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Naruto kicked his feet excitedly as he sat at the breakfast table. Leaning over with a large grin on his face, Naruto called out, "Come on Shisui-nii! We're going to be late!"

Tsunade plopped down in the chair across from Naruto with a yawn before grumbling, "Quiet you. It's far too early in the morning." Tsunade crossed her arms with a pout, "I can't believe I'm being forced into this…"

Shisui blinked at his little sister as he walked over with breakfast for the three of them, "Don't you want to be a ninja Tsu-chan?"

"Tch!" Tsunade clicked her teeth, "Of course I do." Tsunade rested her chin on her hand and looked away, annoyed, "I just don't want to go to the academy to do it."

Naruto narrowed his eyes on the breakfast laid down in front of him. Vegetables – the bane of Naruto's existence. Shisui laughed at Naruto's expression before speaking, "You have to eat all of it Naruto or you'll miss your first day at the academy!"

Naruto blinked up at Shisui and paled before quickly picking up his chopsticks and inhaling his food. Tsunade made a face at Naruto's sloppy eating.

"You're not the picture of elegance when you eat either, Tsu-chan." Shisui said with a grin as he sat down to eat as well.

Tsunade huffed and crossed her arms, "What happened to being the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

Shisui's grin widened as he shrugged, "Eh, I've got Naruto-kun now."

Tsunade's jaw dropped as she smacked a hand over her chest – clearly wounded by that shot to the heart.

Naruto paused from his food to grin at the Uchiha duo and laugh, "Hahaha! Good one Shisui-nii!"

Shisui grinned widely at the two before leaning over to flick Tsunade on the nose, "I'm just teasing! You know you're still my cute little Tsu-chan."

Tsunade rubbed her sore nose and mumbled underneath her breath, "…gonna pay for that one." Tsunade turned her onyx gaze onto the blond in front of her. Her eye twitched, "Is that really what you're going to wear?" Tsunade groaned internally, "The kid's going to stick out like a sore thumb… so embarrassing…"

Naruto looked down at his orange jumpsuit and blinked, "Yeah?"

Tsunade snapped her harden gaze to Shisui, "You should be castrated for buying such a ridiculous outfit for him."

Shisui choked on his food at his little sister's harsh words, "Tsubaki!" Shisui coughed up some rice before regaining his voice, "And there's nothing wrong with it! Naruto likes it! Right Naruto?"

Naruto grinned and gave Shisui a thumbs-up, "It's awesome! And no one can ignore a person with such an awesome sense of style! Right Shisui-nii?!" Naruto crossed his arms and smirked, "I'll be even more popular than duckbutt!"

Tsunade groaned and banged her head on the table.

Naruto crossed his arms, "It's better than your dress! Can't you wear something…" Naruto rubbed his chin as he tried to come up with the right word, "I don't know… something less girly?"

Tsunade head snapped up, "I am a girl!" Tsunade hissed, "And it's not a dress!" The blonde girl motioned to her outfit, which was a long, three quarter sleeve dark blue shirt with light pink flower petals on it. Around her waist was a thick, cream colored sash with matching cream colored shorts.

Naruto blinked and looked to Shisui, "Do you think Tsubaka's a girl?"

Shisui quickly shoved a large mouthful of food to stop him from laughing outright.

Tsunade's eyes burned holes into Naruto, "It's TsuBAKI and OF COURSE I'M A GIRL!" Tsunade quickly hopped off her chair and raced around the table while muttering, "But I'm gonna make you a girl here in a second…"

"Ahh!" Naruto screamed as he flew from his chair and fled away from Tsunade, "Shisui-nii! Protect me!"

Shisui couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed loudly at his two siblings and they chased each other around the table. After Naruto tripped over the leg of one of the chairs and Tsunade pinned him to the ground, Shisui decided it was time to take them to the academy, "Alright you two. It's time to get going."

Tsunade turned her head slightly to give her elder brother an irritated look – she hadn't even taught Naruto a lesson yet.

Shisui picked up the dishes without looking at the pair of blonds as he spoke, "Don't give me that look Tsubaki. You can teach Naruto a lesson later – when you guys are sparring at the academy."

Tsunade paused on the thought and then grinned wickedly before speaking low to Naruto, "You better hope we don't get paired off to spar then…"

Naruto paled at the promise of death. He knew exactly how hard Tsunade hit and wasn't looking to repeat the experience.

