Author's notes: Did you know that Juubi gets his very own Bingo Book entry? He totally deserves it.

Also, I have some questions on the whole Hyuuga Affair. Soooooo, Konoha sends off the body of Hyuuga Hizashi, assuming that hey, they're identical twins, there's absolutely NO WAY that Kumo would know the difference! So Kumo thinks that they get the body of Hyuuga Hiashi, but Hiashi - especially as clan head - isn't the sort to assume the identity of his brother, especially the role as a branch family member. So Kumo would've eventually realized that they were had. Was there some sort of political fall out when that happened, or did Kumo just keep their mouth shut because they did lie about any involvement in the attempted abduction of a three year old clan heir with a powerful Bloodline Limit?

o-o-o

o-o-o-o

o-o-o-o-o

Hyuuga Hiashi was seated in front of the Hokage when Tsume entered the office.

"Close the door," the Hokage told Tsume without looking up from his papers. Hiashi twitched in his seat as Tsume did so, and then stood to attention next to Hiashi. The Hokage knit his fingers together in a bridge and leaned back in his chair. The combined sour stench of Hiachi's grief, regret, and rage filled the room, like the distinct odor of sulfur before the strike of a match. It was strong enough to almost drown out the Kyuubi's scent.

"You know," the Hokage began without preamble, "of the Hyuuga Incident."

Tsume vaguely recalled some of the details – she could remember more if she concentrated hard enough. An envoy carrying a peace-treaty from Kumo had been killed when he tried kidnapping Hiashi's daughter, Hinata, three months ago. The last that Tsume had heard was Konoha and Kumo were still in tense talks in order to prevent a war, since the envoy was some kind of high muckity-muck. She still wasn't sure why being a high muckity-muck exempted him from any ramifications of trying to kidnap a three year old. "I know."

"We cannot afford to go to war." That Tsume knew to be true. Konoha was still trying to recover from the Kyuubi's attack, coming so close at the heels of the end of the Third Shinobi World War. Structures had been repaired and replaced, but their forces were still on the sparse side. Tsume's clan was doing its best to replenish the ranks with multiple offspring, which Tsume thought was a lot more than what the Hyuuga clan was doing, since they required the branch families to limit how many children they had. "To preserve peace and to keep the treaty in place, Kumo demanded a life for a life."

Tsume glanced sideways. Hiashi was curling forward, hunching into himself. His hands curled into white-knuckled fists as the rage spiked. "I take it we're giving them the life?"

"They demanded Hyuuga Hiashi, as he's responsible for killing Hinata's would-be abductor." Oh, that couldn't be good, handing over the Clan Head of the one of Konoha's four noble clans. Even Tsume could see what a political fiasco such would be. "A volunteer stepped forward to take his place – Hiashi's twin brother." The Hokage hesitated briefly, gaze flashing towards Hiashi. "His body is currently in preservation."

Hiashi remained silent as he pressed a fist against his forehead. He took deep, calming breaths, but Tsume didn't need her nose to know that it wasn't working. Tsume always figured that she'd probably die for Konoha, but couldn't imagine also being handed over to the enemy to preserve peace. It struck her as ruthless and demeaning. Then again, she did know what it was like being handed over to the enemy alive, in order to win a war and gain peace.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Tsume told Hiashi, because the odor of his genuine grief meant that it had been voluntary, and not forced. With a sudden flash of insight, Tsume realized how well she understood Hyuuga Hizashi's decision to die for Konoha. If it meant that her children would live, she would gladly return to Madame Haori's Palace of Pleasure.

The Hokage continued. "The curse seal will prevent Kumo from obtaining any secrets from the body, although I will be taking further precautionary steps. I made it very clear to Kumo that we must still show our dead due honor, and so we will only deliver the body directly to the Raikage at Hizashi's final resting place – the heart of Kumogakure."

"Where do I come into this?" Tsume ignored Hiashi's hissed breath.

The Hokage dropped his hands and leaned forward. His eyes were sharp beneath the brim of his hat. "The Raikage agreed to this on one condition: only one Konoha nin may delivery the body, and that Konoha nin must be B rank or lower in the Bingo Book, and cannot have a bloodline limit. The Konoha nin would be accompanied at all times by a heavy guard. Questions will not be tolerated, and any attempt to sneak away to obtain Intel of any sorts on Kumo would end in death and a formal declaration of war."

Hiashi banged his fists against his chair arms. "And you want to send this simpleton on such a delicate mission? She'd probably forget her mission parameters, and then my brother's death will be wasted when Kumo declares war against us! It was her sensei that caused the last war, and all because she wandered off in the first place!"

