After those rumors that Naruto had hit a civilian, Konoha had become really fearful and hostile. To keep his agreement with Iruka, Naruto would avoid being out and about unless it was to go to the Academy. Once, when a villager had thrown a rock at him, Naruto ended up playing a nasty prank on him later that ended up with the man having an arm and leg broken, his skull frac-tured and in a coma for two weeks by accident.

Naruto hadn't been caught. Even Iruka had never suspected a thing, but Naruto had sworn to himself that he would be more careful from then on, ignoring the voice in his mind saying 'why bother?' Well, it should at least be on purpose. I refuse to have so little control!

After eavesdropping on a conversation between a teacher and that monster of a Deputy Headmistress, Yamanaka Maifa, he was able to find out how the teams were formed. He had the choice between being the Rookie of the Year and the Dead Last, and he decided on being Dead Last – mainly because the villagers of Konoha might fear and hate him less if he weren't seen as powerful. Though pretty much the only reason he cared was his promise to Iruka.

On an unspoken agreement, Naruto and Biwako didn't use the Shadow Clone in their next few spars -even after learning it well-, much less its explosive variant, even though both of them had learned the two jutsu. Of course, that might have something to do with how much Chakra they took and the way they split stamina between them – Naruto's Shadow Clones barely had enough Chakra to explode when he made more than five or six.

Naruto started working on the Wind Style training; he tried to cut a leaf using only his Chakra, which was much harder than it sounded. He had already managed the Water element exercise in less than two weeks. Biwako's feat of managing the Lightning exercises about equally as quickly didn't surprise Naruto much; such feats were only to be expected when it came to her.

After several months, Naruto managed to fully cut the leaf, partly thanks to Madara's advice in the prologue of his beginners' book ('imagine two spinning discs making contact. The point of contact is where the cut spreads, in two directions'). After that, he learned a D-rank Wind ninjutsu, Fuuton: Shou (Wind Style: Thrust), which pushed one relatively small object or person away. It took him three weeks or so to learn Shou.

He had also studied the Uchiha clan's information on the Senju clan's fighting styles. For some reason, Naruto felt drawn to the Senju clan, Hashirama and Tobirama the most of them. Well, Tobirama had been the greatest Suiton user in the history of Konoha.

Naruto was good at learning by doing things with his body. That didn't mean that he wasn't good at learning from books and scrolls, though. It was just slightly slower going. He had needed some help from Iruka, but he managed to piece together some of the Senju clan's styles, but Iruka would urge him not to try anything more advanced. 'Learning something wrongly is very difficult to undo,' Iruka had said.

Naruto was also starting to get the hang of the fewer hand-seals thing – he recently managed to substitute with one of his Water Clones without Biwako noticing in a spar, mainly because he could use the Kawarimi (Substitution / Body Replacement) with only one hand-seal.

The track record of the two of them remained about equal, and neither had managed more than two wins in a row. They also found out their elements through Chakra paper, a process that held surprises for both of them. Biwako stared into- well, nothing, after her paper crinkled into a ball, then burned to ash.

According to her, her talent for Fire Style had increased recently, but that she would have two affinities was still a surprise. As for Naruto, he had expected Water, but not Earth in his affinities.

The Hawks started to train Biwako, including in Raiton and the basics of using her nose for tracking, and the advantage of her having a high-level teacher and him not having one proved to be too much. That was the first time Naruto lost three weeks in a row, so he went to Iruka for advice.

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, distressed, "I need help 'ttebayo."

"What is it, Naruto?" Iruka said, putting down his cup of tea calmly.

So, Naruto told him the problem without details. He told him that he had a rival, and that they were surpassing him; none of the skills he could learn at the moment could counter their skills, and he didn't want to get left behind; would his rival throw him away in that case?

Iruka smiled a bit. He said, "firstly, if you two are friends, not just rivals, then they won't throw you away. Secondly, have you tried improving what you're best at instead of learning new skills? Try not to learn too much at once; it's like trying to look left and right at the same time."

Naruto thought it over. Wind Style was a bust; he just wasn't good enough at it to counter Biwako's improved Raiton. Even if he learned Earth jutsu, Earth simply wasn't good against Lightning. So, that left the Water element. 'Yes,' he thought, 'there has to be a reason it's not considered weak to Lightning, con-duc-tor or not.'

"Thanks Iruka-sensei," Naruto said with a grin and hugged his teacher.

"Ow. Can't- breathe," Iruka said, getting paler and paler.

"Oops. Sorry, sensei," Naruto said, blushing in embarrassment, and released the man.

Naruto read up on water and discovered that only when the water had 'impurities' did it remain a good conductor of electricity. So, he looked into some books on chemistry and physics. He managed to purify the water on the fly, which took him nearly as long to manage as extracting the water from a leaf without hand-seals had, despite help in training from Shadow Clones; a trick which he discovered thanks to Iruka's advice, again. It was possibly the most difficult skill he had ever tried to learn related to the Water element.

Naruto had to invent a whole new hand-seal through knowledge of Chakra theory and clone trial-and-error both. To be exact, he made a modified version of the Dog seal, which was less costly than trying an actual higher level purified jutsu with its original hand-seals.

He only had the Chakra reserves of a slightly above average adult Chuunin if he was estimating things right, but the quick restoration of his Chakra and his great Chakra control allowed him to train with two clones for hours; more clones, when he was doing something less costly, like when he made the new hand-seal.

