitress glides over to collect it.

"Obito was clumsy, kind of middling sometimes. But he was such a hard worker and did everything he could to be great. He was always late for meetings because there was always an old person he had to help out on his way over. Sensei always let it go but he and Kakashi had fights all the time. They were always competing, sorta. Obito was on the losing end a lot. 'Just wait until my Sharingan awakens!' he'd always say. I believed in him...believed that he'd reach his dream of becoming Hokage, and of giving light to the Uchiha Clan. Obito was a reliable guy."

She stops to sip at her beer and holds the mug in both hands.

"Things got messy on the mission. Sensei had to pick up somewhere else, so Kakashi was our team leader. He was a jounin, by the way. That young, yes. Wonder child. You know how it is."

"I wasn't that good."

"Hush, you. You were amazing. Still are. Anyway...I got kidnapped by Rock shinobi. They tried to use genjutsu on me but I held out as long as I could. Kakashi and Obito fought their way to me."

"I was stubborn," he says. "I wanted to finish the mission at all costs because that's what I thought was right. I was fighting against what happened to my father. The Leaf's White Fang. Obito looked up to him, knowing what he did. He reminded me of what my father fought for. We set aside our differences and went after Rin together. He awakened his Sharingan, finally. He became my eyes after I lost one of mine."

"They rescued me, but that wasn't the end of it. Rock shinobi cornered us and created a cave-in. And...Obito sacrificed himself to save Kakashi. Half of him was crushed under a boulder, and we had no time. Before...before we lost him, he gave Kakashi a gift. It was his birthday, and all..."

"The Sharingan," you say. "So that's where the legend began, then."

"Yes. And he made me promise to protect Rin. I felt like trash for what happened. I felt like it was all my fault. But he was with me in the Sharingan that he gave to me. He still is."

"Obito's dream of a better world drove us forward. I didn't think I had anything left, but one day Lady Tsunade happened to be in the village. I threw myself at her feet and begged her to take me on as an apprentice. To teach me everything she knew. At first, she was hesitant, but I kept going until she decided to train me. It was tough at first, but I kept thinking of Obito. He was the reason I could keep going."

"And it was he who brought your hearts together in the end," Hannah says.

"Hehe...you know, I could hear his voice in my head sometimes. 'That Kakashi is stupid, he's all wrong and lazy, he's a huge jerk and...he's someone who would take care of you for life. We made a promise as brothers, after all!' Stuff like that. Kakashi was the only person he could stand losing to when it came to love."

"He kept pestering me inside of my head, too. 'Stupid Kakashi, if you make Rin cry I'll come back to life and kick your ass!' Dumb things like that," Kakashi says.

"Yeah! Obito...he really was the best. But yeah...his memory was what gave me the push to try and become one of the best medics in the world. I get to pass that knowledge down to Sakura, and one day she can pass that down to someone else. It's great, isn't it?"

"You forgot about your kid already?" Asuma jokes.

"Of course not! I was getting to her," Rin pouts. "Our little girl is five years old, and we tell her about Uncle Obito as often as we can. Her name's Tsuyu. Cute, eh?" She makes a face at Kakashi. "Her papa had some other ideas for names, with that sick sense of humour he has..."

"What...what'd I do?"

"Oi, don't play with me! If we have another child and you get the idea to farm one of those dirty books for names, I'll show you something more terrifying than the Lightning Edge!"

"Something beyond comprehension. Scary," Asuma laughs. "I'll name my child something simple, just to be on the safe side."

"Oh yeah? That'll be interesting," Kurenai says with a smug smile.

"You have names picked out already?"

"E-eh...of course not. I'm not planning on getting pregnant any time soon. Who do you have designs on, exactly?"

"Who else? Hey, your old man keeps hinting at me, so what am I supposed to do?"

"Ignore him. Ignore him," Kurenai protests. "You seriously need to stop entertaining him, I know you are. And you're getting Lady Biwako involved, too."

"Ah? Mom already has Konohamaru to fawn over."

"Don't try and trick me. She keeps talking about grandchildren in earshot. Loudly. Very loudly. It's your fault."

"Kakashi's students are all through to the semifinals," Haru says. "Rin isn't a teacher herself yet, which Lord Sarutobi lamented, and Lord Fourth laments now."

"Tsunade wants a monopoly on my time. She's super stubborn. Plus she really likes me, and so does Shizune. Coincidentally, she's going to be doing demonstrations at the university up north a few times each year. Oh, right," Rin says to you, "Shizune is the niece of Dan Kato, a village hero from long ago. He's passed on by now...he used to be Tsunade's lover."

"Ah..." You would have to ask about that later. Maybe that's why Rin's plea resonated with Tsunade so strongly.

"Unfortunately since this year was so loaded with talent, we only had Team Seven and a member of Team Eight get through this year," Rin continues. "You met a few of the kids already, which is how we knew you were watching the fights. Be a little delicate with Sakura, though."

"Delicate?" you ask.

"Ah, more competition?" Hannah says playfully. "I suppose that I really should lock you up soon. Keeping you away from certain vixens, especially."

"And what makes you think I have designs on your team leader?" Haru asks.

"You sing a strong tune for the moment, dear Haru. I eagerly await your thoughts later."

You're sure she's bright red under that mask right now. Actually, that does explain her probing after your talk with Mei and the Mist girls. Hm.

"The preliminaries were fun enough, too. Plenty of comedy all around," Kakashi says, looking over at Asuma. The man in question groans and taps ashes into the tray next to him.

"I don't think he wants to talk about it much," Kurenai says. "Frankly, I wouldn't either."

"His students are the latest Ino-Shika-Cho trio," Haru explains. "There's heavy tradition in those three bloodlines. Inoichi's daughter Ino, Shikaku's son Shikamaru, and Choza's son Choji."

"Oh, I see. I'm guessing there might be a problem with Shikamaru taking over the group's pace?" you say, thinking about Shikaku and his lightning fast analysis.

"The opposite," Rin says. "He's a genius with zero drive. Asuma had to trick him in order to take a proper IQ test, and he got close to flunking out of the Academy because he was asleep in class all the time. He's not a bad person, far from it...but he doesn't exactly show off his potential often."

"He drew Sasuke in the preliminaries," Kakashi says. "And the two of them went back and forth for ten minutes on whether or not he should bother fighting. After that he had enough and quit."

"Least he could have done was throw a punch," Asuma mutters. "Damn slacker."

"Well, he wasn't wrong to assume Sasuke would flatten him," Kurenai replies.

"It's about the spectacle, dammit. Make me look good in front of the Hokage, at least?"

"Ino drew Shino, and that ended in a double knockout," Kurenai continues. "Sakura got Choji, and he tried, but we saw how that went. Kiba...he's okay now, but the match with Gaara really shook him up. So that left Hinata, who took out Temari. What was really surprising was seeing all of Guy's kids go down. Naruto and Lee was a good fight, with Naruto winning, obviously."

"Neji got absolutely cranked," Rin says with a wince. "I mean there's quick victories and then there's that."

"Yeah. And then one of the Mist girls went ahead and dismantled Tenten. Shiori, I think. The same one who beat Hinata yesterday," Kurenai replies. "The other one, Junko, beat the puppet-user from Sand."

"How happy are you with the results?" you ask.

"I'm pretty happy. Kiba did well against a strong opponent, and Shino did his part too. Ino's very crafty. Hinata was wonderful all the way to the end...I'm very proud of her."

"It's a wash for me," Asuma says. "Ino was great, and Choji tried his damndest. Shikamaru...I'm not that upset with him, honestly. Just annoyed. He probably saw the writing on the wall and worked on backing himself out. It's those qualities that produce good commanders."

"Could you explain what you saw, Asuma?" Hannah asks.

"What he saw?" Kurenai echoes.

"Yes. It sounds very much like he's his father's child, as they say."

"Heh. Clever one," Asuma says with a smile. "Shikamaru has a habit of thinking several moves ahead. We play shogi together and I've never beaten him once. When he got to the arena floor, he was looking around at the walls, at all the space around him, and at Sasuke. So it was a boring fight in that there wasn't any direct physical combat, but he was looking past all of that. Sasuke's got a brain on him too, so he was doing things like pacing, moving his hands near his weapons, turning his Sharingan on for a bit each time...small things that add up."

"Shikamaru was looking for an opening, or rather he was looking to create a scenario where there was a possibility of victory. Keeping Sasuke engaged for that long meant that he was searching pretty diligently," you conclude. "Like a game of shogi, or even chess."

"Yeah. And when he couldn't see anything else, he gave up on it," Asuma says.

"Excellent analysis. And at such a young age, too. Reminds me of someone," Hannah says as she looks at you.

"Maybe. That someone would say that Shikamaru sounds more talented."

"That person shouldn't go selling themselves short."

"Actually, I want to talk about you, wonder boy. Apparently you handed Guy his ass the other day?" Asuma asks.

"The jounin were sure buzzing," Rin says. "By the middle of next week everyone will know for sure. I was pretty shocked myself, I mean dueling someone like that in taijutsu and winning by a mile!"

"According to people who were watching, Guy didn't land a hit at all while using three Gates. That's seriously impressive, and a little scary considering your age," Kakashi says. "It's easy to forget sometimes, that there are talented kids just waiting in the wings like you two. Though the whole fight...well, I know Guy's apologized already, but I feel like I have to as well, for everyone's sake."

Asuma nods. "Same here. That was textbook bullying, and really no good on Jiraiya's part."

"I must confess to pushing some of his buttons beforehand. But his dislike of my beloved was rooted in superstition far before that," Hannah says.

"Verbal sparring with Lord Jiraiya? Kakashi's right, you kids really are frightening," Kurenai says nervously.

"She wouldn't be the Golden Reaper otherwise, yeah? But welcome to the village proper," Rin says while taking hold of her mug. "Speaking of villages...those Mist girls are something else. Junko, was it? She came super close to beating Sasuke, and having the guts to decide the match for herself was amazing. And then Shiori was so skilled in her fight, she knew almost exactly what to do at each turn. It's going to be exciting to see her match with Naruto, even if people think the outcome is decided already. And the last..."

"..."

"Lady Tsunade told me about it...the Limiter. That poor girl..."

"I wonder what she was thinking back there," Asuma says. "How much of it was fear, and how much of it was duty. Maybe it was both mixed together, and we just can't go ahead and separate the two."

"What do you think?" Kakashi asks you.

"Something like that...I can't forgive. People aren't tools."

"Even in this world of shinobi?"

"Even then. Those who fight for their nations fight for something, a dream or a wish. Hisano was made into a weapon before she was born. She was robbed of that choice. As she is now, she can never become someone."

"A world of rules and tools was what I thought I wanted. I know better now, thankfully. A friend taught me that."

"We're going to fight forward, and reach Obito's dream. So that we don't have to see people like Hisano suffer this way. Maybe there will always be fighting in some form, but it doesn't mean that we should give up working for a better tomorrow," Rin says. "For Tsuyu especially, and for everyone we love."

"To a better tomorrow, then. For one and all," Haru says as she raises her glass.

"A better tomorrow," you all say in unison. You knock your glasses together and drink.

---

Kakashi and Rin share stories from their time in the field, and at home. He dilligently looked out for her as part of Obito's last request, feeling guilty for what happened and unworthy of her affection. Time passed and their bond slowly deepened to the point where Kakashi was willing to give Rin a chance. They dated, eventually got married, and had their daughter Tsuyu five years ago. Their marriage of eight years is as lively as ever.

Asuma and Kurenai have a more casual relationship but care for each other a lot. They debate marriage for different reasons. Kurenai doesn't feel pressured to get married by anyone, but she wants to make her father happy if she does have a child. What you pick up from their bickering is that they might have one out of wedlock sooner rather than later, and that a plain name will be chosen. Something like Shirou if it's a boy, or Mirai if it's a girl. Just a hunch.

Haru is her snappy, hot-tongued self as she attempts to open up everyone's dark histories. Rin successfully scolds her away from the subject.

It's later than you originally planned when everyone disperses, but you don't mind. Rin invites you and Hannah over for a dinner date - gushing as she did the whole night about you two - and to see Tsuyu. You sincerely promise to find a good date to drop by. Everyone disperses around the same time, and you wait outside with Hannah while Haru has a talk with Leona.

"That was refreshing. They're all lovely people, no?" Hannah asks.

"Yeah. I like 'em. Everyone's got their own story to tell...the world turns in a lot of different ways, and affects a lot of different people at once. What you make of it depends on whether or not you grab hold of the future in front of you. We're all built for it. The training and mindset, though...that's something else."

"Yes. Obito Uchiha...hm. Perhaps you could ask about him. I wonder if that woman was affected by his loss as well."

"You think? I could ask Auntie Mikoto..."

"Your network is becoming more and more robust. An Uchiha woman dancing in your palm. Scary, indeed."

"You're never going to let that go, are you..."

Hannah smiles. "What fun would that be? A world of middle-aged women at your beck and call. Every man's romance."

"Oh, shut up."

"Apologies for the wait," Haru says as she arrives.

"No worries. Everything okay?" you ask.

"Fine, sir. I simply wanted to catch up with Miss Yamasaki and relay a few things of importance."

"No problem, then. Well, let's head home and collect the others. Hopefully everyone's still up for our trip to the springs."

You make it home and Haru knocks on the door in a pattern. You hear return knocks in a different pattern, and Haru opens the door.

"Sir, ma'ams." Hikari salutes crisply.

"We're back. Alright, grab whatever you gotta before we hit the road again. Towels and all the other fancy stuff you like will be provided at our destination," you announce.

Hannah and Ritsu return with small handbags while the rest of you go as you are. For the first time, the hotel suite is unoccupied as the five of you set out for what remains of the night. By now there's not much in the way of traffic, but the modern village never seems to sleep. Bars and the like are still open until very late, and a few regular restaurants join them. Western-style 'fast food' places are open all night from what you can tell.

You head uptown, where things get quieter and the streets are clear save for a few shinobi doing their walks. The wealthier people have already had their weekend dinner parties and gatherings, and are resting for now if not already asleep. You pass a tea house that is moderately busy, with the sound being kept in by some sort of material. The light spills out onto the street, angled low by the windows and curtains.

"We can arrange for a ride back," Haru says as you near your destination. "They have a service at the front desk, sir."

"Ah, nice. We'll do that, then. There's stuff I wanted to do near home tomorrow."

You approach the front desk, pay the per-person fees, and follow a hostess to your changing area. Nobody else around tonight, which works out for you. The woman hands you a set of folded towels, a bathrobe, and a small bucket with different scented soaps and lotions.

"Thank you."

"Thank you, sir. Please enjoy your stay." She bows and walks off.

After a few minutes, you're sparkling clean and have a towel securely around your waist. Even if it's a ghost town, you shouldn't take any chances when it comes to the rules here. You arrive at the small pool and walk across the wood platform before setting down your things.

"You almost got in before us. Shame, shame..."

"It would have been nice to avoid your ogling for once," you say to Hannah without turning.

"Admiration of the human form shouldn't be looked down upon. To call my patient gaze mere harassment...well, I would class it as an offense if I didn't know you better."

