"Tier!" Minato called out in the forest where his daughter usually trained. "Tier!" Normally he would be in the Hokage tower and Tier would come back home on her own, but with Kushina pregnant again, he decided to look for her. Which lead him to going to her favorite training spot, that she was absent from. There were signs that the training grounds had been used very recently so he figured that she must be in the surrounding area.

He kept hearing a weird, staticy noise all around him that came in spurts. It sounded like a bad transmission on the radios they used on missions. But it was weird in that it was loud and everywhere around him, not just in his ear. This only made his search for his, currently, only daughter faster. The only reason he had yet to use his Hiraishin no Jutsu was because he had already used it once when he thought she was in danger and, well... he learned that she was truly her mother's daughter that day.

Just thinking about that day made him rub his lower ribs from a phantom pain. The scary part was that she didn't show her anger like her mother did, she had kept her normal state of expression and her glare... it was much more silent. Much more deadly. The total opposite of Kushina, but still so much like her in her unrelenting 'divine retribution,' as Kushina had put it.

I need to focus on finding Tier, not on what happened in the past, Minato shook his head to try and refocus himself. He started to run in the direction of where the noise was coming from, for if it was his daughter, then he knew what could possibly be the source. But if it wasn't... he would protect his family.

As he ran, he came across a clearing that he knew he had to visit. What he came across eased his tension and made him sigh in relief. He had found Tier in the clearing.

From what he saw, either Tier was too busy with what she was doing, or she had seen him out of the corner of her eyes and decided to ignore him. For now.

Tier stood in the center of the clearing that he had come across, covered in sweat for she had been training for a few hours now, with her sword out and several slash marks covering the trees around her. She closed her eyes to help her focus. The wind blew across the grass and swayed the trees around them, their leaves falling all around the forest.

There was no signal, but when the wind stopped blowing Tier burst forth in a dash of speed and the same static sound followed after her as she did so. She made a slash on the tree that was directly in front of her and stared back at where she had been in dissatisfaction... or at least what Minato and Kushina considered dissatisfaction on their daughter. It was always hard to tell with her, but they had gotten much better at reading people because of trying to read her.

Tier sighed as she put her sword back into its sheath. She then turned toward Minato and simply said, "Tou-san."

Minato went further into the clearing with a smile that told her that he was proud of her. "Tier. That was an interesting Jutsu you were practicing."

"It's not a Jutsu," the young girl stated in a matter of fact tone.

"If it's not a a Jutsu, then what is it?" Minato had to admit, he was now curious as to what his daughter could be working on.

"It's a technique."

"A technique?" Minto placed his hand against his chin as he began to think deeply into it.

"Mmm," Tier nodded her head in confirmation. "Similar but different than a Jutsu. It's kinda like a Taijutsu."

"Oh~ that sounds very interesting. From what I saw, you were pretty fast," which was the truth. Tier was moving fast enough to be considered a blur to others, but to him it was more along the lines of her sprinting while her legs were enhanced with chakra. He wasn't called 'The Yellow Flash' for nothing after all. "But you seemed to be put off by something about it... why?"

"It's still incomplete. Still needs to be improved," Tier stated with a hint of disappointment in her voice. She then looked at him and tilted her head to the side, which cause him to think of her as cute. "Tou-san..."

"Yes Tier?"

"Why are you looking for me? Kaa-san is pregnant, so I know that you won't let her look for me but you would normally have someone else come to find me because you're busy with your work."

Minato had to give a small chuckle at to how smart Tier was for her age. It made him both glad and sad. Glad that he had such a smart daughter who was able to think for herself and of matters that were beyond what a girl normally her age would think about, but sad at the fact that she didn't seem like the other children and enjoying her age with the other children who played outside. Instead she was out training. I guess blessing and curses are two sides of the same coin...

"I came because your mother insisted that I grab you so that we can eat as a family."

"And you didn't want to argue with Kaa-san while she's pregnant and is easy to anger."

This time he let out a dry chuckle as she hit the nail on the head. The only thing worse than an angry Kushina, was an angry and pregnant Kushina.

He put a hand on Tiers' shoulder and said, "Let's not keep her waiting any longer."

Tier nodded her head and Minato activated his Hiraishin no Jutsu.

Hidden away somewhere in the depths of the village of Konoha, there was a large area that was that had many pipes of various sizes going through out it. The place itself seemed to be a giant, man-made hole in the ground that only those who maintained the village would visit. Running through the center of the man-made structure was a large pipe with a man on it.

This man had brown hair, bandages that that wrapped around his head and his left eye, and a'X' shapes scar adorned his chin. He wore a white kimono that was overlaid by a larger and thicker black kimono and acted as more of an overcoat or a jacket. The man also leaned most of his weight onto the cane that he used to help himself walk.

"Report," the man said, even though there was no one else seemingly in the area.

"Yes, Danzo-sama." A large figure wearing a black cloak and wearing a white mask that resembled a bear appeared out of nowhere, kneeling, and said.

"Within the past several weeks it had been harder to observe The Target for two primary reasons. One; The Target has been spending most of her time with her mother and her mother was assigned an Anbu guard. This guard has, on occasion, came close to spotting us and has increased his vigilance in protecting his target."

"That is within expectations, though it is concerning that he has nearly caught you," Danzo said as he stroked his chin. "Continue."

"Yessir," 'Bear' replied. "The second reason is as follows. Whenever The Target is alone, she is able to disappear into crowd or environment that she is within. Even some of our best trackers have difficulty following her at times. I believe that she may be a sensory type amd is able to sense when we approach."

"Hmmm..." Danzo was getting more and more intrigued by The Target as every day passed. There was something special about the girl that he just couldn't put his finger on. "While it is concerning that she has been able to evade your efforts, it also speaks of her talent. Continue to observe The Target and let me know of any changes."

