Chapter 1 - Naruto the Golden Star Fleet Admiral

Naruto's POV

Location: Deep Space 7

-Cadit Naruto Personal Log Stardate 41773.96 (October 10, 2364, Time: 06:27:52): Today is my birthday and it is also my 2nd day on this Star base called Deep Space 7 which is close to the Romulan Neutral Zone, the whole reason why I am here is do to the fact that 3rd Class Cadets which are Cadets at this rank take part in field training at a space station or an outpost. *Sigh* I wonder what my fiancées are up to I told them all that I would be here for the whole year, I know that they are in their 3rd year at Starfleet Academy just like me so they will post to a space station or outpost as will, but I know now what Star Base or outpost they are on but I do hope that they are having the time of their life...well I better get going I have weapons training in less than an hour. END Personal Log-

-Weapons Training Room-

-Stardate: 41774.02 (October 10, 2364, Time: 07:00:00)

I sigh as my training Instructor says to me "Well Cadet Namikaze we are waiting for the other thirteen cadets that are going to join you...and they will be with you for the rest of your time here on this Star base so I hope you and the Ladies can get along with each other, now wait here while I wait for them up front, why don't you take a look of the Weapons that you are going to be getting used to form the rest of your time in Starfleet", and with that, he leaves the room, when I see leave the room I look to a table that has the weapons on it that I am going to be using and see that there is Fourteen Type 2 phaser (Hand Phaser) and Fourteen Type 3 phaser (Phaser rifle), so that means that there is going to be one Type 2 phaser (Hand Phaser) and one Type 3 phaser (Phaser rifle) for each cadet meaning that here is going to be thirteen females joining me in this room for weapons training.

I pick up the phaser (Phaser rifle) to feel the weight of the phaser and to see how it feels in my hands when I hold it, after a few minutes of holding the weapons, I hear my instructor walk in with the other thirteen other cadets, I point the Type 3 phaser (Phaser rifle) to the floor as I turn to the others to find...my lovely fiancée...all thirteen of them standing behind the instructor, I see that each one of them has their eyes on me.

I look at each one of them and see that they all have the same body...well same everything except their face, eye color, hair color, and the way that they have their hairstyles are like Shizuka has hers in a high ponytail with short bangs and chin-length strands framing her face, I watch as Mabui my lovely sexy half Vulcan fiancée walks right up to me with a smile on her face, I smile back at her...even my lovely sexy Vulcan fiancée is half Vulcan she is also half human just like my other hybrid lovers.

When she walks right up to me we do the Vulcan finger-touching (A/N: a ritualistic form of affection among Vulcans involving the index and middle fingers), a minute of that we part ways I hear the instructor say "Now with that out of the way, we can get on with with the class as you know you cadets know teacher it is a lot easier seeing as you all are going working together as will as living together, I form what I seen so fare you all may know each other so that will not be a problem, now I need you all to go over to the tables that has the weapons on them there is one Type 3 phaser rifle and one Type 2 phaser (Hand Phaser) for each one of you and as you can see what cadet Namikaze is holding is the Type 3 phaser rifle, these are the weapons that you are going to use from now on, ok Cadets grab the Type 3 phaser rifle so we can see how you all handle holding and firing it".

I watch as my fiancées walk over to the table and each one of them grabs a Type 3 phaser rifle and holds it the right way with each one taking a sport on the firing range with them facing us, after a couple of minutes of getting the Type 3 phaser rifle....

-3rd Person Point of View-

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Weapons Training Room

-Stardate: 41774.12 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 07:24:35)-

The air in the weapons training room was calm, filled only with the soft hum of power cells charging within the Type 3 phaser rifles. The sleek walls, lined with holo-screens and weapon racks, reflected the orange glow of targeting grids on the far end of the firing range. Cadet Naruto Namikaze stood to one side of the range, watching his fiancées take to their positions. Each woman held the phaser rifle with practiced ease, a blend of natural grace and Starfleet precision etched into their movements. The instructor, Commander Voss, a grizzled Bolian with a stern face, nodded in approval.

"I want you all to fire at the center mass of the target. Controlled bursts only. This isn't a Klingon blood rite," he barked with his usual no-nonsense tone. The first shots rang out in clean synchronization. Bright amber bolts slammed into their holographic targets, each blast hitting its mark within a hair's breadth. Naruto couldn't help the proud smile that tugged at his lips as Mabui, Tsunade, and even Mikoto maintained flawless grouping. Shizuka's stance was steady, her eyes focused, while Kurotsuchi tilted her head with a smirk, clearly enjoying the power in her hands.

But then BOOM!

The side door to the weapons room exploded inward with a burst of green light. Sparks flew and smoke surged through the doorway. Fourteen Romulans in dark-green body armor stormed in, disruptors raised and firing without hesitation.

"Incoming!" Naruto shouted, diving forward to shove Shion and Yugito out of the line of fire. The instructor took a blast to the shoulder and fell with a grunt, crawling behind a console for cover. Phasers flew up in the cadets' hands without pause each one trained by war and hardship, not just the Academy.

Mikoto, eyes glowing with anger, dropped to a knee and fired, catching the lead Romulan in the chest with a blue beam. Kurenai shouted, "Flank left!" as she and Samui moved in tandem, covering Tenten and Ino, who pinned down the center line of the Romulan squad. Yugito snarled, twin tails lashing, as she dove into close-quarters combat, firing from the hip with feral precision.

Hinata stood at the rear, a calm storm behind her gentle eyes. Her mind flared with raw telepathic strength as she whispered across their joined bond: "Protect Naruto. Protect each other." Her phaser fired every shot a perfect, chilling echo of her will.

Naruto moved like lightning, sweeping up a fallen Type-2 hand phaser and rushing to cover the downed instructor. He fired left-handed, instinct overriding training. "No one dies on my watch!" he yelled over the chaos. Mei laughed beside him, her Klingon blood singing at the thrill of battle.

Within less than sixty seconds, the Romulans were down. Most stunned, two killed clean shots through the chest that ended the fight with brutal finality.

And then, the alarms screamed to life.

"INTRUDER ALERT. SECURITY TEAMS TO ALL LEVELS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

Red lights strobed across the ceiling. From the hallway just beyond the shattered door, the unmistakable sounds of a firefight erupted. Phaser fire, disruptor blasts, shouts in Standard and Romulan alike. Deep Space 7 was under attack.

Naruto locked eyes with Hinata, her jaw tight, her breathing steady.

"I think... our training just got real," he said.

And his mates, his comrades, his lovers nodded as one. They were ready.

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Deck 14, Corridor Section C-27 to Main Lift Hub

-Stardate: 41774.17 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 07:49:08)-

The corridor walls of Deep Space 7 shook as another explosion roared several decks above, the bulkheads trembling beneath the boots of Naruto and his team. Sirens blared like a cry of war, red emergency lighting pulsing in sync with the heartbeat of the ship itself. "Keep close, keep alert!" Naruto commanded, his voice calm but burning with iron authority. He led the group, his Type-3 phaser rifle braced firmly against his shoulder, eyes scanning ahead while his mates held the rear and flanks with military precision. Despite the chaos, there was no hesitation in their movements every woman in his team was trained, disciplined, and above all, united in purpose.

