Bright Eyes: The Unsung Ninja: A Naruto Story

by GeneralWildfire

A kunoichi's exploits have gone unsung in the world of ninja...until now! Sara Uchiha is a young ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village, trying to find her place in the world while keeping an eye on her mischievious friend, Naruto Uzamaki.

14. Bright Eyes: The Unsung Ninja: Part 14

DISCLAIMER: Some of the text and characters are from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which I do not own. Only the characters & text that were not in the original manga/anime series are mine.

Recap: The Chûnin Exam has come to a close. The village was attacked by Orochimaru and the Sound Village, with assistance from the Sand Village. Everyone in the village mourns the death of the Third Lord Hokage, but life goes on in the Hidden Leaf Village as the rebuilding continues.

A Strange Dream

Sara felt her shoulder being shaken and wondered, what the Devil's…she opened her eyes. Eyes? Oh!

Kakashi laughed as she opened her eyes and gazed quizzically at him. He said, "I didn't mean to wake you. You can go back to sleep. I'm heading into the village to run some errands. I'll be back, I promise."

Sara nodded and asked as she closed her eyes, "Where are the dogs?"

"They went back to the kennel, where they'll await to be summoned by you when you need them," Kakashi answered as he closed the door.

Sara listened as the front door closed behind Kakashi. It was several minutes before she fell asleep again.

What the-? Where am I? Why am I in the village? Her gaze shifted to look at Asuma and Kurenai as they approached. She said in a voice she recognized, "Hey there you two, you sure look chummy…Are you on a date?" Master Kakashi? Am I seeing and hearing things from Master Kakashi's point of view?

Kurenai said, "Fool! Anko asked me to buy her some dango."

"What about you?" Asuma asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't practically found of sweets…"

"Well," Kakashi said. "I came to buy something to put on a grave, so I figured I'd just meet up with someone here while I was at it… Sasuke actually."

Asuma said, "That's a rare sight for you to be waiting for someone…"

Kakashi's gaze shifted to two men in robes that were mainly black apart from red cloud designs on them, as one of them set their tea down. Kakashi's attention moved to Sasuke.

Sasuke said surprised, "Whoa! Kakashi…you showed up before me?"

Figures he was meeting Sasuke! Running errands my ass…!

"I can be on time every once and a while," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke glanced at the table where the two men had been sitting. Sasuke said, "I'm not one for sweet things."

"Oh really," Kakashi said. He glanced meaningfully at Kurenai and Asuma who nodded at him. Good, Kakashi thought. Asuma and Kurenai disappeared.

Great! I can hear his thoughts too! I really hope that this is all a bad dream!

Sasuke and Kakashi soon parted company. Kakashi walked around the streets his thoughts on Kurenai and Asuma; I hope they're all right… It was just a couple of rogues…so why am I so worried…Where the heck are they? They're taking too long…I can sense large amounts of chakra over in that direction. He teleported.

As Kakashi arrived on the scene, a battle was going on between Kurenai and a guy who looked a lot like Sasuke. While Asuma was doing battle against a blue skinned man with a giant sword and gills; Kakashi copied the jutsu the blue skinned guy was doing. Water Style: Water Shark Bomb!

Kakashi stood in front of Asuma as Asuma said, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"I know I asked you to do this for me," Kakashi said. "But I got a little worried." A clone of Kakashi said as he stood behind the guy who looked like Sasuke, but older.

"Kakashi," The Sasuke look alike said, as he turned to look at him. His Sharingan seemed to bore into Kakashi's.

Kakashi vs. Itachi

His eyes haven't changed a bit, Kakashi thought. He's a true heir to the Sharingan…I have to expect the worst…

The blue skinned guy said, "My, my, you're a surprise. No wonder you stopped my attack… There is another with the eye… You must be Kakashi, the Mirror Ninja.

Kakashi said, "I'm the one who was surprised. Catching the scent of suspicious folk and who should they be but… I never imagined Itachi Uchiha and the Scourge of the Mist, Kisame Hoshigaki.

So this is Sasuke's brother…I wouldn't want to meet him in battle. Please be careful Master Kakashi!

"Well, well…" Kisame said. "You even know my name…I'm honored."

Kakashi eyed Kisame's blade, "So that blade of yours is one of the seven that belongs to the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist…Sharkskin…right?"

Kisame laughed, "I heard that you had young Zabuza sparred a while back?"

"Yeah," Kakashi said.

I think I'm following this so far... Kisame is one of Seven Swordsmen…and so was Zabuza…so they knew each other…interesting…

Kisame got a deranged look in his eyes at Kakashi's last statement, "I'll cut you to ribbons…."

"Drop it…Kisame…" Itachi said. "If you spar with him head-on, you won't get away scot-free…And if you take too much time, other shinobi will have a chance to arrive."

"But…" Kisame tried to argue.

"Do not forget our purpose," Itachi said. "You did not come here to suffer injuries."

The Kakashi in front of Asuma disappeared as it said, "And pray tell, what might that purpose be?"

Itachi looked at Kakashi who was standing behind him still, "We know what we're looking for is right here…"

"Looking for?" Kakashi questioned. "And what might you be looking for?"

Itachi didn't answer Kakashi's question. Instead, he said, "I, unlike Kisame wouldn't take any time at all." Itachi moved his right hand out from his robe's sleeve, revealing three shuriken.

Kakashi leapt backwards, Water Style: Water Wall! Waves of water hit Kakashi's water wall. The shuriken remained in Itachi's hand. What speed! I couldn't follow his sign-weaving at all… Further more that he would use the shuriken in his right hand as a distraction while launching a different attack at my feet. Impressive.

I'm not liking this at all! Please be careful, Master Kakashi!

"Trust you, Kakashi, to have such a sharp sense of perception," Itachi said.

A clone appeared behind Kakashi and said, "Indeed."

Sara didn't panic since she knew Kakashi was elsewhere.

Kurenai exclaimed, "A Shadow Clone? He's inhuman!"

Where Kakashi had been standing, a Water Clone fell back to the water. Kakashi handed Kurenai a kunai.

"Nice, Kakashi," Kurenai stated as she grabbed the kunai.

Kakashi leapt out of the water and shouted, "No, Kurenai! That one's the Shadow Clone!"

Itachi's clone exploded and Sara felt pain hit her back, as Kakashi was hit with some of the impact from the explosion.

"Kakashi! Kurenai!" Asuma shouted, worried. He actually dropped his cigarette.

Kurenai said, worried, "Kakashi!"

Kakashi swayed, his back had taken the brunt of the attack. Asuma was beside Kurenai as Kakashi turned to face Itachi, "Don't let your guard down… He's someone who rose to Head of the Anbu Black Ops by age thirteen."

"I can't believe he's this good…" Asuma said.

"He's better," Kakashi said. "He hasn't even begun to show his true strength."

Itachi said, "Very impressive that you who are not even of Uchiha blood have mastered the Sharingan this much… However, your body not being genetically adapted…is no match for that eye."

That's right… Kakashi thought. It gets fatigued very quickly…

Don't think that! I don't want to lose you!

Itachi closed his eyes, "Do you know why the Uchiha clan has been feared as the most powerful…? My clan's true strength!" He began to open his eyes.

N-no way! Shit! "You two, don't look him in the eye!" Kakashi closed his right eye. "Listen closely…both of you. Do not open your eyes, no matter what. If you meet his eyes right now, you'll be finished. Only another Sharingan can handle him now."

"If one possesses the Sharingan…" Itachi said, "One can resist this Mangekyo to some extent. But YOU cannot break this special Sharingan Jutsu…Tsukuyomi, the Nightmare Realm! Only someone with the Kekkai Genkai and a Sharingan can stop me!"

"Sasuke…" Kakashi said, before he found himself pinned to a cross. Surrounded by numerous Itachi's. One of the Itachi's stabbed him in his left side.

One Itachi said, as it stabbed his side again, "In the Tsukuyomi dreamscape, I completely control time and space, and even all substance. For the next seventy-two hours…you will be continually stabbed over and over again…"

NO! Sara shrieked. She didn't think Kakashi could handle that much.

Kakashi didn't scream or cry out from the pain, as swords began to stab him. He grunted in pain but his thoughts were elsewhere, Sara…I have to stay focused on her…it might be the only way I get through this…

Kakashi fell onto his knees as his mind, somewhat returned to the real world.

Kurenai said, as she heard him hit the water, "What's wrong, Kakashi?"

"Keep your eyes shut!" He gasped. Uhh…I see…three days in that realm and less than a moment passed in this one…Why not just kill me? If he wanted to he could. He felt pain rip through him. Don't tell me it's still affecting me? Could it be that he meant three days in this realm? He couldn't help but gasp as more pain hit him, "Ugh…it's still affecting me…"

Hang in there, Master Kakashi!

Kisame said, "After all that the fool's spirit is still intact, and you've overused those eyes of yours…you know that's dangerous…"

Itachi continued to gaze at Kakashi, as he panted.

Kakashi said, "This thing you seek…is it Sasuke?"

"No," Itachi said. "The Legacy of the Fourth Hokage."

"The Fourth Hokage's Legacy, huh," Kakashi said. Naruto, huh…

Kakashi's mind drifted to a meeting he had with a tall man with long white hair.

Kakashi had said, "Long time no see… How many years has it been since the last time you were back?"

"Kakashi," the man said. "I'll train Naruto from now on…" Kakashi was a little shocked by this statement. "The Third Hokage was wise to place the boy under your supervision. He's been well looked after. But…even someone of your remarkable abilities might not be enough to get him ready…"

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked concern in his voice for Naruto.

"I've been keeping an eye on Orochimaru ever since the day he fled the Leaf Village," the man stated. "Because it was evident he would return…"

Sara wondered as the memory continued, who is this guy? And how does Master Kakashi know him?

"…For a long time he kept mostly to himself but then…" The man stopped talking.

"Yes?" Kakashi wondered what was coming.

"He joined an organization," the man said.

"Organization?" Kakashi wondered. "What organization?"

The man said, "I don't really have a lot of details, but it seems to be a small group made up of nine shinobi that call themselves the Akatsuki. At first they stuck to cloak and dagger stuff. Nothing dramatic. But you knew something big was coming, considering who they are…" Kakashi was getting worried. "Almost all of them are listed in the Bingo Book as S-Class criminals! And among them is Itachi."

Kakashi thought worriedly, Sara!

The man didn't seem to notice Kakashi's panic, "When nine shinobi like that get together it's not because they want to do charity work…So you see where this is going?" Kakashi remained silent. "Recently the group started splitting up…Orochimaru went off on his own…while the others paired up and dispersed. They've been searching for new jutsu among other things…"

Kakashi asked, "Any proof that one item on their list has nine tails?"

"It's a definite possibility," the man replied. "It makes sense. The Nine-tailed Fox does have one of the highest levels of chakra…Kakashi…sooner or later Naruto's going to have to deal with who and what he really is…that's the boy's destiny. For now, focus on Sasuke. It's up to you to teach him how to use his Sharingan especially since Itachi's part of the organization…Leave Naruto's training to me…"

Kakashi asked Itachi as he came out of this memory, "You seek the Nine-tailed Fox inside Naruto? You're not the only ones are you? I know all about you… You call yourselves the Akatsuki?"

"The Akatsuki?" Asuma questioned.

Itachi said, "Kisame, change of plans: we're taking Kakashi with us. Make the other two disappear."

Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai all braced themselves for Kisame's attack as he rushed forward.

From out of nowhere Guy appeared and shouted as he kicked Kisame, "Severe Leaf Hurricane!" He skidded to a halt on the water and said as Kisame staggered up, "The Leaf Village's Noble Blue Beast…Might Guy!"

Kakashi was no longer falling the conversation, his mind drifted back to the memory. He had asked of the man, "Jiraiya…I have another student that requires my attention also.

The man, Jiraiya said, "I've heard of her…Naruto said she was his friend…Sara, right?" Kakashi nodded. "You should keep an eye on her too… Kakashi…if this girl is who I think she is I suggest you don't make promises you can't keep." Kakashi gave Jiraiya a questioning look. "You have no idea how she might react." Kakashi scowled at him.

Kakashi's last thought was, I shouldn't have promised that I'd come back…a shinobi never knows when his last battle will be…

Lord Jiraiya

Sara opened her eyes and lay panting on her bed. It was just a dream…nothing more…it was just a dream… Why the hell are my Devil's Eyes up? She allowed her eyes to go back to their original state. She sighed and moved to get out of bed. She gasped and fell off the bed as excruciating pain ripped through her sides. No! It couldn't have been real, it couldn't have been! Sara ignored the pain and dashed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. She inhaled her breakfast of cereal and eyed the door apprehensively as she waited.

A few minutes passed and a knock sounded from the front door, Sara opened it immediately and stared up at Asuma. Asuma said, "Sara…I don't know how to tell you this…"

Sara said quickly, "Some guys named Itachi and Kisame entered the village looking for Naruto, and Kakashi sent you after them, however he arrived and began to take on Itachi. He was caught in the Tsukuyomi and afterwards he was extremely exhausted and fatigued, and he learned from Itachi that they were after Naruto. Itachi wanted to take Kakashi with him and his partner, but Guy arrived and then…Kakashi lost consciousness…"

Asuma stared at her and said, "How did you know that?"

"To difficult to explain," Sara muttered. Her gaze shifted to Guy as he walked in carrying Kakashi over his shoulder.

Sara stepped out of Guy's way and stared at her guardian's unconscious form. His last thought echoed through her mind, "I shouldn't have promised that I'd come back…a shinobi never knows when his last battle will be…"

She made to follow Guy up the stairs but Asuma held her back. Kurenai walked in the front door, closing it behind her, she asked Asuma, "Did you tell her?"

"She already knew," Asuma answered. "I still want to know how."

"I dreamt about it," Sara said miserably.

Guy came back down the stairs a few minutes later. He looked at Sara and said, "I know Kakashi, and I'm sure he'll be back up on his feet in no time."

Sara asked quietly, "Can I see him?"

Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy exchanged glances. Asuma said, "As long as you promise some things." Sara nodded. Asuma said, "First, you are to do as we say." She nodded.

Kurenai said, "Second, you are not to sneak out to find Itachi and Kisame."

I had no intention to, Sara thought as she nodded.

"Lastly," Guy said. "You are not to pull a Kakashi!"

Sara had no idea what that was, but she nodded in agreement anyway.

Asuma waved his hand, and Sara bolted up the stairs two at a time. She entered Kakashi's room and stared at her guardian. He didn't look peaceful, he looked like he was still enduring Tsukuyomi. Sara wondered, was it only three days in that other realm that he had to endure it or was it three days in this one? She walked up to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand. She knew he wouldn't grip her hand back, but she couldn't think of what else to do.

She said to him, "I know you probably can't hear me…I'm not upset…" She tried to make a joke, "You didn't break your promise, you are here…" She looked out the window. "I wish I knew what to do. I know it would be stupid to go after Itachi and Kisame…but…I have to do something…" A thought suddenly struck her, that Jiraiya said he would train Naruto…what if I found him? I'll ask Naruto…but I promised I wouldn't sneak out…

She stared down at her hand when she felt a slight squeeze. Kakashi's hand gripped hers for a few brief seconds then slackened again. Sara stared at the door and thought, I originally had no intention of breaking my promises to Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy, but I think I'm about to break them all! She reluctantly left Kakashi's side and opened his window quietly. She leapt out of it and hit the ground at a run as she dashed towards the village. First, I'm going to find Naruto and see if he knows where Jiraiya is…

She raced through the village to the Ichiraku ramen stand and stood gasping before the owner, "Have…you seen…Naruto?"

The owner looked thoughtful, "Yeah, he left a little while ago with Lord Jiraiya…hmmm…they did say something about going to some nearby town where there is a pleasure district…then he went off with Lord Jiraiya…"

"Thanks," Sara said, ready to dash off.

"Now hang on," the owner said. "I gave you some information, the least you could do is buy a bowl."

"What do you have that's ready to serve?" Sara asked.

The owner looked at his pots, "Some miso ramen…"

"That's fine," Sara said as she sat down and paid him. She inhaled as quickly as Kakashi would have. "Thanks," she shouted as she dashed off.

Pelting down the streets she entered the first hotel she saw and asked the person sitting behind the desk, "Did a guy with long white hair and a blond haired kid check in?"

"Yeah, actually, on the—hey!"

Sara was already dashing up the stairs. A thought suddenly occurred to her, Itachi and Kisame are after Naruto… Feet don't fail me now!

As she reached one hallway Itachi's voice drifted to her, "Naruto, why don't you come with us?"

Sara whipped around the corner and threw a shuriken at him. Itachi barely moved his head to the side to avoid the shuriken. He turned to look at her.

Kisame asked, "Who's this brat?"

"Bright Eyes!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Who?" Sara asked, hoping Naruto would catch on. She had no such luck.

"Bright Eyes, we're on the same team!"

"No we're not."

"Yes we are, and you're an Uchiha-?" It finally dawned on Naruto who was standing in front of him. "Oops!"

Sara snapped, "Naruto…if they don't kill you…I will!"

"Uchiha?" Kisame questioned.

Sara sighed, "Since you know almost everything about me anyway, I'll fill in the blanks. I'm thirteen years old and my full name is Sara Uchiha Hatake!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "Your that brat Kakashi saved."

Sara nodded, "And you'll pay for what you did to him!" She charged forward and leapt into the air planning to punch him. Itachi grabbed her by her throat.

Itachi whispered in her ear, just so she could hear, "I won't kill you this time." He slowly drew a kunai; he placed the tip just above her left eye. She quickly closed both eyes. Itachi slowly drew the tip of the kunai down her eye.

Sara thought, why does it feel like he's trying to do a piece of art?

Itachi finished just below the eye, he had never touched the actual eye with the blade. He whispered, "Tell Kakashi that the next time I see you, I'll extend the scar from where it ends to across your throat." His grip tightened on her throat and she gasped for breath. He whipped around and threw her out the window.

Sara felt the window shatter and she opened her right eye to see what was below her. Oh shit! This isn't good! She tried to maneuver herself so she would land softly on the top of a shade blocker, but instead she landed in an empty cart and felt the wind get knocked out of her.

She lay winded in the cart for a few minutes before she finally sat up and assessed the damage. She placed two fingers over the cut on her eye and traced its path gently. She pictured the wound in her mind, I have a feeling I've seen this somewhere, but I have no idea where… She stared up at the window she had crashed out of and began to climb. When she reached the window and placed her hand on the ledge, she felt something fleshy and slimy touch her hand and she lost her grip from shock.

She landed on her feet this time and climbed back up grumbling, "Stupid slimy substance!"

Sara reached the window she had crashed through earlier, just in time to see Guy flying at Jiraiya yelling, "Dynamic Entry!" His kick collided with Jiraiya's nose.

Sara crawled the rest of the way through the window and assessed the damage Itachi had caused. She was relieved to see that Naruto was okay, but Sasuke was propped against a wall, unconscious, very similar to how Kakashi had looked.

She ignored Guy, Jiraiya, and Naruto's conversation, as she gazed at Sasuke's motionless figure. I vow that the next time I see Itachi…I will kill him. Sasuke cannot do it alone, that much is obvious. He's going to need help whether he likes it or not! Guy jolted her out of her thoughts.

"You are coming back to the village!" Guy shouted. "You lied to us!"

Sara sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She followed him outside as he grabbed Sasuke.

Once they were outside, Guy said to Jiraiya, "Lord Jiraiya, please do find and bring back Lady Tsunade."

Sara's attention went to those two words, Lady Tsunade? They're going to find and bring to the village Lady Tsunade? The famous medic ninja? I have to stay! I need to make sure that she gets back to the village so she can fix up Master Kakashi…Now how to trick Guy again…?

Naruto said to Guy, "Don't worry! We'll bring her back! Take care of Sasuke until then Bushy Brows-sensei!" Jiraiya patted him on the head startling Naruto.

Jiraiya said, "Well then Guy, I'm leaving those two in your hands."

Guy was focused on Naruto, "Nothing intrigues me more than guts kid, let me give you this!" He pulled out one of the green suits he and Lee wear. "This helped Lee get stronger…"

"Oh," What is it? What is it?" Naruto wondered aloud, excited by the words "helped get stronger".

"This," Guy said the ugly green thing. "It's breathable, retains moisture, and offers complete freedom of movement in all in one sweet package! If you wear it while you train, you'll notice the difference immediately! Soon, you'll start wanting to wear it all the time, just like Lee! I've got a bit of a thing for it myself!"

Sara tried not to throw up as Guy said this, if I ever see Naruto wearing that thing, I'll lose all my meals in one go.

Guy looked at Sara sternly after he gave Naruto the green suit, "Now, we're off, and don't think you're not going to get a lecture out of this cause you are!" Guy took off while Sara pretended to follow him, although she wasn't going anywhere. Guy was talking to thin air.

Sara stopped walking in place and turned to Jiraiya, her wound had finally stopped bleeding. "So, where are you going to look for Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya stared at her dumb-founded. He finally pointed at Naruto, "I'm only taking one disciple, I'm not training you."

"I don't expect you to," Sara stated. "I just want to help you find Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya."

Jiraiya asked, "How do you know who I am?"

"Naruto told me about you," Sara answered, pointing at her friend.

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Can Bright Eyes please come along?"

Jiraiya sighed, "Yeah, she can come…but first we need to fix that eye." He pulled out a med kit and washed the wound, and bandaged it up. He grabbed her headband and placed it over the eye. "So we don't attract too much attention," he said as he straightened up to his full height. "That should do it."

Naruto looked at his friend and began laughing, "You look a lot like Kakashi-sensei!"

Sara sighed; she could imagine how she looked.

Jiraiya asked, "What's your name?"

"Sara Uchiha," Sara said, deciding to leave off the Hatake part.

Jiraiya nodded, "That cut you have over your eye will definitely be a scar. Be thankful that kunai never hit your eye." She gave him a questioning look. "Naruto told me."

Sara nodded. Instead of asking where they were headed, she decided to listen to Jiraiya and Naruto's conversation to see if either of them would say. Both had been pretty quiet so far.

Jiraiya finally asked an unusually quiet Naruto, "What's wrong?"

"Pervy Sage," Naruto said. "Why do they want me?" Jiraiya remained silent. "You know too, don't you? What's going on…"

"It's not you they want," Jiraiya finally said. "It's what's inside you."

"The Nine-tailed Fox?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Indeed, the Nine-tailed Fox has appeared in times of consequence all through the ages. It's a ghastly spirit, destroying everything in its path. That's why people in ancient times feared it as one of the divine retributions."

