The rumbling of the stones signaled the arrival of the group to the base, the trio entered to find everything as normal as ever, perhaps this new group of people were indeed Danzō's guests. The continued their way further inside the hideout until reaching the main hall, to their surprise, Danzō himself was waiting for them alone in the middle of the room.

"Late."

"Apologies Danzō-sama, things got complicated on our way out."

"We had to fight our way out from a large nu-"

"I didn't ask for an excuse Izumi..." Danzō cut her off much to her dismay "Was the target neutralized?"

"Yes Danzō-sama, here's proof."

Itachi walked down the stairs with his team and approached the old leader, he took out from his vest a piece of cloth that was stained with blood and presented it to him, Danzō took it and unwrapped it to reveal a severed human finger with a golden ring still attached to it. He removed the ring and tossed aside the cloth and its content to the flames before taking a closer look at it.

"So I take it the Amagiri clan is no more..."

"Yes Danzō-sama, their members and their operations are gone for good, as you requested."

"Then that's one less ally for Uchiha Corp, we can move on to bigger fish now. Itachi, I'll have a word with you, you two can go now." He signaled with one hand for them to leave, Shisui and Izumi bowed respectfully and started to do so. When they were gone Danzō spoke again. "I take it Shisui detected the new chakra signatures when you all came in."

"He did Danzō-sama, do we have visitors? We assumed they were your guests perhaps."

"They are, some of your father's henchmen were after them, Kurenai's team brought them here."

"My... father? Who are they?"

"One of them was a former student of mine, she quit the ANBU to pursue a life as a police officer some years ago, believes she can take on Uchiha Corp the legal way..." he scoffed "Two others are lackeys from what I saw."

"And the fourth one?"

"The reason they're here, your younger brother, Sasuke."

Itachi was rarely surprised by anything that transpired around him, this however did make him fall silent as he processed Danzō's words, despite almost never showing an inch of emotion, the old man knew he had struck a nerve.

"Sasuke? My brother is here?" He did his best to hide his surprise, failing in the process.

"They're all sleeping right now, you should see him in the morning, I'm pretty sure you two have a lot to talk about."

And with that he walked back through the long hallway to his chambers leaving a speechless Itachi on his own. He had not seen Sasuke for more than three years, his departure left a lot of questions for many people, including his little brother, that certainly he would not take kindly regardless of an explanation, despite Sasuke's calm nature like that of his own, he knew at times he could be very impulsive. The real problem however would be knowing if the group's presence there would lead to his father finding out about him, he learned what his father's plans were long before any of them and joined the ANBU force as a means to interrupt and tarnish them, it was because of him that Danzō learned of the statue's power and purpose, since none of the other hidden villages were getting themselves actively involved, they were the only group of people doing something to stop them, Konoha, who Itachi initially reached out to, did not seem to care either, the Hokage's less aggressive approach to the subject was the decisive factor in joining Danzō's group in the end.

Fugaku had extended his influence and hold on people's lives for too long and he knew the best way to deal with it was by hitting him where it hurt the most; his pocket. Sabotaging several business ventures and taking out associates had indeed proven to be significant defeats over time, but for a corporation as large as his, the battles ahead were still many to come, even outside of the country they held dominance where more corrupt and easily influenced governments operated, the revenue was too good to pass and everyone got to make money and shake hands all around.

Now the issues were extending beyond regular people, he had made some Shinobi clans his allies as well to complete tasks that the company normally could not be caught doing, he was using them the same way a Kage did with its Shinobi, to do unofficial missions like bribing, killing and taking over important areas to expand their influence. Uchiha Corp had been for a long time growing faster than any company in history and their tactics proved to be too effective sometimes for other rivals, hence Danzō's ANBU entered the picture.

They knew the Hokage wanted to avoid starting a war so hiding from the world was a better option for him and his people, something Danzō saw as cowardice and ended up splitting them apart years before, he had always seen things different than Hiruzen and was as ever prepared for war, he loathed the pacifist attitude his former friend had adapted into the life of Shinobi and wanted nothing more than to prove his methods were obsolete, starting by creating a team of Uchiha to oppose the Uchiha.

