Chapter 21 already. So close to finishing the first part and yet so very far away…I have started to reformat my chapters to make them easier to read, since this story is almost over. At most I'd give it till chapter 30, and at least…around 25. The Tsunade Retrieval Arc has 2 or more chapters, then maybe one or 2 fillers, and finally the last Arc, The Uchihas' Betrayal. I should be able to write more now however since it is officially summer for me until who knows when in August, and then I'm officially a Freshman. Ohhh joy… It doesn't help that as I post this chapter I'm thinking about the stray my mother had to put down. Rest in Peace, Mindy.

Just a side note, with this chapter comes the celebration for 50 Reviews (Thanks so much!) Which is a redone format of the first ten chapters, and two chapters added to ToaJ.

Thank you to all that have reviewed, favorited, or followed. It means a lot that you enjoy reading what I write!

Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto, its characters, or it's plot. I only own the Plot of this story, my own characters, and whatever crazy shit I pull in this story.

Chapter Dedicated to the ending of school the starting of summer, and the many many animals I've lost.

Jiraya sighed as he looked down at the two Nin sleeping next to one another, a pink haired girl sitting beside the red haired one, whilst an angry Raven brooded in the corner of the room beside a Green garbed Leaf Jonin. "Jiraya-Sama, whose the boy?"

Jiraya looked to the spandex wearing Nin known as Might Gai. "Michiko's kid, the first one."

Gai paused and looked at the 'boy' in slight shock. "I-Ichihara!?"

Jiraya nodded and looked back to the sleeping mercenary, sighing gently. Sakura looked up from Naruko to catch his gaze, a worried frown settled on her face. "Why did Ichihara-San collapse all of a sudden?"

The Toad Sennin looked back to Ichihara, before walking forward to check the young man's temp. "He used too much chakra when he used the second stage of his Sharingan…I'm surprised he even has that stage though, even Iraku was unable to obtain it. We only know about it because it was written in the scrolls."

Sakura nodded and looked back to her female teammate, her hands clenching her skirt. "I can't believe that they'd attack the-"

She was cut off from her anger induced criticism by Sasuke, whom had stood and was pointing to Jiraya while glaring. "Why the hell does he have the Sharingan?! First Kakashi, then Naruko, and now some random boy whom you both seem to be surprised about even being alive!"

The Uchiha's voice rose as he spoke, Gai's hand gripping his shoulder as he stepped forward once more, forcing him to stay still. "Watch yourself Sasuke, this is one of the Sanin you are talking to."

Sasuke shook off Gai's hand with a grunt, still glaring at Jiraya. The white haired male only sighed and shook his head. "You're just like your father you know. Look, his name is Uchiha Ichihara. He left Konoha after the Kyuubi Attack. You really don't deserve any other information but I suppose I'll say it anyway. He is the son of Iraku Uchiha and Oreshizoku Michiko, and Aki's Pseudo sister Sashiko was his little sister. When Sashiko died she gave Naruko two of her bloodlines that we know of."

Glancing toward his Goddaughter, Jiraya allowed Sasuke to take in the information. After a few minutes of silence he spoke again. "The council wanted him back because of his bloodline but Konoha had long since lost touch with him. We only found him by chance really."

Silence descended in the room while Sasuke stared at his formerly lost Relative, both curiosity and the budding edge of anger in his orbs. Gai watched him closely, ready to interfere if need be. Sakura didn't seem to pay any real attention to her Uchiha Teammate, instead focused on the red head in the bed. 'Please be okay…' Her eyes conveyed just how much she wanted Naruko to be okay, to not be affected by what had happened.

Sakura sighed gently and looked down at the necklace that Naruko sported, her green orbs darkening as she thought of another red head with a familiar Necklace. At the time when she had seen it, she hadn't known the significance it held. Now she did. She knew that Ken's necklace was the sign of Naru's other clan, the Oreshizoku. It was an odd thought to think of Ken and Naru as being almost related, especially since his father was an Uzumaki, as far as Naruko had told her anyways. Sakura allowed her eyelids to flutter close as she thought about the two; they were both very similar and very different after all.

I~~~~I

Red eyes faded to black, black hair cascading down padded shoulders. Uchiha Madara stared at the sky as snow fell around him, melting as it came into contact with his body. "Hashirama?"

