In Konoha, the Hokage's office.
"Waa~" Hanabi was currently hugging Naruto tightly with her face pressed up against his chest. "I got all these lacerations … I'm scarred for life. No one will marry me anymore. I'm ruined. You were the one who sent me on that mission. You have to take responsibility, Brother-in-law."
"You can stop the fake crocodile tears now, Hanabi," Naruto said, patting her back as his other hand rested on her waist. "I'll heal you and make sure that there are no traces of your failed attempt at that jutsu."
Hanabi, still hugging Naruto, glowed with a faint golden light as he used Yin-Yang release to bring her back to tip-top shape once again.
"But-but-but. What about the mental damage? Do you know how annoying those opponents were? I got so angry that I ended up losing control against an enemy. I can't be a shinobi anymore. You should just have me join your personal guard. I don't think I'm fit to be an in-field shinobi."
"You know, Hanabi, you're lucky that you're cute. Otherwise, no one would want to put up with such a whiny baby," Naruto said, looking down at her and making sure that her wounds were healed before deactivating his ability. "I was going to praise you on a job well done after you battled your way through such fearsome opponents, but after all this whining …"
"No, come on. Praise me~" She looked up at him with bright eyes, with no signs of even a single tear in them. "I killed multiple Outers and subdued that Kawaki kid. I even got some information about what's so special about him. Apparently, he is supposed to be the vessel for the reincarnation of an Ōtsutsuki. Doesn't that sound interesting?"
"He could've been lying to you," Naruto pointed out.
"Impossible," Hanabi shook her head. "I was observing him with my Byakugan the whole time. He didn't lie at all. And after my awesome display of power, he should promptly start calling me Hanabi Onee-san."
"We'll see about that," Naruto said. "We need to wait for him to recover first, okay?"
"Fine. What about my reward? I did so well on that mission, right? I want a reward."
"Are you going to ask me to assign you to my personal guard?"
"Of course not, silly," Hanabi laughed at him. "You're already going to do that because I'm not fit to be an in-field shinobi anymore. I want a different sort of reward."
"Why are you so adamant about shadowing me all the time?" Naruto asked. "I don't want to deal with Hiashi's nagging. And trust me, he is going to chew my ear off if I assign you to such a position."
"You will deal with it for your beautiful and lovely sister-in-law, right? What if I ask Onee-chan really nicely? I'm sure she's going to support my decision."
"I still don't hear a reason for why you want this position."
"Doing missions for money is so troublesome. Especially training three genin brats in the process. I'm far from being teacher material," Hanabi said. "Shadowing the Hokage is the safest and the most chill job in the world. You obviously don't need protection. I'll just have to run the occasional errand for you, which I can delegate to my subordinates because you would naturally assign me as the new head. It's going to be awesome."
"Your demands seem to be increasing with every sentence you speak."
"That's why you should agree quickly before I ask you for an exorbitant salary."
"Fine …" Naruto admitted defeat. "Wait for a few days. I'll see what strings I can pull. Now, what's the reward that you want? You truly did an exceptional job in today's mission and deserve something."
"I'll have to consult Onee-chan for that." Hanabi's tone turned flirty as she looked up at him, blinking slowly. "She might refuse."
"If you are planning to …" Naruto trailed off, changing his decision mid-way. "Sure, give it a go. She's been mad at me since the trip anyway. Whatever you ask, she's probably going to refuse."
"Still?" Hanabi asked. "Did you really cheat on her or something?"
"You'd be better off asking her," Naruto said, shaking his head. "Anything else?"
"Can you pat my head and say that I did a good job?" She asked cheekily.
"Are you a kid? Get out of here."
"Come on~ Please … I crave validation …"
Naruto let out a resigned sigh as Hanabi excitedly hugged him, pressing her face against his chest again.
"You did good work, Hanabi," Naruto said seriously as he patted her head. He ran his fingers through her silky smooth hair and slightly tightened his hand that was resting on her waist, holding her firmly. "You are the reason I didn't have to intervene and was able to show a strong front against Kashin Koji. As much as you discount your abilities. You are an amazing shinobi."
"Better than Konohamaru?" She asked with a sniffle as her voice cracked a little, not moving an inch.