I didn't know all of that about the Nine-tailed Fox…but…something that powerful can't be controlled… Sara thought glancing worriedly at Naruto.

"Why they want such a thing," Jiraiya continued. "I have no idea." Naruto remained silent. "They must be thinking of placing its power under their control. While the Fox is still sealed inside of you….they'll never stop coming for you. It's your destiny. But I'll be around to protect you so don't worry…"

"Then I've got to hurry up and get stronger!" Naruto said, his old spirit showing through. Sara smiled. Jiraiya gave Naruto a half admiring glance. Naruto continued, "All right! Let's go find this Tsunade lady. Have her save Sasuke and start training again!" Jiraiya laughed. Naruto said in quizzical tone, "That beauty you said you wanted to look for, you meant this Tsunade?"

Sara turned her attention to Jiraiya as he said, "That's pretty sharp for you. And so, what of it?"

"You and she were both part of the Three Great Shinobi, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, so?" Jiraiya countered.

Naruto asked, "How old is she?"

"Same as me," Jiraiya answered.

Naruto muttered, "She's ancient." He looked thoughtful, "So what's she like?"

"You interested in her?" Jiraiya asked. "Hmmm…let's see…in one sentence, she's kinda unpleasant…and she's addicted to gambling, and her face is well known in numerous lands."

Naruto was ecstatic, "Then she'll be easy to find! If she's so famous."

"I hate to put a damper on your parade," Sara interjected. "But I think Lord Jiraiya was talking more along the lines of infamous."

"Huh?" Naruto gazed at her, stupefied.

"Exactly," Jiraiya said. "She's known as the Legendary Sucker!" He looked thoughtful for a minute, "But no matter how infamous she is, she probably won't be easy to find. She's not the type to grow old gracefully, so she's probably using a jutsu to make herself appear younger. Even though she's actually fifty, she probably looks like she's in her twenties…And that's not all. The word I hear on the wind of late is she's started to transforming on the fly…going from her teens to her thirties or forties, all so she can cut out on any moneylenders she's in too deep with…"

"That's terrible, yeesh," Naruto commented. Sara remained silent.

Jiraiya continued, "Tsunade's loved gambling since she was a kid. But both her luck and her skill are totally abysmal… Because she kept getting marked by everyone around her, that nickname stuck. And so she's always in debt and on the run…wow."

Naruto snapped, "This is no time for trips down memory lane, old man!" He asked, "So how do we hunt her down?"

Sara turned her attention to Jiraiya as he spoke, "Who knows…our only choice is to do it by the book. But there are plenty of ways…"

"What?" Sara exclaimed, "Do you mean to say, that you have no idea how long this is going to take?"

Naruto look affronted, "That's going to be a complete waste of time!"

"Not really," Jiraiya said, addressing Naruto. "The time spent won't be wasted, because the whole time we're on the road, I'm going to focus on you!"

"Me?" Naruto looked stunned.

Jiraiya smiled, "It'll be time spent on making you stronger… Training time!"

Naruto was beyond happy as he pulled out the green suit that Guy had given him, "All right!"

"No, no…I told you not that thing…I don't want to walk next to someone wearing THAT!"

Sara added, "I forgave you for blabbing in front of Itachi, but if you wear that, I really will kill you!"

Naruto knew that she wouldn't really kill him, but he knew some sort of pain might come, so he quickly stashed it back into his pack.

Sara sighed as she watched Naruto place the green suit back into his pack, I don't even have a pack! I didn't think I'd be gone that long from the village! The next town we stop in, I should be able to buy some supplies…hopefully!

Naruto asked Jiraiya, once they were walking again, "So, Pervy Sage, hurry up and teach me something!"

"Now, now," Jiraiya said. "Stop being so impatient…it would be pointless to just train without collecting some intelligence on Tsunade at the same time."

"Collect intelligence?" Naruto questioned.

Sara sighed, "Yes, Naruto. We do need to collect intelligence; otherwise Kakashi and Sasuke will never recover."

"Right!" Naruto said. "Uh…where are we collecting it?"

"In this city," Jiraiya said as he stopped walking and gazed down at a city.

"Whoa!" Sara and Naruto said in unison.

The city was huge and filled with activity. Way more then they were used to. Stands were everywhere, with people walking around and going to each of them.

Once they were actually amongst the hussle and bussle of the town, Naruto said, "Wow! This is cool! We've never been in a place like this, right Bright Eyes!"

Sara nodded; her eye was filled with wonder as she gazed at the town.

Jiraiya said, "Play is just as important as work! Rest first, and then we'll start training again, Naruto. This festival will probably go for a while, so we'll stay here while it's going on. We'll train here too."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered as he leapt into the air in triumph. He began rummaging in his bag. He finally yanked out his chubby, frog coin purse.

Sara said as she rummaged in her small pouch (the only thing she had on her) and pulled out her wolf coin purse, which was as chubby as Naruto's.

"Ho!" Jiraiya said happily. "You two have got quite the fortunes there!"

Naruto grinned fiendishly, "I do have quite a bit! I've been saving up from each mission!"

"Same here," Sara said. She added more quietly, "Granted, Master Kakashi kept insisting I get a little allowance each month…" Which is only five dollars, but I'm not going to complain! Missions add up after time!

Naruto said, "You've only been living with him for what? Two weeks?"

"It's been about a month now, he just wasn't in the house for two of the weeks," Sara said.

"Anyway," Naruto said glancing at Jiraiya. "See ya, Pervy Sage!"

"Hold up!" Jiraiya said. He grabbed Naruto and Sara's coin purses. "I'll be in charge of both your coin purses. "This is all you're two are allowed to spend for the day."

"What?" Naruto shouted. "Only thirty dollars!"

Sara glared at Jiraiya wondering, what is Lord Jiraiya up to? What does he care if we spend it all in one place? It's not his money…

Jiraiya said, "What's with the "what?" Don't you know the three prohibitions of the shinobi?"

"No," Sara said.

Naruto looked confused, "The three prohibitions? What's that?"

"What?" Jiraiya cried out hamming it up. "You don't know them? The three prohibitions are the three vices that can destroy a shinobi! And those three vices are: drink, pretty girls, and cold hard cash."

Sara said, "Since I'm in one of those categories, I think I should get my money back. Plus, I can't drink, and I'm not about to spend all my hard earned money in one place."

"They don't really apply to me, either," Naruto stated. "I can't drink! Or date! And I worked just as hard as Bright Eyes to get my money, I'm not about to spend it all in one go."

Jiraiya turned to Sara first, "It would be guys in your case and-!"

Sara cut him off, "I have a boyfriend, I'm not about to go looking for guys."

Jiraiya shouted, "Both of you are fools! Do not be stupid! Once you two start spending money, you won't be able to stop! The magical power of money is a fearsome thing! Even Tsunade, whom we are searching for, is on the verge of self-destructing from it!"

"Yeah," Naruto said looking pouty. "Like you're immune to vices, Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya ignored Naruto, "You should also take my pack instead! You can rely on my tracker toad to sniff out my scent. I'm going to go start collecting intelligence." He handed Naruto his pack.

As Naruto and Sara walked away, Naruto stuck out his tongue at Jiraiya. Sara gazed thoughtfully at Jiraiya's pack. And if that tracker toad doesn't work, I can always summon Alpine and Streak!

Masa Uchiha

Naruto asked as they walked away from Jiraiya, "So…Bright Eyes…where do you want to go?"

"I think I'm going to wander around on my own if you don't mind, Naruto," Sara answered. "Why don't we meet up back here?"

Naruto gave her a hurt look, "But Bright Eyes…"
"Naruto," Sara said kindly. "You'll probably want to do some guy things, while I want do just look around."

"Yeah, okay," Naruto said looking happier. "Meet ya back here!" He dashed off.

Sara sighed, now…what am I going to do? Her stomach made a sound of complaint, reminding her that a bowl of cereal only went so far. I guess I'm going to find someplace to eat at first…someplace cheap.

She walked down the path, glancing at the booths as she passed. Everybody keeps staring at me…I guess that's because of the headband cocked over my left eye!

She finally found a stand that served grilled fish for a reasonable price. She sat down at the counter and waited for her lunch to be served. She cocked her head slightly to the side as she listened to some kids talking on her left side, apparently waiting for their mothers.

"So…what happened next, Akira?" A black haired boy asked of a blond haired boy with emerald green eyes.

A blond haired girl with the same green eyes as the boy answered, "The girl shouted, 'Oh no you don't!' and sent him flying!"

"I'm telling the story here, Akane!" The blond haired boy said. Sara assumed that they were siblings.

"Well," Akane said. "You were taking too long!"

"I was getting there!" The boy snapped. "Anyway, this girl fought with the strength of one thousand shinobi! You should have seen the last move she performed!"

Akane said, "Akira, don't forget the gray-haired guy who came after the fire bird disappeared."

Sara realized with a jolt that they were talking about how she had guarded the door, she wondered, were they behind the door as I was fighting?

Akira glared at his sister, "Quit spoiling the story!" His sister had enough sense to look ashamed. "This girl had just leaned against the door when this gray-haired guy came out of nowhere; they seemed to know each other. He made a move to go near the door we were behind and she told him that he had to go through her dead body. They were this close to fighting…" He held his index and thumb on his right hand a few millimeters apart. "…but then an Anbu arrived and scared him away. But we didn't know he was an Anbu at first and we attacked him!" Sara choked on her soda that she had ordered. "After he told us who he was, we asked him some questions and we learned that the girl's name was Sara."

"I wish we could have told her thank you," Akane added wistfully.

Sara stared at the grilled fish that had just been set in front of her. These kids want to thank me…? Why? I'm not a normal ninja… I have a fire bird inside of me… Why do they want to thank me…I didn't do anything. They should thank the senior ninja, not a genin like me!

The children's mothers soon picked them up and walked away. Sara finished her meal and paid the stand owner. She walked around town and played a few games, before she went looking for Naruto. I know I'm early, so I'll go look for him.

After a few minutes of searching, she found him, sprawled on the ground, wearing a fake Anbu mask. "What are you doing?" She asked him.

Naruto lifted up the mask, as Sara bent down to pick up a book that had fallen out of Jiraiya's pack, "I tripped," he said smiling. He looked at the book in her hands, "That's Pervy Sage's savings book…" He took it from her and looked at it, "That's a lot of zeroes!"

Sara moved up behind him and stared at all the zeroes that were in the book. Cheap skate!

Naruto complained, "If he had that much, he could have bought us something…at least lunch would have been nice!" He glanced at the money he had left, "I'm pretty much done, I can go to one more stop, you?"

"I have some left, but not enough to buy anything," Sara replied.

Naruto began walking, a grin on his face, while Sara trailed behind him. He stopped in front of a stand that was cooking squids. Naruto said, "Hey, Mister! Can I get two of these skewered squids? Make one a big adult sized one!"

"Sure," the guy said. "Running errands, huh? Here, you can have the kid sized one on the house! Take it!"

"Wow! You're the man, Mister!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

The guy laughed, "All right, you can have the adult sized one for half price too!"

A few minutes later, they were looking for Jiraiya, "You sure got a good deal on those," Sara said pointing at the squids.

"Yeah, I know…Where the heck did that Pervy Sage get to?" Naruto said.

