Since arriving in the Hokage tower, Kurama had made quick work on her body to remove the alcohol that was going through her system. Sitting in her lonely apartment, she flicked through the mission assignment. A seduction mission.

She'd never been on one of these before, not that she ever wanted to. She found the whole 'leave the honey baiting to the kunoichi' a little degrading and frankly was a bit glad she never had to do one. Nonetheless, she felt curious. She was especially curious because of the painfully familiar target, Gatō.

"Why do you think Kakashi-sensei told me I don't have to accept?" She pondered to her fox companion.

"Because he doesn't think you can do it," Kurama replied. "He's right. You should decline this."

Naruto sighed her closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she was deep in her mindscape with the giant chakra beast. She looked around, a bit flabbergasted with the sight. It had been a while since she came to be face to face with Kurama. The last time she had come into her mindscape, the beast was still dwelling in a dark dungeon-like prison.

"I see you took some liberties in here," Naruto commented. Beneath her feet were pristine stone steps. She took a step forward, taking note of the huge Torri gate above her head. Kurama was lounging to the side of the temple quite comfortably, his eyes shut in content.

"I like it though, it's much more inviting," she hummed. Kurama peeked his eyes open in false disdain.

"It reminds me of home." He grunted. She looked at him with barely contained pity. Even though Kurama had decided on his own accord to stay within Naruto's seal, she couldn't help but feel a small bout of guilt at his containment.

"Don't you get lonely in here, don't you want to leave and go outside?" She asked him as she walked up to a paw larger than her entire being. Kurama huffed as the small woman climbed onto him and sat in between the crevice of his arm and mane.

"That's an idiotic thought. I'm never alone." He growled one eye on his tiny human. Naruto sighed and relaxed deeper into the chakra beast.

"I guess neither of us are ever alone, huh." She sighed, "but it still doesn't shake off this feeling of loneliness sometimes." The beast rumbled beneath her.

"Always so sentimental," he grumbled, "you are no longer what you once were. You are never alone. Those annoying birds chirp around you constantly." He complained. Naruto giggled a little bit, easily drawing the reference to Sakura and Ino. "I have been seeing them a lot, haven't I?" She smiled tenderly.

"Let them fly around and ruffle their feathers. We don't need to act as bait to contemptuous monkeys who think themselves peacocks." Kurama hissed as he returned to closing his eyes. Naruto played with the fur under her skin. It wasn't soft by any means. It was rough like a wild, untamed animal. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to sink further into the fur. It was warm. She could feel the way his natural chakra would flicker off her skin as a powerful glowing source of heat.

"I wonder why they are going to all this trouble for Gatō, why can't we just beat the fuck out him like last time…" She trailed off, her voice questioning but open-ended.

"When a bug dies, a new bug takes its place. That is the cycle of the earth."

Naruto opened her eye and looked at her monstrous friend. "What do you mean?"

"When a ceiling leaks, you can put a bucket under it until the rain stops, but it will continue to leak until you fix it," Kurama stated again.

Naruto scratched her head perplexed, "are you trying to say Gatō is a hole in the roof?" Kurama didn't respond, but she understood.

"I see, so instead of killing this Gatō, they want to find out his plans?" She asked.

"Close but not quite. Getting his plans is progress, the goal of this mission is to find the roots of the weed so they may pull them out. Killing the head of the source does not stop the scourge."

Naruto nodded her head thoughtfully in understanding. "That makes sense, but I still don't understand why I would be put on this mission. I'm more trained in hands-on fighting." She listened as Kurama made a low rumble in agreement.

"I suspect this is not the dog leader's command. A good king does not send out a command when he does not believe his subject can fulfill it. To him, you are a pup being sent to battle a wolf."

Naruto furrowed her brows at the comment. "You mean he thinks I'm a child?" She asked.

"You are from his pack. He recognises that two of the puppies have run free, but he doesn't acknowledge you as having left that nest. I do not believe it was him who recommended you on this task." Kurama stated. She felt a little put off by that. Even without having had inappropriate fantasies about her old teacher, she knew she wouldn't have appreciated this declaration from Kurama.