Itachi, Shisui and Izumi had been friends since childhood and despite their carefree personalities they understood their abilities had been given to them for a reason. Fugaku wanted Itachi to take over the corporation once he was old enough to retire but his son never had any interest in following his steps, the moment he discovered what his father did on a daily basis and what he planned to do in the future, he knew he had to disappear at any cost from his radar, Shisui and Izumi had regular lives outside of the clan so they did not hesitate when Itachi asked them to join him, after all, they had trained together for years and wanted the same thing as Danzō, change.

A cold morning chill stirred a sleeping Ino while she rested on the couch, the temperature during the night had dropped heavily creating a thin fog that diminished the sun's warmth. Everything outside was humid, no trace of a single person yet, only the chirping of some birds could be heard around.

Ino opened her eyes slowly at first, her head was fuzzy but at least her body still felt warm under the blankets despite how the morning air felt, she tried to remember where she was and how she got there, she recalled talking to Kiba and then it hit her, the moment her mind faded. She swore her father's voice was calling out to her during that time but she was too weak to remember properly, her chakra flow was at least less strained than before but she had to take it easy. She scanned her surroundings and saw Kuromaru and Taromaru had found themselves sleeping next to her on the carpet, perhaps everyone else was already awake.

"Hello?" she called with a soft voice.

The dogs woke up to the sound and greeted her gently, she smiled as she petted their heads, they licked her face in return as she slowly took the covers off her frame, a minute passed as the dogs settled next to her but giving her enough space to stand, she did so and initially she struggled not knowing if her body was only waking up or still feeling the aftermath of the pill she took, both ninken looked at her and moved accordingly in case she fell but luckily her legs resisted.

"Hello?" she said again, this time a bit louder than before, still, no answer. She started to walk around to get a feel for her legs again, her muscles felt like jelly and her arms hurt, she tried to gather some of her chakra to her limbs successfully making her body react better although her reserves felt drained, "I'll never eat that thing again..." she thought. After a few seconds she could hear voices coming from the second floor, she went upstairs as silently as she could while the dogs followed, the voices became clearer as she approached the open door of Kiba's room but she opted to remain behind the wall and just listen.

"My family never met her but as far as I remember, she was said to have invested a fortune in Konoha's medical division, that was years ago so we haven't heard from her since." This was Kiba speaking "I learned about her while we lived in Konoha back then but she had left long before we arrived, seems like she was a legend of sorts among shinobi."

"So she came from a family of means, perhaps that's why Jiraiya-sama pointed us in her direction?" Shino questioned "He said she was a colleague, I doubt he would mention her name if she wasn't someone we could trust, maybe she knows how to get back to Konoha without alerting anyone."

"Anything else you can tell us Kiba?" Sakura asked.

"Aside from that, no, sorry, I don't know where she lives or who else to ask, not even my sis knows and I doubt mom and dad will be here anytime soon to ask them."

"That's okay, we've been here long enough while putting you at risk, you've done a lot for us already..." Naruto said.

"Meh, don't sweat it, Shino and I go way back, I shouldn't have mistrusted you guys to begin with so that's on me, but hey, it's just my Inuzuka instinct." he chuckled "Speaking of that..." he looked over the door "How long do you plan to stay there before you come in and say hi Ino?"

The blonde ninja was caught off guard by his call out, besides Kiba, only Shino also knew she was there thanks to his bugs but opted to remain quiet, he knew his friend would eventually notice as well, both Sakura and Naruto looked at the door in confusion until Ino stepped into their line of sight, looking a bit ashamed.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

Kiba pointed at his nose "My sense of smell is as good as any dog's, its the trait of our clan, the moment you all entered this house your individual scent became like your ID for us, that's how we know who's where and whatnot." he finished proudly.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked approaching Ino.

"A bit better, my chakra still feels low, but I can move on my own now, these two kept me company all night?" She was referring to Kuromaru and Taromaru who had already entered the room and kept circling around her.

