A/N: By popular request, here is a summary of the laws of ninjutsu referenced in the previous chapter. Note that these are laws governing ninjutsu development and function, not laws of chakra physics. It is possible to find ways around them. For example, all of genjutsu is designed to bypass the Rule of Consent, as are many other chakra-based attacks.

Rule of Automatic Return: If an individual's body is in phase space and its real-space anchor is destroyed, the body is immediately returned to the anchor's location.

Rule of Consent: Interference with another individual's chakra will fail unless that individual consents to the technique (a mental process mediated by chakra intelligence) or is unable to resist due to extreme chakra drain.

Rule of Conservation of Space: Two physical objects cannot occupy the same space, or overlap within it.

Rule of Stability: A chakra anchor will remain stable only in the form of a solid, and will quickly dissipate if created in the form of a liquid, gas, or most other states of matter.

-o-

Sakura stood before the door, trying to make herself knock. Even though she was a genin now, not an Academy student, in the back of her mind was a sharp awareness that she'd been summoned to the teacher's office, and good girls didn't get summoned to the teacher's office. What made it worse was that she already knew why Kakashi-sensei (who'd had an office since when, exactly?) wanted to talk to her. She'd done her best to avoid thinking about it for weeks now, pushing away the sense of helplessness and impending doom in favour of daydreams and distractions, but now there was nowhere left to run. And if there was one thing worse than being summoned to the teacher's office, it was being summoned to the teacher's office and then being late. She raised her hand to knock.

"Come in," Kakashi-sensei pre-empted her.

Kakashi-sensei's voice was neutral, but then it usually was. She doubted he had perfect control of his emotions the way Sasuke did, but it was true that he rarely revealed much. Sardonic amusement, maybe, and he did show exaggerated resignation when yet another of Naruto's pranks made something catch fire or explode or (in the case of one memorable distraction while Naruto was up to no good elsewhere) turn into a double-size copy of the Third Hokage and pontificate on the subject of ninja hedgehogs. But he hardly ever seemed genuinely happy or upset, even with Naruto, and he didn't give out punishments or rewards based on how a student made him feel. He certainly didn't make it plain what he wanted to hear from them. It was confusing, and sometimes it made Sakura question whether he was a real instructor at all.

With trepidation, Sakura entered Kakashi-sensei's office. Casting her eyes around the place, the first thing that struck her was how unlived-in it felt. Where were the trophies and mementos from past missions? Where were the calligraphy scrolls hanging on the walls? Heck, where were those horrible novels he insisted on reading in front of children, with their unmistakeable bright covers that Sakura was now able to spot from a mile off? The only things in the room that spoke of any degree of personality were the bookshelves, and those were filled with tomes with desperately dry-sounding titles like Analyses of the Third Armistice Treaty Between Hidden Leaf and Hidden Rock, vol. 3, and Bloodline Limit Transplantation Theory: An Epistemological Refutation of the Saionji Model. Oh, and the obligatory mountain of paperwork, divided into five separate messy piles, alongside a stack of slim volumes with the Namikaze Memorial Library seal on them.

But even as Sakura tried to distract herself with what little there was of note in Kakashi-sensei's office, her feet unerringly carried her towards the visitors' chair. She sat down, and prepared to take her punishment.

"Sakura," Kakashi-sensei began, "we need to talk about your performance."

Yep. This was it. This was the part where he told her what she already knew—that she'd turned out to be incompetent as a genin, incomparably worse in live combat conditions than Sasuke (of course) but also than Naruto, and that it was time to send her back to the Academy to join those whom the Genin Exam had successfully screened out to begin with. Frankly, the only surprise was that it had taken him this long.

When two team members were busy beating jōnin while the third cowered in a corner, even the likes of Naruto would be able to predict that third's probable career progression. She'd turned out not to have what it took to be a ninja after all, even after those years of relentless study. She'd go back to the Academy, and lose everything that mattered—her place beside Sasuke, her superiority over Ino, knowing where she was in life and where she was going, all the self-respect she'd painstakingly built up over the last several years...

"I am very pleased with your progress."

What.

Sakura strove to convert this reaction into something more appropriate to say to her team leader's face, failed, and ended up saying nothing. But her look of disbelief probably spoke for her.

"You performed exactly how we would hope for a genin on a bodyguard mission to perform. You retained self-control while under threat, you protected the client, and you responded promptly to orders that potentially put you in harm's way."

"B-But... Sasuke... and Naruto..."

"Are special cases, both of them," Kakashi-sensei told her. "And until such time as you spontaneously develop a Bloodline Limit, or go back in time and have a Demon Beast sealed inside you from birth, you should focus on doing the best you can do, not the best they can do."

Sakura wasn't sure how to react to this. On the one hand, she wasn't going to be sent back to the Academy. Her life was not over. She could stop holding her breath. On the other hand, Kakashi-sensei was voicing a thought she hadn't wanted to think—that she wasn't a special case, for all her amazing test scores, that there were people all around her who could effortlessly make her look mediocre and there was nothing she could do about it. That all her hard work amounted to nothing in the face of Sasuke's overwhelming natural talent and whatever the hell it was Naruto had going on.

"With that said, I appreciate your position," Kakashi-sensei went on. "And from the point of view of team balance, the gap between you and them will only become more of a problem for future missions until we find a way of dealing with it. Fortunately, you do have options."

"What do you mean?"

"The most obvious would be for you to transfer to another team," he explained. "Captain Kurenai, for example, would make an excellent team leader for you. She started out very similarly to you in terms of strengths and weaknesses, and I honestly think you'd blossom under her tutelage."

Sakura immediately zeroed in on the obvious implication. She'd be separated from Sasuke. It was hard enough to get his attention when they were working together all the time—how much worse would it be if she had to constantly invent opportunities to see him? And what would happen when Ino realised that the playing field was level again?

Something of her dismay must have shown on her face.

"There are other options. In particular, have you heard of the Chūnin Exam?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

"Sure," Sakura nodded, feeling a reflexive impulse to restore at least some of her credentials. "Every few years, all the major villages, as well as many of the minor ones, bring their stronger and more experienced genin together in a huge multi-stage competitive exam, and the winners get promoted to chūnin." It was only a brief summary of a chapter Sakura could paraphrase from start to finish, but she had discovered early on in her social life that nobody liked a walking encyclopaedia. Learning to act normal wasn't easy at first, but she'd been motivated. She had not clawed her way up from being a wallflower only to become an isolated bookworm.

"It reaffirms the spirit of friendly competition between countries, and shows the daimyo who come to watch that the funds they invest in ninja villages are being spent on quality training," she added, to show that she'd understood the information rather than just memorised it.

"Close enough," Kakashi-sensei (probably) smiled.

"Why are you asking, Kakashi-sensei? The next Chūnin Exam isn't due for a while, is it?"

"It's been pushed forward. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Sakura's mind boggled now that she was starting to grasp the point. "You can't be suggesting that Team Seven should enter it. We're barely out of the Academy. It would be insa—a bad idea. Sir."