Madara turned to face the Wood user, finding him brushing off some clumped mud from his uniform. Behind them lay several ninja, all dead, several covered in either burn marks or earth. "Looks like we got the last of those nin posted in this region…We should be good to head back now."

Madara nodded toward the Nidaime, sighing inwardly as he glanced toward Konoha. Hatred still resided inside his chest, pulsing and never vanishing despite the time he spent there. He helped Konoha for Naruko, the girl who knew his pain more so than anyone else could. At first he had believed the girl would escape and he could take up training her so they could leave Konoha, however the predicament with her father and the other Kage being assigned to watch over her was something he hadn't accounted for. He also hadn't thought that of all the ones revived, he would be the first she'd open up to, the first to drift away from. Her hatred still remained, Madara wasn't stupid enough to believe it was gone, unlike the idiot Yondaime.

The blondaime (Something he had heard Jiraya say more than once to the former Hokage) didn't want to believe that his own daughter could hold malice against his home, the place he protected. That was his mistake, one of many. Madara didn't register himself following Hashirama, and instead continued to think about Naruko and his relationship.

The red haired Jinchuuriki was nothing like the other two, Kushina and Mito. Madara had seen Kushina before he had died, through Zetsu's eyes, so he had an idea of what kind of person she was. Naruko's façade was closer to her mother's personality than her actual personality was. In fact, Madara more closely compared Naru to Tobirama, and she could pass as his daughter if she didn't have the red hair, and she wasn't so easily blinded by her emotions.

Regardless of which Hokage the girl resembled the most, Madara couldn't stop himself from wishing the girl to be okay. She was only an obstacle in his plan, the Moon's Eye Plan, and yet… Sorrow befell Madara every time he thought of extracting the Kyuubi from Naruko. Hatred blinded him every time someone threatened the girl or went at her with the intent to harm. Jealousy took over when Madara noticed her closeness with others, the way she was drifting away from him ever since it had been revealed that she had killed her sister.

"Madara you alright?"

Hashirama spoke to him from his right, his eyes crinkled in worry for his childhood friend. "I'm fine."

Madara bit out the reply, closing off his thoughts from the red haired Uzumaki child that had changed him so much. "Just fine."

I~~~~I

Blurry Azure eyes opened to see the pale blue ceiling of the Retrieval Group's hotel room. A groan left Naruko's soft but chapped lips as she sat up, a glass of water pushed under her nose. "Drink, Naru." The redhead took a drink of the water offered to her, recognizing the voice of Sakura. "Tch, finally awake Naru?"

Naru's head snapped to the side so fast she nearly spilt her water, her blue eyes meeting a similar colored set. "I-Ichihara. Are you okay?"

Ichihara nodded to the girl as a quick reply, sighing gently as he tilted his head to the side to work out a knot in it with his right hand. "Yup…well for the most part. I won't be able to use Chakra for a day or two without passing out but I'll be good otherwise."

Sakura scoffed from behind Naruko, making the Red head glance back at her teammate. She found the pinkette scowling at Ichihara, whom now took on a sheepish smile. "His eyes are pretty messed up too. It's a good thing we are going after Tsunade-Hime, otherwise you wouldn't be getting much help for the damage you caused with that Doujutsu of yours Ichihara-San."

"I'll say, why didn't you tell us you evolved the Sharingan?"

Naru turned her head to face Jiraya, whom was smirking at Ichihara. "That's not just something you keep under wraps Ihara."

Ihara froze at this question, his smile fading as he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "It's not something I'm proud to have Jiraya-Sensei. My father died to give me these eyes…And as you can see they harm more than they help. They are a last resort and even at the end of the day I wouldn't consider using them unless it was for someone else's safety, and against another Doujutsu user."

Ichihara explained to Jiraya, turning back toward Naruko. "My situation is similar to yours, but I was born with the sharingan so when my father used Zero Seals Style, Transfer Overlay to keep me alive he ended up doubling his Sharingan on top of mine, giving me my Mangekyo…However since I didn't unlock it normally I can't control it and it uses too much Chakra."

Naruko nodded, flinching at the mention of the Jutsu used by Sashiko to give her the bloodlines she had. "It took me awhile and a lot of chakra exercises to get mine to work. It must have been really hard for you since your chakra was already developed."

