This chapter (and possibly others to come) won't be kind to Sakura. Note, though, that she's far from incompetent, and is capable of growing as a character – I don't like Bashing at all; I actually don't hate canon Sakura, either.

Warning, there is also not-so-covert suicide baiting in this chapter. Unrelated to Sakura, of course.

Please tell me your thoughts. Did anyone come across as an irredeemable monster and/or the victim of Bashing?


All Naruto could think was 'shit!', because the one who would supervise his oath-taking was Yamanaka Maifa, the Deputy Headmistress herself. Not only that… he had been woken up and dragged by ANBU to the Academy in a surprise visit, and there was one supervising the oath taking, too, along with an unmasked man and woman, each in a Chuunin vest.

Fortunately, the Biwako clone on his forehead still had plenty of Chakra despite having been active for over seven hours. Biwako was right to be so vigilant! She wouldn't let Naruto live that down. Ugh. Well, Naruto's Shadow Clones still weren't very good at using the Mokuton, so Biwako being able to use Genjutsu: Sharingan with hers so well was very impressive.

The female Chuunin was an Academy teacher, Naruto believed, but he couldn't remember her name, for the life of him.

Two other, likely slightly older graduates were there. A brown-haired girl Naruto didn't recognize and a male Aburame other than Shino, were also in the small -for Academy standards- room to sign the oaths themselves – the unknown girl was even really close to his position. How was he going to get out of this?

No. I should trust in my capabilities and Biwako's. Fortunately, she has planned ahead and leaves a new Shadow Clone on my forehead every morning and night. Think, Naruto; what can Biwako's Genjutsu overcome and what can it not?

He arrived at the conclusion that the Aburame should be top priority, same with the ANBU – the former because Aburame had senses most people didn't, so he was almost guaranteed to be resistant to Genjutsu and the ANBU due to her being an ANBU -of course- and because she was a complete unknown. Considering Maifa was a Jounin -though not missions-active- and really good at mental manipulation, she was likely to be resistant to Genjutsu, so she had to be disposed of or mentally weakened somehow too.

Thus, the only ones to only get Biwako's Genjutsu treatment would be the pair of Chuunin and the unknown female graduate. Naruto made a few covert hand seals, making a small plant that could synthesize an almost completely undetectable substance which dulled the reactions and mind of a ninja, and as an extra effect, weakened the senses of an Aburame and their bugs severely. Fortunately, both he and Biwako had a really high resistance to it.

The ANBU twitched, and Naruto started panicking on the inside. He relaxed and kept his breathing the same, though. When nothing else happened, Naruto felt relieved, but he still didn't let much shine through outwardly – he had years of hiding his true feelings in the Academy to fall back on.

'Is that purple-haired ANBU a sensor-type? I doubt she is an Inuzuka with that hair, though it could be fake, so…,' Naruto thought to himself, 'she will be on guard from now on, so I had better make sure she can't do anything at the same moment I execute my next action. Fortunately, Maifa isn't as careful… as far as I can tell, at least – a lot of the Yamanaka clan are sensor-types, too.'

Maifa started speaking, giving a lecture on the responsibilities expected of a member of Konohagakure's ninja corps. Naruto kept half an ear on her, but his mind was working faster than the Yellow Flash could attack, trying to find a solution. Fitting, being his son, ha!

He would have to take the risk of using his bloodline again; it was the only way out he could think of. At a moment Naruto couldn't feel being watched, he made three more covert hand-seals. He could have used the Jutsu with just one, but he was trying to minimize Chakra leakage – wasted Chakra made someone easier to detect.

Naruto felt the use of Chakra from his forehead. He realized Biwako had used a Genjutsu to delay the ANBU, but he didn't relax just yet. The Wood Clone Naruto had just made traveled towards the ANBU through the wooden floor using his new Kabutomushi no Jutsu (Beetle Jutsu), though it was the one jutsu only Wood Clones were able to manage, not the original.

Then, the clone injected a hallucinogen into the ANBU's foot as covertly as it could barely a moment after Naruto felt more Chakra use near his forehead. The beauty of that particular hallucinogen was not only that it worked really quickly, but also that its effects were mostly suppressed when the target was under Genjutsu while at the same time reducing the capability of the target to resist said Genjutsu.

Of course, Biwako had had to get used to plant-based drugs, poisons and venoms of all sorts. Due to her concentrating so much upon Genjutsu; also due to Naruto learning to make such things quickly and him learning how to use the Bo Staff -well, the Staff he was using was actually much smaller than a Bo Staff and gradually growing- Biwako had lost most of their recent all-out spars, with Naruto's few losses being mainly because he hadn't built up enough of a resistance to all his own poisons.

Naruto was not getting any closer to thinking up a goal other than 'get the hell out of Konoha' and maybe joining another village, though. Certainly nothing that made his blood boil in passion or gave him direction.

Naruto assumed direct control of the Wood Clone, a trick he had discovered recently thanks to examining the Water Shadow Clone and the Earth Shadow Clone more carefully. He felt the resistance of the very floor to his efforts first-hand, but ignored it. He tried to think up a way to get Maifa… then he realized: why not just- make sure she isn't feeling well?

Naruto had the Wood Clone inject the woman with an undetectable poison that would soon send her to the toilet vomiting and shitting uncontrollably, then had the clone track down Biwako in case she had problems too.

Naruto suspected that either Hashirama had made all of the Academy himself, or Hashirama's trees had been used as material. After all, no other kind of wood resisted Naruto's attempts nearly as much. He would use Forest Net Works, but he had better things to do at the moment.

He gave the unsigned paper to the Academy teacher at the urging of the male Chuunin. The man called the woman Suzume.

A shiver went down Naruto's spine when 'Suzume' stared him down through her glasses. She's- does she suspect what I was doing? The moment broke when she took out a small bottle, poured out a liquid and- cleaned her hands with it.

Naruto started breathing harder. He ground his teeth, glaring at the woman, barely able to keep himself from shooting Killing Intent at her. I can take cursing at me, but treating me like I'm something filthy and contagious-

The other Chuunin cleared his throat and coughed a few times- the woman cringed away from the male Chuunin, making the man roll his eyes. Naruto's anger disappeared immediately. He scoffed under his breath and went back to his seat. A germaphobe? Ha!