"Do you two always flirt like this?" you hear Haru ask.

"It's nice...I mean, to see," you hear Hikari respond.

"Marriage would just be a formality for them at this point," Ritsu says as she walks towards you. "What's the matter, Master? Avoiding us all of a sudden?"

"Eh."

"Don't tell me you're bored of us already."

"You too? Maybe all the steam in these places is messing with your heads, and you end up saying more silly things than usual. Well, at least it's not blatant sexual harassment."

"I'm concerned that you added that qualifier."

"I'm concerned that I had to."

You decide to finally turn around as the girls gather together. Ritsu gives you a smile and you pat her head. It's a small gathering of people you know, but it doesn't look like she's worried about her appearance. You're happy to see it. Hannah wiggles her eyebrows at you suggestively. Today's towel is of a decent length, at least, if a bit on the thin side.

"No masks tonight, huh."

"We've tried it before, and...things like that are infeasible. Not only the discomfort, but the fact that it reduces capability sharply," Haru explains. You had seen her face before briefly, but this is your first time getting a good look at her. Her body type is more slender than Hannah's, and she's very fit. She has bangs of white hair that stop just above her azure eyes. It's a striking colour that adds to her beauty. You understand a little more why that Captain Taro guy was bothered by her rejecting him.

"It also does bad things to our hair," Hikari says. "And having to taste your own sweat constantly is unpleasant." As you've already noted in the past, she's on the shorter side and seemed well-built...but you underestimated how much, it looks like. She is, as the kids say, ripped. Without the mask you can see that her hair is definitely in a bob cut going down to the chin, and it neatly frames her soft face. Her eyes are hazel and opened up attentively to take everything in.

"So? What do you think?" Hannah asks you.

"What do I think about what?"

"Oh, are we going to play that game?"

"Just answer her so she can stop harassing us," Haru says. "Well? How is it? You can see me, can't you?"

"Nice," you say honestly.

Her mouth closes and you see her cheeks redden a little. "Nice, huh...I see. I appreciate that answer...I guess."

You pause a moment. "Well, it's just that I wasn't trying to be too forward. You're beautiful, honestly."

"Oh, he's flattering you~"

"I can hear it, Hannah." She keeps her head tilted downwards. "Thank you for saying that. I really appreciate it."

You turn your head to Hikari. "You look pretty good too. How much do you work out?"

"Thank you. I asked Master Guy for a training regimen years ago, when I first became a shinobi and saw him walking on his hands around the village."

"Hm." You can actually picture it clearly. Definitely a Might Guy sort of routine.

"As you might guess, his initial advice was a little extreme. I fine-tuned it and obtained a healthy body, which I really enjoyed. So I worked at it more. You really think this look is good?"

"Yeah, definitely. You look great."

"Well, thank you for that." She starts to step into the pool. "We should get in now. Though Sister Haru looks like she's about to overheat as is."

You step in yourself as Haru grumbles. The others follow, casting off their towels as they sink into the water and relax. The pool is small enough here that you can stick close together.

"So? What do you think then, Miss Haru?" Hannah asks.

"Think about what?"

"The young man you've been silently devouring for the past few minutes."

"I'm doing no such thing. Though, to answer your vulgar question-"

"As I knew you would."

"...you're...very handsome, Joshua," she says timidly.

"Eh? Are you okay with that sort of reply, darling?"

"Stop trying to stir up trouble. Haru will look like a tomato within the next five minutes," Ritsu says as she leans back against the edge of the pool.

"My composure isn't so easily broken," she argues back, still blushing.

"It's fine. Thanks for the compliment," you say sincerely.

"You see? It's fine. He knows you want to jump him."

"Don't go and-"

"Hikari? Your thoughts?" Hannah asks as the other girls bicker.

"..." She's silent for a long while. "Very...strong," she says with admiration.

"Mm. An interesting way to put it, but not bad, either." Hannah swims over to you and puts her head on your shoulder. "Not that it matters. This one's mine to keep."

"Hey. Stake your claims later," you joke. "I want to actually relax while we're here."

"Thank you very much for inviting us out with you," Hikari says.

"Yes, thank you. It's a very sweet gesture on your parts," Haru follows. "This entire assignment has been special, in a lot of ways. I guess a bit of intimacy is to be expected, but on this level...it's certainly different. Not to get too emotional, but I'm happy that we get to share this moment. More than that, I'm happy we met."

"I feel the same way," you say. "We all do."

"You've both been lovely to us, as we've said before. Sharing this time with you is among the least of things that we could do," Hannah says.

"Hannah, your...strange inclinations aside, I can see why you're so loved by your comrades."

"Why, thank you. I appreciate that very much, Haru. You yourself are stunning, on the inside and out."

"Don't tease me so often."

"I mean it. You're quite wonderful, and if I could, I would take you home with me."

"She's definitely going to overheat," Ritsu jokes.

"I just might," Haru says with a smile. "Thank you. I'm more than a little overwhelmed right now, but I'm enjoying myself, honestly. Chances to relax and really loosen up don't come often. Sometimes even days off at home aren't really as such, you know?"

"Yeah, I know the feeling well," you say. You put your arm around Hannah and she snuggles closer to you. "Sometimes you're so worried about the next day of work that you're planning for it as soon as you leave the last. Getting out of that mindset is hard, even harder if you're doing work for a village."

"Yes, exactly. Hm...I know a little bit about what brought you here, but not your beginnings. I didn't really want to pry, either. Maybe only briefly, but... what brought you to this point? What made you choose?"

"You mean to ask about me, most of all," Ritsu says.

"Yes. Especially your scars. There are so many, and yet they seem like a part of you. Like they've always been there."

"I was used as a plaything. A yakuza boss wanted me and took me for himself. And when I ran away to try and protect my family...they sold me out. He found me and put the first scar on my back. From there, it only got worse. It was like this for three years."

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

"I am too. It's pain that will never truly leave me. But these scars are a part of me, now." She looks to you. "I put my life in the hands of my master and mistress. They accepted all of me, and helped me become whole again. It was because of their kindness that I made a wish, that I could become as strong and as loving as them. It put me on this path, and brought me here."

"Ritsu. You're very strong," Hikari says.

"Thank you, Hikari. I find it hard to believe myself sometimes, but yes. I am strong. I want to grow stronger each day, so that I can help change the world for good."

"And you, Hannah? You must have a rich history," Haru says.

"I rose from the dirt to grab hold of the strength I have now. I had no family, barely a name, and little in the way of hope. I was an orphan, thrown to the winds. Born irregular, as you remember hearing at the meeting with the Five Kage."

"Yes. So...you were alone as well."

"Indeed. And becoming a warrior may have been part of my blood, but it was ultimately my choice to become one. I found myself in the underworld and became the goddess of death that you gaze upon at this moment. I created this legend with my own two hands."

She raises her hand from the water and places it against your cheek, smiling.

"After meeting this man, my life changed again. He opened his heart to me, and became my first friend."

"I didn't think you would be so...I mean, it's not to say..."

"It's alright. I did isolate myself, despite all the opportunities to form different bonds. But those were not what I wanted at all. All along, it was this sweet feeling. To be called friend, and loved to the core of my being...it brought me a joy that will never be surpassed in this world. And it opened my eyes to my true purpose. To fulfill my destiny as chosen of heaven."

"And...Joshua?"

You think for a moment before answering. "I had a home. I had a lot of things. My grandfather was the same, but he chose to try and change the world. I just wanted to find out why. I wanted to see the world the way he did. It ended up costing a lot. Everything, almost. But on this journey, I've gained new things. New people, and new bonds. New strength. I'm starting to see the path for what it is."

"It wasn't your choice to leave home, but it was your choice to live on. All of you, tossed into the world without a real choice, and yet you fought onward to this point. You found each other in this chaos."

Haru smiles. "This is life as we know it. A beautiful struggle."

"Fighting against the world is hard, but...I think if anyone can do it, it's all of you together," Hikari says. "Um, also...I think we should try to be happy in the time we have together. Sister Haru doesn't get teased often, so her expressions are very funny."

"Bullying me like that...you guys are too much."

"Well, there's an opportunity...what do you think about Hannah, since she's been pestering you guys all night?" you ask.

"Betrayal at this hour? Oh, the humanity..." She mockingly faints against you.

"My answer is lewd," Ritsu says flatly. "Definitely lewd."

"Hush, you."

"You're a temptress through and through."

"Very...hm. Very...sensual," Hikari decides on. "Captivating."

"Oh, my. Thank you for the lovely compliment, darling." Hannah focuses on Haru and gives her a playful smile. "I'm looking forward to your verdict the most."

"I see. The word I would settle on is...mm."

Haru taps her chin a few times, thinking.

"Delectable."

"My, my... how scandalous of you, Miss Haru." A blush spreads across Hannah's cheeks. That one sure hit home, huh. "And what made you settle on that word, pray tell?"

"It's just something about you. Very sweet, but the way you're shaped sets something off in the senses. I'm sure Joshua and Ritsu know what I mean...that urge to suddenly indulge. To very slowly take that sweetness and let it sit on your tongue. The more I think about it, the more dangerous you get..."

"At the rate you're going, all the water's gonna evaporate from the pool," you quip. Hikari nods in agreement, already blushing brightly.

"New pet, Mistress?"

"Down, Ritsu. Don't you get jealous on me...not yet, anyways."

"Hey..."

You chuckle to yourself. "And here I am, wondering how I'll deal with this every day."

"A lovely dilemma, no?" Hannah asks.

You nod and look around at everyone. New friends, and loyal family all together.

"The best kind of problem to have."

"I definitely agree. I...hope she'll join us. She really is a beautiful soul," Hannah says quietly.

"I do too. I think it'll work out. Somehow, it always does." You lean back against the edge of the pool and close your eyes.

---

It gets very late by the time you leave the spring. You head home by way of a fancy horse driven cart, and it's a good thing since Ritsu and Hikari are tuckered out. Hannah attaches herself to you quietly while Haru looks out for everyone.

You reach the hotel, head up a floor and to your suite. Haru and Hikari perk up and check the premises thoroughly before letting you inside. You hear the former converse with another ANBU on the balcony before returning inside and closing the glass door behind her.

"We should be fine. Yumemi and Kal are going to cover watch duty for a few hours. They...insisted."

"Might as well extend that leisure time a bit more, eh?" you say with a smile. "I'm gonna be up early tomorrow anyways. Big training day."

"All day, sir?"

"Might be. Lot of hours for sure, I can tell you. But we can worry about that later. Let's all get some sleep."

"Night, sir..."

"Good night, darling."

Hannah and Ritsu peck you on the cheek before shuffling off to their room.

"Sir, good night, sir."

"Yes, good night. And thank you again...for everything."

Haru and Hikari both give you a bow that you return. You head to your room and change before flopping onto your bed.

Sleep is welcome, and comes quickly. A good end to a great day.

---

Amenozenshin Track (Monday training)

[] Improving the startup time and movement is what bears fruit first. The result is one of the goals you've wanted to achieve - a variable speed first step that has no indication of intent before you warp to your desired location. The time between target lock on and technique activation also has been further decreased.

[] After research and optimization, you are able to increase the number of consecutive uses before cooldown. This allows maneuvering into different positions - a step closer to the ideal of complete 3D movement that Hiraishin gives its users. It manifests most efficiently in the option to 'redirect' warp movement by activating the technique twice in a row. The additional physical strain and chakra usage seems to be worth it for now.

---

Next update will be in universe Monday's training day. Update should be in by Friday our time.
 
Yess!This is everything I ever wanted in life!
Great work FP!
It's interesting to see this universe's version of Rin, and to know that she actually got a kid together with Kaka-baka.Wonder if she takes after the dad or the mum more?

Oh,right,vote.
[X] Improving the startup time and movement is what bears fruit first. The result is one of the goals you've wanted to achieve - a variable speed first step that has no indication of intent before you warp to your desired location. The time between target lock on and technique activation also has been further decreased.
 
[X] Improving the startup time and movement is what bears fruit first. The result is one of the goals you've wanted to achieve - a variable speed first step that has no indication of intent before you warp to your desired location. The time between target lock on and technique activation also has been further decreased.
 
Episode 5.10: New Age of Heroes - Advent of the Speed World (First Intermission 6)
It's morning again.

You feel like you've had enough sleep despite being out so late, and roll out of bed to take your morning shower. Some light training wear - shirt and shorts. The Amenozenshin technique scroll for reference, packed into a small messenger bag with other supplies.

"Still early. Means I'll make some good time, then..."

You smell cooking as soon as you leave your room. Haru and Hikari are sitting up on one of the sofas, asleep side by side.

"Good morning, beloved."

"Morning." Hannah floats over to you in her nightgown and kisses you on the cheek. Her arms loop around your neck as she looks you over, smiling.

"Decided to spoil me today?" you ask.

"Of course. I should be doing it more often, but today looks to be an especially long day for you. Going out to improve our little technique?"

"Yeah. Planning on taking the whole day out."

"Not a problem. I might have a look at my old notes to see if I can help, among other things. This seems like a day in for me...mm. But that's fine. Don't work too hard."

"I'll try not to. I have an idea of what I want to work on. If it all goes well, I'll have something to show for it at the end of today."

She hums and nods. "Good. I meant it when I said not to work too hard. I'm going to make lunch for you and bring it out around noon. Will you be back for dinner?"

"Hm." You think for a moment. "Not at the usual time. I'm thinking way later."

"I'll wait up for you. That way, we can have something a little indulgent together."

"Sounds good."

"There's so much to talk about, but in just the same way...many things that pass between us without words being necessary. Moments like these are so sweet." She touches her nose to yours. "Everything is alright, yes?"

"Yeah. Everything's okay. What about you?"

"Quite fine. You know, I thought I would be jealous of her."

"Haru, you mean."

"Mm-hm. You know how it can be. Another woman gets close to your man, and all kinds of alarm bells ring. So on and so forth. I've always believed that you weren't that kind of man, so easily swayed, but little thoughts pop up..."

"Ah. We're all people in the end," you say with a smile. "I can't hold it against you. Besides..."

"Mm?"

You wiggle your brows playfully. "She's very attractive."

"She truly is. But I'm your favourite."

"There's no argument there."

She giggles. "Of course there isn't. I love you, darling." Her eyes close and she plants a kiss on your nose. "Breakfast is still warm. I'll pour your tea for you."

You nod as she lets go of you and glides back into the kitchen. As you sit down she hands you your tea and takes her place beside you. The two of you eat quietly, taking glances at each other.

In the back of your mind, you do wonder sometimes. Maybe...was there another person out there, if she simply started looking? Hannah is a wonderful person, with the kind of beauty that constantly turns heads. Maybe in the same way she worried about taking options away from you, you worried about taking options away from her.

That could be a conversation you had when you were both good and ready for it. Once you went home. That sounded good.

Still...you wouldn't mind being 'highly compatible life partners' until the end of time. That sounded really nice too.

"Would you like more?" she asks as you finish eating.

"Just some more tea, if that's okay. I feel like I'm good for a while."

