Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Confession

The moment the words left Tenzo's mouth, a coldness filled Inoichi's eyes; although he tried to hide it. A sentiment that didn't go unnoticed by Naru, who suspected the reason was that he knew his third student wasn't a genin, but an Anbu-level Shinobi all along. It wouldn't surprise her to find out that Inoichi was aware of Danzo keeping tabs on her and Kakashi; it would actually be an insult to the Yamanaka clan if he didn't.

Kurama, who was oddly awake, hummed in agreement with her assessment. "Don't forget though, Kit, you're not supposed to be aware of what Danzo is up to, or who Tenzo really is," he said.

Naru inwardly hid her wince at his reminder; indeed, it would be problematic if Inoichi knew she knew the truth about Danzo and Tenzo. So, avoiding trouble, she played dumb to her teammates' guilty expression. Tilting her head to the side as to fane confusion, she looked at Tenzo in surprise, "What's up, Tenzo kun?" she asked.

Tenzo didn't even try to hide the guilt he felt as he took in his blonde teammates' trusting face; he knew what he was about to say would shatter that trust in an instant. "I don't know how to break this to you guys, but I'm not who you think I am," he said.

Naru took a moment to steal a glance at her two other companions. Inoichi remained silent, and as for Kakashi, he was alert. The silver-haired boy looked at Tenzo with alarm. "What do you mean by that, Tenzo?" he said, his hand casually sliding towards his kunai pouch.

The Root shinobi put his hands up in defense. "Please listen to me Kakashi kun before you decide anything," he said. Kakashi gave a stiff nod in agreement, but his hand didn't leave his holster.

Naru decided she had better step in before Kakashi killed Tenzo. "Kakashi, we should listen to what he has to say. I'm sure he has a fair explanation for us. Isn't that right, Tenzo?" she said calmly, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

Tenzo gave them a pleading look. "My name is Tenzo and I am a shinobi of Konoha, but I'm not a Genin," he said.

Inoichi looked at his student coldly. "So you really are working for that old war hawk," he said.

The wince Tenzo made confirmed it for Naru; however, she wanted to know why he was revealing himself to them now. "Danzo must have something planned to mess up this mission. That's the only reason he could have for blowing his cover," she thought, watching as the child fidgeted. It was so unlike the Tenzo from her own time, who had always been calm and collected in front of his team.

Kakashi looked at their teammate expectingly. "Well, if you're not a genin, then what are you, and who are you working for?" he asked, his voice as cold as ice. For just a moment, Naru saw the ghost of her old sensei, not the child who was her best friend.

Tenzo sighed, "I'm a member of Root and who I work for is Danzo Sama," he said, looking down.

Kakashi nearly choked on the name. "Danzo? As in the elder Danzo, but why would you work for him? Shinobi of the leaf are only supposed to take orders from Lord Third?" he said, utterly confused.

Naru, playing along, looked equally confused. "Yeah, only the Hokage has the power to order us around. If anyone else is giving you an order, they are acting out of bounds. Aren't they sensei?" she said, looking up at Inoichi.

Inoichi looked away uncomfortably. It was obvious the man didn't know how to explain why an elder had power outside the Hokage. It was a question that Naru had in her past life too, that man had caused so many problems for her village. "That's right, Naru chan. No one but the Hokage has that power," he said.

The blonde turned back to Tenzo. "If that's the case, then why is Tenzo kun saying he's working Danzo? Does that make Danzo Sama a traitor to the Hokage?" she asked innocently.

Tenzo's eyes widened in saucers. "Wait Naru chan, you've got the wrong idea about Danzo Sama! He would hurt the village," he said.

Kurama laughed as he listened to the boy defend his master. "Boy, that old coot sure has him brainwashed," he said. Naru mentally agreed with him.

Inoichi interrupted the boy by putting his hands up in a timeout sign. "I'm sure he does Tenzo san, but if what you're saying is true, then why are you revealing yourself up to us?" he asked.

Tenzo's eyes widened in shock before he looked down in shame. "It's because, because, Danzo sama is going to send troops to keep that treaty from happening," he said.

Naru couldn't help but glare at Tenzo. "I knew it!" she thought to herself. Kakashi also looked at Tenzo coldly, but also with slight confusion. "Why would he do that, though? Wouldn't a treaty with the Mist be beneficial for us to stop Iwa?" he said.

Naru felt a wave of sympathy go out for her silver-haired teammate. "Oh, Kakashi, you have a lot to learn about politics. If only I could tell you what I know about Danzo, you would question your shinobi way," she thought sadly.

Tenzo looked ashamed as he spoke. "Danzo sama doesn't think we need to make friends with our enemies to win the war," he said.

Naru felt rage boiling inside of her. How dare that bastard prolong a damn war only for the sake of his pride? "So he wants more of our shinobi to risk their lives, just so he can have winners' rights. Is that what you're saying, Tenzo? Because that's what I'm hearing," she said.

The boy flinched at her enraged tone. "Danzo sama says it's for the best," he said.

Naru growled. "Yeah, the best for him, not the village or its people," she said, crossing her arms.

The boy looked down. "We could still win," he whispered.

Naru snorted, "Sure we can if we want the rest of our shinobi population in body bags," she said.

Inoichi gaped at his young student in shock. He certainly wasn't expecting to hear those words from her. "Naru!" he gasped.

Naru looked guiltily up at Inoichi. "I'm sorry Sensei, but Tenzo needs to hear it. I may not know much about war, but I know that we have a greater chance of winning against Iwa with the Mist's help than without it," she said.

Kakashi nodded. "I agree with Naru, which is why I don't understand why Danzo sama doesn't," he said.

Inoichi sighed. "Thank you for sharing this info with us, Tenzo. Do you know when his troops are supposed to show up?" he asked.

Tenzo nodded. "In a day or two, once the treaty is already signed," he said.

Naru looked hopeful at hearing this. "So we have time to stop Danzo," she said, excitement in her voice.

Inoichi nodded. "Indeed, we do, except you guys will not be involved in stopping anything. I'm going to send an emergency message to the Hokage and he will deal with this issue," he said.

Naru looked at him, frustrated. "So what? we're supposed to sit here and pretend that nothing's going on?" she said.

Inoichi smiled at her. "Exactly," he said.

Author's note: So do you think Naru's going to get involved or not?" Let me know in the comments. As always, thank you for reading.