TSoL Chapter 23 - Desires

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Waking up early in the morning, Naruto lazily lifted his body and sat on the bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily until his attention was drawn to a suddenly appearing illusory scroll with a notification from the system:

[The reward for the mission has been successfully completed.]

[The seal of lagacy has provided a guide for learning the mind calming technique for the user. Please read it as soon as possible.]

[New Mission - Learn the mind calming technique before arriving at the academy.]

[Punishment for failure - The user will be subjected to a diversionary genjutsu for four hours.]

[No reward for completing the mission.]

"Uh? What's the deal, System-chan... I didn't even have a chance to wake up and you've already given me another mission," Naruto protested as he scanned the text, "HEY! What the hell, there's no reward for this mission but there's punishment? That's scam, dattebayo!"

Unexpectedly, the seal system responded to him:

[Successful completion of this mission is a reward in itself for the user.]

Scoffing, Naruto muttered back quietly, "Yeah, right. So basically, two missions for one reward..."

Feeling hopeless, Naruto lazily got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up and take a shower. Along the way, the blond read the guide to the mind calming technique compiled by the system, trying to memorize it as quickly as possible.

After finishing his bath, Naruto looked at the clock and grinned happily, as with his new routine, he still had at least an hour and a half before classes began. He was confident that he had enough time to master the mind calming technique.

After that, Naruto wanted to head towards the road leading out of the Hyuga quarter to meet Hinata and go to the academy together with her.

Recalling yesterday's events, Naruto couldn't help but smile. He had a girlfriend now, out of all the people in his class, and one of the best ones at that. This would undoubtedly be one of the happiest moments of his life. However, Naruto himself did not know that the happiest moments were yet to come.

After breakfast, Naruto sat on the couch, crossed his legs, and attempted to follow the first step of the mind calming technique. By forming the standard concentration seal, Naruto tried to calm the flow of his chakra, allowing his body to relax so that his mind could follow suit.

After some time, Naruto sank into a peculiar, almost meditative state, and before he knew it, he had immersed himself in his inner world, covered in vegetation, where his furry roommate was located.

Suddenly opening his eyes, Naruto realized that he had once again found himself in his inner world.

"Wha...? How did I end up here?" Naruto looked around in amazement until his bewildered gaze finally settled on two huge eyes with slit-like pupils. "Oh, Kyuubi! Did you call me, or did I overdo it with the mind calming technique?" Naruto looked pensive, putting his index and thumb fingers to his chin.

The nine-tailed fox snorted, creating strong gusts of wind that made Naruto's hair and clothes flutter. Then, in his bass voice, he replied, "Gaki, didn't I tell you not to disturb me? Do you think I would have called you here by myself?"

"Hmm, so it wasn't you? Then I really did overdo it with the technique..." Naruto scratched his head, with a sheepish smile on his face.

Looking at his embarrassed jailer, the fox poked him and said, "You brat, if you wanted to calm your mind, there was no need to meditate. This technique won't do you any good in a calm environment. You need to learn how to apply it in motion, at any moment."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the fox and said, "Are you really helping me with mastering the technique?"

Snorting again at his words, the fox replied, "I'm helping myself maintain my peace by preventing your stupid return to this place. So don't think that I'm helping you for any other reason, Gaki."

"Oh, I see." Naruto was surprised by the fox's response but still smiled calmly and said, "Well, either way, your words are really helpful, so thank you very much, Kyuubi-san." Saying this, Naruto made a small bow, as his mother and Hinata had taught him.

Seeing his respectful address, the fox only smirked slightly before quickly hiding it and sharply retorting, "If you understand your mistake, then get out of here, shrimp. I have a nap to finish."

With those words, the fox turned his muzzle away, showing with his whole appearance that he was no longer interested in communicating. Seeing this, Naruto just nodded with a smile and closed his eyes, attempting to return to the real world. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and found himself on the couch in his room.

"Great! And now, I'll start getting ready for the Academy, and at the same time try to apply the technique of calming the mind!" Naruto was determined to follow the Kyuubi's advice.

While putting on his clothes, scrolls, and the bag with kunai and shurikens, Naruto was trying to calm his mind at the same time. Keeping calm in any situation is a useful skill, but difficult to achieve.