Naruto was waiting for Iruka to arrive and announce the graduations – the class above them was in the same lecture hall, including the Hyuuga most of the girls liked, Neji. Neji was too busy staring down the weirdo who looked like him, Hinata. In fact, if Naruto was reading things right, Neji despised Hinata… that couldn't be right, though. He would always call her 'Hinata-sama' in a harsh and mocking tone, though. Well, enough about those two.

Naruto and Iruka had ended up more and more estranged; Naruto, while contemplating his goals and dreams, had realized one thing: the man couldn't be part of Naruto's life. Iruka was very much loyal to Konoha and all of Naruto's ideas for the future had one thing in common: they would take place far away from Konoha. Thus, Naruto had been distancing himself, though it was more easily said than done.

Sakura walked up to Naruto, making him think, 'oh, no. Not this crap again.'

Then, Sakura said, "Naruto, could you please make room for me to sit next to Biwako-san?" Very sweetly. Too sweetly.

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sakura was a manipulative bitch, but it wasn't like she was very good at it. Fortunately, he would be rid of her soon. Naruto said, "nope."

"What?!" Sakura said very loudly, waving a fist near Naruto's face.

Naruto rubbed his ears, saying, "oh come on, Sakura! Your voice sounds like the screeches of a wounded animal!"

In truth, Sakura's voice wasn't particularly shrill; Ino's and Mito's both were worse, and Mito's could reach insane volume on top of that, but Naruto was trying to annoy Sakura.

!

Apparently, Naruto had succeeded in annoying her, because she tried to punch him in the face. Naruto blocked using his forearm. 'Oh! She hits hard!' Naruto thought to himself, but he didn't let that show.

Before she could do anything else, Naruto grabbed her extended arm at the wrist with his free hand and squeezed.

"Ah-ow! Ple- please stop, Naruto-" Sakura said, her voice suddenly changing into something vulnerable.

Fake. Liar. Naruto couldn't help his reflexive reaction. He squeezed much harder, making Sakura let out a 'kyaa-!' which got stuck in her throat. Sakura let out a few tears, which Naruto could tell were actual tears of pain this time, not Sakura being a manipulative bitch; so, he let her go.

When Iruka entered, Sakura rushed to tell him what had happened; or, rather, an imaginary version of it in which he had attacked her unprovoked.

"I see," Iruka said, sizing both of them up visibly. Then, he said, "I'm not going to even bother asking Naruto his version of the events. Sakura, you do realize that lying to a superior directly can have consequences?" Making Sakura perk up, then freeze in place.

Naruto was still a bit pissed off at Sakura, no matter how smug the look he was able to give her after Iruka telling her off was. Maybe a prank was in order- Mito's eyes met his own; Naruto found a familiar mischievous glint in those dark blue eyes. Perhaps they could bond over a shared love of pranks, not to mention it might take her mind away from Jiraiya's prolonged absence.

After a long speech by Iruka, one that Naruto had barely paid attention to and most of the others even less, Iruka started announcing the graduates and teams. The only thing Naruto had paid attention to was Iruka's barely visible grimaces and the way he would massage his temple at some points.

Iruka said, "The early graduates are Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Biwako, Namikaze Mito and Haruno Sakura."

Naruto's thoughts came to a halt. What the shit-?

As the teams were being announced, Naruto was having a hard time calming down. Sakura was going to be joining them as an early graduate – that was giving Naruto a hard time controlling his reactions and breathing, harder than he had had in years; even that ANBU's presence hadn't been as daunting. He really, really didn't want to be in a general group with her, much less teammates.

Naruto ground his teeth as quietly as he could. He could kill that girl twenty different ways by the time she realized and yet- and yet his hands were tied. He barely managed to keep tears at bay by focusing on how much he hated that girl.

Sakura was giving Naruto a mostly unreadable look; it held something that looked like anticipation and- more. Naruto wasn't sure just what, but there were a lot of emotions there. Then, she looked at Biwako, apparently forgetting about Naruto. Oh, how I want to throw a shuriken at Sakura or ten- no. I need to listen to the team assignments.

He tuned back into Iruka's words, and just in time.

"The kunoichi originally slated for Team Three is unable to join it due to- reasons, so the team will consist of Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji and Haruno Sakura. Sensei is Might Guy."

The cries of over a dozen disappointed fangirls resounded in the hall. Strangely enough, Sakura made a similar sound, not a sound of triumph, making Naruto's head clear, but also confusing him. Hmm, why? I don't get it. Naruto scoffed quietly at the fact he was giving even that much thought to Sakura of all people, making sure to go back to listening to Iruka.

"Team Seven will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Biwako and Namikaze Mito. Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi," Iruka said, then went on to tell them of Teams Nine and Ten, because Team Eight were still together and Genin*.

Naruto sighed in relief – at least he wouldn't be teammates with that girl. Of course, Jiraiya had promised that the three of them would be in the same team, even told him who their sensei would be, but Naruto found it hard to trust people nowadays. Nowadays, as in over half his life.


Biwako decided to finish her career as an Academy Student with a 'bang', as Naruto would say. She hadn't tried a certain exercise in- over a year, actually. She substituted her shuriken pouch for the kunai equivalent. She activated her Sharingan and prepared herself-

Biwako jumped in the air, withdrawing multiple kunai, doing everything as Itachi had shown her. She ricocheted the weapons off one another… she landed and went to look at her handiwork. Unfortunately, the kunai, while all on target, were mostly nowhere near the center.

I- I did everything right! Exactly as Itachi showed me! Then why-?

Biwako ran the previous sentence through her mind again – she had done exactly the same moves as Itachi. Though she hadn't unlocked her Sharingan at the time, the circumstances and the repetition had burned it into her brain. The problem was obvious to her now: Itachi had been a twelve- and thirteen- year-old male, with his dominant hand being the right one. He had also been extremely dexterous, even at twelve.

Biwako was eleven, female, had a different body type, was primarily left-handed and didn't have hands as dexterous as Itachi had had, though she would try to catch up-

Wait. I'm not Itachi – why am I trying to copy him? I'm my own person! Hadn't I had that same problem with all those members of the clan comparing me to Itachi? I will train to beat him; not to match him, nor copy him. Biwako put on a wristband almost identical to the other one -the one that contained sealed shuriken- on her wrist and started over. She calculated every move in advance. She didn't manage it -was even worse than before-, but she hadn't intended to, anyway.

Third time's the charm. After having seen how the kunai and her seals-covered wristband behaved during this exercise using her Sharingan, Biwako was certain that she could manage it. She drowned out her nervousness and simply did it. Flawlessly.

