Ayame- Iris- Fem Harry Potter

Shiriusu- Sirius – to-san/father

Ryu – Dragon – Draco- itoko/cousin

Miya – Beauty – Narcissa – oba/aunt

Asebi – Andromeda- oba/aunt

Takeo – Ted – oji/uncle

Maiko - Nymphadora– itoko/cousin

Chapter 29

Anbu agent Inu followed alongside the majority of the Kuro Clan as they wandered through the market areas. The Family's lord and the only adult shinobi were in a meeting with Hokage-sama and Tsunade-hime, the rest were seemingly buying out the kimono stores in the area.

"Miya, enough. Ayame-hime now has more kimonos than she can possibly wear before she grows out of them."

"Then I'll just adjust them Asebi, oh- look at this one, Ayame! Come look at this one – it's got butterflies"

His squad had been assigned to watch over the younger Kuro clan members and he had spent the last week watching over training sessions, this was the first day that hadn't been spent training all day. He would admit to being impressed by the training practices that the children followed, there were many children from ninja clans who did not train as hard as these Kuro children. Well, he supposed he couldn't call the colour-changing one a child, not being much younger than himself, but the thought still counted. There were full ninja who did not train as hard as Maiko.

And he was impressed, if Maiko had only been training for a few years and had obviously started much later in life than her cousins, she was an exceptional shinobi. Inu wondered if the Kuro's would join the Konoha force, he knew from his briefing that they were being assessed as future residents of Konoha, but that did not necessitate joining the Shinobi forces. With the amount of money the Kuro Clan had behind them, it was obvious that money was no issue when you were watching them spend it, they could easily ask for and receive an exception.

Normally anyone who was chakra trained was expected to join the Shinobi force for a minimum term, this was done as re-payment for the time and effort that the village had given the child to train them. With the Kuro clan being self-taught and privately financed there was really no reason that they would be forced to enlist, it would purely be down to choice. Inu admitted to himself that he envied the Kuro clan. After the last few years Inu had experienced, he wasn't sure if he'd have chosen to enter the force if he had known what the future would hold for him and his team. In the space of 3 years his team had gone from a 4-man cell to him being the only surviving member.

Inu pushed these thoughts from his mind, he had a job to do. Concentrating he looked out for anything that he may need to add to his report at the end of his shift, like the fact the hime had clearly noticed him and every other anbu member trailing them, no matter how well they were hidden nor how much they supressed their chakra signature.

Shiriusu and Reo waited outside the office of the Hokage, as Tsunade was inside speaking to her sensei before their meeting. Reo was amused at the man he now considered a dear friend. Shiriusu was obviously feeling more irrelevant then normal, if Miya had seen how he was dressed she would have marched him straight back into the tent and forced him to change. Shiriusu had decided today was the day to dig out his favourite western clothing; leather trousers, a black t-shirt and his leather motorbike jacket, all finished off with a ridiculous amount of silver rings upon his fingers and chains hanging from every belt loop possible. He had caused the streets to come to a stand-still as he had walked toward the Hokage tower, the populous having never seen anyone dressed as Shiriusu was.

Tsunade's head appeared around the office door, she blinked once at Shiriusu's outfit, decided it was more trouble than it was worth to comment, and just gestured them to join her in the office.

Sarutobi had been watching the Kuro clan for the past week, he'd read the evaluations from his anbu squads and he'd listened to what Tsunade had to say about the family. He still could not get a decisive read upon the family. They were not all shinobi trained but they were trained fighters, they were very open and honest when asked about themselves, but his anbu could find no possessions, not even the clothes they clearly had. They obviously had some serious money, but they didn't flaunt it in the ways he was used to the Daimyo's court doing. He hoped meeting with the Clan head would give him some insight into the Kuros.

Tsunade had warned him that Kuro Shiriusu was different from the clan heads and lords Sarutobi was used to dealing with but the warning did nothing to prepare him for the man that stepped into his office. Wearing trousers and a jacket made from animal hide, the only clear indication of the man's rumoured wealth was the assortment of rings upon his fingers. The Elder shinobi that accompanied Kuro-dono, Yamamoto Reo according to the paperwork, was everything Hiruzen expected in an Uzu-nin, including the Uzu Hitai-ate used as a belt buckle.

