Naruko's imaginings of life outside of Konoha couldn't compare to real life experience. After her mission to the Land of Waves, she'd gained a new understanding for the sheer size of the world. But she could easily tell that she hadn't even come close in her estimations. According to Ero Sennin, they had only just begun. It was all new, exciting, and an adequate distraction for her homesickness.

She missed her parents, Kakashi-nii, Hinata, Sakura-chan, and even Sasuke. She often caught herself wondering what they were all doing. Were her parents missing her? What excuse was Kakashi-nii using this time for being late? Was Hinata still getting along with Neji? What was Sasuke doing at that very moment?

"Naruko! Break time's up," Jiraiya called out from where he was approaching through some trees.

Naruko sat up at once from the cool ground, wasting no time before pushing herself onto her feet. "Which village are we headed to next, Ero Sennin?" she asked and picked up the rubber ball that she had been training with before she had taken a short rest.

Despite asking him a question, Jiraiya watched the young girl deeply focus on the white ball in her hands. He watched the way she pushed her chakra into the rubber ball, a look of tight concentration on her face that fell when she only managed to poke a small hole in the ball. She was getting closer. "Change of plans, gaki. We're headed to Sunagakure," Jiraiya said and tossed her another rubber ball.

"Sunagakure? What's there?" Naruko asked as she caught the ball.

"Another jinchuuriki," Jiraiya responded before turning to leave.

Naruko momentarily stopped before snapping out of her daze and rushing after her godfather. "There's a jinchuuriki in Sunagakure, too? Do all of the other villages have one?"

"The tailed beasts were split between the five, major shinobi villages a long time ago. I can't speak for the other three, but Sunagakure and Konoha are allies," Jiraiya started. "They're having trouble with their jinchuuriki and Minato wants me to take a look at his seal as a sign of good will between our villages."

Naruko couldn't help but feel a bit of dread form in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was a sign of things to come or her gut response to anytime a tailed beast was mentioned. "What kind of trouble, 'ttebayo?"

"We'll see when we get there. But do me a favor and try not to attract too much attention. As far as we know, they have no idea that you're also the kyuubi's jinchuuriki and it's best that we keep it that way," Jiraiya said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Sure thing, Ero Sennin," Naruko replied. Maybe if he wasn't such a pervert in the first place, she might have chosen a different moniker for him. A quiet snicker escaped her at his loud, pained groan. Half the fun of calling him by a nickname came from his dislike for the name.

~:~

Despite Naruko agreeing to his request, Jiraiya was skeptical. His goddaughter had a habit of attracting attention wherever she went. Maybe it was all the orange? He had no doubt that the second he turned his back on her, she would somehow find herself in the middle of some political snafu. Even so, things always seemed to work out in the end for her. She was astoundingly lucky that way. Nonetheless, it would probably best to keep a watchful eye on her. No need to give Minato or Kushina a reason to chew him out or flay him.

"Ero Sennin, are we there yet?"

Jiraiya suppressed the urge to sigh. They had been walking through the desert for three days now and had run out of water about an hour ago. It was as if the second their water supply had run out, Naruko's thirst had suddenly picked up with a vengeance. Jiraiya had to remind himself on more than one occasion that his goddaughter was still very much sheltered and had never been exposed to prolonged hardship or even mild inconveniences. He didn't want to call her soft, but he couldn't help but compare his own, mostly solitary upbringing to hers.

"Save your breath, gaki. We're almost there."

"You said that an hour ago, dattebayo!"

Jiraiya exhaled slowly. A devilishly brilliant idea hit him then. "Do you need a break?" Jiraiya asked. "I forgot that you're still green."

"Green?" she repeated, pure confusion twisting her features.

"Not literally. It's an expression. It means that you're inexperienced," Jiraiya said and pointed to her still gleaming forehead protector. Naruko straightened from her slouch with a small, considering frown. "Shinobi cross this desert all the time. Normally, it takes me less than a day. It would take Minato even less time," Jiraiya said and rubbed a hand over his chin.