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "Sakura, do you know the difference between you and the other two?"

Oh, Sakura had some ideas, but this was probably a rhetorical question.

"I've seen your Academy records. You are highly intelligent. You're more than capable of working hard when you have an objective and know what you need to do to achieve it. You are even, if your Advanced Trap-Making scores are anything to go by, more creative than the average ninja."

Sakura felt herself swell up with pride.

"But you're coasting."

That took the wind out of her sails as surely as a blast of razor-sharp shrapnel.

"Sasuke trains hard every day, unprompted, to achieve his final goal. Naruto's motivations are more tangled, but he didn't hold his own against one of the Seven Swordsmen of Hidden Mist because he's a consummate prankster. Both of them are driven by something greater than the demands of daily life or even the duty they owe to Leaf.

"What are you driven by, Sakura? If the world you knew vanished into thin air tomorrow, where would you find your reason to carry on?" Kakashi-sensei asked, leaning forward slightly as he looked straight at her.

Sakura sat there, dumbfounded. What kind of question was that to ask a twelve-year old? A few months out of the Academy, was she supposed to have all the answers, to have her life purpose sorted out and ready to go? Did Kakashi-sensei not remember being twelve? Were everyone else's team leaders so unreasonable, or had she got the worst one by luck of the draw?

Only she couldn't help thinking Sasuke wouldn't have reacted that way. He'd have an answer ready, bold and insightful, and probably so amazing it would shut Kakashi-sensei right up. He wouldn't let himself be bullied by anyone, not even a jōnin. She felt Inner Sakura's hands on her back, pushing her forward, and resolved to stand up to Kakashi-sensei there and then.

"I don't see what this has to do with the Chūnin Exam," she said defiantly.

"No, you don't," Kakashi-sensei replied, instantly making her feel foolish rather than rebellious. "But do you remember how you felt when you were pulling Naruto out of his possessed state?"

She'd mostly just been terrified. But the tiny part of her that remained behind the fear had glimpsed something else. A faint sense of meaning, of significance. Of her actions, for once in her life, making a difference to something beyond herself.

All of which she summed up in a nod.

Kakashi-sensei nodded back, acting as if he could read her mind. It would have been seriously irritating if it didn't mean she was spared from trying to put her feelings into words.

"The Chūnin Exam is a high-pressure survival situation which makes you draw on inner resources you didn't know you had. In the moment, you tend to find that all the countless thoughts and beliefs that do not matter get stripped away. It offers you the chance to find out who you really are, with a much lower fatality rate than an equally intense engagement in the real world. Not everyone walks away from the Chūnin Exam a better person, but everyone walks away changed by the experience."

"You're saying you think I should enter the Chūnin Exam so I can find an inner purpose like Sasuke and Naruto have," Sakura concluded. Yep, still Captain Unreasonable. What did he think this was, one of Naruto's ridiculous manga?

"I am saying nothing of the sort, Sakura. You have to make your own decision. I think the benefits of entering the Chūnin Exam outweigh the risks, but that's not to say the risks are low—especially this year—or that it's the only way you can proceed. If you want to talk to other people and get more input, then not only is that your right, but learning to accept and integrate alternative perspectives is a valuable shinobi skill in itself. Its absence has... consequences. I'm bringing this up now because if you want to enter the exam, you need to submit this form," Kakashi-sensei handed her a signed piece of paper, "within three days."

"What?!" Sakura had a distinct sense of injustice piling on injustice. "That's hardly any time at all!"

Kakashi-sensei raised his visible eyebrow. "I'll be sure to pass on your complaint about the scheduling to the Hokage when I next see him."

Sakura had nothing to say to this. Instead, she picked up the piece of paper and stormed off. She was so frustrated she didn't even remember to wait for a formal dismissal.

Kakashi-sensei's voice caught her on the way out. "Oh, and could you tell Naruto to meet me at Meeting Place Four at 5 p.m.?"

"Not here?"

Kakashi-sensei shook his head firmly. "As far as Naruto is concerned, I do not have an office. Consider it an S-rank secret, with all appropriate repercussions for being indiscreet."

-o-

Naruto stumbled into his flat, his weary body demanding that he fall on the bed and abandon his unconvincing pretence of consciousness. Sparring with Hinata was getting more demanding, as she was gradually learning exactly how strong she was, and therefore starting to trust herself to go on the offensive without risk of injury to her partner. The fact that for the last few days she'd seemed suffused with new energy didn't help either. And the funeral ceremony he'd gone to afterwards had been... well, a different kind of draining. Sometimes closure came with a cost.

It wasn't that he regretted for a second spending time with his girlfriend. Nor had he even considered not going to the other thing after Kakashi-sensei had discreetly informed him of the time and date. But right now all the romance in the world, and all the right things to do, couldn't be worth as much as an hour of sleep.

This was why when Naruto saw an important-looking envelope on the floor next to his door, his first reaction was a heartfelt groan, followed by an immediate decision to let sleeping dogs lie. Nothing in that envelope could be as urgent as his need to collapse.

He was halfway to his bed when he stopped in his tracks. No, his eyes must have been playing tricks on him. That couldn't have been...

With an icy sense of creeping dread, Naruto turned around and examined the envelope. Yes, he was forced to admit, he recognised that symbol. It wasn't one he could permit himself not to know at this point.

The Hyūga had sent him a formal letter.

His hand stopped halfway to picking it up as a frightening thought occurred to him. The Hyūga would be boiling with rage if they knew that the village pariah was dating their clan heir. He wouldn't for a second put it past them to decide that assassination was the simplest solution. Was there a Hyūga watching him right now with the Byakugan, waiting for him to touch the envelope? Naruto had learned Haku's lesson well, and made sure to read up on the uses and effects of contact poison. If the envelope was poisoned and Naruto handled it even briefly, all that would be left was for the Hyūga assassin to sneak in and dispose of the body, and no one would ever know. With the Byakugan's ability to scan for possible witnesses, it could easily become the perfect crime.

After a few seconds of exhausted terror, Naruto mentally smacked himself upside the head. This hadto be tiredness, right? Leaf's most badass genin and future greatest Hokage couldn't really be this dumb.

Let's just pretend that never happened and move on.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

He breathed a sigh of relief when his clone didn't vanish upon handling the letter. Of course, it could have a poison with a delayed effect (it wasn't paranoia if you'd survived double digits of suspicious accidents since the age of five), so Naruto had the clone read it, deposit it on Naruto's least favourite plate, and then dispel himself to give Naruto the information.

Hyūga Hiashi

requests the pleasure of your company

for afternoon tea

at four o'clock today

at the Hyūga Clan compound.

You are requested to attend in person and, in light of sensitive matters to be discussed, to kindly refrain from informing anyone of your imminent visit.

What was the time now? Naruto didn't even know why he bothered looking. Of course it was 3:30.