Naruto had a new appreciation for Senju Tobirama, who had been a very productive jutsu inventor. Naruto's clones had nearly blown themselves up more than once when making the new hand-seal.

The help of a certain medic-nin didn't hurt, with his own custom food pills, which allowed him to get enough nutrients and energy for Naruto not to need to take many breaks to eat when training. The skill of purifying the water, despite how costly it was in terms of Chakra, got him the win for two matches straight.


Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage was in the Academy, and all the students stood at attention. He gave a speech and introduced an ANBU by the codename 'Wildcat'. Wildcat told them about his Mokuton, which was the combination of Water and Earth natured Chakra, and showed them two jutsu: the Moku Bunshin (Wood Clone) and a ninjutsu which made houses out of nowhere. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Could it be – could he have Mokuton? He met Biwako's eyes, and the same shock was in them.

Naruto tried for days to use the Wood Clone, to no avail. Again. Tiger, Dog, Snake, "Mokuton: Moku Bunshin no jutsu!"

Nothing again. "Damn it," he said, fists clenched, "why the hell can't I do it?!"

Biwako whispered that a bloodline might need to be activated in an intense situation first, but Naruto wouldn't give up; he knew he could do it as he was!

The next try created a bit of sawdust, which didn't look like much, but it was, in fact, his first success in using Mokuton. If he ignored how healthy and strong his trees and plants were and how incredibly high-quality the fruit and vegetables were, that is.

In hindsight, it was obvious: when he was in a good mood, the plants seemed more alive, but he had thought that was a trick of the light. As for the time he had brought a dead plant back to life, that was probably a fluke he'd need lots of practice to manage again.

"Yatta!" Naruto said and started jumping around.

After winding down, he saw Biwako's serious expression. He said, "what's wrong, Biwako?"

"So, you're a Senju," Biwako said, expression unreadable.

"Well, yes, apparently. Is that gonna be a problem?" Naruto said. Will she not want to talk to me again?

Biwako shook her head and smiled; she actually smiled! She said, "no, but it's fitting, don't you think?"

"Fitting?" Naruto asked, a bit confused.

"Madara and Hashirama," Biwako explained, "only one could match the other; it might well be the start of something legendary, this rivalry we share."

Naruto smiled too, for real, and all plant-life around them came alive.

"Wait," Naruto said, "does that mean Tsunade-sama is my mother or grandmother, or something?"

Biwako blinked. She said, "I didn't think of that. Should we look for her? I could put the Hawks on a search."

Naruto said yes to the idea, and felt really happy. I might have a living family member out there! He nearly didn't notice that Biwako looked sad and envious. Nearly. After all, he had gotten very good at reading his only friend. He put a hand on Biwako's shoulder. He could see how she had put on a brave face, but was hurting inside; he didn't begrudge her the envy she felt, and silently showed his support.

Biwako unexpectedly hugged him, and Naruto couldn't believe his senses. It was only the second time she had initiated something like that outside of their sleeping arrangements, and the first time it lasted so long. She trembled a bit in his arms, but she didn't cry. She might not be able to cry anymore.

Naruto was planning his tactics on their new spar. He couldn't think of how to beat Biwako a third time in a row, but he would try his best; she had copied him in using Shadow Clones to train, and had learned a new jutsu that could rip through his defenses. Perhaps Iruka's advice of playing to his strengths would hold true again.

Mokuton was a tough nut to crack, so he wouldn't keep on that for the time being. He'd look up in the Uchiha archives what his female relative was known for, other than her medical ninjutsu; same with Hashirama. He'd also ask Iruka.


"Well, let's see," Iruka said, nursing a cup of tea, "Tsunade-sama? Where do I start? You see, Tsunade-sama is known for her great Chakra-enhanced physical strength; Shodai-sama was also a medic-nin, like his granddaughter."

"Any details on her strength?" Naruto asked, leaning forward in interest. That sounded familiar.

"Well," Iruka said, "I don't know for sure, but apparently the key to her enhanced strength is timing, precise Chakra Control and knowledge of anatomy. She's also naturally strong, even without it. Why? Do you want to try to reverse engineer it?"

"Maybe," Naruto said, smiling at Iruka mysteriously; or, at least, that was what Naruto hoped it looked like. Naruto had managed something like Tsunade's strength before- no, don't think about it.

"Well, I wish you luck," Iruka said, winking at Naruto, "it's going to be a long and difficult road."

Naruto nodded and thanked Iruka, snapping out of his thoughts. He decided to stay there and finish his own tea; Iruka promised that he would treat him to lots of ramen if he managed to get the basics of Tsunade's Chakra-enhanced strength. Considering the fact that he had probably had the basics instinctively since four years of age- no. I decided I won't think of that. I won't!

Naruto shook his head and shrugged his shoulders repeatedly. He tried to think of something, anything, else. His Academy teacher…? Yeah. Iruka had stopped asking Naruto to raise his grades, because Naruto had told him that he was trying to rig the team selection. That might have given away the fact that Biwako was his rival, but he didn't mind – Iruka was discreet. He wouldn't tell anyone unless he was certain, at least.

A tear ran down his face and it got slightly harder to breathe because his nose had started clogging. Asuna-san… why? Naruto shook himself out of the memories.


Naruto had put together what he had found out from the Uchiha shinobi library and what Iruka had told him. He would try to use his strength beyond lethal situations – or near-lethal, like those bullies he had sent to the hospital. Mold Yang Style Chakra at the right moment; put it into my arms, including the shoulders and shoulder blades and release it as I… punch! Ahhhh!

