"Hai. Genma-Ni, Iwashi-Ni, let's head up and find Raidou-Ni. Afterwards, we need to initiate the plan."

The two nodded, waving off Yugau and Hayate before they walked toward Akihane.

Sparks shot into the air to the north, bright blue in color and odd in shape. In fact, the flash seemed to take the form of a single symbol, one of a lightning strike straight into the town center.

"Looks like Izumo and Kotetsu are doing good. That was an 'All Good' flare." Genma spoke, relief dotting his tone.

The invasion seemed to be going off exactly as they had planned. That was good.

If only things would stay that way.

I~~~~I

Yin ducked under a flurry of blows delivered from the young Kunoichi guarding the Tsuchikage. Kurotsuchi was quite the Kunoichi and she was worth her title of Jonin.

Even so, Yin wasn't an Uzumaki for nothing.

His fingers worked over the air and chakra pulsed out as she poked the space between him and his opponent.

Spirals erupted in brilliant blue flairs edged with violet, the swirling patterns connecting and weaving together.

Yin channeled more chakra and pulled back his hand. The seals sparked dangerously after the flow was cut, his palm slamming into the middle of the first seal. The formation shot forward and nailed a shocked Kurotsuchi across the chest.

A single 'kai' sent the girl falling to the ground, the gravity-space-alteration seal pulsing once before going black around her body. The girl struggled and sweat beaded on her face as she let out soft gasps.

"Kurotsuchi!" The Tsuchikage shouted for his granddaughter, his dark glare leveling on Yin before he raised his hands.

"Particle Jutsu…Hmmph." Yin muttered in annoyance as he channeled more chakra into his fingers. More seals formed in the air, these ones faster and more interwoven than the last set.

Oniki let loose his attack, enlarged and defragmented projectiles set on Yin's head. The Uzumaki crossed his hands into seals and allowed the chakra to twist along with his movements, the seal building up into a blue mass along his skin.

"Seven Trigrams, Heaven's Barrier Seal!" Yin called out as the onslaught washed over him. The blue chakra around his wrists expanded, a bubble forming about his body. Any objects touching the barrier burned and vanished into ash, the floor cracking under the pressure of Yin's technique.

Oniki's face swelled with rage, his nose growing redder while the sounds of cursing reached Yin's ears.

Raidou, the man who had tried to behead him earlier, was dealing with Tenshi and his brother's quick attacks. The three smaller blurs, actually a single wolf that loved to duplicate, bounced about Jiraiya of the Sannin. The Iwa Nin had implemented themselves in the middle of Yin's push on them to leave Sarutobi with Orochimaru, leaving Yin with no other choice but to attack them himself.

The original plan had been to try and convince the Iwa Nin to side with Orochimaru. This didn't happen, however, because of reasons stated before and the fact that Yin still held quite the grudge against Oniki's Sensei and village for decimating Uzushio.

"Chidori!" A shout rang out, shocking Yin momentarily before he got a hold of himself. His feet twisted and he stepped back a single pace. An arm extended in front of him, the barrier around him flickering before it shattered into pieces.

The look of shock on Hatake Kakashi's face was quite satisfying if Yin said so himself. He hadn't sensed the man's presence at first, though his ears had picked up on the whistling of birds as the technique came into existence.

While quite beautiful, the Chidori wasn't very effective in Yin's opinion. For a child to create it was no small feat, but Yin had long invested years into his lightning affinity, while Kakashi may have worked on it off and on. There was also the fact that over time Kakashi hadn't tried to expand and create more jutsu, but instead stagnated and kept the same thing over and over.

It irritated Yin to no end, and yet he was hardly surprised. When one grew to power to quickly they tended to forget how to improve. Yin had fallen into that same trap before Orama died, and when she had, he decided to not be useless again. He learned all that he could and continued to train every field he had.

Yin's fist clenched on Kakashi's wrist just as the lightning chakra surrounding it started to fizzle out.

Yin met Kakashi's stare evenly. His lips twisted into a mocking smile and he clenched tightly on the Jonin's appendage. Kakashi grunted and glared at Yin. As he did, the lightning at the edge of his arm started to crackle again, the bluish light darkening as Yin's chakra suddenly flooded Kakashi's limb.