Tsunade got off of Naruto and slowly made her way towards the shoe rack. After getting her shoes on, Tsunade made her way over to the mirror by the door. While patting back some of the loose hair that popped up when she tackled Naruto to the ground, Tsunade took a long look at her features. Overall, Tsunade didn't think she looked all that much different from her first body. She had a nice, heart shaped face, light olive skin, faint blond hair that framed her face… the only difference she could see was that her eyes were a bit sharper – more cat like, but still plenty round – and they were a deep onyx color. Tsunade paused to bring a finger over her cheek and poked it, "Definitely haven't lost my baby fat yet…"

Naruto snickered at Tsunade, "Making sure you look perfect for duckbutt?"

Tsunade glared at the blond before turning back to the mirror to make sure her clothes were fine after their scuffle, "Do you know what quiet is or do you choose to be so annoying?"

Naruto crossed his arms with a grin, "Obviously, it's the latter."

Tsunade's head snapped around so fast, she was sure she just pulled something. Her eyes narrowed on Naruto's oblivious form as he stared at two shoes and debated which pair he wanted to wear. They were the same shoes – in size, color, style… everything.

Tsunade hummed in suspicious, "…I don't like it when you act like me. It makes me… twitchy."

Naruto looked up at Tsunade with a confused look before shrugging and going back to his struggle on which pair of identical shoes he wanted to wear. Sighing Tsunade turned back to call out to her older brother, "Come on Shisui! We're going to be late!"

Shisui flickered in front of them in an instant with a grin on his face, "I thought you didn't want to go Tsu-chan?"

Tsunade crossed her arms, "If I have to endure five hours of boredom followed by two hours of beating up little kids, then I might as well not be late while doing it." Tsunade huffed before mumbling, "Goodness knows we don't need everyone thinking that all Uchiha are as incapable as managing time as Obito."

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Tsunade stared up at the tall academy building.

"Grandfather? How come I'm not going to the academy with all the other kids?" Tsunade stared up at the tall academy building. Surrounding the tall auburn tower were groups of children with their parents standing by them. Most were smiling and laughing with one and another. Only a few, like the Hyuuga and Aburame clans, kept their expressions neutral, but Tsunade could see the joy and excitement their eyes.

Knowledge. Friends. Strength. All were looking for something different and all would leave with something even more different.

The Will of Fire.

Hashirama looked down at his granddaughter and smiled sadly at her. With a low sigh, he crouched down to Tsunade's level and spoke in a soft tone, "Well…" Hashirama paused before frowning, "I'm not really sure…"

"You are the granddaughter of the First Hokage and as such, heir to the Senju clan." Tobirama spoke – appearing from thin air behind the two of them, "As such, your time will be spent learning fuinjutsu from your grandmother, ninjutsu from myself and taijutsu from your father." Tobirama turned his sharp gaze to the academy, "You will join your fellow classmates when they graduate the academy and genin teams are formed. This is how your father was raised and it is how you shall be as well."

Hashirama pursed his lips and pouted, "Who's the grandfather here?" The long dark haired Senju crossed his arms and grumbled, "I think Tsu-chan should get to go play with her friends…"

Tobirama raised an unamused eyebrow at his brother, "The academy is not a playground. It is an education facility designed to strengthen our future generations' minds and spirits. Tsunade is already strong in both regards and the academy will only slow her down."

Hashirama frowned at his brother, "At the cost of her happiness?" Hashirama looked down at Tsunade – who was staring up at him with hopeful brown eyes. Hashirama turned back to his brother and spoke with a little more authority, "Tsunade wants to go and I don't see any reason she should be prevented. This is the reason Madara and I…" Hashirama stopped suddenly – just thinking of his deceased friend always tripped Hashirama up.

Not willing to wait for his brother to recover, Tobirama turned his back and spoke with a deep tone, "You and Madara believed in a time of peace. We are not there yet and until that day, someone must bear the burden – and it cannot be you and I forever. Someone else will have to take our place." Tobirama turned his head to lock eyes with Hashirama, "Would you instead place that burden on one of them?"

Hashirama's eyes turned to the large group of children dancing around their parents and friends.

Tsunade felt the large tanned hand wrapped around hers tighten.

"Come on Tsu-chan!" Her grandfather spoke with a forced cheer, "If we're quick, we can grab some dango on our way to your grandmother's!"

Tsunade sighed as her gaze shifted up to where the stone faces of the Hokage were carved in the mountainside.