Tsume twitched defensively. "Hey! Sakumo had a lot of help from other countries when it came to starting a war!" Wandered off like she was lost in market, or chasing down a runaway four year old Kakashi who got himself kidnapped for Kiri's Academy – Hiashi probably would think the difference was just nit-picking.

"What is the point of this sacrifice of dignity and life when we gain nothing? The price of saving my daughter's life is my own twin brother's death. And for what?" Hiashi's expression was livid as his chin trembled and his eyes watered.

The Hokage was silent for a moment as Hiashi struggled to reign in his temper. "Tsume will not forget her mission parameters, as she will be doing exactly as the Raikage commands, and will faithfully follow all restrictions. It won't matter though – olfaction is an underestimated sense of which Tsume has no limit. We will have a great advantage to have Tsume so close."

Hiashi's laugh was bitter; his gaze was as haughty as it was dismissive when it flickered over to Tsume. "The Inuzuka nose cannot compare to the vision of the Byakugen. Kumo would've elsewise tried kidnapping Inuzuka Tsume instead of my daughter. I remain unconvinced that your decision is in the best interests of Konoha, and you continue to insult me by demanding that I trust your questionable wisdom."

The Hokage gave Hiashi a flat look. Then he sighed. "What you're about to hear is as great an importance to the security and wellbeing of Konoha as our jinchuuriki. The precise level and knowledge is known only by four other persons within the walls of Konoha. I tell you this only so you appreciate that I am not insulting your brother's sacrifice. I would not offer this to anyone else, Hiashi – I would demand that others trust my judgment. Once assured, you will do your utmost to ever forget what you have learned, and will never breathe so much the slightest hint to anyone that such exists. This must never be learned by anyone – not our enemies, nor our allies. This is a SS-class secret, I mean it." The Hokage waited until Hiashi vowed silence, and then turned to Tsume. "Find Tsunade. And make a show of it for our audience."

At least he hadn't asked for Jiraiya. Trying to track someone cloaked in nature chakra from over a hundred kilometers away was a daunting task that Tsume no longer accepted, especially after the last time – although successful – caused a week-long throbbing, miserable headache and bloody urine. From a great distance away, Jiraiya always required going very far past her allowed limits, and she always lost a little more each time she exceeded herself.

Tsume walked around the Hokage's desk to his window, and tugged it open. A small veil of shapeless clouds had covered the sun, and Konoha looked drab and dark in the daylight, the buildings stark against the remaining snow. Tsume leaned against the window and took a deep breath of the cold air. She sifted through the local scents, dismissed them with a long-practiced ease, and ignored all the scents that she deemed unnecessary. Once she cleared her mind of local distractions, Tsume increased the chakra at her nose. With the annoying Kyuubi scent clogging everything, she upped her chakra levels to get past it. Behind her, she heard the Hokage rustling through his papers.

It was like soaring. Tsume imagined herself flying along the winds with the scents, over forests and fields, rivers and mountains. There was the swamp where Kakashi had been injured – there were the flat plains of Grass – there was the dusty desert where the cracked ground met mounds of sand – there was the scent of a man, little more than a boy, really, who should be dead… Tsume carefully pushed past her maximum allowed olfaction to reach beyond the Kyuubi, and searched for the scent of incense and long-burdened guilt, of someone who hadn't been in the Land of Fire in the last five years.

"She's in the Land of Hot Water," Tsume said once she found what she was looking for.

She heard the Hokage thump the desk. "There," he murmured to Hiashi.

"Hung-over," she added, cataloguing the surrounding scents.

"I could've told you that," Hiashi snapped.

"Eh, true, but she's hung-over on amarone. Sake is usually Tsunade's drink of choice, but the gambling parlors in Kyougi are renowned for serving wine, of which she had plenty with nothing to eat for dinner the night before, although she did have fried eel for lunch yesterday. She's asleep in a bed with periwinkle cotton sheets, and she wears a nightgown of purple silk from the Land of Rivers – it was dyed using periwinkle and beets, and the Land of Rivers is the only place that uses that combination, but I can't quite tell where the sheets came from. They're generic. She actually bought the nightgown when she passed through Rivers about… oh, last summer. Late last summer. She must have done well in the parlor because her change purse smells metallic and the fibers are stretched – the weaker fibers have broken, so her purse is full. But Tsunade is unhappy, and her sleep is restless. She bathed two days ago and used a milk-soap with lavender and almond oils."