The good news for Naruto was that the Hyūga Clan compound was within easy running distance (at least for typical ninja, to whom parkour was a form of light exercise for the convalescent). The bad news was that half an hour was nowhere near enough time to prepare for a confrontation with the village's deadliest clan. For a start, there was every possibility that he was walking into a trap. How else was he to interpret the request that he come himself (which suggested that they at least knew about his shadow clones) and that he not tell anyone where he was going? They might as well have asked him to cut his own throat and save them the effort. And not going wasn't an option—if they saw him acting like he was afraid of them, they'd interpret it as an insult and have the perfect justification to take revenge.

Still, he had a unique advantage when it came to rapid planning. "Worldwide Uzumaki Naruto Coalition, assemble!"

He met his clones' eyes, one by one. "Men, you know exactly how dire the situation is, so let's get cracking. What's our top priority?"

"Surviving the meeting," Naruto Four volunteered. "We'll be walking into the heart of the enemy compound, on their schedule, with no chance of backup. We need countermeasures and escape routes."

"More importantly," Naruto Seven cut in, "we need to know the etiquette for tea with nobles. If we do the wrong thing and offend him, it might be just the excuse he needs to decide we're not good enough for Hinata—assuming he hasn't already."

"I wouldn't even know where to start with that," Naruto Prime admitted. "Like, do I go in my ninja uniform, or in my one smart outfit?"

"Ninja uniform, duh," Naruto Two rolled his eyes. "You think you have any chances of surviving a fight against Hyūga Hiashi without weapons?"

Naruto Twelve gave him an "I can't believe I'm the same person as this idiot" look. "Yeah," he said, "I'm sure coming dressed for combat is going to give him a positive impression of our intentions. Or our level of refinement, for that matter. Have you ever heard of someone going to a tea ceremony in battle gear? No, it's got to be the outfit."

"Seriously? He's probably summoned us because he's furious that we're dating his daughter, and you want to turn up to our first meeting with him wearing the clothes from that date? Come on, Prime, back me up here."

Naruto Prime sighed as the uncoordinated chatter of his clones washed over him. There had to be a better way than this.

"Right," he finally announced. "Narutos One through Three, figure out what to do about clothes. Narutos Four through Seven, decide what we most need to know etiquette-wise, then dispel yourselves. Naruto Eight, start running to the nearest library now, and look up the stuff they choose, plus any maps and architectural info on the Hyūga compound you can find, then dispel yourself too. Narutos Nine through Twelve, I need ideas for defending myself against what I'm assuming to be like Hinata's abilities turned up to eleven."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to lie down and pretend this isn't happening. Get me in twenty."

-o-

"Do you know why I've called you here, Sasuke?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

"You think I should go for the Chūnin Exam."

Kakashi-sensei (probably) smiled. "Very good. I assume you noticed the increased number of foreign shinobi."

"Yes." After those three from Hidden Sand, Sasuke had started paying more attention to his surroundings. It seemed like there were unfamiliar faces everywhere, many with outlandish, manga-like uniforms and strange weapons he'd only previously seen in books. When, shortly afterwards, Kakashi-sensei had unexpectedly summoned him to his office, there was only one obvious conclusion.

"Are you interested? You have three days to decide and hand in this form if you are."

Was Sasuke interested? Before the Wave mission, he'd probably have hesitated. The Chūnin Exam was serious business. Injuries happened. Deaths were not unknown. Was he really ready?

But things were clearer to him now. He was alone after all, and that meant he had to be stronger. Much stronger. Strong enough to need no one else. Something he had said, at the end, kept echoing in Sasuke's head. "If you wish to know the truth, be strong. Be stronger than I was."

Sasuke wanted the truth. He craved it. Why had Itachi, the Uchiha Clan's brightest star, turned on everyone he'd ever loved? Why had he killed them all, even his own family, even his parents, only to spare his worthless little brother? Why had a relentless mass murderer, who had cut down the elderly as they tried to flee, seemed so sad in those final moments? Why did he leave behind such cryptic words?

Why, above all, had his brother, the most important person in Sasuke's life, abandoned him in the most brutal way possible?

Maybe that was just Sasuke's destiny. Betrayal. Abandonment. He should have learned from the experience, and let himself be alone as he was meant to be. Things were clearer now, and he'd find the strength he needed on his own. He'd find the answers with his own power, and the Chūnin Exam was a natural next step. How much stronger could he become by fighting the world's best genin? What new powers could he obtain by facing them now that his Sharingan was active, allowing him to copy any technique he was theoretically capable of performing? What opportunities could he encounter to utterly crush a certain tattooed poser? Little by little, as he thought about it, the emptiness inside him was replaced with excitement. Was he interested? The question was absurd.

When Kakashi-sensei asked him if he knew what the Chūnin Exam's purpose was, the answer was so obvious as to be trivial. It was the ultimate genin training exercise, of course, high risk in return for levels of improvement that could catapult one to chūnin levels of skill over just a few short days. Ninja grew the most through real battle against real enemies, and this was as close as training could get to that.

Before he left, though, he had to ask about something that had been bugging him.

"Kakashi-sensei, why do you have an office? Does every jōnin have one, or…"

"My advice to you," Kakashi-sensei replied, "is to split your focus evenly between theoretical preparation and practical training. While the Chūnin Exam traditionally has a heavy focus on combat and survival, don't make the mistake of being unprepared for the written examination. If you let your guard down even a little, you will fail the test and be eliminated."

-o-

The great double doors slammed shut behind Naruto. He'd done his best to memorise the route his blank-faced Hyūga guide had taken to bring him here from the front gate, but it had been (deliberately?) circuitous and hard-to-follow, and Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that they'd passed certain areas more than once. Any fading hopes Naruto had that this was an innocent social occasion were crushed by the heavy bolt that he heard fall into place behind him a second later.

With no way back, Naruto proceeded forwards. The building was old, clearly a reconstruction of something raised in the very first days of Leaf, perhaps even with some of its original materials (something, he understood, the extremely rich liked to do). It reminded him of a dojo: broad, wooden, empty but for support pillars, some calligraphy scrolls hanging on the walls, and… hm, maybe not a dojo after all. The one object in the room, towards the back, was a statue of some ancient Hyūga patriarch, dressed in austere formal robes and sitting in a kneeling position on the floor. For a sparingly painted piece of marble, it radiated a distinct, eerie sense of presence.

Naruto had never been at ease with the reverence for one's ancestors so common among the older clans. Not only was it inapplicable to him personally (the Namikaze were extinct, and the Uzumaki had been refugees from a now-destroyed village, so his recent revelations had not restored any lost family ties), but he felt it skirted disturbingly close to the Sage's ancient taboo on worship of the supernatural. Naruto had strong feelings about said taboo since it was probably the reason why, while everyone still hated him and treated him as less than human, nobody felt they had a religious obligation to burn him at the stake.

On the plus side, if this was a Hyūga holy place, that reduced the odds of its being a trap-filled gauntlet designed to test his worthiness (or indeed just to kill him).

Well, nothing for it.