"If he didn't put this mission together, then who the hell did, huh!" Naruto exclaimed, looking up at Kurama defiantly.

"It was most likely the old slug princess. She was in the room when you three girls foolishly stumbled in during that drunken stupor." Kurama closed his eyes, indicating he would like to go back to sleeping and finish this conversation, "as to why? I do not know." He grumbled tiredly.

Naruto supposed that made sense, but she couldn't bite down the disappointment that Kakashi didn't recognise her as an adult. She had fought in a war, for god sakes, that could at least do enough to have her not referred to as a puppy by Kurama.

"Unfortunately, I can feel your puny human emotions. Are you upset that the talking wolf doesn't recognise you as a mating option?" Kurama leered at her, his sleepy disposition no longer evident in his voice. Naruto flushed and jumped off from her companion.

"What the hell are you talking about, Kurama!" She cried, waving her arms about in an attempt to bat away the embarrassment of his claim.

"I see, so that is what it is." Kurama got up into his four paws and vanished in a puff of smoke. As the smoke began to clear, what stood in his place was uncannily familiar. Towering above her in a jounin uniform, one eye obscured by a hitai-ate with shocking silver hair standing out crookedly.

"Do you prefer me like this, Naruto?" Kurama's voice remained its same dark rumble, nothing like Kakashi's low and smooth pitch.

"What the fuck!" Naruto fell backwards, her face somehow becoming even more inflamed. "Change back right now! This isn't funny." The Kakashi look alike let out an unmatching deep barking laugh and sauntered towards her, leaning over her.

"I beg to differ. This is hilarious." With another flash of smoke, the nine-tailed beast was back in his full form, standing over her. If he felt like it, he could crush her right then and there, but instead, he sat back and watched her, chuckling with a vicious feral grin.

"Perhaps it is best if you take this mission and relieve us of this misery. If he is a good mate, he will not allow you to go out and be touched by lesser beings." Kurama stated. Naruto glared at him indignantly.

"Oh, so now you want me to go out and be bait for those peacocks as you so delicately put it!? Kakashi-sensei isn't an animal. He's not going to attack and chase away potential m-mates." She hissed. "This is a mission! You said so yourself. He doesn't even think I can do it. You and I both know it's going to be a total shit show! What the hell is up with you anyway, turning into him just for a laugh? You're one sadistic bastard, y'know!" Naruto picked herself up.

"You know what, fuck you, Kurama! I'm going on that stupid mission. You're going to regret this!" She huffed, getting ready to leave her bastardly fox alone. Screw him for making her feel bad for him being lonely in the first place! As she opened her eyes back into her room, she could still hear the bastard chuckling darkly. With a frustrated groan, she threw her head into her pillow, stubbornly willing herself to go to sleep and forget everything.

Forget Kakashi-sensei suddenly becoming attractive.

Forget that stupid fox and his damn tricks.

Forget going on the stupid degrading mission-

Oh, wait, no, she can't forget that she's supposed to do that one. She chuckled connivingly to herself, thinking about Kurama having to sit through and watch through her eyes while she is on one of the most degrading in boring missions she has ever been on.

When Naruto, Ino, and Sakura arrived in the Hokage's office that morning, it was safe to say Kakashi was shocked how they so whole-heartedly agreed to this upcoming mission. However, he was not shocked at their bitter annoyance or how they arrived so promptly to the time he set up. So, when Kakashi was late, you could perhaps call it revenge for their disorderly arrival the night prior.

Kakashi casually strode into his office, at 9am, two hours later than the time he ordered the ladies to arrive. He brushed off their accusations of him being late. "Maa, sorry I'm late. I was helping an old lady get her groceries home. Sorry, sorry." He waved as they spat venom at him.