Biwako was still staring into space when Naruto found her, teasing her for spacing out, then turning worried when she didn't respond. Message received, niisan.

"Biwako? What's-? You look like you had an epiphany just now!" Naruto said, his worried gaze swiftly changing into something more relaxed.

Biwako said, "I'm surprised that you know what an 'epiphany' is, much less can use it in a sentence," the words coming out without her meaning to.

Naruto's flat look told her that he wasn't in the mood for that kind of banter.

Biwako did her best to convey 'you shouldn't have teased me, then' without speaking.

Naruto shrugged, as if to say, 'I'm a hypocrite. Deal with it.'

Biwako rolled her eyes at Naruto. Then, she asked him if he wanted to watch her train.

Naruto looked at her, blinking fast, his mouth open. She hadn't made such an offer before, so Biwako didn't blame him for his surprise. "Close your mouth before something flies in," Biwako said. Not blaming him and not teasing him were two different things.

"You have enough disadvantages as it is so far," Naruto said, a slightly sardonic smile on his face, "are you sure you want to add yet another one?"

Couldn't he take it at face value?! Biwako scowled. She said, "what's that supposed to mean?!" Glaring at Naruto. Was that implied sexism?

Naruto took a look at her face, then said, "in the last four matches, you've lost three. Don't tell me you are a complete sore loser…?" Lifting his eyebrows.

Biwako took deep breaths, in and out. Then, she said, "of course I'm a sore loser. Those who aren't are content as career Chuunin at best. 'Sore loser' and 'competitive' are synonyms."

"Hey, don't disrespect career Chuunin!" Naruto said, scowling at her, "Iruka-sensei is fine with staying at Chuunin rank, but he's amazing!" Crossing his arms at stomach height.

"…Could we not have this conversation right now?" Biwako said with a sigh, feeling tired enough that she was ready to call it a day despite it being mid-afternoon.

Naruto looked ready to explode, but he held his tongue, saying, "fine!"

Biwako wondered what had crawled up his ass and died, as Naruto himself would say.

"You know, Biwako," Naruto said, "you could try not judging so quickly and carelessly," more calmly.

Biwako grimaced. She had thought he hadn't caught that. "What do you mean?" She said out loud, but as she said that, she knew Naruto hadn't been fooled.

The look he gave her silenced her. Biwako hated how vulnerable she felt at such moments – Naruto was usually able to 'read' her so well that it literally scared her… not that she would ever admit to that.

Nor would she apologize. Naruto had escalated first when he had mocked a serious offer, the fool.


"Where is our sensei -ttebara!" Mito screeched out, making Naruto slam his palms onto his ears so quickly that he worsened the pain.

"Mito," Naruto said, grimacing in his pain, "could you please not be so loud?"

"Huh?" Mito said, "are you saying that I'm too loud?" Still at a volume too high for anyone sane.

"Painfully so," Naruto said, not holding back in his criticism.

"Indubitably," Biwako said without hesitation.

"You guys suck…," Mito said, sulking. "I know," she said perkily, recovering quickly in an epic mood swing, "it must be Kakashi-san! He's usually tardy. He was Dad's student. I only see him once a year or so nowadays – I think he pissed off Old Man Hokage, or maybe the Old Man pissed off Kakashi-san or both. Anyway, they got into a fight three or so years ago and now Kakashi-san is on missions away from the village non-stop! It might have something to do with- with the two of us and what happened all those years ago."

Naruto filed away the information. He didn't have the heart to tell Mito that he was still in contact with Jiraiya and that the man had told him about their Jounin sensei. He knew that Mito hadn't seen her (their?) godfather in over a year, so he hadn't told her he had a permanent means of contacting Jiraiya. He had asked Jiraiya why he hadn't given Mito a scroll like his, too, but the man had been- evasive.

Maybe it had something to do with the Kyuubi no Youko. Ugh. I'm still tired. What was I thinking about, again…? Naruto slumped over on the lecture hall desk. Maybe he should rest for a few minutes….

"BOO!"

!

Naruto threw himself into the air by shoving himself upwards off the closest surface, then lifted his leg and kicked at the offending person downwards in an axe kick. 'Byakugo no jutsu, Tsutenkyaku! (Strength of a Hundred jutsu, Heavenly Foot of Pain!)'

(Crack crack. Crack!)

When his heel fully landed, Naruto directed his body toward -and did an elbow strike at- where he felt the enemy to be, then threw himself away and twisted his body in such a way that he landed on his feet, his Staff held in his hands, ready to strike.

The unknown man that was in front of him started clapping. He said, "congratulations, Naruto, you just now came closer to killing me than anyone has in years. I am not going to tell you how many dozen and hundred S-rank and A-rank missions I've run in those years. Just know that it's an extremely impressive feat on your part."

Naruto scrutinized the man. He looked to be young despite his white (silver?) hair. In fact, Naruto swore the man couldn't be a day above twenty-five. His eyes were really dark but not quite the same as each other – one was truly black, just like Biwako's; at that same eye, a big vertical scar went all the way through, but something that looked like spiral-shaped seal markings on the skin was peeking out from the mask covering the lower part of his face; again on the same side as the scar and completely black eye. Well, maybe Naruto was seeing what he was expecting to see because of the description in the Uchiha library.

Then, Naruto came to his senses and looked for Biwako and Mito. They were near a corner of the near-empty lecture hall. Biwako had her hand on Mito's shoulder and the latter was shaking like a leaf.

Naruto scanned the rest of the hall, only to see that one of the benches that worked as desks for multiple students had been snapped; almost pulverized in some places. He then noticed that his right foot was a bit achy, with quite a few splinters making their presence known through escalating pain. "Did- did I do that?" Naruto asked out loud, his question not directed to anyone in particular. Then, he said, "…Mito? Biwako? Did I- did I hurt you?" His voice cracking halfway through due to his worry and guilt.

Biwako cleared her throat. Then, she said, "I managed to get myself and Mito out of the way before you finished your- maneuver. I'm just fine; Mito only panicked a bit."

Naruto was worried. He had only relatively recently reunited with his sister; would she fear him, maybe even hate him, over this?

Suddenly, Mito straightened up and said, "wow, Naruto, that was amazing!" A huge grin on her face, though she was still trembling a bit.