Tsume abruptly dropped her chakra as she felt an agonizing burn settle at the top of her head, but continued with what her short term memory held on to. "Shizune is down in the dining room, and is bringing up a tray of raspberry cakes with vanilla frosting, and weak green tea. There are another hundred people staying in the hotel attached to the gambling parlor, only twelve of them who are women, but that doesn't include the cleaning servants – vinegar is the main cleaning agent, by the way, although whoever cleans the third floor is sloppier than the people cleaning the first or second floors. Tsunade also made some enemies with all her winnings last night, because there is a heavy layer of anger and resentment surrounding the gambling table she was seated at. Four men, between the ages of forty and sixty. One is still asleep, the other three are awake, and those three have gathered together for a discussion – they're still angry and resentful. Two of them are armed with swords that have been recently oiled and sharpened."

After a quick overt sniff towards her sons (the cloying scent of the Kyuubi masked Kiba's, so she had to spike her sensitivity for just a heartbeat), Tsume closed the window to keep the cold from coming inside the office, and turned back to the Hokage. Turning away from the light reflecting off slushy snow eased some of the jabbing pain behind her eyes.

Hiashi's face was white as he stared at the map that the Hokage had spread across his desk. "Land of Hot Water," the Hokage murmured, his eyes also on the map. "That's approximately six hundred kilometers from my office, and Tsume-san was able to tell you exactly what sort of food is about to be served with what sort of tea to Tsunade, as well as her current condition. And I suppose we can also infer that three men are going to shortly try ambushing Tsunade to get their money back from her, based on the description of how they sharpened their weapons. From six hundred kilometers away." The Hokage was silent for a moment as he pointedly met Hiruzen's shocked gaze. "Tsume will be in the heart of Kumogakure, without any barriers that the snow and the distance could create." He tapped the far right corner of the map. "Tsume's nose is not a bloodline limit, nor is her talent detectable. She can detect information that even the most carefully couched question from our T&I wouldn't discover. We will get the Intel, honor your brother's sacrifice, obey the Raikage's directions to the very letter, gather extraordinary information on their forces and great deal of blackmail material at the same time." The Hokage folded his hands and regarded his visitor with a gentle expression. "Hyuuga Hizashi bought us peace with his sacrifice, and we will honor him for that."

Tsume tried not to show that the throbbing pain in her temples existed.

"Tsume will meet with you at your family compound tonight to obtain the transportation scroll that your brother is sealed in." The Hokage stood, and then deliberately bowed his head in respect. "Konohagakure thanks you and your brother for your sacrifices."

Hiashi's expression looked crushed for a brief moment. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, carefully relaxed his face, and bowed respectfully to the Hokage. Upon straightening, he looked directly at Tsume. "See that you do not fail," he snapped, before leaving abruptly.

As soon as the Hokage's office door clicked shut, Tsume crouched down and brushed her hair away from where it hid her ears. She pressed the hem of her long sleeves against the blood trickling from her ears as the Hokage sat down in his chair. "That ordinarily wouldn't have pushed you past your limits."

Tsume shrugged. "I've been pushing my threshold in the last few days because of Naruto." She cradled her head in her hands and applied a steady pressure to her temple. "I don't know why, but ever since I found Naruto, the smell of the Kyuubi is really strong, like always being downwind of an onion farm."

"Has anyone else noticed?"

"Oyubi said no, but Hana said Naruto smelled like a fox."

"And this hadn't been a problem before Naruto came to your compound."

Tsume carefully shrugged. "I've always smelled the Kyuubi, never him. But the Kyuubi's odor is so much stronger now, and it smothers everything." Through the throbbing rush of blood in her ears, she heard the rustle of the Hokage's garments and the clink of stoneware as he poured a cup of tea. Then he slipped from his chair and sat on the floor beside her. He slid a steaming cup of tea over to her, and sipped his own. "Do you think it's his seal?" Tsume asked.

"It's certainly concerns me, but there's no one in Konoha who will touch the Fourth's handiwork." Danzo could, but the Hokage had just inferred that he wasn't going to allow such.

The solution was simple and obvious to Tsume. If no one in Konoha would – or could – touch the seal, then someone outside of Konoha would have to. "I'll just get Jiraiya to do it."

The Hokage smelled amused. "And just how do you propose to do this when the Festival of Hot Springs was canceled this coming year because of the last time he was in town? He's not even in the country."

"I know that. I'll just bring Naruto along with me, and we'll make a detour on our way to Kumogakure."

The amusement instantly soured. "You propose to take our current jinchuuriki to the very same village that tried to kidnap our last jinchuuriki?"

Wait… what? When did this happen? Tsume gave the Hokage an incredulous look from beneath her elbow. "Did I miss something?"

The Hokage studied her for a moment, and the pressure of his killing intent eased back. Not that it would've motivated Tsume into good behavior with as bad as her head currently felt. "She never told you. I would've thought you knew…"

"Who told me what?"

He shook his head and dropped his gaze back to his tea. "It's in the past now – it doesn't matter."

"If it doesn't matter, then it shouldn't be such a big deal to tell me."