"Perfectly fine. More tea coming up." She pours you another cup of tea and stirs in the honey swiftly. "There you go."

"Thanks." You sip on it as she clears the table of plates and gets to washing them. By the time you've finished, she returns to take away your cup and washes it out too. You stand up, stretch, and put on your bag before starting out. "I'll see you in a few hours. Don't hesitate if anything comes up."

"Yes, understood. Please take care, Joshua."

You nod and start to open the door.

"Oh, wait a moment."

"Hm?"

She hurries over with a small paper bag and puts it into your hands. "Some snacks and treats to help keep you going. You have your water, yes?"

"Yeah, got a bunch of it and other stuff. I'll be fine."

"I'll make you something nice to go along with your lunch." She kisses your cheek. "Be safe."

"I will."

You head out and hear the door close behind you.

"Alright. The out of the way place Haru gave me...Utility Ground 25." The northeast section of the village has a few reclaimed areas. Among them are the Utility Grounds, separate from the designated training areas. Utility Grounds are built to different specifications, mostly meaning they can take a beating without much change to their structure or composition. Various types of tests took place on these grounds as a result.

Training areas were meant to help with lessons and simulations. The closer to an actual battlefield, the better. Several had a mix of different elemental areas, like streams, rocky surfaces, fields with flammable objects, and so on. Utility Grounds didn't mirror actual environments in the same manner.

The applications of Amenozenshin made it suitable for any environment, but actual fine tuning and development meant that a less malleable environment was preferable to take measurements in. This 25th area was guaranteed by Haru to be free, and if it wasn't she would have made it so. Fortunately as you arrive, there's noone nearby, and either one of the girls should be up soon to monitor the area on your behalf.

You reach your destination, set down your bag, and take out your scroll. You unroll it and crouch down to give it a read, reacquainting yourself with the mechanics and technique structure. There are extra notes from your earlier session with Hannah.

Today's focus would be on improving the startup time of the technique, as well as your overall movement. Currently you settled into a certain stance and took off from that into your high speed movement. While not a complete inconvenience, it made your jutsu slightly more predictable. Definitely the case if the other person was as fast as you, and you didn't doubt that there were more than a few high level opponents who were. The Raikage is one of them, and - heaven forbid - the Hokage could be another. Reducing the time opponents had to anticipate your movements was something you wanted to solve. How to do that? You can see the options in front of you already.

You step away from the scroll and go into your usual stance for Amenozenshin. Your body is low and you can use that as a stance to push off from, generating the force needed to push through the dimensional barrier and towards the other side.

What you do first is use less force than you remember is needed; in this case you reduce your acceleration sharply. As you expect, the technique fails. This is what you want, and the external effects are even better to see: heat from the technique's friction has transferred to you. This is good, since it means there's a wall there that you can interact with in different ways. You use a body flicker to pick up speed next, and it works both to enter and exit the rainbow path. While on the path you test the amount of force needed by using slightly less upon your exit, which increases the friction on you and creates a wealth of smoke as you exit. Your skin gets hot enough that you need to take a break for a while, just to be safe.

"Wonder what Hannah packed..."

You check the bag she gave you, and find some fresh cut fruit, mint candies, and two sweet buns. Nice and refreshing. You munch on one of the buns and some apple slices while reading over the scroll and making your own notes. After cooling down enough, you try again for a while to get the feeling down of the technique barrier. All things considered, it's going well.

Chakra isn't a najor concern, but you also don't want to leave any inefficiencies around or rely on it to boost yourself forward. An opponent could use the activation of your body flicker as a tell, and possibly anticipate your technique in the same manner as your stance. The solution is not to abandon chakra boosting, but to make it so sudden that nobody can react to it in time.

The acceleration requirements, and the force generated...it has to be a tight, controlled burst that takes you into the world of Amenozenshin. And then the exit has to be the same as well, to maintain control and consistency.

Variable speed movement.

You focus on the entry point first. Tightening the lock on time by repeatedly gaining a lock and then abandoning it to look somewhere else, rinse, repeat. The original formula is refined and you check against it several times before confirming your results. You shave down the lock on time by half a second, and at this point you're only at late morning for the day. You continue working on the formula and take a few candies from your snack bag.

Now it's a little bit past noon. You sip from your canteen and turn your head towards your visitor.

"Hey."

"Good afternoon, love. Are things going well?" Hannah asks you.

"Yeah, pretty good. I did some work on the formula."

"I'll have a look in a bit. I brought you lunch as promised, so dig in before you do anything else."

"Yeah. Thanks a lot, eh?"

"Anything for you. Now, let's see what you have here..." Hannah has gone with a very relaxed look for the day, it seems. A very round hair bun, no makeup, loose shirt and jogging pants with slippers. She only left the hotel to see to you. "Ah, I see. The timings have changed. I did want to leave it as a surprise for later, but I really am curious now."

"Changing the requirements to hit the entry point."

"Really, now...hmm. The physical effects? What about those?"

You look into the basket and pull out one of several chicken sandwiches. There are more sliced and peeled fruits, along with a salad and bottles of juice. And a big slice of chocolate cake, with frosting. "It's kind of all the same once you hit the first barrier and go through it. Like...once you're in, you're in. You can use more force than usual but it doesn't make a difference. Going out is the same, kind of. I think you can buffer against it but there's no point since it would require another technique, or something that's practically the same once you move enough chakra around."

Hannah mumbles something to herself before crouching and looking closer at the notes you left. You sit and eat your sandwich in the meantime.

"Instantaneous? Oh, to avoid...I see. That's one thought. Hm. It's enough of a feat that he made it even faster than before, but...I shouldn't expect less, not from him. Maybe I'll wait until tonight..."

She rubs her hands on her knees before standing up.

"I will leave you to your experiments once more. If you can come back to me early, I would love it. Tonight is steak night. We'll see how close I can come to Granny Becca, hopefully within a country mile at the least."

You chuckle. "I wouldn't be surprised at that. Looking forward to it. How's ninja girl doing?"

"Very well. She's off in her world of books again, and has nothing to report as far as the fools from the Iron are concerned. Haru and Hikari are fine and tending to their duties outside of us. I'll come by if anything changes, as we discussed."

"Cool. Have yourself a good day, Hannah."

"You as well, love." She takes the basket away as you finish emptying it and walks off.

You eat a hearty lunch, in which everything is pretty much flavoured to perfection. The cake is store bought, but also very balanced in its sweetness as well - she had a taste herself, otherwise she wouldn't have put it in the basket for you. Everything is washed down with some juice, mixed with mineral water as to give it a subtle extra bit of flavour.

Man. She went all out today. Or...it's possible she could spoil you more than this. You don't know how to feel about that yet.

In any case, you're full and energized for the next few hours. A few more minutes to let the food settle, then back to work.

You're going to work on the stance, adjusting until you hit the right burst of acceleration that will allow you to move seamlessly into your technique. From a full crouch, you don't need to use chakra and your acceleration is high. You can generate the force needed to push past the barrier and then activate the technique to transport yourself. But it takes more time and wastes the improvement of your lock-on as a result. You need to put everything together.

There is a middle ground. A body flicker is obvious and uses extra chakra. Using none puts you at a disadvantage. So what you'll do is focus on a chakra boost. A full body chakra boost. Synchronizing your entire being so that you could move yourself forward with optimal timing. It was a little bit of tunnel vision on your part, wanting to get your feet moving instead of realizing there was more to it. Hannah mentioned it herself: the difference between those go fast and those who possess speed is vast. You knew how to run, but simply weren't applying it properly.

Afternoon comes and you take another small break. You eat another sweet bun and some fruit before moving away from theory. Application is what's necessary now, and you have a good idea of what to do and what not to do. You start with your normal, low stance and take off using your entire body. It feels extremely weird after all the time you've spent just using your legs. But you know where you're going now.

And so you keep going, moving and flexing over and over again until you can feel your chakra getting notably low. Then you keep going until you're truly tired and sore from ripping in and out of the world, going down the familiar rainbow path and out the other side. Another day, you would explore the properties of that area and consider trying to harness that sort of energy, if it was possible. For now, you want to focus on this one task.

---

Hannah yawned as she walked down the lit paths, towards the 25th Utility Ground where her friend seemed to be still training. It wasn't worryingly late yet, but she wanted to be sure he didn't run himself ragged.

She was also hoping to catch a glimpse of what he had been working on.

The area was lit from a distance, enough to see and even spar by. She could hear the sounds of her slippers against the earth, and was thankful that it hadn't bothered to rain for the day.

"Joshua? Darling?"

"Over here, Princess."

She spotted him some distance away, looking quite tired and worn out.

"My love, you've done enough for the day. I know you said that you wouldn't be out too late, but I wanted to come see you for myself. Are you alright?"

"Heh, just fine. You're a real beauty, you know? Tell you what, you hold on a moment so I can come over and give you a kiss for your troubles. Deal?"

She sighed happily. "Of course. I'll wait a moment."

"Only that long," he said with a grin, taking a step towards her.

Before she could process anything, her body felt it. A sweet, soft touch on her left cheek that lingered a bit before moving away. The smell of sweat and hard work, a hand on her right shoulder.

He...had he really...?

A hot blush rippled through her before she met his eyes, awestruck.

"Finally got it. I figured I had to show you first, Hannah...you're my inspiration, after all."

She couldn't find the words to respond with. All she could do was look at him, things upon things swirling in her head. Amazement, excitement, confusion. Even more than that. Her lips were parted, her breathing steady.

He simply winked his brown eyes at her, going to pack up his things quickly before patting her on the shoulder. "Hannah?"

"God help me...you are not simply just a man."

She turned to face him, eyes sparkling with joy.

"You are an experience."

He coughed and blushed brightly. "What?! Hannah...you seriously need to-"

"I won't. I won't ever stop saying these things. I..." She shook her head, placing a hand over her beating heart. "We will go home, eat, and then process this for tomorrow. You are wonderfully absurd and I need time to appreciate this madness."

Hannah then stopped, raised a finger to the air, and spun to face Joshua again, pointing at him.

"The name."

"Well, you would ask that."

"It's important. You know how I get when it comes to these things."

Joshua closed his eyes before speaking. "Amenozenshin: Senkou." He opened them again to see that his friend looked very pleased.

"Well done. Come, beloved. Your dinner is being kept warm as we speak."

"Yeah. I'm actually pretty tired. Food sounds nice."

"Ritsu can give you a massage after your bath. And then I can have you to myself after that."

"I'll probably be asleep soon."

"That's quite alright," Hannah said as she walked ahead. "Time spent with you is a joy, no matter how it might be spent."

"You really are too much."

"But I'm your favourite."

He looked up at the starry sky and smiled. "Of course you are."

---

This technique, also called Motionless Celestial Advance, is an improvement on the original technique. By using precise bursts of chakra and whole-body movement, tremendous speed is generated from the ground or any similar stable surface.

Intent is hidden until the very last moment, allowing the user to approach with as little as a single standing step before appearing almost immediately in the target area. As with the technique's original incarnation, follow-up movements are possible. The improvements to the technique mean that there is even more fine control once transport is completed. This allows for more complex movements and combinations.

The limitations of movement still apply. Designated targets must be within the user's line of sight.

---

As far as you were concerned, Granny Becca was the best cook in the world. Your mom was predictably right behind her.

Hannah is on her way, right behind your mom, from what you can tell. Steak night as always is fantastic. You think of Sachi who you met months earlier. Hopefully she, Shiina, and Sora are all okay.

After dinner, you take a hot bath and relax in the tub for a long while.

"You'll wrinkle up in there."

"Mm." You open your eyes to see Hannah standing over you.

"Get out of there soon, alright? Ritsu is already asleep, so you can get a proper back rub tomorrow."

"Yeah."

You spend a few more minutes soaking before slowly getting out; you had worked yourself harder than you thought. Tomorrow probably wouldn't be too pleasant. Getting dried off and dressed is slow going as your eyes start to slide closed.

A light knock on the door catches your attention, and you open it to see Hannah on the other side.

"Hey. What's up..."

She quietly closes the door and guides you towards your bed. Before you know it, your head is in her lap somehow.

"I did say I was going to spend time with you."

"Hm."

"You've done so well today, my love. Go ahead and rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Yeah."

She gives you a tender smile from above. "Good night, Joshua."

You let your eyes close.

---

Tuesday

[] Rest for the day (soft skip to Wednesday).

[] Take one of the girls out for a few hours. Might ease some tension.
- [] Hannah
- [] Ritsu

[] Hang out with one of your friendly ANBU.
- [] Haru
- [] Hikari

[] Go to the Central Library and do some studying.

[] Meet with someone in the Leaf (free pick).

[] Create custom schedule.

---

It's Tuesday morning in universe. No training will be happening after the previous day was spent entirely on it. Any special options or ideas I can try to fit in, via approval voting. In about 24 hours the next round of the tournament will start.

The next deadline will be next Friday our time.
 
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[X]Go to the Central Library and do some studying.
[X] Hang out with Haru during the evening.Just chat with her-get to know her likes and dislikes, and so on.

@FortePlus just curious-is Itachi still in the village currently or is he off elsewhere?
 
[X]Go to the Central Library and do some studying.
[X] Hang out with Haru during the evening.Just chat with her-get to know her likes and dislikes, and so on.
 
[X]Go to the Central Library and do some studying.
[X] Hang out with Haru during the evening.Just chat with her-get to know her likes and dislikes, and so on.
 
Episode 5.11: New Age of Heroes - Lighter Days (First Intermission 7)
"..."

You get up and start to roll out of bed, then realize things feel different. It takes a bit for your mind to clear.

"Yeah...I forgot."

Looking upward, your eyes focus on your sleeping friend's face. Hannah is breathing softly with your head in her hands, resting in her lap. You're laid sideways across your bed with a few pillows underneath you.

"Mm?" She stirs slowly, eyes moving around the room before settling on you. "Good morning, beloved. Were you awake long?"

"I wasn't. Sorry if I was any trouble."

"Don't...be ridiculous. You could never be trouble. Not with such a handsome face."

"Sleep a bit longer," you say as you lift your head. "I'll make breakfast so that when you wake up again...ah-chaaa..." You hiss as you get up and feel your muscles protesting.

"You will do...no such thing," Hannah scolds drowsily. "Ritsu has already been instructed to make breakfast. You are in no condition to do work. Please save your strength."

"Yes'm. I'll go and wash up." Slowly, you get to your feet and just as slowly stretch your arms out. "Since I'm not going to be doing much today, is it alright if I head to the Central Library?"

"That's perfectly fine, love. Do you have any orders for the day?" she asks as she stretches.

"No changes. Keep an eye on the normal channels."

"Understood. If you get impatient, you can start breakfast without me. I'm going to take a morning bath...this period of luxury should be taken advantage of."

Hannah yawns and leaves the room. You wash up in the nearby bathroom as you said you would and then go towards the kitchen for food. Ritsu is in front of the stove, wearing a bathrobe with her wet hair let down.

"Morning."

"Good morning, sir." She spins around and delivers your plate to the table. "I'll bring you your tea next, just a moment."