"Come on Tsubaki! We're going to be late!" Naruto called out loudly as he stood in front of her with his arms crossed and an irritated look on his face.

Tsunade blinked before shrugging, "Yeah, yeah." Tsunade walked past Naruto and towards the academy before tilting her head back with a smirk on her face, "You could have gone in without me, you know… or are you scared?"

Naruto's jaw dropped in horror at the mere suggestion that he – Future-Hokage-Uzumaki-Naruto – was scared. The blond quickly sprinted forward to yell at Tsunade, "I'm not scared Tsubaka-!"

Tsunade stuck her foot out and tripped Naruto – making the small boy fly through the air and smack head first into the back of another child.

Tsunade grinned wickedly as she walked past Naruto and laughed, "Have a nice trip? Hahahaha! Get it?! Nice trip?!" Tsunade laughed at her own joke, "I'm hilarious!"

A familiar growl reached her ears and Tsunade looked to see who she rammed Naruto into. Her grin widened at the sight of black spikey tips molded into the shape of a duck's tail. Uchiha Sasuke.

Tsunade howled in laughter – holding her stomach in pain as small tears ran down her eyes, "Two for one! Best. Day. Ever!" Tsunade continued laughing as she stepped over the two boys and walked into the academy.

Shisui came up from behind to stand next to Itachi with a sigh, "Sorry 'tachi…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow as the two younger boys quickly shove each other away with a hiss before racing after the blonde haired witch – his brother's words, not his. Itachi shook his head with an amused smirk, "It'll be interesting to see how they all grow."

Shisui placed his hands on his hips and shook his head at the younger Uchiha, "You sure do know how to make a guy feel a hundred years old…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow and looked up at Shisui in confusion.

Shisui waved him off, "Nevermind…"

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Tsunade looked down at the paper in her hand before looking back up at the classroom door. Confirming that the room was the correct one, the blond Uchiha walked through into the small classroom.

There were only a few kids inside – most of them still chatting in the hallway or outside most likely. Tsunade ignored the other children – most of them she'd probably never see again, so who cared – as she made her way to front of the room, where the teacher would likely stand. Once she was in position, she twisted her head around to find a stool or chair. Her eyes lit up when she found what she was looking for and quickly brought it over.

Climbing up on the chair, Tsunade stood facing the area where the students would be sitting. After a moment of slowly moving her eyes through the room, Tsunade smirked in victory. Swiftly, she hopped off the chair and returned it to where she found it and made her way to a student rows.

Third row from the front, one row from back and on the left side of the room… closest to the hallway doors… far left seat. That's where Tsunade stacked her claim. The blond smirked to herself as she folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, "Now to work on my 'sleeping with my eyes open' look…"

Tsunade's thoughts were cut off when someone roughly sat down next to her. Irritated onyx eyes shifted to her right and narrowed, "Shoo." Tsunade made a 'shoo' motion with her hands, "Go. Be gone. Find a new home kid."

The slouched over brunette simply yawned and laid his head down on the desk.

Tsunade's eye twitched dangerously.

Before Tsunade could chew the sleeping boy for ignoring her, a large wave of children started flowing through the door. Tsunade huffed in annoyance before leaning on her hand to watch the kids find seats. Familiar blond spikes appeared and Tsunade watched Naruto slowly look around the room. Blue eyes locked with bored onyx ones and Naruto quickly scowled before stomping over to a seat across the room from Tsunade.

Tsunade chuckled under her breath.

"Everyone, please take your seats." A male voice spoke out. Tsunade's eyes moved to look at the adult male walking through the door. He wasn't very old – eighteen maybe, she guessed – and he looked so much like the brat next to her, she was sure they were related.

Or maybe it was just the hair…

Tsunade shrugged the thought off as the man spoke to the room about learning about the ninja way or class room rules. Either way, Tsunade quickly zoned out, "This would be a good time to focus on my seal…" Tsunade let her gaze fall to a spot on her desk as she focus her chakra internally – moving it around until she was funneling it into the center of her forehead.

"…Uchiha Tsubaki..." The man spoke out before frowning, "Is there a Uchiha Tsubaki here?"

Tsunade's gaze snapped up, "Yes." Tsunade stood up and bowed politely, "Sorry…"

The man paused on her for a moment before nodding, "Uzumaki Naruto…" The young man's voice started to wane as he spoke Naruto's name – immediately catching Tsunade's attention.

