Naruto opened her eyes to the smell of burning earth.

Red crowded her vision before a tanned hand brushed her cheek, a gruff murmur shocking her from her stupor.

"Awake, Naruto?" Roshi asked her, his voice familiar even in her dreary state.

Breathing out in relief, Naruto nodded at the man and tried to rise up from the ground. Her body ached from the torture she had undergone the past few days, though it did not compare to the pain she had been in after her first session Roshi.

Despite having been healed, she could still trace the spots where burns had marked her skin for months. She still saw the rough and red skin that peeled away to reveal blood and bone. Nothing would ever get rid of the image of her arm after she took Roshi's attack head on. No matter the unblemished skin she now had, Naruto would always remember.

"So, how did they catch you off guard? As far as I know, no one but the Tsuchikage and his stupid ANBU can sneak up on you anymore." Roshi questioned her, his large hand cupping her back as he helped her up.

The man was unharmed, though that much was to be expected.

Lying on the ground ahead of them was a single body, though the faint rise and fall of the bound and gagged shinobi's chest told Naruto he was still alive. The Leaf Shinobi had picked a fight with the wrong person in this, and he most likely wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon. Naruto knew all too well how much Roshi's hits hurt and how long it took to recover from them. The last time he had nailed her with an unrestrained punch she had spent a week at home on bedrest.

"They grew suspicious about a series of meetings I had with one of their teammates. One of them recognized me and decided to attack. I had poisoned their teammate, who is still somehow alive, and they wanted the antidote. Something about her not deserving to die at the hands of a Iwa Nin or on a mission such as this one." Naruto told her Sensei.

Roshi nodded, his eyes glancing over the male he had subdued. He had been surprised when the man proved to be a Mokuton user, though even the naturally suppressive abilities of Mokuton were no match for Roshi's lava style. He did not have to use the chakra of the beast within him to finish off a shinobi, no matter how easy it would be to do so.

Thinking about his status as a Jinchuuriki reminded him of what he had overheard before taking back his apprentice.

Looking down at the girl who was slowly recovering her senses, Roshi tried to feel for any sign of the chakra he had felt earlier. Back when Naruto had launched her first explosion there had been a release of chakra that he knew all too well.

For years Roshi had felt this nagging voice at the back of his head. It told him something was odd about the adopted Iwatoshi child. For years during their training, he would feel as though he could understand Naruto more than anyone else, and she him in return.

Only after seeing the Mokuton user forcibly bind her did Roshi realized what he had felt.

The Mokuton user had called her a Jinchuuriki, had seen the power she had within and identified it as that of a Bijuu.

Roshi wasn't certain how he felt about sharing that aspect with his apprentice.

"I removed the seals on your person and gave you my extra pouch. The kunai in their have your paralysis on them so be careful." Roshi broke the silence, trying to remove the sinking feeling in his gut.

He had seen the amount of seals it had taken the Leaf Nin to subdue his student, and he had also seen what they had tortured her with. Lightning scars along her limbs and face, mostly faded but still visible. She had gone through a lot.

He supposed it was a good thing that he had trained her the way that he did.

"Sensei?" Naruto questioned him, her fingers brushing the hilts of the kunai he had gifted her. She was also observing her skin, as though she were trying to find any more seals that had been placed on her.

Roshi looked down at the girl making sure to clear anything telling from his expression. He'd tackle this later on, when they weren't in enemy territory. If Naruto happened to actually hold the power of a Bijuu…she'd need all the help she could get from him to control it. Preferably, before anyone learned about that power. Roshi had had to deal with power-hungry men trying to control him more than enough times to know that this information had to stay between him and Naruto.

"Yes?" Roshi questioned her back gruffly.

Naruto blinked at him and took on a confused expression.

"Not that I'm not glad you didn't help me out, but why are you here? I thought Tsuchikage-Sama sent you off somewhere else." She asked.

Roshi sighed and removed his arm from the girl's back to reach into his coat pocket.

"He sent me after you guys after he looked through Gato's credentials and found out the man was holding out on investments from him. He wanted me to come and rescind the deal. Gato's termination order was issued yesterday." The Jinchuuriki told his apprentice.