"Actually I sent them earlier to keep an eye on you, Naruto and Sakura were already awake and wanted to discuss some matters with me, we didn't know when you'd be waking up." Kiba said.

Ino looked at him, then at Naruto, a bit surprised he had decided to remain last night with her instead of getting his own bed, she did not mind Sakura being there, as a matter of fact she expected to awaken and see her that morning given she was the nurse for the group. "Oh... thank you, you didn't have to do that."

"Are you kidding? You gave us all a good scare after you passed out, no way I was gonna leave you."

"Is that so?..." her tone carried some sadness in it that did not go unnoticed by him, he quickly regretted his approach.

"Oh, uh... well..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, lost and not knowing how to respond until Ino suddenly showed a legitimate smile, it was the first time in what felt like forever since he saw her do that.

"It's fine Naruto, I appreciate it..." she thanked him genuinely, then she looked at her former friend "You too Sakura, thanks."

"No problem..." Sakura was clearly uncomfortable by this exchange as she did not want to look at her "Excuse me." She stormed out of the room without saying another word, everyone else looked at each other wondering what had made her so upset.

"Uh... ok, so... where's Karin and Hana?"

"They went out to buy some breakfast for everyone, Ino..." Kiba said quickly focusing again on the main subject. "Have you heard anything of this Tsunade lady?" Ino was still looking at the door thinking about Sakura's behavior but she heard him.

"Yes..." she turned to face the group again "She's the last known member of the Senju clan, I didn't know she was an acquaintance of Jiraiya-sensei but in Konoha many people revered her in both the medical and combat fields."

"Senju? I thought that clan no longer existed..." Shino spoke "I'm assuming Konoha must have a file."

"They do but it's classified, I never got a chance to look at it." She looked at Naruto "Jiraiya-sensei never mentioned her before to you either?"

"No, to be honest I thought the Senju clan was gone based on what you showed me before... Do you know how we can find her?"

"I have no clue, sorry..."

"Mind if I ask, what's so special about this Senju clan?" Kiba interrupted.

"Their healing properties, through recorded history, they were one of the strongest clans in existence next to the Uchiha, their chakra was... unique."

"How so?"

"They could blend and manipulate different chakra natures to their will, thus creating new elemental forces no one else could, one of them was the wood element, it could create life and from it the basics of healing ninjutsu were formed... Didn't anyone tell you about the clan while you lived in Konoha?"

"Maybe mom and dad, I'm not sure about sis but definitely not me, I was just a kid so I didn't get that memo..." Kiba chuckled.

"So what you're saying is this Tsunade lady is stronger than Jiraiya-sama or the Hokage?" Shino asked.

"Possibly, I'm not sure about that..."

"Shino..." Naruto said "If we got access to a computer, hypothetically speaking, would you be able to find information about her like you did with us?"

"It's not that easy Naruto, in order for me to track someone first they must have left a trail on the net, you guys were easy to find after Tokyo because the media hasn't stopped talking about it."

"But what about me? What about Sakura? We didn't exist outside of Konoha before all of this..." Ino said.

"That's what you think Ino..." Now she was more confused, Shino continued "Karin and myself worked for a software developer, our job consisted in creating a program that could recognize real faces, the technology used for that kind of work is used to spy on people, to scan, track and identify every face in the country, including shinobi..." Everyone felt a bit shocked by this revelation "Your reputation alone was enough for us to know about you as well, Sakura on the other hand is known because of her parent's business, with someone like Tsunade Senju it's a bit different because I don't even know what she looks like or if anything can be used to track her."

"What do you mean by her reputation Shino?..." Kiba asked without thinking, Ino stiffened.

"It is not up to me to discuss that here."

"Shino... I suggest whatever you claim to know, you keep it to yourself..." Ino's tone carried some level of threat, her guard was up again in an instant and everyone felt it, Naruto already knew where the conversation was headed and opted to deescalate it before it got worse, he mentally thanked Sakura for telling him about Ino the night before or he would have been as clueless as Kiba.

"So, I'm guessing your answer is we can't track her then?..."