They both turned when they heard Jiraiya's laughter.

"It's coming from over there," Sara said pointing at a building. Naruto nodded and led the way over there.

Naruto pushed aside the curtain that was in the doorway, he stopped dead in the doorway and stared at Jiraiya who had two girls sitting next to him, and he held a Sake cup in his left hand.

He said to Naruto, "Have you had your fill of the festival already?"

Sara tried to see past Naruto, but to no avail, since the curtains were also blocking her view. Naruto finally moved out of the way and stared at two coin purses that were completely empty. One was a green frog; the other was a white wolf. "Tell me those prohibitions again! I think you got yourself an instant trifecta!" Naruto shouted as he began to hit Jiraiya with the squids.

Sara stared at her, now empty, coin purse. It took me at least three years to earn that much money! Her eyes narrowed and she began to perform the Chidori.

Naruto said as he continued to pummel Jiraiya, "Spending my hard earned money like water! If you're going to do such a thing you better start training me ASAP!" Naruto suddenly stopped pummeling Jiraiya with the squids when he heard a distinct chirping sound. He turned slowly to see Sara ready with her Chidori.

She snapped, "Naruto, do you want to learn how to dissect a fat toad?" She rushed forward and stopped, her Chidori millimeters away from Jiraiya.

Jiraiya said, "Now, now you two…"

Naruto decided to go back to hitting Jiraiya with the squids. Sara stepped aside, I think I scared him slightly…I'll let Naruto finish what he started. She glared at Jiraiya, stupid, Fat Toad!

One of the squids shot out of Naruto's hand and hit a man's pristine white coat. A bald guy next to him said, "You! Lookie whatcha done, brat!"

Naruto turned around startled, while Sara began to size up the two men, debating whether or not they were a threat.

"You've mussed up my bro's top-shelf coat!" The bald man continued. "Do ya know how much this here coat costs? Pay up! Ten thousand dollars!"

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, "That cheap looking thing costs ten thousand dollars?"

Jiraiya said, "Ten thousand dollars for such an ugly coat is a bit much, don't you think?"

"Want to fight? Eh?" The bald guy continued, "That ain't a wise decision, I tell ya! Bro's a former chûnin, who was feared as the legendary Ninja of the Dark!"

"Eh?" Jiraiya asked, "Legendary what?"

The other guy finally said, "It seems you're itching to get hurt!" He charged Jiraiya.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, drawing Naruto's attention. "Now's a great time to show you the jutsu that I'm going to be teaching you, so watch carefully."

Jiraiya created a whirling sphere of chakra in his hand and charged the former chûnin. The attack hit the former chûnin dead on and sent him flying threw a wall and into a balloon stand.

"A-awesome!" Naruto shouted. Sara was impressed too, but she was in no mood to admit it.

Jiraiya caught one of the balloons that had been thrown away from the stand when the former chûnin and the bald guy had crashed into it. He walked over to the stand and said to the owner, handing him money, "Here, take this for repairs. Sorry about that…didn't mean to destroy your stand."

"Wh-who are you?" The former chûnin asked.

"Oh, so you are actually smart enough to realize that I held back quite a bit on that… You all are weak." Jiraiya turned his attention back to the stand owner, "Hey, Mister! Can I buy all of your water balloons and regular balloons while I'm at it?"

"Sure…I guess…" Replied the confused stand owner.

Naruto thought, that was no ordinary palm press. What the heck was that jutsu?

Interesting… Sara thought. I've never seen a jutsu like that before…

"Naruto. Sara. Let's go," Jiraiya said as he began to walk towards the outskirts of the town.

Once they were at the outskirts of the town, Jiraiya tossed a water balloon to Naruto. Naruto asked, "What's this for?"

"You were watching just now, weren't you?" Jiraiya questioned. "What did the jutsu look like to you?"

"Hmmm, it seemed like the enemy was spun around a lot," Naruto said thoughtfully. Sara stifled a laugh.

"That's right," Jiraiya said, trying to hide his own laughter. "Rotation's probably the best word." He began to swirl the water in the balloon.

Naruto was awestricken, he's swirling the water in the balloon without moving his hand!

Cool, Sara thought as she watched from the sidelines. I wouldn't mind learning that technique the Fat Toad used someday…

Both Naruto and Sara were startled when the water balloon burst.

"With the tree climbing exercise, you learned to focus and maintain a set amount of chakra," Jiraiya said. "With the walk on water exercise, you learned to continuously emit a tiny amount of chakra…You've already got those two under your belt."

Walk on water exercise? Sara wondered. Naruto…what have you been doing?

"So now with this water balloon exercise," Jiraiya continued. "You'll learn to create a stream of chakra. In other words, rotation."

"Create a stream of chakra…" Naruto wondered.

"Well," Jiraiya said looking thoughtful, "I'll explain the jutsu more fully after you've accomplished this first step. First, you'll use the gist of the tree climbing exercise to focus and maintain chakra emission from your palm. And then you'll use the gist of the walk on water exercise to continuously emit chakra out of your palm. The point of this exercise is to use that chakra to agitate and spin the water inside the balloon!"

"Got it!" Naruto said happily. "So I need to rotate the water fast enough so that the balloon pops, right!"

"Your perceptions getting sharper and sharper," Jiraiya said, smiling. "All right, go at it until dark!"

"Yes sir!" Naruto said happily.

Jiraiya turned to Sara, "You are to come with me."

Sara followed him as he walked a little ways from Naruto, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Jiraiya pulled out a book and held it out to her as he said, "I have a feeling that you're going to be trouble unless I keep you busy, so…I've decided that I can give you a little training… I'll teach you a technique that only one other person could use…although…I think it's something you might be able to master…"

"What is the technique?" Sara asked.

Jiraiya handed her the book, "Read up on its original user first. When you finish this book, then I'll teach you the technique."

"Okay," Sara said feeling confused as Jiraiya walked off. She read the title, Anbus Through the Ages. "Hey!" She called after Jiraiya, "I read this book already!" She sighed, when he showed no sign of turning around. "I guess I'll read it again!"

She opened the book and skimmed the Anbus names that she had already read about, she stopped when a name popped out at her. Sitka Hatake...sounds interesting enough. Sitka Hatake, more commonly referred to as the Striking Shadow of the Hidden Leaf Village, was arguably one of the deadliest shinobi the Hidden Leaf Village has ever seen. Known for appearing out of nowhere to assassinate enemies, he thus got his name. He is known, more so, perhaps, for being able to perform a unique fire style technique that would encircle his opponents and incinerate them once he had gotten a safe distance away. He is perhaps, more known for being caught and interrogated where he had his voice box, "ripped out of his throat" according to medical reports, which literally, made it impossible for him to speak, or even to make a sound. Yikes! Sara thought after she had finished. Poor guy. So, the Fat Toad wants to teach me Sitka's fire style technique. I just wish I knew what the jutsu was called. She turned her attention to the picture of Sitka Hatake.

It was a black and white photo, so she couldn't tell what his hair color was, but if she had had to guess, she would have said it was silver, like Kakashi's. Sitka had a scar under his right eye, and she could clearly see the scar that went over where his voice box would have been. Judging by how that scar looks, no wonder they said his voice box had been ripped out! She closed the book and thought sadly, I hope Master Kakashi is doing okay.

That night in the hotel room they all shared, much to Sara and Naruto's disbelief. Sara tried to sleep, but Jiraiya and Naruto's snores kept resounding throughout the room. She sat up and groped in her pouch for the journal that she had received from the Third Hokage on her lineage, she hadn't read anything that was written in it. What the heck! It's not like I'm going to be falling asleep anytime soon.

She flipped open the journal and began to read, My name is Masa Uchiha. Would you look at that? His name means correct or just! This is interesting already! I'm not like the other Uchihas…or perhaps I should say, I'm not like the Sharingan bearers. My brothers and I have a distinct ability that no one has seen before, nor has anyone named, at least, not officially. I'm currently the only wielder of this ability, since my brothers, Jiro, Seto, Junichi, and Goro all have died doing as Madara bid them to do.

Perhaps I should enlighten anybody who reads this later on, Madara Uchiha, will stop at nothing to achieve power, and he feels that any type of trait that is not a Sharingan is inferior, and if that trait is within his own clan, he either kills them or sends them to their death in impossible missions, as was the fate of my four younger brothers.

I should also enlighten any reader about this strange ability of mine, it is referred to as a Kekkai Genkai. Anyone who has my particular Kekkai Genkai always has blue eyes of various shades, some a dark sapphire while others are an ice blue, which is what mine are.

I have the same colored eyes as the first wielder of the Devil's Eyes!

As I said, my brothers had this Kekkai Genkai…at least…I think it's a Kekkai Genkai… yet my parents did not. My fathers eyes are that of the Sharingan, while my mother was not blessed with either Kekkai Genkai, her eyes are not blue either. How my siblings or I got this trait is a mystery to us. But I know that I am the only one who has this trait now. Madara does not yet, have the support of the entire clan if he were to kill me. Which is his every intention...he would like to make an example of me, showing the superiority of his Sharingan that he has yet to know the full extent of. But I am no better off, I barely know anything about my trait then he knows about his…

She turned the page and read on; Masa seemed excited in the entry. I've discovered something new about my trait, which I have dubbed the "Devil's Eyes" since the Sharingan keeps being referred to, as Madara keeps saying, the "Heaven's Eyes". My wife agrees that he would indeed like to eliminate me.

When did he get married? Sara wondered. I thought he was a kid…maybe he wasn't and I just interpreted it that way…

I knew my Devil's Eyes could see things from a distance, but I never dreamed, literally, that I would be able to see what my loved ones were doing if I fell asleep with them up. Which, I'm ashamed to admit, I did while on a watch. I was seeing everything through my beautiful, Katsumi's eyes. I was relieved that nothing terrible happened to her, it was just an ordinary day for her, but when I talked to her about it, I was surprised to hear that she had done exactly what I had seen and heard.

Sara stopped reading and stared at the journal, is that what happened? I did wake up with my Devil's Eyes up, but did I fall asleep with them up? I might have…so…this is one of the abilities of my Kekkai Genkai…but wait…didn't he say he wasn't sure if it was a Kekkai Genkai? I guess I should keep reading. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was two in the morning. I can keep reading. She turned the page.

There are so many things that I've discovered about the Devil's Eyes that I don't dare put down in here. My son, who is now fifteen, has already discovered quite a bit about his own Devil's Eyes (which, I'm proud to say is indeed a dominant trait, Kekkai Genkai). I've decided that I'll pass this journal onto my son, and hopefully, he'll pass it on to his. In preparation, I've even put a jutsu on this journal that allows the writer to put in more pages. This will be passed on from father to son verbally; I will not write how the jutsu works in this journal.

Sara took a look at the journal and saw that, it was indeed, larger than any normal journal. Why couldn't he write how the jutsu worked? My parents are dead, so how am I supposed to know how the jutsu works? She turned the page and was startled to see a very realistic drawing, of whom, she assumed was Masa. She read the entry that was on the page next to it.