The Uzumaki showed his sharpened canines as he hissed to the Jonin before him. "Ever wonder how it feels to have your own technique turned on you?"

Kakashi's revealed eye widened and Yin saw a trace of fear enter as his chakra started to pool at Kakashi's wrist.

A single pulse was all it would take to send Kakashi spiraling into a comatose state. Channel the chakra correctly and he could very well suffer organ failure across his entire body, and possibly even damage his nerves.

The Prodigy knew that, just as Yin did. One didn't get as far as they did and not learn the basics of anatomy, though Yin's knowledge was far deeper than Kakashi's.

He could easily cut Kakashi's chakra pathways and render him and unfit ninja. He could severe arteries and tendons with vibrations. He could burn Kakashi from the inside out.

There was a lot Yin could do to the Copy Nin.

"Kakashi!" A shout, followed by a leg dropping right between the two Shinobi.

Yin pulled away faster than the newcomer could form chakra, his body going rigid as warmth spread through the air.

Thin tendrils of chakra in gold, white, red, and violet danced across his vision before settling into a grey haze. The smell of cedar burned his nose while dark red eyes burned themselves into his mind.

For a moment Yin wasn't in Konoha. For a moment he wasn't standing between the Copy Ninja and Orama's Great Niece, for just a moment…Yin was back on that blood-soaked battlefield.

Akihane's eyes shined the same way Senshi's had that night, her hair sliding across the grim look on her features the same way it had for Senshi when the man placed his body between Yin and a deadly attack.

She looked so unfairly like her Grandfather.

The moment passed and Yin snapped back in time to flip on his palms, landing on his heels while forming seals across the air. The arc of swirls connected and lashed out, slamming into the set of projectiles trying to incapacitate Yin.

Akihane had grabbed her Sensei and landed further away, her chest heaving with exertion while she glared at him unwaveringly.

"Aki!" A newly arrived male shouted as he landed. The man was easily identified as the Third Exam Proctor, Shiranui Genma. Yin also knew that the Tokubetsu Jonin used to be part of the Hokage Guard Platoon and Uzumaki Kushina's personal guard.

The man eyed Yin warily, his hands already drifting to Senbon hidden on his person.

Akihane straightened her Sensei, her gaze never leaving Yin as she spoke to Genma.

"Sorry, reacted on my own." Akihane offered the worried male, earning a sharp nod.

"Just don't do it again. This guy seems far more powerful than any of us here. I don't want you getting hurt." Genma ordered quickly.

Yin had to applaud the man's quick thinking and his priorities. Upon facing Yin he didn't try to go inf or the kill like two other Nin, but instead logically worked out that Yin was dangerous and that they couldn't handle him. Smart.

Akihane seemed to consider the man's words carefully, her eyes finally breaking from Yin in order to gaze at the barrier above.

"Yeah, I don't believe he's just going to let us go up there and help Hokage-Jiji," Akihane muttered under her breath, though Yin's enhanced hearing picked it up regardless.

Yin raised a hand and channeled chakra again. He planned to form the same seal that still bound Kurotsuchi and put the two before him out of commission.

Just as he was about ready he cursed and vanished in time to avoid rocks slamming into his previous position.

Akihane stiffened and her chakra spread out on instinct. It brushed Yin's shoulder and he was forced to duck under another volley and land on the other side of the roof.

Oniki floated above the Konoha Nin, his eyes dark and murderous while his hands remained in the familiar sign for his particle style.

"You have to be kidding me, didn't I already show you how futile that sort of thing was? Do I need to tie you up and put you down like your granddaughter, or will you go sit out and let the capable ones fight?"

Yin taunted while glaring at Oniki, annoyed with the man's insistence to fight and the fact that he wouldn't take a hint.

Akihane's chakra brushed across his arm again and he found it hard to keep his scowl in the face of her warm chakra flooding the area.

The girl looked quite uncomfortable from where she stood, her eyes slightly closed in a pained grimace as she felt the bombardment of chakra signatures and techniques flooding the area. Yin wondered for a moment why his seal wasn't responding to the excess emotions but realized a moment later that she was likely not overwhelmed and just didn't enjoy the sensations that came with sensitive sensory abilities.

Akihane shifted her feet and her eyes directed themselves at something off to the side.

Yin cursed and backed away just as the girl used Kawarimi and traded spots with the seat he had stood beside. Her hands wove about the handles of her blades and she lashed out even as her Sensei and brother called out in shock and anger.