It had only taken him a few days to get down the basics of Yang Style by making a leaf harder, a record that went beyond even his Water Style training… which had been sped up by the fact he had already gotten down a C-rank Water element ninjutsu in the form of the Water Clone.

He destroyed the small tree he was using as a target with one punch. He was hurt by the backlash, though: his right arm was broken in at least one place, and his knuckles were bleeding. It was lucky he healed extremely quickly. So, he decided to work more on his Chakra Control and anatomy knowledge; first, he would read books while his arm was healing on its own.

If his reading speed was slower because of the distraction of the pain and being reduced to one hand, well, that wasn't a huge problem. His pain tolerance was insanely high, according to Biwako. Well, all those bullying kids at the first orphanage helped. Especially those that nearly killed me.

After his arm got better he, the original, did a new Chakra Control exercise, the Tree Climbing, while two clones were slaving over his book on the human body and its workings. Now, he could climb a tree without using his hands. It took him only three tries until he was able to manage it; then, he stuck leaves on himself to make the whole thing harder.

Unfortunately, the Water Walking exercise was much more difficult. One step, two- crap!-

(Splash!)

Naruto kept failing at it, but he didn't stop trying. It took him hours, especially with the distraction of Shadow Clones dispelling and him recreating them, without using them to help him get the exercise, but he managed to stand on water shakily.

The next day, he was able to spar with a Shadow Clone without falling in, with a leaf stuck on his forehead, so he called it quits and went back to trying to use Tsunade's strength technique. Consciously, at least.

He was targeting a boulder this time because he didn't want to cause any more damage to trees. His knuckles bled again, but it was skin deep; he didn't break his arm when he cracked the boulder. He was pretty sure that he had made his punch stronger than the previous time and much stronger than the subconscious uses of his past. Ugh. He would go to the hospital to be certain that his arm had healed correctly before, though; mainly because Biwako would be on his ass if he didn't. Ugh again.


"So, you say that you broke your arm in at least one place… yesterday?" The medic-nin, Yakushi Kabuto -the same one who had given him food pills- said, "I can see that your bones have broken and mended perfectly, in two places. It's like weeks or months of mending have taken place! You have an amazing healing factor, Naruto-kun. In the future, though, be sure to come to me immediately, as there is always the chance you will heal incorrectly."

Naruto nodded with a smile and said, "okay, Kabuto-sensei."

Kabuto rubbed his head in embarrassment. He said, "no need to be so formal, Naruto-kun; I've told you that before. Call me Kabuto-san, or something."

"Very well, Kabuto-san. Thank you for your help," Naruto said and bowed to the teenage medic-nin. This was the first person to ever treat him as a human being in the hospital, so he made sure to always be polite and courteous.

At first, he had feared that Kabuto was trying to poison him with those pills, especially since Kabuto had waived the usual fee, but the older male had proved himself good on his word. The fifteen-year-old, white (gray?) haired medic-nin had unofficially become Naruto's physician – Kabuto was always called upon whenever Naruto was in the hospital, on Kabuto's own request. The man also often gave Naruto tips on nutrition.

Kabuto nodded back and gave him a piece of advice: "One last thing, Naruto-kun. Make sure to get enough nutrients, especially red meat, fish and yoghurt for proteins, certain vitamins and calcium. There is a chance that healing your bones like that has used a lot of your body's stores of nutrients, and you don't eat enough red meat; I could tell," Kabuto said, serious as only a medic-nin or doctor giving advice could be.

Naruto grimaced. Yoghurt was yucky, but he would bear with it; he already had Ayame and Teuchi to nag him to drink milk, so he wasn't lacking in calcium – just in case Naruto's healing took a lot of nutrients, though, he had better be careful. He would make sure to eat more meat as well. It wasn't that he didn't like it; it was just something Biwako, who did most of the shopping, often 'forgot' to buy.

After all, the nearest butcher was a bit too worshipful of Biwako, and disliked Naruto very much, which Biwako couldn't stand – he didn't blame her after that guy had kicked Naruto out with no reason. Maybe hunting animals would be better, or at least sending clones to keep from losing out on training time.

Kabuto also said that 'most of the more obscure vitamins that are necessary to convert calcium effectively and efficiently, are actually present in more than high enough of a concentration in you, which is rather rare.' "You probably won't need supplements other than my food pills, Naruto-kun," Kabuto said afterwards. Then, the older male absentmindedly told Naruto he was free to go, so Naruto left, but made sure to pay Kabuto first.

'It must be all those fruits and vegetables that keep me from missing vitamins,' Naruto thought. He had made it his mission to obtain seeds and other samples of various kinds of trees, bushes and plants that produced something edible; then, he made them grow relatively quickly with his Mokuton.

Larger-scale jutsu -or any actual combat jutsu- of that element were still beyond him; he could only make lower-sized trees, too. The Wood Clone was still something he couldn't use well; it was like something had helped him with the dead tomato plant – maybe it was the emotions he had felt then?

He had played around with the Earth element a bit, but couldn't put much time into it. He had managed to cover a leaf with a little bit of dirt over the past month; it should take another month to manage it perfectly at that pace.


The time of the spar between Naruto and Biwako had arrived, and Biwako couldn't wait. The two of them stood in a stance, and on an unspoken signal, they attacked each other with taijutsu. They knew each other's style too well to manage anything, though, so Biwako activated her -very basic and weak- version of the Hell Stab. Naruto- punched the ground?!

