-Two years ago-
"Please, Hokage-sama. I want to become your pupil."
Ino bowed her head and closed her eyes tightly. Her body was stiff, but despite that her hands were shaking. She tried to hold back the tears, as only a few days ago Toru had been added to Konoha's list of dangerous criminals.
Tsunade, seeing this, sighed and looked out the window. She closed her eyes softly and crossed her arms. She thought she had missed a great opportunity by letting that boy go.
'He was an orphaned child with no people close to him, but... it seems that in these last five months you've gotten quite close to your teammates' Turning back to look at Ino, Tsunade saw that girl trembling with fear at this woman's response. 'Look what you've done, Toru. You have a cute girl who cares a lot about you.'
Tsunade recalled the past with a sad and nostalgic smile. She too loved a man who unfortunately died in her arms. That event left deep wounds that even now after so many years are still not completely healed. So much had happened. She also remembered the old days with her teammates in the war.
'Orochimaru... Toru... those two... Why are they so alike?'
Certainly the coldness with which Toru handled situations was disturbing and very similar to Orochimaru's personality. The fact that he didn't seem to care if someone died in front of him, the fact that life to Toru was nothing more than a toy he used to soothe his troubled heart.
Toru was definitely broken.
This made Tsunade smile with discomfort and nostalgia. Toru reminded her a lot of Orochimaru in their days as a team of ninja in the war. But that was exactly why she regretted letting him go, because with this alone that boy is destined to become someone just like that snake man.
'Yamanaka Ino... I understand why you are so desperate to become my student. You want to become strong to bring back that child. That's why you're asking me this... Ha~ the past still hurts even if I try not to remember it. But well, I already took Sakura as my disciple, one more won't hurt. Besides, with this I'll be able to avoid work and drinking while training these two girls. After all they both want the same thing. To bring back the boy they love'
Ino felt something warm on her head. It was Tsunade's hand. She smiled softly as she looked at her. "Sakura had already asked me the same thing as you yesterday" She was surprised to hear this from Tsunade's mouth. "But that doesn't matter. We'll start tomorrow. Don't fall asleep."
After that, Tsunade left the office.
Ino stood there touching her head. A second later, she looked out the window and some tears escaped her.
"Toru..."
***
While this was going on, in the Hyūga clan things were a bit worrisome.
Hanabi was at the door of Hinata's room. She opened the door just a little to see her older sister. When she saw her, she couldn't help but feel sad and disappointed.
Hinata had been locked in that room since Toru defected from the village. She cried from the time she woke up until she fell asleep. She didn't eat much, and what little she did eat was not enough to sustain her energy, which led her to faint a few times.
"Onee-san. Breakfast is ready, can you come out for a moment?"
Hinata didn't answer Hanabi's call. All this girl could hear was her older sister's sobs.
"Well... I'll bring you breakfast and leave it at the door. Eat plenty to get your strength back, okay?"
Again, Hinata didn't answer. This made Hanabi clench her fists tightly.
"Nii-san, you're an idiot."
After that, Hinata was left alone in her room, sitting on the futon with her face hidden between her knees.
Hinata is crying. Tears run down her cheeks, dry tears, tears that have lost their moisture after crying for so long without stopping.
Why?
This little girl felt betrayed. She thought she would be together with Toru for her whole life. She thought she would finally be together with Toru after what happened five years ago. However, the reality is different. Toru is now a wanted criminal in Konoha.
Toru can no longer return.
Hinata wipes away her tears, but they come again.
"Toru-kun..."
Remembering the past, Hinata hugged herself. She felt the warmth of her own body, but it was not the same as Toru's warm and peaceful body.
She wanted to hold him in her arms again. She wanted to hold him and not let him go. Even if this comes to embarrass her, she feels that now she can do those kinds of things without being afraid, but it is too late, he is gone.
"Toru-kun..."
Imagining the happy and peaceful moments she spent together with that boy, more dry tears came out. Her body is trembling, her hands are cold and she hugs herself imagining holding Toru in her arms.
'Please... let me hug you again... come back to my arms, Toru-kun...'
Her sobs could be heard in that room, which gradually calmed down. After crying so much, Hinata fell asleep with tears streaming down her face.
-In the present-
"Hah... hah... it hurts, but we're here at last."
Ino's breathing is heavy, after all they had been running non-stop for three days. It was the same with Sakura. She was tired too, she could barely stand and her clothes were soaked in sweat. Although the situation was different for Hinata, who, although she looked a little tired, was standing as if the fatigue was nothing.
Sakura looked at this and couldn't help but wonder how that girl became so resilient. Also, she could tell that Hinata was different than normal. Well, she doesn't see Hinata very often, but from what little she remembers of her, Hinata has changed quite a bit.
"Oh, hello, hello, you guys came after the wolf girl. You're fast, you're strong, you're cute, do you want to be my friends?"
A loud voice was heard, followed by the silhouette of a short-haired girl. This girl spoke and quickly approached Hinata. She smiled and held out her hand.
"What do you say, do you want to be my friend?"
"...Friend?"
Hinata was confused by the sudden interaction of this slightly dark-skinned girl. Her hair was green and her eyes were orange. Her attire consisted of a short white sleeveless shirt over a short chain mail outfit, as well as white armbands on both arms, plus a short skirt over the same short piece of chain mail, aside from the typical shinobi sandals but in white.
At that moment, Hinata realized that this girl was from Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village) as she could easily see the bandana of that village tied to that girl's arm.
"Yes, friend. I want to make a hundred friends. So... Do you want to be my friend?"
The girl smiles at Hinata. Hinata doesn't know what to do, but since this girl is so nice, she decided it was okay to accept.
"If you're okay with me, I'll be your friend."