Akihane struck swiftly, her arch similar to what Senshi liked to use. Yin dodged easily and wove past the rest of her strikes without much thought. Her style wasn't quite Senshi's, but the pieces that were present helped him as much as his own expertise in Kenjutsu did.

He struck out and grabbed onto her blade. Her eyes widened and she let go quickly, backing up with her remaining blade.

The one left in his grasp was the blue and gold katana.

Yin's fingers curled about the hilt and he raised a brow when he noticed several seals encrypted into the handle of the blade.

Akihane's fingers raised into a simple sign, the blade in Yin's hands vanishing with a spark of chakra from the Kunoichi.

"Summoning Seals. Smart." Yin whistled as he looked back up. To his surprise, Akihane wasn't looking how he expected. Instead, the girl was giving him a strange look that bordered on shocked while also mixing with intrigue and slight…betrayal?

"You….Y-You…."

Akihane barely managed, her voice choking as she gave him another look that reminded him of betrayal.

"You touched the blade…you held the blade." Akihane let out in a spur of breath.

Yin didn't understand for the first few moments, only for something to click in his brain suddenly and leave him feeling rather idiotic.

Senshi had been handed the blades down from his parents, one representing his mother and the other representing his father. The two worked beautifully together and had seals decorating them in intricate patterns. One of those seals happened to be a binding seal that didn't allow anyone who did not have permission from a wielder to hold the blade, and it also gave any accepted wielder the ability to revoke that privilege. The seal was bound to blood, bound to the family dwindled down to one that went by the name of Namikaze, but in all truth were Senju. The blades would only let Akihane and those she or her predecessors had given permission to wield them.

Yet, somehow, Yin had held them.

"Y-you were the Uzumaki…t-the one who was friends with Senshi."

Akihane let out another cutting truth.

Yin grits his teeth and cursed his own luck.

Leave it to him to back himself into a corner and reveal his secrets far too early.

I~~~~I

Hiruzen could feel his body wearing down on him as he fought against his prodigy student.

Orochimaru, for lack of a better word, had always been seen as a genius. However, even in the boy's brilliance, he had been ruthless and terrifying to the point where Hiruzen worried not only for his own health but those around the boy.

When they had discovered his lab filled with the bodies of children Hiruzen had wanted to fold in on himself and vanish. He had failed both Orochimaru and his teachers in protecting Konoha and its people. Orochimaru's exploits would forever scar his heart and mar any image he once held for his previously beloved student.

Beautiful but broken, kind but haunting, comparable but harsh.

Orochimaru tore him apart, worked his way through Hiruzen's defenses and placed himself as a hope for the future only to turn into its executioner.

"Orochimaru, how long has it been since you stopped to think about your actions? How long has it been since you looked back and wondered what those before you would think?" Hiruzen questioned with a grunt as he was sent flying by his student, his sandals sliding over the tiles with silent shrieks.

The Sannin paused and leveled an unimpressed gaze on his teacher.

"Do you mean Orama, Sensei? Or do you mean my parents? Either way, you seem to forget that I don't care much for earthly things that die, no matter what they may have stood for in my past. That should be obvious considering where I stand right now." Orochimaru spoke in annoyance, as though he were trying to teach a child a simple concept.

Hiruzen flinched at the mention of his Best friend, of the woman who had placed Orochimaru in his view and asked him to teach the boy in the first place. He felt a burning sensation deep in his gut as he thought about her smiles and the love of her life, Uzumaki Yin, who was now destroying the village she held dear.

"Orama was special, far more than anyone else I ever met…But even she couldn't break the cycle Sensei. She tried, but in the end, she succeeded no more than the last and died after giving Yin an impossible task." Orochimaru continued with a solemn gaze. He paused in his assault on Hiruzen to reflect on past memories, to bring back to moments when he hadn't felt like the world was turning in on itself.

He looked up and met Hiruzen's gaze with a chilling glare.

"I find it endlessly despicable that the village she cared for threw her out without a thought, that you didn't allow her to return permanently despite the power you had." He accused with venom.

Sarutobi inhaled sharply at the accusation, understanding what Orochimaru meant better than the man probably did himself.