He had yet to put on the Hokage attire, the hat laid idly on his desk. There were no robes. He couldn't bring himself to put them on. They were too formal if not traditional. He made sure he put on a show when he needed to. Still, for now, he stuck with a black unpatterned interpretation of jounin wear. His hitai-ate was unnecessarily crooked over his eye. He kept forgetting to not put that thing on.

He didn't need it anymore.

He no longer had Obito's eye.

An old habit from childhood was hard to quit.

He brushed past the three flailing girls to his desk, casually taking off the headband over his eyes and shoving the big white hat of power on in its stead.

Kakashi was in a bit of a predicament. He did not want Naruto going on this mission. He had assumed by giving her the freedom of choice, she would have automatically turned it down. There was nothing in it that was particularly her brand. Naruto tended to be a frontline fighter, good to utilise in combat teams. And he always assumed that's the way she liked it.

So when Naruto slammed her mission assignment on his desk, demanding when they were due to leave, he was stunned. A feeling of impending dread began to bubble in his gut. He masked over it seamlessly. "Maa, Naruto-chan. Are you sure you want to do this?" That was the second time he has referred to her like that. He hated it. It was a term of endearment he usually reserved as a reward for outstanding behaviour. When he spoke warmly to Naruto, he found that her face would break out like the first golden rays of a rising sun. He enjoyed that reaction and took to using the term accordingly. But now, he seemed to be screwing up on some subconscious level.

First, he did it from guilt last night when he saw the confusion and sadness reflected on her face from a relatively well-meaning joke. Now he was doing it to cover up his own ill feelings. And even worse now, it seemed like it had made the opposite effect on her this time. Naruto, who confidently declared her interest in the mission, was now looking at him with completely unmasked hurt.

"You don't think I can do it, Kakashi-sensei?" She wavered.

Now he felt even more shit than when she decided she agreed to go on this ridiculous endeavour. A crack in his shell must have appeared because he couldn't stop the subtle widening of his eyes. He didn't think she could do it, and she knew. He took in Naruto completely, analysing her features. His head felt like a blur. He hated that too.

Her eyes an intense and clear blue that made you want to swim in it. They stared deeply into him, willing him to answer her. Her skin enviously sun-kissed with those devilishly adorable whisker marks that made her almost look animalistic. He let his eyes trail down her hair as it cascaded in two somewhat juvenile pigtails. They looked as though it was spun from gold. His fingers twitched as his traitorous subconscious wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

Why didn't he think she could do it?

No, it wasn't her appearance that was the problem. Get your head out the gutter, Kakashi.

He shook off that reverie and gave Naruto one of his usual closed-eyed smiles. "No, no, no, I was just surprised you were interested, is all." He waved a hand placatingly, and that seemed to relatively appease Naruto. She still looked at him with scrutiny shining in her eye. She didn't believe him. Of course, she wouldn't. He brushed it off.

"Have you all carefully read the briefing?" Kakashi addressed the whole room. The three silly girls were solemn. Good. They all nodded, waiting to get their orders.

"You will be leaving Monday morning. There will be no henge. Lady Tsunade informed me last night that this Gatō has highly trained mercenary shinobi under his belt, some with sensor abilities. We are not sure of the exact identity of this man other than that he has taken the place of ownership of the Gatō company." He watched their reactions. Naruto and Sakura both looked understandably livid.

"We have, however, found he is susceptible to pretty young women. Lady Tsunade believes that with a few drinks, he can become quite talkative, and I'm inclined to believe her from what she has told me."

"Kakashi-sensei," started Sakura. He took note that Sakura hadn't taken his request of being called Hokage-sama seriously. What a shame. "From what I read of this mission analysis last night, it seems relatively easy if he has such an obvious weakness… why would you need to send three kunoichis?" She asked.

All humour that Kakashi has previously shown earlier in the meeting was gone. "We have reason to believe that the company has expanded from smuggling illicit goods. There have been reports of women in the wave village going missing." Naruto felt herself pale at the news.