Naruto closed her eyes and chuckled.

"Serves the bastard right. Thinking he could withdraw investments from Tsuchikage-Sama's eyes and avoid the consequences. Fool." She smirked in gratification as she opened her eyes, smooth and frosty revenge glinting in her blue orbs.

"Does that mean we will be leaving the Konoha Shinobi alone?" The kunoichi asked Roshi.

Roshi nodded at her sharply.

He pretended not to notice the relief shifting over the girl's shoulders.

"No harm then. Alright, that means I have a pit-stop to make before we go after Gato. And don't you dare think I wont be going with you, Sensei." Naruto spoke, her eyes narrowing on her sensei near the end of her words.

Roshi narrowed his eyes back at her.

"Gaki, you don't get to call the shots. You're injured and need medical attention."

Naruto waved the objection off and rose to her feet steadily. She turned toward the Shinobi that Roshi had just downed, walking toward him.

"I'm fine." She argued back, reaching to drag the man up over her shoulder. Roshi snarled at her in annoyance and rushed over. With a smooth movement he hauled the downed Mokuton user over his shoulder, leaving a smirking blonde to raise a brow at him from below.

The blonde shook her head and turned toward the town. She shifted her gaze over the woods and contemplated her next actions before deciding on her course of action.

"How about you let me do this, and if I can't, you can make me sit out." Naruto bargained.

Roshi glared at the blonde, but he relented with a nod soon after she spoke.

Naruto nodded back and launched forward, her eyes settled in the direction of the Bridge Builder's home. Since the Konoha Nin were no longer their enemies, Naruto felt she had a little it of business to attend to. After all, the Konoha Shinobi had seemed insistent that she give them the key to healing their downed teammate.

It would be terrible of Naruto to not end what she had originally started.

I~~~~I

They had dropped in front of the house just as Gato's guards showed up. Two Samurai, barely worth the title, were dragging the young daughter and her son from the house with leers stretching over their faces.

Naruto had been through enough hostage situations and had studied enough in her academic courses to know what happened to any woman taken by bandits or thugs.

She really did not feel like watching these lowlifes hurt this nice woman, no matter her standing as an enemy of Iwagkaure.

There was no warning, no call to the men to order them to stop. They did not deserve a chance to even grovel at Naruto's feet over their sins. No, they would die just like their master. Cold, quick, and in pain.

Blood splattered around the walkway, the screams of the young boy trying to save his mother growing in volume. The woman shouted and reached for her kid as he broke down in hysterics.

Two bodies fell, the blood-covered kunai in Naruto's grasp glinting.

Glancing at the blade, Naruto shook her wrist to flick the blood from the blade.

"Disgusting vermin." She muttered under her breath as she pocketed the blade, her eyes shifting over the two civilians curled away from her.

The brat had stopped screaming, though now he was hyperventilating while staring at the decapitated corpses near his mother's feet.

The mother was clutching her son close, her eyes tearful and filled with fear. The woman looked at Naruto and clung to her son, protecting him.

It was sweet, the fact that even in the face of a dangerous foe, the woman put her son before herself. She was a true parent, one that would face hell itself if it meant keeping her son safe. Naruto could appreciate and respect guts like the woman had.

"No need to worry, my business is with your father if any of you at all. I just can't stand when people try to take advantage of others. It's loathsome." Naruto told the woman, turning her head to look around the threshold.

Her gaze paused at the staircase leading up to the second floor. A moment and a single pulse of chakra notified her of the Genin upstairs. They were struggling to breathe through their obstructed airways, causing tremors to wrack their chest with each breath.

So, one genin resting in bed near death. Naruto guessed this one was her target.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to," Naruto informed the two, stepping past the doorway into the home. She drew at her chakra and prepared a low-level explosive Jutsu while also reaching for a kunai and a stunner.

"W-What are you doing?" The woman questioned her in fear, her eyes pricking with tears.

Behind her, Roshi stood alone. He was watching the scene unfold with a calm he did not often show. His eyes trailed after his student, catching the rise and fall of her shoulders after a heavy sigh left her lips.

