A Growing Affection

Hinata Hyuuga was always a shy and quiet ninja. Sure, her crush on Naruto went unrequited, but she at least got to admire him from afar. That is, until she happened to overhear part of a conversation Naruto is having where he is seemingly mocking her. Contrary to her usual nature, she confronts him and berates him for abusing her feelings for a cruel story.

That is the start of their story.

This fanfic is exceptionally long, consisting of 170 chapters and over 700,000 words. However, the length gives it enough room to set up a complex story that is hard to predict what will happen next. It also manages to wrap up several glaring loose ends that exist in the manga.

This story can be found here.


 * Action Girl: Many.
 * Dark Action Girl: Also many.
 * A Day in the Limelight: the last major arc of book one has a lot of these, focusing on various Leaf ninja teams as they participate in a massive battle.
 * Chapter 54 is about the first official mission of Team Yugao.
 * Chapter 61 sends Sakura and Rock Lee to rescue a weaponsmith from bandits who intend to sell him the the Akatsuki, and gives Lee a chance to show off his skills as a more traditional ninja.
 * A Friend in Need: Naruto's Nakama doesn't hesitate to go AWOL to rescue him . Even after Hinata tells them about the Fox Demon, all but one of them are still on board after only a few minutes of discussion.
 * Almost Kiss: Hinata tries to lay one on an injured (but also not resisting) Naruto, until Sakura interrupts.
 * Always Save the Girl: Played straight in an early chapter, and then subverted near the end.
 * Amusement Park: Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Ino, and Choji go to one to try to prove that they are on vacation, not a covert mission.
 * An Ass Kicking Yuletide:
 * Anguished Declaration of Love: Hinata thought Naruto knew about her feelings and was mocking them...
 * An Ice Person: Natsuki and Bunjiro Egureru
 * And I Must Scream:  fate, at least until   dies.
 * Anti-Villain:
 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Artificial Limbs:
 * Not quite artificial, but Kabuto grafting Kimimaro's arm onto his body probably counts.
 * Ascended Extra: Yugao Uzuki.
 * Asshole Victim:
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: So, so much
 * Ax Crazy: The Reaper of Shinobi
 * Also Kayo of Grass
 * Babies Ever After
 * Backstory: Kohaku, Gouki, and Team Hizashi get extensive flashbacks. Also many characters' backstories are different than canon. Hinata, and Madara, get especially important revisions.
 * Backup From Otherworld: Twice
 * Badass Army: The Alliance versus
 * Badass Boast: When prompted, Tsunade casually claims that she can clear all of the Daimyo's bodyguards from the room in a matter of seconds, without doing any permanent damage to them.
 * Badass in Distress
 * Battle Couple: All of them. But especially Naruto and Hinata.
 * Battle in the Center of the Mind:
 * Beach Arc: Plus another Beach Episode later on.
 * Berserk Button: Hurting Hinata to fight Naruto alone is probably a worse idea than just fighting the two of them together.
 * Better Than New: Shino, Naruto, and Gai all have examples, which are spoiled other places.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Holy crap Hinata's ultimate technique is scary...
 * Big Damn Heroes: Happens too many times to count.
 * The Big Damn Kiss
 * Bi the Way: Hana Inuzuka and Shizune both like men, yet they end up falling in love and getting married.
 * Ino considers making a pass at Sakura and later is almost as interested in seeing Hinata and Tenten naked as she is in seeing Neji and Naruto.
 * Blessed with Suck: Kohaku's appearance is so bland that people constantly overlook and forget about her, whether she wants it or not. Very useful as a ninja, but made it very difficult for her to get promoted and she was chosen for a suicide mission because she wouldn't be missed.
 * Body Horror: Poor ...
 * Breather Episode: Chapter 27 and Chapter 116
 * The Cameo: Though mentioned only in name, it seems Thomas Arashikage, Recca Hanabishi, Yanagi Sakoshita, and Cameron Watanabe are all Leaf ninjas.
 * Cannibalism Superpower: The Blood Drinker Demon Clan can store a human's blood in their body, gaining the person's chakra, jutsu, and Kekkei Genkai. This also turns the person into a mindless slave.
 * Canon Immigrant: Various characters from the Naruto movies, filler arcs, and video games are part of this story.