Therefore, during his preparations, he did everything slowly and deliberately to give himself plenty of time before meeting Hinata, since it would be even more challenging to apply this technique during the conversation. Fortunately, he had already started to feel some improovments, as these rare and barely noticeable sensations of mental clearing were precisely what the technique brings.

Ideally, it should be one dense wave of mental energy, fueled by chakra, that completely washes away any storm of thoughts and emotions, to restore calm and calculating composure.

Leaving home, Naruto slowly made his way towards the necessary road, trying to capture the feeling of mind purification. At first, he had to close his eyes for that, but in the second half of the journey, he was able to summon the feeling with his eyes open, which could not but please him. Only the gladness was felt a little less clearly under the influence of this technique.

Finally reaching the desired intersection, Naruto stopped and waited for his white-eyed girl to appear. During that time, he was finally able to fully express this mind-washing feeling, experiencing the full effect of this technique. In this state, his thoughts flowed extremely fast, clearly and without any problems.

As soon as Naruto felt the effect of the mind calming technique, he immediately realized how useful it could be in dangerous and critical situations. Even in everyday life, it would be extremely useful. Realizing this, Naruto thought:

«Perhaps it would be a good idea to teach Hinata and Ten-Ten these techniques. And if Ino agrees, then her too.»

At this moment, Hinata appeared on the road. As soon as the girl saw her beloved, a happy smile appeared on her face, and she quickly walked towards him. When she approached, Naruto immediately turned his attention away from his introspection and, noticing his girlfriend, smiled brightly at her and said:

"Good morning, Hinata-chan!"

Nervously nodding, the happy Hyuga replied, "Um... Good morning, Naruto-kun! Did you... wait for me?"

"Sure! Now that we are going to build a joint future, I would like to be with you as often as possible, dattebayo!"

Hearing his words, the girl blushed and felt a bit overwhelmed. She still couldn't believe that she had finally confessed her feelings to him, and that now, as she hoped, they would build their future together.

Looking around, the embarrassed girl made sure that there was no one else on the road at this time. Quickly approaching the boy, she embraced one of his arms and gave him another innocent kiss on the cheek. She still blushed heavily from such actions, but was confident that if she continued doing so, she could become much bolder and do something less innocent than that.

Such thoughts made her almost boil with embarrassment inside.

As for Naruto, after receiving a kiss from Hinata, he was also a little embarrassed, but at the same time, he openly showed how happy he was right now by hugging the girl in response and kissing her back, but already on the lips, causing a pair of pink cheeks to appear on her blushing cutie's face.

Pleased with himself, Naruto said, "Hinata-chan, we still have time, so we can enjoy a slow walk to the academy without rushing."

"Um..." The girl only nodded her head, too embarrassed and happy to say anything.

Smiling, Naruto took her hand, making her heart flutter, and slowly walked with her along the village towards the academy.

The walk was exactly what the girl needed to compose herself and calm down. All she felt now was happiness and the warmth of her loved one's hand. Along the way, she kept looking at the blonde's face. His calm and sharp gaze of his blue eyes, always looking far ahead with no doubt in his actions or past words, greatly warmed her heart. Thanks to this, she also overcame all her doubts, fully entrusting her fate to this person.

On the way, they talked about their future and what they both wanted. Meanwhile, Naruto tested how well he could use the calm mind technique during the conversation, and after a couple of attempts and fails, he was able to apply it without any problems. After that, he finally decided to tell Hinata about this technique and how useful he considers it. After describing its properties, Naruto added, "That's why I think it will be helpful to any shinobi, regardless of their direction or abilities."

"I agree, Naruto-kun. It will definitely be a great help during missions or even in everyday life," Hinata smiled gently, holding onto Naruto's hand tighter.

Nodding, Naruto said joyfully, "Then, after the academy, when we meet up with Tenten, I'll teach you this technique! We'll also ask Ino if she wants to join us."

Hearing about Ino, Hinata only frowned slightly, as even though the girl does not show a particularly strong interest in Naruto, she can still pose a threat, as if she becomes interested in him in their current situation and with Naruto's dream, he certainly won't reject her. Especially considering the fact that Naruto clearly shows some sympathy towards the blonde Yamanaka.