"You meant this bastard is smuggling civilian women!" Naruto cried out. So Haku and Zabuza died for nothing. The bridge didn't bring peace to the people. It just increased the level of dastardly and disgusting behaviour. She could feel her fists clenching in anger, cutting small fingernail crescents into her palm.

"That is a possibility," Kakashi stated. As much as he hated to admit it, Ino, Sakura, and Naruto were a good combination of skills for this mission. Ino had experience in successful seduction missions and the interrogation abilities to gain information by any means necessary. Sakura had the medical knowledge to aid her team in attempted drugging attempts. Naruto has the power and guts to take over a situation if it got out of hand, she just lacked a little decorum.

"I took an extra look into these missing persons reports last night after being informed by Lady Tsunade and found they weren't specific to only Wave country." Kakashi reached into his drawer and pulled out a map with multiple markings. Almost every small village in between the great nations had a cross.

"There are approximately 8 people reported missing, not a particularly huge number that we are aware of so far. However, they are all civilians. All women, and none of them from a hidden village. This makes me believe they are trying to avoid gaining the attention of anyone with military power." He leaned back in his chair, gauging their reactions.

Ino was unusually somber. She looked to Sakura. The light in Sakura's bright emerald, green eyes had substantially dimmed. Naruto frowned. She closed her eyes in frustration and bit her cheek. "We need to leave immediately. Why the hell are we waiting until Monday and letting this bastard take more innocent women away!" She glared at the map defiantly.

Kakashi knew then and there that there was no way Naruto would be swayed into staying. "Calm down, Naruto." He stated. It didn't work, of course, but she stayed fuming silently. "The reason why the mission is set for Monday is so that you specifically have time to train. I doubt you have stayed up to date with your kunoichi classes." This seemed to effectively simmer Naruto down.

She looked up from the offending map on the desk and scratched the back of her head sheepishly, her eyes squinting shut. "Oh yeah, haha, I remember those classes. I remember skipping them at least..."She admitted, having the decency to convey some shame. Everyone in the room looked at her with exasperation.

"Are you serious Kakashi-sensei, Naruto is going to screw this mission up!" Sakura cried, pointing at her yellow-haired friend. Ino shook her head and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "She has us remember, it will work out."

Kakashi hummed at the two girls. "That's exactly Tsunade-sama's reasoning. With you two to guide her, she was very adamant that Naruto wouldn't-" He paused, thinking how to phrase this as kindly as possible. "Would," he corrected, "be perfect on the team." He smiled.

"No way, really!" Naruto beamed. "The old hag really thinks I would be perfect for this mission to save these young women!" She grinned widely, positively pissing herself with joy. "I thought it was weird I was given this assignment, y'know! But now that I know the old lady recommended me, I can't possibly fail!" She pumped her fist into the air.

Kakashi inwardly refrained himself from sighing as he thought back to the reasons Tsunade-sama pushed Naruto into this. "Yes… well. You are to go back to the academy in approximately one hour. I need to sort out a summoning for your training. Otherwise, Kurenai will also be there to give you some advice," he paused. "And I suppose Ino would be helpful too," he winced as he saw stars glimmer in Ino's eyes, while she gushed excitedly.

"Dismissed."

"Wow, how exciting!" Ino squealed as they walked through the busy streets of Konoha in the morning. Sakura rolled her eyes, "I'm glad somebody finds human trafficking exciting." She glanced to Naruto, who was looking abnormally concerned.

"I can't believe Gatō company is still going," Naruto uttered, glaring ahead with a small frown. She tilted her head to lock eyes with Sakura, "Haku… and Zabuza." Naruto clenched her fist and jutted her head to glare straight ahead once again. Sakura blinked away the water that unconsciously welled in her eyes and put her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We will fix this, Naruto." The two girls locked eyes unwavering with conviction.

When they rounded the street to the nostalgic Academy, they saw Kurenai waiting patiently at the entrance. The beautiful raven haired woman stuck out like a sore thumb in her typical colour of choice, red. She smiled sweetly at three girls, but quickly she began to look hesitant.