Why my wife insisted on drawing my portrait in here, I will never know. Nor for that matter, how she convinced me to let her put it in here! We've established a village with a few other clans, and I thank the lucky stars, that Madara is not the Hokage of this new village. This new village is in the Land of Fire, and our village is called Konoha, or the Hidden Leaf Village. Hokage means fire shadow and he is the leader of our village. I must admit he has already swayed many of our clan, granted that might be because he defeated Madara. I can see many years living in the Hidden Leaf Village, for my descendants as well as for those of other clans and bloodlines…

Sara turned the page to see if Masa had written any more, and found a different style of writing. She set the journal back into her pouch. Sara stared up at the ceiling as Naruto and Jiraiya continued to snore. I'll leave the next writer in the journal for another day. Right now…I need rest…

The Strange Spirit

Sara woke up when Naruto and Jiraiya finally stopped snoring. She sat up at the same time Naruto did. Naruto stretched and said as he yawned, "Morning, Bright Eyes." Sara glared at him in response. "What?"

"Between you and the Fat Toad, it's a wonder the other guests didn't hear you!" She snapped.

"Aww, come on, Bright Eyes! Don't be like that," Naruto said, trying to look innocent. "You know I wouldn't purposely keep you up."

"Yeah, I know," Sara said as she stretched. "Tell the Fat Toad I finished the book and I'll be waiting outside." She stood up and walked out of the room.

As she waited outside the hotel, she thought, I wonder what jutsu it was that Sitka used…come to think of it; his last name was Hatake making him related in some way, shape, or form to Master Kakashi. She dragged herself out of her thoughts when Jiraiya and Naruto walked out, Naruto looking ecstatic.

Naruto announced proudly, "I've mastered the first stage!"

"Already?" Sara asked, astounded.

Jiraiya said, "Yeah, already. I'll meet you over there." He pointed at a clearing that could just be seen through the trees to her left.

"All right," she said as she walked towards the clearing.

Once she had reached the clearing, it was a few minutes before Jiraiya joined her.

"So," Jiraiya said as he approached. "You read all about Sitka and now you want to learn the jutsu, right?"

"Yeah," Sara said as she nodded, feeling a little apprehensive.

"Good. The jutsu doesn't really have a flashy name, it was just called, Fire Entrapment. Sitka always was one to keep things simple," Jiraiya said, a small smile appearing on his face. "It's a shame he died…"

Sara asked, curiosity getting the better of her, "You knew him?"

"Sort of," Jiraiya answered. "I won't say that I knew him well, but I did know him."

Sara sighed; this Fat Toad is never helpful. I wouldn't mind learning more about Sitka, he sounded like an interesting guy!

"I'll show you how far I've mastered the jutsu, and than I'll leave you to master it yourself," Jiraiya said cheerfully. He performed a few hand signs. A small circle of flames appeared around him and he said, "I had to make this small, otherwise you would be stuck in it too, which wouldn't be too good. Now, Sitka had it where he could walk out of this and watch from a safe distance when it exploded." Sara's eyes widened in wonder and shock. "I'm not so lucky, so you might want to get back."

Sara did as she was told and got back quite a ways, as Jiraiya bolted out of the flames. None of the flames touched him as he bolted through, but he was hit by the force of the explosion as the circle of flames exploded in a blinding white light.

Jiraiya landed unceremoniously on the ground, a few feet from where she stood. He dusted himself off and said, "Well, that's the basics of it. Have fun kid!"

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Sara shouted at him, beyond confused. "You're just going to let me perform a jutsu I've only seen demonstrated once, that obviously had flaws in it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Jiraiya said. "I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure it out…" He began to walk away again but he stopped and said, "Tomorrow, you should be able to remove those bandages, your eye should have healed enough by now."

Sara muttered, just loud enough for Jiraiya to hear, "Stupid, Fat Toad!"

"What happened to Lord Jiraiya?" Jiraiya couldn't help asking.

"Went down the drain when you spent my money like water!" Sara snapped as she began to make the hand signs for the jutsu. Jiraiya decided that he didn't want to test how far the circle for the jutsu would extend and skedaddled out of there.

Sara thought as she performed the last hand sign, Fire Style: Fire Entrapment! A large circle of flames surrounded her, Whoa! I wonder… She stuck her right hand into the flames and felt no heat. So…the user feels nothing, but those trapped within would feel the heat…interesting… She walked through the flames, and was feeling pretty confident, when she was thrown forward, from the blast. She landed on her right side and rolled into the trunk of a tree and lay there dazed for a few moments. She finally thought, this is going to be harder than I thought!

Sara staggered onto her feet, her mind calculating all that had occurred. I walked out of the flames…my mind wasn't focused upon them…is that the key? She tried the jutsu again with the same results; she was sent flying into the trunk of the same tree. Okay…that didn't work…what am I doing wrong? She tried several more times to no avail.

The moon was already high in the sky by the time she decided to stop. I need to rest… Her body ached all over from being thrown into the tree. I don't have the willpower at the moment to drag my carcass to the hotel room…I think I'll sleep out here tonight… She closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.

She opened her eyes, as daylight shined upon her through the tree leaves. As she sat up, she noticed her clothes were sopping wet. Glancing around the clearing, she noticed puddles around the clearing. It must have rained last night and I slept right through it! She quickly made the hand signs for the Fireball Jutsu and dried herself off. As she stood up she remembered what Jiraiya had told her the day before, he said that I could take the bandages off… Hastily she removed her headband and the bandages surrounding it and walked over to a puddle, looking at her reflection.

The cut had already healed to the point that it was now scar tissue, or close to that point. The scar looked like an exact duplicate of Kakashi's. She swallowed nervously as she opened her left eye as she closed her right. I want to be sure that I can still see with it… The same scenery surrounded her as she looked at the world through her left eye; she opened her right eye again and sighed. No damage. Good.

She refocused her attention on the jutsu as her mind sought the answer to the problem of the explosion. I'm not focusing on the right aspect of this jutsu…what if it isn't the flames I should be focusing on…but the explosion!

Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, Kakashi was still unconscious. He had been moved to the hospital, where medic ninjas could keep an eye on him, if his condition changed.

Kakashi looked around, white mist surrounded him, he knew that he was not awake. He figured he probably wasn't even conscious. His gaze searched the white mist for something, but he wasn't exactly sure what. A familiar voice said to him, "I figured you'd come out of that jutsu sooner or later…I've been waiting."

Kakashi looked around wildly for the source of the voice, "Who are you?"

"I'm hurt, Kakashi…you don't recognize my voice? Sheesh, some comrade you are!"

"Obito?" Kakashi said, bewildered, "Don't tell me I'm…"

Obito appeared in front of him, still thirteen years old, "No, you're not dead. Just unconscious…well…sort of… I wanted to talk to you about something…!"

Kakashi dropped unto his knees, tears flowing down his cheeks as he said, "It's all my fault! Obito, I'm sorry. Please forgive me!"

Obito said, looking thoroughly embarrassed, "Stand up please… It's unbecoming of a man your age to be crying like that. Scratch that…it's unbecoming of a jônin who has seen a lot of terrible things to cry like that!"

"But…" Kakashi looked up at him, his eyes showing all the pain he had felt over Obito's death.

"Maybe this will help," Obito said as a bright light concealed him for a second. "Better?" He asked as he gazed down at Kakashi, now the same age. His hair was pretty much the same, he was the same height as Kakashi, and he no longer had any goggles on his forehead. His features rivaled Kakashi's. Kakashi was speechless. "What?"Obito asked."I figured I'd be better looking than you!" Obito held out his hand to Kakashi.

Kakashi laughed as he took Obito's hand, allowing Obito to help him up as he wiped his eyes. He asked, "Why are you here than? If you don't want an apology than why?"

Obito sighed, "Perceptive as always in most areas, dense in others."

"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked.

"What I mean," Obito said rolling his eyes. "I've heard your apology every time you've been at the Memorial Stone! But can I get to the point as to why I'm here or not?" Kakashi nodded. Obito appeared to lean against an invisible wall as he said, "I'm going to be watching over that kid you've taken such an interest in, as a favor to you…"

"Obito…you don't hav-!"

"I want to!" Obito snapped at him, cutting him off. His voice became steady again as he said, "I feel like I haven't been helping you out as much as I could've…"

"Obito…" Kakashi said cautiously, "Your Sharingan has helped me out more times than I can count."

Obito gazed at him, "I know that, Kakashi. I want to help you out a little more…" He began to fade into the white mist.

"Why though?" Kakashi shouted at him as he faded, "I couldn't keep my promise to you, so why?"

"Because…friends do stupid things like that…" Obito's voice echoed as he disappeared, leaving Kakashi alone again.

Back in the clearing, Sara was walking away from the flames her mind focused on when the explosion should occur, not yet… Not yet… Just a little further… She was several yards away from where the flames still were. Now! She watched as the flames were lost to sight as white light surrounded the spot, and than the circle exploded leaving, the already gouged out earth, deeper than it was before. Sara stared at the spot for several minutes, before she leapt into the air and shouted, "Wahoo!" As she landed her leg decided to give out on her and she sighed, sure…I get the jutsu, and my leg decides that it wants to act up again…typical!

Sara stood up and walked back to clearing and stared up at the sky, smiling as she closed her eyes, I hope you're doing well, Master Kakashi… She closed her eyes, her face still tilted up towards the sky. Two orange figures played across her closed eyes, they resembled dogs in shape. The sun is messing with my eyes. She thought as she kept her eyes closed and tilted her head away from the sun. The two dog like shapes formed into one and disappeared. She opened her eyes and gazed around the clearing, her mind working fast. Wouldn't that make a cool jutsu...? Two fiery hounds that could morph into one…it's not like I have anything better to do… I'm going to need some paper… I guess I'm going to have to ask the Fat Toad for some paper. She stood up and bolted into town, her mind racing with ideas that she knew she needed to jot down before she lost them.

After fifteen minutes of searching, she, literally, collided with Jiraiya. As she landed on her rear end, she heard Jiraiya ask, "What are you in such a hurry for?"

She said quickly as she stood up, "I need to use some paper!"

Jiraiya pulled out some paper from his sack but he didn't hand it to her, instead he asked, "What do you need it for?"

"I have an idea…" Sara said reluctantly, "For a jutsu…"

Jiraiya handed her the paper, "Let me know how it turns out for you." He walked off.

Sara sighed, happy to have the paper. Once she had jotted down her ideas and some figures she thought, the Fat Toad isn't all bad…

She worked late into the night, out in the clearing where she had perfected the Fire Entrapment jutsu. She stared at all the figures and sketches for the jutsu, still wondering how to make it work. I guess I should sleep on it…

Where the heck am I? She gazed around her, seeing nothing but white mist.

"It's about time you fell asleep," A boy wearing goggles said as he seemed to materialize from the mist. He continued, sounding annoyed, "I've been waiting since nine o'clock for you to fall asleep!"

"I'm sorry…" Sara said, unsure of how to phrase what she wanted to say, "I don't believe I know you…"

"Huh?" The boy looked bewildered, before he whacked himself in the head. "Sorry about that, you don't know me! My name is Obito Uchiha. I knew Kakashi when he was younger, and well…how do I phrase this…I'm kind of…going to be watching out for you…kind of…"

"I'm more confused now than I was before," Sara said looking at Obito. "You're dead, right?"

"Yeah," Obito said as he nodded. "Maybe I should make myself appear older…" A bright light surrounded him for a few seconds.

When Sara could see again, she saw Obito standing before her, as an adult around the same age as Kakashi, "What the-?"

"Or maybe it would just confuse you more," Obito said, looking slightly downcast. That quickly changed, "It really doesn't matter if you do understand… What matters is that I'm going to show you Kakashi's past so you understand him a bit more, and why he acts the way he does."

