"What did you just say?!" Jiraiya tried not to freak out as he glanced between the two ninja before him.

Kakashi looked tired and rather put out over their meeting. His face was set into a serious grimace that offset his rather fine features. Beside the man, Yamato stood with a similar expression.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but it is the truth. The girl, Iwatoshi Hosha, is a Jinchuuriki. Somehow Iwagakure managed to obtain another Tailed Beast without anyone finding out. Her Sensei also happens to be the Four-Tailed Monkey, Roshi of the Lava Style." Yamato repeated his earlier words.

He didn't want to believe the information either, but the facts still stood. Hosha was a danger, an unprecedented one that hadn't been accounted for. The fact Iwa had scrounged up another Bijuu without any other nation noticing was also troubling.

In fact, when one looked at the facts, the truth appeared to be worse than what Yamato had originally believed.

"Are you certain? Could you have mistaken her power for something else?! As it stands, almost all of the Bijuu are accounted for. Suna holds the Ichibi, Kumo holds the Nibi and the Hachibi, Kiri holds the Sanbi and the Rokubi, Taki holds the Sichibi, and Iwa holds the Yonbi and the Gobi. Konoha holds the Kyuubi, or at least…" Jiraiya trailed off, his eyes darkening.

Kakashi stiffened when the topic changed, his eyes shifting away as his fists clenched.

Yamato glanced between the two men as the atmosphere around them changed. He hadn't wanted to bring the topic to this, but he needed to if they were going to be level headed in their discussion and check all the bases.

"We haven't controlled the Kyuubi since Kushina-Sama gave birth. The Kyuubi was sealed inside of Naruto, and sadly…she perished that night. It is possible that the Kyuubi reformed and Iwa took the opportunity to seal it within one of their own." Yamato spoke softly, his voice edging on regretful.

Kakashi's hands clenched further. For all his prowess in masking his emotions, Naruto was a tough subject for him. He was supposed to be her brother, to help raise the girl into a fine woman and Kunoichi should she have wanted it. Instead, Naruto had been taken from all of them without a thought.

Menma had been a blessing after the unfortunate events of his sister's passing, but he hadn't been able to completely erase the hurt. It showed on the faces of everyone around them, especially Kushina and Minato.

They had lost their first child, their first chance at a family. Neither of them had been the same after that had happened.

"Iwa would need someone of strong blood to seal the Kyuubi within. The girl, Hosha, would have to either have Senju or Uzumaki blood in her veins in order to contain the raw force of the Kyuubi. Even then, she is only a little older than Menma. If they had sealed the Kyuubi within her, we would have at least heard about the Biju's reforming process." Jiraiya brought up, his hand raising to scratch his chin as he tried to think.

"There's another thing." Kakashi suddenly spoke.

The two other males looked at him. Kakashi raised his head, his eyes dark.

"When we faced off against her, she told me some things that didn't quite add up. In fact, she knew a lot about the mission several years back where that Iwa Kunoichi, Lady Rida of the Bomber Clan, attacked my team. She knew about the circumstances and that I had killed Lady Rida, but not why. Also, when I was questioning her, the makeup on her face washed off and showed her markings."

Kakashi took a deep breath as she spoke.

"She had whisker marks on her cheeks, Jiraiya-Sama." Kakashi let out gently, his tone shifting into something quietly reserved.

Yamato blinked and tried to think back, remembering the faint marks that had been on the girl's face as she had battled with him. He hadn't paid much mind to them at the time, dismissing them as Clan markings despite the fact her Brother did not bare them. Now that Kakashi mentioned it though, Yamato felt a bit of unease drift through him.

"When Naruto was born, didn't Kushina say that she was born with Whisker marks on her cheeks? The same ones that Menma grew up with for the first few years of his life until they faded away?" Kakashi questioned Jiraiya.

Jiraiya stiffened again and twisted sharply to face Kakashi. His face was drawn into a serious expression that left little to the imagination of the other Shinobi present.

"Are you implying that-?" Jiraiya began, only to be cut off by Kakashi.