"I'm reading four life signs Starfleet," Mabui reported quickly, her half-Vulcan focus razor sharp, her tricorder scanning through the bulkhead. "They're pinned down in the cross-corridor just beyond the next hatch." Naruto didn't pause. "Ino, Tenten, Kurotsuchi flank right and provide suppressing fire. Hinata, Mei, and I will breach the hatch. Let's move!" The hallway echoed with the heavy sound of boots hitting deck plating as they surged forward.

The sealed emergency door slid open under Tenten's override, and immediately a disruptor bolt seared past Naruto's head. Mei let out a low growl as she stepped in front of him, her phaser rifle barking in reply. "No one touches my mate!" she shouted as she dropped two Romulan boarders with surgical shots to the chest. Hinata's eyes flashed with a strange light, invisible to all but Naruto, as she fired from cover with terrifying calm. "They're scattering," she whispered, "but two are trying to circle left."

Naruto moved like a shadow unleashed, diving behind a fallen bulkhead as he took aim. "We hold this ground. No one dies here today." With his command, the group surged forward, unleashing phaser fire in precise arcs, clearing the corridor in seconds. They reached the injured officers two ensigns and a lieutenant shielding them while Tsunade knelt beside one, her genetically enhanced strength and knowledge keeping the woman from bleeding out.

"Who the hell are you people?" gasped one of the ensigns, blood on his collar.

"We're Cadets," Shizuka replied with a smile and a wink. "But we're his," she nodded toward Naruto, "and he's not just any cadet."

Naruto offered his hand to the stunned lieutenant, pulling him to his feet. "Namikaze, Naruto. Starfleet Cadet, Class 3… and right now, the only one with a plan."

The lieutenant blinked before nodding. "Then we're following you."

More footsteps echoed down the far end of the corridor, but this time it was not an ambush it was a retreating group of Starfleet security, exhausted and outnumbered. "You! Cadets! Where's Command?" one shouted.

"Deck 1 is gone," Samui answered grimly, her voice cool as her Cardassian side flared with tactical focus. "They're trying to regroup on Deck 9, near Operations. We're clearing a path."

"Then we're your wing," the lead security officer said, rallying his remaining men around Naruto's formation.

Naruto looked back at his mates, each nodding in perfect understanding. This wasn't training anymore. This was war on their doorstep.

"Alright then," Naruto muttered, thumbing his phaser rifle to maximum stun. "Let's take our station back."

And with him at the front, thirteen fiercely devoted warriors at his side, and Starfleet officers watching with newfound respect, Naruto pushed forward through fire, fear, and fate.

-Location: Deep Space 7 – En Route to Command Deck, Deck 1

-Stardate: 41774.31 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 08:11:00)-

The silence that settled over the corridor after their last firefight didn't last long. One of the surviving lieutenants, Enar Solan a grizzled Denobulan with blood on his collar and fire in his eyes pulled his combadge and gasped as he listened to a panicked voice crackle through the static. "This is Commander Rao on the Command Deck Romulans are breaching the outer bulkheads. We've rerouted all Ops functions to this deck. We're not leaving. They won't take the bridge. Not while we're breathing!" The line cut into silence. Everyone around Naruto froze. The weight of that final message the hopeless defiance of warriors left behind hung in the air like smoke before a fire.

Naruto clenched his jaw as he turned toward the rest of the officers. "We're going up there. We're not leaving them to die." His voice wasn't a question or suggestion it was a command spoken with soul-deep purpose. "Those are our leaders. That's our Command Deck. If we lose it, we lose everything." Some of the officers hesitated, bloodied and battered from hours of skirmishing, but when they saw his mates Tsunade loading another power cell, Hinata tilting her head as her unseen senses mapped Romulan locations beyond walls, and Mabui nodding once with calm Vulcan certainty they followed. No one questioned him again.

The journey to Deck 1 was a brutal one. They fought room by room, passing scorched doors and shattered bulkheads, helping wounded along the way as more security teams joined the push. Naruto moved at the point, flanked by Ino and Kurenai one reading minds with Betazoid instinct, the other whispering commands in a Romulan dialect to confuse their enemies. At one point, a Romulan strike squad held the corridor to the lift shaft, cutting down every advance until Yugito vaulted from a vent, tails whipping like blades, landing in the center of the enemy formation with Shizuka beside her. "You forgot to check the ceiling," Yugito snarled, unleashing a flurry of stun shots as Shizuka dropped another two in an elegant spin. Within seconds, the lift corridor was clear.

They arrived at the Command Deck just as the last inner seal collapsed. Naruto burst through the override panel, his mates and the officers flooding in behind him as the scene unfolded six senior officers cornered behind a tactical console, pinned by fire from over a dozen Romulans. "Cover them!" Naruto roared. Phaser fire filled the room like a crashing wave. Mei charged headlong into the chaos, her Klingon blood blazing as she slammed her phaser into a Romulan's helmet and fired point-blank. Mikoto moved like a dancer, fluid and silent, dropping enemies with each shot, her Orion reflexes and beauty a deadly illusion. Kurotsuchi fired from the flank, her eyes narrow and tactical as she guided fire teams into better positions.

Within three minutes, it was over.

Smoke curled from burning consoles. The Romulans lay stunned or dead. Commander Rao stood slowly, blood dripping from his temple. He looked around at the young cadets who had just saved Starfleet's highest-ranking survivors on DS7, and then he stepped toward Naruto. "Namikaze, isn't it?" he asked, voice rough with fatigue. "You led this… entire push?" Naruto nodded, phaser still in hand. "Yes, sir. I couldn't let you all die for nothing."

Rao stared at him for a long moment, then reached for his combadge. "Computer. Effective immediately: field promotion Cadet Naruto Namikaze to Acting Lieutenant, with full operational authority until station command is re-established."

Gasps rang out, but Rao wasn't finished. "The thirteen cadets with him field promoted to Acting Ensigns. Their service today will be reviewed and permanently recorded on their Academy records. If they keep this up, they'll graduate with honors and rank."

Naruto turned to his mates as they absorbed the words. Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder. "Lieutenant… has a nice ring to it."

And as more Starfleet officers saluted, battered and bruised, the legend of the cadets who saved Deep Space 7 was born in phaser fire, blood, and a bond that no enemy would ever break.

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Primary Hangar Bay, Deck 4

-Stardate: 41774.53 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 08:44:19)-

"I want that hangar secured. No matter the cost!" Commander Rao's voice barked through the combadges as Naruto, still wincing slightly from the bandage across his shoulder, nodded with grim understanding. "You heard him," Naruto called out, loading a fresh power cell into his Type-3 phaser rifle as his mates moved swiftly around him, checking weapons and sealing their combat gear. "We're the only ones who can do this. No one else has the numbers or the unity." Every one of them knew what this meant. The hangar bay was Deep Space 7's largest access point a tactical vulnerability that the Romulans had clearly exploited, and if they held it, the entire starbase would fall from within.

As they neared the blast doors, Naruto's thoughts raced. He couldn't help but remember Earth history the years after the Earth-Romulan War, when Romulans refused to even appear on-screen during communications. All the mistrust, the cold silence, the cloaked wars in the shadows. And now… they were here. In Starfleet territory. Inside his station. That fire surged inside him like a storm. "We end this here," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "Not one more step."