Ihara nodded in confirmation to Naruko's theory, before stretching his arms above his head. "If you are okay we can get back onto the road. I heard you needed help with a jutsu."

Ichihara's carefree smile had returned, but none of the three in the room were fooled. "Alright Ihara, I need to inform Gai and I'm sure that Sasuke would like to meet his cousin of sorts."

A soft groan left Ichihara's lips at Jiraya's statement but he nodded to the two girls and followed Jiraya outside.

I~~~~I

"Hello Sasuke, I'm Oreshizoku/Uchiha Ichihara."

Ihara held out his hand to Uchiha Sasuke, his blue eyes closed in a half smile as the boy regarded him coldly. Sasuke took his hand and shook it, surprised when he felt a slight spark. Ihara glanced down in slight surprise, his blue eyes filling with light while his pale blue chakra encased Sasuke's hand in sparks. "Well what do we have here…You're a Lightning user huh?"

The smaller Uchiha nodded to Ihara warily. Gai and Jiraya stood off to the side talking about the mission, watching the interaction between the clan members in interest.

Ichihara chuckled and pulled his hand from Sasuke's, not missing the faint glimmer of sadness at the loss of Ihara's static chakra. "I also have a Lightning Affinity. I like to use it a lot more than my fire or wind affinities, but I'm also rather good with them."

The youngest raven nodded and narrowed his eyes slightly on Ichihara's eyes. "How come your eyes are blue?"

Ihara paused at the question, biting his lip before replying. "My father's eyes were the same way, even though he was a full blooded Uchiha. It's a form of mutation I guess."

Sasuke nodded in acceptation to the Oreshizoku's reasoning. The two boys turned toward the hotel as they hear footsteps however, just in time to see Naruko step down beside Sakura.

Sakura wore her normal red blouse with the black skirt and grey shorts underneath, while Naruko wore a copy of her Third Exam Outfit again. "Dobe, finally awake?"

The Uzumaki barely glanced at Sasuke before she sighed in annoyance and turned to face Jiraya. "Hey Ero-Sennin when are we heading out?"

Jiraya face planted at the blatant disrespect his Goddaughter showed him, Gai frowning and muttering about something most un-youthful.

"S-Soon Gaki! And would it kill you to call me Sensei?! I did help teach you the Rasengan!"

Jiraya shouted at Naruko, whom only raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at the same time to seem uncaring. "Whatever Ero-Sensei."

Ihara snickered from behind Naruko, earning him a glare from the affronted Gama Sennin. Sakura only sighed and stepped beside her partner. Sasuke frowned at being ignored and walked up to them as well.

"What's with you Dobe, is it because Kakashi was attacked by…him?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and hissed out the last word to his sentence, barely catching Naruko's head whipping in his direction. "Kakashi-Sensei was attacked?!"

From behind the children Jiraya and Gai shared a look of both exasperation and worry. Neither had wanted to tell Naruko that Uchiha Itachi had attacked and put Kakashi into a Genjutsu comma.

I~~~~I

It was dark, and light at the same time. Red and white blurred around Kakashi's white hair…or was it black?

The Hatake was unsure of anything in the world he was forced to endure, including the pain he felt as Uchiha Itachi stabbed him yet again. "One minute down…Taisho."

The boy pulled the blade out slowly and Kakashi grunted in pain, his voice sounding so far away even to his own ears. "Why'd you do it…Itachi…"

Itachi paused to tilt his head and the blade dragged out once more as another slowly slid in, several more Itachi's appearing around the post Kakashi was pinned to with Kunai and spiked shackles. "Which one are you talking about? Killing my clan, putting my Outoto into Tsukiyomi, or going after Namikaze Akihane Naruko?"

Kakashi's black and sharingan eyes glared at the Uchiha before them as he mentioned Naruko's full name.

"Y-You know."

The hissed accusation sound a lot less scary when faced with the points of a dozen blades, ready to stab into Kakashi's body once more. "I know a lot more than you would believe Taisho. Including what Naruko is capable of…Where Ihara-Ni currently is, and just what you fear the most."

Kakashi froze in shock when he was suddenly chain to a floor in front of Itachi, a little girl with red hair strapped to the post he had been earlier, her blue eyes staring down at Kakashi as a growl left her throat. "Let us go d-dammit!"

Itachi drove the first blade through Akihane's heart.