"I'm not implying, I'm stating facts. As it stands, that girl shouldn't be able to hold a Bijuu as powerful as the Kyuubi, let alone from birth, without being related to either Kushina or Tsunade. The only one of the two to have had a kid that isn't accounted for is Kushina."

Yamato watched as Jiraiya readied to counter the other silver-haired nin's facts. He could see the direction that the arguing was taking, and he didn't like it.

"Kushina isn't the only Uzumaki! Some other Uzumaki could have settled in Iwa. As it stands, we have no solid proof and drawing assumptions like that could be dangerous-" Jiraiya tried to tell Kakashi.

"You didn't see her, Jiraiya. If there is a chance that Naruto somehow survived, shouldn't we at least-!" Kakashi stepped forward.

Jiraiya stepped right up to Kakashi, meeting him head-on. "You're grasping at straws Kakashi! We need to look at the facts right now, not draw conclusions to something that isn't possible-!"

Yamato bit back a groan and stepped between the two in a sharp movement, preventing the argument from escalating.

"Wait, guys, calm down! Let's look at this objectively! We know the girl has some of a Bijuu's chakra in her and can somewhat access their power. She may, heavy on the may, also have a connection to Naruto. We just need to keep our heads up and look for any more information on the subject, alright? Namikaze-Sama said that she was going to be coming to Konoha for the Chunin Exams with her team, so we can just try and get a blood sample from her then and test it out. If she turns out to not be related, then we haven't lost anything. If she is…well we'll deal with it when we get there."

Yamato placated the two Shinobi, sweat slipping down over his brow as the tension in the air thickened.

Abruptly the tension vanished, leaving Yamato to nearly collapse as his two superiors relaxed the killing intent they had leaked.

"Very well. In the meantime, I'll contact my people in Iwa and gather whatever information I can. Kakashi, you need to keep your ears open for the girl's participation and when we can expect her." Jiraiya ordered, earning a sharp nod from the annoyed male.

Yamato sighed and waited for Jiraiya to leave before he turned to Kakashi.

"Taicho, did you really have to bring that up?! You know that Naruto is a sore spot for him." Yamato scolded his superior, ignoring the glare Kakashi gave him.

"Naruto is a 'sore' spot for all of us Yamato, not just her godfather. If there's even a chance she'd alive, or that part of her lives on, even in the form of the Kyuubi sealed in another kid, then I'll take what I can get…" Kakashi told him, turning away and vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Yamato reached out, intending to grab onto his Taichou, only to grasp air. He gazed at the empty space, sighing heavily as he accepted that the two men would need space in order to get over their petty anger. The two were both passionate, though to different degrees, about their precious people.

Jiraiya had been hurt more than most with the death of the first Namikaze Child, and he showed his pain in the way he had buried himself in his network and cut down on the time spent near woman or alcohol. The Sannin had picked up on his training and had even dragged along his student to the Toads for Sage training in order to distract them both from their loss.

Kakashi hadn't had the luxury of being out of the village. Instead, Kakashi had sunk deeper into ANBU than ever before. He threw himself into his assignments with a reckless abandon that often left his team picking up the pieces of himself that shattered along the way.

Yamato had been one of the people to help him, joined by Itachi, Genma, Raidou, Hayate, and Yugau on their infamous team. Gai had also pitched in, though the man needed their help to find his rival and get him into their challenges in the first place. Genma was often the one to rat Kakashi out since he was of the few that could stand Gai's eccentricities for a decent amount of time.

Yamato withdrew his hand and straightened his back even as he bowed his head. He was beginning to regret his decision to go to Jiraiya rather than Minato. The brunette groaned under his breath.

"I should have just gone to Namikaze-Sama…"

"About what?"

Yamato turned sharply, his eyes catching the three figures walking toward him.

Sashiko stood next to Sai and Ken, her bandaged limbs covered by the loose clothing she had no doubt snatched from either her brother, Shisui or Itachi. The girl looked well for someone still technically on bed rest.

