Kudo's hatred was subdued by his love for his mother, Ina. Ever since losing his father, he has made a conscious effort to spend more time with his mother, whether that be shopping, taking walks, or cooking together. Due to them becoming closer, their feelings were pacified, and things turned to a new normal.
Monday, at the training ground. Kudo's birthday had just passed, but this year, he celebrated it with Naruto, given that he found out that they shared the same birthdate. This made Kudo feel insensitive as a friend whom he hadn't known for 3 years. Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry was still strong, except Naruto was getting better at shuriken throwing, taijutsu, and the 3 basic ninjutsu. His Spars with Kudo became more frequent during lunch hours.
Kudo started to speak more often in class, reverting to how he was in their first year. "Shinobi taijutsu combat. Begin!" Iruka ordered, and Kudo and Hinata quickly got into an exchange. Hinata's gentle fist made her top-ranked in their class, but the others weren't slouches either. Kudo started with a left cross followed by a right jab, flowing into a left hook, turning his back, pivoting on his left leg, and a back fist landed on Hinata's elbows, pushing her backwards. "You are stronger," Hinata whispered, but Kudo caught it. "Give it your best, don't hold back!" He screamed, rushing in.
"Kudo, don't you dare hurt Hinata!" Naruto's shouting was followed by waves of shouts from the girls. With a two-step sidestep, Hinata landed a flush of strikes on Kudo's abdomen. Kudo responded with stiff jabs, feeling his aching ribs, 'What are they feeding her?!' Her fist had serious force. "Thwack-Thwack!" Every time Kudo threw a fist, Hinata hit his biceps. Kudo's arms were starting to feel like lead. Grabbing his arms, she pulled in and chambered her left leg, stopping a forward kick, with a flurry of fists, chakra points closed whenever she struck.The training ground was dead quiet, including Sasuke, as they watched her school him, 'I don't think I could do better.' Sasuke thought. Kudo transitioned from long strike to boxed-in movements to minimize his exposed surface area, but Hinata kept her distance. "Bang!" Kudo's front flip, his heel struck the ground, and he back stepped, his head weaving in between Hinata's fist strikes. Her balance was steady, nothing fancy, but her stance tanked his heavy blows.
"Swoosh!" Like a viper, her palm struck up, and Kudo just barely dodged and was hit. "Ughh." Her elbow crashed on his neck; it felt limp, and he staggered a few steps. Her palm strikes found him again, and he was constantly retreating."Alright, that's enough! Winner, Hinata." Iruka stepped in, "Now, show your respect." Kudo and Hinata stepped forward, performing the shinobi salute. "Well fought," Kudo said. Hinata nodded, and inwardly, he lamented his lack of a good taijutsu partner; most of his taijutsu sessions, he had no sparring partner. Ito was, after all, not his babysitter.
The hokage's office;
"There is no need to push for early graduation. This period of peace, no matter how short, we will be capable shinobi." Hiruzen recalled Danzo's words, 'The genin force is really a headache.' They consisted of most who had the least talent or didn't have the heart to be shinobi, but the village just couldn't abandon them. Ever since he shut down Root, their operatives were now in the Anbu, bolstering their force."Go call Fugaku into my office," Hiruzen ordered as he sighed. It was something he had been avoiding, and it was time to settle the disputes between the village and the Uchiha, or at least make steps towards their relationship.
Over at the Uchiha compound;
"The Hokage summons me?" A bit of disbelief was evident in his tone, but he departed, nonetheless. The Uchiha clan was steadily recovering from the attack, and with recent promotions of Sasaki and Ichirou to elite Jonin, the clan was quickly recovering its strength.Moments later,"Take a seat, Fugaku." Hiruzen gently gestured, and unlike what Fugaku expected, the village elders weren't here."I summoned you here to talk about the grudge between the village and the Uchiha, continuing the situation as is leaves the village vulnerable to enemy forces, and I will not have a coup from the Uchiha." Hiruzen stared intently at Fugaku; he was aware of rising sentiments about a coup.
"Lord Hokage, I have no idea of such sentiments, but I have led the Uchiha for at least 2 decades, and I can say that the Uchiha are loyal to the village." Fugaku solemnly replied hie eyes never wavering."Alright, then I will take you at your word. Danzo has been removed from Root, and it has been shut down. We didn't find much pertaining to attacks against the Uchiha, but what we did find is enough to sever his political career in the village, as suppression of sentiments against the Uchiha will decline." Hiruzen said, taking a puff of his pipe.Fugaku was quiet for a moment. He had foreseen that Danzo would probably discard any evidence, so there was little hope for hard evidence, and as for his life with the Hokage present, it wasn't possible.
They also couldn't excommunicate him from the leaf, given how much he knew; should he ever target the leaf, he could bring it to its knees. "What about the Uchiha police force?" Fugaku asked, this cursed responsibility was what alienated the Uchiha from the other clans and eventually the village citizens. "For now, there is not much I can do about that. Any moves to withdraw the Uchiha from the Uchiha police force will be met with strong opposition, and I can imagine you know why?"
"The Mangekyo Sharingan." Fugaku's mangekyo sharingan had heightened vigilance against the Uchiha, while he could never forget that another Madara caution was necessary, nonetheless."For the Uchiha police force, I can only incorporate other clans into it. This will, of course, cut down on the resources received by the Uchiha from the village. It will consist of 25% of other clan forces and 75% Uchiha clan members." Hiruzen's proposal showed his willingness to absolve the bad blood between the village and the Uchiha.'I hope this is enough. I can't offer more concessions on my part. From here it's a steady road to recovery.' Hiruzen's thoughts were motivated by the civil war in Kirigakure; the Uchiha truly had the power to divide the village.