"Hello? It's me, Uzumaki Naruto. I'm here!"

The statue blinked.

"So I see," Hyūga Hiashi told him without a hint of humour in his voice.

"Thank you for coming. Please be seated." Hinata's father gestured in front of him, where—completely overlooked earlier as Naruto's attention had been captured by the "statue"—a tea ceremony set lay waiting.

Naruto sat down, suddenly very glad that he was wearing his most formal clothes, but simultaneously aware that this wasn't saying much, and that he had probably already lost points as a result.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Hyūga," he said as evenly as possible, trying not to be intimidated, and hoping that the adrenaline flowing through his veins did not suddenly fade and cause him to collapse in an enervated heap.

"We have much to discuss, you and I," Hinata's father went on, his eyes never once leaving Naruto's face, "but first I invite you to sample this tea, brewed according to a recipe passed down through the Hyūga Clan for over twenty generations. Its lineage is longer and more illustrious than that of many."

Naruto couldn't help his eyebrows rising a little. His clones had finished their emergency research just in time, and he was aware that in a proper tea ceremony, the tea was prepared in the presence of the guest, not in advance.

Lord Hyūga noticed. "I apologise for breaking with protocol. The brewing process for this tea is quite involved, and I imagine that your background would leave you with little interest in such subtleties."

He poured the tea into two cups, each of which looked like it was worth more than all of Naruto's possessions put together (even including the jacket).

Naruto reached out to pick up the cup closer to him, then stopped at the last second. He knew that, as a guest, he was supposed to drink first. He also knew that Lord Hyūga had taken the unusual step of preparing this tea so Naruto couldn't observe the process, and he estimated a three in four chance that Lord Hyūga wanted him dead or at least severely harmed. Which meant the tea had every possibility of being poisoned. Or perhaps the tea was a distraction and he'd poisoned the cup instead—but the cups were positioned such that Naruto could realistically take either, and while Lord Hyūga might well be distraught at the thought of his heir dating Leaf's least eligible young bachelor, he was unlikely to risk suicide to get rid of him.

Of course, if Lord Hyūga was really serious about this, he'd have poisoned everything and just used a poison he himself was immune to. But insofar as Naruto couldn't refuse to drink altogether without giving offence, that was a risk he was going to have to take. The important thing was to get Lord Hyūga to drink first, and thereby at least narrow down the possibilities (and buy himself time to figure out what to do next).

"Thank you, my lord," Naruto said in his most respectful voice, which he had to admit was not particularly well-practised. "But I have acted rudely in arriving late," because you had your guide lead me on a figure-of-eight tour around the compound, "and by way of apology I would like to surrender the right to drink first to you."

A flicker of curiosity crossed the studied polite blankness of his host's face.

"On the contrary," Lord Hyūga replied, "your timing allowed me to finish brewing the tea correctly. If anyone is at fault here, it is I. It is obvious now that in sending the invitation so late, I have denied you essential time to prepare. Allowing you to drink first is the least I could do to atone."

So that was the game, was it?

"You are too kind, my lord. But under any circumstances it would be rude of a commoner like myself to drink first in the company of the head of Leaf's most noble clan. Please, after you."

Lord Hyūga's expression did not change, but something about him seemed slightly more animated and less statue-like. Oddly, it made Naruto think of Hinata the first time she'd found herself doing really well at shogi.

"Your humility does you credit, Uzumaki Naruto. But is it not written in the laws of hospitality that the host shall always humble himself before the guest, though he be a lion receiving a flea?"

Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgment, thinking fast, and in particular trying to find manga references that would help him figure out the right speaking style. "Indeed. But even before the laws of hospitality, there are the laws of seniority, by which you are both my elder and my senior in the way of the ninja. I would never dare disrespect my elders by being presumptuous, and so I offer the first drink to you." For just one moment, Naruto was extremely grateful that there were no witnesses, and no chance of anyone who knew him overhearing that statement.

One corner of Lord Hyūga's mouth twitched slightly. Had that been too brazen a lie?

"Then surely," the man finally answered, "you understand that seniority comes with responsibility? While those without breeding or rank may behave like the beasts of the field, a true gentleman must acknowledge and atone for every misstep. And since I seem to have troubled you by inviting you to an event normally reserved for the aristocracy, it is only just that I take responsibility for my actions by granting you the right to drink first."

Was Hinata's father deliberately making his speech more and more complicated, or was Naruto's exhaustion starting to take over his brain again? He had to end this fast, before he got too tired and did something stupid. Time for desperate measures.

"My lord!" He allowed his eyes to widen as if in surprise, then bent his head to the floor in the most humble bow possible. "Please forgive me. I realise now that I have committed the gravest of errors—that of arguing with you in your own home over who should take the first drink, when every law demands that I abide by whatever judgment you hand down. I am shamed, and must atone at the very least by surrendering the first drink to you, lest I be forced to flee this place in humiliation." He was particularly proud of the "lest".

Lord Hyūga looked at him for a few seconds, then seemed to come to a decision.

"Raise your head, Uzumaki Naruto, and grant me your forgiveness instead. Only now do I realise the arrogance of refusing the gift you have repeatedly offered me, and of denying the innocent spirit of youth that transcends proper etiquette. I shall do as you say, and drink first."

Naruto was only beginning to mentally celebrate his victory when Lord Hyūga reached towards the cups. But as he leaned over, his movement caused the hem of his sleeve to sway a little too far forwards, catching the edges of both. They toppled, spilling the tea onto the floor.

"Why, I do apologise," Lord Hyūga said, still expressionless. "This tea is only brewed with one serving per person, so it seems neither of us will be able to partake of it today. Do excuse me while I bring cloth to clean up."

Now Naruto was even more worried. Why would Hinata's father spill the tea, unless it really had been poisoned? And why would the head of a noble clan clean up his own mess, unless he'd deliberately chosen to send his servants away to remove any witnesses of what he was about to do? Or was the whole thing a mind game designed to put Naruto off balance, in which case it was working very well? Or was he intended to assume that it was a mind game, thereby leaving himself vulnerable to an actual assassination attempt still to come? Exactly how many levels was Hyūga Hiashi playing on here? Had he given in too easily to Naruto's winning move, or was Naruto just being paranoid now? Perhaps that had been the intent?

By the time Lord Hyūga returned and wiped up the tea (should Naruto have offered to do that? Aargh), it felt like Naruto's brain was tying itself in knots. Which, of course, was when his host decided to move on to the discussion proper.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he began, seating himself in the formal kneeling position once again, "allow me to be direct. What are your intentions towards my daughter?"

How was Naruto supposed to answer that? He wasn't even sure he knew himself, and he certainly couldn't tell what answer Hinata's father would want to hear.

"I… I want to make her happy," he finally said. There couldn't be any safer answer than that, right?

But Lord Hyūga's voice grew several degrees colder. "I will warn you now not to lie to me. After decades of practice, one does not need the Byakugan to read body language."