He had made many mistakes as a Hokage, but not welcoming Orama back to the village hadn't been one. He was never the one to make that call, she had been.

Hiruzen doubted that the knowledge would change Orochimaru's mind that much.

I~~~~I

"Y-you were the Uzumaki…t-the one who was friends with Senshi."

Akihane spoke in disbelief.

She hadn't thought it through earlier, but with the new information presented to her things started to click into place. The mysterious Uzumaki was a friend of her grandfather, a dear friend that had faked his death years ago.

Why was he fighting against Konoha? Why had he sided with Orochimaru of all people and faced off against his own village in this invasion?

Akihane didn't understand how the man could have betrayed her family to readily when he had apparently been so close to them. Hell, this man had been named as her father's Godfather! Sarutobi Hiruzen had signed in as a witness for the ordeal and told Akihane himself.

She was so confused and hurt.

She didn't know the Uzumaki, that much was true, but she still couldn't fathom the thought of betraying someone you were close to that dearly. That would have been the equivalent of her leaving after Shisui's sacrifice only to return with the intent to cause a civil war, the exact thing he prevented.

The thought made her sick and angered her all at once. She could feel rage and hate boiling below her skin while her chakra reacted alongside her emotions.

The seal on her stomach pulsed, trying to send out calming pulses of the sickeningly familiar chakra that belonged to the man that had betrayed her grandfather.

"Yes, I was."

Yin suddenly answered.

Akihane's chest contracted and she tried not to let loose a growl as her vision became edged with red.

"I was Senshi's best friend. I taught him how to fight and in return, he let me into his family…" Yin never looked away from her, his mismatched eyes filled with unreadable emotions.

"I only became his friend in order to uphold the promise I made to someone important to me…but when I failed I could no longer stand to stay where everything reminded me of him and my failures. I was Senshi's friend, but I was also his guardian. I failed to keep him from dying as I promised and because of that, I left. As for now…as for why I attack the village he died for and why I face you, his descendant…"

Yin's lips twisted into a sad smile and Akihane had to swallow sharply.

As she did, the man's figure blurred and he appeared in front of her, his fist digging into her gut.

"It's because I can't afford to fail again."

Akihane fell against his shoulder, her vision swimming again, only this time in darkness.

Her chakra reacted violently and tried to fight against the force holding her to it, only to be rebounded.

Emotions slammed into her barriers, the well-built walls shaking as wave after wave of emotion crashed into them.

Sadness, anger, fear, grief, loathing, rage…

So many at once, each stronger than the last and filled to the brim with memories.

She wanted to shut it out, to escape the foreign thoughts pounding at her skull even as she felt the outside world dim further. Hands settled on her shoulders and she heard Yin's voice in her ear while his thoughts shouted in her mind.

"I can't afford to let you die, Akihane. I've broken my promises far too much already."

She wanted to scream.

Protect, don't fail, not this time, succeed, don't miss, not this time…

His thoughts pounded around her head, breaking apart the skillfully crafted barriers without any real intent.

Akihane's chakra surged back and brought forth images in its rush.

A girl, gray hair, a cursed seal, a best friend with his heart on his sleeve, a lost father…

A lost child, a broken man, and a small body. Death and flowers mixed with the ocean.

Quiet words, harsh cries, a bloody history filled with regrets.

A man staring into the eyes of a child and seeing a ghost.

"Not this time."

Words spoken and never forgotten, left on the tip of one's tongue as they tried to save the pieces falling away around them.

"Not this time."

Yin whispered as he drew his palm over Akihane's back and prepared to seal her chakra away.

I~~~~I

Kakashi saw Obito dying, saw Rin jumping in front of his Chidori and Minato leaving to fight the Kyuubi. He saw the dark night when he lost Aki's parents and he saw the blood-filled morning when Itachi destroyed the Uchiha Clan.

Akihane was within the reach of the enemy, was left defenseless against him while he prepared a seal that would no doubt ruin everything the girl had planned for and tried to go against.

He couldn't let anyone die directly in front of him ever again.

"Genma!" Kakashi shouted, already knowing that the man was ready. The two of them had worked in ANBU together, they had trained and risen to the top of the ranks even if Genma ended up a subordinate to Kakashi. They knew how to work together and how to turn a bleak situation on its head and in favor of the team they were on.

