Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters from either series. However, I do own all of my original characters.

Chapter 1:

Secrets Revealed

During the Fourth Great Ninja War

Part of the Medical unit was dispatched at 08:00 hours on the second day into the war, to search for survivors among the fallen shinobi who didn't have help getting to where the Medical unit had been stationed. Five members among the unit were to scout out the outskirts of the battlefield.

One of these members followed a breadcrumb trail of white Zetsu bodies to a cliff that appeared to border a small town that hung just below, in the valley. Along the cliff there was a gap a few yards wide separating the edge of the cliff and the breadcrumb trail. Further up along the cliff, there was a point where the cliff jets out, allowing for more room between the edge of the forest and the rocky drop-off point. In that space was where he found the end of the breadcrumb trail.

He walked up to a girl laying flat on her back, eyes closed. She had long, light purple hair that hung in gentle waves down to her mid-waist. The blood underneath her, on her clothing and staining the corners of her mouth was completely dry. While her left arm was at her side, her right arm was placed over her heart with a white ribbon looped around the index finger of her limp hand.

Looking around he noticed about a dozen white Zetsu bodies laying dead in front of the girl. Also, he spotted a black headband with the symbol of the leaf village engraved on it.

A leaf shinobi headband... is it her's? Everyone else received a new headband when all five nations decided to fight together, so why would she wear a leaf shinobi headband? Should I even bring her back to the medical base? He thought to himself.

He knelt next to her body and placed two fingers to her neck.

She has a pulse. He looked back over to the headband and then sighed. I can't just leave someone to die.

With that, he grabbed the headband before sliding one arm under her back and the other under her knees. He stood and pivoted to take off in the direction of the medical base. Seeing as how no one else was in the area, he decided to take her the entire way there himself.

All that was left behind was a red handkerchief that then blew off the edge of the cliff disappearing into the valley below.

Two and a Half Years Earlier

Tomorrow's the day. I guess I'll have to be prepared. Kakashi Hatake was thinking to himself while walking around the Hidden Leaf Village with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Guess I'll just go to the Hokage's office now. I wonder how much Lady Tsunade's heard about her.

At the Hokage's office, Lady Tsunade was ordering Sakura Haruno around, who had been her apprentice for a little over a year now. Shizune, Tsunade's subordinate, was looking surprisingly relaxed and almost smug do to the fact that Sakura was doing most of the work she would normally be doing at the moment.

There was a knock on the door that stopped Tsunade mid-sentence.

"Shizune," she said sternly without looking up a Shizune. "you did tell me that I didn't have any appointments left today, didn't you?"

All previous relaxation had instantly left Shizune and her usual tension reappeared. "Ah, of course Lady Tsunade!" She said as she reached for the schedule papers on the desk and began rapidly flipping through them. "You shouldn't have any appointments left today at all!"

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "Well then, let's just see who it is. Come in!" she hollered loudly.

Kakashi opened the door and stepped into the room without bothering to close the door behind him.

"Kakashi, is there something you want?" Tsuande sat up straighter.

"Actually yes, I wish to discuss something important with you." He turned to the other two women in the room, "Sakura, Shizune, I apologize but I have to ask you to leave."

The two women just blinked at him. Tsunade folded her hands, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her desk. She shot him her classic, piercing gaze, "And why would the two of them have to leave? I trust both of them completely."

"Because this matter is completely top secret." Kakashi seemed completely serious and was unshifting under Tsunade's gaze.

"Very well then," she turned. "Sakura, go over to the hospital and see what you can do to help out for now. Shizune, go and accompany her."

"Yes Lady Tsunade," they both bowed and left the room closing the door behind them.

After taking a few steps down the hall, they turned to each other and nodded. They both swiftly tiptoed back and pressed their ears against the door.

The voices on the other side of the door were so hushed they couldn't make out what was being said. Then they heard, "What?!" followed shortly by the sound of Tsunade slamming her hands against her desk.

"Why haven't I heard about this before?!"

In a more audible voice than before, Kakashi replied, "Eh, well, being the Hokage, I had assumed the village elders would have told you."