A chuckle from the strange man (Kakashi?) had Naruto turning to look at the man again, gripping his staff hard. The man said, "well, at least Naruto has his priorities straight. I'm Hatake Kakashi, your potential Jounin sensei. Well, lesson learned: I will treat you with more- care from now on," the movements of his eyelids and visible facial muscles somehow conveying a menacing grin, making Naruto shiver.

'Damn it, Auntie Tsunade,' Naruto thought, 'your counter-ambush training has gotten me into trouble!'

Naruto limped up to Mito and checked her breathing, just in case her fear response had triggered something dangerous in her body, under Hatake Kakashi's watchful eye. As he used the Mystical Diagnostic Palm, he could feel her Chakra and noted it was a bit different than usual, but couldn't tell exactly how, nor a cause, so he let it go for the time being.

'Naruto,' his aunt and teacher had said, 'a medic-nin doesn't let themself get injured if they can – that's why I have you do so many dodging drills. Once you have gotten injured, though, take care of your wounds well but quickly; efficiently, lest you get killed and take your entire team with you.'

Naruto made a few hand-seals to use the same diagnostic jutsu on himself, the pain catching up with him, making him grimace. Then, he went through five hand-seals, using the Chakra Scalpel to swiftly reopen his wounds and remove the splinters from his foot and shin (ouch!), making sure to disinfect the wounds wherever needed (again, ouch!). Those splinters looked like they had come from a chair, Naruto noted.

Once he was done, Naruto checked for any leftover splinters and used the Mystical Palm just barely so that it wouldn't have a chance of scarring. He wrapped some bandages around his legs, thanking his lucky stars that his Achilles Tendon hadn't been seriously injured, somehow. He sat down on the floor, keeping his legs at a comfortable position.

Mito started telling Naruto to go to the hospital for his injuries, but Naruto knew he didn't need to – something like that wasn't beyond his capabilities.

Kakashi said, "perhaps you should consider listening to Mito, Naruto?" His suggestion being uttered in a firm voice. "If only for Mito's peace of mind."

"All right," Naruto said, "I only trust one of the medic-nins at the hospital, though. If he's not there, I will wait till next time," grimacing at the thought of the hospital and most of those working in it.

"Great!" Kakashi said almost cheerily, "now that it's settled, let's go!"


"Hello Kabuto-san," Naruto said, smiling at the older medic-nin.

Kabuto smiled back, adjusting his glasses. Then, he said, "hello, Naruto-kun. Who are your friends and what is the problem you are having?"

Naruto told Kabuto about being startled awake and axe kicking his teacher, then Kakashi continued with saying that he had used the Kawarimi no jutsu (Substitution / Body Replacement) to replace himself with a chair, getting splinters in Naruto's leg. Then, Mito derailed the whole thing.

She gestured wildly, saying, "it was incredible! Naruto broke Kakashi-sensei, but it was a chair, after all, so there was no need to worry. He broke the bench next with the same axe kick, then he threw himself at empty air, but Kakashi-sensei was there, after all! Naruto elbowed sensei, but sensei dodged-!"

Kakashi chopped the top of Mito's head, telling her to control herself. Naruto trusted Kabuto to a point, but he didn't want any more people to know about his training with his aunt – especially those loyal to Konoha. It was bad enough that Kakashi had seen Naruto use the Byakugo no jutsu (Strength of a Hundred jutsu) and heal himself. Naruto would chew out Mito later.

Kabuto smiled at Naruto, saying, "that is extremely impressive, Naruto-kun. Your teachers must be very proud of you." Kabuto also adjusted his glasses, giving off an eerie effect with the light.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, his bashfulness not completely faked. He said, "thank you, Kabuto-san," smiling at him. In his thoughts, though, Naruto was a bit worried about what Kabuto had deduced.

Kabuto was extremely sharp, as much as he usually hid it – Naruto had spent time with him, so he had gotten to know Kabuto, to a point. Naruto had noted Kabuto's caustic and arrogant side too, which would shine through, sometimes.

As Kabuto was examining Naruto's legs, he said, "whoever healed you has done an excellent job, Naruto-kun. There's no hint of scarring, nor any splinters -even small ones- left," a small smile on his face.

Mito didn't say any more, fortunately. As they all left the hospital, Kakashi gave them instructions on where and when to meet him for the 'true Genin test'. Naruto and Biwako had to put a lot of effort into shushing Mito's indignant cries.

"Bring it on, sensei!" Mito said, punching upwards into the air, her determination showing on her face.


Naruto needed to get to improving his single-handed hand-seals. He could do some less basic things after Shizune had started teaching him but, beyond that, he needed to work on them himself.

'There's no shortcut to this, Naruto-kun. There are better training methods and teachers in many cases, but sometimes, the only way forward is sheer, repetitive practice. Even Biwako-san has gotten this down, and she's not as good at shortening hand-seal sequences as you,' Shizune had said.

Naruto did a few manual dexterity exercises, including doing scales on a small replica of a piano, complete with sound. Then, he tried the Water Clone with three single-handed hand-seals. A jutsu he would normally have no trouble with came out with a Chakra drain worthy of six and a half clones, when he had only produced two. That was worse than his sealless attempts, though not as slow to form.

Naruto kept at it. In hours, he managed to reduce the Chakra drain to the equivalent of five Water Clones with two hand-seals, finding better combinations.

What should I work on getting down with one hand? Maybe the Gale Palm jutsu, or Shuriken Kage Bunshin…? I need to get them down to one single-handed hand-seal each, for devastating results. Of course, that's too lethal for a spar, but we will go on missions soon enough. Maybe Suiryuudan no jutsu (Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu) ; Tobirama's notes should be really helpful. I also know that Mokuton can absorb Chakra from those same notes, but Hashirama-sama hasn't left anything on Mokuton himself.

Something told Naruto that he wouldn't be able to learn how to absorb Chakra using Mokuton anytime soon, so he would prioritize other things. Tsunade had convinced him that he should work on what he already had to be able to use it more quickly. After all, they were going to be on missions soon.


Biwako was going to try something else she had long considered out of her league. She equipped her bracelet, the one with Shuriken sealed inside, then put a hand on the War Fan, channeling a bit of Chakra.

From a moment to the next, she ended up next to the illusory Naka River. With a whisper of his name, Shisui appeared in front of her. He said, "so, Biwako, what is it today? Back to Lightning manipulation? Should we just talk? It's been a while since we've done that."

"Shisui-san," Biwako says, doing a breathing exercise that was highly advanced, one she had found in a book Itachi and her father had co-written, "are you familiar with Fire Style Chakra Flow?"