"Okay…" Sara said, still confused. "What does this have to do with…anything?"

Obito sighed, "It will help you to understand why Kakashi is so protective of you…" His mind seemed to be elsewhere as he added, "His life hasn't been easy."

"He's not overly protective of me," Sara said.

Obito shifted his gaze back to her, and he pointed at the scar over her eye, "When he sees that…he will be." Sara was still confused. Obito sighed, and he drew his hand threw the mist, as if there was a wall there, and a screen appeared. He moved to stand beside her and sat down on a chair that materialized when he sat down, he gestured to the empty chair on his right, "Take a seat…we'll be doing this for a few nights in a row, but for now…you'll only get to see a little bit."

Sara sat down cautiously on the chair beside him. She asked, "How does this…" She gestured at the white mist. "Work?"

Obito grinned, "Just as curious as Kakashi said you are, when he last spoke to me at the Memorial Stone… I can't tell you how this works, because I don't know myself…just watch my memory of Kakashi before you wake up!" He added, "Don't let this memory change your opinion of him."

Sara was wary as she turned her attention to the screen and watched as trees began to fly past…

This is bad! Obito thought as he rushed through the trees. He's gonna kill me! Can I make it? A vine snapped his foot and he rolled onto the ground, out of the forest, and into a clearing. He asked as a shadow fell over him, "Did I make it?"

A young Kakashi glared down at him, "No. You're late again, Obito!" Kakashi began to lecture him, "You moron! What time did you think we were supposed to meet? When you've become a full-fledged shinobi, you're expected to follow the rules!"

Obito said quickly, "Er…it was just, I was accosted by this feeble old lady with this big sack. She kept asking me directions…" Sara could tell from Obito's expression that he was trying to think of a good excuse. "I mean…OW, dust in my eyes…"

Kakashi snapped, "Come on! I know you're lying."

"That's enough, Kakashi," a calm voice said. Obito turned his attention to, his teacher, who would become the Fourth Hokage. "So…Obito helped out an old lady, are we done?"

Obito tried to hide his grin as he said, putting eye drops into his eyes, "I carried her bag and everything!"

Kakashi glared at Obito as he addressed the Fourth, "Come on, Master, open you eyes. How often does he do this? Is there an old hag lurking around every corner waiting?" His gaze shifted to the Fourth, "Ninja who break the rules are branded as scum! Am I right?"

The Fourth laughed nervously…

Sara was bewildered as she opened her eyes and found herself in the clearing. Her mind was whirling with what Obito had just shown her of how a young Kakashi had acted and her guardian. Master Kakashi is nothing like that! He's not one to be so strict about the rules! Heck, he's the one who's late all the time…I don't understand… She thought of what Obito had said, I need to see more of Obito's memories before I decided anything… She glanced at the papers in her hand. I have a jutsu to work on!

Through the day and into the evening she worked on more figures coming to a simple conclusion, I'm going to need Alpine and Streak if this jutsu is going to work at all! She looked up at the sky; I should get some rest… Once her eyes were closed, she fell asleep.

Instantly, Sara was surrounded by the white mist, Obito's voice rang out as he appeared, still looking like an adult, "What did I tell you before we began looking through my memory?"Sara didn't get a chance to answer, "I told you not to change your opinion of Kakashi based on my memory and you did just that!"

"I didn't!" Sara snapped. "I merely reserved judgment…I'm kind of confused."

Obito relaxed a bit, "Sorry, I just don't want to mess thing up for Kakashi, he's finally happy… You've made him happy," He added warmly.

Sara was flabbergasted as Obito made the screen and chairs appear again, "We should be able to get through half of my memory tonight and than we'll finish up tomorrow, after you've exhausted yourself over that jutsu you've been working on." Obito said with a small smile.

The screen suddenly became alive with the memory that Obito wanted her to see, so Sara turned her attention to the screen, unable to say anything about Obito's last comment.

"What are you, made of steel?" Obito asked the young Kakashi, "I've heard enough of your rules this and laws that! The key is in maintaining self control!"

The Fourth's expression was priceless as he watched Kakashi, visibly show restraint in not strangling Obito for his last comment.

Rin saw that Kakashi was ready to kill Obito, so she said quickly, "Come on, guys, break it up. We're all teammates here."

Kakashi began to walk away from Obito and said, "Rin, you go too easy on him. Remember today's also my special day…"

"Oh right," Rin said looking embarrassed.

"What was it again?" Obito asked looking confused.

The Fourth led the way as he said with his squad following him, "As of today, Kakashi is a jônin like me. For this mission…"

Sara asked Obito suddenly, the memory still playing across the screen, "Did you really forget about what the day was, or were you pretending…?"

"Keep watching," Obito said, pointing at the screen, which was still playing the memory.

The Obito in the memory said, responding to something Rin had just told him, "Sorry, I must have tuned out."

Kakashi shot him a quizzical look, as the Fourth pulled out an odd shaped kunai knife, "This is my present. A custom made kunai knife." He tossed the kunai to Kakashi. "It's a bit awkward…but it's easy to handle once you're used to it. It'll be a good tool for this mission."

"Thanks," Kakashi said as he caught the kunai and placed it in his pouch.

Sara tried to interrupt to ask what was going on, but Obito shot her a warning look that said not to interrupt.

Rin held out a small pouch and said, beaming, "And this is from me. Here." She handed Kakashi the small pouch. "It's a personalized medkit. I adjusted things a little to make it easier to use."

Kakashi held out his hand to Obito, who looked startled, "Wha-what's that for?" Obito said, "I've got nothing for you! Not a thing!"

"Well, that's all right," Kakashi said, nonchalantly, "You'd just give me some useless trash anyway. Better nothing than a useless burden."

Obito glared at him and shouted, "What I don't get is how the heck a guy like you get's to be a jônin!"

"Don't talk to me that way!" Kakashi snapped.

Obito quivered with fury. He finally said, "I am Obito of the Uchiha clan! You'll see, I'm gonna blaze past you! Just wait till my Sharingan awakens!"

Kakashi said, not sounding impressed, "The Uchiha clan is made up of elites…right? With that kind of breeding, shouldn't you be great already?"

"Whaat…!" Obito said, fury lacing that one word.

Sara looked away from the screen, the young Kakashi's last comment hitting her hard. I'm of the Uchiha clan, and I'm not great either…does he think that of me?

Obito said, startling her, "I'll skip this next part, and explain what you miss seeing… Basically, our teacher tells us that we have to destroy a supply bridge and that Kakashi will be team leader, while our teacher goes to the front lines. Our teacher stays with us for a bit, and we discover that we are being followed. Kakashi, recklessly charges in with a new move he had developed, called Chidori. He's almost killed by the enemy for his stupidity, luckily our teacher saves him. I'm not that useful in that battle either, since I froze up when one of the enemy's Shadow clones attacks me. Our teacher uses his, very fast, teleportation technique to get rid of the enemy…and that's what you missed as we continue…" He pointed to the screen.

Sara turned her attention back to the screen, half-heartedly, her mind still on the young Kakashi's words about the Uchiha.

Rin was using her medical ninjutsu to heal the wound that Kakashi had sustained to his right shoulder.

The Fourth said, "Kakashi's wound isn't trivial. We'll retreat for now and set up camp."

"I'm fine!" Kakashi said, trying to protest.

"What's so fine about it!" Obito snapped. "It's your fault for ignoring Master and acting reckless!"

Kakashi practically snarled, "I told you not to talk to me that way. Surely not you, the spineless crybaby of the elite, Uchiha!"

Obito stuttered, taken aback, "Wh-what it was…I got dust in my eyes!"

"Do you know the twenty-fifth rule of shinobi conduct?" Kakashi asked, having recovered his composure, "A shinobi must not show tears. That's the law!"

"Guys…please knock it off," Rin begged quietly.

"That's enough you two," the Fourth said in a level tone.

The Fourth looked at Kakashi, "Kakashi…rules and regulations are important but they're not everything. Remember how I told you, at times you must adapt to the situation at hand and take the appropriate steps." Kakashi looked away from the Fourth.

"See, listen up!" Obito said, thinking the Fourth was on his side.

"As for you, Obito," the Fourth added. "Dust can't get in your eyes when you're wearing goggles. It's fine to speak of self control, but you must be strong of heart, not just in words." Obito looked crestfallen. "One more thing Kakashi," the Fourth added, turning to Kakashi again. "Do not use that new jutsu of yours again. From what I saw, it's a strike with a single focus. It certainly has speed and destructive power, but you can't see the enemy's counterstrike. It's still imperfect." Kakashi looked like his favorite puppy had been kicked.

The Fourth looked at all of them, "Before we part…let me say this once more… For shinobi, the one thing important above all else is teamwork." Rin, Obito, and Kakashi, wouldn't meet his gaze. "Now…let's get going…"

Obito said, "We'll end it there for tonight." He noticed Sara's gaze was not really focused on anything now. "Something wrong?"

"Does he still think like that?" She asked, desperation showing slightly in her voice.

"No," Obito answered. "And even if he did, he could never think that about you. But he's changed a lot since his youth…"Obito faded into the white mist…

Sara opened her eyes, and sighed, content in knowing that Kakashi did not think like his younger self did, I'm not sure I wanted to know all of this about Master Kakashi, but if Obito says it will help me to understand Master Kakashi, I guess it'll help.

That day was the same as the previous one, she worked until dark over her diagrams for her new jutsu.

As darkness settled over the land, Sara closed her eyes and thought, I hope I don't learn anything else about Master Kakashi that I'm not going to like…

Obito was already there when Sara found herself, once again, surrounded by the white mist, and he still looked older. "We should be able to finish up with this tonight, than I won't be bothering you for awhile," He said smiling. He added, "Not unless you want me to or it's needed, anyway!"

Sara laughed, she was really beginning to like Obito. He sort of reminds me of Naruto…maybe an older and wiser Naruto… Scratch that! Naruto and wise don't go together in the same sentence, she thought fondly, thinking of her friend.

Obito once again brought up the screen and chairs, and than the memory continued from where they had left off…

Night had settled over there campsite, and Obito couldn't sleep. He got up and cautiously approached, the Fourth, who was keeping watch, "Master…" He called out tentatively.

The Fourth turned around as Obito climbed up onto the boulder he was sitting on, "What's up?"

Obito was silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out where he should begin. "I…I know teamwork is important," he stated. "But when Kakashi keeps belittling me, and rubbing my nose in my lack of discipline…No… What I mean is, I might be born into the elite Uchiha clan, but I'm just a washout… I know that Kakashi is a great guy and all, I acknowledge that, but…"

The Fourth said, as Obito fell into silence, "Well… Kakashi's father is Sakumo. The genius ninja feared as the White Fang of the Hidden Leaf Village. In his time, the three great shinobi of Konoha legend paled beside him. Growing up beside a man like that…it's hardly surprising that Kakashi has an unusually high standard for others."

Obito muttered, looking thoughtful, "The White Fang of the Hidden Leaf Village… Come to think of it, I'm sure I've heard of him. He's some sort of hero who saved the village and died in the line of duty… Funny…I've never heard Kakashi mention him…"

The Fourth's gaze seemed to be staring into a different time, "He was a great man, revered by everyone, including, of course, Kakashi… That is…until the incident."

"Incident?" Obito questioned.