"What about last year?! Why didn't you ask back then?!"

"Well it wasn't long after the incident with Orochimaru and because of that, we would have needed to take shinobi away from their regular duty to guard her."

Her? What are they talking about? Some girl? And if it's something so top secret, wouldn't Lady Tsunade be the first one to know about it? Sakura was trying to come to a conclusion based off of what she had heard.

Lady Tsunade sighed loudly. "So the day is tomorrow, is it?"

"Yes."

"Well then fine, how long has it been?"

"It's been almost 8 years."

"So you'll need me to prepare a hospital room where only authorized personnel can get in?"

"Yes, but it will also take two people to preform the jutsu, it's impossible for one person to do it alone."

Tsunade blinked at this, "The third Hokage sure was thorough with the details of this."

"Actually, the hardest part is getting there."

"Alright, but we'll do it early in the morning while most people are still asleep. I'll expect you here at 4:30 in the morning, and this is something that you can't be late to," she said with a fierce look in her eyes.

"That early huh? Fine then, I'll make it." Kakashi didn't groan, which surprised both Tsunade and the two eavesdroppers on the other side of the door.

"Good, I'll have Sakura prepare the room, and of course I won't tell her any more than she needs to know."

Any more than I need to know?! What, so I can't be trusted with anything important?! So much for being trusted completely!

Both Sakura and Shizune's eyes widened as they heard Kakashi say, "Thank you Lady Hokage," and then footsteps headed towards the door.

Tsunade also got up from her chair to walk towards the door. Sakura and Shizune bolted away from the door, down the hallway, out the building and to the hospital. Tsunade came shortly after to have Sakura turn a room with a padlock that was meant for autopsies, into a suitable room for a living patient.

October 11th, 4:30am

The Hokage's office door was left open, so Kakashi stepped in quietly. He had made sure no one was following him by transporting himself directly from his apartment to the building that housed the Hokage's office.

The room was dark without the lights on, and seeing was next to impossible. "So you did make it on time," Tsunade's dark figure was leaning against the front side of her desk, arms crossed.

She unfolded her arms and began to walk towards the door. "Let's go, you have to lead the way considering the fact that no one bothered to tell me where this place is." Kakashi could sense the frustration in her voice.

He walked back out of the room having her follow to the side of him. "I expect that you'll want the details behind all of this?"

"Of course I will," Kakashi swore he could hear her grit her teeth hard.

"Alright, well I'll tell you the important things along the way." They exited the building together and Kakashi led them in the direction of the carved faces of the Hokages.

Kakashi began to speak again as soon as they began to climb the stairs up to the Hokage faces. "The third Hokage only agreed to this when the village elders had convinced him that it was for her own protection. Once he had been convinced, he took every precaution he could think of."

"Is the entrance in one of the carvings?"

"Well sort of, the way to get to the entrance is up there. No one knows where the actual location is, not even the people who built it." They entered the face of the second Hokage into an open chamber with only one exit: the same place they had entered.

"How could they not have known where they were?"

Before answering, Kakashi walked up to the wall opposite the entrance and preformed multiple hand seals and then pressed both hands against the wall. Part of the wall crumbled into a powdery sand and fell to the floor.

The hole in the wall that had formed was shaped like a round edged door. Kakashi stepped through the opening and took out a lighter from his pouch. He then lit a lantern that had been sitting on the floor inside the newly discovered chamber.

"Well, the only way to get there is by using a reverse summoning jutsu on yourself, and you need the proper scroll to get to the right location."

"So then there's a scroll hidden somewhere in the side of this mountain?"

"Exactly," Kakashi motioned for Tsunade to step through.

Once she was in front of him, he handed her the lantern and turned back to the hole and made some more hand seals. He pressed both hands on the sand and the sand collected itself back into the solid rock wall it had been before.

He took the lantern back and lead Tsunade down a rock staircase. At the bottom of the staircase was a thick steel door with a padlock combination. Kakashi punched in a rather lengthy combination before the door slid open.

"Only the Hokage, the village elders, Danzo, myself, the man who delivers the supplies, and the staff that take care of her know about the scroll, let alone where it is." Kakashi walked inside the small, square room with steel walls, and a steel ceiling and floor.