Hinata really agreed to support Naruto's idea of restoring his clan. But she wants to be the main wife, as she is ultimately a princess of a major clan, and even someone like her has this small pride for herself. And if she doesn't see much of a problem with Tenten, it's different with Ino, as she is also a young princess of her own clan, and also a proud kunoichi. And most importantly, she is an incredibly beautiful girl, and Hinata really feels that she pales in comparison to her.

Therefore, Hinata believes that Ino can have a much greater influence on Naruto if everything happens exactly as she fears. The white-eyed Hyuga began to think about taking care of her appearance herself, to at least somewhat compete with the blonde beauty.

After thinking it over, Hinata thought with a sly smile:

«One thing is certain, I am already many points ahead of all the girls who have ever looked at my Naruto, because we are now a couple!» - Hinata literally trembled at the thought - «And this means that I will be able to influence future meetings with Naruto and these slu... I mean... candidates for the role of our future family. I must immediately show them that I am his first and... main wife. However embarrassing it may sound...» - the girl blushed from her own thoughts.

By this time, they had finally made it to the academy, and it was a fairly difficult moment for the young Hyuga to enter it while holding Naruto's hand, as a couple. She tried to hold back her shyness, as she understood that she had to proudly show that she had already claimed her rights to the boy and that she was ready to fight for her own happiness.

Inside the academy, Naruto and Hinata walked hand in hand, and after a little while they finally made it to the classroom and immediately entered it.

The class was quite noisy. Many talked and laughed. Some girls, as usual, circled around Sasuke's desk, trying to test his ability to ignore them. In the center of it all was, as usual, Sakura and the rather calm Ino, who showed a minimum of interest and looked thoughtful.

At first, only a few people noticed the new couple, but then, when they noticed the couple holding hands, they gave them another look, but this time surprised. After all, many knew that Naruto had been pursuing Sakura, and now seeing him holding hands not with just anyone, but with the princess of the Hyuga clan, was quite an interesting sight.

Although, only a part of the class thought this way. The rest didn't care what Naruto was doing and what this quiet girl was up to, as long as the blond didn't stir up any pranks. Usually, this was what happened to those who confronted Naruto before. Fortunately, his playful activity had decreased to one prank a month, which was quite acceptable and tolerable for everyone.

Finally, Kiba, who took the title of the loudest student, drew attention to Naruto and Hinata. As soon as he saw them, the guy immediately headed towards them and spoke:

"Oh, Naruto, Hinata, good mor..." Here, approaching close enough, he finally noticed how they were holding hands and stood frozen in place.

The boy raised his shaking hand, pointing his finger at Naruto and said:

"Y-y-y... You! Do you really get a girlfriend!?"

As usual, Kiba's loud words attracted the attention of those who had not yet noticed Naruto and Hinata. So they watched with interest as events unfolded, breaking up their monotonous school life.

Looking at the dog lover, Naruto blinked in surprise and replied:

"Uh... yeah? Why are you so surprised?"

"That because it's YOU! Why out of all of us, did YOU get a girlfriend first? Why not me?" Kiba was almost crying, watching the newly made couple.

Naruto didn't take offense to his words, as he understood him a little, since he still can't believe that he has a partner, getting one step closer to his new dream. So he awkwardly scratched his cheek, watching Kiba's displeasure.

At that moment, Ino approached them, and upon noticing her, Hinata immediately leaned a little closer to Naruto, looking at the blonde with a condescending superiority.

By the fact that apparently Ino had missed something between Naruto and Hinata, and they became a couple, she felt some dissatisfaction from this. In addition, Hinata's obvious victorious gaze annoyed her greatly.

Before, Ino didn't take Hinata seriously, thinking that even if they became rivals, she could easily outdo her. But then, suddenly it turned out that this modest girl had really taken a bold step while no one was watching. Moreover, she succeeded in the end!

Ino looked at them with a complex gaze, and sighing, said:

"Well, I suppose I should congratulate you, shouldn't I? I have long suspected that something could be happening between you, but to become a couple so quickly... my respect, Hinata-chan." Ino looked at the white-eyed Hyuga with a gaze that said something like "I acknowledge you, but don't count me out."