Genma shot forward and Kakashi followed while summoning forth two clones. Genma launched his Senbon and they weaved through one another before rounding on the enemy Nin in possession of their little sister.

Yin flipped away from the Senbon and hauled Akihane over his shoulder, her body slumped and her eyes closed tightly in pain.

Genma drew several kunai and started aiming for less-than-pleasant places while Kakashi heard one of his clones finish the summoning Jutsu.

Kakashi dove into Yin's personal space and started to pepper the man with blows.

Ten hounds rushed forward and joined him, each striving to set the man off more than the last.

Genma dropped into the fray and soon both he and Kakashi were reaching for Akihane's body while trying to injure the nin holding her captive.

Yin looked rather shaken after Akihane's revelation, though he still fought and didn't let the news hinder him as he struggled to withhold his prisoner from their grasps.

Faster than Kakashi could register with his Sharingan covered, Genma drop kicked Yin's free shoulder.

Bull, the biggest hound in Kakashi's pack, barreled into the man's legs and Bisuke, his newest and the second fastest, lunged for the man's neck.

Kakashi aimed for the man's gut with a kunai, even as Pakkun and two others jumped for it and grabbed Akihane by her jacket's collar.

Yin turned sharply and tried to avoid them, falling fast to the ground as Akihane was dragged from his shoulder in a surge of chakra and small limbs.

Genma detangled himself and left Kakashi to stab Yin in his side before he too disengaged and landed several feet away.

Genma landed next to Akihane. He rushed toward her and started to check her pulse and try to wake her while Kakashi settled in a stance between them and Yin.

Yin let out a pained hiss and tore the kunai free from his side, steadying his body on his two feet while looking sharply up at them.

He had to have forgotten they were there for them to get the drop on him so easily. Whatever Akihane had meant by her previous words, it had clearly affected the man in a rather negative manner.

Two blurs dropped beside them, Raidou and Iwashi landing behind Kakashi.

Another blur dropped down beside Yin and the Nin dove to the side to avoid a strike dealt by Jiraiya.

Kakashi didn't wait and shot to the Sannin's side, the two beating back to injured Nin until he was no longer in the sight of the former members of the Hokage Guard Platoon and their new charge.

I~~~~I

Genma muttered under his breath as he removed Akihane's jacket and felt for her pulse while also checking the seal for the Kyuubi and the seal that their enemy had placed on her.

The Kyuubi's seal was slightly loosened, while the man's seal happened to be spread across her gut.

He ground his teeth as the blue symbols glowed across Akihane's pale skin. They had worked up her chest and to her neck, several even inching down her limbs.

"Genma, what's wrong?!" Iwashi dropped beside him, Raidou still standing just in case he needed to attack anyone.

The Assassin reached for his Kunai pouch and dug into it, trying to find the tag Jiraiya-Sama had given him just in case he needed to halt Akihane's chakra flow.

"It's the bastard's seal. It won't let her chakra through and it won't recede either. He reactivated it after Akihane attacked him, pushed his chakra into her system I believe."

His eyes ghosted down Akihane's arm as he found the tag. He had one chance with this one, considering he had no more.

"Iwashi, Raidou, pump your chakra into this seal as soon as I say go."

Raidou, upon receiving the order, dropped down beside his comrades and readied his palm.

Genma sent them both looks and pressed the seal to Akihane's gut, right above her Eight Trigrams seal and the other one.

Raidou's fingers splayed over his own while Iwashi curled his large hand over the both of theirs.

Genma carefully counted to five, before channeling as much chakra as he could into the counter-seal.

"Now!"

Chakra both familiar and strikingly new shifted around his own, funneling directly into the seal placed on Akihane's stomach.

The seal began to burn and a sharp grunt of pain was heard before Akihane's eyes flew open.

The girl opened her mouth and let loose a scream of pain, the blue seals inscribed on her skin withdrawing sharply to their original positions.

Genma's hand slipped over Akihane's shoulder, holding her down as her screams died down to short whimpers.

The Uzumaki let out heavy breaths of air while looking at her brother figure, her normally bright eyes faded with fatigue.

"T-That was s-stupid." She hissed out at Genma, earning a nod from the man as his shoulders sagged in relief.