Biwako lost her balance and very nearly pierced herself with her own jutsu. By the time she recovered, Naruto was on her… and punched her in the gut.

Biwako's world was spinning, and she thought, 'what- the hell- happened?'

…Naruto had been smug for the entire day; Biwako couldn't be (too) angry at him, but she was angry at herself for losing so easily. She had to step up her game. But what would she work on? It needed to be too quick to allow Naruto to disrupt her balance, or maybe… yes, Housenka no jutsu (Phoenix Sage Fire / Phoenix Flower jutsu) should work.

After all, the Hell Stab was a bust for now. The information was too incomplete, it was weaker without learning the Raiton Chakra Mode and even if she had been able to use it well, the full version was too lethal for a spar. When she was better-rested, Biwako made sure to memorize the Housenka no jutsu scroll from the genin section of the Library. After managing that, she went to practice it by the lake.

She went through the hand-seals, and-

("Nii-san, nii-san! Please show me one of your jutsu!" Biwako said, hoping that her brother would show her something amazing.

She half-expected a poke in the forehead, but Itachi nodded, saying, "all right, Biwako. I have some time now that the Chuunin Exams are over."

Her brother had just become a chuunin at ten – he was amazing! He took her to a training ground near a river.

The jutsu Itachi showed her was called 'Housenka Tsumabeni' (Crimson Claw of the Phoenix / Phoenix Flower, Crimson Nail / Phoenix Sage Fire, Crimson Claw). He threw a few shuriken and set them on fire. Then, those flaming shuriken completely destroyed a few targets, changing their course in midair.

Wow. "How did you do that, nii-san? The shuriken moved on their own! Is it because of the fire? Is moving like that the difference between the Housenka no jutsu Dad showed me and this one? Is it-?"

Poke!

Biwako rubbed her forehead, saying, "ow! Nii-san! You're mean!"

Itachi shook his head in exasperation and said, "foolish little sister. One question at a time. Now, this is a Chakra Flow jutsu; using the Fire element in Chakra Flow is very difficult, so it is rare. While Father is capable of using this jutsu, I am the only one to truly master it in generations; the only one with Fire Chakra Flow of this caliber or higher in Konoha -definitely higher, I admit- was Sarutobi Sasuke, Hokage-sama's father. When you were in Mother's womb, we thought you were a boy, so you nearly got named 'Sasuke'."

All Biwako heard was that her brother was incredible; she didn't much care about people who had died. Wait a moment. "Nii-san," Biwako said, "where did the name 'Biwako' come from then?" Thoughtful.

"Like Sarutobi Sasuke, Hokage-sama's father, was one of the strongest male shinobi of his generation, Sarutobi Biwako -Hokage-sama's late wife- was one of the strongest kunoichi of her own. Sarutobi Sasuke was an incredible Katon (Fire Style) user, while Sarutobi Biwako used Fuuton (Wind Style) with paper fans to augment her husband's own Fire Style from afar. It was my idea to name you Sasuke or Biwako," Itachi said, "but I digress. The difference between Housenka and Housenka Tsumabeni is like the cool early morning weather and the blazing early afternoon sun," Itachi said, smiling fondly.

Itachi then said that Housenka Tsumabeni was far hotter and could be controlled from afar much better than Housenka.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place, nii-san?" Biwako said, definitely NOT pouting!)

…The Fire jutsu fizzled out, making Biwako breathe out a ball of fire smaller than an adult's fingernail.

Biwako shook her head and tried again. She had to be strong enough to beat Naruto! And kill that man, of course.

…Biwako tried for hours to get that jutsu, even using Shadow Clones like Naruto, but it didn't help her get it. Flashbacks of that man kept getting into her mind. She hated him, didn't she? Then, why did she keep remembering all that?! What was worse, she couldn't detect a single hint of that man faking his emotions even years later! Was he that great of an actor? What was the truth and what was a lie?

('People live their lives by what they accept as correct and true. But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Such vague concepts… Their reality may well be only an illusion.')

('I'll always be there for you, even as an obstacle for you to overcome. That's what big brothers are for.')

Uchiha Itachi was so confusing! At first glance, he was either a psychopath and pretending all along or someone who had snapped under the pressures of ninja life and gone homicidally insane, then pretended to have been a psychopath all along for- some unknown reason.

All Biwako could tell was that Itachi was a lying liar who lied. But what was true and what was a lie? Fact was, Itachi had tortured her with their clan's deaths for hours, making her fall unconscious for close to three days… though she had been found in the outdoors, not inside her parents' house, for some unknown reason.

('I did it to test the limits of my abilities.')

('There is no value in killing the likes of you... Foolish little sister, if you wish to kill me, then hate me, scorn me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to your pitiful life.')

Biwako grit her teeth, but something struck her as strange once again. She thought that man's words over, and realized what was wrong: the man had killed even the babies (she shuddered at that). Then, why had he told her she wasn't worth killing? Had he only been trying to rile her up to keep her from thinking about any inconsistencies?

If so, it had worked. It fucking worked. But what was the true purpose? She had already established that Itachi was one of the biggest liars in existence, but there had to be something she was missing! Did it have something to do with his tears on that day?

Wait, tears? Why did she remember Itachi shedding tears when he was attacking her, and why had she only remembered now? She also remembered pursuing Itachi and injuring him slightly.