"Then what are we waiting for!? Let's get going, Ero Sennin!" Naruko exclaimed and resolutely stomped on. Jiraiya watched her go, a smirk forming on his face. He could always count on Naruko's need to prove herself. "Ero Sennin!" she called out from over her shoulder, doing a near perfect mimicry of Kushina's headstrong march.

"Hai hai…" Jiraiya said with a shake of his head and jogged to catch up to her.

~:~

Sunagakure felt like the exact opposite of Konoha. She had grown accustomed to lush green forests, rivers, and lakes. But Suna existed in only one color- brown. She stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the villagers. Fortunately, Ero Sennin stuck out just as much with his crazy hair and comparatively colorful clothes. The air was dry and warm, yet the people all wore long garbs and head wraps. Weren't they hot? She could smell the familiar scent of barbeque on the wind, but when they passed some food stands, she couldn't identify the meat or types of animals that they were grilling.

"Naruko," Jiraiya called out to her, distracting her from where she had been trying to identify different foods.

When she looked up, Naruko was met with narrowed, distrustful looks. She watched the villagers standing arounds her, but they were all taking in her clothes, features, and headband. Before she could even introduce herself, she felt Jiraiya's large hand clamp down on her shoulder before leading her away. Naruko risked a glance over her shoulder as they left. They were still being watched.

"Everyone's watching us, Ero Sennin," she said in a soft voice.

"Suna and Konoha are allies, but that doesn't mean they're very welcoming to strangers."

Naruko wasn't sure how she felt about the copious stares that she was garnering. Being the Hokage's daughter has always gotten her the attention of the villagers back home, but their states had been respectful, kind or annoyed if she had just gotten done pulling pranks. She'd never been looked at suspiciously or with any hostility before.

Naruko had no idea if this would be a common occurrence for the next three years. The people of Wave had all been too absorbed with their own problems to spare any energy on treating her or her team with hostility. Maybe only shinobi villages were suspicious of outsiders? Naruko didn't have the answer for that question, but she was sure that Sakura would have information memorized about it.

"Konohagakure shinobi," a man greeted as he approached. He was wearing standard Suna-nin attire, a Suna headband and a strange cloth over his head and half his face. Naruko wisely didn't comment on the man's usual fashion. "My name is Baki. I was sent to escort Jiraiya of the Sannin to the Kazekage."

Jiraiya nodded once. "I hope it's alright if my charge waits for me close by. I'd like to keep an eye on her if you don't mind."

The man nodded. "Of course. She can wait in the lobby of the administration building. This way," Baki said and gestured for them to follow him.

As they were walking, Naruko was about to ask a question- she had several about the village and it's culture. But she barely got a word in before Jiraiya was resting a heavy hand on her head and commenting, "It's been a while since I've been to Sunagakure. It's really thriving."

"Yes. We are experiencing quite the period of growth and good fortune," Baki replied.

While she found it weird how tense Baki was being, Naruko was quickly bored by the topic at hand. Deciding that it was best to let zero Sennin have his boring, old people talk, Naruko quickly zoned out. She immediately wished that she hadn't, however, when a quick shiver ran up her spine. She had felt this feeling once before when she had faced Zabuza. His presence and potent killing intent had scared the living daylights out of her. Who was targeting her now? More than a little ruffled, Naruko looked around her quickly, but couldn't find the source of the heady killing intent.

"You alright, kid?"

Jiraiya's voice had sounded detached, but Naruko could see some concern in his eyes. "I'm fine," she lied. She was a shinobi and she had gone against people trying to kill her before. She could handle herself.

"We're here," Baki said and looked ahead towards the largest building in the village. When he led them inside, Naruko nearly thanked the gods that the place was cool inside.

"Wait here, kid. I'll be back soon," Jiraiya said before leaving with Baki. She watched Jiraiya leave before walking over to an open seat and hunkering down. Pulling her rubber ball from her pocket, she got back to her training while she waited.