The blast doors opened and all hell broke loose.

Romulan disruptor fire poured from behind crates, ships, and landed shuttles. Explosions rocked the hangar deck as automatic defense turrets sparked with short-circuited arcs. "Spread out and return fire!" Naruto shouted. Mabui ducked behind an auxiliary fuel line, returning fire with deadly Vulcan calm. Tsunade led a flanking group of Starfleet officers around a Romulan barricade, her strength tossing aside debris like paper. Kurotsuchi laid down suppressive fire while Mei and Mikoto picked off targets with uncanny precision. Romulans kept pouring in from a personnel carrier in the back of the bay, and it became clear this wasn't just a boarding force it was a full invasion wave.

Then it happened.

Naruto cried out as a disruptor bolt slammed into his left shoulder, sending him skidding behind cover. "Naruto!" Shion screamed, rushing to his side, while Samui returned fire with furious efficiency. But then Hinata sweet, reserved Hinata was struck by a secondary explosion as a pressure door behind her detonated, sending her limp form flying into a side storage chamber. She crashed through the blast doors with a loud crack as the heavy hatch slammed shut behind her. "Hinata!" Naruto choked out, trying to rise even as pain flared up his leg from another hit.

A Romulan officer sneered at the door. "She's finished." But he didn't get to enjoy the moment.

A single, echoing roar of pure rage burst from within that room unnatural, alien, and unmistakably powerful. Then, in an explosion of force, the sealed metal door ripped from its frame and flew across the hangar like a missile, slamming into the Romulan officer and crushing him instantly with the weight of a starship-grade door. Every phaser, every disruptor, every hand… stopped firing.

Standing in the ruin of that hatch was something none of them had seen before. A towering figure nine feet eight inches tall stood silhouetted in the smoke and emergency lighting. She was tripedal, with three thick, muscular legs supporting an enormous yet elegant alien form. Her skin shimmered like living armor, but her clothes… tattered, stretched across her massive body, were unmistakably Hinata's, including the silver and violet jewelry she always wore.

"Inari… protect us," Tenten whispered in awe, phaser lowering.

Then, in their minds, her voice spoke not with fear, but with truth.

"I remember now. I am Hinata Hyuuga. I was once Hinata Namikaze, wife of the Seventh Hokage. I have been reborn… as an Undine. And in time… so will you all."

Naruto felt something shatter inside him not fear, not pain but the glass wall that separated the past from the now. "Hinata…" he breathed, clutching his side as he pushed up from the floor. His fiancées stood stunned, disbelief mixing with awe, even as Romulans screamed and fired at the towering figure.

It didn't matter. Hinata moved like a living tempest phaser bolts bouncing off her as she tore through enemy lines. She threw Romulans across the hangar with bone-breaking force, shielding Starfleet officers trapped under debris, clearing lines of fire with terrifying ease. Mikoto stared in stunned silence before whispering, "We were… wives. We've done this before…"

That whisper spread like wildfire among them.

Naruto, fueled by sheer will and love, pulled himself to a console and hit the emergency override, opening a second bay door just as a squad of Starfleet Security burst through. "NOW!" he shouted, waving them in even as a disruptor bolt slammed into his right arm. He dropped to one knee but smiled. It was done. The flood of reinforcements surged into the hangar.

A nearby medic Lieutenant Casten ran to Naruto's side and began patching the wound with fast-seal biofoam. "Don't move! You'll rupture the nerve again." Naruto just grinned through the blood. "I've had worse. Besides… I've got backup."

By the time the last Romulan fell, Hinata stood at the center of the hangar breathing slowly, towering above all before she closed her glowing eyes. Her body shimmered and shrank, and moments later, she collapsed back into her original human form, naked but still wearing the ruined scraps of her Starfleet uniform and jewelry, just enough to preserve modesty.

Naruto's hand trembled as he reached for her. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"I remember everything, Naruto," she whispered. "And I never stopped loving you."

He pulled her into his arms, wounded and whole, with the flames of battle flickering behind them unaware that this moment, caught on security footage, would be replayed across the fleet and awarded Starfleet's highest commendation for gallantry.

-Stardate: 41774.66 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:12:04)-

As the smoke began to clear from the hangar bay and medical teams worked to stabilize the wounded, a new sound cut through the background static starship engines. The overhead lighting flickered as the voice of Deep Space 7's Tactical Control came through the intercom, heavy with tension but threaded with hope. "All personnel, stand by this is Command. Starfleet reinforcements have arrived. USS Hood, USS Potemkin, and USS Enterprise repeat, Enterprise, NCC-1701-D, are engaging the Romulan warbirds. Multiple Federation shuttles inbound to Hangar Bay Four. Secure the perimeter."

Naruto staggered to his feet, leaning slightly on Mei's shoulder as the other mates helped clear the landing zone. "The Enterprise? Captain Picard himself?" Tenten whispered, stunned, the reality of how high this battle had reached finally settling in. Just as she spoke, four sleek Type-7 shuttlecraft roared through the bay's atmosphere field, repulsors glowing, and touched down in formation. The moment the hatches dropped, a flood of Starfleet Security and Starfleet Marines stormed out in perfect, practiced coordination phasers raised, scanning every angle. But at the front of the lead shuttle, one figure moved faster than the rest.

A tall, commanding woman with fiery red hair braided back in a no-nonsense tail, clad in the deep crimson of an admiral's uniform, pushed through the phalanx of officers and ran straight for Naruto. "Naruto!" she cried with a voice that cracked through the air like thunder and fire. Naruto's golden-blue eyes widened, his knees buckled, and he caught her in his arms as they collided in a fierce, soul-deep embrace. "Mom," he whispered brokenly. "You came." Kushina Namikaze tightened her grip around her son's battered frame, tears staining her cheeks as her hands moved over his shoulders, his face, his hair. "I always come back for you," she said, trembling. "You're my son."

Pulling back, Kushina's eyes swept over the gathered young women behind Naruto, noting their torn uniforms, the bruises, the precision in their posture soul-bound warriors, every one. But her gaze froze as it fell on Hinata, whose tattered uniform clung to her tall, muscular frame, the traces of something not quite human still visible in her features. "What… happened to her clothing?" Kushina asked, confused, turning to Naruto before the air in the bay suddenly grew heavy, pulsing with unseen psychic resonance. Then, before anyone could speak, Hinata's body shimmered, her frame growing once again as her form shifted into her Undine state.

Gasps and weapons rose throughout the room but not from Naruto's group. Hinata's voice echoed directly into the minds of everyone present, her tone calm, powerful, and timeless. "Do not fear. I remember now. My name is Hinata Hyuuga no, Hinata Namikaze. I was once the wife of the Seventh Hokage. I died beside him… and now, I am reborn. My people called me Undine. I was not alone. You, Kushina Namikaze… were my mother-in-law. You died protecting Naruto in another life one I still see clearly."

The moment she finished, pain lanced through the minds of Naruto and his soul-bound mates like a lightning bolt. One by one, they cried out, clutching their heads as centuries of sealed memories came flooding back like a collapsing dam. Tenten dropped to her knees, breathing hard as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I remember the war… I remember the villages burning…" she whispered. Mei gasped, her hands shaking. "We died. And then… the gods gave us bodies again, to live, to love, to protect him."