"It was. Don't do that shit again Aki. Do you know how scared we were? You keep putting yourself in these situations and it's terrifying." Genma scolded her, his voice dropping in exasperation and anger as he continued. The Uzumaki nodded at him and closed her eyes while leaning her head back against the floor.

"I j-just couldn't understand…H-He was able to touch the blades…H-he's an Uzumaki, a-and her knows about m-my heritage. Genma, h-he's my grandfather's best friend, the Uzumaki t-that apparently died not l-long after Senshi did…"

Akihane's voice cut off as she started to cough, her chest pulsing with burning pain as she tried to get over the numbness the seal had spread through her body. Her vision wasn't nearly as clear and her chakra crawled along the ground rather than flowing as it normally did.

Genma quickly brought her up to a sitting position, worry pushing through his gaze as he started to run a green-coated hand down her chest. The girl sent him a weak glare in protest for the chakra usage but otherwise remained silent.

"Are you going to be able to go through with the plan or do we have to go grab Jiraiya?" Genma questioned her softly, searching her form as he diagnosed her condition. Several cracked ribs, some internal bleeding that was already healing, some nerve damage, and a bit of fluid buildup. A quick insertion of chakra healed the nerves and expelled the fluids to safer areas, allowing Akihane to breathe easier before she replied.

"Yeah, I'll be good. I have a good amount of chakra left, I'm just tired is all. If anything I'll just need you guys to offer some up." She told him.

Raidou huffed from beside her, earning him two glares from the conversing Nin.

Iwashi let out a soft sigh and patted Akihane's head before shifting to face the explosive battle between Yin and their comrades.

"You…" Someone spoke from behind them, drawing their attention to the three Iwa Nin that had been silent until then.

Akihane blinked and inclined her head to the Tsuchikage, her eyes flitting over him and his 'Shield' before resting on his granddaughter. Kurotsuchi wasn't looking too hot, bound up in several linked seals as she was, her eyes the only things functioning properly. Aki's head tilted to the side at the sight of such a powerful Kunoichi subdued by a simple seal, before she shook her head and quietly asked Genma for help standing.

Genma reluctantly helped the ivory haired teen to her feet. He turned to the Iwa Nin as Akihane started toward them.

The two mobile ones tensed as Aki drew closer, the Tsuchikage narrowing his gaze at her as she lifted a hand to Kurotsuchi. The other male, Oniki's 'Shield', reached out and grabbed Akihane's wrist before she could touch Kurotsuchi.

"Relax, I'm only gonna try and undo the seal. It's a simple binding seal, though he linked it with a chakra suppression seal and a gravity seal." Akihane informed the man, her gaze meeting his in a level stare. Silence preceded and Genma's fingers drifted to his Senbon as the Ninja's grasp on the Uzumaki's wrist wasn't removed.

"Akatsuchi, let the child try," Oniki spoke suddenly, startling all but Akihane.

Akihane offered the Kage another incline of her head before she slipped from Akatsuchi's stunned grasp and placed a hand on Kurotsuchi's stomach.

The Kunoichi looked at her with her dark eyes, watching her every move in measured curiosity.

Akihane closed her eyes and rested back against the solid structure of Genma's torso, trusting him as she nudged her chakra forward. She winced a bit as the pain surface in her coils but allowed the chakra to flow around the seal before her and seep into its structure. She tried not to pay attention to the girl's emotions and what her chakra presented, nevertheless, her encounter with Yin's own emotions had left her control slightly unstable.

She felt the girl's wariness and her fear. She could feel her annoyance at the situation and Yin as well as her anger at the man for attacking her grandfather.

Akihane could also feel the burning adoration the girl held for her grandfather and the fond love she held for Akatuschi.

The personal feelings jolted Akihane back into focus and she continued to guide her chakra along the structure of the seals in order to find the weak points. Though harder to find than her own or the ones of a mediocre user of seals, Akihane managed to find them and simultaneously break them like one snapped the links to chains.

She opened her eyes to find the seal shattering into glassy shards of blue, the chakra returning to the air around them while Akihane's retreated back to her body.

She let out a soft sigh and stood straight, ignoring the hand that Genma had placed at the small of her back in order to steady her. Akatsuchi nodded at her in relief and gratitude, while the Tsuchikage gave her an accessing look.

Kurotsuchi tested each of her limbs first before asking to be set down, resulting in some unsteady steps before the girl started to get the feeling back in her body. She turned her gaze back up to Akihane and mulled things over in her head with a considering frown.