Naruko had been trying to pop this ball for days. At first, she had thought that it would be easy to pop the darn thing. She had more than enough chakra to shove into the ball and burst it from the inside out. But she was having trouble keeping up the constant rotation when she did. When she managed yet another small puncture, Naruko cursed softly and shoved the deflated ball into her pocket before reaching for a new one. Somehow, she had gotten so lost in concentration on her task that she hadn't noticed her silent observer.

He was a red-haired boy that looked about her age with fair skin and the darkest rings around his green eyes. She eyed the red tattoo on his forehead and deep frown on his face. Oddly enough, she could feel something off about the boy but she couldn't exactly decipher it. She wasn't sure what to say to the quiet boy, so she said the first thing that popped into her head. "What happened to your eyebrows, 'ttebayo?"

This proved to be exact wrong thing to say because his frown deepened until he scowled. Naruko swallowed thickly. That threatening feeling had returned full force. "Who are you?" the boy asked, his voice gravelly and low.

Impulsively, Naruko responded, "My name's Uzumaki Naruko, dattebayo!"

"Uzumaki Naruko," the boy repeated, his scowl twisting.

Not one to be deterred by someone's less than pleasant demeanor, she carried on, "What's your name?"

The boy didn't answer for some time. Maybe he hadn't heard her? She was almost about to ask again. But he finally said, "Subaku no Gaara."

Gaara. "It's…nice to meet you, Gaara?" she finished more like a question than an actual acknowledgement. Naruko wasn't always the most observant, but she didn't have a problem picking up on the boy's obvious dislike for her. What had she done to offend him?

"Uzumaki Naruko… I'm going to kill you," the boy promised and uncrossed his arms.

Crap.

Naruko had barely managed to dive out of the way before a stream of sand and shot towards her. From her spot on the ground, she watched the sand crash into her chair and leave the seat in pieces. Her eyes widened as she quickly made a single hand sign. "Tajuu kage bushin no jutsu!"

Naruko had no idea what was wrong with this boy. But from where she had slipped into the ranks of her many clones, she could see the pure hatred on his face as he relentlessly attacked her clones. She paid no mind to the memories of death playing out in the back of her mind and instead subtly moved through the crowd of clones. With the amount of chakra she was expending, she was sure that zero Sennin was soon to come running.

"Baka tanuki…"

The sound of the kyuubi's voice ran through her head, making her freeze on the spot. Likewise, Gaara froze up as well before looking right at her with an almost feral sneer. "Yes, Mother," the boy said and charged.

~:~

Jiraiya had gotten twenty-three minutes into his meeting with the Kazekage before he felt the spike in Naruko's chakra. He had been in the middle of his sentence when he stopped and quickly turned on his heel. He could hear the Kazekage shouting after him, but he wasn't about to stop to explain anything to the man. It took him less than a minute to make it back downstairs to where he'd left her, but all he found was a destroyed room, wrecked furniture and piles of sand scattered about.

He heard footsteps stop behind him, but it was the silent curse from the Kazekage that drew his attention. "Gaara is loose," he remarked.

"Your son?" Jiraiya questioned. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion in the distance followed by a rapid permeation of corrosive chakra. Jiraiya felt the pieces quickly slide into place. "How damaged is his seal that the tailed beast is able to break free so easily?"

Rasa sneered slightly before giving a quiet huff, "His seal is not damaged. I made it quite clear to the Hokage that we have no need for Konoha's interference."

Jiraiya frowned at the man before leaving the building. Outside, there were a few shinobi dashing about and some panicked civilians scurrying about. Nothing looked damaged, but Jiraiya was sure that it was the feel of tailed beast chakra in the air that had everyone so panicked. Even the average civilian would be able to pick up on it. "You definitely have everything under control," Jiraiya scoffed and leaped onto a rooftop. He looked around him and kept his senses expanded, doing his best to spot his goddaughter.

"No offense, Jiraiya. But this is not your concern. Sunagakure shinobi will handle my son," Rasa dismissed.

"I'm not looking for your AWOL jinchuuriki. I'm looking for Naruko," Jiraiya clarified.