"Well…" Yamato began, glancing at his three students.

He wondered if telling them was a good idea. It couldn't hurt to make them aware since they would be in the next Chunin Exams.

"Taicho?" Sashiko tilted her head to the side as she looked at Yamato.

The light of the sun caught his student's neck, the silvery lightning scars along her neck shining. Despite surviving the poison that the Iwa Kunoichi had nailed her with, Sashiko had been left with several reminders. One of those was the lightning scars that had formed on her skin after the rough shock treatment she had received from the Kunoichi and the damage that had been dealt to her immune system. The girl already wasn't the strongest when it came to immunity, and it'd only get worse the longer she was a Kunoichi.

"Yamato-Taicho?" The girl tried again with a frown.

Yamato steeled himself, gesturing for his students to come closer.

"Ken, set up a barrier. What I'm about to tell you isn't to leave the four of us, understood?"

I~~~~I

Naruto tried not to lose her balance, she really did. Despite her best efforts, however, she still screwed up.

Her hand twitched as she nose wiggled, the pressure building until she sneezed without any remorse.

True to their nature, the three of her teammates all jumped and without another word, the four Genin fell from their positions in unison.

Their shouts echoed as they grabbed onto the sides of their large stone spikes with chakra-enhanced grips, three pairs of eyes narrowed on the one blonde clinging to the top of her rock like it was a lifeline.

"S-Sorry," Naruto told them, reaching with one hand to rub the back of her neck while she gripped the surface of her spike with one hand.

The others did not fail to notice the improvement in the girl's chakra control, which was the worst out of the four of them, but they didn't mention it. Over the past few days, the four had struggled to perform the exercise Roshi had given them. They had all learned at some point to not use their chakra in order to stick to the top and had instead used their abilities as Ninja to stay absolutely still.

The training wasn't coming along quickly, but there was progress. They all had to be patient, but their efforts would pay off sometime.

"Naruto!" Roshi's voice called up to them, guiding their eyes down to their Sensei. The Jinchuuriki was standing at the base of Naruto's spike, his hand resting over his eyes to avoid the sun rising high in the sky.

"Get down here! Shisui, Yarui, and Darui can all take a break. I have to talk to your teammate." Roshi told them, his deep voice booming across the field of spikes.

Naruto glanced at the other three and shrugged at them when they cast her questioning glances. They weren't about to complain, however, and they dropped down from their spots carefully while using their chakra in controlled amounts. They had stopped on the ground in no time without a single scratch, the four took a moment to bask in their accomplishments before Roshi had dragged their Kunoichi teammate away.

"See you guys soon, this shouldn't take long!" Naruto called to the boys, grinning widely as she followed her Sensei away from her Teammates.

Roshi glanced at the girl as she walked alongside him, her arms stretched behind her head in a relaxed pose. She often took the pose when she had joined him for walks after training, though he hadn't seen her do it as much lately. Perhaps it had something to do with the weight of her Clan and her Team pressing down on her near full force or even the way the Tsuchikage was relying on her more than normal, but Naruto was struggling with the stress.

It made Roshi feel like an ass for what he was about to do. Naruto would no doubt hate him and possibly fear him after he was done, but he couldn't just let this slide.

He had kept the information he had learned on the mission to Wave from Oniki, though the old man knew something was up. Back then, after their mission report, Oniki had told him to keep whatever he was debating to tell him a secret until Roshi was certain he wanted the Tsuchikage to know.

The two men didn't always get along since both were more stubborn than bulls, but that didn't mean they couldn't see eye-to-eye. When something came up that involved the village or the people within it, Roshi and Oniki could push aside their differences and look at things in a better light. Naruto happened to be one of the people they would put aside anything to help, even her own opinions of them.

Maybe this wouldn't ruin their relationship, maybe Naruto would understand why Roshi had to do this.

But, either way, no matter what Naruto thought of him at the end of this, Roshi had to know the truth.

"So, where are we going Sensei?" Naruto asked him, her eyes shifting to him as the easy grin on her features grew again.