"As you will Danzo-sama."

Danzo had expected the man to leave right after that, but was mildly concerned when he didn't. "What's the matter? Is there anything else to report?"

"Yes there is Danzo-sama."

"Speak then."

"While observing The Target, it has been noticed that there is a third party also observing The Target. So far, any attempts to find out the identity of the third party has lead to death."

"I see... Use caution while observing The Target and use a secondary squad to observe the third party. Use any method to find out who it is and if they turn out to be a foe... you know what to do."

"As you wish Danzo-sama." 'Bear' then Shunshined away, leaving Danzo to himself.

One way or another, Danzo thought. You will be of use to me and The Village, Namikaze Tier.

When the father and daughter duo re-appeared, they were close to the holy lands of holy lands. The place where the gods themselves came and crafted with their very hands, passing on their secrets to only one man and his daughter.

Ramen Ichiraku.

"Yosh... I am pleased," Tier nodded her head in satisfaction as she realized where they were going to eat for the night.

"I'm glad you're pleased, Tier-sama," Minato joked with a mock bow. "Now let's go inside before your Mother decides to do something."

Tier nodded in agreement and walked inside and was followed after by her Father. And as soon as she walked underneath the hanging sign, she was assaulted (hugged) from the side by her good, and possibly her only female, friend. Ayame.

"Tier-chan!" Ayame practically rubbed herself against Tier and Tier let one of her smirk of a smile grace her face.

"Ayame, it's good to see you also," Tier said as she returned the hug.

"Hee-hee, Tier-chan returned my hug!" To Ayame, it was like a victory of sorts each time Tier did hug her, since it was rare when she did.

"Tier," Tier looked up and saw her Mother motioning for her to sit next to her. Over the past several weeks, Kushina's stomach had grown as she got further into her pregnancy. And so had her tendency to be violent. Deciding in the nest interest of her face, more specifically her cheeks, she decided to do as her Mother said and sat down next to her.

Ayame then sat down on the open seat next to Tier, which confused the young girl for a moment but shrugged it off as her father, Teyuchi, letting Ayame be around her friend for a little while before wother going to bed or back to work. Teyuchi already knew all of their order from visiting so often, so the ramen came out fast.

The family and the owners talked for a long while about almost everything. Life in the Village, idle gossip, passing rumors, the weather, and how their daughters were doing.

"So Ayame says that Itachi-kun has been acting a bit weird around Tier-chan on occasion," Teyuchi said as he cleaned one of the bowls that was used.

"Weird how?" Kushina asked Ayame.

"Weeeeelll..." the girl titles her head up with a finger to her chin as she thought back. "The last time they came here and we all hung out for a little bit, Uchiha-san sometimes couldn't look Tier-chan in the face and he would sometimes get a bit red like he was sick or something."

"Oho~" Kushina's eyes started to sparkle when she heard this. But if one was to look at her husband Minato, they could see that his face was frozen stiffer than Hokage monument. "Tier-chan~ what did you do to poor Itachi-kun?"

"Me?" Tier was perplexed by her mother asking her this. "Itachi either ate something bad or he was sick like how Ayame said."

A sigh of relief was heard from Minato and chuckling came from Kushina. I'm going to have to tell Mikoto about this, Kushin thought to herself. "Then I guess you'll have to help take care of him then."

Tier just nodded her head to what her mother said. If her friend was truly sick, then she going to try and help him recover. Teyuchi couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh at some of his favorite customers that he could consider friends.

"Will you help as well Ayame-chan?"

"If I get to play more with Tier-chan and Uchiha-san, I'll do it," Ayame said with much gusto that made Teyuchi freeze in his laugh.

Minato looked up at the only other man in the room and a spark of recognition passed between the two of them. They both quickly clasped the other by the forearm and cerulean blue eyes met squinty shut eyes before the both of them nodded in agreement. They had found a camaraderie in one another as fathers of daughters, their bond and agreement was now unbreakable.

Kushina almost fell out of her chair as she watched the two men in the room. In her opinion, they were just missing Might Guy to add in his 'Sunset of Youth' to make the picture complete.

Tier and Ayame just looked on in confusion at what their fathers were doing and why Kushina was laughing. When they looked at each other, they just gave a shrug and started to talk about new things.

The happy atmosphere continued well into the night.

Unbeknownst to them, far away from them, on the rooftops of the building of Konoha, a pair of golden, snake-like eyes was watching everything they did. Or more specifically, everything Tier did.

Truly, she was an enigma.

One that he intended to figure out. The girl was smart beyond her years and possessed a level of chakra control that could only be compared to a high-level Jonin. If she was already like this at the age of six, he could not wait until she became older and had a better mastery of herself.

Then there was that strange Jutsu that she was developing. He had no idea what it was or how it worked, but he would figure it out. No matter how long it took.

He just licked his lips in anticipation.

He's waited this long already, he could wait a little longer. No need for any more unwanted attention than possible.

Hey everybody! How ya doin?

Me? I'm currently swimming through Satan's armpit. It's hot here. Very hot. 80 by 0500 and 100 by 1000. Then at night it's humid as fuck...

Anyway, this chapter is a few days late. Apologies on that.

This is just another daily life chapter but with some more sinister forces moving behind the scenes. I'm sure all of you already guessed who the two people watching Tier are, but do you really know beyound what has been stated?

I decided to bring back Ayame and Teyuchi, mostly just because they doesn't really get spotlight in fics and they haven't been seen since chapter one in this fic. I mean... come on! They are important figures in Naruto's life. They should deserve some love too.

Also, is there artists reading this? Would you be interested in making a cover for this? If you are PM me and let's work out the details.

Anyway... Read, Review, and Enjoy,

Stay Frosty,

SP4R