"I'm sorry. If Gaara has targeted her, she is most likely already dead," Baki apologized, actually managing to look sorry.

"For your sakes, you better hope not. The Hokage won't take kindly to his only daughter being killed in your village," Jiraiya said. Jiraiya watched both men pale slightly before he quickly left them to their own devices.

Jiraiya was sure that Naruko was still alive. Uzumaki blood aside, the kid could be quite resourceful and tenacious. But a fight with an unstable jinchuuriki was way out of her league. He needed to find her as quickly as possible.

~:~

Naruko ducked behind a large sand dune while another wave of clones preoccupied Gaara. She had managed to lead Gaara away from the village, doing her best to help Suna avoid the catastrophe that was a tailed beast attack. But she still wasn't sure how she was going to deal with him.

Fighting was so much easier when she had her team backing her up. Kakashi to handle the brunt of the work, Sakura for universal support, and Sasuke's calm demeanor at her side made fights seem winnable. But out here, alone, and in the middle of the desert?

"Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to fight him in the desert," Naruko muttered to herself when one sweep of Gaara's tail wiped out over fifty of her clones in seconds. What would Tou-chan do? Or Kakashi-nii? Or even Sasuke? She wasn't a genius like them! Naruko roughly grabbed at her pigtails as her stress levels were starting to peak.

"What are we gonna do, Boss?" one of her clones asked her.

"I say we find Ero Sennin," another chimed in.

"No way! We can handle him ourselves, 'ttebayo!"

"He's too strong for us."

"We're a jinchuuriki, too dattebayo!"

"Shh! Idiot, he'll hear us!"

"I don't wanna rely on kyuubi chakra…"

Naruko gave the few clones gathered around her a warning glare. Immediately, they all quieted down. She didn't have her team, but her clones would have to do. Naruko quietly sent off a clone to find Ero Sennin while letting the more battle-hungry clone lead what was left of her clones in the fight with Gaara.

"…what now?" the last clone asked.

Naruko was lamenting her lack of foresight right about now. She wished that she still had enough chakra to summon a toad, even a mid-sized toad would do. But her many clones had almost exhausted her reserves. She still had a wellspring of chakra sitting in her gut…

Naruko gripped the front of her jacket as she shook her head to clear it. She knew what the kyuubi was capable of and it truly terrified her. She had gotten lucky that Kakashi-nii had reacted in time to subdue her and seal away the kyuubi the last time it had gotten out. But the thought of losing control and killing anyone still haunted her. And while it was just her and Gaara out here, that didn't mean that she wanted the boy dead. Then again, what if a clash of their tailed beasts led to both of them dying?

Naruko peaked back to see Gaara was laughing himself silly while pummeling, crushing, and destroying her clones. He was muttering to himself in between laughing fits and while she was too far away to hear anything, she felt a chill go down her spine when another clone caught what he'd said just before popping.

"He's not like us at all, 'tteabyo," the clone whispered, also watching Gaara a bit fearfully. "You think his tailed beast will break out?"

"Then he'll die," Naruko frowned. Gaara hadn't been nice to her, but maybe he was like her and Kaa-chan? Maybe he hadn't chosen to become a jinchuuriki? If he'd been a human sacrifice, too? If that was the case, it wasn't his fault that his tailed beast was driving him nuts.

"Ero Sennin was supposed to look at his seal," her clone reminded her.

'His seal…', Naruko mused as a plan started to form in her mind. Suddenly, it was like all the clouds of fear and doubt vanished from her mind as she had a moment of divine inspiration. How could she have forgotten!? Naruko quickly started searching through her pockets, weapons pouch, and even Gama-chan until she found it.

"What are you-" the clone started but stopped when Naruko showed her the piece of folded and slightly crumpled paper. Immediately, the clone's eyes widened. "You're a genius!"

Actually, it was Tou-chan that was the genius. Her father had prepared for any possible situation when it came to her seal. Ero Sennin had almost brushed him off when Tou-chan had handed them a fair amount of pre-made sealing papers. Ero Sennin still carried most of them sealed away in the scroll on his back, but Tou-chan had still slipped her an extra one just in case. Naruko never expected that she wouldn't be using the seal on herself.

