A strange new life. [Naruto]

[Petrox]

Gotta make a lie of how she was deaged as everyone would be looking for her to do that to them, even damyos.
Naruto has talk no jutsu, Hinata has talk to dead jutsu

 

[Kuriboh1233]

I don't really think Hinata should of been able to deage her that much, but I'm not complaining. Poor Jiraya, he's two most favorite things in the world are gone!

 

[Mesterio]

Jiraya is going to be conflicted as all hell. Probably tease her about puberty though.

 

[sandro3000117]

Hinata cursed tsunade with puberty, Also very ironic that orochimaru ended up giving the power over life and death. something he wanted to someone else, and tsunade ended up de aged instead of orochimaru like he desired

 

[517.shocker]

Just binged and caught up with the story. Loving this story a lot so far, keep up the good work!

 

[okashihime]

The whole situation had started when a new enemy launched attacks from a massive steel vessel from the sea. Gaara, along with his ninjas, had fought off the enemy commanders before: the woman who wielded lightning and the other who specialized in genjutsu.

Suna's forces had fended off the attack, destroying one of the ships, but the commanders had escaped.

Inside the destroyed vessel, countless civilians were strapped to strange machinery, which drained their life force to power the ship. None had survived its destruction.

Then more reports arrived. Entire settlements taken overnight; armies of the same undying creatures ravaging the land.

That had been only the start.

Temari led a team sent to investigate rumors spread among people and one of their destinations was Takumi Village.

It was a strategic asset for Sunagakure. The village housed several skilled craftsmen who still supplied Suna with weapons. Only, when they arrived there, the village was empty, no one left behind to tell what had happened, even a few graves had been dug out.

With Temari's report came more information and acting on that, a specialist team tracked enemy overland movements while most of Suna's forces reinforced the coastal villages to fend off the attack from sea.

Gaara led this team. They found and assaulted the mobile fortress. Not something that Suna could leave be.

Gaara kept one of the enemy commanders busy, protecting his troops from the woman's lightning, but he couldn't deal with her while the genjutsu user was still around. That other woman could fly and was always out of reach of his sand.

The battle had been a forced stalemate, with his forces contending with the constructs, while Kankuro and Temari tried to kill the genjutsu user.

All the while, Shukaku had been quiet. Not a peep, yell, or demand for blood.

The one tail had quieted after his battle with Naruto. Or maybe it was because Gaara had been honest with the one-tail for once. Even if he at one point hated the thing sealed inside him, Gaara was also grateful to Shukaku. If it wasn't for the tailed beast, he'd never have met Naruto, and would probably still live in that same darkness.

Perhaps Shukaku had mellowed because Gaara had stopped usurping his chakra.

The battle raged on and amid that, the Slug Princess arrived.

Gaara had seen the woman's bingo book entry. S-class, age unknown, monstrous physical strength, near-mythical healing techniques, capable of shifting an entire battlefield on her own.

He had the privilege of witnessing that last one. He'd always thought the entry about shifting a battlefield alone was because of her healing abilities: it was literal.

Between devastating punches and kicks, the woman upturned earth, flattened overlooks, and destroyed barricades.

He'd received more reports. The sannin wasn't alone. A duo of Konoha shinobi had braved the genjutsu trap and captured the genjutsu user. After that, things moved fast.

Using sand to create lightning rods and make his enemy vulnerable, he crushed her with Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral. Sand Coffin hadn't been enough to stop her.

The captured commander, who looked like a mix of woman and bat, ended up being killed by one of Kankuro's dolls.

Tsunade left to regroup with Konoha's shinobi, while Gaara oversaw the end of the battle.

He received more reports. About the enemy fortress, the strange machinery used to power the vehicle. Most of the civilians inside were dead. Their life force sucked dry to power the fortress shields. Rescuers removed those who survived and gave them proper support.

Would Naruto have done better?

Gaara looked over the devastation and shook his head. Probably yes, but this was a step in the right direction.

"Gaara of the Desert," a woman's voice called out.

He turned, watching the slug princess approach. She had an unconscious old man on her back. By her side, there were two other shinobi. He recognized them both.

The blonde girl from the Yamanaka clan, carrying another unconscious girl. A dark-haired one: the estranged Hyuga offspring.

More information flitted through his mind. Suggestions from the council and actions that would benefit Suna. One of those called for trying to poach the Hyuga offspring. If they could entice her to join Suna, there was a chance to spread the bloodlimit to their own forces. He discarded those thoughts.

He nodded politely. "Thank you for your help, Tsunade-sama."

No need to cause problems here. The woman in front of him wasn't someone he could offend lightly.

Tsunade looked around the devastated area.