"I'm not lying!" Naruto surprised himself with the intensity of his reply. "My lord," he hastily added, mindful of the need not to insult his girlfriend's father who could probably wipe him off the face of the earth with a mere gesture.

But the cold did not leave Lord Hyūga's voice. "Then you truly are a child. Happiness is for commoners to seek. A noble's life is duty, it is the responsibility to bear the burdens that the common man cannot. For leaders to pursue their own happiness above the greater good is the path to corruption. Is this what you would wish for my daughter?"

"No, my lord." Naruto hesitated. If Lord Hyūga could really tell when he was lying (and this wasn't just another mind game), then that really limited his options in this conversation. A lifetime of lying to everyone did not prepare you for complete sincerity. "But… But I don't think lack of responsibility is Hinata's problem. If anything… I think it's crushing her."

"Are you saying she is unfit to be the Hyūga heir?"

There was a loaded question.

"That's not it. I think…" Naruto cast around for some way of expressing what he did think. "My lord, you're Hyūga Hiashi."

Lord Hyūga somehow managed, without changing his expression in the slightest, to convey how unimpressed he was at this revelation.

"I mean… you're the head of the Hyūga Clan. You're a hero of the Third Great Ninja War. You're one of Leaf's strongest jōnin. Maybe you don't entirely remember what it was like not to be strong, or maybe you were like this from the beginning. But Hinata's different.

"Some people need time to grow into being strong, into being able to bear the responsibility they're supposed to. Sometimes they need help."

"And you think," Lord Hyūga asked, a trace of danger in his voice, "that you can be of more help to my daughter than myself and the entirety of the Hyūga Clan?"

Naruto did not want to give the obvious answer, but after some thought he still couldn't see any way around it. "With respect, my lord, you and the entirety of the Hyūga Clan have made her what she is now. And I get the impression that you're not satisfied with the result."

Suddenly, a sense of intense threat washed over Naruto. Lord Hyūga's presence expanded to envelop him like a snowstorm, holding him in place even as shadows moved within the obscured space around him, waiting for their moment to strike.

"What has she said to you?"

"Nothing!" Naruto rushed to get the word out like his life depended on it.

The presence retreated. Not completely, but a little, enough for some feeling to start coming back into his frozen limbs.

"Nothing. She never talks about her family life." Naruto took a few deep breaths to restore such calm as he could manage. "But I'm not stupid. I can see the contours of what she doesn't talk about, and I can draw my own conclusions."

"Supposing what you say is true…" the words were heavy, falling into place like lead blocks from some great height. "Supposing that, what is it you think you can do for her?"

"I can make her stronger." Naruto was on more familiar ground now. "I can help her believe in herself. I can help her find out what she's capable of." Naruto felt something, an influx of… protectiveness? Affection? Pride in who Hinata was? He didn't know the name of this feeling, but it felt right, and he went with it.

"My lord, Hinata is intelligent, imaginative, dedicated, compassionate. She has the potential to be a great clan leader someday. I think I can help get her there, and it's what she wants as well. Please… I know you're trying to do your best for her in your own way. Let me do the same in mine."

The sense of threat retreated a little further.

"Why?" Lord Hyūga demanded. "Why would you go so far for her?"

Was he really going to make him say it? Yes. Yes, he was. Naruto inwardly cringed, but then finally sucked it up. If he could face Momochi "Demon" Zabuza in one-on-one combat, then he could damn well admit his feelings for a girl to her hostile father.

"Because I care about her," Naruto said. "Because she's my best friend, and more. Because I don't have anything else to give her... and I want to give her everything I can." That last part had sounded defiant in his head, like he was angry with Lord Hyūga for challenging his feelings, but somehow his voice caught when he was saying it out loud, and it came out soft, quiet, gentle.

Silence.

Lord Hyūga said nothing. There was no sense of threat anymore, just an unbroken stillness, like the snowstorm had retreated and left everything covered in perfect white.

Naruto had no sense of time, watching the completely motionless figure of his host. Were minutes passing, or hours?

Finally, Lord Hyūga looked at him.

"I have made my decision. Do not think ill of me, but for the good of my daughter and the Hyūga Clan, Uzumaki Naruto…"

His hand was suddenly in front of Naruto's heart, his chakra one precise needle, piercing the flesh as if it wasn't there.

"…you must die."

-o-

Sakura was sick of looking for Naruto. It was nearly 5 p.m. now, and he was going to be late to his meeting even if she did catch up to him, and it would all be her fault. Even though it was all Naruto's fault for being so hard to find. And Captain Unreasonable's fault for making her look in the first place.

Yes, she knew the reasoning. Use genin as messengers whenever convenient because they need to develop their tracking skills, and need to be able to locate fellow ninja (and especially teammates) quickly if standard communication channels ever fail. She didn't like it, but it made sense—except the people who came up with the practice had never anticipated that anyone would want to find Naruto.

She knew he'd come out of the Foreigners' Cemetery (and what in blazes had he been doing there?) hours ago, then probably gone home. There the trail ended. Sakura was one of the few people who knew that on the rare occasions that Naruto wasn't being obnoxiously in-your-face, he could be surprisingly stealthy (such as when preparing pranks). But why would he be sneaking around on a day off? On second thought, maybe she didn't want to know. It might be best to hope for the more innocent alternative, that he was in a real A-rank hurry. On a weekend like this, with the streets so crowded, that would mean sticking to the ninja routes (in which case the only witnesses would be people who thought to look up).

In other words, here was Naruto making her life as difficult as possible without even trying. She'd have to alert the press.

After a while she had a brainwave, and decided to track down Hinata instead. Even if Naruto's new girlfriend (Naruto had a girlfriend. What was wrong with the world?) didn't know where he was, she could always use her Bloodline Limit to locate him in the blink of an eye. Why Hinata was apparently in the forest outside the village she didn't know, but it made tracking her a lot easier, so Sakura wasn't complaining.

After following a trail of broken twigs and occasional footprints (reassuring in that if Hinata wasn't covering her tracks, it meant Sakura wasn't accidentally trailing her on some sort of secret mission or private errand), she finally bumped into her target heading the other way. As Hinata was on her way home from wherever she'd been, the two girls ended up walking back together.

"You haven't seen Naruto, have you, Hinata?"

"No, not since, um…" Hinata stopped awkwardly.

"It's OK," Sakura tried to look friendly and not at all fed up. "I know about you two dating—I was the one who helped him pick out clothes for your first date."

"Oh, so you did. That was very kind of you." Hinata smiled. "Well, we were training together earlier this afternoon, but I haven't seen him since then, and I don't know where he'd be now."

That made it Plan B for Byakugan, then. "In that case, would you mind using your ability to find him for me? I've got a message I need to get to him."

But Hinata shook her head. "I'm sorry. I promised him I wouldn't use the Byakugan to look for him unless there was an emergency."

Drat. On reflection, Sakura supposed it made sense. Imagine dating someone who could always see you, no matter where you were or what you were doing. The creepiness level made shivers run down her spine.