"Here!" Naruto shouted with a large grin on his face and his blue eyes lit up, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

Silence hung in the air before kids started protesting.

"Not uh! I'm going to be the next Hokage!" One dark haired brat called out.

"It ain't gonna be either of you 'cause I'm gonna be Hokage!" A fanged boy shouted as he jumped on his desk.

"But I wanna be Hokage…" A purple haired girl whined from the front of the room.

A couple more whines and arguments broke out before the teacher became irritated at being ignored and yelled at them, "QUIET! ALL OF YOU!"

The room went deathly quiet.

"Ehem." The teacher cleared his throat, "Back to roll call…" The brunette looked over his list a couple times before smiling at the class, "Looks like everyone is here. Great!" The man grabbed a stack of papers and started handing one out to everyone, "We're going to start with a written assessment test…"

Tsunade groaned internally, "This is going to be a looooong four years…"

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"This cannot stand any longer!" Danzo roared as he slammed the foot of his cane into the ground, "The Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki should be removed from the Uchiha immediately!"

Hiruzen closed his eyes in irritation – a migraine was forming, he just knew it – before slowly opening his eyes to stare unimpressed at his former teammate, "For what reasons Danzo?" Hiruzen picked up a paper from his desk and starting writing on it, "Naruto has flourished under the care of the Uchiha. The complaints of Naruto's acts of vandalism have gone down significantly… Sakumo tells me that his health has significantly improved with a proper diet… and even the Uchiha seem to have been calmed by this arrangement." The Third Hokage pushed the paper aside and grabbed another one.

Danzo's eye hardened as he sneered, "Because you have handed them a weapon that even we cannot defend ourselves against!" The one eye elder scoffed, "The Uchiha respond to nothing but shows of power! You cannot possibly believe they tolerate the boy for his charming demeanor. Those savages will not even recognize one of their own as family. You really believe they would welcome in a child that looks just like her?"

"Enough Danzo!" Hiruzen commanded as he set down his pen and looked Danzo in the eye, "All Naruto has ever truly wanted was a family and now that he's found himself one that loves him..." The Hokage's eyes thinned, "I will not get in the way of that…" The air thickened, "…and neither will you Danzo. Are we clear?"

Danzo let out an angry gruff and stormed out of the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen let out a long, heavy sigh as he brought his hand to his head to rub it.

"Is Danzo going to be a problem?" A voice spoke from the shadow of the room.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, but shifted his gaze to the shadow as they stepped out into the light. "I honestly don't know Kagami." Hiruzen folded his hands on his lap and looked up at the Uchiha, "Danzo has become… erratic over the years. I know his heart still belongs to Konoha, but I worry…"

"That he cannot see the forest for the trees." Kagami finished as his onyx eyes shifted to the door that Danzo exited through, "We all grew up in an… awkward time. We were children when the Leaf was formed – when peace became a possibility – but warriors when that peace came crumbling down and wars began again." Kagami closed his eyes in understanding, "It has made him paranoid and brutal, and now, he cannot see how his attempts to keep the village safe only keep it bleeding."

Hiruzen nodded, "We will have to watch Danzo more closely."

Kagami nodded in return, "I will have a report for you by the end of the week."

The Hokage let out a sigh of relief before tapping his fingers on his desk. Kagami waited – knowing Hiruzen had more to say. After a moment of silence, Hiruzen spoke, "When are you retiring exactly?"

Kagami let out a sigh, "Jiraiya has been brought up to speed and trained extensively to the responsibilities of this role, but he is currently traveling with his students from Ame. If it was in my ability to pull him from his current assignment, then I would, but this will be his last act as Konoha's best covert ops agent." Kagami frowned, "It would be cruel of me to forbid him from finishing a mission seven years in the making."

The Third Hokage sighed before answering gruffly, "I understand."

"Have you spoken to Fugaku?" Kagami asked, "He is an incredibly strong shinobi Hiruzen. He is also level headed and understands the delicacies of hard decisions. With his strength and reputation, I am confident that he would make a fine Hokage to succeed you."

Hiruzen shook his head, "Forgive me Kagami, but until he has fixed the issues within his clan, I cannot recommend him to this position." Hiruzen's eyes locked with Kagami's, "You and I both know this is not a position of power, but one of ruin. If he is not strong enough to come ahead of his clan's current divide, then he will not survive in this position against fierce foes and allies like the Tsuchikage and Danzo."

Kagami sighed, "I understand." The Uchiha crossed his arms and stared dully out the window behind his former teammate, "No decision is ever an easy one, is it?"

Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and let out a smoky breath.

"No. No it isn't."

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Tsunade cracked her knuckles with a dark grin on her face.

All the children were outside, gathered around their teacher, Iruka-sensei – Tsunade finally caught his name when Naruto shouted it in fear while running away from the angry man. It was an open area – not too big – that had a sparring ring in the center.

"Ok class!" Iruka called out with a clipboard in his hand, "We're going to do some sparing now. This will be friendly spars – simple taijutsu only." Tsunade knew he was talking to the clan kids – 'no ninjutsu, dojutsu, or any other ridiculous technique your parents taught you as an infant because they're monsters'.

It might not be an exact translation, but Tsunade thought she had Iruka pinned down fairly well at this point.

Across the field, standing next to his new friends – Cho-something and the skinny brat that ignored her earlier in the morning – was Naruto…

Sweating like it was a hundred degrees outside.

'I'm going to pulverize you for this morning' – Tsunade mouthed to her adopted brother.

Naruto gulped. Blue eyes snapped up and Naruto – for the first and likely last time in his life – politely raised his hand and squeaked, "Sensei?!"

Iruka blinked – not expecting to be interrupting before listing off the names of the first match. The brunette looked at Naruto slightly confused, "Uh… yeah Naruto?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, "Um… I was just thinking… you weren't going to just pair us off by alphabetical order, were you?" Naruto seemed to grow some courage because he crossed his arms and gave Iruka-sensei a suspicious look, "Because that would just be lazy Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka blinked again before turning red and growling, "Of course not!" The brunette eyed his list quickly before smacking Naruto on the head with his clipboard, "And don't call your sensei lazy!"

Naruto rubbed his head and grumbled under his breath.

Coughing, Iruka quickly refocused, "Now, on to the first match… Akimichi Chouji vs…" Iruka blushed slightly as he floundered slightly to pick another name. He really was just going to go by alphabetical order.

"…Nara Shikamaru!" Iruka finished, picking the first name his eyes caught.

Naruto sighed in relief as Chouji and Shikamaru made their way into the center of the dirt field.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Brat…"

"Oh my gosh! He's so cool!" A high pitch voice whispered near Tsunade, causing the blonde to listen in, in interest, "Just look at him standing there – completely unafraid of having to fight anyone!"

Tsunade frowned in confusion. Onyx eyes moved from the chubby boy fidgeting nervously to the yawning twig. Tsunade shook her head, "They can't possibly be talking about one of those two." The blond shrugged, "Eh, who am I to judge? They're all snot nosed children to me."

A shy giggled reached Tsunade's ears, "Sasuke-kun's not afraid of anything Ino. He's a true ninja."

Tsunade quickly smacked her hand over her mouth to smother her maniacal laughter, "Oh! This is too good!" Tsunade's eyes shined with amusement as they settled on Sasuke – who stood across from her, just a few feet down from Naruto. Even at the age of eight, the Uchiha boy had attracted quite a gathering of girls within their clan – whether it be for his looks or his status as second born heir to the Uchiha clan. Tsunade had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand how uncomfortable all the attention made the boy and the blond Uchiha wasted no time using it to her advantage.

Tsunade assumed, before today, that the kunoichi in training would be too focused on becoming a strong warrior – like she had when she was a child – that they would barely notice the Uchiha heir. After all, once you looked past the boy's girlish looks and his near royalty status, he was rather dull – to Tsunade at least.

However, it looked like more than half of the girls in their class were completely smitten with the stoic boy. Which, looking at things objectively, bothered Tsunade slightly.

But Tsunade was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Tsunade chuckled darkly, "Oh, the possibilities…!"

"Next up…" Iruka-sensei called out, cutting Tsunade from her thoughts, "Hyuuga Hinata vs…" Iruka paused to hum before continuing, "Uchiha Tsubaki!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she stepped forward into the center, near Iruka-sensei. Walking up across from her was a small girl with short dark hair. As she approached, Tsunade quickly noted that the girl's gaze wandered all over the place but refused to meet her own or her sensei's eyes.

The former medic frowned, "Who let this girl in? She looks like she'd shatter at the slightest breeze." Tsunade crossed her arms and gave the girl an unimpressed frown, "You look like some kind of fawn – and not the kind found on Nara lands. At least those deer have spines."

The pale eyed girl froze in shock before seeming to mentally curl inside herself.