Shisui's eyes went wide. He said, "are you talking about what I think you are?"

Biwako shrugged. She prepared herself, then released multiple shuriken, breathing fire into them- she failed completely, not managing to imbue even one and giving herself mild burns.

After a few tries and more burns, Shisui intervened, saying, "you are doing it wrong, Biwako."

Biwako snorted. She said, "fanks, Fifui-fan. I'm too ftupid to have realived that myfelf," dryly, though her words were coming out strange.

"Really? I always figured you were pretty smart," Shisui said, smiling at her.

"…I was being farcaftic," Biwako said, looking at Shisui as condescendingly as she could manage with that lisp.

Shisui snickered. He said, "I was being sarcastic, too, though I truly do believe you're smart. Seriously, Biwako. How come you fell for it that easily?"

Biwako crossed her arms in front of her chest, saying, "not funny, Fifui-san!"

Shisui gave her a beaming smile, one that made Biwako remember happier times, saying, "nice pout. It's not so great when the sandal is on the other foot, is it? Well, I'm glad that you are still able to act like a kid sometimes. Never lose that. Not for me, not for Itachi, not for Danzo or the Hokage…. Not for anyone."

Biwako ended up having a longer conversation with Shisui before she resumed her practice, this time with only one shuriken. She took air into her lungs and stomach, this time turning it Fire-natured while in her mouth and keeping it there for a bit longer than usual to help with putting it into the shuriken, stretching her pain tolerance to the limit.

Biwako was almost whimpering – the burns inside and outside her mouth were at a level she hadn't faced before. She knew that in the Gunbai's (War Fan's) world, only mental influences worked, that neither physical training nor injuries transferred over to reality, but she could still experience pain.

Well, since she had gotten a feel for how it worked, she could use Shadow Clones in reality for learning Housenka Tsumabeni. That jutsu would be great for making the approach of multiple enemies much harder… and eliminating solid clones more efficiently.

Biwako's nose had gotten to the point where she was able to sniff out people hiding – in combination with her Sharingan, even Naruto wasn't able to hide from her. Naruto's Chakra sensing and sense of hearing was already at a level where Biwako couldn't hide from him, too.

She would be able to send Shadow Clones after Naruto while keeping him from making use of his own clones thanks to her skill with dual casting. 'I wonder how and how soon he will manage to counter this…. I doubt that Shuriken Kage Bunshin and Uzushio no Kabe -even Mokuton- are enough,' she thought, not a doubt in her mind about Naruto's ability to do so.

Just to be thorough, she decided to put a bit more effort into Exploding Clones and into making something subtler and faster… a Raiton Jutsu, maybe. Naruto had always had a bit of a hard time getting his own Shadow Clones to explode, because they didn't want to go through the pain and 'death'. Biwako had never had that problem. She really didn't want to know what a Yamanaka would say about her mental state if they knew about that, though.

Tsunade had let them off after filling the past few weeks with constant speed, teamwork and combination Jutsu training, and also refining what they already knew. While the two of them were naturally in tune, there was always room for improvement, according to Tsunade.

'You are getting close to doing missions out of the protection of a Hidden Village. You will need to concentrate on only a few things that you are able to use fast,' Tsunade had said.

Biwako was focusing on stuff that would need few hand-seals while alone and Taijutsu or Kenjutsu when with Tsunade or Shisui, so she wasn't technically disregarding Tsunade's advice. On the other hand, while she is a powerful ninja, the sun hardly shines out of her a- behind- no, ass.


The next day, the day of the test, had arrived.

"Aah! Where the hell is Kakashi-san- Kakashi-sensei, whatever…!?" Mito shouted out, but fortunately, Biwako had reminded Naruto to take some earplugs with him.

The volume was still above normal to him, so he winced, thanking his luck and Biwako for the earplugs. He decided to try to calm down… and check whether Kakashi was already near Training Ground Three. He made a single-handed hand-seal, Chakra sensing having been the only skill he had been able to use that way for years.

Only two other human presences and- a dog? No, a ninja dog. Was an Inuzuka- wait. The notes on Kakashi had contained something about summoning ninja dogs- "Mito," Naruto said, a realization dawning on him, "does Kakashi-sensei have a ninja dog?"

Mito said, "yeah, he has a pack of them. Summons or whatever. Why?" Blinking.

Naruto made a gesture to signal Biwako, who followed Naruto at a distance. Not a Water Clone; I will hide most of my proficiency in Water in Konoha. He made an Earth Clone to approach the creature- the hell!? It was a huge black dog, one that resembled a bulldog. Bulldogs shouldn't ever get that big!

Naruto slowly approached the dog himself when it didn't do anything to his clone. The dog had something in its mouth, which it spat in front of Naruto, then rolled over playfully. The Earth Clone took it, took a few steps away from everyone and unfurled the scroll, its sight relaying to Naruto the contents of the scroll, though blurry due to the limitations of that particular jutsu. At the same time, Naruto started rubbing the dog's belly, much to the dog's delight.

'Find me, then take away the bells

~Kakashi'

The scroll was also signed with a childish scribble, Henohemomoheji or whatever. Naruto told Mito to stay away from the scroll, then asked Biwako to sniff it. They would figure out the bells thing later.

Biwako did so, then said, "follow me."

Biwako jogged away and didn't even look back, so Naruto took Mito by the hand and started chasing Biwako until Mito started focusing, so he let go of her hand. The three of them ended up at the top of the Hokage Monument. Kakashi was on the Fourth's head, but something was bothering Naruto. He checked for interlopers- wait. Kakashi has little to no Chakra! This is an elemental Cl-

"Kakashi-sensei," Mito said, "we got you, finally!" Preparing to tackle him, not even a little short of breath.

"Wait, Mito!" Naruto said, panicking a bit, "that isn't!-"

Then, Naruto calmed down a bit when he detected a second, invisible Mito trailing behind the first one. 'Mito' tackled 'Kakashi', passing through him and falling off the Hokage Rock-

The real Mito appeared mid-trip, her ankle having been caught in- a snare!? Kakashi got out of the ground, a kunai held at her throat, too quickly for any of the three to react. Naruto froze in place.

"So, what are you two going to do now?" Kakashi asked, having caught Mito in a hold that was all but inescapable.