 * Chainmail Bikini: Though not visible in most cases, kunoichi in this fic all wear armored undergarments. At least on missions.
 * Chastity Couple: Naruto and Hinata, at least until they get engaged. Tenten gives her some grief about it.
 * This Index Will Be Important Later: Many, many of these tropes
 * Chekhov's Armoury
 * Chekhov's Boomerang
 * Chekhov's Classroom: Tsunade's exposition about how 99% of all promotions to Chuunin come through the Exams, in order to uphold the prestige and honor therein, and that committee- or battle-granted promotions are exceedingly rare. The latter.
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * Foreshadowing
 * Chew Toy:
 * Classical Mythology: The Two Tails Cat is given the origin story similar to the neko-mata from Japanese Mythology. And the Argus (from Greek Mythology) and a Roc appear as other (non-Bijuu) demons.
 * Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends
 * Cliff Hanger
 * Collective Identity: The Kouin sisters, see spoiler below.
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: Target 4 of the Otogakure Invasion (chapter 31), the Kouin twins. Not only the target is more than one person, they differ only in eye and hair color and use primarily different combat methods.
 * Continuity Creep
 * Cool Big Sis: Yugao Uzuki
 * Cosmopolitan Council: The five (roughly, due to deaths and other spoilers) Kages, a.k.a. the Conclave of Shadows (kage being Japanese for shadow).
 * Costume Porn:
 * The main portion of 's gown was a shimmering, medium-weight, pure white silk mikado. The edges of the fabric were all stitched with a golden filigree of small, overlapping triangles. The bride's dress was strapless like those of her attendants. But the pale beauty's bodice was so perfectly fitted it almost appeared to be paint instead of fabric. It clung tightly to every curve of her exquisite breasts, dipping slightly between her cleavage. The gown wrapped around her toned stomach, revealing the slight indent of her navel. The upper portion of the dress also had short sleeves connected under her arms, covering from the middle of her biceps to just above  's elbows. Unlike her friends, the young woman wore no gloves, and her engagement ring shone brightly on her finger. The ivory material split just below the waist, creating a wide slit in front while the rest of the dress flared out dramatically, flowing around her in vertical pleats. A cape-like extension off the back of the bodice and sleeves added an additional layer to the back of the gown. The silk ended a full six-inches above the floor. Underneath there was an underskirt of pale lavender, but unlike the white silk this part of the dress had a matte finish. The second layer went all the way to the floor, and as was also visible through the gap in the front. The bride wore a simple silver circlet on her head, with a veil of lace hanging out of the headpiece down to just below her chin.
 * Could Have Avoided This Plot:
 * Critical Existence Failure: the end result of the Eighth Inner Gate, see below.
 * Crowning Moment of Awesome: Invoked; this is how the Eighth Inner Gate works, all the potential of the user's life is focused into 42 seconds of unparalleled greatness. After which the user dies.
 * Cruel and Unusual Death:
 * Curtain Chapter: Chapter 41 has Naruto and comapny undertaking mundane task of looking over his mother's condo.
 * Dance of Romance: It's an uptempo dance, not a slow dance, but it is Naruto and Hinata's first date.
 * Deal with the Devil: Sasuke gives his body to Orochimaru in exchange for Orochimaru killing Itachi. Be Careful What You Wish For, Sasuke.
 * Decapitated Army: This happens with one of the three enemy armies.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Hiashi, in a non-female, non-romantic example.
 * Demoted to Extra: Sai and Yamato only appear in passing.
 * Distant Finale
 * Distracted by the Sexy: Kaede Mizuno's fighting style, at least against men. Also, Hinata's naked apron incident.
 * Damsel in Distress
 * Don't Fear the Reaper: For she is nice and adorable.
 * Doorstopper
 * The Dragon: Pein to both Madara and.
 * Dying as Yourself
 * Dying Moment of Awesome: Might Gai
 * Energy Absorption: Pein's Preta path, and
 * Earn Your Happy Ending
 * The End of the World as We Know It: The ultimate goal of the Big Bad
 * Engagement Challenge: From Hinata's grandfather.
 * Every Scar Has a Story: Due to his Healing Factor, Naruto only has one scar on him.