Tsunade followed him in to find a small, wooden table in the center of the room with a large scroll rolled up on top. She could tell the scroll had some sort of seal on it to prevent people who don't know how to break it from using it.

"The staff are all former members of the ANBU and they are all women," Kakashi stated before forming hand seals. The scroll's seal disappeared and he unraveled it to a certain point and spread it across the table.

"I understand why they would all be women, but why would they all be former members of the ANBU?" Tsunade questioned.

"She doesn't have a way to defend herself, so the third Hokage decided it would be best to staff the place with personnel who can ensure her safety. Now, all we need to do to get there is preform reverse summoning jutsus on ourselves. I'll go first incase someone is waiting on the other side. But close the door before coming."

Tsunade obeyed and closed the door which locked instantly. Kakashi bit into his thumb, made some hand seals and called out "Reverse Summoning jutsu," before he pressed his hands to the circle on the scroll and vanished, leaving the lantern on the table.

Tsunade then did the same and arrived in a room with a low ceiling and rock walls. Kakashi pulled out a piece of paper that had a map on it.

"Through that doorway is a maze we have to get through." He pointed at a doorway that appeared to have a hallway with multiple connecting hallways on the other side.

"So you have a map? Then lead the way," Tsunade started to walk towards the doorway.

"Ahh!" As soon as Tsunade stepped through the doorway, her foot sank into the floor so that she could no longer see her own foot. She quickly reacted by pulling her foot back into the room with no trouble at all. "What just happened?"

"The floor you see is an illusion, the real floor is actually further down than it appears. There's a hidden step down at the edge of the doorway. It's a way of tracking people's movements within the maze. When people walk around in the maze the illusion acts as a sensor, it's the same thing with the walls and the ceiling too," he said as he calmly stepped into the hallway and then placed his hand through one of the walls before it hit something solid. "See?"

"Well this is elaborate," Tsunade stated before stepping through the doorway once again.

Kakashi led the way through the maze. It took a while to get to the other side and when they reached the end, there was a woman standing tall, waiting for them.

"Identify yourselves," the woman ordered.

"Kakashi Hatake of the Hidden Leaf, jounin," Kakashi stated without hesitation.

"Kakashi Hatake huh?" The woman pulled out a slip of paper. "That name is excepted. What is your ninja registration number?"

Kakashi then recited it with ease and the woman cleared him for entry.

"And you are?" The woman turned towards Tsunade.

"How am I?! I'm the Hokage!" she yelled in irritation.

The woman looked to Kakashi for confirmation and Kakashi nodded to her. She bowed her head apologetically, "I beg your pardon Lady Hokage, we have been down here for over seven years, none of us have ever seen you before."

Tsunade sighed, "I see, that's fine then."

"Thank you Lady Hokage," she bowed again. "Right this way."

They followed her through the door behind her and through a series of hallways, passing other women and places like a cafeteria and what looked like living corders.

"This is the room she's in, I'll leave you to it." The woman bowed once more before leaving.

Kakashi spotted the chair opposite the door with a towel, a robe and a pair of shoes sitting on top.

He grabbed them and handed them over to Tsunade. "You go in first, there will be a cylindrical tank. The control pad will be to the right of it. Press the green button, the controls will ask you if you want to drain the water, select yes. Once the water has been drained, the tank should open automatically. Disconnect her from the IV and whatever else she's connected to. Got it?"

Tsunade nodded in confirmation and then opened the door to a fairly large room with a tank in the center. She closed the door behind her.

As she approached the tank, she could she a young, teenaged girl sitting at the bottom, legs crossed and back straight. Her eyes were closed and she was held to the bottom by a strap that went over her legs. Her arms were out in front of her resting her hands, palms facing upward, on her knees. Her hair was a light purple and its waves were floating throughout the tank.

Tsunade set the towel, robe and shoes down on the floor next to her and then proceeded to do exactly as Kakashi had instructed.

When the water had been drained, the girl's back stood straight as if the water had nothing to do with her erect posture. She removed the IV, and the oxygen mask as well as other tubes and whatnot.