He took a slow sip, and then rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. Tsume dropped her hands as the vise-like pressure eased away from her head. A stabbing pain still lingered behind her eyes, but the throbbing rush in her ears had quieted down – that meant her blood pressure was dropping; good, maybe she'd get to keep normal kidney function this time around.

"Did you ever wonder why it was so important that we rescued Uzumaki Kushina when she was captured in the Second War?"

Tsume had wondered at the time, but figured that it didn't matter in the long run – Kushina was a precious person, no matter her importance. She later learned that Kushina was the great-great-niece to the First Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito, and figured that was why Kushina was so important.

She then thought of Naruto and Minato, and Tsume's blood ran cold with realization. "Kushina was the jinchuuriki before Naruto." She had never even suspected… It also made a lot more sense as to why Kushina's son was chosen to be the jinchuuriki. Huh. And for three years she had thought it was because Mooncalf snagged the first orphaned baby he could find in a pinch.

"Yes. She inherited the Kyuubi directly from Uzumaki Mito herself. You saw the level of mass destruction the Kyuubi is capable of, and you know why it mustn't fall into the hands of our enemies."

Tsume remembered the kind of person Kushina had been, and thought of that gut-wrenching malice that had swamped the entire village three and a half years ago. Kushina had always been so good, so caring, always looking out for Tsume and Kokoro. Even when carrying such malice within, Kushina remained as genuine and as loving as the day that Tsume had met her at Konoha's far entrance.

Even though her personal doubt plagued her heart, Tsume knew that Kushina would understand why Tsume had ignored her son for so long, and she would be so happy that Tsume finally came around.

Tsume smiled as a rush of giddiness filled her. She leaned forward and captured her ankles with her hands. "That's okay," she whispered. "Thanks for letting me know." She felt the smile stretch until it nearly took up her face, and guilt burned away from the vestiges of her spirit. It was going to be all right now with Naruto. No matter what anyone would ever say about the danger of the jinchuuriki, Tsume knew the truth now.

The Kyuubi could never corrupt that sunshine-smile any more than it could corrupt Kushina's flame.

"This mission could still mean your death, which is why you cannot take Naruto with you." The Hokage pushed Tsume's forgotten teacup a little closer to her. Tsume dabbed her fingers in the tea and used the moisture to wipe away the last smearing trails of blood from her ears. "I cannot guarantee that the Raikage simply won't have you killed, and then claim you broke the agreement. He's already denied that Kumo would kidnap Hyuuga toddlers, so I fully expect him to lie about other things. We could still wind up going to war, after all."

Tsume dipped her fingers in the tea, and then raised them to her lips. "I guess that means I shouldn't use my seal on this trip."

The Hokage nearly choked on his tea. "Absolutely not. Seducing the Raikage would cause an international disaster, even if you did avoid a war." He muttered something about how Danzo would have better success seducing the Raikage.

"So I have to be as unthreatening as possible." Tsume rocked sideways in thought for a moment as her mind did loop-de-loops. It was really hard to think when her head was pounding. "Then we have to make it obvious to everyone all around that I wouldn't dare step a foot out of line. I know how I can do this, but it would still require bringing Naruto along. And Kiba. If I made it a family holiday…"

The Hokage shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "And if they managed to kill you, the Kyuubi and your son would still be in the hands of our enemy. Do you want that for your children?"

"Not if I linked them with the seals that Minato worked out in the Second War." Tsume set her tea down, accidentally sloshing some of the liquid onto the Hokage's hard floor, and turned to him as excitement bubbled in her chest. "See, Mooncalf told me all about his Flying Thunder God seal. With some input from Aunt Natsumi, I bet that Jiraiya could jury-rig a seal on the boys that they could be reverse-summoned to you if something were to happen. Besides, I didn't say that they would be coming to Kumo with me."

Tsume leaned forward and touched the Hokage's arm before he could make a protest. "Look, the Raikage is only going to allow one Konoha nin into Kumo, but nowhere does it say that only one Konoha nin will be traveling to Kumo. Send the Ino-Shi-Chou team with me, and make it known to the Raikage that they will await my return at a certain time, and my brother can hold my sons. The Raikage will know, given a small enough window of time and whom I brought along, I'm not going to break the agreement – there's too much as stake for me, personally, almost like Konoha is holding hostages against me. He won't be able to fabricate a decent excuse about me breaking the agreement, so he wouldn't be able to get away with killing me and lying about how I stepped out of line."

The Hokage considered Tsume for a long moment, and then drained his teacup. "It will be risky."