I~~~~I

Minato sat worriedly beside Kakashi's bed, clutching the boy's hand. Well, Kakashi was more of a man than a boy but as the former sensei of the Hatake, Minato couldn't help but consider his a boy. Kakashi wouldn't feel the same way, since her had been distant the moment Minato was assigned as his instructor, but it didn't change how Minato felt. "Kakashi…"

Minato sighed heavily and glanced at the charm bracelet that matched his Daughter's, gently tugging on it with his free hand. The bracelet unclasped and fell into his hand. He rubbed the symbol on the charm once before he placed it in Kakashi's hand. "Come home soon Naruko…"

I~~~~I

A sneeze broke through the quiet gathering of students, Ichihara rubbing his nose in irritation whilst Sakura giggled from behind her hand. Sasuke stood off to the side, with Naruko, whom was still silent after being told what happened to Team 7's Sensei. Gai had gone back to inform Konoha of what had transpired, whilst Jiraya had offered to take Sasuke with him so Gai didn't have to watch the boy. The group was walking toward another village in the distance, Sakura holding a scroll in her hands as she read and walked. Ichihara glanced back to the team of Genin behind him every once and a while, keeping an eye on Naruko.

The Red head of the group meanwhile was contemplating the most painful way to get back at Itachi, her anger built up over the fact that Jiraya hadn't wanted to tell her at first. He had explained exactly why but it didn't bug Naruko any less. Kakashi was hurt, had been hurt by Uchiha Itachi. The fact that Kakashi was hurt didn't even hurt the most. What really angered and made Naru's chest ache more than anything else was the fact that Itachi had only been looking for Naruko and Kakashi had tried to protect her.

"Naruko…If you keep scowling like that I'm going to do something about it."

Ichihara's words barely made Naru look up, her eyes a dark blue that held gilt, hatred, and sadness inside. Ichihara narrowed his eyes as he noticed the guilt, a mute sigh leaving his lips before he stalked back toward the red head. She yelped when he grabbed her collar and dragged her to the front of the group, and continued past Jiraya. "U-Uh Ihara?"

Jiraya spoke up, before he caught the blue gaze of the boy and a grin fell on his lips. "Oh, alright. Come on Gaki's, you get to see something very few people ever do."

The two remaining Genin shared a look before giving Jiraya a warry glance, making him role his eyes. The two spoke at the same time. "What exactly?"

Jiraya sweat dropped at the behavior the two displayed, before speaking. "And Oreshizoku beating some sense into someone."

Naru tried to ask Ichihara what he was doing, her heart pounding whilst she wanted nothing more than to rip herself from Ihara's grip and tear into hi- Naruko felt herself tense at the thoughts, finally managing to stop Ichihara in his tracks. The boy turned to her, only to find her hair shadowing her eyes. "Naruko, stop that."

The red head looked away, ashamed that she had thought about hurting Ichihara, one of the few ties she had connected to her elder sister. She winced at the commanding tone of Ichihara, and was shocked when a fist flew at her face. She easily ducked to avoid and sprang upward to avoid a swipe of Ichihara's leg at her feet. She flipped in mid-air to avoid Ichihara's ax kick and rolled to avoid a roundhouse kick. "W-what are you doing?!"

Ihara ignored the Uzumaki's question and instead launched at the girl. He stuck to his personal style, a mix of the Uchiha Interceptor Fist, his Father's Broken Dance Style, and his grandmother's Blood Trance Style. Form the sidelines Sasuke and Sakura picked out different moves or combinations they were familiar with. A grin overtook Jiraya's face as he noticed Naru's eyes dull and her body relax. "Jiraya-San, what is the other style that Ichihara-San is mixing with Naru's style and Sasuke's Style?"

A hum left Jiraya's lips before he answered the little Pink haired Genin to his right. The Raven at his left payed close attention. "Ichihara likes to mix and blend styles until they are his own. This one is a repeat self-support offensive style that allows Ichihara to use the same moves rapidly in order for him to gain certain speed, agility, and strength perks. It's a mixture of the Uchiha's Main Style, The Blood style Taijutsu Form, and a Dueling Style his father created."