Tsunade shook her head before turning her head up to look at her sensei, "You aren't seriously expecting me to spar with her are you?" Tsunade pointed at Hinata, "Just look at her. If I so much as move suddenly and she'll fall apart."

Iruka turned from Tsunade to Hinata and rubbed the back of his head with a concerned expression.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted from the sidelines, "Leave him alone you big fat jerk!"

Tsunade's head snapped towards the blond – her eyes burning in rage, "Huh?!" Tsunade raised her fist and yelled, "What did you call me, you little twirp?!"

Naruto stuck out his tongue and made an ugly face, "Big. Fat. JERK!"

"That's it!" Tsunade shouted as she sped towards the whiskered faced boy, "You're dead Naruto!"

"Hold it you two!" Iruka shouted as he grabbed the back of Tsunade's shirt – holding her back from pulverizing Naruto. Tsunade cursed as she tried to twist her body around to escape from her sensei's tight hold.

Naruto crossed his arms and laughed victoriously – only infuriating Tsunade even more.

"Quiet Naruto!" Iruka shouted at the boy with a harsh tone, "Both of you have detention after class!"

Both blondes snapped their gaze up to their sensei and cried out, "What?! Why?!"

Iruka's eye twitched before he roared, "BECAUSE I SAID SO! NOW SHUT UP!"

The adopted siblings huffed in irritation.

The brown haired chunin cleared his throat and turned back to Tsunade, "Go back to the sidelines. We'll talk about your attitude after class."

Tsunade made an astonished face before making her way back to sidelines with a grumpy expression. Tsunade's icy gaze hardened on her sensei as he called the next two students forward for their spar.

"If that chunin thinks I'm going to apologize for doing nothing wrong, just because Shisui's there to give me a disappointed look – he's got another thing coming!"

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Tsunade and Naruto sat at opposite ends of the classroom with their faces turned away from each other. It was about thirty minutes after class had gotten out and Iruka-sensei hadn't spoken a word to them yet – he just sat in front of them marking papers.

After a couple more minutes of silence – sort of… Naruto was muttering something Tsunade didn't catch and didn't care to catch – before Iruka-sensei set his pen down and looked up at the two blondes. Shifting his eyes between the two, he spoke.

"Naruto, you're free to go." Iruka told the boy with a stern look before continuing, "I expect you to behave tomorrow in class or I'll see you back here again after class."

Naruto blinked before looking over to Tsunade and then back at Iruka-sensei, "So…" Naruto started, "I can leave?"

Iruka nodded with a slight smile, "Yeah… I…" Iruka paused, trying to find his words, "You did good today Naruto. You showed true courage and kindness today by standing up for your classmate." Iruka grinned widely at the whiskered blond, "I'm proud to have you as my student."

Tsunade jaw dropped, "You have to be kidding me!" The Uchiha slammed her hands on her desk, "I'm the bad guy here?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Iruka frowned at Tsunade and crossed his arms, "Language Tsubaki!"

Tsunade clenched her teeth in anger as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. She didn't dare speak – knowing that anything she'd say would be filled venom.

Iruka turned back to Naruto and motioned him out the door, "Go home Naruto."

Naruto turned to Tsunade with an unsure look – suddenly really worried for his adopted sister. He didn't mean to get her in trouble. He just didn't like what she said. The young boy felt like things had gone too far now though and didn't want to leave her alone.

Iruka sighed, "I'm sorry Naruto, but this is something Tsubaki has to deal with on her own. I don't want to have to ask you again to leave."

"But Iruka-sensei…!" Naruto started but was cut off.

"Now Naruto!" Iruka told him while pointing to the door.

The blond boy pouted and gave Tsunade one last concerned look before hanging his head and walking out the door.

Tsunade didn't bother looking at Naruto when he left. She didn't blame him, but knew her rage would probably get the better of her and didn't want him caught in the crossfire. Instead, she drilled holes into her sensei.

Ten or so more minutes passed with Iruka correcting more papers and Tsunade glaring before the classroom door opened again.

Tsunade felt her heart drop into her stomach when she saw who walked through the door.

Uchiha Hikaru.

Her father – second father really.

Uchiha Hikaru was an imposing man – one of the tallest of his clan and standing at 6'1" with a stocky, muscular frame from constant taijutsu training. His hair was dark like Shisui's and was styled in a similar fashion – short, messy and slightly on the curly side. His eyes were what always caught Tsunade attention first – they were standard Uchiha color, onyx, but completely lacked any emotion.