Tsume knew that it would be just as risky to leave Naruto alone at Konoha. Grandmother Shinzou had taught Tsume that wounds of the heart were often more harmful and took so much longer to heal than wounds of the body, and she wouldn't leave Naruto alone with so many people still hating and fearing him. She saw how much Naruto needed her, and she wasn't going to leave him so soon after promising that she would keep him safe.

As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't feel comfortable with leaving Naruto under Danzo's care for a significant length of time. At least not when Naruto was so young and impressionable. Danzo may not deliberately try to destroy the boy's spirit, but he was too emotionally clumsy to help it heal. Tsume's brain injury and child abuse put her in a unique place where Danzo's treatment had actually been therapeutic, but she didn't think it would work for Naruto.

"It could work, and I can get Jiraiya to look at Naruto's seal. It's a great way to kill two birds with one stone. And if the Raikage does kill me, I'll go down fighting and I promise to leave so much damage behind that it'll take them an entire generation to recover!" Tsume flashed a V at the Hokage.

The Hokage studied Tsume for a moment, and then nodded. "You do have the army for wiping out Kumo, even if it would kill you in the end. If you're going to die either way, that may be the only answer we have. But you will go with a team of my choosing."

"Okay."

oOoOoOo

"Does anyone want to hear about First Mother and Juubi?" Inuzuka Tsume asked the children. "Naruto, Kiba, and I've got to leave first thing in the morning, so I figured that this would be the perfect bedtime story for everyone."

Kiba raised his hand excitedly and waved it in the air. "Me! Me!"

Hana sulked. "Still can't see why I couldn't come."

"You have to attend the Academy," Tsume told her. "Besides, you'll be too busy bonding with Danzo's kids to notice that your youngest brothers and I will be gone."

Sai cocked his head to the side. "What's a Juubi?" he asked.

"It's this really awesome demon with ten tails," Tsume explained as she hugged her pillow to herself. She grinned and tweaked Sai's nose. "I have a Juubi too, except he's just a horse." She ignored Danzo's mutter of worthless cow, actually, and proceeded to burrow under the scattered covers and talk at the same time. "I wish I could've seen the real Juubi. Anyway, the Juubi is way cooler than the Kyuubi – and way, way stronger than the Kyuubi."

Danzo pinched the bridge of his nose. Only Inuzuka Tsume would think the legendary monster that terrorized the Elemental Countries until it was finally subdued by the Sage of Six Paths was cool. If it hadn't been for the prolapsed uterus, the subsequent hysterectomy, the secondary and the second secondary infections after the self-administered cesarean with Kiba, Tsume probably would've been frolicking with the Kyuubi when it attacked, giggling the entire time.

And why couldn't he shake the feeling that if she had lived in the time of the Sage, Tsume would've trailed after the Juubi and plotted on how to best take it home with her?

Because she would, he decided sullenly. And he was most certainly sullen with the idea of Tsume adopting a gigantic ten-tailed demon, and not because she popped up in his house with all of her other children on tow for a surprise sleepover, so the other two foster-siblings that he and Tsume shared could feel included in the family.

It was only a small consolation that Kakashi and Yamato looked as uncomfortable and awkward in their pajamas as he felt in his – especially after Hana had turned to Tsume and asked her why Danzo was wearing Tsume's old bathrobe. "You will clean up the blanket forts in the morning," he said, just be absolutely clear that he was heard. The children cringed at the tone of his voice and the look on his face. Yamato and Kakashi hardly looked all that intimidated. He might have to do some impromptu training with them tomorrow. He'd go lightly with Kakashi, given that the boy was still healing from having his ribcage flayed open.

Tsume poked her head out from beneath the blanket she was burrowed under. "Sure. I'll even make sure that the dishes are washed. Do you wanna tell a story after I'm done?"

"No." Danzo stalked out of his living room, and wondered if he had any blankets left on his sleeping mat after Hana and Kabuto absconded with everything in his linen closet and emptied his mother's cedar chest. After assuring himself that, yes, his mother's cedar chest was indeed empty but his mat remained undisturbed, Danzo contemplated the pros and cons of locking his bedroom door.

After realizing that Tsume would probably crawl through his window to say goodbye, he left the door unlocked.

oOoOoOo

The Raikage surveyed his stack of paperwork and considered, once more, the repercussions of becoming the Raikage. He was a warrior, not a paper-pusher, damn it! As he sullenly tugged another pile towards him and readied his pen like an assassin readying his kunai, his door swung open. The backdraft created by the opening door swept his papers off the desk onto the gray stone floor.

A twitched and growled as the pen snapped in half.

The messenger held his missive in front of himself, as if he expected the flimsy scroll to derail his Raikage's wrath. "SpecialdeliveryfromtheHokage."