"Thanks."

"You've been ordered not to do anything today, so I'll try and hold you to that while you're here."

"I'm gonna go to the library in a few hours."

"That's plenty of time for a proper massage. Please head into the living area when you're finished eating."

"Yeah, alright." You eat quietly and Ritsu takes away your plate when you're finished. A paper with the local news on it is on the table and you read it for a while after eating. Coverage is largely about the exams. Reporting isn't terribly biased towards Leaf in this paper, and you note some railing against the establishment in the opinion sections. "Interesting."

By the time you lift your head out of the newspaper, Ritsu has returned. Her hair is tied up into that familiar bow at the back of her head again.

"Are we ready?"

"Yeah, one second." You lift yourself out of your chair slowly and follow her to the living area. The low table is pushed out of the way, and you lie down on the floor, face first on a set of pillows.

"Shirt."

You pull off your t-shirt and hand it to her as she kneels beside you.

"Breathe and relax," she says quietly. "If you fall asleep, don't worry. I'll wake you if needed."

"This isn't a hassle, I hope."

"Something like this makes me very happy. And it will make you feel a lot better, which helps. I sometimes wonder why Mistress doesn't do this herself."

"She says you're really good."

"That's what she tells me all the time." You feel her hands press into your back. She starts to knead away the knots expertly. "But the opportunity to get her hands on you like this...I wouldn't expect her to pass it up."

"She has some restraint, at least."

"Clearly. I can attest to that." She lets out a soft breath as she works. "How does it feel so far?"

"Alright. Gentle, I'd say."

"Good. That means I can increase the pressure a little, to get rid of those tougher knots you have. Yesterday must have been something. Hannah was a bit distracted after delivering your lunch, and then after your late dinner...she was definitely out of it."

Huh. You were pleased with your results yesterday, but didn't think it was all that awe-inspiring. You never did though, so.

"I suppose I'll get to see what the fuss is about later. Let's focus on making you feel better for now." She spends a while working quietly, taking care not to be too rough with her hands and stopping every so often to reposition herself. When she's done, you feel a lot better than you did when you woke up.

"This is great," you say as you rise to your feet. You shake out your arms and legs; they still feel a bit sore, but you also feel lighter and relaxed. This should do for the rest of the day while you take it easy. "You're amazing, Ritsu. Thanks so much."

"No need for that, sir."

"Ah, don't be stubborn," you say as you put on your shirt and turn to her. "I appreciate you."

"And I'm the stubborn one?"

"You take after me."

She smiles and hugs you. "Of course I do. Thank you, sir. It was a pleasure."

"Did you want me to pick up anything while I was at the library?"

"Hmm." Her eyes float upwards in thought. "I could look into...mm, no. Nothing like that yet." She looks at you and shakes her head. "No, sir. I should be fine for now."

"Alright. Then I'll see you girls in a while."

You head to your room and gather your small messenger bag with a few writing materials. Hat on, light jacket, pants. Good to go.

"Hikari?"

"Sir. Awaiting orders, sir." She appears in front of you and salutes. You rub her head gently.

"Going to the Central Library. Busy?"

"Sir, no sir. I can be your escort. Did you want access to any sensitive materials, sir?"

"Nothing like that today," you say. "Probably will have to deal with it later, at some point. Just gonna do some other reading for now."

"Sir. Understood. When you're ready."

"We'll go now. I'll probably bring back lunch...heard there was a nice place with ribs around the library area."

Downtown was the place to be, and also where the biggest of the Leaf's libraries sat. Hidden Leaf Central Library and Information Complex, simply called the Central Library. There were several different buildings together, but the library itself was the biggest and most prominent here. Several other libraries, scattered around the village, formed a network that could relay information within minutes thanks to emerging audio and video technologies. They also continued to send coded messages through birds, who were kept on for the purposes of redundancy. The Leaf Aviary continued to be an important institution despite the rise of new communication methods. Good birds were difficult to replace, but also very hard to take out by enemies in the first place.

The facility you're going to has everything. Reference materials, research, and every common book under the sun. It's massive from the outside, a huge dome of rough-looking wood, covered in vines and leaves. Scattered all over the surface are openings for light to shine through. You go through the front entrance with Hikari, passing two shinobi guards.

"Nice."

A wide open lobby, with the big front desk to your right. Customer service is all handled over there. Beyond the lobby and the wide open reading space in front of you, there are rows of big shelves, with signs to indicate the types of material for those who were new or just unfamiliar with the library system. There are several open spaces to sit and read, between one section of shelves and the next. You can see that the openings on the outside were strategically made; light filters down directly to the reading areas and away from the bookshelves. As you can see several people moving around, the library is fairly quiet. People carry on conversations in the relaxed atmosphere without being too loud. Back home, it's a bit different, though Noriko worked incredibly hard to cultivate that sort of calm that rippled through the entire building.

But nobody could compare to her, honestly. She was born to run a library.

You walk up to the desk and are greeted by a friendly looking young man. He has his hair swept to one side and it has colouring like...that was what they called 'frosted tips', Hannah told you. Hm.

"Good morning, sir. Welcome to our Central Library. Is this your first time here?" he asks with a light tone.

"Yes, sir. I wanted to brush up on a few things while I was in town."

"Well, no need for formalities, and I'm here to help. My name's Yusuke, but go ahead and call me Yu. I see that you have a distinguished friend with you, so no worries. I'll be looking after you while you're here." He pulls out a book and sets it down on the desk, smoothing out his light green uniform once. "Where would you like to start?"

"A couple places. Is that okay?"

"That's not a problem. Ask away, hon."

You draw on your memory and approximate what you need. "Geopolitics, recent data and I would say...Kuroda 4th if you still have that around."

"We do have the 4th and some more recent books."

"Cool. Technique research from AW2-65 and AW3-65, 66 and 68."

"Mm-hm. Nothing after that, or more recent? AW3-98 has a lot of stuff for your type."

You chuckle. "My type, huh. Sharp."

"You should see my girlfriend's nails if you wanna talk about sharp," he jokes. "But seriously, you're hard to miss all around, for very good reasons. Goodness. Can you tell I'm sweating?" He fans himself with one hand while writing. "Mm...alright, got those down. Anything else?"

"What can you recommend on recent revolutionary movements?"

"Hmm..." Yu flips through a few pages before stopping. "What about a little dive into the politics of the Hidden Rain?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright. There haven't been too many recent reports, but there are some mixed ones about Hanzo of the Salamander. Either he's really been weakened, or he's out entirely."

You blink. "Really, now. Wild if true." It also meant a pretty big shift in the power structure. Well, Yukari was going to be there, so she'd probably have something to say about that.

"Definitely. Alright, anything else?"

"Should be all set."

"Beautiful. Just wait there a moment." Yu slides open a section of the front desk to walk through, then closes it again as he grabs his book. "If you would follow me, please. We're just going to head over to one of the common areas. You've probably noticed a couple of people walking around with cups and junk, that's allowed for the most part. As long as you're walking on the designated paths."

You and Hikari follow your librarian deeper into the facilities. There are more people organizing books and looking over the shelves now, indicating denser material. The various shades of green they wear brings to mind tree leaves, which is probably intentional. You also see more uniformed shinobi, some of them with lab coats on.

"We have a little shop set up near the heart of the library. This place doesn't close unless it's an absolute emergency, because there's so much that goes on at all hours of the day," Yu explains. "Tea, water, and coffee are free, all the other treats are a handful of ryo at most. Little things to help the study junkies keep themselves going. Basically, this whole section is where you can eat and drink without any fuss. Everywhere else is a bit more restricted, but water and sealed containers are just fine."

"It's everyone's library, pretty much," you conclude.

"Yes, exactly. It's because the place is so big and has to be accessible that the rules are more relaxed." He leans towards you. "Some of the other branch libraries are staffed by a couple of hardasses. Everyone wants to work here."

"Ah."

"The researchers and shinobi know better than to leave too much of a mess, so as you can see, the place still looks lovely after all these years. We still have people clean up every few hours, of course." Yu guides you to a large rectangular table, where others are already scattered about and working. "I'll be back in a while with your books. Anything to drink?"

"Tea and some water," you say as you sit.

"Water, please," Hikari says.

"Coming up. I'll pick you up some goodies on the house," he says with a wink. You settle yourself in as Yu leaves, taking out your writing instruments and a mid-sized scroll.

"You have something to do while you wait, Hikari?" you ask.

"Sir. I have some material to review, sir. I should be well occupied while I'm here."

"Good. Let me know if you need anything either way."

"Sir. Understood, sir."

You start making notes while Hikari produces a scroll, rolling it out in front of her. She puts her hands in her lap and starts to read.

"Here you are. Tea, water, and some light snacks," Yu says as he sets your items down. "Washrooms are right down any one of the corridors you can see, there are a bunch of them here." He hands you a small cube. "If you need anything, just put your hand on that and focus a bit. It'll send a signal straight to me. I'll be on standby while you're here, so don't worry about interrupting anything. Go ahead and call when you have to, for absolutely anything." He then sets down your books and provides you with a bookmark. "You keep the bookmark, and just let me know when you're leaving so I can get those books back on the shelves. Seriously, don't hesitate if you both need me."

"Thanks a lot, Yu. Appreciate it," you say.

"Thank you, sir," Hikari says.

"You're both very welcome. Happy reading!"

Nice fellow. You think Hannah would like him.

After taking a sip of your tea, you crack open the first book in the pile. It contains some great detail and analysis of the conflict that went on during the second war, particularly in the area where the Hidden Rain is. A lot of destruction and complicated, many sided conflicts with no clear winners. War is normally a mess, but this was a level of chaos that hadn't been seen since the era of warring states.

Ultimately, you want to get a feel for what Hanzo was doing at the time and why he was doing it. It's not as clear as you hope and not something that could be reproduced. Too many things went sideways at the same time, unlikely to happen again let alone in the same fashion. But you wouldn't solve it in a few hours. People who spent their entire lives on this one subject hadn't figured it all out.

The technique research materials were for ideas. You wondered about strengthening Amenozenshin in various areas, with different stages or forms of the technique. Ideas to increase the effective range come to mind. There's also the possibilty of mapping 3D space out, or selecting coordinates to travel to. The main focus of the technique should be preserved, overall. This is especially after your recent breakthrough.

Geopolitics...Kuroda 4th was a specific ask. Partly as a reference against other material, mostly because it's really good reading. Because of that, it's hard to find. Noriko made a point of ordering multiple copies. The 5th edition isn't out yet but should be within a couple of months. During that time there have been a few revisions of the 4th edition. You suspect that Kuroda is a woman using a man's pen name, based on some subtle uses of terminology.

After a few more hours you decide that you've done enough reading, and move to get up. Your body protests as a reminder of what you did the day before, but not too loudly this time. Using the small cube, you call for Yu and he appears quickly.

"All done for the day?"

"Yep. I'm good for now. Thanks a whole lot, Yu."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I hope you got what you needed. Here, I'll take those books off of you. Did you want to check anything out?"

"No, nothing right now. Might think about it though," you say as you pack up your things. You follow Yu back to the front desk as you finish.

"Well, I'm here on weekdays, so if you want a familiar face, just come back around this time. Of course, I have ulterior motives. Some of the girls are totally jealous that I got to you first, and I'm loving it."

You chuckle. "Seems I can't stop being a troublemaker."

"With that face? I doubt it," he says with a smile. "Alright, you take care now. Hopefully we'll get to see you again before you leave, but the library's open any time."

"Heh. I think you'll see me around for sure. My name's Joshua. Thanks again for taking care of me."

You shake hands firmly before parting ways.

"Sir. Permission to speak freely?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"It wasn't awkward?"

"Hm?" You look at Hikari as she speaks.

"The compliments?"

"Oh, that," you say as you leave the library. "Nah, it's cool. I dunno if I'm used to it exactly, but it's no trouble. Besides, Yu was a really nice guy. He's probably got suitors for days."

"Hm."

"I'm more worried about the girls. They can get pretty ruthless once they've locked on to a target." You think back to the early days of your physical transformation and shudder. "Yeah. No question."

"What if another woman wanted your attention? Like Lady Hannah does now?"

"Depends on the woman," you say. You feel like you know where this is going, but Hikari nods and leaves it where it is.

"I understand. Sorry if I was intrusive, sir."

"No worries. You do take after Haru, anyways."

"Sir?"

"She asked me what my type was the other day."

"I see..."

You sniff at the air and locate the place you were looking for. "Let's chow down on a few ribs and then take a bunch home. It'll please the Princess."

---

The ribs were surprisingly cheap by the rack, so you decide to buy a lot for later on. They would be good for snacks and such, as well as keeping the ladies away from the stove more often. Hannah is especially appreciative as you secured provisions for her and her appetite. Ritsu is fine with much less.

A good lunch at home is followed by a nap. You settle on the couch and go to sleep with a towel over your face. Life carries on around you.

You wake up after a few hours, feeling refreshed enough. Consider doing light exercise, but decide against it as Ritsu gives you a look while crossing the room. Right. Nothing doing today physically.

There's no time to be bored since you have more reports and data to look over, so you do that, combined with a few cups of hot tea. Hannah lazily trudges into the kitchen, grabs a container from the fridge, and then warms a rack of ribs in the oven.

"Dinner?" she asks you.

"Yeah."

"Mm. I'll be over in a bit." She gets another rack of ribs and puts it in the oven alongside the first. The smell is great even from this distance. She plates everything and grabs several napkins to take with her.

Hannah sets herself down on your lap as you continue reading. She's thoughtfully separated the ribs so you can pick them up easily, and do so with one hand while holding your book with the other. These are the type you like, where the meat is ready to slide off the bone and all. The two of you eat quietly until the whole plate is stacked with bones and nothing else. You clean your hands and continue reading as she rests against you.

"Any plans for later?" she asks.

"Thinking of taking Haru out. Casual time, just getting to know her," you say as you turn a page.

"That sounds like a good idea. She's really taken a liking to you."

"Yeah. I like her a lot, too. Just not in the way everyone expects, I guess. Present company excluded."

"I'm sure she would be a great mother, if it came to that. I certainly wouldn't mind."

"You don't mind too much on that end."

"I have all that I need with you. Though...perhaps my feelings might change with regards to family. I can't say anything for sure, but children of my own, by any means...that sounds delightful. But yes, spend some time with her, and let me know how it goes. On that note..."

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow is tournament day, and Thursday is our brunch with Lady Tsunade. I'll want a date for myself. Friday sounds good for now."

You laugh softly. "Well, I'm not really one to say no to you."

"Hm. Very good. And we'll work out a time for that dinner date with Kakashi and Rin."

"Yes'm."

"The woman of the hour arrives," Hannah says as Haru enters the room. She lifts herself away from you and saunters off, taking the dinner plate with her. "Have fun. Not too much, though."

"Going out tonight, sir?" Haru asks.

"Probably. Anything on your schedule?" you ask her as you close your book.

"Nothing tonight, sir. Anywhere in particular that you wanted to go?"

"Maybe. I wanted to hang out with you for the evening. That okay?"