"Fixing my mistake," Naruto told her quietly, marching toward the stairs of the home.

The woman's eyes widened and she reached out with one arm, terror and worry now taking over.

"N-No! Please don't harm that girl, please!" She called out desperately, having deduced Naruto's purpose.

Naruto continued forward, ignoring the woman's pleas even as they rose in volume.

"I beg you, leave her alone!"

Naruto walked up the steps of the house, escaping Roshi's sight for the moment. She paused to pulse her chakra again, turning toward the doorway to one of the rooms. The sliding down was closed, but she still could sense the body behind the door.

Walking forward, Naruto shoved the door aside and ignored the thud of the screen against the opposing wall. She instead trained her eyes on the body resting on the cot on the floor.

The girl's bluish-grey hair was left to spread around her head like a darkened halo, her pale skin sweaty and growing lighter with each passing moment.

The Oreshizoku looked like death with the dark circles underneath her eyes, her cheeks hollow from the nutritional depletion. Her hands were weakly clenching the sheets at her side, while her lungs struggled to take in any air.

The girl was on the last stage of the poison, something that should have happened a long time ago. In fact, the Oreshizoku's continued existence was a large surprise to Naruto.

Naruto shook her head at the stubbornness of such a small child before she knelt down beside the girl.

Her eyes ghosted the girl's frame, taking in the finer details of the girl, including the headbands settled at her bedside and the tattoo imprinted on her neck.

"You are a fighter." Naruto complimented the Oreshizoku, reaching forward.

She placed her fingertip over the girl's heart and closed her eyes.

She had something to amend. She would do it.

Even with the screams of the woman downstairs echoing, even with the labored breathing torturing her every step of the way. Naruto had to finish this.

She channeled her chakra, and in a quick pulse, sent a shock from the tip of her finger directly into the kunoichi's heart.

Abruptly, the girl stilled.

I~~~~I

Naruto stepped out of the woman's house with a blank expression. She ignored the way the woman's face fell and how she clutched her son close to her chest. She ignored the way they flinched away from her when she stepped past them and ignored the sobs that sounded brokenly from the woman's mouth.

She looked up at her Sensei, nodding sharply at him.

Roshi looked up at the house and sighed, dropping the unconscious body of his opponent near the woman. He too ignored her cries and instead reached for Naruto.

The blonde took his hand and the two flickered away in a rising cloud of dust.

They reappeared near the bridge, their eyes falling on the chaos below.

The Konoha Nin were fighting Naruto's teammates, Shisui and Yarui handling the redhead and his raven partner, while Darui and Haku were handling the Uchiha and his pink-haired teammate.

Well, mostly the Uchiha. The Pink haired girl was trying to guard the Bridgebuilder, though her defense was pitiful. Naruto saw hundreds of ways to end Tazuna without needing to slip past the 'kunoichi'.

At the head of the bridge, Kakashi was facing off against Zabuza and Deidara. He wasn't faring well, though he was honestly better off than his other helpers.

It seemed Konoha had managed to procure more backup after realizing just what position they were in. Two more Jonin were facing Hatori and Ikate. Both of them were dark haired and worked together seamlessly. Despite their prowess, however, they seemed to have run into a problem.

The two ravens sported red eyes with tomo swirling within. They were Uchiha Nin, and they had just challenged one of their worst nightmares.

Hatori, for all his calm and Samurai-like tendencies, was their antithesis. The Uchiha were not the only Shinobi with Doujutsu, after all. Hatori had been born with a unique Kekai-Genkai, one that allowed him to see and dispel chakra disruptions and yin constructs.

Without the use of their famed Sharingan, the Uchiha lost one of their main upper-hands.

"They are handling themselves well," Naruto commented as she crouched down on a tree a ways away. She was looking out for the perfect moment to jump in and cause maximum damage to the enemy before revealing their change in plans.

"Yeah. Look, how about you stay here? I'll deal with Gato's finances." Roshi called out.

Naruto debated the offer, before nodding.

"Leave the whelp for me…No one crosses Jiji and gets away with it on my watch." Naruto hissed, her eyes darkening as she clenched her fists.

