Chinatsu Started Work

"I give up! What is wrong with you? It's just the Shadow Clone Technique, and you've spent all night on it! How can you still not have learned it?"

"You can't blame me! I don't know what's going wrong either. I'm exhausted. I feel completely drained."

At noon, when all the other students had gone to school, Chinatsu went to the Ninja Academy to request the day off for Naruto and Sasuke.

The two little guys had trained all night. With them in that state, she couldn't possibly drag them off to school. Chinatsu certainly wasn't one of those "classic" Chinese parents.

When Chinatsu got up that morning and saw the two of them lying in the clearing, she was shocked. Dragging them both home was agony. Cooking for them and then having to sit beside them listening to their bickering left her in despair.

Chinatsu watched the pair with a smile. Sasuke, who was pouting at Naruto, suddenly shuddered and stiffly turned his head toward her.

"S-Sis? You... look kind of... unhappy?" Sasuke stammered, his voice trembling.

"Unhappy? No, no, no. Why would I be unhappy? Isn't that right, Sasuke~?" Chinatsu smiled at him with narrowed eyes, and every hair on his body stood on end. Although he had never seen his sister angry before, right now... there was no doubt about it... she was angry!

"I-I'm sorry."

Sasuke lowered his head slightly. Naruto hurriedly bowed his head too and apologized. Watching them, Chinatsu took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.

Oh, well. As their guardian, she hadn't hauled them home in the middle of the night, so she bore some responsibility too.

"Remember, getting rest is important. Your health is your greatest asset. If you ruin your bodies by training too hard, you'll lose far more than you gain."

Chinatsu gently rested a hand on each boy's head. Although she was speaking to Naruto and Sasuke, she felt that she was also saying those words to her former self.

Before she had transmigrated into the Naruto world, she had been an active otaku in anime and manga circles, and quite a well-known figure in the scene. She had spent her days running from one convention to another and had passed out from exhaustion more than a few times.

Although the memories of her previous life were gradually fading, Chinatsu still remembered how exhausted she had been when someone stabbed her in the side while she was cosplaying at a convention. If she hadn't been in that state, she was certain she would have reacted immediately, snatched the knife away, swept the attacker's legs out from under them, and followed up with a kick straight to the family jewels!

At that thought, a sinister smile spread across Chinatsu's face. Naruto and Sasuke, whose heads she was still stroking, gave another little shudder. Seeing her like that filled them with a fear that came from the depths of their hearts.

Sasuke: From now on... I must never make Sis angry...

Naruto: So the adults were right. Every woman has a terrifying beast hidden inside her...

Day after day passed, and Naruto and Sasuke continued their training.

Much as in the original story, Sasuke became the Ninja Academy's prodigy, ranking first in his year. And that was with him holding back his true strength.

Naruto's progress was slow because the Nine-Tails sealed inside him disrupted his chakra, but he worked hard enough to make up for it. With Sasuke constantly spurring him on, he had already mastered the Basic Three-Body Technique perfectly, even though he was still far from graduation age.

When Naruto first mastered the Shadow Clone Technique and produced seven or eight shadow clones in one go, Sasuke had been stunned. After all, he could only make three.

Sasuke: Those chakra reserves are ridiculous...

Chinatsu: That's only the ordinary Shadow Clone Technique. If he used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, making hundreds or thousands at once would be nothing.

Other people had chakra.

Naruto had chakra by the ton.

While Sasuke and Naruto enjoyed their peaceful lives at the Ninja Academy, Chinatsu began her first mission as a member of the Anbu.

"Recently, Kumogakure suddenly expressed an interest in establishing diplomatic relations with Konoha. Although that's a good thing, those people in Kumogakure aren't exactly the peaceable sort. They must be plotting something. The Anbu will keep them under covert surveillance. Chinatsu, you haven't carried out a single mission as an Anbu yet, so this will be your first."

In the Naruto office, Hiruzen Sarutobi rested his chin on his clasped hands and spoke solemnly to Chinatsu.

Standing across from him, Chinatsu was already dressed in her Anbu uniform. She wore a faint smile and held a mask in one hand.

"I'll do my best. For Konoha, I'll give it my all," Chinatsu said with a smile as she put on the mask in her hand. Incidentally, it was a fox mask.

"For Konoha... I'm glad you feel that way..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned a little strained. Looking at the fox mask on Chinatsu's face, he couldn't help thinking of the tailed beast, the Nine-Tails. And thinking of the Nine-Tails reminded him of Naruto's parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

With so many mask designs to choose from, why did she have to pick a fox...?

And it wasn't just that. Between Chinatsu's tone and her smile, Hiruzen Sarutobi kept getting the feeling that this girl was taking veiled jabs at him, but he had no proof.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Sorry for the trouble."

"Oh, please don't say that. Lord Sarutobi, you're the Naruto, while I'm just a civilian. For Konoha's prosperity and future, I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice even my life!"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi maintained his kindly smile, but anyone with sharp eyes would have noticed the slight twitching of his face.

"Well, I'm off to work!"

Chinatsu waved at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then turned and walked out of the Naruto office. Hidden beneath her fox mask was a smile.

Finally! Finally! Finally!!!

Finally, a plotline I know!!!

Since the current timeline was still a long way from the beginning of the original story, Chinatsu often felt lost. Her knowledge as a transmigrator had been of no use at all. But now... things were different!

The Kumogakure Social Incident?

In the story, Kumogakure had tried to use this diplomatic visit as a pretext to enter Konoha and abduct someone with the Hyuga Clan's kekkei genkai, the Byakugan. And the person they abducted was none other than Naruto Uzumaki's canonical love interest and future wife... Hinata Hyuga.

Another chance to win some goodwill!

Chinatsu had already begun planning how she would play the hero and rescue the abducted Hinata Hyuga, all while making her performance look perfectly natural.

Great. Now I just have to wait for Hinata to get kidnapped!

Meanwhile, far away in the Hyuga Clan compound, Hinata Hyuga was staring into space when she suddenly sneezed.

"Did I... catch a cold?"