"Is this matter settled?"

Gaara looked over the battlefield again, and at his shinobi still carrying civilians from inside the machine.

"Yes."

Gently, Tsunade placed the old man on the ground. The old man didn't look injured, but Gaara couldn't say more than that.

"His name is Kahiko," she said. "We rescued him from inside the palace."

"What happened there?" he asked, looking at the Yamanaka girl and the Hyuga offspring. Their clothing wasn't in the best shape, with blood and tears and marks of combat.

"There was a mine inside," Tsunade said. "We destroyed it ourselves."

Gaara nodded. Suna's intelligence department would give him a better report later.

A commotion nearby caught his attention.

Approaching the fortress were six shinobis, four of them decked in strange weapons. The other two bore Konoha's protectors: two other girls. One which he recognized. A student of Maito Gai, a friend of Rock Lee.

The strange shinobies stopped some distance away using the two girls as hostages.

The two girls from Konoha had a few scuff marks, a few bruises, but nothing immediately life-threatening.

Yamanaka girl called out. "Karin, Tenten!" She took a step forward, but Tsunade stopped her.

"Who are you?" Gaara asked. All four wore headbands with a symbol he'd never seen before. Each held a strange weapon. Not normal shinobi gear.

A man stepped forward. "We're the Four Celestial Symbols."

That name didn't ring any bells. Still, Gaara needed more information.

"And what do you want?"

It was a woman at the back of the group who answered. "You'll pay for what the big villages did to us!"

The leader looked back, but soon faced Gaara again. "We have your student."

Inside Gaara's head, Shukaku laughed: "Crush them," he demanded.

For once, Gaara agreed. He couldn't understand what these people wanted by barging in with this many Suna Shinobi around. Why did they even take Konoha's people hostage when the slug princess was just by his side?

He cast a glance at the princess. Her face was hard.

"Where's Matsuri?" he asked, but that was just a distraction.

Maybe these people thought the battle had weakened him, or maybe they misjudged his strength. Sand erupted around the four, pulling them into a coffin while leaving the Konoha shinobi unhurt.

Then, he crushed.

Gaara turned to Kankuro, who'd been ready for a fight. "Find Matsuri."

Kankuro saluted and disappeared.

"I apologize for the display, Tsunade-sama."

The two girls, now splattered with blood and gore, approached. Their eyes were wide with more fear of him than their captors.

"It's no problem at all." Tsunade said.

Gaara nodded, thinking about how best to improve his relationships with Konoha.

"I'll accompany you back to Konoha," he said after deciding things. "It's the least I can do to repay the help."

Gaara would trust Kankuro to find Matsuri. He'd make up to her later for not being the one to rescue her. It was the least he could do as her teacher.

 

[VividSkies]

Thank you for the new chapter!
Can't wait for more as usual!

 

[Petrox]

They are small villages because their people have small brains

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Ohhhhh if Suna intelligence manages to pick up those weapons then Suna will have gained quite a bit of special weapons. Konoha gets a young Slug Princess and Suna gets 4 powerful ninja tools, i guess even if nobody got the gelel stones both villages got something out of it.

 

[okashihime]

Hidden in the tree's canopy, squirrel-Ino cracked the nut between her teeth and glared down at the camp.

Three tents, a fresh fire, and many traps set around the perimeter. Shinobi traps, not bandits. She'd been stalking them for hours, watching how they moved, how they didn't talk, unless they had to. She recognized many of her own training in their actions.

The accent gave them away: Iwagakure. A three-man shinobi cell dressed like common raiders, attacking caravans, travelers, and any convoy on the road. Good enough to fool civilians or the careless ninja.

This definitely wasn't a C-Rank mission.

Ino looked at the camp again. Or maybe that was the enemy plan all along: pretend to be bandits and kill any shinobi squad sent to investigate.

The last of the nut broke between her tiny jaws, and she released the jutsu. Ino blinked awake in her body, still sitting cross-legged by the fire.

Choji looked up from the half-eaten rice ball in his hand. Shikamaru didn't even pause his move on the go board.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked, lazily placing a stone.

"I found the bandits," Ino said, her voice flat. "Three of them. Small camp. North ridge." She didn't blink.

Choji frowned. "That fast?"

"They were loud and lazy. Barely tried to hide the fire."

She stood, brushing dust off her pants, hand instinctively finding the black kunai strapped at her waist: sleek, matte, almost weightless. It pulsed under her fingers, warm to her touch.

"We can take them."

"You sure?" Choji asked. "Our mission is just to investigate."