"Okay. Here's what we're gonna do," she whispered to her clone just as Gaara released a loud roar that had the already shifty ground, vibrating and wobbling like the ocean. When her every instinct screamed at her to move, she quickly substituted herself with one of the clones farthest away from Gaara.

Gaara was bent on leaving her no time to strategize with her clones. The boy-turned-tanuki was already lumbering towards her, his large, spiked arms reaching out to mow down the last of her clones. Sucking in a breath, Naruko gathered her nerve and released a loud war cry that spurred her clones into action. They all picked up on her rising spirit, quickly joining in on her valiant chorus before all charging in. While her clones held no regard for dodging Gaara's haphazard swipes and spears of sand, Naruko did her best to weave between them, sealing paper clutched in her hand. 'There!'

Two of her clones had just grabbed the sand-tanuki by the arm, desperately holding on as him swung them around as if they were nothing but a nuisance to him. It was her perfect chance that only lasted a few moments. She barely paid attention both her clones get thrown into the air before being crushed by sand tombs. She was more focused on climbing over her clones backs and pushing herself to the front. She had thought that Gaara had been totally distracted, but when one, eye looked right at her. 'Now!' it felt like her mind was screaming at her. While Gaara was still turning to attack, she performed the fastest kawarimi that she could to switch with one of the clones that was already latched on to his front. The slap of her hand against his large belly sounded amplified in her ears, completely drowning out her rapidly pounding heart.

Naruko hadn't realized that she had tensed up until she felt sand start to shift away and fall through her fingers. She watched the sand tanuki melt away slowly until all that was left was Gaara's unsteady body lying in a pile of sand. Finally taking a breath, Naruko fell to her knees in the sand and released her clones. She'd actually done it.

"What…what did you do? I can't hear Mother," Gaara said, sounded both confused and a bit anxious.

"I sealed it away. It can get pretty loud when they're in your head, 'ttebayo," Naruko answered between pants. Gaara's eyes widened. She frowned in confusion, "You call your tailed beast Mother?"

Gaara was too busy blinking at her in stunned confusion to respond.

Now that the fight was over, she couldn't help but babble a little. "I don't talk to the kyuubi. Kaa-chan says to ignore him and he won't be too much of a pain," Naruko said and pulled off her sandal. Was it pointless to try to get the sand out of her shoes?

"You're like me… But you're different," Gaara finally acknowledged.

"I'm a jinchuuriki, too. But I didn't know how to be one at first," Naruko said with a deep frown. "Kaa-chan says that love is the key. The hate…and anger in the tailed beasts can be a lot, 'ttebayo. But even a jinchuuriki can live happily if they have love."

Maybe she wasn't explaining it right because Gaara looked even more confused. "I have my precious people that I care about, and they care about me. What about you?"

"Precious…people?" Gaara repeated before frowning and looking up at the sky. "I don't have any," he finished resolutely.

Naruko felt her hopes sink as a pang rang through her heart. Gaara had no one? "Not even family? Your father is the Kazekage. He's probably busy all the time, but I'm sure he-" she started to soothe, but Gaara cut her off with a look.

"No one," he said.

She didn't know this boy, but it didn't sit right with her that he felt alone in the world. It was hard for her to picture it. Not having parents, friends, or even teacher that you cared for? It sounded… lonely. "I'll be your friend," Naruko said as if it were that simple.

Gaara turned a surprised gaze onto her, but Naruko was slowly pulling herself up onto her feet. "No one should have to feel alone, especially not someone like us, 'ttebayo. I think that we could be friends. I don't know any other jinchuuriki besides Kaa-chan, but it would be nice to have someone else who understands," Naruko said with a small smile. Gaara's eyes were wide as he stared up at her from the ground. He didn't move, not even to blink as she reached down to pull him up out the sand.

"Friends?" he finally asked.