"Ah. Probably the reply to my demands. Let's see what that sly old fox is going to pull this time." Despite the loss of his head jounin (who was an asshole anyway, so no great loss there, really), A was enjoying the mind games taking place via messenger bird. Subterfuge with carefully crafted words across a long distance with an admirable opponent wasn't quite as satisfying as meeting the man on the battlefield, but it still provided him with more intellectual stimulation than the badly-misspelled reports from genin or – worse yet – his brother's reports. Killer B had recently begun speaking and writing everything he could in haiku, and Killer B was no more a decent poet than A was a virginal Snow Maiden.

Plus, this fiasco could net him another set of Byakugen eyes. He was okay with playing metaphorical chess via letters.

A snatched the back of the messenger's shirt. "Where do you think you're going? You have a mess to clean up. Make sure that everything is stacked in chronological and alphabetical order." He glared unblinking until the man was bent over, cleaning up the spilled papers, before turning his attention on the missive.

The missive was brief, since the Hokage relented to A's demands. He squashed the disappointment, since he had been hoping to continue his long-distance arguing. It read that a team of Konoha nin was already on route to Kumo, and would meet with his team in a designated village inside the border of Lightning in ten days (eight days from now, he calculated, given how long it took the missive to arrive after the Hokage wrote it). The single chosen nin would accompany the Raikage's team to Kumo to make the final delivery, and the Konoha nin's team would await for her return at the village.

The chosen nin was one Inuzuka Tsume.

A read the missive twice, searching for any hidden meaning or duplicity. It was wise of the Hokage to agree to A's plans, and then immediately enact upon the delivery – doing so made it harder for A to make even more restrictive demands, since the Hokage could deflect such with a team already in transition. "Hey, get me the Bingo Book." The messenger carefully bypassed his neat little stacks to the bookshelf that held different references and manuals. After obtaining the demanded book, the messenger returned to sorting the papers.

Upon verifying that the Bingo Book was the current edition, A flipped through the book until he found Inuzuka Tsume's entry, and studied it carefully.

Inuzuka Tsume was a C rank Special Jounin, with a well-documented brain injury that left her with a poor memory for strategy and inability to memorize high-ranking jutsu. She specialized in seduction– A felt his regard of this unknown kunoichi sink into the depths of disdain, since he considered seduction to be a cheap shortcut for kunoichi to advance their careers without actually developing their battle skills – and tracking missions. Tsume was an exceptional tracker even among a clan made up entirely of exception trackers, but had to be placed with high-ranking teams on search-and-rescue missions due to her reckless aggressiveness.

The Inuzuka clan was famous for its undying loyalty to clan and village. It was also infamous for being rough, rowdy, uncouth, and animalistic. Even the tamest of dogs lash out if threatened, and the Inuzuka clan was considered barely housebroken, much less tame. Given A's experience with Inuzuka women in the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, he was fairly sure that reckless aggressiveness was standard, regardless of any brain injury.

"What are you up to, Sarutobi Hiruzen?" A growled as he leaned back. His lopsided wooden chair groaned in protest. He really needed to get that missing wheel replaced; the Kumo Bingo book twenty years out of date wasn't holding up like it used to.

On paper, Inuzuka Tsume was a bad choice to send into a delicate situation that was balanced on the edge of a charged blast tag. He couldn't imagine the Hokage sending a rude, aggressive woman whose clan was notorious for their animalistic tendencies when the risk of war was too great.

A considered the four-year old picture – it was a full-body shot of a pregnant young woman with wild brown hair staring wide-eyed over her shoulder, her small, dark eyes ringed with red and cheeks painted with red triangles. Her left hand was raised, grasping the bridle of a massive war horse as it lipped at her wild hair. The exposed skin of her left arm was laced with multiple scares that appeared to run from wrist to elbow. A looked more closely over her entry. Kiri was the only Hidden Village that had a bounty on Tsume, and only if she was brought to them alive. That meant she wasn't remarkable or threatening enough to make any noteworthy enemies… or there weren't any enemies who survived crossing her path. Then again, few had survived crossing the paths of the legendary Hell Hounds duo, and yet their deadly reputation was still well-known.

Most ninjas had to be A rank or above to make the Bingo Book, with a few exceptions, including rare bloodlines, key roles in certain historical events, high bounties, or close ties to legendary ninjas. Inuzuka Tsume was current Head of the Inuzuka clan, second only to the Aburame clan for its renowned tracking skills, but still more popular (dogs were much less creepy than bugs). That was exception #1. Inuzuka Tsume was former genin apprentice to S rank Hatake Sakumo and foster-mother to S rank Hatake Kakashi. That was exception #2. Inuzuka Tsume was also the chosen heir to Inuzuka Natsumi, Hell Hound and Queen of Summons. That was exception #3.