Samui gritted her teeth, bracing herself against Kurotsuchi, while Ino stared into the distance, whispering, "We were his wives. All of us. Reborn to be whole again."

Naruto's legs gave out completely as he hit the deck beside his mother. "I… I died. I died trying to save them all. Kurama… he was with me." His voice shook, eyes wide with truth beyond time. "I remember Sasuke. I remember when Orochimaru's clone overtook his mind. When he turned into something twisted… but in the end, he broke free, and took his own life to stop it." His eyes flicked toward Mikoto, whose face had gone pale with heartbreak. "Your son… he saved the Leaf. He died a hero."

Mikoto crumpled into Shizuka's arms, her hands trembling as she whispered, "He remembered… he remembered who he was before the end…"

Around them, the Starfleet officers and Marines stood stunned, caught between reverence and disbelief as they witnessed something beyond science souls reawakening across time, bonds reforged through pain, love, and sacrifice.

Kushina stared, hand covering her mouth, tears silently flowing down her face. Then she stepped forward, kneeling before Hinata's towering Undine form and placing her hand over her heart. "I remember you," she whispered, voice breaking. "You never once left his side… not even in death."

Hinata bowed her massive head gently. "And I never will."

As the Enterprise held the line in orbit and the Romulan fleet reeled from the sudden counterstrike, within the hangar bay of Deep Space 7, something older than war had awakened hope, truth, and the eternal promise of love returned.

-Stardate: 41774.73 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:23:47)-

Naruto exhaled sharply as he holstered his phaser and turned toward the remains of the chaotic hangar. The rush of returning memories still throbbed in the back of his mind, but the sounds of combat from distant decks reminded him that they weren't finished not yet. "We'll talk about the past later," he said aloud, his voice steady and clear. "There are still Romulans on this station, and we're not going to let them hold any ground for long." His eyes flicked to Hinata, and immediately, a mix of concern and instinct flared through him. Her Undine form stood proud, powerful… but even as she breathed, Naruto saw what she hadn't yet: her already-tattered uniform was more shredded than it had been minutes ago, the last strands of fabric barely clinging to her alien frame.

"Hinata," he called softly, stepping toward her. She tilted her head, confused, until she looked down and froze. The moment she moved her upper arm, the gesture proved too much. The last remnants of her Starfleet uniform tore apart completely and dropped from her towering form with a faint whisper of cloth against metal. Now fully exposed in her Undine state, her broad, defined musculature, well-endowed upper frame, and gleaming skin made her a breathtaking sight but to her, it was mortifying. "No no no!" she gasped, wrapping her arms across her chest instinctively, her cheeks glowing with a crimson hue no one expected on such a formidable figure. "I can't shift back like this! I'll be completely naked in front of everyone in this hangar!"

Naruto blinked. "Hinata, it's not like "

"It is exactly like that, Naruto!" she snapped, mortified. "They'll all see everything every inch of me!"

Before it escalated further, Mabui stepped forward, her voice calm and grounding like polished obsidian. "Hinata, stop. Look at me." The Undine woman's blazing gold eyes turned slowly to her bound-sister. "We're your family. No matter your form Undine, Human, or otherwise you are still Hinata Namikaze. You are still our bound-sister." Samui placed a hand on Hinata's arm, nodding. "You are beautiful. Not because of your body, but because of your heart." One by one, the others joined in Tenten, Kurenai, Ino, Shion, even Mikoto and lastly, Naruto walked toward her and placed a hand on the armor-like surface of her forearm.

"I see you, Hinata," he whispered, looking up at her. "Not as a weapon. Not as something to be ashamed of. I see the woman I love the one whose spirit I felt long before I even remembered who I was. You're beautiful in every form, and I'm honored to stand beside you."

For a moment, the entire hangar stood still. The rush of the battle outside seemed like a distant echo as Hinata's Undine form trembled slightly… and then smiled. "Thank you," she whispered in all their minds, and her towering form stood straighter, more at peace than ever before.

Mabui stepped up beside Naruto, eyes thoughtful. "We've secured this hangar, but this station has two bays. If I remember the station's schematics correctly, Transporter Room One is situated almost exactly between the two hangars Deck 4, Central Spine." She pulled up a display from the nearby tactical console. "If the Romulans have taken the transporter room, they could be using it to move troops between decks or even beam in reinforcements directly."

Tenten frowned, arms folded. "Then we need to move now. If they hold that room, they'll choke the station from the inside. We've only cut off one head of the beast." She pointed toward the reinforced blast doors. "The longer we wait, the worse this will get."

Naruto nodded, his mind already moving faster than the room around him. "We push for the transporter room. If it's occupied, we clear it. Once secured, we'll divide forces half push for Hangar Bay 2, the other half stay and hold that room." He turned toward the newly arrived Marines and officers, eyes locked with theirs. "I'll take point."

Behind him, Admiral Kushina Namikaze crossed her arms, a knowing smirk tugging at her lips. She watched her son coordinate officers and warriors with the poise of someone who had done this in another lifetime a boy who had once stood as Hokage, now leading once more. Her heart swelled with pride. "He was always meant for this," she whispered to herself. "Always."

And with that, Naruto raised his phaser rifle, turned toward the corridor, and began moving his bound mates fanning out around him, their memories restored, their unity unshakable. The war wasn't over. But for the first time since it began… Deep Space 7 had hope.

-Stardate: 41774.73 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:23:47)-

Naruto blinked. "Hinata, it's not like "

"It is exactly like that, Naruto!" she snapped, mortified. "They'll all see everything every inch of me!"

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Corridor to Transporter Room One, Deck 4

-Stardate: 41774.84 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:36:55)-

The corridor to the transporter room was dim, the emergency lighting casting long crimson shadows across the polished deck plating. The air was thick with the scent of plasma scoring and ionized air from recent weapons fire. Naruto led the way, moving in a low crouch with his Type-3 phaser rifle held close to his chest, every step measured and silent. His bound mates fanned out in a disciplined wedge formation, each one a hardened point in the spear that had carved its way through Deep Space 7. Behind them came a squad of Starfleet Marines, boots quiet but weapons hot, watching their flanks with tense focus.

Mabui whispered from behind Naruto, "I'm detecting eight distinct Romulan life signs… maybe more deeper in. The shielding around the room's core makes readings unstable."

"I don't like this," muttered Kurotsuchi, eyes scanning the walls for hidden panels. "Feels like a trap waiting to be sprung."

"We can't let that stop us," Naruto replied calmly. "This room is the artery of the station. If they hold it, they can bleed DS7 out through every deck."

As they approached the heavy door leading to Transporter Room One, Shizuka paused at a wall console and attempted an override. The screen flashed red. "They've locked it down from the inside."

Tenten stepped forward, smirking as she tapped the panel with the butt of her phaser. "Then we don't knock."

The team took positions Naruto at point, Hinata in her towering Undine form directly behind, shielding the group with her massive body. Ino and Kurenai stood ready to breach left, while Tsunade and Mei prepared for the right. Mikoto, Mabui, and Samui covered rear security. Shion and Yugito took the center line with the Marines, phasers charged and eyes sharp.

Naruto raised his hand three fingers. Two. One. The blast door hissed, then screamed open and chaos erupted within.