Roshi took a moment before nodding in assent. "I can do that."

With that said, the Jinchuuriki vanished from behind the blonde.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto shifted her gaze over the remaining fighters.

Hatake was flashing through hand signs, his arm drawing back as lightning chakra raced across the limb. Naruto's breath caught in her throat when she noticed the Jutsu aimed at Deidara. Deidara, who for all his talent, was too close to dodge. Her brother who was eyeing the limb with grim acceptance while he palmed a kunai in his hand.

Her stupid idiot of a brother who wasn't moving quick enough and would no doubt get hit by that stupid jutsu.

Closing her eyes to draw in both strength and to channel her chakra, Naruto added pulses to her legs and shot across the water of the bridge

Kakashi's hand lit up like a beacon, the chattering of birds echoing around the bridge as his arm shot toward Deidara's chest. Deidara raised his arm, in turn, preparing to activate the explosive kunai gripped tightly in his grasp so that he took Kakashi down with him.

Darkness fell around Naruto as she vanished from her position. Light only flooded back when she dropped down in front of the flickering energy gathered in Hatake's palm. Behind her, Deidara's eyes widened in horror and her name left his lips.

"N-Naruto!" He shouted, dropping the kunai as his hand reached out to her.

Hatake looked just as surprised, if not more than Deidara did at her appearance. Naruto smirked at the man, her smile feral and promising in a way that left him unsettled.

Naruto's hand clamped around the Copy-Nin's wrist, gripping tightly as she pulled at the chakra in his wrist, forcing the limb away from her body.

Consequently, the growing ball of lightning was pushed aside and left to wither in the air. Naruto channeled the chakra from the man's hand into her own arm, draining the man with her hands.

The Jonin jerked away from her, stepping back in shock as the wisps of his blue chakra faded into Naruto's fingers. Left on his wrist were bloody teeth marks, each one engraved deeply in the man's skin.

Naruto pulled her wrist up, the revealed palm showcasing a bloody mouth.

"W-What…H-How?" The Jonin spoke in shock, staring down at Naruto as she wiped her palm on her shirt. Naruto stared blankly at him, her eyes glowing with retribution. She was waiting for the right moment to act.

"Gaki." Zabuza spoke from behind her, his tone deep and edged with worry.

Naruto did not dare to glance back at the Nuke Nin. Instead, she merely waved at the man while eyeing Kakashi distrustfully.

"Hatake Kakashi." Naruto addressed the man, standing tall despite the fact she was rocking back on her heels.

"Iwatoshi Hosha." The man parried, watching her with narrowed eyes as he held his bleeding wrist to his chest.

Naruto shook her head at the title and stepped forward. Ignoring the way her opponent tensed, she shouted.

"STOP!"

Her voice echoed across the bridge, the tone drawing all of the Iwa Nin to stop in their fights and retreat. Shisui grabbed Haku on his way back, deflecting the weapons tossed at them by the Konoha Genin.

The Iwa Nin all dropped down behind Naruto and Deidara. The leader of the mission stared warily at his sister, reaching for her as he spoke up.

"Hosha, what are you-" He tried to question her, only to grow surprised when the girl shrugged him off and stepped toward the Copy Nin.

"As of now, Iwagakure is withdrawing from this fight. Gato has betrayed the Tsuchikage's confidence. We are no longer under his service, and therefore, we are not your enemies." Naruto told the Jonin, standing still for a moment to express her sincerity through her eyes.

The Copy Nin stiffened, his Sharingan swirling as he looked her over.

Shisui and Yarui traded glances with Darui, before all three stepped up beside Naruto, bypassing Deidara. Darui stepped up to the left of Naruto, while Shisui took her right and Yarui took her back.

Naruto relaxed slightly with them next to her, her gaze losing part of its bite as she continued to wait for Kakashi's answer.

Kakashi glanced at her teammates, taking in their protective nature around her, and the way they defaulted to her for orders. More than likely these kids were going to be trained as her guards since she was the sister of an important Clan Head. Maybe the girl didn't know, but even so, Kakashi could see they would take care of one another.

