Naruto: The Chosen Undead

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Chapter 115 Ninken and Ninchū

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Just as her father said, Kurenai delivered the news. "The Hokage has assigned Team 8 to support Team 7 for the remainder of their mission."

Her first thought was gratitude she would get to see him up close again. Her second was dread. Please let it go smoothly. Please let Kiba behave. But that was probably asking for too much.

Even before they had made it past the front gates of Konoha, Kiba had already voiced his frustration—loudly—about being sent as backup. The tension only thickened in the Land of Waves, where his hostility toward Naruto became impossible to ignore.

Hinata had felt it like a stone in her stomach.

He'd been sharp, impatient, aggressive. She could understand why. And worse—she couldn't bring herself to do anything about it. Explain to Kiba that now was not the time to deal with their histories. And yet… Naruto hadn't seemed angry at Kiba. She didn't know whether that made it better or worse.

The only silver lining was that Naruto, at least on the surface, seemed like himself again. Gone was the overwhelming pressure from the graduation exam, that eerie power that had rippled off him like heat from a flame too close to consume. In its place was the unpredictable, loud, and genuine boy she admired from a distance.

And then, the next morning, something happened Hinata hadn't expected: Naruto and Kiba were talking. Not snapping. Not arguing. Talking.

Hinata stared, bewildered. They were fighting yesterday. Weren't they? Kiba practically insulted everything Naruto stood for. And now they're… fine? Something tightened in her chest. He made peace with Kiba. But I… haven't even said hello. She lowered her eyes, silent.

Kiba turned, looking past Naruto to the small boy seated near the window. "Oi. Kid."

Inari looked up slowly.

"About last night… I'm sorry I yelled. I got angry that you said I might lose Akamaru. He is someone important to me."

Inari's face twisted. "It doesn't matter. People die all the time. You should leave before it happens to you."

Kiba frowned, glancing at Naruto.

Naruto didn't say a word. He just gave a subtle nod.

"Inari," Kiba said again, gentler now, "who's going to protect your grandpa if we go?"

The boy blinked. His lip trembled.

Naruto stood, shifting the massive Zweihander so it didn't break the table as he leaned it against the wall with a soft thud.

"There's a reason your grandpa hired us," he said simply. "We're here to protect you. All of you."

He grinned, "And when this is over, you should come visit Konoha. I'll buy you the best ramen you've ever had. Ichiraku. You'll forget what sadness tastes like."

Inari didn't speak. He just stood and left the table, footsteps soft.

Naruto exhaled. "Too much?"

"No," said Tsunami, her voice quiet but firm. "Thank you. You didn't say anything wrong. You… reassured him. That's more than most adults manage."

Naruto scratched his cheek, sheepish. "People get scared when they don't understand something. But sometimes, all it takes is knowing that someone sees you as an equal. Someone willing to speak to you, not down to you for that fear to start fading."

"Wise words for a kid," Tazuna muttered, raising his teacup. "You sure you're not secretly an old man in disguise?"

"Just speaking from experience," Naruto said, shrugging as he stood up, readying his gear.

Kiba placed Akamaru into his hoodie. "Ready?"

Naruto nodded, picking up Oscar, who clung to his shoulder like a smug lizard prince.

They left, chatting easily.

Kurenai frowned slightly, watching the door Naruto and Kiba had just walked through. "What are they doing?"

Sasuke didn't glance up from his tea. "Kiba agreed to help Naruto train with Oscar. Something about last night's fight."

Sakura raised a brow. "Wait, didn't Naruto say not to tell you that? He didn't want Kiba getting into trouble."

"I'm not telling her. I'm just thinking aloud."

Kurenai's eyes narrowed. "Thinking aloud or trying to make a point?"

"Both."

There was a short pause before Sasuke continued, his tone smooth but cutting. "Naruto forgave Kiba too easily. That's not something you just overlook."

Shino finally spoke. "Perhaps it would be best to hear it from Kiba himself. A direct account of the incident would clarify intent and accountability."

"No," Sakura interjected. "The two of them sorted it out on their own. Dragging them back here to explain everything is only going to humiliate them. It's done."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "That doesn't erase the fact that Kiba stole another shinobi's companion and baited him into a fight. That's blackmail. And conspiracy. This all happened during a mission..."

"He can be court-martialed," Shino finished for him, nodding once.

Kurenai clenched her jaw. "I didn't know…"

"I know," Sasuke said. "But now you do."