What Ino didn't know was that Hinata had no intention of forgetting about the girl and relaxing, as Ino was the only one who didn't know that Naruto intends to restore his clan and wants to create a large family for that purpose. Therefore, Hinata intends to always keep her defense as high as possible.

Unfortunately for Hinata, it often happens that the path a person chooses to avoid an undesirable outcome leads to that very outcome.

Ino was quite impressed by this situation. She was sure that Hinata was the one who took the first step. And the white-eyed girl's gaze spoke for itself.

This was truly a revelation for Ino, for all this time she had tried to get the boy's attention, trying to get a reaction from him and spur him to take a step towards her. And recently, she has truly tired of trying to get the attention of a boy who shows no interest in her or any other girl for that matter.

What can be said, he almost never responded to any of the girls, silently ignoring them all, no matter how much they talked or addressed him. If he's not interested in something, he simply ignores it.

To be honest, Ino started to wonder if she even needed the attention of such a person. There are many things she likes, and she was sure that none of them would interest the gloomy Uchiha. She thought about what her future would be like with such a guy, and it would be really terrible. His complete disregard for her interests or endeavors would become the main element of her misery.

She knew that if she was to his liking, there was a chance that the boy would show some interest in the things that interested her. But looking at the boy now, this seemed unlikely.

The blonde looked towards the group of girls near Sasuke and noticed how Sakura was looking in their direction with a strange and somewhat shocked look. Seeing this, Ino thought to herself:

«What's up with the forehead? There's even a hint of resentment in her gaze... What is she looking at?» Following her gaze, Ino realized that the girl was looking directly at Naruto.

As soon as she saw it, she immediately understood what was going on:

«Oh, i get it. Now Naruto looks really happy. Sakura is probably upset that he became like this as soon as he stopped chasing her in an attempt to get closer. Moreover, he almost immediately found himself a partner. This probably really hurt her pride,» Ino bitterly smirked, «Well, even I feel a little bit of that, despite the fact that I managed to make friends with all of them, unlike the stubborn forehead girl.»

At that moment, Sakura noticed Ino's gaze and saw her looking at her, and then she pretended to snort and turned towards Sasuke, trying to distract herself from the thoughts that were increasingly occupying her mind.

Seeing this, Ino sighed and after pondering for a while, finally decided to do what she couldn't bring herself to do before.

«If it turns out exactly as I feared all this time, it can at least help Sakura with some of her own bugs in her head,» with these thoughts, Ino headed towards Sasuke, with a confident expression on her face.

Approaching the group of girls, she pushed away a few of them to stand directly in front of Sasuke's desk, looking at him intently. The girls around the desk looked at her strangely, not understanding why she suddenly inserted herself so eagerly into their circle after such passive participation in attracting Sasuke's attention recently. Sakura also looked at her friend slash rival with confusion, waiting to see what she was about to do.

After staring at Sasuke for a while, Ino said, "Sasuke-kun, I have an important question for you."

As usual, Sasuke didn't answer, trying to ignore another attempt to communicate with him. Expecting such princely ignorance, Ino continued:

"If you answer it, depending on your answer, there is a great chance that I will never bother you again. But even if you don't answer it, I promise not to bother you for the rest of this school year. What do you say?" her tone was calm, and her expression was serious.

The girls who heard these words were greatly surprised, looking back and forth between Sasuke and Ino, waiting for a response. Sakura also stood with her mouth open, thinking:

«What the hell is Ino-Pig up to? Is it some sort of cunning plan to get Sasuke? But how will she do it if she's not going to approach him until the end of the school year anyway? I don't understand...» Sakura was racking her brain, but none of her guesses seemed right.

At that moment, Sasuke, who had been sitting and staring off into space, stoically ignoring all the girls around him, finally turned his gaze to Ino. After looking at her face for some time and not noticing any signs of deceit or nervousness, he nodded and answered her:

"Deal, go ahead."

This seemed to surprise the gathered girls even more.

Realizing that the moment had come, Ino said:

"I've been trying to get your attention for a long time, but it's been no use. It's not a secret to anyone that I like you. But I can't keep swimming in circles forever, so I'm going to ask you straight up," looking directly into Sasuke's indifferent eyes, Ino already knew what the answer would be, but she continued anyway, "My question is - do you like me, and is there a chance that you will reciprocate my feelings?"