A carefully leaned back in his chair and glared at the missive that the Hokage had sent. Inuzuka's total stats of 26 weren't the most impressive, although average enough for a special jounin, but he had to assume that the information on her abilities (or lack thereof) was unreliable. A Konoha kunoichi with a brain injury didn't usually become a Special Jounin just because she was Clan Head or a good seductress. At least not one that looked, quite frankly, more scary than beautiful – he didn't know much about desiring women, but knew enough to recognize that Tsume was no traditional beautiful seductress.

Inuzuka Tsume had too many ties with too many strong people not to have some hidden ace up her sleeve that she would've been learned from Sakumo or Natsumi. A snapped his fingers at the messenger, who was humming off-key as he worked to gather the loose papers. "You, shut up, and get me another Bingo Book – I need an edition at least fifteen years old."

On the other hand, the Hokage surely knew that whomever he sent may not come back alive, so he wouldn't risk losing someone important. But neither would the God of Shinobi risk another war by sending an impetuous person, especially when said person's Jounin sensei did take part in kicking off the Third Shinobi War.

A accepted the Bingo Book. As the messenger moved the stacks of paper onto his desk, A thumbed through the Bingo Book for someone he hadn't thought of in years. After finding the entry, he laid the Bingo Books side by side. Like her great-granddaughter, Inuzuka Shinzou was looking over her shoulder. Instead of Tsume's wide-eyed look of surprise, Shinzou's eyes were narrowed and her jaw tight, like a hungry predator sizing up a weak opponent. Her gray hair was every bit as wild as her great-granddaughter's. Beneath the picture, the words faded from age, A had written, Died from wounds incurred in the attempted capture of the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki. Age 92. The age had been circled three times. A remembered marveling at how any ninja could live and fight for nearly a century. Not even the legendary Sage of Six Paths was said to have lived that long.

He looked at Tsume's picture. Despite being three generations removed and eighty years younger, Tsume looked enough like Shinzou to pass as a possible reincarnation. Her eyes were different, and her chin was rounder, but the fall of hair and hairline were identical. He had to assume that Tsume had inherited more than just her looks from the deceased Hell Hound. The Inuzuka Clan Head would have to be carefully reckoned with.

Konoha did her best to hide it, but she was still vulnerable after the Kyuubi's destruction, which was why A knew that everything would work out in Kumo's favor even when his idiot head jounin (honestly, what had A been thinking when he decided to keep that moron instead of assigning position of head jounin to a more competent person?) decided to go and abduct a three year old clan heiress without orders otherwise and then botched the damn kidnapping.

Hmmm. "Get me all the current Intel we have Inuzuka Tsume." All this thinking was making him hungry. "And a protein shake."

The messenger brought the protein shake first, which indicated how well the man probably knew the Raikage. And it was strawberry-flavored – his favorite. Well, someone was kissing ass, but it didn't stop A from giving the messenger the proverbial boot from his office once he opened Inuzuka's dossier.

The dossier noted that Inuzuka Tsume was currently the best tracker of her clan, and had a very typical Inuzuka nature with all of its reckless, brash personality, over-the-top loyalty to clan and village, and complete disinterest in political maneuvering. Apparently, Tsume's predecessor, Shinzou, had been one of the few Inuzuka to have any political ambitions, but that was partly to undermine Uchiha Madara, and partly to prevent outsiders from trying to assert control over the clan. Fortunately, Kumo's spy system had managed to discover more specific Intel on this brain injury. Inuzuka Tsume was literally fearless, impulsive, and forgetful — not at all suitable for delicate peace envoys. She also had some sort of "bizarre animal magnetism" that drew men to her, which explained how someone clearly deficient in the good looks department could be so successful with seduction.

How did she become a special jounin again? The Raikage drained the last of his protein drink and crumpled the empty carton in his fist. A couldn't imagine how anyone with those kind of shortcomings could advance so far in their ninja career, unless there was some sort of special ability that would keep her alive.

Yet there she was, clan head since she was twelve years old, still alive with an active and successful career as a ninja.

A quickly reviewed Inuzuka's list of allies. Ah, her biological father was Nara Shikake – she had likely inherited some of that genius, which would explain how she managed to thrive as a kunoichi despite such a brain injury. He ignored the extensive details on her personal ongoing antagonism with the Uchiha clan and her reputation as a simpleton. Every village tried to make well-constructed smokescreens around their most talented ninjas. Also, Uchiha were arrogant asses in general, which just encouraged antagonism with everyone. She had a demi-summon of a horse whose terrifying reputation was enough to make most people scatter.