Ino shrugged. "Just bandits," she said, checking the pouches and her supplies. She didn't have many of the 'good' exploding kunai left, only about half a dozen. She'd need to grab a few more with Karin, even if Karin's seals weren't as good as Hinata's.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," but he got up, packed his go board. "Same strategy as usual. I'll tie them up. Choji, you go big if needed."

The chunin looked at Ino for a long while, like trying to decide what to say. "You," he scratched his head.

Ino didn't let him finish. Her hands flashed with seals, and out popped two other Inos.

"No," she said, looking at the shadow clones. "I'll send in the clones to subdue them."

"Ino, I don't think–" Choji started, but clamped up when three Inos glared his way.

"What? I can't use clones for what they're meant for? Is that it?"

Shikamaru raised both hands in surrender. "Calm down, Ino."

Ino just turned around and dashed away. Her clones followed.

---

It didn't take long before Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino waited some distance from the camp, while Ino's shadow clones dealt with the situation. In theory, it was a good use of the jutsu. What Ino hadn't told them was that her clone was the one that she left behind.

They were treating her like she might break. Boring missions. Constant supervision. Always kept from anything dangerous, like she'd forgotten how to bleed. Ino had trained for years to kill people, and now she wasn't fit to be a ninja anymore, Shisui even grouped her back with Shikamaru, for some inexplicable reason.

Ino missed training with the girls. She missed Hinata. That made her even angrier.

Strength was the one thing Ino lacked, and everyone wanted to keep her from getting stronger. What uses were having a stronger body, unnaturally fast regeneration, and an almost inexhaustible fount of chakra when she couldn't use it?

Ino shook her head, then looked at the clone. The clone nodded back.

She passed out a few of the remaining explosives, the last set of barriers, and then it was time to put her training to use.

Bypassing the ninja traps wasn't difficult, since she'd seen them doing it. That was just the first step, of course. As soon as she was inside the camp perimeter, there was some sort of alarm, and the bandits scampered up, already ready for a fight.

Ino grinned, full of teeth and malice.

---

Outside the camp, 'Ino', Shikamaru, and Choji waited until the clones captured the bandits. It didn't go as planned, of course. First were the explosions, then the sounds of a battle.

Shikamaru's head snapped to the clone, who was grinning.

"Shit!" he cursed. "Let's go, Choji!"

Both dashed toward the battle to help, and the clone followed. She wouldn't need it, of course.

They arrived to find one Ino standing above two unconscious shinobi trapped inside one of Hinata's weight barriers. The trapped shinobi had trouble moving and seemed to be barely breathing. The Ino there looked a bit ruffled out, but unhurt.

Another 'Ino' was still in a fierce fight with the remaining Shinobi.

The man blasted lightning at her face. Ino raised her hands to defend, which gave the man a chance to flicker closer and stab her stomach. Ino grunted, but instead of retreating, she grabbed the man's head, whirled, and slammed him into the dirt.

She didn't give him time to recover. She was on top of him faster than anyone could react, slamming his face, all the while screaming through her teeth.

Shikamaru took in the situation, then dashed closer to Ino.

"Ino," he called out, but she didn't answer. "Ino!" He called again.

When it was clear she wouldn't stop, Shikamaru's hands flashed, and his shadow laced with hers. Shikamaru buckled, the jutsu nearly slipping from his grip. Ino wasn't just resisting, she was fighting it.

"Ino, stop!" Shikamaru croaked out.

Even trapped by his shadow, Ino turned around and glared at him.

"If you hit him more, you're going to kill him."

It took a while, but Ino finally nodded.

"I'll release you."

Ino nodded again.

When he did, Ino got up, kicked the downed shinobi, then pulled the kunai out of her stomach. Blood seeped out of the wound. With a quick flash of hands, Ino placed a glowing palm on the injury. Whatever Hinata had done in the mines had given her supernatural healing, but she was still trying to keep that a secret.

Ino dispersed the clones, then walked away, back toward Konoha. Shikamaru and Choji could deal with tying up the enemies and signaling a patrol to ferry them back to be interrogated.

---

When the team crossed the gates, it was almost evening. Ino immediately veered off.

Shikamaru called out. "Ino, wait!"

Ino stopped, turned toward him. They hadn't spoken since the battle a few hours ago. Choji looked on from afar, his face troubled.

"What is it?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "Where are you going?"

Ino just looked on, saying nothing.

"We need to report the mission at the tower," he said, then added. "And after, meet at Yakiniku Q to celebrate. Asuma-sensei will be there too."

Ino turned around and dashed away. Shikamaru's invitation hadn't worked the first time, or the second. It was annoying that he hadn't stopped trying yet. And now he had even involved Asuma-sensei.

That only made Ino angrier.

