Sashiko gave the three a cursory nod and took Hosha's hand, gripping it as she smiled with teeth. "Sure, I'm alright with that. I'm Oreshizoku Sashiko, you?"

Hosha hummed, seemingly accepting her actions as she gripped back.

"Iwatoshi Hosha. It's nice to finally put a name to the face." The girl said, and a shiver went down Sashiko's back.

The girl relished the feeling at that moment, her blood pumping and her heart pounding. She could feel her pulse in her throat and she could hear the blood rushing through her ears even as she pulled away from her former enemy.

This was what she needed. A distraction, a challenge. She needed something to focus on, and fate had provided it. She had wondered when she would see the girl again, and when she did…She wanted to know why exactly Hosha had let her live.

I~~~~I

Sashiko gazed at the strange girl that she had accosted. Hosha, the Iwa heiress that had poisoned her and nearly left her to die. In fact, the girl had stopped her heart, only to restart it with her own electrical pulses.

Since their meeting, the two girls had taken to the outskirts where Sashiko was now joining the group at their assigned training area. For the Chunin Exams the foreign teams were gifted their own training grounds and this group had actually been gifted two of them that were very close to where Sashiko knew the Hyuuga Estate was. Perhaps Neji could do some recon for her pertaining to the Iwa team, since he was so close by.

"So, did you want to fight or were you just interested in tailing us?" Hosha spoke up from ahead of Sashiko.

The Oreshizoku was taken aback as she thought about her earlier outlook, before she nodded and firmed her resolve. The other Shinobi, the Iwa Shinobi that she had heard about from Itachi and Shisui, all eyed her warily. They were very protective of their blonde friend, and if Sashiko was reading the air right, that other Shisui character was even more protective than the others.

"I want to spar with you. This time I won't use my Sharingan, I won't need it." She said as she gazed in Hosha's direction with a firm resolve. The blonde gave her a smirk in return and shifted into a stance as she prepared for the fight ahead.

"Alright. Shisui, proctor. Darui and Yarui, watch over from the sidelines. And since I don't want to deal with legal repercussions, how about first blood?" Hosha ordered her teammates, who all shifted into position while she glanced back to Sashiko to confirm the setting.

"Yeah, I can work with that." Sashiko told her and hunkered down as she readied her chakra. She wanted to get a taste of what her and her teammates missed the first time around, especially since she knew that the Iwa Shinobi would be some of their worst competitors in the exams.

Hosha knew she had to play this carefully. She also knew that none of her teammates approved of this match but she couldn't really bring herself to care. She had wanted to actually fight Sashiko ever since she learned how well the girl held out to her poison. It would be a bonus if the girl gave away some of her skills so that her teammates could use that to their advantage, but the problem lied in the fact that Sashiko could also do that to her.

She had to be sure to not use any techniques the girl might not have heard of. And she couldn't use her poison or explosives in this current setting, nor would she dare when they were just doing a friendly spar inside of Konoha. That left her weapons, some of her less destructive Jutsu, and an array of physical attacks.

She had this, she knew she did. It was just a matter of pulling it all off in a flashy enough way to satisfy her opponent while also getting what she wanted out of this ordeal. She didn't have to win, she just had to get what she wanted. That was all.

I~~~~I

The feeling of regret was a strong one. When it came down to it, Jiraiya hadn't wanted to think that Hosha was still alive. All those years ago, 13 or 14 by now, he hadn't wanted to think of his little Goddaughter as anything but gone for good because needlessly hoping only made his chest ache more.

Now, however, staring down at the little girl who was fighting Sashiko, he couldn't help but feel that earlier hope suddenly bloom to life as he watched this young blonde Kunoichi take down Sashiko and be assaulted from multiple angles by needles spawned out of Sashiko's Blood Jutsu.

The way that Hosha worked astounded him. He was used to Kunoichi using underhanded techniques, but never in such a profound and obvious manner that spun right back around to being sneaky. She would show her hand and then show several more, making you question what she was doing in the first place. Not to mention her penchant for just narrowly escaping danger.

The girl both terrified him and brought out his inner child, all because she reminded him not only of himself, but also of Minato. Minato, the Fourth Hokage and the man who had become like a son to him. Minato, the father of Menma, and the man who had stood against the Nine-Tailed Fox and lived. All of these factors and yet the most important one was the little girl he had helped bring into the world, a girl he had named Naruto and a girl who Jiraiya was almost certain stood in front of him.

He hadn't wanted to believe it, but the red chakra that ran through her veins, pulsing underneath her skin and forming around her stomach in the area of where he knew Minato placed the seal…This girl had to be Naruto.

