Chapter Text
The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, casting long shadows across the well-worn training ground.
Seven shinobi sat scattered across the grass, each looking considerably worse for wear.
Naruto lay flat on his back, breathing heavily.
Kiba was sprawled beside Akamaru.
Lee somehow still managed to sit perfectly straight despite the sweat dripping from his forehead.
Choji had already opened a bag of chips.
Sai sat quietly with a bottle of water.
Shino adjusted his sunglasses.
Shikamaru stared up at the clouds.
"...I'm done," Shikamaru groaned. "If another person asks me to use a jutsu today, I'm pretending I can't mold chakra anymore."
Kiba laughed.
"That's because you're lazy."
"No," Shikamaru replied. "I'm exhausted."
Kiba stretched his arms over his head with a grin.
"Amateurs. I could still do clone jutsu or transformation jutsu. Easy."
Naruto scoffed.
"Like you're the only one."
Kiba smirked.
"Oh yeah?"
Naruto pushed himself onto his feet.
"Watch this."
A puff of smoke erupted around him.
Poof!
When it cleared...
A beautiful blonde woman stood where Naruto had been. Long golden hair spilled over her shoulders. Blue eyes sparkled mischievously.
The familiar orange jacket had transformed into a feminine variation that still somehow looked unmistakably Naruto.
Lee's eyes widened. He gave Naruto a dramatic thumbs up. "Your youth remains magnificent!"
Naruto laughed in a much higher voice.
"Hehe! Pretty convincing, huh?"
Sai tilted his head, studying him with complete seriousness.
"Your female form would be considered exceptionally attractive according to all standards of beauty."
The clearing fell silent.
Then everyone burst into laughter.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head.
"Haha! Even Sai thinks so!"
"I merely stated an observation."
Choji nodded while chewing.
"He's not wrong."
Naruto grinned proudly before absentmindedly brushing the long blond hair over one shoulder.
"Huh..." He ran his fingers through it. "It's really soft."
His expression became thoughtful.
"...Almost as soft as Hinata's."
Silence.
Naruto continued absentmindedly combing through the hair with his fingers.
One by one, every head turned toward him.
Kiba blinked.
"...What?"
Naruto looked up.
"What?"
Kiba pointed accusingly, "You know what Hinata's hair feels like?"
Naruto answered immediately.
"Yeah."
More silence followed.
Even Shikamaru stopped watching the clouds.
Naruto looked between everyone.
"What?" He asked. "When I fell asleep during our last mission," he explained casually, "she woke me up."
He demonstrated by leaning forward slightly.
"When she leaned over me..."
He lightly brushed the long blond hair across his own cheek.
"...her hair brushed my face."
He shrugged.
"It was really soft."
Nobody spoke.
Naruto frowned.
"...Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Sai broke the silence.
"You remember the texture of Hyuuga Hinata's hair."
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah."
"You catalogued that information."
Naruto blinked.
"I didn't catalog anything."
Sai remained completely serious.
"You recalled it instantly."
Naruto stared.
"...I guess?"
Still, nothing clicked.
Kiba slowly began grinning.
"Oh, this is too good."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
Kiba stood.
"If you're already comparing hair textures..."
He walked around Naruto thoughtfully.
"Why don't you copy Hinata's hairstyle?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Sure."
Another puff of smoke.
The length of his blonde hair changed, now reaching nearly to his waist.
The bangs shifted.
The style became unmistakably familiar.
Naruto looked down at it in a puddle.
"Oh."
Kiba folded his arms.
"Not bad."
Sai observed carefully.
"The color remains inaccurate."
Naruto snapped his fingers.
"Oh, right."
The bright blond slowly darkened into a deep indigo.
Now...
Everyone stared.
Lee gasped. "The resemblance is astonishing!"
Choji nodded.
"That's... actually really accurate."
Shino adjusted his glasses.
"You reproduced the hairstyle with surprising precision."
Naruto looked down at the long dark hair.
"Heh. Guess I remembered it pretty well."
Another silence.
Shikamaru sighed into his hand.
"That's... exactly the problem."
"Hm?"
Before anyone could explain, voices echoed from the edge of the clearing.
"There they are!"
Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata emerged from the trees.
"We sensed your chakra," Sakura explained. "Thought we'd see if you guys were still train—"
She stopped talking.
All four girls stopped to look.
Naruto turned around with a grin.
Still transformed.
Still wearing Hinata's hairstyle.
"What do you think?"
The girls blinked.
Tenten covered her mouth.
Ino stared openly.
Sakura slowly looked from Naruto...
...to Hinata...
...and back again.
Hinata simply studied him.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Then a gentle smile appeared.
"...I think..."
She tilted her head slightly.
"You look very nice with long hair."
Naruto immediately scratched the back of his neck.
"Hehe...really?"
Hinata nodded without hesitation.
"It suits you."
Naruto's entire face lit up.
"Thanks!"
Tenten finally found her voice.
"...Actually..."
She looked between the two of them.
"You just look like... a mix of yourself and Hinata."
Naruto blinked.
"Huh?"
"I mean it," Tenten continued, laughing. "If someone mixed your appearances together, this is probably what they'd end up with."
Naruto looked down at himself again.
"...I guess?"
"I see it," Sakura admitted with an amused smile.
Then Ino suddenly stepped forward, staring intently at Naruto's transformed appearance.
She circled him once.
Twice.
Everyone watched curiously.
Finally, she snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"
Naruto looked at her.
"What?"
Ino looked between Naruto and Hinata.
"This."
She pointed at Naruto's transformed appearance.
"...Is probably what your and Hinata's future kid would look like."
Naruto blinked.
"...Future kid?"
Hinata's face exploded into crimson. "W-What?!"
Ino laughed.
"Think about it!"
She gestured wildly.
"Naruto's face. Hinata's hair. The whisker marks."
Tenten immediately started laughing.
"...She's not wrong."
Sakura pressed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.
Lee looked utterly fascinated.
"A remarkable hypothesis!"
Choji nodded thoughtfully.
"I can see it."
Shino observed Naruto's transformed face one more time.
"The projected genetic outcome appears plausible."
Naruto looked around at everyone.
Then back at himself.
Then at Hinata, who looked like she wanted the earth to swallow her whole.
He scratched his head.
"...You guys have really weird imaginations."
The clearing erupted into laughter.
Everyone laughed...
Except Hinata, who was far too busy hiding her burning face behind her hands. And Naruto, who still hadn't the faintest idea why everyone found the situation so funny.