'The mystery deepens,' Biwako thought. 'I also hadn't expected I had caught him off guard. Did he use a Genjutsu to make me forget? Why, though?'

Uchiha Itachi was more complicated than he had allowed her to see, and she would make sure to investigate him thoroughly before killing him. Going back to practicing Housenka no jutsu, she swore that Itachi wouldn't get to pull the wool over her eyes ever again!

…After two days of trying to get Housenka no jutsu, Biwako was feeling impatient. Should she-? 'Well, it worked for Naruto and for the Summoning jutsu,' Biwako thought, 'why not now?'

So, Biwako went to Iruka for advice. The man was sitting at his office, probably grading assignments. The girl cleared her throat, making Iruka finally acknowledge her presence.

Iruka said, "Biwako. What brings you here today?"

"Iruka… sensei," Biwako said, reluctantly showing the man respect, "I need some advice."

Iruka put down his pen and looked at Biwako in curiosity. He said, "I see," stopping at that.

Biwako took a deep breath and told Iruka that she was trying to learn a jutsu, but found it impossible to manage it. She even told him about the flashbacks to that man that she got whenever she tried it.

Iruka mulled it over for a bit, then said, "that jutsu – is it Katon (Fire Style)?"

"Yes," Biwako said, not elaborating.

"I think I see the problem – after all, I am a Katon user myself, though my primary element is Water," Iruka said, taking on a lecture pose, "Fire is unique in that it is fueled by the user's passion. An indecisive and torn heart cannot perform Fire Style well. While all jutsu need focus, and one's Spiritual Energy, thus their Chakra, is affected by emotions, Fire is especially unforgiving of lapses. For most jutsu, the most consistent results come when the user is calm and focused. Fire needs both that and passion; you need to be in control of your passion. Not the other way around. Especially when first learning a jutsu."

Biwako digested that for a few moments. She hated that man, didn't she? Why was she torn? But she wouldn't lie to herself – she was, after all, very confused by Itachi's behavior. Then, deciding to bite the shuriken, she said, "what kind of emotions are best and how do I get through my mental block?"

Iruka said, "good question," rubbing the back of his head. Then, he said, "the best kind of emotions to use are hatred and love, though protectiveness and lust for battle work too. As for your mental block… well, I'm not sure. Have you tried thinking of someone other than your brother? If you have someone you want to protect, it might help."

Biwako let out a quiet sigh, then said, "thanks Iruka-sensei," trying to find how exactly she would follow Iruka's advice.

"You're welcome, Biwako. Do you know that another student came to me for help with their Suiton (Water Style), Chakra sensing and reverse engineering Tsunade-sama and Shodai-sama's techniques relatively recently?" Iruka said, giving her a knowing smile. Then, he said, "you are also not the first Uchiha I have ever interacted with. Just remember this: Uchiha have a tendency of withdrawing into themselves whenever their emotions get too intense due to fear. I can only hope you are brave enough when that time comes."

Is that a challenge? Biwako shrugged, bid Iruka goodbye and left, thinking, 'that teacher is too smart for his own good! Well, I shouldn't use Shadow Clones for now. They might affect my concentration and spiritual energy.' As for Iruka's last few sentences, Biwako found them cryptic and clear at the same time.

…Biwako was back at the pier. She went through the hand-seals for Housenka no jutsu. She imagined Naruto and protecting him against enemy ninjas, letting out a much larger ball of fire – it wasn't right yet, though: Housenka released multiple balls of fire, not just one, and it was still weaker than it should be.

After a bit of thought about Itachi and Naruto, Biwako's blood ran cold. 'What if that man kills Naruto just because he's my f-friend?' She thought, shivering a bit after she thought of that. 'Should I stop being friends with him?'

She knew it would devastate Naruto; she was his only and best friend. No… so this is what Iruka warned me about. 'Run, run and cling to life pitifully' like Itachi said? No. Fuck that. I am not a coward! I will figure out something else.

The alternative was… to get strong enough to protect Naruto- no, that was an insult to him, and his resolve and talent. Then, to fight by his side as an equal; protect one another. There would be no dying for Naruto while she was around! There would be no easy win for Naruto in the spars between them, either; Uchiha Biwako does not lose, and I won't let that monster take anything more from me!

Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, Tiger! 'Housenka no jutsu!' Biwako said in her mind, letting out a dense ball of Fire-natured Chakra, then another, which exploded when they met the lake.

Then, she decided to try Goukakyuu no jutsu ((Great) Fireball jutsu) while thinking of how she'd protect Naruto from Itachi and fight by Naruto's side. Hatred and protectiveness filled her in equal measures, and instead of a continuous flow, she breathed out a powerful ball which moved much faster than any of her Katon had before, fell into the lake, then exploded, making the lake shower her with water.

She stayed in place, looking at the giant water shower… and yet the water didn't quite reach her. 'That was powerful!' She thought, 'that one old woman would have said I've been blessed by Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.'

Biwako heard a sigh and realized someone had a grip on her shirt. The grip let up, and she turned to see Naruto.

Naruto said, "and you call me reckless. What was that!" Gesturing at the lake, an angry frown on his face.

Biwako realized that Naruto had protected her and was speechless.

Naruto's expression changed, looking at her with concern. He said, "are you okay, Biwako?"

Biwako shook the mix of emotions off and said, "I'm better off than I've been in months," realizing that she meant it.