And yet, he didn't want to hope so much, to hold so tightly to something that might not even me true. He had to make sure, and that meant testing the girl's blood against Minato's and Kushina's. That also meant getting a sample, and since Sashiko was already in on the whole situation, Jiraiya was going to take advantage.

Using a thin sliver of Wind Chakra, he sent a message to the girl, watching as her eyes brightened and she flashed a quick hand sign amidst her others for her Jutsu, telling him she heard it.

The next few moments continued at the same pace. Hosha would use a Jutsu, Sashiko would counter and then lunge forward. The two would exchange blows before switching to weapons or long-distance combat.

Finally, Sashiko ducked and twisted, using a move her brother had taught her to shift through her blood chakra and appear behind the Hosha girl. Her blade was raised and without a warning struck.

I~~~~I

Hosha felt the wind shift and knew the moment that Sashiko disappeared from in front of her that she had been bested. She felt a cut across her cheek and warm fluid dripped down her cheek. Her eyes shifted behind her to the girl who had cut her, finding Sashiko smiling at her as she withdrew her blade.

"That was a good fight, Hosha." Sashiko said as she held out her hand, or two fingers from her hand, and gestured for Hosha to do the same.

"This is what we do in Konoha after a match. It's to show comradery, or in this case, equal footing." She stated, and Hosha smirked back at the girl as she turned and copied the girl's movement.

Their fingers entwined and Hosha felt a small shock along her skin, likely from Sashiko's stronger Lightning Alignment, before they pulled back.

"Well, that was good, but I need to head out now. Thanks for the match, maybe we can do that again in the Chunin Exams." Sashiko told her before she was bounding away, quick footed and light on her toes.

Hosha had to blink a few times to get over the fact she had been ditched, before she felt a hand on her cheek and turned to the worried face of her comrade.

Shisui inspected her cut with a critical eye and pulled out an adhesive bandage, raising it up to place on her cheek. Despite both of them knowing that it would heal over pretty quickly, Hosha allowed it so that Shisui could stop worrying.

"Thanks Shi, how about we go and find some food again, since I just took a few hours of our time?" Hosha offered as she gave him a bright grin. He nodded and the from behind the two of them Darui and Yarui shared smirks before joining them.

I~~~~I

Sashiko carefully wiped her blade, taking the blood that she had collected from Hosha. The blood smelt like iron and it almost made her feel lightheaded. She was collecting the sample of blood for Jiraiya, who had also ordered her to take it to the hospital and check it against their databases. She already knew what it had meant when he asked.

Could Hosha really be her sister? Could the girl really be Minato's daughter? She had always wondered what would have happened if she had been able to grow up with Naruto, but she had never thought that the girl might still be alive. Naruto had been the first death she had accepted, the first one she truly grasped to the fullest, even before her own father's death.

Sashiko sighed and quietly placed a cap on the vial of blood she had before cleaning off her blade more thoroughly. After sheathing the blade, she then started on her way to the hospital, taking it slow despite her urge to go faster. She wanted to know, she wanted to find out if Jiraiya and Kakashi were correct.

Looming before her was the large white and grey building with multiple rows of windows. She had spent a lot of time in Konoha's hospital both as a child and as a Shinobi, but never had she felt so tense and worried about her task here.

After Minato had fixed the academy, the first-year students had been forced to take basic first aide classes funded by the hospitals, and if they showed prowess, continue onto medical ninjutsu further into the academy on weekends. She had showed exceptional prowess due to her unique chakra and her Sharingan, which enabled her to see injuries more effectively. She had also gone into the science aspect of the hospital, helping out Orochimaru-Sensei with some of his projects that he left there.

Now she used that knowledge and her previous prowess to guide herself through the hospital to the labs down in the basement. With sparse greetings to some of the technicians along the way, Sashiko situated herself in the bio-lab where the bloodwork tended to be done. She placed down the unmarked vial as she started up the machine, before placing the sample on the tray to the side of the machine so that it would run its diagnostics on it and give her an accurate reading. She carefully placed the vial back in her pouch and let out a small sigh of relief. She just had to wait until the machine was done.

Looking around she noticed that the lab was rather sparse of people that day, which wasn't too surprising since the medical staff were probably being briefed on their stance in the Chunin Exams and what they were to do in the event of certain situations.

Soon, Sashiko would be joining them. She had already signed her apprenticeship over from Orochimaru to Tsunade after she became a Chunin, and form there she would move between them both with her main priority being on Tsunade until she became a Jonin and could move into T&I.