"Correct, we'll have to find another way." The tension in the room eased up by the second although Ino's eyes remained focused on Shino, she was sure he was hiding something, to be fair he had done his research about everyone before joining the group but there was a specific level of information nobody needed to know, hinting he actually did meant he potentially also had knowledge of other missions she carried before.

"Naruto, can I have a word with you please?" Ino said, he nodded. "Alone."

"Come Shino, let's give them some space." Kiba went to the door and Shino followed, not without crossing looks with Ino one last time, Kuromaru and Taromaru wanted to stay, they both had taken a liking to Ino but Kiba obliged them to leave as well, closing the door behind them. Ino took the chance to place her palm against the door to create a soundproof barrier around the room. Naruto understood as much but then he got confused as she channeled more chakra into herself.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure we're alone..."

Her chakra quickly resonated with several portions of the room, small chakra dots were all around them, beetle-like insects flying away trying to find their way out of the room, Ino was furious, she went to smash several of the bugs with both hands but Naruto stopped her.

"What are you doing?..."

"Shino is being Shino, that's how he gathers information, through his bugs... he's keeping us safe."

"You knew about this...?!" Ino jerked her hands away from Naruto's "When?!"

"After you passed out..." Naruto walked over to the window and peeked through the veil "He's mainly doing it because he doesn't want to risk Kiba's home being found, there's bugs all over the house since last night..." He looked at her again "I trust he's doing the right thing."

"Well I don't..." Ino crossed her arms and looked at the floor mad "He has too much information on us... on me."

"If you're worried about what he said, look..." he approached her "I already know." Ino's eyes widened as she looked again at Naruto's blue orbs, her mind only projected the worst outcomes.

"Know what exactly?" She asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"About how you earned your nickname, Sakura told me."

"Sakura?!" Her demeanor changed again, now feeling anger building up.

"Yes, she didn't get into much detail but she told me you had a different life before we met, and I'm fine with that."

"You... are?" This reassurance made Ino's anger dissipate, it was something she did not expect, once again she looked at Naruto with a mix of hope and fear, she had no idea he was capable of bringing out so many emotions out of her, it felt like at times she forgot he used to be someone close, despite their current status, he made her feel like she mattered.

"I'd be fooling myself if I didn't think that title came at a price, for a shinobi, taking lives is a daily job, I know that now, besides, who am I to judge you?"

Now it was her turn to walk to the window and peek, mostly to avoid eye contact with Naruto, she felt embarrassed, but deep down she was not completely sure how to feel about his words yet, she only felt their relationship had changed, and not necessarily for the better.

"We all got baggage... I'm not proud of the things I have done, but it's what I got, it made me who I am..." She found herself staring at Naruto fiercely this time "I live with those choices every day but I don't let them define me, Sakura's free to have her opinion on me, and so are you, but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable with strangers like Shino putting their noses where they don't belong!"

"I don't-"

"Please let me finish..." Her interruption hushed Naruto, she kept her eyes on him "There's some names, important people I've killed, that no one outside of the Hokage and myself should know about..." She continued now walking towards him "Most of those missions were covert, classified as top secret not only because of the level of secrecy they involved, but because some of those people were Shinobi themselves."

"... Did you kill an Aburame?" Naruto did not take long to figure it out.

"Yes, although I can't possibly know the relationship between them." she paused for a moment, then continued "But if he knows already then you understand I can't let my guard down from now on, here or in Konoha, at some point he'll come after me looking for answers or revenge."

Naruto felt conflicted with this information, he was not sure how to handle it, both were his teammates and although Shino was still a stranger to most of them, he felt he had earned some level of trust with everyone, it did not feel right to keep him in the dark.

"Why don't you let me speak to him first?"

"And say what exactly? That I killed one of his clansmen? He's not gonna take that kindly, you know that."

"Yes, he probably won't, but we're a team right? We're supposed to be able to trust each other."

Ino gave him a hard look "Don't be naive Naruto, I don't trust him at all, he's only here because of your cousin."

"Hey, c'mon, he's got his motives but he isn't one of bad guys, let me help!"

"If you want to help, then keep this information to yourself, I'll handle it when the time comes..."