"Yes!!!"
The girl raised her arms and shouted, startling Sakura and Ino, who just looked at the girl without saying anything. Hinata also jumped back a little from the shock she received from the girl's sudden scream.
After that, the girl takes Hinata's hands.
"My name is Fuu, what's yours?"
"Um... Hinata..."
"Hinata. Cute name, as cute as you. Do you want to take a bath with me?"
Fuu smiles, but Hinata stays quiet.
This girl was so weird. So weird and energetic that Sakura remembered her teammate. She thought that if Naruto and Fuu were to meet, everything would become chaos.
"Well yes they are quite alike. It's nostalgic..."
"You're talking about Naruto, right? He was that way too. Quite the opposite of Toru..."
Ino smiles as she watches Hinata being stalked by Fuu. It was funny to watch that scene, for a moment she forgot about everything bad that hurt her heart. She was still thinking about what will be what she is going to say to Toru when she sees him again. How will be his reaction to see him, will he still be the same as before?
She couldn't see the future, so she didn't know what would happen.
On the other hand, Sakura touched Ino's shoulder. She had been staring at infinity while thinking. Sakura understood Ino, as she also usually stays thinking about Sasuke for a long time, with the only difference that Ino usually looks angry sometimes.
"The others are already coming. We'd better get closer to the door. Guy-sensei is there."
"Yes..."
After that, Ino and Sakura approached Hinata and grabbed her hands. Fuu was thoughtful for a second, but then she quickly ran to where Ino was and grabbed her hand. Ino looked at this not knowing what to say and, before stammering out some random word, Fuu interrupted her.
"Do you want to be my friend?"
Ino's eyes lit up, after all, she remembered something from the past. She remembered a certain strange lonely boy, he who never had any friends and was always alone in the off hours, reading a book while eating the same old sweet bread.
'If I had been his friend from the beginning... Would Toru still be here?' Ino shook her head. She thought that the past can't be changed and regretting it was a waste of time. Instead of wasting time like that, Ino decided that she would use that time to become strong to bring her beloved back to her side.
No matter how much pain she has to go through, she is willing to bring him back. It doesn't matter if she has to break his arms and legs. No matter if he refuses to come back, after all the love she feels for him will be able to change his mind, or so Ino thinks.
"Dude... Yeah, I guess it's okay. But only if Sakura also agrees to become your friend."
"Really, so you want to be my friend, Sakura-chan?"
Fuu let go of Ino's hand and took Sakura's hand. This left Sakura with a small vein swelling on her forehead, as Ino has a habit of running away from problems by getting her in the middle, which she doesn't like at all, but that also showed that she was getting more and more over the situation regarding Toru.
This brought a small smile to her face.
"Yes, that's fine with me. I'll be your friend."
"Awwww! This makes me so happy! So can we have a bath together later? I'll bring the wolf girl and her friends too!"
"Wolf girl?" Hinata had heard this strange nickname from Fuu at first, but she was unfamiliar with that person. Besides them, in the distance there was another team, still, Hinata doesn't know if Fuu is referring to those people.
"Don't they remember? I'm sure you all saw it. At the beginning of the race, a big giant wolf appeared being ridden by three girls. I ran alongside the wolf and met those girls. One of them seemed to be the summoner, so I called her 'wolf girl', because she never told me her name."
"That someone can summon something that big... She must be a very powerful kunoichi..." Ino said as she remembered everyone who could summon such a large beast. Toru came to her mind right away.
"Yeah, it was amazing."
Fuu nodded her head in affirmation. She clearly remembered how she competed against the wolf to see who would get there first. The wolf was quite excited to hear this and accepted the challenge saying, "A man never runs away. A man goes forward and faces adversity. Just don't cry when victory is mine, human woman."
She couldn't help but smile at the memory, after all she was the one who won the race. The wolf was quite frustrated and you could tell he doesn't like to lose.
"Fuu! Hah... hah... hah..."
"How dare you?!!!!! Hah... hah..."
Two guys appeared. They had the same bandana as Fuu and looked too tired. They fell to the ground and Fuu went to help them. However, it was all a trap as the two ninjas grabbed Fuu by the arms and dragged her away while yelling. "Why didn't you wait for us, you left us behind!"
Thereupon, another loud voice echoed in the place.
At the front, there was Guy, who was talking to Lee, who had just arrived along with Neji and Tenten.
"Looks like they're going to give us a break. Let's go take a bath, I'm covered in sweat." Fixing her hair, Ino looked at Hinata and Sakura, who smiled at her and walked beside her.
At the same time near that place, a reddish-haired boy was watching everything. He was the Kazekage of Sunagakure, he was... Sabaku no Gaara.
-In another place-
Boom!
The loud bangs echoed through the forest. The whole place was destroyed and there was blood on the ground.
"Come on, Naruto. If you continue like this, you won't be able to bring back Sasuke and Toru. You think they're going to stay weak like you? Get up! Let your willpower do the work. Feel the chakra flow through your body..."
"Hah... hah... I... I know I can!"
Throwing himself into the attack, Naruto appeared in front of Jiraiya. The older man smiled at his student's determination. However, with this demonstration, Jiraiya could tell that Naruto still had a lot to learn.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Rasengan!"
The loud explosions and waves of power made the ground shake. Jiraiya was wrong, Naruto gets stronger fast, he just needs his willpower to get up even when everything is against him.
The strength of this boy is admirable.
'I... I'm sure I can bring them back. Sasuke...Toru...even if I have to fight you to the death...I will make sure that you return to the village...I will make sure that you two return home. Therefore, I will not give up. This is the path I chose, this is my ninja path."
_____
First chapter of the week. I will order 150 power stones for the next one. I wish you luck and a nice day to all.