The machine let out a soft "ding" to let her know it was done, and she turned around to check the results. Her eyes widened a fraction as she saw what the machine said. She was too focused on the results to hear the two sets of footsteps making their way toward her, even if they were near silent.

"Sashiko, what are you doing down in the lab? You aren't supposed to be here till the end of the week." A voice called from behind her.

Sashiko whirled around, her hands pressing on the keyboard behind her as she frantically tried to delete the results without the person in front of her noticing. She knew that voice, and upon meeting the eyes of her teacher, she felt a weight drop in her chest.

"O-Oh, hi Orochimaru-Sensei! I was just running some tests…" She smiled at the man, just noticing Tsunade behind him. Tsunade was giving the screen behind her an odd look and she carefully removed her hands from the board, typing in the cancel command as she did so. The near-silent buzz from the machine told her it had succeeded and she withheld a sigh of relief.

"Sashiko, aren't you supposed to be at the Genin briefing?" Tsunade spoke up, and Sashiko froze as she thought about the meeting that Minato had issued.

"R-Right! Sorry, I have to run!" She shouted and rushed past the two. She was so thankful for that reminder because she knew if she had to stay any longer with Tsunade or Orochimaru, she would not be able to hide her nervousness and they would figure her out. She could hide form her mother, from Kushina, even from her siblings, but never from any of the Sannin, especially her godfather Orochimaru.

I~~~~I

Orochimaru stared after her estranged student, wondering what had her so jumpy. Sashiko only acted that way when she was trying to hide something from him.

"What was up with the Gaki?" Tsunade spoke from behind him, and he turned to look at what had Sashiko so enthralled before they walked in.

The screen for the blood analysis machine had just finished cancelling an order, an order run not even five minutes ago. Sashiko had spot-checked a sample against their database, and he was curious as to why. Looking over he checked the tray and saw that the girl had left part of the sample in the tray.

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling this has something to do with it." Orochimaru said and ran the test again.

"She was checking a blood-sample? Why?" Tsunade asked as she looked down at the sample.

The two of them shared a look.

"There's only two people who can make that girl keep something from you Orochimaru." Tsunade reminded him, making him nod grimly.

"Either Kakashi-Kun has our Sashiko running around doing errands, or Jiraiya is causing trouble again." He said with a hint of annoyance, looking up as the machine let out a sound of completion.

The two looked at the screen and their eyes widened as the blood sample matched up to multiple signatures. On the screen picture not only Minato, but also Kushina, Menma, and another shinobi. Both Minato and Kushina had a 45% match, while Menma was around 24%, and the other shinobi, an Iwa Ninja from the Bomber Clan Rida, was a 40% match.

"Orochimaru, does this….?" Tsunade started as she looked at the matches.

Wordlessly Orochimaru stepped forward and ran the sample against those collected from the roster of Genin, both foreign and rural.

They watched as the sample popped up an exact match for one Iwatoshi Hosha Naruto, Heiress to the Iwatoshi clan and sister to Deidera Iwatoshi.

His eyes dissected the photo of the girl, taking in every detail as he matched it to the images of Namikaze and Kushina, as well as Namikaze's brat, Menma. He took a step back and showed the results to Tsunade.

"I think I know why she was trying to hide this from us, Tsunade." Orochimaru said, his eyes narrowed while he tried to piece what he just saw together.

There was no real explanation for why Iwatoshi Hosha would be matching with Kushina and Minato's blood, unless she happened to be of relation to them.

He needed more information, and he knew exactly where to go to find it.

Tsunade turned as he started to leave, her eyes also narrowed as she processed the information. "Where are you going?"

Orochimaru didn't stop or glance back as he started up the steps to the next level.

"I'm going to find our teammate and ask him about Iwatoshi Hosha and why she is related to Namikaze and Uzumaki." He stated, disappearing in a flurry of leaves.

I~~~~~I

Well first off, I'm sorry this update took so long. Recently it's been hard to write and I even took a break from Fanfiction all together. My friends and I have also started D&D nights on the weekend and I am the DM, so I have to manage all of them and that whole story on top of it all. Still, I really wanted to write this up after getting more into the story in my own campaign (Seriously, if you like making your own story or choose you own adventures, try out D&D, it is so fun!)

Anyways, I hope to be putting out more updates. Saddly, SAN might take a bit longer to do just because I need to refresh my thoughts about it and remind myself where I was going. Thank you for your patience and for all the favorites and follow even while I've been absent!