Naruto started taking deep breaths. In and out. In and out. His fingers started twitching. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Based on how Biwako was squeezing his shoulder, she was counting down from five and would start throwing shuriken at another few seconds. When she reached 'one', Naruto made two Earth Clones beneath the ground and launched himself at Kakashi in the same breath, hitting the man's wrist with exact precision, taking the kunai from him and using it to cut Mito's leg free-

Naruto felt a numb pain in his left wrist suddenly, losing the stolen kunai the same way he had gotten it. Now! In response, he had his clones attack Kakashi. He heard the whistling of shuriken a split-second after he made a single one-handed seal to help cast faster. He hightailed it out of there. 'Kawarimi no jutsu!' Naruto said in his mind, shifting the seal then to help him with Sensing.

Kakashi made a noise of distress. Naruto felt Kakashi get in front of the rock Naruto had used as fodder. He looked up, only to see Kakashi deflect a lot of shuriken but still get pierced by a few. "Go- back- to Training Ground Three," Kakashi said, then poofed into smoke.

Kakashi had sent another clone! He had only sent clones! Naruto clenched a fist, suddenly angry at his new teacher. Unless he had been here all the time, watching us. Naruto's blood ran cold – he had been unable to detect any more of Kakashi. No sound, no Chakra presence…. Even Biwako's nose had been unable to notice another Kakashi.

Naruto started power-walking toward the training ground. Biwako did the same, saying, "did you two notice? Nobody batted an eye at the battle going on outside the Training Grounds, when we should have been swarmed by ANBU. That means Kakashi has enough pull to arrange for this, even after having a severe falling out with the Hokage."

"Well, yeah!" Mito said, gesturing wildly, "Kakashi-sensei is the strongest in Konoha! Even Pervy Sage has said he would probably lose against Kakashi-sensei in a fight. Pervy Sage also said that Old Man Third is afraid of Kakashi-sensei, for some reason… I haven't seen the Pervy Sage since then, after Pervy Sage got into a fight with Old Man Third…. Do ya think the Old Man sent Pervy Sage away because of that? But-"

That was- interesting information and speculation. If Jiraiya believes he would not be able to beat Kakashi in a fight, what about Auntie Tsunade? 'This is a world full of monsters. I can't afford to stay as weak as I am now,' Naruto thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "what do you want me to say, Mito? I wasn't foolish enough to trust the Sandaime from the start," barely able to keep from sneering.

Mito shrank to herself, saying, "oh," in a small voice.

Naruto patted Mito's shoulder, being a little worried because Mito very rarely lost her energy.


"I'm glad you three made it," Kakashi said, leaning on a tree stump, looking very relaxed. "So, Biwako. What was that rain of shuriken about?"

"What do you mean?" Biwako asked, but Naruto had realized the problem.

"What I meant is that Naruto was in the line of fire," Kakashi said, his posture suddenly obviously tense.

Naruto could see Biwako's posture suddenly turn tense, too. He tried to defuse things, saying, "sensei, I was ready to escape. We've-"

"Naruto! I want to hear Biwako's reasons first!" Kakashi said, interrupting him.

Naruto could see the signs of danger in Biwako. He didn't know if Kakashi had noticed, but Biwako was utterly fucking furious at the moment. She said, "I trusted in his ability to get away. We've drilled thousands and thousands of times-"

"You've drilled using dangerous maneuvers like that, without supervision?!" Kakashi said, an edge in his voice that chilled Naruto's blood.

Most importantly, though, Naruto was starting to no longer be angry at this man. He was getting furious. Naruto said, "we had supervision!" Raising his voice.

"Naruto. Watch your tone, Genin," Kakashi said, staring at Naruto's eyes, both eyes unblinking.

Naruto bit back his first response, which was to tell Kakashi to go fuck himself. Naruto thought, 'shit. I didn't expect that Kakashi would be so stupid. Nice start for this team,' to himself, his inner voice turning sarcastic towards the end. Out loud, he said, "very well, Hatake Kakashi," trying to grin but only managing a sneer.

Kakashi said, sounding condescending, "I am your sensei and superior officer. You will call me Kakashi-sensei or-"

"No," Naruto said, openly sneering this time.

"…No?" Kakashi said, blinking a few times.

"You may be my -our- superior officer, but you are no sensei. In the short time we've been togeth- we've been near each other, you've managed to insult and offend two of your future students; to spit on the efforts of my true sensei, the one who taught Biwako and I how to move like we are one person in two bodies, one who knows the meaning of teamwork and can teach it better than you would if you had a thousand years; to not even pretend you've tried to listen to your future subordinates.

» No. Hatake Kakashi, calling yourself a teacher is an insult to Academy teachers everywhere, let alone Jounin-sensei. Come back when you can at least see flawless teamwork you will never be capable of if it's in front of your eyes," Naruto said, concluding his speech with another sneer. He caught Biwako's eye.

Then, Naruto and Biwako started walking away at the exact same moment.

"You will stay right there!" Kakashi said, making Naruto freeze in place for a moment due to the authority in his tone, "you will be dropped from the ninja program and never be allowed back if you leave at this moment. I will make sure of it."

Naruto snorted and went back to walking away. He said, "Better this way than with a Jounin-sensei I could never trust. Mito, you coming or what?"

After a few moments of hesitation, Naruto was able to hear Mito's footsteps following.

Kakashi said, "…Mito? You- why?" Sounding pained.

"I don't want to fail out of the ninja program, Kakashi-san," Mito said, "but it's better than becoming like you. Not a failed ninja, but a living failure and worse than any piece of trash. I might not remember my father, but I'd like to believe he would be very ashamed of you."

Biwako left her own parting words, too. She said, "possibly the most powerful ninja in Konoha… and yet, those hands will never hold anything. Perhaps you should follow your father's example, Hatake. It will only bring about a better fortune to people around you."

Naruto took in air through his mouth in a gasp suddenly, knowing what Biwako was talking about. He hadn't expected her to take it so far, though. He signed at her, 'why do you always poke the sleeping dragons?'

Naruto could suddenly feel Kakashi's Chakra, despite not actively trying to sense it. He tried to get Biwako to walk faster, but she was still stubborn and kept her normal walking pace. She didn't even acknowledge his sign language question.

"…What was that about, Biwako?" Mito asked, her eyes much sharper than usual, looking directly at Biwako.

"That was Biwako going way over the line, Mito," Naruto said, his hands twitching in his agitation.

Biwako grunted and even Naruto, who knew her best, couldn't detect any meaning in the sound.