"What's up with her?" Ino mumbled.

"Maybe she didn't realise Naruto would be here?" Sakura commented, glancing at her friend before double-taking. She raised a finger accusatorily in Naruto's direction but then shoved it right past Naruto's face.

"Sai! How long have you been here!" She screamed. Naruto looked to her right, almost jumping out of her heels. Sai was walking casually next to three girls and smiled at them in his own pleasant, if not an uncomfortable way.

"I oversaw your mission debrief, and I was curious about the class you'll be doing." His smile hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Eh?" Ino raised a brow at him. "This will be kunoichi lessons Sai, what's so curious about that?" She asked as they reached Kurenai and stopped in front of her.

"I've read many books about the mating habits and behaviours of the female sex, but I would be very interested in seeing it in real life workshop… perhaps I can learn more about my comrades in this perspective." Sai then bowed to Kurenai, who was standing perplexed in front of them.

"I hope to learn much from you, Kurenai-sensei." He smiled unnervingly at her this time. Sakura slapped the back of his head, "this is training for a mission, not a glorified human zoo!" She hissed, ready to pummel him.

Ino ran in between Naruto and Sai and squished herself up against his arm, gripping it tightly to her. "If you wanted training for the female sex, you didn't have to come all the way over here, Sai," Ino squealed. "I can teach you everything you need to know," she purred before yelping as Sakura slapped the back of her head as well.

"For god sakes, Ino, keep it in your pants. We're wasting time." She growled as Ino feebly rubbed the back of her head.

"Ahem," Kurenai pretended to cough, possibly to grab their attention but just as likely to cover a snicker.

"I'm glad to see you're all as… lively as ever," Kurenai smiled. "However, Sakura is correct. We don't have much time to assess you three all at once. There's a lot to do. Particularly as one of you will need a thorough rundown of the basics before we can progress much further." She looked pointedly at Naruto.

Naruto pouted, "Nee, Kurenai-sensei, is Sai really allowed to come in?" She looked at the pale companion incredulously. "It's not really fair if he's watching us and not participating, you know?" She complained.

Kurenai nodded in agreement, "I understand Naruto-chan. Sai, perhaps you'd be better off coming to an Academy lecture on the subject? This will be hands-on and quite fast-paced," she said to him politely, but the boy did not budge.

"I understand completely, Kurenai-san, but I have thought about this scenario and I believe a hands-on approach is the most ideal learning method. I am ready for anything I must do." He looked at her seriously, all pleasant smiles dropped.

"I see…" Kurenai contemplated. She really didn't have much time. If she didn't pick up her daughter at the designated time, her last-minute babysitter Konohamaru would get restless. "I suppose that will be okay," Kurenai gave a small smile to her group of four and then turned to unlocked the academy door to let her pupils into the academy, ignoring the groaning of Sakura and Naruto, the cheers of Ino, and the silent glee of Sai.

When they reached the classroom, Kurenai separated the four into two groups, instructing Ino and Sakura to go over the mission's details and come up with possible plans of how they will infiltrate uncovering Gatō company and directed most of her attention towards her two more clueless pupils.

Naruto the number one knucklehead ninja, and Sai, the emotionally stunted male. Her eyebrow twitched as she tried to quickly run through her head how exactly she would train them in seduction.

"Am I right to assume that neither of you has ever attended a Kunoichi class?" She asked them softly as they both nodded their head in agreement. "Then I suppose I need start with basic beauty care," she sighed and summoned a bag from a storage scroll.

Delicately she placed several small cosmetics. "Think of this as face painting…" Sai's eyes lit up with understanding, and he picked up one of the fluffy brushes, nodding his head slowly as he took in all the products. "Yes, this would look very much like a painting set. So women put paint over their faces to disguise their natural ugliness?" He looked at Kurenai expectantly.