"Fine," Naruto chuckled. "The only thing Konohamaru has over you is his ability to use long-range jutsu. You are objectively better than him in other aspects. If you can perfect Charging Heaven, then you can close that gap as well because the sheer burst of speed is enough to help you get close to your enemies."
"Close enough …" Hanabi smiled and suddenly pulled away, wiping her face with her sleeve as she smiled brightly. "You probably have a lot of things to do. I won't take up any more of your time, Hokage-sama. I hope to join your personal guard soon."
"Since she wants this so much, I'll think about a more permanent solution, one that wouldn't interfere with her duties as the head of the Hyūga clan. But I'll have to talk to Hinata about it before I can take any action." Naruto sighed as Hanabi left his office, closing the door behind her.
…
Naruto postponed the meeting with the other participants of the battle for the following day and instead made his way to the hospital. Soon, he reached an isolated room with greater protection around it.
"Hokage-sama!" The two guards stationed in front of the room saluted him as he entered.
Inside the room, Sasuke and Tsunade were observing the target of such a massive operation, the teenager named Kawaki. Tsunade was much more hands-on, using medical examination techniques to analyze his state, while Sasuke seemed to simply be watching Kawaki.
"What's the diagnosis?"
"Exhaustion. Nothing more. He just needs a good night's sleep to recover to his peak condition," Tsunade said. "As for the Kāma thing you mentioned, that seems little more than a tattoo to me. I've tried infusing my chakra into it, interfering with it. Save for cutting the kid's hand, I've tried every way to make it react, but it seems inert."
"Thanks for your help, Granny," Naruto said. "I'll see you at your place in an hour or so."
"You better not be late." Tsunade nodded before leaving.
"What do you think?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who seemed completely uninterested in the deal between him and Tsunade.
"He said that this Kāma is supposed to be a mark used by an Ōtsutsuki to reincarnate in another vessel," Sasuke said. "Can you confirm this with Momoshiki?"
"Already did," Naruto said. "It's true. The Kāma is a seal that serves as a compressed backup of an Ōtsutsuki clan member's biological data. It slowly overrides the vessel's data with its own, in time transforming the vessel into an Ōtsutsuki itself. If the Ōtsutsuki who owns the mark dies, they can manifest their soul in the recipient's vessel. Isshiki Ōtsutsuki intends to do that with Kawaki."
"So that is why Kara acts from the shadows," Sasuke said. "Their leader is not at full power."
"Seems like it," Naruto said. "But that only makes him more desperate to get his hands on Kawaki. With how they acted, this Kama can't just be implanted into anyone. They could attack Konoha at any time."
"We could always give him up."
"He's a kid, Sasuke," Naruto said. "I'm not doing that. Not when I was already mentally prepared to deal with an Ōtsutsuki invasion. If we cower in front of a single one of them, how are we supposed to deal with the entire clan?"
He approached Kawaki and picked up his left hand, looking closely at the seal on his palm. He seemed to be contemplating something for a few seconds before making a decision as he dropped Kawaki's hand.
[Feeling generous?] Kurama spoke in his head.
[He hasn't done anything yet … And I don't hate him in the first place. I brought him to Konoha to protect him and possibly take his Kāma, freeing him from the burden that he hates so much.]
[You didn't test with infusing divinity into his Kāma. Worried that it might react and force his recovery?]
[I'll let the kid rest. He's been through a lot.]
"I need you to stay in Konoha for a bit, Sasuke," Naruto said. "While we lost a number of our elite shinobi, we caught a significant number of their Outers. Interrogate them. Try to understand more about Kara from them. And when Kawaki wakes up, I'll get the information out of him my way."
"Up to you," Sasuke agreed. "That Kashin Koji guy … He reminded me of someone. The toads, sealing techniques …"
"It isn't him," Naruto responded and shook his head in refusal. "Probably a clone of some kind. Since they operate out of Hidden Rain, it's not a far-fetched assumption that they found his body before our scouts got there."
"This is the closest we've gotten to Kara, Naruto. They aren't going to hold back after this."
"I'm expecting as much," Naruto said. "Let them come. I'll hit them so hard they won't ever be able to get up."
***
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