"Ino..."

"Please Naruto, I need a reason to trust you again..."

He was unprepared for the comment but deep down he understood what she meant, both felt an uneasy feeling was still lingering between them for the past few days, he was glad she stepped up first to cross that bridge instead of him, he was not sure he could do it on his own. He could gladly accept it for now if eventually it led to things going back as they were, at least that is what he hoped for.

"Ok... You're right, I won't say a word, I promise."

"Thank you... listen, I still believe in you, just..."

"No, it's fine, I get it, I'm giving you my word on this Ino."

Ino thought she saw a glimpse of sadness in his eyes despite his reassuring expression, it felt almost like the night in Tokyo after they escaped, she soon realized in that instant how it must have felt for him, her chest felt heavy now, she did not like to feel this again.

"Shit I... I'm not good with this... I'm sorry."

"Not good with what?"

"With words! I don't think what I say before I say it, and I just said something that is making me feel regret again!"

"Hey it's fine, I'm a big boy, I can handle it." He tried to reassure her but Ino was having none of it this time.

"No, hear me out Naruto... I know I've said stuff out of anger and it hurts, it hurts a lot... I feel like we haven't really addressed that and I need you to listen to me..."

Naruto kept quiet, he was willing to listen this time, he waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to speak not knowing if he was truly ready to handle that conversation with her yet but figuring now it was as good as any other time, they probably would not get another chance. Ino took a deep breath.

"What I said to you was wrong, I let my temper get me and, well... I tried to tell you that night my side of the story but you shut me out, and honestly I don't blame you..."

Naruto remembered, he ended his connection with her that night as she spoke in his mind, his own feelings were in turmoil when she reached out and his way to escape them was by severing the ties, in a way he also let the best of his emotions get him just like her, he realized it was no different, yet he also had his share of guilt that was still suppressed.

"The Shinobi dogma is very important to me, it's the foundation of my beliefs as a warrior and as a person, and I got shaken when you of all people challenged that, but now I know better than to try and impose those thoughts onto someone else, dogmas can hurt people regardless of whether they're right or wrong... My point is I don't believe in what I said to you, about not considering you a friend, my words were led by my dogma instead of my heart."

Naruto swallowed the lump on his throat, his chest felt heavy, the more he looked at her the more he realized she was telling the truth, this was all just one huge misunderstanding that got blown out of proportion by both of them and let their insecurities govern them for a short time, he did not need a mental connection with her to understand she felt the same way about this.

"You're my friend Naruto, I'm proud to call you that, I always have and I mean it." She smiled, genuinely again "And I trust you with my life, I want you to know that, I'll never doubt you again..."

"Ino..."

"Yes?"

"I... Thank you, that means a lot to me..." His voice still carried some uncertainty and this did not go unnoticed by Ino, she had become very sharp at reading people's emotions after all.

"But?"

"But... what?"

"I feel you got something you need to take off your chest also, you can say it, I promise it'll stay within these walls."

Naruto chuckled "It's Kiba's room, he'll know too."

Ino laughed at his attempt to make a joke out of the conversation but awaited his response, she wanted to make sure he was okay.

"I know I haven't earned your trust yet, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to have it back."

"No no! That's not it, I... I just..." he struggled to get the words out.

"What is it then? Tell me."

It was Naruto's turn to avoid looking at her now, he sat on Kiba's bed and kept his eyes on the carpeted floor, he cursed himself mentally for not being capable of expressing back to Ino how he felt, his previous words back in Karin's place made him realize he had gone too far and now he understood why he could not reciprocate back with the answer he wanted to formulate. Ino sat next to him, for the first time, she took both his hands into hers and as she expected he moved his head up again to face her, she noticed the sadness behind his eyes once again and deduced what it was about.

"Talk to me, you can trust me this once, like I am trusting you now..."

"..."

Naruto could still not speak, he kept silently staring at her wondering how she could read him so easily, perhaps he was not that hard to read, his emotions were like an open book, just like when he fought in the cage, that is why he got hit most of the time until he decided it was time to get serious with his opponents, Ino was reading him on another level though as he found himself more vulnerable than before, and this time he had no idea how to react, maybe because in the past his body instinctively did everything for him, now he lacked that instinct, his feelings were in disarray.