"I'll talk to him. He'll take a pay cut after this mission."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Lenient. Isn't that favoritism, sensei?"

"No. It's judgment. He's a Genin. He made a mistake. One I'll make sure he learns from."

Sakura crossed her arms. "Honestly… they worked it out. Whatever happened between them, it ended in respect. Maybe it wasn't the best way to handle it, but it worked."

Shino nodded. "Conflict can be formative, if allowed to resolve naturally."

Kurenai sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe. Still, it's my responsibility to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Hinata stayed silent through it all. She listened, absorbing every word, but said nothing.

Instead, her gaze drifted to the door where Naruto and Kiba had left moments earlier. They were already gone, walking side-by-side like nothing had ever been wrong. How did a fight fix everything between them? She couldn't understand it.

The way they laughed this morning like they were brothers, after everything. After shouting, after threats. After hurt.

Could things really be that simple? That fast? Hinata rose from her seat quietly. The door had long since closed behind the boys. But maybe… maybe she could still catch up.

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"So, what do you know about ninken?" Kiba asked, tossing a stick for Akamaru, who caught it mid-air with a proud bark.

"They're like… talking ninja dogs that can use chakra, right?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Pretty much, yeah. But they don't start that way. A ninken is just a regular dog at first. It takes years of training to sync with chakra. They're not born with it like summons are."

"I wonder how Oscar would react to chakra," Naruto mused. "I mean… he's from another world."

Kiba blinked. "Wait, so the lizard is a summon?"

"Nope," Naruto said with a shake of his head.

Kiba frowned. "You just said he's from another world. That makes him a summon."

Naruto tilted his head. "Oh… that's how that works?"

Kiba stared at him. "You mean you didn't realize—? Ugh, never mind."

Both sides had a different definition of another world in this context.

"Whatever," Kiba grumbled. "Summon or not, you still need to make a binding contract if you want him to be your ninchū. You can't just toss chakra at him and expect magic to happen."

Naruto blinked. "Binding contract?"

Kiba crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "Okay, let me break it down for you. A summoning jutsu lets you call animals from a specific clan. You sign their contract, boom, now you're their summoner. They're already trained to work with chakra."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Right… right. That makes sense."

"But binding contracts are for animals that aren't part of summoning clans. If you have a creature like Oscar who's just… weird and powerful, you need to forge a chakra connection yourself. It's like making your own summoning link, from scratch."

"Ohhh!" Naruto's face lit up. "So that's what you did with Akamaru?"

"Yup. The Inuzuka have a ritual that bonds us for life. Shares chakra, instincts, everything."

Naruto looked at Oscar, who blinked at him with glowing, expressionless eyes. "I haven't done anything like that with Oscar. Guess I should!"

"Finally," Kiba muttered. "Alright, let's do it. I'll show you how to initiate the chakra-binding... WAIT." He froze, looking at Naruto's right arm. "Oh… crap. You can't do hand signs."

"Yeah. That's… a problem."

Kiba groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I got my ass kicked by someone who can't even use ninjutsu properly…"

"Hey!" Naruto snapped, but Kiba just turned to Akamaru. "Can you believe this, buddy?" he muttered. "A cripple beat me."

Akamaru gave a smug arf, tail wagging.

Before Kiba could get another word in, Naruto was already jogging away, yelling over his shoulder, "I'm gonna ask Miss Kurenai if there's a way to do ninjutsu with one hand!"

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Naruto skidded to a stop in front of Tazuna's house, where Kurenai was speaking with Hinata.

"Miss Kurenai!" he called, waving with his good hand. "I have a question!"

Kurenai turned, surprised. "Naruto? What is it?"

"I need to learn how to use ninjutsu with one hand!"

Kurenai's brow furrowed. "One hand? Why not focus on healing your arm first?"

Naruto hesitated. "Because I don't want it fixed. Not yet. There's someone I need to find, and it's tied to this arm. But I still want to keep fighting. I need a way to use jutsu."

Kurenai studied him for a moment. "There is a method," she said slowly. "It's called one-handed seals. Very few shinobi learn them. They're harder to control, and require absolute precision."

Naruto's face lit up. "So it's possible!"

"It is. I never mastered the technique myself, but I can explain the theory. You'll have to put in the work."

"Then I'll figure it out, no matter how long it takes! Just you watch. Dattebayo!"

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 57, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!