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Transporter Room One

-Stardate: 41774.89 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:42:18)-

The transporter room was chaos incarnate. Phasers and disruptors flared in strobe-like bursts across the confined space, scorching metal walls and consoles as bodies moved with lethal urgency. Naruto dove behind the main control console, slamming his back against it as Mei and Tenten flanked right, clearing a Romulan fireteam trying to box them in. "I count ten still active three by the left bulkhead, two in the catwalk, five behind the central crate!" Mabui shouted as she relayed sensor readings through her tricorder, dodging a disruptor bolt that barely missed her shoulder. "We hold this room, or we lose the deck!" Naruto barked, his voice strong despite the pain lancing through his earlier wound.

Then came the telltale shimmer seven new Romulan soldiers materialized on the transporter pad in the center of the room, weapons already raised, fresh from one of the cloaked ships outside. Naruto's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "They're using our own station to reinforce from orbit…" He ducked low and tapped his combadge. "Lieutenant Namikaze to Captain Picard Romulans are beaming troops into Transporter Room One from orbit. Request permission to link our pad directly to a secured transporter aboard the Enterprise and use it to beam armed marines to our position."

A moment of static. Then came the calm, authoritative voice that steadied the galaxy.

"Understood, Lieutenant. Permission granted. Transporter Room Three is clear and secured. Make it count."

Naruto didn't hesitate. As Hinata, still in her towering Undine form, barreled forward to shield a fallen Marine, Naruto vaulted over the console, dodging disruptor fire and slammed his hand down on the Romulan commander's control panel. "Override Starfleet access: Namikaze, Naruto. Locking pad coordinates rerouting incoming stream to Enterprise-D, Transporter Room Three. Confirm!" The interface flickered red, then stabilized. Naruto locked the pad down with his officer's code just as another beam shimmer began. "Enterprise, send them now!" he called.

The moment the first shimmer faded, Naruto felt the burn before he heard the impact. A Type-3 disruptor blast tore into his left shoulder again, spinning him off the console with a cry of agony. "Naruto!" Shion's voice broke as she returned fire, Kurenai vaulting over the side rail to provide cover. But before the Romulan could fire a second shot, he was caught literally. Hinata's enormous hand slammed around his body like a steel vice, her rage no longer hidden.

CRACK.

The Romulan's armor shattered as she crushed him with terrifying force and hurled his body across the room.

Then, with a bright shimmer, six Starfleet marines appeared on the transporter pad, immediately opening fire in coordinated formation as they stepped down. "Marines, push forward! Secure the flank!" barked the sergeant, ducking behind a crate and laying down suppressing fire. A second wave shimmered in as soon as the pad cleared six more, including one in a red-trimmed combat medic's vest. The medic dashed straight to Naruto, eyes focused even through the surrounding fire. "Lieutenant Namikaze! I heard you scream over comms hold still!" he ordered, activating a high-grade dermal regenerator.

Hinata loomed behind the medic, shielding both with her massive frame. "I will not let another touch him again," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

As the fight continued to rage, Naruto gritted his teeth and gave a weak grin through the pain. "We've got them now… They're not taking this room."

-Stardate: 41774.94 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:49:32)-

"Push them back! Keep the pad clear!" Naruto barked, pain searing through his shoulder but his eyes burning with relentless clarity. He moved with calculated urgency, issuing orders with a veteran's precision, every shout a blend of instinct and memory clawing its way from a life long buried. He flanked the marines on the left, coordinating fire to flush out Romulan stragglers from behind the control relay. "Tenten, flank left! Shion pulse them when they break cover!" As phasers lit the air, his mind mapped the room in tactical segments angles, reflexes, spacing all clicking into place like an echo of the battlefield experience he once called his second heartbeat.

Hinata, towering and radiant in her Undine form, anchored the frontline. Her massive body absorbed direct disruptor hits as she crouched forward, a living barricade for the Starfleet marines behind her. "Stay close to me!" she called out, grabbing one Romulan who tried to vault toward the transporter pad and slamming him into the floor hard enough to dent the deck plating. "No more Romulans are getting through this room!" she growled. Meanwhile, Mabui and Mikoto dropped to their knees near the relay control panel, working fast with a recovered Romulan interface module. "This encryption is multilayered," Mabui said, brow furrowed as her fingers danced across the keys. "But not unbreakable." Mikoto nodded, her voice low and sharp. "Then let's break it."

Ino crouched beside Naruto, watching their rear. "They're falling back," she said. "You're forcing them to commit too many bodies to one corridor." Naruto grimaced as the medic sealed his shoulder once more, nodding. "Good. Then we take it from them. All of it."

Mabui's voice cut through the comms, loud and clear. "Relay's ours. Romulan signal interference neutralized." Naruto wasted no time. He tapped the console at the transporter pad, issuing a lockdown protocol through the Enterprise-D's secure link. "Enterprise lock Transporter Room One. Route control authority to Deep Space 7 Auxiliary Command Node Alpha. No further unauthorized transport." The panel blinked green. A soft tone confirmed Access Locked: Command Level Authorized. The room was finally theirs.

Breathing heavy, Naruto looked up at the gathered faces his mother Kushina standing beside him now, weapons slung, eyes blazing with proud fire. His mates circled him, battered but not broken, still radiating the love and loyalty they had carried through lifetimes. Marines and security officers stood at the ready, nodding with grim resolve. "We're not done," Naruto said, planting his hand on the center console as his voice steadied. "Hangar Bay Two is still in Romulan hands. If they use that bay, they can land whole platoons. We stop that now."

Hinata stepped beside him, still towering, protective. "You have my strength."

Kushina, already checking her rifle's charge, gave a proud smirk. "And you have your mother at your side, just like the old days."

Naruto nodded, his gaze sweeping the room. "Form up. Two fire teams myself, my bound mates, Admiral Namikaze, nine marines, and nine security officers. We move in staggered formation down corridor twelve. Keep tight, keep quiet, and follow my lead."

Kurenai's lips curled into a quiet smile. "Feels like we've done this before…"

"We have," Tsunade whispered. "Just not in this uniform."

As the last of the Romulan bodies were secured and the transporter pad now fully under Federation control, the strike team formed behind Naruto. Deep Space 7 was still under siege, but for the first time since the battle began, it had a blade in the shadows and a name that Romulans would soon learn to fear again.

Lieutenant Naruto Namikaze… and the reborn twelve at his side.

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Corridor to Hangar Bay Two

-Stardate: 41775.01 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 09:58:17)-

The blast doors to Hangar Bay Two shook with the force of disruptor fire, vibrating through the deck as the muffled chaos beyond threatened to spill into the corridor at any moment. Naruto raised his fist, halting the strike group mid-march as sensor data scrolled across his tactical wrist display. His bound mates took flanking positions, weapons ready Tenten covering the right bulkhead with Shion, while Mei and Samui scanned for tactical weaknesses in the hangar's interior perimeter. Kushina stepped up beside her son, rifle drawn. "That's a full-scale firefight," she said. "Romulans are dug in hard." Naruto nodded grimly, jaw tightening. "Yeah… but they're about to learn what kind of fight they picked."