She moved along the rooftops, the same path she always took. The one she'd named in her head 'Hinata highway'. Rooftops took her toward Konoha's hospital. She entered, moving through the now familiar corridors. A few nurses gave her a small nod. Others just smiled sadly at her passing.

Footsteps echoed the path until she stepped through a door on one of the upper floors.

Inside, Hinata slept peacefully on the bed. Ino walked around, made sure Hinata was comfortable, that the water was clean, and the fruits were fresh. Then she adjusted the bed sheets and Hinata's body, so she wouldn't have a crick in her neck when she woke up.

She sat in her chair, the one she'd smuggled in months ago.

"Today I got to fight a few Iwagakure shinobi, Hinata-chan," Ino said, then recounted the entire mission. The fight, lying to her team, almost losing control, and killing the enemy. She liked to think Hinata would also understand and not judge her for it.

When the tale was done, Ino slumped forward, face pressing against Hinata's sleeping form.

"Why won't you wake up, Hinata-chan?"

---

And we're back, sort of?
I apologize for going radio silent. Was dealing with bit of a breakdown and getting obsessed with stuff. I'll promise at least a chapter a week, more if I can. Sorry about the delay. <3

 

[EdenOzs]

Thanks for the chapter. I was waiting for this.

 

[517.shocker]

Thanks for the chapter, wonder how long this skip was. Sounds like at least a few months.

 

[VividSkies]

Thank you for another chapter so soon!
They are too short!

Thank you for writing!

 

[okashihime]

Ino woke up to the warmth of an arm pressed over her shoulders. For a moment, she hoped, but then she opened her eyes.

Messy red hair spilled over her shoulder and arms. Karin had dragged another chair and fallen asleep leaning against Ino. The movement woke Karin up.

The redhead yawned, stretched.

"Morning, Ino-chan."

The sleepy contagion spread to Ino and she couldn't hold a yawn.

Karin started to lean against Ino again, then pulled back.

"You oughta go home."

Ino scowled, but before she could say anything, Karin continued.

"You reek," Karin added, wrinkling her nose. "And there's blood crusted on your shirt."

The budding retort stopped before it started. Ino looked down.

Her clothes were the same from the mission. She had dried blood all over her stomach from the stab wound. She sniffed, then gagged.

"You can come to the apartment if you don't wanna go home," Karin said, hand gently patting Ino's back. "Hinata's clothes should still fit you, or you can get some of mine. There's no bath, though, only a shower."

Ino considered the offer, sorely tempted to accept. "I'll go home," she said instead.

"Want company?"

Ino shook her head. "No, but thank you."

Karin grinned, then hugged Ino again. "You're my friend."

They stayed there for a moment more until Ino couldn't any longer. Now aware of her own unkempt state, she couldn't ignore it. She got up, stretched, looked around the hospital room.

"I'll clean this week," Karin said, also getting up.

Ino nodded. With one last quick jaunt to the bed, she kissed sleeping Hinata's forehead, then left.

It was early in the morning, and the nurses staffing the hospital kept shooting her glances. Maybe it was the blood, or her messy hair. She didn't much care, anyway. Ino took to the highways and went straight home. She landed in front of the shop, strode inside, ignoring the person manning the desk.

Inside her house, she looked at the familiar pictures and furniture and memories of happy days.

Before she could disappear into her bedroom, her mom showed up. Ino tensed, preparing for the confrontation.

"Welcome back, Ino."

"Thank you." There was a beat of silence before Ino spoke again. "I'll take a bath."

Her mother nodded. "Will you stay for breakfast?"

Ino considered, then nodded. She turned and ran to her room, gathering necessities, and then to the bathroom.

---

A very long time and a crying session later, Ino left and went toward the living room, dressed in familiar purple clothes. She'd ditched the bandages, wearing protectors under shorts, with the purple skirt over it all.

Downstairs, her father was already at the table, drinking tea. He looked up, tired eyes smiling when he saw her.

"Come here, baby." He opened his arms, offering a hug.

Ino didn't resist. She fell into his arms and had to hold back the tears again, feeling his hands on her hair, and the safety of his presence. Thankfully, he said nothing, just held her until she composed herself.

They sat, and her mom served food. It was a terse breakfast, but Ino hoped it wouldn't be a bad one.

"How's Hinata?" Her mother asked.

Ino froze, between picking some of the fish and rice and placing it on her plate. She shrugged. There wasn't much to say. Hinata hadn't woken up yet.

Her mom nodded, and for a moment Ino hoped that was going to be all.

"There's a festival this weekend," her mother said. "It might be nice to see some familiar faces."

Inoichi sighed.

Ino got up, pushed the food away.

"Ino," her mother started.

"Thank you, dad, but I'm not hungry," Ino said, then turned around.