The Genin both nodded and focused on the fight once more, Sasuke's sharingan activating to record the battle. Naruko was mostly dodging Ihara's attacks, however when the elder aimed a strike at her shoulder her own arm shot out. She swiftly moved under Ihara's strike and her palm hit his chest. She twisted around Ichihara's right side, the one with the extended arm, and her left hand shot out and jabbed him in his side. Naruko flipped over a foot swipe from Ichihara and the heel of her boots pushed into Ichihara's chin as her arms pushed her off the ground. Craters formed under the palms of the Uzumaki as she sent Ichihara flying across the trail, right into a tree. Naru landed on the ground with another flip and steadied herself, taking the stance she had used against Madara.

"Good…"

Clapping was heard as Ichihara pulled himself from the tree, smiling at Naru whilst she stared at him. Naru finally sighed and straightened, a soft smile dragging over her lips. "Thank you, Ichihara." Ichihara only smirked at Naru and walked over, ruffling her red locks. "Ihara-Ni is fine, Naru-Chan."

I~~~~I

After Team 7 plus two finally got back on the road, Sasuke and Sakura picked up a conversation with their teammate. Naruko conversed back, and Ichihara allowed himself to talk to Jiraya. The traveling ninja reached the next village on their stop soon after, the adults splitting from the children with word to meet at the Inn they would be staying at. Sasuke stayed close to his teammates as they wandered around, the Trio grabbing some fried squid to munch on, as well as a bundle of candies in a bag. Naru gave Sasuke a storage scroll, and soon they had bought quite a few items. Sasuke was less enthusiastic about being out of the village than the girls, but still joined in even if it was awkward.

After they had finished their exploring Naruko led them toward the middle of town to find a map, sighing gently as she stretched. "I still can't believe all that has happened…Jiji-San is going to freak when he hears about Ihara-San."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the Red head alongside Sasuke, before they both glanced at the seals on Naru's belt. "Say Naru, didn't you want to grab some more sealing supplies and check out the scroll shop?"

The Uzumaki glanced back toward her team and nodded reluctantly as she sighed. Sakura lifted her hand and pointed toward a shop down the strip of businesses. "There's a shinobi shop over there."

The other members of Team 7 barely could see Naruko as she disappeared in a blur toward the shop, both running after the girl as soon as they registered what had happened.

"You just had to tell her?"

Sakura glared at Sasuke, huffing as she raised her hands. "How was I supposed to know she'd go crazy?!"

Neither commented, and instead hurried toward Naru as they spotted her browsing the store. She was already near the Jutsu scrolls, glancing them over as the Teller came toward her. "Oh, a Kunoichi? Welcome to my shop."

Naru nodded in greeting to the shopkeeper, pausing as she saw a black scroll about 5 inches in diameter. It had a black covered and white ink labelling the top. "Oh that's an old scroll. It's from Wave Country, they shipped it over here since they don't have much in the way of Shinobi. It's an old history scroll from Uzushio I believe, very rare."

"Naruko it's about time to meet up with the Geiser and Ichihara. Just buy the scroll or let's get going."

Sasuke spoke up from beside Sakura, earning him a nudge from the girl. "Fine, fine. How much do you want for the scroll?"

The shopkeeper smiled brightly at the red haired Kunoichi and replied. "I'd say 1500 Ryo would be enough."

Naruko dug her hands into her pockets and pulled out Gama-Chan, slipping the shopkeeper about 2000 Ryo instead. "Keep the change. Thank you Sir."

Naru walked out of the shop without looking back, instead staring at the scroll she held. She was so intent of her wish to read its contents that she ran into someone. The Uzumaki quickly regained her balance, yelping as she heard a growl. "Watch it, Gaki."

Team 7 all looked toward the person that Naru had run into, each one of them freezing. The red head herself seemed to be stuck between yelling back and apologizing. Instead, Naru took a deep breath and spoke to the busty blonde haired woman wearing a pale grey kimono-blouse and black shorts that she had bumped into moments before. "T-Tsunade."

Hazel eyes narrowed on Naru, shock and recognition in them. "Kushina…?"

And finally finished. Took way too long to write down this 3900 worded chapter. This new format of writing is one I will be updating future chapters into, and it will be the final form of the chapters. I have already gotten around 3 of the chapters done, and I am halfway through the fourth. Counting this one is five, and hopefully by the end of next month I'll have them all completed. Thanks for reading, review if you have suggestions or questions!