Rebuilding Inazuma

Iruka walked into the classroom and saw that the two students who had been absent for a week had finally returned. He let out a sigh of relief. At least they were all right.

But...

Noticing Sasuke's cold, emotionless expression, Iruka felt a pang of sorrow. Such a good kid... What a shame.

He secretly decided that he had to talk to Sasuke. He couldn't let him remain consumed by hatred.

"Class is dismissed... Sasuke, come out with me for a moment."

Sasuke stood up, frowning, and followed Iruka out of the classroom.

"What could Iruka-sensei want with Sasuke...?"

Since it had to do with Sasuke, the girls in the class were rather curious.

They crept to the classroom door and poked their heads out to sneak a look.

The boys pursed their lips and said nothing.

Naruto sat down beside Hinata and asked, "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

During class, Hinata had kept sneaking glances at Naruto. And unlike before, when she'd been shy, this time... she'd been looking at him with a hurt, miserable expression, as if she were about to cry.

She'd practically turned her Byakugan into a Red Eye.

"I... I don't know."

Hinata lowered her head, feeling aggrieved.

She didn't know why, but a few days ago, her father had suddenly told her not to get too close to Naruto.

She didn't want to agree, but she didn't dare disobey her father, either.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place!

"Don't be afraid, Hinata. I'm here. You can tell me anything..."

—The handsome-boy tactic!

Naruto took Hinata's soft little hand in his, a bright smile on his young face.

"Naruto-kun..."

Sunlight pierced the darkness and shone into Hinata's heart.

She slowly raised her head and looked at Naruto. Suddenly, she felt courage welling up inside her. Her father could wait—at least for now.

"Oh, your father told you to keep your distance from me..."

After hearing Hinata out, Naruto released her hands and fell into thought.

On the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, what he'd feared most was that a Byakugan user would show up and see through his disguise.

And judging by Konoha's reaction and what Hinata had told him...

The Hyuga must have discovered something. But for some reason, they hadn't told Konoha; they'd only told Hinata to stay away from him. That was good news, at least—it dispelled his last lingering worry...

With his hands released, Hinata felt strangely bereft. Seeing Naruto lost in thought and silent, she assumed he was worried about how they'd get along from now on.

Mustering her courage, Hinata said firmly, "Naruto-kun, Father is wrong. I won't leave you."

Come on, there was no need to make this into some tragic romance.

Naruto's mouth twitched. "Thanks, but nobody's asking you to leave. Your father only told you and me to keep our distance. He didn't say we couldn't be friends. And we've always been friends... Nothing's changed. Don't overthink it."

Even though Hinata was the heroine Naruto ended up with in the original story, she was still only seven or eight years old. Naruto couldn't bring himself to think too much of her that way.

After all, he was a person. He couldn't be that much of a beast.

"You understand? What could you possibly understand? You don't understand anything! You've never been through it yourself—you could never understand my pain..."

Sasuke's angry shout rang through the hallway. It seemed his talk with Iruka hadn't gone well.

"Quick, quick, Sasuke's coming back."

The girls hiding behind the classroom door hurriedly scattered and returned to their seats.

Some chatted, some fixed their makeup. They all pretended they hadn't been sneaking a look.

It was all pointless, though. Sasuke had noticed them long ago.

He snorted and ignored them, returning to his seat.

Just then, the class bell rang. Iruka stepped into the classroom and wearily glanced at Sasuke.

This kid... He was even harder to deal with than Naruto.

"Let's begin."

Sealing Space.

Naruto didn't have to wait long. Shadow used the Rinnegan's Magic Lantern Body Technique to project herself into the Sealing Space.

"I've mastered the abilities of the body I took over: the Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Style, Lightning Style, Sharingan, Genjutsu, and some of the Rinnegan's abilities..."

Looking at Naruto, Shadow said seriously, "I think I'm strong enough to protect myself. Can I go down the mountain now?"

"Hmm... Yes, you can."

A woman traveling a thousand miles made her father worry. As Shadow's creator—and, in a sense, her father—Naruto was very worried that she might run into danger as she traveled through the Ninja World.

So he'd advised her to lie low in the mountains for a while and get familiar with her abilities.

He'd also had her come to the Sealing Space every day to hear him pass on his life experience, so she wouldn't get a few steps down the road and end up knocked out from behind.

"Please be extremely careful. The shinobi of this world are all very devious, especially the ones I specifically marked for you. If you run into them, don't believe a word they say..."

After rambling on and on, Naruto looked at the half-asleep Nine-Tails beside him.

"Kurama, with your thousand years of experience in the Ninja World, is there anything you want to tell Shadow?"

"Hmm..." The Nine-Tails opened his eyes and yawned. "Don't trust humans. They're all a bunch of despicable, shameless..."

"Hey, hey, Kurama, I'm right here," Naruto reminded him, displeased.

The Nine-Tails shot him a sidelong glance. "Am I wrong?"

"You are. You should've said most humans other than me."

On a deserted mountain somewhere in the Land of Fire, Shadow opened her eyes, excitement plain on her face.

She could finally leave the mountain!

The Shogun's voice sounded in Shadow's mind.

"Have you decided what you're going to do next?"

Shadow replied confidently, "Of course. I'm going to rebuild Inazuma in the Ninja World. When Naruto leaves Konoha one day, he'll be able to come live in Inazuma."

The Shogun considered it for a moment, then said, "You have my full support."

Inazuma... A vital part of the Way of Eternity.

Shadow looked pleased. "Good. Since you agree, let's get started."

The first step in rebuilding Inazuma: travel the Ninja World and find a suitable country to strike.

After Shadow left the Sealing Space, Naruto greeted the Nine-Tails and prepared to leave as well.

"Wait, Naruto. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Naruto turned around. "What is it?"

The Nine-Tails sat up, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "Naruto, are we friends?"

"Of course!"

Naruto answered without hesitation.

"Over the years, have you ever missed your parents?"

"Sometimes. I never got to meet them, after all."

"What if I told you... I was the one who killed your parents? Would you still want to be friends with me?"

Naruto fell silent. He looked up at the Nine-Tails but said nothing.

The Nine-Tails, however, seemed to have steeled himself. Though he was anxious, he told Naruto everything that had happened back then, sparing no detail.

The Masked Man, the Nine-Tails Incident, the Fourth Hokage, Kushina Uzumaki...

At last, the Nine-Tails concluded, "Even though I was controlled and had no choice, no matter how you look at it, I was partly responsible for your parents' deaths... So whether you forgive me or not, I'll accept it."

He said that, but if Naruto didn't forgive him, the Nine-Tails would probably be devastated.

In truth, the Nine-Tails didn't think he was at fault in the slightest. Just as he'd said, he'd been forced to do it. He was a victim, too.