The air was thick with silence. It seemed like the whole class had quieted down, as many became interested in the scene, which was very different from the usual interactions between the girls and the last Uchiha. Even the always noisy Kiba fell silent, and together with Naruto, Hinata, and recently approached Shikamaru and Choji, watched what was happening.

Realizing her question, Uchiha only returned his head to the level of his clasped fingers and, closing his eyes, answered:

"All I'm interested in is becoming stronger to achieve my goal. Everything unrelated to this is nothing more than an irritating factor that needs to be eliminated immediately. So my answer is..." he returned his gaze to the girl, "No, you don't interest me at all, and you irritate me more. I'm not going to get into a relationship with you, or anyone else, until I achieve my goal. I hope I have made myself clear enough."

After saying that, Sasuke turned away from Ino and, closing his eyes, began to wait for the long-awaited lesson. The girls standing around felt terrible, and looking at Ino, they noticed a small amount of moisture gathering in her eyes. Sakura, who saw this, could hardly believe that Ino had gone this far, and moreover, she found it hard to believe that her wonderful Sasuke could say something like that.

Receiving the answer, Ino, trying to hold back her emotions, said:

"So that's how it is… Well, it was a good few years trying to win you over. As promised, I won't bother you anymore. Th-thank you for the answer," at the end of her speech, her words were no longer as steady as in the beginning.

Having said that, Ino turned sharply and, lowering her head and hiding her gaze, she headed for the exit of the classroom. Classmates who were watching her followed her with sympathetic looks.

Naruto, who saw this, became very worried about his friend, feeling her pain, and was about to go after her.

"Ino..." Naruto tried to call out to the passing girl, but was stopped by Hinata.

After looking at her with confusion, Naruto saw her shaking her head sadly from side to side and saying:

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. She needs to be alone for a while. She left because she doesn't want to be seen right now."

"But... if I were in her position, I would want someone to talk to," Naruto disliked doing nothing, but he also understood that Hinata was right.

Smiling at her boyfriend's words, Hinata warmly replied, "Don't worry, after she pulls herself together, we'll help her get distracted. For now, let her come to her senses a little."

Nodding, Naruto didn't argue, hoping everything would be okay with Ino.

"Yeah, that was pretty harsh, even for our Mr. Grumpiness," Kiba scratched his head in bewilderment, looking at the class exit where Ino had left.

"Well, she asked a specific question and got a specific answer. Most likely, she knew what she was getting into," Shikamaru shrugged, trying to be the voice of reason for the group.

At that moment, Iruka entered the class and called everyone back to their seats. As the class settled in, he began taking attendance and when he got to Ino, she appeared in the doorway, apologizing for being late and taking her seat.

Noticing the girl, Naruto saw that she looked much better now. Apparently, she was really ready for it, as Shikamaru had said, so her condition turned out to be much better than he thought. Nevertheless, after lessons, he planned to take her, Hinata, and Tenten to have some fun to help distract her from all the negative thoughts.

While Naruto was pondering over this, Iruka said something that caught his attention:

"So, I have an announcement. Recently, the Hokage has decided to hold a week of practical exercises so that you can feel what it's like to be on real ninja missions."

"What?"

"For real?"

"We're going to do cool missions?"

The class began to buzz with excitement at the news. Even Sasuke seemed excited, as practical exercises were exactly what he needed. Seeing the noise, a vein popped on Iruka's temple and he shouted:

"HEY, SHUT UP! I'm not done yet!"

Once the class quieted down, the man continued:

"As I said, the Hokage has decided to hold a week of practical exercises. Starting next week, you will be divided into teams of three, and every day a group of teachers will simulate different situations for you that can occur on ninja missions."

Scanning the excited class, Iruka chuckled and went on, "The teams will be named at the beginning of next week, and at the end of the practice, one grade will be given to the group, so if someone in the team doesn't make an effort, it will drag the rest behind. So I suggest you prepare to work in a team. Is everything clear to everyone?"

"Hai!" the class chorused in response.

"Okay, then get your scrolls out. We're starting our regular lesson."

Naruto was overjoyed to hear this, as he would finally be able to apply his improved skills in practice. He wanted the next week to come as soon as possible.

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Author's Note:

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