The Ninetails gazed about the large room, marveling at the sheer sixe of ANBU's underground base. It had been a year and a half since the fateful battle at the Snake Lord's Tower.

Back and forth, around and around, they battled. Blocking, kicking, attacking, they overturned tables, leapt over the other sunken vats, and bounced off walls in their efforts to kill each other.

Finally, Naruto flew through the air, a glowing, whistling ball of chakra clutched in his fist. The Panther lurched over to a table set far back against the wall, picking up his chokoto from where it had been laid. The shining silver blade slid from the sheath and immediately burst into crackling blue lightning. Just as the Ninetails reached the Panther, a crackling blue aura of electricity extended out around the Panther. The Ninetails yelled in pain as the electricity shot through his system, sending him flying backwards. The orange glow left his body as Naruto slid to a halt against the far wall, his body unable to carry him further.

And the Panther's head exploded in a cascade of agony, the foremost of which was a familiar voice screaming.

"NARUTO!"

That had been Sakura who cried out, Sakura Haruno: the girl who had loaned the Black Panther and the Ninetails the use of her apartment as a base. The whole story had first begun when the Black Panther was smashed into her apartment through the roof. When he recovered, the Panther and the Ninetails, a team of superheroes, had asked Sakura for permission to use her home as a base.

They had quickly come to know each other well: the Panther, whose alter ego was Sasuke Uchiha, and the Ninetails, also known as Naruto Uzumaki, put complete confidence in the young medical student, even teaching her self-defense so that she could defend the base.

But things had changed swiftly: the Black Panther had made a mistake during a mission, a mistake which cost him and his friends dearly. The evil Snake Lord, also known as Orochimaru, had captured Sasuke and implanted a memory suppression drug within him: suppressing his memories of Sakura and Naruto and enhancing his early childhood memories of his evil older brother. When a powerless Sakura and an angry Naruto arrived to save their companion, Sasuke had refused to come: knocking Sakura into a vat of toxins and nearly killing Naruto.

Sakura had saved the day: emerging from the vat with three new powers: healing, super-strength, and chameleation. She had battled Sasuke in Naruto's stead, but was stopped by the arrival of an ANBU representative, who spirited both of them away, leaving Sasuke in the clutches of Orochimaru. Sakura's memories of how she had gained her powers were wiped, and a copy of all her memories made and stored in the ANBU archives. Initiated into ANBU service, Sakura entered ANBU's system to train in how to use her powers for two years. Naruto, too, had gone into training in order to learn more ways to fight without awakening the ninetailed fox demon for which he was named.

Right now, Naruto had completed his training and was waiting for his new partner. Beside him stood his overseer: Kakashi Hatake, the Scarecrow.

"It's been a while since you've seen Sakura, eh?" he said, clapping Naruto on the shoulder. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. I bet she's grown stronger, dattebayo!"

A door opened across the hall, and two figures emerged.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto suddenly found himself being crushed to death by a familiar pink-haired face. He choked. The girl suddenly released him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know my own strength!"

Naruto massaged his ribs, winking at her. "You've sure grown a lot, Sakura-chan."

"It's the 'Tigress', now," her mentor said firmly. Naruto stared at Sakura.

"You took a superhero name? And of all things, the 'Tigress'?!?!"

"It made the most sense to me," Sakura said nonchalantly, placing a hand on her hip. "After all, you're the Ninetails, aren't you? Why can't I have a cat name?" Her voice was getting dangerous.

"Eh, no reason," Naruto quickly supplemented. The Tigress winked at him.

"You'd better be careful," Kakashi whispered in his ear. "She's not named Tigress for nothing. She'll jump you if you make her mad."

"I kind of already figured that out," Naruto said through gritted teeth. Sakura's mentor stepped forward.

"The Ninetails, are you?"

Naruto nodded.

"I'm Tsunade – Sakura's mentor," the woman said, holding out a hand. Naruto shook it warily.

"So…do we have a mission?" he asked, letting go of Tsunade's hand. She nodded.

"The villains' organization Akatsuki has recently been moving rather restlessly in the south. We'd like you two to go check it out, and, if necessary, eliminate the source of the trouble."

"What sorts of trouble?" Naruto asked immediately. Tsunade chuckled.

"You've gotten more astute, Naruto. Well, there's been trouble in the Land of Spice. Several of their greater politicians have been poisoned, and the president fears that he will be next. ANBU wants to check it out: none of these poisons seem to be common, nor do they have a given antidote. Someone smart is mixing these."

"They won't be so smart when we're done with them," Sakura reassured her mentor, tightening a set of black gloves on her hands. "They'll be kind of dead."

"Send a sample of this poison back if you find it," Tsunade warned. "ANBU labs would be highly interested in this sort of thing."

The Ninetails nodded at his new partner. "Ready, Sakura-chan?"

The pink-haired girl looked him over. "It's Tigress now, Ninetails."