"Is it an emergency?"

Sakura considered. It would serve both Naruto and Kakashi-sensei right if the message failed to get through because of their unhelpfulness, and it wasn't really urgent. They were probably only going to talk about the Chūnin Exam, which Naruto would go for without a second thought because he was some kind of idiot savant superhero now. Then again, Sakura's deep-rooted instincts screamed at her that if she went to the teacher's office and received a special errand, then failing at that errand—or worse, abandoning it—was a crime worse than murder. There were no gold stars for people like that.

"I guess?" she finally told Hinata.

"Well, if you're sure… Byakugan!"

Hinata scanned for a few seconds.

"Sorry, Sakura. I can't find him. My range isn't long enough to see much of the village from all the way out here."

"Oh. Never mind. Off I go, then." Joy. Of course it wouldn't be that easy, not where Naruto was concerned. With him and Captain Unreasonable constantly conspiring to make her suffer, and the rest of the world being at best well-meaning but useless, was it any wonder that she turned to Sasuke as the one beacon of sanity and competence in her life?

"Oh, um, Sakura?"

"What?" Don't snap, don't snap, it's not the poor girl's fault that she's dating the world's biggest pain in the butt. OK, it sort of is, but obviously Naruto must have driven her insane in some way for that to happen, so the blame comes back to him in the end.

"Kurenai-sensei had a word with me earlier. She, um, asked if I was prepared to consider swapping teams with you, hypothetically speaking."

"And… what did you say?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Hinata took a deep breath. "I… don't think it's a good idea."

"Really?" Sakura hadn't seen that coming at all. "But why wouldn't you want to be on the same team as Naruto?" Being on the same team as Sasuke was the luckiest break she'd had in living memory. Just how badly had Naruto ruined Hinata's powers of judgement for her to turn down an opportunity like this?

The answer floored her.

"Because he needs you."

"He what." This time, Sakura couldn't restrain herself.

Hinata began to fidget. "With Naruto and me, he's always the one looking after me. If I was on the same team with him, the way I am now, I'd only be more of a burden on him. Maybe one day… but right now, he needs someone who can look after him by his side."

"Me? Look after him?" A puzzled Sakura briefly thought through her normal patterns of interaction with Naruto. Regular violence. A metric tonne of snark. The occasional very backhanded compliment. Was she missing something here?

"Sure. You're like his big sister. Or like I imagine a big sister should be. You're always there, no matter what's happening in his life. He knows you better than he knows most people, and he knows how you'll react to anything he does." Hinata paused, and frowned as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I know you can be a bit mean to him sometimes, but it's mean, not hostile like an enemy. It's the way people in a family act. And he can let himself do really silly things, knowing that if he goes too far, you'll 'beat some sense into him'.

"Um. Actually, about that…" Hinata stopped fidgeting. "I know Naruto can fight his own battles, but, um, I'm his girlfriend now, and if you put him in hospital again… I think I'll have to get upset."

Sakura's eyes widened, possibly to the size of dinner plates. What had Naruto done to this girl?

"Please don't take that the wrong way!" Hinata exclaimed. "I, um, I really want us to be friends." She looked down sheepishly. The fidgeting resumed.

Friends, huh? Sakura kind of missed having those. There was this thing that happened when your one friend was the best friend you clung to like a drowning woman to a rock, and then she became your rival and suddenly you had no friends anymore. She wasn't sure how she felt about Hinata, a former non-entity who had just given her an enormous compliment (if that's what it was), threatened her and made overtures of friendship in a single short conversation, but it was at least something to think about.

Most of her mind, though, was still stuck on Hinata's earlier statement. "His big sister? Really?"

"I think so. I think… maybe that's who you are in Team Seven? Naruto and Sasuke don't have families, or many friends, but you're this person who's always got their backs, and always covers their blind spots. I, um, don't mean ninja missions or anything. Like when Naruto needed help with the date, and he went straight to you, and I guess you were a little bit mean to him, but you still dropped everything to help him out.

"Sorry. I'm rambling." Hinata looked at Sakura nervously. "Just, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I'm really grateful for how you make Naruto's life more… stable, I guess? I know it's a thing I can't do yet."

Sakura didn't know what to say. It had been too long since she'd had this kind of conversation. Too long, really, since there'd been anyone she could have such a conversation with. Finally, she decided to go for the safe option and change the subject.

"So what are you doing all the way out here, anyway?"

"Oh, my father asked me to deliver some documents to a Hyūga at one of the more distant guard posts. It's a bit of a long walk, but he said I could take my time, so I don't mind."

"Huh." Wasn't Hinata supposed to be the clan heir or something? Well, it was a relief of sorts to know that unhelpful authority figures sent genin to run time-consuming errands on their days off no matter how far up you went.

Sakura sighed, and said goodbye to Hinata. She did feel an unexpected temptation to stay, and walk back to the village at a reasonable pace, and maybe chat a little bit in the process. But Kakashi-sensei was disturbingly insightful when it came to telling how hard you'd tried to carry out his orders, and subtle in his vengeance if it wasn't hard enough.

-o-

Naruto's shadow clone popped with a puff of smoke, at the same time as its wristband transformed into the original (incidentally in full combat gear). The letter said to attend in person—it never said that the person had to do the talking.

However, said original was now trapped in a dojo with a homicidal jōnin whose active Byakugan made him immune to any and all misdirection attempts, including the Transformation Technique, and who happened to be leader of a taijutsu specialist clan. If the backup plan he'd concocted while observing the dojo in wristband form didn't work...

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

The hall was filled with several hundred shadow clones, enough to have the density of a crowd at a long-awaited reunion gig. Naruto staggered from the sudden chakra drain—Kakashi-sensei hadn't been wrong about that. He'd have to practise if he got out of this alive.

Lord Hyūga's reply was straightforward, if stunning to someone more used to Hinata's power level.

"Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Strikes."

The clone-free space around Hinata's father started to expand rapidly. Every one of his strikes took out a clone, and his speed was growing exponentially with every second as the technique began to accelerate.

Naruto hated to use incomplete techniques in field conditions, but this time he had no choice, nor even time to think.

"Uzumaki-Style Ninjutsu: Shell Game Technique (prototype)!"

Every clone that wasn't in the middle of a futile taijutsu move was now using the Substitution Technique. The clones were swapping with each other and the original fast enough that the Byakugan's ability to keep track of Naruto's location was now useless. Even if Lord Hyūga could tell which one was real after so many exchanges, Naruto would be gone by the time he got there.

Even so, at the rate his opponent was going, this was only going to buy Naruto a few seconds at best. He'd already had a couple of close shaves where he managed to swap places with a clone an instant before Lord Hyūga's chakra strike pierced his skin. Pretty soon, he'd be out of clones, and then he'd have no way of defending himself at all.

Which brought him to his other idea, and if there was one thing Naruto hated to use more than incomplete techniques, it was suicide techniques.

"Uzumaki-Style Ninjutsu: Indoor Apocalypse Technique!"