Suddenly, Mito spoke up. She said, "wait. Didn't Kakashi-san's father kill himself when Kakashi-san was a kid? Biwako! Why?! Just- why?" Her voice coming out alongside what sounded like sobs.

Biwako let out a sound that reminded Naruto of a growl. Naruto said, "let's go somewhere we can talk in private."

Minutes later, they had reached Biwako's home. Naruto plopped down onto the couch, Mito and Biwako sitting on either side. He noticed Biwako rubbing her temple and trembling in agitation. "Biwako. Are you all right?" Naruto asked.

Biwako sighed deeply, then said, "yes. That person pushed a lot of my buttons at once. I really wanted to stab him with my tanto until he died, then stab him some more." She put both hands and leaned her weight onto one of Naruto's arms.

Naruto chanced a glance at Mito, who was quiet, unexpectedly. She opened and closed her mouth, then said, "that doesn't make it right -ttebara," her voice at normal speaking volume, something rare for her. "What buttons exactly?" Mito said a few moments later.

Biwako stayed silent for a few seconds, in which Mito asked again. Naruto told Mito to wait.

Biwako said, "he was practically telling me that I don't care if Naruto lives or dies. Then, he shut out Naruto himself, showing that he only cared about any paperwork that would come out of his death or injury and put the nail in his coffin by threatening us," scrunching up her usually almost expressionless face.

Mito hadn't spoken for over a minute and Naruto didn't want to break the silence, no matter how uncomfortable. At long last, Mito said, "you should say sorry to Kakashi-san," softly.

Biwako twitched violently, jarring Naruto's arm a bit. She said, "are you serious!?" Almost shouting the words.

"Oi, don't yell at me!" Mito said, raising her voice too.

Naruto was tempted to just get away, but he sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He squeezed Biwako's forearm and put a hand on Mito's shoulder.

Mito made a growl-like sound and looked at Naruto, but Biwako went still. Naruto said, "come on now. Mito has a point," squeezing her forearm again.

Biwako tensed up. She said, "all right. Let's say I agree you two are right. I won't apologize either way."

Mito made a sound of protest, but Naruto let go of her shoulder and told her, "let it go, Mito. She is almost as bad at apologizing as I am."

Mito looked Naruto in the eyes and said, "are you serious, Naruto? Just how bad are you at it?"

Naruto made an 'ugh' sound at the same time Biwako did.

Mito said, "that bad, huh?" Laughing, though her face was still haunted.

Biwako had just finished her training session with Shisui, back to regularly training things other than her genjutsu, when Indra appeared in front of her, startling her. Of course, she managed to keep her reaction contained, but she could tell Indra had picked up on it. 'He's improving at an incredible rate,' she thought. Ninja training or not, Indra was amazingly talented – Biwako could admit that to herself.

"It is high time I took an active role in your training," Indra said, his expression more open than usual and his voice full of energy, "now that I have a grasp on you 'shinobi' of the modern times and on the skills you require, I should be able to offer you something you will never find anywhere else, Biwako."

Biwako had noticed that Indra's vocabulary was slowly becoming less complicated and formal. She was also intrigued by his offer, so she said, "what is that, exactly?"

Indra spread his hands, saying, "what do you think the Sharingan is and does, Biwako?"

Biwako thought for a few moments. Is that a trick question? "They are special eyes that give the wielder a few special abilities," she finally said, each of her words carefully measured.

"A passable answer, though very short – the bare-bones version, if you will. What fuels the Sharingan, though? What distinguishes a weak user from a powerful one, other than their amount of Chakra and level of Chakra Control, of course?" Indra said, watching Biwako very carefully.

Biwako tried to think of anything her relatives had said about the Sharingan. Indra stayed silent while she was concentrating.

('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's breath stopped for a moment. Hatred? Wait. Itachi was a liar. Was there a more reliable source? She thought it over a bit longer-

("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.")

"The Sharingan is strengthened by the user's passion," Biwako whispered. That explains why the Uchiha tend to- tended to be so good at Fire Style.

Indra looked at Biwako, his eyes wide open in- glee? "Yes!" He shouted out, much louder than his usual. "The Sharingan gains power from passion! Have you not ever wondered why only about one Uchiha in three awoke the Sharingan in Konohagakure? The mostly peaceful existence of police officers and modern Hidden Village shinobi could not awaken the passions that would arise in the Warring States era, from everything you and someone else have told me of shinobi history!"

"Tsunade said something about the awakening of a bloodline being rough on a person," Biwako told Indra.

"Why would you place faith in the words of that woman?" Indra said, the barest hint of a grimace on his face, "the loss of secret techniques; the passing of time; too little new blood; too much new blood. Those and even what that woman said could be among the causes of fewer Sharingan users. Unfortunately for her credibility, from what I have managed to get out of Madara, the phenomenon of a new Sharingan user damaging themself due to its awakening only happened in non-combatants exposed to the perils of war, in his time. Do you grasp what I am implying, Uchiha Biwako?"

"…Many of the modern Uchiha had gotten lazy," Biwako said, biting a lip. That was a bitter pill to swallow. "Then, the reason Itachi succeeded had a lot to do with how weak most of the clan had gotten, even the combatants. It's possible that my parents didn't even resist for other reasons, on the other hand," sighing quietly.

Apart from the sounds of the illusory river and some fake birds, silence reigned for minutes. Then, Indra said, "what will you do to combat those issues so that you do not end up weak?"

Biwako thought it over. She had Naruto to push her to new heights as her friend and rival, and Itachi as a target to surpass. What more could she do?

"If I might suggest something," Indra said, "I would like you to meet somebody."

Biwako perked up. She said, "does that have something to do with your reference to Madara earlier?"

Indra smirked for the first time in a while -maybe even the first time Biwako had ever seen him make that expression- and made a 'come hither' motion.

A male Uchiha, much taller than Indra, came forth. He resembled Biwako a lot in face shape and with that long black hair, though his was more spiky. His face didn't reveal his age – he could be anywhere from mid-twenties to late forties. His active pair of Sharingan took in Biwako at the same time she was taking him in. The man then turned to Indra, saying, "now, I'm allowed to see my descendant, or rather Izuna's? You rat bastard, what are you plotting?"

"She is my descendant as well, Madara," Indra said serenely, "besides, you have a tendency toward- 'overkill' is the modern name of the concept, I believe. You could not be trusted with someone that young. Especially considering this foul language."

"…Fair enough," Madara said, literally shrugging off the matter. Then he said, "so, you are Biwako, the almost-last Uchiha?" Studying her again. "You look like any other young Uchiha girl," Madara concluded.