"I wouldn't say that… think of it as more of a tool to accentuate positive features." She pointed at each product explaining the use of foundation 'to even skin tone' highlighters 'to catch light' and eyeshadows and lipsticks 'to make one of the two eye-catching features stand out.' Sai didn't look fully convinced by her explanation but nodded politely, nonetheless.

Naruto stared at all the shit laid out in front of her, eyeliners, lipliners, concealer, blush, mascara. How can people put all this gunk on their faces at once and not feel like they are wearing a mask? She timidly picked up one of the pencil items read the label. Eyebrow pencil?

"Uhm… Kurenai-sensei, they all just look the different coloured pencils and gunk… how are you supposed to this stuff on?" Naruto asked, dangling the pencil in-between her fingers. An icy chill ran up her spine as she felt an ominous aurora coming in her direction.

"Ino, no- she's still learning" She heard the hushed cry of Sakura from behind her. Naruto glanced over her shoulder before wincing at the sight. Ino was foaming at the mouth as Sakura held her back and the pale blonde woman seemed to be trying to claw her way at Naruto.

"That's okay, Naruto-chan," Kurenai's soft voice hummed from in front of her bringing her attention back to the makeup sets. "I'll explain how to put this all on. Just take a seat." The woman gestured.

And that's how Naruto ended up sitting in front of a mirror, attempting to follow the instructions Kurenai narrated to her with the bravado and skill of a little girl sneaking into her mother's makeup box.

"Oh my GOD!" Ino screamed when she saw Naruto.

After Kurenai's extensive training on how to wear makeup which, what? Only took two hours. Sakura had left to get some civilian clothes and other necessities that they would need for their mission tomorrow. But when she returned her eyes were lit with a devious flame as she revealed she bought a couple of extra things that were not necessary.

Naruto ended up being pushed into going to the bathrooms with a light bag of clothing that Sakura so graciously gifted her and, with great apprehension, pulled the clothes out. A skirt? Really? Sighing, Naruto went into the cubicle and was thankful to see a pair of biker shorts accompanying them.

"Sakura, you are truly an angel!" Ino swooned and hugged her pink-haired friend.

"This is certainly a marked improvement, Naruto-san," Sai added as he looked at his whiskered friends' new attire.

Naruto was still in her black and orange tracksuit jacket. The only real change was a mid-thigh length orange skirt and knee-high boots that were fairly standard with kunoichi. She lightly kicked a leg up and watched the skirt flutter.

"I mean, I guess it feels more flexible. I could probably kick pretty high with this without ripping anything," Naruto commented as she went for a higher kick flashing everyone her shorts.

"You should do that kick again without the shorts next time," Ino snicked while Sakura smacked her head for possibly the tenth time that morning.

"Hey!" Ino yelped, "I just meant it would be a good distraction method!" She cried, and Sakura snorted. "Yeah, right. I'll believe you when pigs fly."

Sai came up closer to Naruto and inspected her face, unimpressed. Layers of concealer and foundation were applied to give her a doll-like complexion that lacked evidence of her usual whisker scars. He frowned as he analysed her features. "You look like every other person now, lacking any distinctiveness Naruto-san. Would you like me to go over your face again?" He asked her.

Sakura came up next to him and shook her head, "that's the point." She bent down to grab another bag. "Fun aside, we need to make Naruto stand out less. She's pretty recognisable to most people familiar with Shinobi all across the world." She shoved the bag to Naruto. "You'll have to wear these tomorrow."

Ino tip-toed to get a look inside of the other bags Sakura had brought back with her. "Ugh, yukata and haori? Sakura, no man is going to want to approach such conservative-looking women," Ino groaned as she dug through Sakura's shopping bags. Sakura flushed, "I was just keeping to the mission objective! We have to blend in with civilians. What we usually wear would stick out like a sore thumb!"

Kurenai nodded her head in agreement. "This was a very sensible choice. Kunoichi wouldn't wear such body restricting clothes. It would make you appear as a more vulnerable target." She picked up a piece of chalk and made her way to the old blackboard. "Now that we have covered some basics on appearance, we can move onto the psychology aspect…"