The Fourth turned his gaze to Obito, "Maybe it's not my place to tell you, but since you're Kakashi's teammate, I want you to know… Kakashi's father was vilified, and in the end…he took his own life." Obito stared at him, horror stricken. "If was five years ago, on a top secret mission…he led a cell behind enemy lines. There, he was forced to make a difficult decision. It was a toss up between completing the mission and saving the lives of his teammates. Obviously, it's against the law of our village to abandon any mission…but he put his comrades above the task at hand… Unfortunately, a great deal of damage resulted in the end. Both the Land of Fire and his peers blamed him for everything. As if that weren't bad enough, even the teammates he had rescued slandered him." Obito looked taken aback. "The whole ordeal caused his body and soul to deteriorate and Sakumo took his life… Since that day, Kakashi has never spoken of his father and he has devoted himself to the laws of this village."

The Fourth glanced down at Kakashi's sleeping form, "Obito…please understand…even just a little. Kakashi means well."

The next morning, after Rin had checked Kakashi's wound, and they had gotten to the border between the two nations, the Fourth said, "We'll divide here. Do your best, all of you. The enemy we met yesterday was a lone scout. But from here on out, we must expect team conflict, so be on your guard."

Obito said, reluctantly, "Let's go then…leader…" Kakashi was beyond startled as he looked at Obito to make sure that he had been the one to speak.

The Fourth smiled slightly as he said, raising up his arm, "All right…ready?"

"Yes sir!" They all said in unison.

The Fourth dropped his raised arm, "Scatter!"

Kakashi led the way as he led them safely past traps and natural obstacles to get to their target. As they were crossing a small pond, several tree limbs flew at them.

Obito reacted quickly, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! They all watched as the charred remains landed in the water. Their attention was soon focused on a shinobi as he leapt out of the trees, wielding two swords that were tied to his wrists.

Kakashi leapt into the air and countered his attacks. Kakashi and Obito whipped around as they heard Rin scream.

A stone village shinobi held Rin by her midsection. She hung limply in his grasp, unconscious. "She has found a new master," the second shinobi stated.

"Wait!" Kakashi shouted as they disappeared. Obito took a few steps after the enemy shinobi when Kakashi said, "Obito! Don't go after them."

Obito whipped around to face him, startled, "What? Do you have the slightest idea of what you just said?"

"Of course," Kakashi said calmly. "From here on, the two of us will proceed with our mission."

"What about Rin?" Obito demanded.

"We'll rescue her later," Kakashi stated bluntly. "The enemy wants to know our plans. They won't kill her right away. Good thing she's a medic ninja. Even if she's taken prisoner, they'll treat her well… That is…under the condition that she help heal their wounded. The critical point is not letting the enemy know our plans. If the information gets out, they'll up the security around our target."

Obito shouted, trying to control his temper, "You say she'll be fine, but you're just guessing! What if those guys were just brainless flunkies? Right now our top priority is saving Rin, not our mission!"

Kakashi said in a quiet voice, "If we are shinobi…we must carry out our mission even at the expense of comrades. That's the law. If we fail, the war will drag on which may cost us even more lives."

"There you go guessing again," Obito shouted, having given up on controlling his temper. "We risked our lives together! Are you willing to desert her for some hypothesis? Every time we were wounded, Rin saved our lives with her medical ninjutsu. Without her…we'd be dead!"

"Of course," Kakashi stated. "It was her job."

Obito slugged him and snapped, "I've decided I don't like you!"

Kakashi glared up at him from the ground, "Whether you like me or not, I am the leader. You still have to obey my orders. Whatever the circumstances, one person alone makes the decisions and pulls the team together. Squad members must follow the command of their leader. Rules are there for a reason. Obito, you have no power. That's why I am the leader of this squad."

Obito grabbed Kakashi by his shirt collar, "Then lead! Rin needs our help! If you have the power to rescue her, why don't you?"

"If you give in to your fleeting emotions and fail any important mission," Kakashi snapped. "You'll regret it later. That's why shinobi have set rules about suppressing our feelings. You must know that as well."

Obito slackened his grip on Kakashi's shirt collar slightly, "Rin…she cared about your well being… That's why she gave you the medkit… She even stitched a talisman inside for your protection!"

Kakashi was indifferent to Obito's words, "Medkits and medical ninjutsu…it's a great system. Our village devised it to up the mission success rate. But like I told you yesterday, better nothing than a useless burden, shinobi need tools suitable to the mission at hand. Emotion is just a useless burden."

Sara couldn't believe her ears; did he really think that at one point in time?

Obito asked him, as he released his shirt collar, "Do you really mean that?" Kakashi remained silent. "Do you really think that way?"

Kakashi looked away from him for a moment, his gaze saddened by some memory that he was remembering. He locked his gaze with Obito's and said, "Yes…I do."

"Fine," Obito said, taking a step away from him, "You and I won't ever agree. I'm going to save Rin."

"You don't understand! Do you know what happens to people who break the rules?" Kakashi shouted at him.

"I do," Obito said, his back turned to him. "And that's why the White Fang was a true hero. Sure, in a ninja's world those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are scum, but those who fail to care for their teammates are worse than that!" Kakashi stared at him, stunned. "If I'm scum the rules are no good to me! And if breaking them makes me the wrong kind of shinobi… I'm crush all the so-called shinobi!" Obito walked away from Kakashi without looking back.

As Obito was tracking the enemy ninja he thought, stupid (&^%* Kakashi! I try to reason with that )(^$Y%(( ass and I get nowhere! How does Master think I'm supposed to understand him when he acts like a (&%$&( jackass!

The Obito sitting beside her was blushing slightly as his thoughts from when he was alive, startled and embarrassed him.

Obito finally found the hideout of the stone ninja. I found them! He began to slap his cheeks, gotta calm down…I can do this! "Okay…let's go!" Obito said preparing to head in.

A voice behind him said, "And where are we going?"

Obito turned around slowly, horrified and was startled to see Kakashi slash at the ninja with his small sword, with a white blade.

"Ka-Kakashi," Obito stuttered. "Why…?"

Kakashi said good-naturedly, "I couldn't leave this up to a crybaby like you, could I?"

Obito thought, Kakashi…

The stone ninja staggered up onto his feet, a slash across his chest. He said, "The silver hair…the white light blade…could it be… The White Fang of the Hidden Leaf Village?"

Kakashi held up the blade and said, "This is a memento from my father."

Obito remembered what Kakashi had said to him, Kakashi…you…

"Ah I see," the stone ninja said as he began to blend in with the surrounding vegetation. "Just the White Fang's brat, eh? Then I've got nothing to worry about!"

Obito watched as Kakashi sniffed the air. Kakashi finally said, "His smell is gone. We'll have to locate him by any hint of sound."

"Where?" Obito asked looking around.

He was startled when Kakashi shouted, "Obito, behind you!" Kakashi rushed in and took the brunt of the attack. He fell onto the ground and cried out, clutching his left eye, "My eye!"

"Kakashi!" Obito shouted, worried about his comrade. He knelt beside him, tears in his eyes, "Kakashi! Kakashi! You okay?"
"Urg…yeah…" Kakashi said, slowly lowering the hand that he had been clutching his eye with. "He…he's pretty good. He made sure to throw away the kunai that he stained with my blood." Kakashi glanced at him, "Heh…got more of that dust in your eyes again? Shinobi shouldn't cry. I'm not dead yet."

Obito wiped his eyes remembering what the Fourth had told him, he barely heard Kakashi when he said to keep his guard up. He also remembered the words he had told Kakashi. He thought, I'm just a big-mouthed washout…but still…those words I said…I'm not going to let them down… Die! He stabbed at the stone ninja with a kunai knife, he was able to see the ninja, clear as day.

"Obito…you…" Kakashi said, at a loss for words, for once.

The stone ninja gasped as he reappeared slowly, "H…how…? You can't possibly see me… What? Your…eyes…?" He collapsed onto the ground dead.

"This time," Obito said. "I'm protecting my comrade!"

"Obito…your eyes…" Kakashi said in awe, still having problems with finding the words he wanted to use.

"Yeah," Obito said gazing at his hands. "Sharingan. I can see chakra!" He turned his attention to Kakashi when he cried out in pain, "Kakashi?"

"Yeah," Kakashi said, answering Obito's unspoken question. "My eye is gone." He pulled out the medkit Rin had given him, "Never mind that. I can use this kit Rin gave me to patch myself up. We have to save her!"
"Okay," Obito said as he waited patiently for Kakashi to bandage his eye.

A few minutes later they entered the hideout, where the second stone ninja was bent over in front of Rin. He got up as they entered. Obito said to Kakashi as he looked at Rin's chakra, "Rin's chakra is disturbed, it's flowing in patterns different from ours."

Kakashi said, "She's under some sort of genjutsu. The tried to force her to talk!"

The stone ninja snorted, "Just some kids."

"We fought earlier," Kakashi said as he drew his blade. "He's quick. We've got to be careful!"

"Right!" Obito said as he and Kakashi darted forward. The stone ninja made to stab him and Obito pulled back at the last second to dodge. Kakashi came at him with his blade. When the stone ninja made to stab Kakashi, Obito kicked the stone ninja's arm away. Kakashi's blade ripped through the stone ninja's shoulder and he collapsed onto the ground.

Kakashi and Obito ran to Rin and Kakashi made a hand sign and said, "Release!"

Rin blinked, looking slightly confused, "Kakashi…Obito…"
"We've come to rescue you," Obito said. "You're safe."

Kakashi said, "All right! Let's get outta here." Rin smiled at both of them.

The stone ninja said, as he stood in front of the entrance to the cave, "That was pretty good…but you're still kids. Remember, you're standing in the palm of your enemy!" He slammed his palm onto the ground and the cave began to crumble.

"This is bad!" Obito stated, trying to hide his fear.

"Make for the exit!" Kakashi shouted to them.

As they all ran for the exit, Kakashi was suddenly hit with a rock on the left side of his head, and he crumpled to the ground.

"Kakashi!" Rin shouted, stopping.

Obito darted towards Kakashi, and glanced up. Not good! He threw Kakashi out of the path of an oncoming boulder. He felt intense pain for a brief moment before his entire right side went numb. He coughed up blood and stared anxiously at his unconscious comrades. After a few moments, Kakashi and Rin began to stir, he rasped, "Rin…Kakashi…you…okay?"

"OBITO!" Kakashi shouted in shock as he darted forward and tried to lift the boulder off of him.

"Don't…Kakashi," Obito whispered. "It's okay. I…don't think I can make it. My right side is pretty much gone… I don't…even feel anything…"

Rin's eyes filled with tears as she whispered, "No…not like this…why?" Obito coughed up more blood. "Obito!" She was at his side instantly.

"This can't be!" Kakashi shouted as he slammed his fists onto the ground. "If only I'd come… If only I'd come with you from the start, like you told me to…this never would've happened!"

Obito thought, I'm not going to argue with you… maybe things would have been the same…but I don't know…neither of us will ever know.

Kakashi was determined to beat himself up for his mistake, "So what I'm a squad leader! So what I made jônin…"

"Kakashi…I'd completely forgotten," Obito said, remembering. "I was the only one who didn't give you a gift…" Kakashi gave him a bewildered look. "I didn't know…what was proper…but…I do now…you…see…it won't be useless… I'm giving you my Sharingan." Kakashi looked on the verge of being appalled and flattered. "Whatever the village may say…you are…a great…jônin…I want you to know that…please accept…" He looked at Rin, "Rin…use your medical ninjutsu…transplant my whole left eye…to Kakashi…"

Rin wiped her eyes and said, "Kakashi, come here. I'll do it now!"