Every clone that wasn't immediately within range of Lord Hyūga started throwing kunai, as did Naruto after every Substitution. Naturally, not one of them hit their target.

By the time Hinata's father had finished disposing of the clones, the walls, roof and support beams were peppered with kunai.

"Don't move," Naruto said sharply.

Lord Hyūga looked at him from the other end of the dojo (where the final clone had been tactically positioned at the last second).

"I told you that you cannot deceive me, Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, I see the explosive tags you have attached to all of those kunai. Do you not wonder why I allowed you to launch them?"

Allowed? Oh, man.

"I can see your chakra imbued into each one. I can tell from this that they are shadow clones, and I know that cloned explosives cannot detonate. And yes, I can see that both of the kunai you are holding are clones as well, and the tags on those. Your bluff has failed. Now, take this final chance to be like a Hyūga, and accept your fate with grace."

Naruto had at most a couple of seconds left to live—and he used them to the full.

He threw one of the kunai he was holding upwards. In the same movement, he brought his hands together and detonated the tag on every real kunai—and there were plenty of real kunai—attached to the building's insides.

At that moment, Lord Hyūga reached him. The words "Hyūga Certain Kill Ultimate Death Technique" flashed across Naruto's mind.

Just before the strike could connect, the kunai flying upwards turned back into a shadow clone, its hands already in starting position for the Substitution Technique (thank you, Kyubey, for that little trick). As it swapped places with him, Naruto (whose hands were still in the detonation position), triggered the tag now attached to its sleeve, directly in front of Hyūga Hiashi.

By this point, there was fire and destruction everywhere, the building tearing itself apart as every single structural support shattered at once. Looking up at the collapsing roof, Naruto found a tiny glimpse of sky, and threw the second kunai through the gap towards it. As soon as it was through, the second kunai turned back into a shadow clone, and swapped with Naruto.

He was alive.

Now he just had the entire rest of the Hyūga Clan to worry about.

-o-

Naruto was out of breath by the time he reached the nearest point of exit, the front gate, which hopefully had enough passers-by near it to prevent the Hyūga from murdering him outright in public. There was no sign of pursuit so far, but that didn't say much when dealing with ninja who could see you no matter where you were.

Still, he was here, and at least relatively safe, and—

"Your performance has been satisfactory," Lord Hyūga told him, standing comfortably in the shade of the gate. "I give you permission to continue courting my daughter—for the time being."

Naruto just stood there, stunned, as Lord Hyūga walked past him and back into the compound.

-o-

It was late evening by the time Naruto had un-collapsed enough to open the new, larger Hyūga-marked envelope he'd found already waiting for him on his return. This time, he'd decided to pointedly ignore it until he had both sufficient rest and ramen, badly-needed ramen.

Uzumaki Naruto,

Please find attached a fee for services rendered. I had been attempting to have that eyesore demolished for years now, but the Council of Elders blocked me at every turn.

I also commend you for being the first person in some years to think of infusing your chakra into ordinary objects in order to confuse the Byakugan. I believe you are presently the only living non-Hyūga with that knowledge.

I wish you fortune in surviving the coming trials.

There was no signature—a throwaway gesture of indemnity from a man who probably believed himself above consequences anyway.

-o-

"You know, Chōji," Ino commented as she watched the last of the pork vanish from the plate, "this is supposed to be an all-team celebration. And given how it's Asuma-sensei's treat for us retrieving that stolen painting and all, don't you think we should at least wait for him before digging in?"

"Don't worry, I'm just whetting my appetite. This doesn't even count as starting the meal."

Shikamaru, meanwhile, sat back and continued reading the menu (or possibly staring into space, you never could tell). Of the three of them, he'd made the least effort with his civilian clothes, just throwing on a random T-shirt, whereas Chōji was surprisingly neatly dressed in pale red and grey (meals out were a thing the Akimichi Clan traditionally took very seriously), and Ino had taken the full opportunity to show off, sky blue one-piece dress, Mikimoto jewellery set and everything.

Before Ino could make the required sarcastic comment, though, the door of the restaurant slammed open, and three intimidating-looking strangers with Hidden Grass forehead protectors strode in as if they owned the place.

The one in the middle, a large, stocky teenager dressed in a well-matched grey and black outfit with touches of green, and with a huge shuriken strapped to his back, slowly scanned the room. "We've been told Leaf's legendary Ino-Shika-Chō trio were here. Where are they?"

Ino knew Shikamaru well enough to notice him tense ever so slightly, then relax, meaning he'd figured out exactly how this face-off was going to go and what they needed to do to win it.

"That would be us," Shikamaru said. "And you are?"

"I'm the Fūma Ginpachi, greatest genin of Hidden Grass," the ninja announced, hands on hips, chest puffed out. "And you can't tell me that a bunch of weaklings like you are the Ino-Shika-Chō?"

"No, I think it's true, Gin," the girl next to him spoke up, pale, thin, and with elaborate make-up. Her uniform seemed to feature a lot of leather, and belts, and not very much else. It wasn't a bad look, though Ino would have added more colour to set off the girl's complexion. "They match the description. Looks like we came all the way here for nothing."

"What do you want?" Ino demanded, rising out of her seat.

"We are here," the third, boring white-clad ninja explained, adjusting his glasses as he stooped slightly so as not to bang his head against the ceiling, "to seize the advantage in the upcoming Chūnin Exam by crushing the spirits of our greatest competition before it even begins. Or that was the plan, anyway.

"Well," he said in a resigned tone, "at least this won't take long. So, which one of you is the brains of the outfit, I dread to ask?"

Without a word, Ino and Chōji both pointed at Shikamaru. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Look, do we really have to do this?" he asked. "We're probably going to face off in the Exam anyway, and fighting now would be such a pain."

"What's the matter?" the tall ninja sneered, looking down at Shikamaru. "We haven't even fought yet, and you're already prepared to run home crying to Mummy?"

Shikamaru flinched. "Fine. Let's take this outside."

-o-

Ginpachi turned to Chōji.

"I suppose I'll be the one to deal with you. Not that I'm expecting much. Look at you, stuffing your face with barbecue, pretending to be a real man. Why, I bet you're not even fat, you're just big-boned!"

Chōji shot up as he prepared to brutally crush the madman who'd pressed his one and only berserk button. "What did you just call me?!"

Then he tilted his head a little, replaying the accusation. "No, wait…"

Ginpachi sat down in Shikamaru's vacated place. "You're nothing but a wannabe. The Ginpachi will show you how it's done."

He waved a waitress over. "Does this place serve the Leaf Mega Meat Challenge I've been hearing so much about?"

"Yes, sir. Um, would you mind putting that shuriken away? It's scratching the—"

"Great. Bring us two."

Chōji's eyes narrowed. He was being challenged on his home ground, in every sense. "Bring me two as well."

-o-

"So look, Yamanaka, I was gonna take you down and all, but seeing you now, it'd be, like, so lame. I mean, look at you. What's up with that cheap-looking bracelet?"