On a whim, A checked his current Bingo Book, and found an entry for Juubi no Konoha, S rank horse. Seriously? How had he never noticed this page before?! Also, it was the same horse in Inuzuka Tsume's Bingo entry. Maybe her bizarre animal magnetism worked on horses and men? Inuzuka also appeared to have an ongoing relationship with Shimura Danzo.

A studied that more closely. His spies hadn't figured out if Inuzuka was Shimura's lover (A gave this very careful consideration, because Tsume was young enough to be the man's daughter. He never would've pegged the old War Hawk, whose dossier was much, much thicker than Inuzuka's, to be a cradle robber. Unless her animal magnetism was just that good), apprentice (once more reinforcing A's suspicions that there was something far more dangerous about this woman than what met the eye), or just someone who shared a mutual hobby of gardening. Weird. Then again, A wasn't one to judge when he liked to relax in the evenings by cross stitching kittens.

A found nothing more of importance as he looked through Inuzuka's dossier a second time. He snapped it shut with an irritated flick of his wrist. Well, Inuzuka Tsume evidently wasn't much to write home about, so the situation could still play in his favor. With no reputation or experience in politics, Sarutobi Hiruzen might've chosen Inuzuka Tsume because she would be too blunt to be suave and manipulative.

Unless…

A groaned and covered his head with his hands. Unless the team that was accompanying Inuzuka Tsume included Inuzuka Natsumi, who would take any harm against her niece and clan head personally. He still had nightmares of surviving Natsumi when he and his team were unexpectedly ambushed by literal hell hounds when they were just minding their own business, setting up a camp in Grass just a stone's throw away from Fire. He and Killer B had barely managed to escape alive, and both had agreed that there was no shame in running away from a mostly-undressed eighty-five year old kunoichi like the hounds of hell had been chasing them. Mainly because the hounds of hell had been chasing them, and apparently even the eight-tailed ox demon felt such creatures were best avoided.

And then another horrifying thought occurred to him. If Inuzuka Tsume was anything like her aunt – heir to Inuzuka Natsumi – then it was best to get her out of Kumogakure as soon as possible. No witnesses means no Intel, he reminded himself. A's mind began to work furiously, putting pieces of the puzzle together. He didn't like the image that emerged.

Clever Sarutobi Hiruzen; very clever indeed. The Hokage knew that the Raikage would require that the Konoha nin follow the exact parameters that A had outlined in his demands, and any deviation would be just cause for retaliation, like death. Someone like Tsume, if her memory and impulsiveness were as bad as rumors and Intel indicated, couldn't help but deviate from the parameters, so Kumo would naturally follow through with trying to dispose of her.

Killer B had grown in strength and skills in the last fifteen years, so A doubted that Inuzuka Tsume could defeat him – especially if she wasn't a full-ranked jounin. But if the two of them got into a fight within Kumo's walls – if Tsume's strength was close enough to rival either of the Hell Hounds – then Killer B would have to release the Eight Tailed Ox, and that would cause widespread devastation and a high number of bystanding casualties.

Heir to Inuzuka Natsumi, Queen of Summons. A shuddered to think of what happen if she managed to summon a pack of hounds of hell in the heart of Kumo itself.

If Konoha couldn't afford to go to war because of their devastation, then Kumo couldn't either if the same level of devastation took place. It was basically a suicide mission, which someone like an Inuzuka would volunteer for, because of that damnable loyalty.

A growled as he glared Tsume's picture. He would just have to allow her to deviate from the original parameters that he had given to the Hokage, to allow her to mess up as much as could be expected with such a brain injury. Damn it – that old Fire goat was forcing A to be reasonable.

Well, the best way to fight fire was with even more fire. He called one of his guards forward, and ordered the man to go get Killer B. Killer B would be pleased with the opportunity to leave the village after A had kept him restricted to its parameters the last five years as a guardian, even if it was just to meet up with the Konoha nin at the designated meet-up, and accompany this kunoichi to, around, and from Kumo at all times. Killer B would be given directions to tolerate Inuzuka Tsume and her errors, and minimize whatever damage the woman caused.

After all, the Inuzuka was animal enough to surely recognize her place in the food chain when it came to tailed demons. In the time it would take to guide Tsume to Kumo, especially if he made Killer B take the long route, Killer B was fully capable of putting the fear of the Hachibi into Tsume's simple little brain.

Additional author's notes: I love A in this story, and it was so fun writing his train of thought as he starts with Point A (Who is this Inuzuka Tsume and should I be worried?), and ends with the entirely wrong conclusion at Point X (holy crap - I bet she's insanely strong, but no puny mortal being wouldn't be terrified of the Eight Tailed Ox Demon, so I shall scare the ever-loving daylights out of her with Killer B!) It's fun to highlight that perspective against Danzo's realization that Tsume would have no problem frolicking with the Nine Tailed Fox Demon.