"Will you show up in the afternoon for training?" her father asked.

Ino stopped. "If there's no mission," she said finally.

"Ok, I'll see you later, pumpkin."

"Ino, finish your food, please," her mother said.

Ino ignored it, striding out of the house. It hadn't been the first time her mother tried something along these lines. This was her latest strategy. She knew exactly what her mother meant: boys, distractions. Her mother thought that pushing Ino toward boys would somehow make her forget Hinata.

It grated. Reason Ino barely returned home.

Instead of going back to the hospital, Ino stopped by a street vendor, grabbed a few dumplings, and, still eating, went toward the mission hall. Shikamaru and Choji were already there. Shikamaru had a mission parchment in hand. She landed closer, peeking in and reading the details: D-Rank.

Well, that was fair. They'd keep her doing boring D-ranks for about a week or two, if the last time was anything to go by.

---

After completing the mission, Ino returned to the hospital. To her surprise, Karin and Sakura were there. A smile found its way on Ino's face, seeing her friends.

"Ino pig," Sakura taunted.

"Forehead girl," Ino said back. "How's the forehead going?"

Sakura grinned. "Very good, thank you."

She pulled her fringe away, looked at Karin and pointed at her forehead.

Karin blushed a very bright red. She got up, then kissed Sakura's forehead.

"See?" Sakura taunted.

Ino giggled. She wasn't sure what was happening between Sakura, Karin and Rock Lee. Somehow, they were all boyfriends and girlfriends. It got confusing, especially when Karin and Sakura started talking about their boyfriend and then switched to talk about their girlfriend in the same sentence, but they were happy, which was the only thing Ino could hope for.

Rock Lee was on a mission with his team, which was another good news from the past months. Tsunade healed him, and now the boy was even more obsessed with training. Ino didn't understand what those two saw on him. The thoughts of those bushy brows were enough to make Ino shudder, but Rock Lee was a decent enough friend, if on the stranger side of the equation.

Karin and Sakura didn't stay for long. They left hand in hand a few minutes after Ino arrived. Ino looked on longingly at their familiarity, cursing herself for having waited for so long. She knew Hinata had been waiting for her to make the first move. And she'd wasted that time.

That same afternoon, there were many visitors.

The older girl, Hinata's friend, the pretty one with the glasses that worked at the tower, popped by, stayed for a few minutes, then left. Tsunade-sama also showed up again, but that was a normal occurrence. Tsunade visited every day to make sure Hinata was healthy.

It was still strange looking at the girl barely a few years older than her and associate that same girl with the legendary sannin. Ino wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

Tsunade had met Ino alone before they returned to Konoha.

They had agreed to keep the fact that Ino had died a secret, as well as Tsunade's new apparent age. As far as everyone was aware, Ino was just severely injured before Hinata healed her somehow. Tsunade hid her appearance again, walking about like a grown up woman, even if sometimes, she was seen walking about as a teenager.

Most people thought Tsunade had used some jutsu to disguise herself as a teen. It was an open secret: the sannin enjoyed looking younger. But Ino knew better. Hinata had done something to her too. Just like she'd done to Ino.

She thought the afternoon would be calm, but the second last person she wanted to see came to visit her in the hospital.

"Ino-chan," Asuma-sensei said from the door.

Ino scowled, cursing Shikamaru for involving their teacher.

"Follow," the man said, leaving the doorway.

Ino considered not obeying, but something in his voice made her reconsider. She got up, made sure Hinata was comfortable, then followed her sensei through corridors and stairs until they were on the roof.

That wasn't their destination, however.

Asuma took to the highways, leading Ino away from the hospital area and toward a training field.

They landed, Asuma looking about, then giving it an approving nod.

It wasn't anything different from the many training fields around Konoha. A grassy area, a few wooden dummies, a small patch of trees.

Ino wasn't sure what they were doing here.

Asuma put out his cigarette and pulled out his trench knives. There was no lazy smile to greet her. He looked at Ino, who still didn't know what was going on.

"Ready?" Sensei asked.

"What?" Ino blurted out.

Asuma spread his feet apart, hands in front of him. The trench knives crossed in front of his chest.

"I'll count three," Asuma said.

Ino still didn't know what he was going on about.

"Three," Asuma said, then he disappeared.

Ino's eyes widened. It hadn't been a flicker, or any other sort of jutsu. It was pure body strength. She didn't even see the punch. One second he was across the field, the next, her stomach exploded in pain and the world spun. She hit the ground, dirt and grass scrapping her skin.

"You're dead," Asuma said from the same place as before.

Ino groaned, tried to get up.

"Three," he said again.

 

[okashihime]

"Three."