Naruto looked confused, but he said, "all right. Just don't do that again. Please," seriously.

Biwako said, "I'll try, but no promises," walking less carefully than before, almost skipping.

Naruto said, "oi, Biwako, wait for me!"

…It took Biwako three more days of testing the ways she released the Chakra to manage to get Housenka no jutsu to a satisfactory level of mastery, and one more, that one with clones, to improve it to where it was usable in a real battle, or at least an intense spar.


It had taken Naruto over a month to go from sawdust to splinters to a functioning dummy, and another ten days to make an actual Wood Clone. Unfortunately, Biwako's new jutsu, Housenka no jutsu, was a decent counter to Water Clones, Shadow Clones and Wood Clones. Αccording to Biwako, her Fire Element in general had gotten even stronger recently – something he had seen for himself, too.

Fortunately for him, his skill with Water ninjutsu had also gone up thanks to his Shadow Clones practicing it; he learned Wild Water Wave, a C-ranked Water ninjutsu which unleashed a waterfall-like wave from the user's mouth to wash away their foes. Thanks to help from Iruka, his own improved Chakra Control and his Shadow Clones, it took him less than a week to learn it.

So, they were back to winning and losing alternately. Naruto would have liked to have learned the Kirigakure no jutsu (Hiding in the Mist jutsu), but even the Uchiha hadn't managed to copy everything.

Biwako had taken to using Shadow Clones to train, too. She had once nearly fried herself, and injured her fingers on impact with a target when trying Lightning jutsu another time. Thus she was much more careful with the Lightning element nowadays, mainly using clones for new things. She still had a small scar near her wrist, though thanks to Kabuto, her fingers had healed perfectly.

…Naruto was a month or two before reaching nine years of age when Biwako came up to him with news.

She said, "Naruto, the Hawks have found your relative. Tsunade is in Shiruku City right now, in the south of the Land of Fire."

"Yosh! So, how will we reach her? I hope you have a plan," Naruto said, bouncing on his feet.

"Of course I do," Biwako said, looking somewhat offended. She then said, "Fuuinjutsu, the art of Sealing. The Hawks have taught me about the Summoning and Reverse Summoning jutsu, I have known the basics of Sealing since an early age thanks to my parents, so I made this," showing him a temporary tattoo. She also said something about making a contract.

"It goes this way: we use both our blood to apply the tattoo," Biwako said, "then, we will be able to summon one another or send a distress signal by putting blood on the tattoo. So, where do you want yours?"

Naruto was worried over what Iruka would say if he saw his tattoo, but he simply said 'fuck it' and told Biwako to put it on his left bicep. Biwako put her own on her right shoulder, and the two of them finalized the contract by cutting their palms -Naruto more deeply, because he healed fast- and putting blood on each other's tattoo.

"Let's try it!" Naruto said, fired up.

"Okay," Biwako said, with just as much enthusiasm, even though it was hidden under indifference as a poker face. "But first, we make sure the tattoos are invisible. Fortunately, I've managed to make enough progress in Sealing to be able to include that," she said after that.

She taught him the hand-seals to make it invisible, so that it only appeared when his blood was splashed on it. It also would alert the other, as soon as blood would fall on the tattoo and send them the other's position. Naruto was just glad that Iruka wouldn't see the tattoo; especially considering Biwako intended to make a permanent version when she was more confident in her Fuuinjutsu skills.

"You learn quickly; as expected of my rival," Biwako said, looking impressed, "have you ever considered learning Fuuinjutsu?"

"It's very useful; I never knew until now," Naruto said, impressed, "but let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is no guarantee it even worked."

Biwako glared at him, offended. "Let's just get on with it," she said.

She went to the other side of the small house and summoned him… three meters (ten feet) in the air, dropping him on his ass.

"Ow ow ow! You little-!" Naruto said, a bit annoyed, especially now that he looked at Biwako's smug smirk.

Giving Biwako a glare that promised retribution, he bit his right hand's thumb and smeared the blood onto the tattoo, running through the correct hand seals – pop! Biwako appeared next to him, her feet sinking into a mud puddle made by Naruto's Water ninjutsu earlier.

"So, I think it's safe to say it works," Naruto said happily, ignoring Biwako's glare, "but will it take more Chakra with more distance? It took a huge chunk of my reserves right now."

Biwako shook her head. She said, "it's a Space-Time jutsu. It takes the same amount of Chakra at all distances and has no distance limit," looking at Naruto as if it were obvious; and damn, it was obvious.

Naruto was great at learning, but some things were taught ahead of time to clan children. Apparently, Biwako still had more Chakra than Naruto did, which was why the jutsu had taken a lot out of him.

Biwako appeared just outside a particular town. The forest out there was lush and beautiful, and the trees were quite tall, though not especially thick. After admiring the scenery, she went through the motions to summon Naruto.

(Poof!) Naruto appeared in smoke.

Biwako dismissed Garuda, the granddaughter of the Hawk boss and Biwako's personal summon. Her mind wandered to the first time she had met them.

(Biwako was in the Uchiha district's training ground, which was protected by seals to ensure privacy. Her reason was so that she could test the Summoning jutsu after signing the Hawk contract.

It had taken quite a bit of research -read: spying on shinobi training; then asking Iruka when that had failed- on her part and Naruto's to discover the hand-seals of the Summoning jutsu.

She bit her thumb, drawing blood, and went through the sequence: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. She said, "Kuchiyose no jutsu (Summoning technique)!"