"Kuro-dono, welcome to Konohagakure, I apologise that it has taken me a week to greet you, but I'm sure you can understand." Indicating the chairs in front of his desk Hiruzen invited his guests to sit.

"Please call me Shiri, I really am not one for formalities, and this is Yamamoto Reo, a sworn retainer of my clan."

That was interesting and certainly hadn't been in the information Hiruzen had about the Kuros.

"Sworn retainer?" Tsunade leaned forward from her seat at the edge of the room, this was something she did not know either.

"Hai, when Shiri-san first approached me about training the children of the clan it quickly became apparent that I would need to know Clan secrets in order to teach the children fully. It was my choice to swear myself to Shiriusu-dono and the Kuro clan under his leadership so that these secrets would stay in Clan."

Nodding to show his understanding Hiruzen moved onto the main point of this meeting.

"My student," here he indicated Tsunade, "has informed me of your wish for information on the Fall of Uzushiogakure, and the possibility of you staying within Konoha, but I would like to hear from you what your reasonings are."

Shiri nodded, casting a Homenum Revello silently he counted the 6 human presences within the room not including the 4 he could see where there. "I am more than happy to explain to you, but I must ask that you dismiss your hidden guards, I can swear that I intend no harm, and Tsunade is more than welcome to stay as I trust her. To explain properly I must touch upon Clan secrets and I wish for my secrets to stay secret, I'm sure you understand."

Hiruzen signalled and 4 of the presences that Shiri could sense left. Shiri frowned at Hiruzen, "all of them."

Confused and it showed on his face, Hiruzen was sure he had dismissed his 4 anbu guards, he had felt them leave "I have dismissed my guards Shiriusu-san, I felt them leave."

Acting quickly Shiri cast two stunners at the hidden presences still within the room. He had only managed to hit the ninja because he had caught them unaware, two stunned figures dropped from the rafters of the room and onto Hiruzen's desk.

All of he Shinobi within the room had jumped up as soon as Shiri had moved, not knowing what the man was doing. When the black clad figures had landed upon his desk Hiruzen could not be more shocked.

"These are not my shinobi, what have you done to them?"

"They are currently stunned, they will awaken within the next 3 hours or I could force them awake for you?"

"No, leave them. Tsunade have someone from T&I summoned, I want to know who these shinobi are and what they were doing in my office!"

Tsunade was out of the door as soon as Hiruzen had mentioned T&I, Hiruzen himself was infuriated. There were spies within his office! Who knew how long they had been there and what they had managed to learn, and he would have never known if it hadn't been for Shiriusu.

The group waited in silence, the two shinobi upon Hiruzen's desk remained untouched. The office door had remained open after Tsunade had returned and Yamanaka Inochi strode straight in when he arrived, only to stop just inside the doorway at the sight that greeted him. He'd expected to be here to give an assessment of the Kuro Clan leader, not finding two prone shinobi upon the Hokage's desk.

"Inochi, I want these nin detained until they awaken in roughly 3?" Hiruzen looked at Shiri who nodded "3 hours and then I want to know what they were doing here, the full work up Inochi. They are no nin I recognise and they were within my office, and no-body sensed them, until Shiriusu-dono here used a Clan technique that revealed them. I want a full report from you within the day. Dismissed."

Clearly the Hokage was very upset at the security breach and Inochi was determined to pull out every secret he could, nodding once he sealed the two nin within transport seals before departing silently to the holding cells and interrogation rooms. Perhaps Ibiki could use some practice.

As the door closed behind Inochi, Hiruzen returned his attention back to his guest. "I don't suppose you would care to explain what happened just now?"