 * Everyone Can See It: Everyone knew Naruto was in love with Hinata before he did. Same for Sakura's feelings for Naruto.
 * Everythings Nuttier With Squirrels: Hinata's summoning contract. Her preferred familiar, Sol, is a Heroic Albino.
 * Everything's Worse with Bears: Neji fights a Grass Shinobi who transforms into a werebear.
 * Everything Is Even Worse With Sharks: Kisame, naturally, but with a different backstory and source of strength than canon.
 * The Evils of Free Will: The last villain's plot, but only for ninja.
 * Individuality Is Illegal: Again, also only of ninja.
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Some of the chapter titles.
 * Exact Words: Tsunade swears a Blood Oath to the Fire Daimyo "I swear I will not dispatch any Leaf shinobi either by order or by request, myself included, to find or rescue, on pain of death!". Instead she hires the Sand ninjas to do the finding, and tells Naruto and company they are not allowed to go AWOL to do the rescuing.
 * Explaining Your Power to the Enemy
 * Eye Scream:
 * Faceless Goons
 * Failure Knight: Nagato to, as the latter gives him a chance to make up for his failure against Hanzo.
 * Fairytale Wedding Dress
 * Fictional Document: the works Soun Uzumaki (Naruto's maternal grandfather). Hinata is a fan of his fantasy trilogy The Kunoichi and the Priest.
 * First Kiss: Naruto's trial has ended, but he's much more interested in conveying his Love Epiphany to Hinata in this way. In front of most of the Leaf and Sand ninjas. She doesn't mind too much.
 * First Name Ultimatum: Sakura and Tsunade are both very good at making Naruto's name sound like a swear word.
 * Fix Fic
 * Fighting From the Inside:  after Orochimaru completely takes over his body
 * Finishing Move:
 * Flechette Storm: Naruto's Cyclone Spikes Barrage, and various kunai, shuriken and needle attacks.
 * Forceful Kiss: Sakura when she makes her move on Naruto. Iruka, after his proposal is mockingly refused.
 * Friendship Moment: Many, many times.
 * Notably Chapter 53, when Ino apologizes to Hinata for Sakura's bitchiness, and assure Hinata that no-one else agrees with Sakura.
 * Four Is Death: A strange version.
 * Geas: The Blood Oath Jutsu, which also doubles as the trope of the same name.
 * Girls' Night Out Episode:
 * Chapter 53: Kunoichi Sleepover
 * Chapter 116 starts with the female characters preparing en masse for New Year's Eve, but the guys eventually show up. Still, the girls are definitely the focus.
 * Go Into the Light
 * Gondor Calls for Aid
 * Grand Theft Me: For Orochimaru and Sasuke it is more like 'Grand Lease with Potential to Buy Me'.
 * Gratuitous Japanese
 * Great Offscreen War: the Summoning War
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Sakura, in relation to Hinata and Naruto's relationship
 * Has Two Mommies: The children of
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * Heroic Sacrifice
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Death is not involved, but it still fits: Hyuota Hyuuga (Hinata's grandfather) attempts to use the Hyuuga Clan laws to break up Naruto and Hinata. But when he says the wrong thing in the wrong place and time, those same rules are used against him, and he loses his position and authority.
 * Holding Hands: At the end of the Yuletide Arc, Naruto and Hinata fall asleep holding hands, in separate sleeping bags. Hinata reflects on this trope as she drifts off.
 * Hooked Up Afterwards: Gaara and Matsuri are married in the Distant Finale with very little build up. At least Sakura and Lee had one date in the story, and
 * Hopeless Suitor: Hinata forcibly stops being one, and it shifts to Sakura.
 * Hour of Power: Naruto's Ascendant Fox Jutsu will drain him in seven minutes.
 * Hot Springs Episode: Or part of an episode.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Madara Uchiha
 * Humans Are Bastards: The Nine-tails tells Naruto that no matter how bad demons are, they pale in comparison to the worst of Humanity.
 * I Am Not Left-Handed: Arguably many times, but the best example is in Gai's fight with Kisame.
 * I Have Your Daughter
 * "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight:
 * Immortality: Orochimaru remains a Type IX, like in the original manga. Madara falls somewhere between Type II and Type III.