As if he was a dead man walking.

Iruka looked up to see the Uchiha man walk into the room, dressed in the standard jounin uniform. The spikey ponytailed man bowed politely to his elder as he welcomed him into the room, "Good evening Uchiha-san. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Hikaru's cold gaze drifted slowly to Iruka and paused before the man spoke in a low, cool voice, "I was informed that Tsubaki was disrespectful and has not completed her assignments as instructed."

Iruka paused before nodding – giving up on the elder man to come in and sit down, "Yes…" Iruka gulped slightly at the Uchiha's unemotional gaze before continuing, "Today, during the physical evaluation, I asked Tsubaki to spar with one of her classmates, Hyuuga Hinata." Iruka sighed, "She refused and called her weak – among other things."

Hikaru did not respond for a moment before speaking with an even tone, "Is that all?"

Iruka blinked a couple time in mild shock before picking up a paper off his desk and answering pitiably, "Well… she also didn't bother answering a single question on the written exam…"

The large Uchiha closed his eyes and nodded before turning his icy gaze upon Tsubaki, "You will complete the exam in its entirety with your best ability."

Tsunade frowned but nodded. The threat was clear in her father's eyes.

Upset me and you will be left to the clan elders to deal with.

Those were the first real words her 'father' uttered to her after getting in a fight with him over never being home and how it hurt Shisui. After that, Tsunade took great measures to give the man a wide berth whenever he strolled through their home to collect supplies or sleep.

Iruka looked between the two Uchiha before turning back to the elder, "I'm sorry… I don't mean to intrude or be disrespectful, but… aren't you going to say anything about your daughter's treatment of her classmate?"

Uchiha Hikaru slowly rose a dark eyebrow at the chunin before answering, "If Tsubaki refused to spar with your student, you should show her gratitude for demonstrating such restraint. Any other Uchiha would have harmed the girl without hesitation."

Iruka frowned, "I would have stopped the spar if things had gotten out of hand. It was taijutsu only-"

Hikaru cut the chunin instructor off as he looked up at the clock, "I do not have the time nor the interest in arguing pointless with you. Tsubaki will complete the exam under your direction and will follow your rules without question." The tall Uchiha's eyes turned icy cold, "Do not bother me again with such meaningless things."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. She knew that last part wasn't only directed at her sensei.

The brown haired chunin simply stood there with his mouth agape as the Uchiha man disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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Shisui jumped slightly as he heard the front door slam open and shut, followed by a series of harsh footsteps and another door being slammed shut.

The curly haired Uchiha sighed. He had heard everything from Naruto when the blond walked through the door a few hours earlier with a sad expression on his face. Shisui sighed again. He didn't agree with how his sister handled herself that day, but at the same time, he worried about her. She wasn't the easiest person to understand, but her heart was in the right place. Maybe forcing her to go to the academy hadn't been the right move…

His sister was smart – a genius in a lot of way. Using the same sneaky tests he used on Itachi to see how smart the boy was, Shisui quickly figured out that Tsubaki was already far ahead of her peers in math, science, and Japanese. She also knew her history better than most shinobi Shisui knew – but it wasn't perfect, there was a large gap in knowledge between the Second Great Ninja War and now. And Shisui was fairly certain that his little sister's chakra control was on a completely different level of genius.

He had even spotted her healing herself once – something completely unheard of for an eight year old.

All in all, Shisui knew that Tsubaki didn't need to go to the academy, but he felt it was important that she did.

His little sister was just… so lonely. It broke his heart to see her so closed off. The only people she opened up to were him and Naruto – Itachi and Sasuke to a lesser extent, but Shisui knew that was only because he and Itachi were so close and spent so much time together.

Shisui blamed his clan for his little sister's resentment towards others. They shamed her for something she had no choice in being and just thinking of it infuriated him.

Shisui let out a deep breath and got up from his seat on the couch and made his way to his sister's room. Life may not have been fair to his sister so far, but Shisui knew he would be failing her more by not teaching her the importance of kindness. Especially now, when their world needed it more than anything else…

Shisui knocked before slowly pushing the door open, "I'm coming in Tsu-chan…"

He was answered with a growl and a pillow in his face.

The elder Uchiha quickly ducked out of the way and quietly closed the door behind him. His eyes quickly spotted who he was looking for. Shisui quietly approached the bed that Tsunade was curled up on with her back to him. Shisui sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed with his hands hanging loosely in his lap.