"Me? You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"I asked that because of her."

"I know. My answer's the same."

She's silent for a bit. "Very well, sir. What should I do?"

"We'll go as we are now. Should be warm tonight." You stand up, feeling considerably less sore than this morning. Great. "See you guys in a while," you call out.

"Take care, loves," Hannah calls back as you leave.

"Have you ever tried milk tea?" Haru asks as you exit the hotel.

"Once or twice."

"There's a stand I like to visit often on breaks. It should still be open. If not, there's a small cafe that will do just as well."

"Lead the way."

She nods and the two of you take a casual walk towards the eastern part of the village. As usual, people are out and the streets are lively enough. Plenty of people who stand out as foreigners, including shinobi who are looking to gather data. Disguised, obviously, but not enough to escape your notice.

"There's not much here to meddle with, civilians aside. But no amount of surveillance is a waste at this point in time."

"Hm."

"We're here." Haru walks up to a cart where tea is being brewed. She bows towards the elderly couple and they acknowledge her.

"The usual, little kit?" the old woman asks.

"Yes, ma'am. Two orders."

"Travelling with a strong young fellow like that. Make sure you take care of her."

Haru makes an amused sound beneath her mask. You smile.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be sure to," you say knowingly.

"Good lad. Here you go." The woman hands you two large cups and pats your hands gently. Haru hands the man her payment and he silently nods. She bows once more and leaves with you.

"It's been a few years that I've known them. You remember Captain Taro?"

"Yeah. You took him here?"

"Once, after a mission. He thought the tea was alright, but didn't elaborate. Safe to say his mind was occupied with other things."

It's a cool, milky liquid in your cup. The cup itself seems to be made of an interesting and biodegradable material that doesn't compromise on durability. You take a sip of your drink.

"Pretty good. I like it." Haru takes her cup from you and slides her mask up to sip.

"Yes, as always. They know how to get it just right."

"Is this where you usually hang out?" you ask.

"No." She pauses for a moment before turning her attention to you. "I feel like I can be open with you, so...I should show you one of our places."

"Yours and Hikari's."

"Yes. Not too far from here...somewhere that people pass by without a second thought."

The two of you head back west, going through a small park until you hit the back edge. You continue walking until you encounter a small drop, and jump down before going through some brush. After that there's a lightly worn path, going towards a small circle of trees.

One of them has a thick branch near the top. You walk up to it with Haru and have a seat next to her. She shifts her mask over to her left side and has a good sip of her drink, letting out a sigh.

"I wonder if she'll kill you too."

"You're paranoid."

"I have every right to be," she retorts. "You say you're not lovers, but it's hardly convincing."

Your gaze goes up to the starry sky. "We're not."

"Just terribly intimate."

"Yeah."

"I repeat myself."

"We're not having sex," you say bluntly. "And she doesn't hate you."

"She doesn't have to."

"She really thinks a lot of you, Haru."

"...I should apologize. It's hard to believe. She's really...incredibly attractive. Any man would probably kill to get a chance with her...to spend the rest of their life with the approximation of a goddess."

"A little much, I think."

"Hardly. It's not even low self-esteem, I just see the way people look at her. That's what makes it difficult to think that she wouldn't see me as a threat. And that she's not your lover while being that intimate with you. It's really platonic, then."

"Yep." You sip at your tea.

"What if another woman made a pass at you?"

"I'd think about it."

"Hm. Why did you ask for this? To hang out, I mean."

"Wanting to get to know you better."

"No ulterior motives?"

"Nothing obvious."

"That sounds about right." You hear her take another light sip of tea and let out a breath. "There are things I like and dislike. Dreams I have. As much as I try to escape the gravity of it, I'm a human being as well. Not just a ghost who can breathe fire every once in a while. Shinobi aren't the masters of the earth. I don't know if we could be."

"Doubt it."

"I feel the same. You see how I treat Hikari...and I told you about those children that I've been sponsoring. I like the feeling of being an older sister. I don't exactly know why, but it just feels right. Taking care of others, loving them, being a source of comfort. Lots of things. It's more than simply being nice. It's...a big mix of things. All the pain included."

"That makes sense."

"Do you have siblings?"

"One older sister."

"I see. Maybe she feels the same. How close are you?"

"Very," you say. "She always looked after me. Protected me."

"She did a lot."

"Yeah."

"Our feelings might not be so different after all. I also like, I guess, more traditional feminine things. I like to sew. I like knitting even more, with the big needles and all. I used to spend long trips with yarn and senbon, making intricate patterns. It's fun. But my favourite is what they call shepherd's knitting."

"Is that the one with the hook needles?"

"Yes, it is. Did your parents show you?" she asks.

"My old man did. He picked it up for a time, but decided he was fine with his string games and left it alone. Grams does it though, along with everything else."

"Grams?"

"Ah, sorry. My grandmother. That's what I call her."

"Oh, I see." She hums briefly. "I'm surprised that you knew about that, but you seem to know a lot. You're experienced and well-read."

"Thanks."

"You already know that I enjoy fried food. I like cooking it, and cooking in general. There's not too much to talk about, honestly."

"No worries. It's not uncomfortable, is it?" you ask. "Don't force yourself."

"No, no...it's nice talking to someone. Being able to share things here and there. I trust you, it's just that I'm not terribly used to it outside of spending time with Hikari, and she does most of the talking. It's not that she's exactly a chatterbox, but she likes to share things with me. Well, I call her by her name when we're alone."

Haru happily reminisces for a while as you sit in silence, watching the stars above you.

"What don't you like?" you ask eventually. "If it's not too touchy, I mean."

"You'll think it strange after all of my snark."

"I wonder."

"I get nervous when congregating around women. Especially if they're aggressive. The atmosphere doesn't really suit me. Even with the banter and all...I can keep up, I just don't feel great. Disconnected, perhaps. And then I made an assumption about...you know."

"I get it. I'm sure she could tell."

"You said that she actually likes me?"

"Yeah."

"...Hannah really is nice. Not just that, I suppose...very comforting to be around. Maybe if we spent more time around each other, we'd bicker more. I'm guessing, anyways. But I'm inside of my own head sometimes, so I always wondered. Just...if she wasn't being polite because she thought I was fragile."

"Hm."

"There are other things I'm not too fond of. I can clean, but I don't like doing it too often. So I try to minimize the amount of things I have to clean. I don't like beans all that much, but if they're mixed with something else I can tolerate them. I don't like pushy men...and that sort of made me dislike dating in general."

"Is that why you're not hitched already?" you joke.

"It's possible. I just haven't found the right man. I'm fairly sure it will be a man in the end. Marriage sounds interesting, or at least a long term relationship. On a deeper level...things I don't like." She sips from her cup and lets out a long breath.

"..."

"I think this world is corrupt in a lot of ways. I...don't like that people are used as tools. I work in the ANBU and something like that...seeing a lot of it already, I never got used to it. Never accepted it, in any circumstance. The pressure, the kind of life you have to force yourself to live. That's too much. I sometimes come back from missions and feel like I'm falling away from the world. I just don't feel right at times. And I...didn't want to lose control a few days ago, but it was..."

"It was difficult," you finish.

"I chose to get drunk instead of feel pain. I do my best not to run away from things like that. But I get weak sometimes."

"There's nothing wrong with that. Or you."

"It's reassuring to hear. There's a lot to say. But it's not the time, I think."

You finish your tea and nod. "That's cool. Like I said, no need to force anything."

"Thanks for listening to me. Like, actually listening and not just analyzing data points to respond to."

"Heh. You're more of a miracle than you realize, Haru."

"Am I...saying something like that."

"Hm?"

"You talk too much sometimes...Joshua."

Her mask is on the side of her head, so you can't see her face clearly. But you're used to that and took to reading her body language instead. She's relaxed and seems happy.

"I don't mean to tease you," you say.

"You're also too nice. Too good to be true."

"I get that enough."

"As you should. You're a miracle of the universe yourself."

You smile and let her have the last word.

---

Wednesday Morning (Tournament Day)

[] The team goes out and watches. Tournament results are summarized.
[] The team goes out and watches. We'll get to see the tournament live!
[] Custom option.


Wednesday Afternoon/Evening

[] Custom option.
[] Soft skip to Thursday morning.

---

had to eat ribs in the middle of the update

Next deadline should be Saturday.
 
Wednesday Morning (Tournament Day)
[X] The team goes out and watches. We'll get to see the tournament live!

Wednesday Afternoon/Evening
[X] Try to see if you can find Itachi around the village. You need to get some info on this Madara person-maybe he can shed some light on it?
-[X] Bring Hannah along!
 
Wednesday Morning (Tournament Day)
[X] The team goes out and watches. We'll get to see the tournament live!

Wednesday Afternoon/Evening
[X] Try to see if you can find Itachi around the village. You need to get some info on this Madara person-maybe he can shed some light on it?
-[X] Bring Hannah along!
 
Episode 5.12: New Age of Heroes - For Honour
Today was tournament day. The crowds came out in force for the big event, two semi-final matches.

Haru arranged for front row seats in one of the premium sections, and the group made it in relatively early. Hikari brought everyone breakfast before returning to her post, and Haru confirmed security arrangements before settling down with Joshua, Hannah, and Ritsu.

A short ceremony took place before the four remaining participants were acknowledged on the field. The Hokage rose to his feet and addressed the crowds.

"Welcome to the second round of the Chuunin Selection Exams. A few days ago, we saw great displays of strength and courage from those of several villages. Without a doubt, I know that myself and the rest of the Five Kage are very proud of the children we have sent here to represent us. With that said, out of eight competitors, four remain and will be fighting to reach the final round.

From the Leaf, Sakura Haruno.

From the Leaf, Sasuke Uchiha.

From the Leaf, Naruto Uzumaki.

And not least, from the Mist, Shiori Ishikawa.

These four have overcome many obstacles and challengers to make it to this point. This next round of fighting will test their strength and resolve. Good luck to all of them. Let the second round of the tournament begin!"

"The first match will be Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha," Hayate announced.

"Good luck to both of you," Shiori said before leaving.

"Don't beat each other up too much, yeah?" Naruto said with a grin.

"You should worry more about yourself," Sasuke shot back.

"Yeah, seriously. Focus on your own match for once," Sakura said.

"Heh." He noted the determined look in Sakura's eyes and nodded before leaving.

"Rules haven't changed. Follow my commands. Surrender if you feel like you're in any real danger, don't go too far with attacks, and listen for when I call the match. Fighters, acknowledge."

"Acknowledged," Sakura said.

"Acknowledged," Sasuke said.

"Good. Fighters ready."

Sakura kept her hands at her sides, looking right at Sasuke. She was nervous, and it was obvious to everyone. But still...she wanted to do her best. She didn't want to be pitied, she didn't want to be told that she never had a chance, and that she did the best she could.

It had to be more than that.

Sasuke saw her determination and acknowledged it, drawing a kunai and holding it in a reverse grip. He faced his friend and teammate squarely, showing her that she was worth his attention.

Sasuke...thank you.

The excitement in the crowd was building, both inside and outside. Sakura tuned everything out and continued to watch Sasuke as he settled into position.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command, Sakura reached into the pouch on her side and flicked a pill into her mouth, swallowing it. Sasuke realized what had happened immediately.

"To the limit, then? Alright...let's go, Sakura." His eyes flashed and he activated his Sharingan. Sakura shuddered for a moment as her skin started to redden with heat.

"She's going all out right away," Mei said from her seat. "This fight will definitely be interesting."

"I see. Against any opponent, it would certainly be a gamble. But against Uchiha, I can see why she would resort to something that extreme," Oonoki commented. "A brave young woman. The Leaf should be proud of her no matter what happens."

Sakura gathered her chakra and burst forward, disappearing from the vision of most spectators. Sasuke easily tracked her and read her punch, electing to dodge it. The earth where he once stood was torn apart from the impact; Sakura quickly recovered and started to chase him down.

All it will take is one blow. That's what she's counting on. It sounds like a simplistic strategy, but I need to stay focused. Anything can happen.

Sakura closed in and threw a flurry of chakra-enhanced punches, gusts of wind flowing from each strike. Sasuke calmly dodged each punch, watching her chakra levels and keeping an eye on the position of her feet. He saw a change and dashed backwards as Sakura quickly flipped into an axe kick, buckling the ground inwards. She let out a harsh breath and ran after Sasuke again, chasing him up the far wall.

"How's she doing?" Naruto asked from his position on the railing.

"Well enough, I think," Hinata answered. Her Byakugan was scanning the field. "There's the expected rapid chakra burn, but with her expert chakra control, she won't run out of steam too quickly. Sasuke hasn't expended much energy yet, naturally."

Sakura took a flying leap and blew apart the wall with a punch. Sasuke jumped back down into the arena and quickly rolled as Sakura landed with a stomp where he once was.

"She's really making use of that boost."

He tilted his head to one side as a rock ripped past him. Sakura jumped out of her crater and rapid fired more of them as he dodged and ran, then accelerated in an arc as she ran out of ammunition. Sasuke saw her coming and ducked her elbow before responding with his own, hitting her in the ribs. He watched the twitch of her muscles as she reeled.

"No good, huh."

He quickly made seals and surged lightning over his body, throwing Sakura backwards and to the dirt. She quickly popped back to her feet and charged Sasuke again.

She didn't feel it, but her body did. That must be the work of the stimulants. It's like striking armour...if I attack and she just ignores the pain, then she's free to counter attack me afterwards. And she just needs one shot to cripple me.

She threw a high punch that he ducked, then followed with a sweeping low kick that he hopped over before kicking her in the face himself. Sakura rocked back slightly before springing forward for a tackle; Sasuke landed and immediately front flipped over her in the nick of time, whipping a shuriken at her back. She spun around and let it hit her in the shoulder, then pulled the weapon out and threw it back at Sasuke who stepped to one side.

Sakura charged again with one glowing hand on her wound, removing it as soon as she healed in order to throw a punch combination. Sasuke weaved through her attack and landed an open palm strike on her chest, sending her sliding backwards.

"Hm. Wonder why I attacked there first..."

"What could you mean by that?" Sakura asked, catching her breath.

"Your forehead's the bigger target."

She chuckled lightly. "Like I needed more motivation to beat your face in...but it'll help."

"Hopefully you're enjoying yourself. I know the crowd's loving it," he said.

"Tch. They'd better. This is going to suck once all the stimulation wears off. Your fists are damn heavy, you know that?" Sakura clenched her fists tightly, taking a stance. "But this turned out to be the best strategy of all."

"I completely forgot about what Kiba did in the preliminaries, so good on you for picking up on it." Sasuke holstered his kunai and made seals.

"Guessing this is where the fun begins, eh?" Sakura said with a wry smile. She watched as lightining burst forth from Sasuke's left hand, the sound of a thousand chirping birds reaching her ears.

"You know it."

They stood at length from each other for a few long, tense moments.

Then they both disappeared from sight.

Sakura redirected her wealth of energy into speed, trying to react as quickly as possible to Sasuke as he charged her with Chidori. Her arm went up to parry the first attack, lightning cutting and scorching her skin before Sasuke spun and kicked her away. She could feel that one, and it was harsh...but it was better than getting run through so quickly.