She dried the girl off with the towel and then fasten the robe around her body. She walked back over to the door to let in a patient Kakashi.

"She isn't asleep, she is in a state of meditation that she can't wake up from on her own, but she is conscious. That is why we have to preform a jutsu in order to wake her up." Kakashi then walked Tsunade through how to preform the two-personed jutsu.

They made the proper hand seals and recited the jutsu. The girl fell over limp.

She slowly opened her eyes. They were a strange silvery color with big, dark black pupils. "Ka-kashi... Hatake?" She spoke in a voice barely audible.

"Happy birthday," Kakashi replied.

She gave him a warm smile that made her eyes disappear.

"I brought you something," Kakashi said as he helped the girl sit up and he leaned her against the side of the tank. He reached into his pouch and pulled something out and placed it in her hand.

The girl gasped slightly, "Where did you find it?" In her hand was a necklace with a small wooden dragonfly painted a light blue.

"It was exactly where you said you had left it," Kakashi smiled under his mask at her.

"You mean no one moved it after all this time?" She put the necklace over her head and around her neck.

"Guess not."

Realizing that she hadn't shown her gratitude yet, she smiled up at him again. "Thank you!"

"No problem," he then reached for the shoes behind Tsunade and gave them to her. She slipped them onto her feet.

"Am I going home now?"

"Not yet, we have to take you to the hospital first. After sitting for so long, you won't be able to walk on your own for a while." Kakashi picked her up, "So for now, just take it easy."

The girl looked over at Tsunade who had been fairly quiet. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tsunade and I'm the 5th Hokage." Tsunade tried to disregard the girl's poor manners for not offering her own name first, "What's your name?"

"Tonbo, and I'm not even a genin yet, but I will be soon."

"So you want to be a ninja? Being a ninja isn't easy, it's a hard life style," Tsunade explained.

"I know that, but all my brothers are ninjas, so I'll be one too," Tonbo stated firmly.

"Come on, you can't do anything until after you recover, so let's go, we still have to get to the hospital without drawing any attention," Kakashi started to walk out the door with Tonbo in his arms.

The woman from before was waiting outside the door, "I brought the scroll that will take you back to the Leaf Village. Everyone is getting ready to leave, so you should go back now if you don't want to wait in a line." The woman handed the scroll over to Tsunade.

"Thank you," Kakashi told her.

"Also, sometime after I get back I'll come and visit the hospital if that's okay. I'd like to tell you something about what happened while she was here."

"Very well then, but you're more likely to find me at my office, you can stop by there anytime you'd like," Tsunade replied.

Tonbo knew exactly what the woman was talking about but chose to stay quiet. There was no need for her to say anything.

"Alright Kakashi, I'll go first this time so I can help Tonbo on the other side."

Kakashi nodded to Tsunade and she bit her thumb, formed her hand seals, and pressed her hand to the circle of the open scroll saying "Reverse Summoning jutsu," before dissappearing.

Kakashi preformed the reverse summoning jutsu on Tonbo and then himself. They all arrived in the same steel room they had started in and Tsunade grabbed the lantern off the table before unlocking the door and climbing up the steps.

When they finally emerged outside the second Hokage's carved face, dawn was approaching and the stars were beginning to fade.

It was still early enough for most people to not be roaming the streets. However, when they got to the hospital, Sakura was already there.

"Lady Tsunade, I have the room ready," Sakura started to walk in the direction of the room.

"Sakura, I want you to be the nurse for this patient. It will be easier than what you're used to but she's about your age so I'm hoping you can be company to her," Tsunade told Sakura.

Sakura looked back at the girl in Kakashi's arms, "What will I do as her nurse? She looks healthy to me."

"You'll just be giving her steroids and physical therapy," Tsunade informed her.

"Steroids?!" Sakura said a bit loudly.

Tsunade knew that she couldn't tell Sakura everything but didn't want to lie to her own apprentice, so she tried to be vague without giving any crucial information away, "Well... she hasn't been walking around for long enough that she has muscle degeneration. In order for her to be able to walk again, her body will need help to grow her muscles back."