"To meet an old friend," Roshi told her, turning to look ahead. They had wandered past the spike forest and were heading further from the village now.

Roshi already had acquired permission from Oniki to seek him out, so nothing more stood in his way.

"Oh? I thought we'd be back soon…I guess I shouldn't have told them that then, they might worry." Naruto muttered, thinking about what she had told her teammates. Her expression turned mulish, annoyance creeping into her tone.

"Why didn't you tell me anything? You could have corrected me, Sensei." Naruto told him with a pout.

Roshi kept his gaze forward and failed to reply to the girl verbally.

Naruto's eyebrows raised and she sighed, deciding to remain quiet as they walked along the path leading from the village. She hadn't been out this way for a while, several months in fact. She wasn't sure why Roshi wanted to go out in the middle of nowhere, but she trusted her Sensei. He wouldn't put her in danger or hurt her.

The two of them continued to trek the path in silence, the sun reaching its highest point as they entered a mountainous area.

"Alright." Roshi suddenly spoke up. He drew to a stop, turning finally in order to face Naruto.

Naruto blinked at Roshi, confused for a moment as the Jinchuuriki stared her down.

"Sensei-?" Naruto began, trying to figure out what was going on. As she did, a presence crept up on her.

Only Naruto's hard-trained instincts kept her from being knocked across her skull with the heavy arm of a man towering behind her. She twisted on her heel sharply and turned while drawing a Kunai from her pouch. Her feet landed silently before her Sensei as she looked at the monstrous enemy standing before her.

The man looked down at her through the veil covering his face, his ginormous body blocking the sun's rays from hitting Naruto's face. He was wearing heavy metal armor with a cloth undersuit. His style reminded Naruto vaguely of the Samurai in Tetsu no Kuni, though it was far more strength-oriented than a regimen of even the most daring swordsman. This man meant bad news. Naruto couldn't even see the man's face, due to it being covered by a thick cloth. His head was also obscured by an odd hat with cloth around the inside.

Why would Roshi want her to meet this man? Did he have something to do with the Chunin Exams? Did the Tsuchikage know about this?

Naruto was confused.

"Roshi, is she the one you wanted to test?" The man boomed, his voice far heavier than Roshi's.

"Yeah," Roshi spoke up, startling Naruto from her thoughts. Something bubbled in her chest, an urgent feeling she did not recognize at first.

The blonde tensed and in an instant, she was dodging a ball of lava that Roshi had sent at her. The lava grazed her arm, causing her to withhold a scream as the heat seared her skin.

She landed several feet away from the two Shinobi, her hand gently ghosting the burned flesh of her arm. Pain and fear flashed in her eyes as Naruto looked to the two Shinobi, trying not to jump to conclusions as they stood side-by-side. Roshi was comfortable with the man next to him and he did not look apologetic or worried about the fact that he had just burned her.

Why was Roshi attacking her? Roshi never went all out on her. He always made sure she wasn't in danger, especially when he was flinging around lava. Roshi would never attack her without a reason, especially in such a manner that could easily get her killed.

Just what the hell was going on? Who was this other man? Why was Roshi targeting her?!

"Sensei-!" Naruto tried, only to bolt as more lava was flung at her. A grunt left the blond's lips as she pushed her body up into a flip to avoid a boiling mass of water as well. Her eyes were wide with terror as she realized that Roshi wasn't horsing around.

"Shit." Naruto hissed.

Roshi shifted into his own stance, further pushing the fact that he was not kidding.

He was seriously aiming to hurt her.

The other Shinobi had shifted into a dangerous stance, his eyes narrowed on her body. It appeared as though the stranger wasn't going to be taking it easy on her either. The two of them were prepared to fight her to the death.

At this point, that death would more than likely be her own.

Naruto stepped back, reaching into her chakra reserves as she tried to prepare herself. Roshi was out of her league, and judging by his close relations with the man beside him, so was the giant. She was screwed. Unless, of course, she decided to run instead of fight. If she managed to get help…But they were far from Iwa and Naruto had no idea what the hell was going on and who else was in on this mess. She couldn't just stumble into the village and hope for the best. No, she was on her own.