He hadn't wanted to kill the kids in the first place. If Iwa was withdrawing from the conflict, then he supposed he'd let them go. Even if one of their Nin had nearly killed his student.

"Very well. I suppose we are not enemies anymore, Iwatoshi-San." Hatake told her.

Naruto hummed, tilting her head as she nodded in acknowledgment.

Behind Hatake, the three Uchiha had gathered next to the pink-haired Genin, the other two Ninja appearing behind the Copy Nin. They all seemed rather shocked by the turn of events, though the older Uchiha were eyeing the Iwa Nin distrustfully.

Uneasy silence spread between the two parties, thwarted only by a third party entering.

"I should have known." A wheezy voice suddenly spoke from behind, drawing the attention of the Ninja present to the newcomer.

Short and rather non-threatening, Gato stood at the edge of the bridge.

Behind him dozens of thugs had lined up, each of them armed to the teeth and prepared to attack anyone they were ordered to.

Naruto narrowed her eyes at the man, her fingers wiggling slightly as she slipped one of her hands into the pouch Roshi had given her.

Gato smirked at her, his eyes drifting across the multitude of Nin. His eyes lingered on the injuries each party had sustained before he started to laugh.

"Who would have thought that you Iwa Nin would be just as untrustworthy as people say. It's no wonder your village doesn't have many allies, it's too busy killing off anyone who needs their help." Gato snarked at them, his eyes glinting behind his glasses.

Naruto narrowed her eyes at the man as she withheld her annoyance. Instead, she drew on the training she had with Roshi and forced herself to remain calm. Revenge would come in do time. She would make Gato pay for trying to dupe her Kage soon enough.

"No arguments? Well, I'm not surprised." Gato commented as he stepped forward.

"Hosha," Yarui spoke, his voice questioning even as he reached for his weapons.

Naruto raised a hand to the boy, stepping forward. She walked past her teammate, moving beyond her brother as well. She walked past all of the Nin gathered behind her, her eyes directed at the traitor before them.

Gato stiffened as she continued to walk toward him, her steps almost never wavering.

"Z-Zabuza!" The scared man shouted, trying to stall for time.

Zabuza stepped in front of Naruto, earning a raised brow from the Kunoichi.

"Sorry, Gaki, but he is my meal ticket," Zabuza informed her, gripping the handle of his sword.

The Shinobi behind her tensed, even though it was unneeded.

"How much is he paying you, Zabuza-san?" Naruto questioned the Nuke Nin, removing a kunai from her pouch as she stared down the Demon of the Mist.

Zabuza met her gaze evenly and replied warily.

"Twenty-Thousand Ryo." The man revealed, earning a shake of the head from the girl before him.

"Not even the amount of a B-Rank. Quite rude. How about I double that? Money from my own pocket dedicated to you stepping aside in the name of formal Iwagakure Business. You can either take that or die here and now." Naruto spoke calmly, as though she were not threatening the man who had trained her the past few days.

Zabuza seemed surprised at her offer, as well as her threat. He knew the girl had taken a liking to Haku and him, but he still didn't expect for her to offer a way out. He doubted the girl could truly kill him, but with her backing of Iwa…He wouldn't make it out alive if he attacked her.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction and stepped around Zabuza, ignoring the way his eyes trailed after her.

Gato sputtered and growled.

"You traitorous Ninja! How dare you betray me!" He shouted at Zabuza, raising a meaty finger up to point at the advancing Kunoichi.

"Attack, end them!" Gato called. His voice echoed and the weasel-like quality left everyone's ears ringing.

The Iwa Nin tensed in preparation for the foolish attack, only to pause when Naruto reached up to grip the top of her Kimono with her free hand.

"Despicable. You truly believe that these worthless vermin can handle a Kunoichi or Iwa? Disgraceful." The odd words left Naruto's lips.

Insults from the blonde were few an far between. Most insults came in cheerful banter that was often tossed aside as her nature, but not these. The words that spilled from her lips this time were far from pleasant and rang with a harsh truth. They held hatred unlike any other, one that had reached a level of loathing few ever did.