Giving his trademark bark of laughter Shiri gave the Hokage one of his most frustratingly irrelevant smiles. "Gladly as long as you swear to not reveal my secrets without my permission to do so." Looking round the office for a moment, even knowing there was no clear signs of the 'scuffle' Shiri continued "May chance we should take this meeting elsewhere, I mean no offense but I'm sure you understand."

Nodding Hiruzen found himself having to agree, "Any suggestions, Kuro-dono?"

"Shiri please, Kuro-dono was my grandfather, and I haven't had any lunch yet today so a good restaurant with private rooms would be my suggestion."

Agreement was quickly reached and the four departed the Hokage's tower and headed to one of the more upscale Akimichi establishments where they were quickly ushered into a private room. After having their orders delivered, both parties activated their own security measures to protect their meeting. Hiruzen activating containment seals that would prevent any sound leaving the room for the duration, Shiriusu cast a few wards that did similar.

"Shall we be frank Hokage-sama? I'm not one for politics and I hate beating about the bush. You ask what you need to know and I'll answer with straight answers, if I cannot tell you I will explain why."

"That does sound like the best way, but, in the interest of being frank, Kuro-dono, how am I to believe that you are answering my questions honestly?"

"Please, it's Shiri, and My family has an ability that causes any oath we make to be unbreakable, I would be willing to swear to my honesty for the duration of this meeting. I can understand your hesitance Hokage-sama, but I truly have nothing to gain by being dishonest."

Tsunade added, "I've seen an oath made by Ryu-kun, the way the family reacted you know that oaths are a serious business to them."

Nodding Hiruzen accepted Shiri's option and waited as he swore to answer with nothing but the truth for the duration of his meeting with the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Where would you like me to start, Hokage-sama?"

"If I am to call you Shiri, you must call me Hiruzen. I'd like to hear from you why you are here in Konoha."

"It was Reo's suggestion when we arrived in Uzushio and saw the devastation that was left. He knew that as Uzushio's sister village Konoha would be the most likely place to have information and possibly survivors."

"Why are you looking for Uzushio survivors?"

"My daughter's Uzumaki heritage is strong and she needs training in it. We have some scrolls but learning from a scroll is not the same as being taught."

Nodding, Hiruzen considered what he would ask next as he ate more of his meal. Reo and Tsunade had been observing in silence, Reo because he had nothing to say and Tsunade because she was truly interested in the answers, having never interrogated the Kuros herself.

"I suppose the next thing I wish to ask is why I have never heard of a Kuro clan before?"

"We, the Kuro clan, are from a land so far from here the only way to get there is a transport seal, that is how my late wife arrived in our land. The only copy of this seal is within Ayame's clan secrets, the only copy of the seal that allowed us to return is with Ayame as well."

"I'm surprised you allow your daughter to control such secrets."

Barking with laughter again, and a cough from Reo disguising his own laughter, Shiri explained, "One, my daughter is more sensible than I, two seals are an Uzumaki clan secret, I'm not Uzumaki but Ayame is, therefore they are her clan secrets not mine, even if I am her regent."

Reo was nodding along as Shiri explained. 6-year-old Ayame really was more sensible and responsible than her father.

"Family lines are a big thing in the society I come from, and they are kept as separate as possible. For example, Ayame is my heir, so she is the heir to the Kuro Clan, but she is also an heir to the Uzumaki family so should really be considered Kuro-Uzumaki Ayame, and any of her children would take the name of the family whose traits they most embody. What you would call Kekkei Genkai, Bloodline traits. The two sets of family secrets are kept separate also, I will teach Ayame about the Kuro clan but I cannot learn the secrets of the Uzumaki clan. That is our way if we are being honourable. There are some who do not preserve the sanctity of other family lines, the way we do, if it would increase the power of their own."

"So the Kuro family does have a Kekkei Genkai, I had suspected, would you be willing to expand on what it entails?"

"That is where things are a little more complicated than you think, all of us have one ability that you could consider a bloodline, but we do not know if children born here will still have this ability, Maiko has the Kuro Kekkei Genkai, Ryu we believe has inherited the Kekkei Genkai of his disgraced father's line, and my daughter is a whole other story. If we really going to go into these sorts of details I do hope your afternoon is clear."