Sasuke accelerated again, aiming for her body with his technique only to slam it into her hand. Sakura stopped for a moment in pain before reaching with her other hand for a kunai. Sasuke punched at it with his free hand before withdrawing Chidori and going for another strike, only to have it just barely parried by Sakura's bloodied fist. She grit her teeth before lashing out with a kick, missing as Sasuke body flickered backwards. Her foot went up again and came down, smashing the earth apart and creating jagged pieces that shot upwards.

"No time." Sasuke shut off Chidori and immediately made handseals while breathing in. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower!"

He shot a barrage of fireballs into the air, then activated Chidori once more before rushing ahead. The fireballs came down from every direction as he closed in on Sakura.

I can see you winding up...but I'm ready.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

He watched the balls of flame land, hitting Sakura as he extended Chidori forward. It went through the rock and into her shoulder, making her freeze before she fell over.

"She's unstable...is that it?" Sasuke caught his breath and called on Chidori once more. Sakura had really come close with her battle of attrition...they both knew that he didn't have as much chakra control, and with the extra boost provided by the soldier pill, it would be harder to put her down without a strong technique.

"Shiori..."

"I see it, Junko." The sisters stood impressed by Sakura, but the truth was in front of them.

She hadn't landed a single hit since the fight started.

Sasuke prepared to cut through the barrier in front of him, but then stopped to reach into one of his holsters and fire a shuriken into the air. It clashed against another coming for him, covering Sakura's escape as she rose into the air. She came down behind Sasuke and threw a punch that missed and slammed into the upturned rock behind him as he flickered away to one side, Chidori still active.

So much strain. So much burning. All of the chakra didn't make things more comfortable, it made them much more tense. The raw energy pushing against her system that had to be tightly controlled and expelled. And that was converted into power that made her bones creak and heart race. She was hurting and exhausted. She hadn't even touched her opponent.

Even then...

"In order for Chidori to do its best work, momentum is required. It's dangerous enough when used with one hand, but...that's not how our teacher designed it. Every moment, you've been working to get close to me. Even now. Even when you're nearing your limit, Sakura."

Sasuke smiled and gathered his chakra. Chidori fizzled out once more.

"I'll put an end to this...as Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan. You're more than worthy of that. You can show it all to the world, Sakura. Get ready!"

He made seals quickly and took a deep breath in. Sakura accelerated and braced herself. If it was a fireball, then...

No.

It had to be something bigger. Something more majestic. Sasuke. The great child of the Uchiha.

"Fire Release...!"

Shiori's lips moved without sound as she watched.

This is...the Hidden Leaf. Magnificent...

"Grand Dragon Fire!"

Sasuke exhaled, a hand near his mouth. He breathed a flame that shot forward with force and changed shape. A bright, burning dragon's head with angry eyes and sharp teeth. Big. Fast. A mouth opened wide.

She looked at the world of flame in front of her and found that her fist couldn't tear through it. She found herself carried off, swallowed in a hazy world of heat and light as the dragon skimmed and scorched the earth before rising into the sky, pulling up past the stunned onlookers and bathing them in heat.

And then, a brilliant explosion in the air, sending Sakura high before she fell through the haze and towards the earth below.

"That took a lot more than I calculated. I guess the fight was closer than I thought."

He caught her smoking form as she fell and landed quietly on the ground, setting her down for the referee to see. Hayate started the count as everyone looked on.

"Nine...ten. I'm calling it. Sakura Haruno is unable to continue. Winner, Sasuke Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf."

Tsunade descended towards the battlefield a few moments later to check on her student.

"I didn't do too much damage, I hope..."

She looked over the girl's scorched clothing, and the minor burns on her arms and legs.

"You and I know she's a lot tougher than that. But she's exhausted after using the rations pill and all. It's a lot more work than people realize using those in battle," she said to Sasuke.

"Yeah."

Sasuke felt a hand on his head and looked up at Tsunade.

"Sasuke. Thanks for that. I know that she appreciated you giving it all you had...and I do too. So does Rin. It means a lot to her and to all of us..."

"I don't know what exactly my feelings are yet. I just know that Sakura means a lot to me, and that she's worth every ounce of effort I have."

"Don't know what your feelings are yet? Tch," she said with a smile, mussing up his hair, "you cheeky little brat."

"Oi..."

"She'll be more than fine. Sore for the next few days, but fine. Take her out for ice cream or something later."

"Hm." He stood up and brushed himself off. "I guess I'll leave her in your care for now, Auntie Tsuna."

Sasuke walked back to the middle of the arena, acknowledging the crowd as cheers and applause came down. Tsunade placed one hand over Sakura's stomach and started the healing process.

"You're a lucky girl, you know that?" she said to her unconscious student. "An Uchiha boy who loves you to bits, even if he thinks he's too cool to admit it. You're set for life."

She watched Sasuke's back as he waved lazily to the crowd.

"You kids are on your way. I promise to help you get to your happy place. Together."

Shiori clenched a fist tightly as she looked on.

"If she can...then I can, too. For everyone who believes in me, I won't run away. It's time to go full throttle..."

She turned to face the boy across from her.

"Naruto Uzumaki...here I come."

He grinned back.

"You got it. Let's go wild...Shiori!"

---

No voting for now. Match 2 is up next.

Next deadline will be Thursday. Hope you enjoy.
 
Heh. Our little kids are no pushovers, that's for sure. Sasuke's new technique is awesome too! Also, it's interesting to see Sakura's love being reciprocated early on in this version of Naruto. I'm hoping to see a more parental Sasuke by the time Boruto rolls out.
 
It's actually a technique you've seen before, only it's been learned much earlier here. Specifically, the fireball technique used to prime Kirin. It has some very interesting properties.

That said, there's still plenty of mystery to be found.

Boruto, huh...hmm...
 
Episode 5.13: New Age of Heroes - Proof of Courage
"Naruto Uzumaki and Shiori Ishikawa. Take your positions."

Naruto tightened his headband before starting on his way to the battlefield.

"Oi, Naruto."

"Yeah. I saw it, Sasuke. She's all business."

"There's a chance that she could really make something happen in this fight," Sasuke continued. "Make sure you're on your guard."

"Heh. Nagging me because of what's at stake, eh?"

"..."

"That's fine," Naruto said as he faced his best friend. "I'll come out of this on top...cause I wanna fight you too, Sasuke."

"Then you know what you have to do."

"The air has definitely become heavier," Hinata commented. "Just the same as last time...be careful, Naruto."

"Yeah. I promise."

She smiled and gave him a hug.

"Like everyone else said, take care of yourself." Sakura stood up to pat him on the back. "Not that someone like you would go down so easily, but that girl's especially fired up today."

"Yeah. Thanks, Sakura."

On the other side, Junko and Shiori spoke to each other simply, without words passing between them. Hope, shimmering and pure, went from one pair of eyes to the other.

Junko handed her broken tanto to Shiori, sliced in half cleanly by Sasuke days before. Shiori took it gently, their hands brushing against each other.

She quietly walked to the stairs and downwards, moving past personnel. They gave her a wide berth as she moved.

The stadium erupted with noise as Naruto appeared. Minato walked from his seat and down towards the railing, leaning over slightly as the two fighters reached the middle of the field where Hayate was. He looked them over and gave them both a nod.

"Rules remain the same," he said above the noise. "No killing if you can help it. Listen to my commands, stop when I tell you to. Fighters acknowledge."

"Acknowledged," Shiori said.

"Got it," Naruto said as he bounced on his feet.

"Both fighters affirm. Get yourselves ready." Hayate checked them both one last time before raising his arm.

Naruto brought his hands close together. Shiori reached towards the two sword handles on her back.

Never felt anything so heavy. She's really ready to go for it...then I guess I can't hold too much back myself.

"I can feel it," Hannah said from her seat. "That determination to win. At this point, I don't know what the outcome could be."

"Yeah," Joshua said from beside her. "It wasn't exactly foregone, but...it feels like things have shifted. Let's see what Shiori can really do."

"Begin!"

Hayate threw his arm down and jumped back. Naruto made a seal and two Shadow Clones appeared at his sides before dashing forward. Shiori rushed back, drawing both of her tanto.

That's...isn't that from Junko's fight?

"In this battle, I've been entrusted with a great strength."

Sparks shot out from the broken blade before erupting into flame, creating a burning edge that completed it once more.

"This is our will. Our burning blood."

"I'm heating up, too! Let's get moving!" Naruto shouted back. He made a Rasengan in one hand before following his clones. Shiori twisted her other hand, making the tanto in it vibrate with electricity.

I keep forgetting how ridiculous she is...even if they're not all developed yet, she's got control of three elements already! The more I think about it, the scarier she gets!

"Can't waste time, then!"

Shiori stopped and swung outwards, creating a wave of flames as she parried the clones that struck at her from both sides. She then accelerated forward and stabbed at the Rasengan in Naruto's palm, making it explode and throw them both backwards. They recovered at the same time and charged again, Shiori ducking and weaving through the clone attacks while thrusting her blades at Naruto each time he tried to attack.

"Go!" Naruto made the Tiger seal and called out more clones, having them attack with shuriken from a distance. Shiori stopped her advance and skillfully shredded the weapons with her lightning tanto, then burst ahead to spear a clone in the chest, making it pop and disappear. Naruto watched carefully as she shot backwards towards another clone and slashed at it with her fire tanto, making it disappear as well.

She's not using a body flicker. What is it?

Naruto made more clones before advancing with another Rasengan. Shiori ducked a kunai from another Naruto clone before bursting forward and running it through, making it pop into smoke.

I wonder if he's baiting me...or is he simply trying to figure out my movements? He's probably noticed by now...

Another wave of clones popped up ahead of her, and she charged straight ahead. She weaved under a slash from one and twisted away from a kick before slashing outwards, dispatching both of them. She leaned backwards under a punch and kept her body level as a kick passed over her head; she reached backwards and stabbed her tanto into the ground, using them as leverage to flip backwards. She made seals while in the air and slammed her hands to the ground as she landed, making two earth walls that hit clones as they rose up. Shiori moved ahead again, pulling her blades from the earth and igniting them before spinning and slashing away two more clones in the small corridor.

Her cyan eyes flashed as she sped up, charging towards the real Naruto and coming across her body with both tanto burning brightly.

It should be here. In order to make use of the technique as quickly as possible, you need to...

She caught the half-seal he made at his side. Her swords came down and she followed through even as he vanished, appearing next to one of his special kunai in the distance. She let her momentum carry her through, until...

"Accelerate."

"!"

Naruto readied a Rasengan and it clashed with Shiori's swords as she reached him. The flames were blown away and he moved for another strike with the chakra sphere, but Shiori put a wall between them as she backed away.

"She wasn't that fast before, was she?" Sakura asked as she looked on. "What's going on?"

"Lightning chakra," Sasuke said.

"Eh? Don't tell me she has a chakra mode..."

"No, it's nothing like that," Hinata responded. "Do you remember the technique she used against me in the last round? She used it to unseal her pressure points, but I suspected that she was using an alternate form of it for that situation."

"She's using bursts of lightning chakra to enhance her movements, for a few moments at a time," Sasuke explained. "A body flicker is fast, but using lightning in place of it, or to enhance it, activates the entire body. You can both move and precisely react at that speed."

"Yes," Hinata said with a nod. "While it's only a substitute, it works well enough for this purpose. Of course, there's a drawback..."

"It's that her body can't take that kind of stress like the Raikage could." Sakura looked on as Shiori dodged a wave of shuriken from Naruto's clones. "Another gamble, huh."

"Well, it's not like she has a choice. And you've got yourself to blame for that, you know."

Sakura and the others turned to face Junko as she approached them.

"What did I do, exactly?"

"Got her all fired up by taking it to Sasuke, of course. Don't tell me you missed it."

"I wasn't really paying attention. I guess it makes sense..."

"Whether she wins or not, she wants to go out swinging. That's who my sister is, after all...believe it or not, she's the one with the most heat out of us both," Junko said with a grin. "It's gonna be a pretty spectacular finish, believe me."

"You're not worried?" Hinata asks.

"Not at all! Like I said earlier, that's my sis." Junko looked out at the battlefield. "Long as she comes home in one piece, that's all that matters. She's out there taking on the world's best, and showing everyone that the Mist isn't anything to mess with."

Shiori dispatched another clone and jumped backwards to assess her situation. Her chakra was at a reasonable level, but Naruto was as ridiculous as she expected. He didn't look winded at all, and his movements had yet to dull. But she did have something to look to...

He was getting impatient.

Naruto looked back at Shiori and knew she could see his unease. There was no telling what she would try, whether it was that close range burst from Hinata's fight, or her speed enhancing technique that she had been using periodically during the match. She was well aware that she couldn't outlast him.

"I suppose that it's time. Between my chakra levels and all of the possible ways you can escalate this...hm." Shiori sheathed both of her tanto and made seals before pressing one hand to the earth. Her arm was then coated in dense rock, denser than she would normally use, and she pulsed heat through it as she stood up again.

Naruto let out a breath and calmly formed two Rasengan, one in each hand. His five remaining clones stood behind him, ready to move.

Mei leaned forward in her seat, watching nervously.

"Ignition."

Shiori's rock covered arm burst into flame. Faint sparks danced around her form.

Naruto pushed more chakra into his Rasengan, making them grow in size and rotate faster.

It seemed like everyone was holding their breath in the stands as they watched.

"Let's go!"

At Naruto's command, the clones shot forward and readied their three pronged kunai. Shiori went into a light jog towards them, observing their movements as Naruto charged ahead. They threw their kunai into the air in different directions.

Then they all started to teleport.

"Hmph."

Sasuke tried his best not to sound impressed, even as he looked on curiously at the display. An array of orange streaks of light, bouncing from target to target in a web around Shiori. The crowd got loud, roaring with excitement as they watched the Fourth's son put on a ridiculous display.

Rasa shook in his seat, making Oonoki grin with amusement.

"So this is the Leaf's brightest, eh? You've raised yourself a monster child, Yellow Flash!"

"Heh. That kind of technique...it's definitely got my flash, but it's built on his mother's sensibilities. I wouldn't blame Shiori for being scared. But..."

He looked back at Mei.

"The Mizukage's raised herself a genius too. Right?"

Mei smiled and nodded.

The idea...a feint from multiple dimensions. Based on what you've seen, it makes sense. Everything at once...

"We're going full throttle!"

The streaks of light shot towards her, a mass of what seemed like hundreds of Shadow Clones. Half readied wind techniques, the other half Rasengan as they descended on Shiori's position.

"Uzumaki Spiral Storm!" they shouted in unison.

"Double Ignition."

The flames on Shiori's arm burned white.

"Overload."

She planted her foot and threw a wide punch into the air, missing the first clone completely.

"Detonate."

"It's over!"

Shiori's fist moved in a stream of flames, whirling her around and creating a white-hot tornado. Naruto's Rasengan-holding clones were boosted ahead by the ones using Gale Palm.