In a small cloud of smoke came… a large, colorful egg?! "What the crap is that!" Biwako said, breaking her calm facade.

Naruto snickered a bit and said, "wow, I did expect that your first try would be at least a little bad, but this is an epic failure!"

Biwako said, "if you have nothing important to say, stay silent," annoyed by both the words and the snickering.

"Okay, how about this?" Naruto said and suddenly turned serious. He then said, "keep the flow of Chakra stable, no sudden lowering or increasing of the- output. You should also put at least three times as much Chakra as you did this time into it."

Biwako calmed down at hearing that and decided to take the resident Chakra Sensor's advice. She repeated her previous actions, this time putting over five times as much Chakra into the jutsu and keeping the output as even as she could.

The jutsu resulted in a much larger cloud of smoke, in which a relatively small brown hawk appeared. It flapped its wings erratically a few times, looking disoriented, but it stabilized very quickly. It said, "who is the one that summoned me?"

Naruto said, "wait! The bird talked!" Shocked, only to receive an identical deadpan 'idiot' from both the Hawk and Biwako.

Ignoring Naruto and his cloud of depression, Biwako looked the Hawk in the eye and said, "I think I'm going to like you. My name is Uchiha Biwako, and I'm the one who summoned you," smirking.

"Interesting," the Hawk said, "my name is Garuda. Our last summoner was Uchiha Shisui; do you happen to be his direct descendant?"

Biwako admitted she wasn't. She also told Garuda of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, and how Shisui had died a year or two before it, without ever having children.

"Shit," Garuda said, "Grandmother needs to hear about this," and disappeared in another cloud of smoke.

Naruto snickered again and said, "your summon just ditched you. By the way, did you have to not tell me that summoned creatures talked?"

"Yes, I did. And yes, it did ditch me," Biwako said, an eyebrow twitching. Then she said, "by the way, Summons can Reverse Summon their contractor, so there's a chance that-"

After a brief bout of nausea, Biwako found herself on a huge meadow. She looked around, seeing mist not far above her. She activated her Sharingan, and realized she was seeing the clouds, not mist. 'A plateau!' She thought, because she could make out the actual ground far away, indicating that she was at the highest point of said plateau.

"Uchiha Biwako," a booming voice said.

Biwako instantly turned around, making her neck ache. She saw the largest bird she had ever encountered -by far- in front of her, the Sharingan seeing every detail. Its upper parts were black, whereas its belly and tail was dark grey and the rest of it was very light grey, with light red markings around intelligent red eyes.

Biwako said, "Are you the boss summon?" Not lowering her guard, refusing to admit to being startled.

"Indeed I am," the gigantic bird said, "welcome to the Great Sky Plateau, home to the Hawk clan. My name is Takamichi, boss of the Hawk contract. I am also Garuda's grandmother. She apparently took an immediate shine to you; it remains to be seen whether the rest of us will be as impressed, of course."

Biwako bowed moderately deeply, as if addressing an equal and said, "it's an honor to meet you, Takamichi-san." Immediately, Biwako could see that the Hawk boss was displeased, but she refused to be cowed and maintained eye contact, not even deactivating her Sharingan.

Takamichi now looked… pleased? She said, "impressive. You are not easy to intimidate, and are a proud bird- I mean person. Even a boss summon's ire is not enough to make you bow down."

'How did she manage to fool me with the Sharingan on when she pretended to be annoyed at me?' Biwako thought, incredulous, her respect for Takamichi increasing. Out loud, she said, "so, glaring at me was a test?"

"Indeed it was," Takamichi said, "Uchiha Biwako, we of the Hawk Clan are very long-lived even for summons. I once met Uchiha Madara personally, when I was but a youngling, and my then-current summoner and I had the privilege to participate in a hunt with him. You remind me of him the most. I truly hope that you won't take after his worst points, though."

That sounded ominous. Still, Biwako nodded at Takamichi and said, "anything else I should know?"

"Only this," Takamichi said, "at most, two contracts of animal clans are possible for a person. However, you will have to get approval from me and the Hawk Council first for such a thing; on the other hand, contracts with other humans do not interfere. Hopefully, you won't relegate us Hawks to second fiddle like Shisui did in favor of the Crows."

"I see," Biwako said after thinking it over, "what about training? I don't have a teacher right now."

Takamichi said, "when you are able to summon me, we will speak of that; until then, only basic training will be available. What is your primary element?"

"Lightning, I think," Biwako said, hiding her rising mental fatigue expertly.

"My own element," Takamichi said, "impress me and I will take over your elemental training myself."

"Understood. Am I dismissed now?" Biwako said evenly.

Takamichi said, "by all means," this time sounding amused.

When Biwako realized she didn't know how to end the summoning, she simply decided to reason it out on her own. First, she tried to feel out her connection with the Hawks. Then, when that failed, she tried to find the connection her Chakra network had to her previous position.

The last thing she saw before disappearing from the land of the Hawks was Takamichi's incredulous expression.)

"Is something wrong?"

Biwako was startled out of her daydreams by Naruto's voice. She said, "nothing, just thinking."

Naruto didn't reply. The two of them were following what must be Tsunade's Chakra thanks to Naruto's sensory capabilities. His range was a bit less than four hundred meters at most -less than a quarter of a mile- but his skill was great and precise enough that he could follow very small traces of the Chakra that had been left around the city. Strange, though, that someone so skilled would leave obvious enough trails to follow, or so Biwako thought.