The next punch came, and Ino threw her arms up in front of her face. It was worse than when fighting with Hinata. She used to think she understood strength. How wrong she was.

Ino was flung back again, but this time, before crashing into the ground, she swapped places with one of the wooden dummies.

Asuma's voice sounded before she could regain her bearings. "You've improved."

Ino said nothing. She grabbed for any weapon she could use. The only one, unfortunately, being the black kunai. She hadn't been prepared for a fight, and left her tool pouches at the hospital.

"But it still isn't enough."

Ino spread her legs, hands flashing with seals. Another two of her appeared, both also holding the black kunai.

Asuma took another stance, trench knives still crossed in front of his face. His eyes were emotionless. His voice was flat.

"Shikamaru tells me you're trying to get yourself killed."

"I'm not," Ino shot back.

"You tricked your team, then engaged in battle with three unknown enemy shinobi. Alone."

Ino scowled.

"If dying is what you want, I'll put you out of your misery," he said again, voice still cold.

"I'm not!"

"Then what the hell are you doing?"

"Being a kunoichi," she snapped. "And maybe if you stopped treating me like some pampered genin—"

Asuma blinked. Then nodded.

"I'll treat you like you want, then," her sensei said. "You'll die if you don't take this seriously."

Ino gripped the kunai harder, waiting for the next attack. Only, it wasn't anything she'd been expecting.

Asuma's stare turned even colder, and then something smashed into her mind. It wasn't a genjutsu; it wasn't even chakra, but she felt the world darken and the air turned thick, wrong. Her spine stiffened, her legs almost buckled. She couldn't breathe.

Asuma didn't wait.

He disappeared, then landed in front of her, arms extended in a slash. The attack came nowhere near hitting her clones, but both dispersed. In the same movement, he kicked her chest. It wasn't anywhere as gentle as the punches had been.

She had thought he was going all out before; he wasn't. She felt bones crack in her chest, her vision going white and mind blanking for a moment. She recovered just enough to see the knife coming for her again.

Ino weaved, evading the attack, or so she thought. Even moving away from the knives wasn't enough to prevent injuries. A cut spread across her chest, pain and blood gushing out from the wound.

She landed hard on her back, screaming, almost incoherent. But she didn't stop. That same pressure bore down on her again and she flickered away a few moments before Asuma smashed where she had been, trench knives digging furrows into the earth.

"That's all?" Asuma got up, still looking at her with cold eyes.

Ino gasped. She didn't know what to do.

"If that's all you amount to," he shrugged, eyes even colder.

Ino understood. If she didn't fight back, Asuma was going to kill her. She didn't know why or how, but he was going to kill her. She gripped the kunai tighter, then screamed. Raw, unfiltered. All the frustration and anger. She flickered forward, trying to appear behind him and stab.

Asuma turned, knives ready to cut again.

Ino aborted the attack, fingers flashing faster than she ever managed before. An earth wall rose between both. Not enough to stop the knives from cutting into it, but enough to give Ino time to move again.

She created a clone, then switched places with another wooden dummy, just in time to see Asuma blasting her earth wall with an explosion of ash and fire, destroying her newly created barrier and clone.

Ino's hands flashed with more seals. She hadn't mastered this jutsu yet, but there wasn't any other she knew. She finished the hand seals, the thumb of each hand touching the index of the opposite, forming a square between her fingers pointing at where Asuma was.

Only, her teacher wasn't there anymore.

Ino hadn't seen the man moving, but he was by her side, knives descending toward her neck. Ino couldn't move fast enough to dodge. Chill spread from her chest. She was going to die.

That strange chakra near her heart reacted, bubbling and frothing, trying to do something, but not fast enough.

In excruciating slowness, she saw the knife approach. She even saw the chakra distortion around the weapon, and finally understood what gave it extra reach.

Ino had only regrets left. Not fast enough, not smart enough, not strong enough.

Not good enough to protect her.

She wondered if Hinata would ever forgive her.

Then the world fractured. The kunai in her hand shook, and before the trench knife hit, Hinata was between Ino and Asuma, with one leg extended in a perfect arc. Asuma shifted just in time, arms coming up to guard.

And only then did Ino understand: Even now, even at his coldest, Asuma had never gone all out.

The impact cracked through the air. He flew backward, skidding across the ground, leaving a furrow dug into the earth.

Hinata vanished again, reappearing at his side, palms aiming to drive him into the earth.

Asuma reacted fast, slashing upward with a trench knife, but Hinata didn't try to block or parry. She flickered away, already vanishing before the blade even came close to her.

Then roots tore from the ground, binding Asuma's legs and preventing the man from moving. Above him, Hinata hovered with a glowing ball of spinning chakra in her hands.