The moment the heavy doors slid open, the storm hit. Dozens of Romulan disruptors lit the space in a web of green light, pinning Starfleet forces behind destroyed cargo loaders and supply crates. The second hangar was alive with chaos Romulans pushing forward with methodical precision, pressing the defenders back toward the control towers. But Naruto's attention snapped upward as he caught sight of the far end of the hangar, just beyond the field-shielded bay opening. Through it, framed against the darkness of space, was the rear hull of the USS Enterprise-D, nose angled away but its Type-8 shuttle bays facing inward. Naruto's mind shifted into tactical overdrive.

"Enterprise has armed Type-8 shuttlecraft," he said aloud. "Two phaser emitters, six-seat capacity. If we can get two of them in here, we'll have both reinforcements and fire support in a single strike." He tapped his combadge. "Lieutenant Namikaze to Enterprise-D. Requesting immediate launch of two armed Type-8 shuttles. Vector them into Hangar Bay Two with suppressive fire on Romulan positions. Transmitting coordinates now."

Captain Picard's voice came through without delay.

"Approved. Shuttlecraft Voltaire and Sagan are en route. ETA: 42 seconds. Hold your position."

Naruto looked back at his group. "We punch in with the shuttles. Use the chaos to secure the floor. Eyes on every Romulan you see this is our last hangar."

The shuttlecraft descended like twin angels of war. Phaser arrays on their undersides lit up with precision fire as they slipped through the containment field and began cutting through Romulan positions. Naruto led the push he and Kushina at point, with his mates splitting across both flanks. Shizuka and Mabui dragged a wounded Marine to cover as Mikoto and Kurenai unleashed suppressive fire toward the northern crates. Starfleet security surged into the room, pressing the momentum as the Romulan line broke.

Then Naruto saw him.

Standing tall behind a mobile command console on a raised platform near the hangar's command deck was a Romulan in ornate field armor taller than most, his face half-shadowed by a tactical HUD implant. Naruto's eyes narrowed. "That's him… the commander," he whispered, lifting his rifle

CRACK-CRACK!

Two disruptor blasts slammed into him. The first scorched into his right shoulder, sending pain lancing through his chest. The second burned into his thigh, dropping him hard to the ground. "Naruto!" Tsunade's voice was like a whip of panic. Kurotsuchi and Ino turned with feral urgency, both unleashing return fire in synchronized bursts.

Naruto gasped, barely holding consciousness, but Hinata's voice touched his mind like a gentle tether, anchoring him. "I'm here. Hold on." All he could think "That's the one, Hinata… the Romulan who planned all of this…"

The hangar shuddered again. From the ceiling, shimmer fields lit up fifteen more transporter beams appeared in sequence. But they weren't Romulans.

They were Starfleet.

Five more starships dropped out of warp just outside the bay NCC-71807 USS Valley Forge, USS Trieste, USS Galaxy, USS Ahwahnee, and leading them… the USS Yamato, sister ship to the Enterprise-D, her forward phaser banks already tearing into the flank of a Romulan D'deridex-class warbird.

Beaming into the hangar came more marines and security teams, armed with Type 3 phaser rifle. But among them, one figure moved faster than the rest a blur of gold and crimson. Admiral Minato Namikaze beamed into the fray, twin rifles in his hands, golden hair whipping behind him as he scanned the carnage. His eyes locked onto his son's crumpled body across the deck his face contorted instantly into something no one had seen on the legendary tactician before. Fury.

Hinata was already there her massive Undine form shielding Naruto's broken body. The nearest medic sprinted forward, diving to Naruto's side and sliding open his medical kit. "He's critical. That disruptor hit tore into the subdermal artery. He needs medbay treatment after this!"

Hinata knelt beside Naruto, her voice trembling even through their mental link. "I've got you. I'm not leaving you again." Naruto's voice, thick with pain, echoed only in her thoughts. "Tell him, Hinata. Tell my father who that bastard is. Let him end this."

Hinata stood slowly, golden eyes locking on the Romulan commander, her voice flaring telepathically into Minato's mind like thunder. "That's the one. He led this. He's the reason your son is bleeding on this floor."

Minato's eyes narrowed. The calm mask broke.

The hunter was loose.

-Stardate: 41775.10 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 10:03:55)-

Admiral Minato Namikaze didn't waste a breath. The instant Hinata's voice reached him and marked the Romulan commander, his stance shifted from defensive to predatory. His Type-3 phaser rifle snapped to his shoulder as his golden hair caught the flickering firelight from the debris-strewn bay. "On me," he commanded, voice steel. Without hesitation, the bound mates of Naruto formed around him Kurenai and Tenten at his right, Tsunade and Samui left, Mabui and Ino directly behind. Shion and Yugito swept low to keep the flanks guarded while Mikoto, Mei, Kurotsuchi, and Shizuka brought up the rear, sealing the perimeter with clinical, coordinated fire.

"I see him," growled Mei, her Klingon side rising. "He's falling back toward the shuttle staging crates."

"We flank and trap him," Minato said. "Push in from three angles no more chances." Phaser beams flashed from cover to cover as the formation surged like a tide. Minato led the charge with a blinding sprint, firing precisely each blast slamming into cover points to flush the Romulan from his defensive nest. Tenten and Kurenai fanned out to catch the enemy's retreat while Hinata, still in Undine form, let out a guttural roar that forced even the most hardened Romulan soldiers to hesitate.

The Romulan commander, cornered and bloodied, attempted a last stand near the far cargo loader. He fired his disruptor wildly, bolts glancing off the environment, until one shot grazed Shizuka's arm. "I'm fine!" she shouted, returning fire with precision. Ino surged forward with Mabui, slamming him from behind as Kurotsuchi tossed aside his disruptor with a kinetic blast from her rifle. Minato crossed the distance in seconds and brought his phaser rifle up just beneath the Romulan's chin. "This is for my son," he whispered and stunned him point-blank.

As security teams took the prisoner away, the team gathered around Naruto, now barely conscious, blood pooling beneath him as the battle faded into silence. "He's still breathing," the medic said quickly, scanning with a medical tricorder. "But just barely. He needs to be stabilized now." With practiced urgency, Naruto was lifted onto an emergency stretcher, his armor scorched and torn, his golden hair matted with sweat and blood. "Get him to Medical," Minato ordered, voice cracked and full of pain. "Now."

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Main Medical Bay

-Stardate: 41775.17 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 10:11:08)-

The biobed hissed softly as the field engaged around Naruto's body, sealing his shoulder and leg wounds with advanced dermal regeneration. Vital signs stabilized slowly as the medical team worked with steady hands, administering tri-ox compound and neural stabilizers through auto-injectors. Admiral Kushina Namikaze stood nearby, arms crossed and jaw tight as she watched the doctors move. "You're not dying on me, you little brat," she whispered.

Hinata stood silent in the observation alcove, her towering Undine form imposing and solemn. With Naruto safe, the last adrenaline of battle began to drain from her body. Slowly, reverently, she closed her eyes. In a shimmer of light and fluid motion, her form contracted muscles drawing inward, skin softening, mass vanishing into the quiet elegance of her human shape. As her bare feet touched the floor, the remnants of her destroyed uniform fell away like dust, leaving her exposed.

Before embarrassment could take hold, her sisters moved. Samui draped a medical gown over Hinata's shoulders with grace, while Tsunade wrapped a soft blanket around her waist. "You did more than any of us today," Kurenai whispered, eyes warm with pride. "You protected him… again."