She was able to put a scent to the trail, and it was full of… alcohol…? She decided to let Naruto do all the work unless her help became necessary. If Tsunade was drunk, though, it would explain why she was so easy for Naruto to sense.

"She's with another kunoichi and an animal… in that bar?" Naruto said, uncertainty clouding his tone.

"What is one of the Sannin doing in a seedy place like this?" Biwako said, just as bemused.

They entered the seedy watering hole without bothering to put up a Transformation; such a thing would only put Tsunade on guard. The customers there looked at them, but immediately forgot about them; nobody tried to escort them out, either. It made Biwako wonder.

The two of them walked up to the young-looking blonde and the brunet woman with a pig in her arms.

Biwako said, "are you sure this is your relative? She looks a bit too young to be her."

"I don't understand it either," Naruto said. "Oi, are you Tsunade?" He said with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Biwako wanted to roll her eyes and face-palm at his bluntness, but she controlled herself.

The blonde was visibly drunk. She said, "I am. Who's asking, brats?" Slurring only a little despite her condition.

Biwako introduced herself, then Naruto did so for himself. "My name is Naruto, and I think we're related," Naruto said.

Tsunade blinked. Then, she sobered up all of a sudden. She said, "what made you reach that conclusion?" Very seriously.

Biwako intervened, saying, "we're better off taking this outside, where people can't see us."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and said, "very well."

The brunette whispered something in the blonde's ears, but Tsunade shook her head, saying something in turn. The four of them, plus pig, walked into the forest outside the town. Biwako could tell that the two adults had their senses peeled, likely for a potential ambush.

On an unseen signal, all of them stopped walking. Naruto said, "wait. I'll check for eavesdroppers," making a one-handed hand-seal and Biwako realized he was using his Chakra sensor skill.

She also discreetly scanned around with her Sharingan.

That put the two adult women even more on guard, but they relaxed when nothing came of Naruto's and Biwako's gesture.

The blond woman said, "okay, we're far enough here. What was such a secret that you had to use all those precautions?"

Naruto said, "you'll see in a moment. Mokuton: Moku Bunshin no jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Clone jutsu)!" Going through a few hand-seals. It took a few seconds, but the clones formed.

Both women entered a taijutsu stance but the results of the jutsu, two clones made of wood, made their jaws drop. Tsunade recovered first and said, "don't be absurd, brat. That level of power and Mokuton is nothing compared to my grandfather. I'll bet you're just another experiment of Orochimaru's," scoffing dismissively.

"Tsunade-sama!" The brunette said, admonishing the older woman.

"So, you won't even check?" Naruto said in disappointment, and Biwako could see the warning signs of Naruto losing it.

She decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being, but glared at Tsunade.

Tsunade said, "of course not. I can tell you believe what you said, but you're sorely mistaken. I never had children and never will. Besides, even if you are related to me, you're better off without me," whispering the last part.

Naruto's hands were fists. He said, "I understand," whispering too. Then, he left them to run off alone further in the forest.

Biwako was utterly and absolutely furious. She looked Tsunade in the eye and hissed, "if he gets seriously hurt because of you, you are dead, Sannin or not," and went after him.

She knew that Tsunade and Shizune followed behind her, but paid them no heed. The three of them -plus pig- reached a truly large clearing, only to see Naruto shatter several boulders and knock down trees with his bare hands, on the other side of the clearing.

Shizune let out a gasp, and Tsunade simply stood there. Biwako decided to wait, to only intervene if Naruto was about to seriously hurt himself. She could see the Chakra that covered his arms every time he punched clearly, and could predict his moves a split-second in advance.


"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Naruto shouted, tears and snot running down his face.

He felled boulder after boulder after tree, but his raging emotions only became stronger; frustration, sadness, anger, the pain of rejection. He could tell the three females were there, and them seeing him cry only made him feel worse.

Eventually, green-colored Chakra was visible even to Naruto, and covered his entire body rather than his arms, without him being able to fully control it. "This is-," he said, letting his instincts guide him, "Mokuton – Call of Nature."

His Chakra spread through the clearing and nature responded to his call. He channeled all of his emotions into his Chakra, including his regret at how much destruction he had caused, trying to mimic the size and species of the trees around him, and the result was incredible.

The clearing, over a hundred meters in length and almost half as much in width was now packed with trees, and even beyond it, the forest was also more dense, from what Naruto could feel… somehow; it was not his usual sensory. The destroyed trees had also been restored.

Naruto could only admire his handiwork, almost disbelieving. 'I did all this…? Unbelievable. This is what it means to awaken a Bloodline? Biwako was right…,' he thought.

Then, he swayed in place, and the analytical part of his mind noted that he was going through serious Chakra exhaustion before everything disappeared from his sight.


Shizune was examining Naruto, all the while Biwako was worried to the point of chewing her nails, sparing a dirty look at an oblivious Tsunade every once in a while.

"He needs an infusion of Chakra, or the consequences will be severe," the woman concluded.

"Then, what are you waiting for?" Biwako said, fuming, barely controlling her temper.

"Unfortunately, I cannot do the Chakra Transfer technique well enough for such a delicate case. Only Tsunade-sama has mastered it to the required degree, of all of us here," Shizune said, still looking at Naruto.

In the meantime, Tsunade was staring at Naruto's bloody knuckles and palms, as if in a trance….