"Why did you help?" She questioned as she flexed her fingers and warily glanced at their surroundings. Akihane turned her gaze up to the purple dome holding her grandfather figure and wanted to curse.

"Iwa destroyed a lot, including Uzushiogakure. Your village took a lot from my Clan, from my mother. Despite that, I hold no grudge and understand that we took just as many from you. I want this to be a fresh start. I have no need to villainize you or the people you protect, nor do I have any reason to refuse you aid. You needed it and I gave it, it's that simple." Akihane spoke quietly, thinking back to the scrolls she had been gifted from Hiruzen regarding her mother and her history. The woman had kept accurate accounts of her time as Konoha Shinobi, managing to record every instance in which she felt a change, even if it was small. There had been an entire scroll dedicated to the history of Uzushio that left Akihane feeling empty inside. She longed to experience the city, even in ruin, and she wanted to ensure nothing like Uzushio's destruction ever occurred again.

Akihane turned back to Genma and then glanced over at Raidou and Iwashi. Raidou had an unreadable expression playing over his features, while Genma and Iwashi looked rather shocked and emotional.

She smiled at them and shook her head. They'd have time to talk after this mess was all over.

Instead of dwelling on her words she gestured to their former and main objective while speaking up. "Plan?"

Her question knocked the three from their stupors. Raidou stepped forward and held his hand out to her.

"Do you have it with you? It'll make things easier." He questioned.

Akihane reached into her sealing pouch, ignoring the stiffening of those around her as she pulled out a folded piece of sealing paper. The parchment was thicker than normal paper and was infused with chakra, unlike the normal stuff others used.

Raidou took the scroll and turned around to go clear a spot near an alcove. Iwashi nodded at Akihane and went to aide his partner.

Genma huffed and muttered something under his breath, sending sharp warning glares at the Iwagakure Nin before he joined them as well.

Akihane stood still as she watched them, waiting patiently as they unwrapped the paper and settled it in the middle of them. She spared a glance across the arena, over Konoha. Fires and large accumulations of dust sprouted across the village, a flare firing up as she looked to the gates. The flare was bright purple and depicted a single tomo, one that was rather familiar to the Uzumaki.

"Sasuke-San." She whispered gently, relaxing on her toes when she noticed the other purple flare, this one a lotus blossom, shoot up from the academy nearby.

"Hinata-Hime too…that's good. Just stick together." She continued, smiling gently as she settled on the realization her precious people were safe and that the Village was still standing. Orochimaru's men were no doubt being pushed back while the Suna Shinobi were being detained. The Invasion was drawing to a quick close without the Suna Jinchuuriki to cause damage, leaving behind semi-competent shinobi to face off against Konoha's prepared numbers.

Akihane shook her head and turned back to the Hokage Guard Platoon. She started toward the three as they all linked their chakra and prepared one of the most feared Jutsu in the Elemental Nations.

Oniki paled as he recognized the technique, his eyes dashing to her form as she walked in the middle of the formation.

"Uzumaki…" He muttered under his breath, his eyes widening further as information poured into his thoughts.

Her eyes, her form, and her closeness with the former Hokage's Guards. The way that she calmly calculated the situation and the way she worked with Seals.

Had she been born with golden hair, the Tsuchikage was certain that Uzumaki Akihane Naru would have looked exactly like the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

The girl flashed through hand signs and her chakra wound with those around her as the three men activated the joint Flying Thunder God technique, their figures blurring out of existence in a flash of yellow.

I~~~~I

And there it is. This was rather hard to write down and finish, but I managed it. I'm trying to work all the emotional aspects of the revelations and it's kind of hard to get them down to the point where I am happy with their wording. I'm Not particularly proud of the fight with Yin, but I have another chapter or two to fully delve into that territory. Thank you all for reading and for reviewing, your comments are amazing and I enjoy them a lot!

Drabble-Its been a long time coming

Akihane wasn't certain what to think about her father.

The man had been a genius, one the likes of which none had seen in ages.

In fact, he was compared to his inspiration, Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage.

The man had also been the grandson of said Hokage and managed to marry an Uzumaki Princess that also housed the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Aki, where are you? Yugau just finished dinner."