"That many within one clan? 3 different bloodlines?" Hiruzen almost gapped at the man, he had spoken so calmly as if having that many bloodlines within one family was normal.

Tsunade was as shocked as Hiruzen. She had known Maiko had a bloodline, it was difficult for the girl to hide it but she had no idea Ryu may have another, and a third used by the whole family. This was ridiculous, she knew the Kuros would be good for Konoha but 3 new bloodlines!

"That's if you don't count Ayame,"

"Ayame, your daughter, yes?"

"Yes, Ayame is different for a variety of reasons, she's also the main reason we chose to leave our homelands and take our chances here. To be honest we are escaping political entanglements. Damn, I'm not explaining this well," Scrubbing his hands over his face and through his hair, Shiri shock his head like padfoot shaking off water, before starting again. "Right, I'm starting at the beginning."

Reo shock his head at Shiri, he had to be the least lord-like lord he'd ever meet.

"To understand properly I'll have to explain the ability we all share. In our homeland there is an energy that some people have the ability to use, much like your shinobi use chakra, but unlike chakra only some people have the ability to use this energy. We called it magic. Throughout our histories there are many examples of those without persecuting those with, until such time as we segregated ourselves away from the 'muggles', you'd call them civilians.

"No-one knows where this ability came from or why some people have it and others don't. It is passed through bloodlines but it also can appear in a civilian line, we called them 'muggleborn'. This led to two factions within our government, those that felt the 'muggleborns' should be brought into the enclaves and given an education in magic, the progressives, and those that felt that it should be kept within the bloodlines, the purists. This led to political strife, which led to actual strife, and a civil war erupted among our people.

"The Kuro clan are one of these old bloodlines, we could trace our magical ancestors back nearly 1000 years with no 'tainted' blood in the family tree. We were one of the largest families within our enclave, and one of the most powerful, but this recent war decimated my family. I had a younger brother and, Miya and Asebi had an older sister. All our parents and their generation were gone and only a few of the generation before that were left, of a family that numbered more than 20, we are all that was left at the end of the war.

"Unfortunately, many of the families that survived were purists and they were trying to force laws through that would allow them to claim any young lady they wanted to be their wives. We are a society that uses marriage contracts to protect our bloodlines and estates, the laws that were being proposed would remove much of the protection these contracts gave our sisters and daughters, making them little more than sex-slaves and brood mares for their future husbands. This is not something I would subject Ayame to and she would've been a prize catch just as the Kuro Heir.

"What we hadn't allowed to be publicly known is that Ayame is not just the Heir to my clan. She's not just an heir to what is an unknown bloodline within my lands, the Uzumaki clan. She's the Head of 3 other clans, 2 of which were thought lost. This makes her Royalty within my original lands. If anyone had found out about this she would've had to spend the rest of her life fending off men wanting to claim her, her titles and her estates. When Reo told me about the Elemental Nations I jumped at the chance to leave, I know there's a chance that Ayame could still end up entangled in political manipulations but at least here she will be allowed and expected to defend herself. Lethally, if need be."

Tsunade downed a cup of sake and poured herself another, they had finished eating during Shiri's monologue. Hiruzen glanced over at his student, wondering if it would be worth it to join her, before deciding that yes, he did need a drink, and pouring himself a cup. Taking a sip Hiruzen put his thoughts in order.

"So, in summary, you all have an alternative form of energy you can manipulate that you call magic, two of the children have a single blood line each and your daughter may have up to 5 bloodlines?"

Tsunade spat out her drink at Hiruzen's summery, 5! She hadn't added up the hints as well as her sensei and it took her by surprise.

"Yes, from what we have managed to work out our magic is closest to your natural chakra. Think of magic as being a natural chakra core within your body that you can access and manipulate."

Hiruzen and Tsunade nodded, that explanation was something they could both understand.