"Actually," Ino said nonchalantly, "it's Mikimoto, winter collection." She thought she'd have to summon a medic-nin when she told Dad how much it'd cost.

"Hey, my collar's Mikimoto too! Spring, though." The girl paused. "Don't start thinking we're on the same level, though. My perfume's a Shinma original. It's not even out in the Fire Country."

"Did you really just go there?" Ino gave her a look that would have been pitying if she'd been able to make it less triumphant. "My family runs the Yamanaka flower shops. We supply Kenzō, and we get their latest products like two seasons in advance. What do you think I'm wearing?"

The other girl winced. "Fine, you got me there. But we'll see what you have to say after you check out this handbag…"

-o-

"I'm, uh, sorry, sirs, but I'm afraid the restaurant is now completely out of meat. Would you like me to bring you the dessert menu?"

"Jeez, done already? The Ginpachi was only just getting started!"

"Hey, I know this great place right around the corner…"

-o-

On a bench outside…

Click.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Ametatsu was aching with disappointment. It wasn't that Nara was bad as such. If he were, Ametatsu would've crushed him like a bug by now, instead of watching the game stretch on and on with no end in sight. But his playing was so… workmanlike, so uninspired. It told Ametatsu absolutely nothing of interest about his opponent. And Nara himself was no better, with that constantly bored expression of his, almost like he was doing Ametatsu a favour just by being there.

Was this the great Ino-Shika-Chō combo, which had alternately inspired and terrified shinobi across the continent anew with every generation?

Ametatsu had been moved, though he'd never admit it out loud, by the audacity of Ginpachi's plan. They'd travel all the way to the Fire Country. They'd overcome all the strongest genin of Hidden Leaf, and then the other countries, and write the Earth, Wind and Fire combo into the annals of history. Then, when they came home as chūnin who had bested the champions of the Five Great Nations, people would never again slight the name of the Kagami Clan. His father would no longer look down on him for a failure he couldn't help. And maybe, just maybe, she would finally see him as a man.

Then this. Where was the glory in such a victory? What tales of prowess would Ametatsu bring home with him at this rate? He'd faced Nara Shikamaru of his generation's Ino-Shika-Chō, and after taking his measure… After taking his measure…

Ametatsu looked down at the board, as if seeing it for the first time.

He looked up at Nara's face, and saw nothing but apathy there. He looked down at the board again, and mentally replayed every move of the game until now. The horror of the realisation sent adrenaline surging through his veins.

Ametatsu's grandfather liked to say that a good shogi match was a dialogue. Some moves were questions waiting for an answer. Others were bold statements that couldn't go unchallenged. High-level players might even find the opportunity to share a joke, to pay a compliment or to voice a reproach—all without deviating from their plan for victory. Ametatsu Sōzen himself considered shogi an ideal medium for flirting, and claimed to be able to seduce women half his age with a single conversation on the game board.

This was not a conversation. This was an interrogation without mercy. Nara hadn't said a single word about himself since the game began, off the board or on it. Instead, he'd created a silence like a vacuum, forcing Ametatsu to spill secret after secret in pursuit of a checkmate forever just out of sight. How much had Nara already grasped about his personality? Had he seen the degrees of pressure at which Ametatsu's behaviour shifted, and in which directions? The points where the balance between caution and temptation tilted one way or the other? The ways in which Ametatsu's love of efficiency conflicted with his desire to win in style? Ametatsu was volunteering answers to all of Nara's questions without knowing what those questions were.

The worst part was that Nara wasn't trying to hide it. From the lack of personal engagement, to the eye-wateringly neutral playing style, to the way he kept countering Ametatsu's tactics only to then fail to press his advantage... from the beginning, Nara had been completely open about what he was doing, and even with his grandfather's unique insight Ametatsu had very nearly missed it.

He had to get out of here now. He only hoped it wasn't already too late.

Ametatsu shot to his feet. "I forfeit."

He knew what he had to do. It grated like a kunai edge against his nerves, having to prove his father right and shame the Kagami Clan on his very first night in a foreign land. Nor did he relish the humiliation of backing down from a challenge he himself had issued. But weighed against those things was his loyalty to his team, to Ginpachi and to Sera, and no matter how he agonised over it, he already knew which way the scales had to tip.

"I'm very sorry for insulting you and your team," he said, and bowed a deep bow of abject submission. "I'll make sure we stay out of your way during the Exam, so… no hard feelings, all right?"

But as he turned to leave, Nara's voice caught him.

"Wait."

Ametatsu half-turned. "Yes?"

"You should go for a walk or something. Just for half an hour or so."

There was no greater imperative at that moment than getting away from Nara Shikamaru, but still, Ametatsu couldn't resist asking.

"Why?"

And then, for the first time, Nara smiled. Just a little bit, enough that you could miss it if you weren't paying attention. "Our teammates are enjoying themselves right now. We shouldn't get in their way."

Ametatsu left. He'd wanted to go at a dignified walking pace, but in the end he was satisfied that he had at least not broken into a run.

-o-

When Asuma finally arrived, delayed by paperwork, he wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. No sign of Shikamaru. No sign of Chōji. An empty restaurant, its only two occupants Ino and some foreign girl, thick as thieves, swapping makeup tips and celebrity gossip.

A minute later, he learned that ignorance was bliss.

"They put how much on my tab?!"

-o-

I say again that he is too valuable a resource to the village to be thrown away like this. The fact that, to date, his unique abilities have remained unexploited is a failure of leadership as far as this village is concerned, not some triumph of ethics.

Your claims are naïve. Yes, he would make an excellent scapegoat. I grant you that the other nations know little of him, and that everything they know predisposes them to see him as a major threat. They might even believe that he is the source of the coming danger, if we of Leaf tell them so, and offer him up of our own free will. It is plausible enough with the information they have. But the gain from his death will be far less than the opportunities lost.

How much time do you honestly believe it will buy us? I agree that a war right now, with the threat looming on the horizon, is something we cannot afford. But the united front you speak of is a pipe dream. Convincing the other villages that the threat is gone will not lull them into peace. Rather, when they feel secure they will consider expansion once again. They will seek a use for the forces they have already built up. How much will your pacifist ideals aid us then? One does not prevent a war by showing weakness, but by showing strength.

That is what I propose. Make use of him, not as a sacrifice—not until it is necessary—but as the asset you have left criminally unutilised until now. If you are not prepared to do so, or if your emotional attachments continue to leave you unable to deal with him objectively, then I am more than prepared to do what must be done. A sufficient show of strength, on this and all other fronts, will force the other villages to fall into line. Not forever, for that too is a pipe dream, but for long enough that we are each still standing tall when it is time to face what's coming.

The timing to do this could not be better. Do not squander it. That you finally show a will to action is commendable, but it is all for nothing if you then sacrifice the wrong things, at the wrong time, in pursuit of the wrong goal.

Hiruzen read through Danzō's message again, and then set it on fire.