Genma's voice cuts into her thoughts, dragging her studious gaze up to the figure of her brother standing in the doorway.

He opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing, only to stop when he recognized the Kunai she held in her grasp and the scroll she had laid on her lap to read through.

His gaze shifted to her own and she tilted her head in curiosity as a thought suddenly got the better of her.

"Genma-Ni, do you know the Flying Thunder God technique?"

She questioned good-naturedly, earning a slight flinch at the name before Genma walked in and sat down beside her.

She glanced at him in surprise when he gently removed the kunai from her grasp and raised it to the light.

"Yeah Aki, I do. I can only do it with Raidou and Iwashi's help though."

Akihane paused and mulled over that information before she looked back at the scroll.

"Do you think you guys could teach me how?"

Genma nearly choked on the Senbon between his lips, twisting his head sharply to look at the girl currently narrowing her gaze on the scroll she was reading as though it held the secrets to Ramen itself.

"W-Well y-yeah, I-I mean it's kinda your birthright by now so…"

Genma tried to work his words into something comprehensible as he continued to stare at Akihane.

The ivory teen hummed and her lips settled into the customary scowl she used all the time.

Her fingers trailed the depictions of seals her father had worked with and the scrawling script he had used to explain the process of using his famed Hirashin.

"Very well."

Akihane intoned mysteriously.

Her head jerked to meet Genma's and her fingers encircled his wrist quickly.

Her eyes were sharp and held a serious light that had made Genma's words die on the tip of his tongue.

Defiance, strength, persistence, and the most bull-headed personality in all of the Elemental Countries rolled into one package.

Akihane spoke without an ounce of hesitation in her tone.

"Please teach me how to use Hirashin."

Drabble-And the world goes round

She hadn't quite understood what Jiraiya had meant when he told them all his plan.

"You mean that we'll be leaving Hokage-Jiji with one of my dad's kunai, and then when Orochimaru decides to attack, we'll use Raidou, Iwashi, and Genma to get to him and seal away Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya nodded at her, earning himself a very calculating stare.

His skin started to itch under his granddaughter's scrutiny, her eyes reminding him of Kushina after the girl was first introduced to him by Minato.

Scary.

Akihane nodded and glanced at her guardians.

Her eyes had lit up slightly when she addressed the three.

"You think you can do it?"

They shared glances and Raidou scratched at his cheek as he thought.

"Yeah, we should be able to. We'd need to practice it though."

Akihane nodded and turned to her Grandfather.

Hiruzen sighed and stood from his seat.

"Come Akihane, we need to grab some of your father's kunai."

The girl followed behind the aged Kage, casting nods to everyone in the room before they vanished out the door.

She kept to Hiruzen's right side, a step behind but unhindered by the small hallway in case she was needed.

Hiruzen cast her an amused look as they walked down the steps toward the location of the Hokage Library where the Vault was also hidden.

Akihane only knew the location because she had been present when the Sandaime had placed the Forbidden Scroll inside after it was stolen by Mizuki.

They entered the library and Hiruzen waved away the ANBU present as they both walked to the empty-looking section of the wall where seals were printed in chakra in spiraling patterns.

A quick cut and the swiping of blood left the newly revealed room open for their inspection.

Akihane momentarily wondered how Mizuki had managed to get in when he needed to the blood of the Hokage in the first place but brushed it aside after she took notice of the weapons hanging on the walls.

She could feel the blades strapped to her sides singing silently as they came close to a small tanto and a larger blade both inscribed with seals and made of chakra-enhanced metals.

She reached up and brushed her fingers along the surfaces, closing her eyes as she felt the familiar and distant impression of her Great-Grandfather's chakra still imprinted on the surface.

Hiruzen stepped beside her and smiled sadly.

"That was Tobirama-Sensei's favored blade before he…vanished. As you are his family, it is rightfully yours."

Akihane glanced back at the Hokage before shaking her head.

"I have his other blade and Michiki's. It can remain here for now. Though, I am curious as to why his other blade, the Thunder God Blade, isn't here?"

Hiruzen let loose a tired sigh and gestured to an empty spot on the wall near the original tonto.

"It was taken by a rogue Shinobi. One by the name of Rakusho Aoi."

Akihane nodded, her eyes narrowing in barely-concealed rage.

She'd have to add something else to her long list of things to accomplish, it seemed.