 * Demons cannot be killed by humans, but can be killed by other demons. And most do not age either.
 * Improbable Weapon User: The staff-blades used by Naruto, Anko, Iruka, and are pretty unusual. But Hinata's preferred weapon is her bracers. And one of Tenten's weapons is a stretchy scarf with heavy sand weights at either end.
 * Innocent Innuendo: "Oh," Hinata squealed in surprise as a drop of the sticky, white liquid flew up and hit her right cheek.
 * Also chapter 125 has one.
 * Instant Expert:
 * Intimate Psychotherapy: Not presented as a cure-all, but as a way break certain characters out of wallowing in their sorrows.
 * It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Naruto considers applying this trope in the first chapter, but Hinata is eavesdropping again, and tells him she won't buy it.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy:
 * Jossed: One week after this story gave Naruto a mother character (Yukihana Uzumaki), Kushina was introduced in the manga. Moderately subverted in that both characters are similar to their son in personality and in combat style (or at least the manga claims Naruto and Kushina use the same types of jutsu).
 * Just Friends: Sorry Sakura!
 * Killed Off for Real:
 * Good Guys:.
 * Bad Guys:.
 * Lampshade Hanging: Though in a story this long it was all but inevitable.
 * Least Is First: After Hinata draws her figurative Line in the Sand, Sasame, the self-admitted newcomer, it the first to officially volunteer.
 * Lethal Chef: Hinata's attempt to make ramen for Naruto left him weak in the knees, and not in a good way.
 * However she is capable of frying bacon successfully.
 * Line in the Sand: Before going to rescue Naruto, Hinata offers her friends this (at Naruto's prior request).
 * Little Miss Almighty: The Reaper (the real one, not the crazy woman).
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: In addition to the included members of the regular cast, the fic promotes many secondary and filler characters, and adds a number of OCs.
 * Lonely Funeral: Poor Sasuke.
 * Lovable Sex Maniac: Ino doesn't make a pass at Sakura because it wouldn't be fair to her boyfriend Choji. Word of God says Ino would have been fine with a threesome, but knows Sakura and Choji wouldn't. Hinata calls Ino the biggest pervert in the village, and Tenten readily agrees.
 * Love Epiphany: Naruto and Sakura each have one of these.
 * Loving a Shadow: Hinata admits in chapter twelve that she didn't know Naruto as well as she should, but that she loves him even more now that they are friends. Naruto accuses Sakura of this after she comes on to him
 * Luke I Am Your Uncle
 * Meaningful Name: Bunjiro Akaikazunoko
 * Massive Multiplayer Scam: Neji's plan during the real Save the Princess arc
 * Ino and Choji attempt to sneak in while disguised, Choji blows it
 * Naruto and Hinata jump in to help, drawing out most of the guards, but ultimately slowly lose due to being outnumbered and under-equipped
 * After the fight starts, Neji and Tenten use plan C, sneaking in the back, however they are overwhelmed by the final guard,
 * Neji orders a retreat
 * Mentor Occupational Hazard:
 * The Mole
 * Moment Killer: Sakura and Hiashi. Hanabi in a non-romantic incident.
 * Mood Whiplash: Chapter 26 (The Brother's War II) ends with  Chapter 27 has Naruto take Hinata out dancing for their unofficial first date.
 * Morality Chip:
 * Multi-Part Episode: Ninja Cram School, The Brother's War, and Forging a Conqueror were all split into two parts.
 * My Greatest Failure: Subverted. While Naruto, he’s assured that what happened was better than what could have happened.
 * Naked Apron: Hinata wears one (panties on version) in chapter 99.
 * Named Weapons: Ginmaki, Kitsune, and Syphon. Also Kusanagi from the original story.
 * Name's the Same: There are two very different reoccurring characters called "The Reaper".
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: The Reaper
 * Never Mess With Granny Tsunade
 * The Nondescript: Kohaku's natural appearance
 * Nothing Is the Same Anymore
 * Noodle Incident: The last chapter makes mention of the Summoning Wars. This incident doesn't occur in the story and isn't elaborated upon beyond the very basic one-sentence summary.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Kaede Mizuno would prefer that everyone think she gets by on her looks and family connections, rather than being a fully qualified Jonin.