Naruto gripped the kunai in her other hand tightly as the mercenaries launched at her, intent on tearing her apart.

"How dare you…" She muttered again, vanishing from view.

There was a single pulse of confusion, the masses of Samurai pausing momentarily in shock, just before blood spewed from the first row of attackers.

Naruto appeared in a crouch before the mercenaries, blood raining down upon her as she shot into the fray.

Zabuza had to grip his emotions tightly so he didn't show his surprise. He did not expect Naruto to attack Gato's thugs, nor did he expect for the girl to do it in such a…ruthless manner.

Blood fell upon the bridge as Naruto shot through the ranks, her other hand now armed with a kunai. Each blade tore into a multitude of thugs, the metal stained crimson from the lives it took. The steps that the blonde took never faltered, her movements precise in a fluid dance, almost as though she were simply working through kata's rather than people.

Bodies fell around her, splattering to the floor with sickening sounds even as the screams of many drowned out all other noise.

Naruto silenced these screams as she created new ones, her eyes harsh and settled on one person.

Gato backpedaled as he witnessed the massacre, his jaw dropping open to reveal pearly white teeth. Blood splattered over his face and soon his immaculate suit was covered in the metallic liquid.

Naruto did not call out when a thug managed a lucky hit, his blade dragging across her left shoulder even as her kunai slid over his neck and another pierced his gut.

Gato slipped and fell to the floor, his voice coming out in terrified squeaks as Naruto finished off the last of his men.

"D-Demon…" He hissed at her finally, his shades falling from his face to shatter on the ground below him.

Naruto stopped, staring in disinterest at the man.

Her kimono's sleeve was severed, blood that was not her own soaking the fabric and drifting down her skin in thick droplets.

Red stood out against her pale skin, the color prominent not only as fluid but also as ink etched on her skin.

Naruto crouched before the man, staring into his eyes as she palmed her Kunai.

"How dare you backstab my Tsuchikage," Naruto told the man, her eyes hardening.

Gato flinched, shock coloring his features.

"W-What!? T-That is what this is about, but, but why?! I only wanted…I wanted a bigger cut, that's all!" Gato shouted at her, wincing as his volume broke his voice into something shrill.

Naruto shook her head at the man's explanation.

"You presented your financial standings as only 75% of the true earnings. You promised my Kage a 25% cut in the business. You took away tens-of-thousands of your earnings from my Kage and my village all because of your greed."

Gato squealed when Naruto raised the kunai to end him, her eyes filled with anger.

"W-WAIT! W-What if I signed over more! Thirty Percent of the actual investments this time!" Gato pleaded, pausing the movement's of his executioner for a moment.

"How about all of it." Naruto offered.

Gato gulped when he saw the blade inch forward. Despite his greed, he still valued his life more than his money. Cowardly.

"O-Okay…" He agreed.

Naruto smirked and removed a slip of paper from her person.

Gato was shocked to see a pen in her grasp and the documents pertaining to their discussion.

"Put it in ink, so I don't have to do this again," Naruto ordered.

Gato tried to complain, to remove himself from the situation, only to find the kunai at his jugular.

Gulping again, an action which caused the kunai to scratch at his throat, Gato took the pen and hastily signed the paper.

Naruto pulled the paper from the man, careful to not get blood on the document as she slipped it into the inner part of her kimono. As she did, Gato's eyes lingered on the bandages hiding her chest from view.

Sneering at the man, Naruto dropped the kunai into his lap and stood. She turned sharply and began walking away.

Her skin throbbed, the red markings on her tattooed skin beginning to glow.

Gato had released a choked sob of relief the moment Naruto turned her back to him, his back falling to the ground.

"Vermin should be extinguished," Naruto muttered, raising her hand up in a single seal.

She noticed the way the Konoha Jonin stiffened and the way her brother recognized the seal. Naruto saw the moment that the Konoha Genin realized something was wrong, and she saw the moment her teammates nodded in her direction.

The kunai on Gato's lap started to heat up, glowing red. The normally silver kunai cracked, exposing a white core within supercharged with chakra.

Gato looked to the kunai, opening his eyes in shock while his head jerked up to eye her back.