Naruto shifted into her stance and armed her hands with weapons, jumping to the side to dodge a torrent of lava while coming up with a plan. Without a word she tossed the kunai at the two Shinobi, vanishing in a blur of chakra as she used the Shunshin technique that Shisui had taught to her.

Roshi blinked and his eyes snapped to the kunai that now had ignited tags on them. Roshi shouted just as the sky was lit with brilliant colors of flashing light. "Han!"

Naruto bolted amidst the confusion, arming herself with more weapons as she used several more Shunshin to distance herself from her enemies. Her limbs swung around and she pushed chakra through them as she flung them behind her with slight abandon. She didn't care where they landed at this point.

If Roshi was going to take her seriously, then Naruto would return the favor. She had killed allies before in the name of her survival, she would not falter here. Roshi had taught her to push aside her personal alliances when her safety was at stake. When it came to survival, bonds meant nothing.

"Fine, you want to kill me…I can live with that." Naruto grunted as she pushed another round of chakra into her legs, flipping over a branch as an explosion rocked the gathering of rocks behind her.

"Just don't expect to live without regretting your decision."

The blonde stopped abruptly, skidding along the ground as she started to flash through hand signs.

Roshi was not the fastest Shinobi, but he wasn't a slob. The man trained religiously and even with her specialization in that field, Naruto knew she stood no chance to the many years Roshi had on her. He would catch up quickly. His friend more than likely would as well.

"Lightning Style…"

She whispered under her breath, channeling more chakra into her hands as she pulled her palms apart.

"Electromagnetic Pulse," She called out, her voice dragging out into a low hum as her palms came back together with a gentle clap.

The area around her stilled as her chakra pulsed and flooded the stones at her feet and against her back. The trees next to her turned dark as their leaves crinkled up like shriveled prunes. The smell of burning greenery flooded her senses momentarily. The next moment, the scent was pushed aside by a sharp gust of wind that was expelled from Naruto's mouth without a word.

Everything stilled, the faint hum of the electricity dancing below Naruto's feet guiding her into forming the correct signs for her next act.

She would never let anyone catch her, let alone Roshi. The man thought he had her all figured out. He didn't know just how far she would go to ensure her own survival.

Ever since that night in the Bomber Clan compound, Naruto had learned to be fickle in her trust. At the first sign of betrayal, she would run. At the first sight of a knife in the corner or the first discovery of a skeleton in a closet, Naruto would cut all ties.

Her chakra pulsed again and she allowed her shoulders to relax as she closed her eyes.

Roshi and the stranger both dropped down into her field, each of them preparing separate attacks.

She took the moment they used to ready themselves to sort her thoughts before she smirked at the two men and raised her hands into a single seal.

"Fire Style, Heat Wave!"

Naruto opened her eyes, watching as the clearing she had been in exploded into an inferno.

She stood far away from her previous position.

In the instant it took for the fire to contact with her special brand of lightning, Naruto caught the memories of her clone and accepted the pain that came with them. Her vision blurred and Naruto tried to muster the will to curse as she dropped to her knees.

"That was good, but I do know your tricks Gaki." Roshi's voice called out, the singed male walking out of the tree line before her. He was brushing debris from his shoulders casually, his gait calm and controlled.

"Looks like it ends here Gaki. No hard feelings, but it needed to be done. I couldn't keep watching after you like this…" Roshi told her as his eyes raised to look at her.

Naruto tensed as she felt the killing intent she had dreaded surrounding her.

"The chase ends here. I'm going to get rid of you once and for all…I'm going to leave a dent in that Bastard Tsuchikage's plans and then I'm going to get the hell out of Iwa."

Naruto crumbled as the pressure doubled, her breathing coming out in sharp pants. Her head felt fuzzy as she tried to piece together what was going on.