 * Oh Crap: Chapter 17, when a bunch of second-rate criminals realize their 'hostages' are undercover ninjas.
 * One-Man Army: Naruto acts as the Leaf's primary assault force in the liberation of the Hidden Grass. The Sand forces participating make an effort not to let him show them up.
 * One-Winged Angel: Orchimaru, but in this story his 'Soul Shell' looks more like an albino version of King Hiss.
 * "On the Next...": Starting in Book four, every chapter ends in one of these (until the last two chapters)
 * Original Character: Many, of varying degrees of significance.
 * Our Vampires Are Different: They are demons and cannot change humans into vampires. When they drink a human's blood they gain that person's chakra, jutsu (including Kekkei Genkai), and can control the person, even after death.
 * Pair the Spares
 * Painting the Medium: In the PDF release, when the Kyubi takes over Naruto's body, the text color of the possessed Naruto's speech turns red.
 * Parental Marriage Veto: Hinata's grandfather, and Shino's parents.
 * Parody Religion: Despite being definitively polytheistic, there is a Christmas parody celebration, and.
 * Passing the Torch
 * The Plot Reaper:
 * Poor Communication Kills: Hinata almost accidentally breaks up with Naruto due to a poor choice of words.
 * Despite being a Warrior Therapist, Naruto sometimes has a little trouble explaining why his opponent is wrong.
 * Post-Kiss Catatonia: Hinata and Naruto after their first kiss both freeze up for a few seconds.
 * Power Limiter: Naruto's friends act as this.
 * Power Trio: Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura are:
 * Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: though who is which is up for debate.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead
 * The Problem with Fighting Death: She’ll do whatever it takes to collect your soul if you try to screw her over.
 * Rags to Riches: When Naruto becomes a full, legal adult he is given access to his mother's savings and his grandfather's royalty checks. Combined with his own royalty checks, and his frugal nature, he ends up with a "personal net worth exceeds that of some of the smaller clans in this village" according to Hiashi.
 * Random Power Ranking: In addition to the normal E-S rank of missions and Bingo Book entries, the story adds X-Rank, indicating the threat requires the tactical intercession of two or more of the big five villages.
 * Real Men Cook: Naruto is a very good cook, but initially refuses to do so, because he hates cleaning up, and Jiraiya (who forced him to learn how to cook in the first place) was very picky about Naruto's efforts. That changes as Hinata (and others) compliment his skills, and Hinata is more than willing to do the dishes.
 * Redemption Equals Death: A few characters qualify for this, but the most obvious textbook example is
 * Relationship Upgrade: Naruto and Hinata get four. Most of the other couples get one on-screen.
 * Romance Arc: Book 1.
 * Roof Hopping: Naruto, Hinata, and Kankuro during the Yuletide Arc.
 * Sanity Has Advantages: The Reaper of Shinobi claims this is the reason she can take on Neji and Tenten alone, while in the past she was unable to beat Naruto or Hinata alone.
 * Save the Princess
 * Secret Keeper
 * The five Kages and the leaders of three Kekkei Genkai clans hold the secret origins of bloodline traits.
 * Tsunade and Jiraiya, with Kakashi and Shizune as backup, keep the secret of Naruto's father's identity.
 * Said Bookism
 * Slice of Life: Not the primary focus, but some chapters feature the characters in their days off, or on missions not directly related to the main plot.
 * Shonen Upgrade: Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura's weapons. Hinata's Suigin Byakugan. Naruto's transformations.
 * Shout-Out: See The Cameo and Classic Mythology above.
 * For the first one third of book 4, Naruto ends each preview with a different famous(?) quote.
 * In one chapter while undercover Ino gives Kikoku Inoue as a pseudonym. When the guard she is attempting to fool recognizes the name, Ino claims she couldn't be the famous voice actress, because that Kikoku Inoue has been acting for twenty years, while Ino is only seventeen years old.
 * A trio of puppeteers are named Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda.
 * Before Naruto and Hinata's up tempo dance in Chapter 26, the bandleader asks if the crowd is In The Mood. Word of God says that they were dancing to Glenn Miller's famous song.
 * So Was X: Gamatatsu tries to justify his being more concerned with food than survival during the Naruto vs Gaara fight by claiming he was only six months old. Gamakichi immediately counters with "So was I."