"I'm still adjusting," Hinata murmured, arms holding the fabric close, her voice trembling. "But I remember who I am. I remember what he means to all of us."

"And we remember you," Mabui replied softly, touching Hinata's hand. "In every form. In every life."

Behind them, Naruto stirred faintly in his sleep, a breath escaping his lips as his heartbeat settled into a steady rhythm. One life saved. One hangar reclaimed. One family reunited under fire and memory.

And far above, in the void of space, the Enterprise-D and Yamato remained in position watchful, ready for the war was far from over.

But for now, in Deep Space 7's medical bay, there was peace.

-Location: Deep Space 7 – Main Medical Bay

-Stardate: 41775.26 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 10:24:02)-

Naruto lay quietly on the biobed, chest rising and falling with steady rhythm as the regeneration matrix worked over the disruptor burns on his shoulder and thigh. His face was pale but peaceful, the worst of the pain numbed by hyaline injections and neural stabilizers. Around him stood the entirety of his bound mates each of them refusing to leave his side. Hinata sat closest to him, now in her human form, a Starfleet medical gown draped over her frame. Her bare feet hung over the side of the biobed, one hand gently resting over Naruto's, her eyes never leaving his face. "I can still hear him," she whispered. "Even in sleep, he's strong."

Across the room, Admirals Minato and Kushina Namikaze stood in quiet conference with Commander Tolak, the Andorian officer assigned to Deep Space 7's strategic operations. "You said you recognized something she described?" Minato asked, glancing back toward Hinata. Tolak nodded slowly, his antennae twitching in contemplation. "Yes. When your son's mate mentioned her transformation and… memories of a lost civilization, it reminded me of a planetary survey we conducted when you two were captains of the USS Kaminari and USS Red Moon." He tapped on his PADD, flipping through Starfleet survey records. "The planet had a ruined city built into a mountainous terrain one of the major features was a massive stone monument carved with five faces overlooking the settlement." He paused, looking between them. "The data logs listed the location's name Konohagakure."

The words hit like a disruptor to the soul.

Naruto stirred on the bed, eyes snapping open despite the sedative in his bloodstream. "Hokage Rock," he whispered hoarsely. "That was what we called it…" Tsunade, standing beside Shizuka and Ino, went pale as her hand trembled. "I carved one of those faces," she said aloud. "That was… my face. Fifth Hokage." Her voice cracked mid-word as tears flooded her eyes. Around them, the others staggered in stunned silence, expressions shifting as the floodgates of memory burst open. Kurenai dropped to her knees, gripping the side of the biobed as her mind was overtaken by flashes of academy drills, autumn leaves, and firelit nights in the old village. Yugito clutched her chest. "We were home," she whispered. "We all lived… there. Before…"

Kushina gasped, one hand on her mouth. "I remember holding him Naruto when he was born. The cries. The explosion. The… Nine-Tails." Her voice trembled. Minato's eyes widened with haunted clarity. "I died sealing it. I remember everything now."

Just then, the medical doors slid open with their signature hydraulic whisper, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard entered the room with his signature poise and thoughtful presence. He gave a courteous nod to the admirals before stepping toward Naruto and his mates, his calm demeanor radiating through the room. "I apologize for the interruption," he began, "but after reviewing the planetary records your commander referenced and comparing them to recovered long-range scans from over two decades ago… I believe it is time we returned to that world." His eyes turned to Naruto. "The Enterprise-D has more advanced scanning technology than the survey vessels that originally mapped the surface. If something still remains of this… Konohagakure, then you deserve the truth."

Naruto slowly sat up, pain lacing through his side, but his voice was clear. "You want us to go down there… to see it?"

Picard nodded. "I would like you, your bound mates, and your parents to accompany me. Not as officers. As survivors of something lost to time. Starfleet doesn't often get to offer closure… but perhaps, this time, we can."

Minato looked to his wife, then to Naruto. His voice was barely a whisper. "Konoha…"

And as the group silently prepared to leave the medical bay, the ghosts of a hidden village stirred beneath alien skies waiting to be found.

-Location: USS Enterprise-D, En Route to Designated Survey Planet

-Stardate: 41775.62 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 11:33:45)-

The Enterprise-D sailed through the quiet void at warp speed, its nacelles glowing with the brilliance of stabilized matter-antimatter reaction as the ship drew closer to the coordinates of a forgotten world one long buried in time, but now rising again in memory. In one of the ship's ready rooms adjacent to the main briefing chamber, Naruto stood before a reflective console, adjusting the collar of his freshly replicated Type A Command Red uniform regulation issue for command-track officers, circa 2350s through 2370s. The black shoulders hugged his powerful frame, his broad chest and carved abs evident beneath the sleek fabric, while the red undershirt clung to his athletic build. He rotated his shoulder slightly, still tender from the disruptor injury, but the uniform fit like it had always been his.

"Damn," he muttered, exhaling as he looked at his reflection. "I look like I belong on the bridge crew already."

Behind him, Hinata stepped through the doors, her newly issued female variant of the same uniform accentuating her statuesque figure. The crimson command red highlighted her defined curves, the contours of her Well-Endowed top-hourglass muscular body framed within the smooth material. Despite the uniform's professional cut, there was no hiding the athletic grace or raw strength she carried with her now, especially after embracing her Undine identity. "You look incredible," Naruto whispered as he turned toward her, lips curling upward. She blushed faintly, brushing a hand through her hair. "So do you… You always do."

Moments later, the other bond mates stepped in, each dressed in matching female Type A command uniforms form-fitting, strong, and dignified. Ino adjusted her Betazoid communicator pin, Samui brushed a hand across her Cardassian-influenced braid, and Mikoto, regal even in silence, folded her arms beneath the black-and-red cut of her uniform. Tenten spun in place and grinned. "Okay, I'm not gonna lie these fit better than the cadet uniforms ever did." Mei chuckled, arms crossed. "Speak for yourself. The cadet one didn't survive the last battle. This one feels like armor."

As the lift doors opened, Naruto's parents Admirals Minato and Kushina Namikaze stood waiting in full Starfleet dress uniform. Kushina's eyes shimmered with tears and pride as she looked over her son and the twelve young women around him. "You were born for this," she said softly. "Every single one of you." Minato gave Naruto a short nod. "Ready for the briefing?"

Naruto returned the gesture, stepping onto the bridge deck with fire in his eyes. "Always."

-Location: USS Enterprise-D – Deck 1, Observation Briefing Room

-Stardate: 41775.67 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 11:39:09)-

The briefing room was quiet, save for the hum of the warp core through the bulkheads and the faint tapping of fingers on LCARS interfaces. At the table sat Captain Jean-Luc Picard, flanked by Commander William Riker and Lieutenant Commander Data on one side, and Lieutenant Worf and Counselor Deanna Troi on the other. As the doors opened and Naruto entered with his entire group his parents at his side and his bound mates flanking him the eyes of the Enterprise senior staff rose with a mixture of respect and curiosity.

Picard stood. "Lieutenant Namikaze, Admirals Namikaze. Please, all of you have a seat."

Naruto gave a nod, leading the group to the long table. As they took their seats, the presence of so many striking, powerfully built women in uniform didn't go unnoticed. Troi tilted her head slightly, smiling. "There's a strong emotional bond between all of you," she said gently. "Not just shared trauma… shared lives."

