Night was falling again as Hiruzen finished the final debrief of the day. The team had made it back later than expected, but he put that down to the prisoner they were escorting.
"So in conclusion Hokage-sama, the documents were delivered and we captured an Iwa shinobi who knew the details of handover for interrogation."
"Well done Kurenai. The mission will be bumped from C-B rank accordingly. Team Eight is dismissed."
The genin dutifully filed out, but Kurenai hung back until they were out of earshot.
"Hokage-sama, the unidentified Konoha shinobi at the stream, who is it and why the hell are they tailing my team?"
"They are another young shinobi in training. He began doing official missions when you received your team, primarily tailing, tracking and watching of other teams whilst avoiding detection."
"Who? This is difficult to believe, especially when he took out two low chunin level ninja in the space of a few seconds amongst other things, whilst non-fatally incapacitating a third. The fourth I was able to deal with quickly with the assistance of my Suna counterpart. This 'young shinobi' has skills that beggar belief to my mind."
"Such as?"
"He tailed my team for the entire mission and only got spotted because he intervened. Hinata's eyes can see at least five hundred metres in all directions, Kiba's nose is sharp, and Shino keeps bugs in a perimeter around him. They may be genin, but no genin should be able to evade them at all.
Hinata spotted him getting away from the combat zone at speed once the engagement was over. That doesn't add up either. To be honest I'm amazed the Suna jonin didn't question it further."
"Indeed. You are right, it is non standard. Your team is the first to detect him, and his report states he had to gamble on Hinata's eyesight not spotting him."
"How could he tell? If he had got within twenty metres of me I should have spotted him. Am I going mad or is he a Hyuuga? Only they would be able to see that far."
"Neither. Come out Naruto."
Kurenai sensed the short burst of chakra as the genjutsu Naruto had been holding ruptured. A chair in the slightly darker corner of the room became Naruto, and he walked to stand before the desk.
Kurenai stared at the spot he had been as he walked over.
"Go back and do the same thing again. Now."
He just looked back.
"Why?"
"Because I should have spotted your disguise in seconds and I didn't."
He just kept looking at her with no emotion detectable under the hood of his cloak. The single blue eye just stayed open and looked into her red ones.
"Naruto, please oblige her request. She is a master of genjutsu, and could be helpful to you in future."
"Hai Hokage-sama."
There was no sarcasm, irony or exasperation in that voice. Just a cool acceptance of an order.
"Look away please."
They did. A few seconds later, she looked back, looking for the tells in his genjutsu.
'Ok, the shadows are a little off, and the chair is...no the floorboards, the chair. Why can't I focus on it properly?'
She walked closer, and crossed her fingers.
"Kai."
Now she could see the chair. The transformation was good, no discolouration or obvious deformity that usually appeared on the standard genin henge for more complex objects.
She moved her hand towards the chair, expecting to meet the resistance of a person where they were hidden. There was none.
She ran her hands over the chair. It was very chair-like. She tried to pick it up. It was definitely not chair heavy.
She backed off as he transformed back out again.
"Your hands are very gentle, they felt nice."
She wasn't quite sure what to make of that. What exactly had she been touching? How did human-chair transformation affect the biology of what went where. Probably best not to ask.
"A solid transformation henge is a high level skill. Interesting genjutsu, it makes it hard to focus on you. I guess you can't use it whilst moving?"
He nodded.
"It's clever. What would you do if someone called you on it without giving any indication they knew?"
"Escape, or die."
"What?"
"I'm not built for protracted fights."
"Why don't you learn?"
"Never needed to."
That statement shocked her most of all. From anyone else, it might have been arrogance. This didn't sound like it. It just sounded like a statement of fact. There might have been a hint of pride. Not really though. Under the hood with one eye visible in the half light, he was unreadable.
"Take off your hood."
"No."
"I need to know how you knew what my team was doing."
"No."
She couldn't stare him down.
"Kurenai, there are some secrets that should be kept. That young man holds more secrets than I like."
"I still want to know."
There was a small creak from the doorway and Hiruzen turned to look. There was a nervous squeak from someone outside.
"Enter."
The doors opened and Hinata walked in, Byakugan active. Her face was nervous, and her posture tense. Kurenai swept round to look at her.
"Hinata, why are you here? How much did you hear?"
"A...A...All of it Kurenai-sensei."
"Why did you come back?"
"I...wanted to talk to you. Then I kept listening. I...I...think I know how he could see our team."
There was a click.
Kurenai turned to see Naruto, crossbow raised to his shoulder, aimed in a very, very still and deliberate manner directly between Hinata's eyes. She moved between them.
There was a blur, and the crossbow pinwheeled across the room from Naruto's hands. The Hokage stood before him.
"Naruto, do not draw your weapon on a fellow Konoha shinobi. She may know a secret she should not, but killing her is not the way to manage this situation."
"But if she spreads it you know the consequences will be worse than her death."
"You still don't do it. I can handle it. Just for this, I want Hinata to reveal what she thinks she knows. Hinata?"
The girl was still stock still having seen the crossbow levelled.
Kurenai leant down next to her and drew her close in.
"Just whisper it to me if you want to."
She did so, slowly and trembling, just about getting the last syllable out before she passed out, the situation becoming too much.
Kurenai leant her up against the desk, marched towards Naruto and pushed the hood back. The strip of fabric he had tied across the only made the single defiant eye that stared back even more imposing.
"Show me. Do you have a Byakugan?"
...
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