"Tsu-chan…" Shisui called out again, in a lighter tone this time, hoping that she would face him.

Tsunade ignored her brother and pulled at the covers to show that she wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

The dark haired Uchiha sighed again. Several minutes of silence hung between them before Shisui spoke softly, "I'm sorry about today Tsu-chan. Your first day at the academy was supposed to be a happy one." Shisui looked up at the ceiling and smiled, "Naruto would cause all sorts of havoc, but make lots of friends while doing it…" Shisui chuckled, "I hear he made friends with an Akimichi and a Nara." Shisui shook his head, "Those three are going to make quite the fearsome trio – I don't envy the chunin instructors at all!"

Shisui smiled sadly again, "And I figured you would find a friend or two – someone that wasn't too loud or quiet, but understood your…" Shisui paused to smirk, "…unique form of communication and found it entertaining."

Tsunade was quiet as she listened to her brother. Her stomach twisted into a knot at his words. She didn't need some friend – some kid – to make her happy. Regardless of current circumstances, she wasn't some attention starved child, she was a grown woman. And she had Shisui and Naruto – that was all she needed. She didn't need something as pointless as a friend – they would only get in the way or disappoint her eventually.

Or die.

"Why did you say those things to your classmate?" Shisui finally asked, getting to the meat of the discussion.

Tsunade scoffed, "Because she was weak and I wasn't going to just beat her up because some idiot chunin told me to."

Shisui smiled at his sister before speaking again in an even tone, "Do you think there was a better way of saying it though?" Shisui paused, "How would you have felt if you were her?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't have been so weak to begin with."

Shisui raised an eyebrow, "What about the time you met Naruto?" Shisui knew it was a sore subject – for both of them – but he knew there was no other way of getting around to his sister.

Tsunade paused and frowned before answering quietly, "I was only six then. She's eight and the heir to the Hyuuga she should…" Tsunade cut herself off and frowned.

"You are the granddaughter of the First Hokage and as such, heir to the Senju clan."

Tsunade felt a rush of emotions as she recalled the pressure of that statement… of the happiness that was robbed of her… of the freedom stripped from her. She might be treated like the scum of the earth by her clan for her Senju heritage, but she'd take their sneers of disgust over the sheer pressure of the village's expectation that she live up to her grandfather's name.

"And not everyone gets to grow up with someone to love them… to care for them… to protect them…" Tsunade thought as she remembered when she met Naruto and learned how truly alone he was.

The blond Uchiha let out a light huff with no malice behind it.

"I'll apologize to her tomorrow." Tsunade said plainly.

Shisui smiled as he reached over and ruffled his sister's hair. He knew she would come around – she had the biggest heart of anyone he had ever met, after all. His Tsu-chan just needed a small push every now and then.

Shisui stood up from the bed and opened the door to leave. Just as he was about to close the door, he heard Tsunade speak.

"Shisui…"

"Yeah?" The Uchiha answered back.

"Thank you… for putting up with me."

Shisui blinked in surprised before grinning widely, "I'll always be there for you, Tsu-chan. Always."

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"Hey."

Hinata jumped slightly at the sound of a voice behind her.

Tsunade slid into the seat next to Hinata with a smirk on her face and her hand held out, "I wanted to apologize about yesterday and if you're willing, I'd like to start over." Tsunade smiled widely at the surprised girl, "My name is Uchiha Tsubaki and I'd like to be your friend!"

Hinata blinked several times in confusion before nodding shyly and stuttering, "N-no n-n-need to apologize…" Hinata's gaze shifted down in submission, "Y-y-you were r-right… I am w-weak…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and leaned forward with a smirk, "Then I guess we'll just have to spend our free time together training until you don't feel that way anymore." Tsunade let out a sigh, "I guess my dream of a partner in crime to explore the world's casinos will just have to wait."

Hinata giggled before blushing slightly, "Umm… you don't have to…"

Tsunade flicked the violet haired girl on the nose and smirked at her, "Too late. I've already passed out notes to all the girls in the class declaring Sasuke's love for them, so I'm going to need a friend who's got a badass dojutsu to warn me when he's getting close enough to murder me with a well-aimed kunai." Tsunade nudged Hinata with her elbow, "What do you say? Up for the challenge?"

Hinata blinked, twice, before giggling and grinning at Tsunade, "Yep!"

Tsunade grinned back.

"Maybe the next four years won't be so bad after all."

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