"Maiko's Kekkei Genkai is the ability to change her physical features, much like a henge but it's not an illusion. Ryu has shown signs that he may have inherited the rumoured Kekkei Genkai from his father's line, a healing ability. Ayame had shown minor traits of the Kuro ability and has shown that she has inherited the ability of one other family lines form my land. Reo says she has the Uzumaki chakra, longevity and pre-disposition towards seals so that's 3, we don't actually know what the talents of the other bloodlines are so we don't know if she has them or not."

"You do know that settling within Konoha would cause your children to be subject to the Clan Restoration Act? That would not be so different from what you left behind."

"Tsunade explained before we arrived. Would Ayame be able to pick her own husband? Would she still be treated like a person, if she was being abused would she be able to leave? Would her husband have control over everything she did and has? Where she went, how she spent her money, who she talked to, access to all her clan secrets? No, then she is already better off here."

"It is truly that bad where you come from?"

"For Ayame, or Maiko, yes. Women have no more rights in our society than the men in their family allow them, first their father's and Family Heads, later their husbands. Asebi is lucky that Takeo was a muggleborn and Miya's husband was executed in the civil unrest, before that I had not spoken to my cousin since her wedding due to her husband's insistence. Here they will be treated more equally. Here they will have a say in their own lives."

"I see, you truly have given me a lot to think on. Have you made a decision on whether you'd like to become residents of Konoha yet? From everything you have told me today we would be glad to welcome the Kuro Clan."

"I have come across no reason as to why we wouldn't so far, I would have to check with the rest of my family as I swore I would not make decisions for them without their input."

"I'll leave Tsunade to talk you through the procedures but I can't see any reason you wouldn't be accepted as a new clan for Konoha. I swear as Hokage that what we have spoken about this afternoon will not be shared with anyone by myself. The only information that will be available will be that which is already within the public domain. If you will excuse me, I do have paperwork to attend to."

Hiruzen bid farewell to the rooms occupants and returned to his office, mind full of the implications of the Kuro Clan. Tsunade looked at the men across from her that she had come to see as friends within the few months hey had travelled together.

"So, you weren't joking when you said it was magic that caused your tents to be like that."

Giving Tsunade the wide grin of a prankster, Shiri just laughed. Sometimes the best pranks were the ones the victims set themselves up for.

"Fine, I set myself up for that one. Will you explain more about how magic works to me? I'll admit to wanting to know more now about what the abilities of magic are."

"Sure, I wouldn't have invited you to stay if I wasn't willing to tell you more Tsunade. Let's grab the rest of the family and Shizune and we can head over to the training field Reo uses. It should be big enough to give you some demonstrations, and we can hide it from prying eyes."

Gathering the family and arriving on mass at the training ground most were surprised to see a young dark-haired boy already waiting for them.

"Tachi-san!" Ayame called as she ran to greet the boy, Ryu following with her just as happy to see their friend. Shiri raised an eyebrow at Reo.

"Ah. Uchiha Itachi and his cousin Shisui have joined us every day so far to train. Ayame, Ryu and Itachi have developed a close friendship in this past week. They are of similar skill levels and mentality. In my honest opinion you should include the child. From what I know of Konoha politics, and correct me if I'm wrong Tsunade, Shizune, but the Uchiha's are the one of the clans that you could consider nearly equal to your own. Young Itachi is the current clan Heir, and Mother has only good things to say about him. In my opinion Shiri, if we are to stay here you should consider contracting Ayame-hime with Itachi-kun."

Miya and Asebi had followed after Ayame and Ryu to be introduced to Itachi, Shiri watched his daughter, he had never seen her this animated outside of family interactions. Normally she was the perfect pure-blood lady in public, even at her young age, a mask of civility and detached politeness was her usual face to the world. Now with this Itachi child she was expressive, laughing and joking with the dark-haired boy, who Shiri could see, even from the other side of the training ground, was just as happy with his daughter's company.

Turning serious eyes to his trusted friend Shiri considered the honesty in Reo's eyes. Nodding once to acknowledge his friend's opinion Shiri strode across to the group.