Biwako stared Madara down, Sharingan to Sharingan. She didn't even dignify his taunt with a response.

!

Dread, then fear unlike any before filled Biwako. What- what the hell-! All of a sudden, she was an ant and this man a giant about to step on her. Genjutsu?! No. It's pure killing intent! She didn't stand a chance against him. She couldn't even move her body. What could she- No. Go to hell, you bastard! She flexed her good hand in such a way that a finger broke, leaving her left-hand middle finger to face Madara in an obscene gesture and snapping herself out of her paralysis with the pain.

The feral grin on Madara's face would have fazed almost anyone else, but Biwako only returned the grin. She placed her right hand in a one-handed hand-seal, then another and another. 'Lightning Style: White Bolt'. The jutsu was based on a manga -other than Pocket Monsters- she had read and was a more streamlined and efficient but less powerful version of 'Thunderbolt'. It was also the only elemental jutsu she could pull off with one-handed seals so far other than the Great Fireball.

Madara made one-handed seals of his own, blowing Biwako away using a Wind jutsu. Or rather, he blew away a log at the same time Biwako was releasing the Great Fireball, turning the Wind jutsu against him- until the wind became stronger, forcing Biwako's jutsu back towards her. Oh crap! What do I do!? She reflexively brought her hands together, broken finger and all, and used an Earth jutsu, covering her body with a thick layer of mud at the same time she dropped to the ground.

The heat she felt on her skin was great, but nowhere near as bad as she had feared. Her training to learn Housenka Tsumabeni had been a lot worse. She got up as soon as she was sure the heat had passed. He must have redirected it!

Madara was looking at her, still looking very unimpressed. Biwako grit her teeth. This man! He makes me furious – that look on his face! Soon enough, the pain of her burns and broken finger caught up with Biwako. She was able to keep from letting out a sound, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the finger directly – looking at it turned her stomach.

"You have a really, really long way before you are at a level where you would be considered even barely adequate for my era. If you ever reach it," Madara said, looking at her more neutrally.

In reply, she presented to him her finger.

Madara laughed with little restraint. He said, "if only there were women like you in the Uchiha clan during my time…. Even one should be enough. I never succumbed to the pressure for me to marry and have children because the Uchiha women were all too weak-willed and compliant. That's why I hoped that Mito would be interested, but apparently she had already decided to marry Hashirama. Ah, I was so envious!"

Biwako hadn't expected Madara to be so open. Perhaps he had been unable to confide in anyone for years. Well, she could work with that. To torment him or to get information… it didn't matter. She said, "envious? Which of them were you envious of?" Smirking at Madara.

Madara blinked for a few seconds, then scowled at her, "I do not like what you are implying."

"So, both of them?" Biwako said, blinking 'innocently'. Then, something else occurred to her. "By the way, the fact that you are attracted enough to someone my age that you said you wish there were more like me for you to marry…. Well, it doesn't reflect very well on you, does it?"

The expression on Madara's face was priceless. It reminded her of the long-suffering look of someone who had lost their faith in humanity. Seeing him like that brought Biwako joy – Madara looked down on her and had shown her that she was nowhere near strong enough to reach his level; possibly not for a decade or more. If ever. She immortalized the moment with her Sharingan, then switched it off. No. I will reach his level. I will surpass him. I will!

One moment, she was looking at Madara's face; the next, she was alone with Indra again. His expression was completely unreadable at first, but for a moment, she noticed an imperceptible twitch on his face. She wasn't sure what it meant, though. Maybe I should have kept my Sharingan on.

Indra said, "do you see now?" His face stoic again.

She didn't ask what he meant. She only said, "I'm weak," gritting her teeth.

She despised being looked down upon, and Madara hadn't stopped looking down on her for more than a few seconds at a time. She hated him. Most importantly, though, she hated how someone had been able to rip her resistance to pieces with practically zero effort. A little voice was even telling her she might never reach- I hate- I hate-!

Biwako let out a scream, one that had nothing to do with her physical injuries. She screamed out her anguish, her hate, her- She couldn't even give a name to her emotions. She screamed long and loud; she screamed at the heavens, where the major gods were said to reside; she screamed at the Pure Land, where the souls of the departed dwelled. She screamed somewhere nobody was able to hear her apart from dead relatives, like Indra and Shisui-

"Biwako? Biwako, what is it? What's wrong?!" Shisui's voice said, sounding panicked.

Biwako took a few deep breaths, then said, "Madara. I met Madara today."

Shisui looked Biwako in the eyes. He said, "what did he do?" His face tightening, "is he the one who caused those burns? Did- did he break your finger?"

Biwako swatted away Shisui's hand. She watched Shisui's face turn more worried, then said, "you- you think I'm weak, too, don't you? That I can't even take care of myself! You look down on me, Shisui-san! Just like- just like that bastard, Madara," gritting her teeth again.

Shisui's face shifted to a strange smile. Was he looking down on her even more?! Before she could yell at him, he said, "pride comes before the fall, Biwako. Remember that," and disappeared.

Biwako broke down crying for the first time in- three years, maybe? She rode it out alone for some time – she had lost count, and not just because the world of the Gunbai was eternally lit by the late afternoon sun, or something that looked like it.

"How- how do I become strong, Indra? Stronger than Madara; strong enough that nobody is able to look down on me," Biwako said quietly, feeling slightly lighter.

Indra said, "well, the first step is to discard what is unnecessary. Only those that inspire the strongest emotions in you should be kept as bonds."

"Uchiha Biwako," Kakashi said, his face expressionless, "you are to present yourself to Sandaime-sama's office in- two hours from now. Uzumaki Naruto and Namikaze Mito are to be there too. Goodbye."

He poofed into smoke, revealing himself as a Shadow Clone. Again.

Mito had kept pestering Biwako to get her to apologize to Kakashi for the past few days. Naruto would usually manage to distract Mito with talk of pranks and targeting Sakura, but Biwako was still starting to get annoyed. Unnecessary bonds, huh? Is this what you meant, Indra?


LOL, I hadn't planned on Kakashi acting that way. It simply… happened. As for what Biwako told him… yes, she and Naruto were using what they know about Kakashi from his file against him, with Mito hitting yet another sore point or two. I don't condone what Biwako told Kakashi, nor any form of suicide baiting for that matter. (Yes, the FSN reference was deliberate on my part.)