"Sleep well, Hosha," Roshi spoke from above her.

The blond raised her head, the process slow and painful. She was left craning her neck up at her sensei, the emotion she had felt earlier stirring up again.

Betrayal, she realized. She had been betrayed again.

Sadly enough, Naruto wasn't surprised in the least bit.

Red chakra pulsed around Roshi, growing with each passing second.

Fear continued to course through her veins as Naruto tried to keep her head up. She was going to die.

Naruto was going to die. She would cease to exist the moment Roshi deemed her life forfeit. The moment that he saw it fit to end her, she would be gone.

Maybe some people could handle that, maybe someone would be able to accept a death at the hands of their better without fighting back, but Naruto couldn't.

She pushed, fighting to set her palm against the dirt and push her body up as she glared at Roshi with loathing.

"Traitor." She snarled with her last breath, the intent around her pulsing in her ears as her vision swam in murky depths.

Roshi's eyes held hers as he raised a hand, drawing lava up from the ground. The heat scorched her skin slightly, setting her skin ablaze.

"Is this how you die, worm? You bow to my brother, the one who can barely work his way around a tree?! Disappointing…But no less surprising from a human."

A voice, rough and unexpected, worked its way through Naruto's head and made itself known as she started to lose against the heat around her.

"Do you want to die mongrel?!"

Naruto blinked, her arm body bowing under the weight of Roshi's power.

She didn't want to die.

She wouldn't die, not yet.

"Good choice…"

The voice rumbled lowly, the heat around her suddenly growing. The fire burned across her limbs, drawing a sharp but soundless scream from Naruto's throat.

No, the fire wasn't around her, it was inside of her.

Red worked over her vision and power pulsed in her veins like nothing ever had before. Anger, hatred, and fear coursed through Naruto as she snarled.

Her hand gripped the dirt and cracked the stone beneath it. Her head snapped up and the blue orbs glared into Roshi's own without remorse.

The lava that had been aimed at her head splashed uselessly on the ground, sizzling as it burned the topsoil.

Naruto appeared behind Roshi, her hand raking across his back like a claw.

Three long gashes tore into the Jinchuurik's back, the blood that had bloomed from the wounds sizzling as it cauterized itself.

Roshi turned and grunted as he was injured, red chakra blooming around him once more. It took the shape of a cloak, meeting Naruto's own chakra without a word.

The chakra around Naruto shifted, claw-like appendages surrounding Naruto's arms without two ears sprouted from the top of her head. Her cheeks sizzled and the makeup used to hide Naruto's birthmarks, three whiskers on each cheek, became more apparent than before.

Roshi allowed his chakra to coat his body with a thicker layer while he kept a close eye on Naruto.

"I see." He spoke softly, his voice edged with sadness.

I~~~~I

Naruto woke to the sound of dripping water.

Her eyes opened, taking in the cave she was in. She didn't quite understand where she was, nor why she was there.

The last thing she remembered was fighting Roshi, and then…nothing.

"Awake?" A voice rumbled.

Naruto rose her head, her body relaxed despite the foreign entity revealing itself.

Her eyes met the large red orbs in the darkness, a jolt of fear going through her limbs.

Naruto struggled to form words, her mouth opening and closing several times.

She was lying down in a cavernous area. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling, water dripping from their points onto the ground below.

The ground below her was coated in layers of crystal and moss like the caverns she had once seen in Kumo. The cave smelt faintly of frost and plant life, though nothing but the moss seemed to be alive in the cavern.

In front of her laid the largest structure in the cave. The structure consisted of crystal bars rising up from the ground and falling from the ceiling. The bars glistened with vines that twisted into odd shapes, unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Behind the makeshift prison of crystal lay a large red fox, its eyes larger than her entire body.

If the fox were ever to stand in Iwa, Naruto figured, it would probably be able to cross her village in a single step. The fox was gigantic and rather terrifying.

She was surprised it remained behind the crystal bars. With its size, it should have been able to break through the thin bars of rock without a problem.