Tsunade knowing exactly what Reo had meant by contracting, turned to him, "I'm sure you have already picked up on the hostility between the village and the Uchiha, why would you recommend the clan heir to Shiri-san like that?"

"Because it was either the Uchiha or the Hyuga, and their clan heir is female and much younger than Ayame-hime. Plus, I have heard of the Hyuga's practice of sealing their branch members, Ayame would never allow such a thing to happen no matter the reasoning. To place a seal on someone is either a personal choice or for use on enemies, never your own family."

Nodding once Tsunade asked no more and strode across the clearing demanding her demonstration.

-page break-

When Itachi had arrived at the training ground after lunch he was surprised to find it empty, and not a little bit upset. Shisui had gone on a mission outside of the village that morning and would be gone for a week, he had hoped to offset the loneliness he felt among his clan members by joining the Kuros for training again.

Settling down under one of the trees on the far edge of the training ground, Itachi decided to wait a while and see if the Kuros were just held up today for some reason. They had given him no reason to think they wouldn't be here this afternoon.

He thought over this past week he had spent with the Kuros. More Ayame-hime and Ryu-kun than Maiko-san but that was understandable as she was much more advanced than they. It had been refreshing to not be so far ahead of people his own age, even to be out paced in some areas, and Reo-sensei treated him differently than any other adult he had come across.

Reo-sensei did not treat him like a child who did not know their own mind, nor did he treat Itachi like an inhuman robot as some did. When Itachi learnt what Reo-sensei was teaching he was praised, it wasn't treated as though it was expected. When Itachi did not get something right on the first try he was not disparaged for it, Reo-sensei would explain what Itachi had done wrong and then encourage him to practice some more.

Ryu-kun was fast becoming someone Itachi could call a friend, he was a quiet, serious boy who Itachi had bonded with over their choice to protect a younger relative, Itachi his brother Sasuke and Ryu his cousin. In fact, Ryu had informed Itachi that he had sworn an oath to protect Ayame to the best of his abilities. Itachi liked the quiet companionship he received from Ryu. There was no jealousy over Itachi's talents in the ninja arts, and Ryu did not feel the need to start a rivalry as he was a very secure child. Ryu knew he was loved for who he was not what he could do. Itachi wished he had that reassurance from his family.

Ayame-hime on the other hand had captivated Itachi from the first training session. She was like a blinding light all bright colours and fiery hair. The first time Itachi had caught her glowing emerald gaze he had felt like Ayame had looked into his very soul, and the gentle smile she gave him afterwards seemed like an acceptance of all that Itachi is. He had never felt such sweet sorrow as he did viewing that soft smile.

On their arrival the second day Ayame-hime's face had lit up and he had been graced with the brightest smile he had ever seen. She had stopped in the middle of what she was doing and run straight over to him, before physically pulling him back across the clearing with her, babbling at 100 mile an hour about the exercise they were currently doing. It had been the same every day after. Shisui had started teasing him about having a girlfriend, his reasoning of them only being 6 was a poor excuse apparently. Shisui was like a dog with a bone when he found something to tease someone with, it was a small mercy that Shisui did not tease him when others could overhear.

"Tachi-kun!" Startled Itachi looked up to see his friend running across the training ground towards him, Ryu following at a slower pace with 2 women Itachi had not seen before. One was clearly Ryu's mother, which would make the other Maiko's mother, if he remembered what Ayame-hime had told him about her family.

After being introduced to all the new arrivals Itachi was feeling a little overwhelmed, and not just because a shinobi as famous as Tsunade-sama was there but because of how easily the Kuro family had accepted him and just treated him as one of their own. He felt like an outsider within his own clan and these people who he had only just meet made him feel more accepted. Bottling his emotions up for now, Itachi focused on Kuro-dono, who seemed to be explaining something about the Kuro family. Confused as to why he was being allowed to stay for whatever this was Itachi just watched and listened quietly from his seat between Ryu-kun and Ayame-hime.

While everyone was being introduced to Itachi, Takeo had set up some wards that would block anyone from seeing or hearing what was happening within the training ground for duration of Shiri's demonstration. Once he was done he nodded to Shiri and joined his wife.

