Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 324: Reunion
"That's Papa's house!" Himawari exclaimed as they descended on the house that once belonged to his parents.
"Yes, your mother comes to clean it every Friday," Naruto said. He had discovered this thanks to his clones.
Neither Hinata nor Ino were currently living there since he left, but Hinata had taken it upon herself to take care of the house.
Naruto reached the door and opened it. As soon as he did, his daughter ran inside, calling for her mother.
"Himawari, what are you doing here?" Hinata turned around with a feather duster in her hands. She was apparently cleaning the curtains when they arrived.
"Hinata," Naruto called.
Her eyes moved to him. "Naruto! Is that really… you?" She could tell the difference even without using her dōjutsu.
"I'm surprised you didn't see us coming," Naruto told her.
Hinata left the duster and picked up her daughter before walking up to him. "I don't want any distractions while I'm cleaning… it may sound silly, but this is important to me. I was maintaining our home until you came back."
"I'm not leaving again. Sorry I made you wait," Naruto said before hugging his wife.
"Papa left?" Himawari looked confused because, to her, he was always there.
"Just for a bit. But I'm here now."
"Mmm… okay!" Himawari looked at Hinata. "Mama looks happy today."
Hinata smiled. "I am happy." She looked at Naruto. "Have you spoken with Ino already?"
Naruto nodded. "I did."
"Is it really over? That business you had to finish?" Hinata asked with concern.
"Absolutely. I dealt with the pretender and was able to reach the last step."
"Your eyes…" Hinata noticed how different they looked now.
"I have much to tell you, but I think it's better if we wait until Ino is also present. Why don't we have dinner here tonight?" Naruto suggested.
Hinata grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."
<><><><><><><><><>
"So… this Goddess could create pocket dimensions?" Ino asked as she opened another bottle of sake and poured herself a cup. "That sounds amazing."
"I can do that too now," Naruto said.
Hinata got herself more comfortable on the couch. "You do? Is it because you are now in the Immortal Ascension Stage, or because of the change in the Rinnegan?"
"Perhaps a combination of both. I still have to practice with it. Haven't had the time for it, and I cannot use my clones for this."
"Did you get all the memories from the clones? Do you know everything that happened in the last three years?" Hinata asked.
"I do. It was quite the endeavor to process so many memories, but I have a good grasp of what happened during my absence," Naruto responded.
"It's a good thing you left clones this time. I cannot imagine having to wait for three years without them...especially since we had no idea when you were going to come back," Ino said.
"That's right," Hinata added. "I was so relieved when I saw the clones arrive at Konoha. The moment I knew you had survived… that was enough for me. But it was also good that the clones were there for Himawari. She didn't even know her father was ever away."
"We could also use the clones for other purposes, hehe," Ino chuckled as she took another drink. "They were very good for relieving stress."
"Ino… I think you have drunk too much already," Hinata frowned. "You're picking up bad habits from Lady Tsunade."
"Nonsense, it's just my second bottle." Ino glanced at Naruto. "You'll be glad to know that we now have a winery in the Fire Country. It's just between Konoha and the Capital."
"Oh? I'm looking forward to trying that out. It was a shame that Danzo died before I could find out where he got those," Naruto said.
"You know, Naruto… two years ago, we had our own little adventure as well," Ino grinned at the memory. "But you already know about it, right?"
"You mean the incident with that man named Ōtsutsuki?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah, that one. The one who kidnapped Hanabi and tried to marry Hinata," Ino said.
"Hmph! He's lucky I gave him a quick death. If Naruto had been there, things would have gone differently for him," Hinata said coldly.
"That's my woman," Naruto chuckled. He did know about the incident.
Unfortunately, the clones didn't have enough chakra to be of much help during combat, but in the end it was not necessary.
Hinata had never stopped training, even after having Himawari. By now, she could be classified as an SSS-rank ninja, and other than Naruto, there aren't many who could pose a danger to her.
"I was there to help as well, remember?" Ino huffed.
"Of course, I remember. And not just you, but also Kiba and Shino also helped us a lot to track down that person," Hinata said.
"Well… I'm sorry to inform you that he is not dead," Naruto suddenly said.
"Wait… what?!" Ino shouted.
"What do you mean? I'm sure I pierced his heart. I made sure he was no longer breathing before we left. Even his chakra was dispersing… there is no way," Hinata looked at Naruto with a serious expression.
"You got a bit careless, that's all. The Ōtsutsuki are not human beings and can survive things that humans can't. The so-called Goddess I fought was also part of this race," Naruto explained.
"She was like that guy?" Ino asked.
"So he is still alive… I've been so careless," Hinata frowned.
"Do you know where he is?" Ino asked.
"Of course," Naruto grinned. "He is on the moon, and he appears to have company."
"There's another one?" Hinata looked concerned. "If he's alive, he will want to get revenge on us. We should get ready."
Naruto brushed it off. "No need for concern. They cannot leave the Moon. I'm keeping them there until I decide to pay them a visit."
"You're keeping that guy trapped?… how?" Ino wanted to know.
"To be fair, I'm not keeping him trapped. I'm just preventing him, or anyone else from entering our planet. I have a forcefield that bars entrance to anyone, except for those I allow."
"Since when can you do that?" Ino asked.
"Very recently," Naruto smiled. "Until the day I ascend, this world will be under my protection."