Sakura's expression went from shock and curiosity, to plan annoyance, "So I'm going to have to teach a teenager how to walk?"

Tonbo's eyes narrowed at Sakura's back, "I still know how to walk," her eyes fell to the floor and softened, "my muscles will just need help to get to the way the were, so that they can carry me like they used to."

At this Sakura turned her head back at her. They both stared at each other for a moment, and then Sakura returned her eyes forward and no one said a word the rest of the way to the room.

The room was in a separate part of the building than the rest of the patients' rooms. Sakura punched in the combination for the padlock before turning the handle to open the double doors.

When Sakura flipped on the light switch everyone went inside. There were no windows seeing as how the room was an autopsy room. There was a lot of counter space and a large stainless steel sink. All of the equipment had been moved out. A bed that looked out of place had been wheeled in along with two armchairs. It was suitable enough to temporarily house a hospital patient, although it did still have a stainless steel dissection table in the middle of the room attached to the non-carpeted floor.

Kakashi set Tonbo down on the bed.

"Sakura, you'll start her on her medication with her dinner the day you have it ready, and I expect you to prepare it yourself. To know the amount she'll need you'll have to do a full body examination as well as an MRI. But for this morning, let her rest and when she wakes up keep her company." said Tsunade.

Oh so she's calling it medication now? What a joke! Sakura thought to herself. "Why do you want me to just keep her company when she wakes up, shouldn't I do something more productive?"

"She hasn't had many people to talk to in a long time, and it'd be nice for her to talk to someone her age again," Kakashi answered.

What on earth is Kakashi-sensei talking about? This is getting weirder and weirder. How does any of this make sense anyway?! Sakura was irritated at the fact that they were both avoiding answering her questions straightly.

"Just start working on all of the other stuff tomorrow," Tsunade added.

"Alright that's fine, for now I'll see if I can do anything else to help out in the rest of the hospital." Sakura moved back towards the doors and motioned them out, "My patient needs rest."

Tsunade walked out the doors, but on his way over, Kakashi stopped and turned back to Tonbo. In the time during everyone's conversation, Tonbo had taken her shoes off, placed them on the floor beside her bed and already pulled the covers over her.

"Before I forget," Kakashi walked back over to her. "I have this for you as well," he reached back into his pouch once again and pulled out a white handkerchief and gave it to her. "I know we still don't have a solution to your problem yet, so I thought for now this could be useful."

Remembering her unintended rudeness earlier, the first thing she said this time was, "Thank you, I guess this will help. I never would have thought of it."

"Good, I'll come and visit you some time tomorrow."

"Okay."

Kakashi smiled at her, making his eyes disappear. Then he turned to leave.

"Without any windows, it will be dark in here no matter what time of day it is if I turn the lights off. If you're going to sleep, do you want the lights off?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, sure," Tonbo replied.

Sakura turned the lights off and closed the door. Tonbo heard the door lock and she suddenly felt trapped.

It wasn't until around noon that Sakura finally came back. She was dreading having to make small talk to a stranger that had something to do with something top secret enough that no one would tell her about it.

When she opened the door and turned on the lights, she saw the girl lying with her eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling.

She slowly turned her head to look at Sakura standing still in the doorway. "Hi," was all she said.

Sakura stared for a moment without speaking but then woke herself up and forced out a "Hi," in response.

She then began walking over to the hospital bed. "I brought you lunch," she said as she waited for Tonbo to sit up before placing the tray on the girl's lap.

"Have you already eaten?"

"Oh, yeah I already ate," Sakura was tying her hardest to keep smiling. Everything about this was completely awkward, but as far as Sakura could tell, Tonbo had no clue that she was supposed to feel awkward about all of this. She just sat there while she ate her food in the ever long silence.

"So... my name is Sakura Haruno," she said to break the silence.

"I know," Tonbo stated bluntly without looking up at her. "The Hokage said your name enough times, plus you call Kakashi 'sensei' too."

"So then, you already know that Kakashi was my sensei?"

"Yeah. My name's Tonbo by the way," she still didn't look up from her food at Sakura.