"Orbital Grudge!" Shiori roared.

The clones were blasted with heat and flame, puffing into smoke as Shiori spun and spun. She grit her teeth as she forced herself to a sudden stop, bringing her burning fist low as the real Naruto appeared in front of her, his two Rasengan ready. She focused, her body creaking with pain and exhaustion as her fist moved through the narrow gap between his outstretched arms.

"Detonate! Fatal Buster!"

In another brilliant stream of flames, her fist moved for a wild uppercut that caught Naruto on the chin, sending him flying upwards and into the far wall, cracking it apart on impact. He bounced and started his fall towards earth.

The crescent of flame from Shiori's mighty swing had yet to fade.

Four discarded kunai, still floating in the air, transformed into people that shot ahead towards her.

There's always more, isn't there? Always...a path beyond that once uncrossable valley.

She pumped lightning chakra into her limbs and drew her tanto as quickly as she could, ripping through two clones coming at her from the sides.

And sometimes, after the long journey...you don't have enough to take on the new challenge. Even if your destination is so close in comparison.

Naruto yelped as he hit the ground painfully.

Shiori grit her teeth, and the remaining clones struck before she could react again. Her body was pinned between two Rasengan that ground into her from opposite directions. She dropped her swords, she fought to stay conscious, and the whirling spheres of chakra exploded together.

Naruto forced himself to his feet as the dust started to clear.

"You gotta be kidding me." A nervous grin, supported by genuine admiration.

Shiori was still on her feet.

She couldn't hear the crowd, or much of anything. She could barely move. But she was up, and that much was enough.

But there's no shame in stopping. There's no shame in coming up short.

"Never give up...never turn back...always honour your word." Naruto mumbled to himself before making a seal. "Shadow Clone!"

Shiori opened one eye and spat out blood. She could see the many Narutos running towards her. He was hurt, at least. It was something, the faintest light at the end of a long tunnel. She willed her arms to move and her hands to make seals. She inhaled and spat out earth onto her hands that solidified too slowly. The wet smack of mud sounded out with her first weak punch, and she staggered to deliver the other that made the first clone burst into smoke.

I remember. I wanted to take on the world, and win. But reaching this height, even if it's not going to end in the way I wanted...it's enough. And I hope that it makes everyone happy in the same way.

Lady Mei...I remember.

I am the future!


One last surge of chakra flooded Shiori's body. She let the mud fall from around her hands as lightning rippled across her limbs.

"Valiant...Overload!"

The burst of lightning tore through the clones around her. She shot ahead towards Naruto.

"Not fast enough!"

Naruto ducked her punch and gathered chakra in his right palm. It was brutal, but it was as necessary as anything else.

Because Shiori was strong!

"One more...! Rasengan!"

He hit her as the lightning chakra fizzled out, leaving her helpless. She felt the attack grind into her and closed her eyes, still fighting as she felt her muscles tighten in response.

"Go down!"

He stumbled and slammed her backwards into the dirt, the attack exploding and throwing dirt and dust high into the air. Naruto tumbled a short distance before quickly popping onto his feet. He could make out something...feel something...

"There's...there's no way! After three of those?! She's really...!"

Naruto growled in frustration and charged with yet another Rasengan in his hand.

"Stop."

"!"

He slid to a stop as Hayate appeared in front of him.

"It's over."

"But she's-!"

"No. She's not."

The dust cleared, and Naruto's eyes widened as he saw her.

Shiori was on her knees, having found her broken tanto from earlier. She was still, holding her weapon downward in her bloodstained hands.

"She's unconscious," Hayate said quietly.

"I...don't get it. If she's unconscious, then why...?"

"At times your body can react subconsciously. It might be in response to a stimulus, or a desire strong enough to overcome your own thoughts. To the very end, she wanted to fight. Her body, even now, is responding to that wish. There isn't anything else running through her head."

"..."

"There are a lot of stories...about shinobi who were dead and willed themselves back to life. Sometimes, it was enough for them to be saved, but most of the time...that was it for them, no matter what. They got back up anyways, for the sake of their comrades. A few precious moments bought to win a fight, to save a life, to retreat to safety. One last stand with all they had. Those moments changed the lives of their friends and teammates. They changed the future."

"You're saying that...you can use your will to change the future itself?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. You can. It sounds crazy to most people."

"It would, yeah. But it makes sense. I...get it now. There's so much that Shiori was fighting for. That's why she isn't giving up, even now. Until her last breath...she's fighting."

Hayate nodded, coughing once. Shiori's dulled cyan eyes stared straight ahead.

"Shiori Ishikawa is unable to continue fighting. Winner, Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf."

"I assume it's alright if I step in now?" a voice asked.

"Yeah," Hayate responded. Naruto watched as a man with blue skin and gills on his face approached Shiori. Her body tensed.

"Shiori. It's me."

"Sen...sei..."

"Everyone is safe," Kisame Hoshigaki said to her. "All of them, and their dreams besides. You did well, Shiori."

"...yes."

She let the tanto fall from her grip. Her eyes slid closed, and she started to fall forward before her teacher caught her.

"You really are a shinobi to be proud of. I hope you don't forget that."

"Strength. Honour. Courage."

The Fourth Hokage's voice boomed across the stadium.

"These are the things that make up the finest shinobi in the world. And in this arena, we've seen each one of those traits displayed in full. Going up against the greatest obstacles, giving your all, and willing yourself to continue, no matter what. This is what we are. We are shinobi, and we endure.

Today, you bore witness to the start of a new era. Our future is bright, and will grow brighter still. The second round is over, and one more remains. The Grand Finals. Until then, take care, and keep these children in your thoughts."

"Changing the future..."

Naruto nodded and clenched his fist.

"Shiori...thank you."

---

No voting for now.

Next deadline is the following Thursday. Hope you enjoyed.
 
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Episode 5.14: New Age of Heroes - Second Intermission
"That was an incredible match."

That sentiment rippled through the Hidden Leaf, entering the conversation of nearly every man, woman, and child. They watched highlights and recordings of the fight between Naruto and Shiori, expressing admiration for the Hokage's son and the girl from the Mist who took him on.

A few hours passed.

The girl in question slowly opened her eyes, and just as slowly raised her head. It hurt all over, and there was a small tube going into her right arm. As she tried to sit up, she felt soft objects go behind her back and head. Her head slowly turned to the left, and she saw her sister and best friend smiling while she fluffed up those pillows.

Shiori's vision started to clear further, and she looked to the foot of her bed. Her sensei was standing there, arms folded and giving her his small, familiar smile. Beside him was the Mizukage, smiling at her warmly with a hand over her heart. Blues and Ao stood beside her, acknowledging their junior with firm nods. And it wasn't just them.

The small medical room within the stadium was filled with people. All of them from the Hidden Mist. The aides and analysts, the trainers and other teachers, the bodyguards and information experts. They all stood and looked at Shiori, who was confused and overwhelmed.

"Attention!" Ao shouted, and every person in the room stood straight, arms pinned to their sides and unmoving.

Mei raised her left hand and saluted. Everyone else quickly followed suit.

Shiori stared at everyone, motionless. She blinked once, and tears slid down her cheeks. Just as before...just as it was when she started her fight, there was nothing to say.

She found her strength. Mei's eye widened slightly as she watched Shiori force her left hand upwards. She contemplated saying the words, but found herself unable to. It wouldn't be right.

Because Shiori was strong.

The Hidden Mist's newest chuunin, Shiori Ishikawa, raised her hand in salute. Her face was set firmly, and dripping with proud, grateful tears.

---

"It was a wonderful match."

Ritsu spoke as she walked, still able to see the images of the earlier battle in front of her. The speed and power those children had were beyond her, but she hoped to get close to that level one day. Far different from the brawls she had been dragged out to watch years ago, these dances between warriors were things of beauty. Fighting that was still brutal in many ways, but elegant.

"Yes. Shiori was wonderful," Hannah replied. "Her courage will spark legends across the continent, and perhaps beyond. I would have liked to see her up against Sasuke in the final, but...I know that there will be plenty of flash and excitement between those two boys."

"A very beautiful display," Haru said in agreement. "Watching her move was an experience in itself. I wouldn't be surprised if she was promoted to jounin by the time she went home."

"Jounin...what was it you saw?" Joshua asked Haru.

"Movement, precision, stellar decision making, and battlefield awareness. This is before her incredible fortitude and power in a fight. She held on to the end and beyond. She was willing to become a wall at the cost of her own life. A good leader knows when to retreat, yes. But a better leader also knows when retreat isn't possible and they have to fight to the finish. Making decisions beyond that of self-preservation is factored into what makes a jounin as well."

He thought for a moment, cupping his chin with one hand. "Those two would have to be promoted at the same time."

"Same time?" Haru asked. "What do you mean?"

"Junko and Shiori are really close. I don't think the Mizukage would advance one without the other. They're formidable enough a team that they're known by code, so it only makes sense."

"Quite the observation," Hannah said. Joshua stopped his pondering to frown at her.

"Oi."

"What else did you notice?"

"Nothing that would get me arrested."

She sighed lightly. "Shame, that."

"I should have warned them about you," he said. "I guess Ritsu isn't enough to keep you at bay."

"I didn't think I would be, either. Maybe we can sic Haru on her again," Ritsu quipped.

"You two really are impossible sometimes."

"That seems like irony, though I can't tell if it's intentional in this case," Haru said to Hannah.

The blonde gave her a light, yet indignant look. "Your input is noted, fox woman."

"Good afternoon. Joshua West, also called the Blue Arrow."

Blues approached the group, her visor obscuring her eyes as always. She bowed quickly and smoothly.

"Yeah, that's me. Miss Blues, right?" you reply.

"That's correct, sir. I hope I am not inconveniencing you and your comrades at this time, but I came ahead to ask if you would be interested in a brief conversation with the Mizukage. She asked me to see if you were in the area."

He nodded. "It's no trouble at all. Aside from being allies, it's the Mizukage asking."

"Thank you. If you would follow me, she is waiting back near the stadium entrance." The party followed Blues back the way they came, and Mei was waiting at the halfway point with Ao at her side. She gave everyone a friendly smile as they approached.

"I was hoping to catch you before you left."

"Is this a private conversation, ma'am?" Haru asked.

"Nothing terribly troublesome. You can stay here, but thank you for asking."

"Ma'am. Understood."

Mei gave Haru a polite nod before turning her attention to Hannah. "I thought that it would be rude to ask without you present, and I know we both have busy schedules. I wondered if I might share a meal with Joshua later this week?"

"Mm. I see," Hannah replied, not missing a beat. "Well, what meal did you have in mind?"

"Lunch, of course."

"And the day?"

"Friday."

"Hm. That won't work too well, I'm afraid. There are a few meetings to attend to, and some personal things we simply must go over."

"I see." Mei placed a hand on her cheek. "Mm...Saturday will be a heavy day, even if my children are no longer participating. Sunday, then?"

"Sunday sounds fair. A condition."

"Please name it."

"We share dinner together on the same day."

Mei pretended to think for a moment before nodding. "Very fair. Dinner on Sunday it is. Shall I pick the venue?"

"If you would, milady. I've no doubts that your tastes are impeccable," she replied knowingly.

Mei smiled back at that. "I'm honoured, Lady Kuiper. I will have the locations picked out by tomorrow. If your liaison doesn't mind coming by around noon to confirm?"

"Not at all, Lady Mizukage. Tomorrow at noon," Haru said.

"Excellent. Sunday, then. Thank you for your assistance, Lady Kuiper."

"Of course. I appreciate your courtesy, Lady Mizukage."

They gave each other precise bows, their eyes meeting and following each others' all the way through. Mei gave everyone another polite smile before starting on her way back towards the stadium, Blues following.

Ao bowed and gave Joshua an apologetic nod before leaving himself.

"You see...I told you. Terrifying."

Haru nodded as Joshua finally spoke. "Yes...indeed."

"Mm." Ritsu looked over at Hannah, who wore an amused smile as she watched Mei leave. "So this is what a high-level harem scenario looks like."

"Make sure my body is kept cold. The trip will be long for my mother." Joshua groaned and rubbed his temples.

"It doesn't sound that bad," Ritsu said.

"You're a girl. You won't understand. It was right in front of you, too. Like a business transaction."

"It sounds like you're exaggerating, sir."

"Joshua, darling...come here a moment~"

He gave Ritsu an exasperated look before going to meet Hannah.

"Perhaps we can decide on a epitaph later," Haru mused.

Ritsu sighed and rolled her eyes.

---
---

Hannah tries to assure you there's no threat of death due to the upcoming date (it's a date - no matter what fancy spin she wants to put on it) with Mei.

You remain unassured.

Imminent demise aside, you ponder greater issues. If there's a possibility of making headway on the situation with the man who calls himself Madara Uchiha, you think you should grab hold of it.

"Princess, you busy?"

"Not at all, love." Hannah leaves her seat in the kitchen to head over to you. You have your head in a newspaper, looking out for any truly unusual happenings. It's mostly the usual squaking about international affairs in this one, and you see nothing about the past meetings, including your volatile meeting with the Five Kage. Information security was mercifully tight in this case.

"I wanted to see if we could pick up some more information on the masked man. I'm going to check in with Haru, but I think our first stop should be in the Uchiha District. I think if anyone would have important observations, it's Itachi Uchiha."

"Mm. He might be busy, no? But you do have that in with his mother..."

"I guess calling it an 'in' is fair play for you," you mutter as you set down the newspaper. "Auntie Mikoto didn't have much information the last time, and I don't know how much more Itachi would know. But it wouldn't hurt us too much to try."

"Are you sure about taking me?"

You raise a brow at that. "First thing I thought of."

"I see." She goes quiet for a while, thinking. "Alright, then we should get our confirmation first."

"Haru?"

"Sir. What might I do for you?" she asks as she walks into sight.

"We want to check in with Itachi Uchiha today. You think it's possible?" you ask.

"Very much so. Thanks to the coordination between the Uchiha Clan and the Hokage's Office, your party is one of the top priorities for the clan and the Military Police. Information has already been exchanged regarding the Five Kage Summit and your recent meeting with the Five Kage, among other things. He is aware of Danzo's movement, as well as the so called diplomats from the Iron. He however does not have access to your observations on them."

"You think he'll ask?"

"Itachi is the type of person not to interfere unless he feels the need to. He is mysterious in that way. Ah, apologies."

"You are familiar with him, yes?" Hannah asks. "As one of Hitomi Uchiha's precious people..."

"Yes," Haru says. "The intent was just to keep in contact from afar, since I didn't want to interfere too much in the affairs of the clan. But that man is very skilled at everything he does, and more than that...he has a sort of kindness that can pull you in. Sister Hitomi was very accurate in her description of him. He's person with a gentle soul."

"Good people stuck in bad places. Can get overwhelming sometimes," you say. "Maybe if we put our heads together, we can take that masked jerk out of the picture, for his sake. Let's get ourselves ready and head out."

Hikari and Ritsu send the three of you off. The Uchiha District is already familiar enough to you, but this time you can enter normally like everyone else. The place is bustling and you can see, hear, and smell the sweetness of celebration. Sasuke's name and face is on posters around the area.