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Pein/Pain. Hyuga/Hyuuga
 * Start of Darkness: Nagato and Konan, Kohaku, and Gouki with some overlap.
 * Suicide by Cop:
 * Super Mode: Naruto's Ascendent Fox Mode/Jutsu and.
 * Switching POV
 * Symbol Swearing
 * Taking You with Me: How the battle between  ends. Surprisingly, it's the former that invokes it against the latter. Also counts as a Heroic Sacrifice.
 * Take That: A few chapters take a stab at the original manga.
 * Taking a Level In Badass: Hinata, oh so very much. Three of the Killed Off for Real bad guys kills go to her.
 * Also Sakura and Naruto (though Naruto not so much as in canon).
 * Talking Is a Free Action: Both played straight and averted, depending on the level of action present in the scene.
 * Talking the Monster to Death: Naruto puts his special skill to good use in this story.
 * Theme Tune Cameo: Go!!! (a.k.a. Fighting Dreamers) shows up as Hinata's ring tone.
 * Theme Twin Naming: The Kouin Twins, Aimi and Aika.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * They Do
 * This Is Reality: Naruto mentions the unlikely but still theoretically possible scenario that he and Hinata both fall in love with a second woman. And then admits that that really only happens in bad romance novels.
 * Through His Stomach: Hinata does this twice; the first time is much more successful.
 * Throw the Dog a Bone: Shikamaru and Sakura initially suspect this of Naruto when he agrees to go out with Hinata. He sets them straight and ultimately averts this trope nicely.
 * Title Drop: Chapter 39 drops the fanfic title.
 * In Chapter 26 the bandleader asks if the dancers are ''In the Mood" also serves as a Waxing Lyrical.
 * Took a Level In Kindness: Hiashi, again.
 * Tournament Arc: Chapters 8-11
 * Triang Relations: Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura start as a Type 3 and move into a Type 4.
 * True Companions: A different group from canon. Hinata is at the core, and Temari and Sasame Fuma are added to the periphery members.
 * Twin Switch: The Kouin sisters are identical twins except that their hair and eye colors are reversed. But in reality that's a low level transformation so they can switch back and forth, making their opponents think they are more skilled than they actually are (each having heavily studied one type of ninja combat).
 * Unrealistic Black Hole:
 * Unwanted Harem: Naruto doesn't really notice, but the other girls around him really annoy Sakura.
 * Utopia Justifies the Means
 * Violently Protective Girlfriend: Hinata and Hana Inuzuka both show signs of this.
 * WAFF
 * Waxing Lyrical:
 * In Chapter 26 the bandleader asks if the dancers are "in the mood" also serves as a Title Drop.
 * Chapter 40 lamshades the trope as it is used.
 * "That's the kinda sugar papa likes," he(Naruto) told her slyly. She(Hinata) knew he was just quoting a song title, but she couldn't help but grin and blush. 
 * Chapter 151: "Our world's about to break."
 * Wedding Day: The last two chapters of the story each have one.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist:
 * What Does She See in Him?: Sakura to Hinata during the slumber party, both why Hinata wants Naruto and why he wants her.
 * With This Ring: Naruto to Hinata,
 * Word of God
 * You Kill It, You Bought It: Killing the Raikage or Mizukage lets the killer take over the position. The Cloud village does stipulate that the new Raikage must be a Cloud ninja or have a Cloud ninja sponsor.
 * You Mean "Xmas": Yuletide is celebrated on Dec. 21st.
 * You Said You Couldn't Dance: Naruto skipped out on dance classes at the Academy, so Hinata is surprised when he asks her to go dancing. He explains that Jiraiya forced him to learn, and that he found out that he likes it.
 * Yuletide Arc
 * You Kill It, You Bought It: Killing the Raikage or Mizukage lets the killer take over the position. The Cloud village does stipulate that the new Raikage must be a Cloud ninja or have a Cloud ninja sponsor.
 * You Mean "Xmas": Yuletide is celebrated on Dec. 21st.
 * You Said You Couldn't Dance: Naruto skipped out on dance classes at the Academy, so Hinata is surprised when he asks her to go dancing. He explains that Jiraiya forced him to learn, and that he found out that he likes it.
 * Yuletide Arc