"W-What…? K-Kitsune-Sama, what the hell…?" Naruto muttered, staring at the fox in amazed terror.

The Fox grinned widely at her addressing, its jaw opening to reveal to large rows of sharp gleaming teeth.

"Ah, at least you know your place, meat bag. Perhaps you won't be a waste of a host after all."

Naruto froze in horror as she registered the being's words.

The Kitsune had called her its host.

The only beings as large as the Kitsune that had hosts were-

"So you are not a mindless monkey either? Good, I suppose. You are indeed what you think."

Naruto's mouth opened slightly and she tried to stop trembling in the face of the laughing Kyuubi no Yoko.

"You are my Jinchuuriki Host, Iwatoshi Naruto." The Kyuubi gleefully revealed to her.

Naruto couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

How the hell was she a Jinchuuriki?! Just how had this Bijuu been sealed inside of her?!

Her mouth went dry when she recalled one of her earliest memories.

"Deidara-Ni, why do the kids say I'm not really your sister?"

"Who said that, un!? I'll beat them up!"

"Deidara-Ni…I'm serious."

"Humph. They are just jealous. We took you in when you were a baby, you aren't related to us by blood. Even so, you are my sister, un!"

She wasn't Deidara's blood relative. She wasn't really his sister. She had merely been adopted by Lady Rida and her Tou-San.

Naruto was a Jinchuuriki.

Naruto was a Jinchuuriki.

She was a Jinchuuriki.

Naruto never even noticed the tears slipping down her cheeks.

I~~~~I

"You knew."

Naruto accused, her voice soft and defeated.

She was resting in front of a fire, bundled up in a sleeping bag and bandages.

Roshi sat with his friend, Han, opposite to her. The man was gazing at her sadly.

Neither of them had pity in their gazes, but the sadness they both exuded or showed was enough to spring tears at the corners of Naruto's eyes.

"I didn't want to be correct," Roshi told her gently.

Naruto scoffed, turning away in order to hide the tear slipping down her cheek.

"You should have killed me. I-I…I am a danger to you both, to Iwa."

Naruto stiffened when a hand clasped onto her shoulder.

Her head whipped around and she barely stopped herself from trying to attack.

Han crouched behind her, his large hand encompassing her entire shoulder. His face was obscured by a bandana, though Naruto could still see his kind eyes.

"We can help you. You don't have to be afraid of yourself." He told her, his voice coming out in a surprisingly soft tremor.

Naruto stared at the man in shock.

Red chakra stirred under his skin, rising to the surface. The hand on her shoulder grew warm, but the chakra failed to burn her. Instead, the chakra brought up Naruto's own red chakra.

The tears in her eyes fell over her skin again and Naruto looked to Roshi as she tried to hold herself together.

She felt warm, she felt safe.

Could she learn how to make that dangerous chakra feel like this for the people she cherished? Could she learn control like Roshi had since he was a young kid?

Maybe, she could do that with the help of two other Jinchuuriki.

"O-Okay," Naruto spoke gently, reaching up to grab onto Han's much larger hand, her eyes closing, sealing off the rest of her tears from the world as she smiled gently at the two men.

"Okay." She said more firmly.

She could do it.

I~~~~I

"It seems as though the Kyuubi has finally stopped hiding." A soft voice spoke gently.

"He's done being a coward." A deeper, but still similar voice, echoed.

"Should we tell Tobi?" The softer voice questioned.

"It would be in his best interest to know. We need to start gathering the Jinchuuriki right away, preferably before the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki gets too strong." The deeper voice answered.

The two voices quieted and two eyes gazed down at the three Jinchuuriki gathered around a campfire.

The hunt was about to begin.

I~~~~I

Oh my goodness, this took forever. Still, the chapter portrayed what I needed it to. I hope you guys enjoy this since it'll be a while before I can get another one posted. Tennis Season is over for us scrubs(newbies), so I have more time after school. Testing just started, however, so that has filled my schedule for the next two weeks. Anyways, thank you for reading and reviewing so far!