"This way," Haru says. She leads you through the district to a massive building. On the front and above the entrance is a familiar sign, that of the Leaf Military Police. A four pointed star with the Leaf symbol in the middle.

As you enter, you see a few young people seated with their hands tied up in rope. They're being scolded by women in uniform, probably about getting too reckless while partying. The lobby is spacious, and you walk through it towards one of the smaller corridors. It takes you far back and to another smaller lobby area with a reception desk. A young woman, frail, with messy black hair and big, round glasses, nods to acknowledge you.

"Miss Kitsune, welcome back."

"No need to call me that," Haru says gently. "But you'll insist, as always."

The other woman nods.

"Understood. Can you give us a time that we might be able to conference with the Comissioner?"

"The slot will be open in sixty seconds."

"He knew we were coming."

"Yes. It was my fault, I suggested that his guests might want tea, so he asked for extra time to be allocated."

"I feel like I should be used to this by now."

The secretary pushes her glasses up with one finger. "It is the sentiment of ten thousand, ma'am." She leaves her post and bows before guiding you to the door. The required seconds pass before she twists open the door handle and directs you into the office.

There's a big wooden desk, with some machinery and three phones on it. A few picture frames lined up on one side, though you can't see what they contain from the current angle. Potted plants, strategically placed. Awards, medals, and framed photos. The man of the hour is in a few of them, the rest are of his predecessors. There are some paintings as well, portraits of the early days of the village. Couches are against the walls, with bookshelves and more potted plants placed between them. Two or so recliners, too.

The entire room is strategically laid out, yet aesthetically pleasing.

"Sir. Miss Kitsune has arrived with important guests."

"Thank you, Misa. Your timing is impeccable as always."

"Sir." She pushes up her glasses again with a neutral expression, though you can tell she's happy to be praised.

"There will be no set deadline for this meeting's conclusion," the Miltary Police Head says as he carries a tray to the table. "Please redirect any meetings or requests as necessary."

"Sir. Understood. Returning to duty."

"Misa."

"Sir?"

Itachi Uchiha walks towards the door and holds out a cup of tea in both hands. He then reaches into his pocket and gives his secretary a handful of wrapped biscuits and candies.

"Mother will be bringing us cake later."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." She takes the items from him quietly.

He nods as she bows, then closes the door behind her. You see Itachi make a seal - or at least, you think it was one seal - and then press his hand to the door, like you saw Hikari do the other day.

"My apologies for the wait."

You exchange bows with him before getting a good look at his form. Some of his black hair is bound in a tail that goes down towards his back. His clothing is the same as everyone else's; the standard Military Police uniform, except in black. You note that his shirt has two different patches on the shoulders, the old Uchiha police patch on the left and the new Leaf police patch on the right.

From the deep lines on his face, it would look like he's been under stress. But that seems to be how his face is. He and Sasuke aren't too distant in age, but Itachi looks like he could pass for a middle aged man if he just let himself go a little more.

Still...you can somewhat see why the ladies talk about him so much.

"We should have no complaint, as you are a busy man. Thank you for this audience, Lord Uchiha."

"Adjacent titles are fine. First names are preferred, though. Please call me Itachi, Lady Kuiper."

"Then we will be on a first name basis. Hannah is fine."

He nods before turning to you.

"Joshua West. Joshua is okay for me, too."

"Understood." He smoothly turns to Haru. "Have you been well, Haru?"

"Very well, sir."

"It's alright if you're familiar in this space."

"Understood...Itachi. We really hope we're not bothering you, especially with today's festivities."

"Things are normal. The regular officers are being paid at a premium rate today, so there were plenty of volunteers. Aside from some reckless children, nothing of note has happened," Itachi says. He motions everyone to sit as he pours tea.

"Congratulations, by the way," you say. "Your little brother's pretty talented."

"His affinity for fire type techniques is great, projected to be greater than mine. He would object to such a thing, but he wouldn't be Sasuke otherwise. The way he handled himself against Sakura was admirable and graceful. And he did well against Miss Kuronuma, though she gave him quite a shock." He finishes pouring tea and grabs a cylinder.

"Candies?" you ask.

"No, not this time. They're salt and vinegar potato crisps."

You watch as he tips the cylinder over and has a stack of chips slide out onto a plate. They're shaped weirdly, which allows them to sit on top of each other without breaking.

"A new type of sensation from the Western part of the world. They have many advantages over traditional chips."

Hannah bites into a chip and nods with satisfaction. "Quite the engineering marvel. Not too brittle, flavourful, and without the residue of many other brands. I don't mind a normal chip, but this is remarkable."

"Pretty good," you say in agreement after biting into one. You grab a few more.

"They're also not short of flavours. Their latest is spicy pork, though I have yet to obtain a can for myself. Misa usually informs me of the availability beforehand."

"Since you apparently knew we were coming, you might guess as to why we're here," Haru says as Itachi bites into a few chips himself.

"Mother told me about your earlier meeting. My assumption here is that you desire my insights on the masked man," Itachi replies.

"That is correct. We came with the hopes that you might see something others like us would miss, being part of his supposed ancestry," Hannah says. "Details on our end are scarce, especially regarding his Sharingan."

"A time-space migration art. Curious." Itachi takes a sip of his tea before setting the cup back down. "I would like to be as useful as possible in this matter. Structured inquiries would be greatly appreciated, and more efficient."

"Any restrictions on what we can ask, besides the usual classified material?" you ask him.

"Not on that end. We can start with a broad approach before narrowing some of the details down."

---

[] Ask about Madara Uchiha. His history, his movements, if there was still anything left on those subjects. Perhaps his split with Hashirama and their battle could yield some information.

[] There may be information buried within the event known as the Witch's Twilight that changed the Uchiha Clan long ago. It's something Itachi would have been the most familiar with.

[] With the power granted by the Sharingan, there may be some sort of ideology or mission that the masked man is seeking to follow. This also ties into past lore, but perhaps in the most meaningful way.

[] An idea off the beaten path, to bring Itachi's parents into the matter and also get their insights, with his permission. The three leaders of the Uchiha may see a path together.

[] Custom option.

---

Next update deadline is 4 Saturday. Thank you for reading.
 
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Wow.What an awesome ending to an otherwise heated fight! Enough power backed up with tactics and strategy with some techniques to give even Naruto pause. Shiori's starting to become one of my favourites!

On the other hand, our harem grows~

[X] Ask about Madara Uchiha. His history, his movements, if there was still anything left on those subjects. Perhaps his split with Hashirama and their battle could yield some information.

Let's start from the beginning. Having an insight into the history of someone usually tells us a lot about his motivations.
 
[X] Ask about Madara Uchiha. His history, his movements, if there was still anything left on those subjects. Perhaps his split with Hashirama and their battle could yield some information.
 
[x] There may be information buried within the event known as the Witch's Twilight that changed the Uchiha Clan long ago. It's something Itachi would have been the most familiar with.
 
Episode 5.15: New Age of Heroes - Tea and Terrorism (Second Intermission 2)
"We want to know about the man behind the legend. The truth about Madara Uchiha, some of it at least."

Itachi sips his tea and lets out a breath.

"In the prime of his life, he was a god who walked among men."

This was how the story began. The history is something you already know from your studies; Uchiha and Senju were two of the mightiest mercenary bands to walk the land. When one group was hired, the other was called for in response, no matter the costs incurred. Smaller groups joined onto them, looking for protection and profit, and the numbers on both sides grew. When Madara lost one of his brothers, he gained a new strength in his grief and used it to ascend to new heights.

Madara was a gifted and charismatic leader, with what was called an ethereal battle sense. He never wasted a movement and had a preference for crushing physical combat as opposed to the Uchiha specialty, Sharingan genjutsu. But that arguably made him even more lethal. He used the gift of his bloodline to launch impossible attacks and manifest an absolute defense. There were countless battles that he started and finished by himself, a true one man army with almost no equal amongst his peers or anywhere in the world of mercenary states. He lived and breathed battle, and the Uchiha were everything to him.

Defeat at the hands of Hashirama led to the formation of the Hidden Leaf, the first community of its kind. Many outside clans joined hands with the Uchiha and Senju to create a greater community. Hashirama was popular and even more charismatic than Madara. He had the attention of the masses. Still, he saw Madara as a brother despite their many fights with each other, and strove to make the village - their shared dream - as great as it could be.

"But Madara was still paranoid," Itachi says.

"He felt that the Uchiha were being mistreated. Were they?" you ask.

"There would have still been prejudices regarding the Uchiha Clan at that time. There were many tales about our ruthlessness and brutality. Those rumours weren't completely unfounded. Lust for power was what drove several key elements of the clan in those early days. But attitudes softened progressively once the alliance settled. Not simply attitudes, but the atmosphere of the Uchiha themselves. Madara saw this and was less than happy with it."

"Politics," Hannah says. "It always comes down to that in the end, doesn't it...Hashirama and the rest of the Senju Clan preached peace and cooperation, but their way of getting there was to gently shove the violent and emotional Uchiha aside, making their decisions for them. And so it has been for an age now."

"That is correct," Itachi says with a nod. "The more populous and most importantly, victorious Senju didn't openly discriminate against their neighbours, but their elites worked to keep people in the places they thought they should have been. One of Hashirama's few faults was that he didn't have as much of a grasp on politics as his contemporaries. Simliarly, Madara's diplomatic methods left very much to be desired. The Tsuchikage surely has many first hand experiences in this regard."

"Oh, I'm sure," Hannah says with an amused smile.

"Ultimately, despite their common wish for peace, their styles were so dissimilar that it created an immense amount of friction. This was compounded by most of the Uchiha being either unwilling or uninterested in leaving the alliance that they had worked hard to forge within the village. Madara had come to some sort of conclusion or understanding great enough to put a final, permanent rift between himself and Hashirama. Though even now, we don't know what that conflict was over. Some make reference to a certain item in the possession of the Uchiha that contains clan secrets. But that item and its teachings cannot be deciphered fully even with the use of the strongest Sharingan."

"So you have no further insights on what could have caused that dramatic change?" Hannah asks.

"No, not at this moment."

She gives him an understanding nod and sips lightly at her tea.

"In the end, Madara chose to abandon everything. His dream, his home, his friendship. He sought out the Nine Tailed Fox, subdued it, and returned some time later to challenge Hashirama, the First Hokage. They fought and created the place now known as the Valley of the End. And the battle concluded with Madara's death at Hashirama's hands. His body was spirited away to a location so secret that it was only known to the First and Second Hokage. That location is forever lost to time."

"Do you think someone is just using his name to get themselves some sort of clout?" you ask Itachi.

"It would be a move that couldn't simply be described as bold. To not only use that name, but act upon it with this level of confidence...it's a sight to behold, but just as terrifying when looking at the larger picture. He is working closely with several different factions, S-Rank criminals, and has already established networks across the continent. Whoever he is working with on the upper levels believes wholeheartedly that this person is truly Madara Uchiha. They've either been tested, or provided undeniable truth. If this is a fake, then this is unprecedented in the amount of work that would be necessary to pull off such an illusion. I don't know what to think at this point." Itachi puts a hand underneath his chin.

"You mentioned that Madara had clashing ideals with Lord Hashirama," Haru says. "Is it possible to elaborate further on that?"

"Yes." Itachi nods to Hannah lightly. "Hannah touched on it earlier, that while Hashirama projected unity and cooperation, the rest of the Senju elites were working to secure the vital points of the village. Hashirama Senju was earnest in everything he did. He loved the village and would do anything to protect it, even from someone he considered a friend. It was the line that Madara crossed in their final battle. The First Hokage was a man who smiled and extended one hand, while holding a man-sized club against his shoulder in the other. Coming out of the era of Warring States, it would seem confusing to many people, even today where it's far more peaceful. Tobirama tended to make sure that he didn't overextend or get too soft."

"It creates vulnerability, and later things that need to be stamped out by force," Hannah says. "Sometimes the worst thing you might do is take things too easy, thinking that strength will be enough to deal with it at a later date. Hm." She thinks for a moment. "Peace. Fragile, often fleeting. In some cases, demanding protection to survive bitter winds that blow from time to time. Would I be correct to say that Madara wanted to stand atop the hill and secure peace that way?"

"Clashing ideals, huh." You let it simmer for a bit before remembering an earlier encounter. "He said the same thing about my grandfather. Their ideas didn't mesh. I don't know what the old man's vision for peace really was, but...I don't think it was anything like Hashirama's. Even then, this Madara was looking for something else. The type of control he wants might be something beyond being king of the hill."

"God of a new world...perhaps," Haru muses.

"Gaining resources, new abilities and knowledge...if this is the real Madara Uchiha, it's not a stretch to say he could have gained much in the way of knowledge since his last encounter with Hashirama," Itachi says.

"He seems fool enough...even so. The idea that might controls everything isn't quite as diabolical as it seems on its face." Hannah crosses her legs and leans back in her seat. A hand reaches up to gently brush golden strands of hair from her face. "But I understand that my blood is thick...and cold."

"Sometimes, the only person you should be beholden to is yourself, and all that extends from you," Haru says.

"For you to say that is...mm, not out of place, now that my memories return to me. You do say some wonderfully interesting things, either way."

"Shall I take that as a compliment?"

"If you could, I would enjoy that. I really do admire your insights on the world, and your ability to so keenly act on them. A richness of character that is rare, indeed."

"I would say the same," Itachi follows.

"Compared to both of you, it's nothing."

"To be complete within yourself is better than to be complete without," you say to Haru. "Or something like that. It's the connections you make within yourself that take you to new heights. But you know that already and just felt like being humble for once."

"You know, I should be mad at you for calling me out so often."

You grin. "You should, yeah."

"Is there anything else you would like help with?" Itachi asks while reaching for another of the weird shaped chips. "Hopefully I've been helpful thus far."

---

[] Maybe ask more about Madara. Were there any smaller details that Itachi knew about his life and time in the village?

[] There may be information buried within the event known as the Witch's Twilight that changed the Uchiha Clan long ago. It's something Itachi would have been the most familiar with.

[] With the power granted by the Sharingan, there may be some sort of ideology or mission that the masked man is seeking to follow. This also ties into past lore, but perhaps in the most meaningful way.

[] An idea off the beaten path, to bring Itachi's parents into the matter and also get their insights, with his permission. The three leaders of the Uchiha may see a path together.

[] Custom option.

[] No, that should be it. You feel like you have enough for now.

---

Next update deadline should be 13 Monday (all dates UTC -5/Eastern Canada). Thanks for reading.
 
[X] With the power granted by the Sharingan, there may be some sort of ideology or mission that the masked man is seeking to follow. This also ties into past lore, but perhaps in the most meaningful way.

If he thinks he can be God, then he must have reason to think its possible at all
 
[X] With the power granted by the Sharingan, there may be some sort of ideology or mission that the masked man is seeking to follow. This also ties into past lore, but perhaps in the most meaningful way.

Agreed. The Sharingan is extremely powerful but no one understood it more intimately then Madara himself.
 
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