"OK, for those of you who already know this, tough. For those of you who don't, listen up. We the Kuro Clan are from an Island so far away you can only get there by transport seal. On this island there are some people who have the ability to manipulate a type of energy, the closest thing we have come across here is natural chakra, if you know of it?" Seeing Itachi shake his head slightly, an almost involuntary movement, Shiri explained.

"Natural chakra is the life force that runs through everything, every plant, every animal, even the very ground you walk upon, the water you drink. From what we know its very rare but some shinobi can learn to harness this natural chakra along side their own, we don't know how, so don't ask. The energy we had in our homeland we called magic. Like here some people learn to use this energy, unlike here it isn't a choice anyone can make. For Shinobi anyone, as long as they are young enough, can have their coils unlocked and learn to manipulate their internal chakra system. For magicals only certain people are born with this natural chakra core inside of them and they must learn to control it at a certain age or it becomes unstable and dangerous.

"This ability to have a core is passed through the bloodline but, from time to time, there would be a child with the ability born to parents without. This would not be a problem if we lived like you do here alongside the civilians, but there had been decades of persecution that had driven my people into hiding centuries ago. This led to some people having distrust towards the civilian-born magicals, it was feared that they would expose our hidden enclaves to their civilian kin. This led to the purist faction, those who believed that the magical world should serve only those with magical backgrounds and that civilian-borns should be denied entry or in extreme cases killed.

"There was also the opposite faction, we'll call them the progressives for simplicities sake, though they weren't very progressive. Who felt that we should be more accommodating to the civilian-borns to entice them not to leave, this led to the loss of many of the traditions that made magicals who they were. This upset the purists big time and led to them rallying behind a mad-man who claimed he would save their ideals. He didn't care really, he was just a snake-faced psychopath who was hell bent on ruling the world and used it as a rallying cry to trick them into service."

Tsunade flinched at Shiriusu's description, it reminded her too much of her former team-mate, that even she wandering around the countries like she had been, had heard about how he had been chased from the village 2 years ago. Sensei had filled her in on some of the actual details since she had returned, to say she was disgusted at Orochimaru's depravity was to nice a word.

"He led them to civil war and our people were decimated before he was finally stopped, killing Ayame's mother before then. Anyway, that wasn't all important, the important part was that we have the ability to use magic and I'm going to demonstrate!" With that he turned into a huge black shaggy dog.

Tsunade, Shizune and Itachi even expecting something outlandish weren't expecting that. The all tried to dispel an illusion even if they hadn't felt any chakra being channelled. Padfoot gave them a big doggy grin and being unable to resist, and knowing Tsunade would neuter him, gave Shizune a big lick to the face. He ended up rolling on the floor barking with laughter at Shizune's expression.

"To-san, that was rude, turn back and apologise." Sheepishly Shiri did so, feeling more chastised then if anyone else had told him off. Heading into a corner to pout with a big black cloud above his head, Asebi rolled her eyes and stepped up to continue with his demonstration. Shiri would come out of his depression when he felt like it, the big baby.

"Ignore Shiri, he has too much of a flare for the dramatics. Is there anything you'd like to know in particular? Don't ask me to explain what's possible with magic because the answer is nearly anything, what it's possible for me to do on the other hand is a much shorter list."

And so the demonstration/discussion continued well into the afternoon. What the group didn't know because Magic had hidden his presence from them, was that they had an extra guest in the form of anbu agent Inu. He had watched the whole explanation and display with his mouth hanging wide open. When he had tried to ask the rest of the team about it later, he found that he could not speak of it, nor could he write about it in his report. Inu was reassured when he found he could speak to the Hokage about what he had witnessed and the Hokage swore him to secrecy, stating that he already had some knowledge of the matter and that Tsunade would be informing him fully. The Hokage also ordered Inu to keep any future magical events secret. This was no something that Hiruzen wanted reaching unfriendly ears, and he now had evidence of there being many within his own village. Damn Ne, and Damn Danzo.