The moment was cut short as they felt a tremor that made them both lose their balance and fall face firsts to the carpet, followed by an explosion.

5 MINUTES EARLIER

"If you want to know so bad, you should ask her Kiba."

"No way man! I don't know want to be on her bad side!"

Kiba was trying to convince his friend Shino to tell him about Ino's past visits to the city, since the tension a few minutes ago was palpable, his curiosity was getting the best of him and now that she seemed to be feeling better, Kiba got the chance to perceive her as someone who held many secrets, but he was also aware that knowing some of these secrets could cost him, nothing was free after all. Both remained in the hallway but far from Kiba's door, they could not hear anything coming from the inside so they figured a soundproof barrier had been placed.

"And you think I do?"

"Aren't you already? I mean, you're the one that brought it up..."

"I'm trying to find out something too, my intention is not to make an enemy out of her."

"C'mon man! Then at least tell me why you said that!"

Shino took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, he remained quiet for a while, Kiba was visibly getting impatient.

"I want you to understand something; if I tell you what I know, you'll have to come with us and so will Hana."

"What?!"

"I can't let you in on what's going on unless you commit yourself to it, you already walked out of this world once, are you sure you want to enter it again? It's a simple decision."

Kiba pondered on that sentence, he understood there was a risk to being this curious, his family had the chance to integrate into society without any incidents, he was already risking that life by hiding Shino and the others in his home, even if that was not fully his choice, but now getting involved into matters he had no knowledge of would mean he would have to sacrifice what he already had, and he alone would be making that decision for his sister as well.

"... I'll pass."

"Good, I didn't expect a different ans-"

Shino abruptly stopped, the bugs within him started to resonate, they were transmitting information to him via his chakra, his face stiffened and Kiba looked puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

Shino did not reply, he started to head downstairs as Kiba and his dogs followed. As soon as he got a view, Shino noticed Sakura was casually putting down a cellphone she had carried with her all the time, Kiba also noticed the device in her hands as she placed it behind back in one of her pockets.

"What were you doing Sakura?" Kiba asked with caution.

"Making a call..." she said without hesitation "My parents can help us find safe passage out of Osaka."

Shino angrily approached her "We could've been tracked! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Relax, it's a burner phone, look..." She opened the back of the device and threw it over to him, Shino caught it and noticed the sim card was already fried to a crisp "I had it for only one use as an emergency, nobody will be able to track it."

"Signals take less than a minute to be tracked, what if someone already did?" Shino raised his fist with the phone still in it, almost crushing it in the process "You're risking everyone here with what you just did..."

Sakura got defensive "The phone was always off from the moment we left Konoha, I just turned it on now! Who's gonna follow us if they didn't know I had it with me?!"

"Someone could have! That's my point Sakura! This was reckless!"

"So what's your plan then huh?! Try to find this Tsunade woman without knowing where she is?! It's a goose chase Shino and you know it! My plan is to get us out of here safely!"

Just at that moment the door opened, both Hana and Karin entered with a few bags of groceries in their hands, they had heard Sakura arguing from outside but could not figure out why, both her and Shino went silent as they closed the door behind them, but kept staring daggers at each other, this obviously got their attention.

"What's going on guys?" Karin asked.

There was no chance for anyone to reply, through the living room window a kunai shattered the glass and embedded itself in the middle of the floor, everyone but the dogs who started barking madly, looked in horror at the hissing tag attached to the weapon.

"RUN!" Kiba managed to yell before the explosive went off.

-0-

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Naruto.

Hello again, I realized it's been a while since the last update, I had this chapter ready but for some reason I stopped over 3 months ago and forgot for a while about the story, only until this week I remembered I had to put it out there and continue writing so sorry for that.

I'm already working on a 2nd part for this story as I had stated before that the plot for this one is already done, only need to make sure the chapters are delivered as intended, but believe me, I'm far from done :)