Kakashi looked down at Obito sadly. Obito stated to him bluntly, "I'm about to die. But I'll become your eye…and we'll see what happens in the future."

Obito's world went black as Rin removed his left eye. He didn't feel a thing , his mind seemed to be numb to pain now. He listened as Kakashi broke through the rock that surrounded them. He said, "Look after Rin…for me…"

"Don't worry," Kakashi said as leapt at the stone ninja.

Obito focused on his grip on Rin's hand, I've never been this close to Rin before…she was always focused on Kakashi…Speak of the devil, here he comes… He said to Rin, who tensed beside him, "Don't panic… Rin…" He heard a soft thud and assumed that Kakashi had dropped the stone ninja's body. He heard a different sound outside, "Kakashi…take Rin…and go…leave here…reinforcements coming…"

"Obito," Rin said clutching his hand tighter.

It pained him to swat Rin's hand away as he said, "It's okay! Just go…"

"Rin," Kakashi said.

Obito felt the earth shake beneath him.

Kakashi shouted, desperation in his voice, "Rin! Take my hand now!"

"Rin…" Obito tried to beg her to leave, but he couldn't get any other words out. He could easily picture Kakashi reaching out to her. He felt a few rocks hit him in the face and he heard Rin cry out, "Obito!"

He felt more rocks hit him, but no pain, I could finally bond with Kakashi… In the end…I couldn't…tell Rin…how I felt about her…I wish…we could've gone on longer…

Obito stood up from the chair beside her, startling her. Sara trembled as she stood up out of her own chair, I just watched his last moments…She shuddered.

Obito said, "I'm going to tell you a few quick things about Kakashi's past after that happened. A few months later, Rin went missing in action, and no one has seen nor heard from her since. Kakashi tried to drown his sorrow of losing me and Rin by doing multiple missions. The Fourth really couldn't do anything about it, since he needed every able bodied ninja doing missions, and he couldn't tell Kakashi no.

One day… Kakashi found you. And he loved you the moment he held you in his arms… But…once he had given you a name, he thought of how everyone close to him died, so he tried to stay away from you, so he wouldn't form any connection with you, even though he already had." Obito grinned suddenly, "His second in command, since he was the Head of the Anbu Black Ops at the time, would not let him neglect taking care of you in any way, and finally, Kakashi gave up trying to protect himself from any more pain. Now, I know he feels stupid for his behavior towards you at first, and has tried to make up for it, even though you probably haven't noticed."

"What do you mean?" Sara asked him.

Obito's grin widened, "He's always trying to make sure he can be in your life as much as possible, because of his behavior and because the Third Hokage broke a promise that the Fourth Hokage had made to him, stating that Kakashi could adopt you when he turned eighteen…" Obito stared at something only he could see… "Just understand that when Kakashi wakes up, when you're back in the Leaf Village, he may be more protective of you, just because he cares…"

Sara opened her eyes and glared up at the sun, sometimes I really wish that it wouldn't rise so early! She froze as a voice seemed to whisper on the breeze, I'll be watching over you both…mainly you though… If you ever need me, just call my name… She looked around wildly, expecting to see Obito standing somewhere nearby. She sighed, I think I'm losing my mind.

Phoenix responded, when did you find it?

Hey! Sara thought angrily. She sighed as she remembered the past three nights, "So…you'll be watching over me…you're one strange spirit, Obito."

A Lead

Sara gazed up at the sky for a few minutes before she pulled out her figures and stared at them all, I'm pretty sure I've covered everything… I've already gotten things straight with Alpine and Streak. Now all I need to do is to get this to work…Ha!

For three and a half weeks, while Naruto was working on perfecting doing the second stage of the Rasengan, Sara was having lots of trial and error with her jutsu. Some of the events that occurred are as follows: she couldn't completely cover Alpine in Streak in flames (the flames don't burn them) so Streak, who's tail was alight, had it bitten by Alpine who was trying to put the flames out; lots of explosions that sent Sara flying various distances, lots of dizziness, and she somehow managed to set part of her jeans on fire.

Sara was lying, exhausted under a large tree, laughing as she gazed at the damage her new, perfected jutsu had caused to a tree across the way.

A large part of the tree's trunk was now lying in tree dust at the base of its trunk. Sara glanced at the ground and laughed harder, excitement coursing through her. The grassy clearing had several fissures that had torn through it, and the ground near the fissures was burned. She staggered up onto her feet and glanced down at her jeans where several holes now showed through from several of her previous failures, it was all worth it! I've perfected my new jutsu! Now…what am I going to call it? I'll think of something…hopefully! I guess I'll go check on Naruto, I haven't seen him in awhile…

She walked into the clearing where Naruto was training, and smiled as she watched him put a hole in the rubber ball he was trying to burst. Naruto glared at the hole.

"Pretty good," Sara said as Naruto turned to look at her.

"I didn't burst it like Pervy Sage did." Naruto took in her holey, burnt jeans, "What the heck happened to you?"

"Long story…" Sara muttered as she walked up to him. "You're doing really well, Naruto."

They both jumped as Jiraiya said, carrying two popsicles, "You've made quite a bit of progress on your own, Naruto."

"I've only managed to make a hole," Naruto grumbled.

Jiraiya said, as he held out one of the popsicles to him, "Don't be so huffy." Naruto accepted the popsicle stick. "Now that you've made it to this point, the rest is just knack. Shall we try something out?"

Sara tried to hide her sadness, as thoughts of Kakashi drifted into her mind, and she wondered if he was better yet. A thought suddenly struck her, I should ask Fat Toad if I could help with the search for Lady Tsunade, I really don't have anything else to do…and that really should have been my first priority…not perfecting my jutsu…

She was brought back to the present as Naruto shouted, throwing a ball at Jiraiya, "What? No friendly game of master-disciple game of catch?"

Jiraiya caught the ball in his teeth and said, "Striiiiiiike!" He spat the ball out, "There! Game over. Later!" Jiraiya began to walk away and Sara was about to follow.

Naruto called after her, "Hey! Aren't you going to stay?"

"I'll be back, Naruto," Sara called over her shoulder. "I just need to take care of something real quick."

Sara shouted, as she jogged to catch up with Jiraiya, "Hey! Fat Toad!"

Jiraiya stopped, and turned to face her, "What do you want?"

"I was wondering if I could help you find Lady Tsunade," Sara said.

Jiraiya looked thoughtful, "Now that you mention it…I really should start looking for her."

Sara glared at him, "We've…been…here…a month…and you haven't been looking for her?"

Jiraiya held up his hands, looking slightly terrified, "I was going to start today!"

"So…you've wasted a whole month of searching…" Sara said as she began to perform the hand signs for her new jutsu. "While Kakashi and Sasuke have been lying, probably in hospital beds, ill?" She finished her last hand sign, which was the sign of the tiger, and touched the ground with the tips of her fingers.

Jiraiya watched in terror as the ground cracked open, flames leaping out as two large, flame covered hounds leapt out of the ground and began to circle him, their growls reverberating throughout the clearing.

After circling Jiraiya for several seconds, the hounds stalked towards him, and merged into one gigantic fire hound. The fire hound howled and lunged at him. Jiraiya tensed up, expecting the worse, and shuddered, as he heard the dog's jaws, snap closed, close to his head.

Sara smiled with satisfaction as the large fire hound disappeared, and Jiraiya stared at her flabbergasted. She said, smiling to herself, "I've decided to call the jutsu, Ignited Summoning: Hellhound Jutsu. Don't you think it's a fitting name?"

Jiraiya nodded. He said, sounding a tad shaky, "I'm going to start searching for Tsunade, why don't you keep Naruto company?"

"Good idea," Sara said as she walked out of the clearing, smiling.

"Hang on!" Jiraiya shouted, "How did you come up with that jutsu?"

"No clue," Sara said smiling. "I can tell you the basics of how it works though." Jiraiya made no move that she shouldn't talk so, she said, "When the hounds appear my left eye sees what one hound is seeing, and my right sees what the other hound is seeing…it took me awhile to perfect just that aspect of it! When they merge together I see what the hound sees through my left eye and I control the hound's movements from there."

Jiraiya shook his head back and forth and muttered as he walked off, "I swear, these kids will be the death of me!"

Sara laughed at Jiraiya's mutterings and walked out of the clearing to find Naruto.

She found Naruto, laughing hysterically in the clearing she had left him in, has he finally cracked? She wondered as she approached him cautiously. She tapped Naruto on the shoulder and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Pervy Sage's face when he caught that ball!" Naruto gasped, trying to catch his breath. He then said in a serious tone, "How am I supposed to focus when all I can see is that pervy fool's face!"

"I'm not exactly sure," Sara said smiling.

A few hours later, Sara opened her eyes, having been taking a nap, and glanced worriedly at Naruto, who was lying on his back on the ground, his headband lying next to him, and a leaf lying on his forehead. Sara was about to stand up to check on him, when Naruto said, "Hey…Bright Eyes…do you remember when Iruka-sensei caught us sneaking out of class with Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru?"

Sara smiled as the memory came to her, "Yeah, he was really mad at us. He tried to make us focus on a leaf that he had placed on our foreheads would help us to focus and to build our chakra… Why?"

"I wish I would have listened and done the stupid exercise instead of goofing off," Naruto said, glancing at his hand, where Jiraiya had made a mark for him to focus on when he was trying to burst the rubber ball. "This is exactly like what he was saying…" He sat up. "Sometimes I'm really stupid…" He licked his thumb and rubbed it against the mark on his hand, making it look like the Leaf Village symbol.

"Sometimes?" Sara asked him in a joking tone.

Naruto pretended to glare at her, "Very funny, Bright Eyes!" He focused on his hand and announced, "I'm gonna do it!" Focus…focus…focus..! Now!

Sara watched in astonishment as the rubber ball in Naruto's hand began to move like crazy. Suddenly, it burst open and sent Naruto flying in one direction, while Sara went flying in another, hitting a tree. She thought, slightly dazed, is it just me, or do I keep hitting a lot of trees?

Phoenix replied, helpfully, it's not just you!

Thanks a lot, Sara said sarcastically to him.

She sat up and heard Naruto say to Jiraiya, who had stopped him from going any further, "I…broke it!"

"Huh," Jiraiya said, surveying the damage to the ground and Sara, who was a few yards away from them. "Sure looks like you cleared the second state."

Naruto glanced up at him, "Hurry up and show me the third state already…"

Sara staggered up onto her feet as Jiraiya said, "Now, hold your horses…we're gonna go meet Tsunade first. I'll explain the third state on the way."

Sara leapt into the air, happiness coursing through her as she shouted, "Wahoo!"

Naruto and Jiraiya stared at her as if she was crazy. Sara blushed and said, "I've been spending too much time around you, Naruto." Naruto gave her a skeptical look. "All right! You caught me… I'm glad we found Tsunade, because that means we're that much closer to getting Master Kakashi and Sasuke up on their feet again."

Jiraiya said in a cautioning tone, "This is only a lead I'm following. Tsunade might already be out of town."

"A lead's better than nothing," Sara replied.