He opened his mouth to shout, only for the kunai to expand.

A fire erupted behind her, the noise deafening amidst the silent night. Heat burned at Naruto's back as she continued to walk forward, the explosion blowing her hear up around her face while several of the bandages around her chest loosened. The fabric fell away just enough to show the burning inscriptions of red tribal markings crawling up to Naruto's heart.

The red ink began to glow the curves spreading out from the segment ending just above Naruto's shoulder so that it now stretched out across her elbow. The red ink settled, the glowing halting as the explosion behind the girl died away.

The smell of burnt flesh wafted across them, Naruto's steps faltering for a moment as she felt pain pulse where the marking had just settled.

Another segment, another life taken by her abilities. That was the purpose of her tattoo, of the explosion that spread from her heart over her chest and across her arm. Each segment was a life that her Jutsu stole, another body burned by the flames and power she had created.

The world before her swam, the sky darkening even as the ground drew near. Naruto plummeted into the darkness, losing herself to the echoing screams of the lives she had removed from the Elemental Nations.

I~~~~I

She woke up in a tent next to Hatori, his hands carefully ghosting her chest with green light as he checked her over for injuries.

"You're awake," Hatori commented softly, his eyes scanning her body instead of meeting her gaze.

Naruto blinked at him, looking around the larger tent with a questioning gaze.

Hatori sighed, halting his procedure so he could help her up.

"You've been out for a day. We are outside of Ame right now. You missed a lot, though I guess it wasn't too important. Roshi explained what happened to us, including how he found you after you were tortured."

Hatori's eyes darkened at the mention of her untimely kidnapping, the multi-colored hues finally meeting her own.

"You have nerve damage to your body and you will need a mind healer once we return to Iwa. Damn Naruto, what the hell were you thinking letting that happen?! Without your extra healing abilities…" Hatori's teeth clenched and he reached over to grip her shoulder.

Naruto stiffened as clarity rushed through her system. She had only ever seen Hatori close to losing his cool once before, and that was after he found out about just what her father had done the night her clan was killed.

"You need to take better care of yourself, Hosha," Hatori told her, his eyes filled with too much emotion for Naruto to comprehend.

The grip on her shoulder shifted and Naruto was pulled into a tight embrace as Hatori let loose a stressed sigh.

"Don't do it again."

I~~~~I

Sashiko didn't know how to react.

Ken and Sai were both at her bedside, Ken clutching at her arm as though he feared she would vanish. Menma was crying into her shoulder like a small child, his arms wound tightly around her waist.

Itachi and Shisui stood above her, her eyes questioning them over what the hell was happening.

She remembered the blonde haired kunoichi, a sharp pain, white light…and then…what happened after? Pain, more than she had ever felt in her lifetime. The burning edges of a poison creeping in her veins and the sharp pulse of chakra that left her filled lungs hollow once more.

Somehow, Sashiko had survived being poisoned by the Iwa Kunoichi.

The Oreshizoku Kunoichi had a sinking feeling that her attacker had also been her savior. She also had the inkling that the act would not be without cost.

For now, she supposed she'd calm down Menma.

I~~~~I

Here we go. The true start to this fic. Sorry it took so long, but I needed time to figure out where I was taking this story. The whole pairing's thing is also part of where this story will go, since I really don't have much of an idea. Unlike with SAN, I did not write ten chapters of this and then plan out which way it would go in a meticulous process. I simply wrote and published what I wrote, since I wanted to finally get started on the fic I had adopted. I only ever was able to formulate the story into something I wanted to work with after adding in my OC's, since I couldn't just have Minato and Kushina just stay alive without some serious suspension of disbelief, with or without strange Narutoverse rules. Also, the Kyuubi has not been forgotten. Yamato isn't liable to stay quiet forever.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys are the best and I really appreciate the support you are giving this story! Stay tuned for more updates and for the next chapters.

Pairings-I won't be taking multiple votes, sorry. It's a little confusing to do so, and it encourages reviewing solely for that purpose.

Sasuke-12

Ikate-4

Hatori-1

Itachi-6

Gaara-4

Shikamaru-1