Asuma braced for impact.

Ino yelled. "Hinata, stop!"

Still in the air, Hinata's face wrenched from Asuma and toward Ino. Hinata's eyes were wide. One eye was all black and the other all white. The ball of chakra dissipated like it had never been there before. The roots receded, and Hinata disappeared, only to appear again in front of Ino.

"Ino-chan," Hinata's voice had that same scratchy quality. She smiled, caught Ino in a hug, head resting on Ino's shoulder. Hinata yawned, and just like that, she fell asleep again in Ino's arms.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Asuma approached. Ino cast a wary glance at him, but he just scratched the back of his head.

"Well, that wasn't how I expected this to end," he said.

Ino was angry at him, but she understood he hadn't been really trying to kill her. He had, in his own misguided way, given Ino exactly what she asked for: to be treated like a real kunoichi.

"Thank you," she forced the words out, still feeling mad about the whole thing.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Asuma asked, looking at the blood in Ino's clothes. "Your father will kill me if I hurt you too badly."

Ino shrugged. The cut had healed already. "I'm fine," she said, not sure what was going to happen, but happy Hinata had awakened.

More people showed up. The first to arrive was Shisui.

One moment he wasn't there, the other, he was by their side, red eyes staring at them. Not long after, the air shimmered and a whole ANBU squad was by Shisui's side.

"Is everything alright?" the Hokage asked, looking at Ino and Asuma.

Ino smiled. A genuine smile, maybe the first one since she'd returned from the Land of Rivers.

"Hinata woke up!" she exclaimed.

"And promptly fell asleep again," Asuma pointed out.

---

AN: Thank you for reading.
Next one we go back to Hinata's pov. This arc is mostly focused on Hinata and Ino's relationship, and now they are adapting after all that happened, while... stuff happens in the background leading to a pivot point at the end. I hope you guys enjoy it.

 

[517.shocker]

Lol, love Hinata waking up and immediately throwing hands. Wonder what's up with her eyes now though.

 

[okashihime]

The moments after killing Haido and everything that followed were a colossal mess inside my head. It was strange remembering the things I did. I know I dragged Ino's soul back from the pure lands; I know I somehow made Tsunade younger; I know I invited Dan and Nawaki to have their last farewells with the slug princess. But I had only vague feelings on how to replicate those feats, and without the massive source of energy the Gelel vein was, I had no clue how to actually do it. Burning the vein was what gave me the impetus and energy necessary to do all those things.

Yes, I did (possibly) know how to bring someone back, but if I tried it now, the most likely result was that I'd just copy Nagato's sacrificial action and die soon after, just like he did. Making someone younger could be feasible, with a lot of time, preparation, and effort. Not to the same extent as I did to Tsunade, a few months, maybe a year max, before I had to stop and recharge.

Only searching for a soul in the pure lands and manifesting it wasn't that problematic; it was just chakra-consuming. I don't think I had enough chakra to keep that connection alive for more than a few minutes.

It didn't escape my notice that I didn't just kill Haido. I destroyed his soul. I even burned all the life chakra that was the Gelel vein, and the budding sentience inside it.

Did I regret it?

I did not. Not one bit.

It had been my hesitation and unwillingness to act decisively that let Ino get hurt. And Haido deserved it.

But there was so much I still had to do.

My awareness was stuck inside my head while I dealt with all the urgent things I pushed back while murdering Haido, killing the baby Gelel, and resurrecting Ino.

The first thing was the seals behind my eyes.

When the eye awakened, it broke Orochimaru's hold over my mind, and it had become clear the purpose of that seal: it kept part of Orochimaru's soul hidden inside the eye unnoticeable. Which let that fucker mess with my mind without me knowing it.

Back then, I hacked at that seal, shredding it in a surprise attack before I plucked the eye out and fed it to Kumoko. Now I had to deal with the consequences.

With Tsunade there to take care of Ino, I could konk out for a few hours to deal with the seals. I had no need for that seal in my head, so it had to go away. Carefully, I chipped at it with my threads, removing, mending, then scouring any part left of that seal. It wasn't the easiest of things, and it was good I had taken my time, because there were more than a few traps left behind by the snake.

I could finally understand everything. I just needed to be careful.

After removing the seal behind my eyes, I went over the bones. My first task was to remove the traps and control mechanism left behind. There was no way I'd leave a backdoor into my psyche and body to let Orochimaru disable me anytime he wanted, even if I still wanted the benefits the seal provided.

Sigil, after careful sigil, I chipped, changed, erased, wrote, rewrote. More than once, I felt chakra scanning my body. A sensation I had felt a few times before, some kind of medical jutsu. I pushed that out of my mind. I wasn't sure why Tsunade thought she had to scan me so damn much, but well, I could learn about that later.