Naruko nodded once and offered her hand. "Friends," she agreed. Gaara stared at her hand for a few moments but did eventually slip his much coarser hand into hers. Naruko gave it a firm shake and declared, "Always," with a bright grin.

"Naruko!"

He was a bit late, but Naruko was still happy to see Jiraiya rushing towards her with her clone, the Kazekage, and a few other shinobi in tow. "Ero Sennin!" she exclaimed with a wave. "Check it out! Gaara and me are friends now!"

~:~

When her clone had shown up and frantically explained the situation to him, Jiraiya had felt his stomach twist and sink. He hadn't spent more than a couple weeks travelling with his goddaughter, but he was admittedly fond of her. He took his mission to train and protect her personally. Not just because he was still a loyal, Konoha shinobi or because of familial ties, but because of who he had learned that Naruko was. He saw a lot of himself in her and he truly felt that she would go on to do great things. Hearing that she was fighting a losing battle with an unstable jinchuuriki nearly dashed all of his hopes for her and her future.

He hadn't been sure what to expect when they had closed in on the battleground but didn't hear any telltale sounds of fighting. It had been far too quiet, as if the victor had long been decided. Had she died? Had the kyuubi somehow gotten loose? Had both tailed beasts escaped to ravage the land? Too many questions ran through Jiraiya's head. But as he happened upon the sight of Naruko pulling the Kazekage's sun from the ground, the only question on his mind was, "What?"

"Ero Sennin! Check it out! Gaara and me are friends now!" she exclaimed with a bright grin. She even slapped the boy on the back and pulled him to her by the shoulders. Gaara looked absolutely stunned that she was touching him, wide eyes set on her hand on his shoulder. But he didn't look offended by it…

"Friends?" Jiraiya questioned, his eyes still on the boy as he tentatively approached.

"Yeah! We talked it over," Naruko said. "Gaara, this is Ero Sennin. He's my godfather."

"Brat," Jiraiya mumbled. He still kept a wary eye on the boy, but everything started to make sense when he saw the sealing paper stuck to the boy's midsection. Jiraiya breathed a silent sigh of relief, incredibly thankful for Minato's apprehensive ways.

"Gaara, return to the village. There are matters to discuss," the Kazekage spoke up, surprisingly bold now that the trouble had passed.

Gaara looked less than enthused to see his own father, but it was Naruko that spoke for him. "Oi! You're supposed to be a dad, dattebayo! Just because you're a kage doesn't mean you can ignore your son!"

"What!?" the Kazekage barked. Jiraiya could already feel a headache coming on. Truthfully, he should stop her, but it's not like she was wrong.

"Tou-chan is the Hokage, but he still makes time for his kid! Gaara didn't ask to become a jinchuuriki so you shouldn't treat him badly just because he is one!" Naruko loudly argued. Jiraiya was already drafting the letter that he would have to send back to Konoha. Minato would need all the information before he could begin dealing with the potential fallout. Jiraiya had never been more grateful that he turned down the hat when sensei had offered it.

Rasa had been about to fire back but stopped short at the large wall of sand that rose up between him and the blonde girl. At once, all of the sand-nin tensed and prepared for battle, paused when nothing immediately happened. Slowly, the sand wall fell and Gaara shot his father a warning look.

'How about that,' Jiraiya mused with a smirk. "Naruko, it's time to head back."

She turned to him with an eager grin, "Can we get ramen, 'ttebayo?" Jiraiya shrugged. He doubted that they'd find a decent ramen shop in Suna, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Naruko exclaimed loudly before grabbing Gaara by the hand and tugging him along back to the village. "Have you ever had ramen before Gaara? It's great! The best food ever, dattebayo!" she chatted amicably, not paying any mind to the Kazekage and other shinobi that stood aside as they passed.

"I like salted tongue and gizzard," Gaara offered in a soft voice.

"…I've never tried it. Is it good?" Naruko replied.

Jiraiya almost laughed at the stunned looks the Kazekage was shooting the children. "About his seal…" Jiraiya hinted with a smirk.