"Oh so... is that your given name?" Sakura felt she had to ask because she had never heard that name belong to a girl.

"Yeah, I know, it's a weird name."

"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that or anything," Sakura put her hands up and shook her head.

"It's okay, I used to hate my name 'cause other kids used to make fun of me for it, but I actually like it now." She looked up at the ceiling before continuing.

"I remember this one time, me and two of my brothers were walking around my old neighborhood. There was this kid who was a year older than me, who always used to make fun of me for anything he could think of. When he saw me walking, he called from behind me, 'Hey Tonbo!' I stopped walking and turned around towards him. Then he said to me, 'You know, I've always thought Tonbo was a nice name, for a boy!' Both of my brothers looked confused, neither of them had seen me being made fun of like that before. And maybe it was because they were there, and I didn't want them to think I was weak, but I stood my ground and told him, 'It's not a boy's name, it's my name!' That was the first time I had ever stood up to him, and he looked surprised. He was so shocked that he just stood there without saying anything. It had only been a few months since I moved away, and I think he expected me to act the same way I used to. Ever since that day, I decided to be proud of my own name. I decided that it was my name, and that's what mattered."

"Hm," Sakura looked down at her hands thinking about the story Tonbo had just told her. "Doesn't 'Tonbo' mean dragonfly?"

At this, Tonbo turned and looked at Sakura. "Yes, it does."

"Well then it's a good name," Sakura flashed her a polite smile.

"Thanks," Tonbo flashed one back.

There was another silence and Tonbo went back to eatting.

"So, Kakashi-sensei said that you haven't had very many people to talk to," Sakura decided she wanted information.

Tonbo kind of chuckled at this, "What he really meant by that is that he's the only person I've talked to in years."

Sakura wasn't sure what to think when she heard this. "He is?"

"Yeah, the reason he conveniently left that part out was because he knew you would ask why."

"Well who wouldn't ask why?"

"Sorry, but I can't tell you why."

"Oh really, why is that?"

"Because it's a secret, I'm not allowed to tell you, and neither is Kakashi."

"Well then is Lady Tsunade allowed to tell me? If she trusts me enough that is."

"No, not even her."

"But if she isn't, who is? No one has more authority than she does."

"Well the Hokage before her does," Tonbo's statement took Sakura by surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Tonbo took a minute before she replied, "You know, it's best if you don't get involved in this, they'll tell you anything you need to know, but for now, they just want to protect everyone."

Sakura crossed her arms and leaned back into one of the armchairs. "Well then where were you before you were brought here?"

"I don't know exactly where I was, but I was far away."

That answer meant nothing to Sakura and it just furthered her frustration. "How can you not know where you were?"

"No one told me where I was," she said with easement.

Sakura sighed, "Then why were you brought here?"

"It's my birthday today. Every year for my birthday, Kakashi always asked if I could come back here. This was the first year the Hokage said yes," she responded.

"Oh, well then happy birthday," Sakura did know anything else to say. "Come to think of it, yesterday was Naruto's birthday," Sakura thought out loud.

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Huh?" Sakura turned to her.

"The jinchuuriki child?"

"Yeah, but how did you-"

"There's a reason for that you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, I was born about a week early. The night Uzumaki was born, the nine tails attacked the Leaf Village."

"Yeah, I already know that."

"All the loud crashing sounds scared my mom into labor that night, and I was born early in the morning."

"Wow, I didn't realize that that kind of thing happened, but it makes sense," Sakura said thoughtfully.

Tonbo finished eatting, "Thank you for lunch." She smiled a real smile at Sakura this time.

Sakura couldn't help but smile back, "You're welcome!" She stood up and took the tray from Tonbo. She walked to the doors, "I'll come back with dinner later, would you like the lights off again?"

"Sure, there isn't much else to do in a hospital other than sleep anyway."

With that, Sakura switched the light off and closed the door.

A/N: Okay, so this was originally the first three chapters but since they were so short on their own and because my recent chapters have been a lot longer, I decided to combine them and let you meet Tonbo in the first chapter! :D Read and Review!