Ino carrying around my beacon was nice, though. It gave me the fuzzies knowing Best Girl Ino kept one. I always kept a small part of my mind paying attention to that, maybe luxuriating in the feeling of having Ino close all the time. Creep, yes, but sue me.

But I could gush about that later; right now, dealing with the seals was more critical.

My work on the seals was slow going, but I made progress. I realized it might take me more than the few hours I wanted, but it hadn't been that long yet, so I kept to my work. There were ways I could have tried to improve the seals. Several sigils I could have removed entirely or replaced with what I thought were better, improved versions, but I held back. Right now, I just need to be free of the bad parts.

When I was done with the bones, there was no trap or detrimental effect in sight. I was sure of it. I went through everything more than a few times, maybe more than a hundred times, if I was being honest. The improvements I'd leave for later.

Next, I looked at the seal around my heart.

This one had been a black-box since the beginning, but now I could see it, and I understood it. Like I had guessed before, it worked as some sort of regulator seal to control my chakra. The primary function was the one that allowed Orochimaru to disable me with a glance. By activating that command, the seal would strangle my chakra flow, rendering me useless.

I took my threads to that effect with prejudice.

Once I removed that, I looked over the rest. There was a small beneficial effect that let me change my chakra to any elemental chakra more easily, mokuton included. The settings for that seal, however, were in a way that made the complex chakra harder to use.

I reset the settings. That way, mokuton wouldn't burn my whole chakra pool to create a single sapling. There was still much to improve there, but like with the other seals, it was something I could deal with later.

Last, I took a gander at the seal on my throat.

This one wasn't anything special. It wasn't part of the circuit like the other three had been, it was just a way to prevent me from making noise. Petty and cruel. I could see the modifications the frog sannin had stamped above it to prevent it from hurting me and let me speak. Carefully, I looked over things to see how I'd go about removing it permanently.

Something slammed into my mind.

Right now, through the beacon, I know that Ino was in danger. I don't know who or where. Were the Sunagakure shinobi attacking us? I knew I should have waited until returning to Konoha to deal with the rest of the seals besides the one in my head, but it had been an urgent situation.

My eyes snapped open, and sterile white walls and ceiling greeted me. I didn't have time to parse why I wasn't in the Land of Rivers, but a white room. Without using hand movements, I invoked the confrontation seal, teleporting near the beacon Ino always carried with her.

I had less than a moment to assess the situation: Asuma was about to kill Ino. They were in some familiar grassy field. I could see the chakra coating his trench knives, moving towards Ino's neck. Ino wouldn't be able to dodge it.

I kicked the man as hard as I could. No one was going to hurt my Ino. Never again.

He aborted his attack, raising his hands to block my kick. There was a clunk when my feet hit his arms. He slid away, leaving furrows on the ground. I flickered toward him, trying to punch Asuma into the ground.

Asuma reacted fast. His knives slashed toward me, the edge extended by his chakra.

I didn't try to block; that was assisted suicide. Instead, I flickered up and out of Asuma's range. At the same time, I burned my chakra to grow roots beneath him and entangle his legs, keeping him from moving. On the palm of my hand, I created the biggest Rasengan I could.

Air billowed around me, spurned by the concentrated chakra. The ball of chakra was massive, almost as big as a basketball.

Asuma didn't lose sight of me. He crossed his arms in front of him, ready to endure my attack.

"Hinata, stop!"

Ino's voice cut through the haze. I tore my eyes away from Asuma and looked at Best Girl Ino.

Her hair was longer, and she looked taller, too. She had ditched the bandage wrapped around her legs and abdomen, wearing something very similar to her clothes post time skip.

I dispersed the Rasengan, putting Asuma out of my mind. If Ino was asking me to stop, I was probably misunderstanding something. Where were we, really? Shouldn't we be in the Land of Rivers? What happened to the mission? And Nerugui? What about the people trapped inside the fortress?

My next flicker took me closer to Ino. Yes, she was taller and looked even prettier now, despite the bags under her eyes and the lack of makeup.

I hugged her. "Ino-chan."

Ino wrapped her arms around me, and everything was right with the world again. I yawned, placing my head on her shoulders. The adrenaline fled fast. I couldn't keep my eyes open. I was so tired. How long had it been since I started working on the seals?

My eyes closed against my will, and I fell asleep.

It was all good, though. I was in Ino's arms, the best place to be.

I dreamt of nice-smelling flowers.

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Ahhhh the seals are now gone. The hyuuga are not going to like that, i bet.
With the seals gone the rest of the village would probably be willing to trust her more too.