Hinata nodded. "We remember a world that no one else does… but now, it might be real again."

Picard touched a button on the console and a planetary schematic emerged, a holographic image of a world scarred by time. "Long-range sensors from the Enterprise-D have confirmed residual urban formations, partially buried under centuries of tectonic movement and erosion. The largest of these ruins matches the dimensions recorded by your parents' old starship logs the same coordinates as the site called Konohagakure."

Tsunade swallowed, leaning forward. "Hokage Rock?"

Data nodded. "Confirmed. Scans show unnatural depressions in the cliffside that correspond to facial carvings eroded by time but clearly artificial."

Worf grunted in interest. "A warrior city."

Minato looked to Naruto. "We need to see it with our own eyes."

Picard stepped around the table. "The Enterprise will drop from warp within the hour. We'll prepare a Type 6 shuttle for your group and provide atmospheric survey drones to assist in the descent." He looked between Naruto and Hinata. "Whatever is waiting down there… I believe it has waited long enough."

Naruto leaned forward, voice quiet and resolute. "We're going home."

And across the table, twelve hands reached out in silent unity ready to return to the ruins of a forgotten life… and reclaim what history never recorded.

-Location: Bridge of the USS Enterprise-D, In Orbit Above Designated Planet

-Stardate: 41775.84 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 12:05:11)-

The bridge of the USS Enterprise-D was unusually silent as all eyes focused on the main viewscreen. Floating gracefully in orbit below them was the world that had once been forgotten by history but now pulsed with unmistakable familiarity verdant forests, sweeping rivers, and nestled between ancient mountains, the ruined city of Konohagakure. Even from orbit, the outlines of old roads, fractured towers, and the massive cliffside faces of Hokage Rock were visible through the high-resolution imaging. Naruto stood with his bound mates on either side of him, hands clenched, chest rising and falling as he stared down at the city he once called home. "It's a Class-M planet," he whispered, voice tight with awe and emotion. "It's alive… it's still here."

Lieutenant Commander Data, seated at the ops console, tapped a series of controls. "Confirmed," he said, his voice as calm as ever. "Atmosphere is stable. Class-M. Oxygen-nitrogen mix consistent with humanoid life. There is flora and fauna present across most biomes." He paused, his gold eyes narrowing slightly. "However, I am detecting an unusual sensor feedback originating from the central quadrant of the ruined city. It is… masking detailed scans. No intelligent life detected, but this interference "

" It's chakra," Naruto said abruptly, stepping away from the command arch and walking directly to Data's station. "That's not interference. That's someone controlling energy." His eyes flicked over the data, and he inhaled sharply. "There's a barrier. Centered exactly where the old Hokage Tower would've stood. And this signature… this isn't natural. It's focused. It's hers." He turned slowly, eyes wide. "Kaguya Ōtsutsuki… she's down there."

The moment the name left his lips, a wave of pain ripped through his chest. "Gah !" Naruto cried out, doubling over as golden light exploded across his right palm in the shape of a blazing sun, while dark violet radiance surged into his left palm, forming a crescent moon. He collapsed to one knee, gasping, arms shaking as the bridge crew rose from their stations in alarm.

"Don't!" Hinata shouted, rushing to his side. "Don't touch him! He's… he's receiving a gift Hagoromo's gift!" She dropped beside him, taking both of his glowing hands in hers. "I can feel it. The power, the memory it's his. It's always been his." The others backed away as she pulled Naruto into a tight embrace, channeling a deep wave of warmth, love, and mental clarity into their shared link. Naruto's breathing steadied, and with her help, he slowly climbed back to his feet, eyes glowing faintly as the palm seals faded into golden and silver scars.

"Thank you," he whispered against her neck. "I thought I was being torn in half."

"I wouldn't let that happen," Hinata murmured back, pressing her forehead to his.

And then, the air on the bridge shifted.

Three figures appeared without transporter effect no shimmer, no sound. Simply presence.

One stood serene and elegant, white hair flowing like starlight, her otherworldly robes trailing along the deck as her horned gaze swept across the room. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Beside her stood two male figures taller, both regal and calm. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, his staff faintly glowing at his side, and Hamura Ōtsutsuki, silent yet fierce, his eyes gentle but ancient.

Captain Picard stepped forward reflexively, eyes locked on the beings before him. "Who are you?"

Hagoromo smiled. "We are family."

Kaguya looked directly at Naruto. "You've returned. You, your kin, and your bound mates all of you are welcome."

Minato's breath caught as he stood beside Kushina. "They're real…"

"You are of us," Hamura added. "And we've waited long enough. Come. We are ready to receive you."

And just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished in beams of soft, divine light, leaving only silence and a stunned crew behind.

Naruto turned to Picard, his voice firm. "We're going down there."

Picard, composed even through the surreal, gave a quiet nod. "Then let's not keep them waiting."

The fires of a forgotten legacy still burned on the surface… and it was time to step back into the legend.

-Location: USS Enterprise-D – Shuttle Bay Two / En Route to Planet Surface (formerly Earth)

-Stardate: 41775.92 (October 10th, 2364, Time: 12:19:34)-

The hangar deck of the Enterprise-D was alive with movement as final checks were performed on the Type-8 shuttlecraft Voltaire and Sagan. Twin warp shuttles heavily modified for tactical landings hummed with quiet energy as Starfleet engineers made final adjustments to hull shielding and sensor dampeners. Captain Jean-Luc Picard stood by the ramp of the Voltaire, arms behind his back, looking over the assembled away team with the calm steel of a man who had seen the edge of reality more than once. "Transporter systems are too uncertain," he said firmly. "Given the unknown properties of the chakra-based barrier, I'm not willing to risk molecular degradation or mispatterning. We fly." His tone left no room for debate.

Naruto nodded, his new command-red uniform still crisp despite the weight of everything they had discovered. "I agree," he said, voice thick with emotion. "Kaguya… she's not just waiting. She's watching. If she controls the barrier, she controls everything around it including transporter harmonics." He stepped up into the shuttle with Hinata right behind him, her presence calm but intense. The rest of his bound mates filed in behind, each in their freshly issued uniforms, forming a quiet phalanx of strength. Worf, already inside and seated by the forward bulkhead with his phaser rifle cradled across his chest, gave a curt nod of approval.

First Officer William T. Riker followed next, double-checking his Type II phaser and tricorder, then took his seat opposite Counselor Deanna Troi. Lieutenant Commander Data entered last, glancing briefly at Naruto. "It is statistically improbable for this many seemingly unrelated elements to converge in this pattern," he observed. "Which suggests it was never coincidence at all." Beverly Crusher moved to the center of the compartment, placing her medkit within reach, eyes sweeping over Naruto's recovering form. "I want real-time bioscans during descent," she said softly. "You're not as invincible as you pretend to be."

As the ramp sealed and the shuttle began to rise from the deck, the co-pilot confirmed clearance. Voltaire and Sagan slipped through the atmospheric shielding, angling toward the planet below once lost, now found. Through the forward viewport, the scarred beauty of the world unfolded lush green, stone-gray, and timeless gold. And in the distance, carved into the heart of a ruined valley, stood the outline of a city frozen in myth: Konohagakure.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 1